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Microsoft launces Internet Explorer Developer Channel

On June 16, Microsoft announced that Internet Explorer will now have a Developer Channel release which can run side-by-side with the production/GA version of Internet Explorer on Windows 7 and Windows 8.x. This feature, which has long been available in Google’s Chrome browser and Mozilla’s Firefox, is a pleasant surprise to those who use Internet Explorer.

This release is a continuation of the effort Microsoft, and especially Internet Explorer team has started, to become developer-friendly by being proactive in communication about the roadmap and the features. This release, unlike the previous developer previews Microsoft created, not only runs side-by-side with the existing version of Internet Explorer but also includes changes to the UI as they are made.

Some of the key updates in this release include:

Updates to F12 developer tools

An enhanced debugging experience with event breakpoints that help you get to your event-driven bugs faster.

Richer analysis capabilities throughout the Memory and UI Responsiveness profilers, which support further reduction of noise through multi-dimensional timeline filter, while further increasing the semantic value of the data being reported by lighting up performance.measure() based instrumentation and dominator folding.

An improved navigation experience that provides more keyboard shortcuts (ctrl+[ and ctrl + ]), as well as new header notifications, which allows you to quickly determine whether any of the profiling tools are running or how many errors your page has.

The complete list of updates are on MSDN here.

IE Dev Channel F12 Tools
IE Dev Channel F12 Tools

Support for WebDriver standard

IE Developer Channel also comes with support for the emerging WebDriver standard through which Web developers can write tests to automate Web browsers to test their sites. It’s a programmable remote control for developing complex user scenarios and running them in an automated fashion in your Web site and browser. See how you can setup WebDriver in the IE Developer Channel, and try out this sample WebDriver project.

Support for Gamepad API standard and improved WebGL support

IE Developer Channel comes with support of the emerging Gamepad API standard that lets you use JavaScript to add gamepad support to your Web apps and games.

IE Developer Channel also improves WebGL performance and adds support for instancing extension, 16-bit textures, GLSL builtin variables, and triangle fans. This release improves our Khronos WebGL Conformance Test 1.0.2 score from 89% to 94%. Gamepad Status Gamepad Status

The team is promising frequent updates to the Developer Channel and we shall see how frequent that is. Given the pace and cadence across various other groups at Microsoft, it could be anywhere from two weeks (Xbox Music) to a month (Xbox One, Power BI) or three-four months (Windows, Windows Phone). Whatever it is, for developers this is much better than anything Internet Explorer has done in the past.

You can download the Developer Channel release from here.

Here’s Charles Morris introducing the Developer Channel IE:

Latest Firefox Beta Brings Per-Tab Private Browsing And Adds Support For Older ARM v6 Devices

Mozilla today released an exciting update for Firebox Beta on the Play Store. The update brings a lot of under the hood improvements along with support for more lower-end devices.

One of the most useful features for all NSFW and porn addicts out there will be the per-tab private browsing mode. This feature will allow Firefox mobile users to open a new private tab, along with other normal tabs, instead of switching completely to private mode.

With the new beta, Firefox will also be available to some of the older ARM v6 devices with QVGA resolution and 384MB of RAM. Other important changes include H.264/AAC/MP3 hardware decoding for pre-Android 4.0 devices.

The official change-log is as follows -:

– Per-tab private browsing
– Gingerbread and Honeycomb support for H.264/AAC/MP3 hardware decoders
– Top Sites in about:home are now customizable
– System requirements have been lowered to 384MB of RAM and QVGA displays
– <canvas> now supports blend modes
– Various <audio> and <video> improvements
– getUserMedia implemented for web access to the user’s camera and microphone (with user permission)
Learn more:

The beta is already live on the Play Store, and can be downloaded from here.

Firefox 18 Released with Numerous Performance Enhancements

Firefox 18 is expected to be officially released anytime now. However, as always, it has been uploaded to the FTP servers well in advance. If you wish to grab the stable release of Firefox 18 ahead of its announcement, scroll down and head over to Mozilla’s servers.

Changelog for the final version is also yet to be revealed. However, we can get a pretty good idea about what’s new by looking at the changelog for the beta. Firefox 18 ships with the new IonMonkey JavaScript engine, which promises up to 26% improvement in speed compared to Firefox 17. Mozilla has fixed several bugs related to Firefox’s proxy handling, and users surfing behind a proxy should be able to enjoy a much faster browsing experience. Mozilla is also promising improved startup times through smart handling of signed extension certificates, in addition to performance improvements surrounding tab switching. Beginning with Firefox 18, Persona backgrounds will no longer support animated images, in order to improve performance.

There are quite a few goodies for developers also in Firefox 18, including preliminary support for WebRTC and CSS Flexible boxes. Both of these features are disabled by default, and must be enabled from about:config. Other enhancements include support for W3C touch events, better image scaling algorithm, and support for retina displays.

[ Download Firefox 18 for Windows, Mac, and Linux ]

Firefox for Android to Introduce Private Browsing and Improved Customizability in 2013

Last year, Mozilla promised to rock your World Wide Web with Firefox for Android. While Chrome is still my default browser, mainly due to a preference for its user interface, Firefox Mobile has indeed gone on to garner sizable fan base, with an impressive rating of 4.2 in the Play store.

Mozilla has revealed some of the features that are lined up for Firefox for Android in 2013. The most significant new feature to be disclosed is Private Browsing. Private Browsing has become a standard feature in desktop browsers, and several mobile browsers including Chrome and Dolphin have offered it on mobile phones also for quite some time. Incidentally, Private Browsing in Firefox for desktop is also being rewritten to offer increased flexibility.

The other focus point for Firefox in 2013 will be enhanced customizability. The mobile edition of Firefox will support themes as well as offer a customizable start-page. “No matter how you browse with Firefox for Android — for news, the most useful sites, the funniest pages — we’ll never stop trying to give you the best and fastest experience”, Mozilla promised in its note.

The final revelation concerns increased availability, both in terms of device compatibility and language support. Mozilla didn’t offer a timeline, but promised to make these features available “soooooooon”.

Cleanup Your Facebook and Other Network Profiles with MyPermissions Cleaner

While Facebook’s one-click login button makes it really easy for users to signup for new apps and services, it also makes it ludicrously easy for malicious entities to get their hands on your private info. All they need to do is to create a quiz to lure you into sharing your Facebook profile data.

In a previous article we reviewed Privacyfix, which automatically identifies and highlights security issues in your Facebook and Google settings. One of the threats that Privacyfix identifies is app permissions. However, it doesn’t provide a quick way to withdraw access you have previously granted to various apps. Chances are that over the years you have allowed hundreds of apps to access your Facebook profile. Manually delisting them is likely to take quite a while. Thankfully, there is another browser extension, which can take care of this problem.

MyPermissions Cleaner is a handy extension for Chrome, Opera, and Firefox, which scans your Facebook profile and lists all apps that have access to your Facebook information, and allows you to revoke access to all apps with a single click. Ideally, you will not want to revoke access to all apps. For example, if you are an avid Instagram and Tweekdeck user, it makes sense to let these apps be. Thankfully, MyPermissions allows you to add select apps and services to a whitelist (Trusted Apps) with just a couple of clicks. Once you have whitelisted the apps you need, you can get rid of the rest of them with a single click. However, if you have several hundred apps in your list, then it might be easier to simply revoke permissions for everything and add back the apps that you use as and when required. MyPermissions Cleaner does a good job at exposing exactly what sort of info each app has access to, and allows you to filter apps by their access levels. The only trouble is that the extension doesn’t always work perfectly, and sometimes gets stuck while deleting an app. However, a page refresh generally takes care of the issue.

It’s not just Facebook alone, MyPermissions Cleaner currently also supports Twitter, Google, LinkedIn, Yahoo, Dropbox, Foursquare, Instagram, Flickr, AOL, and Windows Live. For each of these services the app works in an identical manner, and offers to cleanup your app permissions. If you have never bothered to look into the apps that have access to you profiles on various networks, go ahead and do it now. Let this be your little end of the year cleaning.

[ Download MyPermissions Cleaner ]

Mozilla to Introduce Support for Private Windows in Firefox 20

Apple introduced the concept of private browsing way back in 2005; however, this feature became mainstream only about three years back. When surfing in private browsing mode, the browser covers your tracks. Browsing history is not recorded, and cookies are automatically deleted once you end the session. Currently, all major browsers support private browsing. However, the implementation varies from browser to browser. Opera, which was the last major browser to support this feature, has the best implementation. It supports not only private windows, but also private tabs. Chrome and Internet Explorer on the other hand support private windows, but not private tabs. Firefox’s implementation is currently the most limited one. It supports neither private tabs nor private windows. If you enter private browsing mode, your current session is halted, all existing tabs are closed, and a new private session is created. However, this is set to change soon.

Mozilla has been working on re-writing its private browsing implementation for the past 19 months, and is finally ready to showcase its progress. A new experimental build is now available, which features support for private windows. You can now begin a private browsing session in a new window while retaining your existing session. The experimental build is available for Winows, OS X, and Linux. This feature will make its mainstream debut in Firefox 20, which is scheduled to be released in March/April 2013.

[ Download Firefox with Private Windows ]

Firefox For Android Now Available For ARM v6 Based Android Devices

Today, Mozilla announced in a blog post that it is brining Firefox for Android to million more Android devices out there. Until today, Firefox for Android was only supported by Android devices running Android 2.2+ and using an ARM v7 based processors.

However, beginning from today, Firefox for Android will be available to all Android 2.2+ devices that are powered by an ARM v6 processor. This includes quite a lot of popular low-end Android devices like the GAlaxy Ace, Motorola Fire XT, HTC ChaCha and more.

