text:
Keep It Reel

Keep It Reel

Don't let precious audio and video recordings become faded memories. Follow this sound advice to ensure future generations see and hear your family history just as you do.

You can look at old photos and read old documents, but nothing compares to actually hearing or seeing your ancestors in action. Sound recordings and moving images can profoundly connect you to your family history. But you’ll never know if your voice really does sound like your deceased aunt Sylvia’s, or if your great-uncle Louie played baseball like Babe Ruth, unless you pull your audio, video and film history out of storage and properly preserve it.

On a roll

Once you’ve gathered all your home audio, video and film, the first task is to figure out just what you’ve got. Kevin O’Neill of VidiPax (800-653-8434, <>), a New York-based media restoration company, says you’re likely to come across these common formats:

Reel-to-reel audio: German scientist Fritz Pfleumer introduced magnetic audiotape back in 1928. By the 1950s, ¼-inch tapes on reels of varying sizes emerged as a popular consumer format.

16 mm and 8 mm film: Also in 1928, Eastman Kodak introduced color 16 mm film, an innovation that made cameras and projectors affordable to our affluent ancestors. The home-movie trend really took off after 1932, though, when Kodak “split” 16 mm film, creating 8 mm film. With twice as many perforations on each side as 16 mm film, 8 mm could run four times as long as its predecessor. This film caught on immediately, and Kodak made cameras average Americans could afford.

Super 8 film: This cartridge-loading film for consumers and professionals hit the market in 1965. Super 8 created larger pictures than regular 8 mm film, and the cameras had electric motors (no winding necessary). Undeveloped Super 8 comes in a 2×2-inch cassette; developed, the film measures about ¼ inch wide and is wound on a reel about the size of a your hand.

½-inch reel-to-reel video: Popular in the late 1960s and early 1970s, this was the first commercially available video format. It’s the same size as modern VHS videotape, except the tape is an open reel rather than enclosed in a cassette.

Betamax/VHS videotape: Sony unveiled Betamax, the first widely used consumer video format, in 1976. It quickly took a back seat to a similar format, VHS, released by JVC and others that same year. Betamax was finally discontinued in 2002; VHS is just now being eclipsed by DVD as the most successful home-video format.

Besides pinpointing the type of medium you have, you’ll want to identify what memories it holds. Film is light captured on emulsion-coated plastic, which reveals an image when light shines through it. If your relatives didn’t label their film, you can figure out exactly what’s on it by simply holding it up to a light source. But before you unfurl it, check out the casing: If it’s broken, that’s a sign the film may be damaged. Next, examine the rolled-up film for musty or vinegarlike odors, which indicate fungal damage, or discoloration, which indicates chemical breakdown. If you notice any problems at first glance, be careful: Some material may be too delicate to handle, and simply pulling out the film could cause further damage. If the film appears to be in good condition, gently open one of the reels, handling it by the edges. Then hold it up to the light and review a few frames. You may recognize people or places that will tip you off to what’s on the reel and when it was shot.

Magnetic media, such as reel-to-reel audio and video, consist of magnetic signals captured on magnetic tapes. They require a player to translate the signals into sounds or images. If a tape isn’t labeled, you’ll have to listen or watch to know what’s there. But don’t pull out the reel-to-reel player just yet — if you play back something that’s damaged, you might ruin it permanently. To assess the condition of audio and video tape, follow the same process you used for film: First examine the casing and the tape for damage. You won’t be able to look at the tape if it’s encased in a cassette, as Betamax and VHS are (though you can flip up the edge of a VHS tape case and inspect a small section of the tape). But with open reel tapes, you can search for dust and dirt, foreign deposits, scalloped edges and color variation, all of which indicate possible damage.

Tape measures

Now that you have a better idea of what you’re dealing with, you have two goals: to make sure the original memories exist for future generations and to enjoy those memories today. To achieve these goals, your next steps are cleaning and restoration, and transferring the footage to a preservation format.

Cleaning and restoring film requires a particular expertise and should be left to professionals, such as Canadian audio-restoration guru Graham Newton (416-444-3444, <>) or RPG Productions (818-848-0240, <>), a California-based film production company that also does restoration. Film can have any number of problems caused by factors from natural aging to water or fire. This damage may not be immediately obvious to the novice, and if you can spot it, you still need the knowledge and specialized materials to repair it. The experts at the Association of Moving Image Archivists (AMIA; 323-463-1500, <>) recommend that even professional archivists consult a restoration guru when they find tapes in questionable condition.

Next, you need to create a “preservation master,” a copy that ensures the integrity of the original medium. For example, film should be transferred to film, and video to video whenever possible. You’ll use this preservation master to make a single “dupe” (duplicate copy). Duping causes “generation loss,” which means each time you copy from a tape or film, a little bit of the original information is lost. Place audio and video memories inside a water-resistant container; put tails out for reel-to-reel formats and store cassettes vertically, as you would books on a shelf. Keep the container in a cool, dry place.

Should you transfer recordings to an analog or digital master? Restoration specialist Newton says digital is preferable because you’ll experience no generation loss from copy to copy, or from one digital format to another. And though experts still worry about technological obsolescence (will we still have gizmos to read those MPEG files in 25 years?), analog playback equipment promises to become scarcer, too.

Reformatting your entire audio and video archive can be overwhelming and expensive. If you can’t do it all at once, deal with the most damaged media first to quell further deterioration. Then tackle the oldest formats, as they’re at the greatest risk of breaking down and their playback equipment may become obsolete.

From your duplicate copy, you then can make a viewing copy on any medium you like. Think cassette tape, VHS or DVD, all of which give you unlimited access to the content without compromising the original medium. To find companies in your area that provide transfer services, look for video production services in the yellow pages or on the Internet.

You easily can transfer some clean, damage-free media at home. To make cassette tapes, hook up your audio player to a cassette player with an RCA line. Copy VHS or Betamax tapes by connecting the player to your digital camcorder. And though it’s less than ideal, you can use a camcorder (with a slow shutter speed to eliminate flicker) to shoot a film on a projection screen.

Digital distribution

Now that you’ve restored, transferred and preserved your original media and made personal viewing copies, you’ll want to organize and share your memories with your friends and family. Visual-database programs such as Extensis Portfolio <> and ThumbsPlus <> can help you view, categorize and sort digital copies of audio and video. These programs enable you to label files by keywords (such as Grandpa Joe and Mom) and data fields (such as file type and date), so you can easily access what you need. With these programs, you’ll be saving your memories on your computer’s hard drive. Computer memory is relatively inexpensive — for around $100, you can buy enough memory to store several hours of audio and video. In addition to saving your files on a hard drive, archivists suggest you copy them to a DVD, and store at least one copy in an alternate location — a safety-deposit box or another relative’s home, for example — to prevent loss from computer crashes or natural disasters. Make as many copies as you like of the digital files, or use a program such as Apple’s QuickTime Pro <> to embed video or audio in a Web site that anyone can visit.

If you’re too busy to take on such a big project, or if it’s all too technical for your taste, you have other options. EZArchive <> helps consumers manage their personal photo, video, film, audio and text files online. The company partners with handlers across the country to do everything from restoration to transfer to digitization, and then loads it all onto a password-protected, searchable Web site. The same backup security measures that protect banks and large corporations make your memories less vulnerable to hard drive crashes and system failures. While this kind of service and security isn’t cheap — prices are competitive in terms of scanning and digitization, and there’s a monthly fee (based on storage size) to host your archive — some people prefer to leave everything to the experts. After all, even one mistake can erase the past forever.

Family Drama

Every family — even a seemingly ordinary one — has a story. Filmmaker Doug Block thought his clan was pretty typical. But a few months after his mom died, his father married a former secretary and announced he was moving to Florida. As Block began recording interviews with his dad and helping pack up his childhood home, startling revelations came to light about his parents’ marriage. In the engrossing documentary 51 Birch Street <>, Block tells his family’s tale by weaving interviews spanning several decades with faded snapshots, 8 mm home movies and passages from his mother’s diaries. (See the Web site for screening dates and locations.) We asked him for some simple secrets to capturing family stories — both ordinary and extraordinary — on film.

Family Tree Magazine (FTM):

You had a goal when filming 51 Birch Street: to figure out the complexities of your parents’ marriage. Should anyone who’s doing an interview have a goal?

Doug Block (DB):No, not necessarily. I had already interviewed my mother and father with these family history interviews I had done no years ago, and I had no intention of them being in a film. It was strictly for me and my sisters and our children to have. I highly recommend everybody do one. It’s easy, and I can’t think of anything I’ve done that gave me a better understanding of what my family was all about and brought me closer to my parents.

FTM:How did you conduct those interviews?

DB: It was very conversational. You come armed with a list of questions and allow a conversation to grow out of that — but keep referring back to the questions. The first thing I would do is take out an album of family photographs and look over it with my parents and ask them who these people are. It brought them into the past and set the stage for the interview.

Generally what happens is I ask a question, and my subject will go on for two or three minutes. I don’t usually have to ask a lot of questions. It’s in the follow-up questions where you get factual details: “Where was the apartment? In Brooklyn — is that where Grandma lived?”

FTM:Interviewing people is your job. How do you know what questions to ask?

DB: I would just start at the beginning and take it chronologically. It’s simple and probably easiest for the person you’re interviewing. I usually start by asking something like “What’s your earliest memory?” or “Do you remember your grandparents?” “What was your childhood like?” I always find it really interesting how the family came over from America, so I would touch on that.

My father’s father died when he was pretty young, and I knew nothing about it, so I asked my dad what that was like. It was astonishing the detail he could recall. It was the ’70s when we talked about it, and he could lay such a visual of that day. You could practically smell it.

FTM:The people you interviewed in 51 Birch Street seemed so at ease. How did you make them comfortable?

DB: People tend to be at ease if you’re at ease. That’s why I recommend setting up the camera on a tripod, then leaving it alone. Make sure the camera’s rolling and don’t even give it a second thought. I like to put the person near a window so the light is falling on their face. Frame the shot fairly close. A common mistake is to leave the camera angle too wide — you watch the tape and feel like you’re a million miles away. You want to see the emotion. I’d recommend framing the person’s face just off the top of the head and maybe down to the collarbone or top of the chest. It’s not so close it’s suffocating, and it lets the person shift slightly without going out of the frame.

Some subjects have a hard time focusing on the camera and their eyes constantly go back and forth between the lens and you. That’s not good — it should be one or the other. If people are comfortable talking to the lens, that’s my preference, because when you play the tape it looks like the person is talking to you. But if they want to look at me during the interview, I’d put my face behind the camera as close to the lens as possible.

