#Paving repair in my area

[informativetalks]

Upgrade your property with stunning brick paving from Concretx Construction LLC! As the premier provider of Paving contractor in Winter Park FL, we specialize in providing high-quality brick paving services and brick installation services near you. We're also the go-to company for paving repair in your area, ensuring that your property looks its best for years to come. And if you're looking for pool bricks installation near you, we've got you covered there too. With years of experience and a commitment to customer satisfaction, Concretx Construction LLC is the go-to choice for all your brick paving needs. Contact us today and let us help you transform your property with beautiful brick paving!

[hometoursandotherstuff]

Aside from needing a new roof, and being a fixer upper, my first thought was that this 2002 home in Berkeley, West Virginia, is the perfect witches house, but it's also a very unique home. There are 3 levels, but the description says 0 bds. It's so open that there are spaces for beds, but not actual rooms. It does have 2ba. and 7.40 acres of land for $325K. The rural property is on the Virginia border so apparently commuting there to work would be easy.

At the entrance, 2 large tree trunks hold up the roof and the path is paved with colorful tiles. The 2 front tiles say "Welcome."

As soon as you walk in, you can see the open concept. The ceiling spreads out from the center fireplace and the floorboards are in a square pattern surrounding it.

The main floor can be set up in many different ways.

It's quite spacious.

There's also a bath and walk-in closet.

This is the second level. It goes around and is open in the middle.

It's pretty big up here- there's a piano in the corner on the right.

A large deck goes around the house on the 2nd level.

Behind the fireplace on the main floor are stairs to a lower level.

The kitchen is down on this level.

This area with the shelving would make a nice bedroom or den.

The area next to it also looks like it could potentially be a bedroom, also.

Lots of space down here.

There's also a bathroom and laundry.

There's storage.

The description says "bring all the animals." Looks like a couple of kennels there.

Over 7 acres can certainly be a farm and  are under the Farm and Ranch Lands Protection Program.

There are 2 loafing sheds (a place for horses and other livestock to take shelter from harsh weather) that need repair.

There are also several fenced in areas.

Well, it's a large farm property with a most unusual farm house.

It certainly has character.

https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/2822-Mauzy-Rd-Berkeley-Springs-WV-25411/2052987024_zpid/

[thevirginwitch]

City Magic: Painted Rock Wards

This post was released a week early over on my Patreon! You can subscribe for free to be notified of important projects announcements, or subscribe for as little as $2 a month to gain early access to my content, exclusive access to research/reading notes, and free digital goodies! Your support means the world to me and helps me to continue doing what I love.

We’ve all seen those pretty painted rocks over on Pinterest, right? These bad boys? Or perhaps you’ve even seen them around your neighborhood/public parks.

Traditionally, these are meant to be painted (sometimes with words of encouragement) and left in public spaces for people to take home, as an act of kindness. Some others paint them for their garden, either to deter pests with vibrant colors, or they’re used to label whatever’s in their garden.

Now, if you live in a big city, you probably have felt a disconnect from your craft or your practice. It’s difficult to connect with a nature-oriented spirituality, such as witchcraft, when you live in a concrete jungle! But there are many, many ways to feel connected to your craft, even if you don’t live in the middle of the woods or have a lot of nature around you. One of these ways is to connect with your neighborhood.

Your neighborhood has mass significance to your life, whether you realize it or not: this is where you live, where you work, where you breathe, where you practice your craft – you must make yourself known, and make the neighborhood known to yourself as well. One of the best ways to do this is to take walks!

Whenever you’re ready, take a walk through your neighborhood and bring a map, notebook, and a pen. As you walk, observe the behaviors of the residents around you. Do they seem to be struggling with anything? What kind of people are they like? Write these characteristics down. If you notice any parts of your neighborhood that evoke any specific emotions (such as unease, happiness, peace, or anxiety), mark them on your map. You might also notice some “problem areas” – perhaps some patches of the road or sidewalk are horribly paved and need to be repaired, or there’s a lot of loud dogs constantly barking at the end of your block. Mark these areas on your map as well, and report back to your home when you are ready.

Picking Your Purpose

Now that we’ve identified a few “problems” and made observations within your neighborhood, we can decide what we want to do. Do you want to protect against thieves? Ward against illness for one of your elderly neighbors? This is the time to select the primary purpose for your ward.

Picking The Area

Take the map that you marked up during your walk. Connect any common points you see (for example, connect up the "peaceful" areas you marked on your map, or connect any points that have a common theme). What kind of shape does it have? Does it remind you of any popular symbols? Can you use the general shape of the area to generate a sigil or symbol that represents the area? What area(s) would most benefit from your rock wards?

Here is an example of how I created a sigil from a fictional city map I found! Obviously, play around with this idea until it makes sense to you. You can connect up different routes, or perhaps create a border around the areas that feel safest to you.

Now is the time you also want to pick where you want to place your wards - you can use your neighborhood sigil to influence where you place them, or, place them based on intuition or based on need. For example, placing a rock ward at the end of the noisiest block, or in the middle of the block that has the most number of children in the area.

Creating and Using Your Sigils/Symbols

Now, you want to develop symbols or sigils for your purpose. You can use any method you’d like! You may wish to incorporate your neighborhood sigil into each one you create, but ultimately the design is up to you. This is also the point where you would “charge” your sigil, with whatever method you see fit - as long as the design, intention, and charging method makes sense to you, that’s all that matters!

Painting Your Rocks

Finally, onto the fun part!

Now, you could simply paint your sigils on your rock and call it a day. Or, you could paint your sigil, and layer a more “mundane” piece of artwork on top of the sigil, leaving the sigil hidden underneath. This technique works best if the “mundane” artwork connects with the ward’s purpose in some way (for example, if your ward is for protection against nosy neighbors, you could paint eyes; or if your ward is for health, you could paint green colors, or even a red cross). I definitely recommend this “layering” method of painting your rocks so no one in your neighborhood ends up reporting any “suspicious looking rocks” with “satanic symbols” on them to your local Facebook groups!

Materials

acrylic paint

rocks

paint brushes

toothpicks (optional)

paint markers

outdoor/water-proof sealant such as Mod Podge: Outdoor

Instructions

Lay out your rocks and other materials

Seal your rocks with a coat or two of your sealant before you begin painting. This is an important step, since rocks are porous and will suck up any paint you try to apply!

Paint your rocks to your heart's content! If you are layering paint on your rocks, please make sure each layer is dry before painting the next.

Once your rocks are completely dry, seal them up with your outdoor/water-proof sealant so they don't get damaged in the elements.

Lastly, take another trip through your neighborhood to place your rocks. Converse with the neighbors if you feel inclined, and make double-sure of the locations you chose for your wards. I recommend taking regular walks throughout your neighborhood to check on these wards, and make sure they’re doing their job. You may wish to refresh the wards with a new coat of paint, or replace them with something new if the situations within the neighborhood change.

Ultimately, magic is what you make it, especially when you live in a big city. Warding your neighborhood and showing care for the people that live there is one of the many ways you can connect to your neighborhood on a deeper level and feel more connected to your practice locally.

Recommended further reading: Urban Magick by Diana Rajchel

[zoctopode]

Greenlocke Chapter 2 Page 20

⇇ Read from the beginning!

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Read it on my website! It's better!

An Excerpt from "The City and its Kin" by K. Ginley: Most city elementals, being egregores of a community, are fiercely loyal to the populace. They busy themselves with maintaining infrastructure, acting as watchmen and keeping peace - some of the older and larger elementals, ones with real heft to them, don't keep themselves within the lines of picking up litter or paving roads. Enforcing the rule of law with violence, using their strength for demolition, or guarding specific high importance areas are all potential avenues for the stronger elementals in their course of employment.

Of course, the risk for collateral damage is high. Thankfully, given their nature, they are able to repair most damage to any city environs resulting from any of their battles. As for the people involved, that's a different story, and has lead to many cases where an overly eager golem had pounded someone into a fine paste for a crime on the tier of burglary or tax evasion. While harrowing, statisticians point out that even the more bloodthirsty elementals have a much better track record than an average cop.

[wellmakeourwayout]

We say- why not both.

We’ve both spent ample time in the woods as children/teens. Be it backpacking into a camp spot, to renting a yurt to sleep in.

Thanks to the experience we got from our parent’s camping habits, we’re able to narrow down that we like to do on our trips.

We like good food, and warm beds. But we also like long walks into the woods, and spotting wildlife.

For close and easy to access trails, convenient campsites, and a quiet atmosphere, we strongly recommend Lagoon Campground in Florence Oregon.

It is our most frequented campsite by far- the photos above are from our first trip of 2024. We traveled immediately after our area was hit with an ice rain storm, that caused great damage to trees and infrastructure.

