1. Nov 1, 2025: Delivered a standard content refresh for Enov8’s article What Is Release Management: An ERM + SAFe Perspective. Updated definitions, improved examples, tightened structure, and aligned the post with current release-management practices.

2. Nov 7, 2025: Completed a standard refresh of Types of Test Data You Should Use for Your Software Tests. Modernized explanations, clarified test-data categories, and strengthened SEO relevance.

3. Nov 11, 2025: Published a new article for Enov8 titled Guidewire Data Masking. Added a detailed overview of masking approaches, common use cases, and how Enov8 helps insurers secure sensitive Guidewire data.

4. Nov 19, 2025: Performed a standard refresh on DevOps Anti-Patterns. Updated examples, improved readability, and refreshed references to current DevOps tooling and best practices.

Lions vs Hoosiers

Listening now to the Flagship Station for IU Sports ahead of tonight's early men's college basketball game, as the Lindenwood Lions travel from Lindenwood University in St. Charles, Missouri to meet the IU Hoosiers at Bloomington Assembly Hall in Bloomington, Indiana. Tipoff is scheduled for 17:00 Central Time.

Go Hoosiers!

And the adventure continues.

Je ne suis pas sûr que ces poèmes soient de moi. J’ai plus la sensation qu’ils m’ont traversé. Et que je n’ai été… que leur réceptacle éphémère, Le temps d’une fulgurance, d’un éclair.

D’où venaient-ils ? Je ne saurais dire. Où iront ils ensuite ? Où bon leur semblera.

Ils sont un peu comme les neutrinos, Ces particules cosmiques que rien n’arrête, Qui, l’air de rien, traversent la Terre. Poursuivant leur chemin dans l’univers.

Me traversant, ils m’ont imperceptiblement changé. Ce qui fait que je ne saurais dire, Si ces poèmes sont de moi, Ou si c’est moi qui suis d’eux.

The first and only adventure of Stump aka Deelnemer 11

“No I Haven't got anything left, I only have the right ones” said the arms dealer to the sad stump of a man in front of him.

Since then Stump was known as the man with two right arms. An improvement, knowing that he lost both his former arms because of bad hand eye coordination, to be honest only the bad hands given made him the Stump he was and most likely still is, both of his eyes are just a bit short sighted, they always stop looking after seventeen seconds. Anyway, he just should't have tried to cut his own fingernails with a chainsaw even if this chainsaw was one of the best in the field. You know most people Stump and I knows cut their toe and finger nails with machines way worse than he used for his former hands. I cut mine once a year with an old flametorch, a true classic, used in world war one, so I've been told.

Stump needed new arms like I needed a fourth wife to replace the sixth. He was lost without them, His job as a casino card dealer depended on a good efficiënt stereo set. It was hard to shuffle a deck with only his mouth and even harder to make it look like he still had arms to shuffle with so that he wouldn't loose his job or worse was made to work in casino security for higher wages. Wages placed so high that he never could reach it not even with both his arms intact. Stump was sorta dwarfish. His two right arms made him look taller. This was caused by the fact that they were a tit bit longer then he was so he had to walk with them raised above his head. This made him more attractive to the ladies, thats why he doesn't complain all the time about this new handicap caused by the old. Ladies like to shake his new hands and arms because of the thrill this shaking thing causes in their calves and shins, sometimes even their ankles. Stump just likes the attention, the shakes not so much.

With his new arms he can deal cards like he never could before, most gamblers can't believe their own eyes watching him shuffle but once they look in the cards given they know nothing has changed, not for real. The great boss above only gives what he can miss to earn much more then he gave away, no matter the pretty shiny glitter of a good shuffling of the deck before. Now still is how it was, that what you don't have you won't get, They begotten still shit all from deck maestro Stump. Eventhough he was a very talented deck shuffler, a gift that kept on giving to the men high above, long tall men residating in the accountants office, Stump self never rose in the gambling hierarchy, not even now with his new tall arms, and not just because a raise in salary made Stump cry, You know, not being able to make pay just because your short is a pain that never stops aching, ladders might work but you can't afford them, its catch 22 times 22 over and over. You probably don't know, I didn't, only until I met Stump I began to realise how difficult live is when the shape of a body causes men to never rise up in society, and you can't lower the salary after rising because that's the same as not raising it at all.

