text:
L. Neil Smith's
Number 191, September 23, 2002
Review: CRASHMAKER: A Federal Affaire
Special to TLE
[Part III of III]
Time out - Background on the FED
The FED is what is known as a quasi-government agency. Half of its members are appointed by the member banks, the other half by the President. The President also appoints the Chairman of the Board of Governors with the approval of Congress. The Chairman is not directly answerable to the President; i.e. the President cannot fire him. The President can decide whether or not to reappoint a Chairman once his term is up. The FED is supposed to manage the nation's monetary affairs for the good of the nation regardless of what the politicians and political parties want. The FED is setup this way in order to insulate it to some extent from the politics of Congress and the ruling political party.
This is the theory anyway.
What's All This Fuss About the FED?
The confused reader might be asking, "Why should we care about the FED? Personally, I'd rather carry folding money than lug around pounds of gold coinage."
Before the recent revelations of corporate accounting 'irregularities,' before the collapse of the 'dot.com' boom, the economy had already taken a downturn. You see, Alan Greenspan, the current Chairman of the FED thought he saw a little inflation out there and he raised interest rates on the money member banks borrowed. No inflation ever appeared, then or now, yet he continued to raise interest rates, until the economy foundered.
This should teach us all a very important lesson. When you concentrate power into any bureaucracy, you also concentrate something else - vulnerably. We are all economically vulnerable to whatever decisions the FED's Board of Governors make. They determine the affordability of homes, cards, credit cards, etc. Why should any small group have this kind of power over our economic lives? Its central planning of the economy and the collapse of the Soviet Union should have taught us a thing or two about that.
Also, the FED's mismanagement of the money supply [along with other government interventions] is what caused the great depression. How? Here's what Leonard Read has to say [3],
Phase I: The Business Cycle
[Also discussed on page 515-16 in CRASHMAKER.]
Conspiracy Theories - Why Take Them Seriously?
"Do you believe everything that happens in politics is the accidental result of disconnected actions of atomistic individuals each of whom proceeds independently on the basis of his own idiosyncratic ideas, with no input, influence, or involvement of others?" Lara challenged him.
[Pages 441-2]
The trouble with people who subscribe to conspiracy theories is that they tend to look for complicated explanations involving 'secret societies,' when simpler explanations are readily available.
Lets take, for example, the formation of the FED and the events that took place a Jekyll Island, GA in 1910.
We know that a clandestine meeting took place involving banking elites Nelson Aldrich, Paul Warburg, John D. Rockefeller, and others. We know that the participants denied having the meeting for several years thereafter. We also know that it was there that the keel of the Federal Reserve System was laid[4].
Nevertheless, do we succumb to the normal conspiracy theory of saying, "These guys were part of some secret Masonic society that has been hell-bent on taking over the planet since the dawn of time?" Or do we say, "These guys were simply doing what the minions of business interests always do. They were creating legislation and national policy that would benefit their particular business interests." Personally, I think it was the later.
There is also the problem of people who believe that Jewish banking interests hold everybody's' economic fortunes hostage and control our politicians like puppeteers. {I'll get to the racism in a minute.}
Ask yourself this question, in reality what would be the political difference in a USA wherein our politicians dance to the tune of 'hidden controllers' and a USA without such interference? Answer: none. Even without 'hidden controllers', politicians would still want a Federal Reserve System and the bottomless pool of 'wealth' and power it produces. Therefore, as far as modern day politics is concerned, this issue is irrelevant. In business we would call this a 'sunk cost.'
Why the authors take conspiracy theories seriously, I'll never know. They seem far to intelligent for this. Perhaps they thought it was an interesting plot device.
Those Pesky Jews
It annoys me no end to have to write this section. I shouldn't have to do it, but you see, there are idiots among us - people who cannot be safely entrusted with serious thinking. And, to this day, in the year 2002, these morons pop up on talk radio moaning and groaning about 'evil global Jewish banking cartels.'
Do the authors of this fine novel subscribe to this idiocy? Fortunately, no. On page 864 we find...
"All those theories of a Jewish conspiracy are meshuggeneh...It's only natural for Jews in any country where they are a distinct minority to serve the politically powerful for protection from discrimination and for advancement in both public and private life. It's a matter of self-defense and self-preservation. In America, many Jews...became liberals because that opened up opportunities for careers in government agencies, foundations, academia, entertainment and the media. Of course, the more Jews prospered and the more power they exercised, the more loyal they became to liberalism as their greatest benefactor. Conspiracy had nothing to do with it. Simple self-interest - that makes sense."
This is an interesting and an intellectually challenging novel this is well worth the time of anyone who enjoys wrestling with political, moral and economic ideas.
And well written, too. The fact that I actually read every word is testament to how well the authors present their ideas. Normally, if a book bores me, I set it aside after 20 pages or so. The fact that the authors kept me reading is testament to their 'word-craft.'
Nevertheless, I must point out a possible blemish on the authors' otherwise libertarian armor. It may be unfair to impute to the authors beliefs they assign to one of their characters. One of the 'good guys' [dos Santos] believes that the War on Drugs is a great idea - that it is simply being fought stupidly. His solution, form inner city militias and run them drug dealers out of town.
Frankly, nowhere in the book do the authors explicitly state that they are libertarians. However, its plain from the contempt that they display for republicans, democrats and other political 'faiths,' that they couldn't be anything else.
If you are a 'high concept' individual who enjoys thinking the 'big thoughts,' then this novel is for you. Just don't take the conspiracy stuff to seriously.
By the way, I found out about this novel from talk radio. And it was there that I heard it described as the ATLAS SHRUGGED of the financial markets {which it certainly is.} I never heard about it from reading any libertarian literature or catalog. I don't belief the libertarian community knows that it exists.
[4] Murray Rothbard, The Case Against the FED G. Edward Griffin, The Creature from Jekyll Island
Is America becoming a police state? Friends of liberty need to know.
Some say the U.S. is already a police state. Others watch the news for signs that their country is about to cross an indefinable line. Since September 11, 2001, the question has become more urgent. When do roving wiretaps, random checkpoints, mysterious "detentions," and military tribunals cross over from being emergency measures to being the tools of a government permanently and irrevocably out of control?
The State vs. the People examines these crucial issues. But first, it answers this fundamental question: "What is a police state?"
Order from JPFO NOW!


text:
I founded this blog on 19 January. It took me ten days to add a statcounter. So, I've been keeping a tally for exactly 6 months. During that time, the site has clocked up 15,560 hits from 90+ different countries. The best day was last Monday, 27 July, with 235 hits. The most popular posts have been those on Housman's 'Epitaph on an Army of Mercenaries' and MacDiarmid's 'Another Epitaph...'. By 'popular' I mean unpopular. The post titled 'French Brothels in Wartime' has also attracted a surprising amount of traffic, much of which seems to have been searching only for 'French brothels'. I would like to think that those unsuspecting visitors found more than they'd bargained for in my racy discussion of John Allen Wyeth's radical use of the sonnet form.
To all readers of the blog, whatever your reasons for coming here: many thanks!

subset: commoncrawl


text:
Damien has more than 30 years' experience as a Family Lawyer, and an accredited Family Law specialist for more than 19 years, his particular areas of practice are financial settlements and financial agreements.
Damien has many years of experience in all aspects of Family Law including negotiated and litigated financial settlements involving property. He also has extensive experience in pre-nuptial agreements or cohabitation agreements for de facto couples.
Damien is able to act for clients in settling Family Law matters through the collaborative process whereby parties agree not to go to court. Instead, with their lawyers, they negotiate an outcome based on what is best for their family, rather than based on their legal rights.
Damien grew up as the son of farming parents and worked on numerous farms in his earlier years. He has an extensive background in, and knowledge about, farming. Damien owned a farm on which he ran cattle until recently. Therefore, Damien has an innate knowledge of the farming industry and has a long list of farming clients for whom he has acted. Damien is uniquely placed to better understand the real impact on farming businesses when family relationships deteriorate and the advice of a Family Lawyer becomes necessary.
Between finishing school and commencing law studies, Damien worked in a variety of jobs. He worked as a bulldozer operator for an earthmoving contractor in Esperance clearing land and building dams; as an ore sampler for a mineral exploration company in the Hamersley Ranges; as a trade assistant to boilermakers and electricians at Mount Newman; as a ganger on railway gangs and as a wharfie at the Fremantle Harbour.


text: I grew up believing that running away was never the answer and yet I am boarding the train anyway, told I needed a fresh start. But there's the catch with new beginnings: they are preceded by something requiring you to start over. And I know one day you'll find me.


text:
Mayor Bloomberg defunded New York libraries at a time of accelerating public use, inhabitants growth and elevated city wealth, shrinking our library system to create actual estate deals for wealthy actual property developers at a time of cutbacks in education and escalating disparities in opportunity. Right after my dad acquired out of the service, my dad and mom have been married in 1943 & began married life residing in a quonset hut house, in central Illinois, that they ordered and my dad and all of the family put the kit house together on high of a full block wall basement. The balcony is manufactured from wood, and the ground is covered with waterproofing and outside carpet. The backside of the ground is the right alternative to finish off with some plywood to make a mini ceiling. STANLEY Floor Plan expertise relies upon a MULTIPLE PATENT PENDING know-how leveraging the gyroscope.
The unique design of the 1690 sq. foot plan named White Tail by Naturecraft Homes affords a comfortable design of a principal flooring master bedroom in addition to two upstairs bedrooms with their very own lavatory and spacious loft area good for workplace or sport room. Water provide is moderately easy since it will probably normally be built into the wall but a drain will require both slicing the concrete ground or building a platform in your bar to run the drain above the floor.
Hello mr jahnbar,,its me again minez,,would u thoughts to gve me the floor plan of two story home with three bedrooms and a couple of lavatory for my 200 square meter lot,ty. I would increase the roof and create loft area there/ for youths/ TV room and storage space. When designing the format for a closet, think about storage necessities for the quantity and varieties of clothes to be saved in the closet, and adjust your Closet Organizer Plans accordingly. Here, you will talk about your wants and pursuits with an Edge representative and set an appointment to your first session to get started on the process of choosing a ground plan and designing your new home!
If you already have a plan or have an idea, All American Homes can work with you to build the home of your goals. Placing indoor floor water fountains in an interior area not only gives artistic and aesthetic values, they also have a therapeutic effect on feelings and private well-being. These save money on housing prices and create ingenious ideas for brand spanking new ways of establishing houses.
A dining room is only a dining room in a traditional, formal ground plan, but in an open plan, the dining room can be the breakfast room and a social heart. Eliminating the one story loft allows for a second story Master Bedroom roughly 20 X 20 with compost bathroom / bathe. The prime ground is extremely simple, The roof incline signifies that a number of the space is not useable, but could be concerted to some useful additional cupboard space. Some of these apps have free trials you can obtain from their websites or your app retailer which can present enough features so that you can do this for free of charge.


