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So far I am in love with this "gloss". I don't really think of it as a gloss though and if I were reviewing it as one it would have gotten a very different rating. This is more of a liquid lipstick than a gloss. Glosses should be shiny and wet looking. This is shimmery and has a subtle sheen to it. If you completely disregard the notion that this is a gloss and should feel like one, then this is a very nice product. It is longer wearing than most products like it (i.e. liquid lipsticks, not glosses). However the notion that anything other than a long-wearing lipstick is going to last more than a 2-3 hours is just silly (at least if you plan on eating, drinking, breathing, etc.). As for the wand I myself love it. For a pigmented gloss (which this color is) it allows you really precise control over where the gloss goes and how much you put on.
I have this in #135 and it comes out much lighter on my lips - a wearable NARS Turkish Delight on my NC35 skin. I do like how this doesn't look too glossy and while I love the applicator, I don't like how sticky this is. And yes, this DOES transfer on cups, mugs, etc.
I like this lip gloss very much. The colors are very nice and glossy. I am very pleased with its lasting power. The gloss is also easy to put on, not too sticky nor too liquid.
I'm torn, I love the consistency and the longwearing of this lipgloss but I hate the color I got. I tried it on my hand it is called Plumped Rose, it very MLBB rosey pink, but on me, it looks very sheery barely there. Its upsetting because I actually wanted a better color payoff. Maybe If I trade in the color to something darker, it may show up brighter.
I like this. yes, it's sticky but here is how I get around that:
I buy the darkest colors and apply very sparingly, spreading it out with my finger like a lip stain. after it sets, I blot. then it's only a tiny bit sticky, not too bad. after a few hours have gone by, I can rub my lips together to re-distribute the color.
you know those long-lasting paint-on lipsticks that you have to add the clear gloss on afterwards? I really hate them. those lipsticks look really good as long as you don't eat. but if you do eat, it wears off in the middle of the lips, and then I have to go to the ladies room to scrub it off. for me, the next application after that never looks as good.
one of the things I like about this l'oreal gloss is that it lasts a few hours, then after I eat, I can easily wipe the rest of the color off with a napkin, and then quickly re-apply. I don't need to run to the bathroom and make a big procedure about it.
I prefer makeup that is fast and easy to use! this one suits me fine.
Very nice lip gloss...stays on well, looks and feels nice. My only complaint would be that it's a little drying.
More reviews by ashleypooh1014
I got these bogo at walgreens a couple weeks ago. Although the six hour claims are rubbish, I really do like these. The color payoff isnt very good, but I dont care about that. I like to use these to seal on my lipstick, and it works quite well for that. I would say it lasts 2 to 3 hours max, but whatever lipcolor i have under it, doesnt budge for about 5 hours. I have petal which i use as a sealer for creme d nude and myth lipsticks. I also bought the plumping version in plumped pink, which i like to use with hue and pervette lipstick (pervette is a blueish pink, this gloss mutes the blue) I really think these are great and have a great price. if you use it properly youll love it im sure! Alot of the reviews complain that its tacky feeling, but if you apply only the amount on the wand without double dipping, youll see it works better with less product ( which is a great money saver) also let it set for about a minute before smooshing the lips together.
2 out of 2 people found this review helpful. Did you? Yes No
I have a few tubes of this and I'm not very satisfied with the color payoff. It does look rather dull, so I have to find that I layer this with another lip gloss/stain/lipstick. I already have pretty big lips naturally...this does slightly enhance that, but not by much. Honestly, not very impressed with this product. I only use it when I want a natural/nude lip, which I rarely do. Doesn't last too long, either. Doesn't plump like it says it should...all in all, this product falls short. I'll use what I have, but I won't be repurchasing.
Stays on long, but not the shine. Looks dull after about 2 hours. Comes completely off in 6 hours.. And when it fades off/comes of, my lips feel dry and stiff, almost irritated. Sticky, so the product tends to pick up a lot of dirt - had my lips and nasty1Has a cotton candy-bubblegum type of smell that is so attracting at first, but gets annoying and a bit nauseating.
I just tried this lip gloss for the first time today. I only own one color (Petal: A muted pink and champagne-like color with shimmer). The color I have is very lovely, and I think it's an ideal color to wear with smokey eyes. The gloss is more pigmented than I expected it to be, and that's a good thing. It makes my lips look paler, but in a really good and flattering way.
I've found that this lip gloss actually does tend to last quite a long time (around 5-6 hours for me), so this gloss would be really good for when I have to go places that don't allow me time to reapply my lip gloss frequently.
The applicator is really something. I'm not picky when it comes to gloss applicators, but this one is pretty neat. It doesn't pick up a lot of gloss, but this is a good thing, because it's always easier to build up on gloss instead of working with too much gloss.
There's one negative thing I have to say about this gloss: I really don't like the smell. Lip gloss and lip stick scents usually don't have the tendency to bother me. You know that (in)famous Play-Doh smell in many drug store lipsticks? That smell doesn't bother me in the slightest. The smell in this gloss, though ... It bothers me. I'm fine as long as I keep my nose away from the applicator, but wow. The product smells like heavy chemicals that are trying to be hidden by a vanilla scent. Disgusting!
I think the smell is preventing me from truly loving this lip gloss, which is a shame, because the quality of the product is extremely good for a drugstore brand (and even high-end brands). I'm on the fence about whether I'll buy this again ... Perhaps if I am able to hit a sale on it, then I will.


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Convention 2014 videos/photos are now available
Mboho Mkparawa Ibibio, Isongo!
(Posted: April 30, 2014)
Mboho Mkparawa Ibibio hereby announces its scholarship program for 2014-2015 academic year to support Ibibio citizens studying in various disciplines. Applications are hereby invited from suitably qualified candidates, who are indigenes of Ibibio, Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria, to apply for scholarships to attend higher educational institutions of their choice in the United States. Scholarships, awarded by MMI-USA in various amounts up to a maximum of $3,000 each student per year, may be used to cover educational expenses such as tuition, books and boarding.
For more information, download the scholarship criteria list (PDF). To apply for the scholarship download scholarship form (PDF).
Are you Ready for the 2014 National Convention?
(Posted: January 28, 2014)
This year's convention will take place in the city, "that is too busy to hate" - Atlanta. Are you ready to network, raise funds for a good cause and to party? Get ready because it will be here before you know it...
Dates: June 27 - 29, 2014
Venue: The Westin Atlanta Airport, 4736 Best Road, Atlanta, GA 30337 (Map)
Reservation Rates: $79/night (single and double rates)
Reservation code/number: "Mboho"/888-627-7211
Visit the 2014 National Convention page for the latest information regarding the convention including, hotel information, agenda, etc. or download the convention flier (PDF).
Photo/Video Gallery
We have tons of photos and videos. From convention photos, to project photos, we have it all. Don't take our
word for it though.
Browse our library for yourself >>

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5 star on cookie 1star on price! Charging 3x online that you charge in the store Is rediculous!!! Very disappointed in Trader Joe's:-(((. Read morePublished 5 months ago by Carol Ritter
THESE ARE DELICIOUS AND LIGHT. ADDICTIVE IS PUTTING IT MILDLY SO BUYER BEWARE. IN MY NECK OF THE WOODS THEY ARE ALMOST 6 BUCKS IF YOU CAN GET THEM. Read morePublished 16 months ago by sally
Warning! These cookies are both delicious and addicting!!! Eat at your own risk.
I bought these after searching for good meringue cookies at the store and coming up... Read more


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The 2013–15 ARL Leadership Fellows applicant pool was highly competitive. The selection committee, composed of the ARL directors sponsoring the program, chose 26 fellows representing a broad array of backgrounds and experiences and from multiple ARL and non-ARL institutions. The current fellows are:
David Banush
David Banush is associate university librarian for access services and collection management at Brown University, a position he has held since 2009. He has published and presented on numerous library issues, and currently serves on the editorial board of Library Resources and Technical Services and the program council of the NorthEast Research Libraries (NERL) consortium. David holds degrees from Michigan and NYU and received his MLIS at Wayne State University.
Annie Bélanger
Annie Bélanger is the associate university librarian, information resources and academic excellence, for the University of Waterloo. She provides executive leadership for collection development and retention as well as for information services, instruction, and liaison services. She is engaged in moving the library into a collection–life cycle framework and collection assessment. She has been a champion for accessibility and a strong website. Annie holds a BA from York University and MLIS from Western University.
Janet Bishop
Janet Bishop is coordinator for archives and special collections and associate professor at Colorado State University Libraries. She holds a BA in history from Princeton University, a BFA from the University of Washington, and an MLS from the University of Pittsburgh. Janet is active in LLAMA and was recently appointed to the Colorado Historical Records Advisory Board by Governor John Hickenlooper. She is a member of the academic advisory board of the International Center for German-Russian Studies (Colorado State University, US/Saratov State University, Russian Federation)
Cecilia Botero
Cecilia Botero is currently the associate dean and director of the Health Science Center Libraries (HSCL) at University of Florida (UF). She received her MLIS from the University of Texas at Austin in 1986. She was hired as a cataloger at the University of Florida. She came to the UF HSCL in 1999 as the assistant director for resource management and became director in 2009.
Paul Bracke
Paul Bracke is associate dean for assessment and technology and associate professor of library science at the Purdue University Libraries. In this position, he has responsibility for developing strategies for assessment of the libraries' programs and overall library impact. He also provides leadership in technology and digital library initiatives. He previously held positions at the University of Arizona, the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston, and the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Bracke earned bachelor's degrees in history and journalism from University of Missouri–Columbia, a master's degree in library and information science from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and a PhD in higher education from the University of Arizona.
