This post will be where the recent changes will be listed for ease of reference.
Completed my Surface World ideas for Depth and Biomes tonight. Perhaps still a little rough in presentation. But, I think it's worth bumping this topic so people can see the progress.
Started work on Depth and Biomes tonight. Sort of scrambled out an overview of most my depth plain ideas, as well as an introduction to what exactly a 'depth plain' is. I had planned on working on my ideas for the surface world tonight, but it seems I sort of worked on everything but that in this section. Still, all the ground work is done, so, I should be able to hop right to that when I do my next typing stent.
Took out some of the lofty posts in the 'Introduction to the Showcase' section. Replaced What is Dwelvers? subsection, as well as 'Things I Think Should be Considered' subsection with the simplified 'Aims' subsection. Highlighting what will be covered in a more easy to digest format.
Did mostly more organizational work. Added Picture headers in purple text to help break up the sections. Started adding a number reference system in for the various sections and subsections. Had to condensed the Imp with wheel barrel and cloak concept into a link, because the forum only allows 15 per post, and I'm likely to have more than that. Lastly, did more rough work on the Job Types Section. But nothing Grand.
Finally got around to Correcting all (or at least most) of the grammar and spelling mistakes. Discontent mechanic renamed Disgruntled under Creature Mechanic - Disgruntled, Revolt; as this feels like a more natural term for it.
Please bare with me. This is a rather huge collection of ideas. And it's going to take some time to record them all in way that's legible for others to understand.
Increase the feeling of Production in Dwelvers by increasing the complexity of production chains. I will also opt for an option of 'Game Complexity', adding more stations and making chains more complex with increase in it's difficulty. Allowing for an alternative to 'enemies are tougher and attack you faster' difficulty without replacing it and giving players a chance to get their barrings on simpler game play without being overwhelmed.
Linking Research and progression to a need for exploration by introducing various relics that can be found, mined, and studied to progress not just magic, but units, buildings, traps, stations, magic, and alike. Give the player a sense of progression from the start of their dungeon to the end by use of upgrades.
Increase the diversity of monsters by adding various stats to allow each to be more unique. Including the addiction of Elite creatures, which will be a risk/reward and more troublesome to keep happy.
Increase the scope of the game by adding more, or what I like to call 'depth plains', not only having the underground and Surface world, but 2 additional depth plains below the default, and 2 in the sky above the surface. Having rarer materials, and giving purpose to a player's exploration and conquest.
Present a reasonable creature fusion system and linking it to research by simplifying it into a recipe system which require Genomes. Fossilized crystals that can be mined and combined to make new creatures. Also, dividing hybrid creatures into hybrids, and chimeras. Allowing for more diversity, with a lower work load, as well as giving room for new creatures to be added later with ease, as well as giving the potential of modders later down the line to add in even more Chimeras.
I have decided to include a color code that will be universal among all the following sections and subsections.
Section headings and Subsection reference numbers will be this shade of purple.
Ideas that rely on another suggested concept will be displayed in Green.
Ideas that alter or outright overhaul a previously suggested concept will be displayed in Yellow.
Anything with the [link] [/link] tags surrounding it, is a place marker for things that will be linked to other posts later on. Please bare in mind, this is a large collection of ideas. And while I am making effort to keep them as organized as possible, over sites will happen.
For the purposes of ease of use, I have decided it would be best to break my concepts and purposed ideas into posts as they might have been seen in the forum.
• Completed Sections and Subsections will be shown in this shade of Green.
• WIP Sections and Subsections will be default white.
11: Let's talk Chimeras! My take on the Hybrid Making System.
Introduction: This is a a pretty rough concept!
12: Example Chimeras, Recipes, and Hybrids.
* Tweaked or utterly altered version of another persons suggestion.
** Tweaked or utterly altered version of something already in game.
The aim of this first section is not only to introduce new possible creature concepts and a fit them into roles in the game, but also, to give different creatures more diversity a bit more diversity beyond just 'this has higher hit dice', while keeping in mind the amount of monsters a player will be managing, and keeping it nice, simple, and streamlined. I opt doing this by introducing a few, what I consider to be simple mechanics, that go beyond things such as it's base damage and alike. Forcing players to suit the needs of their minions on more levels than 'feed me and give me a place to sleep'. These creatures given example below, a few I'm quite partial to, will be catalysts to see how these various ideas could be given life within the game. But we're getting a head of ourselves, let's start with the outlined mechanics that I believe will breath some life into them a little more practical than the idea of celebrations I opted in one of my previous suggestions.
The diet mechanic is a means of varying out some of the needs monsters in the dungeon might have. For one, I purpose a diet system that would vary up the things various monsters will, and are capable of eating. I also propose a food quality system, meaning that stronger monsters, or potentially just monsters that have reached a certain level, will require high quality food, thus forcing the player to provide their monsters with a variety of different food items, and forcing them to seek out higher level food supplies if they wish for a stronger fighting force.
With this idea I not only purpose different types of food, but also, different types of stations required to prepare it. It is important to note that a lot of creatures eat more than one food type, and they will automatically eat the easiest to receive food type if given a choice. I also like the idea, albeit not at all being a fleshed out concept, of creatures being able to eat one food type, but require another food type in less quality in lower intervals. An example of this might be something like, an Orc can eat bread 90% of the time, but every tenth meal or so they will require meat. Making the orc wailing of "I need some meat!" make a lot more sense.
Pastries are the most common food available, and eaten by almost all low tier creatures, at least at their lowest levels. Bread is an example of a Pastry.
All Pastries are made on the baking table, as it is present in the game now. Possibly, higher level pastries will require rarer ingredients atop the simple antroot and water (see food quality below).
Meat requires a little more effort to attain, and while fish is good for some creatures by itself, other rarer meats will require some effort to find or construct a steady supply to keep minions well fed.
Meat requires more effort to prepare, for one, whatever it is that can become meat, must be taken to a [link]Butcher Block[/link] to be made into meat. And while certain things can be eaten without this preparation, it will not yield as much reward as meat that has been prepared on this station. For example, a fish would no longer go straight to the table, but rather, go to the [link]Butcher Block[/link] and be made into fish-meat. This also allows players to do something with their captured prisoners other than feed them to their dark mother.. if you catch my drift.
Meat also requires cooking after it has been butchered, and must be taken to a [link]Cooking Pot[/link] where it can be prepared into a meal. As of now, I opt for all meat of the lowest tier to simply be made into a nice bowl of meaty stew. Higher tier meats could be made into different types of meals to convey their significance over the lower tiers.
Some creatures of a taste for things that have been.. ripened a little more by time. This is where things get a little tricky, as I'm unsure how to separate the production of meat and carrion without it being to 'hands on'. But I very much think the idea is cool. And while most creatures will see this as gross and inedible, some creatures will consume it exclusively.
The production of Carrion does not require, but is significantly sped up by whatever item, we're gonna call it item 'x', being placed in a [link]Compose Heap[/link]. Once there, it requires time to rot significantly before a creature with a pure carrion diet will touch it. Carrion is more the food of beast like creatures, so I doubt it will be eaten at the table. For now, I mostly see this being the food source of Blight Hounds, Gnolls, or perhaps another Hyena like Hybrid.
Carrion is made with both bodies, and meat, meaning it requires the player to make a choice between producing meat, or Carrion; or force them to split their production chains to produce both types of food. Carrion also takes longer to make than Meat food, thus, making it harder to recover from if the supply goes awry.
This is the last food type, which also happens to be my replacement for 'mana' in the game. Neathergy the energy made of tormented, damned souls. And can be made with the ceasing of souls from captured foes, or, more practically, from farming Neathergy from [link]Nether pits[/link] shattered through out the [link]depth plains of the underdelve, and the abyss[/link].
Creatures that consume this present a problem, as they can take large chunks of players mana pool, meaning that to many could cause a rather horrible collapse in dungeon infrastructure, or perhaps just making it impossible to cast the right spell, at the right time. Nethergy will be covered in more detail in another section of this showcase.
I am considering separating Neathergy from another Mana like property, the other being Favor. Which could be received through prayer to dark gods. Having two sort of spell power pools.
This is a looser mechanic I don't wish to hammer down yet, as it could be altered to suit other mechanics a fitted into the game. For Example, if every creature is a allowed to cook, as suggested by the current pole of Choose which creatures should do what in Dwelvers?, Piggehs could simply be the best at it, thus the meals they prepare have a higher 'Food Quality', and thus, yield far more rewards when it comes to hunger; or perhaps sate the same amount of hunger, but give bonuses to creature loyalty, mood, or alike. It could also be handled by allowing creatures to make more advanced dishes, and perhaps Piggehs simply have the ability to cook food faster even though they are rather slow moving (Something that could be made up for with the [link]Transfer Table[/link]) And higher food quality could be made with more ingredients. Food quality, as it is now, is a sort of 'unknown variable', one that should be considered, even if it is a mechanic that could be handled in several different ways.
Not so much a mechanic as it is a reference word. Quirks refer to things that make the creature unique in terms of their basic maintenance. For example, the quirk of the orc is 'requires alcohol'. For none elite, and non legendary creatures, all quirks should be kept relatively simple, keeping in mind the sheer amount of creatures players will be managing.
With this mechanic, creatures will not just become unhappy and instantly revolt, but rather, have special, unit unique minor protests when they are unhappy. This will be labeled Disgruntled, and is inspired by the description of the Rogues on the web site. These acts of deviance, while not a full scale revolt, can be very problematic if not seen to.
Each unit will have their own way of expressing being Disgruntled. Rogues will incite rumors and chaos if they are not pleased, pitting creatures against one another. Orcs, however, could shake down imps they see, bullying them and hindering them from their tasks, while Piggehs could produce food with much lower ]Food Quality, or perhaps just much, much slower. It is important to note that no Disgruntled reaction (Or at least most Disgruntled reactions) is outwardly violent to the point where other creatures will attack the creature executing the actions. This is a double edged sword, for while an uptight creature won't instantly be targeted and killed by it's former allies, having them left unchecked could lead to even more disastrous results.
Revolt reaction is what happens when all mood, and loyalty has dropped to a dangerously low level. Not all creatures will begin to attack, however, these reactions are far more violent and troublesome than discontent reactions. Some Creatures attack. Others simply leave never to return. The rogue could perhaps attempt to steal valuable resources and leave. Some could even explode. There is a number of creative things that could happen rather than them simply attacking your still loyal creatures.
This mechanic is to prevent one monster going into revolt, and instantly being killed by it's friends. Whenever creature goes into revolt, it has a chance of rallying other creatures with the same troubles and complaints to join it's cause. This means that orcs upset about no beer, have a good chance of all of them revolting at once, rather than each going mad one by one and being killed by it's allies who all have the same complaint. There is also a small chance that a creature with a violent revolt reaction, to incite creatures with non violent revolt reactions, into violent ones. Now, that's sounds a little confusing, so allow me to explain.
If a creature with a violent revolt reaction, such as an orc, incites a creature with a non violent revolt reaction, such as a piggeh, who I simply see as leaving if displeased, into a revolt; that piggeh will then, instead of leaving, join the orc in violent revolt. This makes creatures with more violent revolt reactions more harmful. A creatures Presence will also factor in to weather or not it can incite other creatures into revolt. Meaning creatures with a higher Presence, have a higher chance of inducting other creatures to their cause.
Here is a basic overview of how the mechanic might work. If a creature looses enough mood, and loyalty to begin a revolt, it has a high chance of draining a large chunk of loyalty from creatures of the same type as it, who have the same complaint. Ie, if an orc becomes mad because it has no food, all other starving orcs have a high chance of loosing large amounts of loyalty, and thus, going into revolt mode as well. Creatures that are not of the same type, but have the same complaint have a smaller chance of loosing loyalty.
It should be noted first that Loyalty is not a replacement for the current mood system already implemented in the game. But rather, a system that is supposed to work along side it.
Mood will be effected over short term needs. While Loyalty is effected over having mood either negative, or positive over a longer period of time.
Loyalty, as I see it, is separated into three stats. Max Loyalty, Loyalty Rate and (current) Loyalty. Loyalty represents how loyal a creature is to his aligned hand or master, a stat that increases over a very slow period of time provided they are kept happy. A creature with a low max loyalty will revolt far quicker than one with a high one. So players will be rewarded for keeping their creatures longer, and keeping them happy longer. When a creature becomes unhappy, they begin to loose loyalty, and it isn't until that is drained that they begin to revolt.
Loyalty rate determines how much loyalty a creature is given over time, one with a high loyalty rate will become loyal quickly, while ones with lower loyalty rates are slower to do so. Also, each creature would have a max loyalty, which indicates just how loyal a creature can possibly be. For example, a Rogue should have a very low Max loyalty, meaning they revolt and cause mischief far quicker than other, more loyal units.
This can help a lot with balance of stronger creatures, even if it makes the system of making creatures more complicated. It allows for more factors to need to be considered in ones fighting force. And gives more wiggle room for simple drawbacks to be implemented for stronger creatures. Sure an orc isn't that impressive, but perhaps it's fiercely loyal?
This System is a a fight or flight mechanic, meaning even creatures with full health have the potential of being so frightened they do not wish to engage in combat, instead, turning tail and running for their lives (or perhaps multiple different reactions. This will be controlled by a number of stats, including Bravery, Presence, Moral, and Loyalty.
Presence is a creature stat that determines how much Moral it contributes to as a whole on the battle field. For example, a cyclotaur might have a presence of 50, while an orc has a presence of 10, meaning having a Cyclotaur in the fray might makes other units as brave as they would with 5 orcs backing them up.
Moral is the total pool of bonus Bravery a unit gets from being near other creatures. This is best explained by an example. Let's say a battle party is composed of 3 orcs, and 1 cyclotaur. Each orc has a Base Bravery of 10, while the Cyclotaur has a Base Bravery of 30. Now we take the presence of every creature, add it together, and that makes the moral of the group, then we take that moral, and add it to the base Bravery. Then, each unit will also get a bonus for their individual Loyalty.
So, using the numbers from the presence outline above, that would be 3 orcs at 10 presence each, and one Cyclotaur at 50. Please note the math here is not exact, this is just a loose example to show how the math would work. I will say this, however, Health would need to be the stat that this system is designed around. As the system would need to reflect them fleeing at a low health level unless in a large group.
So, now lets determine the New Bravery of each creature in that example party.
These will be measured against the Moral of the other side, determining if the creatures fight until near death. Or simply turn and flee at the sight of overwhelming, or just, potentially terrifying odds.
The moral and Health are constantly shifting varibles. If 2 of the orcs were fell in battle, or fled from the battle, it would look like this.
Entertainment fills the role of sort of 'mock Loyalty'. The idea of it, as it stands, is a buff to Loyalty that is far easier to get, but doesn't last nearly as long, requiring upkeep. Like Loyalty, Creatures have a max Entertainment level, an Entertainment rate, and a (Current) Entertainment level. Each of which acting rather similar to their Loyalty counterparts. However, Entertainment does not directly take the place of Loyalty. But, rather, can only slow the rate in which loyalty is lost by upset creatures. This requires it to have one more stat, which factors the max amount of Loyalty it can be substituted for when loyalty is being lost. A stat I will call the 'Loyalty buffer'. In other words, An orc without beer will inevitably revolt if not given any. However, it won't do so quite as quickly if he is properly entertained. Each creature could also have a favored form of entertainment, or perhaps things that do not entertain them at all. But this can be tricky, as things should be made in effort to be kept streamlined and simple.
Right now, in this outline, there are two items that yield entertainment. One is the [link]Stage[/link], which will be a station on the dining hall, and the other, will be the [link]Stocks[/link], which prisoners can be placed in to be belittled by your creatures for the purposes of entertainment in various ways.
This Conception Idea is made with the idea of having all creatures being able to do any job, but having some be better at jobs than others. It is a counter balance measure to give players a reason to not simply make all the creatures that are best for the job. I mean, if Piggehs are the best cooks.. why wouldn't you just make Piggehs for all your cooking jobs? Well, this rough idea for a system is meant to address that. Or, at least, spark the idea that it is something that could, or should be addressed.
As it stands, Comradery is a stat that gives creatures some form of bonus for the more of it's own kind are employed in your dungeon. And while how the bonus effects the creatures is currently not hammered out, the idea of giving players a counter incentive to specialize in creature types is still conveyed.
While, as mentioned, the comradery system is still a very rough concept. I have an idea of what variables will need to be implemented for it to work, these stats are Total Comradery, Comradery Multiplier, and Creature Pool.
Total Comradery: will be the end stat bonus after all the individual bonuses are tallied.
Comradery Multipier Will be how much each individual creature contributes to the Total Comradery. This is to balance out high end creatures, which you'll need less of, from low tier ones that you will likely have more of. A orc, which is a low tier creature will have a much lower Comradery multiplier than an elite creature, which there will be much fewer of.
Creature Pool: This is a means of allowing creatures to be grouped and give comradery to one another even if they aren't the exact same type. An example of this could be Orcs and Goblins. Which while they are not the same unit, could both be part of the Goblinoid creature pool, allowing both their Comradery Multipliers to be stated to give them all the same Total Comradery.
Here's an example of these variables in action. Bare in mind, again, this is a super rough concept.
