#where dogs are only able to be afforded a tie out and no adequate anything else

[darkwood-sleddog]

I do think it’s pretty gross that so many people will see poor people managing their dog(s) to the best ability that they can while living in poverty and be like “imma ban that bc uwu animal cruelty”.

[fireintheforest]

Behind the Blue, chapter 23, part 1

The day was shining with a promising sun, a cool wind that blew now and then and teased some of Saufinril’s hairstrands as he combed his hair. It’d been a while since he’d sent a message to Lillandril and Rialas; they’d be bound to have received the previous one by now. They hadn’t busted into the area in all their sassy, magic throwing, arrow shooting glory, so he guessed they were perfectly fine and happy that he’d communicated with them, busy believing he was fine and correcting the way he wrote his g’s.

“At your age,” Saufinril imitated Lillandril’s tone as he kept brushing his hair, clutching the leather strap with his teeth, “one was capable of writing letters to the Queen and the jarls of Skyrim with such fine writing that when Julianos himself saw it, he wept and it created the ocean. PAH!” He moved to tie his hair back, “Your h’s look like long-necked dogs- NO!” he cried out as the leather strap broke, “Fuck!” He sighed and moved his long long hair to the side and started to braid it, tying the end of the braid with one half of the leather strap. This is what he gets for mocking his elders.

Standing up from the dresser, he went to his luggage and ruffled through his clothes for something to wear for the lunch. After trifling for a while, though, he sighed and put his clothes aside. He needed to present Cyremin in a lunch with a Thalmor officer, Armellon and the target of this theft and sell it with the adequate clothes, but none felt quite right. And he couldn’t go back to Marley- so far not enough Altmer had been attracted to the clothes the way he’d promised they would, Marley might as well know by now that he was a con mer.

Maybe if he sold something of his and got another robe from another seamstress or tailor, at least for today…Saufinril rubbed his temple. He needed to go out. Reaching up to tie his braid into a bun, he threw on clothes from the top of his baggage and hurried out the door, walking out past the streets, past the flowerbeds and chattering people, until he reached the streets lined with businesses on either side and started to peer at the windows. Bakeries, flower shops, jewelry stores-

“Monsieur?”

Saufinril turned around and found Dean, Marley’s nephew, approaching from a short distance away, where Saufinril must’ve walked past him. Saufinril immediately gave him arched eyebrows.

“My uncle wants to see you at the store.”

“And you ran all the way here?” Saufinril tapped the boy’s head with two fingers, earning a puzzled (and somewhat mad) look. Saufinril just chuckled, “Lead the way.” He masked the resignment in his face as he followed the Breton boy. Fuck, here comes the ‘I haven’t received any clients, hold your side of the deal’, with what money would he pay him back?

Before he knew it, the store showed up ahead of him, open and awaiting customers. They stepped inside, and not long after Marley came from the back of the storefront. When his eyes found Saufinril, they lit up with a smile.

“Monsieur!” he exclaimed, his usual sunny demeanor shining through as he opened his arms.

“One’s been told you wanted one.” Saufinril purred with a wink. Dean gave Saufinril a disgusted look and walked to the back of the store as Marley laughed nervously.

“Indeed, I sent my nephew to find and fetch you.” Marley cleared his throat, smiling, “I called to thank you!”

The arched eyebrow Saufinril gave him was natural, “Thank one?”

“This morning,” Marley began, “a gentlemer came asking to see one’s robes, claiming he’d seen an Altmer wearing beautiful clothes and he’d been asking to see who made them, and he was directed here! To me!” Marley’s eyes were positively shining, almost like a puppy’s, Saufinril thought amused, “I-I had no idea it could be you until I asked them to describe you and-well he seemed confused that I did, but when he did I-I knew, I knew and you were right!”

Saufinril hid his own surprise with an eyeroll and a smile, “Of course it worked.” He forced a laugh, -“One told you it would, didn’t one?”

“You did, and-I-“ Marley passed a hand through his hair, “I-I had my doubts, monsieur. I haven’t had that many clients since I moved from Dunlain, it was looking grim but…but it worked!”

Saufinril gave him a sweet smile, “Of course it worked. You didn’t need to bring one here to tell you that.”

Marley paused, and then scratched the back of his head, offering an embarrassed smile. “I guess I was excited about the order and wanted to thank you in person, I hope I’m not interrupting your agenda. To be honest, it didn’t cross my mind that-”

“It’s quite forgiven, Marley.” Saufinril walked towards the tailor and traced a finger down his chest, “If, that is…” Marley’s smile faded as he observed the golden finger gently go down, then to his chin as Saufinril made him look up at his eyes, “you give one another of your creations for this afternoon.”

