A Pyramid DESIGNED to Collapse

A financial post as the country's finances are little more than a pyramid scheme these days:

From Scott Blier of iBankCoin.com:

It is beyond the scope of comprehension that the FED actually wants and needs to CREATE inflation when their job is to supposedly suppress and limit it. But it is all a part of the perverting of the price mechanism of today’s markets. Does this sound legal to you?

1. The FED and Treasury (THEY) creates money out of thin air.
2. THEY then lend it to banks for nothing (0%, free money).
3. Banks then lend back to THEM.
4. THEY allow banks to act as intermediary to make a guaranteed profit.
5. THEY buy Treasuries from banks for cash and allow them to Hypothecate that money the standard 11:1.
6. THEY allow banks to take the hypothicated money and buy other assets on margin.
7. THEY allow commodities to have the lowest margin requirements of any financial instruments other than Treasuries.

Can you see the money machine at work? THEY create a dollar and it can become $100 and allows it to buy anything and everything market-related. Then prices rise and everyone is happy!

Do you wonder who is buying stocks and commodities? All this price perversion in the name of “saving the system”.

The desire is to get everyone hurrying to spend and invest before prices go too high. But the continuously rising prices crowd out end users because they can no longer afford the materials in question for end usage. The only buyers then become financial speculators. That is until the price is so high that nobody can buy and then prices crash from lack of buyers. Then speculators will need to sell to meet their margin calls.

The end result is that all the money THEY created will go to money heaven and we’ll be knee deep, again. And the higher the price of materials go, the closer we come to that end.

Ali-money, money, money

Read this and then remind yourself women make nearly as much as men and individually, in separate instances, much more than many men.

My lawyer was a woman, judge in my son's custody case was a woman. G.A.L. in custody case was a woman (all made six figures plus). My boss's boss is a woman, my boss's boss's BOSS is a woman (and we're talking a software company). And on the list goes.....

From wikipedia:

History

Alimony has been discussed in ancient legal texts including the Babylonian Code of Hammurabi (#137-#142)^[1] and the Code of Justinian. ^[2] The concept of modern alimony in the United States derives from English ecclesiastical courts which awarded alimony in cases of separation and divorce. Alimony Pendente lite was given until the divorce decree, based on the husband's duty to support the wife during a marriage that still continued. Post-divorce or permanent alimony was also based on the notion that the marriage continued, as ecclesiastical courts could only award a divorce a mensa et thora, similar to a legal separation today. As divorce did not end the marriage, the husband's duty to support his wife remained intact.^[3] The term alimony comes from the Latin word alimonia, and was a rule of sustenance to assure the wife's lodging, food, clothing, and other necessities after divorce.^[4]

Liberalization of divorce occurred in the nineteenth century, but divorce was only possible in cases of marital misconduct. As a result, the requirement to pay alimony became linked to the concept of fault in the divorce.^[5] Alimony to wives was paid because it was assumed that the marriage, and the wife's right to support, would have continued but for the misbehavior of husband. Ending alimony on divorce would have permitted a guilty husband to profit from his own misconduct. In contrast, if the wife committed the misconduct, she was considered to have forfeited any claim to ongoing support. However, during the period parties could rarely afford alimony and so it was rarely awarded by courts.^[3] As men's incomes increased, and with it the possibility of paying alimony, the awarding of alimony increased, generally because a wife could show a need for ongoing financial support and the husband had the ability to pay.^[3][6] No-fault divorce led to changes in alimony. Whereas spousal support was considered a right under the fault-based system, it became conditional under the no-fault approach.^[6] According to the American Bar Association, marital fault is a "factor" in awarding alimony in 25 states and the District of Columbia.^[7] Permanent alimony began to fall out of favor, as it prevented former spouses from beginning new lives,^[6] though in some states (e.g., Massachusetts, Mississippi and Tennessee), permanent alimony awards continued.^{[8][9][10][11]} Alimony moved beyond support to permitting the more dependent spouse to become financially independent or to have the same standard of living as during the marriage or common law marriage though this was not possible in most cases.^[3][12]

