text:
Turkeys season is closed post season withdrawals are setting in along with the melancholy blues.
Vic and I ended the season with an almost at the buzzer turkey, killed at 4:15 in the afternoon of the 31st. Was anyone else out closing the old the year turkey hunting?
Told Vic the season as done making this the last turkey and his face says it all.


text:
How about raising tariffs on imported goods? That will do a few things for us:
1. The tariffs will be an increased source of revenue for the govt. More money in your paycheck leaves you more money to pay down your debt.
2. They will force the price of imported goods to rise and therefore be more comparable to domestically made products.
3. They may provide an incentive (if they are high enough) for companies to start moving factories back to the US.
2&3 will both increase employment in America. More employment=more consumers at the store pumping money into the economy and more tax revenue from their paychecks.
I understand that this thread is about cuts, but there are two sides to finances...income and expenditures. Raising income accomplishes the same goal as decreasing expenses. We need to attack our current problem on both fronts.
I believe in the American worker's ability to turn out a superior product given a level playing field. I had a long time involvement in the manufacturing sector, rampant unionism & poor management were just about able to turn that advantage in the wrong direction. It has happened in other sectors .
On a different note, reading an article from a reliable source says "State spending on Medicaid nationwide is higher than the spending on K-12 education. While I consider the K-12 spending more than adequate, does anyone find that level of spending on Medicaid unreasonable?
Marvin S
Everyone's friend is No One's friend
Someday your life will flash before your eyes. It's your responsibility to make sure it's worth watching!
The assumption in this thread is that program cuts are the only way to balance the budget. A serious discussion on balancing the budget has to include raising taxes, if not then your just going fishing without any bait.
As I have stated before the people benefiting from the claim that tax cuts are the panacea to all our financial woes are the Politicians. If tax cuts were so good then why not eliminate them completely? Most of us here can figure that out on our own, but just as it is ridiculous to have the tax rate at zero it is just as deleterious to have them at these historical low rates. There is a balance here and we havent' found it.
Of course I agree completely that the same can be said for the spending side. Things have to be cut, but cutting alone will not solve this issue.
(that budget is to grow by $500 billion itself since 2009)
Don't spend unspent stimulus money.
($500 billion unspent as yet)
It is truly that simple.
I know, let's not go there.
Stan b & Elvis
Privatize USPS.
Privatize AMTRAK
Last edited by Duck Blind; 02-03-2011 at 05:58 AM.

subset: commoncrawl


text:
Toggle: English / Spanish
Radiation - brain - discharge
When you have radiation treatment for cancer, your body goes through some changes.
Two weeks after radiation treatment starts, you might have changes in your skin. Your skin and mouth may turn red, your skin might start to peel or get dark, or your skin may itch.
Most of these symptoms will go away after your treatments have stopped. Your hair will begin to fall out about 2 weeks after radiation treatment starts. It may not grow back.
Do not remove the colored markings on your skin. These show where to aim the radiation. If they come off, do not redraw them. Tell your doctor if they come off.
Hair care
If you wear a wig or toupee:
Skin care of the treatment area:
Ask your doctor for medicine if your scalp gets very dry and flaky or if it gets red or tanned. Tell your doctor or nurse if you have any break or opening in your skin.
Stay out of the sun, even when your treatments are done.
Do not put heating pads or ice bags on the treatment.
Do not put heating pads or ice bags on the treatment area. Keep the treated area in the open air as much as possible. But, stay away from very hot or cold temperatures and direct sun.
Do not swim during treatment. Ask your doctor when you can start swimming after treatment.
You need to eat enough protein and calories to keep your weight up. See also: Eating extra calories when you are sick - adults
Ask your doctor about liquid food supplements. These can help you get enough calories.
Do not eat sugary snacks that may cause tooth decay.
Most people who get radiation treatment begin to feel tired after a few days. If you feel tired:
You may be taking a medicine called dexamethasone (Decadron) while you are getting radiation to the brain.
Your doctor may check your blood counts regularly, especially if the radiation treatment area on your body is large.
Sharma RA, Vallis KA, McKenna WG. Basics of radiation therapy. In: Abeloff MD, Armitage JO, Niederhuber JE, Kastan MB, McKenna WG, eds. Abeloff's Clinical Oncology. 4th ed. Philadelphia, Pa: Elsevier Churchill Livingstone; 2008:chap 29.
Deangelis LM. Tumors of the Central Nervous System and Intracranial Hypertension and Hypotension In: Goldman L, Schafer AI, eds. Cecil Medicine. 24th ed. Philadelphia, Pa: Saunders Elsevier; 2011:chap 195.
Perry MC. Approach to the patient with cancer. In: Goldman L, Schafer AI, eds. Cecil Medicine. 24th ed. Philadelphia, Pa: Saunders Elsevier; 2011:chap 182.
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text:
Played with a new CSS hack, bottom aligning text inside a div. The only solution I found to this (now documented here) was to use a fixed height div and some absolute positioning on the text, contained in another div. If anyone has better solutions to this problem, I'd love to hear them.
Also recently been playing with center alignment of some things, this is apparently easier said than done, as usual MS have not followed the CSS specification and so the easiest way doesn't work, but with an extra line, it does (hooray!). There's quite a few 'hacks' to center things, I'll document them all when I have time.
In other news, I haven't done bugger all on my python rss aggregation script recently, but hope to pick that up some time in the future.


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By Emily Le Coz/NEMS Daily Journal
TUPELO – The University of Mississippi's first black law school graduate will headline this year's Union County NAACP Freedom Fund banquet tonight in New Albany.
Constance Slaughter-Harvey, a Jackson attorney, will speak on the banquet's theme, "We've Come Too Far To Turn Back Now: Vote."
An author, columnist and Tougaloo College adjunct professor, Slaughter-Harvey also has worked as assistant secretary of state under Dick Molpus and as coordinator of the Mississippi State Democratic Party.
NAACP member and event organizer Henry Cobb called the speaker an accomplished Mississippian who has blazed a trail for not only women, but also African-Americans.
"We're honored to have her at our banquet," Cobb said.
The event, which starts at 6 p.m., will be held at the Oak Grove Christian Life Center in New Albany. Tickets cost $20, with proceeds funding the NAACP's numerous programs, including its annual scholarship awards.
Awards for this year's scholarships went to four local students.
To Go
WHAT: Union County NAACP Freedom Fund Banquet
WHEN: 6 p.m. today
WHERE: Oak Grove Christian Life Center, New Albany
COST: $20 donation
CONTACT: Henry Cobb (662) 231-3507


text:
Settling into Paradise
Trip Start Aug 15, 2006
159Trip End May 27, 2008
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That evening we had some games of pool and table tennis as it was free to use at the hostel bar and caught up with Simon and Allan, Alan's friends from back home. We also met a Spanish guy (Luis) which was nice as I got to practice my Spanish a bit again. Funny enough in my dorm, I met two Irish girls, Bridgit and Sorcha who'd been at Teesside uni the same time as me so we instantly hit it off and had a mammouth conversation about 'the good ole days in the Borough'
The following day myself, Bierget and Alan caught a bus to Mossman Gorge and spent the morning hiking, had a picnic and then decided to brave the freezing waters of the gorge for half an hour. My feet were so numb after and I couldn't warm up but back at the car park we spotted an ice-cream truck advertising coffee - luck wasn't with us as there wasn't any coffee that day so we had to wait for the bus frozen cold.
Bierget left port Douglas and I caught up with Alan, Simon and Allan fishing on the pier - what an amazing view and fishing never seemed so appealing until now! Watched an amazing sunset then caught up with the Irish girls to go out for some drinks to re-celebrate my birthday. Found a cool bar called the Courthouse that has a nice lounge upstairs with cheap cocktails and got chatting to a local dive instructor who informed us that we may be able to get work on a boat as a hostie if we simply head to the marina and seem keen.
Ended up in the Iron Bar, the only place with a late license since the town nightclub closed last month and it was a good night, much better than my birthday in Cairns!
Sunday we checked out of Parrotfish hostel and into Port of Call hostel which was much nicer. We then visited the local market, borrowed some fishing rods and headed to the pier with Bridgit and Sorcha - I caught nothing, had lots of bites though, but the others caught a blue swimmer crab and bream, although none were the legal size to keep. That night I said my goodbyes to Simon and Allan who were leaving to head to New Zealand which was a shame as they were really cool guys and very funny to have around
Monday I went to the marina to ask about work and didn't get very far - pretty much a case of 'we'll call you if something comes up soon'. Work as a hostie is not well paid, involves cleaning the boat, making coffee and cleaning vomit, but on the flip side you get to take people snorkelling and can dive for free on your days off! Spent the rest of the day asking about somewhere to live as I can't afford to stay in a hostel while I work here - everywhere is full with film crew which is a pain!
Tuesday I saw a job in the local paper for room attendants (cleaners) at a local hotel so I called them up and they asked me to go for an interview that afternoon, Alan aswell, so it sounded like they were desperate for staff. We ensured we looked smart in a shirt and trousers but the interview was so informal and we were offered a job at a 5* resort straight away starting the following day!
The first day at work was a bit problematic as we had to check out of Port of Call hostel that morning as it was full and move to a cabin at Pandanas caravan park which was quite nice but too expensive to do long term. Our first day of work was quite chaotic and I had a lot to learn such as making beds and all the tiny details involved in cleaning and presenting the houses in the resort. After a tiring few hours we had the rest of the day to search for rooms to rent and luckily we saw an advert to live with a young couple - we met the guy and the place was very nice but we couldn't move in unless his girlfriend was happy with us. Eventually we got to meet her and the deal was sealed and we moved in on Friday, getting us out of the sticky situation of having nowhere to live. The price for my room is great, the couple seem nice and I have a job so things are sorted for the moment. I think I'm going to enjoy living here for a while!


