![]() Whether you wear the Classic All Compression Socks when you run or combine them with style: Either way, you will benefit from the anatomical design, which ensures outstanding comfort.Įxperience the benefits of these versatile Classic All Compression Socks for yourself: Order the classically designed compression socks for men now in the web shop. New Improved Precision Fit, Better Compression, Enhanced Moisture Wicking & Cooling Effect and Asymmetric. ![]() This means you can wear 1 stocking (or pair) while the other is being washed and dried. You should be given at least 2 stockings, or 2 pairs if youre wearing them on both legs. Put them on again first thing in the morning. It stabilizes your joints, thereby increasing your sense of security when you run. You should wear your compression stockings during the day and take them off before going to bed. To actively reduce this risk, the compression effect sharpens your proprioception – or awareness of the position and movement of the body – in the foot. ![]() Sprains can result in long breaks in training. Better proprioception for a secure running experience And this translates into a reduced risk of blisters. The non-slip, close fit of the Classic All Compression Socks prevents unnecessary friction at the foot. Whether during intense runs or other activities: Blisters are a nuisance – but one that can be avoided. Very versatile – whether in running shoes or casual sneakers: With the extremely comfortable compression socks for men, you always have the perfect gear. ![]() Classic All Compression Socks for Men – classic look, modern technologyĮnjoy the activating effect during your runs: Proven medi compression meets timeless design in black and white with the Classic All Compression Socks. ![]()
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![]() ![]() As a global electronics company with 80 years of experience in developing innovative solutions for complex industrial technology applications used in harsh environments, our broad and diverse team of industry experts includes electrical and mechanical engineers who focus on designing electronic components and electrical components manufactured for reliability, safety, and sustainability, offering technological solutions that help empower the potential of people to drive innovation in the technologies transforming how people live, work, and connect. Our electrical and electronic products are engineered to reliably connect and protect the flow of data, power, and signal – in electric vehicles and aircraft, digital factories and smart homes, and life-saving medical devices, efficient utility networks, and the global communications infrastructure. Total charge for credit £57.60.TE Connectivity empowers engineers for innovation in industrial technology – by designing and manufacturing sensor and connectivity solutions for the technology that is enabling a safer, sustainable, productive, and connected world. As the go-to engineering partner for today's innovation leaders and technology entrepreneurs, we are helping solve tomorrow's toughest challenges. Monthly repayment of £14.90 and a total amount payable of £357.60. ![]() Representative example: 18.9% APR representative based on a loan amount of £300 repayable over 24 months at an interest rate of 18.9% p.a. Only available on purchases of £499 or less. Only available on purchases of £399 or more. Whether you need new Dodge Dakota battery cables or a Ford Focus battery cable, we have you covered. Only available on purchases of £399 or more Only available on purchases of £99 or more 2PCS Battery Terminal Connectors,Quick Release Disconnect Car Battery Cable Terminal Clamps Connectors for SAE/JIS Type A Posts, with 8Pcs Ring Terminals and 8Pcs insulation sleeves. Halfords Limited and Halfords Autocentres Limited are authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority for the purposes of credit broking (Halfords Limited reference 724263, Halfords Autocentres Limited reference 755309) Well, if you don’t fancy spending all your cash in one go, we’ve got several finance options to help you spread the cost, covering spends over £30. Got your eye on a new road bike or shiny socket set? Maybe you’ve had to have unexpected repairs on your vehicle. ![]() Borrowing beyond your means could seriouslyĪffect your financial status, ensure you can afford to make your repayments on time by the Upgrading to thicker American Wire Gauge, also called AWG battery cables, can lead to higher conduction efficiency. ![]() *Finance available subject to credit assessment, terms andĬonditions apply, you must be aged 18 + and a permanent UK resident, please spend Car battery cables connect the battery to the ignition system, the lights, the computer and other electrical components. The auxiliary wires are typically used for body ground, fuse block or alternator. *Finance available subject to credit assessment, terms and conditions apply, you must be aged 18+ and a permanent