I can’t fight the overwhelming national love/belief/affinity for this holiday, as much as the socially conscientious (rebellious?) vegetarian in me would love to. At the end of the day I get to spend some very entertaining hours with my wonderful family; what’s there to organize a sit-in about?

John Lennon – Cold Turkey

The Dandy Warhols – Everyday Should be a Holiday

Grizzly Bear – Granny Dinner

My Morning Jacket – One Big Holiday

DM Smith – Thanksgiving Moon

I’ve learned a few rules…why are you looking me like that? Okay, rules is a bit strong, if not inaccurate. Maybe lessons I picked up? Working suggestions? Useful bullet points? Whatever! Here is a list of things I sort of remember from my many years of playing RPGs and mastering a few (just a tad). In no particular order (other than the one given, like you really care either way)

1. Every gamer is a min-maxer: Each and every ONE OF THEM. Even the scrawny kid in the corner who is waiting for his thespian moment. Oh, woe it be to the Master who goes anywhere his one combo, stat or item he has hanged his characters hopes and fears on. Somebody called the waaaaaambulance please! Also known as “all players all whiny little children”.

Oh, a mirror, for me? Thank you! And don’t get me started on the munchkins . Yes, I have that mirror right here. Why do you ask?

2. Strip all publish adventures of treasure: Every single copper piece, +1 sword or other form of treasure must go. Then carefully build the treasure with all the misery love of a pre-Xmas Eve Ebenezer Scrooge. It is the only way to avoid Monty Hauling , which invariably leads to a dead campaign because the PC ascended to godhood by the end of the first encounter, or you drop a red dragon on their heads which leads to a TPK (Total Party Kill for you noobs!)

3. Don’t mess with the established monsters: Sure you can fiddle with them a little, but go too far and you will NEVER live down that one time, fifteen years ago when you decided to drop a “special” on them. Never…EVER!

4. When you utter the words, “Hey aren’t you playing X?” or “Here I have an NPC ready for you”, or “How about playing Y race cause I really need one in my game”, it translates in the players mind thus (Cue Admiral Akbar voice) “IT’S A TRAP!”

5. The Rule of Inverse Book Rule Carry: Lets say your current system has, oh I don’t know, 10 books so far (it’s just a number, yes I know they have like 30 out, or 177, just go with it, okay!). If you bring all 10, by the end of the night you will discover that you brought 9 to many. Bring only one and, of course, you brought 9 too few. Never fails.

6. The Inverse Square Rule of GM Loving/Slavish Detail: The more you time you spend on something, a weapon, an NPC or a map (or some such) the less likely the Players will care about it, react to it or bother to use it. However they will spend hours try to gang-bang the no name wench behind the bar, then once she gets knocked up they will want you to research (i.e. make shit up on the spot) the whole courtship/marriage ritual/ceremony whatever of the Old Kingdom of Aerdy just so they can slap a ring on the bitch and then leave her and her unborn child behind to loot another dungeon.

7. “You all meet at the local inn.” It’s old, cliched, kind of stupid and boring. It also FUCKING WORKS!

8. Ask for a character background, you may get a paragraph if you’re lucky. Ignore the player that handed you a freaking bible of a backstory and they will go on, and on, and on, and….yeah…..

9. As the GM is the master of time and space, which means if you give 3 days for the PCs to recover, hop across the planes, save their uber-wizard friend from the Pit of Hell and be back to face down the Apocalypse and the PCs say, “Not going to happen Bob”. Don’t be surprised if they didn’t also rescue Dorothy from Oz and reversed Global Warming while they were at it.

10. Celebrate PC ingenuity: If they found a cool way to kill your uber-monster of the week, reward them, don’t whine about how it was too easy. Also clever and unexpected solutions to problems (in and out of combat) are what players live for, so don’t be a spoil sport about it.

11. Oh and a final note, NO CLUE IS OBVIOUS FOR THE CLUELESS: What is obvious to you is not obvious to your players, remember rule #6.

At the prodding of some friends I’ve been checking out some of the listings in the Destination Guide, and the Showcase (in the search box).  If you are a longtime resident who’s mostly oblivious to anything that doesn’t involve shopping or building, (ie: me), I highly recommend it.  Turns out, there are a ton of really interesting, elaborate, creative and educational sims out there.   Who knew?  Today I landed in Virtual Bucharest and enjoyed strolling around and getting the builder’s vision of that storied city.  And of course, I was wearing a few new things and a few freebies while I soaked up the atmosphere. 

Details

Hair – Maitreya “Green II” – Chestnut – $225L
Skin – Free Speerit Katherine (Glamour) – Review Copy
Eyes – ::Duh!:: Real Eyes Deepest Hazel – 10L for 12 colors
Jewlery – Dark Mouse – Bnk’s Closed Necklace – Copper (review copy)
Dress – (Kunglers) Group Gift – Nov22
Boots – Vinyl Cafe Red Boots – Free (in the “hunt”… but they are sort of sitting right out in the open)

Hair – [Tiny Bird] Hey Jude II Pomegranate – former hunt gift
Skin – Free Speerit Katherine (Glamour) – Review Copy
Eyes – ::Duh!:: Real Eyes  Hazel - 1L in Store
Sweater – +KiiToS!! Lentotahti + Long Gown *Burlywood* -
Sweater Dress – *Linc* Sweaterdress Bulgarian Rose – Review Copy
Tights – ::Duh!:: Black Knit Tights – $10 for 5 pair
Belt – ::Duh!:: Crocodile Belt – Brown
Jewlery – **DM** Eleni Earring – Review Copy
Boots – *G Field* Long Fur Cuff Boots – Brown – 180L

Photos – Virtual Bucharest

Todavía no salgo de mi asombro. Hoy he vuelto a leer una de las tribunas de opinión más lamentables de los últimos tiempos (no sabría si decir de la década o del siglo).

