tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11530464958936384652024-03-14T00:50:06.918-07:00Retrospective CavemanVerdilakhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12232049933490582125noreply@blogger.comBlogger82125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1153046495893638465.post-13240927570600228922012-01-14T09:21:00.000-08:002012-01-14T09:22:43.636-08:00How to Bake BaconNeed to make 2 lbs (or more) of bacon in 25 minutes?<br />
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No problem! Just set the oven to 400 degrees, lay the pieces flat on baking sheet (i use the industrial type with 1" sides) and bake 25 minutes (more or less, depending on how crunchy you like it).<br />
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The slices come out straight and pretty, just like in a restaurant. And the bacon grease won't pop you in the arm either. Just tilt the pans to drain the drippings into another container for future use. Done!hippie_mamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01479358003758638738noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1153046495893638465.post-59904786296569588232012-01-14T09:14:00.000-08:002012-01-14T09:14:21.983-08:00Turkey No-Noodle Soup It's that time of year. You know, the one when everyone gets sick. So here's a recipe i came up with for a soothing meal that can be eaten when you really don't feel much like eating.<br />
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It could also make a good gift to a loved one, friend, or office mate that isn't feeling so awesome.<br />
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Turkey No-Noodle Soup*<br />
<br />
Turkey Stock** from one medium (appx. 12 lbs) turkey<br />
Chicken Broth (2 cans)<br />
2 cups turkey, cubed<br />
3 stalks celery, cubed<br />
1 small sweet potato, cubed<br />
2 cups shredded coleslaw mix<br />
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1.Bring stock and broth to boil over medium-high heat<br />
2.Add cubed vegetables and meat; continue boiling until vegetables are soft, but not mushy.<br />
3.Turn off heat and add shredded coleslaw<br />
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*all quantities are suggestions only; feel free to make substitutions<br />
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**add 16-24 oz water and two cloves garlic, minced, to carcass, neck, and organs. Cook in crockpot, 8 hours on low. Strain and use immediately or refrigerate.hippie_mamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01479358003758638738noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1153046495893638465.post-11862546979262011832010-10-09T23:26:00.001-07:002010-10-09T23:30:23.923-07:00Guess what? The Dietary Guidelines are a jokeso says Adele H. Hite, M.A.T.(Department of Nutrition, Gillings School of Global Public Health, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA), Richard David Feinman, Ph.D.(Department of Cell Biology, SUNY Downstate Medical Center, Brooklyn, New York, USA), Gabriel E. Guzman, Ph.D.(Science Department, Triton College, River Grove, Illinois, USA), Morton Satin, M.Sc.(Salt Institute, Alexandria, Virginia, USA), Pamela A. Schoenfeld, R.D.(Department of Foods and Nutrition, College of Saint Elizabeth, Morristown, New Jersey, USA), Richard J. Wood, Ph.D.(Exercise Science and Sport Studies Department, Springfield College, Springfield, Massachusetts, USA) who published the following paper in the journal Nutrition:<br />
<blockquote><a href="http://www.nutritionjrnl.com/article/PIIS0899900710002893/fulltext">In the face of contradictory evidence: Report of the Dietary Guidelines for Americans Committee</a><br />
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Concerns that were raised with the first dietary recommendations 30 y ago have yet to be adequately addressed. The initial Dietary Goals for Americans (1977) proposed increases in carbohydrate intake and decreases in fat, saturated fat, cholesterol, and salt consumption that are carried further in the 2010 Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee (DGAC) Report. Important aspects of these recommendations remain unproven, yet a dietary shift in this direction has already taken place even as overweight/obesity and diabetes have increased. Although appealing to an evidence-based methodology, the DGAC Report demonstrates several critical weaknesses, including use of an incomplete body of relevant science; inaccurately representing, interpreting, or summarizing the literature; and drawing conclusions and/or making recommendations that do not reflect the limitations or controversies in the science. An objective assessment of evidence in the DGAC Report does not suggest a conclusive proscription against low-carbohydrate diets. The DGAC Report does not provide sufficient evidence to conclude that increases in whole grain and fiber and decreases in dietary saturated fat, salt, and animal protein will lead to positive health outcomes. Lack of supporting evidence limits the value of the proposed recommendations as guidance for consumers or as the basis for public health policy. It is time to reexamine how US dietary guidelines are created and ask whether the current process is still appropriate for our needs.</blockquote><br />
The paper continues with:<br />
<br />
<blockquote>The DGAC Report had the opportunity to review and evaluate the emerging science, to distinguish between established principles and ideas that are still areas of research or controversy, and to provide clear, consistent information for Americans. Instead, the 2010 DGAC Report continues to make one-size-fits-all recommendations that are based on evidence that is weak, fragmented, and even contradictory in nature.</blockquote><br />
In other words the DGAC screwed the pooch and filled the Dietary Guidelines with bad science (if you could even call what was written as "science"). In the Nutrition article, the authors take the DGAC to task like when the DGAC complains that Americans aren’t following the U.S. Dietary Guidelines, which of course call for consuming less fat and more carbohydrates:<br />
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<blockquote>Average daily calories from meat, eggs, and nuts have increased by about 20 cal since 1970 as average daily calories from flour and cereal products have increased by nearly 10 times that amount (p. D1-10). In short, the macronutrient content of the diet has shifted in the direction recommended since the 1977 dietary goals.<br />
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Total and saturated fat intakes have decreased as a percentage of calories for men, the absolute amount has decreased whereas carbohydrate intake has increased. Notable from the DGAC Report is the absence of any concern that this shift in macronutrient content may be a factor in the increase in overweight /obesity and chronic disease; the proposed recommendations suggest that this trend should not only continue but also become more pronounced.</blockquote><br />
Towards the end of the paper, the authors present a little history:<br />
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<blockquote>It is of interest to consider the opinion of the American Medical Association (AMA) with respect to the first implementation of dietary guidelines. In an editorial, it was stated:<br />
<br />
“We believe that it would be inappropriate at this time to adopt proposed national dietary goals as set forth in the Report on Dietary Goals for the United States. The evidence for assuming that benefits to be derived from the adoption of such universal dietary goals as set forth in the Report is not conclusive and there is potential for harmful effects from a radical long-term dietary change as would occur through adoption of the proposed national goals.”<br />
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In the three decades since, carbohydrate consumption has increased; overall fat, saturated fat, and cholesterol consumption have decreased to near or below targeted levels; caloric intake remains within recommended levels; and leisure-time physical activity has increased slightly (pp. D1-1, D3-10, B2-3). At the same time, scientific evidence in favor of these recommendations remains inconclusive, and we must consider the possibility that the “potential for harmful effects” has in fact been realized.</blockquote><br />
In other words, what the public is being told about food and their diet is complete bull and those in power would rather to continue to try and shove BS down our throats instead of saying "You know what, we done goofed up for the past 30 years. Here's what the science is actually showing." I have a sneaking suspicion this is due to the high number of special interests,lobbyists, and subsidies *cough*corn*cough*Verdilakhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12232049933490582125noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1153046495893638465.post-51797296640284348532010-08-28T22:23:00.000-07:002010-08-28T22:26:09.556-07:00Paleo/Primal Bacon Peach RecipesWith the summer bounty of peaches nearly over with, as well as it being National Peach Month, I've thought about some peach-related recipes that are delicious and can be eaten by Paleos and Primals with ease.<br />
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First up: a Peach Salad w/ Bacon, Walnuts, and Gorgonzola<br />
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Note: You could use a yogurt-based dressing here: honey dijon is just my preference.<br />
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Honey Mustard Dressing<br />
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* 1 tablespoon dijon-style mustard<br />
* 2 tablespoons honey<br />
* 3 tablespoons lemon juice<br />
* 1/2 teaspoon salt<br />
* 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper<br />
* 3/4 cup safflower oil, coconut oil, olive oil, or best yet, use the bacon oil left over from frying the bacon for these recipes!<br />
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Thoroughly combine all the ingredients except the oil in a medium bowl. Slowly drizzle in the oil while whisking madly until well-emulsified. I suppose you could use a food processor to do everything, but sometimes it is simpler and quicker to just use a whisk.<br />
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* 1 fresh peach, cut into 1/2" wedges <br />
* Mixed greens (Romaine, Lollo Rossa, Rocket/ Arugula, Curly leaf lettuce, Frisée-- go crazy.)<br />
* 4 slices of bacon<br />
* 2oz Gorgonzola cheese (I used the kind made from goat cheese)<br />
* A handful of walnuts, chopped<br />
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On a very hot grill, lay down all the peach slices for 2-3 minutes, or until they get dark grill marks, then set aside. Arrange the mixed greens in a bowl and wave the ham decoratively among them. Top with the peach slices, cheeses, and walnuts, then drizzle the dressing over.<br />
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Next up are: Bacon-Wrapped Peaches with Basil and Aged Balsamic<br />
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Ingredients<br />
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* 16 thin slices of bacon<br />