Once I've written an idea and dropped it in the idea box, Why not give him two salaries at the same height and at the same time that would be the same as raising, aye, doubling it, he would be double paid for all his shuffling decks and arriving on time at work and so on. The good stuff people appreciate you for, being around and make them more money than you earn yourself. But they said this was unfair because Stump was only himself alone and not two at the same time, only if he could prove to be two persons at once they would pay him as being them twice. He could not do that no matter how much I tried to make him split up, he was too ticklish to split. He just laughed but did not split his side. I failed him, that's how I felt, not all the time, just every workday at a quarter past two but not on wednesdays and only in the groin area. It's a thing I have to learn to live with. My suffering is nothing compared to Stumps endless days of misery, his many shortcomings, his new set of two too long right arms, the shaking of all the women now suddenly intrested but only in shaking his arms, he being a drug to their senses, at the under under extremities, way below the point that really matters, all this, and his lack of self awareness.

Did I tell you yet that Stump does not have self awareness, none at all! I can always see that he never knows that he is either here or there, he believes he is nowhere and yet we know that he is not but because he isn't aware of that fact we have to tell him all the time that he is where he is and he isn't somewhere else or not even around. When Stump arrives at work, the place where we see him be, we all do everything we can to acknowledge him for being at work, otherwise he thinks he is still not here, he be at home or still in transport to us. We say “Good seeing you Stump” “Stump, We know youre here” “Look its Stump, how you doin' workmate” Things to say so that he knows 'ah I guess I'm somewhere and it looks like I'm at work to shuffle the decks as to say' We can never once let him be because there is a big chance he might no longer be with us at the end of the work day, After work we don't care about his lack of self awareness. Stump his self can not be with us everywhere, we have things to do and think about, very much unlike work.

We know nothing about Stump, he never even told us he cut of his hands with a chainsaw he just came to work without them, we had to tell him he didn't have hands anymore, his lack of all awareness made him not see, I still wonder who told him that he had to cut them? Is he married, does he still live with his parents, so that at home they will tell him that he is and he has to cut his nails, because he has them and they can be cut. It must be so, otherwise Stump would completely disappear after work, with no nails to cut and an arms dealer to get them a new. Sometimes I think maybe Stump only appears to us to be seen so that we ourselves become true too, Stump extras, people to accompany the company of his being alive story. Stumponettes. I hope this isn't true, I don't want to be a Stumponettes, I just want to be who I am, the man that tells you a real story so that you can believe, or just think and say something about it. Instead of being a semi conscious pseudo man whose mission is nothing more than being an awareness slave, a marketeer, a believer for some dwarfish guy called Stump. No way... I hope Stump will saw of his head while he is trying to cut his own hair!

Hoy es el Día Internacional de los Derechos de la Infancia, pero es cada día, de los demás que tiene el año, cuando tenemos que recordar que la mejor garantía de los derechos humanos es su ejercicio_.

👉👈Todos los seres humanos nacemos con la necesidad de conexión, conexión con las personas y con el mundo que nos rodea. Incluso antes de nacer ya estamos conectados.

📱Las pantallas nos desconectan de lo más esencial del ser humano, nos alejan de nuestras necesidades y del resto del mundo. Nos desconectan de la vida.

🌻Es por eso que hoy, en el Día Internacional de los Derechos del Niño, nuestro equipo se une a la campaña para defender el derecho a crecer sin pantallas.

🫂Para que ningún niño ni niña tenga que vivir “desconectado”. Para que “enchufemos” a todos a la vida, no al móvil.

👋Otro año más volvemos a reivindicar el derecho a crecer sin pantallas.

👀Porque nuestros niños y niñas necesitan vivir un mundo de juego, de exploración, de vínculo, de salidas al campo, de conversaciones mirándonos a los ojos.

