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Saturday, November 8, 2008
Thank God For Mr. Snake
This is a true story that happened in July 1999 ... Driving from Denver, Colorado to New Mexico and making a detour through Texas on God's Highway!
I was on my way to New Mexico to begin a new pastorate position. The journey was usually only about 14-hours from Denver to southeastern New Mexico, but with my car fully loaded the Holy Spirit advised that I take another route.
Gladly going south, east, and then west through Colorado and New Mexico, I saw a great deal of the country; majestic mountains, desert and wilderness. The opportunity to stop and speak with different people is something that always makes these trips pleasant. Sunday morning, July 4th, I thought of my own new independence and what was awaiting me at the end of this journey.
Day 3--Headed out of New Mexico and into Texas—man, this was a long trip! Almost to Lubbock before turning west back into New Mexico, driving about 75 miles per hour in the hot desert sun, I stopped for gas and something cold to drink. I came out of the deli to see my left front tire flat. Upon closer inspection by a young Mexican man who spoke very limited English and me who spoke no Spanish, we put air in the tire, noticed the tread almost off and everything around us closed for the holiday.
July 4th, 5 PM on a Sunday, tire that was going no further and no cash on me to buy a new tire. What a place to be! The young man drew me a map that directed me to a tire shop about 10 blocks away. I pulled in to Mr. Snake's Tire Shop. It was a place out of an old movie. The guys sitting around smoking, used tires stacked up and weeds were competing for space.
A gentleman came and asked me what I needed and then looked down at my quickly deflating tire. "Oh, you've got a big problem here," he pointed out. He looked at the other tires and informed me that not only was the left gone but the right as well. "How far have you gone like this?" he questioned. I told him the short version of the story. He then told me that by the look of the tires, I shouldn't have gotten out of Denver.
God knew the predicament that I was going to face and knew that I would have been on the open road with no help had I gone the other direction. He had the ram in the bush and I left Mr. Snake's Tire Shop with two new balanced tires on the front of my car. They were paid with a Colorado check (didn't take credit cards and no ATM in the area), Arizona identification, in Texas and on my way to New Mexico. Lucky you say—I call it a God encounter.
They now knew I was a "preacher" on my way to another place—and God opened the door to deliver an impromptu deliverance service on the oil and grease stage of a tire shop. God doesn't wait for a formal church setting or meeting to address the needs of mankind--He comes suddenly when called upon any place, any time, any circumstance. Attired in my jeans and t-shirt, we had church and the Holy Spirit delivered! He didn't wait for me to put on my formal attire and look like "church."
He is the same yesterday, today and tomorrow. Our circumstance may seem overwhelming, but today everything can change, just ask Him in.
You never know where you're going to be, in what circumstance you need some help, and I have met some great people from Lubbock, including an old boss! I heard about a month ago that Mr. Snake's Tire Shop is still in business in Lubbock, anybody from there--give em a big hug for me and tell em I'm still telling the story.
Posted by Susan Storm Smith at 1:00 AM
1 comment:
- Tone said...
Thank God for your blog;)- it gave me hope tonight.... There are some Mr.Snake around here somewhere. God knows were.
- November 8, 2008 at 2:33 AM
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Yland Corner Seater Seat height: 28 cm 69 x 80 x 80 cm Yland 1 Seater Seat height: 28 cm 69 x 70 x 80 cm
Six components, two finishes, endless combinations. Thanks to YLAND's unsurpassed flexibility, you will solve the puzzle every time. Build a daybed for daydreaming, a lounge sofa for night-time entertaining. Turn it into a family-sized couch, or just divide it up into separate islands. YLAND's design takes modular flexibility to the next level. A lightweight aluminium and open-weave frame makes it easy to explore its multiple uses. And to top it off you can customize your YLAND with the outdoor cushions of your choice. Both the covers and fillings are guaranteed to be weatherproof 24/7.

subset: commoncrawl


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Thank you for visiting this blog. Please feel free to leave a comment and/or follow this blog. I currently have 198 followers! Once I reach 200 followers I have a surprise planned CHECK BACK SOON!! Have a wonderful week.
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Community Coordinator Andy Belford spills the beans on the upcoming 1.3.4 patch for Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning.
Patch 1.3.4 is set to hit PTS sometime in early February, and will include an entirely new line of weaponry purchased through a new currency earned solely through Scenarios, significant changes to Campaign gameplay, and a streamlining (including removal) of scenario offerings.
Patch notes are currently unavailable, sorry guys!
View the original announcement here.


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WorkSafe's new farm safety booklet Beef Cattle Handling: A practical safety guide was launched at the Murray Grey Beef Cattle Show and Sale at Wodonga.
WorkSafe hopes the booklet would have an immediate impact on making farms safer.
The rate, and seriousness, of injury born by the rural and farming community is far higher per head than in the metropolitan area.
Although there has been good improvement in farm safety in recent years and a real appreciation of the dangers of poor safety practices there is a need for constant vigilance and ongoing review and action to ensure farms remains safe.
While deaths involving livestock are uncommon, injuries are not. Being gored, trampled or pushed against yards does not always lead to a serious injury, but the risks are considerable if hazards are not identified and managed.
No one can afford to rely on experience and good luck to manage safety. Even animals well-known can cause serious injury if stressed or subject to a sudden shock.
WorkSafe's commitment is to be constructive and not leave business operators and workers with a problem to be worked out in isolation. Every farm is different, but guidance like this can offer support.
