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http://www.peacecorpswiki.org/api.php?action=feedcontributions&feedformat=atom&user=22.214.171.124 Peace Corps Wiki - User contributions [en] 2016-12-11T12:18:33Z User contributions MediaWiki 1.27.1 http://www.peacecorpswiki.org/index.php?title=FAQs_about_Peace_Corps_in_Peru&diff=920 FAQs about Peace Corps in Peru 2010-09-30T16:17:55Z
22.214.171.124: /* Can I call home from Peru? */

{{FAQs by country}}

 ===How much luggage am I allowed to bring to Peru? ===

 You will most likely be flying American Airlines or Delta Airlines to Peru. The baggage size and weight limits change from time to time. Currently, passengers are allowed to check two bags with each weighing up to 50 pounds and with certain size restrictions. Passengers are also allowed one carry-on bag, plus a purse, briefcase, or laptop. We strongly advise you to check current limits on the airline's website once you know the carrier you will be taking to Peru. You will be responsible for any excess-baggage charges.Please check the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) website for a detailed list of permitted and prohibited items at http://www.tsa.gov/travelers/ airtravel/prohibited/permitted-prohibited-items.shtm.

 Peace Corps Volunteers are not allowed to take pets, weapons, explosives, radio transmitters, or motorized vehicles to their overseas assignments. Do not pack flammable materials or other items restricted by the airlines or the Department of Homeland Security. It is best not to pack aerosol containers.

 You will be passing through Peruvian customs upon your arrival. While all normal personal items are acceptable, there are limits on the number of certain electronic items that may be brought to the country. For example, a Volunteer may bring in only one laptop.

 ===What is the electric current in Peru? ===

 The current is 220 volts. Electrical appliances that utilize 110 volts require a transformer.

 ===How much money should I bring? ===

 Volunteers are expected to live at the same level as the people in their community. You will be given a settling-in allowance and a monthly living allowance, which are adequate to cover all your expenses. Similarly during training, you will be provided with a "walk-around" allowance, to cover all expenses. Trainees may, however, wish to bring a small amount of cash, perhaps $50 to $100, with them to Peru for initial or extra expenses. Dollars are easily exchanged into Peruvian currency virtually anywhere in Peru.

 From time to time, Volunteers may wish to have additional money for vacation travel or other special occasions. Cash can be obtained from ATM machines throughout Peru and South America. Credit cards and traveler's checks are widely accepted (note that some Volunteers report that American Express traveler's checks are more readily accepted than other brands).

 ===When can I take vacation and have people visit me? ===

 You are encouraged to use your vacation time to travel in Peru and other South American countries. Each Volunteer accrues two vacation days per month of service (excluding training). Leave may normally not be taken during training, the first three months of service (an important time for developing good relationships with Peruvians in your community), or the last three months of service (when you will be completing your projects). Travel outside Peru may normally not be taken during the first six months of service. Family and friends are welcome to visit you after you have been at your site for six months and as long as their stay does not interfere with your work. Extended stays at your site are not encouraged and should be discussed with your associate Peace Corps director in advance. The Peace Corps cannot provide your visitors with visa, medical, or travel assistance.

 ===Will my belongings be covered by insurance? ===

 The Peace Corps does not provide insurance coverage for personal effects. You are encouraged to purchase personal property insurance before you leave the United States. If you wish, you may contact your own insurance company; additionally, the Peace Corps will provide you with insurance application forms, and we encourage you to consider them carefully. Volunteers should not take valuable items overseas. Jewelry and expensive watches, radios, cameras, and electronic equipment are subject to loss, theft, and breakage, and satisfactory maintenance and repair services may not be available. It is advisable to bring inexpensive items, or to purchase them once in Peru.

 ===Do I need an international driver's license? ===

 No. Volunteers in Peru are prohibited from operating motorized vehicles.

 ===What should I bring as gifts for Peruvian friends and my host family? ===

 This is not a requirement, but a simple token of friendship is a nice gesture. Knick-nacks for the house are usually appropriate gifts—framed pictures or photos, books, calendars of American scenes, or souvenirs from your area.

 ===Where will my site assignment be when I finish training, and how isolated will I be? ===

 Peace Corps trainees are not assigned to their permanent sites until the seventh or eighth week of pre-service training.

 This gives Peace Corps staff the opportunity to assess each trainee's skill set prior to assigning sites. You will have the opportunity to provide input on your site preferences, but Peace Corps cannot guarantee placement where you might like to be. The final decision will be based on the best match between your skills and community needs, and may be in a major city, a mid-sized town, a small town, or a rural village. Even if assigned to a small town or rural village, you will be within three or four hours by bus from a city or large town, and will likely be within an hour by foot or ground transportation from another Volunteer's site.

 ===How can my family contact me in an emergency? ===

 The Peace Corps Office of Special Services (OSS) provides assistance in handling emergencies affecting trainees and Volunteers. Before leaving the United States, instruct your family to notify OSS immediately if an emergency arises, such as the serious illness or death of a family member. During normal business hours, the number for the Office of Special Services is 202.692.1470. It can also be reached through Peace Corps' toll-free number at: 800.424.8580, extension 1470. After normal business hours, and on weekends and holidays, the OSS duty officer can be reached at 202.638.2574.

 For nonemergency questions, your family can get information from the country desk staff at the Peace Corps. The desk staff can be reached at 202.692.2515, 2516, or 2525. Or they can be reached through the toll-free number: 800.424.8580, extensions 2515, 2516, or 2525.

 ===Can I call home from Peru? ===

 International phone service to and from Peru is good in major cities. Volunteers have the option of purchasing cell phones which can call to the states, and can also receive phone calls from the states free of charge. Volunteers in smaller communities will typically have access to a community telephone, through which international calls may be made and received. Most Volunteers also have cellular phones. There are reasonably priced local and international calling cards are available in Peru.

 ===Will there be e-mail and Internet access? Should I bring my computer? ===

 While you may or may not have Internet access at your site, there are numerous, affordable Internet locations throughout the country. Most Volunteers bring laptops and find that they come in handy. However, if you bring your laptop, the Peace Corps strongly encourages you to insure it.

 ===How can people send things to me in Peru? ===

 We do not recommend that people mail packages, money, airline tickets, or other valuable items to Volunteers. Customs duties may exceed the value of the items sent, and packages often disappear in transit. The modern supermarkets and well-stocked stores in Lima and other cities have anything you will need. Should family or friends need to send you something, we strongly recommend that the package be under half a kilo (1.1 pounds), with a declared value of under $100, and mailed in a padded envelope. Once you are at your site, all mail, including packages, should be sent to your regional mailbox. We strongly discourage people sending you items via courier services (e.g., DHL or FedEx), as both the sender and the receiver must often pay fees. If your friends or family want to send you something for a special occasion, it would be best for them to deposit the money into your account in the U.S. You can then access the funds from an ATM machine and purchase something special in Peru.

 [[Category:Peru]]
 18.104.22.168


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Hello friends, This is my first post to the LLL forums and I hope someone can help/advise.
I know this is mostly about comfort and that DD's health will not be impacted either way. She is 18 months old now and my supply is really dwindling. One thing is that she's just getting over a cold. My supply drops a bit whenever she has a cold. I'm also premenstrual, which sometimes also reduces my supply.
She still likes to nurse, especially when she first wakes up and right before bed, but my left breast in particular is not producing a lot (it always produced less than the right). I feel like DD would like it if the breasts were producing more (she often signs "more" during or right after nursing).
I pumped at work until she was 14 months old, and then stopped pumping, figuring that my breasts could probably keep up with her needs outside of work. However, now I feel like they're not doing their job! I was really hoping to nurse until she was at least 2, and really until she wanted to stop. Because she signs for "more" I feel like she still wants to. So now I'm wondering if I should start pumping at work again to try to build up my supply.
I know that most of this is psychological and that if I asked any of my friends about it they would look at me like I have 3 heads. So much is going on here. My mom died at the end of 2010; I feel very melancholy about the fact that this is probably, in all likelihood, the last baby I'll nurse (she has 2 older sibs and I'm in my mid-40s); and I'm premenstrual. I just do not feel ready to end this nursing relationship, but I feel like my boobs are ending it for me. (Crying as I write this!) Oh gosh, well not to carry on...it seems like such a small problem in the grand scheme of things, and yet it's really big to me.
So, should I start pumping again? Would that even help? Or is it too late? Is it ridiculous to think about starting pumping again at this point? Any help/advice you can offer would be appreciated. Thank you.
Midge, mom to 7-year-old b/g twins and 18-month-old DD