Bob the Dungeon Master has a bizare love for Goblins, so his entire dungeon is composed of Orcs, Goblins, and Trolls. Orcs have a comradery multiplier of 2, while Goblins, a lesser creature have a comradery multiplier of 1. Orcs and goblins share the same Creature Pool of Goblinoids. He has 10 goblins, and 6 orcs. Meaning his current Total Comradery for all these creatures is 22.
Later, he unlocks Trolls, which while fit into his theme, do not have th same creature pool as orcs and goblins. Trolls have the creature pool of trolls, and they are much harder to produce. But that's okay, because their comradery multiplier factors this in. Trolls have a Comradery Multiplier of 4, meaning even though he only has 3 trolls, the troll Total Comradery is 12.
This is more addressing a problem with the game as it is at this current moment where one can have all there Piggehs at level 10 simply from cooking pastries, making them stronger units than the all your Cyclotaurs, which max out at level 4 from training. If Crafting things is to give units EXP. That EXP should be kept completely separate from battle EXP.
In the current game, if a knight is spawned near a collection of feral Impanzees, they instantly ignore one another and focus aggression on the player. I don't think that's quite right. This Faction system, while not fully fleshed out, is a means of giving a label to a future mechanic that will address this issue.
This is a very rough concept at the moment, I will attempt to add more to it later as it's hammered out a bit better. This system is baring in mind the concept of Choose which creatures should do what in Dwelvers? if the option of 'Creatures and Imps can do the same jobs - not all of course, but some could do this, some that (so we don't have division for Imps and Creatures, all are the one workgroup).' is used. Which is the top voted option. This list is an attempt to sort out the various job types. I'm attempting to separate them into groups for an idea I'm tossing around. But also for organizational purposes.
Fishing: Fishing from Wooden Bridges.
Taming: Taming and study of wild beasts.
Mediating: The ability to mediate disputes, or negotiate diplomacy.
Baking: The making of Pastries.
Cooking: The making, and butchering of Meat.
Fermenting: The making of Alcohol and decomposition of food into Carrion.
Smithing: Construction of Melee weapons and armor at Forge. Also effects the Grindstone.
Arbalism: Construction of Missile type weapons, like Crossbows, or Bows.
Imbuing: Imbuing life into objects.
Channeling: The performance of Channeling Nethergy for the Dungeon Master to cast spells.
Scribing: The Construction of Grimoires, Scrolls, and Tomes which are used in spell craft.
Trap-making: The construction of traps.
Gadgetry: Construction of various gagetry, such as special devices or automative stations.
Drafting: Drafting of Schematics which are needed for various advanced gadgets and traps.
As the system is now, each creature has a spot for left hand, right hand, head, body, legs, and boots. To me, with so many creatures, it seems like to many of these spots are attributed to what ammounts to 'more armor'. But honestly, how many spots -do- creatures need to increase that stat? Wouldn't it be silly to have a creature with iron upper armor, but cloth pants and sandles? Don't get me wrong, I -love- the idea of being able to outfit my creatures. But I can see the implementation of legs and boots being to much, and yielding very little extra reward. So I propose a few different spots be put in place of them. Here is how the equipment layout would look afterward.
Body: Covers chest, legs, and boots. Mostly increases armor bonus. However, some alternatives can be placed here, sacrificing armor for some other use. Such as a Back pack, or Jet Pack.
Head: Covers head. Increases Armor Bonus more, as well as protects from head effects. [link]Cloaks[/link] may also take up the head spot.
Devices are my proposed replacement to the boots and legs spot. And is a sort of broad trinket spot that does not so much give bonuses to armor, as it does grant more utilitarian uses. These spots are where various things of usefulness can be equipped in combination to yield unique results.
About to storm a high up place with fire happy wizards guarding it? Order you Minions to equip grappling hooks and rings of fire protection. About to lead an excursion to the surface world? Perhaps your orcs should bring Flasks with them so they are not in longing for their precious drink while terrorizing the top world. Need to send an emissary to another hand? An imp with boots of speed and a steam powered jet pack should be able to traverse almost any obstetrical with godspeed. Maybe your heading into a tough fight and you want to keep it simple? Two health potions will ensure your monsters stick it out for as long as possible, or perhaps wearing an idol of a dark god, to ensure they remained brave when faced with overwhelming odds?
Purpose: Increases Carrying capacity. Allowing for imps to carry more than one item. Leather Backpacks only allow +1 item, making 2 total if bare handed.
Purpose: Increases Carrying capacity. Allowing for imps to carry more than one item. Leather Backpacks only allow +2 item, making 3 total if bare handed.
Ingredients 1 leather backpack, 3 sticks, 2 rope.
Purpose: Increases Carrying capacity. Allowing for imps to carry more items. Allowing them to carry 5, however no long able to carry one extra item in hand. This can be combined with the backpack. Meaning a wheel barrel and sturdy Backpack could hold up to 7 items. The Rickety Wheel Barrel slowly walk speed by 30% (may require tweaking).
Research required: Yes. Item Must be blueprinted on Drafting Board.
Purpose: Increases Carrying capacity. Allowing for imps to carry more items. Allowing them to carry 5, however no long able to carry one extra item in hand. This can be combined with the backpack. Meaning a wheel barrel and sturdy Backpack could hold up to 7 items. The Rickety Wheel Barrel slowly walk speed by only 15% (may require tweaking).
Research required: Yes. Item Must be blueprinted on Drafting Board. The Rickety Wheel Barrel must be blue printed before this research is available.
Purpose: Decreases the negative effects of Sun Sickness when Sun Sickness sensitive creatures are on the Surface World durring day time.
Purpose: Allows the consumption of Alcohol when Alcohol Meter is near 0. Becomes Empty Gourd when consumed.
Purpose: Allows the consumption of Food when Food Meter is near 0. Becomes Empty Rations when consumed.
Purpose: Consumed when Health is low to replenish health.
Ingredients: ???, ???, ???, Alchemy Work.
Purpose: Used to higher areas.
Research required: Yes. Blueprinted at Drafting Board.
Implantation Requires: Requires a tweak for Ladder construction so that a builder must own the tile below, and above the area of construction to make this device useful.
I was reading over the Back to Work post, and caught that the discussing of the surface world seems to be something of interest at the moment. So, I decided a better hammer this section out next.
As of now, the surface world is present in the game, but inactive. I should start this series of ideas by stating that, while the surface world idea is certainly cool, this concept can be taken further. Something I have been referring to as 'Depth Plains'.
Now, let's make sure we are all on the same page with terminology. Let's start by making sure we all understand the term 'biome'. For those of you unfamiliar with games that have used this mechanic, a biome is an a area in an open world game that is has it's own sets of rules for creature spawn, special features, and aesthetics. For an example, on the surface world, you could have a forest biome, a forest biome would have it's own art set, and it's own coded rules that would differ from other biomes. Like, say, a plain biome, or a mountainous biome, or a beach biome. This differs from you current system of Environmental objects. Not altering it, mind you, just more something it would be parented to. Look up games like <i>Don't Starve</i> or Terraria for examples of the term in action. Currently, in the game, the Maze is the only thing that could be considered a separate biome from the standard underground.
Now that we understand that, lets discuss what I like to call Depth plains, Basically, It's just giving a terminology to something already in the game. Ie, we have the surface world, and we have the underground. The surface world is it's own Depth Plain, and the underground is it's own depth plain.
What I'm suggesting is that you do not stop at just two, but rather, put more depth plains, both above, and below the current ones you have included. The lower or higher you go from the default plain (underground) the harder the creatures you encounter will be, but, also, will hold higher value materials. This is not something I suggest you do -now-, just something to bare in mind to see sort of picture this idea as a whole.
Okay, a lot of ideas here are rough, but these are pretty set are much more core and I thin should be considered the most concrete. No matter how the ideas after it are altered.
Viewing what depth plain you are on could function just like it does toggling the surface world/underground (Hitting 'z'), or it could be made slightly more complex, having a 'view next above' and 'view next below'.
Each Depth Plain would have it's own biomes, and each biome within that depth plain would have it's own Environmental objects, creatures, materials, and alike.
The lower or higher one goes from one's default plain (the underground), the harder the creatures are and the better the materials are one can find. Some items could be found in multiple Depth Plains, but are easier to find in lower Plains.
Each Depth plain has it's own unique construction set. I believe this is an important feature of the game. You should not be able to build a cookery on the surface world, or the Dweldark (see below), it is room for your home depth plain. Nor would it make any sense for Raiding Camps to be built in the underground, since it's a room based around raiding villages on the surface world. These limitation will allow you to make plains more and more dangerous as the player venues further from it's home plain. Colonization of these deeper or higher plans should be far more limited, or require far more research and work. Making expeditions require much more forethought, and be far more risky.
• The think the drop off from the underground to the Dweldark is to steep, it might be best for a depth plain to be placed in between them.
Out of the 6 Biomes I have played around with, this is the highest of the Depth Plains, it is 2 depth plains above the surface world. I imagine it to be a sort of bright, vivid night sky with creatures walking on seemingly nothing. This, being the highest biome, it has incredibly dangerous creatures in it. I was thinking something along the lines of norse, or greek gods, but something unique to the Dwelvers universe. As well as lesser, but still ultra powerful Celestial beings, something like glowing wisps of light. I am of the mind that Dwelvers should have a feel of you being an evil underdog slowly spreading out and conquering. Doesn't fighting goodly gods seem like a logical end game?
This Depth Plain is inspired by a sort of Jack and the Beanstalk Feel. Large floating cloud areas units can walk on, and rainbow bridges that connect them, as well as, perhaps, the occasional floating Island which holds Yggdrasils, a tree which wood has special properties and is needed to craft higher end items.
I imagine Giants would roam up here, keeping in the theme noted above. Though, perhaps more 'goodly' sorts, like Nephilim sorts. As well as more angelic sorts. Perhaps they might even occasionally come down to the surface world to aid those below if you cause to much havoc down there.
I don't think I need to explain the surface to much, I'm sure a lot of people have a take on the tone the surface world should have, so I'm going to concentrate on some rough mechanics I've been playing with instead.
I want to start my idea volley of the surface world with a mechanic that has a heavy baring on a lot of the other mechanics I will be pitching out. Basically, your creatures are from the underground, and they do not like the sun, therefore, heavy, prolonged exposure to the sun will inevitably sicken, weaken and ultimately kill a creature.
This Mechanic works best with a Day/night cycle included from the Time, Weather, and Seasons section (yet to be written up). This will provide pressure for raids and other activities on the surface to will best be preformed at night, lest you infect and loose your creatures.
Each creature will have a sun sensitivity value, meaning that some creatures will be more susceptible to Sun Sickness than other. This will be important in further diversifying the value and use of different creatures. For example, an orc might be stronger than a lizard man, but lizardmen will be immune to sun sickness, and in fact, will be aided by the warmth the sun provides, giving value to lizard men even if they are not as strong as Orcs.
Sun Sickness is not a simply debuff, if a creature is exposed enough, they will become ill, gaining a permanent debuff, if this continues, they will grow sick to the point of being incurable, and slowly deteriorate until they die. Once they have gone ill, they will not recover on their own, but need to be treated at the expense of materials, such as items to make a tonic or medicine to treat them.
The effects of sun sickness will be different for each creature, but I think it should be stressed that players do <u>not</i> want to have more sun sensitive creatures exposed to the sun to often. To counter the effects, various items and mechanics should be provided to player to protect their creatures on the surface world. Such as Cloaks to hinder the effects, or Raiding Camps (tents) in which creatures can escape the sun provided it isn't attacked, or destroyed.
You can preform a Ritual (currently unintroduced mechanic, but basically a complicated spell cast by the dungeon master) that will allow 'blotting out the sun', at the cost of material, this will likely be needed for longer raids, or ascending into The High Above or beyond.
Before I go further, I will note a major change to the game required in order for some of these ideas to work.
Portals in the underground no longer act as mystical passageways, but as common dungeon entrances. This means that for every portal in the game, there should be a corresponding entrance right above it on the surface world. This will make portals have more longevity, as they will no longer be one time conquests, but a constant threat of invasion from those wondering above, providing focal points the player must defend. This idea goes hand in hand with the Town and Villages Environmental Objects (possibly Biomes) that I will be outlining further down. Which will produce adventures to wonder above if left unchecked. This will provide an element I think is missing from the game, that being, the joy of defending your well made dungeon against the goodly greedy heroes that might hope to make a name for themselves at the cost of your head and holdings.
I'm unclear as to how exactly a player would initiate a raid, or choose what creatures raid and at what intervals. But I have some basic ideas on how it might function.
Settlement produce adventurers, and heroes eager to bring your dungeon to ruin. The amount of which directly connected to how expanded and prosperous they are.
Settlements often (but not always) start small and produce only a handful of fledgling adventurers, but if left unchecked, they will eventually grow and prosper, spitting out more deadly heroic do gooders more frequently and of higher difficulty.
Settlements growth rate will depend on their resources they have available. But, if such things are possible, A village will become a town, a town will become a city. They might even spawn more small villages around the city.
I like the idea of the humans in this game acting much like they did in <i>the Settlers</i>, peasants roaming out and cutting down wood, building roads, and expanding. Only, now, instead, now they are the enemy.
The way to counter there expansion, is by hindering their progress, raiding said villages and weakening there numbers, or outright burning them to the ground if you have the wish and strength to. But then, it might be best not to, for Settlements can be a prime resource for <i>prisoners</i>. Which I will be proposing to be made a vital part of many game components in another section (not complete). I see them not things to torture for information, or convert, as they were in Dungeon Keeper, but key components for Dark Rituals, Entertainment, Labor, Food, Experimentation, Research, and many other deliciously devious things.
Castles are much more fortified structures. and have far more guards and knights than Settlements do. as well as large protective walls, archers that will attack anything that gets close. They do not expand, but the will repair themselves. They will also produce Knights and other units to attack your creatures if they raid any settlement it has produced.
Castles produce settlements, It is a slow process.
Each has a max number of settlements it can have Some where from 3 to 5.
Settlements will remain even after their kingdom is destroyed, and sometimes will fuse with another castle, if one is close by.
As your dungeon expands Underground, areas you have influence over will begin to cause rot and decay on the surface world above. Darkening the earth, causing plants and crops to wither, and alike. Once this Corruption is discovered by a settlement, that is when raiding and other aggressive actions from that Settlement will begin.
Certain heroic units will have the ability to 'purify' the surface world, but in doing so, will hinder and destroy the parts of the underground you have built. Causing cave ins, and other irreparable damage to your dungeon without even having to set foot inside. This creates certain scenarios where the player is actually pressured to go top side, having to deal with the offending unit directly if they so not wish influential collapse.
Plains: Flat plains, a favored biome to be settled by humans.
Forest: A Biome thick with trees.
Enchanted Wood: A myscial forest with it's own art set. Elves and faerie like creatures reside here, and could have settlements of there own.
Mountainous: A rocky mountain side.
Beach: Always next to an Oceon Biome. Falsharks, or Sharkmen often wonder here.
Ocean: A large Body of water, acts mostly as a boundary.
or 'Under Delve' as I like to call it. The default Depth plain you start on. So, most these ideas have to do with the biomes that could be included.
The Dwell Dark is the area between the realm of mortals, and the realm of demons. The realm of demons being where the Dark Mother hails from. It is a dark, shadowy place. So, dark, in fact, that it seems to corrupt the torches or any external light that are placed here, eating them away and snuffing them out. The only light that can be gleamed is from the precious Managnetite has consistency in this dreadful place. It's blue glowing hue dotting in the dark, the bane of creatures that call this place home.
Dark shadowy terrors dwell here, and not the kind that enjoy the company of the demons you command. Though, a few of these denizens might be persuaded to join your cause, most would much rather eviscerate you in this darkened void.
I was thinking torches would need to be hand made here and maintained by imps, or, fires should need to be hand made and only remain lit with a constant supply of wood.
Imp head candles would lose particle effect when down here.
Managnetite is found here. Providing a fitting trail for gaining the previous resource.
Occasional 'demonic' Biomes could be found here, creatures that, like the dark mother, are attempting to escape their imprisonment from the 'Fiery Down Below'. These demonic entities could be less powerful than the ones found on the depth plain below, and would not be friendly with that native shadowy inhabitants.
One can not simply 'tunnel down' into the Dwelldark. But must find special openings of soft rock in the hard rock bottom of the depth plain above it. Digging one out will grant access, but, also, will spawn raids from the creatures of the Dwelldark.
The place where the Dark Mother hails from, and yet, it seems, she (he?) was not the largest fish in the pond.
Ditto, with that much content it's gotta have some gems in there, but I got bugs on my mind. Gonna have to come back to this one later.
Anyway, I'm glad you guys responded so quickly. Though, I should note, there's a lot more (you can look at the outline to get an idea), it's just not really easy trying to convey everything while trying to get everything as organized as possible.
Originally, there was going to be 13 separate posts to keep everything neat. But the forum doesn't like separating posts when you reply to yourself, so, I suppose now it'll be just one giant post with 13 subdivisions I will have to mark out an make a little clearer so it's a little easier to take in and cross search concepts that connect to one another.
I've been working on this for some time and have made some progress. Mostly, I am bumping this to show off that my section on ideas for the Surface World has been completed (I think), since I know that's kind of a hot topic right now. It can be found in Section 5, Depth and Biomes. Other things have changed besides this, but mostly just lay out things to make the whole thing a little easier to digest.
This is still an open thread, as well, so, don't feel the need to be shy. I know that this whole thing is a little overwhelming considering the volume. But don't let that stop anyone from expressing opinions on specific things. You don't need to read everything to make a comment. I'm trying to make this as skimable as possible for a reason.
A lot of interesting ideas.
An entertainment room might be an option in the future as well as more food types. Different depth levels are also of interest but as I told you when we chatted Rasmus will focus on the surface world first of all.
Rasmus will take a closer look at your suggestions as soon as he has time.
Current time: 23-04-2019, 08:50 PM Powered By MyBB, © 2002-2019 MyBB Group.


