text:
Get it? Wrecked home opener?
Josh Beckett (0-1, 4.50) vs. Clayton Richard (0-1, 14.54)
It may be April 9th, but it's still Opening Day somewhere! Today that somewhere is San Diego. The Dodgers are looking to wreck the Padres' home opener for the second year in a row. Last year's matchup featured Matt Kemp's first home run of the season. I say it happens again today.
Looking at the ERAs alone, this doesn't look like a dazzling pitching matchup, but their Clayton has managed to give us fits and tantrums in the past. Here's hoping the suddenly-resurgent Dodger offense makes him think, "I'm out of my league."
Weird start time today, kids! Better blow off that afternoon meeting!

subset: commoncrawl


text:
I've always been more of a Traveller man myself -- I got my start with the Little Black Books, thanks to my friend's older brother, from whom we also learned D&D -- but we did play Star Frontiers. It was pretty much inevitable, as we were unabashed TSR fanboys and picked up just about every game the company cranked out, including this one.
In the gaming circles in which I moved, Star Frontiers was always compared unfavorably to Traveller, an opinion echoed even in the pages of Dragon, where reviewer Tony Watson noted:
The STAR FRONTIERS game certainly has a different feel from that evoked by TRAVELLER. Some of the weaker aspects of the TSR game, such as background and starships, are strengths of the TRAVELLER system. GDW's game seems a bit more solid and serious in its approach. Comparing the two is like comparing the movies Star Wars and 2001: A Space Odyssey: both very good, but very different, facets of science fictionThat's pretty much how I viewed the game too: bubblegum space opera rather than "solid and serious." Make no mistake: I loved Star Wars as a kid, but I'd been exposed to enough sci-fi to know that its style and content weren't the only ones for the genre. And given that Traveller was largely conceived and written before Star Wars, the game retained its own distinctive feel, more reminiscent of classic SF writers like Anderson, Asimov, and Piper rather than Lucas.
But, as I said, we still played and enjoyed Star Frontiers for when we were interested in some over-the-top science fictional derring-do. With its simple, fast-moving rules, broad-brush setting, and well-made components, Star Frontiers was almost always fun. Unlike Traveller, about which I agonized a great deal more to get it "right," I could whip up Star Frontiers adventures on the fly -- and usually did. Plus, the modules produced for the game were, with a few exceptions, a blast. The three-part Volturnus series, in which Tom Moldvay played a large role, were a loving homage to pulp science fiction from the 30s and 40s, while UK-produced modules were a nice change of pace, approaching Traveller-esque levels of depth and sophistication.
If the original release of the game had a flaw, it was the lack of starship rules, as noted in the quote above. This was eventually rectified by the release of a second boxed set, called Knight Hawks, which contained an excellent -- and scalable -- set of rules for adjudicating everything from one-on-one dogfights to massive fleet engagements. Like the RPG rules, the starship rules were easy to use and quick; they also integrated characters into the action quite well. Coupled with all the counters and maps the boxed set included, I actually preferred Knight Hawks to Traveller's various starship rules for many years. I still consider that set to be one of the best things TSR produced in that time period.
Star Frontiers eventually suffered an ignominious end, another victim of TSR's schizophrenia about any game that wasn't Dungeons & Dragons. Color-coded chart mania overtook the company's design department and, in 1985, the game was halfheartedly overhauled to an entirely new game system, at the same time expanding its setting in intriguing ways. Not long thereafter, the game was dropped, while Traveller, even in its dotage, continued to chug along as king of the science fiction RPG castle.
Looking back, Star Frontiers definitely had a lot going for it. The game wasn't a good vehicle for detailed explorations among the stars or meditations on what it means to be human, but it nicely scratched a pulp SF itch that, to my mind, has never really been attempted since. Every now and again, I am reminded of the fun I had playing Star Frontiers and considering digging out my old boxed sets and giving it a whirl again. It's no Traveller, but that's hardly a crime and sometimes you just want to strap on your blaster and fight space pirates, something at which Star Frontiers excels.


text:
An anonymous painter in New York City created dozens of art forgeries, which sold for more than $80 million, according to prosecutors. The man isn't facing charges — but those who helped sell his Abstract Expressionist canvases as the work of artists such as Jackson Pollock and Robert Motherwell are in trouble.
For NPR's Newscast unit, Joel Rose reports:
"Prosecutors believe that one man created 63 expert forgeries at his garage studio in Queens over the course of 15 years. He was paid only a few thousand dollars each. But buyers at two Manhattan galleries paid millions for canvasses they thought were painted by Jackson Pollock, Mark Rothko, and Willem de Kooning, among others.
"The man is not charged with a crime. Prosecutors have not released his name."
But, Joel says, officials have charged Long Island art dealer Glafira Rosales — with wire fraud and money laundering. She has pleaded not guilty to those charges. As for the gallery, he reports:
"Knoedler and Company, the Upper East Side gallery that sold 40 of the counterfeit paintings, closed abruptly in 2011. Knoedler officials insist they thought the paintings were real."
According to The Art Newspaper, a federal indictment states that Rosales' boyfriend, who is alleged to be a co-conspirator in the case, had first discovered the unknown artist selling his work on the sidewalk in Manhattan.
Jack Flam, an expert in the art of Robert Motherwell who had been among the first to identify some of the works as frauds, spoke to The New York Times.
"It's impressive," Flam says. "Whoever did these paintings was very well-informed of the practices of the artists."
Saying that the works had been crafted to imitate how the legendary painters handled their frames and canvases, Flam adds that "the way we look at reality is highly influenced by the context it's presented to us."
In this case, the art forgeries were presented in the Knoedler gallery, which was more than 165 years old when it closed under a cloud of anger and suspicion.
The scandal, and the gallery's closing, was the subject of a feature in Vanity Fair last year, which reported that the art dealer, Rosales, claimed to be funneling prized works of art from an anonymous collector called "Mr. X Jr."
Copyright 2021 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.


