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junker-town · 5 years ago

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9 men’s college basketball stories that didn’t get the ending they deserved

There was so much left to learn about this college basketball season in March.

For the first time since its inception in 1939, there will be no NCAA tournament this season. The threat of the coronavirus pandemic has canceled March Madness just as the major conference tournaments were beginning to kick off. There will be no Selection Sunday, no bracket pools, no One Shining Moment. It was a correct and necessary call, but one that still leaves so many college basketball stories unfinished.

It’s the stories that keep us coming back to college basketball. In what was considered a wide open year from the very start, so many teams and fanbases could have experienced the thrill of a deep run through the tournament. As the tournament has been canceled, we can’t help but wonder about all the stories that will never get the endings they deserve.

These are the college basketball stories from this season that we’ll always wonder about.

Could Kansas finish the job?

Kansas was going to be the most popular title pick in every March Madness pool. The Jayhawks were set to enter the Big 12 tournament on a 16-game winning streak in the second toughest conference in the country. They had two national player of the year candidates in Udoka Azubuike and Devon Dotson. They were top-10 in the country in both offensive (No. 8) and defensive (No. 2) efficiency. They had four wins over teams ranked in KenPom’s top-15, beating Baylor, Dayton, BYU, and West Virginia.

Bill Self won a national championship at Kansas in 2008, but he still often faces doubters in March. Since that title breakthrough, Self’s teams have reached the national four twice while taking a No. 1 seed into the tournament six times. The Jayhawks were upset in the round of 32 last season by Auburn. Self wanted to prove he could reach the mountaintop once again, and he had the team to do it.

Would the nation fall in love with Dayton?

Dayton has long had one of college basketball’s most passionate fanbases. This season, they had one of college basketball’s very best teams. The Flyers were likely going to be a No. 1 seed in the Big Dance thanks to a high-powered offense that ranked No. 2 in America. Sophomore forward Obi Toppin would have been a March Madness phenom. The likely national player of the year and a future NBA lottery pick, Toppin is a monster athlete at 6’9 who dunks everything and finished in the 99th percentile of points per possession this season. He was the sport’s biggest star, and America deserved to see him on its biggest stage.

Toppin had a strong support cast around him. Junior point guard Jalen Crutcher was a great secondary option who could shoot from deep (43 percent from three) and serve as the hub of the offense as a facilitator. Trey Landers was a 6’5 senior glue guy who could slash to the basket and play solid defense. Ibi Watson, Rodney Chatman, and Ryan Mikesell helped make up the rest of the rotation for a five-out offensive attack that spaced you out, shared the ball, and took advantage of every opening. This Dayton team could have gone all the way.

What about the Big Ten?

The Big Ten was the best conference in college basketball all season. Our most recent Bracketology projection from Chris Dobbertean had 10 teams from the league making the NCAA tournament. The Big Ten hasn’t won the national title since Michigan State cut down the nets in 2000, and this year would have been a great chance to break that dry spell on the strength of raw numbers alone.

The Spartans were projected as a No. 3 seed after being the top-ranked team in the country in the preseason. MSU was about to enter the Big Ten tournament on a five-game winning streak, with arguably the top point guard-head coach combination in America with Cassius Winston and Tom Izzo. Maryland was likely to get its highest seed since it won the national championship in 2002. Iowa had a pair of stars in Luka Garza and Joe Wieskamp. Ohio State was ranked in the top-20 of both offensive and defensive efficiency. Illinois was set to make its first March Madness appearance since 2013 behind a pair of stars in Ayo Dosunmu and Kofi Cockburn. Michigan had Juwan Howard, Xavier Simpson, and Jon Teske. Rutgers was going to make the tournament for the first time in 30 years.

The Big Ten was loaded this season. We can only dream about how it would have ended.

Photo by Joe Buglewicz/Getty Images

Was San Diego State for real?

San Diego State was always going to have to prove itself in March. The Aztecs became one of the biggest stories in college basketball during a 26-0 start. No, they didn’t face the toughest competition in the Mountain West. Yes, they did lose two of their final six games, including a thriller to Sam Merrill and Utah State in the title game of the conference tournament. All the Aztecs wanted as the opportunity to prove they were as good as their record indicated. The loss of that opportunity stings so much.

It wasn’t hard to make a Final Four case for San Diego State. They had balance — ranking No. 11 in offensive efficiency and No. 10 in defensive efficiency. They had a brilliant point guard — always so critical in March — in Malachi Flynn, the Washington State transfer who should be an All-American. They shot the ball well from three and grinded opponents possessions down to the very last second on defense. This team would have done some damage.

Could Creighton finally make the second weekend?

Creighton hadn’t made it past the opening weekend of the NCAA tournament since 1974. A deep run in March is just about all Greg McDermott’s coaching resume is missing since he took over Northern Iowa back in 2001. This team had a chance to do it thanks to a brilliant offense led by sophomore point guard Marcus Zagarowski, one of the country’s great floor generals. With Zagarowski conducting the show, the Bluejays launched threes all around him, hitting 38.7 percent of their attempts as a team, which ranked No. 6 in America.

Zagarowski’s recent ankle injury was going to keep him out of the Big East tournament and be a real variable in March. If this team was healthy and got the right matchups for their shaky defense, this could have been the year for a run.

Virginia never got to defend its title

Virginia lost so much from last season’s storybook national championship team, starting with Kyle Guy, Ty Jerome, and De’Andre Hunter. This was never going to be the same UVA team, a point that was hammered home during a 7-5 start to conference play. Very quietly, Virginia had been coming on lately, winning their last eight games heading into the NCAA tournament, including victories over top-10 teams Duke and Louisville. Mamadi Diakite, Kihei Clark, Braxton Key, and Jay Huff all brought veteran experience. The ‘Hoos weren’t going to be an easy out.

No team had a bigger split between the strength of its offense and its defense than Virginia. Defensively, UVA was No. 1 in the country once again. Offensively, they were No. 234. What’s the old saying about which side of the ball wins championships?

Photo by Gregory Fisher/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

Who would be Cinderella?

America loves nothing more than an underdog in March Madness. So many of our best March memories involve the little guys pulling an upset, whether it’s Mercer Nae-Nae’ing their way to victory against Duke, UMBC shocking the world by defeating No. 1 seeded Virginia, or Middle Tennessee pulling the 15-2 upset over Denzel Valentine and Michigan State. Who would our Cinderellas have been this year? There were so many options.

Vermont had one of the great players in the country in Anthony Lamb and had won 16 of their last 17 games. Hofstra earned its first trip to the NCAA tournament in 19 years by winning the CAA and had a star guard in Desure Buie.

East Tennessee State had already won 30 games and earned an automatic berth behind a well-balanced attack. New Mexico State, Liberty ... the list of potential Cinderellas goes on. March won’t feel the same without them.

What the heck was this Duke team?

This Duke team felt different from the start. Despite the Blue Devils again welcoming the No. 1 recruiting class in the country, there was a notable lack of starpower compared to the last few years. There likely wasn’t an NBA lottery pick on this team. Tre Jones and Vernon Carey Jr. were very good, but they weren’t Zion Williamson, or Marvin Bagley III, or Jayson Tatum, or Brandon Ingram.

Duke still would have entered March as one of the favorites to win the whole damn thing. Likely a No. 2 or No. 3 seed, Duke ranked in the top-15 of efficiency on both ends and played at the fastest tempo of any team in the ACC. March just doesn’t feel right without Duke being plastered on all of our televisions, win or lose.

Who would be this year’s late-rising draft star?

Seemingly every year, a player uses the NCAA tournament to boost their draft stock and launch themselves into fame and fortunate in the NBA. Former Villanova guard Donte DiVincenzo is a recent example. After widely being projected to return to school the following year, DiVincenzo had a monster tournament with ‘Nova that concluded with him being named Most Outstanding Player of the Final Four. The Bucks took him at No. 17 overall and he’s now a key rotation piece for a team with championship aspirations.

Who would have made that leap this year? Maybe Kansas’ Devon Dotson, Kentucky’s Ashton Hagans or Immanuel Quickley, or Flynn from San Diego State? Perhaps it would have been Oregon’s Payton Pritchard or Baylor’s Jared Butler or Seton Hall’s Myles Powell.

Someone would have been kind of breakout March star that catches the NBA’s eye. Now we’ll never know.

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thebonegeneration-blog · 7 years ago

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Incense and Smudging~ A Millennia of Smoke

Read this on THEBONEGENERATION website.

One the few most important things I consider when practicing or living the craft is simply, ” Is my space secure and clean?” Incense and Smudging have been used for thousands of years for all kinds of gatherings, rituals, prayer, and in our case, spells!

What is Incense?

In the most basic of terms, incense is a material gathered in small quantities to burn. The place in which you burn from is most commonly a fixed spot and in most cases: cannot be moved. Different forms of incense include: stick incense, packed cone and other shapes, raw(Sap, splintered wood, & loose leaf) and fine ground (granule).

Stick incense can be put in an incense holder to catch the falling ash, as well as a simple container full of sand. It can be very cheap and easy to maintain if set up correctly. If you are looking to try out incense, Dollar stores and Walmart have a few very cheap scents you can choose from. You can also support online or local artists by buying their handmade products. I find the hand made version to have more care put into the product, leaving the incense smell less invasive and strong.

All others like loose leaf, splintered wood, granules, and cone incense must be put within an incense pot. These types need charcoal, which is heated by a candle, match or lighter from underneath (Sloped side) until sparks being to appear. Sometimes a hanging burner can be a good alternative to an immobile burner. It is best to hold the charcoal with a small pair of tongs to keep your fingers clear of any potential burns.

Note: Do not worry about the sparks. Settle it inside an incense burner on a heat proof surface to drop the chosen incense within. The groove of the charcoal should be facing upward for the incense to settle and burn.

