Shard Tower Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3500 words

Shard Tower - Essay Example Designing of the Shard tower was done in 2000 by Renzo Piano and in 2007 construction begun. In July 2012, the project was completed and opened by Prime Minister of Qatar, Hamad bin Jassim bin Jaber Al Thani. The opening ceremony was also attended by Prince Andrew, Duke of York (Mace Group 2010). The tower is serviced and maintained by central London’s amenities, facilities and transport infrastructure. The tower is located next to London bridge station thus making it easier for people to connect from the station to work place (Sellar Group 2011). This paper will focus on the Shard tower project and the project management. The core objectives of the Shard project was to; make positive changes, improving one’s life chances, ensure development in growth areas and deliver quality and standard public service This paper aims to look at project management in the construction industry and the relationship between the levels of risk management and the different stages of a cons truction project. The conventional techniques of project management will be mentioned as well as the current innovations in the field. Moreover, the paper will discuss the benefits and costs, barriers, of the trends and finally discuss relevant recommendations. Projects within Shard programme 1. Southwark tower demolition Stephen Furnell assisted by Len Abbott in the year 1969 to 1970 designed the Southwark tower. The tower was the head quarter of price waterhouse. The tower had 25-storey office (The Rubble Club 2009). The building was demolished to allow construction of Shard tower. It was the tallest building to be demolished in the United Kingdom. They demolition was done behind acoustic screen so that they could reduce noise pollution levels. 2. Fixing glass The Shard tower is also known as the shard of glass. The reason behind the name it is because the tower is covered in glass, which makes it crystal. The developers designed a glass roofed, which was done by Renzo Piano build ing. The design included both the ceiling and floor, which brought light to the offices during dimmest days. 3. Sensors The sensors activate grey blinds on each glass panels. In 2009, Claxton gave advice operational and budget for developing blind control system. The blind system control was to take and avail readings from sensors. The sensors would communicate to shreds to either lower or raise heat entering the tower. The solar track servers were installed in the basement while photometer and radiometer sensors we installed on the roof. The sensors positioned at the roof are called level 96. Claxton were able to successfully install solarTrac system, which is a product of Mechoshade. 4. Kone jump lifts The first Kone jump lift was installed in Shard Tower in August 2010. The jump lift is a self-climbing system developed by Kone. The lift uses the building shafts during construction. The lift can accommodate 21 people and 1600kg. Its main use was to carry Shard site workers up and down the construction site. Mace, the Shard principal contractor, collaborated with Kone to ensure the jump lift meets the standards and quality of the delivery program. Tony Palgrave, the Mace construction director, suggested that the jump lift was a solution to transporting materials and people effectively and quickly. It has been the safest way to move up and down the building. Michael Williams, KONE U.K. managing director, said feel privileged working together with Mace in the Shard tower project. They ensure that the lifts were well installed to unsure they ran smoothly (Chatham 2010). Project management Robert Deatker was the project director at the London Bridge quarter and Shard Tower. Robert says the work of the project management is to knot thing

Volvo Group Of Companies and the challenges it faces

Volvo Group Of Companies and the challenges it faces 1 Introduction AB Volvo is the mother company of the Volvo Group of companies with its head office in Gothenburg, Sweden. The company was formed in 1924, with the first Volvo truck rolling off the production line in Sweden in 1928. The Volvo Group is one of the worlds leading suppliers of transport solutions for commercial use, also providing complete solutions for finance and servicing. This mission statement for the company is ‘By creating value for our customers we create value for our shareholders. We use our expertise to create transport-related hard and soft products of the superior quality, safety and environmental care for demanding customers in selected segments. We work with energy, passion and respect for the individual (AB Volvo Group Presentation 2011). Volvo as a group is tremendously proud of the core corporate values of, Safety, Quality and Environment and has retained and lived by these values from the start of the organisation. These three values are evident in every aspect of the business. The Volvo Group has now grown to become the second largest manufacturer globally of heavy trucks, and as illustrated in Figure 1.1 incorporates many different brands. As illustrated in Figure 1.2 , the Volvo Group is separated into business areas and business units. The business areas are responsible for generating revenues for the company and the business units are the recognised support units to support all business areas. Volvo Information Technology (Volvo IT) is the recognised support business unit for information technology strategy and systems support. Volvo IT does not confine their business to the Volvo Group, outsourcing their expertise to such organisations as the Ford motor company and the Stockholm Government. This ensures the Volvo IT is continually benchmarking the Volvo Group to other businesses in the open market to stay in the market forefront. Volvo Group works with external interest groups to continue to develop and drive progress in the transportation industry, especially on projects that align with the corporate values of quality, safety and environmental care. An example project requiring the key involvement of Volvo IT is the Alternative Fuels project. This project is examining a viable replacement of fossil fuels for commercial applications (Alternative Fuels 2011). In the Alternative Fuels project, the Volvo Group is working with customers, suppliers and governments to investigate workable fossil free fuels, with all business areas and units working towards making this possible. Volvo IT is involved to introduce software changes for engine management systems to ensure clean burning of these fuels. The solution is to utilise a centralised and shared IT infrastructure, platform and software application serving content to authorised users over the web. In this report we discuss the IT infrastructure issues and challenges for the Volvo Group and the business benefits and costs of a modern IT model called Cloud Computing. Recommendations are provided as to the adoption of Cloud Computing by the Volvo Group followed by concluding statements. 