he Midwinter Gaming Convention takes place in downtown Milwaukee usually during the 2nd weekend in January. For some reason, geeks and industry professionals descend onto the city and play games for 4 days. This year, the actual reason people would brave our winter became known. Midwinter has now moved into a spot for me professionally that will be hard to pass. It has become both a place of networking and discovery.
This was the first year for the Industry Summit, and to be very honest, it has surpassed all other conventions in what I have taken away from. Not only have I met so many amazing people within the industry, but I also learned so much. Learning that my struggles and secret wishes for support were not that far off from everyone else was comforting and I feel as if I have a new perspective when it comes to others work. The lovely Anne, owner of Daydream Productions, made sure to gather everyone's input on what they would want to see in the future, which was great to have. I've been to conventions where the workshops and discussions are all the same and it gets stale.
The main take away from the summit? Celebrate others achievements and setbacks. Why setbacks, you may ask? Because failure is always an option. You can learn so much from failure that you might never notice in any other setting. And there were a lot of achievements this Midwinter, all of which I am excited about.
Kicking off my highlights of Midwinter is FetchQuest! FetchQuest is a deck building game based off the Pugmire RPG. You get to play the main characters in the book and go on adventures. The game plays well to role playing out what your character does as you fight bad guys and complete quests. It is still in the Beta phase, but even at this point, the game is very solid. The design of the cards needed some tweaking with the lettering, but looks gorgeous overall. I will be backing it on Kickstarter once it is up, so watch for that!
Next up is a super cool LARP called Sidereal Sanctuaries, which looks at social justice issues through the lens of modern fantasy. It is a gorgeous game, and has been turning a lot of heads. I've been watching the development and art and I cannot wait to see where it goes from here. They had their first game at Midwinter and will probably be returning next year. This game is not for the faint of heart, so come prepared, but you will leave better of then you were when you started.
Another MAJOR announcement is that Onyx Path Publishing will be publishing the second edition of Dystopia Rising! The game will feature both tabletop and larp mechanics, and expand upon the world. They are working closely with the LARP organization of the same name to incorporate as much of their world as they are able, and build off their structure. This is a huge endeavor and one that I am looking forward to seeing. This is still in super early stages of development, but it is happening, and it is good.
Saturday I got to do something really cool for the first time. I've had a card game in my head for some time, so I wrote it all out, got some blank cards, and started alpha testing it with a couple of people. My main concern was it being a viable card game. My secondary concern was the rules and how it affects play. This was all new to me and it was very much a positive learning experience. I made sure to get people who I trusted to give me brutally honest feedback, and while the game had some kinks to work out, they overall enjoyed it. I will continue to tweak the game and move forward with this game. I'm not sure where this will lead, but it will not be boring!
I also got to alpha test a social game for a larp setting. This game has also been in my head for some years now, and seeing it play out was really neat. Again, the players BROKE the game, and I am forever thankful for it. I've been calling it A Quick Game of Chess, but I might change that. It needs some revisions, but this game will be up on DriveThru at some point, which means you can adapt it for your larp! Or it can be a party game as well. I will be sharing more on this later.
Second Act has their first larp debut at Midwinter and it went very well. I helped write the plot lines and ran some scenes for players. I had a ton of fun, and I'll let you in on a secret. That was my first time doing ST work for a LARP. Ever. I do hope it went well. I got positive feedback on the game and was told it helped them interact with the established groups of players already in the room.
Sunday I ran several workshops and games for a bunch of Girl Scouts and kids. I did Storytelling 101, which was a total adventure. I am hoping I was able to help some young girl scouts find their way in the gaming world, and as several people stated, I look forward to having my characters face melted off by a gaggle of girls who are not afraid to go for it. Bring it on ladies!
I also ran FirstFable and Mermaid Adventures, which were both awesome games. Everyone had fun, and I even incorporated a little 6 year olds birthday into my PLOT for Mermaid Adventures. We even sang Happy Birthday as our characters to her. How neat is that?!
My loot this year was fantastic. I will be writing more on each of these as I read through them. They all caught my attentions for multiple reasons, and I fall a little more in love with them every time I see them.
Overall Midwinter is a fantastic convention. It's growing in size every year, but is not over crowded. If you want more information, please visit their site! I look forward to next years convention and everything it entails.
Many years ago, monsters and children played together in the Land of Dreams. Slowly, something started to happen, and the children started withdraw from play. That is when the Nightmare took over, turning the Land of Dreams into dark, and making the monsters who lived there seem scary.
Well the monsters have had enough. They want their Land of Dreams back. They want to play once more with the children in their land. They have to travel through children's dreams to fight back the Nightmare and reclaim their home. They have to face scary foes like Math Teachers and Clowns, and outsmart the monsters of the Nightmare in their own game.
The premise of the game is delightfully entertaining. This is a game that can be tailored to any age group or experience level. The character creation system is very simple to pick up, and allows for very customized monsters. They do offer pregenerated characters as well, which are very diverse and fit well within the story.
The system itself is very simple, offering 4 attributes, 16 skills and over 20 monster abilities as well as equipment to help in certain situations. They use a D6 system, which makes math very simple for younger gamers, and at most have 3 dice involved. Everything on the sheet is easy to interpret and has flexibility on use. In order to win, you have to meet or exceed the difficulty level.
The book lays out dream sequences for you to play through, and encourages you to create new ones as well. Many of these are childhood scenario dreams, where you meet scary teachers, have skateboard contests or food fights. You can play through the ultimate childhood battle in the game. Many of the scenes give options for non-combat solutions as well, which makes this ideal for very young children.
This game has the potential to be very fun for any type of gamer. It is easily tailored and has many different options to add to the plot given. I hope they expand the game in the future. I will be reviewing the play type once I get my group to play through it.
Goodwill and Gamers: What happens to your donations?
Full Disclosure: I am an employee of Goodwill Industries of Southeastern Wisconsin. My views and opinions are my own and do not reflect the views and opinions of Goodwill.
