When you're looking for a great way to bring a new level of beauty and function to your home's outdoor spaces, new landscape lighting could be just the option you've been searching for. Our team of experts are always standing by and would be happy to assist you in any way we can. If you have any questions about our full line of high-quality landscaping and lawn maintenance services, or if you would like to schedule an appointment for a consultation, give us a call today. Whether you're in need of landscape design services, patio design, lawn maintenance, or even some help installing new retaining walls, our team of skilled professionals are ready to help you get the job done. Are you looking for a professional Highland Lakes landscaping company you can trust to help you maintain your home's landscaping? If so, give our team of skilled professionals a call today and let us show you the kind of quality results that have helped make us the most trusted name in lawn maintenance and landscaping services the area has to offer.Īs the most reliable landscaping pros the Highland Lakes area has to offer, our team of skilled professionals is standing by and ready to assist you with any and all of your landscaping or lawn maintenance needs, no matter how big or small. As the premier landscaping company serving the Highland Lakes area, our team of skilled professionals can provide you with the wide range of high-quality services you need to create and maintain the kind of beautiful landscape you've always dreamed of for your property. When it comes to high-quality lawn maintenance and landscaping services here in the Highland Lakes area, Mikulik Lawn and Landscape is the premier name in service you can trust to get the job done right. Values above or below 100 represent above-average wealth or below-average wealth compared to the national level.Highland Lakes' Leading Landscaping Company It represents the wealth of the area relative to the national level. ![]() ![]() The Wealth Index is based on a number of indicators of affluence including average household income and average net worth, but it also includes the value of material possessions and resources.The % of Income for Mortgage quantifies the percentage of median household income dedicated to mortgage payments on a home priced at the median value (assuming a 30-year mortgage and a 20% down payment).Values above 100 indicate increased affordability, while values below 100 indicate decreased affordability. The Housing Affordability Index base is 100 and represents a balance point where a resident with a median household income can normally qualify to purchase a median price home.An area's diversity index increases to 100 when the population is evenly divided into two or more race/ethnic groups. If an area's entire population belongs to one race AND one ethnic group, then the area has zero diversity. The Diversity Index is a scale of 0 to 100 that represents the likelihood that two persons, chosen at random from the same area, belong to different races or ethnic groups.Includes college residents halls, nursing facilities, military barracks, and correctional facilities. Group Quarters - a place where people live or stay in a group living arrangement.
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![]() ![]() I am very happy with my fragrance refills! You can find many different scents to choose from, many more than the selections of original plug-in refills.įollow my cleaning tips board on Pinterest. If there are any cracks in the bottle or lid so that oil is leaking out of it throw it away. ![]() If it gets wet it will expand and you will not be able to get it back in the bottle. Set the top of the bottle with the wick still in it on a paper towel and carefully pour the new fragrance oil into the bottle.Ĭarefully place the top back on the bottle and snap it in place.īe very careful not to touch the wick with your fingers, and be careful not to get the wick wet. When you are ready to refill the bottle, set it in front of you and gently pry off the top of the bottle with a knife. You might ask if it is worth the effort, but if you go through 5 or more plug-in refills a month like I do, then it is worth it to use them one more time! Try a Febreze plug air freshener for hours of pluggable freshness in your favorite (or stinkiest) rooms. The wick won’t last through more than one refill. You can only refill your plug-in bottle once before you need to throw it away. The average price for a plug-in refill from the store is about $2.00, so that is a savings of $1.00 or more per refill. One 2-ounce bottle will refill at least 2 plug-in’s. You can purchase fragrance oils very inexpensively at Walmart for about $2.00 for a 2 ounce bottle, even cheaper if you buy a bigger bottle. Go ahead, just try and stop sniffing we dare ya. Do NOT use lamp oil or any kind of oil that is flammable. Crank up the fresh-tensity of your home’s air and fight stinks with Febreze Unstopables PLUG with Fade Defy Technology in Freshfilling your rooms with airy undertones and crisp, vibrant layers that last up to 60 days. First of all make sure that the oil that you purchase to refill the bottle with is made to be put in an oil warmer. There are a couple of things you need to keep in mind before you start on this project. All you need is a table knife to gently pop it off.