Supplementing Your Income with Writing

Enhancing Your Income with Writing So you’re a distributed creator and you love it! In any case, there’s an excessive amount of time among agreement and distribution, advance (in the event that you get one), and sovereignties (on the off chance that you even procure out that advance). How might you supplement your salary? Possibly you’re not an independent essayist but rather couldn't imagine anything better than to be one, or maybe you’ve composed for the sake of entertainment not understanding you could enhance your standard pay Here are a couple of thoughts. . . Take an independent composing course. There are free, paid and school courses. Establishment for Writers (once in the past Longridge Writers Group) offers seminars on composing for kids and breaking into print. Pursue pamphlets and follow online journals that share data on composing gigs. FundsforWriters, Freedom with Writing, and Mallee Blue Media are incredible assets. Compose short stories. Markets like Woman’s World Magazine pay top dollars for short sentiment and secrets. They likewise pay for short obvious life pieces. Genuine Story and True Confessions are different roads to win a couple of bucks. Compose true to life. Chicken Soup for the Soul and other such distributions are continually searching for incredible true to life stories. The compensation is tolerable, and there are a wide range of subjects to look over. Watch for treasury call for entries in sorts like dream, science fiction, and riddle. Compose Your life. What do you do when you’re not composing? Is it true that you are a full-time spouse and mother? Remain at home father? What is your â€Å"day† work? Is it accurate to say that you are qualified in wellness and nourishment, business and account? Maybe you make gems, or you’re a craftsman. Possibly you travel for business or potentially joy. Is it accurate to say that you are an inside planner/decorator or Feng Shui master? Compose for magazines. There are magazines and web journals out there that pay for articles regarding any matter from Parenting to Finance Insurance to Stretching your Dollars. There are Fitness Magazines, RV/Travel Magazines and Blogs. About.com pays for articles/blog entries on any number of themes. Compose a digital book. What is your obsession, your aptitude? Is it accurate to say that you are a Life Coach or Spiritual Mentor? Individuals love self improvement/examples of overcoming adversity! Composing and distributing a digital book can add to your certifications and customer base just as supplement your salary. Here’s an intriguing articleâ Expand your viewpoint with talking commitment. Numerous creators, (particularly true to life) can make a great deal of money talking on their subject of ability. Here’s an incredible article at Famous in Your Field on where to discover chances to do as such. Instruct composing. Numerous neighborhood schools/colleges encourage recreation learning courses. Pitch one and see what occurs! Be a tutor or composing mentor and work one-on-one with new/yearning creators. Educate at libraries. Start your own composing administration/distributing organization. With the convergence of self/co-distributing choices, book advancement, book spread structure, altering and designing are sought after. Utilize your insight and ability in the business and fill at least one of those requirements. George Washington University offers a Master’s Degree in publishingâ available both face to face and on the web. Sell/exchange your present build-up of articles. There are various locales that pay an ostensible charge for recently distributed work. Some compensation per see or per click. You’re not going to rake in some serious cash along these lines, yet hello everything includes. Look at The Penny Hoarder for arrangements of such destinations. These are only a couple of ways you can enhance your salary with composing. With a little exploration and inventive creative mind, I’ve no uncertainty you can think of something else.

Passion :: essays research papers

â€Å"Florida State University, here we come!† Fort Lauderdale to Tallahassee, what an excursion! Out and about again†¦blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, out and about once more, that damn melody consistently in my mind when we’re going on a long transport ride. I should make sense of the words in the middle of, however I’m in every case excessively apathetic. Since I consider it, I despite everything have two cases to compose on the off chance that I need banter. Mr. Wakefield would murder me on the off chance that he knew I’m heading off to an enormous state competition ill-equipped. I’m not stressed, I’ll do it after the first stop†¦I’m tired now in any case. I’ll simply take a little snooze. I woke up due to all the noise†¦we’re at the primary stop. It’s been four hours?! I’m still worn out, in this way, I set my head back once more. By and by, I woke up due to the noise†¦we’re at t he second stop now. I rested through an additional four hours, I can’t trust it, and I didn’t complete anything! I’m not stressed, I’ll compose my cases after this stop†¦ I’m hungry at any rate. Along these lines, I ate a lot of tidbits, tuned in to my Walkman, and returned to the transport. I’m simply going to loosen up the present moment; my head harms and my stomach is full. Here we are, Tallahassee, Florida! It’s OK, I’m not stressed, when we have supper and settle in our lodgings, I’ll compose my cases. Along these lines, we have supper, get our rooms, unload, and now I’m too drained to even think about writing my cases†¦ I’ll compose before the competition tomorrow. The competition is going to begin I still don’t have any cases ready†¦it’s OK; I can compose it before my rounds. I glance over to the side and see somebody posting the gathers together. Good, adjusts are going to begin in a short time and I don’t have my cases prepared †OK, presently the time has come to freeze! All things considered, I generally said I work better under pressure†¦obviously, a ton of weight. I plunk down and I’m composing as quick as I can. Stunning, such a significant number of ideas†¦my hand can’t keep up! I can smell the smoke originating from the pencil granulating on my scratch pad. I can hear myself pulling for myself†¦go, go, go, go, Usilia you’re great! Alright, it’s time to go to my round, so I plot my butt down close to the entryway and keep composing. At the point when my rival arrives, I tilt my notebook so he doesn’t see what I’m composing.

Portfolio (R) Example

Portfolio (R) Example Portfolio (R) â€" Coursework Example > CONSTRUCTION TECHNOLOGYSITE CONDITIONSSite Conditions and Constraints (Inner City Sites) and the Reuse of Building PlotsSite conditions are the physical conditions of the construction site, adjacent property, and all access roads in and around the site. There is a policy of observing and documenting thephysical conditions of the site during all phases of a project (Martin, 96). These are in both written and photographic records. This documentation is valuable for assisting in the restoration of the site to its original condition including physical features and topography at the close of the project, determining damages and settling claims, and in communicating the progress of the project to the public and the authorities. The construction technique and working faces for excavation are influenced by site accessibility/high overburden conditions, restricting the provision of access tunnel or shaft (Garg Dayal, 01). Filled and Contaminated SitesWhen dealing with a filled site, a pro spective contractor should consider the uncertainties on how the site filled and what happens when it is later developed. The fill may be needed to provide a level area for parking cars or storing materials, or to provide space for a garden or play area. In some instances, a site is filled to cover up a swampy depression or poor soil, such as peat. Some people mistakenly believe that hiding the problem solves it. The range in the quality of fill is even wider. People take what they get such as loam, silt, wood, ash, building rubble from demolition projects, sometimes even sand and gravel. The homeowners, farmers and others who do the filling are often unaware that engineering is required or they are unwilling to spend the money to construct an engineered fill. Most often, the result rarely conforms to good construction practice. Contaminated site is a site at which hazardous substances occur at concentrations above background levels and where assessment indicates it poses, or is l ikely to pose an immediate or long-term hazard to human health or the environment. For an area of land to meet this definition of a contaminated site it must be an identified delineated area of land (a site) such as a landfill or a transport depot. The contaminated also has an identified contaminant (a hazardous substance) at a known concentration present in soils on the site, or discharging from the site. It also has the identified contaminant in concentrations that are higher than what would “normally” be expected for a non-contaminated site and because of the contaminant’s location and concentration, pose a threat to people and/or the environment. Hazardous substances could pose a threat to people or the environment through various physical and chemical properties such as carcinogenicity, toxicity, corrosiveness, explosiveness, combustibility and asphyxiation. It can be seen that the contamination of land and its surrounding areas, can be vary in both its nature and degree of severity. However, in many instances, land contamination can be related to site usage. Establishing a site’s current and historic land use is a worthwhile starting point in any risk assessment as it can provide important clues to the nature of the contamination and the types of contaminants that could be present.

