Dirt Bikesdeveloping a Web Site Privacy Policy Essays

Dirt Bikesdeveloping a Web Site Privacy Policy Essays Dirt Bikesdeveloping a Web Site Privacy Policy Essay Dirt Bikesdeveloping a Web Site Privacy Policy Essay Essay Topic: Web Ashley B. Hilliard 258-10-0169 June 1, 2011 MG 615 Lesson#10, Assignment 2 Dirt Bikes, Part XII Developing a Web Site Privacy Policy Dirt Bikes should adopt an opt-in model of informed consent. Business is prohibited from collecting any personal information unless the consumer specifically takes action to approve information collection and use. With opt-in method, privacy argument can be minimized. Some of the data that can be discovered when a user visits the Dirt Bikes USA web site are as followed: web browser type, IP address, operating system and version, plug-ins installed in the browser, and the web site the user came from previously. These are just a few of the many items. Java and ActiveX can expose much more information, and Internet Explorer tends to expose more information than other browsers. A list of everything that a browser can expose would take more than 450 words in itself. Some of this information can provide value to the company for demographic reasons. It would allow the company to determine which was the most prevalent browser used on the web site, and optimize the site for that browser. It would also allow the company to see where people were coming from, possibly setting up advertising opportunities. By tracking a user’s path through the website, it would be possible to discover possible design issues, and allow the site to be optimized for a better user experience. Privacy issues involved in collecting this type of data are more of a customer confidence issue than a legal issue. The laws relating to this are not very clear unless you are a financial institution, a health care organization, deal mainly with children, or do extensive business with the EU. All these situations would have legal ramifications covering collection and storage of personal data. The advantages of cookie usage is mainly being able to present the customer with a better user experience, such as saving preferences or offering similar items for purchase Dirt Bikes USA should use cookies in this manner to enhance the user experience at the website. Privacy issues are not as big a concern with cookies for the reason that they are controlled on the users end. They can choose not to accept cookies, or they can dump them at the end of each browser session if they so choose. At this point in the lifecycle of Dirt Bikes USA’s web site, it is not recommended to join an organization such as TRUSTe. The reason for this is that the website at this point is a minor operation and the added costs and maintenance do not provide a decent return for the company. If Dirt Bikes USA decides to go have a web site that is more focused on e-commerce, it would be recommended to look at joining an organization like this more closely. As for trying to design the web site to conform to P3P standards, this is also not recommended. The entire issue of the P3P method of privacy enhancement is too controversial, and of limited benefit for the company to bother using it. When some of the main opponents of P3P are privacy centric organizations such as the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) and the Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC), it does not bode well for this standard.

Names of Plants, Food, and Drinks Formed by Folk Etymology

Names of Plants, Food, and Drinks Formed by Folk Etymology Names of Plants, Food, and Drinks Formed by Folk Etymology Names of Plants, Food, and Drinks Formed by Folk Etymology By Mark Nichol This post lists words for plants, food, and drinks, as well as some terms associated with drinks, derived from words in other languages as a result of folk etymology, a process by which speakers adopt the foreign terms after revising them by using existing elements from their native language. artichoke: The name of the vegetable stems ultimately from the Arabic word al-khurshÃ… «f by way of the Spanish term alcarchofa and the Italian term arcicioffo (rendered articiocco in an Italian dialect), with the English form likely influenced by choke. avocado: The native word for this New World fruit is ahuacatl, which was rendered into Spanish as aguacate, which in turn came to be spelled and pronounced like a now-obsolete Spanish word meaning â€Å"lawyer.† (Note the resemblance to advocate.) That word was then adopted into English. burger: This word is a shortening of hamburger, which originally was styled as Hamburger to denote a resident of Hamburg, Germany, or various things originating there. The connection to Hamburg is obscure, but a patty of ground meat was called a hamburg steak during the late nineteenth century and later, when paired with a bun, a hamburger sandwich, then simply a hamburger. After cheeseburger was coined, hamburger was often shortened to burger. cocktail: This term for a mixed alcoholic drink or, by extension, various mixtures of substances (as in â€Å"fruit cocktail†) has an uncertain origin, but it may derive from the French term coquetier (meaning â€Å"egg cup†), from the use of such containers to serve mixed drinks in the late eighteenth century. demijohn: Several hundred years ago, a large, round bottle wrapped in wicker was in French termed a damejeanne (meaning â€Å"Lady Jane,† perhaps from its anthropomorphic appearance). Nearly a century later, an adaptation of the term was adopted into English. mandrake: Originally, in Greek, mandragoras, the term for a plant whose root has narcotic qualities passed into English through Latin. Because of the resemblance of the middle of the word to dragon, the term was adapted by folk etymology to end with drake, an English variation of dragon. mangrove: The Spanish word for this tropical coastal tree is mangue (likely adapted from a Caribbean language), and in Portuguese it is called mangle. Adopted into Middle English as mangrow, it evolved to its current form influenced by grove, meaning â€Å"a stand of trees.