Monday, September 30, 2019
Can Art Change the Way We View the World
Can Art Change the Way We View the World? Susan Agee Classics in Philosophy of Art – P346 Gregory Steel Fall 2012 For centuries, art has been interwoven throughout the history of mankind. From primitive carvings on cave walls and ancient Egyptian hieroglyphs, to the Sistine Chapel and the Mona Lisa, artistic creations have enthralled the human race. Art may be a window to the creator’s world; it has potential to instill desire in the viewer to do something they have never done, be somewhere they have never been and inspire to fulfill a dream or goal.Additionally, Art may possibly allow the artist to illustrate their own perception of a place or even attempt to deceive the viewer. However, to truly understand how we see the world we must delve a little deeper than the obvious, which is through our senses, particularly sight. In order to comprehend the world around us, we must first realize that thoughts are based on perception foremost and that those ideas then create a subjective model of the world, constructed from experience, memory, logical inference, and our brain's ability to map out its own internal representation of our individual surroundings.Therefore, whether it is through visual art, literature, poems, sculpture, photography or cinema, art may very well be able to change the way we see the world, by changing our perception. The first recognizable art dates from at least 38. 000BC in Europe, Africa, and Australia. They are the products of minds as intellectually capable and sophisticated as our modern ones and they were just like us, despite the fact that their society was slightly more primitive than ours. Works of this early period are not simple, as if created by a child, but in fact they are quite complex pieces depicting animals, humans and symbols.Additionally, drawings similar to maps, as well as carvings, portable art and elaborately decorated animal skulls have been found in caves all over the world. In the book The Mind in the Cave: Consciousness and the Origins of Art by David Lewis-Williams, the author describes these items stating â€Å"many of these pieces bear images of animal, fish, birds and, less commonly, what appear to be human figures as well as complex arrangements of parallel lines, chevrons and notches. These objects d’art as people tend to think of them, were made from bone, mammoth ivory, amber and antler†(Lewis-Williams 2004).Were these ancient artists creating images to simply communicate with others or were they expressing their emotions in the only way they knew how? Although there is no way to tell for certain the artists’ intentions, it is evident that this â€Å"art†played a role in prehistoric society. Still, art has not always had the same meaning as it does today. In fact, in the time of the philosophers Plato, Socrates and Aristotle the idea of art was related to the Latin word ars, which means craft or specialized form.These individuals based their views of art on the notion that the artist must be trained for his craft and each had differing, yet very similar ideas about art and its place in society. For instance, Socrates believed that paintings and poems â€Å"stand triply removed from the real; that is, there are two realms of existence more real than art objects, the Forms themselves and the things of daily life. The basis for this view is the assumption that the goal of art is the imitation of mundane reality†(Wartenberg, 13). Our brain has developed a way of viewing the world over millions of years of evolution that enables us to succeed and survive.Natural selection has tuned our brains so that we may navigate, manipulate, and meaningfully differentiate our environment and the objects contained in it. So what we see in our minds is a functional model of the physical world, which closely approximates it but is not identical to it; certainly not in the way we are in the habit of assuming. But still this traditio nal skepticism about perceptual experience has often created questions as to whether we can know that things are as we experience them as being, or if the visual world is a grand illusion.To illustrate this idea that perceptual experience may be different than what is real, consider the optical illusion. Artists such as Charles Allan Gilbert and M. C. Escher were masters of the craft of illusion in art. For example, in 1892 Charles Allan Gilbert drew a picture that he called â€Å"All is Vanity†. This piece of artwork is an ambiguous optical illusion using a skull, which has been the object of many pieces of this type, where we see more than one thing in the picture. If we view the overall image, we see a human skull. When we focus on the details of the picture, we see a woman ooking in her vanity mirror. If we look at a close-up, cropped image of â€Å"All is Vanity†, we don't see the skull we just see details of a woman sitting at her dressing table. However, if we e xpand our view, even without seeing the entire image, once we know we're going to see a skull, we can't help but see it. Also, when we look at the picture from a distance, because of all the black surrounding it, once the details of the woman get distorted we still only see a skull. Additionally, M. C. Escher used his expertise in mathematics to create his optical illusions in art.He was fascinated with tessellations, which are arrangements of closed shapes that completely cover the plane without overlapping and without leaving gaps. Typically, the shapes making up a tessellation are polygons or similar regular shapes, such as the square tiles often used on floors. Escher, however, was fascinated by every kind of tessellation – regular and irregular – and took special delight in what he called â€Å"metamorphoses,†in which the shapes changed and interacted with each other, and sometimes even broke free of the plane itself.The regular solids, known as polyhedra, held a special fascination for Escher. He made them the subject of many of his works and included them as secondary elements in a great many more. In the woodcut â€Å"Four Regular Solids†Escher has intersected all but one of the Platonic solids in such a way that their symmetries are aligned, and he has made them translucent so that each is discernible through the others. Additionally, among the most important of Escher's works from a mathematical point of view are those dealing with the nature of space. In the book â€Å"The Magic of M.C. Escher†J. I. Locher states â€Å" this unique interplay between insight and limitation, between possible and impossible worlds has given Escher’s body of work a wholly personal presence in the panorama of visual arts†(J. I. Locher 2000). His woodcut â€Å"Circle Limit III†is a good place to review these works, for it exemplifies the artist's concern with the dimensionality of space, and with the mind's abil ity to discern three-dimensionality in a two-dimensional representation and Escher often exploited this latter feature to achieve astonishing visual effects.To get a sense of what this space is like, one can imagine that he or she is actually in the picture itself. Walking from the center of the picture towards its edge, he/she would shrink just as the fishes in the picture do, so that to actually reach the edge one would have to walk a distance that, to the individual, seems infinite. Indeed, being inside this hyperbolic space, it would not be immediately obvious that anything was unusual about it – after all, one has to walk an infinite distance to get to the edge of ordinary Euclidean space too.However, if one is observant enough, he/she might begin to notice some odd things, such as that all similar triangles were the same size, and that no straight-sided figure we could draw would have four right angles; that is, this space doesn't have any squares or rectangles. In addi tion to ambiguous and mathematical illusions, there is a process known as anamorphosis. There are two types of anamorphosis: perspective or oblique and Mirror, or catoptric. It requires the viewer to use special devices or occupy a specific vantage point to recreate the image.While some of these works of art are more advanced than others, one thing remains constant; the perception of depth in a two-dimensional illustration. With mirror anamorphosis, a conical or cylindrical mirror is placed on the drawing or painting to transform a flat distorted image into a three dimensional picture that can be viewed from many angles. The deformed image is painted on a plane surface surrounding the mirror. By looking uniquely into the mirror, the image appears as it should in natural form.Just as Escher and Gilbert were masters in creating works of illusion with their drawings, so too are the artists that give life to their renditions of this type. Salvador Dali was among many other artists of hi s time to have been intrigued with this form of art and utilized this technique in many of his paintings. Modern day artists of this sort use sidewalks, underpasses, buildings and pavement as their canvases. This type of art is referred to as â€Å"3D art†and it has been seen everywhere from London to New York.
Sunday, September 29, 2019
Literature Review of Finite Impulse Response Filters
Literature studychapter 3 LiteratureSurveyPaper 1:Filter Structures For FIR Filters[ 1 ] In this paper Florian Achleitner et Al. had discuss FIR digital i ¬?lters, which can be designed in several different ways and construct with different basic constructions. This papers considers some constructions and their calculation complexness, every bit good as the quantisation effects. Furthermore some designing methods are introduced and the advantages and disadvantages are analyzed. FIR-i ¬?lters can be designed and implemented in many different ways and constructions. Each has it’s advantages and disadvantages refering several points of position. In pattern it will be suited to take the construction and planing method oblique by the country of application and the i ¬?lter specii ¬?cations. If computational cost is the chief standards, we recommend the Direct Form, as it is simple, has low computational cost and no existent disadvantages.Paper 2:Design And Implementation Of An Optimized FIR Filter For If Gps Signal Simulator[ 2 ] This paper presents the design and execution of a forty-order FIR filter for IF GPS signal simulator with three algorithms: multiply and accumulate ( MAC ) , add-and-shift strategy with CSD encoding ( CSD ) , new common sub-expression riddance ( CSE ) . Each strategy is analyzed in item including design and optimisation procedure to happen the best 1 with the least hardware resource and power ingestion. The FIR filter is coded in Verilog HDL, and so implemented utilizing Xilinx Virtex5 FPGA and Design Complier based on SMIC 0.18um engineering. FPGA execution consequence shows that CSE consumes the least entire occupied piece, with 63 % and 20 % decrease compared with MAC and CSD. The execution of CSE in ASIC besides proves 66 % and 13 % decrease in entire bit country, every bit good as 36 % and 6 % dynamic power decrease compared with MAC and CSD severally. Figure 3.1 Converse signifier of FIR filter[ 2 ] Figure 3.2 Implementation construction of FIR filter[ 2 ] This paper design FIR filter utilizing converse signifier as shown in figure below which is more suited for long length coefficients and besides saves figure of registries. Besides this paper designs FIR filter utilizing symmetrical signifier construction of FIR filter by taking advantage of symmetrical coefficients and saves figure of multipliers in the design. 3.3 PAPER 3: Fixed-Point FIR Filter Design And Implementation In The Expand In Sub-Expression Space[ 3 ] In This paper Chia-Yu Yao and Chung-Lin Sha had presented a method of uniting the design and the execution of fixed-point FIR filter coefficients into one design flow. The proposed method designs the fixed-point coefficients in an spread outing sub-expression infinite. During the design procedure, the execution cost is estimated as good and it is fed back to the design modus operandi such that the algorithm can redesign the fixed-point coefficients iteratively. Design examples show that, in many instances, we can obtain better hardware-cost- effectual FIR filters than the consequences reported by other research workers. Figure 3.3 Example of common sub look riddance[ 3 ] In this paper, they suggest an improved fixed-point coefficient design procedure that considers the execution complexness at the first phase of the design stage. The architecture they assume in this paper is the converse signifier symmetrical FIR filter. Compared with the other FIR filter construction, the proposed method can bring forth FIR filters with decreased figure of adders in many instances. On the other manus, since the manner of recognizing the converse signifier FIR filters is determined by the proposed method, in order to salvage brainpower and clip for composing the RTL codification of an FIR filter, we develop a C plan to bring forth a Verilog or a VHDL codification of the FIR filter automatically based on the coefficients produced by the proposed algorithm. A comparing of the codification public presentation between the proposed design flow and MATLAB’s fdatool is besides given in this paper.Paper 4:16-Orders FIR Filter Design Based On MATLAB And Its Quartus Ii Simulation[ 4 ] In this paper SongYu et Al. had presented the rules and construction of the FIR filter to plan the FIR filter. Used the tools of filter design and the signal spectrum analysis in MATLAB to plan and analyze 16-order FIR filter, and determined the filter coefficients, eventually, used Verilog HDL linguistic communication to code, and used its package of Quartus II to imitate. The consequence of the simulation shows that the consequences of the pulsation matching run into the design of demands. With FIR filter direct-type construction as shown in Figure 3.4, the end product can be expressed as: Y ( N ) =†¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ ..3.1 Figure 3.4 Conventional diagram of a direct-type FIR filter[ 4 ] Where, Y ( n ) is the end product of the FIR filter, x ( n ) is the input sequence and H ( I ) represents filter coefficients with filter length ( N+1 ) . This paper uses FDATOOL from MATLAB for coefficients computation. FDATOOL is a really powerful tool chest from MATLAB for speedy system planing and analysis. GUI based tool takes all FIR filter parametric quantities from user and based on selective filtering method, calculate filter coefficients with minimal filter order. After that, paper allows HDL modeling of such filter and takes advantage of coefficients symmetricalness to cut down arithmetic complexness. Simulation is done utilizing Quartus-II for subsequently FPGA usage.Paper 5:An Integrated Cad Tool For ASIC Implementation Of Multiplier-less FIR Filters With Common Sub-Expression Elimination Optimization[ 5 ] In this paper Qiu-zhong Wu had presented an integrated computing machine aided design ( CAD ) tool for the ASIC execution of multiplier-less FIR digital filters with common sub-expression riddance ( CSE ) optimisation. The chief maps in the design flow of FIR filters for specified applications, including coefficient computation and quantisation, common sub-expression optimisation and hardware description linguistic communication ( HDL ) codification auto-generation, are combined in this tool. They proposed an applied intermedial representation ( IR ) , which is the key for the integrating of CSE optimisation and HDL codification auto-generation, to denote the circuit construction resulted from the application of CSE technique. The application of this tool in the ASIC execution of multiplierless FIR filters can recognize the design mechanization and shorten the clip for design significantly ; what is more, experiment consequences show that the coveted FIR filters will be optimized expeditiously in several facets such as country, power dissipation and velocity. Figure 3.5 design flow of FIR filter[ 5 ] In this paper, an efficient integrated CAD tool for the ASIC execution of multiplier less FIR filters with common sub-expressions riddance optimisation is presented. The chief maps in FIR_DK, including the common sub-expressions riddance optimisation and the auto-generation of Verilog-HDL codification are illuminated in this paper. The application of this tool in the ASIC execution of multiplierless FIR filters can recognize the design mechanization and shorten the clip for design significantly ; what is more, experiment consequences show that desired FIR filters will be optimized expeditiously in several facets such as country, power dissipation and velocity.
