Racial inequality and treatment

Racial inequality and treatment Introduction It goes without saying that education equality has always been one of the most important questions in Afro-American struggle for equality. It is essential that the Southern states has always been the stronghold of racial inequality and treatment to the Afro- Americans was worse than anyone else is one the most important places in the struggle for equal education. This paper would examine the endless struggle of the black minority in St. Louis for getting the equal education, as good as the white majority gets. The analysis of the struggle for the primary civil rights of the Afro-American nation would help to realize how important was reaching educational equality in the area where the blacks were always considered to be unequal members of the society, who does not have right for the equal jobs, rights and education as well. This struggle for the equal education would be the best illustration for the further generations and help them to understand what a difficult way. â€Å"What hap pens inside the classroom is only a small part of education. What, where, and how students learn is a function of the organization of the school system, prevailing theories about learning, local political pressures, and, of course, financial realities. The history of education in St. Louis is little different than that of most American cities, in that it forms another framework through which to view the communitys past† (St. Lois Government, 1996). The aim of this essay to reveal the difficulties the black minority met while fighting for the equality in the educational sphere St. Louis. The beginning of the struggle for equal education of Afro-Americans It is a well known fact that even in the 20th century it could be hardly spoken about equal rights for the backs and the whites in the educational sphere and Southern states of the U.S. The education of the black minorities, if it is was possible, was separated from the white children and it goes without saying there was no even slight mention about the equal educational facilities: â€Å"Schools were segregated by race. Churches operated the first schools for African-American children until 1847, when Missouri law forbade teaching African-Americans to read and write. First Baptist Church pastor John Berry Meachum responded by opening the â€Å"Freedom School† on a barge in the Mississippi River, which was federally owned, and thus beyond the reach of state law† (St. Lois Government, 1996). The segregated schools became legal in 1896 by the United States Supreme Court (Plessy v. Ferguson case). Back and white children in St. Louis studied separately for more than 50 yea rs and only after the World War II the first steps towards the desegregation were made. The black children were mistreated at school as were as well their parents at work and what is the most poor in this case that it was legally supported over the whole country: â€Å"Giving the power of law to the separate-but-equal doctrine, school systems nationally kept black and white children apart. The problem was that separate wasnt equal† (St. Lois Government, 1996). Hence after the war the civil rights movement was developing quite quickly. Afro-Americand understood that they could not live under the white oppression and the most burning area were Southern States of the United States. : â€Å"In its landmark Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka decision in 1954, the court reversed itself, saying that separate education was, by definition, unequal. Amidst a rising tide of social awareness about racial equality, Catholic schools in St. Louis had already figured this out, desegregat ing the Archdiocese system in 1948. The Brown decision did bring about one immediate change in St. Louis education† (St. Lois Government, 1996). The first step towards the changes which were so much needed was made. It goes without saying that the whole system needed desegregation as equality of education is one of the primary rights of the person. It is essential that representatives of the Afro-American nation were seeking for the equal education and equal work facilities with the whites. They were not intended to yield the places in public transport to the whites and were intended to provide for their children equal with the whites education. The schools were poorly equipped compared to the white communities schools: â€Å"East St. Louis Senior High School, whose biology lab has no laboratory tables or usable dissecting kits, with nearby suburban schools where children enjoy a computer hookup to Dow Jones to study stock transactions and science laboratories that rival thos e in some industries† (Linda Darling-Hammond, 2010). The primary equipment needs in the schools of racial minorities were still severely violated and it is not surprising that the educational level of the black children was significantly lower that the white ones and they could not get equal job and get equal income in future. The problem was really burning and it got to be solved, either by the local government or by Afro-American community itself. As it usually happens the problem solution was found by the the black themselves. It is a well known fact that one of the most significant problems in segregated schools was teaching. The white teachers did not appreciate teaching of the black children that the Afro-American community of St. Louis was eager to train black teachers themselves to raise the quality of the black teachers and the level of the black children education: â€Å"Stowe Teachers College evolved out of the Sumner High School program to train black school teach ers since 1890. But Brown v. Topeka Board didnt fully address the issue of de facto segregation brought on by housing patterns. Blacks were relegated to their own city neighborhoods, where their children attended neighborhood schools. When housing is segregated, so too are the schools. Funding, and therefore educational quality, receded during the 1950s and 1960s as well. What had once been one of the best public school systems in the United States had plummeted. Black students especially suffered as public schools declined in a core city with a disproportionately high African-American population. Three in four students in the St. Louis Public Schools were black in 1980, while more than two in five white youngsters attended school outside the system. Public education in St. Louis came under court supervision in 1980, with the goal of desegregating St. Louis Public Schools† (St. Lois Government, 1996). More than hundred years have passed after declining of slavery and starting of the fight for the equal rights of Afro-Americans with the white majority, when in St. Louis the desegregation program started. It is not surprising that being separated from the equal education from the very beginning the Black Minority did not chanced to protect themselves and seek for the better future. Low rating of the Afro-American schools and their segregation from the white children also had a significant impact on the crime rate in the region, the level of unemployment among the Afro-Americans and other significant factors that form the whole economical vision of the city. Such a poor treatment and late start of desegregation program negatively influenced St. Louis as resort area and economical center of the region as desegregation program was not started earlier, but only in the late 20th century. The following chapter would reveal how desegregation program was started and what were the results of it. St. Lois. Desegregation program of primary and secondary educational systems in the area. Its beginning, results and decisions. Desegregation plan was started in 1983 and since then it has a controlling eye of media, civil rights foundation and other on it. It is essential that development of the blacks segregation in the certain areas in the late 20th century, when the civil rights were not just an empty words, but people struggles for equality for more than hundred years and finally reached it. Then we see that desegregation was started to assimilate the white majority and black minority as the human rights should be observed and the Afro-American community could not stay aside the social life of the country: â€Å"Five years ago, St. Louis pioneered a metropolitan wide school desegregation plan that tried to fuse the predominantly black and poor inner city with 16 mostly white and wealthy suburbs. The plan, which resulted from a Federal District Court settlement that postponed threatened litigation for five years, involves no mandatory busing and became the largest voluntary school transfer program in the country, with 12,000 children attending schools outside of their designated districts