#i waste a lot of paint by painting on the backboard

[baby-prophet]

as like a painting warm up I've been using the acrylic paint that I mixed in yogurt cups like over a year ago (some of them dried to like a weird squishy solid, but I was able to resuscitate a few of them to something that resembles paint) and just shutting off my brain and going at it... maybe painting along with the music I'm listening to until I maybe see forms and shapes appear and then I follow that path until there's a new fork in the road so on and so forth ect.ect.. and all the paintings are messy and not 'good' but if you look closely enough you find exciting and amazing things

[intubatedangel]

Barista’s Bad Heart - part 9

(Long part here, a lot of exposition, but it’s fairly important as Anna Swift and the team at Memorial are going to be the main characters of many of my stories going forward. Like a TV medical drama, you’ll see these guys often, but the patients will still get their own introductory part or parts. Hope you enjoy.)

Part 1: https://intubatedangel.tumblr.com/post/183302348002/baristas-bad-heart-part-1 

Other links at the bottom.

***

Advanced Nurse Practitioner Anna Swift leaned against the counter in the centre of the main triage room. She signed off a chart, dropping it into the discharged pile, then picked up her tea. She was young enough, only 26, that she hadn’t lost enough taste buds to handle the grim brown liquid that passed as coffee. She sipped the warm tea and turned to look around the room. Laid out in a hexagon, it was the hub of the emergency department, where patients were initially assessed then shifted to the relevant ward. There were a dozen cubicles in this central room alone, with portable beds to allow patients to be shuffled around easily and efficiently.

 Wide sets of double doors led through to additional cubicles for varying degrees of severity. Each set of doors had large painted panels denoting their intended patients. The blue doors were the minor injuries ward, though most of the staff referred to it as HC, hypochondriac central. Small cuts, basic colds, pretty much anything that could have been sorted by the patient themselves, went through those doors.

 Yellow doors led through to the main treatment ward, simplified to TR by the staff. Simple fractures, bad cuts, sprains and illnesses, anything actually needing treatment or observation went through those doors. It was the biggest of the wards, capable of accommodating over 40 patients without any body sitting on a bed in a corridor.

 Red was the High Severity Unit, HSU. This was for patients that were in potentially serious trouble and needed close observation. Badly broken bones, head injuries and the like. Things that had a chance of suddenly becoming life threatening. 20 patients could be treated, and crash carts were scattered across the ward in case a patient deteriorated. It had its own set of elevators to the radiology department and an internal corridor to the next ward. The ward that had black panels on its doors.

 The Resus Suite was where the life and death action happened. It had access to the ambulance bay to get patients in quick. It was the crowning glory of the Trauma Centres reputation. 12 fully equipped rooms, ready to handle anything the city had to throw at it. It even had a pair of Trauma Theatre’s, and a surgical team on standby. A helicopter pad on the roof had elevators directly to the Resus Suite.

 The Resus Suite was Anna’s primary domain. She would cover the other wards when it was quiet, as she had been doing today, but as soon as that red phone rang, she could drop everything and go to where she thrived. Her gaze fell upon it. It sat on the central column behind the circular counter. It hadn’t rung all day. Somehow, the bustling city had avoided grinding anyone up over the last 8 hours. A couple of minor car crashes, one stabbing and an old lady who tripped over thin air and broke her hip, but nothing that set that phone ringing. Every patient had been conscious and stable as they were brought in.

 “You’d better not be hoping for that phone to ring Anna.” Said a voice behind her. The words were a reprimand, but the tone was friendly, almost playful. She turned to see Doctor Carl Teague, 30 years old, with sandy hair a short, sculpted beard. He was like Anna. They were both young for their positions, he was already an ED consultant, leading their team. Anna had been working with him for two years now. They’d been sleeping together for 6 months.

 “I’m thinking nothing of the sort.” She replied, a look of mock outrage on her face. “I was merely considering that my skills might be being wasted over in HC.”

 He rolled his eyes, filling his current chart in the discharge box. “Think of it this way,” he said quietly, leaning over the counter towards her, “a quiet day, means we have more energy for fun later on.”

 Anna checked that no was watching. “Easy boy. Remember, not at work.” Despite seeing each other for six months, no one at the hospital officially knew they were in a more than professional relationship. It was starting to become a point of contention between them, and she saw him frown slightly. “Soon. Okay. I just want to make sure everyone knows I’m leading because I’m good enough. Not because I’m entangled with the ED’s golden boy.”

 “You’ve proved that time and again already.” He said. “I just…”

 The red phone rang.

 ***

 Anna stood in the ambulance bay, bristling with that nervous energy that always filled her when a hard case came her way. Excitement wasn’t quite the right word for it. It was tension, focus, determination all wrapped into one. There was also an undercurrent of concern and fear, that they might fail. But she had enough experience to keep that buried deep enough that it wouldn’t impact her performance.

 In the six minutes since the red phone had called them, Anna had gathered up her team. Like a well-oiled machine they knew their roles and could have probably run a code in silence, such was their experience together. Carl had grabbed his current shadow, a young F1 junior doctor. She was clearly nervous, her fingers tugging on the hem of her head scarf.

 They all knew the rough details, mid 20’s girl in full cardiac arrest, sudden onset, no trauma. The sirens broke through the air, the ambulance rapidly approaching. Carl gave his orders.

 “Ok guys, let’s run this same as always. Anna, I want you straight onto compressions. Kirstie, take the ambu bag. Jess, IV. Roger, you’ve got the record. Zee, this is your first time, so stick close, listen and try your best to keep track.” Zainab nodded. “Good.  Everyone else, I want her inside as quick as we can, so make sure nothings tangled and get ready to work them legs.”

 There were murmurs of understanding, the approaching sirens beginning to drown them out. The ambulance raced onto the street, forcing the traffic to yield. It swung into the emergency lane that led up to the assemble resus team. They all stepped back, just off the road, as the ambulance approached. The tyres squealed, a hint of burnt rubber filling the space in front of the doors, bringing the ambulance to a stop.

 The team sprang into action. Two of those who had no specific job wrenched open the doors, stepping out of the way. Anna was greeted by the sight of Lucy working the young woman’s chest. A younger man was sat at the head of the gurney, his eyes sparkling with tears. The squeal of the monitor spilled out, and Anna could see the streaking flatline on the monitor. The moment passed, and Anna sprang into action.