subset: commoncrawl


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The Hornet's Nest: Hudson Hornet Build Madness!
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Arnold Toynbee wrote in "A Study of History" that Rome collapsed because of "stasis" between the barbarians at her borders; with Roman armies no longer making forward progress, it allowed the hostiles opportunities for counterattack. "When a frontier between a more highly and a less highly civilized society ceases to advance," he said, "the balance does not settle down to a stable equilibrium but inclines, with the passage of time, in the more backward society's favor" (Oxford 1947 rpt., p.10).
Every society has to endure "backward" elements, both externally and internally. We in America, for example, tolerate people who consider education superfluous (Rick Santorum, 2012), others who say that a victim of "legitimate rape" cannot conceive because her reproductive system "shuts the whole thing down" (Todd Akin, 2012), some who call access to abortion in order to save a woman's life a "loophole" (Paul Ryan, 2012), or who believe that English should be America's official language because "if it was good enough for Jesus, it's good enough for me" (Kay Bailey Hutchinson, 2011). Since Ronald Reagan, we have been hearing that redistributing wealth upward will create jobs, even though in 1980 his own eventual vice-president, G.H.W. Bush, called that theory "voodoo economics."
If jobs could be created by making wealthy people and corporations wealthier, which we have been doing with a will for over 30 years, America would have more jobs than it has people. And do Americans really think Jesus spoke English? Some are obviously taking advantage of the failures of our ebbing public education system, America's equivalent to Rome's once-advancing civic culture. Each led the world for a time, we recall.
It looks like the opportunist riptide at civilization's frontier is already quickening and flowing downhill, seeking a low point.
Anthony Splendora
Milford, PA


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Home List of Titles Some results for large closed queueing networks with and without bottleneck: up- and down-crossings approach
Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: http://hdl.handle.net/1959.3/235046
- Title
- Some results for large closed queueing networks with and without bottleneck: up- and down-crossings approach
- Author(s)
- Abramov, Vyacheslav M.
- Abstract
- The paper provides the up- and down-crossing method to study the asymptotic behavior of queue-length and waiting time in closed Jackson-type queueing networks. These queueing networks consist of central node (hub) and k single-server satellite stations. The case of infinite server hub with exponentially distributed service times is considered in the first section to demonstrate the up- and down-crossing approach to such kind of problems and help to understand the readers the main idea of the method. The main results of the paper are related to the case of single-server hub with generally distributed service times depending on queue-length. Assuming that the first k - 1 satellite nodes operate in light usage regime, we consider three cases concerning the kth satellite node. They are the light usage regime and limiting cases for the moderate usage regime and heavy usage regime. The results related to light usage regime show that, as the number of customers in network increases to infinity, the network is decomposed to independent single-server queueing systems. In the limiting cases of moderate usage regime, the diffusion approximations of queue-length and waiting time processes are obtained. In the case of heavy usage regime it is shown that the joint limiting non-stationary queue-lengths distribution at the first k - 1 satellite nodes is represented in the product form and coincides with the product of stationary GI/M/1 queue-length distributions with parameters depending on time.
- Publication type
- Journal article
- Source
- Queueing Systems, Vol. 38, no. 2 (Jun 2001), pp. 149-184
- Publication year
- 2001
- FOR Code(s)
- 0102 Applied Mathematics; 0103 Numerical and Computational Mathematics; 0104 Statistics
- Keyword(s)
- Bottleneck; Closed queueing network; Coupling; Diffusion and fluid approximation; Martingales; Semimartingales; Up- and down-crossings
- Publisher
- Springer
- 0257-0130
- Publisher URL
- Copyright
- Copyright © 2001 Kluwer Academic Publishers.
- Peer reviewed


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Firefighters used a little ingenuity and a lot of patience when a family of ducks fell into a storm drain Monday.
Shortly before 10 a.m., resident Sandy Pizarro saw a mother duck and about 10 ducklings along NE 15 Place west of Del Prado.
"When I first saw them there was about six to eight or so, but when I looked again when taking my daughter to the school bus I only saw four," she said.
When leaving again a short time later, there was only one duckling and soon that one disappeared.
Pizarro approached a dental office for help, who in turn called the fire department.
Firefighters responded and discovered the ducklings had fallen through a very narrow grate at the entrance to Capri Commons. There was no way to open up the area and get down to the ducklings, which were approximately 2 to 3 feet below ground.
It didn't take long for the crews to come up with a safe way to get to the ducks.
"Since there was no way to get down to the ducks, and since ducks love water, it made sense to float the ducks up to within reach," said Michael Heeder, public information officer for the Cape Coral Fire Department.
Firefighters used tank water to fill the drain. As the water rose inside the catch basin, the ducks floated toward the grate.
Engineer Todd Clark, using a pair of tongs, was able to reach in and pull the ducklings to safety all while the mother duck kept a watchful eye from a distance.
What was thought to be eight to 10 ducks ended up being 20 ducklings, and all were saved by the firefighters.
It took nearly an hour to catch all of the ducklings.
None of them were injured in the rescue effort and once all ducklings were removed, mother duck and her children found shelter in a culvert nearby.


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Hi all
I've had real problems with BF, but about 10 days ago things started to come together. Got the latch sorted and started to have multiple let-downs which managed to satisfy my 8 week-old. Had several episodes of long, deep sucking and swallowing on one breast, which was great.
Problem is, they've gone away again and I'm left with one let-down in each breast at the beginning of a feed. This leaves my LO frustrated and he starts to fuss terribly. I've tried breast compression and switch-feeding, but these don't really do the trick.
Do any of you have any ideas as to what I can do to bring on subsequent let-downs. I have one dissatisfied baby here!


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LAKE BLUFF, Ill. â Robert McNiff was 1-over-par after three holes at rain-soaked Lake Bluff Golf Club in the qualifier for the AJGA Windy City Junior, but played his final 13 holes in 4-under-par to win boys medalist honors by one shot over Cashel Rosier of Grand Ledge, Mich., and Robbie Kelley of Minnetonka, Minn.
In the girls division, Sara Hemmingway of Kingwood, Texas, shot a 4-over-par 67 to beat Katie Chang of Lisle, Ill., and Kathleen White of Waukegan, Ill., by three strokes.
More than two inches of rain fell in Skokie prior to the tournament, forcing tournament officials to eliminate hole Nos. 14 and 15 from the round, resulting in a par 63 golf course. Standing water also caused a two and a half hour delay to start the tournament.
Those conditions forced McNiff into hitting irons off tees, which he said helped because he was able to keep the ball in the fairways.
âIt was pretty wet, but I didnât let it effect me,â McNiff said. âI just tried to keep the ball in play.â
Hemmingway also took the dry route by keeping her ball out of the rough.
âI was keeping the ball in the fairways, and I think I hit all but four greens in regulation,â she said. âI wasnât in the rough at all.
âThe hardest part was putting. Nobody could sink a putt because of how wet it was.â
More than 100 players competed in the qualifier, with the low 11 boys and 3 girls earning exemptions into the AJGA Windy City Junior, June 14-17, at Winnetka Golf Club in Winnetka, Ill.
Boys who qualified were McNiff, Rosier, Kelley, Nick Pumford of St. Charles, Mich., Frank McAuliffe of Ann Arbor, Mich., Austin Ehlerfeldt of Beaver Dam, Wis., Joe OâBrien of Racine, Wis., Jordan Elsen of Kenosha, Wis., Ravi Patel of Naperville, Ill., Charles Bettendorf of St. Louis, Mo., Peter Lucey of Winnetka, Ill., James Byrd of Windemere, Fla., and Matthew Cemak of Chicago, Ill.
Girls who qualified were Hemmingway, Chang, White, Michelle Morgan of Muncie, Ind., and Laura Ashpole of Brookfield, Ill.
Players who qualified for the AJGA Windy City Junior donât necessarily have to play in the tournament. McNiff, McAuliffe and Hemingway chose to accept an exemption into a future AJGA open tournament.
The American Junior Golf Association is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization dedicated to the overall growth and development of young men and women who aspire to earn college golf scholarships through competitive junior golf. The largest association of its kind, the AJGA has a junior membership (boys and girls ages 12-18) of approximately 5,000 junior golfers from 50 states and 30 foreign countries.
Titleist, the AJGAâs National Sponsor, has been the catalyst and driving force behind the Associationâs success since 1989. Rolex Watch USA, a supporter of the AJGA since 1983, became the inaugural AJGA Premier Partner in 2004.
AJGA alumni have risen to the top of amateur, collegiate and professional golf. More than 160 former AJGA juniors currently play on the PGA and LPGA Tours and have compiled more than 300 wins. AJGA alumni include Phil Mickelson, Tiger Woods, Davis Love III, Mike Weir, Charles Howell III, Jim Furyk, Vicki Goetze-Ackerman, Grace Park, Christie Kerr and Beth Bauer.
For more information about the AJGA Windy City Junior, please contact the AJGA at (847) 501-2050.
The Foundation
The Achieving Competitive Excellence (ACE) Grant program provides financial assistance to junior golfers who wish to play in AJGA events. Its goal is to give top-flight golf opportunities to young golfers regardless of financial resources. This program helps to fulfill the AJGA's mission of developing young men and women who aspire to earn college golf scholarships through competitive junior golf.
What is Leadership Links?
Leadership Links is a new program whereby the AJGA is able to further its mission to help develop young men and women by teaching charitable giving skills and service-oriented practices at an early age. This program gives juniors all the tools necessary to donate their time, talent and resources to local charities and the AJGA youth development programs. Please click here to learn more about the program and the different opportunities available.