text:
I hope you have enjoyed our collection of funny computer quotes, Linux quotes, and all those quotes that we have shared with you so far. For today, I've decided to gather a good number of my all-time favorite programming-related quotes.
Most of the programming quotes I've collected are made by some of the famous names in the industry, while others came from not-so-famous people. Nevertheless, they are all witty so I hope you will find them fascinating and enlightening.
Without further delay, here are my top 50 programming quotes of all time:
50. "Programming today is a race between software engineers striving to build bigger and better idiot-proof programs, and the universe trying to build bigger and better idiots. So far, the universe is winning."
- Rick Cook
49. "Lisp isn't a language, it's a building material."
- Alan Kay.
48. "Walking on water and developing software from a specification are easy if both are frozen."
- Edward V Berard
47. "They don't make bugs like Bunny anymore."
- Olav Mjelde.
46. "A programming language is low level when its programs require attention to the irrelevant."
- Alan J. Perlis.
45. "A C program is like a fast dance on a newly waxed dance floor by people carrying razors."
- Waldi Ravens.
44. "I have always wished for my computer to be as easy to use as my telephone; my wish has come true because I can no longer figure out how to use my telephone."
- Bjarne Stroustrup
43. "Computer science education cannot make anybody an expert programmer any more than studying brushes and pigment can make somebody an expert painter."
- Eric S. Raymond
42. "Don't worry if it doesn't work right. If everything did, you'd be out of a job."
- Mosher's Law of Software Engineering
41. "I think Microsoft named .Net so it wouldn't show up in a Unix directory listing."
- Oktal
40. "Fine, Java MIGHT be a good example of what a programming language should be like. But Java applications are good examples of what applications SHOULDN'T be like."
- pixadel
39. "Considering the current sad state of our computer programs, software development is clearly still a black art, and cannot yet be called an engineering discipline."
- Bill Clinton
38. "The use of COBOL cripples the mind; its teaching should therefore be regarded as a criminal offense."
- E.W. Dijkstra
37. "In the one and only true way. The object-oriented version of 'Spaghetti code' is, of course, 'Lasagna code'. (Too many layers)."
- Roberto Waltman.
36. "FORTRAN is not a flower but a weed — it is hardy, occasionally blooms, and grows in every computer."
- Alan J. Perlis.
35. "For a long time it puzzled me how something so expensive, so leading edge, could be so useless. And then it occurred to me that a computer is a stupid machine with the ability to do incredibly smart things, while computer programmers are smart people with the ability to do incredibly stupid things. They are, in short, a perfect match."
- Bill Bryson
34. "In My Egotistical Opinion, most people's C programs should be indented six feet downward and covered with dirt."
- Blair P. Houghton.
33. "When someone says: 'I want a programming language in which I need only say what I wish done', give him a lollipop."
- Alan J. Perlis
32. "The evolution of languages: FORTRAN is a non-typed language. C is a weakly typed language. Ada is a strongly typed language. C++ is a strongly hyped language."
- Ron Sercely
31. "Good design adds value faster than it adds cost."
- Thomas C. Gale
30. "Python's a drop-in replacement for BASIC in the sense that Optimus Prime is a drop-in replacement for a truck."
- Cory Dodt
29. "Talk is cheap. Show me the code."
- Linus Torvalds
28. "Perfection [in design] is achieved, not when there is nothing more to add, but when there is nothing left to take away."
- Antoine de Saint-Exupéry
27. "C is quirky, flawed, and an enormous success."
- Dennis M. Ritchie.
26. "In theory, theory and practice are the same. In practice, they're not."
- Yoggi Berra
25. "You can't have great software without a great team, and most software teams behave like dysfunctional families."
- Jim McCarthy
24. "PHP is a minor evil perpetrated and created by incompetent amateurs, whereas Perl is a great and insidious evil, perpetrated by skilled but perverted professionals."
- Jon Ribbens
23. "Programming is like kicking yourself in the face, sooner or later your nose will bleed."
- Kyle Woodbury
22. "Perl – The only language that looks the same before and after RSA encryption."
- Keith Bostic
21. "It is easier to port a shell than a shell script."
- Larry Wall
20. "I invented the term 'Object-Oriented', and I can tell you I did not have C++ in mind."
- Alan Kay
19. "Learning to program has no more to do with designing interactive software than learning to touch type has to do with writing poetry"
- Ted Nelson
18. "The best programmers are not marginally better than merely good ones. They are an order-of-magnitude better, measured by whatever standard: conceptual creativity, speed, ingenuity of design, or problem-solving ability."
- Randall E. Stross
17. "If McDonalds were run like a software company, one out of every hundred Big Macs would give you food poisoning, and the response would be, 'We're sorry, here's a coupon for two more.' "
- Mark Minasi
16. "Beware of bugs in the above code; I have only proved it correct, not tried it."
- Donald E. Knuth.
15. "Computer system analysis is like child-rearing; you can do grievous damage, but you cannot ensure success."
- Tom DeMarco
14. "I don't care if it works on your machine! We are not shipping your machine!"
- Vidiu Platon.
13. "Sometimes it pays to stay in bed on Monday, rather than spending the rest of the week debugging Monday's code."
- Christopher Thompson
12. "Measuring programming progress by lines of code is like measuring aircraft building progress by weight."
- Bill Gates
11. "Debugging is twice as hard as writing the code in the first place. Therefore, if you write the code as cleverly as possible, you are, by definition, not smart enough to debug it."
- Brian W. Kernighan.
10. "People think that computer science is the art of geniuses but the actual reality is the opposite, just many people doing things that build on each other, like a wall of mini stones."
- Donald Knuth
9. "First learn computer science and all the theory. Next develop a programming style. Then forget all that and just hack."
- George Carrette
8. "Most of you are familiar with the virtues of a programmer. There are three, of course: laziness, impatience, and hubris."
- Larry Wall
7. "Most software today is very much like an Egyptian pyramid with millions of bricks piled on top of each other, with no structural integrity, but just done by brute force and thousands of slaves."
- Alan Kay
6. "The trouble with programmers is that you can never tell what a programmer is doing until it's too late."
- Seymour Cray
5. "To iterate is human, to recurse divine."
- L. Peter Deutsch
4. "On two occasions I have been asked [by members of Parliament]: 'Pray, Mr. Babbage, if you put into the machine wrong figures, will the right answers come out?' I am not able rightly to apprehend the kind of confusion of ideas that could provoke such a question."
- Charles Babbage
3. "Most good programmers do programming not because they expect to get paid or get adulation by the public, but because it is fun to program."
- Linus Torvalds
2. "Always code as if the guy who ends up maintaining your code will be a violent psychopath who knows where you live."
- Martin Golding
1. "There are two ways of constructing a software design. One way is to make it so simple that there are obviously no deficiencies. And the other way is to make it so complicated that there are no obvious deficiencies."
- C.A.R. Hoare
If you have other interesting programming quotes to add, you may share them with us via comment.


text:
APHIS plays a vital role in ensuring the free flow of agricultural trade by keeping U.S. agricultural industries free from pests and diseases and certifying that the millions of U.S. agricultural and food products shipped to markets abroad meet the importing countries' entry requirements. APHIS makes sure that all imported agricultural products shipped to the United States from abroad meet the Agency's entry requirements to exclude pests and diseases of agriculture.
APHIS also keeps export markets open for American agricultural products by working to eliminate unjustified sanitary or phytosanitary (SPS) barriers - that is, concerns involving plant and animal health - raised by U.S. trading partners. APHIS' team of technical experts, based in the United States and abroad, includes scientists, veterinarians, pathologists, and entomologists that advocate on behalf of U.S. agriculture. They build relationships with their agricultural health and regulatory counterparts in other countries and use scientific principles to make the case for American agricultural exports, explaining to foreign officials why U.S. commodities are safe to import. APHIS played a direct role in opening new markets and retaining and expanding existing market access for U.S. agricultural products worth billions of dollars annually.
Biotechnology Import and Export Information
APHIS' Biotechnology Regulatory Services (BRS) requires a permit or notification for the import of certain genetically engineered organisms.
Phytosanitary Issues Management
The Phytosanitary Issues Management (PIM) unit facilitates and negotiates, through the use of scientifically based processes, the safe export and import of agricultural commodities.
APHIS Regulated Garbage Website
APHIS collaborates with officials in U.S. Customs and Border Protection and Plant Protection and Quarantine personnel to ensure appropriate and consistent handling of regulated garbage at U.S. ports of entry and elsewhere.
The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) plays a vital role in ensuring the free flow of agricultural trade.


text:
Range Repair 92659 Authorized Service
Range Repair 92659 Expert repairs and services all types ranges, whether you are in need of electric range repair or gas range repair. If your range is having problems like the range surface Element won't work, range burner has spark problems, range surface element won't turn off, range burners spark all the time. Range Repair Service will put you right back where you need to be. Our range repair technicians carry most range parts. Expert Appliance Repair 92659 will have your range repaired or serviced in no time flat. We will have your range up in running in no time and you back to cooking.
Range Repair
If in need of a same-day range repair service, call Expert Appliance Repair Orange County at (949) 428-1950. We are available each and every hour of the day to repair all kinds of ranges.
Here at Expert Appliance Repair Orange County, we have highly competent repair specialists who have been professionally trained to successfully repair all types and makes of ranges.
Expert Appliance Repair Orange County provides its customers with the best repairment service at the lowest costs:
- We do not charge if we are able to help repair your machine over the phone
- We do not charge anything extra for holidays, weekends, or nighttime appointments
- We provide repair estimates that are reasonably controlled by our guaranteed Low Price Protection Policy
With every service call, Expert Appliance Repair Orange County provides information regarding the best and safest ways to extend the life of your range. If your range has been malfunctioning or has stopped working, Expert Appliance Repair Orange County can repair your range and have it running well on the same day. We have technicians who specialize in range repair and can execute the job safely and successfully. However, most of the time it is less expensive to have the range replaced, rather than having it repaired. Expert Appliance Repair Orange County can help you to decide whether repairing the range or replacing the range is a better option.
In order to extend the life of your range and keep it running well, routinely maintenance is required. A few things you can do to keep your range in good condition include:
- Clean and remove any residue from food spills (do not use an abrasive to clean)
- Clean any bowls underneath the heating components and never cover them with aluminum foil
- Clean out the filters regularly if your range has them
If your range is not performing well, this could be due to a number of reasons. Expert Appliance Repair Orange County can help you identify the current problem affecting the performance of your range and estimate the cost of repair or replacement. Once you have found out the estimated cost, we can help you to decide whether repairing or replacing the range is the more appropriate choice.
If you have a malfunctioning range and are looking for the best repairment service with the lowest costs, call Expert Appliance Repair Orange County!