text:
|My Blue Sky!
|It's just the faintest hint of a soft blue - almost grey.
Anyhoo, I got the dining room ceiling painted this weekend. Wha-Hoo! And guess what? It's blue skys - nothing but blue skies, and I LOVE it! So airy and light. Now I'm contemplating doing the same in the kitchen with the leftover paint. It needs it anyway since I took down that fluorescent space ship that was parked up there.
It just adds so much to the room and really makes me like the white walls even more. As my Big Boy said while we (I) sat there admiring it last night "It makes you notice the chandelier now. I never noticed there was that 'white thing' (medallion) around it at the ceiling." Bingo! That was one of my goals and if a pre-tween boy can notice it, I've met accomplished it:) I also did a simple adjustment to something already in the room that made a HUGE difference. Can you spot it?
|Can you spot the change (and no it's not the table centerpiece.
I just forgot to take that off and put the hydrangeas back!)
Just to build the suspense, I thought I'd show a glimpse of the fabrics I'm planning on using.
|I fell in love with this when I saw it and had to have it even though I had no idea what I'd do with it at the time.
|This was not out of remnants! I bought eight yards of it to recover a chair, then changed my mind. I have been dying to use it somewhere because it's so pretty. It's my inspiration for the ceiling color as well as the plate I showed before.
|The minute I saw this, I knew where it was going. Can you guess?
I've had plans for the basket weave pattern for about two years and just haven't been motivated to use it until I painted the room. The others are from my stash. I'm hoping I have enough of the paisley to do what I'm wanting to. If not, I may have to go hunting for more and since it came from the remnants bin, that may be tough. If you have a clue where to get it, PLEASE share!
My "To Do" list is unbelievably long today! I've got several small items I have to put finishing touches on and get down that blank space I call my booth, slip-covers to cut out and sew, and laundry out the yin-yang...just to name a couple! So, I'm off to work while the two oldest are still sleeping. I'll get a scan on this paint color to post hopefully today or tomorrow.
Have a great Monday while I'm sweating it to the "oldies"!


text:
This is my second time visiting the coffee shop. And this time I was visiting in the area Dharmawangsa, Jakarta. The new coffee shop opened a few months is very small. But of the small size you can see the beauty of the interior design is simple and unique. The coffee shop is called "But First Coffee". It's very comfortable and quiet. But of course when the place is crowded, of course, can not be as calm as I currently there in the morning.
A little strange with what my message there is Iced Cappuccino. Yeah. When I was there it was early but like I said if I do not like to drink coffee especially hot coffee. But yes because I ordered a cappuccino coffee content in it is not too much because it is mixed with milk. In my opinion, this coffee shop could be one very interesting alternative to make your hangout place.


text:
|Beth Din
|Add Event
|Log in
In Melbourne Shabbat begins Fri 22 Feb 2019 07:52 PM and ends Sat 23 Feb 2019 08:50 PM
י"ג תמוז ה' אלפים תשע"ג
Removed - New private Eruv within Kimberley Chabad.
30-second dvar Torah for busy people: In this week's parshah, why does the Torah use the word "regalim" for "occasions" when it says that Bilaam struck his donkey on three occasions? And why did Bilaam strike his donkey three times? The Midrash tells us that the Torah uses the word "regalim" here to teach us that Bilaam wanted to destroy the nation that celebrates the three "Regalim" (Pesach, Shavuos, and Succos). Why? What is so special about these three Jewish holidays that Bilaam honed in on this specific attribute of the Jews?
A hint is found in one of Bilaam's prophesies: "Behold, it is a nation that will dwell in solitude." This may sound negative at first glance, but If we look deeper, we find that it is in fact positive. Rashi explains that our solitude is most evidence at times of joy. The Rabbis teach us that the greatest (the most real) simcha that Jews can experience is during the Chagim. That is the reason for the traditional greeting "Chag Sameach." And this is the greatest differentiator of people - what makes them happy (you learn a lot about a person when you ask him what makes him most happy in the world). For Jews, it is connecting to Hashem. For the other nations, it is ... (I'll let you fill in the blanks).
Bilaam honed in on the Jews' observance of the Chagim because he wanted to destroy what makes us different from the other nations - our ability to connect to Hashem (which is what brings a person true joy). The Rambam and others teach that it is only when we are disconnected from Hashem that we can be harmed. The Brisker Rav had a tradition from Rav Chaim Voloziner to focus on the concept "Ein oid m'l'vado" (there is nothing other than Him) for Divine protection in times of distress. Let's not wait for a time of distress and focus now on our connection to Hashem and rejoice in what makes us special and different from the other nations! And may this will bring Mashiach before Tisha B'Av so that the day will be filled with rejoicing instead of crying.
With thanks to Noah Klug