UK resident, please spend responsibly. Here’s an example of a battery cable with a 4 gauge auxiliary wire. If (document.getElementById('bvseo-reviewsSection')) įlexible finance to help you spread the cost Great quality, replaced original park, easy to fit, good price. I compared what I had bought from Halfords with the two old clamps and the Halfords connectors were of a far better quality. Use elbow battery terminals to fit in confined spaces. Would Halfords have a replacement ? Yep they did and at a very reasonable cost, I like the captive bolt which means only one side of the clamp needs to be tightened, also the two screws securing the cable form a very solid unit. Use flag battery terminals to connect several batteries together. This was bad news, checking the condition of the battery terminals I found one was not only loose but cracked. The lawns were well past the point when they should have been cut so it was time to fire up the lawn tractor. I searched for a single battery connection but all the other retailers wanted to sell me two. Exactly what I needed to bridge two batterys together ![]() ![]() Compare Standard and Premium Digital here.Īny changes made can be done at any time and will become effective at the end of the trial period, allowing you to retain full access for 4 weeks, even if you downgrade or cancel. You may also opt to downgrade to Standard Digital, a robust journalistic offering that fulfils many user’s needs. If you’d like to retain your premium access and save 20%, you can opt to pay annually at the end of the trial. ![]() ![]() If you do nothing, you will be auto-enrolled in our premium digital monthly subscription plan and retain complete access for $69 per month.įor cost savings, you can change your plan at any time online in the “Settings & Account” section. Team World produced a stunning comeback on the final day to shock Team Europe and win the Laver Cup for the first time, denying Roger Federer on the final tournament of his career. For a full comparison of Standard and Premium Digital, click here.Ĭhange the plan you will roll onto at any time during your trial by visiting the “Settings & Account” section. Premium Digital includes access to our premier business column, Lex, as well as 15 curated newsletters covering key business themes with original, in-depth reporting. Standard Digital includes access to a wealth of global news, analysis and expert opinion. “After all the amazing things that we share together on and off court, be part of this historic moment, going to be something yeah, amazing and unforgettable for me,” Nadal said, “and yeah, super excited, I hope I can have a good answer time, play at a decent level and hopefully together we can create a good moment and maybe win a match.”įederer and Nadal will face American pair Jack Sock and Frances Tiafoe on the first day of the Laver Cup on Friday.During your trial you will have complete digital access to FT.com with everything in both of our Standard Digital and Premium Digital packages. Federer, who will retire from tennis after this week’s Laver Cup, confirmed he would only play one doubles match at London’s O2 Arena on Friday the last act of his long, decorated career. Nadal told a press conference on Thursday that he was “super excited” for Friday’s doubles match. To memorize afedersiniz, which means excuse me in Turkish, Alicia imagined tennis star Roger Federer walking down the street in Istanbul bumping into. I don’t know if it’s going to happen, but I think it could be obviously a special moment.”Īn honor and a real pleasure □□ - Rafa Nadal September 22, 2022 Thankfully in moments I totally forgot about it, slept great, everything was wonderful. “For that reason, I think it would be great. The last two days have been tough to say the least, said Federer in his post-match press conference. “To go through the careers that we both have had, to come out the other side and being able to have a nice relationship, I think, is maybe a great message as well – to not just tennis, but sports beyond it. ![]() “For as long as we battled together, having always had this respect for one another – our families, our coaching teams – we always got along really well,” Federer told reporters on Wednesday when asked about the possibility of playing alongside the Spaniard. But against all odds, the 20-year-old left Flushing Meadows with his first major title, earning himself a lifetime of love from the New York crowd in the. The pair have met 40 times over the course of their careers – including nine grand slam finals – and also played together at the 2017 Laver Cup. First-time Grand Slam finalist Juan Martin del Potro entered the 2009 US Open title match with an 0-6 lifetime record against Roger Federer. 0:00 / 2:16 Roger Federer’s last match is doubles loss with Rafael Nadal Al Jazeera English 10.6M subscribers Subscribe 1K Al Jazeera is funded in whole or in part by the Qatari government. Federer struck a glancing blow at full stretch on the. After numerous close battles against each other over the years, Roger Federer will get to enjoy what he called a “special moment” in partnering with Rafael Nadal for the final match of his career.