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Chicago's sister-brother duo borrowed its name from a flavor of Airheads candy, so it shouldn't surprise that the two bring the same sense of childhood fun to their manic garage-rock output. On last year's Telepathic the two turned in one song that could have passed for a playground taunt ("Buttheads from Mars"), and another where guitarist Miss Alex White and drummer Frances White took turns impersonating a jungle cat, letting loose a series of primal roars. This isn't to say White Mystery doesn't take its music seriously. Alex, she of the red mushroom cloud 'fro, is an unnaturally skilled guitarist, capable of laying down a hip-shaking rhythm or ripping up tile with a rumbling solo, and Francis, who sports a similarly explosive hairdo, propels the music forward with muscled fury. Rather, following a stretch in her early 20s defined by tragedy (the guitarist's first two groups ended abruptly when band members died), Alex merely sounds determined to embrace music as a joyous, live-in-the-moment pursuit. Mission most decidedly accomplished.
Day Creeper, The Fuzz and Dirty Fences also perform.
Diane Alexander White photo


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Chelsea defender Kenneth Omeruo will return to Middlesbrough on a season-long loan according to Middlesbrough boss Aitor Karanka.
Stoke City fans can breath easier knowing that goalkeeper Jack Butland has not suffered another major injury setback.
Hull City lost 1-0 at Middlesbrough on Monday and as a result remains second-bottom in the Premier League table.
Gaston Ramirez headed home his second goal of the season as Middlesbrough defeated Hull City 1-0 on Monday at the Riverside Stadium.
Mark Hughes will assess several members of his squad ahead of a tricky trip to the Emirates in game week 15.
David Moyes admits the early signs "do not look great" after Duncan Watmore was stretchered off during the home win over Leicester City.
Sunderland was dealt another injury blow with manager David Moyes confirming a serious ankle injury to Lynden Gooch.
Arsenal fans will be pleased to hear attacking reinforcements are on the way with Danny Welbeck back in first-team training.
Crystal Palace manager Alan Pardew confirmed starting goalkeeper Steve Mandanda will miss the next six weeks following knee surgery.
Yannick Bolasie could miss the Africa Cup of Nations next month after he suffered what appeared to be a serious looking knee injury against Manchester United.
Jordan Henderson was booked for a foul on Junior Stanislas, his challenge saw the Cherries winger helped from the pitch, but the substitution proved to be a game changer.
Henrikh Mkhitaryan got a rare start against Everton but it didn't make a great deal of difference as United could only muster a draw at Goodison Park.