Marley blinked twice, “Th-this afternoon?”

“Mmm. One has a meeting with some officers, and one knows just how marvelously you can work.”

“My uncle is not a dressing servant!” both grownups turned to Dean, who both had forgotten was in the store. He was at the end of the counter, jaw tight and nostrils flaring, eyes set on Saufinril and fists curled tight.

No, holding tight. There was a parchment on his hand, where Saufinril could vaguely see the silhouette of a wolf holding what seemed to be a wet seed on his mouth.

“Don’t mingle in adult conversations, boy!” Marley exclaimed, his voice aiming for stern but only managing embarassment. Saufinril raised an eyebrow. He’d had plenty of dimwitted ideas in his past but at least he knew he’d NEVER butted in in an adult conversation. Unthinkable, both back in the Isles and living with Lillandril.

“But uncle!” the teen pushed, and Saufinril immediately understood why his younger years had been so amusing to Ria, “It’s the truth! You can’t let some-some outlander boss you around, expecting you halt your business and have everything ready for him!”

Annoyingly, the child had a point. But he had a job.

“’Tis fine, one can look for another tailor if this is too short notice.” Saufinril offered, arranging his face to one of disinterest and displeasure. He removed his finger from Marley’s jaw.

“Dean” Marley spoke, this time with an angrier edge, “Stop this at once.”

Dean’s face turned a rose color, mumbled an apology, and left to the back. Marley turned to Saufinril, face twisted with embarrassment.

“I am so sorry about him, monsieur, he’s my sister’s son. I took him in to show him the trade and help her- she has seven children, see. And he’s, he’s had his share of trouble back home, he doesn’t know how to hold back…”

He didn’t know what it was, but something about Marley’s speech bothered him. Still he just smiled.

“Nevermind that.” Saufinril said, “Back to the matter at hand. One might have to meet with more officials, and one will need clothes for such occasion.”

“Of course. If you give me some days-”

“Days?” Saufinril let out a short laugh, “One is due in hours! Good evening, monsieur.” He turned around and began to walk out the store.

“Wait!” Marley called, making Saufinril stop and turn, “I…I don’t have anything for right now.” Marley admitted, then sighed in defeat, “But, I know this seamstress. She might have something for you.”

Saufinril scratched the underside of his chin, arching an eyebrow, “Where is she?”

“Let me write the address for you.”

 Five twists and turns, two dead ends, a Breton girl stopped for directions and a brief stop at a bakery for a quick breakfast of chocolate-centered pastry and Saufinril was finally in front of MICETTE’S, as the sign outside of the store advertised.

Saufinril had been able to trick Marley into lending him clothes for free. Self-doubt started to creep in as he wondered if he’d be able to do the same to this Micette or if he was going to have to fork over money for robes he would wear only once.

He sighed. As much as he rolled his eyes at them, sometimes he really appreciated Rialas’s and Lillandril’s confidence in things.

“ ‘Onwards and upwards, as the mentally challenged would say’ ” Saufinril muttered to himself, while mentally he heard those words in Lillandril’s voice. Back straight, arrogant face, it’s showtime. He pushed the door and went in.

Saufinril immediately understood why Marley had accepted the deal of working for exposure when many others would’ve refused (Rialas, if proposed with this, would bite the person’s face): his store was empty. Every time he walked into Marley’s, there were orders getting made, but the store remained empty. Saufinril assumed that it was because his rich clients sent their servants to fetch their orders, and since not that many people were of the merchant middle class, not everyone could afford his creations.

Micette’s store, however, also had orders being made. And also had servants. But there were around four or five, waiting for their packages. And while Marley had the help of his loudmouth nephew, at Micette’s counter there were two other girls attending the servants. And these servants’s shirts and blouses were made of a nicer material than Toivon’s and Sorcise’s.

Micette’s was higher class, then. What the FUCK. Marley accepted the deal because he was desperate. Micette has high-profile clients. What would she have for him? How would he pull the same trick on her?

He didn’t have a chance to mull it over too much, because the blond girl at the counter spotted him. She gave two servants some parcels and sent them their way before approaching him.

“Good morning.” She said, giving him a cordial smile, “Are you here to see our wares?”

