text:
Life After Katrina
Our first Christmas as displaced persons.
"But … I feel fine."
My friend Les lit a cigarette and splayed his hand ("five years") then tactfully changed the subject. The Carousel Bar rotated, creaking, while we sat chatting.
Later we met our friends Alfred and Melissa at Arnaud's, one of the few posh restaurants to reopen in the Quarter. Melissa is friends with the owner and had to pull strings (we thought) to get us a reservation on short notice around the New Year, but in fact the place wasn't very crowded. At some point Melissa's friend, the owner, came to our table and recounted how he'd evacuated three days after the storm with Melissa's dog, Flambeau, in tow. (I gather the dog had been left at Arnaud's because Melissa's family had evacuated by plane, but frankly I was pretty drunk by then and the details are vague.) The owner said he'd planned to ride out the hurricane at the restaurant, dog and all, but there were rumors of violence outside, and then the water had started rushing in. The tiles, I noticed, were still a bit on the scummy side.
Later we walked a few blocks to the famous Pat O'Brien's Bar. The French Quarter seemed sadly depleted—more like, say, Frontier City in Oklahoma than the Quarter circa New Year's Eve (no less). Bourbon Street was haunted by the ghosts of Sugar Bowls Past. In that bar, there, Lester and I had bellowed "Hang On, Sloopy" with a boisterous crowd of Buckeye fans (Les is from Cleveland); on that corner—just the year before last—I'd been accosted by an old battle-ax in LSU purple who'd jabbed a finger at my OU sweatshirt and brayed, "It's 80 degrees outside, you stupid Okie asshole!" But this year the Sugar Bowl was in Atlanta. There was no line to get into Pat O's piano bar, as in years past, and we were rushed to a table right under the pianos in front.
The next day (per tradition) we arranged to meet for lunch at Felix's Oyster Bar, on Bourbon a block off Canal. I arrived first and found the place closed, condemned. Pressing my face to the dirty window, I saw a chaos of garbage and fallen plaster. Across the street, however (and throughout the renascent Quarter), was some gaudy new Bennigan's-like place that advertised AUTHENTIC NAWLINS SEAFOOD!! and was pretty much empty as far as I could see. We went to the Napoleon House and had muffulettas and Pimm's Cups, then I took my friends for a drive.
All they'd seen so far was the Quarter and the affluent, relatively unflooded Uptown neighborhoods near St. Charles Avenue. I drove them around the rest of the city, the other 80 percent or so, toward the lake. My friends stared out the window, chain-smoking and saying the word s---a lot, while we passed mile after mile of dead lawns and drowned, deserted houses. Finally we stopped at my own house in the suburb of Gentilly. The waist-high debris had been cleared off my lawn, I was happy to see—this in accordance with "Executive Order CRN 05-02" (there was a notice taped to my door) granting right-of-entry to FEMA and its contractors. That was fine. I remembered how my neighbor Daphne, pre-Katrina, had once spent nine hours grooming her lawn and power-hosing her driveway. Our lawn, however, was something of a disgrace even before the storm, and afterward the heavy, hopeless debris had shamed me vaguely. I pictured Daphne gazing across the street and shaking her head.
"Have a look inside?" I asked Les and Lee, holding the door open. I wanted to show them the cypress moldings and hardwood floors and so forth, but they kept their distance—no way were they coming near that mold. Lee wouldn't even get out of the car. What the hell, though, I was Dead Man Walking anyway, so I went inside and poked around a bit. Nothing had changed much, except the maggots on our fridge were all dead now. They looked (I'm sorry to say) like so many desiccated boogers.
We drove on toward the lake, where the waterline went all the way up to the eaves on some houses, and the power lines sagged to the asphalt, and muddy cars were strewn about like the unclaimed dead at Passchendaele.
"Every one of these houses," Les wondered, "was a family."
At last we came to the shoreline, where a fair portion of the city's newer rich had lived. Oddly enough, this neighborhood seemed virtually untouched by the flood: All at once the lawns were green again, and the windows gleamed with life inside. Go figure. Perhaps the grassy man-made embankment here (and only here) had stopped the water, or perhaps the gods are simply whimsical.
Next: Life one year after Katrina.


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Edutech enters strategic partnership with Opera Multimedia
EDUTECH has entered into strategic partnership with Opera Multimedia, a European e-learning publishers, to bring Credit Line Business English to the Middle Eastern market. Through this partnership, EDUTECH will offer Opera Multimedia products to regional market.
Credit Line is an English language-training program focusing on the concepts, terminology and situation of international banking and finance. It covers major current trends in the banking world from electronic banking to the stock market. Opera Multimedia is the editor of EuroLearning, an e-learning provider for professional distance training, active in ten European countries.
Edutech Middle East is a regional provider of technology-based education, training and information resources. — (menareport.com)
© 2002 Mena Report (www.menareport.com)

subset: commoncrawl


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434 Party Sail
|Party Sail 9'10" Triangle HDPE knitted 90% UV block all weather fabric Breathable fabric allows intense heat and stifling humidity to escape via "chimney effect" Reduces ambient air temperature up to 20 degrees Provides temporary shade for all outdoor settings Includes nylon rope ties for quick set-up Ideal for camping, boating, playgrounds, sandboxes, poolside, and tailgating Will not mold, mildew, stain, crack or fade Easy to clean with garden hose Triangle: 117" Dimensions: Weight: 2.2lbsProduct will ship via: UPS/Fedex Ground
339 Round Cantilever Umbrella
|Cantilever 10' Umbrella Coolaroo's designs are timeless and distinctive. They're also guaranteed to retain their striking good looks season after season. Coolaroo's breathable fabric is much cooler underneath than other fabrics, making for a more pleasurable dining experience. Powder coated non-corrosive aluminum pole w/ 360 turning range HDPE knitted 90% UV block all weather fabric Reduces ambient air temperatures up to 20 degrees Will not mold, mildew, stain, tear, crack or fade Easy to clean w/ garden hose Pole Diameter: 37 mm (1 1 / 2 ) Materials: HDPE UV Block FabricCollection: UmbrellaDimensions: Weight: 48lbsProduct will ship via: UPS/Fedex Ground


text:
Part-time, 22 year old babysitter from Hughson, CA with 4 years of experience and a background check available upon request
Hughson, CA | 22 yrs old
4 years experience
part-time <$10-20/hr
Hughson, CA | 22 yrs old | 4 years experience | part-time <$10-20/hr
Meet Bianca
I am going to be a Junior at Stanislaus this fall. I can tutor and babysit. I have had experience babysitting kids from newborn age up to 12/13. I love kids. I love to play and do the whole dress-up thing and just have fun with them. I have my own car. I also know three languages: Assyrian, English and American Sign Language. I do have a part-time job. I get my schedule every Saturday or Sunday for the following Monday-Sunday. Babysitting and tutoring is just a way for me to make some extra money for college and for my car payments.
Has transportation
Willing to travel
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Comfortable with pets
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text:
Here are my two questions:
How can I start any application with Guest permissions by default?
How can I set certain applications not to launch with Guest permissions?
For the first bullet, any non-Microsoft signed application I launch should run as the Guest account.
For the second bullet, I'm imagining adding menu entries like this would be a nice approach:
- Set to run as Guest (= default selected entry)
- Set to run as User
- Set to run as Admin
But how do I do this?


text:
I didn't expect so many people to be hostile to the idea of having some emergency cash on your bike. It's just a $20, if your bike gets stolen, you have much bigger things to worry about. On the other hand, if you just happen to forget your wallet, a $20 stashed somewhere could be very important.
In any case, an extra water bottle can be a nice place to store stuff like money, keys, etc. A cheap water bottle isn't going to attract the attention of 95% of thieves (a pump... I figure there are at least a few thieves who probably thing a mini pump is some extraordinary feat of engineering and therefore worth money) and nobody expects anything but water to be inside of them. Specifically I recall a thread from Commuting where a rider going home at some ungodly hour was stopped and shaken down by the police (for no real reason other than people out at 3 am are a little suspicious by nature). I believe he consented to a search or something... Point is, the cop checked his pockets and his seat bag or pannier very carefully but never checked his water bottle (where he had his keys and other items). Think of all the drugs you could fit in a water bottle!


