#but continually he's taking the time nd the risk to reach out to data. to ask him to join him. to offer to stay together.

[vulpinesaint]

lore star trek character of all time btw. he's just like me for real

[hedwigstalons]

This is a first foray into TAG so apologies for any continuity issues (a common problem in my head).  A little bit of festive fun and nonsense with a rescue thrown in for good measure.

xoxoxox

**Going Out With A Bang**

Christmas has arrived and for once it looked like the whole family would be able to share in the festive meal.  The world had been quiet and since December 22nd  and the Tracys hoped it would grant them peace for a few days more so they could properly enjoy the holiday season.

The final arrival had been John who has returned via the space elevator late on Christmas eve.  He had been reluctant to desert his post as space monitor but Eos has practically threatened to pump out all the oxygen if he hadn’t stepped through through the air lock right now.  He suspected she had been conspiring with Alan; those two had been mightily absorbed on the youngest Tracys last visit up to Thunderbird Five.  Now, sat with a coffee in hand, he was glad to be home even if home came with a heavy dose of gravity.

Christmas morning had been a whirlwind of activity.  Alan had resembled an over-excited puppy as he dashed from one sibling to the next to wish everyone a merry Christmas.  Gordon had managed to find the most hideous shirt bedecked with neon candy canes that Virgil had proclaimed to to an offense to the senses.  Scott had adopted his usual role of commander and made sure everyone had eaten a proper breakfast (“No Alan, marshmallows are not breakfast”).  John had tripped over the step in the lounge at least twice already.  It was a typical island Christmas.

As lunch time approached the assembled group of five brothers, Kayo and Brains were glad that Scott had insisted on breakfast.  Grandma has declared that there would be no barbecue this year and she would be treating them all to a traditional turkey dinner.  As the allotted time approached the prospect of consuming a hot and heavy meal in tropical heat was not appealing, especially as Grandma had insisted on doing most of the cooking herself.  More than one island resident was caught sneaking off to the store rooms to stock up on pre-lunch snacks until Grandma had locked the stores and declaring that she would not let them spoil their lunch.  She ignored the pained glances that passed between brothers that said clearer than words that lunch would definitely be spoiled if Grandma Tracy was catering.

The smell of scorched meat and the sound or curses as a pan of vegetables boiled dry signalled that it was time to set the table. International Rescue worked as a smooth machine and laying the out the dishes for lunch was no exception.  Figures interwove as plates were passed along and settings made up.  As the last dish was put in place the team stepped back to admire their handiwork.  Even if the food in the dishes looked a little suspect the table itself was a picture of festive cheer.

“Crackers!” exclaimed Alan, the disappointment in his voice evident for all to hear.  “Didn’t we order any for this year?  It’s not a proper Christmas lunch without crackers”.

“I’m sure we did.  I think I spotted a box in storeroom 3.  You all sit down and I’ll go and fetch them.”  Gordon sped out of the dining room and down the hallway that led to the stores.  He soon veered off and headed towards his own room where the box of crackers had been liberated to a few days earlier.  The selection of bright foil cylinders appeared identical but he knew otherwise.

As Gordon returned to the dining room, box in hand, he was pleased to see that everyone was seated already.  He walked around the perimeter of the table, carefully laying a cracker across each place setting. Conversation was in full flow and only Scott noticed that the crackers were not pulled out of the box in an entirely random order. He wondered what Gordon had planned but as he was evidently not the intended recipient of whatever prank had been prepared to was happy to sit back and watch the drama unfold.  It looked like Virgil would not be so lucky.

Gordon finished his round of the table and sat back in his own seat.  “Ok, crackers in a circle, right?  Everyone hold out you cracker to the person on your left.”

Virgil and Alan then, thought Scott as everyone complied with the seemingly innocent instruction.  Soon a chain of crackers was set up around the table.

“Five...Four...Three...Two…One...”

The klaxon sounded and the crackers were dropped back on to plates as everyone rushed through to the comms room.  The light hearted atmosphere had gone and been replaced the usual rush of adrenalin that preceded a rescue.

“Go ahead, Eos” instructed Scott.  The AI was pretty good at filtering out the necessary rescues from the surrounding noise of global radio chatter.  She had also been instructed to reroute calls to the local emergency services or GDF for the duration of Christmas day so the fact she was intruding on their family time meant the situation must be serious.

“I have received a distress call from an oil rig.  It has been damaged in a storm and the crew need to evacuate.  The weather conditions preclude evacuation by helicopter.  Some of the crew opted to leave by life raft but the transponder has failed and all contact with the life raft has been lost.”

“Virgil, Alan and Gordon; you all get going in Thunderbird Two.  We’ll need Thunderbird Four to help with the missing life raft.  I’ll take Thunderbird One and meet you there.  John, you’re on comms; get full details and co-ordinates and brief us once we are airborne.”

The brothers dispersed to their respective concealed chutes that let to the Thunderbirds.  John was grateful to claim his seat by the comms table; the sudden rush from the dining room had left him a little dizzy and highlighted that he was not yet acclimatised to Earth enough to take a more active role in the rescue.

Grandma, Kayo and Brains retreated to the dining room.  The dishes were returned to the kitchen and would be warmed through once the boys returned, whenever that might be.

xoxoxox

As the two Thunderbirds approached the rig the weather conditions worsened.  They had taken off into bright tropical skies over an azure sea.  Now, several time zones and climatic regions away they  were surrounded by darkness.  Fierce winds buffeted their craft and the pilots could feel the strain through their control yokes.  Rain lashed the cockpit screens and visibility was almost zero; flying was by instruments and instincts. The seas below churned and roiled beneath them, not that those aboard the mighty ‘birds could see that.

John had made contact with those still trapped on the rig and was now in possession of the full details and severity of the situation.  Eight personnel required evacuation from the rig and a further four were lost somewhere on the unforgiving ocean. Part of the platform had failed structurally and the was at risk of collapsing into the sea.  A small mercy was that the crew has managed to cap off the bore hole so any potential environmental disaster had already been averted.  The drilling company would be able to make the structure safe once the storm had passed but until that happened the crew was in danger.  With the first four to evacuate now lost without a trace the remaining crew were unwilling to follow their colleagues into the remaining rafts and preferred to take their changes on the unstable rig.

Eos had also been busy.  Having ascertained the exact time the life raft had been launched and its last known location before the transponder had failed she had run simulations using the weather and ocean current data from the area. Her high-tech models allowed her to narrow down the search area and she was able to provide Scott with a more defined zone in which the life raft should be found.

“Approaching raft rescue zone now” Scott announced as he reached the area.  “I’ll see if I can locate the life raft by scanning for life signs.  Deploy Thunderbird Four then continue to rig; you should be able to evacuate those remaining using the rescue cage.”

“FAB” acknowledge Virgil.  

Scott activated his scanner and started a sweep of the area.  It looked like a futile task, trying to locate a small orange raft in miles of dark ocean, but he trusted in Eos’s calculations.  He needed to, there wasn’t a lot else to go out out here.  He knew that Gordon would also be scanning the area from Thunderbird Four and it was hopefully only a matter of time before one or other of the brothers found the missing crew.

Gordon was at least more comfortable that Scott.  Underneath the surface of the ocean he was protected from the worst of the storm conditions.  Other that the occasional deep swell that would shift his ‘bird slightly off course he could almost forget the tempest playing out on the surface.  He was used to working in limited visibility so the darkness was no hindrance to him.  He maintained radio contact with his sky-bound sibling as they scanned the rescue area, starting in opposite quadrants to maximise efficiency.  

The brothers swept the area using a mix of radar and life signs scanner until “Woohoo, I win!”

“Gordo, this is not competition. Do I take it you have located the raft?”

“Sure have.  Sending through the co-ordinates now.  So how do you want to go about extraction?”

“The conditions are too rough for you to tow the raft.  I’ll snare it with a grapple and return it to the main rig.  From there we can get them aboard Thunderbird Two. It’s not going to be comfortable for them though.  I want you to try and attach a communicator to the raft so I can let them know what is happening.”

“FAB”.

Attaching a communicator to the side of the raft would require a trip to the surface.  A prospect Gordon wasn’t looking forward to as the swell still hadn’t abated.  It would also require some careful piloting.

Gordon surfaced the submarine.  His powerful lamps soon illuminated the orange box that was being tossed about on the waves.  He hoped those inside had strong stomachs because it was one hell of a bumpy ride they were being subjected to. He monitored the rise and fall of both the life raft and his own craft until he was familiar with the pattern the waves were moving to.  Then, at the optimal moment he fired a small cannon.  A disc flew through the air and adhered itself to the side of the life raft with a dull thunk.  

To those inside the raft the sound of something solid hitting the side was disconcerting.  Their fear soon turned to elation as Gordon’s friendly voice was heard inside their craft.

“This is International Rescue.  Please report your status.  Is anybody hurt?”

“International Rescue?  Thank goodness, we thought we were lost for sure.”  The relief in the speaker’s voice was palpable.  “We are all a bit bumped about. One head injury but no signs of concussion.”

The rescue plan was soon relayed to the crew in the raft and while they were not enamoured with the idea of being suspended below Thunderbird One they were pleased that their ordeal would soon be over.  

Back at the rig Virgil and Alan were concentrating on rescuing the eight remaining crew.  Virgil was holding a hover over the rig while Alan was on winch and rescue cage duty.  The rig was creaking and groaning in the storm force winds and the pair knew they needed to work quickly.