According to WorkSafe the VFF AWU Victorian Farm Safety Centre and individual farmers were involved in development of the publication which provides advice on how to deal with common problems.
Topics include:
- Cattle handling for people who are inexperienced or new to the industry,
- Experienced operators will find information to help them train others in safe cattle handling,
- Maintenance of existing cattle yards,
- Safe design of new yards,
- On-farm cattle sales,
- Reminders about health issues associated with animals and handling chemicals in yards.
WorkSafe has a range of publications on farming topics such as livestock transport, tractor safety, ATVs, chemical storage and various construction and manufacturing activities.


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This instrument (Image 1) is a small sundial shaped like a ship, made in 1620, probably in England. It tells the time by measuring the angle of the Sun above the horizon, and it can be adjusted for use at any time of year and for places at different latitudes. It would have been very useful for merchants and travellers who had to move around England. In fact, some 15th-century dials like this one have lists of towns and their latitudes on them so that it's even easier to set the instrument ready for use.
Medieval manuscripts call this instrument the navicula (Latin for little ship) because of its ship-shaped design. We don't know for sure when and where the navicula was invented, but John Whethamstede, Abbot of St Albans (d. 1465), says that it was invented by a monk at Glastonbury Abbey. All the medieval naviculas and all the manuscripts about how to make and use them are from England, suggesting that the instrument was invented there.
In the early 15th century a manuscript about the navicula went to Vienna, where it was renamed organum ptolomei. It was studied and redesigned by the famous mathematician Georg von Peurbach (1423-1461), and the new instrument was printed by Regiomontanus in his book Kalendarium in 1476.
The French mathematician Oronce Fine published a book about sundials in 1560 which included a description of how to make a Regiomontanus dial and a ship-shaped dial, with diagrams showing how the finished instrument should look. Because Fine's instrument is based on the reworked versions of the ship-shaped dial described in manuscripts from German-speaking lands (and not the manuscripts from medieval England) it should probably be called an organum ptolomei (instrument of ptolemy) but Fine just calls it "another universal horizontal dial".
The Whipple Museum's ship-shaped dial is interesting because it is an exact copy of the diagrams in Fine's book (Image 2). So, we can see that an educated English gentleman read Fine's book and commissioned an instrument just like the one in the diagrams. However, we don't know who he was - the initials S. F. are on this instrument, but not his full name.
Catherine Eagleton
Catherine Eagleton, 'A ship-shaped sundial, dated 1620', Explore Whipple Collections, Whipple Museum of the History of Science, University of Cambridge, 2017 [http://www.hps.cam.ac.uk/whipple/explore/astronomy/shipshapedsundial/, accessed 12 December 2018]


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Bruce – Derry
Allen Curtis – Mathias
The Captain, Quartermaster, and Matthias decided to go talk to Nathan of Nathan's House of Ill Repute. That's where we got the fuck tent and the women that came with it. Oh, I forgot that Matthias spent quite a bit of time with both Charlotte and with Sarah. Sarah is sized like the Captain and even smaller than me. Anyway he said he didn't do anything but check them out medically. His clothes weren't rumpled or nuthin so maybe he really didn't do anything but check them out.
So, off they went to talk to Nathan. I thought I would try and practice being sneaky, but apparently, I was not very good at it, because the Captain caught on real quick and made me come up with them as they walked through town. I really need to pay more attention to how Zarula does it. I can never hear her when she's doing just about anything but purring. OH! Maybe I'm still good at it, but the Capt. is just really good at seeing stuff! I'll have to check with other people and see.
We get to Nathan's and the big guys at the door let us in. The big guys take us over to Nathan and let him know we want to talk to him. Well, I didn't really want to talk to him. It seemed like a bad idea to me, but the Capt. and Derry know more than me about this stuff. I noticed that most everyone seemed to be having a good time, except for a few other big guys with women on their laps. I made sure to tell the Capt. that not everyone there seemed to be having a good time and that maybe we need to be careful.
Nathan got us all a round of drinks, but then Matthias said something about the women and he got all serious. He took the Capt. and Matthias into his office with some of the big guys. Then Derry and another big guy waited outside the door. Right before that, I had grabbed a couple beers and went to go talk to some of the ladies. I tried being nice and offering up the beers, but mostly they just took them and ignored me. But Janice and Siobhan were real nice and talked to me for a little bit until some guys came in. Then they took off to go hang on them.
A while later the door opened and they brought Derry in. I kept talking to the ladies if they didn't have a man to hang on. Finally, I heard a really loud smack come from inside the office. I figured everything was ok though, because I didn't see a body come flying through the door on account of Derry punching him. If Derry isn't punching anyone, things are probably fine.
Just a bit after that the door opened up and I went to see what was going on and Matthias was asleep with a big, black, hand mark on his face. After he woke up a little, Derry hoisted him up and helped him walk out of there. After that, we just went back to the ship.
Once we got back to the ship, we found out that Mac had gone missing for hours. Old Smokey wanted to know how to handle that. Derry asked Old Smokey if he had assigned him any tasks. Old Smokey said he hadn't because he couldn't find him. Derry told him that he can't hold Mac accountable if he was never told what to do or not do. It seemed like Old Smokey didn't really agree with Derry, but eventually gave in.
