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You would be hard pressed to find another science fiction writer as talented as New York Times bestselling author Greg Bear. With each successive novel he releases, his mystique grows. As do his accolades.
He has won several Nebula and Hugo awards over the years and has been nominated many times for the World Fantasy, Arthur C. Clarke, and John W. Campbell awards. In 2006, he was the recipient of both the Monty and Heinlein awards. From the release of his first novel, Psychlone (also released under the title Lost Souls), through such bestsellers as Eon, The Forge of God, Anvil of Stars, Darwin's Radio, and the darkly wonderful Dead Lines, Greg has established himself as one of the best speculative fiction novelists in the world. He's even written a Star Trek: Original Series novel, Corona, and a Star Wars novel, Rogue Planet.
His short story collection, The Wind From A Burning Woman, may be one of the best speculative fiction short story collections ever gathered. Greg is also an award-winning artist and founder of the Association of Science Fiction Artists.
Greg is a visionary and a futurist as well. In his novels Anvil of Stars and Moving Mars, he envisioned a physics system based on data exchange among self-altering particles. He was the first science fiction writer to depict nanotechnology in fiction. He also was the first writer to present the concept of a quantum logic computer. And after 9/11, Greg was selected by the U.S. Army and the CIA as part of a task force to provide consultation on security issues. He was a member of a group of economists, scientists, novelists, and futurists who performed a threat analysis of various ways that terrorists might attempt to attack the U.S. again. He has also been a consultant for Microsoft Corporation and Sandia National Laboratories and was appointed to the Citizen's Advisory Council on National Space Policy to work in conjunction with NASA.
Michael Lohr: So tell me about your bioterror, near-future thriller, Quantico. What was the primary inspiration for the story? Actually, Quantico is more of a science fiction suspense novel. I think you've just invented a new sub-genre.
Greg Bear: Quantico is a high tech thriller. John Campbell used to publish very similar stories in Analog back in the fifties and sixties—I'm thinking specifically of Mack Reynolds, Joe Poyer, Rick Raphael. Since that time, the success of Tom Clancy and others has spun this off into a genre of its own—but we shouldn't forget the roots.
ML: One of my favorite Greg Bear novels is Dead Lines. What was your inspiration for the story?
GB: I love ghost stories—always have. One of my favorite movies is the original The Haunting, and I've been reading Stephen King, Clive Barker, Dean Koontz, and many other writers for decades now. Dead Lines pays homage to some of my favorite stories and writers—M. R. James, H. P. Lovecraft, Richard Matheson, Shirley Jackson. Both Matheson and James Blish incorporated science fictional elements into their speculations about the afterlife—as I did in my novel, Psychlone. For Psychlone, I borrowed a suggestion from Blish's Black Easter—and later saw my scenario—particle beam weapons used against ghosts—wonderfully incorporated into Ghostbusters! Another favorite.
ML: Can a science fiction novel really have influence on modern culture any more?
GB: All the time. Beyond Michael Crichton—certainly one of the most popular and influential writers of our time—we find more mainstream writers constantly dipping into science and the future for their themes. Science fiction writers since H. G. Wells have been read by politicians and world leaders, and invited to participate in discussions on the present and the future. That dialog is still going on—I've been invited to numerous government-sponsored seminars and analysis sessions, along with quite a few of my colleagues.
ML: I personally think that your first short story collection, The Wind from a Burning Woman, released by Arkham House in 1983, may well be the best collection of science fiction short stories ever gathered—good reading for aspiring speculative fiction writers.
GB: While I always enjoy praise for my books, I think everyone should go back and read John Varley's Persistence of Vision and James Tiptree's Ten Thousand Light Years From Home. Now those were important and influential anthologies!
ML: You served as a visiting Nat C. Robertson Distinguished Professor in Science & Society at Emory University in Atlanta and taught writing seminars there. Do you enjoy teaching the art of writing?
GB: I always like working with students and fellow writers. The Emory visit was delightful—professors and students were both very high caliber, very creative and dedicated. And Emory is also a medical school—which meant I got to talk biology with real experts, always a treat.
ML: As a teacher of speculative writing, what is your opinion of the Clarion writers' workshops? Do you feel they have benefit?
GB: I've taught at Clarion West several times. The Clarion workshops are excellent places to find out whether you want to launch a career as a writer. The list of professionals who have taken off from these workshops and made fruitful careers is impressive.
ML: Have any of your novels been optioned for film rights?
GB: There have been a number of options over the years, and as of this writing, The Forge of God is still in play. And there could be even better news soon on another novel.
ML: What are your thoughts on the UFO/abduction phenomenon? Though UFOs and all fascinate me, I have never seen anything that could be remotely called a UFO, but my mind is still open.
GB: We can't deny the possibility, but I've seen little compelling evidence. The problem with such sightings—along with seeing ghosts—is that these are often intensely subjective experiences, tough to convey to others. The objective proof is certainly lacking, and I've never been fond of vast conspiracies.
ML: Have you ever censored yourself?
GB: Probably, but my internal guidelines are pretty strict to begin with. I don't want to write immoral fiction—fiction that dishonestly distorts or exploits common experience or human nature. Now, as for honest distortion—honest exploitation—!
ML: Have you ever thought about going somewhere else with your writing besides science fiction, such as a western, historical, or mystery novel?
GB: Of course! One of my favorite novels is Larry McMurtry's Lonesome Dove, and I have a lot of research material stacked up for a historical or western novel, should I ever decide to write one. So far, however, the fields of SF and fantasy are still pretty rich.
ML: I read your article entitled "All the Robots and Isaac Asimov," which is a fascinating essay on the development of robots as mechanisms of fear in popular culture. What do you think about the ASIMO robot developed in Japan to assist the elderly or the very human-looking Repliee Q1Expo android?
GB: ASIMO is great fun. The Japanese are doing wonderful work on humanoid or personable robots. The Good Doctor would have been proud—but so far, none of our robots exhibit the capacity to be more than just charming—to actually think, and challenge their masters.
ML: So, what exactly is your insight on the Fermi paradox?
GB: Long ago, debating the topic with David Brin, I came up with the ecological, predator-prey solution—we don't hear anything out there because smart civilizations believe in keeping quiet, just in case there are predators out hunting. I used this as the basis for the scenario that became The Forge of God. This solution is not very popular with SETI types—I'm not sure why. Perhaps we're still hoping for angels to come down and enlighten us. But I'm pretty sure the rest of the universe functions in much the same way we do here on Earth—and if I had been a Native American, and could have hidden North America, I would certainly have done so.
ML: Do you think that nanotechnology and nanites could hold the answer to increasing the longevity of the human species, for example the work at the SENS Institute?
GB: As soon as we develop them, I'll let you know! After more than twenty years of nanotechnology in the public eye and in scientific research, the core ideas remain speculative—but we see a lot of nanoparticle "nanotech" solutions in paints, cosmetics, materials science, but no real nanotechnology as K. Eric Drexler envisioned it. These little particles just aren't very smart—certainly not as adaptive as proteins.
ML: Did you enjoy writing those Star Trek and Star Wars novels? Are there any more TV or movie tie-in books in your future?
GB: I enjoyed both projects, but I don't think I'll be going back to do more. I prefer to create my own universes.
ML: What role did you serve on the Citizen's Advisory Council on National Space Policy? Did you determine policy for human civilian space flight?
GB: I was proud to work with Jerry Pournelle and Larry Niven and all of their invited experts and fellow writers. The writers helped articulate, clarify, and record the ideas of the experts. CACNSP did some remarkable work over sixteen years, both in space defense proposals and civilian/commercial spaceflight advisories. One of our final tasks was to help NASA smooth the way for private spaceflight, and I think some of those ideas are in place now that a number of entrepreneurs are planning, building, and launching private suborbital spacecraft.
ML: What influence has the work of Nikos Kazantzakis and Olaf Stapledon had on your writing? Who's your favorite science fiction novelist to read? And you're not allowed to say Poul Anderson—though we both agree his novels are wonderful reads! For those of you out there that don't know, Greg is married to Poul's daughter, Astrid.
GB: Olaf Stapledon absolutely blew me away. I came to Stapledon through reading Sir Arthur Clarke's novels and seeing 2001: A Space Odyssey back in the 1960s. Within a few years, I was in touch with Stapledon experts and enthusiasts like David McClintock and Harvey Satty and Curtis C. Smith, collecting his rarest books and novels—even procuring an autographed copy of A Man Divided from Forrest J. Ackerman. Nikos Kazantzakis came to my attention through the recommendation of Ray Bradbury, and I'm still enjoying his novels and nonfiction—travels and such. I find a number of parallels between these two, with their approaches to the relationship between God, man, and nature: Stapledon, disciplined and incomparably brilliant and a little chilly, Kazantzakis filled with Mediterranean life and splendor, contradictory passions, explosive language. Kazantzakis in some respects is Ray Bradbury's older Greek brother—or perhaps uncle!
ML: In Darwin's Children you explored some rather avant-garde, unorthodox theories of early-date colonization of the Americas. Are you fascinated by unorthodox archaeology?
GB: The idea that humans could have arrived on this continent earlier than ten thousand years ago is rapidly becoming accepted doctrine. No way would I have made my Homo erectus pioneers of twenty thousand years ago be less than a meter tall, however—that would have been silly! And yet the Homo floresiensis specimens from Indonesia are likely Homo erectus, twenty thousand or fewer years old, and just three feet in height when mature.
ML: What projects are you currently working on and what will we see next from Greg Bear?
GB: Quantico is being published in paperback soon by Vanguard/Perseus with a major push—the hardcover had a larger first printing (by nearly double!) than any of my previous books, and at the moment is my best-selling hardcover ever. Plus, in combination with some other events, Quantico landed me on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, which was great fun. I've finished and handed in the longest and most ambitious science fiction novel I've written in years, City at the End of Time. It pays homage to many of my favorite writers, including William Hope Hodgson, Olaf Stapledon, and Sir Arthur Clarke. It's set one hundred trillion years in the future—and in contemporary Seattle.
ML: With all the imaginative bits of technology and whatnot that you've essentially invented in your novels, do you own any patents, like Arthur C. Clarke? Have you pursued any of your ideas as inventions?
GB: No patents. Compared to defending patents and inventions, writing is easy!
ML: What science fiction novel has had the greatest impact on society?
GB: I'd say Frankenstein, closely followed by 1984, Brave New World, and today, quite possibly Fahrenheit 451. But books that influence us all should not eclipse books which transform certain classes, endeavors, or philosophiesit's almost impossible to judge the depth of influence of writers like Asimov and Clarke, Heinlein and Anderson. None of the first three books I mention above (Fahrenheit 451 being the exception) were that influential on me, for example—as brilliant as they are—whereas much more obscure writers and works knocked my socks off. It's all about age, preparation, anticipation. The oddest little books can turn us topsy-turvy.
To learn more about Greg, please go to his official website: http://www.gregbear.com.
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[UPDATE] Stephanie Pratt says she's done with MTV's 'The Hills'
News comes on the heels of Audrina Patridge's announcement last month that she's "almost done" filming the series and will move on to develop her own reality show with "Survivor" producer Mark Burnett.
"I don't know how much more I can take of 'The Hills,' Pratt said. "It is very brutal. ... It's not because of Kristin. I was going to stay and see what happens after these 10 episodes, but I just don't think I can stand 'The Hills' anymore."
[Update 5:24 p.m.: In an e-mail to ShowTracker, a rep for Pratt wrote: "At this point Stephanie isn't certain whether or not she'll be returning next season. Her focus is on this season's show."
Yikes! Is anyone left? It certainly looks like the drama in "The Hills" could be coming to a close.
Through her publicist, Pratt could not be reached for comment. Earlier this summer, she posed in a bikini on the cover of US Weekly next to a headline reading "'The Hills' Made Me Bulimic.' "
What do you think? Could "The Hills" survive without the girls we've all come to know and love? Would you watch the "Spencer and Heidi" show?
For the record: An earlier version of this post attributed the news to "Extra TV's Hollyscoop." Hollyscoop is not affiliated with Extra.
-- Amy Kaufman
'The Hills': New star Kristin Cavallari is ready to put on a show
Photo credit: MTV