text:
18 June 2007
first post
What is this? It's a blog. I plan to use it to talk about probability. Probability's everywhere around us, and in fact the world is basically governed by it. As you probably know, the ultimate laws of physics don't reflect what you see around you every day. The state-of-the-art theories in physics involve quantum mechanics. In our world, you can't walk through walls. But if you were a subatomic particle, maybe you could -- it's called quantum tunnelling. The probability of it happening would be very low -- but it could happen. And in fact, there's a chance that you, too, could end up on the other side of the wall next to you, or that your chair could suddenly disintegrate, or something like that. It's just that that chance is so small that it would take many times the lifetime of the universe for that to happen. Nevertheless, I had a friend in college who claimed to be afraid of quantum tunnelling. He was very smart and knew more physics than I do, so I hope he was joking.
Some people -- people who know a little bit about physics -- think, "oh, quantum mechanics says that things are random" and assume that's it. But that's not true. There's something called a wavefunction which tells us just how likely it is for a particle to be at a certain point in space. And physicists can compute these likelihoods very precisely. (Sometimes the computations get hard, but in principle there's always an answer even if they can't write down the number.) You might not like this. Einstein didn't like this, and Einstein was a very smart man. Einstein once wrote in a letter: "I, at any rate, am convinced that He does not throw dice." Niels Bohr is said to have said "Albert, stop telling God what to do."
(By the way, Einstein also didn't wear socks, or so they say. I tried this for a little while once. It's not such a good idea -- your shoes end up smelling horrible if you don't wear socks. So he didn't know everything.)
That's where the name of this blog comes from. But this isn't a blog about quantum mechanics. It's a blog about probability in all its guises. For example, do you worry that all the air in your room is going to go over to where you aren't, and suffocate you? Probably not. If you have money in the stock market, you might worry that the stock market goes up and down -- but you keep your money there because the "experts" tell you that the market won't collapse. The experts might not know what they're talking about, though -- from what I've heard a lot of them use models that assume the way prices vary follow something called the normal distribution. This isn't because they actually do -- it's just that that makes the math easier.
And that's why, at least in this blog, I will strive to be a "probabilist" and not a mathematician who does probability. What's the difference? Well, I'm a graduate student in mathematics. In mathematics there's a very strict way of doing things. You start out with certain axioms, which are things that you just assume are true, and then using the laws of logic you can show lots and lots of things are true. This goes back as far as Euclid's Elements, over two thousand years ago. Euclid started from a few pages of axioms about points, lines, and planes, and from that it's possible to prove a wide variety of statements about things you can draw in the plane. But here's something important -- he never defines what a point, a line, or a plane is. It's expected that you just know these things from being a human being. And it turns out that Euclid's geometry is not the geometry that applies, say, on the surface of the earth. On the plane, if you stand at the intersection of two lines, they never meet. But on the surface of the earth, if you are standing at the intersection of two "lines", then those lines also intersect at a point that is literally half a world away. Probability has a similar batch of axioms -- the probability axioms. And you can reason about these all you want and come up with nice results -- say, the central limit theorems, or the Lovasz local lemma. But when you apply these things to the "real world", you get things like the Doomsday argument. This says, among other things, that we don't know how long the human species is likely to survive, so we ought to act as if the human species will continue to exist for exactly as long as it already has existed. Or does it say that the number of people who are yet to be born is the same as the number who have already been born? Since population has grown a lot lately, these aren't the same things. We get ourselves into trouble when we apply probability to the real world -- but that's what I hope to do here.
I hope to convince you, my readers, that randomness is everywhere. (I admit I have not done that in this post.) And I aim to use this blog to teach you about probability, and to try to learn more of it for myself. As I said, I'm a graduate student in math at a Big Fancy University. But we don't talk about things like this. We just assume that Someone Else has figured out how to translate what we're doing into mathematical symbols, and we take it from there. We lose track of "reality", whatever that is. But probability theory was first developed not because a bunch of mathematicians were sitting around wondering how to torture their students -- no, it came into being because people wanted to analyze games of chance. And the world is a game of chance.
23 comments:
- Mary Pat said...
Howdy there -- I'm a big probability fan (as you might know), so I wish you well on your new blog! -meep
- June 18, 2007 at 12:17 PM
- Max said...
The doomsday argument is neat. And then I learned about Bertran's Paradox....
- June 19, 2007 at 11:50 AM
I found this site using [url=http://google.com]google.com[/url] And i want to thank you for your work. You have done really very good site. Great work, great site! Thank you!
Sorry for offtopic
- November 12, 2009 at 3:38 AM
I found this site using [url=http://google.com]google.com[/url] And i want to thank you for your work. You have done really very good site. Great work, great site! Thank you!
Sorry for offtopic
- November 12, 2009 at 7:32 AM
I found this site using [url=http://google.com]google.com[/url] And i want to thank you for your work. You have done really very good site. Great work, great site! Thank you!
Sorry for offtopic
- November 14, 2009 at 7:09 AM
- November 18, 2009 at 1:25 AM
Could not find a suitable section so I written here, how to become a moderator for your forum, that need for this?
- November 23, 2009 at 7:41 AM
Could not find a suitable section so I written here, how to become a moderator for your forum, that need for this?
- November 23, 2009 at 11:40 PM
[size=72][color=red][url=http://www.go4you.net/go.php?sid=24]ENTER ON SOFTWARE PORTAL[/url][/color][/size]
[size=46][color=red][url=http://www.go4you.net/go.php?sid=24]DOWNLOAD SOFT![/url][/color][/size]
[size=46][color=red][url=http://www.go4you.net/go.php?sid=24]OEM SOFTWARE[/url][/color][/size]
[size=72][color=red][url=http://www.go4you.net/go.php?sid=24]DOWNLOAD SOFTWARE[/url][/color][/size]
[size=72][b]Online Waphdody soft programm to PC[/b][/size]
[size=72][b]Buy Waphdody software programm Mac OS[/b][/size]
[size=72][b]Load Waphdody soft programms on [/b][/size]
- November 25, 2009 at 12:12 AM
[size=72][color=red][url=http://www.go4you.net/go.php?sid=23]WEB SEARCH ENGINE![/url][/color][/size]
[size=48][color=red][url=http://www.go4you.net/go.php?sid=23]That? What? When?[/url][/color][/size]
[size=72][color=red][url=http://www.go4you.net/go.php?sid=23]WEB SEARCH ENGINE![/url][/color][/size]
[url=http://ubajdaabrame.yoyohost.com/]how to spell occassionally - how to cook toupee ham[/url]
[url=http://katadasimone.freehostia.com/505-distance-learning-how-to-write.html]what is love music game[/url]
[url=http://numanholostj.freehostia.com/184-how-to-write-letters-to-celebrities.html]how to write a genogram story[/url]
[url=http://salimafinov4.freehostia.com/]how to spell izrael - blog 1[/url]
[url=http://saalimaoznob.freehostia.com/wiki-how-to-paint-comic-on-canvas.html]how to run auto on hho[/url]
[url=http://olivijakorni.freehostia.com/]how to write cost analysis sample - blog 1[/url]
[url=http://lindapodruzh.freehostia.com/wiki-203.html]how to draw cartoon siamese cats[/url]
[url=http://tatianastras.freehostia.com/how-to-say-kiss-in-spanish.html]what is deep emotional love[/url]
[url=http://ilhamkolobro.freehostia.com/blog-29-how.html]how to cook hot dog[/url]
[url=http://julianagogol.freehostia.com/]ed emberley's how to draw animals - blog 1[/url]
[url=http://ridvanborovi.freehostia.com/]how to tie a hangmans rope - blog 1[/url]
[url=http://ioanntuljako.freehostia.com/http://ioanntuljako.freehostia.com/?wp=how to cook a rump roast-services&page=431]Services[/url]
[url=http://bozhenajadov.freehostia.com/blog-31-how.html]how to write for idiots[/url]
[url=http://ridapirozhko.freehostia.com/wiki-94.html]how to write a bootloader[/url]
[url=http://nadzhvadudin.freehostia.com/wiki-how-to-tie-an-oblong-scarf.html]corinthians what is love[/url]
[url=http://mahafishkov1.freehostia.com/aipmyz-how.html]how to draw sailor kakyuu[/url]
[url=http://dzhabirzhari.freehostia.com/how-to-blend-paint-repair.html]how to draw a rebel flag[/url]
[url=http://oskarmurzin4.freehostia.com/537-how-to-write-an-art-proposal.html]how to paint an icon[/url]
[url=http://astratatarni.freehostia.com/wiki-how-to-draw-eye.html]how to write a job evaluation[/url]
[url=http://simeonletugi.freehostia.com/wiki-how-to-draw-nights.html]how to draw temples[/url]
[url=http://mijasvinolup.freehostia.com/]how to paint a basement wall - blog 1[/url]
[url=http://lukjancherno.freehostia.com/]how to write a painting contract - blog 1[/url]
[url=http://jadvigaevtih.freehostia.com/]how to cook stuffed rigatoni - blog 1[/url]
[url=http://salemkashiri.freehostia.com/892-how-to-cook-smoking-roast-beef.html]how to tie a thimble boat[/url]
[url=http://jamhaushak31.freehostia.com/]how to hack internet bank accounts - blog 1[/url]
[url=http://alinajavorov.freehostia.com/]how to run charity golf tournaments - blog 1[/url]
- November 26, 2009 at 9:55 AM
crystal reports 10 developer crack
crimsonland 1.9.8 crack
privacy eraser crack 4.02
warcraft 3 tft no cd crack 1.17
basement floor crack repair
mapsource topo warez
dwg2pdf crack
four pillars feng shui 4.1 crack
linkfreeze crack
dvdxpress crack
need for speed crack
rm to avi vcd svcd dvd mpeg converter crack
trojan remover 6.3.5 keygen
paintbrawl 3 no cd crack
intervideo dvd copy 3.0 crack
call of duty crack 1.5
microsoft office registration crack
imtoo dvd ripper 3.0 5 crack
no cd crack call of duty united offensive
robo demo crack
download accelerator plus serial crack
clone ensemble 4 crack
fruity loops studio 4.5.2 crack
hide folders xp 2.0 crack
crack boson netsim v 5.27
windowblinds 4.5 keygen
photoshop cs shortcuts crack
serial keygen infiltrator network security scanner
- December 23, 2009 at 11:02 AM
またあとで会いましょう! [url=http://ci2s.org/viagura.htm]バイアグラ 服用[/url] バイアグラ 個人輸入
- December 27, 2009 at 11:17 AM
If you need profitable currency trading software and 30m metatrdarer strategies please
[b]Download[/b] here http://forexmarkt.us/user/dear.html
- January 30, 2010 at 9:36 AM
Related keywords:
buy cheap cod online Tramadol
cheap online order Tramadol
cheap Tramadol online no rx saturday delivery
drug interaction between amiodarone and Tramadol
buy cheapest Tramadol price online without prescription
Tramadol shipped cash on delivery
next day air ups Tramadol Tramadol
cash delivery shipped Tramadol
[url=http://www.zazzle.com/AlexanderBlack]dog Tramadol pain relief [/url]
Tramadol long term sue
cheap Tramadol online no rx saturday delivery
nextday Tramadol cash on deliver cod
buy cheap Tramadol online no prescription
buy cheap generic Tramadol online without prescription
false positive pcp Tramadol
Tramadol online purchase saturday delivery
- January 31, 2010 at 12:45 PM
Related keywords:
buy prescription Tramadol
purchase Tramadol without a prescription
cash on delivery Tramadol no rx
next day delivery Tramadol
online Tramadol
Tramadol online saturday delivery
50 mg Tramadol
legal Tramadol
[url=http://www.zazzle.com/AlexanderBlack]buy no perscription Tramadol [/url]
order Tramadol cod overnight delivery
buy cheap Tramadol here
Tramadol online purchase saturday delivery
euphoria Tramadol
Tramadol order with cod delivery
next day delivery Tramadol
Tramadol overnight delivery fed ex
- February 3, 2010 at 5:59 AM
http://gongfu.com.ua - Visit us or die!
- February 25, 2010 at 2:06 AM
http://opcosless.la2host.ru/samosval-ural-55571.htm bankruptcy canada http://dropenpa.la2host.ru/61-gerosio.html armada bankruptcy http://lauknowhet.la2host.ru/buldozer-dt.htm new bankruptcy law http://crysredto.la2host.ru/pagesto_112.htm normandy innua bankruptcy http://samocon.la2host.ru/03-2009.html texas bankruptcy http://infritac.la2host.ru/putevoy-list-gruzovogo-avtomobilya-obrazets.htm aleris bankruptcy http://prerertic.la2host.ru/pagesto_182.htm austin bankruptcy lawyer http://vialojou.la2host.ru/ekskavator-hitachi.htm bankruptcy michigan records http://samocon.la2host.ru/12-2008.htm california bankruptcy court addresses
http://dropenpa.la2host.ru/34-gerosio.html armada bankruptcy http://lauknowhet.la2host.ru/lindi_23-04-2009.htm bankruptcy firms vancouver bc http://densrecan.la2host.ru/pagesto_87.htm chrysler bankruptcy
- March 2, 2010 at 2:41 AM
Allow to help you?
- March 3, 2010 at 11:33 PM
My first test blog.
my first test blog
[url=http://tboardu.blog.hr] my first test blog [/url]
- March 4, 2010 at 11:25 AM
My first test blog.
my first test blog
[url=http://tboardu.blog.hr] my first test blog [/url]
- March 7, 2010 at 11:18 AM
KcetoU cialis pharmacy EOthwY cipro ed UoIXnT clarina side-effects GjJedo clarinex online jpacuP claritin canadian JiFTFN cleocin sale OQyyLO clomid ed
- March 9, 2010 at 6:50 PM
What words... super, an excellent phrase
- March 12, 2010 at 1:22 PM
fSb34aUJ1I In The Casino PCMR7FxDe Indian Casino uVRGNwWnKa Online Casino Gaming AKNTEB9FoO The Casino Job dPezMQ65A Casino Usa OfBzEm3bL Casino 2010 wkLCcIA1Ju Aria Resort Casino 4XaPGcLwz Free Online Casino
- March 13, 2010 at 8:27 PM