According to Mozilla, more than half of the 500 million Android phones out there are powered by an ARM v6 processor, so this move from Mozilla will definitely help in increasing the user base of the app. However, your Android device needs to have at least an ARMv6 processor that is clocked at 800MHz, along with a minimum of 512MB RAM.

The latest release of Firefox for Android also adds support for hardware and software decoder for h.264 videos on Android 4/4.1, along with initial web app support. The full release notes of the latest release can be found here, while the latest version can be downloaded from here.

Firefox 16.01 for Desktop and Android Plugs Security Vulnerability

Just a day after releasing Firefox 16, Mozilla pulled the update citing security concerns. Needless to say this was a pretty unusual move. Typically any security vulnerability present in a major release is fixed through point updates. Removing a new release was a drastic move, which indicated that Mozilla reckoned that the vulnerability had a significant chance of being exploited in the wild.

The vulnerability concerned could allow a malicious site to potentially determine which websites users have visited and have access to the URL or URL parameters. The security vulnerability was actually more of a privacy issue that could become a security issue on stupidly coded websites that use GET to transmit confidential information.

Mozilla released a fix for the Android version yesterday, and an updated desktop version was released moments ago. You can download Firefox 16.01 from here, or you can wait for your Firefox installation to automatically download the latest version.

Firefox 16 Released with New Awesome Features for Web-Developers

To all those keeping pace with the rapid release cycle of Firefox, Mozilla just released version 16 of the Firefox web browser, and as always, it has arrived with a slew of attractive changes. Firefox switched to a rapid release cycle more than a year ago, and most people found it disconcerting. Some stuck to Firefox 3.6 or Firefox 4 for a long time. However, Firefox users have become a lot more flexible lately, and Firefox 15 accounts for the highest 58% of all Firefox users. Today, the next version of Firefox — Firefox 16 is here with new features and improvements.

Firefox 16 on Mac now comes with Voice Over support. The feature is in its preliminary stage, but it is definitely a good start. Behind the scene changes, include improved garbage collection, so you will probably see Firefox hogging less memory. HTML 5 support has been improved with better CSS3 implementation. From now, Firefox will drop its vendor prefix of “-moz-” from many CSS3 animations and transitions.  However, the new features that pack a punch are the new web-app support and the improved Developer Toolbar.

The developer toolbar has a new command line, which can run common tasks like editing a page, manipulating cookies, taking screenshots and inspecting. It is a heavenly improvement for all command line junkies out there. This video illustrates the new features quite well.

On mobile devices, Firefox 16 gives developers access to the Battery API for reading battery state and the Vibration API. However, the big new feature for end-users is the Reader mode, which offers a distraction-free reading experience.

You can get the complete release notes at this page. Go ahead and grab your copy of Firefox 16 at this page. If you are an Android user, you can also get your copy of Firefox for Android at this page on Google Play Store.

Firefox for Android, Plume and ASTRO Get Major Updates

Over the last 24 hours, quite a few popular Android apps have received major updates. Firstly, Mozilla has released a major update for the tablet edition of Firefox browser, aimed at improving the speed and overall fit and finish of the browser. The speed enhancements in the latest version is visible right from the reduced start-up time to the reduced loading and navigating web pages time.

The latest version also brings robust support for HTML5 capabilities allowing developers to create rich web apps based on HTML5, CSS, JavaScript and other open Web standards. The tablet version of the browser also supports Flash on devices that are running Honeycomb.

Second in the list is LevelUp Studio’s popular Twitter client, Plume. The application recently got a major new UI refresh with a Holo based theme, but LevelUp Studio has further tweaked the UI of the app in the latest update. The latest update brings a new fly-in menu, some layout optimisations for the Nexus 7, and a much faster performance overall. Slowly and steadily, Plume has become the go-to Twitter client in the Android ecosystem.

Last, but not the least is a popular File Manager app for Android, ASTRO.The application has been updated after ages from its developers, Metago, and now features a drop-dead gorgeous UI. As of now, the latest version is only for Android 4.1.1 Jelly Bean users, but the developer has promised to release the new update for older versions of Android as well.


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Richmond, VA and Surrounding Areas 804-495-1219

Identity Theft and Cyber Crime

Identity theft and Cyber Crime go hand in hand. Cyber Crime alone affects about 556 million people a year and while online shopping is a convenient time saver it also increases your risk of becoming a victim of Cyber Crime. There are a few steps you can take to help prevent that from happening some of which I’ll go over today.

Your first line of defense is usually a password and with dozens to keep track of it is tempting to use the same one more than once or to resort to birthdays; resist that urge. Some other things to avoid within passwords would be nicknames, pet names and other similar things. While they’re easy go tos for passwords they’re also easy to guess which makes them vulnerable. It’s also a good idea to change your passwords every 90 days.

And like I mentioned last week make sure not to click any unknown or strange looking emails. This also goes for websites you usually use. Make sure it looks the same as it has for previous logins; a lot of sites have security images or checkpoints built in so make sure to use them. An encrypted website will start with “https” as opposed to “http”, this is an easy way to make sure you’re on a secure site.

And as always there’s antivirus software with protection from identity theft built in to it’s features. There’s also specialty software that can increase your security but usually when you follow the basic precautions I’ve just listed it’s usually unneeded.

As always be aware and protect yourself and if all else fails Techies4Me is here to help you out.

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Popular Antivirus Options

Last week we covered Viruses; how they can be caught, how they can harm your computer, and how you can avoid them. While there are tips and tricks to avoiding a virus a good anti-virus is going to be your best defense. In this week’s blog post I’m going to give a (very) brief overview of some of the most well-known anti-virus software. I do want to emphasize the importance of research. Only you know what you use your computer for. Don’t be afraid to consult with an IT professional and ask questions, and of course our inbox is always open.

I’m going to start with paid antiviruses; Norton, Kaspersky, and Sophos. Something I love about Norton Antivirus is the fact that not only do they offer licenses for multiple computers with one purchase but they offer it for almost all their products. This can be good for a small office or a multi computer household. Norton is also a bit cheaper than other options without sacrificing protection.

Kaspersky is another option. It usually runs a little more expensive than Norton but one aspect of Kaspersky that’s popular is the virtual keyboard. A virtual keyboard is one that shows on your screen and used with your trackpad or mouse. This is a neat security feature that can be especially useful if you’re concerned about password security or key loggers. The one slight downside of Kaspersky would be that it can slow down your computer’s full boot up time.

The last paid option I’m going to talk about is Sophos. This is a program that often works in conjunction with IT support. What that means is that when you purchase Sophos at a retailer you are also paying for support to go with it other than the usual hotline or web support that most anti-viruses come with. Any time you have a problem you can walk into the store you purchased it at and get help from any of their technicians. This works great for people that need a little extra help or even for computers that are vital to their users everyday life. You’re going to pay a bit more but that human support definitely makes it worth it.

Now that we’ve covered some of the paid options I’m going to talk about some of the free options. I do recommend having someone computer savvy install these; simply because there are some malicious sites out there that can infect your computer under the guise of providing these programs. The two main free anti-viruses are Avast and AVG. I’ve used both of them for years and had a good experience with both. Avast did need an email registered to it to function but I never received a single spam message from them. And in the 3+ years I used AVG my computer didn’t get infected once. These are great options for if you’re already fairly computer savvy but recognize the need for protection.

Whichever antivirus you choose to get try and run scans every few weeks. There’s usually an option for it on the main dashboard of the program. With a good antivirus there’s very little upkeep other than an occasional scan. When you go to get antivirus software don’t forget to really think about what you use your computer for and what your main concerns are. Getting a good program is the first step in making sure your computer and information stay secure and virus free.

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The Dreaded Computer Virus

One of the computer user’s worst fears is the computer virus. Viruses have the capability of destroying data, stealing information, and even rendering a computer completely useless. One of the most dangerous aspects of a virus is the fact that they’re so easy to get. There are however some tips and tricks you can do that will help you avoid a virus. This will be a brief overview so feel free to contact us if you have any questions or concerns.

A computer virus (or malware) is a computer program that self replicates and installs itself without the user’s permission. They can affect the computer in a variety of ways: steal or corrupt data, take up precious storage space or CPU, spam contacts, and even log keystrokes. The first virus occurred in the 1970s, it was called the Creeper Virus and was created by Bob Thomas. Since then there have been hundreds of viruses that work in hundreds of different ways. Your computer can be exposed to these harmful programs through: downloads, online purchases, email scams, and shady websites.

Now don’t get too worried, I’m going to give you some tips to help ensure you never have to deal with one.

First of all, have some form of antivirus on your computer. Some of the more popular paid antivirus programs would be Norton, Kaspersky, Sophos, or McAfee. Be sure to do a little research before you purchase one as they all have different capabilities by brand but also by type. Some protect your internet exclusively whereas others focus more on the files stored on your computer. If you don’t want to pay for antivirus there are also some free options available to you. Some of which include Avast, AVG and Windows Defender. Again it’s best to do some research to see which fits your needs best. Most of all it’s important to listen to your antivirus. If it warns you about a file or website then it’s best to abide by its suggestions.

So we’ve covered the most important part, which is to have some form of antivirus. A few other things you can do include:

Being careful where you download things; a lot of shady websites will have a virtual minefield of download links with only one being official (hint: it’s usually the link that looks most plain). Most of the time you want to avoid those websites as they’re unsavory to begin with. If you’re ever unsure it’s best not to chance it (most antiviruses give you the ability to scan files before you download them; another good reason to invest in one).

Make sure any purchases you make are from trusted websites. Amazon and other major retailers are usually a safe bet so just keep an eye out for anything suspicious. Are they asking for information that isn’t really relevant to your purchase? Does the site look odd or maybe shoddily done? Look for those warning signs and you can avoid a lot of trouble.