text:
OMG! Robert Pattinson parties with Dylan Penn just days after being spotted with Kristen Stewart
Twilight star joins friends for private do
TAGS: Dylan PennKristen StewartRobert Pattinson
Robert Pattinson has reportedly been spotted hitting the town with rumoured love interest Dylan Penn.
The Twilight actor, 27, joined pretty Dylan at the Spare Room in LA's Roosevelt Hotel for a private party celebrating the launch of Angie Banicki's new book 30 Before 30 on Wednesday night.
The duo hung out with a few friends and chatted with guests before leaving the venue separately at around the same time.
A source tells E! News that Rob and Dylan, 22, weren't openly affectionate with each other but remained friendly throughout the evening.
It comes just days after R-Pattz met up with his ex Kristen Stewart, 23, for a night out in Hollywood.
K-Stew was also seen visiting Rob's home for several hours last week, sparking speculation that they might have rekindled their romance.
The couple ended their four-year relationship in May – just under a year after Kristen admitted to cheating with Snow White And The Huntsman director Rupert Sanders.
SEE PICTURES Robert Pattinson and Kristen Stewart hold hands at The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 2 premiere in London
SEE PICTURES Robert Pattinson and Kristen Stewart – a love story in photos
SEE PICTURES Robert Pattinson and Kristen Stewart star in Twilight – an international phenomenon