Īccording to this web site the Glade Wisp, Febreze Noticeables, and Air Wick scented oil plug-in’s can all be refilled. They don’t look like they are re-fillable, but if you look closely, the top of the bottle does come off. ![]() They're not quite steady-cam silk, but much smoother than without this feature in place. You can shoot 240-frames-per-second slow motion, 1080p footage captured at 60 frames per second, continuous autofocus in videos, time-lapse abilities and the cinematic video stabilization, which helps videos look smoother. The iPhone 6 Plus also has the same video capabilities of the iPhone 6. The one thing you don't get on the iPhone 6 that is featured on the 6 Plus is optical stabilization, which really helps when shooting photos in low-light situations by reducing handshake. There's the 8-megapixel camera with 1.5µ pixels, ƒ/2.2 aperture, True Tone flash, burst mode, geotags, panoramas up to 43 megapixels large, image stabilization, five-element lens with IR filter, on-the-fly exposure control, and more. I loved the enhancements to the rear camera of the new iPhone 6, and the same applies to the 6 Plus. As with my iPhone 6, I had to dial back the brightness setting on the 6 Plus a bit more than I did with the iPhone 5S in low-light situations. iPhones have always done this, but the new models respond to changing conditions remarkably well. ![]() One thing I noticed in the new iPhones is that Apple's software does a great job compensating for display brightness based on ambient conditions the display looks great in low light or even in direct sunlight, with the adjustments made on-the-fly. It's not just the hardware, it's also how the software reacts to changing conditions. Featuring a full 1080p resolution, the 6 Plus screen has 401 pixels per inch, a 1300:1 contrast ratio, and, like the iPhone 6, dual-domain pixels that produce wider viewing angles. Apple calls both iPhone 6 displays Retina HD, and the 6 Plus is the best iOS device available if you want to show off that feature. Now, about that big display: I thought the iPhone 6 screen was impressive - mostly, because it is - but the 6 Plus is flat-out better. But it's clear to me now that the iPhone 6 Plus's size becomes something you notice less over time. Of course, getting the phone to sit just right in your hand takes a little maneuvering, and using Reachability adds an additional step or two. Despite my doubts, I've grown quite accustomed to one-handed operation on the iPhone 6 Plus with Reachability. It scrolls the top-most onscreen elements down closer to your thumb after you lightly touch the Home button twice. To compensate for the screen size, Apple has implemented Reachability. The sleek aluminum at these sizes gives the impression of a slippery surface, even with a two-handed grip. The only drawback: I grip these phones a little tighter than before. In fact, the thin aluminum and glass materials makes the iPhone 6 Plus feel luxurious. But the case design allows for a phone that, despite its size, does not feel bulky in hand. The 6 Plus measures 6.22 inches high, 3.06 inches wide and it weighs just over 6 ounces. The flat sides and chamfered edges of the iPhones 4 and 5 have been replaced with a sleek, thin aluminum chassis that seems to form itself around the phone's display the curves influence all of the materials, including the glass, giving the new iPhones the look of a science fiction movie prop. The volume up/down and mute switch is still on the left, but, just like the 6, the sleep/wake button has been moved to the right side of the device. The 6 Plus shares the hallmark iPhone look, with the Touch ID-equipped Home button centered below the display, and the FaceTime camera, sensors and speaker centered above. Despite the better specs in the 6 Plus - battery life and upgraded camera - I opted for the iPhone 6 largely based on size. But, in my defense, that's only because most bigger phones were actually bulky and unwieldy, especially the first ones to hit the market a few years back. I thought them bulky and unwieldy, and found them ridiculous looking when using them for phone calls. Some background: I was never a fan of larger phones. I was just growing accustomed to the iPhone 6 and its feel in hand when the 6 Plus arrived this model absolutely dwarfs my iPhone 6. ![]() But when given the chance to use a 6 Plus for a while, I jumped at the opportunity.