I've known many gamers and cosplayers/costumers who have found some amazing pieces at Goodwills across the country. It is a staple store for artists and creative types to find materials and inspiration for their works. And it makes sense. In essence, you take something that someone no longer wanted, and you turn it into something new. And the cost is generally a lot less then what you would pay for brand new. And sometimes you can even find brand new items around the stores.
One of the things I gravitated toward with Goodwill was the fact that they were a non-profit organization. My Master's degree had a huge emphasis on ethics and service of self, which is why I felt Goodwill might be a good fit for me. They helped others through their…..well, that I wasn't actually sure on. I knew they helped with job training, but I had no idea how they did that. Thinking on it, I had no idea what Goodwill actually did except take my old things and sell things at a very reasonable cost.
So once I started working for Goodwill, I slowly found out that not many actually know what Goodwill does. So I figured I'd write a post about my personal discoveries on Goodwill and its overall mission. This has been a continual process, and new discoveries are always being made. I'm hoping to do some further posts and interviews on this in the future, but let's get through the biggest part.
The interaction that prompted me to investigate this further was meeting an older woman making a purchase in my store. She told me she is an ASL (American Sign Language) interpreter and teacher. Her job through Goodwill is to teach non-verbal adults ASL for things like 'toilet' and 'eat.' She said it was something so simple, yet it is rare that anyone will teach an elderly person how to sign that they need to use the restroom. ASL is frequently used with younger children to help them communicate when they aren't able to speak because they can acquire language quicker than they are able to speak it, so ASL helps them 'show' what they are trying to say. It never occured to me to use ASL with adults who cannot communicate, and this simple act can increase their comfort, health and quality of life. It is a seemingly small service that has a huge impact on the community. This woman was so interesting to me, and I thought it was amazing that Goodwill would provide this type of service.
The Goodwill Mission is to provide training, employment, and supportive services for people with disabilities or disadvantages who seek greater independence. Without getting into extreme depth of this statement, provide a hand up, not a hand out. Goodwill is a non-profit, and the services they provide are either no cost or low cost. Goodwill does not donate their money to outside charities, instead, they employ people to provide these services. A list of services can be found on the Goodwill Industries of Southeastern Wisconsin website.
There is sometimes confusion about the mission because of how it is approached. Since Goodwill does not donate to outside charities, and a lot of the mission work happens at locations outside of the retail sites. There are also meme's on the internet sparking confusion as to where to money goes. Since Goodwill is a non-profit, their financial information is available for the public to see and you can find the 2016 financial report on their website. Charity Navigator, which looks at the financial spending and transparency of Charities, has rated Goodwill Industries of Southeastern Wisconsin as a 4 star non-profit, which is their highest rating possible.
So, when you donate or purchase items from Goodwill, the money is then reinvested in the organization to support the mission service and operations that train people and provide jobs. The whole purpose of Goodwill's mission is to help get people to a place where they can move forward. Goodwill has helped so many people with their work, and I think it is important to know how your donations or purchases go to help those in your community. Goodwill is regional as well, meaning that each regional Goodwill can determine how best to serve their area. Goodwill is unlike any other retail store, as revenue goes towards funding its mission.
So when you donate a game or purchase costume pieces, your money goes back to your community and helps local people get a hand up and empower them to better themselves. Even small purchases have huge impacts and I cannot wait to explore this further with all of you.
The FleshWelder is a short story based in an apocalyptic world, where fear and violence are used equally to control what is left of the living population.
I had a lot of fun with the Pentex LARP. I enjoyed playing an NPC that had a very different agenda than what we were presenting and getting to manipulate people. It was a wonderful social experiment, and I think what made it very fun was everyone else was on board with the genre we were playing in. Given that this was the first run of this LARP, there are obvious places to improve, and I look forward to working on them with the STs to create an amazing experience for the players.
While the Check In-System was only used a few times in our 5 hour LARP, I feel like it was a great way for players to be able to have an intense scene and everyone have a say over how intense they got. I really hope the Check In-System will continue to be used in all future LARPs, and I will be talking to other LARP communities about this system. I am happy my current LARP also uses this, and I will be working on implementing this into my roleplaying style. Thank you for using it!
I think this was a great way to give PCs a way to pass around favors, pay for information from the STs, and generally have a way to trade without carrying around a bunch of notecards. While I want the system to remain as open as it is, maybe explaining the paper-clip system a bit or offering examples of how to use the paperclips.
The plots I was involved in were great, and I loved figuring them out or being the catalyst of them. I would have liked a couple more quick sentences about the other plots so I could answer questions or work them into my interactions with PCs. I also loved that PCs made their own plots and ran with them. I think that was a great way to pull in players and get others involved, and I was glad to see the staff running with them.
I also loved the fact that actual future products were used in the LARP, such as the Orpheus Device. I loved that there was a tie-in for real products and really would love to see this again if it is allowed.
The following are suggestions that I heard from players, observed myself, or found myself in agreement with when they were brought up during the wrap up.
Maybe giving different goals to the characters who don't want to be there, such as trying to cause as much headache for the others as possible. I think the players naturally did this well with the PCs that didn't want to be there, however, several were a bit lost on how to get involved with them.
I think we can come up with a couple more games to do for the players. If there is another interview process, we can interview while the games are going on. Or we can 'judge' them by standing with clipboards and such.
Rport: Pentex retreat was successful with the exception of the Orpheus individuals. Sterling has authorized *redacted* to retrieve any video and information from their Cloud and rewrite their systems should it be needed.
Magadon has been taken down a peg for not following orders from the Pentex. One individual was arrested and taken away by the police. Please follow up with the department and make sure he is handled.
Project Orpheus has several individuals stood out for selection to the Project. Kevin Clayton from Tellus Enterprises, from Magadon, Inc, and Kelly Wayans from Black Dog. Please note: more screening will be needed, as my time with them was cursory at best. Perhaps a second interview would be in order for me to determine if they will fit the project parameters.
Avery Valentine has stood out as someone who would be very useful for the Synergy Committee, and perhaps further into Pentex. His skill set is unique and he is ruthless. He is willing to do what is needed to get the job done, which Pentex finds admirable.