each day. It has also met most of its goals for integrating blacks into suburban St. Louis County schools† (Amy Stuart Wells, 1988). It was the first attempt which was under the strict control and attention from the federal government. And it should be mentioned that even after just five years of this program operation in St. Louis the other areas took some significant parts of this particular program to solve the typical questions in their local place. It is not surprising that being the pioneer is very difficult task and St. Louis as the area of traditional confrontation between the black and the white communities had to overcome certain difficulties in order to reach the desired effect. The core idea of the program was the ability of parents to chose the schools for the their children studies outside the area of their dwelling: â€Å"Once hailed as â€Å"one of the most creative social experiments of our time† by William H. Hungate, the judge who oversaw its design, the plan has fostered many problems. Among them are what some parents and educators in the city call a brain drain of the citys best black students, too few white students coming into the city system and high operating costs, financed mostly, and reluctantly, by the state. Concepts National Appeal. Still, the main component of the plan, the concept of allowing parents to choose schools well outside their local districts, has gained national appeal as a way to extend to inner-city children the better educational opportunities often available in suburban districts† (Amy Stuart Wells, 1988). Different civil rights foundation often relate to the St. Louis desegration program as one of the most significant attempts of the past century and consider that it has incorporated the core elements of the school changes involving expansion of such an element as freedom of school choice and accountability . The researches consider that St. Louis desegregation program is one of the most significant achievements in the fight for the civil rights of Afro-American community and it was the largest school choice plan, which let with 13,000 to 15,000 to break through the boundaries of the suburb, the boundaries of inequality, and the boundaries of racial discrimination: â€Å"It permits parents of children in failing schools to send their children to more successful public schools. The St. Louis desegregation plan reconstitutes failing schools with new principals and educational programs-elements of the education reform program supported by President George W. Bush and Senator Edward M. Kennedy† (William H. Freivogel, 2002, p. 209). The same time analytical investigation of the school reform in St. Louis provided by the investigator of the Century Foundation (Task Force on the Common School) William H. Freivogel came to the conclusion that even desegregation did not solve one of the most significant problems for American secondary system and the St. Louis reform has a number lessons to take for the further reforms all over the world: â€Å"the St. Louis desegregation plan has lessons to offer the rest of the nation. Neither school desegregation nor accountability magically creates a level playing field for African-American children. But an entire generation of students-black and white-has had an opportunity for a high-quality education in an integrated setting. African-American students, who took advantage of this opportunity, gained significant, if not dramatic, improvements in achievement, graduation rates, and college attendance† (William H. Freivogel, 2002, p. 210). The increasing of secondary educati on of drop out rate is probably one of the most significant problem for the white majority and the black minority of the area met. The data provided by the different educational establishment showed that the black minority used their advantage and actively participated within the desegregation. The following data give the compared results to the other cities of the U.S.: â€Å"Data from the 1990 census show that, in Florida and Texas, urban districts generally have a greater percentage of minority students as part of the total student body than rural districts. This is a national trend as well. It has been estimated that in the mid-1990s, for example, 53.8 percent of urban schools had predominantly African-American student populations. In some cities the number is higher: Milwaukee, 61 percent; Philadelphia, 64 percent; St. Louis, 80 percent; Atlanta, 92 percent; and Birmingham, 94 percent† (Matthew Ladner and Christopher Hammons, 2000, p. 94). We see that the drop out rate i ncreasing is not just the problem of the St. Louis Area and it even yet it may have connection to the desegregation, It should be noted that the Black minority after the years of suffering from inequality and mistreating within the different educational establishment took their chance. The success of the desegregation should be undertaken as one the positive example of the racial struggle for equal right for the education and freedom of choice. Understanding the mistakes of the past the government developed the plan which corresponded to the needs of the racially discriminated African-Americans. The final edition of the plan included five main components. One of them was so called interdistrict transfer program it â€Å"required mostly white suburban districts to either increase the number of African-American students by fifteen percentage points, or to reach and maintain the plan goal of a student population that was 25 percent black† (William H. Freivogel, 2002, p 213). One of the core features of this plan was that the student would apply for the district she or he would like to study in. The same time the district should identify the children, who need special education and screen for any discipline problems, but it should be noted that they could not send the student off due the academic disorders. Another element of the program was creation of magnet schools in the city and their aim was to create balanced student bodies, which would be attended by the white students from the surburb: â€Å"After a decade of slow growth, the number of white students from the suburbs traveling to schools in the city climbed above 1,100, reaching a peak of 1,478 in 1997† (William H. Freivogel, 2002, p 214).. The third part of the plan was quality of educational component. The thing the black segregated schools always suffered its aim was â€Å"to make capital improvements in city schoolhouses and to improve the education of those students left behind in all- black schools-a number expected to be from 10,000 to 15,000 students† (William H. Freivogel, 2002, p 214). The forth element included financial part, which was aimed to make the first three components working. The prosperous areas received nearly $ 10, 000 per pupil for accommodation and less prosperous from $ 3,000 to 4,000. And the fifth element was to provide 5 year lasting stay of the interdistrict case. It would help to evaluate critically the effect and the results of the first step. It is essential that each step of this plan contributed a lot to the unending struggle of the Black minority for its educational rights. It goes without saying that this desegregation plan was one of the most important decisions in the fight of Afro- American society for the equal educational facilities and it actually reached the aim. It goes without saying that it was the great victory in unending struggle for equality. Conclusion In the end it would be essential to make a stress on the fact that this desegregation program provided a significant impact on the whole country. The positive elements were undertaken in other areas, when they started their personal desegregation programs celebrating cultural diversity and racial equality. Personally I support the idea, that it was the great victory of Afro-American community in their fight for equal education and now not only in St. Louis but in many other cities all over the United States people could choose the school despite the district we live. The racial question is still one of the most important in the present day United Sates but such reforms help a number of Afro-American children to find their place and the white ones to understand the necessity of interracial equality and communication. References: William H. Freivogel. St Louis: Desegregation and School Choice. Century Foundation Press. 2002 Matthew Ladner and Christopher Hammons. Special but Unequal: Race and Special Education. Houston Baptist University. 2000 Linda Darling-Hammond. Unequal Opportunity: Race and Education. Education, Race. Education, Race. Spring 1998 St. Lois Government. 1996. St. Louis Historic Context. Education. 28. 04.2010. Official web site of St. Louis city. Amy Stuart Wells. St. Louis Evaluates Its Pioneer Integration Plan. The New York Times. June 8, 1988