įederer, who will retire from tennis after this week’s Laver Cup, confirmed he would only play one doubles match at London’s O2 Arena on Friday – the last act of his long, decorated career.Īnd on Thursday, it was announced the Swiss star would partner with Nadal, 18 years on from when they first faced each other on the ATP Tour in Miami. Roger Federer saw his final match on the ATP Tour end in defeat, as the Swiss great lost in the Laver Cup doubles alongside Rafael Nadal. ![]() ![]() ![]() Each type of artisans tools requires a separate proficiency. Proficiency with a set of artisans tools lets you add your proficiency bonus to any ability checks you make using the tools in your craft. Scholar's Pack (40 gp).) Includes a backpack, a book of lore, a bottle of ink, an ink pen, 10 sheets of parchment, a little bag of sand, and a small knife. These special tools include the items needed to pursue a craft or trade. ![]() Includes a backpack, a blanket, 10 candles, a tinderbox, an alms box, 2 blocks of incense, a censer, vestments, 2 days of rations, and a waterskin. The pack also has 50 feet of hempen rope strapped to the side of it. Includes a backpack, a bedroll, a mess kit, a tinderbox, 10 torches, 10 days of rations, and a waterskin. Includes a backpack, a bedroll, 2 costumes, 5 candles, 5 days of rations, a waterskin, and a disguise kit.Įxplorer's Pack (10 gp). The pack also has 50 feet of hempen rope strapped to the side of it.Įntertainer's Pack (40 gp). Rogues equipment crate, which allows the player to select one piece of rogue. Includes a backpack, a crowbar, a hammer, 10 pitons, 10 torches, a tinderbox, 10 days of rations, and a waterskin. Rogue kit, which can be turned once into a rope, chisel, tinderbox or a spade. Includes a chest, 2 cases for maps and scrolls, a set of fine clothes, a bottle of ink, an ink pen, a lamp, 2 flasks of oil, 5 sheets of paper, a vial of perfume, sealing wax, and soap.ĭungeoneer's Pack (12 gp). The pack also has 50 feet of hempen rope strapped to the side of it.ĭiplomat's Pack (39 gp). One Page Tinderbox Adventure- Forgotten Gods - CrumblingKeep D D Homebrew, Dnd 5e. Includes a backpack, a bag of 1,000 ball bearings, 10 feet of string, a bell, 5 candles, a crowbar, a hammer, 10 pitons, a hooded lantern, 2 flasks of oil, 5 days rations, a tinderbox, and a waterskin. Dungeons and Dragons 5e This small container holds flint, fire steel. If you are buying your starting equipment, you can purchase a pack for the price shown, which might be cheaper than buying the items individually.īurglar's Pack (16 gp). The contents of these packs are listed here. The starting equipment you get from your class includes a collection of useful adventuring gear, put together in a pack. ![]() ![]() Demoĭemo programs have a limited functionality for free, but charge for an advanced set of features or for the removal of advertisements from the program's interfaces. In some cases, ads may be show to the users. Basically, a product is offered Free to Play (Freemium) and the user can decide if he wants to pay the money (Premium) for additional features, services, virtual or physical goods that expand the functionality of the game. This license is commonly used for video games and it allows users to download and play the game for free. There are many different open source licenses but they all must comply with the Open Source Definition - in brief: the software can be freely used, modified and shared. Programs released under this license can be used at no cost for both personal and commercial purposes. Open Source software is software with source code that anyone can inspect, modify or enhance. Freeware products can be used free of charge for both personal and professional (commercial use). Nearly 400,000 subscribers received the newsletter complete with a handwritten tip every day.Freeware programs can be downloaded used free of charge and without any time limitations. ![]() He gave advice on dark web scans on Miami's NBC 6, discussed Windows XP's demise on WGN-TV's Midday News in Chicago, and shared his CES experiences on WJR-AM's Guy Gordon Show in Detroit.Ĭhris also ran MakeUseOf's email newsletter for two years. In addition to his extensive writing experience, Chris has been interviewed as a technology expert on TV news and radio shows. The company's project was later reportedly shut down by the U.S. A wave of negative publicity ensued, with coverage on BuzzFeed News, CNBC, the BBC, and TechCrunch. At CES 2018, he broke the news about Kodak's "KashMiner" Bitcoin mining scheme with a viral tweet. Starting in 2015, Chris attended the Computer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas for five years running. His work has even appeared on the front page of Reddit.