Alan lowered himself and the rescue cage to the deck of the rig.  The surface of the platform was exposed to the elements and the most dangerous aspect of the rescue would be stopping himself and the crew being blow off the side of the platform.  For now the crew were safely holed up in one of the cabins on the surface of the rig.  

Alan ensured his gravity boots were engaged and that he was attached to a safety line before he risked exiting the rescue cage.  The short walk to the cabin felt like a marathon as he braced himself  against the vicious gusts.  The checker plate surface was slick with the rain that was still falling in torrents and even the gravity boots were struggling to get a purchase.  It was with some relief that Alan reached the cabin and entered.  His safely line prevented the door from being closed and he had to shout to be heard above the elements.

“So, who needs a lift home?” he grinned.  He easy manner and smile instantly calming those waiting for rescue.  

He was pleased to see that the crew were already kitted out in full safety gear including harnesses and helmets.  This would make his job a whole lot easier and save him having to escort everyone to the rescue cage individually.  He connected the safety line to an anchor point within the cabin and instructed everyone to clip in.  The line acted as a guide rail and would allow everyone to traverse the deck safely between the fixed point of the cabin and the rescue cage.

Alan issued instructions on how to harness in to the safety cage.  Then, one following close behind the other, the line of eight crew fought their way across the deck, gripping the safety line for support.  Only once the last crew member had reached the cage did Alan release the anchor point in the cabin and begin his own return journey.  Form there it was just a matter of activating the winch and they were being safely swallowed up into the belly of Thunderbird Two.

There was no chance to rest though. The evacuation from the rig had been the easy part; the real challenge would be to secure the life raft which was even now on its way to rendezvous with them, suspended from the base of Thunderbird One.  Once Alan had settled the crew from the rig into the passenger bay he returned to the winch cables.

The plan was to attempt an air to air transfer.  It would not be safe to transport the life raft all the way to land underneath Thunderbird One, nor was the idea of individually winching out the four trapped inside.  The solution, although far from ideal, was for Alan to to attach Two’s grapple to the life raft.  Scott would then disengage One’s grapple leaving Two free to winch the life raft inside the cargo area where there was plenty of space.  The manoeuvrer would be challenging and not without risks.

Alan looked out of the open hatch in Thunderbird Two, grim determination on his face.  Thunderbirds One and Two were being hovered expertly side by side.  His two oldest brothers seemed to act in perfect unison, each acting to correct against the still-buffeting winds at the same time.  The life raft was swinging wildly about on the end of its tether and Alan felt sorry for the four poor souls he knew were contained within.  He took aim and fired the suction grapple but the erratic movement of the raft in the gusting winds meant his first shot missed.  He recalled the grapple and tried again.  The raft swung in and out of his line of sight and the whole exercise felt faintly reminiscent of a fairground game but one that had four lives as the prize rather than a misshapen stuffed toy.  With a fair dose of luck on his side the second shot flew true and the suction grapple adhered firmly to the room of the raft.  Scott quickly disengaged the line from Thunderbird One.  Alan activated the winch mechanism and drew the raft inside the safety of the giant transporter ‘plane.

With the rig workers all safely accounted for the final task was to collect Gordon and Thunderbird Four.  International Rescue would then be able to drop their grateful passengers off at the nearest airfield and head for home.  

It might not have been the Christmas they hoped for but there was something about a successful rescue that lifts the mood.  The International Rescue secure frequencies were soon filled with cheerful chatter between Thunderbirds One and Two and Tracy Island.  Gordon attempted to lead everyone in song but soon stopped when Virgil threatened to dump him back in the ocean.  The only disappointment was that Christmas day was nearly over by the time everyone had safely returned to base.

xoxoxox

It was a weary crew of operatives that gathered in the lounge again once post-flight checks had been completed and dirty uniforms discarded.

“I’m starving” groaned Scott as he kicked back and relaxed in an easy chair.  “I thought Christmas was meant to be a time of eating to excess but instead I feel like we missed about four meals.”

“You’re always hungry” Virgil retorted, stretching out and taking up about three sofa spaces “but I know what you mean.  I could almost contemplate Grandma’s Christmas lunch after all that.  I’d go and fetch some food but I’m too comfortable now.  Hey, Johnny, you fancy digging out some snacks?”

John was interrupted in making an indignant response about Virgil being perfectly capable of fetching his own snacks when their Grandmother appeared.  “Welcome back, boys.  I know you must be tired out after today but you need to look after yourselves.  I’m not having anyone heading off to bed without a proper meal.  We saved lunch so I want everyone back in the dining room in five minutes.  I just need to set the table again.”

There was a collective set of groans that had more to do with facing their Grandma’s cooking in reheated form than the prospect of shifting off the sofa.  However, everyone knew that if they didn’t face the meal tonight she would only wheel it out again tomorrow and Grandma’s cooking was one thing that did not improve with age.

Everyone shuffled through to the dining room to help finish setting up the meal again.   Gordon gulped as he realised that everything had been reset.  The crackers had been placed back in their box when the first iteration of lunch had been cleared away and Kayo was now in the process of laying a tube across each plate.  He scanned the table but he had done his job too well, the crackers looked identical.

The sinking feeling deepened as Scott’s hand landed on his shoulder from behind.  A low voice growled in his ear.  “Well this should be interesting.  Cracker roulette.  I know you didn’t get those out the store room earlier, Grandma had them all locked down tighter than Fort Knox.  The question is, little bro, are you feeling lucky?”

It is one thing to play a prank when the victim is carefully selected.  It is quite another to have that control taken away.  Pranks come with retribution and Gordon knows that each person around the table would have their revenge somehow, the unknown is the price he would be expected to pay.

Everyone returned to the seats they had vacated all those hours previously.  The crackers raised to signal the start of the meal.

“Five...Four...Three...Two...One...Merry Christmas”

Except the ‘Merry Christmas’ was partially drowned out by a shout as one cracker erupted as a highly effective glitter bomb.  Sparkles of red and green coated those that had been holding either end.  

Uh oh.

Gordon’s chair crashed to the floor, knocked over in his haste to exit the room.  He took off at a sprint but his attempt at escape was futile.  The way no escaping the wrath of a now twinkling Kayo  and Scott.

“Gordon Tracy, I’m going to be finding this stuff for weeks!  Just you wait until I get my hands on you.”

Pranking Kayo comes at a cost. Usually a very painful cost.  She caught up with him half way to the lounge and expertly tackled him to the floor.  Scott arrived moments later.  Between the pair of them Gordon was soon trussed up in tinsel.  Scott threw him unceremoniously over his shoulder and carried the prankster back to his chair in the dining room, ensuring his younger brother got smeared on copious amounts of the glitter in the process.

There were a few sniggers as Gordon was fastened to his chair.  He knew there was no point in trying to escape his tinsel bonds, Kayo had made sure the knots were firmly tied and out of reach.

Gordon tried appealed to their better nature.  “Aw come on.  It’s Christmas after all.  You can’t let me starve while you all eat.  That’s just torture.”

“Oh you’ll be eating, Gordo.” Kayo’s voice had taken on a dangerous edge.  She freed his hands while making sure he was still unable to escape the chair.  “You’ll sit there until you have cleared your plate like a good boy.”

Scott started heaping large portions onto Gordon’s plate, carefully selecting the most suspect looking parts of their Grandma’s cooking.

“There might even be...dessert.”

Gordon gulped and picked up his fork.  The price for his prank was high and it was time to start paying.

[contrivedcoincidences6]

Hi please write that home movie fic your tags are so cute

I was actually typing it up when I saw this! I had to. There was no choice in the matter. For reference look at this post. (This was written while partly inherited and has not been edited. Readers have been known to die from a fluff overload. Read at your own risk.)This is in that same universe as a couple other stories I’vewritten in a universe with Mulder, Scully, William, and a made up child namedGracie.

@fictober

April 8th 2007- 1:00pm:

Camera focuses then loses focus on a living room.

“Mulder I don’t know how this thing works…”

“Just look for the green light.”

“The green light over here?”

“There’s only one green light Scully.”

“So then why isn’t it working?”

Camera moves to focus on a Mulder’s face squinting into thecamera.

“It says it’s on. I don’t know.”

Camera swings around to focus on a Scully who puts her handin front of the lens.

“Mulder not on me.”

Camera moves again to focus on William.

“Hey Will! Say hi!”

William smiles and waves.

“Say happy Easter 2007!”

“Why? We know it’s Easter 2007.”

Sighing

“Ok then say something else.”

“Hello future family.”

William gives Vulcan sign to camera.

“Show me what the Easter bunny gave to you this year.”

“Dad, the Easter bunny isn’t real.”

“Hey! Don’t ruin it for your sister!”

Camera pans to Gracie on the floor playing with buildingblocks.

“I bet even she knows it’s not real.”

Gracie bangs blocks in repetitive motion and sings “Eserbunny- Eser bunny…”

Camera focuses on Scully undoing twist ties as she opens atoy for William.

Lens focuses and un focuses a few times on her face untilshe looks up.

“Mulder record the children please.”

June 7th 2007 11:00am:

Opens on Scully’s face as she examines the camera.

“Hate this… stupid piece of….”

Camera moves around again until it’s focused on a kitchentable.

Faintly “Mom!”

“One second! I’m trying to work the camera! Hatetechnology….”

“Scully!”“Mulder for God’s sake just take care of it!”

“Scullleeeeeyyy….” “Ug! Fine!”

