Or, Maybe Somebody Ought to Do Something About Those Effing Sharks…
Today is the fourth day of a week of posts written by and for graduate students navigating grad school with disabilities. This article was submitted anonymously by a US-based post-doctoral researcher in STEM. For more information, see the original post on PhD(isabled), a blog for PhD students with […]
Today begins one week of posts written by and for graduate students navigating grad school with disabilities. The post below was originally published at PhD(isabled) on October 27, 2013. PhD(isabled) is a space for PhD students with disability or chronic illness to share their experiences and expose structural oversights and problems in higher education.
@zaranosaur is a […]
Emily Contois is a guest author and PhD student in American Studies at Brown University. She tweets @emilycontois and blogs on the intersections between food studies, public health, and nutrition in everyday American life at emilycontois.com.
William Buchan’s eighteenth-century health advice rings as true today as it did nearly 250 years ago, […]
Liz Homan is a doctoral candidate in the Joint Program in English and Education at The University of Michigan. This post is adapted from one she posted on her own blog in October 2013. You can find her on Twitter at @lizhoman or on her blog, Gone Digital.
I always wanted to be […]
When people ask me what I actually do all day, I tell them: I sit and read. I also sit and write, and I also sit-while-driving. The demands of my scholarship require […]
University campuses can be like mini-communities unto themselves. They have recreation centers, dining halls, libraries, computer labs, and much more. But most students are unaware of […]
Erin Bedford is a PhD student in Chemical Engineering at the University of Waterloo and in Chemistry at the Pierre and Marie Curie University (Paris VI) in a co-supervised program. You can find her on Twitter at @erinellyse.
I have a habit of falling in love with cities. […]
Natascha Chtena is a PhD student in Education and Information Studies at the University of California, Los Angeles. You can follow her on Twitter @nataschachtena
Honestly, I have a hard time understanding why barely anyone in higher ed ever talks openly about how intrinsic self-knowledge and self-awareness are to success, in grad […]
Liz Homan is a doctoral candidate in the Joint Program in English and Education at The University of Michigan. Her research focuses on secondary teachers’ digital practices and social networks. You can find her on Twitter at @lizhoman or on her blog, Gone Digital.
Maybe you’ve heard that old adage, “you are what […]
If you planned your summer like I did, you likely didn’t complete half of what you set out to do. As a graduate student, I know how difficult it can be to transition from a leisurely summer to a more structured semester. In the next few weeks people will be returning from fieldwork […]
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Holidays with family and friends who are not graduate students can be restful and restorative; however, they can al… twitter.com/i/web/status/9…
Eagerly anticipating the holiday weekend with family? Or are you dreading questions about graduate school? As… twitter.com/i/web/status/9…


Welcome to the Quilting Board!
Happy Birthday K!!! May you have time to monkey around. :D
Here is another Happy Birthday wish.
Hope it was a good one!!
:D :D :D :D
have a really wonderful day Kathryn, HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU........can you hear me singing. Ah well perhaps its for the best :D


The role of Greece as a "bridge" between China and the EU is the major aim of the Greek government, in an effort to promote and expand the aspirations of the country's bourgeoisie. The visit of Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras in Beijing, on the occasion of the Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation (May 14-15) serves this purpose.
Saturday, May 13, 2017
Thursday, July 7, 2016
The official trip of Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras to China included everything: from sightseeing tour in the Great Wall and high-level talks with the Chinese government to agreements with some of the country's biggest monopoly groups.
'Cosco', the shipping giant which holds the 51% of the Piraeus Port Authority (one of Europe's largest seaports), is one of these multinational giants which seeks in multiplying its profits from the investments in Greece. Prime Minister Tsipras met with the 'Cosco' boss Xu Lirong in Shanghai where they discussed the possibility of extending the collaboration between the Chinese giant and the Greek state.
According to Greek media, Lirong asked from Tsipras to take any possible measure for the restriction of the strikes in Piraeus Port! Seems that 'Cosco' isn't pleased enough with the galley working conditions that exist in Greece's largest port and wants to extend the exploitation against dockworkers. Of course, this demand by 'Cosco' goes along the upcoming 2nd evaluation of the bailout agreement which includes new barbaric anti-workers laws, restriction of strikes, etc.
Friday, April 8, 2016
The Greek government sealed on Friday the sale of its biggest port to chinese shipping giant COSCO Shipping Corporation, the second major privatization for the bailed out country since late last year.
China COSCO's chairman Xu Lirong, Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras and the head of Greece's privatization agency signed the 368.5 million euro ($419.43 million) contract in Athens. Under the deal, China Cosco will acquire 51 percent of Piraeus Port (OLP) for 280.5 million euros and the remaining 16 percent for 88 million, after five years once it concludes mandatory investments, which will amount to 350 million euros over the next decade.
Prime Minister and SYRIZA leader Alexis Tsipras said that the privatization of Piraeus port is the starting point for upcoming investments in the country. Mr.Tsipras defiantly argued that his government's major concern is the protection of the labour rights of the dockworkers- on the same time the chinese shipping giant already applies "galley-slave" conditions in Piraeus.


Probably the best sermon or message I’ve ever heard was an Easter chapel message when I was at Wheaton…and since then I’ve also shared the basic premise of that message myself. This is an expanded version of my earlier post on faithfulness. Here it is:
Here is a question that has always bothered me: why would God forsake Jesus at the cross? I would like to examine this passage and see if we can understand what this text means to us today.
41 So also the chief priests, with the scribes and elders, mocked him, saying, 42 “He saved others; he cannot save himself. He is the King of Israel; let him come down now from the cross, and we will believe in him. 43 He trusts in God; let God deliver him now, if he desires him. For he said, ‘I am the Son of God.'” 44 And the robbers who were crucified with him also reviled him in the same way. 45 Now from the sixth hour there was darkness over all the land until the ninth hour. 46 And about the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, “Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?” that is, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” 47 And some of the bystanders, hearing it, said, “This man is calling Elijah.” 48 And one of them at once ran and took a sponge, filled it with sour wine, and put it on a reed and gave it to him to drink. 49 But the others said, “Wait, let us see whether Elijah will come to save him.” 50 And Jesus cried out again with a loud voice and yielded up his spirit. ESV
When we read Jesus’ words at the cross, it sounds very sad and miserable. I have always believed when I read about Jesus being crucified that he was forsaken by God, and I had a difficult time accepting this. Why would Jesus be forsaken in the hour of his greatest need? Didn’t the Father and the Son agree before the beginning of time to save us in this way? Jesus begged the Father that if possible he could avoid this punishment, but God did not prevent this but allowed Him to be killed. Jesus was being obedient. Why would He be forsaken?
However, I think we need to remember that the Jewish culture of this time was an oral culture. Most of the people did not have their own copies of the scriptures, but they would hear the scriptures being read aloud at the synagogue each week. The Psalms were very important to the Jews. They would be very familiar with the Psalms, and they would recognize that Jesus is quoting from Psalm 22. The entire Psalm is very helpful for understanding the life, ministry and death of Jesus, but we’ll focus on a few verses toward the end:
Ps 22:22-26 22 I will tell of your name to my brothers; in the midst of the congregation I will praise you: 23 You who fear the Lord, praise him! All you offspring of Jacob, glorify him, and stand in awe of him, all you offspring of Israel! 24 For he has not despised or abhorred the affliction of the afflicted, and he has not hidden his face from him, but has heard, when he cried to him. 25 From you comes my praise in the great congregation; my vows I will perform before those who fear him. 26 The afflicted shall eat and be satisfied; those who seek him shall praise the Lord! May your hearts live forever! ESV
Jesus knew that any faithful Jew would know Psalm 22. A few people completely misunderstood what he meant and thought he was calling for Elijah. And many people today don’t understand and think that he was completely abandoned. But this is not in the character of God:
Ps 27:10 Though my father and mother forsake me, the Lord will receive me. NIV
Ps 37:27-28 27 Turn from evil and do good; then you will dwell in the land forever. 28 For the Lord loves the just and will not forsake his faithful ones. NIV
Ps 94:14 For the Lord will not reject his people; he will never forsake his inheritance. NIV
Heb 13:5 Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.” NIV
God’s promises are true, and they never fail. When we are going through trouble and hardship, He will always be there for us, just like He was there for Jesus. We believe in the Trinity, that there is one God in three persons: the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. They are one, so they cannot be opposed to each other: the Father would never forsake the Son. They always work together, and they worked together to pay for our sins, the Son died in our place so we would be declared justified. Some believe that since Jesus took our sin on Himself, that the Father had to separate Himself from Jesus. I don’t understand all the nuance and complexity of the logistics of that process, but I don’t think that concept is fully accurate, and I think it misses the point. Even considering the Apostle’ Creed, declaring that Jesus descended into hell (which I think has very spotty biblical support, agree with Wayne Grudem that the creed probably got it wrong there), I believe God would have been there with Him the entire time. In Ps 139:7-8 it says:
7 Whither shall I go from thy spirit? or whither shall I flee from thy presence? 8 If I ascend up into heaven, thou art there: if I make my bed in hell [or Sheol, in other versions], behold, thou art there. KJV
In Acts 2:31-33, Peter is preaching about the death and resurrection of Christ. He says:
29 “Brothers, I can tell you confidently that the patriarch David died and was buried, and his tomb is here to this day. 30 But he was a prophet and knew that God had promised him on oath that he would place one of his descendants on his throne. 31 Seeing what was ahead, he spoke of the resurrection of the Christ, that he was not abandoned to the grave, nor did his body see decay. 32 God has raised this Jesus to life, and we are all witnesses of the fact. 33 Exalted to the right hand of God, he has received from the Father the promised Holy Spirit and has poured out what you now see and hear. NIV
So why did Jesus say, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” He knew the prophesies about His death, and He knew God would raise Him again and would never forsake Him. The reason Jesus said this is because He was completely human. He went through feelings of pain and rejection so He would truly understand us. Hebrews says He suffered just as we do. And I know when I go through hard times, every time it seems that God has forsaken me. When I come to a problem or issue, I have this assumption, and it doesn’t really make any sense. I think over the history of God, and I think to myself, ok, well God, you have a pretty good record. You have been successful 100% of the time, from the beginning of time up until now. This can be seen in human history and in my own life, God has been faithful to me 100% of the time, always. He has never failed. So what I do is I think this over, and then I consider the problem facing me, and I’m like, oh no, now this time I’m done for! You’re done well so far, but this one is too much, its not going to work out. This will be the first time ever that you have failed, and its going to be with me.
How foolish is this? Why don’t I remember what God has done for me and simply trust in Him? But to feel that God has forsaken you is human, and when you read the Psalms so many of them are about this. Why don’t you save me God? Why don’t you answer my prayers? Why don’t you punish evil people who are doing injustice and evil? Ultimately, God will enforce justice but not always here in this world when we want him to.
Over time I’ve seen that God is still good, and even this was in his plan, just like everything. He has never forsaken me, and He will never forsake me, and I pray that my faith would be strong enough to trust Him the next time I go through a hard time.
For you, when you feel God has abandoned you, and your ministry isn’t growing, you don’t have money, you don’t know how you’re going to get food for your family, believe that God WILL NEVER forsake you or abandon you. He knows the number of hairs on your head, and He takes care of the sparrows, and you are more valuable than any bird. Believe and trust in Him. Remember Jesus on the cross, and how much good came out of that terrible and evil act of crucifying the only Son of God, the only one who ever lived without any sin. God did not forsake Jesus, and He will not forsake you. Even if it feels like that, over time you will see how God was working in your heart and preparing you for even greater things. He was growing your faith, and making sure you truly trust Him. Through Jesus’ death we are all saved. I’m so glad Jesus did that for us! I’m so glad the Father did not forsake Him but fulfilled His plan and will continue to work in our lives and complete the work of salvation in our hearts.