FTM:Some clips in the film show your parents together. Is there a trick to working with two subjects?

DB: Usually in a double interview most people zoom in on whoever’s talking. But I find it interesting to get the two of them together, to see what their body language does and how they listen to each other. In my family, there’s a lot of back and forth, so it was interesting to have a wide angle that included both of my parents.

I’d say mix it up if you can: Do some single shots, some shots of both people, some zooming if you’re up to it. But for most people, it’s hard enough to concentrate on the interview, and that’s why they tend to lock off the camera. In that case, I’d keep it a wide angle on the two of them.

FTM:What do you do if a subject just doesn’t want to open up?

DB: You can only press people so far if they’re unwilling to go somewhere. I tend to move on to other questions, and then try to come back to the one they’re avoiding and rephrase it somehow. In the film, I tried every which way to get my father to admit he’d had an affair without actually asking. I used every euphemism I could. He finally did answer no.

FTM:But some information, such as what your mom wrote in her diaries, could be hard for an interviewer to take. How were you dealing with all this?

DB: I think making the film was my attempt to come to grips with what I was learning, to put it in a form I could deal with. It was helpful to know that telling the story of my family would help other families. I kept thinking people will come out of the movie theater and feel this urge to call their parents.

I don’t think most people do family trees or family history interviews until they feel a desire to know their parents or connect with their history. So I think it comes at a point when you’re ready to find out stuff that might not be wonderful, or in keeping with the image you had of your family. There might be things that are painful to learn, but I’ve never empathized more with my parents than when I started doing this film. It humanizes them and makes me feel more connected to them. The rewards so far outweigh anything negative you could find out. My father was so happy that I was interested and listening.

FTM:That reminds me of what your mom’s friend Natasha said in the film: “What a relief for someone to really know us.” It’s something to remember when planning an interview.

DB: I think so. Everybody wants to be understood, and you particularly want to be known to your family. Just because you ask a question doesn’t mean they have to answer it. It’s important at the beginning of an interview to say, “If there’s anything you don’t want to talk about, please tell me.” Remind the person this isn’t going out on the nightly news, either — it’s really for the personal use of the family. When I decided to make the film, after I’d already done several interviews, I had every family member sign a release form.

FTM:Should everyone do that before an oral history interview?

DB: No. No, you don’t have to do it until you feel you’re going to broadcast it or sell the footage or something. You can always go back and have someone sign a form. I wouldn’t do it for a typical interview. The more you can make it seem like it’s not a big deal, the better.

FTM:Most Family Tree Magazine readers probably won’t make a movie. What’s the minimum they should do to the raw footage?

DB: The easiest thing is to digitize it into a computer editing system. There are some very simple ones, like iMovie <>. The price of hard drive space has come way down, something like $100 for 100GB. That would hold about five hours of video. I’d shoot some photographs to illustrate what the subject says. What a lot of people do now is scan photos and do computerized camera moves, simple zooms and pans.

FTM:How have people reacted to 57 Birch Street?

DB: I’ve never had a film where the reaction has been this intense and emotional. It’s striking a deep chord in so many people for so many reasons. People tell me family stories that make mine look ordinary.

Part of our Web site is now devoted to people’s stories of their attempts to connect with their parents — their breakthroughs and how they did it. We have tips on how to get to know your parents. One way is interview them. Make a video, do an oral history, do a family tree. My hope is that the outcome I got inspires people. It can hurt, it’s not always easy or comfortable, but now I have a relationship with my father where I didn’t have one before. It’s like night and day.

— Diane Haddad
Time Frames

Even when properly preserved, no memory medium lasts forever. Here are the shelf lives of various formats:

Film: Upward of 100 years. Film is considered one of the most stable media. People have been recording stories on it for more than a century, and some early motion pictures still exist today. Sadly, according to the Library of Congress, many films have been lost because they weren’t properly cared for.

Magnetic tape: 10 to 30 years. Chemical degradation and biological hazards are the biggest culprits in the failure of magnetic tape over time.

CDs and DVDs: Unknown. Although more stable than magnetic media, these formats haven’t been around long enough to prove themselves. (Some manufacturers estimate their products last 100 years — but will the technology to read them still be around?)
From the October 2006 issue of Family Tree Magazine.

Related Products

No Comments

Leave a Reply


Content-Type: application/http; msgtype=response

WARC-Identified-Payload-Type: text/html

WARC-Truncated: length

WARC-Type: response

text:
Making Connections: Family History Library, Mac Tricks, Polish Roots and Brick Wall Busters

Making Connections: Family History Library, Mac Tricks, Polish Roots and Brick Wall Busters

Readers Respond to Family Tree Magazine.

Small World

The article “Salt Lake City: What to Know Before You Go” (August) was quite insightful. Through the use of the Family Tree Maker program and with help from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, my father was able to piece together our own family tree and bring many of our ancestors together. Because of my father, we now make overseas contact with the Valtille, Bossu and Laloux families in France who are directly related to us. Our family history is now accessible for other Roberts, too.

Elk Grove, Calif.

Mac Lovers, Unite!

Please, do not mention needing PCs in order to get good software (“Getting with the Program,” June). We love our Macs and believe that Windows is just a poor copy stolen from Macintosh in the first place. You should point out that Generations for PCs was originally for Macs and was the same as Reunion for Macs. There are some nice new features in version 7.

It’s often older people who work on genealogy and who get their first computer for that reason. I believe the Mac is still easier to learn to use and would be better for these people. It is still preferred for desktop publishing, graphics and Photoshop users as far as I can tell. And many people will want to use scanners for their old photographs and in writing their family history.

There are a few more things that I would like to see in Reunion and I wonder if it might be a good idea to ask your readers what would improve whatever their genealogy software is. Better reports, charts, slide shows, etc.? What they like and don’t like about their programs. Maybe the software companies will listen.

Also, I do wish all the data CDs were available for Macs — some are. And there is Virtual PC, which a friend has gotten so that she can use the CDs.

via e-mail

Editor’s note: Don’t miss our review of the new Reunion program for Mac users on page 69 of this issue. We also review the latest version of Generations for Windows, on page 64. But we’re not biased toward PCs — every issue of Family Tree Magazine is created using Macs!

You Asked for It

I’d like to know if you plan on doing any articles on Poland. My father’s parents were from Poland and I’m interested in any information I can get on the area. I have even written to cousins who still live there. Some of my research goes back as far as the early 1500s. But I’m having a hard time find old maps of Poland because it has changed so much over the course of these years.

via e-mail

Editor’s note: You’ll find just what you asked for starting on page 32. Readers, what other ethnic ancestries would you like to see?

Beating the Brick Wall

I have been getting your magazine since it came out. I have enjoyed each and every issue. The 129 Web sites in the June issue were great. I have hit my brick wall, but I expect to overcome that with the oncoming issues of Family Tree Magazine.

Loyall, Ky.

Can’t Put It Down?

I just am so enthused about your magazine. I take it with me to my daughter’s soccer practice and read it at stoplights too. I have even taken on the joy of helping a friend find his Italian roots. Keep up the excellent work.

via e-mail
From the December 2000 issue of Family Tree Magazine

Related Products

No Comments

Leave a Reply

warcinfo:
robots: classic
hostname: ip-10-143-241-238.ec2.internal
software: Nutch 1.6 (CC)
isPartOf: CC-MAIN-2017-39
operator: Common Crawl Admin
description: Wide crawl of the web for September 2017
publisher: Common Crawl
format: WARC File Format 1.0
conformsTo: http://bibnum.bnf.fr/WARC/WARC_ISO_28500_version1_latestdraft.pdf


text:
Note: This fic shall contain Bolin. Bolin everywhere. Some happy, some sad, some depressing, some funny, some romance. Bolin-centric oneshots, scribbles, maybe even poems. Why? Because Bolin is amazing and doesn't get enough fics on here. (that *aren't* Broh/Makolin)And that makes me sadbend. In an attempt to write more and for more Bolin to exist on this website, I give you "Malachite". Google search "malachite shimmerlings" for some background. No chapter will rise above a T rating, so the overall rating of this entire thing is "T". Each chapter will have warnings as applicable. Each chapter will contain genres. My goal is a weekly update for now. Each chapter will be titled by whatever prompted it. I'll google fanfic prompts/hit "shuffle" on my iPod/take prompts from fellow Bolin-fans, or make something up out of thin air. Wish me luck; I hope to do Bolin justice.

Chapter contains explicit references to alcohol and may affect your feels. Angst/Family. implicit!Mentions of Makorra/Borra, brotherly Mako/Bolin.

2 AM

Lacking light, the thin-walled apartment echoed the light snores of the sleeping firebender. Faintly, outlines of two messy beds and a series of storage crates stacked atop one another, personal effects, food, and the necessities of life lingering lightly. Impressive windows ajar, a light summer breeze wafted and calmed the ravaged mindset of the burly earth-manipulator– if only briefly. His normally solid and steady feelings and insides in chaotic, painful turmoil.

Not a sound escaped the bender's face, not a whimper. His eyes were dry, long drained of their plentiful reserves. Tepid blood long cleansed of the inhibiting effects of multiple alcoholic drinks. The night– morning– prior, the stretch of time between the two– the jade eyed probender sunk into vats of putrid strong beverage, each cup driving him to clear murkiness. Eventually, each sip and chug and swallow thicker, more difficult. Drinking alone. Well into the rays of dawn, long past Yue's time: the earthbender wallowed. Heartbreak overshadowed by an acute sense of betrayal–

There was one family member, one brother, one caretaker, one friend– best friend. A solitary companion through life's hurdles.

There was only one Mako.

Fledgling romances useless and paltry. No matter her allure. No matter those captivating expressions flitting across a well-carved, exquisitely sunkissed face, her toned form, relaxed mannerisms, painfully perfect, ideal compatibilities and calm, easy chemistry. The beating in his heart– uncharacteristic– upon the first meeting: unimportant and excessive. The immediate interest–

Running a sticky hand, ruffling and messing the mop of wavy hair atop his crown, the earthbender paused, face contorted. The inadvertent clash of romantic and familial love: cruel. The unfortunate melding of the two in a tryst stumbled upon– pure sadistic torture. Lightly creaking against the floorboards, solid feet waltzed to the empty bed. A strained smile graced his countenance. His brother's sternness at extracting him from a post-bar meal at Narook's Noodlery the moon before entering his memories afresh. A week of soul and bottle-searching followed, and an answer found. Inside bottles and bottles, multitudes of fiery liquids, throughout sleepless nights and sunrises, the muscled boy found his answer.