Performance of Philippine Agriculture

AGRO STRATUM1ConsequenceBackground InformationFigure 1:Performance of Philippine Agriculture ( 2013-2014 ) 001.png"> Beginning:hypertext transfer protocol: //www.bas.gov.ph/ ? ids=agriperformance Figure 2:Performance of Agriculture Agriculture posted a 0.67 per centum end product increase in the first three ( 3 ) months of 2014. The lag in the sector ‘s growing could be traced to the annihilating effects of typhoons that hit the state in 2013. The end product additions noted in the harvests, farm animal and domestic fowl subsectors were negated by the contraction in the piscaries subsector. Gross net incomes amounted to P386.7 billion at current monetary values. This represented a 10.75 per centum addition from last year’s gross grosss. Figure 3:Performance of Crops Subsector The harvests subsector grew by 1.53 per centum. It contributed 54.40 per centum to the entire agricultural production. Production of palay went up by 3.28 per centum while that of maize increased by 1.33 per centum during the mention period. Significant additions were noted in the production of sugar cane, Ananas comosus, manioc and onion. At current monetary values, the subsector grossed P225.8 billion or 17.58 per centum higher than last year’s record. Figure 4:Performance of Livestock Subsector Production in the farm animal subsector went up by 1.20 per centum. The subsector shared 15.44 per centum in the entire agricultural end product. The major beginning of growing was the pig industry which expanded by 1.25 per centum. All other farm animal constituents recorded additions in production. The subsector grossed P57.4 billion at current monetary values or 5.59 per centum more than last year’s degree. The domestic fowl subsector with its 14.46 per centum part to entire agribusiness grew by 1.33 per centum. Production additions in poulet at 2.50 per centum and duck at 0.10 per centum helped in prolonging the subsector’s growing. At current monetary values, the subsector’s gross value of production amounted to P45.7 billion. This indicated a 5.29 per centum betterment from last year’s record. Figure 5:Performance of Fisheries Subsector The piscaries subsector contracted by 3.25 per centum. The subsector accounted for 15.70 per centum of entire agricultural production. Reduced production was noted among all species except Euthynnus pelamis which registered a 4.62 per centum end product addition. The subsector grossed P57.8 billion, down by 2.64 per centum from last year’s record. Figure 6:Farmgate Monetary values On the norm, monetary values received by husbandmans increased by 10.01 per centum from last twelvemonth ‘s citations. In the harvests subsector, monetary values expanded by an norm of 15.81 per centum from the 2013 degrees. The farm animal and domestic fowl subsectors posted mean monetary value additions of 4.34 per centum and 3.90 per centum, severally. Monetary values in the piscaries subsector went up by an norm of 0.62 per centum this twelvemonth. Table 1:Number and Area of Farms by Region: Philippines, 1991 and 2002RegionNumber of FarmsArea of Farms2002199120021991Philippines4,822,73946100419,670,7939974871National Capital Region ( NCR )22,8201513671,63253646Cordillera Administrative Region120,104108251177,839155581I. Ilocos part276,766311757270,664324501II. Cagayan Valley321,755285721540,812530143III. Central Luzon341,466350786552,104632493IVA. CALABARZON282,746319865588,516703256RegionNumber of FarmsArea of Farms2002199120021991IVB. MIMAROPA220,967209248542,218569814VIII. Eastern Visayas330,750321456723,048695711IX. Zamboanga Peninsula252659235674785,294675723Ten. Northern Mindanao319157289469746,901768290Eleven. Davao Region229966267224758,335795893Twelve. SOCCSKSARGEN330571264095775,309746702Thirteen. Caraga210184189600523,407517446Fourteen. ARMM248528227571533,410565219Beginning: National Statics Office, 1991 Census of Agriculture and Fisheries and 2002 Census of Agriculture In 2002, the Philippines registered a sum of 4.8 million agricultural farms, covering 9.7 million hectares. The entire agricultural land country constituted 32.2 per centum of the country’s entire land country. Although the figure of farms was 4.6 per centum higher than the 4.6 million farms reported in 1991, the country’s entire farm country decreased by three per centum after a period of more than one decennary. The lessening in entire farm country could be attributed to the transition of farming areas to residential and commercial intents. As a consequence, the mean farm size declined from 2.2 hectares per farm in 1991 to two hectares per farm in 2002. Table 2:Impermanent Crops of PhilippinesCropsNumber of FarmsArea of FarmsRice2,149,9713,922,522Corn1,458,4462,439,067Tubers, Roots, Bulbs1,364,276277,153Sugarcane167,186344,670Fruit Bearing Vegetables1,088,91392,220Beginning:hypertext transfer protocol: //www.census.gov.ph/old/data/sectordata/sr0414402.htm The tabular array indicates that rice was systematically the major impermanent harvest of the Philippines accounting for 2.1 million farms with a combined country of 3.9 million hectares in 2002.This shows that the rice was the major impermanent harvest of the designated/allotted with a larger plantation country whenever planned to the Agri-complex to systematically derive the number/yield of production as the top impermanent harvest of the state followed by maize holding 1.5 million farms, third are the tubers, roots and bulbs followed by the fruit bearing veggies, sugar cane, leguminous workss, baccy, leafy veggies, stems, flower and peanuts. Table 3:Output comparings of Hydroponics and Traditional FarmingName of CropsAquicultural Output ( per acre )Traditional Farming Output ( per acre )Rice12,000 pound750-900lbsTomatos180 dozenss5-10 dozenssBoodle21,000 pound.9,000 poundName of CropsAquicultural Output ( per acre )Traditional Farming Output ( per acre )Cucumber28,000 pound7,000 poundPotatos70 dozenss8 dozenssCabbage18,000 pound13,000 poundCauliflower30,000 pound15-30,000 poundWheat8,000 pound5,600 poundBeginning:hypertext transfer protocol: //www.ahga.org The tabular array shows that farming with the usage of engineering such as aquicultures can bring forth higher sum of output than a traditional agriculture. Both consequences were based on 1-acre country, which is tantamount to 4,046.85 square metres. The table consequences show that the aquicultures system is more efficient than the traditional planting for the output it can bring forth and less ingestion of infinite to be applied to the Agri-complex. The tabular array will besides function as footing for the allotment of country of the plantation/production country of the Agri-complex per floor Figure 7:Share of Agriculture in Total Employment in Central Luzon, 2012 The figure above shows that the portion of agribusiness in entire employment was worsening. In 2012, the portion went down to 32 per centum. Table 4:Daily Agricultural Wage Rate by Sex, Central Luzon, 2012Sexual activityNoun phraseRealMale312.40237.02Female260.91197.96Both307.36233.20Beginning:hypertext transfer protocol: //countrystat.bas.gov.ph/ ? cont=16 & A ; r=3 The tabular array shows the part ‘s entire employment in 2012 and about 21 per centum was in the agribusiness sector. Of this, 80 per centum engaged in agricultural were male workers. Entire Employment ( CY2012 )= 3,877,000 individuals Agricultural Employment= 820,000 individuals Figure 8:Distribution of employment for Agriculture constitutions by industry group in 2010 Beginning: National Statistic Office Agribusiness, Forestry and Fishing constitutions employed a sum of 128,767 workers in 2010. Of the entire work force, 127,944 workers or 99.4 per centum were paid employees and the remainder were working proprietors and unpaid workers. By industry group, turning of perennial harvests employed the largest figure of workers with 55,747 or 43.3 per centum of the sum followed by turning of non-perennial harvests supplying occupations to 32,860 workers ( 25.5 % ) . Fishing came in 3rd with 15,482 workers ( 12.0 % ) while carnal production ranked 4th with 11,434 workers ( 8.9 % ) . Table 5:Number of happenings of typhoons in the Philippines by twelvemonth and by part, 2007–2010Region2007200820092010EntireAnnual Ave.Philippines132122116717Cordillera Administrative Region510103287I. Ilocos Region511114318II. Cagayan Valley811124359III. Central Luzon61093287IVA. CALABARZON4672195IVB. MIMAROPA3942185V. Bicol Region4641154VI. Western Visayas261092VII. Central Visayas1630103VIII. Eastern Visayas2730154Region2007200820092010EntireAnnual Ave.IX. Zamboanga Peninsula010010Ten. Northern Mindanao132062Eleven. Davao Region020021Twelve. SOCCSKSARGEN010010Thirteen. Caraga153092Fourteen. ARMM010010Beginning: PAGASA The typhoons counted were merely those with assigned signals. From 2007 to 2010, the Philippines experienced a sum of 67 typhoons or an norm of 17 typhoons annually ( Row 1 ) . The figure of typhoons increased in 2008 and 2009 and so suddenly decreased in 2010. The most figure of typhoons occurred in 2009 at 22 while the least happened in 2010 at 11. Table 6:Crops and Floor Space Requirements ComputationCropsOutputper twelvemonthFloors ( 1 Ha )Floors ( 3 Layers/Floor )Rice/ Wheat / Cereal10000009.293.09Tubers, Roots, Bulbs349938032.5110.84Fruit180133716.805.60Leguminous Plants5328144.951.65Leafy Vegetables303649928.409.47Fruit Bearing Vegetables131642612.234.08Sum11193456104.1834.73Beginning: hypertext transfer protocol: //www.ahga.orgMarket StudyAs the survey focuses on the architectural information analysis, it is delimited to supply elaborate feasibleness survey. Although as portion of the analysis of its architecture, estimated market survey was analyzed based on the survey of urban agricultural architecture structures that has been proposed in other state such as the Vertical Farming of Dr. Dickson Despommier, one of the participants of the survey. Table 7:Construction and Building Technology Cost Estimate of Vertical FarmUndertaking CostUndertakingCost in dollarCost in pesoSub-structure and Electochromic Glass Shell$ 25,000,0001,097,000,0001000 ton Geothermal HVAC$ 2,500,000109,700,000400 ton Chiller + Cooling Tower$ 500,00021,940,000Populating Machine-based Water Recycling System$ 11,000,000482,680,000800 kWh/day tracking Photovoltaic Array$ 500,00021,940,0004,500 kW Water-cooled lighting System$ 2,000,00087,760,000Energy Infrastructure and Automatic System$ 13,000,000570,440,000Floating Garden Hydroponic System$ 1,700,00074,596,000Office and Laboratory Facilities$ 5,000,000219,400,000Sum$ 61,200,0002,685,456,000 PhpBeginning: Medical Ecology – Spring 2006, Dickson Despommier, Ph. D, Vertical Farming Entrepreneurship Article Table 8:Estimated Net Net income and Associated Calculation:ESTIMATED EXPENDITURESUndertakingCost in dollarCost in pesoEntire Labor Costs ( includes benefits + insurance )$ 2,135,00093,683,800Entire Electricity Costs @ 95 % Biogas Reliability$ 130,0005,704,400Entire Electricity Costs @ 5 % Extreme Climate Conditionss$ 100,000.4,388,000Production Supplies$ 700,00030,716,000Modified Atmosphere Boxing$ 500,00021,940,000Biogas & A ; Living Machine Operational Costss$ 650,00028,522,000Building and Facilities Maintenance ( 0.75 % per twelvemonth )$ 628,00027,556,640Sum$ 4,843,000.212,510,840 PhpBeginning: Medical Ecology – Spring 2006, Dickson Despommier, Ph. D, Vertical Farming Entrepreneurship ArticleEntire$ 18,605,000– $ 4,843,000EBIT ( Net incomes before income revenue enhancements )$ 13,762,000Net Net income ( after 10 % income revenue enhancement )$ 12,385,800Projected Return of InvestmentEntire Building Cost$ 61,200,000.00Annual Net Net income$ 12,206,000.00Return on invested capital:4.94 ? 4 Old agesAs analyzed within the market survey, the designing of agricultural tower shows the consequence of deriving the return of investing within the 4Thursdaytwelvemonth of its operation. Therefore, the survey shows that edifice such installation is executable and awaited to be supported by the NGOs which aims are in line with the surveyInterview ResultsThe research worker conducted an interview to Agricultural participants and professionals to back up and happen the proposalDr. Ernesto D. Supan, PhDDirector, Extension and Training Pampanga Agricultural College Date interviews: July 18, 2014 around 5:18 autopsyDo you believe this sort of proposal will advance and elate the Filipino Agriculture to mankind?YesDo you believe, holding a nursery is economically friendly than in a traditional planting?Yes of class, it will protect your harvests from unexpected clime conditions such as typhoons, inundations and plagues. And with this, you’ll harvest more. Vegetables are weak in excessively much H2O while typhoons and air currents hinder the workss to bloom that will became the fruit.Do you hold any remarks, reactions and suggestions sing to the proposal?In footings of organic and nurseries, animate beings can besides be employ. Having a nursery in raising animate beings such as hogs, poulet, fish can beneficial excessively, ensuing an organic nutrient.Dr. Virgilio M. Gonzales, PhdDirector, Extension and Training Pampanga Agricultural College Date interviews: July 23, 2014 around 10:40 amDo you believe this sort of proposal will advance and elate the Filipino Agriculture to mankind?Yes, and I will bring forth harvests all twelvemonth unit of ammunition yet without utilizing so much adult male power.Do you hold any remarks, reactions and suggestions sing to the proposal?Good fortune to your undertakingWhat other installations or characteristics in the proposal that you may propose to advance and to elate Philippine Agriculture?If you will advance ecotourism, I think you should let clients, purchasers, or consumers can separately pick newly harvests straight to the plantation.Arch. Michaela Rossette Santos, uapChair for the Committee on Environment, Ecology & A ; countrywide Tree Planting, United Architects of the Philippines, LEED ( Leadership Energy & A ; Environmental Design ) AP Holy Angel University Date interviews: July 31, 2014 around 4:15pmDo you believe this sort of proposal will advance and elate the Filipino Agriculture to mankind?Yes, and I’m sure that it will promote more young person to prosecute in agribusinessDo you hold any remarks, reactions and suggestions sing to the proposal?Maximize the usage of verdures and guarantee nutrient security. Use fruit bearing workss as a landscape supplying a farm garden that will turn to a healthy life community.What other installations or characteristics in the proposal that you may propose to advance and to elate Philippine Agriculture?Provide cantonment preparation and squad edifice installations that will add enticement to your mark user. Use or use the engineering were Koreans used in rice agriculture were can minimise the usage of adult male power.What is the really first thingthat comes to your head when you hear the word Agriculture?Kalabaw ( carabao ) . Poor people who work hard straight on heat of the Sun, merely to supply and to back up their ain household.Dr. Arturo FigueroaLicensed Agri-Engineer Holy Angel University Date interviews: July 31, 2014 around 11:45amDo you believe this sort of proposal will advance and elate the Filipino Agriculture to mankind?Decidedly, to reinstate thePhilippine therubric asanAgricultural Country particularlyyour siteTarlac known as the â€Å"Melting Pot of the Philippines† .Do you hold any remarks, reactions and suggestions sing to the proposal?You can utilize edifice stuffs within the locality to minimise C footmark. I suggest utilizing bamboo as your constructing stuff as known to be a ace stuff. If non available, supply a plantation of bamboo, because this works is really resilient, fast growth.What other installations or characteristics in the proposal that you may propose to advance and to elate Philippine Agriculture?Supplying and proper location of Sewage intervention works is of import to your development. I’ll suggestholdingan country where you can raise angleworms to break up such refuse and yet produce fertilisers from your plantations.Surv ey ResultsThe study aims to place if the undertaking is considered necessary and accepted by the society. The research worker usage Purposive Method in garnering informations, holding 100 respondents. 75 of the respondents are pupils and professionals in the field of agribusiness which is the hereafter operator of the proposal, while the 25 respondents are simply pupils which is mark of the survey. The research worker were gathered both online and questionnaires. The sample questionnaire can be viewed onAPPENDIX Oof the book. Significance of the TopicDo you believe that it is clip for the agricultural sector to derive a greater feeling to the society? Is it of import for the youth/student to educate and engaged in agricultural activities? Interest in the SubjectWould it be interesting for you to larn agribusiness through camps/lessons? Viability of the ProposalWould it be helpful for our state if we have a convention centre, museum, research and development centre, or similar installations dedicated for agribusiness?What system of farming do you prefer in agribusiness?Under what installations would you wish to see in the proposed AGRI COMPLEX AND RECREATION HUB?Would it be helpful and productive to the state if we apply engineering and new techniques in agricultural sector?Do you believe the authorities is supplying adequate support to Philippine Agriculture?