† mistletoe: Mistel, of uncertain origin, was the name of this shrub that grows on trees and is associated with Christmas (originally, with fertility, hence the custom of kissing under a sprig of the plant around the time of the holiday); in Old English, it was called misteltÄ n (â€Å"mistel twig†), and the fading emphasis on the final syllable resulted in the current spelling. mushroom: The name for various species of fungus is derived from the Latin term mussirionem by way of the Old French word meisseron and its Anglo-French variation, musherun. pumpkin: The name of the gourd was derived from the Greek word pepon, meaning â€Å"melon†; the second syllable of the Middle English descendant pompone (also spelled pumpion) was altered to the diminutive syllable -kin. saltcellar: A bowl or other container for salt was in Old French called a salier; this term, transformed by folk etymology into cellar, was redundantly attached to the English word salt to describe such an object. serviceberry: This edible berry acquired its name from the resemblance of the fruit to that of the genus Sorbus, some species of which are called service trees; service is derived from the Latin genus name and is unrelated to serve. (The alternative names juneberry and shadberry derive from the fact that the berries ripen in June, at about the same time as shad proliferate in creeks in New England.) sparrowgrass: Asparagus, borrowed directly from the Latin version of asparagos, the Greek word for an edible plant, was altered by folk etymology to sparrowgrass. Welsh rabbit: The name given to melted cheese on toast or a dish with melted cheese and bread was originally a jocular reference, at the expense of the Welsh people, to cheese as a poor persons substitute for rabbit meat, a delicacy; â€Å"Welsh rarebit† is a variant. witch hazel: The first word in the name of the tree derives from the Old English word wice, meaning â€Å"pliable†; the use of witch hazel twigs as divining rods may have prompted the alteration of the name. wormwood: The alteration of the Old English word wermod, denoting the wormwood plant, the aromatic herb harvested from it, and its derivative, absinthe, perhaps stemmed from the bitter aftertaste of the liquor. Vermouth comes from the German equivalent, Wermuth; that liquor was originally flavored with the herb. Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Vocabulary category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:Writing a Reference Letter (With Examples)Peace of Mind and A Piece of One's Mind30 Words Invented by Shakespeare

Advanced human resource Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Advanced human resource - Essay Example In 2014, Toyota has a net capital of 397.05 billion yen and it has 338,875 employees operating for accomplishing the organisational objectives (Toyota Motor Corporation, 2015). Toyota has been operating with highest market share in the world in the present day context. The company is also identified to be one of the largest companies in terms of revenue. Human Resource Department of the company has been identified to be facing Human Resource (HR) issues, which has been adversely affecting the operations of the business to a certain extent. For a company, human resource is ascertaining to be the main asset to develop and grow, as human resource facilitates in performing operations in accordance with organisational objective (Ekshan & Othman, 2009). The three HR issues faced by the company include training, negative behaviour, and employee engagement and commitment (Austenfeld, 2006). For making the employee perfect and efficient, effective training is needed to be provided, so that the employees are able to perform their tasks effectively and efficiently for accomplishing organisational objectives. Providing better training to the employees of the company helps in building up the right skills and knowledge of the subsequent products that are to be offered for meeting the preferences of the customers. Training is an important aspect for motivating as well as developing the competency of the employees, so that the employees are able to perform their operations on the basis of organisational needs. The objective of training involves mostly acquisition of knowledge needed for the staff to perform their function in a better way (Dyer, 2008). Negative behaviour in the organisation could affect the growth of the company. In addition, it affects the productivity and profitability of the organisation. In the organisation, the employees develop negative behaviour at the time

Current Economic Problems Facing Our Country Essay

Current Economic Problems Facing Our Country - Essay Example During the last four months of 2008, the financial system was on the verge of a meltdown, many banks in the United States went bankrupt, others had to seek government assistance in order to survive, and yet others had a severe impact on their profitability resulting in mergers and takeovers in the subsequent months. To make things worse, there were rumors that banks would default and people would not be able to recover their life savings. The federal bank had to step in immediately in an attempt to prevent a run on the banks, which could possibly result in every individual queuing on the bank counters to withdraw their savings from their respective accounts (Shiller, pp. 92-94). Otherwise, stable banks can go into default in a matter of hours in this scenario. The federal bank stepped in to guarantee deposits below certain limits preventing a complete meltdown. This was just the beginning of a major change in the lives of millions of Americans who had never anticipated such a situation. In the next few days, the bankruptcy of Lehman Brothers, one of the most renowned global investment banks became apparent. Hundreds of other firms connected to the Lehman Brothers network had to suffer major losses and write-down their loans during the months to follow. One after the other, many banks went into trouble in a matter of just two weeks; the global financial industry had completely changed its dynamics. Bank of America acquired Meryl Lynch and the government had to inject equity into almost all major banks (Soros, pp. 2-4). As a result, in a matter of weeks, the government now owned a majority stake in most financial institutions. Investors lost confidence in the financial system and the number of initial public offerings each month became almost insignificant. The investment banking industry virtually collapsed and went into a wave of downsizing. Many banks terminated their global market operations in order to generate equity injections through sales of their operations elsewhere. The idea of an organization becoming too big to fail became redundant.