Īrticles he's written have been used as a source for everything from books like Team Human by Douglas Rushkoff, media theory professor at the City University of New York's Queens College and CNN contributor, to university textbooks and even late-night TV shows like Comedy Central's with Chris Hardwick. His roundups of new features in Windows 10 updates have been called "the most detailed, useful Windows version previews of anyone on the web" and covered by prominent Windows journalists like Paul Thurrott and Mary Jo Foley on TWiT's Windows Weekly. Instructional tutorials he's written have been linked to by organizations like The New York Times, Wirecutter, Lifehacker, the BBC, CNET, Ars Technica, and John Gruber's Daring Fireball. ![]() The news he's broken has been covered by outlets like the BBC, The Verge, Slate, Gizmodo, Engadget, TechCrunch, Digital Trends, ZDNet, The Next Web, and Techmeme. Beyond the column, he wrote about everything from Windows to tech travel tips. ![]() He founded PCWorld's "World Beyond Windows" column, which covered the latest developments in open-source operating systems like Linux and Chrome OS. He also wrote the USA's most-saved article of 2021, according to Pocket.Ĭhris was a PCWorld columnist for two years. Beyond the web, his work has appeared in the print edition of The New York Times (September 9, 2019) and in PCWorld's print magazines, specifically in the August 2013 and July 2013 editions, where his story was on the cover. ![]() With over a decade of writing experience in the field of technology, Chris has written for a variety of publications including The New York Times, Reader's Digest, IDG's PCWorld, Digital Trends, and MakeUseOf. Chris has personally written over 2,000 articles that have been read more than one billion times-and that's just here at How-To Geek. Chris Hoffman is the former Editor-in-Chief of How-To Geek. ![]() ![]() ![]() Report (Grantland) interview with Robert SmigelĪn earlier version of this article ran in 2013. But someone must have wised up to the fact that the cinematic medium offered nothing different for the concept, as few people even knew of the script’s existence until 2010.Īdditional Sources: The B.S. Hans and Franz must race to solve the girlynappings before its too late in. But in 1990, a script with that very title was written, with some of the show’s strongest writing talents-including Conan O’Brien, Robert Smigel, and Greg Daniels-attached as participants. Before landing SNL Kevin had the honor of performing stand-up comedy on The. Given that each episode of Saturday Night Live is essentially a feature-length series of sketches, The Saturday Night Live Movie seems a bit redundant. His parents are, like, blue-collar people from the Bronx.” 9. “We did have one funny scene that was making John and I laugh, which was Stefon coming out to his family. “We talked a little bit about an idea for a movie, and then we were kind of like, 'I don't think it'll work,’” Hader said. But then, in almost the same breath, he stated that it would probably never happen. COFFEE TALK (1995)įans of Stefon got prematurely excited in 2013 when Bill Hader told Larry King about the idea of turning his New York City know-it-all club kid into a leading man. “There was an awful article written in New York Magazine about the show and the network wanted to lay down the law,” recalled Smigel, which meant “no SNL movies.” But the script was not a total loss in 2010, Smigel, Odenkirk, Mantegna, George Wendt, Mike Ditka and Richard Roeper (as narrator) staged a live reading of the script at Chicago’s Just for Laughs festival. But a bad year for SNL on the small screen spelled trouble for anyone involved with the show. When the opportunity arose to turn the sketch into a film, Smigel and Bob Odenkirk (who had created the original sketch together) jumped at the opportunity, with Smigel leaving his job as Conan’s head writer to work on the script. Bill Swerski’s Superfans, one of SNL’s longest-running sketches, which premiered on Janu(with Joe Mantegna as the titular Swerski) and was later featured in a State Farm commercial. Among those stalled features is Da Movie version of Da Bears sketch, a.k.a. Club, Smigel noted that “I’m guilty of writing probably as many SNL movies as anybody, but mine have never been made.” He’s not kidding. But now, hear this: “Live, from New York, it’s Saturday.In that same interview with The A.V. You’ve given us something to hear now, and something to think about later.Īrnold: Ya. Listen to me now, and beleive me later: it doesn’t matter how much you pump up those muscles, as long as you reach the full pumptential. But don’t be downing yourself too much now. You know, you could very easily flick us with your ltitlest finger, and send us flying across the room until we landed in our own baby poop.Īrnold: I know. And not even the grown-up kind, the little baby losers. And believe me- What’s the matter?