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Madonna of the bees by FlockhartWatch
©2011-2016 Flockhart
Uploaded at a better size for print
So Good Artwork
This is just fantastic.
Fanastic idea and beautifully put together.
Thank you very much your appreciation is much appreciated
Very imaginative, exceptionally beautiful.
Very beautiful!!!
Very cool and classic looking. The only thing I would derive its digital, is because of the transparencies of the elements.
So beautiful! Great!
the honey bee's knees
a beautiful painting.
a beautiful painting.
wonderful ...good art


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Neighbors' Day: April 30
To mark the first anniversary of the Whitney's new home, neighbors visit free on Saturday, April 30.Reserve tickets
Trailblazer, inventor, and innovator, Alice Guy Blaché (1873-1968) was cinema's first female director and first female film studio owner. Her legacy extends to groundbreaking filmmaking techniques, novel approaches to narrative, and original directorial style. This symposium explores that legacy.
Session One: Alice Guy Blaché as Film Pioneer features Alison McMahan, Homunculus Productions, LLC and Richard Koszarski, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey and is moderated by Antonia Lant, New York University.


text:
This Meetup no longer has an Organizer.
Without an Organizer, it will disappear from our website in 14 day(s).
You can join this Meetup and become the Organizer.
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You must purchase tickets on Eventbrite ($10 pitch/attend)
Please join us for the March 22nd Ultra Light Startups Feedback Forum and Pitch Showdown event
- Startups should not miss their chance to "Pitch Your Company"
- Please review the Pitch FAQ's and reserve a Pitch ticket
Boston Investor Panel
David Beisel (@davidbeisel) Cofounder and Partner at NextView Ventures, focusing on working with founding entrepreneurs looking for additional capital and expertise to help build great digital media & internet companies. Also founder and organizer of the Web Innovators Group, an organization which holds quarterly events which bring together nearly a thousand people in the web and mobile entrepreneurial ecosystem. Serves on the Board of Directors at BlogHer, a women's-focused blogging community and media network as well as an active blogger at GenuineVC.com.
Dayna Grayson (@daynagrayson) Principal at North Bridge Venture Partners, specializing in Digital Media. Her investment career follows operational success in product design and management.Dayna actively invests in companies seeking to change the way the Internet is used to deliver and monetize consumer services.
Brett Garrett (@brettgarrett) Principal at Bain Capital Ventures. Brett has been involved in a wide range of investments across multiple sectors and stages. Currently, Brett splits his time between Boston and New York City where he evaluates venture and growth opportunities in digital media and e-commerce and assists companies throughout the Bain Capital Ventures portfolio.
Matt Fates (@mattfates) Partner at Ascent Venture Partners with a focus on investments in early stage companies in the emerging sectors of information technology and investing only in the eastern U.S. His team leads Series A or Series B rounds of investment and seeks to build a meaningful relationships with management. Board member of a number of well recognized companies as well as serving as Overseer at the Boston Museum of Science driving the museum mission in science and technology.
Startup Pitches
Pitch applications now being accepted for March 22nd. 8-10 companies will be selected to pitch. Those who do not make this round of pitches will receive a full refund or may use their ticket for general admission. (Apply now, good luck!)
Event Format
The Investor Feedback Forum and Pitch Showdown is designed to:
At the Investor Feedback Forum, the panel and the startup pitches are integrated into a single session. Startups pitch to a panel of early-stage technology investors. Each startup gives a pitch and brief demonstration of his/her product. The panel and audience ask follow-up questions after each pitch. The panel gives constructive feedback to each startup pitching. At the end of the series of pitches, the audience votes for their favorite pitches via Twitter. The winners are announced and prizes are awarded. Then we go for drinks nearby.
BOSTON Hosts:
Boston Herald highlights Ultra Light Startups
0 · March 23, 2012
One of the best ever. See the full story highlighted in the Boston Herald -Business Technology article
0 · March 23, 2012
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Documents relating to the Exchange Offers and Consent Solicitations will only be distributed to eligible holders of Existing Ralcorp Notes who complete and return an eligibility form confirming that they are either a "qualified institutional buyer" under Rule 144A or not a "U.S. person" under Regulation S for purposes of applicable securities laws. The complete terms and conditions of the Exchange Offers and Consent Solicitations are described in the Offering Memorandum and Consent Solicitation Statement and related Letter of Transmittal, copies of which may be obtained by contacting Global Bondholder Services Corporation, the exchange agent and information agent in connection with the Exchange Offers and Consent Solicitations, at (866) 389-1500 (U.S. toll-free) or (212) 430-3774 (banks and brokers). BofA Merrill Lynch is the exclusive dealer manager and solicitation agent for the Exchange Offers and Consent Solicitations. Additional information concerning the Exchange Offers and Consent Solicitations may be obtained by contacting BofA Merrill Lynch, Debt Advisory Services, at (980) 388-3646 (collect) or (888) 292-0070 (U.S. toll-free).The New ConAgra Foods Notes have not been and will not be registered under the Securities Act of 1933 or any state securities laws. Therefore, the New ConAgra Foods Notes may not be offered or sold in the United States absent registration or an applicable exemption from the registration requirements of the Securities Act of 1933 and any applicable state securities laws.
ConAgra Foods, Inc. Announces Results To Date For Exchange Offers And Consent Solicitations For Certain Ralcorp Notes
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text:
Frivolous Bid Protests Come with Risks
Moorhouse, Richard L., Jack, William M., National Defense
* The great jurist Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr. once wrote that those who contract with the federal government should expect to have to "turn square corners" in their dealings.
Many procurement laws and regulations that govern government contracts, such as the Procurement Integrity Act, the False Claims Acts, and the recently enacted mandatory disclosure rules, ultimately focus upon contractor ethics and integrity. Before an award can be made, the contracting agency must determine that contractor's "responsibility," not just its technical and financial capabilities and capacities to perform successfully, but also whether it has a satisfactory record of business ethics and integrity.
But what of government contracting personnel? Do the same requirements for ethics and integrity apply in procurement dealings? The FAR [section] 3.101-1 sets forth the general principle that all, "Government business shall be conducted in a manner above reproach and, except as authorized by statute or regulation, with complete impartiality and with preferential treatment for none."
The official conduct of government contracting personnel must withstand the "Washington Post Test"; i.e., that conduct "must, in addition, be such that they would have no reluctance to make a full public disclosure of their actions."
Government contracting personnel can never act in bad faith against a contractor with the "specific and malicious intent" of harm, or otherwise act in such a grossly negligent manner as to constitute constructive bad faith. Government contracting personnel are presumed to act in good faith, so a very high standard of proof is needed to establish that an agency's procurement actions were undertaken in bad faith.
Other principles of law, however, provide contractors the right to challenge government procurement actions that were not "above reproach," without having to prove bad faith. At the same time, contractors seeking to challenge procurement actions are expected to act with ethics and integrity and not pursue frivolous actions calculated simply to delay procurements and procurement decisions.
The Court of Federal Claims has long bound the government to an implicit contract of "fair and honest dealing" in accepting bids and proposals, ruling that breaches of this contract warrant the grant of protest relief This principle has been expanded by additional laws strengthening the court's authority to review contested procurement actions for government conduct alleged to be "arbitrary and capricious, or an abuse of discretion."
That said, contractors who pursue frivolous actions before the court are subject to sanctions and the dismissal of the action with prejudice.
The Government Accountability Office has heard bid protests since 1919. The Competition In Contracting Act of 1984 empowered GAO to decide bid protest cases and gave contractors a powerful tool--the automatic stay. As well as requiring "full and open" competition--with seven exceptions--a major purpose of CICA was to empower contractors essentially as "private attorneys general" to police the government's procurement actions.
For that reason. GAO is relatively lenient in hearing cases that appear to lack merit on their face and will not summarily dismiss on the government's request before the record is fully developed; that leniency, however, does not extend to patently frivolous actions. …


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3 Pony Commission by DragonsAndBeastiesWatch
©2011-2016 DragonsAndBeasties
This was a fun commission to work on. I adore the white unicorn and the black pegasus is so rad! These are actually characters from a book that the commissioner's sister is writing. What a sweet Christmas gift idea!
1.25 inches tall, made from Premo Sculpey
1.25 inches tall, made from Premo Sculpey
I love your creations
I absolutely love the white unicorns mane! Beautiful sculptures!
I'm a sucker for the dragons, but my gods, these are SO cute!
Wooooah.... So pretty....
awh<3 I want these. soooo cute!
i LOVE the white one in the middle
eeeeeeee!!!! SO CUTE
Absolutely lovely!
You should make a tutorial on how to make the unicorn body
Well I guess you don't have to but it would be cool
Well I guess you don't have to but it would be cool
I love the black one and the unicorn! so cute!
The brown one looks just like my pony!
These are wonderful!
These are all so amazing!
what story? cus now i see the characters i want to read the story!!!
I love them! <3
Awww! They're so pretty!
the pony black
soo cute
soo cute
I guess I should come up with some OC's so that I can have them sculpted/plushie'd/etc. :3 looks like fun.
These are wonderful - I love the curly hair, as usual.
These are wonderful - I love the curly hair, as usual.
To cute for words, your skill astounds me. You always get your creatures so neat and smooth, you actually have inspired me to try buying some clay myself a give sculpting a go!
Simply adorable! I love the elegant wisps of hair on the unicorn <3 Fantastic work!
I Want one! <3


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Top story
What went wrong? Lessons from Malawi's food crisis
18 Feb 2014
In 2012 Malawi found itself in a tight spot, again. A food crisis set off by erratic rains, rising food prices and economic hardships slowly unfolded. For the first time in several years, the country...
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Climate change comes with never-before-experienced impacts. For example, crop yields and growing...
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Each year, governments, journalists, development experts and others look forward to the United...