subset: commoncrawl


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New Zealand batsman Jesse Ryder has been fined $750 for showing dissent towards the umpires during a Plunket Shield match for Wellington against Central Districts in Napier late last month.
New Zealand Cricket (NZC) confirmed today that Ryder was reported by the umpires for a Level One breach of NZC's code of conduct for using language that was offensive and insulting to the umpires Evan Watkin and Chris Gaffaney, after having an lbw shout off his bowling turned down.
The incident marred Ryder's stirring comeback to competitive cricket, having scored 117 and 174 in Wellington's five-wicket win. In March, Ryder had taken an indefinite break from the game to resolve his personal issues, but in July committed to a full season of first-class cricket.


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The vineyard speaks
Gary Galeazzi splitting basalt rocks from Indian Springs Ranch like they did from 1895 to 1925 at Lawndale Hill Quarry.
It is the last week in October, a very early harvest is done and packed up, and I am getting my thoughts together for the November Journey to Harvest. As I ponder, I keep hearing the voice of the ranch: the trees and stones and soil that not only abide the comings and goings of the more fleeting elements of nature, like people, but absorb their energy as well.
Since the day we bought this ranch 41 years ago Admission Day, Sept. 9, 1974 the land has been speaking to us, telling its story. We have been finding a huge number of small and large artifacts around the place since the first day we arrived, each providing a clue to the past, presenting as a giant jigsaw puzzle we have been piecing together for many years.
We first noticed hundreds of scraps and pieces of local, igneous, dark gray or black basalt rock that we continue to find everywhere on the property. The footings of a small house built by the first European family here were built with worked-over pieces of basalt. These small, tooled rocks were our first clues to the history of stone working that is so deeply infused in this property. The ranch soil is full of various sized stream-washed boulders, but there are none in the footings of the small house only scraps of processed chunks of basalt. It would have been much easier to build that footing using the larger stream-rounded stones and boulders.
As we cleared the soil of stream rocks, planted vineyards, built our house and a new barn, more evidence appeared. At every turn, chunks of hand-worked basalt kept turning up. Eventually, we learned that the original name of our ranch was the Lawndale Hill Quarry.
Signs of the commercial quarry are everywhere. We learned that millions of square and rectangular basalt paving blocks were handmade in the north part of the Valley of the Moon, from a six-mile stretch of stone running from Annadel south, including this ranch.
We found the remnants of a huge barn that housed 10 or 12 giant draft horses. That barn burned to the ground 50 years ago. We still find lots of giant horseshoes from those horses that hauled wagon loads of finished stones to the railhead, where they were shipped to pave Oaklands and San Franciscos muddy streets from 1890 to 1915.
In Jack Londons novel, The Valley of the Moon, the hero worked at this quarry, loading basalt pavers onto railroad cars for shipment to Oakland and San Francisco. There was a railroad siding on Lawndale Road, and the railroad itself ran through our ranch. Today, we cannot imagine how those young Italian men could hand-make millions of paving blocks in any kind of commercial way.
Just when I needed an answer, the phone rang. In that wonderful way of synchronicity that seems to happen so often in the Valley of the Moon, our neighbor and Kenwood historian Dee Sand gave us the name of a friend whose family had been in the paving block business for many generations. He referred us to North Bay Monument Company and Gary Galeazzi, whose family has been working in stone for four generations.
Gary, whose son Kyle represents the fourth generation at North Bay Monument, was kind enough to give us a first-hand demonstration of old-time stone cutting, using hand-made tools on stones we brought to Garys business, North Bay Monument in Cotati. Gary made it clear that stone cutting is a dying art, with too little demand to keep it going for much longer. He is one of a handful of people in the whole state who can do this work.
He showed us what it takes to cut slabs of rock from the side of a hill, hand drilling holes and tapping away with a steel wedge and inserts, tap tap tapping until the stone breaks into workable pieces that eventually brought civilized roads to one of the worlds great population centers.
The young emigrants from northern Italy could usually make 100 to 150 of these basalt paving blocks per day. They are often incorrectly called cobblestones, but they are true paving blocks.
During the peak years over the turn of the last century, millions of these paving blocks were made and shipped out of Sonoma County by nearly 7,000 workers. In spite of my two degrees in geology, I just could not figure how this could be possible in a commercial sense. Gary Galeazzi showed us how it was done.
There are almost invisible, thread-like seams present in most basalt, stone that slowly cooled from its initial molten state. These seams are structural weak points that can be used to easily split and form the finished basalt paving blocks. While both young and experienced eyes can see these faint seams, I found it really hard to see them. But now I know how those men produced the incredible numbers of stone pavers from these basalt hills, using little more than hammers, drills, and wedges, and a lot of hard work.
Owner, Indian Springs Ranch and Vineyards
Email: firstname.lastname@example.com


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On 5-9 February this year – as part of the exchange of scientific and didactic staff in the Erasmus + program – the Faculty of Management Engineering was hosted by scientists at the Banking University of Lviv (SHEI "Banking University"): dr hab. dr hab. Mariya Khmelyarchuk, head of the Department of Economics and Information Technology and prof. prof. Oleksiy Druhov, Vice-Rector for International Cooperation. Researchers from Lviv gave open lectures on the problems of the banking system and economy in Ukraine during the scientific meeting of the Faculty of Economic Sciences of WIZ, in which the Dean prof. Magdalena Wyrwicka. Judging by the lively discussion after these speeches, they aroused considerable interest among the participants of the meeting.
Our guests had the opportunity to familiarize themselves with the laboratories at the Faculty of Management Engineering (including FlexSim laboratory), as well as with the collections and achievements of the Poznan University of Technology Main Library, Sports Center and didactic and science base at the campus of our University in Piotr.
The visit of scientists from Lviv is a further stage of cooperation between the two scientific centers, initiated by a two-month scientific internship, dr hab. M. Khemarhuk at the Department of Economic Sciences in 2007 and the first joint scientific publications. In the future, plans are planned further joint activities and exchange of students. Another opportunity to meet and develop scientific cooperation will be organized in May this year. international scientific conference in Lviv.


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The 2010 American League West Division champion Texas Rangers will host the Seattle Mariners and Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim on the final homestand of the regular season, September 27-October 3.
The Mariners will be at Rangers Ballpark in Arlington for 7:05 p.m. games on Monday and Tuesday, September 27-28 and a 1:05 p.m. matinee on Wednesday, September 29.
Prior to the opener of the homestand on Monday night, the 2010 A.L. West Division Championship flag will be raised on the top of the center field office building in a pre-game ceremony. The Rangers have clinched their fourth A.L. West Division crown, the first since 1999.
The Angels close Texas' regular season schedule with 7:05 p.m. games on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday, September 30-October 2 and a 2:05 p.m. contest on Sunday, October 3.
On October 1, tickets regularly priced up to $25 are just $10 with the Verizon Wireless Friday Night Fireworks ticket special. Cash parking is also just $5 that night, when a spectacular fireworks show themed "From Sea to Shining Sea" music.
Sunday, October 3 is Fan Appreciation Day with a number of great prizes to be given away. In addition, fans can demonstrate their support by participating in the Claw & Antlers Parade, which begins at 1:15 p.m. Fans who wear their best "Claw & Antlers" garb will be able to parade around the warning track. Fans judged to have the best three outfits will receive official Claws & Antlers shirts.