The first few images document the trees downed and broken along HWY 126. Clean up crews worked on this area until March; repairing guardrails, cleaning debris, and fixing downed power lines.

The campground was roughly unscathed. The freezing rain affected areas further inland, the coast only saw scattered areas of freezing.

This was our first trip with a shelf in the back of the truck! Have you ever tried watching a movie in bed without a table? I wouldn’t recommend a hot laptop on shins if Cozy ™️ is the main goal.

We later modified the shelf with raised edges and felt fabric to protect the truck interior.

We used our new portable battery- a Christmas gift, to keep the laptop charged. Later on in the year, Connor splurged on a new portable dvd player for us. It has been AMAZING.

The campground is remarkably well maintained. It sits next to a lagoon, and is located where the Siltcoos River meets the Pacific Ocean- an estuary.

A hiking trail wraps around the campground, and an extended trail takes you past a second campsite- Waxmyrtle- to view the estuary and catch the sunset over the ocean.

For those brave enough to hike in deep sand, the trail continues on another mile before it leads you to the beach… a post for another day!

The campsites are established with paved parking, picnic table, and metal fire ring.

There are public bathrooms available, no showers here. The hosts diligently clean and maintain all of the grounds.

My favorite wildlife to spot here is the *drumroll*…… California Newt! Be cautious where you step, when they’re out they’re OUT!

I reflect on this trip as we prep to go on our first overnight camp of 2025.

Follow along for updates from A & C ✌️

[charlieharper011]

Top 10 SEO Hacks to Boost Your Plumbing Business Online

In today's competitive digital landscape, SEO Services for Plumbers are pivotal in ensuring your plumbing business stands out amidst the online clutter. To rank higher and attract more potential customers, employing effective Plumber SEO Services is essential. Here, we uncover the top 10 SEO hacks tailored specifically for plumbing businesses to amplify online visibility and drive organic traffic.

Optimize for Local Searches

Leverage your locality by optimizing for local SEO. Ensure your Google My Business profile is up-to-date with accurate information, including your business hours, contact details, and service areas. Encourage customers to leave positive reviews as they significantly impact local search rankings.

Target Relevant Keywords

Identify and target high-value keywords specific to plumbing services. Incorporate keywords like "emergency plumbing," "leak repair," or "pipe installation" strategically within your website content, meta descriptions, and titles to align with user search queries.

High-Quality Content Creation

Produce informative, engaging, and relevant content that addresses plumbing concerns. Blog posts, how-to guides, and FAQs centered around plumbing issues not only establish authority but also attract organic traffic.

Mobile Optimization

Optimize your website for mobile devices as a substantial portion of searches are conducted on smartphones. Ensure fast loading times, mobile-friendly designs, and easy navigation, providing seamless user experiences.

Structured Data Markup

Implement structured data markup, including schema markup, to help search engines better understand your content. Highlight key details like services offered, reviews, and contact information, enhancing your website's visibility in search results.

Leverage Social Media

Utilize social media platforms to showcase your expertise. Share valuable plumbing tips, success stories, and engage with your audience. Social signals contribute to improved search engine rankings.

Optimize Images and Videos

Optimize images and videos on your website by adding descriptive filenames, alt tags, and relevant captions. This enhances user experience and contributes to better SEO by increasing visibility in image and video search results.

Secure Website with HTTPS

Ensure your website is secure by using HTTPS encryption. Secure websites rank higher in search results, building trust among users and search engines alike.

Consistent Business Citations

Maintain consistent business citations across online directories and platforms. Accurate and uniform information (NAP - Name, Address, Phone Number) establishes credibility and reinforces local SEO efforts.

Continuous Monitoring and Optimization

Regularly monitor website performance, keyword rankings, and user behavior. Analyze data to identify areas for improvement, enabling ongoing optimization for better results.

Conclusion

In the realm of online visibility, mastering the art of SEO is paramount for a plumbing business aiming to thrive in a competitive digital landscape. By implementing these top 10 SEO hacks specifically tailored for plumbing businesses, you pave the way for increased online visibility, improved search engine rankings, and a steady influx of potential customers. Leveraging local SEO, targeted keywords, high-quality content, mobile optimization, and other strategic techniques not only enhances your website's searchability but also establishes your authority within the plumbing industry. Continuously monitoring, optimizing, and adapting your SEO strategies ensures that your plumbing business remains at the forefront of online searches, fostering sustained growth and success.

[ellies-cycling-notes]

Day 9: Vienna (Rest Day)

Distance Covered: 0 miles

Total Time: N/A

Average Speed: N/A

Apples Eaten: 1 (jazz - 7/10)

Today was quite an eventful rest day. I spent most of the morning relaxing, then in the early afternoon, we went to a bike shop to get a fix ups for my bike. We left my bike there, but when we came back a few hours later, they said that my back wheel was cracked and I needed a new one, but they didn't have one they could sell me. Luckily, as the area has a large biking community and is right next to the Washington & Old Dominion Trail, there were multiple other bike shops we could check out nearby. We checked 2, and the second one had a set of wheels I could buy, but not a single wheel. I ended up getting those wheels, as well as a new tire for my back wheel. At the bike shop, I asked that they only move the cassette to the new wheel (the part of the wheel which has the gears on it) and then we took my bike back to the place I'm staying to fix it up.

Fixing the Bike

Fixing my bike consisted of two main parts: changing the wheels, and then adjusting the brakes. For both parts, Andrew, one of my hosts, was very helpful in getting things done quickly and correctly.

Changing the Wheels: The back wheel was pretty easy to deal with, just removing the old wheel from the bike, then putting a new tube and tire on the new back wheel and putting it back on. There were a few issues fitting the wheel in with the cassette, but it still took no time at all. The front wheel took longer, for a few reasons. For one, at first the bolt keeping the old wheel on the bike was a little tight, so it took a little jostling to get it loose to take the wheel off. Then, for some reason, even with the air pumped out of the tire, it was difficult getting the tube and tire off the wheel. When I eventually managed to do so, I put them on the new wheel, and fitted the new wheel onto the bike. I had to replace the front skewer with a new quick-release skewer because the old one didn't fit the new wheel.

The hardest part of actually changing the wheels was probably pumping their air. It would have been easy to do it with a normal-sized floor pump, but I have a new small floor pump I wanted to test out. It was quite easy to pump up to ~40 psi, but I needed to get my wheels to ~100, and the rest was an uphill battle. I actually had to take a break while pumping one of the tires up to rest my arms.

Adjusting the Brakes: After putting the back wheel back on, we realized that the brakes were not properly adjusted with the new wheel. Unfortunately, the brakes were a little stuck and we couldn't move/rotate them, even by screwing/unscrewing all possible bolts around and on the brakes. So, while I started working on the front wheel, Andrew continued to work on the brakes for the back. He was able to figure out the correct way to adjust them. He figured it out, and I am extremely grateful, because I don't think it's something I could've fixed on my own.

After adjusting the brakes, I rode my bike around the driveway a little bit to test it out, and everything felt fine.

Other than the strenuous bike repair, today was a lazy rest day, without much going on. Tomorrow is the start of what should be the most exciting part of the ride: the C&0 and GAP bike trails, both rail trails that when combined go all the way from Washington, DC to Pittsburgh - this means for the next few days, almost all my riding will be on bike trails! I just hoped that they're mostly paved.

Hope y'all enjoyed today's slightly-longer-than-usual rest day post!

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[pavageasphaltelaval]

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[cloudbattrolls]

Eat Your Young

Gallen | Suunaq Industrial Complex | Present Night

A sprawling industrial complex covered the plain, its buildings and roads nearly equaling the size of a small town.

It had stood there longer than some of the actual settlements in the surrounding area, growing piece by piece over several millennia. Power plants and offices jostled for space, interspersed with streets that had been paved and patched more times than anyone could count. Everything was kept in a state of high repair; the finest quality droids maintained the infrastructure, though there were no imperial drones to be seen. 

Ever since its earliest nights, the complex had been filled white butterflies that did not seem to feed from or pollinate any flowers; not that there were many to be found in such a place. Any attempts to catch and study them ended in the insects dissolving to nothing, so trolls let them be.

Most didn’t have the time or energy to wonder about what little wildlife surrounded them to begin with. 

For marked over each of the complex’s entrances, on the identification cards of all the trolls who worked in that place, was the jade symbol of QPIN - each and every troll there in the corporation-gang’s debt. 

Debts paid - in part - by blood. 

Debts paid to one of the Queenpin’s right-hand executives, Inshii Suunaq.

—

Three tall figures gathered under the glare of a street lamp, all coming from different directions. 