 She stepped forward, placing one foot on the back step of the ambulance, then sprang forward. Gripping the sides of the gurney with her hands, she swung her legs down, landing on either side of the girl’s bare legs. She grabbed the monitor off the shelf as Lucy continued her compressions, and pulled it across the lifeless body to clip it onto the gurney’s rail.

 “On 3.” Anna said to Lucy, who nodded, as she shuffled her knees into the right position. “1…2…3” Lucy pushed down once more, then snapped her arms away. In the same moment, Anna brought her interlaced fingers down, pressing down straight away. There had been no break in the rhythm of compressions, Anna’s thrusts taking place of Lucy’s with a slick efficiency.

 The gurney shuddered, Anna compensating automatically, as it was pulled from the back of the ambulance. There was a slight pause as bits of equipment were handed off and Dave made his way round from the cab. Hands grabbed the gurney and began pushing it head-first, towards the doors. Anna kept up the perfect compressions as they travelled towards the Resus Suite.

 Carl was near the girl’s head, opposite Dave. Roger was trailing just behind Dave, clipboard and chart in hand. “What have we got?” Carl asked.

 “Amelia Preston, 25. Sudden V-tach arrest after altercation with a customer. No signs of injury, infection or drug-based influence. Suspected prior cardiac complaint. She was wearing a 3-lead monitor at the time.” He nodded over at George, who held out the monitor. Zainab took it off his hands. “CPR started immediately, and AED was on scene within 90 seconds. Shocked 3 times before becoming asystolic. First round of Epi administered after 10 minutes. Resulted in a shockable rhythm. After 2 shocks we got a sinus brady rhythm, with multifocal PVCs. Deteriorated back into V-fib, then asystole again after 2 shocks. She’s been flat since then. Total downtime of 22 minutes.”

 The team had gotten the gurney inside and were now turning through the extra wide door into Resus 1.

 “Ok. Let’s move her over and get her on our monitors. Let’s run a tox panel, and get someone from cardiology down here, I want the data from that monitor.” The gurney had pulled up next to trauma bed and everyone was waiting on Anna to move Amelia across. Anna checked the team was ready to move, then shifted across both beds, slipping over the side to land on the step that protruded from the trauma bed. The rest of the team had lifted Amelia across and arranged her on their own CPR backboard, allowing Anna to resume compressions as soon as she landed on the step.

 Lucy handed over the blood sample to one of the nurses, Trish, who rushed out of the trauma room towards the lab. Another nurse was over by the phone, calling the cardiology department. Others were quickly connecting the equipment to the monitors, one attached to the bed, with a repeater feed to the TV sized monitor on the wall.

 “Let’s double check everything.” Carl ordered. “I want an echo and let’s confirm that airway.” Anna counted off the compressions as the ultrasound probe was pulled over to the side of the bed.

 “3…2…1…” Anna pumped down Amelia’s chest once more, then pulled back. She scanned the room as Carl held the probe to Amelia’s battered chest. Lucy and Dave were standing in a corner, along with the young man that had accompanied them. He looked physically and emotionally exhausted. She looked down at the lifeless body before her. With a few moments to actually look at the girl, Anna was struck was by how similar she was to their patient. They had the same body shape, were within a couple of inches of each other and both had hair that curled gently in waves, though Anna’s was maybe a shade darker. If they’d been weighed, there would probably be a good difference, given the muscle tone Anna had developed lifting patients and performing life saving efforts. But overall, they looked similar enough that a stranger might comment on them being sisters.

 “No cardiac activity.” Carl commented, gaze locked on the screen of the echo. “But the pericardium is clear.” He handed off the probe and grabbed the stethoscope from around his neck. “Good bilateral air entry. Airway’s fine.” He looked up at Anna. The realisation of the similarity between her and Amelia must have been showing on her face. “You ok?” He asked.

 Anna shock her head quickly. “I’m fine.” She said, motioning for him to get out of the way. As soon as the head of the steth was out of the way she resumed compressions, with a slightly more desperate effort to them.

 Carl shrugged to himself. “High dose of epi, let’s see if we can kick start something.” Jessica acknowledged the order and proceeded to inject the drugs into the central IV, confirming the time with Roger. “Sarah! Anything from cardiology?” He called out to the nurse by the phone.

 “They’re saying at least 15 minutes. They’re all in the cath lab or out for lunch.”

 Carl cursed under his breath. He placed his fingers against Amelia’s neck, feeling the solid compression generated pulse. Then he checked her pupils. “Pupillary response is diminished.” He sighed, pondering his next move. “Ok, let’s get the LUCAS and combo pads on her, and initiate therapeutic hypothermia, I want to keep as much of her brain function intact as possible if we can get her back. She’s definitely a small.”  

 Anna focused on completing her fourth minute of compressions as the rest of team unpacked the specified equipment. Being a nationally recognised centre of excellence in the field of resuscitation, Memorial had been given several grants for research projects aiming to improve patient outcomes. One of those projects was Carl’s pet project. Still a prototype, the Intra-Arrest Temperature Management Vest was a relatively simple idea. The goal was to rapidly induce mild-hypothermia to reduce potential brain and organ damage, without interfering with efforts to resuscitate the patient. In practice, it looked almost like a bulky long winter coat without the sleeves and a few strange gaps.

 Anna watched as the team spread the vest on the bed next to Amelia. They’d practiced the procedure repeatedly, on manakins and each other, but Amelia was only the second patient to be in the right situation for the vest. Kirstie and Sarah took up position on the opposite side of the bed from Amelia, while Jessica come up beside Anna. With Trish still on her way back from the lab, Carl directed Zainab to the head of the bed, while he went to the end. His longer arms allowed him to reach out and grip underneath Amelia’s thighs. Anna waited until everyone had sounded off their readiness before stopping compressions.

“1…2…3… Lift.” Carl told Zainab. Together they lifted the lifeless Amelia a couple of inches clear of the bed. Anna’s arm shot underneath her, grabbing the vest. Next to her Jess was doing the same. They pulled it through, Kirstie and Sarah making sure they didn’t drag it too far, then guided Carl and Zainab in lowering Amelia back down so that she lay with her shoulder blades on the reinforced section of the back of the vest. That was where most of the pressure from the compressions would end up.