2 IT Infrastructure: issues and challenges 2.1 IT infrastructure challenges Two of the major components {Laudon, 2010 #159}of an IT infrastructure that must be coordinated by a firm include computer hardware platforms and enterprise software applications ( Laudon Laudon 2010, p. 203). These two essential components of an organisations IT infrastructure ecosystem ( Laudon Laudon 2010, p. 203) are concentrated on in this report as they exhibit the most risk to the Volvo Groups business, but they also provide the most opportunities for an information technology strategy to add business value to the Volvo Group. An information system is defined by Laudon Laudon ( 2010, p. 46) as ‘a set of interrelated components that collect (or retrieve), process, store, and distribute information to support decision making and control in an organisation. In modern organisations, most information systems are implemented via IT infrastructure that includes computer hardware platforms and enterprise software applications. These systems are ‘typically the backbone of an organisations information flow and the main vehicle for consolidating business information ( Bisbal et al. 1999, p. 103) and their failure can have a significant impact on the business. 2.2 Legacy information systems Information systems that have been in existence for a long time and continue to be resistant to modification and evolution due to a high replacement or redesign cost are called legacy information systems ( Brodie Stonebraker 1995, p. 103; Laudon Laudon 2010, p. 634). The evolution or appearance of legacy information systems in an organisation can also typically occur due to mergers and acquisitions ( Macknight 2005, p. 14). As described by Bisbal ( 1999, p. 103), legacy information systems can cause an organisation a number of problems: Running on old or obsolete hardware. Expensive software maintenance. Inflexibility in extending the systems. Difficult to integrate with other systems. Long failure or disaster recovery times. Old and obsolete hardware can be power hungry. Replacement can be expensive or sometimes impossible due to lack of skills or unavailable parts. Some organisations need to maintain spares holding and skills within their organisation to mitigate such risks. Similarly skills in software maintenance and fault-finding may be hard to out-source or outsourced service levels may not align with the needs of the business. The system may need to be flexible and able to integrate with other systems in order to respond to changing business requirements ( Bennett et al. 1999, p. 153) 2.3 The evolution of Volvos global information systems strategy Volvo Group has seen an increase in their legacy information systems mainly due to the impact of company acquisitions over the years. Many areas in the IT infrastructure ecosystem ( Laudon Laudon 2010, p. 203) required particular attention during acquisitions to ensure compliance through coordination of the many components of the ecosystem. Hardware platforms differed as did internet platforms. Data management and storage needed to be centralised. The need to change and centralise was evident. Throughout these acquisitions, the focus of the information management strategy of the Volvo Group has been to ensure key enterprise systems are incorporated into the acquired organisations. The ERP system based on SAP is an example one of the key enterprise systems common throughout the entire Volvo Group. In contrast, supply chain systems have remained as point solutions unique to each business area and physically deployed on a geographically separated basis. As specified by ( Ives Jarvenpaa 1991, p. 34), a ‘global information technology application contributes to achieving a firms global business strategy by using information technology platforms to store, transmit and manipulate data across cultural environments. With AB Volvo being a true global corporation experiencing ongoing growth through acquisition, challenges have presented themselves in most countries with legacy systems across the supply chain. Cultural diversity such as different languages utilised from regional area to regional area continue to discourage the upgrade of legacy supply chain systems. Also, the resultant point solutions all require local IT support. Evidently, having multiple point solutions poses many challenges for the Volvo Group, but it also causes misalignment with their core corporate values. For example, the Volvo Group core value of environmental care leads to goals to reduce energy usage in efforts to reduce the companys carbon footprint. With the multiple point solutions, and many of these being legacy systems, there would be a propensity for excessive energy usage due to the hardware platforms not complying with environmental requirements and other inefficiencies. There are better solutions available. Hospitals in the USA have started to use energy efficient, environmentally friendly hardware, as well as using cloud like technology for patient files access and program access ( Does Green Really Pay Off? Ideas from Hospitals That Say Yes!   2009). 3 Cloud Computing and its business benefits and costs 3.1 Cloud computing explained Cloud computing is referred to as a ‘model of computing by Laudon Laudon ( 2010, p. 196) ‘where firms and individuals obtain computing power and software applications over the Internet, rather than purchasing their own hardware and software. Typically ‘cloud computing infrastructure resides in a large data centre and is managed by a third party ( Jaeger et al. 2008, p. 270). Gilbert ( 2010, p. 1) states that ‘Cloud computing has been recognised as one of the most important developments in information technology in the past 60 years. Globally, organisations are implementing cloud computing solutions in order to reduce costs; be more responsive to market demands; to share information more readily and rapidly; ( Gilbert 2010, p. 1); to provide better customer service, and much more. Cloud computing has been enabled through technological drivers such as reducing communication costs, the internet and its growing speed, smaller footprints required for more processing power and data storage, advances in internet security, virtualisation and much more. Figure 3.1 describes further characteristics of the cloud environment. 