A woman, hourglass-shaped with a band covering her eyes and a cowgirl hat on her head, dressed in a crop top and shorts. A man, broad and powerfully built, wearing only knee-length shorts and no shirt. A person dressed in a beautiful violet sherwani, the tallest of all, wide with soft roundness instead of the man’s dense bulk. 

The woman spoke first as they faced each other on the sidewalk, the night air quiet around them. 

“Damn, I hate this place.” Rhyssa complained, hands on her hips. “I can’t even see it proper and I still hate it. Would it kill ya to decorate a bit, Shii? The vibes are just awful.”

“I don’t have time for excessive frivolity.” Responded the false violet in a deadpan as they led the other two away. “Trolls can put up ornamentation if they like; I don’t forbid them. Excessive levels of depression are unproductive.”

Rhyssa groaned as she followed, her boots’ spurs jingling softly. “Sugar, you’ve been contributin’ to depression in trolls for a long time without tryin���. I love you, but ya are kind of a robot when it comes to fixin’ a place up.” 

Gallen hung back a few steps as the three of them made their way down the sidewalk, letting the other two banter. He was grateful he couldn’t speak, and that he likely wouldn’t be asked to sign very much, or type; if his siblings picked up on his dread, everything was over.

Everything might still be over if he couldn’t carry out the plan Klirro and Tuuya had concocted for him. All his isopods wriggled anxiously in his skin, though he tried not to let it show. 

Rhyssa hung back, head tilted, the wasps fluttering around her to serve as her eyes buzzing in concern.

“What’s eatin’ ya, Gal?”

Oops.

I don’t know how things are going to be from now on, he signed honestly. 

I hope this makes mother better, but what if it makes her worse? What will we do? How can we care for her? For once, I wish we were more like trolls. Trolls know how to tend to their lusii and quadrants. 

All we were ever meant to do was serve her. 

We were never taught anything else. Unlike Lleios, we weren’t given the ability to learn much beyond what we were made to do.

I think she did that on purpose, he signed, suddenly angry as he had the thought, eyes narrowing, gestures sharper. I think she wanted to keep us dependent. 

She let me learn about religion, she let me watch trolls come to my altar all those sweeps, but she knew I could never truly understand them. 

Only Lleios could.

Gallen looked at Rhyssa, whose hand touched her mouth in shock at his words, and he saw that Inshii had stopped walking, looking back at the pair of them as their fins flicked.

The isopod swarm folded his broad arms, blue eyes hard. He wasn’t backing down. 

Even if it weren’t for the mission, even if Klirro had never found him, even if he had wound up killing Tuuya after all - these doubts had brewed for centuries, and he was done ignoring his problems.

“Gal! What’s all this hullabaloo?” Rhyssa protested, her own hands flapping in distress as she buzzed with worry. “Where’d this come from all of a sudden, huh? You’ve never - never said a blessed thing - ”

“Now is not the time for such topics.” Cut in Inshii, hard enough that their sister’s hands dropped and her buzzing quieted. She folded her arms, sullenly silent, and Gallen stared the butterfly swarm down, their violet eyes hard.

“Gallen…we will discuss this later.” His oldest sibling’s tone held a practiced neutrality, one he knew was barely holding back anger. Their fins twitched almost imperceptibly, but he caught it.

“Mother needs us now, and she needs us united.”

As if they’d been properly united for sweeps. As if they’d really acted together since Lleios had died.

Killed by a troll, of all things. A troll they had loved. A troll who betrayed them…yet they had wanted him to, so they could die.

Gallen’s fists clenched at the way his youngest sibling had chosen to leave the rest of them behind. If they hadn’t done that, none of this would have happened. 

The cold pavement cut his bare feet repeatedly, as it usually did. What did he care? He regenerated his skin nigh instantly, barely noticing as the three swarms drew closer to Inshii’s laboratory.

The thick glass doors slid open with a slight hiss as the false violet led the way in after flashing their ID to a scanner, barely making any sound despite their size. Gallen squinted as they walked into the harsh lighting and gray-white walls and floors, the smell of disinfectant prominent.

There were a few trolls to be seen, but most of Inshii’s staff here were highly specialized robots. The ones that were present shied away from the trio automatically. There wasn’t any fear on their faces or in their movements; they did it instinctively, knowing better than to be close.

“Can we at least eat before this?” Commented Rhyssa, slightly impatient. “I’m assumin’ those ain’t snacks, and I’m peckish.”

“Obviously those aren’t snacks.” Said Inshii in a slightly weary tone of voice. “Food doesn’t work in the laboratory. If you knew anything about science you’d understand just how intensive and time consuming this process has been to replicate. I’ve needed my finest staff on this and had to hire a few extras, which is not kind to my payroll.”

“Ooh, lemme play ya a song on m’banjo, saddest one in the history of the empire, Shishi.” Said Rhyssa, singsong and mocking, actually taking out her instrument as if she was about to start strumming.

Inshii rolled their eyes and ignored her, so Rhyssa pouted and put it away. 

Gallen stopped and looked around, not in any hurry to get to what came next. He put his hands in his shorts’ pockets, feeling for the hundredth time that the vial of cloudy liquid was still there. 

“Come on.” Called Inshii impatiently. “You’d think we were dragging you to an atheist convention.”

He opened his mouth to huff silently, not wanting to let himself feel amused, and kept walking.

He couldn’t. He had to…he had to…

Gallen twisted inside, hundreds of small legs wriggling and grasping at each other. 

He followed his oldest sibling, just like he always had for millennia. 

Obedient Gallen. Peaceable Gallen.

Even before mother had taken his tongue, he’d always been like that.

Inshii led him and Rhyssa down a narrow hallway, their precise steps echoing in the near-silence. The faint buzz of electric illumination was the only sound.

Then the lights flickered for a second.

Gallen blinked, looking at his sibling inquiringly. Inshii sighed, their brightly colored fins flicking. 

“That’s how much power this has taken. We have backup generators, more than enough…but that’s happened plenty of times over the past few perigees. All Lifeweaver had to do was make a troll body that could meld with a swarm. I’ve had to achieve far more than that.”

“What d’ya mean?” Rhyssa asked, sounding genuinely curious as she ran a finger through her shoulder-length hair.

Inshii’s eyebrows raised in mild surprise, but they stopped, facing their sister with their arms crossed.

“When Mother fell and fused with a mother grub, she became undead. Etuuya was alive when they were merged with Lleios’s remains, integrated over multiple operations so they wouldn’t die of shock or blood loss. 

I don’t have that luxury; she’s weak and unstable enough that if I fail now, I might not be able to try again and keep her mind intact. 

She can’t be killed…but suffering eternally in that carcass of a body, her mind slipping more and more until she forgets us all? She might wish she was dead.” The butterfly swarm said bluntly.

Rhyssa had taken her hat off to hold it, as a gesture of respect. Gallen bowed his head to go along with her, and so he could compose himself.

Klirro was right. Tuuya was right. Everything Inshii said confirmed it.

If he could do this, even with the hell that would come of it, everything would get better.

His hands shook as Rhyssa put her hat back on.

Inshii’s face softened slightly, an unusual sight.

“Don’t worry, Gallen.” They said in a marginally warmer tone, as caring as they had been capable of since the ten had died all those sweeps ago.

“I’ve accounted for everything; I will not fail. She’ll finally be well again.”

No, they hadn’t accounted for everything. They had no idea what their little brother had in his pocket. A substance modeled from the same scientific notes Inshii had used for this project. 

Another one of Rhomox Vannyn’s discoveries.

Inshii kept walking a little longer, then stopped in front of a plain gray, unmarked door, flashing their ID card at a scanner once more.

Gallen would have whistled if he could, so instead it was tuneless air blown through his lips as he walked inside, and Rhyssa herself made a softly impressed ‘aaah.’

Inshii looked a bit smug, despite their sibling’s frequent insistence that they didn’t indulge in such trollish things.

The space was vast, a tangle of pipes, vats, and scientific equipment whose names the isopod swarm couldn’t even begin to guess at. Dials all over the room glowed from within, and somewhere a machine beeped softly in long intervals. 

Long hair flowing as they moved more quickly, the false seadweller walked over to the largest vat of all, one taller than their nearly eight foot height, horns aside.

Gallen knew, with a sudden surge of fear, that that was it.

Rhyssa turned completely toward it as well, the wasps she used to see beating their wings frantically as they hovered over her shoulders.

Inshii looked at the various readout screens on the vat and what they saw must’ve pleased his oldest sibling because they nodded and took out a beautiful old glass container shaped like a chrysalis. The glass shone jade and white where it was not clear.

Gallen shuddered as he saw several of his mother’s green flukes wriggling within. Just like the one that had taken over Tuuya.

