Texas Politics in the early 20th century essays

Texas Politics in the early 20th century essays In the book, "The Establishment in Texas Politics," by George Norris Green, Mr. Green describes how, since 1939, fiscal and social conservatives have governed Texas. Anglo-Texas nationalism supported the idea of Texas independence from groups including the federal government as it pertains to laws overseeing business practices. From the traditionalistic-individualistic scheme of Texas politics emerged a philosophy of material self-interest above anything that might be considered fair to other groups within the borders of the state. To make matters worse (or better, depending on your own political persuasion) Texas at that time was a one-party system, and the powers that be relied on a consistently low level of voter participation and the powerful influence of special interest lobby groups. Interest groups sprang forth from the business landscape tilled by capitalist pioneers such as H.L. Hunt, Sid Richardson and Clint Murchison. These independent millionaires were concerned with preserving capital and enhancing shareholder value by reducing the interference by governmental socialists who sought to redistribute wealth though the use of social programs. These men, and many more like them, cared little about government and wanted no intervention in their economic affairs. Their attitudes were consistent with the popular values of the Jeffersonian Democrats of the nineteenth century: The less government the better, local control of what little government there was, and freedom from economic regulation, or laissez-faire. Three men, W. Lee O'Daniel, Coke Stevenson and Beauford Jester came to epitomize Texas conservatives during this period of Texas history. Each man, whether they knew it or not, practiced a type of pseudo laissez-faire that would later be known as Social-Darwinism; the belief that individuals who prosper and rise to the top of the socioeconomic ladder are worthy and deserve their riches, while those who sink to the botto...

Should You Bother Starting A Google+ Community

Should You Bother Starting A Google+ Community Google+ is a fun and flexible social network with lots of creative uses,  and it gives you a nice boost towards Google finding your content in search results.  If youre creative and regularly active on the network, your Google+ page will be a powerful workhorse for you. But what about Google+ Communities? Should you have one? While your Google+ circles can create a simple version of a community, Google+ has created a system specifically intended to serve as a forum or group within the larger social network. It comes some handy controls and features that you cant mimic with a simple Google+ circle, butit also  comes with an added work load. What Will A Google+ Community Require? Before you decide if a Google+ Community is worth it, you should first understand what having a community will involve. Be responsible for what happens in your community. You are responsible for what happens in your community. Unlike a circle, a community comes with an understanding of moderation happening. Some communities put up a disclaimer and let it turn into a bit of a free-for-all, but remember that youre after quality, not quantity. You want the engagement, the conversations, the content, the participants, the ideas–they need to be of quality. You dont want to chase after the lowest common denominator just to get quantity. A popular community will always face the never-ending battle with  appropriate comments, just like you would on your blog. I take a pretty dim view of comments that insult or antagonize, though not every community manager would care. It really depends on the community. But, if you do care, you have the ability to remove comments and ban and remove users in a Google+ community. Let them know when they get out of line. Give them a warning and stick to it. What happens in your community doesnt stay in your community. Moderate well.What happens in your community, particularly if youve associated it with your brand, reflects on you. 1. Do you have someone who can regularly moderate your community?   Y or N Controlling spam in your community. Google+ (as of yet) doesnt let you post or share content in multiple communities. This can be annoying. Its tempting to be a part of several related communities that youd like to share your latest blog post in, but so would spammers. Theyd love to join every open, public community and mass post at once. So thank you, Google+. When you post to a community, you cant also post it to your public feed. Youll have to post the same thing twice if you want to see it on your own feed. Still, if the community youre posting to is public? Anyone who goes to your profile page will see what youve posted. Private community postings are only seen in that community by fellow members. Restrictive, yes. Necessary, probably so. Write clear guidelines on what the community is all about is an important step. What else do you do if youre feeling that community members are abusing your community? Public or private. Decide right at the start, when youre creating the community, if it will be public or private, and how much time you have to manage it, because once you choose public or private, you cannot change it. Use blocking and muting tools. Dont be afraid. Its hard to fire a customer or reader, but sometimes, for the sake of others in the community you might have to. Write guidelines. Write clear guidelines for expected behavior, and hold participants to it. Let them know what kind of content they should share, and how they should behave. Be clear. Remove and/or ban members who continually break the rules. Be an editor. Remove posts that do not belong, seem spammy, or are purely self-promotional in a community where that might not belong. Some spammers are very clever, and you might think they meant well and give them the benefit of the doubt but no. Just remove it. A community filled with junk content quickly dies. No one wants to be there, yourself included. 2. Do you have someone who can identify and remove spam without any qualms? Y or N 3. Do you have the time to stay on top of spam? Y or N Be the best curator you can be. A community is a fantastic place to curate selective outside content. Remember, the curator controls the message. I like to think of it this way: your Google+ page is where you share your content. A Google+ community is where you share other content. The art of curating content is exactly that: an art. Get good at it.Keep in mind, though, that curation–finding and sharing content–is an art form. You are not just filling space in your community. You are only sharing the top-notch valuable content that fits with the description of the community.  Its important to get in the habit of of curation, finding great content to share, but it shouldnt become a sloppy habit.  Share what has value. Read the posts you are about to share, dont just skim and toss in the community to fill a quota for the day. Be purposeful and mindful of what you are sharing. One way to make sure all of the content you share is up to your curation standards is to create a list of must-have criteria (in order of importance) before sharing. You might require shared content to come from individual blogs only, or it must have at least 1600 words, or it must have unique imagery, or maybe youll only share content that has infographics. Whatever it is, create a standards list. It makes it much easier to decide on whether or not something ought to be shared or not. 4. Do you have someone to act as curator?   Y or N 5. Do you already have a reliable system for finding great content to share? Y or N Be proactive about building your community. Once youve got a community built up with content, its a good time to go in search of some heavy hitters and active users. Its my personal preference to allow for a little time to get a stockpile of content–and conversation–in a community before going after any VIPs that Id love to have join. Its hard to make a decision to join a community until you see what kind of content and conversation to expect. Of course, there are more to this world than the VIPs. You cant assume youll get one Big Name Person to join and your community will suddenly become the hottest ticket in town. You have to build your community from several different directions.