įirst impression: This thing is a monster. I really love my iPhone 6, which I've had now almost a month. The new iPhones come in three colors - gold, space gray or silver - and in 16GB, 64GB, and 128GB storage capacities. ![]() Both iPhone 6 models feature a second-generation 64-bit chipset, a second-generation motion processor called the M8, updated camera systems, a new sensor for measuring air pressure, and hardware support for Apple Pay. The iPhone 6 and 6 Plus feature slick, thin aluminum housings built around the largest displays ever included in an iPhone lineup (the aforementioned 4.7-in. ![]() For instance, if our service is temporarily suspended for maintenance we might send users an email. On rare occasions it is necessary to send out a strictly service related announcement. If you have elected to receive email newsletters or promotional mailings and special offers but want to unsubscribe, simply email Service Announcements Pearson may collect additional personal information from the winners of a contest or drawing in order to award the prize and for tax reporting purposes, as required by law. Pearson collects name, contact information and other information specified on the entry form for the contest or drawing to conduct the contest or drawing. Occasionally, we may sponsor a contest or drawing. Pearson collects information requested in the survey questions and uses the information to evaluate, support, maintain and improve products, services or sites develop new products and services conduct educational research and for other purposes specified in the survey. Pearson may offer opportunities to provide feedback or participate in surveys, including surveys evaluating Pearson products, services or sites. We use this information to complete transactions, fulfill orders, communicate with individuals placing orders or visiting the online store, and for related purposes. Online Storeįor orders and purchases placed through our online store on this site, we collect order details, name, institution name and address (if applicable), email address, phone number, shipping and billing addresses, credit/debit card information, shipping options and any instructions. ![]() We use this information to address the inquiry and respond to the question. To conduct business and deliver products and services, Pearson collects and uses personal information in several ways in connection with this site, including: Questions and Inquiriesįor inquiries and questions, we collect the inquiry or question, together with name, contact details (email address, phone number and mailing address) and any other additional information voluntarily submitted to us through a Contact Us form or an email. Please note that other Pearson websites and online products and services have their own separate privacy policies. This privacy notice provides an overview of our commitment to privacy and describes how we collect, protect, use and share personal information collected through this site. Pearson Education, Inc., 221 River Street, Hoboken, New Jersey 07030, (Pearson) presents this site to provide information about Adobe Press products and services that can be purchased through this site. Note: Classroom in a Book does not replace the documentation, support, updates, or any other benefits of being a registered owner of Adobe Animate software. What you need to use this book: Adobe Animate (2022 release) software, for either Windows or macOS. Web Edition containing the complete text of the book, interactive quizzes, and videos that walk you through the lessons step by step.Downloadable lesson files you need to work through the projects in the book.Follow the instructions in the book's "Getting Started" section to unlock access to: ![]() Purchasing this book includes valuable online extras. You can follow the book from start to finish or choose only those lessons that interest you. The fastest, easiest, most comprehensive way to learn Adobe AnimateĬlassroom in a Book®, the best-selling series of hands-on software training workbooks, offers what no other book or training program doesan official training series from Adobe, developed with the support of Adobe product experts.Īdobe Animate Classroom in a Book (2022 release) contains 11 lessons that cover the basics and beyond, providing countless tips and techniques to help you become more productive with the program. Seamless collaboration through Adobe Creative Cloud makes Adobe Animate the ideal development environment for creative animation and multimedia. Quickly publish to social media channels with support for SVG, WebGL, HTML5, animated GIFs, and HD video. Work with a more robust set of playback options for graphic symbols that provides total control over looping. Learn to use the revamped Asset Warp tool for a modern rigging approach to animating shapes and bitmap images. The 2022 release of Adobe Animate provides significant new controls for animation with puppet warping and improvements to layer parenting, and enhancements to paint brush preferences and symbol options. ![]() Interesting in-game challenges to complete Enjoy better in-game experiences with these added items, as they boost your gameplay, enhance certain bonuses, or simply enable new upgrades on your bikes. Here in Touchgrind BMX 2, Android gamers will