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Previously an artist's studio, this delightful accommodation is within easy walking distance of Berrima's shops, restaurants, historic buildings and attractions. A peaceful and private stay is assured, as the studio is set back from the street and surrounded by a beautiful garden. The Studio accommodates up to 3 people, and includes a queen and single bed. Tastefully decorated, the kitchenette has microwave, kettle, toaster, bar fridge, electric wok and grill. Linen and towels are supplied.
Double french doors opening out onto the large garden that separates this accommodation from the main residence.
- Entertainment
- DVD player, Stereo
- Cooking
- Cooking Facilities, Microwave
- Linen
- Linen Supplied, Ironing Facilities, Towels Supplied
- Comfort
- Heaters
- Other
- Non-Smoking, Parking
- Custom
- bar fridge, kettle, ceiling fans, electic grill, electric heaters, toaster, electric heaters


text:
I have a neighbor whose name is 'Jack.'
Jack has a daughter named Jill. Jill is raising her 3 grandkids.
I love Jack and Jill. However, Jill seriously yells at the kids ALL THE TIME! LOUDLY!!!! I hate going over there when she is there b/c of the yelling. Sometimes I am over there when she gets there. I love hanging out with them otherwise.
They (Jack and Jill) yell over stuff like:
1. it's raining outside so kids will be kids and will be bored. There are no games, no coloring books, no nothing for them to do (ages 5 and 10.) So they get yelled at for being rambuncios(sp?) in the house.
2. It's hot outside and the kids are playing. They are thirsty but not allowed inside to get a drink. They get yelled at if they come inside.
3. Yelling is for everything. Everything.
So, it's not my parenting style. I think it is abusive honestly and don't want my LO around it.
While I hate to not just be over there at all when they visit when LO gets here, and to basically just not have anything to do with them anymore, their yelling makes me very uncomfortable and dh and I have both agreed we don't want LO around it.
So, what would you do or say? If I stop going over there I know they will say something. If they say something, I won't lie but how can I without offending say something?


text:
5 Ways Your Career Is Making You Sick
Raise your hand if you've ever uttered the phrase, "They don't pay me enough to put up with this crap." This... Continue reading
Raise your hand if you've ever uttered the phrase, "They don't pay me enough to put up with this crap." This... Continue reading
Let's be honest for a minute; launching and maintaining a career is challenging. We might get settled somewhere and then realize... Continue reading
Freelancing is a journey for each of us and we learn and grow from the mistakes and errors that we make... Continue reading
What is the first thought that you have when you hear the term "remote workers"? Do they wake up at noon,... Continue reading
Today, we're going to have a little crash course in creative direction. After you've been designing for a while, you may... Continue reading
There's a romantic mythology around certain cities. In fact, all you have to do is mention them, and a thousand images... Continue reading
Developed in the 1960s by mother daughter pair, Katherine Cook Briggs and Isabel Briggs Myer, the Myer-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) is... Continue reading
Whilst working in the finance sector, I came across plenty of highly talented individuals who were brilliant employees. They performed, delivered... Continue reading
Traditional management styles are built around strict adherence to authority. Workers are expected to be "passive". They take orders, they follow instructions, and they follow. This style of management works quite well for assembly line and factory work, but its terribly counterproductive in fields where innovation, creativity, networking, and service play a crucial role – which is to say, most modern workplaces.... Continue reading
According to a recent study conducted by research-based, global performance-management consulting company Gallup, only 13%, or one-eighth of employees across 142... Continue reading
As a designer, you have a lot in common with a chemist. That's right; you experiment daily in your "lab," testing... Continue reading
I have always been against the principle of helping people to prepare for an interview. All the interview tips are great... Continue reading
My years of experience working for a financial company have led me to face many types of bosses. Some were very... Continue reading
We all procrastinate at some point in our career but most of us don't realize that we have been doing it... Continue reading


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Webster Roubaix was this saturday, a circuit race with 2 miles of dirt road in each lap. The 4/5 race was 5 laps. (The Pro 1,2,3 was 12 laps, which would have been one heck of a beating.) It was really a very neat experience. The dirt section was a single lane country road. Some of it was hard packed, and not difficult. However there were some tooth jarring washboard sections, and several places with sand a couple of inches deep.
The Start/ Finish, was in the middle of the dirt section which made for an interesting sprint.
Warming up on the dirt section, I thought this is really stupid from a risk reward point of view. Surprisingly as you got into the race, and things heated up, riding the dirt section wasn't all that bad. The momentum of going over it at race pace,helped a lot in dealing with the loose sand patches. Riding the dirt section created an interesting dynamic in the race, and definitely was a bike handling challenge
Personally, my race didn't go so hot. I was a little hesitant on the turn onto the dirt at the end of the first lap, let a little gap develop, and never closed it down. From there I was relegated to a second group of about 20 guys. Road pretty strong in that group, and took 2nd in our group's sprint (although honestly, not sure too many in the group even gave it a shot, given we were way out of the points).
Even the 45 miles we did it was a heck of a workout, between the rolling resistence of the dirt portion,a nd the physical beating of riding the dirt at race pace.
So while my results were lousy, it was a heck of a lot of fun. I'll definitely do it next year.