Another trick is to never open email from an unknown sender. A lot of these harmful emails are designed to attract your attention so be wary! Chances are, if it seems too good to be true then it probably is.

These tips may seem simple but they’re also easy to forget. With a watchful eye it becomes much easier to keep your information and your computer safe and if you are unlucky enough to get infected Techies4Me can help.

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What Makes An Entrepreneur Tick?

Stills from videotape of :en:Bill Gates' depos...Image via Wikipedia

What Have VCs Really Done for Innovation? TechCrunch Back in 1986, when Bill Gates was still making sales calls, he pitched my group at First Boston on why we should bet the farm on Windows. Despite the risk involved, we gave his fledgling startup the deal. This wasn’t because of his financial backers (he didn’t even drop any names), but because we believed in his vision and nerdiness. ....... VC’s follow innovation, they don’t lead. They go where they smell blood.
From Nothing To Something. How To Get There. forget everything else and just get your product out the door
For one there are few of them. But not that few. Every business owner is an entrepreneur. They create and sustain jobs. They are in every sector. The bold ones build the companies of tomorrow. Since most people work in the private sector to feed their families, we can say entrepreneurs are our guiding light. But what makes them tick? The failure rate is high, but many still try.

Partly it is a personality type, I think. Some people go for it, most don't. And there are all kinds. Few are big, most are small. The entrepreneurial spirit can also take over jobholders. I would think the best companies encourage that spirit.

But there is no crystal ball. It is hard to pick the winners early in the game. And, of course, the trailblazers become legends in their own lifetimes.
  1. Bill Gates On The Chrome OS
  2. Bill Gates, Chrome OS, Natal, Wave
  3. Bill Gates: Behind The Curve On Chrome OS
  4. Bill Gates Drove Up Traffic To This Blog
The Holy Grail of the Unconscious New York Times he started to view the human soul — not just the mind and the body — as requiring specific care and development, an idea that pushed him into a province long occupied by poets and priests but not so much by medical doctors and empirical scientists. ....... the same borderlands traveled by both lunatics and great artists. ...... the mangrove swamp of his inner world ........ the idea that a person might move beneficially between the poles of the rational and irrational, the light and the dark, the conscious and the unconscious — that provided the germ for his later work and for what analytical psychology would become. .......... “All my works, all my creative activity,” he would recall later, “has come from those initial fantasies and dreams.” ......... Jung had become disillusioned with scientific rationalism ........ “the spirit of the depths,” a field that makes room for magic, coincidence and the mythological metaphors delivered by dreams. ........ humanity shares a pool of ancient wisdom that he called the collective unconscious
Paul Krugman: Reform or Bust
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Tuesday, 23 August 2011

Scallop Circle Card

Hi there, today's share is a scalloped circle card that I made using the Scallop Circle die for the Big Shot.

I've seen a lot of cards made using this die, but usually people place a folded piece of cardstock about the top 4 scallops shy so that the fold is kept in tacked.  Personally, I prefer the full scallop look as I think missing the top scallops gives the card a very unsymmetrical look.

What I do is cut 2 pieces of cardstock and score the back one at around the top 4 scallop mark and adhere them together.  This gives you the same inside area as the other style of card, but the front looks so much better.

I used the Decorative label punch on "Whisper White" and inked the edges and adhered to the bottom of the back piece.  This is the area for the personal message.  I also used the Paper Piercing Tool to poke holes in all of the scallops, which is such a cute little additional touch.

I have a EK Success circle cutter that I used to cut out the circles, and even though you can't tell from this picture, I added a little "Crystal Effect" to the vase to make it shiny as though it has water in it.

I wrote the front sentiment myself, which was actually very scary as I did it after I finished everything else, so it could have been a very big mistake if I had messed up, but luckily it came out ok.

Hope you like it, please leave a comment, it would be lovely to hear from you ...  xx

Project Ingredients

Stamp Sets :  "A Slice of Life" - Level 1 hostess in Summer Mini
Card stock : "Whisper White" & "Rich Razzleberry"
Colour : "Rich Razzleberry" marker pen & "Sahara Sand" ink pad - to add a touch of shadow
Tools : "Scallop Circle" Die for the Big Shot; "Decorative Label" punch; & "SNAIL" tape runner adhesive

1 comment:

  1. What a lovely card! I love round cards and I do exactly what you do as I don't like that unsymmetrical look either! The pierced holes are a fab touch and your colour combo of Razzleberry and white is great.


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Company details
Companies > Company Detail

A-Z Listing

  • Office Location
  • company name
    Rainconcert Technologies Private Limited
  • address
    410, 4th Floor, Thejaswini, Technopark, Trivandrum
  • phone
  • email
  • website
  • Director and CEO
    Abhilash R
  • Director
    Sajith Kumar K V
  • Managing Director
    Vidhya Sajithkumar

Rainconcert Technologies Private Limited

Rain Concert is an IT company incorporated in Trivandrum in the southern Indian state of Kerala. Rain Concert specializes in state-of-the-art IT solutions for enterprises and the social sector. The company started in 2006 as a small non-traditional IT business operating out of an independent bungalow in the city of Trivandrum before it bagged a few big deals and thereafter moved into more spacious premises in Technopark, Trivandrum, the biggest IT hub in Kerala. Rain Concert has always strived to be different. It is a company inspired by innovation, guided by values and a symbol of transformation through unique research and development initiatives. We have worked in areas of business that have been generally ignored by conventional businesses and deemed unviable. And we have turned them into unique replicable and successful models. We bring to the table a unique mix of social relevance, business models and technical expertise without compromising the bottom-line. We work mostly with open-source software offering substantial cost-savings to customers without giving up on the productivity gains and bug-free systems that people have come to expect from commercial software. A vast majority of the software we design are built using PHP, RoR, JavaScript frameworks. Our entire infrastructure is hosted on the cloud and we rely on state-of-the-art Linux systems to develop our software.

Domain expertise : PHP, RoR, MySQL, Zend/Code-Igniter, Microsoft .NET, CMS- Drupal/Joomla, iOS,Android, Windows 8, Angular JS


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Sheet Metal Fabrication Services

Tek-Neek have years of experience in the industry and are passionate about continually investing in the latest machinery, tooling and software. We will always advise on design, material, fixings, coatings and finish to ensure that you the customer get a high quality product within timescales, whilst maintaining a cost-effective solution.

Design and development

We constantly try to improve existing products by drawing on our years of experience in the industry as well as looking at the latest technologies available. Simple redesigns or investment in tooling or machinery could improve the manufacturing process effectively saving time and therefore money.

If you do not have drawings of your products we can work from samples and produce full drawings using the 3D modelling software, Solidworks. We also offer a full design service so if your product is in the early design process we can take your sketches and ideas and working with our design team produce prototypes and hopefully get your ideas to market. Along with Solidworks we use the latest CAD/CAM software specific to the sheet metal industry.

CNC punching

Using Muratec Turret Punch Press we can offer high accuracy, high speed production of components competitively priced.

This is where the majority of components start to be processed.  The turret punch is loaded with tools and the sheet material is punched to produce the components.  We can punch a range of materials including mild steel, stainless steel, aluminium, coated metals, brass and copper from 0.6mm to 6mm.

Advantages of turret punch machines

  • High speed
  • Lower running costs than Laser machines
  • The use of special tooling such as upforms, knock outs, countersinking, ribbing and thread forming
  • Coated material such as pre-painted sheet, galvanised steel
  • Read more about our CNC Punching Services here.

Our punching department includes

Muratec Wiedeman Motorum 2548

  • Sheet size 2500 x 1300
  • 800 hits per minute
  • 44 tool stations plus multi tool

Muratec Wiedemann Motorum 2048

  • Sheet size 2500 x 1250
  • 700 hits per minute
  • 25 tool stations

2 x Muratec Centrum 2500

  • Sheet size 1250 x 1250
  • 500 hits per minute
  • 18 tool staions plus multi tool

Metal forming

After the components are punched on the turret punch they usually go the Press Brake department where the flat components are folded and formed.The machinery we use is very flexible and is suited for both large production runs and small batches and prototypes.

We have a range of press brakes of different size and tonnage.

  • Bystronic 3100mm x 150 tonne
  • Bystronic 3100mm x 100 tonne
  • Bystronic 2500m x 100 tonne
  • 2 x Bystronic 2500mm x 60 tonne

At Tek-Neek we offer both TIG and MIG welding and have dedicated and experienced staff that work to a high standard on all materials.

These include:

  • MIG Welding – A quick semi-automatic process of fusing two pieces together. We use MIG welding on a huge range of jobs and products. From simple bracket work to gas fire burner boxes and pharmaceutical cabinets.
  • TIG Welding – Although a slower process and more technically involving than MIG welding, TIG welding is used for high quality welds on critical joints where small, neat and precise welds are required.
  • Spot Welding – A quick process of joining two items together used predominantly in the assembly of components
  • Read more about our Welding Services here.

Assemblies can range from simple electrical enclosures with hinges and locks to large balance flue gas fire assemblies with other 30 components that using gaskets and sealers to create an air tight sealed unit. We can have offer a service of packaging and distribution to suit your needs.

We have a designated Assembly area within our workshop where we use a wide range of processes.

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text:
Ackley on the Warm Ability. However offers he or she truly Enhanced

Kyle Seager‘s lengthy adored striking ability found a finish upon Wednesday, completing from sixteen video games. Also it had been very amazing, actually so far as blotches proceed, because he or she strike. 390/. 455/. 661 in that period. However, regrettably it’s more than, which is time for you to move ahead.