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Welcome to the TERC's Using Data! As of January 2016, TERC has ceased to offer face-to-face Using Data workshops. We are, however, offering online professional development through our partner, Knowledge Delivery Systems. You can find information about our online PD course below.
Diana Nunnaley, formerly of TERC, is offering face-to-face workshops based on the TERC Using Data program through her new venture, Using Data Solutions LLC. You can reach Diana via email at email@example.com or by phone at 774-993-2005.
Using Data for Meaningful Classroom Change : An Online Course
TERC has transitioned our successful Using Data For Meaningful Change online course to a new platform with updated content and fresh perspectives on best practices related to data literacy and continuous improvement. Using Data For Meaningful Classroom Changetargets classroom-level, data-informed decision-making to improve teaching and learning.


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Tahetorni Hotel is situated 9 kilometres from the centre of Tallinn, in a peaceful district, rich of pine forest and fresh air. The hotel disposes of spacious rooms, equipped with all modern conveniences, as well as of a cozy bar and restaurant. In summer, you can relax on the summer terrace or in the flowerful back garden. Tahetorni Hotel is a perfect place for those who - in addition to a comfortable and homely accommodation - look for peaceful and green surroundings, yet only a few kilometres from the old city centre of Tallinn.
Room Types:
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Tallinn Hotels - Tahetorni
Tahetorni Str 16 Tallinn, 11625
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Tallinn Travel and Lodging Related Links


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Results Driven by Cerius Interim and Part-time Executives
Cerius Interim Executives are hand selected for their ability to work within your company to produce results. Sometimes accomplishing the agreed upon goals requires a day or two a week for a few months. Other engagements may dictate a more intensive amount of time over a longer period. Either way, you have complete flexibility to apply the part-time executive to a key role or key initiative without the obligations of a full-time employee.


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These aren't just nice vegan recipes. For those who prefer not to grill or char on the burner of your stovetop, you can halve the eggplant lengthwise; place, pores and skin side up, on a foil-lined baking sheet; and bake at 450°F for 30 to forty five minutes or until very tender You'll lose a number of the char, however the dish will still be scrumptious.
I doubled the recipe, added some chopped onion into it and only did 1 tbsp of nutritional yeast as I'm not the most important fan of it. I also put salt on the shredded zucchini and rung it via a cheese material to make sure they didnt give an excessive amount of moisture and I am glad I did as a result of I still added some gf breadcrumbs to get rid of the slightest bit of moisture.
Monica Shaw's Scrambled tofu makes a fantastic vegan breakfast recipe which is easy, filling and delicious, or for a sweeter possibility that's excellent for munching on the go strive Victoria Glass' Gluten-free banana bread , a vegan cake full of banana, apricot and pistachios.
"Paella could sound like something fancy, but it is a humble dish, constituted of elements which can be contemporary and wholesome," says star chef José Andrés, whose eating places in Washington, D.C., Las Vegas, and California helped spark America's celebration of Spanish delicacies.
Every of those recipes I share in the present day are ones that have repeatedly gotten rave critiques from readers saying…"nobody might believe this was vegan!" or "my meat-eating husband devoured this!" While I have many, many more recipes which are hits, I've chosen 20 that I really feel anybody and everybody loves.


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Sometimes you need a function to calculate a result and you don't want to use an action. Here we have an (sense free) example which shows us how a function is build up and used. Also the scope of used variables is demonstrated:
This example will log (in extra lines): 3, 4, 0, 7, 3, 4, 99
This show us the scope of defined variables. The variables a and b are defined in outer and inner (function) scope. The changed values (set to 99) will only affect the inner a and b. Otherwise c - there is no c defined inside the function or passed to it. So the outer c will be used.
After calling Add(a,b) the value of c is set to 99.
Regardless of the scope a function can return a value using the keyword return. There is no type definition. The function will return an object.
Warning - it is not recommended to manipulate outer variables from inside a function. It works, but making your code difficult to debug if any error or misbehavior occurs.


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Yesterday the noted Pagan author, activist, and teacher T. Thorn Coyle, in a three part series on her blog, tackles the issue of teachers and leaders with "feet of clay". Specifically, she discusses the controversy-loving Frosts (that would be Gavin and Yvonne Frost of The Church and School of Wicca), their ongoing defence of largely indefensible sexual politics, and processing a recent panel she ran where she allowed them to participate.
"I am struggling with the Frosts. Struggling because it would be too easy to do as others have which is to demonize them or relegate them to the "sweet old couple." They are something far more varied than either of these. Some people want to sweep them under a rug, but I do not think they should be ignored. Why? We need to figure out our theolog(ies). We need to know where we stand on sex. Many of us would still rather just suppress it like the overculture teaches us, because abuse may happen otherwise, or we may need to deal with our own demons. I say that abuse happens because of the suppression. Our demons grow stronger the more we constrict around our fears. Abuse happens when we don't deal with our own sexuality, and we don't teach our children about their own. And abuse sometimes just happens … If sex is sacred, we need to figure out how that translates and is reflected in our own lives, and in how we pass on that teaching. And this is why, Gavin and Yvonne, as two people who have taught many others, I wish you would explain. Or I wish you would retract. Or I wish you would apologize. We could use discerning words from you instead of simply a shut down or blustering defense, or the insistence that those who disagree with you are "plastic"."
She closes with some questions for the Frosts to answer:
"What do you really think, today, about the sexual education of children? Is sex between adolescents with adults really the best way they should learn these mysteries? How did you teach your own daughter to appreciate the powers of sex, love, and Nature?"
And some questions for her readers:
"What do you think about your own relationship to sex? To magic? To life force? To our process? To mistakes? To feet of clay? To your own regrets? To the sacred? To teaching our children?"
The sexual politics, and controversies, of the Frosts is a topic I've covered more than once here on this blog. I applaud Thorn for bravely stepping forward to process her own participation and feelings regarding these issues. I agree with the sentiment that we need to have an ongoing and constructive dialog concerning sex in our wider community, to actively engage with tough issues instead of ignoring them or allowing certain individuals to frame the entire moral question. I urge my readers to go through all three of her essays, and to answer her questions at her blog. Then, if you'd like, feel free to answer them, and continue the conversation, here, too. You should also keep an eye on Thorn's podcast page, where audio and video from the panel in question will soon be posted.


text: For the past two years, I have had the pleasure of working with Ellen Morse. She is a consummate professional — full of creativity, the master of innovative design, and exceedingly time conscious. I have worked with a number of graphic designers, and have found Ellen to be extremely responsive and a real blast to work with. I am very fortunate to have this relationship, and connection and highly recommend Ellen for any of your graphic design needs.


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Supervisors and counsellors: how to help
Inspection is a competency where supervisors and counsellors can make a big difference in developing a candidate's "surveyor sense" and their ability to articulate it.
They should allow candidates at an early stage of training to shadow them on any interesting inspection and discuss what is being done and why. Over time, candidates should be asked to describe their own inspections in order to develop a fluency in response to questions.


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Easy delicious versatile authentic stir fryFrom modelk 11 years ago
- 1 lb of chicken, beef, pork, tofu or any meat of your choice (I prefer beef or chicken) shopping list
- 1 tbsp diced garlic, more or less to taste. shopping list
- 2 cups veggies of your choosing (i use different colors of bell peppers, broccoli, green beans, onion slivers, daikon, green onions, snow peas, etc...) shopping list
- 1 tbsp oil shopping list
- 1/4 c water shopping list
- 1 1/2 tsp fish sauce (nam pla), or soy sauce if the fish sauce is too much for you. shopping list
- 1/3 c oyster sauce shopping list
How to make it
- Cut up meat into bite size pieces. It is good if there is a little bone to cook with for extra flavor. And cut up the vegetables into bite size pieces.
- Heat your frying pan on medium-high heat. Add in the oil and garlic to lightly brown it.
- Add in meat and stir around until it is cooked through. Add in water and cover for 2-3 minutes. Stir in vegetables. Cover and cook for about 5 minutes.
- Add in fish sauce and oyster sauce and stir.
- Set temperature to low heat, cover and simmer for a few minutes.
- Serve over a nice bed of rice or with some sticky rice! :)
- Enjoy!
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- Show up here?Review or Bookmark it! ✔
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Fantastic recipe thanks high5momo_55grandma in Mountianview loved it
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GCPS Safeguarding Support Service
Safeguarding advisors and designated safeguarding staff working in international development face many tough challenges. The demands of Boards, donors and regulators mean there is more pressure than ever on organisations and their safeguarding staff to deliver. These roles can be isolated within organisations and with little available in the way of specialist training, support and development. That's why GCPS has established this new service.
GCPS provides training, mentoring, and coaching to safeguarding advisors and designated safeguarding staff, equipping them to support implementation in their organisations.
We will inform your approaches based on current trends and up-to-date thinking on policy and practice in the sector that really contribute to creating safer organisations. We will also help you to provide and support organisational leadership through the challenges and decision-making on the many complex issues associated with safeguarding.
GCPS Directors and Senior Associates are all experienced and qualified trainers, mentors, and coaches in a range of relevant areas.
GCPS offers several different elements in the training and support package, which clients can mix and match according to their needs:
1 Day Training
One-day face-to-face trainings will bring together peers working in the development and humanitarian safeguarding sector. This training will draw on over 20 years' of the sector's learning on safeguarding, and cover the key 'need to know' issues that we are facing now, tailored to fit your learning needs.
Coaching and mentoring
Two-hour monthly meetings with a GCPS consultant, to coach and/or mentor the safeguarding advisor on issues arising in the course of the client's work. This will include email follow up on any outstanding issues that require research or consultation with others by the GCPS consultant. This can be provided face-to-face or online depending on location and convenience.
Action Learning Sets
Action Learning Set meetings held remotely, once every two months over a twelve-month period. Sessions will be run with closed groups, enabling trust and confidential relationships to develop amongst group members over six sessions throughout the year. This will enable clients to reflect on live safeguarding issues brought to the ALS and seek clarification on solutions from peers in the sector.
A 'rapid response' advice service for ad hoc queries. This service allows organisations working in rapidly-changing environments, or on many different projects at once, to have regular feedback and coaching – with more flexibility to discuss a variety of topics on a regular basis. The Helpdesk will offer advice on a wide range of safeguarding policy and practice issues as well as on safeguarding issues and incidents.
To discuss your requirements, contact us on firstname.lastname@example.com