Kevin has been handled and our doctors, Avery Valentine and Angel Robertson, have made sure that all of his medical files are in order. Should a new head of the committee be needed, I would be happy to fill that role.
Tales of the Dark Eras is a collection of short stories that connect with the Chronicles of Darkness. The short stories tie into each of the genres that Chronicles of Darkness hosts. The collection is set in chronological order, starting before recorded history and ending with the current era.
Faith is a continuation of the Harbringer series by Valiant comics and is one of my favorite comic characters.
Crossing is the family game of pointing. It is a simple and quick game to play and is fun for all ages! Collect your gems before other gnomes claim your prizes!
What happens when two youngsters, switched at birth, strive to live up to expectations they aren't meant to meet?
This is the premise behind Little Guardians. Subira and Idem were both born on the same night in Yowza Village. Subria was the born daughter to the Guardian for the village. But history has developed that every guardian has been a male. So the doctor and nurse make the call to switch Subira with Idem that fateful night. This ruse starts unraveling at the Zucchini festival, when spirits are accidentally unleashed upon the village.
I really liked the premise of this graphic novel. This is book one and has made itself into setting the characters and feeling for the world in which the story takes place. I think they had a good start to their development, and have set the stage for potential character development within the storyline. You get to see each of the families involved in the storyline and how they view this world.
The art is also very well done. There are a lot of fight scenes, but you get a feel for how the characters are without dialog. The fight scenes are also very easy to follow and well laid out. The art in this novel is wonderful and gives a clear layout of the story. There isn't a lot of clutter, but it offers enough interesting scenery to delight any reader.
They do have a website, http://www.littleguardianscomic.com/, where they continue the story. I prefer books, but I look forward to seeing the development. I cannot wait to seeing the dynamic between Subira and Idem, and how that might change when they find out the truth.
The only thing I was a bit disappointed in is that the premise is very similar to Good Omens, Bad Omens. While the storyline development changed once you were introduced to the realm, they start out similar. I think this can be gotten over easily once the characters start becoming more dynamic.
First Fable is a roleplaying game tailored specifically to children around the age of 6. It is designed to be run by a GU (grown-up), who leads the characters through the story and helps the players understand the rules. There are many gamers who are now parents and looking to introduce their children to their roleplaying world. This book is set up to do just that! The wonderful part about this book is that the book is written so even grown-ups who have never done roleplaying games before can pick this up and play it.
The book starts off with the basics of roleplaying and why roleplaying can be beneficial to children. Language, math skills, emotional growth and communication skills are all built up in the process of telling a story. It's also a safe way for children to work out social situations they may not know how to handle. We, as the GUs (Grown-ups), can help guide a child through situations they may face in school or the playground when we aren't there. I will go into this in more detail later in the review.
Character creation is always the hardest part for new players. So how in the world do you get a 6 year old to make up a character? Well, that is where this system comes into play. There are 4 different character types outlined in the book, all of which are easily identifiable to children: a pirate, a warrior, a fairy princess and an animal keeper. Next, you get to pick any 3 things at which your character shines. They then choose one thing they are not very good at. After that, they can pick one item that does something very special; whether it is an animal that talks or a singing crown, it's whatever they want. They can play characters that cross the different types of characters. Younger players may want to play themselves, which is fine as well! Challenge older kids to come up with reasons why they have their special items. Remember: always assist children with writing where needed!
The rules for challenges and resolutions are also very simple. D6s (six-sided dice) are used with 4s, 5s, and 6s being winning dice. A challenge is determined as an action that has the chance of changing the story. These actions should always have a dice rolled with an action the player cannot actually do in real life.
Tasks are simple actions that help the story move forward. Most tasks are actions taken by the players that can be accomplished fairly easily. These are storytelling opportunities where the players can give details about what their players are doing.
Special things are actions that involve the use of the unique item they possess. Each item gets stars, which the player can use to accomplish extraordinary tasks. It may also require a dice roll, depending on the action, but it is up to the GU to decide.
This system is one of the simplest starter systems to work with. It is open-ended, so children can pick whatever they want for any of the categories. Some kids may elaborate on their items or abilities, others may keep them simple. Always encourage children to elaborate as best as they can. They may need help with words or actions that they want to do. As a GU, help by asking them questions and helping them find the word they are looking for.
The age group I played with was 4, 5 and 6 – so, the younger end of the spectrum. When creating their characters, all of the kids worked together and helped each other. A couple of the kids were not good with writing, so the older kids helped them. I also had them draw their character. The kids I worked with modeled their characters after themselves. Some used their real names, others used a character name. For their official character sheets, I did write down what they told me, so that I had a reference, but allowed them to keep their original sheets. I ran the starter story in the book, and the kids loved it right from the start. The system for rolling dice was easy enough. With a few reminders, the kids quickly figured out how to roll their dice. The children all waited for each player to make an action, and helped each other with the story. They also helped remind each other what was written on their sheet.
Overall, this book was perfect for younger kids. It was challenging enough to make them think and engaging enough to keep them interested for about an hour, which is long for the younger age groups I worked with. I would recommend this book to parents and teachers alike. Experience in gaming is not necessary, though it may help. Just remember: it is not about the rules but about the story the kids tell.
You can get FirstFable Here!
Why use RPGs in the classroom?
So why use RPGs in a classroom? What benefit does it bring to their education?
Roleplaying games, or RPGs, have traditionally been associated with teenager or adult crowds and will generally follow complex stories and include things like violence or other themes. Recently, there have been several RPGs have been created with young children in mind. These RPGs use simple stories and mechanics to help introduce younger children to the world of RPGs. As a grown up, or GU, leading these children through these stories, you play a very important role. To understand that role fully, it is good to keep in mind the skills that RPGs help to strengthen in children. RPGs have faced many differing opinions and have worked hard to overcome these stigmas and present themselves for what they are, a powerful tool that can be used to help teach children. As a GU, you are a very important teacher to every child.