* 2 medium freestone peaches—halved, pitted and cut into 8 wedges each<br />
* Salt and freshly ground pepper<br />
* 16 basil leaves<br />
* 1 tablespoon olive oil, coconut oil, or bacon oil<br />
* Aged balsamic vinegar, for drizzling<br />
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Directions<br />
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1. Lay the bacon slices out on a work surface. Set a peach wedge at the edge of each slice, season with salt and pepper and top with a basil leaf. Roll up the bacon to enclose the peaches.<br />
2. In a medium skillet, heat the olive oil. Add half of the wrapped peaches and cook over moderate heat, turning occasionally, until the bacon is browned and crisp, about 4 minutes. Transfer to a platter and repeat with the remaining peaches.<br />
3. Lightly drizzle the peaches with aged balsamic vinegar and serve.Verdilakhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12232049933490582125noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1153046495893638465.post-83402885377908744002010-08-21T19:28:00.001-07:002010-08-21T19:28:36.718-07:00Thoughts on renewing my wedding vowsMy wife wants to do a big, elaborate thing for out 10th anniversary, i.e. she wants to renew our vows. I’m cool with this. I mean, we didn’t have a great big wedding to begin with… actually, we didn’t even have a small wedding. It was my wife and I, standing in a roadside gazebo (which was overlooking a very awesome little town by the name of Eureka Springs). We loved it, at least until my wife’s aunt got married with a large, comparatively, ceremony which got my wife a bit jealous. I have a sneaking suspicion she really wants to outdo that, which wouldn’t be very hard, not by just a little but by a lot. And not to be all “Look at us, we did it even bigger and better!”, but just because it is a thing that name girls dream about as theygrow up and my wife has become much more “girly”, in a feminine sense, over the past few years.Case in point, her favorite color is now pink. And not just any pink, but a darker hot pink. She even asked me to buy her high-heel shoes the other day, though they were still the mary jane style, but still! This is not the woman that I fell in love with and married, she has changed from being tomboyish and uncaring, to being girly and wanting to look pretty (dont get me wrong, I am NOT complaining!).<br />
<br />
While in her mind, pretty flowers, everyone all dressed nice, and being outside on a beautiful piece of land is her idea of an awesome ceremony, I’m thinking a bit differently. See, I would love to do a theme ceremony: preferably superhero, supervillian, steampunk, or a mixed theme of pure, unadulterated awesome-ness! Further proving my point on how awesome she is, she would love it too! Although, her fears of how our respective families might think of such an idea cause her to say it would be cool in theory, but in application it is more of an “why dont you help me pick out some nice floral arrangements and lace” sort of thing.Verdilakhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12232049933490582125noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1153046495893638465.post-27109025071965177332010-08-09T17:42:00.000-07:002010-08-09T17:42:56.585-07:00Paleo Ice Cream, Lactose-FreeSo I've tried the banana ice cream method and it rather failed for me, and I am rather non-picky when it comes to cold treats.<br />
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My wife then tried to make ice cream in our old-style ice cream maker with coconut milk for me, since I am lactose intolerant. Didn't work. In fact, the coconut milk caused it to freeze up around the sides way too fast, forcing us to try to make it set up in the freezer. Turned out to be more like ice, without the cream. I ate it, because I wasn't going to waste it, but I wouldn't ask my wife to make it again. Also, no one else would even touch the stuff.<br />
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I've tried the ice cream from the stores that are lactose-free, but it seems my body cannot be fooled, so there goes that option (as does using the lactose-free pills).<br />
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Strangely, while just a nibble of lactose will send me to hell for the next few hours, I can eat butter from the stick all day long, safely. Well, beyond the fact that the taste would cause me to upchuck rather early on.<br />
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Luckily, I hit upon the following recipe that I tried and even my wife thought was the same consistency and flavor as ice cream, just not quite sweet enough for her while I thought it was perfect.<br />
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<a href="http://cheaphealthygood.blogspot.com/2010/07/green-kitchen-chocolate-cherry-ice.html">Green Kitchen: Chocolate Cherry “Ice Cream” Popsicles</a>: "Chocolate Cherry “Ice Cream” Popsicles<br />
Serves 4, at least by my popsicle molds.<br />
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8oz frozen cherries<br />
1/2 c canned coconut milk (a type with emulsifiers, like guar gum, will actually do you better)<br />
1/3 c dark chocolate chips (vegan, if that's your style)<br />
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1) Put cherries and coconut milk into bowl of food processor. Process until smooth and ice creamy.<br />
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2) Add chocolate chips, and process until mostly broken up and dispersed. (A renegade full chip never hurt anyone.)<br />
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3) Pour into molds. Freeze at least 4 hours. <br />
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Approximate Calories, Fat, Fiber, Protein, and Price Per Serving<br />
132 calories, 7.2g fat, 1.7g fiber, 1.2g protein, $0.81<br />
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Calculations<br />
8oz frozen cherries: 147 calories, 0g fat, 2.7g fiber, 1.3g protein, $2.40<br />
1/2 c coconut milk: 111 calories, 12.1g fat, 0.6g fiber, 1.1g protein, $0.50<br />
1/3 c chocolate chips: 268 calories, 16.8g fat, 3.3g fiber, 2.4g protein, $0.37<br />
TOTAL: 526 calories, 28.9g fat, 6.6g fiber, 4.8g protein $3.27<br />
PER SERVING (total/4): 132 calories, 7.2g fat, 1.7g fiber, 1.2g protein, $0.81<br />
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My changes are as follows:<br />
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16oz frozen strawberries<br />
1 can (14oz) coconut milk<br />
small handful of dark chocolate chips<br />
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I used a food processor, with the bottom blades, and processed it all together for about a minute. That is how long it took it to become smooth. I ate some right from the processor's container and it was perfect! My wife felt it needed to be a bit sweeter, so next time I might add a tablespoon or two of honey and maybe a smidgen of vanilla to it, but for me... this completely fixes all my desire for ice cream that I have been having this summer. Not only does it taste great, but it was fuck-up free, unlike the whole "ice cream from just a frozen banana" thing that I can never seem to make work, or how the ice cream maker dislikes coconut milk being used.<br />
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</script></span></div>Verdilakhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12232049933490582125noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1153046495893638465.post-63194488673313891442010-07-10T23:42:00.001-07:002010-07-10T23:42:31.836-07:00What is your gaming (player/GM) style?Due to other threads on different gaming forums, I have been curious about this: What is your play/GM style?<br />
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For myself…its hard to say. I started roleplaying with free form V:tM so I have a special place for that in my heart, and I believe that it still influences my playing/GMing style today. In that game, interaction was between character and character, between character and public NPC’s (public in that anyone could control said NPC), and much less common, between character and owned NPC (such as bodyguards and whatnot). Because of this, I tend to thrive in games where NPC’s are just a small aspect of the game. <br />
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The next aspect of gaming I had was that of Palladium Fantasy, my first foray into gaming at a tabletop instead of over the internet. I loved it and as such, fantasy gaming is my favorite by far. This game also cemented my idea of NPC’s being of little importance, with the exception of perhaps one or two NPC’s that are part of the characters group. <br />
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So in regards to NPC’s, I feel they should either be part of the group or should fade into black the moment they are no longer being spoken to and whatnot (this is not to mean that said shopkeeper is not alerting the authorities or whomever that you are in town after taking your money, but that should be done inside the GM’s head).<br />
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The PF game also gave me something that I really liked: Specifics. I like specifics being there in games that I play and run. I find it refreshing to know not only that my character can summon a fireball out of thin air and throw it at someone, but also know how hot said fireball is in real-world terms and what it can and cannot burn through. However, due to that game and others that I have played over the years, I really hate it when the specifics get in the way of having fun and taking time away from the game. <br />
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For example, if the GM says that the fireball burns through a certain substance, for me that is all that I need to know, that the GM said it does. I could care less if the rules state that this is impossible, maybe that section of the wall is weakened or a difference substance altogether made to look like it was something else. So when someone begins to argue the point, that’s the moment the game immersion ends for me, which I really hate. <br />
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I guess this means that I gravitate towards crunchy systems that is very rules light when actually in use (probably why I like Tri-Stat dX and Savage Worlds: Explorers Edition so well). <br />
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I am not big on romance in games that I play/GM, unless it is between my wife and I, in which case I feel it is rather insignificant to the story and game. <br />
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As far as purpose of a game, a grand scheme of things, I can go either way. I am fine with tv show-like game sessions where each week is something new to take care of. I am also fine with having a need to save the world. I am not into political games, precisely because they cause NPC’s to become rather invasive and in-your-face, which is not where I want them. To me, the game is about the characters and their interaction with each other. <br />
