WordPress doesn’t seem to like textile code so I’ll just link to my Obsidian Portal page for the class: Primal

The class has only six levels because this game, like all others that I run, is using the E6 rules and thus characters are capped at sixth level.

The basic premise of the class is that a Primal is a savage human who is more beast than man and is driven by pure instinct. Kung-fu monks often have animalistic fighting styles such as Crouching Tiger and Serpent Stance, the wasteland Primal also fights in an animalistic way but more along the lines of Rabid Dog and Ravenous Rat. Heightened senses and animal instinct allow the primal to add their wisdom modifier to armor class. Slow fall is essentially “cats always land on their feet.”

It is really surprising just how easily the highly disciplined monk is able to be reflavored into this completely wild feral human class. Since there are no spells in this apocalypse game I took out still mind as it is a useless ability, I then moved evasion down to 3rd level. Ki strike is the only monk aspect that doesn’t fit so I took it out, there will be no damage reduction that can be overcome by magic in my game so it isn’t really a loss either.

One of my players, Denji, created this primal character: Cray. His equipment list isn’t finalized yet, but I believe the abilities, skills, and feats are correct.

Tomorrow is my night to run D&D and I will be continuing with my E6 campaign. The PCs are right in the middle of what the bards will call “Gnoll Wars” in their songs and tales. Of course I also have school to contend with as well as laying the ground work for my upcoming D20 Apocalypse game. Out of these three activities the apocalypse game has the most draw and is taking up most of my attention.

Luckily for me I tend prep very far in advance, it is highly unlikely that I will run this apocalypse game before next February, possibly not until April. My E6 game for tomorrow will require virtually no prep, I already have several NPCs set up and lots of events and encounters just waiting in my spiral notebook.

It is well known that no plot point survives encountering the players. They always kill that important NPC or let the evil guy’s lackey go and he is then able to warn his boss. After the first game the whole world changes.

My players don’t feel railroaded, well at least they never say they do when I ask after a game. So how do I do it, what is the secret to my success?

First the world is alive, things happen in key places whether or not the PCs are present. Unfortunately this means that some potentially vital NPCs die before the PCs even meet them because the PCs weren’t there to stop their death. This means that my world is constantly changing and evolving between sessions anyway so the players totally wrecking something is expected. They can wreck a plot line simply by going left out of town 3 rather than sticking around for the night.

Second most encounters are generic. Fighting 5 gnolls by the river can happen at any point along the 500 mile long river provided that it makes sense for gnolls to be there. A couple of “boss” type bad guys can be created and they are active in the world, they don’t just wait in their fortress of solitude for the PCs to come kill them. So if my players aren’t moving towards the final confrontation with the villain, I find a way for him to come to them.

Thirdly the PCs are the center of THIS story, but there are other stories in the world. If they neglect to kill the kobolds then the kobolds may take over the mining town or someone else may kill the kobolds and be the heroes of said mining town. Tell your players the exploits of the world’s other heroes. This gives them someone to look up to and gives them ideas for how to play truly epic characters. Just make sure that you have NPCs being cool off-screen and that they don’t overshadow the PCs in their own story.

Fringe: Season 2: Episode 6: “Earthling”

The cosmonaut's final journey.

Monsters! From outer space! And Cold War references! Typically poor alien logic aside, this episode was refreshingly easy to watch.

This episode is debunked at Popular Mechanics and Polite Dissent, and you can read more about it at Fox, IMDb and the A.V. Club.

Random thoughts

The “dust” that our victims are turned into appears to be vacuum cleaner lint, which may be why Walter requested a Dust Devil. If a body had indeed been reduced to its “elemental components”, it would be much smaller as the gases (most of the human body being hydrogen and oxygen) would have dispersed.

Once again, the slightest shock will incapacitate women – even professional nurses – by causing uncontrollable screaming.

If the space shadow needed to feed on radiation, it seems odd that it’d go around killing people when it could just go hang out inside an X-ray machine or PET scanner.

The chemical code

At first glance, the formula puzzle that Tomas sent to Broyles all those years ago appears to be some kind of porphyrin. Porphyrins are quite common in nature and biochemistry, one of the better known derivatives being haem B (found in blood). Peter was right in recognising it as a “complex organic compound”, though it’s more strictly an organometallic and the term “molecular model” is generally reserved for 3D representations (either physical or computer-generated).

The puzzle molecule and porphine, a simple porphyrin.