text:
How delightful!
Welcome to the Quilting Board!
Looking great! Will be glad to see finished project!
Wayne & Gabriele, the married quilters.
You have done a wonderful job so far. Keep up the great work!
My goodness those are tiny-gorgeous!
I don't know how I missed these. They are awesome!!! Thanks for sharing your progress.
enjoy your life...it's the only one you have!!!
Wow! that sure has tiny pieces. It is beautiful.


text:
Deeplinks Blog posts about EFF Europe
Last year, the current President of the European Commission, Jean-Claude Junker, declared that his number one priority was to "create a digital single market for consumers and businesses," in which "consumers can access music, movies and sports events on their electronic devices wherever they are in Europe and regardless of borders".
This is a dream that many Europeans share, and is reflected in the draft report for the European Parliament put together by Julia Reda, which EFF commented on last month. Reda's proposals to the Commission provide a road-map for how to get from here to there—from a convoluted system of 28 different markets, each with different copyright rules, towards a system where licensing rules and users' rights are harmonized, much as they are between the 50 United States.
Last year, we identified European copyright reform as one of the main developments to watch for in 2015, and barely a month into the year this debate is already heating up. Coinciding with the release of a draft European Parliament report written by Julia Reda, Member of the European Parliament for the German Pirate Party, Copyright for Creativity (C4C) have also released their own new Copyright Manifesto this week.
Riseup, un colectivo tecnológico que proporciona comunicación segura a activistas de todo el mundo, dio la voz de alarma el mes pasado cuando un juez en España declaró que el uso de su servicio de correo electrónico era una práctica, según él, asociada con el terrorismo.
Riseup, a tech collective that provides security-minded communications to activists worldwide, sounded the alarm last month when a judge in Spain stated that the use of their email service is a practice, he believes, associated with terrorism.
Secrecy is trade negotiators' stock-in-trade, and it has allowed them to sneak through rules on topics such as copyright and patents that would never pass muster under public scrutiny. EFF has not hesitated to call them out over this, whether the trade agreement in question is the Trans-Pacific Partnership, the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) between Europe and the United States, or the Trade in Services Agreement (TISA).
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text:
has anyone bought and used a Stoeger P350 turkey gun. I have read some reviews a little old but they say that the gun has jamming isuses all the time and is an all around pain in the butt. My local BPS has some on sale for 299 and im wondering if this is the reason why its too good to be true.
Anyone have any comments


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Anas-Chitto Nigeria Limited is located in Adeniji-Adele, Lagos Island, Lagos. Our company is mainly into Manufacturing,papers and offering Paper Dealer. If you have any questions, do feel free to contact us on the details in our profile or view our website for more details.
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Blogging by and for academic and research librarians
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One teacher's discovery of the many quirks of teaching.


text:
Tigers compete at Henning
The Pine River-Backus girls placed third and the boys were fourth at the Ottertail Central cross country invitational on Thursday, Oct. 10, at Henning.
Cheyanne Swenson led the Tiger girls with an 18th-place finish while Luke Downie led the PR-B boys with an 18th place finish.
Pine River-Backus was scheduled to run at Menahga-Sebeka on Tuesday, Oct. 15.
Boys team scores: 1-Ottertail Central 45, 2-Fergus Falls 47, 3-United North Central 102, 4-Pine River-Backus 105, 5-Wheaton-HN, Pillager, Clinton-Graceville-Beardsly, inc.
Individual winner: Connor Danielson (FF) 15:59
Pine River-Backus results: 18-Luke Downie 19:09, 20-TJ Lukenen 19:22, 22-Troy Fetter 19:37, 31-Zach Tulenchik 20:22, 32-Kyle Tschida 20:28, 33-Josh Sescher 21:07, 41-Jacob Riley-22:25, 42-Luke McCoy 22:28, 44-Dallin Sonenstahl 24:16
Girls team scores: 1-Fergus Falls 23, 2-United North Central 32, 3-Pine River-Backus, Pillager, Wheaton-HN, C-G-B, Ottertail Central INC
Individual winner: Paige Larson (FF) 16:22
Pine River-Backus results: 18-Cheyenne Swenson 19:26, 19-Liz Downie 19:30, 21-Madison Welte 20:19


text:
Just wanted to give a heads up, for the fans of the show that post here. Farscape will air it's series finale this friday, after four amazing seasons. It's truely been a hell of a ride, with each season being more entertaining and more intresting then the previous one. From reading the plot synopisis, it's a fitting end for the series, though not an entirely happy one.
The cast and crew, had planned on a five year arc for the series. They had already finished filming the season cliffhanger finale for season four, when it came down from Sci-Fi that the series would not be picked up. Even though it had been announced as being on the schedule for a fifth season. Sadly, Sci-Fi was purchased by USA and they are apperantly trying to kill the channel.
This gave the cast and crew, no time to film a final series finale. So what will air, is the original intended season finale. While in the tradition of Farscape, it's a great one...it's also a shocking one. It's really a fitting end for the series, should we never see the crew of Moya again. But, thankfully, the original "To Be Continued" remains at the end, instead of attempting to cheat up an ending.
Infact the only real hint that it's the end, is in John Critchon's opening introduction. We get the "Previously on Farscape" opening, which then shows us flashes of the story arc that ran for the past 87 episodes. And then we hear John state, "And finally, on Farscape." It's a bit sad, in a way. If you want a look ahead at what's in store, I'll post a link at the end of this thread.
But you know what, I'm glad they leave us wanting more. A perfectly tied up happy ending, wouldn't work with Farscape. Hopefully another network, a feature film, or even ADV's idea for a animated series will come to pass. I'm hoping for another network, though chances are slim. Sci-Fi retaining rights to the previous four, is going to make it hard. There's always hope though.
MTFBWY and HH!!
Jar Jar Binks


text:
by Dr. Don Kuehle
"What is so rare as a day in June?
Then, if ever, come perfect days;
Then Heaven tries the earth if it be in tune,
And over it softly her warm ear lays."
So wrote James Russell Lowell.
New Year's resolutions have been made and broken. The Winter blahs have been banished for another season. Colds and flu are a mere memory. Baseball has replaced basketball
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text:
SPRING VALLEY — Audrey A. Smoode, 76, of 216 W. Fourth St., Spring Valley, passed away at 1:50 a.m. Sunday, Sept. 23, 2012, at home following a courageous battle with cancer.
Prayers will be at 9:30 a.m. Wednesday at the Barto Funeral Home, Spring Valley, followed by a Mass of Christian Burial at 10 a.m. at Immaculate Conception Church, Spring Valley, with the Rev. Robert Spilman officiating. Burial will be in Valley Memorial Park, Spring Valley.
Visitation will be from 5 to 8 p.m. today, Tuesday, at the funeral home.


text:
The goal of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Primary Care Office Cooperative Agreement Program is to assure the availability of quality health care to low income, uninsured, isolated, vulnerable and special needs populations and to meet these populations' unique health care needs. Virginia's Primary Care Office (PCO) accomplishes this through the following:
The goal of the the Federal Office of Rural Health Policy (ORHP) State Offices of Rural Health (SORH) grant program is to assist states in strengthening rural health care delivery systems by creating a focal point for rural health within each state. The mission of each SORH is to help its individual rural communities build health care delivery systems. The Virginia SORH accomplishes this mission by:
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text:
While most Americans were busy tearing ripping wrapping paper off Christmas presents, the Congress and the president were busy ripping the Fourth Amendment out of the Constitution.
As The New American reported, on December 28, 2012, 73 U.S. senators voted to extend the federal government's authority to ignore the Fourth Amendment and wiretap American citizens without a warrant, without probable cause.
The renewal extends until 2017 the warrantless wiretap powers granted by provisions of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act Amendments (FISA) passed by Congress in 2008.
President Obama signed the act into law on December 30, just hours before it was set to expire.
The FISA Amendments Act was originally signed into law by President George W. Bush on July 10, 2008 after being overwhelmingly passed 293-129 in the House and 69-28 in the Senate. Just a couple of days prior to FISA being enacted, Representative Ron Paul led a coalition of Internet activists united to create a political action committee, Accountability Now. The sole purpose of the PAC was to conduct a money bomb in order to raise money to purchase ad buys to alert voters to the names of those congressmen (Republican and Democratic) who voted in favor of the act.
George W. Bush's signature was but the public pronouncement of the ersatz legality of the wiretapping that was otherwise revealed to the public in a New York Times article published on December 16, 2005. That article, entitled "Bush Lets U.S. Spy on Callers Without Courts," described the brief history of the "anti-terrorist" program:
Months after the Sept. 11 attacks, President Bush secretly authorized the National Security Agency to eavesdrop on Americans and others inside the United States to search for evidence of terrorist activity without the court-approved warrants ordinarily required for domestic spying, according to government officials.
Under a presidential order signed in 2002, the intelligence agency has monitored the international telephone calls and international e-mail messages of hundreds, perhaps thousands, of people inside the United States without warrants over the past three years in an effort to track possible "dirty numbers" linked to Al Qaeda, the officials said. The agency, they said, still seeks warrants to monitor entirely domestic communications.
It's not the eavesdropping that's the most egregious violation of the Constitution and the Bill of Rights (such activities are conducted by law enforcement all the time for legitimate purposes), but it's the indefensible fact that the federally empowered snoops conduct this surveillance without a probable cause warrant so long as one of the parties being monitored is located outside the territory of the United States. The justification being that if an American is talking, texting, or emailing a foreigner, then something might be said that would aid in the acquisition of "foreign intelligence information."
Read More: http://thenewamerican.com/


text:
Watch KENTA's KRUSH 70kg Tournament Run
- Written by Dave Walsh
The K-1 MAX Japan tournament is approaching fast, and while many fans feel as if the announcement of Albert Kraus being involved in the tournament turned it into a foregone conclusion, the truth is in one night tournaments anything can happen. I can't say that I agree with having a european fighter and former World MAX Champion in the tournament, as the MAX Japan tournament has always been one of K-1's more exciting events of the year with some of Japan's most accomplished 70kg fighters vying for a spot in the World MAX tournament.
This year KENTA will be participating in the tournament, KENTA being the man who just won KRUSH's 70kg tournament, and can be considered one of the early favorites within the tournament. If you have yet to see KENTA in action or see the KRUSH tournament, we have you covered. Sit back and watch KENTA's last two fights from the KRUSH tournament and why everyone is excited to see him fight in the MAX Japan tournament.