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Left off from there, and I await Sharingdork or something because you know, Gildarts. :3
I said it before, and I'll say it again; I don't like your avatar. Make me think my screen is dirty, so I wipe it, and it's still not clean.
Now, I love how you didn't even respond to that last post. So you'll be starting by responding to this:
Originally Posted by House
Alright, now go on ahead and summon a giant ass lid ontop of us, then afterwards create an earth armor upon yourself and as its falling ontop of us, smash it apart.
(Doton: Otoshibuta) – Earth Release: Dropping Lid
Rank: B
Type: Attack
Range: Short-Long
Chakra cost: 20
Damage points: 40
Description: The user creates a giant, boar-shaped, earthen lid high in the air that falls on the target, trapping them underneath.
Afterwards, create two clone that much like resembles you, then have them channel doton around their arms and have them punch eachother to death.
(Doton: KageBunshin no Jutsu) – Earth Release: Shadow Clone Technique
Rank: B
Type: Supplementary
Range: Short
Chakra cost: 25
Damage points: N/A
Description: This technique creates a shadow clone made of mud of the user. Since its made of mud, it can continue to reform and mould itself back to its original shape. After reverting to mud, it can hold the opponent in place. The user can create upto three clones. They can also use up to C rank earth techniques.
*Forgets to actually enter.*
The ground explodes, and from the ruble Gildarts stands. "So, what am I teaching you? Earth? My favorite!! Blows up nice. :D" *Go to top of post.*
dun wanna
*I channel my earthen chakra within me, until I feel ready to work with the technique. I focus this chakra into shape manipulation and picturing a boar's head but rather large and hollow able to fit quite a few people into it. Picturing the not really needed, but minute things: the tusks of the boar, it's feral fur and emotions full of anger within. I get down on my right knee, slamming my hands on the ground and attempting to bring my mind-thought masterpiece to life. If it works, a portal or something like that should appear above me, trapping myself within the boar shaped lid. I then channel my earth chakra within myself, unbeknownst to you while performing the Snake seal and allow my body but moreso my skin to take on the properties of rock. My skin becomes as hard as steel, and almost pitch black. I focus chakra into my right arm while getting up from my kneeling position and walk over to one of the barriers of the lid I just created. I bring my arm up, and perform a backwards swing sort of thing, hitting the lid with the right side of my fist, and allowing it to crumble right on top of me, but making sure none of the debris falls on me.*
(Doton: Domu) – Earth Release: Earth Spear Technique
Rank: B
Type: Supplementary
Range: Short
Chakra cost: 20
Damage points: N/A (+10 to physical attacks)
Description: After performing the Snake hand seal the user will channel their chakra throughout their entire body, which then hardens their skin to a steel-like quality. This increases their defensive power to the utmost limits. The user's skin also becomes much darker, an almost black colour. The destructive power of physical attacks is increased, making this a great, all purpose technique. But this technique when activated leaves the user vulnerable to lightning based techniques.
With the rubble around me just sitting there, I use it to my advantage, drawing my chakra from the techniques used earlier. My skin reverts to it's original shade of pale while I harness the chakra within me. Using the ground as a medium, I create a segment of mud in front of me, and using shape manipulation to shape these segments of mud into two seperate clones of myself. I make sure to grab all of my best features while creating these clones: my pale skin, perfect teeth and not to mention godly, curvy figure and create the clones. They form from the mud and I give the order for the two of them to start attacking each other using simple taijutsu moves like punching and kicking etc. I focus on retaining the clones' integrity, so that if one of the clones were to 'kill' the other, I would be able to recreate the clone.
Great scotts!! This'll be fun... :zonder:
I want you to keep up the awesome description as we continue the training. From now on, I also want a pro/con to each jutsu I give you, so that I know you understand the technique properly. Sometimes there'll be something speical about a technique many people overlook, and that's where the pro/con in my training comes in handy.
So, with that said, here are your first two jutsu from me:
(Doton: Musaborudzuchi) – Earth Release: Devouring Earth
Rank: B
Type: Offensive
Range: Short-Long
Chakra cost: 25
Damage points: 50
Description: The user performs the Ram → Horse → Tiger → Rabbit → Snake and slams their palm on the ground. Instantly, the ground to the sides of the opponent take the shape of huge jaws and attempt to crush and stab him between them.
Form the handsealsSlam your palm on the groundFocus doton chakra through the ground before youCause the earth before you to rise into the air like two halves of a sphere comming togetherUse shape manipulation to make the two pieces of earth hollow, and appear like jaws (with teeth and everything)
(Doton: Tsuchi Kairō) - Earth Release: Earth Corridor
Rank: B
Type: Supplementary
Range: Short/Mid
Chakra Cost: 20
Damage Points: N/A
Description: The user will first perform the snake hand seal and then cause the earth in the surrounding area to rise up and over a target and create a cavern, imprisoning the target. The user can leave an opening to allow attacks to go in to strike down the trapped adversaries, or close it up completely to prevent escape.
Form the handsealFocus your chakra into the ground beneath meCause the ground to rise up around me, creating a cavern
Great Scott!
I'll try to keep the detail up, but no promises since it all seems so straight forward and I hate repeating myself all the time. I mean I'm not going to mention I channel my earth chakra throughout my body every time unless it's kind of a specific spot to do it in.
Devouring Earth
As a beginner in this technique, I want to take extra precautions, focusing on forming the technique at hand instead of making unnecessary movements so I start by kneeling onto my right leg. This is a rather complex technique to create, manipulation wise and these sorts of techniques have hand seals. I perform these hand seals (Ram → Horse → Tiger → Rabbit → Snake) at a rather sluggish speed, taking roughly 4 seconds to do them, just to make sure I get them right with hand placements. Almost instantly after creating the final Snake seal, I broke my hands away from each other, slamming the palms unto the ground beneath me; easily accessible from me kneeling on the ground already. I focus my earth chakra within the ground, allowing myself to manipulate it at will. The technique is a large scale, so precision is needed for the technique. Focusing on the ground before me, I focus on creating two large slabs of the earth, with more of a shark's mouth shaping to it; this will rise to be approximately 5 meters in height when finished. Shaping this earth, I cause it as it rises to take on a more deathly appearance, like a shark coming out of the water to bite onto a poor victim's legs. Focusing on lining the edges with rather large and sharp teeth, so that escaping means they'll be stabbed with these teeth, and making it hollow as well, allowing for a rather small dome, unpenetrable because of it's thickness and lack of space.
Pros to this technique is that it's vagueness does have an element of freeform to it in a sense, if you're really specific you can use the technique in multiple different ways. Spiked walls rising from the ground to stab and crush someone, creating a dome which is hard to escape from because of the interlocking jaws which hold it together and so on. The possibilities are endless. Cons are that it would have multiple ways of detecting the jutsu before it physically happens. The technique comes from the ground, so small tremors are going to be present before it actually forms, giving some time for reaction.
Earth Corridor
I begin by just taking a stand, following from my previous technique. I take a deep breath, starting to mould even more earth chakra within the ground, allowing me to take control over the terrain. I immediately perform the Snake seal, a common seal for Earth techniques. Doing this allows me to take an even greater control of the earth and the terrain for the technique. Controlling the ground, I create an extremely large amount of earth to take form in a rough circle around you (at your request), spanning about 6 meters radius from your central position. I develop the walls from the earth to manipulate roughly, giving it more of an appearance of a cavern and not of a large dome. These walls are also made to be quite thick, removing any form of simple penetration from the walls, such as a kunai or something. I allow these walls to quickly rise, almost like it were propagating from the ground, forming a large cavern with a small hole in the top, which could be treated like a sun roof, and extends approx. 8 meters high. The hole is big enough for someone to get in or out of there, although getting out would prove to be a challenge to anyone.
Pros is that it creates a cavern. Like the previous technique, it's open to size modifications or however the user depicts the jutsu as. This can also create an arena of sorts, preventing escape and just using it as something to fight within, making your opponent lose the edge. It can also be used as something which crumbles after creating the cavern. What I mean is making it all form pressure at the top of the cavern like you were closing it up, but allowing the pressure to make it snap like a pencil you're pressuring into bending, which causes the entire cavern to crumble and can maim the target easily. Cons are that if you were to jump into this cavern, it also limits yourself as you wouldn't be able to see well. Also it's creating a dome which you would lose physical sight of your opponent, allowing them to surprise you from emerging from underground or something, unless you had a Doujutsu of course.
That was amazing... Alright, so for performing the technique, I don't really require a masterpiece of description, but the more the better. However much you need to accurately describe how you believe the technique works, that'll be fine (I realize that people are busy, so I have some lee-way with description as it can eat up some time...). However, providing as much description as you can come up with during training is essential so your trainer can see how you believe the technique works, so we can say "yep, you got it!" or "there's something wrong with that; it's more like...", so that you don't mis-use techniques in battle where less description is needed. Right? Anyhow, that was great; onto the next two techs. :D
(Doton: Arijigoku no Jutsu) - Earth Release: Antlion Technique
Rank: B
Type: Offense
Range: Mid/Long
Chakra Cost: 20
Damage Points: 40
Description: The user performs the Ram hand seal and causes causes the ground and everything on and around it to be sucked in towards the middle of a large pit, much like the method an antlion uses to catch prey. Upon being dragged to the centre, the victim will then be sucked underground. There the victim, depending on how deep the user makes them sink, will be trapped and/or suffocated. The range of the pit is determined by how much chakra is put into the technique.
Form the handsealFocus your chakra into the area over thereCause your chakra, and the surrounding earth, to be drawn to the center of the chakra massCause the earth in the center to go down, creating a space for trapped victims
(Doton: Doryū Jōheki) - Earth Release: Earth Flow Rampart
Rank: B
Type: Defence/Supplementary
Range: Short/Mid
Chakra Cost: 20
Damage Points: N/A
Description: By performing the Tiger hand seal the user then makes a gigantic rampart rise up beneath the user's feet, by shaping the ground and increasing the amount of earth with chakra. Depending on what the user imagines, the shape of the rampart can be anything from level ground to a steep, needle-like mountain. If the user increases the volume of earth too much, he can be forced to keep his chakra consumption down. The user can combine this jutsu with Water Style: Waterfall Basin Technique to create a waterfall.
Form the tiger handsealFocus earth chakra beneath youRaise the earth to create a platform for you to stand on
I know a masterpiece isn't needed, but I don't like being repetitive with mentioning how I channel my earth chakra, allowing it to flow throughout my body before doing anything every time.
Antlion Technique
Standing right before me, I gaze upon a large field of nothing, which I've been given permission to wreck havoc on for the technique I'm about to perform. I begin my ritual by performing the Ram hand seal, firmly gripping the Seal of Confrontation I've made with my right hand, with my left. Doing this, I allow my earth chakra, already moulded within me to take form in the ground. Taking control of the earth chakra within the ground allows me to bend it to my will. I channel my chakra to a single point within the ground, constantly sending a feed of it towards this area until it becomea a single chakra mass. When I feel ready, I manipulate this chakra mass to allow the earth to sink into the chakra, utilizing the chakra to create sinking properties. It starts off like a relatively small sinkhole, but as I focus more and more chakra into the point of chakra mass, I let it grow into a bigger sinkhole, until it becomes a massive antlion. I'm constantly making sure that I don't personally get sucked into the antlion or I'd be ****ed. I'm also making sure the chakra I send into the hole is constantly moving downwards to this single point so that it's more like quicksand than just a hole.
This is a massive sinkhole of sorts, giving a quicksand effect. It's not as fast as something like Swamp of the Underworld in terms of formation or how fast someone sinks into the antlion, but it's area is quite large as shown in the anime where iirc it was able to drown a temple plus several of Naruto's shadow clones. Also escape if left for too long may prove to be impossible as you can simply stop channeling your chakra, allowing for the ground to harden up again. As for cons, this does cover a large area and alters the terrain quite heavily. It'd be hard to fight in a terrain like a used antlion.
Earth Flow Rampart
Using the same sort of procedure from the previous technique, I begin moulding my earth chakra within the ground, allowing myself conplete control over it. At the same time as my channeling of the earthen chakra, I perform a simpe Tiger hand seal, allowing myself to actually shift the earth from underneath me seeing as I'll need to shift a large amount. This technique was created originally to support a waterfall's creation, so I'll simply need to size the technique up to something like that. Performing the hand seal, I attempt to uplift a massive portion of the earth below me, trying to range the monument of earth to about 15 meters longitude, and 5 meters latitude (lack of better words). I still focus my earth chakra, performing the technique to bring up this amount of earth, like it were just growing out of the ground similar to the Earth Release Technique but much larger and slower. As I'm making the earth rise, I attempt to make it rise to about 10 meters tall, just as a starting point for the technique. Should I be successful, I should have created a large cliff-like structure, completely out of the earth itself, standing at 15x5x10 with myself on top of the monument.
Pros are simple, it creates a giant cliff interface. This can be controlled by the user as to how big or small he wants it to rise the plateau of earth. I would personally use this technique offensively rather than supplementary, creating a giant ledge which would be hard to balance on, following by another technique like spikes or something to kill them instantly. Other than that, I'd also use the technique to rise up the ground, creating a pseudo-arena for us to fight on, really restricting what we can and can't use. Cons is that unlike the fancy A-Rank technique I forget what it's called which Kitsuchi introduced in the manga, this can't lower the earth either, nor is it as fast to create. To make it a size you really want, you'll need to channel quite a bit of chakra into it, which generally means focusing on the technique and not on your opponent.
*McDonalds song.* I'm lovin' it. But seriously, that was good (the tech is Moving Earth Core).
(Doton: Doryō Dango) - Earth Release: Earth Mausoleum Dumping
Rank: B
Type: Offense
Range: Short/Mid
Chakra Cost: 20
Damage Points: 40
Description: The user With chakra work and superhuman strength, lifts up the very surface of the Earth. The lump of earth is gigantic and, the destructive power is obvious, but even just the visual impact can be enough to make enemies lose their fighting spirits and run away. The ball of earth is then hurled it at his opponent, flattening everything in its path.
Focus your chakra into your hands and the earth right in front of youPry out a large chunk of earth from the groundThrow the ball of earth away from both of us
(Doton: Doryuheki) - Earth Release: Earth Style Wall Jutsu
Rank: B
Type: Supplementary
Range: Short
Chakra Cost: 20
Damage Points: N/A
Description: The user will first perform the Tiger → Hare → Boar → Dog and then creates a solid wall of earth as a form of defence. Chakra is either converted to earth within the body and then spat out to form the wall or the user can manipulate pre-existing earth to form the wall. The earth then instantly rises up and takes form. The barrier itself is also coated with chakra, making its strength incomparable to that of a normal mud wall. Because of the earth's special characteristics, the wall is highly resistant against, for instance, fire and water. Hizuren Sarutobi spits mud from his mouth to perform the jutsu whilst Kakashi creates a wall composed of bulldog sculptures to box-in Pain.