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Why some people want a game with other players but prefer to interact with NPC’s instead of doing what they want, which is obviously playing a game that consists of just themselves and the GM (1-1 type of gaming), is beyond my comprehension (not to say that that type of gaming cannot be fun, I have done this in the past and have had a great time, but if you are joining a group, then the game is about the group, not your character and some NPC).<br />
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I like long, epic storylines but I feel that I am not very good at implementing them as a GM. I tend to play characters who are rogues/thieves/scoundrels who think outside of the box and would prefer to come up with a unique and off-the-wall approach to solving any problem than to take the easier route, so my riddles and plot-lines tend to be about the same. Meaning my players often have a hard time figuring it out, so I downplay it and… well, I get bored (course, I’ve not done something like that since I ran a game with a crunchy system for combat and resolution, so I think I could do better now). <br />
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tl:dr<br />
<br />
I like to play/GM games that are a chrunchy in character creation and have real-world examples, but want the system to be nearly invisible during gameplay. NPC’s should know their place: Either be part of the group (only 1 or 2, max) or interact only when interacted with. Players should play as part of the group, not desire one-on-one time with the GM all the time. Games should be full of political intrigue. I am very much so a “Why yes, you can do that.” as a GM, but I also like skill/stat checks when appropriate.<br />
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So, what about you? What is your style of playing/GMing?Verdilakhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12232049933490582125noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1153046495893638465.post-7763903848204413702010-06-10T23:17:00.000-07:002010-06-10T23:18:03.782-07:00The Future of FoodExcellent documentary that I hope everyone watches. It scares me to be in the dark about genetically modified foods, in regards to if I am consuming them or not. It is also terribly frightening to know that our food supply is controlled by businesses, not farmers. I fear that this will be the cause of our Apocalypse: Not Zombies or Robot Overlords, but Food Control.<br />
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<object width="600" height="450"><param name="allowfullscreen" value="true" /><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always" /><param name="movie" value="http://vimeo.com/moogaloop.swf?clip_id=11120701&server=vimeo.com&show_title=1&show_byline=1&show_portrait=0&color=00ADEF&fullscreen=1" /><embed src="http://vimeo.com/moogaloop.swf?clip_id=11120701&server=vimeo.com&show_title=1&show_byline=1&show_portrait=0&color=00ADEF&fullscreen=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" width="600" height="450"></embed></object><p><a href="http://vimeo.com/11120701">The Future of Food Free Documentary</a> from <a href="http://vimeo.com/user3646236">Deborah Koons Garcia</a> on <a href="http://vimeo.com">Vimeo</a>.</p><p>THE FUTURE OF FOOD is a feature length documentary that offers an in-depth investigation into the disturbing truth behind the unlabeled, patented, genetically engineered foods that have quietly filled grocery store shelves for the past decade</p>Verdilakhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12232049933490582125noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1153046495893638465.post-53671044974546121342010-05-25T18:25:00.000-07:002010-05-25T18:29:42.656-07:00Game Night with my Kids: Wushu Actual PlayMy kids have been begging me to run one of the roleplaying games that their mother and I play, and after they did their chores and homework, we sat down to make some characters for the setting of their choice. They chose the world of Avatar: The Last Airbender for the setting, loving the idea of being able to control the elements and i chose Wushu for the system. I am been interested in Wushu for the past year or so, but have yet to find a game or players to test it out on. Lucky for me, my kids would be willing to even suffer through the hours long combats that the Palladium system enjoys (that last bit was sarcasm, if you didn't notice).<br />
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Going with the basic 5/4/3 for attributes a 1 weakness, here is the cast of characters:<br />
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My son, who is 8 years old, chose to play Luke, an Airbending Master (5) who likes to throw and juggle anything that is small like knives and apples (4), with an aptitude for riding anything large enough to fit him (3). However, he is quite unlucky (1). Luke is 19 years old with black hair, and is wearing a blue shirt and black pants.<br />
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My eldest daughter, who is 6 years old, decided to play Millie, a Firebender (4) with a sword always at her side that she uses to fight her way out of any problem (3), any problem, that is, that she cannot solve with her charming way of getting almost everyone to believe in what she says (5). There is one small problem: She is a Princess of the Fire nation and her parents will not stop until they found her and brought her back home safety (1). Millie is 18 years old with blonde hair and is currently wearing a grey dress that is very fancy.<br />
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My youngest daughter is 4 years old and is playing the role of Ana, a master at fighting with sticks and poles (5), a waterbender from the southern tribe (4), and a good musician with a variety of instruments (3). She does have a problem with fighting boys though, seems that she just can't do it! (1). Ana is 8 years old with a mixture of hair colors (pink, black, purple, gold, and grey), is wearing a pink dress, and has a penchant for jewelry.<br />
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It was interesting to see what they come up with and how they decided what their characters were good at and how good they were at each thing. The ages they chose for their characters were very entertaining for me, as a 18-19 year old is the age of adulthood for my eldest two, while 8 years old is a big deal for my youngest.<br />
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The game started out in a small village near the Earth States borders with Millie shopping for clothes to use as a disguise, Ana shopping for pink jewelry, and Luke eating a hearty dinner at a restaurant since this was his hometown.<br />
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My son wanted to fight something so suddenly a huge monster showed up in town, wanting to eat everyone! My 6 year old wanted it to be a monster made up of rock, with earth-bending powers supplied to by my son. She also gave it the shape of a bear, saying it was twice as large as a normal bear! I have to say that they flew through this part, instantly understanding that they were to create the scenario completely and that whatever they said was going to happen no matter what.<br />
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Luke put down his chopsticks, washed his hands, and ran outside to confront the Rockbear. He airbends blades of air, chipping away at the creature and slicing it to ribbons. Millie stops her shopping and conjures up a huge fireball, pushing it at the Rockbear and making the fire hotter and hotter so that it melts the rocks that make up the Rockbear! Ana lets go of the pretty jewelry since she didn't find any that were pink and waterbends water from a nearby river to hit the cut up and melted Rockbear to turn it into mud and cement. The Rockbear used its earthbending techniques to make walls of earth to protect itself with, while simultaneously throwing boulders at each of them while Luke ran back into the restaurant to grab up knives to throw.<br />
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Giving each of my kids 6 dice for their actions and 6 for the Rockbear, the kids split up their dice equally, 3 Yin and 3 Yang. Unfortunately for the Rockbear, the three benders who faced it were very good at taking the hits from the boulders and cut the Rockbear down to size. I gave the Rockbear a threat level of 8 and my kids rolled 9 successes. It was a good first combat but I could already see that I a) needed to be more careful with the amount of dice I gave them and b) use more mooks and other things to keep them distracted.<br />
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After defeating the Rockbear, my kids had no clue on how to proceed. They looked at me and amongst themselves for a few minutes before my 6 year old finally said "I say 'Hi' to the others." They then exchanged names, Luke wanted to finish his dinner and offered to buy the girls dinner as well, so of course they went along.<br />
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While eating, they learned about a haunted town nearby that was filled with ghosts (my 6 year old's decision), and away they went! It was dark by the time they arrived so they lit some torches with help from Millie and looked around. Millie searched through the homes and found nothing but skeletons left of the people that once lived here, along with dust and spiderwebs. Luke checked out the cafe (he's very interested in food this one is) and smelled nothing but decayed remains (as well as a flair for the macabre). Ana sat around in the middle of the town until a swarm of zombies and skeletons cam rushing at our intrepid heroes (supplied by my 4 year old). Time to fight!<br />
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I gave the skeletons and zombies a threat level of 5 each, with an attack of 1 each round total, remind my kids that they needed to make 1 success each round or they would get hit and it will only take three hits to render them unconscious.<br />
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Millie saw the skeletons rising from the homes and tried to shut the doors to keep them from coming at her. That failed since there are no doorknobs in the setting so she set about to burn their bones! Ana sees the zombies as the greater threat and pulls up water from the well to wash the zombies away, complete with OOC motions. Luke used his airbending to push the skeletons all into one group so that Millie could burn them easily, and then threw the zombies up into the air so that they would fall head first, making their brains squish out. He also decides to be nice and makes the air blow the burnt remains from Millie's firebending away from them, because they would smell gross.<br />
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With 6, 4, and 4, dice, they all roll only 1 each for defending against the skeletons and zombies. Millie takes a hit as a zombie munches on her arm. Ana's waterbending doesnt work all that well and with her three 6's that she rolls, she attracts some angry ghosts (I am giving them a new complication whenever they roll 6's or increasing the threat level of one of the complications already in play per an older rpg.net thread)! The ghosts have a threat level of 5 and while they do no damage each turn, they will scare the benders away from town forever within 3 turns if they are not defeated before then. The Skeletons and zombies are missing quite a few of their members, but are still coming at them.<br />