And so, tears driven to extinction– sobs expelled permanently– the brother stared into space: the soft snores of his only brother, friend, companion soothing his ears. Soon– someday: he may find an alluring individual once again. A strong, compatible one. For there was only one– count it, one– Mako.

Because I'm overly affected by that long-resolved triangle in regards to Bolin. And this was pretty much Bros b4 Hos in fancy language. It's a good start, no? Reviews make my day.


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

text:
 2013 January | The Hardball Times

Archive for January 2013

The second-best home run hitter who also pitched well.

There are differences beyond the obvious.

Are teams that spend big on their bullpens getting their money’s worth?

The Diamondbacks had the chance to fill out their team nicely during the offseason. So why haven’t they?

We learn that there must be 50 ways to leave your lover. Is there any way for our Phillies or Mets to get our Cardinals to take leave of first place?

A baseball owner you’ve never heard of. But maybe you should have.

In light of last week’s debacle, a look at the messiest place in baseball.

Barry made news this week when he fell short of Hall of Fame election, but his father was also a pretty fair player.

After ranking the best teams of players born each month, Richard looks at the best players of each decade—plus a bonus, which starts this month.

No matter how you slice it, he belongs in The Hall.

The first in a set of minor league leader boards based on a major league ERA estimator.

The latest in the business of baseball.

The Rangers aren’t maximizing value out of the left side of the infield.

Love will keep The Captain and Tennille together. Can anything come between our Cardinals and first place?

Time for Chris’ annual Cooperstown predictions.

There is a crisis in Cooperstown.

The new fences in Petco are a quick fix to an organizational shortcoming.

Let’s begin the New Year with one of the biggest rule changes of our lifetime.

Despite stars and a new ballpark, the windblown team wasn’t quite good enough.

Does Koji Uehara own a recipe for success?


text:
New Authors     New Books     Coming Soon     Most Popular     Top Authors
book cover of The Perfect Death

The Perfect Death

(The third book in the John Stallings series)
A novel by

Through him, they'll live forever. His creation will be a testament to their perfection--and to his skill. Each victim has a rare innocence, worthy of being immortalized in his macabre work of art. A beauty worth killing for. . .

Detective John Stallings can't avoid getting drawn into his latest investigation. The parallels between the Jacksonville girl who just disappeared and his long-vanished daughter make every discovery a potential clue in his own painful mystery. Then one by one, bodies are discovered--all young women, strangled to fulfill a madman's obsession. . .

What began as a missing persons case has become a desperate race to find and stop Stallings' most ruthless adversary yet. And the closer he gets to the answers, the more there is to fear--from a killer whose bloodlust is growing by the day, and a truth too terrifying to face. . .

    Get it on Google Play

Similar Books by other authors...

Electing To Murder
(McRyan Mystery, book 3)
Roger Stelljes
Fatally Bound
(McRyan Mystery, book 4)
Roger Stelljes
Blood Silence
(McRyan Mystery, book 5)
Roger Stelljes
The Innocents
(Quinn Colson, book 6)
Ace Atkins

Paperback Editions

February 2012 : USA Mass Market Paperback

Title: The Perfect Death (Pinnacle Fiction)
Author(s): James Andrus
ISBN: 0-7860-2769-X / 978-0-7860-2769-9 (USA edition)
Publisher: Pinnacle
Availability: Amazon   Amazon UK   Amazon CA

Kindle Editions

February 2012 : USA, Canada Kindle edition

Title: The Perfect Death (Detective John Stallings Book 3)
Author(s): James Andrus
Publisher: Pinnacle
Availability: Amazon   Amazon CA

Search for


text:
New Authors     New Books     Coming Soon     Most Popular     Top Authors
book cover of Cut Loose

Cut Loose

(A book in the Dusty Deals Mystery series)
A novel by

The Dusty Deals Mystery Series continues with amateur sleuth and antique store owner, Lucy Mathews and her Alaskan malamute, Kiska once again finding romance and murder in the mountains of Montana.

The rodeo is in town! Join them for a fun, humorous adventure.

No one's perfect.

At least that's what Lucy Mathews tells herself. Except faced with her boyfriend's rodeo queen ex-wife and perfectly trained Australian shepherd, she has to wonder if maybe this whole 'no one's perfect' thing was made up by someone like...Lucy.

Lucky for Lucy though, things are hopping around Helena. It's rodeo season, and she has a booth. It's a great opportunity to expand her clientele and maybe even snag a cash prize for Kiska as the world's first sheep herding malamute.
Except Kiska can't herd, Lucy loses her wallet, and oh yeah...there's that dead rodeo queen Lucy just stumbled over.

Good thing her boyfriend's a detective. Except that's not going so well either. A new detective is in town, and he's convinced Lucy's involved in the rodeo queen's murder. Her boyfriend is no help at all and worse he's spending a little too much time with his ex-wife.

Lucy finds herself out of money, out of love, and maybe this time, out of luck.

Other books by Rae Davies:

-Dusty Deals Mystery Series-
Loose Screw (Book One, only 99 cents!)
Cut Loose
Loosey Goosey
Let Loose (coming March 2014)
Loose & Lethal (Box Set Books 1 -3)

Love is All Around
Love is All You Need

The Dusty Deals Mystery series is set in Helena, Montana, a capital city with a small town feel.

Similar Books by other authors...

Pancakes and Corpses
(Peridale Cafe Cozy Mystery, book 1)
Agatha Frost
Sun, Sand, and Secrets
(Ravenwood Cove Mystery, book 6)
Carolyn L Dean

Kindle Editions

January 2014 : USA, Canada, UK Kindle edition

Title: Cut Loose: Dusty Deals Mystery Series: Book 2
Author(s): Rae Davies, Lori Devoti
Publisher: Lead Dog Books
Availability: Amazon   Amazon UK   Amazon CA

Search for


text:
New Authors     New Books     Coming Soon     Most Popular     Top Authors
book cover of Operation Unleashed

Operation Unleashed

(The fourth book in the Cutter's Code series)
A novel by

Stepping up to the plate will put him in the line of fire...

For Drew Kiley, married life isn't what he had in mind. Driven to "I do" by a sense of familial responsibility, he assumes the role of husband to his brother's wife, Alyssa... and the role of father to his nephew, Luke. It seems to be the logical solution in light of his brother's abandonment. But Drew doesn't know the whole truth about his brother's past. A rescue from a canine companion sets Drew and Alyssa on a perilous course of extortion, kidnapping and secrets unveiled. United in their determination to protect Luke, Drew and Alyssa learn to depend on each other. But as tensions escalate, so does a deep undercurrent of desire that casts their marriage in a different light.

Genre: Romantic Suspense    Get it on Google Play

Similar Books by other authors...

Cavanaugh In The Rough
(Cavanaugh Justice, book 33)
Marie Ferrarella
Cavanaugh on Call
(Cavanaugh Justice, book 34)
Marie Ferrarella
(Lawmen of Silver Creek Ranch, book 9)
Delores Fossen

Paperback Editions

June 2014 : UK Mass Market Paperback

Title: Operation Unleashed (Harlequin Romantic Suspense)
Author(s): Justine Davis
ISBN: 0-373-27873-X / 978-0-373-27873-2 (UK edition)
Publisher: Harlequin
Availability: Amazon   Amazon UK   Amazon CA

Kindle Editions

June 2014 : USA, Canada Kindle edition

Title: Operation Unleashed (Cutter's Code Book 4)
Author(s): Justine Davis
Publisher: Harlequin Romantic Suspense
Availability: Amazon   Amazon CA

June 2014 : UK Kindle edition

Title: Operation Unleashed (Mills & Boon Romantic Suspense)
Author(s): Justine Davis
Publisher: Mills & Boon Romantic Suspense
Availability: Amazon UK

Search for


text:
How Sneaker Designers Are Busting Knock-Offs With Bitcoin Tech

Shoe counterfeiters are notoriously difficult to stop, but an unlikely solution is emerging–and it’s inspired by cryptocurrencies.

Every year, as much as $100 million in counterfeit sneakers is seized by U.S. customs alone. And that’s just scratching the surface: Worldwide, counterfeit fashion is estimated to be a $600 billion industry, and if U.S. customs figures are accurate, about 40% of all counterfeit goods are sneakers. That makes counterfeit kicks a $240 billion problem to sneaker makers like Nike, Adidas, Converse, and more.

So if you’re a small brand like Brooklyn-born Greats, and you’ve convinced NFL superstar Marshawn Lynch to endorse a pair of your sneakers, how do you prevent the $149 design from being counterfeited? You embrace technology popularized by Bitcoin to create 3-D printed smart tags that can track any pair of the new Greats x Beastmode 2.0 Royale Chukkah sneakers back to the factory–and which are impossible to fake.

A Brief History Of Knock-Off Kicks

Anti-counterfeiting technology in the fashion world has traditionally relied on two things. First, manufacturing process: The more complicated it is to manufacture something, the harder it is for counterfeiters to duplicate that process cost effectively. But material science also plays a factor. Take Nike’s Flyknit shoes. The result of four years of research and development, Nike required entirely new machines to be built to Flyknit pairs of sneakers like socks. Consequently, Flyknits are right now pretty much the only sneakers on the market that experts can tell apart from a quality pair of counterfeits.

But in both material science and manufacturing, time is ultimately on the side of the counterfeiters. Any pattern that a licensed Chinese factory can mass produce, a counterfeit factory can also eventually make just as well, and at a cheaper price, since they don’t need to recoup marketing or R&D expenses. This makes counterfeiting in the sneaker world is particularly damaging, since the market puts such a premium on vintage kicks–shoes that are trivial for counterfeiters to fake after years of advances in material science and manufacturing.

Companies have tried to give buyers an assurance that they’re buying the real thing through elaborate seals and certificates of authenticity, but these too can be faked.

A Solution From A Cryptocurrency

To break this pattern, Greats turned to two companies, Chronicled (a sneaker and fashion software authentication company) and Origin (a San Francisco 3-D printing manufacturer), to design smart tags for their new Beast Mode sneakers.

Each 3-D printed smart tag has a unique identifying code stamped into it, linking it to a specific pair of shoes, but it’s what is inside this smart tag that really counts: a small encrypted NFC chip like the one found inside a modern passport, which can be tracked just by scanning it with your phone. Because this chip is baked into the smart tag during the 3-D printing process, it’s impossible to break it out of the plastic without destroying it. But none of this would matter without the software.