įranz: It’s no use, Arnold. You huys are lucky you don’t have a campfire here in the background. Oh, come on, you make me sick! And look at those legs, they look like little skinny sticks! And those buttocks. Like this That’s the way to do it! Look at you guys, how pitiful losers you are! You know something? I hate the way you guys talk! What’s the matter with you? I mean, I sent you over here from Austria, to become real hard-core terminators, and look what you are – little termites! I wanted you to become real running men but you are girly-men. Hans: Hey, Arnold, look at this! įranz: Ya! Lok at this! Īrnold: Oh, you guys make me sick. ![]() Hans: Oh, Arnold, I can’t believe how properly pumped up you really are!įranz: Ya! You are the embodiment of perfect pumpitude!Īrnold: No, no, no. ![]() Hans: I don’t believe this! Oh no, I can’t believe it! ![]() Schwarzenegger took the SNL parody in good stride and made several appearances with Hans and Franz, including a season 17 visit to open episode 7. The sketch made its debut in the first episode of Season 13. Nealon was watching an interview with Arnold Schwarzenegger on Showtime and invited Carvey, with whom he was on a comedy tour, over to watch. The idea for the original Hans and Franz SNL sketch was spawned in 1987 in a Des Moines hotel room. ![]() ![]() Clicking on the item again will hide them. To remove items, drag them from active items area to available items area. To add items, drag them from the available items area to the active items area. For example, the CPU item can show a pie chart, a graph, a history graph, a percentage as text and a “CPU” label. Most of the menu items have several different items within them that can be shown or hidden. This works for some third party menu items and all Apple menu items. Dragging a menu item out of the menubar will remove it. Prior to macOS 10.11 El Capitan, menu items can be reordered by holding down the Command key and dragging the icon in your Mac’s menubar to reorder (the one at the top of your screen). Please see our Reordering items page for more information. iStat Menus can notify you of an incredibly wide range of events, based on CPU, GPU, memory, disks, network, sensors, battery, power and weather. For 9.99/mo, use iStat Menus plus over 200 other apps. If you’re running macOS 10.11 El Capitan, menu items can be reordered via the Combined / Order tab in iStat Menus. Setapp is a subscription service for Mac and iOS apps. To enable a menu item, open iStat Menus and check the large switch next to the item you’d like turned on. If you’re not seeing any of iStat Menu’s menu items, it’s likely you don’t have any enabled. ![]() ![]() ![]() This allows you to use any combination of menu items you desire, in any order you desire. Enabling and disabling menu items #Įach menu item can be enabled or disabled separately. iStat Menus is set of eight separate and highly configurable menu items that let you know exactly what’s going on inside your Mac. Thanks for spending some time to get more familiar with iStat Menus. ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() It seems that Akatsuki's character is reduced to mere loli humor later in the show. Her interactions with Akatsuki are always of the same manner and it gets boring very quickly. Also, some people may find that the interactions between the characters become quite repetitive, especially with Henrietta, who has a loli fetish for Akatsuki. It's almost as if the topic of what's going on in the real world is completely forgotten. For example, why does no one care about what's happening to their bodies in the real world? You'll find yourself asking this question as you watch the show. With all that being said, Log Horizon is not a perfect show. You'll know what I mean when you get halfway through the season. The background music, while not bad, is overused. Sound is decent as well, the opening and ending songs are quite good but take time to get used to. It's consistently pretty decent and not "inconsistent" like some other shows. I found the pacing and structure of the arcs to be satisfactory and enjoyable.Īrt is decent, it's not UFOtable amazing, but not terrible either. ![]() Log Horizon also executes its' story quite well. With that being said, I genuinely enjoyed the dialogue and found the story to be engaging. In fact, there are a few episodes where the dialogue gets quite heavy and may not be everyone’s cup of tea. ![]() It has heavy political/economical themes that tie well into one of the show’s biggest points: building a world. The story is what makes Log Horizon quite different from a typical shounen show. To me, the characters are one of the biggest strengths of the show. These kinds of distinctions allow Log Horizon to have all kinds of interactions between characters and the possibilities become endless. Rundelhaus, who's in a category of his own when it comes to goofiness. Where Akatsuki is loyal, quiet and small, Naotsugu is the loud, pervy and funny big guy. Where Shiroe is the leader in the shadows, Crusty is the leader in the spotlight. It is NOT a “power of friendship defeating the boss that was previously kicking your ass.” It’s fundamentally sound and really becomes an intriguing show.