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The 2024 Women’s Olympic Marathon: GOAT

Your fool is BACK for some enthusiastic screaming about marathons!

Under the cut for folks in other time zones who haven’t woke up yet and want to be surprised and for anyone who wants to scroll on by!

So, listen. Listen. I said to the long-suffering @parrishsrubberplant that if the men’s marathon race was THAT good (and seriously, it was among the greats) the women’s races was going to be—I quote myself—“off the motherfucking chain.”

Holly cats was I right about that one. I could end this post right here with a string of head exploding and fire emojis, but instead I’m gonna write a bit about what I followed.*

(*still too cheap to pay for streaming, so this comes entirely from being glued to newspaper live text updates and the Olympics own race tracker, which gives the 5k splits. I WISH I HAD PAID. I wish I had *been there* in Paris.)

Things about this race that made my brain hurt, a numbered list:

1. Sifan Hassan (Netherlands): You have to be a pretty big nerd about running to remember the last person to medal in the 5k / 10k / marathon triple in the Olympics, so storytime.

Emil Zapotec, won gold in all three events at the 1952 Olympics. His marathon time was 2:23:03, and before you dismiss that, remember that training and shoe tech were different then, and also it was his first marathon. Hassan, as far as I know, is the second to try this triple, and her marathon time was 2:22:55, which is an Olympic record.

*and* she won bronze in the 5k and 10k earlier THIS WEEK. And we talked yesterday about the hilly Paris course, right?

Hassan, I need to add, made history in her last Olympics, Tokyo 2021, for getting Gold in the 5k and 10k, and bronze in the 1500m; she’s the first Olympic athlete to do that, ever, so it’s not like it was impossible to imagine she could medal in her triple this time (for Paris, she was initially also entered in the 1500, and decided not to.) Just, really hard to get your head around.

I’ve been listening to Kara Goucher and Des Linden do an amazing recaps podcast on Olympic track and field this week (go listen to Nobody Asked Us, they’re hilarious), and one of the things they stressed is that, from their own Olympic—both are double Olympians for the USA—and championship racing experience—the training you do for a hilly marathon vs for a track 5k is super, super different. Just to put in perspective the absolutely BATSHIT INSANITY of what Hassan just did by winning the Olympics. And setting an Olympic record. After the all the racing she did this week.

2. The race at 40k Sprint, do not run, to find a video of the finish. Here’s the one from Eurosports. Up until 2k to go, FIVE ATHLETES were in it: Sharon Lokedi (Kenya), Hellen Obiri (Kenya), Amane Beriso Shankule (Ethiopia), Tigst Assefa (Ethiopia), and Hassan.

Again, a comparison to Zapotec: a sportswriter once described his running style as “a man wrestling an octopus on a conveyor belt” and I couldn’t help but think of that when the commentators were desperately assuring us that Obiri is not struggling, she just Runs Like That. Obiri has one of the greatest CVs in women’s distance running history, and honestly, she looks like a woman wrestling an octopus on a conveyor belt. Often the octopus is winning. It’s so fun to watch.

Also, seeing Hassan, lurking at the back of the pack like a goddam shark, as Beriso and Lokedi got dropped. I was there and SEATED. You could almost see her scent blood in the water. It was EPIC.

3. The finish: Hassan and Assefa finished 3 seconds apart (and we had some good track style elbow throwing! The drama! Love to see track and field the contact sport!) Obiri was 15 seconds back from gold. I actually cried a little, like you do when you see something overwhelming beautiful and can’t help it. Lokedi, who is an athlete I love following, was fourth, 19 seconds back.

5. Yuka Suzuki (Japan): can we just scream together for a moment about how impressive Team Japan’s young marathoners were in this Olympics? Suzuki is 24 years old. She had, according to the information I could find about her, never raced in world championship race (not sure what a world university games is but I don’t think that counts). She went from being 13th at 25k to 8th at 30k, to 5th at 35k, to 6th at 40k…and finished 6th. Most of her running, for the last 10k of the race, was alone, with the lead pack in sight but not in actual distance to catch. Can you imagine how hard that it is, mentally? To be so close and yet so far at the end of a hilly marathon that just happens to be the motherfucking Olympics? I can barely get my head around it. Just. Holy cats people. Holy cats. So excited to see where she goes next.

6. Checked and Wrecked, the Honor Roll: It was super frustrating to follow this race because the Olympic tracker wasn’t working properly for past splits: it automatically updates them to show the state of the current race. Which made it very hard to follow changes in the race and spectulate strategy, and this didn’t happen with the men’s tracker, UGH, but anyway. Flowers to Jessica Stentson (Australia), Dakotah Lindwurm (USA) and Melody Julien (France), and also Lornah Chemutai Salpeter (Israel), who all, at various points in the first half, seem to have Went For It. I’m sure there’s plenty of other people who belong on this roll of honour, but that’s just who I noticed. I would rather see an athlete wreck themselves than check themselves, because sports are entertainment.

7. Lastly, because repeat Olympians Are Cool: Fionnula McCormick (Ireland)! Her fifth Olympics! Ridiculously cool.

Guys (gender neutral), women’s distance running is so fucking lit right now. There’s so many great athletes in the sport and that was such an epic, epic marathon.

Once again, a link to the end of the race for everybody in Europe / with vpns, because that was racing that makes me glad to be alive. Off the chain, indeed.

[sylviindia]

How To Pair A Watch With An Outfit For Different Occasions

Most men prefer to limit the use of jewelry. Hence, wristwatches play a vital role in their daily life. It is not to check the time most people prefer wristwatches, but the style. The mere presence of a wristwatch on your wrist can completely transform your overall outlook. For these reasons, the demand for men’s watches is always high on the graph. In the present scenario, where you will find watches with various designs and dials, matching them with your outfit for various occasions is essential. Wristwatches also give a boost to your confidence and enhance your personality. Hence, if you have a passion for wristwatches, you must also know when to wear a particular watch based on the occasion.

Table of Content:

1. Match the watch with your outfit.

1.1. Black Tie/White Tie

1.2. Business Dress

1.3. Sharp Casual

1.4. Casuals

2. Look out for a suitable watch strap that matches your outfit.

3. Leather demands Leather

4. Metal compliments Metal

5. Some Metal bands are perfect for specific colors.

6. If you are still confused about how to match your watch with your outfit

7. Conclusion

8. FAQ

Match the watch with your outfit.

Though there are various watches in the market, you must wear them for something other than special occasions. For these reasons, you must earmark your daily wear watch with watches for special occasions. Therefore, if you are wearing the perfect outfit for a particular occasion, you must concentrate carefully on the type of watch you wear, which must complement your dress. Hence, analog watches are the most suitable types of watches you can wear for special occasions. These watches look classy with their usual hour and minute hand and sophisticated dial.

Following are some tips on the type of watch you must choose with formal wear.