Diane Butler
Diane Butler is director of information technology and access services in Fondren Library at Rice University. She provides visionary leadership, management, planning, policy development, budgeting, and strategic direction for the library's IT department, Access Services, and User Experience. She has worked in various roles at Rice in both Fondren Library and Central IT. She was a 2006 Frye Leadership Institute fellow.
Pascal Calarco
Pascal Calarco has served in his current role since July 2011, with technology services, cataloging and metadata, and special collections and rare books in his portfolio. Prior to joining Waterloo, he has worked in various library information technology and health sciences roles at Yale University, Virginia Commonwealth University, and University of Notre Dame. Pascal holds an MLIS from McGill (1995) and an honors BA in political science from University of Western Ontario (1992).
Patrick Deaton
As associate director for learning spaces and capital management, Patrick Deaton is responsible for overseeing the design, construction, and furnishing of all NCSU Libraries facilities, including the recently opened James B. Hunt Jr. Library. Prior to joining the NCSU Libraries in 2009, he was an architect in private practice and designed several library and higher education projects. He received his architectural training at the University of Virginia and Princeton University.
Amanda Etches
Amanda Etches is the head of discovery and access at the University of Guelph Library, where she spends her time guiding teams and projects that are all about making the overall library experience better for users, both in-person and online. She is also part of Influx, a user-experience consultancy that works with libraries. Amanda has an MA in English literature and a MISt in library and information science, both from the University of Toronto. Amanda frequently writes and presents on usability and UX practices and trends. She tweets at @etches and blogs intermittently at e.tches.ca.
Meredith Evans
Meredith Evans has served as AUL for special collections at UNC Charlotte since August 2012. She has over 15 years of experience as a manager in academic and commercial settings and extensive expertise in staff development, donor relations, archives, collection development, scholarly communications, and digitization. She is a graduate of the Harvard Leadership Institute and has raised over $4 million in endowments, cash gifts, and grant funding. An advocate for preserving materials that support scholarship, she supports open source and open access. She holds a PhD in information and library science from UNC Chapel Hill, an MA in public history from NCSU, and an MSLS and a BA in history from Clark Atlanta University.
Evelyn Frangakis
Evelyn Frangakis is NYPL's Aaron and Clara Greenhut Rabinowitz assistant director for preservation. Additionally, she is director for Rutgers University's Preservation Management Institute and adjunct faculty in NYU's Moving Image Archive Program (MIAP). Active professionally, she has held leadership positions in ALA and SAA, served on USGPO's Depository Library Council, FLICC's Executive Board, and USAIN's national preservation steering committee. Previously she worked for USDA and SAA and was a Columbia University International Thomson Scholar.
Julie Hannaford
Julie Hannaford is the associate librarian for the humanities and social sciences at the University of Toronto. She has leadership, management, policy, and planning responsibilities for the library's public services in the humanities and social sciences. Julie provides leadership to the Central Library, in collaboration across the tri-campus community, in shaping scholarly services that support the university's research and instructional mission. She is particularly interested in scholarly communication issues.
Bill Hook
Bill Hook has been sssociate dean of libraries at Vanderbilt University since 2011, with responsibility for supervising six of the eight campus libraries. Bill has filled a variety of responsibilities previously, including AUL for collections, director of facilities and library copy/printing services, interim director of several of the campus libraries and director of the Divinity Library. He has been project manager for three library renovation projects, most recently the Central Library in 2010.
Wayne Jones
Wayne Jones is currently associate university librarian for collections and library development at Carleton University in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. He has also held collections and technical services positions at Queen's University, MIT, and the National Library of Canada. His professional activity has been primarily in editing books and journals and in writing articles and reviews. He has bachelor's and master's degrees in English.
Melissa Just
As the AUL for research and instructional services, Melissa Just oversees most of the public-facing services, spaces, and faculty and staff of the Rutgers University Libraries. Her previous experience has been in health sciences libraries, most recently as the director of the UC San Diego Biomedical Library. In addition to an MLIS from the University of Texas, Melissa holds a doctor of education (EdD) degree from the University of Southern California and a BA in psychobiology from UC Riverside.
Beth McNeil
Beth McNeil is professor and associate dean for academic affairs in the Purdue University Libraries, where she is responsible for oversight of 12 libraries, archives and special collections, technical services, and collections. She has published articles, book chapters, and Fundamentals of Library Supervision (2005 and 2010). She co-edited Advocacy, Outreach, and the Nation's Academic Libraries: A Call for Action (2010) and Human Resource Management in Today's Academic Library (2004).
Simon Neame
Simon provides leadership, vision, and strategic direction for UBC Library's student and community engagement initiatives, teaching and learning programs, and administration of the Irving K. Barber Learning Centre, a state of the art $80M teaching and learning facility. Simon is also responsible for several other libraries including the Walter C. Koerner Library and the Woodward Library. Simon is a graduate of UBC's School of Library, Archival, and Information Studies (iSchool) where he was an adjunct instructor from 2003–2010.
Susan Parker
Susan E. Parker has been deputy university librarian at UCLA since 2005, responsible for budgeting, strategic and capital planning, assessment, and oversight of Rosenfeld Management Library. Previously, she held library leadership roles at California State University, Northridge; Harvard Law School; and Tufts University. Parker earned degrees from Earlham College and Indiana University, her MLS from Queens College, CUNY, and her PhD in organizational psychology from Capella University. She writes and speaks often on library leadership.
Tim Pyatt
Tim Pyatt was appointed Huck chair and head of the Eberly Family Special Collections Library at Penn State University in June 2011. Prior to Penn State, he was the Duke University archivist and also served as associate director of Duke's Rare Book, Manuscript, and Special Collections Library as well as coordinator for the campus institutional repository, DukeSpace. From 1998 to 2007, Tim taught archival administration for the University of North Carolina SILS.
Larry Reeves
Larry Reeves joined Vanderbilt University as head of the law library in 2012 having previously served as associate director of the George Mason University Law Library in Arlington, Virginia. Before George Mason, Reeves held appointments at Fordham Law School in New York, Loyola Law School in Los Angeles, and Brooklyn Law School. He has taught as a member of the adjunct faculty of the Catholic University School of Library and Information Science and served on the school's Law Library Advisory Committee.
Mark Robertson
Mark Robertson has been associate university librarian for information services at York University since 2008. His porfolio includes leadership of York's Learning Commons, oversight of teaching and learning initiatives, reference and circulation services, development of learning spaces, and student liaison. Prior to this administrative role, Mark was a reference and liaison librarian at York University for nine years.
Barbara Rockenbach
Barbara Rockenbach is the director of the humanities and history libraries at Columbia University. In that role she leads a group of experienced, dedicated librarians and technologists in exploring innovative ways to support the scholarly pursuits of students and faculty by building services around deep research collections in all areas of the humanities. She also leads the development of the Digital Humanities Center, which provides services to humanities researchers working with digital texts, images, and other materials. Prior to this, Barbara held several positions at Yale University, including director of undergraduate and library research education, instructional services librarian in the arts library, and writing instructor in the English department. She has also worked at both JSTOR and ARTstor. She has a BA in English literature from the University of Illinois, an MLIS from the University of Pittsburgh, and an MA in art history from Hunter College.
Neil Romanosky
Neil has primary oversight of the finance, planning, human resources, and facilities operations of NYU Health Sciences Libraries. His has held positions as network services coordinator for the National Network of Libraries of Medicine (Middle Atlantic Region), interlibrary loan librarian at Columbia University, and various editorial positions in technical and reference publishing. He received his MSLIS from Pratt Institute, MCIS from Rutgers University, and BA in English from Rider University.
Meredith Taylor
As the assistant director for organizational development Meredith manages and oversees the organizational development function for the University of Texas Libraries, including talent management, continuous planning, assessment, and staff relations and communications. Meredith received a bachelor's degree in advertising from the University of Florida, a master of science in library science from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and a doctorate in educational administration from the University of Texas at Austin.
Caitlin Tillman
Caitlin Tillman joined the University of Toronto Libraries in 2009 as the head of collection development, a department that selects, orders, receives, and licenses materials in all formats. She serves as chair of the Ontario Consortium of University Libraries (OCUL) Information Resources Committee and was a member of the Canadian Research Knowledge Network's (CRKN) Cost Sharing Advisory Group, which successfully completed its mandate this summer. Recently, Caitlin worked with colleagues at the University of Toronto's Cheng Yu Tung East Asian Library and Columbia University's CV Starr East Asian Library to form an international collaboration designed to increase the availability of Tibetan resources to a wider community of scholars in both Canada and the United States. Caitlin previously worked in the libraries of the University of Ottawa and Yale University, and for the Berenson Library located at the Harvard University Center for Italian Renaissance Studies in Florence, Italy. She earned her MSI from the University of Michigan in 1998 and her BA in English literature in 1996 from the University of Toronto.
Michael Vandenburg
Michael Vandenburg is associate university librarian at Queen's University, where he provides leadership for strategic planning, development, and assessment of the library's information infrastructure. In this role, he oversees and supports the library's divisions responsible for information systems, digital initiatives, electronic resource management, and collection management and services. Prior to arriving at Queen's in 2009, Michael held positions in public and special libraries, including information systems librarian at the Kingston Frontenac Public Library, web development librarian at the Free Library of Philadelphia, and automation specialist at the Nova Scotia Provincial Library. Michael received his MLS in 1998 from Dalhousie University and attended the Northern Exposure to Leadership Institute in 2004.