3.2 Cloud computing service models Cloud computing services can be provided in three models ( Gilbert 2010, pp. 18-9) Infrastructure as a service (IaaS), Platform as a service (PaaS), and Software as a service (SaaS). These models are described in more detail in Figure 3.1. For organisations such as Volvo, the cloud computing service models tend towards the use of IaaS and SaaS. The staff of Network World ( 2007, p. 28) quote eBays Paul Strong as stating ‘companies must decide what is core to their business and what can be commoditised as a utility served up by a SaaS (software as a service) provider. Cloud service providers are able to consolidate computing resources enabling cost reductions derived from centralised management and economies of scale, passing on these cost savings to the user of the cloud service who can utilise the service without the initial capital outlay and maintenance of a dedicated infrastructure ( Jaeger et al. 2008, p. 270). 3.3 Cloud computing delivery models Cloud delivery models can be public, private, hybrid or community ( Gilbert 2010, p. 19). These are described in more detail in Figure 3.1. For organisations, cloud computing ‘presents many major problems of information policy, including issues of privacy, security, reliability, access and regulation ( Jaeger et al. 2008, pp. 269-70) with legislation lagging commercial interest in this computing model. In evaluating their potential utilisation of a cloud computing service, organisations would need to consider a range of issues. Two typical issues revolve around trust in the integrity of the service provider. Organisations would need to trust in the ability of a cloud service provider to ensure the security of their valuable private information. There must also be trust in the business continuity of the service provider, along with the ability of the service provider to maintain their quoted service levels ensuring the appropriate access and reliability of the service. Subsequently organisations are more likely to take up a private cloud delivery model for enterprise software applications and computer hardware platforms. For larger global organisations with multiple business units, such as Volvo, a hybrid model of a private cloud and community cloud delivery model would be more desirable. Such a model is illustrated in Figure 3.2 3.4 Cloud computing business benefits to Volvo The Volvo Group can benefit greatly from the use of cloud computing. With the group having its own business unit that handles and manages IT requirements, Volvo Group has an opportunity to reduce costs from infrastructure and hardware duplications, have competitive advantage via speed to market of new services for customers and reducing the costs of good sold into markets via supply chains. Other benefits to the group include much lower cost of entry and capital expenditure, low and transparent cost of ownership, and tax advantages ( OSullivan 2009, p. 21). The supply chain systems within the Volvo Group are characterised as legacy point solutions with regionally located and managed data centres housing multiple software applications and hardware platforms, each providing the same business function. These legacy supply chain information systems would appear to be prime candidates for replacement by a cloud computing solution. Indeed, supply chain systems are one of the types of systems that are quickly moving from their traditional platforms to the cloud computing model ( OSullivan 2009, p. 20). 4 Recommendation of cloud computing adoption/adaptation 4.1 Volvos five year strategy The five year strategy from the Volvo Group is to continue to reduce their environmental impact, produce quality products in all areas of their business and continue to create value to customers and shareholders. A key aspect of the Volvo Groups five year strategy is to continue to reduce the carbon output in all areas of the business (Volvo Truck Corporation Sweden 2011). Laudon Laudon ( 2010, p. 223) provide six factors that should be used to answer the question â€Å"How much should our firm spend on IT infrastructure?†. They are: 1. Market demand for Volvos services These are ever increasing with more services being provided to Volvo Truck Customers through the complete life of the vehicle. 2. Volvo Business Strategy The group will continue to develop services and vehicles that reduce CO2 footprint and lead to better ways of commercial transportation. 3. Volvo information technology strategy, infrastructure and cost A cloud computing model should be considered for the replacement of supply chain information systems and considered for further system replacements and introductions. 4. Information Technology assessment The adoption of a cloud computing model would not be considered to be lagging behind the technology curve, nor would adoption at this stage be considered early. A review of the risks associated with policy associated with the implementation of a cloud computing model should be undertaken before adopting the model. 5. Competitor firms services Many other European competitors are experimenting with cloud computing. 6. Competitor firms IT Infrastructure investments Mercedes Benz are also investing in future services for customers, showing a trend of high IT infrastructure investment for the global market (Daimler Trucks Germany 2011). 7. Investment can be sought into cloud computing on a business case basis, generating revenues for Volvo IT, and reducing costs for Volvo business areas on a user pays system. Investment in IT infrastructure will give a competitive advantage to the Volvo Group. Investment can be sought into cloud computing on a business case basis, generating revenues for Volvo IT, and reducing costs for Volvo business areas on a user pays system. 