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Saddle up for a lunch tour through the West's "Most Western Town" on the Taste It Scottsdale's Food Tour.
Tour Details
DescriptionOn this tour, you will enjoy delicious craft pizzas, an English delicacy, a traditional Mexican platter, wine tasting, and homemade Italian gelato.
WhenMondays, Wednesdays & Thursdays at 2:00pm
Tours last approximately 2.5 hours
Tours run rain or shine
RestaurantsCornish Pasty Co. (meat pies, not desserts)
Aridus Winery
Craft 64
Los Olivos Mexican Patio
Gelato Cimmino
Price$65 + tax (no booking fees)
IncludesFood and drink at five (5) different spots and a knowledgeable, friendly tour guide
Meeting PlaceThis tour starts and finishes at Saguaro Hotel, 4000 N Drinkwater Blvd, Scottsdale, AZ 85251
Group SizeFood tours serve up to 16 guests, and you can buy individual tickets; tours with less than 5 people will be rescheduled or refunded.
If you have a group larger than 8 guests, please book a private tour.
DifficultyThis is a walking food tour, please be prepared for a moderate amount (1-1.5 miles) of walking, spread out between food stops.
AgesWe respectfully ask that no children under the age of 11 are brought on this tour
Important NotesFood items are pre-selected to showcase the most popular items at each establishment.
We do accommodate for vegetarians, but do not offer substitutes.
Restaurants and routes can change slightly without notice due to events in the Old Town area.
Tour Itinerary
Craft 64
Craft 64 uses only local organic ingredients for its craft pizzas, and all 36 beers on tap are brewed in Arizona.
Cornish Pasty
Cornish Pasty Co. specializes in the pasty, a favorite English dish featuring meat and veggies in a pastry shell.
Ruze Cake House
Los Olivos Mexican Patio
Los Olivos Mexican Patio is the oldest Mexican restaurant in Scottsdale, family owned for over 70 years.
Gelato Cimmino
Gelato Cimmino offers authentic Italian gelato using only the freshest ingredients imported from Italy.


text: O.P. Park on Fromhart Street is having its third winter contest soon. When I say soon, I mean Saturday, Feb. 21. It will be the first contest held on all of the park's obstacles since last summer. Each skater will have two one-minute runs on the entire park.The entry fee is $10. If you are an avid contest skater, you will understand that 10 bucks is very cheap for a contest.Crown Skateboards, Board City skate shop, Busstop Magazine and even Nana's Ice Cream will be helping out with the event, according to park officials. There will be chips and drinks, and Jose Velez will be there with his shaved ice stand.It doesn't get much better than skateboarding and shaved ice in the middle of winter, so bring your bag of tricks and be ready for a good time.Skate plaza plansYou may have heard there's a skate plaza in the works in Springfield.Some of you may be wondering what a skate plaza is. Well, it isn't your average skate park with all the step-ups and Skatelite surfaces.Skate plazas are usually made out of concrete (such as the famous DC Skate Plaza in Ohio). A plaza usually has strictly street skating stuff, such as handrails, stair and ledges, and other stuff you could find in a big city.But I have seen some plazas that have a bunch of concrete bowls (a bowl is like a pool that the old school guys used to skate, but is actually made for skating).But either way, the plaza should be really sick. More to come on plans for the plaza later.Latest tricksDavid French, 18, Clay County - Fakie 5-0 half cab outAlex "Gwaks" Espana, 16, Fleming Island High School - kick flip Jacksonville University nine-stairSkater Lucas Milano, 15, of Fleming Island High School, writes about skateboarding. Send your news items to him at www.myspace.com/doitbigcolumn or e-mail luketheduke132@ yahoo.com.


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Tonga is the Pacific's only constitutional monarchy. It has a population of around 107,000 people and ranks 101 out of 188 countries on the Human Development Index 2015.LXIV
Tonga is one of six countries globally that has not ratified the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women.LXV However, through its national Gender and Development Policy, adopted in 2001 and reviewed in 2014, Tonga has pursued national planning measures in support of women's empowerment.
Tonga's Legislative Assembly consists of 17 members elected by the people of Tonga, nine members elected by the Nobles of Tonga and up to four members appointed by the King. While no women were elected in the 2010 elections, one of the King's two appointments was a woman. No women candidates were successful in the 2014 elections, but with the election of a woman at a by-election in 2016, women's representation in the Tongan parliament stands at four per cent.
Inheritance passes through male heirs and women are excluded from land holding unless there is no man in the lineage. Even then, women only have occupancy rights.LXVI The labour force participation rate in both the formal and informal economy for women is 42 per cent, compared to 63 per cent for men.LXVII
Research indicates that 40 per cent of ever-partnered women have experienced physical and/or sexual violence in their lifetime, with half of them reporting that their children had witnessed the violence at least once.LXVIII In response, implementation of Tonga's Family Protection Act 2014 is underway.
Project name: Program Against Violence Against Women
Outcome: Ending violence against women
Project Partner: Women and Children Crisis Centre,Tonga
Total Funding: $900,00019
Funding timeframe: 2016–2019
The Women and Children Crisis Centre in Tonga is implementing a second phase of a Pacific-centred male advocacy training program. As a result of the training, more men are standing up to end violence against women and girls—even when it makes them feel uncomfortable.
Mr Melkie Anton is one of a group of men from across the Pacific who worked closely with the Fiji Women's Crisis Centre and the Pacific Women's Network Against Violence Against Women to design this training. Over five years, the group developed the Pacific owned and led initiative. Now a lead trainer, Mr Anton explains that,
'being a male advocate on ending all forms of violence against women and girls, gender equality and women's human rights is not an easy role. In fact, you have to be prepared to feel uncomfortable, because we will be taking a deep look at our male privileges, our power and how we use that to control women'.
The training involves deep discussions about issues including culture and religion, challenging participants to re-look at attitudes and behaviours that consider women to have lower status than men. It also includes practical sessions on how to respond to the justifications given against the achievement of gender equality, women's human rights and the fight to end all forms of violence against women and girls.
The sessions get participants thinking, with one man querying,
'Why do we test women's virginity ('api') before marriage and we don't care about the man's sexual history? He could have several sexual relationships and children before marriage but no one cares about that. All we care about is testing the woman's virginity, to the point that where a man knows that his wife was not a virgin when they married, he will use that against her until she dies and is buried. He will remind her of that every time they have a dispute. Our expectations and testing of a woman's virginity and not having any expectations on the man is unfair on the woman—is this aspect of culture still required?'
With support from Pacific Women, the second cohort of Pacific Island men commenced the three stage Male Advocacy training in Nuku'alofa in May 2017. The 35 men will be supported by male advocates, including six Tongans, who were part of the inaugural training.
Project name: My Body, My Rights
Project Partner: Talitha Incorporation (Talitha)
Total Funding: US$90,000
Funding timeframe: 2016–2018
Since 2009, the Talitha Project has been empowering young women and girls between the ages of 10-25 to make sound decisions that will lead to a life free from violence. A grant from Pacific Women to continue a new phase of the project is enabling Talitha to continue rolling out its work in Tonga.
Through a range of activities, the Talitha Project educates young women and girls on their fundamental human rights and reinforces the importance of protecting these rights. One activity is the My Body! My Rights! program, which worked with 36 young girls and representatives from key partner organisations between March 2016 and February 2017.
'They teach us how to protect our body and our rights and know when they saw a violence and then STOP because everyone has a right,' explains Ms Tolofi Folaumoetu'I, who is 10 years old.
The project also provides several platforms for girls to speak out, share, and debate issues affecting them. The project places a special emphasis on the topic of ending violence against women at regular focus group discussions after school.
A radio talk-back show on Friday afternoons at a popular radio station is hosted by young women who have been trained under the project. The radio show gives young women a public voice to share their views and experiences on violence, along with issues such as human rights and the Convention of the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women.
Through its mentoring program, Talitha has partnered 30 girls with six mentors. This creative program includes confidence building through choreography, team building, artistic development and expression through poetry, photography and choreography, basic journalism skills, and self-defence.
In one exercise, girls and their mentors talked about different areas in the community where violence occurs. They recognised home, school, church, and public spaces as places where violence against women and girls takes place. The mentoring program has created a safe space for young girls and their adult mentors to share their secrets and their stories.
The Talitha project continues to work to support positive changes to social norms through interventions with adolescent girls and young women, through these primary prevention approaches.