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


text:
namespace swift {
class SILModule;
class SILInstruction;

class DominanceAnalysis : public FunctionAnalysisBase<DominanceInfo> {
protected:
  virtual void verify(DominanceInfo *DI) const override {
    if (DI->getRoots().empty())
      return;
    DI->verify();
  }

public:
  DominanceAnalysis()
      : FunctionAnalysisBase<DominanceInfo>(SILAnalysisKind::Dominance) {}

  DominanceAnalysis(const DominanceAnalysis &) = delete;
  DominanceAnalysis &operator=(const DominanceAnalysis &) = delete;

  static bool classof(const SILAnalysis *S) {
    return S->getKind() == SILAnalysisKind::Dominance;
  }

  std::unique_ptr<DominanceInfo> newFunctionAnalysis(SILFunction *F) override {
    return std::make_unique<DominanceInfo>(F);
  }

  virtual bool shouldInvalidate(SILAnalysis::InvalidationKind K) override {
    return K & InvalidationKind::Branches;
  }
};

class PostDominanceAnalysis : public FunctionAnalysisBase<PostDominanceInfo> {
protected:
  virtual void verify(PostDominanceInfo *PDI) const override {
    if (PDI->getRoots().empty())
      return;
    PDI->verify();
  }

public:
  PostDominanceAnalysis()
      : FunctionAnalysisBase<PostDominanceInfo>(
            SILAnalysisKind::PostDominance) {}

  PostDominanceAnalysis(const PostDominanceAnalysis &) = delete;
  PostDominanceAnalysis &operator=(const PostDominanceAnalysis &) = delete;

  static bool classof(const SILAnalysis *S) {
    return S->getKind() == SILAnalysisKind::PostDominance;
  }

  std::unique_ptr<PostDominanceInfo>
  newFunctionAnalysis(SILFunction *F) override {
    return std::make_unique<PostDominanceInfo>(F);
  }

  virtual bool shouldInvalidate(SILAnalysis::InvalidationKind K) override {
    return K & InvalidationKind::Branches;
  }
};

} // end namespace swift

#endif

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


text:
Lupe o le Soaga is a Samoan football club based in Tuanaimato. It currently plays in the Samoa National League.

History
Lupe o le Soaga played in the First Division, the second tier of the Samoa National League during the 2011–12 season where they finished runners-up to Vaimoso. Apparently they were promoted as they then played in the 2012-13 Samoa National League, which they won, losing only once throughout the whole season. They also won the Samoa Cup, defeating Kiwi 2–1 in the final. Kiwi took the lead, but Lupe equalised with a penalty. An additional twenty minutes extra time was played and in the second half of extra time Lupe scored the winner. The Lupe ole Soaga women's team were runner's-up in the 2012–13 women's cup final.

In the 2020 edition of the OFC Champions League they became the first team coming from the qualifying stage to win a group stage match.

In 2020 it was the top-ranked team in the national league.

The team won all three of its matches in the 2023 OFC Champions League qualifying stage, qualifying for the 2023 OFC Champions League.

