text:
|DM Amethyst
It all started with a card . Its appearance upset the existence you have fashioned for yourself since Gaedren Lamm blighted your childhood , or your later life . It was to be expected therefore that the card and Gaedren's name ,whispered only by those who knew poverty or crime and seemingly unknown to the Korvosan Guard for all the zeal they put into arresting him, would appear together.
The card , one for each of you, found you in different places and at different times. They all bore a short message on the back . written in a small , cursive hand.
"I know what Gaedren has done to you . He has wronged me as well . I know where he dwells , yet cannot strike at him. Come to my home at 3 , Lancet Street at sunset . Others like you will be there . Justice must be done !"
More disconcerting than the message though , was the ink used to write it . As far as you could tell , even down to the faint smell of iron, the message was written in fresh blood.
In the distance , the bells of the Vault of Abadar have just rung the evening . It is nearly sunset on this windy , late autumn day.
What would you do ?
Arianna :
The address is also familiar . It was the home of Zellara , a well respected and elderly fellow Varisian Harrower who disappeared mysteriously early last year.
Copper :
The card depicts a glove puppet of a plumed knight in shining armour , slaying a winding ,snapping green cloth dragon on a cardboard stage while an audience of children cheers him on. "The Theater" is written at the base of the picture
Dammersel :
Appropriately enough , the card depicts a stalwart knight in shining golden armour and plumed helmet with a red cloak . He rests his hand on a broadsword expectantly. The name "The Paladin" is emblazoned across the bottom of the card
Rutter :
The card depicts a wandering acrobat , perched on a brown plateau dotted with fir trees. In his hands he juggles far more than the brightly coloured balls and weights you'd expected . There's an elephant , a clock tower , a boat and a chest spinning around in his hands and a name written at the bottom : The Juggler
Senjin :
You were given the key to the supply room and told to open up since you were the first arrived and have gained a reputation for keenness and conscientiousness among the stablehands.
The card depicts a floating castle with many turrets , battlements and crenulations . It has red brick roofs and golden ,domed towers and spires. It floats in a red sky , while underneath armies of orcs and giants pour out ,rampaging, towards it. Underneath is its name : The Keep
Yamiko : The card was in a chest of chains , weighted metal shoes and crowbars used on prisoners condemned to "judicial questioning" , which in Korvosa is a routine part of inquests. The chest was locked , though you were given the keys . Today it was your turn (on a rota) to clean and check the solidity of the "tools of justice" as the array of torture implements is euphemstically called. It was the blood on the back of the card that first caught your eye , it was surprisingly fresh , too fresh to be even from last night's round of torture.
Turning it over , the card depicts a strange , giant queen ant with a bulging red thorax . Strangest of all it is wearing a crown and a red cloak trimmed with ermine . Underneath is the legend "The Queen Mother" .
Could this be a slanderous caricature of Queen Illeosa ? King Eodred has been ailing since last winter and never goes out anymore , with the queen ruling with his blessing . But she is a foreigner and there have been many executions of slanderers and firebrands even in the short time you have joined royal service. [/spoiler]
|Copper Fratello
While the information is gathered for him to look over, Copper racks his brain about the card and who he might ask about it.
Knowledge Local 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (12) + 6 = 18
|Arianna Sirmikova
Young woman thoughtfully studies the card, noticing the the subtle differences between this version of the Vision card and the one in her own deck.
"Zellara? She has returned, and with information about Lamm? I must go hear her out."
Hearing the tolling of bells at the Vault of Abadar, Arianna gathers her things and makes her way towards Lancet Street, intent on hearing the words of a fellow Harrower.
Just prior to leaving for Zellara's, Arianna will draw a card from her Harrow deck for the purposes of the Harrowed Feat. 1=STR, 2=DEX, 3=CON, 4=INT, 5=WIS, 6=CHA. 1d6 ⇒ 6. Looks like CHA for today.
A beatdown is likely awaiting his arrival. Beatdowns he so often delivered in Geadren service.
He looked again at the card, 'The Keep'. He has found protection here in the Sable Company's fortress, but he notes the horde below that looks like trouble on the way. He never had much use for the hustlers selling fortunes on street corners, yet somehow, could someone have used the cards to find him, to see him.
"Bah, cards are used to hustle and confuse a mark, nothing more," he says to himself. But still, he took one last look at the card before putting it carefully away. What if he was the Fort that Geadren forces would break upon? A rare smile creased his lips. "If this is a trap, I have learned quite a bit since I left Geadren's employ, enough to perhaps make this interesting."
At sunset, he saw to it that his duties were completed. Wearing armor and weapons, as he expected trouble, he set out covered in a dark cloak. Leaving the proud fortress, he was soon slinking back through old familiar streets seeking to not be taken unawares before reaching his destination.
|Yamiko Kurogetsu
Diplomacy Check (to not accidnetally offend the queen hwen she reports the offensive image.)
1d20 + 3 ⇒ (10) + 3 = 13
|Damersel the Abandoned
I need to remember the teachings of the Dawnflower. I cannot let my hatred and need for revenge cloud my judgement. Everyone deserves a second chance, even Lamm.
Sliding the card in his pocket, Damersel heads to his bunk and retrieves his gear.
Guess I better go find out what this is all about.
Sorry for the long wait everyone.
|Yamiko Kurogetsu
i meant to say ask the queen. unfortunately i had to go to bed afterwards. i was pretty sleepy when i wrote it and it hasn't been changed because time passed too fast while i was sleepy. i fixed a few background details to help with clarification. the term altar maiden is rather confusing on second thought, she was more of an all around servant to the church of Zon-Kuthon. and the masochistic tendencies were developed as a coping skill to deal with physical abuse of various forms.
|DM Cloud
Those of you that have decided to go directly to the address arrive in the following order:
1. Rutter
2. Damersel
3. Senjin
Feel free to role-play out your interactions with each other without waiting for my posts.
You see a note pinned to the door. Upon closer examination, you see the following scribed in a flowery hand:
Thank you for coming. I had to step out for a bit, but shall return shortly. Please, have a seat while you wait. The basket under the table contains bread and drink for you.
The guardsman grunts at your question.
"Niklos? Not much I'm afraid. He was last seen by his uncle's shop down by the docks two days ago. Haven't heard a thing about him since. If his uncle didn't supply half of the guard with good boots I doubt we'd even still be looking."
You recognize the card as part of a Harrow deck, often used to divine the future. You know little about the art, but do know of a well-known forune-teller named Zellara who lives near the docks.
You had to wait a few hours for your audience with the queen as she dined with some visiting emissaries from Magnimar. When you finally see her for a few moments in the hallway, she is almost dismissive of you:
"Psh! Well the common-folk will always come up with some reason to dislike their betters. Yes, yes, go investigate by all means, just make sure that it doesn't affect your work on the morrow. I believe that we have some new arrivals for you."
And with that, she dismisses you and continues down the corridor with her retinue.
|Copper Fratello
Copper heads to the door, and starts off towards the docks, wondering to himself how some of the guards in this town are capable of even dressing themselves in the morning, let alone how they keep a town safe.
Guess I may as well start with Zellara, he says to himself.
|Yamiko Kurogetsu
Yamiko then heads to the address on the card. feeling satisfied that she got her queens opionion on the matter. she was trying to be as quiet as possible and hoping to avoid unwanted attention from certain shadier groups that could interfere with her arrival.
stealth check
1d20 - 2 ⇒ (18) - 2 = 16
|Damersel the Abandoned
Senjin finds the right street and heads up the lane slowly, pausing near each alleyway, sensing for any trouble. As he get close, he sees the door, a note apparently tacked to it. A window is lit and movement inside is evident. When he makes a move to go closer, a half-elf approachs the door, reads the note and enters.
Senjin does not recognize the man, and a little heavily armored for one of the expected thugs.
Senjin decides to risk it, and approaches the door and reads the note. Not liking it one bit, he opens the door and lets himself in. The half-elf is in the room enjoying refreshments. He makes no immediate moves, but Senjin goes to stand over by the window, in order to keep a watch on the street. Turning to the man in the room, "You do know this is probably an ambush, do you not? Not even sure why I came, but a foul wind in blowing tonight."
Perception 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (2) + 6 = 8 to see Rutter
|Copper Fratello
I was waiting for the others to post about arriving at the house before I posted. Also, Senjin, I hope you dont mind me playin off your post.
As Copper nears the docks, he sees an unknown person approach the house. As the man stops to read the note attatched to the door, Copper stops in the street, pretending to looking at the wares of a merchant. When the man steps inside the house and shuts the door, Copper advances and reads the note for himself. Listening at the door, he hears a voice, "...a foul wind is blowing tonight."
Hearing this, Copper quickly takes a step back from the door, flashes a few hand signals, speaks a few arcane words, and motions towards the door. Slowly, the door creaks open. When no attacker comes forth, Copper steps into the house and quickly finds two other people, including the man who he just saw enter the building.
"Guess there's a waiting line..."
Used Mage Hand, obviously
