Throughout the autumn as the project dragged on though false starts, do-overs and delays, I was hatching a plan. I would very carefully catalog and annotate everything that had gone wrong, sit down with the contractor and negotiate a smaller number on the bottom line.

The facts were not in dispute. Id have him over a barrel. I would sleep well at night knowing I had been wronged and I had made it right. (Spoiler alert: Take note of the half-dozen Is in the first two grafs of this column).

In our household, CY 2019 evolved rapidly into the Year of Home Improvement. It started innocently enough as my wife and I sat in our living room on New Years Day a year ago and decided we should paint one living room wall. It escalated quickly. All the living room, dining room, hallway walls painted, along with the ceiling, new furniture, new carpeting, new appliances, new artwork, purposeful purging of all manner of household accoutrements that, it turns out, we could live without, a partial kitchen remodel, etc., et al, ad infinitum.

Like many homes in Manhattan, ours is built into a Flint Hill, with the front and back doors opening to divergent elevations, bringing not only enhanced aesthetic real estate value, but real-world practical attributes to a deck.

We bought the house on the day of our wedding 21 years ago. Its a mid-century home, but the deck was 1970s vintage. Over the decades, as the deck began listing to starboard, our time-buying and resuscitation efforts eventually and finally expired. The clincher came when, shopping for contractors, one pro gave it a hard look, offered, Im not walking on that thing, turned on his work boot heel, mounted his half-ton and drove away into the sunset.

Hmmph. Thanks for nothing.

Everything felt right with the contractor we landed on. As we traversed our way around the existing rickety deck, he offered creative design thoughts and we each visualized the bright and shiny end game. Sold. Firm handshake. Direct eye contact. He would start the first week of October and be done in a week and a half. Two months later, on our wedding anniversary, December 23, the last screw was turned.

When the problems started cropping up, the man did everything right. When there was a mistake, he acknowledged it, owned it and made it right. That did not stop my seemingly innate tendencies to believe I had been wronged, to seek an edge, and the mental setback cataloging began.

Throughout the fall, my wife and I would compare notes and waffle between hoped-for outcomes. Negotiate or suck it up? Weve each lived long enough to know outcomes hoped for can become outcomes delivered with careful planning and execution. Frustrated over the fits and starts, but our frustration never spiraled up (or down) to anger with the contractor.

In hindsight, those were two significant data points: No outcome consensus and no anger.

Heres a young man trying to build a livelihood in our community. He has skills, ability and a dream. He struggles with the same things all small business owners struggle with: Workforce issues, managing expectations, communication with clients/customers, relationships with regulators, the vagaries of subcontractors, etc., et al, ad infinitum. In short, human nature.

Our consensus began to emerge when my wife posited that maybe we were channeling her mother, a generous soul who died a year ago, the first of a dozen losses of loved ones and friends over a year. All those funerals, writ large, also proved valuable decision-making data, as it turned out. Life is short. Dont muck it up with anger. Walk a mile, or at least up and down a Flint Hill while envisioning a new deck, in the other guys steel-toed work boots.

There is also the First world problems argument which infuses some reality. If this is the worst of my problems

Some would argue it is human nature to take otherwise simple problems and make them difficult. Maybe. I do not believe it is human nature to seek an edge, to one-up to my benefit. Thats learned behavior that can become my nature, if I allow it.

Mike Matsons column appears every other Sunday in The Mercury. Follow his blog at mikematson.com

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MATSON | Building a new deck leads to the autumn of my discontent - Manhattan Mercury

The Walt Disney Company is going to have a hard time living up to its record-breaking 2019.

First of all, there are no Star Wars or Avengers films on the docket in 2020. There are, however, two Marvel films: "Black Widow," a prequel about the super spy starring Scarlett Johansson and "Eternals," with Angelina Jolie and Kit Harington as immortal beings who shape the events of earth.

There will also be a live-action reboot of the animated classic "Mulan," two Pixar films "Onward" and "Soul" and a film based on the theme park ride "Jungle Cruise," starring Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson and Emily Blunt.

Its a lineup with a lot of potential but it could lead to a more subdued year at the box office, Shawn Robbins, chief analyst at Boxoffice.com, told CNN Business.