Black Tie/White Tie

So, if you are dressed in a perfect traditional western outfit with a black or white tie, you must keep wearing your accessories accordingly. Hence, a simple, classy watch is advisable, and a black leather band can be the most appropriate with a traditional western outfit.

Business Dress

Though there are various branded watches for men, if you are going for a business meeting, wearing a simple, classic style gold or silver watch with a thin dial is recommended. You must also check that your watch is simple to use. Hence, if you wear a dark-colored suit, you can complement it with a classic dress watch and a leather strap.

Sharp Casual

You can wear any watch except the classic dress if you go to a casual workplace or an informal meeting with friends. Therefore, an oversized watch faces more complications and goes well with your denim, sports coats, leather shoes, and similar casual wear. There is various digital watch for men that you can use to style up with your casual outfit.

Casuals

Since classic traditional watches are not for everyday wear, you must have some watches for daily use. Hence, you can choose the best watch for men under 1500 to complement your casual clothes. These watches are apt when you engage in physical activities like sports or workouts. Since the watches are solid and durable, you can use them for everyday use.

Look out for a suitable watch strap that matches your outfit.

Once you have selected your outfit for a particular occasion and a matching wristwatch, you must focus on the leather strap. Usually, a black leather strap is perfect for a formal occasion. However, you can also go for other leather bands but ensure that the band is thick enough. A simple, sleek leather band will complement your outfit better than metal bands. However, you can only use a gold or silver metal band if the occasion demands it. Hence, while choosing a wristwatch for a particular occasion, you must always check whether the situation is apt.

Leather demands Leather

The type of watch you wear must have some similarities with your shoes. So, if you are wearing black shoes, you should wear a wristwatch with a black band. The first thing people try to match is the belt you wear, which must be the same color as your shoe. Hence, if you compliment the band of your watch with the shoe and the belt, the overall outcome will be fantabulous. You will gain a lot of admirers in public.

Metal compliments Metal

Metal bands have a different style of their own. Usually, metal bands must complement the accessories you are wearing. The shoe buckle or your belt buckle must complement the metal band you are wearing along with your wristwatch. There are various types of metal bands that you can wear to match your clothes along with other accessories. Gold, silver, platinum, and similar are the most popular metal bands. You can get various types of watches under 2000 with metal bands that will be perfect with some of your outfits.

Some Metal bands are perfect for specific colors.

The color of your shoes or clothes demands the type of watch you should wear. Some metal bands go perfectly with brown or black shoes, and some colors match perfectly with the metal straps. Hence, wearing a silver watch goes best with black, grey, or blue shades of shoes or clothes. Similarly, gold watches are perfect with brown, tan, or other earth-colored tones.

If you are still confused about how to match your watch with your outfit

It is expected that you may still need clarification about how to match your watch with your outfit. Therefore, the first thing you must do is find out the type of occasion. Therefore, based on the occasion, you select your outfit. Your shoe and belt are also ready. Now, once you wear the outfit, you need to wear a particular watch that can complement your outfit. Therefore, if you need clarification, you must check the color of the band of your wristwatch. It must complement the shoes you wear along with the buckled belt. It does not matter if the band is of a different color. However, you must ensure that the color tone of your band is more or less similar. There are some best watch brands for men that you can choose according to your needs and requirements. However, remember that if you purchase a wristwatch for a special occasion, keep it simple. It must not have endless complications, just like the present-day trending watches.

Conclusion

There has been a great demand for men’s watches recently. It is because people do not wear a wristwatch to check out the time; you can get the facility on your mobile phone. People wear wristwatches to look classy. It is one of the accessories that purely belongs to the male categories, and it boosts their confidence and enhances their style. There are also various luxury watches for men that you would certainly like to add to in collections.

FAQ

1. What are Luminous Watches for Men?

Ans: Luminous watches are those that glow in the dark and are perfect when there is no light around. Hence, with the help of a luminous watch, you can quickly check the time. Luminous watches can be both digital as well as analog.

2. What is Dress Watches?

Ans: A dress watch is simple yet classy. There are no complications in the watch as it has a simple dial. You can wear the watch with a black leather band. Usually, a dress watch goes well with a formal outfit.

3. Are analog watches costly?

Ans: Analog watches are costlier than digital watches. It has a classy look, especially when you wear it with a black leather band or a golden or silver metal band. However, the type of band that you are wearing must complement your outfit.

4. What are Heirloom watches?

Ans: Heirloom watches belong to a legacy. It is a culture among many to wear an heirloom watch as it brings luck and prosperity. People wear the watch as a remembrance of their age-old culture.

5. What is the latest trend in wristwatches?

Ans: The latest trend among wristwatches is the smartwatch. It has the functions of a mobile phone. So apart from calling you can also listen to music.

[akinzakhan]

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[hi-whatsup-blog]

Those who still had the courage were trying to feel like humans.

Paul Sobol

Paul Sobol is a warrior. He’s a fighter. And for me personally, he’s a legend. This man survived Auschwitz as a Jew, lost his parents and his little brother to the Nazis and married the love of his life. He started a company as agent of publicity and expanded from Belgium to the Red Sea.

This is me trying to channel the emotions when I visited Auschwitz after Paul told me and my friends his story.

(It’s a lot to read, but it is so worth it.)

He has 91 years currently and was born in 1926 into an unorthodox but jewish family.

“We didn’t go to the synagoge, nor did we practice our religion. All we knew is that we had a jewish background and were Jews.”

I was there when he told us his story. He spoke in french but I’ll just translate it.

He lived in France for the first 2 years of his life, then went to Brussel with his family and lived there until he was deported. When the Germans invaded Belgium, him and his family changed their name. He lived under the name of Robert Sax and went to school normally. He was young and did a lot of sports. He was goodlooking and muscular and he had a lot of friends. But in the group of his closest friends was this girl called Nelly Vandepaer and after a few months they fell for each other and got into a relationship. He never told her who he really was and never brought her home with him.

“You know, I loved this girl, but I never brought her home in those two years, for security reasons or because it was so small and ugly, I don’t know.”

When he was arrested by the Gestapo the 13th June 1944 after someone denounced him to them, he couldn’t say goodbye to her. In the first train he was in, he worte a little note saying that he will be back and that she should not worry. He put it through the wooded planks and hoped she would get it. One day, he got a little box with only a picture of her inside it. She got his letter. This was before he went to Auschwitz. He had this picture with him until he was back home.

He arrived in Auschwitz Birkenau with the 26th convoy, the last one to ever arrive at the camp. Anne Frank was in the 25th. He was selected for working and had to walk three kilometers to Auschwitz 1.

“When we arrived, everything went so fast. Imagine yourself, because I was in your age, at 17 being in a train with hundred other people, then when the door opens only seeing bright light in darkest night, not knowing where you are and not understanding anything. Then having to go in seperate rows. I went left with my father and my 14 year old brother, while my mother and my 16 year old sister went right. Then there was a selection. I didn’t understand what they were doing.”

“The selection had one goal. Death. Either by Gaz or by Work.”