There is a lot to tell about this telescope. I don't know if you are familiar with the Polarex history?
You find a lot of information on the Unitron History website: http://www.unitronhistory.com/ and an article I wrote about the history http://www.unitronhistory.com/articles/xavier-debeerst-post/
Nihon Seiko Kenkyusho started in the early 1950's with the production of high quality amateur telescopes under the brand Seiko Scope and Polarex. The Seiko Scope was the brand used in Japan and Polarex in Europe and Australia.
Only later came the brand Unitron in the US and Germany.
The Seiko Scope you're interested in is perhaps one of the first Seiko Scopes in Europe. On the boxes there are shipping labels from Malmo, Sweden over Copenhagen, Denmark to Essen, Germany. The style of the labels is early 1950's.
At the beginning of the production of the scopes Nihon Seiko didn't sign their lenses. It's only 1953 that they started to sign their lenses. So the telescope must be made between 1951 and 1953.
The oldest owner I found was a teacher of natural history in Essen, Germany. I don't know his name.
I bought the scope in Düsseldorf, Germany from a collector.
Of course the mount and all the accessories are original Seiko - Polarex accessories.
This is an extremely fine setup for its age. It's in excellent condition. It was for me an exceptional find and in the last 15 years I've more than hundred Polarex - Unitron telescopes.


St. Jude the Apostle School is a Catholic Elementary School in north Atlanta. We have an enrollment of 500 students in grades K-8. Our school is on the leading edge of technology and curriculum development. We are accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS).
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Working women get all sorts of advice. Lean in, lean out, ask for a raise, but don't ask in the wrong way, be aggressive, but not too aggressive. We're also told to make sure not to forget about our personal lives, lest we end up foregoing families or love or travel or friendship in service of our careers. It's confusing and maddening, and we're all still struggling to figure it out.
"This Woman's Work" is an ongoing series meant to show how women in different industries are living their lives. We hope to show that there's no one "right" way to succeed. There are so many ways, and so many different experiences. Today we're talking to Stacy London, the stylist, author, and former co-host of What Not to Wear. London's new reality show, Love, Lust or Run, where women with extreme taste are made under, premieres on TLC this Friday (January 23 at 9 p.m.).
Describe a typical work day for you.
With a schedule like mine, it's all or nothing. I'll go from shooting a show for up to a month, and the rest of the time I'm unstructured. I'll be writing, or taking naps, or baking. But I don't have a clear cut, 9-5 schedule. In some ways it's great. But in other ways it's tricky. You actually have to do the work of creating structure in your life. Women who either freelance or don't have conventional jobs can get tripped up. It can be easy to lie down and say you're going to watch Love, Actually and not get up for a month. Not because you are depressed, but because you lose motivation. Sometimes I'm at my desk when I'm overbooked, when I have too much to do, and I have to jump from one thing to another to another. I'm happy that way, but the downside is you tend to burn out. I definitely did after What Not To Wear. I needed to take a year to recover to really work consistently again. That's after 10 years of TV, four different endorsement deals, two books—so much going on. I spent my 30s doing exactly what your reader wants, being as successful as I wanted, but with a lot of disregard to everything else, including self care and personal life.
Describe your career trajectory. How did you get to where you are? What did your 20s look like?
I went to college and I created my own major in philosophy and literature. I took a lot of classes in psychology knowing that I wanted to be in fashion, knowing that every summer I was going to do an internship in fashion. And my first job out of college was at Vogue (I was an assistant) and, you know, they could have cared less that I wrote my thesis on Nietzsche and Heidegger.
But the amazing thing was that all of that interest in philosophy, psychology and the concept of self, and all of the amazing training that I got watching the Grace Coddingtons of the world, is exactly what wound up bringing me to What Not To Wear. Really by chance and by luck I wound up auditioning for What Not To Wear and when I got there, I recognized that everything that I had done before it made sense because it was my way of combining both styling people and an understanding that self-worth comes from self-care, and self-esteem. So the idea that all of a sudden I was bored by what Karl Lagerfeld might be doing with tweed that season paled in comparison to putting a mom from Iowa in a pair of jeans that made her feel good about herself. There was more meaning for me in that, and there was more joy for me. There was more empathy and compassion. It created dimension in an industry that has been accused of being narcissistic and vain.
So then after What Not To Wear it sounds like you really needed a break.
Yeah, well, I needed a break because I think I did a lot of things all at once.
Was there ever a time when you asked for more responsibilities at work or applied for a long shot job?
I don't think I ever really applied for anything [laughs]. Seriously, now that I think about it, I never applied for a job. I mean, everything has either sort of been by chance, or you take a step and the path kind of appears. Though I will say I made two big leaps in my life.
One was when I became a freelance stylist. I had been the assistant to the fashion director on staff at Mademoiselle with full pay and health insurance and all of that. And I went off on my own as a freelance assistant, and I did that for about a year. I worked for every famous editor, or stylist, and I was either going to become the world's best assistant, or I was going to have to refuse assisting jobs and wait for somebody to hire me as a full stylist. And I made that choice. My parents had to help pay my rent each month for a while. But, it paid off in that I finally started getting jobs where I got to style and hire an assistant instead of being an assistant.
The second time was when, while being on What Not To Wear, I started a production company. I wanted to expand my role, instead of just being talent, into things like finding other talent to promote and working with channels in order to do so. That is something that I feel very strongly about. And now with projects that I work on... even if I'm in them, I'm one of the producers.
Has there ever been a time when you've asked for a raise, and if yes, how did you go about it?
I don't think I've ever asked for a raise to be completely honest with you. I think that I've gotten promotions, but I never specifically asked for any of them. I'm a terrible person to ask about that sort of leaning in business. I feel very much like it was an organic journey for me. I didn't ask for things, they came up when they were supposed to. And I don't say that lightly. I don't say "it was so magical." I worked hard, but working hard and being at the right place at the right time is what makes you lucky.
What do you do for self-care?
I'm not a great meditator, but I have this incredible app (that I love) called Simply Being that I listen to at night. And it's more to help me fall asleep than it is to meditate, but it is so calming and I use that every night for twenty minutes before I go to sleep. I have started swimming, mostly because I had hamstring surgery this summer and really had to get back into shape—like really had to get my body strength back.
Instead of meditating when I'm conscious and awake as a hobby, I paint. I love painting. And I'm not very good at it, which is what's so great about it because I don't do it for anybody except myself. The way that I started was I ordered a bunch of acrylic paints, a bunch of brushes, and a bunch of canvases off Amazon, and locked myself in my apartment for 18 hours one weekend. I didn't read a book on how to paint before I started, I just did it. And it was such a fascinating experiment for me, because I felt no pressure. I wasn't going to show my work to anybody, it wasn't about being judged, it was about discovery, and I could lose myself in it. It was one of the most relaxing and also exciting exercises I have done for myself in years.
That sounds amazing.
If I'd read a book on how to paint with acrylics before I started, I would have created a set of expectations for myself that would've ruined the process of having fun and the idea of not worrying about whether I was messing up or not messing up. There's nothing to mess up. Women in general, I think, hold themselves to these unbelievably difficult, almost impossible standards. We don't do things without a goal in mind. You know, it's not like we exercise just to blow off steam. Most women will tell you they exercise to stay trim or stay fit or to lose weight. There's always a goal instead of being lost in the process of doing something just for the sake of doing it. And that's why painting has become such a pressure hobby for me.
What advice would you give to somebody who wanted a job like yours someday?
Be able to ad lib. Be able to talk non-stop, and if you're asked a question just be able to keep on talking until someone tells you to shut up or screams cut.
I think there's a real shift since the rise of digital. I think it's had an effect on reality television. When I started in television, there was a very, very big trend in "how-to." Trading Spaces was like the biggest show on TLC. And now with the rise of the blogger we've become a "me too" generation. So instead of having expertise and skills it's about shared experience rather than expertise. I firmly believe that that bubble is going to burst a little bit. Not that we're going to go back to print and television as the only means to understand fashion. But I do believe that learning skills, and having true expertise, is always going to have value. Even if right now all you have to do is have a blog and be able to say, "Here's a pretty picture of myself and new shoes that I bought," that's going to get old real quick.
So my advice would be: learn something. Go out and make sure that you actually have a scalable set of skills that you can rely on regardless of what medium you choose to go into.