The Importance Of Philosophy And Happiness By Epicurus

Letter to Menoeceus by Epicurus In this piece of writing Letter to Menoeceus, Epicurus highly emphasized on the importance of philosophy and happiness. To begin with, he encouraged people of all ages, whether young or old, to study philosophy in order to develop better understanding of what desires to fulfill. By philosophy, Epicurus meant a state of mind, based on a realistic worldview that, if its implications were understood, would free people’s minds from superstitious fear and moral anxiety. As he wrote in the letter, â€Å"Let no one be slow to seek wisdom when he is young nor weary in search of it when he has grown old. For no age is too early or too late for the health of the soul†. Correspondingly, Epicurus based his philosophy on the idea pleasure. He was a hedonist who regarded pleasure as the primary and the most important intrinsic good. Epicurus defined pleasure as anything that increases tranquility of the mind and nourishes the health of the body. Theref ore, he mentioned three significant notions that need to be accepted by the people to increase their equanimity of mind: 1) relationship between God and human 2) avoid fear of death 3) live a simple life and seek wisdom. Firstly, he told people to believe in God as living being immortal and blessed. Therefore, he opposed anything that challenged God’s immortality or objected his sacredness, as stated in the article, â€Å"Believe about him whatever may upload both his blessedness and his immortality†. He argued thatShow MoreRelatedEpicurean Philosophy and its Effects on the World Essay1095 Words   |  5 PagesEpicurean Philosophy and its Effects on the World During Hellenistic times, Ancient Greece was a baffled region. This was a time of great warfare, militarism, and violence. This was also a time when human kind was searching for a guide to life; a way to live. Philosophies and religions were being tossed around and there was such a variety that it seemed difficult to choose a path. The founder of Epicureanism, Epicurus, had great contributions to peoples’ finding of a way to live. Epicurus wasRead MoreThe Is A Philosophical Theme Taught By Epicurus1306 Words   |  6 PagesEpicureanism is a philosophical theme taught by Epicurus, this theme that stresses the goal of a joyful and a pleasurable life. In the Hellenistic Age, epicureanism was extremely influential. Epicurus, the founder of Epicureanism, is best known for his different personality, unlike all the other ancient philosophers, excluding Socrates (O Keefe). Epicurus accumulated a group of disciples and taught them, after that he became known as the â€Å"philosophy of the Garden.† The wisdom theory, epicureanismRead MoreThe Philosophy Of Epicurus, Epictetus, And Aquinas1628 Words   |  7 PagesThrough the works of Epicurus, Epictetus, and Aquinas, it is evident that their philosophies inherit a great deal of virtue. Although roughly specified, virtue is implanted within their different ideologies. From achieving happiness, stoic beliefs, and in respects to Christian idealism, virtue turns ou t to be the driving factor in determining the ideal meaning of life from the perspective of each philosopher and it gives them their value. Backed by firm evidence, it is notable that virtue is moreRead MoreJohn Stuart Mill s Utilitarianism1642 Words   |  7 Pages Happiness in terms of logic is considered to be a vague expression, meaning it has a wide range of interpretations, as well as having no clear meaning. John Stuart Mill, an English philosopher, based his controversial sentiments of happiness on Jeremy Bentham’s utilitarianism, believing that goods are the means to greatest happiness for the greatest number of peoples. Epicurus, an Ancient Greek philosopher, who similarly encouraged people to follow his pleasure based philosophy to obtain happinessRead MoreEpicurus And Lucretius Essay1145 Words   |  5 PagesThe shared account of Epicurus and Lucretius unravel the merit of death, in the Philosophy and Death. There shared view is contrasted by the piece by Nagel. It is important to note that all three accounts are assuming the soul ceases to exist when the body perishes. Epicurus’ explanation is centered around death being nothing to humans, since the sense experience is deprived through death. This concedes, there is n othing in death and this should encourage one to seek happiness in life—the fear of deathRead MoreHappiness And Happiness1736 Words   |  7 Pagesnever fails to make someone think is â€Å"what is the meaning of life?† Honestly, there are many different philosophies addressing this question but the Utilitarian is one, everyone aspires to acquire some point in their lives and hopefully in the end as well. Utilitarian is based off of this simple concept and context: happiness. However, happiness comes with consequences and the utilitarian philosophy will make the decision if it’s morally right or wrong. This is where many types of utilitarian has emergedRead MoreDeath Of Ancient Rome And Disposal Of The Body Essay2283 Words   |  10 Pageswhoever died would also depend on how the body was disposed and treated which helped establish the difference between the Patricians and Plebs. It was widely believed by the Romans that death established the great segregation of body and soul. The importance of burial plays a great part during the time period of The Ancient Romans as they had a strong emotional attachment to the ceremonial burial of the deceased and considered it such an honourable achievement to partake in such a religious ritual suchRead MoreThe Philosophy of Happiness11705 Words   |  47 PagesChapter 1 The Philosophy of Happiness Aristotle on Happiness Since the earliest days of Western thought philosophers have concerned themselves with the nature of happiness. One of the earliest to ask the question ‘what is happiness?’ was Aristotle, who, in a manner typical of philosophers, before providing an answer insisted on making a distinction between two different questions. His first question was what was meant by the word ‘happiness’—or rather, its ancient Greek equivalent eudaimonia. HisRead MoreThe Distinction Of Ethics And Morality1307 Words   |  6 PagesThe Distinction Of Ethics And Morality: The use of the words ethics and morality are often confused with each other especially these are commonly used in Philosophy and other related fields. This paper will discuss the distinction between these two concepts. According to Gammel (2007), the difference between the terms morality and ethics has a very thin line particularly in the daily language. Adding to this confusion is that other philosophical resources and materials use the terms interchangeablyRead MoreParis1378 Words   |  6 PagesHappiness By Huang Lu Xin Happiness  is a mental or emotional state of  well-being  characterized by positive or  pleasant  emotions ranging from contentment  to intense joy. A variety of  biological,  psychological and  religious and  philosophical  approaches have striven to define happiness and identify its sources. Various research groups, including  positive psychology, endeavor to apply the  scientific method  to answer questions about what happiness is, and how it might be attained. Its of

Target Financial Analysis Paper - 913 Words

What percent of the total assets were these capital investments? A calculation is used to assess Target and Walmart efficiency that allocating the capital under its control to profitable investments. The return on invested capital gives a sense of how well a company is using their money to generate returns. However, Target sales increased to 4% in 2015 to 2016 but then declined significantly in 2016 to 2017. Target earnings from continuing operations before interest expense and income taxes increased by 5% in 2015 to 2016 but then slightly declined to 1.5% in 2016 to 2017 not reaching the 2015 level. Therefore, Target earnings from continuing operations before income taxes increased to 3.5% in 2015 to 2016 but then slightly declined to†¦show more content†¦The debt carries an obligation of payment to creditors while equity provides an opportunity for profits for shareholders. Therefore, all revenues from Target and Walmart operation must go to pay creditors first; shareholders retain whatever remains after accounting for all expenses, in cluding the cost of operations, taxes, etc. Since shareholders face more risk than creditors, shareholders generally expect a return on their capital that is higher than the returns that creditors expect on their capital. However, Walmart and Target cost of capital is thus a mixture of returns to creditors and returns to equity provider (Trainer, 2017). On the other hand, for Target and Walmart, the cost of debt is largely influenced by their credit ratings, which are determined by independent agencies, such as Standard Poor’s, Moodf’s, and Fitch Group. These ratings are analogous to the company FICO score. The cost of equity is determined by market forces in competitive industries by the interactions between Walmart and Target have varying levels of risk appetite who seek profit opportunities and those who provide opportunities for investment at varying levels of risks (Trainer, 2017). Estimate the cost of capital for financing (Hint: Interest expense and total debt – Ascertain the return on equity to provide measures for the interest rate and the return to stockholders. Interest expense is the amount reported by a company or individual asShow MoreRelatedFinancial Analysis Paper for Target2219 Words   |  9 PagesFinancial Analysis Paper Zeyuan Liu Company Profile Target Corporation was founded in 1902 and is headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Target Corporation operates general merchandise and food discount stores in the United States. It operates as two reportable segments: Retail and Credit Card. The company offers household essentials, including electronics, music, and toys; apparel and accessories; home furnishings as well as seasonal merchandise. It also sells its merchandise under private-labelRead MoreAnalysis And Evaluation Of The Business And Financial Performance Of An Organization1365 Words   |  6 Pagesaway. When i finished my nine papers in ACCA, I started gathering more information about this degree and how to work on project. Reason for choosing this topic I glanced at information pack from OBU and in that they offered wide variety of topics to choose from evaluation and analysis of organisation to critical review of key factors affecting organisation or brands. But topic no. 8 made most sense to me which is â€Å"Analysis and evaluation of the business and financial performance of an organisationRead MoreThe Analysis And Ratio Analysis1012 Words   |  5 Pagesof this paper adopts the document analysis and ratio analysis. The information regarding the board characteristics and the financial figures collect from annual reports which are published on the official website of target companies. The paper further analyses the statistics of each board in terms of the age, education level, gender of directors, board size and the proportion of executive and independent non-executive directors. Moreover, this paper uses the financial ratio of the target companiesRead MoreStrategic Plan III: Balanced Scorecard1278 Words   |  6 PagesStrateg ic Plan III: Balanced Scorecard The New You Boutique BUS 475 Strategic Plan Part III: Balanced Scorecard This paper will detail the approaches that companies use in devising and executing strategies. In particular this paper will discuss the approach of a balanced scorecard that is widely used by both large and small organizations. To elaborate, this concept paper will deal with the application of the concept to the business model of â€Å"The New You Boutique†. Once the boutique’s significanceRead MoreWhy Firms Should Not Be An Effective Functioning State Of The Corporations1647 Words   |  7 Pagesmethod to achieve this target. Significantly, the objective of the firms should parallel with the actual state of affairs of a business to maintain effective functioning state of the corporations. Merchant (1982) emphasises the need of control to reassure desirable actions and prohibit inadmissible behaviour. There is a lot management control, including financial and non-financial factors. Ittner and Larcker (2000) stress the limitations of control system based on financi al data to measure companyRead MoreBalance Scorecard Assignment Essay1493 Words   |  6 Pagescompany’s values, mission, vision, and SWOT analysis. The balance scorecard is made up of four perspectives; financial, customer, learning and growing, and internal process. This paper will define each of the four perspectives objectives, performance measures, targets, and initiatives. The paper will also show how the perspectives relate to Scents Things vision, mission, values, and SWOTT analysis. Financial Perspective The main goal when defining the financial perspective was to answer the followingRead MoreSwot Analysis : Target Corporation956 Words   |  4 PagesIntroduction This paper seeks to describe the Target Corporation, how it carries out its business activities, the products and services offered by the company. The main contents of this paper will be a summary of the business, the market, and the industry. Items to include in this section will be a comprehensive SWOT analysis, a developed marketing environment analysis, and an evaluation of the business’s primary customers, the marketing mix, and an outline of company’s main competitors. Target CorporationRead MoreAnalysis Of Walmart Stock Prices Over A Two Year Period1653 Words   |  7 Pagesto how accurate the forecast can be even when using pass data. This research paper aims to forecast Walmart stock prices over a two year period. But because stock prices are more substantial when they are presented either in monthly or weekly data, the paper will be forecasting over two years but on a monthly basis i.e. Walmart stock prices is forecasted over a 24 month period. Before we get into details about the paper, Walmart is one of the largest retail stores in the US with branches in otherRead MoreOperational Plan1670 Words   |  7 Pageshuman capacity and skills required to implement your plan, and your current and potential sources of these resources. Also, other capacity needs required to implement your plan (such as internal systems, management structures and engaged partners) Financial Requirements The funding required to implement your plan, your current and potential sources of these funds, and your most critical resource and funding gaps. Risk Assessment and Mitigation Strategy What risks exist and how they can be addressedRead MoreMkt 571 Complete Course Mkt 571 Week 1 Marketing Environment Simulation and Summarymkt 571 Week 2 Vals Surveymkt 571 Week 2 New Product Launch Marketing Plan, Part I Mkt 571 Week 3 Segmentation and Target Market Paper1325 Words   |  6 PagesSWOT Analysis †¢ Potential competition †¢ Product offering and product definition †¢ Product positioning †¢ Justification for your choice of product †¢ A 10-question survey that you will use for your final marketing plan, that collects additional primary data about the buyers Use the Sample Marketing Plan in Ch. 2 of Marketing Management as a guide in developing the components of your plan. Click the Assignment Files tab to submit your assignment. MKT 571 Week 3 Segmentation and Target Market