text:
District 1090
Club ID 19270
Service above self
Every effort has been made to ensure that the original template pages for this site are W3C compatible.
Privacy Notice
If you provide your contact details via email or the online reply form, Oxford North Rotary will only use those details for the purposes of handling your inquiry and providing any services that may subsequently be required. Oxford North Rotary undertakes to keep your contact details safe and will not sell or otherwise pass on your details to any third party.
We do not use cookies on this site to identify individuals, other than when a member logs into the members area. These are 'Session Cookies' which are destroyed when a member logs out of the site or closes the browser window - they are not stored long term on the user's computer. These are used so that a member can only log into his/her club etc.
We use Google Analytics to make sure our statistics are reliable.
Google Analytics stores information about what pages you visit, how long you are on the site, how you got here and what you click on. We do not collect or store your personal information (e.g. your name or address) so this information cannot be used to identify who you are.
We have some pages that link to external tools such as Google Maps and YouTube. These tools sit on Google's web servers and you can find more information on Google's Privacy Policy here.
Some pages may have cookies used to integrate with Social Media sites, so that, for example, if you are logged into Facebook, you can 'like' pages.
We do not collect personal data in the public area of the site - if you complete a contact form, for example, your email address is not stored in a database for re-use, nor is any information passed to third parties.
What are cookies?
A cookie is a small file of letters and numbers that typically allows a website to function more effectively - e.g. by tracking recent actions (such as having put an item into an online shopping basket.) Cookies are also commonly used to enable site analytics as noted above.
Cookies - advice for members of the public (opens in new window. Produced by the Information Commissioner's Office.)


text:
P.O. Box 1491 Seymour, TN 37865
35.8747688, -83.7736666
Bear-2-Arm LLC is a family, veteran owned and operated company that started in 2015. The owner has always had a passion to change the online firearm industry for years to come. Bear-2-Arm is a small company who takes pride in quality customer service, product knowledge, and building relationships with customers that is second to none. Bear-2-Arm LLC has over five thousand products in stock from firearms, ammunition, accessories, and apparel. Bear-2-Arm LLC is a small business who supports other small businesses in all their endeavors. We believe that no customer should be left unsatisfied, and therefore we offer the latest new products, trainings, and dedicated customer service to ensure your experience with us is top of the line.


text:
Community Care has closed its CareSpace discussion foruum at the end of 2013. But there are lots of other ways to engage with other social workers and get involved with the thriving social care online community.
Comments under articles
Most of our articles now allow you to add your comments. Just scroll to the bottom of the article and you will find a box where you can add some text. Your comments may be held for a short time in a moderation queue to help prevent spam etc
There is a thriving social care community on Twitter. Get started by following our main account @CommunityCare. We've put together lists of social workers for you to follow so you'll soon feel part of the Twitter crowd.
If you're a Facebook addict then make sure you check out the Community Care Facebook page where you can comment on the latest social work stories, share them with your friends or get involved in discussions.
Your Say
Community Care regularly features articles written by social workers and social care professionals. Find all the latest expert-written content on the Your Say page.
Do you have any other ideas for how we might be able to help you engage with other social work professionals? Leave your comments using the box below.


text:
The eggplant is known by many names, aubergine (petite eggplant variety) in France, and Brinjal in India and Singapore. Melongene is a less common British English word. It is known as an eggplant in the Unites States and Canada. Variations on the names vary worldwide.
Studies have shown that eggplant can reduce high blood cholesterol and contains potent antioxidants and free radical scavengers that protect cell membranes and act as anti cancer agents.
This post was written for Father's Day but before I knew it I fell deep into the research abyss. Jonathan loves anything eggplant, brushed with olive oil and a sprinkle of salt, roasted to a glistening golden hue or grilled, with a crisscross pattern, to perfection. Charred and sliced into halfway lengthwise, with the flesh mixed with tahini, fresh garlic and lemon as baba ganoush, sometimes garnished with pomegranate arils when in season. Today I wanted to highlight an Indian preparation of eggplant similar to tampura. This is one of the ways my mom prepped eggplant, though I don't often cook it this way, I thought it would be a pleasant twist and surprise for Jonathan on this Father's Day.
Speaking of dads, I am already tearing up as I am writing this, mine passed away in January 2007. I haven't been back to Israel since. My sweet almost 20 year old kid went on his first group trip to Israel with his buddies from UMASS. Even though he has traveled to Israel many times in the past with us, this trip has had a profound impact on him. I have barely spoken to him during his 10 days with the group, but once I caught him while they were at the Western Wall after a tour of Yad VaShem, the Holocaust Museum, he said he broke down. He fell apart at not being there when my dad passed away and fell apart for not yet visiting his grave site. Visiting the holy places and the Holocaust museum brought on all those overwhelming emotions. He is a good kid. Went with my mom, who is very frail, to the cemetery, while staying an extra week to visit with family, fetched water to wash the head stone and said Kaddish. Made my mom and am sure my dad as well, happy!
Tip: Pick a firm eggplant with a smooth skin and a green stem as shown in the photo. The browner the stem is, the less farm fresh the eggplant is. I find the ones I buy lack the bitterness prevalent to eggplants and therefore I skip the steps of salting the eggplant slices, letting them sweat sitting at room temperature, rinsing and drying them to extract the bitterness out. If you wish a sweeter, creamier variety which I like as well. buy the Italian eggplants, they are similar to the one photographed, only smaller. Jonathan doesn't like that variety as much but I like them both. Oddly enough I am not a fan of the small globe like Indian variety, you find in Asian markets, being Indian myself.
I usually like to work with a thinner batter by adding more water but the consistency below is easier to work with. You can add finely chopped cilantro to the batter or jalapeno you ran through a food processor or finely diced. You could even add 1/4-1/2 teaspoon of baking soda of you wish for a crispier, crunchier feel to the Indian fritter. As always, I recommend you leave your signature on it and make it your own!
*Please note all information here is from research I've conducted, but I am not by any stretch an expert. Please consult a doctor about the benefits of eggplant as well as allergic and other adverse reactions.
Eggplant Fritters in Chickpea Flour Batter
Makes 14 fritters
1 medium eggplant (14 oz/400 gr)
1/3 cup canola or vegetable oil
Batter ingredients:
1 cup chickpea flour
3/4 cup water
3/4 tsp salt or to taste
1/2 tsp turmeric
1/2 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper powder or Kashmiri red pepper powder
1/4-1/2 tsp red pepper flakes (optional)
1 egg
In a medium bowl add the batter ingredients and whisk with a small whisk into a smooth consistency. In a skillet or a frying pan heat up the oil on medium high. Cut stem and bottom off the eggplant and slice into 14 equal rounds, slightly less than 1/2 an inch each. Dip in batter and coat well. Let excess batter drip back into the batter bowl while holding the eggplant from one edge over the bowl and fry. Adjust heat to medium if necessary and fry until deep golden on both sides. Drain on paper towel lined plate.
Cook's note: The oil will be enough and some for the entire batch. Keep the oil on medium high heat and adjust to medium if necessary. It is traditionally deep fried but I find this method works very well and produces identical results with less oil.


text:
Error: NO DEV or No Device. appears in the display of the car stereo.
If the NO DEV or No Device error message displays with a USB device connected to the car stereo, try doing the following steps:
- Disconnect the USB cable from the portable player.
- Wait approximately one minute.
- Reconnect the USB cable to the portable player.
If the error message displays and there is no USB device connected, follow these steps:
- Turn the power off on the car stereo.
- Wait approximate one minute.
- Power the car stereo back on.