“After the selection we had to take off all our clothes and got checked by a doctor, then they cut off all our hair and got a number tatooed on the left arm. Mine was B3635. I didn’t understand why I got a number when they had just written down my name. And all this while holding the picture of Nelly in my right fist.”

He lived in block 41 in Auschwitz 1 and worked really hard with the smallest portions to eat.

In the morning: 0.5 Liters of tea

Lunch: 1 Liter of watery soup

Dinner: 300 grams of Bread and a little piece of margarine

Calories count: 1500-1700 per day. He lost all his muscles and his body fat.

One day, the prisoners were asked to register themselves if they had had a job that could be helpful to the Nazis. Paul registered himself as carpenter, hoping that it wouldn’t be noticed that he had absolutely no skill in carpentry.

“To survive, you had to take risks. I took the risk and said that I was a carpenter. I thought I could do this, in elementary school we worked a little bit with wood. Little did I know that carpentry is so much different. But I took the risk and it was too late to back out.”

He asked the other carpenter working in the “Sonderkommando” (A group of prisoners working for the germans, for example for their personal needs or burning the gazed jews and corpses) in broken german about his story. They were not allowed to talk and Paul learned that the hard way through a stick. Now obviously Paul had to improvise because he could not do those little boxes that asked for professional carpentry-knowledge.

“I couldn’t make these boxes. But I could paint. So I took another risk. I asked the other carpenter, the real one, to get me some paint and I started painting little things on the boxes, strawberries for example. The real carpenter thought I was sabotaging his work so he went to the capo and told him what I was doing whom came straight to me and already had his stick risen to break my skull. He stopped when he saw what I had drawn on the box. He then put his hand on my shoulder and said “Weitermachen.” [Keep going.] You see, taking a second risk could have cost me my life. But it saved it. The Nazis made good money out of decorated boxes, so I went from Block 41 to Block 7 and I got a little bit more and better food.”

The 18th January 1945 he survived the death march from Auschwitz to Gross-Rosen. The Nazis were forced to leave the camp after the offensive of the Soviets. The SS-officers had the strict order to let no living witness behind, so they shot everyone to weak to walk in the snow or that only dared to stop. When they arrived in Gross-Rosen, he worked to days in an annexed camp only to then travel in a train to Dachau.

“Now this train trip took 3 days and we had no idea where we were going and for how long we would be going. I won’t tell you what happens on this trip bacause it was too terrible. 110 persons entered alive and 25 left alive.”

Actually, I know what happened, because I saw a documentary of two Jews explaining what happened in those three days. People were panicking or going mad because of the coldness, the lack of water and food, the missing space and the duration.They were beating and killing each other. It was a massacre.

When they arrived in Dachau, he stayed ther only few days. After a bombardement he was able to escape and to be refuged with french warprisoners. After their liberation he was able to enter Belgium again and get home. 8 days after him his siter came home. He never saw his parents or little brother again. He went to see Nelly who was more then happy to see him but also surprised. Until that day, he never let go of the photo of her.

1947 he went back to Auschwitz for the first time.Same year he also married Nelly.

Sadly, Nelly died in 2012, but Paul knows she is still with him everywhere he goes, just like she was when he was in Auschwitz.

Okay I understand this was long. But it wasn’t everything. This 91-old man told us his life from the beginning until the day he stood in front of us for 2 hours without sitting down for a minute. This man build up a life out of scratch, hope and love. Do you know the fast-food chain Quick? It’s particularly known in France, Belgium and Luxembourg, but who do you think promoted it with his own publicity company? Excactly.

Now after hearing the story of this man we visited Auschwitz 1. I was prepared for nearly everything  we weould be seeing. The blocks and the rooms to small for the number of people that slept there. The pictures of cruel people, pictures of numerous kids and women and men that were murdered. I was prepared for the room full of shoes, the room full of kids shoes, the room full of human’s hair, the room full of cutlery and the container with brushes. I even was prepared for the list of women gazed after the selection of the 21th August 1943.

I was prepared for the views from the window, that only showed the fence that was under electricity.

(It looks a little crooked because of the glass of the window.)

I was prepared for the death wall, where the Nazis shot dead numerous of warprisoners that were mostly from polnish nationality, hundreds a day. No jews died here, but it is used as a general memorial site for all the deaths of Auschwitz.

I was prepared for the citations that were written on black metal and that were hangin around everything.

On these black plates were written general informations as well, but they contained a lot of citations.

Now comes the part I was not prepared for. You know, I thought the Nazis blew up all the crematories and gazchambers. The one in Auschwitz 1 wasn’t blown up. In one of the blocks were the cans that contained the pills made out of Zyklon B. Heck, they even had some pills there.

And then came the moment we entered this gazchamber. I saw it from outside and I thought ‘Oh it’s okay that we can’t enter because it’s destroyed, I don’t think I would be ready.’ Isn’t that ironic. We entered. And the first thing I noticed was the scratched on the wall.

I took more pictures, but I started shaking and the pictures aren’t really perfect.

We walked to the ovens and then went out of the crematory. I thought to myself, still shaking ‘This is a way so many people havn’t made.’. I looked at a boy that was with us. He was devastated. We didn’t smile one minute the whole length of being on the campus. Once we were in the bus we started to talk about what we just saw. We were all devastated.

I started scratching my wrist out of pure stress. It was stressing me out that I made the way out of a crematory and so many people didn’t. It was so hard. I just couldn’t cope with this reality. I wasn’t the only one who had had this thought.

I slept bad that night. I had a really bad and big wound on my wrist that was swollen and red and it hurt so so much when I moved my hand. I didn’t care. You see, my mind is so done with everything that I sometimes hurt myself to cope with reality. It’s kinda depressing and I’m not too proud of that but I still do it.

I would’ve cried mylsef that night if there hadn’t been 4 other people in the room with me. So I just buried my nails in my wrist and the pain made the tears go away.

The next day we went to Auschwitz Birkenau. The weather was so bad that the camp was closed, but you could stlll visit the old and the new “Judenrampe”, where the selections were made. The new one only existed in the years from 1944 on. The old one is a little bit far away from the camp, but there are 2 deportationwaggons. We had a commemoration ceremony where everybody put a rose on the waggon.

When we went to the new one, in Auschwitz Birkenau and I took a picture from the trainrail to the entry. From inside. I was standing on the rail, next to the Judenrampe.

Don’t let the good weather trouble your mind, 2 minutes later it started pouring terribly again. The light way left next to the rails is where this picture was taken on.

I was standing right there. On the right trail.

I slept better that night. Still not perfect, but at least I didn’t feel the urge to cry.

It was a different story why I had to cry the next night, but that is another story.

To finish this, I will add a picture of the numbers of murdered Jews from everywhere.

I really want you to visit the camps. Please. I know, so many people have dark humour and heck, me too. But after the visits, I couldn’t laugh about jewish or holocaust memes or jokes. Because I was there. I saw it.