Kids learn best through play. Period. However, there is a difference in quality of play, directed play and free play. RPGs offer a safe environment for children to explore social situations with the benefit of an adult there to help them navigate as needed. The quality of play can be as rich or simple as you would like it. If you are new to this whole gaming thing, keep your story easy to follow. Base it off of fairy tales that the kids know and recognize. Free play options in the world will allow children to explore naturally, using language to navigate through their story. This may take some practice to get used to, but adds a great benefit to the children's experience.
In a classroom setting, RPGs offer a much needed break from traditional classroom expectations. They provide enriched learning in math, language, social and emotional skills, and imagination. RPGs offer a very quick way to grab the attention of young minds whose attention spans have not been fully developed and uses several different approaches to help lengthen those attention spans. We will discuss each of these areas separately now.
Math skills are the most apparent skills in this game. The use of dice helps with counting. Children need to figure out: 1) how many dice to roll, 2) what numbers are on the dice, and 3) how many dice in the roll succeeded. These are 3 very important , basic skills a child will benefit from in the long run. Counting dice. Pass/fail rates and one to one counting skills are all included in these skills children learn how to 'count out' as well. This is a skill that can be forgotten, but is a very important skill in understanding what counting is actually for. To do this, tell the child, before they roll dice, how many successes they will need to win their roll. Then have them count out how many dice meet the winning condition, then compare their numbers. The children go from counting and comparing greater or lesser numbers to counting up numbers and comparing those. The math skills for younger children are very complex and build up early skills for more difficult math later in life.
Language skills are one of the most underrated skills that roleplaying games utilize. Children have to learn to tell stories and describe actions, which is hard for adults to grasp. Letting children do this at a young age helps to build up those skills early. Sequencing stories is a great language building skill and will help children follow grammar rules and story understanding in the future. Children love to tell stories to begin with. Think of how big of an impact that would have if their stories actually did something. Being an active character in a story and affecting the other characters around them is magical for children. It encourages them to use language to describe the world around them, what they are doing, and how they are interacting with everything. This gives them control over the story, and in turn, control over language. To have words and sentences actually have effects on things is powerful.
Social and emotional skills are extremely important for young children to have. Children use play to work out social situations or emotions they may not yet understand; it is a safe way for them to explore these feelings. Learning how to cope with the emotions they feel, empathize with others and recognizing things that may bring out these emotions are all skills that can be strengthened through RPGs. Everything from bullying to gender rolls can be explored and, as the GU, it is a great opportunity for you to help answer questions for your children or observe and see how your children will react. These are the skills that kids will remember and take with them the rest of their lives. You play a very important role in leading them through this, and can help them become stronger individuals in this area.
The imagination is the last skill, and one that is largely forgotten in this day and age of standardized testing, common core and fitting square pegs into round holes. Imagination drives innovation. Kids need to have a safe place to explore new ideas that may or may not work, without the fear of failure. Kids should be allowed to try and connect the dots in a story in new and interesting ways. Sometimes it will work, sometimes they forget a step and it fails. Encourage them to keep trying. By encouraging our kids to solve problems in unusual ways, we are openly encouraging them to think outside the box. New technologies, innovative practices, and many other successful endeavors stem from the creative mind. Kids are natural builders and thinkers. Sometimes they think SO far beyond our comprehension that we see it as wrong and discourage that type of thinking. As educators, that handicaps children in the future. There are many child inventors, and all of them had an adult that encouraged them along the way.
RPGs also fulfill another crucial role when used correctly. Many school districts are adopting the Common Core curriculum standards. Leaving personal opinions out of it, when used correctly, Common Core can help guide educators on teaching children of every age group. RPGs are, by their very nature, adaptable. RPGs can be used to teach in compliance with these guidelines without stifling children's creativity. You are able to tailor skills and information to what you want to teach at any level. Older children can use dice to figure out more complicated math structures. They can also write out their own stories to share with their classmates.
RPGs present a very diverse and useful tool in every GUs arsenal in teaching children many different things in a fun and new way. There are many different ways to present information, and stories can be tailored to each child's interests, development progress and needs. RPGs have come a long way in the past couple of years, with many new games coming out with children in mind. It will be well worth the time to find one that suits your needs.
Comic books have been around for a long time. They carry a stigma for some: they are blamed for illiteracy and delinquency, and are wrongly seen as a sign of uneducated minds. Time has proven this to not be the case, but the perception exists with individuals. This is a missed opportunity for exposing children to different types of literacy. Comics can reach out to children who have difficulties reading. While it may not be a form everyone will like, offering the experience of reading comics gives kids one more option in their reading arsenal. As an adult, it is important to understand the basics in the world of comics. This can be a very confusing adventure. Here are some tips to help adults navigate the world of comic books.
Reading should be special for both the parent and the child. It is a chance for children to use their reading skills to understand the story that is taking place. Reading should be a fun experience and children have a natural desire to read. Go to a local comic store or book store with your child and involve the sales people in helping find the perfect comic for your child. There are comics that can be perfect for kids as young as 3.
It takes all of 3 minutes tops to look through the comic book before your child does. If it makes you uncomfortable, you have the right to look for another comic book that fits your comfort levels and still excites your child. Marvel does have a rating system, but it is only mandatory for Marvel Comics and optional for all others. There is NO standard for rating comics!
Whether you are in a bookstore or a comic store, the salespeople are there to help. Many times the stores will have a special area for early readers. If they don't offer comics for young readers, talk with them about possibly doing so, and feel free to go to another store. Never feel like you have to wander aimlessly around a store looking for what you want.
You would be surprised to discover which of your friends read comics. Or which parents use comics with their kids. They may have wonderful suggestions for you, or be willing to help you find the perfect comics for your child. Ask around your local community for comic book stores, or groups who will help you out with comics. There are parent reading groups and cafes in my area that teach children about comics and help parents get excited about it.
Many parents decide not to use comics because they don't understand HOW to read them. Once you get some practice in it, it does get easier. First, basic boxes go from left to right, top to bottom on the page. If there are odd shaped enclosures, follow left to right, top to bottom. One good way to look at comics is that if you read it over and it makes NO sense, scan the page to figure out the direction. Most of the time the art will support the direction of the words. If you are having trouble still, the art sometimes leads your eye to the panel that should follow it.
