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By Edith Honan
NEW YORK (Reuters) – New York's liberal mayor, Bill de Blasio, wants Democrats to stage their 2016 national convention in the borough of Brooklyn, saying in a formal invitation that the city's progressive energy would help galvanize the party before the presidential election.
In a letter made public on Friday to U.S. Representative Debbie Wasserman Schultz, the chair of the Democratic National Committee, de Blasio offered Brooklyn's Barclays Center arena as the central venue.
With more than two years to go before the November 2016 election, Hillary Clinton, the former first lady and secretary of state, who was also a U.S. senator from New York, is considered the Democratic front-runner if she decides to enter the race.
But Clinton's potential candidacy has caused some disgruntlement in the more liberal wing of the party, which counts de Blasio as a standard-bearer.
"What this would do is create a marriage of left-wing progressives and the centrist Clinton brand and wipe away any concerns there are about centrist Democrats," said Hank Sheinkopf, a Democratic political consultant who worked on former President Bill Clinton's re-election campaign in 1996.
It would also recognize the role of New York, and the borough of Brooklyn, as voting and fundraising powerhouses for Democratic candidates, Sheinkopf said.
Party conventions are held the summer before the autumn election. In recent decades, New York hosted the 2004 Republican convention that nominated President George W. Bush for a second term, and Democratic conventions in 1976, 1980 and 1992. Those events were held at Manhattan's Madison Square Garden.
The deadline for cities to volunteer to host the 2016 convention is the close of business on Friday, said Lily Adams, a spokeswoman for the Democratic National Committee, which organizes the convention.
Adams declined to name the cities that had submitted bids, saying a final decision would be announced by early next year.
In the letter, de Blasio, who succeeded the more moderate Mayor Michael Bloomberg at the start of this year and who once represented a Brooklyn district on New York's City Council, said the city's progressive spirit "has never been stronger or more vibrant than it is today."
"We believe that this spirit can energize and captivate both the Democratic Party and the nation," he wrote.
(Additional reporting by Jonathan Allen; Editing by Peter Cooney)
[Image: New York mayor Bill de Blasio leaves during a Memorial Day ceremony at the Soldiers' and Sailors' Monument in the Manhattan borough of New York May 26, 2014. By Carlo Allegri for Reuters]


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As many of you know Timesplitters Rewind is in development right now for the PC and PlayStation 4. Pantheonyx won't be able to actually release the game on the PS4 until Crytek's legal team gives them the go-ahead, but the interest from the community is definitely there.
One of the features of Timesplitters Rewind is the cross-platform support, identical to what Digital Extremes is doing with their port of Warframe on the PS4. Well, one of the big questions on the minds of most gamers is what would happen if the best PC gamers and uber-elite PS4 gamers were able to go head-to-head in PvP in Timesplitters Rewind? Well, if the PS4 gamers managed to win, according to the project lead, Michael Hubicka, he would shake their hand, hug them and plaster their names on the website congratulating them on dominating the PC Master Race.
We don't have a lot of cross-platform competitive games out there and the only game to go by is Shadowrun for the Xbox 360, which wasn't that great a game to begin with. Throughout most forums gamers always say that console gamers wouldn't stand a chance against PC players, due to how quickly the keyboard and mouse can adapt and twitch in first and third-person shooters.
However, in Timesplitters Rewind, the team is building a ton of server administrator and networking options, allowing players to choose between playing in lobbies against PC or console gamers or sticking strictly with playing against a specific kind of player on a specific platform. According to Hubicka...
"There's going to be some systems in place where people can say 'I only want to play with people who are playing with controllers on PC' or something like that. Basically, providing an option so everybody knows what they're getting into before they get into it. So nothing is purely unfair.
However, what about those who have a death wish and want to tempt fate? What about the super-pro SDF PS4 players who will risk wealth, health, limb and e-peen ego just to say they beat someone from the illustrious PC Master Race? While this kind of talk could implode the universe by simply mentioning it, this very topic did intrigue Hubicka, who stated that...
"If you can take on a group – like clan versus clan, PlayStation 4 versus PC – if PlayStation 4 players could beat the PC players I would honestly like handshake them, hug them and put their name somewhere on the page and say 'Look at these people: PlayStation 4 players just straight-up dominated the PC crowd.'"
Oh, there isn't enough salt in the ocean to make up for the tears that would stream the faces of beaten and dominated PC gamers, lying at the feet of victorious console peasants. The only way to survive an encounter with that much fanboy rage you'd have to be equipped with a super pair of... well... I'll just leave this here.
So we know that the Xbox One version of TimeSplitters Rewind doesn't seem likely right now, but what about potential cross-platform support between PC, PS4 and Wii U gamers, especially with Nintendo giving the go-ahead for cross-platform gameplay? Well, don't hold your breath because it's not really on the table for the team at the moment. According to Michael...
"I think it's going to be an off-the-table thing for now."... "But I don't want to throw it out there just yet. But it's all based on hardware limitations – because with such a small team we need as much support as we can get. We can make it scalable on the PC, but in terms of console development... we don't want to say like 'Wii U' and then not be able to present like, anything – or if it looks like (for the lack of a better word) crap. We want to wait; we don't want to half-ass anything.
Well, there you have it... the Wii U and Timesplitters Rewind aren't looking too good right now. But, on the upside, at least if Crytek gives the go ahead we'll be seeing a PC and PS4 version of Timesplitters this December.
We'll have up the full interview at the end of the week. For now, you can learn more about Timesplitters Rewind by visiting the official website.