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Baylor football stole the show on Monday morning at Big 12 media day. Head coach Art Briles received plenty of attention for his signature one-liners, but here are six quotes you may have missed on media day. Shawn Oakman on … Continue reading
Tag Archives: Art Briles
Baylor coach Art Briles entertains at media day, looks to maintain underdog mentality
Baylor coach Art Briles is a small-town coach who has never shed his underdog mentality. Even coming off of a Big 12 Championship, Briles expressed the same desire for Baylor to continue to prove itself as a new power in … Continue reading
National publication ranks Baylor Bears a top five college athletics program for 2013-14
CBS Sports puts together an annual list of the best athletic programs in sports over the past season, and there was a surprising name in the top five: Baylor. Yes, the small Baptist school in Waco ranked as the No. … Continue reading
Report: Baylor WR, former four-star recruit Robbie Rhodes arrested Friday on drug charges
Baylor wide receiver Robbie Rhodes was arrested early Friday morning on drug charges, according to an article in the Waco Tribune. Rhodes, 20, was charged with tampering with physical evidence and possession of marijuana, according to the Tribune article written … Continue reading
Kliff Kingsbury: He may have country charm, but Baylor's Art Briles 'will cut anybody's throat' to win football game
Texas Tech football coach Kliff Kingsbury joined KCLE-AM 1460 in a phone interview to talk about all things football. During the chat which the station, which is based in Waco, Kingsbury discussed current Baylor Bears coach Art Briles, whom he … Continue reading
Baylor position battles: Does Art Briles go with experience, potential or grit at defensive tackle?
Baylor's spring game has come and gone, which means the start of the 2014 college football season is far enough away to loathe the offseason, while being close enough for speculation to run amok. When the Bears released their post-spring … Continue reading
Kliff Kingsbury on recruiting against Art Briles, competitive Big 12 and taking the Wonderlic test
Texas Tech football coach Kliff Kingsbury made the radio rounds Tuesday, appearing on "The Afternoon Show with Cowlishaw and Mosley" on KESN-FM 103.3 few hours after chatting with KTTX-FM 104.9 in Austin. Here are some highlights from Kingsbury's interview with … Continue reading
The Kliff Kingsbury effect: Baylor's Art Briles jokes that he doesn't get hit on by single moms, 'Maybe the grandmothers,' he says
When Baylor's Art Briles is in an interview, he's unlike any other coach in the collegiate or pro game. He'll say things that'll catch media members off guard and then he'll bust out his wide, southern smile. We like to … Continue reading
Baylor Bears positional series: With Antwan Goodley in tow, the rich got richer with incoming recruits
Position: Wide Receiver Key returnees: Antwan Goodley, Clay Fuller, Corey Coleman, Jay Lee, Robbie Rhodes, Levi Norwood Key additions: Davion Hall, KD Cannon Key losses: Tevin Reese, 2013 recap: If Tevin Reese had not been injured last year, the combination … Continue reading
Baylor Bears positional series: Bryce Petty, Seth Russell provide stability at quarterback
Position: Quarterback Key returnees: Bryce Petty, Seth Russell Key additions: Chris Johnson (redshirted last season) Key losses: n/a 2013 recap: Bryce Petty's career started off so well that he didn't play a full game until the fourth week of Baylor's … Continue reading


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I really like this. Wish they had one with a glass cover.
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Except perhaps to Jacques Fabi himself, it was obvious that the radio talk-show host crossed the Line last Wednesday night. Fabi did so when he not only allowed a caller to make anti-Semitic remarks on the air but implied that … Continue reading
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China's chief auditor discovered 94.4 billion yuan ($15.2 billion) of loans backed by falsified gold transactions, adding to signs of possible fraud in commodities financing deals.
China's investigation of whether metals stockpiled at Qingdao Port fall short of collateral obligations used to secure loans is focused on Decheng Mining, said two bankers assisting with the probe.
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This is…
…why does she have a doll of my Alice??
-adds to collection-
posted 9:09 pm on Wednesday, November 14, 2012 with 16 notestags » #i am having way too much fun with this #m!a: mun muse body swap
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"Peter you can't take he…wait… You found that in HER room?" "Right. That's it. Stalkers are multiplying…" "I'm out."
- askpeterwhite reblogged this from stefanstopthat and added:
"…it's not mine, anyway. I found it in my mun's room." "And I will of course be asking her why she has this…" "Until...
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|Key Info
Domaine de la Fort: Nice chalet "Chalet Petit Roc", 3 storeys, surrounded by trees. In the resort 1.2 km from the centre of Villars, in a quiet, sunny position in the residential district, south facing position. Private: garden with lawn 1'300 m2, plants. Garden furniture. Room cleaning weekly on request (extra). Motor access to the house. In Winter: please take snow chains. Parking, individual garage. Shop 1.3 km, grocers 1.1 km, restaurant 900 m, bakers 1.3 km, bus stop 1.6 km, railway station "Villars-Bretaye" 1.6 km, indoor swimming pool 1.9 km, thermal baths 19 km. Sports harbour 25 km, golf course (18 hole) 7 km, tennis club 1.8 km, sports centre 1.8 km, mountain lift 1.6 km, ski lift 1.3 km, cable cabin 1.2 km, ski bus stop 1.2 km, ski school 1.6 km, children's ski school 1.8 km, ice rink 1.9 km, childrens play area 1.8 km. Please note: free of charge ski bus. Free ski bus service to the ski region Villars.Covered parking, Cross country, Garden, Golfing, Hiking mountains, Ice rink, Mountain bike, Nordic walking, Parking, Snowboard, Toboggan, Distance from ski m 1200Distance from golf m 7000Distance from city m 1200Interior"Chalet Petit Roc", 6-room chalet 250 m2 on 3 levels, south facing position, comfortable and tasteful furnishings: large living/dining room 41 m2 with open fireplace, TV and DVD. Exit to the garden, to the balcony, to the terrace. 1 room with 1 french bed. Open kitchen (oven, dishwasher, ceramic glass hob, micro wave, freezer, electric coffee machine). Exit to the garden, to the terrace. Shower/WC. On the lower ground floor: lounge with 1 sofa bed, video and DVD. Upper floor: 1 room with 2 x 1 bunk beds. 1 large double bedroom with 1 french bed (2 x 90 cm), bath/WC. Exit to the balcony. 1 double bedroom with 2 beds. Exit to the balcony. Bath/WC. Large balcony, east facing position and south facing position, small balcony, south facing position. Barbecue (portable), box-room. Very nice panoramic view. Facilities: washing machine, dryer, telephone, cot for up to 3 year olds. Internet (Wireless LAN [WLAN]). Reserved parking, garage, height 215 cm, width 300 cm. Please note: non-smokers only., Extra bed possibilities, Non Smoking, Balcony, Dishwasher, Fire place, TV, Washing machineExtra AmenitiesDVD | Fireplace | Washing Machine | Dishwasher | Barbecue | Microwave | It is a Private Villa | Freezer | Telephone | Television | No smoking property | Horse Riding near | Bike Riding | Parking | Garden | The property is near the town | Internet | Internet WiFi | Ski stations near | Golf near | Extra Information25% of the deposit request at booking | Last Minute offersOwner Extra ServicesFinal cleaning 40.00 CHF per person. Payable in resortLaundry (initial supply of bed linen and towels) 25.00 CHF per person. Payable in resortLocal tax 3.30 CHF per person/day. Payable in resortLocal tax 5.80 CHF per person/day. Payable in resortLocal tax 3.30 CHF per person/day. Payable in resortLocal tax 5.80 CHF per person/day. Payable in resortBuggy 4.00 EUR Bookable extra. per dayCot (up to 2 years) 4.00 EUR Bookable extra. per dayHighchair 4.00 EUR Bookable extra. per dayExtra bed 72.00 EUR Bookable extra. fixed price
|Sleeps up to 10, 4 bedrooms
|Family friendly
|Great for children of all ages, Suitable for people with restricted mobility
|No pets allowed, No smoking at this property
|Internet access, DVD player
|Wi-Fi available
|Dishwasher, Washing machine
|4 bedrooms, 3 bathrooms of which 3 Family bathrooms
|Double beds (5)


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I'm baaaaaaaaack!
Monday Jul 7 @ 07:22pm
This still exists?
Wow.Saturday Dec 12 @ 12:27pm
Y'all haven't seen my face in awhile.
Hi.Tuesday Oct 10 @ 09:38pm
I've barely thought about this place,
Funny what a real-life boyfriend, a stellar job, and an actual life will get you.Tuesday Oct 10 @ 09:31pm


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When you have an emergency, Dr. Mark Dankowski of Lakeland Creek Family Dental is there to help you – even if you're not an existing patient of his practice.
"No one plans a dental emergency, and that's why we make every effort to schedule same-day emergency appointments at Lakeland Creek Family Dental," Dr. Dankowski said. "We are well-equipped with the latest technologies so we can treat people with serious problems as seamlessly as we provide routine care. The unique range of dental services we provide is something we take great pride in here."
Having had the great opportunity to work alongside a team of five seasoned dentists with around 50 years of combined expertise, Dr. Dankowski's first experience in private practice was with Afdent Dental Services, a large comprehensive family dentistry practice in Fort Wayne.
"Working at Afdent allowed me to gain significant experience in root canal therapy and oral surgery in a very short period of time," he explained. "I would never be where I am right now if it was not for my tenure with Afdent."
