#Pool Planning & Code

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Clark County Southern, Nevada Swimming Pool Construction Code

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Clark County Southern, Nevada Swimming Pool Construction Code

What to Expect When Considering a Pool Build in Southern, Nevada – Code

It’s January! Summer is right around the corner! Now is the time to start planning and building your custom swimming pool with Clarity Pool Service of Las Vegas. We’re Southern Nevada’s premier pool contractor and pool maintenance service, and we want to help you build the ultimate swimming pool, even if you’re on a set budget.

The first hurdle you’ll want to get past is zoning. It’s a good idea to know about your zoning and laws before embarking on the journey to build your dream pool. Here at Clarity Pool Service, we want to make the process as stress-free and painless as possible. We’ve compiled some of the Clark County (Southern Nevada) Building Code that might help as a reference when researching your home zoning and applicable laws.

  Chapter 22.20 – THE SWIMMING POOL AND SPA CODE OF CLARK COUNTY [6]

Sections:

Footnotes:

— (6) —

Editor’s note— Ord. No. 4608, §§ 1 and 2, adopted Aug. 21, 2018, effective July 5, 2014, repealed Ch. 22.20 and enacted a new chapter as set out herein. The former Ch. 22.20, §§ 22.20.010—22.20.030, pertained to the swimming pool, and spa code of Clark County and derived from Ord. No. 3898, §§ 1 and 2, adopted Sept. 7, 2010 and Ord. No. 4112, adopted Aug. 20, 2013.

Editor’s note— This chapter shall be in force and effect from and after February 4, 2019.

  22.20.010 – Adoption.

(A) That certain document, three copies of which are on file in the office of the County Clerk of Clark County, being marked and designated as the “International Swimming Pool and Spa Code, 2018 Edition” (referenced herein as the ISPSC) published by the International Code Council, together with all tables of contents, definitions, articles, tables, indexes, examples and appendices, is hereby adopted and made a part of this chapter, the same as if it were fully set forth herein, except as amended by the Southern Nevada Amendments to the 2018 International Swimming Pool and Spa Code and by this chapter.

That certain document, three copies of which are on file in the office of the County Clerk of Clark County, being marked and designated as the Southern Nevada Amendments to the 2018 International Swimming Pool and Spa Code, together with all tables of contents, definitions, articles, tables, indexes, examples and appendices, is hereby adopted and made a part of this chapter, the same as if it were fully set forth herein, except as amended by this chapter.

Name. The Southern Nevada Amendments to the 2018 International Swimming Pool and Spa Code, as adopted and amended by this chapter, is known as the Swimming Pool and Spa Code of Clark County. It is reference herein as “this code.”

Conflict. In the event there is a conflict between this chapter and the International Swimming Pool and Spa Code, or a substantive difference in the meanings of wording included in a topic or subject area common to all three documents, the wording of this chapter shall supersede the International Swimming Pool and Spa Code and the Southern Nevada Amendments to the 2018 International Residential Code and govern.

  In the event there is a conflict between the Southern Nevada Amendments to the 2018 International Swimming Pool and Spa Code and the International Swimming Pool and Spa Code, or a substantive difference in the meanings of wording included in a topic or subject area common to both documents, the wording of the Southern Nevada Amendments to the 2018 International Residential Code shall supersede the ISPSC and govern.

(Ord. No. 4608, § 2, 8-21-2018)   22.20.020 – Administrative provisions.

The provisions of Chapter 22.02 known as the “Building Administrative Code of Clark County” shall serve as the governing rules and regulations for the administration, organization and enforcement of the Swimming Pool and Spa Code of Clark County.

(Ord. No. 4608, § 2, 8-21-2018)   22.20.030 – Violation and penalties.

It is unlawful for any person to erect, install, alter, repair, relocate, add to, replace, use, or maintain swimming pools, spas, or water features in this jurisdiction, or cause the same to be done, contrary to or in violation of any of the provisions of this code. Maintenance of any swimming pool, spa, or water which was unlawful at the time it was installed and which would be unlawful under this code if installed after the effective date of this code constitutes a continuing violation of this code.

Any person violating any of the provisions of this code shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor. Each such person shall be deemed guilty of a separate offense for each and every day or portion thereof during which any violation of any of the provisions of this code is committed, continued, or permitted. Upon conviction for any such violation such person shall be punishable by a fine of not more than one thousand dollars or by imprisonment in the county jail for not more than six months, or by both such fine and imprisonment. Whenever in this chapter any act is prohibited or is made or declared to be unlawful or an offense or a misdemeanor, the doing of any such required act constitutes a violation of this chapter. Any day of any violation of this ordinance constitutes a separate offense.

(Ord. No. 4608, § 2, 8-21-2018)

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Poke Pt 10 - Poker Face

…

All in swift succession a wedding and a baby on the way on the top floor of a casino in the perfect setting for the celebration that Pepper had dreamed of the plans were shared for a ceremony in India for a certain level of privacy in renting an estate there. As linked as Loki’s plus one you were granted your own invitation and to follow the dress code would wear your white gown sleeveless gown coated with golden branches that stemmed from the waist out. Because you were upstairs Peter was allowed to attend as long as he didn’t head down to the casino and when the party had dipped into the second half and a clear need for privacy when Stark gave his usual hint you and the other guests gave them some space. Loki regrettably accepted your peck on his cheek and sighed at his inability to join you down in the casino and entertainment avenues floors below.

However under strict watch of four sleuths working for the casino watched you at your seat at the blackjack table in the figure hugging golden number with accents to frame your curves perfectly on the thick strapped wonder with another low dipping cleavage cut. Enough to distract many, and to Eddie’s glee as he camped out keeping watch on Hippy McGee, Big Ears was in your view a couple tables over and kept noticing the hushed comments of said paid shadows who had watched you go from setting down your grand in chips to eight grand in less than an hour.

Suspicious himself the dealer waited until the signal then flashed you a grin stating, “I apologize, however my time at this table is expended.”

“Oh, do you accept tips? Or is that just a film thing?”

Weakly he chuckled and said, “We do accept tips.” And he accepted the chip you offered him, “Thank you.”

“Sorry,” you giggled out, “I’d have offered sooner. First casino trip, mainly play online no tips involved.”

He chuckled and said, “Understandable, good luck.”

“Thank you,” you said then smiled to the new dealer who greeted you in return and got to watch you amp up your winnings to fifteen thousand that had the second dealer who looked you over as you said, “I think that’s enough for now. Only needed ten really,”

His brows arched up asking, “For the tournament?”

You nodded, “Little likely to win, but any spare funds for college is helpful, so if I lose at least I have four to walk away with over my original grand.”

Relief washed over the guards as the news that you were pooling those funds into the buy in on the tournament that you noticed Big Ears was headed for. And with 260 bodies in filling the allotted seats you were among those who hadn’t paid ahead and filled up a stunningly small group of amateurs amongst the flocks of professionals who were out for a championship free boost to their pocket books before the big game in a few weeks down in Vegas.

Basic chips were allotted for starting bet pools while your clutch rested in the secured drawer above your lap after having been checked and locked there like the other players in each table for their personal items to prevent cheating. Lost to the flow from the four other people around you the 52 tables steadily emptied in each depletion of chips. And with each empty table from the final player in each belongings were freed to move groups of five players filled the second round of the tournament. Guards again were present and in Big Ear’s view you were clearly being watched as whispers began to spread that you weren’t losing hands. Bluffs or clear victories were now casting second and third glances towards the remaining amateur in their midst on your way to the approved bathroom break without your still locked up clutch.

The third round began and in the empty of more shows or dinners at the choice of eateries inside this palace of greed and impulse the viewing room that had a growing audience to watch the wall of flat screens displaying the action. Yet you and the others had no clue in the sealed off hall to keep things running smooth without spare bodies in the way or chance for outward influence. Rows were split off and the next group of winners would simply move to the next row to meet their new opponents with clear crates of chips in tow to make ease of the moves. Some wouldn’t find comfort in a tournament like this, so many were used to sitting in one place for a time and as the you hit two and a half hours you didn’t know it but a relieved exit of the top floor had Sam and the Super Soldiers in the viewing room and Sam easing his phone out of his pocket to call Tony who was still upstairs. “Hey, um,”

“Poker tournament over already?” Tony asked pouring himself a drink.

“You’re not going to believe who’s in the final round.”

“Try me. I would wager Big Ears is down there, he’s been boasting on it all month. Him and Flay, they have a sort of thing back and forth for years.”

“Pluto.”

“Pluto what?” he asked lifting the glass already feeling Loki’s eyes on him for saying your name.

“Pluto’s at the table.”

Tony chuckled, “She did not have ten grand to enter the tournament, stop joking, who’s at the table.”

“Pluto, and she’s 800 grand up. She’s bluffing with threes.”

Tony paused and snapped his fingers, “Three minutes,” he hung up and the whole group was down to catch the back end of that hand for his scoff to the clear ease of the final ten grand from Flay who demanded to see your two down cards before he would leave. This for one of the few at this table to have a monster hand and the still amused unreadable expressions that none of the guys at the table seemed to be able to read. Eddie in the audience having completed his task an hour ago and was concerned at the lack of an answer to his texts found himself grinning widely to the sight of a shift in your seat to alleviate the numbness in your hip for the annoying seam in the back of your skirt you tried to avoid with a slightly irritating angle had Big Ears smirking widely and in his turn to bet shoving all his chips into the pot.

You didn’t lose and his try to bluff you out of your seat had him out of his own and cursing his way from the room for the Pro on his right to smirk watching your mini mountain of chips grow even more almost to match his own at 7 million for the largest pool at the table. Loki asked lowly, “What is the motivation behind this game?”

Which Natasha answered, “A battle of deception. Best liar wins the biggest pot.”

Tony asked, “Why did she get in the tournament in the first place?” he asked to Peter’s slip into the room behind a bigger adult’s back to hide between Thor and Loki.

Eddie answered, “I asked her to help me with causing a diversion.” Tony raised a brow his way and he said, “Can’t explain.”

Thor asked, “If she wins, how much does she get?”

Sam, “Depends on how many are at the table. If she’s the last one she wins 25 million, before taxes.”

Peter asked, “How much are the taxes?”

To which Tony said, “25%, so she’d have shy of 19 left.”

Pepper with an amused grin said, “Either way being in the last eight, she cleans up her accounts well enough.”

Bucky asked, “How long has she been playing poker?”

Eddie said, “Taught her to play after we met when she was stuck in bed healing. Started online poker on her birthday.”

Steve, “And in casinos?”

Eddie answered shocking them, “First time in one.” Deepening Loki and Natasha’s smirks as you smoothly deceived every single person at the table able to swing another win on a lucky three of a kind over all the other players’ single pairs. There was no taps, no signs of any cheating involved and still it was stunning how the mountains of chips soon gravitated their ways to your corner and another person was escorted away.

By the final player however as the men traded hand shakes and the third place finalist removed his enforced tie at the classy dress code enforced for this to be broadcast for a Bond themed event to line up with the next film coming out that the actual actor who played James Bond himself was amongst the judges watching the game up close curious of who would win out and if your win streak would continue. “So, when you come in second what are your plans for the 20 mil?” he asked cockily adjusting his own dwindling collection of chips.

“College mostly. Degrees are expensive.”

“Let me guess, Communications and Interior Decorating?” He joked with a sneer to the chuckling judges.

And with the same unflinching smile you answered, “Underwater basket weaving actually.”

He pointed at you, “Funny.” Cards were dished out and after two winning hands and eyes that refused to leave your casual smile in the small allowed crowd for any hint of a way to tell what you were up to this hand for the round bet your opponent was almost cleaned out by and had grown twitchy, uncertain of what to think as you stole your usual only glance at the card.

He could win it all and at your ease of four stacks into the middle to up his ante and chance of continuing this game for much longer and higher nail biting ratings and yet to the shift of his eyes and try at a calming exhale that trembled like his sweaty hands he shook his head. The two cards he had left were tossed in the center of the table and stunned silence for a few moments as he said, “Fuck it, second is good enough to get away from this table.”

It was just a flinch wider your smile twitched and he had snapped and to the claps and muttered congratulations no one but the actor in their midst with awe in his hand shake and comments on your success was broken by your opponent’s lift of your still uncovered cards that had the room explode with noise after he said, “You bluffed me with a pair of twos?!”

And to muffled giggles you accepted your clutch and welcomed the chance to get a picture with the actor who walked you to the win station where you were given your check post tax cut of a voice wavering amount of 18.75 million you tucked into your clutch. And to Tony’s side as he bled into questions you asked one of your own that stunned him, “What bank do I take this to? I don’t think mine would be able to deposit this much.”

Tony said, “I’ll take you to mine.” The others moved onto the dessert bar stop as he drove you to his bank to help guide you into the exclusive place that was more than eager to get ahold of your meager funds compared to his fortune to keep one of their best customers happy. One was kept in a separate fund account while the rest was put in a savings account to match the one that Eddie for his own laugh worthy bet on the winner of you for first place deposited his 5 million dollar nest egg that would keep you both from ever being homeless if the worst came about and you were named to the public and had to run for it. Choices the Billionaire had to respect for the sums collected by the pair of you in a matter of stunning hours.

Stolen glances and whispers your way didn’t stop his continued urge to see you safely back to the group as now your face would be out there as one of the largest female poker tournament winner for raking in a 25 million pot. Surely you had Eddie to check in but taking you back to that apartment in Queens didn’t fully sit right with him as you were young and alone and now visibly richer than most peers of your age who didn’t inherit their funds. He knew how people were vultures when the smell of gold was in the air and now you were known to have a whole hoard of it. Although the thing to really ruffle his feathers was in your return when the press had already ran online stories on the second place winner’s comments that he just wanted to let a young girl pay for her education so he folded and let her have the few extra million in the larger pot next to his. A statement that in Stark’s agitation had him enter the dining room of the eatery of your choice inside the casino to celebrate saying, “You’re going to WSOP next week in Vegas.”

He settled into his seat flashing Pepper a smile as you finished chewing and asked, “Excuse me?”

“Sort of slipped out. He said he let you win and no woman has won the main event let alone reached the final table, one has gotten a chair away, next week, I’ll pay your buy in since I put you into this and then we can skip this whole thing like it never happened.”

After a glance at Eddie you said, “Fine, I’ll see where we can book a room.”

“No need, I got a penthouse with enough for all of us who want to go, we can take my jet and I’ll even set you up with a spa day if you like.”

“I don’t go to spas, most of them have nothing but lavender and I can’t breathe around lavender. Not even mentioning their obsession with nuts.” You said closing your menu and flashing a grin to the wide eyed waitress in charge of your table who came to take your orders.

.

Irritation somehow for the discovery that the glass and utensils Mesique had used being clean of any sign of use was short lived as Tony readied the plans for the trip to Vegas and let the entire press world this young poker protégé was going to have her butt in one of those final nine seats. All the way from the pitch black arrival to the stroll up through the lush hotel flashes of light recorded the elite entourage you arrived with and the Prince who kept tight hold of your hand and waist. The plushy bed was just what you needed and for the hour until buy in time was begun you stared at it longingly over the shoulder of the woman summoned to the room to give you a manicure. At least the focus of which you could choose and from her limited supply of choices you picked a glittery teal base with black octopus stickers to be clear coat on top to have something unique for the cameras since thanks to Tony there would be people watching to see where the kid placed.

This was gonna be twelve hours so along with your jean shorts a baggy maroon sweater was a must. With the sleeves bunched at your elbow you left your hair down and slung over a shoulder, adding your bolero hat on the way out to go and buy your seat. Flashes again captured everything from your maroon wedges Steve had bought you and everything else to be picked apart to see what you might have bought since your big win last week. Arguably amongst the hoards of hoodies and sunglass wearing masses you stood out a bit and in line you waited chatting with Tony in his try to help sharing lowly about the poker pros who were on the other end of the sign up hall that all stole glances with you and the famous face at your side reminding them of just where this new kid would be. Already in the elevator he’d passed you a bundle of hundreds that you handed over and filled out the information card and accepted your entry sticker you added to your shoulder and turned for the spot you were meeting the others at for breakfast.

“Pluto Pear,” you heard turning your head to the man you beat the week prior who bought his own seat a bit ago, “You really went with Pluto again, huh?”

At Tony you glanced asking, “Was I supposed to pick an alias? I can call myself Orion and buy a fake mustache if that makes you feel better.”

The guy looked you over as Tony said, “It’s her birth name not a nickname.”

“Man that must suck,” he said on his stroll away.

“I’m a cosmic force of rebirth and riches unlike your glorified boyfriend moniker, Beau.” You said strolling past him turning him to glance back at your back while Tony fought not to chortle.

Tony, “Always bad sign to mock the name of the God of the Underworld, planet hasn’t been the same since they started commenting on his planet’s size either.”

“I’ll pay you back from my winnings.”

“Don’t you worry about that, this is all my fault you’re here. I tend to bump people into things lately.”

“Like a certain impending baby bump, congrats again. Can’t wait to see the flying stroller you invent.”

“Pepper would launch me at the sun,” he said making you chuckle as he did for how wound up she was and how nervous he was. “I fought aliens, and this is a baby, somehow way more terrifying.”