"Disney has a 2020 slate that most studios would kill to have, but by their own recent standards, next year is missing a big event film that everyone has to see," he said. "Sure, they have two Marvel movies and a few others that could be sneaky big hits, but there's no epic conclusion like 'Avengers: Endgame' or even a Star Wars movie."

This means other studios have a chance to topple Disney from its perch. So far, the competition is looking stiff: Warner Bros. is releasing "Wonder Woman 1984," "Birds of Prey" and Christopher Nolan's "Tenet" in 2020. Paramount has two big sequels with "Top Gun: Maverick" and "A Quiet Place Part II." And Universal is set to release "Fast & Furious 9" and the next film in the Halloween series, "Halloween Kills." There are also sequels for James Bond, "Ghostbusters," and "Coming to America."

A hard-to-top year

This has been a landmark year for Disney. In March, the company closed its $71 billion acquisition for most of 21st Century Fox. In July, it set the record for the highest-grossing studio in box office history. Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge, the parks division's biggest expansion ever, opened to incredible fanfare. And Disney+, the company's first major leap into the streaming world, officially launched.

"When we look back in 20 years, I think people will say 2019 was one of the three or four biggest years in the company's history," Trip Miller, a Disney shareholder and managing partner at hedge fund Gullane Capital Partners, told CNN Business.

But next year will be focused on fine-tuning what Disney achieved this year, according to Miller.

"2020 is about tweaking the things that they acquired or launched in 2019," he said. "It's about refinement or making what they have better."

Robbins of Boxoffice.com said 2019 is a "capstone year after a decade-plus of strategic build-up." Bob Iger has been on shopping spree during most of his tenure as CEO, buying big brands like Pixar in 2006, Marvel in 2009 and Lucasfilm in 2012 before snapping up companies like BAMTech to build Disney+ and Fox to fill the coffers of that streaming service.

What ensued was a global box office windfall that surpassed the $10 billion mark in 2019, shattering Disney's 2016 record of $7.6 billion. The company released a record six films that made $1 billion or more with "Star Wars: Rise of Skywalker" potentially being the seventh. And as if that weren't enough, "Avengers: Engame" surpassed "Avatar" in ticket sales and grabbed the top spot as the highest grossing film in global box office history.

"All of our brands contributed to the success, whether it was Disney live action or Disney Animation and Pixar to Marvel Studios," Cathleen Taff, Disney's president of distribution, told CNN Business. "And that's really the only way you can get to sort of a number like that."

But Robbins said that to "expect that kind of recent blockbuster success to be sustainable year to year isn't realistic by anyone's standards, including Disney."

The company's dominance this year came with some setbacks. "Dark Phoenix," "Stuber" and "The Art of Racing in the Rain," films produced by its newly-acquired Fox studio, flopped at the box office and Disney+'s launch day was mired by glitches.

But the steaming service quickly recovered ended its first day with 10 million sign-ups -- the prize for years of work that Iger has repeatedly called his "highest priority."

Disney+ will prove to be the one thing that repositioned the company on several media fronts, Miller said. It will connect the company to the next generation of storytelling.

The-CNN-Wire & 2019 Cable News Network, Inc., a WarnerMedia Company. All rights reserved.

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Disney had a blockbuster 2019. Heres what it has on deck for 2020 - KSAT San Antonio

Below Deck fans know Captain Lee Rosbach as their steadfast leader on the soapy aquatic docudrama. He uses fast-thinking while keeping his cool under some pretty intense conditions.

But Rosbach recently revealed that his years before yachting werent always smooth sailing. He shared at a Stars Marketing Event in Florida that he was a little older than most crew members when he started in yachting. Plus, he said that he and wife Mary Anne were almost at their financial breaking point when he finally found his current career.

Rosbach told the audience that he dove into yachting while he was working in the restaurant industry on the west coast of Florida. He said even though he was close to being completely broke, he did whatever he could to spend time on yachts to earn his certifications. Thats because he was so passionate about the industry. Rosbach also revealed that he was a lot older than most crew members who reach the pinnacle of captain.