Find 4 examples of failure due to creep that are relevant to the Essay

Find 4 examples of failure due to creep that are relevant to the transport industries - Essay Example The spring was subjected to the vehicle’s weight and initially underwent plastic deformation as the strain became higher. The strain rate reduces with time and levels out. Under effects of its operating environment (on average 480Â °K), the strain rate increased exponentially leading the spring to fracture. The spring actually failed at the third stage of creep failure. The melting point of the material is 265Â ° C (538Â °K) as noted by Turner (2001) and McCrum, Buckley, and Bucknall (2003). The ratio of operating temperature to melting point is 0.89. 2. Steam Pipe Failure The steam pipe of a locomotive failed as a result of creep in Uganda. The material used for making the steam pipes was austenitic steel. The working temperature of the tubes was set at about 6000C (873Â °K) and was subjected to high pressures, about 24.1MPa. The steam pipe burst as a result of creep failure leading to the emission of steam in the environment. Given that working temperature at time of bur st was about 830Â °K, the ratio of operating temperature to melting point is 0.95. 3. Aero Engine Turbine Blade Failure The turbine blade for a fighter plane was fractured as a result of creep failure (Tauqir & Khan 2002).

Writing Assignment # 1 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Writing Assignment # 1 - Essay Example question the article is trying to resolve is; â€Å"What are the issues and trends that HR professionals expect to have the most impact on shaping the field of human resource management in the next few years and the solutions HR professionals are using to prepare to respond to these trends?† (SHRM, 2013, P. 64). The most important information is the top ten trends that have been recurrent over the years. These serve as a starting point to acknowledge the challenges HR professionals are bound to encounter now and in the future hence be able to come up with measures to cope with challenges. The key trends that continue posing challenge to HRM include: High cost of healthcare, competitive global environment, complex legal environment and changes to laws, aging workforce and retirement of Baby Boomers, lack of skilled workers, economic uncertainty and volatility, and greater demand for work/life balance (SHRM, 2013, p. 4). Due to these trends, HR executives will face many challenges in future including retaining and rewarding best employees, succession planning, creating a corporate culture that attracts potential recruits, maintaining competitive edge in talent market as well as finding people with specialized skills (SHRM, 2013, P. 7). Myrtle (2015, p. 26) asserts that in some regions, over 60 percent of organizations face difficulties hiring workers with critical skills. In response to these trends, HR professionals are taking various actions. One of the actions being taken is recruiting, retaining and developing employees to bridge the skill gap. They are also embracing technology such as e-learning, use social networking sites for myriad of purposes such as recruitment, and ttechnology-based employee and manager self-service applications (p. 6). Legal compliance is also top on the agenda. The author divides the trends into four groups: demographics and society, economics and employment, science and technology, public policy and law. This is supported by Myrtle

Law Enforcement Essay Example for Free

Law Enforcement Essay The two strengths of community policing that I thought was important are being able to build are try to build a better rapport with the community and citizen better than what you already have. The second strength is to try to build a rapport with the kids in the community and keep them out of trouble, getting into gangs, and using are selling drugs. So I think when community policing are being done throughout the community that gives the police officer to become community educators, planners and organizers, which in the end it allows the police officers to appreciate their citizens as well as to learn how to work together with them, not to mention It will allow the citizens to trust them more than they do. The two limitations of community policing that I have chosen are lack of educational opportunities and lack of parental involvement. The reason why is because some of our parents have came to a point where they really don’t care what they child do, were they go, are who they hang with. Parents these days don’t follow up on their child/children were about as long as that child is out of the house that’s all that matter but thanks to the school system they have a system that calls home whenever the child/children are absent. The Police can’t do this along the need parents help to also keep the crimes of our children down and to lead them into the right direction so parents let’s get involve with our kids and not just our kids all kids they need some kind of guidance. Explain how political, economic, and demographic characteristics of a community impact community policing. Well in my community we have PAL, neighborhood watch, and citizen on patrols. PALs are a group of police officer that are mostly talkative and athletic that gather up our youth and engage them into different activities that they like to keep them off the streets during the day and they are very active with our kids they even take them places on the weekend. They have different sport activities that they play so they can stay active threw the week most of their games are on Saturdays, they even take the kids to different places like the movies, skating, bowling, etc. I really think it’s a awesome program for the youths. The only thing to this program is the child that are considered a problem child has to want to change and for the ones that’s not their dedicated to the program because they don’t want to change they want to stay that respectful child they alw ays been. Our Neighborhood watch programs usually are the police that are just getting on the force besides the neighbors. The ride there bikes threw the neighborhood to make sure no one is out of the ordinary they be in cars also they usually stop and talk to kids that they see and give the younger one stickers. Citizens on patrol are older people that live in the neighborhood and volunteer to work with the police department to ride through neighborhoods in a patrol car to make sure nothing unusual is in the neighborhood. I really think all of the programs are great for community policing and the more help from the parents and community they have the less crimes we would have and the citizen will respect the police more.

Global Warming Essay -- Environment, Renewable Energy

Everyone is talking about it, and the news is constantly covering it. But nobody ever does anything about it. The â€Å"it† is global warming. Global warming has been steadily increasing since the industrial revolution at alarming rates causing extreme weather including droughts, floods, heat waves, and hurricanes, which is a major concern. In fact, it’s increasing at a rate of 10% every year (Ferrey 68). The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) is a group of scientists and government representatives from 130 countries that estimate the temperature rise to be 3.2-7.8 degrees Fahrenheit by the year 2100 (Cunningham 207). There is a way to slow carbon emissions. The people of Sweden produce only 6.5 tons per person per year of carbon dioxide (CO2) versus the United States with a CO2 production rate of 20.14 tons per person per year. Amazingly, Sweden adopted renewable energy sources and strict conservation measures which have reduced its carbon emissions by 4 0 percent over the past 30 years while still experiencing dramatic increases in personal income and quality of life (Cunningham 208). In order to minimize the consequences of global warming, we must introduce highly efficient vehicles, create an abundance of renewable resources, and form the laws needed to slow global warming. Each of these solutions will provide a dramatic impact in reducing the carbon emissions, but it will take more than just the effort of these solutions, we must apply them to keep the earth as healthy as possible. The first solution is the introduction of highly efficient cars that will get better gas mileage and consume much less fossil fuel because they are the primary producers in global warming (Heckeroth 94). There has been significant develo... ...ote these technologies, developing nations will not take part in these options, which are often more expensive to implement. They will instead decide to burn coal and other fossil fuels (Ferrey 19). This would then defeat the purpose of proposing solutions because they would be doing the opposite of what is intended. In conclusion, there is a lot that is needed to be done about global warming, but the change won’t happen fast. In order to minimize the consequences of global warming, these solutions must be acted upon right away in order to slow global warming. We humans are the ones ultimately responsible of this problem; so we must agree in every way to solve it before the consequences get even worse. If this is followed the world will then have converted into a primarily solar energy world, free of its dependence on fossil fuels and the harm of the environment.