The Lust Lizard of Melancholy Cove Chapter 24~25

Twenty-four The Sheriff Sheriff John Burton stood by the ruins of Theo's Volvo, pounding the keys of his cell phone. He could smell the cow shit he'd stepped in coming off his Guccis and the damp wind was blowing cowlicks in his gelled silver hair. His black Armani suit was smudged with the ashes he'd poked through at Theo's cabin, thinking there might be a burned body underneath. He was not happy. Didn't anybody answer their goddamn phone anymore? He'd called Joseph Leander, Theophilus Crowe, and Jim Beer, the man who owned the ranch, and no one was answering. Which is what had brought him to Pine Cove in the middle of the night in a state of near panic in the first place. The second shift of crank cookers should be working in the lab right now, but there was no one around. His world was falling down around him, all because of the meddling of a pothead constable who had forgotten that he was supposed to be incompetent. Crowe's line was ringing. Burton heard a click, then was immediately disconnected. â€Å"Fuck!† He slammed the cell phone shut and dropped it into the pocket of his suit jacket. Someone was answering Crowe's phone. Either he was still alive or Leander had killed him, taken his phone, and was fucking with him. But Leander's van had been parked at Crowe's cabin? So where was he? Not at home, Burton had already checked, finding nothing but a sleepy baby-sitter and two groggy little girls in nightgowns. Would Leander run and not take his daughters? Burton pulled out the phone and dialed the data offices at the department. The Spider answered. â€Å"Nailsworth,† the Spider said. Burton could hear him chewing. â€Å"Put down that Twinkie, you fucking tub of lard, I need you to find me a name and an address.† â€Å"It's a Sno Ball. Pink. I only eat the marshmallow covers.† Burton could feel his pulse rising in his temples and made an effort to control his rage. In the rush to get to Pine Cove, he'd forgotten to take his blood pressure medication. â€Å"The name is Betsy Butler. I need a Pine Cove address.† â€Å"Joseph Leander's girlfriend?† the Spider asked. â€Å"How do you know that?† â€Å"Please, Sheriff,† the Spider said with a snort. â€Å"Remember who you're talking to.† â€Å"Just get me the address.† Burton could hear Nailsworth typing. The Spider was dangerous, a constant threat to his operation, and Burton couldn't figure out how to get to him. He was immune to bribes or threats of any kind and seemed content with his lot in life as long as he could make others squirm. And Burton was too afraid of what the corpulent information officer might really know to fire him. Maybe some of that foxglove tea that Leander had used on his wife. Certainly, no one would question heart failure in a man who got winded unwrapping a Snickers. â€Å"No address,† Nailsworth said. â€Å"Just a P.O. box. I checked DMV, TRW, and Social Security. She works at H.P.'s Cafe in Pine Cove. You want the address?† â€Å"It's five in the morning, Nailsworth. I need to find this woman now.† The Spider sighed. â€Å"They open for breakfast at six. Do you want the address?† Burton was seething again. â€Å"Give it to me,† he said through gritted teeth. The Spider gave him an address on Cypress Street and said, â€Å"Try the Eggs-Sothoth, they're supposed to be great.† â€Å"How would you know? You never leave the goddamn office.† â€Å"Ah, what fools these mortals be,† the Spider said in a very bad British accent. â€Å"I know everything, Sheriff. Everything.† Then he hung up. Burton took a deep breath and checked his Rolex. He had enough time to make a little visit to Jim Beer's ranch house before the restaurant opened. The old shit kicker was probably already up and punching doggies, or whatever the fuck ranchers did at this hour. He certainly wasn't answering his phone. Burton climbed into the black Eldorado and roared across the rutted ranch road toward the gate by Theo's cabin. As he headed out to the Coast Highway to loop back to the front of the ranch (he'd be damned if he'd take his Caddy across two miles of cow trails), someone stepped into his headlights and he slammed on the brakes. The antilocks throbbed and the Caddy stopped just short of running over a woman in a white choir robe. There was a whole line of them, making their way down the Coast Highway, shielding candles against the wind. They didn't even look up, but walked past the front of his car as if in a trance. Burton rolled down the window and stuck his head out. â€Å"What are you people doing? It's five in the morning.† A balding man whose choir robe was three sizes too small looked up with a beatific smile and said, â€Å"We've been called by the Holy Spirit. We've been called.† Then he walked on. â€Å"Yeah, well, you almost got to see him early!† Burton yelled, but no one paid attention. He fell back into the seat and waited as the procession passed. It wasn't just people in choir robes, but aging hippies in jeans and Birkenstocks, half a dozen Gen X'ers dressed in their Sunday best, and one skinny guy who was wearing the saffron robes of a Buddhist monk. Burton wrenched his briefcase off the passenger seat and popped it open. False passport, driver's license, Social Security card, stick-on beard, and a ticket to the Caymans: the platinum parachute kit he kept with him at all times. Maybe it was time to bail. Skinner Well, the Food Guy finally got a female, Skinner thought. Probably because he had the scent of those mashed cows on him. Skinner had been tempted to roll in the goo himself, but was afraid the Food Guy would yell at him. (He hated that.) But this was even better: riding in the different car with the Food Guy and his female and the Tall Guy who always smelled of burning weeds and sometimes gave him hamburgers. He looked out the window and wagged his tail, which repeatedly smacked Theo in the face. They were stopping. Oh boy, maybe they would leave him in the car. That would be good; the seats were chewy and tasted of cow. But no, they let him out, told him to come along with them to the small house. An Old Guy answered the door and Skinner said hi with a nose to the crotch. The Old Guy scratched his ears. Skinner liked him. He smelled like a dog who'd been howling all night. Being near him made Skinner want to howl and he did, one time, enjoying the sad sound of his own voice. The Food Guy told him to shut up. The Old Guy said, â€Å"I guess I know how you feel.† They all went inside and left Skinner there on the steps. They were all nervous, Skinner could smell it, and they probably wouldn't be inside long. He had work to do. It was a big yard with a lot of shrubs where other dogs had left him messages. He needed to reply to them all, so each could only get a short spray. Dog e-mail. He was only half-finished when they came back out. The Tall Guy said, â€Å"Well, Mr. Jefferson, we're going to find the monster and we'd like your help. You're the only one who has seen it.† â€Å"Oh, I think you'll know him when you see him,† said the old guy. â€Å"Y'all don't need my help.