El tema es complejo ya que se une a lo que ha publicado hoy en exclusiva ALERTA sobre los manejos publicitarios del NO plan eólico. Colgaría el enlace, pero no es posible. De todas formas, no voy a ser yo el que se meta en semejante jardín, ya que no me corresponde.

La información de ALERTA se acompaña de una tribuna de opinión de Víctor Gijón titulada El Gobierno, el matón y la información, que lleva varios días colgada en su digital y que podéis leer aquí.

Tremendo, no hay por donde cogerlo sin sonrojarse de pertenecer a la canalla periodística. Lamentable, vergonzoso… de lo más fuerte que he leído.

La conclusión es que el Gobierno es tonto por regar de millones las arcas del DM, que el DM siempre que puede favorece al PP, y que tiene que dar de comer mejor a sus amiguitos, que siempre se lo agradecerán más y mejor. Y sobre todo: Sin la publicidad generada por el Gobierno de Cantabria y otras instituciones buena parte de los medios de comunicación de Cantabria habrían tenido que echar el cierre.

Vamos, que lo que tiene que hacer el Gobierno es comprarle a él (más todavía), y mejor aún que compre a todos los medios, y al DM ni agua.

Vayamos por partes. Niego la mayor de que la publicidad institucional es la que sostiene a los medios de comunicación de la región. Eso es falso, rotundamente falso, al menos en los que yo conozco (que son unos cuantos) por no hablar de mi anterior empresa, en la que la publicidad institucional siempre era bien recibida (faltaría más) pero no representaba ni mucho menos un porcentaje que pusiera en peligro su viabilidad en caso de que se produjera un drástico descenso.

Montar un medio de comunicación que base la cuenta de resultados en la publicidad institucional es un suicidio. Lo es desde luego desde el punto de vista de la credibilidad (la clave del éxito con tu audiencia radica ahí, y no en los publi-reportajes). Desde el punto de vista económico, si tu apuesta es hacer la pelota a una determinada opción política, lo lógico es que te vaya bien mientras gobiernen, y después, tendrás que elegir entre la chaqueta o la chequera.

Sí puedo aceptar que en el sector televisivo, una vez que el Gobierno se anime a dar las licencias, se habiliten fórmulas de financiación que permitan acometer ciertas inversiones, es algo que está ahora mismo en todos los corrillos, y es mejor que una televisión autonómica (es más barato). Ahora bien, cuando este señor habla de radios que cierran… ¿de qué habla? No será de las legales, que aunque están pasando un mal momento (como todos los sectores), ahí siguen, aguantando el tirón, con iguales plantillas, iguales programaciones, y como es lógico, rascando de donde pueden hasta que pase lo peor de la crisis.

Y luego está lo de la línea editorial. ¿Pero cómo se atreve a criticar la línea editorial de nadie quien hace ostentación de su militancia política? En nuestra profesión hay dos corrientes de pensamiento a la hora de abordar la información, quienes están convencidos de que la ideología no se queda en tu casa, y los que pensamos que la ideología es lo peor que le puede pasar a la información. La información es información, y todo lo demás son adornos.

Me imagino que el tema que publica hoy ALERTA dará todavía bastante de sí. Lo que veo más complicado es que un multimedia que solamente seguimos cuatro colgaos, y que canta de cojones cada vez que hace como que informa, vaya a dar lecciones a nadie de como hay que hacer las cosas.

Una vez, un prestigioso periodista me dijo que no hay que pisarse la manguera entre bomberos. Desgraciadamente, en este sub-mundo de piratas, los bomberos van con el cóctel molotov encendido.

Los paganos, al final, los de siempre… que al fin y al cabo somos los que financiamos este circo, nos guste o no.

ACTUALIZACIÓN: A petición de un lector enlazo el contenido de la información de ALERTA. Es de un digital que lo explica, ya que no tengo posibilidad de colgar lo que ha publicado ALERTA:

http://www.neocantabria.com/es/0/2/13685/

©tessa

_________________________________

Our Battle against Diabetes

_____________________________________

Diabetes is one of the leading causes of blindness and amputation, especially in the elderly. This disease requires an adequate treatment and prevention to avoid complications, which may even lead to death.

Diabetes mellitus (DM), better known as diabetes, is a syndrome that deals with disorder of metabolism which is often caused by hereditary and environmental factors, resulting in hyperglycemia (high blood sugar level).  

Insulin, which is produced by the beta cells of the pancreas, controls the blood glucose levels. There are two types of diabetes: type 1 and type 2. Type 1 diabetes, also known as the Insulin Dependent Diabetes Mellitus, is caused by diminished production of insulin. Type 2 diabetes, also known as the Non-insulin Dependent Diabetes Mellitus, is caused by diminished response of the body to insulin. These two types of diabetes both lead to hyperglycemia. Hyperglycemia causes the acute signs and symptoms of diabetes. The symptoms of diabetes may occur rapidly within weeks or months in type 1 diabetes. While the symptoms of type 2 diabetes may occur more slowly or completely absent.   