4.2 Plan to consolidate of legacy supply chain information systems For the replacement of legacy information systems, Volvo Group Australia has the option to upgrade the current local legacy systems and servers. This would result in high upfront and ongoing costs. Another option is to move to centralised systems hosted by Volvo IT with all storage, maintenance and upgrading performed centrally for considerably less cost. Supply chain system workflows typically extend beyond the internal organisation, typically to dealers (retailers). A cloud computing model can connect entire networks of suppliers and service providers providing efficiency and cost savings ( Ford 2010, pp. 57-8). It is recommended that the Volvo IT department adopt a cloud computing model for the replacement of legacy supply chain systems. This model should be based on a global policy taking into account the issues surrounding cloud computing and its characteristic lag behind appropriate legislation and legal precedence. It is expected that the most appropriate model will be a SaaS service model delivered via a hybrid of a Private and Community model with the cloud service provider being Volvo IT. The cloud community members in this model would be the Volvo Groups Business Areas. The recommendation would be to identify all legacy supply chain information systems across the Volvo Group as candidates for replacement by a SaaS solution under the hybrid model. A business case aligning with the Volvo Groups corporate values should be completed for the replacement of each system or groups of systems. A pilot implementation of a cloud computing solution should be utilised as a proof of concept before a larger roll-out. The recommended pilot implementation is the TruckShop SaaS. 4.3 TruckShop SaaS Pilot Volvo Group Australia has the requirement to upgrade an online catalogue purchasing supply chain information system called TruckShop that allows dealers (retailers) to purchase truck parts via suppliers of the Volvo Group. The TruckShop SaaS model would represent the characteristics of Cloud computing, namely on demand service, internet accessibility, pooled resources, elastic capacity and usage based billing ( Goodburn Hill 2010). The service developed for the TruckShop project will be able to be sold to other business areas in AB Volvo to provide similar solutions. TruckShop is currently running on a legacy system platform with local servers in Sydney. Maintenance and upgrade costs are on the increase, with limitations also being evident on performance and capability to meet current user requirements. Energy consumption costs were noted as increasing due to more servers being required to store data. Whilst the costs of hardware had reduced in the last 10 years, the Volvo Group Australia wanted to capture more data to analyse business trends, something evident in most industries globally ( Tallon 2010). The legacy systems also are prone to downtime, costing thousands of dollars in lost revenue while not being available to the dealer network. 4.4 Post TruckShop pilot Should the TruckShop pilot prove successful the system is recommended to be rolled out into other business areas. The continuing success of the TruckShop roll out is expected to result in high availability, high reliability, low entry cost and ongoing cost effectiveness for all users of the system. All new supply chain enterprise system projects, and indeed other candidate enterprise systems within the group would be recommended to proceed with this cloud computing service and delivery model to ensure overall cost reductions, efficiency gains, centralising and amortising maintenance, upgrades and improvements across all business areas. 5 Conclusions For cloud computing solutions, Volvo IT would generate their revenue by charging the Business Area departments based on the number of users. Users could apply for only the access to systems that they required. System updates and improvements would be performed centrally in Sweden, and users would not have to concern themselves with updates nor have to present their hardware to IT to update. The pilot of TruckShop should prove to the company what cloud computing can achieve. Many other business areas in the Volvo Group can benefit from adopting cloud computing practices. With technology being built into Volvo Trucks, and the focus on providing business partnerships more online services will be developed into the future.  

Which Philosophy Best Suits You? :: Education Teaching Teachers Essays

Which Philosophy Best Suits You? Upon entering the field of education, I am faced with many questions. Will the students like me? Will I have a large class? Will I be a good teacher? A few of the questions that definitely need to be answered before I enter the classroom, are what methods should I use to teach? What aspects of which methods will work best for me? What philosophy best exemplifies the way I want to bestow the learning process to my students? In my quest to become an elementary teacher I shall use a variety of aspects from past philosophers of education. As long as each child is learning, I feel that I am fulfilling my goal, and a difference is being made, I am on my way to a successful classroom. Of all the philosophies that I have been taught and researched in my Education classes, I feel that I will probably use Essentialism, the most dominant and widely accepted philosophy currently in classrooms today. For example, I think that after a lesson is taught each student should have to take a test to evaluate how well they have understood the information, and hopefully, be able to demonstrate to me how well I have taught the information. Mastery of the material should be practiced in the classroom. The student may not go any further in a lesson until the proposed idea has been taught and mastered. My belief in Perennialism, the second philosophy of my choice, is not as strong as Essentialism, although I feel that I will use a few aspects, such as discussion in the classroom and writing of essays. I feel students are more open and opinionated when asked questions and may feel comfortable knowing that they can ask questions and discuss their answers freely. Two key points of this philosophy I find myself using even now within the classes I attend are time on task and precision. Dividing my time appropriately and allowing enough time to complete work, as well as goal of completion. Also setting a schedule so I know when I need to attend to certain tasks. The same idea will expectantly reflect on my students as they see that I set dates as a guideline to manage my time appropriately, as well as their classroom time.