subset: commoncrawl


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[Sorcerer] I'm a clueless newbie with broad questions
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Topic: [Sorcerer] I'm a clueless newbie with broad questions (Read 12595 times)
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[Sorcerer] I'm a clueless newbie with broad questions
April 25, 2004, 10:00:03 AM »
Hi there.
I'm a clueless newbie. Since I don't see a forum labelled "clueless newbies post here"
I'll discuss my cluelessness about the char-gen process in what seems to be the most appropriate forum.
I have a major problem specific to Sorcerer: the Humanity rating.
If the primary motivation of gamers is "Kill things and take their stuff," how can the Humanity rating be adapted to a gaming group that expects intense violence and low empathy from players?
If you were to ask me what I would do once I had power, I would probably say, "I'd do horrific things X, Y, and Z, which would cause great pain, chaos, and social disruption. Maybe it would improve the world and maybe not, but there would definitely be a long period of horrifying behavior."
And the premise of Sorcerer is, "How far out of your comfort zone would you go for power?"
Well, I and my characters might go pretty far. But there wouldn't be much point if we couldn't stay in power once we got there.
When I'm playing common games like D&D, my character usually has a pragmaticallly brutal attitude toward actions that many characters find morally repugnant. Sometimes the party backs me up and sometimes they don't.
Example 1:
My character destroys a group of orc women and children in order to deny bases to the enemy. Most of the party thinks I'm entirelly justified but the D.M. thinks I'm a war criminal.
Example 2:
My character uses non-humane means to restrain, interrogate, and execute orc prisoners. The party doesn't stop me, but one of them claims I have Evil alignment.
Example 3:
My character regards an entire class of persons in his own community as "targets of opportunity," to be killed whenever it is convenient. The character may rationalize this, but many parties will regard any violence within the community as treason (whereas violence to orcs outside city walls is profitable freebooting).
Initially, one can say, "Well, Sorcerer only works if violence is rare and shocking," but obviously other folks posting on this forum use movies like "Last Man Standing" to inspire stuff, so some people can make violent games work.
Then one can say (reading from "The Sorcerer's Soul," p.18) that humanity tracks stability of personality, not morality of actions.
Well, okay.
I can dream up campaigns where Humanity rarely, if ever is challenged. I could say that my players won't face Humanity checks for sensible levels of violence. (And I could say, "The U.S. armed forces use violence reasonably. The party can be as violent as a U.S. military unit, except that the party has no civilian command superstructure and the whole world is its battlefield.") That makes Sorcerer a trivial game. You can make overpowered beginning characters who will play smart, never lose Humanity, and act like rampaging sociopaths, destroying all that gets in their way. It would be a campaign with two My Lai massacres per evening -- minimum.
I can also dream up campaigns where Humanity is challenged for every dehumanizing act -- in which case the whole party will be down to Humanity 0 by the second session or sooner, and they won't enjoy the downward slide. Real life is full of no-win situations (which is why situations like My Lai happen in real life).
Finally, I could urge the characters to adopt don't-rock-the-boat characters. In a modern-day American setting, this would be characters who use Cloak and Teleport forms of travel to thwart law enforcement and commit victimless crimes in order to satisfy their Demons' desires. So great ... the characters don't have to work for a living, but there's no drama in the game. I'm not terribly good at telling stories about the subtle emotional tensions in (e.g.) a messy divorce. If I were, I could write great Sorcerer scenarios about how emotional it is when a Sorcerer gets divorced and his Demon is out of control when he has to appear in family court. If I could tell that kind of story, I could make Humanity work ... but I can't tell that kind of story. It doesn't motivate me.
So I guess I just don't get it.
(The Humanity thing is just my biggest problem. I really, really like Sorcerer and Sword, but I need to figure out the Humanity angle first.
[Sorcerer] I'm a clueless newbie with broad questions
Reply #1 on:
April 25, 2004, 11:21:10 AM »
As a slightly less new newbie, I have a couple thoughts:
1) Sorcerer, by design, asks "What would you do to get what you want?"
If your default answer is "anything and everything, all the time", then it makes that question less interesting.
2) Consider the Humanity definitions in Sorcerer and Sword.
Perhaps the definitions of Humanity used in that book would work better for you. Even a brutal warrior can have a personal code of conduct. I could easily imagine a definition of Humanity which took absolutely no account of one's behavior towards orcs, but rather focused on issues of personal honor, loyalty to the tribe, etc. After all, in real world societies, groups have frequently had codes of conduct allowing them to murder and torture their neighbors, while still remaining solid citizens.
3) On a similar note, you can always draw the line a little lower than where you stand. Your character may be an outright sociopath, but at least he doesn't kill when there's no reason, and he takes no pleasure in it. That's a rudimentary code right there. Or, in some games, the character may be a sadistic killer but at least he's fighting against the Big Bad, so it's alright.
4) There are real reasons why the US military tries to adhere to some code of conduct besides flabby Christian slave morality. There are real-world consequences for committing atrocities. In the games you mentioned, how do you take it when other PC's or NPC's react to the awful things your guy does? It's only logical that there will be in-game consequences for violations of the social contract. If your character is hunting down and killing city dwellers, does he get in trouble with the authorities and other members of the despised class?
5) I think your mention of the raw amount of violence is quite misleading; the context, meaning, and significance of the violence is much more important than the number of fictious civilians killed. Also, the GM should be calling for Humanity rolls based on the definition of Humanity, which might include being unfaithful to one's spouse, ignoring an insult, or engaging in vigilantism.
Edit: changed the wording in #2 slightly.
Posts: 3702
[Sorcerer] I'm a clueless newbie with broad questions
Reply #2 on:
April 25, 2004, 12:09:33 PM »
A quick addition on point #4: Reactions by NPCs to atrocity need not be negative. Sometimes a positive response from a group you despise says far more than violent opposition from authority.
There's nothing quite like getting an "attaboy" from the head of the local grave-robbers guild, and an invitation to their christmas formal, to give people a sense that their character may be edging toward something no longer defined as "heroic" :-)
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[Sorcerer] I'm a clueless newbie with broad questions
Reply #3 on:
April 25, 2004, 01:49:53 PM »
Quote from: DannyK
4) There are real reasons why the US military tries to adhere to some code of conduct besides flabby Christian slave morality. There are real-world consequences for committing atrocities. In the games you mentioned, how do you take it when other PC's or NPC's react to the awful things your guy does? It's only logical that there will be in-game consequences for violations of the social contract. If your character is hunting down and killing city dwellers, does he get in trouble with the authorities and other members of the despised class?
All your points are good. I'll just reply to 4.
There are usually in-game consequences for acting like an unemotional, professional killer. They are usually manageable, especially if you've played various RPGs in a similar way. I don't have much emotional reaction when the other players or ref think I'm a freak. It neither interests me nor concerns me. If I had a nice, juicy emotional reaction, I might be able to squeeze some drama out of it.
The reactions of other PCs and NPCs can be managed. I have a hard time making characters that don't have an internal code of conduct, whether I'm making PCs as a player or NPCs as a ref. As a result, the other real-life humans instinctively realize that I play by rules, even if they are freaky rules, and they usually let me do the dirty work of the party. In goofy parties where everyone else is saying, "My character gropes the barmaid!" I am usually the only player with my back to the wall, watching the door for combatants and trying to formulate a plan to accomplish the next task in the party's mission.
The problem is that my characters don't have the emotional depth required for Sorcerer. Their codes of conduct are usually comprehensive enough to foresee all the problems the game can throw at them, and they're inevitably willing to die for their codes, so the ref can't threaten them into risky behavior with the threat of killing their characters.
My characters inevitably do what I think suits their code. They don't transgress. In Sorcerer terms, the PCs would get their starting demon, bind it, and possibly never take risks to grab a lot of power, never form attachments, etc.
Also, my characters are rarely tempted by the bait of reward systems unless rewards can be held securely. So I don't see a lot of appeal in grabbing for demons that might turn out to be hard to handle.
The funny thing is that there is clearly a lot of emotional resonance of some kind in the military history that inspires my gaming. I get ideas for games by reading about Charles Whitman, Pol Pot, the Tet Offensive, Nguyen Ngoc Luan shooting the VC prisoner with his revolver and photographed just as the bullet hits... etc. These images are emotional on some level, it's just not readily put into the character-driven terms that fiction and RPGs use.
Quite a few of my adventures challenge a party of non-serious beer-and-pretzel gamers to rise to the challenge of bitter warfare rather than self-serving freebooting and looting. Often my moral conflicts are no-win situations. They don't inspire much terror, just dread: the players are standing amid hundreds of bodies and have to choose the lesser of two evils -- e.g. either risk demonic possession by the Hand of Vecna or allow its current possessee to destroy a village. Neither one is good, but the sheer immensity of the horror makes it impersonal.
Sorcerer seems to require a lot of personal emotion in its horror.
I did look at the Humanity definition in Sword and Sorcerer. Violence only prompts checks when applied to close associates and the like. That's a big help, actually.
Oddly enough, the more I read these forums the more I get the sense that I haven't understood the rules at all despite multiple readings. For example, Ron Edwards posted somewhere that Lore is used to boost all die rolls against demons... I had totally missed that. I thought Lore was of very limited usefulness, such as spotting telltales, but apparently one can roll Lore and add the successes to all of one's subsequent dealings with an encountered demon. I had missed that in the books.