Graffiti: Class or Collapse of Art? Essay

Graffiti means writing on wall. Anything marking or writing, on anything is a common practice for humans right from the time when they learned to do so. It is not easy to get rid of the habit, but a section of refined society now gets angry at that and calls it a social problem, besides naming it as graffiti vandalism. Therefore this essay looks at this problem and tries to explain why graffiti serves more than it harms. Broad Meaning of Graffiti Though the latest Wordpower Dictionary defines graffiti as â€Å"unauthorized writing or drawing on a surface in a public place† (Graffiti, 2008), in reality, the word contains more meanings, where it includes any expression on any surface. This is an age-old practice, and once it was the only way for people to release emotions or to share ideas. Even the word ‘graffiti’ is taken from the old Greek word ‘grafficar’, â€Å"which generally means drawings, markings, patterns, scribbles, or messages†, in â€Å"written, painted or carved form on any surface† (Stowers, 1997). Thus, graffiti can be defined as a visible example of human expression, ranging from cave drawing to the scribbles on road. But there is more. It also has high utility and artistic value. Actually the practice of graffiti and the desire to improve it has helped the development of art in many ways. Therefore it would be unfair to see graffiti in the light of vandalism. One should consider the role of graffiti in the society as a whole – where it informs, educates and entertains people, besides passing all food for thought. It is true that everyone wants to be noticed, and that wish sometimes gives birth to odd wall writings or bad messages. But that is just a little part of graffiti, which has developed as a serious art over the years. However, there is a link between random graffiti and the development of fine art. In fact this random graffiti practice by the teenagers in 1960s gave birth to graffiti art – which gradually has risen to rank after it took the cue from the teens of New York who would ‘tag’ or write their names and addresses on the body of subway cars. Soon the normal improvising tendency of humans followed, which added spray painting into it, gradually various styles of writing came up, followed by local and regional styles. With time, this flow of events pushed graffiti from casual art to a serious art. And this wave of artful declaration even created a genre of artists who would devote their skills on numerous surfaces except the conventional canvases or other objects recognized as the carrier of art, like piece of wood or metal, etc. Thus subway scribbles grew into subway art, and then moved on towards many directions – converting trains, cars, boundary walls or public places into static or moving exhibition of various expressions – some of them would be praised, while some would draw public anger for carrying wrong message at wrong place or for being an artless wonder or painting the town red with spray painting. Value of Graffiti Graffiti is valuable on many grounds and the majority of the society accepts that. Otherwise it could not have reached such a great height. Today graffiti artists are in great demand where they are commissioned to do the beautification of large areas or open spaces, trains, bridges etc. It is now an established fact that graffiti provides much needed relief to the mind with its ‘homely’ or ‘comely’ effect. It can provide a food for thought too – especially if it contains serious social messages like anti-drugs, anti-smoking or anti aids. Why it is Criticized Today? Much like other areas of life, graffiti art too is blamed when it does anything that hurts public mind. Bathroom scribbles are not, by any means graffiti art, yet they belong to the rank of graffiti, so are the self-expressions that make their way to the neighbors’ boundary walls or even terraces. These are pure vandalisms, not graffiti art, these acts cannot be supported, even if some of such works look beautiful or hints about the promise of future Picassos or Rembrands in their creators. Art at the cost of others suffering cannot be supported, and from this angle graffiti is sometimes criticized mainly because of the wrong selection of ‘canvases’, which belong to someone else or belong to public. However, this practice of mischievous art is age old too – there are plenty of proofs across the globe where ancient graffitists stamped their mark on the places of interest – even â€Å"archaeologists have found ancient graffiti on the great pyramid at Giza in Egypt, on walls of Pompeii† (Graffiti, 2008). How Graffiti Fulfills the Preconditions of Art Leaving aside the little faction of scribblers, the real graffitists work even harder than the conventional artists at times. Graffiti art too takes no less imagination, skill, planning and hard work to produce an expression over unconventional canvas. However, like a twist in the tale, quite a few of graffitists made their mark after such roadside stints in their teens. As for example, James Top, a graffiti artist now known as â€Å"Train muralist† (Carlson, 2008), who in his own words, had started his apprenticeship in graffiti at the age of 12 years when he joined the gang of graffitists, who would spare no house in the neighborhood from their ‘projects’. James has come a long way from writing his names on the building walls to create murals for the trains. This gives another twist to the debate – even childhood tagging can spark the artist in a person – and it is still really unknown that how many of today’s famous artists taught themselves through this mischievous dose of adventurism. The working methods or the principles of drawing or painting, all are equally applicable to graffiti art like any painting job, especially if it involves spray painting (Chalfant et al. , 1987), besides the application of the tricks of varying perspective or other fine touches of art. Graffiti art has also come a long way establish numerous branches of application. It also has its own language, like â€Å"Crew†, â€Å"Writers†, or â€Å"King†, â€Å"Queen†, etc. , which indicates a thorough cultivation of this form of art (Farrell, 1994). It’s Not Terrorism Anyway No matter how much a dull, black scribble on a white wall creates visual pollution, it’s not a third degree offense as to arrest the person for antisocial act. In fact this inherent habit of humans to commit nuisance command a fresh look at the subject itself, because this habit is not limited into graffiti vandalism only, it equally works at eve-teasing or street vandalism. Thus it would be unfair to push graffiti from the rank of art on account of a common human habit that shows up in all other areas of life. On the other hand, if someone wants to look at this subject from a considerate point of view, one would surely discover that not everyone could rise to a stature of finished painter, though inwardly wishing to be one – and thus it’s that deep, unfulfilled desire eventually makes way to such nuisance. Nuisance is, however is not as menace as terrorism and it does not make sense to blame a form of art only because any visible human expression technically can be included in its category. Possible Reasons Behind Such Acts Under the blame-game, one important question often takes a backseat – Is it good to block the age-old learning habit by practicing art in an open space? Even in the ancient times the artists and painters practiced their skills over the rocks or any other places that would prove suitable to their chosen form of expression. Those days are gone. Now cities are crying for space, where the skyscrapers block the skyline. From this angle, graffiti vandalism could be seen as a side effect of too much urbanization. Mirror Reflection Off late, a term like reverse graffiti is often being heard, referring to a â€Å"number of street artists around the world have started expressing themselves on the soot covered surfaces through images, tags or positive slogans on environment† (Chapman, 2007). This proves a point in favor of the graffiti artists – not all of them supports graffiti vandalism. Since these artists are over their teens, it indicates that most of the graffiti vandalisms are mostly the immature enthusiasm of the teenagers. Conclusion There cannot be any doubt that graffiti is an art. It is only a misconception arising out of the wide meaning of the word ‘graffiti’ influences the protesters of graffiti art. Hence it would be wrong to generalize graffiti art as vandalism. However, it is also a fact that even graffiti vandalism has proved to be the breeding ground for future artists – perhaps it is the lack of space or peer influence that encourages the teens (mostly) to ‘tag’ or ‘write’ on walls or public places. In any case, it is not a crime of a great degree – unless it shows it purposefully shows hatred or uses filthy language. Leaving aside these, graffiti art too commands creativity, imagination and skill, besides a desire to meet the challenge to express ideas on an unconventional canvas. Therefore, the writing on the wall is – graffiti will stay, irrespective of recognition or debate, so long the humans would think and want to express their thought. References Carlson, J. 2008. â€Å"James Top, Graffiti Artist†. 1 April 2008. http://gothamist. com/2008/02/18/james_top_graff. php Chapman, M. 2007. â€Å"Reverse Graffiti: Clean Green Street Art†. 1 April 2008. http://www. inhabitat. com/2007/01/11/reverse-graffiti/ Chalfant, H. & Prigorr, J. 1997. â€Å"Spraycan Art†. London: Thames and Hudson. Farrell, S. 1994. â€Å"Graffiti Q &A†. 1 April 2008. http://www. graffiti. org/faq/graffiti_questions. html â€Å"Graffiti: Vandalism posing as art? † 2008. 1 April 2008. http://www. users. bigpond. com/rdoolan/graffiti. html Stowers, G. C. (1997). † Graffiti Art: An Essay Concerning The Recognition of Some Forms of Graffiti As Art†. 1 April 2008. http://www. graffiti. org/faq/stowers. html