Rosbach clarified to the audience that he didnt see the ocean until he was 35 years old. Thats when it all started, he said. Wife and I, Mary Anne. I wanted to move to the Turks and Caicos islands and saw the ocean for the first time. Rosbach is originally from Saginaw, Michigan.

And through a series of bad decisions, we ended up almost broke, he recalled. No, we were broke. Almost broke is like being almost pregnant, he added with one of his typical Captain Lee-isms. But then he saw a small ad for a mate wanted.

The position paid $50 a day for the delivery of a sailboat. I needed the money, they needed a mate, so I signed up for it, he continues. Mary Anne told me that if I took the job, because it was in the middle of hurricane season, that she wouldnt be there when I got back. Well, being my usual self, it was like, well, you do what you gotta do and Im going to do what I gotta do.

Thankfully the couple reunited after Rosbachs maiden voyage. Thats when I decided it was time to make a career change. Just fell in love with the ocean, he said. But it wasnt all love at first.

Rosbach shared he was extremely seasick during those early days. I was so sick that whole trip, I was seasick, he recounted. Once you get out there and it happens, its like, OK, this is it. Stew Kasey Cohen from Below Deck Mediterranean shared that Rosbach was very supportive when she was horribly seasick.

Captain Lee said that he had gotten seasickness and the whole time he was on the bridge he had a bucket next to him, Cohen told Showbiz Cheat Sheet in June. He defended me, which was really nice.

Like Captain Sandy Yawn from Below Deck Mediterranean, Rosbach has a serious passion for yachting. I was so passionate about it, he recalled. I would beg people to let me go on their boat. I worked for nothing.

I was managing restaurants and bars and on the west coast of Florida, and I go out after work for nothing and work on boats just to build enough time so I could get my captains license, he said.

Rosbach said he was nearly 40 years old by the time he was able to become a captain. Not exactly a youngster by career standards as far as this industry goes, he added. Most people start at a young age. Youve got captains out there [ages] 24, 25. But once Rosbach latched onto yachting, he never looked back. So its an outstanding career choice. I mean, you get to see the world exotic locations. Plus he shared that yachties make bank too.

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'Below Deck': Captain Lee Reveals He Was Broke Before He Got Into Yachting (Exclusive) - Showbiz Cheat Sheet

The entirety of Gwinnett Countys new courthouse parking deck is now open.

Phase II of the deck at the Gwinnett Justice and Administration Center which houses courtrooms and government offices opened last week, adding 600 new spaces. Throw that in with the 850 spaces offered by an adjacent deck that opened in May, and visitors now have nearly 1,500 new places to park their Priuses and pick-ups.

The new decks are located at the rear of GJAC, on the corner of Constitution Boulevard and Nash Street. The original parking lot at the front of the building is still open to the public as well.

The new parking options are part of a long-awaited $75-million expansion at the courthouse.

The larger project is already underway and will include adding a brand new 180,000-square-foot building with a larger jury assembly room,four additional courtrooms and room for several more to be added in the future.

Eventually, the new parking decks will be connected directly to the courthouse via pedestrian bridge.

The expansion was planned nearly a decade ago and is being paid for by 2009 SPLOST collections but was delayed by the Great Recession.

Construction is scheduled to be completed in 2020.

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That new parking deck at the Gwinnett County courthouse is now open - Atlanta Journal Constitution

CONCORD, NH Capital region first responders performed a Christmas miracle, literally, as they delivered a baby at just after midnight on Christmas Day on Interstate 93. Around 12:15 a.m., Concord fire dispatch received a call about a woman having a child inside of a car on I-93 South in the area of Exit 17 in Penacook. Engine 5 and Ambulance 5 headed to the area, looking for a silver vehicle, but were unable to find it.

After about seven minutes, Concord EMTs informed dispatch they had met with New Hampshire State Police at the Exit 17 overpass and troopers told firefighters they had been both north and south on the highway and couldn't find the vehicle either.

State troopers and firefighters then split up and attempted to search both sides of the highway again for the caller while staging on the overpass. Dispatchers also tried to reach the caller again and found out they were farther north, at mile marker 46.6 at the Canterbury-Concord line.

Concord firefighters continued toward the vehicle while dispatch worked out protocols with Canterbury authorities.