And exactly what much better spot to proceed to compared to an additional Mariner infielder that presently includes a striking ability associated with their own. Which participant is actually Dustin Ackley, in whose ability presently rests from 10 video games.Ichiro Suzuki Jersey The actual ability started within Tx upon Might twentieth, as well as Ackley will appear to increase this in order to 11 video games this evening. Throughout their ability, Ackley offers strike a fantastic. 417. As well as at first glance, which appears incredible. Daylights, it’s hits Seager’s. 390 tag from the drinking water. The issue is, which Seager additionally created a lot of energy, whilst Ackley isn’t performing exactly the same. Their triple-slash collection in general is actually. 417/.Jean Segura Jersey 421/. 472, that, whilst nevertheless excellent, doesn’t truly coincide having a. 417 typical. The reason behind this really is which throughout the ability, Ackley offers just strolled as soon as, and it has mustered simply 2 additional bottom strikes, each increases. Therefore whilst he’s producing excellent get in touch with as well as apparently striking the actual golf ball a minimum of reasonably difficult, he or she isn’t strolling or even obtaining something within the spaces or higher the actual fencing.

Something otherwise which is equally as unnerving is actually which their BABIP in that extend is really a extremely unsustainable. 455. Which,Hisashi Iwakuma Jersey combined with proven fact that he’s experienced absolutely no energy or even capability to pull strolls informs all of us which what’s occurring is really a small flukey, actually for any striking ability.

But allows increase this particular a bit more, simply because he or she began striking much better prior to the ability began. Returning towards the thirteenth, Dustin includes a strike within fourteen associated with sixteen video games, producing the multiple reduce more than that point associated with. 328/. 328/. 379. Once again, less amazing since the typical indicates. Therefore whilst it might appear such as he’s experienced a few substantial change, as it happens he’s basically already been the fairly reputable participant rather.

Now allows increase even more,Ken Griffey Jersey as well as consider the 12 months in general. Ackley happens to be striking. 253/. 284/. 286, having a. 255 wOBA as well as sixty two wRC+. Much more from the exact same when it comes to the typical versus. the remainder. It’s as much as. 253, nearly thirty factors greater than it had been this past year. However on the other hand, their OBP is actually lower 10 factors, as well as their slugging is actually lower forty two.Hisashi Iwakuma Jersey Keep in mind after i pointed out he experienced just strolled as soon as as well as experienced two additional bottom strikes throughout their ability. Nicely, you are able to (only) include two strolls as well as 1 additional bottom strike to that particular with regard to their period totals.


text:
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text:
Fan-fiction categories

Fan-fiction in this archive is organized by how it falls in mainstream X-Men continuity.

Childhood and the past
The Claremont era
Post-Claremont reality
Aftermath of X-Men #45
After the Trial of Gambit
Circa Sauron's UXM 353 visit
After Gambit's return
After Claremont's return
In the future...
Alternate realities
X-Men: The Movie
Other stories - funny
Other stories - serious
Stories not directly related to Rogue

Stories by author

Fan-fiction submission guidelines

Other Stories: Sillyfics
These are stories or poetry that don't really fit into any of my other defined categories. This section is mostly comprised of sillyfics.

"The Adventures of GOD"
by Kaylee and Poi Lass

GOD joins the X-Men. 'Nuff said.

"All Creatures Great and Small"
by Amanda Sichter

The mansion becomes home to mutant farm animals. Don't ask -- just read it.

"Bad Fan-Fiction (or An X-Men Story, I Think)"
by Raven Adams

Slim Cyke, private eye, gets a very ... special ... case.

"More Bad Fan-Fiction (or Just Who the Heck is Worf?)"
by Raven Adams and Shera Crawler 007

The sequel to "Bad Fan-Fiction," this is an X-Men/Star Trek:TNG crossover. The product of two very sick minds.

"Le Coquin Malchanceux"
by Kielle

Poetry. Kielle maintains this is her only contribution to the "Gambit-is-a-love-god" genre.

"Doobie Doobie Doo"
by Shera Crawler 007

Wolverine receives a visit from the evil BudIce penguin.

"Gambit's Reasons Why Rogue Can't Marry Magneto"
by Jaelle and Orla

A short dialogue between Gambit and Rogue. The title says it all.

by Stacy Ricco

When Bobby gets the hiccups, Jean, Rogue and Hank offer an assortment of home remedies.

"A Loose Reputation"
by Mercutio

What if Gambit's powers were as much a curse as a blessing?
(Warning: Sexual situations)

"Magneto, My First Love"
by Tilman Stieve

A filk based on the song "The Leader of the Pack," this version starring the X-women.

by Indigo

Sinister and the Marauders try to atone for their past crimes -- through housecleaning.

"Maybe Just a Little Strange"
by Northlight

The true origin of Wolverine is revealed.

by Dandelion

After being knocked out of his hoverchair for the bajillionth time in a row by a baddie, Charles Xavier goes to Forge for some help.

"It Works!"
by Kielle

Jean, Iceman and Rogue gather to do a MiSTing of one of those oh-so-annoying "get rich quick" e-mail spams.

"My Life as an X-Man: The True Story of an X-Woman"
by Connie Cotkin

An X-Woman leaves the team and signs a book deal.

"Of Cooties and Dice"
by Northlight

Rogue, Jean and Storm get a little too involved in their board game.

"One of Those Days"
by Northlight

An evil villain attacks -- and so does Murphy's Law, as the X-Men suffer multiple "insignificant" inconveniences on their way to the battle.

"Small Problems"
by Northlight

Rogue awakens to the incessantly annoying attempts of a misguided mosquito to get a morning snack.

"The Southern Belle, the Cajun and the Computer"
by Adrienne L. McKenzie

When Gambit does one too many all-night online chat sessions, Rogue decides to cure his Internet addiction her own way.

"Start Spreading the News"
by Poi Lass

Bobby and Gambit decide to "come out" to the rest of the X-Men. You will laugh. Very hard. I promise.
(Warning: Some language and mature themes.)

by Northlight

Realizing the sheer stupidity of fighting in the dead heat of summer, Magneto and the X-Men decide to get slushies together. Since TheAudience still needs to be entertained, the PTB find replacements for the heroes and villain.

"Summer Vacation"
by Northlight

In a follow-up to "Substitutions," the X-Men prepare to go on a real vacation and leave their "replacements" in charge of the Mansion.

"The Super Beings Bureau Saga"
by Northlight

A series of short stories about the Super Beings Bureau, someplace all super-powered types have to visit at one point or another.

"The Susan Smith Show"
by Northlight

A series of talk shows in which various super hero-types discuss the issues that affect their lives.

"Tuna Fish or Nuthin or The Question"
by LadyLyte
When Rogue asks Gambit what he's thinking about, she sets off a Mars/Venus chain of events.

"The X-Men on 'Space Ghost Coast to Coast'"
by Frito

Zorak decides he wants to attend the Xavier Institute for Higher Education.

"And You Thought Being a Woman Was Fun?"
by Shera Crawler 007

Rogue tries for a "Girls' Night Out" with Storm and Jean, and it's a downhill ride from there...

Down-Home Charm / Fan-Fiction / Fan Artwork / History Books / Photo Album / Songbank / Miscellania / Links / Updates

Legalese: Rogue, the X-Men, and the distinctive likenesses thereof are Trademarks of Marvel Characters, Inc. and are used without permission. This is an unofficial fansite, and is not sponsored, licensed or approved by Marvel Comics.
Privacy Policy and Submission Guidelines


text:
one day i was bored at work (a frequent occurrence), so i did i little sketch of Bobby during my break I thought of two funny lines to put with the sketch (well, i thought they were funny, and, well, some people don't follow my sense of humor, heh heh) anyway, somehow i worked a story out of it (my first ever!) so, here it is...it's not long, 'bout 2 typed pages
(if you want to see the sketch that inspired my 'masterpiece' for some reason, tell me, and i'll post it here too, 'k? k)

Disclaimer: All characters in this story are property of Marvel Comics. I don't own anything. And I certainly ain't gettin' paid.
Continuity: Place it wherever the heck you want, any time after Beast turned himself blue and furry that is.
Classification: humor, I guess (my friend said it was funny...heh...heh *cough*)
Rating: I dunno, it's basically general. Nothin' too nasty in my story. Maybe PG would qualify....

Army of the Night
by Jesse Sleik

Bobby sat down in the kitchen and sighed. And sighed again, louder.

"Man, I am BORED," he huffed, to no one in particular, as he was completely alone in the room. "Hank's locked up is his stupid lab again. Rich boy's off some place. Jean and Scott are...I don't even want to know. And now I'm talking to my self. Great."

He sighed yet again.

Slouching in his chair, his eyes casually scanned the kitchen, coming to rest on the box of toothpicks in front of him.

Inspiration struck.

Bobby grabbed the box, and made a dash for the living room.

Hank emerged from his lab; a strange smelling, multicolored gas cloud followed him.

Hmm, Hank thought as he looked back into his lab, time for a snack.

He sauntered off to the kitchen, leaving a foul and colorful trail behind him.

"This should just about cover it," Hank mumbled, as he snatched the remaining pizza from last night's dinner. "I must say, I have to appreciate Bobby's selection for dinner last night, even if it is the only suggestion he ever makes."

He added the pizza to the pile heaped on his plate, secretly thanking that neither Jean nor Scott was around to scold his eating habits. It was his stomach, if he decided to fill it with chemicals that only he could pronounce, who where they to judge.

Besides, he though to himself as he looked down at his fur-covered arms, it can't be any worse than some of the other things I have done to myself.

Hank grinned and headed for the living room, his plate of carefully balanced food obstructing most of his view.

Hank entered the living room, and proceeded to step in something cold. Cold, and wet.

"Oh, my..."

He looked down, only to see a large pile of snow spread out across the living room's floor. At it's center was Bobby, brows furrowed in concentration, surrounded by half a dozen or so tiny snowmen.

Bobby glanced up from is work to look at Hank, then resumed the delicate placement of the snowball clutched in his hands.