Oh, I also forgot about the morning. Derry blew his whistle really loud. I was in my hiding spot when I heard it, but I didn't know what it meant. I ran up just to see what was going on and Derry was congratulating us on getting up there quick. I asked what he was talking about and he told me to stop talking. I didn't really understand what was going on at first, but then he explained that there are certain types of whistles that tell a crew what to do. He had whistled "All Hands on Deck". I'm lucky I went up there. Derry has been threatening to slap off our dicks lately. I haven't used mine for much 'cept for pissing, but I'm pretty attached to it and hope to put it in a nice lady someday. I hear that is real fun. I would hate to have it slapped off.
Oh, that's right, so Derry started talking about slapping off dicks again. Then we had a big ship meeting where we went over various roles and duties. I'll make sure to listen, so my dick doesn't get slapped off. I don't think he really means it. I've never heard of a dick being slapped right off a guy, but just to be safe, I'll do whatever the Quartermaster wants…mostly.
The next day, Derry went out with Dun'know and I went with the Capt., Matthias, and Mac. I'm not sure what Derry was out doing, but we went to check on our sails and flag. Oh and to talk to the gunsmith about some blunderbusses for the Capt.
We got to the sailmaker and were actually able to sweet talk him into getting us a little more detailed pirate flag. I can't wait to see it. He did complain a bit about the smell of our old sails and asked us why the smell so bad. I didn't really know either, but I'm just glad we are getting new ones.
Then we got to the smith and the man recognized Matthias and they got to talking. He tried selling us some swords, but then the Capt. told him he was looking for some guns. Right after he said that, some crazy man popped his head out and started talking to us. I think they are brothers. Anyway, he brought us into his office and Mac and the Capt. and Mr. Boom (He says boom a lot) started talking about possible guns for the Capt. Mr. Boom showed him a few of his, but Mac pulled out a drawing and handed it to Mr. Boom to look at. A lot of weird stuff happened during that conversation, but basically, when we get back, Mac can go in there and rent the place for 50 pieces of 8 and for just the cost of parts, can make the two guns for the Capt. The parts are 300 pieces of 8. That is so much money. That is almost the entire lock box worth of money, from before we gave out the Slaves Share.
We went back to the ship after that and Matthias went to go do some shopping on his own for medical supplies. He came back a while later and told Derry that he needed to draw from the ship's coffers. He said he needed 20 gold to buy supplies to help keep the crew healthy. Derry asked me to help him, so we went and got the money from the lockbox. I noticed that he was counting out everything in sixes and he kind of looked to me as he was counting it out. I had to help him get to and stop at 20.
Derry took Matthias the gold and then came back to talk to me. We found a hidden spot and he told me that he doesn't know his numbers or his letters. I was kind of surprised that a Quartermaster doesn't know that, but who am I to say anything. Then the craziest thing happened! Derry asked me for my help! He asked me to teach him his numbers and letters, but to do it in secret and not tell anyone, not even the Captain. Maybe he is worried he will get in trouble and not be able to be the Quartermaster anymore.
He told me that he would help me out in any way he could. He said he would protect me first, unless the Capt. needs help. He would keep me safe from stuff. I could definitely use that, since I'm not very good at fighting. I asked him if he would also teach me how to get strong like him and how to fight like him. He said he would teach me how to do those things.
Then he did the craziest thing. He took his knife and cut his hand and stuck it out to shake. I knew he wanted me to do the same but I was real scared. But I looked him in the eye and knew I had to do it, so I finally cut my hand and shook his hand. He said "We're brothers now." And then let go and walked away. I always wanted a brother. I reckon Derry will be a good brother.
Luckily it was a shallow cut so I didn't need Matthias for anything. He might ask how it happened. When we went back above deck, the Captain was talking about how he wants to go talk to the Haitians tomorrow morning to see about getting more people for our crew. Speaking of crew, it looks like we are also getting the 6 from Lowe's old crew joining us. By the end of tomorrow, we could have a full sized crew! It will be just in time to set sail and to look for Guthrie's brother.
OH! I nearly forgot. Wolverston left with his ship the Mermaid's Trumpet. Nobody knows where they went neither. Mac was the last one to see him and he told us they said we were doing a real good job. I think Mac was drunk though cause he didn't remember where they went or nuthin else.
Casey – Alfie
Bruce – Derry
Eric – Dun'kno
Trip – Captain Redmist
Allen Curtis – Mathias
Allen Ivers – Joseph
RJ – Mac
Mother and Father,
I am free! I do not know if you received my previous missive, as that cur Magistrate Wright perpetrated his injustice so quickly. If you did not, suffice it to say that I was unjustly accused of cavorting with the Devil. I know, you told me not to Walkabout, but I still believe it was what I needed. Obviously they were unable to proof such a ridiculous untruth, but they decided to send me to the New World in chains anyway.
I was provided an opportunity by The Divine to seize the freedom afforded to all creatures. We did, and now I am Sailor! I barely even swam in the lake, let alone have gone sailing! We stole a ship from those who were trying to kill our slavers. I've taken solace in the belief that the Goddess is not offended as the leaders were some very bad men. After the fighting was over, we offered succor and a position on the crew to some of them. So, really we are now Pirates. I am unsure how the Gods will look upon my choices, but I will meet my fate as I must.
I am able to write you, as we have set in at Nassau. A fascinating town, much bigger than our Hamlet. I have acquired a gentleman's clothes, and even bought a sword to defend myself. I have no intention of suffering the abomination of slavery again. The ships Quartermaster is a giant of an Irishman named Derry. He asked me to help him dress for an important event. We visited a local tailor and I believe comported ourselves well. I know you told me that your lessons in etiquette would serve me well some day, but I did not believe you! A felt the call of Nature and wanted to run wild. Thank you for insisting. They served me well again that evening at dinner. Not ALL of the crew was interested in making a good impression.