Reduced to its essence, the problem facing those who would design a system to thwart counterfeiters is this: How do you allow anyone purchasing that product to easily track it through countless middlemen back to its source of origin? What Chronicled realized was that someone has already solved this problem: Satoshi Nakomoto, the enigmatic inventor of the digital currency Bitcoin. His solution to make sure that Bitcoins couldn’t be counterfeited was to authenticate them through something called a blockchain, an encrypted database that inseparably links every Bitcoin transaction to the one that preceded it. If you have a Bitcoin, the blockchain not only authenticates it, it can tell you anyone who ever spent it.

Chronicled and Origin have done something clever. They’ve created their own blockchain, specifically dedicated to sneaker transactions, treating each smart tag almost like a Bitcoin. When you scan a smart tag with the mobile app, it not only tells you if it’s authentic, it will tell you everyone who ever owned that pair of sneakers. If you sell your sneakers later, you just transfer ownership of the smart tag within the Chronicled app–again, just like Bitcoin. And at a few bucks each, tags aren’t too expensive for sneakers manufacturers to include.

The Greats x Beastmode 2.0 Royale Chukkah was the first consumer item to come with a Bitcoin-like smart tag, but Chronicled wants to bring its smart tags to more than just sneakers. Dynes, a high-end fashion label, plans to also incorporate the technology later this year. Chronicled is also trying to market its smart tags to the vintage sneakers aftermarket, so those companies can assure their customers of authenticity; sneakers sold without a smart tag at purchase would need to be authenticated directly through Chronicled before they were assigned a smart tag.

There will always be people for whom authenticity is an afterthought, and who really just want something close enough at a good price, so Bitcoin technology isn’t likely to stop counterfeiting for good. But if it catches on, smart tags will make it impossible for counterfeiters to charge a premium by claiming their fakes are authentic.


text:
Motion Pictures
indoor drone flights
fd team
fd drones
Lights. Camera.
Take Off!
The professionals at FD are passionate filmmakers and place paramount importance to facilitating cinematic composition. FD offers the following services for feature film and broadcast use: 4K indoor shots, 4-8K low altitude cinema outdoor drone shots, gimbal services (ronin and movi), full feature film editting packages via Avid or Premiere Pro and full live hd feeds.

connect with fd
fd is on facebook fd is on vimeo fd is on youtube fd instagram tweet fd fd google fd email fd tumblr
FDfd productionsReel

motion picture

- Red Epic

- Red Dragon

- Canon C100,C300,C500

- Sony FS700

- Blackmagic Cameras

- Arri Mini

- Arri Alexa

- Phantom Cameras

aerial cinematography

Aerial Unit Crew Size - FD abides by FAA regulations for saftey and therefore requires a crew of three to four professionals to arrive on any given closed set: a pilot, a camera operator, a visual observer, and, if necessary, a focus puller.

Pulling Focus - For compositions that start wide and matriculate to narrow frames, a third FD professional must remotely pull focus, same is generally recommended for chasing automobiles or trucks.

Minimizing Drone Shadow - The position of the sun can be extremely difficult to judge when planning aerial compositions especially for cinematic low altitude establishing shots.

Monitoring Prop Wash - Casted shadows of each individual propeller casting split second shadows which are very difficult to detect with live feeds, hd or not.

Considering Drone Wind - Due to weight of the copter, significant wind wind from the propellers often creates dust from the asphault, dirt or any surface, further setting frames with talent often leads to some very potentially awkward considerations that must be foreseen. If the talent is female and wearing a short dress double sided tape must be used to ensure the shot isn't ruined because of an unintential exposed body part.

Minimizing Radio Frequencies - FD Professionals are concerned with the potential of radio interference so for the safety of all cast and crew we mandate sound productions cease and temporarily turn off equipment, and any and all non aerial drone walkie talkies to be turned off.

Disclosing Potential Downtime - The larger drones fly for very short periods of time and time must be alloted for the aircrafts motors to cool (safety concern), wind concerns, or time-of-day flight concerns for optimal aerial coverage.
enjoy them
Some Fun Facts
Clients Worked
Projects Completed
Cofee Cups


text:
It's cold out here

Or is that just the chill I feel inside

When you're not here?

I have pushed away, yet I still long

To feel your touch

Will it always be this way, or

Just my first love?

Standing here, yearning in my heart

But my need for change

Change has come

But sometimes I find

I long for it to be

The old way

Familiarity, it's easy

Change, it's hard


text:
I'll survive. She stared into the sky, seeing the fake petals of papered flowers floating higher and higher. She stretched up, playfully reaching out to them. The danced from her grasp, and she found herself spinning around to catch them, laughing as if she were the only one around. She stopped quickly, before running into him, and glanced up, smiling. He stared down, emotionless, but not cold. A warm kind of emotionless. She reached up and pulled a petal from his hair, causing a slight smile to flicker upon his face.

She turned, skipping away from him again, staring across the field. What a wondrous place, she mumbled to herself, paper flowers. The wind caused another burst to dance around her; it brushed her skin, twirling around her like dance partners around each other. She smiled wickedly, instantly amused, the wind blew her around as well, like she too was paper. She glanced over her shoulder, to see him watching her, seemingly amused. Her arms motioned him to her, but he stayed put. She smiled again, nodding to him.

With him, I'll survive. She turned back to the mystical flowers, reaching for a petal. He was always there, as some sort of fallen guardian angel. Always releasing her of fears, and preventing her from growing old too quickly. She worried about looking ridiculous, though no one but he could see her. The necklace he gave her weighed heavily on her neck, I'll be right here. Always? She shook her head, no, never always. No one stayed forever; she stared to the ground, distracted. Only when she needed him, would he be there. She frowned slightly at the thought, when she no longer needed, but wanted, sighing she nodded again, turning and running into his arms.

Sliding her legs around his waist, holding herself close to him she inhaled his goodness, and felt his arms supporting her. She stared him in his eyes, sometimes she wondered if he felt it too…

"I'll survive," She promised him, he just nodded, unbelieving of her easy lie.


text:
Hey there! I wrote something, how unexpected is that? This one grew in my head after a visit to the cake shop (no, there was no cute girl, but I did enjoy the mango mousse) the other week. It's the first draft, so there's work to be done yet, but it's a one-shot, finished work, so you awesome readers won't be left hanging for anything. Thanks for reading. Feedback is always appreciated.

Friday 9 July, 18:14

Bry Connor carefully pushed the chocolate mousse cup forward in the display cabinet, making sure it didn't touch the strawberry one beside it. She checked the temperature, which didn't need any adjustment, straightened a couple of logs, and rotated the New York cheesecake so that the wedge-shaped cut faced the customer side of the counter.

Six fourteen, read the digital clock on the cabinet behind her. The wall clock was five minutes slower, thanks to the owner, who liked customers coming in even while they were clearing the till. One time, Bry had exercised her managerial powers of pranking and put the clock a whopping fifteen minutes forward; now Jason checked the clock whenever they were switching shifts.

Home time, soon, at any rate. It being a Friday evening meant that a certain someone would be walking through the door shortly before then, so she held off on clearing the till for the moment.

Just like clockwork, the little bell attached to the top of the door tinkled ten minutes before closing, and a girl walked in. Today, her long, light brown hair was windblown and in her face, and her cheeks were flushed from the cold, but her slate-grey eyes smiled along with her mouth when she saw Bry.

"Hi," Bry said, already reaching for the clear plastic container. "How are you?"

"Good, thanks," came the slightly breathless reply. "It's freezing out there today!"

The shop was heated behind the counter, but Bry had been hearing those words all day, so she laughed and nodded. "Yeah, been hearing that a lot today." She held up the container, ready to pack a fruit cup. "The usual?"

"Mm, no, actually. Gonna mix it up a little tonight. What do you think of the mango slice?"

"Oh, good choice. It's got a good mango taste to it, and a bit of a sour tang as well. So if you like a bit of bite to your dessert…"

The girl looked skeptical. "All right… How about the tiramisu?"

"Most popular one besides the chocolate," Bry confirmed.

The girl groaned, looking skyward as though pleading with God. "How do I choose? They're all so delicious-looking."

"You could always get both," Bry suggested.

"Ha! No way," the girl replied. "That's just a break-up waiting to happen."

Ah, she was looking for date dessert, as Bry liked to call it. She directed the girl's attention to the lowest level of the display case, where the mousse cups were. "You can't go wrong with chocolate. I quite like the strawberry ones myself."

The mousse cups underwent some pretty intense critical viewing in the next ten seconds. Finally, the girl looked up at Bry, eyes twinkling. "All right, I'm sold," she said. "Can I have two of them, please. And a fruit cup," she added, as Bry was about to close the container.

Bry grinned. "I thought that was a break-up waiting to happen."

"I'll just hide it," the girl replied cheekily, "Or eat it before." She handed Bry a twenty, and Bry counted out the change to her. "Thanks, Bry. Have a good evening."

"You too…" Bry trailed off, eyebrows raised.

Her laughter was soft, more like a giggle mixed with a chuckle. "It's Molly."

"Well, you have a good evening too, Molly."

Friday 16 July, 18:25

"Hello! Busy day today?" Molly asked as she stepped up to the counter, having had to wait for two customers before her.

Bry wiped her hands on a cloth and chucked it behind her. "Hey, yeah, unusually so today," she agreed. "Luckily, there is one fruit cup left for you."

Molly laughed. "It's just waiting for me to buy it, isn't it! But I wasn't going to get a fruit cup today," she said sadly. "I've crossed over to the dark side. That mousse cup was so good."

"They are pretty addictive," Bry agreed. "So – two mousse cups?"

"No, just one, thanks. I ended up eating both last week." An unreadable expression crossed fleetingly across her face before being replaced by a guilty look. "It's honestly better than ice cream."

Recalling last week's conversation, Bry wondered what happened, but kept silent and duly placed a single mousse up into the bag. "Here you go," she said with an automatic smile, surprising herself at the warmth behind it. "Enjoy."

Friday 23 July, 18:23

Molly barged into the shop, sweeping her wet hair away from her face. "Mousse cup, please," she said without greeting, stomping away the cold. She huffed a stray bang away, and gave Bry a small smile. "God, this is worse than England," she muttered under her breath. "Didn't think that was possible."

"I've never been," Bry replied apologetically. "Welcome to Auckland. You'll never get used to it."

"Well, that's nice to know. Sorry for the rush," Molly apologised, "Long day."

"Don't worry about it." Bry handed her the cup and change for the ten. "Have a good night."