text:
This page describes Doorduino 1, that was used at our old location, Binckhorstlaan 172. Please refer to Doorduino2 for more up-to-date information.
Project Doorduino1 | |
Status | Completed |
Contact | gmc |
Last Update | 2013-01-13 |
Old, metal keys have certain disadvantages, one being that they are not easy to revoke when compromised (unless you invest in really expensive lock systems). So the create a good SpaceAccess system, we will be using the following:
Several ideas have been passed around on IRC: SMS-based challenge/response, wifi with ssh logon to unlock the door, something USB based (yubikey's) and finally iButton one-wire devices.
After a short trial with the yubikeys we settled on one-wire devices.
The resulting system is also mentioned on hackcess.org.
One-Wire iButton
iButton's are small metal can's (about the size of a 10 ct coin, 5mm deep) that house a small chip inside. The chip has a unique identifier and optionally some memory, sensors and processing capability. The chip communicates using 1 signal and 1 ground wire, connected to the top and sides of the can. By pressing the can onto a reader/holder it can communicate to other devices on the one-wire bus.
There are many ways to interface with a one-wire bus, using either serial, usb, i2c, parallel or custom interfaces. Our initial tests were done using some id-only iButtons and a iButton socket connected to an arduino. This worked quite well, and we managed to get the basics working in a matter of minutes (wonderful since we had neither experience with one-wire devices or with programming the arduino). For a more permanent solution we wanted to interface directly to a pc's serial port. We settled on a one-wire to serial interface chip, the DS2480B+ (http://www.maxim-ic.com/quick_view2.cfm/qv_pk/2923).
However, the solution with the serial port and pc appeared finicky, partly because we did not create an SMD board but soldered wires to the tiny chips. Also, the pc solution is somewhat more involved to set up in such a way that the electronic lock still works when the power is down. Therefore, we went back to arduino, and implemented the whole thing as an autonomous system based on an arduino, some code and a handful of hardware.
Wiring diagram
Arduino shield
Update: pin A4 is connected to a relay on the legacy remote door opening system, and is pulled to ground to trigger opening of the door.
Pin D8 is connected to the reset pin of the ethernet shield. I had to bend the reset pin of the ethernet shield so that it does not connect to the arduino itself. This is necessary for the old-design ethernet shield, which does not have a reset circuit on-board and will not initialize properly on power-up. There is code in the arduino sketch to manually reset the ethernet shield from within the program.
What this is still missing is a zener to protect against power surges on the one-wire bus, and perhaps some protection against 12v going back into the arduino if T1 shorts. Of course, you could use a CC instead of a CA RGB led.
Battery backup unit
- K4-1: charger +
- K4-3: charger -
- K3-1: battery +
- K3-3: battery -
- K1-3: ~12V to arduino shield
- K1-1: ~9V to arduino VIN
- K2-2: +12V from mains power
We're using a 12V 7.2Ah lead-battery, with intelligent charger to keep the battery charged without overcharging.
PCB film (postscript, A4): [1]
Top view of the bbu with parts:
oneWire use-case descriptions
OPT denotes steps that are optional when we add an ethernet shield
- Initialisation:
- arduino board is loaded with software to zero the EEPROM
- arduino board is loaded with the space access control software
- led blinks blue
- first key is scanned, and will be stored in EEPROM as an admin key
- OPT: server is contacted to register admin key
- led blinks green twice
- system is now ready for use
- Adding new keys:
- the 'add normal' (button '1') or 'add admin' (button '2') button is pressed
- led will blink blue
- an admin key is scanned (if not within 10 seconds, abort)
- led will blink yellow
- the key to be added is scanned
- the key will be added, or if already in the db it's access rights (admin or not) will be set
- OPT: server is contacted to register new key or change key details
- led will blink green
- after 10 seconds, back to normal operation
- Revoking keys:
- the 'revoke' (button '3') button is pressed
- led will blink blue
- an admin key is scanned (if not within 10 seconds, abort)
- led will blink yellow
- the key to be revoked is scanned
- if existing key:
- key is removed from EEPROM
- OPT: server is contacted to revoke key
- led blinks green for 10 seconds
- if non-existing key:
- led blinks red for 10 seconds
- Normal operation:
- led will be on constantly, blue
- OPT: server is contacted every 60 seconds, asking for revocations, revoked keys are removed from EEPROM
- key is scanned
- when good key
- led will turn green
- door opens
- OPT: server is contacted, logging key
- after 10 sec back to normal operation
- when bad key
- led will turn red
- after 10 sec back to normal operation
Arduino code
This code on github implements the above more-or-less.
The server keeps a shadow db of the programmed keys. This will probably be in the LDAP database, and the revocation list is sent to the arduino when the arduino asks for this, one key at a time. The server can keep additional information about the key, eg it's owner.
When access is granted, the sha256 hash of the key's address is sent to the server over http.
When a key is to be revoked, the server responds with a sha256 hash of secret1 (an arbitrary string, shared between server and arduino) and the key address. Before deleting the key from the EEPROM, the arduino will send a sha256 hash of secret2 and the key address to the server to confirm it has received the revocation request.
Status led feedback
The system has an RGB led for visual feedback, this table will allow you to understand what different color/state combinations mean and what it is doing.
Color | State: Steady | State: Blinking |
Blue | Idle | Waiting for admin key |
Yellow | - | Waiting for parameter/secondary key |
Green | Access granted | Command confirmed |
Red | Access denied | Command failed |
Purple | Checking & processing remote revocation list | - |
Remaining issues
- Need a lock-motor instead of an electronic strike, for extra security
- Metal profile to prevent carding
Site Info
- The doorduino communicates with the webserver on 'lcd'.
- Webserver files are on fuse:/var/spool/jails/lcd/fsroot/usr/local/www/sites/lcd or lcd:/usr/local/www/sites/lcd
Some notes on which the new design is based:


text:
Lawyers for Hollywood sex-abuse accuser want out
By OSKAR GARCIA
HONOLULU (AP) - Lawyers for a former child model accusing 'X-Men' director Bryan Singer of sex abuse said Tuesday they want to get off the case because their relationship with the accuser has deteriorated.
Attorneys Jeff Herman and Mark Gallagher filed a motion in U.S. District Court in Honolulu asking to withdraw as counsel for Michael Egan III. They say they no longer talk to Egan except through a new lawyer.
Egan, now 31, accuses Singer in a lawsuit of sexually abusing him during trips to Hawaii when he was 17 in 1999. Singer has denied the allegations.
The California law firm cited in the filing as representing Egan declined to comment.
Gallagher declined to comment, directing questions to Herman. Herman did not immediately return a message from The Associated Press.
Singer's lawyer, Marty Singer, said in a statement that Egan's lawyers were willing to settle the case for a low amount, demonstrating a "lack of confidence in their chances for success." The amount was not specified.
"Bryan and his team will continue to fight to clear his name and intend to pursue charges of malicious prosecution against Egan," Marty Singer said.
Gallagher and Herman said in their filing that their relationship with Egan "has broken down completely and cannot be repaired."
The lawyers said they could not give a full explanation except under seal.
Egan previously dropped three similar Hawaii lawsuits against other Hollywood figures. One of the men, former network television executive Garth Ancier, responded with a malicious-prosecution lawsuit against Egan, saying the accusations damaged his reputation.
The lawsuits were filed under an unusual state law that created a window for civil cases in sex-abuse cases where the statute of limitations has passed.
The lawyer shuffle in Egan's case against Singer comes as the court is scheduled to consider a motion from Singer to dismiss the case Sept. 9. Lawyers for Singer asked Tuesday to keep the hearing as scheduled.
As part of that motion, Singer filed a signed declaration saying that he was never in Hawaii during the time Egan claimed in the lawsuit and didn't have sexual contact with him. Singer said he was working on the first "X-Men" film in the Toronto area at the time.