Posts: 3702
[Sorcerer] I'm a clueless newbie with broad questions
Reply #4 on:
April 25, 2004, 02:15:22 PM »
Red, you speak as if your characters are calling the shots, and you (the player) are just an innocent victim of their uninspired play-style. If you don't like what they're doing, what stops you from having them do something else?
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[Sorcerer] I'm a clueless newbie with broad questions
Reply #5 on:
April 25, 2004, 06:12:19 PM »
Quote from: TonyLB
Red, you speak as if your characters are calling the shots, and you (the player) are just an innocent victim of their uninspired play-style. If you don't like what they're doing, what stops you from having them do something else?
Well, my characters aren't vivid enough to be anywhere close to real. If I really felt that my characters were real personalities, I would either be teaching character acting at a drama school, or eating oatmeal in a straitjacket at a mental institution. My characters are acceptable as characters for a action-adventure story, which is what most gaming sessions produce. I think better role-players than myself can produce nuanced characters that could serve even in an emotional drama with no action.
I can obviously forbid myself from following my typical stereotype, and play against habit. I just don't have much success in such attempts.
When I'm in a game or running a game, I end up striking a balance between the atmosphere of the game, the energy of the other participants, and my own inspirations. My grimly-efficient-killer roles are well adapted to the average role-playing game (D&D, Vampire, RoleMaster, Deadlands, etc.) and the average "casts" of fellow actors/gamers.
Part of it is recruiting creative people to make up a creative gaming group ... and that's just as hard as finding good actors to make a small film. Another part is finding a premise for campaigns that doesn't encourage violence. (Sorcerer in a modern setting doesn't encourage stereotypical violence; Sword and Sorcerer does, but that's a separate issue.)
The single most useful thing I could do would be stop trying to actively create, find refs who tend to discourage violent players, and try to explore emotive, non-violent role-playing as a player in those campaigns. That would take time, as finding such a ref is not easy. Even if I could find a game that encouraged nuanced, relatively non-violent play, it would take practice.
Let me add another thing: The second most useful thing I could do is stop hopping between different gaming groups. The longer I stick with any given group, the more nuanced and emotional my characters get. Half the problem is that I am totally stereotyped until I've gamed with a group for several sessions, and I often don't put forth the commitment to stick with a group long enough.
Posts: 126
[Sorcerer] I'm a clueless newbie with broad questions
Reply #6 on:
April 25, 2004, 06:59:34 PM »
Quote from: redwalker
The problem is that my characters don't have the emotional depth required for Sorcerer. Their codes of conduct are usually comprehensive enough to foresee all the problems the game can throw at them, and they're inevitably willing to die for their codes, so the ref can't threaten them into risky behavior with the threat of killing their characters. My characters inevitably do what I think suits their code. They don't transgress. In Sorcerer terms, the PCs would get their starting demon, bind it, and possibly never take risks to grab a lot of power, never form attachments, etc.
Actually, that's okay, and can be a strong part of a very good game, if your PC's code is properly tangled up with the definition of Humanity.
To be concrete, suppose that the game is a chambara samurai fantasy game, and that sorcerers are the supremely badass samurai and ninja serving the daimyos trying to become shogun. A sorcerer is the warrior who can kill twenty men even when he is ambushed, naked and in bed simply because his zanshin warrior awareness is so great that he is ready for battle even when he sleeps. In this setting full of blood, honor and violence, Humanity gets defined as its opposite: freedom, spontaneity and joy. Humanity 0 is means you meet the warrior's end: death. When you hit zero, the player gets to set up the death-scene which may possibly make his death meaningful -- but his death will come, meaningful or not.
So if you make a character with a bushido code you know he won't break, then you know what's in store for him, how his story will end. But that's
-- the thematic structure of the game is improved when the different characters make different choices, and come to different ends. Having someone walk all the way down to the end of the warrior path makes a good contrast to the other choices.
Neel Krishnaswami
Trevis Martin
Posts: 499
[Sorcerer] I'm a clueless newbie with broad questions
Reply #7 on:
April 25, 2004, 07:25:26 PM »
Hi Red,
I've mentioned it before and I'll say it again: Sorcerer, in my experience, has 0 fat on it. Almost everything in that book has Implications which are not spelled out. Those implicatioins are explicitly intended. Ron has mentioned that at the time he was writing for a very specific auidience highly experienced in a specific type and history of play. So he didn't always make an effort to spell out all the implications of the rules. I suggest you reread them again (I do it all the time) and recognize that from the point something is mentioned it is assumed to be applicable to everything that follows even if it isn't explicitly referenced ever again. Esp cosider the implications of chapter 1 for the rest of the game.
On the humanity issue I'm struggling with how to express this to you. Sorcerer is a game about significant choices and consequences of those acchoices. Humanity, whatever it represents, is the issue that your group has agreed to address through their characters. Its definition changes the general question of Sorcerery from the general 'what would you do to get what you want' to the specific 'Is the loss of X (where x is your definition of humanity) worth the Y (where y is what the character wants and is dealing with demons to get) you get in exchange?' Humanity can be anything appropriate. If self-mastery, then the question becomes Is what you want worth the loss of control over yourself? The characters answer that everytime they choose a decision that gives them more power. The key question that has to be answered for players at the outset is 'what do you want.'
The most important thing is humanity is group agreed upon. And by agreeing on it, the group is agreeing to address the premise it represents through their characters. Consider that the fundamental acts of the game: contacting, summoning and binding demons all automatically risk humanity loss (and since pacting is a subset of binding, I have to assume it does to, though I can't find it specifically.) Sorcerer doesn't use humanity to pose a moral standard that is enforced throughout play, instead humanity is simply something that acts as a value against which the characters wants are weighed during the game. A character who continually makes choices that cause them to loose humanity aren't necessarily bad, the player is saying that whatever it is the character wants IS indeed worth the loss of whatever humanity represents.
Also, frequency of humanity checks is no garuntee of deterioration. I've had characters that have survived many humanity checks in a row with no loss. The point was though, that whatever my character did to get a check was a statement about humanity, and that the decisions connected to it contained real risk and is marked and stands out in the game because of it.
How and why the party faces humanity checks is their decision. It is the fundamental authoring act in Sorcerer. The first part of that is customizing and or agreeing to the humanity definition, the second part is when they choose to have their characters do stuff that earns them a check.
Your job as GM is to pose situations that cause the question to be put to them.
Hmmm...I find I'm sounding a bit obscure. I hope it helps though.
Posts: 54
[Sorcerer] I'm a clueless newbie with broad questions
Reply #8 on:
April 25, 2004, 07:46:40 PM »
Quote from: neelk
So if you make a character with a bushido code you know he won't break, then you know what's in store for him, how his story will end. But that's
-- the thematic structure of the game is improved when the different characters make different choices, and come to different ends. Having someone walk all the way down to the end of the warrior path makes a good contrast to the other choices.
I really like that.
In particular, I like the sort of Zen overtones of samurai "cherry-blossom" life -- a short and beautiful life.
It would be particularly delightful if there were other ways of Zen -- but that raises a problem. A samurai on the road of choosing death would be allowed to kill, but if he ever gave up being a samurai, he would have different duties. (Consider the many historical samurai who became physicians.)
If I get to run a game of Sorcerer (and I suspect I should find a more stable group before trying) I think I would use that -- not medieval Japan, necessarily, but possibly a modern version -- Dirty Harry Callahan or the yakuza thugs from a Fukasaku movie.
Another twist that I would like to see would be characters who start out with a strong sense of morality who somehow decide that they want to change their code after they've seen how the game progresses.
If you're familiar with Dark Ages Vampire, you'll remember that vampires can have different "Roads." A vampire who follows one "Road" has one set of standards for conduct, but a party-member on a different road gets judged differently.
It would be really cool if I could start out some players as samurai who are looking for glorious life and honorable death -- but then surprise them and shock them into some kind of epiphany, so that one player decides to become a master of tea ceremony, another decides to try to become a masterful flower arranger, et cetera. All of them are still looking for some kind of Zen perfection.
I guess the universal dynamic should be that if your Humanity reaches 0, you are no longer able to do whatever makes your life meaningful, and the character is no longer a playable NPC. For a samurai, this means getting inevitably killed. For a calligrapher, if might mean losing your eyesight and hands so that you can't write anything. In any event, the player would roll up a new character.
Posts: 54
[Sorcerer] I'm a clueless newbie with broad questions
Reply #9 on:
April 25, 2004, 09:23:15 PM »
Quote from: DannyK
5) I think your mention of the raw amount of violence is quite misleading; the context, meaning, and significance of the violence is much more important than the number of fictious civilians killed. Also, the GM should be calling for Humanity rolls based on the definition of Humanity, which might include being unfaithful to one's spouse, ignoring an insult, or engaging in vigilantism.
I've been looking at the thread on creating the same character over and over.
and there are some definite applicable points from that thread.
So, I tend to make stone-cold killers partially to resolve some personal issues, but also partially for pragmatic reasons.