🙏En un año hemos avanzado con nuevas recomendaciones de los pediatras o con la prohibición de su uso por la Comunidad de Madrid en los centros escolares. Cada vez hay más familias concienciadas pero, seguimos observando niños viendo el móvil mientras pasean en el carro, en los restaurantes y médicos, en el supermercado, teles encendidas toda la tarde,...

💪Por todos ellos y ellas se volverán a llenar nuestras escuelas de muchísimas acciones reivindicativas y de concienciación que serán publicadas en el padlet que hay enlazado en nuestra BIO.

🫂Si quieres formar parte de esta campaña, puedes coger ideas del curso pasado del padlet de nuestra BIO, hacer alguna acción en tu centro y si nos la mandas, también la publicaremos.

🌻Ojalá lleguemos a todos y nunca tengamos que repetir esta campaña. Ojalá todos los niños puedan crecer sin pantallas.

             https://www.instagram.com/p/DRJesHdDOAx/?igsh=MXZxMmNyZDB4MTMzZw==

Buenos días a todas, volvemos A proponeros visibilizar el 20 de NOVIEMBRE el «derecho a crecer sin pantallas».

El año pasado fue emocionante sentir el acompañamiento de muchas escuelas hasta de diferentes puntos de España, familias y profesionales. Generamos un padlet en el que unimos todos los que pudimos durante esas semanas. Os paso el enlace para que lo trasteéis.

https://padlet.com/eoepatsansebastian/por-un-nuevo-derecho-para-la-infancia-crecer-sin-pantallas-9v6njls7webzyeuq

*Allí podéis ver muchas iniciativas desarrolladas por centros de nuestro sector el año pasado: desde carteles participativos en la entrada (para escribir ideas alternativas entre todos sobre cómo comer, esperar en el médico, viajar... sin pantallas), sesiones de juego con objetos no estructurados (con fotos para que las familias vean su disfrute y con recordatorio de sus beneficios!) sesiones de juego con los abuelos, una huelga de CHUPETES CAÍDOS!! para apagar pantallas, un decálogo que se escuchaba en las entradas y salidas del centro durante esa semana...

Las escuelas idearon cartelería que os adjunto para que tengáis algo para empezar! ¡También os paso una presentación del EAT que se puede emplear y difundir!

✋**¿Qué podéis hacer???, difundir información y el cartel que os pasaremos para que los centros que lo coloquen «se unan a esta iniciativa».

*¿Cómo se pueden unir? Colocando el cartel y realizando alguna actividad ese día. Sería genial abarcar muchas zonas de la Comunidad de Madrid para que los medios se interesasen por nuestra preocupación.🙏

** Como esperamos mucha participación en nuestro sector (Escuelas, colegios y tal vez otros puntos de España con los que conectamos) nos es complicado unirlo todo en un nuevo padlet del EAT junto a todas las iniciativas que vosotr@s despertéis en vuestro sector.

Por ello os proponemos que cada equipo cree su propio Padlet Y luego enlazamos todoS!!!!

***¿CÓMO EMPEZAR?

Recoger las fotos/vídeos y el texto explicativo de la iniciativa de las escuelas o centros y los materiales que deseen compartir (nosotras les pedimos que nos lo envíen al correo al institucional del EAT pero tb hemos creado un drive con las escuelas para compartir rápidamente todo) ... como veáis

Y luego tratar de hacer un padlet (yo nunca me he aventurado, el nuestro lo hace nuestra querida Ana) pero podéis intentarlo alguien os podría ayudar, familiaes, hij@s jóvenes ... Y si no, contactarnos y vemos cómo hacemos.

Este año contamos con un cartel hecho por profesionales que promete impactar a TOD@S !!!

Cualquier duda escribirnos al correo del equipo o mensaje whatsapp Bea (605884876)

eoep.at.sansebastian@educa.madrid.org

Heute war ich schon so weit, loszugehen. Ich hatte mir ein kleines Frühstück gemacht, war frisch geduscht und angezogen. Auf den gemeinsamen Abend zum #tdor in der Beratungsstelle hatte ich mich richtig gefreut.