“You could talk to Clint on how he handles it.”

You said and Tony looked at you, “Handles what?”

“He’s got kids.”

“He what?! This is the first I’m hearing of it.”

“Ah, he mentioned watching the Kung Fu Panda films with his kids and they loved it. Might have slipped out by accident. But I’m sure it’s mainly nerves at this point you’ll both calm down or scream your way on this terrifying rollercoaster of the next two decades.”

He chuckled again and into the eatery you strolled finding the table as Loki stood to ease out your seat beside his with a kind grin, accepting your peck on his cheek he followed with one of his own while Tony asked Clint, “So Clint, how are the Wife and Kids?” After his open mouthed stare Tony said, “Spill your secrets.”

Loki chuckled staking his own seat asking, “Did the sign up go well?”

“The guy I beat last time, or well, who came in second thought Pluto was a fake name.”

“His name is Beau, he has no grounds to debate the superior name.”

You shrugged, “He can say what he likes, Pluto fights back with a vengeance.” You said making him chuckle again and steal a pat of his hand on your lower thigh closer to your knee.

“You will be fantastic.”

Natasha said from her seat on your other side, “More than fantastic, today you are going to be historic.”

You giggled and said, “Just have to get through 7990 people to get to that historic spot, and 9 more to do the unthinkable.”

Thor said, “They are no match for your deceptive skills. Only the best could be bonded to my brother.”

Sam, “You got a poker face from a whole other planet. Nobody could figure out your ticks even our super spies here.”

Loki said, “I am certain your brother will be watching you if you are feeling nervous.”

“I’ll be okay. I’m glad he’s actually making some headway with his story.”

The belly filling spread was a good start to the day as soon enough the start of the 12 hour stretch of the first day of the Main Event kicked off. Every hand stirring up more gossip as one by one the other women in the pool of players got bumped off leaving just you on the cusp of what could be history. And while other women had won some of the smaller events this was so much bigger, and you had to celebrate this round with food.

“Ooh, sliders, and potato skins, and pizza.” Two tables worth of food was rolled up and had you all sampling the variety you craved after twelve hours that broke into your usual snack schedule that Loki smiled through his learning more of this new wave of cuisine you favored.

“Is she like a secret body builder that none of us know about? She eats more than Thor does.” Tony whispered to Sam who was already noticing how Bucky and Steve had tapped out in their silent try to eat more than your petite self.

Sam, “I don’t know. Maybe she’s fueling up a growth spurt? I had a cousin that ate like that as a kid and just one summer he shot up like a foot.”

Tony said, “Maybe she’s just a snacker, every few hours and twelve hours without food and she is just, eating a whole buffalo.”

Sam said, “Glad to see a girl with a healthy appetite. My sister has a hard time making friends with girls who can’t knock back a few burgers.”

Tony said, “Must have been fun having a sister,” making Sam look at him in another glance around the group, “Always thought about having a sister.”

To which Sam replied, “It’s a lot like your relationship with Misique,” making Tony look up at him, “You kinda wanna kill them, but then someone makes them cry and then it’s like how you cat with Pluto. You hate them, love them, can’t stand them, but you’d blow up the world to keep them safe to fight with another day.” He paused then said, “You could ask her to be your sister. Pluto’s got to be the second richest person in this room and smart to boot, could even give you a run for your money if she had the chance.”

Tony nodded and said, “She’s made some good choices, got a fund for school set up and the rest of the money went to savings. Maybe with this money she wins she’ll buy herself a safer place to live. Her place is tiny, it’s got these windows without bars on them. Not safe.”

Sam chuckled, “Ooh, you’re gradually adopting yourself a baby sister, big man.” Patting him on the back.

.

Twelve hours and as the final woman standing with a scoop of the Dealer’s hands your pot grew collecting the last of the chips from another poker giant who fell to what he assumed to be a bluff only to slam face first into a gasp worthy full house of clubs. Claps and cheers sounded as you exhaled and took a glance at the other tables still going strong. Lowly to the watchman near your table you whispered and were guided to a bathroom break after having finished off another bottle of water. An approved pack of cheese crackers from the table of snacks were opened and eaten with the wrapper thrown away by the time the final table was ready for you to even look at let alone make the walk to the chair with your last name on a sheet of paper taped to the back of it.

Amongst the final ten seats from the tray your fingers eased the chips you had collected into neat piles and gave a subtle adjustment of your hat over your curls as the rolled up sleeve on your open flannel from Eddie shifted in the cross of your legs. Stares were common in each opening of the front of the borrowed shirt revealing the tight black t shirt you had on underneath to keep from having your cleavage on all the press shots of you as distant shots from the crowd the day prior had captured just about every moment of your bared legs. Though with a third seat emptied to a convincing bluff from the pros who tried to both defend their record of having won here already many times before with the bracelets on to prove it they took to adjusting in self soothing motions as if to remember that they were professionals even if your chip hoard was growing and the 12 million pot was becoming more attainable with every hand dealt.

While the latest guy was escorted from his seat the man to your left asked, “How long have you been playing poker?”

“For money, not long. Normally play online until last week.”

“One week? You’re kidding me.” Another of the guys replied.

You shrugged and said, “Not that hard to learn when playing against people.”

Another of the men chortled to the deal of the next round, saying, “Not easier at all. Learning to tell who’s bluffing or not.”

“Not that hard.” His eyes shifted back to you as you said, “I can hear your heart beat from here.” A faked laugh was your reply and to your cards you reached to lay them in place for the camera under the ridge to show the commentators what you had. Though it made little difference when another man bumped himself out of his own seat. Gradually the table emptied as they became bolder in aims to empty your seat, something you rarely risked by betting more chips than necessary to egg them on.

And across from the final player in your way everyone with baited breath watched as the bets were finally laid out and to two Aces already on the table he said over his empty chip section to match your motion in a bold motion. “You aren’t bluffing me out of my seat. Three Kings!” he said with a grin you mirrored and raised a brow mid shoulder pop lifting the cards you had you flipped over and fanned out making him cover his face as he heard the dealer say, “Four Aces. Miss Pear wins.”

Press from their booth came over as the head of the tournament still in disbelief at handing over the diamond and ruby bracelet shaped like a championship belt boxers or wrestlers win. WSOP was on the front underneath the year, and in each square section of the diamond accented golden band were ruby and onyx accented hearts, diamonds, spades and clubs. Behind the stack of the 12 million in bundled bills like a tiny fortress you stood with your winning hand on display for the smile filled pictures. After which you were glad to shrink back into your group and let the guys have their usual stops into the game recaps with the former champions for guy talk on all of their favorites to pretend that this year just hadn’t happened. Eight more million after taxes were added to a new checking account for spending in the new bank Tony took you to once again to secure those winnings safely.

Alone in the back seat of his car on the way there he said to break the silence, “You ever think of a house?” You glanced his way and he said, “I know a realtor, we could look in Queens if you like.”

“I have twelve pieces of furniture.”

“You can always buy more you know.”

“What would I even do with a house?”

“Whatever you want. Even have villains target it with missiles like my old place on the coast. My neighbors don’t like me much.” He said stealing a glance at the necklace your fingers stole a stroke of as you glanced outside the window in the startled squeal of two friends running into each other after a long time apart. “Your parents would want you to have a nice place,” he said turning your head again. “Doesn’t hurt to look.” He said in a drop of his gaze to his phone while you blinked away the brewing tears at all you imagined your parents anticipated for you now light years away.

Pt 11

All –

@sherala007​, @mariannetora​​, @jesgisborne​, @knitastically​, @catthefearless​​, @theincaprincess​, ggbbhehe4455, @lilith15000​​, @alishlieb​​,

Not nsfw(smut) - @otakumultimuse-hiddlewhore​

X Loki - @pastelhexmaniac

#Plots and Planning #Poker Tournaments #Loki x OC #Eddie Brock/Venom & OC Siblings #Howard Stark #Sam #Bucky Barnes #Marvel

[stardust-and-blades]

Hurricane

small drabble I thought to write

Summary: The blade and voltron are paired up on a mission. Lance is assigned with Keith, who he hasn’t seen since his departure. They are short on words, but a brush with death leads to unexpected consequences

---------------

The blade found another planet with human and alien prisoners on it. It was initially a recon mission, Kolivan ordering his soldiers to keep an eye on the ball. But when Keith’s team returned with not only the entire fleet intact, but new information on those who participated in revolts within the galra empire sent to prisons, they knew they could not pass up on handing this intel to the voltron coalition.

The catch was it was heavily guarded. Carefully hidden, so that those of the planets assume those who rebelled were immediately killed or assumed dead upon being sent to one of the labor camps. Possibly sent to the arena, where anyone and anything could be deemed a gladiator and fend off against ruthless creatures and bloodthirsty purebred galras. The purebreds are the ones to always make it out unscathed.

While the others are lucky to come out with gashes and bruises. Shiro and Matt would know. They lived it.

It had been months since the team has heard from Keith. A few discussions on him, like whether he was taken care of or if he should visit. But it would die down in moments, the paladins shut down by Shiro, who claimed they needed to keep their eyes on the ball. By doing that, they must dedicate their time to training. It became so intense that even Allura questioned Shiro’s actions, noting how exhausted and worn out the paladins--humans close to her age and her heart--riddled with dark circles under their eyes and bleeding hands. She agrees they need more practice, but not to the point of overexertion. It is what Coran taught her after their first meeting. And what she is reminded of after the encounter with the evil Alteans. 

When Lance is assigned to Keith, he isn’t sure what to feel. Anger? Frustration? Glee? Worry? He was swirling with so many mixed emotions, he could have been mistaken for a cocktail of stress rather than the easy-going, laxed boy he was prior to the war.

And when he met up with Keith, it only got...more awkward. 

Lance knows he feels strongly. Felt strongly over Keith’s departure. He doesn’t hate the guy. In fact, he thought they were getting along really well before he left, what with the two working on Keith’s leadership skills and Lance being his newly appointed right hand man. He began to forget about glory. Cast away his flirtations to the princess, who hardly exchanged so much as a quirked brow whenever he attempted to woo her with his suave lines. However when he did try in the presence of Keith, he always noted how the ex-red paladin laughed, as if he hadn’t broken a smile in years. It left Lance in awe, for he never noticed how...open...friendly...handsome Keith could be when he smiled. When he laughed, it ignited a strange phenomenon in his belly. One he turned over late at nights, amping up the volume of his headphones as he grumbled to himself and lost hours of beauty rest. 

Why did his heart race so fast. Why did his cheeks light up with pink dust, Lance internally cursing his body’s natural instincts. 

Those feelings are dredge back up as blue meets purple. He couldn’t even utter a joke, but rather a breathless “Hey.”

“Hey.”

“Ready for the mission?”

Keith shrugs. “Ready as I’ll ever be.” He turns away and settles himself in the aircraft’s seat. “Lets go. Kolivan wants us there as soon as possible.”

“Roger that, team leader.” Lance says automatically, forgetting it is Shiro who pilots black again.

Keith froze. “What?” 

“What?”

You said--”

“I said roger that, loser.” 

Wait shit wrong word. But it is too late to turn back, Keith just sighing and turning back to the controls, pressing several buttons and snapping his seatbelt in place. Lance wants to smack his head against the wall. This is off to a great fucking start. 

Things are a little rocky during the mission, mostly because the base is so big everyone had to split into pairs with a blade member to relinquish the prisoners while also ceasing any contact with outside galra forces. The paladins kept their focus on rescuing and handling the beaten and malnourished rebels, and the blades fought sentries and galra soldiers. Paladins there to protect, blades there to risk their lives. Unfortunately for Keith and Lance, they were given a well-guarded area, Lance half expecting Kolivan to be sent with the two boys. 

“There is a lot more than the other areas...” Lance comments, him and keith hidden behind a vacated hallway.

Keith takes out his blade and angles it to see how many sentries and soldiers there are, a form of mirror since sticking their heads out could result in their beheading.

“Been through worse.” Keith says. He grips the blade tight and on command it morphed into a longer sword, the stubby, tiny dagger a full fledged weapon.

Lance furrows his brows. What?

“What do you mean, been through worse? Keith, is something going on?”

Keith blinks, opening his mouth but nothing coming out. Lance waits, concern slowly coming to a boil in his blood. He has been...MIA lately. Enough that the few calls he made to the team is nonexistent now, and when Lance peers into those striking eyes, they almost seem...dead. Dull. Consumed by something Keith isn’t telling him, nor the team.

Rather than answer Lance, he shakes his head and clicks his mask on, his face shielded by anonymity; by the display of all fighters, the unremembered and the sacrificed. 

The mask bugs Lance. But now more than ever. A part of him wants to click that button and demand answers. Considering their situation though, they have no choice but to clear out this side of the camp.

Keith is the first to run in. He doesn’t hesitate, sliding in their blind spots and stabbing from behind. He uses his blade to maneuver his body, kicking armor and jumping from sentry to sentry, avoiding the gunshots scattering the atmosphere. If Lance wasn’t so busy using his shield to protect him and the prisoners he gathered behind him, he would have stood there in awe. Keith’s combat moves were usually raw; scattered, intended on recklessness rather than survival. Right here he is displaying a different flow. A grasp on an objective, quick to act and muscles taught with fierce protection. He ducked, dodged, landed fists, and sliced sentries in half. He is a dragonfly, seeming slow but on his guard, following his senses and desire to come out of the mission without any casualties. 

As Keith finished the last blow to a sentry, he is surrounded by mechanic bodies, a mountain to rival the cemetery of those lost in the efforts for peace. He flicks his sword, blood and oil mixing with the flickering lights of a sentry’s system shut down.

Keith looks back at Lance, not removing his mask. 

“We should be good. Did you get everyone?

“Yeah, not a scratch.” Lance smiles. “Good job, man.”

Lance senses a smile. “Than--”

It happens in a flash. One moment Keith is speaking to him, his full attention on his partner and the victims, the next he is shot in the chest from the side, a cry emitting from Keith as he tumbles to the ground. His sword clatters against metal, a death rattle in Lance’s ears. 

There are galra soldiers coming in from an area Lance and Keith thought was clear, the exit being compromised.

And Keith is no longer moving.

Lance instantly puts up his shield and activates his bayard, the prisoners shielded by Lance. He glances at Keith, hoping he would see the boy twitch. His chest move up and down. For his hand to so much as inch towards the blade. 

A pool of blood grew underneath the fallen blade member, Lance’s mind going white. 

No. No this isn’t the plan. This isn’t supposed to happen. No. No. No. No.

Not another blade. Not another ally. Not another friend. 

His bayard continues to fire shots, some landing on their target, others hitting an equally as powerful sickly violet surface. Everything is bathed in purple, but all Lance could register is how much blood is pouring out of the small boy. He couldn’t focus. Couldn’t aim correctly, because all he sees is what he could have prevented. If he acted more, if he wasn’t so used to being on the back-burner, if he were nicer to Keith, if he told him--told him--

How dare they steal not only his and Allura’s home, hurt and imprison innocents, but the person he loves?

Bastards. Bastards. Fucking bastards.

Hot rage ebbs away the ice in his bones, the sting behind his eyes switching out for a clenched jaw. The calm ocean waves cloud over, a hurricane roiling in his gaze, destruction and hatred becoming one. He is the roaring waves; the snapped palm trees scattered about the area, the thunder booming in the distance, the darken clouds drowning anyone who treaded on his land. 

He is the blue paladin, and they have unlocked a part of him he had kept at bay ever since he discovered the ruination of thousands of planets and lives. 

His bayard, which was altered into a pistol so he could use one hand while protecting with the other, manifests into another weapon. A familiar one. A sharp one. A partner to Keith’s, though the shape is not of earthly design.

A sword. His bayard became a sword.

And he is ready to use it, the weight of steel not bothering him in the slightest.

He quickly moved the prisoners in a nearby room, shutting them in with a code and telling them not to come out until he returns or another paladin or blade member arrives on the scene. The galra aren’t getting in, there will be no more casualties today.

As soon as they were safe, Lance whipped around, the hurricane in his eyes pushing down electricity poles and setting fire to its surroundings. 

His scream reverberated off the walls, a wail of raw anger and heartbreak. He charged the sentries and galra soldiers, intending to leave no survivors. He sliced his way through the wall of mechanic soldiers, the cleaved limbs adding more to the pile Keith had created. The sword is hefty, but that doesn’t get to Lance. He used every fiber of his trained muscles, breaking a sweat yet never hesitating. Never staggering. 

The galra soldiers aim for Lance’s middle, but he dodges each one, putting his long legs to use. He dove down, tripping some with a hard kick and slicing their necks open. He activated his shield when more shots were made at him, the head galra of the group attempting to catch Lance off guard by hiding behind his men until he was behind the paladin. But Lance saw that coming, whirling around and burying the blade into the galra’s stomach. He yanks it out, the soldier down and bleeding out alongside his friend.

As soon as their leader was down, the remaining galra soldiers were frozen in place, pure fear etched in their yellow scleras. They began to back up, but Lance isn’t about to be merciful. Why be merciful to the beings that imprisoned and murdered thousands of innocents? Why be merciful to the empire that forced Allura and Coran into a sleeping pod for 10,000 years, their home and all they knew eradicated? Why be merciful to those who caused the rift between honorable galrans and bloodthirsty ones, shunning anyone who beheld an inkling of the race. 