Many libraries carry comics, or will carry comics if there is enough interest in the local area. They can always borrow from other libraries, so you don't have to track down older issues in a mad chase around town. If your library does not carry comics, speak with your librarian about acquiring them.
There are different TYPES of comic books?! Why yes! The two major types are issues and trades. Issues are a series of stories and are generally paper covers. Trades are a larger collection of issues and tend to have a sturdier binding. For children, issues are easier to handle, but rip very easily. Trades are much sturdier but more expensive, and younger children have a harder time holding them. Pick which one is best for your child.
Comics are fragile, especially the issues. You will need to take time with your child and teach them how to hold their comics to make sure they last as long as possible. They will rip comics and they will fall apart, so don't freak out. Some simple repairs can be done to help them last longer. Once the comic has seen its last days, don't throw them away. Reuse them as comic themed art for your playroom or bedroom.
The first Saturday in May is Free Comic Day! This is where local distributors or community organizations provide free comics for everyone. You can visit www.freecomicbookday.com to find local stores in your area. Many stores will have costumed actors (CosPlayers), cake, sales on merchandise and movies running all day, celebrating the importance of comics in literacy.
Where Else Can You Find Comics?


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Q: How do I recognize if PHP is installed as Module or CGI how do I know excactly if PHP is used as module in Apache or used as CGI? Which configuration param is telling me this in phpinfo() ???
thx

A: echo PHP_SAPI;
echo php_sapi_name();

php_sapi_name()
If you prefer phpinfo() (or its cli equivalent php -i) you should find a property Server API on the top. Because you want to know, what handler your apache uses php -i is not an option for you.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


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Episode 94″ – Sound Historian Ryan Barna
Original Air Date – February 17, 2021
Dave and Ethan interview Ryan Barna, a Grammy-nominated writer and sound historian who was the first to record Weird Al and his band on Edison phonograph wax cylinder. Ryan chronicles the events that led to that historical moment – and he shares a clip of the recording!
Ryan Barna is a Grammy-nominated writer and historian of the pre-microphone days of commercial recording. In 2018 on the Ridiculously Self-Indulgent, Ill-Advised Vanity Tour, at Caesars Circus Maximus in Atlantic City, Ryan recorded Weird Al performing on Edison wax cylinder for the first, and currently only, time.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


Dubai welcomes a new addition to its winter market scene at Jumeirah Creekside hotel, which will feature a traditional German market and fun activities galore including a two-lane bungee jump from 20th – 28th December.
Christmas fun-seekers can head down to Jumeirah Creekside Hotel's winter wonderland from 20th – 28th December. Demonstrating the essence of a traditional German Market, without the need for coats or scarves, visitors can expect festive fun, merry magic and endless entertainment for the whole family.
At Jumeirah Creekside Hotel, the shimmering lights and dazzling decorations will provide the perfect backdrop for all seasonal snaps and Instagram moments. With face-painting and balloon bending, plus a two-lane bungee jump, the city Winter Wonderland is a destination for all.
Children will love the mini train which takes them on a magical ride to the North Pole as well as the many other family-friendly activities they can enjoy during their visit. Kids can get lost in a flurry of snow and battle it out in a snowball fight zone, too. Relax with friends as you soak in the sights of the city skyline and get into the holiday spirit.
The full family will be well-fed throughout thanks to festive foodie treats and seasonal beverages inspired by cuisines from all around the globe. Guests may even be lucky enough to have Santa himself pose for the camera as he makes his daily appearances at both locations throughout the nine days.


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Watch: This Vicks Ad About Trans Acceptance Will Make You Tear Up
In Sexuality, Trending
Cold and cough brand, Vick's new advertisement is celebrating motherhood beyond biological ties, normalising trans parenting.
The advertisement is based on the real-life story of a Mumbai- based transgender named Gauri Sawant who adopted Gayatri after her mother succumbed to HIV-AIDS, featuring them as well.
It begins with a young girl returning to her boarding school after spending holiday with her mother, and recounting her younger days of growing up. She fondly recounts how her mother will be upset to know that she wants to become a lawyer and not a doctor. Later in the video, it is revealed that the mother is actually a transgender woman who adopted she was orphaned after the death of her birth mother. The daughter asks an important question – "It is written in Civics book that basic rights are same for every person, then why not my mother?"
Watch this beautiful video:
lgbtworld


text:
2-ethylhexyl nitrate
Currently viewing: S-01 | Summary001 Key | Experimental result002 Disregarded | Experimental result
OECD Guideline 202 (Daphnia sp. Acute Immobilisation Test)
Adopted 13. Apr. 2004
EU Method C.2 (Acute Toxicity for Daphnia)
SOURCE OF TEST MATERIAL
- Batch number of test material: 123L21
- Purity: > 99.5 %
STABILITY AND STORAGE CONDITIONS OF TEST MATERIAL
- Storage condition of test material: Closed vessel at room temperature (20 ± 5 °C), dry, in the dark
- Stability and homogeneity of the test material in the vehicle/solvent under test conditions (e.g. in the exposure medium) and during storage: Homogeneous and stable under storage conditions
Analytical monitoring:
Details on sampling:
At the beginning and at the end of the test, the content of the test item in the test solutions was determined using GC-MS -determination.
At the end of the test, the measured concentrations were much lower than at the beginning. Although the test was performed in completely filled and closed test vessels, it is highly probable that some of the test substance was removed by volatilisation during handling. Because the measured concentrations were not within the range of 20 % of the nominal concentration, the determination of the results was based on the geometric mean of the measured concentrations. Analytical data are provided in Tables 1, 2 and 3.
Details on test solutions:
Test solution was prepared in accordance with OECD Guidance Document No. 23, Second Edition, Guidance Document on Aqueous-phase Toxicity Testing of Difficult Test Chemicals, adopted 08. Feb. 2019. the test medium (M4 media) was deionised water with an enrichment of certain minerals was used in the test. The minerals which are added comply to the composition M4 (see Table 4) derived by ELENDT as stated in the OECD-Guideline. A saturated solution was prepared for the test. This was done by pipetting the real load of 100.0 mg/L corresponding to a volume of 104 µL/L test item (based on a density of 0.962 g/mL), onto the surface of the corresponding amount of M4-medium and stirring vigorously for 23 hours. After a settling time of 1 hour, the first 50 mL of the lower phase were discarded. The solution was used as highest test concentration and also for preparation of the lower concentrated treatments (4.6 / 10 / 22 and 46 mg/L), by dilution with M4-medium.