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Kansas City based Artist and Producer ARMR blends Hip-Hop, EDM, and R&B into pure sonic energy. In 2016, ARMR independently released his debut EP “Night Clouds.” In fall 2016, ARMR released the Electronic RnB single “Call You Out.” In April 2017, ARMR released his second EP “Shift.” At the heart of ARMR’s production is a modern take on classic 80s pop, upgraded with cutting edge Trap and RnB percussive elements.
Within ARMR’s darker, more contemplative compositions is a singular emotion: Desolation. Emptiness plays out in the dissonance, distortion, and reverb heavy instrumentation. When the heaving synths and distorted drums let up, the lush sonic signature of modern dance music takes over. It’s this ebb and flow between dark and light that makes ARMR stand in contrast to other producers. ARMR’s ability to cross genres seamlessly allows his production to draw from numerous sources for inspiration. Whether the production calls for feel good Pop, EDM, Trap or Electro, ARMR is comfortable creating his own self-realized tracks and also fulfilling other artist’s creative endeavors.


As the world's tallest building, Burj Dubai has also been the site of many construction 'firsts' as developer Emaar uncovers new ways of dealing with the Burj's particular set of challenges.
However, while much of the attention will be at the other extreme when the Burj Dubai finally opens on January 4, one of the most impressive feats will be found at the foot of the tower in the 11-hactare The Park.
An area of gardens, colourful trees and water features, The Park is actually irrigated using a unique water collection system which recovers the condensation from the building’s cooling equipment to provide around 15 million gallons of water a year – or enough to fill 20 Olympic-sized swimming pools
“The design of The Park is also inspired by the core design concepts of Burj Dubai, based on the symmetries of the desert flower, Hymenocalis, and regional motifs. The Park creates a soothing oasis of green, and is a logical extension to the Emaar Boulevard, envisaged as one of the world’s finest boulevards,” explains Emaar Properties chairman Mohamed Alabbar.


Subject: I have found a CD that I think you would enjoy
Grammy's Great 1
Genres: Special Interest, Pop, R&B, Rock, Classic Rock
Similarly Requested CDs
Million selling award winners
Annie Van Auken | Planet Earth | 02/06/2007
(4 out of 5 stars)
"ATLANTIC Records' first edition of GRAMMY'S GREATEST HITS features live-TV performances of some of the most popular songs of the years 1980 to '91. All are done by the original artists. Soundtrack limitations include a monaural mix, as well as less-than-ideal theater acoustics, otherwise this entire series would easily rate 5 stars.
These are nonetheless historic performances; all sound surprisingly true to the original records. CD artwork includes commentary on each artist and song.
TOTAL RUNNING TIME -- 43:32"


Should you forgive your family for turning their back on you?
Martin Gates left the village fifteen years ago because he didn’t belong any more. Now he’s back, and looking for answers. The problem is, no one wants to hear his questions. Well, maybe Tanya McLean, but she has an ulterior motive and her husband won’t like it.
In the meantime, a horrific accident leaves a farm worker fighting for his life; a brutal killing triggers a police investigation; and even the locals are starting to fall out amongst themselves.
Now the villagers have some questions of their own. Is it possible Martin’s arrival is more than a coincidence? Do they really want reminding of what happened in the past? How has a whole farm disappeared from the map? And why are ravens gathering in Sherwood Forest?
As Martin makes his presence felt, it also becomes clear that he isn’t the only visitor. As the ravens gather and darkness descends, the time is drawing near for history to repeat itself.
Introducing characters with deep and unsettling secrets, Ravens Gathering demonstrates that you should never take things at face value. It draws the reader in with neck-prickling tension as the layers are gradually peeled back. Only as it reaches the heart-pumping climax is the shocking truth revealed.
Graeme tells the story behind the story
Back in 1989, driving along the A1, I noticed a group of black birds on the hard shoulder, no doubt feeding off some rotting dead animal. As I drew closer, some more arrived and I said: “Did you see those ravens gathering?”
The phrase leapt out at me. What a brilliant title for a book!
It stuck with me and my mind went into overdrive. With that title, the story had to be creepy, probably touching on the supernatural. It wasn’t subject matter I was naturally inclined to write, but the title didn’t really fit anything else.
To be fair, I wasn’t against horror. From the age of ten, I’d stayed up late watching Christopher Lee and Peter Cushing on TV, and in my teens I’d discovered Stephen King, James Herbert and Graham Masterton. It just never occurred to me that this was a genre I could write.
Even so, images began to come into my mind. One of the first was of drawers opening and closing themselves. Although it doesn’t survive the way I initially envisaged it, a key scene in the book does involve some unnatural furniture!
Still more ideas began to formulate and the broad idea for the story began to gel in my mind. Yet it didn’t get any further than that for twenty years.
Having spent about 5 years working on the first draft of a different novel, I concluded I needed a break before I started editing. So, taking a week’s holiday, I finally started putting down on paper the ideas that had been sitting in my head. Copious notes were written – back stories, timelines, character sketches and plot. I knew it needed serious planning because of the intricate plot.
A month later, I wrote the prologue and could barely contain my excitement as I finally crystallised a scene that had in my head for 20 years. Two years later, having been re-drafted and edited, it was finally published.
In a way, I was right. Ravens Gathering isn’t a true horror story – it’s a thriller where other genres put in cameo appearances. But its tone is right for the title and, although the genre may not be typical of my style, in a sense that’s all to the good. Because whenever someone picks up a book I’ve written, I want them to discover something they weren’t expecting.
The birds weren’t threatening, yet the sight of them all coming together in this dark and isolated spot was unnerving. Tanya reached a hand out towards Martin, and was relieved to feel him take it. She felt him move in behind her. After the uncertainty she’d experienced with him in a similar position only a few moments ago, she recognised the irony of her reaction. His closeness offered security.
“You know what they are, don’t you?”
Reviews of Ravens Gathering
“A dark and thrilling debut novel…” “…an ambitious and well written book…”
“A great, creepy thriller”
“…everything has an air of authenticity about it.”
“While the writing style is straightforward, Cumming likes to play tricks on his readers…”
“The bad guy is about as horrible, wicked and debauched a villain as you can get.”
“This is a very complicated story that remains in your psyche for some time afterwards.” “
Definitely an author to watch out for – a well written, confident debut.”
“…the story is neither trite nor predictable.”
“…the reader is kept guessing at the secrets and skeletons in the family closet.”
“…tension is allowed to build, quietly but steadily…”
“It is believable…and all the more effective for that.”
Drake Morgan on www.horrornovelreviews.com
“Small town, hidden secrets is a well-trod path. But Cumming’s narrative and creative elements elevate this beyond the usual.”
“His characters are well-developed and complex.”
“As the ravens gather, we feel the town slowly tearing at the seams as secrets won’t lie buried.”
“…the writing is excellent…”
“An interesting insight into human emotions and their ramifications.”
“Complexity of the plot and interestingly varied characters make this well worth reading.”
“I found myself drawn in…”
“Ravens Gathering got me hooked from the very beginning, really great to have a British writer writing in this genre…”
“Engrossing, fascinating, terrifying!”
“It is rare that a book brings up goose bumps but the early scene with the tractor, broad daylight yet evil everywhere, set a tone that continued.”
“Small towns and their secrets will never seem the same to me!”
“…kept the reader interested and a little unprepared for the events.”
“Make sure you have lots of time as you will not want to put this book down!”
“I was engrossed from start to finish.”
“I have read this genre for a long time and to find something so new and unique was great.”
“…he creates a sense of vulnerability and fear…”
“Loved the detailed description of the characters, really perceptive writing made it easy to connect with them all.”
“Definitely got me out of my comfort zone, in more ways than one.”
“I found it creepy (which is hard to do) yet I couldn’t put it down.”
“…very few books keep me reading ’til 3:30 in the morning, but this one did!”
“I don’t want to reveal the twist, and ruin the surprise for others.”
“I could not put this book down.”
“…I was so intrigued I finished the last third of the book in one sitting.”
“The plot is complex and twisted…”
“The opening was something we can all understand, having childhood nightmares.”
“I enjoyed Ravens Gathering. It`s village setting was brilliantly bang on reality.”
“…being a mom I don’t have a lot of spare time…but was half-way through and just couldn’t stop after that.”
“Setting off with an understated but ever present tension and sense of doom I felt exciting unease from the start…”
“The twists and turns had me stop and think a few times, with a “Oh my god,” whisper.”
“…the writing is very intense and creates suspense worthy of a Hitchcock screenplay.”
“This is a gripping and well plotted novel that should gain popularity amongst fans of the genre.
“…a dark and creepy piece of horror and mystery writing.”
“Loved the ending…love how the author kept you wanting to read more and more. LOVE THE BOOK!!!”