† Everyone smelled sad and afraid and Skinner couldn't help himself. He let loose a forlorn howl that he held until the Food Guy grabbed his collar and dragged him to the car. Skinner had a bad feeling that they might be going to the place where there was danger. Danger, Food Guy, he warned. His barking was deafening in the confines of the Mercedes. Estelle Estelle was fuming as she cleared the teacups from the table and threw them into the sink. Two broke and she swore to herself, then turned to Catfish, who was sitting on the bed picking out a soft version of â€Å"Walkin' Man's Blues† on the National steel guitar. â€Å"You could have helped them,† Estelle said. Catfish looked at the guitar and sang, â€Å"Got a mean old woman, Lawd, stay angry all the time.† â€Å"There's nothing noble in using your art to escape life. You should have helped them.† â€Å"Got a mean old woman, Lawd, Lawd, Lawd. She just stay angry all the time.† â€Å"Don't you ignore me, Catfish Jefferson. I'm talking to you. People in this town have been good to you. You should help them.† Catfish threw back his head and sang to the ceiling, â€Å"She gots no idea, Lawd, what's hers and what's mine.† Estelle snagged a skillet out of the dish rack, crossed the room, and raised it for a rocketing forehand shot to Catfish's head. â€Å"Go ahead, sing another verse about your ‘mean old woman,' Catfish. I'm curious, what rhymes with ‘clobbered'?† Catfish put the guitar aside and slipped on his sunglasses. â€Å"You know, they say a woman was the one poisoned Robert Johnson?† â€Å"Do you know what she used?† Estelle wasn't smiling. â€Å"I'm making my shopping list.† â€Å"Dang, woman, why you talk like that? I ain't been nothin but good to you.† â€Å"And me to you. That's why you keep singing that mean old woman song, right?† â€Å"Don't sound right singin ‘sweet old woman.'† Estelle lowered the pan. Tears welled up in her eyes. â€Å"You can help them and when it's over you can stay here. you can play your music, I can paint. People in Pine Cove love your music.† â€Å"People here sayin hello to me on the street, puttin too much money in the tip jar, buying me drinks – I ain't got the Blues on me no more.† â€Å"So you have to go wreck your car, or pick cotton, or shoot a man in Memphis, or whatever it is that you have to do to put the Blues on you? For what?† â€Å"It's what I do. I don't know nothin else.† â€Å"You've never tried anything else. I'm here, I'm real. Is it so bad to know that you have a warm bed to sleep in with someone who loves you? There's nothing out there, Catfish.† â€Å"That dragon out there. He always be out there.† â€Å"So face it. You got away from it before.† â€Å"Why you care?† â€Å"Because it took a lot for me to open my heart to you after what I've been through, and I don't have much tolerance for cowards anymore.† â€Å"Call it like you sees it, Mama.† Estelle turned and went back to the kitchen. â€Å"Then maybe you better go.† â€Å"I'll get my hat,† Catfish said. He snapped the National back into its case, grabbed his hat from the table, and in a moment he was gone. Estelle turned and stared at the door. When she heard his station wagon start, she fell to the floor and felt a once warm future bleed a black stain around her. Meanwhile, Back at the Ranch The cave lay under a hillside, less than a mile from the ranch road at Theo's cabin. The narrow mouth looked down over a wide, grassy marine terrace to the Pacific, and the interior, which opened into a huge cathedral chamber, echoed with the sound of crashing waves. Fossilized starfish and trilobites peppered the walls and the rocky floor was covered with a patina of bat guano and crystallized sea salt. The last time Steve had visited the cave it had been underwater, and he had spent a pleasant autumn there feeding on the gray whales that migrated down the coast to Baja to bear their young. He didn't remember the cave consciously, of course, but when he sensed that Molly was searching for a hiding place, the map in his mind that had long ago gone to instinct led them there. Since they'd arrived at the cave, a dark mood had fallen on Steve and, in turn, over Molly. She'd used the weed-whacker on the Sea Beast several times to try to cheer him up, but now the sex machine was out of gas and Molly was developing a heat rash on the inside of her thighs from repeated tongue lashings. It had been two days since she had eaten, and even Steve refused to touch his cows (Black Angus steers, now that Molly knew he couldn't tolerate dairy). Since the coming of the Sea Beast, Molly had been in a state of controlled euphoria. Worries about her sanity had melted away and she had joined him in the Zen moment that is the life of an animal, but since the dream and the horrible self-consciousness that had descended on Steve, the notion of their incompatibility had begun to rise in Molly's mind like a trout to a fly. â€Å"Steve,† she said, leaning on her broadsword and staring him squarely in one of his basketball eyes, â€Å"your breath could knock a buzzard off a shit wagon.† The Sea Beast, rather than go on the defensive (which was fortunate for Molly, because the only defense he could think of was to bite her legs off), let out a pathetic whimper and tried to tuck his huge head under a forelimb. Molly immediately regretted her comment and tried to patch the damage. â€Å"Oh, I know, it's not your fault. Maybe someone sells Tic Tacs the size of easy chairs. We'll get through it.† But she didn't mean it, and Steve could sense her insincerity. â€Å"Maybe we need to get out more,† she added. Dawn had broken outside and a beam of sunlight was streaming into the cathedral like a cop's flashlight in a smoky bar. â€Å"Maybe a swim,† Molly said. â€Å"Your gills seem to be healing.† How she knew the treelike growths on his neck were gills, she wasn't sure – perhaps more of the unspoken communication that passes between lovers. Steve lifted his head and Molly thought that she might have gotten his attention, but then she noticed that a shadow had come over the entrance to the cave. She looked up to see half a dozen people in choir robes standing at the opening of the cathedral. â€Å"We've come to offer sacrifice,† one woman managed to say. â€Å"And not a breath mint among you, I'll bet,† Molly said. Twenty-five Theo H.P.'s Cafe was crowded with early morning old guys drinking coffee. Theo downed three cups of coffee quickly, which only served to make him anxious. Val and Gabe had ordered a cinnamon roll to share, and now Val was feeding a piece of it to Gabe as if the man had somehow managed to reach middle age and earn two Ph.D.s without ever having learned to feed himself. Theo just wanted to blow the bitter chunks of indignation. Val said, â€Å"I certainly hope that the presence of this creature isn't responsible for how I feel right now.† She licked icing from her fingers. Right, Theo thought, the fact that you've fucked up all the previously fucked-up people in town and committed a string of felonies in the process shouldn't be the rain on your little love parade. However, Theo did sub-scribe to the â€Å"honest mistake† school of law enforcement, and he honestly believed that she was trying to right a wrong by taking her patients off their medication. So although Val was currently irritating him like a porcu-pine suppository, he was honest enough to realize that he was merely jealous of what she had found with Gabe. That realized, Gabe started to irritate him as well. â€Å"What do we do, Gabe? Tranquilize this thing? Shoot it? What?† â€Å"Assuming it exists.