 As soon as Amelia was down, Anna went straight back into compressions, keeping the blood flowing while the others finished arranging the vest. Amelia’s chest sank underneath Anna’s hands, her abdomen distending just as it before. The vest offered no interference with the process. As Anna hammered away on her near-doppelganger’s chest, Sarah reached around her hands to remove the shiny orange gel pads, replacing them with the large foam squares of the Quik-Combo electrodes.

 Jess and Kirstie threaded Amelia’s arms through the large holes, then folded the top half of vest over her body, securing it with the Velcro straps. It didn’t interfere with Anna, as one of the large gaps was located right on Amelia’s sternum, providing the perfect gap for Anna’s hands. The pair of nurses then moved further down, wrapping parts of the vest around Amelia’s thighs, another large gap left between her legs, allowing access to her vagina and femoral arteries.

 The small cooler attached to the vest began to hum as it pumped refrigerated water through the tiny tubes in the vest, and within seconds Amelia’s temperature began to drop. Anna continued her professionally brutal compressions as the team then began to unpack the Lucas. Carl was injecting another round of drugs in, as the monitor continued to show the complete lack of electrical activity in Amelia’s heart.

 The backboard of the Lucas was brought over, Anna stopping for a moment as it was slid under Amelia, it was a perfect fit for the reinforced region of the vest. Anna did a few more compressions as the team made sure the Lucas was ready.

 “Ok, step off Anna.” Carl ordered. She complied, stepping completely off the bed, rubbing some feeling back into her arms. She glanced at the clock. 6 minutes and 30 seconds of near continuous compressions. It was a personal best. Though she didn’t feel particularly proud at the moment. It meant that Amelia had now been in cardiac arrest for 29 minutes.

 Anna returned her attention to the patient who look so much like her. The Lucas had been clipped to its backboard, Amelia’s wrists tied to the top. The large puck, fitting perfectly in the gap in the cooling vest, began to force her chest down. At this point, all Anna could do was watch. Watch, and hope.

***

Part 2: https://intubatedangel.tumblr.com/post/183345519857/baristas-bad-heart-part-2

Part 3: https://intubatedangel.tumblr.com/post/183380872877/baristas-bad-heart-part-3

Part 4: https://intubatedangel.tumblr.com/post/183471507287/barristas-bad-heart-part-4

Part 5: https://intubatedangel.tumblr.com/post/183491865107/barristas-bad-heart-part-5

Part 6: https://intubatedangel.tumblr.com/post/183594682567/barristas-bad-heart-part-6

Part 7: https://intubatedangel.tumblr.com/post/183658697742/baristas-bad-heart-part-7

Part 8: https://intubatedangel.tumblr.com/post/183678245687/baristas-bad-heart-part-8

[azdoine]

"Well... Are there any particularly nasty groups? I know I'm gonna make a lot of waves... are there any groups that might be problems?"

"Nasty groups?" Nadia asks, opening her hands. "If magical girls think I sent others to attack them, I am dead. I am only myself, fimti? I do not paint targets."

You open your mouth to argue, but Sayaka beats you to the punch. "What?" she snaps, straightening with a sharp jerk. "Why would you help them hide?"

Nadia tilts her head and leans forward. "Yes, Sayaka. I am helping the Iowa group by hiding the fact that they tend to raid cities, fimti?" Her eyes flicker over to Mami, intent and sharp...

"And Iowa?" you ask.

"They travel almost as much as I do. The last I heard, they were in India," Nadia says with a shrug.

-Puella Magi Adfligo Systema

The Iowa group?

Well, there's Jackie, of course. No-one knows what she wished for, not even those in her motley group who have the dubious honor of being her 'friends'. For whatever reason, the topic just never comes up - and you might think that's because of who she is and how she interacts with people, but no, she's not that scary. It's been several years since the last time she had to cut a team-mate in half from crown to crotch without bothering to shatter their Soul Gem; these days, she saves the excessive violence and dismemberment for the people who are too smart to listen to her talk.

And we can't forget Willow. She was just so tired, you know? Why was it that no-one would adopt her? What was wrong with her? Was she too old? Too ugly? Too much of a fuck-up? Even her mother had thought she was unlovable, obviously, or else she wouldn't have been left at the orphanage. Sometimes she wished that her mother was actually dead, because it would mean the woman hadn't actually wanted to abandon her - but wishes weren't real.

Except that wishes were real, as it turned out, but even when the Incubator came to contract with her, she couldn't find it in her to reinvent her mother as a good parent. She just wanted someone to take her away from the orphanage, and protect her, and tuck her into her own bed in her own bedroom and read her bedtime stories and give her enough to eat. But maybe - even if she wouldn't, couldn't, shouldn't put it into words - maybe she also wanted to be better, maybe she wanted to be the kind of girl who would be adopted by a real person, and loved genuinely, maybe she wanted to be the kind of girl who wasn't an ugly fuckup who could never do anything right-

So her unreal older sister Siobhan came to the orphanage to try to adopt her. But she wasn't much older than Willow in body, and someone like Jack knew that Siobhan was only a few minutes old when she came for Willow, or maybe she was exactly as old as Willow was; all a matter of perspective. The matron certainly didn't know, but she could guess. She laughed Siobhan off, and told the girl to get knocked up if you want to be a teenage mother, like everyone else in this city-

Was it any surprise what happened next?

The funny thing is, Willow started out well-centered. She just had Siobhan to take her hand and guide her through Barriers and through the world. But it's almost easier for Willow to project Siobhan's pale shape than it is for her to keep her real body taken care of, even magically speaking. It had always been easier. What was the last time Willow bothered to take her own body with her, instead of leaving it in one of Riley's preservatives? Letting Siobhan carry her Soul Gem about is simple and elegant. She looks at the world through Siobhan's yellow eyes at all hours. She lives through Siobhan's form; she pretends she still needs to breathe, pumping Siobhan's lungs. It's almost like she is Siobhan.