“One is here to see Micette.” Saufinril replied, slipping easily into the Cyremin act. For a second he thought this girl was going to look at him up and down and send him on his way, but instead she gave a brief nod and replied, “Right this way.” Before leading him up a set of stairs on the right. Once they reached the second floor, Saufinril was greeted with the sight of a waiting room with light blue, soft seats, a fur rug, various porcelain vases with roses and Mara’s tears, a table with a plate that had dainty strawberry tarts, cream puffs, mini rose sweet rolls and apple and lavender dumplings. As soon as Saufinril sat at the seat, the girl that brought him in served him some tea, leaving the mug and the clear teapot with the underwater blooming jasmine flower in the table.

“I’ll fetch her for you, monsieur.” And with that, she went to a door next to the stairs they’d come up from. Her steps indicated it was stairs. Once she was gone, Saufinril relaxed and looked around better. The smell of roses was starting to get to his nostrils, which meant in a little while it would impregnate the whole room. Lovely. If there was something he and Lillandril could probably agree, it was how tacky it is to leave a store with the stench of whatever scent the owner decided to bathe everyone in. No offense to perfumeries, of course, just-

He heard two sets of feet come down the stairs behind the door.

[theagileadmin]

DoD Organizer Family Tour

DevOpsDays Austin sponsored this great charity this year with our proceeds, and the program is so cool I wanted to do a whole post on it.

Community First! Village “is a 51-acre master planned community that provides affordable, permanent housing and a supportive community for men and women coming out of chronic homelessness.”  It consists of 200+ micro-homes and RVs and supporting infrastructure, they’re at 78% of capacity already, and they are planning for another 300 homes to be built. They’re located in southeast Austin out near the Travis County Expo Center.

Aerial View of Village

And it’s really nice! The primary kind of residence are little mini-houses, 180-200 square feet in size, with electricity but no plumbing.  There are standalone bathroom buildings with individual lockable rooms. There’s kitchen buildings for more extensive cooking. There’s RVs, more expensive but better for those with medical problems. There’s a community garden (with chickens and bees), a store, a hairdresser, a garage, a forge, and more.  Heck, there’s a bus stop and an Amazon dropbox.

Here’s a series of pictures I took on our tour.

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Austin has around 2200 homeless, and the number continues to rise. My parents visited me in Austin a couple months ago, and we went out and ate and they were shocked by how many were on the street, especially as we drove through the “shelter district” downtown. There are many efforts to help, but this is an approach I hadn’t heard of before, and wanted to share with everyone.

How Does It Work?

Donna Emery, the Director of Development for Mobile Loaves & Fishes, gave us a tour and told us all about it. She’d love any of you to come tour the village as well! Mobile Loaves & Fishes as an organization has been serving the homeless for many years, and this is their deeply considered idea at making a permanent difference.

The village isn’t a shelter; it’s intended to be permanent. They identify candidates for the village via social workers and the array of people trying to help the increasing homeless population (there’s a database they all use to track homeless clients and try to get them services and such).  The person says they want to get into the Village, and there’s an about 12 month runway program to get them ready and in.

There are three rules to living in the village.

Have to pay rent. Micro-homes rent for $275-$375/month, the RVs more like $435. They work to ensure they have their social services and encourage “dignified income” working in the village or otherwise. 96% of the residents pay their rent on time, which is better than your average apartment building!

Have to follow civil law. This isn’t “anything goes”, and safety is paramount. They don’t turn you away if you have a alcohol or substance abuse problem – you’re only going to get over that if you have housing – but crime isn’t allowed. It isn’t a major problem for them; homeless are generally the victims, not the perpetrators, of crimes (other than the criminalization of being homeless, of course). Applicants do have criminal background checks – they don’t disqualify you out of hand for having a record though, but don’t allow sex offenders and evaluate a past of violent crime carefully.

Have to follow the rules of the community (like a strict HOA) – you have to care for your neighborhood. This isn’t a jungle, it’s a community. The place was very clean and well tended. (Pets are welcome, though! We spoke with a man walking his dog at length on our tour.)

Last year, residents earned $650k in “dignified income” – working in the gardens, crafting, doing maintenance, working in the garage and market…  You can make $900/mo from a job cleaning the community bathrooms, for example. Donna stressed that they don’t rely on handouts – it harms the dignity of the people and you don’t take care of things that are free. When a major tech company donated a bunch of tablets, they set up a monthly tablet rental.  “But those are free, we’re giving them to you, don’t make money off them,” they initially complained. But MLF explained that handouts are an unhealthy dynamic, and this way the renters respect the tablets – and themselves – more. They’ve put a lot of thought and experience into creating a place where communities and lives can grow for people that have had nothing.

Of course, they provide a lot of help, from social services to things like teaching them to use Netspend for money management.

Blue ribbon Austin business and organizations have donated a lot of the infrastructure to make this work – Alamo Drafthouse, HEB, Charles Maund, the Topfer family, and many more.