The Triad of Diabetes Mellitus: Its Acute Signs and Symptoms

• Polyuria (frequency in urination)
• Polyphagia (increased food intake)
• Polydypsia (increased in fluid intake)

The following are the other signs and symptoms of diabetes:

• Blurred vision     
• Weight loss
• Lethargy
• Changes in energy metabolism

The Complications of Diabetes

Did you know that diabetes can cause many complications? Diabetes has acute and chronic complications. These complications may occur if the disease is not properly treated or controlled.

These are the acute complications of diabetes:

• Hypoglycemia
• Ketoacidosis

These are the chronic complications of diabetes:

• Cardiovascular diseases
• Chronic renal failure
• Retinal damage (leading to blindness)
• Neuropathy
• Microvascular damage (leading to impotence and poor wound healing)
• Foot ulceration (leading to gangrene and amputation)

How to Care for Diabetic Patients

Since insulin became medically available, all types of diabetes have been treatable. But there is no widely available cure for any types of diabetes. Type 1 diabetes is treated through insulin injection and diet and lifestyle control. On the other hand, type 2 diabetes can be treated by both diet and tablets and insulin supplementation.

Among the complications of diabetes, foot ulceration should be frequently monitored to avoid amputation. Here are some tips that a diabetic patient should consider in taking care of his or her feet.

Proper treatment of diabetes such as monitoring the glucose level, controlling the blood pressure, and having a healthy lifestyle—having a proper diet and exercise, maintaining an ideal body weight, and avoiding smoking—can prevent the complications of diabetes. Moreover, patient education about the disease and family support are exceptionally important to prevent diabetes.

www.ejournals.ph

So this past week we had another session.  We usually play every other Wednesday, which is really not a lot of gaming time a year if you think about it.  26 times a year, give or take, remove a few for those days that you just can’t make it and what?  We’re looking at not too many sessions since the release of 4e.

Having said that, this past session reminded me that I have much to learn before I’m one of these dm’s that can run a game with his eyes closed.  I made some newbie mistakes and here now I’m going to highlight them so you keep them in mind for your games, in case you are as new as me:

Read, then re-read the monsters:  4e monsters have great looking stat blocks.  They are easy to read, and with tools such as the monster builder and compendium, they are easy to modify as well.  You need to study the stat block and make a note, or memorize, stuff that the monster automatically has.  For example, auras.  I ran a beholder this week, and he has an aura 5.  I kept forgetting to apply the aura every time someone’s turn came up.  He also doesn’t provoke opportunity attacks from his rays.  Well guess what, in my game he did because I missed that part of the stat block.  I effectively gimped severely what should be a major threat.  Newbie mistakes, plain and simple.  Guilty as charged.

Rules familiarity:  While I’m not advocating becoming a walking encyclopedia of rules knowledge, there are ctain rules that need to be known after a while, just to keep the game moving.  I find myself constantly having to go back to the books every time someone wants to jump for example.  At this point in time, I should already be familiar with the rule.  Also, I think it’s a good idea to be knowledgeable about the classes my PC’s are  playing, in order to avoid this exchange:  “Okay, I roll a 14, but my xx gives me a +1, then I have my xx of xx that grants me a +x, oh and remember my xx is activated so I have a +xx so my final roll is a 31.  I think that hits….  Hmm. Okay.”  Honestly, in my game, I’m trusting my players to not be lying to me, because I haven’t taken the time to really see how the 7 classes work.  Bad job on my part.  Newbie mistake, again, guilty as charged.

Study the tactics, they are there for a reason:  4e adventure design gives the dm monster tactics that are very easy to read, understand and put it into play.  Read them, don’t just gloss over them.  They work alongside the environment and the surroundings to complete the encounter.  The monsters don’t act in a vacuum, they play off each other and off their location.  As a DM, you need to know this for each encounter you are running.  I made the mistake of glossing over the tactics in a particular encounter and missed a very important detail that would have made a huge difference in the end.

This next one is subject to debate and personal preference, but drawing the maps ahead of time is a time saver.  I normally either print maps out, or have them pre-assembled with tiles, but not this past session, and it sloooooowed things down to have to draw things out.  It didn’t help that the map we are in is full of little walls here and there… it’s a ruined tower.  Try to have the maps already done, you’ll save time at the table and avoid comments like “Hurry up Picasso!”

Oh crap Cavalier, I forgot Venger's aura. Take 10 points necrotic. Damn.

I know that I’m not the first, nor last Dm that will make this type of errors while running a game.  I put these out there though so you new Dm’s like me can learn from my experience and keep it in mind for your next game.

Det handlar bara om en timme men visst är det grymt skönt att vara hemma tjugo över fyra istället för tjugo över fem. Framförallt på en fredag.

Ikväll blir det fotboll i Agnebergshallen för hela slanten. Systrarna spelar DM vilket blir ett utmärkt tillfälle att testa nya kameran i hallmiljö. Jag ska dessutom leka lite med en möjligt ny leksak. En arbetskompis ska sälja sin Nikon D50 och det kliar lite i fingrarna måste jag säga. Får väl sätta mig och räkna lite och se om jag och min ekonomi är lika överens om hur roligt det är.