Saturday, September 28, 2019
PPP answers Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words
PPP answers - Essay Example Each subsequent slide is clear in handling just one sub-topic relevant to financial analysis. When each slide depicts a single sub-topic, the presenter manages to show the distinction in each step. Good flow and articulation of points from one sub-topic to the other is evident. The second aspect the power point presentation is that slides clearly express what McKesson Corporation presenter intends to convey. The slides directly focus on the financial analysis and emphasizes on key information. Graphical representations mainly have color variations that show audience the differences in lines used for each variable. MCK, for instance, is outstanding in red color. Consequently, audience can easily make a comparison and relate variables in the graph. In addition, related variables occupy one slide for easy comparison. For example, variables of profitability such as Return on equity, Gross profit margin and Return on total assets have one slide for an easy relationship. Another outstanding quality observed is that the slides do not contain unnecessary clipart and unuseful generic photographs. The third aspect is that presenter has remained careful enough to avoid redundancy at the expense of precision in his power point presentation by not using obvious remarks. PowerPoint presentation has carefully avoided overused business terms. Use of new uncommon business terms help audience to avoid getting bored and presentation becoming monotonous. The power point presentation of McKesson Corporation, however, has excess information in every slide apart from the first two. As a result, it becomes difficult for audience to retrieve vital information during the presentation. Moreover, some of the audiences fail to see clearly the contents of power point slides. Small texts in the slides may disadvantage those audiences with blurred vision and shortsightedness. When preparing the slides, information in each of them should not be too many that
Friday, September 27, 2019
Analyze and Appraise each of the (15) articles OBESITY IN CHILDREN Essay - 1
Analyze and Appraise each of the (15) articles OBESITY IN CHILDREN (Pay particular attention to evidence that supports the problem, issue, or deficit, and your proposed solution - Essay Example The research found that most interventions that meet the immediate needs of children are either pre-school or school based interventions. Though community based interventions may work they are not as effective for children as school based interventions. Children with obesity often exhibit metabolic complications and these complications are a major cause of early morbidity for such obese children. An effective intervention would thus be one that makes use of a critical understanding of the key pathogenesis of the phenotype of this group of children. Curtailment of sleep was found to be a major cause of obesity in both children and adults. The same risk factor is also valid for people of different setting from different parts of the world. The reason why curtailment of sleep would increase risk in obesity is that it leads to â€Å"constellation of metabolic and endocrine alterations, including decreased glucose tolerance, decreased insulin sensitivity, and increased hunger and appetite.†Low self esteem was recorded in children with obesity. In light of this, â€Å"weight loss treatment programs appear to improve self-esteem.†However, the research could not clarify if low self esteem is a risk factor associated with the cause of obesity. This is another confirmation on the usefulness of the multidimensional theory in tackling the problem of obesity from as many angels as possible. There was higher prevelance of obesity among children and adolescents from age 2 to 19 (16.9%) than there was in infant and toddlers (birth to 2 years). In terms of sex however, there was no differences in the prevalence rate. This study is therefore essential in providing researchers with the demographic areas where they need to pay particular attention to when dealing with obesity. The results showed that the viewing of television as a sedentary activity did not in its self act as a risk factor in beginning obese. The risk however was associated with the advertisements that
Thursday, September 26, 2019
A Study in Ethics - What's you ethical style Essay
A Study in Ethics - What's you ethical style - Essay Example izations are trying to maintain effective workplace environment and significant collaborative workplace environment in order to ensure effective workplace performance. In addition to this, several leading organizations are trying to develop a multicultural workforce in order to ensure effective knowledge sharing within the workforce. Therefore, any kind of harsh and critical step can change the entire environment of the workplace as it can develop several types of critical workplace conflicts. However, ethics of care can help the organizations to increase the motivation level of the team members. Leadership style of Steve Jobs can be considered as democratic leadership style. He used to implement visionary leadership trait within the workplace under the democratic leadership style in order to increase the level of creativity and motivation among the employees. He always implemented ethics of care during the strategy development and decision making process. Therefore, it is clear that ethics of care and responsibility cannot affect the leadership style of a leader. It is true that ethics of care and responsibility can be considered as the characteristics of women rather than men. Women always try to be kind and sympathetic and motivate the employees or team members to get the work done. It is highly important for a manager or a leader within an organization to implement leadership style according to the nature and demand of the workplace situation. It can help the organization to provide effective solution to the developed challenges and issues. This particular attitude or be havior or characteristic of an individual can help him or her to undertake and implement situational approach that can be termed as most right or appropriate approach in the management style (O’Brien, 2013). In addition to this, reflection of ethic of care or responsibility in the leadership style of a manager or a team leader within an organization can help to adopt and implement flexible
Wednesday, September 25, 2019
Accounting assignment ( memo to the manager ) Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words
Accounting ( memo to the manager ) - Assignment Example The market it covers expands from Middle East to North Africa and all the way up to North America. The company has its offices in a number of countries including United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Egypt, Pakistan, Turkey, China, USA, Canada and United Kingdom. Emaar has consistently maintained its financial position and stability. The numbers on the financial statement indicate a slight decline in revenue from 30th September 2007 to 30th September 2008 (1.62%). Although the revenue has declined slightly, the net profit has gone up by (0.4%). This indicates that the cost of revenues has gone down. From the company’s perspective, this shows that they have controlled on their costs. However, an interesting feature to note in the financial statements is that ‘selling, general and administrative expenses’ form a considerable portion of the overall expenditure both in 2007 and in 2008. Moreover, the ratio of selling and administrative expenses to the gross profit stands out to be (29.5%) and (29.1%) in 2007 and 2008 respectively. This indicates a very high proportion and is reducing the profitability considerably. In order to control these expenses, we first need to analyze the composition of these expenses. Selling, general and administrative is the sum of all direct and indirect selling expenses and all general and administrative expenses incurred by a company. Selling expenses are of two types, direct and indirect. Direct ones are those which can be linked with the sale of a specific unit. This would include warranty, advertisement or credit expenses. Indirect ones are those which cannot be allocated to a sale of a specific unit but is applied to all units in proportion. This would include telephone and postal charges. Whereas, general and administrative expenses include other expenses such as rent, heating, lighting and salaries of non-sales personnel (Investopedia). High SG&A expenses can be
Tuesday, September 24, 2019
Discribe the parliamentary sovereignty from constitutional prespective Essay
Discribe the parliamentary sovereignty from constitutional prespective - Essay Example According to the conventions of the British constitutional law in the past century, it is indicative that the dicey theory was the most influential one among all that were advanced in the century. The theory advanced by lord dicey postulates that the parliament has the right under the English constitution to make or repeal any law irrespective of circumstances. The theory goes further to state that there is no one under the constitution that has the right to override or amend the legislation made by the parliament. Therefore, the theory posits that the sovereignty of the parliamentary made legislation is absolute as long as it is working within the scope of the constitution. Notwithstanding the above ideal postulated by the theory, there are some sophisticated arguments that can be levelled against the doctrine that lord dicey fronts. The argument, notably, challenge the validity of the theory in the light of devolution, European convention on human rights and European union laws. This means that the point of absolute power of the parliament is not valid since there are limitations imposed upon it on the issues stated. Therefore, due to lack of the common point of reference on the absolute power of the parliament made legislations, various authorities in constitutional law have suggested an evaluation of the sovereignty of the constitution from a purely conventional approach. This approach seeks to remove the notion postulated by dicey theory on the supremacy of the parliament made law. As indicated earlier the power of the parliament in making the laws is absolute and it can only be repealed by another parliament. However, some of the scholars in law insist in the absolute power of the parliament in making the laws. This means that the parliament still harbor the right to make the unquestioned law as it is a convention under the British constitution. Others argue that in as much as the sovereignty of the constitution forms a
Monday, September 23, 2019
Managing Your Time as an Adult Learner Research Paper