Free Essays on Frankenstein: The Creature as a Foil to Frankenstein :: free essay writer

The Creature as a Foil to  Frankenstein   Frankenstein, speaking of himself as a young man in his father’s home, points out that he is unlike Elizabeth, who would rather follow â€Å"the aerial creations of the poets†. Instead he pursues knowledge of the â€Å"world† though investigation. As the novel progresses, it becomes clear that the meaning of the word â€Å"world† is for Frankenstein, very much biased or limited. He thirsts for knowledge of the tangible world and if he perceives an idea to be as yet unrealised in the material world, he then attempts to work on the idea in order to give it, as it were, a worldly existence. Hence, he creates the creature that he rejects because its worldly form did not reflect the glory and magnificence of his original idea. Thrown, unaided and ignorant, into the world, the creature begins his own journey into the discovery of the strange and hidden meanings encoded in human language and society. In this essay, I will discuss how the creature can be regar ded as a foil to Frankenstein through an examination of the schooling, formal and informal, that both of them go through. In some ways, the creature’s gain in knowledge can be seen to parallel Frankenstein’s, such as, when the creature begins to learn from books. Yet, in other ways, their experiences differ greatly, and one of the factors that contribute to these differences is a structured and systematic method of learning, based on philosophical tenets, that is available to Frankenstein but not to the creature.      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Frankenstein speaks fondly of his youth because his parents were â€Å"indulgent† and his companions were â€Å"amiable† (21). His parents’ policy in the education of their children is that there should neither be punishment nor â€Å"the voice of command† (26). Instead, they encourage their children to pursue their studies with vigor by â€Å"having the end placed in view†(21) and by having them discover the process by which to reach the end and not by making them learn tedious lessons. Frankenstein’s testimony to this is that he learnt better and retained his knowledge well. The approach to Frankenstein’s education in the home is strongly influenced by Rousseau, one of the most eloquent writers of the Age of Enlightenment. In his influential novel Emile, Rousseau expounded a new theory of education that emphasises the importance of expression rather than repression to produce a well-balanced and free-thinking child.

The Twilight Saga 3: Eclipse Chapter 24. SNAP DECISION

I LAY FACEDOWN ACROSS THE SLEEPING BAG, WAITING for justice to find me. Maybe an avalanche would bury me here. I wished it would. I never wanted to have to see my face in the mirror again. There was no sound to warn me. Out of nowhere, Edward's cold hand stroked against my knotted hair. I shuddered guiltily at his touch. â€Å"Are you all right?† he murmured, his voice anxious. â€Å"No. I want to die.† â€Å"That will never happen. I won't allow it.† I groaned and then whispered, â€Å"You might change your mind about that.† â€Å"Where's Jacob?† â€Å"He went to fight,† I mumbled into the floor. Jacob had left the little camp joyfully – with a cheerful â€Å"I'll be right back† – running full tilt for the clearing, already quivering as he prepared to shift to his other self. By now the whole pack knew everything. Seth Clearwater, pacing outside the tent, was an intimate witness to my disgrace. Edward was silent for a long moment. â€Å"Oh,† he finally said. The tone of his voice worried me that my avalanche wasn't coming fast enough. I peeked up at him and, sure enough, his eyes were unfocused as he listened to something I'd rather die than have him hear. I dropped my face back to the floor. It stunned me when Edward chuckled reluctantly. â€Å"And I thought I fought dirty,† he said with grudging admiration. â€Å"He makes me look like the patron saint of ethics.† His hand brushed against the part of my cheek that was exposed. â€Å"I'm not mad at you, love. Jacob's more cunning than I gave him credit for. I do wish you hadn't asked him, though.† â€Å"Edward,† I whispered to the rough nylon. â€Å"I . . . I . . . I'm -â€Å" â€Å"Shh,† he hushed me, his fingers soothing against my cheek. â€Å"That's not what I meant. It's just that he would have kissed you anyway – even if you hadn't fallen for it – and now I don't have an excuse to break his face. I would have really enjoyed that, too.† â€Å"Fallen for it?† I mumbled almost incomprehensibly. â€Å"Bella, did you really believe he was that noble? That he would go out in a flame of glory just to clear the way for me?† I raised my head slowly to meet his patient gaze. His expression was soft; his eyes were full of understanding rather than the revulsion I deserved to see. â€Å"Yes, I did believe that,† I muttered, and then looked away. But I didn't feel any anger at Jacob for tricking me. There wasn't enough room in my body to contain anything besides the hatred I felt toward myself. Edward laughed softly again. â€Å"You're such a bad liar, you'll believe anyone who has the least bit of skill.† â€Å"Why aren't you angry with me?† I whispered. â€Å"Why don't you hate me? Or haven't you heard the whole story yet?† â€Å"I think I got a fairly comprehensive look,† he said in a light, easy voice. â€Å"Jacob makes vivid mental pictures. I feel almost as bad for his pack as I do for myself. Poor Seth was getting nauseated. But Sam is making Jacob focus now.† I closed my eyes and shook my head in agony. The sharp nylon fibers of the tent floor scraped against my skin. â€Å"You're only human,† he whispered, stroking my hair again. â€Å"That's the most miserable defense I've ever heard.† â€Å"But you are human, Bella. And, as much as I might wish otherwise, so is he. . . . There are holes in your life that I can't fill. I understand that.