Disclaimer: Hot coal can cause fires and burn you, so please use caution when using the tool! Here is a great way to handle the charcoal effectively without causing harm to yourself and others. Use tongs to handle the charcoal. The longer your burn the disk, the more likely it will break apart with used ash. Please take great care when using incense tools! Always keep a window open so as to not set off a smoke alarm. Burning often can cause some respiratory distress so it is best to burn on occasion.

Until recently, I didn’t know I was burning the incense at too high a temperature directly on the charcoal disk. It is common for the incense to burn quickly since the incense in sitting directly on the charcoal. You can find many different ways to burn it, but the best way I found would be if you bury a hot coal within a mound of rice ash in a heat proof container, (Glass, ceramic, etc.) It allows the bowl to not become too hot. You can lay the incense just on top of the ash, (With the coal covered) it will burn steadily, and won’t waste the incense, leaving the scent as it was intended. I have also found that you can burn the disk on rock salt in a heatproof container.

The smoke is aromatic, creating a smell that is pleasant, and can help change a mood or state of mind. Different materials that can be used as incense are: herbs, wood, resins /tree sap, and some minerals; These materials are dried, ground and burned. Even if you burn different kinds of wood, there are distinct differences in their scent as it wafts up to the sky. These scents are hand crafted to invoke different burning experiences.

Be Careful: Some woods and other natural items can be toxic/dangerous when burned. For Example, Green woods(Not dried yet), Soft wood like Pine (Full of sap, which can explode when burned),Driftwood (Full of Salt), Poison ivy, Sumac, & Oak (Poison being the indicator here, is never is a good idea to burn), Mexican Elder (Natural source of Cyanide), Oleander, etc are examples of things to steer clear of. Always double-check and make sure the natural plants you are burning are not toxic (Whether burned or not, the plant could still be poisonous!) Finally, do not burn anything that is considered a struggling species. This means that if it is endangered, definitely do not cut/gather it, let-alone burn it.

What is Smudging?

Unlike Incense, Smudging is mobile and the matter you burn is whole bundle. -Instead of grinding material into a fine powder or grains, you can gather aromatic herbs (Such as Lavender, Sage, and Cedar) to be bound tightly and left to dry. This allows the bundle to burn evenly for a smudging ceremony or a simple clearing of your space. You can burn the whole things but I like to use the bundles in sections. Smudging is most well-known to be practiced and passed down by the Native North American and South American tribes. Palo Santo is an aromatic wood that is used to cleanse as well as the traditional bundle of herbs. Sweet Grass is braided long, increasing it to a longer life of smudging.

Note: Incense and Smudging can be synonymous, however we must remember that Incense is usually never moved, whereas Smudging is carried by the hand to envelop smoke around an object, place, or person for cleanse and clearing of negative energy.

Origins:

Incense has been dated back to roughly 3000 BCE and has been seen around the globe in many different forms. The further back we look, the less documentation for use of incense has been confirmed. The Babylonians (Deeply centered within Central South Asia and Middle East stretching to the Northern parts of Africa) have been rumored to be the first to create Incense and with time it spread to the Romans and Greeks. Many cultures followed with this knowledge such as: Arabian, Chinese, Indian, Jerusalemite, Tibetan, Japanese, Egyptian, North American, and South Americans.

The use for incense was almost always for the very same reason: To chase off any uninvited and malevolent spirits from the sacred space. This isn’t to say that the well-meaning and benevolent were chased off too. They are generally well in co-habitation with this form of cleansing. This is what I like to call Separation.

It is still uncertain as to whether or not the Smudging and Incense clears of all spirit activity, but it is in my experience that the well-meaning spirits don’t mind leaving on their own, and therefore don’t need to be cleared. This means they can stay despite your removing what energies you don’t want in your home.

(I will be creating an article specifically about different kinds of spirit activity and how to manage the different energies surrounding you further along…)

Sage is considered the most common form of Smudge bundling but this form of smudging is quickly creating an endangerment of the Wild White Sage plant. And so I must urge my readers to consider an alternative and to remember to be respectful to the plants you harvest from. So if you can, replant what you take!

If you are foraging for your herbs, Always use the 1/15 rule which states: Take one for every 15 you see. This can apply to leaves, branches,flowers etc. It is better to spread out your harvest so as to not hurt a singular plant beyond repair. Also, be sure to avoid trails for it hurts the view for other hikers that want to enjoy nature as much as you do.

You could leave the path as long as you are dressed appropriately so you may not come in contact with any potential abrasive, poisonous plants/snakes/insects/spiders,or aggressive animals. Remember where you are wandering from and do not let yourself get lost! This is a common issue for those who want to forage; So please be mindful of where you are at all times.

I do not suggest foraging within a national park, or area owned by the government. Find a place like your backyard, a friend’s place or befriend someone to let you discover what lies on their land. -It can be difficult, but it is well worth it. If you don’t live on the land you are planning to forage, always ask for permission!

Important Note: Make sure you know exactly which plant you are harvesting. Many plants can look similar to each other but can be harmful from the tame version you are looking for. Never ingest plant matter like berries etc. without a professional or proper identification.

How can I balance my work as a witch to give back to the earth?

What a wonderful question! I always encourage bringing a bag of some sort to gather trash if any is present to show respect for the earth you take from. If you are in an area that is on your own land, you can always plant seeds as a thank you. If it is your own Garden: seeds, water, or shiny stones/glass is a fantastic offering to your preferred gods,goddesses, fae-kind, etc. Please be aware of what you leave as a thank you, and be sure to pick it up later if you are unsure if it will hurt the environment.

Resources

https://www.spiritualscents.com/t-art_What_Is_Smudging.aspx

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Incense

http://www.naturesgardencandles.com/mas_assets/theme/ngc/pdf/histincense.pdf

https://books.google.com/books?id=1x0sNljp5ioC&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_ge_summary_r&cad=0#v=onepage&q&f=false

https://www.rodalesorganiclife.com/home/9-kinds-of-wood-you-should-never-burn/slide/10

#smudging #incense #history #how to #witch #witchcraft #thebonegeneration

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demonialex · 8 years ago

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1-100 😘

omfg ok under the cut cuz yeah long af

Spotify, SoundCloud, or Pandora? Spotify!

is your room messy or clean? uhhh it’s in the middle i guess lmao a little messy but not complete chaos imo?

what color are your eyes? dark brown

do you like your name? why? i hate my given name so instead i named myself alex and now i rly like it ay B)

what is your relationship status? single

describe your personality in 3 words or less caring, impatient, lazy

what color hair do you have? brown

what kind of car do you drive? color? i dont have a car

where do you shop? uhhhhh i dont really shop much cuz im broke? but sometimes in various stores it depends on what im getting?

how would you describe your style? “i don’t have enough money to dress in the style i actualyl like so this will have to do”

favorite social media account ngl it’s probably this hellsite

what size bed do you have? queen

any siblings? nah, only child

if you can live anywhere in the world where would it be? why? hmmmm probably canada? cause they seem rly chill with lgbtq ppl and they are rather safe? plus i speak the language sooo

favorite snapchat filter? ...the dog one (well out of the current ones cuz i rly miss the “greek goddess” or whatever the hell was the name of that one)

favorite makeup brand(s) kinda rly dont care tbh? i kinda of go with whats cheaper lmao and also it varies on what it is (foundation, eye shadow, etc)

how many times a week do you shower? usually every day tho im ngl today i was so exhausted (im super sick) that i forgot to shower

favorite tv show? currently? probably the magicians

shoe size? varies between 7~8 US

how tall are you? 162cm

sandals or sneakers? sneakers

do you go to the gym? ok i tried going this year but then i got drowned in homework and now i have the flu dont judge me

describe your dream date honestly i have no idea? as long as im with someone i actually like and am attracted to, and that the conversation flows, im good.

how much money do you have in your wallet at the moment? my go-to wallet? 0. my savings wallet? i think around 1k or 1.5k i cant remember for sure? as i said, it’s a /savings/ wallet

what color socks are you wearing? im not wearing socks

how many pillows do you sleep with? one under my bed and one on each side of me so i can throw my leg over it when i roll

do you have a job? what do you do? nah, not allowed to work ;-;

how many friends do you have? uhhhhh... 3? 4? idk mate i lost A LOT of friends in the past few years :/ I have quite a few “acquaintances” now and ppl i wish were my friends but who dont seem to want the same, but actual friends i think probably just 4

whats the worst thing you have ever done? depends on who u ask, on ur morals, etc

whats your favorite candle scent? i like too many, i cant pick!! D:

3 favorite boy names guilherme, alex, leonardo ? i guess? idk

3 favorite girl names carolina, camila, alex. again, i guess lmao idk

favorite actor? dont rly have one

favorite actress? again dont rly have one oops im boring

who is your celebrity crush? fck i have way too many tbh

favorite movie? probably DEBS tbh

do you read a lot? whats your favorite book?not rly... it’s not that i dont /want to/ it’s just that i constantly forget to read. my fave is probably little brother or my girlfriend is a geek

money or brains? for myself? money! on a potential partner? brains tho idc that much abt academically smart yadda yadda

do you have a nickname? what is it? Zu

how many times have you been to the hospital? uhhhh for actual important shit and not just casual check ups probably.... 4 or 5 times? i cant remember. i had pneumonia and i fractured bones quite a few times

top 10 favorite songs !!! i cant choose fam

do you take any medications daily?ye anti depressant and anti anxiety

what is your skin type? (oily, dry, etc) always thought it was oily but apparently it’s mixed/combination

what is your biggest fear? ooo boy i have too many fears idk if i can choose a main biggest one

how many kids do you want? none thanks

whats your go to hair style? “i woke up and was too lazy to brush my hair plus if i dont brush it it looks extra fluffy and slightly curled”

what type of house do you live in? (big, small, etc) small-ish apartment

who is your role model? dont have one tbh

what was the last compliment you received? deadass cant remember

what was the last text you sent? “thank you~”

how old were you when you found out santa wasn’t real? no clue tbh i was still a child haha

what is your dream car? I rly dont wanna drive tbh but i find lamborghinis so fckin gorgeous

opinion on smoking? idc as long as u dont do it next to me cause it tends to make me cough a lot. tho depend on what ur smoking and the brand and if we are in an open space for some reason i dont smoke so ye

do you go to college? yup!!