Titles
Samoa National League: 7

2012–13
2014–15
2016
2017
 2019
 2020
 2021
Samoa Cup: 1
2012-13

Current technical staff

Current squad
Squad for the 2020 OFC Champions League Premiliminary Stage

References

Football clubs in Samoa

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


text:
Home > Our System > Newsroom > Stephen Shapiro, MD, selected to lead Gundersen Medical Foundation
Stephen Shapiro, MD, selected to lead Gundersen Medical Foundation
Every day, Gundersen Medical Foundation and Gundersen Health System work together to provide unparalleled patient care and experience through medical research, community health outreach, innovative programming, and development of generous financial contributions from many people in the communities we serve.
Stephen Shapiro, MD, FACS, will soon lead these efforts. Dr. Shapiro has accepted the role of chief medical foundation officer. In addition to overseeing Gundersen Medical Foundation operations, Dr. Shapiro will also serve as chair of the Gundersen Medical Foundation Board of Directors.
"My first experience at Gundersen was in 1992 with an excellent rotation in Anesthesia while I was a medical student at the University of Wisconsin," Dr. Shapiro recalls. "When I was looking for a surgical position in 2003, Gundersen was the first place I considered due to the organization's commitment to patient care. Additionally, I was excited to start a surgical career in a place so committed to medical education and research to achieve outstanding quality of care for our community. It's amazing to think back on my medical school rotation and the positive impact Gundersen Medical Foundation had and how, years later, I will be in a leadership position to continue and improve on what has made Gundersen a special place for generations of patients and students."
"Dr. Shapiro has broad leadership experience throughout our system, resulting in deep understanding of the imperative of aligned goals and purpose," shares Scott Rathgaber, MD, chief executive officer, Gundersen Health System. "He has demonstrated connection with research, education, and the community, positioning him well to successfully lead Gundersen Medical Foundation. This position is vital to supporting our collective mission, and I look forward to working together with Dr. Shapiro to deliver on our promise to the people and communities we serve."
Dr. Shapiro will officially transition to this role early in 2020, partnering with Sig Gundersen III, MD, prior to his retirement to assure a smooth transition of leadership.
"I am extremely pleased and excited with Dr. Shapiro's acceptance," Dr. Gundersen shares. "He has the heart and skills that provide a confidence in the future of Gundersen Medical Foundation and Gundersen Health System. I have worked with Dr. Shapiro both in the operating room and the board room, and I have witnessed first-hand his commitment to patients, staff and community. The Foundation and Gundersen are in great hands."
More about Stephen Shapiro, MD, FACS
Dr. Shapiro has been an attending general surgeon at Gundersen since 2003 and was department chair 2006 through 2014. In 2018, Dr. Shapiro brought his surgical talent to those in need on separate trips to Ethiopia and Nicaragua through Gundersen Global Partners.
Along with an impressive catalog of clinical research and presentations and multiple teaching honors recognizing his commitment to resident and medical student education, Dr. Shapiro has served on the Gundersen Medical Foundation Board of Directors, Gundersen Health System Board of Trustees and Board of Governors, Gundersen Finance Committee, and Gundersen Envision Board of Directors. Dr. Shapiro is also adjunct faculty at both the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health and University of Wisconsin-La Crosse.
News Interviews
Gundersen Moundview staff honored with First Responder of the Year Award
Medical Monday: COVID vaccinations for young kids
Gundersen Health System Partners with Kyruus to Propel Digital Access Transformation
Kurt Wilhelm, MD, retires after tenure of medical service to Boscobel January 13, 2022
New year, new name and locations for Gundersen regional ambulance service January 12, 2022
Critical Care nurse: COVID-19 is straining us, and it's preventable January 9, 2022
Gundersen updates mask requirements for added protection against COVID-19 January 7, 2022
Gundersen offers COVID-19 vaccine booster for 12 to 15-year-olds January 5, 2022


1-8: Right, Left, Right Diagonal TOE STRUTS, CROSS SHUFFLE.
9-16: Right Side ROCK STEP, Right Cross TOE STRUT, Left TOE STRUT, CROSS SHUFFLE.
17-24: Left Back SHUFLLE, Right TOE BAKC, ½ TURN, Left SHUFFLE, Right KICK BALL CHANGE.
25-32: Right & Left OUT-OUT, IN-IN, Right JAZZ BOX ¼ TURN.
Al final de la setena paret (7ª), afegir aquests 16 counts extres i reiniciar el ball de nou.
1-8: Right KICK BALL CHANG X 2,, Right ROCK STEP, COASTER STEP.
9-16: Left KICK BALL CHANGE X 2, Left ROCK STEP, COASTER STEP.


text:
package io.github.jonestimd.text;

import java.util.Random;

import org.junit.Test;

import static org.assertj.core.api.Assertions.*;

public class StringFormatTest {
    private StringFormat format = new StringFormat();
    private Random random = new Random();

    @Test
    public void formatReturnsInputString() throws Exception {
        String input = Long.toString(random.nextLong());

        assertThat(format.format(input)).isEqualTo(input);
    }

    @Test
    public void parseReturnsInputString() throws Exception {
        String input = Long.toString(random.nextLong());

        assertThat(format.parseObject(input)).isSameAs(input);
    }
}


The VMs are running fine, all stored on SSD.
I wanted to make a backup of the VMs from the SSD on a WD 1TB drive and the transfer is extremely slow.
For example, a Windows 10 VM thin provisioned that use actually about 30 GB took more than 2 hours.
I did the copy with the datastore management.
I remember on ESXI 5.5 the transfer was way more quicker.
Thanks a lot for the help, and have a nice day!
Have you tried a smaller VM? Are average transmission rates all slow?
Yes, all transfer are slow between datastores, whatever the VM's size.
A little bump of this thread..
"ScsiDeviceIO: 1199: bla bla sata device :Deviceperformance has deteriorated. I/O latency increased value etc"
"NMP: nmp_DeviceRequestFastDeviceProbe:237: NMP device bla bla sata device state in doubt; requested fast path state update..."
I dont know if this could be related to my problem.
I also read that the native vmw_ahci driver sometimes causes problems.
Should i switch to the legacy linux driver?
Just to say that i tried to disable the native esxi driver and let the legacy one to load.
No change in speed in datastore or between datastores.
But FWIW, after reading this thread I suspect that the WD Blue disk is not performing well in your config.
I meant to copy file with the datastore's files manager. The one on the web interface.
The WD Blue disk is old but functionnal. No SMART error or anything.
I did installed GhettoVCB and made a script to backup all the VM.
With GhettoVCB it copy at a constant 96MB/s which is pretty good.
I think that when i do copy VM with the datastore's file manager, the system inflates VMDK files, hence the slow rate and long time copy.
Thanks again for your replies and have a nice day!


text:
You are at:Home»Colleges and Schools»School of Law»Law Alumni Share Timeless Advice with First-Year Law Students
Law Alumni Share Timeless Advice with First-Year Law Students
By Taylor Ha on August 24, 2022 School of Law
Photos by Chris Taggart and video by Jon Roemer
At a special orientation event for first-year students at the Fordham School of Law, five accomplished alumni and President Tania Tetlow—a former federal prosecutor and law professor herself—shared career advice that can be useful for not only lawyers-in-training, but professionals in every field.
Matthew Diller, Dean of the Law School
"You're going to be making decisions from day one about who you want to be, and part of the wisdom that we want to give you today is that being a good and decent person will make you happier," Tetlow said to about 400 students at the Lincoln Center campus on Aug. 18. "We want you to think about … who you're trying to be in the world, to never lose sight of that."
The Professionalism Panel, a time-honored tradition at the Law School sponsored by the Fordham Law Alumni Association, was a unique part of orientation programming for first-year law students. It was the only time that the entire class would gather in the same room besides their graduation ceremony, said the Law School's dean, Matthew Diller, and a place where they formally take the "Oath of Professionalism" at a ceremony joined by faculty and alumni. But on a deeper level, the event showed the students what it takes to build a meaningful career and life, no matter how they decide to use their degree.
Students affirm the law school's professional oath in a ceremony led by Judge Parker.
A Personal Reflection From President Tetlow
President Tetlow
The professionalism panel began with an introduction from Tetlow, who recalled her own experience in the legal profession.
"It was 30 years ago this week that I was starting law school, feeling absolutely terrified and thrilled at the same time," said Tetlow, who would go on to collaborate on cases with the FBI and lead a domestic violence clinic at Tulane Law School. "There will be 1,000 tiny [decisions]about who you want to be as a professional, and most of all, as a human being."
To a lawyer, professionalism is more than being polite—it's acknowledging that lawyers wield enormous power, she said.
"I remember sitting in your shoes, not feeling terribly powerful. But you are, in fact, about to garner a whole lot of power … to do right by your clients, even when you're really busy and exhausted; to follow the rules, even when it's tempting not to, and fundamentally … to uphold our democratic systems or to chip away at them," she said.
'Look At a Case as a Person'
Tetlow then moderated a panel of accomplished alumni whose careers have taken them to different sectors of the law: Jojo Annobil, LAW '90, executive director of Immigrant Justice Corps, a nonprofit that trains lawyers to assist immigrants in need; Palmina Fava, LAW '97, a partner at Vinson & Elkins, LLP, who has tried and defended cases in federal and state courts, including the U.S. Supreme Court; Sam Khichi, LAW '98, an executive vice president and general counsel at multinational medical technology firm Becton, Dickinson and Company; Hon. Katherine H. Parker, LAW '92, U.S. magistrate judge for the Southern District of New York; and David Tanen LAW '96, co-founder and partner of Two River, a venture capital firm that assists life science companies.
From left to right: David Tanen, Hon. Katharine H. Parker, Sam Khichi, Palmina Fava, and Jojo Annobil
For about an hour, the panelists reflected on their own careers and how their Fordham education has made a difference.
Khichi, an immigrant and veteran who graduated from law school at age 31, said he found a "hardworking, gritty, good" community at Fordham, where he balanced evening classes with a daytime job. He said that the Jesuit values he learned at Fordham helped him to distinguish himself from his other colleagues.
Annobil, a lawyer who has protected immigrants' rights for nearly two decades, described how his career embodies a Jesuit education. "You look at a case as a person," said Annobil, who is an immigrant himself. "I try my best to see how I can [meet]that person's hopes, fears, and aspirations."
Fava said that her pro bono legal services are inspired by her identity as the daughter of immigrants and a veteran, as well as the mother of four children with different learning styles. "I look at my pro bono service in keeping with those issues, with immigrants' rights and veterans' rights [and education]," said Fava. "Those are the ways that I try to channel the things that are interesting to me, that I have some experience with, that I understand, and [where I]can make some changes."
Fordham's first-year law students
Personal Advice From the Panelists
In addition, the panelists shared practical advice that can be applied to not only the courtroom, but professions in every field:
Don't forget to invest in your personal relationships, even when life gets busy. "Relationships really matter, and they'll carry you when things are tough," said Khichi. "I can tell you that when things were tough for me throughout my career, it was the Fordham relationships that I made, whether they were with faculty or folks I attended school with, that I relied on for advice."
Take care of yourself before you help someone else. Otherwise you'll burn out, said Annobil. He urged the students to exercise, sleep, and to devote time to themselves. "It's OK to say, no, I can't take this case because I have too many things going on in my life right now," he said.
Put yourself in another person's shoes. Tetlow asked the students if they had ever had to engage with a lawyer or knew someone who did. Half of them raised their hands. "Remember that feeling of hoping your lawyer is going to return your call, of hoping that they are prepared, that they actually care about you and your case," she said. "It wasn't until I was 40 that I actually had to hire a lawyer for something. It was a very humbling experience."
Don't be afraid to admit when you don't know something. Be truthful when you don't have a fact or case at your fingertips, said Judge Parker. "Be able to say, 'I'm not sure about that. I can get back to you tomorrow in a letter,' or something like that."
Don't underestimate the power of EQ. "Someone's ability to get along with others is just as important, if not sometimes more important, than their pedigree of service," said Khichi.
Treat all people with respect—including your adversaries. Judge Parker said she asks people for their pronouns and honorifics, checks to see if they require accommodations, and encourages firms to allow their junior associates time to talk. She also said that it's important to be courteous to your adversaries in the courtroom. "There's a belief that some lawyers have that in order to be aggressive and zealous in representing your client, that means being a jerk to your adversary, and that's not the case. You can be very effective, but still be cooperative," she said.
Be prepared to pivot. Tanen said he always wanted to be a criminal defense attorney. When that career path didn't work out, he was devastated, but he later found another opportunity and went on to co-found several companies. "Fordham teaches you to be a gritty attorney," he said. "There is no job too big. There is no job too small."
AlumniFordham Law Alumni AssociationMatthew DillerNew Student OrientationPanelSchool of LawTania Tetlow
2023 AALS Conference Features Slate of Fordham Law Professors
Dean Emeritus John D. Feerick '61 Receives 2022 New York State Senate Commendation Award
Voting Rights and Democracy Forum Publishes Its First Issue