text:
Don't Salmon, Don't Shoal: Learning The Lingo Of Safe Cycling http://t.co/W7e9OrWXXu
— NPR News (@nprnews) May 15, 2014
As we already established, I singlehandedly invented the term "salmon" in the context of cycling. Sure, some of you doubted the veracity of this claim, but I forgive you, since I know how the mind of the cyclist works. Allow me to explain:See, inherently, we all have a little bit of the retrogrouch in us, and therefore we refuse to acknowledge innovation. This is why when a company starts touting its 650b mountain bike, some grizzled guy in jean shorts and sandals has to pipe up with: "New?!? Ha! We were riding singletrack on Dutch city bikes back in the early '60s!" Similarly, when I assert my claim to the term "salmon," invariably someone's going to question the term's provenance and start up with the old "Bah! You think you invented 'salmon?' That's what we used to yell at those idiots riding Dutch city bikes on the hiking trails in the early '60s!" routine.
But yeah, the point is I invented "salmon." I also invented "shoal:"
Got anything so say about that? Of course you do, and I can already see the comments:
"You invented 'shoal?' Humbug! Back when I was riding with the Bumshtuppers Cycle Club out of Texassippi City, East Dakota, we used to say 'shoal' all the time. We also used two-speed thread-on freewheels that you had to shift with a broomstick, and we used to have to stop and repack them every three miles or else they'd seize up and turn into fixed gears."
Be that as it may, it's abundantly clear to me that I have singlehandedly invented what no less an organization than NPR calls "the lingo of safe cycling," and it's both a blessing and a curse--and the "curse" part has nothing to do with the fact that they don't credit me anywhere in the article:
I don't mind this for three reasons:
1) True geniuses are seldom appreciated in their own time;
2) I am nothing if not benevolent, and these terms are my donation to our culture. If you like, think of me as a literary philanthropist. (Or, if you don't like, think of me as a giant douchebag.);
3) It makes me proud that my inventions are so popular it doesn't even occur to people to wonder about their source. We take them for granted, as well we should. Similarly, back in the 1500s, someone started using the latin word "scrotum" to mean "purse-like tegumentary investment of the testes and part of the spermatic cord; the cod," but we don't worry about who this person was before we say it ourselves, do we? No we don't. We just use the word freely, marveling in its utility, and occasionally modifying it ourselves to form new words such as "scranus," "scrote-face," and "scrotalitarian" (a superlative roughly equivalent to "epic" or "awesome," which I just now invented). Then, as these words are used more and more frequently they too enter the lexicon, and this ever-evolving adaptability is what makes the English language so scrotalitarian.
No, the "curse" part is that I invented these words so that bike dorks like us could simultaneously chuckle over and vent about the behavior of our fellow cyclists. I did not mean for "The Man" to use it to keep us down and excoriate us for our "bad behavior," nor am I proud to have inspired an entire genre of tight-ass journalism. This isn't to say I find the NPR article objectionable, because it's mostly pretty good advice, though the writer clearly does not grasp the etymology of "shoal:"
Shoaling: A shoal is a school of fish. Or a collection of cyclists at a red light. That's where shoaling happens. A cyclist comes up to the light, eyeballs a cyclist already there, thinks, "I'm faster than that person," and moves ahead.
But who can truly judge a cyclist's speed potential? Maybe the person you've shoaled is faster than you and will want to pass you once the light changes. To avoid triggering such unnecessary passes (not to mention road rage), "it's safer for people to wait at the light with everybody else and make the pass in the lane," says Billing. Or if you're really in a rush, just ask the other cyclist: "Hey, I'm late, is it okay to get in front of you?"
A shoal is not a school of fish. The correct term for a school of fish is "a school of fish." A shoal is basically a sandbar, and it's a gradual accumulation of sand and sediment carried and dumped by a body of water. Having basically grown up on a great big sandbar myself, I observed that cyclists deposit themselves at intersections in a similar fashion, ultimately forming long shoals that extend into the crosswalk and beyond. I understand cyclist behavior because I'm more than just a bike blogger. I'm a naturalist.
Actually, now that I think about it, my childhood on a giant sandbar also allowed me to watch horseshoe crabs humping, so next time you see a bunch of cyclists standing around without first getting off their bikes, go ahead and feel free to call it a "horseshoe clusterfuck:
They're particularly common at non-competitive group ride rest stops:
Though you'll also see groups of four or five fixie riders forming them outside of bars.
[Fun Fact: Horseshoe clustefucks are a leading cause of "chainring tattoos."]
What's particularly vexing about the immense popularity of my terminology is that there's not a similar taxonomy for drivers. All bike month long it's salmon this and shoal that, but I have yet to see the mainstream media come out with an article imploring drivers not to be scrote-faces.
Then again, I suppose we don't really need to discuss drivers in terms of subtle gradation, since we can paint pretty much all of them with the same roller:
In fact, I had something of a revelation this morning, when it occurred to me that, when you look at the vast transportation landscape, the one common denominator is this:
Drivers are assholes.*
*[In this case I'm defining "asshole" as a profoundly selfish and/or unaware person who thinks nothing of engaging in behavior that is highly likely to kill somebody else.]
I know this because I'm a naturalist and an observer, and I use various means of conveyance in my native environment, during which I carefully study the behavior of other road users. Basically, across all transit modes, the only road users who are consistently assholes are drivers. Here's how it breaks down:
It's official, we have reached Peak Fred.


text: You are here: Home CLIPS Maroc MR CRAZY x ALI SSAMID – FIDÈLES MR CRAZY x ALI SSAMID – FIDÈLES 45 Views 0 Votes MR CRAZY x ALI SSAMID – « FIDÈLES »DIRECTED : IS-JBARAPROD BY : ENYWAYZMIX et MASTER et OUTRO : IM BEATS 0 shares mrcrazy What do you think? 0 points Upvote Downvote Leave a Reply Cancel replyYour email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *Comment * Name * Email * Website Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. By using this form you agree with the storage and handling of your data by this website. * Loading… 0