Camera jostles around for a minute until it focuses onMulder’s hand.

“Fine then you have to figure this out.”

June 7th 2007 1:30pm:

Opens on Gracie in a high chair with a birthday hat on,clapping along to singing.

“Happy Birthday dear Gracie! Happy Birthday to you!”

“Okay baby girl blow out the candles!”

Gracie looks confused and Scully shows her how to do it byblowing out one candle. After some encouragement Gracie blows a few times. Hertires don’t make a difference until Scully blows from behind and helps.

Everyone cheers, Scully begins to cut cake.

Camera pans to William who is getting his slice of cake.

“Say hi, Will!”

“Hi!”

William waves and holds up forkful of cake.

“Good cake?”

“Mummhuh.”

Camera moves to Gracie in her high chair.

“Hey birthday girl!’

Gracie waves and gives a gap-toothed smile.

“How old are you today?”

Gracie holds up one finger.

“No, remember what we practiced?”

Camera is jostled a bit and Gracie holds up two fingers andsmiles proudly.

“Yes that’s right! You’re such a big girl!”

October 31st 2007- 4:03pm:

Camera focuses on William.

“Hey Will! What are you dressed as for Halloween?”

“Harry Potter!” William points a wand at the camera.

“Who’s Harry Potter?”

“Daaaaddddd! Stop joking! You know who he is!”

“Maybe, but what if whoevers watching doesn’t know?”

William’s eyes go wide and he nods.

“He’s a wizard from my favorite book.”

“How many of the books have you, me, and mommy read?”

“All of them!”

“How many of the movies have we seen?”

“All of them!”

“What’s your favorite?”

“I don’t know!”

“Mulder are you ready?”

Camera moves around to focus on Scully, wearing cat ears andpainted on whiskers, walking down the hallway holding Gracie, dressed up asPrincess Leia.

“Gracie who are you tonight?”

“Pincess!”

Gracie throws arms in air excitedly.

“And mommy what are you?”

Scully smirks at camera.

“I’m a cat.”

“A sexy cat.”

“What’s sexy mean?”

Camera pans back to William.

“Great Mulder. Thanks. You guys ready to go?”

“Yep!”

“What’s sexy?”

“Will are you ready?”

“Yeah. What’s sexy?”

November 22nd 2007 – 9:15am:

Camera opens on Scully standing at the counter cuttingvegetables and stays focused on her for a few minutes.

Scully turns, sees the camera, and looks exasperated.

“Mulder! Stop wasting film.”

“This doesn’t use film Scully. And it’s not a waste anywaysthis is good stuff.”

“Fine, data, whatever it is. No one wants to see mepreparing dinner on there.”

“I do.”

“Then you can watch it live.”

Mulder’s arm appears, reaching for her.

“Come here.”

“No, Mulder. I’ve got to keep working. My mom expects us atfour.”

“It’s nine in the morning!”

“Do you know how long it takes to roast a turkey?”

“I have an idea. You’re still running early.”

“A little bit.”

“Come here.”

Scully turns and smiles at camera and starts to walk towardit. 

November 22nd 2007- 6:30pm

Camera opens on family room, TV is playing, people aretalking, and children are playing.

Maggie Scully comes into view, picking up dishes.

“Hi mom!”

Maggie smiles and gives a small wave.

“Hello dear.”

“Happy Thanksgiving!”

“Happy Thanksgiving.”

Maggie goes back to picking up. Camera pans to Tara Scullysitting on the couch holding Gracie in her lap. She and the toddler wavecheerfully at the camera.

Mulder’s voice can be heard talking animatedly to CharlieScully.

“-They played each other and that was the World Series.”

Camera pans over the two sitting on the other half of thecouch, half watching football.

“Yeah.”

“Now there’s three different- or four, sometimes fourdifferent- sets of series so all these records for runs and stuff like that-“

Camera moves on to Bill Scully who is asleep in an armchairthen focuses on William and his cousins playing Monopoly.

End of first disk.

(to be continued?)

[ultrahellodear-blog]

Tired

Cudia, Jon Benedict

              Heavy, the first thing I felt early in the morning was the heaviness of my morning dreaminess. My arms felt like  pair of Iron cables as I reached for my phone. Like a lightning, white light flashed my sigh. Like thunder, time woke me in a snap. 5:30am, I woke up too late. I bolted up-straight in a panic as I reached out for the already-filled thermos to heat some water for my bath.

              A stampede of tiny footsteps trampled on the roofs of houses. A day wherein students will always check the Facebook page of ACDRRMC for the chance to stay at home “legally” and slack off the entire day. Unfortunately, that day wasn’t “the day.”

              I swore in my thoughts, because the next thing I knew is I woke up again. 5:45am, I slept for another 15 minutes. The cold air of rainy season is a sleeping spell for almost anyone. As if it had a petrifying debuff casted on me and the bed had some entangling trap of invisible vines and roots that kept me from standing up. Morning rainy days are like Adarna Birds that sing slent songs that drive you to sleep.

              I grabbed my thermos of hot water and ran towards the bathroom. In my mind, I was anxious that the water was already warm due to my stupidity of falling asleep. But regardless, I had no time of dwelling on that thought and just poured that fuming water on the blue pale.

              I stirred the water, hoping that it would turn hot. But it turned warm, not warm enough to wash away the cold air caressing my bare skin. I was shivering the whole time and the only thing that can warm me is by pouring a dipper of warm water spontaneously. But I can’t start by pouring water from the top, I had to start from the feet. Because according to research, pouring from the feet is the most recommended start of taking a bath.

              I dried up after a long bath. The first thing I checked was my phone. I opened my data to go online on facebook messenger to check if Ranza had sent a message. She did. And I  replied “huhuhuhu, I’m sorry. I woke up late. See you at school. Ingaatt!”

              I rushed myself to my uniform, then to school. But there’s one thing I hate about early mornings: 6:30am commutes—traffics.

Imagine a trip that would normally take five to ten minutes. Then slam a traffic on that scene and the trip will feel like a mile-long journey. Sometimes I wished flying cars already existed today just like what the movie “back to the future” imagine the 21st century.               The jeep pulled over around HRPC, beside the ministop. I stepped down and rushed towards the university gate. Regardless of whether jay-walking being either a crime or not, I did not care. As a person chasing time, I don’t care about things anymore except being in time.

              I slammed my I.D. on the attendance and I ran towards the PGN building. The campus was crowded as if you can’t drop a needle in between the gaps of people walking within the campus. And after this crowd, the last obstacle every HAU student will encounter is either the crowded and congested elevator or climbing up to 7th floor through the means of stairs. I was so happy that I Stood in front of the elevator door, but in the end I was forced to take the stairs

              It was very tiring. The air was cold, yet I was sweating.  I don’t know if I’m the cause why I feel hot or it is generally hot inside the building. But, I hate it when I sweat. I feel like all the bath I took was gone in a snap.

              Even though I’m irritated by the terrible sweat and heat that I felt while walking up the stairs, I was firm enough to continue. What was my choice anyway? School s is School, I must comply.

              Thankfully, I got in the room on time. Everyone stood up and the Prelims was just about to start.  I was safe.

              I dropped my bag on my seat and I turned towards Jaylie who was smiling to me. “O bat ka nalate?” she said in sarcastic tone.  She was clearly teasing me.

              I simply smiled without any retort. I was too tired to even reply and I just simply turned towards my teacher by the start of the prelims.

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

              Class began. I knew it was the first day, but I felt really tried and drowsy. I could barely remember anything from the first subject. My mind is too tired to even process information and record everything my teacher said.

              The first subject met its end and the first break of the day started. It was supposedly a break where everyone should be resting or eating their snacks. But in our class, it was different. Everyone rehearsed their plays for the 2nd subject: Applied Social Sciences. Of course, it was normal for me. But normalizing this kind of culture, was it really meant to be normal for students?

              I did my part in my group. My role is simply a father shaming his daughter (cruel, right?). I feel like a typical abusive father in GMA Filipino noontime dramas. It was an easy and underwhelming role. On top of that, I even forgot to bring my own costume for the play. But rest assured, I was clever enough to use my jacket, bag, umbrella, and I even borrowed spectacles as a cosmetic. And during the presentation, it all worked out.

              Due to the lengthy amount of time the plays consumed. Not everyone was able to present their outputs. The last group were forced to present during lunch time or they will suffer a loss of grades.

              School really is tiring, especially Mondays. The presentation for Social Sciences was not the only activity we have for that day. We still had two subjects to prepare for. And up next is Politics and governance.

              First, we had our lunch. I invited Jaylie to come with us down, to the PGN basement and buy our lunch. But she insisted in staying due to her responsibility in the group. She was ought to prepare for their presentation since they will be the first performing group. I agreed, but I insisted on buying her something like a drink or anything. She asked for red tea. We rushed down the building through the elevators and bought ourselves lunch and drinks. Then, we rushed back up again since we did not have much time to slack off. I tell you, honestly, Monday is really tiring.

              We got up, we ate, we talked, we laughed.  But it all took place in just an hour. Then, we went back to our responsibilities. Yes, fun times are just short times. We always try to find one, even if we can barely have any.

              But life is not just enjoying, responsibilities are a part of it. After lunch, we immediately started our creation of stations for our gallery walk in Politics and Governance subject under two hours. Here’s a comment: 2 hours was not enough. WE EXERT OUR BIGGEST EFFORTS IN CREATING GOOD OUTPUTS AND 2 HOURS WILL NEVER BE ENOUGH. Our group even agreed to prepare 20 sheets of coffee-stained papers prior to the actual preparation day. We also had curtains, 6 sheets of cartolinas, and a bunch of black and white images just to capture the vibe of the first Philippine Republic.