As for Riley? Surely you can guess. It was such a sad story, perfect fodder for the gossipy nurses during the break in the middle of their grueling shifts at the hospital. That poor woman, wasting away. That poor girl, who has to watch it happen. It was such a sad story, perfect fodder for the Incubator to seize upon, a nice high-potential recruit with almost no effort whatsoever. Riley wished that she could make her mother better, and she did make her mother better. And then she did it again, and again, and again, and again, but the enchantments never stuck for long, and then the enchantments weren't enough, all because the sick was just too deep, and because she had the ability but not the skill. And then at the end of it all... well.

What was a girl to do? When you don't get what you want - when you fundamentally can't get what you want - you can suffer, or you can learn to stop wanting.

She never needed to interfere with her soul directly, but what did that matter when she could sculpt bodies like clay? A Soul Gem was just another kind of brain to shape, after all, and it was trivial to box up her Witch inside the gemstone, where it could never get out. It made such a din in her head, putting up protest, crying and screaming, what is oh my god what are you let me go i didn't want this please stop please i just wanted please please PLEASE-

She couldn't find it in her to bother to be nice. She cut out its tongue so it couldn't shape telepathy, and sewed its lips shut so it couldn't wail in the back of her mind, and then she nailed it down to the metaphorical backboard of her Gem. The senseless and helpless thrashing of the thing is so perverse it's beautiful. She's caught loveliness in a dry bottle, like her mother's old habit of putting pins through butterflies to hang their corpses on walls.

Her dumb team-mates don't think it's nearly as amazing as she does. Even Jack and Siobhan, who do dote on her so, seem to take in her enthusiasm with a kind of condescension. And Jack is quick to confine the burning spark of her creativity, even if she feeds that fire with all of the kindling she can scrounge up. Most of the others can't bear to look Riley in the eyes. But at least they all appreciate her boring healing magic and her normal enchantments, every last one of them but Natalie.

Natalie... where to begin? Natalie wanted not to feel like a monster. Her therapist always told her that she had to be able to love herself. Why would she not? She was so very much the kind of person that many would envy - which was sort of a part of the problem, because Natalie was a creature of craven envy herself. She wanted what came so effortlessly to others, and others wanted what came so effortlessly to her.

So she looked in the mirror and she - what? What did she see? It was like staring at some foreign, distant, lost thing. She was looking at something that looked like a monster, but it was what people saw when they looked her in the eyes. She wanted to get rid of the monster. She wanted to kill it. She wanted to kill the silhouette, the absolute border and shape of her sadness, but she couldn't even imagine how it could be done. The monster wasn't even quite real; it was there in her bones, but it was as much a shadow of being meted as it was a corporeal thing. There were boundaries and markings and divisions, and those measures and meters couldn't be defeated or escaped by any means that she could think of. Maybe they were all in her head.

She wished to transmute her boundaries. She wished to be able to change the shape of her sadness, her heartbreak and dim nostalgia, until it was all something bearable. She knew that some people in her life expected her to be a monster, and she left room for that. But she also knew that once she had experienced life in the world in a way that she could bear, it would be so much harder to go back to being a monster; it would always be easier to be something else.

And perhaps that was why her wish and her magic took the poisonous form that it did. It was easier to be whole, and so that was who she was, in the baseness of her flesh. And just as it was always so much harder for anyone to Transform and don her raiment, it was always so much harder for Natalie to Transform, because the monster followed her in subtle ways. Her raiment would be shredded time and time again only to be sickly restored, a hideous tatterdemalion that grew stronger and stronger and stronger until it eclipsed her own magic, until it eclipsed her own body, until she might as well have been the monster again, until she was more of an alien monster than she had ever been. A screaming itch, emotions and flesh always always ALWAYS raw.

Natalie and Nicole and weren't anywhere close to being normal recruits as Magical Girls, albeit for different reasons. Nicole, perhaps, felt too old, even though most people would say she was all too young... and even if she felt old, she still felt like she had never grown up. How had she gotten here? What was she doing? Something inside of her had been beaten into shape and cauterized, and maybe it was because something had been done to her, or maybe it was because she was just of the wrong shape to fit in the world without the touch of hammer and anvil. She was pig iron, and there wasn't a fire in the world that could make her into ore again, or purify her into steel.

It was the perfect opportunity she had been given by the Incubator, worth the price of her soul. To grow up again, for as long as it would take in order to get it right. But what would that even mean, getting it right? What would it mean for her to grow up? She wanted the feeling of being-an-adult, of riding on top of a wave and being in control of her life and her self, she wanted not to be dragged away under riptide and not to have her body dashed against the rocks. But that feeling - if it isn't just a lie to children - will never come to her, not by her mere living, and so she hasn't aged a day since the day she made her Wish and became twelve again.

What she wants is a future she will never experience, and she wanted to be a child in a way that maybe she never really was to begin with, looking for a gray ghost, the color of anemoia. She fears the riptide in the wake of time, but even her team-mates fear that riptide more than she does, because they know that at her whims, they could drown for a very long time.

Nicole always says they could drown until the end of all things, and only Jack ever dares to refute her.

[forktruck65-blog]

Game Recap | Another Night, Another Dominant Win

Snapshot:

This whole owning the opponent thing?

Not a bad look for the 76ers (16-8).

Up until the last two games, there wasn’t a lot that had come easy for the Sixers, despite the team getting off to one of the best starts in the NBA.

Following Wednesday’s 26-point rout of the New York Knicks, and another convincing victory for an encore Friday against the Washington Wizards (8-14), the Sixers are playing more and more like the well-rounded team they’ve been striving to become.

Sure, the Sixers’ 16th win of the season, earned by the lopsided score of 123-98 at The Center, wasn’t official until 48 minutes had tick tocked off the clock. But make no mistake - game was over long before that.

All in all, it was a solid, balanced performance, with eight players in double-figures.

“It’s good,” Joel Embiid said of the Sixers’ third win in a row. “We picked up our intensity defensively. I think we’ve been much better on that end, and offensively, we just keep moving the ball, and that’s working pretty well.”

Embiid was a significant part of the Sixers’ strong start, which was keyed by impressive two-way interior production.

By the end of the first quarter, the home squad had a 31-19 edge on the scoreboard, and already established a dominant 24-10 rebounding advantage (9-0 on the offensive glass). They had scored 14 points in the paint, too.