text:
Saturday, August 28, 2010
"We Always Ignored That Rule"
Now, I expect that, in any given RPG, there are large numbers of rules that get ignored, for a wide variety of reasons, from ignorance to laziness to outright disagreement about the utility of the rule in question. I don't have any problem with this fact, speaking as someone who's ignored more than his fair share of RPG rules over the years. My beef is more with the notion that, because a given rule is easily ignorable and likely was ignored by a lot of gamers that it's not worth discussing or trying to figure out why it was included in the game and what the designer hoped to achieve by doing so.
A related peeve of mine pertains to the so-called "Rule Zero." I have no clue where this term first originated, but I suspect it's a fairly recent coinage. According to popular usage, it refers to the supreme authority of the referee to change anything he wishes in his campaign, including the game rules. Now, I don't have any particular problem with Rule Zero as such; I question why it's necessary to codify it at all, let alone in such a goofy way (I am unhappily reminded of Asimov's "Zeroth" Law of Robotics). What bugs me about it is the way that it too is often used to short circuit discussions of odd rules in RPGs. Say I want to talk about the rather low demihuman level limits in OD&D and what its implications for the implied setting of the game and my interlocutor replies, "Well, the LBBs were only intended as a framework to be changed as the referee desires, so I don't think you can draw any conclusions from the way the rules were written." I think it's possible to admit the first clause of that reply without conceding to the second; otherwise, one wonders why any rules were needed at all.
I enjoy delving into the whys and wherefores of game rules. I hold the possibly ridiculous notion that rules aren't included in a game "just because." They're all there for a reason, even -- perhaps especially -- bad rules. Understanding why they're there is not only interesting in its own right, but it also provides firmer ground on which to modify or reject existing rules. That's why I can get worked up when I hear, "We always ignored that rule" or "The referee can change it, so why worry about it?" Call it a weakness of mine, but there it is.
42 comments:
James said:
My beef is more with the notion that, because a given rule is easily ignorable and likely was ignored by a lot of gamers that it's not worth discussing or trying to figure out why it was included in the game and what the designer hoped to achieve by doing so.
I agree completely, James. Over the years of running AD&D, as I've re-examined rules that I ignored or modified as a kid, as a teenage, and as a younger adult, I've found---in many instances---that upon reflection and analysis of the impact of the rule within the scope of the full set of rules, that it often does have a place, and often as-is without modification.
I think that AD&D's richness demands that good DMs re-evaluate the system periodically, as their maturity and skill increases, as well as their familiarity with the rules and why and how they're present in the first place.
Allan.I hold the possibly ridiculous notion that rules aren't included in a game "just because." They're all there for a reason, even -- perhaps especially -- bad rules.
Mmmm... I'm not convinced that all rules are there for a reason, or, more precisely, that there is a well thought-out reason behind each and every rule. I've sometimes had the impression that these discussions, interesting as they are (and they really are), are discovering (read: "inventing") order behind rules that, in at least some cases, were just quickie decisions based on the authors' campaigns or "what seemed right" at the moment of writing.I've sometimes had the impression that these discussions, interesting as they are (and they really are), are discovering (read: "inventing") order behind rules that, in at least some cases, were just quickie decisions based on the authors' campaigns or "what seemed right" at the moment of writing.
But even that is a reason, isn't it? I'm not arguing that every rule is, as presented, a good one. I'm only saying that I think gamers are often too quick to dismiss a rule they don't like/understand as unimportant without taking the time to see if that's really the case.I'm only saying that I think gamers are often too quick to dismiss a rule they don't like/understand as unimportant without taking the time to see if that's really the case.
That I agree completely with. I use a cooking analogy: I like to work with a new recipe until I feel I understand it, before I start varying it. I then feel I have a firmer foundation on which to start changing things. Same with game rules.- AnonymousAugust 28, 2010 at 7:10 PM
I hold the possibly ridiculous notion that rules aren't included in a game "just because." They're all there for a reason, even -- perhaps especially -- bad rules.
Yes, I totally agree. Bad rules, as in "not fitting the rest of the game" are just badly implemented or written, but the reason they're added lies somewhere unseen to our eyes. It's like ignoring a paragraph of a book because we don't agree with it. I don't mean we have to use all the rules all the time, but we should at least think about both using and not using them. In general, RPGs (at least the ones I've worked on) are subjected to tremendous amounts of playtesting. It tends to be rather generic playtesting, however, not the focused testing that, say, a computer game receives. That is, the game gets a lot of play, but individual rules are seldom isolated for special, intense examination and intentional abuse to betray their peculiar weaknesses. The upshot is that something which seems like a good idea in casual play or in a rather narrowly-defined set of circumstances can be revealed as shockingly broken when someone really stretches the envelope with it.
I suspect that was the case with the weapon-vs-armor table. It was a nice nod backward to the "Man-to-Man Melee Table" from Chainmail. In proper, narrowly-defined circumstances--such as when creatures that wear armor and use weapons fight other, similar creatures--it added interesting tactical choices and color to the scene. Outside of that context, it was worse than useless; it brought play nearly to a halt while everyone struggled to fit the situation's square pegs into the table's round holes.
Back in the day, SPI used to put Designer's Notes into wargames so the designers could explain why they rated British artillery higher than French artillery or cut off the Dnepr 200 miles short of Smolensk. This was always the first part of the rules I read. You might not agree with the designer's reasoning, but at least you knew what they were thinking. RPG designers ought to do the same thing. Some do, actually, and I always appreciate it. I just wish the practice were more widespread.
SteveThe term "Rule Zero" comes from the 3rd edition (A)D&D Player's Handbook (the original 2000 version, prior to the 2005 revision). The prologue briefly explained how the D&D game worked and what role-playing was all about, while the first chapter detailed the process of character creation. At the beginning of that chapter was a numbered, step-by-step list for creating characters. The first entry in that list, numbered with a "zero", was "Check with your DM for any special house rules." The remaining steps were numbered as one might expect (e.g. 1, roll ability scores; 2, pick race; 3, pick class; 4, pick feats; 5, assign skill points; 6, roll for gold and equip character; etc.).
Over the course of all the many, many arguments about the intention, interpretation, utility, etc., of the 3rd edition rules on WotC's own forums, the notion of "Rule Zero" appeared (quite early on in the life of that edition, 2001-2 I should think), but the phrase was used erroneously to mean "Since the DM can always change the rules, there cannot be anything wrong with a set of RPG rules." This has come to be known as the "Oberoni Fallacy," after a poster on the WotC forums who first articulated the error.I know what you're saying, but I take "we always ignored that rule" to mean that my interlocutor does not feel adequately experienced to offer a strong opinion on the subject.
Having returned to D&D after many years, I've come to realize how the rules I previously ignored changed the flavor of the game. For example, as a kids we hand-waved encumbrance, food, light source tracking, etc. It just didn't seem important or fun. Now I realize I missed a significant aspect of the game by ignoring those rules. I've come around to the opinion that it's not really D&D without the resource management.
But if you'd asked me to talk about the importance of light sources on gameplay a few years ago, I wouldn't have had much to say on the subject.I'm sorry if I was cryptic -- I just meant that this is a consistent position you've taken for a while.
Breaking down the history of that comment:
* I want to point out that you're in the same camp with the Forge folk on this issue -- rules actually matter.
* realizing there is sometimes tension between Forge folk and OSR gamers, I was going to frame it jocularly in terms of "watch out, you're starting to sound like ______"
* at the last minute realizing that was kind of silly because you're not "starting to" sound like anything, this is what you've already said, so inserting a disclaimer to that effect
* at this point, like a sentence rewritten too many times, what was going to be a simple comment becomes awkward and cryptic.
Yeah. Don't worry about it, there was almost nothing to the comment in the first place.I concluded that the AD&D version of the "weapon vs. AC" table was interwoven with the variable weapon damage - some weapons have apparently sub-optimal damage dice, but when used with the "vs. AC" table are a better choice for doing damage to a heavily armored character. If you don't use those tables, there's no mechanical reason to use those weapons. I don't have the tables to hand, but I recall it being an issue with piercing weapons such as war hammers, military picks, and stabby polearms. Probably crossbows, too.
That's the big reason I try to understand the possible purposes behind rules before I change them ... if I don't understand why a rule's there in the first place, there are often unintended consequences to my fiddling with them.
There's also the matter of simple curiosity.One of the curious traits of this hobby is that some things play better than they read, and vice versa. I agree that most rules arose from the crucible of actual gameplay, and as such should not be dismissed just because they seem odd on paper... though for the life of me I still can't thread a bead on Gygax's unarmed combat rules in the DMG!
ReplyDeleteI agree with your post, James...but isn't that a symptom of the bloated rule books being produced by the RPG hobby today?
AD&D may be clunky and archaic, but any system that can only be described in 250+ pages is generally going to have skipped steps at the gaming table. The players? Yeah dismissing rules out-of-hand is a pet peeve of mine also. But game designers throwing hundreds of pages of minutia (along with "supplements" and "players guides")? That's asking for short-cuts just to reduce search & handling time and increase playability.
I was a total "rule stickler" as a kid. But I still left rules out when playing in order to run a quicker, smoother game. And often it was the "clunkier" rules (tried once or twice and discarded) that got cut. As an adult? I just stay the hell away. Give me a game that can be presented in a clean 64 page book...or less. Then I can follow the rules AND be true to the designer's vision.>>I question why it's necessary to codify it at all, let alone in such a goofy way (I am unhappily reminded of Asimov's "Zeroth" Law of Robotics).
I put it in there as a reaction to a lot of online talk related to 3e and 4e that had players complaining that their DMs were "cheating" or were awful people because they were disallowing a certain feat or didn't allow use of a certain book and blah blah blah. It was a notice that "this game isn't as rigid as all that."Ignoring a rule in an integrated system like 3e, the source of Rule Zero, is a whole different kettle of fish from ignoring a rule in an accretive system like 1e.