† â€Å"Assume it,† Theo spat. â€Å"I'm afraid if you wait for enough evidence to be sure, we'll have to find you an ass donor, because this creature will have bitten yours off.† â€Å"No need to be snotty, Theo. I'm just being sensibly skeptical, as any researcher would.† â€Å"Theo,† Val said, â€Å"I can write you a scrip for some Valium. Might take the edge off your withdrawal symptoms.† Theo scoffed. He didn't scoff often, so he wasn't good at it, and it appeared to Gabe and Val that he might be gacking up a hair ball. â€Å"You all right?† Gabe asked. â€Å"I'm fine. I was scoffing.† â€Å"At what?† â€Å"At Dr. Feelgood here wanting to give me a prescription for Valium so Winston Krauss can fill it with M&Ms.† â€Å"I'd forgotten about that,† Val said. â€Å"Sorry.† â€Å"It would appear that we have multifarious problems with which to deal, and I don't have a clue where to start,† Theo said. â€Å"Multifarious?† Gabe said. â€Å"A shitload,† said Theo. â€Å"I know what it means, Theo. I just can't believe it came out of your mouth.† Val laughed gaily at Gabe's kinda-sorta humor. Theo glared at her. Jenny, who was almost as cranky as Theo for having had to close H.P.'s the night before and then open the restaurant in the morning when the morning girl called in sick, came by to refill their coffees. â€Å"That's your boss pulling up, isn't it, Theo?† she asked, nodding toward the front. Out the window Theo could see Sheriff John Burton crawling out of his black Eldorado. â€Å"Back door?† Theo said, urgent pleading in his eyes. â€Å"Sure, through the kitchen and Howard's office.† Theo was up in a second and halfway to the kitchen when he noticed that Val and Gabe had missed the entire exchange and were staring into each other's eyes. He ran back and slapped the table with his open palm. They looked at him as if they'd been dragged out of a dream. â€Å"Attention,† Theo said, trying not to raise his voice. â€Å"Sheriff coming in? My boss? Deadly drug dealer? We're criminals. We'll be making a break for the back door? Now? Hello?† â€Å"I'm not a criminal,† Gabe said. â€Å"I'm a biologist.† Theo grabbed him by the front of the shirt and made for the kitchen, dragging the biologist behind him. The criminal shrink brought up the rear. The Sheriff â€Å"I'm looking for Betsy Butler,† Burton said, flipping open a badge wallet as if everyone in the county didn't immediately recognize his white Stetsonover-Armani look. â€Å"What's she done?† Jenny asked, putting herself between the sheriff and the door to the kitchen. â€Å"That's not your affair. I just need to talk to her.† â€Å"Well, I'm on the floor alone, so you have to follow me if you want to talk or I'll get behind.† â€Å"I don't want to talk to you.† â€Å"Fine.† Jenny turned her back on the sheriff and went to the waitress station behind the counter to start a fresh pot of coffee. Burton followed her, suppressing the urge to put her in a choke hold. â€Å"Do you know where she lives?† â€Å"Yes,† Jenny said. â€Å"But she's not home.† Jenny glanced back through the kitchen window to make sure that Theo and his bunch had made it through to Howard's office. Burton's face was going red now. â€Å"Please. Could you tell me where she is?† Jenny thought she could jerk this guy around for another ten minutes or so, but it didn't look as if it was necessary. Besides, she was pissed at Betsy for calling in anyway. â€Å"She called in this morning with a spiritual emergency. Her words, by the way. The flu I can understand, but I'm working a double after closing last night over her spiritual emergency – â€Å" â€Å"Where is Betsy Butler?† the sheriff barked. Jenny jumped back a step. The man looked as if he might go for his gun any second. No wonder Theo had bolted out the back. â€Å"She said she was going with a group up to the Beer Bar Ranch. That they were being called by the spirit to make a sacrifice. Pretty weird, huh?† â€Å"Was Joseph Leander going with her?† â€Å"No one's supposed to know about Betsy and Joseph.† â€Å"I know about them. Was he going with her?† â€Å"She didn't say. She sounded a little spaced out.† â€Å"Does Theo Crowe come in here?† â€Å"Sometimes.† Jenny wasn't volunteering anything to this creep. He was rude, he was mean, and he was wearing enough Aramis to choke a skunk. â€Å"Has he been in here today?† â€Å"No, haven't seen him.† Without a word, Burton turned and stormed out the door to his Cadillac. Jenny went back to the kitchen, where Gabe, Val, and Theo were standing by the fryers, trying to stay out of the way of the two cooks, who were flipping eggs and thrashing hash browns. Gabe pointed to the back door. â€Å"It's locked.† â€Å"He's gone,† Jenny said. â€Å"He was looking for Betsy and Joseph, but he asked about you, Theo. I think he's going up to the Beer Bar to find Betsy.† â€Å"What's Betsy doing at the ranch?† Theo asked. â€Å"Something about making a sacrifice. That girl needs help.† Theo turned to Val. â€Å"Give me the keys to your car. I'm going after him.† â€Å"I don't think so,† the psychiatrist said, holding her purse away from him. â€Å"Please, Val. I've got to see what he's up to. This is my life here.† â€Å"And that's my Mercedes, and you're not taking it.† â€Å"I have guns, Val.† â€Å"Yeah, but you don't have a Mercedes. It's mine.† Gabe looked at her as if she'd squirted a grapefruit in his eyes. â€Å"You really won't let Theo use your car?† His voice was flat with disappointment. â€Å"It's just a car.† They all stared at her, even the two cooks, burly Hispanic men who had until now refused to acknowledge their existence. Val reached into her purse, brought out the keys, and handed them to Theo as if she were giving up a child for sacrifice. â€Å"How will we get home?† Gabe asked. â€Å"Go to the Head of the Slug and wait. I'll either pick you up or call you from my cell phone and let you know what's going on. It shouldn't take long.† With that, Theo ran out of the kitchen. A few seconds later Valerie Riordan cringed at the sound of squealing tires as Theo pulled out of the restaurant parking lot. Skinner Skinner liked chasing cars as much as the next dog, and they didn't get away as easily when you chased them in another car, but despite the excite-ment of the chase, Skinner was anxious. When he had seen the Tall Guy come out to the car, he thought that the Food Guy was coming too. But now they were driving away from the Food Guy and toward the danger. Skinner could feel it. He whined and ran back and forth across the backseat of the Mercedes, leaving nose prints on the window, then jumped into the front seat and stuck his head out the passenger window. There was no joy to the turbo-charged smells or the wind in his ears, only danger. He barked and scratched at the door handle to warn the Tall Guy, but all he got for his efforts was a perfunctory ear scratching, so he crawled into the Tall Guy's lap, where it felt at least a little safer. The Sheriff Burton first noticed the Mercedes behind him when he turned onto the access road to the Coast Highway. A week ago he might not have thought twice about it, but now he was seeing an enemy in every tree. DEA wouldn't use a Mercedes, and neither would FBI, but the Mexican Mafia could. Except for his operation, they ran the meth trade out of the West; perhaps they'd decided that they wanted the whole trade. That would explain the disap-pearance of Leander, Crowe, and the guys at the