Ronnie James Dio inlagd på sjukan och ingen verkar vilja säga varför. Grabben är 69 år ung så det är väl bara att hålla alla tummar, tår och knäskålar för att det inte är något allvarligt. Tyvärr innebär det här att alla spelningar är inställda. Jag har tyvärr aldrig sett Dio solo och såg verkligen fram mot 7 december. Men som sagt. Håll tummarna. Förhoppningsvis gör han en Ozzy och står på scen i januari igen.

Helg var det ja. Inte så mycket inplanerat förutom Butlers imorgon. Nu är det två veckor sen sist. Känns som att det var ännu längre sen faktiskt. Ska bli intressant och se om det kan bli bättre sen sist.

Omnämnadet på bohuslaningen.se? Verkligen skitkul måste jag säga. Det gör mig ju inte mindre taggad att göra ett grymt bra jobb i fortsättningen. Grymt mycket bättre än vad det var igår. För det finns mycket att jobba med.

Passar på att tipsa om en riktigt tuff sida skapad av Mr Dee Snider. Klicka på bannern här nedför så kommer du till sidan Take Back The Horns. Ett initiativ taget av Twisted Sisters frontman efter att han tröttnat på att hip-hoppare och annat löst pack börjat använda “the horns” (hårdrockstecknet alltså) i allt större utsträckning.

Jag har signat up! Gör det du också!

Nächste Woche (23.11. – 28.11.) habt ihr die Möglichkeit noch vorhandenes DM-Geld bei uns loszuwerden. Wenn ich genaueres weiß, werde ich es hier mitteilen.

*Update*

Ihr könnt wie gewohnt das Geld an der Kasse bezahlen. Dabei wird mit dem Wechselkurs 1 EUR = 1,95583 DM gerechnet. Das Wechselgeld wird in EUR ausgezahlt. Das Zahlen ist ausschließlich nur an Hybrid Kassen (Kasse mit menschlichen Kassierer/in) möglich. Das Bezahlen mit DM an SB-Kassen ist leider nicht möglich

While in game setting is crucial to how PC’s go about their lives, physically where you play matters as well. Where do you play? What limitations/advantages to you have to playing there?

Let me know

A great choice!

An incredibly fucked up and crappy choice!

Background Info

The basic story I have going for my players is that a wizard named Vellan the Mulleted (this picture doesn’t do that mullet justice; it is beautiful) has contacted each of them, recruiting them to join his secret band of do-gooders. His friend Douven Staul has been missing for a month now and he is hoping that these young heroes will be able to locate Douven, proving themselves worthy in the process.

Vellan also requested, as a personal favor to him, that the party help escort a half-orc merchant named Korg (idea stolen from here) to Winterhaven and assure his safe passage to and arrival there. Korg is a semi-crippled, trade-goods wagoneer and hardly worth anything in a fight. His half-full cart was drawn by a single large horse.

The party tonight consisted of four level one characters:

• Carlsberg Torres (male human ranger with sub-class feat of rogue) who prefers to use throwing daggers/knives and attack from afar.

• Joan Padraig, eldest daughter of Ernest and Vanessa Padraig (idea also stolen and then adapted from here – female human warlord with the inspire build). She ran away from home at the age of 16, so this will be her first trip back home in three years.

• Phillip Rivers (yes, named after the quarterback) is the wizard of the party (female eladrin wizard, control build).

• Periwinkle is the last of the party (male eladrin swordmage, aegis of assault).

The couple playing the two eladrin are married to each other in real life. They played two sessions of the 3.5e Basic Game with me last year. This was their first time with 4e and third time playing D&D ever. They did very well. My wife played Joan and this was easily the most excited I have ever seen her for any semblance of back story or character development.

Combat Highlight

The party began getting ambushed by those dirty little kobolds. Carlsberg was up front and center for the initial kobold minion charge. Two of them hit him, decently damaging him before any PCs had a turn. Phillip was the furthest back and decided to play it safe by climbing a nearby tree. She then sent out a spell of icy terrain to hurt the kobolds and knock them prone (not knowing that they only had 1 hp). Unfortunately Carlsberg was standing in that burst as well. He was hit, suffering max damage, and knocked prone from the spell. Then, by the end of the round, the kobold slinger launched his gluepot at Carlsberg, immobilizing him. It was certainly a rough round for Mr. Torres.Yet, he survived it alright, laying a pretty nasty smackdown on some kobolds before all was said and done.

The Skill Challenge

The idea behind this one was simply that the heroes were to get Korg and his goods safely to Winterhaven. They did, therefore I gave them 75 XP (It was 3 successes before 3 failures in the end, which is less than Complexity 1). The kobold slinger–who was mercilessly being attacked by Periwinkle–thought to escape by creating some confusion. He launched a firepot at the horse attached to Korg’s wagon. The firepot landed at the horse’s feet, causing the horse to rear back and then bolt forward, heading directly up the old King’s Road toward the heroes and the last kobold dragonshield.

Phillip, still hiding out about 10′ up in the tree, attempted to leap out onto the horse. Due to a low roll but clever story-telling/role-playing by the girl playing Phillip, we decided that she panicked at the last minute and spun around, grabbing the branch again. The rest of her turn was spent letting go of the branch and falling to the ground. This of course was the first failure in the skill challenge.