I think it is very important to understand that 1e AD&D was very rarely if ever played as written, most groups ignoring huge swathes of unpopular sub-systems while few groups deviate substantially from the RAW in eg 4e, where doing so would lose you such benefits as the utility of the Character Builder.
I think this relates to the main point of "Why this System" - Gygax includes Weapon vs Armour mods, or Psionics, or 1e Initiative, because they seemed like good ideas at the time, but I think in the awareness that anyone who disliked them would simply ignore them. This is a very different paradigm from the creation of the unified d20 system for 3e, where ignoring any part has IME cascading effects, like a removing one card from a house of cards.- AnonymousAugust 29, 2010 at 5:33 AM
if someone wants to skip something that seems overly taxing to their flow of the game and have no "Rational" reason - so be it. youre playing an irrational game of pretend with chaotic dice anyhow. people dont necessarily need to justify why they dont use a guideline just to mental masturbate it. it also depends on what "rule" we're talking about.
just as rules are skipped, theres no rule saying someone has to rationalize (control/order) everything in life either. ...I question why it's necessary to codify it at all...
Because it's something unnatural to most games. You can't make a rule that says in this chess club we allow bishops to dodge by shifting one square in any direction (as well as move diagonally), because then you are no longer playing chess.
It's also good advice. Check with the gamemaster first to discover any house rules, is vastly different from giving GM fiat. You can play a game of, if you will excuse the pun, dodgy chess if both players know about this ability to do so. [Although I've had some fun chess games in coffee shops that halfway through, by unspoken mutual consent, invoked the salt and pepper shakers, not to mention the orientation of the teapot and stacking ability of dishes. <ahem>]
This is particularly true when you are designing and running tournaments, since you want to not only get the game rules as close to what is written, but also synchronise the play styles of the gamemasters so that they are all similar. Then again, I can't remember an incident in any of the tournaments I've been involved in where anyone actually complained that it wasn't being run by the rules.* The players seemed to be innately accepting that they would be playing in different universes than they are used to. Which is one of the wonderful things about early D&D. I would suggest people are a lot less tolerant of such behaviour in 4th ed. ESpecially in a competitive tournament.
Of course, only a few gamemasters are silly enough to work out variants before play exists, let alone be cognisant of how their games may differ from what is written. Most players learn by being immersed in actual play, rather than by actually reading the rules, and every group develops their own unique styles (although they may not generally realise it).
[* The only such complaint was when a game was actually played exactly by the rules was made by the gamemaster when the players insisted on a strict interpretation of a spell description. To their detriment.]What's interesting to me about this post is its applicability beyond RPG discussions. It might just be human nature to respond to problems, and especially abstract, intellectual problems, by asserting that there really isn't a problem.
Do I just do it myself? ("just human nature" is kind of like rule zero right?)I never had a problem with the Zero Rule per se.
When I was GMing, I frequently would toss out rules I didn't like to favor a streamlined, smoother game. Nothing is worse than getting bogged down in minutiae and grinding the momentum of the game to a screeching halt.
I am of the opinion that story and roleplay all too often takes a backseat to rules and dice. This is an unfortunate consequence when a referee isn't willing to be flexible with the rules.
Role play > Roll play.At one point they say a half elf can be a cleric. In the same paragraph they say they cannot. These guys are college grads?
I know exactly the paragraph you're talking about. I don't have my book with me, but if I remember correctly it's not just in the same paragraph, it's in the very next sentence. Something like "helf(sic)-elves cannot be clerics, for in this manner their human side prevails. But, a half-elf with a Wisdom of 13 or more can become a cleric..."
As a kid, I always struggled over that particular passage, trying to divine some kind of meaning out of it. "Their human side prevails? What does that mean? And why does it say that they CAN'T be clerics, and then say that they can?" It took me a while to finally just admit to myself that it was a mistake, but it sure did cause a lot of confusion way back then.
On the bigger point about the discussion of rules, James is on the money, but fortunately I've found a group now where we love discussing rules, where they came from and why, and which ones we want to adopt and why. I find it really fun to talk about them, myself.Having returned to D&D after many years, I've come to realize how the rules I previously ignored changed the flavor of the game. For example, as a kids we hand-waved encumbrance, food, light source tracking, etc. It just didn't seem important or fun. Now I realize I missed a significant aspect of the game by ignoring those rules. I've come around to the opinion that it's not really D&D without the resource management.
Same here. Taking the full resource management aspect of the game into account makes spending your starting funds at first level much more fun. It strikes me that this is kinda the same fun as the fiddly character optimization game played at the start of play in the newer editions of D&D. But...with actual stuff, instead of all the Capitalized Abstractions.- AnonymousAugust 29, 2010 at 5:06 PM
The thing to remember here is that AD&D didn't arrive all at once and impose a new order on gamers. It came out piecemeal and bits were added into existing campaigns as and when players and referees saw fit, as were bits from other games, houserules and unofficial source material from the magazines and elsewhere. It's just the way that those times were ; people rarely considered AD&D as being a cohesive set of rules because that wasn't the way they first met it.
ReplyDelete Indeed.
The truth is, many of the rules in (A)D&D are illogical, badly designed or just plain stupid. Worse still are all the rules that were little more than Gygax's attempt to dress up his own preferences as essential to any and all campaigns. It's a credit to all the good things in the game that players go to the effort to shunt the bad rules aside.I ignore a lot of rules. I mean A LOT. Most which I ignore because I don't understand them, or would use up a lot of time.
For instance, with the old Star Wars d6 game, we ignored the character creation rules for years because we couldn't make head or tails of them. Just used the templates. It wasn't until the revised 2nd edition book came out that it finally clicked. Then things got interesting.
On the other hand though, encumbrance. I hate dealing with it. I hate micro-managing to that level. It slows the game to a crawl, and so I generally include a Bag of Holding or a Portable Hole in the first treasure. Boom, I don't have to worry about it.
However, I will be glad to talk about any rules questions that come up. I'll listen first and then comment second.I've always used encumbrance but only rough estimates of weight and bulk. Which reminds me: Here's another example of a one bad rule (10 coins = 1 pound of weight) being the basis of another bad rule (carry a few hundred coins and suddenly you're weighed down like a man wearing the heaviest of armors).
ReplyDeleteI fundamentally agree with the original post.
My take on the "We ignored that rule" response: This is obviously acceptable if it's used in the sense of, "I don't know; I'm uninformed on that subject". This is unacceptable if it's used in the sense of "Only an idiot with poor taste would bother considering that rule". IMO, the latter sense gets used with surprisingly high frequency.This is a timely post! I recently flipped through my old Player Handbook for the first time in many years. I was reminded why I both loved and hated that book. What a wonderful framework to build a fantasy world on, and what a horrible exposition of the rules! I would venture to say that "encumbrance rules" is a misnomer since the rules are more mentioned than enumerated--in fact, isn't it stated in one of the two Survival Guides that a list of weights for equipment would be impractical/impossible? Yet it was possible to list the weight, length, and speed of each and every weapon (and the bazillion pole arms that we didn't know how to pronounce). It wasn't until Unearthed Arcana came out that I realized that I was over estimating the weight of much of my characters' equipment. No wondered we took encumbrance rules very seriously as we were purchasing equipment for our characters (how much do torches weight again?). . . and promptly forgot them when we got to the table.
ReplyDelete@santinj: For what it's worth, the "encumbrance of standard items" is at the end of the AD&D DMG (p. 225).
Yes, it's a bad setup as compared to OD&D with all the encumbrance on one short page (although one could argue it's intended for DM-adjudication). The Survival Guides had a very different post-Gygax sensibility.@Delta: THANK you. I had this vague memory of a table like that and using it when generating characters. Of course, that was 24 years ago (!). I love it that rules that would assist players with character generation were stuck in the appendices of the DMG!
Yeah, the Survival Guides successfully separated me from my money back then, but I don't recall actually using them in play. Though I could be remembering that incorrectly as well (see aforementioned 24 years).
Anywho, thanks again.- AnonymousAugust 31, 2010 at 2:01 AM
JB said...
I agree with your post, James...but isn't that a symptom of the bloated rule books being produced by the RPG hobby today?
AD&D may be clunky and archaic, but any system that can only be described in 250+ pages is generally going to have skipped steps at the gaming table.
This is actually more a problem of unclear and badly-organized rules, rather than long ones. When I was playing 1E with friends, we skipped a good amount of stuff because we couldn't understand it or couldn't find it in play. When I played with a really experienced DM at a Con, though, they usually used more of the rules because they knew them well. Whereas when I played 3E regularly we stuck pretty closely to the rules, because if we couldn't remember something it was usually easy to find, and easy to read and use even if we hadn't studied it. Clear explanations and consistent terminology are a big deal. I'm sort of guilty. I made a grand statement about how my group ignored the racial level limits (this is AD&D I am referring to. But I probably should not have assumed everyone would just intuit my Gen-X PoMo sensibilities regarding equal opportunity. We thought it was sort of absurd that a half orc or a dwarf would never be as good at fighting as a human. It seemed arbitrary (which as it turns out, it was).
ReplyDeleteAnd then there are the rules that EVERYBODY used that are actually nowhere in the books. For instance, I was amazed to find when flipping through the DMG recently that a natural 20 officially has no special meaning (in the example of play section -- you know, the one with the calcified bone scroll tube in the pool -- one of the characters rolls a natural 20 and it's nothing but a regular hit.)
ReplyDelete@Matthew: "And then there are the rules that EVERYBODY used that are actually nowhere in the books."
No, not everybody used that. In fact, the status of natural-20 is discussed at length in at least two places in the DMG. The reason for non-inclusion of criticals is given on the first page of the combat section [1], and the advantageous positioning of natural-20s on the combat matrices is discussed immediately after their presentation. [2]
[1] "Such rules as double damage and critical hits must cut both ways - in which case the life expectancy of player characters will be shortened considerably - or the monsters are being grossly misrepresented and unfairly treated by the system." (DMG p. 61)
[2] "A quick glance at the progression of numbers on the COMBAT TABLES will reveal that 20 is repeated. This reflects the fact that a 20 indicates a 'perfect' hit." (DMG p. 82)