Gender, Gender And Gender Inequality - 957 Words

There has always been a so-called â€Å"Battle of the Sexes.† Humans have existed in a gender binary system with specific roles allotted to men and women for much of history, and its reach affects almost all aspects of our lives. Even in present-day 2014, in an era when it is becoming widely accepted that we are not limited by the roles that our predecessors were pressed into, the ramifications of this binary system are still limiting us. For this project my group members and I, as seven women each pursuing different careers and degrees, wanted to explore the gender disparity that exists in the workplace, and how each of our careers are likely to be affected by this problem. We found that across the board, working women are likely to earn only about 78% of their male peers’ salaries. (The Simple Truth) However, we also found that numerous fields such as psychology and pharmacy are seen as gendered towards women, and that in these careers the wage gap is significantly sm aller, while the wage gap in fields that are male-dominated, like chemistry and engineering, is much greater. My own major and future career in chemistry is one of these male-dominated fields, so I spent my time researching trends that describe women in chemistry to better understand any gender disparity that I may face as a member of the workforce. My first experience with chemistry was my first chemistry class I took as a sophomore in high school. My teacher was an extremely smart, extremely vivacious woman namedShow MoreRelatedGender Equality And Gender Inequality979 Words   |  4 Pages Throughout the past few decades, the gender inequality discourse have became a dominant feature of international, national and local policy debate on the subject of economic development. This policy concern has emerged as an area of scholarly research which seeks to show that improving gender equity leads to economic growth. Gender Inequality in Australia: According to the data published by Australian Bureau of Statistics in May 2015, the full time average earnings of women is $284.20 or 17.9%Read MoreGender Inequality Within The World1088 Words   |  5 PagesToday most children in the United States attend classes where gender equality exists. Students have classes in which both boys and girls are treated equally and are friends with one another and that is all that they have ever known. However, this is not always the case in every country. As of 2015, 53% of the children who are not attending school throughout the world are female (11 Facts About...). Gender inequality is an important issue that needs to be focused on and fixed throughout the worldRead MoreEffect of Gender Inequality on Economic Status1324 Words   |  5 Pagesand their empowerment has always been one of controversy. Even though the United States and many other countries have made great strides in gender equality, men and women are still not equal. Although this p roblem is beginning to disappear in many countries, it was once much more significant. The United States, a country with one of the world’s smallest gender gaps, used to be one of its worst offenders. Prior to World War 2, women were rarely seen in the workforce with minor exceptions. As a resultRead MoreThe Correlation between Poverty and Gender Inequality1211 Words   |  5 Pages Topic: Poverty and Inequality Key Question: To what extent do poverty and gender inequality affect each other? INTRODUCTION: Gender equality, women’s empowerment and good standard of living (financial stability) are important in their own rights. Today gender inequality is not only a cause of women’s poverty but also a barrier to tackling general poverty.Gender inequality impacts on whether women can benefit from development. Unequal distributionRead MoreGender Inequality : Women s Empowerment2907 Words   |  12 PagesINTRODUCTION Gender determines the socially constructed roles, behaviors, activities, and attributes that a society deems appropriate based on one’s gender identification. Being a man or woman shapes one’s roles in society, whether in the labor market or among a family. These roles are dynamic and vary by society. Gender inequality can exist when gender roles support established injustices between men and women. Women are more susceptible to and are disproportionately affected by such inequalities (1). ToRead MoreEssay Changing Perspective on Gender Inequalities in Schools678 Words   |  3 PagesChanging Perspective on Gender Inequalities in Schools Gender equality is a broad topic with many different angles that can be examined. For my part in this project I chose to research the changing perspective on gender inequalities in schools. I wanted to find out what people really felt about the fairness of their education, and whether they really felt they had been shortchanged in the learning process because of their sex. My results were generally what I had expected to find, thoughRead MoreAnalysis of Relationship Between Modes of Production and Gender Inequality1320 Words   |  6 PagesAnalysis of Relationship Between Modes of Production and Gender Inequality Amongst societies, there is a great variety of means of survival, all of which are dependent upon factors influencing the community—geographical location and structure of authority, to name a few. Such factors and the community’s ways of survival create the underlying basis of other complex issues, including the relationship between the sexes. Many anthropological papers that concentrate on the modes of production of specificRead MoreGender Inequality : An Ordinal Hierarchy Between Men And Women2498 Words   |  10 PagesGender equality has always been a prominent and complex subject in society, ‘a hotly contested concept [as] the precise meaning remains subject to continuous change and, as a result, to political struggle’, (Ridgeway, 2011: Preface). Ridgeway (2011: 3) defines gender inequality as ‘an ordinal hierarchy between men and women in material resources, power, and status’. Despite the considerable progress that has been made over the past decades, ‘a pattern of gender hierarchy has remained in which menRead MoreTackling Gender Inequality Raising Pupil Achievement By Christine Forde1426 Words   |  6 PagesIn a society that claims to strive for gender-equality, would it be possible to apply measures in order to put to an end the mutual exclusion created by both genders from a young age? In her book Tackling Gender Inequality Raising Pupil Achievement, Christine Forde analyzes and critiques the policy and strategies implemented to tackle gender inequality. Forde’s work is still relevant to today’s society as it deals with issues such as the ‘underachievement’ of boys making it a perfect text to studyRead MoreGender Inequality And The Corporate World : How Do You Feel About Women Holding Higher Positions Within Corporations?1516 Words   |  7 PagesGender Inequality in the Corporate World How do you feel about women holding higher positions within corporations? In today’s society, there are several inequalities between women and men. These inequalities between women and men have been around since the beginning of time and will always be a factor. Gender inequality can be seen in many different ways across our society today. One major area that this inequality can be seen is in the workforce. There are many women who have jobs in today’s