"Robert, what..."

"They're my unholy army of the night." Bobby stated mater-of-factly, as he placed a toothpick in the snowman's side.

"Uh huh..."

"I am their GOD. We shall conquer the world, and I shall rule it with a cold, icy fist." As he said this Bobby iced up is hand, shaking it in Hank's direction.

Silence filled the room. Hank shifted uncomfortably on his feet.

"So...you're taking over the world?"

"With tiny snowmen?"

"Their arms are toothpicks."

"HEY, these toothpicks could take an EYE out!" Bobby fumed, pointing at his tiny men. He stopped his work to glare up at Hank, with a frighteningly sincere expression on his face. "Do you want to help me test their effectiveness?"

Hank said nothing, and slowly backed out of the room, clutching his stack of food close.

"Finally," Bobby huffed as Hank disappeared from view, "now, back to work on Captain Frostilicus..."

...or is it?
yes, yes it is
so there

-(main) - (biography) - (discussion) - (stories) - (pictures) - (links) - (updates)-


text:
Life, universe and everything

Better than Sting

This guy is Cas Haley, an American singer and guitar player from Texas who appeared on America’s Got Talent last year.

He sang Walking on the moon better than the actual version by The Police.

I’m not sure, but I think it’s got some reggae influences, at least the other songs from the album do. And I don’t normally like anything reggae. But I LOVE THIS! This guy has an amazing voice, from the first notes I get goose bumps, that’s how great he sounds.

The first video is Walking on the moon and the second is my second favorite, Dread Head Dream.

Go ahead, indulge in this awesome music!

Write a comment

CommentLuv badge


WARC-Identified-Payload-Type: application/xhtml+xml

text:
Tuesday, February 09, 2010

Red Flag The Ad

As many of you know, legal professionals all over the country are
suffering during these economic times. In Richmond, many who have
relied on contract and temporary assignments are being taken advantage
of as concerns wages and over-time. Moreover, we have all witnessed
the diminishing amount of respect being accorded to our peers who have
worked very hard to become attorneys and paralegals. Last minute
cancellations, misrepresentations and a general lack of regard have
become the norm.

That said, please help protect what is left of our integrity by NOT
responding to craigslist posts that do not identify the hiring agency.
The anonymity that craigslist provides, allows the agencies to gather
resumes and then undercut your pay as they fight amongst each other
for the few assignments available in the Richmond market. This results
in lower wages, greater turn over and less respect for our profession
as a whole.

You have worked hard to become a legal professional. Don’t send your
resume to a faceless email address. It hurts all of us (attorneys,
paralegals and even the agencies) in the long run. Please join me in
flagging posts that do not identify the agency or law firm in

-Saint Peter

Anonymous said...

Hudson Legal is currently staffing the following position:

Start date: Must be able to begin today at 3:30 pm

Rate: $35/hr + OT

Duration: 3-4 days

Hours: Heavy hours, including 12 hour days

Location: Midtown, Manhattan
ROFL! 3-4 days. You will never reach overtime suckers!

Requirements: Attorneys with prior document review experience

If interested, please email your most current resume to LEGALJOBS@HUDSON.COM immediately.

Anonymous said...

You should NOT send your resume to a faceless e-mail also because you do NOT know who is gathering this info. I believe even Craigslist has been putting out some warnings. With all the scammers out there you have no idea what is going on. Even if I put one ad for a furniture sale I get 20 e-mails from scammers wanting my address and to come over. Be careful, be very careful.

Anonymous said...

Just keep flagging it. The agencies are ALWAYS on a fishing expedition to undercut rates especially if they currently don't have any work.

Anonymous said...

Right, Hudson.

I am going to work until 10 pm and have to treck home in the middle of a blizzard, just so I can make what I would have made under unemployment.

Anonymous said...

And knowing Hudson, dude, you might be cut just because someone did not like the pants you wore.

Anonymous said...

You're pissing in the wind. So many people are desperate that they'll submit their resume anyway. If you have no job, something is better than nothing.

Anonymous said...

11:35 That is exactly the problem. I did that too unless I started getting weird e-mails, calls and letters. Someone is collecting information on people for marketing or scams or whatever.

Anonymous said...

dental plan lisa needs braces.

Anonymous said...

Hudson likes the overweight ghetto freaks. Normal need not apply.

Anonymous said...

Allan Cohen and Brett Parker are good guys.

Anonymous said...

Flag all Dine ads from here on out after that $25 an hour insult they just staffed.

Anonymous said...

At least the Hudson ad is for $35 + OT. I know Hudson has been staffing other stuff for $33 or as low as $27 with no OT. And as someone mentioned Dine recently staffed something for $25. If people want the rates to come back up they need to stop accepting these low paying jobs!

Anonymous said...

Hudson sucks!

Allan Cohen is an ass!

Anonymous said...

Aside from the obvious agencies fishing for more resumes, Law Crossing and Law Firm Connect and those other scammers also collect info this way. Watch out.

The Yuppie Attorney said...

It's an old tactic. It in no way helps those on the servant end of the equation. It's a come-on ad.

The headhunters collect resumes to see how many they can get in for $x rate. The headhunters gauge the strength of the market and construct their bids for projects based on it. It doesn't help being the highest or lowest bidding vendor.

Frankly, though they do it all the time; they hate to be called on it. Personally, I think it is unethical. Don't respond or do respond with a high rate. F*ck with them a little.

Nando said...

Law is an industry, not a profession. A profession that gave a damn about its practitioners and students WOULD NOT allow U.S. companies/law firms to send legal work to foreign counterparts, i.e. attorneys and non-attorneys. See ABA "Ethics" Opinion 08-451.

Anonymous said...

Jerry Seinfeld

Martha Stewart

town hall meetings.

Anonymous said...

New salary floor for the Boston area market:

$25k for an "aggressive" collections associate. Maybe the most odious listing I have ever seen. We are literally in retail store wages now.

Anonymous said...

For the dude who keeps carping about "evil" WASPs and Jews controlling the legal industry and outsourcing work, what about ol' Dave Perla -- isn't he Hispanic?

Or is his real name Isaac Fishman, and "Perla" is just a name he took on to throw everyone off?

OTOH, maybe he's Sephardic...

Anonymous said...

There is a new gutter hiring practice by shitlaw firms, the bottom of the barrell "per diem" attorney. From today's NYC Craig's List,

Per Diem Attorney - Criminal and PI

Date: 2010-02-09, 12:42PM EST
Reply to: xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx [Errors when replying to ads?]

Our firm has several positions open for per diem attorneys with experience in the following areas:

(1) Personal Injury - complete representation (initial contact through trial) $15/per hour

(2) Criminal Defense- court appearances, motions, trials $15/per hour

Anonymous said...

Last week the Bureau of Labor Statistics released the latest employment report. The legal sector lost 1,100 jobs in January, a slight decrease from previous months. 2,100 jobs were lost in December, 2,900 jobs were lost in November and 5,800 jobs were lost in October. Between January 2009 and January 2010 the legal services industry has cut 44,700 jobs.

Two big law firms announced more lay offs in January and February. Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati laid off 20 staffers and Howrey will cut 94 jobs, including 29 associate positions. Yet lay offs were 88% lower in January 2010 than they were a year ago.

One reason for the decline in lay offs could be that many deferred first year associates reported to work in January and this offset layoffs elsewhere.

Anonymous said...

Also watch out for named agencies which may not be real. I recently responded to a Craiglist ad without checking, then learned by Internet search, and by checking the email address on Whois, that the agency did not exist and the email had only been set up a few days earlier.

I consider this unethical and not something an attorney should be involved in doing.

Anonymous said...

Great, law is now a blue collar job!!! Don't forget your lunch buckets, people!!

Anonymous said...

a blue collar job without health insurance, retirement or apprenticeship.

Anonymous said...

But, for most people, including some very white collar debt!

Cost-benefit analysis, anyone?

Anonymous said...

Work off the books, collect Medicaid and food stamps.

Anonymous said...

Newly-graduated lawyers should now petition the courts change their unwritten rules, to allow us to wear plaid flannel shirts, jeans and $40 work boots before the bench, instead of expensive suits, silk ties and $350 shoes.

I mean, if we're gonna be blue collar, we may as well look the part!

Anonymous said...

Who is it that is challenging the eliteness of my good friend Martha? Don't you know she and I get together on a weekly basis to decide where to outsource your jobs to? We are the masters of your domain. Don't forget it.

Oh, and please don't forget to watch my new show on NBC, the Marriage Ref. It'll start after the snowlympics.

Enjoy snowmageddon numero dos.

Thanks guys.

Very truly yours,
Jerry Seinfeld, Elite

Retard Temp And Me said...

Can't we all just get along?

One profession under God.

Anonymous said...

EVERYONE should respond to these nameless ads with a FAKE e-mail address, a really nice cover letter with fake name of course and attached "resume " - which when opened reads "FUCK YOU SCAMMER".

Or just send all fake info and let them waste time calling up people that don't exist.

Anonymous said...

Where is everyone???? Whatzzzz going on????
Does everyone have the SWINE FLU???
Is everyone at TOWNHALL MEETINGS???
Is everyone printing money at the FED???
Is everyone preparing for Snowmaggedon???
Whatzzz going on???? Am I the only one sitting in my underwear crying???? Whatzzz going on?????

Anonymous said...

Ready for a career change but dread getting another desk job? Then how about trying your hand at, well, working with your hands?

"There is a blue collar renaissance going on right now," says Joe Lamacchia, author of "Blue Collar and Proud of It: The All-in-One-Resource for Finding Freedom, Financial Success, and Security Outside of the Cubicle."

"These are necessary jobs, and they're not going to go anywhere. Our nation's infrastructure is crumbling. We want to turn this country green, and we don't have enough workers to do it. There's a lot of opportunity here."