Managing Your Time as an Adult Learner - Research Paper Example An instance whereby the teacher is able to fashion the learning activities in such a manner, that the learners identify with the concept being taught, there is a great likelihood that, the learners will identify themselves with the contents being taught (Turner, 2001). For learning to be effectual, the need to set realistic goals is vital. All processes are worth undertaking if the learner is directed towards achieving a certain goal. Goals allow learners define what they work for and at what levels, they would also be in a better position to attain their goals. It is also imperative to note that, creating weekly schedules is crucial if individuals have to achieve their set goals and standards. Through set schedules; learners are able to detect extra time that they have, that can be dedicated to remedial classes. With strict timelines, learners are able to create quality and uninterrupted study time. Creation of schedule lists allows the learners schedule what they have to do in the following day. Schedules have been credited for their ability to allow learners plan on what to do and what not to do. According to Matema (2007) understanding one’s schedule is of importance to adult learning. ... Anderson, Samimi and Bohl (2010) argue that, time management is the major ingredient in the success of learning among learners. Learning how to manage time requires that learners come up with a daily occurrence list that needs to be constantly updated. Prioritizing activities allows learners plan what to do first and according to their urgency. The learners are also able to discern the repercussions of not following their time schedules. The learners must always update their skills and be in a position to assess their performance. Adult learners are faced with a myriad of barriers in their course of study. Rothwell (2008) indicates that, learners must devise solutions towards procrastination. The study recommends that adult learners can handle this problem through strictly following their set schedule. The schedule must be set on limits that the learners must plan their work in a manner that will not strain their abilities. Procrastination is known to instill guilt feelings among lea rners; a factor that drains their abilities to perform well. In order to work without interruptions, the leaner may need to understand the contents of their tasks, so as to allocate enough time for all of them. In this way, the learners will be in a better position to meet deadlines of the specific tasks as well as, acquire help when need in a timely manner. It is possible to eliminate stress in the learners if they understand the fact that, they do not have to be perfect, but do what they can within the allocated time. The learners must always attempt to make their learning interesting despite the fact it may prove extremely difficult at times. Conclusively, it is justified to argue that, adult education can only be successful if all the tips of effectiveness are followed
Sunday, September 22, 2019
Folk music of Latin America Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words
Folk music of Latin America - Essay Example ars, forcing researchers and enthusiasts of Tango to derive doubtful concepts from people who did not make part of the culture and perhaps cognized nothing or little about Tango. Although there is no specific date assigned to the origin of Tango, evidence in the second half of the Nineteenth Century of people singing Tango in theatres and a Buenos Aires’ couple that danced on stage in 1890 affirms that the genre was established long before the Nineteenth Century ended (Denniston, â€Å"Couple Dancing and the Beginning of Tango†). One theory suggests that the name Tango was derived from the descent of Africa by blended the Spanish’s name for drum, tambor, with their drum god’s name to come. On the other hand, another theory attributes the common Spanish use of the name Tango, which referred to a music style at the inception of Tango, despite the Argentinean meaning of Tango contradicting the Spanish meaning (Miller 85). Tango’s inception was an inter racial initiative to eliminate racial discrimination. Tango’s origin was because of the prevailing circumstances. The poor living conditions of the Buenos Aires people forced them to be concentrated in a single building. Therefore, it was possible for somebody to play the flute or violin with another playing the guitar. The rest of the people who were not involved in the instrument playing had many opportunities to dance as they overcame the shortcomings of life. Various immigrants to Argentina unified with the Argentineans because such music and dances, something that evolved to be Tango. The people’s dance relied merely on live music. Busters took advantage of this fact and raided the streets of Buenos Aires with an aim of making a living from playing instruments like organito and barrel organ. In pursuit of pleasing a woman when they had a dance together, men practiced together with women on their arms only to establish it as a dance style, Tango. Recently, the UN approved the inclusion of Tango as a
Saturday, September 21, 2019
Tata Motors Essay Example for Free
Tata Motors Essay Description: The Tata Motors Limited SWOT Analysis company profile is the essential source for top-level company data and information. Tata Motors Limited SWOT Analysis examines the company’s key business structure and operations, history and products, and provides summary analysis of its key revenue lines and strategy. Tata Motors (or the company) is one of the leading automotive vehicle manufacturing companies in India. The company is engaged in the development, design, manufacture, assembly, and sale of vehicles including financing, as well as sale of related parts and accessories. The company primarily operates India, South Korea, South Africa, Thailand, Bangladesh, Singapore, Spain, and the UK. It is headquartered in Mumbai, India and employs about 49,856 people. The company recorded revenues of INR925,192.5 million ($19,530.8 million) during the financial year ended March 2010 (FY2010), an increase of 30.5% over FY2009. The operating profit of the company was INR42,288.3 million ($892.7 million) during FY2010, as compared to the operating loss of INR6,580 million ($138.9 million) in FY2009. The net profit was INR25,710.6 million ($542.8 million) in FY2010, as compared to the net loss of INR25,052.5 million ($528.8 million) in FY2009. Scope of the Report Provides all the crucial information on Tata Motors Limited required for business and competitor intelligence needs Contains a study of the major internal and external factors affecting Tata Motors Limited in the form of a SWOT analysis as well as a breakdown and examination of leading product revenue stre ams of Tata Motors Limited -Data is supplemented with details on Tata Motors Limited history, key executives, business description, locations and subsidiaries as well as a list of products and services and the latest available statement from Tata Motors Limited Reasons to Purchase Support sales activities by understanding your customers’ businesses better Qualify prospective partners and suppliers Keep fully up to date on your competitors’ business structure, strategy and prospects Obtain the most up to date company information available Contents: SWOT COMPANY PROFILE: Tata Motors Limited Key Facts: Tata Motors Limited Company Overview: Tata Motors Limited Business Description: Tata Motors Limited Company History: Tata Motors Limited Key Employees: Tata Motors Limited Key Employee Biographies: Tata Motors Limited Products Services Listing: Tata Motors Limited Products Services Analysis: Tata Motors Limited SWOT analysis: Tata Motors Limited -Strengths: Tata Motors Limited -Weaknesses: Tata Motors Limited -Opportunities: Tata Motors Limited -Threats: Tata Motors Limited Company View: Tata Motors Limited Top Competitors: Tata Motors Limited Location and Subsidiary: Tata Motors Limited -Head Office: Tata Motors Limited -Other Locations and Subsidiaries: Tata Motors Limited Ordering: Order Online http://www.researchandmarkets.com/reports/554957/ Order by Fax using the form below Order by Post print the order form below and send to Research and Markets, Guinness Centre, Taylors Lane, Dublin 8, Ireland. 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Friday, September 20, 2019
Healthy Eating Companion App
Healthy Eating Companion App 1.INTRODUCTION Healthy eating is the most important factor in maintaining health. It is considered as most important means of promoting health. Healthy eating is an overall sense of well being and also helps in preventing many chronic diseases. Healthy and unhealthy eating are both influenced by variety of factors. The application allows users to specify their dietary requirements, based on which the application makes suggestions as to how much exercise the user needs to do that day. It also suggests healthy meals to the user based on their dietary plan. It is very important that we follow a good nutritious diet for our bodies to function properly and stay healthy Foods are made up of six classes of nutrients. These nutrients are macronutrients (protein, carbohydrates, fats), micronutrients (vitamins and minerals) and water. If you neglect to have the right combination of these six items, it will be very difficult to live a healthy lifestyle. 2.BACKGROUND Rapid developments have encouraged using smartphones in health promotion research. Although many applications which are related to diet and health are available from major smartphone platforms. The few have been tested in research studies in order to determine the apps effectiveness in promoting health. Healthy eating helps us to maintain a healthy weight and also avoid certain health problems. Diet can have profound effect on sense of wellbeing. Studies have shown that eating Western diet with processed meats, packaged meals, takeout food, and sugary snacks will result in high rate of stress, depression, and anxiety. Eating an unhealthy diet may cause mental health disorders such as Alzheimers disease, schizophrenia, and increased risk of suicide in young people. Eating vegetables and fruits, cooking meals at home, reducing intake of sugar and refined carbohydrates may help to improve health and lower your risk for mental health problems. 3.TEAM ROLES Name:             RUCHITA BHAGAT Roles:              Project Manager Description: Ruchita will be responsible for leading the project and managing contact and feedback from stakeholders. The project manager will be checking to make sure tasks are completed by time. The manager will also be in charger of making sure the different area of the project are communicating with each other. Name:             STACY LLOYD Roles:              Graphical User Interface Design Description:   Stacy will be responsible for designing the graphical user interfaces for the application and the graphical assets for the interface for the application for all platforms. They will be expected to update there designs from testing feedback and giving the new designs to the application development. They are also expected to help with testing when there is no graphical work is required. Name:             MANASA KOMPELLI Roles:              Application Development Description:   Manasa will be responsible for developing the application, implementing the graphical user interface with the graphical assets. They will be expected to implement the logical code and fixing software bugs. If no work for the application is currently needed they are expected to help with the service/ database development or testing the application. Name:             TYRONE BRAMWELL Roles:              Service/ Database Development Description:   Tyrone will be responsible for designing and developing the sever side software and the database required for the proposed system. They will also be expected to look at hosting solutions for storing the database and running the server software. They will be expected to fix software bugs and help with the application development and testing. Name:             JOHN SMITH Roles:              Testing/ Quality assurance Description:   John will be responsible for designing test suits for the application and service/ database, creating automated testing for both part of the software. They will be expected to find bugs and problems with the software and verifying the solution meets the specification. They will also be expected to investigate bugs and ways to replicate them so they can be tested for on the next build. 