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Round 2. Millie, scared of the ghosts, thinks that if the remains of the ghosts that are not trying to attack them are burnt away, the ghosts will disappear per the tv show Supernatural. So she heads from home to home to do just that, unleashing gouts of flame. Luke follows behind her, using the air to fuel the flames and to crush the burning remains into dust. Ana pulls her instrument from her back and begin to play a song to distract the ghosts while Millie and Luke destroy their remains. Because of the zombies and skeletons trying to eat them while Millie and Luke try to destroy the ghosts remains, Millie uses her sword with other hand and begins to fight with the zombies and skeletons. Luke protects her with airbending, creating shields of air, and throws the knives he gathered from the Rockbear fight that he never got a chance to use at the zombies, aiming for their heads and brains. Ana sees that the skeletons and zombies are hurting her friends, so she tries to distract them as well with her music.<br />
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They receive 3, 4, and 3 dice, each of them succeeding in their defense as well as succeeding in defeating the skeletons! However, the ghost are still around! Seems they missed the part about needing salt from the Supernatural tv show because burning the remains only made the ghosts angrier (another 6 was rolled, increasing the ghost's threat level to 6)!<br />
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Round 3. This time, they decides that Luke should fight the ghosts while Millie and Ana would try to get the ghosts to leave.Luke swirls the air around himself and pushes it together to make dense marble-sized balls of air. With these balls of air and the knives, he throws them both at the zombies' heads. Ana plays soothing music to make the ghosts happy, while Millie tries to talk them into leaving. Millie tells them "We want you to leave this place and go to another haunted place so that you can meet new ghosts." The ghosts tell her that "We like this place, we don't want to leave and meet new ghosts." Ana backs her up, "Why not move someplace else?" The ghosts shriek at them and respond, "But will they think we are pretty?" (with myself tilting my head, placing my hands together, blinking my eyes, and using a falsetto voice. They kids cracked up for a good 5 minutes at that).<br />
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They each got 3 dice, and succeeded on all their dice. There were only a few zombies left and the ghosts were no longer angry, interested in what Millie and Ana had to say.<br />
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Round 4. Millie continues to speak to them, "Yes, the other ghost will think you are very pretty." Ana keeps playing music ans asks them, "Why do you want to be mean and scare the people here?" The ghosts reply that they like to hear people shriek in fright and run away. Millie tells them "Thats mean, dont do that." Ana agrees with a simple "Yeah!" The ghosts look sad, "But we are lonely without people to be scared of us." Millie tells them, "Go to the other ghosts who think you are pretty, then you will never be lonely again." Ana agreed yet again with "Yeah!" Luke, however, and brought all the air to surround him in a thick airball-like force-field and then releases it. The air flies in all directions, causing the buildings to shake and the zombies to break and mush.<br />
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With 5, 4, and 3 dice, they all defend against the zombies and succeed in not only destroying the zombies, but in getting the zombies to leave for another haunted town! My 6 year got the coup-de-grace on the ghosts, saying simply that they fly away in a long white train and my son says that the zombies' heads were smashed together with Luke's airblast, making their brains shoot out like jelly.<br />
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Afterwards, the townsfolk from the town they were just at come to thank them for getting rid of the ghosts and throw a huge party! Millie and Luke get drunk and party all night long, while Ana gorges herself on candy.<br />
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The next morning, and with headaches from the booze or sugar, they roll against their weaknesses with 3 dice each. Luke fails to do anything unlucky during the night, which he was rather happy about. Ana though had to sit down and cry because she was told that some of the zombies and skeletons were boys. And Millie was told that the townspeople sent of a report to her the King, thanking him for sending his only daughter to help them and inadvertently telling him where his daughter was at!<br />
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I ended it there with the kids begging for more. Seems like there will be a new reward for them to look forward to when they are putting their toys away and keeping the kitchen table free from their clutter. Also, gotta say i really liked how Wushu performed. Perfect for our needs.Verdilakhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12232049933490582125noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1153046495893638465.post-57531690427135076472010-05-24T13:54:00.000-07:002010-05-24T18:11:13.962-07:00Game Review for Spycraft 2.0My game review from<a href="http://www.rpg.net/reviews/archive/14/14805.phtml"> RPG.net</a>:<br />
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Spycraft 2.0. I was asked by one of the players in my gamimg group if I would purchase and check this game out due to his desire to possibly run a game with it in a few weeks and felt that there were a few aspects of its rules that I would like. So I did what any good friend would do, I purchased it on that recommendation alone. When the .pdf download was finally finished, and I opened it up, I was shocked to see the amount of pages that this game had: 497. I was not excepting this game to be so large, I was expecting something with a hundred or so pages to get through the rules and setting stuff. Mind you, I had never even heard of Spycraft before this point and still did not know what type of system it would use. I’m a good friend, what can I say?<br />
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<h2>Appearance</h2><br />
The cover image looked cool, made me instantly think of cloak and dagger sort of stuff. Whether the game deliver that is yet to be seen. I do appreciate the top bar on every page; it gives a rather technological look to the book, cementing the idea that this is a modern to slightly futuristic game. I just now quickly skipped through the page, just checking out the artwork and I am extremely disappointed to see the veritable lack of imagery used. Also, the artwork that was used, only part of it seemed to fir the premise of the book, i.e. spies. People with face tattoos do not make good spies. All in all, if I was basing this book of the merit of the art alone, I would be hard pressed to say if this game was more in line with spies or trying to be more of a G.I. Joe-type of game.<br />
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I have to give Spycraft 2.0 only a 2 for Style due to how poorly its layout is.<br />
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<h2>Content</h2><br />
Spycraft 2.0 has seven long chapters and one Introduction chapter that is extremely short, only 3 pages. I think it would have been better for the layout of the book if they had broken up the chapters in a better fashion.<br />
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<h3>Introduction</h3><br />
Instead of the normal “This is what Roleplaying is” shtick, the books into explaining how Spycraft 2.0 is not only different from its predecessor, but also why it contains everything that anyone would need to play any type of game. While it is meant for modern to near-future games, it makes a point to state that it is generic enough, with some slight modifications, to be able to handle any type of setting easily. Only after that does the book state what dice you will need, common rpg terms, what roleplaying is, ect.<br />
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<h3>Chapter 1</h3><br />
This chapter is where the character creation process is at. Again, I think it would have been better to fist bring up the setting and whatnot to get the players interested in playing as well as to help them obtain a character concept before jumping them right into making a character. Also, this chapter starts off with a full page image of a woman looking similar the Baroness from G.I. Joe what with the leather full-body catsuit, making me confused as to what game I am playing.<br />
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Nitpick: They call the GM the “Game Control (GC)”, which really is an oddity for me. Why not “Game Controller”? Did they not want the idea placed in reader’s heads that the GC controls the game? This term just isn’t for me, so I will use the “GC” abbreviation whenever I need to bring it up.<br />
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There are 10 steps in creating a character: Determine Attributes, Choose Origin, Choose a Base Class, Spend Skill Points, Choose Feats, Choose Interests, Choose a Subplot, Calculate Derived Values, Describe Your Character, and Choose Gear. Oh, nevermind, there are 11 steps, they just numbered the first one, Concept, Step 0.<br />
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<b>Step 0:</b> For such a large book, it devotes only 1.5 pages on helping you to develop your concept. Again, starting off with the setting might have made this choice make sense, as it stands, it doesn’t at all. Beyond suggesting you to ask yourself some questions about your character, which makes no sense since you first need a concept before asking questions about your character, the book tells you to go online and do a personality test while in the mindframe of your character. I am sorry, but this is one of the strangest ways to come up with a concept that I have ever seen.<br />
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<b>Step 1:</b> Attributes here, and they are the basic d20 set, with the normal bonuses and penalties depending on how high or low they are. One odd thing is that there are no longer any sort of Attribute checks in the game. Why have Attributes then?<br />
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<b>Step 2:</b> This is where you pick your Origin and no, not what part of the world you came from. You pick a Talent and Specialty, which give you bonuses to stats, skills, and feats, based on what you want for your character’s background like being Rowdy or a Celebrity. <br />