I’m back from my amazing vacation in the Caribbean and I have lots of mouth watering food to share with you. Thankfully my quest for the elusive fried fish sandwich was fulfilled along my insatiable appetite for EVERYTHING.
Our itinerary was 2 days at sea, San Juan, St. Thomas (traveled to St. John too), Dominican Republic, Haiti, and then 2 days at sea.
Overall the food was absolutely amazing. Whether it was from the main dinning room, Chops Steakhouse, or local island food, I was always left incredibly content and STUFFED.
I’m going to post all of the pictures as a gallery with a brief description. When it comes to the fruits from the Dominican republic please correct me if I identify anything wrong. I was a bit confused between breadfruit, passion fruit, and cacao, but I think I got it all right.
First I will cover the food from the boat in the “My Fair lady” Dinning room.
Hover over images to see the descriptions or view with “PicLens.”
Well, it looks like I had more pictures than I thought so I am going to split this up into two posts. Stay tuned for part 2 – Island food!


NFL practice squad players are typically paid $5,200 a week, which translates to $88,400 for a full season. But the Tampa Bay Buccaneers are paying one practice squad player a salary of $310,000. And Bengals coach Marvin Lewis isn’t happy about that.
The player is wide receiver Dezmon Briscoe, a sixth-round draft pick of the Bengals this year. When Briscoe didn’t make the Bengals’ 53-man roster at the end of the preseason, they wanted to add him to their own practice squad. But the Bucs offered Briscoe significantly more money, so he joined Tampa Bay’s practice squad instead. And while that doesn’t violate the letter of the league rules, Lewis thinks it does violate the rules’ spirit.
“When you overpay a guy on the practice squad, you create a problem in the system for teams,” Lewis said, per PewterReport.com. “I don’t know that teams want to set that precedent. They did with Dez. That’s not the great precedent for teams to set as we try to keep the NFL doing the things we’re trying to do as a league. It’s still a league of 32 teams and things are put together a certain way.”
But while Lewis doesn’t like what the Bucs did, Briscoe likes it a lot.
“They signed me up and paid me more than the practice squad usually gets, knowing that I will have a chance to really come in and help the team,” Briscoe said. “That shows their commitment to me and I appreciate it.”
Briscoe is right: For all the talk that the Bucs are cheap, this is a case of a team investing a little more money to get a talented player. And if Lewis has a problem with that, his problem should be with Bengals owner Mike Brown for not matching the Bucs’ offer.


I have been listening to a lot of music lately, the writing is in full swing, so I thought I would share my Top Ten Artists from Project: Shadow’s Music Profile at Last.fm. I must say, I was surprised by the list a little, and as usual there are a lot of ties. My top 10 this week has 13 Artists in it. Not because it is such a luck number but because there are 10 songs tied for the number 4 slot on the chart.
4. Rob Zombie, Nightwish, Ann Wilson, Meat Loaf, Dio, HIM, Leave's Eyes, Type O Negative, Fields of the Nephilim, and Blackmore's Night.
- Rob Zombie
- I saw the trailer for the remake of Halloween, at at first I was angry. This is not the kind of film that needs to be remade. Then I saw that Rob Zombie was doing it. I shrugged and thought to myself that it could not be all that bad, and found myself playing more Zombie. My hopes are up.
- What can I say? I am surprised they didn't make it higher on the charts. Slaying the Dreamer is very close to my heart right now as I am writing the next chapter in Fate's Harrow.
- Ann Wilson
- Her first solo album is not out yet, but the Podfather played a track on the Daily Sourse Code, and I ran to the Podsafe Music Network right away to check it out. They have 2 tracks from the new album, Hope and Glory, Where to now St Peter (which she sings with Elton John) is an amazing tune, and her cover of the Immigrant Song blew me away. I am looking for ways to feature them in the Podcast.
- Meat Loaf
- What? Don't look at me like that! I am writing, I need the drama and Meat Loaf is good to write too. He was in the Tenacious D movie so, he is cool! Back off buddy. j/k
- For some reason, his Magica album has been in my thoughts lately. Probably because I want to make an animated film out of it.
- This is all Pandora's fault. I have been listening to Pandora a lot lately, and I am beginning to realize that I kinda really like HIM.
- Leave's Eyes
- Legend Land is the soundtrack of my fiction right now. I cannot wait for the next album.
- Type O Negative
- I have really been looking for more music like the song Enemy of the State from Roadrunner United, but I have not found anything. If you know of any songs like it, please send me a note. In the mean time, I am I glad to fill my ears with Type O Negative.
- Fields of the Nephilim
- The Nephilim are one of the greatest bands ever. What more can I say?
- Blackmore's Night
- Pandora recently introduced me to this band. They are an amazingly fresh and exciting. Most of the write ups on them I found call them Gypsy Rock. Medieval meets classic rock, it is an instant winner.
- One of my all time top artists, for sure, but lately, I have been getting more and more songs stuck in my mind. Man, I wish their tour came closer to me, I would love to see them live again.
- Paul Stanley
- Songs like "Live to Win," "All about you," and "Wake up Screaming," have become instant classics for me, I just can't hear them enough. There may not be any more Kiss albums coming, but I hope Paul keeps them coming.
- Ok, I am sure you saw that coming. This has been a back to basics week for me, and there is no band closer to my heart than Kiss, and here they are yet again at number 1!


By changing our approach to author rights, we can help writers earn more.
Here are five lessons we can learn from elsewhere to help Australian authors earn more money.
Australians are full of good ideas. Many made their debut in the pages of The Conversation.
The Conversation played host to really important new ideas in 2018. Some will take years to develop. Others will never come to fruition. But they're important.
Umomos via Shutterstock
A judgment by the European court has extended copyright to all literary and artistic creations, but cheese is still not protected.
South Africa seeks to amend its outdated copyright legislation.
South Africa's copyright law must not continue ignoring the principles of fair use.
Copyright, and copyright laws, will not always match expectations.
In an example of the law of unintended consequences, the Copyright Directive is likely to cement the US tech giants' grip, rather than provide space for others to grow.
Vincent Copley senior and Vincent Copley junior at Redbanks Conservation Park, Burra, in June, 2018. They are holding Ngadjuri book, with their grandfather and great-grandfather, Barney Waria, on the cover.
Photo: C.J. Taylor, Flinders University.
In the 1940s, the last initiated Ngadjuri man, Barney Waria, gave a series of interviews to anthropologist Ronald Berndt. Almost 80 years later, Waria's grandson wants to share this material with his family.
It's worth noting some key points about copyright and ownership before signing up to social media sites like Instagram.
The on-paper designs for furniture belong to the designer, just like any other artists. But things get more complicated when designs become physical objects.
How are furniture designers protected by law, and what is an 'original design' when aesthetics meets functionality?
'Cyberlocker' illegal streaming sites are in a constant cat-and-mouse struggle with law enforcement.
A man looks at sports publications at a Barcelona newsstand in 2017. The European Union is considering new regulations for the online use of news content.
A proposed EU copyright directive aims to make Google, Facebook and other online platforms pay to display snippets of news. But will it work, and what will be the costs?
Back to the drawing board: the proposed copyright reform is unworkable.
A new copyright reform law has many up in arms – they want you to do something about it before it comes up for a vote.
Information extracted from copyrighted material should not be seen as an infringement. Such analytical use is good for society.
Companies like Amazon create value for investors through their people, their invented systems and processes, and their physical presence.
Traditional accounting calculates a company's value by measuring physical assets and how much they owe. But we can tweak this for today's economy by including people and their ability to innovate.
'Parasitic' or copycat brands which mimic famous names are creating a market place of their own but they are treading on thin ice when it comes to copyright and intellectual property law.
There are many ways the not-for-profit GLAM sector - public galleries, libraries, archives and museums - could be protected from potential copyright damages claims.
Australia's plan to extend ISP 'safe harbour' copyright immunities to cultural institutions avoids more nuanced thinking about the nature and social value of culture, art and education.
Tim Rogers at the 2016 ARIA Awards.
AAP Image/Paul Miller
Tim Rogers has threatened to take legal action after one of his songs was included in Cory Bernardi's conservative Australia Day playlist. Rogers's case rests on obscure legal provisions known as moral rights.
Rapper Eminem performs in Santiago, Chile, in 2016.
Eminem is back and raging at Donald Trump - but for once the president has not retaliated. Maybe Slim Shady is just a bit too much like his core supporters.
YouTube and Facebook are protected from Australia’s copyright laws, since they already operate within the US safe harbours.
The government’s latest Copyright Amendment Bill is a step in the right direction, but it doesn't do enough to foster innovation.
Bootlegs - across formats - have experienced buoyancy within the music marketplace for the last 40 years or so.
Bootlegs will continue to be manufactured.
The future of the bootleg might just reinvent the official release.
Ondrej Prosicky / Shutterstock.com
Digital and animal cultures pose a profound challenge to the law’s recognition of human uniqueness.