Bite Me: A Love Story Chapter 5

5. The Further Chronicles of Abby Normal, Miserable, Broken-hearted Emo-ho of the Night ‘Kayso, who is outside my door but Baroness Buzzkill herself, the Motherbot, accompanied by those most crapacious homicide cops, Rivera and Cavuto. So I'm all, â€Å"Oh joy, does this caffeine fresh clusterfuck come with donuts?† Which it turned out, it didn't, so really, WTF is the point of bringing cops? And the Mombot is all, â€Å"You can't do this, and who is this boy, and where have you been, and you have no right, and blah, blah, blah, responsibility, worried sick, you're a horrible, horrible person and you ruined my life with your platform boots and your piercings.† Okay, those weren't her exact words, but the subtext was there. And in retrospect, I may have erred in using the â€Å"I'm sleeping over at Lily's house† gambit for two months running, when I was, in fact, living in my own trs cool love lair with a mysterious love ninja. So I decided to turn the tables on her by asking questions, before she got in the rhythm of grilling me and heaping me with mom guilt. So I'm all, â€Å"How did you find me?† And the dark, Hispano cop steps up, and he's all, â€Å"I called her.† So I rolled up in his grill. Well, up in the knot of his tie, because he's taller than me. And I'm all, â€Å"I can't believe you ratted me out. You traitorous fuck!† And the cop gets all chilly and he's all, â€Å"I'm not a traitor because I'm not on your side, Allison.† Using my day-slave name, just to fuck with me. So I'm all thinking, Okay, cop, I can see that you believe that your shit cannot be shaken, and you are totally trying to come off all sly and badass in front of the Mombot so she might do you a good long time? I know-mating rituals of the ancient and crusty-makes you barf in your mouth a little, huh? So I go over to the big gay cop, and I'm all soft-spoken little-girl voice, â€Å"I thought we were on the same side because-well-because we know about the nosferatu, and all that money you got from his art collection. We're not? I'm crushed.† Totally hand to forehead, fake-heartbreak fainting. I was going to cry a little, but my mascara was lined up like the spikes on the gates of hell, and I didn't want it to go raccoon on me so early in the day, so only a sniffle. I wiped my nose on the big gay cop's sleeve. And the Momster is all, â€Å"What? What? Nosferatu? What? Money? What?† And Rivera is all, â€Å"Excuse us a moment, Mrs. Green, we need to have a word with Allison.† So the Mombot starts to go into the bedroom and I'm all, â€Å"Oh I don't think so. You can wait outside,† or something like that, because it turns out I didn't want her to see the inner sanctum of our love nest, because she's a nurse and seeing the dog collars, test tubes, centrifuge, and whatnot might give her the wrong idea. (Foo and I like to get our mad scientist freak on in the privacy of the boudoir.) So Mom steps outside. And Foo is all, â€Å"Owned, bitches!† And he did a pathetic imitation of my own superb booty dance of ownage, and I was, at once, touched by his support, yet embarrassed by his tragic lack of rhythm and booticuity. And Rivera is all, â€Å"Allison, how did you know about the money and the old vampyre and the yacht and you have no proof and blah, blah, I so can't decide whether I'm the good cop or the bad cop, or if I'm going to still pretend to be badass or totally crap my pants from the verbal death grip you just put on my man sac, blah, blah.† And I'm all, â€Å"I know it all, cop,† popping the p in cop because it makes both of them flinch a little. â€Å"You need to exit and take the Mombot home or I will be forced to expose your evil shit to your masters, and not in the fun way.† And the Hispano cop was all chill, nodding and smiling, which harshed my confidence somewhat. And he's all, â€Å"That so, Allison? Well, Mr. Wong here is twenty-one, and you are still a minor, so among other things, we can take him in for contributing to the delinquency of a minor, kidnapping, and statutory rape.† And he folds his arms all, â€Å"Take that, bee-atch.† Hip-hop superior. So I'm like, â€Å"You're right, he is totally taking advantage of my innocence. Foo, you ginormous perve!† Then I slapped him, but for the drama, not because he might think I was a slut. â€Å"I should have known when you had me shave my va-jay-jay into the shape of a beaver!† And Foo's all, â€Å"I did not!† â€Å"Pervy and redundant, don't you think?† I asked the big gay cop, who wouldn't know a va-jay-jay if it bounced up to him and sang the â€Å"Star-Spangled Banner.† (You ever notice that hardly anything besides the â€Å"Star-Spangled Banner† is spangled? There's no, like, the Raisin-Spangled Scone, or the Flea-Spangled Beagle. I'm just saying.) So, I, like, start to pull up my skirt to further freak him out, like I'm going to flash the beav, which was a bluff, because I am totally trimmed bat-shape and dyed lavender and I was wearing my hot-pink fishnets, which are full-on tights and put the PG-13 on my no-no place. But instead of hiding his head and screaming like a little bitch, which is what I was going for, the big gay cop is across the room and has Foo in handcuffs in like seconds, cranking them down tight. So Foo is all, â€Å"Ow! Ow! Ow!† And I'm heartsick at his suffering, so I'm like, â€Å"Unhand him, you fascist-ass bear.