In the 1970s the United States Supreme Court ruled against gender bias in alimony awards, and the percentage of alimony recipients who are male rose to 3.6% in 2006.^[13] In states like Massachusetts and Louisiana, the salaries of new spouses may be used in determining the alimony paid to the previous partners.^{[11] [14]} Most recently, in several high profile divorces women such as Britney Spears, Victoria Principal and Jessica Simpson have paid multi-million dollar settlements in lieu of alimony to ex-husbands who were independently wealthy.^[15][16] According to lawyers, men are becoming more aggressive in the pursuit of alimony awards as the stigma associated with asking for alimony fades.^[16]

Some Women are Not All Women

For some reason, be it the singular minded view of television anchors or the monomania perpetrated by N.O.W., but people need to start announcing to the world and to themselves that we are all very different. Men and women both have mutually exclusive programming that goes back to hunter-gatherer times, but let's face it, while many men may seem to be the same and many women seem to be the same, some men aren't all men. Some women aren't all women. Every guy isn't Tiger Woods. Every woman is not Anna Nicole Smith. We are all shaped by our experiences and we are all born different people. From our very inception in the womb, every time an embryo is formed, even from the same parents, the formation of that embryo is EVERY TIME RADICALLY DIFFERENT! Ever meet a brother and sister who are total opposites? A Father and son who can't get along and you wonder how one could come from the other?

And I'm sure you've met a man who is as gentle as a kitten and a woman is seems to be as hard and icey as the most distant man. Now men and women are inherently made differently, one from an x and a y chromosome, the other from two x chromosomes, but as they grow older, the differences begin to melt. Men and women mature at different rates, generally speaking. Girls are born 6 months more mature than boys. At 2 years old - just 2 years being alive - they are A YEAR more mature than boys. That said, some boys certainly mature a bit faster than others. I know I did.

Now to the meat of the article, dear reader. You will hear such things in the press... MEN do this... WOMEN do that.... its usually spoken in a derogatory way. When you hear this, you should hear SOME men... SOME women... etc.

Further, know that many of the "men" and "women" who make the news or make the spotlight to be judged are Hollywood starlits. These are not normal people. They are often liquid to the tune of millions and some have a net worth of well into the hundreds of millions. Super athletes, the famous... these people have access to resources that the normal people do not. This allows them to behave in a wanton and selfish manner and AVOID EVER HAVING TO COMPROMISE. Marriage is compromise and any therapist or even priest worth his or her salt will tell you that. So be sure to laugh hysterically should ANYONE ever suggest "going back to" a single male breadwinner would result in chaos and female subjugation. [My family had a female breadwinner and they managed to stay married for going on 4 decades. My father did more than his fair share in other ways... in fact he very well qualified for the so called title of "stay-at-home-mom" who liberal think-tank studies state are worth 100 grand plus given their contributions. More in his case and he worked a full time job as well as did the cooking and cleaning. But I digress].

In fact, be sure to note that American Indian tribes had the ultimate "patriarchal" society and "subjugated" women but somehow instituted marriage unions and THRIVED as a people for hundreds of years or longer. In fact in many tribes, women had the right to leave their husband at any time for any reason or no reason (she simply wasn't allowed to seize his property or income - I guess those crazy savages just never realized women should be able to leave men as penniless, dependent and unable to provide for anyone else). But of course the fact that women had ENORMOUS influences on their husbands in tribal culture gets lost on modern society. Hell, even president's wives in the 18 and early 1900's bent their husband's ear about everything from support for the poor to women's suffrage to war and clearly had an impact. Hillary Clinton didn't bother with informality, despite not being an employee of the government she sought to fix the healthcare crisis nearly single-handedly when Bill was in office. (Now the Health Care industry owns her as it does every other politician).

But always bear in mind that men and women live together. They always have, they always will. Period. Its in their best interest. They cooperate. They enjoy the financial, time and energy savings of living under one roof. They build intimacy and trust. They take care of one another. Its not the alpha-male way to live, but its clearly in our best interest; in society's best interests as well. Once children come along, you MUST cooperate and work hard if your children are to be successful, healthy adults.