Embiid accounted for nine of those boards, and managed to register his NBA-leading 22nd double-double a mere three minutes into Friday’s second frame.

For the night, the Sixers needed only 22 minutes from Embiid, who finished with 16 points and 15 rebounds. None of his fellow starters logged more than 25 minutes, as Brett Brown removed the last of the first-stringers in the latter stages of the third quarter, with his group up 28

Thanks to their reserve corps contributing 65 points, the Sixers went on to lead by as many as 35 before Friday’s buzzer sounded. T.J. McConnell paced the second-stringers with 15 points.

Against Washington, Ben Simmons racked up his 15th double-double this fall, with 13 points (5-5 fg), 10 assists, to go along with eight rebounds. Jimmy Butler went for 11 points, seven rebounds, four assists, and four steals.

In all, the Sixers bested Washington 58-42 on the backboards, while cranking out 54 points in the paint.

Defensively, the Sixers limited the Wizards to 40.2 percent shooting, and an 8-28 showing from 3-point territory. All-Star guards John Wall (11 pts) and Bradley Beal (19 pts) combined for an inefficient 10 for 28 from the floor.

Brett Brown said, “We were able to rest guys, eight guys in double figures, defense was pretty good throughout the night. Did a pretty good job on the boards; the disparity, the difference is what wins games. Twenty-nine assists, that’s a good number, all those types of things.”

The Sixers’ consecutive 25-point victories marked the first for the club since March of 2008.

Click here for a complete box score.

Notable Nuggets:

All on Your Head

During Thursday’s practice in Camden, Ben Simmons, wearing white, and Jimmy Butler, wearing blue, were spotted sporting headbands.

Friday, the duo took the look to the court in a game setting.

The apparel choice was a topic of conversation after the Sixers’ latest win.

As for the origins?

“I’ve just been wearing it at practice,” Ben Simmons said. “Then, [Butler] said if I wear it, he’s going to wear, so we might as well just wear it tonight.”

“It’s Ben’s fault,” joked Butler. “I think headbands are in right now, so we’ll ride the wave.”

Brett Brown approved of the fashion statement, but for deeper reasons. 

“I love it,” said the Sixers’ sixth-year head coach. “They are defensive brothers, okay? You know they’re blood brothers - the band signifies to me their bonding, a defensive bonding. I’ve asked Jimmy to put Ben under his wing, and really help Ben be all he can be defensively.

“So that’s what it is, a bonding of defensive brothers.”

Shake’s Shot

About a minute and a half into Friday’s fourth quarter, and the Sixers in front by 25 points, Brett Brown felt it was time to do something he hadn’t done yet this year.

Bring Shake Milton into a game.

Upon checking into his first regular season contest, the SMU product wasted little time getting involved, hitting a 3-pointer on his first possession (and first touch). He ended the evening with five points and two assists.

“It felt good just to get out there, get a sweat, put in a bunch of work,” Milton said. “Just to get to where I am now, it’s motivating, and it’s going to keep me going.”

The 54th overall pick in this year’s draft, Milton, along with Demetrius Jackson, is one of the Sixers’ two two-way contract players.

He’s enjoyed an encouraging start with the Delaware Blue Coats, the organization’s NBA G League affiliate, averaging 20.7 points in six games.

Milton said playing in the G League made him feel prepared for Friday, his NBA debut.

“Philly has amazing fans,” he said. “As long as you’re out there playing hard, they’re going to support you 100 percent.”

Special Salute

Between the first and second quarters of Friday’s game, the Sixers made a noteworthy recognition on big scoreboard at The Center.

Seeing your kid put his generational talents on display from a courtside seat the day you retire is certainly a good way to usher in a new phase of life. Thomas Embiid also celebrated  his birthday the previous day.

His oldest son heard the cheers when the above message was shown to the crowd.

“It’s great,” said Joel Embiid. “Like I say, Philly fans, they’re so passionate and they show a lot of love. You know every time they show my dad’s at the game they always show him a lot of love, so I really appreciated that.”

Sixers Social:

Defying the Earth’s pull, delivering dunks.

Up Next:

The Sixers will put a wrap on their second three-game homestand in two weeks this Sunday against the Memphis Grizzlies. The match up will be the last of the season between the two teams. Back on November 10th at FedEx Forum, Memphis held off the Sixers, 112-106. With the Jimmy Butler trade being finalized at the time, the Sixers only had nine players available in the game.

Source: https://www.nba.com/sixers/news/buzzer-another-night-another-dominant-win

[grazianosportsreviewgroup]

Final Non-Fiction Essay

Ron Graziano

Nonfiction Expository Essay

2/12/19

Damaged Petals

As I got out of my dad’s Jeep, and stepped into the frigid Chicago weather in the middle of December, I started on the all too familiar two block walk from the parking lot to the entrance of the United Center.  Tonight at the U.C. the Bulls would be hosting the Minnesota Timberwolves.  Halfway into my walk I stopped to notice my surroundings; to my left, and only a few miles away, the magnificent Chicago Skyline gleams in the darkness.  A city that was once burnt to the ground and since built up bigger and better than ever. The skyline is something more than simply pleasing to look at, to a true Chicagoan it carries with it a message of hard work, possibility, and success.  Even with living in or near the city my entire life, every time I see the skyline it still gives me goosebumps.  Then I turned to my right and looked down the opposite direction on Madison street.  What I see is the beginning of a much darker more sinister side of the great city, only a few blocks down, start the gang infested projects of Chicago.

It’s no secret that Chicago’s west and south sides are home to some of the most dangerous street gangs in America.  According to Forbes, “Since 2001, Chicago has experienced 7,916 murders (as of September 06, 2016). The number of Americans killed in the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq was 2,384 and 4,504 respectively since 2001.”(McCarthy Niall).  Due to this extreme violence in the city, Chicago is referred to by many as Chiraq.  As you can imagine growing up on these streets, simply surviving day to day can be difficult, let alone trying to better yourself and family with these disastrous circumstances.  However, again right smack in between these two drastically different sides of the city sits the United Center.  Acting as a secret portal for a very select few of lucky individuals to move from one side of the city to the other; from poverty and violence to success and fame.  How do you access this secret portal, it's quite simple, be one of the best basketball players in the world.

