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China: Still manufacturing's shining star?
For the past decade, China's economic ascent has owed its existence to low production costs and a vast supply of labor. But its future appeal for manufacturers may hinge more on its growing domestic market and talent base.
In less than a generation, China evolved from a scrappy developing nation into the world's factory. Adding manufacturing in China, a strategy once reserved for the largest global players, has become the norm. China has attracted foreign direct manufacturing investment at a rate unprecedented in history, from companies of all sizes and industries, driven by its low production costs, a vast supply of labor, and preferential tax treatment for foreign investors. But China's manufacturing landscape is changing. Production costs have risen steadily, particularly in the highly concentrated manufacturing centers in China's coastal regions. And in an effort to spread the manufacturing wealth to more of the country and broadly extend the economic evolution enjoyed by its highly developed coastal cities, Beijing has eliminated or dramatically reduced preferential treatment for the majority of new manufacturing activities near the coast.
What does this mean for foreign manufacturers? Will they still flock to China's fertile promise? Will China be replaced as the world's low-cost manufacturing destination of choice? Or will a new class of manufacturers beat a path to China — while the previous class beats a path out?
Most likely, China's future appeal for manufacturers will rely less on its operating cost advantage (that is, labor) and more on its growing domestic market and talent base. China will still compete globally for low-cost manufacturing; but companies seeking the lowest-cost production locations will increasingly be forced to look outside of China, or further into China's interior, to maximize savings.
To understand the future for foreign manufacturers in China, it is important to first grasp the fundamental strategies and drivers behind why companies decide to deploy manufacturing operations offshore. Companies offshoring manufacturing and related operations typically fall into one of the following camps:
- Cost Cutters — aim to lower production costs by locating in areas with abundant, low-cost production inputs (typically meaning lower labor costs, but also including lower-cost taxes, utilities, transportation or even enhanced government incentives).
- Market Builders — aim to establish in areas where they can effectively penetrate a new or growing base of customers, driven by convenient market access, logistics and customer demographics.
- Talent Seekers — aim to attract and retain specific pools of knowledgeable, creative, technologically advanced talent for R&D or advanced manufacturing and are attracted to destinations with renowned educational institutions, incumbent companies with similarly high talent requirements, and living conditions conducive to attracting highly qualified, educated and mobile talent.
The continued evolution of China's economy and its corresponding policy changes are shifting the value proposition for manufacturing deployment in China and influencing the offshore deployment decisions of our Cost Cutters, Market Builders and Talent Seekers.
Cost Cutters: On the move
Low production costs have been the greatest driver in China's emergence as a global manufacturing powerhouse. However, the cost advantage that has lured companies for the past 20 years has gradually eroded, particularly in the coastal regions. Wage escalation is at the root of the problem; average wages in Shanghai rose at an 11.8 percent annual clip during the 10-year stretch from 1998-2007.1 Foreign manufacturers we have interviewed throughout the Yangtze River Delta confirm similar increases in the range of 10 percent per year or higher. Real estate costs have followed a similar trend, as the demand for fully served industrial land has continued to outpace supply, driving up prices in many of the traditional foreign manufacturing investment hotbeds. China's central government propped up land costs still higher by enacting the PRC Property Law, which took effect in October 2007. Chinese law requires a public auction for all industrial land sales, and groups land into 15 classes (primarily by region of the country), each with a different minimum sales price. The impact is dramatic; land in one Yangtze River Delta investment zone, which sold for $5 per square meter as recently as 2005 (albeit, as a favored price for a sought-after U.S. company), now carries a mandated minimum price of $62 per square meter.
In addition, recent fuel price volatility has hampered the Cost Cutters. Shipping costs, which already disadvantage a China solution for manufacturers serving North America or Europe, spiked dramatically in 2008. The cost to ship a standard 40-foot container from Shanghai to the East Coast of the United States peaked at around $8,000 in mid- 2008, up from just $3,000 in 2000 when oil was near $20 per barrel. Some experts predict costs could skyrocket to $15,000 per container if oil approaches $200 per barrel.2 While shipping costs have come back down in response to oil priced below $50 per barrel, instability and unpredictability are challenges for manufacturers and have caused some companies to reconsider near-shore production alternatives, such as Mexico to serve North America, or Central/Eastern Europe to serve Western Europe.
Shanghai urban average wage
While production costs have risen steadily, China's preferential investment attraction policies also have undergone a dramatic shift over the past two years. Until 2008, many incentives were awarded based on who you are. The who China wanted was foreign companies that, as discussed, were mainly Cost Cutters viewing China as an export platform. However, more comprehensive and specific criteria have come into play, with China caring less about who you are and more about what you do, how you do it, and, increasingly, where you do it. The changes (see inset box) have had a substantial impact on China's case to attract the cost-cutting manufacturer.
Changing incentives for manufacturers
Unified tax law
Corporate income taxes are transitioning from 33 percent for domestic enterprises and 15-24 percent for most foreign-owned companies to a single rate of 25 percent. In addition, a tax incentive which formerly provided a two-year 100 percent tax exemption, followed by a three-year 50 percent rate reduction for foreign investors, has been revoked.
High/New Technology status
A 15 percent corporate income tax rate is still available to companies qualifying for High/New Technology Enterprise ("HNTE") status. However, criteria have tightened to include factors such as industry orientation, intellectual property ownership, number of employees with university degrees, number engaged in R&D, and R&D expenditures (few of which favor Cost Cutters). According to officials in leading investment zones in the popular Yangtze River Delta region, only half of the currently HNTE-designated companies are expected to re-qualify under the new guidelines, and those who do may only see temporary benefits.
Encouraged Industry status
Companies meeting "Encouraged Industry" requirements as defined by the Foreign Investment Catalogue have long qualified for import duty and VAT exemption on eligible imported capital equipment. However, the Catalogue can change frequently, often with little warning. Recent Catalogue changes have cost companies millions of dollars by removing substantial amounts of equipment formerly eligible for exemption.
"Go West" policies
As part of Beijing's quest for more dispersed development, effective January 1, 2009, Encouraged Industry benefits were actually expanded to additional companies locating in the central and western provinces. A separate initiative, "10,000 Businesses Going West", provides tax incentives, training and transportation benefits for companies locating in less developed regions.
There is a third major challenge to China's value proposition for Cost Cutters. In addition to rising costs in preferred areas and shifting government policies, China faces growing competition from other low-cost manufacturing destinations such as Vietnam, India, Mexico, Poland and others. None of these competitors can yet match the depth of China's labor pool and, in most cases, the robustness of its infrastructure to support manufacturing. However, many are developing rapidly in these areas, and some are offering attractive tax holidays. As China's production costs rise, particularly in the coastal regions, these countries are becoming increasingly viable alternatives.
Foreign direct investment trends in traditional "Cost Cutter" industries 2003 — 2008 (U.S. billions)
So, has China lost its appeal for Cost Cutters? To some degree, it has. Many of the coastal regions, due to rising costs, evolving Central Government policy, or increased competition, are no longer preferred options for the most cost-sensitive production projects. China's interior, on the other hand, continues to offer lower costs, enhanced government support, and an improving infrastructure, which is easing the logistics challenges that have thus far hampered growth in the interior.
More accurately described, China's Cost Cutters are on the move. Some are moving to the interior. Some are moving to (or bypassing China for) other low-cost countries. But relatively few are moving to the formerly "hot" coastal region — at least not anymore.
Cost Cutter: "How far is too far?"
A leading apparel manufacturer was seeking a location in Asia for a new state-of-the-art textile facility to manufacture product for export to North America and Europe. After also investigating Thailand, the company decided China was a better fit for the new facility but faced a key challenge; most coastal zones were too expensive, while deep interior locations were too remote, creating both supply chain and management staffing concerns. The company found a "sweet spot" in Nanjing, approximately 175 miles northwest of Shanghai, providing significantly lower labor and utility costs than coastal investment zones and an Export Processing Zone offering substantial tax benefits.
Market Builders: A building wave
Market Builders follow the money — and the people who have it. China has both, but while the people have always been there, the money is new. The speed at which China's disposable income has grown may be as remarkable as the country's dramatic emergence as a manufacturing powerhouse. Consider the following:
- Average disposable income in urban households grew by 170 percent from 1998 to 2007 (see chart below).3
- Middle class households (defined in this case by household income > RMB 40,000 or approximately $US 5,800) rose from roughly one percent of total households in 1995 to nearly eight percent in 2008.4
Disposable income
This newfound spending power translates into increased demand for automobiles, consumer electronics, enhanced medical care, and other conveniences perhaps taken for granted in the West, but which are now being sought at increasing rates by more of China's population each year. And the income growth wave is not expected to crest anytime soon. Middle class households are projected to double again in the period from 2005-2015 to approximately 16 percent of China's total households.5 So while the average U.S. consumer still outspends their Chinese counterpart by a factor of 8:1,6 growth rates in the United States and most other developed consumer markets are flat or declining while China's "adjusted" GDP growth goal remains a lofty eight percent for 2009.
Foreign manufacturers are keenly attuned to the power of the Chinese consumer and have been in a sustained sprint to obtain market share. Increasingly, this involves localizing production in China. In some sectors, such as China's rapidly growing medical device market, there are regulatory advantages to localization; companies manufacturing in China can receive preferential treatment in many regions of the country (in practice, if not in policy) by having their products reimbursed through the government sponsored healthcare system.
There are also supply chain reasons for producing in-country, particularly for products such as automobiles, furniture and household appliances, which are heavy, bulky and generally inefficient to ship long distances. This may help explain why General Motors announced the opening of its eighth Chinese auto plant in December 2008 in Shenyang (in northeast China, approximately 400 miles from Beijing), amid the closure of several U.S. plants. The large majority of the approximately one million GM cars per year produced in China are sold there, and GM's China sales are expected to rise by up to 10 percent in 2009 while U.S. sales are declining sharply.7 And the same fuel price volatility that can unravel a Cost Cutter's business case for serving the United States or Europe from China has an opposite effect on Market Builders, creating increased incentive to shorten the supply chain and manufacture product closer to the end consumer.
Many of Beijing's economic and foreign direct investment policies aid the future growth of Market Builders. A key message from the 2009 annual twin meetings of the National People's Congress (NPC) and Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) is that China must rely mainly on domestic demand to meet its 8 percent growth target for 2009. To help achieve this goal, the government plans to adjust several financial and currency policy levers, such as reducing taxes in some areas and enhancing access to credit for small to mid-size companies. The massive investments poured into China's infrastructure throughout the past decade have also bolstered the business case for Market Builders, which may be further buoyed by the Chinese government's $US 586 billion stimulus package announced in November 2008, some 45 percent of which is allocated for infrastructure development. Resulting improvements to the transportation network make it easier to distribute product throughout China, enhance access to the vast interior of the country, and ultimately help companies reach more consumers. Despite the upgrades, however, China's transportation network is today still far from ideal. The cost to transport goods by road in China is often inefficient and still roughly double the cost of that in the West. Therefore, continued infrastructure improvement will likely further build the China case for Market Builders.