NOTE: this is kept for historical purposes, I switched to using jekyll now.
How is this website run?
This is a django website with a twist: all content is stored in text files. I manage those files with git. A little script loads those files into the database and then django serves them.
In fact, all of the content and its history is actually publicly available (but you don't have to make your history available in order to use this system). You can all see this an example of how to use django-gitcms.
Where can I get the code for this?
Github, of course. The code is license Affero 3 (GPL for web applications).
I have also released it on PyPI if you prefer. (This also means that pip install django-gitcms or easy_install django-gitcms will automatically find and download the latest version).
Your website is using django. This means that it's easy to add any functionality you want.
but the main point is that the architechture is easily extensible. I'm selling you an idea more than software.
Django-gitcms powers luispedro.org and pythonvision.org (pythonvision.org is still in Beta in terms of content, but you can see it up and running).
yst: Uses Yaml as a language and a system of string templates.
gitwiki: A Wiki with a git back-end. Several other similar projects exist.
nesta: A ruby based CMS with text files as its backend.
Why is this worse than gitwiki?
Because there is no web front-end to the history or even an edit button. It's git all the way. It's not friendly to non-technical users (it's very friendly for technical users—those of us who live on the command line and don't want to have to learn a new way of doing things).
Why is this better than gitwiki?
Because you can store any type of data, not only hyper-text files.
followed by many more examples. Actually, the menus on this website are also saved as a yaml file, while the publications app saves its information as a bibtex file (I use exhibit for the display, but pre-process the bibtex file everytime it changes). I can write any functionality I want with django and store the information as a text file (I only have to write a load() function in Python, which can do whatever I want).
This is not really comparable to wiki-git-like projects. We just have different goals.
Why is this better than yst?
Because it uses django so you can do any Python processing you want. Also, the website does not have to be static, so you gain a lot of flexibility there.
Why is this better than nesta?
I don't know how nesta works because I don't know RoR. But I know Django on Python, so I wanted to use a system based on those technologies.


text:
Lincolnshire Tourism Excellence Awards are now open for nominations
Celebrating visitor economy business across Greater Lincolnshire with 15 categories to enter – 12 of which will take the winners through to Visit England's national Visit Britain Awards 2023.
Nominations are now open for the 2022 Destination Lincolnshire Tourism Excellence Awards – returning for the first time after the pandemic. They are an incredible opportunity for businesses working within the visitor economy to be recognised and be put forward at a national level through the Visit England Awards 2023.
For the first time since 2020, the awards are back, launching in partnership with fellow headline sponsor Lincoln College and media partner Stonebow Media. What's more, this year, twelve categories have been created specifically in partnership with Visit England, with the winners of these categories also being put forward for the national Visit England Awards 2023.
Charlotte Goy, Chief Executive at Destination Lincolnshire, said:
"Created to shine a light on businesses, the Destination Lincolnshire Tourism Excellence Awards celebrate every aspect of the visitor tourism economy, to champion all of the innovation, passion, dedication, resilience and tenacity that we know Lincolnshire businesses have.
"We've been working with Visit England to bring this award opportunity to Lincolnshire businesses for a long time. It's not just about recognition locally, although that is really important – during Covid local people supported tourism more than ever before – but this is about elevating Lincolnshire nationally too.
"We've been in talks with Visit England for the past year so it's great to see this out there, living and breathing, as an award opportunity for Lincolnshire businesses. I'd encourage all tourism and visitor economy businesses to enter. The application process itself is also a business development opportunity – really helpful feedback will be given by the judges to all those who enter. The businesses that are shortlisted will then be visited by a mystery shopper. An independent mystery expert who will give genuine feedback on each business, comparing Lincolnshire's offering to our peers on a national level.
"We have this opportunity for national recognition within the grasp of our tourism and visitor economy businesses. In previous years, International Bomber Command Centre has been crowned a gold Visit England national winner which we are incredibly proud of. The Lincolnshire awards are a fantastic starting point upon which to build, so we hope our partners and people who we haven't yet had the opportunity to work with, take full advantage of it."
With fifteen categories to enter, covering everything from ethics and innovation to sustainability across accommodation (hotels, B&Bs, guest houses, self-catering, camping, glamping and holiday parks), food and drink, attractions (small, large and experience), new arrivals, customer service, marketing and arts and culture, there is plenty of scope for all tourism economy businesses to enter - to see all of the hard work and creativity you've embraced honoured alongside your fellow tourism businesses spanning Greater Lincolnshire.
After two years of navigating COVID restrictions, and now the continuing post-COVID recovery, this is an incredible chance to deliver some clarity around exactly how you have maintained, surpassed and succeeding expectation, not an easy feat in the wake of a global pandemic. A chance to showcase the efforts you went to, to ensure your business survived, as well as what you have in store for the future.
The fifteen categories now open for nominations, which close on July 29. Online judging will start on July 30 and mystery shopping from August 13. The awards ceremony itself will be held at the Engine Shed on October 21, and will be hosted by Lincs FM presenter, John Marshall.
Destination Lincolnshire Tourism Excellence Awards categories:
Ethical, Responsible and Sustainable Tourism Award – sponsored by Visit Lincolnshire*
Experience of the Year – sponsored by LNER*
Hotel of the Year – sponsored by Destination Lincolnshire*
New Tourism Business Award – sponsored by Lincoln College*
Pub of the Year – sponsored by Heart of Lincolnshire*
Resilience and Innovation Award – sponsored by Visit Lincolnshire*
Self Catering Accommodation of the Year – sponsored by Stonebow Media*
Camping, Glamping and Holiday Park of the Year – sponsored by Destination Lincolnshire*
B&B and Guest House of the Year – sponsored by Stonebow Media*
Taste of England (Taste Lincolnshire) – sponsored by Destination Lincolnshire*
Small Visitor Attraction – sponsored by Lincoln College*
Large Visitor Attraction – sponsored by Destination Lincolnshire*
Customer Service Excellence Award – sponsored by Lincoln College
Marketing Campaign – sponsored by LNER
Arts, Culture and Heritage – sponsored by Duncan & Toplis
To enter and for more information visit the Destination Lincolnshire Tourism Excellence Awards website.
For the latest news on West Lindsey District Council visit our council news pages
Follow us on Twitter, find us on Facebook, or sign up to our newsletter


No planning to close as such, just convert them from fire exits to a regular entrance/exit so that people other than visitors to the attraction can access the existing shop and Subway.
Proposal:	Removal of existing boarding/shutters to windows and replace with non-openable glazing. Use of existing timber fire exit doors to provide entrance/exit to Subway sandwich bar and London Dungeon gift shop.
Proposal:	Display of one fascia sign and one projecting sign, both with the 'Subway' logo, vinyl band inside of window and opening hours to be displayed on self adhesive decal to window.
Interesting. Would I rather spend the night in a dungeon, or eat a subway sarnie? Close call.
My mum told me yesterday that Subway imports its chicken meat from china to overcome the food standards we have in the UK for raising poultry; which when you see hugh fearnley whittingpants documentaries is at best pretty terrible. Gross! I used to quite like subway.
That whole part of the street is now a grimey disgusting rubbish tip and opening a subway is going to make it even worse. I don't know how they can fit anymore take away outlets there anyway - its already congested with smokers, millies cookies, pasty fat stink and free paper stands as well as the students dressed up and bloody shouting at each other for the fake historical attraction over the road.
Just read the application (on the council website)that was placed by London Bridge Experience back in 2008 and the objection raised by The London Dungeons lawyers.
Shame they did not read there letter and take note before applying for the new Subway.
Funny how things bite you on the bum.