In the absence of a long-running campaign, I feel the need to get lots of action into the game quickly, because there may never be a second session for that campaign.
And while my characters are very self-sufficient in that they systematically distance themselves from dependent children or lovers which could be used as hostages against them, they are *very* loyal to something -- Church, principles, vow of specific revenge, etc. A friend of mine cast me as a Batman-style vigilante "knight" and it worked. It's not that I object to being a paladin, I just object to D&D's take on the paladin. Being a highly principled, largely self-reliant man dedicated to a life of violence for the sake of principle/honor/duty is the core of the stereotype.
Now, in the context of gritty settings, the self-reliant killer is often an outlaw, a yakuza, or some other glamorous rebel -- but I always play my outcasts as if I wanted some audience to feel, deep down, that the outcast is a good guy.
The tricky thing is that just one definition of Humanity for every character won't work in most groups because I can't find play-groups that can agree on a single code of ethics for characters -- they want to be able to have a range of "alignments" to make character differentiation easier. The Dark Ages Vampire system of "Roads" is a possible patch for this problem.
And of course, one of Ron Edwards' comments elsewhere is applicable to my original whining. My original whining was, "I don't get Humanity." Edwards' comment to a different thread was along the lines of, "What persons or institutions will your character inconvenience himself for?" If I want to make a good Sorcerer character, I have to find a way to reconcile my desire for self-sufficiency with a capacity for vulnerability, for choosing to have attachment to something vulnerable that will cause the player to sacrifice his priorities.
Trevis Martin
Posts: 499
[Sorcerer] I'm a clueless newbie with broad questions
Reply #10 on:
April 25, 2004, 09:54:19 PM »
Humanity in sorcerer isn't a 'code of ethics.' It never limits or defines what actions any character in Sorcerer is capable of taking. Ron has stated elsewhere that a character is capable of any type of action at any time. Humanity is a metagame indicator of how close your character is to the 'edge' however you've defined it. Its also binary. either you have humanity or you don't. If you don't then by default you no longer have your PC either. The main purpose of the scale is to see how close you are to falling off that edge. And how much risk your character is taking when making a particular decision.
So, because humanity doesn't limit behavior, a definition of it can exist for entire groups. Its what keeps a group making a commentary and thus a unified 'story' about the same idea, which is what I was trying to explain above.
John Burdick
Posts: 105
[Sorcerer] I'm a clueless newbie with broad questions
Reply #11 on:
April 25, 2004, 09:58:41 PM »
Hello, I've read Sorcerer and Sorcerer's Soul but not played it.
Quote from: redwalker
... If I want to make a good Sorcerer character, I have to find a way to reconcile my desire for self-sufficiency with a capacity for vulnerability, for choosing to have attachment to something vulnerable that will cause the player to sacrifice his priorities.
I think that's a good definition of Humanity for some sort of game. The Kurosawa movie Sanjuro comes to mind.
Posts: 259
Charnel Gods is for you
Reply #12 on:
April 25, 2004, 11:26:12 PM »
Hey , if mass machiavellian slaughter appeals to you try the Charnel Gods supplement for Sorcerer, It allows you to destroy the entire world! You might check out the review I did of the game here:
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[Sorcerer] I'm a clueless newbie with broad questions
Reply #13 on:
April 26, 2004, 02:07:48 AM »
Two quick things:
1) You would definitely enjoy Charnel Gods, even if you never use the Sorcerer material for anything other than cannibalizing for other games. Your posts indicate it's right up your alley stylistically. The note in it about characters who go straight for an endgame also speaks to the problem you're discussing.
2) I think that you have to 'care' about your humanity in some sense to play Sorcerer. In a dungeon crawl RPG conflict is essentially along one axis: keep your body alive. Challenges are really all physical challenges, even if they're called things like 'soul drain' or whatever. Mental challenges and traps are there to see if you're smart enough to think your way out of the consequences - which will always ultimately be a really smashing physical assault. D&D 3.0 breaks that down into nine bazillion different damage types to try to keep things interesting - I think Arduin was the first game that really broke out damage types so broadly, but never mind the history.
On the other hand, in Call of Cthulhu you can also go insane, and that invovles a different set of mechanics. Likewise, in Sorcerer, you can lose your Humanity. So you kind of need (mechanically speaking) to 'care' about the ethical standing of your character, just like you need to care about what's happening to your character's body. In fact, you may need to care more about your character's ethical standing, insofar as Sorcerer combat never reduces you below 'dying' and the GM has to make a choice to turn that into 'death'; but hitting Humanity 0 almost always has a specific, well-defined meaning that isn't good.
Furthermore, a Sorcerer GM is effectively involved in challenging your characters ethically with situations that involve hard choices, and making moral judgments about the characters by calling for Humanity checks.
Posts: 1351
[Sorcerer] I'm a clueless newbie with broad questions
Reply #14 on:
April 26, 2004, 11:29:17 AM »
I'll throw my thoughts in on this.
1) It's entirely possible that Sorcerer just isn't the game for you. Nothing wrong with that. But obviously it's caught your interest.
2) You might want to check out The Riddle of Steel. Ron has often said that Sorcerer and The Riddle of Steel are two different solutions to the same set of design problems. When you compare the two and can see that yes indeed they are two different versions of the same kind-of game most of your stated problems go away.
3) A lot of people have the impression that Sorcerer is some kind of deep psycho-drama designed to produce supernatural versions of Steel Magnolias. That's someting that I think characterizes more recent play but Ron has said that his earliest play testing of Sorcerer was inspired by stuff like the Mortal Kombat movie and Sorcerer and Sword's primary reference is Conan! Sorcerer really is a game all about Sex and Violence, really it is.
So let me show you how Humanity works in a violent/adventurous setting by doing something that Ron really hates, mapping Humanity to a pre-existing story. But please bear in mind that I'm doing this for illustration purposes only with A LOT of assumptions. I'm assuming first of all that the game plays out exactly as this story goes, it is a guide for how Humanity would be handled in a game that went like this, NOT as an example how to prepare or otherwise plan for MAKING a game that goes like this.
So, I've been reading Fritz Leiber's Fafhrd and Grey Mouser stories. One of my favorites has been Jewels in the Forest. The setup is that Fafhrd and the Grey Mouser are off to find this ancient sorcerer's house that supposedly contains a fortune in treasure.
They arrive late and are supprised to find a small peasent family living nearby. They decide to pay the peasents for room and board. But in addition they proceed to entertain the peasents with stories and magic tricks. (Humanity Gain checks for both characters).
As they set off the next morning the youngest child of the peasent family begs them not to go as she believes the place they are going is protected by an evil giant. They dismiss her warning as fanciful childhood fear. (No check or gain either way. They don't really devalue her genuine concern, they just don't believe the source of her concern is real. This is highly personal decision on my part and may very well be a Check in the eys of some GMs.)
Upon arriving at the house they discover that their primary rival for the treasure and six of his guards have arrived first. They end up in a long extended battle with the guards and end up killing all six of them. (No check or gain, either way. I'll explain why in a minute).
Inside the house they find their rival cowering in a room claiming that "it" is toying with him. In a blind panic the rival attacks Fafhrd and the Grey Mouser and they kill him. (Humainty Check for both characters. Why? It is established earlier in the story that this character is a direct rival of the two characters. The kind of rival that also carries a kind of mutual respect. This killing was personal unlike the six guards outside. From Fafhrd and Grey Mouser's reactions in the story one gets the impression that it's kind of a tragety that it had to end like this. Here I'm working directly off the Humanity discussion in Sorcerer and Sword.)
Next a Sorcerer shows up and claims that he has arrived to banish the evil that lies within the house. He walks into a room and is instantly crushed to death by something Fafhrd and the Grey Mouser don't (and can't see).
Finally, the two locate the treasure and Fafhrd busies himself removing the wall stone that covers it. During the process the Grey Mouser looks out a window and sees the young peasent girl fearfully approaching the house. Motivated by his growing sense of unease the Mouser dashes out of the building in attempt to get the girl away from house (Humanity Gain for the Mouser alone).
The story ends with Fafhrd discovering that the large jewel behind the wall stone is infact the "brain" of the house (in Sorcerer terms an Object Demon with Warp and Special Leathal Damage, maybe Big and Armor). The walls begin to animate and try to kill Fafhrd as he tries to flee. He ends up breaking the jewel in the process effectively killing the house. End of story.
See? No deep psycho-drama. Just a simple action-adventure story about two guys going to get some jewels in a house.
Does that help?
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text:
The Illusion is a rare monster that only appears on specific dungeons, most notably the Halls of Steel. It is widely regarded as the most dangerous monster in the game, and you should avoid fighting them wherever humanly possible. Their combination of high physical resistance and the ability to counter fireballs makes them extremely difficult to combat, and every time you attack them they will weaken you. Illusions can quickly cripple any character who attempts to fight them directly, and there is no reliable way to overcome them easily.
If you absolutely must fight Illusions, using dodge effects like GETINDARE or the PISORF glyph are recommended. This will allow you to avoid retaliation and the weakening effect. You will still need to find a way to deal with their hefty physical resistance, otherwise it will take a lot of effort to bring down one of these monsters.
In the Halls of Steel dungeon (hard difficulty only) you will find the Orb of Lusory item that can be smashed to destroy every illusion on the level. This does not grant you XP, but does remove them from clogging up the hallways. This item is not lockerable and is not found on any other dungeon, so you're out of luck otherwise.
There is no illusion boss in the game, though they are found in the Gaan-Telet dungeon.