Money and a vast pool of consumers have lured Market Builders to China in droves, and have also influenced where they set up shop once they arrive. China's population and income distribution remain heavily skewed towards the coastal regions. As of 2008, the three main economic hubs (Bohai Rim including Beijing, Yangtze River Delta including Shanghai, and Pearl River Delta including Guangzhou) accounted for 36 percent of China's population and 55 percent of consumer expenditures.8 Over time, if China is successful in its efforts to redistribute income — and population — more equally throughout the country, Market Builders will increasingly follow consumer spending to the interior. For now, however, most remain focused on China's wealthier, more urban, and primarily coastal consumers.
Market Builder: "Local presence required"
After evaluating product sales potential globally, a leading producer of medical devices was enticed by China's huge latent market — an aging population, growing wealth, and increasing discretionary spend on health care. A comprehensive analysis of market potential, China's health care reimbursement policies, various market entry strategies, and likely plant operating costs and conditions led the company to build a manufacturing plant to develop and distribute customized products for the China market, versus importing the products from its plants in the United States and Europe. Its chosen location in Suzhou offered central access to many of China's leading hospitals and critical suppliers, along with the technical skills and infrastructure required to produce highly precise devices.
The wave of manufacturers entering or expanding in China primarily for market building objectives continues to build. Demographics, supply chain considerations, and China's economic policies are aligned to support future expansion of Market Builders. With many of the Cost Cutters moving on to less expensive destinations, Market Builders are poised to take over as the growth engine for China's manufacturing sector.
Talent Seekers: The pool deepens
Talent Seekers are enticed less by China's manufacturing cost savings or market potential and more by the desire to tap a large, highly skilled pool of scientists, engineers, technicians and skilled production labor. China's talent pool is already deep and is expanding rapidly each year. In 1996, China had an estimated 5.7 million total students enrolled in higher education. By 2007, the country had graduated nearly that many — approximately 5.1 million, of which over 40 percent were science or engineering majors — and total enrollments had increased 3.5 times to over 20 million. Technical/vocational school enrollment also doubled over the same period, to roughly 20 million in 2007.9 The increasing size of this pool has not gone unnoticed by the world's Talent Seekers.
China is working another angle to bolster both the quality and quantity of its talent pool — aggressive campaigns to lure back educated Chinese nationals currently living overseas.
Perhaps of greater importance, China's talent is also getting better. The World Competitiveness Report "science in school" indicator, which measures the degree to which science is sufficiently emphasized in the education curriculum, ranked China in the top 15 percent (9th out of 69 countries surveyed) in 2008. Considering this same indicator in 1996 placed China near the bottom 15 percent (38th out of 45 countries surveyed), the improvement in just 12 years is extraordinary.10 And not only is educational content changing, the education method itself has been revamped. Traditional rote learning, which focuses on repetition and memorization, is giving way to more creative thinking techniques preferred by talent seeking companies from the West. The continued embrace of this fundamental shift in educational philosophy will help foster the large-scale research and development growth and attraction of the highest manufacturing technologies desired by Beijing.
China is working another angle to bolster both the quality and quantity of its talent pool — aggressive campaigns to lure back educated Chinese nationals currently living overseas. In 2008, a record 69,000 Chinese students who studied abroad returned to China, an increase of over 55 percent from 2007, according to Chinese government statistics.11 Many individual regions are leading this charge; Guangzhou, for example, has created a US$30 million fund to attract professionals from overseas and, along with the nearby city of Shenzhen, is considering the launch of a multi-city U.S. recruitment tour during summer 2009 specifically aimed at luring Chinese nationals back home.12
China's foreign investment policies also reveal the extent to which it covets Talent Seekers. The revised requirements for foreign companies to qualify for the tax advantages that come with High and New Technology Enterprise status designation (see inset box for a description of benefits) emphasize a well-educated and R&D oriented workforce, significant spend on R&D, and intellectual property ownership within China. Similarly, each change in China's Foreign Investment Catalogue omits more lower-skilled manufacturers from Encouraged Industry benefits but retains talent-seeking industries such as advanced electronics, alternative energy, life sciences and nanotechnology.
Annual R&D expenditures (U.S. millions)
Despite China's ambition to attract talent-dependent manufacturing and its related R&D functions, and increasing success in doing so (see graph above showing growth in R&D expenditures), significant obstacles remain. Intellectual property rights have been a steep barrier. China has taken several steps to address its rather dubious reputation in this area, and according to most measures, the IP climate has improved. However, threats to IP protection still substantially restrict the nature of R&D many companies are willing to conduct in China. And based on several of our own recent experiences, we can report that IP-related anxiety still causes many manufacturers in advanced technology or nascent industries, such as alternative energy, to steer clear of China when considering new global facility deployments that will employ new and proprietary technology.
China's talent pool continues to deepen and improve, but throughout the country, demand for top quality engineering and managerial talent continues to outpace supply. A well-educated, English speaking engineer or scientist from a top Chinese university, especially one with Western company experience, has virtually limitless opportunity to choose among competing foreign and domestic companies. This makes it difficult for a Talent Seeker not only to attract, but more importantly, to retain top talent. The global downturn has relieved some pressure in China's talent war by causing companies to scale back hiring and employees to place a premium on job stability. An economic recovery, however, will likely restore employee leverage. While a highly skilled employee in today's China has many choices, their suitors have few. They must choose locations where the talent wants to be, which today means China's most cosmopolitan coastal cities. A handful of established places — cities such as Shanghai, Beijing, Suzhou and Guangzhou, combined with a few up and comers such as Chengdu and Dalian — will likely continue to win China's war for Talent Seekers for the foreseeable future.
Talent Seeker: "Will pay for quality"
A pharmaceutical company was seeking to bolster product research and development of pharmaceutical products. After exploring both its own current global base of labs and other likely global talent pools, the company determined that China would provide not only a deep pool of qualified scientific and technical talent, but also a good location for product testing and pilot manufacturing. Additionally, the new China R&D base could work in tandem with its other global R&D centers, while also developing products specific to the burgeoning China market. The company selected Shanghai — despite its high cost structure — because it was the best location to source top R&D talent locally, from throughout China, and abroad.
A changing landscape
The combination of China's success in attracting foreign manufacturers for the past 20 years with its ongoing FDI policy changes has transformed the country's manufacturing environment. A rapid ascent up the economic ladder along the coastal region has created a focus on higher technologies, new industries, and other corporate functions. Consequently, foreign manufacturers are now less likely to think of China solely as a low-cost export platform and more as a fertile new market for both customers and talent.
Rising costs for labor and land, less preferential tax and incentives policies, combined with China's focus on higher and more strategic technologies are forcing the initial waves of lower-technology manufacturers to adapt, move inward and, in some cases, move out. Cost Cutters seeking a very low-cost manufacturing platform are looking towards China's developing interior or to China's ever-growing competition for low-cost manufacturing in Southeast Asia, India, Latin America and, perhaps someday soon, Africa. This assumes, of course, that current China policy and cost pressures remain. If however, China begins to miss growth targets and unemployment rises substantially, it will be no surprise to see its policies adapted to refill the pipeline of Cost Cutters expanding or deploying new operations in China — even in the currently oversubscribed coastal region.
It is a different story for Market Builders as they continue to be spurred on by China's rising income, growing middle class with discretionary wealth, and the continued migration from rural areas to the cities. China is quickly evolving from an economy driven almost solely by exports to one increasingly driven by domestic consumer spending. Although this transition is still in its early phases, and an extended global recession will no doubt have an impact, an increasing number of Market Builders will likely be persuaded by China's potential and implement their "follow the money" strategy, developing more production and distribution operations in China to serve a rapidly growing customer base.
Similarly, Talent Seekers will continue to be captivated by China's abundant and improving pool of technical talent; an educational system that continues to advance with curricula more closely matching manufacturer's needs; more managers, scientists and engineers gaining valuable experience working for foreign companies; steadily improving English language skills; and a steady flow of Chinese professionals and students returning to China from overseas. But in the near term, given the higher technology requirements of most Talent Seekers, they may also continue to struggle with concerns over China's intellectual property protection and with fierce competition for top talent (and the rising salaries that ensue) in the ever-growing cosmopolitan centers where much-sought talent congregates.
Finally, it is important to realize that the objectives of Cost Cutters, Market Builders and Talent Seekers are not always independent, but are increasingly intertwined. More companies are viewing China as a vehicle to lower production costs and access new markets, or to source new talent pools while also reducing R&D expenditures. The extent to which companies are driven by cost cutting, market building, or talent seeking objectives will not only impact how China fits into a global manufacturing strategy, but also where within China manufacturing and R&D deployment will be optimized.
Is China still the shining star for global manufacturing? Yes, but for different reasons than 10 or even five years ago. It may no longer be quite the happy hunting ground for pure Cost Cutters that it was then, but it is even more attractive to Market Builders and Talent Seekers. China has evolved and matured. Foreign manufacturers expanding or deploying there will need to do the same. The next generation of foreign manufacturers in China are more likely to employ a more holistic business model — one that embraces the principles of Cost Cutter, Market Builder and Talent Seeker, striking a balance between low operating costs, serving new customers, and gaining a competitive human resources edge — potentially all within a single geographic location in China. Their global competitiveness may depend on it.
EndnotesView all endnotes
- Shanghai Statistical Year Book (1999, 2008) (http://www.shtong.gov.cn/node2/node19828/index.html)
- EnergyAsia News (Singapore, Daily), June 4th 2008
- Data from China Statistical Year Book (1999, 2008) (http://cn.chinagate.cn/reports/2007-03/02/content_2368315.htm)
- Data from "Retailing in China 2009, A Market Analysis" published by Access Asia Limited, March 2009, page 8
- Ibid
- Data from "Country Forecast: China" (page 31), "Country Forecast: US" (page 30), published by Economic Intelligence Unit, April 2008
- "China drives sales for global majors" By Gong Zhengzheng, Li Fangfang and Zhang Ran, China Daily, updated April 21st 2009 (http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/bizchina/2009-04/21/content_7697905.htm)
- Data from "Retailing in China 2009, A Market Analysis" published by Access Asia Limited, March 2009, page 132- 248
- Data by China Science & Technology Statistics (http://www.sts.org.cn/sjkl/index.htm) China Statistical Year Book (1997, 2008) (http://cn.chinagate.cn/reports/2007-03/02/content_2368315.htm)
- "Science in School" index (survey results measure whether science in schools is sufficiently emphasized) of scientific infrastructure out of infrastructure category, IMD World Competitiveness Report (1996, 2008)
- "China wooing overseas skilled workers back home" published Los Angeles Times, March 2, 2009, by David Pierson and Don Lee
- Ibid