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<b>Step 3:</b> 12 Classes, or team positions as Spycraft 2.0 calls them: Advocate, Explorer, Faceman, Hacker, Intruder, Pointman, Scientist, Scout, Sleuth, Snoop, Soldier, Wheelman. Half of these are what I would call “Spies”, only one of which I would call a typical spy: The Snoop. The other half seem to be oddities that the game has over whether it is a Spy or G.I. Joe-type of game. Perhaps they are there to increase its viability in the generic system category. The artwork for each of the classes keeps in line with this theme of Spy vs G.I. Joe.<br />
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<b>Step 4:</b> Is not here. Not even a note saying where you can find this step.<br />
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<b>Step 5:</b> Is not here either.<br />
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<b>Step 6:</b> The Interests step is only half a page, because it relies on the character to come up with their own interests and gives a few examples to help you along. Personally, I like this type of thing, but in a game that is already showing how rigid it is in character creation, I am confused why there is not a list of setting-specific interests and their effects in-game.<br />
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<b>Step 7:</b> Subplots are optional and can be created anytime between missions for additional XP rewards and storylines. This step follows one where you pick your own interests and I expected that you would pick your own subplots. Not a chance. Spycraft 2.0 lists out the possible Subplots that you can choose from.<br />
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<b>Step 8:</b> Derived Vales, for things like stress and vitality points. I will make a mention here of Vitality Points and Wound Points since this was one part of the system my friend thought I would really like. <br />
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Vitality Points are basically how well the character can dodge and give a number to how long the character can keep it up. The lower the VP is, the more worn out your character is and is that much closer to taking real damage, which is represented by Wound Points. Wound Points are your basic HP, with a character dying or becoming unconscious when they reach zero. I do like the idea of Vitality Points, but it seems like Spycraft 2.0 wanted an active defense system that d20 wasn’t equipped with, so they threw in a separate pre-HP system to represent it. Kinda like HP and SDC from Palladium’s systems without the active defenses. I like it well enough for a d20 game, but it is not something I would use in my other games.<br />
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<b>Step 9:</b> Name, age, code name… these are all the things that you choose from in the Description step. Also, this is where they introduce a new mechanic called Action Dice. Why it is in the Character Creation chapter, under the Description step no less, I can’t fathom. If you are familiar with the Buffy or Angel RPG’s, Action Dice works in much the same way as Drama Points do: Heal your character, Boost a dice roll, Boost your Defense, and so on.<br />
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<b>Step 10:</b> Is not here.<br />
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Then instead of even a small blurb reminding you where to go to find your gear, it goes into multi-class rules which are rather useful, especially if your group does not have enough people to cover all 12 of the team positions. Then there are the Expert classes, which you need to be level 5 or more to even think about entering into. I know Spycraft 2.0 wanted everything contained into one book, but the Expert classes could have been placed at the end of the book, since you will not need to even know about them at this point in the game.<br />
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<h3>Chapter 2</h3><br />
This is where the Skills from Step 4 wound up. If there was not room for the skills within the character creation chapter, they could have at least made mention of them within the chapter where Step 4 should have been. Again, poor layout design.<br />
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The Skills seem to be rather d20 in design and system, with a few names changed to keep with the theme of the setting, which works rather well. However, the system itself for the skills is needlessly complex and attempts to give rules for any way that the skills might be used in play. Nice, but I am more of the type who prefers to wing it instead of checking the book to see if a certain skill can be used against 5 or 6 people. Seriously, do you really need around a 100 pages for skill descriptions?<br />
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<h3>Chapter 3</h3><br />
Feats here! And not back in Chapter 1 like they should have been. I am getting rather tired of making mention of the poor layout design, but the facts are the facts. Again, normal d20 fare with the Spy/G.I. Joe theme going on.<br />
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<h3>Chapter 4</h3><br />
This is the Gear chapter, where the bastion of the spy stuff should be located. And if it is, I can’t find it. Of course, there is everything else that you can think of from tracers and bugs to camels and motorhomes. But honestly, this chapter is boring and dull. I expected that this chapter would be what causes this book to be so large, but the gear is just listed in an unfeeling table with no illustrations for the gear or even descriptions. The gear for spies should make anyone explain “Cool!” but this only produces a yawn accompanied with “When is it over with?” Spycraft 2.0 failed here, and failed big time. If I had not already purchased this book and had just flipped through it at a game store, this chapter alone would have made me set it back down. Of course, someone else might love this sort of layout of the gear.<br />
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Ah, weapons and vehicles are described after the tables, meaning you will have to do quite a bit of flipping, but with only a sentence or two for each weapon, there really is not much use to this part of the chapter. It is nice to see though.<br />
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<h3>Chapter 5</h3><br />
This has all of your combat rules within it. Very specific in these rules, with differing damages for every type of damage you might come across like acid and fire to collusion damage. Mini’s and battlemaps or grids are necessary if you are playing this game by the rules, as this chapter clearly illustrates with its multiple graphics of grids and highlighted squares to signify areas and everything else for attacks. One thing I always look for, Grapple, is in this chapter.<br />
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<h3>Chapter 6</h3><br />
Dramatic Conflict is the name of this chapter and it deals with how to run the setting. Basically, this is the GC’s section. The game gives ideas for how to run chases and hacking, infiltration, interrogations, how to play out a man hunt or brainwashing, as well as how to deal with the art of seduction. It also gives out a few organizations to use and rules on how to create your own. Very useful information in this chapter.<br />
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<h3>Chapter 7</h3><br />
My bad, this chapter is the Game Control section of the book, which makes me confused about the previous chapter. I suppose that this book contains no set settings and is just a generic book for any type of spy or espionage book. This chapter goes into the basics of running a game, designing missions, creating NPCs, how to use said NPCs in gameplay, as well as numerous pre-created NPCs, animals, and special NPCs. It also goes into how to run contacts that the players might have and how to use snitches in the game to dole out useful information.<br />
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Then there is the OGL stuff and it finishes off with a very extensive Index, which I expected no less from the game. After the Index, there is a good number of cards that I suppose are meant to be used to help facilitate mission creation for GCs since each of them contain a quick mission idea. Lastly, there are the character sheets with separate sheets for missions and NPCs.<br />
I have to give Spycraft 2.0 a 4 for Substance.<br />
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<h2>Summary</h2><br />
All in all, the game seems to be a rather extensive system for running any type of game, but most notably those that are meant for spy or espionage missions. I can see the use of the combat rules for any d20 game due to how detailed they are for every eventuality. I do not foresee any need to create your own rule for how something works since this books is sure to have it is full detail.<br />
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With that said, there are some serious problems with the layouts, especially within the chapter for the gear. I mean, this should be the one section of the book that speaks to everyone and gets people interested in playing. But it is just a huge letdown.Verdilakhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12232049933490582125noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1153046495893638465.post-26814988596466765672010-05-21T14:22:00.000-07:002010-05-21T14:30:56.369-07:00Farmer's Market and Card-ReadersWe have a very small Farmer's Market in our little town every Friday, which consisted of only 6-7 stalls. At least, there are only that many when I show up, which is first thing in the morning due to when my job lets out. I am sure that there are more as the day progresses. This morning I only had a few bucks on me and picked up 2 dozen eggs for $1.50 a dozen. Can't beat that price for farm-fresh, organic, free-range eggs. The strawberries that the woman was selling, $1.50 a pint for quarter-sized berries, looked wonderful, but I had not the cash on me and it made me stop and think.<br />
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How many sales do people like these lose on a daily/weekly/monthly basis due to not having enough cash on hand or check with them?<br />
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There are a great number of people who sell their own items in a variety of markets that rely on patronage with can or check only. Credit cards are not used at fairs, outdoor markets, street-side stalls, and so on.<br />
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The <a href="https://squareup.com/">Square card-reader for the iPhone</a> seemed to be perfect for this sort of thing when I first saw it, but when I got to looking, i realized that it would actually be more of a hassle. To use it, someone swipes their card through the reader attached to your phone and then you have to hand over your phone to them so that they can input their information and sign it. I can't see too many people willing to hand over their phone to a stranger during a crowded moment.<br />
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However, the new <a href="http://www.merchantanywhere.com/">card-reader for Android, iPhone, Blackberry, and many more phones</a> seems to be perfect. It has a separate card swipe machine with a receipt printer so that your phone stays firmly in your hands, and allows your customer to leave with a printed receipt.<br />