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I Can Count to Nine: A Journey through Dragon Quest - Part 5
on 01.13.2013 (server time)
Dragon Quest V (SFC)
Stop me if you've heard this one: many generations after the last installment, a descendant of the previous Hero will become the new Hero of Legend when the Ruler of Evil awakes again. Our story opens on the birth of a boy - a prince, naturally. But here's the twist - this boy is not of Ivy's line. He's not the Hero - not the Legendary Hero, anyway.
Don't worry. He'll marry into it.
In a series as consistently great as Dragon Quest, it's hard to single one out as the best. At a Nintendo-sponsored DQIX event this year, I discussed the series with some other fans and heard 3, 4, 5, 7, 8 and 9 as favorites. There's really no bad choice (OK, there's one - don't think I don't see you over there, II). My personal favorite is 3 - it's a blast to assemble a freeform party and rock through two well-realized worlds. 5, however, is probably the one that comes up the most often, and for good reason. I'll not mince words - DQV is a storytelling masterpiece that stands as a testament to the video game medium's potential in that area.
This game follows the life of the hero from when he is a small child as he grows up, gets married and has children of his own (one of whom turns out to be the Legendary Hero, incidentally). DQV understands that story, in a video game, doesn't have to be something that happens in between gameplay. A true role-playing game, it uses the unique strengths of interactive storytelling to immerse you in the main character's life and evoke genuine emotion toward the supporting cast. Let me break it down like this: This game knows exactly how to poke a gamer to tug at their heartstrings.
V is the first game in the series not to make it outside of Japan - not until 2009's DS release, that is. Hence, say goodbye to that "Warrior" moniker, but not too fond a goodbye - we haven't quite seen the last of it. Fortunately, in 2002 DeJap translations came out with an English patch that really stands among the greatest achievements of fan translation. It's well-written, imaginative and professional, leagues above the still-serviceable patches we used for II and III. There are some typos, but I'm betting that's our fault for not using the latest patch version.
It's cool to see the series move into the fourth console generation, but this one still has a foot planted in the NES. The bag, an inventory convenience we're used to from later games and remakes, STILL hasn't shown up yet. Monsters still aren't animated, either. However, the action button (R) is finally introduced, and this game has another stellar soundtrack. V also makes the bizarre move of scaling the active party back to 3 members, which is never done again including in the remake. Again I strongly recommend the DS version, which improves on this classic in nearly every way.
Nobody Reads This Productions presents:
Dragon Quest V: The Many Trials of Quint the Fated
~A saga in three generations~
Generation One: Travels with Papas
Introducing Quint, Age 6:
Isn't he cute? This wandering vagabond has no clue he's a prince, as he accompanies his Dad on a worldwide search for his mother, who was kidnapped by monsters shortly after his birth. Sadly, this tragedy is but the first of a great many for young Quint.
Speaking of Dad, let's take a look at Papas:
Wow. I think it's pretty obvious what Papas thinks of the typical Dragon Quest mode of Kingship. This man of action is another dazzling spectacle of manhood in the mold of previous badasses Ortega and Ragnar (In fact, check out that 'stache - think he's got a bit of the clan MacRyan in him?). He's also got a heart of gold. He cares deeply for his son, and you'll never hear anybody say an unkind word about him.
*Traveled with Papas to the tiny village of Santa Rosa. Papas has AMAZING stats in battle. Uh oh. If you've played many RPGs, you know what that means.
*Little Tyke's My First Quest: Went into a cave fulla slimes and bugs to rescue a dwarf trapped under a rock. Yay!
*Went to Alkapa, where we met our first playmate, Bianca.
Here's Bianca, age 8:
Spunky, adventurous, and very cute. I like her.
*Found a couple of tapdancing (seriously, that's what the sprite looks like) kids beating up on a cat. They said we could have the cat if we went to the nearby spooooky castle and beat up some ghosts. There, we found the ghosts of the castle's former inhabitants were being tormented by evil ghosts. We did some ghostbusting, and got a shiny golden orb as a reward.
*Got the cat too. You only get to pick from a few names, so we picked Borongo. He becomes a party member!
*Had to bid goodbye to Bianca for now. Back in Santa Rosa, we met an elf that only Quint could see. She took us to Elf Land, where we had an awesome little adventure defeating an Ice Queen to bring Spring back to the elves. This little segment is really fun and a great way to get some serious adventuring in the game early away from Daddy's wing.
*While in Santa Rosa, an adult who looks just like Quint asks to see his gold orb for a second. He also says to "never give up, whatever happens."
*Papas is next called to Reinhart castle, where we're asked to watch the prince, who turns out to be a snotty little jerk. He gets kidnapped, though, and Quint and Papas go to a nearby cave to find him. They do, but are stopped from leaving by the evil and hideous Bishop Gema of the Order of Light. Gema has heard of Papas and wants to put a stop to him. Well, Papas easily beats the minions he summons, but Gema plays dirty, holding a blade against young Quint's throat. Papas is unable to defend himself for fear of his son's life. In a scripted battle sequence, brave Papas stoically endures as he is slowly beaten to death. It's hard to watch.
*Gema also breaks Quint's shiny gold orb. What a jerk!
Highlights from the Imperial Scrolls of Honor:
*It looked like we'd have to leave Alkapa before we could do the ghost hunt, but Papas contracts a nasty case of plotdevicitis, halting travel just long enough, however long that ends up being. Prescription for plot-related illness: Take one subquest and call me in the morning.
*Ghostly Count: You'll need a Torch to see in my basement. I left it in the kitchen.
Bianca: But that don't make any sense! We checked all the pots and drawers in there already and didn't see nuffin'!
Count: Ah yes - I believe I secured it behind an arbitrary trigger. You never can be too careful.
*Quint: That big kid said we had balls when I told him we went to the haunted castle. What's that mean?
Bianca: I dunno. We did find this big gold one - maybe there's more where it came from.
*Dwarf in Santa Rosa: You did me a big favor down in that hole. Why don't you come over here and rummage through my drawers?
Quint: Ummmm.... I need an adult?
Dwarf: I *am* an adult.
*Gema: And now that Papas is dead, you two will live the rest of your lives as slaves! Nehehehe!
Gema casts Return!
Gema hits his head on the ceiling!
Gema: Augh! Dammit, I NEVER remember to cast Outside first!
Ten years pass as Quint is forced into a life of slavery building an enormous temple. He finds a true friend, though, in Prince Harry, who quickly mends his selfish ways and turns out to be a pretty good sort. Though his back nearly breaks from the work and the flogging, Quint's spirit never does. He is driven by his father's last words...
"Your mother is still alive..."
Generation Two: From Slave to King
We rejoin Quint, age 16, hardened by a decade of hard forced labor:
During an otherwise normal grueling day of work, the boys see a new girl among the slaves; she fits in poorly. A guard lets it slip to Quint that this is his sister, Maria, who somehow offended Bishop Gema. The next day, Quint and Harry see the girl being beaten by slave drivers and they lose it and attack them. They're sure this will finish them, but they get lucky...
The guard knows that although the slaves are told they'll be freed at the temple's completion, they'll actually be killed. He can't bear to think of this happening to Maria, so he lets her and the slaves who stuck up for her escape in one of the barrels they use to dispose of dead slaves. He knows he'll die for this, but it's a sacrifice he's willing to make for just the chance that his sister might reach safety.
The barrel washes up near a shoreside nunnery, which takes Maria in and nurses the boys back to health. Soon, Quint and Harry take to wandering...
*Near the nunnery, the princes got a wagon in the casino town of Oracleberry. Now we can recruit monsters to our party! Our first joiner is a Slime named Slalin. We call him Joseph Slalin, history's gooiest dictator. Another notable monster friend is Pierre, a Slime Knight (they're little knights that hop around on slimes like those hopping balls). We end up recruiting quite a few monsters, which results in some odd sleeping arrangements. Our yeti and cactus ball are not on speaking or even not-killing-one-another terms after the former sat on the latter during an inn stay.
*We return to Santa Rosa only to find it laid to waste. It seems the Queen of Reinhart (not Harry's mom, she married the King after the first Queen's death) ordered soldiers to destroy it, blaming Harry's kidnapping on Papas. What a ****! In the cave, we find a note from Papas and the Zenithian Sword, which was found by Papas but can only be equipped by the Legendary Hero. Quint can't equip it. Oh well...
*After hearing Reinhart trashed by everybody in Alkapa, Harry decides we'd better go back and set things right. We had to fight our way into the castle through the dungeon, only to find that a monster impostor has replaced the Queen. You know what that means...
*It's off to a tower south of the Nunnery - where we have to stop to get Maria, because only nuns can open the tower - to retreive the Mirror of Ra yet again. Yep, Mirror to show true form count = 3.
*After defeating the fake, Prince Harry refuses to take the throne even though it turns out his kidnapping was arranged by the Queen - the real one - to make her son inherit the throne. Harry does stay behind, though, to help his half-brother rule. It's just Quint and the monsters now.
*Took a boat ride to Port Selmi, where a hick is looking for someone to help his small town. It seems a monster is ruining their crops; he pays us 1500 gold with a promise of 1500 more when we solve the problem. Well, the monster turns out to be Borongo, who rejoins and gives us Papas's sword. Unfortunately, now the whole town hates Quint because they think it was all a scam. They still pay the 1500, though!
*In the nearby town of Ruraphin, a crazy old man is trying to recreate the ancient spell used by the Legendary Hero known as "Return". After having us run an errand, he succeeds! Quint can now use Return.
*Next stop is the town of Salabona, where we meet a charming young lady named Flora. It turns out that she's the daughter of local big shot Ludman, who announces he's offering her hand in marriage to anyone who can bring back the Circle of Fire and the Circle of Water from some nearby treacherous caves. Notably, whoever does this also gets his family heirloom, the Zenithian Shield!
*On our way to get the Circle of Water, we have to stop at a lock. We go to the nearby village and who do we find to help us? Why, it's Bianca:
She's thrilled to see Quint again and wants to help him get the Circle of Water. Who are we to say no to the first real party member in a while?
*The waterfall dungeon is pretty uneventful, but what happens when you get back is interesting: you get to make a choice.
Yes, the game allows you to choose whom you want to marry: Bianca or Flora. This doesn't have THAT huge an effect on the game, but it means everything to the story. The nature of the hero's relationship to his bride is up to you, the player. Do you like tomboyish Bianca and the way she pals around with the hero? Or do you prefer a more traditional RPG damsel in the demure Flora? Maybe the game pushes you a little in Bianca's direction with a character who's been desperately in love with Flora since he was a kid, but there is no "But Thou Must" here. You are free, and there is no wrong choice.
To me, the fact that the player actually picks the bride adds a whole lot of dramatic weight to the romance. For my pal Kux and me, there was really only one choice, however. Bianca just melts my heart every time I play with her rough and ready, tough-but-sweet nature. Quint and Bianca are married in the church at Salabona.
*Bianca says she looks forward to adventuring with Quint. It's heavily implied they have their first adventure that very night, if you know what I mean.
*The newlyweds land in the desert castle of Telepador, which is dedicated to a novel purpose - holding the Zenithian Helm so that the Legendary Hero will be able to use it when he needs it. Why isn't this sort of thing done more often? All we learn, though, is what we already know - Quint ain't the Hero.
*Quint learns that his father was the King of a land called Granvania, but we have to go up and down a mountain to get there. At the top, though, just as we reach a village, Bianca faints. Strange, I thought she was in better shape than that...
Highlights from the Imperial Scrolls of Honor:
*Queen of Reinhart: I'll be good now. Don't worry.
Quint: Don't worry? Don't worry? You had Prince Harry kidnapped, so it's your fault my father is dead, and your fault Harry and I were slaves for TEN YEARS! You even sent soldiers to destroy the town my dad stayed in for no reason at all! And you have the BALLS to say to me, "Don't worry?" Don't worry?
Queen: ...be happy?
*In the town of Port Selmi, there is a completely reasonable lighthouse! Just a ladder and a light. Where's the convoluted floor plan? The unnecessary empty rooms? The stairways to nowhere?
*Bennet: Now, test and see if we've revived the spell of Return!
Quint: What, in here?
Bennet: Of course!
Quint cast Return!
Bennet: All right! Not only did it work, I have a skylight now!
*Quint: Wow, this shop has perfect stuff for Slalin. A little hat, a turtle shell... madam, may I ask that you please... pimp my slime?
Armor shop clerk: They don't pay me enough for this.
*Bianca, gazing at the waterfall in the cave: Wow, I never thought I'd see anything like this!
Quint: Huh? We were at the top of the waterfall, and we went down. Of course you'd see the bottom. Man, and Dad used to say I was dense.
Bianca: ...I don't find that hard to believe, somehow.
*While climbing the mountain, you can stop at somebody's little home. She's charmingly decorated the place with skeletons, and she cacklingly asks you if you want to stay the night... well, of course! But then you hear a knife being sharpened in the night - to your horror, you can't move! However, it turns out she was just sharpening your sword - +5 strength to Quint - and cast a spell to help you sleep better. Can't judge a book by its cover, huh?
*I don't mean to be glib about the Hero and Bianca, by the way. When she says "Now we can go traveling together" and "I love you, Quint"... It gets me right here.
Week Fourteen
*The cave to Granvania is stupid hard and confusing, but we eventually came through. We hate mimics and their Defeat spell.
*In Granvania, Quint's uncle Ojiron is all too happy to hand over succession to the rightful heir, but the TOTALLY NOT EVIL YOU GUYS SRSLY Chancellor says that, by tradition, Kings of Granvania have to pass the Cave of Trials. Also Bianca is pregnant! Hence the fainty business. Quint must not be all that observant, huh?
*After retrieving the Symbol of Royalty and beating up some murderous thugs (I WONDER WHO HIRED THEM blaghsldk), got crowned King! And immediately thereafter, Bianca gives birth. Holy cow, already? Either that dungeon took longer than we thought or... though not the Legendary Hero, Quint at least delivered the Legendary Bang.
*Bianca had twins. We named them Prince Pent -sticking with the number theme - and Princess Prinny. No idea what I was going for with that one, dood.