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subset: commoncrawl


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Welcome to Seasonal Sundays.
One of the wonderful things about this time of year are the fabulous After Christmas Clearance Sales. This past week Kathleen (of Cuisine Kathleen) and I were lucky enough to meet at Christmas Tree Shops and discover some amazing finds! I did not receive any compensation of any sort from Christmas Tree Shops for anything in this post – just to be clear!
Photo courtesy of Cuisine Kathleen
I'm constantly asked how can I have so many dishes – from both a cost and storage (always an issue). Purchasing during clearance sales really helps. And then, as folks start to get into it, they say they wouldn't know what to do with that odd ball clearance item. After all, it's in clearance because no one else wanted it!
You really need to use your imagination when you're bargain hunting through a clearance section. It's not for the faint of heart.
But that is when you get the most amazing deals. Sometimes it's easy to get swept up in the, "Well, it was only a dollar" aura, but I really try to think about it as I try to purchase in sets of 12 and that does start to add up plus storage space is a HUGE issue for me.
These bread and butter plates are by Mary Carol and were a super buy at just $1.00 @.They come in four different images: steer (shown above), sheep, ducks and pigs. Now, I can see folks shying away from such plates as you think, just how often do I want to set a table with animals? But what I focused on was the edge and the coloring. It's a perfect plate (bread and butter size) to place a soup bowl or compote upon. Even with the animals showing, I conjure up a beautiful Fall table, not necessarily accenting the animal nature, but drawing more on the overall feel of the plate.
This one was an easy choice. They were $1.50 @. I have a few pieces of Friendly Village, so clearly they will work with those, but in reality, the more I collect the less likely I am to buy a full set of anything. I truly like to mix and match. That way you can have a completely different look every time you use the plate. I'm likely to pull out the brown or the olive green and layer this plate upon a solid brown or olive green dinner plate. You could always use a cream or off white. Maybe the napkin could pull out that peachy pink of the trees for a punch of color.
These were an easy choice for me. They too were down to a dollar (even lower than the tagged price!), but moreover my son has recently been accepted at a college whose is the black squirrel! How could I pass them up. BUT if I didn't have that personal connection, I may have passed them up, despite the price, as they say HAND WASH ONLY. I'm a dishwasher girl. If it can't go in the dishwasher, I probably won't buy it. Now, that being said, sometimes I will buy them and if it looks like it can go in the dishwasher, I'll run one through. If it gets ruined (and sometimes they do), I'll return the rest. It was a one dish experiment. Sometimes at clearance sales, returning is not an option so it's a judgment call.
They also came in a quail design (and some other designs which I didn't care for). If you don't like an alternate pattern, don't feel like you have to get them. I picked up a few quail to mix in. I'm imagining them on a table with black toile!
I love these! I'm imagining it on top of a white dinner plate on a beautiful Christmas table with bits of silver floating through. Now listen up bargain hunters, these technically are NOT plates. They are for candles. You have to be careful that an item is food safe, if it technically isn't a plate. My crazy mind immediately saw it as a plate. I could only get 5 of these, so I am on the prowl for a few more.
These lovely babies were not in clearance (so I'm pretty certain you could get them if you so desired), but how could I pass them up at that price! An excellent addition to my mercury glass collection.
These were also not in the clearance section but at $2.99 for all four, how could I go wrong. Love the chalk board front. This is what I was thinking:
What kind of shopper are you? I use every bit of my purchase.
The wrapping papers get stacked for when I need to store some things away…
…and even the plastic bags get reused. Stored in a pitcher (come to think of it, that was a Christmas Tree purchase from ages ago) by the back door at the ready for dog walking!!!
Have you been bargain hunting?
- The Tablescaper


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EXCLUSIVE: Deadpool Dons the Venom Symbiote in "Back In Black" #1 First Look
Comic Books
Every day this year, I will be examining the first pages of random comics. This month I will be showing pages that are either scary or are part of "scary" issues (as scary as a comic can be, of course), because it's October! Today's page is from Deep Sleeper #4, which was published by Image and is cover dated Septemeber 2004. This scan is from the trade paperback, which was published in 2005. Enjoy!
Continue Reading »
Comics Should Be Good accepts review copies. Anything sent to us will (for better or for worse) end up reviewed on the blog. See where to send the review copies.


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Description: Lesser snow geese have two color phases: a dark (blue) plumage and a white (snow) plumage. The two color phases are variations within the same race and do not indicate separate races. The sexes are similar in appearance in both phases, but the female is often smaller. Lesser snow geese can hybridize with Ross' geese, which are similar in appearance. They have pinkish bills with black grinning patches, and the feet and legs are reddish-pink. In the dark phase they have white heads and upper necks, with bluish-gray bodies. In the white phase they are completely white except for black wing tips. The head can be stained rusty brown from minerals in the soil where they feed. They are very vocal and can often be heard from more than a mile away.
Breeding: Lesser snow geese breed along Queen Maud Gulf, Baffin Island, Banks Island and Victoria Island; in the Northwest Territories and on Hudson Bay. They nest on low, grassy tundra plains and broad, shallow rivers near the coast, and on islands within shallow inland lakes. Lesser snow geese nest in colonies and lay an average of 4-5 eggs.
Migrating and Wintering: Lesser snow geese historically migrated from their northern breeding grounds down the Pacific and Mississippi flyways, to winter in the Central Valley of California and the Gulf Coast of Texas, Louisiana and Mexico. There, the abundant emergent vegetation of the brackish and salt marshes provided both food and cover. Recently, they have expanded their winter range to interior agricultural lands in states such as Arkansas, Mississippi, Louisiana and Texas, where corn, rice and pasture grasses provide abundant food supplies.
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President Franklin D. Roosevelt signs the Migratory Bird Hunting and Conservation Stamp Act into law.
First duck stamp, designed by Pulitzer-prize winning editorial cartoonist, Jay N. "Ding" Darling, issued.
Prairie drought peaks.


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Matt Ryan
Hey it's Matt...here are my vitals. I was born in Pt. Pleasant and raised in Toms River. I'm a graduate of the Toms River East Class of '01. I never went to college because I've been on the radio since I was 14. I'm a NYY fan and like documentaries and movies in general. Larry David (co-creator of Seinfeld and star of Curb Your Enthusiasm) is my hero. On Netflix I'm all about House of Cards and Orange Is The New Black. I like The Blacklist, anything Gordon Ramsay does and Bar Rescue. On a the random side...I get lost everywhere, I try to use "..." as much as possible and yes, QB of the Atlanta Falcons Matt Ryan and myself are indeed the same person! Thanks for checking out my page and listening to my show. You have no idea how lucky I am to be doing what I love, where I love.