Really A Community

But the thing I found the most striking about this is that it’s really a community, and a part of the larger community around it.

40% of the residents are women. There have been two weddings so far among the residents and two residents passed away with their wishes to be interred in the Village. The average age of homeless coming there is around 50 and they’ve been chronically homeless for around 10 years. This isn’t an attempt at “give them a shower and shave and get them a job and send them back out into the wild,” this is a permanent home where they can belong as long as they want. Donna shared with us that what really makes persistent homelessness is some kind of crisis combined with a collapse of a person’s social relationships – no family, no friends to help. Being sent away from a community doesn’t tend to form better social support, does it?

From their FAQ:

It’s all about relationships. Mobile Loaves & Fishes desires to empower the community around us into a lifestyle of service with the homeless. We achieve this vision through Community First! Village by taking a relational approach for connecting with our homeless brothers and sisters, instead of a transactional approach. When we bring an individual into community with others, we truly begin to make a sustainable impact on their lives.

Mobile Loaves & Fishes believes that the single greatest cause of homelessness is a profound, catastrophic loss of family. That’s why our focus at Community First! Village is to do more than just provide adequate housing. We have developed a community with supportive services and amenities to help address an individual’s relational needs at a fraction of the cost of traditional housing initiatives. We seek to empower our residents to build relationships with others, and to experience healing and restoration as part of engaging with a broader community.

The businesses aren’t just for the residents – you can go there to the garage and pay to get your oil changed.  You can go attend their movie nights (the Alamo donated a projector) that are open to the public like any movie night in any park. They do things like a trail of lights during the holidays. There’s plenty of reasons for non-residents to go there, it’s not a “camp.” It’s just a subdivision, really, like any other one you’d drive through in Austin.

Heck, you can go live there. 170 of the occupants are former homeless, but there are also many “mission families” living there with them to provide help and more strongly tie them into the social fabric of the Austin community.  Or you can rent spare homes on AirBNB!  They have a hall (“Unity Hall”) that can accommodate up to 300 and there’s a commercial kitchen attached (also staffed by residents) so you can host events there – we started seriously looking at it for smaller tech events. (More pics are in the slideshow above).

How Can You Help?

Let’s get real.  If you’re reading this tech blog you’re probably incredibly well off. Working for a company that’s incredibly well off. We have an embarrassment of riches in the tech scene here in Austin, living next to people with nothing. In DevOps we talk continually about collaboration, sharing, and community – one would think that our appetite for helping the less fortunate would go farther than just making sure you get an underrepresented person on your next tech panel.

You can help with funding.  Their Phase II capital campaign is building more homes and supporting buildings, a clinic, and more. Eventually they want things like dental care (an especially hard problem; it’s relatively expensive but dental problems unheeded turn into medical problems quickly). You can give, you can encourage your company to give. DevOpsDays Austin made spare money from sponsors, so we were able to put $25,000 into sponsoring one of the homes in their next phase.

You can help by volunteering. Persons or groups can email them and get set up to come help!  Get your church or other organization involved. They’ve had over 100 Eagle Scouts do their projects out there.

You can help by participating in your local government.  They had a long battle to be able to start the village and had to locate outside the City of Austin because of the never-ending NIMBY-ism of residents not wanting “those people” anywhere near them. Advocate for compassion and the homeless in your city council and other venues.

You can help even by just going there, using the businesses, interacting with the residents to weave them into the fabric of Austin. Go on a tour to see what they’re doing out there. Bring your kids! We all had a great and deeply moving family outing in our visit to the Village.

Community First! Village DevOpsDays Austin sponsored this great charity this year with our proceeds, and the program is so cool I wanted to do a whole post on it.

[onlinehotelbookings]

Good Solid Advice About Hotels That Anyone Can Use

You must think of many different details when planning a vacation. After you’ve chosen your trip destination, you have to figure out what mode of transport you’ll use. Where will you stay? Which hotel is best? This article will provide assistance.

Make sure you check with any organizations of which you are a member. Many organizations provide hotel discounts for members. The discounts could be 10% or even higher! When you’re staying for more than one night, this can add up to a decent savings. It may equate to one whole free night.

TIP! Be sure to read online review websites prior to booking a hotel. These reviews can give you a customer’s perspective of the hotel you are planning on staying at.

There are quite a few things you need to think over when you’re about to stay at a hotel. Price is one, but a prime location is another. You may or may not care about such amenities such as a gym, large pool, WiFi or a free breakfast buffet. So decide on the amenities that mean the most to you and start looking.