Following is a list of blue collar jobs experts say are most in demand this year, and their median annual salary according to online salary database PayScale.com. Training for many of these positions includes a paid on-the-job apprenticeship, and the work can be physically rigorous. None of these jobs require education beyond a two-year associate's degree.

Plumber, pipefitter, or steamfitter
"With all the alternative energy sources that people are coming up with -- like solar heating, geothermal heat, and biofuel -- there's a big need for these workers," says Laurence Shatkin, co-author of "300 Best Jobs Without a Four-Year Degree." According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), these occupations are among the highest paid in the construction industry. Most of these workers receive their training in a technical school or community college, in addition to a four- or five-year apprenticeship, the BLS reports. In most states and municipalities, plumbers need to obtain a license. Median annual salary: $49,773.

Elevator installer/repairer
This is one of the best-paid blue-collar positions, Shatkin says. What's more, he says, it's incredibly recession-proof, as most of the work entails maintenance or repair. According to the BLS, most elevator technicians start their career in a four-year apprenticeship program and belong to a union. In addition, city and state licensing is often required. Median annual salary: $49,036

Anonymous said...

Are there any jobs shoveling pig shit on a hog farm?

Anonymous said...

Daaaaaavid? Perla?.....Hmmmm.... Did you see his photo? Hmmmmmm...If this were the Howard Stern show and his guess who's the jew contest......I would guess Perla......Perhaps Argentinian Jew.

Even if he were to be purely something other than jewish (which I doubt heavily)....Who is it that run the firms that use Perla's services the most? Goes right back to the truth...hmmmm... Are those firms mostly run by guidos? No, no, no....Nigerians? Me don't think so. Tyrone from the hood? Paddy O'Mick from Baaaaston? Doubt it. You should really observe the world around you before you come off with your mamby pamby PC B.S. Get real. See things for what they are. David.....Perla? Hmmm....

Proud Jew said...

Ever since our ancestors came to this country, we have valued education and advancement and that is why we are where we are. We take care of our own and we do so because we have never been able top count on anyone else. Don't you wish your dumb shit guido, mick, and other assorted mud people forbearers had done the same?

Anonymous said...

The above poster makes the point that many here already know.

To those who run lawland, most of you are nothing but "mud people" in spite of the fact that you went through 3 to 4 years of law school so called 'education' and in spite of the fact that you only did so in a futile effort towards advancement. A big difference between those of you who don't run lawland and those who do is that you don't "take care of your own" as effectively, if at all.

Case closed.

Anonymous said...

Much of what John Bungsophalus says is true. Jews and high-end WASPs control the legal industry, as well as most others. However, once you go down this route, the detractors will easily discredit you. Even though you are stating the obvious.

The real enemy is not N'dai the Nigerian doc reviewer, Apu in New Dehli who is taking advantage of an oppurtinity presented to him by greedy U.S. firms, or even the ghetto managers who run the basements.

It is people who run these corporations. They did not form themselves. And most of those vile swine are Jews and WASPs. Unfortunately, my fried, we do not live in a world where truth and honesty are rewarded. If one says one negative thing about Jews or the state of Israel, one is usually mercilessly hounded, condemned, attacked, exiled, and discredited.

But you already know how the game works. Don't encourage all of us to do the same as you, John. Many of us have children, and would like to be able to feed them.

Thus, you see many attack the industry without pointing out exactly who created or sustained the sick system. My best.

Also, yes Jews did strive for education and stick close together because no one wanted to hire them or let them in the unions or trades. However, the reason for this is because by that point Jews had already shown that they could not be trusted. They also showed that they did not want to work with their hands, but sought for control in the sales and merchant industries.

They could have "blended in" just as "easily" as Guido and Seamus O'Malley did. We are not talking about Darnell from Detroit or Ganjhi from Bangalore, here.

Stupid Sexy Flanders said...

Look, if it is true that the "elites" are only Martha Stewarts and Jerry Seinfelds, then there is no need to even mention that. Because all you have to say is the word "Elite" without using any racial modifiers.

If it is not true and there are actually elites from other races, then you are specifically singling out two individual races and giving them more grief than others.

Either way, it is unnecessary to mention the two races. It is a complete distraction and does in fact seriously harm your credibility.

Anonymous said...

There are plenty of educated Jewish and WASP temps out there. I am one.

Anonymous said...

I do not find Jewish or WASP men attractive. Too many issues about their mother - they are too femme for me.

Anonymous said...

Did anyone even get on this Hudson job? I heard they called a ton of people at 10:00 at night, told them they were on the project, and then by the next morning/early afternoon said they didn't need so many people and not to report.

Anonymous said...

fuck hudson. every project i've worked for them, lasts half the amount of time they quote (and you find its only going to be half the time the first day when you report for the project). they straight out lie to get bodies on the project.

Anonymous said...

8:41 you are my hero. Let's rick roll some recruiters!

M. Simon said...

The market is trying to find a bottom.

Here is the end of it:
How much will you pay us for the job?

Warnings etc. are useless when there are people hungrier than you looking for another line on the resume or continuity for same.

Bitter yet Hopeful said...

I currently volunteer at a public interest firm in return for parking validation. I find solace in the fact that I help the indigent, but I will soon become an indigent myself if I don't find better compensation. Does anyone know if the following exists:

A company that I can pay to search for and secure a legal job for me.

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Major Capital Improvement

Is your NYC landlord planning to increase your rent to pay for a major capital improvement? The Law Offices of Attorney Eric Feinberg can help New York tenants contest this rent increase.

As a tenant, you have the right to contest a landlord’s application to The New York State Division of Housing and Community Renewal (DHCR) for a major capital improvement (MCI) rent increase.  The DHCR is the NY state agency responsible for administering the rent regulation laws.  If an application is made, you will receive a notice from the DHCR and be given an opportunity to review the landlord’s complete application. You will have a thirty-day period within which to comment.

Major capital improvements are generally building-wide improvements such as a roof replacement, installation of a new boiler, re-piping of the hot and cold water system, or rewiring throughout the building. The cost of asbestos abatement may be included, if done in conjunction with an MCI. Improvements to individual apartments are not considered MCI’s, unless the same improvement is made in all apartments, like installation of new windows. Ordinary repairs or the restoration of a service previously provided will not qualify as MCI’s.

New York major capital improvement rent increases are limited to 6% per year for rent stabilized apartments and 15% per year for rent controlled apartments. These increases become a permanent part of the rent and are not eliminated when the NYC landlord has recovered sufficient rent increases to pay for the costs of the MCI.

The DHCR will audit the landlord’s proof of expenses. MCI requests are often reduced by the DHCR during such review. If you believe the proof is wrong or inadequate, you may raise an objection.

There are a number of other grounds for NY tenants to object to the landlord’s MCI application. The application and the building should be carefully checked to see if all the work claimed was actually done, if the work was done poorly, or if the work done may not qualify as an MCI. Also, the item replaced must have exceeded its useful life according to a schedule published by the DHCR. The DHCR will only send one of its inspectors to look at the building if the tenants have raised an objection as to whether the work was done or as to the quality of the work.

In commenting on an MCI application, tenants should list all docket numbers of pending complaints of service reductions filed with the DHCR. Service reductions should also be detailed in the answer to the MCI application and may lead to dismissal of the application or postponement of the collectability of any MCI rent increase. Finally, check the room count given by the landlord for your apartment. The 1984 rent registration is not binding for this purpose. The definition for MCI purposes is contained in the landlord’s application papers.

Contact the Law Offices of Attorney Eric Feinberg to obtain help contesting a major capital improvement rent increase for New York City tenants.


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Friday, April 5, 2013

The Man Who Found Birds among the Stars, Ch. 8 (Pt. 1)

Here is the newest installment of my unfinished novel, The Man Who Found Birds among the Stars, a fictionalized biography of Capt. Robbin Nikalishin, the starship Captain who made the first contact with extraterrestrials in the 28th century (some 2.5 centuries before the time of The Termite Queen).

A list of the previous posts, with links:
Chapter 1 The Captain Eats Crow
Chapter 2 How Robbin Nikalishin Got His Name
Chapter 3 The Captain Receives an Unexpected Assignment
Chapter 4 School Days at Epping Academy
Chapter 5 The Captain Takes Command of the Red Planet
Chapter 6 Crises and Decisions
Chapter 7 An Old Love and Another Assignment
In keeping with my method of alternate flash-backs and flash-forwards, Chapter 8 chronologically follows Chapter 6.  Chapter 8 is rather long, so I'm splitting it into two posts.  In Pt. 1, we learn more of the vicissitudes of Robbie's adolescence at Epping Science Academy, including his first sexual encounter.