May all the murdered Jews, civilians, politicians, soldiers, kids, babys, women and men rest in peace and be commemorated forever. May all these crimes not be repeated.

- L.

[piefanart]

The Tales of a Teenage Time Traveler: Chapter Eight

things are finally starting to heat up! and the chapters are getting longer. this one is about 1500 words. again, at this point its a star wars fanficiton. enjoy!

(Search #ttt on my blog for the earlier chapters!)

Chapter Eight

The clothes fit almost perfectly, and were much better suited to the intense heat then my normal clothes. The shirt was very long on me, so I tucked it into my skirt. The bright red cape came to my waist, blocking the twin suns' rays from my back. Now I just needed a better pair of shoes; my black walmart sneakers were quickly getting ruined in the sandy terrain. I saw a cobbler's booth on my way to the restaurant, I would probably check it out later. But now I needed to find Hannah. I was getting very anxious. I never did do well in new situations, my throat clenches up and I become distant. Which is fine if you are doing something like asking for no pickles on your hamburger, but not exactly optimal on a hostile alien planet.

I left the restroom with my old clothes bundled under my arm. I pulled the comlink off of my jeans and flipped it on.

“Hannah?” I asked, unsure how loudly I needed to speak for her to hear me, and nervous about using it in public. After all, it might be considered rude to talk on the comlink while walking down the street.

There was a brief moment of static before Hannah picked up.

“Yeah, what is it? You in trouble or something?” Hannah asked. Her words were slurred slightly, but it might have just been the connection.

“No, I just wanted to meet up with you. I got some new clothes!” I told her. Hannah grunted.

“I'm at the cantina down the road from the ship. Just basically go the opposite way that you did earlier, and you'll find me just fine. Seeya,”   Hannah said. The channel was staticy again, then went silent. She must have switched hers off.

“Yeah, see ya,” I repeated to nobody. I glanced around to see if I was attracting attention, but nobody was looking at me. I breathed a sigh of relief and began walking towards the ship. At the very least, the roads were straight. I quickly made it back to the ship. I could tell; it was smaller then the rest of the vaporators.

“So if she said the opposite way, then that's this way,” I murmured to myself. I followed the “directions” that Hannah had given me, walking slowly down the road searching for anything that looked like a cantina. Which is significantly harder then it sounds, since all of the buildings look the same. A loud crash caught my attention and I looked up to see a large, heavily muscled man get thrown out of a window. Shattered glass flew everywhere. Bystanders took cover as another man jumped out the window hole after him.

“Gimme what you owe me!” the second man demanded. The first man pulled out a blaster and someone screamed.  “I don't owe you nothin!” he yelled. He tried to stand up, but he fell over in a drunken stupor. The second main tore off his coat, taking a thick wallet out. He threw the coat back at the man and ran off. The people stared at the man on the ground for a moment, before a large alien walked out from inside the building and drug the passed out human inside, most likely to force him to work off the cost of the window. I leaned over to a middle-aged woman who was unfazed by the whole occurrence.

“Who are they?” I asked. She shrugged.

“Who knows. Just some smugglers who got in a fight over royalties, probably. There's always fights going on there, everyone orders more liquor then they can hold and decides to try to make business deals afterwards. My ex-husband wasted his life away in that cantina.” There was acid in her tone, but I got the information I needed. I jogged to the cantina and pushed the door open, steeping inside. Obviously there wasn't any rule about minors, because the bartender didn't seem bothered by my presence. I scanned the tables until I saw Hannah relaxing in a corner booth across from the newly broken window. She was nursing a tall glass of something neon green. I walked over to her and sat down across the table.

“Nice cape,” she said, taking another sip of the drink. There were five or six empty glasses littering the table, all sporting the remains of the same drink.

“What's that?” I asked. Hannah tilted the glass and peered into it.

“Deser' bloom, mix'd wit a high-ly spiked gree' galaxy,” she said. Her words were very slurred.

“You're drunk.” I stated. Hannah shrugged. “Helps wit th' regrets. Want un?”

I shook my head 'no'. Hannah shrugged again. “Suit yersef. Hey, I gotcha somethin',” she said. She handed me a sturdy leather bag.

“Figur'd ya would need to put yer stuff somewheres.”

I accepted the bag.

“You come here often, don't you?” I asked. Hannah stared at the ceiling. “Used to.”

I nodded. “Right.”

We sat in silence for a few minutes. I watched the other cantina patrons. The man who passed out earlier was nowhere to be seen.

“What were they fighting about?” I asked. Hannah glanced at me.

“Who?”

“Those two men, who broke the window earlier,” I clarified. Hannah leaned back in her seat.

“That first guy, th' one who shot outta th' win-dow, he borrow'd some cash fr'm th' other guy. But he forgotta bout it and now the guy's gotta git back his cash somehow, right? So he does it th' only way he know.”

“Oh,” I replied. Hannah looked at me.

“World ain't all sunshine an' flowers, ya know.”

I turned to her. “Of course I know that! Hannah, of all people, you should know best that I understand the way the world works. I've gone through things other people pray never happen to them!”

Hannah just shrugged and downed the rest of her drink.

“Ain't that th' truth.” Her body slumped as she became drowsy.

A man in an old military uniform strolled into the cantina. I would say early republic by looking at it, but it was torn to shreds in places and faded thoroughly. He handed the bartender a slip of paper. The bartender held it up, studied it, then handed it back to the man while shaking his head. I leaned forward, studying the situation while Hannah fell asleep. The man in the uniform slid a tattered bill to the bartender. The bartender hesitated, then grabbed it and pointed in Hannah and my direction. The man smiled and walked over to us.

“Well, well, well, what have we here? Looks like a drunken rat to me,” he said, smirking. He pulled out a blaster and levelled the barrel at Hannah. I kicked her under the table.

“Huh? Wha-? oh. It's you,” she said drunkenly. “Whadda want?”

The man sat down, keeping the blaster level.

“You know perfectly well what I am after. But since you have drunk yourself into a complete stupor, I will clarify. The spice, specifically the shipment you were supposed to have at my ship last week.”

Hannah's eyes widened. “Oh, uh, well you see, I uh...” she trailed off. She glanced nervously at the blaster. At first I didn't understand why, since she couldn't die, but then I realized that if she got shot in public and it didn't do anything to her she would be in as much trouble as if she got shot and died.

“You don't have it, do you Solo?” The man asked. Hannah swallowed heavily.

Solo? Hannah went by Solo? Oh, of course. HANnah Solo. She really wasn't too good with names, was she?

“It was stolen,” Hannah announced. She glared at the man.

“Stolen? By whom, you?” the man asked, mockery in his voice. “Goodbye, Solo.”

I saw his blaster go off, the bright bolt of energy exiting the muzzle. It seemed to move in slow motion, as I lept and shoved Hannah out of the way onto the floor. As soon as she was safe, I jumped up and attacked the man. I reached out to grab his blaster and it lept into my hand. I stared at it, startled. But this was no time for dawdling. I quickly turned the weapon around and pointed it at the man.