Now, onto women. Sorry, but this post will be about women. Comment about men if you'd like. Women are designed and behave as societal creatures... that is, group animals. Women are designed to cooperate, they are MUCH more intuitive than men and are famous for being able to communicate with eachother without speaking. This has its roots in hunter-gatherer society as most things do, and like all instincts, it is not to be ignored. Women simply care about what others think more than men do. It is in their nature, it is part of who they are and how they were made. In this case, the design and the behavior was to ward off predators, and help take care of their young, which they were left alone to do while men hunted. Like a sponge, or a mirror, women detect and sense almost CONSTANTLY. For that reason it was the poet Byron who said that women are a reflection of all that is wrong with society. What he meant of course, is that women sense and detect ALL things around them, not just some things. And much of what society seems to preach in media, news and "society" is pretty ugly: greed, lust, sloth, materialism, sensationalism, rumor, innuendo, judgement, hate, cruelty, violence, etc..

Men are taught from a young age that women are delicate, fragile and sensitive. For better or worse most men extend that to the way women think. THIS is a terrible mistake. But its done. Like thinking a panda bear is sweet and lovable just because it looks that way and moves slowly. And many men, myself included, recoil in a mixture of horror and disgust when many women reveal that they can be very shrewd; they can assess, judge and punish with the toughest of any man. They can hate, spy, cheat, lie, steal, cajole, threaten, kill, maim, poison, stab, fantasize, abuse and exploit. Are all women evil? No. But don't think they do not have the capacity for evil. Just as men do. Mary Wollstencraft hinted at this years ago, quite brilliantly. The way many men discover this is when a woman casually looks at another and coldly sums up her appearance or fertility potential: "her butt is big and her legs are chunky." Or something like "she needs to get a bikini wax and supportive bra." Or sometimes much worse. The horror author Stephen King was an odd child, of course and was teased in high school and when asked about it often recalls that what he endured was gentle compared to what unfavored girls endured. One female classmate of his was teased so mercilessly by other girls she developed severe depression and despite growing up to eventually get married and have children, she one day blew her head off with a shotgun.

Are all women this evil? Are they wicked and disgusting? Are they shrill harpies who are lusty and conniving? No. In fact many women are very giving, loving, and charming people who love to help others, give themselves selflessly and are devoted to their families. Unfortunately, these women are not ALL women. And I have to openly wonder, cruel as it may be, how many of these women there are with a 50% divorce rate and 50% of children being born out of wedlock. Now these numbers are not a result of more women being evil or anything like it. They are a result, in large part, of women being led astray. Remember reader, that children raised in broken families - divorced, abused, etc. - are more likely to have broken families of their own. Does the evidence not strongly suggest this problem is accelerating? 60% of divorces, studies report, are requested by wives. Not husbands. Wives. While men certainly bear blame in many instances of divorce, the statistics show women are the larger driving force. This is highly unnatural. Women are inherently designed to 'nest'. They seek out stability in romance, work and friendships. They start families, they stay close to their parents - these are all well proven facts. Why are they breaking up their own families? What could be causing this?

It is assumed, in the media, of course, that men are to blame for families breaking up. "Tiger Woods!" they say (as if all men were philandering, billionaire playboys). But I'm afraid that simply isn't what is happening across the broader spectrum. Stepping into anecdotal evidence for a moment... I am appalled to personally know friends or family friends that had occurrences of wives quite literally coming home one day and ambushing their husbands with "I don't feel like being married anymore." That is literally the statement of two different women with no relation to eachother! Now there may have been underlying reasons for these women leaving their husbands, but in both cases I can confidently say that infidelity, poverty, joblessness, drugs, alcohol, and abuse were not factors. Simply, their husbands were simple, hardworking family men whose trespass was known only to their wives. Further their wives suspiciously gave NO reason for wanting out! This would've been HIGHLY suspicious and irregular 30 years ago but is today considered appallingly common. I can't help but suspect that fickle and capriciousness nature of Hollywood movie stars and the public's obsession with them is at least partly responsible. To make the situation even more absurd, these women are entitled, under the law, to alimony, which is still comically contained in all state law books. I say "comically" because more women than men receive college degrees these days and women's earnings have been skyrocketing for the past 10+ years. The fastest growing market segment is women in the 18-25 age range. Yet in Mississippi, Massachusetts and Tennessee, alimony is usually awarded for life. Give me a break, for chrissake. Life? So the women I see divorcing for no reason have literally hit some kind of lottery, whereby they receive a portion of the earnings of someone who is their earning equal, thereby reducing them to being a kind of running debt slave to her, yet the divorce was her decision and she must not give any reason or cause for it!