† â€Å"But that's not true. That's what makes me so horrible. There are no holes.† â€Å"You love him,† he murmured gently. Every cell in my body ached to deny it. â€Å"I love you more,† I said. It was the best I could do. â€Å"Yes, I know that, too. But . . . when I left you, Bella, I left you bleeding. Jacob was the one to stitch you back up again. That was bound to leave its mark – on both of you. I'm not sure those kinds of stitches dissolve on their own. I can't blame either of you for something I made necessary. I may gain forgiveness, but that doesn't let me escape the consequences.† â€Å"I should have known you'd find some way to blame yourself. Please stop. I can't stand it.† â€Å"What would you like me to say?† â€Å"I want you to call me every bad name you can think of, in every language you know. I want you to tell me that you're disgusted with me and that you're going to leave so that I can beg and grovel on my knees for you to stay.† â€Å"I'm sorry.† He sighed. â€Å"I can't do that.† â€Å"At least stop trying to make me feel better. Let me suffer. I deserve it.† â€Å"No,† he murmured. I nodded slowly. â€Å"You're right. Keep on being too understanding. That's probably worse.† He was silent for a moment, and I sensed a charge in the atmosphere, a new urgency. â€Å"It's getting close,† I stated. â€Å"Yes, a few more minutes now. Just enough time to say one more thing. . . .† I waited. When he finally spoke again, he was whispering. â€Å"I can be noble, Bella. I'm not going to make you choose between us. Just be happy, and you can have whatever part of me you want, or none at all, if that's better. Don't let any debt you feel you owe me influence your decision.† I pushed off the floor, shoving myself up onto my knees. â€Å"Dammit, stop that!† I shouted at him. His eyes widened in surprise. â€Å"No – you don't understand. I'm not just trying to make you feel better, Bella, I really mean it.† â€Å"I know you do,† I groaned. â€Å"What happened to fighting back? Don't start with the noble self-sacrifice now! Fight!† â€Å"How?† he asked, and his eyes were ancient with their sadness. I scrambled into his lap, throwing my arms around him. â€Å"I don't care that it's cold here. I don't care that I stink like a dog right now. Make me forget how awful I am. Make me forget him. Make me forget my own name. Fight back!† I didn't wait for him to decide – or to have the chance to tell me he wasn't interested in a cruel, faithless monster like me. I pulled myself against him and crushed my mouth to his snow-cold lips. â€Å"Careful, love,† he murmured under my urgent kiss. â€Å"No,† I growled. He gently pushed my face a few inches back. â€Å"You don't have to prove anything to me.† â€Å"I'm not trying to prove something. You said I could have any part of you I wanted. I want this part. I want every part.† I wrapped my arms around his neck and strained to reach his lips. He bent his head to kiss me back, but his cool mouth was hesitant as my impatience grew more pronounced. My body was making my intentions clear, giving me away. Inevitably, his hands moved to restrain me. â€Å"Perhaps this isn't the best moment for that,† he suggested, too calm for my liking. â€Å"Why not?† I grumbled. There was no point in fighting if he was going to be rational; I dropped my arms. â€Å"Firstly, because it is cold.† He reached out to pull the sleeping bag off the floor; he wrapped it around me like a blanket. â€Å"Wrong,† I said. â€Å"First, because you are bizarrely moral for a vampire.† He chuckled. â€Å"All right, I'll give you that. The cold is second. And thirdly . . . well, you do actually stink, love.† He wrinkled his nose. I sighed. â€Å"Fourthly,† he murmured, dropping his face so that he was whispering in my ear. â€Å"We will try, Bella. I'll make good on my promise. But I'd much rather it wasn't in reaction to Jacob Black.† I cringed, and buried my face against his shoulder. â€Å"And fifthly . . .† â€Å"This is a very long list,† I muttered. He laughed. â€Å"Yes, but did you want to listen to the fight or not?† As he spoke, Seth howled stridently outside the tent. My body stiffened to the sound. I didn't realize my left hand was clenched into a fist, nails biting into my bandaged palm, until Edward took it and gently smoothed my fingers out. â€Å"It's going to be fine, Bella,† he promised. â€Å"We've got skill, training, and surprise on our side. It will be over very soon. If I didn't truly believe that, I would be down there now – and you'd be here, chained to a tree or something along those lines.† â€Å"Alice is so small,† I moaned. He chuckled. â€Å"That might be a problem . . . if it were possible for someone to catch her.† Seth started to whimper. â€Å"What's wrong?† I demanded. â€Å"He's just angry that he's stuck here with us. He knows the pack kept him out of the action to protect him. He's salivating to join them.† I scowled in Seth's general direction. â€Å"The newborns have reached the end of the trail – it worked like a charm, Jasper's a genius – and they've caught the scent of the ones in the meadow, so they're splitting into two groups now, as Alice said,† Edward murmured, his eyes focused on something far away. â€Å"Sam's taking us around to head off the ambush party.† He was so intent on what he was hearing that he used the pack plural. Suddenly he looked down at me. â€Å"Breathe, Bella.† I struggled to do what he asked. I could hear Seth's heavy panting just outside the tent wall, and I tried to keep my lungs on the same even pace, so that I wouldn't hyperventilate. â€Å"The first group is in the clearing. We can hear the fighting.† My teeth locked together. He laughed once. â€Å"We can hear Emmett – he's enjoying himself.† I made myself take another breath with Seth. â€Å"The second group is getting ready – they aren't paying attention, they haven't heard us yet.† Edward growled. â€Å"What?† I gasped. â€Å"They're talking about you.