The Twilight Saga 3: Eclipse Chapter 9. TARGET

ALICE DROPPED ME OFF IN THE MORNING, IN KEEPING with the slumber party charade. It wouldn't be long until Edward showed up, officially returning from his â€Å"hiking† trip. All of the pretenses were starting to wear on me. I wouldn't miss this part of being human. Charlie peeked through the front window when he heard me slam the car door. He waved to Alice, and then went to get the door for me. â€Å"Did you have fun?† Charlie asked. â€Å"Sure, it was great. Very . . . girlie.† I carried my stuff in, dumped it all at the foot of the stairs, and wandered into the kitchen to look for a snack. â€Å"You've got a message,† Charlie called after me. On the kitchen counter, the phone message pad was propped up conspicuously against a saucepan. Jacob called, Charlie had written. He said he didn't mean it, and that he's sorry. He wants you to call him. Be nice and give him a break. He sounded upset. I grimaced. Charlie didn't usually editorialize on my messages. Jacob could just go ahead and be upset. I didn't want to talk to him. Last I'd heard, they weren't big on allowing phone calls from the other side. If Jacob preferred me dead, then maybe he should get used to the silence. My appetite evaporated. I turned an about face and went to put my things away. â€Å"Aren't you going to call Jacob?† Charlie asked. He was leaning around the living room wall, watching me pick up. â€Å"No.† I started up the stairs. â€Å"That's not very attractive behavior, Bella,† he said. â€Å"Forgiveness is divine.† â€Å"Mind your own business,† I muttered under my breath, much too low for him to hear. I knew the laundry was building up, so after I put my toothpaste away and threw my dirty clothes in the hamper, I went to strip Charlie's bed. I left his sheets in a pile at the top of the stairs and went to get mine. I paused beside the bed, cocking my head to the side. Where was my pillow? I turned in a circle, scanning the room. No pillow. I noticed that my room looked oddly tidy. Hadn't my gray sweatshirt been draped over the low bedpost on the footboard? And I would swear there had been a pair of dirty socks behind the rocking chair, along with the red blouse I'd tried on two mornings ago, but decided was too dressy for school, hanging over the arm. . . . I spun around again. My hamper wasn't empty, but it wasn't overflowing, the way I thought it had been. Was Charlie doing laundry? That was out of character. â€Å"Dad, did you start the wash?† I shouted out my door. â€Å"Um, no,† he shouted back, sounding guilty. â€Å"Did you want me to?† â€Å"No, I got it. Were you looking for something in my room?† â€Å"No. Why?† â€Å"I can't find . . . a shirt. . . .† â€Å"I haven't been in there.† And then I remembered that Alice had been here to get my pajamas. I hadn't noticed that she'd borrowed my pillow, too – probably since I'd avoided the bed. It looked like she had cleaned while she was passing through. I blushed for my slovenly ways. But that red shirt really wasn't dirty, so I went to save it from the hamper. I expected to find it near the top, but it wasn't there. I dug through the whole pile and still couldn't find it. I knew I was probably getting paranoid, but it seemed like something else was missing, or maybe more than one something. I didn't even have half a load here. I ripped my sheets off and headed for the laundry closet, grabbing Charlie's on the way. The washing machine was empty. I checked the dryer, too, half-expecting to find a washed load waiting for me, courtesy of Alice. Nothing. I frowned, mystified. â€Å"Did you find what you were looking for?† Charlie yelled. â€Å"Not yet.† I went back upstairs to search under my bed. Nothing but dust bunnies. I started to dig through my dresser. Maybe I'd put the red shirt away and forgotten. I gave up when the doorbell rang. That would be Edward. â€Å"Door,† Charlie informed me from the couch as I skipped past him. â€Å"Don't strain yourself, Dad.† I pulled the door open with a big smile on my face. Edward's golden eyes were wide, his nostrils flared, his lips pulled back over his teeth. â€Å"Edward?† My voice was sharp with shock as I read his expression. â€Å"What -?† He put his finger to my lips. â€Å"Give me two seconds,† he whispered. â€Å"Don't move.† I stood frozen on the doorstep and he . . . disappeared. He moved so quickly that Charlie wouldn't even have seen him pass. Before I could compose myself enough to count to two, he was back. He put his arm around my waist and pulled me swiftly toward the kitchen. His eyes darted around the room, and he held me against his body as if he were shielding me from something. I threw a glance toward Charlie on the couch, but he was studiously ignoring us. â€Å"Someone's been here,† he murmured in my ear after he pulled me to the back of the kitchen. His voice was strained; it was difficult to hear him over the thumping of the washing machine. â€Å"I swear that no werewolves -† I started to say. â€Å"Not one of them,† he interrupted me quickly, shaking his head. â€Å"One of us.† His tone made it clear that he didn't mean a member of his family. I felt the blood empty from my face. â€Å"Victoria?† I choked. â€Å"It's not a scent I recognize.† â€Å"One of the Volturi,† I guessed. â€Å"Probably.† â€Å"When?† â€Å"That's why I think it must have been them – it wasn't long ago, early this morning while Charlie was sleeping. And whoever it was didn't touch him, so there must have been another purpose.† â€Å"Looking for me.† He didn't answer. His body was frozen, a statue. â€Å"What are you two hissing about in here?† Charlie asked suspiciously, rounding the corner with an empty popcorn bowl in his hands. I felt green. A vampire had been in the house looking for me while Charlie slept. Panic overwhelmed me, closed my throat. I couldn't answer, I just stared at him in horror. Charlie's expression changed. Abruptly, he was grinning. â€Å"If you two are having a fight . . . well, don't let me interrupt.† Still grinning, he put his bowl in the sink and sauntered out of the room. â€Å"Let's go,† Edward said in a low hard voice. â€Å"But Charlie!† The fear was squeezing my chest, making it hard to breathe. He deliberated for a short second, and then his phone was in his hand. â€Å"Emmett,† he muttered into the receiver. He began talking so fast that I couldn't understand the words. It was over in half a minute. He started pulling me toward the door. â€Å"Emmett and Jasper are on their way,† he whispered when he felt my resistance. â€Å"They'll sweep the woods. Charlie is fine.† I let him drag me along then, too panicked to think clearly. Charlie met my frightened eyes with a smug grin, which suddenly turned to confusion. Edward had me out the door before Charlie could say anything. â€Å"Where are we going?† I couldn't stop whispering, even after we were in the car. â€Å"We're going to talk to Alice,† he told me, his volume normal but his voice bleak. â€Å"You think maybe she saw something?† He stared at the road through narrowed eyes. â€Å"Maybe.† They were waiting for us, on alert after Edward's call. It was like walking into a museum, everyone still as statues in various poses of stress. â€Å"What happened?† Edward demanded as soon as we were through the door. I was shocked to see that he was glowering at Alice, his hands fisted in anger. Alice stood with her arms folded tight across her chest. Only her lips moved. â€Å"I have no idea. I didn't see anything.