Und dann: peng. Ohne ersichtlichen Grund flossen plötzlich Tränen. Ich habe heftig geweint, und meine Gedanken wurden richtig dunkel.

Zuerst wollte ich trotzdem los. Ich war doch jetzt schon zwei Tage zu Hause gewesen. Zusammenreißen! Schon wieder scheitern ist keine Option.

Aber es ging nicht. Es ging gar nichts mehr.

Langsam wurde ich ruhiger, konnte wieder denken und fühlen. Ich konnte die Erschöpfung wahrnehmen. Mein Mitgefühl mit mir selbst kam vorsichtig zurück.

Termine absagen und nicht zu dem Treffen gehen ist ätzend. Aber meine Gesundheit, ich selbst, bin mir wichtiger.

Das habe ich zum Glück in Tiefenbrunn gelernt: Emotionen dürfen sein. Ich kann achtsam und liebevoll mit mir umgehen und sollte jeden ersten Impuls prüfen.

Da sehe ich meine Störungen so deutlich wie selten: Vor der Traumatherapie hätte ich sicher dem Impuls „Du musst jetzt arbeiten gehen, koste es, was es wolle“ nachgegeben. Ich hätte nicht in mich reingespürt, nicht überlegt, welche Folgen es hat, über meine Grenzen zu gehen.

Komplette Zusammenbrüche hatte ich mehr als einmal.

#borderline #histrionisch #adhs

At the same time, it’s a miracle: to go to the grocery store in the middle of a cold winter evening to have a banana!

Like I have never seen a banana tree, and I wouldn’t recognise a coffee tree; I don’t even know whether they (the coffees) grow on trees or on bushes. I couldn’t make vanilla either, even though I know what a vanilla flower looks like; I’ve seen it… on the shampoo bottle.

I don’t know what is in shampoo. I can assume that it’s similar to soap, and I’ve seen on fight club that it contains human fat? I didn’t really watch the movie. It was my sister who did, she had a crush on Brad Pitt you see.

I have disowned her. But not because of Brad Pitt; there’s nothing wrong with him, as far as I know.

But like you’ve see: that’s not much unfortunately.

Mededeling Van Voorbijgaande Aard

Niks staat mijn geluk nog in de weg behalve een aantal agenda punten een omleiding op de A666 langzaam rijden en stilstaand verkeer door een ongeluk op de B777 een niet te verzetten afspraak met de psycholoog de sluitingstijd van de apotheek het relatief lange boodschappenlijstje een verkeerd gevallen visje buikkrampen derhalve en misselijkheid zelfs een beetje koppijn een opvallend groot gat tussen wat ik nodig heb en de beschikbaarheid daarvan een knagend gevoel van onbehagen dreigende berichten betreffende gladheid op de wegen op de dag dat ik op tijd aanwezig moet zijn om een vergadering bij te wonen over het inkrimpen van het personeelsbestand een uitgave die ik me niet kon veroorloven het opvallend vreemde gedrag van de kanariepiet de lekkende kraan in de badkamer tocht in huis maar verder kan het geluk onbelemmerd voort ploeteren richting mij

#002262 – 08 de Agosto de 2025

Saí do casulo, não borboleta, mas ainda de patas no chão. Caminho agora, no chão de uma floresta chamada mundo.

“To accuse others of one’s own misfortunes is a sign of want of education.

To accuse oneself shows that one’s education has begun.

To accuse neither oneself nor others shows that one’s education is complete.”

—Epictetus

#dailyquote

The causal evil and the sweeping corruption is I think dangerous.

Some of the most misogynistic people I ever met have been deeply religious; they would shame Jesus even though they claim him as their idol.

But this text is more about the casual evils, the rotting of the trust. Like picture this grocery store where I live, which is I think a prison. Not only of the mind, but actually a prison, as there is no way out without scanning first: a bar code.

I wanted to try positive thinking, so I made of it a subway station instead, but that is a lie: in a subway station, you scan to get in, whereas in a prison, you scan to get out.