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sedate 1
1Calm, dignified, and unhurried: in the old days, business was carried on at a rather more sedate pace
More example sentences
- Tullow Street may look calm and sedate most mid week days but come the weekends it is an entirely different place.
- This does not reflect well on the sedate, calm and collected gentleman that I hallucinated myself to be.
- The old rock-and-lava ball had built up a nice ozone shield under which life could evolve at a properly sedate pace.
slow, steady, dignified, unhurried, relaxed, measured, leisurely, slow-moving, easy, easygoing, gentle
calm, placid, tranquil, quiet, uneventful;
boring, dull
1.1Quiet and rather dull: sedate suburban domesticity
More example sentences
- But all this makes it rather quieter, and more sedate, and a perfect place for stage two.
- She looked out the front window at the street below them, which appeared deceptively quiet and sedate as a cart rolled by innocently.
- If you haven't figured it yet, this is an elegy to my city's once quiet, sedate, pleasant city roads, a haven for motorists.
- Example sentences
- I managed to do the dishes before I sedately walked to the bath.
- In Tbilisi, however, they do things somewhat more sedately.
- I took a deep breath, turned on my turn-signal, made an easy right turn, and sedately left the neighborhood.
- Example sentences
- He has always impressed with the sedateness of his craft; invariably his films are like life in slow motion.
- But earlier this year the sedateness was violently disturbed when a gas tanker was deliberately driven into the walls.
- If they view the sedateness of the native culture with a skeptical eye, they can also be grateful for it.
Late Middle English (originally as a medical term meaning 'not sore or painful', also 'calm, tranquil'): from Latin sedatus, past participle of sedare 'settle', from sedere 'sit'.
Words that rhyme with sedateabate, ablate, aerate, ait, await, backdate, bait, bate, berate, castrate, collate, conflate, crate, create, cremate, date, deflate, dictate, dilate, distraite, donate, downstate, eight, elate, equate, estate, fate, fête, fixate, freight, frustrate, gait, gate, gestate, gradate, grate, great, gyrate, hate, hydrate, inflate, innate, interrelate, interstate, irate, Kate, Kuwait, lactate, late, locate, lustrate, mandate, mate, migrate, misdate, misstate, mistranslate, mutate, narrate, negate, notate, orate, ornate, Pate, placate, plate, prate, prorate, prostrate, pulsate, pupate, quadrate, rate, rotate, sate, serrate, short weight, skate, slate, spate, spectate, spruit, stagnate, state, straight, strait, Tate, tête-à-tête, Thwaite, translate, translocate, transmigrate, truncate, underrate, understate, underweight, update, uprate, upstate, up-to-date, vacate, vibrate, wait, weight
For editors and proofreaders
Syllabification: se·date
Definition of sedate in:
sedate 2
verb[with object]
Calm (someone) or make them sleep by administering a sedative drug: she was heavily sedated
More example sentences
- His lawyers also claimed that he was heavily sedated with antipsychotic drugs during his trial.
- The anesthesia care provider then further sedates the patient intravenously.
- I have no recollection of the actual event, or the following week during which I was heavily sedated.
tranquilize, put under sedation, drug
1960s: back-formation from sedation.
For editors and proofreaders
Syllabification: se·date
Definition of sedate in:
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= trending


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Available Training
Training for Adults
Wood Badge Sept. 16-18 and Oct. 1-3
Fall Training Weekends Basic Adult Leader Outdoor Orientation Cub Leader Specific Scoutmaster/Asst. SM Specific Venturing Advisor Specific October 15 Intro. to Outdoor Leader Skills October 22-23
Training for Youth
None scheduled at this time.
For any additional questions about the council's training program, email the Training Committee Chair.
Roundtable is the first Thursday of every month from September through June. The location is the LDS Church at 220 N. San Pedro Road in San Rafael. The regular session starts at 7:30 and runs until 9:00. Roundtable is open to all parents, committee members, and leaders.
Cub Scout Roundtable
Cub Scout Roundtable Commissioner Ron Poggi.
Boy Scout Roundtable
Click here for an informational flyer about what an adult needs to do to become fully trained.
Online Training: If you are registered with the BSA, you can take online training. You will need your membership ID number to take the training. This number appears on your membership card. You do not need your membership ID to take Youth Protection Training if you are not yet registered. Log into the MyScouting.org site, and follow the directions. Be sure to print your certificate at the end. If you have difficulty with your login to online training, call the BSA national help desk at 972-580-2489.
Available training: Cub leader, troop leader, and Venturing leader Fast Starts, This Is Scouting, Youth Protection, Venturing Youth Protection, Safe Swim Defense and Safety Afloat, Troop Committee Challenge, Hazardous Weather, Den Chief Fast Start, Venturing Crew Orientation, and Scoutparents Unit Coordinator Training. Trek Safely and Climb-On Safely are also available.
Training Audit Form: Make sure your council training records are up to date by filling out this form and sending it to the council office.
Home | Events | Training | Documents | DonateTamarancho Biking | Camping | Programs | Contact


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I just started the C25K program made it without a problem through W2D1 and when I finished I had pain in my left knee. I waited to run for 3 days, I just tried to run W2D2 went through the warm up walk without pain but as soon as I was to jog I had terrible pain in BOTH knees (the left more than the right) I didn't even jog 10 seconds.
I am so discouraged right now.
About 10 years ago I had a snowboarding accident where I tore my Meniscus in my left knee but had that taken care of and haven't really had any issues with it since.
Any ideas, treatment advice, anything???
I do have flat feet and overpronate but I bought the best shoes I could afford (Asics Gel Kayano 18) because I specifically wanted to avoid injuries. HELP!!! I really want to run!
I am assuming it is too late to try ice and stuff???
I feel your pain, or have in the past, including the meniscus tear. I'm not a doc, just an overweight C25k grad. Ice and stretch. Focus in your hamstrings, quads and hips. Consider doing some cross training on a bike and most importantly do some strength training for your legs, hamstrings and quads. I took time off for strength training and it made all the difference. Good luck
Started C25K 3/29/11 for the third time - Graduated 7/1/11 - some of us take longer
Completed Races
Webster Co. Woodchopping Festival 5K (5/28/11) 38:03 "Holy crap! Did he just say 38 something? I was hopinig for 45 minutes"
Never underestimate yourself!
That Dam Race 5K 7/23/11 44:46 - a challenging route & a hot day- but I will do better next year!
"Run for the Ta-Ta's 5K 10/29/11 39:54 in the snow!
Woodchoppers 5K 5/26/12 36:08 My 5 year old was 5 minutes behind me. Way to go Liat!
Fly By 10k 6/16/12 1:24:12
And the dream race...
"Flying Pig Half Marathon" Cincinnati, OH (May 2013)
I'm assuming the pain is "behind" the kneecap. A little more time off may be needed. As edensacres said, strength training for your legs will help, the quads in particular. The other thing to check is your form. Make sure you're planting your foot under your hips, and your knee should be flexed, not straight. Overstriding - reaching forward with your foot and planting it well ahead of your body - can definitely lead to knee problems, as can landing with your knee straight/locked. It tends to transfer forces up the leg to the knee.
It's never too late for icing. My good friend has problems with her knee. The local fleet feet suggested KT Tape and wrapping the knee. She runs pain free now!
ACTIVE is the leader in online event registrations from 5k running races and marathons to softball leagues and local events. ACTIVE also makes it easy to learn and prepare for all the things you love to do with expert resources, training plans and fitness calculators.


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Ben Siller looked ridiculous on a recent afternoon, standing on a downtown Denver street corner with a giant device clamped to his face sniffing the air for odorous evidence of marijuana.
"What are you doing?" asked Jimmy Smith, owner of Higher Expectations dispensary south of Mississippi Avenue near the South Platte River.
In the dawning age of legal marijuana in Denver, the city is getting more and more complaints about the unmistakable odor wafting through the streets — a skunky, herbal scent that has prompted dozens of calls to the city's hotline.
That's when Siller with his Nasal Ranger device jumps into action.
An investigator with the Denver Department of Environmental Health, Siller for 26 years has been looking into odor complaints. They can range from smoke from a kitchen to industrial odors.
To read this article in its entirety, click http://www.denverpost.com/politics/ci_24496810/when-pot-smells-denver-nasal-ranger-goes-investigate?source=most_viewedtarget="_blank">http://www.denverpost.com/politics/ci_24496810/when-pot-smells-denver-nasal-ranger-goes-investigate?source=most_viewed


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It was a heated rally Wednesday, May 24 as parents and educators showed up outside the Richmond County Board of Education to show their support for Dr. Charles Larke.
The superintendent has come under criticism in the past year over his salary and most recently a pending lawsuit from a current teacher alleging sexual harassment.
News 12's Diane Cho talked to some of Dr. Larke's supporters at the rally to find out why they were there and what board members had to say about it.
Dozens of people were still hanging out long after the protest rally was over.
More than 150 people showed up, chanting.
One parent even managed to document just how many people support Dr. Larke.
"I'd like to get 6,000 signatures," says Linda Williams, a Windsor Spring Elementary School parent. "I've been here trying to get more. Got 1,000, and 5,000 to go."
Even Charles "Champ" Walker, Jr. left his own James Brown news conference to be there for Dr. Larke.
"We support the man," Walker said. "Clinton got in trouble, James Brown got in trouble, I don't know one man without a sin, but we support him and the job he does."
We caught up with board members after tonight's budget meeting to find out how they felt about the rally.
One board member went as far as calling it "a sad commentary to this administration".
"To have a spokesman as a convicted felon, like Ryan B. spearheading this," said board member A.K. Hasan. "The superintendent was found guilty of discrimination. He'd certainly want to distance himself from someone with a criminal background. But obviously he has not elected to do that."
"People have a right as long as it's not on school hours," said board member Helen Minchew.
Protestors chose Wednesday for the rally because of the scheduled budget meeting.
And after looking at a preliminary budget, some board members are wondering where all of the money will come from...especially now that Governor Perdue has mandated how counties spend their own money.
"You get down to not a lot of choices," Minchew said.
"I think it helps, it limits us but we hope to address it," said Hasan.