A whole round went by as the other heroes finished off the last two kobolds (the dragonshield’s head being lopped off by Joan and Periwinkle’s ferocious stabbing in the back of the slinger as it tried to flee) The cart continued forward, gaining speed just a few feet away from crashing into Joan and Carlsberg. Phillip ran alongside the cart, jumping/climbing atop it and grabbing the reins from the fairly useless Korg. This was the first success. Next, Joan leaped directly onto the horse’s back (she rolled a very high athletics check) to help rein it in. This was the second success. I counted the destruction of the kobolds as the third success and decided that it wasn’t worth dragging out that little scene any further. So I gave them some XP for successfully defending Korg and his goods upon their reaching the town of Winterhaven.

I really like the idea of the skill challenge. I can tell that I’ll need more time to get the kinks straightened out, but I thought it was a great way to add a different element to the encounter so the battle didn’t have to drag out as long. It also gave Phillip–who had not played as large a role in the fighting after the first round–a chance to shine and flex her creative muscles. I think she enjoyed that part of the game the most.

As far as XP goes, I am not sure if I short-changed them. It seemed like the skill challenge was a pretty easy one, so I didn’t think it was deserving of a ton of XP, but I want to reward the girls especially for stepping up to the role playing table and doing a great job. Any thoughts on how much XP should be awarded in this situation?

To End

The party arrived in Winterhaven as the sun was setting. The guards began to question them until one of them noticed the Lady Joan Padraig, returned home after 3 years of absense. He directed the other heroes to Wrafton’s Inn and we closed down shop for the night.

Just a quick question. Do people prefer the first person styling or a third person story telling? I have a nice long post for you Friday, but here is a short bit to tide you over until then.

—————————————————————————————————————————————

I looked around, wondering why there was no pain, no smell of burnt flesh. Smoke still clung to the air, the fire long dissipated. At my feet lay a badly burnt and hardly recognizable body. My calling to Eli and Jack when unheeded. “Not very nice of you to ignore someone you just set on FIRE!” I called after them. There was a click followed by Nevyn screaming.  I ran down the hall to heroicly come to her aid. As I rounded the corner I saw her on the ground, mist gathering around her and Jack was doing something with a floor panel. The mist gathered into a familiar shape and Nevyn stared back at me.

“Likas?” Nevyn frowned. “That’s not right… We haven’t resurrected yo-” she paused, then abruptly scowled and spun to face Jack – as well as the crispy remains of what had been her body. “You! You set off the trap a second time! Not only did you have to lay me out by setting it off once, then go through my things while I can’t do anything, you set it off a second time!” For a moment it seemed as if she was about to start ranting about the halfling, then she sighed abruptly and turned back to me. “It appears we’re both dead. It also appears we get to… hover… near our corpses. At least I’ve got some company.”

We live in a complex world, and - although there are exceptions to every rule – human beings just don’t seem to be good at dealing with more than three or four thoughts at any one time.  So give a salesperson a range of twelve products and services to sell, and they’ll inevitably specialise in two or three.

If that’s the case, how do you raise the profile of a product or service that’s not ‘top of mind’?  More mailers?  More training?

The answer is obvious, but as with most marketing actions, it’s only obvious once you’ve seen it in action… before you do anything drastic in the way of new creative, buying more data, placing an advert, etc., try incentivising the sales person.

I recently witnessed a good example of this.

Before the incentive was put in place, the sales team were achieving £7.5k per day.  Within a day of the incentive being introduced, that had increased to £10k.

The incentive cost just £500.  An extra marketing campaign would have cost £5k?  £10k?  More?

And all the salesperson had to do was ask ‘would you like fries with that?’  But it took personal interest in the form of an incentive to push a poor-performer into the three to four ’specialist’ category.

Never underestimate the power of an incentive.

I Depeche Mode

Il gruppo, che ha venduto più di 75 milioni di album nel mondo e che si è spesso ritrovato in testa delle classifiche musicali mondiali si esibirà a Bercy il 19 e il 20 Gennaio 2010 per presentare il loro ultimo album: Sounds of Universe.

Precursori della musica elettronica, i Depeche Mode nascono alla fine degli anni 70, durante il periodo new wave, e restano tuttora uno dei gruppi di riferimento della musica britannica.
Sempre presente sulla scena internazionale, il gruppo di Dave Gahan ha saputo attraversare il corso del tempo con grande creatività e talento.

E’ nel 1977, nella piccola cittadina di Basildon, vicino Londra, che si forma l’origine dei Depeche Mode attorno alla figura di Vincent Clarke e Andrew Fletcher. La prima formazione del gruppo si chiama No Romance in China. Ben presto anche Martin Gore, compagno di liceo, entra a far parte del gruppo.
I tre componenti del neo-gruppo, legati da una forte amicizia, sviluppano la loro passione per la musica grazie all’utilizzo di un nuovo strumento: il sintetizzatore.
Siamo in piena epoca punk e la musica elettronica inizia ad avere successo graziea gruppi come gli OMD, i Kraftwerk e gli Human League.