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I know that if I were to sell something, anything, for myself I would invest in a phone and get myself one the above card-readers, preferably the latter. Why? Think about it. Today at the Farmer's Market, I only had $4 on me, but my debit card was in my pocket, wishing that it could be used. I walked away with only 2 dozen eggs and felt sad that I was not purchasing anything else that looked great. If I were able to use my debit card I would have purchased more eggs, strawberries, a bag of spinach and two bags of romain, and that is just from one stall. Out of the 6-7 that were there, 2 others were selling produce and I would have stopped at each if I had a way to do more than window shop.<br />
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How many people drive by a Farmer's Market, outdoor stand, or what have you and keep driving because they only have a few bucks cash on them? Checks used to be the way to get around this, but with the number of people choosing to pay their bills online, there has become a lessened need for checks in general. I know where I work, I see fewer and fewer checks every year. And with the credit card merchant rates on these phone readers, they are less than a traditional card machine. It makes sense for even traditional businesses to use these card-readers for their sales since they do not eat up as much of their profits.Verdilakhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12232049933490582125noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1153046495893638465.post-50730711726184263722010-05-21T12:20:00.000-07:002010-05-21T12:23:07.233-07:00Game Review for Gunslingers and Gamblers<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzUhcYQM6AqSfHpaM1U80ItdtwBF6AAd8BV8j-_UfGwI59dZWR1_EadGWqAaPWdQRKkNcU0NlloRVJD1rtcQolxTVatdIiOUzgGUpFGjwB_ruYvi8qqKr7jh_QXoZvXHE17d13v26pYwS7/s1600/gngmd.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzUhcYQM6AqSfHpaM1U80ItdtwBF6AAd8BV8j-_UfGwI59dZWR1_EadGWqAaPWdQRKkNcU0NlloRVJD1rtcQolxTVatdIiOUzgGUpFGjwB_ruYvi8qqKr7jh_QXoZvXHE17d13v26pYwS7/s400/gngmd.png" width="310" /></a></div><br />
Yet another <a href="http://www.rpg.net/reviews/archive/14/14798.phtml">RPG.net</a> review that I posted there, and I have to say, i love this game. Especially for any sort of game in the western genre.<br />
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<h2>Appearance</h2><div></div><div>When you purchase this game, you receive a normal copy of the book with the background on each page which is very evocative of the paper that is used for Wanted posters that you see in Westerns and can even purchase. It works for the game and helps to keep you in the mindset that this is a western game. It also doesn't increase load times from the second copy of the book that you get, which has no background. While I like the mindset that the colored background gives, I much prefer the print version. Not only is it easier to print it, but the black text on a white background is much more crisp and easier to read than black text on a colored background.<br />
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</div><div>The text is all one font, except for the page numbering, and consists of the use of italics for the use of examples, regular text for the rules, bullet points for lists, bolding for section titles, and simple box-lines for tables.</div><div></div><h2>Setting</h2><div></div><div>This game makes the assumption that its readers both know what an RPG is and what it takes to play one, as well as what a "Western" is. If you have ever watched a Western, be it movie or television, you have all you need to know to play this game. However, it does set the game specifically in the year 1876, specifically in the Wild West territories of the Great Plains, Rockies, Great Basin, and Southwestern Desert regions.</div><div><br />
</div><div>From pages 36-52, Chapter 6, is where the setting is that, but I mean "setting" here in the loosest of terms due to there being aspects and tidbits of the setting throughout the entire book. This is where the major events of the year 1876 and while there is not much that occurred, it does an excellent job of describing the events in a simple enough manner that you would not have need of a history book and still able to know the setting.</div><div><br />
</div><div>The book gets into the subject of rainfall and temperatures in each of the regions that comprise of the Wild West, but again, in a very general manner. What is not so general are the descriptions of small towns, large towns, cities, and ghost towns. Descriptions of what living in the west consisted of for homesteaders, military men, missionaries, miners, buffalo hunters, cattle ranchers, as well as the wars between Indians and fighting over land or other natural resources. It even gets into the law of the land and different ways to travel across the country. This is also the Chapter where you will find tips of running a game in this setting as well as random roll tables for encounters and complete adventures.</div><div><br />
</div><div>Chapter 8 is where basic NPCs and animals are listed. Army Soldiers, Miners, Blacksmiths, Homesteaders, Con-Artists, and more are all listed with a short description and a few of the suggested traits that fit these types of people. The list of animals is not all that long, but it does give the most common ones that would be found within the confines of the game, as well as those that the characters would most often come in contact with for either domestic uses like riding or those found in the wild for their pelts and meat.</div><div><br />
</div><div>Chapter 9 is all about Harris Country and the towns within it, giving an excellent template for any other town that you might need, as well as giving some pre-set adventure ideas for quick gaming.</div><div><br />
</div><div>These three chapters contain everything that you would need to become immersed into the setting, but in general enough terms that the GM can easily control things to his/her specifications. This lets a group with only a few Western movies under their belt the ability to pick up this game, make characters, and run a session all on the same day.</div><br />
<h2>System</h2><br />
<div>This system is a rather unique take on the cards aspect, which really hits the "western" feeling home for me. The game uses Poker Dice, which consist of 5 d6's that have the die numbers replaced with different card types. Of course, you do not need to buy specific dice for the game if you just remember the following (and which is listed in the very beginning of the book): 1 = 9, 2 = 10, 3 = Jack, 4 = Queen, 5 = King, 6 = Ace, or 9, T, J, Q, K, A. I've not been able to find poker dice, so take it from me that you can easily use d6's and it only takes a few rolls for you and your players to remember what each number means.</div><br />
<div>When you roll, you use 5 d6's and depending on what you rolled, you can come up with 9 different poker hands, in order of best to worst: Poker (5 of a Kind), 4 of a Kind, High Straight, Full House, Low Straight, Three of a Kind, 2 Pair, Pair, High Card. No not fear if you do not know poker, the book explains what these hands consist of. There are all the different difficulties listed as well as rules for opposing rolls and how to advance.</div><br />
<div>Character Creation, Chapter 3, is based upon random rolling, which is something that too many games have passed up. Of course you could just pick everything, but I feel that in this instance, random character creation helps to cement the setting down since the Wild West is a difficult place and you never know what type of hand that you are going to be dealt. You roll to determine if your character is a Generalist or Specialist, then to determine not only the scores for the character's Traits but also which trait to place that score. Then you roll for Quirks, Gender, Race, Nationality, Name, Age, any distinctive features, and lastly, Religion. You can decide to play a game with all one race or a mixed bag, rolling from either White, Hispanic, Indian, Asian, or Black. You can all pick to be from the same area or tribe, or roll for your Nationality, and so on. While there are no alignments as most traditional games have, what religion you roll or pick is the closest thing to an alignment that your character will have.</div><br />
<h2>Summary</h2><br />
<div>The system that is used in Gunslingers and Gamblers works extremely well, even for non-traditional western games. For example, my gaming group used this system for a western game where everyone was an anthropomorphic animal. Basically a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Western game. it would also work for any type of setting where a western "feel" was wanted, like a futuristic Western Space Opera like Firefly.</div><div><br />
</div><div>This game is perfect for the genre in that nothing is over the top and everything is down to earth. Every rule is based on wanting to keep things simple as well as using common sense, making it only that much easier to make up a ruling on the fly when something odd and unique occurs.</div><div>If you are like me and you prefer your Westerns to be untainted by creatures and the supernatural, Gunslingers and Gamblers captures the essence of the Wild West and combines it with a dice mechanic and character creation that makes this game a perfect fit.</div>Verdilakhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12232049933490582125noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1153046495893638465.post-18672205952019999502010-05-21T12:06:00.000-07:002010-05-21T12:06:34.476-07:00Carbing it UpI was told by another Paleo-er (which, we really need a better term to call one another now that I think about it. Unfortunately, since this lifestyle is still a bit too niche, it might actually do us a disservice though) that:<br />
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<blockquote>eating a crapload of carbs (complex) and low fat low pro... every 10 daya or so. Keeps your leptin up.</blockquote>Now, I have been eating Paleo for the past 4 and a half months, with the only cheating I have done being small, very small, amounts. Even when cheating, I never do it enough in one day to even get down to the 80/20 principle that Mark from MarksDailyApple.com suggests for his followers and readers.<br />
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What is leptin? According to wikipedia, leptin is:<br />
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<blockquote><b>Leptin</b> (Greek <i>leptos</i> meaning thin) is a 16 <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atomic_mass_unit" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;" title="Atomic mass unit">kDa</a> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Protein" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;" title="Protein">protein</a> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hormone" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;" title="Hormone">hormone</a> that plays a key role in regulating energy intake and energy expenditure, including <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Appetite" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;" title="Appetite">appetite</a> and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metabolism" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;" title="Metabolism">metabolism</a>. </blockquote>and:<br />