“Consider your life payment of her debt,” I growled. The man's eyes went huge. “You're one of the Jedi, aren't you,” he breathed. I narrowed my eyes to hide the fact that I wasn't making eye contact.

“Get out of here,” I growled. The man paused, then turned and ran. I threw the blaster to the floor and turned to Hannah. She was sitting up, rubbing her head. “Wha was tha' fer?” She demanded, clearly irritated.

“I just saved your life. You're welcome.”

[a-zhomework]

LPG Assignment Channel management

LPG Assignment Channel management

Latest assignment solution 2018

Assignment Section A 4 Questions of 5 marks each. Answer 3 out of 4 questions 1. What are different sources or conflicts in Channel management? What strategies should a Marketing manager follow to reduce conflicts and resolve them? 2. What are the basic skills required in sales Management? What are the differences between selling skills required in B2B and B2C situations? 3. How can a small manufacturer build an attractive channel position? Which part of channel offering should be more focused by the small manufacturer? 4. What is pull strategy and what is Push strategy? Which strategy would you prefer? Can you recommend any combination of the Pull and push strategy. What promotional tools are used when pull and push are used by the manufacturer? Assignment Section B 2 questions of 15marks each. Answer 1 out of 2. 1. What is distribution and why should distribution be used? What advantages are available if distribution is used? What utilities are provided by distribution? Bring out the differences between physical distribution and channels of distribution? 2. What is Promotion and what is its role and importance in Channel management? Draw the communication cycle and describe it? What are the different methods of promotion and explain in detail advantages and disadvantages of any two types of promotion? Assignment Section C Descriptive Type Question - Case Study - 30 marks. Footwear (India) Ltd - Reviewing Sales and Distribution Management for Performance Improvement "Your primary task is to stop the downward movement of the company's market share in the footwear market in India," said Michael S Williams, chief executive officer, Footwear (India) Ltd. to Rakesh Tandon, newly appointed national sales manager. "Our market share was 60 per cent in early 1990s and it has come down to 40 per cent in the year 2005-06. You review our distribution channel structure, sales force management, and any other marketing area and come up with your suggestions on how to reverse the market share movement from going down to moving up," Williams added further details to clarify his viewpoint to Tandon. Tandon thought, after meeting his GEO, that he should first try to understand the existing distribution channel system and also how the sales force was managed. Only after that he would consider other alternatives and decide the best alternative(s) to achieve the objective of improving the company's market share. THE COMPANY AND ITS COMPETITORS Footwear (India) Ltd. was a leader in footwear industry in India with five factories and two tanneries located in eastern, northern, and southern parts of India: The unorganized-small-scale footwear makers had a market share of 20 per cent. The foreign brands like Nike, Reebok, and Adidas had captured a market share of 30 per cent in a short span of time. The balance 50 per cent market share was shared between the three players in the organised sector - Footwear India (40 per cent), Liberty (6 per cent), and Paragon (4 per cent). The company sold footwear products of different designs and sizes of shoes, chappals, sandals, sports shoes, sports sandals, and hawai chappals. In addition, the retail stores sold accessories like socks, shoe-polish, leather belt, wallet, school-bag, t-shirts, and trousers. Although accessories contributed only about 8 to 10 per cent of the total sales, the profit margins were high at about 30 per cent. To give customers more choices and to improve its top line, the company started selling footwear of other brands like Nike, Lotto, Reebok, and Lee Cooper. This strategy was implemented from the year 2003-04. DISTRIBUTION CHANNEL SYSTEMS The objective of the distribution channel was to make the company products available to consumers in every town across India. For achieving this objective, the company had adopted a strategy of vertical marketing system (VMS). The company had two types of VMS: corporate vertical marketing system with both production and distribution under the company's ownership, and contractual vertical marketing system by appointing retailers as the company's franchisees. The company called its VMS, consisting of company owned retail stores and franchise retailers, as distribution network 'A', as shown in exhibit 1. Distribution Network A It consisted of 1500 retail outlets, which included the company-owned retail stores and franchise stores. The franchise stores, which were 150 and mainly located in rural markets, had contractual agreements with the company to sell only the company's products. The franchisees were local entrepreneurs, who had familiarity with local communities and conditions. They invested their capital to set up stores as per the requirements of the company. These franchisees paid five per cent of sales as royalty for using the company's brand, and the proven business format. The franchisees also received the services and support from the company (franchisor) for site selection, planning, training salespeople and promotion. Company-owned Retail Stores These stores were classified into four types of retail stores: (a) main stores, (b) commercial stores, (c) family stores, and (d) discount stores. Main Stares These were air-conditioned, modern and full-service stores located in major metro cities in posh areas. The stores carried medium to high priced products for men, women and children. The collection included fashionable products with local and international brands to meet the needs of upper-class consumers. Mobile display units were used for brand promotion. Commercial Stores These were similar to main stores, except that they were located in commercial locations in metro and semi-metro cities. Family Stores These non-air-conditioned retail stores were located in metro and semi-metro cities in high traffic locations. These stores satisfied the basic footwear needs of middle income families with local brands and unbranded footwear products from small manufactures, priced at medium to high levels. Discount Stores These stores were located in thickly populated areas, satisfying the footwear needs of low and-middle income segments. This footwear's had basic and discounted prices, including old and sub-standard quality stocks. Distribution Network B This network contributed 40 per cent of the company's total sales, and balance 60 per cent came from distribution network A. Network B was built around the wholesalers and independent retailers (called as dealers). The wholesalers were independent traders, who purchased merchandise from the company's wholesale depots to resell to independent retailers (or dealers), who were located in rural areas, and markets of major cities and towns. These dealers sold footwear products of all brands, as required by customers. Organization Structure and Salespeople at Retail Stores Except for large retail stores, other stores were owned by the company. For a Large retail store, an additional position of floor manager, reporting to the store's manager, was provided. The stores managers reported to the regional managers located at the company's regional sales offices, situated at the four retail distribution centers. Stores Salespeople The company recruited salespeople for their retail stores with minimum qualification of secondary school leaving certificates (SSLC). These sales people were initially recruited as temporary staff for about 6 to 12 months after which they were asked to take product and selling skills tests and the personal interview by the regional manager and the store's manager. Only when the temporary salesperson performed well in the tests and the personal interview, he was given the permanent position of a salesperson and was paid a salary, in the scale of Rs. 3000-150-10,000-300-15,000. In addition, a commission at the rate of 2.25 per cent of sales of the retail store was paid equally to all the permanent salespeople and shop assistants. The company management tried to link commission payment to the individual salesperson's performance against the sales quotas, but the strong union, controlled by Communist Party Marxist (CPM), did not allow the management to implement the decision. The new salespeople were given on-the-job training for 30 days by the senior salespersons. The regional manager conducted the training programmes for salespeople for three days, twice a year, at the regional or state level. Rakesh Tandon also looked at the annual financial results of the company, which is briefly shown in exhibit 3. He was not surprised that the company was making losses for the past two years. Rakesh wondered whether he should focus his analysis and suggestions on the improvements in top-line, bottom-line, or both.. What are the things and actions that Rakesh Tendon has to do to bring this company back from the red to the green? Read the full article

[o2toes]

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[l-in-c-future]

Worldview and the discourse of history 5c: the culture of angst and despair

Moisi’s book described the emotion driving the violence of the Arabic Islam world was humiliation. It is more precise to say, the emotions are anger and despair, since the day of world before Islam was born, to the pains of their struggling jihadists to gain acceptance and advancement from Arabia peninsula to other continents, the glory of their various empires and the defeats and then back to square one in some parts of the world being continuously seen as terrorists or suspicious or highly plausible terrorists. A 1500 years of up and down.