When EMTs arrived at the vehicle, Boscawen Police Officer Ryan Nolan was already in the passenger seat with the mother as the baby was coming out of her womb. A Concord paramedic coached Nolan, state troopers, and the mother through the birthing process.

Concord EMTs then transported the mother and her new son, Dominic, to Concord Hospital as firefighters performed neonatal care, placenta cleanup, umbilical cord cutting, and other procedures on the way to the hospital. They arrived around 12:45 a.m.

Dominic, his parents, and all involved were pretty pleased with the outcome.

Got a news tip? Send it to me at tony.schinella@patch.com. View videos at https://www.youtube.com/user/tonyschinella.

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It Was All Hands On Deck For Concord Christmas Baby Delivery - Concord, NH Patch

Rhylee Gerber approves of the restaurant where were having lunch. Its a chilly December day in New York City, but the Alaska native is unphased, dressed in a short sweater dress and boots, her recently spray-tanned legs bare. The Below Deck star likes of Freemans decor which includes taxidermied animal heads mounted on the wall, quick to correct me that the one over the bar is not a moose as I incorrectly identified it. She doesnt have an attitude about it, which lets me know we wont be recreating the dining scene from her first night out with the crew this season when she flew to Thailand to fill Abbi Murphys vacant deckhand spot on the yacht.

Instead, she orders her own omelet rather than requesting someone else choose a paleo snack so that she can fill up on calories in her drink instead but insists she wasnt embarrassed after all hell broke loose when Chef Kevin Dobson challenged her. If I was sitting at a nice fancy restaurant would I want to cause that kind of scene? she asks. No. Would I want to cause that kind of scene in any restaurant? No, but I also wasnt the only one involved in that scene and it was a beach restaurant. It was, whatever. She waves it away in a way that proves shes regret-free and not hung up on it, admitting Its not my finest moment, while also unwilling to accept any blame or guilt over the incident.

It occurred less than 48 hours after she stepped on Motor Yacht Valor during the middle of a charter in Thailand, where she discovered she would be significantly more uncomfortable physically than she was during her previous season on the Bravo series, due to feeling bloated. I think it was the heat, its horribly humid over there and I dont do well in heat, she explained. I thought, I do feel bloated but Ill be working hard and sweaty and last year in Tahiti I lost a bunch of weight because of how much water [I drank] and how much we were working. I think I gained weight in Thailand and not because I ate bad. I was very uncomfortable in my skin. Which is what prompted her to request a paleo snack during the group dinner out, as shes fully aware, I will gain weight if I look at anything tasty, so rather than eat poor decisions I want to drink my poor decisions. Of course this erupted into shouting across a table which then continued onto the nearby beach all because she was trying to avoid a carb. I just tick people off very well, she said.

While gin is her drink of choice, if she was going for a high-calorie beverage she says, I would love a mudslide. Oh my god, Ill drink those and White Russians like crazy but thats heavy, heavy calories. While admitting she thought Chef Kevin was attractive at first, her stance now is as simple as I think Kevins a moron. I dont understand Kevin at all. Oh, but at least hes in good company as she has choice words for the rest of the male crew members. Tanners a fucking idiot, she offers of her fellow deckhand. I dont like Tanner, hes a moron. He thought I was embarrassing him for standing up for paleo [snacks]? Hes fucking embarrassing.

Even though she clashed with the deck crew last season as well, Rhylee says she had no hesitation about coming back to Below Deck for another season, and that they shouldve called me sooner. I ask how this group of guys compares to last years which included Ashton Pienaar in a deckhand role, and Ross Inia taking over bosun duties after Chandler Brooks departed mid-way through the season. I think its same same but different. Same crew, different season.

She even has a half-compliment for her new boss this season, saying, I think Ashton has all the qualities a bosun should have, without ever having been in the position myself. He can be a great leader if he remembers to keep his personal feelings aside. Because now youre in charge and its your responsibility to set that tone, and he very much shares his opinion with the crew so thats lacking leadership. However, when it comes to trying to plan things out and incorporate everybody, he did a much better job with that than Chander did.