Why be merciful to the soldiers who killed his best friend?

By the end, Lance’s blade is covered in crimson, the fury in him quelling to a small pit-fire, ignoring the walls and ceiling dotting the floor with its loose drips. 

He hears a shift behind him, Lance’s head perking up. So there is one last survivor afterall.

He turns and moves the blade to puncture the still conscious galra, about to impale them in the chest when he realizes it is not a normal grey and red armor sitting up, but the deep purple with lines running across the chest.

Keith groans, a hand going towards where he was shot. He is about to stand up when he takes note of the pointed, sharp metal an inch from him, his eyes growing wide as he stilled and looked up. 

“Lance?”

Lance takes in a sharp breath, losing his grip on his bayard. A hand flies to his mouth, as if the smother the cry tearing through his throat. How is he alive? He was shot. Bleeding out right in front of him. Is this a hallucination? Did he crack?

“You...I saw you die...” Lance whispers, the shock keeping him in place.

Keith looks down at his damaged armor. “Oh...I...Allura and Kolivan created this new armor. It takes the brunt of the damage and releases a red liquid similar to blood to fake our deaths, giving us an element of surprise when the enemy is vuln...er...able...” Keith looks around him, his sight taking in the dead sentries and soldiers. His mouth hangs open, caution and a tinge of fear entering his recovering look.

“Lance, what did you do?”

Lance doesn’t answer the question. Instead he crumbles next to Keith, pulling him close to his chest. His arms wrapped around him tightly, the other boy wincing from the squeeze due to bruising, but not exactly pulling away. He is freaked out by the damage. The blood covering the hallway not too far from them, by the aftermath of a force of nature Keith has never seen in Lance.

But he doesn’t have the heart to act coldly to the paladin, noticing how while the two were silent, he can feel Lance’s body shake with relief.

He just holds him. Letting him know Keith is there. Staying in place so Lance doesn’t feel the need to pick up the drenched bayard again.

Keith hopes he doesn’t. Not for this purpose.

They will need to talk. But for now, he leans into the touch. 

#shania writes #klance #keith kogane #lance mcclain #VLD #voltron #badass lance anyone? #I was going to write more but im t i r e d

[stupendoustrashmagazine]

A 10-pp. selection of poems

Personage The terrace offers a point. From this point a view. It's only a stop-off; it assumes the motion requisite for temporary stays will continue. The speculative friction required to stop those passing through would require planned extinction; would require war against generations of persistence across biome, suffering & misery magnified it remains threatened always. Building requires digging. Digging creates hollows to be filled. A move past botanicals—it doesn’t exist. A pulse in the web. Walk toward beyond the view: journey’s luck to close in on production. Pace picks up, dusk’s dis- appearing light invites one in: welcome.   Prelude Tonight the act of naming fell through the floor. We speak permeable solids inflected by light. Skull’s grid moves units indistinctly: windshield & palette cross paths, hatch an Ovidian shift, difixiones to devotio; the faux-gorithm teases pantheon from closet, traces flotilla’s down, hot air balloons, celebrating you or prairie fair. You’ll learn to kill that hunger for thunderhead drift. I follow shapes of your speech, attend to your syntax, taste your configuration; to keep up I sketch stick figure, code hypertext script cascading in style, the result of which confirms, again: we’re lost. Plot is a plait’d plat, flatland destination & another assemblage? I want aura to invite aural meiosis, aurora splitting into rural roads, for the bassoon quartet to be forgiven for plastic bag reeds on my direction, for aria to, moody, move into a different mode & travel out through spring’s open window; I want the racket splenetic melancholy, for dynamic accompaniment fit for unfashionable passion, the like. That state of exilium you described as a quantum between. Always pain hover triangulated. Frame Matisse with me, guilty stokes both— say the magnolia blooms shall remain & not at the expense of any other but they do not. Creek diverted, river dead: suck’d dry wax & cone though still dragonflies are purple, abdomen metallic sets of curvature & husk. Nearby: field of lightning. We walk through fjords of light forking down, resisting electrocution, naturally. The taste of our nakedness waking in early in your bed, black walnut leaves catching first October light. If I leave the house or library I sit on benches in Walmart or go to the Coralville mall alone, growing frosting in my chest & English ivy in my sinuses, scribble notes with my fork-tongue alone. Walk with me this once, again, into notional forest, ash-grey landscape dotted in umber, newborn beetles radiating, cobalt blue.   Skykomish in Summer In Goldbar Washington boys crossed river with driftwood staves feet slick-step between slime & rock, underbelly of serpentine but liquefied, algal nets stretch’d between toes, Like scales without edge—stiffened Cold after crossing they crawl’d up & into caverns allowing in fractions of sun but they felt cradled in a way shielded, intimacies there before they dove into round pools spun by spit current’s swirls, the bank of the cove gritty enough for a grip as they’d climb out out of sorts, alive they’d look at the congregation from which they just emerged tangle of nets, sunken conflagrations their bodies against the wake pressed a force there, quiet, endless, sound moving through medium beckoning, shape taking a form inky jar, turbine spat out from the bottom of an oil well.   Grass Cuts Nyanza Street. South Tacoma—we’re on A hill & approach it, tall grass, foreclosure. Blackberry brambles thick on the lawnslope purple, thorns & stickers, irritable touch. Boss climbs roofs with too steep a pitch; Hauls mowers from mud when I mire it Good in a ditch. His daughter today works with us, we weedwhack waist-high grass, rake clippings & tufts long enough to be hay in neat quadrants. They steam mornings we make it out as early as seven. A canopy borders the two-acre lot. I stare – emptying’s substance against nothingness of total inattention’s default setting. Metal asphalt shingles, roof’s pitch steep Low ground valley & everywhere: unhinged Botany thrives. Ivy plaits helices Around five-feet in diameter firs, in follow some twenty feet up when Jamie grabs a pitchfork. See something. It skitters through raked mounds, Goes through tunnels punctured By tines or cleat-roller aerating the lawn She shanks its body up against weed- blocker & brick. A metallic pling rings fades, she scoops it somewhere— this brought up her enjoyment killing, dressing, & cooking fowl. We move more grass I looking for insects, think of meat saws yawning day & night do they Day & night, fumbling—sound like chain saws or Colorado cattle feedlots, cottonwoods standing by during a drought, the sugar factory’s honey-butter burnt hair & soccer cleats left for week in a car. Mulch, juncos, midmorning sun on, sun off, Rake, return, pile, killing rabbits once we snapped their necks wrong, twice partial Breaks, botching it, both shaking we Shared an acute horror in our optics. Then we crushed their skulls with a hammer, But that’s when we lived near the volcano, when the halcyon sensation when standing at the bottom of Nisqually glacier, the sheaves of receding rose-grey gravel in aggregate felt like meteoroid field sent to grave resting place, armatures of old growth First & hemlocks in steep fractals jagged landings in glaciated river so thick with silt it looked an ash-blue sleeve. We take HUSKY 55-gal. trash bags of grass to the organic waste dump. We smell like gasoline & two-cylinder oil & grease. When I get home my house mama says Pew-whee! You smell like Marty; you smell like something that kills.   Shards What was it that came out the water in a sled a Wayward gesture young-&-stuffed Mess to common rendition Duchamp’s Pearl Neckless? In his version The sledgehammer fell square to carcass/shard/caress. You wanted/saved like anyone else wanted, A sequence of diadems, diamondic scales on A yellow python’s back. Be-figure, a mole Amongst slag pits, a slog truce from igneous slab. Bats tunnel boroughs, funnel rigmarole We keep one ray or dot of spun molybdenum— Torque at the end of the…—that glint relieves Grog, luster, a clutch lets cable go its single, slackening line. True fundament! come to the party— From up there, from below? Come beat through this bog’s Excrement, creakily swung skew joints, fallen centurions, Carve away gluttony,—an economic model Levels the field of every thistle’s purple demarcation. Remains disappear. Binary caskets Glisten polyurethane on oak grab it… If - you – get – to – the – place To – get – you – the – records: Prefabricated dirt tastes discard bottles, Skittling crevice, crick or face, collections Binding fractures. That which goes unseen. Make & model, blue castes. Signature mummies. Huffing. That kinetic thrill Pushing hammers through Masonite, Bulls snorting horns at a flag The very requiem of the horse’s eye A black so dark it blued the muscle in deafening Postures of grey fog: a way: body: yes, a shard, Blight-bit, a descending distend, steep bends— A weather system approaches Centripetally, a large unformed cat, To distillate—nothing—to pray to the grommet, One ventricle, alas—poor valve, the idea Of the river. The river. Is. Itself. Course vessel in a Losing resonance a tributary vacillation tip-toed beyond A materiality that is, is not, any old trick.   Spilling the Flour Began not thrush’s stamp, nor cardinal blue whistle but The sour flack going out, the waist line spilt. Emptying cylinders combed in sheet metal corrugate, Fill another vision, the conveyor belt muscle Persuasion. Sometimes a harvest sits like pheasants Before buckshot, freeze-frame, promise cannon— What will be. Corn stalks chopped at maggot root twist Wind crowing a parade, sans confetti, sans soleil. Platoon the distant mist, forgetting it’s metal multiplied In numbers not quantity. Not fog. That’s fire But the wound continuum in ears splits hair mimics a mime Brown cerumen flax spreads flat lays down in- To a line. Elements bind fetch needle & borrow thread Stitch from denim you see the voices hear. Spiders don’t mean to. Bats garner a wick of light Against normalcy of shadow. When is not Important. Con memory commemorate ingrown toe- Nail sunk into rib-line fleshed out for sake Of sake of being. Forsaken lake: equivalent to constrictor Vine, not theorem. Carpet moves imagined Equestrians run between alder beetles the abandoned Horses heaving in the meadow along the orange Vector. The chemilume incision furcates the dark shells Guarding liquefied innards, the many legs.   The Awful Cutlery Traveling by Greyhound between Dominguez- Escalante and Grand Mesa National forest, We’re full enough In the filled up four-wheel lurch on blacktop I-70 elegantly swung across Secluded Rocky Mountain scrag. “This shit’s too country” a woman remarks. You see what she means. The rosaries Of apricot, peach, cherry, and plum disintegrate Vineyard to vineyard to bottle To California, mid-stride Maybe she means. Maybe Damian The off-shore welder tells me about hanging above The water, rigged up, slung out, strapped in, Gluing thousand-degree metal to solid stack Rigs, working twelves till three months pass So he can go—“I go everywhere”—to complicate Home—“Love Alabama but I need to see it all The whole shit.” Dusk is a disk with a predictable arc. I’m here twenty years, this red land. From bottom canyon ditch combs Of bygone eon drag across mesa, leaving scar, Evidence of water, wind, shaggy coats left To bear, bear themselves, on other creatures Pitching, tent-by-tent, a story, a new story, old. The mother tells you, you & me, of Rocky Mountain Flats, the Climax Uranium Mill, A fire beginning with a crack, croaking a Groan to a glow, plutonium then, dizzied in dust, Vapored amoeba flung across the whole Front Range. Cows were the first to show up Without usual parts: eye, ear or triple-tongue. Do I believe anything I say anymore? Set that head against Plexiglas. Feel the chill— A lavender fork makes an albino tarantula Of sky, yet there’s a merge, the speech Corks off. Into each direction, asymmetry Between passengers a music nonetheless, The hiddenness behind tall sediment walls Now, this cutlery mass Stalking hungry movers, clawing at the dirt To reveal the intact pores of a distant femur.   Safe/Way Courtesy Clerk In the aisles of nondescription halogen baleen Sifts shop-cart rift-racket & geriatric dances. Old/new toothpick paradigm cues a mist/turn: Old is to new as young is to old, meaning Painting the urn in synthesizer blue still undoes. The unheard chambers are sweeter. Polyethylene is a mon-on- monomer ladder of Chain-stacks, bindings, writes the blurb We’re all in this together. Savings save you From it, from it you’ll be saved the lapse: Western tanager memorizes its own memory Launched in citrus beneath the varied canopy. Really: in this Safeway a woman chutes Hundreds of one-liters into the re/cycle Machine. She leans on cart rail, no wheel. Her child helps he laughed he threw them into The bin, the coins emerged. Someone said Music moves from a fix-point fence post, studded Down into ground. He’s right—what is there to do But do, bag up a customer’s purple cabbage Dreams stuff them sweet potato mush- Room into room, sacked. They’d blister From oxygen’s lack they’d try to make it, try To survive. Wouldn’t it be courteous To curtsy before bags bulge as balloons stuffed With vision? Even in tulip & rose section I Hand out the foxtail elixir, all the loot; were they Bodies turned down, turned into what now, soup? The day is butternut squash but wouldn’t A lizard do today let’s get all the gutter newts Recalling now how Scooby returned From a long drive he threw an iguana On the chopping block on the counter top In the apartment he was making soup He sawed off its head. What was inside The eyes? Nothing much. Eye cones con, resemble The black glass of a tick’s back. You’ll try To reach in & what — find out who looks back Tell yourself that’s you looking back. A gaze. Scooby ran cool water over the head, on it. Its jaw opened and closed again & again. “This is good soup that’s what happens After the head’s cut off.” What would the body Do after, what voice would reclaim itself, Would reconvene re — gather protest against scores Settled, dust made fall silk, unnoticed? What takes when taken back, how’ll things Exactly as they are be exactly as they’d been? What music shapes the marina, the guitar Rustling out a poison ivy arpeggio to become The place and the things of things as they are? How do you bargain or take the lead For the dreaded duet? The mouth opens cilia Tongue juts out pink premonition the sky boom Nitro’s paisley maize radished in the Word-Ward. Blue pollen doesn’t exist but when the man Who looks one-hundred buys the dyed-blue orchid & says “it’s for my” I cut him off & ask but He just laughs & says “it’s just a flower it’s just An empty bag” & walks out, away, toward Automatic sensor doors, glass partitions that open Like megafauna with a belly full of a world on fire.

#poems #poem #poet #poetry #excerpt #poetry ms. #revisions

[ethanlaurin]

Pool repairs

Before you decide to go down to your local pool store and buy an above ground swimming pool there are several things you must do first in order to insure that the installation of your swimming pool is done correctly and legally. I can't tell you how many times I have been on a job site and discovered that the homeowner was in violation of the local building code and set back rules because they purchased the wrong size swimming pool for their property. Every State, City, Town and Village has building code requirements that must be followed. It is imperative that you do your research and know the proper steps to take before you start any type of construction project on your property because one thing is for certain, the town will impose a heavy fine and make you take down the swimming pool which you can't return. Building codes are for your protection. By following these simple steps I guarantee your swimming pool project will be painless and successful.

1. The very first thing you must do is to go to your local Building Department and tell them what you are planning to do. They will in turn give you an above ground swimming pool guideline document that will illustrate everything you need to do and know before you purchase your swimming pool. It will show all of the electrical, plumbing and set back requirements that the pool has to meet. For example, the swimming pool might have to be 10' from the house, 6' from the garage, 4' from the property line, 10' from any over head power lines, 3' from any underground gas line, 5' from the easement and require a 6' security fence around your yard or a security fence attached to the pool with the total height of the pool and fence no less than 6' from the ground. While your at the Building Department ask about the permit fees or any additional fees. They usually run between $25 and $400 depending on the cost of the project. Get a list of licensed, bonded and insured swimming pool contractor.

2. Call the utility company and have Pool repairs  them mark all of the buried lines in your backyard. They will either use paint or colored flags to do this. RED = electric BLUE = water ORANGE = telephone or cable. This service is free.

3. After the utilities are marked off call one of the reputable swimming pool contractors and for a small estimate fee he will do all of the set back measuring and answer any questions you might have. The estimate fee should be around $50-$60.

4. At this point you have a pretty good idea what size pool will fit in your yard. Sometimes you might hit a snag and realize that a cable line is going through the center of the pool or a sprinkler head might need to be moved. This can easily be taken care of.Maybe you're a few inches short on setback dimension. Most building inspectors are understanding about a couple inches here and there as long as you tell them. Call the Building inspector and set up an appointment to inspect the results.

5. Decide where you want to locate your filter because you will need an electrician to run an independent 20 amp service to that location. This can be done after the installation but it would be a good idea to know the cost of the work before hand. If cost permits, try to position the filter in the back of the pool so you don't see or hear it.

[reputationiseverything]

What Are Google Web Stories?

email marketing in salesforce

People love watching stories unfold. That’s why tappable story experiences are so popular. Many platforms exist to create these tappable stories and now Google has their own version, called Google Web Stories.

Google Web Stories: Explained

Google Web Stories are powered by AMP technology and are owned by Google. They are immersive, full-screen experiences that you can host on your own website.

The ability to post them on your own site is what makes them different from other story experiences, such as Instagram or Facebook stories. In addition, you can include links, calls to action, and Google AdWords in your Google Web Stories.

Using individual story panels with videos, graphics, and other features, you can share brand narratives that users can click through to experience the story you want to tell.

In addition to viewing them on your website, people can also experience Google Web Stories in a Google search, in Google images, or through the Google Discover app, available on Apple and Android devices.