Perception 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (13) + 1 = 14 to see Rutter
The man by the window stands just over 6 feet high. A hooded cloak obscures some of his face, even in this light, but long black hair frames his face and a poorly healed broken nose pushes out of the shadows. His large axe rests against the wall, but a gloved hand rests on the unmistakable glint of a smaller axe on his belt.
He does not seem surprised by the door opening and this man's appearance, as he watched from the window. But he also does not make any sudden moves.
He eyes the new comer, nods over to the chairs and refreshments, where the other warrior sits, and shrugs. "We wait, but for what, I wonder?"
|Yamiko Kurogetsu
Walking up to the door, noticing several other strange fellows indoors at the address written on the card. she opens the door.
what you see,
a Tian female barely over 5 feet in height (61 inches) and of extremely slight build and soft features (101 lbs). her eyes were kind of a golden hazel-like color and her hair was black. if it weren't for the sound from a suit scale mail thumping beneath her black, printless kimono and the rattling of 15 feet of barbed chain worn over her obi, one would mistake her for a child. but most individuals involved in the prison system would be very familiar with her. whether as an inmate, warden, or officer.
|Damersel the Abandoned
A thin but muscular half-elf sits at the table before you, his gaze darting and untrusting, though this is only a remnant of his younger years on the street. He keeps his light blond hair long enough to cover his ears, hiding his elven heritage. His armored coat is accented with red and orange stitching. You notice a scimitar hanging from his hip and a shield emblazoned with the symbol of the Dawnflower strapped to his back, covering a red cape.
"It seems to always be a foul wind blowing in this city." As the half-elf speaks he stands and wipes his mouth and walks toward the window. You must be one of the others the note mentioned. I am Damersel, it is a pleasure to meet you." Damersel then extends his hand awaiting Senjin's grasp.
As Damersel stands waiting to be properly introduced to the man by the window, a young man enters the room. "Looks like the party is starting soon."
The appearance of the small Tian woman surprised Damersel at first. Are these people recruiting children too? He asks himself. As she moves into the room he realizes the equipment she dons. Damersel quickly drops his head in a friendly bow.
|Copper Fratello
Between his short stature for for a human male (5'8"), and his thin frame, Copper appears more like a kid than the adult he actually is. His long blond hair is tied together behind him, and his blue eyes constantly scan the room, going over the decor, the food in the basket, though he takes none, and his fellow...people who are waiting...
He takes the seat across from Damersel, and pulls outa chair for Yamiko when she walks into the room.
"Welcome to the party."
Knowledge: Local 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (2) + 6 = 8 to see if I recognize anyone in the room by reputation or appearance.
Senjin takes the man's hand warily, but then seems to relax a bit and returns a firm handshake. "My name is Senjin." He pulls back his cloak, to reveal his Shoanti features, his formerly broken nose, and the cruel scar around his eye. "I am with the Sable Company, although my being here has nothing to do with them." With that, he pulls a Harrow Card from a interior pocket in his cloak.
|Damersel the Abandoned
|Copper Fratello
|Damersel the Abandoned
|DM Cloud
Within the house, you find yourselves in a cozy chamber filled with a fragrant haze of flowers and strong spice. The haze comes from several sticks of incense smoldering in wall-mounted burners that look like butterfly-winged elves. The smoke itself seems to soften edges and gives the room a dream-like feel. The walls are draped with brocaded tapestries, one showing a black-skulled beast juggling men's hearts, another showing a pair of angels dancing atop a snow-blasted mountain. A third tapestry on the far wall depicts a tall hooded figure shrouded in mist, a flaming sword held in a skeletal
hand. Several brightly-colored rugs cover the floor, but the room's only furnishings are a wooden table covered by a bright red throwcloth and several elegant tall-backed chairs. A basket covered by blue cloth sits under the table which contains the promised bread and wine.
Feel free to socialize among your characters. There is about a fifteen minute break in game time before any event occurs.
|Copper Fratello
Copper takes Damersel's hand in the offered shake, "A pleasure to meet you as well, sir. Myself, I am a practitioner of the arcane arts, though my abilities are more naturally occuring than those who go through proper training to acheive the ability."
When Copper takes his seat after shaking hands, he resumes spinning the small platinum band on his left pinky finger, as if it were some sort of nervous twitch.
Looking over at the lone female in the room, Copper asks "And who might you be? If you don't mind my asking, of course."
|Damersel the Abandoned
Senjin pulls a chair away from the table and places it against the wall by the window. It gives him a chance to eye this newcomer with her coil of barbed chain. If Geadren sent an assassin, this would be her. But I cannot image him being this ...exotic?...no, creative. Senjin sits down where he has one eye out the window and can yet still see the new comer.
|Yamiko Kurogetsu
The Tian pulls out a card from one of her sleeve pockets as she walks through the door, My name is Yamiko Kurogetsu, and i too have recieved one of these cards. Yamiko then takes a seat at the table. having wine and bread with everyone else. as she was announcing herself, it was obvious that she wasn't big on social interaction. either due to shyness or nervousness. she felt intimidated trying to introduce herself to a group of individuals that she wasn't torturing.
"I have never held much faith in fortune tellers, just one more way to score against a mark."
He eyes his card with some thought. "Yet I am impressed with the information our benefactor has gathered, as this card found me, where few should know to look."
In his fingers, he flips the card about revealing to those gathered. "THE TOWER..not too much of a stretch for one living in the Sable Company's fortress....although when I first saw the card I imagined that it was me that Geadren's forces were coming to crash upon.
He glances up at the others. "Geadren is why you are all here, correct? My note mentioned as much, but at the time I thought he sent it, so this is all becoming very interesting." He gives his card a flick and it crosses the space to the table. The card slides till coming to a rest covering Copper's card, already on table's surface, protecting from view.
|Damersel the Abandoned
|Yamiko Kurogetsu
Yamiko reveals her card, the queen mother. "i think that our benefactor beleives he has a sense of humor. he sent me a slanderous depiction of queen Ileosia, but the queen is the very person i happily thank for the life i live today. she paid for my education and gave me a position within the legal system. she also paid for all the tools i utilize in my profession as a jailer."
|DM Cloud
Your conversation is interrupted by the arrival of a tall, middle-aged Varisian woman. A few streaks of gray mark her long, dark hair, but she still moves with a lithe grace. As she enters the room from the street, you notice that she pulls a Harrow deck from the pocket of her dark robes.
Nodding at all of you, she seats herself in one of the two empty chairs at the table and speaks to you all in a soft, but firm and clear voice:
"Thank you for coming, my friends, and for putting up with
my unconventional method of contacting you. My name is Zellara,
and I am a simple Varisian fortune-teller; however, I have reason to
remain hidden, you see—a terrible man would see great harm
done to me if he knew I was reaching out for help. This is a man
you know, for he has done something terrible to each of you as
well. I speak, of course, of Gaedren Lamm, a man whose cruelty
and capacity to destroy the lives of those he touches are matched
only by his gift for avoiding reprisal. You see, a year ago, his thieves
stole this, my Harrow deck, from me. It is important to me, an
heirloom passed down through a dozen generations, and also my
sole means of support. When pickpockets stole it, my son, Eran,
tracked them down. The thieves were in the employ of Gaedren
Lamm, and in reward for finding them, Gaedren murdered my son."
"I sought help from the Guard, but they turned me away.
And so I asked around. I paid bribes. I consulted my Harrow
deck for advice. And recently, I was rewarded—I found out
where Gaedren dwells. He can be found in an old fishery
north of here at Westpier 17, where he trains his abducted
children to be pickpockets and counts his stolen treasures."
"And now, I need your help. I cannot hope to face this man
on my own, and the Guard moves so slowly that if I were to go
to them, Gaedren would certainly know of their coming well in
advance. Even if they did arrest him—what guarantee would I
have he would be punished? This criminal has evaded the law for
decades. But you know of these frustrations as well, for word on
the street has it that Gaedren has wronged each of you, too. So
there we are. It is time for him to pay."
As she speaks, she smoothly shuffles and arranges the cards on the table. They seem to dance over the surface of the table, almost with a life of their own in the hands of the skilled fortune-teller.
It's probably just paranoia, but you swear that as her she turns her gaze to each of the party members, she spends an equal amount of time gazing at the tapestry that you have concealed yourself behind.
|Copper Fratello
Before the woman comes in...
"I got the Theater. I'm not sure if I should be flattered or insulted."
After the woman comes in...
An Angry, yet blank stare washes over Copper's face as the woman mentions the name of his childhood tormentor, Gaedren, as if he has been yanked back to the past by his memories. Near the end of her speech, he seems to snap back to reality. "I'm in."
|Damersel the Abandoned
Damersel looks down at the table for a few seconds then back up at the woman. "I must explain to you now Zellara that I will not take the life of a living being unless I know their soul could not be redeemed. I must say, I have my doubts about Gaedran's soul, but he must get the same opportunity as anyone else." Damersel then looks around the room awaiting a lashing from the others who were wronged by Lamm.