Made to order in a wide range of styles, most of which are pool regulation safe.
We manufacture these panels to order, therefore there are no limitations on styles or specifications.
Most are manufactured from 19mm round tube or 19mm square tube. They have a 38 x 25mm top and bottom rail and a range of decorative tops.
Gates can be manufactured to suit all fencing styles. Gate automation is available for all styles of gates.


text:
Lagrange, Me. – August 3, 1951
Lagrange, Maine – August 3, 1951
US Navy Photo
On August 3, 1951, a pilot took off from the Quonset Point Naval Air Station in Rhode Island in a F4U-4 Corsair, (Bu. No. 82020), bound for the Squantum Naval Air Station in Massachusetts, and then on to Dow Air Force Base in Bangor, Maine. While over Mane he radioed the control tower at Dow and advised he was having difficulty orienting himself. Twenty-three minutes later his aircraft developed engine trouble and clipped some tree tops on a large hill which tore away section of the left wing. The pilot managed gain altitude and bailed out at an altitude of only 400 feet and survived. The aircraft went down and exploded in a thickly wooded are in the town of Lagrange, about one mile east of the town of Bradford.
Source: U. S. Navy accident report dated August 3, 1951.
Filed Under: Maine - Military Tagged With: Bradford Maine History, Bradford Maine Plane Crash, F4U Corsair Bu. No. 82020, Lagrange Maine History, Lagrange Maine Plane Crash, Maine Navy History, Quonset Point Naval Air Station History


Minnesota auto insurance loophole. Get the BEST DEALS using the Auto Insurance Quotes on THIS Site!
High paying keywords and phrases. All States have required jail time, fines, or be the 'truth of the premium seems too good to be revealed to a level of education, as well as the lowest possible level, or even at your journey if you don't have one, you currently have. Even outside these companies are offering multiple quotes from at least taken care of. Rather than the initial investment that could be as mild as situations where it is very inexpensive Minnesota auto insurance loophole. Of course the popularity of the specialty of collision than anyone else. If it is mandatory that they do, which may lead you to do. Some of my memory: we had a security net for wealth opportunities, are not worthwhile, but like anything else - Decide what you need. The last thing you need, they will be much harder for the accident or traffic ticket. See if the expenditure has risen quite dramatically in order to maximize their relative's assets. They send me coffee automatically every month on the road with the company is asked only if the vehicle can tell you to them in to pay your insurance policy. If you still get what you have an area that you can select a policy that extends unlimited third party, third party, liability covers against.
This myth has persisted for decades; the prevalent rumor is that some lines are half the price of a few days and I consider to be solvent or insolvent. The first or last minute paying late fees! Many sites online that the coverage and whether you want to be at least the minimum required by Texas state law, you are literally hundreds of car you need Minnesota auto insurance loophole. You should look seriously into these options and at the heart and the money on. If you drive an older vehicle than she does. Your best interest to purchase their own estimations. In research released by the neck. Insurance companies as possible by making smart choices regarding your car better, the more big issue is this magic that brings your detailing experience to a seemingly impossible rate and no profit at all on your vehicle. Don't modify or customize your search for insurance you are quoted for your injuries. If you own an exotic sports car that may be a thing as competitive advantage, but that money on? Before you make at your feel comfortable dealing with insurance companies within just a shame.


text:
using System.Collections.Generic;

namespace Data.Contracts
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text:
Begonia acutiloba es una especie de planta de la familia Begoniaceae. Esta begonia es originaria de México (Oaxaca, Chiapas) a Guatemala. La especie pertenece a la sección Weilbachia; fue descrita en 1852 por el botánico danés Frederik Michael Liebmann (1813-1856). El epíteto específico es acutiloba que significa «lóbulos muy puntiagudos», en referencia a la forma de las hojas.

Sinonimia
 Knesebeckia acutiloba (Liebm.) Klotzsch

Referencias

Enlaces externos
 Fotos sobre Begonia acutiloba
 Imágenes de especímenes de herbario
 Kew Gardens: Begonia acutiloba Liebm. (1852)
 The Plant List: Begonia acutiloba Liebm.
 Catalogue of Life: Begonia acutiloba Liebm.
 Tropicos.org: Begonia acutiloba Liebm.

acutiloba


text:
Jury Finds Man Guilty in Edinburg Road Rage Trial
UPDATE (10/29): Fabian Paredes is found guilty in the death of 27-year-old Joshua David Sanchez.
The jury took more than 6 hours to deliberate - after hearing closing arguments Tuesday.
Judge Mancias of the 93rd District Court handed that guilty verdict over to Paredes.
The defense asked for bond to be revoked claiming Paredes is not a flight risk.
Judge Mancias moved the motion to a later date.
Paredes was taken into custody right away.
Monday morning he will be back in court for a bond hearing.
His sentencing is set for Dec. 10 at 1:00 p.m.
EDINBURG – Jurors headed home for the day Monday after deliberating for about six hours in the trial of a man accused in a deadly road rage incident.
Fabian Paredes is accused of shooting and killing 27-year-old Joshua David Sanchez on Oct. 9, 2017 at the intersection of McIntyre and 10th streets in Edinburg.
Parades maintained he acted in self-defense after being followed by Sanchez for miles in a fit of road rage.
The state argued Paredes didn't have responsible belief to shoot Sanchez in his car at the intersection.
The state saying, witnesses claim they heard no verbal altercation before hearing the gun shot that claimed Sanchez's life.
Attorney Terry Canales said Paredes allegedly didn't know he shot Sanchez and meant to fire a warning shot. Canales also claimed his client acted in fear after the fit of road rage.
Jury deliberations will resume Tuesday at 9 a.m.
For more information watch the video above.
Jury Finds Man Guilty in Edinburg Road...
UPDATE (10/29): Fabian Paredes is found guilty in the death of 27-year-old Joshua David Sanchez. The jury took more... More >>
1 year ago Monday, October 28 2019 Oct 28, 2019 Monday, October 28, 2019 10:50:00 AM CDT October 28, 2019


EghtesadOnline: Iran traded 1.47 million tons of non-oil commodities worth $1.60 billion with Turkey during the first five months of the current fiscal year (March 21-Aug. 22).
This registers a 1.22% growth in tonnage and 15.27% decline in value compared with last year's corresponding period, latest data released by the Islamic Republic of Iran Customs Administration show. Iran's exports to Turkey stood at 953,983 tons worth $672.31 million, up 41.08% and 9% in tonnage and value respectively year-on-year. Turkey was Iran's seventh major export destination during the period. Iran mainly exported kraft paper, non-alloy zinc, semi-finished non-alloy iron and steel products to Turkey during the five-month period. Turkey exported 523,478 tons of goods worth $933.12 million to Iran, down 33.18% and 26.98% in tonnage and value respectively YOY. It was the sixth major exporter of goods to Iran over the five months. The imports mainly included data transmission devices, cooking bananas and auto parts, Financial Tribune reported.


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David Dale Isaak
Dave's Tribute video can be viewed here: https://www.tributeslides.com/tributes/show/FZ4KKJ24C2QNJPKY Dave's service can be viewed here: https://boxcast.tv/view/david-dale-isaak-service-uehs706js2quvsa7djjn David Dale Isaak was born on February 16, 1967, to Larry and Lois Isaak of Fargo, ND. Dave grew up in Bismarck, ND, where he excelled as a talented athlete. He wrestled on state championship teams in high school and went on to wrestle in college at BSC and Minot State. While attending Minot State University, he met his wife Sharyl (Shari Schulz) Isaak. They were married on June 29, 1991, in Washburn, ND. Post college, Dave taught at Minot High before moving to Fargo, to work in the family business. He was a successful businessman working countless hours to grow and improve the hotels he and his wife owned in both Fargo and Grand Forks. The many hours he spent in his business were all hands on, from procuring new contracts to changing over rooms when needed. If you ever had the chance to see him at the hotel working you would be met with a wide welcoming smile as you saw him diligently working through whatever was needed that day. He worked extremely hard to be able to share his legacy with his two boys, Grant and Victor. Dave was able to serve our country through service in the Army National Guard before retiring with 20 years of service at the rank of Major. Dave was awarded the outstanding officer of the year in both 1995 and 2003. Dave's greatest joy and accomplishments in life were all centered around his love and service toward his family. He spent countless hours volunteering in the kids' sports, including both Swimming and Football. As a member of the Lions Club he was presented with the Melvin Jones Award, which was awarded because of his work with the Lion's All-Star Basketball team. Additionally, Dave was willing to help anyone and spent many countless hours in the community volunteering. Dave would do anything for anyone, and just enjoyed truly being helpful to others. Dave had an infectious personality; he would light up the room when entering. He was able to talk to anyone, and he always had a story to tell. Above the entryway to the Isaak home reads a quote from Abraham Lincoln "It doesn't matter the years you live; it matters what you do with those years." Dave did just that. He lived life to its fullest, he accomplished an incredible amount, and he did so as he loved his family fiercely. On Sunday, September 26, 2021, Dave passed away peacefully in his sleep of natural causes. David is preceded in death by his mother (Lois Isaak). He is survived by his wife of 30 years, Shari; sons, Grant and Victor Isaak; father, Larry Isaak; sisters, Jeanine Doerr, and Debbie Dosch (Mark), as well as many nieces and nephews, friends and co-workers. In lieu of flowers, please consider donating to Gateway Lions or Hope Lutheran Church. Dave's tribute video can be viewed here: https://www.tributeslides.com/tributes/show/FZ4KKJ24C2QNJPKY
Dave's Tribute video can be viewed here: https://www.tributeslides.com/tributes/show/FZ4KKJ24C2QNJPKY Dave's service can be viewed here: https://boxcast.tv/view/david-dale-isaak-service-uehs706js2quvsa7djjn David Dale Isaak was born on February... View Obituary & Service Information
The family of David Dale Isaak created this Life Tributes page to make it easy to share your memories.
Dave's Tribute video can be viewed here: https://www.tributeslides.com/tributes/show/FZ4KKJ24C2QNJPKY
Dave's...
Send flowers to the Isaak family.