Owning your Google Web Stories content gives you the full advantage to leverage SEO opportunities and make the most of this immersive storytelling option.

Examples of Great Google Web Stories

Every brand has a story to tell—and Google Web Stories helps you tell yours. Do you need some inspiration to get started? Here are a few examples.

Refinery29 has created a series called How Stuff Is Made, including this piece called How Money Is Made. It’s the kind of story that sounds rather boring, but throw in some great copy, videos, and photos, and it’s suddenly compelling. You are eager to find out what happens next.

Sometimes the world just needs more good news, and Google Web Stories are a great way to tell heartwarming stories. Brands can leverage the opportunity to tell inspiring and heartwarming stories, as NowThis has done with this one. It’s a story about a Paralympic swimmer who built his own pool when his training pool closed during the pandemic shutdown.

Stories about travel, animals, and kids are all just asking to be told in a visual format like Google Web Stories. Lonely Planet has run with it in this story about traveling to see wildlife with your kids.

How to Create a Google Web Story

Before you create your first Google Web Story, think about your brand’s image. What stories should you be telling? Leveraging the power of stories can be an engaging way to get people to care about your brand and what you have to say.

Don’t forget to take a few minutes to storyboard your story first, whether it’s on a white board or back of a napkin. Sketch out your plan and decide how many panels you need. Which visuals or videos need to be on each panel? Don’t forget your CTA or ads.

Next, it’s time to actually start creating your Google Web Stories.

Google stories are code-heavy. If you have a coding engineer on your team, they may be able to create the story for you, but they need to be familiar and comfortable with the AMP framework. If you want to start exploring that route, AMP does have a lot of documentation to support creators.

If you’re not a developer and want to create Google Web Stories for yourself, you can explore a number of tools. 

Tools for Creating Google Web Stories

Knowing that many of their creators would not be coding engineers themselves, Google offers a number of third-party suggestions for developing Google Web Stories.

Web Stories by Google Plug-In

Because WordPress-built websites make up such a large share of websites, we will start there. This plug-in allows you to create Google Web Stories from within your WordPress website’s CMS.

Since it’s integrated with your website, your WordPress media library is available to your Google Web Stories. The plug-in offers drag-and-drop creation and allows you to publish your story right to your website. 

You also have access to templates to assist your design. If you have a WordPress website, this may be the most obvious and seamless option, especially if you’re already comfortable with the content manager.

Newsroom AI

Newsroom AI allows you to start creating Google Web Stories for free, with a lot of available features. Even with the free version, you can embed stories onto your website and start getting your stories out on Google. You can track how well your stories are doing with the analytics reporting feature.

Creating is simple. Just set up an account with your Google account and click “Create Story.”

Newsroom AI provides a lot of different templates to choose from. Grab one to get started. Next, you’re taken to the “create” page where you can start designing. 

This is where the visual fun begins.

From here you can change up each page with the content you want, including text, photos, and videos. You can also change the template midway through or choose other layouts and presets. The design options are as limitless as your story ideas. 

If you find yourself wanting to get more out of the experience, you can upgrade to a paid account.

There are a couple of different options, but the main feature paid accounts offer is allowing you to leverage Google ads for yourself. This may be worthwhile if you want to make some money with the content you are create. 

Another great feature of Newsroom AI is the Getty Images integration. With the free version, you gain access to Getty Images’ creative commons images. This is more of a convenience, so you don’t have to search images out separately.

The paid versions, however, get you access to the Getty editorial image library and Getty videos. If you’re brand is into history and culture, this may be a benefit for you.

Make Stories

Much like the first two options, Make Stories boasts easy-to-use features. They have a catalog of free images, icons, symbols, and more, and use a drag-and-drop interface for design. They also have templates to get you started. 

They have a WordPress integration, but also allow you to export each story in a zip file or publish to your FTP on your website, as well as use embed options like iFrame.

If you just want to explore a bit, this one might be the lightweight option that can let you see what it’s all about before diving in.

Benefits of Using Google Web Stories

Are you sold yet on the idea of creating Google Web Stories for your brand? If you’re still on the fence, let’s talk about some of the benefits that Google Web Stories may have for your organization and why they may be better than some of the social media alternatives.

It’s a new way for users to find your site.

Because of Google’s powerful search engine capabilities, the opportunity for Google Web Stories to be seen in Google search pages or in Google images is a compelling reason to consider creating them. It’s another angle to up your SEO game.

Furthermore, because Google Web Stories are so customizable, you can feature links or CTAs that drive traffic to your site.

You own the content.

Content ownership is the major difference between Google Web Stories and social media alternatives. You created the content with AMP or through a third-party platform so it’s yours to do what you’d like with it.

You can embed it onto your own website or share it however you would like. Think about how you want to use Google Web Stories and how users will find yours. This can help drive your creative choices as well. The options are nearly limitless and left in your own hands. 

They bring immersive experiences to your website.

Whether you’ve been looking for a way to bring some sparkle to your blogging, storytelling on your website, or just like the look of a full-screen experience, Google Web Stories can add a new dimension to your website.

Both mobile users and desktop viewers can view Google Web Stories that are full screen, limiting descriptions and helping them feel part of your story.  

They are fun for your viewers.

Americans spend an average of 5 hours per day on their mobile device. People love scrolling through topics that interest them

To break through the noise and clutter of the internet, you need to find your niche and share beautiful and dynamic stories, ensuring your audience wants to keep viewing your content.

They can be fun to make.

This may not be true for everyone, but a lot of creators may find the experience of creating Google Web Stories to be enjoyable. The various tools we discussed above include drag-and-drop options, which make the designing task intuitive for many. You may find yourself constantly coming up with new story ideas and splashy ways to present them.

They allow for unique ad opportunities.

We will explore this more in a moment, but you should know that Google Web Stories can be integrated with Google AdWords and other ad opportunities. With their strong SEO tie-in, this could be a good option for some brands.

Google Web Stories Ad Opportunities

Historically, content creators make money by selling ad space. This is true for everyone from a print newspaper to an online news blog. Google Web Stories can utilize the same concept as programmatic ads. 

You can create immersive, engaging stories that include ads designed to flow well with the rest of your story. Depending on your reason for creating a story, you can add CTA boxes, links to landing pages, and links to product pages.

Conclusion

Most brands have stories to tell. Sharing your stories via Google Web Stories with your followers helps you grow your online reputation and build trust with your customers.

Your videos can cover everything, from your company’s culture to new product releases. Though it’s difficult to build the code to create your own Google Web Story, there are many plug-ins that help you create them.

If you need some help with your online marketing strategy or execution, let us know! We can help.

Which story do you have, just waiting to be told?

Google

[archteriorbd]

32+ Best Online Home Interior And Exterior Design Software (Free & Paid): Colors, Siding, Windows, Shingles, Trim, and that's just the beginning

Envision the exterior of your home with special tones, siding, materials, windows, shingles, shakes, trim, and the sky is the limit from there. These are some uncommon free home exterior perception programming program structures the spot you can perceive what your homegrown seems like with numerous remarkable exterior design components. It's energizing as well.

This is a phenomenal cool article because of the reality the product program is so cool for any proprietor of a house considering depicting their homegrown exterior or modifying exterior material.

Underneath you will find all the measurements that you need to chart your fantasy house. As of late, I decided on a posting of free arrangement programming projects and I needed to check them all and make a survey. I go through days partaking in with each product, twerking the dividers, goods, and having loads of fun. So we made a posting of 15+ free ones and also as a little something extra a posting of 17+ ones that I assume are a stupendous expense for the buck you need to get one of them.

The posting is creating as fast as I discover another homegrown format programming program that is well worth referencing, so because you are a supporter, you will get free updates. This energizes me without a doubt, as a little child I was once fixated on real property magazines, extravagances homegrown magazines, partaking in computer games that concerned building a home or two or a total area.

The time gave anyway my vigor for design, exact taste, and sketch proceeds right up 'til today without flipping the magazines now I peruse the net looking for the contemporary and greatest in the homegrown decoration and format industry.

So with the help of the pc and web, I can graph and picture my ensuing venture.

On the off chance that you resemble me and you like to play with the design, you can endeavor any of the product programs beneath, starting without any preparation, or choosing an undertaking and wreck around with it till you like it so parcels that you need to develop it. The excellent method to begin is to find portrayals of ground surface plans and start consuming the test by including new components like revising the dividers, adding new and quickened furniture, and so forth

You furthermore have the option in contrast to selecting a specialist homegrown embellishment/engineer to do it for you. The remarkable stage is that there is a bounty online programming program reachable on the web and the dominant part is simplified, so you don't need to know about any coding or any PC data to utilize them.

So I might want regardless the free posting first and after I will start with the paid ones. I rouse you to investigate all the free ones since they don't esteem something and the dominant part is online. So just make some record and begin playing. We picked an immense fluctuate of programming programs which incorporate kitchen programming programs ( with kitchen modules & outlines), room programming, latrine programming, scene and patio programming, and so on

It's trying to envision an exceptional hue or material. That is the spot these product program inclinations come in.

Most that we have decided to include in this posting used to rush to utilize. Look at them.

1. Home Dedicated's Interior Design Software (Free)

We made an online inside format gateway with the help of our associate basically for you. The top-notch area is that most of the presentation is free and it's online, so you don't need to download anything. You can arrange any room of your craving right away basically by utilizing intuitive.

You can design a room or a whole house. The craving is yours. Simply conform to this hyperlink and make a free record and start testing.

2. Organizer 5D (Free)

You can make a room or convert a configuration into a 3D structure so can have a considered by what means will it look. You can substitute or add new goods from gigantic extra-large beds, windows, peaks, steps, to little mellow switches and gentle bulbs, the probabilities are boundless.

Organizer 5D furthermore can portray pools, decks, and in ordinary the entire part connected with exterior design. It's our 2d five-star gadget seeing that you can develop your home from the floor up.

For additional little print please watch the video under and you can get section to the product program immediately from their web website (no need to download)

3. HomeStyler (Free)

HomeStyler is utilizing ways the best programming program that you can utilize. You can deal with the aggregate from entryways, windows, steps, installations easily. It's electronic so you don't need to download whatever on your PC, essentially make a record and start testing.

4.RoomToDo (Free)

RoomToDo is a heavy little electronic programming program that allows you to draw your homegrown from the floor up. It is cloud-based and easy to utilize. It has an extraordinary capacity that allows you to stroll through 3D space. You can do this from unique points and it is loads of fun. Here is a speedy demo and on the off chance that you like it, endeavor it.

5. Space Designer (Free)

You can design a room or a whole home immediately from the SpaceDesigne web website (no need to download) and it's impeccable easy to utilize. With their essential interface, you basically need to move the task and start redesigning it.

You will cherish it.

6. HomeByMe (Free)

This little homegrown organizer has numerous aspects and you need to download it. You can manage the whole from allotments to furniture. You can change over your room into a 3D model. For more prominent significant focuses and watch this concise instructional exercise of the product.

7. Home Hardware Design Center

The Canadians from Home Hardware are extremely exact at what they are doing. The homegrown inside arrangement programming program is reachable for anyone and it is cloud-based (no need to download). It can work with predefined rooms you can add a photograph or an endeavor and start playing.

8. Little Blue Printer (Free)

Little Blue Printer gives a scope of components that causes you to make homegrown arranging along with display and gardens. You can get the right of passage to the product program online promptly other than download. Watch this example to situate out additional.

9. Room Sketcher (Free)

Room sketcher is a free on-line programming program application that allows you to design flooring plans and with the extra in a hurry layout, you essentially need to pick one and start testing. You have the ability to see them in 2D and 3D and be wary a few layouts are free, anyway they have some that are premium.

10. Olympic Paint Color Visualizer (Free)

Olympic Paint Color Visualizer bears the cost of an open programming program spot you can add a photo of a room and add exceptional devices to it to perceive in what capacity will it look. It's designed to help you chose the fine divider and ground shading for that room.

11. IKEA Home Planning and Room designs(Free)

IKEA made a product program application to help you to enhance a stay with its furnishings. On the off chance that you diagram to buy IKEA furniture, this is a top-notch alternative. The product program comes free any way you need to set up it on your PC. They give a wide range of room formats and you essentially select one and start redesigning your washroom, dwelling room, room, kitchen, closets, and so on

12. My Deco 3D Room Planner (Free)

Here is a too little programming program that is advantageous to utilize and you don't need to download anything. It's online and you can get the privilege of section to it each time you like. They give many instructional exercises to kick you off.

13. Lowe's Virtual Room Designer (Free)

This is a free inside arrangement programming program outfitted by utilizing these at Lowe's that allows you to organize a kitchen, eating room, washroom, or pantry. You can work without any preparation or utilize the instant layouts that they outfitted and start playing. It has limited execution anyway has by utilizing some distance the extraordinary pics of any homegrown inside diagram programming. Tt's online and you can shop your advancement in your record.

14. SmartDraw Interior Design Software (Paid, anyway Free Demo)

SmartDraw is a well-known programming program that lets you design home plans, kitchens, gardens, washrooms, and so on especially an incredible arrangement for any room that you need to design. It's a downloadable item and from my experience, it's exceptionally advantageous to utilize. Make room formats, flooring plans easily.

15. Decolabs (Free application for iPad)

Decolabs is a free iPad application that allows you to design rooms in a hurry. You can snap a picture of your room, peruse their list that viewpoints numerous shops in and interface the apparatuses that you like to the image to perceive in what capacity will it look.

16. Cylindo (Paid, anyway free demo)

The chamber is given inside chart programming program that's helpful to utilize and fun, in any case, it arrives in a preliminary form, and when it terminates, you need to buy it to utilize it. The fundamental main focus is on transforming your decorations into a 3D model that can contain your room design so you can have considered how it will look.

17. Boss Architect (Paid)

Boss Architect is a product program that presents a lot of viewpoints anyway the most acclaimed one is the Home Designer Suite. This product program is impressively easy to work with and pre-created layouts of cool designed rooms or you can start without any preparation. The remarkable area is that Chief Architect can deliver 3D and 2D for a higher encounter.

18. FloorPlanner (Free and Paid)

With FloorPlanner you can make a ground for nothing, any additional deck will charge you extra. You can moreover select a membership-based value plan. You have the ability to outline your entire house, scene, or basically a little room and add apparatuses as you wish. You don't need to download anything, essentially work in your program.

19. HGTV Design Software (Paid)

HGTV Design Software is one of the pleasant homegrown chart bundles helpful and now they presented another trademark which is the inside designer. Be cognizant that this is not, at this point free programming. They have a huge load of instructional exercises on the best way to utilize their product program to take advantage of every one of their highlights.

20. DreamPlan Home Design Software (Free)

Here is a free home, scene, and inside arrangement programming program that you can use for your tasks. It has numerous angles like building up the ground format of your home, condominium, or loft, modified units of shadings, change somewhere in the range of 2D and 3D models, easy to utilize interface, and the capacity to fundamentally change present rooms. This product program is downloadable and turns out essentially for the Windows OS.

21. Punch Software (Paid)

Punch Software is one of the top-notch homegrown inside and exterior format programming available today. It accompanies many top-class angles and it's easy to utilize. The top-notch stage is the point at which you work on a 2D life-sized model you can see simultaneously the 3D projection. With an advantage to utilizing interface and marvelous illustrations, Punch Software is our Number 1 option including whole homegrown inside and exterior design programming.

22. Provia Visualizer

Provia is a simple to-utilize homegrown exterior visualizer. You can add your own picture or utilize one of the numerous previews provided with the guide of them.

Siding/exterior tone and material

Windows

Front entryway

Rooftop

Trim tone

Shades

Vents

23. Menards Design-It-Center

With the Menards Design-It-Center programming, you can utilize one of the numerous homegrown exterior pictures or add your own.

This product program gives additional boundaries concerning what you can tweak. This is what you can redo:

Exterior tones

Exterior materials

Rooftop shingles

24. Alside

Alside's exterior programming program includes an extraordinary arrangement like Menards' above. The preeminent differentiation is that Alside gives its own personal siding materials. You can utilize the provided homegrown previews or add your own.

Customization can be used to:

Siding

Exterior tones

Rooftop shingles.

25. DreamDesigner

With DreamDesigner you can utilize one of their homegrown previews or add your own.

I noticed this particular programming program a digit burdensome to utilize. It's quick, be that as it may, you need to make a ton of picks to follow changes. The in addition to perspective is this customizer presents pretty a tremendous scope of customization decisions for most exterior design viewpoints, for example,

Exterior tone

Exterior material

Rooftop shingle

Front entryway

Trim

Windows

26. CertaPro "My Paint Colors"

CertaPro also makes it practical to add your own image or play round designing with outfitted homegrown exterior photographs.

This visualizer is extra limited than others recorded here. It centers around exterior fabric and colorings as it were.

The in addition to angle is you are given pretty a couple of exterior fabric decisions including:

Paint (huge loads of tones)

Stonework (numerous types)

Siding (various types)

Fundamental divider (plaster – numerous tones).