Īlthough some may disagree, I really thought that one of the show’s biggest strength is how the characters all have defined, unique roles. That’s why when other possibilities that greatly affect these game mechanics are discovered, Log Horizon truly becomes special. Having played games like World of Warcraft, I and many other viewers understand how the core mechanics of questing, leveling, raiding and more work. It's an extremely appealing story given the relatability to many of its viewers. Ironically, these strict rules expand Log Horizon's story from a generic show to a well thought-out strategic adventure. When one thinks of rules and boundaries, one would assume that it would limit whatever it governs. But what's not so familiar are the way these rules are manipulated, opening paths to feats that were previously impossible. The story begins by introducing a set of typical MMORPG rules/restrictions that many viewers are familiar with. Horizon is a genuinely fun show without all the pitfalls that we've come to expect from a shounen-type series. Rather, he’s the guy in the background, the “villain in glasses” who controls the flow and direction of battle. Shiroe isn’t the typical shounen main character that powers up throughout the story and then overpowers his enemies. That difference is how the main character, Shiroe, strategically approaches each situation that makes Log Horizon an exciting show to watch. Log Horizon starts off slow with the usual setup of a "no-faults" main character, but with a slight difference. What started off as what seemed to be a bland-version of Sword Art Online turned out to be one of the hidden gems of anime shows. ![]() ![]() If you are going to install the decking at an angle to the joists, refer to the spacing chart, which is available in the installation instructions as well as on our website. For installing at an angle, refer to the chart.For residential decks, the spacing should be 16 inches (40 centimeters), and for stair treads and commercial decks, this spacing should be 12 inches (30 centimeters). Joists refer to the pieces of timber that provide support for your decking. ![]() The spacing of the joists needs to be correct.Take a look at these tips for how to best tackle composite deck installation : We are certain your deck will last for many years, and we’ll prove it. What’s more, Ultrashield decks are also protected by a warranty of up to 25 years, which is the industry’s most complete warranty. Rest assured that your deck, if made using our materials, will look fantastic from any direction for a long time. Many deck boards don’t feature capping around the entire board, but NewTechWood’s decking products do, which is the only way the board can be protected from all possible problems, including mold and ultraviolet radiation. It’s also one of the most eco-friendly products on the market, as our production methods do not require adhesives or chemicals that could contaminate the environment, and the materials themselves are recycled. All four sides of our product are protected, making it exceptionally easy to maintain and long-lasting. In developing this decking material, we mixed wood fibers and dense polyethylene plastic and coated the product using a polymer that protects the board from scratching, staining or fading. This isn’t the usual plastic and wood hybrid you’re possibly familiar with - UltraShield is the result of years of field testing and engineering, with the objective of making the most durable, reliable, fade-resistant and attractive decking available in the industry. The shield’s colors, which are multichromatic, are part of its formulation, which means you’ll never need to sand, oil or repaint it. This layer gives UltraShield a much longer lifespan than normal uncapped composites. The deck’s shield features a layer that is impermeable, so splitting on the board’s surface will not be a concern. It is growing in the water, not on the surface of the board. Although mold may grow on the board’s surface due to standing water, you can easily remove this with a broom or a hose. The shield also protects against mildew and mold so that it doesn’t eat away at the board. Our rigorous testing procedures have demonstrated that color changes are minimal over long periods. The shield is uniquely formulated so that colors are retained for much longer than those on regular composite decking. You can easily wipe off all spills because liquids are never absorbed, making cleaning and maintenance very easy. ![]() You won’t have to worry about your coffee, wine or soy sauce staining your deck. ![]() With Ultrashield® products, you’ll avoid all of the following: With these materials, NewTechWood has used all that is great about laminate and composite decks and improved it. If you’re now considering composite decking, you may wonder why we specifically recommend the UltraShield® materials. It also offers many benefits over real wood, including increased durability, longer lifespan, less required maintenance, greater resistance to insects and fading. It’s made from a combination of recycled wood and recycled plastic, and it resembles actual wood perfectly. ![]() Although sometimes called “imitation” or “fake” decking, it can be more accurately described as engineered or manufactured. Composite decking has been a popular option in recent years. ![]() ![]() ![]() But each time she quit a diet, she gained back more than she had lost, until she reached her high of 230 pounds.