"You too, Bry."

Thursday 12 August, 13:30

"Hey, there," Bry said, surprised, as the bell tinkled and Molly walked in. "Haven't seen you in a while." Molly looked wan, her face gaunt with dark shadows underneath her bloodshot eyes. "How's it going?"

Molly's face brightened, and she smiled, albeit a little fatigued one. "Better now. Cold turkey from fruit and mousse cups." She chuckled, half to herself, and turned her eyes to the cakes. "I'm organising a birthday cake… do you do bigger ones to order?"

"Yeah, sure do." Bry reached under the counter and got Molly a brochure. "These are the sizes, flavours, and costs. We'll normally need about a week and a half depending on which one you choose."

"Brilliant, thanks." Molly took the brochure and leafed through it. "Do you mind if I take this?"

"It's all yours."

Molly returned three hours later, a pen and pad of yellow paper in her hand, waiting patiently while Bry sent a customer off with a "Thanks, have a nice day." Bry wiped her hands on her apron and turned to Molly. "You're back. All sorted?"

"Yup." Tearing off the topmost piece of paper, Molly placed it on the counter and opened up the page in the brochure for sponge cakes and fruit toppings. "I was thinking of a square, instead, can you do that? With normal cream and fruit toppings. This size," she said, pointing at it on the page. "I wrote it down."

Bry quickly scanned the page, complete with Molly's name and number. Molly Sheffield. "There shouldn't be any problem with that. I'll give you a call when it's ready."

"Thanks." Molly turned to leave, and then hesitated for a moment before turning back. "Hey, do you have a minute now?"

The shop was empty, and Bry, intrigued, decided to chance it. "Sure."

"Great. Shouldn't take long," Molly said, rummaging through her messenger bag. Her hair obscured her face in the most adorable fashion. "Just wanted to get your opinion on something… Here it is!" she said triumphantly as she pulled out a slim black folder and a slightly crumpled piece of yellow paper, presumably off the pad she had earlier. Flipping through the folder, she found the page she wanted and presented it to Bry, placing the loose leaf alongside. "What do you think?" she asked shyly.

The first one was a rough, black-and-white sketch of the outside of a large Victorian-style house and garden. The sample in the folder was different, a computer-drawn and coloured plan of a modern-looking house. Bry looked closer, marvelling at the professional handiwork. "This is awesome stuff, Molly. Looks great."

"Thanks." When Bry looked up, Molly was blushing slightly. "It's for one of my assignments. Just wondered which one you thought was better."

"Oh, wow…" Bry drew back, holding the pages at arm's length. "They both look really good, I mean, once you did the same to this one—" she held up the sketch—"as you did for this one here, they'd both look awesome. I guess I'd pick this one," she said, pointing at the modern house. "I like clean lines," she explained, feeling inane and uneducated. "So you study architecture?"

"Trying to." Molly smiled as she took her work back. "Anyway, I shouldn't keep you any longer," she said, picking absent-mindedly at something on her bag strap. "Thanks for your help."

"Sure thing. Take care of yourself, Molly."

Molly smiled, a real smile this time. "You too, Bry."

Friday 20 August, 18:20

"I'm getting pretty addicted to these mousse cups."

"Can't blame ya. Enjoy your night."

"Thanks, Bry, you too."

Friday 27 August, 18:20

"Did you get your cake all right?" Bry asked as she passed the bag and change over the counter.

"Yes, I got it from… Irene, I think it was." Molly bit her lip and laughed. "This is going to sound silly, but I'd hoped you worked every day of the week."

Fighting the flush that warmed her neck and ears, Bry couldn't help but smile. "No, just Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays. A girl needs a break."

"Tell me about it!" Molly comiserated. "All my assignments are rubbish because there's just so many of them."

"Nah, I've seen your work. It's far from rubbish." Their eyes met – how cheesy – and both girls smiled at each other, seemingly content with saying nothing.

The little bell attached to the top of the door tinkled, breaking the silence. Craig, another regular customer, dusted the rain off his coat and beamed at Bry. "Caught you just in time!" he exclaimed, buffing his shoes on the welcome mat a couple of times. "I'll be sleeping on the couch if I don't get that tiramisu for Bev tonight."

As he approached the counter, Molly slipped out of the shop, waving at Bry as she left.

"So what's happening with fruit cup girl?" Irene asked later that night when she called after dinner. "Eyes meet, sparks fly, numbers are exchanged, what?"

Bry shrugged, trying to act nonchalant. "Nothing's 'happening' with her. She comes in, buys something, leaves, life goes on."

"Ah, don't give me that crap!" Irene drawled. "I'm your best friend. I know you. I've seen her. She vibes, and you like it."

"You saw her once when she picked up her cake!" Bry exclaimed, laughing. "How could you possibly have picked up any vibes?"

"Hey, I had the perfect view of her ass when she left. Don't tell me you haven't seen that swagger."

Bry narrowed her eyes, glad Irene couldn't see her grin over the phone. She had indeed seen that swagger. "You're disgusting, Irene."

"Don't tell me you're surprised," Irene shot back. "By the way, I've finally decided on the cake you're giving me the manager's discount for."

"What cake?"

"For my 21st, smart-arse. So, this is what I want..."

Tuesday 14 September, 12:55

"Someone was in here asking for you," Dan told Bry as she returned from her lunch break.

"Oh? Who was it?"

Dan shrugged. "Some girl."

"That's helpful. What did she look like? Brown hair, blonde hair, tall short, et cetera…"

"Pretty hot." Bry rolled her eyes at Dan's earnest tone. "Brown hair, like, kinda messy, black jacket, I think she had an English accent."

Wondering about the chances of Molly coming in on a Tuesday afternoon, Bry asked, "She buy anything?"

"Yeah," Dan confirmed. "Mousse cup."

"Huh," Bry said, looking at the fruit cups she'd just gotten from the fridge to replenish the display. A pang of disappointment gnawed at her. "Interesting."

Friday 17 September, 18:30

"You know, I actually came in on Tuesday," Molly said while Bry dialed up the register. "But I guess you were out or something."

"Yeah, my co-worker told me, I was on my lunch break." Handing over the bag, Bry smiled. "I'm glad you think you can handle two nights of moussey goodness in a week, though."

Molly grinned. "I reckon I could eat a mousse cup or two every night, to be quite honest with you." She leaned casually against the counter, fidgeted with the plastic bag and combed her fingers through her hair a couple of times. "Hey, so… a couple of friends and I are going out later tonight, just to Lounge for drinks. Do you wanna come and hang out? If you're free, no pressure or anything."

The words were forming in her brain; they just wouldn't come out of her mouth. Bry was certain she resembled a goldfish at that moment. "Um," she managed, "I'm actually not free tonight, I'm so sorry." She grimaced and gave Molly the most apologetic look she could muster. She could have killed Irene. "My friend's having her birthday party tonight." Could I ask her? I could ask her. But then it'd be awkward, and what would it even mean…?

"Oh." Molly looked disappointed. "Well, that's cool. I'll, um—have a good time tonight." She turned to leave, and Bry's heart thumped a little faster at how adorably her fringe kept falling over her eyes.

"Wait!" Bry blurted out, wondering what she was going to say next. "Um, how about tomorrow? I'm free tomorrow. Like, for coffee. Or food, if you don't drink coffee."

Molly turned around, eyes already laughing. "I drink coffee. And eat. How's lunch?"

Her grin felt like it was splitting her face in half. "Lunch is great. 12?"

"Sounds good."

"All right."

Molly's grin grew to match hers. "I'll see you tomorrow, then."

"See you tomorrow, Molly."


text:
We rule the world

But only when no one's there

Then it's hectic, order us around

Lower that background, move that chair

Hiding in the wings, outcasts again

Spotlight only inches away

I'll be out there as soon as I can

We are the stars

But only when the classroom lights are on

Then those lights go out and it's black as night

Then comes on the yellow, blue, red and whites

Oh, what a bleak painting

Never said I was complaining

This is where we belong

We have to keep quiet

As the actors say their lines again

But I wouldn't trade it

We're sitting in total peace, but then

The fly comes down and we all scramble

In front of the midblack, put together that table

We have only 15 seconds, that's enough for me

Because when that curtain opens, you know where I'll be

In the wings, watching the magic happen

Where we belong

There's a burning smell

It's creepier backstage

Our mascot is taped to the fly

Lower all the lights down

Try to find the faulty one

Look out, don't ruin the song

It's fixed, we'll move along

When lights and sound tried to open it, all

That we got was a broken wall

Which instantly turned to an anger bout

Call a meeting, start to shout

We only tease because we care, and

This is one big thing we're sharing

Just keep moving along

Oh, turn on the light in the prop closet

It belongs to me, I belong to it

Everyone thinks that we're not so great

And that is a state of mind I hate

It's a common misconception

Please don't get me wrong

Almost there but not quite yet

Isn't why I wrote this song

United together is where we belong

This is where we belong


text:
Hey sweet nicotine

Oh darling caffeine

Come closer, morphine

Save me, amphetamine

Breathing death like its oxygen

And trying not to light another

Never really works just makes it worse

And bad things always come together

Eventually you quit the smokes

But just replaced it for a cheaper thrill

It's like you want to feel like crap

But at least cheap caffeine isn't known to kill

But filling your blood with that stuff

Didn't make the bleeding stop

And you're still in so much pain

And there's numbness in shooting up

But the high didn't heal the cuts

Just made new ones on your arms

So you looked to pills

Hurt yourself to fix the harm

Maybe that helped for a while

But speed killed you in the end

Maybe that was saving you

At least, that what we pretend.


text:
Oh k, I know that this story has not been up-dated in a while. No one has reviewed so I thought no one cared. Maybe I will finish it this one last entry, that way I don't have to write any more. How is that people? If you want me to continue, then REVIEW!!

Well, that's it for the insane France!

Dear Diary,

Today mommy has decided who will be next to take her place when she dies. She talks like she's about to die tomorrow. I'm scared Diary. What if she does die? Then I will be left alone to rule.

Hama says that the reason mommy picked me is because he is a boy. I think that maybe he is correct. I don't know though, I don't know mommy too well. She never takes care of us, though she does take time to check on us at night when she is home. I hope that nothing happens to her.

Your Only Friend,

Dear Journal,

I hear Hana in there crying again. I can't believe mom picked a baby for the job! I am way older then her! Oh k, maybe not physically, but mentally I am! Do I sound like I'm whinning? Nanna says that I sound like a baby more then Hana when I don't get my way.