text:
I enjoy this. D-Frog is waiting patiently for her hot dog suit. Whilst you have been away she has been successfully trained to go off the lead when on walks in the park and can be let out of the front door without running off - clever pooch. Luigi is currently trying to scale his Hermie Hut but alas, it is too tall. Bad luck Luigi. Photos please!
Chapter 4: Frogs search for hot dog suit
Trip Start Aug 05, 2010
10Trip End Aug 20, 2010
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Due to the fact that I am tired and drunk, this entry will be very VERY short, and pics will not be up until tomorow. :)
But basically, we couldn't find a hot dog suit in the right size - but they may have more by the end of the week, and spent the day following fat american people and picking up cheap bargains. We went to hard rock cafe where they've hired lots of foreign people (that we couldn't understand :D)- I had the salmon.. and the guy comes up and says something which sounded like "May I taste your fish?" ~ Turns out he said "May I take your dish" - HA! My bad! I also got some hot pink short shorts ;)
Ed tried his first JD and coke
This is all.
Tune in tomorrow for "Chapter 5: Whatever next!"
N.B. This is the OFFICIAL travelpod of the Grundy-frogs, and copyright is in place. So to all the slimy toads out there - neeeer, get your own travelpod.


text:
Welcome to the Greenbelt:
For the last couple of years, you have been an assistant inquisitor at the temple of Abadar in New Stetven. The Chief Inquisitor, Nolam Grimjaw, is a very different teacher than Gwalmaer the priest. Where Gwalmaer would use beatings and worse to insure obedience, Grimjaw could keep order among a half dozen trainees with the sound of his voice and he didn't speak often. A slight smile from Grimjaw would feel like the highest praise and a scowl would feel like a flogging. Grimjaw said slightly more to Najara than the other assistants and he smiled at her more often than he scowled.
Several days ago, Najara was leaving the temple on a routine mission when she was stopped by a courier with a letter for Grimjaw. She directed the courier to the Chief's quarters and went about her business. When she returned to her quarters, she found her belongings had been packed for travel with two pieces of parchment sitting on her pack. One parchment was a letter from Grimjaw:
This temple has received a special request from the Lord of Restov. We have been asked to send an Inquisitor to help establish law and order in the Greenbelt. The Inquisitor tasked with this mission will face a daunting task—bringing the Justice of Abadar to a lawless land. For some time I've been looking for a fitting opportunity for you to leave this temple and serve Abadar as a fully fledged Inquisitor. This is our opportunity, I'm certain you won't let me down.
Nolan Grimjaw
P.S. I know this is the whim of a silly old man, but I'd like to think you'll remember me when you use the gift I left you.
Picking up the second parchment, you discover it's a charter of exploration and settlement issued by the Swordlords. Lifting the charter revealed Grimjaw's gift, a set of masterwork manacles.
For the last few months, Vivian has been wandering the city streets purposeless. While she has dedicated herself to adventure, she's yet to find the adventure she'd dreamed of when she left Pharasma's temple.
A few nights ago, Vivian was walking through town when she noticed something—a person was lying motionless at the end of an alley. She went to see how she could help, but there was blood, way too much blood. Someone had slit a young man's throat and left him to die. Examining the body Vivian realized it was the same young man she had "pranked" several months ago. His right hand clutched a piece of parchment with an official looking seal. Without thinking Vivian grabbed the parchment and ran before someone found her with the body of a man she was too closely associated with.
That night in her room, Vivian woke from her sleep with a start. The dead rich boy was sitting on her bed looking at her. A wistful smile was on his lips. "I'm glad you got the Charter," he said. "And I'm very sorry about the trouble I caused you earlier. Father is the type who just has to go to the law with every little quibble."
The boy told Vivian that the parchment she had taken was a charter of exploration and settlement granted by the Swordlords. His father had acquired the charter for his son at great expense. "Something about toughening me up and making something of my life," the youth muttered. The young man hadn't been keen on going to the Greenbelt to settle the wilderness, so he couldn't understand why he gave his life fighting the thugs who tried to steal his charter.
"I guess they don't need any more wolves out there," he finally said. "That's why I'm glad you got the charter. Not only are you not a wolf, but unlike me, you'll be able to fight them without dying."
And that's how Vivian Deberth found herself on the road to the Oleg's Trading Post with a blood stained charter.
It's amazing how many people you had to bribe to get a Charter from the Swordlords. For all the talk about how Brevoy needs to tame the wilderness and recapture what is rightfully theirs, you'd think they'd be passing these things out by the hundreds. Perhaps it's because of your diminutive stature or maybe they didn't think knowing ten ways to roast a squab was the most useful skill to have in the wild. But you got your charter and got on your way to Oleg's Trading Post.
You can't quite stop wondering about the elf. She was cooling her heels in the same waiting rooms and bribing the same officials you were. Honestly, you thought she was naturally going to get the charter. And from the way she glowered at you, she thought it should have been hers too.
When you were pressing for your inheritance in Restov, all of the gathered nobles, clerks, and courtiers laughed at you—except one, Balov the Dwarf. You never gathered what Balov's title was, but while all the others mocked your claim, he sat and stared at you.
Eventually, you left the court of Restov in humiliation. You went to the humble inn you had stayed at to gather your things. Sitting on your bed were two pieces of parchment. The first was a letter that read:
I'm just an old dwarf who's seen more human comrades die than he'd care to remember, so I'm probably mistaken. But I think I knew a man that bore a strong resemblance to you. If he was who I think he was and you are who I think you are, my old friend's grandson deserved better from that lot than they gave you today. This may not be much, but this scrap belongs in the hands of a true son of Rogarvia, not the insolent pup I'm supposed to give it to. Make the most of it, boy.
The second parchment was a Charter of exploration and settlement from the Swordlords.
Since leaving his tribe, Andarr has been feeling restless. He's travelled far and wide, seen many strange and unusual things, but there is something he needs to accomplish. The problem is he doesn't quite know what that is.
The other day, Andarr was travelling through the woods with Firemane when the great cat alerted to something. Rushing to investigate, Andarr found a young woman, little more than a girl, being attacked by a band of goblins. It didn't take long for Andarr and Firemane to drive the little pests away. The girl was badly injured, so Andarr saw her to safety at the nearest town.
The girl was very grateful to Andarr for his help, but was very upset about not being able to continue on her journey. She had a charter from the Swordlords of Restov to explore an area known as the Greenbelt. Her injuries would prevent her from fulfilling the Charter's commands. For some reason, she insisted on Andarr taking the charter and travelling to Oleg's Trading Post. For some reason, Andarr took the charter. Perhaps this may be the purpose he was looking for all along.
Juwwem had lost track of how much he'd had to drink that night. He knew he'd thought that before, but he'd never said it aloud. A huge man in jet black armor stood up on the other side of the tavern and walked towards the inebriated gnome. "So, you want to be a king?" He growled. "Here, take this. Let's see if you have what it takes."
Juwwem expected to be punched, kicked, or perhaps picked up and tossed across the room. He did not expect to be handed a piece of parchment with a fancy seal. When he came too the next morning, Juwwem examined the parchment. It was a genuine charter of exploration and settlement from the Swordlords. Maybe you couldn't really become a king with one of these, but some good might come of being a minor noble. And with this charter and a bit of luck, you might pull it off.
You approach Oleg's Trading Post a couple hours before sunset. It looks like it's going to rain tonight. Fortunately, it looks like the Trading Post's roof will keep the rain out. Well, mostly at least. The man hammering away at the roof seems to be taking care of that.
The trading post is surrounded by a ten foot tall rectangular wooden palisade. There is a twenty foot tall tower at each corner. Smoke rises from a chimney in one of the buildings.
|Vivian Deberth
Rain...I like rain.
The slender young redhead wasn't aware she talked out loud, expressing her thoughts. On this long road- long, boring, and overwhelming yuuuky road- there wasn't many travellers. At last, the outpost was in sight. Tonight, she could maybe have a warm bath, a good meal, some company...
Hopefully even some LIVING company: the ghostly spirits she saw once or twice while she was travelling weren't much of a chitty chat type.
Vivian stopped walking, to take a better view of the place and its surroundings. She took a long, deep breath of the evening air, simply happy to be alive.
With a smile on her face, she tries to shift the weight of her backpack on her shoulders for the final part of the road.
Wonder if I could run all the way to the palissade? Let's try!
Giggling like a child, Vivian darts to the place known as Oleg's trading post
|Shix Firley
As Shix crests the last hill before the Olegs, he stops to take a short rest and takes in the sights before him and ponders.
Here, finally here, the green belt......its very green and ..uh belty?
In any case I'm here now after a long and arduous trek, leaping crevasses, fording rivers, trudging through swamps, and uh.....um...you know thinking back on it, it probably would have been easier just to follow the road.
"Easier but not enlightening!" he bursts out,"right Sebastian?" he asks the donkey that's carrying most everything he owns. In reply Sebastian takes advantage of the stop in forward walking and chews on some nearby grass.
"Right!" Shix answers for him. "Cause if we had taken the road we wouldn't have found those delicious (though slightly toxic) berries along the way, Which led us to that great pudding recipe, that we can combine with basic acid to get us some......"
After ten more minutes of a stimulating one sided conversation, Shix remembers that he was on his way to that nice little outpost down the way and continues on.
Andarr, while gently stroking his friend's neck, asks him "Firemane, is there such a thing as fate?"
As usual, the only answer he gets from his lifelong companion is a gentle lick.
"Not much has happened since we left the tribe... But I feel saving that girl from those little freaks is a sign, and not a coincidence. This... charter" he eyes the piece of paper dubiously "somehow feels to me like more than just a Tshamek document... I feel it contains a bit of our fates. I cannot say why, though."
"Well" he adds, while using his senses and his experience of the wild to find the right direction to travel "Shall we be on our way? I feel we must make haste." Nodding, the firepelt cougar starts trotting along his friend on the dirt road to the Outpost.
"Let us meet this Oleg... and see what a trading post looks like." He grins "First time for everything!"
Having made his way to the outpost, he spots the man working on the roof. Cautiously, for he has learned that Firemane can have an unsettling effect on people not used to him, he approches the compound, cougar in tow. When he is within earshot, he stops and calls out: "Well met, friend. I assume" holding up the document "You are the Oleg this speaks of?"
|Juwwem Stonefriend
The wooden pallisade and the watchtowers of Oleg's Trading Post reminded Juwwem of the fact that these weren't the civilised lands where he hailed from. "This charter is going to get me in more trouble than I first thought."
Juwwem sees a man with a cougar talking to a man on the roof. "Now that's an impressive creature!" he thinks as he pulls his mule Poi who refuses to move much further.
"Hello sirs, I'm Juwwem Stonefriend and this is my not-so-cooperative mule Poi. Could you point me to a stable for him and a drink for myself?"
|Najara the Ironsighted
A pair of muted gray eyes darted rhythmically to and fro as they appraised the contents of the dual letters set before them. Najara's stubbornly straight forward thought processes systematically assimilated the knowledge conveyed within the words eliciting the slightest curve to corner of her lips. She had heard of this land, the area known as the Greenbelt, part of the much larger stretch of infamous notoriety aptly named Stolen Lands. It was a land sown with chaos that had been allowed to grow wild with wickedness for far too long. The fact that Abadar had chosen her to be his instrument to reap this savage frontier of ruthless banditry and other such unlawful behavior filled her head to the brim with a delicious pride. This was her opportunity to prove to the men of the earth and the gods above that she was indeed one of the worthy. She shall not fail.
With thoughts drowning in a zealous fervor, her master's almost too kind words were enough to shatter her remaining resolve. A full-fledged smile cracked her steely countenance. And despite being alone in her own quarters, a hand immediately shot up cover the evidence of such frivolity. This sudden and wondrous development was most welcome, but it is no excuse to forget oneself.