Wait.

He signed a question.

Isn’t that - 

“Vassiq’s work, one of the last she ever made.” Said Inshii quietly, holding the container with reverence. “One of the few we have left.” 

Gallen couldn’t cry as trolls did. He had no heart. 

Still he trembled, isopods pressing against his skin.

Vassiq. The fly. Dead because she’d tried to kill Ozryel with the other ten, her eggshell destroyed and her corpse burned. Dead because she’d just wanted to be free. 

She’d been the best artisan of them all.

How could Inshii stand there and use their sister’s work to hold her killer? 

Rhyssa was unusually still, even her wings beating slowly from the parts she used as eyes. 

“Will you offer us a prayer, Gallen?” Inshii asked, solemn.

He looked at them in shock, his face rippling in surprise. Inshii had never thought much of religion.

He wished he had incense to light, an altar to kneel by by. He wished he could believe there was anything holy about what they were about to do.

Still he closed his eyes and put a hand to his chest. 

He prayed Inshii was wrong, that his mother could be laid to rest after all.

He prayed whatever afterlife she went to was a kind one. A peaceful one.

He prayed his hands would not falter as he did to her what Rhomox Vannyn had done to Lleios. Wipe away the mind, leave the body behind.

Gallen hoped so hard for all of this that he hurt, and then his hand dropped from his chest. He nodded at Inshii, glad he couldn’t speak.

Rhyssa sniffed. With no tears to shed, she tugged at the band covering her wasp-filled sockets instead.

“I hope this works.” She mumbled. “It’ll be like old times. When we were all together, and everythin’ was perfect.”

Everything had never been perfect. Their siblings would still be dead. Ozryel had driven them to desperation when they were alive, had refused to listen when they’d tried to reason with her.

Gallen regretted not helping them. Not taking a side. If he had…

If he had, it probably wouldn’t have made a difference. 

Nothing he’d done for his family ever had.

Inshii pressed a button, and the lid of the vat slid back with a faint sliding noise, impressively quiet for how large it was.

He could smell it now. The organic stench of nutrient-rich solution used to grow facsimile bodies.

Inshii stepped onto a ladder bolted to the side of the vat and he held up a hand. They raised their eyebrows, fins flicking.

He signed, Can I go up after you?

“Don’t be silly, Gallen.” Inshii said, tongue clicking. “There’s no space. I’ll bring her down so we can witness her awakening. It will likely take a minute or so.”

Good. That was all he needed. 

He nodded to show he understood.

Inshii went up the ladder, their sherwani rippling from their movement. He - and Rhyssa - watched them intently. 

What would their sibling bring down? What body had they made for Ozryel?

Though he writhed with nervousness, resignation settling heavy into his chitin, Gallen couldn’t help but be curious. He’d known her current shape for so long, it was difficult to imagine her in another. 

He and his sister watched as Inshii took a fluke out of the glass container…and used their other hand - now in a rubber glove - to gently pick up a troll-shaped body. Viscous drops of amber fluid slowly dribbled off of it. 

The view was partially blocked by their sibling, but Gallen could see the body’s eyes were closed, that it had long white hair and pale horns that resembled his mother’s. 

They moved their arm. He could only assume they were putting the fluke in.

No noise. Nothing. 

Inshii carried the body down in both arms, container put back in their sylladex, its - her - eyes still closed. She didn’t move.

Vial in his hand, Gallen lunged.

Rhyssa cried out and Inshii barked an order to stop. Neither moved quickly enough to stop him as he forced the contents down Ozryel’s throat.

Then his sister tackled him to the hard floor, snarling and buzzing as she swore and stung him over and over, ripping through his skin to the isopods beneath. 

Gallen did not fight back even as dozens of his isopods thrashed and died. He lay there, letting her wound him, staring up at the pale ceiling and the dark pipes running along it.

He wondered if he was about to wake up in his eggshell, a sparse few isopods once more.

“Stop.” Inshii’s clipped voice said through his haze of pain. “Let mother handle him. The serum is working.”

Rhyssa gasped in relief and Gallen’s hopes sank in dread as he saw his mother’s pale gray fingertips moving, noticed the syringe in Inshii’s hand as they gave him a narrow-eyed violet stare.

“I don’t know why you’ve done this, but I can guess. You’ve betrayed us, gone over to Tuuya and their allies. I’d ask you why…but I don’t think I care.”

Feebly, Gallen tried to use his arms to sign an answer, but Rhyssa stung them and they collapsed into dying isopods.

His mother’s eyes flickered and opened, glowing a solid, brilliant green. Shorter than all of them, slim and almost petite, she vaulted out of her oldest child’s arms to land on the floor with a thud, her feet bare. Her only clothing was a pale teal dress, and she still dripped fluid on the floor as she stepped over to him. The pincers at the edges of her lips snapped in fury as her eyes shone with rage and delight.

“My only son.” She said, with a dry and raspy voice, different yet unmistakably familiar, unused to speaking aloud. “My last son. Why do you turn on me? The only mother you’ve ever had?”

Her tone was gently chiding, almost fond, but Gallen knew that meant nothing.

He spoke in the silent language of swarms, isopods forming shapes and symbols that all of his family read without comment.

“So misguided.” His mother said, still soft. “It isn’t your fault. You were tricked. You forget your siblings’ cruelty. They were unkind to you too.”

Gallen shook his head. She was lying. He had to remember she was lying.

Ozryel clicked her tongue.

“You’ve been very bad. You need a time-out.”

She knelt down next to him and put a hand to his chest. Right where he had when he’d prayed earlier.

Green flukes came out of her wrist, squirming over his remaining isopods to secrete liquid that dissolved him, segment by segment, leg by leg. He soundlessly screamed in agony, bereft of the tongue she had taken so long ago. The voice she’d silenced for the crime of not taking a side.

“Leave one.” Said Inshii, voice hard. “He can stay here. Otherwise who knows where he’ll go when he comes back in the cavern.”

Rhyssa snarled. “Yeah, what Shii said. We can’t let him outta our sight.”

“You don’t give me orders, children.” Murmured Ozryel in a tone of saccharine warning. “I’ll concede the butterfly is right this time. Just mind your tone, or I might think you intend to join your brother.”

Rhyssa opened her mouth, and as Gallen’s troll eyes melted away, he could see the hurt on his sister’s face before she closed it again.

In less than a minute, there was only one of him. A single white isopod, shivering as his mother picked him up in one hand. Helpless to resist her firm grip, she squeezed him so hard he nearly cracked, his legs struggling against her cold hand.

She leaned in to whisper so he could hear.

“Next time I won’t be so generous.”

His vision in this state was too poor to grasp what happened around him, but the next thing he knew, Gallen was locked in a dark, airless box with needles puncturing him all over his body. 

He couldn’t move. Couldn’t see, or hear, or feel anything but pain and constriction.

The isopod prayed.

He prayed for the people he had failed so terribly.

He wished with everything he had that his mother would finally die. 

—

Ozryel patted the box she had locked her son in, with a soft, needle-fanged smile, then set it aside.

Pausing, concentrating, she clenched her fists and there came a great cracking of bone, a sliding and warping of flesh as wings sprung from her back. Insectoid, yet shaped as if they were feathered, they shone with iridescent hints of rainbow color.

“Fly with me, children. We make for Hanhai.”

Rhyssa scratched her head.

“The desert? What d’ya want there? Thought we were goin’ after Tuuya and their lot.”

Inshii’s eyes also narrowed, then their expression cleared.

“Ah. Their daughter’s cavern.”

Ozryel gave her oldest child a feral smile.

“Kotenkha’s as well. One of her spawn fought me in the second worm’s body, allowing them to escape…it is long past time I gave that bloodline their due.”

The mother of swarms stepped outside the building, squinting as her eyes adjusted to the starlight she had not seen in over four thousand sweeps.

Ever since a wretched jade woman with a komondor lusus had shot her out of the sky.

[taytay4674788]

It's also 'tedious' because in many places outside urban areas sidewalks uprubtly end, look dilapilated, not interesting to enjoy or can be outright unsafe(whether from lack of mental healthcare,or other reasons) at least here in the US (and probably canada). In my neighborhood, while there are commercial shopping districts (town built around 1810s so there are sections of walkability left, but even then it's just depressing. the parking lot I park in for work, only half of it is actually paved the other half is just gravel that the city spray painted parking lines on which took less than 2 years to fade), had a bicentennial a decade back), it's not really built for people in mind. Rows and rows of houses but no corner store to walk to get bread on a Saturday morning. the walk would be 20 minutes plus another 10 at the light and another 5-7 to cross the street and walk across the lot to get to the store. And that's just one way, when it's an easy 10 minute drive. or even less than that. In many European and Japanese cities, many have adequate space for sidewalks or offer variety of different sized alleyways, whether they wind through or there's a lot of stuff to look at. When you walk through a neighborhood and all you see are houses, and they look like are in need of repair/dirty/not pretty to look at, it's not really going to encourage you to go outside if the environment you live in encourages you to go from a box on wheels to another box, back to your personalized box.