Tonight one of Chiraq’s own, Derrick Rose, would be returning to the United Center with vengeance and in hopes to prove he still deserves access to the secret portal and the success and recognition that is awarded on the other side.  As unlike many, as quick as Derrick was able to use his freakish athletic ability and talent to reach the portal, it closed on him due to numerous devastating injuries that left him no longer able to perform at the same level.  Derrick’s return ladies and gentleman is why myself and a fair amount of die hard Bulls fans decided to come out to the United Center on this cold December night.  

Let’s first rewind 10 years and go back to the 2008 NBA draft, and when the portal first opened for Rose: “With the 1st pick in the 2008 NBA draft the Chicago Bulls select Derrick Rose from the University of Memphis.” (David Stern).  It was the perfect story, almost too good to be true, at a less than a 1% chance the kid from streets of Englewood Chicago and best player in the 2008 NBA draft class would be coming home to save the struggling Bulls.  Ever since the end of the Michael Jordan era the Bulls couldn't seem to get over the hump of mediocracy, now there was a newfound sense of hope in the organization and the city of Chicago.  This hope soon turned into a strong sense of belief after Rose lived up to all of the hype and then some, seemingly unguardable off the dribble due to his elusiveness and freakish athletic ability he easily claimed rookie of the year his first season and then at the age of 22 became the youngest MVP in NBA history, while carrying the bulls to the conference championship series for the first time since MJ.  Arguably quicker than anyone before his time, Derrick gained tremendous fame, recognition, and financial benefits.  However as quick as the game of basketball brought all this Success Derrick’s way it was all taken away equally as fast.

Fast forward to the playoffs of the 2011/2012 season, and we see the beginning of the closing of the portal for Derrick.  In round 1, game 1 against the 76ers with 2 minutes left, and the Bulls up 12 points, Derick jumped up on a routine drive to the basket, coming down awkward on his knee and then hitting the ground: "Rose came down bad on his left foot, holding on to his knee, holding on to his knee and down!” (Broadcaster).  The days following the injury the entire city of Chicago held its collective breath hoping the injury would be diagnosed as mere sprain. However, the devastating news would arise that the reigning MVP had torn his ACL.  The heartbreaking fact is that Rose had absolutely no control over the injury; a torn ACL is a freak injury that can happen to anyone at any time.  Rose would miss the entire next season, however he remained strong throughout the recovery process and pledged to come back bigger and better than ever; the portal would remain open for Derrick upon his return.

My family and I entered the stadium and found our seats, right before the player introductions.  The Minnesota Timberwolves being the visiting team were announced first.  Rose’s name is announced and a fair amount of fans paid their respect and clapped for their former MVP; nothing compared to the support during his MVP caliber years.  The game starts and Rose wastes little time, quickly impressing on his once home court.  After dishing out a few pretty dimes, Rose then scored his first point of the game attacking the hoop getting knocked off guard by the defender and somehow getting a fade away floater to fall from what seemed like behind the backboard.  An amazing finish from one of the leagues once best finishers.

After Rose sat out an entire year due to rehab for his torn ACL, Rose would return back to game action in the 2013/2014 season; Unfortunately this return wouldn’t last as long as he’d hope.  Only a few months into the season Rose would suffer another devastating torn ligament in his knee; this time tearing the meniscus in his right knee.  While not as bad of an injury as the ACL, Rose would still be put in the I/R and not return for the remainder of the 2013/2014 season.  Now, with two torn major ligaments in less than two years suffered by a player who predominantly relies on his freakish athletic ability and quickness, many were wondering if the league's youngest MVP would be able to return to the same level of play.  Knowing these devastating injuries may inhibit Derrick’s future ability to successfully perform, the question now becomes, how much longer should/can management and Bulls fans afford to leave the portal open for Rose.

Later in the first quarter Rose continued his dominant play by sifting through the entire Bulls defense and going up and over Chicago big man Lauri Markedden.  Already,  Rose had penetrated the paint and scored 3 times, and it started to feel as if someone had turned back the clocks to the old D-Rose Bulls fans used to watch on a nightly basis at the U.C.  

Now in the 2014/2015 season Rose and the Bulls would be in must-win mode after having 3 lost seasons due to injury.  However, mid way through the season the unthinkable happened: Rose suffered a slight tear in the same meniscus he tore last season.  He would return later in the season, however Chicago would only make it past 1 round of the playoffs.  After a mediocre following season where Bulls missed the playoffs for the first time in 8 years,  the Bulls would proceed to trade Rose to the Knicks; giving up on their once hometown hero, and believed to be next coming of Jordan.  In New York, Rose would now have to attempt to access an even more inpenentral portal called the Madison Square Garden.

Still in the first quarter and Rose is absolutely showing out.  Rose off the dribble during transition pulls up for a mid range jumper and banks it in off the glass; a shot he didn't have before the injuries and that he was able to develop during his time spent in rehab.  Then Rose absolutely blew by Kris Dunn, point guard on the bulls, for an easy teardrop layup, giving him 8 first quarter points.  With Rose leading the Wolves to an 11 point lead after the first quarter many fans in the stadium seemed to increasingly care less about the state of their struggling Bulls, because of the amazing show their former MVP was putting on.

Now playing for the Knicks, Rose struggles out of the gate only showing flashes of his old self, however considering the change of scenery and injuries he’s had to deal with this was expected.  Finally, against all odds, in the second half of the season Rose began to adjust and started playing at a high level again, averaging 18 points a game.   In April however, Rose would tear the meniscus in his other (left) knee.  Again knocking him out for the remainder of the season, and not only striking doubt in his athletic ability upon return but whether or not he could/should even continue playing the game considering the beating his knees had taken in such a short amount of time.

In the second half Rose picked up right where he left off.  After posting 14 first half points Rose started off the 3rd quarter knocking down a contested three; the 3 point shot being another newly developed aspect in Rose’s game.  After hitting this shot you got the sense that Rose wasn’t just playing to get the win for the Wolves but he wanted to put on a show for his old city and prove to everyone who doubted him, everyone that counted him out, he still has it.  Could Rose do the impossible and potentially re-open the portal after it had been seemingly closed for good by the Bulls organization and their fans?