Maybe I'm scared and jealous. Scared that what I told Hana is the truth, and jealous that she got the job and I didn't. I have read books on things about siblings killing the others for position in Royal families, but I didn't think I would ever do it. Now I'm having second thoughts.

What am I writing!? I would never kill her! I think I'm tired, good night journal.

~*~*~*~More Years in Future~*~*~*~

The smoke cleared and I saw her sitting on the ground. She wasn't moving, and I knew she was dead. The tree that was behind her wasn't alowing her to fall down like all of the subjects that had loyaly served her.

I breathed hard, not alowing myself to cry. I knew that if I did, I would only show weakness to the bastards that were holding me captive.

Her blood was still red and she looked like she was sleeping. The blood now her blanket.

They screamed in some weird language I had once known. I knew what they wanted though, and I followed.

I screamed in my own language at them. They were confused and with the confusion came force. They hit me hard on the head.

I welcomed the black hoping that I would see my family in it. Much luck I have! I didn't see anything until I woke up in a dungon.

"Crap!" I screamed as I tried to get my twelve year old hands up to my face. They were chained. The peices of crap had chained ME!

"I am Royality! Let me go!" I screamed.

How I wish I had my sibling with me, but no. She was out in the battle field with mom and nanny. All three dead.

I was soon to follow, I knew it.

If you want this to continue then REVIEW! Thank you!


text:
Begin New Search
Refine Last Search
Cemetery Lookup
Add Burial Records
Help with Find A Grave

Top Contributors
Success Stories
Community Forums
Find A Grave Store

Log In

Changes are coming to Find A Grave. See a preview now.

Tracey "Cur" Curry
Learn about removing the ads from this memorial...
[Add Flowers]

- GeekyGraveGirl
 Added: Aug. 16, 2014

- Kelly LaCombe Milano
 Added: May. 6, 2013

- Kelly LaCombe Milano
 Added: May. 6, 2013
"Forgive us Lord, for wondering why the thorns live on and the Roses die" ~Unknown~
- Rev. Dr. Mary
 Added: Mar. 10, 2008
May God Grant you always, A sunbeam to warm you, a moonbeam to charm you, a sheltering Angel , so nothing can harm you, Laughter to cheer you Faithful friends near you, and whenever you pray, Heaven to hear you (An Irish Prayer)
- R M P
 Added: Mar. 10, 2008

- Row Walker
 Added: Feb. 18, 2008

Privacy Statement and Terms of Service


text:
Begin New Search
Refine Last Search
Cemetery Lookup
Add Burial Records
Help with Find A Grave

Find all Unknowns in:
 • Raley Cemetery
 • McNabb
 • Putnam County
 • Illinois
 • Find A Grave

Top Contributors
Success Stories
Community Forums
Find A Grave Store

Log In
Sponsor This Memorial! Advertisement

Changes are coming to Find A Grave. See a preview now.

44 Unknown
Learn about removing the ads from this memorial...
Birth: unknown
Death: unknown

Unknown grave, identified by photograph 44
Raley Cemetery
Putnam County
Illinois, USA
Created by: Sam
Record added: Sep 17, 2011
Find A Grave Memorial# 76648069
44 Unknown
Added by: Sam
44 Unknown
Cemetery Photo
Added by: Sam
Photos may be scaled.
Click on image for full size.

Privacy Statement and Terms of Service


text:
Begin New Search
Refine Last Search
Cemetery Lookup
Add Burial Records
Help with Find A Grave

Find all Bares in:
 • Spencers Grove Cemetery
 • Benton County
 • Iowa
 • Find A Grave

Top Contributors
Success Stories
Community Forums
Find A Grave Store

Log In
Sponsor This Memorial! Advertisement

Changes are coming to Find A Grave. See a preview now.

George Wesley "Cub" Bare
Learn about upgrading this memorial...
Birth: Oct. 20, 1920
Linn County
Iowa, USA
Death: Apr. 16, 2009
Linn County
Iowa, USA

George Wesley Bare, 88, a resident of Willow Gardens Care Center died the April 16, 2009 following a long illness. He is survived by his wife, Roberta of Marion, three children Carl (Teresa) Bare of Galt, CA, Rebecca (Lorence) Thomsen of Princeton, MN and Barbara (Raymond) Taber of Cedar Rapids. eight grnadchildren, three great grandchildren and a sister, Dr. Luella Klein of Atlanta. He was preceded in death by his parents.
George was born Oct 20, 1920 in Walker, the son of Elmer and Leah (Stunkard) Bare. He served in the U.S. Army and was a veteran of WWII. George married Roberta M. Eckhart on Feb 24, 1951 in Marion. He was an automotive mechanic and service manager.
Burial in Spencer's Grove near Walker, IA.

Family links:
  Elmer D. Bare (1891 - 1972)
  Leah M Stunkard Bare (1892 - 1977)
  Roberta May-Ree Eckhart Bare (1924 - 2011)
Spencers Grove Cemetery
Benton County
Iowa, USA
Created by: Evelyn Evans
Record added: Oct 31, 2010
Find A Grave Memorial# 60934130
George Wesley Cub Bare
Added by: Evelyn Evans
George Wesley Cub Bare
Added by: LB
George Wesley Cub Bare
Added by: LB
There are 3 more photos not showing...
Click here to view all images...
Photos may be scaled.
Click on image for full size.

Rest in Peace. You suffered for a long time.
- Evelyn Evans
 Added: Oct. 31, 2010

Privacy Statement and Terms of Service


text:
Hearing the experience of others can sometimes make the decision easier

I had never been that interested in astrology before my friend kindly gifted me a session with Lee Lam - but now I’m hooked! Lee is so kind & graceful in her approach, and I gained so much helpful insight in to myself and the way I think & respond the world around me. I cannot recommend a session with Lee highly enough - it’s incredibly powerful & transformative.
— Persia Lawson, author, speaker & love coach, persialawson.com
Lee has a unique intuition which has led her to find me and in turn help me find my own path. Lee’s blogs have giving me such confidence in making changes in my life; I now feel grounded, stronger and much more in control.  Thank you Lee you are truly an amazing person.
— Pippa
Working with Lee has been a breath of fresh air! The session just flew by and I received so much from our time together. Her warm, kind and supporting energy really made me feel safe and relaxed, as I wasn’t quite sure what to expect. I was astounded by her level of detail and insight into aspects of my life, specifically related to work and career... there were many “goosebump” moments and it was such a positive experience.

I would highly recommend Lee’s services, this is one amazing lady !
— Natalie
I met Lee through her Facebook page and I can’t fully express how much of a difference it has made to my life just by interacting with her and seeing her Facebook live sessions. I first joined Lee’s group when I was suffering from complex PTSD due to sexual abuse in my teenage years and it had left me with a severe case of anxiety, panic attacks and depression. I was at breaking point and had no way to deal with what I was feeling. Meeting Lee changed all of that. I finally feel in control of my emotions and I have a much better understanding of what I’m feeling, why and how I can control it so it no longer controls me.

Lee is a very strong, calming presence and whenever I interact with her I’m left with a feeling of joyful peace. For that, I will never be able to thank her enough for all she has done to make the lives of myself and others better and more peaceful.
— Anne
This was my first ever reading and I was blown away by the depth and clarity that Lee was giving me and delivered in such a way that I could clearly understand without any prior knowledge of my astrological chart.
Thank you Lee for expanding my depth of learning and knowing.
— James
My reading with Lee was a fascinating and wonderful experience that I would highly recommend to anyone feeling called to this work.
Her insight really helped me to gain clarity in myself and a deeper understanding of my souls journey so far. Since our session I’ve felt more accepting of my whole self, more confident and at peace with myself, my life and circumstances. She has such a warm and kind energy and I felt totally safe and trusting. It was so helpful to receive a recording of our time together, and listening back to it and making notes alongside my birth chart helped me to process everything we explored. Thank you Lee!
— Becky
I had an astrological birth chart reading with Lee, she thoroughly explained my chart and what each element meant for me and how that might look in my life. It really helped me gain a greater understanding of myself and was hugely reassuring that I seem to be on the right path and that many aspects of my life and personality I’ve been concerned or confused by suddenly made sense. I’ve been recommending Lee to all my friends, this feels like knowledge everyone should have access to about themselves.
— Laura
Tonight I exposed a lot of very charged thoughts and processes to Lee. I felt neither judged, misunderstood, reprimanded or undermined. I felt held. There is not knowledge can match the wisdom. There is not a book that can contain the words. Lee provides no formula, no doctrine and no ulterior motive, she simply opens the door to freedom when a soul believes it is trapped between four walls.
I can smell the fresh air now. I can again breathe.
Thank you Lee
— Seanin
Lee is immensely gifted and intuitive and I was actually quite blown away by my reading. It was so much more detailed than I expected and I couldn’t believe how much attention was paid to the details of my chart. This isn’t fluffy stuff here either! Much of the insights Lee shared were very surprising at first - even quite confronting, which is why it’s important that anyone who has a reading matches Lee’s intuition, skill and compassion with an open mind and willingness to accept things about themselves that they might have previously swept under the rug but known deep down. Or, to accept and think on things that might initially come as a complete surprise! The reading was really so self-explorative for me. By understanding my chart more and all the depths of myself, I can now use this to apply practically within my life. How I show up, how I interact with people, how I want other people to see me and how I can take more control when fear might take over for example.

Thank you so much Lee - this was such a help to me and you have a real gift!
— Laura
I had a fantastic birth chart reading with Lee. She was was super clear, knowledgable and patient when I had questions. I really valued how Lee took notes so I could be totally engaged and connected to what she was saying. I received in writing everything we discussed so now I can keep referring back to it whenever I need. A really beautiful and engaging experience that I would throughly recommend.
— Lucy
I have worked with Lee for six months. I love working with someone who is genuine, sincere, kind and loving. In the past six months Lee has helped me turn my life around. Lee pushes me and knows my limits and is always available for additional help/advice. I feel blessed to work with her.
— Liz
I thought the astrology chart reading was extremely insightful and although I was apprehensive about the process your calm and clear explanation of the different components meant I could easily understand the meaning even though this was the first time I had had such a reading. This left me yearning for more insights to help me on my journey. I shared this with my sister and she commented upon the accuracy of the reading
— Pauline


text:
26 September 2017
Sameer Singh Jaini

Sameer Singh Jaini - www.TheDigitalFifth.com

7Posts 57,029Views 0Comments
Fintech innovation and startups

Fintech innovation and startups

Disruption, destruction, harmony and creation; Fintech’s new frontier – a place to discuss the cutting edge of innovation.