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BEIJING (Reuters) - Chinese citizens alarmed about pollution won a rare victory on Wednesday when a city froze a chemical project after angry residents joined in opposition through a flood of mobile phone text messages.
Xiamen, a port city of about 1.5 million people centered on an island in eastern China's Fujian province, announced it was halting construction of a plant to make paraxylene (PX), a petrochemical that goes into polyester and fabrics, the official Xinhua news agency reported.
Angry locals had denounced the project as an "atomic bomb" threatening the seaside environment, the report said, adding they claimed to have circulated nearly a million mobile phone text messages urging family and friends to protest the plant.
"When this massive toxic chemical product goes into production, that will mean an atomic bomb has been released over all Xiamen island," said one version of the text message quoted by the Southern Metropolitan Daily.
"We want to live, we want our health!"
The message urged residents to join a street protest, Chinese media reported. "For the sake of future generations, pass this message on to all your Xiamen friends!"
As recently as Tuesday, Chinese media quoted Xiamen officials as vowing the project would go forward despite the outcry.
The abrupt reversal reflected a potent cocktail of public worry about pollution, modern communications, and increasingly assertive citizens, said Zhong Xiaoyong, a freelance writer in Xiamen who opposed the plant.
"It's a step forward that shows they have to listen to peoples' worries about the environment, not just in Xiamen but across the country," Zhong told Reuters by phone.
"Now nobody feels that they can avoid the effects on water, air, soil; and public awareness is growing that this is everybody's concern, not someone else's."
China's leaders have promised to clean up skies and water degraded by decades of unchecked growth, and environmental agencies are increasingly vocal about officials who push industrial projects without assessing the impact.
But local governments often remain eager to boost employment and revenues even if the environment suffers.
The plant had been under construction 7 km (4.3 miles) from the city centre by the Taiwan-funded Xianglu Group, the China Daily reported on Tuesday.
Debate over the plant began to grow during the annual session of China's parliament, when 105 members of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference — a usually sleepy talkshop — raised doubts about the project, estimated to cost 10.8 billion yuan ($1.4 billion).
Public opposition began to build through the Internet, which remains a lively forum despite government censorship.
"As soon as it enters production, all of Xiamen island and even the densely populated south Fujian peninsula will be caged under a toxic chemical industry cloud," wrote one local blog author quoted by Phoenix weekly, a Beijing-based current affairs magazine.
Xiamen deputy mayor Ding Guoyan told a news conference the city had received all the approvals needed for the plant, but promised to heed public worries by doing another environmental assessment, Xinhua reported.
A prominent Xiamen scientist who has led opposition to the plant, Zhao Yufen, complained in newspapers she was not shown an environmental impact study that city officials said had cleared the project. She argued the plant should be moved to a less populous place.
Zhong, the writer, said the suspension did not mean the project and the battle over it were finished.
"This means the government is pausing to reconsider, and it could still go forward," he said. "But at least for now people's concerns have been heard."


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Be the first MLive.com user to add photos or videos of W W T V W W U P TV 9 & 10
W W T V W W U P TV 9 & 10 is located at 2640 Aero Park Dr, Traverse City, MI. This business specializes in Television.


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The Mr. and I started the weekend off celebrating his birthday with a round of golf on Friday, then hosting a BBQ on Saturday. He outdid himself with the menu - ribs (slow cooked for 6 hours), chicken, corn on the cob, beer (of course), a couple of salads and desserts from friends, and I made a peach cobbler with Ontario peaches. YUMM (sorry it was too yummy and messy to remember to take photos). It was a great afternoon/evening on Saturday.
Yesterday we kicked around the city and hit up Sugar Beach after a nice bike ride through the Don Valley
Today we'll take full advantage of the extra day off and the nice weather. Hope you all had / are having a great weekend.


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NBA YoungBoy's debut studio album Until Death Call My Name arrived in April of this year, and shortly after, he would drop off a mixtape in the form of Master The Day Of Judgement.
Now, the Baton Rouge rapper has circled back to his major debut and adds a few more tracks to create a deluxe edition in the form of Until Death Call My Name Reloaded. In total, we get four new tracks, with two featuring appearances from special guests Offset and Lil Uzi Vert. While the former pops op on new addition "RIP," we get Uzi on "Rich Nigga."
Per usual, in the case of YoungBoy the newly packaged Until Death Call My Name Reloaded is available via more accessible routes, made into a YouTube playlist and by way of SoundCloud before it hits major streaming services. Listen in full, and sound off with your thoughts on the new cuts.


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Annies Home a place where I love to share tips, recipes and wonderful products that I find for our family along the way.
Monday, April 20, 2015
International Guitar Month
The month of April is very musical and host international guitar month. There have been many talented individuals who have become known for playing guitar. My older sister even thought about once becoming a guitarist and purchased a guitar and lessons as well. I believe it would be fun to help your child create their own guitar.
1 small cereal box
1 wrapping paper tube
6 x 30cm pieces of string
3 popsicle sticks
scissors or a craft knife
masking tape
a long piece of ribbon or string to use as a strap
Seal up the top of your cereal box, glue it back in place so that both ends are closed.Now trace around the base of the wrapping paper tube - one circle on each end of the box. Cut out the circles at each end of the box. On the main face of the cereal box, draw a large circle and cut it out. Thread six strings across the guitar hole, tie knots to keep them in place. Push the wrapping paper tube through the two holes at either end of the box. Leave most of the length poking out one side and about a 2.5cm edge at the other end (this will give you something to attach your strap to at the base end of the guitar.) At the end of the long tube, use a craft knife to make three pairs of opposing slits in the tube. Push each popsicle stick through so that it sticks out evenly either side. These are the machine heads - the knobs of the guitar that tighten the strings. Attach a strap to your guitar and you are ready to rock
craft source here
shared at
sew can do
busy Monday
a round tuit
Posted by annies home at 12:30 AM
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Warner Presses Federal Agencies on Patch Management in Wake of WannaCry
U.S. Sen. Mark R. Warner (D-VA), Vice Chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence and co-founder of the Senate Cybersecurity Caucus, wrote to Office of Management and Budget Director Mick Mulvaney and Secretary of Homeland Security John Kelly, asking what steps the federal government has taken to ensure that federal IT and contractor systems have installed critical security updates to defend against the WannaCry ransomware that has attacked and disabled hundreds of thousands of computers in 150 countries since Friday.
Protecting and Restoring Urban Tree Canopy for Stormwater Management
The city of Harrisonburg will be hosting a presentation and discussion for members of the community to review the city's urban tree canopy management initiatives.
Scott to Tour Elizabeth River Restoration Projects to Learn More about the Impact of...
On Tuesday April 25, 2017, Congressman Bobby Scott (VA-03) will meet with the Elizabeth River Project to discuss the impact of President Trump's proposed budget cuts to the Environmental Protection Agency's Chesapeake Bay Program and other federal programs designed to protect and restore the Chesapeake Bay and encourage environmental literacy
Arlington County Board Adopts $1.25 Billion FY 2018 Budget
The Arlington County Board today adopted a $1.25 billion balanced General Fund Budget for Fiscal Year 2018 that includes a one-and-a-half-cent increase in the real estate tax rate for Calendar Year 2017.
Scott to Tour Marshall Courts Public Housing Complex
On Monday, April 17, 2017, Congressman Bobby Scott (VA-03) will meet with representatives of Housing Authorities in Hampton Roads to discuss funding cuts for federal housing programs proposed in President Trump's Fiscal Year 2018 budget proposed. Following the meeting, Congressman Scott will tour Marshall Courts, a 349 unit Public Housing Complex. The complex is currently undergoing a multi-phased comprehensive renovation that is subject to massive cuts under President Trump's proposed budget.
Arlington Considering Options for Buck Property, Other Parcels
A year before completing its purchase of the 6.1-acre Buck property on N. Quincy Street, Arlington County is beginning to explore options for how this and other sites may be used to help meet critical County and Schools facility needs. The County has until November 20, 2017 to exercise an option to purchase the property
Alexandria 2016 Second Half Real Estate Tax Bills Mailed
The City of Alexandria has mailed bills for the second half 2016 real estate tax and refuse fee to all property owners and/or mortgage companies. The 2016 real estate tax rate is $1.073 per $100 of assessed value, and the annual refuse fee is $363
Arlington Celebrates Affordable Housing Month
October is Affordable Housing Month in Arlington, a month-long celebration of the County's long-term commitment to preserving and creating housing opportunities that benefit the whole community
Arlington County Board Moves to Preserve 68 Affordable Westover Units
The Arlington County Board today moved to preserve 68 affordable apartments in the Westover neighborhood, approving a $10.9 million Affordable Housing Investment Fund allocation to the non-profit Arlington Partnership for Affordable Housing (APAH). The loan and associated documents will be considered by the Board in December
September County Board Meeting Agenda Preview
The Arlington County Board will act on dozens of items at its September Regular County Board Meeting, Saturday, Sept. 24 and Tuesday, Sept. 27. Visit the County website for procedures for speaking at a Board Meeting. County Board meetings are open to the public and broadcast live on Comcast 25 and Verizon 40 and webstreamed on ATV.


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Nadra starts renewing Afghan refugee registration cards
QUETTA: The National Database and Registration Authority launched on Tuesday a countywide project for renewal of Proof of Registration (PoR) cards to 1.6 million Afghan refugees living in Pakistan.
Over 260,000 refugees living in Balochistan will be required to get their cards renewed under the project.
"Over 260,000 registered afghan refugees living in Balochistan will get these cards and these will be valid till Dec 2015," Nadra officials told journalists at a ceremony held for renewal of the cards.
Renewed PoR cards will be issue across the country through 34 centres set up by the government. In the first phase the cards will be issued from six centres set up in Quetta, Rawalpindi, Haripur, Karachi, Lahore and Peshawar. More centres will then be open in other cities in the coming months.
The existing registration cards expired on Dec 2012 and the UN refugee agency and other authorities concerned had requested the government of Pakistan to extend the validity of the cards.
The federal cabinet in its July 2013 meeting decided to extend the validity of the cards in accordance with the Tripartite Commission Agreement.
The new PoR cards will be valid till Dec 31 2015.Around 3.8 million Afghans have returned to their country under the voluntary return programme launched in 2002. Returnees form a quarter of the total current population of Afghanistan, while 1.6 million registered refugees are still living in Pakistan.
The card renewal process will be carried out in two phases. In the first phase, from February till the end of June 2014, all PoR cards expired in Dec 2012 will be replaced by new PoR cards.
In the second phase starting from July till the end of 2014, Nadra will register and issue PoR cards to some 150,000 children born to registered parents over the past five years, and more than 330,000 Afghan children below the age of 18 will receive birth certificates from across the country.
"Pakistan will continue extending help and cooperation to Afghan refugees till the end of 2015," Arbab Talib, Deputy Director of Afghan Refugee Organisation, Balochistan, said. "Afghan refugees are our brothers and they have been enjoying our hospitality for the past four decades."
He said the government was keen on providing support to the UNHCR and the government of Afghanistan in facilitating the voluntary return of refugees to their country.
The officer in-charge of UNHCR sub-office, Quetta, Mr Tesfaye Bekele, expressed the hope that the renewal of the PoR cards would better protect Afghan refugees and halt reported instances of harassment faced by the refugees.
The Director General of Nadra, retired Brig Javed Lodhi, Afghan Consul General Waheedullah Mehmand and representatives of the Afghan Ministry of Refugees and Repatriation also attended the ceremony.