† â€Å"How is that possible?† he hissed. â€Å"Edward,† I said, a quiet reproof. I didn't like him talking to Alice this way. Carlisle interrupted in a calming voice. â€Å"It's not an exact science, Edward.† â€Å"He was in her room, Alice. He could have still been there – waiting for her.† â€Å"I would have seen that.† Edward threw his hands up in exasperation. â€Å"Really? You're sure?† Alice's voice was cold when she answered. â€Å"You've already got me watching the Volturis' decisions, watching for Victoria's return, watching Bella's every step. You want to add another? Do I just have to watch Charlie, or Bella's room, or the house, or the whole street, too? Edward, if I try to do too much, things are going to start slipping through the cracks.† â€Å"It looks like they already are,† Edward snapped. â€Å"She was never in any danger. There was nothing to see.† â€Å"If you're watching Italy, why didn't you see them send -â€Å" â€Å"I don't think it's them,† Alice insisted. â€Å"I would have seen that.† â€Å"Who else would leave Charlie alive?† I shuddered. â€Å"I don't know,† Alice said. â€Å"Helpful.† â€Å"Stop it, Edward,† I whispered. He turned on me, his face still livid, his teeth clenched together. He glared at me for half a second, and then, suddenly, he exhaled. His eyes widened and his jaw relaxed. â€Å"You're right, Bella. I'm sorry.† He looked at Alice. â€Å"Forgive me, Alice. I shouldn't be taking this out on you. That was inexcusable.† â€Å"I understand,† Alice assured him. â€Å"I'm not happy about it, either.† Edward took a deep breath. â€Å"Okay, let's look at this logically. What are the possibilities?† Everyone seemed to thaw out at once. Alice relaxed and leaned against the back of the couch. Carlisle walked slowly toward her, his eyes far away. Esme sat on the sofa in front of Alice, curling her legs up on the seat. Only Rosalie remained unmoving, her back to us, staring out the glass wall. Edward pulled me to the sofa and I sat next to Esme, who shifted to put her arm around me. He held one of my hands tightly in both of his. â€Å"Victoria?† Carlisle asked. Edward shook his head. â€Å"No. I didn't know the scent. He might have been from the Volturi, someone I've never met. . . .† Alice shook her head. â€Å"Aro hasn't asked anyone to look for her yet. I will see that. I'm waiting for it.† Edward's head snapped up. â€Å"You're watching for an official command.† â€Å"You think someone's acting on their own? Why?† â€Å"Caius's idea,† Edward suggested, his face tightening again. â€Å"Or Jane's . . . ,† Alice said. â€Å"They both have the resources to send an unfamiliar face. . . .† Edward scowled. â€Å"And the motivation.† â€Å"It doesn't make sense, though,† Esme said. â€Å"If whoever it was meant to wait for Bella, Alice would have seen that. He – or she – had no intention of hurting Bella. Or Charlie, for that matter.† I cringed at my father's name. â€Å"It's going to be fine, Bella,† Esme murmured, smoothing my hair. â€Å"But what was the point then?† Carlisle mused. â€Å"Checking to see if I'm still human?† I guessed. â€Å"Possible,† Carlisle said. Rosalie breathed out a sigh, loud enough for me to hear. She'd unfrozen, and her face was turned expectantly toward the kitchen. Edward, on the other hand, looked discouraged. Emmett burst through the kitchen door, Jasper right behind him. â€Å"Long gone, hours ago,† Emmett announced, disappointed. â€Å"The trail went East, then South, and disappeared on a side road. Had a car waiting.† â€Å"That's bad luck,† Edward muttered. â€Å"If he'd gone west . . . well, it would be nice for those dogs to make themselves useful.† I winced, and Esme rubbed my shoulder. Jasper looked at Carlisle. â€Å"Neither of us recognized him. But here.† He held out something green and crumpled. Carlisle took it from him and held it to his face. I saw, as it exchanged hands, that it was a broken fern frond. â€Å"Maybe you know the scent.† â€Å"No,† Carlisle said. â€Å"Not familiar. No one I've ever met.† â€Å"Perhaps we're looking at this the wrong way. Maybe it's a coincidence . . . ,† Esme began, but stopped when she saw everyone else's incredulous expressions. â€Å"I don't mean a coincidence that a stranger happened to pick Bella's house to visit at random. I meant that maybe someone was just curious. Our scent is all around her. Was he wondering what draws us there?† â€Å"Why wouldn't he just come here then? If he was curious?† Emmett demanded. â€Å"You would,† Esme said with a sudden, fond smile. â€Å"The rest of us aren't always so direct. Our family is very large – he or she might be frightened. But Charlie wasn't harmed. This doesn't have to be an enemy.† Just curious. Like James and Victoria had been curious, in the beginning? The thought of Victoria made me tremble, though the one thing they seemed certain of was that it had not been her. Not this time. She would stick to her obsessed pattern. This was just someone else, a stranger. I was slowly realizing that vampires were much bigger participants in this world than I'd once thought. How many times did the average human cross paths with them, completely unaware? How many deaths, obliviously reported as crimes and accidents, were really due to their thirst? How crowded would this new world be when I finally joined it? The shrouded future sent a shiver down my spine. The Cullens pondered Esme's words with varying expressions. I could see that Edward did not accept her theory, and that Carlisle very much wanted to. Alice pursed her lips. â€Å"I don't think so. The timing of it was too perfect. . . . This visitor was so careful to make no contact. Almost like he or she knew that I would see. . . .† â€Å"He could have other reasons for not making contact,† Esme reminded her. â€Å"Does it really matter who it was?† I asked. â€Å"Just the chance that someone was looking for me . . . isn't that reason enough? We shouldn't wait for graduation.† â€Å"No, Bella,† Edward said quickly. â€Å"It's not that bad. If you're really in danger, we'll know.† â€Å"Think of Charlie,† Carlisle reminded me. â€Å"Think of how it would hurt him if you disappeared.† â€Å"I am thinking of Charlie! He's the one I'm worried about! What if my little guest had happened to be thirsty last night? As long as I'm around Charlie, he's a target, too. If anything happened to him, it would be all myfault!† â€Å"Hardly, Bella,† Esme said, patting my hair again. â€Å"And nothing will happen to Charlie. We're just going to have to be more careful.† â€Å"More careful?† I repeated in disbelief. â€Å"It's all going to be fine, Bella,† Alice promised; Edward squeezed my hand. And I could see, looking at all of their beautiful faces one by one, that nothing I could say was going to change their minds. It was a quiet ride home. I was frustrated. Against my better judgment, I was still human. â€Å"You won't be alone for a second,† Edward promised as he drove me to Charlie's. â€Å"Someone will always be there. Emmett, Alice, Jasper . . .† I sighed. â€Å"This is ridiculous. They'll get so bored, they'll have to kill me themselves, just for something to do.† Edward gave me a sour look. â€Å"Hilarious, Bella.