īefore the surgery (from left): Pam, Cindy, and Lee AnnĪlthough she had considered stomach stapling (an early form of gastric bypass) as long ago as 1984, she dismissed it as too dangerous. Food was my buddy." And like her sisters, she tried anything and everything to get thin-ephedra, Metabolife, Fen-Phen. "I absolutely used food emotionally," says the 5-foot-2 former Federal Emergency Management Agency employee in Phoenix. Her free-falling self-regard worsened the problem. Lee Ann, the last to really pile on the pounds, could see in her two sisters the fate that would soon be hers. ![]() At 255 pounds, 5-foot-4 Pam-who lives 5 minutes away from Cindy in Allentown-dreaded walking by the close-set tables at Saturday-night auctions, her wide body knocking things to the floor as she passed. Both gained weight in their 20s during pregnancies, and every year they got heavier. (Rodale publishes Prevention.) Her doctor put her on diet pills, the first of many regimens she tried, including fasting, purging, Overeaters Anonymous, macrobiotics, exercise, drugs such as Fen-Phen and Redux, and-as her sister Pam says-"every diet known to man." Any weight she lost would simply pile back on, and Cindy would reach a new high. "What filled everybody else didn't fill me," says the former vice president and associate publisher of Rodale Trade Books in Emmaus, PA. By the time Cindy was 15, she was 5-foot-2 and weighed 145 pounds. ![]() Then again, weight has always been front and center in the sisters' lives. "It was like trying to hide an elephant." "For 20 years, I wore black," Cindy says. As the sisters have discovered, the surgery has radically changed not only the way they eat-and even think about eating-but every aspect of their lives, from their health to their relationships. The benefits are substantial, but so are the dangers it poses and the compromises it forces. That the technique is in demand is no surprise: Of the 6 million Americans who are morbidly obese (more than 100 pounds overweight), nearly all are candidates, and more than 200,000 have already had the procedure. What has created this miraculous yet nightmarish existence for the sisters? Gastric bypass surgery -a 40-year-old operation with a surging new popularity. "All I want is a good greasy piece of garlic bread, but I know that afterward I'd have to lie down and throw up." "And noodles make me feel like someone's hit me in the stomach," she says. If Cindy eats more than two chocolate malt balls -which she still craves-she gets heart palpitations, a symptom known as "dumping." Pam couldn't drink coffee for 6 months after she began losing the weight-the taste and smell made her sick. Explains Cindy, "Now we're just eating like everyone else." But they don't eat like everyone else. Hunger, says Lee Ann, is more like a small tap on the shoulder. The menu pages flip back and forth as the sisters discuss their new lack of interest in food. When one overweight friend saw Lee Ann, she said: "Oh my God, you skinny bitch." Another called Pam an "anorexic whore." In the world of dieting and slimming down, their transformation was sudden and extreme. She's lovely now, with squared-back shoulders and a soft figure in feminine, bright clothes. Though she "felt like crap" when she was fat, she also always felt beautiful inside-like Susan Lucci. Cindy Ratzlaff (in the middle), 52, is introspective, thoughtful, and the most talkative. Pam Marks (right), 49, is rangy, lanky in a way that fits her former life on a sheep farm. She's tiny, with a flat stomach, a broad smile, and sparkling eyes. Lee Ann McAndrew (on the left in the photo above), is the youngest at 48. The sisters look strikingly healthy -partly because they are now roughly half their former sizes. In a way, it is: What can they choose that won't make them sick, that will be easy to chew and swallow, that won't give them heart palpitations or sudden sweats? An insignificant error for anyone else-swallowing an overlarge piece of food, say-can incur a 2-hour penalty of gut-busting pain for these women. They study the menu with intensity, as if a test is coming. Three sisters sit at a table in a sleepy, intimate restaurant outside Allentown, PA. ![]() |
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