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A funny switch has happened in me this year where I am moderately excited and inspired by Valentine’s Day. My birthday falls the day before Valentine’s Day so that has always overshadowed the day for me. To boot, the last few years I have done flower pop-ups on Valentine’s Day which have kept me run off my feet for the week leading up to it. Maybe it’s the fact that I’m not doing any flower events this year OR that my birthday is a big one that I would be totally fine just skipping over, but regardless of the reasons, here I am, excited about Valentine’s Day! For the first time since running this blog I even have a list of Valentine’s Day things that I wanted to make and share. This beautiful cake is the first of them!
So here’s the truth, while I like to think of myself as someone who can make some pretty delicious things, baking is something that I have definitely had to work at. At Christmas time I attempted two gingerbread cakes that I really wanted to share here. While both were delicious and well enjoyed, my timing was off and I didn’t leave myself enough time to bake, decorate, and photograph before it was time to enjoy (try telling your whole family that the cake they have been smelling for hours can’t be eaten until the next day!) so they never made it here…or even got properly decorated for that matter!
This time I called in some professional help. My friend Allison who helps out with flowers in the wedding season also happens to be a cake designer so she helped me make something beautiful. While Allison is a professional who has done this 100 times I took a few really helpful tips away from how she put this naked cake together that will definitely help me when making my next cake and will hopefully help you too!
We started with a naked cake and then added a chocolate ganache drip. After that came the fun part…decorating!
We used a box cake mix to make this cake – they’re simple and reliable…what’s not to love?! This cake has an 8″ diameter but you can definitely make a beautiful cake in any size depending on the size of your group!
Here are some helpful tips for making a cake that I learned from Allison:
This was the biggest lesson for me. In the past when trying to make a beautiful layered cake I have not left myself enough time. In reality, it is a 2 day job. Bake on the first day, decorate on the second.
The really important thing when decorating cakes is to keep them COLD! This is the main reason why giving yourself enough time is key. That day of chilling is important to make sure the icing holds firm between the layers. Before we added the ganache drip we had the cake in the freezer again because we wanted the chilled cake to cool the ganache as it dripped down the cake.
In life, yes, but I’m talking with icing here! The icing was butter cream made with LOTS of icing sugar. Having a thick buttercream will ensure that your icing stays firm between the cake layers which is really important. A runny icing will not allow you to have nice layers in your cake (I’ve made this error before too!).
Allison used a lazy Susan (ok, side note, I can’t believe that is actually what those things are called! Ha!) to spin the cake while she smoothed the icing and this is definitely something I will be adding to my kitchen. For the ganache drip she used a squeeze bottle which was perfect for dripping the ganache around the perimeter and flooding the interior of the cake.
It’s no surprise that this was my favourite part (well honestly, Allison did everything else up until here!). I decorate tons of cakes with flowers for weddings but adding in more than just flowers here was a ton of fun. Since this cake was for Valentine’s Day we went for a big heap of pink and red things. No matter what the occasion though, I love these cakes that have eclectic toppers of many elements – in my opinion they’re so fun and beautiful!
First, decide the general locations where you would like to decorate the cake. I love things to be asymmetrical so we went for some decoration on one side of the top of the cake balanced by some decoration on the opposite side at the base. Similar to when making flower arrangements, we placed the largest elements on the cake first – those were the flowers. From there we worked our way down to the finer elements adding the cookies next, then the fruit, then the candies, and topped off with the sprinkles. The larger elements define the decorated areas and the smaller ones fill it out and taper the design so it feels really natural and balanced on the cake. You can decorate your naked cake in so many different and fun ways and I definitely encourage you to try different elements and placing them in different ways!
That’s what I’ve been doing for the last 2 days! A cake like this would be such a fun family treat for Valentine’s Day or for a party with friends. If making a naked cake with a drip isn’t for you then you can truly make any cake fun and unique just by decorating it with elements that you love – try adding decoration to a basic store bought cake or even a batch of cupcakes with each one decorated differently.
Follow along with our daily snaps featuring flowers & events, outfits, recipes, and all things lovely


EliMarcoModel Female New York, New York, US
Mayhem # 2954363
About MeStudent/Model/Actress/Misfit. I've been doing this for about two years. I enjoy it quite a bit:)
As much as I love being naked, nude TFP is on a very limited basis right now. However I understand that everyone is broke, so if you have something really different you'd like to try, I'd totally consider it.
The best way to contact me is through email- firstname.lastname@example.org. Until model mayhem gets an app, I just won't check it that often.
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This is the frame only for a Gravity Brew Sculpture. It has a gas system in place, but does not come with any kettles or tubing. If you do not already have these items, they will need to be purchased separately. Or, for a complete package, see our BrewSculptures page!
Please Note: These frames have been modified in-house, and have minor cosmetic grind marks.
A joy to use! We call this a Gravity BrewSculpture because there are no pumps involved as the flow of liquid is gravity driven all the way into the fermenter. The burner is designed to hold any kettle diameter over 11 inches and height up to 15 inches.
Pros And Cons Versus other Styles
Pros: Ease of use. These system are very simple to operate. A huge benefit of this system is its size. The foot print is 2 ft x 3 ft so it will fit almost anywhere. The height of the Mash Tun (where grain gets stirred in) is low so no ladders or steps are needed. Does not require a pump so you can brew without needing an electrical source.
Cons: Not available for a 20 gallon system. Doesn't come with a pump so it isn't ideal for doing recirculation mashes. Does not allow for the control or flexibility the Digital Packages can offer.


Runtime : 92 min
Genre : Horror | Thriller
Movie Release: 10 October 2014 (USA)
Director: Ivan Kavanagh
Writer: Ivan Kavanagh
Stars: Antonia Campbell-Hughes, Rupert Evans, Steve Oram
Film archivist David (Rupert Evans) has been having a rough time lately, as he suspects that his wife Alice (Hannah Hoekstra) has been cheating on him with Alex (Carl Shaaban), one of her work clients. This stress is compounded when David’s work partner Claire (Antonia Campbell-Hughes) gives him a reel of to-be-archived footage that shows that his house was the setting for a brutal murder in 1902. Becoming progressively more unsettled and unhinged, David begins to believe that a spectral presence is in his house and ends up following his wife to a nearby canal, where he discovers that she is indeed having an affair with Alex. When Alice goes missing shortly afterwards, David contacts the police- only to become the prime suspect in her disappearance. As the police grow more convinced that David has murdered his wife, he struggles to find proof of his growing suspicion that something otherworldly was instead responsible.
The Canal Movie Trailer


LONG CO., GA (WTOC) - The Thanksgiving holiday is a time when many of us gather with family and loved ones. But for one local family, it's also a reminder of a loved one who is no longer with them - and they still have no idea what happened to her.
After ten years, the family of Gail Deloach Moody is still hoping that someone has information that can finally close the haunting disappearance case of their loved one.
"It was almost like she disappeared. She just poof - just like she went out. Just poof," says Gail's mother, Melanie Clark.
Next week marks ten years since then 42-year-old Gail Deloach Moody seemingly vanished from her Long County home. Despite the signs, the vigils, and the searches - there is still no trace of what happened to her.
"I think somebody kidnapped her. I really do. There was no trace. There was no trace in the trailer. They didn't find anything around in the yard...nothing," says Clark.
Investigators once said they thought Moody's disappearance might be connected to the murder of military wife, Lori Arrowood, that happened three years later.
Kenneth Lumpkin, the man serving a life sentence for Arrowood's murder, was also friends and neighbors with Moody. However, nothing ever came of it. And ten years after her disappearance, Moody's family is still left to wonder.
"That's what is so hard. What happened to her. I just hope whatever happened, if somebody captured her and took off or something like that, they didn't treat her too bad. But we just don't know. Don't know a thing. That's what makes it so hard," says Gail's 97-year-old grandmother, Wilma Ray.
Even though she has now been declared legally dead, Moody's family is still not giving up hope that she might still be alive, or at the very least, they might find out what happened to her.
"Any little thing. Any information you have, it might be something big," her mother says.
Moody's family says ending the "not knowing" would finally give them some closure to this mysterious and haunting case.
If you have any information about what might have happened to Gail Deloach Moody, you are asked to contact the Long County Sheriff's Office or the GBI.


Wyoming Gospel Radio is supported by generous listeners like you!
Locally owned and operated, KWYG went "On the Air" August 3, 2015, as a not-for-profit, low-power (100 watts) community radio station, broadcasting on 98.5 FM in Cheyenne. Thanks to the generous donations of listeners like you, Wyoming Gospel Radio added the ability to "Listen Now" via the web on June 9, 2016. With your continuing gifts of support, KWYG will be able to keep offering Great Southern Gospel music and expand its programming here in the Cowboy State, and to listeners around the globe. We are listener supported. THANK YOU for giving cheerfully to this ministry!