Now in the 2017/2018 season, the portal in New York closes and Rose is forced to search for another organization to give him a chance.  Rose ended up reaching a deal with the Cleveland Cavaliers, however one that would significantly decrease the benefits on the other side of the portal.   The former MVP of the league from only 5 seasons ago, would just make 2.1 million on a comical 1 year deal, where a starting role wouldn’t be guaranteed.  Rose’s stint with the Cavaliers would end up being a complete trainwreck; Rose would reach rock bottom of his basketball career in Cleveland.  He hardly played for the team due to more injuries, and even ended up stepping away from the team for an extended period of time to consider retirement.  Later in the season he ends up returning to be traded to the jazz and then immediately dropped.  At this point the story of Rose’s career is perceived to be all but written; a player with once one of the greatest potentials and raw talents in NBA history whose career would be unfortunately cut short due to a plethora of horrible knee injuries.  The portal is now closed by all NBA organizations as rose is now regarded as a washed up player with no value/ability.  However, near the end of the season Rose is given a 10 day contract by the Timberwolves.

Now in the 4th quarter with the Timberwolves up 17 points on the Bulls, Rose scored his final bucket of the game and boy was it a memorable one.  Rose put a nasty spin move on Kris Dunn allowing him to get to the rim, where he somehow managed to make the layup while being hacked by a help defender, displaying his famous ability to take a hit and contort his body in mid air all while having the strength, focus, and soft touch to finish the layup.   As Bulls broadcaster Stacy King used to describe him in his MVP days: ‘Too big, too strong, too fast, too good!’.

At the line something truly amazing happened, some Bulls fans began giving rose the M.V.P. chant, and before you knew it every fan still in attendance, joined in and was yelling M.V.P. M.V.P. M.V.P… Rose, gave a quick smile to his once hometown crowd and drained the free throw.  Rose now realizing that the portal that he once used almost on a nightly basis to bring all his success and fortune was successfully reopened for one more night.  

Whether or not Rose can consistently play at this level, and like the player he once was before the injuries is anyone's guess.  However what we do know is in an effort to regain recognition,  Derrick will never give up and stop striving to be the best basketball player in the world, as this very dream is what awarded him his success.  While as rewarding and lucrative this dream is for Rose and anyone who has the ability to utilize the sports portal to gain success, it is important to remember that if one does not possess the increasingly difficult abilities they will never be granted access in the first place, and arguably worse, like in Rose’s case it can easily close due to uncontrollable/external factors.  In the words of Tupac Shakur: “We wouldn't ask why a rose that grew from the concrete (had) damaged petals, in turn, we would all celebrate its tenacity, we would all love its will to reach the sun, well, we are the roses, this is the concrete and these are my damaged petals, don’t ask me why, thank god, and ask me how.” (Tupac Shakur) Due to the unpredictability and lack of security in the current available options for the ‘how’, maybe it’s time we start asking why.

Citations

McCarthy, Niall. “Homicides In Chicago Eclipse U.S. Death Toll In Afghanistan And Iraq.”

Forbes, Forbes Magazine, 8 Sept. 2016.

[ronaldbosieyiii]

5 Shop Organization Projects

Things I Used In This Project:

ISOtunes Bluetooth Hearing Protection

Infinity Table Saw Blade

Hardware Storage Bin Templates

Brad Nailer

Titebond Original Wood Glue

Infinity Round Over Bit

Infinity Straight Bit

Infinity Flush Trim Bit

Ultimate Workbench Plans

Triton Drills

Blue Rockler Clamps

Titebond Instant Bond

Rockler Cord Reels

ZAP Remote Control Outlets

Rockler Drawer Organizational System

In this video I’m going to be tackling a bunch of small tasks that focus on organizing my shop.

Just coming off building it and moving things in, everything is out of place and more than that, nothing has a place. It’s not only frustrating because I can’t locate anything, but also intimidating because so much needs to be done. Of course, it’s one of those things that needs to be done a little bit at a time so this week’s to-do list is a bunch of small things that are not challenging or even time consuming, more a matter of just taking the time do them.

The goal is to not necessarily set things up the way they will be permanently but more so to get things off the floor, out of boxes, and off all my horizontal flat work surfaces. 

I started off with pegboard as it’s a dead easy solution to get a lot of things put up quickly. You can purchase 4×8 sheets right off the shelf and throw them up, however I took the time to paint mine just to give it some color. 

To make a simple boarder, I grabbed some 2×4 material and ripped it down at the tablesaw. This was the night before I had finally got power hooked up to my shop, so I was still having to work with my job site saw on the porch. 

After ripping the boards down, I also cut in a rabbet at the table saw so the pegboard would have a recess to fall into on the back of the frame. I gave the frame a quick coat of paint then while that dried I took the time to make a stencil from my logo to transfer onto the pegboard. 

To make a stencil I print off the design I’m after and cover the entire page in clear packing tape to give it some rigidity. Then I used an exacto knife to cut it out. I suppose I could have kept the negative side of the stencil instead of this positive side, but regardless……I could now place the stencil where I wanted it on my board and trace it out to paint. 

I grabbed some help to move the pegboard inside to the frame then set it inside so that it rested inside the boarder I made. I attach it to the boarder, I used a fast drying CA glue from Titebond called Instant Bond.  I switched over to Titebond Original when gluing on the support strips along the back, but then called the board done and ready to be hung. 

Now you don’t have to take it from me, but I recommend grabbing another person to help hang the board. It isn’t that it’s heavy, it’s just awkward to hold. 

If you ever come to my shop and notice how busted up my pegboard frame is, you’ll know why. But meh, it gives it a story ; ) 

I admitted defeat and called in help to lift and hold it in place while I secured it to the studs. 

While working on pegboard, I also hung my old board from my previous shop. When I was moving out, I didn’t have the heart to leave it behind or throw it away. And even though I’ve change my logo, I again love the story behind it and am glad I held onto it. 

Having these two boards up, made a huge difference in helping me clear off my flat surfaces. It gives me a dedicated spot for my safety glasses, my chisels, my glue brushes, my tape measures, my hammers….all the tools I use a very regular basis. 