Too much have been written and documented about the glory of the various Islamic empires as well as the defeats and vanishing of these empires. Too much and perhaps equally much bias views have been covered on the violence side (that I wouldn’t recite the whole chapter of Moisi’s book here). But let’s go back to the historical background of the mother’s womb, how Islam was born and spread as this set the footage for the rest of the growing path of the baby. I told the story from the baby’s perspective in order to show the emotions of the life cycle through first hand person’s lens and in the baby’s shoes.

Arabia before Islam

In writing the history of Islam, it is customary to begin with a survey of the political, economic, social and religious conditions of Arabia on the eve of the Proclamation by Muhammad.  In writing the history of Islam, it is customary to begin with a survey of the political, economic, social and religious conditions of Arabia on the eve of the Proclamation by Muhammad.    It is the second convention of the historians (the first being to give a geographical description of the region). I shall also abide by this convention, and will review briefly, the general conditions in Arabia in the late sixth and early seventh century A.D.

Political condition in Arabia

The most remarkable feature of the political life of Arabia before Islam was the total absence of political organization in any form. With the exception of Yemen in the south-west, no part of the Arabian peninsula had any government at any time, and the Arabs never acknowledged any authority other than the authority of the chiefs of their tribes. The authority of the tribal chiefs, however, rested, in most cases, on their character and personality, and was moral rather than political.

The modern student of history finds it incredible that the Arabs lived, generation after generation, century after century, without a government of any kind. Since there was no government, there was no law and no order.

The only law of the land was lawlessness. In the event a crime was committed, the injured party took law in its own hands, and tried to administer “justice” to the offender. This system led very frequently to acts of horrendous cruelty.

If the Arab ever exercised any modicum of restraint, it was not because of any susceptibility he had to questions of right or wrong but because of the fear of provoking reprisals and vendetta. Vendetta consumed whole generations of Arabs.

Since there were no such things as police, courts or judges, the only protection a man could find from his enemies, was in his own tribe. The tribe had an obligation to protect its members even if they had committed crimes. Tribalism or ‘asabiyya (the clan spirit) took precedence over ethics. A tribe that failed to protect its members from their enemies, exposed itself to ridicule, obloquy and contempt. Ethics, of course, did not enter the picture anywhere.

Since Arabia did not have a government, and since the Arabs were anarchists by instinct, they were locked up in ceaseless warfare. War was a permanent institution of the Arabian society. The desert could support only a limited number of people, and the state of inter-tribal war maintained a rigid control over the growth of population. But the Arabs themselves did not see war in this light.

To them, war was a pastime or rather a dangerous sport, or a species of tribal drama, waged by professionals, according to old and gallant codes, while the “audience” cheered. Eternal peace held no appeal for them, and war provided an escape from drudgery and from the monotony of life in the desert.

They, therefore, courted the excitement of the clash of arms. War gave them an opportunity to display their skills at archery, fencing and horsemanship, and also, in war, they could distinguish themselves by their heroism and at the same time win glory and honor for their tribes. In many cases, the Arabs fought for the sake of fighting, whether or not there was a cause belli.

It is important to grasp the fact that on the eve of the birth of Islam there was no government at any level in Arabia, and this fact may even have affected the rise of Islam itself. (G. E. Grunebaum Classical Islam – A History 600-1258 – 1970)

Social conditions

Arabia was a male-dominated society. Women had no status of any kind other than as sex objects.The number of women a man could marry was not fixed. When a man died, his son “inherited” all his wives except his own mother.

A savage custom of the Arabs was to bury their female infants alive. Even if an Arab did not wish to bury his daughter alive, he still had to uphold this “honorable” tradition, being unable to resist social pressures.

Drunkenness was a common vice of the Arabs. With drunkenness went their gambling. They were compulsive drinkers and compulsive gamblers. The relations of the sexes were extremely loose. Many women sold sex to make their living since there was little else they could do. These women flew flags on their houses, and were called “ladies of the flags” (dhat-er-rayyat).

The primitive political and social situation of the Pre-Islamic world was quite similar to the biblical narrative of Canaan during the Abraham and other patriarchs’ era (in fact, they lived in pretty much of the same world) all through their wandering in the desert of Sinai and Canaan. Torah was very prescriptive governing every aspect of the Jews’ lives prepared them to transform from a lawlessness nomadic tribe to a pre-nation status, similar to Quran in preparing and cohering numerous Arabic tribes to transit into pre-nation status.     

State of religion in Pre-Islamic Arabia

The Arabs were the devotees of a variety of “religions” which can be classified into the following categories.

1. Idol-worshippers or polytheists.

2.  Atheists

3.  Zindiqs (stars worshipers)

4.  Jews-Judaism

5.  Christians

6.  Monotheists-those who followed the Prophet Mohammad’s new religion of Islam.

As two other monotheists religions had existed in Arabia under Byzantine, the advancement of Islam politically, religiously and culturally had no choice but cut into the heart of the Christendom. 

Economic conditions of Mecca

Mecca's existence depended primarily on its location near the most important trade route in western Arabia which linked the surplus-producing region of Yemen with Syria. The route branched near Ayla in the north to proceed to Gaza on the Mediterranean and also to Egypt. Another route branched near Mecca to proceed in a northeasterly direction toward al-Ubulla, Hira, and eventually Sasanid Persia. The commercially advantageous location of Mecca was enhanced further by the Zamzam waterwell which made Mecca a convenient stop in the trade of antiquity.

Mecca in its early history had no political power to speak of, and it was under the control of the Himyarites in Yemen who endeavored to spread their hegemony over the surplus-producing regions in Arabia such as Najd, Bahrain, and Oman.

Meccan merchants were constantly faced with the possibility of financial disaster. Indeed, the Meccans had developed i'tifad (ritual suicide) as a response to this situation. When a merchant became bankrupt he committed i'tifad by separating himself and his family from the rest of the clan and starving to death rather than becoming a liability to relatives. Individual commercial ventures at a time of insecurity and poor business led many merchants to disaster and to the disruption of developing merchant capital.