4.SCOPE AND OBJECTIVE 4.1 SCOPE The scope of the project is to build and design a cross platform application which links to services. The application helps the people to live healthy life and it also helps the people to keep the fat off and stay toned. It is the healthy meal planner combined with quick workout routines. The application allows users to specify their own dietary requirements so that application makes suggestions on healthy meals and also how much exercise the user needs to do that particular day. Healthy Eating Companion App is like coach in your pocket, always ready to help. The App analyses your food diary, calculates your targets and guides you with personalized advice and diet tips. The users will start using the application by selecting an appropriate plan in the application or by designing their own. The application estimates the intake of carbohydrates, fats and proteins based on users input, and suggest meals based on their daily allowance estimated from their dietary plan. The app provides the users with optional information about the activity required to burn the calories consumed per meal in various forms (walking, cycling, swimming, cardio, etc.). The goal of application is to lose weight, get fit and gain weight with sustainable happy and healthier lifestyle 4.2 OBJECTIVE Healthy Eating Companion App is an application which helps people to follow their dietary plan and stay on track towards their goal. Its helps to follow meal plans and workouts created by experts trainers. It helps how to gain or lose weight with healthy diets and workout routines. It is a personalized step-by-step guide accommodating everyone,from beginners to advanced fitness enthusiasts, providing Workout plans to challenge you and make you progress. Customized healthy meals and diet plans Foods to eat and foods to avoid Healthy recipes Healthy eating companion app improves your nutrition and provides you with the healthy eating tools you need to reach your health and weight goals by Organizing your week with a healthy meal plan Providing you with over 300 healthy recipes customized to your personal tastes. Keeping track of users daily calorie burn. Accommodating dietary preferences vegetarian,vegan,pescatarian diets. 5.REQUIREMENTS Req Code Details R01 Build a companion app R02 Store users diet requirements R03 Provide an exercise plan to users R04 Meal plans based on diet requirements R05 Exercise plans based on food intake R06 Suggest health meal plans and alternatives R07 Allow user to input honest intake R08 Allow users to design own meal plans R09 Provide optional information on exercises R10 Show alternative Exercise R11 Show calories burned by exercise R12 Estimate Fats, carbohydrates and proteins from user input 6.SPECIFICATION Spec Code Req Code Details S01 R01 Use C# with .Mono to create a cross platform app for windows, Windows Mobile, android, iOS, mac OSX and linux S02 R02 R07 R08 Use MySQL for the database technology as its one of the recommend database technologies to uses with mono (External Database). SQLite for storing information if using an internal database (Internal Database). Could use CSV and other data files for storing data S03 R02 R07 R08 Design a database to store information S04 R02 R07 R08 Create a database to store user information S05 R02 Design a GUI to input and edit diet requirements S06 R02 Create a GUI to input and edit diet requirements S07 R02 Create code to store diet requirements input and allow editing them into database S08 R03 Store possible exercise plans in database S09 R03 Design a GUI to view possible exercise plans S10 R03 Code GUI and code retrieving exercise plans S11 R04 Store possible meal plans in database S12 R04 Design a GUI to view possible meal plans S13 R04 Code GUI and code retrieving meal plans S14 R05 Code recommending exercise plans from food intake S15 R05 Design and Code GUI for recommending exercise plan S16 R06 Code recommending healthier meal plans and alternative meal plans S17 R07 Create and design a GUI for inputting users honest intake S18 R07 Store and retrieve user honest intake from database. S19 R08 Create and Code GUI for allowing user to input own meal plan S20 R08 Store and retrieve user meal plans from database. S21 R09 Store optional information on exercises S22 R09 Design and create a GUI for viewing optional exercises information. S23 R10 Create and design a GUI showing alternative exercises. S24 R10 Store alternative exercises in database S25 R11 Display user information on how many calories an exercise burns S26 R12 Write code which works out from the user honest inputs and Estimate Fats, carbohydrates and proteins S27 R12 Store Estimate Fats, carbohydrates and proteins in a database 7.TIMELINE AND WORK BREAKDOWN STRUCTURE 7.1 Timeline 7.2 WORK BREAKDOWN STRUCTURE                         1 PROJECT MANAGEMENT                      1.1 PLANNING                    1.1.1 PROJECT OBJEVTIVE                    1.1.2 PROJECT MOTIVATION                    1.1.3 PROJECT MANAGEMENT                      1.2 ANALIZING PROJECT                    1.2.1 PROJECT SCHEDULE                    1.2.2 REQUIRED DOCUMENTS                      1.3 TIME MANAGEMENT                     1.3.1 TIME SCALE                      1.4 PERFORM QUALITY ATTRIBUTES                    1.4.1 MEETING SCHEDULE                    1.4.2 MEETING AGENDAS                       1.5 TECHNICAL COMMITTEE                       1.6 STEERING COMMITTEE                          2 DESIGN                       2.1 PREPARING DESIGN                    2.1.1 DESIGN DOCUMENT                    2.1.2 DESIGN OVERVIEW                       2.2 PREPARING DESIGN SPECIFICATION                     2.2.1 DESIGN INTERFACE                     2.2.2 DESIGN FOR SCREEN                       2.3 REVIEW DESIGN                       2.4 TECHNICAL DESIGN                     2.4.1 INTERFACES                          3 DEVELOPMENT                        3.1 DEVELOPING SOFTWARE                        3.2 BACKEND SOFTWARE                     3.2.1 DATABASE IMPLEMENTATION                     3.2.2 MIDDLEWARE DEVELOPMENT                     3.2.3 GRAPHICS AND INTERFACE                     3.2.4 CONTENT CREATION                        3.3 PROCURING SOFTWARE PACKAGES                         4 TESTING                       4.1 INTEGRATION TESTING                       4.2 DEVELOPING TESTS REPORT                       4.3 ACCEPTANCE TESTING                        5 MAINTENANCE                      5.1 HARDWARE MAINTENANCE                      5.2 SOFTWARE MAINTENANCE 8.LEGAL AND ETHICAL ISSUES 8.1 legal issues Copy right The images for developing healthy eating companion app should be copyright free to use in designing. Copyright arises automatically and is owned by the author of a work. Source code is classified as a literary work and attracts copyright protection immediately upon creation, although protection also extends to images and animations Trade marks Developers look to the future to establish themselves in a highly competitive market and                     setting themselves apart. Trade marks are not necessarily complex and gained a reputation for dealing with matters quickly and efficiently ensuring costs do not escalate unnecessarily. Data protection issues Many apps not only run on mobile devices and also access to other data, such as details of the users social media account stored on the device. The users profile data in the application should not be shared with other people. It must also not be kept for any longer than necessary. Unauthorised access The data or information is used by another Unauthorized access and disclosure of health information can result in insurance and employment discrimination, as well as embarrassment and other dignitary harms Legal Uncertainity The information regarding users profile regarding his diet plans in application deleted ,edited or modified led to a law making it a criminal offence to do certain things. 8.2 Ethical issues Honesty and Integrity This means we need to work honestly which applies to methods ,data and results. we should always keep to any agreements and act sincerely when working with others. Objectivity we should aim to avoid prejudice against one person or group in any aspect of project which include data analysis,design, interpretation, and review. And also you need to disclose any financial or personal interests that may affect project. Carefulness Care should be taken in carrying out project to avoid mistakes. The work should be reviewed properly to ensure results are credible. It is also very important to keep full records of project regarding users profile. Confidentiality Respect should be given to anything that has been provided in confidence. You should also follow guidelines on protection of sensitive information such as users profiles in the application. Legality Aware of laws and regulations that govern your work, and be sure that you conform to them. 8.3 Social Issues Privacy Personal health records and applications record sensitive personal information of the users across a variety of devices, including mobile devices. Ensuring both robust security and ease of use is a challenge for the designers of personal health applications. 9. PRODUCT/SERVICE DESCRIPTION This project is to create food intake app which can recommend exercise plans from the users honest input. The application is developed with C# with .Mono to create a cross platform app for windows, Windows Mobile, android, iOS, mac OSX and linux. 10. RISK ASSESSMENT AND MITIGATION L Likelihood, S Severity, D Detectablescore: 1 10 Risk Details L S D Total Score Mitigation Data Loss Code, Database or other work done could be lost during development stages or afterwards 4 8 3 96 Keep multiple backups of data storing them in different location. Version controlling the data reduces the chances of data being corrupted and overwriting the file in the back ups. Lack of communication with stakeholders A lack of communication with stakeholders could lead to the project being built which is not what the stakeholders wanted. 3 6 4 72 Making regular meetings with stakeholders and show deliverables and documentation would help get feedback and make sure everyone has the same idea of the project. Illness Staff could become ill which could delay the project or require new staff brought to the project and trained increasing the costs. 4 7 5 140 Staff becoming ill should not work so they dont spread the illness. If long term then a temporary replacement will need to be found Hardware Failure Computer hardware could be broken or break causing repair costs and time. Could cause data failures 3 8 2 48 Hardware like computers and servers might break. Replacement hardware should be kept and funding to buy replacement hardware should be kept. Legal Issues Parts of the project may come into legal issues over copyright materials and data protection 3 8 5 120 Make sure all material used we have rights to uses or own the copyright. Make sure we follow laws to best of our ability. Data being stolen Data stored in the database may be personal to people and could cause harm if stolen 4 8 8 256 Make sure we use best practises. Keep software up to date and encrypt all identifiable and private data. Hosting Services going down The database and the server side software is going to be stored on a hosting server if it goes down then the app wouldnt work. 3 7 2 42 Use a hosting services with a low down time and keep a copy of all data so it be easy to move to a different hosting services Staff leaving Staff leaving would cause staff shortages and they may take the knowledge base they have with them. 4 6 1 24 A replacement would need to found and training provided. All staff should document everything they do so new staff and old staff know how software works. KEY ELEMENT OF RISK MANAGEMENT 11. References 1. Niva M. All foods which affects health: understanding of functional foods and healthy eating among health oriented tips. Appetite. 2007;384-93. 2. Shepherd J, Harden A, Rees R, Brunton G, Garcia J, Oliver S. Young people and their healthy eating: a systematic review of research on barriers and facilitators. Health Education Res. 2006;21:239-57. 3. Join WHO/FAO expert consultation. Diet, nutrition and the prevention of chronic diseases. Geneva: World Health Organization; 2003. p. 149. 4. Polivy J, Herman CP. Mental health and eating behaviours: a bi-directional relation. Can J Public Health. 2005;96(Suppl 3):S43-6. S49-53. 5.Morgan Leslie Segal,Harvard school of Public Health;best food sources.health benefits.1939-2017. 6. Anthony Alayon Posted in: Diet and Nutrition;Health-Reporter-Daily. 101 Toxic Food Ingredients They Never Told You About. 2005 p.278 7. Aasim Durrani- Legal-issues-for-mobile-app-developers;2013 p.346 8.Resnick,D,B.What is Ethics in Research and Why is it important:List adapted from ShamooA and Resnik D.2015,3rd ed.