text:
Knowledge of other languages and cultures is increasingly
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The French major
Because French is spoken in more than 55 countries around the world, opportunities are plentiful for those who learn to communicate in French and develop an understanding of the French and Francophone cultures. Possible employers include private companies and international corporations in the United States and abroad, as well as humanitarian organizations, international agencies and non-governmental organizations (including Amnesty International, the World Health Organization, International Red Cross, United Nations and Doctors without Borders) that use French as their official or working language.
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Is it Possible to Study a Foreign Language Abroad? Si, Oui and Na, Klar!
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text:
Free education performances by N.C. Symphony
Every year, the North Carolina Symphony and its ensembles present free education performances to elementary and middle school-age students across North Carolina. The concerts feature special demonstrations by conductors and musicians in a lineup that highlights music's building blocks: rhythm, dynamics, texture, tempo, form and melody. The concerts run from September to May. This year's lineup includes selections by Mozart, Haydn and Strauss. Students will recognize one of music's most famous melodies in Beethoven's "Ode to Joy" and get a little American flavor in Scott Joplin's "The Entertainer," the theme to the movie "The Sting." For more on the concerts, visit www.ncsymphony.org/education or call Jessica Nalbone at (919) 789-5461.


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Reception Tips
For Better FM Reception
NOTE: These links to commercial businesses are provided for your convenience. Prairie Public Broadcasting receives no compensation from any purchases you may make.
C. Crane
Offers several antennas and radios.
Insignia or Sparc or Sangean
All offer HD (digital) radios, so you can get both our streams. The digital version of our signal eliminates multipath proeblems (see more on that below).
Tivoli Audio or Bose Wave
Good reception, nicely built, more expensive. Not HD as of this post, only analog.
Reception Tips
A lot of Prairie Public listeners are in areas where reception of our broadcasts can be difficult. Even with 10 transmitters and 8 translators (low power transmitters), it can be hard to pick us up simply because we have so much territory to cover. So here are some hints to help.
Weak signal is the most common problem. It can be caused by distance, geographic features, or man-made features, like buildings. If your radio is easy to move around, that can be the first thing to try. FM reception can vary a lot over short distances. Height can be very important. Sometimes, you may be able to hear us on a second floor, but not on the ground floor. If you have the kind of radio with a telescoping swivel antenna, experimenting with moving it around might work, too.
A much stronger solution is to add an external antenna. Some smaller radios don't allow this — you must look for a couple of screws or clips on the back. They're usually labeled "ant". Some radios with telescoping antennas are set up so that you can disconnect that one and attach a different one.
So what can you attach? FM operates at the same range of frequencies as television, so TV "rabbit ears" can help. Better than that can be the T-shaped flexible wire antennas known as folded dipoles. These are sold at many electronics and hardware stores. I've seen people attach these and just let them droop down behind the radio. They will help much more if you tack them up to the wall, the higher the better. Powered FM antennas work even better — they are available at electronics stores and on-line. The only one I've seen is by Terk — a search will get you several sellers.
The best most people can do is an outdoor or attic mounting. You can buy outdoor antennas made for FM, but TV antennas work very well — and there are a lot of old ones available, thanks to cable and satellite.
Excellent antennas are available by ordering over the phone or over the internet. There is quite a range of prices, up to $400. I will recommend one, but you can easily find many more. If you are on the internet, a search under "fm antennas" will find you several places. I recommend the "FM Reflect" from C. Crane for an indoor attachment. It costs thirty five bucks plus shipping. You can call them at 1-800-522-8863, or go to the C.Crane web page.
Multipath distortion is another problem. In this case, your radio is receiving the signal, but then also picks up an "echo" from a hill or a building. Since the echo is delayed, the two signals interfere with each other. The solutions involve weakening the echo and strengthening the main signal. This involves a lot of the same efforts as described above — moving the radio. Or attaching an antenna. If the antenna is oriented so that the main signal gets stronger, it will help. You need to know the direction of our transmitter from where you are. Take a look at a map of our transmitters. A folded dipole (T-shaped) antenna should be broadside to the transmitter. An external TV-type antenna should be pointed at the transmitter. Getting an HD (hybrid digital) receiver eliminates this problem also.
Finally, I'll mention adjacent channel interference. This is when another station is on the next frequency (or the same frequency). Again, the solution is to work on strengthening the wanted signal, and weakening the unwanted one. That involves the same techniques already described.
Sometimes, there is no solution. But, often, reception can be better. If this advice doesn't help, contact us and maybe we can figure out a way to make it work.
A Note about HD Radios
All of our stations broadcast in HD — that is, have the digital option. But we also are still doing analog — an HD radio can pick up both. Our experience so far has been, though, that the digital part doesn't pick up at a distance as well as the analog, so if you are in an area of fringe reception, an HD radio may not matter at present. A good reason to try to get the digital part of the signal, though, is that with HD you can get 2 streams of programming from us — both classical music and our roots, rock and jazz mix.
Radio services on Prairie Public are a result of a partnership of Prairie Public, North Dakota State University, and the University of North Dakota. By uniting Prairie Public Radio, KDSU Radio, and KUND 89.3 FM, we have created a public radio service for all of North Dakota. Prairie Public is affiliated with NPR National Public Radio.
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text:
Suomenlinna - the Sea Fortress
The fortress of Suomenlinna is one of Finland's most popular sights. It is only a very short ferry crossing away from Helsinki.
This base for the archipelago fleet was originally built midway through the 18th century, when Finland was part of the Swedish kingdom. In 1991, Suomenlinna was designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
The different parts of the six islands offer a variety of atmospheres; whether you are looking for a cheerful weekend with friends, a tranquil evening stroll or perhaps a jog – it is all made possible by the diverse routes and locations across the islands. During the summer when the nights are warm, it is possible to stay on Suomenlinna until rather late at night. The last ferry of the day departs from Suomenlinna at two o'clock in the morning.
Helsinki is a modern, pocket-sized European city known for design and high technology. Helsinki's attractive and unique character comes from its proximity to the sea, as well as its location between the East and the West.
Related Links
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Interior design shops, fashion boutiques, jewellers, antique shops, galleries, museums, restaurants, hotels, design agencies - everything can be found in the Helsinki Design District.Read More
The archipelago of Helsinki consists of around 330 islands, providing a great getaway from the hustle and bustle of the city.Read More
Whether you are shopping or just exploring, the Finnish capital is a city with serious style credentials.Read More
Conveniently-sized Helsinki has a ton of bars and clubs within walking distance from another. Pick your favourites and plan your preferred bar crawl around the Finnish capital.Read More
If you are looking for a relaxed weekend filled with tasty food, shopping opportunities and great fun, then you should try Helsinki.Read More
Christmas lights, Helsinki Christmas Market and warm drinks exude cheering warmth in the perfect Christmas city Helsinki.Read More


text:
Как раскрасить реборна
Draw shapes
- 12 minutes to read
- Contributors
Learn how to draw shapes, such as ellipses, rectangles, polygons, and paths.
The Path class is the way to visualize a fairly complex vector-based drawing как раскрасить реборна in a XAML UI; for example, you can draw Bezier curves.
Important APIs: Path class, Windows.UI.Xaml.Shapes namespace, Windows.UI.Xaml.Media namespace
Two sets of classes define a region of space in XAML UI: Shape classes and Geometry classes.
The main difference between these classes is that a Shape has a brush associated with it and can be rendered to the screen, and a Geometry simply defines a region of space and is not rendered unless it helps contribute information to another UI property. You can think of a Shape as a UIElement with its boundary defined by a Geometry. This topic covers mainly the Shape classes.
The Shape classes are Line, Ellipse, Rectangle, Polygon, Polyline, and Path.
Path is interesting because it can define an arbitrary как раскрасить реборна, and the Geometry class is involved here because that's one как раскрасить реборна to define the parts of a Path.
Fill and Stroke for shapes
For a Shape to render to the app canvas, you must associate a Brush with it.
Set the Fill property of the Shape to the Brush you want. For more info about brushes, see Using brushes.
A Shape can also have a Stroke, which is a line that is drawn around the shape's perimeter. A Stroke also requires a Brush that defines its appearance, and should have a non-zero value for StrokeThickness.
StrokeThickness is a property that defines the perimeter's thickness around the shape edge. If you don't specify a Brush value for Stroke, or if you set StrokeThickness to 0, then the border around the shape is not drawn.
An Ellipse is a как раскрасить реборна with a curved perimeter. To create a basic Ellipse, specify a Width, Height, and a Brush for the Fill.
The next example creates an Ellipse with a Width of 200 and a Height of 200, and uses a SteelBlue colored SolidColorBrush as its Fill.
Here's the rendered Ellipse.
In this case the Ellipse is what most people would consider a circle, but that's how you declare a circle shape in XAML: use an Ellipse with equal Width and Height.
When an Ellipse is positioned in a UI layout, its size is assumed to be the same as a rectangle with that Width and Height; the area outside the perimeter does not have rendering but still is part of its layout slot size.
A set of 6 Ellipse elements are part of the control template for the как раскрасить реборна control, and 2 concentric Ellipse elements are part of a RadioButton.
A Rectangle is a four-sided shape with its opposite sides being equal.
To как раскрасить реборна a basic Rectangle, specify a Width, a Height, and a Fill.
You can round the corners of a Rectangle. To create rounded corners, specify a value for the RadiusX and RadiusY properties.
These properties specify the x-axis and y-axis of an ellipse that defines the curve of the corners. The maximum allowed value of RadiusX is the Width divided by two and the maximum allowed value of RadiusY is the Height divided by two.
The next example creates a Rectangle with a Width of 200 and a Height of 100.
It uses a как раскрасить реборна value of SolidColorBrush for как раскрасить реборна Fill and a Black value of SolidColorBrush for its Stroke. We set the StrokeThickness to 3. We set the RadiusX property как раскрасить реборна 50 and the RadiusY property to 10, which gives the Rectangle rounded corners.
Here's the rendered Rectangle.
Tip There are some scenarios for UI definitions where instead of using a Rectangle, a Border might be more appropriate.
If your intention is to create a rectangle shape around other content, it might be better to use Border because it can have child content and will automatically size around that content, rather than using the fixed dimensions for height and width like Rectangle does.
A Border also has the option of having rounded corners if you set the CornerRadius property.
On the other hand, a Rectangle is probably a better choice for control composition.
A Rectangle shape is seen in many как раскрасить реборна templates because it's used as a "FocusVisual" part for focusable controls. Whenever the control is in a "Focused" visual state, this rectangle is made visible, in other states it's hidden.
A Polygon is a shape with как раскрасить реборна boundary defined by an arbitrary number of points.
The boundary is created by connecting a line from one point to the next, with the last point connected to the first point.
The Points property defines the collection of points that make up the boundary. In XAML, you define the points with a comma-separated list. In code-behind you use a PointCollection to define the points and you add each individual point as a Point value to the collection.
You don't need to explicitly declare the points such that the start point and end point are both specified as как раскрасить реборна same Point value.
The rendering logic for a Polygon assumes that you are defining a closed shape and will connect the end point to the start point implicitly.
The next example creates a Polygon with 4 points set to,and. It uses a LightBlue value of SolidColorBrush for its Fill, and has no value for Stroke so it has no perimeter outline.
Here's the rendered Polygon.
Tip A Point value is often used as a type in XAML for scenarios other than declaring the vertices of shapes.
For example, a Point is part of the event data for touch events, so you can know exactly where in a coordinate space the touch action occurred. For more info about Point and how to use it in XAML or code, see the API reference topic for Point.
A Line is simply a line drawn between two points in coordinate space.
A Line ignores any value provided for как раскрасить реборна, because it has no interior space. Как раскрасить реборна a Line, make sure to specify values for the Stroke and StrokeThickness как раскрасить реборна, because otherwise the Line won't render.
You don't use Point values to specify a Line shape, instead you use discrete Double values for X1, как раскрасить реборна, X2 and Y2.
This enables minimal markup for horizontal or vertical lines. For example, defines a horizontal line that is 400 pixels long. The other X,Y properties are 0 by default, so in terms of points this XAML would как раскрасить реборна a line from to.
You could then use a TranslateTransform to move the entire Line, if you wanted it to start at a point other than (0,0).
A Polyline is similar to a Polygon in that the boundary of the shape is defined by a set of points, except the last point in a Polyline is not connected to the first point.
Note You could explicitly have an identical start point как раскрасить реборна end point in the Points set for the Polyline, but in that case you probably could have used a Polygon instead.
If you specify a Fill of a Polyline, the Fill paints the interior space of the shape, even if the start point and end point of the Points set for the Polyline do not intersect.
If you do как раскрасить реборна specify a Fill, then the Polyline is similar to what would have rendered if you had specified several individual Line elements where the start points and end points of consecutive lines intersected.
As with a Polygon, the Points property defines the collection of points that make up the boundary.
In XAML, you define the points with a comma-separated list. In code-behind, you use a PointCollection to define the points and you add each individual point as a как раскрасить реборна structure to the collection.
This example creates a Polyline with four points set to,and. A Stroke is defined but not a Fill.
Here's the rendered Polyline.
Notice that the first and last points are not connected by the Stroke outline as they are in a Polygon.
A Path is the most как раскрасить реборна Shape because you can use it to define an arbitrary как раскрасить реборна. But with this versatility comes complexity.
Let's now look at how to create a basic Path in XAML.
You define the geometry of a path with the Data property. There are two techniques for setting Data:
- You can set a string value for Data in XAML. In this form, the Path.Data value is consuming a serialization format for graphics.
You typically don't text-edit this value in string form after it is first established. Instead, you use design tools that enable you как раскрасить реборна work in a design or drawing metaphor on a как раскрасить реборна. Then you save or export the output, and this gives you a XAML file or XAML string fragment with Path.Data information.
- You can set the Data property to a single Geometry object. This can be done in code or in XAML.
That single Geometry is typically a GeometryGroup, which acts as a container that can composite multiple geometry definitions into a single object for purposes of the object model.
The most common reason for doing this is because you want to use one or more of the curves and complex shapes that can be defined as Segments values for a PathFigure, for example BezierSegment.
This example shows a Path that might have resulted from using Blend for Visual Studio to produce just a few vector shapes and как раскрасить реборна saving the result as XAML.
The total Path consists of a Bezier curve segment and a line segment. The example is mainly intended to give you some examples of what elements exist in the Path.Data serialization format and what the numbers represent.
This Data begins with the move command, indicated by "M", which establishes an absolute start point for the path.
The first segment is a cubic Bezier curve that begins at and ends atwhich is drawn by using the two control points and.
This segment is indicated by the "C" command in the Data attribute string.
The second segment begins with an absolute horizontal line command "H", which specifies a line drawn from the preceding subpath endpoint как раскрасить реборна a new endpoint.
Because it's a horizontal line command, the value specified is an x-coordinate.
Here's the rendered как раскрасить реборна src="https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/uwp/design/controls-and-patterns/images/shapes-path.jpg">
The next example shows a usage of the other technique we discussed: a GeometryGroup with a PathGeometry.
This example exercises some of the contributing geometry types that can be used as part of a PathGeometry: PathFigure and the various elements that can be a как раскрасить реборна in PathFigure.Segments.
Here's the rendered Path.
Using PathGeometry may be more readable than populating a Path.Data string.
On the other hand, Path.Data uses a syntax compatible with Scalable Vector Graphics (SVG) image path definitions so it may be useful for porting graphics from SVG, or as output from a tool like Blend.