Najara proceeded to dump the contents of her prepared pack upon the cot and set to task meticulously repacking the items herself. And once finished, the young woman made a hasty departure from the compound taking care to avoid her master and fellow pupils. Such encounters would surely lead to awkward parting words she would rather altogether avoid. A mere hour later she was on the road towards her destination, Oleg's Trading Post.
You notice more details as you approach the stockade.
There are three buildings in the compound. The largest building in the west is a stable, in the northeast corner is a small house, and the southeast corner has a bunkhouse. Between the stable and the house is a covered pen for storing trade goods. Between the house and the guest house are two large tables and a fire pit. The smoke is coming from a chimney in the house.
The man is working on the roof of the guest house. "Yah, I'm Oleg," he says speaking around a few nails he holds between his lips. "Only Oleg in dese parts, so must be da one in your letter. I don't s'pose da letters got mixed up and your da guards I asked fer?"
He takes a closer look at the approaching strangers. Seeing two gnomes, a girl, a Shoanti shaman and a cougar, and an inquisitor, Oleg shakes his head. "Nah, yust travelers," he mutters. "Oh, well. My wife Svetlana's inside. She'll see to your beds, supper, and boardin' your beasts. Though I s'pose dat cat o' yours may want to stay outside to keep from spookin' da ponies."
After the rejection of Restov's court and the further insult of having his only heirloom 'confiscated' it took Gordom a few hours to gather his thoughts and get headed towards Oleg's Trading Post.
"Well, Beor" the ranger says while leaning from his saddle to offer the horse a gentle pat, "I'm not so sure I like taking charity from that old dwarf, but this may just be the opportunity we needed. If anything comes from this we'll have to make sure to settle our debt."
By the time the palisade surrounding the trading post comes into view the sun has already started to set and small drops of water have begun to fall; indicative of what Gordom was sure would be a larger storm.
"Let's get you out of this rain and see about some food. Tomorrow we can set about this exploration nonsense"
"Guards, you say? Well, this document does speak of "striving against banditry and other unlawful behaviour to be encountered"..." replies Andarr. "As for Firemane, my companion, you are correct. It would be better for him to remain outside. He knows how to fend for himself." Firemane lets out a disgruntled roar at the assertion. Andar just grins. "Supper does sound like a good idea at the time."
Looking a tad dubiously at the other people who have just arrived (not having seen many gnomes in his life), he can't help but let his glance linger on the two small ones. "Well met travelers. What bring you here? I am Andar, shaman of the Shriikirri-Quah clan, and I hail from Belkzen." He ends his sentence with a slight nod.
|Shix Firley
"Greetings! I'm Shix Firley, Master cook extraordinaire. Pleased to meet you." Shix then reaches for Andarr's hand and shakes it vigorously.
"I've never meet anyone from Belkzen before, whats the food like? Whats your favorite dish? Do you have a favorite dish? Perhaps you could show me how to make it?
Without really waiting for reply he turns to the large cat next to Andarr and bows deeply,saying "Greetings I'm Shix Firley its a pleasure to make you acquaintance noble cat." He then try's to pet Firemane, circling as he does so an muttering to himself about what spices would go best with it.
|Najara the Ironsighted
Najara glanced skyward and scowled as if she had a prayer of intimidating the clouds themselves. She cared not for the rain which seemed unfortunately imminent. The sooner indoors the better.
The woman nodded appreciatively to the shaman and "master chef" for respective introduction. "I am Najara the Ironsighted, assistant inquisitor of the Church of Abadar.", she formally announced aloud to the man perched upon the rooftop as well as for the benefit of those gathered nearby, " Oleg, I assume you are you the point of authority for this post? Can you enlighten us as the nature of any troubles that have been plaguing you of late, perhaps over an evening meal? I cannot speak for the others here, but I have been personally charged with the task of eradicating the banditry known to these parts."
|Vivian Deberth
Nice horse!
Vivian pats the mount's flanck
I'm Vivian Deberth, I'm an explorer, and an adventurer. Nice place you have there, master Oleg. I just hope your wife could make me a warm bath...
I guess everyone there is thirsty, so why won't we go inside before the rain starts to fall? The first round is for me!
With a warm smile, Vivian picks up her backpack and starts walking to the guest house
Come in people, before I change my mind!
She laughs heartily
|Juwwem Stonefriend
"Eradicatin' banditry," Oleg mutters as he climbs down from the roof. "Yust like stoopid city folks send 'explorers' when we yust need bowmen... I'll help you with the horses." He leads the way to the stables and will soon have the mounts bedded down for the night.
Entering the house, you notice the smell of hearty stew and freshly baked bread. A woman is bustling around the kitchen. "Hello," she says. "I heard you talking to Oleg outside. My name's Svetlana. I'm so glad you're here. Did I really hear that you're going to get rid of the bandits?" She starts serving big plates of stew to everyone.
|Juwwem Stonefriend
After seeing Poi ready for the night, Juwwem gladly accepts Svetlana's big plate of stew. Awwwww that smells great... " It wasn't so much hunger as just getting something decent to eat instead of his on-the-road meals.
"Well met Svetlana, I'm Juwwem Stonefriend. It seems indeed like we're all here to help with the bandit problems, together with some other things. What can you tell us about these bandits? Are they troubling you here? You seem well defended but I've heard your husband was hoping for guards to arrive."
|Vivian Deberth
Yummy! I don't know what it is, Svetlana, but it smells good!
I'm Vivian Deberth, but please call me just Vivian.
Honestly, my plans for tonight are more along getting rid of my stinking clothes, have a good bath and a good meal, a few drinks, a few laughs, a few songs....
Say, Svetlana, does anyone here sells clothes? I can't bear mine much longer...
Then, having a few informations about theses bandits would be helpful, especially if we're expected to fight them!i'll defend your secret recipe of this stew, your husband shouldn't worry!
Vivian smiles and sits, putting her backpack down and massaging her shoulders
Andar frowns.
"Though I agree on the stupid city folks part... Getting rid of bandits is far from stupid. Bandits are vermin. Do you have an infestation?"
Seeing the man's apparent reticence to consider them as help, Andar shrugs, asks Firemane to remain outside as he fetches food, and enters the house. He makes his way to kitchen, guided by his sense of smell and the hunger that suddently makes itself known the moment he smells Svetlana's cooking.
"Greetings, Madam." He nods slightly. "If there are any bandits menacing you, I shall do my utmost to crush them." Andar smiles. "Although I do hope it can wait until after dinner!"
He sticks around in the kitchen, waiting to hear the other's opinions.
Arriving just as the rest of the group has headed inside, Gorodm first sees the man repairing the roof.
"Sir! Would you be the Oleg of Oleg's Trading Post? Would you like some help with that roof before the storm picks up?"
Gordom looks at the sky, trying to predict how bad the storm may get:
Survival Check: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (11) + 5 = 16
"Da roof should hold for da night," Oleg tells Gordom. "Yust had a few holes I wanted to patch on da guest house."
Svetlana looks like she's grateful for the praise her stew's earned and even more grateful for each offer to help with the bandits. "The bandits have been bothering us for three months now. The stockade looks impressive, but it's just me and Oleg out here. The merchants that send us trade goods say they're going to send guards, but they haven't bothered to yet. It's a good thing you got here tonight because the bandits will be here tomorrow for their monthly collection."
Svetlana laughs heartily when Vivian asks about a bath. She stops laughing and says, "Sorry, I guess you haven't been in the wilderness very long. I haven't had a proper bath since Oleg and I came out here. In these parts, a bath is just two buckets of water. You dump the first over your head, lather up, then use the second to rinse off. Tell you what, since you've been travelling a long time and you're going to help with the bandits, I'll even heat the water for you tonight." She takes a moment to look at Vivian before continuing, "Your clothes are pretty beat up. I think I can find one of my old outfits. We'll have to take it in some, but we can make it fit."
|Shix Firley
After noticing the stew, Shix immediatly pulls out a small book that appears to be falling appart and scorched in several places, and asks,"Please miss you must tell how you made such a tasty looking stew! Did you season the meat first or let the broth season it? Whats the ratio of meat to vegetables? How long has it been cooking? What kind of wood do you use to heat it? All the while he's rushiing about the kitchen tasting this and smelling that.
After hearing of the dastardly bandits here to steal the recipe Shix gets a serious look on his face. " We must prepare some defenses. Seal the gate! Raise the drawbridge! Ready the......the....." Turning to Svetlana and asking " What kind of defenses do you have here anyways?"
|Najara the Ironsighted
Najara kindly accepted a bowl of bubbling stew and thanked Svetlana appropriately. "Such an outspoken passion for justice is refreshing.", she chimed in with an acknowledging glance towards Andarr and Shix, "It is assuring to know we are all here for the same common goal. Svetlana, what amounts to this monthly collection? And the party that arrives tomorrow, how many do they typically number?"
Gordom takes his horse into the stable, then heads for the main building where, still unbeknownst to him, the other adventurer's have gathered. Walking into the building Gordom is surprised to see so many others at such a small and remote outpost.
"You all do not look like traders. And you there,"nodding at Vivian"you don't look like you've been away from the city a day of your life. What brings you all the way out here?"
After making sure everyone has plenty of stew and bread, Svetlana serves herself and sits down to eat. While she's eating, she tells you about the bandits.
"The bandits first showed up about three months ago. There were about a dozen of them on their first visit. There was a man with a bow and a woman who wielded two hatchets running the gang. The woman did most of the talking, so we guess she's in charge. She said we had to pay them 'taxes' or... We'll she nearly chopped Oleg's hand off with one of her axes and threatened to give me to her men to... Well, that first time she took my wedding ring as a 'token of our gratitude' along with all the valuables they could get their hands on."
"They come here and take all the coins and trade goods they can carry away. They show up on the first day of the month just like regular tax collectors back in town. The last couple times they've come, It's just been the man with a few of their cronies. Tomorrow's the first, and I'm sure they'll be back."
"Well ma'am, I'm sure those of us capable would be more than happy to help you settle your debt with these thieves. Is there anything else you can tell us? Do they approach from a particular direction? Do they always come around the same time of day?
Gordom turns towards all those gathered around the table.
"I think it would be wise to use this time to discuss our options. do we set an ambush or go with a straightforward confrontation? We don't have enough time to get familiar with the area or set any traps before tomorrow so an ambush would be a little tricky. But I'm not too keen on giving away our element of surprise either."
|Shix Firley
"Now, now, Gordam. There's no need to resort to violence so quickly. Perhaps what we have here is just a misunderstanding. Maybe their not thieves at all and they really are tax collectors(albeit overzealous ones)or they at least believe themselves to be. In which case I'm sure a nice polite conversation could solve this whole misunderstanding."
|Najara the Ironsighted
Beneath the table, a clenched fist tightened itself with every sentence of Svetlana's recollection. "There will be no more taxes.", she stated with the firmness of steel. Najara turned to regard the latest new comer and his sensible straight forward suggestion, "Indeed. The element of surprise is a valuable one we should not unwisely cast aside. Your forethought is much appreciated, but alas we did not catch your name?"
"We are short on time, and although we have only briefly met, all of our words thus far speak of a common purpose. I look forward to working with you all to see things set right.", she said, although her own statements covered some misgivings. This sure was a motley crew to have so miraculously assembled this night. "Perhaps it is best that we describe our various professions or skills so that we may better formulate a plan. Who here is trained with a bow or sword even? I myself have had such combat training with weapons as well as words."
"Indeed, as Najara said, there shall be no more tax collection... or, let's call a cat a cat, thievery. Using violence, or the threat thereof, to force our hosts to pay, and threatening a wife in presence of her man..." Andar clenches his jaw. "I can think or nothing fouler. On the honor of my tribe, I will help deal with these bandits in a... definitive way."
Turning to Najara "As for my set of skills... I am a Shaman, and the Firepelt Cougar is my totem. Firemane accompanies me, and I can conjure the power of nature to help us, or to harm our enemies. What set of skills might YOU have?"[b] Turning to Gordom: [b]"I think the easiest way to deal with these bandits is to let them come in as they usually do - after all, they have no idea Oleg and Svitlana have visitors. We hide in the compound as best as we can... We let them come inside, then close the barricade and deal with them. Simple as that."