27. Appeal Home Designer

What I love about this dressmaker is how simple and rapid it is. It doesn't have all the extravagant accessories, in any case, you can quickly customize various of the dominating exterior focuses including:

Rooftop

Siding versus Stone

Trim

Blast, you're finished. It changes the design rapidly.

28. Champion Windows Designer

With Champion's homegrown exterior design programming system to tweak the control charm of a homegrown or your home, you can utilize an image provided (many to pick from) or add your own.

When the picture is stacked, you have a scope of exterior components to trade on the left. Highlights you can exchange include:

Windows

Front entryway

Siding

Rooftop shingles

Trim.

29. Window World Visualizer

Champion's product program designs or allows you to imagine remarkable windows, siding, and the front entryway. It's fundamental, nonetheless, it is a window and siding manager all things considered, so it centers around these exterior highlights.For more information click here

30. Hoffman Weber House Design Software

OK, you need to supply this product program for 30 to 60 seconds to stack. When stacked, it's outstandingly cool because of the reality there are numerous homegrown exterior components you can modify.

While you can't add your own personal photograph, there is a precise wide assortment of outfitted pictures to pick from. You can redo the accompanying:

Rooftop shingles,

Siding,

Columns,

Sash and Soffit,

Drains,

Flat Trim,

Vertical Trim,

Window Trim,

Entryway Trim,

Carport Trim,

Carport,

Entryway, and

Railing.

31. GAF Virtual Home Designer

GAF is a material organization so it makes experience its configuration programming program centers around rooftop alternatives. Be that as it may, you can furthermore envision exterior parcels and the trim.

You can add your own special photograph or utilize the one gave.

One capacity I particularly like is how it proposes reciprocal fits in the rear right. That is helpful when beginning.

To sum up, you can imagine the accompanying:

Rooftop shingles,

Exterior dividers,

Trim.

32. Eldorado Stone

Eldorado Stone sells stone siding as that is the thing that you can picture with their stone siding programming.

It's clear. You can add your photo or utilize their photographs.

Select a region, at that point work on something stone siding you want to attempt.

Exterior design is important because it gives life to your home You can visit our site-rendering exterior design

#realistic rendering #home decor #exterior rendering #interior design #exterior

[browndragon]

Phaser3 sprite lifecycle, groups and groupalikes

TL;DR: It's an evolved mess and I'm not sure how to escape the morass. Remember to implement everything important to you in three places. Lots of places suggest subclassing sprite; I'm not sure that's the best idea anymore [if it ever was].

How do you work with a scene?

Phaser3 starts strong, with a small number of justifiable stances: the display list is (basically) flat, so manage your own overlaps. Everything is a plugin, including physics and the display list, so you can add your own if you want to. Managing object lifecycle is a little tricky, so there are groups which know about the sprite .destroy() method so that you can more easily clean up dangling references. And so on.

If you read the examples, they basically proceed in a straight line:

1. create sprite A 2. create sprite B 3. create the A->B collider 4. profit

Wrinkle 1: These are all different things

The displaylist, the physics bodies list, and each group are all separate implementations of the same underlying concept (which is also provided in a reusable wrapper, ProcessQueue ). Mostly this is fine, but it means that you'll find yourself specializing methods in ways which seem to me to be repetitive.

Why a PQ? Because the displayList and physicsList (at least) actually do implement a stepped, phased logic. Groups might get away without this; they at least use underlying Phaser.Struct.Sets to manage their membership. But since nobody else does, that's not very helpful; I imagine in an es6 world that class would go away.

Wrinkle 2: Creating a sprite isn't adding it to the scene

You can create a sprite without adding it to the scene. Maybe it's in an object pool, maybe it's hopping between scenes; whatever. The sprite constructor requires a scene reference, but it doesn't matter; taking a scene reference doesn't mean you're on the scene's display list. You have to do that via interaction with the display list (explicitly or via GameObjectFactory i.e. scene.add.create or GameObjectCreator + scene.add.existing).

Wrinkle 3: The API is 'helpfully' verbose

As alluded in the previous wrinkle, there's more than one way to spell it at the scene level. Hang on, it gets worse: groups are not just passive containers of membership; they're also factories of membership via Group.create(...), .createFromConfig(...) and .createMultiple(...). Are those objects created using the overridden scene.add objects you might want? Of course not.

Wrinkle 3a: Groups are 'helpful' to work around the number of ways there are to do this.

Groups will optionally modify the scene displaylist and updatelist. PhysicsGroups go further, and sneakily use internal only create and remove handlers to give their members physics bodies; these have special handling in the base Group implementation.

These methods are technically available to you, but far too complex to imagine they were planned.

So how does that extend for e.g. Ammo sprites which should be in the Ammo group for colliding against enemies, but also in the Bounded group for colliding against the edges of the map & the MapBounded group for colliding against the contents of the map?

It doesn't. You can't add your own special cases; your single Ammo create callback will have to enumerate the other groups to add your new objects into (though you can to some degree rely on them cascading; if all MapBounded are also Bounded then you should rely on MB to give you B).

Terrible consequences

There's no obvious coordination layer for sprite initialization. Since the constructor doesn't add the sprite to the display list, it shouldn't put the object in the world with a physics body. It shouldn't be added to any tracking groups which would otherwise own it -- after all, it might not be on the display list yet.

There's a lot of code specialization and repetition; if you provide a new class ClownSprite extends Sprite, then you have to override the GameObjectFactory AND the GameObjectCreator; one to create the object, the other to actually wire it into the scene (plus anything else that needs to know about it).

There's unrelated code specialization, since groups do a sort of unspecified amount of work for you; anything you did to add your own sprite type might also require you add your own group methods too!

Summary: It's pretty messy!

How would it work in my dream world?

The scene field on sprite should be immutable; a sprite should be as linked to its parent scene as an iterator to its parent container. As a result of this, constructing a sprite is synonymous with adding it to the scene.

This implies that there are some fields currently on sprite which should be extracted up into some other reusable class. For the most part I think this is a historical accident, though -- sprites should be flyweight, since most of their work is in state tracking objects like animation managers (, transforms, timers, mouse click targets, pubsub event objects, etc). To the degree that they have all those things, surely there's a more efficient way to support them than to precache objects -- if it's too expensive to spin up an animation manager on demand, are we sure we're even going to use it? Surely the better-still solution is to spin up the object in the scene, but off screen somewhere and invisible? Etc.

Can we get there?

I kind of doubt it, without having thought hard enough about it. Phaser4 is under development and promises to break APIs, but their fix to the same conundrum is different (ctrl-f 'Effect layer'; note that the sprite constructor no longer takes a scene reference). Per the discord, the solution for physics groups is "it's up to you" (that is, current ph4ser plans include offering physics libraries as a side hustle, but updating sprite positions to match body locations is left as an exercise to the reader).

I haven't thought through the consequences of this; if scene is more "normal" AND physics is outside of the library, than many of these issues -- which at core center around trying to identify who-collides-with-what -- might just disappear. Or get one thousand times worse. Only time will tell!

Can I get there unofficially?

Maybe. What I'm imagining is a method on Sprite like Sprite.enterScene called when being added to the scene -- that solves the question of where to unify the scene.add and group.create methods -- which would give a natural place to override and add to any additional required groups. Override the various places that need to be overridden just once, adding your Once And For All GameObjectFactory, GameObjectCreator, and Group subclasses.

But this still requires enumerating each of the groups you want to join (barring, like, class hierarchy stuff) -- and worse, since it's on the class, you've introduced some tight coupling.

So, still an open question.

#phaser3 #dev

[datamattsson]

Mirroring your OpenZFS pools of Ubuntu 20.04 onto a set of new drives

I've blogged about my HPE ProLiant MicroServer Gen10+ in the past. As boot drive, I put in a SK Hynix Gold S31 SSD in one of the 3.5" slots using an adapter. The remaining three disk slots are used for my spinning media OpenZFS pool. Two problems presented themselves, one I could predict, the other a bit unexpectedly. The former problem is that I have my home directory on the spinning media OpenZFS pool, this, by today's standards, is quite dreadfully slow, given I serve my home directory over NFS in certain situation. It's like being back at the late nineties. I'm not a huge fan of keeping this data on a single drive either, as I had planned to move my home directory over to the SSD and just keep copies of the home directory on the spinning media pool. Unless, the unexpected problem, the SSD comes to a screeching halt at times, for no apparent reason. Sometimes it performs well and sometimes it's single digit throughput (MB/s). Unusable. I opened a support case with SK Hynix who got back to me with the very unexpected response that I should install Windows. Bye-bye, SK Hynix, you are the absolute worst.

So, here I am.

Problem solving mode

Since I don't have two 2.5" slots to spare for mirrored boot and home directory, I needed to get creative. External drives? USB? eSATA? SAS? Thanks to the extremely well done research by Serve The Home, I did not have to look far. Since the Gen10+ has a spare PCIe slog, it's possible to put two NVMe drives using a PCIe to M.2 adapter card. Said and done, I picked up the StarTech PEX8M2E2 adapter along with two 1TB WD Blue SN550 M.2 2280 NVMe drives.

Presto!

Edit: As snarled at on reddit, bifurcation is not needed with the StarTech card.

Surgery options

The next decision I had to make was if I had to reinstall the system on these drives. If so, would I install on a RAID1 or try cobble the disks together with OpenZFS pre- or post-install? (Ubuntu installer does not yet support any advanced OpenZFS pool schemes, AFAIK). Friends don't let friends to OpenZFS on RAID, so I would end up doing post-install surgery and I simply took the challenge of doing in-place replacement of the SSD onto a NVMe drive and make the OpenZFS pools mirrored (there's one boot pool and one system pool with the default Ubuntu install). My Google Fu completely failed me and I could only find obscenely written guides or vague evidence on how to do this and I decided to DIY since my situation was fairly unique. Going from single SSD to two NVMe drives in one swift stroke.

I hereby present the 100% unofficial guide on how to transfer a Ubuntu 20.04 installation from a single device to two devices, mirrored.

A few pointers.

Keep backups of your data

What works on my computer might not work on yours

What will happen in subsequent updates of Ubuntu if packages touches /boot/efi is unknown at this time

The copy & paste verbiage below is from a VM I practiced on

The practice VM could successfully boot from a single drive if there was a failure

Let's get to it.

Device and partition duplication

As mentioned above, these steps were performed on a VM, not an actual Gen10+. Device names, partition schemes, size and who knows what, WILL differ on your system. Use these steps as guidance, not a copy & and paste template.

Note: All commands below are executed as root.

First, get an idea of what your partition layout looks like on your system with lsblk.

lsblk NAME MAJ:MIN RM SIZE RO TYPE MOUNTPOINT loop0 7:0 0 255.6M 1 loop /snap/gnome-3-34-1804/36 loop1 7:1 0 55.3M 1 loop /snap/core18/1885 loop2 7:2 0 49.8M 1 loop /snap/snap-store/467 loop3 7:3 0 62.1M 1 loop /snap/gtk-common-themes/1506 loop4 7:4 0 29.9M 1 loop /snap/snapd/8790 sda 8:0 0 20G 0 disk ├─sda1 8:1 0 512M 0 part /boot/efi ├─sda2 8:2 0 923M 0 part [SWAP] ├─sda3 8:3 0 998M 0 part └─sda4 8:4 0 17.6G 0 part sdb 8:16 0 20G 0 disk sdc 8:32 0 20G 0 disk sr0 11:0 1 2.6G 0 rom /media/mmattsson/Ubuntu 20.04.1 LTS amd64

The drive of interest here is sda. Dump the partition table to a file.

sfdisk -d /dev/sda > layout-sdb

Your layout-sdb file will initially look something like this.

label: gpt label-id: 0A00C51C-DF26-4237-90F2-28D80EB7542F device: /dev/sda unit: sectors first-lba: 34 last-lba: 41943006 /dev/sda1 : start= 2048, size= 1048576, type=C12A7328-F81F-11D2-BA4B-00A0C93EC93B, uuid=427FBDD1-8CEF-4E2B-9BE1-837BBB3CC087, name="EFI System Partition" /dev/sda2 : start= 1050624, size= 1890304, type=0657FD6D-A4AB-43C4-84E5-0933C84B4F4F, uuid=165B2B55-3BC1-B345-B3EC-5285EBF368BA /dev/sda3 : start= 2940928, size= 2043904, type=6A82CB45-1DD2-11B2-99A6-080020736631, uuid=E43AE096-6764-1245-A9A7-FA091DE6FAEE /dev/sda4 : start= 4984832, size= 36958175, type=6A85CF4D-1DD2-11B2-99A6-080020736631, uuid=8850142A-8094-9B47-88EA-F1ECDB45C4AE

Edit the layout and have these steps in mind: - Change the label-id, I simply decreased the last hex value by one for each disk - Change the source device name to the destination device name - Remove the UUIDs (new ones will be generated)

The results should look like this:

label: gpt label-id: 0A00C51C-DF26-4237-90F2-28D80EB7542E device: /dev/sdb unit: sectors first-lba: 34 last-lba: 41943006 /dev/sdb1 : start= 2048, size= 1048576, type=C12A7328-F81F-11D2-BA4B-00A0C93EC93B, name="EFI System Partition" /dev/sdb2 : start= 1050624, size= 1890304, type=0657FD6D-A4AB-43C4-84E5-0933C84B4F4F /dev/sdb3 : start= 2940928, size= 2043904, type=6A82CB45-1DD2-11B2-99A6-080020736631 /dev/sdb4 : start= 4984832, size= 36958175, type=6A85CF4D-1DD2-11B2-99A6-080020736631

Next, copy the edited layout to your next "disk".

cp layout-sdb layout-sdc

Change the values you just changed (decrease the label-id) to the new disk name. The result should look like this.

label: gpt label-id: 0A00C51C-DF26-4237-90F2-28D80EB7542D device: /dev/sdc unit: sectors first-lba: 34 last-lba: 41943006 /dev/sdc1 : start= 2048, size= 1048576, type=C12A7328-F81F-11D2-BA4B-00A0C93EC93B, name="EFI System Partition" /dev/sdc2 : start= 1050624, size= 1890304, type=0657FD6D-A4AB-43C4-84E5-0933C84B4F4F /dev/sdc3 : start= 2940928, size= 2043904, type=6A82CB45-1DD2-11B2-99A6-080020736631 /dev/sdc4 : start= 4984832, size= 36958175, type=6A85CF4D-1DD2-11B2-99A6-080020736631

Next, "apply" the new partition tables onto your new disks.

sfdisk /dev/sdb ../../sda3 lrwxrwxrwx 1 root root 10 Aug 16 12:36 8850142a-8094-9b47-88ea-f1ecdb45c4ae -> ../../sda4 lrwxrwxrwx 1 root root 10 Aug 16 12:36 165b2b55-3bc1-b345-b3ec-5285ebf368ba -> ../../sda2 lrwxrwxrwx 1 root root 10 Aug 16 12:36 427fbdd1-8cef-4e2b-9be1-837bbb3cc087 -> ../../sda1 lrwxrwxrwx 1 root root 10 Aug 16 12:44 e3115c86-4bc9-b14a-ab62-90efdb67a5af -> ../../sdb3 lrwxrwxrwx 1 root root 10 Aug 16 12:44 edde5235-ceac-f54b-b9cd-279b46c0a996 -> ../../sdb4 lrwxrwxrwx 1 root root 10 Aug 16 12:45 a749fd64-615e-da4b-9ba4-86023a5d7542 -> ../../sdc3 lrwxrwxrwx 1 root root 10 Aug 16 12:45 581ed7e7-1d93-0c4b-b9ce-b690763b0b38 -> ../../sdc4 lrwxrwxrwx 1 root root 10 Aug 16 12:56 183e59f6-84af-124a-9904-07a824ece292 -> ../../sdb1 lrwxrwxrwx 1 root root 10 Aug 16 12:56 f8c90bc4-0a48-094b-8967-46f8e65fde03 -> ../../sdc1 lrwxrwxrwx 1 root root 10 Aug 16 12:56 693f6ba7-499f-d841-9631-2a3d089e602f -> ../../sdb2 lrwxrwxrwx 1 root root 10 Aug 16 12:56 3ab0018f-ba13-6f40-905a-af49456f6788 -> ../../sdc2

In the output above we can see that the UUID maps to sda3. The next set of UUIDs that matter is the ones that use sdb3 and sdc3, as these correspond to the partition UUIDs on our new drives.

When we got the UUIDs, attach the new devices to the current device (this will effectively mirror them).

zpool attach bpool e43ae096-6764-1245-a9a7-fa091de6faee e3115c86-4bc9-b14a-ab62-90efdb67a5af zpool attach bpool e43ae096-6764-1245-a9a7-fa091de6faee a749fd64-615e-da4b-9ba4-86023a5d7542

Checking the status of the pool, we should observe a three=way mirror.

zpool status bpool pool: bpool state: ONLINE scan: resilvered 92.3M in 0 days 00:00:01 with 0 errors on Sun Aug 16 13:05:13 2020 config: NAME STATE READ WRITE CKSUM bpool ONLINE 0 0 0 mirror-0 ONLINE 0 0 0 e43ae096-6764-1245-a9a7-fa091de6faee ONLINE 0 0 0 e3115c86-4bc9-b14a-ab62-90efdb67a5af ONLINE 0 0 0 a749fd64-615e-da4b-9ba4-86023a5d7542 ONLINE 0 0 0 errors: No known data errors

It's now safe to remove the old device from the pool.

zpool detach bpool e43ae096-6764-1245-a9a7-fa091de6faee

Now bpool is done. Repeat the exact same procedure for rpool. Once that is done, power off the system, remove the old disk, make sure the boot order is correct in the BIOS and boot into the new system. Grub will throw an exclamation upon boot saying that it's falling back to defaults, this seems to be what should be happening as the system will come up and behave just fine on subsequent boots.