The marriage of today is not the marriage of yesteryear. Marriage is being entered into lightly by many and being equally discarded by many. Many women simply don't 'need' marriage for financial reasons. Women truly are men's equal, for better or worse. The statistics reveal it, simple observation reveals it. And with divorce rates at obscene levels, its obvious that people have neither the moral nor the practical reasons to shun divorce that they once did. Yet in light of effortless divorce, a completely self-sustaining female population, and equality between the sexes, women are being handed a portion of her ex-husband's earnings for the rest of her life? A husband who might've been her husband for all of 3 or 4 years? This no-fault-divorce-between-equals system of ours has nothing to do with commitment, love or marriage. Its become a ticket to rent-a-slave. A small proportion of the time, men are actually being awarded a portion of their ex-wife's earnings for life. This is equally obscene. A completely healthy man with a good education just being GIVEN (stealing, in essence) a portion of his wife's income that she works hard for every day in exchange for.... nothing? This isn't justice or equality or any of that nonsense. This is a mafia-style shakedown with the divorce lawyers laughing all the way to the bank. How long before a man and a woman get together and soon think that being the higher earner is the WORST thing for him or her? After a divorce, despite being a higher earner who most likely has more education and works harder at a difficult job, you could find yourself POORER than your ex, who you may have been married to for only a matter of months and who you most likely have not associated with for years. You are now legally obligated to enrich a stranger. They don't sleep with you, rub your shoulders, cook for you or sacrifice for you in any way, nor do you for them yet this transfer of wealth takes place regardless, FOR THE REST OF THEIR LIFE. Think about what that means if you divorce in your 20s or 30s!

Welcome to the pinnacle of stupidity. The United States of Blow-'em-out. While Barry Ritholtz's book "Bailout Nation" was an apt description of the financial farce that is our banking sector, a book about our family and social structure ought to be entitled Blow-Out Nation.

Hang 'em High and Dry Nation.

SELF-EXPLANATORY

http://www.boston.com/lifestyle/relationships/blog/2010/12/sick_of_the_hunt.html

This is so awesome, I don't even know where to begin. Actually its not awesome. Its sad. Sorry. But I have to laugh because the woman writing it is so damn naive. She's plainly past her prime and apparently in denial of that fact. She's also in denial that she is a woman and not a man, and that her primary attractive features are not her career or education.

I'm 32 and I live in rural New England. I moved here for a job after completing a master's degree. The job is great and the area offers lots of outdoor activities that interest me. The problem? A man shortage. And from talking with friends who live in more populous areas, this "shortage" isn't necessarily unique to my rural life -- so we're not thinking that moving is necessarily the answer. I travel enough for work to mingle outside of my local network.

Women are not men. Men don't elbow eachother and say "Look at the Ph.d on that chic!" Why has this not sunk in? Is there a blockage in your head ladies? Wear snug clothes (not like a whore), heels and show off your figure, then talk to many men. Mother Nature does the rest you bonehead. Researchers in England found one thing that every man looks for - hip to waist ratio - its a sign of fertility. Its what sells all those trashy fashion rags - YM, Cosmo, etc.. "How to hook a better mate than you otherwise might" is what they should be called. They spend pages and pages on clothes that make your pear-looking figure more like an hourglass. Why? Men's eyes don't lie to them.

Any guy growing up in this country that went to High School will tell you the truth: women went for the alpha males (imagine that), usually sports stars or maybe the charming, funny guys who were quite smart. But usually the sports gods. Why? Because they were the most physically dominant. Just as women did in the hunter-gatherer days. We're still animals, kids. Nothing has changed but our latest theories and hair-brained ideologies, all of which fail quickly when going toe-to-toe with mother nature and her bag of from-the-gut instincts she gave to each of us at birth.

"I've been in several long-term relationships, including a five-year romance in my 20s that I thought would lead to marriage but didn't. It ended over three years ago, so it is safe to say I've recovered and made it out to the other side wiser and more confident."

Notice the waste of critical time when she was in her prime? Romances don't take 5 years sweetheart. The guy wants you or he doesn't. So what was the problem? Was he a mangina? Was he not into you and you were waiting for him to come around? You never should've wasted so much time. You should've pressed him after year 2 for chrissake and then moved on. Patience is great, but love doesn't take that long. Period. Selma Hayek wants to marry me? Done deal. We're work out the details later. How long did that take?