Of course, we don’t know what all the Russian notes and Greek letters mean – though we may speculate that Tomas’s γ key doesn’t work given the use of α, β, “C” and δ to label the pyrrole rings. Also, the molecular diagram as shown in the episode has double bonds between every atom in the α ring – this structure cannot exist, and so I’ve left it out of the diagram above. The Φ should represent a metal of some kind – in haem, this is iron (Fe).

The groups linking the pyrrole rings together are less easy to interpret, as four of them (CHα-, CHHHβ, HHα and HHδH) cannot exist. CHα- and CHHHβ have carbon exceeding its maximum valency (i.e. the atoms have more than four bonds), and HHα and HHδH make no sense (I suspect that HHδH is a typo, and that it should be CHδH – though this still cannot exist). Similarly, the CO₂H groups – normally representing carboxylic acids – cannot exist as drawn.

Moving on to the functional groups, the “M” in CMα and CMδ can be used to represent a metal. However, direct carbon-metal bonds usually form only under very specific conditions and are highly unstable. M may therefore be a reference to another molecule, such as another organometallic.

Finally, the [αβ], [αα], [ββ] and [βα] again make little sense without further information. We can, however, see the Roman numerals I, II, III and IV, which Walter seems to think represent four nucleobase-like molecules. They aren’t the bases that make up human DNA, but they have very similar shapes and so might be considered nucleic acid analogues (and therefore space creature DNA). Later on, Walter starts drawing what look like polysaccharides – large polymeric molecules used for storing energy in living systems.

Walter also mentions titanium tetrachloride (TiCl₄), which is not shown directly in the diagram. Instead, we see a dimeric form of titanium trichloride (Ti₂Cl₆ = 2 x TiCl₃), which can react at high temperature to form TiCl₂ and TiCl₄.

The gigantic molecular model that Walter and Peter build towards the end of their research looks like a small protein, or possibly a Theo Jansen piece. Presumably the linking bond means that human and alien parts are irreversibly entwined – but this should also have been clear from the 2D diagrams.

After sneaking out of Riverton by way of the secret passage, the party encountered a small gnoll patrol. The gnolls were on the other side of the river and a brief exchange of arrows was had, the gnolls fled after several of their number were slain. After the battle Castin and his group went north west towards the lands of the Broken Tusk orc tribe while the PCs headed east towards the gnoll encampment.

Another encounter with gnolls left the PCs wounded and exhausted, the temperature soon dropped and they were forced to return to Riverton. It was then decided that talking to the town’s mayor, Lady Ginevera, and asking for assistance might be wise.

A few days later the gnoll army began a major offensive at the front of the town, the PCs decided that now would be the time to strike at the leader who would likely be at the now largely empty camp. They were able to get a detachment of 6 town guardsmen to assist with their mission.

They set out and after a few brief battles managed to reach the gnoll camp and confront the chieftain Remror the Deathbringer.

The final battle of the session was amazing, every round was on the verge of TPK. Kyras got dropped 4 or 5 times, but Alessia was able to heal him each time using her wand of cure light. Arandiel nearly died, but a daring dash by Urdaan to deliver a potion prevented the Paladin from reaching -10hp. At the end of the fight all PCs were standing, and only 3 of the towns guard had fallen in battle against 10 standard gnolls, 5 elite gnolls, 5 gnoll warmages, and Remror the fiendish gnoll 3rd level fighter.

A great deal of loot was had and the PCs are now well known heroes in Riverton.

My last post about my 3.5 E6 campaign was a month ago, we’ve had two or three sessions since then and the game has really got going.

On the way back from defeating the orc that had proclaimed himself goblin king the party ran into another group of orcs on the way back to Branchester. Arandiel, the Paladin, fired the first shot and began a battle with the orcs. One by one the PCs fell to the small war band; Leonardo, the quarter-ogre swashbuckler, was slain and the others incapacitated. Luckily for them the orcs decided to patch them back up and sell them into slavery rather than kill them outright.

The PCs found themselves in a wooden holding cell, guarded by gnolls, deep within an ancient fortress that had been long since lost. A daring escape plan was hatched and they managed to rescue several other captives and disrupt a ritual to the dark god Erythnul. They led the villagers back to Rilon where they met the forge master Piers Bendt who thanked them for saving his daughter who was among those rescued. Piers Bendt offered to craft for each party member a masterwork weapon or armor at cost and future purchases will receive a discount.