[darkhorsedrilling]

Frequently Asked Questions About Trenching and Boring Services in Jonesboro, AR

When it comes to infrastructure projects, whether it’s installing underground utilities or water lines, trenching and boring services play a crucial role in ensuring the success of the project. At Dark Horse Drilling, we frequently receive questions from clients in Jonesboro, AR, about our trenching and boring services. To help current and prospective clients better understand these services, we’ve compiled a list of the most frequently asked questions along with detailed answers.

1. What is trenching, and when is it needed?

Trenching involves excavating a narrow and deep ditch to install or repair underground utilities, such as water lines, electrical cables, gas pipelines, and fiber optics. It is commonly needed for infrastructure development, utility expansion, or maintenance projects. At Dark Horse Drilling, we use modern equipment to create clean, precise trenches while minimizing disruption to the surrounding area. This service is essential when utilities need to be installed in areas where open excavation is possible and practical.

2. How does boring differ from trenching?

Boring, also known as horizontal directional drilling (HDD) or underground boring, is a method used to install utilities without disturbing the surface. Unlike trenching, boring involves drilling a tunnel beneath the ground and pulling utilities through the tunnel. This is ideal for projects that require minimal surface disruption, such as:

Crossing beneath roads, rivers, or driveways

Working in areas with existing landscaping

Urban environments with heavy traffic

Boring is a preferred solution when maintaining the integrity of surface infrastructure is critical.

3. Which method is better for my project—trenching or boring?

The right method depends on several factors, including:

Surface conditions: If the project involves crossing a paved road, boring is usually the better option to avoid road damage and costly repairs.

Depth requirements: Trenching may be more cost-effective for shallow utility installations where surface disruption isn’t a concern.

Environmental impact: Boring is less invasive and more environmentally friendly, making it ideal for sensitive areas such as parks or residential neighborhoods.

Our team at Dark Horse Drilling can assess your project’s specific needs and recommend the most suitable method.

4. How long does it take to complete a trenching or boring project?

The timeline for trenching or boring depends on several factors, including the project’s size, soil conditions, and complexity. Smaller trenching projects may take a day or two, while more extensive boring projects could take a week or longer. We prioritize efficiency and safety, ensuring that each project is completed within the agreed timeframe without compromising quality.

5. What permits are required for trenching and boring in Jonesboro, AR?

Permits are often required for both trenching and boring, especially when the work involves public roads or utilities. In Jonesboro, AR, obtaining the necessary permits involves coordinating with local government agencies and utility companies to ensure compliance with city regulations.

6. Are trenching and boring services safe?

Yes, when performed by experienced professionals using proper safety protocols, trenching and boring are safe. Safety is a top priority at Dark Horse Drilling, and we adhere to industry best practices, including:

Conducting thorough site inspections

Using advanced equipment to minimize risks

Following OSHA guidelines to ensure worker safety

Identifying and marking existing utilities before excavation or drilling

Our commitment to safety ensures a smooth and hazard-free process for all our clients.

7. How do you ensure that existing utilities are not damaged during trenching or boring?

Before starting any project, we conduct a utility locating and marking process. This involves using advanced detection equipment to identify the position of underground utilities such as water, gas, and electrical lines. By carefully planning the work around existing utilities, we significantly reduce the risk of damage. Additionally, our team maintains clear communication with local utility companies to ensure all safety precautions are in place.

8. How much do trenching and boring services cost in Jonesboro, AR?

The cost of trenching and boring depends on several factors, including:

Project length and depth

Soil conditions

Method used (trenching vs. boring)

Permitting requirements

At Dark Horse Drilling, we provide transparent, competitive pricing tailored to your specific project. We offer free consultations and estimates to help you understand the cost upfront.

9. Do you offer emergency trenching and boring services?

Yes, we understand that some situations require immediate attention, such as emergency repairs for utility lines. Our team is equipped to handle urgent projects quickly and efficiently while maintaining high safety standards.

10. How can I schedule a consultation with Dark Horse Drilling?

Scheduling a consultation is simple! You can:

Visit our website: Dark Horse Drilling

Call us directly: Our friendly team will be happy to answer any questions and schedule a site visit.

Fill out the contact form: We’ll get back to you promptly to discuss your project’s needs.

Final Thoughts

Trenching and boring are essential services for many infrastructure and utility projects in Jonesboro, AR, and choosing the right contractor is crucial to ensuring a successful outcome. At Dark Horse Drilling, we bring years of experience, state-of-the-art equipment, and a commitment to safety and quality.

If you’re planning a project that requires trenching or boring, don’t hesitate to reach out to us. We’re here to answer all your questions and provide reliable, professional service you can count on.

Ready to get started? Contact Dark Horse Drilling today!

[rickcooperpaving]

Top 5 Questions Customers Ask About Sealcoating, Answered

Properly sealcoated roads can last up to 10-15 years longer than unsealed ones. Professional sealcoating services in MA provide a reliable solution to protect and maintain private and public roads alike. Here, we’ll cover the top five questions customers often ask about sealcoating to help you understand its benefits, timing, and cost-effectiveness.

1. What is Sealcoating, and Why is it Necessary?

Sealcoating is a process that involves applying a protective layer over asphalt surfaces. This layer shields the asphalt from harmful elements like sunlight, water, oils, and chemicals. Without sealcoating, asphalt deteriorates faster due to exposure to UV rays, moisture, and vehicle fluids. These elements break down the surface, leading to cracks and potholes.

By applying professional sealcoating services in MA, you can protect the road’s surface from premature wear. For best private roads sealcoating in Somerville or any high-traffic areas, sealcoating can be essential. It extends the life of the road, enhances its appearance, and saves on costly repairs.

2. How Often Should I Sealcoat My Road or Driveway?

The frequency of sealcoating largely depends on traffic and exposure to weather. Generally, roads should be sealcoated every 2-3 years, but heavily trafficked areas may need it more often. For those who’ve recently paved new asphalt, it’s best to wait 6-12 months before applying the first layer of sealcoat. This allows the asphalt to cure fully and ensures better adhesion.

Regular maintenance using professional sealcoating services in MA will protect the investment in your road or driveway. In areas like Somerville, where winters are tough, sealcoating before harsh weather begins can provide an added layer of protection against snow, ice, and salt.

3. What’s the Best Time of Year for Sealcoating?

The best time for sealcoating is during warm, dry months—ideally spring through early fall. Sealcoat needs temperatures above 50°F and low humidity for it to dry and adhere correctly. It’s also essential to plan sealcoating when rain isn’t in the forecast for at least 24 hours.

In Massachusetts, sealcoating between May and September often yields the best results. However, booking professional sealcoating services in MA early in the season can help avoid the busy schedule later on. Waiting until later may mean delays due to weather or contractor availability.

4. How Long Does Sealcoating Take to Dry, and When Can Traffic Resume?

Sealcoating generally takes about 24 to 48 hours to dry fully, depending on temperature, humidity, and the thickness of the layer applied. For private roads, it’s crucial to keep traffic off the surface for at least 24 hours to prevent damage to the coating. For busier areas, the wait might extend to 48 hours or more, especially if the weather is cooler or if multiple layers are applied.

Using professional sealcoating services in MA ensures that drying times are respected and roads are safely reopened. Contractors in Somerville and surrounding areas typically mark off the area to prevent early use, protecting the sealcoat during the critical drying period.

5. How Much Does Sealcoating Cost, and Is It Worth It?

Sealcoating is a cost-effective solution for asphalt preservation. The price typically ranges based on the size of the area, the thickness of the coat, and any additional preparation needed. On average, sealcoating a driveway or private road costs far less than repaving or extensive repairs.

Investing in best private roads sealcoating in Somerville can be economical in the long term. It reduces the likelihood of cracks and other issues, which means fewer costly repairs. Regular sealcoating maintains the road’s appearance and performance, making it a wise choice for both residential and commercial properties.

Final Thoughts

Sealcoating is an affordable, effective way to protect asphalt and extend its life. By understanding the basics of sealcoating—how often it should be done, the right timing, and the benefits—you can make an informed decision. For reliable results, always consider professional sealcoating services in MA for any large or high-traffic areas. With proper maintenance, your roads will remain in excellent condition for years to come.