|Copper Fratello
Copper stares daggers Damersel's way, "I respect your opinion, but I make no such promise to not kill him. Some people, people like Gaedran, dont deserve any more opportunities. It will just lead to more strife for more victims.
Copper turns his back on the rest of the group, and lifts the back of his shirt, revealing a few dozen scars along his back, appearing to have come from a whip. "This is what I have left from my time with Gaedran as a child; I don't intend to give him a chance to do this to anyone else."
Turning back around and lowering his shirt, he again looks to Damersel, " I just got word from the local guards about the disapearance of a local kid, Niklos Korda. They dont seem too broken up about it to me. If Gaedran is back in town, I bet he's behind it. Damersel, if you help me find the kid, I'll try to restrain myself when it comes to that monster."
|Damersel the Abandoned
Damersel looks at Copper with compassion. "I know your pain. I was beaten to within moments of meeting my goddess by that man. The rage that flows through me when hearing Lamm's name is comparable to any other in this room. His path back may be lost, but life is sacred and worth fighting for."
Damersel shakes his head at the news of the missing child. "I vow to rescue him. You have my word."
"I can not say I would have any sympathy for the man if something ill were to befall him. But at one time I thought of him almost like a father, ...until I matured enough to realize the kind of man he really was. And of course, that was before he did this" He indicates his nose. "Or this from my supposed brothers." He pulls his finger along the jagged scar by his eye.
"I am not proud to say that I grew up in his family. I was not abducted but came willingly after being abandoned on the streets. I performed rough duties for him, but it was always to protect this new family of mine. That all ended when I stood up once to him over my objection to his child grabbing. That was when he turned on me."
"Considering that he will likely try to kill me on sight, just by confronting him, I can likely kill him with a clear conscious and even report the deed as self-defense to my supervisors. Saving a child, even better. But just one thing, I am sure Damersel will back me up here, nothing we do here will jeopardize my standing with the Sable Company. This is about Lamm. I have too much at stake, a chance at a new life, to allow him to ruin that too."
|Yamiko Kurogetsu
"that is why you are lucky to have me alongside you. since i work within the legal system as a jailer. i could technically get a few strings pulled to cover up Gaedren Lamm's murder. the opinion of the citizens may become more favorable towards Queen Ileosia as well. but i too was wronged by him." Yamiko announces. she pauses into a moment or few of deep thought from when Gaedren sold her to a temple of Zon-Kuthon as a servant, and the grotesque carnal acts of lust that followed. as she re-enters reality, she tells the group, "i'm in, and i will try to make arrangements for strings to be pulled for each of us to cover up Lamm's murder. i want to smear his blood over the barbs of my chains and lick it off slowly. it shall bring quite the moment of ecstacy to perform this ritual of dominance."
|Copper Fratello
After that last bit by Yamiko, Copper's face reveals he doesn't know whether to be excited to have allies who have the same goals as he does in this venture, or more disturbed by Yamiko's desired outcome.
"...Ok...so, now what?"
Senjin shares a look with Copper. "Um..yeah. I do not have it in my heart that I am setting out to murder anybody. Stop him..yes. Have it come to violence..likely. Kill him to do it...if we must. But I am not set on a path that sees me leaving here tonight to go murder a man, no matter how foul he may be."
"Perhaps that is just words said among conspirators, but I feel it necessary for the path I have found myself upon."
|DM Cloud
A faint smile crosses Zellara's lips as she observes the diverse opinions of the group.
"Speaking for myself, I believe that Lamm deserves to die. For the murder of my son and countless other lives taken and ruined over the years. However, I am a simple fortune-teller and powerless to bring him to justice on my own, so I leave it to all of you to determine how best to deal with him. Whether he sleeps at the bottom of the Jeggare River or rots in a dungeon cell, it makes little difference to me as long as he gets his just desserts and is powerless to tear apart another young life."
"I can offer little in way of a reward besides the opportunity for revenge. However, if you wish, I may be able to use the power of the Harrow deck to pierce the veil of the future and give some clues as to what may lie ahead for each of you."
She looks expectantly at each of you, her Harrow Deck sitting on the table in front of her. You notice that each of your cards seems to have made its way back into the deck while she shuffled it.
|Copper Fratello
|DM Cloud
Turning to Copper, she displays nine cards face down to you and motions for you to draw one.
"Well young man, you are touched by the forces of magic and the Harrow will be sensitive to you."
The card that you picked displays a monstrous balor carrying a lantern.
"Ah, the Demon's Lantern, a sign that guidance will come from unlikely sources for you."
Artfully re-shuffling the card into the deck, she deals nine cards out into a three by three square pattern and interprets it in the following order:
1 2 3
4 5 6
7 8 9
1: The Uprising
2: The Marriage
3: The Betrayal
4: The Queen Mother
5: The Brass Dwarf
6: The Joke
7: The Publican
8: The Fiend
9: The Idiot
A frown crosses her face as she deals the cards.
"An ill-omened spread, weighted towards ill tidings for your future I fear. However, the Queen Mother dominates this hand, implying that you have gained much knowledge and power by remaining loyal to whomever you owe your allegiance to and this will continue in the future if your faith is true. The placement of the Publican implies that refuge and safe haven has been difficult for you to find in the past, although it may not always be so. The Fiend confirms the coming evil, some great calamity will befall you soon. However, The Joke and the Brass Dwarf show that you may resist the perils which loom in your future through cunning and trickery. And the final card, The Idiot confirms that even if you overcome this grievous happening, the greed and foolishness of men and women will continue to plague you."
Copper, record on your character sheet that you have one Harrow point and that your Chosen card was the Demon's Lantern. What's a Harrow point, you ask? I'll tell you soon with a post over in the discussion thread.
1d9 ⇒ 9
9d9 ⇒ (6, 4, 4, 8, 4, 3, 3, 7, 8) = 47
9d6 ⇒ (1, 6, 6, 5, 3, 4, 5, 1, 4) = 35
|DM Cloud
Smiling at Senjin, she repeats the same process with you.
"No offense taken, there are many charlatans, and few like myself that can truly interpret the Harrow."
Your chosen card is the same as Copper's, the Demon's Lantern.
"Again the Demon's Lantern, truly a sign that maintaining fealty has been important for you, but also that you should look for help where you would not expect to find it."
Artfully re-shuffling the card into the deck, she deals nine cards out into a three by three square pattern and interprets it in the following order:
1 2 3
4 5 6
7 8 9
1: The Avalanche
2: The Mountain Man
3: The Lost
4: The Demon's Lantern
5: The Theater
6: The Publican
7: The Marriage
8: The Rakshasa
9: The Eclipse
"The Harrow feels your presence strongly, many of these cards are positioned to speak strongly about your past, present and future. Your past weighs heavy upon you. Positioned as they are, your Chosen card and The Avalanche speak of an escape from an impossible situation in your life. Meanwhile, The Marriage speaks that you have suffered ill from the collusion of minds against you, whether you know of it or not. The Rakshasa warns that someone will try to domineer and control you imminently, while The Theater speaks that prophecies will ring true for you, lending this telling even more importance than normal. Looking to your future, there is uncertainty. The Eclipse warns that self-doubt will dog you, but The Publican shows that you may overcome your self-doubt through the comraderie of your companions."
Senjin, you got a whopping three Harrow points and your Chosen card was the Demon's Lantern.
1d9 ⇒ 9
9d9 ⇒ (7, 6, 9, 9, 2, 3, 7, 7, 6) = 56
9d6 ⇒ (2, 4, 5, 2, 6, 5, 6, 2, 4) = 36
|Yamiko Kurogetsu
"i'm sorry for the grotesque ritual. i have not the best of filters. i just got the idea from a counseling session performed by an acolyte of Zon-Kuthon. a 14 year old tian female named Tomoe. it feels disturbing that i have been tasked to perform her initation next week. i know how that goes. it's best not to describe it. i'll just say that it inflicted a great deal of physical and emotional pain when i went through the rite." Yamiko says, trying to hide any signs of exitement. i would like a harrowing as well
bluff check made to hide Yamiko's sick, depraved, disturbing, explicit excitement about getting to perform Tomoe's grotesquely carnal initiation ritual upon her.
1d20 - 1 ⇒ (19) - 1 = 18
Said initiation ritual involves the newly appointed initiate losing thier Virginity while strapped onto the Torture Rack. whilst being stretched painfully. Poor Poor Sweet Tomoe will never be the same again. and the ritual has to be performed around a minimum of 10 other witnessing members of the kuthite clergy who may join in if desired and cannot be denied. Yamiko had to go through the exact same ritual at a much younger age.
|Damersel the Abandoned
|Shuriken Nekogami
"I too would like a reading Zellara."
Sense Motive 1d20+4
Rutter rolls his eyes at the words of the half-elf. Goody two-shoes is going to get in the way of everyone's vengeance. I may need to go it alone.
Hearing the petite Tian describing her desire to lick Lamm's blood from her chain, however, brings a smile to his face. That's more like it! I might just have to let her have Lamm if she wants him so bad.
Sense motive: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (4) + 5 = 9 She don't sound so nutty to Rutter!
|Copper Fratello
"Well I am not entirely sure who else I hold an allegiance to, other than myself. Could the prophecy mean an ideal I hold, opposed to a 'whomever I owe my allegiance'?
Copper sits back, awaiting the readings of the others.
Sense Motive 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (10) + 2 = 12 vs Yamiko's Bluff.