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RICHMOND -- Salesian High girls basketball coach Steve Pezzola doesn't believe in staying stagnant.
"I think that, like players, coaches need to get better every year. When seasons end, I try to examine what I can do better during games, what I can do better at practice," said Pezzola, who just concluded his fifth season as the Pride's coach.
One thing he wanted to address was his team's tendency to start games slow. So in December, he made a change in the team's practices.
"We started out really hard ... really quickly in practice, we are going 100 miles an hour. It really worked. We started off games really fast," Pezzola said.
The players had already laid a good foundation for the season.
"The girls really worked hard in the offseason, in the weight room. They all got stronger. In the summer, they worked on skills. They took it to the next level," Pezzola said.
Salesian also took its game to the next level during the 2013-2014 season. After reaching the CIF Division IV state title game two years in a row, the Pride not only qualified for the CIF Open Division this year, it also won the Northern Regional playoffs to advance to the state championship game.
"We were able to develop a family atmosphere on the team. It was more than (just a team chemistry). When someone had a bad moment, everybody came together to help that person," Pezzola said. "That is what I'm most proud of."
For his team's success this season, Pezzola has been named the Bay Area News Group East Bay Girls Basketball Coach of the Year.
"He's a really good teaching coach, but he also leaves room for us to show our own skills and talents, and gives us time to freelance," said Salesian senior center Zoe Correal about Pezzola.
At the state championship game, Salesian used an impressive 16-0 run in the third quarter to wipe out a double-digit deficit and take the lead against Long Beach Poly before eventually falling 70-52. One of the changes Salesian made was employing a 1-2-1-1 press, one of three different types of full-court presses the Pride used this season to frustrate opponents.
"I don't think (Long Beach Poly) had seen that, and it really worked and it got our girls fired up," said Pezzola about the 1-2-1-1 press.
Salesian was also able to beat St. Mary's Berkeley, a nationally-ranked team at points of this season, four of the five times then played each other, including in the CIF Open Division Northern Regional semifinals.


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The Amazon River stretches more than 4,000 miles. The tropical rainforest of its watershed is home to millions of species of plants and animals, making it the planet's most diverse ecosystem.
The Zoo is home to an Amazonia Exhibit where visitors can get a glimpse into the rich and vibrant underwater life of the Amazon. When the large, serpent-like arapaima swims by, you will get a close-up look at one of the largest freshwater fish in the world reaching up to ten feet in length and weighing 300 pounds. Red-tailed catfish, black pacus, and other fish share this 27,000-gallon aquarium below a living tropical forest.
Elsewhere at the Zoo visitors can view other animals from Amazonia, as well as many animals from other parts of South America.
The Zoo's Amazonia Exhibit leads visitors into the realm of the Amazon River Basin, where giant arapaima, pacu, red-tailed catfish, and piranhas swim in shallow water, and poison arrow frogs, titi monkeys, and tanagers inhabit the world above. Living kapok, avocado, and cocoa trees spread their roots in this enclosed tropical habitat. →Take an audio tour of the exhibit.
Adjacent to the exhibit, the Amazonia Science Gallery offers a glimpse into the scientific research Zoo staff conduct in the lab and in the field.
Elsewhere in the Zoo are golden lion tamarins, native to Brazilian tropical forest, which have been saved from extinction by Zoo conservationists. Golden Lion Tamarin Program
Leaf-cutter ants and Cuban crocodiles hail from tropical and subtropical forests in the Americas. And, many of our familiar North American breeding birds spend the winter in these forests. Migratory Bird Center
Tropical forest also covers parts of Central and West Africa, home to western lowland gorillas and pygmy hippos, and the site of a major biodiversity study in Gabon, and Madagascar, home to lemurs.
In Asia, elephants, tigers, clouded leopards, orangutans, gibbons, Eld's deer, gharial, and many other Zoo species live in tropical forests. Asia Trail
Sometimes people are surprised to learn that rainforest does not blanket all of South America. Large expanses of this continent are grasslands, home to maned wolves and seriemas, among other species found at the Zoo.


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Topic: Quote from John Wayne
"Courage is being scared to death, but saddling up anyway."
cholangiocarcinoma.org :: discussion boards
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"Courage is being scared to death, but saddling up anyway."
I can't find the "like" button. I wonder if Marion can add that for us
That's a great quote!
middlesister....can't find the "like" button either. Hmmm....Rick is working on the new website. Possibly he tinkered with this site as well.
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Confidence Remains Low, but With Bright Spots: Survey
Finance professionals grew more optimistic about the global economy even as their predictions for their own firms in the fourth quarter dimmed, according to the forthcoming Global Economic Conditions Survey conducted by the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants and the Institute of Management Accountants.
Though the movements in sentiment are slight, it is "unusual" for confidence about one's company and confidence about the global economy to diverge, the groups noted. The last time the two measures diverged was in early 2010, "when the global recovery first started running out of steam," which the groups said could suggest that the respondents understand their own challenges but have yet to appreciate the troubles facing their peers.
In the fourth quarter, 43% of respondents reported declining confidence in their employers, up from 41% in the third quarter, while just 19% said confidence was rising, unchanged from the prior survey. About 30% now see the global economy as improving, up from 29%, according to the survey, which is slated to be released on Thursday.
Still, 65% of those surveyed said the economy is at best stagnating, although that is down from 67% previously. And companies continued to report increased problems in securing prompt payment and more concern about their customers or suppliers going out of business.
"The portents for the new year are poor, with fundamentals still deteriorating in much of the world," the study concluded. On the other hand, the ACCA and IMA said that more respondents are becoming convinced that Europe can successfully resolve its sovereign-debt crisis, the Chinese economy won't have a "hard landing" and that problems like the U.S. debt ceiling will be effectively handled by policymakers.
Of the 1,994 global participants in the survey, 640 were senior managers or directors, including 154 financial chiefs.


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Children's Health
Health Guidelines for Kids Are Skipped
Oct. 10, 2007 -- Less than half of the outpatient medical care delivered to American children is in line with recommendations for the best treatment, concludes a study released Wednesday.
The results, which researchers called "shocking," show that 47% of the care delivered to children in doctors' offices and clinics meets professional recommendations or is up to date scientifically.
The study -- conducted among 1,536 children in 12 cities -- comes four years after similar research showing American adults receive recommended care 55% of the time.
"No one anywhere is immune to the risk of poor-quality care," says Elizabeth A. McGlynn, PhD, a researcher at RAND Corp. who worked on the study.
Two-thirds of children being treated for acute illnesses received appropriate care, the researchers found after reviewing medical records.
But proper care for chronic conditions like asthma and diabetes was delivered just half the time, while 41% of the children received recommended preventive care, the study showed.
Researchers guessed that the results may actually underestimate the problem because the study participants were primarily white and from wealthier families.
"I want to emphasize that the results of this study are the best-case scenario," says researcher Rita Mangione-Smith, MD, MPH.
Mangione-Smith told reporters that just 31% of 3-year-old children in the study received routine height and weight measurements at the pediatrician's office. "As a pediatrician I was shocked by some of our findings," she said. "I even rescreened some of the charts because I couldn't believe some of the results we were getting."
Busy Doctors
The researchers in part blame doctors' overly tight schedules, which often allow for 10-minute doctor visits that can crowd out needed care. They also say pediatrician residency training tends to focus on treating serious illnesses in the hospital, and not enough on prevention.
Joseph Hagan, MD, a co-author of soon-to-be released practice guidelines from the American Academy of Pediatrics, says he disagrees with some of the study's methods. But he also calls the conclusion that children receive recommended care less than half the time "abysmal."
"I see this report as a little bit of a face slap, but we know there's been a problem and this helps us get a sense of how to go and fix it," says Hagan, a pediatrician in private practice in Burlington, Vt.