Several years later, Dr. Dankowski learned of an opportunity to build his own team in Northwest Indiana, providing extraordinary care to patients of all ages including extra gentle cleanings and polishings, cosmetic dentistry, simple and complex extractions including wisdom teeth removal, root canal treatments, gum treatment, denture work, implant dentistry and same-day emergency pain relief.
"The hallmark of my office is our great staff," Dr. Dankowski added. "From day one, when I came to Lakeland Creek Family Dental in November 2009, the goal has been to work together as a cohesive team. This group of knowledgeable, well-trained professionals treats everyone as if he or she is the only patient of the day. Patient comfort is a top priority, and we take our time, listening carefully to each person so we can thoroughly explain all of the options."
Conveniently located in the heart of northwest Indiana, just a mile and a half east of I-65 along the Route 30, next to Avalon Manor, Lakeland Creek Family Dental is looking forward to introducing CAD/CAM (computer-aided design/computer-aided manufacturing) for restorations including crowns, veneers, bridges and implants as well as 3D CT-guided (computed tomography) implant surgery. Together, these technologies represent the most significant advances in dentistry since the first dental radiograph was taken in 1896, according to leading experts in the field.
"We're investing in these proven cutting-edge technologies now because our patients deserve the very best possible outcomes," Dr. Dankowski said.
You can meet Dr. Dankowski and the entire Lakeland Creek Family Dental staff online at www.lakelandcreekfamilydental.com where you'll also find complete details on routine examinations as well as emergency services and the office's "in-network" insurance carriers plus alternate payment options.
Lakeland Creek Family Dental
8080 Utah St.
Merrillville, IN
(219) 947-2581


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When we were going through Kentucky, I picked up a bottle of Elijah Craig 12 Year. It was delicious and I loved it, but I was worried that I wouldn't be able to find another bottle up north. Well, I did. Problem is…well, it doesn't taste right. Maybe I'm just not remembering what my first bottle tasted like, but I swear this bottle has a much more…I dunno, unpleasant taste than the bottle I got down south. Is that crazy? It seems like a small enough bottler that there might be differences between batches, but honestly, I don't really know what I'm talking about.
It probably just skunked a little. (Light + heat) x time = not alcohol's friend.
[edited for math nerdiness, and still probably not entirely right]


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The Best Celebrity Hairstyles of 2012
2012 was a year full of fantastic 'dos. From Olivia Palermo's romantic chignon to Kim Kardashian's extension-free locks, check out the 30 best hairstyles of the year!
Emmy Rossum's Side-Swept Curls
Emmy Rossum channeled Veronica Lake with dramatic sideswept waves. Looking to show off a pair of knockout earrings? This is the style for you!
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Agra University Result 2014
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Celebrity weddings and marriages are the "things" to watch out for in Hollywood, but divorces are just as popular.
25. Eva Longoria and Tony Parker
Eva Longoria filed for divorce from Tony Parker after discovering hundreds of text messages from another female on his cellphone. She told friend Mario Lopez she had suspected Parker cheated on her earlier in the marriage with a woman he kept in contact with via Facebook. Their divorce finalized Jan. 28, 2011.
24. Katy Perry and Russell Brand
After fourteen months of marriage, Brand filed for divorce Dec. 30, 2011. In a statement he said, "Sadly, Katy and I are ending our marriage. I'll always adore her and I know we'll remain friends." Perry eventually revealed that the comedian broke up with her via text message.
23. Angelina Jolie and Billy Bob Thornton
After a two-month relationship, the former couple married May 5, 2005. They divorced three years later May 27.
22. Kate and Jon Gosselin
The Gosselins announced their separation June 22, 2009. Their TLC reality show, 'Jon and Kate Plus 8' was put on hiatus after their divorce finalized Dec. 16, 2009. Soon after, the network changed the show's name to 'Kate Plus 8' and focused on the divorcee's life as a single parent.
21. Courtney Cox and David Arquette
The former couple decided to divorce after 11 years of marriage. The big difference between them and most celebrity couples? They managed to stay friends. They have one daughter, Coco, together.
20. Jennifer Lopez and Marc Anthony
Jennifer Lopez and Marc Anthony filed for divorce in April 2012 after a seven-year relationship. Lopez has been in a relationship with backup dancer Casper Smart ever since.
19. Britney Spears and Kevin Federline
The relationship between Britney Spears and Kevin Federline was heavily monitored by the press because of his recent breakup with actress Shar Jackson. She was still pregnant with his second child at the time. Spears filed for divorce in November 2006, citing irreconcilable differences.
18. Katie Holmes and Tom Cruise
After five years of marriage, Holmes filed for divorce from Tom Cruise. She asked for sole custody of their daughter, Suri. They signed divorce settlement papers July 9, 2012.
17. Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman
Cruise filed divorce in February 2011 while Kidman was unknowingly pregnant. In the end, she ended up having an ectopic pregnancy.
16. Brad Pitt and Jennifer Aniston
Brad Pitt and Jennifer Aniston divorced Oct. 2, 2005. Afterwards, the media speculated Pitt had been unfaithful to Aniston with Angelina Jolie during the filming of the movie, 'Mr. & Mrs. Smith'.
15. Madonna and Guy Ritchie
Madonna and Guy Ritchie announced their split in 2008. On Dec. 15, 2008, Madonna agreed to a fairly large divorce settlement.
14. Mel Gibson and Robyn Denise Moore
After 26 years of marriage, the former couple filed for divorce Apr. 13, 2009. The divorce settlement was considered one of the highest in Hollywood's history at 0 million.
13. Harrison Ford and Melissa Mathison
After 21 years of marriage, Ford and Mathison divorced in 2004. She received million, as well as royalties on the movies he made during their marriage.
12. Steven Spielberg and Amy Irving
Steven Spielberg and Amy Irving were married from 1985 to 1989. In the divorce settlement, Irving received 0 million.
11. Whitney Houston and Bobby Brown
After much controversy revolving around their relationship, Houston separated from Brown in September 2006. She filed for divorce a month later. The divorce was finalized Apr. 26, 2007. She received full custody of their daughter, Bobbi Kristina.
10. Heather Mills and Paul McCartney
The former couple decided to divorce in 2006. Mills sought a large settlement from McCartney's 0 million fortune. In court, she claimed McCartney was abusive and addicted to drugs. The judge felt her evidence was "weak", and she was only awarded about million.
9. Denise Richards and Charlie Sheen
Denise Richards filed for divorce after three years of marriage. She claimed the former 'Two and a Half Men' star was addicted to porn, drugs and prostitutes, as well as verbally abusive to her. Their divorce finalized in 2006, but they didn't reach a custody settlement until 2009.
8. Christie Brinkley and Peter Cook
Christie Brinkley's divorce from Peter Cook finalized Oct. 3, 2008. Cook admitted to committing adultery with an 18-year-old Diana Bianchi.
7. Kim Basinger and Alec Baldwin
Basinger and Baldwin divorced in 2002. The proceedings turned nasty after a voice mail of Baldwin verbally abusing their daughter, Ireland, played in court.
6. Arnold Schwarzenegger and Maria Shriver
The couple aren't divorced yet, but this couple's relationship has been under fire ever since 2011. The media uncovered that Schwarzengger had fathered a child with another woman while still married to Shriver. After 25 years of marriage, the couple have been living separating ever since.
5. Michael and Juanita Jordan
After 17 years of marriage, Michael and Juanita Jordan decided to end their marriage in 2006. In one of the most expensive divorce settlements to date, Juanita left with 8 million.
4. Demi Moore and Ashton Kutcher
After months of cheating allegations against Kutcher, the couple decided to separate. Over a year later, Kutcher began dating Mila Kunis and filed for divorce Dec. 21, 2012.
3. Sandra Bullock and Jesse James
Bullock filed for divorce Apr. 23, 2010 after discovering the cheating allegations against Jesse James were true. James issued out a public apology a month before and checked himself into a rehab hoping to "save his marriage." However, the divorce finalized June 28, 2010.
2. Tiger Woods and Elin Nordegren
After coming clean about his various affairs, Tiger Woods and Elin Nordegren divorced Aug. 23, 2010.
1. Kim Kardashian and Kris Humphries
The former flames were only married for 72 days before Kim Kardashian filed for divorce. The divorce proceedings went on for over a year after Humphries sought out an annulment due to fraud.


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Glossary of Germanic mysticism
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
- For more see List of magical terms and traditions Also, see the category 'Magical terms in Germanic mysticism'.
This list is incomplete; you can help by expanding it.
This is a list of magical terms in Germanic mysticism dealing with various occult practices, traditions, and components of magic within Odinism or Germanic Neopaganism. This list is not intended for topics like stage magic, illusion, or other entertainment-based definition. It is also not for strictly paranormal topics, such as those dealing with UFOs, aliens, ghosts, near-death experiences, ESP, or other such articles. This list should also not include terms not specific to German mysticism.
- Armanen Runes
- Althing
- Armanen
- Armanen
- Allsherjargode - a Germanic high priest
- Algiz
- Erulian - a skilled Runecaster
- Galdr - singing of magical songs or reciting of poems, based on runic knowledge
- Gandr - magic wand or projection of magic
- Germanic runic astrology
- Galdrastafr (galdrastafir) - A magical symbol or "magickal staves".
- Gythia (Gyðja) - 1. A goddess. 2. A female goði. 3. Priestess at a hof, hofgyðja.
- Gothi Goði (goðar) 1. Chieftain and priest in the old Icelandic Commonwealth. 2. Modern leader or priest of ásatrú.
- Galdrabok or Galðrbok
- Grógaldr
- Hjallr (hjallar) - Shelf, raised platform where Seiðr took place.