(2741-2745, Epping Science Academy)
The discipline meted out to Robbie Nikalishin for deserting the football team and leaving campus without permission was stern enough; for a month he was restricted to dormitory and study rooms except for class attendance and meals, and he was not allowed in the Village even on Off-Days.  He had to undergo a series of rigorous counseling sessions on the importance of reliability and responsible behavior.  He lost his entire accumulation of merit points.  But the thing that he found the most chastening was explaining to his best friend Kolm MaGilligoody why he had done what he had done.
When Kolm came to the big island, he brought with him a level head and a profound and uncomplicated instinct for right and wrong.  He came from a family of farmers.  Private land ownership still existed in Eira (and persists to this day), and in many cases, a single family had held the same hundred acres for a century or more, growing vegetables or oats or perhaps one of the new, high-protein hybrid grains, or cultivating orchard crops, livestock, or even flowers.  Such farmers frequently banded together with their neighbors in cooperatives, forming social as well as economic bonds.  Nobody in these loose organizations got rich, but they developed a strong sense of loyalty to the common good that the evolving governmental structure of the time sometimes had trouble stimulating in parts of the world with different traditions.  That, coupled with vestiges of ancient customs and snippets of a language that had faded as a viable means of communication, had molded Kolm into a type of boy who differed from the norm at Epping Academy.
Kolm simply could not fathom how Robbie could have done what he did.  “Ye don’t just go runnin’ off, lad, because ye suddenly decide ye don’t want to do the thing ye agreed to do!  Ye just don’t do that!  Ye got to keep yer promises!”
“Don’t you start haranguing me, too, Goody!” Robbie shot back irritably.  “Friends are supposed to support each other.”
“Friends can tell each other when they do somethin’ stupid!  It’s … it’s obligatory, even!”
“All right, so you’ve told me I did something stupid!  Just try to look at it from my side, will you?  I made a mistake about playing football – I’m not suited for it.  I didn’t realize how dangerous it could be.  Now I do.  I’m not going to jeopardize my life, Kolm, for some goofy game.”
“And I think it’s right ye’ve learned that!  I never meself liked any sport where the more ye get hurt, the more glory ye get – that’s why I’m doin’ track.  But there were only three more games to play in the season – five if we made the tournament.  Sure, ye could have finished it out without gettin’ yeself killed.  I mean, how many football teamers do get killed, when it’s all said and done?”
And then Robbie admitted something that he might never have admitted to anyone but Kolm MaGilligoody at that point of his young life.  “Kolm, I was … I guess I was – scared.”
Kolm just looked at his defensively scowling friend.  “Oh.  Well.  I suppose I can understand that.  It’s hard to go to yer coach and admit that ye’ve gotten too scared to play, isn’t it, now?”
“I know I couldn’t do it,” said Robbie.  “Kolm, don’t tell anybody.”
“Ye know ye can always count on me, man, to keep yer secrets.”
“Yes.  I know that.  And you can count on me, too, Kolm.  It’s not likely you’ll ever get into a real scrape, but if you do, I’ll be there for you, too.”
“Shall we swear our friendship and our carin’, Robbie?  I’ve got a gods’ image we can do it on.”
“You and your superstitions!  We don’t need some old god to make us friends forever, do we?”
Kolm had pulled a chain out of his shirt.  A medal hung from it, stamped out of some silver-colored alloy.  “Some people have really old ones of these, made of real silver or gold even, but this is just a copy like they give to children.  This one here – she’s called Mairin, and that’s her son Jaysus.  The tales say they lived a long time ago far away from here and that her son was a special kind of god, and after he died his followers invented the Romish religion and tried to make Earth a better place.  But it didn’t work, so during the Dark Age everybody gave up on him.  But another story says that Jaysus and his mother were aliens, come to try to rescue us from our bad ways.  It could be true because she gave birth to him without a father, and that’s not the human way it’s done, so far as I’ve ever been told.”
Robbie was staring at the depiction on the medal – a tall, slender woman in flowing robes, with hair hanging loose around her shoulders.  She was resting her hand on the head of a small boy who hugged her knees.  “Kolm, what did you say the son’s name was?”
“Jaysus.  I’ve seen it spelled Jeesus, but in Eira we say Jaysus and spell it that way.”
“I’m named after that god, Goody.”
“In Spainish it’s Haysus, only Mum says, in correct old Spainish, you spell it
J-e-s-u-s.  That’s my middle name.”
“Holy cry.  I never did know what the H stood for.  Ye don’t use it much.”
  “Only when it’s something official.  It’s how I’m listed on the registration role.”  Robbie was staring intently at the image of the woman and her son.  “Maybe you’re right, Kolm – maybe it wouldn’t be such a bad idea to swear our friendship on this thing.”
*          *          *
In some ways, Robbie Nikalishin’s adolescence was quite ordinary.  He was never to grow taller than 177 centimeters, but he showed the potential for developing a brawny set of muscles, particularly in the upper body.  He tried out for Kolm’s sprint club, but he lacked physical agility, and plodding in last in every race hardly suited his competitive nature.  Then he took up squash and enjoyed it to a degree, especially in doubles with Kolm, but he never really excelled in that sport, either.  So he generally stuck to weight training and simple jogging, things that would improve his physique and keep him physically fit, a necessity if his dream of entering the Old Heathero Flight Academy were to be fulfilled.
His relationship with the Epping faculty was mixed.  Whenever he happened to encounter the unforgiving Coach Barnwell, he would always be careful to greet him with a brisk “Good morning, sir!” but the Coach never once returned the greeting, simply striding on with eyes fixed grimly ahead.  As the sting of his punishment faded into the past, Robbie began to take secret satisfaction from this battle of wills with the coach.  No one could accuse the boy of the slightest insolence, but the coach certainly understood the impudent intent.
However, other faculty members were watching the progress of Robbie Nikalishin with a more favorable eye, and two of them in particular became his mentors.  Alise Doone was one of only three faculty members at Epping Academy who had earned a Professorship in university.  She was a Specialist in the Mythmaker Canon, out of the Glasgoe Consortium; she taught history and moral philosophy in the upper forms and oversaw the Academy’s humanities curriculum.  The second teacher who took an interest in Robbie was Prf. Ramzi Quinston out of Oxkam, who taught physics.  Both of them were always ready to counsel their students informally, whether on academics or on personal matters, and he felt comfortable with them.  He had never had a reason to seek their advice on how he should run his life, but he understood that they were always available if the need arose.
Shortly before his fifteenth birthday Robbie said tentatively to his mother, in the cracked tone of an adolescent whose voice is struggling to deepen an octave, “Do you suppose I could have a shaver for my birthday?”
Sterling inspected his baby-smooth cheeks with admirable gravity.  “I don’t see why not.  Are you feeling the need for one?”
“Well … ”  Tentatively he fingered his chops.  “I don’t suppose so.  But it can’t hurt, can it? … to be ready.”
“It can’t hurt a thing.”
“I don’t want one of those starter ones, for soft beards.  I want a real man’s shaver.”
Her lips quirked then.  “I’ll remember that.”
“Oh, unless … unless it costs too much.  Sorry, Mum, I wasn’t thinking … ”
“No, it’s all right.  I’ve got enough money for a grown-up shaver.  Don’t you fret.”
Robbie glanced at her.  It seemed there always was enough money these days.  Sterling had told him that she was bringing work home in the evenings and getting paid extra for it.  Since he was hardly ever there except on Saturday nights and Sundays, he saw no reason not to believe what she said, and he simply accepted with relief that their financial problems had been resolved.
Not long after that, as Robbie was brushing his teeth, he thought he saw a smudge of dirt on his upper lip.  Annoyed, he was scrubbing his face with a cloth when he realized that what he saw wasn’t dirt.  It seemed that the need for the shaver had arrived at last.  No one could have been more thrilled, and when he saw Kolm at breakfast, he said, “You notice something different about me today, Goody?”
Kolm looked him up and down.  “Is that a new uniform shirt?  Ye’d never know it.”
“No, you nit!  Look harder!  Right here!”
Kolm stared.  “Well, I’ll be!  It’s a mustache you’re growin’!  Gonna be black as your hair, too!”
“Well, I should hope so!  Otherwise, I’d look like a Pied Piper!”
“Ye better use that fancy shaver on it, friend of mine.  They frown on face hair at Epping.  Or is it some matter of pride that ye can’t do that?”
“No, I’m dying to use it.  But I just wanted you to see it first.  And as soon as I get out in the world where they don’t tell you how to dress and deport yourself, I’m going to grow a full beard.  Hide this damn baby dimple in my chin.”
“Man, you’re plannin’ on goin’ to a military academy.  They tell ye plenty how to dress and deport in places like that.”
“But they let you have a beard after you make it through Third Rank.  God almighty, it’s going to be so exciting!  You are going with me, aren’t you?”
Kolm cocked his head philosophically.  “Can’t say yet, Robbie.  Holy cry, we’re only fifteen years old.  I haven’t even started growin’ me own mustache yet.  It’s forever before we go off to do anythin’!”
*          *          *
Robbie Nikalishin’s adolescence also contained some turbulent moments.  Not long after his first flirtation with facial hair, he got a new roommate, a transfer from a science academy in York Precinct.  This youth, named Rink Handley, was a cocky sort who felt decidedly superior to these southern barbarians, and in particular to his new roommate, as soon as he learned Robbie wasn’t a native Brit.  They could barely tolerate each other, and it took all Kolm’s diplomacy to keep the two from each other’s throats.
“Robbie,” Kolm would say, “don’t let that smart-ass get to ye.  Just turn the other cheek to ’im when he taunts.”
“What do you mean, ‘turn the other cheek’?”
“It’s just somethin’ we say in Eira.  It means, don’t answer back or hit back, and let ’em stew it out because ye won’t retaliate.”
“I’m not good at that sort of thing, Kolm.  It’s not Robbie Nikalishin’s style.”
“And that style of yours may be the death of me,” said Kolm, rolling his eyes.
One day Robbie entered his dormitory room after class to find his space plane missing.  Cursing loud enough to be heard all the way to the end of the hall, he rampaged around the room throwing Rink’s belongings in every direction.  Then he rushed out into the hall, only to collide with the Yorker.  Robbie caught the youth with a solid right hook to the jaw.  Rink dropped like a slaughtered ox, whereupon Robbie fell on top of him, his hands around his throat.  “Where’s my plane, you bastard?  If you’ve done something to it, I swear to gods, I’ll kill you!  I swear it to gods!”