Winter set in and the PCs decided to stay in Rilon where they ran into Alessia’s brother Allen who was in command of the Rilon town militia and was preparing them to deal with increasing gnoll violence in the area. During maneuvers to the west of town a small gnoll force attacked, but were driven off with minor casualties to the peasant slinger units and the light infantry. After the battle an exhausted runner arrived from Riverton telling of a great gnoll army that had laid seige to the town. The PCs decided to set off to Riverton to help with the siege.

On their way to Riverton they encountered an owlbear in the road. After slaying the beast they noticed that its lair appeared to be in a man-made cavern which turned out to be a tomb. Urdaan, being an elf, noticed several secret doors that led to a small treasure tove including a greatsword of exceptional quality which was promptly claimed by the barbarian Kyras.

As they neared Riverton they encountered several gnoll patrols and managed to destroy 3 catapults before reaching the safety of Riverton’s walls. Once in town they encountered Castin Tikaris, the Warmage whom they had battled the goblins with earlier. Castin, his brother, and a half-orc companion were looking to leave town and had discovered a secret passage near the river.

Coming later this week: The Story So Far Part 3

An early gift for all of you: The first of many winter songs!

Fleet Foxes – White Winter Hymnal

Circulatory System – The Frozen Lake  ( The Symmetry)

Regina Spektor – 20 Years Of Snow

They say it will snow tonight, so I suppose I’ve run out of time for a second Autumn mix. But this is much better.

Here is the full download of  Two Bicycles by Nesey Gallons. It is out of print, since it was a very limited home-made release. There are talks of a possible vinyl release in the future, but until then, spead the love, and enjoy.

Det er tirsdag allerede – vel allerede og allerede, hadde vært bedre om det var fredag allerede… Mandagen kom og gikk med regn, sludd, snø, sludd og regn igjen. Det var hvitt utenfor vinduene og bilen var dekket med ett tykt lag hvit våt masse som gav meg klissvåte hansker når jeg kulle kjøre hjem. Det er dager som dette det er kjedelig å ha lang reisevei – liker ikke å kjøre i sånt vær jeg og på E6 er det mange som ikke burde ha kjørt på dager som dette. Vis hensyn og avpass farten etter forholdene er det ikke alle som har fått med seg. Men jeg overlevde nok en dag på E6

Eldstemann var sliten fortsatt etter speiderhaiken i helga, prøvde å spørre hvor de ble hentet på søndag for stedet var jo hemmelig. Ca.200 meter fra hytta var svaret jeg fikk – ja men hvor lå hytta da, nei det viste han ikke helt. Ihvertfall ikke der og da. Senere på kvelden kom det frem at de var blitt hentet i Ski – så de har gått langt og lengre enn langt. Fra Marikollen i Fjerdingby og gjennom hele Østmarka og endt opp i Ski. Man har lov til å være sliten da ja – men han dro på speidermøte igår kveld og selv om lysten til å være hjemme egentlig var størst - i regn og sludd. Frøkna derimot klagde over vondter både her og der og fikk være hjemme, men det var nok en snev av  ”ikke-lyst-til -å-være-ute-i-dette-været-syken” for spesielt dårlig var hun ikke når jeg kom hjem etter å ha kjørt de andre.

Selv holdt jeg meg i sofaen etter å ha kjørt gutte på speideren og lagt frøkna - dykket dypt i garnkurven i håp om å finne på noe å gjøre oppi der. Har funnet ut at nettet er et fint sted å lete etter småprosjekter og startet på ett i går. Blir ikke fornøyd så det blir nok ikke noe av det… I tillegg så er jo Akutten (ER) tilbake på TV3 – det er vel kanskje den serien jeg liker best. Bare så synd den har så ustabile sendetider – plutselig er den der og plutselig går den ikke lenger…

Klokken var bare litt over 07:00 da jeg forlot kontoret til morgenen i dag og satt kursen nordover. Regnet var en trofast følgesvenn de første mila og gikk etterhvert over i noe mere håndfast – sludd!
Årstiden vi nå har entret svikter ikke sitt rykte og veiene ble etterhvert ganske glatte og sleipe. Over Dovre var det glatt, men trolig var det npk bare jeg og et par biler til som oppdaget det. Trailere og biler kom bakfra i stor hastighet og dro forbi og da lå jeg allerede på fartsgrensa. De slang litt hit og dit, men pytt, de holdt seg på veien og forsvant i snødisen foran. Godt å bli kvitt dem.

Plutselig og uten noe forvarsel så jeg denne skapningen i veien. Heldigvis lå kameraet klart på setet ved siden av meg og jeg fikk sakket farten helt ned og tok et par bilder gjennom ruta. En møkket frontrute er ikke beste utgangspunkt for et bilde, men jeg fikk foreviget elgen som stod og slikket på veibanen.