Form the handsealsFocus doton chakra to your right and raise the earth in a wallFocus doton chakra into your mouth and spit out mud which rises and forms a wall infront of youFocus doton chakra into the ground to your left and behind you and raise the earth in a creative fashion (ie. Kakashi making a wall of bulldog statues)
In a fight, you would choose one way, but I'm making sure you know all the ways this jutsu can be used.
I knew it was something, but I haven't learnt it yet so of course I don't know what it is. :p
Earth Masoleum Dumpling
This technique requires a bit of what would be considered superhuman strength, so I know I'm not going to get to the level required on my first try, I prepare for a smaller scale of technique. I begin my channeling my earth chakra directly into my hands, while constantly staring at how beautiful they are. I bend over to the ground, digging my hands into the earth itself and allowing my chakra to flow right from the tips of my fingers into a large quantity of the earth below me so that I would be able to lift it up. Using my "superhuman" strength, I firmly grasp the slab of earth beneath me, lifting up an immensely large chunk of rock, holding it above my head. Just for starters, it's about 5 meters in diameter and 3 meters tall. As I'm holding up the large rock above me, it's evident it looks perfect, just from the way the ground has been altered. Twisting my body to the left, I take a slight movement backwards with my arms, like I were about to throw the lump away from us which I am. With all my strength, I move my body forward, creating momentum for throwing and throw the rock away from the both of us, leaving us both without harm.
Pros: It's a giant ****ing piece of the earth. Lol. I can't put it any other way. It's pretty big, even if a lightning jutsu were to hit it, unless it's big enough to counteract something as big as this technique, There's no guarantee it will destroy it due to it's sheer size of the technique compared to some of the lightning techniques we see. This technique would pretty much squish anyone it lands on, due to the weight of the technique and the force of it being thrown. Cons are it takes time to perform this technique, lifting up the large rock, throwing it and so on, not to mention it leaves your hands preoccupied, so performing this technique means they have a chance to get in close or whatever they want. It also alters the earth like the other techniques, leaving the earth with a giant crater.
Earth Style Wall Jutsu
From previously using earth chakra beforehand, I shouldn't need to channel so much just to practice a simple technique. I perform the hand seals needed for the technique, finishing on the Dog seal. Performing this seal, I focus the earth chakra towards my right side, allowing for earth to erect itself in the form of a wall. Considering there a jutsu like this in lower ranks, it's rather larger than that, standing at around 3 meters tall and reinforced with chakra, small techniques would have a hard time breaking through that. To the front of me, I channel my earth chakra towards my mouth, allowing it to manifest within me a large allotment of mud. I spit out the mud, making sure to keep churning mud within me so I can spit out more and create a large wall with the amount of mud. I take control of the mud I've just spat out and using shape manipulation transform it into a wall. I finish by hardening the mud so that it takes the form of the wall, but without me needing to keep throwing chakra at it to keep it up. Finally, to the left side of me, I need to raise the earth in a sassy gay creative fashion. The only way I can think of it, is by idolizing a certain someone. I focus chakra into the ground, bringing up a large chunk of the earth, constantly moulding it so it takes the form of a nice wall. The wall is comprised of rippling muscles, a bowl cut and green spandex, and looks just like a giant statue of Might Guy, but is able to protect me. It's pulling a Nice Guy pose.
Pros is that it's basically a giant wall erecting in front of you or to the side of you or whatever. It can be shaped or formed however you want, so you don't necessarily need to manipulate the existing earth to use it. Great if you're fighting on different terrains which pull you over to water, or Tenchi Bridge etc. Using the wall to create something like Bulldogs means you can also use it to create something rather intimidating and protect yourself, like a spiked wall or using the mud variant to trap someone's fist in it. I honestly can't think of any cons for the technique, other than it might take a while to create the technique?
The walls can also box-in your opponent, making them good for that, too. As for cons... B-rank, solely for defense (although you've mentioned some good ways to use it unorthadoxly, such as trapping people in mud, or making a spiked wall), it takes away from your vision of the opponent... Take your pick. :p
(Doton: Iwagakure no Jutsu) - Earth Release: Hiding in Rock Technique
Rank: B
Type: Defence/Supplementary
Range: Long
Chakra Cost: 30
Damage Points: N/A
Description: This is a technique that allows its user to blend into rocks and then move in and out of other rocks undetected.
Note: Can only blend through on B rank and below Earth Techniques
Focus your chakra throughout your body and into the ground beneat youMeld your two chakra sources to allow you to become one with the earthFocus your chakra before you as you move through the groundCome out of this wall *Makes a B-rank wall Mid-range away*
(Doton: Doryūsō) - Earth Release: Earth Flow Spears
Rank: B
Type: Offense
Range: Short/Mid
Chakra Cost: 20
Damage Points: 40
Description: The user first performs the Bird hand seal and the user condense mud or stone, from the ground, and shape them into spikes that will protrude from the ground in order to skewer the target. The spikes cannot penetrate targets of greater density.
Form the handsealFocus your chakra into the groundUse your chakra to condense mud/stones (pretty much loose earth) near your chakra source togetherUse the condensed mud/stones to rise from the center of the mass, spreading the rising motion slowly outwards to form a spike (like before)
Oh my god I am so sorry for not replying to this sooner! It's like, I kind of lost motivation, and this first technique is boring. D:
As for that Wall technique and those cons, I'm not going to be saying "weak to lightning" or "B-Rank" or whatever because those are fairly obvious when I discussed them with whoever taught me first I can't even remember. xD But yeah I won't be mentioning them.
Hiding in Rock Technique
First, I begin to allow my chakra to flow within me, with it already converted to earthen chakra. I start to create the feeling like I am to be a part of the earth itself, taking on it's properties. Within a short amount of time I merge myself with the ground, making sure to focus chakra around me constantly so I don't just get stuck in the ground. I move around and come out of a wall you previously created of B-Rank.
I'm sorry this is short, it seems way too similar to Earth Projection Fish and I don't want to write that out again. >_<
Pros is that it's a stronger usage of the Earth Projection Fish technique, it being B-Rank you can move in and out of techniques infused with your opponent's chakra of B-Rank or lower. I'm also going to assume that you're "blending" with the ground instead of the method which Earth Projection Fish uses which I was taught is creating a bubble of sorts to go into the ground. I suppose this one could be similar to how Obito's Phasing Migration technique works in a sense, and thus can be used as a defense against techniques like Earth Flow Spears.
I can't think of cons apart from obvious rank, but a question. Can this technique be used against A-Rank or higher techniques which don't have any chakra in them? Say, you use Earth Moving Core to create a big thing sticking out the ground and leave it like that, I can merge into that using this technique?
Earth Flow Spears
I begin by focusing my chakra whilst simultaneously performing the needed handseal, Bird for the technique. The earth should be pretty torn up from previous techniques, so focusing my chakra into the ground I try to take form of as much of the loosened earth as possible, also aiming for some dirt, stones and so on to form the technique. I use these various elements and bring them all together, condensing the substances to make it a much more plausible material, like it were solid rock. Piling all of this together, I use my manipulative abilities in chakra to allow the small abundance of condensed rocks and dirt to erupt in a plethora of spikes coming from each location. They spread outwards trying to cover as much ground as possible like a flower would bloom from it's bud, which would surely impale any target who was there at the time.
I'm not sure on scaling for this technique. :/
Pros is that it's a clever technique, best used when taking the terrain into consideration. For instance, if this were to be used in a more desert like environment it would be more effective due to the nature of sand. However it wouldn't be so effective using it in an area like say, street or something since there really isn't loose rocks anywhere. Taking that into consideration, if you were to say, combine it with a fire jutsu to preheat the substance used to form the spikes, it would do more than just protrude their body. Cons is that probably because of the terrain, some preparation might be needed for a technique like this due to how it's used.
I have a question. If you were to use something tougher than loose rocks, say broken Kaguya bones scattered around the place if that's possible, does that strengthen the technique due to the density being much higher?
Sorry, no. You can only go into B-rank and below jutsu; A-rank and higher would be like you in real life trying to walk through a stone wall. But a good con for that would be if you're one with the rock, and your opponent destroys the rock, you get destroyed.
And you can't use Kaguya bones for doton techniques; Scarface once had a tournament to find a new senpai, and made the ground out of Kaguya bones just so people couldn't use doton. But as for the scale, I believe the height was about up to the waist... Or somewhere close to that. And the spears are super thin, in case that means anything to you. But this technique was used on a flat surface without much debris anywhere, so destroying the terrain isn't a must; I just said to build it up with loose stones because that's how the technique was used. The spears were constructed from the base to the tip, instead of the tip coming up and creating a wider and wider base.
Now, I want you to perform the "tiger", "rat", and "snake" handseals while channeling doton chakra into my dome. *creates a generic dome* After that, I want you to use your chakra to create cracks in my dome, and then cause one stone near the top to fall out of place, collapsing the whole dome structure.
Then, I want you to focus doton chakra into the ground, creating several small blocks of earth within the ground. Then cause the blocks of earth to rise out of the ground, and fly towards my clone. After that, use any fire style technique you want behind the stones, which will cause them to explode on contact with my clone.
(Doton: Iwayado Kuzushi) - Earth Style: Rock Lodging Destruction
Rank: B
Type: Offense
Range: Short/Long
Chakra Cost: 20
Damage Points: 40
Description: The user performs the required hand seals Tiger → Rat → Snake and they then causes a cave-in by destroying the equilibrium that holds the cave together. Just removing a single vital stone throws off the balance of the cave, making it unexpectedly fragile and causing a domino effect that destroys the entire cave. The shinobi from Iwagakure use this technique in their pride tactic, luring several enemies into a cave to kill them all at once.
(Doton: Yōdo Ranfunka no Jutsu) - Earth Release: Molten Earth Wild Eruption Technique
Rank: B
Type: Offensive
Range: Short - Mid
Chakra cost: 20
Damage points: 40
Description: The user will send chunks of rock at the opponent and then using a fire style technique and cause them to explode on contact with the enemy.
Okay, but if the substance of earth was different, say you're in a mine shaft where the rocks would clearly be more dense than something like sand, the strength would be somewhat different?
Rock Lodging Destruction
First I begin by performing the hand seals for the technique (insert hand seals here) while channeling my chakra into this rather boorish and generic dome. I mean look at it, it's like someone tried to create a nice smooth dome but failing in the most horrendous way possible. (i kid) Focusing this chakra into specific points of the dome, namely the top ceiling of it, I attempt to create small cracks in the dome's surface. These small cracks are miniscule, but considering the size of the dome they're merely used as a basis to create larger gaping holes in order for the technique to work. I fill these self-created cracks with more and more chakra, expanding it so the cracks widen into something like a crevice carved into the inside of the dome, which I then control to spread all over the thing. The lodging and structure of the dome's interior should be weakened considerably more now. I use chakra to dislodge nothing but a single rock from the structure, which in turn makes the entire dome cave in on itself, which should be enough to kill anyone inside of it.
Pros is that proper usage of this technique gives you the respect of the Iwagakure Ninja. Again, the type of terrain should be taken into account here, a rough dome which is thin and weak with integral structure would be easier to use on than something made much cleaner and stronger, or even a naturally made cave. It can also be used as a means to break out of such structures, like Earth Dome of Magnificent Nothingness or whatever it's called (the one Jirobu used which sucks chakra) if you're quick enough to respond with another technique to properly escape. Cons is that it does take time to complete the technique, given the nature of only removing one rock to create a domino effect. You can also get caught in something like this and hurt yourself performing it.
Molten Earth Wild Eruption
Focusing chakra into the ground just below the surface so that it wouldn't be entirely visible to someone unless they had Dojutsu, I create small blocks of different shapes and sizes underground. Focusing even more, I shoot these blocks towards the clone at a rather fast pace. I then follow up with a quick fire jutsu, throwing shuriken while breathing out wild flames to coat these projectiles to blend in with the earthen projectiles from before. The heat protruded from the shuriken should be enough to heat the earth enough to give it lava-like qualities, which should explode on contact with the user covering them in a hot substance which can burn the skin.
( Kaen Shuriken Ranbu ) - Blazing Shuriken Dance
Rank: D
Type: Offensive
Range: Short
Chakra cost: 10
Damage points: 20
Description: The user will throw several shuriken at the enemy and then inflames them with fire to cause extra damage.
I'm not entirely sure how the whole fire technique with it works. Does that mean you have to expend two techniques just to use this one technique? I'm also confused on how the fire technique causes these rocks to explode on contact...
But anyway, pros is that it's a nice technique, you can bend and shape these projectiles into whatever you want, being able to hit your target at different angles. I'm assuming by the name of the technique it has some sort of lava quality to it considering what's used to use the technique, so the "explosion" I imagine would leave a bit of residue on them which can continue to burn and increase pain to them. It can also be used in conjunction with other fire techniques, blending in other abilities such as kunai, or just a big fireball which "chases" the earth and heats them up to the explosive state that way. It's also a Fire/Earth combo which is always nice. Cons include it being a combo technique, you'd probably need to expend two techniques for this one to work, like how other techniques work better with specific techniques. The multiple amount of projectiles also reduces the individual rank so something like say, a weak D-Rank Lightning technique which shoots out several small bolts could defend against this.
Well, it says "fire technique", so I assume it'll force you to use 2 moves (may want to check with a mod about that). As for how it explodes, I have no idea.
That was great; you certainly know everything you need to, from what I've seen. Honestly, I want to simply allow you to use all these techniques without training, as you have shown great knowledge on each one thus far... However, that's why Kirabi isn't orange anymore.
Speaking of not being orange, my sensei, Migualon J.J., has decided to resign as a sensei, meaning I will no longer be able to train you... This post is more of a showing that you have completed those two techniques properly, know how they work for your next teacher to know, and as a formal good-bye. I enjoyed teaching you, you were a very descriptive student, and I wish I had been able to make myself train you more so that you could master your elements quickly.
My only regret is that I was not more active to post here... I'll talk to you later. :D
*This Thread Will Be Unsubscribed To As Soon As Mig Is No Longer Orange*
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It's been a while since I've taken the time to sit down and do a BBQ restaurant review. It's not that I haven't eaten at any BBQ joints. On the contrary, I've eaten at my fair share of them over the last few months. I confess that I've been lazy and just haven't taken the time to write them down. It all works out in the end, however… I can roll them all into one great big epic post!
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Pocono 500
Tony is definitely getting frustrated inside that car. Did anyone else hear is 2 F-Bombs dropped during the race? First: "good God, this is the longest ______ing race ever" was Tony's quote after being told he was half way. Second: "we can't have one _____ing race where something doesn't go wrong" after his 3rd gear broke.