† Charlie was in a good mood when we got back. He could see the tension between me and Edward, and he was misinterpreting it. He watched me throw together his dinner with a smug smile on his face. Edward had excused himself for a moment, to do some surveillance, I assumed, but Charlie waited till he was back to pass on my messages. â€Å"Jacob called again,† Charlie said as soon as Edward was in the room. I kept my face empty as I set the plate in front of him. â€Å"Is that a fact?† Charlie frowned. â€Å"Don't be petty, Bella. He sounded really low.† â€Å"Is Jacob paying you for all the P.R., or are you a volunteer?† Charlie grumbled incoherently at me until the food cut off his garbled complaint. Though he didn't realize it, he'd found his mark. My life was feeling a lot like a game of dice right now – would the next roll come up snake eyes? What if something did happen to me? It seemed worse than petty to leave Jacob feeling guilty about what he'd said. But I didn't want to talk to him with Charlie around, to have to watch my every word so I didn't let the wrong thing slip. Thinking about this made me jealous of Jacob and Billy's relationship. How easy it must be when you had no secrets from the person you lived with. So I would wait for the morning. I most likely wasn't going to die tonight, after all, and it wouldn't hurt him to feel guilty for twelve more hours. It might even be good for him. When Edward officially left for the evening, I wondered who was out in the downpour, keeping an eye on Charlie and me. I felt awful for Alice or whoever else it might be, but still comforted. I had to admit it was nice, knowing I wasn't alone. And Edward was back in record time. He sang me to sleep again and – aware even in unconsciousness that he was there – I slept free of nightmares. In the morning, Charlie left to go fishing with Deputy Mark before I was up. I decided to use this lack of supervision to be divine. â€Å"I'm going to let Jacob off the hook,† I warned Edward after I'd eaten breakfast. â€Å"I knew you'd forgive him,† he said with an easy smile. â€Å"Holding grudges is not one of your many talents.† I rolled my eyes, but I was pleased. It seemed like Edward really was over the whole anti-werewolf thing. I didn't look at the clock until after I'd dialed. It was a little early for calls, and I worried that I would wake Billy and Jake, but someone picked up before the second ring, so he couldn't have been too far from the phone. â€Å"Hello?† a dull voice said. â€Å"Jacob?† â€Å"Bella!† he exclaimed. â€Å"Oh, Bella, I'm so sorry!† he tripped over the words as he hurried to get them out. â€Å"I swear I didn't mean it. I was just being stupid. I was angry – but that's no excuse. It was the stupidest thing I've ever said in my life and I'm sorry. Don't be mad at me, please? Please. Lifetime of servitude up for grabs – all you have to do is forgive me.† â€Å"I'm not mad. You're forgiven.† â€Å"Thank you,† he breathed fervently. â€Å"I can't believe I was such a jerk.† â€Å"Don't worry about that – I'm used to it.† He laughed, exuberant with relief. â€Å"Come down to see me,† he begged. â€Å"I want to make it up to you.† I frowned. â€Å"How?† â€Å"Anything you want. Cliff diving,† he suggested, laughing again. â€Å"Oh, there's a brilliant idea.† â€Å"I'll keep you safe,† he promised. â€Å"No matter what you want to do.† I glanced at Edward. His face was very calm, but I was sure this was not the time. â€Å"Not right now.† â€Å"He's not thrilled with me, is he?† Jacob's voice was ashamed, rather than bitter, for once. â€Å"That's not the problem. There's . . . well, there's this other problem that's slightly more worrisome than a bratty teenage werewolf. . . .† I tried to keep my tone joking, but I didn't fool him. â€Å"What's wrong?† he demanded. â€Å"Um.† I wasn't sure what I should tell him. Edward held his hand out for the phone. I looked at his face carefully. He seemed calm enough. â€Å"Bella?† Jacob asked. Edward sighed, holding his hand closer. â€Å"Do you mind speaking to Edward?† I asked apprehensively. â€Å"He wants to talk to you.† There was a long pause. â€Å"Okay,† Jacob finally agreed. â€Å"This should be interesting.† I handed the phone to Edward; I hoped he could read the warning in my eyes. â€Å"Hello, Jacob,† Edward said, perfectly polite. There was a silence. I bit my lip, trying to guess how Jacob would answer. â€Å"Someone was here – not a scent I know,† Edward explained. â€Å"Has your pack come across anything new?† Another pause, while Edward nodded to himself, unsurprised. â€Å"Here's the crux, Jacob. I won't be letting Bella out of my sight till I get this taken care of. It's nothing personal -â€Å" Jacob interrupted him then, and I could hear the buzz of his voice from the receiver. Whatever he was saying, he was more intense than before. I tried unsuccessfully to make out the words. â€Å"You might be right -,† Edward began, but Jacob was arguing again. Neither of them sounded angry, at least. â€Å"That's an interesting suggestion. We're quite willing to renegotiate. If Sam is amenable.† Jacob's voice was quieter now. I started chewing on my thumbnail as I tried to read Edward's expression. â€Å"Thank you,† Edward replied. Then Jacob said something that caused a surprised expression to flicker across Edward's face. â€Å"I'd planned to go alone, actually,† Edward said, answering the unexpected question. â€Å"And leave her with the others.† Jacob's voice rose in pitch, and it sounded to me like he was trying to be persuasive. â€Å"I'll try to consider it objectively,† Edward promised. â€Å"As objectively as I'm capable of.† The pause was shorter this time. â€Å"That's not a half-bad idea. When? . . . No, that's fine. I'd like a chance to follow the trail personally, anyway. Ten minutes . . . Certainly,† Edward said. He held the phone out to me. â€Å"Bella?† I took it slowly, feeling confused. â€Å"What was that all about?† I asked Jacob, my voice peeved. I knew it was juvenile, but I felt excluded. â€Å"A truce, I think. Hey, do me a favor,† Jacob suggested. â€Å"Try to convince your bloodsucker that the safest place for you to be – especially when he leaves – is on the reservation. We're well able to handle anything.† â€Å"Is that what you were trying to sell him?† â€Å"Yes. It makes sense. Charlie's probably better off here, too. As much as possible.† â€Å"Get Billy on it,† I agreed. I hated that I was putting Charlie within the range of the crosshairs that always seemed to be centered on me. â€Å"What else?† â€Å"Just rearranging some boundaries, so we can catch anyone who gets too near Forks. I'm not sure if Sam will go for it, but until he comes around, I'll keep an eye on things.† â€Å"What do you mean by ‘keep an eye on things'?† â€Å"I mean that if you see a wolf running around your house, don't shoot at it.† â€Å"Of course not. You really shouldn't do anything . . . risky, though.† He snorted. â€Å"Don't be stupid. I can take care of myself.† I sighed. â€Å"I also tried to convince him to let you visit. He's prejudiced, so don't let him give you any crap about safety. He knows as well as I do that you'd be safe here.† â€Å"I'll keep that in mind.† â€Å"See you in a few,† Jacob said. â€Å"You're coming up?† â€Å"Yeah. I'm going to get the scent of your visitor so we can track him if he comes back.† â€Å"Jake, I really don't like the idea of you tracking -â€Å" â€Å"Oh please, Bella,† he interrupted. Jacob laughed, and then hung up.