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Feca is overpowered, other tanks and supports are underpowered. Here's whyBy Barinade - MEMBER - November 14, 2019, 21:00:04
Let me give you a list of abilities that Feca has in it's kit:
- Teleportation --> Mobility + Positioning and +2 MP for only 2 AP and 1 WP, no cooldown
- Bubble --> Range buff and free movement for cheap, can be put on any ally
- Orb --> extremely large shield, never expires, can be put on any ally
- Magma --> large aoe damage buff can be given to allies or used to set up aoes
- Meteor --> Extremely good 20% damage buff for only 2 AP to allies
- Drip --> way too much armor for 2 AP on anyone who you want to have it
- Tonic --> Extremely broken +2 AP buff for any ally for 2 turns which only costs 2 AP. Stacks twice.
- Fecablades --> Crazy strong MP reduction glyph which removes 4 MP for 3 turns and only costs 3 AP.
- Avalanche --> AP removal glyph that can be stacked with Fecablades
- Harmful Glyphs --> reduce the damage dealt by the boss
- Fecastaff --> reduces the damage dealt by the boss
- Provocation --> reduces the damage dealt to your team mates by the boss, stables
- Immunity --> makes any ally immune to damage completely in close combat for 1 turn for 1 WP,
- Peace Armor --> makes any ally immune to damage entire from any range for 2 AP 1 WP
- Fecabo --> makes your eni even better
- Inversion --> makes your dd go into ultra instinct. Combo this with peace armor
- Steam --> positioning tool
- Fecastopheles --> incurable
- Crashing Wave --> increased aoe damage to targets
Now let me make the same list for a class like tank sacrier:
- Attraction
- Transposition
- Assault --> positioning tools
- Light Speed --> mobility
- Bloodthirsty Punishment --> self tank ability
- Sanguine Armor --> self tank ability and stable
- Sacrifice -->
amazing ability to protect alliesnerfed, subpar protection spell
How about panda?
- Karchamrak -->
amazing positioning toolnerfed positioning tool, protect ally by forcing them to stay up there
- Ether -->
amazing self stabilizing toolnerfed self stabilizing tool
- Six Roses --> armor for yourself, but only on a target with a lot of dizzy
- Bamboozle --> armor for yourself, delayed heal for allies
- Refreshment --> outdated and delayed small damage buff to allies
- Bubble Trouble
- Splash of Milk
- Milk Wave --> healing spells that you will not have the AP for because you spent it all on armor
- Flame Burp --> subpar res debuff that you will not have dizzy stacks for because you spent it all on armor
- Barrelhop
- Dairy Springer --> mobility
Now that that's out of the way, let me start by saying, Feca is the undisputed champ of tanks and supports. Why is that? If you take a look at the list of abilities, they not only have the best ways to buff damage (meteor, inversion, magma, tonic), but they also have the best options to tank (orb, immunity, peace armor, drip, fecablades, provocation). Now you're probably thinking, there's no way they can have enough AP to do all of that in one turn right? Let me give you a hypothetical scenario.
If you're doing Pandala Tomb dungeon, your Feca will do the following:
Tonix x2 on your main damage dealer (4 AP)
Meteor your damage dealer (2 AP)
Inversion your damage dealer (1 WP)
Peace Armor your damage dealer (2 AP, 1 WP)
Magma Armor himself to give more damage to the damage dealer (1 AP, 1 MP)
Teleport the boss away from his team (2 AP, 1 WP)
Use immunity on himself (1 WP)
If you're counting that's 11 AP, 4 WP spent to have the perfect turn one. Your damage dealer is now a god among men, and will proceed to slaughter multiple enemies in one turn, while the boss has been pulled out of commission. The Feca will be taking 0 damage, of course, due to "Immunity".
Imagine an alternate scenario in which a 13 AP Feca does not use Magma Armor, but instead saves the AP for the spell "Fecablades", to use it on the boss after having teleported him. This is normally done for bosses that you are certain you cannot keep in place with just your lock.
The amount of potential that Feca has on turn 1 is so ridiculous that I've seen Iops shred through 4 to 5 enemies in one turn on s21. This of course, is not nearly as viable without a Feca.
Q: Why is Feca better at tanking than Pandawa or Sacrier?
A: Feca has an MP reduction spell that is better than either Pandawa or Sacrier could possibly ever hope to have. For example, Fecablades can remove -4 MP for 3 turns for the low, low price of 3 AP. Meanwhile, Pandawa can only attempt to remove -4 MP from an enemy if they can be lifted, using Karcham and then Lactic Acid, for a total of 10 AP. This has to be done EVERY turn to hope to remove 4 MP. If that's not bad enough, Pandawa's lack the Force of Will passive that Fecas have access too, making MP reduction even harder.
Q: But Barinade, Pandawa can remove resistance. Feca can't do that!
A: It doesn't matter. Pandawa has a spell called Flame Burp which removes 7 resistance for every dizzy stack on the target. The dizzy stacks are then consumed completely. This is entirely counter productive to a tank pandawa, since your main armoring spell Six Roses, also consumes dizzy stacks giving you an armor for every dizzy on the target. The dizzy stacks are then consumed completely. So, as a tank Pandawa, you are forced to choose between either reducing resistance or armoring yourself. Of course, Feca doesn't have this issue because you can Orb Armor yourself for around 11,000 for just 3 AP. If not, you can just make yourself entirely immune to damage. The damage and AP buff that Feca gives will have a better effect than res debuff, and you might even just have another res debuffer on your team anyway. That's not the only reason I don't use flame burp as a tank pandawa. The other reason is because, since I can't remove MP at any rate of efficiency, I'm required to have an Enutrof on my team. As you know, Enutrof will hit the 200 res debuff cap every turn with no help from Flame Burp.
Q: But Barinade, Pandawas can heal! Fecas can't do that, right?
A: Again, it doesn't matter. Pandawas have a large variety of healing spells including Flame Burp, Bubble Trouble, Milk Wave, and Splash of Milk. However, these spells all have AP costs. Sure, if I had an armoring spell as good as Feca's Orb Armor, then it would be fantastic to heal while also tanking. But I can't. I have to spend all my AP on hitting the boss so that I can generate dizzy stacks, which then allows me to get my armor. Pandawa spends all of it's AP on armor. Feca spends only 3 AP for an even better armor.
Q: Feca isn't that good at positioning compared to other classes, right?
A: For a character standing directly to a boss, there's not a whole lot of positioning going on. As long as you can move the boss, IE, karchamrak or teleportation, you're doing about as much positioning as a tank will ever do. If you ask me, Karchamrak is less effective for positioning 1 target than Teleportation is, since Teleportation isn't limited by "Heavy" targets and also generates 2 MP. And if you think I'm being ridiculous, try karchamraking everything on the map while also being stuck next to the boss. You can't.
Q: Don't you know how many WP the Feca will have spent if he plays the way you think he does?
A: Yes. Feca also regenerates WP more easily than any class in the game.
Q: But can't Pandawa stabilize itself every turn? Feca can't do that!
A: Nope. They nerfed it. In fact, that was the only reason I would consider Pandawa to be somewhat comparable with a tank Feca in the first place. Even then, it was still subpar since it couldn't buff allies.
Sor'hon, can't stabilize your damage dealer every turn to hit him from behind with being teleported.
Tanukoui San Ghost, can't stabilize yourself every turn to avoid taking extra damage from collision with the wall (yes, this boss does double damage if he pushes you into a wall).
Ogrest, emerald phase, can't stabilize your damage dealer every turn to prevent him from getting pulled in, ivory phase, can't stabilize your melee damage dealer every turn to avoid being pushed back by the wind aura.
Q: But you're forgetting, Pandawa can buff allies damage with refreshment passive!
A: Refreshment is a passive that buffs an ally player within 2 cells of your barrel by +20% damage at the start of the Pandawa's turn. Because of the underlined condition, this passive is not only extremely unreliable, but it is also impractical and I never use it. Consider the following:
Feca has Meteor, Magma Armor, Inversion, AND Tonic Glyph to buff damage as early as turn 1.
Pandawa has Refreshment that is a much smaller buff that can only be active as early as turn 2, since I have to place my barrel down. Not only that, but I also don't get to end my turn with my barrel in hands, since it's on the ground. Not only that, but turn 1 is the important turn to deal damage anyway, since the majority of the enemies are alive on turn 1. Not only that, but I also have to replace one of my extremely important passive slots of which I only have 6 of, just to put on the worst ally damage buff in the game.
Q: Did you just make this post to compare Pandawa to Feca?
A: Pandawa and Feca are in direct competition of each other in terms of role. Tanking and supporting. Sure, Pandawa comes off as a crazy tough tank with some healing spells (which you won't use because you have an Eniripsa on your team) and a really good set of positioning abilities. However, Feca comes off as an amazing tank, the best in the game by far given the circumstances: Orb Armor, Immunity, Fecablades, Teleportation. If that was all there was to it, then it would be fine. But no, Feca is ALSO an amazing support, having abilities such as: Magma Armor, Meteor, Orb Armor, Drip, Inversion, Peace Armor, Tonic Glyph, etc.
Q: Wasn't Feca already nerfed enough?
A: They received nerfs to Leather Plating in the distant past which, in hindsight, was not only one of the most necessary nerfs in the game, but only the tip of the iceberg when it came to broken, unfair feca abilities in their kit.
Q: Well then, what is your suggestion to fix it?
A: There's only one solution. Feca has to be nerfed or reworked. You are simply punished too hard for not having it in your team. Imagine if Pandawa or Eniripsa was given the spell "Tonic Glyph". Those classes would be considered the most broken class in the game if that were the case. Massive armors that don't expire, complete immunity to damage, an MP reducing glyph that is cheap and effective, these are spells that other classes DO NOT HAVE. Any other class with a spell that is considered too effective has it nerfed.
Badgeroxxor (Osamodas)
Focus (Iop)
Sacrifice (Sacrier)
Karchamrak, Ether (Pandawa)
Roly Poly, Riddling Arrow, Plaguing Arrow, Explosive Arrow (Cra)
Fits and Starts (Ouginak)
What about Tonic Glyph? What about Orb? What about Feca? I rest my case.
god i hate feca
i dont need to say more than my usual feca related catchphrase of 'god i hate feca' because let's be real, we all know feca needs to be reworked, we didn't need another post about why, and this is probably going to get locked by the mods in a day or two because the reactions reek of provocation as does the language of the post we're reacting to.
in the meantime, have fun!
You make a lot of good points but as it is now it seems that pandas just lack a specialty and need more of a concrete role in a team. I would rather they remove an aspect of panda e.g. healing in order to buff other areas such as tanking and positioning. (or even switch healing for buffs/debuffs if that's what you feel is needed)
I never go to a dungeon without a Feca. Trying to is a waste of time. Your DDs do less damage, and your tanking is less competitive. My panda is relegated to a subpar damage dealer, Feca does all the work.
I appreciate the post but you missed off sacriers strongest positioning tool
Sacrifice+BloodpactBtF, swap with allies with a modifiable range for 1ap, 2 times a turn
Also why do you put "nerfed" on things as if they arent still great, Ether is still incredible, Karch is still one of the strongest precise positioning tools
And Sacrifice is STILL godly? 3 turns of full team immunity with a good Eniripsa, the fact that its 3 turns is purely the reason its still incredible because in high stasis runs 3 turns is all you need for rooms
THe only area it lost potency is UB's and Boss rooms but EVEN then if youre not a full meat sack sacrier you can swap to DD mode in cooldown and do well
I get what you are trying to say, and feca does indeed need to be touched on, but your bias is clearly seeping through in a post where youre attempting an unbiased analysis of 3 classes
He doesn't necessarily want a nerf to Feca it seems he just doesn't want to be less powerful
Is feca not supposed to be the ultimate tank? what iam missing here? I can agreed that they have a lot of support spells for a tank tho.
Ultimate tank is fine. It's the support abilities that we all want to have changed.
Bari, just say it, you are sad about panda nerf. I miss the old feca which had 2x the amount of things to do, where every Spell had 2 effects: if cast on the ground it made a glyph or on an ally it made an armor. that was a great time to be a feca, now it is pretty easy turns for choices.
I would love to see other classes get their utility as supports increased, because atm it is not that fecas are the best tank its that in addition to tanking they can support their team so effectively. I love me my Fogger tank but it doesnt stack up to what fecas can do.
If you have nothing to provide to the discussion, why post.
Edit: thank you for editing your post to have something to add to the discussion.
It's not about Pandawa, it's about Feca. I was informed that the devs already know about how overpowered Feca is, so it's only a matter of time really. I just enjoy discussing it.
noahcrow|2019-11-14 19:05:25No thats my real opinion, don't take it personally. Panda has plenty of stuff. If you just wanted to nerf feca that's understandable, but the timing of this post right after the panda nerf kinda just makes it seem like you just don't wwant to be nerfed
Unfortunately, due to Pandawa being the only competition Feca had in the tank role, any small nerf to Pandawa's capability brings up the Feca as a main point of discussion. I didn't complain when Karchamrak got nerfed, for example, because it has nothing to do with tank pandawa. Ether is one of the key mechanics for tank pandawa, and considering that tank Pandawa is now going to be a lot harder to pull off in high stasis runs, I would like to see Feca be rebalanced as well so I have less to complain about (and i'm not the only one).
As for your personal beef with me, seriously, if you think you're cool for publicizing it you're wrong. You have me on discord.
This is the place for discussing class balance, so that's what I'm doing. I've had my own opinions about Feca, Sacrier, and Panda for awhile, so this has nothing to do with you i assure you. Your post seems to argue by comparing the 3 classes that Feca needs to be "lowered" to panda's level. However I would argue that all 3 need to be nerfed somewhat. Ether is still a fantastic ability, and stabilizing each turn was obviously OP, considering all what else your class can do.