Shell still quickly admit she finds deckhand Brian de Saint Pern hot, after a recent episode documented her discovering his impressive abs in real-time. But in this case, it appears beauty is only skin deep. I dont like that on the After Shows you always find out these people are assholes in real life, she says, referring to recent clips of Brian and Tanner well, not quite singing her praises either. I do think Brians a nice guy but hes saying awful things about me. When you team up with somebody whos also not a fan its very easy for them to get lost in that thought instead of, is that how you really feel about me? Because Brian and I chat sometimes on DMs and hes nothing but nice.

Though that wasnt quite her feeling when he recently told her to calm down on the show. I ask if its the worst thing someone can say to her and she replied, No, its not the worst thing, but its certainly offensive when Im not fucking doing anything. Im being calm. If you want to see me not calm then Ill show you not calm. And dedicated viewers of the series, currently in its seventh season and on track to racking up its highest ratings yet, have seen Rhylee when shes not calm. Of that moment, she says, It wasnt fitting. Theyre condescending to me all the time. I think it was more so that youre accusing me of something Im not doing. Im not being irrational, Im not doing anything other than standing here watching you run around. You calm down. Dont say it to me, it just pisses me off.

In fact, the biggest misconception the fiery redhead wants to clarify about herself is That Im combative all the time, Im not. Im combative when someone is treating me poorly, and maybe thats not the right choice to be but its my choice. So do I need to refine how I approach situations, of course. Everybody can react better but its not me out the gate just being an asshole or trying to make things difficult or being disrespectful for no reason.

I know that Im reactionary, Ive always said that, she continued. I tried to be more approachable about the issues I had with Ashton. There will be a scene coming up where I tried to handle it better and it still had the same outcome. Im just gonna do me and if you dont like it, you dont like it, But Im not not proud of myself. My moms not not proud of me. Right now, its not getting me into an issue where Ive ever been fired, Im denied work, or my life is ruined in some field because of it. So until that directly affects something so personal in my life, its not something I feel like needs to be worked on that much where Im gonna alter myself to fit the needs of likability for everybody else. I like who I am.

When I ask if she tried to do anything differently this time around on the show, she revealed, I actually tried to tone it down a little bit with how I reacted, which I shouldnt have done. After clearly expressing my surprise at this information, she added, Maybe it doesnt come across that way, but I was trying to be way calmer and I dont think that was the right move because it made me very quiet. I cry this season and I let things get to me. I just should practice better patience but other than that, you know, Ill still be just as vocal as I always am. And anyone would be a fool to think otherwise!

I wondered if she was at all better received this time around, but she answered that with a succinct, Fuck no, same shit. I just had Kate in my corner this time. It was nice to have a friend. Rhylee said she loved rooming with chief stew Kate Chastain, noting that her only real downside was that Shes a little scattered shes so well put together with everything that she does [for her job] that when she gets to the room its just tossing clothes here and there. And I dont mind.

It was her fellow crew members that did mind when the pair were the last ones to get ready for a recent crew night out and their subsequent day off. Oh, for fucks sakes, Rhylee rolled her eyes. I think we were like 10 minutes late? I get it, its inconsiderate to be late to an event, especially if its work or whatever, but this is getting ready to go out on a day off. Im not gonna be in a rush, Kates not one to be rushed, and its not any more offensive or inconsiderate as how the boys act. Theyre not picking and choosing their battles correctly here. Is there a battle they shouldve chosen, I ask. Yeah, not with me! she laughed.

As far as the other females on the boat go, Rhylee said she liked Simone and that the two likely developed a friendship because she was there to listen to the stew when she didnt really have anyone else to talk to. With Courtney, she admits the two didnt really get to know each other until after they were off the yacht, initially labeling herquiet and rather boring thats derogatory, but since the show Ive seen her on social media, weve talked a lot, we hang out. Shes funny.

Rhylee has also offered advice about how she handles the trolls online to her fellow yachtie, who she says is doing it very well. That advice? Go with your gut. Plus, shes got a system for the two types of messages she gets online. I send every fan whos reached out to me very nicely a message and I think that they understand the real me. When it comes to trolls, they do one of three things: they apologize, they block themselves or they stop and thats the three best options that could happen. If you appear stupid, Im gonna call you out on it and people love it. Ultimately, she says shes felt a lot of support this year, even more than last year, and that while she will never block a hater, she does like to put them on blast because it causes them to self reflect.