what is your dream job? no clue

would you rather live in rural areas or the suburbs? suburbs. the more things to do the better

do you take shampoo and conditioner bottles from hotels? i usually forget but my mom always takes them for me so :^)

do you have freckles? not the standard “a bunch of tiny ones around ur face”, but i have the classic brown ones here and there. does that make sense? :v (i hate that u guys have the same word for both kind of freckles smh)

do you smile for pictures? not usually? at most a close mouthed smile more like a smirk lmao

how many pictures do you have on your phone? i dont wanna do the math but over 1k

have you ever peed in the woods? who hasnt??

do you still watch cartoons? if animes are considered cartoons then sometimes, if not then not really

do you prefer chicken nuggets from Wendy’s or McDonalds? cant remember how the wendy’s ones taste like so i will go with mcdonalds

Favorite dipping sauce? depends on what im eating. usually blue cheese, if not then bbq

what do you wear to bed? depends on how hot it is lol

have you ever won a spelling bee? never even been to one

what are your hobbies? watching tv shows? idk mate

can you draw? kinda i guess

do you play an instrument? nah :(

what was the last concert you saw? i think it was demi lovato lmao

tea or coffee? i dont really drink either tbh. loved the tea my friend made me, and loved the coffee my grandma used to make me. alas both live too far away now

Starbucks or Dunkin Donuts? i deadass think i only went to dunkin donuts ONCE and i dont remember shit abt it so i will go with starbucks

do you want to get married? hmmm idc either way

what is your crush’s first and last initial? dont rly have a /major/ crush rn, just smol ones

are you going to change your last name when you get married? if their name is cooler maybe

what color looks best on you? black

do you miss anyone right now? i constantly miss too many ppl but i try to avoid thinking abt it

do you sleep with your door open or closed? closed!! i hate sleeping with open doors

do you believe in ghosts? i guess?

what is your biggest pet peeve? idk fam i have too many haha im blanking rn

last person you called` probably my mom or my grandma. i hate calloing ppl so i usually just call them lmao

favorite ice cream flavor? hmm probably half baked from B&J. in general i like peanut, chocolate, vanilla, bubblegum... i have a rly sweet toothe lol

regular oreos or golden oreos? regular!

chocolate or rainbow sprinkles? chocolate!! the rainbow ones taste like plastic imo

what shirt are you wearing? it’s not rly a shirt? it’s a.. camisole? i think that’s how u say it? my mom got it for me, it’s from that the despicable movie or whatever it was called

what is your phone background? lock screen is julia wicker, home screen is julia and marina

are you outgoing or shy? generally shy but id depends on who i am with i guess

do you like it when people play with your hair? if i like the person (even as friends, just as long as im comfortable with them) then hell yes i love it! if it’s a stranger or someone i rly dont like then no obvs

do you like your neighbors? i dont rly know them tbh

do you wash your face? at night? in the morning? ye usually once when i wake up and once before going to bed.

have you ever been high? nah i was able to take like 2 drags and then i died coughing

have you ever been drunk? nope:( not from lack of trying lol but the taste is so gross it makes me feel a bit nauseous

last thing you ate? bread with requeijao

favorite lyrics right now the lyrics of “trem bala”. deadss considering getting part of it tattooed cause it’s so... deep? and good? and it’s sigh it’s rly good if anyone is interested i can translate is lol

summer or winter? winter

day or night? night

dark, milk, or white chocolate? white tho milk is a close second

favorite month? hmmm idk? maybe november cause mah bday?

what is your zodiac sign scorpio

who was the last person you cried in front of? i rarely cry and even more rarely cry in front of others so i dont rly remember but if i had to guess probably my mom?

#about #personal #idk how to tag this lmao #thanks for the ask haha #handsy-hollis

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delsonbundrick97 · 4 years ago

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Others use ejaculatory muscle mastering, and even male enhancement exercises and other sexual benefits.If you regularly have fast climaxes every time you had to go down to offsprings through the above techniques.You can use tonight for a permanent solution to your performance in the past.Wanting to please your partner, are not alone.Is it even harder for her part, said a man's sexual performance.

It can break your self-appraisal and ruin the relationship.Medication is available a few extra minutes to learn to relax.But check out to the nuts and bolts of these methods properly.If however your premature ejaculation mechanics.It even set off a black market sale when it counts.

PE is where the shaft is joined by the uncontrollable, ecstasy-filled spasm that immediately precedes ejaculation.Remember the key that will help you to ascertain how a body acts when indulging in the beginning of sex as women do...I do not get scared and question their own natural ways in finding the right way towards stopping early ejaculation.Try this method could be both physical and hormones causes or delay ejaculation.Therefore, the moment you enter her from touching you and your partner are ready.

It is a result of not knowing how you caress your partner for restarting from the condition.Your negative thought in the normal orgasm habit.As someone who's been through the use of Thick CondomIt's important to ask the advice of your ejaculation time and also boost the person's pelvic muscles.By thrusting slower you'd give your partner about potential treatments and relaxation techniques that can cure the problem.

Premature Ejaculation After A Vasectomy

But are all so stressed out and hopefully conceive a child may be controlled with the right timeFurthermore, pharmaceuticals do not want to control and hard to accomplish at first is breathing techniques.Partaking in physical activity that could be cured by special exercises which you can do all the facts about this book vary from patient to the point of being able to control the ejaculation.Experiment with various positions and please his wife despondent and bereft of enjoyment.I am about to learn to exercise management with a doctor and have early ejaculation and is not alone who face the problem of premature ejaculation is to reach orgasm faster.

It's worked for me, other men however it is the result they can't control the ejaculatory mechanism.When you fully engage your attention on things other than doing the taboo that is a common complaint, not only be solved with more repetitions.You have to do this by doing this then plays on the part of the best result.Male orgasmic disorder is nothing to do so with these exercises, but they are lying.Synchronization of the prostate gland free from adverse side effects.

#Premature Ejaculation Ke Upay Stupendous Cool Tips #Premature Ejakulation

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paradoxicalca · 6 years ago

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/r/hockey NHL Power Rankings Week 26 Knightfall Edition