Barinade|2019-11-15 01:38:42Also, @Suspect, I never said I was trying to be unbiased. I wrote an opinionated post with facts to support my opinion, that's all. Also, I was barely even attempting to include Sacrier in this discussion because they play an entirely different type of tank role. The last sacrifice nerf was warranted and the spell is still good, but can it buff AP on it's teammates? Can it give +60% damage dealt to an ally? That's why I don't have a sacrier on my team.
You might have "barely attempted" but the attempt was still there and a poor one at that
But your right, sacrier is different type of tank, its a far better damage sponge than Feca is, with 3x its Hp pool and armor that doesnt require mastery, but none of that matters in this because comparing classes is stupid
The only part of feca that needs to be tuned is not its Defenses, Or its locking ability
Its the sheer pool of buffs it possessea thar makes it a near mandatory role in most runs
However the topic of Feca has been brought up many times and the conclusion is always the same, Balancing or reworking feca is a very large and sensitive job, far more than any other class aside from maybe Eniripsa, with such an anchor in the PvE mindset the class would need much more caution if its to change and the devs are very aware of this
As youve already seen every other class is undergoing a rework, Feca will aswell but most likely it will be last, im growing bored of seeing the same thread and the same arguments, people KNOW theres an issue and ive seen GD's show awareness many many times, just give it a rest
Plus comparing classes is such a unproductive way of doing things because they are suited for different roles entirely, its like comparing Sram to rogue or Iop
We don't speak of the Eugor <- class removal
Máe mía feca
The title of this opinion piece is inconsistent with the points you make regarding the balancing of Feca, Panda, and Sacrier. You say that you just want Feca nerfed, but you set up a logical fallacy by how you word your descriptions of their ability, and the title. This is whats implied.. Feca is OP ~> Feca is objectively better than Pandawa ~> Pandawa needs to be stronger (or at least not nerfed anymore)
A lot of what I believe makes feca way too overpowered is it offers too much in the two roles its top-dog in, support and tank. I don't think any other dual-identity class is top tier in both of its roles. An example of dual identity would be Ecaflip. I may come off biased as Bari, too btw, as I don't play feca in my main team.
Feca has predominantly been the go to choice for tank for the majority of comps across servers, while a small percentage of us would select tank sac or tank panda. One attraction is that feca, like sacrier, accesses its full tank potential in by turn 1, with its free resistance, lock, block, and damage mitigation, where as a panda takes a while to ramp up to its full tanking prowess which has a limited cycle span. You are rewarded for building lock on top of being given free lock, a tank stat, by being given resistances which makes fecas inherently tanky, so even if you play your feca as a pure support, it could easily substitute in for the tank role in your comp because of passives. Below are some more analysis of their tanking.
- Immunity/PA are a great get out of jail free card for pseudo-tanking by allies, or stalling tactics. Carrying an ally forces state rotations by pandas, and there's not much a sacrier can do during sacrifice downtime.
- In terms of the big armor spells in pandawhack, sanguine armor, and orb, orb doesn't expire and can be refreshed every turn. Your decision making here is whether to orb yourself or an ally. A panda would have to see if it's worth consuming dizzy and consider WP management, where as a sacrier has cooldowns. You are not punished if your shield is not broken, it just continues to sit there. If a panda armors itself, it can feel like it's gone to waste if you weren't even attacked. Sanguine armor doesn't have an expiration, but it is gated by cooldowns, and let's be real, yes rocky foot doesn't require mastery but spamming it is inefficient.
- Its damage mitigation comes from extra blocking power, leather plating, and feca staff. A sacrier has punishment which converts damage into a bleed, and a panda has bamboozle + pandemic. While these are all unique in their own way, let's take note that feca's dmg mitigation also is supportive because allies would also take less damage.
Nerfing its direct competition which was nowhere as popular only pushes it further in its undisputed spot in the meta.
When a feca doesn't have to expend AP to tank, it can choose to support. When you look at their support capabilities, they can buff damage with not as many limitations. Osamodas are gated by their control, for example. Ecaflips have to do all their support in melee, sadidas have cast limits on gust, and even a Masq with carnaval only has 1 set of masks to be shared. Feca's glaring weakness is its lack of heals compared to other supports.
The class probably needs some drawbacks to lessen its power. An example would be drip canceling out meteorite, or a cast limit on meteorite to force more decision making. Although most fights don't last that long, tossing a cast limit per target per fight to peace armor/immunity similar to eni's trans would be appreciated, too. It is so straightforward and easy, which is fine, not every class has to be complex like the Matrix, but it's an enabler class that can make almost anyone look good, based on everything it brings to the support table. Tonics/peace armor/meteorite will all be things people appreciate in every scenario. The discrepancy between a good feca and a bad feca is sometimes hard to distinguish. Post enchantment system, everyone's stats got a major facelift, and it's all about fast damage as the meta, making all their tonics + damage buffs even more appealing to the masses. I mean, look at the two new end game dungeons. They demand high damage (see Blight boss and ghostly protection mechanic). I'd love to see a comp hit 5m on Ogrest without a feca which is actually an incentive because of wraths.
I think I've yet to ever publicly complain about the state of the game, but it does deeply sadden me to continue with my panda and sacrier, seeing feca remain untouched. As much as it pains me to admit it, there is a feel bad factor in not having a feca in your team and it's more in your face after enchantment. I almost feel punished for having not selected this class to put in my team from the beginning. Feca is by far OP, and I have felt so prior to playing the class, and even more so after using the class. It's unfortunate many feca players have blinders on about this topic. As a panda main, I can admit my class is busted in certain aspects, such as permanent stabilization, but there are drawbacks to it. Look at the majority of panda passives, they are all give and takes. The feca class needs to be knocked down a peg from its reigning spots on 1 of its 2 totem poles. If not nerfed, at least buff the other classes to be more in line with it to encourage variation in classes.
Also in reply to suspect, yes, reworking feca would be a daunting task as the PVE scene of the game is revolved around having a feca for optimal performance. I just wanted to put my 2 cents into this topic.
I agree 100% and it just goes to show if the top pvmer on our server who plays all 3 classes at a much higher level than most of us thinks that feca has been treated softly compared to panda and sacrier then it's hard to argue against. You also did a much better job explaining it than I did.
awesome insight of the obvious ...problem here is that if they(devs), keep nerfing all the good classes this game will be close faster than you think ..
how to say this and not get another perma-banned from forum account :S ..the true is ankama will not ever balance any game for real because the marketing (if you analyze it) (for like 14 years i play ankama games) is always be and will always be not balance all classes for good and fair performance of the game. they love making players changing class ...is more like a rat lab for them , every time any of their game seem perfectly (or close) balance they just alter that balance, nerfing few classes and making few others relevant .... but in all this years having feca and eni on your characters is a MUST , else like damagers or support will be always in constant change, in order that overpower hardcore players change class .......why?... because they are the testers of the game also the baby cryers ( french community,mostly) that get bored faster than any other random player ...so ankama is not focus on the casual player they focus on those 24/7 players even if they not many .
why not focus on the casual player ? easy ... casual player love play for free , 0 effort willing the best performance and get easy kamas ..in other words casual players means less profit for a demanding community that dont like to help the company or the dev team to get paid ....maybe my suggestion after i said all this if maybe some CM reading is that ankama should go for a cheaper game but p2p (real money or ogrines in game) and of course to worldwide easy pay system (another trouble for ankama in the past years ).
for the record im not blamming the company just my opinion on what i have seen in the years playing ankama games.
sorry for my bad english , have fun!
you guys are funny , when i have told some classes are OP than others ,Wveryone was master here and was against me but now i see that you are screaming that OP classes. Just here to say "dont cry". Ankama slowly is changing the boss rules and your classes will be UP against bosses. GG
Totally agree.
Ankama just put every damn buff of the game on Fecas. Even tho Fecas are mainly tanks, they also give a better support than Eniripsas, Sadidas and other classes.
Fecas have waaay too much useful spells and have all the tools that a Tank need to do their job.
They should be reworked or touched in some way so at least other Tanks can compete. It is just alittle bit dissapointing and monotonous to see one on every team and without one the dungeon can't be started.
Suspect has already pointed out that comparing classes dirrectly is dumb: they are different and should remain like that. But even so Johnnydle has a very good response: feca is so overpowered that there is little space to consider other things. The meta is so fixed on feca that you are compelled to take it. Overall there are a few things I want to add to this discussion: my own opinion about the class; a few details missed out - strengths of feca; somethings about the meta; and a regard related to reduced level.
First of all I would like to point out I like feca a bunch and I started playing it as for my own enjoyement, not as a meta pick. I love the class and enjoy it a ton, so my comment will of course be directed torwards defending it a bit. I also like to strengthen the point that feca is first a buffer and second a tank, not the other way around. As you promptly pointed out most of it's skills is torwards buffs, which some can be used for tanking. PA/immu is first a buff and later a tank skill. I strenghten this out because there is a level range I play feca as buffer/DD instead of tank.
Not only that, feca can do a bit of positioning and has a reliable teleport ability. It has crowd control with fecablades and solid debuff with staff and leather plating passive. It has a ton of usages.
Anyhow, a few strengths you forgot:
- Feca has a higher ability to shrug off damage because its blocks reduce more damage than other classes, with the right passive. This paired with it's insane resist allows it to shrug off damage easily.
- Feca's debuffing abilities are amazing: Fecastaff and leather plating allow up to -40% final on mobs. This increases survivability on team and feca's own tanking abilities (leather plating only debuffs damage on allies). Fecastaff is pretty expensive (4 ap) so it's often not used.
These two things, summed with high resist, lock and mob control, is what makes feca an excellent tank.
Calculating an endgame feca damage taken: ~7.68% (1/100 x0.16 [84% resist] x0.6 [-40% block] x0.8 [-20% staff]). Then you remove barrier damage and then you start scrapping its shield. Thats barely any damage taken.
Now moving on to the main thing I wanted to talk about: Meta.
Since moon, ankama took into account that every dungeon would be done with a feca, thus devising mechanics that would be challenging even with a feca. And this is what makes the other tanks so missplaced. Dungeons are stepped up to absurd damaging boss. This is very true to moon, and they stepped it a bit down to level 200. Kinda. Counting with the damage buffs, tankyness and crowd control a team could have they stepped up dificulty to a point where not using feca makes things hard. And that is the problem. To fix this up they have two options: nerf fecas and nerf bosses, or buffing other tanks viability. I see the first option as discouraging to current players and as taking much more work than the second one. I would rather see other classes buffed to competitivity: either with tankyness as high as feca or with increases on their other features. Feca is hard to compete because its encompasses both a buffer and a tank role in one char and in a really good manner, other classes would need to have a similar benefit to compete in team.
Now, imagine if panda actually healed as well. Imagined if it had a reliable resist removal. Imagine if either of those roles wouldn't be so overly well done by eni or enu. Those two are also very meta build. Resist capping at -200 and enu being able to do it makes all other -resist invaluable. If you give panda a reliable - resist, it would be lost in meaningless debuff since enu can already do it so wonderfully easily. Anyhow, not this topic. I just want to point out that there are other meta classes that mess up this balance.
Lastly, I would like to go a bit off-topic to mention this is only an endgame trouble. Dungeons on earlier levels are much more flexible torwards feca usage, feca mostly taking the role of buffer and debuffer rather than tank. I would like to point out that endgame is not the only part of the game that matters. I myself abandoned endgame because I was fed up with it, and other levels have a much more versatile approach to teams. Under level 80 feca isn't even a proper tank, it needs passive slots, immu/pa and other things to be effective as a tank.
Overall, I wish to have enriched this topic somehow,
Hugs to all,
sorry buddy but badgeroxxor was the only thing that made osa viable. Ankama nerfing badgeroxxor just makes osa subpar to every class in everything
+ why nerf feca, this game is hard enough as it is, i'd just like to see more buffs
>Still extremely powerful in low level ALS
>Anatomy Osa is terrifying at endgame in PvE
>Dreggar's entire existance and Wabbit niche is godly for situational support
>Roxxor is still potent as long as you play smart
>Brutality Osa is strong enough at endgame it can clear rooms at s31 if you have a panda(1.64 and the coming 1.66 only make this stronger)
>Easiest class to gear in 1.64 cause you can turn it into a stat stick and waste mobs with, wait for it, BADGEROXXOR!