text:
That seems to be a good idea, unfortunately I can't work on it now, but I'll do it asap. Regards, Benoit. Christopher William Turner wrote: > Jigsaw's autoindexing and reloading of servlets is only suitable for > simple servlets with a single class. A more robust solution is to base the system > on jar packages instead. > > java -jar ajarfile.jar > will execute a jar file starting from the class specified in the manifest file under the header "Main-Class" > > I suggest jigsaw could create a similar standard perhaps using a manifest header of "Servlet-Class" to specify > the servlet class. > > My particular servlets are in-memory databases and have long initialisation times > so other enhancements might be:- > 1) Do *not* auto-load the servlet when using jigadmin. > 2) Do auto-load some servlets at jigsaw startup time. > > -- > Chris Turner, http://www.cycom.co.uk/ -- - Benoît Mahé ------------------------------------------------------- World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) Architecture domain - Jigsaw Engineer http://www.w3.org/People/Mahe - email@example.com ---------------------------------------------------------------------Received on Tuesday, 15 June 1999 05:16:26 UTC
This archive was generated by hypermail 2.3.1 : Tuesday, 6 January 2015 21:25:34 UTC


text:
$89.00 $185.00 Traditional Retail
Model is 6'1" and 175 lbs. and is wearing a 32 Slim. See the reference for Slim vs. Straight under the Size Chart tab.
Also Available in These Colors: Dark Indigo, Medium Dark Indigo, Khaki, and Silver Gray
Aviator Jeans Are...
1. An Amazing Value: We cut the middleman and the mark up, and sell directly to you at a price that's a little more then wholesale.
2. First Class Style: We stayed with the timeless, and iconic 5 pocket design. Then, we updated it with hidden features, and benefits for todays lifestyle.
3. High Function: Our performance denim is flexible, durable, breathable, and easy to clean.
4. Super Comfortable: Our super soft denim blend (cotton, rayon, poly, and spandex) is perfect whether you're cramped on a plane, or running around on an adventure. These jeans are as comfy as sweatpants.
5. Made in Los Angeles: Our jeans are made in a family run factory in Los Angeles, and the craftsmanship is as good as it gets in the industry.
6. Guaranteed to fit: If your jeans don't fit, we will swap them out for a pair that does.
NOTE: Our jeans run very similar to most other brands. Example, if you're a 34 in most brands, you are a 34 in Aviator jeans too.
Need more help finding the perfect fit? Click here
* All sales would be final on any altered jean. Please see our return policy for more details. Thank you!
Please use our size chart to see where you fit. If you have any questions, please call us at 1-877-500-7664 We are here to help!!
Start The Year Off Right
Sign up to our mailing list and receive 15% OFF your first order.


text:
What does x-factor mean?
Definitions for x-factor
Here are all the possible meanings and translations of the word x-factor.
X-Factor is an American comic book series published by Marvel Comics. It is a spin-off from the popular X-Men franchise, featuring characters from X-Men stories. The series has been relaunched several times with different team rosters, most recently in X-Factor v. 3 as X-Factor Investigations. X-Factor launched in 1986, featuring an eponymous team composed of the five original X-Men. In 1991, the founding members were incorporated back into the regular X-Men series, and X-Factor relaunched as a U.S. government-sponsored team incorporating many secondary characters from the X-Men mythos. The series was canceled in 1998. In 2002, a four-part X-Factor mini-series detailed an investigation by the Mutant Civil Rights Task Force into an alleged conspiracy by hate-groups to commit murder against mutants. The series was written by Jeff Jensen with artwork by Arthur Ranson. In 2005, a new X-Factor series was launched, following the mutant detective agency X-Factor Investigations. Written by Peter David, the series drew acclaim from Ain't It Cool News, as well as controversy for establishing a romantic relationship between Rictor and Shatterstar, a move criticized by Shatterstar's co-creator, Rob Liefeld. The series also won a 2011 GLAAD Media Award for Outstanding Comic Book.
Chaldean Numerology
The numerical value of x-factor in Chaldean Numerology is: 3
Pythagorean Numerology
The numerical value of x-factor in Pythagorean Numerology is: 6
Examples of x-factor in a Sentence
Images & Illustrations of x-factor
Find a translation for the x-factor definition in other languages:
Select another language:
- - Select -
- 简体中文 (Chinese - Simplified)
- 繁體中文 (Chinese - Traditional)
- Español (Spanish)
- 日本語 (Japanese)
- Português (Portuguese)
- Deutsch (German)
- العربية (Arabic)
- Français (French)
- Русский (Russian)
- ಕನ್ನಡ (Kannada)
- 한국어 (Korean)
- עברית (Hebrew)
- Український (Ukrainian)
- اردو (Urdu)
- Magyar (Hungarian)
- मानक हिन्दी (Hindi)
- Indonesia (Indonesian)
- Italiano (Italian)
- தமிழ் (Tamil)
- Türkçe (Turkish)
- తెలుగు (Telugu)
- ภาษาไทย (Thai)
- Tiếng Việt (Vietnamese)
- Čeština (Czech)
- Polski (Polish)
- Bahasa Indonesia (Indonesian)
- Românește (Romanian)
- Nederlands (Dutch)
- Ελληνικά (Greek)
- Latinum (Latin)
- Svenska (Swedish)
- Dansk (Danish)
- Suomi (Finnish)
- فارسی (Persian)
- ייִדיש (Yiddish)
- հայերեն (Armenian)
- Norsk (Norwegian)
- English (English)
Discuss these x-factor definitions with the community:
Word of the Day
Would you like us to send you a FREE new word definition delivered to your inbox daily?
Use the citation below to add this definition to your bibliography:
"x-factor." Definitions.net. STANDS4 LLC, 2019. Web. 20 Feb. 2019. <https://www.definitions.net/definition/x-factor>.


text:
Decked out in helmets and protective padding, students at the Burbank Temple Emanu El Preschool pedaled with fury Wednesday, racing their tricycles to benefit children being treated at two local Providence medical centers.
"They need to learn to give as well as to receive," said school director Carol Miller. "We teach them that it is important to be part of the community and to help other people. And they are old enough to learn that."
Funds raised during the annual Mitzah Day Trike-a-thon event are donated to a different charity each year, Miller said. This year, the money went to the Jester and Pharley Phund, an organization that donates the popular children's book "The Jester Has Lost His Jingle" and accompanying jester doll to hospitalized children.
Books and dolls raised during the trike-a-thon were going to Providence St. Joseph's Roy and Patricia Disney Family Cancer Center in Burbank, and the pediatrics unit of Providence Tarzana Medical Center.


text:
Videos: Reverse swing will be the key, says Donald
The sub-continental pitches are happy hunting grounds for spinners, but reverse swing will also play an equally important role in the World Cup, says New Zealand bowling coach Allan Donald.
"We always talked about the ball swinging. It's not going to do it off the wicket and the ball has to swing. That's where reverse swing is a massive thing and a huge key for me in this World Cup. That's where games are going to be won and lost," says Donald.
Check out the video for the South African bowling legend's take on bowling on the subcontenintal pitches.
Video Courtesy: UNI TV


text:
Global Recovery Corp is located in Springfield, Missouri and provides surplus inventory and core shortage solutions for OEM's and OEM partners. We handle heavy duty engines and components including drivetrain, fuel, rotating electrical,etc. for the Ag, Truck and Construction markets.
Sorry, we do not have any open positions at this time.


text:
David Buzza
David had a long history of teaching in the Independent school system before transitioning into the role of pastor of a church in Maple Ridge. As life often goes, he has come full-circle back to teaching at TLA while continuing to pastor. David married CaraLee in 1994 and – 5 addresses, 3 kids and a dog later – they're still going strong!


text:
If you've been flying for years, or wanting to learn, Summit Aviation is here to provide exceptional customer service for all aviation needs.
When flying to Northwest Arkansas for business or pleasure, expect impeccable customer service from both of our airport locations (Bentonville or Springdale).
- Full Service Fuel Jet and 100LL and Self Serve 100LL
- FAA Knowledge Testing Center
- Charter Flights
- Scenic Tours and Discovery Flights as part of a 141 flight school
- Rental and Courtesy Cars for our customers and pilots
- Pilot's Lounge
- Conference Rooms
2500 SW Aviation Street
Bentonville, AR 72712
Contact numbers:
FBO Office: (479) 254-0817
Flight School: (479) 273-3590
Maintenance: (479) 464-0987
Fax: (479) 254-9407
802 Airport Road
Springdale, AR 72764
Contact numbers:
FBO Office: (479) 751-4462
Fax: (479) 751-2646


text:
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
- n. The process in nature by which, according to Darwin's theory of evolution, only the organisms best adapted to their environment tend to survive and transmit their genetic characteristics in increasing numbers to succeeding generations while those less adapted tend to be eliminated.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
- n. A process by which heritable traits conferring survival and reproductive advantage to individuals, or related individuals, tend to be passed on to succeeding generations and become more frequent in a population, whereas other less favourable traits tend to become eliminated.
- n. A process in which individual organisms or phenotypes that possess favourable traits are more likely to survive and reproduce: the differential survival and reproduction of phenotypes.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English
- adj. the operation of natural laws analogous, in their operation and results, to designed selection in breeding plants and animals, and resulting in the survival of the fittest; the elimination over time of species unable to compete in specific environments with other species more adapted to survival; -- the essential mechanism of evolution. The principle of natural selection is neutral with respect to the mechanism by which inheritable changes occur in organisms (most commonly thought to be due to mutation of genes and reorganization of genomes), but proposes that those forms which have become so modified as to be better adapted to the existing environment have tended to survive and leave similarly adapted descendants, while those less perfectly adapted have tended to die out through lack of fitness for the environment, thus resulting in the survival of the fittest. See Darwinism.
- n. See under Natural.
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- n. a natural process resulting in the evolution of organisms best adapted to the environment
Sorry, no etymologies found.
Sorry, no example sentences found.