There are more people then ever interested in learning about meditation these days. In a world where 40-hour work weeks are becoming obsolete in favor of 60- and 70-hour work weeks, when people are being laid off and fired and those who remain are expected to pick up the slack, and with digital interconnectedness making it easier then ever to access information that previously could have been impossible to find, it’s no wonder people are clamoring for ANYTHING that will help them feel more focused, calm, and at peace.
In the classical 8-limbed yoga path, the last few steps are the ones we must look to if we really want to reap the benefits of focus, concentration, and meditation.
Where to start and how to progress
In an asana, or posture, practice, you may hear instructors talk about focus and concentration. There’s a Sanskrit term called drishti that refers to a single-pointed focus that can be helpful in balancing postures. The idea is that you look at one point that is unmoving and focus all of your attention and awareness to that one point so that your mind and other external stimulus can’t distract you.
As a quick review, the 8-limbed yoga path contains the following steps:
- Yamas (how you interact with the world around you)
- Niyamas (how you interact with your self)
- Asana (posture)
- Pranayama (breath)
- Pratyahara(withdrawal of the senses)
- Dharana (concentration)
- Dhyana (meditation)
- Samadhi (enlightenment)
Asana, Pranayama and Pratyahara are all helpful practices to engage to help us relax. But relaxing isn’t meditating. There is a difference between your body being relaxed and your mind being relaxed and there is an even more subtle layer between your mind being calm and your mind being attached to your experiences.
It is important that we incorporate relaxation into our yoga practice because we need to be able to relax the body and mind before we’re able to access more subtle layers of our Self. If we are not relaxed, we’ll have a really hard time focusing. And without focus, it will be impossible to withdraw our senses inward. If we can’t withdraw our sense inward, we’ll have a hard time ever grasping meditation.
Everyone relaxes in different ways, but posture can be effective in achieving a relaxed state. As long as the posture is easeful and not mixed with too much effort and power, posture practice can leave us with a relaxed body and mind.
Calming activities like reading, watching TV, massage, that is more wholistic and looks beyond physical postures.
Once you do find relaxation, which by the way, can be very challenging for some of us (like me), you’re able to begin a practice in concentration (which is interchangeable with focus, as referenced above, but here, I’m talking about a more formal practice of concentrating). I remember growing up concentration was my favorite card game – the one where all the cards are arranged facedown and you had to flip over two cards to see if you get a match. Any practice that helps work your brain can be a concentration exercise.
Keeping your mind focused on one thing is a concentration exercise. Focusing on an object or on your breath can be a practice in concentration. Focusing on a mantra can be a practice in concentration or listening to the same sound over and over again can help you focus.
This is the one place where people get the most confused with the difference between focus/concentration and meditation. Sitting on a cushion and focusing on your breath is not meditation. It’s concentration.
This isn’t to say it’s not an extremely helpful practice, because we all need more brain training to help us focus and single-task so that we can remain more present in every moment. And this is a step on the path toward meditation, but it’s not quite meditation yet.
In yoga, you reach meditation when you are able to sustain concentration on one object for so long that you move beyond the object, sound, image, mantra, etc. that you’re focusing on.
Hold on for a moment because I’m about to get completely esoteric.
Meditation can be frustrating because we never really know if we’re doing it right. We sit again and again hoping something will happen and become more and more frustrated that we can’t “quiet our mind.” We ask ourselves the question more then once “why am I sitting here looking like a fool and pretending that I can do this thing day after day with no result?”


JCPenney apologizes for T-shirt that says, ‘Too pretty to do homework’
The shirt has caused a social media uproar.
Nothing like a good old fashioned social media firestorm to lead you into the holiday weekend—unless, of course, you’re the company that sparked it. Today, that company is JCPenney, which is apologizing for a T-shirt it’s selling that says, “I'm too pretty to do homework so my brother has to do it for me.” The promo copy for the shirt reads: “Who has time for homework when there's a new Justin Bieber album out? She'll love this tee that's just as cute and read more...
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Ended: 11/10/2012 23:59 ET(18+)
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Season 3, Episode 15 The Pharaoh's Engineers
First Aired: January 27, 1986
An ex-agent is planning to destroy a Government office, but which one? The answer may lie with retirees who once worked on the same secret project. Bruce Boxleitner, Kate Jackson. Rupert Simpson: Ian Wolfe. Frank Duran: Ray Wise. Ray Palmer: Thalmus Rasulala.
Cast & Details See all »
- Premiered: October 3, 1983
- Rating: None
- Premise: A handsome spy enlisted the aid of a spunky divorcée to help him with difficult cases. They worked well together---so much so that a romance developed, along with a double life for Mrs. King that often got complicated. (more)


How to Install PyInstaller¶
pip install pyinstaller
or upgrade to a newer version:
pip install --upgrade pyinstaller
To install the current development version use:
pip install https://github.com/pyinstaller/pyinstaller/tarball/develop
Installing in Windows¶
For Windows, PyWin32 or the more recent pypiwin32, is a prerequisite. The latter is installed automatically when you install PyInstaller using pip or easy_install. If necessary, follow the pypiwin32 link to install it manually.
It is particularly easy to use pip-Win to install PyInstaller along with the correct version of PyWin32. pip-Win also provides virtualenv, which makes it simple to maintain multiple different Python interpreters and install packages such as PyInstaller in each of them. (For more on the uses of virtualenv, see Supporting Multiple Platforms below.)
When pip-Win is working, enter this command in its Command field and click Run:
venv -c -i pyi-env-name
This creates a new virtual environment rooted at
and makes it the current environment.
A new command shell
window opens in which you can run commands within this environment.
Enter the command
pip install PyInstaller
Once it is installed, to use PyInstaller,
- Start pip-Win
- In the Command field enter
- Click Run
Then you have a command shell window in which commands such as pyinstaller execute in that Python environment.
Installing in Mac OS X¶
PyInstaller works with the default Python 2.7 provided with current Mac OS X installations. However, if you plan to use a later version of Python, or if you use any of the major packages such as PyQt, Numpy, Matplotlib, Scipy, and the like, we strongly recommend that you install these using either MacPorts or Homebrew.
PyInstaller users report fewer problems when they use a package manager than when they attempt to install major packages individually.
Installing from the archive¶
If pip is not available, download the compressed archive from PyPI. If you are asked to test a problem using the latest development code, download the compressed archive from the develop branch of PyInstaller Downloads page.
Expand the archive.
Inside is a script named
python setup.py install
with administrator privilege to install or upgrade PyInstaller.
For platforms other than Windows, Linux and Mac OS, you must first
build a bootloader program for your platform: see Building the Bootloader.
After the bootloader has been created,
python setup.py install with administrator privileges
to complete the installation.
Verifying the installation¶
On all platforms, the command
pyinstaller should now exist on the
execution path. To verify this, enter the command
The result should resemble
3.n for a released version,
3.n.dev0-xxxxxx for a development branch.
If the command is not found, make sure the execution path includes the proper directory:
C:\PythonXY\Scriptswhere XY stands for the major and minor Python version number, for example
C:\Python34\Scriptsfor Python 3.4)
- OS X (using the default Apple-supplied Python)
- OS X (using Python installed by homebrew)
- OS X (using Python installed by macports)
To display the current path in Windows the command is
and in other systems,
The complete installation places these commands on the execution path:
pyinstalleris the main command to build a bundled application. See Using PyInstaller.
pyi-makespecis used to create a spec file. See Using Spec Files.
pyi-archive_vieweris used to inspect a bundled application. See Inspecting Archives.
pyi-bindependis used to display dependencies of an executable. See Inspecting Executables.
pyi-grab_versionis used to extract a version resource from a Windows executable. See Capturing Windows Version Data.
If you do not perform a complete installation
pip or executing
these commands will not be installed as commands.
However, you can still execute all the functions documented below
by running Python scripts found in the distribution folder.
The equivalent of the
pyinstaller command is
The other commands are found in
with meaningful names (


In January and February of 2012 I read up on barn owls as a way of controlling squirrel populations and decided to build a barn owl box to attract barn owls to our property. Following suggested designs on the Internet, I built a barn owl box and hung it from a eucalyptus tree branch about three feet below the branch so that the box is about twenty feet in above the ground and about 175 feet south of our house. I put a night vision IP video camera inside the box and strung an overhead cable between the box and the second floor deck of our house to power the camera and convey the Internet signal from the owl box to the house, making the camera part of our private LAN.
For several weeks with the camera turned on 24/7, I checked frequently for occupancy, with no luck. Then about a week ago I powered off the camera on the theory that the camera lights, including in particular the red lights which are essential to night vision, were a turn off to owls with their own excellent night vision.
About 10:00 AM this morning, I powered up the camera, took the attached picture of our new occupant, and promptly powered off the camera again so as not to scare away our new occupant, who was moving around as I took the picture.
I intend to briefly turn the camera on every few weeks to take additional peeks.
3/28 - update -I now have the camera on 24/7. The light does not seem to bother the owls.


V-Guard & V-Guard +
The brands V-Guard and V-Guard+ are the trade names of Venus Glass security products which are burglar proof, bullet proof and explosion proof. The V-Guard and V-Guard+ products are the only Iranian security glass products certified by international laboratories.
V-Guard glass is an ideal and economic choice for protection against burglar and recommended to be used in residential and commercial buildings. Multiple layers and interlayers used in V-Guard glass provide higher security compared to common glass.
V-Guard+ products answer needs for bullet proof glass in domestic market and are available in variety of functionalities resistant against different bullets types and calibers.
Burglar and bullet proof glass provides security while maintaining the outside view. Excessive thickness of the security glass causes extra production, transit and installation costs and hardship. In addition increasing the thickness or using low quality glass affects the clearness of security glass. Glass type, placement order of various layers and interlayers and manufacturing process of V-Guard and V-Guard+ are designed in a way that security and safety requirements be achieved while the least weight and highest level of clearness are guaranteed.
Both mentioned product families are evaluated in European laboratories regarding their security levels, providing customers with opportunity of choosing proper product based on their required functionalities.
- V-Guard and V-Guard+ families are advantageous alternatives for securing the buildings providing wide transparent surfaces with reliable prevention. V-Guard glass is burglar proof and V-Guard+ glass is bullet proof.
- Due to inclusion of PVB, PU and EVA interlayers, V-Guard and V-Guard+ products have UV protection capability, so that preventing transmission of more than 90% of UV radiation.
- V-Guard and V-Guard+ families are basically considered as earthquake resistant glass. In case of earthquake, the glass may break, but will stand in its frame and not distribute around.
- Due to high thickness of V-Guard and V-Guard+ glass and included interlayers, these products are very effective noise barriers having a triple protecting effect compared to a single glazed glass.