He turns to the assembled company: "I hope to clear one thing though: These men hurt our hosts - as previously mentioned I am honor bound to assist them, for they have offered me shelter, and that is sacred to my tribe... I do not know much of Tshamek law, but I believe we are not in any place that has "Preesons" or "Guarts", otherwise, there would be no such brazen lacts of unlawfulness." He stops for a moment, takes on a hard visage, and scans the assembly. "If these people mean to do Svitlana and Oleg harm, I will have no mercy." He shrugs. "I just wanted that to be clear before we started."
|Najara the Ironsighted
"And no mercy shall be given. Luring them inside seems practical, perhaps with a few archers position along the palisades for an advantageous point. Then under threat of arrow, we offer them the choice of a surrender.". Najara's tone betrayed obvious skepticism. "It it doubtful they would accept but it is a fair offer and should help assuage Shix's concerns."
|Juwwem Stonefriend
Juwwem can't help but shiver a bit at the mention of so much violence. He feels a bit relieved when the other gnome mentions another option.
"Uh.. folks, I'm not sure we should be so hasty in fighting. If things don't go the way we expect these bandits will not take kindly on Oleg and Svetlana or their home."
Juwwem thinks for a second before continuing.
"How much money would satisfy these bandits? We might come up with the money as to trick them in thinking everything's going as they planned. When they leave we could follow them and see what it would take to get your and our things back. If they're truly bandits we are going to have to deal with them anyway. If they're not, we should be able to solve it by talking."
Juwwem looks around with a hopeful look in his eyes.
"What do you think? Am I mistaken?"
|Vivian Deberth
Trouble with giving away the money asken is that next month, they will ask our poor hosts more money, money they won't be probably able to pay. And maybe we couldn't pay neither. These bandits seem quite bloodthirsty.
If there is a fight, we must give no quarter, because they wouldn't give any second thought before killing any of us.
And if I may be able to defend myself, as you are
she points to Naraja
Its not the case for Svetlana. And they will most probably..
Vivian hesitates
fulfill their threats first.
Do the bandits enter the post or do they stay outside it?I propose that Svetlana stays inside, and only her husband shows with the money. Stick to the routine the bandits are used with. We must stay hidden, and strike quick and hard, to get the most of the surprise. If we use bows, just aim at one or two targets, to put them down. There's no use in wounded bandits who can fight back.
And if that hatchet wielding woman still have your wedding ring, Svetlana, i'll do my best to get it back to you.
Stealing plain money is a thing, as long as the people you steal still have enough money to live. Stealing a piece of jewellery you cherish so much, the symbol of your love... it's bad.I couldn't sink so low.
|Juwwem Stonefriend
"Miss Vivian, that's not what I ment. What I ment to say was: there should be no next month. I agree we have to settle this now, I merely propose we keep the alleged bandits oblivious to our presence and then investigate who they are, where they are and what we should do next. That could include fighting them but better prepared."
"The name is Gordom. I'm a hunter for a living so I normally like the idea of tracking our prey back to it's den. But tomorrow I think it best to strike early while our enemy is divided. I think I might have a plan."
"City-girl," Gordom says, looking in Vivian's direction "Our hostess already offered you a pair of her old clothes, did she not? Why don't we disguise you as her so that we can still lure the bandits in while allowing Oleg and his wife to hide; away from the possibility of getting hurt. The disguise need not be that great, we just need to get the bandits in the walls before they suspect."
"Now, if we are truly attempting to bring order to this land than it is only fair if we offer our guests the opportunity to surrender first. If they do, we bind them and can go from there. If they refuse, well, wee man here is going to have to get used to fighting eventually. We just need to make sure to take at least one alive so that we can find the others."
"What do you say? Oleg and his wife are safe, we at least begin with the option for negotiations, and if all else fails we should still be able to have the upper hand."
Andarr frowns at the very mention of bribing the bandits.
"The simplest tactical option in my opinion is simply to lure them inside. And there is no way I am going to pay off highwaymen, that would then be back for more. They need to dealt with once and for all, and swiftly at that. Honor demands no less."
He turns to Oleg and Svetlana.
"It seems these bandits have been plaguing you long enough. Are they so brazen that they would simply walk into your trading post? If so, what Vivian proposes makes sense - simply lure them in, while we are all hidden at the best of our capabilities. Oleg should lure then in, then run inside the house and lock the door... And open it only once this is all over."
"Of course, we'll have to capture one alive for interrogation... The woman with the hatchets seems a natural choice, since she is likely to be the one with the real information."
Andarr cracks his knuckles.
OOC: Tactically speaking (using the map) simply lure them into A1, once they are all there, Oleg makes a run for A6 (or pretexts to go in and get the money), then closes the door. Afterwards, we simply run out of our positions hidden behind A3 and A2 and destroy them.
Also, I don't think that hatchet lady will be there. I could be mistaken, but that's what I got from Svetlana's story; the whole gang showed up the first day for intimidation factor, but then Bonnie left it up to Clyde to run the show after that.
|Vivian Deberth
Let's hear how the bandits work usually first. Then we should take a better look to the outside of the trading post, so we can plan our actions better.
Suddenly, Vivian's eyes sparkle, and her voice hastens
Look, we all agree our gentle hosts should be protected, no? I think that maybe we ought to ambush the bandits not here,at Oleg's post, but on their way back to their camp, when they have their money. They won't expect any troubles on the way back, even maybe letting down their defenses.
We surprise them, we beat them, letting just one go: he will say to his "friends" another bandit group attacked them on the way back, and Svetlana and Oleg won't be suspected.
And maybe we could track him down to his camp, but I guess that the six of us couldn't attack a whole bandit ring.
Of course, any money we get back we'll donate to Oleg. What do you think of it? Could it be done without too much risk?
Oleg has joined the diners by this time, sitting in a corner, slowly eating his bowl of stew. Svetlana answers Vivian's questions about the bandits' tactics. "They normally ride right in like they own the place. The second time they came, we barred the gate. They just threatened to burn the fort down with us in it. We've left the gate open for them since. I'm sorry Juwwem, but I think they want to take everything we have. They won't be happy until they come here and we've either run away or they take us for their 'taxes'. They didn't take everything at once because the merchants keep sending us more trade goods and the trappers keep giving us more pelts."
After listening a few minutes, Oleg quietly heads out the door. He returns a few minutes later with an earthen wear jug. "Wild berry wine," he announces removing a cork from the jar's mouth. "Made it myself. Been savin' it for a special occasion. Looks like dis is special enough. Trust me, dis lot is no tax collectors. Even if dey were, dey shud be punished for threatenin' Svetlana like dey did." Oleg takes a swallow from the jar and passes the wine on to Juwwem.
"I like da idea of trappin' dem," Oleg says. "Dey been less careful da last couple times dey've come." He looks away from his listeners and starts pushing his stew around with his spoon. "Dey don't dink I can even protect my own woman."
Svetlana interrupts with a few comforting words and Oleg continues. "I won't let you use Miss Vivian as bait. I... We... Dat is, Svetlana's been hidin' when dey come to visit. If dey see a girl in da yard, dey'll know somethin's up. I'll be your bait." Oleg starts shoveling stew into his mouth to avoid saying anything more, but you notice he's sitting straighter than he did previously.
|Juwwem Stonefriend
With his last hangover being more than a week gone, Juwwem gladly accepts the jug Oleg passes him and pours some of the wild berry wine in his mouth.
"Allright, they're bandits and I agree with you that they shouldn't have threatened you folks like that. Just be aware of the fact that this fight doesn't have to happen now and here. We're going to take care of it. I'm glad miss Vivian shares my view on this matter. What about the rest of you, do you still insist on acting this quick?"
Juwwem hands the jug to Andarr.
|Najara the Ironsighted
"Juwwem, your concerns are valid, but I have to agree with Gordom and Andarr's proposed line of thought. From Svetlana's account, I believe we are dealing with a gang of no more than a dozen. The first time they appeared is when they would have logically mustered their full numbers as a show of force. Now that they've grown lax, this is our time to strike while their numbers are split. But if we engineer a confrontation tomorrow, we must be prepared to follow it through swiftly to the source. We must keep at least one alive, as Andarr suggests, to divine the location of their main base so that we may eradicate the remaining vestiges of this threat."
"That's very brave of you, sir, made even more so by how uncommon bravery seems to be these days."
Gordom turns towards Vivian. "City-Girl there is merit to your plan. I just worry about if the cowards decide to make a break for it. We need at least one hostage in order to find our way back to the others."
"Svetlana, you mentioned that the bandits haven't been coming in full strength recently. Is the size of their group consistent? Would you say it's closer to five men or ten? Or more? And do you recall how many of them were there the first day? An exact number isn't necessary, just whatever you can remember."
After asking his questions Gordom faces Juwwem and although his tone stays level it is hard not to see contempt creeping into his look. "Wee one, you seem intent on following the bandits back to their lair. I ask you what benefit we could gain from this that could not also be gained from a full interrogation? We follow your plan and we risk losing out opportunity to strike a divided force. I would much rather fight five or ten bandits at a time than a full thirty. And if their group does send a party to find out what happened to the lot that is coming tomorrow, so much the better. Besides, Oleg and Svetlana have suffered enough at the hands of this lot. There shall be no more 'tax'." Gordom practically spits the last word as if it was itself distasteful.
As she considers Gordom's question, Svetlana starts counting fingers on her hand. "I think there were six of them last time," she says. "The man with the bow and five of his followers. They were all mounted and had some pack animals as well."
Oleg looks at Vivian and says, "Ambushing dem on da road is a good idea, but which road do you wait on? Dey come by different paths and never take da same path in as dey take out."
After hearing this, you all realize that you approached the trading post from different paths. There are trails heading north, south, east, and west from Oleg's. And they don't go to far into the woods before they start splitting into other trails.
"Well, it doesn't sound like we'll be able to lay a trap for them anywhere but here. We need to decide on a course of action so that we can start working out the details. The way I see it, we have those who want to make our stand here and those who want to track the bandits after letting them steal from Oleg. I propose a vote. I, for one, say we make a stand here."
|Najara the Ironsighted
Democracy. Assuredly the fastest way to accomplish absolutely nothing. But Najara held her tongue and instead forced herself to humor them in the chosen decision making process. "I also vote to set ambush here.", she was quick to state her opinion with a nod of strong agreement in Gordom's direction.
|Juwwem Stonefriend
"Considering the opinion of most of this company, the approval of Oleg and Svetlana and also the wise words from miss Najara here.." Juwwem nods to the stern looking brown haired woman, "I'll agree on setting up an ambush inside the trading post. As you can probably see, I'm not much of a warrior but I would like to help nonetheless. I must say it's good to see such willingness to take action."
|Shix Firley
"hmm, it would seem I'm greatly outnumbered here. I would much rather not resort to such violent means first, but it would appear to be happening anyway...." Shix is quiet for a moment as he stares at his glass of wine and tugs at his little goatee."...so my vote as it were would be to confront them here where at least we have the element of surprise and a fortification."
Shix then turns to Najara looking a little as serious as is possible for him."You asked about our various skills before, and while it is true that I am a cook, I am also whats known as a sorcerer. From what I can tell the plane of fire flows through me. It can be quite destructive...." and with that Shix turns to Oleg, his countenance back to his happy self asking " Oleg, you must tell me what berry's you used in this wine, its delicious."
|Shix Firley
|Najara the Ironsighted
Najara's eyes narrowed slightly on Shix with his ambigous relevation. "You will be in the thick of things when the confrontation inevitably turns sour. Many a weapon will likely seek you as the nearest target. If you wish to reconsider, I offer to take your place. These wouldn't be the first petty thieves I've had to stare down."
"Oleg, what weapons do they typically carry? Do any of them stand out as anything more than a common thug?"