Test organisms (species):
Details on test organisms:
TEST ORGANISM
- Common name: Daphnia magna Straus
- Strain/clone: Berlin
- Age at study initiation (mean and range, SD): 0-24 hours
- Method of breeding: Daphnia magna is bred in the LAUS GmbH throughout the year. The animals are kept for the use in toxicity tests. They multiply by parthenogenesis, thus being genetically identical.
21 hours before the start of the test, the adult animals were separated from the young. 0.5 hours before test start, the adults were caught with the help of a glass tube, and the new-born daphnia (age < 24h) were sieved from the medium and immediately placed into a beaker containing M4-medium. After the settling-in period, animals which showed no apparent damage were used for the test.
Test type:
Water media type:
Limit test:
Total exposure duration:
Remarks on exposure duration:
As per OECD 202 guideline
Test temperature:
19.0 – 20.5 °C
See Table 5
Dissolved oxygen:
Salinity:
Conductivity:
Nominal and measured concentrations:
4.6 / 10 / 22 / 46 / 100 mg/L nominal concentration. Concentrations were determined based on the result of a non-GLP pre-test.
Details on test conditions:
- Test vessel: Glass flask
- Type: Closed
- Material, size, headspace, fill volume: Glass flask, nomnal volume 65 mL, completely filled with test solution
- Volume of solution: 65 mL
- No. of organisms per vessel: Five
- No. of vessels per concentration (replicates): Four
- No. of vessels per control (replicates): Four
OTHER TEST CONDITIONS
- Photoperiod: 16/8 hours, using LEDs
EFFECT PARAMETERS MEASURED: Immobilisation
Reference substance (positive control):
Potassium dichromate (CAS No. 7778-50-9)
Dose descriptor:
Effect conc.:
Nominal / measured:
meas. (geom. mean)
Conc. based on:
test mat.
Basis for effect:
Details on results:
Additional details are reported in the section 'Any other information on results incl. tables'.
Results with reference substance (positive control):
- Results with reference substance valid? Yes
- Relevant effect levels: 24-hour EC50
- EC50: 1.20-2.82 mg/L
Reported statistics and error estimates:
95% confidence interval: 0.67-1.04 mg/L.
Table 6: Immobility data
Nominal Concentration in mg/L
Immobility 24 hours
Blank control
Validity criteria fulfilled:
In a short-term toxicity study in aquatic invertebrates conducted according to OECD 202, a 48 -hour EC50 of 0.83 mg/L (95% confidence interval 0.67 -1.04 mg/L) was determined in Daphnia magna. All validity criteria were met and the study was considered Klimisch Code 1 (reliable without restriction).
A short-term toxicity study was conducted in Daphnia magna according to OECD guideline 202. Test solution was prepared in accordance with OECD Guidance Document No. 23, Second Edition
, Guidance Document on Aqueous-phase Toxicity Testing of Difficult Test Chemicals, adopted 08. Feb. 2019. The test medium (M4 media) was deionised water with an enrichment of minerals which are added comply to the composition M4 (see Table 4) derived by ELENDT as stated in the OECD-Guideline.
A saturated solution was prepared for the test. This was done by pipetting the real load of 100.0 mg/L corresponding to a volume of 104 µL/L test item (based on a density of 0.962 g/mL), onto the surface of the corresponding amount of M4 -medium and stirring vigorously for 23 hours. After a settling time of 1 hour, the first 50 mL of the lower phase were discarded. The solution was used as highest test concentration and also for preparation of the lower concentrated treatments (4.6 / 10 / 22 and 46 mg/L), by dilution with M4 -medium. Concentrations were determined based on the result of a non-GLP pre-test.
At the beginning and at the end of the test, the content of the test item in the test solutions was determined using GC-MS -determination. At the end of the test, the measured concentrations were much lower than at the beginning. Although the test was performed in completely filled and closed test vessels, it is highly probable that some of the test substance was removed by volatilisation during handling. Because the measured concentrations were not within the range of 20 % of the nominal concentration, the determination of the results was based on the geometric mean of the measured concentrations
A 48 -hour EC50 of 0.83 mg/L (95% confidence interval 0.67 -1.04 mg/L) was determined in Daphnia magna. All validity criteria were met and the study was considered Klimisch Code 1 (reliable without restriction).
Fresh water invertebrates
Effect concentration:


New year, new Power Rangers Team. This time we are going to jump to Ninninger. Nope, no Toqger. Skipping the Power Rangers that run around on trains. I mean come on! That would entice a whole bunch of kids who love trains to jump onto the Power Rangers bandwagon. We have also skipped Go-Busters to get here too.
So far, I am impressed with the outfits they are wearing. The helmets are really cool, with the color for the helmet, and then some metal around the faceplate. Except for White Ranger who went with the white and a touch of pink, ala Alyssa's White Ranger in Wild Force. This time though, they have a White Ranger with a touch of pink, as well as a Pink Ranger. I am a big fan of the five member teams with two women right off the bat. In Dino Charge, we had to work our way up to a second female Ranger.
The figures are standard for what we have seen before. They have somewhere around 13 points of articulation. They are not the best articulated figures in the world, but better than the current run of Star Wars figures. One advantage we get this time around is in the lady Rangers. They have split skirts that allow for lots of leg bending, so that they can do more than just stand there like every other female we have had in this style.
On top of that, we get the female Rangers. In Japan, they only got the 3 male versions, and no female versions. They did get more weapons with theirs as opposed to us just getting the sword, but they never were able to complete the set.
Overall, I am happy with the figures. The swords are a bit oversized, but I can live with it. The better movement in the lower half of the women is a plus. I am looking forward to getting my hands on the bad guys.