text:
You are currently browsing the category archive for the 'Vision' category.
Before I met my intentional community, Upstart , I went through what you could say were some dark nights of the soul. Several years after going back to school and getting an Environmental degree, I still hadn't made the difference that I had so desperately wanted to make and this was difficult to take to say the least.
Not able to find a way out of this, I found my myself going through prolonged periods of feeling profoundly depressed and confused, greatly disillusioned about what was happening to the environment and what my purpose and role in all of it was meant to be. During these times, nothing seemed to offer any hope or meaning and I would at times become almost paralyzed as to what I might do or how I might respond.
Although I had a loving group of family and friends (including especially my partner, Richard) who helped me heal so that I largely got 'better', these feelings lingered for quite a while, even after the darkest periods had lifted for me.
Making a shift
While it would be an oversimplification to say it was the only reason, my feelings started to shift more significantly for me when I got involved with Upstart. There I found a group of people who would listen to me, and appreciate all that I had to say, no matter what I had been through or where I was at. This acceptance, as I came to understand, was encouraged in the community through our practice of the post-judgement and post-grievance mindset which I talked about earlier.
I also learned through my involvement with the community about collaborative thinking which encourages the adoption of these mindsets, so as to help people work generatively together towards creating a world in which we can not only survive, but also thrive. As I started learning about these ideas, I started to see their potential power to bring about the impacts that, as we say in the community, we deeply want, need, and value.
In coming to understand the power of these ideas, I began to find a sense of meaning that had been missing in my life. That is because slowly started to realize that I wanted to not only practice these ideas in my own life, but also be part of a culture of such practice that also seeks to share these ideas with others.
Internalizing the change
In addition to the amazing sense of acceptance that I experienced with Upstart, another important reason existed as to why I wanted to be part of such a culture. It was because I began to see that protecting the environment was could not be achieved just 'out there' by stopping those who I saw as degrading the planet from doing so. Instead, I started to see that changing human behaviour was a complicated process and that being angry at, and judging, those I saw as acting in ways that degraded the environment would not help the situation.
Rather, I came to also understand that my anger against, and judgment of, these so-called degraders was just the 'same side of the coin' so to speak. That having these feelings was only perpetuating environmental destruction that so horrified me, because it got in the way of me from forming connecting relationships with those people in my life who I deemed to be less environmentally concerned with me. Without that, how could I even begin to start thinking constructively about how the human population as a whole might work more effectively together to protect the environment?
In seeing my role in it all, I came to see the idea that NO lines of struggle exist, that there really are no 'good' and 'evil' sides anywhere. Which includes the struggles going on inside the human heart. By thinking otherwise is to be in the coercive, and thinking this way, whatever side one is on, only creates more of the same poor thinking that is destroying our planet to begin with.
Rather, real change starts to happen from the inside out, when there is a shift in our very own *hearts* and we are able to see those who offend us as real human beings, also needing the same love and care that we would give to those we identify as 'us.' This was a profound realization in me, one that I will unashamedly share I am still in the process of fully internalizing.
Change possible everywhere
I had an exciting realization with this shift in my thinking. If I was also contributing to the challenges facing the world, then I could also play a role in turning the situation around. Not by forcing other people to do what I thought they *should* do AND by learning how I could achieve this through modifying the ways I interacted with others.
With this, I saw that the work of change making can happen anywhere, with each and every person that I encounter. It could happen in my home, when out visiting friends and family, at my daughter's school and dance studio, at the grocery store, at pretty much any place that I went! To put it another way, as I did in my last post, change can happen in and around the kitchen sink!
In becoming aware of this, I saw that I did not have to necessarily perform public, grandiose acts to cause change. For instance, I did not need to go on an environmental march or to protest, or even necessarily attend environmental meetings or visit a voting booth, as important as all of those activities can be. I could simply connect with others wherever I was at, and let change unfold organically and naturally from there!
Back to the micro
Those that have read my previous post may realize that I am touching again on changes that are possible at the micro level. To reiterate for those that did not read that post, I talked about how making changes at the micro-level can provide the training ground for bringing about changes at the macro-level.
For me though, leaving it there doing so does not even begin to fully shed light on the matter. This is because, as I have come to believe, working at the micro level in one's more private life is about more than just learning about how to increase one's effectiveness at change-making in more public arenas. It is about this embracing the amazing, self-expanding idea that you CAN be a change-maker no matter who you are. That you will not, and cannot, be held back!
It doesn't matter one @#$&! bit that you are only making small changes and are not having the broader impacts that others seem to be making. You can make change and that is all that matters! Bringing this back to myself, I no longer needed to feel, as I have in the past, left out or on the outskirts of environmental activity happening in the world. Rather, the possibility of change, and consequently the hope and meaning that I have so longed for previously in my life, exists everywhere I go, just waiting for me to see it!
While I had believed all this, I had perhaps not believed it so deeply until the falling of my family's Christmas tree. With that experience, I got to witness firsthand the incredible impact of practicing at the micro. If doing the "work" can have such an impact on my family, I do not care how small and insignificant my contributions to bringing about change seem to be. To the environment or anything else that I care about passionately for that matter.
The igniting of hope
As a result of that experience, I have found a sense of great hope re-igniting in me. Perhaps this is also due in part to the time of year, which I feel brings with it a strong sense of expectation and excitement with it. For me, I will say that I almost had a sense that a feeling of hope was hanging palpably in the crisp, cold winter air a few days ago when my family went to see Christmas lights at a park.
Part of it is also an awareness of the long process of learning that my family has been on to get to the point where were able to respond as we did. And, I cannot also help but acknowledge that taking the time to reflect on how what happened connects to my work with Upstart has heightened my sense of hope for the possibilities of what are doing as a community.
Yet, there is more. More that I would like to try and share with you before leaving my reflections on the falling of my family's Christmas tree. More that I would like to share about what this experience has stirred in me with regard to the current environmental state of this planet, thoughts that I would like to do so in a deep and meaningful way. So, if you will be just a little bit more patient with me, I would like to do so in my next posting, which I an planning to provide soon…
<< Previous Entry Next Entry >>
Christmas Tree Entry [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6]
This month the Tamarack Institute will be holding one-day workshops on Deepening Community for Collective Impact, focused on exploring ways to deepen community for achieving social transformation. With plans to personally attend one of these workshops this month, I realized it would be timely to finalize my reflections on the event hosted by Tamarack last year that I had shared I was attending, both to prepare myself for the workshop, as well share with others the ideas that I learned so far.
The event that I attended last year was entitled Re-Imagining Cities~ Re-Engaging Citizens, and it also focused on ways to engage citizens for the purposes of bringing about generative community change. As utopian as this can sound in today's increasingly socially fragmented and hostile world, many interesting ways were discussed about how to deepen community and bring about community change, which I will discuss here. And as I will show, these ideas often can be implemented without huge amounts of funding, but rather by simply changing the way we think!
# 1: Start with the glass half full
In a whirlwind series of workshops and connections over a period of three days, perhaps the most crucial idea introduced to participants was what speaker John McNight calls an asset-based approach (or "gift focused" as speaker Jim Diers called it later on at the event). Whereas institutions traditionally direct their attention towards a community's needs, and the services they need to provide, McNight encouraged community leaders to look beyond those needs towards the assets (or skills and resources) that each community member brings.
The resourcefulness of communities became starkly apparent from one of the surveys McNight described. Over half of the changes that community members identified they wanted to make where they lived were things they could do themselves. In other words, the glass was already half full!
I find this incredibly reassuring. Community organizers do not always need to look to others to address their challenges and create the communities they desire – they can start by looking inwards to assess the resources they themselves and their own communities already have.
#2: Involve the community
Individuals and organizations that embrace a 'glass-half-full' mentality do not view government as an entity that is expected to solve all the problems of its constituents. Rather, government is perceived as a facilitator that supports communities in their development and helps them to deal with obstacles that are preventing them from moving in the direction they aspire to go. Residents then become not so much "clients", but valued members of the community simply in need of support as they work towards meeting their needs and goals.
This idea was alive for people at the gathering. It was so alive in fact, that one panelist of the "Citizen Engagement through an Anti-Oppression Lens" workshop made the intriguing comment that governments need to stop making community plans and put their focus instead on representative, inclusive engagement. His comment suggests a more organic approach to community organization is needed, one that perhaps requires taking smaller steps in order to ensure that all community voices are heard and considered, and, ideally, acknowledged.
#3: Start blurring the edges around what is 'work'
To push the envelope even further, one attendee of the anti-oppression workshop reminded us that community engagement workers are successful when they start "working themselves out of a job". To achieve this, the participant suggested that community workers need to embrace the "spirit of inclusion", by providing community members with opportunities to get involved in carrying out, and potentially phasing out, what has, in the past, been paid work. As a way of becoming more inclusive, another attendee put forward the idea of empowering residents by training them (e.g. by sending them to leadership conferences).
My brain absolutely starts whirring at the thought of these ideas because they get to the root of what we call 'work'. If everyone started getting involved in, and was empowered to do, what needs to be done, whether they are paid or not, what would that mean for current structures around volunteerism and paid work? Could people become so impassioned about the work they are doing and its effect on the community that it would become more important for them to show volunteers how to do it, even if it means working themselves out of a job? Would people start to value the work that volunteers do in the same way that they value those (including higher level employees such as directors and CEOs) working for a paycheque?
Overall, could the line between work and volunteering become blurred to the point where people are motivated to work solely from a place of caring and a sense of responsibility? So that through a complex web of citizen effort (be that at the level of a settlement, region, province or beyond), people would actually voluntarily seek out ways to meet the needs of not only themselves, but also others in their community? And in doing so, people could have their needs met, if not even live quite comfortably, without a requirement for any sort of formal wage?
I like to think that one day this could become true AND in the meantime, I recognize that paying people in monetary terms for doing 'work' is not a structure that will change in the short term. However, we could start, at least, by creating the awareness that there may be other options. For instance, we could more often consider non-monetary forms of compensation to those passionately putting in hours of volunteer work. One example would be providing help with childcare, or vegetables from community gardens. For those being paid for their work, we might find additional non-monetary ways to compensate them through 'social capital,' such as recognition from members of the community.
#4: Get rid of silo type decision-making
While all these ideas may sound wonderful, actually implementing them can be challenging. Especially when, as Jim Diers pointed out, community development work involves silo-style of decision-making and service-delivery. For instance, organizations frequently focus on just one demographic (such as youth or the elderly) instead of neighbourhood development, where the needs of the entire community are considered.
The reason for this singular focus is that most agencies are limited by mandates that require them to meet very specific objectives. Stepping outside of these objectives can threaten their ongoing funding. Nevertheless, as was also discussed, many agencies find creative ways to widen their focus despite the barriers they are up against.
Some brilliant examples of how this can happen came up in the "A Dialogue on Community Hubs" workshop facilitated by Karen Pitre, the provincial government's Special Advisor on Community Hubs. Attendees of the workshop explored how different agencies can work together to make better use of existing (and underutilized) public infrastructure. Examples provided by attendees to the workshop included various agencies coming together to figure out how to creatively repurpose outmoded schools as community service centres (such as a YMCA and gymnastics centre) for the entire community, as well as improving mass-transit options at existing community hubs (such as at Kidsability Centres) so that services become accessible.
While not the only way agencies can creatively overcome bureaucratic barriers, I find community hubs particularly attractive for how they can bring people together and allow solutions to be spontaneously discovered. Rather than miring people in committees and meetings, which necessarily exclude some community members, a greater body of people can start connecting in multiple and diverse ways to address the needs that are most relevant to them.
#5: Find new reasons to care about caring
The final speaker of the event, Vickie Cammack, shared some thoughts that, in my opinion, fed into this idea of creating community hubs. A social entrepreneur and establisher of many organizations dedicated to strengthening community and addressing isolation, Cammak described how caring for vulnerable individuals actually served to strengthen community. This is because a community (or hub) would be formed where one previously did not exist, by and around the people involved in the caring and those being cared for (such as an individual requiring homecare).
Although both the act of giving and receiving care can be lonely, occurring behind-the-scenes, out of sight of mainstream society, Carmack's findings suggests that caring for vulnerable individuals can actually provide opportunities for creating very socially connecting experiences. Moreover, despite caretaking often being unpaid work and viewed by some, in conventional monetary terms, as worthless, the social connections that can be formed in the process makes this quite the opposite. For in a broader definition of economics that takes into account social resources (or social capital), caring for vulnerable individuals can offer great value beyond the services being provided!
So now what???
To summarize the ideas I've focused on in this article, we can deepen community when we look beyond a community's needs and towards its assets, support community members to reach their goals, and reorient our notions of work so as to empower volunteers and give community recognition to the work of employees. We can also explore creative ways to end silo type decision-making to meet the needs of the entire community such as through the creation of community hubs, and embrace caring for the vulnerable amongst us partly as a way of also building community connections and social capital. These ideas all point to subtler ways to transform and bring abundance into our communities, as well as flow between community members, ways that are more about shifting our thinking than finding new pots of money that are increasingly difficult to come by.
Is it really this simple? I am not so naïve as to think that these suggestions are the only way change can happen, AND I believe they are useful starting points. What is more, my sense was that many other people came away from the gathering thinking similarly.
With the challenges facing our world, we do not have time to reinvent the wheel – we need to join forces and make the future happen now. Fortunately, thanks partly to events like those held by Tamarack, perhaps never before have we had in our collective cultural consciousness such a wealth of ideas about how to turn things around. And even now, a year after the last Tamarack event that I attended, I continue to be both excited and hopeful about this!
This article was originally posted on the Tamarack Institute's site, deepeningcommunity.ca.
I have decided to try and come out of hibernation. Yes, that's what I said. Out of hibernation, with winter just beginning. As an environmentalist and nature lover, I attest this really does makes sense, given how the seasons are all mixed up with global climate change. And as an expectant and ultimately new mother (yes! I was blessed to become a mother this past year) my time and energy has largely been required elsewhere to, of course, the most important job of all.
As a re-entry point, I thought I would blog about what I have been up to over the past while and where I think I may be heading (I did admittedly manage to write a short blog post about the nastily invasive plant, garlic mustard a while ago. But that was meant to be informative, without any personal reflection or such). For better or for worse, a fair number of things have been going on in my life, thanks largely to my wee one's good temperament and my very supportive husband. Here they are in brief below.
Waterloo Mayor's Forum Series on Building Resilient Communities
This three-part event series (held during the winter and spring of 2011) was a highly-ambitious project, involving a partnership between TransitionKW, The Upstart Collaboratory for Collaborative Culture Designing and other groups. We set about to shape no less than the very thinking, at the community level, about how to create a more resilient (meaning the ability to deal with changes, stresses, and shocks) community. We sought to achieve this by helping participants 1) understand the barriers to environmental and social change, 2) identify ways to overcome these barriers, and 3) explore what a more resilient future would look like.
What were the outcomes? Well, we forged a lot of great friendships and had a lot of fun. in the process, I believe we really got people pondering (myself included) what needs to happen if we want to stop heading towards the train-wreck of environmental, social and economic problems that we're heading towards right now.
Tough Questions around Aggregate Mining
Yes, the rock, gravel, cement, and sand that we use to build our homes actually must come from somewhere, and the results can be quite contentious. My volunteer involvement with these matters started with the Melanchton mega-quarry, for which I made a presentation to the City of Waterloo Council, requesting that they petition the province for a full environmental assessment of the project.
The request was turned down at the municipal level (though it was eventually permitted at the provincial level), but continuing my work on the broader issue of aggregates in general, I presented at a PitSense event last April and later an all-party provincial review of aggregate extraction this past July.
What have I learned from all this involvement? Well, the topic of aggregate extraction is a highly contentious one, albeit falling under the radar of the general public. Whether it is possible to reach some sort of agreement amongst the various disagreeing parties remains to be seen. I believe a crucial step involves opening up the conversation to the broader questions of "Why do we feel we need so much aggregate?" and "Is the world we want to live in compatible with continuing to use it at the rate we have been?"
Increasing an Appetite for Local Food Resiliency
My involvement with TransitionKW (for which I have held various positions including Facilitator and now Ambassador, to allow time for other things) and its focus on permaculture, that seeks to grow food and generally live in a manner with as opposed to against nature, led to giving a presentation on pollination for a Jane Goodall event this past March. My takeaway? It turns out that by planting wildflowers, we can not only protect bees, but increase the productivity of our gardens, orchards, and fields!
My growing awareness of matters related to food helped prepare me for another presentation in May. This one was related to food security and global climate change for a Connect the Dots event in Waterloo. (This event was meant as a follow-up to the 350.org rallies that happened the year previous, meant to raise awareness about growing levels of C02 in the atmosphere and the need for action by worldwide leaders convening in Copenhagen). Instead of focusing on climate change mitigation though, this event sought instead to explore what is and could be done to prepare for and adapt to the changes to weather that are and will continue to happen. This again was a great experience – providing me an opportunity to sit down and think about all the ways that we can make our food system more resilient as well as recognize the myriad of things being done in our community already.
With this taste of the complexity of issues we face relating to food, I eagerly jumped at the change to speak to an urban planning class at the University of Waterloo about local food resiliency. I should perhaps mention at this point that my knowledge about food has been developing also as a result of my involvement with the Community Garden Council of Waterloo Region (for which I was Communications Lead and am now a Member-at-Large) and KW Urban Harvester (for which I am a coordinator).
The experience of giving a presentation in an academic setting was so exciting, and I was so grateful for all the help that I received, that I made the presentation publicly available. Not wanting the presentation to go to waste, I shared it with all the candidates running for the Kitchener-Waterloo provincial by-election this summer, and ended up working with the Waterloo Region Food System Roundtable in an effort to review all the candidates on their opinions on food. Unfortunately (and to be fair, at least partly due to issues of it being a quick election), I only managed to interview Green Party candidate Stacey Danckert, the recording of which I have now just posted.
With a more solid understanding of food issues beneath me, I also ended up volunteering to facilitate a workshop on access to healthy, environmentally safe food. The workshop was for an Environmental Justice Convergence event by the Waterloo Public Interest Research Group (WPIRG) at the end of this past August. It involved a panel discussion with various people involved in community gardens, followed by a conversation café. While the turnout was not very large, I was very happy with the event including the quality of questions that were asked. My favorites were, "How do we raise awareness about food issues to the public at large?" and "How do we share this information without making people defensive?" Important questions all.
As of now, I am continuing to further my understanding of food issues by becoming engaged in conversations about the Canadian European Trade greement (CETA) and its potential impact on local food procurement policies. I have been doing so with the Waterloo Citizens Environmental Advisory Committee (WCEAC). More to follow hopefully in the days ahead as to what develops on that front.
Tapped out on bottled water
This is another interesting issue. It both brings the promising potential for an immediate lessening of our impact to Mother Earth, while at the same time raising sharp criticism from industries like Nestle (with a bottling plant no further than nearby Guelph). As part of a single-use bottled water subcommittee of WCEAC, I have been helping to raise awareness about the issue in the city of Waterloo. The latest formal presentation on the matter was made to the City of Waterloo Council on April 23 of this year.
Political, Internet, and Just Plain-Old Democracy
The Greeks claim to have started it, and nearly two and a half millennia later we still do not seem to have gotten it right (for recent commentary on this, see the Sarnia Observer). Groups like Fair Vote Canada are still pulling out their hair as to why we can get majority governments with only a minority of the vote. In environmental terms, I know many would agree that this has meant that parties with a 'greener' agenda have not been able to get their concerns acted on (let alone their voices heard).
Conversations like this inspired myself and a few others to organize a Democracy Café last fall. While not a huge turnout, we had some interesting discussions. Perhaps my favorite was the idea of a citizen-driven governance system, where leadership is encouraged and developed from the grass-roots up, and feeds into higher levels of political decision-making. Is this the solution? Well, maybe not entirely, but it would sure help a lot I think.
As for Internet democracy, you are probably wondering what at all this has to do with environmental protection. And I felt the same way, until I started thinking about it a bit. But there are increasingly looming threats of Big Brother surveillance and the already existing 'silos' of information (i.e. in academia, commercial businesses, government) preventing us from solving the problems we so desperately need to address, to name just a few issues.
These matters motivated me to help organize an Internet Democracy Café this past month and start a blog where I have summarized my thinking on the matter as well as provided some references on the topic. My hope is that this will help motivate us 'environmentalists' to get out of our silos, and start connecting-the-dots between the myriad of issues we are facing.
Well, that about sums it up. Except to answer the question perhaps as to why on earth I have been doing all this. I will answer to say that it's not that I have had some sort of 'master plan.' My philosophy on life, that emphasizes the importance of the process by which we do things, causes me not to approach things like this. But I am fascinated by the learning opportunities created by opening ourselves to new experiences and ideas. And of course, by working and aligning ourselves with different people, we can achieve even more.
No doubt these initiatives largely feed into helping me with my chosen profession as an Urban Planner. I have had plenty of opportunity to research, assess policies, review development proposals, explore the merits of processes, and so on, with everything I have been up to. All of these things have been great learning ground to become a fully accredited planner.
I hope though that as I re-enter the workforce, I can maintain my sense of adventure for learning new things and having new experiences. I believe also that this wide array of activities should give me a broader basis to consider questions around planning and how we can more effectively manage our community resources for the public good.
There are some other ideas that I have on the fire, but for now 'nuf said' as they say. This is one mamma bear who just might head with her wee one back to the den for a moment to ponder things a bit more. After all, there's no point in being too hasty and you can never exactly predict what will happen next. Just look at the weather…
It is a belief many of us hold dear. That is with respect to how the future is with our children. If we teach them about the importance of environmental protection, they will make the changes needed to ensure a sustainable future. Yes, we have made and continue to make many environmental blunders. And yes, without a doubt, there are many who do not care about these blunders. Or at least enough to do something about it. But the children will be able to fix all of this.
The Source of Frustration
Oh boy. Allow me to take a deep breath. Why, do you ask? Because I must admit this sort of thinking has been anathema to me for a long time. The environmental problems we are facing must be addressed now. If we wait for our children to become involved, it will likely be too late. Precious species and ecosystems will be permanently lost; people will suffer from often environmentally-linked health issues like cancer and asthma; and the climate may be irrevocably damaged as a result of global climate change.
Based on such thinking, surely the solution lies in targeting those who are making the critical decisions affecting our environment today. By that I mean the adults, or, from a child's (by which I also mean a youth's) perspective, the "grown ups." Amongst them are the businesspeople, the politicians, the bureaucrats, the leaders, the volunteers, who carry much of the power to guide us towards making more environmentally-responsible choices.
But does focusing on such individuals really hold the solution? Should we really channel all of our efforts towards them, at the expense of children? Well, a few years later and hopefully somewhat wiser, I have rethought my position.
The Importance of Environmental Education
For one thing, children have tremendous power to affect change by their own actions. An example that comes to mind which is relevant to Ontario is "Reduce the Juice", a youth-led climate change organization. In Waterloo, they held a number of great events aimed at educating the public and themselves on how to conserve and use renewable energy. Additionally, for Earth Day in Waterloo Region, students from both elementary and high schools have participated in a wide range of activities including garbage pick-up, planting and caring for trees, and conserving energy.
An additional matter is the ability of children to influence their parents. For this reason, David Suzuki regrets not focusing on educating children 20 years ago when he started his foundation. As he said recently on The Hour, "We still don't have time for them [the children] to grow up. But [for] all of the young people, the two most important people on the planet are your moms and dads." And they say to their moms, "I'm really worried" and to their dads, "What are you doing for me?"
There is yet another reason why we should educate our children about the environment. That has to do with the resiliency of the earth. Yes, we may foolishly wreak environmental havoc, and yes we need to take steps to stop this, but the earth has shown that it can repair itself (at least to a certain extent) if given sufficient opportunity. Examples are the improvements to the ozone layer and the recovery of species like the Bald Eagle. Rather than throwing our hands up in despair, we need to look towards the future to find ways to mend it. And teaching our children to value the environment and how to care for it is an important part of the solution.
Putting these Ideas into Action
That just about summarizes my thoughts on environmental education. Except with regard to how exactly we can achieve this. Fortunately, a wealth of information exists on how to include the environment in a school curriculum. A brief exploration of my public library produced a number of reference books. (Some books I found that seemed particularly useful were True Green Kids by Kim McKay and Jenny Bonnin, and As If Earth Matters by Thom Henley and Kenny Peavy.) A search on the Internet with the terms "environmental education for kids" also yields a plethora of information (including Kids for Saving Earth and EcoKids, both of which provide resources for teachers).
Also, with many universities offering degrees in environmental studies and Queen's even having an Outdoor and Experiential Education program, there should be no shortage of people able to teach children about the environment (although, sadly, environmental studies does not qualify as a 'teachable' in teacher's college, a situation that administrators would be wise to reconsider.)
Of course, from personal experience, I would say that all the teaching in the world about the environment will do little without enabling children to come into contact with nature firsthand. Only then can they develop a true understanding of the importance of protecting our "wild" spaces. This will require protecting our greenspaces (particularly those in urban spaces where children have less access to such areas), funding outdoor education programs like those associated with the Laurel Creek Nature Centre, and providing them with opportunities to join groups like the Waterloo Scout Group (which, by the way, is open to both girls and boys).
So. Environmental education for children. Is it important? Most definitely. Do we have the resources to rise to the challenge? Absolutely. Should we rely solely on children to do all the work for us? Not at all. But that doesn't mean they should be left out of the equation. As for the time to act, as they say, no time is like the present. So let's get going!
This past Sunday I gave a talk on global climate change at a church in Hamilton. The question came up afterward, why we should even bother, given the magnitude of the problem? In other words, is there any reason to hope that we can address this issue? This blog post will attempt to answer this question in realistic terms.
Is there Really Such a Thing as Global Climate Change?
I realize that I may be "putting the cart before the horse", so to speak, as many people feel the jury is still out as to whether global climate change is actually a problem. If you are one of these people, I urge you to read books such as Australian Tim Flannery's Now or Never or Canadian Andrew Weaver's Keeping Our Cool. Other great sources of information are the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, the Pew Center on Global Climate Change, or the Pembina Institute's Climate Change Program (Not to blow my own horn, but you can also send me a request to give a talk on the subject, as I have been doing at various secular and non-secular venues.)
Reasons to Hope We Can Address the Issue
But to return to the question of why we should even bother, I feel there are many reasons of late to feel that climate change is something that can be addressed. These include:
- The recent passing of private-members Bill C-311, the Climate Change Accountability Act, on May 5th. The legislation calls for greenhouse gases to be cut 25 and 80 per cent below 1990 levels by 2020 and 2050 respectively. Out of interest, the bill narrowly passed third reading with a vote of 149 to 136.
- The fact that Ontario has created Canada's first feed-in tariff program for renewable energy. Introduced on October 1, 2009, this program is called MicroFIT. Homeowners who are small energy producers will be reimbursed 80¢/kWh for installing solar photovoltaic cells in their homes. Reimbursement is also available for producing other renewable energy, ranging from that produced by wind, biogas and waterpower.
- How the United States (U.S.) National Academy Of Sciences has released on their website a series of reports on climate change this past Friday. In one of the reports, "Advancing the Science of Climate Change", the conclusion is made that "a strong, credible body of scientific evidence shows that climate change is occurring, is caused largely by human activities, and poses significant risks for a broad range of human and natural systems."
While I would not want to say it is exactly hopeful, given the devastating tragedy that caused it, one cannot help be heartened by witnessing the strong public outcry over the BP oil "spill". As proof, just visit the Boycott BP Facebook group, which has over 100 thousand fans, to realize the extent of anger about this disaster.
A Measure of Realism
While I have listed many reasons to be hopeful, there are no doubt many reasons to be a bit dubious. I lay out below some of the reasons why.
Climate Change Accountability Act (Bill C-311)
Whether Bill C-311 actually gets passed still remains to be seen. It was originally tabled in October 2006 in the Canadian House of Commons as Bill C-377 by the New Democratic Party (NDP). However, parliament was dissolved before it achieved royal assent.
MicroFIT Program
In an ideal world, people will recognize the wonderful benefits of the MicroFIT program and take advantage of it. However, one needs to be cognizant that the program will not last forever. There are those that oppose the program and will do their best to see it cancelled.
A prime example is an article generated by Don MacKinnon, President of the Power Workers' Union in a special information feature this past May 13th in The Globe and Mail. With the headline, "Ontario's green energy policies are not sustainable", the article criticizes the government for spending money on wind and solar power. It also asserts that "Nuclear can provide the clean, cost-effective, base-load power that Ontario needs."
Climate Change Research
With regard to the developments surrounding climate change research in the U.S., undoubtedly this sets a positive tone for working towards addressing the issue (much more favourably than, for instance, the situation during the previous presidency of George W. Bush). However, while the public is angry about the effects of oil today, how long this will last remains to be seen. It is no secret that the American way of life is heavily dependent upon fossil fuels and any activity that obstructs this may be viewed unfavourably.
As for Canada, whether we follow suit on the research front remains to be seen. In 2007, the Harper government shut down the Canadian Climate Impacts and Adaptation Research Network (C-CIARN), whose mandate was to promote and encourage research on climate change impacts and adaptation. While there is some research going on in Canada about climate change, it seems to be quite limited. For evidence, just review Canada's action on climate change as outlined by Environment Canada. Nowhere in this is there any mention of climate change research.
This is a serious concern, for, without a solid understanding of the impact of global climate change in Canada, knowing how to respond appropriately is difficult. To borrow a phrase that I have heard used in a different context, it is like driving down a winding country road in the fog without the lights on. It just doesn't make sense, does it?
My aim in writing this blog post has been to provide a measure of optimism about what is happening regarding global climate change. At the same time, I have attempted to reveal how much work remains to be done.
So…let the politicians know of your support for initiatives aimed at addressing climate change. And try to take advantage of the MicroFIT program while it lasts. Only by doing so will the gains that have been achieved be maintained and built upon.
As always, I am hopeful, while at the same time realistic about the challenges the future holds in store.
It started with attending a 350.org rally just before Copenhagen to raise awareness about global climate changes. While I felt passionate about the need to do something about climate change, I realized I lacked all the information needed to convince others of the need for action on the issue.
Thus, began my search to better educate myself on the matter which led to giving talks on the subject. This in turn led to being asked to speak on another matter, sustainable food systems, which I presented on Earth Day 2010 (April 22nd) at Kitchener City Hall.
To be honest, I'm not sure where this will lead. Whether I will be blogging about local, national or global issues. Whether I will be discussing matters of scientific urgency or environmental questions of a more philosophical nature. Or a combination thereof.
What I do know is that time is running out for us to make the changes needed to ensure this planet continues to be a habitable place, not only for the numerous species that share this Earth with us, but for ourselves as well. I shall begin to join my voice with numerous others on the Internet who are taking action on environmental issues. And with it, I shall embark on a journey with hopes of helping to bring about a renewed, environmentally sound and resilient earth.