I det jeg nærmet meg elgen tittet den opp og luntet inn i skogen igjen.

Først etter lunsj kunne vi begynne å jobbe idag – en meningsløs formiddag igrunn… Men sånn er det vel i denne dataverden vi lever i og er så avhengig av. Heldigvis gikk tiden etter lunsj og frem til kl.16 fort – gjør gjerne det når man har litt å gjøre

På vei hjem ble det plutselig kø – og det skjer jo aldri den veien jeg kjører – vi kjører jo MOT trafikken. Men kombinasjonen av en saktegående traktor på E6 og lav sol er ikke å anbefale. At det ikke skjedde noen ulykker er helt utrolig sånn som bilenen som lå bak traktoren kjørte. De skulle bare ut o neste felt og forbi de – samme om det kom en bil der eller ei, den måtte jo bare stoppe… Og når sola samtidig er såpass lav at det kan være vanskelig å se – ja da kan det være duket for kaos på veien. Men det gikk heldigvis bra – men hva i all verden gjør en traktor på E6 midt i rushtiden!??!?!

Vel hjemme var maten på bordet allerede – tirsdag er løpedagen i huset. Frøkna begynne på korpset 17.15 og det er egentlig litt tidlig for de fleste, men det går hver uke. Hun og mannen dro avgårde mens vi tre andre slappet av – frem til jeg måtte kjøre eldstemann på korpset. Har nettopp kommet hjem fra det oppdraget og vasker tøy. Dvs. vaskemaskinen vasker og  jeg gjør for og etterarbeidet.  

Mellomste er heldigvis mye bedre, virker bare forkjøla nå så hva som har herjet kroppen hans får vi vel aldri vite – svin eller ei… Mulig han får en hjemmedag til bare for å være på den sikre siden – ser an litt ikveld og imorgen tidlig. Resten av kvelden idag er uten de store planer – har strikket et par nye venner til og er snart ferdig med enda en. Har man fått dilla så har man fått dilla

VG skrev i dag om åpninga av den nye E6′en i Steinkjer. Politiet måtte rykke ut for å kontrollere trafikken, da flere bilister klarte å ende opp i feil felt og kjørte mot kjøreretningen. Det er vel ikke direkte noen nyhet at trøndere er treige..

You’ve probably never heard of James Husband aka James Huggins III aka some member of Of Montreal. You probably weren’t even aware that he is putting out a solo record. You need to fucking keep up!

Now I know the cover above looks rather pretentious and I’m pretty sure it’s a tribute to the era that this album encapsulates, which is 70’s/80’s soft pop rock. Catchy words with simple refrains sung with a soft, pillowy sound. The drums are perfectly distant and the guitar is like driving an old sedan down the Technicolor highway of loveeeeeeeeee.

Little Thrills is the perfect album opener and draws you right into Mr. Husband’s world of Three’s Company sounding romance. The next few tracks are just as good if not better at times (e.g. Gray Scale). The middle can be pop psychedelic like a Sweet record or smooth like a mid 70’s Bowie..

It’s got amazing poo nuggets that I’d never skip on my iPod (Yea, you know you skip 90% of the shit you put on there!) and it works alright as a whole.

53%/57%
-Rubles

Little Thrills

some Great Beatles Cover via You Ain’t No Picasso – Here

Getting RAC Certification

MBA, MS (Biomedical Engineering)

swaminathan_ss@yahoo.com

OBJECTIVE Create, implement and conduct successful regulatory submissions, and manage clinical projects to execute corporate strategies for new drugs, biologicals and medical devices and enable the company to dominate their specialty field.

SUMMARY Bottom-line focused Clinical Affairs Manager with a track record of cost saving and proactive problem solving skills.

• Conducted regulatory submissions for Pre-IND and IND approval for biologicals.
• Implemented regulatory strategy to test new drugs in human clinical studies.
• Discussed regulatory approval strategy (510K) for new technology with U.K. advisory committee.
• Drafted Phase I-II protocols, Investigator’s Brochure, Informed Consent forms.
• Managed pre-clinical animal and toxicology studies through a cross-functional team.
• Identified new and emerging markets for drugs and partnering biotechnology firms.
• Analyzed performance metrics to choose CROs for clinical study management.
• Negotiated contracts and budget proposal with pre-clinical and toxicology study centers.
• Managed contracts, proposals and service agreements for vendors, CROs and service provider
• Obtained IRB approvals for clinical studies and enrolled subjects based on inclusion/exclusion criteria.
• Managed CMC upgrades through GLP-GMP approvals.
• Managed clinical studies Phases I-III as a part of protocol execution duties.