also find themselves enjoying many interesting items, which can be collected along the way. All of which will allow you to design and assemble your own amazing BMX. Unlock unique parts that you can have on your bikes to make them more exciting to play with. ![]() Have fun trying out awesome paintjobs with your own creative minds. At the same time, you can now freely customize your favorite bikes with lots of interesting setups. Feel free to pick up awesome bikes as you progress, each having its own unique designs and riding experiences. Unlock and freely customize your bikesĪnd for those of you who are interested, you can now unlock and freely customize your bikes with useful customizations in Touchgrind BMX 2. The complete freedom to dare and be creative with only two fingers will certainly impress you. Make uses of the impressive gesture controls to easily spin, flip, and fly around with your bike. Execute incredible movements and techniques using your two fingers. Feel free to execute your impressive moves with the game and easily guide the bike through a variety of riding grounds. Here in Touchgrind BMX 2, Android gamers will have the opportunities to enjoy the classic two-fingers controls, which have made the original gameplay of Touchgrind BMX so popular. Here are all the exciting features that the game has to offer: Enjoy the classic two-finger controls Earn recognition from many others and establish yourself as the best BMX players. Try out multiple parts that can allow the bikes to perform better and also look more interesting while you are doing your tricks.īut most importantly, the game will now allow Android gamers to have fun with friends and online gamers from all over the world, as you all engage yourself in the special competitions with others. Learn tons of different BMX techniques and performances, which can be easily executed with your touch-screen devices.Īt the same, the game will allow Android gamers to enjoy working on the designing and assembling of their perfect BMX vehicles, which you can freely customize to your own preferences. Make uses of your surroundings to unleash special tricks. Unlock your special BMX rides on multiple maps with different in-game environments. Feel free to take on the ultimate journey of a novice BMX biker and always ready to challenge yourself in many extreme obstacles. Here in Touchgrind BMX 2, Android gamers will have the opportunities to relive that special feeling from the original Touchgrind BMX, where you freely pick up your dynamic bike and perform out of your mind with many BMX actions. Learn more about the special mobile game from Illusion Labs with our complete reviews. Feel free to work your magical fingers into the game and introduce awesome touch techniques in Touchgrind BMX 2. Looking for fun and exciting mobile sports adventures that you can enjoy on the go? Don’t want to waste your time in the in-depth and demanding games that require you to completely focus on the challenges? Then you will surely find this awesome mobile title of Touchgrind BMX 2 to be absolutely amazing, as it allows you to have fun with the stress-free and undemanding gameplay.Īt the same time, also find yourself enjoying the aesthetic elements of the game, as Touchgrind BMX 2 allows its gamers to comfortably work on performing their awesome tricks and techniques with the dynamic bike controls. Intuitive guides to help you perform tricks.Enjoy multiplayer duels and exciting tournaments.Interesting in-game challenges to complete.Decide on real time or slow-mo speed, choose between replay- or bike cameras and generate amazing videos in 720p to impress your friends on any platform you see fit. SHARE YOUR SKILLS with the world and let them enjoy your extreme runs for real. Learn how to master barspins, tailwhips, bikeflips, backflips, 360’s and many other tricks, pump your adrenaline levels to the max and kill impossible trick combos that will rocket your scores sky high. Crack open crates to unlock additional bike parts, SPECIAL bikes and much much more.ĬOMPLETE CHALLENGES and RANK UP, earn shiny trophies for exceptional performance and compare your best scores with other players around the globe or in your own country. Choose between different frames, handle bars, wheels and seats and spray paint it for that final personal touch. CHALLENGE YOUR FRIENDS or any other Touchgrind BMX 2 loving user and compete man-to-man in DUELS or go all in by joining TOURNAMENTS available in-game frequently.