Thursday, September 19, 2019
The Birthmark by Nathaniel Hawthorne Essays -- English Literature
First Paper - The Birthmark by Nathaniel Hawthorne As human beings, we are NOT perfect! It is part of our nature to be flawed one way or another. But there are some who choose to believe the opposing view. The theme of Nathaniel Hawthorne's short story "The Birthmark" is how humans fight forcefully against Nature for perfection. It is those humans who, eventually, learn that Nature cannot be changed or revised. Aylmer was a famous scientist and philosopher who achieved great wonders. All his life, he has made remarkable discoveries and won numerous awards. His life revolved around two deep passions - the love for Nature [perfection] and the love for his wife, Georgiana [imperfection]. He believes the world is perfect, but little does he realize his life is rather imperfect. Georgiana is a very beautiful woman who loved her husband dearly. She was indeed beautiful with the exception of one flaw - her birthmark. This single mark lied on her left white cheek that resembled the shape of a hand. This mark is known as the "crimson hand". Her beauty is imperfect because of this "fatal mark". Although this beauty mark hindered Georgiana's beauty in Aylmer's eyes, others don't see this point. Other people, such as Aminadab, feel that she is beautiful with or without the "fatal birthmark". Aylmer was always bothered by her birthmark. Everyday, he goes hysterical over his wife's birthmark. As a successful scientist who has accomplished anything and everything, he decides to remove Georgiana's "fatal mark". He mixes up a concoction which will remove her birthmark. He realizes that the concoction is dangerous, yet he proceeds with his task in hope to remove her "fatal mark". His potion, known as the "elixir o... ...is wife's life. Knowing that the concoction is dangerous, he proceeds with it instead of accepting his wife's beauty. He took his wife's beauty for granted and he paid for his consequences. In a sense, Nature is just like fate. It has been already set up and there is no point to try to change it. Nature cannot be changed and shouldn't be attempted to be changed. Of course, there are always consequences in trying to change something that has already been set up. The more one tries to alter Nature, the more they will hurt themselves and others around them. In another sense, Nature is like God. Nature is similar to God because it is a concept one must comprehend. Nobody can take the place of God and the same mentality should be understood for Nature as well. Nature cannot be changed nor can God be replaced. Nature and God are things one can just accept.
Wednesday, September 18, 2019
Parris Island :: essays research papers
PARRIS ISLAND â€Å"GET OFF MY BUS. YOU HAVE TEN SECONDS TO GET YOUR THINGS, GET OFF MY BUS, AND GET ON THE FOOTPRINTS OUTSIDE.†It was the middle of the night, we had just arrived by bus from the airport and we were scared to death. Welcome to Marine Corps Recruiting Depot, Parris Island, South Carolina. This is a brief overview of Parris Island as seen through the eyes of Recruit Smith, Platoon 1040, B Company. Marine Corps boot camp is thirteen weeks of physical and mental anguish. There are three phases to the USMC boot camp each with it’s own challenges. If you can make it through and survive, you will have earned the title Marine. During the first two weeks you are with what is called an Initial Drill Instructor. His job is to get you used to life on Parris Island. The first two weeks is a whirlwind of activity where you receive everything you will need to guide you to graduation from boot camp. Your clothes, supplies, and rifle are issued to you. You learn the basic’s of group marching as one and yes, your hair is completely shaved off. After the first two weeks, it’s time to meet the Drill Instructors who will be with you morning, noon, and night for the next eleven weeks. We stood at attention on a solid yellow line in front of our bunks as our Drill Instructors were introduced to us. This was a very intimidating experience. They looked mean and angry and shouted degrading and demoralizing slurs at us. Phase I had officially begun. Phase I of boot camp focused on three main issues; Physical Training (PT), Drill, and Learning the History of the Marine Corps. This is the foundation for which the rest of boot camp is built on. Physical training is geared toward strength and conditioning. By the end of boot camp we will be able to run five miles without breaking a sweat. Drill is learning to perform as one. There are no individuals in the Marine Corps. It’s all about being a team. On the battlefield you need to perform as a cohesive unit in order to be successful. Learning the history of the Marine Corps is to let you know who came before you and Marine Corps values. You learn the famous battles the Marines fought in. They teach you to take pride in the uniform you wear and always uphold the reputation of a Marine.
Tuesday, September 17, 2019
Essay --
During the early 1970s, formal financial reporting standard setting activities were commenced. On 10 September 1971, a technical committee was formed in 1971 with the remit to act on a letter dated sent by Bank Negara to the President of Malaysian Association of Certified Public Accountants (MACPA). Nowadays, MACPA is now known as Malaysia Institutes of Certified Public Accountants (MICPA). MACPA was set up by individuals as a private association in 1958 (Susela 1999). After an extended pause marked by a high level of inactivity, the Malaysian Institute of Accountants (MIA) was approached to develop a standard in 1987. MIA has been set up in 1987 by the State as a statutory body to regulate the accounting profession. Therefore, both MACPA and the MIA committed to a process of joint work towards the objective of the development of a Malaysian accounting standard for goodwill. Based on Ahmad & Ishak (2003), an element of that agreed course of action, on July 1, 1987 the President of MIA and the President of MACPA signed a joint Circular to members enclosing a questionnaire inviting com...
Monday, September 16, 2019
Karnataka Mining Scam Essay
Karnataka is a state in South West India. It was created on 1 November 1956, with the passing of the States Reorganisation Act. Originally known as the State of Mysore, it was renamed Karnataka in 1973. Bangalore is the capital city of the state and is at the forefront of the rapid economic and technological development that India is experiencing. Karnataka, like other Indian states, has a parliamentary system of government with two democratically elected houses, the Legislative Assembly and the Legislative Council. Politics in Karnataka Politics in Karnataka has been dominated by three political parties, the Indian National Congress, the Janata Dal (Secular) and the Bharatiya Janata Party. Politicians from Karnataka have played prominent roles in federal government of India; three cabinet levels ministers in the current United Progressive Alliance government are from Karnataka. Notable among these is Former Chief Minister and Honorable Union Minister for Law, Justice and Company Affairs, Veerappa Moily. Illegal Mining Illegal mining in India is widespread in various ore rich states of India, and has generated controversy, which spans encroachment of forest areas, underpayment of government royalties, conflict with tribals regarding land rights. The spill-over of the effects of illegal mining into problems such as Naxalism and the distortion of Indian democracy by mixed political and mining interests, has gained international attention. Illegal Iron Ore Mining in Karnataka The fast growing demand for iron ore accompanied by the sky-high profits involved started the discovery and the subsequent exploitation of iron ore in the Bellary region of Karnataka. Karnataka has an economy that is not specific to one particular natural resource. However, this discovery led to iron ore contributing to the single largest income of the state. In this industry, however, are two politicians who have monopolized the profits – the infamous Reddy brothers – Janardhana Reddy, and Karunakara Reddy. Reports and investigations that have been carried out prior to the assent of Mr. Santosh Hegde as the Lokayukta chief, has proved the existence of illegal mining in the state, and the involvement of the Reddy brothers in the same. However, the reports have been suppressed, and subsequently â€Å"lost†in order to cover up a major scandal. Now, the reality has been unearthed and shamelessly barred open for the country to see, causing a scam of reasonably huge magnitude. The Issue The current ruling political party in Karnataka, the BJP, underwent quite a turn of events in the past few months. With the resignation of Lokayukta justice Santosh Hedge, the illegal mining scam took a forefront. The power of Bellary’s mining lobby in Karnataka’s politics in recent years has never been questioned. However, their exercise of it has become more blatant and overt under the BJP government, which has the powerful mining lords, the Reddy brothers, as its cabinet ministers. While the opposition has made sporadic efforts to bring the mining issue to the forefront of the political debate, it took the resignation of the hugely popular Lokayukta, Justice N Santosh Hegde, to catalyze the opposition and take the fight, literally, to the BJP government. It was the Lokayukta’s decision to protect an honest officer who had unearthed a huge export scam  running into thousands of crores  in Karwar involving illegal mining that led the former to resign. BJP chief Nitin Gadkari, on a trip to the city to persuade Justice Hegde to withdraw his resignation, went on record to say that illegal mining will be stopped. This situation put the CM Yeddurappa in a difficult position and he admitted publicly about the illegal mining actually being a reality. Yeddyurappa, however was not in a position to take adequate steps as the Reddy brothers, played an important role in the Karnataka governments financial and majority related issues. Growing Opposition pressure on the Karnataka government to act against the Reddy brothers and their alleged illegal mining in Bellary left the BJP divided. The party looked for a consensus on how to handle the situation. Two groups emerged – one backing Karnataka Chief Minister Y. S. Yeddyurappa and the other the Reddy brothers. Among the supporters of the Reddys were BJP leaders Sushma Swaraj and Ananth Kumar. Their argument was that the Reddys enjoy considerable support in their areas and any action against them would harm the party. But BJP leaders Rajnath Singh, Arun Jaitley and even L. K. Advani refused to buy the argument. They put their weight behind Yeddyurappa. On July 9, the House was adjourned amidst pandemonium after the Congress and JD-S members tried to raise the issue but were allegedly threatened by Reddy brothers  Janardhana Reddy, Karunakara Reddy  and Somashekhara Reddy along with two other MLAs, Suresh Babu and B Nagendra. The Congress alleged that the Reddys also tried to assault its MLAs. On July 12, the Opposition MLAs arrived in the Assembly wearing mining helmets. Speaker K Bopaiah objected to it. After that, the Congress and JD(S) MLAs came and sat in the Well. The opposition in the form of the congress government took steps to make full use of the BJPs weakness in the state as it lashed at the ruling government with examples of its past corrupt practices. As on July 20th, Karnataka CM, gave a clean chit to the brothers and said that the case has to be looked into. He said he had no apprehensions about removing them from the cabinet; however, first they have to be proven guilty by law. A day after the Karnataka government ordered a probe by his institution into illegal export of minerals, Lokayukta Santosh Hegde said he would seek information from the Centre and Andhra Pradesh on the quantum of iron ore exported illegally through various ports. The Yeddyurappa government referred illegal export of minerals, including iron ore, from 2000 till date to Lokayukta probe, after the opposition stepped up their campaign and demanded a CBI probe into the issue. This snowballed into a four-day session in the parliament just to argue on this ambiguity which was criticized by Mr. Santosh Hegde recently as â€Å"mockery of democracy†referring to the expenses entailed for each day in running such a parliament. The most recent development on this is that the state government has rejected the opposition demand for a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe into the mining scam in the state. N Santosh Hegde on 28th August stated that the services of the CBI could be required in the later stages of investigations. The Congress had taken out a Bellary Chalo march seeking a CBI probe into illegal mining scam which went unnoticed. Opposition members stayed in the Assembly overnight, sleeping in the lobby, with no let-up in their demand for a CBI enquiry into what Leader of the Opposition Siddaramaiah termed a â€Å"Rs 20,000 crore scam†. The opposition accused the ministers-cum-mining magnets Reddy brothers  G Janardhana Reddy and G Karunakara Reddy –of involvement in the alleged multi-crore scam. The Karnataka government had seized huge quantities of ore illegally extracted in the state, and corruption in mining sector in Karnataka would be to tune of Rs 10,000 crore to Rs 15,000 crore. Commenting on this issue, Union Law and Justice Minister M Veerapa Moily said Mineral resources, as national properties, should not be allowed to be plundered and stringent steps had to be taken to check the illegal mining in Karnataka. Off-shoot on the issue The Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) and Janata Dal-Secular (JD-S) members created ruckus and demanded the dismissal of the Karnataka government over the issue of illegal mining in the state. Settling political scores with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) which targeted Uttar Pradesh’s BSP government over the issue of farmers’ killings in Aligarh district last week, the BSP hit at the BJP government in Karnataka, seeking its dismissal. BSP and JD-S members demanded the dismissal of the Karnataka government for its alleged involvement in illegal mining in the state. The three Reddy brothers  Tourism Minister Janardhan Reddy, Revenue Minister Karunakara Reddy and Somashekhara Reddy  have allegedly encroached on forest land to conduct illegal iron ore mining operations in Karnataka say BSP leaders. Currently, the situation has toned down, and there is a lull in the Karnataka government as investigations are being carried out with vigor by the Lokayukta. It has submitted a letter recently seeking permission to approach the state governments of Goa and Andhra Pradesh to unearth the quantum of iron ore exported from ports of these two states.