Salmonella Gastroenteritis essays

Salmonella Gastroenteritis essays There are many diseases that are caused by viruses, or bacteria. Diseases can be classified in many different ways. They could be very harmful, or acute. Salmonella Gastroenteritis is an illness that is caused by bacteria, which has three different types of shapes. Salmonella is an illness that is not deadly, or very harmful. In most cases the illness is acute, and is deadly, or extremely harmful in rare cases. Imagine being Salmonella bacteria, traveling through an individuals body. What kind of processes and obstacles would one go through? As a Salmonella bacteria, I am found in undercooked foods, such as; eggs, and turkey. In other cases I may originate from pet reptiles, like iguanas, turtles, lizards, and snakes. Bacteria like me could be found in many harsh conditions as well. They are found in both fresh and saltwater, in air, in soil, in water, and in plants, and animals. Individuals with impaired immune systems and people with very old, are young age be aware of bacteria like me. You are my favorite victims. The structure of bacteria that are related to me, are either prokaryotic, or eukaryotic. Prokaryotes do not contain a nucleus, but instead have structure called a nucleoid. The nucleoid carries the DNA in the cell. Furthermore, some bacteria may contain plasmids, which are smaller circular segments of DNA. The other bacterias are capable of movement as well. Some bacteria move with the aid of flagella, like in eukaryotes. On the other hand in Prokaryotes the flagella do not contain microtubules, and instea d have strands of protein twisted around one another like strands of rope. When I invade an individual's body, I attack their system quickly, and cause many unpleasant symptoms. I have entered the body of a thirty year old woman. She has just eaten eggs for breakfast, and forgot to cook the eggs well. Thus I was not killed, and I had the ability to enter her system. Being Salmonella bacteria, I wil...