              2 hours had pass, and I’m craving for home. My brain is depleted with juices and I can just drop down and melt into water. But despite of this long hell I am forced to take, we still had one subject, “TRENDS”.

              Our teacher only gave us 1 hour. YES 1 HOUR. It’s like accomplishing everything without committing a single mistake. We had no time for brainstorming, what we only had was work and work. Thankfully, my group mates were able to prepare visual aids prior to the actual preparation date and all we did left are simply cutting and pasting.

              After an hour, the first group presented. Honestly, I felt bad for them. It was almost impossible to prepare under an hour. I knew the pressure in that, I felt that, too.

              We only had two presenters for that time. The rest, we were granted more time to prepare. Towards the end of school, most of us stayed in our room to continue our preparation for Philippine politics and governance. Yes, even though school had ended, we are still working after the long and tiring hours of learning. Right school it is.

              Jaylie and the others went home ahead of me. They had much work to do, so did I. So I went home all by myself. I rode a jeepney all by myself. I felt heavy pressure of the day on me during the whole ride. As if a gargoyle birched on my shoulers and moving is almost impossible.

              I watched the passing lights of the city. Usually, I’m riding with Jaylie on the way home. Now, it feels uncomfortable without her with me. I had no one to talk to, I was simply silent during the whole ride.

              “Para po!” I asked the driver. He pulled over underneath the overpass and I stepped down to go home in my dorm.

              Rest? Nope, that’s not real. As students, it felt like rest was not an option, always. Because when I got home, I began working on my assignments and things to review for our presentation. I want to have some fun, but that would put my schedule into great risk. The week was already a hassle, I can’t afford stressing out again.

              After all the work I did,I slept around 9pm. Normally, I would sleep at 12am. But I feel really tired to even exceed. I messaged Jaylie before I slept, I told her that I’m going to sleep. And the next thing I knew, I was asleep.

              To summarize my whole day, Mondays are hectic and tiresome. It is the busiest day of the week, compared to the rest. All I ever wanted was to learn, but not to push myself to my breaking point.

Photo by CBN News

[scifigeneration]

Helping or hacking? Engineers and ethicists must work together on brain-computer interface technology

by Eran Klein and Katherine Pratt

In the 1995 film “Batman Forever,” the Riddler used 3-D television to secretly access viewers’ most personal thoughts in his hunt for Batman’s true identity. By 2011, the metrics company Nielsen had acquired Neurofocus and had created a “consumer neuroscience” division that uses integrated conscious and unconscious data to track customer decision-making habits. What was once a nefarious scheme in a Hollywood blockbuster seems poised to become a reality.

Recent announcements by Elon Musk and Facebook about brain-computer interface (BCI) technology are just the latest headlines in an ongoing science-fiction-becomes-reality story.

BCIs use brain signals to control objects in the outside world. They’re a potentially world-changing innovation – imagine being paralyzed but able to “reach” for something with a prosthetic arm just by thinking about it. But the revolutionary technology also raises concerns. Here at the University of Washington’s Center for Sensorimotor Neural Engineering (CSNE) we and our colleagues are researching BCI technology – and a crucial part of that includes working on issues such as neuroethics and neural security. Ethicists and engineers are working together to understand and quantify risks and develop ways to protect the public now.

Picking up on P300 signals

All BCI technology relies on being able to collect information from a brain that a device can then use or act on in some way. There are numerous places from which signals can be recorded, as well as infinite ways the data can be analyzed, so there are many possibilities for how a BCI can be used.

Some BCI researchers zero in on one particular kind of regularly occurring brain signal that alerts us to important changes in our environment. Neuroscientists call these signals “event-related potentials.” In the lab, they help us identify a reaction to a stimulus.

Examples of event-related potentials (ERPs), electrical signals produced by the brain in response to a stimulus. Tamara Bonaci, CC BY-ND

In particular, we capitalize on one of these specific signals, called the P300. It’s a positive peak of electricity that occurs toward the back of the head about 300 milliseconds after the stimulus is shown. The P300 alerts the rest of your brain to an “oddball” that stands out from the rest of what’s around you.

For example, you don’t stop and stare at each person’s face when you’re searching for your friend at the park. Instead, if we were recording your brain signals as you scanned the crowd, there would be a detectable P300 response when you saw someone who could be your friend. The P300 carries an unconscious message alerting you to something important that deserves attention. These signals are part of a still unknown brain pathway that aids in detection and focusing attention.

Reading your mind using P300s

P300s reliably occur any time you notice something rare or disjointed, like when you find the shirt you were looking for in your closet or your car in a parking lot. Researchers can use the P300 in an experimental setting to determine what is important or relevant to you. That’s led to the creation of devices like spellers that allow paralyzed individuals to type using their thoughts, one character at a time.

It also can be used to determine what you know, in what’s called a “guilty knowledge test.” In the lab, subjects are asked to choose an item to “steal” or hide, and are then shown many images repeatedly of both unrelated and related items. For instance, subjects choose between a watch and a necklace, and are then shown typical items from a jewelry box; a P300 appears when the subject is presented with the image of the item he took.

Everyone’s P300 is unique. In order to know what they’re looking for, researchers need “training” data. These are previously obtained brain signal recordings that researchers are confident contain P300s; they’re then used to calibrate the system. Since the test measures an unconscious neural signal that you don’t even know you have, can you fool it? Maybe, if you know that you’re being probed and what the stimuli are.

Techniques like these are still considered unreliable and unproven, and thus U.S. courts have resisted admitting P300 data as evidence.

For now, most BCI technology relies on somewhat cumbersome EEG hardware that is definitely not stealth. Mark Stone, University of Washington, CC BY-ND

Imagine that instead of using a P300 signal to solve the mystery of a “stolen” item in the lab, someone used this technology to extract information about what month you were born or which bank you use – without your telling them. Our research group has collected data suggesting this is possible. Just using an individual’s brain activity – specifically, their P300 response – we could determine a subject’s preferences for things like favorite coffee brand or favorite sports.

But we could do it only when subject-specific training data were available. What if we could figure out someone’s preferences without previous knowledge of their brain signal patterns? Without the need for training, users could simply put on a device and go, skipping the step of loading a personal training profile or spending time in calibration. Research on trained and untrained devices is the subject of continuing experiments at the University of Washington and elsewhere.

It’s when the technology is able to “read” someone’s mind who isn’t actively cooperating that ethical issues become particularly pressing. After all, we willingly trade bits of our privacy all the time – when we open our mouths to have conversations or use GPS devices that allow companies to collect data about us. But in these cases we consent to sharing what’s in our minds. The difference with next-generation P300 technology under development is that the protection consent gives us may get bypassed altogether.

What if it’s possible to decode what you’re thinking or planning without you even knowing? Will you feel violated? Will you feel a loss of control? Privacy implications may be wide-ranging. Maybe advertisers could know your preferred brands and send you personalized ads – which may be convenient or creepy. Or maybe malicious entities could determine where you bank and your account’s PIN – which would be alarming.

With great power comes great responsibility

The potential ability to determine individuals’ preferences and personal information using their own brain signals has spawned a number of difficult but pressing questions: Should we be able to keep our neural signals private? That is, should neural security be a human right? How do we adequately protect and store all the neural data being recorded for research, and soon for leisure? How do consumers know if any protective or anonymization measures are being made with their neural data? As of now, neural data collected for commercial uses are not subject to the same legal protections covering biomedical research or health care. Should neural data be treated differently?

Neuroethicists from the UW Philosophy department discuss issues related to neural implants. Mark Stone, University of Washington, CC BY-ND

These are the kinds of conundrums that are best addressed by neural engineers and ethicists working together. Putting ethicists in labs alongside engineers – as we have done at the CSNE – is one way to ensure that privacy and security risks of neurotechnology, as well as other ethically important issues, are an active part of the research process instead of an afterthought. For instance, Tim Brown, an ethicist at the CSNE, is “housed” within a neural engineering research lab, allowing him to have daily conversations with researchers about ethical concerns. He’s also easily able to interact with – and, in fact, interview – research subjects about their ethical concerns about brain research.

There are important ethical and legal lessons to be drawn about technology and privacy from other areas, such as genetics and neuromarketing. But there seems to be something important and different about reading neural data. They’re more intimately connected to the mind and who we take ourselves to be. As such, ethical issues raised by BCI demand special attention.

Working on ethics while tech’s in its infancy

As we wrestle with how to address these privacy and security issues, there are two features of current P300 technology that will buy us time.

First, most commercial devices available use dry electrodes, which rely solely on skin contact to conduct electrical signals. This technology is prone to a low signal-to-noise ratio, meaning that we can extract only relatively basic forms of information from users. The brain signals we record are known to be highly variable (even for the same person) due to things like electrode movement and the constantly changing nature of brain signals themselves. Second, electrodes are not always in ideal locations to record.

All together, this inherent lack of reliability means that BCI devices are not nearly as ubiquitous today as they may be in the future. As electrode hardware and signal processing continue to improve, it will be easier to continuously use devices like these, and make it easier to extract personal information from an unknowing individual as well. The safest advice would be to not use these devices at all.