lab, except that it had been a little too clean. They would have left bodies as a warning, and they would have burned down all of Crowe's cabin, not just the pot patch. He pulled his Beretta 9 mm. out of its holster and placed it on the seat next to him. He had a shotgun in the trunk, but it might as well be in Canada for all the good it would do him. if there were two or less in the car, he might take them. If more, they probably had Uzis or Mac 10 machine guns and he would run. The Mexicans liked to have a crowd in on their hits. Burton made a quick right off the highway and stopped a block up a side street. Theo Why hadn't he let Skinner out at the cafe? He hadn't been able to figure out the electric seat adjustment on the Mercedes, so he was driving with his knees up around the wheel anyway, but now he had an eighty-pound dog in his lap and he had to whip his head from side to side to keep Burton's Caddy in sight. The Caddy made an abrupt turn off the highway and it was all Theo could do to get the Mercedes around the corner without screeching the tires. By the time he could see around Skinner's head again, the Caddy was stopped only fifty yards ahead. Theo ducked quickly onto the passenger seat and tried to call on THE FORCE to steer as they passed the Caddy. The Sheriff Sheriff John Burton was prepared for a confrontation with DEA agents, he was prepared for a high-speed escape, he was even prepared for a shoot-out with Mexican drug dealers, if it came to that. He prided himself on being tough and adaptable and thought himself superior to other men be-cause of his cool response to pressure. He was, however, not prepared to see a Mercedes cruise by with a Labrador retriever at the wheel. His Uber-mensch arrogance shriveled as he stared gape-jawed at the passing Mercedes. It made an erratic turn at the next corner, bouncing off a curb before disap-pearing behind a hedge. He wasn't the sort of man who doubted his own perceptions – if he saw it, he saw it – so his mind dropped into politician mode to file the experi-ence. â€Å"That right there,† he said aloud, â€Å"is why I will never support a bill to license dogs to drive.† Still, political certainties weren't going to count for much if he didn't get to Betsy Butler and find out what had happened to his prized drug mule. He pulled a U-turn and headed back to the Coast Highway, where he found himself looking a little more closely than usual at the drivers in oncoming cars. Molly There were thirty of them all together. Six stood side by side at the cave entrance; the rest crowded behind them, trying to get a look inside. Molly recognized the one doing the talking, she was the ditzy waitress from H.P.'s cafe. She was in her mid-twenties, with short blonde hair and a figure that promised to go pear-shaped by the time she hit forty. She wore a white choir robe over jeans and aerobics shoes. â€Å"You're Betsy from H.P.'s, right?† Molly asked, leaning on her broadsword. Betsy seemed to recognize Molly for the first time, â€Å"You're the craz – â€Å" Molly held up her sword to hush the girl. â€Å"Be nice.† â€Å"Sorry,† said Betsy. â€Å"We've been called. I didn't expect you to be here.† Two women stepped up beside Betsy, the pastel church ladies that Molly had chased away from the dragon trailer. â€Å"Remember us?† Molly shook her head. â€Å"What exactly do you all think you are doing here?† They looked to each other, as if the question hadn't occurred to them before this. They craned their necks and squinted into the cathedral chamber to see what was behind Molly. Steve lay curled up in the dark at the back of the chamber, sulking. Molly turned and spoke to the back of the chamber. â€Å"Steve, did you bring these people here? What were you thinking?† A loud and low-pitched whimper came out of the dark. The crowd at the entrance murmured among themselves. Suddenly a man stepped for-ward and pushed Betsy aside. He was in his forties and wore an African dashiki over khakis and Birkenstocks, his long hair held out of his face with a beaded headband. â€Å"Look, man, you can't stop us. There's something very special and very spiritual happening here, and we're not going to let some crazy woman keep us from being part of it. So just back off.† Molly smiled. â€Å"You want to be a part of this, do you?† â€Å"Yeah, that's right,† the man said. The others nodded behind him. â€Å"Fine, I want you all to empty your pockets before you come in here. Leave your keys, wallets, money, everything outside.† â€Å"We don't have to do that,† Betsy said. Molly stepped up and thrust her sword into the ground between the girl's feet. â€Å"Okay then, naked.† Molly said. â€Å"What?† â€Å"No one comes in here unless they are naked. Now get to it.† Protests arose until a short Asian man with a shaved head shrugged off his saffron robes, stepped forward, and bowed to Molly, thus mooning the rest of the group. Molly shook her head dolefully at the monk. â€Å"I thought you guys had more sense.† Then she turned to the back of the cave and shouted, â€Å"Hey, Steve, cheer up, I brought home Chinese for lunch.†

Evaluating The Future Of Medicine - 1508 Words

Where do you think the future of medicine will be in the next decade? With diseases and illnesses advancing, technology has been improving and advanced innovative ways have been surfacing. Something that has modernized our way of life without even realizing it is a printer. Did you ever foresee that printers could do other than put ink on a piece of paper? Three-dimensional printing is revolutionizing our modern day lives as we speak. Although there are several types of 3D printing, one version that has caught the public’s attention is 3D medical printing, or also known as bio printing. 3D medical printing will revolutionize the medical field and makes lives easier. This emerging technology will enable future 3D printers to produce†¦show more content†¦NASA launched a 3D Printing machine towards the International Space Station to develop parts in zero gravity, which will aid in future innovations in Astronomy. This new technology produced by NASA is one of the best upheavals that have occurred in that field. The Oak Ridge National Laboratory has built a complete car body through 3D Printing. The car took less than twenty hours to print. Although the car model is not permitted for use and its sole purpose is to be a model for upcoming inventions, this will significantly decrease the cost of cars in the future when we will be able to drive 3D printed vehicles. In 2014, the first 3D printed skull as successfully implanted in a woman. Doctors in the Netherlands reported that they have for the first time successfully replaced most of a human skull with a 3D printed plastic one and saved someone’s life in the process. The surgery lasted 23 long hours and took place at the University Medical Center Utrecht. The patient suffered from severe headaches due to a thickening of her skull. Due to this condition, she slowly lost her vision and her motor coordination was suffering. Usually in brain surgery the doctors temporarily remove pa rt of the skull to reduce pressure, but later on put it back or replace by an artificial implant. In this groundbreaking case, doctors inserted an entire plastic skill that was manufactured with the help of an Australian medical device company that