† And Rivera is all, â€Å"Allison, we need to come to an understanding, or your boyfriend is going to jail, and even if the charges don't stick, he can kiss his master's degree good-bye.† Powned! I was forced to lower my skirt in defeat. Foo's eyes were all anime-huge and started to get tear-spangled, and my noble love ninja looked all pleading to me like, â€Å"Please, do not abandon me, despite my obvious emo tendencies.† So I'm like, â€Å"We'll give you a hundred thousand dollars to leave our love lair like nothing happened.† And Rivera is like, â€Å"We're not interested in your money.† And gay bear cop is like, â€Å"Wait, where did you get that kind of money, anyway?† And Rivera is like, â€Å"Never mind, Nick, it's not about money.† And I'm like, â€Å"OMG Rivera, your bad cop skills suck ass. It's always about the money. Don't you have a TV?† And he's like, â€Å"What happened out there this morning?† And I'm all, â€Å"You know, vampyre kitties, meter maid sucked to dust, samurai in orange socks, Abby's kung-fu of solar ass-kicking.† Then to Foo: â€Å"Foo, the jacket is the sickest shit ever!† â€Å"Which is a good thing,† Foo translated for the cops. And Rivera is all, â€Å"Vampyre cats? That's what the Emperor said.† ‘Kayso, it's clear that the cops have doubts, so I explain the whole battle, and Foo's theory of how Chet is making vampyre kitties, and how we are pretty much fucked nine ways to Kwanzaa because it's the end of the world and whatnot, and there are metric buttloads of kitties in the City, and only two fly, vampyre-frying solar jackets, mine and Foo's, and we are being detained by law enforcement assbags instead of saving humanity. So Rivera's all, â€Å"What about Flood and the redhead? You helped them, right?† Kudos to Inspector Obvious, we're only living in their loft, spending their money, and hanging our damp towels on their bronzed bodies. I was all, â€Å"They left. All the vampyres left. Didn't you talk to the Emperor? He saw them get on a boat at the Marina?† â€Å"The Emperor isn't the most dependable witness,† Rivera says. â€Å"And he didn't say anything about those two, but I find it hard to believe that a cat, even a vampyre cat, even a gang of vampyre house cats took down a full-grown parking enforcement officer.† So I was like, â€Å"Chet is not a normal vampyre kitty. He's huge. More huge than normal. He's getting huger. If you don't let Foo work his mad science skills to cure him, by next week Chet might be dry-humping the Transamerica Pyramid.† Foo was nodding like a manga-haired bobblehead. He was all, â€Å"Truth.† The big gay Cavuto cop is all, â€Å"Can you do that, kid? Can you put this shit storm back in the box?† â€Å"Absolutely,† says Foo, when he totally has no clue how to catch Chet. â€Å"I'll need some time, but leave the handcuffs on, because that's how I work best.† Foo can be most sarcastic when faced with day dwellers less intelligent than himself, which is almost everyone. ‘Kayso, Rivera takes the sleeve of my jacket and starts turning it over, looking at it, all Neanderthal discovers fire face. And he's all, â€Å"Can you make one of these in a leather sport coat? Forty long?† And I'm all, â€Å"Are you coming on to me?† And he gagged a little (which was mean), and he's all, â€Å"No. I am definitely not coming on to you, Allison. Not only are you the most irritating creature on the planet, you are a child.† And I'm all, â€Å"A child?! A child?! Do these belong to a child?† And I pulled up my top and flashed him. And not just a flash, a full, glorious boobosity. And he didn't say anything. So I turned my headlights on Foo and the big gay cop. And they're all, â€Å"Um-uhr-uhr-um-â€Å" I'm like, â€Å"Et tu, Foo?† Which is Shakespearean for, â€Å"You traitor!† And I ran into the bedroom and locked the door. I was kind of wishing I'd taken a hostage, except really the only weapon I had was a jacket with little light warts all over it, so I was limited to being dangerous to vampyres and emos who get their feelings hurt really easily by my snarky wit. ‘Kayso, then I stared into the dark abyss that is the meaninglessness of human existence, because there was nothing on cable. And in searching the depths of my soul, I saw that I must stop using sex as a weapon, and that I must only use my powers of seduction for good, unless Foo wants to do something freaky, in which case, I can have him sign a waiver. Now, I realize that the only way for me to righteously explore my strength as a woman is to become nosferatu. And since the Countess and Lord Flood wouldn't bring me into the fold, I must find my own way to the blood power. ‘Kayso, in a few minutes Rivera's at the door all, â€Å"Allison, I think you'd better come out here.† And I'm all, â€Å"Oh no, Inspector, I can't open the door. I've taken all these pills and everything's all wiggly. You'll have to break the door down.† Then Foo's all, â€Å"Abby, please come out. I need you.† He used his I'm sad, wounded, and locked in the castle tower with all my powers gone voice, which I didn't even know he had, but it was tragic and I had to come out and humble myself before the cops like a little bitch, despite my new resolve to partake of the dark gift. So I'm all, â€Å"What?† And Rivera is all, â€Å"Allison, we have an agreement with Mr. Wong. He will stay here and work on a solution to the cat problem, and in return for our not filing charges, you both will say nothing to anyone about our previous-uh-adventures, with Mr. Flood, Ms. Stroud, and any other persons of the blood-drinking persuasion. Nor will we mention any funds that may have changed hands, and who may be in possession of said funds. Agreed?