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By Ben Levisohn
When thinking about what could go wrong for markets, investors need to consider the political risks that could cause people to head for the exits. Citigroup's Tina Fordham has listed more than a few that could impact investors with money in emerging markets.
China's Political Transition: China's leaders have a lot of work to do to manage the economy–and keep the populace happy. Fordham writes:
…opinion data suggests that Chinese leaders will likely find themselves under heightened public scrutiny, particularly at the local level. And strikes and protests —called "mass incidents" in China — are on the rise: according to Sun Liping, sociologist at Tsinghua University in Beijing, they doubled between 2006 and 2010, to 180,000, a notable increase.
Notably, this increase has occurred despite the fact that 70% of Chinese rate their living standards as higher than they were five years ago, underscoring the extent to which rising living standards and a growing middle class may actually help increase public expectations of leaders. Outgoing Chinese leader Hu Jintao explicitly addressed these challenges in his final address, noting, "Combating corruption and promoting political integrity…is a clear-cut and long-term political commitment of the party. If we fail to handle this issue well, it could prove fatal to the party, and even cause…the collapse of the state."
An unlikely risk, for sure, Fordham says, but one to keep an eye on as China continues its economic transition.


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Today was a nice, long day spent with friends. Bianka and I hit the mall this morning, then had some lunching at Chik Fil A after she picked up her kiddo, then I mowed the lawn (yay!) then I met up with Bianka (again, lol) and Julissa at the park, then we had a pizza party with the kids. Much fun 🙂 I'm SO tired now that I'm pretty sure I'm hitting the bath and bed very soon.
Yesterday, the doggy got DIPPED as planned, so I hope he doesn't have any more ticks. I will check in the morning. So far, I haven't caught any of them wandering around the house – have seen one on his bed, but it was dead. So, I guess the spray is working.
Tomorrow I have no idea what I'm doing – I do have to vac the living room and do LAUNDRY though. Must. Do. Laundry!


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Patience has been my problem this fall. Not jst any old patience...but TURKEY patience! This is my 1st fall season, and I was suprized at the difference between fall turkeys and spring. They are nearly different animals. It took me forever to find them, and now they are gone. I have no idea where they went off to. I guess I'll just have to keep roaming around looking for them. Oh, darn [;)]. I've heard that as the weather sours, they find the think bottoms to hide out in. Makes sense to me. Last week I sat under a tree in what I thought (based on the day before) was a perfect ambush site. Too bad it snowed and screwed everything up.
Gonna have to reasses things and go at them again. At least I limited out on ducks yesterday. In about 25-30 min. I couldn't reload fast enough!