As Mecca's relations with the outside world grew more complex, new and relevant institutions began to appear in order to further the interests of Meccan merchants. In addition to the haram and the ilaf, the concept of hilf, alliance, was applied to suit Meccan purposes. The Quraish (the tribe of the Prophet Mohammad)  began to form alliances with distant tribes, allowing Meccan caravans to traverse new areas and to visit new markets. Those alliances, as with the Banu Tamim in eastern Arabia and with the Kinda in central Arabia, were often cemented with marriage ties (Mohammad married a wealthy widow while he was trusted to look after her businesses). These alliances provided Meccan merchants with security in areas where the Tlaf did not apply. Tribes that were closer to Mecca could be integrated by the concept of jiwar, neighborly protection.  

Mecca's merchant dynamic began to influence the social structure as a more complex set of social relations based on the ownership of merchant capital began to emerge. These relations began to challenge the existing ones based on tribal and clan affiliation. The wealthy merchants, who were often the sayyids of their respective clans, gradually formed a group with common interests as owners of capital, eventually forming the top strata of society. Below them in social status were the clan members who were free men and could engage in various skills and professions. Clan members provided the initial infrastructure for the development of merchant capital and the power of their respective clans, especially that of the clan leader. The mawlfT (sing. mawla), loosely translated as clients, were lower in status and they could be clients of clan leaders or clan members.

Social differentiation based on the ownership of capital increased as Mecca's commercial dynamic grew and as capital was concentrated among wealthy merchants. This differentiation was reinforced by the movement of tribesmen into Mecca who were already polarized into rich and poor. The wealthy were attracted to Mecca because they could invest their surplus wealth-usually livestock (camels)-in Mecca's caravans. They were often merchants themselves or clan leaders seeking their equals for alliance. The poor moved to Mecca because they were often indebted to Meccan merchants. They were also forced to leave their tribe lest they become a liability on its collective wealth." In addition to alienating themselves from the tribe, the poor moved to an environment that was already differentiated according to ownership of capital. This inward movement exacerbated the eroding tribal and clan basis of social relations and resulted in many problems for Meccan merchants, such as the decline of their influence on clan members and how to provide an adequate food supply for a growing dependent population.  

Social and economic differentiation in Mecca, conditioned by the development of merchant capital, challenged the Meccans on several levels. On one level, because of continued settlement, solidification of a class structure disrupted clan based social relations. On another level, because of new alliances or the introduction of a dependant population, members of the merchant class found themselves competing for power since the balance of power was constantly changing. In essence, then, the wider concentration of merchant capital in Mecca resulted in the concentration of capital and power within Mecca's leadership which caused the emergence of a single powerful voice rather than the collective leadership of clan heads.

As capital has to be concentrated before it can effectively expand, the Meccans used their nascent power to facilitate the expansion of their surplus wealth which simultaneously strengthened their capital and their political power.

Arabia before the birth of Muhammad had been a culturally isolated and economically underdeveloped region. The Arabian peninsula is one-third the size of the continental United States. Most of the land is arid and desert; rainfall is scarce, vegetation scant, and very little of the land is suitable for agriculture. In the north of the region, several Arabic kingdoms were able to establish contacts with the Byzantine and the Persian Sassanian empires as early as the fifth century A.D. To the south, small Arabic kingdoms, including Saba (Sheba), were ancient centers of Arabic civilization. But in the interior, dotted only with occasional oases, the nomadic life was the only successful existence.

The change in social and economic dynamics provided a favourable set stage for Mohammad to gain influence when he was exiled. Growing up as part of the merchant caravan teams and married to a influence wealthy widow (she was considerably older than him by 15 years at least), Mohammad had good foundation to consolidate his influence when he gradually gained respect and reputation as mediators and judges of disputes. Naturally, it was not hard for Mohammad to gain many followers when his emerging religion visioned a future unified pan Arabia kingdom headed by a single man who served as the social-political-religious leader as written by Stearns (1992):

The great power of Muhammad's teachings enabled the creative but fragmented Arab tribes to unify and expand across three continents in an astoundingly brief period.

The new conquests of Islam were governed with remarkable efficiency and flexibility. The centralization of authority typical of military organization aided in the incorporation of new peoples. Unbelievers in the conquered territories became increasingly interested in the new religion and accepted Islam in great numbers. In addition to the obvious power of the religious message of Islam, the imposition of a personal tax on all non-Muslims encouraged many to become converts. Contrary to exaggerated accounts in western Europe of the forceful imposition of Islam upon conquered peoples, Jews and Christians outside of Arabia enjoyed toleration because they worshiped the same God as the Muslims; many non-Muslims participated in the Islamic state and prospered financially and socially.

The demise began from the peak

During the early Abbasid period Islam reached the high point of its geographical expansion and cultural achievements, extending from Spain across three continents to east Asia. Unparalleled prosperity evolved from a combination of successful trade, industry, and agriculture. But the Muslims were not able to maintain an integrated empire; despite a religious unity -which still exists - politically the empire broke up into smaller Muslim states.

The Muslims were especially gifted in science, literature, and philosophy. Muslim intellectual life was in large part the product of a genius for synthesizing varying cultures, and the diffusion of this knowledge was a tremendous factor in the revival of classical learning and the coming of the Renaissance in Europe.

While Europe wallowed in the mire of the Dark Ages, Islam produced advances in science, mathematics, literature, medicine, architecture, religion as well as many other fields of discipline.  Islamic cities such as Baghdad were the premier centers of learning and folks flocked there from all over the world to study.  When Europeans first saw Granada and other Moslem cities, they were stunned by the sophistication and beauty.  It was Islam's preservation of the great Greco/Roman texts of antiquity, as well as their own advances that allowed Europe to crawl out from the depression it was in. 

Ironically, while the arts and learning were beginning to thrive in the West, Islamic civilization itself declined. Various reasons have been advanced for this phenomenon, including the influx of semibarbarous peoples into Islamic lands, intellectual inflexibility resulting from rigid adherence to the Koran's sacred law, and the despotic and eventually corrupt rule of such Muslim dynasties as the Ottomans in Turkey, who destroyed most progressive political and economic movements. 

The emotions of despair, frustration, pride, and angst among the Islamic Arabic world had long been deeply bedded FROM WITHIN its own discourse of the Islamic civilizations before other external forces expedient these to the boiling points. In this sense, the emotions and sentiments of the Arabic Islam citizens do not differentiate much from other citizens of other ‘once great civilizations’ that had risen and eclipsed in the turns of the orbits of history. However, the Arabic tribes’ warfare prone culture of taking fights as means of settling affairs and even seeing battles and wars as just ‘exciting games’ between tribes explain why there have been more violence and blood shred than other civilizations and why once bloody violent wars break out the front stage, it is easier to plunder into stateless situations out of their generations after generations’ anarchistic ‘governance’ as de facto governance. 