[dtifinancialliteracy]

5 Steps to Fix My Credit in California

Are you looking to fix your credit in California? If so, you’re not alone. Many people in the Golden State are working to improve their credit scores and financial well-being. Whether you’re looking to buy a home, get a car loan, or simply improve your overall financial health, taking steps to fix your credit is a crucial first step. In this blog post, we’ll discuss 5 steps to help you fix your credit in California.

1. Understanding Your Credit Score

To effectively navigate the path to credit repair in California, grasping the essence of your credit score is essential. This score, a three-digit number ranging between 300 and 850, acts as a gauge for lenders to evaluate your reliability as a borrower. A higher score not only enhances your eligibility for loans and credit but also could qualify you for lower interest rates, making borrowing less expensive in the long run. It’s comprised of several components, including your payment history, the amounts owed, the length of your credit history, new credit, and types of credit used. By dissecting these elements, you gain insights into what lenders are looking for and can pinpoint specific areas for improvement. Remember, a robust understanding of your credit score lays the groundwork for any credit repair journey, providing a clear direction for the actions needed to enhance your financial standing in California.

2. Checking Your Credit Report

Initiating the journey to amend your credit in the Golden State begins with a thorough examination of your credit report. This detailed record encompasses your credit history, including account statuses, payment timelines, and various financial activities that collectively influence your credit score. Regular review of your credit report is imperative, as it allows for the early detection of any inaccuracies or discrepancies that might be detrimentally affecting your score. Californians have the privilege of accessing one free credit report annually from each of the major credit reporting agencies: Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion. Seize this opportunity to scrutinize your report for precision and completeness. Ensuring the accuracy of this document is a critical step in rectifying your credit, as it lays bare the facts of your financial behaviors, highlighting areas ripe for improvement or correction. This proactive measure is foundational in paving the way towards credit restoration and ultimately achieving financial health.

3. Identifying and Disputing Errors

Discovering inaccuracies on your credit report is a critical aspect of credit repair in California. Errors can range from minor mistakes in personal information to significant discrepancies like unwarranted accounts due to identity theft. Should you encounter any discrepancies, immediately initiate a dispute with the appropriate credit bureau. It’s essential to compile any documents that support your case, as these will serve as evidence to validate your dispute. Each bureau has its own procedure for disputes, so familiarize yourself with their processes. Upon receiving your dispute, the credit bureau is obligated to investigate the issue, typically within 30 days. If your dispute is validated, the error will be corrected, potentially leading to an improvement in your credit score. Diligently monitoring your credit report and addressing errors swiftly ensures your financial profile accurately reflects your credit behavior, an indispensable step towards enhancing your credit in California.

4. Managing Your Debt

To effectively manage your debt, an essential component in rectifying your credit in California, creating a strategic plan is key. Initiating this process involves outlining a comprehensive budget that details your income and expenses. This critical step allows you to pinpoint unnecessary expenditures that can be reduced or eliminated, freeing up additional funds to allocate towards debt repayment. Implementing repayment strategies, such as the debt snowball method, where you focus on paying off smaller debts first while maintaining minimum payments on larger debts, or the debt avalanche method, targeting debts with the highest interest rates first, can expedite your journey to becoming debt-free. Additionally, consider negotiating with creditors to potentially lower interest rates or secure more favorable repayment terms. Prioritizing debt management not only aids in improving your credit score but also strengthens your financial stability by reducing the burden of debt. Engaging in these practices facilitates a more disciplined approach to financial management, paving the way for lasting credit improvement.

5. Building Good Credit Habits

Establishing and maintaining healthy credit habits are pivotal in the journey to repair your credit in the state of California. This process involves several key practices that directly impact your credit score. One fundamental habit is ensuring timely payment of all your bills; late payments can negatively affect your credit score. Additionally, keeping your credit card balances well below the credit limit demonstrates to lenders that you manage your credit responsibly. It’s also wise to limit the frequency of new credit applications, as each application can result in a hard inquiry that may lower your score temporarily. To streamline the management of your financial obligations, leveraging tools such as automatic payments or calendar reminders can be incredibly effective. These practices not only aid in the gradual improvement of your credit score but also instill financial discipline that benefits your overall economic health. Embracing these habits will set a solid foundation for your credit repair efforts in California.

Conclusion

Embarking on a journey to repair your credit in California might feel overwhelming initially, yet it’s a path laden with opportunities for financial improvement. By adhering to the quintessential steps outlined – comprehending your credit score, scrutinizing your credit report for accuracy, rectifying any discrepancies, tactically managing your debt, and cultivating beneficial credit practices – you position yourself favorably for elevating your credit status. The essence of this process is patience and persistence, as elevating your credit score is a gradual endeavor. The payoff, however, from enhanced loan eligibility to reduced interest rates, significantly enriches your financial landscape. Embrace the challenge with optimism, and recognize that each step taken is a stride towards financial empowerment and a brighter economic future in California.

Contact Us:

Address - ​3225 McLeod Dr Suite 100 Las Vegas, NV 89121

Email - info@dtifinancialliteracy.com

Website - Dti Financial Literacy

Blog - 5 Steps to Fix My Credit in California

[subjectively-objective]

Arcana 99 - Ch. 6

Victory so Soon

What is this? Next

Of course, I had heard of the Grenfell-Maxwell Marathon. After all, it was a prime opportunity to reveal my genius to the world (and gain a non-trivial amount of money). My plans were meticulous, they had to be. Like all major advancements, there could be no flaws, else that would become the excuse for not moving forward.

It had happened with the automobile, 

“Why should we rely on oil and machines to make us travel when a horse does just as well?”

“It’s barely any faster than a horse, and can’t even go off paved roads.”

And the airplane, 

“It can’t even carry more than one passenger, it will never replace rail and sea.”

“It crashes too often. It’s just unsafe.”

Nevermind the fact that horses required fuel in the form of food. Nevermind the fact that a horse could tire or become injured. Nevermind the fact that planes could traverse previously impassable terrain. Nevermind the fact that boats and trains can sink and crash as well. Nevermind the fact that these arguments had opposed every advancement in human history and not once have they changed. 

Nevermind. Nevermind. Nevermind.

I stepped out of the back of my trailer; I shouldn’t be near the equipment when I am this irritable. I looked to my right and saw Jacqueline Santos-Dumont’s plane. It was a marvel of engineering, and the fact that she had designed and built it herself would have been a major inspiration for me if I were younger. Instead, my inspirations were Emmy Noether and Marie Curie. Inspirer or no, colleague or no, it pained me to take the win from her. Dumont was also flying to prove the fruits of her own mind, but this race was the only way I could demonstrate my own creation to the world; any other way would result in discounting it as a hoax. Besides, Dumont was already well known and would surely have other opportunities to show off her skills. 

I made my way to the front of the truck. On the way, I noticed a man had parked a motorcycle between my own and Dumont’s vehicles. He was alone, so I surmised that his partner had not shown up yet. Having reached the cab, I conversed with our driver, Hank, about our plan.

“Just so we’re clear when the race starts, don’t drive,” I said.

“Look, I’m fine with waiting to start, but could you at least tell me why?”

I smiled and shook my head, “That would just spoil the fun.”

Content with how well I believed Hank understood my instructions, I made my way back to the trailer. Once inside, I marveled again at my potentially wonderful creation. Potentially was only an operator here because I had to alter the original design to fit in the trailer. Doing so resulted in little room to maneuver. Pipes, antennae, motors, and cables filled every square inch of the space, leaving only a very specific route from one end to the other.

Along that route sat (layed?) a man entwined within the mechanical mess. He had his foot sitting inside a (purposeful) crevice of a cooling tank, and his hands were exploring the electrical depths of the main core of the machine. That man was my assistant, Charles Antony Tepper, and the only reason I was able to fit the machine inside this small trailer. My original plan was to unpack and build it outside; the open area would make issue detection and repairs simpler. However, he had the idea of packing it inside the truck and utilizing his small frame and nimble hands to reach around corners. Of the months we had spent preparing the machine for transport, less than half was spent making the design smaller. Most of our time was spent on optimizing the design of Charles’ footholds to be as unobtrusive as possible while still being useful. In the end, I was able to work on the most vital parts in the front while he could handle the little bits I couldn’t reach.

I heard a deafening roar outside, the race had started, “Charles, are you almost done?” I cupped my hands around my mouth to make myself louder.

Charles poked his head above the piping, “I just need to double-check the connection here,” he looked around himself, “and escape.”

I closed the trailer doors and grabbed the handheld transceiver from its mount on the door, “Hank, can you hear me?”

A static-filled moment passed before an answer came through, “Yes. And, before you ask, no, I haven’t started the truck.”

“Good, we’re almost done back here, so get ready.”

Another pause, “Ok.”