text:
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — The legal, business information and media company Thomson Reuters said Friday that an amendment to ban marriage in Minnesota would be bad for business.
Prominent companies including General Mills and St. Jude Medical spoke out earlier against the proposed amendment, which goes to the voters in November. Minnesota already has a law against gay marriage, but gay marriage opponents say the amendment is necessary to put the ban in the state constitution.
In a statement, Thomson Reuters said it doesn't believe the amendment "would be good for Thomson Reuters or the business community in the state."
Spokesman John Shaughnessy said Thomson Reuters, headquartered in New York City, has almost 8,000 employees in Minnesota, most based in the Minneapolis suburb of Eagan, and 60,000 around the world. "We believe the Minnesota Marriage Amendment, if passed, would limit our ability to recruit and retain top talent," several Minnesota-based company executives wrote in an email to employees.
The company, which includes Reuters news agency, tried to clarify why it was weighing in on the issue, saying its statement was not a political or religious position. "Rather, our perspective on the Amendment is a business position," the email said.
Jay Rosen, a professor of journalism at New York University and expert on media ethics, said he saw no problem with the larger company taking a position on a controversial social issue.
"If they'd come out and said, we're against this amendment and that's the way we're going to edit the news — that would be different," Rosen said. "But that's not what they said."
Many news outlets are owned by larger conglomerates that lobby on various political issues, Rosen said. The company, known at the time as Thomson, acquired Minnesota's West Publishing — a leading U.S. provider of legal information — in 1996. It acquired Reuters, including its news service, in 2008.
Minnesotans United for All Families, the group working to defeat the amendment, hailed the company's decision.
"More and more, companies in Minnesota are standing up and saying that this hurtful amendment is not in the best interests of businesses, families or the state of Minnesota," Richard Carlbom, the group's executive director, said in a statement.
Minnesota for Marriage, the chief campaign group supporting the amendment, has been trying to discourage prominent Minnesota companies from taking sides.
"The claim that it will hurt the Minnesota economy is a complete myth," said Chuck Darrell, the group's spokesman.


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With rising food prices, consumers need to be savvy shoppers in the grocery store to protect their wallets.
Continue Reading Below
"Food costs are going up in the U.S. as a direct result of the drought," says Suzanna de Baca, vice president of wealth strategies at Ameriprise Financial.
Consumers can expect the biggest rise in prices in beef and poultry. As of September, the consumer price index rose 5.4% for beef and 4.8% for poultry from last year, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
"Cattle take a long time to raise," says James Dunn, professor of agricultural economics at Pennsylvania State University. He explains that the drought hit the High Plains last year where cattle graze in Texas, Oklahoma, Colorado, Western Kansas and Wyoming. "Ranchers thinned out their herds because there was no grass," says Dunn.
As the young animals grow, ranchers introduce corn for energy and soybeans for protein into their diets—droughts in the Midwest affected this year's crops. "Back in July and August, grain prices shot up especially for corn, soybeans and items that go into feed for cattle," says Steve Coker, co-manager and senior analyst at Frost Investment Advisors.
Since animal feed was so expensive, ranchers fed their cattle less and sold animals at lower weights. "It doesn't take a lot for prices to move up," says Dunn. "[Ranchers] were already losing money and marketing [cattle] at smaller weights—there's less meat for the same number of animals."
Chicken and turkey were also hit. "Poultry is a very efficient meat but still depends on a tremendous amount of corn," says Dunn. Although farm fish also eat corn, Americans eat about 113.5 pounds of red meat, 66.5 pounds of poultry and only 15.2 pounds of fish and shellfish each year, according to the Department of Agriculture.
As American consumers become mindful of food costs, there are ways to plan menus in a way to manage your budget without making significant cutbacks in taste.
"The foods that are going to be affected are staples of American diets," says de Baca. It doesn't make sense to cut them out—you have to be a smarter shopper when purchasing those items.
Make a List and Stick to It
With a shopping list, you won't be tempted to grab items off the shelves and throw them into the cart, says Clare Levison, certified public accountant and member of the AICPA's National CPA Financial Literacy Commission. "Getting your kids involved in making the list could help them from asking you to buy items that aren't on the list."
Experts recommend planning your menu based on what's on sale that week—don't eat steak if chicken's on sale. There are a variety of websites that offer low-cost meal ideas and recipes and alter recipes based on what you have on hand.
When buying meat and poultry, be picky with your cuts to reduce costs—prime rib will cost more than London broil.
Use Coupons and Discount Cards to Your Advantage
"You definitely want to get your grocery store discount card—they're free and they offer discounts at particular stores," says Levison. Shoppers are able to accrue points with some cards that can be used for other purchases like gas.
"Coupons are good but only for the things you need," says Levison. It might be tempting to buy an item because it's a good deal but if you don't need it, don't buy it.
Consider a Garden
"Consider growing your own garden—even if you're planting tomatoes in pots," says Levison. This can be particularly helpful with herbs, stores often increase herb and spice prices.
Stretch Out Your Meals
"We have flexibility in what we eat," says Dunn. Eating more produce could save money—as of September, prices for fresh fruit dropped 1.1% and fresh vegetables dropped 4.9% from last year, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
"You can adjust the proportion and use more of the more affordable stuff and less of the expensive foods," says Dunn. When cooking foods like spaghetti, for example, use a little less hamburger and more onions to cut down on costs.
Try to make meals last for two dinners or take leftovers for lunch the next day, says Levison. Buying lunch can cost about $10 per day on average or $50 per week. "As much as possible, you want to eat at home because that's where you're going to get the most food for your money."
Buy in Bulk
"Go to a big discount store for toilet paper, tissues, oils, sugars and baking products where you can buy in bulk," says de Baca. "Similarly, you can buy generic foods for items that aren't as important to you where it doesn't make a difference."
Although buying in bulk saves money, Levison suggests buying what can be used in a reasonable timeframe, like three months or less. "It's a balance of the convenience of having food and cost savings but sometimes people leave food in the freezer for so long that it's not appealing," says Levison.
Since individual portions can be more expensive, consider buying a big bag of potato chips and divvying it out for the week instead, says Levison. "Avoid 'gimmicky' products like premade lunches which don't have much in them but look fun and interesting. You can put that meal together on your own for a lot less money."
Look for Specials When Eating Out
Restaurants are the quickest way to increase your food budget. "The best way to combat that is to save eating out for a special treat on a Friday or Saturday night," says Levison. If you want to eat out, watch how much you spend on beverages and extras, since these can add up, and look for specials or kids eat free nights.