text:
David Meng, sculptor behind the awesome Leatherback-Kaiju in the film Pacific Rim, was recently interviewed by Sculpt Club about his work on the movie. In this wide-ranging interview, Meng covered his childhood fascination with developing creatures – one of his early influences was Jim Henson of the Muppets – how he got started in the business and the creative process on the film.
If you are interested in concept design or sculpting, you will enjoy learning about David Meng's experiences.

subset: commoncrawl


text:
Home List of Titles Network stability under alpha fair bandwidth allocation with general file size distribution
Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: http://hdl.handle.net/1959.3/219172
|Download PDF (Accepted manuscript) (Adobe Acrobat PDF, 428 KB)
- Title
- Network stability under alpha fair bandwidth allocation with general file size distribution
- Author(s)
- Paganini, Fernando; Tang, Ao; Ferragut, Andres; Andrew, Lachlan L. H.
- Abstract
- Rate allocation among a fixed set of end-to-end connections in the Internet is carried out by congestion control, which has a well established model: it optimizes a concave network utility, a particular case of which is the alpha-fair bandwidth allocation. This paper studies the slower dynamics of connections themselves, that arrive randomly in the network and are served at the allocated rate. It has been shown that under the condition that the mean offered load at each link is less than its capacity, the resulting queueing system is stochastically stable, for the case of exponentially distributed file-sizes. The conjecture that the result holds for general file-size distributions has remained open, and is very relevant since heavy-tailed distributions are often the best models of Internet file sizes. In this paper, building on existing fluid models of the system, we use a partial differential equation to characterize the dynamics. The equation keeps track of residual file size and therefore is suitable for general file size distributions. For alpha fair bandwidth allocation, with any positive alpha parameter, a Lyapunov function is constructed with negative drift when the offered load is less than capacity. With this tool we answer the conjecture affirmatively in the fluid sense: we prove asymptotic convergence to zero of the fluid model for general file-size distributions of finite mean, and finite-time convergence for those of finite p>1 moment. In the stochastic sense, we build on recent work that relates fluid and stochastic stability subject to a certain light-tailed restriction. We further provide the supplementary fluid stability argument to establish the conjecture for this class that includes phase-type distributions. Results are supplemented by illustrative network simulations at the packet level.
- Publication type
- Journal article
- Research centre
- Swinburne University of Technology
- Source
- IEEE Transactions on Automatic Control, Vol. 57, no. 3 (Mar 2012), pp. 579-591
- Publication year
- 2012
- FOR Code(s)
- 0102 Applied Mathematics; 0906 Electrical and Electronic Engineering; 0913 Mechanical Engineering
- Keyword(s)
- Computer networks; Lyapunov method; Partial differential equations; Stochastic processes
- Publisher
- 0018-9286
- Publisher URL
- Copyright
- Copyright © 2011 IEEE. The accepted manuscript is reproduced in accordance with the copyright policy of the publisher. Personal use of this material is permitted. However, permission to reprint/republish this material for advertising or promotional purposes or for creating new collective works for resale or redistribution to servers or lists, or to reuse any copyrighted component of this work in other works must be obtained from the IEEE.
- Research Projects
- Full text
- Peer reviewed


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Have you ever come across someone whose talents are being tragically wasted, like a house painter who moves his brush with the energy of a cubist master or a hand job-giving hobo whose magical wrists should really be winning tennis tournaments? (That last one is really common.) Well, that's how I feel whenever I see people who are wasting their lives being incredibly rich and famous when their real gift is coming up with the most insane practical jokes. There's an office or a Walmart or a McDonald's somewhere out there that lacks a resident prankster because the following people decided to have sex with supermodels instead, for some reason.
Then again, if these celebrities followed their true calling and just made practical jokes all day, they probably wouldn't have the money or the resources to pull off insanely elaborate pranks like ...
Kevin Winter/Getty Images Entertainment/Getty Images
Brad Pitt has kind of a hard time telling the difference between playing jokes on his friends and flat-out bullying them. While shooting Moneyball, for instance, Pitt took the golf cart Jonah Hill used to haul his ass around the studio, painted it pink, rigged it to play "Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go," and put a Photoshopped picture of Hill and Pitt as the members of Wham! on the front. Another time, Pitt glued some fake dicks to Hill's vehicle.
via OnTheRedCarpet
It's unclear which incident this picture comes from.
But, you know, of course Brad Pitt can get away with that shit -- he's Brad Pitt. As one of the highest paid actors in Hollywood, this man holds more power than the president of any country in the entire African continent (and has probably spent more money feeding African children). However, Pitt's most bizarrely cruel joke took place before the height of the "Brad and Jen" media frenzy catapulted him to megasuperstardom, and way before "Brangelina" recatapulted him from there to hypermegasuperstardom. In 1999, Pitt had just done a little movie called Fight Club with director David Fincher. Another thing to come out of 1999? The Y2K scare, in which a great number of otherwise rational human beings convinced themselves that all electronics would fail on the night of December 31, and thus we would wake up the next morning to find ourselves living in Mad Max 2.
Weekly World News
What we thought would happen.
Bug de l'an 2000/Wikimedia
What happened.
Where many saw panic and desperation, Brad Pitt saw a chance to be a dick to his friends. As Fight Club author Chuck Palahniuk relates in this clip, on New Year's Eve 1999, Pitt and Fincher rented a Mexican resort and filled it with their friends, ostensibly for the purpose of partying like it's today. But then, at midnight, Pitt and Fincher "bribed the government to cut the power and the phone lines," presumably making their friends believe human society had just collapsed.
Helena Bonham Carter via Total Film
It only took them 15 minutes to turn to cannibalism and eat Edward Norton.
And then they turned the lights back on and a bunch of big-titty Mexican strippers came out? Nope! The worst was yet to come: At that point, government troops burst in carrying AK-47s and arrested one of Pitt's friends on drug charges. In the clip, Pitt seems pretty amused when he talks about how the guy's fiancee was in tears as the man she loved was taken away into the pitch-black darkness by corrupt officers. And ... then the big-titty strippers showed up? Actually, that's as far as Pitt has ever told the story, so presumably his friend is still rotting away deep inside some Mexican prison, convinced that the lights never came back on and that monkeys rule the Earth by now.
So, in hindsight, Jonah Hill got off easy.
3 Daniel Radcliffe Wears the Same Outfit for Five Months to Annoy the Paparazzi
Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images Entertainment/GettyÂ
Daniel Radcliffe started his practical joker career back when he was still Harry Potter. While shooting the Potter movies, he would do things like leave whoopee cushions laying around or change the language on people's phones -- you know, typical "annoying little shit everyone hates" stuff. However, much like the boy genie he played in those wonderful films, Radcliffe started off evil but would eventually reject his cyborg overlords and use his powers for the forces of good. (Now might be a good time to mention that I have never read a Harry Potter book.)
New Line/WireImage/Getty Images
Daniel Radcliffe in Harry Potter and the Magical ... Magic.
In addition to making movies, Radcliffe also stars in theater plays in which he's occasionally naked and fondling horses (artistic stuff). But being in a play isn't all fun: It involves going to the same theater multiple times a week, acting your ass off, and then leaving the place to find a mass of paparazzi shooting flashes at your face. Every fucking night, for months at a time. However, while starring in a play called Equus (Latin for "horse fondler") in 2007, Radcliffe noticed something: If he was wearing the same outfit as the night before when he left the theater, the paparazzi would just groan and not bother taking pictures, because they'd look like they were from yesterday and couldn't be sold.
So, naturally, Radcliffe started wearing the same outfit every night. For five months. February 2007. March 2007:
April 2007. May 2007:
Same cap, same jacket, same pants. I can't find any pictures of Radcliffe from the play's last month, June 2007, so I'm assuming all the paparazzi had smashed their cameras in frustration by then. This is the star of one of the biggest movie franchises in the world, appearing in a play where he had to take off his undies, and they just left him alone. Here's a photo from November 2007 where he's still wearing the same basic combo (only considerably stinkier, I'd imagine):
Bauer Griffin/Zimbio
"HOLY SHIT, HE'S LEVITA- oh, same outfit, never mind."
And then, while appearing in another play called The Cripple of Inishmaan in 2013, he pulled the same trick: Check him out in May, June, July, and August of that year. This time he was nice enough to cycle through a few different T-shirts, though.
Mark Robert Milan/FilmMagic/Getty Images, Niki Nikolova/FilmMagic/Getty Images
The one on the left has a logo on it. Totally different.
Think about the tremendous sacrifice that wearing the same clothes every day must mean for someone image-obsessed enough to become a world-famous actor ... and he did it just to bug the paparazzi. I've never seen one of his movies, but I'm now convinced that this man is a genius. May Odin bless you forever, Daniel Radcliffe. (Odin was his father in the Harry Potter movies.)