By then Charles had made his way out of the machine and reached the starting lever. I approached mine, counted down, and flipped the switch. The machine’s hum filled the room and the entire trailer began to shake. I say began, but it truthfully only shook once then stopped. Despite the short length of the event, I was able to think of potential consequences. We were either going to land safely, appear inside something and explode into billions of tiny pieces, appear inside something and watch it explode into billions of tiny pieces, miss the field entirely, or die mid-transit.

God, this is so fun.

I was excited, and when I discovered I didn’t die, my excitement grew.

“What was that!”

Hank’s frightened response did nothing but increase my elation. I took a step towards the trailer door, opened it, and stepped outside. I was inside of a small field surrounded by trees on three sides and a lake on the other.

It worked!

Charles and I had a celebratory hug and dance, “What just happened!?” Hank interrupted.

I smiled at him, “We just performed the world’s first portable teleportation.”

Hank continued to ask more questions, but I stopped him. We needed to travel the final mile to Flores if we wanted to win. To ease his curiosity, I offered to sit in the cab with him and explain along the way. Charles stayed in the trailer to monitor the machine.

On our way across the land bridge, I saw that decorations for the race finish were still being placed. One such piece was a banner emblazoned with “Congratulations Dumont!” I chuckled at that one then continued to explain the inner workings of my machine to Hank.

Hank drove around the island until we saw a building with a sign for “Grenfell-Maxwell Marathon Stage 1 Offices”. We couldn’t find a place large enough for the truck to park, so we left it in the street while we stepped inside to accept our prize.

We spoke with the receptionist at the front desk. We then argued with her about how we actually were participants in the race and were not just there to steal the money. A few minutes of this passed before a tall, chubby man walked down the back stairs. I couldn’t describe a mote beyond that, I was too busy wondering how such a heavy-looking man could walk so lightly to take in his features.

“Oh, Mr. Maxwell,” The receptionist began, “I’m sorry for being so loud, but these people simply refuse to leave, and,” She leaned towards him and whispered (though it was loud enough for us to hear), “They keep saying they’ve won the race. Not the brightest scam artists I’ve seen.”

The man looked at us, glanced at the door, then approached us, “I’m sorry for my employee's rudeness,” He spoke in a slow deliberate manner with frequent second-long pauses. Every word he spoke was meticulously selected and weighed before it left his mouth, “But, you must understand that with. . . our current knowledge someone being able to move from the start to the finish this quickly is improbable.”

“Yes, it is, but I did. Go check your records, we signed up this morning at the starting line.” I said.

“Yeah, and I even had to deal with a race official ranting about how no one read the rules,” Hank added.

Mr. Maxwell nodded; it was just as deliberate as his voice, “I understand your frustrations with not being believed,” He glanced at the doorway again, “If you would please lead me to your vehicle, we can get this situation sorted.”

I agreed and led him out the door and into the small lot of the office. Mr. Maxwell then looked directly at Hank’s truck, “That is your vehicle then? It seems so ordinary, yet it brought you here so soon. And, the choice of such a cumbersome vehicle for this event is. . . odd. May I see inside?”

I barely had time to register his last request as he had already reached the trailer doors.

“No! You can’t.” Charles said, blocking Maxwell’s way, “We’re keeping the specifics of our transport a secret. At least, until someone is willing to buy it.”

Mr. Maxwell respectfully stepped away from the door and looked at Charles, “Ah, you wish to keep your discovery confidential. That is reasonable, for now.” Maxwell looked at the truck doors again, then turned around. He stared for a moment. I followed his gaze and my eyes fell upon the field we had landed in just a few minutes ago. Maxwell looked back to me, “It appears that your group did travel here. I will notify Mr. Grenfell of your success and return with your money shortly. However, due to the suspicious nature of your arrival, you must remain here for the next fortnight while we investigate the matter.”

“What? Then we’d lose our lead!”

“Do not be alarmed. I will have all other competitors follow suit. In the end, you will still have the same lead as before.”

Not one of us had a response for the man, so we watched in silence as his large frame quietly vanished behind the doorframe of the building. The entire ordeal had unnerved me greatly and revealed a large hunger within me.

Perhaps a side effect of the teleportation? Hmm. . .

Though, that was a question for another hour. For now, the three of us made our way to find food. It was difficult to order given how the vendor only spoke Q’eqchi’, but we were eventually able to get our meanings to each other.

Speaking of language barriers, I was surprised that Mr. Maxwell could speak French so fluently

We returned to the truck and Hank drove us back to the mainland and found a place to park. We bought rooms at a nearby hotel and lounged the rest of the day away. When it was finally time to sleep, I was barely capable of the act. Come tomorrow, reporters from across the globe would arrive to interview the race’s victor to learn how she achieved such a feat. I was nervous, but the fame and notability I could gain from that would propel my career beyond what anyone else has ever achieved. My discovery was sure to net a Nobel Prize. I’d become the next Tesla, the next Einstein, the next Rockefeller. . .

I fell asleep shortly afterward to my dreams of glory. In the morning, I would awake to find most of my predictions were true (No Nobel and no Rockefeller, sadly). Even with the mystery of instantaneous movement solved, I was destined to uncover a mystery far greater than I could ever dream. 

I am Sheri Hoy Parfit, and this race is how I changed the world.

Next

[yatescountyhistorycenter]

The Flying Dutchman and the Penn Yan Express

By Jonathan Monfiletto

Toward the end of October, Outlaw Speedway – the four-tenths-of-a-mile clay racetrack on the outskirts of downtown Dundee – will host the Hoag Memorial Weekend, in honor of legendary racer Donald “Dutch” Hoag and his son Dean, who owned and operated the speedway for about a decade under the name Black Rock Speedway. At that point in the year, area racetracks – dirt and paved alike – will have capped their seasons and crowned their champions, and the fanfare of Super DIRT Week at Oswego Speedway will have taken place the week before. Yet, there will be at least one more weekend of action on the track in the Finger Lakes region.

While the Hoag Memorial Weekend honors in part the legendary racer – who was nicknamed The Flying Dutchman, even though he already had a nickname – it seems unlikely that Dutch Hoag ever spent much time racing at what was called Dundee Speedway during his heyday behind the wheel. In my research, the only reference I could find to Hoag competing at Dundee was in August 1958 when he filled in for Glenn Reiners – then the track points leader and a Dundee Speedway legend – after Reiners suffered broken ribs and other injuries in a crash at Waterloo Speedway.

Nevertheless, what began as the Dutch Hoag National Open Weekend started when Hoag was still alive and during his son’s ownership of the track. The name appears to derive from the National Open at Pennsylvania’s Langhorne Speedway. Hoag won the prestigious event five times – three times on a dirt surface in 1956, 1960, and 1963 and twice on an asphalt surface in 1967 and 1968 – and is the only driver to have won the event on the two surfaces. Dutch died in 2016 at age 89 and Dean – a legendary racer in his own right – died in 2023 at age 70, and now the Hoag Memorial Weekend carries on in their memories.

Born November 2, 1926 in Cohocton, Steuben County, Hoag lived in Naples, Ontario County with his family at least by the time he turned 18 and registered for the draft during World War II. Supposedly, a local milkman in Cohocton gave the tongue-tied young boy the nickname Dutch. Ironically, Hoag never took an interest in his father’s trucking business and wasn’t interested in automobiles or mechanics. When he joined the Army and worked in a motor pool during World War II, his service spent repairing vehicles apparently sparked his passion.

According to an article by Gary Spaid on RaceNY.com, Hoag began racing in 1949, the year Naples Speedway opened in his then-hometown. According to Hoag’s biography on HistoricRacing.com, he bought a racecar for $175 and towed it to the track on a chain. Either later that year or the following year, he won his first feature race at a racetrack in Corning.

The earliest newspaper reference I could find for Dutch Hoag through NYS Historic Newspapers is an August 1951 report of his winning a race at Wellsville Speedway. In May 1952, Hoag was among the 40 racers who opened the season at the Monroe County Fairgrounds speedway (which had been active as a racetrack since at least 1950, when a NASCAR Grand National event took place there) and began that year a string of four consecutive track championships there.

While dominating in Monroe County from 1952 to 1955, Hoag continued competing at Naples Speedway as well as at Bath Speedway, where he won three straight track titles from 1952 to 1954; at Canandaigua Speedway, where he won titles in 1953 and 1954; and at Hemlock Fairgrounds, where he claimed the championship in 1953. Hoag also captured NASCAR New York State Championships in 1953 and 1954 – standing on top of the points as the best weekly racer in the state in those years.