The goal should be that the ethical standards and the technology will mature together to ensure future BCI users are confident their privacy is being protected as they use these kinds of devices. It’s a rare opportunity for scientists, engineers, ethicists and eventually regulators to work together to create even better products than were originally dreamed of in science fiction.

Eran Klein is an Adjunct Assistant Professor of Neurology at Oregon Health and Sciences University and Affiliate Assistant Professor of Philosophy at the University of Washington. Katherine Pratt is a Ph.D. Student in Electrical Engineering at the University of Washington.

This article was originally published on The Conversation. 

[artofpeacelove]

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When Alyssa*, a 30-year-old infertility patient, began fertility treatments last September, she discovered that on top of her endometriosis, she had a low ovarian reserve (meaning that she has fewer-than-normal eggs for her age) and low-quality eggs. After four egg retrieval cycles, she was left with only one healthy embryo—aka just one shot at getting pregnant with her own eggs. Her doctor suggested moving on to an embryo transfer (where the embryo is implanted into her uterus) in mid-April.

To prepare for the procedure, Alyssa took a shot of the synthetic hormone Lupron in early March. It temporarily put her body into a medically-induced menopausal state that caused hot flashes, night sweats, and headaches. She also went on a strict anti-inflammatory diet to help manage her symptoms and increase her odds of a successful transfer. But after all that, and just five days away from beginning the official prep for her embryo transfer (a new round of hormone shots to help her uterus prepare for a baby), all fertility treatments at her clinic were postponed due to COVID-19.

This isn’t a one-off situation: On March 17, the American Society for Reproductive Medicine (ASRM) called for fertility doctors to suspend most new, non-urgent fertility treatments, including ovulation induction, intrauterine inseminations (IUIs), in vitro fertilization (IVF), and egg and sperm freezing to preserve resources and prevent the spread of the new coronavirus. Many states have also issued orders forbidding elective surgeries and procedures during the COVID-19 outbreak, a designation that applies to most fertility procedures as well as things like cataract or joint-replacement surgery.

But being denied fertility treatment right now feels more personal than having to delay your annual physical or eye exam, because it’s your chance at a future family hanging in the balance. “This isn’t an elective surgery. Fertility patients have no choice,” says Alyssa. “Every time we’re given a little bit of good news, it’s taken away. It feels like that all over again, and we were so close to the end.”

“Patients feel that infertility is not being treated like a disease right now. Many feel it’s unjust…[and] are frustrated,” says Brian Levine, MD, the founding partner and practice director of the fertility clinic CCRM New York, who is board-certified in reproductive endocrinology and infertility as well as obstetrics and gynecology. But as the epidemic continues to grip the U.S. and most of the world, fertility patients will have no choice but to put their plans on hold indefinitely.

The complications of family planning during an uncertain time

The pandemic is also causing many people who are not experiencing fertility issues to put their pregnancy plans on ice, so to speak. A survey of nearly 2,000 women released by Modern Fertility and financial startup SoFi found 31 percent of respondents were changing their fertility or family planning decisions due to COVID-19. One reason? It’s unclear what effects a COVID-19 infection could have on a mom or developing baby.

Thankfully, the World Health Organization says that pregnant people don’t appear to be at higher risk of contracting a severe case of the disease, a conclusion echoed by another small new study and statements by the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists and the Society of Maternal-Fetal Medicine. But for those who do contract the illness, fever (which is a symptom of COVID-19) in the first trimester of pregnancy may cause birth defects and miscarriage. These groups also add that pregnant people may be more likely to have potentially life-threatening complications from respiratory infections like the flu or COVID-19. Dr. Levine points to two New York women who had asymptomatic COVID-19 infections and didn’t know they had the virus; they were admitted to the emergency room soon after delivery because they got very sick very quickly.

Amy, mother of a 3-year-old and founder of the blog The Postpartum Party, says she and her husband had been trying to conceive but may put their plans on hold for other reasons related to the pandemic and lockdown. “Being stuck at home all day with a toddler has definitely made us question if we want to keep trying for number two,” she says. “I’m also worried about getting pregnant and having to go out more for care and doctor appointments.” Similarly, 46 percent of the Modern Fertility-SoFi survey respondents say that they’re worried about access to prenatal care during COVID-19. (For the record, care is still available for pregnant women; the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) recommends that OB/GYNs providing care to expectant mothers should take appropriate precautions to limit unnecessary contact, including transitioning some appointments over to telemedicine and staggering the amount of patients in the office.)

Aviva Romm, MD, a midwife, herbalist, and internal and family physician, says stress and uncertainty are taking their toll on many people who are planning their families. “Most of my patients and quite a few friends have decided to wait a few months and let ‘the dust settle’ a bit before [trying to conceive],” she says.

“Even though I’m just 30 years old, my reproductive system is saying otherwise. Time is of the essence.” —Alyssa*, infertility patient

However, for fertility patients, delaying a pregnancy indefinitely is a bitter pill to swallow, especially since these treatments are a huge investment of time and money (to the tune of tens of thousands of dollars). Mary Sawdon, ND, says that planning for a frozen embryo transfer IVF cycle in March got her through her darkest days after her miscarriage in December. However, her fertility clinic has closed indefinitely to ride out COVID-19—a conundrum that 18 percent of the Modern Fertility-SoFi survey respondents are facing, too.

“I know in my rational brain that cancelling all new cycles in light of the pandemic is a necessity for public health and safety, but it still doesn’t make it any easier for my emotional heart to grapple with,” Sawdon says. “I feel like I’m in limbo. There are a lot of things out of my control.”

Many patients also feel like they can’t afford to just “wait.” Alyssa is deeply concerned that the longer her embryo transfer is delayed, the less likely it will lead to a healthy, successful pregnancy. “Even though I’m just 30 years old, my reproductive system is saying, ‘Time is of the essence. I can’t really wait much longer.’ This is my life, and I’m ready to start a family.”

“I do think we will need to re-address [the guidelines] if [the pandemic] goes on a long time,” says Molly Quinn, MD, an OB/GYN specialized in endocrinology and infertility at the UCLA Medical Center in Santa Monica, California.. “There’s no data that a month or two of delay will impact success [of fertility treatments]. But six months will have an impact.”

Getting through the COVID-19 pandemic when conception plans are delayed

Despite the necessary limitations to fertility treatments right now, many health-care providers have shifted their practices to serve their patients remotely as best they can. Both Dr. Quinn and Dr. Levine have moved their consultations to telehealth for all fertility prep work, including initial consultations, lifestyle optimizations for diet and exercise, treatment plans, and orders for future diagnostic tests.

Dr. Levine says working almost exclusively online actually allows him to consult with more patients in a day. “As frustrating and sad as this is on a daily basis, we have an even greater reach and can go deeper into the patient population that we wouldn’t have had access to before,” he says.

People who want to pursue pregnancy are finding other ways to manage their time and handle disappointment with delays. Fertility patient Cassie Lando says her clinic recently allowed her to start a timed intercourse cycle with medication that stimulates ovulation since her IVF treatment was delayed. She’s now giving it her all from home, monitoring for ovulation with LH test strips, basal body temperature charts, and the at-home progesterone test kit Proov. “It’s giving me great peace of mind,” she says, to feel that she’s making some kind of progress on her fertility journey right now.

Otherwise, patients are being told to focus on what they can do to hit the ground running when treatments can resume: eating a healthy diet, exercising, and reducing as much stress as possible. In addition to telehealth consultations, people who are struggling to conceive can try the app Fruitful Fertility, which pairs them with mentors who’ve already been through fertility treatments, or other online infertility groups for comfort and support. RESOLVE, an infertility advocacy organization, also offers information and resources. The ASRM will also revisit its guidelines every two weeks as the pandemic continues, with the stated goal of “resuming usual patient care as soon and as safely as possible.”

It might feel like little comfort to people who have tried for so long to conceive, but doctors want their patients to know that they’re doing everything possible to support them during this extremely difficult time. “Patients are not being left alone. Providers are doing whatever we can to bridge the gap so patients know they’re being supported and set up for success to hit it out of the park once we get that green light,” Dr. Levine says. Hopefully that comes sooner rather than later, for everyone’s sake.

*Name has been changed for privacy reasons.

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[whittlebaggett8]

China and Russia Pose Different Problems for the US. They Need Different Solutions.

U.S. Director of Countrywide Intelligence Dan Coats noticed in the intelligence community’s most modern risk assessment that “China and Russia are additional aligned than at any place since the mid-1950s.” Despite the fact that U.S. observers have feared these kinds of an alignment for a long time, there is enough evidence that relations amongst the two are indeed nearer than they have been since the Sino-Soviet split in the early 1960s.

In July 2017, the two countries’ navies conducted a joint work out in the Baltic Sea for the 1st time. In September 2018, China participated in Russia’s once-a-year Vostok army physical exercise — an additional initial. Russia has also offered China innovative navy tools, together with an S-400 air defense process and 24 SU-35 fighter aircraft.

In accordance to Chinese federal government information, bilateral trade grew from $69.6 billion in 2016 to $84.2 billion in 2017 to $107.1 billion very last 12 months, marking the initial time that that figure surpassed $100 billion. Moreover, regardless of facing setbacks in diversifying away from the U.S. dollar, Beijing and Moscow are conducting far more of that trade, albeit nonetheless in small amounts, in their own currencies.

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Russia grew to become China’s largest supplier of crude oil in 2016, displacing Saudi Arabia, and it is contracted to offer China 1.3 trillion toes of cubic gasoline on a yearly basis for three decades, commencing this year, by means of its Energy of Siberia pipeline.