- Niðing Pole - Germanic Cursing Pole
- Orlog - The collective Wyrd (or fate) of the world as a whole.
- Odic force
- Od
- Odinic Runosophy
- Odinic Runology
- Ostara
- Seidmadhr or Seiðmaðr - practitioner of Seidhr - kona being female, madhr (maðr) being male.
- Seidkona or Seiðrkona - practitioner of Seidhr - kona being female, madhr being male.
- Seidr, Seidhr, {Seiðr}
- Sig rune
- Sigel
- Stafr (stafir) - 1. Staff 2. Letter of an alphabet, even the runic one.
- Stallr (stallar) - Stall, a heathen altar.


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Remarks As Prepared for Delivery By Gen. Michael V. Hayden, Director, Central Intelligence Agency at the Council on Foreign Rela
NEW YORK, Sept. 7 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The following is being issued by CIA Public Affairs: It's a pleasure to be in New York, to spend some time with this very distinguished group, and to talk about the organization I am privileged to...
While the dialogue continues on how best to conduct this fight, we and our partners stand united on its larger purpose. And this much is certain: America cannot win this war without allies.
My deputy Steve Kappes and I have gone to dozens of countries in our first year--many have been visited more than once. I cannot overstate how vital these relationships are to our overall effort.
For when I talk about winning this war, I do so in full knowledge that it is a highly complex and long-term struggle fought on two levels--what I call the close fight and the deep fight. And our foreign partners are pivotal to success on both fronts.
The close fight is very straightforward--it's about people who want to kill us. They can't be stopped unless we kill or capture them.
On this front, our foreign partners extend our reach and help us across the spectrum of our operations. The efforts of multiple services are often coordinated against a terrorist or group that has regional or global affiliations. Our collaboration has disrupted attacks that could have been on the same scale as those of 9/11.
The UK airliner plot and the takedowns of Khalid Shaykh Muhammad, Mullah Dadullah, and many, many others show what can be accomplished by close teamwork among allies. We've used that teamwork and every lawful tactic at our disposal--every inch of the space we're given--to protect all our citizens from terrorist brutality.
We've had strong success in the close fight. But we face an adaptive and resilient enemy who poses a heightened threat, as I mentioned earlier.
I talked recently with a reporter friend about my hard-to-find/easy-to-kill model. With his usual insight, my friend added--once again, unlike the Soviet Union--that al-Qa'ida, in addition to being hard to find, is quick to regenerate. Al-Qa'ida has compensated for losing its Afghan safehaven and key operational lieutenants by regrouping in Pakistan's tribal areas, where they've recruited from a ready pool of adherents.
And therein lies the deep fight: blunting the jihadists' appeal to disenchanted young Muslim men--and, increasingly, young Muslim women as well. The deep fight requires discrediting and eliminating the jihadist ideology that motivates the hatred and violence. It requires winning a war of ideas.
I recognize that some of the actions required by the close war can make fighting the deep war even more complicated. But it's rare in life that doing nothing is a legitimate or morally acceptable course of action. Responsibility demands action. Dealing with the immediate threat must naturally be our first priority.
Killing and capturing terrorists keeps them at bay and protects our people. But defeating the worldview responsible for producing those terrorists diminishes the threat itself. Winning the war of ideas defines the long-term victory we and our allies seek.
I want to be absolutely clear that this conflict is not about religion. The war of ideas is not about Islam. It's about fanatics whose victims most often have been Muslims. The terrorists must be exposed for the scourge they are and reviled for the horror and suffering they inflict. Only then can they be uprooted at their source.
The deep fight, which our society as a whole must wage, requires that jihadist ideas of violence, extremism, and intolerance be countered by ideas of peace, moderation, and inclusion. It requires a tireless global campaign by a broad coalition of nations and societies. But it's our friends in the Islamic world, repulsed by al-Qa'ida's savage distortion of their faith, who must take a leading role.
Any discussion of this war--and certainly this war of ideas--would be incomplete without reference to global media. It is one of the decisive battlegrounds in the post-9/11 era. It's where al-Qa'ida can attempt to spread its grand illusion of a noble struggle, or where its operatives can be revealed as murderers who try to justify their atrocities with a violent, bankrupt ideology.
The duty of a free press is to report the facts as they are found. By sticking to that principle, journalists accomplish a great deal in exposing al-Qa'ida and its adherents for what they are.
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Sat 16 Oct 2010
Rule #2: A Thousand Words
Posted by Michael under On Writing, The Rules
[13] Comments
In my younger and more vulnerable years, I was given a piece of advice that I've been turning over in my mind ever since. (And no, it is not to shamelessly rip off The Great Gatsby's opening line; that I do all on my own.) The advice was this: Write a thousand words of your work-in-progress each day. No more, no less. Just a cool grand.
Here's the why of the advice:
- A thousand words is a fair bit, to be sure. But it's not so much that you can't see the end of your target when you sit down to begin. It's not so much that you can get lost in those thousand words. It's not so much that you'll have to set aside hours and hours of your day that really should be spent working for a living or cleaning the house or reading other people's books or petting the cat. It's just enough that you can do it in a good hour or so of work. That is to say, it's eminently doable.
- A thousand words a day means you can draft the entirety of a seventy-thousand word novel in three months. Not in a NaNoWriMo blaze of ill-considered prose, but in measured thousand-word bites.
- If you've noticed that my math is off in the above calculation, that's because I've allowed for mistakes and blind alleys and pages that have to be burned. Did your characters lead you on a long digression that has no bearing on anything else? You can cut it easily and go back. Why? Because even if that bit is, say, seven thousand words, that's only a week's work, and you will quickly make up that lost time thanks to your daily thousand words.
- After that three-month draft is complete, you can then revise the work three times in the remaining nine months of the year. Me, I rekey the entirety of the manuscript every time so that I weigh every line and nuance to make sure I want it. Other people find this tedious. But however you work, again revising only a thousand words a day, you can push through three serious revisions of your novel in the remainder of the year.
- And why stop at a thousand? This is the question I most hear from people. "I'm writing in a white heat! I don't want to stop! I want to finish this section!" But that is precisely when you should stop. Why? Because the next day, you will know what comes next. You'll sit down to your work and know the next page or two because you already had them in mind. And by the time you reach the end of what you'd had in mind yesterday, your head and momentum will have given you the beginnings of new material. Stopping after a thousand words ensures that you never write to the end of your inspiration and face that dreaded blank page. You leave your desk having prepared yourself for the next day's work.
A thousand words is kind of an arbitrary number. It is the number my long-ago advisor chose, but you can adjust it to suit your needs. Graham Greene wrote exactly eight hundred words and boasted that he would stop mid-sentence when he'd reached that number. (He had a finely calibrated internal word counter, apparently.)
But he wrote every day—the set number of words—no matter what was going on in his life. Writing every single day makes it easier to beat a path to the well, makes it easier to re-enter the fictive dream of the manuscript as though the preceding 23 hours haven't intervened. And that piece of advice—"Write every day"—is why today's post is Rule #2.
Do you all write to set word count? Does it work for you? Or do you sit at your desk for hours on end, laboring over every single sentence until your eyesight dims and your family forsakes you?
13 Responses to " Rule #2: A Thousand Words "
Holly says:
October 16th, 2010 at 8:12 am
I do write to a specific count every day now that I'm working on a new draft. It's a little more than 1k, but not by much. I do agree though, the steady pace every day keeps me coming back to the story like I never left, but with fresh ideas and perspective to carry forward.
Excellent post. It really got me thinking.
Laura says:
October 16th, 2010 at 9:30 am
Good advice. Word count keeps me on track. I agree with Holly. One thousand to twelve hundred words is best for me. Any more and I burn out too quickly.
Feliza says:
October 16th, 2010 at 12:16 pm
Interesting. On good days, I always let myself go way beyond 1000 words because I feel like I'll forget what to write about next. Never mind that I've got a ton of Post-its in the house and a million little notebooks to remind myself.
I never said it made sense. I'm going to try limiting my word count and see what happens, though. I think it'll make sitting down to write the next day a lot less intimidating.
Gargi says:
October 18th, 2010 at 2:37 am
This is good advice. The only reason I don't follow it myself is because of time constraints. So when I do have time I finish up 2000 words+, but I make it a point to complete 500 words minimum at a time.
Olleymae says:
October 18th, 2010 at 8:00 am
Great advice. Just setting a reasonable goal makes the experience of writing more positive, because you can actually feel like you've accomplished something in the middle of a mire of revisions.
Barbary says:
October 18th, 2010 at 6:05 pm
Is this 1,000 words a day with a chapter-by-chapter outline? Or 1,000 words teased from where the sun don't shine?
Draven Ames says:
October 18th, 2010 at 10:37 pm
Great write Michael,
Setting a goal can really help someone. When I first started, two-thousand words a day became my daily goal. After a while, I stopped setting word count goals. Now, I set aside time blocks and make that my goal. Either way, you should spend time with your family and on other endeavors. Good blog,
Draven Ames
Michael says:
October 19th, 2010 at 12:02 pm
Barbary—Either way, really. However you work. I've done it both ways. (Shrugs eloquently.)
Brent Peterson says:
October 19th, 2010 at 12:11 pm
Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.
Your timing was perfect. I have been struggling for some time now and your simple but shrewd advice was exactly what I needed. The perfect bite-sized goal.
I'm on day three of my new regime and so far so good.
To thank you, I will be sending you my first query, no question
Michael says:
October 19th, 2010 at 1:59 pm
Well, Brent, I am no longer accepting queries nor clients. But please feel free to query Chris or Danielle, both of whom are still looking at new submissions.