Arabia before Islam  https://www.al-islam.org/restatement-history-islam-and-muslims-sayyid-ali-ashgar-razwy/arabia-islam

Ibrahim, M. (1982). Social and economic conditions in pre-Islamic Mecca.  International Journal of Middle East Studies, Vol. 14/3. pp. 343- 358. http://www.jstor.org/stable/163677?seq=1#page_scan_tab_contents

Stearns, P (1992). Islam from the beginning to 1300. http://history-world.org/islam.htm

[smoothshift]

My 16k mile 2004 Subaru WRX STi reminds me why older is sometimes better via /r/cars

My 16k mile 2004 Subaru WRX STi reminds me why older is sometimes better

TLDR: I recently replaced my Z4M with a low-mile 2004 STI and have no regrets. It's faster (thanks to Cobb tuning), more practical (4-door, AWD), ultra communicative, and brings me to a happy place whenever I drive it. As expected, fuel mileage is abysmal and the stereo is complete garbage, but I've got a 3" turbo-back exhaust to solve that problem.

Pics : http://ift.tt/2lAd818

Videos

Walkaround: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FDt-v0FBH98

First Driving Impressions: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SOjveCsnvSY

Backstory(LONG) A few months ago I decided that I needed to sell my beloved BMW Z4M Roadster for something more practical that could accommodate every car enthusiast's nightmare - the dreaded child seat. I considered everything from an E90 M3 to an Evo X GSR, but an unexpected chance encounter led me to my current 2004 Subaru WRX STi. I knew I wanted to have fun with tuning my next car and wanted to find a platform that would be reliable enough to handle the extra power yet still be a focused, raw 4-door drivers car.

The VW MK6 Golf R and a 2017 GTI Sport were two top contenders on my list since they are a great bang-for-the-buck option with plenty of aftermarket support. Both the Golf R and GTI would have been a perfectly comfortable, refined, and fast cruisers that could easily hit 300 WHP with a few aftermarket goodies. They would also be newer and have the latest tech, especially the 2017 GTI. When it came to the actual driving experience, neither of those cars felt "special" to me behind the wheel. [Car snob alert] The shifter and clutch felt artificial and too "toy-like" compared to my Z4M with its notchy, albeit somewhat rubbery, shifter feel and heavy but reassuring clutch pedal. It was as if there was an extra layer between you, the driver inputs, and the moving parts. As a comfortable daily driver, hands down these two would have sealed the deal. You could drive them in dress shoes and have no problem at all while getting nearly 30 mpg on the highway. Yet, that was not my use case so they always left me wanting more, even when tuned. To put the nail in the coffin, I also never felt the desire to take a second look after parking either one of these cars. They just didn't feel special to me.

Fast forward to the STi. I had decided to reconsider getting into an older-STi where there were fewer reported instances of engine failure (ringlands and bearings tend to be weak points on the EJ257 motors across most years). One thing I always came back to was the very mechanical and raw feeling I got driving the STi. Hearing the whine coming from the 3 differentials, the characteristic boxer-4 rumble and overall road presence left an indelible impression I couldn't forget. I eventually found mine at Performance Auto Gallery (http://ift.tt/1EiizXw), a private dealer in Gaithersburg, MD that specializes in sought-after, well-sorted enthusiast cars. Alex, the owner, was very helpful and I liken the experience to a car candy store for adult men. A short test drive later, and I knew this was the one.

Behind the wheel (LONGER) Getting into this car is like stepping back into a time-machine. Despite being 13 years old, the car still retains the familiar "new car smell" with standard blue and black suede seats and a not-too-thick perforated leather steering wheel. With only a hair over 16k miles, this car is probably one of the best preserved examples in the country at the moment. The only subtle indication that this car is anything but stock are the trio of Defi gauges (Boost, EGT, Oil Pressure) in an OEM looking Zero Sports pod above the center console and an admittedly tacky looking aftermarket headunit. Apparently the 2004 STis never came with a stereo unless optioned from the factory.

The lack of fancy touch-screens, electronic gizmos, and all semblance of modern connectivity is very refreshing. It's just you and machine. You've got great visibility over the low-slung hood, though the hood scoop and massive rear wing remind you that this is no ordinary econobox Impreza. Everything feels purposeful and lightweight. The doors are frameless and feel as if they weigh 15 lbs. There are no power seats, but we did get power mirrors and windows. There's also no SI-Drive either. Only a basic control for the differential lock, headlight leveling system and an intercooler water spray button.

Turn the key and the 2.5L boxer 4-cylinder engine starts immediately and enters what is probably one of the longest cold-start sequences I've experienced. I made a video (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dawZAs4Usik) showing this process, but I'd estimate it takes at least 5-6 minutes of high-idle (1200-1500 rpm) before the car finally settles down to a very subdued 500 rpm. The single-exit, full 3" Cobb turboback exhaust is also noticeable but not overbearing or obnoxious. I'd say it's similar to the OEM SPT exhaust's loudness with a bit better flow.

Push the clutch and you'll notice it's much firmer than it's competitors, the EVO and Golf R. It's about on par with the Z4M and easy to find the clutch take-up point. This car has the Cobb short-shift kit and yes, they are very short. Similar to the Callaway Z06 short-shift I drove, but more notchy. It took me about 30 min or so to get used to it and maybe a day or two to master it.

I would comment on the lovely boxer rumble but none of that matters when you're driving. In this car, it's all about induction noise. I've never driven a car that had such prominent turbo sucking sounds as this one. You practically hear every change in boost pressure through this intake system (Cobb SF) and under acceleration it sounds like a jet taking off or one of those large semi-trucks with their vollyball-sized turbos. You can definitely hear it in the driving video I took and it's the defining auditory characteristic of the driving experience. I love it.

The power comes on around 2500 RPM and pulls strong to redline. It's no Corvette Z06, but it feels faster than my Z4M and nearly as frantic below 60 mph as the 997 Porsche 911 Turbo I reviewed last year. Thanks to the AWD system and a nearly FBO Cobb stage 2 package, this car can make good power and get it to the ground. Stage 2 STIs typically put down high 280's to low 300 WHP range and around 300 - 330 WTQ. This car has a lightened flywheel and a lightweight Cobb crank pulley to reduce rotational mass. It doesn't add any power, but does make the engine very responsive. I plan on getting it pro-tuned and dyno tested later this summer.

The car handles really well thanks to adjustable Cobb swaybars, endlinks, and Michelin PSS tires. It's nimble enough to take on just about any back-road I can throw at it, yet not too jarring on the highway. This one does have a newer suspension swap, but it does a good job balancing ride comfort with sporty handling.

I could go on, but I'll save my detailed comments for some video updates. I think this was the perfect replacement for my Z4M. That car was nearly 10 years old and this one is 13. I've never found what I'm looking for in a new car. I'm nearly convinced that below $35k, there are few new models aside from a Miata, BRZ, FiST, S2000 and Z4M that offer similar kinds of driver engagement. Collectability and residual value is another thing entirely. Those cars, aside from the Z4M and S200, won't hold values nearly as well and that's something to be said about the WRX STi as a brand. That said, I look forward to sharing more about this car and my ownership experience with the community.

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