Fintech without Tech?

20 August 2017  |  13039 views  |  1

Everyday I meet enthusiastic Fintech entrepreneurs, who have started their Fintech Businesses focused on lending, wealth management, payments etc. Most of these entrepreneurs have business background like sales / marketing / product. In their hurry to launch the business, typically they start without Tech...

Few suggestions to improve the possibility of becoming Fintech powerhouse (I don't like the word disruptor).

- Get Tech Co-Founder On-board: Identify a tech cofounder to start the journey with you. There are phenomenal tech experts, who are still working in technology companies or banks. Take your time to get someone with enough skin in the game by way of equity.

- Create in-house development team: Core of any Fintech is essentially Tech IP. It may be worth your time to build a powerful tech team, which can build your MVP fast and first time right. Full outsourcing is highly avoidable. Full outsourcing if required, must be done with extreme care and with regular reviews (I mean daily!)

- Scan the market for tech partners: There are many pure play technology Fintech players, who can simplify a component of your business (like Digital Identity). It makes sense to partner with them, rather than building each component.

- Focus on AI / ML: Most of the product differentiation in future will be through Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning. Work on getting this embedded in the culture of your organisation, even if your MVP may not have this on Day 1.

Technology is a big enabler and needs tremendous focus & energy. Do not make the same mistake as Banks and NBFCs have made for last many decades. They have looked at Technology as Support function (and a cost centre) and hence have not been able harness the power of Technology.

Get ready to create your FinTECH Powerhouse...

TagsInnovationStart ups

Comments: (1)

Ketharaman Swaminathan
Ketharaman Swaminathan - GTM360 Marketing Solutions - Pune | 23 August, 2017, 13:28

Based on my background of working in the IT industry for years, during which period I have been a supplier of technology to banks and of marketing solutions to fintechs and banks:

  • With so much of fintechs' offerings running on banking rails, it's silly for them to claim to be disruptors of banks. Ergo, even I don't like the word "disruptor"!
  • I agree that fintechs should have a tech cofounder. But I also know that it's extremely hard to find one, especially if the original founders come from sales / marketing backgrounds. Right or wrong, techies don't like to join sales / marketing founders. They understand the importance of these business functions only when they have founded a company and struggled owing to lack of sales / marketing.
  • While I agree that fintechs shouldn't reinvent the wheel, they should be sensitive to the risks of partnering with third parties. I've covered this in a blog post entitled Thriving On Chaos Of SMAC Architecture on my company blog.
  • I totally disagree that banks have not harnessed the power of technology. On the contrary, I think banks have made pathbreaking use of technology to reduce costs, increase profits and enhance CX. Credit Card, ATM, MBS, CDO, CDS, and Algo Trading stand testimony. How many other industries have created the equivalent of technology-driven products like CDO and CDS, or technology-driven business models like algo trading that expose limitations even with the speed of light?

More than anything else, for fintechs to become powerhouses, they need to create products and services that people really need / want. On that count, I'm gung-ho about Online P2P Lenders and Robo Advisors and skeptical about neobanks that offer yet another bank account / debit card.

1 thumb up! 1 thumb up! (Log in to thumb up)
Comment on this story (membership required)

Latest posts from Sameer Singh

Fintech without Tech?

20 August 2017  |  13039 views  |  1 comments | recomends Recommends 0 TagsInnovationStart upsGroupFintech innovation and startups

Lending API-fied : Start of P2P Lending Revolution

14 June 2017  |  8646 views  |  1 comments | recomends Recommends 0 TagsRetail bankingInnovationGroupFintech

Digital Transformation : Blood, Sweat and Respect

13 June 2017  |  7467 views  |  0 comments | recomends Recommends 0 TagsRetail bankingInnovationGroupInnovation in Financial Services

We are Missing Steve Jobs in Banking

01 June 2017  |  7516 views  |  0 comments | recomends Recommends 0 TagsRetail bankingInnovationGroupFuturistic Banking

To Hell with Digital

26 May 2017  |  9603 views  |  1 comments | recomends Recommends 0 TagsRetail bankingInnovationGroupDisruption in Retail Banking

Sameer Singh's profile

job title CEO
location Mumbai
member since 2017
Summary profile See full profile »
Digital strategist focusing on removing friction across Financial Industry and Fintechs. I work with Financial Institutions as well as Fintechs for establishing their digital strategy in alignment...

Sameer Singh's expertise

Member since 2017
0 posts0 comments
What Sameer Singh reads
Sameer Singh writes about
Retail bankingInnovationStart ups
Sameer Singh's blog archive
August 2017 (1)June 2017 (3)May 2017 (3)

Who's commenting on Sameer Singh's posts

Ketharaman Swaminathan
João Bohner
Barbara Matthews


text:
26 September 2017

Retired Member

3,112Posts 11,083,764Views 3,390Comments

Social Media Can Wreak Havoc on the Market

14 February 2012  |  3501 views  |  0

“North Korea’s biggest leader Kim Jung Un, this morning in Beijing time 2:45 a.m., had his residence broken into and was assassinated,” a social media message from China stated last week. “Vehicles are rapidly increasing in number ... this sort of battle formation hasn’t been seen in over two years.”

This rumor, and at least one other like it, blasted across microblogging site Weibo before wafting over to its U.S. equivalent, Twitter. Western media skeptically picked up the story, which it later discredited. But rumors such as these can burst a rising market and sink investor confidence.

And a rumor’s effect can intensify based on the stock’s geography and industry.

Gossip Whirl

Take South Korea, which is ever vigilant for any sign of danger emanating above the 38th parallel from its neighbor, North Korea. Bogus reports of assassinations, invasions and the like in North Korea frequently terrorize South Korea’s stocks and its index, the KOSPI. Rumor of a fallacious blast at a North Korean nuclear reactor tripped the KOSPI down 10 points last month.

For scale, the KOSPI fell almost 65 points, or 3.43 percent, on legitimate reports of Kim Jung Il’s death in December. This demonstrates how powerful real news -- and well-placed, believable rumors -- can be.

Sites such as Inside IPO track rumors of high-tech initial public offerings. And what discussion of rumors in social media would be complete without a mention of social network Facebook?

“The rumors came out very early and are reportedly based on sources close to the Facebook IPO planning process,” an Inside IPO post last month stated. “The $100 billion number may have come out too early in the process to be realistic, and now Facebook has to manage its IPO in the context of leaks it couldn’t control.”

Buy on rumor, sell on news. It is easy to say, but difficult to do. After all, many people (consumers, investors and otherwise) don’t take time to distinguish between fact and rumor, especially in a digital age when both travel quickly online and social media sentiment can drive an instrument price.

“If it is rumored that a company is about to fail, stockholders might well be frightened, and they might sell,” Cass R. Sunstein wrote in On Rumors: How Falsehoods Spread, Why We Believe Them, What Can Be Done. “It should not be entirely surprising that the Securities and Exchange Commission has taken a keen interest in the pernicious effects of false rumors, and that New York has made it a crime to circulate false rumors about the financial status of banks.”

Scuttling Scuttlebutt

My last post discussed how companies use this technology to maintain control of their image, and even fight back. Sustein’s book tells us that overcoming an entrenched rumor can be extremely difficult, and Jorge Yui of IBM Global Business Services studied some of those challenges.

“Reputation management in the financial services industry already faced significant challenges as a result of the growth of social media but the risks have been amplified by the 2008 banking crisis,” Yui wrote in his study Social media and Brand Reputation in the Financial Services Sector. “Many of us share ideas and opinions freely on blogs and Wikipedia or by leaving a comment on innumerable websites in ways we couldn’t have imagined just a few years ago.”

Shooting Down the Breeze

But there is hope for the capital markets industry. Market monitoring will someday include analyzing unstructured data from social media sites to maintain a watchful eye over trading conditions of the firm’s instruments.

But why wait for the technology to fully develop? Firms can cultivate traders with social media acumen, honing a competitive edge by working together with existing technology to see patterns in social media sentiment. One existing technique is having a quiver of algorithms, each for specific market conditions.

Social media attuned traders could help switch to the appropriate algorithm. When the technology to gauge social media sentiment does develop, firms can use the knowledge gleaned from such unstructured data to perfect their predictive analytics, switching their algorithmic trading models as rumors help to buoy or sink an instruments price.

But just as it is up to the human derivative trader to start a rumor that sends a stock price tumbling, it should ultimately be up to a person on the trading desk to examine the data, evaluate the risk and decide what to do.

TagsTrade executionRisk & regulation

Comments: (0)

Comment on this story (membership required)

Retired's profile

job title
member since 2014
Summary profile See full profile »

Retired's expertise

Member since 2009
3072 posts3,390 comments
What Retired reads

Who's commenting on Retired's posts

Ketharaman Swaminathan
Charmaine Oak
Francis Chlarie
Raymond Lee
Deepthi Rajan
Melvin Haskins
João Bohner
Bob Lyddon
Urs Meier
Steven Hatton
Ahmed Saleh


text:
Prenatal Nutrition

Nutrition During Pregnancy: 10 Do's and Don'ts

Healthy prenatal eating isn't just about avoiding--it's about choosing wisely.

5 Ways to Reduce Heartburn During Pregnancy

If pregnancy is giving you heartburn, you want it to stop, now. Here are five ways to extinguish the fire.

Guide To Drinking Tea During Pregnancy

From green tea to black, peppermint tea to roiboos, here's what to steep when you're expecting.

10 Secretly Healthy Desserts for Pregnancy

These sweet treats are loaded with delicious flavors and plenty of pregnancy-friendly nutrients to keep you and your growing baby healthy. Go ahead, Mama, indulge.

Prenatal Vitamins from A to Z

Even the healthiest diets need a vitamin boost. Our experts explain what supplements you need during pregnancy.

Food Cures for Morning Sickness and More

Why You Need More Watermelon in Your Pregnancy Diet

More than just a pretty pink fruit, juicy watermelon can soothe morning sickness, help you stay hydrated and build a healthy baby.

10 (Surprising!) Prenatal Power Foods

Foods that provide the nutrition you need for a healthy pregnancy.

Kourtney Kardashian Takes an Earthy Approach to Pregnancy

The TV star--and closet granola girl!--talks organic food, Ayurveda and spirituality during her pregnancy with youngest son, Reign Aston Disick with Fit Pregnancy sister magazine, Natural Health.

Ovulation Calculator

You can increase your odds of getting pregnant by finding out which days of the month you're more likely to be fertile.