I will continue to try to recall more of the lessons you attempted to drill into me. I'm sure they will help to lead me down the path of the Gods.
You may send return missives here, to Nassau. I believe that the administration here will not interfere with their delivery.
With Deep Love and Affection,
Your Son Mathias
I had just told the Captain and Quartermaster about the table full of possible crew members when a powerful ugly serving wench brought me a free beer. I didn't even ask for it, but she brought it over. That's the first time anyone has bought be a beer before. I kind of liked it, except for the cheek pinching part. Anyway, me and Derry and Matthias head over to the table of 6 and they were a funny bunch. One was really rude and looked like he wanted a fight. The guy in charge was ok actually and seemed like he is kind of smart. Then there was this younger guy, maybe 5 or 6 years older than me. He really likes knives, but he did dumb things and got backhanded twice while we were there. Then there was this real old woman and then this even more powerful ugly woman. She looked like she could hammer in nails with her face and only look more appealing after the job was done. Finally they had their own "Pedro". He was big and dumb and even has a dent in the side of his head. He's not as big as Pedro and might even be dumber, but I'm not sure. He was too busy trying to eat his own boogers…ewwwww!
Derry immediately pisses the group off and I was worried that he was gonna have to kill 6 more people. Then Matthias kind of stepped in to ask some medical questions and I think he was trying to calm everyone down, but it didn't really distract them from Derry. The Captain and Mac could tell things looked like trouble when they saw the whole table stand up when Derry made them mad. Mac got a funny look on his face and the Captain sent over a bottle of rum. Oh, and I offered up my beer and the ugly woman took it and drank it. The rum definitely helped…I think.
Anyway, Derry lets them know that he made them mad on purpose because he wanted to make sure we were getting the right sort of people. He wanted people that would stand up for each other. He manages to talk them down and then lets them know that we are looking for a few more crew members for the Chain Breaker. They all liked the name because they were ex-slaves as well. At least a few of them were.
After making sure to point out the Captain, the three of us leave the table and Derry and Matthias walked outside. I went with them, but wasn't sure why we were leaving. Derry said that they were going to get some clothes for him, for the meeting tonight with Guthrie. I figured there was no reason for that, so I went back to the table.
A little while later the smart one from the other crew came up to talk to the Captain. He said that they had put in their time with their current Captain, I think Captain Low. Oh, and that if we had a good prize then they would be very interested in joining our crew. Then Wolverston came up and said that Captain Low has a fearsome reputation. Wolverston seemed kind of scared and then had to go drink even more than normal…which is a lot.
We all sat there drinking and talking for a couple more hours until it was time for our meeting. We all got brought up to meet with Guthrie, but there was only 2 free chairs at the table. Guthrie and Mills were on the other side. So the Captain goes and sits and for some reason Mac sits down next to him. The Captain has to tell him that the Quartermaster needs to use that chair. At least he got up without a fuss. I went and stood behind the Captain and the Quartermaster to help them if they needed anything while the rest of the crew got to sit in chairs along the wall.
For a moment, Wolverston was heading to the wall because there were no seats left for him, but Guthrie had Mills get up and offer his seat to Wolverston. I had been getting the impression that Wolverston wasn't really that important after all, but if Guthrie has her main helper get up for Wolverston to sit, maybe I have been wrong. I'll have to look into this more later.
It was really awkward where nobody was eating anything, except for Wolverston. I tried to interrupt him, just in case it was bad for him to eat before Guthrie, but he was too hungry and he ate every bit of meat off of that drumstick chicken bone in one bite. I've never seen anything quite like it before. Turns out that it was ok though and Wolverston slurping away on the chicken bone brought Guthrie out of her head. She did seem kind of distracted. That said, everyone else at the table dug in to their food.
Once the eating started, Guthrie explained that her brother had gone missing. He was a religious sort that found God and while she thought he was kind of silly to believe in all that, she still loved her brother. I guess every now and then he would come through Nassau and bring copies of the Bible that most people just used for kindling. Guthrie explained that she received a letter with just some pine needles and that he had been planning on going to the Isle of Pine. That's why she thinks it is from him. She also thinks that he must be in some kind of trouble to send something so cryptic.
She wants us to go and find him. If we can find him and bring back word, she will pay us real good. She is also going to outfit us with powder and shot as well as rations. She is also going to provide us with some basic lumber and tar for repairs in case the ship her brother was on isn't seaworthy. We agreed to do the job and then she left. We all finished up eating and then left as well. Oh, except for Mac and Matthias. Mac was saying stuff that would have gotten us in trouble so Matthias took him outside. I think the term Derry used was that Mac needs to "stop stepping on his dick".
We were on our way back to the ship with a detour to the fuck tent, when I noticed that there were some people following us. I told Derry to be on the lookout. Right after that, two daggers came flying out of the darkness and bounced off of his chest. One even put a little cut in him, but it didn't stop him. Then 4 guys ran out of the darkness to attack us. I managed to slide between the legs of one of the guys and hit him in his dangly bits just enough to slow him down so Matthias could stab him with his rapier. Anyway, then I noticed that a bunch of other guys had come out of the darkness from a different direction.
I would say it was scary, but with Derry, I knew we were gonna win. We beat them up pretty good. Two ran away and we grabbed their pouches and some rings. Then we ran off just in case the town watch were to show up. We didn't want to get in trouble even though we weren't the ones that started the fight.