text:
Pictures of Gael García Bernal in 'A Little Bit of Heaven'
03.29.2012 | By Jack Rico | No Comments">No Comments
The new film from Mexican actor Gael García Bernal, 'A Little Bit of Heaven', is just weeks away from premiering in the United States and four new pictures of Bernal, in the film, have been released online.
This time, Bernal plays doctor Julian Goldstein, who tries to cure a woman (Hudson) suffering from cancer, but then becomes her love interest.
In the pictures we can see Bernal's character dancing, lunching and chatting with Hudson. The actor from 'Amores Perros', usually doesn't do romance films, besides 'Letters to Juliet' but he seems comfortable in this role in which he's not asked to be a Mexican but an Anglo-Saxon.
The plot of the movie mainly focuses on Marley Corbett (Kate Hudson) a beautiful and fun young woman that is scared to open up to true love. Despite of the fact that she uses her sense of humor to avoid her romances to becomes serious, a visit to her doctor (Bernal) sends both to an adventure of mutual discovery, which allows personal and intimate revelations to occur which neither one of them thought possible.
The director from 'A Little Bit of Heaven' is Nicole Kassell (The Woodsman) and stars Kate Hudson, the famous daughter of legendary actress Goldie Hawn. The film will debut on May 4th along with 'The Avengers' in the United States.
k k