In this prison are the fruits of greed and treachery on display: shrinking packages (shrinkflation), the lying of the boxes whose contents are filled with some unhealthy stuff they sneak in there and finally the bananas exploited from Africa by greedy capitalists!! I have seen this on TV.

I know all about the bananas 🍌

The rotten GMO bananas whose peels are sprayed with roundup (or something)

Don’t eat the peels!

No wonder then, that it feels morally exhausting to go shopping there, no wonder at all.

I saw a woman there once, fingering the danishes, asking whether there were any eggs in there or if it was milk?

”Who knows”, answered the cashier.

Media Rights. Who is going to broadcast the Brand New Shield?

OK, we are nowhere near that point yet and may never get to that point to be quite honest with you all. However, in the wake of Major League Baseball's new media rights deals, let's talk about how such deals would be important to theoretically launch the Brand New Shield.

The best place to start would be a brief history of media in sports. Originally, radio was king for live broadcasts. Local radio was the original lifeblood of sports media. Today, local radio still plays an integral part with both live broadcasts and shows where listeners can call in to talk about the current happenings with their local teams. In addition to local radio there is now satellite radio where the major sports leagues themselves each have nationwide channels people can listen to anywhere. While radio is still integral, it hasn't been the king in decades thanks to the advent of television. Originally, TV just had 3 broadcast networks and over time has grown where most TV packages have hundreds of channels. Cable TV and comparable (satellite, YouTube TV, etc...) subscriptions have a variety of sports channels that air everything from football to pickleball. In the current marketplace, you can even get specific apps on your Smart TV to watch what specific sports you want to watch.

Speaking of apps, apps have become a major part of media rights deals in sports recently. The NFL has exclusive games on Amazon Prime and Netflix. The NBA now has exclusive games on Peacock and Amazon Prime. The packages formerly known as MLB.tv and NHL Center Ice have now been folded into ESPN Unlimited. Streaming is becoming as integral as cable and comparable services in the sports media landscape. This needs to be capitalized on. There is an opportunity to be seized here that unfortunately no one has seized yet. Speaking of seizing said opportunities, what does someone look for in a media rights partner?

Every entity looking for a media rights partner really just wants a couple of things. First, they want a real partner that will help them grow their brand. You're going to want to have your league aired on a channel and/or app that most people have access to. I know this sounds obvious but I'm typing it out because it is a primary consideration for a media rights deal. Second, they're going to want a partner that is stable. Stability can mean a network or app that has been around for a while or it can mean something new that has proper backing to last for a while. Speaking of backing, next is money. Yes, profit does matter and if the deal is not going to help the bottom line, it's not really worth signing. Lastly is ownership of the channel/app. If the ownership can't be trusted, do you really want to go into business with that media rights partner? There are also some ethical questions as well in regards to some of these media conglomerates if we're being fair.

So, what would a media deal look like for the Brand New Shield? There is no way to predict the future but I do have a couple of ideas. One idea I previously discussed when I was doing SixOn6FB was to go the FAST (Free Ad-Supported Television) route. FAST services are on every Smart TV, so they provide a really wide reach. They are also free to consumers and are funded exclusively by advertising dollars, which helps create an easy entry point for fans to get on the consumption escalator. There is a question on whether the income portion of going with that model is sustainable, but I believe that is wholly dependent on the deal with the FAST providers (Pluto, Xumo, Roku Channel, etc..) themselves. Another possibility would be to go with a partner like TrillerTV. TrillerTV are live streaming experts and give people entities the ability to charge for subscriptions and to air pay-per-view events. What was once mainly a combat sports platform now airs all sorts of sports, including being the former home of the A7FL. TrillerTV is available on most streaming platforms so reach wouldn't necessarily be an issue, the issue would be getting people to download the app and pay for the subscription. There are other options such as creating an app, traditional media rights deals and using more well-known apps such as Amazon Prime. The issue with the traditional media rights deals and the use of apps like Amazon Prime is that they seem to be of the small fish in the big pond variety which is what plagued the Arena Football League at the end. I purposely did not mention YouTube because the financial model for YouTube is nowhere near as good as it used to be and you're likely going to get something sustainable going the FAST and/or TrillerTV routes. Really, a combination of the options I mentioned will likely be the best route to go if the Brand New Shield ever gets there truthfully.