I tre amici alla ricerca di un cantante per il loro gruppo restano affascinati dalla voce di Dave Gahan, personaggio carismatico ed eccentrico. E’ il quarto componente della band che prende il nome di Depeche Mode in riferimento a una rivista francese e al fenomeno, tipico degli anni 70-80, dei cambiamenti repentini di mode.
I Depeche Mode, che avevano iniziato a esibirsi nei bar e nelle discoteche di Londra, vengono notati da Daniel Miller, manager dei Soft Cell, che gli fa firmare un contratto con la casa discografica Mute Records.

Il gruppo conosce il primo successo negli USA, nel1984, con People are People.
Il successo della loro musica resta costante fino al 1990, quando i Depeche Mode pubblicano l’album Violator, da molti considerato il più riuscito; pezzi come Personal Jesus, Enjoy The Silence,World In My Eyes, Policy Of Truth e Clean diventano rapidamente dei successi mondiali e i quattro ragazzi inglesi, in tour, riempiono gli stadi americani ed europei.
Giunti all’apice del loro successo, i Depeche mode, si prendono un periodo di pausa che non sarà positivo.
Dave Gahan, il leader del gruppo, reagisce male al successo e si lascia trasportare in una spirale perversa di droga e alcool che lo porterà al divorzio dalla moglie e a tentare il suicidio per ben due volte. Gahan accetta di entrare in un centro di disintossicazione e finita la sua cura il gruppo riprende a fare buona musica e registrano Ultra, album che sarà pubblicato nel 1997 e che grazie a pezzi come Barrel Of A Gun, It’s No Good e Home ottiene un buon successo. Il successo del gruppo  continua.

Quasi tutte le canzoni del gruppo sono composte da Martin L. Gore, tranne quelle del primo album Speak and Spell che erano opera di Vincent Clark.
Dal 2005 anche il cantante Dave Gahan ha partecipato alla scrittura di vari brani.

Palais Omnisport de Bercy
8 boulevard de Bercy
75012 – Paris

19 & 20 Gennaio 2010

I am going to write this from the retconned perspective that the only adventurers to enter or fight in the cave were our 3 heroes and Clarence, Barney’s man-servant. Also, it has been many months since this was actually played and I am having to rely entirely on my poor excuse for a memory. So this will be more summary than play-by-play. It should also be noted that I am combining the events of two game nights into one narrative.

What Happened

The Cave Entrance – The heroes found their way into the cave entrance behind the waterfall and gained a surprise attack on the few goblins there. As their skirmish escalated, the party could hear the very loud creaking of metal on rock, followed by the heavy footsteps of something obviously large. An orc captain came charging into the melee, giving the heroes their first taste of a sizable opponent (as opposed to foes whose strength came in their numbers). The fight dragged on for a while, but eventually the party dispatched their enemies and went down the passage from whence had come the orc.

Deeper into the Darkness – They found a large metal door leading into a system of well-constructed tunnels. They descended the stairs and entered a small cross section of the underground passages. They could hear some soft humming coming from behind one of the doors and cautiously approached. inside they found a small goblin humming and singing to himself as he gathered supplies from what was obviously a supply closet. They captured him and intimidated him into answering their questions. Despite his protests, they dragged him along behind them to guide them to the Dark Lady’s room, where she was holding the Bloodstone. With the goblin as their guide, they were able to bypass what would have surely been a grueling process of trial by elimination. The goblin led them directly and safely to the Dark Lady’s chambers. They crashed through the doors and began to battle the Dark Lady and her zombie minions.

The Final Battle – Things go decently well for the heroes at first, but it soon becomes apparent that the longer they stay there, the more danger they are in of being discovered and trapped–a few goblins had already heard the ruckus and come to investigate. Elfomoto decides that more direct measures are necessary. He finds enough space to make a quick sprint toward the Dark Lady, who is standing directly in front of the podium on which the Bloodstone rests, and successfully flips over her–dodging her attacks of opportunity–safely landing on the other side of the podium. Using the podium itself as a shield from attacks, he safely uses some cloth to pick up and store the Bloodstone. The battle rages on with neither side making strong strides toward victory. In a moment of distraction, Elfomoto is able to quickly climb atop the podium and perform a similar move as the one that got him where he is, and he gracefully flips over danger, narrowly missing the numerous swinging blades of his foes. He lands safely and yells to his comrades that they should flee.

A Sad Farewell – A few members of the party are pretty badly wounded by this point. Barney is very close to death and Clarence even more near that black end. Carlsberg and Elfomoto begin to make their retreat, helping Barney as best they can, but it soon becomes apparent that Clarence is unable to keep pace with them. Barney tried to get back to help him, but watches as his man-servant is cut down. Barney is heartbroken and fires off one last killing spell, buying time for him and his friends to flee down the hall and out of the tunnels. The three heroes return the Bloodstone, claim their reward, and Barney mourns the loss of his friend and slave. His indomitable spirit won’t stay down long, though… He already has plans for getting a better servant in the future.

Thoughts

This was the last night that my step-brother had to play before heading out-of-state for college. What happened well is that we had fun. What could have been better was for me to not try to put so much into that final session. I had tons of fun treasures and surprises for them to discover during their search of the underground lair. However, due to time constraints, most of those plans were basically set aside or left ignored. This makes me sad not because I felt like my hard work had gone unappreciated (which is a common frustration for DMs I have read–and therefore expect to experience), but because better planning could have let them discover these things in conjunction with their more direct approach to the game.