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Recall -- Firm Press Release
FDA posts press releases and other notices of recalls and market withdrawals from the firms involved as a service to consumers, the media, and other interested parties. FDA does not endorse either the product or the company.
Blessings Inc, Issues Voluntary Recall On 16-20 Domestic EZ Peel Shrimp
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - May 31, 2013 - Blessings Inc. of Tucson, Arizona is voluntarily recalling its domestic 16-20 EZ Peel Shrimp because it contains the undeclared allergen sulfite above the levels required for products labeled "sulfite-free." People who have an allergy or severe sensitivity to sulfite run the risk of allergic reaction if they consume these products.
The 16-20 EZ Peel Shrimp was distributed by Perishable Distributors of Iowa (PDI) and sold from February 12 to May 23, 2013 at the seafood display counters in the retail markets seafood section of Hy-Vee stores located in eight states: Iowa, Nebraska, Kansas, Illinois, Missouri, South Dakota, Minnesota, and Wisconsin, and at Cedar Valley Fish Market in Waterloo, Iowa.
This precautionary action was prompted when three lots of domestic 16-20 EZ Peel Shrimp were found to have exceeded the sulfite levels required for products labeled as "sulfite-free." Sulfite is a commonly used preservative.
The product in question can be identified by lot numbers 13047-1, 13038-3 and 13037-1.
Consumers who have purchased 16-20 EZ Peel Shrimp are urged to contact and return the product to the store from which it was purchased for a full refund. Consumers with questions may contact Blessings at 1-800-492-1621.
RSS Feed for FDA Recalls Information [what's this?]


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Manufacturer: telemax Manufacturer: Motorola 2 Results
Telemax Brain Acid Earbuds (Pink/White)
Brain Acid in-ear buds deliver a bigger, badder listening experience. Their small 9mm driver delivers clear detail and balanced tonal range, while the flexible ear cushions fit in a variety of different ears. They sit securely in your ear while blocking external noise
Motorola VA76r Tundra Earbud Hands-Free Headset
This OEM Motorola VA76r Tundra OEM Handsfree Headset allows you talk on the phone with your hands on other tasks.


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Canoe, kayak, and tube trips along the Blue Ridge Parkway in the North Carolina mountains. Trips from two hours to five days. Riverside camping at our own private campground or at The New River State Park's 3 river campsites. Since 1976.
White Water Rafting in North Carolina, on the Nantahala River. We have Fully Guided and Self Guided trips available. Bring your family and have some fun.
Come on down to the old train depot in Historic Downtown Todd, NC and have a New River Adventure with RiverGirl! Fly fishing lessons and guided trips, bait and tackle, fishing/hunting licenses. Canoe, kayak, tube and bicycle rentals also available!
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Musical Fidelity EB-50
"Hi, I've recently got my EB-50, and straight out of the box, I had to adjust my ears to the flat sound signature. the sound is clinical and dry but very true. Coming from the luscious RE-262 (difficult to drive, mid-centric but with extremely great soundstage), the EB-50 were extremely fast and I loved the soundstage that as a out-of-the-head feeling that almost seems not coming from the..." --Kressel
In-ear design Wired Lightweight (Isolating) Stereo Headphones Large 11mm High Fidelity Professional In Ear Monitors Silver Wire speaker driver produces amazingly clear sound Coated cable for Tangle-Free operation With Memory Wire designed with a snug fit for active people With 15 pairs of eartips including Comfort MaxTM Tip PivoTipTM Sound Ports 3.5 mm 24K Gold-plated, corrosion-resistant...


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|Works for me! Tips and techniques worth sharing
|Topic Review (Newest First)
I just realized there were a couple of questions posted that I never saw. If anybody still cares I'll answer them...
Hey bud, you'r last post has the idea however, I had problems (especially on hair bodies)
with the roundness of the monoline.
I was melting some mono for small weighted eyes, it leaves a small loop with two round
drops of the line the looks good on my small panfish flies.
Any way, as far as a week gard, it came together when I heated the ends of an old set
of forceps and clamped the ends of the line by about a quarter ench. This way the tied
on ends of the line that form the guard tie flat to the shank, and I think the wrinkled
ends of the line under the body help make the guard last longer than body of the fly on
a hard bitting day.
good luck at the vice.
|Why not just use a loop of medium or hard mono (such as Maxima) in the manner of Dave Whitlock for a weed guard? They are very easy and quick to tie while being extremely effective.
|Do you know how well this stands up to being eaten by fish?
Hackle quill weed guard
I struck upon this weed guard solution randomly one day because I didn't have anything else to use, and it turned out to work really well! I've never been a fan of mono weeds guards and I don't really think they work all that well. There's only one drawback I've found so far to my quill weed guard, which is that the quill can get kinked if it's bent too far and then it doesn't work as well. For this reason, I tend to use it on flies that aren't very labor intensive, like bucktail streamers.
I'll assume I'm tying a plain old bucktail streamer, though the same basic technique will work on other types too. Start out by selecting one medium hackle fiber from a rooster neck and trimming the hackle fibers off the quill. Then trim the quill, taking off ~1/2" of the thick end and enough of the thin end so the quill ends up twice the size of the hook gap. The quill should be about the thickness of the wire in a large paper clip. I've found that the thick end of the quill really doesn't work very well for this purpose so make sure to get all of the base off until you're at least into the part where it's hollow in the center.
Start the fly by putting the hook in the vise point side up and tying on the thread ~1/2 hook gap ahead of the hook gap. Create a lump of thread, then take the quill and with a couple of loose wraps, secure the end of it just ahead of the lump with the tail end pointing towards the hook bend. Now you're going to kink the quill at the point where the thread lump and hook shank meet. It's easy to do this by tightening up your thread and doing a couple of tight wraps right at this point while pulling on the tail end. Now the lump of thread should push the quill away from the hook shank. Depending on the size of the lump of thread and other factors, the quill may already be in a good position to serve as a weed guard. If it is, give it a few more wraps to secure it to the hook better. I like it to be ~1/4" away from the hook point and to protrude past it a little more than that. This allows for some flex when it hits weeds.
After this, tie on your other materials as you normally would. You can also use multiple quills instead of just one. Tying in two quills at a slight angle on each side of the hook point can also be very effective.
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Mikkel Vang
Leave a Review
Most definitely don't bother pre-cooking fresh spinach, just rinse, drain and add to the sauce where it will gently wilt. Less bother, more nutrients.
Had a lot of Spinach growing up in Germany we had it with boiled potatoes and one spiegelei (egg over easy) Mutti washed the Spinach drained it in a Colander added the Spinach to a large pot no need to add water moisture on leaves will cook the Spinach, don¿t forget turn spinach often. Spinach will wilt and be cooked in no time put in blender and chop fine. Add Spinach to a simple béchamel sauce or follow the recipe. I like my spinach cooked with nutmeg
If you don't have a cup of heavy cream on hand you can substitute ¾ cup milk and ¼ melted butter thoroughly mixed. It won't whip but otherwise will work well in any recipe that calls for heavy cream.
I agree with A Cook. I also add a little garlic, rosemary or whatever my mood tells me to the spicy while sautéing it. I also sometimes use a flavored olive oil.
I haven't made this recipe yet, but I just wanted to share my tip for cooking spinach prior to adding it to a dish. I don't boil the spinach in water -- I simply saute it in a nonstick pan, in a little oil or butter, until the spinach is cooked per the recipe's specifications. There is then no to very little added moisture to remove before adding the spinach to the rest of the ingredients.
Wonderful recipe. I liked it so much I put it on my website Happilyunprocessed.com. It's so important to help our children learn to eat 'REAL' food here in the US at an early age and recipes like this one make it easier for them to enjoy! Thank you for the great recipe!
This creamed spinach recipe gets 4 forks from me. It was absolutely delicious and tastes as good if not better than the restaurant creamed spinach I have had. The recipe was very easy to make. I did use the potato ricer method for squeezing the water out of the spinach as suggested in the other reviews, so I think that contributed to the success of the dish. I will definitely make this again.
Thanks to the person who suggested the ricer to remove all of the water! Previous attempts at this dish ended up soggy but not this one with that added step. Also added 2 tablespoons Parmesan cheese with the salt pepper and nutmeg. Gave it extra zing. Delicious recipe I will make again.
This is super yummy! A good quick and easy side dish to get going, and really add depth to a meal. We eat spinach a lot, and it is nice to have several recipes to "go to." I sometimes don't add the nutmeg, if it does not seem to go with what else I am serving. The recipe is for 3 POUNDS of spinach, so, be sure to cut back on the other ingredients if you are not making 3 POUNDS of spinach. I always seem to forget, and end up having way too much sauce.
I have used this recipe twice in a row for Thanksgiving Dinner. It is the one closest to the version my mother made every year, pure, simple, lovely creamed spinach. This year, I made one batch with frozen spinach, and the other with fresh. I could taste a difference, but no one else commented. The hardest part of the recipe is getting the water out of the cooked spinach, but I learned a trick this year. Squeeze the water with a potato ricer. Worked great! I highly recommend this recipe.


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I'll repeat myself: It's not like I sell my game to Gamestop and suddenly 5 used copies appear out of thin air. Like Hodgman said, it's one copy, one user. Only one person can use that disc and play that game at a time.
In fairness, you're right there is a difference. Used games are actually worse than piracy if we use money here.
New game sale: $50
Used game sales total: $175
Total sales: $225
Publisher profit: $25
Gamestop profit: $125
So Gamestop makes 5x as much as the publisher. Now let's imagine that instead of buying used games, the people pirate %50 of their games and buy 1/2 new.
New game sale: $150
Used game sales total: $0
Total sales: $150
Publisher profit: $75
Gamestop profit: $30
Well, I see how that sucks for Gamestop, but even people pirating %50 of their content is better than having a used market. The publisher makes 3x more if people pirate half of their games than if they get them used. Bear in mind, the average used game passes through six owners over the course of its life.
It's pretty darn difficult to defend used games.