COMPUTER SKILLS Microsoft Office, Labview, Matlab, WINKS, SAS (Certified), XL Miner, Rapid Miner, SAP FICO, SAP Business One

EXPERIENCE:

HemoBioTech, Inc.

Title: Clinical Affairs Manager 2005-2009

• Serve as primary contact between company and CROs (domestic and international) in managing protocol execution and provide study-specific direction to Clinical Site Managers, Clinical Trial Managers adhering to ICH and GCP (E6) guidelines (local and international) regulations. Work closely with global CROs and cross-functional teams to obtain GLP, GMP approvals for manufacturing facilities (CMC).
• Collaborate with global clinical operations study team, cross-functional team members, and external partners and research and/or assist in development of clinical protocols, informed consent forms, FDA 1572, IRB forms and other approvals.
• Manage all aspects of design, conduct, and managing of one or more clinical trials including management of CRO communication and other vendors, site and data monitoring, completion of data management and statistical analysis plans, review and correct final listing and summary tables, and write appropriate sections of clinical study reports and summary documents.
• Ensure design of CRFs meet protocol criteria which requires planning, coordination, and conducting meetings and communications between sponsor, investigator and CROs, order drug supplies, and coordinate distribution of all other clinical trial supplies.
• Update management and class C officers with current status of product development. Initiate communications with regulatory agencies in U.S.A, E.U. and Asia Pacific regions
• Recommend corrective action and be accountable for outcomes. Manage performance of outside vendors.  Interact with departments outside of clinical as required or requested to accomplish planned goals. Manage overall clinical development plan for biologicals. Review timelines and budget and present to management for approval.

Getting RAC Résumé, Page 2

• Review compliance to guidelines, and check documentation on (SOPs), and participate in SOP development.
• Responsible for resolving issues related to delays and utilizing prior experience to solve new problems. Recommend corrective action and be accountable for outcomes.
• Check intellectual property and patent positioning of products in countries with an intent to conduct studies
• Renew patent annuities and assist legal counsel with trademark and full patent filings.

Selected Clinical Achievements

• Identified CROs based on service provider key performance service metrics and evaluations. (Completed IND submissions for biologicals for global clinical trials approval –India and China).
• Identified pharmaceutical companies for manufacturing and licensing partnerships investment in exchange for licensing agreement).
• Maintained budget and timelines for pre-clinical studies on company’s product (largest study budget).
• Reviewed and finalized Investigator’s Brochure, Informed Consent, Phase I and II protocols
• Assembled and submitted IND package for Biologicals to regulatory agency
• Initiated discussion with U.K regulatory agency to discuss potential licensing for company’s viral and TSE clearance technology

Selected Pre-Clinical Study Management Achievements

• Identified toxicology and viral study centers, prepared proposal, budget and ensured successful viral clearance and toxicology study completion.
• Initiated discussion with U.K regulatory agency to discuss potential licensing for company’s viral clearance technology

Getting RAC Résumé, Page 3

EXPERIENCE

UT Southwestern Medical Center

Title: Research Associate – Neurology- Neurosurgery 2003-2005

• Responsible for assessing subject eligibility, scheduling appointments, scheduling and ordering MRIs, obtaining signed inform consent forms, completing CRFs and maintaining study binders.
• Developed study protocol.
• Proactively identified issues that may impact enrollment and recruitment timelines, collaborated with staff to develop initiatives and contingencies to ensure that timelines were met.
• Managed all aspects of the preparation of the clinical sections of regulatory submissions.
• Initiated follow-up payments to external vendors in accordance with the budget planned in adherence to Financial Agreement time points
• Prepared project summary reports and analyses as needed; creating SOPs, office procedures and quality standards.
• Responsible for collecting, interpreting and analyzing data and lock the database for statistical analysis.
• Expertise in various aspects of material analysis and development and various laboratory safety management practices. Additional duties involved data interpretation, product development, testing, medical technologies, and research & development.
• Monitor study site to ensure that the study protocol or investigational plan is being followed.
• Changes to the protocol have been approved by the IRB and/or reported to the sponsor and the IRB. Review accurate, complete, and timely reported are being made to the sponsor and IRB.
  The investigator is carrying out the agreed-upon activities and has not delegated them to other previously unspecified staff.
• Reviewed accurate, complete, and current and current records are being maintained