† I'm all, â€Å"Sweet!† â€Å"And you have to go home and live with your mother and sister,† the evil Hispano cop continued. And I'm all, â€Å"No way!† And all three of them are shaking their heads at me. And Foo, who is out of handcuffs now, is all, â€Å"Abby, you have to go with them. You're still a minor and your mom will chuck a spaz if they don't bring you home.† â€Å"And if that happens, we'll have no choice but to drop a hammer on Mr. Wong,† said Cavuto. And Foo's all, â€Å"And to defend ourselves we'll have to tell everyone about everything. So we'll all be hosed and meanwhile, Chet the huge shaved cat will own the City, plus our relationship and stuff would be strained.† And by â€Å"and stuff,† Foo meant that we would lose the love lair and no one would take care of Tommy and Jody, and Foo would have to become love ninja to some big guy in prison. We were owned. I was all, â€Å"I blame my mother.† I offered my wrists to Rivera for the cuffs. And they were all nodding, and â€Å"Sure,† and â€Å"That works for me.† And â€Å"Yeah, I'm good with that.† But Rivera didn't put the cuffs on me. And I'm all, â€Å"Can we have a minute to say good-bye?† And Rivera nods, so I start to lead Foo into the bedroom. And Rivera is all, â€Å"Out here.† So I unzip Foo's pants. And Cavuto grabs my arm and starts to drag me away, so I was forced to give Foo only a minor good-bye kiss that brushed his lips like a breeze from the tomb and left a little bit of a black lipstick streak on his cheek. And I'm all, â€Å"I will never forget you, Foo. They may tear us asunder, but our love will endure for eternity.† And he's all, â€Å"Call me when you get home.† And I'm all, â€Å"I'll text you on the way.† And he's all, â€Å"Abby Normal, you rock my stripy socks.† Which was totally romantic, because he doesn't wear stripy socks. I cried and my mascara melted in sorrow. Then Cavuto's all, â€Å"Oh for fuck's sake.† And he starts to lead me out the door, but turns to Foo and goes, â€Å"Is that your tricked-out yellow Honda downstairs?† And Foo is all, â€Å"Yeah.† And Cavuto's all, â€Å"You know it's full of rats, right?† And Foo's all, â€Å"Yeah.† And so I am a prisoner of the dreaded Motherbot and Foo faces the menace of Chet alone. Gotta jet, my sister, Ronnie, is asleep and I'm going to Magic Marker a pentagram on her shaved head. L8erz. RIVERA As they were walking away from delivering Abby Normal and her mother to the apartment building in the Fillmore, Cavuto said, â€Å"You know, if I'd had Allison there around when I came out to my dad, I think he would have understood a lot more why I like guys.† â€Å"If the vampire cats' victims turn to dust, most won't even be reported unless someone sees the attack,† Rivera said, hoping Cavuto's train of thought would head on to the next station. â€Å"She's so obnoxious,† said Cavuto. â€Å"Like a whole Saturday night drunk tank full of obnoxious packed into one little body.† â€Å"Maybe if we get a cadaver dog,† said Rivera. â€Å"Okay, but don't bitch about how the car smells later, because I want chili and onions.† â€Å"What the fuck are you talking about?† â€Å"Cadaver dogs. You were saying we should go to the ballpark and get cadaver dogs for lunch.† â€Å"I was saying no such thing. I was saying we should get a dog that's trained to sniff out cadavers to help us find the clothing of the victims.† â€Å"Oh,† said Cavuto, who didn't want to think about vampires. â€Å"Sure, that makes sense. So, Barney's Burgers for lunch then?† â€Å"You buy,† Rivera said, as he popped the locks on the unmarked Ford and climbed in. They drove eight blocks down Fillmore Street toward the Marina, before Cavuto said, â€Å"She's right, you know? I am a bear.† Rivera put on his sunglasses and took a few seconds adjusting them on his face to buy time before he answered with a sigh. â€Å"I'm glad you decided to come clean about that, Nick, because observing your six-foot-three-inch, two-hundred-and-sixty-pound, growling gay personage for the last fourteen years would have never betrayed your true identity, given my dull, homicide detective powers of observation.† â€Å"Your sarcasm is the main reason Alice left you.† â€Å"Really?† Rivera had wondered. Alice had said because he was too much of a cop and not enough of a husband, but he had suspicions about her testimony. â€Å"No, but I'm sure it was on the list.† â€Å"Nick, in all our time as partners, have I ever indicated that I wanted to discuss your sexuality?† â€Å"Well, not beyond using it to threaten suspects.† â€Å"And have I ever offered to share the details of my sex life with Alice?† â€Å"I just assumed you didn't have one.† â€Å"Well, that's not really relevant. I'm just saying, I'm fine with you just the way you are.† â€Å"Mantastic, you mean?† â€Å"Sure, go with that. Although I was thinking more of large and furry, yet afraid of tiny girls.† â€Å"Well, you can't hit her, she's a kid,† Cavuto whined. They found parking in a garage near Barney's. Rivera pulled into a no-parking spot (because he could) and shut off the engine. He sat back and looked at the wall in front of them. â€Å"So, vampire cats,† Cavuto said. â€Å"Yeah,† said Rivera. â€Å"We're fucked,† said the big cop. â€Å"Yeah,† said Rivera.