We got back to the beach and our fuck tent. It turns out that Dun'know had gotten a good deal, but it was for 5 days and those whores turned out to be real expensive. We still owed 280 pounds on them. Since the ship can't afford it, Derry went around collecting from people that were gonna partake of the fuckin' in the fuck tent. Turns out that with the Spaniards and some of the guys, along with the pouches and the rings, we had just enough to pay the bill.
The next day Mills showed up to talk about how long it would take to provision us and when we should get going. Derry tried to tell him 5 days, so we could get all the fuckin' we could for what we paid. But Mills said that Guthrie wouldn't like that much time before we set sail. I think Derry is gonna go talk to the pimp about reducing our contracted time and rate. I don't know if that is going to go well, but I guess we are going to find out.
Casey – Alfie
Bruce – Derry
Eric – Dun'kno
Trip – Captain Redmist
Allen Curtis – Mathias
RJ – Mac
I got to know the Spanish Dogs and found that they aren't really so bad. They just seem like everybody else after all. Maybe it is just the important Spaniards that are the dogs? I'll have to think about this some.
Well, we spent three days in that cove getting things ready. We had to make some dye to cover up the Spanish colors on Chain Breaker. Oh yeah, we named our ship the Chain Breaker on account of it being our way out of slavery. I think it is a pretty good name. OH, and we came up with a good name for the captain that should inspire fear. Instead of "Funny Little Man" or "Hammy", we now call him "Captain Redmist" on account of him turning a pirate to nothing but red mist after he hit him dead on with the cannon. It was really impressive shooting. I didn't know you could be that accurate with a cannon. Then we elected Derry to be the Quartermaster, but I like calling him the Puppet Master because of the funny thing he did with the Spaniard where he shoved his hand up the top half of him and pretended to make him talk. Oh, and Matthias took over the surgery.
So anyway, we created this terrible bad smelling dye to cover up the colors on the sails. Unfortunately, now our ship smells like fish guts. It is really disgusting. I have to eat at the front of the boat while we are sailing so I don't smell it so much.
From the loot we found, we split up 500 of the pieces of 8 and gave each of us original slaves 50 pieces. We called it the Slave's Share on account of us all being slaves until we took that ship. Then while Dom and I were inventorying everything and creating a new manifest, I "found" the lockbox with 300 pieces of 8 worth of loot. Derry and the Capt. thought it would be best if we did find something. It would make everyone else feel better and it did. The Capt. and Derry are real smart.
The last thing we did before setting sail for Nassau was write out the articles and all sign them. Even the Spaniards signed them, so I guess they are part of the crew now.
We made way to the port in Nassau and we thought everything was going to be fine. I was on the Mermaid's Trumpet with Wolverston and when the longboat approached us with Jimmy, he's one of Guthrie's men, everything went fine, but then he approached the Chain Breaker. That's when everything went bad. Well, mostly bad for Jimmy, but we had to deal with stuff too.
Jimmy and his men row up between our ships and ask about our ship and our captain. Capt. Redmist starts introducing himself and talking to Jimmy. Oh, we didn't know he was named Jimmy yet. Anyway, Jimmy starts laughing really hard at the Capt. Derry didn't like this so he jumped off of Chain Breaker and punched Jimmy with his elbow real hard on the way down. I didn't even know you could punch with your elbow. I need to talk to Derry about how to fight better. He's so good at it. I loved when he pretended to be a puppet master with that Spaniard when we took the ship. It sure scared the other Spaniards a lot. I don't think I'll ever scare anyone, but if there's any way I can learn, I'm sure Derry can teach me.
What was I saying? Oh yeah, so Derry jumps down at least 20 feet from our deck to the longboat below us and punches Jimmy with his elbow. Then he just stands up. I mean, Derry stands up, but Jimmy doesn't move every again. Then Derry asks if anyone else has anything they want to say or if they have any more jokes or want to laugh at the Capt. One brave…no, one stupid man hits Derry with an oar, but it broke on his chest. Derry looked at him for a second and then just hit him real hard. He hit him so hard he knocked him clean off the boat. I didn't see him move later either.
The other two men were smart and they jumped off the boat and started swimming. That was when Wolverston said that this was bad on account of them being Guthrie's men. None of us know who Guthrie is so we asked. Wolverston said that she ran the island and if we wanted to be able to sell anything on the island it would be through her.
Well, the rest of the guys decided that they didn't want word to get back to Guthrie about these four men, so they shot the other two and they didn't move again either. Dun'know had jumped in the water to swim after them, but then there was so much blood, he got afraid of sharks and swam back to the boat. He and Derry got back on Chain Breaker and they tied up the longboat and we sailed in as far as we could. Then we got in our own longboats and rowed in to the docks. Derry also told the men staying on the ship to get rid of Jimmy's body before we got back.
As we got close to the docks there was some men waiting for us and said that we had to talk to Guthrie. Then they made us give up all our weapons. We went with the men to meet with Mr. Mills. We had to meet him first and he is the guy that really helps out Miss Guthrie, especially with the warehouse full of stuff and all the people that sell for Miss Guthrie. Oh yeah, it turns out Guthrie is a woman, but she sure is tough.
Anyway, we end up talking to Mr. Mills and Miss Guthrie and she offers us a deal. We can either:
We decided that the third option was the best one.