Hotel Search

You can use hotel search tools on the Internet. There are a lot of websites that have great deals and other useful tools to help you comparison shop to find the right hotel at the right price. Hotel search websites also let you see the regular rates of hotels, so you can compare and see whether a supposed deal is really a good one. Finally, by using these websites, you can learn the best places and times to take a vacation.

TIP! Use websites like Orbitz and Expedia for great prices. Input your loyalty info when you are looking for rates online.

Check online for great hotel deals. Many times, the person you book your room with will not tell you that you can get a discount online. For this reason, making a proactive search is advisable. Websites like Travelocity and Expedia can be a great way to do research on hotels.

When get to your hotel, inspect the room before unpacking. Make sure the room is entirely clean and free from any mildew or mold. Are the toilet, shower and sink functioning properly? Is the room adequately stocked with towels and linens? Any problems that you notice should be reported to front desk staff right away. That way, they can be rectified or you can change rooms.

Be aware in advance of the check-in time. People sometimes forget when they will be let into their rooms, showing up early only to learn that their room isn’t ready yet. Call the hotel desk and find out if your room has been prepared if you know that you’ll be arriving early.

TIP! To get a meal later at night order yourself some room service. You will probably pay more for this meal, but for the convenience of having it delivered to your room, it is worth it.

Planning for a trip months or even just weeks in advance can often get you a better rate for your hotel room. Some hotels have great discounts when you book a couple of months in advance. That saves you 50 percent or more frequently!

If you’re thinking of taking your pet to a hotel with you, there are some things you need to do first. First, inquire as to whether the hotel really is a pet-friendly place. Take some bags to clean after your pet. When you make a reservation you should see if you can stay near the back of the hallway to keep other guests away from your pets when they are making noises.

Green Hotels

TIP! Check the Internet for the best deals before you book a hotel room during your next trip. Many times, the reservation specialist won’t tell you of discounts when you call to book your room.

You may wish to consider a “green” vacation if the environment is one of your concerns. It is fortunate for you that there are quite a lot of green hotels available. Many new hotels are certified as green hotels. Many older hotels are environmentally aware and have eco-friendly measures in place. Talk to a travel agent if you want to find hotels that are eco-friendly.

Discuss what a hotel transfer will cost you prior to actually booking anything. If the room is the bargain, then an expensive transfer can ruin the whole savings. You can increase the amount you save by simply finding this information out in advance.

Consider joining a membership program if you travel often. When you do that, you accumulate points for every stay, and that can add up to free nights or vacation discounts.

TIP! Check your room when you arrive. Is the room clean? Does your shower, sink, and toilet work in the right way? Is the room adequately stocked with towels and linens? If you notice any problems, report them immediately.

Inspect your room for bed bugs, starting with the bathroom. This is probably not where you will find bedbugs. That means your luggage will be safe there while you check out the other areas of the room. If you have pets or children with you, ask them to wait in the bathroom too.

You should always be aware whether or not the hotel allows pets. It may be best to stay clear of hotels that accept pets if you are afraid of dogs or are allergic to pets. Hotels that allow pets typically have rooms that have a pet odor in them. Certain hotels will charge guests extra for keeping pets in the room; however, many hotels’ extra charge is very little. The fee charged may not be adequate to cover the extra cleaning needed to completely remove the odors.

It is usually not possible to check into your hotel early. Make sure you plan around your check-in time, or you will be forced to sit in a lobby to wait for your room. The hotel must clean each room prior to the next visitor taking it. If you do arrive before the normal check-in, you can ask if it’s possible to do so early, but this should not be expected.

TIP! Know when you are able to check in and get your room. Some people end up waiting for their room to be available because they forget to check this critical detail.

If you require a rollaway bed or crib at your hotel, let the person know when making a reservation. Hotels usually have a limited number of these, and you don’t want to ask at the last minute. In addition, there is sometimes an extra charge for these items. Talk about these issues as you reserve your room.

Early Departure

If possible, don’t check out earlier than intended. If you do, you may be charged a fee for early departure. Upon reserving a hotel room, you tie up that room in the hotel. This means that your early departure results in the hotel losing money. They charge a fee for early departure to help compensate for the lost revenue.

TIP! To get a good price when you want a hotel room, get your trips planned quite a few weeks or so in advance. If you chose to book a month or even two ahead of your arrival date, you can get great discounts.

This article has proven that it is easy to find an affordable, comfortable hotel. Now that you know what to watch out for, you’re good to go. Go ahead with your travel plans because you will surely have a good experience. This will make your vacation stories much more pleasant.