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<blockquote>The absence of a leptin (or its receptor) leads to uncontrolled food intake and resulting obesity. Several studies have shown that <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fasting" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #0b0080; text-decoration: none;" title="Fasting">fasting</a> or following a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Very-low-calorie_diet" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;" title="Very-low-calorie diet">very-low-calorie diet</a> (VLCD) lowers leptin levels.</blockquote><br />
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Now, anecdotally speaking, I have not encountered this problem with the lowering of my leptin or its receptors due to my diet (I consume under 5% carbs from fruits and vegetable on a daily basis). This is more than likely due to fact that I still have a good amount of body fat that I wish to get rid of and leptins circulate throughout the body at levels that are relative to the amount of body fat one still has.<br />
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Regardless, since my weight-loss has tapered over the past 2 months to barely noticeable even though my body is still releasing excess ketones through my urine, I though her advice was sound from the application of shocking my system as it were. And yesterday proved to be the perfect time to do, or so I thought.<br />
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We had to head into town to procure a shopvac and a few other plumbing items and felt that eating dinner out would be preferable to eating in a home that was filled with toxic fumes (my wife got a bit over-zealous with the Drano). Our poison of choice? Golden Corral. Yes, it has been very disappointing in the past, but I felt that their steaks which are served for dinner, as well as their fruit and salad bars which should be up to snuff would cancel out any of the bad. Also, I planned on carbing it up, intent on consuming over 50% of my calories through carbs.<br />
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Alas, we arrived for Rib Night. I pigged out all right, just not on carbs. I mean, if you have thr choice between two different pork rib styles as well as bbq chicken and medium-rare steaks, would you pass that up to consume potatoes, pizza, and pasta? I didn't think so. The most cheating I did last night was a small helping of their soft-serve ice cream, which was a double cheat since I have issues with dairy: My colon does not appreciate it. Luckily, I have had no issues with the dairy nor the bbq sauce that was bound to be full of HFCS but was very lightly applied so I felt that it was not much of a cheat.<br />
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Anyways, my day for carbing it out fell flat... perhaps I will wait to use it as an excuse when I have no choice but to eat only carbs or intermittent fast between meals.Verdilakhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12232049933490582125noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1153046495893638465.post-67393073180851455702010-05-20T03:02:00.000-07:002010-05-20T03:19:14.281-07:00Two Paleo/Primal RecipesI took the both of these from the Fitness magazine, July/August issue from 2009 and modified them to make them more Paleo friendly. Basically because the food porn pictures looked very good. Also due to my wife getting a bit tired of meat lately, so I felt that I could try to spice things up in the kitchen instead of the usual burgers and other grilled meat that I am perfectly okay with eating daily. Especially the berry-mango salsa in the second recipe, I am very interested in trying that.<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Chicken Scaloppine w/ Muchrooms and Tarragon</span><br />
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4 chicken breasts, boneless and skinless will make this much easier<br />
olive oil, or other Paleo-friendly oil<br />
1/4 cup almond meal<br />
2 diced shallots<br />
2 cups sliced mushrooms, mixed variety (oyster, cremini, portobello, button, ect.)<br />
4 tablespoons marsala wine<br />
1/2 cup diced roma tomatoes<br />
2 cups chicken stock, preferably stock made yourself<br />
1/4 teaspoon black pepper<br />
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You will want to pound the chicken breasts between sheets of waxed paper until they are 1/2 inch thick. Then, cut each chicken breast in half and coat them with the almond meal. <br />
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Saute the chicken breasts in the oil until they are fully cooked and lightly browned.<br />
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Remove the chicken when finished, then add the shallots and mushrooms to the pan along with the wine. Cook until almost evaporated, which will take around 2 minutes or less.<br />
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Add the tomatoes, tarragon, stock, and pepper. Bring this all to a simmer and cook until the sauce is reduced by half.<br />
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Plate the chicken and spoon the sauce over them.<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Salmon w/ Blueberry Mango Salad</span><br />
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1/3 cud blueberries<br />
1/3 cup diced mangos, peeled<br />
2 tablespoons minced red onion<br />
2 tablespoons minced red bell pepper<br />
1 tablespoons minced fresh cilantro<br />
1 tablespoon fresh lime juice<br />
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice <br />
1/2 teaspoon minced jalapeno pepper<br />
olive or other Paleo-friendly fat<br />
4 salmon fillets of around 4 ounces each<br />
pinch of sea salt and black pepper<br />
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Combine the blueberries, mango, red onion, cilantro, lime juice, and jalapeno in a bowl. Crush mixture with a fork lightly to release the juices and help them mingle.<br />
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Season the salmon with a pinch of pepper/sea salt and lemon juice, then sear for 3-5 minutes per side in some oil. <br />
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Serve together.Verdilakhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12232049933490582125noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1153046495893638465.post-88788325392255023612010-05-19T07:07:00.000-07:002010-05-19T07:07:00.279-07:00Game Review for Tri-Stat dX<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiX08RSmMxdTJyqjz5LPu_HHxmnCyh0OLI6fvx1FKVHwsVWiAlG3y0ydq37PR8ERaZGZUaMO1mem28LahJgmMjkZx-HZScO1AJgV_CpJmNOjwMJ9BTs_u-JV3b3G7Ah5bpz_ScDQUspyyB1/s1600/show-pic.phtml.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiX08RSmMxdTJyqjz5LPu_HHxmnCyh0OLI6fvx1FKVHwsVWiAlG3y0ydq37PR8ERaZGZUaMO1mem28LahJgmMjkZx-HZScO1AJgV_CpJmNOjwMJ9BTs_u-JV3b3G7Ah5bpz_ScDQUspyyB1/s400/show-pic.phtml.jpg" width="305" /></a></div><br />
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After writing this review for RPG.net, my wife and I got to talking yesterday in the car. We determined that Tri-Stat dX would not be used with as near of frequency as it is online for our game group if we had a real-life game group. The reasons for this are two fold: Online, Tri-Stat dX brings combats to a quick end making it the system of choice and yet, Tri-Stat dX would more than likely read and play a bit blandly when sitting around a table. There is just not enough going on in Tri-Stat dX too keep up the mental facilities I feel that games like Savage Worlds, Gunslingers and Gamblers, Apocalypse Prevention, Inc, Alpha Omega, and Spirit of the Century bring with them. That is not to say that i would not run or play Tri-Stat dX around a table, but that is why I gave it a 4/4/ score at RPG.net.<br />
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On to the review...<br />
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While Guardians of Order (GoO) are no longer in business, the fact that they gave the pdf of Tri-Stat dX out for free was the deciding factor in my picking up the pdf and reading through it, as well as purchasing the physical book (as well as the physical books of their other games that use the same system).<br />
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Style<br />
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Tri-Stat dX is just a core book and it shows. There is no setting since it is made to be used in any number of settings. No pictures in the book except for the ads on the back of the front and back flaps of the cover and in the three-page advert in the back of the book for their Magnum Opus program. I have had this book for close to year now and only now, after much abuse and travel, is the clear lamination starting to peel up from the edges. I hate this and will proceed to rip it off in short order, but for the price of the book ($10 new from the company, much less through different retailers) I cannot complain.<br />
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The pages are laid out in a classic two-column format and is done very well, even if is it just black and white. No spelling, grammar, or punctuation mistakes that I can find and I have read over it extensively.<br />
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Due to the lack of artwork, I would have normally given this a 3 our of 5, but the font and exceptional usage of bolding bumps it up to a 4. This is a well produced book.<br />
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Substance<br />
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The book starts out with a Role-Playing Game Manifesto, which states:<br />
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"These rules are written on paper, not etched in stone tablets. Rules are suggested guidelines, not required edicts. If the rules don't say you can't do something, you can. There are no official answers, only official opinions. When the dice conflict with the story, the story always wins. Min/Maxing and Munchkinism aren't problems with the game; they're problems with the player. The Game Master has full discretionary power over the game. The Game Master always works with, not against, the players. A game that is not fun is no longer a game - it's a chore. This book provides the answers to all things. When the above does not apply, make it up."<br />
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While there are some criticisms that could be applied to their manifesto, I feel that it is good to have. Too many games do not state such things, giving the readers the impression that things are set in stone and are not good to change.<br />
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The next page is the table of contents, which lists all the important parts of the book, but not the chapters, of which there are 11.<br />