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SafeGuard Easy (SGE) / Sophos Safeguard Disk Encryption (SDE) 5.60.1 Release Notes
Known to apply to the following Sophos product(s) and version(s) SafeGuard Easy 5.60.1Sophos SafeGuard Disk Encryption 5.60.1
All information apply to SafeGuard Easy (SGE) and Sophos SafeGuard Disk Encryption (SDE) if not otherwise specified.
* The installation needs at least 300 MB free of hard disk space. For Device Encryption, at least 100 MB of this free space must be one contiguous area. Please defragment your system before installation if you have below 5 GB free hard disk space and your operating system is not freshly installed to increase the chance that this contiguous area is available. Otherwise, installation may fail due to "not enough free contiguous space" and cannot be supported.
** This memory space is recommended for the PC. Not all of this memory is used by SafeGuard Easy.
Required software: Device Encryption / Data Exchange: Internet Explorer Version 6.0 or higher Policy Editor: .NET Framework 3.0 SP1
Resolved Issues (from 5.60.0 to 5.60.1)
Known Issues Data Exchange Client (SafeGuard Easy only) • User elevation for encrypted executables If an encrypted executable or installation package is started and requires a user elevation in Windows Vista or Windows 7, it may happen that the elevation doesn't take place and the executable is not started. • SafeGuard Portable Link on Read-Only Media The link to the SafeGuard Portable application created in the root of a removable media might not work under certain conditions (on Windows 7 only). When the media is inserted into a device which device letter differs from the one when SafeGuard Portable was copied to, the link does not work if the drive with this letter is available on the device too. For example: The SafeGuard Portable link was created on a media in drive D:. The media is the used on a different machine in drive E:. The link is broken if this machine also has a drive D:, otherwise the link works as expected. • Access to Key Ring after closing a Remote Session A user's key-ring is no longer accessible after an established remote-session has been closed. The client machine has to be rebooted in order to restore full access to the user's key ring. Just logging off and on is not sufficient to regain access. Device Encryption Client
• Windows' Safe Mode boot option, graphics driver updates and accessibility from Windows PE may be impaired depending on the installed BIOS version Current BIOS versions (see detailed information in below mentioned KBA) have been shown to lead to a black screen when the graphics card is controlled by Windows' own generic graphics driver instead of the dedicated manufacturers driver and SafeGuard Enterprise is installed. While this is not a common configuration during normal operation of the operating system, there are scenarios where this is the default: - When the user has chosen to start Windows in Safe Mode - When the machine has been booted into Windows PE from an external medium - When the manufacturers graphics driver is being updated "on the fly" when Windows is running When the SGN installer detects that the machine's BIOS matches to one that is known to be affected, - and that the generic Windows graphics driver is in operation, it will automatically abort the installation to avoid an inaccessible machine. - and the graphics card's default driver is in operation, it will issue a warning that the BIOS version should be changed and ask the user whether to proceed with the installation. Workaround: Install one of the recommended BIOS versions listed in http://www.sophos.com/en-us/support/knowledgebase/113426.aspx. Sophos is in contact with the BIOS and hardware vendors to solve the BIOS issues. Also, a workaround is currently being researched to circumvent these issues in a future version of SafeGuard Enterprise. DEF69880
• Resume from hibernation fails on some Lenovo machines running Win 7 SP1 Sophos recently identified an issue with Windows 7 Service Pack 1 (32bit & 64bit) on Lenovo machines with Core i3/i5/i7 processor and the corresponding chipset. On these machines resume from hibernation does not work when Safeguard Easy is installed. Machines are not able to resume and stay in a black screen after POA. The issue has been reported with these Lenovo models so far: T510, X201, W701ds. Machines without Service Pack 1 are not affected. Other vendors (e.g. DELL, HP) equipped with Intel Core Ix processors are not reported to have issues, yet. However, the issue does not only happen with 5.60 but was reported with 5.50.8 as well. For further information can be found http://www.sophos.com/support/knowledgebase/article/113546.html. DEF69434 • Wrong Log Time for POA Autologon entries in the Event Viewer of the Management Center As long as there has been no initial logon to Windows, the POA tags it's events with the timestamp that is available from the BIOS. This timestamp is local to the machine and does not contain any timezone information, which is why the log entries may not appear in the correct chronological order in the Management Center. Once the user has booted into Windows, the POA is updated with the correct timezone settings and subsequent log events appear with the correct Log Time. DEF69645
• Partition resizing not supported Resizing any partition on a machine where SafeGuard Easy Volume Based Encryption is installed is not supported. • Local Self Help is silently disabled when user changes password on a different machine When a SafeGuard Easy user is registered on more than one machine with activated Local Self Help, changing her password on one machine will disable this feature on all machines other than the one where the change was performed. When she logs into one of the other machines, no notification will appear to inform of this change. Workaround: Reactivate Local Self Help on all machines. This requires going through answering the LSH Activation Wizard questions again. DEF62926 • The SafeGuard Easy installation process requires to be started in the context of a Windows administrator's logon session. Starting the installation via "Run as administrator" is not supported. • Installation of the client configuration package After installation of the client configuration package, the user should wait for ~5-10 seconds before acknowledging the final reboot. Then, after rebooting, the user should wait again for approximately 3 minutes at the Windows logon screen before proceeding to log on. Otherwise, the initial user synchronization may not be completed until rebooting again. • BitLocker To Go-encrypted devices may prevent Device Encryption installation If a BitLocker To Go-encrypted USB stick is attached to a machine during the setup of SafeGuard Easy, the installation will fail because Windows reports the system as being BitLocker-enabled, which is a valid failure condition for the DE client installation. The solution is to remove any BitLocker to Go-encrypted devices before installing SafeGuard Easy DE. • Boot time Boot time increases by about one minute after installing the SafeGuard Easy Client software. • It is recommended to reboot a SafeGuard Easy Client PC at least once after activating the Power-on Authentication. SafeGuard Easy performs a backup of its kernel data on every Windows boot. This backup would never happen if the PC is only hibernated or transferred into stand-by mode. Encryption • On some Toshiba OPAL disks, OPAL mode encryption may fail if first partition is not located at the beginning of the disk The TCG Storage OPAL specification for Self Encrypting Drives (http://www.trustedcomputinggroup.org/resources/storage_work_group_storage_security_subsystem_class_opal) requires a so-called Shadow MBR area of at least 128 MB size. If this area is not completely accessible for reading and writing, which is the case for Toshiba OPAL disks with firmware version MGT00A, and the start sector of the disk's start partition falls in the range of sector numbers of the unaccessible area, SafeGuard Easy will not be able to activate the OPAL encryption for such a drive. This issue has been reported to Toshiba and is expected to be fixed in an upcoming firmware version for these drives. Workaround: Relocate the start partition to the beginning of the disk DEF69429 • OPAL restrictions As of version 5.60, the SafeGuard Easy support for OPAL self-encrypting drives has the following limitations: - OPAL mode encryption can only be activated for one OPAL drive per machine. - If more than one OPAL drive is present, and an encryption policy is assigned to any of it's volumes, these will be software encrypted just as on a non-self-encrypting drive. This implies that a RAID configuration with more than one OPAL drive will always be software-encrypted. - If an OPAL drive contains more than one volume, the OPAL encryption activation state applies to all volumes simultaneously. - The first sector of the start partition of the disk must be located within the first 128 MB. DEF69695
• Do not use Windows' Hybrid Sleep setting on OPAL machines On computers with an SGN-managed OPAL self-encrypting drive, activating the "Allow hybrid sleep" option in the Advanced Power Options settings may lead to errors during the wake-from-sleep (resume) procedure. This implies the loss of all data that has not been saved to disk before the computer was put to sleep. DEF70019
• OPAL Self Encrypting Drives become unusable in case of a lost encryption key According to the TCG Storage OPAL specification for Self Encrypting Drives (http://www.trustedcomputinggroup.org/resources/storage_work_group_storage_security_subsystem_class_opal), there is no way to access an activated drive in case the credentials for unlocking the drive are lost. This means the disk becomes completely unusable, a fact that stands in contrast to a disk that has been encrypted via software, where the data is lost, too, but the hardware can be reused after reformatting. SafeGuard Easy will either automatically store encryption keys in its database as soon as an encryption policy has been applied (for managed clients) or prompt the user to back up the key file (for standalone clients), but in case this data is lost, the described scenario applies. DEF69207 • OPAL Self Encrypting Drives need to be permanently unlocked before being reformatted/reimaged Self Encrypting Drives must be reset to their factory state before they can be reformatted or reimaged. For those scenarios where this cannot be achieved by a "regular" decryption or the deinstallation of SafeGuard Easy, a tool (OPALEmergencyDecrypt.exe) is available to permanently reset a SafeGuard Easy-managed OPAL drive. For security reasons, this tool is not included in the tools folder but available from Sophos' customer service. DEF69207
• Resume from Sleep fails when Windows' MSAHCI driver is installed on a machine with an activated OPAL drive When a machine is being suspended into Sleep mode, the resume will fail if Microsoft's MSAHCI harddisk driver is installed. MSAHCI has been introduced with Windows Vista, so this issue applies to Windows Vista and Windows 7, but not Windows XP. Workarounds: - If applicable for the hardware configuration, use the appropriate IAStore driver instead. The "Intel RST driver package v10.1.0.1008" has been tested successfully. - Change the BIOS setting for the harddisk controller (e.g. SATA Mode, ATA Controller Mode, IDE Controller Mode, ...) to Compatibility Mode. On most BIOSes this means selecting a value other than AHCI (e.g. IDE, Compatibility, ...) DEF66126 • Security concerns when using Solid State Drives On current SSDs, it is impossible for any software (including the operating system) to determine the exact physical location of where any data is being stored on the SSD. A controller, which is an essential component of any SSD, simulates the external behavior of a platter drive while doing something completely different internally. This has several implications for the security of the stored data, the details of which are listed in a Knowledge Base Article (KBA113334). The most important one being as follows: Only data that has been written to a SSD volume after an encryption policy has been activated is cryptographically secure. This means in turn that any data that is already on the SSD before the initial encryption process of SafeGuard Easy starts cannot be guaranteed to have been completely physically erased from the SSD once the initial encryption has finished. Please note that this issue is not specific to SafeGuard Easy but applies to any software-based full disk encryption system. DEF68440 • Volume based encryption for removable eSATA drives does not work as expected Currently, most external eSATA drives fail to advertise themselves as a removable device. This leads to those drives being treated by SafeGuard Easy as an internal drive and all corresponding policies will apply. We do not recommend to use eSATA drives in a SafeGuard Easy full disk encryption environment unless the applied encryption policies explicitly take this situation into account. DEF65729, DEF66438, DEF58796 • Device Encryption may fail on some USB sticks Some rare USB stick models report an incorrect storage capacity (usually larger than their actual physically available capacity). On these models, a volume-based initial encryption will fail and the data on the stick will be lost. Sophos generally recommends to use file-based encryption (DX module) for removable media encryption. • Encryption of 'Virtual Drives' Virtual drives that are mounted on the client workstation (e.g. VHD file into Windows using MS Virtual Server mounter) are considered as local hard drives and therefore their contents will be encrypted too if an encryption policy for 'other volumes' is defined. • During the initial encryption of the system partition (i.e. the partition, where the hiberfil.sys file is located) suspend to disk may fail and should therefore be avoided. After the initial encryption of the system partition a reboot is required before suspend to disk works properly again. General • SafeGuard Easy disables Windows´ AutoAdminLogon feature Due to security reasons, the SafeGuard Easy client actively disables the AutoAdminLogon feature in Windows. • After updating a SafeGuard Easy or Sophos Disk Encryption client, a reboot is required before a new config package can be applied Updating the client to a new version and applying a configuration package in one go is not supported. After an update, a reboot is mandatory before applying a new Client Configuration package. Otherwise, the intended configuration changes will be ignored. DEF68409 • Novell Client To use SafeGuard Easy Client in conjunction with a Novell Client there are some project specific adaptations necessary. Please contact Sophos Support for further information.
• Fast user switching is not supported and must be disabled.
• Floppy drive After installation of SafeGuard Device Encryption on Windows Vista the built-in floppy drive is no longer available. This limitation does not apply to external floppy drives attached via the USB bus. • The enforcement of the SafeGuard Easy password history policy can be avoided by the user during execution of the password change due to enforcement of the system administrator. • Modifications to the original Sophos product MSI Installer Packages are not supported. Windows XP • Microsoft Windows XP up to Service Pack 2 shows a problem on some machines, where a resume after standby does not show the locked desktop but directly opens the user desktop. The problem also applies to machines with SafeGuard Easy. This should be fixed with Windows XP SP3. • Microsoft Windows XP has a technical limitation of its kernel stack. If several file system filter drivers (e.g. antivirus software) are installed, the memory might not be sufficient. In this case you might get a BSOD. Sophos cannot be made liable for this Windows limitation and cannot solve this issue. Compatibility • SafeGuard LanCrypt needs a repair when uninstalling the SafeGuard Enterprise Client on the same machine An uninstallation of SafeGuard Enterprise 5.60 on a PC that has the SafeGuard LanCrypt Client (SGLC) installed leads to an internal driver error when the user tries to load his SGLC keyring. Workaround: Run a repair installation on the SafeGuard LanCrypt Client package. DEF69644
• SafeGuard Removable Media and SafeGuard Easy cannot be run on the same machine The discontinued SafeGuard Removable Media product must be uninstalled before using any SafeGuard Easy components on the same machine. DEF69092 • Empirum Security Suite Agent If SafeGuard Easy 5.60 Client software is installed and run in combination with Empirum Security Suite Agent software, the system might stop with the following BSOD: BSOD on system startup with stop code 0x00000044 MULTIPLE_IRP_COMPLETE_REQUESTS This problem is caused by one of the Empirum Software components. A fix for that problem will be included in Empirum Security Suite. Please contact Matrix42 support for latest details/updates on this issue. • Lenovo Rescue and Recovery For information on compatibility of Rescue and Recovery versions with SafeGuard Easy versions see: http://www.sophos.com/en-us/support/knowledgebase/108383.aspx • Compatibility to imaging tools has not been tested and is therefore not supported. Token/Smartcard (SafeGuard Easy only) • Resuming from hibernation on a Windows XP client can occasionally lead to a BSOD if an Aladdin eToken 72k (Java) is used for authentication. Therefore, hibernation under Windows XP in combination with Aladdin eToken 72k (Java) is currently not supported as unsaved data could be lost when the BSOD occurs. DEF66421
• Disconnecting an USB smartcard reader is not detected properly when using the Gemalto .NET smartcard middleware In this case, the desktop will not be locked automatically. This does not apply to pulling the smartcard from the reader, which works as expected. DEF66637
• When using the Gemalto Classic middleware, the non-cryptographic logon mode does not work in the POA DEF67495
• TCOS tokens are not supported on Windows Vista DEF67397, DEF67386 • ActivIdentity Notifications cause Winlogon.exe to crash On some Windows XP systems Winlogon.exe may crash if Notifications in ActivClient are enabled. Workaround: Disable ActivClient Notifications in the ActivIdentity's "Advanced Configuration Manager" under "Notifications Management" DEF60040
Antivirus products tested with SafeGuard Device Encryption SGE/SDE volume-based encryption has been successfully tested against concurrent installations of antivirus products by Sophos as well as the following:
Back to Sophos SafeGuard ReleaseNotes landing Page
Every comment submitted here is read (by a human) but we do not reply to specific technical questions. If you need technical support please post a question to our community. Alternatively for licensed products open a support ticket.