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Search Education Northwest
Bringing the families of low-income students into discussions of how to pay for college is one of the key messages Sara Goldrick-Rab shared at the Oregon GEAR UP SUCCESS Retreat on April 25 in Redmond. The event, focused on involving educators in college and career readiness issues, was supported
How suspension and expulsion rates vary in a group of Oregon school districts and how students of color may be affected by those differences is just one of the topics that REL Northwest researchers are delving into in the coming months. Seven studies are now underway by REL Northwest research
What makes a research alliance successful? How can researchers and practitioners work together to make an impact? To explore those questions, Education Northwest hosted the first REL Northwest Research Alliance Forum at our headquarters in Portland, Oregon, on April 25, 2013. The event brought


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Winter trip anyone? lets do it
JT Pro Center Union island - Kiteboarding in the Grenadines
Kiteboarding in the Grenadines
Post general kiteboarding discussion topics here!
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Kiteboarding in the Grenadines
Winter trip anyone? lets do it
JT Pro Center Union island - Kiteboarding in the Grenadines
My Photography ==> www.Loscocco.com
Kites:Ocean Rodeo: Flites and Razors
Boards:Ocean Rodeo: Duke and Spotz Hydrofoil
Eyewear:Kurtis Surf Goggles www.KurtisUSA.com
Re: Kiteboarding in the Grenadines
Stop by and ride with me in S FL on your way back
Pirates of the Caribbean
Re: Kiteboarding in the Grenadines
I'd love to do a sailing charter in the Grenadines and bring kiting equipment. I've sailed there a lot when i used to own a 42-foot cruising catamaran but I wasn't a kiter in those days. I know those islands well though not necessarily from a kiting perspective. I also know where to rent a Catamaran cheap, it can sleep up to 8 people in 4 double cabins. Or we could get a 3 cabin boat that would sleep up to 6. I would be up for a trip there next March/April/May. We could also bring diving equipment and of course snorkeling and sailing are great there also.
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text: MainSports & GamesSoftball Listen SoftballThis page draws together softball-related information for all of Special Olympics. The coaching materials and other links will help you get a good sense of how this sport contributes to Special Olympics. StoriesEventsGames Descendant of BaseballSoftball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of 10 to 14 players. Every team aims in scoring as many runs possible, against the opponents by striking the ball with a specific bat. It is a direct descendant of baseball although there are some key differences: softballs are larger than baseballs, and the pitches are thrown underhand rather than overhand. The game is played on a smaller diamond than in baseball and despite the game's name, the standard softball is not soft; in fact, it is harder than a baseball.About This Page Special Olympics focuses on the individuality of each athlete so that coaches can train and encourage growth in skills and accomplishment. The coaching materials, rules and other resources on this page have been specially prepared for coaches working with people with intellectual disabilities. Coaching Special Olympics athletes calls for the same skills and experience that many coaches are familiar with. The extra information in our coaching guides about working with people with ID is what makes our materials helpful and valuable.


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This Kazu Pro Spotlight came out in our February Issue. It's written by Colin Whyte. If you like it, pick up the issue, duh!
Kazuhiro Kokubo is that rare beast: a pro who copies none. By simply being himself, Kazu has brought excitement to snowboarding, especially the pipe, that was somehow…missing before he showed up.
The 23-year-old is best known stateside for his second halfpipe win, in a row, at the US Open in 2011. And, oh yeah, causing an absolute shit-storm by "dressing like a snowboarder" during the 2010 Winter Olympics. It's old news now, but it knocked Kazu's notoriety up a level in Japan. Car Danchi's Neil Hartmann explains how it played out over there: "Japanese people on the street were laughing at the way [the media] blew it out of proportion. It was probably tough for Kazu at the time, but in the end, he did a great thing for snowboarding here. For a few weeks everybody was talking about him and snowboarding and culture—taxi drivers, noodle cooks, even my 74-year-old neighbor asked me about Kazu. Although he didn't get a medal, everyone came away stoked on his performance and proud of him."
It's not just Japanese people who are "proud" of Kazu (who now lives in SoCal). His ridiculously stylish riding makes you proud to be a snowboarder. From his massive, expressive McTwists in contest situations to his balls-out spins in film parts, Kazu's riding folds in some special dimension of joy that makes you smile when you see it: part beagle puppy, part beast.—Colin Whyte/RedCard
Were you surprised to grab opening part in Standing Sideways?
Maybe. I don't know [laughs]. I worked really hard last season to film a good part. I knew it would be my best part and I hoped to have opener or closer, but I didn't know until one month before the premiere. Jussi [Oksanen] and I saw our parts in New Zealand and were stoked.
What makes it your best part?
I wanted something with different spots that showed a lot of different riding. I ride everything, and I'm happy that people can see that. I hope that people will see my part and go out and ride everything. Snowboarding is more than just rails or pipes or parks or backcountry—it's everything together. Next year's part will be even better.
Do you notice any difference filming for a Burton movie versus Standard or 7 Samurai?
Every crew is so different. I think it [the most important thing] is to have a good crew to ride with. I had so many good riders to travel and film with this year, and we all push each other. The Stonp movie was the easiest because there was no pressure. Just longtime friends from Stonp and 7 Samurai hanging out and f—king shit up, doing what we always do: have fun.
What is the Stonp movie about?
Stonp is like Frends or 7 Samurai: just a good crew of friends who have known each other a long time. We make handmade "Stonp" pads for snowboards, but we're more of a film company. We just released our first movie ["S" Trippers & Powder Junkies], which is a travel film with the crew. It's not big budget with helicopters or crazy locations, just a really good-quality movie that makes you want to go out and ride, party, and f—k shit up with your friends. We already started working on next year's film, which will be even better. Also, we'll have new Stonp pads, and we're collaborating with some big brands on other merchandise that will be sick!
Tell us about your first homemade board and hiking with your dad as a kid. Sounds amazing.
I was four years old when I saw snowboarding for the first time. I told my dad I wanted to snowboard instead of ski, and he was excited. In 1992, nobody made kids' boards. My dad had a friend who worked at a shop, so he made me a board from wood. No edges or anything. He had to cut bindings and screw them on the board. I rode in ski boots [laughs]. My dad would take me to the mountains, and we would find a good slope. He would put me on his shoulders and hike with me and my board up the mountain and chase after me on the way down.
Your shred upbringing on Hokkaido sounds pretty different from, say, a "snowboard academy kid" in the US.
It's cool that kids have a place to train and focus on snowboarding, but I hope they teach kids how to work hard and not make everything too easy. Everyone in the early '90s worked so hard to snowboard, and now everything is so easy for kids. My parents worked hard so I could ride, and it made me appreciate snowboarding a lot more.
When you went to New Zealand with Jussi this summer, what kind of trip were you hoping for, and what were the highlights?
Like any trip [there] we expected to get a lot of shots. This year it was okay but still a lot of fun. The highlight was going on my first trip with Jussi. We had a really good time and were still able to get some pretty good shots.
Is he a rider you can learn from just by watching? You guys have a similar ability to turn a forest or wall of rocks into your own skatepark.
Riding with Jussi is fun. I really like traveling with the OG riders; I always learn so much from them. Hopefully, I will be like that someday and pass my experience to the next guys.
You seem to have a good ability to adapt—from manmade trannies to the backcountry, Japan to SoCal, celebrity status back home to the peacefulness of being in the middle of nowhere. How do you stay balanced?
I have a really good support system with my friends and sponsors and family in Japan and California. I don't try to be this or that; I just cruise and have fun. I love riding everything. I get paid to snowboard—how much pressure can there be?
What do you miss most about Hokkaido now that you live in the US?
My family, my dogs, my garden, the best food in the world—there's a lot I miss. But when I'm in Hokkaido, there are a lot of things I miss about the US. We [his wife and he] have found a good balance between Japan and the US, and right now it's working very well.
Would you describe yourself as a spiritual or religious person?
I believe that there's something greater than us, whatever it may be. I believe that we have people that protect and watch over us—past family, friends, whatever. Everything is connected. You must have a balance in everything you do. I have a measuring scale tattoo on my finger to remind me of the balance in my life: the balance between life, work, family, love, and death.
Now that you're well known in North American circles, are there any misconceptions about you that have developed?
[Laughs] I don't know if I'm well known in America yet. This year was really good, and I think more people know about my snowboarding now. All I can do is keep doing what I love. If that makes me popular and people like seeing it, cool. Maybe next year I'll be on a dancing show or have my own signature gum. Then I will be well known in America [laughs].
See Kazu in Burton's Standing Sideways, also featuring Mark Sollors, Alex Andrews, Ethan Deiss, Jeremy Jones, Terje Haakonsen, Jussi Oksanen, Mark McMorris, Danny Davis, Mikey Rencz, and more. Also catch him in his Japanese crew movie, Stonp's "S" Trippers & Powder Junkies.