Go Now!

How to Eat Healthy in Those First Weeks With Baby

Celebrity nutritionist and mom of two Keri Glassman gives some dietician-approved hacks to keep your new-mom life full of healthy food.

Pregnancy Diet: 10 Rules To Eat By

Top tips on what to eat now to better your baby's future health

Face-Off: Is It Safe to Eat Canned Tuna During Pregnancy?

Our experts face off. Chime in with your own comments.

Super Foods + Smart Advice = The Best Prenatal Diet

Learn these food "equations" and apply them to your prenatal diet to keep you and your baby healthy.

5 Pregnancy Superfoods to Eat Now

These five foods provide the prenatal nutrients you need.

Mercury Rising?

Conflicting reports over contaminants in fish have left many pregnant women reeling. Here's the bottom line.

A Vegetarian Pregnancy

Even if you don't eat meat, you can get all the nutrients you need with our five-day meal plan and delicious recipes.

7 Refreshing Summer Mocktails

You might have to pass on the traditional umbrella drinks this summer, but that doesn't mean that you can't enjoy sipping on these refreshing mocktails.

Vegetarian Pregnancy Meal Plan

Even if you don't eat meat, you can get all the nutrients you need with our delicious recipes.

Should You Eat Fish During Pregnancy?

New guidelines may make you change your tune about fish. Here, smart seafood choices for you, your baby and the planet.

Ginger Capsules To The Rescue

Ginger supplements help relieve nausea and vomiting during pregnancy without any adverse effects on you or your baby.

All About Prenatal Vitamins -- Your Questions Answered

A good prenatal vitamin helps you get necessary nutrients your diet may lack.


text:
new icn messageflickr-free-ic3d pan white
skankest full english | by lomokev
Back to photostream

skankest full english

thats what rokecake said when i started to tuck in to plate. i got it on the ferry on the way to france. it was skanky for quite a few reasons:

1. the sausage was served from a bowl of fat and i don't mean a little fat they swimming in it. i suspect that they were micro-waved them on mass

2. the beans look like they have been kept warm for 3 days under a light bulb

3. the mushrooms look like they had been boiled for 3 hours

4. the egg was more rubbery than my gimp mask

5. and i could not identify the object next to the egg

it was a french ferry and all the staff where french who all clearly had no clue how to prepare this dish

i still ate though

139 faves
Taken on October 12, 2007


text:
Published on:

Wrong-Way Car Accidents in Hollywood and Florida

In early February of this year, wrong-way car accidents killed eleven people in two separate accidents in Florida and California. Unfortunately, deadly wrong-way traffic accidents are a serious risk in Hollywood and across the country.

According to the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), wrong way car accidents are one of the most serious crashes that can occur on our roads. In many cases, these accidents occur at high speeds on divided highways and due to the speed involved, serious accidents, fires, and fatalities are the common outcome.

The NTSB reports that while wrong-way car and truck collisions on highways only account for about three percent of all highway accidents, they are far more likely than other crashes to be fatal. In fact, up to 22 percent of these accidents are fatal, compared to the 0.3 percent of all highway collisions that prove fatal. There are a few reasons why these accidents tend to be so deadly:

•On highways, about 80 percent of wrong-way crashes are head-on collisions, which have a very high rate of injury and fatality
•There is often speed involved, which can increase the force of impact
•On highways and exit ramps, wrong-way collisions often become multiple-vehicle crashes
•Due to the strength of impact in these cases, fires and severe damage to the car often occur, causing even more serious injuries
One concern for the NTSB and other agencies is that the number of fatal wrong-way collisions has remained relatively flat over the years – about 360 lives are claimed through these accidents each year. While campaigns have been successful in reducing the number of drunk driving accidents in Hollywood and other communities and while the number of fatal trucking accidents has dropped slightly in recent years, this type of collision is still a concern.

According to the NTSB and other agencies, there are three areas of focus that could help reduce this deadly type of car and truck collisions in Hollywood and other communities:

1) Reduce drunk driving accidents. The NTSB reports that in 59 percent of wrong-way accidents studied between 2004 and 2009, drivers had blood alcohol levels over two times the limit. In an additional ten percent of the accidents, drivers had blood alcohol limits above the legal limit of .08 but under .15. Since alcohol plays such a significant role in these accidents, the NTSB would like to see universal rules that would require first-time DUI offenders in all states to be required to use ignition interlock devices. These devices are installed on a car’s dashboard and will not allow a driver to start the car if they have been drinking.

2) Address elderly drivers. The NTSB found that elderly drivers over the age of 70 accounted for 15 percent of wrong-way collisions between 2004 and 2009. In contrast, drivers over the age of 70 represented only three percent of the drivers headed the right way in these collisions.

3) Consider highway design. Exit ramps are the most common site of wrong-way accidents, although some of these crashes also occur when drivers make illegal U-turns or use an emergency turn-around. Improved signage and markings as well as more barriers to prevent wrong-way driving could be helpful in preventing collisions.

Have you been injured in a traffic accident? If so, you will want to get legal advice about your situation. To speak with a personal injury attorney, arrange a consultation with Flaxman Law Group today.


text:
Welcome to Ferns N Petals

    × Use different email id
    Email address is required.
    Email ID is not valid.
    Name is required.
    Phone is required
    Phone number is invalid
    Password is required.
    Password should contain atleast 6 characters and one digit.
    Password should have a minimum of 6 characters and atleast one number(0-9)
    LOGIN WITHOUT PASSWORD Did not receive temporary password yet? Resend

    Your Cart

    Your cart is empty, so it's sad and lonely

    Turn its frown upside down: fill it with gifts

    Your Cart

    Products Send To Quantity Amount
    {{item.productName}} Remove
    {{item.pincode}} {{item.deliveryDate}}, {{item.deliveryTime}}Hrs {{item.shippingMethodName}}
    Photo {{item.productName}}
    1 Rs. {{item.price}}
    * Shipping charges to be displayed in the Order Summary page
      Sub Total Rs. {{cart.subTotal}}
      Discount Rs. {{cart.discount}}
      Total Rs. {{cart.total}}
    Are you in a hurry?  Quick Shop
    • Delhi
    • Mumbai
    • Bangalore/Bengaluru
    • Hyderabad/Secunderabad
    • Kolkata(Calcutta)
    Choose from above list or start typing and choose from the suggestions shown
    Flower Meaning

    Lotus - Sacred and divine

    Scientifically called Nelumbonucifera and in India referred to as the Scared lotus, these flowers are associated with Lord Buddha. Lotus is the national flower of India and Vietnam. Each lotus colour preaches a different message. In Hinduism, Lord Krishna is also called the ?Lotus-Eyed? one. Similarly, Brahma, Lakshmi and Vishnu have often been seen in Hindu mythology with lotus.

    • White Lotus
    • Red Lotus
    • Pink Lotus

    Representing the purity of mind, it is believed that one should try to achieve a beautiful heart and soul, just like the pure white lotus. Goddess Saraswati is associated with the white Lotus, and is often seen sitting on it. The unblemished white lotus represents unmarred purity that an individual should work towards.

    This colour of lotus is associated with the heart, and simply means that we should strive to be full of love and compassion. The red lotus was introduced in Egypt from Persia and since then the Egyptians have been captivated with the lotus flower.

    A fully opened pink lotus represents a person who has attained full enlightenment and reached nirvana, making it the true lotus of Lord Budhha. It is also called the supreme lotus. This pink coloured lotus also represents hope.

    Chat with us


text:
Does Bella Hadid Have a Better Body Than Gigi? Here’s Bella’s Bikini Body Secrets

Bella Hadid and The Weeknd Split, but Victoria’s Secret Model All Set for VS Fashion Show 2016
(Photo by Andreas Rentz/Getty Images)

If Gigi Hadid and Bella Hadid weren’t sisters, they would surely be rivals! There has always been a competition between the Hadid sisters and the older one, Gigi, was always ahead of the game. Bella Hadid, however, has also emerged as an eminent personality, gracing the cover of 28 magazines and eight fashion shows in 2016! She has around 9.5 million Instagram followers.

In December 2016, nominated Hadid for two Reader’s Choice Awards—Model of the Year and Social Media Star of the Year. She was also voted as Model of the Year by the industry. Recently, the supermodel sisters even paired up for the Moschino Spring/Summer 2017 fashion show.

Bella Hadid recently Instagrammed a pic showing off her toned body in a black bikini. She smiled as she posed resting one hand on the beach lounger, while stretching her legs out on the white sandy beach. The other hand held on to a straw hat positioned to cover her eyes from the harsh sun rays. Hadid captioned the pic, “where i belong.”

where i belong?

A post shared by Bella Hadid (@bellahadid) on

How did Bella Hadid manage to beat out her supermodel sister, Gigi? Keep reading to know the secrets to that incredible bikini body.

Bella Hadid’s Diet Plan

The young model has a high metabolism and she loves to have a pizza diet every so often. She also indulges in coke, french fries, burgers, and grilled cheese. She admits that her weight fluctuates often, and knows that this is not considered a healthy diet.

She balances her indulgences with a healthy diet of veggie soups and avocado toast. She also eats a lot of fruits and drinks enough water to keep her glowing and hydrated. Another secret to her glowing skin is a glass of green juice every week. It detoxifies her body and energizes her, too.

She eats a high-protein, clean diet and sticks to it even if she is traveling. She confesses that eliminating dairy, wheat, and junk food have made her more strong and she feels more healthy from within. While traveling, she opts for fruit rather than munching on junk. She follows the same diet, even if she is preparing for a show.

Bella Hadid’s Workout Routine

Bella Hadid has been active since she was just two years old! However, since her rise to prominence, workouts are no longer a big part of her lifestyle. She has been a huge fan of horseback riding since childhood, and still engages in it today.

She likes to work in isolation with her trainer, Rob Piela. Hadid loves cardio exercises as they make her sweat. She likes to go for a walk around New York or just run on the treadmill. She also includes yoga and Pilates in her routine to keep her flexible and strong.

Even if she finds working out difficult on some days, she tries to workout at least for 15 minutes. Bella Hadid insists that her strategy for keeping her figure is to give 100% to her workouts when she does have the time.

Kelly, L., “Gigi and Bella Hadid Team Up for Moschino Spring Summer 2017 Fashion Campaign,” The Dapifer web site, January 11, 2017;, last accessed January 11, 2017

“Bella Hadid Workout Routine, Diet and Beauty Secrets,” Healthy Celeb web site;, last accessed January 11, 2017