We all went back to the ship to start bringing most of the supplies for sale across. There were a few for specific orders in Port Royal, so we are going to take those to make the full payment. Derry gave some of the men different orders and had some stay on board the ship and a couple to setup a fuck tent for after all the work was done. He sent Dun'know to get some women for the fuck tent. After looking at everything, Wolverston figured that the value of everything was 1,400 pieces of 8. Mr. Mills said that it was only worth 900. Derry laughed at it and so did the Capt., so I laughed as well. I said that maybe that was the half price number, but Mr. Mills said it wasn't. Wolverston had been negotiating for us, but he was doing a horrible job. We thought that someone that did this for a living would be a lot better at this stuff, but it turns out he isn't. He's real good at eating and drinking though. Oh and patting his head with a handkerchief. Luckily, the Capt. jumped in and started pointing out some of the better items we had for sale and Mr. Mills reconsidered and offered us 1,200. It wasn't as much as it was worth, but we wanted to be done with it, so Derry and the Capt. accepted the amount.
We told Mr. Mills that we had the longboat, so that meant after the sale, we had a 100 piece credit. We decided to use it to get new sails and a new pirate flag. We left the warehouse and headed to the inn. When we arrived, we found that Matthias had already arrived and gotten us a table. We all got some food and drink and started talking about needing more crew members.
I figured I could walk around and since people don't notice me that often, I could hear what people were saying about us and if anyone was looking for a new ship to crew. I heard a lot of things about us actually. Some were pretty accurate, like the story about the Capt. shooting someone with a cannon, but others had no clue. Some people didn't really like Jimmy and thought that he got what he deserved, but another guy said that Jimmy owed him 10 pound and was gonna get that money back one way or another. Finally I found a table where people were talking and they weren't happy on the ship they were on. As I was leaving another couple people came up to the table and joined them and they were all complaining about their ship.
I went back to our table and let Derry and the Capt. know what I had overheard. Derry and I got up and went to get a round of beer for the table, but for some reason, they wanted to charge him a lot of money for the beers, so I told him not to worry about it. I think that Derry was trying to flirt with that really ugly barmaid, but sometimes he can look real scary. Although now that I think about it, he may have thrown up in his mouth a little when flirting with her. I don't think she liked that. I suggested we just go up to the table and talk to them and offer to buy them a round of beers. Then maybe we will have a different barmaid that isn't scared or grossed out by Derry.
Casey – Alfie
Bruce – Derry
Eric – Dun'kno
Trip – Captain Redmist
Allen Curtis – Mathias
Nassau Infamy: -2
No sooner did we get aboard Wolverston's ship, The Mermaid's Trumpet (I don't really know what that means), everyone decided to take one of the Spanish ships. Despite never working together on a ship we all did pretty good. Mack took the Pilot's Wheel and that concerned me a little. But I guess he did ok, 'cause he only scraped the dock a little bit and it didn't hurt anything.
Anyway, we got up to the ship really fast, but on our way, the Spanish dogs fired two of their cannon at us! Luckily, they missed like the shit eating dung beetles that they are. I'm not sure that makes sense, but I just love to call Spaniards "Shit eating dung beetles".
Ok, so there we were coming up along side the Spanish ship and I thought I would try the same trick again where I call out, "Sálvame señor!" which means "Save me sir!" after climbing up the rigging and swinging across on a rope. I guess in all the excitement, my foot slipped and I ended up hanging upside down in the rigging for a moment. Well, I was able to right myself and grab a rope and swing across.
I jump off the rope right next to this big guy with a boarding axe. I cry out "Sálvame señor!", but it looked like he didn't believe me. He raised up his axe to hit me when suddenly he disappeared into a fine red mist. Then I realized that the Funny Little Man (Hammy) had been screaming something. I look back to the Mermaid's Trumpet and see him screaming and dancing in joy right next to a cannon holding a burning taper. I've never liked anyone more than Hammy at that moment.
Then the other Spaniard next to me dropped his gun and put up his hands as another one jumped overboard. I looked around and while I was trying to climb the rigging and swing across, my friends had killed almost everyone on the ship.
We realized that we had two seaworthy vessels and might have a chance of getting away with both of them. We sent Dom back across to Wolverston and had them sail in front of us. Then we all put on Spanish breastplates and helmets and pretended like we were chasing them. We even fired the cannons at them to make it convincing. Luckily those stupid Spaniards believed that we were just chasing down a ship and let us go without any "help".
Once everything calmed down we all started exploring the ship. I went looking for hidey holes and crawl spaces. I found two really good ones that I don't think anyone will find until we unload all the cargo. While I was exploring one of them, I noticed Hammy had dragged out a big locked box. He kept calling for everyone to come down, but they were all above deck and couldn't hear him. So Hammy goes running up the stairs to get everyone. I jumped down and grabbed a nail laying nearby and popped the lock open. I have never seen so many pieces of eight and gems and jewels in my life! There were also some papers, so I started looking at them just as most of the crew comes down, including Mack who was supposed to be piloting the ship. Hammy also had a manifest that listed all of the cargo, even the loot in the big box.
We know that we don't want Wolverston getting his hands on this, so I have Derry help me get the lockbox up to one of my hidey holes and then I cover it with other crates so you can't see it without moving a bunch of stuff. After that, I climb down and head above deck.
It seems that I was just in time, because there's Wolverston on deck with that giant of a man, Dom. As soon as they are on deck, Wolverston starts talking about finding the manifest and the lockbox. I offer to go down into the hold to help them look for it. I managed to convince Dom that I thought I saw someone with a book tucked into their belt jump overboard just as we were taking the ship. Since he is unable to find it, I think he believes me. Both Wolverston and Dom are very frustrated at this point and decide that they have to do an inventory.