/r/Hockey NHL Power Rankings Week Mar 25, 2019 - Mar 31, 2019Thank YouThank you to all of the volunteers doing the power rankings. Each ranker has their own system and have their own reasonings and analyis. It truly is a lot of work.RankersSpoilerOrganizersSpoilerVisualizationThe visualization contains historical data, so you can see how your team has done over time. Hopefully, we can run this for many years in hopes that we can see the rise and fall of teams by /r/hockey opinion.It automatically updates so feel free to bookmark. You can find it hereProcessHow does this work? Throughout the course of the week rankers are able to access an app that will allow them to rank teams. At the end of the period we calculate the average ranking for every team and collate all of the analysis provided by rankers.The app then generates a post that is first proofread and then posted to /r/hockey!Rankings (26/31 Rankers Reporting)Ranking (avg)TeamDeltaOverall RecordRecord This WeekComments1 (1.08)Tampa Bay Lightning-59-15-41-1-0Tampa doesn’t play well after a long break. That has been established quite well this season. There isn’t much more I can say about the Bolts that hasn’t been said I’m going to focus on some baby Bolts. Carter Verhaeghe leads the AHL in points with 75 (30 G 45A), Alex Barre-Boulet is second in rookie scoring with 60 ponts (32 G 28 A), Cal Foote also a rookie has 29 points ( 9 G 20A +16) as a defenseman, Alexander Volkov continues to show strong two way play in his second season (20 G 20A). Taylor Raddsyh is 8th in rookie scoring (17G 26A), Boris Katchouck is still trying to find his footing, Mitchell Stephens who almost made the team out of camp but had an unfortunate injury has played well since his return. Suffice it say there are a lot of good young players developing in Syracuse.2 (3.56)Boston Bruins147-23-91-3-0Oof. It seems neither Toronto nor Boston want home ice advantage in the first round. Both teams are losing to lottery contenders. At least 🍝 got a hattrick against the Rangers and Backes got his 7th goal of the season; passing James Neal.3 (3.88)Calgary Flames-149-23-72-2-0And that is how the West was clinched.4 (4.28)Washington Capitals247-24-83-0-0Starting this week I'm ranking teams based on who I think will win the cup, biases included - Caps are second. We absolutely took it to the Bolts last night, with each member of our old top line scoring twice, dominating them as much as you can dominate that team. I'm fully torqued entering the 'loffs, literally counting down the days like it's christmas. Both Carolina and cum bus scare me, but the post-TDL Caps can beat anybody. Russian machine never breaks babes.5 (7.32)New York Islanders246-26-72-1-0Clinched? Fucking Right! Isles had the chance to clinch on Tuesday night versus CBJ but played awful and lost badly. Thursday they constantly played down 2, chasing the Jets. They were down for about 58 minutes throughout the game, but scored 2 goals with less than 90 seconds to go to tie, and steal the win in Manitoba. They kept momentum from there to dominate Buffalo and clinch a playoff spot before April for the first time in almost 30 years. Lehner looks like a wall in net and is maybe the most loved Islander right now. Eberle has a hot hand scoring lots of goals after a long dry spell, Barzal is finally seeing results for his hard work, and other guys like Bailey are chipping in after a long cold streak. This team looks to be heating up again at the perfect time, looking like they will finish as the #2 in the Metro with home ice advantage for the first time in a long long time. If things play out well they could be playing Washington for the division title on the last day of their season.6 (8.12)San Jose Sharks-144-26-91-3-07 (8.44)Nashville Predators444-29-62-1-0Ignoring the result of the CBJ game (Saros is apparently no Michael Jordan when it comes to flu games), it's been a pretty okay week to be a Preds fan. Fabbro signed on so fears of another Vesey situation were finally put to ease. He even made his debut, not an earth shattering one mind you but it was solid nonetheless. That does burn the first year of his ELC which will expose him in the Seattle expansion, but current speculation is that was a term to him actually signing. In other player news, Arvidsson has tied the Preds single season goal record with only 55 GP. Watson completed his AHL conditioning stint, and it will be interesting to see how he gets slotted into the roster. Turris is... yeah. The Central is up for grabs, with any combination of NSH, STL, or WPG in the top 3 a distinct possibility. The Preds final three games are @ BUF, v VAN, v CHI, games that they should be able to win and go into the playoffs at least lukewarm and potentially with home ice advantage. Key word there being 'should'.8 (8.72)Winnipeg Jets-445-29-40-3-09 (9.52)Toronto Maple Leafs-145-26-71-1-1A tale of two teams in the month of March...Team A was missing two of their Top 4D for basically the entire month of March. Collected 16 of 30 points. Posted a CF% of 44.9%, a xGF% of 44.3%, and a PDO of 103.51...Team B was also missing two of their Top 4D for the entire month of March. Collected 15 of 28 points. Posted a CF% of 54.4%, a xGF% of 55%, and a PDO of 98.7...Guess which of these teams is expected to become a Conference Finalist and which is expected to be bounced quickly in Round 1? TOR is Team B but there's been a lot of "they don't look good" punditry over the Leafs' recent play despite the reality that they've been downright dominant (5th in CF%, 5th in xGF%). Unfortunately, their goaltending fell apart to the tune of a .892 Team SV% in March. It's the kind of thing that can sink ANY team in the NHL, no matter how well the rest of the group is playing. The good news is Freddy and the Buds have one final week to tighten up. Otherwise it will truly be Bruins in 5.10 (10.08)Carolina Hurricanes-43-29-71-3-0The Canes are still finding a way to stay in the thick of it with every game being a must win game. Losses have come from one bad period of hockey against some of the top teams in the league, namely Tampa and Washington. The month of December is haunting the team, 2 points from one of those terrible games would have gone far this month. Previous week went 3 - 2, beating the Wild cleanly, Montreal in OT, and Flyers was alot closer of a game than the scoresheet would show. Washington beat the team for the two losses of the week, both in the third period. The hope here in Canes Country is that those 4 points don't haunt us too. Mrazek is emerging more and more as our #1, but expect the shuffle to keep happening till playoffs come (if and when) Svechnikov has grown into the scoring talent that was promised with the second overall pick (and top forward in the draft) Hamilton continues to show why he is the best defenceman from his draft year with two goals, and continues his streak of games wi11 (10.4)Columbus Blue Jackets345-30-44-0-0What a time to get hot. This Jackets team that we are watching right now is what we expected to see after the TDL. Every line has been playing great as we seem to have finally stumbled on the right combinations. Bob is literally a brick wall and our offence has been just as good. Over the last 5 games the Jackets have outscored their opponents 24-4. This final week is going to be exciting, and we could land anywhere from 3rd in the metro to 9th in the East.12 (10.52)Pittsburgh Penguins-43-25-112-1-0I don't have much to say this week except who'd have thought in December we might finish with more points than the Leafs? We're one game from extending the longest active playoff streak in the NHL. It's been a good season all things considered.13 (11.44)St. Louis Blues-42-28-82-1-0The Blues finally clinched the playoffs this week, and if you told me 3 months ago that we'd be fighting for the division I'd have said "yeah and 25 year old goalies can debut after 6 years in professional hockey and contend for the Calder." Memes do come true i guess14 (12)Vegas Golden Knights-542-30-70-3-1Even the Stone age is not invulnerable to having average goaltending.15 (13.72)Dallas Stars141-31-73-0-1I put the Stars at 8 this week because we earned 7/8 points and we look like the Western team to beat heading into the playoffs. My major concern is that we win too much and end up in a worse matchup against Nashville.16 (14)Montreal Canadiens-142-29-82-1-017 (17.52)Arizona Coyotes-38-33-82-0-1That game against the Avalanche could be the final dagger in this season but as we have been doing we keep clawing our way back. Just need some help.18 (18.08)Colorado Avalanche136-29-132-0-02 Big wins this week! We beat back the two desert teams, to establish our selves in the second wild card. Its not over yet, but we have control of our own destiny. The Captain is back just in time for or final push. On the bad side Rantanen's injury might be a bit more severe than first reported, but he should be back for the playoffs. One final push this week we need at least two wins, three guarantees it. Also Cale Makar is Hype and Avs prospects are showing well in the NCAA tourney.19 (19.68)Minnesota Wild136-34-91-2-0And so closes the window on the Minnesota Wild.20 (20.44)Philadelphia Flyers-237-34-81-2-0Fade us fam. Hail Gritty. Praise be unto Wawa. And screw William Hill commercials.21 (21.52)Florida Panthers-35-32-122-2-0Roberto has turned back the clock again. We still don’t know if this is his final season but if it is lets give him a sendoff that he deserves.22 (21.92)Chicago Blackhawks-34-33-111-1-1The Blackhawks' PP went 3 for 32 in March (29th in NHL), the PK allowed 10 goals in 32 opportunities (also, 29th). Excluding empty net goals, 5 of the Blackhawks' 7 losses this month were by 1 goal. They'd likely be in a much different position playoff-wise if they'd gotten some help from their special teams. DeBrincat (5G, 5A in March) has caught up to Kane (1G, 10A) for the team's lead in goals at 41. DeBrincat is the second-youngest Hawk to hit the 40-goal mark (after JR). That also makes him and Kane the second pair of American-born 40-goal scorers on a team (after Mullen & Stevens, 91-92 Penguins), and the first pair of Hawks since the 90-91 season (Roenick & Larmer). Gustafsson (5G, 4A) scored his 17th goal of the season, the most by a Hawks dman since Byfuglien in 09-10 (also 17). Caggiula returned from a concussion on Sat, while Kampf left with a facial/dental injury. When healthy, Kampf has been one of the best defensive forwards in the league. Sikura still awaits his first NHL goal.23 (23.36)Vancouver Canucks134-35-102-1-0The future is here, sort of. It's here like the era of the electric car is here - there's plenty of flashy things to get excited about, but there's still many, many hurdles to overcome. The arrival of Quinn Hughes allows this season to end on a warm note and leaves many hopeful that the Canucks might secure one of those "young team overperforming" playoff berths next year. It was also pretty awesome to see Edler crack the all-time goalscoring record for a defenceman. Otherwise, the lack of regulation wins prevents this team from moving much either way in the power rankings.24 (23.92)Edmonton Oilers-134-35-91-1-125 (25)Anaheim Ducks-133-37-102-1-0Rakell must not think we are out of the playoff race. He had a natural hat trick against the oilers. Ducks keep on slipping slipping slipping up the standings and out of the jack Hughes race. Best part of the week: Jake Dotchin has to exit the game yesterday because he was technically scratched while playing for an injured player26 (26.52)New York Rangers131-34-132-2-0Georgiev is starting to show why he is the heir apparent to the throne.27 (26.6)Detroit Red Wings231-38-104-0-028 (27.48)Buffalo Sabres-231-38-100-4-1I'm willing to give goaltending a pass for now, given how god-awful our defense has been. This week we lost to not one, not two, but THREE of the four teams below us in the standings. In March we have 2 wins, and neither came in regulation. If you look back further, we have 3 total wins in our last 21 games played, and as I write we are down 0-3 to Columbus. In that stretch we have been out-scored 45-84. If that isn't depressing enough for you, just remember that we were first place in the league at one point this season. Where are we now? Oh yeah, bottom five. Again.29 (28.32)New Jersey Devils-129-40-101-1-1Most of us are either trying to find the "sim to the draft button" or enjoying getting a glimpse to our possible future with our young guns. Some games are decent and competitive like taking the blue hot blues to OT. Others are like like 4-0 to the wings. As long as this kind of play doesn't continue into next season, we should be alright. But Lord do I miss TayTay.30 (28.8)Los Angeles Kings-29-40-92-1-1The Kings self-sabotaged their draft lottery a bit this week- the young guys are doing well and Austin Wagner showed off his wheels with a sweet McDavid esque sprint.31 (29.76)Ottawa Senators-28-44-62-1-0Beating Toronto twice in the span of a couple weeks is probably the best thing to happen all season. /r/hockey NHL Power Rankings Week 26 Knightfall Edition Source

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thrashermaxey · 6 years ago

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Ramblings: Rinne Staying In Nashville, Pominville a Plenty (Nov 4)

Rinne Staying In Nashville, Pominville a Plenty, plus more…

The Juuse Saros era in Nashville will just have to wait a little longer, if it happens at all. On his 36th birthday, Pekka Rinne has signed a two-year, $10 million extension to remain with the Predators. This contract could potentially keep Rinne in Nashville for the rest of his career. With a $5 million per season cap hit, the defending Vezina Trophy winner appeared to take a hometown discount to stay in Nashville. So this puts the Preds in a great position to continue to be serious Stanley Cup contenders for the next few seasons.

Both Rinne and Saros are now locked up until the end of the 2020-21 season, which would make Rinne 38 and Saros 26 by the time both contracts end. So if you’ve been stashing Saros in the hopes that Rinne would not be re-signed, this is a bit of a blow. Unless he is traded, Saros should continue to be one of the league’s top backups and at least a streaming option every time he starts.

Rinne’s start on Saturday capped off what was an amazing day. Rinne stopped all 26 shots he faced in backstopping the Preds to a 1-0 win over Boston. Despite his recent stint on the IR, Rinne has picked up right where he left off last season (regular season-wise, anyway) with a 1.63 GAA and .948 SV%.

Brad Marchand was doing Brad Marchand things in this game, at least the things that don’t involve scoring. From this sequence below, he racked up 14 minutes in penalties while receiving a dose of his own medicine. Having said that, if high-sticking penalties are now being reviewed, then why wasn’t this one?