7 Myths About Freelance Writing Online

7 Myths About Freelance Writing Online 7 Myths About Freelance Writing Online 7 Myths About Freelance Writing Online By Ali Hale You want to earn a bit of extra money. Or youd love to be a published writer. Or youre looking for an exciting and rewarding career. Whatever your reason, youve started to think about freelance writing online. It sounds like a dream come true: you could work from home, at any time of the day (or night), and get good money for writing about topics that interest you. Except somethings stopping you. Youve started believing one – or more – of these harmful myths. Today, I want to show you that these myths just arent true. Theres no reason to let any of them hold you back. #1: Its too late to make money freelance writing online All the good jobs are already gone, right? And bloggings dead anyway Wrong. The fact that huge numbers people are making money online as freelance writers should encourage you. Theres plenty of work out there – and as more and more businesses realize the importance and the potential of the internet, new writing jobs are appearing every single day. In fact, now is a great time to start freelancing. Writing online is a growing area, particularly as more and more print magazines fold, and as the demand for online content grows. #2: Online writing gigs dont pay as well as print ones This is a gross generalization, without much truth in it. Some print publications dont pay anything – local newspapers and specialty magazines often rely on volunteers, because of printing and distribution costs. But online, even tiny operations can afford to pay writers, since their overheads are so low. Some online writing gigs pay very little – but there are others which pay a hundred dollars or more for a short article. Its up to you what jobs you take, so you never need to work for a low rate. In my experience, online writing gigs pay very well in terms of time spent. They may pay less per word – but they often dont require the same level of research and fact-checking that print publications want. #3: You need technical knowledge to freelance write online This myth puts off a lot of people. Theyre convinced that online freelance writing requires technical skills like knowing HTML code or being a whizz with different systems. The truth is, you almost certainly already have all the technical skills you need: Ability to use email (to send articles to an editor) Basic word-processing skills (e.g. using Microsoft Word or Open Office) Ability to use search engines (e.g. Google, Yahoo) for research It really is that simple. Of course, there are some gigs where youll be at an advantage if youre comfortable with uploading content into your clients software – for instance, WordPress – but there are plenty of writing jobs which dont require anything techy beyond the ability to create a document and send it by email. #4: You need an English or Journalism major to be a freelance writer Maybe you majored in math or a science, or maybe you didnt go to college at all. It doesnt matter. All that editors care about is your ability to write – whether or not you have a degree makes no difference to them. If youve studied English, Journalism or a related subject, youll probably be a confident and fast writer – which will serve you well. However, you can easily develop your writing skills outside the college world – and academic writing bears very little resemblance to the sort of writing that online gigs will want! #5: Receiving payments is hard. Youll need an accountant and a merchant bank account This myth really frustrates me, because its so out of date! All you need to receive money online is a PayPal account – almost every single online gig Ive ever had has paid through PayPal. The one gig which didnt, with an online magazine, sent me a check which I just deposited straight into my bank account. Opening a PayPal account takes minutes, and allows you to receive money in many different currencies without having to pay the hefty fee that your bank would charge for a foreign transaction. #6: Only people living in the US can become successful freelance writers Im living proof that this is untrue – I live in the UK, and have worked with editors in the US, in Canada and in Australia. I know of many successful freelance writers around the world. Most online gigs will take writers from anywhere. All that matters is that you can write good English. If you live in a country with a low cost of living, then youre actually at an advantage – as youll be getting paid US rates for your work. #7: You need to be an expert in one field before you can find freelance jobs You already have certain areas where youre knowledgeable, just from your life experience. For instance, you might have children – and there are scores of jobs looking for people who can write about parenting. Many online gigs are open to any writers, and dont require any particular expertise. You might have to do extra research to begin with, but if you keep writing on similar topics, youll soon become a self-taught expert. So – seven myths busted! I hope youre feeling more optimistic about your own chances of freelancing online. Writing is a great way to make a living (or just make some extra cash on the side) and theres always going to be a demand for good writers and new content. Notice: Due to popular request we have finally released our Freelance Writing Course. Come check it out if you want to get started freelance writing online. Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Freelance Writing category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:Creative Writing 10130 Baseball IdiomsOne "L" or Two?

2 page biography of Jeremy Bentham and his contribution to the study Essay

2 page biography of Jeremy Bentham and his contribution to the study of Ethics - Essay Example Bentham was a great activist who advocated political and economic freedom. He pioneered various political movements that lobbied for the abolition of slavery, legal use of the death penalty, and physical punishment. Political radical ideas advanced by Bentham lobbied for separation of church systems from the state, freedom of expression for all citizens, divorce rights, gender equity, and animal rights. However, Bentham opposed natural rights and law but favored individual legal rights for all citizens (Becker and Becker 137). Bentham mentored several students during his time as a teacher and researcher. Some of Bentham’s great students included James Mill, James Stuart Mill, James Austin, and Robert Owen. His students also developed into great theorists for instance; Robert Owen become the founder of Utopian socialism while John Austin remained as the famous legal philosopher. Bentham, who attended Westminster school at the tender age of 12 in 1760, existed as a child prodigy. He started studying Latin at the age of three and preferred reading England history books. Bentham, who was the brother to Samuel Bentham, completed his Bachelor’s degree at Queen’s college in 1763. Bentham obtained his master’s degree in 1766 at Queen’s college. He practiced law in college though he never represented persons in courts of law. He reportedly hated English legal code and named it ‘Demon of Chicane’. Bentham loved chemistry and spent most of his time conducting chemical experiments and speculating theories relating to legal abuses. His interest in chemistry angered his father who knew that he would develop into a renowned intelligent lord chancellor amongst English courts of law. Due to great interest in sciences, Jeremy Bentham pursued physical science studies and started research on suppositions that had a relationship with politics and law. Research on suppositions related to law and politics