I offer to help with the inventory. I made Dom do all the writing as I reported what I found. Ha ha! He isn't very good at writing so it took a long time. While we were doing that, I guess the rest of the guys had a discussion about how we should run the boat and so they came down to discuss that with Wolverston. I thought there might be another fight for a bit, but Wolverston and Dom just said that we should all go above deck to discuss it. I made sure to get some rum for Wolverston.
A discussion was had and we all voted for a captain. Mack tried to get people to vote for him, so I told everyone that I would sooner be captain than have him be captain. Don't get me wrong, I like Mack and he's funny, but he could never be a captain. At that point, Hammy starts crying out "The Boy Captain!". It was really a joke, but I thought for a moment that he might have convinced people. I think it is good that I didn't end up captain though. Oh, Hammy actually got elected as captain. He's really good at talking to people and raising their spirits, so I think he will make a good captain. Not to mention he sure knows how to fire a cannon. Hmmmmm, maybe he should be Captain Cannon. As much as I like Hammy, I just don't think it will intimidate anyone.
Well, we get Hammy elected as Captain. but Wolverston says that Hammy should be the captain of the Mermaid's Trumpet. I can tell you that none of us liked that idea and I got worried there might be another fight. Luckily some of the guys had cool heads like Mathias and they convinced Wolverston, with the help of Dom, that we should be the ones out fighting in this big ship while he relaxed on his boat.
Old Smokey said that now we have to write out the Articles of Agreement and all sign it. I guess it is the rules we all live by as a member of the ship. I hope they aren't too harsh. I was a slave once, and I don't want to be one again. I'll just have to wait and see.
Casey – Alfie
Bruce – Derry
Eric – Dun'kno
RJ – Mack
Trip – Hamlet "Hammy"
Allen Ivers – Joseph the Butcher
Allen Curtis – Mathias


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Originally uploaded by Jason Means
Most of my days behind the camera may not be monumental by any standard, but they are usually good days regardless. I may not always get the shot I pictured in my head, but I'll at least get something that makes my efforts worthwhile.
Unfortunately, today I blew it, and have nothing to show for my efforts other than knowledge that I blew it. I found a great pokeberry that some birds were feeding on and decided to stake it out with high hopes of getting a good shot. Within minutes of getting into position, my mind wondered off to other things, and noticed only too late that a little yellow warbler had snuck in under my radar and was making his rounds all over the pokeberry. By the time I drew the bird into frame he had made his way to another part of the plant and the shot was gone. I had missed a fantastic shot. The blood red pokeberries in contrast to the yellowest of all warblers.... what a drag.
Extreme frustration doesn't even begin to sum up how I felt. A golden opportunity had passed me by, and may not come again for quite some time. I staked out the pokeberry for two more hours, without a single bird coming into frame.
Oh well, at least I was able to pull a decent shot out of my butt yesterday with the chickadee pictured above. I put out some fresh seed the other day, and the chickadee's made little time in taking advantage of the fresh bounty.


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Re-Post Review: 'Archangel's Consort' by Nalini Singh
Archangel's Consortby Nalini Singh
Series: Guild Hunter #3
Published by Berkley Sensation on January 25th 2011
Genres: Paranormal Romance
Pages: 324
Format: AudioBook, Paperback
Source: Purchased
Amazon | B&N
Vampire hunter Elena Deveraux and her lover, the lethally beautiful archangel Raphael, have returned home to New York only to face an uncompromising new evil…
A vampire has attacked a girls' school—the assault one of sheer, vicious madness—and it is only the first act. Rampant bloodlust takes vampire after vampire, threatening to make the streets run with blood. Then Raphael himself begins to show signs of an uncontrolled rage, as inexplicable storms darken the city skyline and the earth itself shudders. The omens are suddenly terrifyingly clear.
An ancient and malevolent immortal is rising. The violent winds whisper her name: Caliane. She has returned to reclaim her son, Raphael. Only one thing stands in her way: Elena, the consort who must be destroyed…
My Review Continue reading
Re-Post Review: 'Archangel's Kiss' by Nalini Singh
Archangel's Kissby Nalini Singh
Series: Guild Hunter #2
Published by Berkley Sensation on February 2nd 2010
Genres: Paranormal Romance
Pages: 323
Format: AudioBook
Source: Purchased
Amazon | B&N
New York Times bestselling author Nalini Singh returns to her world of angelic rulers, vampiric servants, and the woman thrust into their darkly seductive world...
Vampire hunter Elena Deveraux wakes from a year-long coma to find herself changed—an angel with wings the colors of midnight and dawn—but her fragile body needs time to heal before she can take flight. Her lover, the stunningly dangerous archangel, Raphael, is used to being in control—especially when it comes to the woman he considers his own. But Elena has never done well with authority.
They've barely begun to understand each other when Raphael receives an invitation to a ball from the archangel, Lijuan. To refuse would be a sign of fatal weakness, so Raphael must ready Elena for the flight to Beijing—and to the nightmare that awaits them there. Ancient and without conscience, Lijuan holds a power that lies with the dead. And she has organized the most perfect and most vicious of welcomes for Elena.
My Review Continue reading
Re-post Review: 'Angel's Blood' by Nalini Singh
Angels' Bloodby Nalini Singh
Series: Guild Hunter #1
Published by Berkley Sensation on March 3rd 2009
Genres: Paranormal Romance
Pages: 339
Format: AudioBook
Source: Purchased
Amazon | B&N
Vampire hunter Elena Deveraux knows she is the best- but she does not know if even she is good enough for this job. Hired by the dangerously beautiful archangel Raphael, a being so lethal that no mortal wants his attention, Elena knows failure is not an option—even if the task is impossible.