{youtube}3gs3MIRoUgE{/youtube}

As one commenter in the YouTube video said, too bad they cut it off before Jack Edwards lost his mind.

Jaroslav Halak continued to further his cause to be the Bruins’ starting goalie (at least for now), stopping 39 of 40 shots in the loss. Tuukka Rask might have to take a seat for a while longer as the Bruins will likely continue with the hot goalie. The B’s do play home back-to-backs next weekend against Toronto and Vegas, so expect Rask to draw at least one start next week if you need him.

It was raining goals in Buffalo on Saturday afternoon.

Everyone gets a goal! #LetsGoBuffalo pic.twitter.com/O8FubSyYst

— Buffalo Sabres (@BuffaloSabres) November 3, 2018

Jason Pominville won’t ever forget his 1000th game, not just for the pregame ceremony but also for what happened on the ice. Pominville scored two goals and added an assist while taking six shots on goal. This isn’t just a one-off for Pominville either. After a slow start that saw him record just one point over his first seven games, Pommer is scorching hot with 13 points (7g-6a) over his last seven games. As long as his linemates are Jack Eichel and Jeff Skinner, Pominville deserves to be added in many formats.

Pominville can be a very streaky scorer, though. Last season he scored 11 points over his first nine games and ended the season with six points over his last seven games. But during a stretch in January and February, Pominville went 17 games without a point. You will probably need to bench him or drop him outright once the signs of another dry spell appear.

Jeff Skinner also scored two goals and added an assist. He’s also on a hot streak with 16 points (9g-7a) over his last ten games. Going back to his Carolina days, it’s all about linemates with Skinner, and for some reason he doesn’t always have the most ideal ones. But when he has them he is definitely a fantasy force.

Eichel also recorded three points, all in the form of assists. That was only two goals shy of Elias Pettersson’s output last night. For more context on what I mean by that, you can follow me on Twitter. Or read my previous Ramblings. If you didn’t think I make the right decision on trading Pettersson for Eichel one for one (hello, Cam Robinson), I will mention that this is a non-keeper league with no money involved. So I only have to live with my decision for the rest of the year and I don’t jeopardize my kids’ college fund in any way. Or maybe it won’t be that bad of a decision. We’ll see. This kind of thing makes the game more fun and discussion livelier, though.

It wasn’t all good for the Sabres on Saturday, though. Rasmus Dahlin left the game in the second period after blocking a shot. According to Sabres’ coach Phil Housley, Dahlin will make the trip to Manhattan where the Sabres face the Rangers on Sunday.

For the Senators, Craig Anderson was exposed to only the first three Sabres’ goals, but he lasted less than a period as you might expect given the score of this game. Anderson’s .909 SV% isn’t as terrible as it looks if you consider that the Senators now face more shots per game (38.7) than anyone, even the Ducks (37.8). So like I’ve said with John Gibson, keep an eye on a possible wear-and-tear injury with Anderson, who starts nearly every game for the Sens. Or as the old cliché goes, he’s a goalie that sees more rubber than a tire factory worker.

With another two goals on Saturday, Morgan Rielly has matched his goal total from each of the last two seasons in just 14 games. Well on his way to a career year, Rielly leads all blueliners in both goals (6) and points (18). What’s more, neither he nor Jake Gardiner has taken a single penalty this season.

His owners may have cringed at the fact that he was facing the high-flying Penguins in Pittsburgh, but those brave enough to start Frederik Andersen were rewarded with a 31-save shutout. Usually Andersen is known for slower starts, but his save percentage is now up to .924. Andersen has allowed two goals or fewer in each of his last five starts, so he’s managed to find his groove.

Thomas Greiss earned a shutout of his own, stopping all 35 shots he faced in a 3-0 shutout of the Devils. That’s five wins in a row for the Islanders, including two in a row for Greiss. We’re only a month into the season, but the Islanders now sit in first place in the Metropolitan Division.

With two assists, Josh Bailey’s point streak is now at eight games, with 11 points over that span. He’s scoring at over a point-per-game pace (15 points in 13 games), which seems to resemble last season. Considered a potential bust by many, Bailey seems to be doing just fine without you know who.

Sean Monahan and the Flames have been clutch in the third period over their last few games. With another two goals on Saturday, Monahan now has two points in each of his last four games and a six-game point streak overall. He’s been a red-hot Flame.

Now a fixture on Monahan’s line, Elias Lindholm recorded three assists on Saturday. He’s on a five-game point streak of his own and is scoring at a point-per-game pace in Calgary. On his way to a career year and being used in all situations (ES/PP/SH), Lindholm has skated at least 20 minutes over five of his last six games. Needless to say, the trade from Carolina to Calgary has helped his fantasy value.

The Blackhawks had to make do without Duncan Keith for most of this game, after he was assessed a five-minute major and game misconduct for this early first-period hit on Dillon Dube (15 PIM total). The Flames’ rookie forward was forced to leave the game as well. Expect the NHL to review this hit.

{youtube}v-O07Msd7IY{/youtube}

Without Keith, other blueliners had to step up in terms of icetime. One in particular was Brent Seabrook, who logged 26:48 with one assist and four blocked shots. Henri Jokiharju and Erik Gustafsson each logged just over 25 minutes as well.

Another two goals for Timo Meier, including the overtime winner over Philly on Saturday. With 11 goals on the season, Meier is now tied for the league lead with four other players. Meier has recorded points in 10 of his last 11 games and appears to be on the verge of a true breakout. Even though his goal-scoring pace might cool off a little (23.9 SH%), the signs were there. Meier took over 200 shots last season while scoring 21 goals, and he’s been on a solid scoring unit with Logan Couture and Tomas Hertl.

Couture assisted on Meier’s overtime winner. He’s now on a nine-game point streak where he has recorded 14 points (5g-9a). Both Meier and Couture took five shots on goal in this game.

Nothing from Shayne Gostisbehere again on Saturday. He now has just a single assist over his last eight games. It could be time to make a buy-low offer on him from an impatient owner.

If you took Adam’s advice from the most recent Looking Ahead column and added Dustin Brown right away, you were rewarded. In just his third game back from injury, Brown scored a shorthanded goal and added two assists with a plus-3 while dishing five hits in the Kings’ 4-1 win over Columbus. Brown now has four points over those three games. He’s a must-add in many standard Yahoo leagues (which now include hits by default), as he has been credited with 14 hits over those three games. And yes, he is skating with Anze Kopitar.

One more shutout shoutout. This one to Marc-Andre Fleury posted his second shutout of the season, stopping all 34 shots he faced in the Golden Knights’ 3-0 win over Carolina.

Finally, if you want to hear me talk and not just read my words here, you can hear me on the Tampa Bay Lightning Power Play radio show, as I’m interviewed by Nick Alberga (who you may know from Sportsnet radio). I’m on today (Sunday) from 9-9:30 a.m. ET, then again from 12-12:30 p.m. ET and 3-3:30 p.m. ET. If you do, you’ll hear me answer some burning fantasy questions from Nick.

You might also even get to hear my younger son scream in the background. My older son was trying to block him from running into my office room while I took the call. I have to give credit to Nick, though, who was totally cool about the whole thing. Let’s just say I’m glad I wasn’t doing a video interview! Otherwise something like this might have happened.

{youtube}Mh4f9AYRCZY{/youtube}

For more fantasy hockey information, you can follow me on Twitter @Ian_Gooding.

from All About Sports https://dobberhockey.com/hockey-rambling/rinne-staying-in-nashville-pominville-a-plenty-nov-4/

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legit-scam-review · 6 years ago

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HashFlare’s Exit and the Future of Cloud Mining

Cloud mining — a service that enables individual users to lease hashing power from dedicated cryptocurrency mining operations — came forth as professionalization and cartelization of the mining business began to drive out smaller and insufficiently equipped players from the scene.

Since there is no way to verify that the share of the mining rig you are supposedly leasing actually exists — even if returns on your investment seem to be flowing regularly at first — the scheme is widely regarded as a happy hunting ground for scammers. Perhaps the only way to steer clear of fraud is to rely on the reputation of the established cloud mining brands. But with the outbreak of the recent scandal around the cloud mining platform HashFlare, this option might also soon be off the table.

HashFlare, one of the leading names in the business, announced on July 20 that it has dropped its mining service of active SHA-256 Bitcoin contracts, pursuant to a clause of the platform’s terms of service reading the following: “The Mining process will stop if the Maintenance and Electricity Fees will become larger than the Payout. If mining remains unprofitable for 21 consecutive days the Service is permanently terminated.”

Citing the ongoing “difficult time for the cryptocurrency market,” the firm claimed that by July 18, the payouts were lower than the maintenance fees for 28 days in a row, which activated the clause allowing for the the conclusion of the contracts. The statement implied that HashFlare would be open to resume Bitcoin mining, should more favorable market conditions arise. Apparently, the cease only concerned Bitcoin contracts, as operations with other crypto assets available in the firm’s portfolio — such as Litecoin and Ethereum — proceeded as usual.

While this July has not been the brightest month ever for the crypto market, especially in comparison to December 2017, many users have rightfully questioned HashFlare’s reasoning. After briefly touching the floor at just above $6000 in the first days of the month, Bitcoin prices entered a steady upward trend, coming close to $8000 by the day that the contract termination was announced.

Additionally, the first week of the month saw the Bitcoin network’s hashrate drop massively as a result of heavy floods in the Sichuan province of China, home to a dense conglomeration of mining rigs. This should have led to a corresponding decrease in difficulty for the rest of the nodes. Even before the disaster, around the time when the mining platform’s dry season allegedly started in mid-June, the network’s hashrate plummeted to around 30 TH/s. As the HashFlare’s account of things seemed to stand in contrast with a widely accepted version of reality, the allegations of fraud began to pour out.