Speaking of media, the Brand New Shield Podcast will be launching soon. The first major topic on the podcast will be sports betting although there will likely be some form of an introductory episode before that. Let's give Write.as some well-deserved credit for being a great platform to launch this blog on. The podcast details are being ironed out but I will have them soon. Until the next post and/or podcast episode, enjoy some football!

#haremhaohybrid

Minghao tidak menunduk ataupun mengalihkan pandangan. Sebaliknya, ia menatap bergantian satu persatu anggota klan karnivora di hadapannya perlahan-lahan, memetakan wajah mereka dalam ingatan. Sepertinya memang keberanian klan kelinci adalah sesuatu yang mendarah daging. Lima karnivora berbalutkan pakaian indah dari sutra mahal. Mereka tidak mengenakan kain warna mentereng ataupun hiasan yang tak perlu. Sederhana dari bahan berkualitas. Yang membedakan mereka dari tamu biasa adalah simbol klan masing-masing yang tersemat di kerah pakaian mereka.

“Senang sekali atas kehadiran kita semua di sini,” Kwon memulai, menjalankan tugasnya sebagai tuan rumah yang baik. “Malam ini adalah malam sepertiga rembulan. Malam yang tepat untuk mengenalkan anggota keluarga terbaru klan kami, adik dari suamiku, kelinci termuda, Xu Minghao.”

Tak ada anggukan, hanyalah tatap saling bersirobok antara sang kelinci dengan kelima lelaki itu. Tiada ciut. Tiada bimbang. Kekopongan? Mungkin sedikit. Sisanya adalah gurat halus kebencian dan rasa jijik. Para karnivora biadab yang telah mengoyak kebahagiaan kelinci-kelinci kecil naif yang hanya ingin hidup damai bertiga di pondok kecil mereka. Gurat yang, tentu, tertangkap oleh mata-mata jeli para karnivora.

“Kau seperti buku yang terbuka, Xu Minghao,” seseorang dari mereka angkat bicara, menekankan apa yang mereka semua telah ketahui. “Jika ingin menyelamatkan ekormu di dunia ini, sembunyikan rasa bencimu dari musuhmu, bukannya malah mengumbarnya seperti itu.” Kekehan, pelan menemani picingan mata di balik kacamata berbingkai bulat. Telinganya yang berbulu lembut mengacung agak tinggi di antara rimbun rambut yang berwarna kelam.

“Minghao, ini adalah Jeon Wonwoo dari klan rubah,” Kwon memotong untuk sekilas perkenalan. “Klan Jeon turun-temurun berkecimpung dalam bidang obat-obatan. Lalu, yang duduk di sebelahnya adalah Wen Junhui dari klan macan kumbang.”

“Hal yang perlu kamu ketahui dariku, Minghao, kalau lariku lebih cepat dari Soonie,” ringisan melebar—setengah pongah, setengah mengejek. Yang diejek mendecih. Ekornya menyapu lantai agak gelisah.

“Jangan menantangku, Jun-ah.”

“Menggertak, seperti biasanya.”

Seakan ada percik statis tercipta di antara tatapan mata keduanya. Dengan sebuah tepukan tangan kencang, Jisoo menengahi kedua karnivora tersebut. “Tolong jaga sikap Anda, Tuan Wen,” senyum sang kelinci manis, namun tutur katanya teramat dingin. “Anda berada di sini untuk adik saya, bukan untuk memancing murka suami saya.”

Menunduk, Jun mendengus, acuh tak acuh membuang muka. Jika Minghao tidak benar-benar memerhatikan, rona merah tipis yang membakar pipi Jun pasti akan dilewatkannya. Alis sang kelinci mengernyit, merasa aneh barang sejenak, walau ia mengabaikannya kemudian. Perkenalan pun berlanjut.