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How to Use
the Readings
Inquiry Question
Reading 1: From Self-Taught Lawyer to President
Abraham Lincoln was the first man elected to the presidency who was born west of the Appalachian Mountains. His up bringing in backwoods Kentucky, in the remote regions of southern Indiana, and on the Illinois prairie shaped his life. In 1831, when he was 22, Lincoln moved to New Salem, Illinois and in 1834 was elected to the first of five terms to the Illinois legislature. He was encouraged to study law by fellow legislator John Todd Stuart during his first term. In 1837, the lanky self-taught lawyer with only one year of frontier schooling rode his horse into Springfield, Illinois with all of his belongings in two saddlebags.
On November 4, 1842, Lincoln married Mary Ann Todd and by May 1844 the young couple had purchased a small Greek Revival-style cottage at the corner of Eighth and Jackson Streets, the home the family would occupy for the next 17 years. Here three of their four children were born, and one died. Robert Todd Lincoln (1843-1926) was less than one year old when they moved into their new home. He was named for Mary's father and later attended Harvard College. Edward Baker (1846-1850), nicknamed Eddie, died in the house five weeks short of his fourth birthday. William Wallace, or Willie, (1850-1862), was loved by the Lincolns for his bright and inquisitive nature, and found great pleasure romping around the house with his younger brother, Thomas (1853-1871). This youngest child--Mary's "troublesome little sunshine"--was nicknamed Tad by his father, who said he looked like a tadpole. The Lincolns owned a dog they named Fido.
Over the years the Lincolns enlarged the house to accommodate their growing family. In 1846 they added a downstairs bedroom and in 1855, they expanded the story-and-a-half cottage to a full two-story house. While living in this house Lincoln enjoyed great success as a lawyer and was considered one of the state's best courtroom attorneys. His legal practice regularly took him away from Springfield, especially riding the Eighth Judicial Circuit, a traveling court which met three months at a time in the spring and fall at various county seats throughout central Illinois. Their children certainly made the house a lively place, but Mary often felt alone without her husband present.
Mary largely devoted herself to managing the household and raising their children. Much of the domestic and private side of the home was centered on the kitchen. Here Mary oversaw the activities that made this a well-run and inviting home, allowing Lincoln to devote his time and energy to the practice of law and politics. Mary furnished the entire house, choosing the furnishings and drapery with care to reflect the tastes of a prosperous mid-19th century American family.
Abraham Lincoln was a member of the Whig Party when he was elected to the United States House of Representatives in 1846. The Whig party, which operated in the U.S. from 1832 to 1856, supported the supremacy of Congress over the Executive Branch. The party was ultimately destroyed by the question of whether to allow the expansion of slavery to the territories. Following his term in Congress, Abraham Lincoln returned to his Springfield law practice. However, his interest in politics was rekindled by Democratic Senator Stephen A. Douglas' 1854 Kansas-Nebraska Act, which allowed the people of the territories of Kansas and Nebraska to vote to allow or outlaw slavery. Joining the newly formed Republican Party, whose stance was opposed to the extension of slavery, Abraham Lincoln ran against Stephen A. Douglas for the Senate seat in Illinois in 1858. On June 16, 1858 Lincoln delivered his "House Divided Speech" in the Illinois State House where he declared that "A house divided against itself cannot stand. I believe this government cannot endure, permanently half slave and half free."1 Following the "House Divided" speech, Lincoln engaged in a series of debates with Douglas that included stops at seven communities across Illinois and grabbed the nation's attention. The two held a series of seven debates and although Abraham Lincoln lost the election, the debates brought him national prominence.
Lincoln was not convinced of his presidential potential and wrote "I do not think myself fit for the Presidency."2 A year later however, Lincoln's feelings about the presidency had changed and he admitted that "the taste is in my mouth a little."3 The 1860 Republican Party convention, held in Chicago in May, chose Lincoln as its candidate for President. A committee of delegates from the convention traveled to Springfield and, in the Lincoln parlor, introduced themselves to Lincoln and his family and formally notified him of his nomination. The Lincoln home became the center of attention during Lincoln's 1860 presidential campaign. The nation's split over the slavery issue was reflected in the 1860 election, in which two of the four candidates that ran were Democrats. The Democratic Party members from the northern states selected their own candidate as did the Democrats from the southern states. This split in the Democratic Party all but assured that the Republican, Abraham Lincoln, would win. A fourth candidate also ran under the "Constitutional Union Party," which tried to appeal to both northern and southern voters. On November 6, 1860, Republican Abraham Lincoln received 40% of the popular vote to northern Democrat Stephen A. Douglas' 29%, southern Democrat John C. Breckenridge's 18%, and Constitutional Union John Bell's 13%.
As Lincoln left Springfield for the nation's capitol he told those gathered at the train depot to see him off, that upon his shoulders was "a task before me greater than that which rested upon Washington."4 To Abraham Lincoln would fall the task of leading a divided nation during America's greatest crisis--the Civil War, a task for which in the end he would become its greatest casualty.
Questions for Reading 1
1. Why did the Kansas-Nebraska Act rekindle Lincoln's interest in politics?
2. What kinds of jobs did Mary Lincoln have in managing the Lincoln household?
3. Why do you think Lincoln joined the newly formed Republicans when he ran for Senate in 1858? Which party was he affiliated with prior to this?
4. What do you think Lincoln meant by his "House Divided" speech? Do you agree with his sentiments? Why or why not?
5.) Why did the split in the Democratic Party help Lincoln win the election?
1 Roy P. Basler, Ed. The Collected Works of Abraham Lincoln, 9 Volumes, ``A House Divided'': Speech at Springfield, Illinois, June 16, 1858, Vol 2, p. 462.


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Police: 6 dead, including 2 kids, when SUV crosses center line on Pa. road, hits car head-on
KANE, Pa. – Authorities say a head-on crash in northwestern Pennsylvania has killed six people, including two children.
State police in Kane say the crash happened at about 4:30 p.m. Saturday. They say an SUV driven by 36-year-old Kathy Douglas crossed into oncoming traffic and hit the front of an approaching sedan.
The four occupants of the sedan died in the crash. They are the driver, 62-year-old Gary Beimel, and his passengers, 54-year-old David Cuneo, 55-year-old Elaine Beimel and 81-year-old Florence Donachy. All are residents of St. Marys.
A boy and a girl in Douglas' vehicle also died, ages 6 and 12. A 10-year-old boy in her car was seriously injured.
The investigating officer, Trooper Roger McCloskey, says he believes Douglas was at fault and will face some sort of charges.


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Microsoft Decides It Can't Compete With Salesforce.com; Sues For Patent Infringement Instead
from the must-we-remind-you deptRemember back when Bill Gates said:
"If people had understood how patents would be granted when most of today's ideas were invented and had taken out patents, the industry would be at a complete standstill today... A future start-up with no patents of its own will be forced to pay whatever price the giants choose to impose."Those days are long gone, apparently. In its latest patent litigation action, Microsoft has decided to sue Salesforce.com for infringing on a bunch of patents. Basically, it looks like Microsoft went through its collection of patents to find whatever they could that Salesforce might possibly infringe on. Take a look at the list:
- 7,251,653: Method and system for mapping between logical data and physical data
- 5,742,768: System and method for providing and displaying a web page having an embedded menu
- 5,644,737: Method and system for stacking toolbars in a computer display
- 6,263,352: Automated web site creation using template driven generation of active server page applications
- 6,542,164: Timing and velocity control for displaying graphical information
- 6,281,879: Timing and velocity control for displaying graphical information (the 164 patent above looks to just be a continuation of this patent)
- 5,845,077: Method and system for identifying and obtaining computer software from a remote computer
- 5,941,947: System and method for controlling access to data entities in a computer network
Hopefully (though, unlikely), the Supreme Court gets around to issuing its Bilski ruling and puts software patents like these out of their misery. Here's the full filing for anyone interested:
Filed Under: online, patents, software
Companies: microsoft, salesforce.com


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Diddy Involved in a Serious Car Accident in Beverly Hills
Rap mogul Diddy is mending a few bruises after his car accident in Beverly Hills, Calif., on Wednesday (Oct. 24). The music executive's Cadillac Escalade crashed into another vehicle in front of the Beverly Hills Hotel.
Diddy wasn't seriously injured, but he was shaken up a bit. So much so that he had to lay on the lawn in front of the hotel in order to compose himself, according to TMZ. The other driver complained of pain but he refused medical treatment at the scene.
Judging by the photos, it's amazing that no one was seriously injured. Diddy's SUV is a total loss with its front bumper smashed to smithereens. The other vehicle, which looked like a silver-colored compact car, was severely dented on the passenger side. Police didn't write up a report and no citations were issued.
On Thursday (Oct. 25), Diddy went on Twitter to express his relief after surviving his near-fatal SUV accident.
Woah...that was a close one! instagr.am/p/RNMmFxJl3K/
— iamdiddy (@iamdiddy) October 25, 2012
We're are glad that Diddy and the other driver are okay. It's a miracle that no one was hospitalized.
Watch Video of Diddy Shaken Up From the Car Accident