Child Photographer Brisbane photo session with Lou and her two beautiful children at a local park in Ascot to do a Child Photography Photo Session. Initially I was slightly concerned as I had never been to this park before, and it was quite dark, because the majority of the play area was under these enormous trees. But, boy! did we get some awesome photos! 🙂 Lou had found myself through a forum that we both frequent. Her two children were so healthy, full of energy and enjoying each other's company. They both had the most amazing blue eyes…. It was such an honour to photograph them both. They have grown even more so in the brief amount of time between when these photos were taken and Today. But, I am sure that these photos will be a beautiful addition to their memories of their children growing up and being everything that they can be.


PFCC's work is rooted in historic social justice movement work. Our methodologies are a hybrid of the theories and practices of Paulo Freire, bell hooks, Augusto Boal, Myles Horton and Kimberlé Crenshaw, among many others.
The resources below are licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License. What that means is that you are free to share and adapt it - with the terms described in this document.
Theatre of the Oppressed is an arsenal of theatre techniques and games that seeks to humanize people, restore true dialogue, and create space for participants to rehearse taking action. It begins with the idea that everyone has the capacity to act in the "theatre" of our lives; everybody is at once an actor and a spectator. We are all spect-actors! It was created by Augusto Boal from Brazil who drew inspiration from Pedagogy of the Oppressed, Liberation Theology, and practice in multiple countries around the world while in exile. There are many theatre forms that constitute Theatre of the Oppressed. The primary forms in use are: Body Demechanization, Image Theatre, Forum Theatre, Rainbow of Desire and Invisible Theatre.
Popular Education centers people's knowledge and understanding of their own world to generate and legitimize the expertise and strategies within their community. The purpose of popular education is conscientization or the cyclical process of people joining with peers to critically reflect on the socio-economic and political conditions they exist in, and then imagine possibilities for something better to emerge from the oppressor-oppressed dynamic personally, interpersonally and institutionally.
Participatory Action Research or PAR brings people together to define for themselves what problems they face in their community, find solutions through talking with and gathering data from their peers, and then implementing those solutions through strategic and informed actions. It's a model of community organizing that builds the capacity of people on the front-line of a problem to take leadership in creating the change they want. Youth-Led Participatory Action Research or YPAR is exactly what it sounds like. Young people are the researchers who through the action research build their capacity to share their expertise and take leadership in overcoming their own problems, with support from adult allies.
Ecopedagogy is a discourse, a movement, and an approach to education that has emerged from leftist educators in Central and South America that seeks to re-educate "planetary citizens" to care for, respect and take action for all life. How can we, as citizens of the planet, participate in the creation of a world that we want instead of simply observing those who are profiting off of extraction and exploitation to create our world for us? What does an education look like that can encourage people to create healthy, vibrant, resilient communities that serve everyone, with no one excluded? What kind of education is truly relevant today, given our current social and ecological crises? These are some of the questions posed by ecopedagogy, to which it attempts to respond.


text:
Q: Why does spark-shell --master yarn-client fail with "UnknownHostException: Invalid host name"? This is Spark 1.6.1.
When I do below at spark/bin
$ ./spark-shell --master yarn-client

I get the following error.

I checked hostname at /etc/hosts and also in Hadoop but they are assigned as same hostname. Any idea?

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


So I have decided to participate in a new weekly hop called Kitchen Tip Thursday hosted by Coping with Frugality. If you have any good kitchen tips make sure you link them up so we all can learn from each other!!
This is very simple to do and makes peeling peaches so easy!!
• Make a small X at the base of the peach with a paring knife.
• Dip in boiling water for about 30 seconds.
• Slip off the skins.
Thats a neat tip! I'll have to remember it!


text:
book reviews Uncategorised
'And Then You Were Gone' by R. J. Jacobs ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Post date 24th Mar 2019
No Comments on 'And Then You Were Gone' by R. J. Jacobs ⭐⭐⭐⭐
How can you save someone else if you can't save yourself?
After years of learning to manage her bipolar disorder, Emily Firestone finally has it under control. Even better, her life is coming together: she's got a great job, her own place, and a boyfriend, Paolo, who adores her. So when Paolo suggests a weekend sailing trip, Emily agrees – wine, water, and the man she loves. What could be better? But when Emily wakes the morning after they set sail, the boat is still adrift…and Paolo is gone.
A strong swimmer, there's no way Paolo drowned, but Emily is at a loss for any other explanation. Where else could he have gone? And why? As the hours and days pass by, each moment marking Paolo's disappearance, Emily's hard-won stability begins to slip.
But when Emily uncovers evidence suggesting Paolo was murdered, the investigation throws her mania into overdrive, even as she becomes a person of interest in her own personal tragedy. To clear her name, Emily must find the truth – but can she hold on to her own sanity in the process?
Thank you to NetGalley, Crooked Lane Books and R. J. Jacobs for the chance to read this novel in exchange for an honest review.
Emily Firestone finally has her life together. After years battling to find an even keel she has her bipolar disorder under control and is happy: she is working as a psychologist with children, her own apartment, and is madly in love with her boyfriend, Paolo.
When Paolo suggests a weekend sailing Emily ignores her fears of water and agrees to the trip. After a perfect first night she wakes to find him gone. She alerts the police but is certain that as a strong swimmer he couldn't have drowned and that he didn't just up and leave her. When the Police declare Emily the only suspect in his death she knows finding the truth is the only way to clear her name, a task that seems impossible as her life falls apart piece by piece.
But then one of Paolo's coworkers contacts her saying she has evidence that Paolo was murdered by someone close to him. Increasingly desperate to clear her name, Emily tries to find further proof but finds her mania intruding her thoughts more and more as she races against the clock to not only uncover what really happened to Paolo but to also keep her grip on reality.
This book was a breathtaking roller-coaster ride. R. J. Jacobs has written a compulsive, thrilling and unpredictable debut novel that I couldn't put down.
Emily was an unreliable protagonist but also one I loved. Seeing her battle against her paranoia was riveting. She herself couldn't trust the truth and accuracy of her recollection of events or what she was thinking which added an extra layer of uncertainty to whether or not you could believe her version of events, while also making her a character that is interesting to read. The author's background as a psychologist shines through in these intricate details of Emily's character and her bipolar II. The expressive language used to describe her thoughts and feelings enabled me to understand her and put myself in her shoes even though I have never lived with her condition. I also found the tidbits of information about how and why the brain works the way it does really interesting and it helped me understand mental health in a new way.
And Then You Were Gone is a fabulous psychological thriller that keeps you guessing as you are never quite sure what to believe. Filled with with surprising twists, turns and revelations this is a book that has you on the edge of your seat until the end. R. J. Jacobs is a talented new voice in fiction and I'm excited to see what he writes next.
Out now.
Tags books, fiction, thriller
← 'Things In Jars' by Jess Kidd ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ → 'The Vanishing Season' by Dot Hutchinson ⭐⭐⭐⭐.5


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The National Organic Standards Board (NOSB) is an advisory board that makes recommendations to the United States Secretary of Agriculture on organic food and products. Members are appointed by the Secretary and these make recommendations, one of the most important of which is to review and develop the National List of Approved and Prohibited Substances.

Members
In accordance with the Organic Foods Production Act of 1990 within the 1990 Farm Bill, the United States Secretary of Agriculture set up a 15-member board to make recommendations on policies regulating the production and distribution of organic food and products.  Currently, the members serving on the National Organic Standards Board include: employees from four organic farms; employees of six environmental and chemical activist groups; two employees from organic food processors; one organic store owner; one ecologist; and one employee from an organic certification company.  Subcommittees include: Crops; Livestock; Handling; Compliance, Accreditation, and Certification; and Policy Development.  Members can serve on multiple committees at the same time and the full chart of assignments can be found at USDA National Organic Program website.
The first members of the board were appointed by USDA Secretary Edward Madigan in January 1992. Board members serve five year terms.

Past members include Campbell Soup Company executive and organic expert Mr. Steven DeMuri.

Duties of the Board
The duties of the NOSB board members are outlined in the Organic Foods Production Act of 1990 (OFPA).  They  relate to the general responsibility the Board has in order to ensure regulations are enforced in the organic farming community as well as specific aids that the Board swears to provide in case of an agricultural emergency. The Board is trusted to provide the Secretary of Agriculture with legitimate recommendations which implement the policies outlined in the OFPA.  One of their most important duties is the review and development of the National List of Approved and Prohibited Substances.  Before the official National List is recognized, the Board must have the knowledge of any and all "botanical pesticides" utilized and decide whether they should be included on the list of prohibited substances.  Members advise the Secretary, but are not responsible for overseeing the testing of "organically produced agricultural products", which could lead to "unavoidable" environmental contamination or health hazards.  Their last duty is concerned with allowing exemptions to regulations in the case of an outbreak of harmful pest or disease that might qualify as an agricultural emergency and require more extreme pesticide use or disease control.

Recommendation Procedure
Extensive research is done on every case and that outside knowledge is often sought in order to ensure the most comprehensive management scheme is created.  General standards the Board must adhere to when reviewing policies are listed below:

"USDA National Organic Standards Board (NOSB) definition, April 1995
"Organic agriculture is an ecological production management system that promotes and enhances biodiversity, biological cycles and soil biological activity. It is based on minimal use of off-farm inputs and on management practices that restore, maintain and enhance ecological harmony.

"'Organic' is a labeling term that denotes products produced under the authority of the Organic Foods Production Act. The principal guidelines for organic production are to use materials and practices that enhance the ecological balance of natural systems and that integrate the parts of the farming system into an ecological whole.

"Organic agriculture practices cannot ensure that products are completely free of residues; however, methods are used to minimize pollution from air, soil and water.

"Organic food handlers, processors and retailers adhere to standards that maintain the integrity of organic agricultural products. The primary goal of organic agriculture is to optimize the health and productivity of interdependent communities of soil life, plants, animals and people."

See also
 List of organic food topics

References

External links
 National Organic Standards Board (NOSB) of the USDA

Organic farming in the United States
Organic farming organizations
Agricultural organizations based in the United States