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Surviving the Peace
Sun, 17 Mar 2013 7:00 PM - 8:30 PM
7-8:30 p.m.
Transitions, Warren Hall
During the fifth annual Post-Conflict Recovery Week, international battlefield photojournalist Sean Sutton from British charity Mines Advisory Group presents his work of human stories of war and resilience. Sponsored by the Center for International Stabilization and Recovery, Department of Political Science, Justice Studies Program, Mahatma Gandhi Center for Global Nonviolence, Office of Research and Public Service and University Program Board. For information visit http://cisr.jmu.edu/pcrw.htm; free.
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Gears, Gears, Gears keeps kids busy.
I got two buckets of Gears, Gears, Gears so that the grandchildren had enough to share among them. It keeps them entertained creating their own inventions.
Most Liked Negative Review
disappointed by broken piece
As this was a Christmas gift for my grandson, a little disappointed to find one of the bases that the gears attach to broken when he opened it. Otherwise, an excellent product.
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4.5 stars for this product
By Nana of 13
from Fultonville, New York
Comments about Learning Resources Gears! Gears! Gears!® Super Set:
Love the Gears, bought for my grandkids and they have all had a great time playing. Even the adults join in the fun. Three kids have played at one time with the biggest argument being not enough cranks and base. That said everyone still loves them.
Bottom Line Yes, I would recommend this to a friend
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We're disappointed, too.
By "Grandma Gears"
from Marshalltown, Iowa
This was advertised as large enough to entertain more than one child, so we ordered 3 sets for 3 families.We couldn't find them in any local stores. But there is only one crank per set and everyone wants a crank!!Can you Please offer individual cranks for sale if you can't put more than one in the large set.
(1 of 1 customers found this review helpful)
Gears Gears Gears
By Lori
from Orchard, IA
About Me Grandparent
Our Grandchildren can create all sorts of things!!! Just love it!!! First toy they go for!!!
GearsGears Gears
from Orchard,IA 50460
Just love this product!! Great job!!!
(2 of 2 customers found this review helpful)
By kenny
from princeton, wv
Great product!
By Gramma
from Oregon
I've heard nothing but good things about this product so have been thrilled to buy two recently for grandchildren for Christmas!
Geary Christmas
By grandpa Phil
from Eastern TN
This is a Christmas present for a 6 year old and I am sure he will have fun with it. However I was disappointed on looking at the parts list that it only has one crank to turn your creation
Fun! Fun! Fun!
By CA Teacher
from San Diego, CA
About Me Education Oriented
Great product. Bought a set for my students to use during their free choice time. I discovered that one set was not enough, so I bought the super set. It's a good value because you get a lot of pieces, enough for a few kids to share and not have to fight over pieces. I love to observe the creativity that is fostered when the kids assemble working machines. There is no wrong way to play. There is a great sense of accomplishment when my students build and create.
By Nana Ann
from Salt Lake City, UT
Images shared by Nana Ann
Created by a 6 year old who wanted a picture of it
Permanent favourite!
By Wendy
from Suffolk
About Me Mum of 3
We bought this set to help with creativity and fine motor skills. The set has been used extensively by my children and their friends. Its a permanent favourite which gets used not just on its own but with all our other toys. The creativity is never ending although there is an activity guide the gears are brilliant for all aged children as they each get something different out of their creations. My daughter loves to see her creations move, my son loves to see how tall he can build something. A fantastic set for groups or promoting imagination. We have created houses, planes, garages, mazes and cars. Once you have finished playing all the gears can be packed away in the robust plastic tub.


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Liberty students join national arts program
December 18, 2013 —
A group of Liberty art students on December 12 became the first-ever students from Liberty High School to join the National Art Honor Society (NAHS). The students were inducted in a ceremony in the gallery space owned by Green Door Magazine on Main Street in Liberty.
Liberty Art Department Chairperson Kathy Lambert, who established the Liberty chapter, told those in attendance, "We seek through our involvement in this national organization, which values pride, service, character and responsibility, to acknowledge the artistic achievements or our students by encouraging our students to be critical thinkers, to be able to analyze their work, and to grow in each medium they choose to work in, and to develop a sense of accomplishment in that they've done and what they're capable of."
The students took a pledge that said, "I will in my life, to the best of my ability, through my talents and art, help to create a more beautiful world for myself, for humankind and for all living things."
To be eligible for membership in NAHS, students must have an average of 90 or above in an advanced art class, an overall grade-point average of 80 or above and be in good academic standing. A minimum of 30 community service hours in the arts is also required.
Officers of the newly formed organization are Gladys Diaz, president; Brittany Almodoval, vice president; Alyssa Bossert Piatek, treasurer; and Katarina Manzi, secretary. Inductees include Paula Doty, David Cherapanov, Joey Maltese, Melissa Symanski and Sierra Thomas.
After the ceremony, which featureed remarks by Ellie Ohiso, publisher of Green Door Magazine, the students each discussed some of their works, which were on display in the gallery.


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AnneMarie Borlind, Lip Color, Frosted Plum 57, 0.15 oz (4.4 g) (Discontinued Item)
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GOP-backed mining bill clears Senate committee
A state Senate committee has approved a Republican bill designed to make it easier to open a massive new iron mine near Lake Superior.
The bill passed the Senate mining committee on a 3-2 party line vote Wednesday. The Assembly mining committee passed the same bill on a 10-6 party line vote earlier in the day. The votes send the measure on to the Legislature's finance committee, the last stop before the measure goes to the full Senate and Assembly.
Republicans insist the bill will help create hundreds if not thousands of jobs. Democrats counter the legislation is moving too quickly, relaxes environmental protections and won't create the jobs Republicans say it will.
Republicans made a number of revisions to the bill Wednesday they say address critics' concerns.
Copyright 2013 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.


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Only the finest quality materials are used in the construction of this miracle.
The magician shows an empty flower vase to the audience then with the magic wand he touches it to the vase and suddenly a bouquet of flower appears in the vase.
Super large Blooms!
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This Tora Magic exclusive production can be the highlight of any stage show.
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A Few First Looks At Pitchers and Hitters
In the last few Spring Training games, the Phillies have gotten a good look at many new and returning pitchers.
Cole Hamels gave up a home run on only his 2nd pitch of spring against the Blue Jays, but recovered well and overall, had an good outing. Hamels allowed two hits and a walk in two innings plus the home run. He has added a cutter and a curveball to his repertoire of pitches which seems to be giving him a little more confidence in his ability to get outs.
Jamie Moyer also pitched in a "B" game that same day and does not look like a man who had 3 surgeries in the off-season. He pitched 3 scoreless innings allowing 3 hits and striking out 3 batters. Clearly, Moyer is not ready to concede the 5th starters spot to one of the younger pitchers. And with the $8 million dollars the Phillies owe him this year whether he performs or not, that is a good thing.
Three other pitchers who did not make such a great impression on Friday were J.C. Ramirez, picked up in the Cliff Lee trade; Ryan Vogelsong, a Philly-area native who recently spent time playing in Japan; and Bill White, who was picked up off waivers from the Rangers. Ramirez allowed 3 runs on 4 hits and 2 walks in 1 1/3 innings. Both Vogelsong and White gave up 4 runs each in an inning or less. It is still early in Spring, but the results do not bode well for these pitchers.
Joe Blanton also had a rough outing today against the Pirates; 5 hits and 3 runs in 2 innings plus a number of extra base hits were the highlights. However, the relievers did very well, including Danys Baez, BJ Rosenberg and Mike Zagurski; they each pitched 2 scoreless innings in the game.
As for the hitters, prospect Tyson Gillies, also from the Cliff Lee trade, hit a solo homer in the sixth inning against the Jays and was 2 for 2 overall with 2 RBI in the game, making a great first impression. Gillies also has tremendous speed and a great arm from centerfield. The Phillies top prospect Domonic Brown went 2 for 4 with 2 RBI and threw a runner out at the plate from right field. Brown appears to be on track to take over for Jayson Werth should he depart in 2011 once becoming a free agent.
Ryan Howard remains hitless so far this Spring, but more concerning is the absence of Shane Victorino. Benched with a sore shoulder since the start of the month, Victorino did not travel to the Pirates game with the team today. While this may simply be the Phillies being extra cautious with their star centerfielder, it is concerning. Victorino has had a number of nagging injuries over the last few years that seemed fairly minor, but still kept him out of the line-up for extended periods of time. All the Phillies can do is hope this does not become one of those situations.
And just for fun, has anyone seen the new Cliff Lee Topps Opening Day trading card? Generally, when a player is traded, Topps will take one of their old trading cards and paint the new uniform in the photo over the old uniform. In Cliff Lee's transition from the Phillies to the Mariners, see if you can spot the error from Topps' editing job:
Leave your guess in the comment section; the first person to get it right is the winner and be mentioned in my next blog.
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Photo by Jenn
*Read more about the Phillies at my other home page, Phightin' Phils Phorum in the My Team Rivals network*
4 Comments
Hamels will be fine. Some pitchers are definitely throwing more fastballs than breaking balls this time of the Spring Training format, but there is no need to worry…yet.
If he is not getting the tight pitches or the breaking balls over for strikes in two weeks ago, then it will be time to worry…pronto.The Topps people did the same to Akinori Iwamura's 2010 card for the Pirates. You see him in a black Pirates top, but see the blue walls and Field Turf of Tropicana Field just in the background.
Funny, I remember not so long ago they did the cards during the first week of Spring workouts.
guess time is money chimes in loud and clear and they do what they can with computers now.
Hopefully one day they do not photoshop in fair balls onto video screens…….or do they?
See you in Clearwater tomorrow. I am in Section 104 so I can yell at our RF, Pat Burrell…hehehehehe
Just kidding.
Rays Renegade
Hey, how nice of Seattle to honor HK on Lee's new card!
I have a feeling the pitching this year is going to step up to the demands, with Halladay leading the way…
as for the Cliff Lee card , just goes to show they obviously get what they pay for with there graphic artists, there's no replacement for experience… and knowledge of a Phillies Uniform… for the non-Phillie fans look closely at the HK patch…
Outside the Phillies Looking In
Geez, obviously they used a picture from last year, but I hadn't realized it was the SAME FREAKIN' ONE as last year's card! They didn't have even ONE OTHER action shot of Lee they could doctor up? "Hard to believe, Harry."
Rants, Raves, and Random Thoughts