The castle town enthusiastically celebrates the arrival of their new monarch and the birth of his children. It looks like things are looking up for Quint! Right? Right? Sigh...
Of course it doesn't last. Quint wakes up from the party to find everyone's been drugged and Bianca has been kidnapped by monsters! A maid was able to hide the babies, thankfully.
Quint gets a taste of exactly why the populace was so excited to meet him when he finds out how totally useless ol' Uncle Oji is in a crisis.
Ojiron: My goodness! Who could be responsible for such a thing?
Quint: OK, look, it's pretty obvious now, but I'm not blaming you, anybody could be blinded by their close relationship with someone. What matters now is....
Ojiron: And where on Earth is the Chancellor? Darn the luck, and just when I needed him the most!
Quint: ...See, now you're just insulting everybody's intelligence. We all know it was the--
Ojiron: Chancellor? Chaaaaancellor! Will someone go and fetch him?
Quint: He's evil! He's in league with the monsters! Just come out and say it, you daft old--
Ojiron: Fool? Yes, you there, Kevin, my favorite royal fool. Have you seen the Chancellor? You see, I never make any plans without him.
Quint: ARGH I HATE YOU
*So Quint has to go save Bianca. A pair of flying shoes (maybe the same ones used by Ragnar?) found in the chancellor's room take him near to a tower full of traps and monsters, where he finds Bianca held captive. The boss is invincible until Bianca does a scripted event, and fairly tough afterward. Tragically, just as victory is at hand, the monster is able to use his final effort to turn Quint and Bianca to stone.
Highlights from the Imperial Scrolls of Honor:
*Quint: I'm getting sick of all these mimics. Look at these treasure chests here - I'm just sure one of them is another one of those awful things.
Bianca: Let's see... Oi! Which one of you is a mimic?
Chest on left: Not me!
Quint & Bianca: ......
Chest: (Phew, I think they bought it.)
*Ojiron: Well, with the Chancellor gone, I guess I'll have to actually... *shudder*... DO something. You guards there!
Guards: Yes, sir?
Ojiron: Go look around or something!
Guards: Yes, sir!
Ojiron: Well, I'm exhausted.
Quint: ...Hate you with all of my hate.
*Quint finds the Chancellor rapidly expiring in the monsters' tower.
Chancellor: Hmm. It seems... urgh... throwing in with the monsters wasn't a good idea after all...
Quint: No kidding, you dumb ****. What did you expect to happen?
Chancellor: Figured it... couldn't be worse than working for Ojiron... uhhhhh.
Quint: Luckily for him, Hell probably won't be either.
Just as Quint finds a life he never dared dream of, it is snatched away. And some things, he learns, are worse than death. Unable to move, Quint is helpless to do anything but watch as he is taken away from the castle, sold at auction as a statue, and separated from his wife. The world's situation becomes ever more dire, and as the desperation builds in Quint, he cannot even scream...
...Eight years pass.
Generation Three: Hell to Pay
I can't say enough about the sequence where the hero is turned to stone. The player loses control for a solid nine minutes. I'm not a fan of games that are more movie than game (MGS4) but this is the opposite of that. No, this is a case of masters of the medium knowing how to tell a story in a way that couldn't be done in a movie. You, the player, feel the helplessness of the hero as your ability to influence events is taken from you. Sold to a new family (2000 gold? Quint isn't worth more than a friggin' broad sword?), you watch as a baby takes its first steps, knowing you'll never see the same from your own children - a stolen precious gift that can never be returned. And when that child becomes the latest to be kidnapped by monsters, you are helpless to do anything about that either. Eight years pass. EIGHT YEARS PASS. You feel it.
Finally, Sancho and the kids come to the rescue. I'm sorry I haven't mentioned Sancho before - he's a friend of Papas who appears briefly early in generation one and again late in generation two. Here, he becomes a playable party member. He's a gregarious fat man who cries at the drop of a hat. Seriously, it's embarrassing.
The kids are cute, blond haired and bright eyed (Their hair becomes blue if you marry Flora). The Prince just happens to be the Legendary Hero (also true if you pick Flora, meaning they're both Ivy's descendants - in the DS version, it's clarified that they're both adopted and actually sisters), capable of equipping the Zenithian equipment. The princess is a magician who takes her mother's place in the party, although to be honest we stuck with Slalin the slime just so we could say we had played through this game with a slime in the active party. It's rough because slimes don't get much equipment in this version (which was alleviated somewhat in the DS remake).
Speaking of which, here's a little tribute to our party monsters:
*Pierre the Slime Knight - Everybody plays through this game with one of these, and it's a good idea. Easy to get, fantastic equipment selection and good spells. We've both been there many times by now, so Pierre has been relegated to a healing battery. He's been extremely useful in that capacity, however!
*Yeta the Yeti - Second runner up for the World's Most Creatively Named monster pageant. Lost to...
*Orcus the Orc King - Our revival battery for emergencies. Comes with Vivify and learns Revive! Not a bad idea for something so easy to recruit.
*Golemath the Golem - he may be Golemath, but he drops Golem Science on his opponents. Namely, the advanced physics of the beat down. Ok stop hitting me ow ow ow.
*First stop was back to Telepador, whose name in the DS remake, Helmunaptra, I like a lot more. (Comin' atcha!) There we picked up the Zenithian Helm, and yes, it really is that simple. So right out of the gate, Pent has the Sword, the Shield, and the Helm. If only Ivy had had it so easy.
*Took a trip on a boat through a massive cave to reach El Heven. There, we learned about Quint's mother Martha - she was one of this special race of people who guard the barriers between Heaven, Earth and Hell. They're still sore about one of theirs, the last to have the special power that can open the barriers, leave with an outsider. Hey, Martha wasn't dumb - you don't just say no thanks to a man like Papas. They didn't hold a grudge, though, and we got the Magic Carpet (whee!) and the Magic Key.
*Scaled what was once (in IV) the Tower to Zenithia; it's now a tower to nowhere because Zenithia has fallen into a lake! Got the Magma Staff.
*Used the staff to split mountains (that's four times now) to gain access to a cave full of mine cart puzzles. There we rescued an odd man called Pusan, who told us he was a Zenithian and that he'd been stuck riding a mine cart loop for twenty years. He took us to the underwater Zenithia, which can't fly anymore because it's missing a Golden Orb. Yes, the same one that Gema broke. Damn!
*Went back to fairy land to seek help. After getting referred to a different fairy Queen, we got a fake Golden Orb and a chance to travel back in time...
*Back in Generation 1 Santa Rosa, we couldn't change history. Papas was dismissive of our warnings. But we did talk to little Quint and pull the old look-over-there on the gullible litte tyke to swap the fake orb for the real one. Whew!
*Raised Zenithia and got access to our very own flying goddamn castle, which we can fly wherever we want. Hell yes!
*Next up is an interesting dungeon - a tower where you start at the top and work your way down. This dungeon is really ludicrously hard, with tough, tough enemies and things that cast Defeat. Eventually we found Gema, who might be the toughest boss in the whole game. I swear we were wailing on him for over half an hour, using all our resources, before he finally went down. The nastiest part was his move that can numb party members, a very difficult to heal status affect that takes them out of the fight. After putting some jewel eyes in a giant dragon statue, recovered the Dragon Staff (A great weapon for Quint) and the Dragon Orb.
*Back in Zenithia, the Zenithians insist they've never seen this Pusan guy before. But when we give him the dragon orb, he turns out to be none other than the Zenithian Dragon! Yes, the same Zenithian Dragon who barely helped Ivy at all. Now we can fly around on him, too. This game is just full of great transportaion methods.
*At this point we fought a boss you can fight a lot earlier, Bjorn the giant moose-thing. He's pretty damn tough, liking to use lightning attacks that aren't affected by Barrier/Insulate. The fight comes down to continually debuffing his defense as he constantly raises it. I recommend waiting until here, when you need the Final Key he drops.
*We took on a punishing optional dungeon centered around the idea of pushing stones over tiles to banish monsters from the area. At the bottom is the Royal Cloak (Pallium Regale in the DS version), an awesome armor for Quint.
*Finally, it's time to take down the Temple of Light that Quint was forced to build as a slave. There we find the Zenithian Armor (set complete!), Bianca's statue, and a big underground complex. After beating up the Demon Lord Mildrath's top henchman (He looks like a crocodile), we hear Martha's voice telling us not to come to the Underworld to save her - Screw that noise.
When we get back up top, Bianca is returned to normal! Horray, the family's together at last! According to a bit of dialogue in the DS version, Quint and the kids' search for Mum takes two years, bringing the total span of time in this game up to at least twenty.
*Anyway, we went straight to hell (where Martha's voice gives Quint the very useful Sage's Stone - merry Hauskness!). Currently, we await the final charge in the game's last town - yes, there's a town in Hell, which is a cool touch. It's occupied mostly by former monsters reformed and made human by Martha. How about some levels - Quint 37, Pent 35, Slalin 38.
Highlights from the Imperial Scrolls of Honor:
*Granvania Banker: Welcome back, your highness! This is a bank.
Quint: Uh... really? To me, it looks like a mattress.
Banker: Things have been bad with Ojiron in charge. The Chancellor was evil and everything, but the bastard knew how to balance a budget.
*Quint: Uncle Oji, we're home!
Ojiron: Oh, wonderful! I say, have you happened to see the Chancellor in your travels? I still can't find him!
Quint: You know, I honestly can't keep hating you. It's like hating a clueless puppy.
*OK, there's a monster in the mine cart cave... it's pink, it has grey hair and it is called "Great Mamoo." We had entirely too much fun with this.
Quint: Okay kids, time to go see your Great Mamoo!
Kids: ;_;
GM: Time to give your Great Mamoo a sponge bath!
Pent: uh... okay... AUUUUGH your hideous skin is coming off in scales!
GM: That means it's working! hoo hoo!
Many years later, when asked what the toughest part had been of being the Legendary Hero, he would simply shudder, mutter "great Mamoo", and reflexively curl up into a ball and suck his thumb while rocking back and forth.
*In the complex under the temple, we found the remains of the soldier who let Quint, Harry and Maria escape. On the wall, he had written that he just hopes Maria is happy. I... don't really have anything to say. Wow.
*In the DS version, the underworld is called Nadiria, a rather clever pun on "Zenithia" (a zenith is something's highest point, a nadir its lowest).
Week Fifteen
Five down, four to go. Over halfway there? Only in numerical terms. Trust me, we're in for a looooong haul yet.
*Headed to Evil Mountain, home of the Demon Lord Mildrath. This dungeon is pretty cool; it's both a mountain and a castle.
*Briefly saw Quint's Mom Martha - tragically, she sacrifices herself in an attempt to seal away Mildrath, but fails - his power is too great. Her spirit rises and is joined by that of Papas. "You've done enough," he says, "Our children have become stronger than we ever were. Come to me, my love..." *sniff* Boy is Mildrath gonna get it.
*And so he did. We took the fight to him and although his wrath wasn't as mild as advertised, we gutted out a hard-fought win. And yes, we beat Dragon Quest V with a slime. Slime power! Quint was level 40 in the win.
*In the ending, the Zenithian Dragon takes you around the world to receive your well-earned adulation, culminating in a big party at Granvania. The last thing we hear are the voices of Papas and Martha, admiring Quint's happiness from above. And scene.
Highlights from the Imperial Scrolls of Honor:
*Dragons are known for being really awesome, but Hell's Great Dragon has an ugly yellow with black spots sprite that... doesn't exactly say majestic, to be honest. It's fugly.
Great Dragon: Hey, it's a skin condition! Do you have any idea how hard it is to moisturize down here?
*In Mildrath's first form, he summons a never-ending supply of attack bots for help. You'd think he'd run out...
Mildrath: I bought up the Nadiria Wal-Mart's entire supply of D Batteries, foolish Legendary Hero and his brood! Mwa ha ha!
Pent: You fiend!
*Mildrath actually has a pretty badass villain line to throw at you:
"Cry if you wish. Scream if you must. Your fears and cowardice are like prayer to me!"
...but all respect goes out the window when you actually *see* his terrifying final form. Just LOOK at it:
Good lord is he fat. He makes I's Dragonlord look like a supermodel. Watching his transformation is pretty awful - he has to pass that spiky-ass tail and it doesn't look pleasant. He's so fat, even his wings have rolls. This guy is so pudgy that he ain't raising those arms to look menacing - that's all the lower he can get them through the enormous cushion of flab. He's so heavy his gut just gave up trying to even be a gut and went ahead and was a crotch too. His ass is so titanic that if he could somehow manage to get airborne, he'd end the whole fight in one plop. In Nadiria, Yo Mama so Fat jokes all begin with "Yo Momma so fat that she and Mildrath..." and all end with an apology. That's no moon, that's Mildrath!
And talk about impractical. How the hell is he supposed to wear a hat? His body odor is probably so foul it qualifies as an attack, and having four armpits that close to his face can't help. That color scheme is really nice - for one of your grandma's cushions. And he needs braces worse than Lisa.
*Princess Prinny spent a lot of time in our wagon due to the three-party-member limit and our Slime Gambit. In that time, she got to know all our monsters very well and became inspired. After the world was saved, Prinny started the Adopt-a-monster foundation, to show the world that monsters are people too.
Her first objective was to find a home for Danny the cactus ball - all he needs, she asserted, is a hug.
Her second goal was to steadfastly ignore the entreaties of Great Mamoo to join her program.
"Everyone should have a Great Mamoo. Hoo hoo hoo!"
"Um... not even a little. No thanks."
Quint's happiness was tinged by a sliver of doubt. He'd spent his whole life running - it was all he'd ever known. How would he adjust to the matters of day-to-day life, let alone being a King?
But then he looked at his loving wife, and saw his children laughing and playing with their Uncle Sancho...
...No, this was a challenge he looked forward to. Life was an adventure, after all.
But something was left unfinished...
...Young Pent couldn't shake the nagging feeling that something was. Defeating the Demon Lord Mildrath didn't destroy the root of evil. After all, he wasn't the first Legendary Hero, yet evil had returned. Besides, he'd felt something even more powerful in the Underworld.
Something deeper...
Despite our adventure with the III remake's bonus dungeon (which was made up of parts of the main game), V is the first installment to have postgame content in its initial release. Beneath Evil Mountain, after defeating Mildrath there is a completely new dungeon, containing the totally sweet War Drum (casts Bikill, doubling attack power, on the whole party) and at the bottom waits Esturk.