EXPERIENCE

UT Arlington

BIOMEDICAL OPTICS LAB / U.T. at ARLINGTON; Arlington & Dallas, Texas

Research Assistant  2001 – 2003

• Responsible for conducting complex biomedical research on the optical properties of a fiber optic probe, collecting and analyzing data during Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS) in neurosurgery.
• Estimating the degree of light sensitivity of optical probe in brain tissue using Brain Phantoms, and submitting findings and documentation to supervising professor as part of Masters Thesis requirements.
• Successfully designed and developed Brain Phantoms using Intralipid and Gelatin material to mimic the scattering of the gray and white matter in brain, cultured epithelial cells in tissue engineering and gained experience in tissue engineering laboratory techniques for proliferating cancerous cells. Additionally assigned to developed tissue in a scaffold matrix for grafting and plastic surgery procedures.

EDUCATION Master of Business Administration Degree; Fall 2009

THE UNIV. of TEXAS at DALLAS

Major: Corporate Finance and Project Management

Master of Science Degree; Spring 2003

THE UNIV. of TEXAS at ARLINGTON Arlington/SW Medical Center, Dallas

Major: Biomedical Engineering (Joint Program UTA-UTSW)

Activities: Member of IEEE & ACM

PUBLICATIONS: Temperature Induced Decrements of Ocular Motor Function in Multiple Sclerosis Patients: 2049:Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise: May 2006 – Volume 38 – Issue 5 – p S355 Davis, Scott L.; Frohman, Teresa C.; Frohman, Elliot M.; Brown, Marilee J.; Swaminathan, Sara; MacDougall, Rebecca M.; Kramer, Phillip D.; O’Suilleabhain, Padraig; Crandall, Craig G. FACSM

Atlas-driven Segmentation of MLF from MR-DTI: Differences in Diffusivity and Anisotropy Exist Between Controls & INO Patients, Dr. Roderick W McColl, Dallas, TX, Teresa Frohman, Dallas, TX, Saraswathy Swaminathan, Dallas, TX, and Dr. Elliot Frohman, Dallas, TX

10th Annual Meeting of the Americas Committee for Treatment and Research in Multiple Sclerosis 28.09.2005 – 01.10.2005 T. Frohman, S. Davis, C. Crandall, S. Swaminathan, M.L. Brown, P. Kramer, E. Frohman (Dallas, USA)

THESIS: “Mathematical Estimation and Validation of “Look Ahead Distance” of an Optical Probe   Used to Aid Neurosurgery”

http://www2.uta.edu/BOL/pulications/thesis%20dissertation.html

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Not many people realise this, but the contestants on ‘G to Gentleman’ are those just missed out on the Apprentice and Big Brother (I believe this pithy gag works for both United Kingdom or America).

And I don’t want to spoil future episodes for anyone, but look out for the show where the G’s beat the England One day cricket team (Freddie Flintoff and all)
can’t wait for the test series and Lily Allen’s tweets….

On August 7th of this year I began running a 3.5 campaign with the E6 variant rules. I also used a slimmed down skills list and a trained vs untrained mechanic like Star Wars Saga and 4e. So far there have been 7 sessions on a more or less bi-weekly schedule.

Adventure the First: The party met during the summer’s end festival in the seaside metropolis of Greathaven. There was Arandiel the human rogue who had been chosen by Heironeous for greater things, Carric the druid, Urdaan the elf ranger who was raised by dwarves, Leonardo the quarter-ogre swashbuckler looking to make his father proud, Ignacio a charismatic and flamboyant human sorcerer with a draconic heritage, and Alessia the human cleric of Pelor.

The temple of Pelor was ransacked by thugs who were worshipers of Erythnul, the PCs heard the ruckus inside and met as they entered the temple. A battle ensued and the PCs emerged victorious.

Adventure the Second: Following a lead they got from questioning one of the thugs who had been involved in desecrating the temple the PCs decided to investigate the desecration of a shrine dedicated to Fharlanghn on the road between Greathaven and Rilon. As they investigated they came across the village of Branchester which had just been attacked by Gnolls. Alessia healed one of the village’s two guards who was injured while driving off the Gnolls. The party then set out to battle the Gnolls.

The first group of Gnolls was a ruse and their leader attacked the village after the villagers went off with the town guard to attack the decoys. When they returned back to Branchester, the PCs found a massacre. They dealt with the Gnoll leader, a Paladin of Slaughter, and helped the wounded the best they could.