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ARSC Science
Alaska Weather Symposium
The 2011 Alaska Weather Symposium was held on the campus of the University of Alaska Fairbanks March 15-16, organized and sponsored by the Alaska Region NOAA National Weather Service, the Arctic Region Supercomputing Center, UAF College of Natural Science and Mathematics, UAF Geophysical Institute and the International Arctic Research Center. Annual AWS gatherings facilitate the exchange of operational and research information related to weather in the Alaska environment, with participation from academic, research, government, military and private sectors.
HPC Application Acceleration
A National Science Foundation-funded workshop on the topic of application acceleration for high performance computing was held in Beijing, China, Oct. 21-23, 2010. ARSC's Chief Scientist Greg Newby was a conference convener and principal investigator of the NSF grant. More information about the workshop is available at www.arsc.edu/science/acceleration2010/
Real-time Weather Forecasting
ARSC has been active on many fronts in the production of real-time weather forecasts in Alaska. Real-time forecasts have included ARSCwrf , incorporated into the Advanced Weather Interactive Prediction System at the National Weather Service, Alaska WRF Midterm forecasts, UAF wildfire smoke forecasts , and recently a prototype implementation of an ARSC High Resolution Rapid Refresh model run.
New Technologies for High Performance Computing
ARSC has been active at hands-on evaluation of new technologies for high performance computing. A Symposium on Multicore and New Processing Technologies in 2007 helped to set the stage for these ongoing investigations. Recent topics of interest, pursued at ARSC by full time staff, students, interns, and partners, have revealed benefits and shortcomings of next-generation technologies for different purposes in high performance computing. Specific hardware technologies have included the Cell BE processor, general-purpose graphics processing units, field-programmable gate arrays, chip multithreading, and solid state drives. ARSC has also evaluated software technologies, including programming languages for reconfigurable computing, software development kits for the Cell BE and GPUs, and parallel global address space (PGAS) languages.
Space Weather
HPC Specialists Sergei Maurits and Anton Kulchitsky contribute into Space Physics research efforts at the ARSC. The focus is on maintaining the Space Weather portal at http://spaceweather.arsc.edu , where users can check the latest results from continuously running UAF EPPIM (locally developed Eulerian Parallel Polar Ionosphere Model), as well as the current geomagnetic activity and solar wind indices from the NOAA Space Prediction Center (SPC). The ionospheric modeling is performed with locally developed model UAF EPPIM, driven by automatically updated current inputs from NOAA SPC. These inputs include parameters of the upstream solar wind, thus facilitating short-term (2-3 hours) ionospheric forecasts with advance defined by delay of the solar wind propagation toward the Earth.
Comparisons of the modeled ionospheric parameters with the data from NOAA ionosonde real-time network are continuously available at the portal. These comparisons help to monitor the model performance and contribute into the model-validating database of the comparisons. Solar wind propagation model, newly developed by Anton Kulchotsky, helps to improve the forecasting scheme by adjusting the propagation times and, thus, more precise determination of the solar wind disturbances arrival and their immediate influence on the polar and adjacent sub-polar ionosphere. The solar wind propagation model allows for better understanding of the solar wind structures at 1AU and can be used with various space weather forecasting tools.
The EPPIM model is capable to generate 3-D time-dependent distribution of ionospheric parameters with high-resolution, realistically representing electron density gradients. Thus, its output is applicable for various radio-wave propagation tasks. Several projects in this field were completed recently.


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I want one of these! They are only 99.00! :thumbup:
Welcome to the Quilting Board!
I want one of these! They are only 99.00! :thumbup:
it's so cute! Get one for me!
LOOKIE!!! :thumbup:Originally Posted by Grama Lehr
I was at a paper-piecing workshop 2 weeks ago and one of our new guild members brought one to sew on. Hers was blue and she said it works great. She bought for her granddaughter to learn to sew on.
I bet it's made by Janome. Looks like a really good basic machine for $99.
I have one! I found it at a thrift store for $30. And I really like it for taking along with me. Not a lot of stitches, but for basic piecing it's great. You can't really free motion quilt on it, though.
I have the pink one. I got it 2 years ago for christmas, and yes it is made by Janome.
I only use it for classes, so it rides in a matching pink bag in the trunk of my car!
I'd love to find the blue one, but have only seen it in the US.
My Dd have a small machine hidden in her room. I wonder if it is the same. She hides things so I can't find them.
Ok, how about purple? That's really cute!


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Please read the legal notice included in this e-book and/or check the copyright status in your country.
Anthem is a dystopian fiction novella by Ayn Rand, first published in 1938. It takes place at some unspecified future date when mankind has entered another dark age as a result of the evils of irrationality and collectivism and the weaknesses of socialistic thinking and economics. Technological advancement is now carefully planned (when it is allowed to occur at all) and the concept of individuality has been eliminated (for example, the word "I" has disappeared from… (more)
Amazing book. Great transition from the 'we' to 'I'. Major influence on award-winning 'The Giver' by Louis Lowry.
Language: English
Published in: 1938
Word count: 19,015 words (≈ about 1 hour)
Source: http://gutenberg.org
Copyright: Please read the legal notice included in this e-book and/or check the copyright status in your country.
A list of utopia/dystopia books.Utopia is a fictional island near the coast of the atlantic ocean written about by Sir Thomas More as the fictional...


text: If you're surfing with friends or have a surfboard that is too big for your car, truck or suv a surfboard car rack is going to be necessary. Surfboard car racks come in several styles and will vary depending on the type of car you drive and your specific needs. If you are purchasing a surfboard rack for your car with a factory installed or an aftermarket rack system you will want to look for a set of pads and straps to secure the surfboard to your car. These straps are sold in both a locking and non locking versions. When it comes to choosing the surfboard rack pads this will be based off of the rack cross bars. If your vehicle has flat factory cross bars a set of the aero rack pads will be your best bet. If your vehicle has an aftermarket roof rack like Thule or Yakima a set of the round standard rack pads will work best. If you drive a truck a surfboard tail gate pad will do the job great. These are available in both a locking and non locking version and work by securing your surfboard to the tailgate of your truck. If you drive a car with no roof rack and want a fast affordable way to transport your surfboard a set of soft rack pads are what you need. They are available in both a locking and non-locking version plus you can choose from a double or single set. A single set of soft rack pads will typically hold 1-3 surfboards securely to your car, a double set will secure 1-6 surfboards to the roof of your car.


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February 5, 2013
Lea Camilletti brings the ball up the floor vs. Steamboat Springs Tuesday in the Moffat County High School gym.
Stories this photo appears in:
Moffat County freshmen split with Steamboat
Pressure defense was only good enough to get one win for Moffat County Tuesday. The Moffat County C teams took over the court Tuesday afternoon in the MCHS gym. The Bulldogs freshmen split a pair of games with Steamboat Springs, as the girls team won 52-15, followed by a loss for the boys, 44-34. Both teams employed full court defense for much of the game, but it was not as successful in the second game as the first.
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Can someone answer one, simple question?
What are you going to do? If and when a dog disobeys any command?
So far, all I have seen is...dog won't if properly taught. For me, that is no answer. After 30 some years of seeing differently.
Charlotte Kaiser: " The Problem Lies In The Talent."
Jennifer, I think you are taking stuff personally that is not directed at you. Those two earlier posts of mine that annoyed you were not directed at you. This topic comes up over and over again, it has for years. I doubt anyone has said anything in this thread that wasn't said in RTF threads like it 5 years ago. I have never disparged you or your training methods, you sound like you know a lot more about dogs than I do. I think you will be successful. But google something like "site:retrievertraining.net clicker " and you will find links to page after page of RTF threads on the topic, hence the dead horse feeling.
(Edit: I am new at this, I have hardly any opinions on anything about dog training, except that I do not want to hurt my dog!)
Here is a great video on the topic, maybe you remember it, I believe Milner brought it to our attention last year (http://www.retrievertraining.net/for...ker-Training):
Last edited by Renee P.; 12-07-2012 at 01:52 PM. Reason: url added
I don't believe anyone wants to hurt their dogs and Renee you are more astute then you think.
These threads always go this way, because most folks on here that have trained to upper levels themselves, evolved over the years and continue to play the American Field Games are skeptical when a "newbie" for lack of a better term comes along without ever having trained a dog to those upper levels and says that there is a "new" way, without any proven consistant successes in those Tests/Trials. When in reality most people who really know how to train dogs, know that you train the dog at the end of your leash-there is no cookie cutter approach. A well balanced approach to dog training is just that~~well balanced. The insinuation of some that their dog is "happier" because you don't use a collar or do any force is just asking for a 'fight'. Don't know why we insist on having these American vs British threads.
I always hear people say they are "training for Hunt Tests and Field Trials". When in reality they may have had one dog run a few juniors~~so the "old timers" are skeptical and ask tough questions. Well we used to have the old timers ask tough questions, now-a-days that bluntness if frowned upon, because it might be "mean". It is easy to say you are training for something, the hard (AND HUMBLING) part is doing it, really doing it to where your dog can compete. You find out really quickly to surround yourself with people who are successful in your chosen game.
It seems lately that there is a lot of "last word-itis" and its not even winter yet!!!
Old Oak's Irish Poet ~ "Teegan"
Sire: Irish FTCH Rockenhart Voyager
Dam: Old Oak's Ipswich Addie JH
"They's Just DAWGS"; "I train dogs, Not papers"
"Hunting is a skill to be learned whether you do it early or late it still needs to be learned"
GMRH-I HRCH Quick MH (most importantly Duck/Upland Enthusiast) Rip. July-2014
GMHR HRCH Lakota MH (most importantly Upland/Duck Enthusiast)
MHR HR Storm SH (Beginning Upland & Waterfowl Enthusiast)