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AQR discovers its pyramid of power
While AQR Capital Management employs many of the tools of a global macro hedge fund manager, such as leverage, short selling and derivatives, you won't find its outspoken co-founder Cliff Asness waxing lyrical about macro predictions at dinner parties.
Asness, a former director of quantitative research for Goldman Sachs Asset Management, Marvel comic book collector and father to two sets of twins, who co-founded the $70.7bn asset manager in 1997, told Financial News: "We do not forecast the macro environment."
Instead, AQR tries to reduce exposure to the direction of the markets, to help make a portfolio robust across all economic conditions.
AQR epitomises the increasing convergence between hedge funds and mainstream asset management.
It is leading the charge for fair fees. The firm likes to think it has a no-nonsense approach to quantitative investing. Antti Ilmanen, a managing director at AQR, said: "We're not trying to be anything too fancy. We want to be intuitive with a systematic approach."
It asks its clients to take a 10-year view. Asness said: "A big flaw in any good process is that the humans behind it (AQR or our investors) might abandon the process too early.
All real-world investment processes are 'flawed' in the sense that they don't always work, sometimes for several years at a time, which is a difficult test for anyone, no matter how strong your faith."
The firm got an early taste of this. When AQR began trading in 1998 with $1bn – the largest launch that year – it hit the peak of the tech bubble. AQR followed its models, betting against expensive stocks and buying cheap ones.
As a result, its flagship Absolute Return fund haemorrhaged money until the market turned against tech in March 2000.
David Kabiller, a founding principal, said: "We had a harrowing experience. It left a mark on us."
Almost a decade later, the firm had a similar experience. From the start of 2007 to the end of 2008, AQR's Absolute Return fund fell more than 50%, according to investors. Firm-wide assets dropped from a peak of about $35bn in December 2007 to under $20bn a year later.
But the firm has bounced back by diversifying its range of offerings, more than tripling assets over the past five years. Clients include the Wisconsin State Investment Board and the Illinois Teachers' Retirement System.
AQR divides the world into a pyramid of three potential sources of returns. At the bottom, where capacity is highest, is traditional beta, the returns from exposure to common risk such as stocks, bonds and commodities.
At the top, where capacity is most scarce, is alpha or truly unique and uncorrelated returns. Alternative beta lies somewhere between the two.
These are returns from active strategies such as merger arbitrage or trend-following, which have traditionally been associated with hedge fund managers.
Of the firm's $70.7bn under management, alternative strategies account for almost two thirds of the total, which has grown from less than a third of AQR's assets under management in 2006.
A big part of this growth in alternatives strategies has come from risk parity products, which now make up about a third of the total, according to an investor.
Risk parity
Risk parity aims to balance the risk allocation to assets rather than balance the dollar allocation. The financial crisis showed that while pension funds may have had a 60% dollar allocation to equities and a 40% dollar allocation to bonds, on a risk basis, 90% of the risk was in the equities part of their portfolio.
Risk parity equalises the risk allocation across asset classes, thus overweighting safer assets relative to their weight in the market portfolio.
One version of a liquid risk parity portfolio includes one third of the risk budget in global equities for growth, one third in global government bonds for deflation protection and one third in real assets (commodity futures and inflation-linked bonds) for inflation protection.
A key building block of risk parity is leverage, perceived as a dirty word by some because of its role in inflating the debt bubble that was a contributing factor to the financial crisis and the subsequent losses at banks and securities firms. Ilmanen said: "Leveraging up low-risk opportunities is the secret sauce."
The idea is that it is better to have a diversified portfolio of each risk, than a concentrated portfolio of just one.
Asness said: "If leverage is used prudently to make a low-risk but good expected-return portfolio risky enough to matter, we think the use of leverage (in moderation) is very justified. Risk always sounds bad but taking too little risk can be a long-term problem, too."
Kabiller said: "Leverage has been very demonised but it's one of the core things for hedge funds. If you're long and short and trying to exploit relative-value disparities, you need leverage to make returns attractive. When you have an aversion to leverage, you tend to rise and fall with the market."
Much of AQR's attitude towards the value of leverage is reflected in an academic paper called "Buffett's Alpha", which was written by AQR employees Andrea Frazzini, Kabiller and Lasse Pedersen, and published last August.
The paper argues that Berkshire Hathaway's returns can largely be explained by the use of leverage – through low-cost and stable financing – combined with a focus on cheap, safe, quality stocks.
AQR's risk parity portfolios are run with a target volatility, so leverage is reduced as market volatility increases. AQR's risk parity fund with 10% target volatility gained 14.26% last year and the mid-20s% target volatility share class gained 41%, according to an investor. The average global macro hedge fund lost 0.37% in 2012, according to Hedge Fund Research.
Fair fees
In an environment of zero interest rates and anaemic growth, the hedge fund industry's standard 2% management fee and 20% performance fee is increasingly coming under pressure.
AQR has been leading the way in pushing for fair fees that reflect the uniqueness and capacity of a strategy.
Ilmanen said: "We like the concept of fair fees. There is a lot of interesting stuff between index fees and 'two and 20' [the hedge fund industry standard].
The closer a strategy gets to scarcity, where there is little capacity and lots of complexity, the more it deserves two and 20, while the closer you are to market premia, the closer your strategy is to basis points."
Pederson, a managing director, said: "We have a lot of admiration for Vanguard Group" – the $2 trillion index manager that is credited with driving costs down across the mutual fund industry.
AQR charges about 40 basis points in management fees for its risk parity products and no performance fee. Asness said that, in the risk parity strategies, "we are not claiming unique alpha but instead claiming exceptionally well-implemented exposure to known strategies".
At the other end of the spectrum, AQR charges a 1.5% management fee and a 15% performance fee for a reinsurance strategy, which late last year insured against the cancellation of the Rolling Stones' 50th anniversary concert.
The higher fees reflect its constrained capacity and what AQR deems to be its unique diversification benefits because of its low correlation to traditional markets and hedge funds.
AQR thinks that much of the hedge fund industry is offering exposure to hedge fund beta or style premia – such as value, momentum or carry trades – but charging alpha prices.
Asness said: "Hedge fund betas… are more about very competent implementation and fair fees and terms than they are about 'genius' – though if you want to call them genius we're okay with that!"
He added: "Unfortunately, managers like to charge fees like it's all alpha. It's not their portfolio that's bad – we love that combination gross of fees – it's just the price that they charge for the portfolio that's bad."
Search for truth
AQR's belief in risk parity inevitably invites comparison with Ray Dalio's Bridgewater Associates, a pioneer of the approach, which began offering risk parity to clients in 2001 through its All Weather fund.
Dalio's firm is equally known for its unorthodox approach to management: new employees are handed a 100-page handbook of "Principles".
People close to AQR said that Bridgewater had a very different culture. They said that the breadth of what AQR researched was wider; and that Bridgewater employees were less scientists, more economists. Nonetheless, Bridgewater employees have a three-year non-compete with AQR when they leave the firm.
AQR tends to hire people straight from university or academia rather than from rival managers. Kabiller said: "The glue that binds us is discovery and the search for truth because it's the background that we all share.
Money is secondary to truth and innovation." He said AQR had grown from four to 18 partners, and had never suffered a partner departure. Boston-based Affiliated Managers Group bought a stake in AQR in 2004.
A fruitful source of consultant hires for the firm has been the AQR Insight Award, an annual prize of $100,000 to be shared between the authors of up to three unpublished academic papers that offer the best insight into making money.