Sheryl Gwyther says:
October 19th, 2010 at 3:51 pm
Great advice, Michael. Having an accessible number of words target would put the 'procrastinate bug' back in its box, quick smart!
Kaitlyne says:
October 25th, 2010 at 10:45 am
My only problem with this is the first bullet point. You say that you won't have to set aside hours, and maybe that's true for some people, but I can guarantee that for me, most of the time pulling a thousand words is a four or five hour task.
I'm not trying to be argumentative, but it's true. Particularly near the beginning/middle of a book. I'm just a slow writer as a general rule. Now, as I get closer to the end, I can often pull out two or three thousand words a day with very little effort, but it takes me quite a bit of time to fall into the voice of a book and get the dialogue right and the characters right, etc.
I tend to aim for about five hundred, but truth be told, some days the most I manage is two or three. I consider that pretty pathetic, but if I spend two hours working on something and between my writing and erasing and writing and thinking and writing and rewriting that's all I get, that's all I get.
I think there's more value to be found in having a specific goal to motivate you than that goal being a thousand words exactly. I might not finish a novel in three months, but I can finish one in eight, and I don't think that's all that bad.
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Posts Tagged 'making of'
Making of The Monastery
I didn't record a timelapse video but I wrote this post talking about the development of my Ludum Dare game The Monastery. This will be a rather lengthy story of the development process so find a comfortable position and have a cup of tea or coffee. I want to get this out of my system now that the horrors are still vividly in my brain!
The Monastery is a type of game I've wanted to make for some time. I happen to like old school games and one game in particular that I have fond childhood memories of is SSI's Pool of Radiance from 1988. For those too young to remember, Pool of Radiance (or just POR to friends) is a fantasy roleplaying game that features tactical combat and resource management and was one of the first games to fully implement the complex Advanced Dungeons & Dragons rule system. I really liked the game then and even today the battle system and the setting is very good. Naturally POR inspired me to revisit the genre and make The Monastery.
Play and rate The Monastery here
Day 1
From the get go the project was not smooth sailing. On Friday, a day before the compo, I woke up with fever. I had already cleared my calendar for the weekend and had been very pumped up for the compo the entire week so I cursed my bad luck. I had to stay the day in bed and decided to check how I felt on Saturday. Luckily I woke up on Saturday and the fever was gone. Phew! I checked the theme, which was Beneath the Surface. Well, at least it's not Breaking the Rules or whatever. I began thinking about ideas, mainly background stories, that would fit the theme while eating breakfast and taking a shower. Initial ideas that popped in my head felt too easy: being underground or underwater. I decided to have a walk around the neighborhood while pondering more on the theme. Then suddenly I had a vision of a large frozen pond. Even though it was sunny and warm outside I dreamed of travelling in a frozen landscape passing by a large building… perhaps a wizard academy? No, too Harry Potterish. Let's make it a monastery!
I got back home and started googling and I found the book Haunted Monastery by Robert van Gulik. It was some kind of eastern horror detective story which gave me some ideas. I started to think how to make the monastery an interesting place for a group of adventurers. The monastery should be an eerie place, maybe abandoned but not empty. There was a mystery that needed to be solved. And I needed monsters to fight… Undead Monks? Then I started thinking what bad things had happened in the monastery and how the monks had been transformed into horrible undeads. And what about the abbot? Why is he missing? Where is he?
I spent about 3 hours working on the setting and background story. It was already afternoon when I turned on my computer and was ready to start drawing the graphics. I hadn't drawn any real graphics for a loong time so it took me a while to get accustomed to the software and the process. I used Aseprite, a tool which I had never used before, but to my delight it turned out to be a great tool for pixel graphics. I started by drawing the font and then proceeded to make the player sprites. I needed sprites for the player charcters, the Fighter, Cleric, Wizard and… I pondered on the fourth guy for a minute — of course, there had to be a fourth guy — before settling on the Ninja, which I thought was pretty funny. Then I realized that I wanted to have character creation in the game like in all proper RPGs so I made four variations for each character and separate standing sprite and attack sprite. That's 32 tiles in total, but luckily the variations are only different coloring. (Those who have played the game may have noticed that character creation was a victim at the cutting table and the color variations are not used by the game.)
After the characters were done, I did the enemy sprites for about 10 different enemies. When they were done it was already about 6pm and I had a dinner break. I realized I didn't have a single line of code written yet so I decided that I had to have at least something on the screen before I called it a day. So I started coding a turn-based battle system. I like the Lua programming language a lot and it was a no-brainer to use it for the project. I had made SDL bindings for Lua a couple of a days ago as preparation work for the compo. Starting from scratch when coding can be painful and no surprises there, I had some problems with Lua error messages and stacktraces not being shown properly. I had no time to tackle the issue properly so I carried on. In hindsight this probably was a mistake because I was suffering from some quirks with the codebase the entire weekend.
At the end of day 1, I had the basics of moving on the battlefield and attacking done, but all the fancy things like spells and stats were missing. But hey I could now move on the battlefield and kill monsters! And the monster could do some simple pathfinding my way too.
Day 2
I woke up on Sunday feeling very worried. I had only 19 hours left and I didn't have anything ready that resembled the game I had in my head yet. The remaining todo list was daunting: character creation, exploration mode, spell system, healing, items, winning condition, monster statistics, character statistics, dungeon props, intro, main menu, level design, scripted encounters, sounds, music, playtesting, packaging the game for release… I decided to somehow try not to think about it and just start working. But I felt that the mother of all crunches was ahead of me.
I decided to work first on the most crucial parts: exploration mode and encounters. Without them the game would not feel at all like those good RPGs of old. I first considered whether I should make a random level generator but I thought that tuning it would be slower than just drawing a few levels by hand. So I grabbed a sheet of graph paper and started doodling and writing down names and purposes of rooms: entrance hall, storage, dining room, kitchen, lavatory… Upstairs: bedrooms, library… a ritual room! I tried to imagine myself walking in the monastery and thinking what I would need if I was living there. Then I started writing room descriptions and notes that the monks had left behind. I thought about the frozen pond and what has buried beneath its surface. The notes would be crucial in telling the story that I had in mind.
I quickly wrote a system for describing the levels and rooms in Lua. I made a simple encounter system, which was essentially as simple as an anonymous function called per room. The function would be called when the player entered the room. The function would print room description to the screen but could also execute any Lua code for triggering battles, placing items on the map and so on. Later the system would be extended to handle searching the rooms.
When I had the levels and rooms done the clock was already 3pm. Then real desperation struck me. Only 12 hours left and the game had huge gaping holes, important pieces missing everywhere. I really thought more than twice about quitting. I felt that it was impossible to do what I wanted in the remaining time. Besides I needed at least an hour, preferably three to playtest and polish the game at the end. That meant less than 10 hours to implement all the features. Quitting was tempting… But failure was not an option! I had already publicly announced that I would do this game. Damnit! I bit my lip and started furiously coding, banging the keyboard like a madman (my spouse was getting really worried at this point).
I only stopped a few times, a minute or two at a time to catch fresh air or eat a sandwitch quickly. During the coding marathon I consumed several litres of juice and soft drinks. Feature by feature I went through the list, working always on what seemed the highest priority thing. The order was roughly: winning the game, character stats, monster stats, key items, dungeon props (doors, stairs, etc.) and spells. 9 hours later, at midnight local time and four hours before the deadline I finally had a working game. There was still work to do but I was now feeling confident that I could do this. The main menu, sounds and music were created only about two hours before the deadline. I used the excellent BXFR for the sounds and cgMusic for generating the theme music.
Less than two hours left, it was time to start testing and polishing. I was very exhausted from coding and luckily I got some testing help from my brother Erik, who kindly stayed awake late and tirelessly played the game even though he had to go to his studies the next day. Thank you Erik, without your help The Monastery would be much less balanced.
I kept on tweaked the game till the last minute. The last feature, casting healing spells outside of combat, also requested by Erik, was added just about 15 minutes before the deadline! I was nervous about making changes so late and so tired. I quickly packaged the game and submitted it only a couple of minutes before the deadline. I did not have time to play through the game fully before submission. I had only tested the encounters in isolation and made balancing tweaks "blindly" by following Erik's advice such as "take 1-2 skeletons from this encounter", "reduce hp of spiders by a few points", etc.
Now that the game was submitted I finally had time to play it myself. My head hurt from all the coding, I had been coding 19 hours nonstop. My neck was about to cramp and even the muscles in my face were hurting. But it did not stop me from enjoying the game — I think this was the first time playing my own game just after release and it did not feel exhausting. I played through the first floor and the game felt pretty good. Completed the second floor as well. Then the ultimate end fight — hard as a coffin nail just as it should be! I just barely survived it with two of my guys dead and the remaining two barely alive with 2 or 3 hp and no spells left. It had taken me about half an hour to play through the game. I was happy, I was relieved. I was dead tired! Satisfied I went to bed.
End of story. Or is it? After working so hard on The Monastery, I would really, really like to hear what you think about it. I certainly hope you enjoy it, especially if you like tactical RPGs but I can also take brutal honest feedback. I know there are things that could be improved — the UI could use some streamlining. In fact I'm considering making an updated version. Even if you do not like the game, then I hope it at least stands out from the crowd like a relic from a strange forgotten age!
Petri signing off.
Seeds of Wrath – Mini-clip/making of
Hi everyone!
We would like to thank you for playing and rating our game!
For those who did not and would like to, here you go!