ĭESIGN and ASSEMBLE your fully customizable BMX. ![]() Things get more complicated when it turns out that government forces may be less interested in saving civilians than they're letting on, but whoever the aggressor, your role remains to rescue people and collect things to help the escape effort. In this case, the government plans to firebomb Los Perdidos in one week, so you quickly hatch a plan with your fellow survivors to mend an old plane and make your getaway. In keeping with its predecessors, Dead Rising 3 is about escaping from your plight in a set time. Vehicles get severely bogged down in a crowd of zombies, who often hang off the sides and roof, scattering everywhere when you crash into something. Whether you're brawling or driving, control is loose but satisfactory, although you do have to wrestle with the camera from time to time, while health items are reasonably plentiful to help make up for any mishaps. Some of the vehicles are even better, like the roller hog, a motorcycle with a steamroller for a front wheel. The first time you get your hands on a particular combo weapon can be brilliant, like the super combo weapon that gives you a fire-breathing dragon's head, metal wings and jet propulsion, allowing you to bull your way through crowds like a misdirected firework, headbutting enemies to keep your multiplier going and earning big experience point bonuses. Before long, you're pirouetting through the undead in a three-phase swirl of fire and steel. Then you find another blueprint that lets you combine that with something else. You start off wading into a sea of zombies with katanas and scythes, but before long you find blueprints that allow you to combine them into something more heinous. Dead Rising 2 introduced the ability to craft combination weapons in safe houses and now you can do it in the field. That's what you spend most of the game doing, in fact, and it's dumb fun. 'Masses' is right, too, because there are often hundreds of zombies on-screen, and with vehicles dotted around to speed your progress through the large city, you cut through thousands a day. ![]() Nick would be an awkward star of a third-person shooter, but his lumbering movement and strange jumping behaviour are more acceptable when you're carving a path through masses of zombies in an open-world brawler, where the game's performance and detail levels also matter less. You never escape Dead Rising 3's technical shortcomings, particularly the slowdown, but once you make it out of this freeway tunnel and into Los Perdidos proper, at least you do stop worrying about them. Levelling up gives you points that you can spend on upgrading attributes or unlocking bundles of blueprints. You still earn Prestige Points (PP) for everything. The controller lag is jarring as you wrestle Nick around, fumbling to pick up desired objects in a swarm of competing contextual prompts, bashing zombies with whatever you can. ![]() Slipping into the mechanic's overalls of Nick Ramos, players are dumped in a dingy tunnel full of boxy cars, rigid cloth tents and dodgy textures. The first minutes of the game are some of its worst, as pixels crawl along the jagged edges of road signs while canned shots of the surroundings strain to set the scene against the weight of slowdown. It's not though it's an Xbox One launch title, although it may be a while before you believe that. Grand Theft Auto 5, with its astonishing attention to detail and beautiful art direction, makes Dead Rising 3 look like it's struggling with the limitations of ageing hardware. Not because Los Perdidos is poorly put together - split into four districts linked by freeways, it's host to plenty of interesting locations - but because it's impossible not to compare it to the other game we played this year that took on the City of Angels. ![]() I see a new movie nearly every week, and I rarely feel compelled to sit down and write a review.Dead Rising 3 takes place in the city of Los Perdidos, a very loose rendering of Los Angeles in California, and Capcom Vancouver may live to regret that choice. You've never seen a movie quite like this. I've always liked Sam Rockwell, but this was a star-making turn for him (at least in my book). The script is razor sharp, and you couldn't dream up a better cast to bring it to life. The audience even applauded when it ended. I'm going to have to see it again this weekend just to catch some of the witty one-liners that I couldn't hear over the roaring laughter. The woman behind me must not have seen the previews, because she got up and left. It was HYSTERICAL, albeit in a pretty sick and twisted way - this is not for the faint of heart. You know from the very first scene that this is not your typical Hollywood junk. At the very least, I'll be adding this to my collection of movies such as Kick Ass, Pulp Fiction, Zombieland and Hot Fuzz that I love to watch over and over. I see the words "cult classic" in this movie's future. ![]() Hand designing boards is the best way to start. I like to design in AKU and dial things in. If you want to deign boards in AKU you need to buy the monthly service, OR get the pre version 2.x.x I should be able to put something together here soon. Well, I'll pick up the paper, I found sum card board. Or, to tape together cheap poster board, and draw the template.and tape down to board. I was thinking of a similar idea a mos ago. That sounds good! I do like the masonite as it cuts easy w jigsaw. You almost can't screw it up unless you pick an ugly curve in the design stage. The remaining spray