Fundamental Information Technology

Question: Discuss about the Fundamental Information Technology. Answer: Introduction: The study includes a detailed description of the Information Infrastructure of Swagger Distribution. The IT infrastructure refers to the combination of software, hardware and network resources and operations need for the existence management and operation of a business IT environment[1]. The study includes the benefits of the HCI benefits and a descriptive part regarding DDoS attack. Human Computer Instruction reflects the existing interfaces between the user and the computer[2]. The Network of the swagger distribution mainly focuses on the wired network for enhancing the security regarding the information. Through the combination of the various aspect of the IT infrastructure the Carnegie Cyber Academy Library development team can create an effective and secure IT environment within the organization. Human Computer Interaction: The term HCI mainly focuses on the existing interface between the computers and user[3]. In addition, it analyzes the utilization and design of the computer technology. Benefits: The advantage of the HCI is that it continually tries to improve the techniques and medium of interaction between the computer and user[4]. The benefits are depending on the various types of user interfaces. The below benefits are suitable regarding the Swagger Distribution Company. Command Line Interface: The options and switches are flexible. Quick at accessing commands makes it suitable for the experts. Utilizes the resources as little as possible[5]. Menu Driven Interface: Does not ask for having knowledge of complex commands[6]. Easier to learn and use. Graphical User Interface: Enhances the speed of learning. Easy to use[7]. Improve confidence of the novice users. Importance of HCI: HCI is an important aspect of business to make the products or services of the Swagger Distribution more sufficient, useful and safe. In the long run, it will bring more marketing advantages. Microsoft Visio Tutorial: The software offers the various diagramming ability for preparing different business, database, software, engineering, network diagram and architecture diagrams[8]. For understanding the applications easily tutorial is provided to the new owner and new employees. At First, all users have to download this application on their computers. Then, the users have to click on the home tab button, for inserting diagram aspects, text groups and links use buttons[9]. After that, through clicking upon the design tab, the user can change the setup of the page. Besides with that, users select the themes for background page creation. Review tab offers access to several functions such as reports, language and proofing. View tab is for displaying the Visio images in full-screen mode[10]. Shaping the window size assists in getting several shapes regarding the image. For the draw, shaping the images through displaying inches the application provide the drawing window. Figure 1: Visio Select Template (Source: "Drawing E-R Diagrams With CrowS Foot Notation Using Microsoft Visio Tutorial" 2013) Programming The functionality of the Key Code Components: System.out.Printing: For printing, the passing argument on an interface the Java uses this statement. It is a part of the stdout. The system refers to the category of final class that resides in the Java.Lang package. Out is an aspect of PrintStream, which is a static member field of system class[11]. The final part, println is a method. It is a part of the PrintStream class. Calendar Code: It is an abstract class. It processes the conversions between the calendar fields and the time. For developing a concrete calendar system, it offers methods and fields. Set, add and roll these are the methods that are used for setting the calendar field values[12]. Semicolon: The semicolon has the purpose of ending a statement with a program. It acts as a terminator. New Keyword: It is essential to create objects to use the methods defined in the classes. The new keyword is responsible for creating the objects of a specific class[13]. Networking: Summarization of the Wired Network: The organization holds two main locations where the enhancement of the network is very urgent. The office observes and watches over all the operations regarding business[14]. The warehouse is the center of the product distribution. This aspect of the study concentrates on the fresh components and facilities that have been integrated into the network of the Swagger Distribution. The workstation of the Swagger Distribution Company operates at the office as well as at the warehouse. The network is a wired for making the security regarding the organizational information better[15]. The VPN router connects the warehouse and the office. The router is connected to a switch that connects the main system with the different retail shops around the city. Using the LAN the administration will manage the whole network. In the central room, the main Ethernet cable will be connected to the firewall system, crosspatch panel, two servers and two routers. The warehouse will utilize a remote Ethernet switch for providing connection to all the systems. In the office, the network administrator will make use of Ethernet drop cable. Web Technology: Key Components: Home Page: The key to a successful website is the homepage of it. The target audience, at first, sees the home page of the website[16]. Integrity Regarding Content: The meaningful and original content will serve as a crucial feature of Swaggers website. Easy Navigation: Through integrating easy navigation techniques within the website, the organization can avoid annoying its audiences. Sidebar: Through sidebars, the website will gather email addresses for the organizations lists or promotion of Swagger Distribution. Analytics: Using the Google Analytics the organization can that does not work regarding the website. In addition with that, the authorities can measure the success of the website[17]. Core Value Statement: The organization will provide the useful information in the first place so that the visitors can be assured that they are in the right place[18]. Integrating Social Media: The use of the social media regarding promotion of the Swagger Distribution Company can attract the customers who are not interested in contacting the organization in the right way. Keeping the Website Simple: The simpler the website, the more it will be attracting the visitors and prevent them from annoying situations. Keeping the Website Consistent: For making the website interesting the organization will change the contents often but they need to focus on the main parts and should ensure that it does not get changed[19]. Adding a Search Feature: Having a search feature on the Swagger Distributions website will lead to the convenience of the customer[20]. Suggestion for the Swagger Distribution Company Website: A Logical Roadmap and Clear Navigation are the two fresh features regarding the web technology[21]. The development team will primarily focus on the working procedures of the website. Google considers the structure and the contents regarding its website while it ranks for search. Figure 2: Official Google Search Site (Source: [22]) Clear navigation facility throughout the website can provide the visitors ease of serving. Amazon uses this feature sincerely. Figure 3: The Official Amazon Site (Source: [23]) Information Security: Importance of Information Security: Providing the security of information is a part of business activity has covered a long distance in the past decade. Swagger Distribution Company has to focus on this aspect of the business as a failure in this part can be very costly to the organization[24]. The importance of the Information Security can be categorized in the following manner. Protecting Swagger Distributions Integrity will be an essential task of it. Maintaining and developing efficient measures regarding security will offer stability to the organization and gather more trust from the customer[25]. For enhancing efficiency information security plays an important role. Swagger Distribution can save a lot of time and capital by integrating security related tasks into the job description. To fulfill the regulatory needs, the Swagger Distribution will understand the importance of the Information Securit[26] Preventing threats is crucial for any organization. The organization has to consider the existence of a good security regarding its information to protect the organizational information. Information Security Practice: The Swagger Distribution will implement mainly two types of practices that are best suited to the organization for securing its valuable information. Implement DLP and auditing: It refers to the process of avoiding data loss and file auditing for alerting, blocking, monitoring and identifying regarding the flow of data out and into the network of Swagger Distribution. The Carnegie Cyber Academy Librarydevelopment team will make use of several strategies to implement this security aspect. The strategies include identifying business needs, defining security requirements, communications, reviewing architecture options, distributing responsibilities and deploying[27]. The various aspects of the business requirements regard performance, transparency, availability and compatibility. Securing websites against malware infections and MITM: The Carnegie Cyber Academy Librarydevelopment team will Always implement on SSL, setting the secure flag regarding all session cookies, scanning for malware on a daily basis and regular assessing the websites of the organization on a daily basis for developing a system capable of fighting against the malware and MITM[28]. Possible Security Threats and Its Prevention: The study consists of security threat that can cause huge damage to Swagger Distribution. The Carnegie Cyber Academy Librarydevelopment team will also implement the methods in the organizations system to prevent the threats. DDoS Attack - DDoS or distributed denial of service attack refers to a security threat which includes infected several systems for targeting a single system for causing Denial of Service attack. In 2008, Anonymous used the DDoS for attacking the Scientology.org for blocking the site for some moments[29]. From the three options, observing performance metrics, deployment methods and detection and assuring scalability, for preventing the DDoS attack the development team will choose the deployment methods and detection procedure. It will consist of various methods of monitoring the ongoing processes of a network. The router will create sample packets and will export datagram that will hold the information of the packets[30]. Summarization of Interrelationship: The IT infrastructure system of the Swagger Distribution Company consists of several components like network, database, web technologies, programming applications, security systems and computers. A network of the organization resides in the core of the retail chain. For driving the retail operations smoothly the network will include the features such as reliability, security and scalability[31]. Using the Local Area Network regarding the web technology block the personnel of the organization will communicate for pursuing effective business processes. The database will hold an enormous amount of data of the Swagger Distribution Company. The database will consist of the information regarding inventory details, products, clients, employees and different stakeholders. It will assist the organization to observe the movements of the products[32]. The Customer Relationship Management (CRM) and Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) are the two programming applications of the organization. The CRM will help Swagger Distribution to analyze the information of the customers. The ERP will make the business process of the organization automated[33]. The Security System prevents the system from threats and provides security for the valuable information. Conclusion: The study concludes that it is essential to provide adequate security in terms of organizational information to prevent Swagger Distribution from security thefts. The theft of information can be very costly. The websites must be secure, dynamic and simple. The development team has to maintain the simplicity of the website while continuously upgrading the site for integrating fresh and effective web technology features. The two locations, office and warehouse, will be connected to the wires. It will make the theft more difficult for the attackers. The applications like CRM and ERP will assist the organization to compute the business processes more swiftly and effectively. Through the analysis of the customer information through CRM, the organization can reveal new aspects of the business. It can attract more customers and can handle the existing customers more easily. Bibliography: "Amazon.Co.Uk: Low Prices In Electronics, Books, Sports Equipment More". 2016.Amazon.Co.Uk. https://www.amazon.co.uk/. "Google". 2016.Google.Co.In. https://www.google.co.in/?gfe_rd=crei=qGv3VsfACoLI8AeHoIOYDA. "Java Reserved Words". 2016.Jwrider.Com. https://www.jwrider.com/riderist/java/javaidrs.htm. "Twelve Key Components To Building A Successful Website - Ipwatchdog.Com | Patents Patent Law". 2011.Ipwatchdog.Com | Patents Patent Law. https://www.ipwatchdog.com/2011/02/03/twelve-components-building-a-successful-website/id=14952/. Banos, Vangelis, Yunhyong Kim, Seamus Ross, and Yannis Manolopoulos. "CLEAR: a credible method to evaluate website archivability." (2013). Bhuyan, Monowar H., D. K. Bhattacharyya, and Jugal K. Kalita. "An empirical evaluation of information metrics for low-rate and high-rate DDoS attack detection."Pattern Recognition Letters51 (2015): 1-7. Disterer, Georg. "ISO/IEC 27000, 27001 and 27002 for information security management." (2013). Drell, Lauren. 2012. "10 Essential Features Of Every Good Business Website".Mashable. https://mashable.com/2012/02/09/website-must-haves/#ISQK39q33iqG. Hollensen, Svend.Marketing management: A relationship approach. Pearson Education, 2015. Jacko, Julie A., ed.Human Computer Interaction Handbook: Fundamentals, Evolving Technologies, and Emerging Applications. CRC press, 2012. Leon, Alexis.Enterprise resource planning. McGraw-Hill Education, 2014. McMillan, Robert. 2016. "Hackers Hit Scientology With Online Attack".Pcworld. https://www.pcworld.com/article/141839/article.html. Null, Linda, and Julia Lobur.The essentials of computer organization and architecture. Jones Bartlett Publishers, 2014. Rautaray, Siddharth S., and Anupam Agrawal. "Vision based hand gesture recognition for human computer interaction: a survey."Artificial Intelligence Review43, no. 1 (2015): 1-54. Silowash, George J., and Christopher King.Insider threat control: Understanding data loss prevention (DLP) and detection by correlating events from multiple sources. No. CMU/SEI-2013-TN-002. CARNEGIE-MELLON UNIV PITTSBURGH PA SOFTWARE ENGINEERING INST, 2013. Siponen, Mikko, and Anthony Vance. "Guidelines for improving the contextual relevance of field surveys: the case of information security policy violations."European Journal of Information Systems23, no. 3 (2014): 289-305. Siponen, Mikko, M. Adam Mahmood, and Seppo Pahnila. "Employees adherence to information security policies: An exploratory field study."Information management51, no. 2 (2014): 217-224. Tantikul, Phitchayaphong, C. Albert Thompson, Rosalva E. Gallardo-Valencia, and Susan Elliott Sim. "Novel and Applied Algorithms in a Search Engine for Java Code Snippets." InFinding Source Code on the Web for Remix and Reuse, pp. 271-287. Springer New York, 2013. Website [1] Null, Linda, and Julia Lobur.The essentials of computer organization and architecture. Jones Bartlett Publishers, 2014. [2] Rautaray, Siddharth S., and Anupam Agrawal. "Vision based hand gesture recognition for human computer interaction: a survey."Artificial Intelligence Review43, no. 1 (2015): 1-54. [3] Jacko, Julie A., ed.Human Computer Interaction Handbook: Fundamentals, Evolving Technologies, and Emerging Applications. CRC press, 2012. [4] Rautaray, Siddharth S., and Anupam Agrawal. "Vision based hand gesture recognition for human computer interaction: a survey."Artificial Intelligence Review43, no. 1 (2015): 1-54. [5] Jacko, Julie A., ed.Human Computer Interaction Handbook: Fundamentals, Evolving Technologies, and Emerging Applications. CRC press, 2012. [6] Rautaray, Siddharth S., and Anupam Agrawal. "Vision based hand gesture recognition for human computer interaction: a survey."Artificial Intelligence Review43, no. 1 (2015): 1-54. [7] Jacko, Julie A., ed.Human Computer Interaction Handbook: Fundamentals, Evolving Technologies, and Emerging Applications. CRC press, 2012. [8] Chefetz, Gary, Margaret Wallace, and Rodney Walker.Microsoft Project Server 2013 Managing Projects and Portfolios. Chefetz LLC, 2013. [9] Helmers, Scott A.Microsoft Visio 2016 Step By Step. Microsoft Press, 2015. [10] Chefetz, Gary, Margaret Wallace, and Rodney Walker.Microsoft Project Server 2013 Managing Projects and Portfolios. Chefetz LLC, 2013. [11] "Java Reserved Words". 2016.Jwrider.Com. https://www.jwrider.com/riderist/java/javaidrs.htm. [12] Tantikul, Phitchayaphong, C. Albert Thompson, Rosalva E. Gallardo-Valencia, and Susan Elliott Sim. "Novel and Applied Algorithms in a Search Engine for Java Code Snippets." InFinding Source Code on the Web for Remix and Reuse, pp. 271-287. Springer New York, 2013. [13] "Java Reserved Words". 2016.Jwrider.Com. https://www.jwrider.com/riderist/java/javaidrs.htm. [14] Null, Linda, and Julia Lobur.The essentials of computer organization and architecture. Jones Bartlett Publishers, 2014. [15] Null, Linda, and Julia Lobur.The essentials of computer organization and architecture. Jones Bartlett Publishers, 2014. [16] Banos, Vangelis, Yunhyong Kim, Seamus Ross, and Yannis Manolopoulos. "CLEAR: a credible method to evaluate website archivability." (2013). [17] "Twelve Key Components To Building A Successful Website - Ipwatchdog.Com | Patents Patent Law". 2011.Ipwatchdog.Com | Patents Patent Law. https://www.ipwatchdog.com/2011/02/03/twelve-components-building-a-successful-website/id=14952/. [18] Banos, Vangelis, Yunhyong Kim, Seamus Ross, and Yannis Manolopoulos. "CLEAR: a credible method to evaluate website archivability." (2013). [19] "Twelve Key Components To Building A Successful Website - Ipwatchdog.Com | Patents Patent Law". 2011.Ipwatchdog.Com | Patents Patent Law. https://www.ipwatchdog.com/2011/02/03/twelve-components-building-a-successful-website/id=14952/. [20] Banos, Vangelis, Yunhyong Kim, Seamus Ross, and Yannis Manolopoulos. "CLEAR: a credible method to evaluate website archivability." (2013). [21] Drell, Lauren. 2012. "10 Essential Features Of Every Good Business Website".Mashable. https://mashable.com/2012/02/09/website-must-haves/#ISQK39q33iqG. [22] "Google". 2016.Google.Co.In. https://www.google.co.in/?gfe_rd=crei=qGv3VsfACoLI8AeHoIOYDA. [23] "Amazon.Co.Uk: Low Prices In Electronics, Books, Sports Equipment More". 2016.Amazon.Co.Uk. https://www.amazon.co.uk/. [24] Disterer, Georg. "ISO/IEC 27000, 27001 and 27002 for information security management." (2013). [25] Siponen, Mikko, and Anthony Vance. "Guidelines for improving the contextual relevance of field surveys: the case of information security policy violations."European Journal of Information Systems23, no. 3 (2014): 289-305. [26] Disterer, Georg. "ISO/IEC 27000, 27001 and 27002 for information security management." (2013). [27] Silowash, George J., and Christopher King.Insider threat control: Understanding data loss prevention (DLP) and detection by correlating events from multiple sources. No. CMU/SEI-2013-TN-002. CARNEGIE-MELLON UNIV PITTSBURGH PA SOFTWARE ENGINEERING INST, 2013. [28] Siponen, Mikko, M. Adam Mahmood, and Seppo Pahnila. "Employees adherence to information security policies: An exploratory field study."Information management51, no. 2 (2014): 217-224. [29] McMillan, Robert. 2016. "Hackers Hit Scientology With Online Attack".Pcworld. https://www.pcworld.com/article/141839/article.html. [30] Bhuyan, Monowar H., D. K. Bhattacharyya, and Jugal K. Kalita. "An empirical evaluation of information metrics for low-rate and high-rate DDoS attack detection."Pattern Recognition Letters51 (2015): 1-7. [31] Null, Linda, and Julia Lobur.The essentials of computer organization and architecture. Jones Bartlett Publishers, 2014. [32] Banos, Vangelis, Yunhyong Kim, Seamus Ross, and Yannis Manolopoulos. "CLEAR: a credible method to evaluate website archivability." (2013). [33] Leon, Alexis.Enterprise resource planning. McGraw-Hill Education, 2014.