Summary

Do not try this without understanding how to help yourself to back out of the situation and do not perform any of these procedures on devices where you care about the data (have backups if you do).

My Gen10+ ended up with bpool and rpool looking like this after first boot.

zpool status pool: bpool state: ONLINE scan: resilvered 937M in 0 days 00:00:01 with 0 errors on Sun Aug 16 13:39:05 2020 config: NAME STATE READ WRITE CKSUM bpool ONLINE 0 0 0 mirror-0 ONLINE 0 0 0 nvme0n1p3 ONLINE 0 0 0 nvme1n1p3 ONLINE 0 0 0 errors: No known data errors pool: rpool state: ONLINE scan: resilvered 24.3G in 0 days 00:00:41 with 0 errors on Sun Aug 16 13:41:43 2020 config: NAME STATE READ WRITE CKSUM rpool ONLINE 0 0 0 mirror-0 ONLINE 0 0 0 nvme0n1p4 ONLINE 0 0 0 nvme1n1p4 ONLINE 0 0 0 errors: No known data errors

I also snapped a picture of the snug fit with the StarTech NVMe card in the Gen10+

Until next time, happy tinkering!

#OpenZFS #Ubuntu #Gen10Plus #NVMe #StarTech #WesternDigital #ZFS #Linux

[wetravopedia-blog]

The Best Two Dreams Resorts and Spas Hotels you Must Visit in Cancun

Cancun, also known as the official party capital of Mexico, has tones of things to do rather than just visiting beaches. Cancun also known as the the “Glistening city of the Caribbean Sea” is extremely rich in its culture and history.

It’s a must to visit its pristine beaches along with the historic wonders that will give you an overview of the ancient Mayan civilization. Attractions like, The Cancun Underwater Museum, Chichén Itzá, Tulum, El Rey Maya Ruins and not to forget the breathtaking beaches like Linda, Langosta, Caracol, Tortugas, and Chac-Mool are a few places need to make a place in your go-to bucket list.

While planning your trip we’ll suggest you do a little bit of research for Hotels in Cancun to avoid any kind of hassle during your vacation.

If you are wondering about good budget-friendly accommodation? We have got you sorted to Get Best deals on Dreams Resorts for your comfortable stay below!

Dreams Sands Cancun Resort & Spa

Located in Kukulcan Blvd Hotel Zone, Dreams Sands Cancun Resort &Spa is a four-star hotel. The high rise, all-inclusive dreams resort has 483 fully furnished and non-smoking rooms. Each room facilitates free high-speed internet, iPod docks and daily refreshed minibars. The resort offers three hot tubs and two outdoor pools. You can pamper yourself with Dreams Spa chocolate or water lily wraps too. Guests enjoy the 24-hour room services plus meals and the top-shelf liquor at the hotels’ 14 restaurants and bars. The additional perks are live entertainment, Spanish cooking plus dance lessons and seaside movies as well. The property has a kids-only pool section including free kids and teen clubs, sandcastle contests, movies, and games, making it family-friendly place too. The dreams resorts have 650 feet of private beach, with the half-mile of Cancun's Party Center Plaza. Within a one mile journey, you can reach Playa Tortugas ferry to Isla Mujeres. You can reach Cancun International Airport within 15 miles from the resort.

Dream Lagoon Condo Cancun

Located at Avenida 135, Dream Lagoon Condo Cancun features spectacular pool views, water sports facilities, and a shared lounge. This self-catered apartment comes with a private pool, grill facilities, free private parking, a garden, and the most important free high-speed wifi. The apartments facilitate 2 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, a flat-screen TV with cable, a fully equipped kitchen, a dining space and a patio with lake views. The apartment is fully air-conditioned and offers a washing machine, a seating area, and a bathroom with a bidet and a shower. The apartment has a sun-facing terrace giving wonderful views. The on-site playground is available and both canoeing and diving can be enjoyed with the proximity. Both, Cancun Government Palace and Cancun Bus Station are within 5 miles from the accommodation. Cancun International Airport can be reached within 13 miles and the property offers a paid shuttle to the airport.

Try and book your accommodation in advance to get a Discount on Dreams Resorts.

 Where to get the best deals and how to Book online Dreams Resorts and Spas? Explore TravOpedia where you can compare rates and amenities for different properties. You can read the reviews of the guest who stayed there in the past or look into the images of the properties or research over the location of the property on maps or even videos that will help you to judge your stay.

If you are also looking for Flights to Cancun explore TravOpedia to get online promotional codes by exploring the web & that will help you save large.

#Hotels in Cancun #Cancun Hotels #Dreams Resorts #Flights to Cancun

[bostonrealtors]

Welcome and thanks for your interest and taking the time to check out this amazing condo conversion.

We are proud to have represented the sale of 89 Central Ave to Wollaston Real Estate Investments. We are thrilled to be able to represent the sales of these three luxury gut-renovated condos for sale on behalf of W.R.E.I.

89 Central Ave is a transformation of a dilapidated three family that has been adapted for reuse into three lux condos by Wollaston Real Estate Investments. In there mission to complete this project WREI has invested blood, sweat and tears by investing hundreds of thousands of dollars into this and has overseen tens of thousands of labor hours. The dedication, hard work and commitment over the past fifteen months is staggering. W.R.E.I believe in saving existing buildings, renovating and updating the existing structure and making them more suitable for today’s lifestyles. They believe they are providing a tremendous value to the future owners, the neighborhoods and the cities they work in. Their renovations, designs and finishes are breaking the mold in markets like Chelsea. They believe in providing a finished product with high-level design and finish work for affordable price compared to other neighboring communities that are within a 5 mile radius. They believe in providing more “bang for the buck.”

Well, the proof is in the pudding as they say and we are nearing completion in the next 30-60 days and we are including some current pictures, floor plans and renderings. We will have a full set of pictures and a video of the completion.

Please visit  www.89centralave.com  and http://www.WollastonREI.com for more info pics and to follow Wollaston Real Estate Investments on this project, past projects and future projects.

Here are some photos of 89 Central Ave unit #3 and the current MLS listing. the floorplan, rendering and more. Stay tuned for updates over the next several weeks! Units #2 and #3 will hit the market in the coming weeks when the property has been fully completed, cleaned and staged.

Units #1 is a 2 bed, 2 bath and the asking price is $519,000. Unit #1 is very high off of the ground in the front of the home and there is a common yard in the back of the home. There is a raised and dedicated covered space in the back of the home for exclusive use for unit #1.

Unit #2 is a 2 bed, 2 bath plus a den. Garage Parking and a balcony are included. The list price is $540,000.

Unit #3 is a 2 bed, 2 bath plus a den. Garage Parking and a balcony are included. The list price is $540,000.

There will be three dedicated storage spaces in the large basement and many more details to come.

More details to come soon!

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3 lux condos for sale in Chelsea with 2 beds, 2 baths, dens, balconies and garage parking.

  For showings email [email protected] or text 781-201-9488 http://www.bostonjeff.com

1 of 21

MLS # 72649269 – Active Condo – 2/3 Family

89 Central Ave – Unit 3 Chelsea, MA 02150 Suffolk County

List Price: $550,000

Unit Placement: Top/Penthouse Total Rooms: 7 Unit Level: 3 Bedrooms: 3 Grade School: Bathrooms: 2f 0h Middle School: Master Bath: Yes High School: Fireplaces: 0 Outdoor Space Available: Yes – Private Handicap Access/Features: No Directions: Eastern Ave to Central Ave

Remarks

This sun filled two bed, two bath+(den) penthouse features deeded garage parking, gorgeous finishes, wide plank floors, recessed lighting, a NEST thermostat that controls the Central Heat and A/C and in unit laundry hookups. The kitchens come with Samsung s/s appliances, Arctic White Quartz countertops, Oxford cabinetry, designer lighting and a large island for entertaining. The master offers a generous ensuite bathroom with high end finishes and Porcelanosa tile imported from Spain. The second bedroom is generously sized and the guest bathroom maintains luxurious fixtures and Porcelanosa tile. Off the living space behind barn doors is a den with a private balcony for entertaining and relaxing. Located just a few blocks from the new Silver Line station for an easy commute to and from Boston. Renovations are scheduled to be completed within 30 days. There are three condos for sale here, so don’t miss out. Schedule an appointment today. More pictures and video to come as completion near.

Property Information

Approx. Living Area: 1,040 Sq. Ft. ($528.85/Sq. Ft.) Approx. Acres: Garage Spaces: 1 Detached, Garage Door Opener, Deeded, Assigned Living Area Includes: Heat Zones: 1 Central Heat, Forced Air, Gas, Individual, Unit Control Parking Spaces: 0 Off-Street, On Street Permit, Assigned, Deeded, Improved Driveway, Paved Driveway, Exclusive Parking Living Area Source: Unit Floor Plan Cool Zones: 1 Central Air, Individual, Unit Control Levels in Unit: 1 Living Area Disclosures: Disclosures: Condo fees, Square footages, condo docs, bylaws, master deed all subject to change and all information must be verified and broker is not responsible for any discrepancies. Buyer and their attorney/agent to do their diligence.

Complex & Association Information

Complex Name: Units in Complex: 3 Complete: No Units Owner Occupied: Source: Association: Yes Fee: $250  Monthly Assoc. Fee Inclds:

Electric, Master Insurance, Exterior Maintenance, Landscaping, Snow Removal, Refuse Removal, Reserve Funds

Special Assessments:

No

Room Levels, Dimensions and Features

Room Level Size Features

Living Room:

3 12X15 Flooring – Hardwood, Cable Hookup, Recessed Lighting, Remodeled Kitchen: 3 11X11 Closet, Flooring – Hardwood, Pantry, Countertops – Stone/Granite/Solid, Countertops – Upgraded, Kitchen Island, Cabinets – Upgraded, Open Floor Plan, Recessed Lighting, Stainless Steel Appliances, Gas Stove, Lighting – Overhead Master Bedroom: 3 14X10 Bathroom – Full, Bathroom – Double Vanity/Sink, Closet – Walk-in, Closet, Flooring – Hardwood, Cable Hookup, Lighting – Overhead Bedroom 2: 3 11X10 Closet, Flooring – Hardwood, Cable Hookup Bath 1: 3 9X10 Bathroom – Full, Bathroom – Tiled With Shower Stall, Flooring – Stone/Ceramic Tile, Countertops – Upgraded, Cabinets – Upgraded, Remodeled Bath 2: 3 10X7 Bathroom – Full, Bathroom – Tiled With Tub & Shower, Flooring – Stone/Ceramic Tile, Cabinets – Upgraded, Remodeled Laundry: 3 4X5 Closet, Dryer Hookup – Electric, Washer Hookup Den: 3 9X9 Balcony / Deck

Features

Area Amenities: Public Transportation, Shopping, Park, Medical Facility, Bike Path, Conservation Area, Highway Access, House of Worship, Marina, Public School, T-Station, University Appliances: Range, Dishwasher, Disposal, Microwave, Refrigerator, Washer, Dryer Association Pool: No Assoc. Security: Intercom Basement: Yes Full Beach: No Construction: Frame Electric Features: 200 Amps Energy Features: Insulated Windows, Insulated Doors, Prog. Thermostat Exterior: Vinyl, Shake Exterior Features: Covered Patio/Deck Flooring: Tile, Hardwood Hot Water: Natural Gas Insulation Features: Full, Mixed Interior Features: Cable Available, Intercom, Internet Available – Broadband Management: Developer Control, Owner Association Pets Allowed: Yes Restrictions: Smoking – In Common Areas, Smoking – In Units Roof Material: Rubber Sewer Utilities: City/Town Sewer Water Utilities: City/Town Water Terms: Contract for Deed Utility Connections: for Gas Range, for Electric Range, for Electric Dryer, Washer Hookup, Icemaker Connection Waterfront: No Water View: No

Other Property Info

Adult Community: No Elevator: No Disclosure Declaration: No Exclusions: Laundry Features: In Building, In Unit Lead Paint: None UFFI: No Warranty Features: Yes Year Built/Converted: 1920/2020 Year Built Source: Public Record Year Built Desc: Approximate Year Round: Yes Short Sale w/Lndr. App. Req: No Lender Owned: No

Tax Information

Pin #: Assessed: $999,999 Tax: $9,999 Tax Year: 2020 Book: 999999 Page: 99999 Cert: Zoning Code: r2 Map: Block: Lot:

Office/Agent Information

Office: Boston Harbor Real Estate

 [phone] Agent: Jeffrey Bowen

 [phone]

89 Central Ave Chelsea, MA. 3 luxury gut renovated condos for sale. Welcome and thanks for your interest and taking the time to check out this amazing condo conversion.

#02150 #89 #89 Central Ave #Boston Harbor Real Estate #chelsea condos #Chelsea luxury condos #chelsea ma #Chelsea massachusetts #chelsea real estatae agent #chelsea realtor #jeff bowen #jeffrey bowen #sandra castillo #Wollaston Real Estate Investments #WREI

[tevotbegotnaught]

Dubov's Last Jump-off pt 3

Saturday afternoon, we found out the club couldn’t (or wouldn’t) accommodate our third night. Dubov had to pay us, of course. Mo was looking at other venues, possibly for tonite, realistically for the coming week. He asked our availability. Once we all responded, possibilities quickly evaporated. That weekend passed and more days after.

After waiting a week, I texted Mo about money. Hours later, he replied:

“High paint he otter eyes or sue didn’t cut anything”

At the gigs, I watched Mo use his phone; its screen at his nose, glasses mid way between forehead and hairline. He looked down precipitously, grumbled, grumbled again, then pressed send. What usually came through was a ransom note clipped from Beckett. He never corrected these puzzles until one of us asked. Here, a fully translated version of our exchange:

“I paid the other guys, you sure you didn’t get anything.”

“Yes, I’m sure.”

“Did you send your invoice to Julie.”

“Yes”

“I’ll call them”

“is there anything I can do to expedite this?”

“Chris, I’m not your employer”

“Right”(!)

“There’s a rehearsal tonite, will you be there”

“I didn’t know about a rehearsal. Where and when?”

“Still working on a place. Maybe 7?” (3 hours from now)

“Tough for me”

“No worries. If you go, you’ll be paid of course”

“Ok”

“No worries. I’ll get back to you”

Now, I was enrolled in the Godot payment plan. Dubov was looking at spending four lifetimes in more chains than Issac Hayes ever wore. I just wanted to get my money.

Weeks later, Mo Bedbug went live.

“Bears ash oh Friday”

Mo called in a favor with some Long Islanders. We had a show Friday. I lobbied for travel money.

Any evening rush hour on the LIE (a highway, not an enormous falsehood) was a parking lot. Friday rush was tailgating minus libations. I pressed him for my other money in the bargain.

“I paid Pianist with Venmo. Do you have Venmo.”

(I send my Venmo)

“This is will be easy, I didn’t know you had Venmo.”

“Ok”(I offered twice before)

“I’ll see you Friday my place"

Mo balked at travel money, though. Arranging an Uber from his place and promising we'd miss rush hour. To get to Mo's, I took the bus, two of them. It cost me way more than the fare. Flushing Avenue, Shabbat imminent, was a sightseeing tour: high school kids, restaurant workers, construction crews. So many people boarding, I couldn’t see nor hear my stop and had to walk an extra half-mile.

Turning onto Mo’s street, a familiar Bushwick tableau appeared. A massive pit, surrounded on three sides by green plywood. Graffiti tags and band decals fading under the shrouds of old posters. At the curb, a ziggurat of garbage-strewn ten-foot pipes and a marooned RV, black spray paint scrawled over its siding and vents, windows cracked and stuffed with wads of insulation, front seats piled to the ceiling with bundled magazines and crumpled newsprint.

On the next block, I found Mo's address stenciled on the brick wall of a old factory. Drummer stood away from its entrance smoking and scrolling his phone. He looked up.

"Man, I texted him like 10 minutes ago."

"No answer?"

"He said he’s coming right down"

"I’ve been giving him progress reports. F***ing bus was crawling."

The building’s entrance, a glass and brushed steel module, sat cheek by jowl with a battered freight elevator. After a text reminder and more waiting, the freight elevator doors parted vertically. Mo let the canvas strap swing overhead.

"This way" he said, glancing over his shoulder at the gleaming foyer before pulling the strap down. The elevator enclosure, a hypoxic chamber of fuel vapors and sawdust, led darkly to a huge steel door. Mo punched a code and pulled the handle. Inside, a newly carpeted hallway, filled with tarps, drywall, paint cans and the potent smell of sandalwood.

"They’re still doing work....as you can see. My place is cool, though.”

"Where’s Keys (the new pianist)?"