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Uncover breathtaking scenery and limitless recreational opportunities at Oklahoma's state parks.
Photo by: Mike Klemme
Beat the heat with these budget-friendly getaways and focus on spending time, not money. read more
There's no fancy equipment required to get a breathtaking shot of these gorgeous vacation hot spots across the state. All you need is your phone! read more
State parks in western Oklahoma feature some of the most unique terrain and landscapes in the state. From deep, ancient caves, to high plateaus made of volcanic rock; mammoth sand dunes to lush lakeside forests, each of these 11 parks have a personality all their own. read more
Discover six parks that go above and beyond with kid-friendly attractions. read more
Enjoy the benefits of rest and relaxation with a healthy dash of humor and whimsy at one of these unique, out-of-the-box Oklahoma lodging properties. read more
Take a look back at the most popular website content featured on TravelOK.com during 2014. From attractions and articles, to social media posts and photos, what emerged on top may surprise you! read more
Email: firstname.lastname@example.com


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CRYSTAL BAY, Nev. - Concert-goers who keep one eye in the mirror can watch themselves gavotte during Locals' Appreciation Night in the Crystal Bay Casino Crown Room.
They also can sashay into the venue without having to pay the man named Jeff at the door. This free show featuring Mustache Harbor will start early at 8 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 8. It features happy hour prices all night long.
Mustache Harbor recently played the Crown Room to rave reviews. The band is presented by the same folks responsible for Tainted Love, the Spazmatics and Love Fool.
Mustache Harbor is a group of dedicated and talented musicians brought together by their astrological signs and a love for vintage soft rock and sweet stashes.
Formed in Northern California, Mustache Harbor is composed of Steven Moon on Keys, (whose spiritual experience as a limo driver for Michael McDonald fueled his desire to play soft rock); Pat Vornado on bass ... yes, that Pat Vornado; Russ "Solid" Gold out of Biscayne Bay on drums; "Pretty" Rick Dallas on guitar; and Dan "The Man" Kingsford on vocals, acoustic guitar and overall frontman-ness.
According to press materials, the band's mission is simple: "to build a mustache army capable of creating a soft rock explosion the likes of which has not been seen since the days when Christopher Cross, Steely Dan, Ace, Kenny Loggins and The Little River Band, to name but a few, created A.M. Gold."


text: Patterned or simple – VILA's selection of pants covers it all. Under here you see a great variety of styles made of different materials and colours designed to accommodate your needs. You can find both a classic version with creases, coated pants with shiny finish and cool pants in the leather look. The collection contains slim and loose fitted styles, 7/8 length and chinos. The assortment is tempting and aligned with the coolest trends.


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Franklin Memorial Hospital, one of the largest employers in Franklin County, says it will eliminate 35-40 positions.
Hospital CEO Rebecca Ryder said she hopes some of the job cuts will be through attrition.
Ryder said the struggling economy has forced hospital revenues to plummet by more than 13 percent in this fiscal year.
State and federal cutbacks have hurt the hospital, and $5 to 6 million a year is given away in care for patients who can't pay.
Ryder said more health care costs have been passed on to patients in the form of higher co pays and deductibles.
She said the Farmington hospital is being forced to restructure itself to deal with the changing economic times.


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TAHOE/TRUCKEE, Calif. — Squaw Valley Institute is co-hosting a free showing of Discovery Channel's Frozen Planet, the epic new series from the makers of Planet Earth. Brought to Tahoe as part of SnowBash, a three-day party hosted in Squaw Valley during St. Patrick's Day weekend, Squaw Valley Institute will showcase the hour-long premier at Resort at Squaw Creek on Saturday, March 17 at 7 p.m.
Open to the public and all ages, the showing is sponsored in part by Guinness and Clif Bar. In honor of St. Patrick's Day, Guinness beer on tap will be poured and free Clif Bar product samples will be passed out. And, while this large-screen premier is free, all beer sales will benefit the nonprofit Squaw Valley Institute, so that it may continue bringing cultural and intellectual programming to the Tahoe Basin.
"Squaw Valley Institute is celebrating its 10-year anniversary with a new tagline of 'inspiring uncommon conversations' in our mountain community," said Eric Sather, General Manager for Resort at Squaw Creek and Squaw Valley Institute Board President. "Resort at Squaw Creek will support that mission as a venue committed to hosting events that bring culture, arts, and intellectual discourse to our area and for all walks of life."
SnowBash, put on by San Francisco-based integrated creative agency Hub Strategy, begins Friday March 16, 2012, at the KT Base Bar at Squaw Valley USA with DJ Magic Matt from San Francisco's Wild 94.9 Morning Show. Then, on Saturday morning, party-goers will have the opportunity to ski with Olympic Gold Medalist Jonny Moseley followed by a concert by L.A.Vation — The World's Greatest Tribute to U2.
About Squaw Valley Institute
Squaw Valley Institute is a nonprofit organization dedicated to presenting programs having artistic, cultural and educational values. The Institute presents lectures, performances, forums, exhibitions and classes in the unique mountain environment of Squaw Valley, North Lake Tahoe, Truckee and surrounding communities, bringing together visitors, residents and friends in the truest sense of community. For more information visit www.squawvalleyintitute.org.


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The Adobe Acrobat Reader is a FREE download. The download should take no more than a few minutes.
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Social service clubs have a rich history at Oklahoma Christian University. Students can rush seven men's clubs and six women's clubs on campus. From Spring Sing to service projects and other activities, OC's social service clubs provide a great way to form close relationships and grow spiritually (39% of OC students are club members). Here are the current clubs with basic information on each.
Alpha Gamma Omega
Founded: 1975
Colors: Black, silver and white
Mascot: Knights
Motto: Psalm 133:1 and 2 Timothy 1:7
Website: agoknights.com
Chi Lambda Phi
Founded: 1998
Colors: Crimson, navy
Mascot: Scotsmen
Motto: Brothers united in Christ.
Delta Gamma Sigma
Founded: 1972
Colors: Maroon, gold
Mascot: Bulls
Motto: Strength through unity, dependability, and pride.
Gamma Rho
Founded: 1978
Colors: Red, orange, yellow, blue, green, purple, violet
Mascot: Rainbow
Motto: It takes both rain and sunshine to make a rainbow.
Iota Kappa Phi
Founded: 2007
Colors: Teal, brown
Mascot: Owls
Flower: Gerber Daisy
Motto: Colossians 2:2
Kappa Sigma Tau
Founded: 1969
Colors: Navy blue, gold
Mascot: Panthers
Motto: Excellence through faith, fellowship, and pride.
Lambda Chi Zeta
Founded: 1998
Colors: Purple, yellow
Mascot: F.R.O.G. (Fully Rely on God)
Symbol: Stars
Motto: Shining through Christ and serving as sisters.
Website: Lambda Chi Zeta
Omega Psi Omicron
Founded: 1998
Colors: Forest green, silver, black
Mascot: Wombat
Motto: Always last minute, never last place.
Honorary Wombat for Life: Chuck Norris
Pi Zeta Phi
Founded: 2004
Colors: Brown, light pink, baby blue
Mascot: Bear cubs
Motto: Psalm 1:3
Psi Epsilon
Founded: 2008
Bible Verse: Romans 2:7
Mascot: Samurai
Motto: Noblesse Oblige - Nobility Obligates
Colors: Green, black, white
Website: http://www.psiep.com/
Theta Theta Theta
Founded: 1968
Colors: Navy blue, baby blue, white
Mascot: Doves
Motto: Christian women in leadership, scholarship, and service.