Yeah, the same Esturk from IV. When you approach him, he wakes up saying he remembers nothing, and asks if you've come to destroy him. If you say no, he just goes back to sleep. Beating him earns you no extra ending, no bonus content, no special item. He grants no wishes like the Dragon God. He just sits there being ridiculously powerful and daring you to put him down.
Our first attempt, we were annihlated. Esturk is fierce with two attacks per turn, frequent use of a move that dispells your buffs, and attacks that hit the whole party for over a hundred damage. To take him on, we ground up ten more levels, reaching 50 for Quint, and replaced Slalin (he did his job) with Orcus the Orc King, who in the course of our grinding hit his max level, and had a lot going for him including 500 hit points and plenty of MP to cast Revive. The battle was a drawn-out affair that consisted mostly of healing and putting our buffs back up, but eventually we worked Esturk's 9000 (what? 9000?) hit points down.
V also starts the tradition of the bonus boss telling you how many turns it took to beat him. It took us 41, which isn't good, but it's good enough.
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Mike Martin
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About tim333
one of us since 5:53 PM on 12.11.2007
Regarding my 1001games project: There's only one deadline. I haven't hit it yet!
I'm a 90s gamer and Sega kid for life. I like platformers, adventure games and JRPGs. I'm not that into first-person shooters or sports games.
I spend more of my time playing older games than new ones. I do have a PS3 now, though, and I like buying games on PSN. I like the Wii and have a ton of games for it. I'm encouraged by some of the stuff out on Wiiware - to me, games like Bit.Trip Beat are more appealing than the "triple-A" titles coming out on the HD consoles.
Some of my all-time favorite games are Sonic 3 & Knuckles, Dragon Quest III, Heroes of Might and Magic III, The Curse of Monkey Island, and Dance Dance Revolution.
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Dolphins CB Marshall (back) out against Bengals
Updated: October 5, 2012, 3:06 PM ETAssociated Press
DAVIE, Fla. -- Miami Dolphins cornerback Richard Marshall has been ruled out of Sunday's game at Cincinnati with a back injury, putting a further strain on the team's week secondary.
Quarterback Ryan Tannehill was added to the injury report Friday with a right thumb injury. He participated fully in practice and was listed as probable.
Nolan Carroll or R.J. Stanford will likely replace Marshall in the starting lineup. Carroll is listed as probable with an Achilles tendon injury.
The ...
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Sold Out
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Our target customers are effectively every business and governmental entity around the world as well as we're targeting all of the major oil companies both in United States and around the world as well. We're a global company. We're well diversified. We're actually in 21 countries today and have 17 or so offices around the world. But our offices or our business is primarily in five geographies. We're in the United States, we're in the UK, we're in the Czech Republic, we're Russia, we have a business in Mexico that we acquired last year, I guess we're in six now, we're going to be six. A week or so ago we announced that we are in the process of acquiring a company in Brazil, so we'll be into Latin America kind of market as well.Our company has a tremendous track record of growth. If I go back and look at over the last kind of seven or eight years, we've grown our revenue at a compounded annual growth rate from 2003 to 2011 at about 28% and more impressively we've grown our cash net income over that same period of time at a compounded annual growth rate of about 41% and in doing so we used a three plank growth strategy. We build the businesses that we own, we buy a new attractive penetrated geographies and we partner with new major oil companies as an example, United States, for those of you who don't know, we process commercial cards on behalf of Chevron, BP, Arco, Citgo and more recently we have signed an agreement to process transactions on behalf of Euroshell. So it's our first kind of entry into the European market from a private label and partnering perspective.
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Type: Improvement
Status: Resolved
Priority: Major
Resolution: Not A Problem
Affects Version/s: 3.3.0
Fix Version/s: None
Component/s: None
ShowRHEL5 2.6.18 kernel Zookeeper 3.3.0 ulimit raised to 65k files 3 cluster members 4-5k connections in steady-state Primarily C and python clients, plus some java
- RHEL5 2.6.18 kernel
- Zookeeper 3.3.0
- ulimit raised to 65k files
- 3 cluster members
- 4-5k connections in steady-state
- Primarily C and python clients, plus some java
Tags:zookeeper outage postmortem
[Moving a thread from the zookeeper-user]
We eventually recovered from this situation by shutting down clients. Initially I tried restarting the Zookeepers, however, they were getting hammered and I believe sessions timing out. I shut down ~2k clients (lightweight python app; simply sets one data watch and takes an action when it changes) at which point zktop could make a connection and a leader election was verified. After resetting latency stats the numbers were very good. I do not believe it would have ever recovered without shedding load.
Unfortunately I do not have logs from the event We had debug logging on, and logrotate configured to keep 10 100MB files, and the interesting parts rotated away. I have already switched to info logging so we don't lose this data again.
During the incident I was not able to view cluster status with zktop, and never observed a successful operation beyond connections, which quickly timed out.
This is a very good question. No, Zookeeper GC is not tuned and uses whatever the defaults are in the start scripts. GC logging is not enabled either. I filed an internal bug against myself to enable logging, and tune GC.
Clients are not explicitly setting timeouts, and I believe sessionTimeout is 10 seconds based on this log entry when initially connecting.
2010-07-01 05:14:00,260:44267(0x2af330240110):ZOO_INFO@zookeeper_init@727: Initiating client connection, host=10.209.21.133:2181,10.209.21.175:2181,10.209.21.181:2181 sessionTimeout=10000 watcher=(nil) sessionId=0 sessionPasswd=<null> context=(nil) flags=0
Looking in application logs, we see lots of the following:
2010-07-01 05:13:14,674:41491(0x41ebf940):ZOO_ERROR@handle_socket_error_msg@1528: Socket [10.209.21.181:2181] zk retcode=-7, errno=110(Connection timed out): connection timed out (exceeded timeout by 0ms)
Doing some simple aggregations we see 130 errors in a ~13 minute sample period. This behavior on thousands of clients appears to have been a DDoS attack against Zookeeper. Using exponential behavior as the default behavior seems appropriate looking at this data.
Fulltext of the client errors is attached. I grepped "errno" from a Python client log; I believe it uses the same underlying C library, so I did not include example output from a C program (though I can if needed). It looks basically the same.
The long-GC pause causing clients to dogpile sounds like the most plausible explanation at this time. GC logging/tuning is clearly where I dropped the ball, just using the defaults; I don't think any changes should be made related to lack of tuning.
Exponential backoffs does seem like a good idea, and generally useful for most people. There will always be service interruptions and backoffs would be a great preventive measure to get out of a dogpile situation.
Patrick's message:
Hi Travis, as Flavio suggested would be great to get the logs. A few questions:
1) how did you eventually recover, restart the zk servers?
2) was the cluster losing quorum during this time? leader re-election?
3) Any chance this could have been initially triggered by a long GC pause on one of the servers? (is gc logging turned on, any sort of heap monitoring?) Has the GC been tuned on the servers, for example CMS and incremental?
4) what are the clients using for timeout on the sessions?
3.4 probably not for a few months yet, but we are planning for a 3.3.2 in a few weeks to fix a couple critical issues (which don't seem related to what you saw). If we can identify the problem here we should be able to include it in any fix release we do.
fixing something like 517 might help, but it's not clear how we got to this state in the first place. fixing 517 might not have any effect if the root cause is not addressed. 662 has only ever been reported once afaik, and we weren't able to identify the root cause for that one.
One thing we might also consider is modifying the zk client lib to backoff connection attempts if they keep failing (timing out say). Today the clients are pretty aggressive on reconnection attempts. Having some sort of backoff (exponential?) would provide more breathing room to the server in this situation.
Flavio's message:
Hi Travis, Do you think it would be possible for you to open a jira and upload your logs?
My initial message:
Hey zookeepers -
We just experienced a total zookeeper outage, and here's a quick
post-mortem of the issue, and some questions about preventing it going
forward. Quick overview of the setup:
- RHEL5 2.6.18 kernel
- Zookeeper 3.3.0
- ulimit raised to 65k files
- 3 cluster members
- 4-5k connections in steady-state
- Primarily C and python clients, plus some java
In chronological order, the issue manifested itself as alert about RW
tests failing. Logs were full of too many files errors, and the output
of netstat showed lots of CLOSE_WAIT and SYN_RECV sockets. CPU was
100%. Application logs showed lots of connection timeouts. This
suggests an event happened that caused applications to dogpile on
Zookeeper, and eventually the CLOSE_WAIT timeout caused file handles
to run out and basically game over.
I looked through lots of logs (clients+servers) and did not see a
clear indication of what happened. Graphs show a sudden decrease in
network traffic when the outage began, zookeeper goes cpu bound, and
runs our of file descriptors.
Clients are primarily a couple thousand C clients using default
connection parameters, and a couple thousand python clients using
default connection parameters.
Digging through Jira we see two issues that probably contributed to this outage:
Both are tagged for the 3.4.0 release. Anyone know if that's still the
case, and when 3.4.0 is roughly scheduled to ship?
Issue Links
- is related to
ZOOKEEPER-803 Improve defenses against misbehaving clients
- Open
ZOOKEEPER-517 NIO factory fails to close connections when the number of file handles run out.
- Resolved
|Time In Source Status
|Execution Times
|Last Executer
|Last Execution Date
|1d 1h 52m
|Travis Crawford
|02/Jul/10 18:31
|This issue is related to ZOOKEEPER-803 [ ZOOKEEPER-803 ]
Here's the bugfix message:
commit 2b59b4d4b4f2db0de3b01daeed974754a4cfe9d5
Author: marius a. eriksen <email@example.com>
Date: Thu Jul 1 18:16:36 2010 -0700
Fix ZK client expiry: the code had a mixup of Expired vs. Disconnected
In terms of ZK:
Disconnected = the client disconnected, but the library will reconnect
Expired = the client disconnected, and you need to reconnect
Looking at the commit there was a bug that did not rate limit reconnects when sessions expire. This is different than the client we're "blessing", and a big reason why we should just choose one and stick with it
Re: contrib, I'll float that with the team. I'm not sure what the change rate is – if its slow yeah we should go with contrib. If its going to churn still, we should hold off.
Ah, that's great to hear.
I would really appreciate it though if you (Travis) could enter a new JIRA. Basically I consider it a serious problem that the server failed in this situation. Obv fixing
ZOOKEEPER-517 would help in this situation, but really we need to ensure that mis-behaving clients will not bring down the service. That's a serious bug. Please enter a new jira, if you could describe what the problem was on the client side that will help us to craft a test that will verify.
Btw, I did add a new wiki page to capture available bindings:
However I encourage you (anyone) to submit back the code as a contrib.
travis, can you elaborate on the misbehaved client? What was its exact behavior? We just want to make sure if its indeed the misbehaved client or do we need to fix something on our side as well?
|Open [ 1 ]
|Resolved [ 5 ]
|Travis Crawford [ traviscrawford ]
|Not A Problem [ 8 ]
@Patrick - So this morning while investigating I discovered that yes, the client you pointed out was indeed misbehaving. It was a new application that had a bug.
I talked with a couple teams and basically everyone is using a different Scala client. We've decided http://github.com/jcorwin/zookeeper-client is our best scala client and are forking from the main twitter account so everyone knows to use it.
I looked around the docs and didn't see a place to list the scala client; please let me know if we should list this somewhere.
Closing this issue as its basically a client bug on our side. Thanks for the comments and help tracking this down.
Travis, one more thing:
egrep 10.209.44.182 zookeeper-out-of-files.netstat |egrep EST |wc -l 66
10.209.44.182 has 66 connections established to this server. Why so many? Looks like a potential problem with the client side code, should it be opening more than 1 session concurrently?
Travis, I see the address 10.209.44.182 2140 times in the netstat file you provided.
Can you provide some insight on this client - what binding is this, c or java? python, ruby... what? Also, if this client fails (say it segvs or exits for whatever reason) is it automatically restarted by a supervisor? Basically what I'm trying to figure out is why this client should be attempting so many connections to the server - the client libs we provide typically have a "hold off" of a second or so btw connection attempts in order that we don't overload the server in this way. However if the client were to be restarted, or if there was a bug in the code where connections were established in a tight loop (I've seen a couple client side bugs like this now, where the client code thought it failed to get a connection and therefore created a new ZK client, which cause DOS on the server (thousands of clients were created by each client process), this is one of the reasons why we added the maxclientcnxns check.), or a bug in our client library this could explain why we see so many TIME_WAIT state sockets in the netstat file.
Travis, I noticed an issue which I commented on in
ZOOKEEPER-517, it's unfortunate that the logs rolled, if this happens again perhaps try looking for this in the logs (from 517):
LOG.warn("Too many connections from " + ia + " - max is " + maxClientCnxns );
If a client starts DOSing the server we'll close the connections, however the linger default is 60seconds so in some cases the client could still cause the server to run out of fds. (something we should fix)
Linking this issue to
ZOOKEEPER-517 - may be related.
This issue is related to
I believe clients were reconnecting so frequently because their
connections timed out.
the CLOSE_WAIT would probably be casued if the clients connect to servers and then disconnect on there own. This way the server will take some time closing the TCP connections. Any reason that the clients would shuttle arnd the servers so frequently?
|zookeeper-out-of-files.netstat [ 12448505 ]
This attached netstat output shows a large number of: SYN_RECV CLOSE_WAIT. The fast connection churn appears to have consumed all available file handles.
|Original Value
|New Value
|client-errors.txt [ 12448503 ]
client-errors.txt contains the zookeeper error messages during an outage. The interesting part is how frequently they occur. This suggests having clients backoff during issues would be an improvement, as this many connection so quickly makes things worse.
Of course, there's a tradeoff between quickly connecting and backing off. For this reason, perhaps exponential backoff should be the default behavior, but clients that that require fast reconnections could optionally use the current mode.