adhesive on the core side of the template is enough to adhere to the blank so once you lay that down it's not going to wander on you. Unfold it to get the full-size sy metrical template. Reinforce the outside template line with masking tape and cut it out with a pair of scissors - done. From there, spritz the side you're tacking the template pages to and lay them down using the crease for your centerline. That's the 2-sided equivalent of the masonite blank we'd use for a permanent template. Instead, I take a length of 30" or 36" wide construction paper that comes in the rolls, fold it in half lengthwise (evenly) and lightly spritz the inside of the fold with some spray adhesive to tack both halves together. I don't think are very cheapnice sample pic of rounded pin! Is that off board cad?įor 1-time use templates I skip the masonite altogether, which is to say I haven't done a masonite template in 2 or 3 years. I don't think are very cheapwell, I got a lap top ! It's dated, but runs "Windows Vista." I'm thinking it might work? Thanks for the info. What about shaping machines, are they costly? The point of the forum is to help each other. Trying to get back into it.again, I just need a few templates. My apologies Folk's I just been puter illiterate for a few yrs. This message have a pic of a template attached. Like Jamie said, the paper comes out of ur printer with gridlines and numerated, so u just have to glue them together. After the design part boardcad u have two oportunities: save it as a brd file(for future modifications) or print it as a pdf file. I think it's a waste of money buying Aku, coz u can habe boardcad for free. I saw aku shaper has a 'backyarder' fee of $7.00, but what do I get access to? Can I design a few plan shapes to save to my hard drive? And how to print my designs? After u have this two installed, download the jnpl file and execute it. If can also install boardcad on a mac os x.Įasy, on windows ur supose to have the latest java and also java 3d. Without a computer it'll be kinda difficult (i say impossible) to install boardcad on ur handwriting machine. U can also draw ur template by hand hahahaha or u can download Boardcad from here Īlso, would I need a computer to use board cad, aku shaper etc. Is this software downloadable at a public library? I mean, do I have to download any programs to draw me a template? Backup and Restore Android Files in 1 Clickįirst of all, this Android File Manager can back up the total files from the Android phone to the computer in 1 click, including contacts, text messages, call logs, pictures, videos, music, applications, books, and other documents.Thus, having an overall platform like this Android Assistant to make them in order is a pleasant thing in the life and work. On the Android phone, there are abundant and important files, such as contacts, SMS, photos, videos, and so on. Usually commercial software or games are produced for sale or to serve a commercial purpose.Highlighted Features of Coolmuster Android Assistant Even though, most trial software products are only time-limited some also have feature limitations. ![]() After that trial period (usually 15 to 90 days) the user can decide whether to buy the software or not. Trial software allows the user to evaluate the software for a limited amount of time. Demos are usually not time-limited (like Trial software) but the functionality is limited. In some cases, all the functionality is disabled until the license is purchased. 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). Note: You cannot export, import, and edit data in the demo mode.Īlso Available: Download Coolmuster Android Assistant for Macįreeware programs can be downloaded used free of charge and without any time limitations. And it only reads and organizes your Android files for easy data management. Only 3 steps are enough to manage your Android files: Launch the software -> connect Android to PC -> start to manage Android data.Ĭoolmuster Android Assistant is a safe application, which will not collect or store your personal data. Without any special technical skills, everyone can use this software without hassle. It is fully compatible with almost all Android phones and tablets, including but not limited to Samsung (even the new Galaxy S22 and Galaxy S22+), HTC, Motorola, Sony, ZTE, LG, HUAWEI, etc. It supports managing various files on Android phones, such as contacts, text messages, call logs, photos, videos, music, apps, books, audios, and more. It supports taking a screenshot on an Android screen and save the picture to a computer or copy it to a clipboard. Besides, you can also send one or group messages and reply messages directly on a computer install and uninstall Android apps on the computer, and more. It allows you to preview, transfer, edit, delete, add and refresh Android files on a computer. You can preview each file of your Android phone and decide which one(s) to transfer, either exporting files from Android phone to computer or importing files from computer to Android phone. If you want to preview, choose, and transfer some of the Android files, the Android Assistant can also meet your needs. Android Assistant offers the 1-click backup feature to transfer all Android files to the computer for backup, and also the 1-click restore feature to restore the backup file to any Android phone if needed. To manage Android data, the most important thing is to backup Android data and to keep it safe. Let’s check the main features of Coolmuster Android Assistant below:īackup & Restore Android Data with 1 Click ![]()