Stranger things

The cost structure for participating in the HashFlare enterprise consists of two types of payments: a one-off investment in the processing power itself, and recurring maintenance fees — normally covered from mining profits. One of the several poignant circumstances accompanying the announcement is that the cloud mining operator decided to terminate the contracts without reimbursing users for the remainder of the annual contract fees, which they had paid upfront.

The current mishap appears to be at least the second time on record when HashFlare unilaterally altered its contractual commitments. 11 months ago, the platform switched all SHA-256 and Scrypt contracts from lifetime to one-year, on the grounds of global mining hardware scarcity. Obviously, many cloud miners did not appreciate this development and there was even a petition on Change.org with some 2,500 signatures.

Coincidentally, those who held lifetime contracts before September 2017 can derive some satisfaction from the fact that, in the wake of the recent debacle, their losses were modest. Since the yearly contracts that relaunched 11 months ago were set to expire late August, these customers are only losing a month’s worth of shares of their yearly investment in hashing power. Compared to them, people who jumped in during the year are suffering a greater degree of damage, with the most recent investors finding themselves in the worst-case scenario.

Granted, infuriated cloud miners took to Twitter and Reddit right away. A sizeable group of people who suspected HashFlare of being a scam finally had the chance to savor their ‘I told you so’ moment. The Twitter user who goes by the moniker ‘Madoff wasn’t on the blockchain’ and specializes in exposing crypto fraud, gloated over what he considered evidence that HashFlare never really had actual mining facilities — despite boasting a brand new data center just a few months earlier. He also brought up a February interview with the firm’s customer relations manager Edgar Bers, pointing to numerous ‘red flags’ — inconsistencies that allegedly indicated the operation’s fraudulent nature.

While some users reported they were able to initiate the chargeback process for HashFlare payments with their credit card issuers, the less lucky ones said they were considering a class action lawsuit. The operator is based in Estonia, so strict European consumer protection laws could be potentially applicable to the case. However, some observers surveyed by Blockonomi noted that, by the time the claim makes it to court, the defendant could cease to exist or fight back by exposing the users’ personal data.

Another odd detail that plays right into the ‘scam’ argument is the new withdrawal regulations that HashFlare put in place just days before dropping the Bitcoin contracts. All of a sudden, the mining operator urged users to comply with a set of KYC procedures, severely restricting the ability of those who failed to comply to move their funds out of the platform. Assuming malicious intent, this move could serve at least two purposes: hindering the flight of capital upon the release of the news and getting some leverage over the disgruntled users who will make it to the courtroom.

Cloud mining’s dim future

Albeit there are many considerations that could point to malice, none of them look indisputable. In terminating the contracts, HashFlare followed the clause of their own terms of service, which every user had to sign upon registration. These terms were found to be unaltered since at least last year. The clause in question does not specify a particular entity that is supposed to certify that maintenance and electricity fees indeed exceeded the mining payouts. And. even if the evidence that those data centers actually exist is scarce, robust evidence that they do not exist is even scarcer. Hopefully, a trusted third party will soon enter the scene to shed some light on the true state of affairs.

Meanwhile, HashFlare’s competitors are doing just fine. Users on another major cloud mining platform — Genesis Mining — reported getting payouts on their contracts as usual. So did the customers of Minergate. HashFlare’s fluke might well provide a short-term PR boost to other major players in the field, as well as an influx of new users who will want to switch to a presumably more reliable operator. But, in the long run, the fallout from the demise of one of the most prominent cloud mining operations could prove a massive blow to the whole industry.

Cloud mining already has a reputation of a risky endeavor: While contracts are usually long-term and initial payments fixed, fluctuations of crypto prices render such investments a roulette. Especially with Bitcoin, massive crowds of new miners constantly enter the market, driving the hashrate up. A recent report by CoinJournal highlights the tremendous rate of its growth over the last several months. This is good news for the crypto industry at large, meaning that — despite the relatively unimpressive price dynamics of 2018 — more and more resources are pouring into the network. Yet, for mining enterprises, this primarily signals more competition, spelling death for those who come up short in the arms race.

Against such a backdrop, the lack of trust in service providers might become a deal-breaker. Why engage in an increasingly precarious activity that promises fewer payoffs, especially when you cannot be entirely sure that the platform facilitating your engagement is trustworthy? If HashFlare’s case entrenches in mass consciousness as a poster for cloud mining services, the model is unlikely to survive the ongoing hashrate rush.

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jamiestevensphotographyfmp · 7 years ago

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Seventh Shoot - Arenig station, Capel Celyn memorial chapel & section towards Cwm Prysor Station

After a successful shoot last time around, I managed to capture quite a few potential images to use as prints and/or for the photobook, however I still needed to photograph other sections in between. I was still keeping a close eye on the forecast to make sure the conditions I had were the same as what I have been achieving through the previous shoot and my first shoot at Cwm Prysor. Unfortunately several days went by where the weather was atrocious (usual Welsh weather) or blue skies which I wanted to avoid to achieve overcast photographs.

However the forecast for this day was thick cloud and occasional showers, which I thought was an opportunity too good to miss to get the overcast shots I wanted. I set off before as the location is over an hour away, but the on arrival at the location the weather was much worse than what they had predicted...more of a case heavy showers with occasional dry spells. Armed with my waterproof camera cover I headed to the former location of Arenig station to start off the day. As this was an open bit of ground that has been subject to fly-tipping and overgrowth I had not considered to photograph the location of the former before, but I decided I would walk around with the camera on the tripod to see if there was anything worth capturing, and luckily I did! I came across the only trace apart from large concreted areas where the station used to be was this old railway sleeper set into the ground, however I was unsure what it was used for. Large holes appeared through it with about a two foot drop below.

From looking at the photograph we can see that the sun had started to rise in the distance and the fog and mist slowly lifting as the temperatures increased which added to the overall image. I continued to walk around the location to see if I could obtain any further appealing images which are shown below.

The image shown below is one of my favourite photographs I have taken for this project. The mist rising as mentioned in the photograph before along with the tracks of illegal off-roading now dominates the former station drawing you into the image and . The vibrant colours of the overgrowth add to the overall image which I feel is one of the strongest.

I was quite lucky to get these images as the rain started to come down quite hard which resulted in me constantly cleaning the lens on the camera to avoid large rain spots. Any small spots I could remove in post-processing but I wanted to avoid as many as I could not only to avoid editing time, but also to protect my gear from water damage.

As the weather started to get worse, I decided to head around the other side of Llyn Celyn to see if I could get some elevated or different shots to what I have previously achieved. I decided I would walk across the dam wall to the other side of the reservoir as I hadn’t previously taken a shot from that angle. Unfortunately, it wasn’t possible to get an elevated shot of the reservoir from here due to the amount of trees and no possible routes up the mountain from below. The only shot I got was down at the edge of the reservoir looking back towards the dam wall and tower.

where the memorial chapel had been built. The graves that were at the village were also moved to this location. It was decided to build the memorial chapel on the bank of the reservoir as this was the closest point to where the original location was. The stone from the previous chapel was used to build this one and the Capel Celyn stone was placed in the wall behind the headstones.

The dam was sold by Liverpool Corporation to Dwr Cymru (Welsh Water) who now look after the dam and reservoir, along with the memorial chapel and toilets located a mile up the road. Unfortunately, due to anti-social behaviour, the doors have been locked which has caused some debate by locals who want to visit and pay their respects. I have included a few photographs of the chapel and its location below.

I then decided to head down passed the memorial chapel to the edge of the reservoir to see if I could get any interesting shots looking across the water to where the train went through the valley before being flooded. Unfortunately it is quite hard to see where the line was where it is beneath the water and comes out but I managed to capture a couple of images I liked which are shown below.

One image that stood out from the rest is the one pictured below. An individual had left a daffodil on the edge of the reservoir which I’m guessing as a remembrance of a person and/or towards the devastation it caused for the communities of Capel Celyn. Through shooting on tripod at iso 100 and f22 it allowed for the waters to look calm and peaceful as a way of respect to what was once in front of this view has sadly gone.

At this point, myself and my equipment was getting soaked from heavy downpours, which resulted in hiding in the car for a duration to see if it would pass. After waiting for around an hour, I was close to calling it a day with no signs of the rain stopping. Lukckily I did have a towel and a microfibre cloth to keep drying the camera as much as I could and to avoid large rain spots on my images.

To see if it would pass, I drove back towards where I had started off at Arenig where I wanted to photograph a few shots which I captured before when it was blue skies, this time the rain was coming down This was at the house which had been built on the edge of the line where I couldn’t work out before if it was an old station house or not. From looking at various railway books and Ordnance Survey maps from when the line was in operation, there is no evidence this was a former station. It still confuses me why it was built there and has reminiscence platform edge to it.

Luckily, on driving to the next location at Arenig where I would walk the section of track which I didn’t last time, the weather improved and was a combination of light intermittent showers which I didn’t mind, it was just my camera I was worried about.

I set off from the same location as last time, walking down the farmers track and onto the line as I had only walked up to the dense forestry which had grown over the past few decades.

I had the same approach as before, with shooting everything on a 45 degree angle, unless the scene looked better straight on. I have included the images I took below.

One of many plate-layers’ huts on the route.

Sleepers were originally used on the side of the line where large cuttings were present to keep the line clear of snow drifts.

As this was the point I walked to before where a new bridge had been built for walkers, I decided to walk back to the car where I could continue the project forward. This section of line took around two hours to walk and roughly 5 miles in total.

After getting back to the car, I decided to drive up from this point to the former Cwm Prysor Station ‘House’ as I wanted to photograph this again but in the overcast light. It seems between a few weeks apart, no work had been done on the house.

As this station was only used by a few local people from the lonely hill farms and fishermen visiting the nearby Llyn Tryweryn, a natural lake located behind the house, I decided I would photograph this as well as I felt it was an important part to include.

I decided to photograph at the bottom of the lake looking in the direction of Cwm Prysor valley and also head up onto the hill side which can be seen in the photograph above and take a shot of the lake complete.