text:
Marriage dissolutions
The following marriage dissolutions were recorded in Jefferson County:
June L. Landy of Richmond and Givonnia A. Landy of Weirton. Former name, June Smith, restored.
Megan L. Payne of East Liverpool and Charles L. Payne II of East Liverpool. Former name, Megan Forsythe, restored.
Jessica S. Davis of Bloomingdale and James H. Davis Jr. of Bergholz. Former name, Jessica Williamson, restored.
Ashley Severance of Brilliant and Jarrett Severance of Toronto. Former name, Ashley Tweedy, restored.
Amy L. Taylor of Steubenville and Robert L. Taylor of Mingo Junction. Former name, Amy Stackhouse, restored.
Shari L. Shorts of Toronto and Curtis W. Shorts of Rayland.
Jessica A. Ogden of Toronto and Robert D. Ogden II of Rayland.
Susan K. Polen of Steubenville and Craig P. Polen of Steubenville.
Leanne M. Starr of Richmond and Carlon T. Starr of Steubenville.
Heather A. Colella of Richmond and Joseph A. Colella of Ambridge, Pa.


text:
According to Police Chief Joe Treviño, it was about 8 a.m. when the man walked into the Atlantis Amusement Center in the 800 block of the busy thoroughfare wearing a Halloween mask of a white male and a wool, winter beanie and demanded money.
The clerk in the business at the time said he was given an undetermined amount of cash and he fled the scene on foot.
According to Treviño and Detective Sgt. Art Gamez, the man wore a blue, long sleeve shirt and faded blue jeans. He also carried a multi-colored backpack that looked like something a child would use. The beanie he had on his head is commonly worn in the winter months.
Investigators were unable to accurately describe the face of the mask, but Gamez said it was a mask of a white man.
Treviño said the suspect would be between 5 feet, 8 inches and 6 feet tall and that he weighed between 230 and 250 pounds.
"He was a big guy," the chief said.
"He displayed no weapon," Gamez said. He simply demanded money and the clerk complied.
Treviño said there may be someone in the community who knows a man fitting that description who may have been seen carrying a plastic Halloween mask or who might have had such a mask in his vehicle.
If anyone has any information that could lead to an arrest in the case, the chief asked him or her to contact the Beeville Police Department at 358-8100 or the Coastal Bend Crime Stoppers organization.
If Crime Stoppers receives information that would lead to an arrest, the witness who provided the information could be eligible for a reward of up to $1,000.
Crime Stoppers may be contacted by telephone at 362-0206 or toll-free at (877) 362-0206.
Computer users may contact Crime Stoppers by email at coastalbendcrimestoppers.com.
Witnesses do not have to identify themselves to collect a reward.
Gary Kent is a reporter at the Bee-Picayune and can be reached at 358-2550, ext. 120, or at email@example.com.