During the last night, CAPSLOCK and I put together a little clip from our livestream archives…
We dedicate this minute of sillyness to Juliette, the 3-days-old daughter of Mewine and Fleacontent, who was with us in a way during this LD!
Have a good time you three!
Enjoy! (and sorry for the webcam quality, that's all we had to work with…)
An online persistent world building game in 48 hours
I'd been meaning to write this a lot earlier, but I've been way too busy to do it until today. Anyways, I made an online persistent world game in 48 hours. I wonder if it's been done before during LD? We really need a tag system for games or something, it'd be interesting to be able to look up games with
specific elements. This post will be a bit of a combination of a making-of and a post-mortem; I'll explain how this game came to be and comment on it.
Before Ludum Dare
This was my second Ludum Dare, so I had a decent idea of what to expect. Last time I used Unity, which had both its advantages and disadvantages. But since I'm the kind of person who wants to be able to customize everything and doesn't want unnecessary things forced into his game, I prefer not to work with Unity. Fortunately, since February I've been doing an internship where I'm working on an XNA game, so I got pretty familiar with it. In making that game, I wrote a simple sprite engine which turned out to be very useful, so a week or so before LD23, I took the engine, removed some game-specific functions, added a tiny bit of documentation and released it as VBXSE. A short while ago I'd also been working on a simple netplay engine named GNI in my free time, so I decided to release that as well.
The original idea
After waking up at around 9-10 AM (competition started at 3 AM for me, but sleep is very important if you're doing a 48-hour solo project), I checked the site to find out the theme was unexpectedly 'Tiny World', a theme I hadn't even considered a possible winner in the poll. After thinking about it, I decided to make a roguelike-ish survival game similar to UnReal World where you and a couple of NPCs were stuck on a tiny island and had to get food and shelter to survive. That's right, the original concept was nothing like what the game eventually became. I wrote down the basic game design in a text file, if you want details. So, I started working on the survival roguelike…
World and Graphics
Since roguelikes tend to be played in console windows, I decided to keep the area size small enough to fit in one. After some thinking, I decided square areas would make the most sense considering you also need room for other game information, and I ended up at a 22×22 world with each tile having 22×22 subtiles.
After a rough interface sketch, some calculations and some guesswork I decided the tiles would graphically fit best at a 32×32 size. However, I'm terrible at drawing stuff, so I decided to turn 'lack of skill' into 'style' and went for a pixel art look; I drew every tile and item in 8×8 and then resized it to 32×32 to make it look 'retro'.
I made all of the art in GIMP because the Paint that comes with Windows 7 tries to be too hard to be a real drawing program and in doing so actually becomes worse for making pixel art…and it still doesn't have any transparency. Brushes were surprisingly actually very useful when making tiles like grass, sand and sea. Just keep using random brushes and you have good-looking grass. Definitely something I should use more often.
Sound and music
The music for the game was made in FL Studio 9 using only soundfonts from DSK Music's HQ Instruments set. Although the effect is very subtle, the game actually contains dynamic music; although throughout the entire game the same track keeps playing, there's three slightly different versions of them. They play simultaneously, and the volume adjusts depending on where you are.
Normal track
Forest track
Beach track
FLP (FL Studio Project) file
The music used the 'Celtic Harp', 'Ney Flute', 'Percussion 1′, 'Oboe' (forest only) and 'Harp' (beach only) soundfonts. It was inspired by Paavo "Tarantula" Harkonen's soundtrack for obscure MMORPG Dransik (now a shadow of its former self and named 'Ashen Empires') and a random street performer playing on a harp the day before LD23.
The sound was created by rubbing or hitting various objects around my desk against eachother in different ways, recorded with my laptop microphone and edited in Audacity (amplitude change, pitch change and echo). Like the music, it was mainly inspired by obscure MMORPG Dransik, where you would hear a simple but satisfying sound whenever you did things like cutting trees and mining.
But how did it become a persistent world game?
Development started out well. I started by making simple 'world generation' (filling the entire world with grass tiles). Then I made movement work, then proceeded to add sea and forests to world generation. I added the axe and item usage, so you could chop wood. Then I also needed support for dropping and picking up items, which also required a menu to let you choose between items. I also made sure you could save and load your world, so I made functions to serialize the entire world to a long string and load it again.
At that point, day 1 was already over (LD goes from Saturday 3 AM to Monday 3 AM here, so it's 2 days instead of 3 as it is in some time zones), and there was no sign of crafting, construction, the hunger system, NPCs, wildlife, fishing and similar methods of food gathering, liquids, an age system, building recognition or pretty much anything beyond the very basics of the game. Whoops. So, what is the logical thing to do when your plans seem way to ambitious?
I went with the logical solution: I changed my game into a complete persistent world building game. Of course it's a ridiculous decision to take halfway through development, and even more so when your project is in that state due to being way too ambitious, but all things considered, it ended up being not as unreasonable as it sounds. I had recently created a netplay library, and though network communication is always tricky and it was not tested much, it did seem to work perfectly from the small amount of testing it did get. As a game design decision it was more logical than anything; I was just a tiny bit of code away from making a game where you can build stuff, and games like Minecraft, Terraria, Active Worlds, a whole slew of BYOND building games and many more games have pointed out that just building things for other players to see can actually be fun in itself. Add to all that that I could already serialize any part of the world to a string, and the decision was made overnight to go all-or-nothing for an online persistent world game.
The first thing I did on the second day was finish the crafting and building system (otherwise even having a persistent world would be futile). Then I used my GNI library to write a server program and a client class. The client would ask the server for the serialized string representing the world map, and then for the serialized strings of each of the areas in the tiles (each tile on the 22×22 world map contains an inner area consisting of 22×22 'subtiles', if you haven't played the game). I found out the serialization had some errors, but after some bugfixing, it actually worked perfectly. Then, to make client changes affect the server and have the server keep the client up to date, instead of at the start the server would send the client the inner areas only whenever he zoomed in or walked to a different inner area, and the client would serialize the entire inner area and send it to the server whenever a tree was cut, an item was dropped or picked up and whenever something was built. It's an inefficient approach (the reason it lags whenever you switch between areas or do something area-affecting), but it worked great for a 48-hour game. I then proceeded to add functionality for chat, player names, seeing each other, et cetera.
After the netplay features worked, I decided to add what little extra content I could still safely push in (mountains, stone, and anything that requires stone – yes, originally there was only wood) and release it.
What I like about the game
-It's a persistent world game. That by itself is awesome.
-It's my first succesful attempt at a non-BYOND online game. There was one other finished game were I attempted netplay, but its netplay was a horribly buggy mess that desynced for any players that were more than 2 meters apart.
-The world generation is nice. I've barely done any random world generation before, so the fact that I managed to get a properly shaped island with properly shaped beach and mountain areas out of it is pretty nice.
What I dislike about the game
-Lack of content. And I mean utter lack of content. There's two kinds of walls to build, two kinds of floor plus four natural floor tiles, one tool to make and one decorative item. Ludum Dare games aren't known for their extreme length, but it's very minimal here; it's a building game, but there's hardly any variation in what you can build, so you get bored very easily. This is especially disappointing after my previous LD game, which could be played for significant lengths of time and still be interesting.
-It's buggy and laggy. Whenever you zoom in, lag. Whenever you build something, lag. Whenever you cut a tree, lag. Whenever you move from one area to another, lag. And those 4 natural tiles I mentioned at the previous point? Good luck getting three of those without relogging a minute later, as they mess up something in the graphics (still not sure what causes it).
Things I should do again next LD
-Use VBXSE and GNI again. Especially the latter came as a surprise in how powerful it can be in just a small amount of development time. I was afraid of netplay functionality before considering the debugging hell it can cause, but now I think I'll just plan for netplay from the start of the theme allows it.
-Use pixel art. I can't draw, but 'style' turns out to work as a pretty good excuse to hide my lack of skill.
-Record random objects using my laptop microphone and edit them in Audacity for quick sound effects. I'm pretty satisfied with how they turned out; they subtly add a lot.
-Be overly amibitious. Partly because I'm just an idiot, but also because going beyond what you know you can do allows you to learn new things. It would be better for the game if I didn't, but in the long run this is very useful.
Things to keep in mind for next LD
-I should make sure there's enough content. LD is for games, not for tech demos.
-I should try to get the day after LD off work. Starting a week with a serious lack of sleep hurts your productivity for the entire week.
-I should update and improve VBXSE and especially GNI. They're awesome, and therefore they must become even more awesome.
-I should make sure I'm used to the the tools and libraries I'm working with. I thought I knew XNA, but it wasn't until halfway through the project that I realized I didn't know even how to play multiple music tracks at the same time and change their volume. I also wasted a lot of time debugging an issue that happened because I didn't take into account that using auto-poll GNI's client class handles received data in a different thread.
Beyond here
I was initially considering updating the game a bit, adding some extra content and fixing some things I didn't like, but there are so many things I'd like to change and so many things that need to be changed to make the game actually fun that it'd just take too much time. I think it would be interesting to one day make a complete game based on this, but that's the kind of plan that will either never see the light of day at all or won't be used until years later.
By the way, I forgot to do it initially, but I've slapped a Creative Commons license on the game so you have the right to mess with it in any way you want. Well then, see you all next LD!
Appendix A: Tools/libraries/etc used
C#: The language the game is written in.
XNA: Engine used for the game.
Microsoft Visual Studio 2010: The IDE I've used to make the game in.
VBXSE: XNA Sprite engine, used for all graphics stuff.
GNI: Netplay library, used for client-server communication
FL Studio 9: Used to make the music. I'm a fervent supporter of pattern blocks, even as Image-Line gets rid of its unique features.