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River Rat Triathalon Benefits CMN
Organizers Alicia Dewey and Ki LeClair are looking for sponsors, participants and spectators for the River Rat Triathalon.
The event benefits the Children's Miracle Network.
It's August 25 at Centennial Park in downtown Clayton.
There's a 600-meter swim or a three-mile kayak, a 17-mile bicycle ride, and a 5K run.
Registration is from 7 to 8 a.m., kayaking starts at 8:30 a.m., and the swim starts at 9 a.m.
An awards ceremony is at 11:30, with the post-race party starting at noon.
Check out www.riverrattri.org for more information.
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Thursday, December 8, 2016, Watertown, NY


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Taking it to extremes Gyms add more challenging obstacles to fitness training
Anthony Edwards / Staff Photo An obstacle is seen at Shale Hill Adventure Farm in Benson on Sunday.
Steven Beckwith was desperate. A friend had convinced him to sign up for a Spartan Beast, a notoriously tough obstacle course race stretching more than 12 miles, and he knew lifting weights and running on a treadmill at his regular gym wouldnt prepare him to, say, spider-man across the flat face of a wall or climb a 20-foot rope.
Then, as he drove to his parents house in Benson in the spring of 2012, Beckwith recalls that he spotted a man putting up a firemans pole and a cargo net, and building a ramp. He stopped to inquire. It was Rob Butler, a builder and obstacle course race enthusiast who also couldnt figure out where to train.
Butler has since built 60 obstacles on his 150-acre farm in Benson and runs the Shale Hill Adventure Farm full time. Beckwith makes the 40-minute drive from Middlebury twice a week to train, while members of the New England Spahtens (not a misspelling), an amateur racing team, regularly travel about four hours. Other clients come from as far as 15 hours away to practice on the course five or six times, Butler said.
You can crawl under barbed wire without practice, he said, referring to one common race obstacle. But most people cant go climb a rope without learning some tricks and techniques on an actual rope.
Soon obstacle course race hopefuls wont have far to go to find places to practice. Shale Hill is one of roughly two dozen gyms that have opened in the past three years most of them in the last 18 months specializing in training for mud runs and obstacle course racing, a category of event that has grown rapidly in the last four years. In 2009, there were a handful of races; now there are about 250 companies operating events, with industry giants like Tough Mudder and Spartan Race expected to draw more than a million participants apiece this year.
Traditional gyms like Anytime Fitness and Town Sports International, the owner of New York Sports Clubs, offer six-week (mostly obstacle-free) race prep courses. But many race participants want to train on obstacles all year, making the specialty gyms their primary destination. (In August, a couple who train at Shale Hill plan to marry at the start of the course and celebrate by running with their guests, who have been mailed death waivers and race numbers in lieu of invitations.)
Josh Elyachar and his fiancée, Emily Ng, tried David Barton and Barrys Bootcamp before picking Epic Hybrid Training, a 1,500-square-foot space in New York City, which they attend six days a week.
We honestly were looking for the hardest gym, and this kind of knocked our socks off, said Elyachar, who has a love-hate relationship with any obstacle involving heights. This month, Epic will open a second gym, this one 2,500 square feet, because the first is at capacity, said Alexander Nicholas, the owner.
Its not enough to survive a single race. Participants want to repeat and improve their performance, sometimes two and three times in a weekend. (For the Spartan Race, where failing an obstacle carries a penalty of 30 burpees, an explosive squat-push-up-vertical-leap combination, a popular goal is to finish without doing any.)
For nearly a year, the Spartan Race has been offering coaching certification in its proprietary training for $600 a session. Plans for stand-alone gyms globally will be announced this summer, said Joe De Sena, the races founder. Even universities may get in on the trend. An early design proposal for a $34 million extension to a wellness center at Towson University in Maryland includes a boot camp where students will have to climb ropes to reach the space, said James Braam, senior project designer at 360 Architecture.
Mud run-type events are heavily populated by men they make up 70 percent of Tough Mudders participants, according to company figures but the training gyms are, in some cases, as much as 90 percent women. Theres also a growing segment of women-only races like Mudderella and Dirty Girl.
Ed Puente, who in August opened the two-acre Overdrive Fitness in Los Fresnos, Texas, near the states southernmost tip, said: Men dont want help. We think were going to wing it somehow.
Elizabeth Tiseo of Dallas drives four hours to train at Mylo Obstacle Fitness in Austin, Texas. It has 10 acres with more than 25 obstacles, and women make up roughly 85 percent of the classes participants.
Im 5-foot-1, so Im not getting over an 8-foot-wall without help unless someone teaches me, Tiseo said. After a year of work with Mylo Villanueva, the gyms owner, Tiseo finally scaled the wall twice at a Spartan Race in May.
These gyms are competitive places, and the race is on for bragging rights to the toughest obstacles, ones that make the ones at actual events seem almost easy. Gym owners scour videos of race footage and NBCs American Ninja Warrior, mine any former military training, and in the case of Ben Broussard, the owner of Hot Lava in Austin, his background as an actor and writer of B horror movies. (There is lava pit that is a 4 feet deep.)
Butler of Shale Hill said that few people can finish his Tarzan ropes, where athletes must swing for 60 feet, then gather momentum to get over an 8-foot wall. Andres Schwartz, a former member of the Navy SEALs who has added obstacles to his FTX CrossFit gym in the Chicago area, said his weaver, a 30-foot pyramid of bars users must wend through horizontally, was built of painful memories of my field training. And Nicholas of Epic used plumbing pipe to create extra-thick monkey bars that are tough to grip and that also spin, forcing users to move from bar to bar quickly. It came out harder than I wanted, and all the members appreciate it or curse me out about it, he said.
One thing most of the gyms still struggle to train clients for is the mud aspect. Every year as racing season approaches, Cynthia Conde, an owner of the Fitness Loft in Manhasset, N.Y., hopes for rain so she can take her charges outside. Edwin Lopez, the owner of Jungle Fitness Miami, has clients jump into a nearby lake, then run his course. When Nicholas opens his new gym, he plans to have members sink their arms in buckets of ice water for a minute before taking on the obstacles.
This is New York and people have to go back to work, so I cant do mud, he said. But this should make their muscles cramp and give them a feel for it.
Of course, there are things no gym can train you for, such as Tough Mudders infamous electroshock therapy and electric eel obstacles, where participants are hit with 10,000 volts of electricity.
Never mind the liability. Villanueva, a former Marine, said: If I had that obstacle, Id have to show them how to get through it and Id have to get electrocuted every single time. And it hurts a lot.MORE IN World/National BusinessWASHINGTON Long-term U.S. Full StoryNEW YORK Its not just the musical Hairspray that will air live on NBC tonight. Full StoryOXON HILL, Md. Far from the Las Vegas Strip, MGM Resorts International opens its $1. Full Story
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man we NEED to win this game. if we dont that run was truly a fluke. im serious. im not blowing anything out proportion we sucked the last two games. we need a win here, i just hope Steph isnt hurt too bad. btw gordon doesnt start.
This is the Official Game Thread. All game notes,predictions,in-game observations etc. belong in this thread. All game threads are created by Peach_NYK_21, and Brian_Coleman_21
8:30 PM, Wednesday, January 18th, 2006
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man we NEED to win this game. if we dont that run was truly a fluke. im serious. im not blowing anything out proportion we sucked the last two games. we need a win here, i just hope Steph isnt hurt too bad. btw gordon doesnt start.
#15...So good it had to be retired twice
hmm thats wierd, i guess he hasnt started every game since December 31st...
i agree with nyknicks15 ... we need this so game so much, if you ask me, this game is one of the biggest this season... because we might lose to detroit the day after.... the bulls are direct rival in the hunt for the playoff spots... and if we lose this one, this six game streak is almost meaningless ... steph most propably won't play tonight... nate and jaycee face a good backcourt in duhon, hinrich and gordon... i think near to the basket we will have some advantages... as we know sweetney is not the best athlete... so we gotta go deep and attack the basket
playoffs... ???... u think this team is of a playoff caliber???...Originally Posted by casino
we are a sucky team, in a sucky conference, and still ain't making the playoffs... maybe we will get lucky and end up in last place, and get the 1st pick in the draft... oops... we traded away our #1...
Why not we have the pieces? Are we suppose to just be nonchalant and just let this team be? Nah not me I want playoffs I dont know if we gonna make it but I root tht they will and since we in such a deep hole each game holds a playoff meaning. If we dont make it, pat urself on the back, but I want them to win.Originally Posted by paris401
I just hope Q continues his good play....
he actually shot 50% last game
Where there is hope, there can be faith
Where there is faith, miracles can occur
if this is what you think. fine. me, i'm a little more optimistic about this whole thing. i guess larry has enough potential to form a playoff caliber team. most players on this team are very young and an experienced coach can really make them solid ballplayers. this team has potential.Originally Posted by paris401
this team has potential and even with our current roster and record we have a great chance of making the playoffs. look at the other teams records before you deny that. we could sneak in at 8 i think we can even win the atlantic and take the 3rd seed. id rather have the 6th seed so we can play the winner of the atlantic haha. and NO im not overly optimisic i just know we have decent talent and horrible competition in the East. we still need to make a move or two especially for a SF. and stop complainin bout losing our number one pick we got Eddy Curry with it. would u rather have the pick or curry? and well get another pick before deadline...we already have one 1st round, im sure well have two.
now lets get back to the BULLS game. marbury is definetely OUT. so who will start? prolly JC and Nate with Q comin off the bench. hopefully Q shows signs of life and continues the groove from last game. well see, we need this win tho
#15...So good it had to be retired twice
all i want to know is wat happened to Q in da 4th quarter and OT?
what is antionio davis thinking... like what are you doing, that could have been very very very bad.... i know he has to defend his wife, but thats wat secuity is there for, very very scary
i dont have to comment on the ggame, everyone feels the same way
glad to see Q breaking through his rut. thats good atleast..
but im ready to admit that winning streak was a fluke..
#15...So good it had to be retired twice
AD should not be fined for doing something any married man or concerned bf would do for his significant other....also its not like he went up there pushed anyone around....just wanted to know what was going on after seeing his wife in distress...he did what any other man would do....thats all he is...a man...no more no less. If Stern fines him for coming to the aid of his wife after Bulls security did a piss poor job because he stood there for well over 4 mins....then it just goes to show what Ive always been saying Stern is a hypocrite.