Finally, Chinese President Xi Jinping has frequented Moscow more than any other capital metropolis due to the fact he assumed power. As of August 2018, he and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin had fulfilled 26 moments. In June 2018, moreover, Xi gave Putin China’s initial-at any time friendship medal, calling him “my ideal, most intimate buddy.”

It is not surprising, then, that U.S. analysts are progressively worried by the multifaceted momentum in Sino-Russian relations. In a speech that he delivered at the Nobel Peace Prize Discussion board in Oslo in December 2016, previous U.S. Countrywide Protection Advisor Zbigniew Brzezinski (who passed absent in 2017) warned that Washington “must be wary of the good hazard that China and Russia could sort a strategic alliance, generated in part by their own inside, political, and ideological momentum, and in aspect by the improperly considered out guidelines of the United States.”

“Nothing,” he concluded, would be “more dangerous” to U.S. countrywide interests than such an result.

In the confront of strengthening ties between Beijing and Moscow, the White House’s National Stability Tactic and the Pentagon’s National Defense Technique would seem to address them as very similar strategic challenges. Sadly, nevertheless, acting on that depiction could hasten the really end result Brzezinski warned about.

The NSS, for example, asserts that both equally countries “challenge American electrical power, impact, and interests, trying to erode American security and prosperity. They are determined to make economies significantly less free of charge and considerably less good, to expand their militaries, and to management data and to repress their societies and grow their affect.” The NDS, in the meantime, contends that “[t]he central problem to U.S. prosperity and safety is the reemergence of very long-phrase, strategic level of competition by…revisionist powers. It is ever more clear that China and Russia want to condition a world constant with their authoritarian model—gaining veto authority over other nations’ economic, diplomatic, and protection conclusions.”

Although each countries unquestionably contest U.S. national interests, they do so in distinct means. It is noteworthy that Coats distinguished concerning the troubles that the two nations around the world pose when he testified prior to the Senate Pick Committee on Intelligence at the end of January: “Whereas with China, we must be concerned about the methodical and prolonged-term attempts to … match, or overtake our excellent international capabilities, Russia’s method depends on misdirection and obfuscation as it seeks to destabilize and diminish our standing in the planet.”

There are a number of causes to consider about China and Russia individually. First, while their relationship is certainly growing throughout military, economic, and political proportions, it is continue to far more anchored in shared grievances than in typical visions. Beijing and Moscow have prolonged criticized America’s support for common values, the centrality of the U.S. dollar in worldwide economical markets, and the U.S. presumption that countries with small to no involvement in planning the article-war order would in the end integrate themselves into it of their possess enlightened volition. It is a lot more difficult, nevertheless, to recognize what the contours of a shared Sino-Russian conception of globe purchase would be though they equally avow the want for a much more multipolar system, soon after all, couple of other nations would categorical a various wish, even longstanding U.S. allies in Europe and Asia. In addition, as Andrea Kendall-Taylor and David Shullman observed in Oct 2018, China and Russia are acting upon their grievances in techniques that, although “synergistic,” remain “different and seemingly uncoordinated.”

Second, the financial hole in between China and Russia is considerable and growing rapidly. In accordance to the World Financial institution, China’s nominal gross domestic item in 1992 was somewhat more compact than Russia’s ($427 billion compared to $460 billion). Just a quarter-century afterwards, in 2017, it was just about eight situations as big ($12.2 trillion vs . $1.6 trillion). Even nevertheless its economic climate is cooling, in addition, China’s development level stays over four moments that of Moscow’s — a divergence that makes sure that the imbalance amongst their electrical power capabilities and the consequent hole in between their talents to fulfill world-wide ambitions will expand apace.

While China holds the current postwar purchase to be obsolescent, it has been the chief beneficiary of that process, possibly excepting the United States. It presently seeks a gradual modification of that procedure, not a wholesale dissolution. In addition, as witnessed with the development of the Belt and Street Initiative, China has the ability to develop its industrial footprint globally, and it can credibly imagine a Sinocentric trading and financial commitment zone in Eurasia. With “Made in China 2025,” Beijing aspires to no more time be just an imitator of world-class know-how, but a creator, and the developing achieve of corporations such as Huawei indicates that aim is plausible.

Russia, by distinction, does not have the financial wherewithal to pose a gradualist problem, only the tactical savvy to be an opportunistic disruptor. A weak demographic outlook declining and now largely flat oil selling prices (the price tag of a barrel of crude oil is about 50 % of what it was five many years in the past) and many years of sanctions following its invasion of Ukraine and annexation of Crimea have all taken their toll. Exactly where Moscow at the time hoped to provide as a flourishing economic middleman in between Western Europe and the Asia-Pacific, it is now centered on the substantially additional modest intention of growing the Eurasian Economic Union, which presently comprises Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Russia. Its principal lines of hard work — hiving off territory in its so-termed in close proximity to overseas, focusing on democratic nations around the world with disinformation functions, and leveraging and compounding Syria’s bloodshed to consolidate its foothold in the Middle East — mirror the truth that Russia has minor hope — or intention, it would seem — of reintegrating into the write-up-war buy. As an alternative, Moscow appears to be to have concluded that it can display its impact additional by destabilizing that procedure than by offering a coherent option.

Though both international locations request to change the status quo, then, only Russia has attacked neighboring nations around the world, annexed conquered territory, and supported insurgent forces trying to find to detach nonetheless extra. It also interferes in foreign elections and works to undermine European and Atlantic establishments. Though China is no harmless abroad — it proceeds to militarize the South China Sea and has engaged in the forced repatriation of Chinese citizens from Hong Kong and many Asian nations around the world — its growing impact derives generally from a lot more constructive measures this sort of as trade, expenditure, and improvement assistance.

The aforementioned discrepancies propose that the United States really should respond otherwise to a resurgent electricity centered on reaching economic and technological preeminence than to a declining electrical power centered on fomenting armed forces and ideological chaos. A single could argue that China seeks to speed up time Russia, to reverse it. That is, exactly where Beijing hopes to take its location as “the Middle Kingdom” in world affairs, Moscow waxes nostalgic for its previous imperium. While this formulation may perhaps appear to be overly reductionist, it captures the disparity in between China and Russia’s respective capacities and ambitions: the relationship concerning the two international locations is growing in worth as well as asymmetry.

If the United States carries on to lump China and Russia alongside one another in undifferentiated hostility, it may well effectively persuade them to operate much more assiduously and concertedly to undermine U.S. nationwide passions. Nor is it probably to succeed in driving a wedge among them. Beijing has tiny incentive to sign up for any hard work by Washington to counterbalance Moscow, which is a reputable supplier of energy and military devices. Nor does Russia pose a apparent challenge to any of China’s very important national pursuits. Russia, by distinction, has two immediate good reasons to be apprehensive: China has displaced it as the principal financial drive in Central Asia, and China appears to be increasingly intent on populating Russia’s Much East with Chinese laborers. Above the extended run, also, as Moscow grows additional dependent on China’s economic climate, Beijing could increasingly impede Russian makes an attempt to court docket China’s neighbors as portion of its “look east” effort and hard work. Still, unless Russia concludes that its route to extensive-phrase resuscitation is extra most likely to lie in rejoining the West than in bolstering its partnership with China, it may have to accept the indignity of at any time-greater supplication.

The United States can maintain Russia at bay by adapting current variations of protection, deterrence, and alliance relationships that it and its Western allies utilized from the Soviet Union through the Cold War, suggesting the relevance of strengthening the U.S. alliance system. Washington simply cannot, nonetheless, consist of China. It is in the realm of geoeconomics, alternatively than geopolitics, that the contest for environment leadership is possible to be established. America’s good results in this competitors will be determined in huge measure by how adeptly it operates in foreign markets and is effective with other folks to modernize an open, guidelines-dependent world financial buy.

James Dobbins is a senior fellow, Howard J. Shatz is a senior economist, and Ali Wyne is a policy analyst at the nonprofit, nonpartisan RAND Company. They are the authors of the new report “Russia Is a Rogue, Not a Peer China Is a Peer, Not a Rogue.”

The post China and Russia Pose Different Problems for the US. They Need Different Solutions. appeared first on Defence Online.

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[thrashermaxey]

Ramblings: Steen Returns; Hagelin Traded; Hronek; Buchnevich; More – February 22

  As expected, Nazem Kadri was not at game-day skate for the Leafs and did not play on Thursday night after suffering a concussion on Tuesday. Concussions are very fickle and it’s doubtful we get any sort of timeline on this. Owners will just have to be patient.

Kadri being out of the lineup led to William Nylander centering the third line with Andreas Johnsson and Connor Brown. Johnsson also took Kadri’s spot on the top PP unit. Johnsson, by the way, had 10 shots on goal in Toronto's 3-2 loss to Washington on Tuesday night. In his previous 10 games, he had 7 shots. Let's call this one an anomaly. 

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A little bit to my surprise, Devante Smith-Pelly made it through waivers and the Caps look like they’ll be able to hang on to him. As I mentioned yesterday, teams love guys with rings and he has one plus a cheap contract. Not to mention San Jose claiming Michael Haley and Nashville actually giving up a draft pick for Cody McLeod, neither player being as good as Smith-Pelly. Though I guess if hockey was predictable, it’d be boring.