† His teeth clenched together. â€Å"They're supposed to make sure you don't escape. . . . Nice move, Leah! Mmm, she's quite fast,† he murmured in approval. â€Å"One of the newborns caught our scent, and Leah took him down before he could even turn. Sam's helping her finish him off. Paul and Jacob got another one, but the others are on the defensive now. They have no idea what to make of us. Both sides are feinting. . . . No, let Sam lead. Stay out of the way,† he muttered. â€Å"Separate them – don't let them protect each other's backs.† Seth whined. â€Å"That's better, drive them toward the clearing,† Edward approved. His body was shifting unconsciously as he watched, tensing for moves he would have made. His hands still held mine; I twisted my fingers through his. At least he wasn't down there. The sudden absence of sound was the only warning. The deep rush of Seth's breathing cut off, and – as I'd paced my breaths with his – I noticed. I stopped breathing, too – too frightened to even make mylungs work as I realized that Edward had frozen into a block of ice beside me. Oh, no. No. No. Who had been lost? Theirs or ours? Mine, all mine. What was my loss? So quickly that I wasn't exactly sure how it happened, I was on my feet and the tent was collapsing in ragged shreds around me. Had Edward ripped our way out? Why? I blinked, shocked, into the brilliant light. Seth was all I could see, right beside us, his face only six inches from Edward's. They stared at each other with absolute concentration for one infinite second. The sun shattered off Edward's skin and sent sparkles dancing across Seth's fur. And then Edward whispered urgently, â€Å"Go, Seth!† The huge wolf wheeled and disappeared into the forest shadows. Had two entire seconds passed? It felt like hours. I was terrified to the point of nausea by the knowledge that something horrible had gone awry in the clearing. I opened my mouth to demand that Edward take me there, and do it now. They needed him, and they needed me. If I had to bleed to save them, I would do it. I would die to do it, like the third wife. I had no silver dagger in my hand, but I would find a way – Before I could get the first syllable out, I felt as if I was being flung through the air. But Edward's hands never let go of me – I was only being moved, so quickly that the sensation was like falling sideways. I found myself with my back pressed against the sheer cliff face. Edward stood in front of me, holding a posture that I knew at once. Relief washed through my mind at the same time that my stomach dropped through the soles of my feet. I'd misunderstood. Relief – nothing had gone wrong in the clearing. Horror – the crisis was here. Edward held a defensive position – half-crouched, his arms extended slightly – that I recognized with sickening certainty. The rock at my back could have been the ancient brick walls of the Italian alley where he had stood between me and the black-cloaked Volturi warriors. Something was coming for us. â€Å"Who?† I whispered. The words came through his teeth in a snarl that was louder than I expected. Too loud. It meant that it was far too late to hide. We were trapped, and it didn't matter who heard his answer. â€Å"Victoria,† he said, spitting the word, making it a curse. â€Å"She's not alone. She crossed my scent, following the newborns in to watch – she never meant to fight with them. She made a spur-of-the-moment decision to find me, guessing that you would be wherever I was. She was right. You were right. It was always Victoria.† She was close enough that he could hear her thoughts. Relief again. If it had been the Volturi, we were both dead. But with Victoria, it didn't have to be both. Edward could survive this. He was a good fighter, as good as Jasper. If she didn't bring too many others, he could fight his way out, back to his family. Edward was faster than anyone. He could make it. I was so glad he'd sent Seth away. Of course, there was no one Seth could run to for help. Victoria had timed her decision perfectly. But at least Seth was safe; I couldn't see the huge sandy wolf in my head when I thought his name – just the gangly fifteen-year-old boy. Edward's body shifted – only infinitesimally, but it told me where to look. I stared at the black shadows of the forest. It was like having my nightmares walk forward to greet me. Two vampires edged slowly into the small opening of our camp, eyes intent, missing nothing. They glistened like diamonds in the sun. I could barely look at the blond boy – yes, he was just a boy, though he was muscular and tall, maybe my age when he was changed. His eyes – a more vivid red than I had ever seen before – could not hold mine. Though he was closest to Edward, the nearest danger, I could not watch him. Because, a few feet to the side and a few feet back, Victoria was staring at me. Her orange hair was brighter than I'd remembered, more like a flame. There was no wind here, but the fire around her face seemed to shimmer slightly, as if it were alive. Her eyes were black with thirst. She did not smile, as she always had in my nightmares – her lips were pressed into a tight line. There was a striking feline quality to the way she held her coiled body, a lioness waiting for an opening to spring. Her restless, wild gaze flickered between Edward and me, but never rested on him for more than a half-second. She could not keep her eyes from my face any more than I could keep mine from hers. Tension rolled off of her, nearly visible in the air. I could feel the desire, the all-consuming passion that held her in its grip. Almost as if I could hear her thoughts, too, I knew what she was thinking. She was so close to what she wanted – the focus of her whole existence for more than a year now was just so close. My death. Her plan was as obvious as it was practical. The big blond boy would attack Edward. As soon as Edward was sufficiently distracted, Victoria