A key/legend to the map can be found here.
So here's the latest map in the Atlas Elyden series. Khamid is one of the first regions I came up with, before I actually started working on the world of Elyden - it's a remnant of an old D&D campaign system I had come up with for 3rd edition (or possibly 3.5) that I imported into Elyden since I hate wasting a good region! I redid the map and recycled the place names and the Cataclysm (more on this below TL,DR: a HUGE magical disaster destroyed half the nation a long time ago) from the original setting.
Back in it's first incarnation it was a very blatant ancient Egypt analogy (read 'rip-off') and positioned on the southern coast of an inner sea. I re-did the map and came up with more original history, whilst keeping some of the Egyptian influences.
A key/legend to the map can be found here
|Atlas Elyden #29 - the Independancy of Khamid|
Khamid is a land viewed with empathy and awe by those in the west, and its mention would likely conjure images of monolithic destruction, mystic shapers, granite pyramids, and gigantic pylon-shaped mausolea. This was once true, though it is only one facet of a long and troubled past.
Its defining trait - the Great Cataclysm of 101 RM - is a shackle that Khamid has been unable to shake, tethering it to the past in many ways. To understand this impact this great calamity had on the Khamidians, one must understand Khamid’s past, a tale that walks side-by-side with the early spread of shaping amongst the mortal races.
The Art of Firmamentism was pioneered Ages past by the Demiurge Duruthilhotep, who handed down its secrets to his mortal children, the ifirmians, just as the Demiurge Rachanael first taught the secrets of the Atramenta to his children, the plagi.
For a time the secrets of the dichotomous matter of creation were just that: secrets held by the Demiurges and their chosen ones, but contact between the Two-and-Twenty tribes slowly increased, propagating a slow spread of the Art of shaping. It was a Scion of Duruthilhotep, Khamar, who travelled west with a handful of ifirmian acolytes and brought knowledge of Firmamentism with him to a land of farmers who revered their dead and gazed upon the stars with wonder.
He saw in them much potential and, together with his ifirmian aides, taught them the sciences of astronomy, architecture, medicine, and embalming. Under his aegis they prospered and spread, taking the Scion’s name as the name of their homeland. Proud of what they accomplished, he moved on to new lands, and allowed them to govern themselves.
They escaped the darkness that ended the Fourth Age of Mortal life relatively unscathed and went on to become one of the more powerful empires in the region, ruled by the Pharoants - a caste that legend claims to be descended from the Scion Khamar (and, by extension, Duruthilhotep himself!).
These rulers were priests and shapers of the highest magnitude and were considered gods amongst men. As other cultures struggled with rebuilding following the devastation that ended Fourth Age, the Pharoants and their people were dominating trade across the Dark sea west into the Inner Sea and south across the Iapetan sea, taking advantage of the needs of nascent peoples that surrounded them. By c. -250 RM they were trading with the Nathi Kingdom, sharing secrets of alchemy with the city-state of Midal. By the time the Nathi Kingdom fragmented in c -150 RM Khamar had grown into a decadent place, its Pharoants using their Firmamental abilities to prolong their lives, growing more and more debauched off of the spoils of trade. Their people were hardly ill-treated, but the chasm between ruler and ruled continued to grow even as a third class made up of powerful merchant-lords grew in influence.
The secrets of shaping grew stagnant under these apathetic dynasties, and many processes and techniques were lost, preserved only in ancient treatises that were forgotten. What was not lost was their expertise in prolonging life and stalling the effects of decay on their bodies following their eventual death.
By the first decades of the Korachani calendar, Khamar had become Khamid following the evolution of its language after prolonged contact with Hara and Venath. It was in this time that the so-called Cataclysm of Khamid took place, in 101 RM.
Some say it was a Firmamental ritual gone calamitously awry. Others that is was Khamar, returned to appraise his people, punishing them for the sins of their indifferent rulers. Some say it was a natural disaster, unfortunate yet inevitable. Though speculation is rife, the truth is we do not know - almost all records of the day were obliterated, alongside most of the nation’s populace.
At the time of the Cataclysm, most of Khamid was concentrated in territories south of the Snjemet Mountains, sue to the mineral richness the regions. Most of its major cities and trading centres were destroyed, alongside its jewel, the capital of Kharr (the present-day Kharr, built in memory of the fallen capital, is roughly 40-miles south-east of the sunken ruins of the old capital). What remained, north of the Snjemet Mountains, were mostly rural communities that worked hard to maintain the affluence the South Kingdom had grown used to.
The Khamidians grew fascinated with death following the Cataclysm, continuing a tradition started by the Pharoants of building gigantic pylon mausolea, hollow, with inner loggias that housed thousands of embalmed bodies. During this time the Khamidian people turned on their Firmamental heritage (leading some scholars to believe that misuse of the Firmament was responsible for the Cataclysm), leading to a purge of many Firmamental records - a great blow to those studying the history of shaping in the region.
Khamid was devastated. Its leadership, its trade, its military were destroyed in one blighted day, remembered bitterly to this day by its descendants. Other regions were quick to fill in the cultural vacuum - Venath to the south, Hara and Goetia to the North-West, pirates and corsairs, and Char Mâthi to the east (though the latter was also affected by the destruction), and for many centuries the land of Khamid became a hunting ground for more powerful political players, it’s people prey to their slavers and armies.
By c. 800 RM a descendant of the Pharoants, known as Sapet Besayt, emerged in the region of Nehrenhat, bringing the people together around the town of Iahnef. Over the next decades he was able to ally himself with the people of Haré Shka to the north. With their help he was able to train Khamid to defend herself against attack. So good was he that by 992 RM, when Haré Shka was threatened by Melayan barbarians it was Khamid who went to its aid. This cemented a close coalition that lasted for many years, leading to the establishment of a port and embassy in the settlement of Lamea in Caria in 1012 RM, which became a centre of trade between the two nations.
Sapet became the first in a new dynasty of Khamidian rulers that led Khamid into a golden age of sorts. Honourable values were instilled into the Khamidian people under this new dynastic rule, with reliance on esoteric arcana ignored and discouraged. Ancient idols, temples and colossi were allowed to fall into ruin as the Khamidians looked to the future instead - technarcana instead of shaping, trade with the outside world, industry, and diplomacy all became traits of Khamid, who, though its silver-tongued ambassadors, was able to maintain good relations with most outside nations.
The Sapeti dynasties, as they became known, lasted until 2384 RM, when Shedkharkhem IV, the last in their line, was assassinated, replaced by a powerful demagogue Natit Henshef who used fear and tyranny to bring back a belief in the old gods, elevating him to the statue of emissary. He took on the mantle of Pharoant, a practice his descendants would continue for centuries.
Desperate to gain some new territories and resources following its losses in Almagest in 3014 RM, Korachan turned to the East and found Khamid; greatly diminished under the stewardship of the new Pharoants, who busied themselves erecting gigantic pylon mausolea in their honour, allowing the good done by the Sapeti Dynasties to falter. Following a blockade between 3019 and 3021 RM the Pharoants agreed to surrender on condition they be granted citizenship of Korachan, with lands and titles in the heartland. By 3023 RM the Pharoants had married into imperial Archpatrician families and had become little more than instruments of the empire.
The name Pharoant slowly fell into disuse and these imperial puppets eventually became indistinguishable from western Archpatricians (though they maintained a flair for the dramatic - with garb inspired by their ancient namesakes), and ruled the region, handing over a portion of state-owned resources to the Korachani empire until the Dissolution of the Empire in 3705 RM, after which it was placed under control of the Domnitors who abandoned it fully in 3781 RM, leaving Khamid independant after seven centuries of subjugation. The descendants of the new Pharoants left Khamid when the Domnitors were installed, fulfilling a destiny promised by Korachan in 3021 RM and claiming the lands they were promised so long ago. Many of these Khamidian-descended patrician houses are still around today, proud of their eastern heritage.
Korachani rule saw Firmamental practices, already greatly reduced since the days of the Cataclysm, all but forbidden, replaced instead by technarcana - which the people of Khamid saw as a defining symbol of their oppressors, causing them to dismissive of it.
Most Khamidians remain distrustful of the technarcane arts as well as shaping in general to this day, which is somewhat of a burden in today’s post-industrial landscape, though there is a small but growing interest in the region’s ancient history and links with the dawn of Firmamentism in the west, with some individuals travelling to Meniscea to learn the truth behind the Art. this may lead to Khamid becoming a centre of firmamentism in the west.


Classy apartment with every inch detailed in designer quality
Amazingly designed and well proportioned, with a great location to match.Area Surrounding the Apartment;
In the heart of Chueca , one of the most lively and cosmopolitan areas of Madrid . The visitor can enjoy all the things this one of a kind neighborhood has to offer : chic cafes , exclusive boutiques, amazing shops and of course, an intense night life!
Within walking distance you can also see one of the most important city symbols : Puerta de Alcalá, a magnificent monument in the Independence Square, close to the city center . A few meters away, you will see the Retiro, a 1.4 km2 park, which houses wonderful areas, such as a large artificial lake, called El Estanque del Retiro , and a glass pavilion : the Palacio de Cristal.Apartment Description;
Luxurious, up-market, stylish, lavish are only a handful of many possible terms to describe this phenomenal apartment.
The spacious first floor incorporates an open-plan kitchen, dining, lounge room and bathroom. Upon entering the apartment you walk straight into the living area, illuminated immensely with floor to ceiling French doors and bright down-lights. There is a 4 place dining table, next to the brand new white sofa bed and arm chair, along with plasma television and DVD.
A mix of fresh white and warm red coloring is continued from the living area through to the kitchen which is fully equipped with all modern appliances including range hood oven and stove top fitted in stainless steel. There is also a serving bar that divides the kitchen slightly and is fantastic for entertaining guests. The guest bathroom, with shower, is also just off the living room along with a three seat sofa to chill out and read a book.
Going up the soft-wood varnished stair case, enclosed by clear glass panels, is the main bedroom. Attic in style, with a sloping roof and sky light windows, the bedroom is filled with natural light and with the windows opening completely it is well ventilated. A king size bed takes up a small section of this large attic, plus a white leather recliner positioned directly below the sun light.
Also on the 2nd floor is the en-suite bathroom with shower and full wall size mirror. Dark mahogany wooden wall fittings and twin ceramic basins add to the excellence with minimal but quality decorations.
The entire apartment has touches of tasteful furnishings, filling open spaces with charm and style. There are wall openings, architecturally designed and adorned with small details that put the Salesas apartment at the top of high class living.
The Salesas apartment is second to none in every aspect.
This apartment does not have private parking; however, you will find public parking within 350 meters.