A number of boys had rushed out of their rooms, including Kolm, who grabbed Robbie around the neck and tried to pull him off.  “Mairin and Jaysus, Robbie, what are ye doing?  Get offa him – let him up!  What are ye doing to yeself?”
“It’s him I’m doing something to!” shouted Robbie, but he let Kolm drag him back.  Some of the other boys hoisted Handley to his feet, where he stood panting and holding his jaw and mocking his assailant.
“Look at the big man – bawling over a lost toy!  Did the little baby lose his toy?  Well, maybe he ought to look under his own sweet little baby bed!”
And then Robbie realized how this was playing out.  The dominant male of a certain portion of the student body had shown himself to be vulnerable – because of a child’s toy that he kept sitting on his chest of drawers.  Kolm was looking at him with a hint of despair in his eyes.  Robbie could feel himself turning red and suddenly he felt dizzy.
He spun around and retreated into his room, slamming the door.  Behind him, Rink was shouting, “I’m reporting this to Security, Nikalishin – you can be bloody sure of that!  Since when do you get off sucker-punching your roommate?  You could have just asked me nicely if you thought I stole your goddam little tin flyer!”
Kolm had tailed Robbie into his room, to find his friend holding the plane, which he had pulled from under his own bed where Rink had hidden it.  The star had come loose and he was trying to reattach it but not having much luck because his hands were shaking.
Kolm gripped his shoulder.  “Robbie, what’s with that plane?  I know it sort of represents what ye want to do in yer life, but is there some other meanin’ that it has?”
Robbie sat down on the bed.  “It’s … everything I had … before I came to Britan.  We left Barsilia of a sudden, you know … ”  He was rubbing a place above his ear, as if his head were sore there.  “ … and we could take only one suitcase apiece, and so I could only bring one – toy.  And I brought this plane, instead of ...  And so it’s everything I had … ”
“Well, so!  Friend of mine, I think I have a wee bit more understandin’ now.”
Robbie jumped up and paced around the room.  “You may, but I understand, too – what this looks like.  Sometimes it takes the foolery of a pissing son-of-a-bitch to make you see yourself.  I’m going to get rid of this … ”
“Now, Robbie, I don’t think ye should do that,” said Kolm in alarm.
“I mean, take it home, to Mum’s place.  Leave it there.  I wouldn’t throw it away, Kolm – I wouldn’t want to lose it for anything.  But it’ll have to wait till I’m older.  Right now, it just makes me look weak.  When I’m older, then it won’t matter.  Then the world can be damned.  Then Robbin Haysus Nikalishin will do just as he pleases.”
*          *          *
It seemed it was Robbie’s fate to never accumulate any merit points.  But one positive thing came out of the fracas over the plane – he gained Kolm as a roommate.  The Eirish youth himself went discreetly to the Dormitory Master and suggested that if he and his volatile friend roomed together, life might proceed more smoothly for everyone.  Kolm was universally respected for his even temper and peacemaking abilities, and so this struck the administration as a first-rate idea.  They made it so.
But the next crisis in Robbie’s life was a more serious one, producing consequences that even his friend Kolm MaGilligoody could not ameliorate.
The Academy considered social interaction between the sexes to be a necessary part of growing up.  They were careful not to promote indiscretion; none of the dormitories was coed, parties and off-campus jaunts were carefully supervised, and the school made sure that their charges knew all the essentials to ensure safe passage through the perilous adolescent years.  However, plenty of opportunities existed for contact between male and female members of the student body.
And so the time came when girls began to look differently at Robbie Nikalishin and Robbie Nikalishin began to look differently at girls.  He and they began to hang out together.  A couple of them in particular began to flirt with him and he couldn’t help liking it.  The Student Organization sponsored dances once a month, so he asked Sterling to teach him how to dance.  It was a hilarious experience, from which his mother emerged with bruised insteps.  He was catching up to her in height, but somehow she still seemed tall to him.  Later Robbie was to remember those moments as some of the most light-hearted he and his silver mother were ever to spend together.
The first time he went to a dance, he asked a girl named Sharlina Graves, mainly because he liked her name.  They started meeting for evening get-togethers in the campus “pub,” where fruit drinks and snacks were served and they could listen to the latest music.  When the next dance came around, he asked her a second time.  He was really enjoying her company; her eyelashes fascinated him.  She was an average student, but she liked the life sciences and was fond of birds, so he was able to show off his ornithological knowledge.  And she used a perfume that really stimulated him.  His mother wore perfume sometimes, but only a touch of a delicate and indefinable flower scent.  This one had a musky quality that really went to his head, to say nothing of other anatomical parts.
One night he was walking her back to her dormitory when they passed a grove of apple trees.  It was spring and the trees were blooming.  “Let’s walk through there,” he said.  “Maybe we’ll hear some nightingales.”
They did so and under the apple boughs they kissed.  And on the ground, among the fallen blossoms, they made love.
Five weeks later, Sharlina grabbed onto Robbie after a literature class.  “Robbie, I’ve got to talk to you.”
Flattered by her urgency, he said, “Sure.  Want to take a walk?  Get something to drink?”
“I just want to go some place private.”
So they sat on a bench in a corner of the quadrangle and she whispered to him that she thought she was pregnant because her last menstrual period hadn’t happened and she’d been feeling sick at her stomach.
He sat stunned, staring at her.  “Sharlina … you mean … because we … you and I … you’re going to … a baby, you mean?”
“It was so spontaneous, Robbie.  We shouldn’t have done it like that.  We didn’t use a condom.  I didn’t take any pills or shots.  We didn’t do anything.  I thought I had the timing down, but I guess I got it wrong.”
Then it hit Robbie that in spite of the sex-ed classes, he didn’t know anything.
She was saying, “I should have gone to the clinic the next day and gotten a pill, but I didn’t.  I couldn’t believe that something like this could happen.”
“Sharlina … ”  His voice cracked and he had to clear his throat.  “Has there been anyone else?  Maybe it wasn’t me.”
“No, there hasn’t been anyone else!  Just that one time!  What kind of girl do you think I am?  That I go around having sex with every boy on campus?  You seemed special at the time, Robbie!”
He rubbed his face, trying to think, feeling paralyzed.
“It’s your baby, Robbie!  Aren’t you even interested in it?”
And he wasn’t, really – he just wanted to escape the situation with as little damage as possible.
 “What do you intend to do, Sharlina?”
“I have to tell people.  It’s not something you can hide.  I have to tell my parents.”  She started to snuffle into her handkerchief.  “My father’s going to pop a valve.  His only daughter lets herself get pregnant at fifteen.  Oh, Robbie, I’m positive he’ll make me abort.”
Abort.  Yes, that was it.  She could abort.
But then he felt a certain horror.  If a life had been created, was it right to take it away like that?  “You could have the baby and let somebody else adopt it, Sharlina.”
She cried harder.  “That’s even worse, to go through all that and then have it taken away.  I’d have to drop out of school, ’cause if I stayed here and was pregnant, I’d be ragged all the time for having no sense, and so would you.  It’s horrible, but it’s better to keep it all quiet and abort.”
He said, “I guess it’s your decision.”
“You’re so cold about it, Robbie.  I’d like to see how you would feel if you had to decide to kill a baby.”
He flinched.  “This is all so sudden, Sharlina.  I don’t even know what I’m thinking.  Dammit, why do you use all that perfume?  Why did you have to let this happen?”
“Oh!” she exclaimed, sitting back from him.  “So now it’s all my fault!  Who wanted to go under the apple trees and listen to the nightingales?  Who kissed first?  Who pulled down my underwear?  You can’t get out of this as easy as that!”
He squeezed his eyes shut.  “I’m sorry, Sharlina.  It’s just that … bloody hell, I don’t need any more trouble.”
“They won’t do anything to you, except smirk at you for being an ignoramus.  Hell, I wish I was a man and there weren’t any consequences!  I’m the one who has to have the abortion!”
He groaned.  “God, I’ll never have sex again.”
“Oh, of course you will!  You’re a man, aren’t you?  Or are going to be one!  My mother was right – men are all alike.”  And she got up and started to walk off.
But then she stopped, stood a minute with her shoulders hunched, and came back.  “I think I’ve got to tell my parents first.  And I’m not going to say who the boy was.  There is really no reason to say.  I’m not vindictive.  You didn’t force me – you seemed special and I wanted to do it.  There’s no reason for you to suffer for it.”
He thought that was the most generous thing he had ever heard and he grasped at it, even while he felt vaguely that it wouldn’t do.  “Would you really do that?  God almighty, I’d be eternally grateful.”
She stared at him like he was some kind of slimy bug.  “You may be going to be a man, Robbie Nikalishin, but you sure haven’t got the courage of one right now.”  And she turned around again and departed.
Robbie sat there befuddled at her mood shifts, with those final words ringing in his ears.  He didn’t have the courage of a man …
Robbie didn’t go to the dining room; instead he crashed into the Preserve and walked and ran as hard as he could, as if physical activity could turn back the clock and delete this catastrophe.  But it didn’t, and late in the day he returned to campus.  He had cut chemistry lab and another class – Prf. Doone’s class.
Prf. Doone … she taught moral philosophy … she always told her students that if they found themselves in a predicament, they could come see her any time.  She had told him that personally once.
He sure as hell didn’t want to go to the Counseling Center – he’d had enough of that self-righteous bunch of prunes.  But Prf. Doone wasn’t like that.
The Professor’s office had a little window in the door and Robbie could see her sitting at her desk with a study lamp behind her that left the periphery of the room dimly lit.  He worked up the nerve to knock and she said, “Come!”
She was a slightly stout woman with a round face, thick brown hair cut short, and a pleasant Scotts accent, and when she saw who it was, she looked him in the eye.  “Well, Mr. Nikalishin, where were you this afternoon?”
Feeling like bolting, Robbie poised in the doorway.  Then he took refuge in levity.  “Having a crisis.”
“Is that so?” she said, not missing a beat.  “Do you want to sit down there and tell me about it?”
To be continued ...
Robbie gets a lesson in Mythmaker philosophy

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