would finish me. It would be quick – she had no time for games here – but it would be thorough. Something that it would be impossible to recover from. Something that even vampire venom could not repair. She'd have to stop my heart. Perhaps a hand shoved through my chest, crushing it. Something along those lines. My heart beat furiously, loudly, as if to make her target more obvious. An immense distance away, from far across the black forest, a wolf's howl echoed in the still air. With Seth gone, there was no way to interpret the sound. The blond boy looked at Victoria from the corner of his eye, waiting on her command. He was young in more ways than one. I guessed from his brilliant crimson irises that he couldn't have been a vampire for very long. He would be strong, but inept. Edward would know how to fight him. Edward would survive. Victoria jerked her chin toward Edward, wordlessly ordering the boy forward. â€Å"Riley,† Edward said in a soft, pleading voice. The blond boy froze, his red eyes widening. â€Å"She's lying to you, Riley,† Edward told him. â€Å"Listen to me. She's lying to you just like she lied to the others who are dying now in the clearing. You know that she's lied to them, that she had you lie to them, that neither of you were ever going to help them. Is it so hard to believe that she's lied to you, too?† Confusion swept across Riley's face. Edward shifted a few inches to the side, and Riley automatically compensated with an adjustment of his own. â€Å"She doesn't love you, Riley.† Edward's soft voice was compelling, almost hypnotic. â€Å"She never has. She loved someone named James, and you're no more than a tool to her.† When he said James's name, Victoria's lips pulled back in a teeth-baring grimace. Her eyes stayed locked on me. Riley cast a frantic glance in her direction. â€Å"Riley?† Edward said. Riley automatically refocused on Edward. â€Å"She knows that I will kill you, Riley. She wants you to die so that she doesn't have to keep up the pretense anymore. Yes – you've seen that, haven't you? You've read the reluctance in her eyes, suspected a false note in her promises. You were right. She's never wanted you. Every kiss, every touch was a lie.† Edward moved again, moved a few inches toward the boy, a few inches away from me. Victoria's gaze zeroed in on the gap between us. It would take her less than a second to kill me – she only needed the tiniest margin of opportunity. Slower this time, Riley repositioned himself. â€Å"You don't have to die,† Edward promised, his eyes holding the boy's. â€Å"There are other ways to live than the way she's shown you. It's not all lies and blood, Riley. You can walk away right now. You don't have to die for her lies.† Edward slid his feet forward and to the side. There was a foot of space between us now. Riley circled too far, overcompensating this time. Victoria leaned forward onto the balls of her feet. â€Å"Last chance, Riley,† Edward whispered. Riley's face was desperate as he looked to Victoria for answers. â€Å"He's the liar, Riley,† Victoria said, and my mouth fell open in shock at the sound of her voice. â€Å"I told you about their mind tricks. You know I love only you.† Her voice was not the strong, wild, catlike growl I would have put with her face and stance. It was soft, it was high – a babyish, soprano tinkling. The kind of voice that went with blond curls and pink bubble gum. It made no sense coming through her bared, glistening teeth. Riley's jaw tightened, and he squared his shoulders. His eyes emptied – there was no more confusion, no more suspicion. There was no thought at all. He tensed himself to attack. Victoria's body seemed to be trembling, she was so tightly wound. Her fingers were ready claws, waiting for Edward to move just one more inch away from me. The snarl came from none of them. A mammoth tan shape flew through the center of the opening, throwing Riley to the ground. â€Å"No!† Victoria cried, her baby voice shrill with disbelief. A yard and a half in front of me, the huge wolf ripped and tore at the blond vampire beneath him. Something white and hard smacked into the rocks by my feet. I cringed away from it. Victoria did not spare one glance for the boy she'd just pledged her love to. Her eyes were still on me, filled with a disappointment so ferocious that she looked deranged. â€Å"No,† she said again, through her teeth, as Edward started to move toward her, blocking her path to me. Riley was on his feet again, looking misshapen and haggard, but he was able to fling a vicious kick into Seth's shoulder. I heard the bone crunch. Seth backed off and started to circle, limping. Riley had his arms out, ready, though he seemed to be missing part of one hand. . . . Only a few yards away from that fight, Edward and Victoria were dancing. Not quite circling, because Edward was not allowing her to position herself closer to me. She sashayed back, moving from side to side, trying to find a hole in his defense. He shadowed her footwork lithely, stalking her with perfect concentration. He began to move just a fraction of a second before she moved, reading her intentions in her thoughts. Seth lunged at Riley from the side, and something tore with a hideous, grating screech. Another heavy white chunk flew into the forest with a thud. Riley roared in fury, and Seth skipped back – amazingly light on his feet for his size – as Riley took a swipe at him with one mangled hand. Victoria was weaving through the tree trunks at the far end of the little opening now. She was torn, her feet pulling her toward safety while her eyes yearned toward me as if I were a magnet, reeling her in. I could see the burning desire to kill warring with her survival instinct. Edward could see that, too. â€Å"Don't go, Victoria,† he murmured in that same hypnotic tone as before. â€Å"You'll never get another chance like this.