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With Alex Steen back in the Blues lineup, Robby Fabbri is again on the outside looking in, though he’s still in the lineup skating on the fourth trio. I still have a lot of faith in his talent, but the 2018-19 season is a lost cause for him.

Staying with the Blues, Jaden Schwartz replaced Brayden Schenn on the top line and Robert Thomas took Schwartz’s spot on the second line. This interesting because Schenn’s name has popped up in trade rumours this year, though not as much now that the team is winning. Maybe they’re still looking to move him? The official reasoning from the coach was an upper-body injury but taking what any coach (outside of Tortorella) says at face value at this (or nearly any) time of year isn’t advisable.

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The Washington Capitals traded a third-round pick in 2019 and a conditional sixth in 2020 to Los Angeles for Carl Hagelin. Don’t even bother with him.

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Brett Howden was in a non-contact jersey at the Rangers’ game-day skate as he continues his recovery from a knee injury. There is still no firm timeline for a return, but this is certainly a step in the right direction. He could have a much bigger role on this team in 4-5 days than he did a month ago.

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Jayce Hawryluk was lined up on the second line for Florida on Thursday night with Mike Hoffman moving to the third line. It’s a move we’ve seen a few times this year and with the Panthers believing they’re in the playoff race, this isn’t a matter of simply giving a young guy a bigger role to see what they have, they think he can produce right now. Whether that’s misguided or not, we’ll see.

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With the trade deadline quickly approaching, both in the NHL and in fantasy leagues, there’s one notion I want to discuss and that’s the idea of “overpaying.”

At the risk of sounding like a freshman college essay, the general definition of overpaying in the context of (fantasy) sports is paying above market value for an asset. In general, this idea of overpayment is more applicable in auction drafts, like paying $30 for a $20 player or whatever.

The problem with defining overpayment in terms of market value is the market isn’t always correct. It can often be incorrect. Incorrect market pricing is part of how bettors make money, for one thing. It’s also how we find values in fantasy leagues by taking advantage of ADP. Some people are afraid to take a player a few round ahead of their ADP despite the ADP not necessarily being reflective of their current, or potential, fantasy value.

It might sound simplistic but it’s where comparative evaluation is important. If you think Player A and Player B are going to be similar in production for the next six weeks, but Player B costs a top-75 player and a 2nd round pick while Player A available for just for a top-75 player, Player A is the obvious choice. The issue comes with the comparative analysis and being honest with yourself. Being able to de-couple a player being “your guy” from a player being undervalued is critical. If you lie to yourself about which category a player falls, you’re doomed.

With the looming deadline, I thought it’d be worth finding a couple undervalued players to grab right now.

  Filip Hronek

I have never been a fan of Jeff Blashill. His lineup decisions constantly baffle me (the blue line and power play especially), his treatment of talents like Andreas Athanasiou infuriate me, and the way he handles young guys has typically been underwhelming. However, of late, Jonathan Ericsson has been a healthy scratch and that has led to Hronek getting his way into the lineup. Not only into the lineup, but to the top PP unit, and a top PP unit that actually features their top players (Mantha, Larkin, Athansiou, Vanek) rather than the talent being spread across two units. This is wonderful news for Hronek’s fantasy value.

Hronek’s underlying numbers are very good. He leads the Red Wings blue line in both relative shot attempts for and relative shot share. That means Detroit controls more shots with Hronek on the ice than any other defenceman. In limited ice time together, Hronek has dragged Trevor Daley’s numbers to respectability (it’s still a tiny sample, it’s just a sign in the right direction). In a much bigger sample, he’s done the same with the now-scratched Jonathan Ericsson, which is another data point indicating that Hronek is a good defenceman.

One problem is that even if he maintains PP1 status, he might not crack the 20-minute mark per game with any regularity. That’s fine, though. Guys like him can still have fantasy value (just think of Will Butcher and Mikhail Sergachev from last year), though he’d be more valuable in points-only leagues.

Acquiring Hronek is a big gamble because Blashill’s moods change with the wind and he might be back in the press box a week from now. It’s a gamble worth taking given his current usage, though, in 12-team leagues or larger.

  Pavel Buchnevich

It seems very likely that Mats Zuccarello and Kevin Hayes are both gone at the deadline. With Brett Howden on the mend, it seems he’s a likely candidate to take over for Hayes as the second line centre. Who replaces Zuccarello on the top line, though, is more uncertain.

Buchnevich has often found himself in the dog house, be it under the current coaching regime or Alain Vigneault. However, he’s been consistently lining up on the second line with Hayes of late and has responded with four points in his last four games.

Anyone who reads my Ramblings with regularity knows I think that Buchnevich hasn’t been given a fair shake and his consistency issues are overblown. My thoughts on this issue can be summarized as such:

  would you believe me if I told you that the duo of Kreider and Zibanejad have been worse defensively over the last 2 1/2 seasons when they *don't* have Buch on their line than when they do? https://t.co/SjyTb3zZhP

— Michael Clifford (@SlimCliffy) January 29, 2019

  It seems very plausible that if Zucc is traded, Buch takes his spot on the top line. It could go to someone like Jesper Fast I suppose but this team needs to see what it has in its young players post-deadline. It makes all the sense in the world for Buchnevich to join the top line and he can probably be had for a bag of peanuts. The time to acquire him would be right now and not after the deadline. If next Tuesday comes and then we find out Buchnevich is skating with Chris Kreider and Mika Zibanejad, it’ll be too late. Though, to be fair, if Kreider is traded as well, I’m not sure Buchnevich will amount to much. That adds to the gamble here.

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In anticipation of the trade deadline, Ottawa sat all three of Matt Duchene, Mark Stone, and Ryan Dzingel. I know it’s the prudent move for the organization but I’d hate to have bought a ticket in hopes of seeing Ottawa’s top players. They should give more notice than 30 minutes prior to puck drop.

In a predictable result, New Jersey shutout Ottawa 4-0. Cory Schneider registered his first shutout since November of 2017 and has now won three consecutive games. It’s far too early to say he’s back to the old Cory Schneider, but if he is, his performance over the next six weeks could swing a lot of fantasy leagues.

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The reason you hold players out is so they don’t get injured, like Rangers defenceman Adam McQuaid. He left in the first period and did not return. It wasn’t clear what the injury was, though the team would say he was held out afterwards for precautionary reasons.

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Victor Hedman returned to the Tampa Bay lineup Thursday night after missing their last game. It’s a sigh of relief for himself, the team, and the fans.

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Justin Williams had two goals and one assist in Carolina’s 4-3 win over Florida. Nino Niederreiter had a goal and an assist, giving him 15 points in 15 games in a Hurricanes uniform. He also now has as many goals (9) with Carolina as he did with Minnesota this season in 46 games. With each passing day, that trade is looking like more and more of a home run. Once Jordan Staal returns, this team should be feared in the East.

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Brendan Gallagher marked his first career hat trick in Montreal’s 5-1 win over Philadelphia. That makes 26 goals for him on the season, five away from his career-best 31 last year. He’s such a good across-the-board fantasy contributor, averaging over 1.5 hits/3.5 shots per game with a good plus/minus.

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With two first-period assists in Thursday night’s game against Pittsburgh, Brent Burns tied his career-high with 55 helpers. The single-season high by any defenceman post-2005 lockout is Erik Karlsson with 66 in 2015-16. That mark is well within reach with a quarter of the season left. Burns would add a goal late in the game for the three-point night.

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Aleksander Barkov continued his torrid pace on Thursday night with a goal and an assist in Florida’s 3-2 win over Carolina. That gives him nine points in three games and has 15 points in 11 games since the All-Star Break. It appears the Panthers are making another late push, but it’s a wonder if it’s too little, too late yet again.

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More updates in the morning. 

from All About Sports https://dobberhockey.com/hockey-rambling/ramblings-steen-returns-hagelin-traded-hronek-buchnevich-more-february-22/

[auburnfamilynews]

Stove puts it just inside the pylon. (Sam Craft/Associated Press)

     War Eagle everybody! It’s time now for the Acid Reign Report on Auburn’s 42-27 win in College Station, over Texas A&M. Hoping to get off to a fast start, Auburn instead struggled for much of the first half. Thanks to some chunk plays by Texas A&M, and a blocked Auburn field goal attempt, the Aggies were able to build a 13-7 lead. Auburn was unable to protect the quarterback, and it was looking like a bad loss might be coming. Auburn made a few substitutions on the offensive line, and changed the play calling strategy away from runs up the middle and long-yardage sacks. This resulted in a 2nd and 2 big bomb for a score just before the half, then Auburn aggressively used timeouts to force a punt, and blocked it for a touchdown. A 14 point swing just before the half was a blow, to Texas A&M. In the 3rd quarter, Auburn came out and punched the lead out to 35-13, and cruised to a 42-27 win.

     I have to give the offensive brain trust credit for not accepting the first half performance, and changing things up. We claim to have depth on the offensive line, and moves were made to shore up leaky protection. Inside runs were being attacked, and the play calling shifted to well-blocked sweep plays. The book on quarterback Jarrett Stidham is that if a pass rush can move his feet, he is prone to bad throws or sacks. However, it’s an awful risk. When Auburn gets the protections settled, big gashing pass plays come out of it. Auburn has hit a number of sideline screens that turned into big plays, and Auburn also has receivers that can take the top off of a defense, if the safety is up on the line blitzing.