text:
Adam Levine, lead singer for American pop rock band Maroon 5, is engaged to girlfriend Behati Prinsloo, a Namibian model.
The 34-year-old singer, who is a judge on NBC reality show The Voice US, has been dating the Victoria's Secret model for a year now, ever since he broke up with long-time girlfriend Anne Vyalitsyna, a Sports Illustrated model from Russia.
"Adam Levine and his girlfriend Behati Prinsloo are excited to announce they are engaged to be married," Levine's representative told People magazine, "The couple recently reunited and Adam proposed this weekend in Los Angeles."
Last month, Levine sparked rumours he was dating Danish Sports Illustrated model Nina Agdal, after they were spotted holidaying together.
"The Nina thing was not that serious and was not going to last," an insider told Us Weekly, "After Adam broke up with Behati, he couldn't stop thinking about her. He realized he really loved her and wanted to be with her."
Previously, Levine was stunned after Vyalitsyna broke-up with him through a statement she released to People magazine. A close friend told Us Weekly, "It was a cheap shot. Anne didn't want it to look like he broke up with her. Adam's heartbroken. He wasn't even fully sure they were really broken up."
Last month, Levine told Oprah Winfrey he would like to settle down eventually.
"I'm a fan of marriage. People think that I keep pooh-poohing marriage, but I love it," he said during an interview on Oprah's Next Chapter, "I want to probably be married at some point. I don't feel pressure to get married. I think that when it's time, it's going to be obvious and I'm going to do it and I'm going to really enjoy it."