DSK Music's HQ Instruments: Set of amazing soundfonts I use for music. The music for this game was made solely using DSK HQ Instruments, using default FL Studio VSTs as effects.
Audacity: Pretty much the best audio editor around. Used for sound effects.
Appendix B: Network signals
If you're interested in how exactly the server and client communicate, these signals are sent back and forth. Each signal has a 'key' denoting what the signal is about, and a 'value' containing other info.
Server to client
(None) – A signal with no information to check if the client is still connected.
identify – Asks the player for his appearance and location, in case some other players requests it later.
goplay – After version check and sending the necessary maps. Tells the client the player can start playing.
gspfinish – Indicates the server is finished sending inner tiles and the client can enter the subterrain the player was about to enter.
message – A chat or system message. Output the value to the displayed messages.
people – A list with the unique player numbers of all players that are currently online. If a known ID is missing, that means a player has disconnected. If there's an unknown ID, the client sends a 'who' signal to ask for information on the new player.
person – Information on a player (ID, appearance, location) as a response to the 'who' signal. The client will then add the player to the list of known IDs.
pos|X – Where X is the unique player number of a different player. Tells the client where the specified player is right now.
subter|X|Y – Where X and Y are integers representing coordinates. Replace the inner tile at X,Y with the serialized inner tile in the value string.
subteru|X|Y – Same as above, but the change is vital, so if the player is in the area, it MUST update the inner area before letting the player continue doing whatever he's doing.
versioncheck – Asks the client to send his version number, to make sure he isn't using an outdated client.
versionmismatch – Tells the client he can't play on the server because the versions don't match. Which version the server is running is in the value.
where – Requests the client to send a 'here' signal, telling the server where the player is.
worldmap – Sends a serialized world map as the value. Allows the client to build the same world map client-side as the one that exists server-side.
Client to server
The server automatically sends these signals without the client saying anything to it:
Every 2 seconds – where – Ask for the player's current location.
Every 2 seconds – pos – Tells the player where other players are.
Whenever a client connects – versioncheck – Asks the player for his client version.
The server can receive the following messages:
cmsg – Client wants to send a chat message.
getsubplus – Value contains X and Y coordinate. Client asks server for the inner area at (X,Y) as well as the 8 areas around it. Server sends them followed by a 'gspfinish'.
here – Client tells the server where the player is.
ident – Client tells server information about the player (appearance and location). Server stores the information and sends 'worldmap' and 'goplay' signals to let the player start.
nick – Sets the player's nickname.
usub|X|Y – Client tells server they updated the inner tile at (X, Y). Server updates world and sends a 'subteru' signal to all players.
version – Client tells server what version they're using. If it matches, the server will return an 'identify' signal, otherwise it will return a 'versionmismatch' signal.
who – Client asks server for information on a player. Server sends a 'person' signal in response.


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Del Mar author publishes novella 'His Mistake'
Melissa Lowes appreciates feedback from local community
By Marlena Chavira-Medford
Staff Writer
Del Mar author Melissa Lowes recently completed "His Mistake," a wartime story set in WWI Europe. The plot centers on Frances, a privileged English woman who is plucked from high society and plopped into Southern Germany while her husband Reginald serves as a wartime correspondent on the frontlines. It is here that Frances befriends a German woman —the enemy — and eventually falls in love with a Belgian man.
"Though there is a love story, I wouldn't call it a romance," Lowes said. "All of this is happening amidst a war, so there is the grit and darkness of battle."
To create that wartime scene, Lowes spent months researching.
"I wanted every little detail to be accurate. If I was talking about air raids or ships being sunk or field hospitals in war zones, I wanted all of those to be accurate descriptions," Lowes said. "I actually learned quite a bit while writing this book. For example, one of my characters is a wartime correspondent, so during my research, I learned just how dangerous this job really was. I had always assumed that these reporters were out of harm's way, off in a tent somewhere. But they actually went into battle in uniform, down on the frontlines with the rest of the soldiers."
Using that historical context as a frame, Lowes weaved a complex tale, one that was inspired in part by a close friend's experience with adultery.
"After hearing that story, I took it and ran with it. Before I knew it, this story and all the characters in it had taken on a life of their own," she said of her novella, which at about 30,000 words is shorter than an actual book. "It took me about six months to write. Once I had the story in my mind, the rest just flowed."
"His Mistake" will hit the shelves of neighborhood libraries and local bookstores this January, something Lowes likens to "your baby finally going off into the world."
"I'm a local author, so I really do want to hear feedback from readers in this community," said Lowes, who also has a son at Earl Warren Middle School. "Whether it's positive or negative feedback, I want people to tell me what they think. I want to hear all of it so I can take it in and grow as an author."
Lowes, who has also had a few short stories and an essay on Charlotte Bronte published, said she hopes to soon publish more work. She said she's working with a literary agent on her latest project, a historical fiction about the Boer War of the 1880s, so "fingers crossed there's more to come soon."
For more information about Melissa Lowes and her latest work, "His Mistake," visit www.melissalowes.com.
Some of Lowes' previously published works include:
- "Blue and Green," published in March 2008 Skive Magazine skivemagazine.com
- "The Corner Booth," published in The Literary House Review www.skylinemagazines.com
- "The Guilty One," published in Orchard Press Mysteries www.orchardpress-shortfiction.com/Mysteries.html
- "Wordsworth's Diary," published in The Green Silk Journal www.thegsj.com/home2.html
Related posts:
- Carrie Prejean: Steamy Vid 'Worst Mistake of My Life'
- Reception, book signing set for local author's third book
- OPINION: Election of Rafner, Wooden, Gibson would correct a past mistake
- Carmel Valley mom publishes Jewish craft book for children
- Del Mar author talks about his latest science fiction novel, 'Dead Astronauts'
Short URL: http://www.delmartimes.net/?p=180


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By Estelle Sobel Erasmus
A little phlegm, a little sneezing
And now it looks like we are wheezing
I cough and cough and cough again
The tissues are my only friend
Cause nobody in my family
Wants to get too close to me
And really, I know there's no one to blame
My germs are yucky all the same
So if you think you're feeling better
Come sniffle with me in this crazy weather
Cause tomorrow its sunny, but snow might come later
And I just want to say, sorry I missed the seder.
About Estelle Erasmus
Estelle Erasmus is an award-winning journalist and former magazine editor-in-chief who is a regular contributor to the Huffington Post. Estelle blogs about life raising a young daughter in midlife at Musings on Motherhood & Midlife. She is the co-author of Beautiful Skin: Every Woman's Guide to Looking Her Best at Any Age (Adams Media), and has been a featured author in several anthologies. Estelle won BlogHer Voices of the Year awards in 2012 and 2014. She is a 2014 Disney Social Media Moms, and a 2014 National Geographic Kids Insider. She has spoken about publishing at Folio MidWest and iRetreat2014. She writes regularly on travel, parenting and lifestyle issues.


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When you watch his film, Eifert looks like a top 10 talent. He is a huge match up problem for defenses. At 6'6, he is too tall for most corners and safeties and too fast for most linebackers. I honestly don't understand why tight ends can be valued so low since they can be such headaches for defensive coordinators. If you take a look at the NFL, Rob Gronkowski and Jimmy Graham are dominant pass catchers and often unstoppable. The Patriots have a revolving door at wide receiver, but they continue to stay dominant on the offensive side of the ball. The one variable that doesn't change: their two athletic tight ends.
The first player that Todd Haley talked about in his introductory press conference was tight end Heath Miller. He didn't talk about any one else on the offense he was going to be working with, except for Miller. From that moment, I knew how much Todd Haley valued his tight ends. If you still are not convinced, let's look at the numbers. In Haley's first season (2012) with the Steelers, Heath Miller caught 8 touchdowns and received the team MVP award. Contrasting that with Heath's 2011 season numbers under Bruce Arians, Health only had two touchdowns the whole season! Underultilized under Bruce Ariens offensive scheme? Who could argue?! Heath matched his 2011 total of 2 touchdowns in a the first two games of the 2012 season. If Bruce Arians was still the offensive coordinator for Pittsburgh, I would say the odds of Eifert being drafted by the Steelers is slim to none. With Todd Haley, the chances are much better. You might say "we already have Heath and have bigger needs!" If you really look at it, tight end is a bigger need than most fans think. Yes, Heath Miller will be back at some point, but we have no idea if that is week 1 or week 16. Even if he comes back earlier, there is no guarantee Heath is even close to being what he once was. You can't tell tell me you are confident having Matt Spaeth and David Paulson as your tight ends for a long period of time. Alright, say Heath does come back right away and is back to where he was before, imagine how many headaches it would give opposing defenses covering both Heath Miller AND Tyler Eifert! Most teams can't account for Heath, much less both of them. If you don't believe me, ask Rex Ryan.
During his post-draft press conference, Kevin Colbert made a comment about the talent of DeCastro:
We valued him very high. As we said the other day, there were a few special players in this group that we thought would be easy to evaluate and he was one of them.
It's a safe bet that Tyler Eifert would be one of those "few special players" in this draft as well. Not to say that Tyler Eifert will be drafted 17th overall by the Pittsburgh Steelers, but there is a good chance he will still be on the board when the Steelers select 17th overall. In the past, it would be a reach drafting a tight end that high. The Patriots have led the way, and as the NFL continues to evolve, the Steelers should definitely consider following the Patriots lead. As Roger Goodell walks to the podium, prepare yourself for the possibility that Tyler Eifert is the name on that card.
Let us know your thoughts on Tyler Eifert going to the Steelers in the Comments.
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