"He’s here. Been here a while. Working on the music."

"You have a piano?"

"Uh, I have kind of a studio. Not for recording, but you know, instruments and stuff."

Mo had room for those instruments and plenty more. His walls sprouted art in every medium and material: paintings on wood, metal, plastic jugs, shards of glass; sculptures of bottle caps, cardboard, styrofoam; violent, erotic black and white photos fetishizing punk style and concert posters from Downtown’s acme.

I stooped to gawk at an undulating video in a KFC bucket.

“That’s from my gallery. I used to have a gallery. When it closed I moved everything here. Well, not everything, but…you know.”

Keys sat on a leather couch. He was a kid, maybe twenty-five. I was his grandfather. That messed me up. Before excusing himself, Mo pulled me an espresso from a fancy Italian machine. I packed sandwiches and coffee, but the extra shot was welcome. From a closed door, medicinal-grade weed wafted. We were a full hour behind schedule.

Out on the street, waiting for the Uber, Mo nodded at the construction site and listing RV, saying in his mumblecore voice,

"That’s my girlfriend’s art project.... I mean, ex-girlfriend. "

"The RV? She did THAT?"

"Yeah....Well, her friends... they did it together. I don’t know who did which part"

(There were ‘parts’?)

"How long has it been there?"

"Uh....nine months. Wait...yeah. We broke up six months ago. She was living in it for a while."

"Living in it? You’re kidding. Was that part of the project?"

He chuckled. "Yeah...I don’t know."

"We’re still friends" he said, mostly to tumbling litter in the street.

Inside the Uber, Mo continued: “the realtor told me this was east Williamsburg, but it’s not, it's Bushwick. I don’t care what they call it, of course. I don’t mind living in Bushwick. It’s easier to have a car here.”

“You have a car?”

“Not now. Had to get rid of it. Wasn’t right for this neighborhood”

“Wasn’t right?”

“it was an Audi R8. Midlife crisis car. These streets are so bad, I kept having to get it fixed.”

Driving due east, the winter sun behind us pooled on the shiny road. We careened through four lane traffic. Ahead, break lights fanned out, ruby droplets cascading off a humpback’s tail.

Drummer and Keys talked through the set, then volleyed gossip about mutual friends.

When the radio spun an artist he knew personally, Mo turned around and apropos-ed a story, interrupting the other guys. In the 80s, he produced videos for many fledgling stars. It was a new medium for him and Pop music. A few of his clients soared from Downtown digs to world domination. Mo didn’t stay on for their ascent, though. He also worked on an early Dubov-produced movie until the boss’s relentless cost-cutting and hostility wore him down. While he rambled, a vape pen did plenty of its own talking.

Tonight’s venue, a redux of a famous Long Island rock room, now tucked in the basement of a new boutique North Shore Inn. That building, a block-size Cape Cod, dropped like Dorothy’s whirling farmhouse at an angle to the tony commercial strip.

We had a seriously low pressure slot, opening for a veteran blues band. Ten white guys from three generations; a solid outfit with a long history playing sincere, tasty covers. Always simpatico, Karolina added "Stormy Monday" to our set list. Due to the short notice, we lost Pianist, our stellar MD, and Trumpet wasn’t available. Pruned to prototypical stripper band: saxophone, piano and drums. Not without some irony..

When the ladies hit “Uptown Funk", shimmying and signifying, the audience, almost all sixty year-old white dudes with the occasional spouse, started hooting and whistling. T and A wasn’t on the bill, but it still satisfied. Margherita did her canned steps for ”Too Darn Hot". Karolina was confident and sold her songs. Keys somehow kept the basslines and harmonies together. I completely missed the famous trumpet intro to “Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy". The ladies jumped in undaunted. The Male Gaze kept the show alight until we exited, dodging the headliner's B3, Leslie and vintage amps.

The ladies were pros now and we repaired to the underground parking lot to celebrate. The girls in jeans and hoodies, band in our "gangster suits". While she waited for Keys to blaze up. Margherita asked me,

“Did you have fun?”

"Sure, I always have fun" I told her. What counts as honesty when the entire premise of an act is fakery?

"Great" she said, tracking down the joint.

A couple hits and we went back inside, sitting down near the jacked-open exit door. The blues band’s horn section looked on wearily as the front man sang verses fashioned by tougher men for harsher times. From our seats, we saw Mo sweep through the green room doorway, his long canvas coat and scarf swinging. He pivoted at the closest table and exchanged with the owner, a grizzled man with a barely legal date. Their conversation rearranged chairs and sent the men striding out of the club, proving there actually were blues to be had everyday.

When Mo and dance partner failed to return, we headed upstairs and onto the porch, where patio furniture gleamed under blinding lights. At the foot of the wooden steps, livery cars glided in and out of the glare. After a flurry of texts, the ladies gathered their garment bags and kissed us goodbye. A black SUV, indistinguishable from the others, stopped and a rear window opened. Inside, Dubov’s face, like crumpled paper, if paper were milled from lipids and dusted with ash. "Good job guys" he said, voice level and hoarse. We thanked him. The ladies got in on the far side, Dubov’s window closed and the car drove off.

************************************************************************************

After dropping him at the factory, Mo left the meter running on our Uber so the band could get home. On the way, we speculated about Dubov’s eventual prison sentence, Mo’s fee and when "the New Yorkers" might book their first Bar Mitzvah.

The driver, a Bengali, navigated without commenting on our post-mortems, confirming and re-confirming each address for his app. I was last on the circuit. Once we were alone, I asked the driver about his night. His answers were brief and courteous. As we waited at a light, he turned his head toward me. "Excuse me, one question. Have you ever been to Las Vegas?"

[floridaprelaw-blog]

Boy Scouts File Chapter 11 Bankruptcy While Facing Hundreds Of Sex-Abuse Suits

By Jaime Donis, Florida State University Class of 2022

April 7, 2020

The Boy Scouts of America recently decided to file for bankruptcy as a last resort against the slew of sexual assault suits that have been filed against them. The Boy Scouts of America filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy which is meant to save a corporation. Unlike Chapter 7, which liquefies the entire corporation and the corporation ceases to exist, Chapter 11 instead allows the business to keep operating while allowing them to restructure their finances to pay their debts[1]. The Boy Scouts of America faces roughly 300 lawsuits from Scouts who claim to have been sexually abused while they were Scouts [2].

Many companies have filed for bankruptcy, but that doesn’t always mean they liquidate and cease to exist. One option companies have is to file chapter 11 bankruptcy. A chapter 11 bankruptcy allows a company to continue to operate while it suspends or restructures debt payments. Many big companies from American Airlines, General Motors, United Airlines, to Delta have filed chapter 11 bankruptcy. A chapter 11 bankruptcy case starts with either the debtor voluntarily filing a petition with the bankruptcy court or the creditors file an involuntary petition. Chapter 11 bankruptcy allows the debtor to act the trustee in the matter unless another trustee is appointed. The United States Bankruptcy Code mandates that creditors be split into categories. The top category is secured credits who have their debts secured by a lien against the debtor’s property. The next category is unsecured priority claims which are creditors who do not have secured debt but are given priority to be repaid in the structuring of the repayment plan. Following that there are non-priority unsecured claims which are creditors who also are unsecured but only get repaid after all priority creditors are repaid first. Lastly, if the one filing chapter 11 is a company then equity security holders get paid which are stockholders or partners of a company [3].

The order of repayment is included in the content of the plan of reorganization. Typically, secured creditors and unsecured priority claims are paid before the non-priority unsecured creditors. Once chapter 11 is filed the filer is able to submit a reorganization plan in the first 120 days or 180 days for small businesses. The plan must be accepted by the creditors and the creditors are also allowed to submit a reorganization plan if the debtor in possession has yet to submit a plan or if the creditors rejected the plan submitted by the debtor [3]. The debtor in possession is required to submit a written disclosure statement which provides information about the company’s business affairs. The creditors are required to submit proof of claims that must state how much money they are owed. The creditor’s claim can be objected and the creditor will have to prove why their claim is valid and the bankrupt court will decide if the creditor’s claim is valid of not. Creditors who have valid claims must vote on and accept the proposed reorganization plan. The plan is considered enacted when the creditors approve it and the court approves it.

The Boy Scouts of America has filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy because it’s been faced with about three-hundred lawsuits from the organization’s members who claim to have been sexually abused [2]. The organization said it would use the chapter 11 bankruptcy to create a trust in order to compensate the victims of sexual abuse. Paul Mones, an attorney representing many Scouts who are suing the organization in Los Angeles, says the organization’s potential liability is huge as he reveals he won one case in Portland, Oregon in 2010, where the organization had to cough up nearly twenty million dollars. Some critics say this is a troubling use of chapter 11 as it will not allow survivors to name their abuser in open court. The organization faces 275 abuse lawsuits along with 1,400 potential claims [4]. The organization has been an ever increasing liability with sexual abuse lawsuits. Insurance carriers have refused to pay out claims stating that the organization failed to take any effective preventative measures to stop the abuse, the organization has sued six of it’s insurance providers [4]. In the case Mones pointed to it resulted in the release of more than twenty thousand confidential documents, known today as the “perversion files.” The files revealed that the organization had banned one thousand volunteers and had kept track of suspected and known abusers and did not consistently report the cases to law enforcement, the parents, or the public.

Many states have amended their child sexual abuse statue of limitations. New York’s Child Victims Act allowed lawsuits from child sexual abuse to be filed regardless of statue of limitations in a one-year window and California had a revival window as well. The lawmakers behind these laws which have resulted in hundreds of new suits being filed say that it is for public safety [4]. The victims will never be offered a chance to publicly name their abusers in court when they may still be a threat to the public. In a chapter 11 case the victims will file as creditors and will have proof of claim in the bankruptcy court, but that is entirely confidential. In order for victims to access the trust they will have to file a claim by a certain date which is decided by the bankruptcy judge [5]. Critics say this setup isn’t adequate especially for victims who are not ready to come forward. Critics also say that by allowing the Boy Scouts to file chapter 11 it is essentially allowing them to have a clean break from all sexual abuse lawsuits. All sexual abuse suits can be pooled together and dealt with at one and the arbitrary deadline doesn’t allow for further suits.

The Boy Scouts of America filing for chapter 11 allow the organization to keep operating while it creates a trust for any victims of sexual abuse. Internal do must detail a long history of sexual abuse with 12,254 victims and 7,819 perpetrators identified [6]. The trust has a deadline that will allow victims to come forward for a limited time window. Using chapter 11 also protects the identity of victims and keeps confidential the names of perpetrators.

Jaime Donis is a junior at Florida State University pursuing a Bachelors of Science in Economics. He is minoring in law and society and plans on attending law school post-graduation. He has a strong interest in corporate and securities law along with economics.

________________________________________________________________

[1]Fay, Bill. “Filing Chapter 11 Bankruptcy – How It Works & Who Can File.” Debt.org, 3 Apr. 2019, www.debt.org/bankruptcy/chapter-11/.

[2]Brooke, Eliza. “Why Businesses That Declare Bankruptcy Don't Always Die.” Vox, Vox, 11 Mar. 2019, www.vox.com/the-goods/2019/3/11/18259894/bankruptcy-business-chapter-11-close-stores.

[3]Morel, Jenni Klock. “What Is Chapter 11 Bankruptcy?” Upsolve, 25 Feb. 2020, upsolve.org/learn/what-is-chapter-11-bankruptcy/.

[4]Kelly, Cara, et al. “Boy Scouts Files Chapter 11 Bankruptcy in the Face of Thousands of Child Abuse Allegations.” USA Today, Gannett Satellite Information Network, 18 Feb. 2020, www.usatoday.com/in-depth/news/investigations/2020/02/18/boy-scouts-bsa-chapter-11-bankruptcy-sexual-abuse-cases/1301187001/.

[5]Feldman, Noah. “Boy Scouts' Bankruptcy Is a Troubling Use of Chapter 11 Law.” Bloomberg.com, Bloomberg, www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2020-02-19/boy-scouts-bankruptcy-is-a-troubling-use-of-chapter-11-law.

[6] Schmidt, Samantha. “Boy Scouts of America Files for Bankruptcy amid Wave of Potential Lawsuits.” The Washington Post, WP Company, 18 Feb. 2020, www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/2020/02/18/boy-scouts-bankruptcy/.

[sunsetpools]

Top 10 Pool Party Must-Haves!

It's not a party without these essential ingredients for fun. Take your next poolside bash to the next level with these Pro Tips.

The sun is shining and the temperature is just right to start planning your next pool party. But before you grab your suit and take the plunge, make sure you have the best aquatic accessories for an unforgettable fête. Make a splash at your next poolside get-together with this top 10 pool party ideas list.

1. FUN FLOATS: If you’re looking to make your backyard an oasis of social media-worthy moments, then you have to have pool floats and inflatable rafts. From flamingo floats to a donut, pizza and cactus floats, you can mix and match styles to whatever “floats your boat.” Not only are they photo-friendly, but they’re super comfy for lounging while chatting with friends or catching rays. You can also maximize convenience and relaxation with a drink float. These inflatable holders can keep your favorite beverages close by so you can soak up your drink while you soak up the sun.

Also, make sure you have personal floatation devices at the ready. Life vests, water wings, and kickboards are great for kids and inexperienced swimmers.

2. SPEAKERS AND A PLAYLIST: What’s a pool party without a playlist? (Well … it’s still a pool party, but it’s quieter and less fun.) Amp up the entertainment with wireless speakers; there are even waterproof, floating models that allow you to take your tunes into the pool. Bring surround sound to the party grounds by setting up a few speakers in different areas around the pool. This way, whether you are grabbing food, playing yard games or going for a swim, the music will be heard. A playlist has the power to set the tone of the party, so select your songs in advance and let the good times rock ‘n’ roll. When the sun goes down, make sure you party on respectfully and be mindful of your nighttime noise level.

3. POOL DECORATIONS: If you have a theme, don’t be afraid to go all-out with the décor. Decorations can be fun and really elevate your pool party. Colored straws, paper products, garlands, and lanterns can all help keep your party on-theme. Bring the Caribbean to your celebration with tropical accessories like paper drink umbrellas. Consider the time of day, too. If you’re having a night swim, for example, a little lighting can go a long way. Throw some glow sticks into the bottom of the pool or put them inside balloons that float on the pool’s surface for additional light and a funky ambiance. Decorations are important, but having the pool prepped is crucial, so make sure you check your pool chemicals in advance, skim the pool before guests arrive and have extra filters on hand to keep the water clean and ready for fun.

4. POOL PARTY AND LAWN GAMES: Games and activities are a surefire way to liven up any pool party. Plus, guests of all ages can get into the action. Water balloons and squirt gun fights don’t just have to be for the kids. Let your inner-child out for the day, get your hair wet and have fun! Pool games like poolside basketball, beach balls, and mini pool balls are all crowd favorites, too.

Or take a break from the water with lawn games like cornhole, badminton, Spikeball, bocce and more. Make sure you set up these games in advance so that guests know they’re available and don’t have to set them up themselves.

5. BIG TOWELS, COOLING TOWELS, DRY TOWELS … ALL KINDS OF TOWELS: Many guests bring their own towels to parties, but make sure you have plenty of extras just in case. Spreading out an extra-large beach towel or even an outdoor blanket can be extremely inviting and a great way to get groups of people together for some good ol’ fashioned chit-chat. Position it on the grass for comfort or on the edge of the pool for a cooling toe dip. You can even layer up your towels for maximum comfort! If it’s an unbearably hot day, consider grabbing cooling towels. If you’re in a lounge chair, use towel clips to get your towel to lay just right. Less fidgeting in your chair means more time to relax. And finally, make sure you have towel racks, or something that guests can hang their wet towels.

6. COOLERS: If you’re having a pool party and it’s hot outside, you’re probably going to want an ice-cold beverage in your hand, right? Right. Having a cooler is essential for the obvious: keeping your drinks icy cold. But here are some other cool tips to remember: Have at least two coolers — one for adult beverages and one for soda, water, and other drinks. If there will be kids at the party, don’t forget options like juice, too. There are coolers that actually float in the water so you can grab a drink without having to call fives on your float. They’re not just for drinks! No one likes warm watermelon. Eating chilled fruits, veggies, and other snacks after taking a dip in the pool can be beyond satisfying on a hot day. Keep coolers in the shade to help keep the ice from melting faster. Always have more ice than you think you’ll need.

7. SNACKS AND DRINKS: Pruney hands? No problem. Serve up smaller snacks that everyone can eat, no matter what the state of your fingertips. Keep paper towels or beach towels near the food station so guests can dry their hands before diving into the snack pile. Go for frozen fruit pops, veggie sticks, chips and dip, mini crescent dogs, or anything that doesn’t necessarily require a fork and knife. Grilled goodies that are easy to grab, like sliders or fruit and veggie skewers, are also pool party food favorites. You can also bring the pool party fun to the snack bar with themed treats like lifesavers or goldfish served in a fishbowl. And here’s a snack hack for you: cover your snacks with food cover nets to help keep the bugs at bay. 