![]() In my day, however, you could simply print a passport, hop on a plane and arrive. So a good operational officer will have six or seven, possibly more, covers and there are specialist departments within those intelligence services whose job it is to maintain those covers. You could get called out anywhere and your target could be anyone. Let's assume that you are based in your home capital. Of course, if the operation goes tits up, the person who is going to suffer is the agent, not me.Ī good operational officer has a number of different cover stories. But I can recruit a scientist who is already there. For example, if I wanted to find out about Iranian nuclear production tomorrow I couldn't wander into a facility in that country, no matter how good my cover was. Normally what happens in the services is that the risks are run by the agents – the people you, as an officer, recruit. In the US it is slightly different because they see themselves as semi-military and put themselves in danger in a way that British officers don't. But you have to balance that out with the buzz of working in the secret world.ĭespite perceptions, working for the secret service is not a very dangerous job. When you start off as a young recruit, you think, 'Fine, that suits me.' But it is emotionally crushing for officers in the secret services and you can never really share that guilt with anybody. Knowing someone else was imprisoned, tortured or killed because you didn't do your job properly is a terrible burden. The trouble is that even though the rules have been slightly relaxed now – certain members of your family are allowed to know – you can never discuss details of operations or what's happening with particular agents. When I joined a long time ago, we were encouraged not even to tell your partner. The buzz is taking part in a world that nobody else knows about – often you are aware of things happening behind world events that other people don't know and possibly will never know. I can forget people's names two minutes after being introduced to them, but I retain a lot of seemingly unimportant details which can be terribly important when dealing with a mass of paperwork on your desk or when you are out in the field trying to remember what your brief was. I am not entirely sure what they liked about me, but I have always had a good memory for small details. You would be laughing if you could look around a room, point and say: "That's the type, that's the person." The idea is that you get as many reasonably intelligent and varied men and women into the job as possible. They look for independent, self-driven people, who do not fit into a particular pigeonhole. There is no "spy type" that secret service recruiters look for. The net is now thrown much wider, though you can still get the tap on the shoulder at university. I was recruited in that old fashioned way, but of course these days the service has a website and a recruitment team which goes round universities and run open evenings at various places. I thought even if I move on from this, it's got to be a once in a lifetime opportunity and it will be interesting to find out what the job is really about. But one interview followed on to the next and I was sent on a training course. It just hadn't come across my radar at all. I didn't even know the difference between MI5 or MI6. I knew the job wasn't going to be James Bond but I was curious to know more. He stood there and replied: "Have you ever thought of working for your country?" I had no idea what he was talking about, but I just said: "Yeah, sure." After that I got an envelope in my pigeonhole from an anonymous government department inviting me up to London for an interview. I was in my final year at Oxford University when my tutor came to me one day and said: "What are you thinking of doing with your career?" I told him I was thinking of the police or the army. I was recruited by the secret service during the cold war. As well as a frequent commentator on espionage, Ferguson is currently helping to promote the hit US TV series The Blacklist, starring James Spader as a master criminal turned FBI informer. In 2005, he starred with Mike Baker of the CIA in the BBC2 series Spy and wrote the book accompanying the series: Spy – A Handbook. H arry Ferguson is a former MI6 intelligence officer and was an undercover agent for the National Investigation Service (NIS). |
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