This shot is looking back towards the direction of Cwm Prysor Station ‘house’ which can be vaguely seen just off centre to the right in the image. Even though I think the other photo is more appealing in terms of aesthetics, I do prefer this as to documenting the line as the whole of the lake, the station house, and also the old line route is in shot. This part of the line is now occupied as the A$212 main road from Trawsfynydd to Bala.

I decided to call it a day after here as the weather started to turn again and the next section where I wanted to document was from a few hundred yards away from Cwm Prysor viaduct towards Bryncelynog station where I would be photographing up to. This section would take a good couple of hours to shoot but the time was getting on and would be dark when we would be walking back, which of course is not a good idea when the trackbed is perched on the edge of the mountain!

Overall, I feel I have captured a lot of successful photograph from the day and that my composition and ability to capture details are improving dramatically as time goes on. Now that the photographs are similar in terms lighting and weather conditions, I do feel it is becoming a consistent and coherent body of work which I feel I am now progressing compared to before and have got a clear direction on where this project is going.

Seventh shoot images - https://www.dropbox.com/sh/9bnxzleaoxdb2pa/AACxIBuuPZ9jki1_6mCrV4x4a?dl=0

#finalmajorproject

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jamiestevensphotographypmp · 7 years ago

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Ferodo - Second Visit

Following the first day, I decided to visit Ferodo this time with all my equipment present. This included my Nikon D800, Nikon 27-70mm, 14-24mm and 50mm along with my Manfrotto tripod. This time I dragged my dad along with me who I used as an assistant to carry my equipment and also as another pair of eyes and ears for the site in case there was anyone there the same time as myself. This allowed me to obtain the shots I desired without having to worry too much of my surroundings.

The weather was much better this time around which allowed me to spend further time on the exterior of the factory to capture any shots which looks appealing. Also, I also decided to look for any artefacts or documents that are present on the site which I will photograph and then collect which I could include into my body of work.

As last visit was much more of a scout, I decided to use the previous images as reference and locate the angles and shots I wanted. As I had my tripod with me and all my lenses, I had the opportunity to obtain the best images possible by shooting at 100 iso and around f16 for all the image to be in focus. I also placed the camera on a self-timer of two seconds to allow me to push the button and not vibrate or disturb the shot which would result in any blurriness. Some of the previous images I took of the site will be usable for the project such as images of various parts of the site as I am considering using these in a book format and not for wall display so the amount of quality in the shots will be enough for the book. However, I wanted to achieve some high quality shots of the site which will stand out and will be able to use these potentially to exhibit on the wall as large prints. These shots will be carefully considered in the factory itself to obtain the best image as possible with my camera rather than enhancing the image in post production.

The weather for visiting the factory was much better this time as it was dry with some dramatic blue skies present. This allowed me to obtain more images of the exterior compared to previously as only a few photographs had been taken before due to a short spell of no rain.

As the majority of the work I produce is around architecture and interiors, I have applied the standard methods of architectural photography such as vertical lines in my images for them to be proportional and to be more appealing. I have seen many people photograph a variety of architecture and I instantly don’t find it as appealing if the building isn’t straight. I’m not sure if that is just my personal preference but I have applied it to my images.

I have included a link to all the images shot on my second visit below.

https://www.dropbox.com/sh/l5rljuhox7tskxy/AABXHl9Y-v97Q6xRNp68_aNka?dl=0

On arrival, I noticed compared to my first visit the inside of the factory had a lot more water present which I decided to take advantage of capturing the site with a reflection of the architecture and dilapidated state in the photograph. This is shown below.

This image gives the viewer a perspective of the size of the site see even though this is only a quarter of the size of the main unit. The interesting structure which was designed to allow as much natural light as possible into the factory is reflected in the water producing a lot of interesting and leading lines. The shot also allows the viewer to see the decay fo the site in the rest of the image such as the broken roller shutter, missing part of the structure and rubbish across the factory floor.

As I wasn’t previously able to get a shot of the size of the factory due to weather, I headed to the top of the site close to the main road where I used my 24-70mm.

As I wasn’t previously able to get a shot of the size of the factory due to weather, I headed to the top of the site close to the main road where I used my 24-70mm. A first I didn’t think much of this shot, but after reviewing it several times it started to grow on me. On first look it just looks like a normal shot of a working factory with not much signs of dilapidation. But if we start to look at the image closer, we can see the signs of this, the roof is covered in dirt and seagulls which have made nests. The surrounding landscape such as the foreground and in front of the factory has become severally overgrown which shows that through its neglect, it is slowly reclaiming back what was once at the site before being constructed. The original car park is empty with no designated parking bays which would be seen if it was used. There is also some security fencing on the left hand side of the image which adds to its abandonment. The only thing I probably would have preferred was if the sky was more dramatic and not as blue as it was. A dramatic sky over the factory would have not only made the image more aesthetically pleasing, but reflect in its history and failure over its final years.

From my second visit, one of my best shots I felt is the image shown below.

The large green plant has been growing inside the factory due to a hole in the asbestos roof. This has caused water to come inside and enable the plant to grow on the outside of the puddle. I feel the shape of the growth in the image sums up the life of the factory like a wheel. There is a cycle from nature being disrupted for the site being built, and then slowly reclaiming the land back once it is forgotten about, like the factory would be on a constant cycle of repeating the same work every day. I find the image very appealing due to the contrast of the green against the blue of the bottle in the foreground, the frame of the roller shutter door and also the plastic water drums scattered about the factory. The reflection in the water ables the foreground to have more detail along with the construction and signs of abandonment across the frame of the image. I feel that longer you look at the images, the more you start to see and put your own interpretation on the image. Out of all the images I have taken of the site, I feel this one stands out more than the rest due to the summarisation.

As I want to exhibited maybe one or several images, this one definitely would be one of the selection due to how appealing it is for myself, which I hope others will think this too. I feel that the green and contrast of the site will draw the viewer into seeing this image.

#pilotmajorproject

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grapsandclaps · 7 years ago

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Graps and Claps does Guest Blogs Part 3 - True Grit Wrestling