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Top Definition
Ruby like, as bluish is used in relation with blue
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Julian, epistula ad Athenienses 270C (3.5-8, p. 215, Bidez): Six of my (i.e. Julian's) cousins and his, and my father who was his own uncle and also another uncle of both of us on the father's side (i.e. Dalmatius Caesar) he put to death without a trial 1 …
(Wright, ii, p. 249)
Zosimus II, 40, 3: Then, in order to proceed against his relatives, he (Constantius) killed Hannibalianus and commanded his soldiers to cry aloud that they had no other commanders than the sons of Constantine.
(Anon., revised Lieu)
Julian, or. I, 18D-19A (14.16-22, pp. 31-2, Bidez): The Armenians, our ancient allies, revolted, and no small part of them went over to the Persians and overran and raided the country on their borders. 2 In this crisis there seemed to be but one hope of safety, that you (i.e. Constantius) should take charge of affairs and plan the campaign, but at the moment this was impossible, because you were in Paeonia (i.e. Pannonia) making treaties with your brothers… 3
(Wright, i, pp. 47-9)
Jerome, Chronicon, s. a. 338, p. 234, 17-18: Shapur, king of the


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Ion Frigate by Arkanjel8Watch
©2010-2016 Arkanjel8
Started off as a science type vessel, then the guns showed up... More shots to follow.
I like the lines on this one...looking forward to seeing a 'finished' copy, if this is indeed a WIP.
Yeah its a WIP for sure. I keep finding little flaws in it and things that need tweaking. I had actually forgotten about this model until last night. I opened it up to look at it and decided to clean it up.
Looks to be a great start, I really do like the lines...and I might steal a bit of ideas from it. Every time I try to do a freighter build, it ends up in the trash can, but something like this could inspire me.
Awesome! Can't wait to see what you come up with. For me this was inspired by Star Trek, and their liberal use of saucers. I wanted to try and integrate that design into something a little more mundane. If you want to collab on one let me know!
You know I was going to mention the obvious Trek reference, but I am not really a Trekkie (Star Wars designs ftw!)...still, this is a perfect think to contemplate and think out of the box with. Collaboration sounds great, just need to think of a project worth our collective time.
I agree about the Star Wars designs, much more believable. I try and pull inspiration from pretty much everything, nature, movies, books... If you can make a fusion of it, that is the aim. If you come up with any ideas, let me know. I cant keep up with the ones I have. I need to keep a sketchpad closer to me.
Isn't that the way of it? You start off peaceful and sciencey, then all of a sudden, WHAM! you're packing enough firepower to orbit Tony Stark's ego...
Yeah that about sums it up. Now I just need to figure out how to pack enough power plant in the ship to power the cannons.