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Results 1 to 10 of 76
Wednesday, 27th June, 2007, 05:28 PM #1
Acolyte (Lvl 2)
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ø Block Flynn
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DM Prep Work Leading To Burnout: Help?
Good Morning, All,
As a GM/DM of D20 games in general, I've found that, as time goes on, DM Prepwork is a greater and greater burden, to the point where it has actually started causing me to experience DM Burnout. Now, I don't want to suffer this foul malady, so I'm trying to find ways to work around it. However, given the increasing complexity of the game through the sheer volume of character and rule options, and the increasing amount of material that one has to keep track of in order to keep up with the players, DM Prepwork has become overwhelming in many regards.
Now, I could write my own simple gaming system (and have even done some work in that direction), but the problem with not playing D&D v3.5 is that you lose a lot of the potential gamers who don't want to play anything but D&D v3.5. Therefore, trying another gaming system is not likely to be an option for me. Simply put, I like having a greater variety of gamers to choose from, as it's a lot easier to build a compatible gaming group if you are choosing from fifty potentials rather than choosing from five potentials.
So, here comes the big question: Aside from suggesting that I play something other than D&D v3.5, because that's not what I want to do, what suggestions do you have about making the DM's life easier for prepping for a v3.5 game, and for removing/preventing DM Burnout?
Thanks In Advance For Your Time,
FlynnIn Like Flynn: http://flynnwd.blogspot.com/
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Wednesday, 27th June, 2007, 05:33 PM #2
Waghalter (Lvl 7)
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ø Block TheYeti1775
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Do like our main DM.
Take a few months off to be a player.
Let the others try a few one shots. Never know one might take off for you and become a full fledge campaign in itself.
It also allows you to try new concepts for characters. Such as the main DM is a player in my game now where he is trying out the Ultimate Magus for me. It's something I want to try to play, so he is testing it.
The Yeti aka Magnus the Archmage
~"Henry Bowman lives within each and everyone of us, and it's time to start acting like it. "
A Story Hour set in Valus by Funeris
Funeris's Second Story Hour (where he is the DM).
My Story Hour Set in Valus 20 years after Funeris's Valus SH.
Bryon_Soulweaver - "Stupid nobles, hope Mangus blasts them (and I woundn't doubt if he could)."
Wednesday, 27th June, 2007, 05:36 PM #3
Defender (Lvl 8)
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ø Block EricNoah
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By prep work you mean preparing monster and NPC stats, mostly?
I use electronic assistance in this area -- eTools specifically. While not perfect or without its own hassles, it greatly eases my burdens in this area. Sadly, eTools is no longer for sale. There is also PC Gen at http://pcgen.sourceforge.net/03_get_pcgen.php . I don't know what the current state of the program is or where/how you get data sets for it.
Another aspect of prep work is detailing NPC spellcaster spells. I use some auto-calculating spreadsheets, but I also recommend the program found at http://pigmentia.net/spellgen/ .
My own "prep work" nightmare is actually developing interesting plots, personalities and stories. When my creative well is tapped, I find that using published adventures helps me greatly. I have enjoyed the Dungeon Crawl Classics line at www.goodmangames.com but tastes vary, of course. These are generally all dungeon-heavy, roleplay-lite.
Wednesday, 27th June, 2007, 05:38 PM #4
Defender (Lvl 8)
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ø Block EricNoah
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As far as maps for adventures go, I have raided the WotC map galleries, the web enhancements for Dungeon Magazine at paizo.com, and the Campaign Cartographer maps prepared for the FR Atlas CD-ROM (again, no longer for sale as far as I know).
Wednesday, 27th June, 2007, 05:40 PM #5
Gallant (Lvl 3)
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ø Block amethal
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What parts in particular are taking the time?
In my case, it was statting up NPCs - so now I don't do it. Last session involved a fight against a group of 20th level NPCs. Rather than stat them up "properly", I picked their ACs, ability bonuses, hp etc. Spellcasters were assumed to have a "decent" spell selection and I just chose an appropriate spell from the PHB for the character to cast each round.
I also found awarding XP "by the book" was a lot of effort for very little reward, so now I use the system whereby the characters level each time an appropriate goal is achieved.
Embrace the chaos!
Pathfinder RPG (no hearts were broken in the making of this product)
Wednesday, 27th June, 2007, 05:41 PM #6
Defender (Lvl 8)
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ø Block EricNoah
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Wednesday, 27th June, 2007, 05:43 PM #7
Waghalter (Lvl 7)
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ø Block crazy_monkey1956
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Granted this solution is not for everyone...
Don't prep. My prep work consists of occassional NPC creation for important bad guys that the PCs have to fight and that's it. Everything else is just a rough outline in my head. On rare occassions I will sketch out a map or use Dungeon Tiles to put one together on the spot.
Also, just because you run a 3.5 game, that doesn't mean you have to allow every option. I start with core only and very slowly expand from there once I am certain of how a new option fits into my world. Just recently added Psionics this way.
Wednesday, 27th June, 2007, 05:47 PM #8
Minor Trickster (Lvl 4)
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ø Block Vascant
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I run 3 games a week so I know the feeling all to well and found the a bulk of my time was being spent on creating the NPCs that revolved around or were encountered by the PCs. Maps I could either draw by hand or find one I liked already done and just took a few notes to handle room descriptions, the over all plot or events were done in an outline format to allow for different things the PCs might do during game play and allow me for expanding it rather quickly.
For NPCs I use two things, NPC Designer and NPCs from Dungeon Magazine. NPC Designer allows me to create 3x5 index cards for NPCs and I scan/ocr the NPC I want from Dungeon to put it into it myself by hand (Yes the later is more of a hassle but over time you end up with a nice collection).
(Note I have over 4000 index cards after 2 years of doing this constantly)
Now when I am creating a new adventure/encounter or evening winging one, I simple pull the cards I need and build around them.
One additional step I also do during adventure creation is usually create a point where I can have a wing-it session, this means very minimal to no prep work for me and has become almost more fun for me to run then for the players.
Use the computer as much as possible during prep work, here is an example that may seem small.
Generating mundane treasure, lets me honest.. this is the payoff the players have been fighting for so it should be something rather then.. a ring (100gp) There are quite a few useful software tools that will handle this generation for you, while this task may seem small.. if you could have all of your mundane needs taken care with a click of a button (the minutes will add up and your imagination will both be saved for better things).
I also have a book while I GM, it has generation results for odd things (Some based on current party level). Book names, subjects, personal descriptions.. the list goes on and on. It has become habit now to turn to my book when needing some information rather then churning the old brain cell. (I also use this book during prep work)
In conclusion, look at your prep work and find the most time consuming tasks.. then you can work stream line them and back to enjoying being a DM.
Wednesday, 27th June, 2007, 05:49 PM #9
Novice (Lvl 1)
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ø Block Ender_rpm
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Pretty much the way I run things. Unless the NPC is going to be a MAJOR plot point, I barely bother giving them a class, much less min/maxing themOriginally Posted by crazypixie
And another +1 to taking time off and playing. One of my players has allowwed me a few weeks off after our last story arc, and it has really recharged the idea battery. It has also made me a much better wizard player, prolly to his chagrin
Wednesday, 27th June, 2007, 05:51 PM #10
Acolyte (Lvl 2)
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ø Block kensanata
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Figure out what is taking you so long, and drop it.
- Spending too much time on NPC stats? Buy some, or have several sessions fighting only monsters, or just use the generic stats from the DMG, or use the NPC Generator 2.
- Spending too much time preparing spellcaster tactics? Do away with spellcasters for a while. Use monsters with lots of hitpoints, big damage reduction, high AC, good saves, high damage per second ratings and no spell like abilities, no supernatural abilities, no special abilities, none of that.
- Spending too much time on adding class levels to monsters? Don't do it. Pick a different monster, or let them use magic items, or use a simplified warrior class: +1 to-hit per level, +1 Fort per level, +1d10 per level. Done. No feats and save some time.
- Spending too much time crafting NPCs using Prestige Classes. Use core classes only and use fluff to bridge the gap.
- Spending too much time picking feats? Either do away with feats (like the simplified warrior above), or pick a feat chain and have all NPCs of a certain type follow the same feat chain. This makes things easy. Pick NPC level, figure out the number of feats, start at the beginning. An example from Kitsunemori: Iaido This martial art is all about drawing a weapon first to deal maximum damage in as little time as possible. Feats: Quick Draw, Power Attack, Cleave, Great Cleave, Improved Bull Rush, Improved Overrun, Improved Sunder, Weapon Focus, Greater Weapon Focus, Weapon Specialization, Greater Weapon Specialization, Weapon Technique, Improved Critical, Deadly Arc (samurai only), Zanshin (samurai only), Improved Zanshin (samurai only).
- Spending too much time drawing maps? Reuse. In my current campaign, I've reused a little seven-room ruined castle five times. Whenever the party left, something evil came back eventually.
- Spending too much time inventing background? Drop it. Running adventures is not about being a Fantasy-author wannabe. It's not story-telling all by yourself. It's about being there, at the table. Focus preparation on the stuff that is going to happen at the table. If players go in unexpected directions ("You said they had one of the biggest libraries here, right? My character will read up on the hobgoblin rituals!") don't be afraid to say you'll think of something, and prepare an adventure hook. Just switch to meta if you don't want adventure hooks ("You spend hours and hours pouring over the ethnology books, and truly it is fascinating. But it won't help you in this quest. Let's go back and join the rest of the party...")
- Take a break and let somebody else run a game or two.
RPG category on my blog.
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Old school blog planet.