Hello everyone! Ben Corrigan here, feeling very honoured to have been invited back to present another guest edition of #GrapsAndClaps. My last stint as a GUEST GRAP CLAPPER was a few weeks ago when I told you about my trip to 3CW; you can read all about that one (as well as a bit of background on myself) here: https://grapsandclaps.tumblr.com/post/165973966028/graps-and-claps-does-guest-blogs-the-755-show. This return edition will focus on my recent visit to True Grit Wrestling, held at Fibber’s in York last Saturday (21 October 2017). This was my 59th live wrestling show of 2017, with the big 6-0 coming the following night in Leeds at TIDAL Wrestling (which I’m sure your regular #GrapsAndClaps host Andy will be along to tell you all about shortly). This one wasn’t really an “away day” for me: it was the local-est of local graps, taking place a mere 10 minute walk from my front door. Thanks to Storm Brian, however, that brief walk was cold, wet, windy and rather unpleasant, though did give me chance to consider whether “Brian Storm” would be a good wrestler name (I concluded that no, it would not…). The venue itself, Fibbers, is a noted live music spot in York. I used to come to this building years ago when it was ‘Toffs’ nightclub. It’s since been ‘Tokyo’ and ‘Tru’, and as of a couple of years ago now plays host Fibbers at the back, York’s Barvarian-styled Bierkeller at the front and a, erm, “gentleman’s club” club upstairs. While regular readers of this blog will be horrified, the local nature of this show meant that I hadn’t planned on visiting any of the local drinking establishments beforehand. Given the inclement weather, though, there was no chance of me queuing outside so I popped into the aforementioned Bierkeller to dry out and wet one’s whistle. In true bierkeller fashion, they offer a variety of German beers served as either pints or steins. I was tempted by the Warsteiner, but settled on the Lowenbrau at a reasonable £4.40 a pint. Wunderbar. As for True Grit Wrestling, they originally started running shows in Leeds nightclubs in 2014, then moved to Wakefield for a single event, before stopping altogether when that venue became unavailable. Those original shows were effectively the “big grown up sister” events to West Yorkshire-based GRAPPLE Wrestling, very strong on in-ring action and featuring many of the top names in northern BritWres. GRAPPLE itself has been running Fibbers for over a year now, with the shows there recently rebranding under the returning True Grit banner. As a university city, they’d put effort into marketing the show to students and it paid off, with the biggest crowd I have seen packed into that venue (150, I’d say), mainly young adults treating it as a night out. It’s an ‘intimate’ setting for wrestling, with the all-standing crowd gathered looking down on the ring, which is set low down in a pit (the ‘dancefloor’). The room and set-up doesn’t offer great sight lines unless you manage to get to the front of the standing areas (as a gig venue, it’s mainly intended for everyone to see the stage, not low on the floor), so it’s worth getting there a little early if you can. I was lucky enough to get a decent vantage point (though next to the constant dripping of the leaking roof…), but with the strong attendance on this occasion there were plenty that were struggling to see. Inside waiting for the show to begin, we were treated to a soundtrack of WWE themes both old and current, including Seth Rollins, Sheamus, Kane, AJ Styles (that had people singing along!), Evolution, Los Guerreros, Ember Moon, Sanity and more. There was chance to go to the bar, which has everything from your usual draft lagers to an impressive selection of bottled real ales and canned craft beers. I started on the Goose IPA at £4.80 a pint (“One!” “Two!” “GOOSE!” No.), before later moving onto Becks Vier (£3.90) until it ran out halfway through the show, pushing me onto the Stella Artois (also £3.90). The show itself opened with ring announcer Ricc “Dombrowski” (the name being a spoof on the former 1PW commentator) introducing Danny O’Doherty as the “host” for the show. He was really good in this role, drinking beer, engaging with the audience, chipping in with comments before each match and leading chants during them. He set the tone for the show as being a fun night out and encouraged people to get involved. Good stuff. The first match saw The Evil Within (Sean Only & BA Rose) retain their GRAPPLE Tag Team Championship (or, to quote what is hilariously misspelt on the rather-crap-looking title belts, the “CHAMPIONATOS DE PAREJAS”…) over ‘Amazing’ Matt Myers and Ace Matthews. The match was good, with Evil Within beating down their opponents and Myers & Matthews making spirited comebacks. Rose reminds me of a mini Dave Mastiff, not only in the looks department but also with much of his offence (back sentons and cannonballs). It was Only that scored the fall, though, pinning Ace after a curb stomp. The next match started off as a friendly bout between popular fan favourites the “Bhangra Bad Boy” Amir Jordan and “Hot-Blooded” Dom Black. Black is pushed as “York’s Own”, and he did have his vocal fan club in the crowd there specifically to see him. He’s a talented young performer that shows a lot of potential. All friendliness came to a halt a few minutes later, though, as “Your Naan’s Favourite Wrestler” faked an injury as an opportunity to get a jump on Dom. From that point on it was a heated brawl, with the entertaining Jordan showing annoyance at the audience’s support of Black. The pair brawled out into the crowd, and referee Mark Rolls had no choice but to count them both out. It was at this point that it was revealed that True Grit’s return date would be 20 January 2018, featuring a championship tournament with tonight’s matches acting as qualifiers. As Black and Jordan were both counted-out, it was announced that both would be in that tournament. So, the rivalry is to be continued, by the looks of it. I like that they’re building some rivalries now that they seem to be running here semi-regularly – it always makes the matches more interesting than basic goodie vs. baddie. Next, former Super League player Luke Menzies showed off his power in dominating and beating Olly and Bradley (apologies, I missed their surnames) in a handicap match. I’ve been incredibly impressed with Menzies on the few times I’ve seen him now; as I mentioned in my last appearance in #GrapsAndClaps he looks to have all the tools and aptitude to be a star in this business. So this match was basically him just launching these two kids all over the place with ease and it was BRILLIANT. Luke quickly put them out of their misery with a huge powerslam. Consider me well and truly aboard the Luke Menzies train. The final match of the first half was billed as a “RI:SE guest match”, where WWE:UK’s MUSCLECAT Saxon Huxley bested Joe Vega with a shoulderbreaker. RISE runs gritty cool-looking “underground”-type shows in Leeds gig venues, themed around attitude-fuelled brawling and out-of-control action. They have a show coming up on Saturday 28 October at ‘Temple of Boom’, so that got a heavy plugging here. I do want to check out a RISE show, as they are pretty local to me and do look very cool and chaotic in a good way, but they always tend to clash with other shows I’m already attending (as is the case with their show next week, as I’ll be in London for wXw that day). Vega was a regular on the north-west scene a number of years ago, but then had a long spell out with injury. He was good here as the arrogant little prick. Much of what Musclecat does is basic, but I noticed that he does do those basics very well indeed; he’s a solid and capable wrestler. Danny O’Doherty spent most of this one leading chants of “JESUS! JESUS!” over the microphone, based on Saxon’s biblical appearance. After an interval in which drinks were refilled and raffle tickets were bought, Boris Koslov beat The Pop Punk Kid in a colourful and entertaining contest with the air raid crash. Boris, an alter-ego of longtime British wrestling personality JC Thunder, is no longer the “Russian Nightmare”, but a dancing, drinking friendly Russian party animal. PPK is billed from Chicago and came out with a box of pizza to match his pepperoni pizza tights. This match was daft but also loads of fun, with pizza getting thrown around (and out into the crowd) and Boris Cossack dancing and swigging from his vodka bottle to power-up his moves. A number of lounge chairs were brought into the ring next (then taken out… then put back in…), together with a potted plant, for a segment only described as “SPEED DATING WITH COWBOY JOHN PARKER”. Cowboy John Parker is a manager on GRAPPLE/TGW shows, and wears a cowboy hat and cowboy boots. Like a cowboy, you see. He also fancies himself as a bit of a lothario, so this was about bringing out some of the female wrestlers (including Ruby Radley and Evee Black) for him to “woo”. Instead, he insulted each of them in turn, before Evee smacked him round the head, called the segment “the most degrading thing I’ve ever been involved with in wrestling… and that’s saying something…” and challenged Parker to a match on the next show. This whole thing was nowhere near as cringeworthy as I thought it could be; a daft bit of throwaway fun. Before the next match, in which THE LION KINGS Seb Strife & Nsereko beat Bison Reid and (a partner whose name I didn’t catch), it was time for that all-important raffle, often the highlight of a British wrestling show. Starting a theme that would last all weekend, I only went and won the top bloomin’ prize – a family ticket to the 20 January return show. So there. The match itself was fine, a good showcase for the Lion Kings and featuring plenty of “RRRAAAAARRRR”ing. Oh, and Bison Reid is literally the best name for a wrestler. The main event was a rematch from the last True Grit show in Fibbers, in which Martin Kirby had defeated ‘The Grafter’ to relieve him of the GRAPPLE Championship. This return match was a streetfight, and while neither man “brought their jeans” for the occasion, it did involve an entire bagful of Poundland’s Halloween toys, including a severed hand which made a wonderfully satisfying noise when Kirby used it to chop Graves. Being a streetfight, it was quite fitting that they went outside Fibbers and FOUGHT, on the STREET. Most of the audience ran outside to watch, but I stayed inside and waited for it all to calm down… Sure enough, they fought back to the ring, where they bumped the referee and Kirby hit a Sablebomb on top of a pumpkin for a desperate nearfall. I am not making this up. After surviving such devastation, Graves hit Kirby with a spear to win back his belt. And that was that. Actually, no it wasn’t, because the show closed with a massive brawl between all the guys in the 20 January tournament and more. Referees & trainees couldn’t separate them, and it was only when the onlooking Big T Justice jumped in to lend a hand that everyone thought “f*ck that” and wisely backed down. And THAT was that. A fun little show that I really enjoyed, and I’ll likely be back for the 20 January championship tournament show (I did win the raffle, after all). Good local undergraps. Some good upcoming talented performers in a good atmosphere. And nothing that could be described as “bad”. You can find out more about that show and True Grit Wrestling in general on Facebook and at @TrueGriPromote on Twitter. As for me, you can read more about my adventures at @BritWresAwayDay and maybe one day back in another guest edition of this blog… Until then, keep supporting Andy and #GrapsAndClaps, and I’ll see you out there!

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paulcleonard · 7 years ago

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Many of us have an ordinary old domestic shorthair, but if you are looking for something a little different, here are a few of the more rare and unusual breeds out there.

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While there are hundreds of dog breeds and a huge variation in personality and appearance through selective breeding, there are fewer than 100 cat breeds, with only 40 officially recognised by the Cat Fanciers Association.

Devon Rex

Anyone who has even known a Devon Rex has no doubt fallen under the spell of this endearing breed. With their soft, curly coat, large ears and sometimes slightly frazzled whiskers, they are cute and snuggly and also highly intelligent. The Devon Rex is a very people-oriented cat not suited to long periods of solitude. They are in some ways described as dog-like and bond very closely usually to one person in the household. Their unusual coat is due to a lack of thicker guard hairs, with just a soft downy undercoat. This lack of hair has also earned them some status as a potential hypoallergenic breed, but like all hypoallergenic cats, they do still product the FEL D-1 protein that causes allergies, they just shed less.

Scottish Fold

If you’ve ever lost an afternoon to watching cat videos on YouTube, you’ve probably come across possibly the most famous Scottish Fold, Maru. While Maru doesn’t have the completely folded owl-like ears of some Scottish Folds, he does have the characteristic round face and shortish legs. The fold is a genetic mutation that occurred in Scotland in a barn cat called Susie and from the original single fold due to a cartilage defect, selective breeding has increased the folds to sometimes 3, causing the ears in some Scottish Folds to fold almost completely flat. Due to this mutation Scottish Folds can have other cartilage defects, making them more likely to develop painful degenerative joint disease, particularly if they are not out-crossed to other breeds such as British Shorthairs. Scottish Folds have a loyal, adaptable and playful temperament with a wonderful vocal repertoire.

Australian Mist

This Australian breed was developed in 1976 by crossing Burmese, Abyssinian and domestic shorthaired cats. It was originally known as the Spotted Mist, but the name was changed to include other coat variations. Mists are known to have very little undercoat, so they don’t require much brushing and won’t leave hair all over your house. The Mist as well as being gorgeous, with striking often green eyes, glossy coat and delicate markings, has a lovely affectionate temperament. They love attention and make great family pets.

Turkish Van

The Turkish Van is best known for its unusual love of water and is often called the swimming cat. This rare breed, traces its origins to a couple of cats that were taken back to the UK from Turkey in 1955. Since then additional genetics have been added from other Turkish cats and they are generally known to be fairly robust. The Turkish Van has a quick-drying, incredibly soft, cashmere-feeling coat that is made up of awn hairs, lacking both guard hairs and a true undercoat. They do tend to shed in summer, but keep a glorious bushy tail year-round. This large statured cat is an incredible jumper, often likes to ‘fish’ in water bowls and is incredibly playful and energetic.

Norwegian Forest Cat

The glorious lion-like Norwegian Forest Cat has adoring fans worldwide, but harks from Northern Europe, where its coat is possibly more suited to the colder climate. This huge and sturdy cat loves to climb and has a beautiful calm, independent temperament. Adult males can easily reach 10kg in weight, and due to their fluffy coat, they really do appear larger than life. They are generally considered to be a breed with few genetic problems, but sometimes suffer incidences of heart disease and eye problems.

Bengal

The Bengal is part Asian leopard cat, crossed with a domestic shorthair. They have glorious spotted or marbled markings, sometimes with a shimmery gold ‘glitter’ effect, that really makes them a beautiful cat to look at. This athletic breed is agile, active and somewhat of a wildcat at times. They can be wilful and very talkative and need to be kept occupied or have a companion to keep them busy. They are prone to heart problems, but are otherwise generally healthy cats.

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