† She showed her teeth and hissed at him, but she seemed unable to move farther away from me. â€Å"You can always run later,† Edward purred. â€Å"Plenty of time for that. It's what you do, isn't it? It's why James kept you around. Useful, if you like to play deadly games. A partner with an uncanny instinct for escaping. He shouldn't have left you – he could have used your skills when we caught up to him in Phoenix.† A snarl ripped from between her lips. â€Å"That's all you ever were to him, though. Silly to waste so much energy avenging someone who had less affection for you than a hunter for his mount. You were never more than a convenience to him. I would know.† Edward's lips pulled up on one side as he tapped his temple. With a strangled screech, Victoria darted out of the trees again, feinting to the side. Edward responded, and the dance began again. Just then, Riley's fist caught Seth's flank, and a low yelp coughed out of Seth's throat. Seth backed away, his shoulders twitching as if he were trying to shake off the pain. Please, I wanted to plead with Riley, but I couldn't find the muscles to make my mouth open, to pull the air up from my lungs. Please, he's just a child! Why hadn't Seth run away? Why didn't he run now? Riley was closing the distance between them again, driving Seth toward the cliff face beside me. Victoria was suddenly interested in her partner's fate. I could see her, from the corner of her eyes, judge the distance between Riley and me. Seth snapped at Riley, forcing him back again, and Victoria hissed. Seth wasn't limping anymore. His circling took him within inches of Edward; his tail brushed Edward's back, and Victoria's eyes bulged. â€Å"No, he won't turn on me,† Edward said, answering the question in Victoria's head. He used her distraction to slide closer. â€Å"You provided us with a common enemy. You allied us.† She clenched her teeth, trying to keep her focus on Edward alone. â€Å"Look more closely, Victoria,† he murmured, pulling at the threads of her concentration. â€Å"Is he really so much like the monster James tracked across Siberia?† Her eyes popped wide open, and then began flickering wildly from Edward to Seth to me, around and around. â€Å"Not the same?† she snarled in her little girl's soprano. â€Å"Impossible!† â€Å"Nothing is impossible,† Edward murmured, voice velvet soft as he moved another inch closer to her. â€Å"Except what you want. You'll never touch her.† She shook her head, fast and jerky, fighting his diversions, and tried to duck around him, but he was in place to block her as soon as she'd thought of the plan. Her face contorted in frustration, and then she shifted lower into her crouch, a lioness again, and stalked deliberately forward. Victoria was no inexperienced, instinct-driven newborn. She was lethal. Even I could tell the difference between her and Riley, and I knew that Seth wouldn't have lasted so long if he'd been fighting this vampire. Edward shifted, too, as they closed on each other, and it was lion versus lioness. The dance increased in tempo. It was like Alice and Jasper in the meadow, a blurred spiraling of movement, only this dance was not as perfectly choreographed. Sharp crunches and crackings reverberated off the cliff face whenever someone slipped in their formation. But they were moving too fast for me to see who was making the mistakes. . . . Riley was distracted by the violent ballet, his eyes anxious for his partner. Seth struck, crunching off another small piece of the vampire. Riley bellowed and launched a massive backhanded blow that caught Seth full in his broad chest. Seth's huge body soared ten feet and crashed into the rocky wall over my head with a force that seemed to shake the whole peak. I heard the breath whoosh from his lungs, and I ducked out of the way as he rebounded off the stone and collapsed on the ground a few feet in front of me. A low whimper escaped through Seth's teeth. Sharp fragments of gray stone showered down on my head, scratching my exposed skin. A jagged spike of rock rolled down my right arm and I caught it reflexively. My fingers clenched around the long shard as my own survival instincts kicked in; since there was no chance of flight, my body – not caring how ineffectual the gesture was – prepared for a fight. Adrenaline jolted through my veins. I knew the brace was cutting into my palm. I knew the crack in my knuckle was protesting. I knew it, but I could not feel the pain. Behind Riley, all I could see was the twisting flame of Victoria's hair and a blur of white. The increasingly frequent metallic snaps and tears, the gasps and shocked hissings, made it clear that the dance was turning deadly for someone. But which someone? Riley lurched toward me, his red eyes brilliant with fury. He glared at the limp mountain of sand-colored fur between us, and his hands – mangled, broken hands – curled into talons. His mouth opened, widened, his teeth glistening, as he prepared to rip out Seth's throat. A second kick of adrenaline hit like an electric shock, and everything was suddenly very clear. Both fights were too close. Seth was about to lose his, and I had no idea if Edward was winning or losing. They needed help. A distraction. Something to give them an edge. My hand gripped the stone spike so tightly that a support in the brace snapped. Was I strong enough? Was I brave enough? How hard could I shove the rough stone into my body? Would this buy Seth enough time to get back on his feet? Would he heal fast enough for my sacrifice to do him any good? I raked the point of the shard up my arm, yanking my thick sweater back to expose the skin, and then pressed the sharp tip to the crease at my elbow. I already had a long scar there from my last birthday. That night, my flowing blood had been enough to catch every vampire's attention, to freeze them all in place for an instant. I prayed it would work that way again. I steeled myself and sucked in one deep breath. Victoria was