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Pheonix Transformers : The Phoenix War story by M Sipher Part One Deception, Subterfuge, Treachery and Other Methods of Getting Your Way or (Since You Joined) The Corporation ********** We have red alert! We have red alert! Klaxons wailed throughout Mining Station 48. The planetoid was a valuable source of numerous metals used in Cybertronian armor plating... metals mined by what was politely referred to as Non-Wage-Earning Labor. Otherwise known as slaves. The stocky, humanoid mine workers came from the planet Juliwa, and were perfectly suited for backbreaking labor in the planetoid's thin atmosphere... valuable

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tounge speech Essay tounge speech Essay Finally, let’s examine how taste influences the foods we like to eat. According to the article The Genetics of Taste written by Lisa Bramen we are first introduced to flavors when we are in the womb, but it isn’t just your Mom who has a role in determining what you like to eat. The way we perceive some flavors is coded in our DNA. In 1931, chemist Arthur Fox and other geneticists discovered a single gene that codes for a taste receptor on the tongue. There are multiple versions of this gene, accounting for the variation in how strongly bitter flavors are detected. In a 2005 study, researchers at the Monell Chemical Senses Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania found that the version of this gene also predicted a child’s preference for sweet foods. Those with one or two copies of the bitter-perceiving gene were more likely to favor foods and beverages with a high sugar content, and less likely to name milk or water as their favorite beverage. Some of us may know a person who does not care much for sweers. It’s possible they are a supertaster; the name scientists give people who have inherited more taste buds than the average person and therefore taste flavors more intensely. These people tend to shun strong-flavored foods, including rich desserts. This may explain why the supertaster is more likely to be slim. Though our food preferences have a lot to do with genetics, nurture is just as important. Over our lifetimes we build many complex associations with flavors and scents that can override our DNA. Not only does genetics have an influence on our taste, so does culture plus nurture. From the article Taste This! it is also abundantly clear that our individual cultures have a major influence on the flavors we seek out and those we pass over on the buffet table. An example of how culture influences our