But does all this social media activity get to her after a while? To say that it doesnt affect me one way or another would be inaccurate. Shes mostly tired of defending herself and reminding viewers that its possible they didnt see all the circumstances around a particular incident, and would only take it upon herself to self reflect if her mom had an issue with the way she was behaving. I dont think Im perfect but I am who I am. The only personality change she admits to envying is that I wish I was more witty and snarky like Kate, versus loud and yelling.

And when shes not loud and yelling? Well, she semi-accidentally has been building a successful jewelry line in the last month. Its no surprise to anyone whos glanced at her Instagram account that Rhylee enjoys hunting, calling it a way of life in Alaska, though shes also enjoyed the sport all over the country including Texas, Kansas, Florida, and Georgia, encountering creatures from deer to alligators. When I hunt I not only hunt to eat the animal, but a part of it is trophy. If Im allowed one bull moose a season am I going to go after a bull moose with a small rack? No, Im gonna hold out for that moose that has an 80-inch rack so that I have bragging rights. But Im also gonna eat that moose and then Im gonna utilize as much of its body as I can. And even though she was speaking about something entirely foreign to my city-dwelling self, I still had to laugh at the way she said it, never breaking from her true personality, the one we see on every episode of Below Deck.

However, no matter how much I dislike hearing about (let alone seeing) dead animals, it was fascinating to get her perspective on the practice and what its led to, as she began to use leftover parts to make accessories. In no way do I consider myself a jewelry designer or maker but thats kind of whats happened in the last month. I take some of these animal parts like porcupine quills and fish ear bones and the antlers and teeth and I turn it into earrings that have been so wildly accepted. Even a hater! Oh my gosh, a hater came after me for shark fishing the other week and then sent me a message about my earrings and she bought three of them. I was like, how do you berate me for shark fishing where I actually had in the caption tag and release, but now Im giving you dead animal parts to put in your ears?

Once she started posting pictures of her creations, the orders started flowing, so she created a website for future activities and businesses that I do, and promised there will be more exciting news to come from her soon. Those interested in earrings and necklaces can visit thelifeofrhylee.com as she explains to read a little bit about each piece of jewelry that I make, and tells me that she uses her website to get a little more educational versus sarcastic, which I am on social media. She takes the opportunity to explain that her coyote teeth earrings, made with silver and turquoise, came to be because the animals are legal to hunt in Alaska due to conservation because theyre a predator of Dall sheep. She mentions bison, and that porcupines werent harmed to create the funky pieces she uses their quills to design. Its taken off, unexpectedly so. It was just something I did for a friend and now its become a business on the side.

Its an interesting aspect of her life, and one that shes clearly proud of. And while shell continue to hear from both the haters and the supporters as the rest of the Below Deck season airs on Bravo, I ask if theres anything else she wants people to know about her. I have a lot of amazing friends, I do a lot of fun, exciting things that I enjoy and I think people that take time to get to know me understand that. Dont be Ashton and well get along fine.

Below Deck airs Monday at 9pm ET/PT on Bravo.

Where to stream Below Deck

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Rhylee Gerbers Biggest Below Deck Regret This Season? That She Tried To Tone It Down - Decider

Many crew members were silent on social media after Monday nights shocking Below Deck episode. The final scenes of the show featured an extremely drunk crew not only getting into an altercation, but the fight could have become physical.

The crew divided into two vans after a night of drinking. Deckhands Rhylee Gerber and Brian de Saint Pern joined stews Simone Mashile and Courtney Skippon in one van. The other van carried chief stew Kate Chastain, bosun Ashton Pienaar, chef Kevin Dobson, and deckhand Tanner Sterback. The van with de Saint Pern and Gerber was chill and fun. The van with Chastain and Pienaar was a horror show. Pienaar became outrageously angry with Chastain when she inquired about his mother. He lunged at her in the backseat and his behavior was so violent, Dobson asked the van driver to pull over.