I am still on the fence about the Megazord. It is sitting there in every store, next to the Rumble Tusk Megazord, which is the same Megazord with a different center figure and new plastic coloring. I don't know if I want to open the can of worms of getting a whole pile of new Megazords. It was fun collecting the Dino Charge Zords, with all of the different dinosaurs, but to have to buy a whole new Megazord just for one small figure is pretty crazy. I don't know how well this idea is going to work. Apparently, parents were not buying the single dino zords like they were the bigger Megazord sets.
I am also going to make a hard pass on collecting the Power Stars. They look terrible, and the foam is not going to hold up over time. I think Bandai Japan had a great idea for being able to attach the Power Stars to the Megazord to make the new faces. We don't get that here. There seems to be less to tie all of the different aspects of the toys together. In Dino Charge, the Chargers could power the Zords, as well as the blaster, swords, and auxiliary weapons. That was well planned. Not so much this time around.
I was really looking forward to the Juggernaut Wave. This was a killer set of figures, with a few others that were a pass, except you need them to build Juggernaut, so I had to get them all.
First on my list was a long-time love of mine. Going way back to 1989, I picked up my first two comics at a convenience store. One was Excalibur #16. On the cover is a space scene like none I had ever seen before. Kurt Wagner with all of his blue skin showing, along with a trio of women. One of the women was none other than Kitty Pryde, though she was in armor in this picture. In the issue there are some clothing changes, and Kitty showing her shy side while she is given a very scant outfit. Well, that was it for me. She would be forever one of my favorite Marvel characters.
Now we get her in all of her plastic glory. We did see Kitty back in 2006 in the nearly impossible to find Giant-Man Series that was a Walmart Exclusive. Time passed, 10 years in fact, and we get her once again. This one blows the other Kitty away, so waiting was the right call.
Kitty comes with Lockheed, her ever-faithful dragon protector and friend. He is small, cute (but not too cute), and sits on her arm. It isn't very easy to get him to perch on her arm, nor does he want to stay there long.
Kitty looks super cute. Her face is just right. Cute youth with a well done sculpt. She has some bangs added to the front, and a long ponytail in the back. The only problem I have found with her is that her head sits a bit high on the neck, so there is a pretty big gap between her neck and the back of her head. Only a problem from the back though, so not a big deal.
She comes with one other accessory in the box. For what I think is the first time, we get an accessory that goes with the previous series. Kitty comes with the helmet of Onslaught.
So now you can turn Red Onslaught into Onslaught with his Magneto helmet. Boy does he look tough with that helmet on. I Hope Kitty can find some friends to help her deal with Onslaught.
This is a great first character to the series. I am looking forward to getting the rest of the series opened so I can play with them. There are a few I would have skipped, but as I said before, I really want the big Juggernaut, so I had to get them. I will look at them with open eyes, and I usually like the Marvel Legends, so I am sure I will not be disappointed.
Bandai had a great idea for getting this line started. Go with a simple 5 figure line. If it works, great, if not, it is not the end of the world. They did the slightly larger scale figures with the Armored Rangers line. It started with Super Megaforce, and continued with the MMPR White Ranger, and then concluded with Dino Charge. It was not a lot of figures, and it was a bit spread out. There didn't seem to be a definite timeline for the toys coming out. I would like to know if it was a success or not. Since I found one of the Dino Charge Rangers in the secondary market at ROSS, it didn't seem to go all that well.
This line seems to be going well so far. It was a bit hard to get my hands on the MMPR figures. I ended up finding them about 50 miles from home at a Walmart when we went on a weekend trip. Now they are starting to pop up again. I wish retailers would get their acts together and get figures put out when they come in. This is a new product, so it wasn't like they needed to get rid of old stock first.
On to the Rangers. First up, the Red Ranger.
This line does a good job of making strong figures, but not making them look like they are on steroids, like the Armored Ranger line. Red Ranger comes with his red and white Blade Blaster. The Blade Blaster is in blade mode, so it can be places in the holster that Jason wears. It seems like an easy thing to have created a second Blade Blaster in blaster mode. It isn't the most effective looking weapon as the small blade. Jason also doesn't come with his Power Sword. I heard some grumblings on the interweb that was talking about a weapons pack at some point, but I think we should have gotten the weapons right off.
Depending on wether you are a bigger fan of Austin St. John's Jason Scott Lee or Steve Cardenas' Rocky DeSantos, you will be seeing more of both characters coming up. Both will show up in the Zeo line as the Gold Ranger and Blue Ranger, respectively.
Red Ranger comes with the torso of Megazord (Dino Megazord). I can tell already that this guy is going to be great, once we get the rest of the MMPRs and their Zord parts.
We are starting off with the evil Tommy Oliver. The Green Ranger is so iconic to the MMPR brand. He was brought on as a bad guy, turned good, lost his powers, and eventually became the leader of the Rangers as the white Ranger. Of course, then Jason David Frank went on to be the White Ninja Ranger, Red Zeo Ranger (V), Red Turbo Ranger, and the Black Dino Thunder Ranger. I am thinking it is a good possibility that we could more of Tommy Oliver. He will be showing up for sure in Spring 2017 as the White Ranger, and then again in late fall of 2017 when he makes a return as the Red Zeo Ranger.
Tommy comes with both the Sword of Darkness and the Dragon Dagger. As long as he has the Sword of Darkness, Tommy is evil. Thankfully he came with the Dragon Dagger as well, so he doesn't always have to carry around the Sword of Darkness and be his grumpy brooding self. Boy was he a downer when he first showed up, no matter how hard Kimberly tried to make friends.
Both the Sword of Darkness and the Dragon Dagger are painted really nicely. The Dragon Dagger fits into a holster on Green Ranger's hip.
With each figure I held and played with in Wave one, I became more excited for the future waves. The three Wind Rangers are really well done. They have great details, good weapons, and fantastic articulation.
Adding in the MMPR to this was was was genius. All it did was wet my appetite for more MMPR figures. They are going to serve those figures slowly over the next two waves, in conjunction with the In Space figures that will cover two waves.