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Medicare panel urges cuts in certain hospital payments
WASHINGTON A federal advisory panel said Friday that Congress should move immediately to cut payments to hospitals for many services that can be provided at much lower cost in doctors offices.
The Medicare Payment Advisory Commission said the current payment disparities had created incentives for hospitals to buy physician practices, driving up costs for the Medicare program and for beneficiaries. Hospital buyouts of doctors, turning independent practitioners into hospital employees, have also led to higher spending by private insurers and higher co-payments for their policyholders, the commission said.
Congress often adopts ideas suggested by the commission, and hospital executives fear that could happen again as lawmakers search for ways to squeeze savings out of Medicare.
Medicare uses different fee schedules and formulas to pay for services provided in doctors offices and in hospital clinics.
In many cases, a physicians practice that is purchased by a hospital stays in the same location and treats the same patients, but Medicare and beneficiaries pay more for the same services, the 17-member commission said in a report to Congress.
For example, it said, Medicare pays $58 for a 15-minute visit to a doctors office and 70 percent more $98.70 for the same consultation in the outpatient department of a hospital. The patient also pays more: $24.68, rather than $14.50.
Likewise, the commission said, when a Medicare beneficiary receives a certain type of echocardiogram in a doctors office, the government and the patient together pay a total of $188. They pay more than twice as much $452 for the same test in the outpatient department of a hospital. (The test is used to evaluate the functioning of the heart.) The commission urged Congress to equalize payment rates, or at least reduce the disparities, for doctors office visits and hospital clinic visits in which similar patients receive the same or similar services.
Variations in payment urgently need to be addressed, because many ambulatory services have been migrating from physicians offices to the usually higher-paid outpatient department setting, as hospital employment of physicians has increased.
Under the changes outlined by the commission, hospital clinics could lose 5 percent of their Medicare revenue. But the Medicare program and beneficiaries could save $1.8 billion a year, the panel said.
Hospitals strenuously oppose the cuts, saying that they have many costs that doctors practicing on their own do not have.
Medicare already underpays hospitals for caring for patients in an outpatient setting, and the commissions proposals would worsen that, said Joanna Kim, a vice president of the American Hospital Association. Hospitals might be forced to curtail services, threatening access for the poor and patients with multiple chronic conditions.
Full-service hospitals, unlike doctors offices, have emergency rooms and standby capacity to care for victims of accidents, natural disasters, epidemics and terrorist actions. Hospitals are also subject to more stringent regulation.
Jonathan D. Blum, deputy administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, said the Obama administration had no official position on the commissions proposal. At a congressional hearing Friday, however, Blum said he supported the general goal of site-neutral payments, meaning that Medicare would pay about the same amount for a service, regardless of where it was provided.
The new health care law encourages doctors and hospitals to join forces, coordinate care and hold down costs. But the Medicare commission cited another reason for collaboration, saying, Hospitals often choose to employ physicians to ensure a stable stream of tests, admissions and referrals to specialists.
From 2010 to 2011, the commission said, the number of echocardiograms provided to Medicare beneficiaries in doctors offices declined by 6 percent, but the number in hospital outpatient clinics increased by nearly 18 percent.
The shift reflects financial incentives in Medicares payment systems and coincides with rapid growth in hospitals employment of cardiologists, the panel said, noting that the share of cardiologists employed by hospitals tripled, to 35 percent in 2012, from 11 percent in 2007.
In a separate section of its report, the panel explored broader changes in Medicare, under which each beneficiary would receive a fixed amount of federal money to buy insurance from a private health plan or to help pay for coverage under the traditional Medicare program.
Republicans have championed such proposals as a way to increase choices for beneficiaries and save money for Medicare. President Barack Obama and other Democrats have denounced the idea, saying that it would turn Medicare into a voucher program and expose beneficiaries to higher costs.
The nonpartisan Medicare commission said the proposals were not necessarily good or bad but were worth investigating.
The effects on beneficiaries and the potential savings, it said, depend on the answers to crucial questions: whether all plans would offer the same benefits, how the federal contribution would be set, how it would increase over time and whether the traditional Medicare program would compete directly with plans offered by private insurers.MORE IN Wire NewsUNIVERSAL CITY, Calif. Full StoryTroubling as the details of the McLaren Report were, a news item out of Russia earlier this week... Full Story
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Salad days
Mediterranean diet makes waves in Pita Jungle
By Dan O'Heron 06/30/2011
From the freshness of the fruits and vegetables to the extent and variety of planting, Pita Jungle's 11 full-meal salads make the greenery plates of other restaurants in the area seem slightly wilted.
The Jungle's "Caribbean" is an eyeful and a load-on. Full to the brim with seasonal cuts and cubes of fruit over mixed greens, topped with shredded coconut and raisins, the huge round mound is a steal for $10.99. It begs for three to share. Only astronauts, stuck for months in a space station, squeezing food from a tube, would crave to have it all to themselves.
Other Mediterranean-style salads to share without feeling slighted include a tabbouleh of finely chopped veggies mixed with crushed kernels of bulghur wheat ($6.99); minted spinach, spiraled with short cuts of rotini pasta, plus tomato, mushroom, bell peppers and pesto ($8.99); a lentil brown rice fatoosh ($9.69) and grilled vegetables ($9.99).
Viewing the salads, I could tell at a glance that the chefs hadn't merely tossed a hodgepodge of ingredients with a dressing and called it a day. Everything appeared to be handled with care.
Yellowed and limp leaves had been discarded. Fresh greens, undoubtedly, had been rinsed under cold water and dried; dressings won't stick to wet leaves.
Beyond salads, there's a wide array of vegetable-driven pita pockets and wraps, combos, pizzas and burgers, including a popular $8.79 grilled, steak-like portobello mushroom burger. With all the veggie etceteras, slathered with Dijon mustard, it comes on a whole wheat bun, sided with garlic mashed potatoes.
Dishes like these should make vegetarians as happy as toads hopping in a garden. But wait! This is not a garden. It's a jungle. So you'll need prehensile lips to nail down and pluck liberal chunks of tuna, chicken and salmon from other salads ($9.69 to $12.99). And a voracious appetite is needed for "Philly Steak" in a pita ($7.59), spicy chicken and pesto turkey in a purse of crackling lavosh, plus a Middle Eastern bazaar of wood-fired pizzas (from $7.59 to $9.99).
The restaurant likes to say it "pleases meaties as well as greenies." As expected of a Mediterranean diet that is both healthful and palatable, seafood dishes are prominent. They include a pecan wood-fired fresh salmon with garlic mashed potatoes and spinach ($15.99) and a firm and flavorful mahi mahi pebbled with pine nuts and served with cilantro/jalapeno hummus, pea sprouts and pita chips ($11.99).
Having missed lunch the other day, I dropped into the jungle for a light, mid-afternoon meal that wouldn't spoil my supper. With luck of the draw, I chose two dishes that went well together at a modest price: a small Greek salad ($5.99) and melted cheddar pie ($3.99).
The salad, a Greek classic with all the vegetables, kalamata olives and sprinkles of feta, soaked in the shallows of a dandy lemon vinaigrette. The other dish was a seven-inch round, flattened pita slathered with sharp cheddar and segmented into six pieces. Called "Pita Crisp," the pita wasn't crisp, but it tasted fine.
With warm brick walls leading up to an airy vaulted ceiling, Pita Jungle's setting is pleasant enough. However, the walls are studded with large paintings that are impressive but controversial. With bright and dark streaks and tangles, some lines twisting like a map of jungle rivers, they have a nightmarish quality. They make me feel like I'm in a rain forest without an umbrella or trousers.
With 13 outlets in Arizona, this is Pita Jungle's first move outside the state. "We needed room for expansion," said local franchisee Sam Ashek, "and the demographics in Old Pasadena looked perfect for us."
It's OK for me too, especially in the summer. Replacing fattening foods with palatable veggies and fruits, maybe I can become less
of a person and fit back into a swim suit.
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Effects of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) can vary from person to person, which means what works for supportive care will vary as well. Work with your healthcare team to find what works best for you. Some options that may help manage pain, inflammation, and stiffness, and improve function include:
Application of Heat and Cold
Both heat and cold may provide some relief depending on your current situation.
Heat improves blood circulation to the treated area. Applying heat via warm soaks, whirlpools, paraffin wax, or heating pads can be very soothing. Each heat application has different guidelines. Talk to your healthcare team and try different options to see what is best for you.
Cold can help decrease inflammation in an affected joint, thereby relieving pain and improving stiffness and movement. Apply an ice pack for 20-30 minutes at a time, several times each day. Place a towel between the ice pack and your skin.
Assistive Devices and Splints
Flare ups or progression of the disease may improve function and decrease stress on joints. Options will depend on the joints that are effected. Some include:
- A cane or walker may help mobility in people with hip or knee RA.
- Splints can be used around sore joints of wrist or ankles for extra support.
- Orthotic shoe inserts or special shoes can help reduce foot pain, slow RA progression, and improve mobility.
Adapt Your Environment
Certain daily activities can become challenging with RA such as buttoning or zipping your clothing, opening jars, or opening doors. Special equipment is available to help with these tasks to maintain independence. An occupational therapist can help with selection of assistive devices and training to help adapt to changes.
Revision Information
- Reviewer: Michael Woods, MD
- Review Date: 06/2016 -
- Update Date: 05/20/2015 -