History of Camarines Norte Essay

From 1573 to 1829, Camarines Sur and Camarines Norte formed only one political unit known as Ambos Camarines. In 1829, they were separated but reunited again in 1854. They again separated in 1857 to be reunited again in 1893. This union continued until 1919. On March 3, 1919, Camarines Norte was reestablished by the Philippine Legislature in Act 2809. When Camarines Norte was separated from Ambos Camarines in 1829, it was assigned the towns of Daet, as capital, Talisay, Indan (now Vinzons), Labo, Paracale, Mambulao (now Jose Panganiban), Capalonga, Ragay, Lupi and Sipocot. Seventeen years later, it lost Sipocot, Lupi and Ragay to Camarines Sur in exchange for the town of Siruma. Juan de Salcedo, dispatched by Legazpi to explore the island in 1571, influenced the existence of Camarines Norte. After subduing Taytay and Cainta, he marched further across Laguna and Tayabas. He visited the rich gold-laden town of Mambulao and Paracale, obsessed by them about which he heard from natives there of existing gold mines. When Francisco de Sande took over from Legazpi as Governor General, Spanish influence started to be felt in the region. He established a permanent Spanish garrison in Naga to control the region and defend it from Chinese and Muslim pirates. Capt. Pedro de Chavez was assigned to head this force. There were already native settlements here when the Spaniards arrived. The flourishing towns of Mambulao and Paracale were two of them. Indan and Daet were the other settlements besides Capalonga and others. But Paracale remained the most sought after because of its gold mines. ** The national hero Jose P. Rizal and other Filipino expatriates who lived in Madrid and other cities of Spain, called ‘Los Indios Bravos,’ established â€Å"La Solidaridad,† their publication advocating for reforms in the Philippines from the Spanish governm ent. One of the editors of ‘La Solidaridad’ was Jose Maria Panganiban, born in Mambulao (now Jose Panganiban) on February 1, 1863. Lovingly dubbed by his compatriots the â€Å"Avenger of Filipino Honor† or â€Å"El Vengador del Honor Filipino,† this genius, nationalist, scientist and writer died on August 19, 1890 at age 27 of pulmonary tuberculosis in Barcelona, Spain. His remains were brought back to the Philippines by Dr. Domingo Abella in 1958 and to Jose Panganiban in 1985 – 122 years to the day since his birth – â€Å"to rest in eternal repose in the bosom of his beloved native town (Mambulao) on February 1† by MP Roy B. Padilla, Sr., Batasang Pambansa. The entire country and province respectively bestowed upon him a belated but rousing honors. The towns were chiefly inhabited by Tagalogs; the rests were of Visayan strain. However, most of the immigrants were from Mauban, Quezon. The Spanish missionaries did not falter in their mission to Christianize the natives. ** Daet Revolt : APRIL 14-17, 1898 – Local members of the Katipunan led by Ildefonso Moreno and other illustrious patriots staged an uprising against the Spanish authorities here who have fortified themselves in the house of one Florencio Arana, a Spanish merchant and a long time resident of Daet. Sporadic encounters started on April 14 until April 16 when the rebels occupied Daet and surrounded the Spaniards in the house of Arana. But the Katipuneros failed to repulse the reinforcements which arrived in Barra (now Mercedes) from Nueva Caceres on April 17. Said reinforcements broke the siege of Daet. This resulted in the death and/or execution of many patriots, including Ildefonso Moreno, Tomas Zaldua and his two sons, Jose Abaà ±o, Domingo Lozada and Aniceto Gregorio, among others. While the Daet revolt collapsed, it signaled the start of a series of rebellion throughout the Bicol region. ** Another illustrious son of Camarines Norte, Gen. Vicente R. Lukban of Labo wrote a golden page in the history of the province in particular and the country in general. On September 28, 1901, Sunday, he led Filipino rebels, armed only with bolos and sharpened bamboo poles, in an attack against the contingent of American forces in Balangiga, Samar. Only 36 troopers of Company C, 9th Infantry Regiment of the US Forces survived the attack against 16 casualties among the Filipino rebels, giving the encounter its famous label â€Å"Balangiga Massacre† in Philippine history. This feat of arms is celebrated annually in Balangiga, Samar, and in Camarines Norte, with appropriate activities. By virtue of Act 2809 of March 3, 1919, Governor General F. B. Harrison separated Camarines Norte from Camarines Sur with the installation of Don Miguel R. Lukban as its first governor. â€Å"In functional sense, April 15, 1920, was the date of the organization of Camarines Norte, as directed by Executive Order No. 22 dated March 20, 1920, in conformity with the provisions of Act No. 2809,† according to Serafin D. Quiason, former chairman of the National Historical Institute (NHI). Presently, Camarines Norte consisted of 12 towns: Basud, Capalonga, Daet, Jose Panganiban, Labo, Mercedes, Paracale, San Lorenzo Ruiz, San Vicente, Sta. Elena, Talisay and Vinzons. Daet remained as its capital town. ** Wenceslao Q. Vinzons, Sr. – Lawyer, orator, labor leader, writer, youngest delegate to the 1935 Constitutional Convention and youngest signatory of the Charter at the age of 25, governor in 1940 and congressman-elect in 1941, this provincial hero, refusing to surrender, evacuated the provincial government during the Japanese occupation to the hinterlands of Labo and led a guerrilla force against the Japanese forces here, capturing one town after another in Camarines Norte; organized an all-out attack on Daet, the capital town, and captured it on May 3, 1942; ***together with his father Gavino Vinzons and then Gov. Basilio Bautista, he was captured on July 8, 1942, but he refused vehemently to collaborate with the Japanese; ***few days later his wife Liwayway and children Aurora and Alexander were likewise abducted; he and his father mysteriously disappeared on August 7, 1942; â€Å"the remains of Vinzons, his father, his wife and two children had never been found;† the town of Indan where he was born on September 28, 1910, was re-named Vinzons in his honor and became the venue of the province-wide annual celebration of his birth anniversary. ** First Guerilla Encounter – The first guerilla encounter in the Philippines during the second world war in the Pacific, occurred on December 18, 1941 – 11 days after the Japanese bombing of Pearl Harbor in Hawaii on Dec. 7, 1941 and 10 days after the attack on Clark Airbase in Pampanga on Dec. 8, 1941 – at Laniton, Basud, Camarines Norte when the Vinzons guerrilla group with some elements of USAFFE units engaged the vanguard of the Japanese Imperial Army advancing towards Daet, the capital town; a shrine was put up in Laniton to mark this historic feat of arms while surviving veterans and the sons and daughters of veterans who fell commemorate this event every Dec. 18 with fitting programs and activities in Basud and Daet under the auspices of the Veterans Federation of the Philippines – Camarines Norte Chapter (VFP-CN), Basud Municipal Government and the Provincial Government.