distracted by the sound of my gasp. Her eyes, holding still for one tiny portion of a second, met mine. Fury and curiosity mingled strangely in her expression. I wasn't sure how I heard the low sound with all the other noises echoing off the stone wall and hammering inside my head. My own heartbeat should have been enough to drown it out. But, in the split second that I stared into Victoria's eyes, I thought I heard a familiar, exasperated sigh. In that same short second, the dance broke violently apart. It happened so quickly that it was over before I could follow the sequence of events. I tried to catch up in my head. Victoria had flown out of the blurred formation and smashed into a tall spruce about halfway up the tree. She dropped back to the earth already crouched to spring. Simultaneously, Edward – all but invisible with speed – had twisted backward and caught the unsuspecting Riley by the arm. It had looked like Edward planted his foot against Riley's back, and heaved – The little campsite was filled with Riley's piercing shriek of agony. At the same time, Seth leaped to his feet, cutting off most of my view. But I could still see Victoria. And, though she looked oddly deformed – as if she were unable to straighten up completely – I could see the smile I'd been dreaming of flash across her wild face. She coiled and sprang. Something small and white whistled through the air and collided with her mid-flight. The impact sounded like an explosion, and it threw her against another tree – this one snapped in half. She landed on her feet again, crouched and ready, but Edward was already in place. Relief swelled in my heart when I saw that he stood straight and perfect. Victoria kicked something aside with a flick of her bare foot – the missile that had crippled her attack. It rolled toward me, and I realized what it was. My stomach lurched. The fingers were still twitching; grasping at blades of grass, Riley's arm began to drag itself mindlessly across the ground. Seth was circling Riley again, and now Riley was retreating. He backed away from the advancing werewolf, his face rigid with pain. He raised his one arm defensively. Seth rushed Riley, and the vampire was clearly off-balance. I saw Seth sink his teeth into Riley's shoulder and tear, jumping back again. With an earsplitting metallic screech, Riley lost his other arm. Seth shook his head, flinging the arm into the woods. The broken hissing noise that came through Seth's teeth sounded like snickering. Riley screamed out a tortured plea. â€Å"Victoria!† Victoria did not even flinch to the sound of her name. Her eyes did not flicker once toward her partner. Seth launched himself forward with the force of a wrecking ball. The thrust carried both Seth and Riley into the trees, where the metallic screeching was matched by Riley's screams. Screams that abruptly cut off, while the sounds of rock being ripped to shreds continued. Though she spared Riley no farewell glance, Victoria seemed to realize that she was on her own. She began to back away from Edward, frenzied disappointment blazing in her eyes. She threw me one short, agonized stare of longing, and then she started to retreat faster. â€Å"No,† Edward crooned, his voice seductive. â€Å"Stay just a little longer.† She wheeled and flew toward the refuge of the forest like an arrow from a bow. But Edward was faster – a bullet from a gun. He caught her unprotected back at the edge of the trees and, with one last, simple step, the dance was over. Edward's mouth brushed once across her neck, like a caress. The squealing clamor coming from Seth's efforts covered every other noise, so there was no discernible sound to make the image one of violence. He could have been kissing her. And then the fiery tangle of hair was no longer connected to the rest of her body. The shivering orange waves fell to the ground, and bounced once before rolling toward the trees.

The Moral Compass Of The Force - 934 Words

The moral compass of the Force, exhibited through the conduct and emotions of living entities who were themselves subject to a stimulating, omnipotent fabrication; vigorously compartmentalize two distinct dogmas that, once again, embody a spectrum of behavioral and cognitive norms. The light and dark side of the Force, constituting two ethical nature’s, enact elements of alignment that nurtures a Force-sensitives’ source of power. By means of these catalysts and/or disciplines, one in tune with the Force, is consumed by such instinctive state of minds as a way of going about internal endeavours. The light side of the Force is entangled with the ideals of good. With its philosophical methods being engaged with the shadows of compassion, altruism, knowledge, healing, and benevolence, a practitioner of such state of mind, whom which are referred to in the Star Wars films and animated television programs, as the Jedi, seeks for peace and justice. As this noble periphery of the Force, encourages and fortifies its followers to utilize wisdom and logic as a mechanism of action, they divorce themselves from strong emotions, and, instead, explore enlightenment. By doing so, one loyal to the light side of the force, is fulfilling their ultimate ambition, a life rich in harmony. The dark side of the Force, embroidered in raw emotions, is conceived as the spiritual angle submerged in corruption and annihilation. A Force-sensitive devoted to the teachings of the dark side, availsShow MoreRelatedMoral Compass Essay1178 Words   |  5 PagesMoral Compass Essay Yuebo (Grace) Zhu I. Introduction A moral compass is the moral guide on which a person bases his/her decisions and distinguishes what is right from what is wrong. With our moral compass, we know what rules we should play by. When I was a child, I learnt Chinese traditional wisdom, Confucianism, from my parents and elementary school. 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