They didn’t even have or take the time to loot the bodies of the dead goblins, so even if I had been smart enough to just drop that treasure/loot in at the end, they didn’t stay long enough to grab it.

The truth is that I am not too worried because I don’t think the players know that they have not been receiving as much loot as is probably considered “standard” in the world of D&D. However, I do want to make sure that they are getting enough incentives to develop their characters. My hope is to incorporate their getting better treasure into the plotlines and hooks so they feel some real accomplishment in upgrading.

What I am proud of is that my first time running 4e I did not have to rely on pre-made adventures. I actually want to try one, but I may wait until I start school again to do that, just because I have the time to plan some good ones while I am out of school right now.

Hello. My name is E, and I’m a gamer.

(“Hi E.”)

Most unfortunately, I’m also a GM stranded without a group. I suppose I’m not really suffering, but I miss D&D. I also enjoy writing and map making; to sate myself, I’ll be posting some gaming resources for Dungeons and Dragons 3.5 adventures off and on.

Era inevitable no crear una entrada sobre el concierto más emocionante de mi vida, cuando la gente me pregunta, humildemente les respondo (sin ánimos de presumir) “No tengo palabras para describir aquel 15 de octubre de 2009″, pero bueno, mi idea es relatarle más menos lo que fue ese dia, mis desaventuras en Santiago y cosas asi…

Tomé el bus a las 10.30, por suerte estan al lado de mi casa asi que en ese sentido no habia atado alguno, me coordine con Camila, mi acompañante al concierto, la noche anterior, sin saber como cresta nos ibamos a devolver, pero bueno, la cosa era estar en la capitale rápido, para agarrar un buen puesto. Llegué a Santiago con mi amiga Camila aproximadamente a las 12:30, inprovisadamente, ya qye sabia como llegar, pero no como irme, eso seria una travesia para más adelante. En fin, a las 13 hrs estaba en el Club Hipico, no lo podía creer, desde aquella fila podria ver el escenario donde veria el mejor show de mi existencia (a ese toque), solo tenia que esperar casi 9 hermosas horas.

Ya a las 16 hrs pude meter una pata en el Club Hípico, dentro pase como 234235 puntos de control, que solo provocó atochamiento entre los que estabamos ahi, de fondo sonaban temas como “Policy of Truth”, “Everything Counts”,”Suffer Well”, entre otros temas siendo coreados por los devotos presentes, sacandose fotos, cosas por el estilo, la idea era tratar de amenizar las 5 horas de espera para ver a los británicos.

En las afueras del Club Hípico conocimos a Lorena, una solitaria devota de la V Región, igual que nosotros, ahi entablamos conversaciónes sobre DM (obviamente), de la vida, de los estudios, de Gahan xD, de animé, en fin, muchas cosas interesantes, fumamos mucho (Camila no fuma), asi que la espera no se hizo tan “latera”, si te pones a pensar que uno esta de la una de la tarde, entró al recinto a las 4, espero 1 hora de controles, y teniamos que esperar 4 horas más para que entraran, eso fue una espera que nisiquiera se notó, aunque usted no lo crea… En la foto sosteniamos nuestras entradas, la ultima vez que la vi completita, ahora es un pedazito de carton, pero que para mi significa demasiado.

Como dije, al entrar tuvimos que esperar como una hora para llegar al escenario, ahi pasamos como muchos controles de seguridad, aunque hay que decir que la organización del evento fue como el ajo, en una tenian a todos en un pasillo lleno del maldito “Plátano Oriental”, llovian estornudos… fue realmente el peor momento del dia, pero unos minutos más tarde, vendria lo mejor…

Corri y corri hasta finalmente llegar al escenario, un escenario que nunca habia presenciado en mi vida, salvo en los tantos DVD de Depeche Mode que he visto y tengo, se podia apreciar la pantalla para las proyecciones, tipico de un espectaculo de nivel elevado xD, en ese momento tenia que mamarme 4 hermosas horas hasta que iniciara el show, menos mal que no estaba solo, obligado a buscar entretencion donde sea, de cualquier momento, pasadas esas 4 horas, estaria al frente del mejor show del Universo, menos mal que los ingleses son puntuales…

Continuará

One of the best explanations that I have seen for the difference between good and bad assets is found in the Rich Dad/Poor Dad book by Robert Kiyosaki. In his book he explains that there Good Debt is money that you spend to generate additional income, such as Rental Property. The Mortgage, taxes, insurance, maintenance, and the cost of hiring a property manager are necessary for you to generate a rental income greater than all those expenses.  This then allows you to make additional income.  Good Debt can also be in the form of owning businesses, such as a coin operated car wash. He does warn you to do your research and educate yourself  on understanding how to identify a profitable business BEFORE you invest time and effort.

Bad Debt is expenses that do not generate additional income for you.  All the money invested in a boat that sits in the marina 360 days of the year does not make up for te 5 days a year that you are actually on the boat away from the dock. As a former boat owner, I was able to see first hand why people call boats a “hole in the water that you throw money into.” With my busy schedule and multiple obligations, I did not get the opportunity to truly enjoy sailing around the Chesapeake Bay as often as I would have liked. to add insult to injury, I decided to overhaul my pride and joy myself.  A project that would have taken a professional about 3 weeks to complete was not completed after 4 years, during which time I did not get out to sail at all.