According to the ICN.com Analyst Team, “The GBP/USD sharply rose without stabilizing above the 1.5765 levels and subsequently moved back to the downside again. Trading is stable now above the 1.5690 levels, however we hold on to our negative expectations unless the 1.5765 handle were breached; breaking this region might push the pair to test 1.5825 and maybe up to 1.5880 levels.”
The cross has secured an advance of +0.34% above its opening, however should the pair continue it’s decent, the ICN.com analysts isolate the next supports at 1.5690 onto 1.5635, and eventually the strong 1.5600 supportive barrier.
Earlier today in the United Kingdom, the highly anticipated BoE Interest Rate decision was held at 0.5%, in line with expectations. Moreover, the BoE Asset Purchase Facility was reported at £375B, which also met estimates, leaving little room for disappointment.


every day i check my yahoo email and laugh because i get on average 2 emails a day from some one from a different country like france, africa, zimbabwe, and a few others i can't think of at the moment.
It is usually some man or woman claiming that they are a banker or something of the sort and offter to give me millions of dollars because some realitive i never new i had died in some horrible death.
But the thing is they will only give me the elegdid(sorry forgot how to spell it) money if i gave them all of my information including my bank account information.
Just because my fake great uncle or whom ever they claimed have died was a millionare and I (and this is the scary part..they know my last name usually and it isn't even on my account) have inherited my poor late whomevers money.
sometimes i get one saying signed up in a contest. I got one of these today and the man who sent it to me was saying how he talked to me before when i signed up
And then i laugh and hit spam button.
Another one i got was from this girl who said she just ran away from something almost like a slave camp thing and was trying to get to america so she was asking for $$$3 million.
my god the things people will try to do..
the worst part is that when somebody actually falls for this..nothing can be done because they are in a different country..
I am always getting email like this I heard of some people that fell for it. I get emails that say something about I won the lottery in Canada or United Kingdom and send me Name Email Address Number and more Contact Information so they can contact me and tell me how to receive my check. Sometimes I just go and reply to the email giving them false information or just reply with a blank email.
Sometimes I wonder why they even bother! Do they think anyone's actually stupid enough to fall for that? That we all haven't gotten 15 other similar e-mails recently? It's not exactly an original concept anymore!!
Well that is mainly because once people received similar email in their inbox, and if they think it is flexible, they will of course follow suit. Who doesn't want a cut of the pie? They got nothing to lose anything.
Or maybe it is all under one big scamming organisation.. but usually o one is stupid enough to get cheated.
Actually, some people are stupid enough to reply. There are some people who are not very experienced with the internet or email, and I personally know of a classmate who replied to that mail, and ended up giving her full name and phone number as well, before they asked for her bank account number, and then she had to call me up and ask me what to do.
DANG!thats messed up for who ever falls for this
thanks for a heads up =)
I've received all the most common ones including several various fake lottery ones.
I've also had a portrait commission (working from a photo over the net) that, although started out normally enough, suddenly turned into something almost directly resembling the African prince scam. I don't know if that was a freak coincidence, but I withdrew at that point and didn't provide them with the details despite having wasted a lot of time by that point. You really can't trust anyone these days. Then again, I guess you never could.
Sadly, alot of people do fall for these "get rich quick" schemes. Remember, if it sounds too good to be true, RUN!
Everyone get this scams, and most of them never reply. But some of them are not enought informed and ...
http://www.lottery.co.uk/info/scams.asp (useful examples)
From UK national lottery site:
I just read the posts and yeah... me too I am getting these annoying spam mails. There are actually lot lot and lot peoples falling on these traps. Hackers are sending them to about all e-mail services providers (Yahoo Hotmail etc) And out of these millions of accounts, there are obviously lot peoples falling for this...
I bet the hackers already made millions and millions doing this scam and it's really sad...
Yep I got one once in my yahoo email account from same fake UK lottery company. I showed it to my dad and he showed it to his lawyer and we found out it was fake. But it did seem suspicious even before I showed it to him. Too vague and too good to be true.
The dead relative scam seems really popular. I have had three emails for that scam in the last 6 months or so. Usually asking for a few thousand dollars to pay the court clearance or some other fee so that the "Lawyer" can transfer $3 million to my bank account. Doh
I usually reply back telling them to die or to f*ck off. Most of the time it's bounced back because the email they "sent" it from isn't real.
lol nope never got one of those i'm the only no haha. Then again i'm only 19 so i probably don't appear as a good target for those type of things.
It sounds halarious though. Just watch, you actually were about to get millions :p
Email is a relatively cheap medium. If only say 1 out of 500 respond, well that's maybe at most a day's work. Then they can just run with the money, and start all over again. Im 16, but I have multiple accounts so that may play a role. I also glance in the spam folder to check for false positives.
I saw a special program on that the other day, actually. they went half way across the world to meet with some of these people and catch them ^^;
I get them all the time, but I just delete them.
Now, if they have your name on them, you gave it out at some point. You might have given it when signing up somewhere for a contest, perhaps, and they sold it.
Spam? Do I get spam? Why yes, like everybody else with an e-mail address ever, I do indeed get spam. -_-
I don't hate the people who send the spam. It's good business sense. If I were the guy who invented the nigerian prince scam I'd be laughing. I hate the people who are so moronic as to actually fall for them. If you fall for these kinds of scams, you deserve to lose that money. But because of the few people who DO fall for them, now everybody is bombarded with these things daily. Thanks a lot guys, really. >_>
Of course, if you're bored you can always play the ever hilarious game of spam-baiting.
Well if one falls for it he cant be said stupid/moron/idiot as some of you are seeing. Well, ignorant, yes.
Looking from a wider perspective you can see why. Generally most of us had exposure to computers at very young age(I had my first encounter at 8-9yr of age) so we some-how know by instinct what is spam & wrong and what is not.
But for an average person on street, especially, in some developing countries computer is a kind of genie of Arabian nights. They think computers when coupled with internet can do almost anything. So, when they receive such kind of mails they easily fall prey to them.
Its similar to situation when children get scared from virtual dinosaurs while we laugh at there innocence. The only difference been that here, those children are, well, a little more grown up!
Beacause of my sudoku program which is spread quite well over different software sites on the Internet, I get hundreds of spam every day. But Google's spam filter picks up on all of it.
I don't even notice the spam, since Google host our sudoku.frihost.net and sudokuarchitect.com mail, so the spam is picked up a sorted out, even before it is forwarded to my gmail address
It has also hit me about the spam - someone out there must be buying the crap which often is advertised in spam, why else would spammers bother to advertise for penis enlargement patches and stuff like that?
I got one of those emails... it was from a South African girl, her father was poisoned and she inherited millions...
Spam them back lol... no j/k, i get alot of that kinda crap too, and i get rid of them.
Not only that but I get so many e-mails everyday about this sort of stuff.
I get links to free iPods, games, etc. What nonsense!
I get 2~3 emails like that every day. Of course, I don't like to get spam mails. so someimes I'm afraid to write my email address. it could become another spam mail.
Lol pretend you're interested and send back your own scam.
Srsly though, I supposed it makes sense that out of like, a million people the email gets sent to, ONE is at least lulled into the scam...
I've been recently getting some interesting spam that includes a whole lot of text that doesn't make sense below the spam content. They had even included parts of my email address in it. I think that it is all automated and the spammers just have to sit back and wait for some foolish person to fall for the trap.
Jason Kottke has a blog post about this type of automation at a blog post that he has written.
@ jylan - you mean like... those type of things some forums get, like drug/sex advertisers? I hate those...
Someone must... but still, my gender is listed anywhere my e-mail is; you have to wonder why none of them have picked up that I'm female yet. I mean, I'm sure they sell some female-type product too...I only get e-mail targeted at males though o__o;
Sounds pretty terrible if the story with that girl was true!
Although, It is pretty low to spam-mail people about money, I mean... How low can you really sink?
I, myself, have never gotten any mail like that and I hope I don't get any in the future
They dont send targeted advertisement(which incidently google does!) but instead send just plain, simnple, ruthless SPAM! and only SPAM! They are not interested in knowing who is reading it or even whether someone is reading it or not. They just want word out.
P.S.- A little experiment for you: Check your spam folder, may be you might have received a breast-enhancment cream or something, just reply to it & see your spam profile changing!
It's becoming such a large problem that some people are doing something called "scambaiting" which they pretend to fall for the scam and continue to waste the scammers time, money, and effort.
One of the sites I skimmed through was 419eater.com but it seems I can't connect to that site anymore. In one of his scambaits, he was able to get the scammer to carve a wooden bust of the scambaiter and the scammer even mailed it to him! It was quite humorous.