text:
I'm not even going to try and justify the reasons or make excuses. I am going to remind any cynics, and assuage my own guilt, by merely pointing out that Milngavie to Inversnaid has been traversed twice and that means that little and occasional cheats are allowable.
We spent the day on extended breakfasts, small walks, extended lunches and a cruise with a true believer on Loch Ness. It's an odd thing to be the only people. In restaurants or on cruises of Loch Ness. David's afternoon was filled with the cruise ship passengers who were ferried up and around Loch Ness from Inverness to see all there is to see, but his two o'clock sailing was just V—— and I. David came to Loch Ness in 1968 as part of an investigative team looking at the possible things that Nessie could be. He is still there. His boat speil is practised and despite the more intimate setting of only two passengers which can sometimes become a more conversational thing, he stuck to the script which actually involved playing a video he had made. Complete with laminated signs which he periodically pointed at the screen that said things like 'That's me on the left', and ' Me in 1972'. It was really strange. And even though he had been through every possible thing that Nessie may or may not be and ticked them off as probable 'no's, there was a feeling you were left with that he still believed there may be something out there as yet unexplained. I couldn't help wandering if that doggedness was the reason his little signs pointed to an 'ex-wife' rather than a 'wife'.
We must have been noticeably lazy in town all day. When we got to our B&B, Rory, our host, made the strange comment 'I know' to our saying we hadn't actually walked that day, but had, rather, caught the bus. Imagine living somewhere like a small Scottish village where everybody knows everything?
Good night to Drumnadrochit, good night to you.


text:
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Nashville is a town in Nash County, North Carolina, United States. The town was founded in 1780 and features a rare collection of Victorian and Queen Anne style homes. It is part of the Rocky Mount, North Carolina Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 4,538 in 2008. It is the county seat of Nash County. Like Nashville, Tennessee, the town and its county were named for Francis Nash, an officer of the North Carolina militia who died in the American Revolutionary War.
According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 3.0 square miles (7.8 km2), all of it land.
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Rocky Mount is an All-America City Award-winning city in Edgecombe and Nash counties in the coastal plains of the state of North Carolina. Although it was not formally incorporated until February 28, 1867, the North Carolina community that became the city of Rocky Mount dates from the beginning of the 19th century, and the first post office in the area opened in 1816. In 1996, the town of Battleboro merged with the city of Rocky Mount. As of 2010, the city's population was 57,477, which makes Rocky Mount the 15th largest city in North Carolina.
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