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With her characteristically unflinching gaze and courage, Catherine Breillat takes her exploration of sexuality, desire and the relationship between men and women to the limit. A pure, painterly, often surreal study in sex and the body.
every male needs to see it.
Not one of my favorite Breillats-- beautiful compositions, but I found it (unintentionally?) hilarious.
Interesting to see Rocco in a serious role as his scenes in porn are the best.. but not overly impressed here :D
Nobody masters a fuck scene like Breillat.
Animal cruelty and Rocco Sifredi. You can't base a film on that.
Hellish. This movie did actually offend me. It's offensively sexist and pretentious. An artsy fartsy piece of shit that is defined for its shock value alone, and tries to get away with it by spouting illogical, high-sounding, half-baked philosophical sentences, hoping to to be taken seriously. Well, I'm not going to take this seriously. I derive more philosophical meaning from watching Rocco's porn scenes.
Néant. difficile "d'intellectualiser la chair" sans tomber dans le ridicule, ou la prétention.
It's better than most people give it credit for.
Cool, I can watch Rocco Siffredi and make people believe I'm an intellectualist. I wish they fucked more and talked less.
Una interesante reflexión sobre la corporalidad femenina que se experimenta desde el caso de un hombre que ha aprendido a negar (o resistirse) lo femenino contemplado como algo impúdico, sucio y hasta maligno. Ingeniosa la intención de compararla con el simbolismo católico. La crucifixión como aquello que recuerda los pecados, pero también la salvación. Misma lógica obedece el sexo femenino (que también sangra).
When you mistake an art-house film with a disgusting porn of semi-intellectual debates, the results are often unfortunate
Taboo or not taboo? That is the question Breillat usually answers with a resounding 'Yes!' when it comes to any of her works, whether it be as a novelist, screenwriter or director. In this instance, the female body is (literally) delved into during a two-hander where the subject of male-dominated objectification is discussed in an interesting though hardly audience-friendly manner. Shock cinema at its most divisive..
The worst I have seen in a while. Absolutely clueless about where it wants to go, outright pretentious, some arbitary body essentialism and some sexual-philosophical mumbo-jumbo. Pathetic.
Look at me!
When my mind wonders regarding sexuality, I can't help remembering this. It covers almost all fronts.
This film pretends to be something that is not.
"The elastic resistance of a boy's anus doesn't lie about the tightness of his lower intestine" has to be the most well thought-out sentence in the history of cinema. Not sure what to make of it. Unforgettable and for that it might deserve 5 stars, but still, I can't bring myself to cash out on a film like this. One solid star!
Great soundtrack
The premise of this movie is so embarrassingly, eye-rollingly body essentialist and 2nd wave. Just the fact that she cast a straight porn star to play a gay man who she sees as the ultimate hater of women (because to her women and vagina are the same thing) is annoying. Gay men's misogyny is a worthy and important issue to explore but this sounds like a really clueless and frankly homo/transphobic way to go about it.
I concur with the commenter below that this film goes beyond any star rating but I'm giving a 5 for the experience. I don't know what to say. Feminist philosophy set against pornographic iconography-though it's not porno. Put it this way: if Bergman shot a sex movie written by Kate Millett & Margurite Duras, it might be something like this but that still doesn't fit. This is a Breillat film & one of her most realized
A well-photographed film, with two leads who give fearless performances and certainly look attractive together. That said, "Anatomy of Hell" delivers exactly what people think of when they imagine a 'pretentious French movie': detached, sullen characters in barely furnished rooms, discussing sex in such a clinical way that love and life itself are robbed of any passion. I can't say I enjoyed the experience.
I found this extremely pretentious. Almost painfully so. But I'm still glad I watched it, for some reason.
"At least frog skin is green" Anatomy of boring as hell. The trailer show all the acting ability. "oh feces is better than menstruation blood" say that lethargically. Poetic? Unless the anatomy of hell and it's excretions wonder someone it's pretty boring. The nature of female desire is like male desire. I expected something more mature. Desire doesn't revolve around vagina.


text:
People tend to check in during these times:
Love vogue cover mag..:)
GQ another favourite. I love men's fashion. Their articles are well written and always knows how to grab readers attention. its no wonder they are top for men's fashion magazine.
yes. Vogue. Alexander Shulman, Anna Wintour. Vogue brings in the business, keeping ad rates steady during recession. They are top news for fashion, edited only by the best.
always great models @Vogue House
Sunny day - time for lunch on the roof terrace
The 2010 purple Christmas Tree is sooo chic!
If itsu next door makes you want breakfast but isn't open, as usual, Eat is just round the corner - excellent hot chocolate and various fine yoghurts
Be sure to give John and Peter a smile at reception!
Gerçekten gidilip görülesi bir yer 'vöögg' really amazing :))