Industrial Economic Research Paper
Qustion1 Identify and explain the market structure in which the company is operating Pos Malaysia Market structure * Monopoly firm Introduction (Pos Malaysia) Pos Malaysia Berhad is Malaysia’s premier physical communications provider. Pos Malaysia also has a widespread network of 701 post offices all over the country, in addition to its network of mini post offices, mobile post offices, postal agents and stamp agents, making it one of the most extensive retail networks in Malaysia.Pos Malaysia’s Strategic Business Units that aim to provide quality, reliable, timely and innovative solutions to its customers, are made up of PosMel (mail and postal services), PosLaju (courier and express mail services), and PosNiaga (retail business services). Pos Malaysia also acts as a counter collection and payment agency for a range of financial transactions, such as bill payments, remittance, insurance and unit trusts. Pos Malaysia consists of 3 Main Core Business Units: Pos Mel ,Pos Laju and Pos Niaga. Poslaju or EMS service caters to all segments of the business community and the general public.There are 37 Poslaju Centres nationwide offer all types of courier services. Besides Mail and Express servicer. Poslaju or EMS service caters to all segments of the business community and the general public. Type of courier services Inbound Logistics * Customs Clearance, Import permit documentation, Transportation, Warehousing, Distribution channel/break bulk, Proof of delivery, Track and trace. Outbound Logistics * Customs clearance ,Export documentation ,Transportations ,Warehousing ,Distribution channel/break bulk ,Proof of delivery ,Track and trace Monopoly market structure (Pos Malaysia)Government protection Pos Malaysia Berhad is a Malaysian postal service company that was privatized in 1992 from a government department into a business corporation. Government also protects and helps pos Malaysia if that firm has shortage cost and losses. was attributed to the pos Malaysia is the first company established to provide these services and the company has long operated, known by society and high cost in the provision of post Malaysia. Society loyalty The society in Malaysia has known about brand of pos Malaysia and the society also has familiar to uses pos Malaysia as services of mail.The public will be more confident in such a service as Pos Malaysia is an agency under the ministry and the government is indirectly involved in ensuring the security of the items kept here. Maximize profit A monopoly market exists when there is huge number of buyers but small or very limited number of sellers in the market. Monopoly is the only supplier of a product for which there is no close substitute. In monopoly market, the firm has get a maximize profit, if the manager has have good skill and knowledge to manages that company.For example, pos Malaysia have a good manages, and that means this company can get a height profit. In monopoly market, pos Malaysia can set its own price and the prices chosen affects the quantity it sells. Pos Malaysia is the only licensed mail services provider in Malaysia and is the leader in the Malaysia Courier Services. Pos Malaysia posted a net profit of RM 61 million for the nine months ended September 2004 – an increase of more than 40 per cent from the corresponding period in the previous year.It is projected to earn a net profit of close to RM100 million this year based on existing postal rates. Power of set prices In monopoly market, pos Malaysia can put the price of the service with a high rate to the profit of the community to obtain greater. This can be carried out in the market as pos Malaysia is the only domestic postal mail offered in Malaysia Advantages in monopoly Stability of prices * In a monopoly market the prices are most of the times stable. This happens because there is only one firm involved in the market that sets the prices if and when it feels like.In other types of market struc tures prices are not stable and tend to be elastic as a result of the competition that exists but this isn’t the case in a monopoly market as there is little or no competition at all. Source of revenue for the government * The government gets revenue in form of taxation from monopoly firms. Massive profits * Due to the absence of competitors which leads to high number of sales monopoly firms tend to receive super profits from their operations.The massive profits realized may be used in such things as launching other products, carrying out research and development among many other things that may be beneficial to the firm. Question 2 Comment if there are barriers to entry Definition Barriers to entry are designed to block potential entrants from entering a market profitably. They seek to protect the monopoly power of existing (incumbent) firms in an industry and therefore maintain supernormal (monopoly) profits in the long run.Barriers to entry have the effect of making a mark et less contestable. Defined an entry barrier as â€Å"A cost of producing (at some or every rate of output) which must be borne by a firm which seeks to enter an industry but is not borne by firms already in the industry. Barriers to entry in( pos Malaysia). In pos Malaysia, there are barriers to entry. Among them are: Advertising and marketing * Developing consumer loyalty by establishing branded products can make successful entry into the market by new firms much more expensive. Cost Advantages Lower Costs; through experience of Being in the market for missing time, allows the existing postal company Malaysia’s to cut price and win price wars if another firm enter the market. Absolute cost advantages * Allows an incumbent firm to earn excess profits without feat of new firm entering the market. for example in the market, pos Malaysia price of the service is able to offer a cheaper service player medals RM7 per unit, but other companies likes DHL and FedEx only able to off er prices as low as RM 12 mail service. so its pos Malaysia cans set PRICES at rm10.Which is are more chipper, than the more customer use pos Malaysia services and also get a highest profit. Government Restrictions * Government is the source of barriers to entry that are created by patents and copyrights. But these are not the only barriers to entry enabled by government. Government is, after all, the entity that establishes the rules of the game. Governments frequently erect barriers to entry by legally limiting the number of participants in a market. Legal restrictions for public utilities are usually designed to make the most effective use of natural monopoly markets that can create serious inefficiency problems.Other legal restrictions, such as licenses or charters, are generally intended to pursue other goals, but create barriers to entry nonetheless. For example, pos mel only provided by pos Malaysia. Although there are big rivals like FedEx and DHL outside, but pos Malaysia o ffer cheaper prices. First mover advantages * The first firm to enter incurs lower marketing costs because it faces no rivals. Later firm face higher marketing costs because they must compete against the first firm. If the presence of the incumbent raises the marketing costs of the second firm to enter, then the first firm has permanent advantages and can maintain high prices
Sunday, September 15, 2019
You Suck: A Love Story Chapter 16~17
Chapter Sixteen Being the Chronicles of Abby Normal: Completely Fucked Servant of the Vampyre Flood OMFG-WOOT! I have failed, left my duty undone, like so much dog poop on the gloaming sidewalk of the tragedy that is my life. Even as I sit here at the Metreon Starbucks, writing this, the froth slaves seem to move like silver-eyed zombies and my nonfat, soy Amaretto Mochaccino has gone as bitter as snake bile. (Which is like the bitterest bile you can get.) If there wasn't a totally hot guy two tables away, acting like he doesn't notice me, I would weep – but real tears make your mascara run, so I'm staying chilly in my despair. Your loss, cute guy, for I have been chosen. Suffer, bitch! I had to leave Lord Flood to his own devices last night, but before I left, I confessed my undying love for him. I am a hopeless hose beast. All I had to do was say good-bye, but no, I just barked it out. It's like he has this power over me – like I have an eating disorder and he's a package of Oreo Double Stuff cookies. (I don't have an eating disorder, I'm just skinny because I enjoy eating mass quantities and then yakking it back up. It's not a body-image problem. I think my system has always wanted to live on a liquid diet, and until I'm brought into my Dark Lord's loving embrace, then it's Starbucks for me.) I have been trying to call my Dark Lord and the Countess all day on their cells, but I kept getting voice mail. Well, duh – they're vampires. They won't be answering the phone. I'm such a tard sometimes. So I went to the old loft early this morning, in fact even before dawn. I should be, like, made a Bronte sister for coming up with a story to get out of the house that early, but I wanted to talk to the master before his slumber. Thing was, the scary drunk guy and his huge cat were gone, but so were my master and the Countess. Everything had been moved except the statue of the turtle and the Countess. So I rolled out, headed for the new loft I rented, when I spotted two cops sitting in a POS brown car. I knew they were vampyre hunters right away. It must be the master's dark powers rubbing off on me. There was a big fat gay cop and a sharp-faced Hispano-cop. So I was like, â€Å"Could you guys look any more like cops?†And they were like, â€Å"Move along, little lady.†So I was forced to point out to them that they were not the boss of me and then I proceeded to humiliate them by verbally bitch-slapping them until they cried. What is it about the crusties? Their minds work so slowly that you have to, like, prompt them to stand up so you can slap them again until they faint like the little wuss-bags that they are. I never want to be crusty. And I won't be, because my Lord will bring me into the fold and I shall stalk the night for eternity, my beauty forever preserved as it is, except I'd like a little bigger boobs. Anyway, I wandered around on Market Street and up in Union Square to give the cops enough time to slink off to lick their wounds, then I returned to the master's street to check the new loft. This time there was this Asian guy sitting across the street in a Honda, looking all Manga-cool, but it was obvious that he was watching the loft door. He didn't look like a cop, but he was definitely watching, so I stopped and pretended to watch the sculptors work who have the space under the master's old loft. They are these two crusty biker guys, but they do some amazing shit. They'd left the garage door open so I stepped in. They were putting dead chickens on wires and dipping them in silver paint, then hanging them on sticks by the wires. So I was all, â€Å"What the fuck, biker? What are you doing?