During the 1954 season, Hoag was listed as being from Penn Yan, while reports from previous years noted Naples as his residence. Where exactly he lived in Penn Yan is unclear; the 1956 Penn Yan Directory lists the Hoag family at 93 E. Lake Road, the 1955-1956 Penn Yan Telephone Directly shows Donald Hoag at 318 Liberty St., and the 1956-1957 phone book shows Donald Hoag at Excell’s Trailer Park. The 1951 Penn Yan Directory and the 1957-1958 Penn Yan Telephone Directory – which bookend these other publications, as far as the Yates County History Center collection is concerned – do not list the Hoag family at all.

During much of the time that Hoag was leading the packs at Monroe County, Bath, Canandaigua, Naples, and other speedways, he was sporting a red No. 96 racecar sponsored by the Penn Yan Express trucking company and supported by the Hinson family. Ronald Hinson, whose father Robert operated the company, maintains a website – pennyanexpress.com – dedicated to the history of the company. According to this history, the relationship between Hoag and Penn Yan Express began in 1953 as new V8 engines were beginning to appear at local racetracks. On Friday afternoons during the racing season, the Penn Yan Express trucks would be moved out of the garage and the racecars moved in so they could be readied for that night’s races. Two employees remained at the garage until the race team returned from the racetrack, so the racecars could be repaired and prepared for the next night’s races. And Hoag was a fellow employee to his Penn Yan Express comrades; the 1956 Penn Yan Directory lists him as a truck driver for the company, while his wife, Doris, worked as a clerk there.

In addition to Hoag’s weekly competitions at various area speedways, Penn Yan Express sponsored and supported him in races at Langhorne and at Daytona Beach (when the races took place on the beach surface before the modern superspeedway was built) as well as in one of Hoag’s four Grand National starts, in 1955 at Monroe County. Driving the No. 96 Chevrolet – purchased from Penn Yan’s Jolley Chevrolet – Hoag started fifth and completed 96 laps after breaking a wheel and finishing 17th. It was the second Grand National start for Hoag that year, as he recorded his career-best finish of eighth at Palm Beach Speedway. He had finished 12th at a Grand National event at Monroe County in 1952 and would finish 45th at a NASCAR-sanctioned race at Langhorne in 1957. The year 1955 saw the end of Penn Yan Express’ involvement in auto racing and with Hoag.

After four straight track championships, Hoag stood atop the point standings at Monroe County in July 1956 when he suddenly announced his retirement from auto racing. According to the Williamson newspaper of the time, Hoag “said he’s had enough, and that he needs the time to devote to his family.” Indeed, the next mention of Hoag competing in a race is his substitution for Reiners at Dundee in 1958. Nevertheless, Hoag didn’t stay retired long, as he entered a stock car event at the New York State Fairgrounds in Syracuse on Labor Day in 1958. Hoag continued to race into the 1960s and 1970s, record three championships apiece at Shangri-La Speedway in Owego and Spencer Speedway in Williamson. He also won a couple of Labor Day races at the State Fairgrounds in 1967 and 1968.

In February 1969, at 43 years old, Hoag competed as a “rookie” in the Permatex 300, a race of the Late Model Sportsman series (later called the Busch Series and now called the Xfinity Series) at Daytona International Speedway. Driving a 1968 Dodge prepared by B.R. Dewitt, Hoag started fourth and finished second in the 300-mile event. An October 1970 in the Courier Express of Buffalo, about the final race at Langhorne, described Hoag as retired. Still, subsequent years found Hoag competing at Lancaster Speedway, Fulton Speedway, and other tracks. Yet it seems Hoag retired for good at some point in the 1970s, and he operated Dutch’s Service Station in Bath until the mid-1980s.

Hoag spent his later years helping his son, Dean, and his grandson, Alex, build their own successful auto racing careers and carry on the Hoag legacy to three generations. It is estimated Hoag won more than 400 feature races during his own legendary career.

[philippmichelreichold]

On Ikarie XB-1

Ikarie XB-1, aka Voyage to the End of the Universe is a wonderful movie. Made in 1963, it presages 2001 in terms of grandeur and scale. Like 2001, it is decidedly understated and avoids the pulp fiction plotting and production shoddiness that characterizes so much science fiction. Just ordinary men and women doing something extra-ordinary. I first saw it in the 1970's, and it made an impression.

Most of the movie was a blur to me and a few scenes stood out hauntingly. The deranged Michael blasts a camera and later blasts the robot Patrick. Before the blasting, Anthony's robot Patrick roams the ship calling for anthony while the crew is unconscious from radiation posioning. The derelcit US space ship. Most memorably, the final scenes in which shots of the newborn baby and the crew alternate with stock footage of New York City. (Americanized version. Czech version ends differently)

That ending captured my imagination with the implication that Ikarie was a colony ship. The colony it carried would in time have grown into the human civilization we all know and love today, epitomized by the wonder-city of the mid 20th century, New york, New york. This ending fits in nicely with the American pioneer mythos. A mighty civilization arising from the labors of a few intrepid explorers. This was a staple of some mid 20th century science fiction-- the extra terrestrial origin of humanity. We see it in (off the top of my head) Richard Matheson's "Third from the Sun," Larrry Niven's Known Space and Chad Oliver's "Transfusion." Particularly "Tranfusion." This ending rebrands the story as an American-entrepreneurial-captalist story of triumph.

As captivating as it was, the ending sums up the glaring difference between the Czech and American version. In Journey to the End of the Universe, an American crew travels from another world to the green planet-- Earth. In Ikarie XB-1 a multi national crew travels from Earth to Alpha Centauri and the white planet orbiting it. In the orignal, it is views of the white planet's surface that alternate with views of the crew and the newborn baby.

It may be that the American version no longer exists. A pity that. Despite its faults, that ending offers a much more interesting trope than ooo, we discovered a vastly advanced civilzation that managed to completely pave over their planet. Instead, we discovered a green planet and will eventually pave it over(?). I'm conflicted in how I feel about that.

One of the similarities between 2001 and Ikarie XB-1 is the on-board computer. Though not evidencing HAL's level of AI (or personality), Ikarie's computer is able to carry on the ship's mission after the crew is incapacitated and does so. Unlike HAL, it does not psychopathically murder the crew. Like HAL, it does interrupt the festivities of a birthday party. The general alarm sends all 80 crew scurrying to their stations. It's down right comical watching them run to the turbolifts. A HAL-like understatement that sensors were showing something unexpected would have probably been more realistic, but I did not design the bloody computer.

Unlike Discovery, Ikarie is more expansive than most spaceships in the movies. Not until (the original) Battlestar Galacitca do we see such a large, uncluttered bridge.[citation needed] The crew quarters are of a scale such as those in Star Trek and the common areas are as well. Spaceships before Star Trek and 2001 came in two basic shapes: cigars with fins and saucers. Ikarie is an oblate lozenge in shape, rather like a barge. Its shuttles are saucer shaped, but the main ship is strikingly different. The one detaches from Ikarie and orbits the derelict US ship at a safe distance. In 2001, we have round utility pods with mechanical hands for making repairs. The Ikarie crew does the fine detail work, (which is how Michael gets the dose of radiation that deranges his mind.) but turns the job over to the robots that are centrally controlled by the ships computer. (ah, the benefits of central control.) A pity they don't do the same when they need to burn through to where Michael has barricaded himself. Anthony is RC'ing Patrick, who gets blasted by Michael. The cool part is this may be the first time in Science Fiction an RC 'bot is used to deal with a dangerously deranged person.

I remembered Patrick as being portrayed by Robbie-the-Robot, but this was wrong. Patrick has a rounded head made glass, more like the robot in (the original) Lost in Space. The Lost in Space robot is fully AI, autonomous and goal seeking. If Patrick were ever AI, he's demented now and his malapropisms provide amusement to the crew and consternation to Anthony. His search down the long corridors for Anthony, whom he follows like a lost puppy, is moving and emotionally engaging.

There are no rapacious aliens seeking Earth women. No alien invaders advanced enough to cross the gulf of space yet unprepared for our microbiota. No star destroyers and flashy, Earth shattering ka-booms. I don't know about anyone else, but getting to crew the first ship to another solar system would be plenty exciting fro me. and dealing with the problems bound to arise on such a mission would be as challenging as anyone could ask for. (There is a flashy atom bomb explosion due to the carelssness of the long dead crew of the American space ship, but that is saddening instead of exciting.)

Reference[edit]

Ikarie XB-1. Philipp Michel Reichold. April 2, 2015

Voyage to the End of the Universe

2001:_A_Space_Odyssey

Third from the Sun

Known Space

'Battlestar Galacitca

Robbie-the-Robot

Lost in Space

Star Trek

All of my article content should be regarded as attribution required. A link to my content is sufficient.

https://en.wikialpha.org/wiki/Ikarie_XB-1