A host of movies have come out tackling our damsel's little fantasy that men and women are exactly the same. Namely, "The Ugly Truth," "The Truth About Cats and Dogs," "Someone Like You," and "The Backup Plan." In those movies women with similar fairy tale opinions of men and women are disabused of them rather fast. All stem from a total misunderstanding of how men and women work. How men and women are designed is not that hard to understand, nor should it be. Think about how long cars have been in existence. Now go to the library and look up all the books on cars. There are millions. Are we confused about cars? No. Or how about whales? Or chimpanzees? Or clothes. Men and Women are much older than any of those things and much more interesting. We have teraflops of research on men and women and their motives and workings. Modern media groups, in an effort to sell literature or movies or books or whatever make it all out to be some kind of mystery. Its no mystery. Go to India, or the Middle East, or any of those "traditional" countries and tell them new-fangled ideas about men and women. How men are really in touch with their feelings and should help with child rearing constantly and use skin care products, or how women are really happy working all day and leaving strangers to raise their children or worse, leaving budding adolescents alone in the house surfing for internet porn or experimenting with drugs. They will stare at you in disbelief and think you just plain idiotic. But I digress.

The woman in the Boston Globe article above is truly lost, the poor dear. She's taken her leisurely time through life... as is her right. But what she never figured out is that there is no free lunch in life. Men are programmed... PROGRAMMED by mother nature to have sex with young, healthy female animals.. mammals in our case - young women, for the purpose of procreation. Its not a thought, its not an idea or a theory. ITS INSTINCT. Respect it. Girls are born 6 months more mature. At 2 years old, they are a year more mature. What is mother nature's goal? To get her quickly to a point where she can breed. Don't blame me. Its not my idea. Its not my design. But its a design we have to respect, like it or not. In the article, our dear writer figures it out... too late.

I'm old enough to realize that at this point, I may find love with someone who is already divorced, has kids, or has some other situation that at one point would have been on my "deal-breaker" list.

No honey. Not 'may' find love. Your ONLY CHANCE is to hope AND PRAY for love with whatever man still finds you attractive and desirable. That was the part of your life that just ended. Sorry if that's mean. Its true. You're past your prime. You're not as healthy as a 23-26 year old to breed with. Men will figure this out and ignore you. Except for EXACTLY THE TYPE OF MEN YOU FIND.... THE LEFTOVERS: divorced and if he's also single, then he didn't leave his wife for someone else.. SHE DITCHED HIM, meaning he's emotionally shattered, broke, and probably battling depression and all that goes with it. Welcome to the era of women choosing and discarding men if and when they see fit. She got the house, the kids and all his money; you get whatever scraps she left you... literally.

But our writer thinks she's going to "strategize" her way to a "quality" man with a good job. BWAHAHAHAHAHA.

I'm very social and have a large network of friends. I'm out and about in many clubs, from alumni activities to athletic organizations. I've spent plenty of time dating online and am open to these opportunities. I'm not shy at all! Blind date? Sure. Want to set me up? Go right ahead. Speed dating? Done it.

And yet, where are all the educated and employed men? Am I asking for too much? (I'll even make concessions for employment, given the economy.)

Seriously? What are you snorting? I love the line "Where are all the educated and employed men?" WITH OTHER WOMEN, THAT'S WHERE. With women who somehow figured out relationships aren't carefree, timeless marathons with no goal. Women who were aggressive and motivated. Women who worked at it. They went out EVERY NIGHT in their 20s or close to it. They dressed sexy and they let many men know they were marriage material.. maybe they were "traditional" or "conservative" in their views, or they laughed at his jokes and admired his charm and intelligence, or let him know how impressed they were by his drive at work, I really don't know, I'm not a girl. But I'm sure these women didn't wait 5 years through a dead-end relationship. They found a good man and let him know at some point that they were going to be taken or lost to some other guy. Get it?

I had a friend (female).. an old roomate.. she found a handsome guy at a club and they started dating. He told her before getting any more serious, he wanted to date around a bit. She said "No." Just that. "No: you're with me or you're not. That's it. And there's no coming back. You're in or else get going." Where are they now? Married with kids. Take a lesson.