Because this time, it's not a wayward vamp she has to track. It's an archangel gone bad.
The job will put Elena in the midst of a killing spree like no other—and pull her to the razor's edge of passion. Even if the hunt does not destroy her, succumbing to Raphael's seductive touch just might. For when archangels play, mortals break.
Review Continue reading


text: Biophotonic Solutions Inc. (BSI), a provider of automated laser pulse compression technology, has closed a $1 million Series A funding round led by the Michigan Angel Fund, the company announced this week. "The Series A capital shores up BSI's resources so that we can aggressively pursue OEM business in microscopy, semiconductor processing and the development of cost-effective ultrafast lasers with adaptive capabilities," said BSI CEO Kiyomi Monro. "We look forward to complementing our established business, which is enabling femtosecond laser breakthroughs at leading universities, with new commercial opportunities." Typically used for scientific research, ultrafast lasers producing pulses in the multifemtosecond range offer significant advantages for many commercial applications. However, currently these lasers are expensive, challenging to implement, and require manual tweaking from a laser expert to fine-tune their output, the company said. BSI's proprietary technology, called "MIIPS," provides automated measurement and compression of ultrafast laser pulses, automatically delivering optimized laser light to the target. The technology may enable scalable and cost-effective femtosecond laser use in a wide range of industrial and medical settings, the company said. BSI is a Michigan State University spinoff venture founded in 2003 by University Distinguished Professor Dr. Marcos Dantus. For more information, visit: www.biophotonicsolutions.com


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Looks good actually, going back to the Most Wanted route
The first game had one loading screen at the beginning and then none... i played the whole game in one sitting.
Thank You Naughty Dog, for showing just how great the PS3 was so early in its life
you mean 360 owners don't want to get stuck with Yoda, PS3 owners don't really have yoda DLC as a main priority in the game as 360 owners do with Vader
"konami pushing sony to release trophies?"
dude your source on this was PlaystationLifestyle, they were the only ones who ever said this bull$h!t theory.Not to mention the bogus release date on June 10th...
Konami has never stated anything about trophys, Rockstar on the other hand has, and they have yet to deliver
at least you get it bro... what smoker wants to work out with a Wii after toking up?? working out at a home gym is diff, myself, i like to play GTA4 and go on shootouts while smokinn lol
thanx for the replies dudes... +bubbles for the "online shooters" example, it actually made sense
can i ask RPG lovers a question... why do you like playing for over 100+ hours on one game. I mean, i love gaming and i have played my share of RPG's like FF, Persona and even Elder Scrolls, but i have yet to really get into the story enough to finish it.
good luck to anyone who actually wants to lay down note-by-note charts just because Activision can't handle DLC that Rock Band provides.
well does this car overheat? at least it would give you the Red Engine Lights of Death to tell you its dead...
and if space is an issue, this car would be optional 1 person seating
wait what?! Loco Roco is on the PS3?... i been so outta the loop.
i did in fact enjoy Loco Roco for the PSP so much, the singing made my day =)
how the hell do you RENT a Mobile game?
you guys need to learn to read, seriously
is anybody else exited about this? Patapon was easily the best game for the PSP in my opinion.
it was only 20 dollars too, what a bargin!
thank YOU for the reminder
i disagree but i didn't click, RPG would be good for RPG fans, and im not a fan of RPG's myself. Just my personal opinion of course.
what would be cool is a totally new genre of gaming. Kojima invented the Stelth genre. Imagine a new one...
@ co_ray:
stop being so damn close minded, why does HipHop and R&B HAVE to be 50cent and Akon??
have you ever heard of DeLaSoul, The Roots, RUN DMC, or even Nas? they used to use Drums Guitar and Bass to make beats. Go look up the song "Roots 2.0"
all the poeple screaming "omg moar Led Zepp, Metallica, classic rawk!!" are getting old and repetitive. I like them alot too but if its coming its coming
@ ChrisGTR1: http://en.wikipedia.org/wik...
donde estavas escondido
JoelR got it right...
its like a catch-22, PSP i def worthwile with the hacks
"no Wii for you Mr.!"
"i'll teach you, i'll teach all of you"
yeah ok, and i was emulating Grand Turismo on my drive back from work


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Skydiving Videos : Tags : reganface
Videos tagged with "reganface"
Adrenaline Obsession Summer Boogie Skydive San DiegoHere is the official video for the 2013 Adrenaline Obsession Summer Boogie at Skydive San Diego! Big thanks to Jude Gronenthal and Dave Hawley for ...
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helichris on 2013-09-11 | Last Modified: 2013-10-17 | Views: 3706 | Votes: 0 | Comment: 1
Puerto Rico Freefall Festival 2011My video from the Puerto Rico Boogie from back in 2011!
helichris on 2013-10-18 | Views: 3272 | Votes: 0 | Comments: 0
Canopy CollapseThe nose on my Katana 97 decided to fold under and collapse. After pumping the rear riser a bit, I was able to get it to reinflate.
helichris on 2013-11-04 | Views: 3267 | Votes: 0 | Comments: 2
Everglades Boogie 2011This was my boogie video from back in 2011 of the Clewiston Everglades Boogie!
helichris on 2013-11-06 | Views: 1961 | Votes: 0 | Comments: 0
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