Urdaan and Carric stayed behind as the rest of the party ventured forth to track the Gnolls back to their camp. Upon reaching the camp they found a number of broken wagons and looted goods that the Gnolls had taken from travelers that they waylaid. Also present at the gnoll camp were three donkeys bearing the mark of house Tomil, several malnourished prisoners, and one barbarian, Kyras. (who would be replacing Carric, as the player really wasn’t enjoying being a druid)

Adventure the Third: They decided to attempt to take the donkeys back to the mages of House Tomil in Greathaven before setting out to search for a rumored ruin that the Gnolls might be using as a stronghold. The mages were happy to have their property returned and as a token of gratitude gave the party 4 oils of magic weapon.

Setting off in search of the ruins they passed through Branchester, but Urdaan and Carric decided to stay behind to assist the village in building a wall for protection from future attacks. The party eventually reached the Crossroads Inn and learned of an Orc that has taken over a goblin tribe and threatening the area around the inn. A man named Castin agreed to assist them with the Orc in exchange for a share of any loot found.

They traveled through the woods until they were ambushed by goblins, a brief fight ensued and the goblins were slain. They pushed onwards and found the goblin’s lair where they slew the orc and his goblin warriors. There were a few platinum coins in the orc’s “throne room,” also housed within this lair was a nest of 12 infant goblins which the party decided to take with them and find a good home so that they would not be raised to be evil. They returned to the Crossroads Inn and claimed the bounty on the Orc’s head, split their treasure with Castin and set off back to Greathaven, hoping to spend the night in Branchester and rejoin Urdaan.

Chocolate USA – All Jets Are Gonna Fall Today

Formed in 1989 under the name Miss America, they changed their name to Chocolate USA because the people at the Miss America pagent were not happy to share their title.

You can’t get new copies of their albums anywhere, but you can purchase the mp3s here. Or if you’d prefer used cd copies, you can get them here. In this case, I’d recommend buying the MP3s, because at least that way the band will still get some of the money.

The Olivia Tremor Control – I Have Been Floated

It’s like the climax to an epic film.

Purchase CD’s here. They are scheduled to release a second pressing of vinyl this winter.

Fringe: Season 1: Episode 6: “The Cure”

Workwear for the fringe scientist.

More radiation-emitting people this week, though the explanation about where it comes from is still a little lacking. In this post, I’ll be making the usual comments about how much suspension of disbelief is required to enjoy the show.

This episode is debunked at Popular Mechanics, and you can read more about it at Fox, IMDb and the A.V. Club.

Exploding head syndrome

We open with bleeding orifices and exploding heads – clearly, someone on the writing team has been watching Scanners. Could you really use microwave radiation to “cook” people? The simple answer is yes – human bodies contain quite a lot of water and fat, which microwave ovens are designed to heat up. Perhaps unsurprisingly, the U.S. military is actively developing microwave weapons for “less lethal” crowd control – but it looks like some Shadowy Organisation^TM has beaten them to it, and with a human delivery system to boot!

The many inaccuracies in Walter’s explanations are dealt with comprehensively in the Popular Mechanics article, but in summary strontium-90 does not release microwaves. It is a very weak gamma source, but mostly releases electrons (this behaviour is a type of ionising radiation) and so could not cause extensive heating or internal steam explosions.

Methyl eugenol

Methyl eugenol

Later in the episode, Walter mentions methyl eugenol as smelling like hyacinth flowers. Floral scents are generally a mixture of several smelly chemicals, but methyl eugenol (more properly known as 4-allyl-1,2-dimethoxybenzene) is actually one of hyacinth’s components and is used commercially as an insect lure. Coincidentally, Olivia talks about being able to get into the “headspace” of people – in analytical chemistry, headspace is a term used for the air immediately above a volatile compound (such as methyl eugenol).

Nesey Gallons - Who

Purchase the full album “Eyes and Eyes and Eyes Ago” on vinyl here or digital download here. I thoroughly recommend the vinyl recording. The album is not yet available on cd (unless you were lucky enough to get one of the home-made copies.)