†And one of them was like, â€Å"It's almost the year of the cock.†And I was all), â€Å"Don't be gross, you crustacious fuck. You pull that thing out and I'll pepper-spray you until you fry.†(You have to be stern with weenie waggers – I've been exposed to on the bus over seventeen times, so I know.) And he was like, â€Å"No, it's the year of the cock in the Chinese zodiac.†Which I knew, of course. â€Å"We're making statues,†said the bigger biker, who was named Frank. (The other one's name was Monk. He didn't talk much, which might explain the name.) So they showed me how they took real dead roosters they bought in Chinatown, ran wires through them to pose them, then dipped them in a thin metallic paint, then put them in this big tank and attached electric clips to them. They pass some current through the clips and the current attracts bronze molecules or something to the metallic paint. It's like instant bronze rooster. I thought about the statue of the Countess upstairs and got a little creeped out. So I'm all, â€Å"You ever do a person?†And they were like, â€Å"No way, that would be wrong. You'd better go now, because we're behind and don't you have school and stuff?†So walking out, I saw the Asian guy checking me out and I was like, â€Å"Hey, it's almost the year of the cock. Shouldn't you be out shopping for one?†He looked really nervous, but he kinda grinned. Then started his car and drove off, but he wants me, I can tell, so he'll be back. I hope he wants me. He was so cute – in that Final Fantasy Thirty-Seven way. What I'm saying is, the Sex Fu is strong with this one. So there was no sign of my Dark Lord or the Countess at the new place. I wonder if they have crawled under the earth in some park and satisfied their perverse desires with each other among the worms and the tree roots. Eww! Oh well, almost dark. I'd better go back to the loft and wait for them. Addendum: The lice shampoo didn't work on my sister. Looks like we might have to shave her head. I'm going to try to talk her into getting a pentagram tattooed on her scalp. I know a guy in the Haight who will do it for free if you verbally abuse him while he's tattooing. More later. Sundown. Jody awoke to pain and the smell of cooking meat. She rolled away from the source of the pain and went crashing through the acoustical ceiling tiles to land in a commercial sink full of dishes and soapy water. A Mexican guy was backing across the dish room crossing himself and invoking saints in Spanish as Jody climbed out of the sink and brushed suds off her jacket and jeans. When she touched the front of her thighs she nearly leapt back through the ceiling the pain was so sharp. â€Å"Mother-fuck-that-hurts!†she said, hopping around on one foot, because that will generally help all manner of pain, regardless of where it's located on the body. Her boot heel clicking against the tiles sounded like a limping flamenco dancer. The dishwasher turned and bolted out of the dish room into the bakery. The bakery. When the alarm on her watch had threatened dawn she ran down the alley checking doors as she went, and the only one she found unlocked led into the stockroom of a bakery. She needed a place to hide where she'd be undisturbed while she slept, and although she considered hiding under a couple of the fifty-pound bags of flour, she had no way of knowing if the bakers would be using them today. She'd already awakened in a morgue once before (when Tommy had frozen her), and finding a rotund necrophiliac morgue attendant rubbing his hands and other bits over her seminaked body while she thawed had soured her to the whole morgue experience. No, she had to find someplace more secluded. One of the bakers had been coming into the stockroom, she could hear his voice and footfalls outside the door. She looked around for somewhere to hide, then spotted the grimy acoustic ceiling tiles suspended above. She leapt onto the pallet of flour, lifted a tile to see that the ceiling was suspended a full four feet below the structural ceiling. Bless old buildings. She grabbed a water pipe, pulled herself through the ceiling, jackknifed her legs up and around the pipe, then used her free hand to pull the ceiling tile back in place, all in less than two seconds. She listened as the man moved around below her, then scooped up one of the big bags of flour and left the room. That was a good call. She checked her watch. Less than a minute before she'd go out. She spotted four pipes running together parallel to the floor. They were slightly warm, which was why she could see them at all in the darkness, but each was two inches around and braced to the ceiling every few feet. They'd hold her. She scrambled over to the pipes, squirmed out of her leather jacket, and put it across the pipes, then lay facedown on top of it. This way, even if one of her legs slipped off, it wouldn't pull her off the pipes. She was trying to wedge the toes of her boots into the gap between the pipes when she went out. The problem was that the pipes weren't used that early in the morning. As the building awoke, hot water began coursing through them, and Jody had been subjected to the heat all day. Her jacket had protected her face and torso, but her thighs had been slow-cooked inside her jeans. She gritted her teeth and bolted through the dish room door into the back room of the bakery. So now it's deserted. Of course, bakers work in the middle of the night and the early morning. At sundown the dishwasher would be the only guy still in the building. She found her way to the stockroom, then out into the alley. She could see the entries to both of their lofts from the end of the alley, and fortunately, no one appeared to be watching from the street. There were lights on in the new loft and she made her way to the door, her legs burning with every step. She listened at the door – did what she thought of as â€Å"reaching out.†If she focused she could almost hear shapes, depending on the ambient noise. There was someone in the loft – she could hear the heartbeat, industrial music playing in headphones, the shuffling of a body – a light body dancing. It was the kid, Abby Normal. Where in the hell was Tommy? He couldn't be far from the loft – the sun had gone down only five minutes ago. Jody pounded on the door, but the shuffling sounds upstairs didn't change rhythm, and she pounded again, this time leaving a dent in the metal door. Fuck, the kid has the headphones cranked and can't hear a thing. Jody shivered, although not because of the cold, but because the hunger was rising in her. Her body telling her she needed to feed so she could heal. She'd only done it once before, and wasn't sure she could pull it off again, but she needed to get into the loft and leave a lockable door intact. She concentrated as the old vampire had taught her, and gradually, she felt herself fading – going to mist. Monet was no longer dressed as the statue guy, no longer in character – not that character, anyway. Now he was the masta-blasta, gansta-rappa, full-ninja-badass and a bag of mothafuckin' chips, bi-yatch – bent on revenge and whatnot. He'd given up midafternoon on making any money and had gone home to remove his makeup and lick his wounds. He'd taken a vicious ass-whuppin' today, even if it was only to his ego. But now he was rolling with his homies, P.J. and Fly, they would put that bronze muthafucka down – if he was still around. If he didn't run away like a little bitch. â€Å"You strapped?†Fly said, adjusting his do-rag as he drove his ten-year-old Honda Civic with rims worth more than the rest of the car. â€Å"Huh?†Monet inquired. â€Å"Do you have a weapon?†Fly said, enunciating all Royal Shakespeare Company precise. â€Å"Oh, yeah.†Monet pulled the Glock out of his waistband and showed it to Fly. â€Å"Nigga, put that shit down,†said P.J., who was in the backseat, wearing a Phat Pharm tracksuit that was four sizes too big for him. â€Å"Sorry,†Monet said, tucking the gun back into the waistband of his jeans. He'd borrowed the Glock – rented it, really – from a real gangsta in Hunter's Point, who needed it back in two hours or he'd charge another twenty-five bucks. Before he gave Monet the gun, he made him swear that no one would be wearing gang colors, so nothing Monet did could come back on him. Monet had made the assurance, then, after P.J. did a Google search for gang colors, they settled on orange do-rags, since no gang seemed to claim that one. â€Å"Highway Safety Posse, yo,†Monet had said. â€Å"Yo, Stone Tangerine Thugs, yo,†suggested Fly. â€Å"Yo, yo, yo, check it out,†said P.J., with enough hand gestures that any deaf person watching would have thought he had ASL Tourette's syndrome. â€Å"Cheesy Goldfish Crew.†â€Å"Yo, dog, that's so stupid it's not stupid,†Monet said. â€Å"Is that good?†asked Fly. â€Å"Yo, dog, get in character.†Fly was a bad actor. They were all in the same acting class. He should have just hired real gangsters to do this. P.J. was probably going to trip over the legs of his track pants and completely ruin their intimidation. â€Å"This is it,†Fly said, pulling off the street, right up onto the sidewalk of the Embarcadero by the Ferry Building. â€Å"That him?†â€Å"That's him,†Monet said. There was no one around but the occasional passing car, but the new statue guy still stood there. â€Å"Remember,†Fly said. â€Å"Walk. Don't run up. Just walk, like you got all the time in the world. Use your sense memories.†â€Å"Right, right, right,†Monet said. He and P.J. got out of the car and quickstepped across the bricks to where the statue guy was running his game. Damn, he was good, didn't even flinch. As he reached the statue guy, Monet raised the Glock and the barrel connected with the statue's forehead. â€Å"Bi-yatch!†There was a dull clank. â€Å"Whoa,†P.J. said. â€Å"Nigga really is a statue.†Monet tapped the statue, three dull clanks. â€Å"Yep.†â€Å"But he got all that money in his shoes,†P.J. said. â€Å"Well, take it, stupid,†Monet said. â€Å"Yo, step off, Monet. I'm not the one that got upstaged by a statue.†â€Å"Shut up,†Monet said. P.J. was grabbing handfuls of bills out of the Big Gulp cups at the statue's feet and shoving them into his pockets. â€Å"Must be a G here, G.†â€Å"Yo,†Monet said. â€Å"Help me get the statue into the car.†P.J. stood and got one shoulder under the statue and tried to lift it, while Monet tucked the gun in his pants and got under the other. They dragged the statue only a couple of feet before they had to set it down and catch their breath. â€Å"Motherfucker heavy,†P.J. said. â€Å"Would you guys come on!†Fly screamed from the car, totally out of character now. â€Å"Fuck this,†Monet said. This whole thing was just too embarrassing. He'd paid rent on the gun, hadn't he? He drew the Glock from his waistband and squeezed one off at the statue. â€Å"Shit,†P.J. said, ducking. â€Å"Are you crazy?