text:
October 4, 2016
Earn Scholarships With CBCC!by CBCC
Did you know that CBCC has a new scholarship program?
Students: You could be the next person to receive a scholarship of $250 to $2,500 to further your education! Get at least 25 people to donate blood at your drive and you will be on your way to receiving a scholarship to help pay for college!
Schools: You could earn up to $5,000 in scholarships for students at your school! The school that collects the most units of blood over 300 will receive a student scholarship of $5,000!
Here are the details of how to host a student blood drive or a blood drive at your high school.
Sign up today to host your blood drive with CBCC!


text:
Saturday, February 7, 2009
Excavation Site
The encounter features three goblins excavating a room for treasure. They have dug a deep pit, and then bridged portions of the pit with rickety wooden planks. Players triggering the encounter will face a two-level fight against the goblins and their guard drakes while struggling to stay balanced on the planks. It's a great tactical set-up. (In typical Keep fashion, there's no mention of what the goblins are digging for, other than "treasure" which they "doubt they will ever find".)
This location is tucked away in a dead end to the east of the Goblin Guard Room. You can come to it in one of three ways. First, you can head east immediately upon entering the dungeon, which, although possible, doesn't happen. Secondly, you can discover it at a later stage in the course of attempting to completely map the dungeon (more of which later). And thirdly, you notice it while chasing Balgron the Fat from his bedroom to the cave complex.
It works reasonably well if the players come to it straight up; this seems to be how it was designed. However, if it's reached after the conclusion of the Chieftain's Lair encounter, it's anti-climactic. These random goblin goons trivialise the players' early struggles. (The module seems to know this, as it calls it "Encounter Three" and places its page before the page for the Chieftain's Lair.) I opted for having these goblins surrender when my players came on them, but it's a shame that this otherwise decent scenario couldn't have been placed more squarely on the main storyline.
The forgotten-corner setting of this encounter, and the rather senseless "excavation", suggest that this encounter was not originally intended to be placed here, and may in fact have been created for another adventure altogether. It really makes no sense for this digging to be occurring, considering that the goblins know what is underneath this room - the second level of the dungeon! Which they can walk to perfectly safely, if they are so inclined, without structurally weakening the entire dungeon.
As far as game design goes, the lesson here is if you have a really great set-up for an encounter, (1) it doesn't have to make sense as long as it's fun, and (2) if you genuinely think it's fun, put it where your players will find it, not tucked away in an optional dead-end.
3 comments:
I put a hexer in the room, and had him command Stormclaw Scorpions (replacing the guard drakes, which were duplicative of the guard drakes in the Dragon Burial site encounter).
My party fought Balgron first in his room (coming through the front door) and he fled here from that fight. So when they came to this room, they fought him, the sharpshooters, the hexer, and the scorpions, which was very challenging. The ability of the hexer to blind people let Balgron get use our of his extra damage on combat advantage, which is otherwise hard for him to get b/c he's mostly ranged.
- May 1, 2009 at 4:06 AM
- DBB said...
When I ran this, this was, in fact, the first room gone to after the initial entry encounter.
- July 10, 2009 at 8:54 AM
- Kameron said...
Whether the PCs come to this room before they head west depends on how you played out the goblin guard room encounter. I used the goblins ranged attacks and "fear" of melee to retreat and draw the PCs south into the guard room. The goblin warrior that started in the storeroom on the other side of the east door fled toward the excavation site and the PCs are chasing him down.
If you instead had the goblins rush into the room with the pit trap and fight to the death, I could see how this area would never be discovered, but that would be the DM's vault for not playing to the goblins' tactics and tendencies.
- October 10, 2009 at 6:51 AM


text:
wes stanton necesitaba un nuevo diseño de logotipo y lanzó un concurso de diseño en 99designs.
Un ganador ha sido elegido entre 45 diseños de 14 diseñadores freelance.
go to the guru
New real estate brokerage service that uses technology to revolutionize how apartments/homes are sold. Our goal is to put the client at ease and let them know that they do not need a traditional brokerage model to sell their home, they can do it on their own. Our logo should have a sense of humor while also making people feel that they are in good hands.
Upper to middle class professional New Yorkers who are looking to retain wealth and control rather then paying high fees to a broker..
Think Ghandi sitting in lotus pose. Has to have some sort of manhattan based real estate aspect involved as well like a building in the background or holding a building, etc. Think creatively about this apsect. It could be very subtle. Should be zen like. It could be cartoonish or it also could be like the starbucks logo. The character should be inviting, friendly and intellegent if you choose to go that route. Please remember, New Yorkers are smart.
Descubre cómo funciona un concurso de diseño u obtén más información sobre nuestros servicios de diseño de logo.