“Berikut adalah perwakilan dari klan beruang. Kim Mingyu, inginkah kau mengucapkan sepatah-dua patah kata?” sang kepala klan macan menyunggingkan senyuman ramah. Ia nampak memedulikan lelaki tersebut lebih daripada anggota klan lainnya, meskipun yang bersangkutan tetap diam dan hanya menggeleng. Ia memilih untuk memandangi Minghao dengan lekat, membuat sang kelinci merasa kurang nyaman.

“Bagaimana Anda bisa memenangkan hatinya jika hanya diam, Kim??” kekeh lelaki yang lebih muda di sebelahnya. “Lidah dan kata-kata adalah senjata paling berharga untuk mendapatkan apa yang kita inginkan.” Desisan, terdengar menetesi tiap celah keheningan dari lidah yang bercabang.

“Tentu kau juga sadar bahwa mulutmu adalah harimaumu, Chan?” sahut lelaki lain di sisi satunya. Ia melipat lengan di dada, tak terpukau oleh gertak sambal barusan.

“Ah, Anda terlalu memuji saya, Tuan Choi,” bukannya terpelatuk, lelaki itu justru menyeringai sambil menunduk sedikit dengan tangan di dada. “Setidaknya mulut saya lebih beradab daripada kebiasaan main tangan Anda, bukan?” Lelaki yang dipanggil Tuan Choi bergerak, seolah akan beranjak dari duduk untuk menarik kerah pakaiannya dan membuat kerusuhan, namun lagi-lagi mereka ditengahi.

“Lee! Choi! Sudah cukup!” gelegar membahana keluar dari mulut Kwon Soonyoung. Minghao agak terkejut. Ternyata si macan itu bisa berwibawa juga jika situasi mengharuskannya. Keterkejutan Minghao pun berlanjut saat Kwon malah menoleh ke arahnya. “Adik ipar, maafkan kelancangan mereka. Ini Lee Chan dari klan ular dan Choi Seungcheol dari klan serigala.”

Minghao seketika bungkam. Matanya membelalak.

Klan serigala.

Klan yang mengambil Jeonghan dengan paksa. Klan yang memenjaranya, membuatnya menghilang dari dunia dan menyisakan sehela nama. Klan yang membuat dirinya dan Jisoo hanya bisa merindukan saudara tertua mereka hari demi hari. Klan yang telah membuat Jeonghan menderita.

Saat Minghao menatap wajah Choi Seungcheol, sang serigala menemukan kebencian berapi-api dalam kilatan matanya. Wonwoo sungguhlah benar. Xu Minghao adalah buku yang terbuka. Setidaknya, kakaknya, Jisoo, menyembunyikan angkara murkanya di balik senyuman lembut. Rasa-rasanya, Seungcheol ingin tertawa.

“Lagi-lagi seekor kelinci tanpa tata krama,” decaknya, sengaja memanasi emosi Minghao. Duduknya agak merosot dan kedua kakinya melebar; bagai Tuan Raja di atas singgasana emasnya. “Kuperingatkan saja, Xu Minghao, sekali kau membuatku marah, akan kumakan kau.” Taring runcing dipampang. Telinga berbulu hitamnya berkedut memperingatkan. Geraman rendah datang dari pangkal tenggorokan. “Aku di sini bukan untuk berkasih-kasihan denganmu seperti permintaan kakakmu itu. Aku di sini untuk membawamu ke klanku dan membuatmu melahirkan bayi-bayi serigala tanpa henti.” Lalu, dengan nada pongah dan dongakan dagu, Choi Seungcheol menantang Xu Minghao tanpa tedeng aling-aling. “Sebagaimana kau seharusnya berada, Herbivora.”

“CHOI!”

“Hao, jangan dengarkan ucapannya,” sigap, Jisoo menarik Minghao ke sisinya, membawa kepala anak itu bersandar ke bahunya. “Ingatlah bahwa klan ini akan selalu melindungimu.” Lalu, ia melirik tajam pada Seungcheol. “Bahkan bila aku harus mencekik semua yang menyakitimu dalam tidurnya malam ini.”