     In the second half, the Auburn offensive line took it to Texas A&M. Coming back from injury, there were a number of issues up front. Auburn settled on a lineup of mostly healthy guys, and proceeded to shove the Aggies back. There was also nasty, tough play from Auburn’s H-backs and tight ends, and Kerryon Johnson ran like a man possessed. Johnson possesses a superb knack for making yards when nothing is there. He’s quick with a stiff-arm, a sidestep, a hurdle, or just brute power. He may not be the most explosive runner in the SEC, but he does look like the best all-around back in the league.

     Defensively, there were some big plays given up. However, Auburn also forced 7 three-and-outs out of 15 Aggie possessions. It is important to remember that the Aggies have quite a collection of 4 and 5 star skill players, and it doesn’t take but one little misstep to set one of those guys loose for a big gain. Aside from one sort of wheel route completion to Christian Kirk, Auburn limited him to just underneath stuff. Traveon Williams is a back with game-breaking speed, and he had some big runs. However, the Aggies were never able to establish the running game as a consistent chain-mover.

     Frankly, I find the defensive pressure stats baffling. Auburn seemed to be in the Aggie quarterbacks’ faces on most passing downs, but were only credited with 5 quarterback hurries and a sack. And this wasn’t just home bias. They showed the Aggies only getting 1 hurry, and 2 sacks on Jarrett Stidham. This was a way more harrowing game for quarterbacks, than these numbers show. Overall, Auburn held Texas A&M to 4.2 yards per carry, and 6.1 yards per pass. Those are decent, but not great numbers. On the day, Auburn was held to 4.4 yards per carry, but torched the Aggies for 9.9 yards per pass. If Auburn had not dropped about 5 passes, this could have been a monster passing day.

     Auburn continues to have special teams issues, and it is particularly alarming for new ones to keep showing up, week to week. This week, Auburn had a pair of field goals blocked, and gave up a big 72 yard kick return after going up by 3 touchdowns. There was also a 25 yard punt out of bounds, but I’m not as worried about that. Auburn kicked toward the sideline every time, to keep dangerous return man Christian Kirk bottled up. The strategy worked, as Kirk had no returns. One punt going out of bounds short is the price one might pay. This was easily the best punting day of the year.

Unit grades after the jump!

Defensive Line: A-. I counted off for a few run-fit errors, and some missed tackles in the backfield. Still, this unit pressured the quarterback, and prevented the Aggies from establishing a consistent ground game. You know it’s a big day for the line, when the top 2 tacklers on the team, played on the line. Derrick Brown led the way with 7 stops, and Jeff Holland had 6. Holland was also credited with 3 quarterback hurries. I think he really had 10 or so. As a unit, the line contributed 25 total tackles.

Linebackers: B+. The Auburn linebackers continue to do a good job of filling lanes and hunting the football down, although there were a few big runs given up this week. Auburn is trying to use a 6 man rotation, and at times there is a lot of youth out there. That can only help, down the road. T. D. Moultry had the only sack of the game for Auburn, and Deshaun Davis had a big tackle for a loss. The linebackers were credited with 15 total tackles.

Secondary: B+. There was more sure tackling this week, after some lapses in recent weeks. For the most part, the secondary held the Aggies to just throwing short stuff underneath. The exception was receiver Damion Ratley, who got loose repeatedly, late. Ratley at times seemed completely invisible to the Auburn secondary. We are fortunate that the Aggies did not discover this, till the game was already out of hand. There was only one long pass completed downfield, and that was to Kirk on the wheel. The other two big passes given up were on a short slant to Ratley, and on a well-executed shovel pass to Traveon Williams. Texas A&M tried the fade route a good bit, and the Auburn defensive backs defended that brilliantly, each time. As a unit, the secondary had 21 tackles.

Punting: A. As mentioned above, it was a good day punting the ball. Freshman Aiden Marshall averaged a whopping 47.4 yards per punt, even with one 25-yarder kicked out of bounds. He dropped every punt into a well covered corner, where Christian Kirk could do nothing but call for a fair catch. Kirk did let one ball hit, that bounced for 70 yards.

Punt Returns: A. It was mentioned during the open thread that perhaps Stephen Roberts fair-catches too much, and he had 4 on 6 punts this week. I’ll take not having turnovers. I can remember Auburn years where the team was so muff-prone that I was willing to let the other team kick it and let it roll. Ruffin did do a good job of stringing his one return out for 15 yards. I give the punt return team credit for the blocked punt, too. The Aggie punter helped with some hesitation, but Auburn did a great job of standing there looking disinterested and complacent, then suddenly overloading the middle and breaking through. It was very strange how this play was documented in the stats. Nick Ruffin blocked the punt, and is given credit for a return for 26 yards. Malik Miller recovered the ball for a touchdown in the end zone. The scoring box shows Miller with a zero-yard return for a score, but not in the return section. Meanwhile, that blocked punt is not counted as a punt, in the Aggie punter’s data. However, the two blocked field goals DO count as missed field goals in Daniel Carlson’s stats. That’s a woeful lack of consistency, and it probably cost Carlson whatever was left of his chances of winning the Lou Grosa award this season.

Kick Returns: C-. Noah Igbinoghene had a couple of return opportunities, and managed just 38 yards. A 19.0 average is subpar. Igbinoghene didn’t have much help in the blocking department, on those.

Place Kicking: C-. I gave a grade this high because of 5 touchbacks on 7 kickoffs. The ugly part of this unit grade was both field goal attempts being blocked, and a 72-yard return being given up. I don’t think either block was Daniel Carlson’s fault. The angle looked good on both kicks. The Aggies just got penetration through the line, and got a piece of the ball both times on desperation reach-outs.

Offensive Line: B. It was a tale of two lines, this time. Texas A&M took it to the line early, and had Auburn’s running game stuffed, and the passing game in shambles. Moves were made, communication improved, and Auburn’s offensive production picked right up. Auburn ended up with Casey Dunn at center, Braden Smith and Marquel Harrell at guards, Austin Golson at right tackle, and Prince Tega Wanagho at left tackle. This unit protected well. And, there was a defining drive in the 2nd half. The Aggies had gone for it on 4th and goal, and turned it over at the 4 yard line. Auburn pounded the ball on a long, 96 yard drive, and got it done on the ground, despite Texas A&M loading the box. The offensive line shined, on that drive, consistently driving Aggies back, or into the ground.

Running Backs: A. This was not a game for big break-away runs, but it was one for toughness. Auburn ball-carriers Kerryon Johnson and Kam Martin had it, and ran hard. There were no fumbles, and no protection issues. At H-back, Auburn has a good pair in Chandler Cox and Spencer Nigh. On the 96 yard drive mentioned above, Cox and Nigh were a big part of those heavy sets that drove the Aggies back.

Receivers: B. Dropped balls continue to be somewhat of an issue, and Darius Slayton, Will Hastings and Sal Cannella all had their hands on balls that ended up on the grass. However, big plays and good blocking were evident from this bunch. Jalen Harris had a good day blocking from the tight end spot. Ryan Davis continues to be a consistent safety-valve for the team, and racked up another 7 catches in this one. Davis has now caught 48 balls, with 3 regular season games plus post-season left. The single season Auburn record is 60. Darius Slayton may have a few drops this year, but he’s also been a weapon, on the deep ball. He stuck a dagger into Aggie hearts twice, in this game, with a break-away touchdown, and a tough catch down to the two yard line. Eli Stove continues to be a threat on speed sweeps and screen passes.

Quarterback: B+. Things seemed to get a little panicky here, in the 2nd quarter, as the rush was coming. Credit Stidham for shaking it off, and hitting a big throw before halftime, that would give Auburn a lead it would never relinquish. With time in the second half, Stidham pretty much did what he wanted to do to the Aggie defense, unless the ball was dropped. If the 5 drops had not happened, Stidham would have finished with 25 completions on 27 attempts. Even with the dropped balls, Stidham averaged 9.9 yards per pass on the day. That’s a good day, especially when one considers 3 touchdown passes against no turnovers.

     It was another week, and another double-digit win over an SEC West rival. We’ve had our maddening moments certainly, this week, but this offense has been pretty prolific, most of the time. The table is set for a championship run, but monumental difficulty awaits next week, and Thanksgiving week. Auburn has the top two ranked playoff contenders, starting with number one Georgia next Saturday afternoon. A tuneup against Louisiana Monroe follows, then then possibly an Iron Bowl for the ages.

     I looked at some numbers this afternoon, and noticed an interesting stat. I just looked at SEC records during the Gus Malzahn era. Georgia and LSU have slightly better records, and of course Alabama has dominated the league. However, Auburn’s record is better than the other 10 teams in the league, and the team is in a really good place talent-wise, thanks to the recruiting of this staff. Sometimes, it’s good to be thankful for what we have!

     My concerns for the Georgia game are pretty typical. Auburn has to win the turnover battle, and win on the line of scrimmage. The same is true in most games. Shaky special teams moments in recent weeks are also a concern. I think Auburn has the defense to slow the Georgia attack down, but it needs some help from the offense. Georgia is a good defense, and Auburn will have to find ways to eek out first downs and keep the chains moving. I also feel like Alabama is mortal this year, and is similar in a lot of ways to Georgia. Alabama has had some truly awful injury luck, this season. They may be more vulnerable than usual, on defense.

The post Auburn Outlasts the Aggies! (Grading Auburn’s 42-27 win at Texas A&M.) appeared first on Track 'Em Tigers, Auburn's oldest and most read independent blog.

from Track 'Em Tigers, Auburn's oldest and most read independent blog http://bit.ly/2AbTEE3