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A Study On Sharing The Wealth Philosophy Essay There are many people in the world who are currently living in horrible conditions that include malnutrition, hunger, and polluted drinking water. While these people are living in such horrible conditions, I am living a comfortable life and have a habit of taking advantage of certain luxuries that are available to me, but not to someone living in such unfortunate conditions. If a global tax was instated in an attempt to end hunger by contributing a mere one dollar a week, then I would be more than willing to support this movement. There are some others who would agree to and support this tax, but there are also some who disagree with this tax. Different individuals who would have varying opinions on this idea for a global tax are Thomas Pogge, John McMillian, Peter Singer, and Garrett Hardin. Thomas Pogge, as shown in his essay, World Poverty and Human Rights, would seem to agree with the notion of a global tax to help aid those in need. He writes that we have duties, not to expose people to life-threatening poverty and duties to shield them from harms for which we would be actively responsible (Pogge 319). In other words, he believes that those who live in wealthier nations should not allow other people to fall to illnesses if they can afford not to. This would include leaving people to just starve when one can contribute a small portion of our funds to them. Pogge also discusses the topic of how richer countries, such as the United States, strip these poorer areas of their own natural resources. He does mention that these countries to pay for it, but there is a problem with this payment. The payments we make for resource imports go to the rulers of the resource-rich countries, with no concern about whether they are democratically elected or at least minimally attentive to the needs to the people they rule (Pogge 320). Although the richer nations may be paying for the resources they take away, they are paying to leaders who may not share this payment fairly with those that they rule. With this idea in mind, perhaps Pogge would be even more supportive of this global tax if it could be guaranteed that the funds from the tax would be placed in the correct hands and those who need it will actually receive it. Peter Singer is another person who would agree to this notion of a global tax to an extent. In his essay, World Poverty and Hunger, he states that, I (Singer) begin with the assumption that suffering and death from lack of food, shelter, and medical care are bad (Singer 332). It would be an obvious conclusion to come to from this that he would agree that everyone (who can afford to do so) contributing something to people who are suffering from those things would be a good thing. This is ratified when he states that, if it is in our power to prevent something bad from happening, with-out thereby sacrificing anything of comparable moral importance, we ought, morally, to do it (Singer 332). Again, this would lead to the conclusion that he would be in favor of this tax. Although evidence would support that he would be in favor of the global tax, his argument soon gets more complex than that: If everyone in circumstances like mine were to give  £5, I would have no obligation to give more than  £5. If the conclusion were so stated, however, it would be obvious that the argument has no bearing on a situation in which it is not the case that everyone else gives  £5 (Singer 333). In other words, the wording of that statement means that not everyone would be obligated to give that amount of money. Therefore, by giving more than  £5 I will prevent more suffering than I would if I gave just  £5 (Singer 333). Although this is more of a real-world situation, there is evidence in these statements to come to the conclusion that Singer would redefine this global tax. Instead of everyone being taxed one dollar, everyone should instead give as much as they can to limit even more suffering. He continues to say, it follows that I and everyone else in similar circumstances ought to give as much as possible, that is, at least up tot he point at which by giving more one would begin to cause serious suffering for oneself and ones dependents (Singer 333). He would suggest that everyone who can should give as much as they can without causing suffering on themselves. However, despite the idea that Singer would prefer people to give as much as they possibly can, he would sti ll be in favor of the global tax as it is. As he says, At the very least, though, one can make a start (Signer 338). It is better to give something than nothing at all. Although there are those who agree with the notion of a global tax, there are also those who would not approve of this idea. One such person in John McMillan. In his essay, Antipoverty Wars he blatantly states that, Global poverty cannot be eliminated by sharing the wealth (McMillan 323). The global tax in question would be an example of this idea of sharing the wealth as McMillan puts it. Instead he believes that, The only real solution therefore, is economic growth, to expand the worlds total resources (McMillan 324). By growth, he means an increase in a nations income (McMillan 324). Something in this argument that cannot be ignored is the reasons he gives for the potential failure of redistributing the wealth to those in need. Let us do some hypothetical arithmetic. Imagine that the wealth of the millionaires is confiscated and distributed to everyone earning less than $2 per day. Dividing $25 trillion among 2.8 billion people would give $9,000 to each. (à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦) It would be infeasible for many reasons, one of which is that taxing income at 100 percent would squash any incentive to earn it (McMillan 323). In this, McMillan states that even though it would give a substantial amount to those in need, it would not bode well to take all of the wealth that millionaires make. With the global tax in question, it would only require everyone to be taxed one dollar, not the entirety of a millionaires wealth like McMillan mentioned. Despite this, McMillan still states that he believes that economic growth is what should be focused on to increase the wealth in a country. Therefore it can be assumed that he would not agree to the idea of a global tax in favor for economic growth instead. In his essay, Living on a Lifeboat, Garrett Hardin is another individual who, like McMillan, would not agree that this global tax is a good idea. He writes this essay with the idea in mind of the lifeboat metaphor. He explains this metaphor as such, Metaphorically, each rich nation amounts to a lifeboat full of comparatively rich people. The poor of the world are in other, much more crowded, lifeboats. Continuously, so to speak, the poor fall out of their lifeboats and swim for a while in the water outside, hoping to be admitted to a rich lifeboat, or in some other way to benefit from the goodies on board (Hardin 340). In other words, the rich nations are separate from, and in better conditions than, the poorer nations. The poorer nations have overflowed and are now in the water and need a boat to get on in order to live. The decision now is whether or not to allow them onto our (the richer nations) lifeboat. Hardin believes that nobody should be allowed onto the lifeboat for many metaphorical reasons, and then backs them up with real-world reasons. The closest example that would align to this notion of a global tax would be the international food bank. One of his issues with this idea is that, the concepts of blame and punishment are irrelevant. The question is, what are the operational consequences of establishing a world food back? If it is open to every country every time a need develops, slovenly rulers will not be motivated (à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦). Others will bail them out whenever they are in trouble (Hardin 343). In other words, the leaders of these countries that are receiving aid will not be motivated to prepare for bad times or to help themselves. They will just become, essentially, lazy and not do anything to help themselves. They will become reliant on other countries to bail them out. The most anguishing problems are created by poor countries that are governed by rulers insufficiently wise and powerful (Hardin 344). Here is where Hardin claims that the rulers are not capable of properly leading these poorer countries and that is why they are not doing so well. To relate these ideas to the global tax would be to say that, since these countries are receiving aid now, they do not have to worry about what will happen later because they will become accustomed to thinking that they will always receive that aid when they believe it is necessary. The one dollar that everyone donates could help them get out of poverty, but it would not help them to stay out of it. My personal response to this global tax is a positive one. Despite Hardin and McMillans possible views on the idea, I still believe it would ultimately benefit poorer nations and lead to positive results. The biggest incentive for agreeing with this notion for a global tax is very simple: it is easily affordable. It would not involve drastic cuts from a paycheck that leaves one without money for the things that are necessary for them to live in a day to day society. If everyone contributed one dollar a week, it would not add up for each person individually. This idea aligns up with Singers argument. Since I have money to spare and can give without taking away from any necessities that I have, I should be willing to donate it to those who need it. Even though McMillan makes the argument that sharing the global wealth would not help these nations, I disagree. I disagree because of his proposal that economic growth is the key to a nations success. As both Pogge and Hardin point out, the leaders of these poorer countries are not always the most well suited or fair. Pogge states that the wealth that the economic leaders would get are not being shared with the rest of the nation. Hardin states that getting this aid would not encourage the leaders to start becoming dependent on their own land. This would lead to economic growth being very difficult. Also, as Pogge does mention, richer countries are coming and either buying or stripping a country of its natural resources. There resources are possible necessities that these poorer nations may need in order to actually grow. Another issue that prevents me to subscribing to McMillans theory is his example as to why spreading the global wealth is bad. The first is that it is purely based on the idea of completely taking away a millionaires profit for a year. In our example of a global tax, one dollar a week will hardly scratch the surface of a millionaires profit, and it would still provide positive results to those in need. McMillans theory also requires that this spreading of global wealth is only in place for one year. This global tax would be in place for longer than that one year. This means that it would have more of a chance of being effective and collecting more for those in need. Pogge brings up the point that not when richer countries purchase land or goods from the leaders of poorer countries, the wealth is not always distributed to the people. This is why I believe that the money that is taken from the global tax should be carefully moderated to ensure that it gets placed into the right hands. For this reason, I disagree with Hardins logic. Although the leaders may not always be the best suited, the money can still be distributed to those who need it by not providing it to those in charge. If this money is monitored, there should be no issue of this. A global tax of one dollar per person a week would be a huge benefit to those in the world who need the money and are living in horrible conditions. Taking into consideration of how the money gets distributed and that those giving the money do not place themselves in danger or in need, I agree to this concept of a global tax. Despite McMillans and Hardins views, I think it is a good idea to attempt to redistribute the funds in the richer countries by taking this very small step.

Computer Hackers: The Whos, Whats, Whens, Wheres, Whys and Hows. :: Essays Papers

Computer Hackers: The Who's, What's, When's, Where's, Why's and How's. After coming home from a long day at school, I turn on my computer and go to the Internet to see "What's New!" Then all of a sudden I hear, "You've Got Mail!" I check my e-mail and it's a message from my friend in Alabama. It is warning me about a computer virus that is being spread, and that I should watch out. Thank goodness someone warned me about this. I said to myself, "This kind of stuff must be the work of those hackers that I hear so much about." But what exactly is a hacker, and what are they out to do? Hackers are people who are getting into our computer systems, destroying our personal property and stealing our information. Years ago, a hacker was a person who was capable of creating elegant and or unusual uses of technology. These days, a hacker refers to a person who attempts to penetrate security systems on remote computers (Hackers 2). Not only are computer hackers causing many problems for businesses, they are also causing many problems for the average person. Hackers get in personal information and get a hold of credit card numbers, various banking accounts and financial information, and just about anything else they want to know about you. They are going to get it whether you like it or not. Hacking, with the intent to steal or deface, is so feared in the corporate world that companies have spent $1.8 billion this year alone on computer network security products and services (Home Hackers 1). Cracking of home computers has been rare, but it is always a growing concern. Any machine connected to the Internet is potentially vulnerable, but the best targets are those with high-speed, "always on" connectors, such as cable modems or digital subscriber lines. Systems with high-speed connections are typically targeted because they are the simplest to track down. People have to realize that hacking is not a prank or a game, especially when hackers are hitting such spots as the White House site, the FBI site and the Senate site. The fines and jail time for these hackers are not very funny either. Arrests are being made and punishments can be up to life in prison and thousands, and in some cases millions of dollars in fines. When you think of hackers, you probably think of someone who is a little older, someone who's profession is working with computers.