Thankfully, no one was hurt, but Chastain gathered her belongings and told producers she was going to quit after she and Pienaar got into another fight in the crew mess. Dobson, Pienaar, and Sterback did not tweet during the episode and Pienaar was dragged hard on social media. Of the men on the boat, de Saint Pern tweeted during the episode, apologizing along the way and taking it on the chin on Twitter.

Preview clips teased the now-infamous van ride and de Saint Pern shared that he received a lot of questions regarding the voyage. Prior to the episode, he tweeted that he wouldnt be able to live-tweet since he was in South Africa. Sorry I cant live tweet tonight as it is 4am here in South Africa. Since alot of people are asking me about the Ashton/Kate incident, I will say this, what @AshtonPienaar does is NOT ON at all and @Kate_Chastain did not deserved to be treated like that. No women does.

While most fans applauded de Saint Pern for sharing, others still wouldnt let go that he called Chastain a bitch during the previous episode. Yet you can call Kate a bitch? one person responded. But de Saint Pern didnt put his altercation with Chastain in the same category as what occurred with Pienaar. Dude come on Not the same thing. And for the hundredth time @Kate_Chastain I am sorry for calling you the B word, he responded.

Another fan wondered if de Saint Pern would have called out Pienaar for his behavior. I wonder if Brian would have told Tanner or Aston to calm down while at work. This is clearly about Gender, this is about the boys club, this is about the clear disrespect that they all have towards women. Mind you, this is in front of the camera, can you imagine behind doors?? But de Saint Pern said he has told Pienaar to relax. If you watch the season from the begining you will see that I have told Ashton to calm down.

Apparently de Saint Pern was in an apologetic mood Monday night as he ended up apologizing to Skippon for not realizing how miserable she was at the club. Sorry that you had to go to that club @courtneyskippon would of taking you home if I could. Remember sitting outside the bathroom waiting for you while you were upset and thinking how to cheer you up, he tweeted.

Later he apologized to Chastain, even though he was not in the van at the time. Sorry @Kate_Chastain didnt realise how intense this situation was. Now I can see why you left. Once the vans arrived at the boat, de Saint Pern immediately went to his bunk. He was not in the crew mess during the final fight.

Although he kept apologizing, fans werent in the forgiving mood. Several point out he continues to support Pienaar, even after this incident. While he doesnt condone Pienaars behavior in the van, he still backs the bosun. What he did in that Van was not acceptable at all and Ive expressed my opinion on that. I support Ashton as my Bosun because he was a really good Bosun, he wrote.

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'Below Deck': Brian de Saint Pern Goes on Apology Tour While the Rest of the Men Remain Silent - Showbiz Cheat Sheet

BOSTON There is a movement afoot among the veterans on this Toronto Raptors club and from the coaching staff to push a handful of newer players, or players newer to big minutes, to start looking for their own a little more.

Earlier this week, Fred VanVleet said it was a case of some players being a little too passive and how that had to change.

Before Saturdays game in Boston, Nick Nurse referred to it as getting some of his group a little more involved in the offence.

Without Pascal Siakam to lean on, the offence can bog down at times and that means everyone from the guy who never hesitates to take a shot to the guy who rarely takes one has to become a little more shot-happy when an opening presents itself.

We have to get some of these other guys OG (Anunoby), Pat McCaw, Rondae (Hollis-Jefferson), Terence (Davis) to play a little bit more involved in the offence, Nurse said when asked what he had learned about his group in the four games since Siakam, Marc Gasol and Norm Powell went down.

Through the four games since that costly win in Detroit, the Raptors are 2-2. They are scoring at about the same pace they were before the most recent losses, but are giving up about seven points per 100 possessions more than they had previously.

Nurse isnt sure that trend will continue.

Not really what I expected, he said, but I dont read a whole lot into that. You have to consider the competition and the frequency of the games and some of that stuff. But we have had a few more moments of our man-to-man defence not being where we would like it to be, which is probably why we spend a lot more time in zone and some of the other things in some of these games.

The focus, though, is squarely on getting each and every Raptor a little more willing to expand their offensive threshold.

McCaw has heard the plea and hes going to do his best to comply, but he admits its not something he does naturally. His first instinct is to create for others.