†â€Å"Bi-atch need to learn a – †Monet's comment was choked off. P.J. stood up and looked back. There was smoke streaming out of the bullet hole in the statue, and in the second he watched, it had formed into a hand and grabbed Monet by the throat. P.J. turned to run, but something caught the hood of his tracksuit and yanked him back off his feet. He could hear Monet gagging and choking. Then he felt a sharp pain in the side of his neck and he felt suddenly light-headed. The last thing he saw was Fly peeling away in the Honda. Chapter Seventeen Being the Chronicles of Abby Normal: Newly Baptized Minion of the Night Bow before me, skeezy mortals, for now I see you for the pathetic little rodents that you are. Scurry before my dazzling darkness, daysters, for I am your mistress, your queen, your goddess – I have been brought into the fold – I am Abigail Von Normal, NOSFERATU, bitches! Sort of. OMG. It was so fucking cool – like coming twice with Skittles and a Coke. I was in the loft, spacing into my jams on my MP3 player. I had downloaded the latest Dead Can Dub CD (Death Boots Badonka Mix) at the Starbucks and it was totally transcendent. I was transported to an ancient Romanian castle, where everyone had done X and was dancing totally chill and sensuous (with perfect hair). I was grinding a free-form booty dance on the armchair – perfecting my dance gestalt – when I saw some smoke coming in under the door. (I can't wait to dance with Jared to this new CD. He's so going to love this move I do. That's what I love about dancing with gay guys. If they get wood during a booty dance, you can just take it as a compliment, not an agenda. Jared said that if I was a guy, he would totally suck my dick. He can be so sweet.) So I pulled out one of my headphones and I was like, â€Å"Whoa, fire in the staircase – sucks to be me.†There's only one exit, so, you know, blackened Abby coming up. But the smoke formed into a pillar, and then it started growing arms and legs. When I saw it had eyes I ran into the bedroom and shut the door. I wasn't trippin' or anything, just totally calm. But it wasn't like when your friends hold your hair while you puke and tell you it's just the drugs and you'll be okay – so I went for the safe thing of locking the door so I could assess the situation. Then the door just ‘splodes into splinters and there's the Countess, totally naked, standing in the doorway with the knob in her hand. And she was totally hot, except that her legs were all fucked up, like they were burned or rotted or something. So I'm all, â€Å"You totally wrecked your deposit.†And the Countess like grabs my hair and pulls me to her and bites my neck, just like that. It didn't really hurt – it was more surprising – like you woke up from getting a root canal to find your dentist going down on you. Well, not exactly like that – more mystical. But still, surprising. (Okay, it hurt, but not as much as the time Lily tried to pierce our nipples with a compass from geometry class and an ice cube. Youch!) She smelled like burning meat, and I tried to push her away, but it was like my limbs were paralyzed or there was a fat guy sitting on me – like I was buried alive or something, just watching it happen. And then I started to get lightheaded and I thought I was going to pass out. That's when the ho dropped me. She goes, â€Å"Go downstairs and get my clothes off the sidewalk. And make coffee.†And I'm like, Wait a minute, I just lost my mortality virginity, shouldn't I get a cigarette and a fucking towel or something? But I just said, â€Å"Okay,†because where the Countess was all burned was healing while I watched, and it was kind of freaking me out to be looking at her naked, burned-up thighs and her totally red pubes anyway. So I went downstairs and just outside the door there was a homeless guy digging through a pile of clothes. Well, really, he was sniffing her panties. And because I don't feel we always do enough to help the homeless, I was like, â€Å"Take them, and tell no one what you witnessed here tonight.†(I was already feeling the superiority of my Nosferatitude, so it only seemed appropriate that I go all noblesse oblige on his ass.) So off he went to sniff the lacy crotch of the undead while I went back upstairs to find coffee filters. So when I get up there the Countess is dressed and hair brushed and she's all, â€Å"Where is Tommy? Have you seen Tommy? Did you talk to those cops? And where's Tommy?†And I was all, â€Å"Countess, begging your pardon and shit, but you need to chill. The vampyre Flood was gone when I got here this morning, and so was that bronze statue from the other side. I thought you guys went off to sleep in the damp womb of your native soil or something.†â€Å"Yuck!†goes the Countess. Then she tightens down all of sudden. â€Å"Make me a cup of coffee, two sugars, and squeeze one of those vials of blood into it – and call us a cab.†And I was like, â€Å"Hey, step off, Countess. I'm one of you and you are not the boss of me and – â€Å" And she said, â€Å"I said for us, didn't I?†So I did her bidding – well, our bidding, really – and we took a cab over to the Marina Safeway, but why we didn't transform into bats and fly is beyond me. Anyway, we were there in ten minutes. But as we start to pull in, the Countess tells the driver to keep going. She was all, â€Å"It's Rivera and Cavuto. This is not good.†The POS brown cop car was parked in front of the store. I was all, â€Å"Cops? Their shit is weak.†She seemed surprised that I knew the cops, but I told her how I had owned them like the little wussy-boys that they are and I could tell that the Countess was feeling pretty good about bringing me into the dark fold of the coven. Then she was all, â€Å"Fucking Clint – he's telling them about Tommy.†But I couldn't even see what she was looking at beyond the big glass front of the Safeway. I guess my powers will develop as time goes on. Five hundred years is a long time to get your vampyre kung fu down. The Countess had the driver drop us at Fort Mason, so we could still see the front of the Safeway, and we stood in the fog like the creatures of the night that we were while we waited for the cops to leave. Then the Countess put her arm around my shoulders and she was all, â€Å"Abby, I'm sorry I, uh, attacked you like that. I was hurt really badly and to heal I needed fresh blood. I wasn't really in control of myself. It won't happen again.†â€Å"No worries,†I told her. â€Å"I'm honored to be promoted. Besides, it was kind of hot.†Which it was, you know, except for the smell of burning flesh and stuff. And she was all, â€Å"Well, thanks for looking out for us.†And I was all, â€Å"Pardon, Countess, but why are we at the Safeway?†Because it's not like we needed groceries. And she was all, â€Å"These guys used to work with Tommy, and one of them knows that he is, uh, one of the children of the night. I think they might know something about where he is now.†Then, over at the Safeway, we saw this goofy-looking guy with frizzy hair and glasses unlock the front door and let the cops out. They got in their car and the frizzy guy locked the front door behind them. â€Å"Showtime,†said the Countess. She zipped up her leather jacket, took a pair of sunglasses out of her jacket pocket, and put them on. She goes, â€Å"Stay back, Abby. I'll be right back.†Then she started across the parking lot toward the Safeway, taking big strides and looking all angel of vengeance, with her red hair flying out behind her, and the lights shining down on her through the fog. I was like, â€Å"Oh shit!†She didn't even slow down. When she got about ten feet from the front window she snatched up one of the steel-reinforced trash cans like it was made of cardboard and flung it through the window. And she just kept walking! Little cubes of safety glass rained down on her and she just walked through the front of the store like she owned it and everyone in it – which she did. Before I even got in the store, she was coming back around the corner, dragging the frizzy-haired guy by the throat. She threw him up against a rack of wine bottles, which shattered, spilling red all over the floor and splattering the registers and stuff. I was all, â€Å"Oh, dog, Countess gonna crack open a forty of whup-ass on you now. Oh, you in the shit now, wigga!†(I am not inclined to use hip-hop vernacular often, but there are times when, like French, it just better expresses the sentiment of the moment.) Just then the whole crowd of guys I'd seen in the limo came running around the corner. The Countess snatched a wine bottle off the rack, and without a second of hesitation, she threw it and it hit the first guy, a tall, hippie-looking guy, right in the middle of the forehead and he went down like he was shot. She goes, â€Å"Back!†and they all headed back around the corner the way they came, except the hippie-looking guy, who was out cold. Then the Countess picked up the guy with glasses by the throat. And even though he was like a foot taller than her, she whipped him around like a rag doll until he was screaming stuff about Satan and Jesus and telling her to get behind him and shit. And the Countess was all, â€Å"Where is Tommy?†And he was all, â€Å"I don't know. I don't know.†And the Countess grabbed him by the hair and held his head steady against the wine rack. Real chilly, she says, â€Å"Clint, I'm going to take your right eye now. Then if you don't tell me where Tommy is, I'm going to take your left. Ready. On three. One†¦ Two†¦Ã¢â‚¬ Then he's all, â€Å"I didn't have anything to do with it. She's the spawn of Satan, I told them that.†â€Å"Three!†goes the Countess. â€Å"He's in Lash's apartment on Northpoint. I don't know the number.†And the Countess just yells â€Å"Number?†out to the whole store. And the black guy pops up from behind a display of Cheerios and is all, â€Å"Six ninety-three Northpoint, Apartment 301.†And one of the other guys pulls him back down. Then the Countess is all, â€Å"Thank you. If he's hurt, I'll be back.†And she throws the Clint guy through a rack of Doritos, which exploded their nacho cheesy goodness all over the place. Then she's all, â€Å"Well, that's a nice surprise.†And I'm all, â€Å"That Lord Flood is in an apartment on Northpoint?†â€Å"I didn't think they would really know. I just didn't know where else to start.†â€Å"Probably your senses attuned to Lord Flood's presence over the eons,†I said, like a total tard. And she's all, â€Å"Let's go, Abby.†And I don't know why, I guess because I had like low blood sugar or something from blood loss, but I was like, â€Å"Can I get some gum?†And she was all, â€Å"Sure. Grab some coffee, too. Whole beans. We're almost out.†So I did. And when I caught up with her, she was halfway across the parking lot, headed back toward Ghirardelli Square, and little pieces of safety glass were still shining in her hair and she smiled at me when I caught up and I just couldn't help myself, because that was the coolest thing I'd ever seen. Ever! And I was all, â€Å"Countess, I love you.†And she put her arm around me and kissed me on the forehead and goes, â€Å"Let's get Tommy.†I guess I'll start feeling my vampyre powers tomorrow night, but right now I feel like a total fucking loser. But I am so going to rule when school starts again.
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