Succubus Shadows Chapter 12

It occurred to me at some point that I wished the Oneroi would only send me false dreams. They hurt – no question – but there was a very, very small comfort afterward in knowing they hadn't really happened. Yet, my next few dreams were true ones, and I was forced to keep reliving the past. One memory brought me back to fifteenth century Florence. At first, I felt a small blossoming of joy at repeating this. The Italian Renaissance had been a beautiful thing, and I'd been in awe watching the ingenuity of humans reawaken after the last few depressing centuries. Things were made that much more interesting because the Church was always pushing back against this artistic flourishing. That kind of conflict was what my kind thrived on. Another succubus and I had shared a house, living luxuriously off of a textile business we ostensibly managed while our merchant uncle (an incubus who was never around) traveled. It was a good setup, and I – going by the name of Bianca – was the favorite child of our local demoness, Tavia, thanks to conquest after conquest. It all started to go awry when I hired an eccentric and extremely good-looking painter named Niccol? ° to create a fresco for our home. He was flamboyant, funny, and intelligent – and had been attracted to me from the first day. Nonetheless, a sense of propriety and professional boundaries made him keep his distance. This was something I intended to change, and I frequently stayed with him while he worked on the wall, knowing it would only be a matter of time before he gave in to my charms. â€Å"Ovid didn't know anything about love,† I told him one day. I was lounging on a sofa, caught up in one of the literary discussions we so often stumbled into. His ability to engage in these talks added to his allure. He looked up at me with mock incredulity, pausing in his painting. â€Å"Nothing about love? Woman, bite your tongue! He's the authority! He wrote books on it. Books that are still read and used today.† I sat up from my undignified repose. â€Å"They aren't relevant. They were written for a different time. He devotes pages to telling men where to meet women. But those places aren't around anymore. Women don't go to races or fights. We can't even linger in public areas anymore.† This came out with more bitterness than I intended. The artistic culture of this time was wonderful, but it had come with a restriction of female roles that differed from those I'd grown used to in other places and eras. â€Å"Perhaps,† Niccol? ° agreed. â€Å"But the principles are still the same. As are the techniques.† â€Å"Techniques?† I repressed a snort. Honestly, what could a mere mortal know about seduction techniques? â€Å"They're nothing but superficial gestures. Give your ladylove compliments. Talk about things you have in common – like the weather. Help her fix her dress if it gets mussed. What does any of that have to do with love?† â€Å"What does anything have to do with love anymore? If anything, those comments are particularly applicable now. Marriage is all about business.† He tilted his head toward me in a speculative manner that was typical of him. â€Å"You've done something with your hair today that's extremely pretty, by the way.† I paused in return, thrown off by the compliment. â€Å"Thank you. Anyway. You're right: marriage is business. But some of them are love matches. Or love can grow. And plenty of clandestine affairs, no matter how ‘sinful,' are based on love.† â€Å"So your problem is that Ovid is ruining what love is still left?† His eyes drifted to the window, and he frowned. â€Å"Does it look like it'll rain out there?† The zeal of this topic seized hold of me, making his abrupt interruptions that much more annoying. â€Å"Yes – what? I mean, no, it won't rain, and, yes, that's what he's doing. Love is already so rare. By approaching it like a game, he cheapens what little there is.† Niccol? ° abandoned his brushes and colors and sat down next to me on the couch. â€Å"You don't think love is a game?† â€Å"Sometimes – all right, most of the time – yes, but that doesn't mean we shouldn't – † I stopped. His fingers had slid to the edge of my dress's neckline. â€Å"What are you doing?† â€Å"This is crooked. I'm straightening it.† I stared and then started laughing as the ruse revealed itself. â€Å"You're doing it. You're following his advice.† â€Å"Is it working?† I reached for him. â€Å"Yes.† He pulled back. This wasn't what he'd expected. He'd only intended to tease me, proving his point with a game. Averting his eyes, he began to rise. â€Å"I should get back to work†¦.† He was rarely thrownoff, and I'd disarmed him. Gripping him with surprising strength, I jerked him back to me and pressed my lips to his. They were soft and sweet, and after a few stunned moments, he responded, his tongue moving eagerly into my mouth. Then, realizing what he was doing, he drew away once more. â€Å"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have†¦Ã¢â‚¬  I could see the longing in his eyes, the desire he'd held back since working for me. He wanted me, but even a roguish artistic type felt it was wrong to do this with an unmarried, upper-class woman – particularly one who'd employed him. â€Å"You started it,† I warned in a low voice. â€Å"You were trying to prove me wrong about Ovid. Looks like it worked.† I put my hand behind his neck, pulling his mouth back down to my own. He still initially resisted, but it didn't last. And when his hand began slowly pushing up the folds of my skirts, I knew I'd won and that it was time to retreat to the bedroom. Once there, he abandoned any attempts at decorum. He pushed me down onto the bed, the fingers that so deftly painted walls now fumbling to release me from my complicated dress and its layers of rich fabrics. When he had me stripped down to my thin chemise, I took charge, removing his clothing with a brisk efficiency and delighting in the way his skin felt under my fingertips as my hands explored his body. Straddling him, I lowered my face and let my tongue dance circles around his nipples. They hardened within my mouth, and I had the satisfaction of hearing him cry out softly when my teeth grazed their tender surface. Moving downward, I trailed kisses along his stomach – down, down to where he stood hard and swollen. Delicately, I ran my tongue against his erection, from base to tip. He cried out again, that cry turning to a moan when I took him into my mouth. I felt him grow between my lips, becoming harder and larger, as I slowly moved up and down. Without even realizing what he did, I think, he raked his hands through my hair, getting his fingers caught up in the elaborate pinning and carefully arranged curls. Sucking harder, I increased my pace, exalting in the feel of him filling up my mouth. The early twinges of his energy began seeping into me, like glittering streams of color and fire. While not physically pleasurable per se, it sparked me in a similar way, waking up my succubus hunger and igniting my flesh, making me long to touch him and be touched in return. â€Å"Ah†¦Bianca, you shouldn't†¦Ã¢â‚¬  I momentarily released him from my mouth, letting my hand continue the work of stroking him closer to climax. â€Å"You want me to stop?† â€Å"I†¦well, ah! No, but women like you don't†¦you aren't supposed to†¦Ã¢â‚¬  I laughed, the sound low and dangerous in my throat. â€Å"You have no idea what kind of woman I am. I want to do this. I want to feel you in my mouth†¦taste you†¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"Oh God,† he groaned, eyes closed and lips parted. His muscles tensed, body arching slightly, and I just managed to return him to my mouth in time. He came, and I took it all in as his body continued to spasm. The life energy trickling into me spiked in intensity, and I nearly had a climax of my own. We'd only just started, and I was already getting more life from him than I'd expected. This would be a good night. When his shuddering body finally quieted, I shifted myself so that my hips wrapped around his. I ran my tongue over my lips. â€Å"Oh God,† he repeated, breathing labored and eyes wide. His hands traveled up my waist and rested under my breasts, earning my approval. â€Å"I thought†¦I thought only whores did that†¦.† I arched an eyebrow. â€Å"Disappointed?† â€Å"Oh, no. No.† Leaning forward, I brushed my lips against his. â€Å"Then return the favor.† He was only too eager, despite his weariness. After pulling the chemise over my head, he ravaged my body with his mouth, his hands cradling my breasts while his lips sucked and teeth teased my nipples, just as I'd done to him. My desire grew, my instincts urging me to take more and more of his life and stoke my body's burning need. When he moved his mouth between my legs, parting my thighs, I jerked his head up. â€Å"You said once that I think like a man,† I hissed softly. â€Å"Then treat me like one. Get on your knees.† He blinked in surprise, taken aback, but I could tell something about the force of the command aroused him. An animal glint shone in his eyes as he sank to his knees on the floor, and I stood before him, my backside leaning against the bed. Hands clutching my hips, he pressed his face against the soft patch of hair between my thighs, his tongue slipping between my lips and stroking the burning, swelling heart buried within. At that first touch, my whole body shuddered, and I arched my head back. Fueled by this reaction, he lapped eagerly, letting his tongue dance with a steady rhythm. Twining my hands in his hair, I pushed him closer to me, forcing him to taste more of me, to increase the pressure of his tongue upon me. When the burning, delicious feeling in my lower body could take no more, it burst, like the sun exploding. Like fire and starlight coursing through me, setting every part of me tingling and screaming. Imitating what I'd done to him earlier, he didn't remove his mouth until my climax finally subsided, my body still twitching each time his tongue tauntingly darted out and teased that oh-so-sensitive area. When he finally broke away, he looked up with a bemused smile. â€Å"I don't know what you are. Subservient†¦dominant†¦I don't know how to treat you.† I smiled back, my hands caressing the sides of his face. â€Å"I'm anything you want me to be. How do you want to treat me?† He thought about it, finally speaking in a hesitant voice. â€Å"I want†¦I want to think of you like a goddess†¦and take you like a whore†¦.† My smile increased. That about summed up my life, I thought. â€Å"I'm anything you want me to be,† I repeated. Rising to his feet, he pushed me roughly against the bed, holding me down. He was ready again, though I could see the effort it took. Most men would have collapsed after that loss of life energy, but he was fighting through his exhaustion in order to take me again. I felt the hard press of him against me, and then he pushed – nearly shoved – himself into me, sliding almost effortlessly now that I was so wet. Moaning, I shifted myself up so that he could get a better position and take me deeper. His hands clutched my hips as he moved with an almost primal aggression, and the sound of our bodies hitting each other filled the room. My body responded to his, loving the way he filled me up and drove into me. My cries grew louder, his thrusts harder. And, oh, the life pouring into me. It was a river now, golden and scorching, renewing my own life and existence. Along with his energy, he yielded some of his emotions and thoughts, and I could literally feel his lust and affection for me. That life force warred with my own physical pleasure, both consuming me and driving me mad, so that I could barely think or even separate one from the other. The feeling grew and grew within me, burning my core, building up in such intensity that I could barely contain it. I pressed my face against him, smothering my cries. The fire within me swelled, and I made no more attempts to hold off my climax. It burst within me, exploding, enveloping my whole body in a terrible, wonderful ecstasy. Niccol? ° showed no mercy, never slowing as that pleasure wracked my body. I writhed against it, even as I screamed for more. Doing this might make Niccol? ° immoral in the eyes of the Church, but at the heart of what mattered, he was a decent man. He was kind to others and had a strong character whose principles were not easily shaken. As a result, he had had a lot of goodness and a lot of life to give, life I absorbed without remorse. It spread into me as our bodies moved together, sweeter than any nectar. It burned in my veins, making me feel alive, making me into the goddess he kept murmuring that I was. Unfortunately, the loss of such energy took its toll, and he lay immobile in my bed afterward, breathing shallow and face pale. Naked, I sat up and watched him, running a hand over his sweat-drenched forehead. He smiled. â€Å"I was going to write a sonnet about you†¦. I don't think I can capture this with words.