På vei lhjem i godt over 100 på E6 i venste fil – ligger en liten rød bil foran meg i samme hastighet og alt er bare bra. Så plutselig ser denne lille røde bilen at i høyre felt ligger det en stor hvit bil med røde og blå stiper på – og så står det POLITI med store svarte bokstaver. Hva gjør man da – jo man bråbremser ned, man kjører for guds skyld ikke forbi en politibil – men legger seg inn bak…

Jeg kjørte pent forbi i 110 og så bilene bak meg bli liggende side om side med politibilen før de etter en lang tenkepause fant ut at siden politiet tenkte ikke på å stoppe den gærne dama som kjørte forbi politiet og det i litt over fartsgrensa og, jo da kunne jo de også prøve…

Det var ingen vanlig politibil som var ute og patruljerte, det var en miljøpatrulje og oppgavene deres fant jeg følgende om da jeg googlet politiets miljøpatrulje; 

Patruljenes virksomhet
I tillegg til de prioriterte satsingsområdene – fartsovertredelser, kjøring i påvirket tilstand og bruk av personlig verneutstyr – har UP også ansvar for kontroll av kjøre- og hviletid, transport av farlig gods og tunge kjøretøy. Miljøpatruljene har hovedansvaret for de tre sistnevnte. Fra tid til annen bistår miljøpatruljene (og de andre UP patruljene) politidistrikter som f eks er på utkikk etter kjøretøy som kan knyttes til faunakriminalitet.

Ikke kjører jeg tungtransport, hviletiden var jeg godt innenfor og farlig gods… Nei ikke det jeg vet om. Tenk om alle bare kunne kjøre pent og rolig og ikke bremse opp og skape farlige situasjoner så fort de ser onkel politi…. De er jo egentlig ikke farlige…

Unfortunately this isn’t the demo tape of the same name. It’s an odd, obnoxiously catchy, conglomerate of (airport?) noises, half-speed singing with occasional lyrics (features portions of rubby bulbs), and heart piercing screams ala Careful with that Axe Eugene.  According to neutralmilkhotel.org it’s live too!

The track showed up on a compilation by Cher Doll Records called Champagne Dance Party and like most indie 7”’s from the 90’s it’s damn near impossible to find.

&*( out of &***

-Rubles

mp3

flac

På vei hjem fra jobb blir jeg oppmerksom på en politibil i første rundkjøring, denne skal samme vei som meg viser det seg. Ut på E6 og nesten like langt som meg. Jeg lå i venstre fil hele veien – holdt farten på 110 nesten hele veien, bremset litt ned der det står veiarbeidskilt men ikke har skjedd noe på 2 mnd – og hele tiden lå politibilen bak meg. Etter en lang stund syntes jeg han kom litt for nærme og la meg inn i høyre felt sånn han han kom forbi – jeg lå fortsatt i 110 og politi gav på for å komme forbi. Og så la jeg meg ut igjen rett bak ham. Vi hadde to andre biler mellom oss fra rundkjøringen og ut på E6 – den ene lå ganske tett oppi meg men da den ble oppmerksom på hvem han hadde bak seg så la han seg inn i høyre felt og ble der gitt… Og borte ble den.

Det er ganske morsom å se andre bilister år det er en politibil på veien – de bremser ned og tør ikke kjøre forbi og skaper masse kø og farlige situasjoner i begge filer. Skjedde for noen uker siden og – på samme strekke lå det en politibil og det var laaaaang kø i begge felt for han som lå først i venstre hadde ingen planer om å kjøre forbi onkel politi i høyre felt nei… Jeg lå da et stykke bak og hadde ikke sjans til å komme ut i venstre felt en gang. Lå vel i 80 max – på en vei med 100 grense…

En vanlig patruljebil på E6 i rushen er ikke der for å ta de som kjører litt fort – så lenge man kjører pent og ikke sivnger fra felt til felt. Tenk på det neste gang du er på veien og politibilen er der og – de sitter og ler seg skakke i bilen av alle oss som ikke tør kjøre forbi

I Eidsvoll Ullensaker Blad, torsdag 10. september, kunne man blant annet lese dette. “Den lokale opinionen har fått politikere til å betenke seg. Nå ønsker Arbeiderpartiet å gi pendlerrabatt på nye E6. (…) Det skal plasseres seks automatiske bomstasjoner mellom Hovinmoen i Ullensaker og Kolomoen i Stange. (…) Myrli skriver nå brev til samferdselsminister Liv Signe Navarsete (Sp) der han foreslår at pendlere skal slippe billigere på nye E6. – En måte å gjøre dette på, kan være å innføre en ordning der de som begge veger passerer for eksempel fire eller flere automatiske bomstasjoner innenfor ei gitt tid, betaler for et visst antall færre passeringer”.

Dersom alle disse bomstasjonene settes opp, så må det innføres en pendlerrabatt. Det får være grenser på hvor stor belastning det skal legges på lokalbefolkningen for en vei som rikspolitikerne vil ha.