Thats always been my game, McCaw said ahead of Saturdays morning shootaround. I think just because I dominated the ball in college, me giving up the ball and distributing to teammates kind of freed me up for open shots. So when I had open shots or driving lanes I would take them. Here, its whenever I can get an open shot I almost have to take that shot because it might destroy the rhythm of the offence. Its something I have to get adjusted to.

True to his word, McCaw was trying to be more decisive and in doing so had perhaps the game of his young career Saturday night in Boston.

He finished the evening with 18 points, one shy of his career high, a career-best eight assists and seven rebounds along with a steal and a block in 43 minutes.

Read more:
Raptors need all hands on deck looking for their shot - Toronto Sun

"Have a promo code?"

More than 160 million online shoppers got asked this question during checkout in 2014, according to Honey, a startup that makes a browser extension for finding coupons. The problem is that many of them left the merchant's website to search for a promo code and never came back to place their order.

In 2012, Honey's founders set out to solve for one of e-commerce's biggest profit eaters. When a user is online shopping, Honey scours the web for available coupons and surfaces the best ones in a browser extension. The company takes a commission on every transaction it helps close, and last year, it booked $100 million in revenue.

Honey's promise to merchants that it could turn shoppers into customers, lowering cart abandonment made it an irresistible acquisition for the payments company PayPal, whose services are focused on checkout. In November, the company cofounded by Peter Thiel said it agreed to buy Honey in a $4 billion cash deal, its biggest acquisition ever.

PayPal has some 24 million merchants signed up for its payments solutions. An integration with Honey makes its service more valuable to them, Daniel Schulman, PayPal's president and chief executive, said in a recent call with analysts.

"Almost 40% of all e-commerce is done through some sort of trigger event," Schulman said. "There's a personalized offer that comes in. There's a deal that somebody sees. ... We think that Honey actually has the leading platform and capabilities around that. And that adds a tremendous amount of relevance to our consumers."

Considering many shoppers already search for deals before placing an order, PayPal could persuade customers to check out using their PayPal account more regularly if it integrated the browser extension's features into its checkout experience, Business Insider Intelligence's Daniel Keyes wrote.

Schulman said the transaction had "the potential to be transformative for us."

But before Honey sold for $4 billion, it nearly ran out of money. In 2012, founders Ryan Hudson and George Ruan tried to raise outside capital and were mostly rejected. They struggled to convince investors to put money into a browser extension for the desktop as mobile became the computing platform du jour. They pooled their savings to pay a small team of engineers. One founder took a day job as a product manager at an adtech company to make ends meet.

Honey's users grew in number, and two years later, the company had an easier time raising funds. A small group of investors who were mostly based in Los Angeles, where Honey has its headquarters, poured $1.8 million into a seed round. Based on the company's value in the sale to PayPal, those early investors have seen roughly 300 times returns on their original investment.

In 2015, Honey pulled in half a million dollars in a bridge round to cover its expenses before the next big raise. The founders used this eight-slide pitch deck to convince investors of their worth. Check it out:

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The pitch deck that Honey used before PayPal's $4 billion acquisition - Business Insider

BALTIMORE (WJZ) The stage is set, the fireworks are wired and the lights have been hung.

The historic Washington Monument in Baltimore is ready to put on a show.

This is really the start of the holiday season in Baltimore, Mike Evitts said. Thats how everyone in the neighborhood treats it.

For the 48th year, the Downtown Partnership is hosting the ceremony. WJZ was there as they finished up the final touches.

Were just in setup mode and were waiting for the music and crowds to arrive, Evitts said.

The park, transformed into a holiday village, with food and drinks and a surprise or two for the little ones.

Santas chair just arrived, Evitts said. So well have Santa and crafts for the kids with help from docents.

Mayor Jack Young will flip the switch illuminating the 178.5-foot tall monument.

Timed with the lighting of the monument, the fireworks, upward of 2,500 of them, will be set off during a five-minute performance.

Its great, Chief Pyrotechnician Rich Lanez said. These things go up, they go tall, a lot higher than you would expect.

Gates for the event open at 5 p.m.

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Deck The Halls: Washington Monument Lighting Marks Holiday Season In Baltimore - CBS Pittsburgh