† He struggled to sit up, the motion causing him pain. The fact that he'd managed all of this was pretty remarkable. â€Å"I need to go†¦the city's curfew†¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"Forget it. You can stay here for the night.† â€Å"But your servants – â€Å" † – are well-paid for their discretion.† I brushed my lips over his skin. â€Å"Besides, don't you want to†¦discuss more philosophy?† He closed his eyes, but the smile stayed. â€Å"Yes, of course. But I†¦I'm sorry. I don't know what's wrong with me. I need to rest first†¦.† I lay down beside him. â€Å"Then rest.† A pattern developed between us after that. He'd work on the fresco during the day – his progress slowing significantly – and spend his nights with me. That twang of guilt never left him, making the experience doubly exciting for me. My essence drank from his soul while my body enjoyed the skills of his. One day, he left to run errands – and didn't come back. Two more days passed with no word from him, and my worry began to grow. When he showed up on the third night, there was an anxious, harried look to him. More concerned than ever, I hurried him inside, noting a bundle under his arm. â€Å"Where have you been? What is that?† Unwrapping his cloak, he revealed a stack of books. I sifted through them with the wonder I'd always had for such things. Boccaccio's The Decameron. Ovid's Amores. Countless others. Some I'd read. Some I'd longed to read. My heart gave a flutter, and my fingers itched to turn the pages. â€Å"I've gathered these from some of my friends,† he explained. â€Å"They're worried Savonarola's thugs will seize them.† I frowned at this reference to the city's most powerful priest. â€Å"Savonarola?† â€Å"He's gathering up ‘objects of sin' in order to destroy them. Will you hide these here? No one would force them away from someone like you.† The books practically shone to me, far more valuable than the jewelry I'd amassed. I wanted to drop everything and start reading. â€Å"Of course.† I flipped through the pages of the Boccaccio. â€Å"I can't believe anyone would want to destroy these.† â€Å"These are dark days,† he said, face hard. â€Å"If we aren't careful, all knowledge will be lost. The ignorant will crush the learned.† I knew he spoke the truth. I'd seen it, over and over. Knowledge destroyed, trampled by those too stupid to know what they did. Sometimes it happened through forceful, bloody invasions; sometimes it happened through less violent but equally insidious means, like those of Fra Savonarola. I'd grown so accustomed to it that I barely noticed anymore. For some reason, it hit me harder this time. Maybe it was because I was seeing it through his urgent eyes and not just observing it from a distance. â€Å"Bianca?† Niccol? ° chuckled softly. â€Å"Are you even listening to me? I'd hoped to spend the night with you, but maybe you'd rather be with Boccaccio†¦.† I dragged my eyes from the pages, feeling my lips quirk up into a half-smile. â€Å"Can't I have you both?† Over the next few days, Niccol? ° continued to smuggle more and more goods to me. And not just books. Paintings accumulated in my home. Small sculptures. Even more superficial things like extravagant cloth and jewels, all deemed sinful. I felt as though I'd been allowed to cross through the gates of heaven. Hours would pass as I studied paintings and sculptures, marveling at the ingenuity of humans, jealous of a creativity I had never possessed, either as a mortal or immortal. That art filled me up with an indescribable joy, exquisite and sweet, almost reminding me of when my soul had been my own. And the books†¦oh, the books. My clerks and associates soon found their hands full of extra work as I neglected them. Who cared about accounts and shipments with so much knowledge at my fingertips? I drank it up, savoring the words – words the Church condemned as heresy. A secret smugness filled me over the role I played, protecting these treasures. I would pass on humanity's knowledge and thwart Heaven's agenda. The light of genius and creativity would not fade from this world, and best of all, I would get to enjoy it along the way. Things changed when Tavia showed up one day to check in. The demoness was pleased at the report of my conquests but puzzled when she noticed a small sculpture of Bacchus on a table. I hadn't yet had a chance to hide the statue with my horde. Tavia demanded an explanation, and I told her about my role in protecting the contraband. As always, her response took a long time in coming, and when it did, my heart nearly stopped. â€Å"You need to cease this immediately.† â€Å"I – what?† â€Å"And you need to turn these items over to Father Betto.† I studied her incredulously, waiting for the joke to reveal itself. Father Betto was my local priest. â€Å"You can't†¦you can't mean that. This stuff can't be destroyed. We'd be supporting the Church. We're supposed to go against them.† Tavia raised a dark, pointed eyebrow. â€Å"We're supposed to further evil in the world, my darling, which may or may not go along with the Church's plans. In this case, it does.† â€Å"How?† I cried. â€Å"Because there is no greater evil than ignorance and the destruction of genius. Ignorance has been responsible for more death, more bigotry, and more sin than any other force. It is the destroyer of mankind.† â€Å"But Eve sinned when she sought knowledge†¦Ã¢â‚¬  The demoness smirked. â€Å"Are you sure? Do you truly know what is good and what is evil?† â€Å"I†¦I don't know,† I whispered. â€Å"They seem kind of indistinguishable from one another.† It was the first time since becoming a succubus that the lines had really and truly grown so blurred for me. After the loss of my mortal life had darkened me, I'd thrown myself into being a succubus, never questioning Hell's role or the corrupting of men like Niccol? °. â€Å"Yes,† she agreed. â€Å"Sometimes they are.† Her smile vanished. â€Å"This isn't up for debate. You will yield your stash immediately. And maybe try to seduce Father Betto while you're at it. That'd be a nice perk.† â€Å"But I – † The word â€Å"can't† was on my lips, and I bit it off. Under the scrutiny of her stare and power, I felt very small and very weak. You don't cross demons. I swallowed. â€Å"Yes, Tavia.† The next time Niccol? ° and I made love, he managed a tired but happy attempt at conversation in his post-sex exhaustion. â€Å"Lenzo's going to bring me one of his paintings tomorrow. Wait until you see it. It shows Venus and Adonis – â€Å" â€Å"No.† He lifted his head up. â€Å"Hmm?† â€Å"No. Don't bring me any more.† It was hard, oh God, it was so hard speaking to him in such a cold tone. I kept reminding myself of what I was and what I had to do. A frown crossed his handsome face. â€Å"What are you talking about? You've already collected so much – â€Å" â€Å"I don't have them anymore. I gave them up to Savonarola.† â€Å"You†¦you're joking.† I shook my head. â€Å"No. I contacted his Bands of Hope this morning. They came and took it all.† Niccol? ° struggled to sit up. â€Å"Stop it. This isn't funny.† â€Å"It's not a joke. They're all gone. They're going to the fire. They're objects of sin. They need to be destroyed.† â€Å"You're lying. Stop this, Bianca. You don't mean – â€Å" My voice sharpened. â€Å"They're wrong and heretical. They're gone.† Our eyes locked, and as he studied my face, I could see that he was starting to realize that maybe, just maybe, I spoke the truth. And I did. Sort of. I was very good at making people – especially men – believe what I wanted them to. We dressed, and I took him to the storage room I'd previously hidden the objects in. He stared at the empty space, face pale and disbelieving. I stood nearby, arms crossed, maintaining a stiff and disapproving stance. Eyes wide, he turned to me. â€Å"How could you? How could you do this to me?† â€Å"I told you – â€Å" â€Å"I trusted you! You said you'd keep them safe!† â€Å"I was wrong. Satan clouded my judgment.† He gripped my arm painfully and leaned close to me. â€Å"What have they done to you? Did they threaten you? You wouldn't do this. What are they holding against you? Is it that priest you're always visiting?† â€Å"No one made me do this,† I replied bleakly. â€Å"It's the right thing to do.† He pulled back, like he couldn't stand my touch, and my heart lurched painfully at the look in his eyes. â€Å"Do you know what you've done? Some of those can never be replaced.† â€Å"I know. But it's better this way.† Niccol? ° stared at me for several more seconds and then stumbled for the door, uncaring of the curfew or his weakened state. I watched him go, feeling dead inside. He's just another man, I thought. Let him go. I'd had so many in my life; I'd have so many more. What did he matter? Swallowing tears, I crept downstairs to the lower level, careful not to wake the sleeping household. I'd made the same journey last night, painstakingly carrying part of the horde down here – a part that I didn't give to the Church's minions. Splitting the art and books had been like choosing which of my children had to live or die. The silks and velvets had been mindless; all of them went to Fra Savonarola. But the rest†¦that had been difficult. I'd let most of Ovid go. His works were so widespread, I had to believe copies of them would survive – if not in Florence, then perhaps some other place untouched by this bigotry. Other authors, those whom I feared had a limited run, stayed with me. The paintings and sculptures proved hardest of all. They were one of a kind. I couldn't hope that other copies might exist. But I'd known I couldn't keep them all either, not with Tavia checking in. And so, I'd chosen those which I thought most worth saving, protecting them from the Church. Niccol? ° couldn't know that, though. I didn't see him for almost three weeks, until we ran into each other at Savonarola's great burning. History would later know it as the Bonfire of the Vanities. It was a great pyramid stuffed with fuel and sin. The zealous threw more and more items in as it blazed, seeming to have a never ending supply. I watched as Botticelli himself tossed one of his paintings in. Niccol? °'s greeting was curt. â€Å"Bianca.† â€Å"Hello, Niccol? °.† I kept my voice cold and crisp. Uncaring. He stood in front of me, gray eyes black in the flickering light. His face seemed to have aged since our last meeting. We both turned and silently observed the blaze again, watching as more and more of man's finest things were sacrificed. â€Å"You have killed progress,† Niccol? ° said at last. â€Å"You betrayed me.† â€Å"I've delayed progress. And I had no obligations to you. Except for this.† Reaching into the folds of my dress, I handed over a purse heavy with florins. It was the last part in my plan. He took it, blinking at its weight. â€Å"This is more than you owe me. And I won't finish the fresco.† â€Å"I know. It's all right. Take it. Go somewhere else, somewhere away from this. Paint. Write. Create something beautiful. Whatever it takes to make you happy. I don't really care.† He stared, and I feared he'd give the money back. â€Å"I still don't understand. How can you not care about any of this? How can you be so cruel? Why did you do it?† I studied the fire again. Humans, I realized idly, liked to burn things. Objects. Each other. â€Å"Because men cannot surpass the gods. Not yet anyway.† â€Å"Prometheus never intended his gift to be used like this.† I smiled without humor, remembering an old debate of ours about classical mythology, back during our sweeter days. â€Å"No. I suppose not.† We said nothing else. A moment later, he walked away, disappearing into the darkness. For a heartbeat, I considered telling him the truth, that much of his treasure was still safe. I'd paid well for it to be smuggled out of Florence, away from this mad destruction. In fact, I'd actually sent the goods to an angel. I didn't like angels as a general rule, but this one was a scholar, one I'd met in England and tolerated. Heretical or no, the books and art would appeal to him as much as to me. He would keep them safe. How ironic, I thought, that I would turn to the enemy for help. Tavia had been right. Sometimes good and evil were impossible to distinguish from one another. And if she'd known what I had done, my existence would probably be over. So I couldn't tell anyone. The secret had to stay with me and the angel, no matter how much I wished I could share it with Niccol? ° and comfort him. I had to live with the knowledge that I had taken his life, soul, and hope. He would hate me forever, and it was a sting I would likewise carry with me forever – one that would slowly make my existence more and more miserable. My world dissolved into darkness. I was back in my box, still cramped and uncomfortable. As usual, I couldn't see anything, but my cheeks were wet with tears yet again. I felt exhausted, even a little disoriented, and my heart ached with a pain that I could never put into words. I didn't see the Oneroi, but something told me they were probably around. â€Å"That was truth,† I whispered. â€Å"That really happened.† As suspected, a voice answered me in the darkness, and I suddenly knew the real reason they kept showing me true dreams. â€Å"Your truths are worse than your lies.†