I highly recommend reading more about the differences between good debt and bad debt, take the time to educate yourself so that when you are ready to make an investment, you do so knowing that you will be able to win.

Check back soon for more informative posts and educational articles.

Tweet! Tweet! Tweet!

I have done a lot of writing about spam DMs or Direct Messages on Twitter recently and it may sound as if I don’t like to get DMs at all. Nothing could be further from the truth! I just adore DMs and prefer them to email, truth be told. Surprised? Don’t be!

The DM is a private conversation. It is ideal for people who have very little time and/or short attention span with its limited character set. A big “up side” to having limited characters is that it can force someone to get to the point, be concise and stay focused.

I used to write long, rambling emails. I used to enjoy reading them from others, too, but I simply do not have time for that luxury anymore. I spend most of my email time battling spam. It takes more time to sift email now and I do not enjoy sifting. It is my own fault since I should use a separate account for those purposes, but I digress.

TweetVisor makes me so happy, I could sing!

I always have TweetVisor up, so I can usually see DMs as they come in and reply instantly whenever I am online. TweetVisor shows everything all at once on one page, so I see my public @replies, too. This saves a TON of energy and effort, plus it allows me to be very speedy in my communications. Most of the time, an @reply on Twitter is great for both parties, lending exposure for both parties and the chance for new followers, but sometimes the conversation goes deeper or gets more involved or personal. How do I know when to take it to DM?

• When you send your email address or other private information, take it to DM.

• When you’re in an involved conversation and exchanged multiple messages that really concern no one else, take it to DM.

• When it would be impossible to follow or jump into the conversation, take it to DM.

• When you want to flirt for real, take it to DM. (Caution, you may get blocked! But that’s the same as real life, isn’t it?)

• When the information you’d like to impart is very specifically for that one person, take it to DM.

• When the subject is private information, take it to DM.

• When sending a link someone requests that you have already tweeted within the past 4 hours, send it via DM to avoid being thrown out of search. (see my article about search for more information)

• When you feel the need to use off-color language, in general, take it to DM.

• If you feel the need to say something negative, keep it out of your stream and take it to DM. (Avoid)

• When contacting customer support or Twitter support about a sensitive subject or complaint, don’t be rude and embarrass the company in an @reply, take it to DM.

DMs are like whispers...

Basically, an @reply or tweet is a shout out and a DM is a whisper. Whatever is said in DM is not general knowledge and should never be shared with someone else. You should never post the contents of a DM or tell someone else the contents of a DM. That is a trust violator that is not easily, if ever, overcome. Don’t overuse the DM, either, or your important messages may not be seen due to an onslaught of automatic DMs, frivolous flirtations and True Twit DM messages clogging the column. Master the art of the DM and it will simplify many areas of your electronic life!

by Anita Nelson @ModelSupplies on Twitter – Follow me!

More Articles from Anita Nelson at ModelSupplies
Help! I Don’t Show Up In Twitter Search!

Domestic Violence Takes Many Forms….

TwitBlocking – Shocking New Twitter Trend Brings Me To My Knees

What It’s Like To Be #TwitterSuspended

5 “Get Followed Fast” Finds!
My Twitter Mosaic – Fabulous Tweeps!

Careful What You Tweet
How to Become Instantly RT-able (A Twitter Guide)

MarketingMel asks is twitter the new black?

Recently I gave a talk at the Kingsport Times News Women’s Expo at Meadowview called “Is twitter the new black?” I freely admit that title is not my own creation. Rather, I had seen it on a couple of blogs including that of The Times editor Jennifer Howze who says the following:

“Forget about ‘the new black.’ For many women I know, Twitter is the new e-mail. It’s more immediate, feels more like a personal conversation, and unlike your overflowing Outlook inbox you can control whose messages make it on to your screen.”

As someone who has been very active on twitter for over a year I quite agree! Email seems like a bit of a dinosaur in the face of a quick DM to catch someone’s attention. And as Howze says instead of a monologue to monologue conversation, twitter lets you be part of an online sharing of great links, photos, fabulous friends and more.

Recently I attended a local chamber breakfast when several people (tweeps) whom I had never met in person came up to me following the event. Each of them said, “There’s MarketingMel. Hey, MarketingMel! I follow you on twitter.”  Ah, the power of social media in action.

So, is twitter the new black? When it comes to personal branding, you might say it’s even better.
follow me on Twitter

Igår steg jag och David upp tidigt för att fara till Luleå och titta på när Adam tävlade i styrkelyft.

Det var väldigt kul men han får skriva mer om tävlingen själv.

Sen på kvällen kom det ett gäng till mig och träffades och hade trevligt innan vi skildes åt olika håll men möttes sen i slutet igen på hotellet. Där var det också trevligt.

Nån gång under kvällen sparkade jag in min lilltå i en tröskel så den är blå idag och känns inte som den brukar. Men det kommer nog gå över.

Idag har jag varit väldigt trött och bara tittat på innebandy sen tittat på transformers 2 med David och sen ska vi nog se på mer film nu.

Här är en spännande landning från innebandyn. Men det gick bättre än det ser ut att göra här. Han spelade vidare utan problem.

Men vi hörs imorgon!

Depeche Mode – In Chains – SAP-Arena 2009

D.M. 14 gennaio 2008 - Normativa Tecnica Costruzioni

Testo – Cap 1-12
Testo – Allegati