text:
Friends - they are so vital, wonderful and important in life. There are many different types of friends and we all categorize them in separate boxes. In German these categories are defined by using two words: "bekannte" is used to describe friends that are more acquaintances. "Freund" is the word that really describes a proper friend. To the point!
But what is a proper friend?
Friends are very important for me. I am a friendly person by nature and often want to hug the world around me. Unfortunately, I have had a few "bad" friendships that have made me weary. I also learned valuable lessons in friendship from my German friends. You see, one often hears the Germans are cool and not too friendly. It's true - but only in the beginning. I have learned that they are careful. Unlike me - they do not want to hug the world straight away. Living here has taught me to be cautious and also to evaluate the people around me more critically.
What is the essence of a friendship?
It was back in 2003 when we moved to Weimar. Soeren had just turned 1 (and a few months) and I decided to join a baby club for the sole purpose of making new friends for both of us. In that same group I met AK. Her daughter was the same age as Soeren and they had also recently moved to Weimar. So, we had a common bond that we shared. Both of us were careful at first but if you get to know AK you will know that you cannot but help to like her.
We are opposites in many ways. I am a boisterous and energetic type of person, AK is calm and gentle. I speak my mind and go with my heart, AK speaks her mind but goes with her brain. I forget to call, AK always keeps in touch.
We complement each other in so many aspects of our lives. If I am gung-ho about something she will hold me back and make me look at the critical side of it. If she does not dare, I take her by the hand and accompany her the extra mile. She never judges me, my ideas or my feelings and always has a compliment on hand to make me feel good.
On a typical afternoon she will invite me to her place so the kids can play and we can chat. When we arrive she'll have a pot of her warming flavored teas in the teapot, a candle burning on the kitchen table. She will tell me to take my shoes off and relax. Being with AK is like a little oasis away from the hectic and stress. Even when the kids are screaming and shouting around us - her gentle attitude relaxes me from the first instant.
She is a physiotherapist by profession, which always seems to come to my advantage. Whenever she realizes I am a bit down or under the weather, she'll be over to give me a massage. She was there for me and Soeren when Tom was away for 8 months in 2004 doing research in Dubai, she is there for me when I worry about the new job and she is there for me when we just want to party.
How do you thank a person like that?
Well I decided to thank her in my way, by dedicating this post to her. You see I think AK and I are a lot like this dessert. If the bold colored saffron is me, AK is the cardamom that adds the delicate and finishing touch. The saffron brightens the way the dessert looks, but without the aromatic cardamom the dessert just would not be complete.
To you AK for your friendship.
Saffron and Cardamom Panna Cotta
(adapted from Pure Desserts by Alice Medrich)
Printable version of recipe here.
3 1/4 cups heavy cream
1/2 cup sugar
Pinch of salt
5 cardamom pods
1/4 teaspoon saffron strands - crushed
1 cup whole milk
2 1/2 teaspoons unflavored gelatin
Finely chopped pistachio nuts - optional
Heat the cream, sugar, and salt in a small saucepan until steaming hot. Stir from time to time to dissolve the sugar. Remove from heat, add the cardamom and saffron, then covered allow to steep for 25 minutes.
In the meantime pour the milk into a small bowl and sprinkle the gelatin over it. Set aside - do not stir - for 5 to 10 minutes to allow the gelatin to soften.
Add the milk-gelatin mixture to the cream mixture and reheat to steaming, stirring well to dissolve the gelatin.
Place a metal bowl in a larger bowl filled with ice and water. Strain the mixture into the metal bowl and stir frequently, until it cools and starts to thicken. Check the temperature with an instant-read thermometer - the mixture should cool down to 10 degrees C (50 F).
Divide the mixture evenly between six 6 ounce ramekins and cover with plastic wrap. Chill in the refrigerator for 12 hours, preferably overnight.
To serve: Either in the individual dishes or unmolded onto a plate. Sprinkle with chopped pistachios and a few saffron strands.
Tip: You can substitute 3 leaves of sheet gelatin for the granulated gelatin. Soak the leaves in the cold milk to soften them, then take them out from the milk and stir them into the hot cream - after the steeping process. Stir until completely dissolved. Stir in the milk and proceed as directed.
A sensational dessert pairing the flavors and aromas of two outstanding spices. Both complementing each other in such positive harmony that it leaves you wanting more. The spices infused in the milk add a wonderful note to the rich creaminess of the cream and milk mixture. In the original version of this recipe Medrich also uses cinnamon, grated on top of the finished panna cotta. I however, left this out as I wanted the flavors of the saffron and cardamom to play the major role. If you like them - the pistachios add a perfect crunch to pull the whole dessert together.
Friendship made in heaven I would say!
You might enjoy these great pairs:
Chocolate Caramel Tart | |
Crème Berry Brûlée | |
Dark Chocolate Raspberry Ice Cream | |
Sweet Spiced Risotto with Cherry Compote |
It's International Women's Day tomorrow and you can bet I am celebrating. My yellow dish is for a a great woman and friend - AK. Zorra and Fiordisale have asked us all to take part in their great event to mark this day by creating a yellow dish.
All photographs and written content on What's For Lunch, Honey? © 2006-2008 Meeta Khurana unless otherwise indicated. | All rights reserved | Please Ask First


text:
To me, I suppose I think "avant-garde" or "ahead of its time." But what does that look like? Could you pick it out on the runway? Could you come up with it yourself?
As the show went on, I joked that my aesthetic is really "fashion backward." And, well, it is. I love the looks of the past and I only make subtle tweaks to them in my own designs. I mean, Dior's New Look doesn't really need improving upon. It just needs a few adjustments to make it wearable today. Is that fashion forward enough? Would Heidi Klum approve? (No.)
During the competition, we had a great mentor named Becky Fulgoni. She was like Tim Gunn, but with motorcycle boots and a shaved head. Her critiques were fantastic. Her critique of my work (not surprisingly) was "what is fashion forward about this?" That was the hardest question to answer. As the hours passed, I felt less and less sure. And I realized: I have no idea what fashion forward is. (I only know that McQueen was fashion forward, and that is the extent of my knowledge on that term.)
But really, do any of us know what fashion forward is? Could we agree upon it if we saw it? Anyway, I would love to hear your thoughts.
P.S. Here's a picture of me and my model, Samia, before the runway show!
photo: Charles Islander |