I was underwhelmed when I first saw the Dino Drive Rangers. It was another set of Rangers with giant chest plates. This time with a giant Charger?!? I would have thought they could have made it look like the Dino Charge head logo. It grew on me, and I really like the double shoulder armor.
From here we only get more armor. We started with standard Dino Charge, with one shoulder armor. Then we went to Dino Steel where we added an arm of armor. After that is Dino Drive where we take away the arm of armor, but add a chest plate and two shoulder armors. Next we are going all in with Dino Super Drive were we get spiky armor all over the place. When will we see DSD on the shelves? Probably around the time that Dino Super Drive returns after the spring hiatus.
For now we have more Rangers than you can shake a stick at. Speaking of so many Rangers. We now have 4 versions of Red Ranger, including the T-Rex Super Charge. Do you think they will go all in and give us the Super Charge formations? He has four of them, so we could get a whole wave of variant Tylers here in the near future.


There are a few ways you can offer Dana or pay for your retreats; make online Retreat Donations, including financial contributions to help BVMC to continue its Dhamma Project work. Use the links below for the option you need.
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If you have a question regarding the transfer of stocks, bonds, or any other types of holdings OR you would like to leave a portion of a will, form a Trust, or transfer any other form of Beneficiary policies into the name of BVMC to help secure the future support for this Dhamma work, then you need to contact either Bhante Saccānanda by email at @bvms.org to help address your needs.
All such donations provide future stability for the Brahma Vihāra Meditation Center in its effort to research, practice, preserve, and teach the early SuttavadinBuddha Dhamma and is for future benefit of all beings to find relief from suffering.
May the merit of your gift help you to attain Nibbana!
If you would like to donate a meal at the monastery please contact Bhante Saccānanda to set up a date in Advance. It is nice to make this happen on a weekend when you can come visit the gardens and also have a meal on the porch overlooking the Meditation Center and Temple. There are paths to walk and places to sit in various areas and you may take time to do meditation in the main Hall.
Can I arrange time to help at the center in some way?


One of the cooler features of NVIDIA's SHIELD and SHIELD Tablet is their capability to remotely play PC games. And one of the more frustrating parts of this feature is that you must have both NIVIDIA's mobile hardware and a high-end NVIDIA graphics card on your gaming PC. A new game streaming app hopes to beat NVIDIA on both of those points. KinoConsole is a free download in the Play Store, and you can grab the server program for your desktop here.
Setting up and connecting the app isn't difficult; just set a password for your PC and run the app on the same local network, or alternately, with a Google account. The desktop program doesn't really need to do anything else, because it functions as a very fast and surprisingly capable remote desktop client. But it can scan your hard drive for games, or you can add the start files manually.
I tried three games with KinoConsole: Skyrim, Mount & Blade, and Hearthstone - heavy, medium, and light PC games, generally speaking. Skyrim wouldn't play on my remote Android device, a Nexus 6, despite the app explicitly supporting it. I could hear the game music in the background and even flail around a bit by tapping the screen, but all I could see was the Windows program underneath.
Hearthstone fared a little better. It launched and ran smoothly on the phone side, and the card game's simple interface was easy to control just by tapping the screen, occasionally zooming in and out with a pinch gesture to hit small buttons or read flavor text. The framerate looked like it was dipping into the 40s at worst, which is pretty good for this kind of app.
Mount & Blade is a strategy game that requires both minute management and a lot of action. I set up the Xbox-style on-screen controls for combat, but they covered the otherwise bare touch input, causing me to do a lot of finger gymnastics to navigate the overworld map and dialog trees. But once I started a battle, I was able to control my mounted general more or less as usual. Giving commands with the F1-F9 keys was out, but basic riding and fighting was surprisingly easy. Framerate was again somewhere in the 40FPS range, with perhaps a .2-second delay, at least going by the sound coming from my PC and phone speakers.
KinoConsole supports external controllers, though I couldn't find any way to customize it, and connecting a generic Bluetooth controller didn't seem to do anything. All in all, it's a good first effort with an impressively fast streaming function, but the developer will have to expend a lot of energy in updating the interface and desktop-side game support. A premium version is available via an in-app purchase for $6.35, purportedly removing ads (which I didn't see anyway) and improving speed.


good tasting or filling food.
Clam chowder is good eats.
someone who is attractive from a distance, but upon closer inspection, turns out to be ugly. Also good from far, far from good.
That girl was good from afar, but far from good.
Last edited on Mar 29 2011. Submitted by Matt from Columbus, OH, USA on Jan 29 1998.
attractive from a distance but unattractive on closer inspection.
See more words with the same meaning: expressions (list of).
Last edited on Jan 29 1998. Submitted by Matt from Columbus, OH, USA on Jan 29 1998.
A person walking towards you that looks attractive until they get closer.
She was good from far, but far from good!
That guy was a good go!
Last edited on Mar 07 1999. Submitted by Jana from NJ, USA on Mar 07 1999.
a member of the police force, one's nation's own military, a super-hero, etc. From the juvenile distinction between "good guys" and "bad guys" (criminals.) The conflict between the two groups is frequently played out in cartoons and movies.
literally, a good man. Not slang.
You can trust Nick. He's a good guy.
You should date him. I know he's a little dorky, but he's really a good guy.
"hello" or "how are you doing".
Last edited on Nov 29 2015. Submitted by poppa smurf on Oct 18 2011.
"nice girl" or "my big friend". Jamaican slang.
goodie long time no see.
Last edited on Nov 26 2018. Submitted by Anonymous on Nov 29 2015.
an assertion of disbelief of an excuse or plea.
Your reason for being absent: your dog ate your wallet and you had no money to come to work? It's a real goodie.
Last edited on Nov 29 2015. Submitted by John Kitus from Boise, ID, USA on Jan 24 2012.
a good story, tale or joke.
I like that - that's a goodie, John.
Good looking out, I really needed those five dollars.
Last edited on Oct 10 2013. Submitted by Annette from Naples, FL, USA on Dec 02 2001.
statement used to express doubt in the future success of someone's plan.