For all my extension cords I threw a hook into the wall. I started them off high but then I decided to add some French cleats to this nook to store some extra hardware bins I had in a box, so I moved them down. 

Again on the hardware storage, I have a master scheme that I can’t wait to tackle for all my hardware, but it will take me time to design and execute. So in the meantime I will use this temporary solution so I can get rid of the box they were in and also have my remaining hardware on display for my use. I do have a video on making these bins in three different sizes and also a free template if you’re interested in making your own. They are a little time consuming but a great use of scraps and they last forever if you put in the effort once. 

It was at this point the shop’s power was actually flipped on and I got to use my cabinet grade saw for the first time in the new shop. Needless to say I was happy. 

I put it to use right away making more French cleats for my walls. Which is a piece of wood that has the top cut at a 45 degree angle. I started off by hanging all the holders I made previously in my old shop. This included my plug and paddle bits, my hand tools such as side cutter and wire strippers, all my screw drivers and wrenches. Then I moved on to making new holders for new sets of tools such as my forester bits. 

While a lot of bits come in their own very nice cases that keeps them organized, I don’t like things tucked away and hidden. I like things visible, and easily accessible. I did use the box to copy the layout of the bits though. I use any scrap of 1x material I had laying around and lined it up to the row of bits in their box then transferred the hole location to the scrap. Then I could take it to the drill press and punch a hole the majority of the way through. 

Since I wanted two rows of bits on this one holder, I used the table saw to bevel the top of this scrap then Titebond wood glue to secure it to a piece of 1/4” plywood. This plywood piece is acting as a backboard for the holders to be secured to, so you can use anything you have laying around. I used brad nails to hold the pieces together while the glue had time to set up, and now you can see how it will work once I’m done. The bits easily fit in their place, I can keep them organized and tell at a glance if any are missing. 

I repeated the process to make a second row right underneath the first. Now I could cut a cleat with a 45 at the top to mate into the 45 degree cleat I placed on the wall earlier. 

Simple enough right?

I repeated the same exact process for my router bits. I used the layout in the box to layout my scrap board then turn it into a holder. On this one I made sure to leave plenty of extra holes in both 1/2” shank size and the 1/4” size because it seems like I’m always acquiring new router bits. However, when I eventually fill these up I can either keep making holders to expand left and right, or even replace these to include more layers downwards. 

This is a very quick and easy way to organize any bits so the next time you have a few scraps you’re tossing out, take 15 mins to make a few holders then place them near the work area you would most likely be needing them. You could even take it a step further and write the sizes of the items in front of their hole so you know exactly what they are, or what’s missing if it isn’t put back.

Moving on to clamps. These have just been piled up on the floor like everything else so I started off by grabbing some 3/4 plywood cut off from sheathing the inside of my shop. You don’t need huge pieces for almost any of these projects, so remember to search through your scrap wood first. 

I started off by marking off by measuring how deep a shelf would need to be to store four clamps, then I measured out a triangle that size. Since I’ll need a few of these, I rough cut my boards in squares then taped them all together to cut once at the bandsaw. 

Next I used wood glue and screws to attach these to a backer board. I also used the help of two spacers to speed up this process but it goes so quick either way as it’s very easy. 

Before hanging my clamps up, I first did something I should have done years ago but never took the time to do. When a friend gave me these pipe clamps, he made these wooden blocks for the pads. They not only extend the footprint of the clamps some, but they are also easier on the project when clamping down. You can see he used two screws to hold each wooden pad into place which is a good idea, but often the pad slips out. Instead of messing with the screws any longer, I applied a little Titebond Instant Bond, applied pressure for a few seconds then repeated on the other pad. This permanently attaches the wooden blocks and removes the headache of messing with keeping them under the screws hold. 

To hang up the clamp rack I placed a French cleat on the wall, making sure to grab studs on this one since the clamps all together aren’t light. Then I hung up all my clamps. It’s surprising how little room they take up when they are organized. 

Up next was cord reels. I have a ton of outlets along my wall, which is great. But I placed outlets at every light so that I could eventually also have hanging cord reels over work areas in the center of my shop. These are Rockler Extension Cord Reels that are 30’ long that has a 12 gauge wire to support any heavier tools I want to run. 

I decided to place two on my woodworking side and two on my metal working side. The first being right by my mobile workbench. Since I have a duel outlet by my light, I used the open outlet for the reel. Once it was secure into a rafter, I set the length of the stop so that I could easily walk under it without knocking my head, but also easily reach up and grab a hold of it to use. 

Oh one of my favorite small adjustments, just because I’ve never seen this gadget before, was the solution to this light problem. See when the door is open the light is almost wasted, and I wanted a way to isolate it from the rest of the lights on the circuit so that when my bay door is up, I can switch it off while the others remained on. I found these remote controlled outlets on Amazon that gives me the power to do just that. All I had to do was plug in an outlet to the outlet on the ceiling then plug the light into the new outlet. Now I can just hit a button my remote and turn the light on and off! I think that’s neat.

Annnnd the coolest part is I still have five other outlets I can use around the shop for this one single remote. I have no idea what those uses will be, but I’m sure something will pop up. 

The last thing I did before calling it done was to organize the drawers of my tool box. I’m constantly needing to find a home for a lot of little things – from drill bits, to hair ties, to carmex and extra ear buds for my hearing protection… And this Rockler Drawer Organization System is by far the best system that I have come across for this task. As you can see, you can pull the units directly out of the box and easily click them together to form individual trays that is 100% customizable by either leaving the rows empty or positioning trays or dividers to suit your individual storage needs. The tray sections are actually made from a synthetic rubber so they can flex. And, you can actually use a pair of scissors to cut them to different lengths. Once the rubber trays are down, you can leave them as-is. Or, you can customize it even further by placing plastic bins or dividers anywhere along the notches in the trays.

And with that organized, I’m calling my to-do list done!

As I mentioned before, nothing too crazy and nothing too time consuming. But it is amazing how much more efficiently you can work once things are more organized. I will of course keep continuing to evolve my shop over time. And I will of course continue to show you guys updates along the way. In the meantime, I hope your shop is evolving and is a happy place for you, too.

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