text:
Joba and Phil and the rest of the Guys…
Who's the frontrunner?
Suddenly, Sergio Mitre is gaining the backing of the New York Press in his attempt to win the fifth spot in the starting pitching rotation. I still think the winner will ultimately be Phil Hughes, but he needs to show he belongs in the rotation now and forevermore.
Cataffo/NY Daily News
What happens if Mitre doesn't win a starting role? With the many arms competing for spots in the pen, several with long relief experience, the best case scenario might be to showcase Mitre for other teams for a possible late spring training trade. Prospects are fine, but the Yankees need to parlay Mitre into potential for the future.
Keivom/NY Daily News
It was scary to hear the news that catcher Francisco Cervelli had been plunked in the head. I was in Arizona on a business trip and somewhat removed from sports news. I received an email from my good friend Julia, who expressed legitimate concern for a Yankee even though she dislikes anything Bronx-oriented. Thanks Julia! Cervelli may be ready to play by Friday and I am hopeful for a smooth and healthy return. Cervelli, and his attitude, are definitely why I am proud to be a Yankees fan. He's a genuinely good guy and the team is placing great faith in his ability to backup Jorge Posada. At his advancing age, Posada will need more days off so the defensive-minded Cervelli will play a huge role for the 2010 Yankees.
I gotta admit that it was nice to see Nick Johnson in the lineup again. ..
Al Messerschmidt/Getty Images
Today was a good day. Two wins. 7-5 over the World Series rival Philadelphia Phillies, and 6-0 against Team ex-Yankees, the Pittsburgh Pirates. Considering the recent string of losses, today was a day to enjoy. I still can't figure out why the Red Sox aren't on the spring schedule but two wins are two wins. Well, at least until Opening Day when we pick up our first official win!
I really hope the Minnesota Twins closer Joe Nathan is not seriously hurt. I am not a Twins fan but there is something right about baseball when the Twins are competing. The loss of Nathan would be huge so hopefully the news in the coming days will be positive for Nathan and the Twins.
Jim McIsaac/Getty Images
Count me among those who think the Baltimore Orioles will be much improved this year. If the Orioles were a stock on the NYSE, I'd definitely rate them as a buy. Kevin Millwood is formidable at the top of the rotation, but Brian Matusz flat out scares me. The O's are quietly assembling a championship club.
I thought the Hank Blalock signing was a solid move by the Tampa Bay Rays. The AL East is going to be a battleground this year. No team can afford to let up for any stretch of the schedule. I am very thankful that Doc Halladay is no longer pitching in Toronto. Here's my first pass at a 2010 prediction for the AL East:
1. Yankees (of course!)
2. Rays
3. Red Sox (a disappointing year for the newcomers! :D)
4. Orioles
5. Blue Jays
For some reason, I don't think Julia will agree…
8 Comments
So Scott, was the business trip anywhere near any Cactus League game? I was in Arizona too but for fun 4 days. We caught the Dodgers againt The White Sox twice, the game against the Cubs at Mesa got rained out but we did make the B morning squad game agains the White Sox and then headed to Scottsdale to catche my beloved Blue against the hated Orange. We had a wonderful time!
I might disagree JUST a bit with your end of the season ranking!😉 And I too wonder why the Red Sox and the Yankees aren't playing each other in the preseason! I'm glad that Cervelli is going to be okay – I truly don't like seeing anyone getting hurt, even if they play for the Yankees! Good luck to him! And Mitre is a bit of a wild card. He is certainly having a good spring. If there isn't room for him on the Yankees roster I'm sure there are other teams out there that will have room for him.
Hi Emma,
Unfortunately, my trip to Arizona did not allow any time for spring baseball. I would have liked to have seen a few games. Maybe next year. A friend of mine has worked during spring training for the last couple of years with the Dodgers and White Sox. He was supposed to work the White Sox-Cubs game and was bummed when it was rained out. I am not sure what he does, but whatever it is, he's having a blast. I am glad you had a good time in AZ.
Hi Julia,
I figured you'd take an exception to my division ranking. I am sure that if you put up a list, my Yankees would be at the bottom looking up. That's okay. We'll see who's standing tall at the end of the season! 😉 Of course, if it's your Red Sox, I'll have to move to Bolivia!
Hi Scott,
I'm was born & raise in Massachusetts BUT this will surpeise you and also your friend Julia that I always been a true Yankees fan! Yep a Massachusetts person whose been true die hard Yankees fan. I went to my 1st Yankees game at the old Yankee stadium in 1977 with my godfather. In my early life I was hiding my favoritism for the Yankees but the last 7 yrs. I showed my true colors to the people of Massachusetts that I was true die hard Yankees fan. The thing is Scott I truely DO NOT HATE the Boston Red Sox – they are good team- this year they have great pitching BUT thier hitting is not that great! Yankees this year's hitting is way better than then the Red Sox. You can tell your friend Julia – that it's not terrotorial that a fan decides who they support. I agree totally with your 2010 prediction – GO YANKEES!
So glad Cervelli's OK and been cleared to play. And how about that scoreless performance by Aceves yesterday. He has to be in the running for the 5th starter spot too, although it's still early. Really like your predictions for the division!
Scott – Bolivia? I'd still find you! lol! And no del – where you live does not decided who you will root for – but there is something comforting about living in an area where there is a LARGE fan base for a team. I've lived in MA all my life – and that has been quite a while (NO wise cracks Scott!!) – and I love the fact that there are baseball fans where ever I go that cheer on my guys! I have an instant friend when I go out wearing my teams colors – and the kids I teach – it gives me an instant bond with them. I love my Sox – and they are indeed my HOME team!
I know Scott – but you know who much I love to talk! lol! And yes my friend it is SO Game On for our Fantasy Teams!! Perhaps a side bet is in order – in addition to our regular wagers??😉
Scott – I'd still find you in Bolivia!😉
And no del – geography does not decide who we will grow up rooting for. Your family were Yankee fans (though I do think we need to stop those fans from entering our borders here in New England!!) and my parents where die-hard Boston Sports fans! I have lived in MA all my life and can not ever imagine rooting for any teams but my Boston teams. I love that fact that I live in a place that is so knowledgeable about sports and has so many fans rooting for the same team. And it gives me an instant bond with the kids I teach – watching the next generation of Boston Sports fans grow up in wonderful! And oh yes – I DO encourage it in class!! Don't I Scott?😉
And Scott – it is SO GAME ON for our Fantasy Baseball Teams!! Perhaps we need a side wager in addition to our regular in season wagers?? 😉