Seungcheol menyeringai. Kwon memotong, “Sayang. Tenangkan dirimu. Tidak baik berkata buruk, bayinya bisa mendengar.” Minghao diam, memejamkan mata untuk menikmati elusan halus tangan Jisoo pada rambutnya. “Nah, Minghao. Aku mau kau mendengarkan ucapan kakakmu, meski tolong abaikan kalimatnya yang terakhir.” Sang macan sendiri sibuk mengelusi punggung Jisoo, mengetahui bagaimana seriusnya kelincinya itu akan ucapannya barusan. Kemudian, helaan napas yang berat pun terlepas. “Choi, kumohon kendalikan emosimu. Klan serigala adalah aliansi berharga klan kami sejak nenek moyang. Bukan hanya itu, klan Jeon dan klan Wen pun berpikiran sama.”

“Saya pun,” gumaman perlahan Kim mengagetkan Minghao.

“Klan beruang juga nampaknya berpikiran sama,” Kwon menambahkan. “Kami akan menyesal apabila harus mengusirmu dari pertemuan terakhir ini. Kau tentu tahu, kan, konsekuensinya?”

Maksudnya teramat jelas. Klan serigala tengah panik karena kelinci yang mereka kira akan melahirkan banyak generasi penerus malah sama sekali tidak disentuh oleh anak kedua sang tetua. Choi Seungcheol sebagai yang tertua harus menanggung beban untuk mendapatkan kelinci termuda dan memberikan penerus secepatnya. Jika tidak, kaum serigala terancam punah. Mendecih lagi, ia, tetapi kali ini diam seribu bahasa. Kwon telah menyentilnya tepat di urat Achillesnya. Sang macan pun menghela napas lagi.

“Adik ipar,” tanyanya lembut pada Minghao. “Adakah anggota klan kami yang ingin kau kenal lebih baik saat ini?”

So much for sleeping early. I called her briefly at 2 because I already was irresponsible and stayed up, and then I got carried away and here we are. This is my fault, not hers – but wow I’m stupid.

Kapitalist In C ; LeLoPo Mild

Daar drijft nog een teloorgegane kapitalist op de golven in zee hij is morsdood maar drijft daar natuurlijk niet meer mee hij had gehoord dat gouden bergen lagen in het ons omringende water de vruchtbaarste aller appelgaarden voor zijn lange of gelukkige later met deze info keek hij opeens met een set andere ogen naar dat sop sindsdien borrelden er vele grote en wilde ideeën op in zijn kop hij zag grote rivieren en diepe meren als de bron van zijn inkomen het managen van water werd de allerbeste van zijn vele rijke dromen hij keek met name anders dan anders naar de immer woelige zee dit werd op de tekentafel zijn wijk van koophuizen aan zee in spe

In zijn hoofd vormde de zee een vriendelijk klotsend goud reservoir een alsmaar rijkelijk vloeiend offer voor zijn zeer behoeftige altaar het was duidelijk dat de geld zee zijn kant op moest gaan stromen en deze water goud opslag zou hem daar zeker rijkelijk voor belonen hij vroeg gaten aan in alle dijken zodat het water hem kon bereiken de ambtenaren moesten zo'n geval altijd eerst even zo en zo bekijken maar als hun rekening werd gespekt verdwenen alle mogelijke bezwaren het opkomende voorval kan ik namelijk op geen andere wijze verklaren

De man kreeg toestemming om in dijken dikdoende deuren te zetten voor graven van geulen opdat niks zijn stroom het stromen kon beletten linea recta moest het vloeien naar al zijn geld als water opslag percelen wanden er omheen omdat je vanzelfsprekend rijkdom niet gaat delen zo werkt dat immers niet dan kun je net zo goed meteen stamppot eten rijkdom komt over je en dan wordt je er compleet vrijwillig door bezeten vooraf had hij alles op papier staan elke natte druppel in valuta omgezet overal altijd op alle mogelijke gevaren voor stelen en eerlijk delen gelet de zee kwam op, belde aan, de deuren gingen open en zo is het gegaan het land inclusief de manager kwam wederom onder het woelige water te staan

Einde

mirando los últimos destellos del atardecer pensó que disolvería este universo de temores y sin extenderse más creó un campo de tréboles