Secondly, being open to new opportunities or whatever is fine, writer. But forget about that. Look down. See what's under that Master's educated brain? That's what you're selling. That's your primary offer. Shutup with that nonsense about your deep soul. That's for AFTER he's sold on your body. Respect Mother Nature or die alone. Go to the gym, forget about your big shot career for a second. GYM, GYM, GYM. Get in the shape of your life. Then show it off. After you meet a guy (and you will with a good body... trust me. Suddenly they will just appear), then keep yourself in shape. Let the guy make some decisions. Ask him what he wants to do. Don't plan everything. The rest will work out fine. If its taking too long, mention you're after marriage eventually and that you can still date. See what he says.

Failure knows no end. Her friends fail with the same style as she and she apparently wants to pool their failure into a collection of what-not-to-do:

I know I'm not alone: I have plenty of female friends (both gay and straight) who are well-educated, many of them own their own homes, and live independently and yet yearn to share their lives with someone. The seven-weddings-a-year pandemic has passed us by and we're now all invited to baby showers and wondering when it is appropriate to consider freezing our eggs (no joke).

Live independently. Good for them. But are they selfish? Do they stay in shape? Are they, you know, PHYSICALLY ATTRACTIVE. Listen to yourself! They own homes and are well educated. Congratulations. What has that gotten them? A big basket of nothing, that's what. Want someone? What does your someone want? Nice breasts and a sexy legs. Sorry, but this is The Ugly Truth. Get as sexy as you can (I don't like plastic surgery - that's extreme), and be honest with the man who chooses you. IS THAT SO HARD?

Yet More:

the last thing I want to do is go "munting" (man hunting). Everyone knows that husband hunting gives off a whiff of desperation. And yet the alternative is to "give it time," "be patient," and "let fate do its thing" while the biological clock keeps ticking.

DON'T BE PATIENT. Jesus Christ. YOU'VE BEEN TOO PATIENT. Remember Mr. 5-year failure? How did that work out for you? He treaded water while you lost 5 years of prime perkiness off of your figure. The kind of perkiness youth buys without the gym. Now you'll have to REALLY earn your figure. Did patience help your figure? YOUR FIGURE IS THE PRIME MOTIVATOR FOR MEN. Patience is good for 17 year old girls. Not 32 year old wanna-be spinsters. You are almost twice as old as super-hot 17 year old girl. You are aiming for spinster-hood. STOP IT.

Is this a lose-lose situation? Who's better off: the single ladies who put their name in their hat online or those who refuse to submit to the (somewhat justified) stereotype that we’re all munting and wait it out? I'm turning to you because advice from married friends is exhausting and not helpful. And the rest of us haven't figured it out.

How is someone so educated so stupid? There is the word 'wait' again. STOP WAITING FOR CHRISSAKE! You should have two new best friends in life: the gym and thong underwear. You are selling sex appeal. Period. That gets you looks, from looks come conversation and opportuntiy. Get it? Say Hi to every guy you get near. EVERY SINGLE GUY. Be Mrs. Gym-rat and Mrs. I-COULD-BE-YOUR-NEW-BEST-FRIEND. Period. Make yourself say Hi to at least 10 guys in the bar and at least 10 guys out and about during the week. No luck? Make it 20. No luck? MAKE IT 50. AND AREN'T YOU LATE FOR YOUR APPOINTMENT WITH YOUR PHYSICAL TRAINER!?!??!?!

Every man reading this is nodding.

What does the pro at the Globe tell her? Oh Boy.....

You're telling us that you're doing what you need to do to meet someone nice. I guess my advice is to keep doing that -- and to stop thinking of it as your desperate search for a husband. It's really your search for love. That's got a better ring to it, doesn't it?

And take the pressure off yourself to speed this along. Again, only fictional characters have awesome and interesting partners all of the time. I know it's exhausting and that your clock it ticking, but love isn't easy to find and maintain. Even the marrieds have to work like crazy to keep it going.

– Meredith

The worst advice ever. From a girl. Girls don't hunt girls (mostly). Why the Hell would you ask one what to do. Your girlfriends aren't going to tell you your boobs are too small in your choice of shirt and bra today. They don't have the guts. Ask a ruthless man and do exactly as he says, you dumbass. Doing what you're doing and not changing anything is moronic. They have a saying in Tennis: Always change a losing game, never change a winning one. Same here. You have a losing game and your online therapist says keep it up. I'm mounting your spinster trophy now. I suggest your don't keep your personal trainer waiting.....