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You GOTTA see this one!
The silver lining on my last trip to Shea on Tuesday (Glavine's loss) was that I finally went to my first batting practice!
The photo album is a can't-miss for any Mets fan.
I was on the right end of the dugout, where several Metsies got close to me–but none signed anything, alas. Lovely David Wright by far signed the most autographs and posed for pics with fans–but only the "special pass" fans between home plate and the dugout. HOW can I get one of those special passes??
Jose Reyes signed a bit as well, and Willie signed a kid's ball. 3rd base coach Manny Acta especially came over to the dugout to sign autographs. Hmmm, 3rd base seems to be devoted to the fans this year, huh?
SNY's Chris Cotter was right in front of me, and I even saw MLBlogs own Casey Stern head into the dugout, never to be seen again.
Unfortunately, the most annoying baseball girlfriend of all time had to stand right next to me. Despite barely knowing who anyone was, she kept haranguing her boyfriend to toss her hat to the players to get an autograph–repeatedly asking, "Is he anyone?" because she only wanted specific players. She felt entitled to an autograph because she had come so early. As if the rest of us had just strolled in at 6PM. The girl's piercing screams to D-Wright and Cliff made me embarassed to be next to her. AND she booed Lo Duca. Do you hear that? Chick booed Lo Duca! Because he didn't sign anything for her.
That's when, indeed, I turned to her and said: "Don't boo Lo Duca." Because I stand up for our boys.
But the final straw came when she screamed "Cliff Floyd!" at every single big black man. EVEN THE CUBS. Granted, the Cubs workout jackets are a similar color to ours, but come on, Chick. You're *****.
Enjoy the July 25 album!
3 Comments
Nice pics!
Sweet pictures.. I especially enjoyed the one of the guy wearing the Matsui shirt.. I mean seriously guy, would you even wear that when he was stil on the team?
Great entry! I'm going to try my luck @ BP once again if we end up going to the games next week down here. I'll let you know.
And girl I don't like that chick either so you can tell her I said to stop being a … well bad fan LOL
Great pics!!🙂


text:
Jade Cafe on West Avenue in La Crosse will close its doors for the last time on Sunday.
Ryan Niemeier owns the business and says he's lost more than $100,000 since opening less than a year ago.
"In my heart, I knew probably three months ago, unless something change dramatically, we were going to have to be closing," said Niemeier, "the finances weren't what they needed to be for us to stay open."
Amy Peterson, La Crosse's planning and economic developer says it's a tough industry to be in and a tough location to do business.
"Typically restaurants have a hard time," says Peterson, "their rate of success is probably half of other businesses."
Peterson believes it's a struggle to compete with the city's downtown.
"We've got a really strong downtown now a days and people flock to downtown, it's a destination," says Peterson, "the location on West Ave. may not be as strong as a destination."
Much of Jade Cafe's business came from college students. Once they went home for the summer, sales plummeted.
"Initially, sales were cut in half, from day one to having the palce pretty full with finals to the next day empty, ghost town," says Neimeier.
Peterson hasn't heard of any new leads of businesses to replace Jade Cafe.


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Once aboard that night, Warne flagged down a conductor and pressed some money into his hand. She needed a special favor, she said, because she would be traveling with her "invalid brother," who would retire immediately to his compartment and remain there behind closed blinds. A group of spaces, she implored, must be held at the back of the train, to ensure his comfort and privacy. The conductor, seeing the concern in the young woman's face, nodded his head and took up a position at the rear door of the train, to fend off any arriving passengers.
In Harrisburg, arrangements were carried out by a late addition to Pinkerton's network: George C. Franciscus, a superintendent of the Pennsylvania Railroad. Pinkerton had confided in Franciscus the previous day, since the last-minute revision of his plan required Lincoln to make the first leg of his journey on Franciscus' line. "I had no hesitation in telling him what I desired," Pinkerton reported, because he had worked with Franciscus previously and knew him to be "a true and loyal man."
A Pennsylvania Railroad fireman, Daniel Garman, later recalled that Franciscus came hurrying up to him, "very much excited," with orders to get a special train charged and ready. "I quick went and oiled up the engine and lighted the head light and turned up my fire," Garman recalled. As he finished, he looked out to see engineer Edward Black running along the track at full speed, having been ordered by Franciscus to report for emergency duty. Black hopped up into the cab and scrambled to make ready, apparently under the impression that a private train was needed to carry a group of railroad executives to Philadelphia. They ran the two-car special a mile south toward Front Street, as instructed, and idled at a track crossing to wait for their passengers.
Franciscus, meanwhile, had circled back to the Jones House in a carriage, pulling up just as Governor Curtin, Lamon and Lincoln himself—his appearance masked by his unfamiliar hat and shawl—emerged from the side entrance of the hotel. As the door closed behind the passengers, Franciscus flicked his whip and started off in the direction of the railroad tracks.
At the Front Street crossing, Black and Garman looked on as a tall figure, escorted by Franciscus, quietly alighted from a carriage and made his way down the tracks to the saloon car. Lincoln's 250-mile dash to Washington was underway.
Even as the train vanished into the darkness, a lineman directed by Pinkerton was climbing a wooden utility pole two miles south of town, cutting off telegraph communication between Harrisburg and Baltimore. Governor Curtin, meanwhile, returned to the Executive Mansion and spent the evening turning away callers, so as to give the impression that Lincoln was resting inside.
On board the train, Black and Garman were making the best time of their lives. All trains had been shunted off the main line to allow the special an unimpeded run.
In the passenger coach, Lincoln and his fellow travelers sat in the dark, so as to reduce the chance that the president-elect would be spotted during watering stops. The precaution wasn't entirely successful. At one of the stops, as Garman bent to connect a hose pipe, he caught sight of Lincoln in the moonlight streaming through the door of the coach. He ran forward to tell Black that "the rail-splitter was on the train," only to be muzzled by Franciscus, who warned him not to say a word. "You bet I kept quiet then," Garman recalled. Climbing into the cab alongside Black, Garman could not entirely contain his excitement. He cautiously asked his colleague if he had any idea what was going on in the saloon car. "I don't know," the engineer replied, "but just keep the engine hot." By that time, Black may have had his own suspicions. "I have often wondered what people thought of that short train whizzing through the night," Black would later say. "A case of life and death, perhaps, and so it was."
In Philadelphia, Pinkerton readied himself for the next phase of the operation. At the Pennsylvania Railroad's West Philadelphia depot, Pinkerton left a closed carriage waiting at the curb. He was joined by H.F. Kenney, another of Felton's employees. Kenney reported that he had just come from the PW&B depot across town, where he had issued orders to hold the Baltimore-bound train for Felton's "important parcel."


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