For thirst-quenchers who don’t like diluted drinks, try this: make ice cubes out of the same type of juice that’s in your juice drink or mixed drink, and your beverage won’t become weakened with water once it melts. You can also color code your drink cups or use a marker to write your name to help keep track of your beverages. And make sure to use plastic dishware near the pool to avoid broken glass (yikes!).

8. INSULATED CUPS: Lounge or play all day with a drink that’s icy cold for hours. Insulated bottles, tumblers, koozies or cups can help ensure your drinks stay as chill as you are. Plus, they come in a variety of colors and prints, so choose one that matches your vibe and you’ll always remember which one’s yours. 

9. UMBRELLAS AND CANOPIES: Though you might have fun in the sun, make sure there’s a shady space for those who like to chill out. Umbrellas are great for smaller spaces or perched in the center of a dining table, while canopies can offer more shade to more people because they come in a variety of sizes. If wind is in the forecast, don’t forget to look into some canopy weight bags. Your guests aren’t the only ones who may need a bit of shade. Set up pop-up tables under your canopy to keep your food out of direct sunlight. Keeping your cooler under shade can also help prevent your ice from melting faster.

10. SUNSCREEN: Everyone should wear it, so make sure it’s readily available. Set up a “sunscreen station” which guests can easily locate and include a variety or SPF options. For a pool party, water-resistant sunscreen may be best. Make sure it’s applied as the label directs. Everyone should wear it, so make sure it’s readily available. Set up a “sunscreen station” which guests can easily locate and include a variety of SPF options. For a pool party, water-resistant sunscreen may be best. Make sure it’s applied as the label directs.

Source: DicksSportingGoods.com 

#PoolPartyTips #PoolPartyIdeas #PoolContractorCapeCoral

[wp-yahoo-style-1042-yahoopa-blog]

The hottest swimsuit trends of summer 2019: find your best style

The hottest swimsuit trends to know for 2019 and where to buy them. (Photo: Onia, Summersalt, Aerie, Target, Andie, Art: Yahoo Lifestyle photo-illustration)

Swimsuit season is officially here, and we rounded up the top seven hottest trends you need to know.

From animal prints and tropical florals to high-waisted bottoms, asymmetrical silhouettes and cutouts, Yahoo Lifestyle spoke to seven experts to guide you through shopping for the perfect swimsuit. Whether your plans include hitting the beach, or jet-setting off to a tropical vacation this summer, make sure to bookmark this page as your No. 1 resource for swimwear.

Animal Prints & Bright Colors

“From animal prints and bright colors to fun hardware accents and new silhouettes like high-leg and high-waist bottoms, Target is offering the best swimwear trends of the season for all body types, all at an incredible price.” — Courtney Foster, Target spokesperson

Kona Sol Tortoise Ring One Piece Swimsuit

Kona Sol Tortoise Ring One Piece Swimsuit (Photo: Target)

Shop it: $30 (was $35), target.com

Onia Danielle One Piece

Onia Danielle One Piece (Photo: Onia)

Shop it: $195, onia.com

Shade & Shore Gingham Tropics Bikini

Shade & Shore Gingham Tropics Bikini (Photo: Target)

Shop it: $24 (top, was $28), target.com

Shop it: $20 (bottom, was $23), target.com

H&M Zebra Print Swimsuit

H&M Zebra Print Swimsuit (Photo: H&M)

Shop it: $13, hm.com

Color Block

"Our team at Summersalt has observed a trend of playful and vibrant swimwear in 2019 with a big emphasis on color-blocking and prints. At Summersalt, we focus on using unique architectural details and unexpected colors and setting swimwear trends. We want to continue to empower all women to reclaim the childlike joy of wearing a swimsuit and adventuring in the water by debuting new color combinations and print styles in our inclusive sizing options for this season.” —Reshma Chattaram Chamberlin, Founder at Summersalt

Summersalt Marina Top and Diagonal Bottom

Summersalt Marina Top and Diagonal Bottom (Photo: Summersalt)

Shop it: $45 (top), summersalt.com

Shop it: $45 (bottom), summersalt.com

Kona Sol Wrap One Piece Swimsuit (Photo: Target)

Shop it: $35, target.com

& Other Stories Color Wave Halter Swimsuit

& Other Stories Color Wave Halter Swimsuit (Photo: & Other Stories)

Shop it: $55, stories.com

Left On Friday Pool Days Top Party Wave

Left On Friday Party Wave (Photo: Left for Friday)

Shop it: $85 (top), leftonfriday.com

Shop it: $85 (bottom), leftonfriday.com

Scoops, Asymmetry and Cutouts

"We’re really loving scoops this season, and they come in two of our favorite trends: white binding and lace up. Our longline bikini top styles feel like a cute little cami in a bikini, and the binding details add a white hot pop to make it extra special. Lace up is also everywhere this season, and I’m really gravitating toward the minimal design on our wide strap scoop styles with cool lace-up details. In one pieces, we’re obsessed with asymmetrical fits and cutouts that sneak a two piece look into a one piece fit." — Erin Rittling, Senior Manager of Styling at Aerie

Aerie Cutout One Shoulder One Piece Swimsuit

Aerie Cutout One Shoulder One Piece Swimsuit (Photo: Aerie)

Shop it: $28 (was $55), ae.com

H&M Cut-Out Swimsuit

H&M Cut-Out Swimsuit (Photo: H&M)

Shop it: $35, hm.com

Aerie Wide Strap Scoop Bikini

TK

Shop it: $13 (top, was $25), ae.com

Shop it: $13 (bottom was $25), ae.com

Hilor One Shoulder Asymmetric Ruffle Swimsuit

Hilor One Shoulder Asymmetric Ruffle Swimsuit (Photo: Amazon)

Shop it: $30, amazon.com

Classic Silhouettes

"The trend for swimwear this year is all about making women feel comfortable and confident through updated, yet classic silhouettes. The one-piece bathing suit updated with skinny straps and pops of color flatter every body type. Thanks to Instagram, prints-that-pop and emotional color are more important than ever especially in such a crowded retail market!” — Suzanne McCaffrey, Trend Director at Kohl's

Women’s Croft & Barrow Tummy Slimmer V-Neck One-Piece Swimsuit

Women’s Croft & Barrow Tummy Slimmer V-Neck One-Piece Swimsuit (Photo: Kohl's)

Shop it: $50 (was $60), kohls.com

Knix Peekaboo One-Piece

Knix Peekaboo One-Piece (Photo: Knix)

Shop it: $95, knix.com

Andie Mykonos

Andie Mykonos (Photo: Andie)

Shop it: $94, andieswim.com

Lively Adjustable One-Piece

Lively Adjustable One-Piece (Photo: Lively)

Shop it: $65, wearelively.com

Aloha Tropical & Stripes

“Our No. 1 trend for 2019 is “Aloha Tropical!” This story is inspired by the islands of Hawaii and incorporated beautiful vibrant colors with lush tropical flowers and foliage to give a warm and welcoming island vibe. Another important trend is the “Stripe Story.” Whether it is colorful multi, chic monochromatic or the newest ethnic inspired, the stripe story offers a wearable and flattering take for swimwear.” — Kristina Guilmain, Swimsuits For All’s Design Director

Ashley Graham x Swimsuits for All Elite Striped Ribbed Triangle Bikini

Ashley Graham x Swimsuits for All Elite Striped Ribbed Triangle Bikini (Photo: Swimsuits for All)

Shop it: $68 (was $112), swimsuitsforall.com

La Blanca Moment of Zen One-Piece

La Blanca Moment of Zen One-Piece (Photo: Zappos)

Shop it: $65 (was $119), zappos.com

Kona Sol Rope Tie One Piece Swimsuit

Kona Sol Rope Tie One Piece Swimsuit (Photo: Target)

Shop it: $35 (was $40), target.com

Lively Adjustable One-Piece Garden Print

Lively Adjustable One-Piece Garden Print (Photo: Lively)

Shop it: $65, wearelively.com

Beautiful Textures

“It’s all about beautiful textures. Piques, ribs and jacquards give swimwear a high-quality, trans-seasonal look and feel for instant poolside glam, luxurious beach lounging and day-to-night versatility.” — Ali Mejia, Co-Founder at Eberjey

Eberjey Bianca Isla Bikini

Eberjey Bianca Isla Bikini (Photo: Eberjey)

Shop it: $94 (top) + 20 percent off with code DIVEIN through 5/27, eberjey.com

Shop it: $79 (bottom) + 20 percent off with code DIVEIN through 5/27, eberjey.com

Old Navy Textured Off-the-Shoulder Swimsuit for Women

Old Navy Textured Off-the-Shoulder Swimsuit for Women (Photo: Old Navy)

Shop it: $25 to $28, oldnavy.com

Shade & Shore Light Lift Ribbed One Piece Swimsuit

Shade & Shore Light Lift Ribbed One Piece Swimsuit (Photo: Target)

Shop it: $45, target.com

Lisa Marie Fernandez Yasmin Tie-Front Striped Seersucker Swimsuit

Lisa Marie Fernandez Yasmin Tie-Front Striped Seersucker Swimsuit (Photo: The Outnet)

Shop it: $235 (was $445), theoutnet.com

Mix-and-Match

“Time and Tru separates because the mix-and-match options provide them with endless choices to create their own personal look. This season, the separates come in a variety of styles, colors and patterns, including high-waisted bikini bottoms, tropical floral prints and the color of the season: gold topaz. The pieces also feature unexpected details like tassels, textured fabrics and open stitching. We’ve found the most popular time for our customers to buy swimsuits is in May, ahead of the summer beach season.” — Walmart spokesperson

Time and Tru Swimsuit

Time and Tru Swimsuit (Photo: Walmart)

Shop it: $9 to 11 (top), walmart.com

Shop it: $17 (bottom), walmart.com

Out From Under Printed Tulip Underwire Bikini Top and 80s Bottom

Out From Under Printed Tulip Underwire Bikini Top and Bottom (Photo: Urban Outfitters)

Shop it: $44 (top, was $49), urbanoutfitters.com

Shop it: $36 (bottoms), urbanoutfitters.com

Marysia Venice One-Shoulder Bikini Top and Corsica High-Rise Bikini Briefs

Marysia Venice One-Shoulder Bikini Top and Corsica High-Rise Bikini Briefs (Photo: Matches Fashion)

Shop it: $142 (top), matchesfashion.com

Shop it: $152 (bottom), matchesfashion.com

Land’s End Women’s V-Neck Halter Tankini Top Swimsuit

Land’s End Women’s V-Neck Halter Tankini Top Swimsuit and High Waisted Bottoms (Photo: Land's End)

Shop it: $33 (top) with code STRIPES (was $65), landsend.com

Shop it: $23 (bottom) with code STRIPES (was $45), landsend.com

The editors at Yahoo Lifestyle are committed to finding you the best products at the best prices. At times, we may receive a share from purchases made via links on this page.

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#_revsp:wp.yahoo.style.us #_uuid:714a9495-9d1e-3408-b914-c6d15b397771 #yahoo shopping #swimwear #_author:Julie Tong #swimsuits #summer #_lmsid:a0Vd000000AE7lXEAT #shopping

[bothsandneithers]

Day 2775

To arrive at this particular gas station: Take i-25 past Ikea, through Castle Rock, Colorado Springs and Pueblo, and then turn right onto the old i-25 to Walsenburg. Here, like in most other gas stations and grocery stores in Colorado, you can now purchase full-strength beer -- as opposed to the prohibition era “three-two beer” (3.2% alcohol by weight), which used to be the only permissible beer sold outside of liquor stores. But, while the change in legislation was state-wide, not all gas stations carry a particular Apricot Ale beer that I like.

The guy behind the cash register reacted similarly when he saw it, “I love this stuff! I used to buy it in Denver!”

“Yeah! That’s where I’m coming from!” I said, with enthusiasm that surprised me. Though this trip wasn’t motivated by a recent fallout with the city of Denver, a planned three days of solitude happened to dovetail nicely with mounting disappointment of the recent election.

A few years before state lawmakers updated the alcohol laws in Colorado, Denver implemented an “urban camping ban” that prohibits tarps, sleeping bags and tents in public -- in effect, criminalizing someone who puts a blanket over themselves trying to stay warm, and in turn, making it illegal to experience homelessness.

That sounds cruel. I want to think that most people I know would agree.

However, most residents didn’t vote to repeal the ordinance when they had the opportunity to do so this month. Instead, only 19% of us did, making me wonder: Do a small number of us just conceptualize human rights differently than the rest?

It is also worth noting that the mayor that signed the ordinance into law has credible accusations of sexual harassment against him, but still managed to receive more votes than any other candidate in this present election.

It seems, then, that the voters of Denver, though critical towards the national political landscape, recalibrated their moral code for which they hold laws and politicians to at a local level. And, I’m not shy to decry this hypocrisy in public places.

One such locale in which I rebuked the “classist rhetoric” of supporting the urban camping ban was while standing in the vestibule of the Whole Foods, a place that has its own classist implications, ranging from the upscale prices (preventing many from being able to afford its food) to the powerful, seemingly above-the-law conglomerate owning it (which paid no federal income taxes in 2018, for example). This juxtaposition of not affording food and being too big to fail nicely signifies late stage capitalism, where people have too little and corporations have too much. Yet, I still choose to spend my money there, in turn doing my part in sustaining the mechanisms that spur on inequality.

Even though my friend graciously did not call me out on my unfortunate setting for my diatribe, the discomfort felt in our silence would have been eased by someone coming onto the intercom and saying, “HEY! You’re part of it!” Overturning money tables while simultaneously making a Venmo request for Matthew to pay you back for lunch dampens the cause: Let’s fix you, as long as the solution ensures that I still have mine.

And with that, I shirked out of town with my frustration and complicitness in tow.

After you stop at the gas station in Walsenburg, you drive for a little while and you get to the vistas of the Spanish Peaks, which takes you over a friendly mountain pass, and on the descent you turn left instead of going straight. As you continue on the narrow and hilly road, the mountains are mostly in the rear view mirror, with some smaller hills in the periphery. Silhouettes of canyons and the desert are in the foreground, but it’s still green near the Rio Grande, and its affiliate rivers and streams.

And that’s where I stayed, to inhale fiction and sleep without listening to the sounds of ongoing traffic or thinking about bizarre moral arguments for how those without homes should live, and how much harassment is a negligible amount.

What I didn’t expect, but what always ends up being a terrifying treat, was a pack, or packs, of yelping coyotes.

If you are anything like me, this is how you might interpret the event: It is always disorienting when you first hear these cries, as they jolt you out of sleep. It sounds like a middle school slumber party gone wrong -- as if twelve children are screaming as they are running out of a house on fire. But then there is a shift in perception, and these panicked screams no longer seem to be coming from humans, but retain a fuller, non-human quality, which has been described as all of the following: “a bark, flat howl, yip, yipe, short howl, warble, laugh, irregular howl, scream, and gargle.” And, whatever the creatures may be, they are no longer a herd of victims, but rather a gang of perpetrators.

Finally, things begin to make sense, and you realize that these sounds are probably coming from coyotes. Now, they are no longer villains, but merely communicating in a way that is unusual but admittedly very effective. Unwittingly, you are brought into a moment of nature, in which you feel small and vulnerable, and part of some larger ecosystem that you are otherwise and unfortunately, completely out of tune with.

If someone asked you if there were three coyotes or fifteen, you might not be able to accurately discern the count. And there’s research to back it up: There tends to be a misperception that coyotes are more abundant than they actually are [1].

I actually didn’t drink any of the beer that I bought. Instead, it was a strange, affectatious burden that I carried around with me, keeping it in a cooler with a bag of ice that was slowly melting. But I wished that the ice would melt a lot faster, when I returned to my car, waterless, from a desert trail run.

I poked a tiny hole in the bag of ice, and tried to center it into my empty water bottle to collect what pooled water there was. When a handful of droplets were successfully transferred out of the bag, I would then smash the plastic bottle into my dust soaked face and then repeated the process. I imagined that I looked desperate, and a couple in a passing car confirmed it. They gently pulled up next to me. “Um, can we offer you some water?” The woman asked, as she grabbed a half-empty gallon of water from her back seat. “I think your water will be much colder, but you can have this water right now.”

Without first checking with the social conventions, I took her water and poured it into my smashed bottle. “Thank you so much!” I quipped, “I feel as if I am in one of those comics -- with the guy who is always stranded on the island -- and all he has is an ice block that won’t melt!”

What?

The car of kind strangers generously smiled, but my imagined scenario is not cartoon material, even if a stranded man on an island is a common backdrop in The New Yorker. It is not funny. Ice melts.

It's okay that I'm not always funny. For the most part, I have actually grown comfortable with some amount of distance between between my perceptions and reality: my jokes aren’t always good and the number of coyotes are difficult to estimate when you can’t see them. But, every once in a while, I am still stunned -- floored, really -- when my reality clashes with those around me, especially when we are used to being floored together, in unison against whatever state, group or movement that is collectively disappointing us.

I don’t know what to do about this. But I do know that I should have offered the kind strangers beer as a token of gratitude; it’s no secret that I had more than I needed. But I didn’t. I was too busy drinking down what was now mine.

https://digitalcommons.usu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?referer=https://www.google.com/&httpsredir=1&article=1411&context=hwi ↩

Amy

#Denver