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Now, Tri-Stat dX is a point buy system that utilizes different dice depending on the game and power level. The book gives some examples on the die to use, such as a sub-human game should use 2d4, humans only should use 2d6, a posthuman game would be 2d8, 2d10 would be for a superhuman game, 2d12 for inhumans, and 2d20 for a game where the characters are godlike. There are also character points listed for the suggest amount of points any given character should have under the designated dice type. With this, you are able to play any genre at any power level and make any type of character that you want.<br />
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So that is the "dX" part of the title, and the "Tri-Stat" part is due to there being only three stats: Body, Mind, and Soul. While there are only three stats, there is a Character Defect called Less Capable that allows you to modify your stats. This lets you have a guy with high strength but be clumsy and have poor endurance, or a genius that is forgetful.<br />
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That takes care of the first two chapters.<br />
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Chapter 3 is where things get good: Attributes. And Attributes in Tri-Stat dX means Powers! Of course, at first glance, they are not well balanced. for example, one player would spend his points on all combat stuff while another could spend points to change the entire world with one wave of his hand, but get the two of them in a fight and the combat guy will wipe the floor with the other. Balance in this game is all due to the points per level that the Attributes cost and the Power Modifier Values (PMVs) which determine how long a power lasts, how many people it affects, how far the away the power can be used, and so on. The more powerful a power is, the higher its cost and the more PMVs that you need to have to make it work.<br />
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The Attributes cover everything, especially with the Unique Attribute, which allows you to create anything that the book does not already have.<br />
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Chapter 4 is the Skills section, with a listing of the skill costs for 30 different setting types making it extremely easy to determine how much skills cost per level. I rather like that skills have varying costs per level depending on how useful they are in the setting.<br />
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Chapter 5 is where the Character Defects are listed and I really wish that it was the 4th Chapter. It makes much more sense for the Defects to be listed after the Attributes, but I can understand the desire to have the Defects listed at the end of the character creation process.<br />
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Chapter 6 gives the last two steps to Character Creation: Health Points and handing our extra points due to a well-written background.<br />
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The Game Mechanics are in Chapter 7, complete with a handy flowchart on how combat works. I have to give props to any game that utilizes flow charts in how the mechanics are handled due to my love for them. The system is a roll under system, where the numbers you roll under depend on what you are trying to do. For combat it will be your Attack/Defense Combat Value+the relevant skill while skills will be vs the skill+the relevant stat, which is something that I wish more games used. Stats influence skills, but depending on how you are using that skill, it might be influenced by any of the three stats. Works out much better that systems that have a specific stat always influencing a skill because in variably, a player will attempt something with a skill that uses more of the character's intelligence than their strength, and so on.<br />
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Another huge plus for Tri-Stat dX are rules for grappling that actually make sense, as well as rules for biting, jumping, shock, Attributes as attacks and for defense when they are not normally meant for that, and rules for Attributes being used against Attributes. Finally, you can have a character that can use his control over water to stop the fire attack of the villain. Very few systems allow this.<br />
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Chapter 9 is your equipment. Though there are skills costs for non-modern settings, the equipment only comprises items for modern settings. A good GM can easily work around this problem, but with the rest of the way this book is presented, they should not have to.<br />
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Chapters 10 and 11 are your chapters on Game Mastering info, tips, and tricks, as well as the Index.<br />
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Playing the Game<br />
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I was curious to see if the game was as good as it seemed by reading it and started up a Teen Supers game around 5 months ago. Also, I planned on really challenging the system since I was going to run it online through OpenRPG.<br />
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The roll-under stytem was weird at first for most of us since we were used to roll-over systems and caused a few of my players to complain about that after the first few sessions. We have now played 16 weekly sessions and my players are thinking about changing all the games we play to Tri-Stat dX, including the Star Wars game that we play. Combat goes quickly even against hordes of opponents. We have yet to have a need for any sort of House Rules, the mechanics have a rule in place for everything that has come up so far. I would have to say that in usage, Tri-Stat dX far exceeded my expectations and I am glad that GoO stayed around long enough to produce it.<br />
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Of course, I noticed the similarities between Tri-Stat dX (and the other Tri-Stat games such as BESM, SAS, and HKAT) and Mutants and Masterminds until I saw that Steve Kenson was involved with the way Tri-Stat's system was developed as well as M&M. Then it made perfect sense.Verdilakhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12232049933490582125noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1153046495893638465.post-68870624014229367492010-05-17T16:27:00.000-07:002010-05-17T16:37:30.026-07:00Wild StrawberriesOne of the benefits to living in the woods is that every once in awhile, we get the opportunity for some authentic hunter-gatherer action!<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://fc03.deviantart.net/fs49/i/2009/151/0/2/Tiny_Berry_by_hippie_mama.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://fc03.deviantart.net/fs49/i/2009/151/0/2/Tiny_Berry_by_hippie_mama.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><br />
This is a strawberry. It is very tiny. How tiny is it?<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a156/hippie_mama/Primal/IMG_7261.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a156/hippie_mama/Primal/IMG_7261.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
This tiny. Here, it is pictured beside a farm-grown strawberry, purchased from a conventional supermarket.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a156/hippie_mama/Primal/IMG_7263.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a156/hippie_mama/Primal/IMG_7263.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
Here's a closer look at the differences.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a156/hippie_mama/blog%20extras/Pictures145.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a156/hippie_mama/blog%20extras/Pictures145.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
I think they're quite lovely, the way nature intended. Though they get munched down by exploring children far too fast to do anything with! But that's alright with me.<br />
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Next month we should have wild black raspberries.<br />
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Verdilak's take on their flavor:<br />
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<div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">Flavor of the Wild Strawberry: Not sweet at all, but gloriously tart. Not sour enough to make your tongue curl even a slight bit, but a great tarty flavor. If they could get this flavor in the domestic ones, I would become extremely happy.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">Flavor of the Domestic Strawberry: Sweeter than the wild strawberry, but when tried one after the other, it is very evident that the Domestic is more filling due to its size but has very little flavor other than the sweetness. The Wild variety is bursting with flavor.</div><div><br />
</div>hippie_mamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01479358003758638738noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1153046495893638465.post-71205476259629559992010-05-17T14:50:00.000-07:002010-05-17T14:50:20.770-07:00Update of the Feta-Stuffed Celery<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a156/hippie_mama/Primal/IMG_7259.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a156/hippie_mama/Primal/IMG_7259.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />
<br />
Made the <a href="http://retrospectivecaveman.blogspot.com/2010/05/feta-stuffed-celery.html">Feta-Stuffed Celery</a> today as per the recipe for my kids. My youngest did not want anything to do with them but the other two loved the flavors and ate a few stalks each. My wife decided that they were decent and filling, but not her favorite thing ever. Then again, she isn't all that much of a fan of feta when it is not in a salad.<br />
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Anyways, pictures are now up on the original post since my wife was kind enough to showcase us with her l33t photography skills.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a156/hippie_mama/Primal/IMG_7258.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a156/hippie_mama/Primal/IMG_7258.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>Verdilakhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12232049933490582125noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1153046495893638465.post-62363810763309450092010-05-17T07:30:00.000-07:002010-05-17T07:30:18.371-07:00Game Review for Alpha OmegaAnother review I posted to <a href="http://www.rpg.net/reviews/archive/14/14792.phtml">RPG.net</a> and I gave it a 5 for Style and a 4 for Substance due to a few things that were missing. However, it is an excellent game that I cannot wait to play again.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiusZUMp1Sva2ZbbDL84Di60BYBHkOmIy3_qUJPbtBcfIgRqNUopb1IH15kszPtnjg8u8JNgB-B-iS8OrD4RNnnc-6b-Wb87mpunSy0t1iPlR1taR1xnhPhIcTrxyfVjrKjX8ikb-KRAjq1/s1600/6980.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiusZUMp1Sva2ZbbDL84Di60BYBHkOmIy3_qUJPbtBcfIgRqNUopb1IH15kszPtnjg8u8JNgB-B-iS8OrD4RNnnc-6b-Wb87mpunSy0t1iPlR1taR1xnhPhIcTrxyfVjrKjX8ikb-KRAjq1/s320/6980.jpg" /></a></div><br />
<br />
Disclaimer: While I received the pdf and print copy for free, it was not for me to review them, it was due to a give-a-way that was going on in the rpg.net forums around a year ago.<br />
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Style<br />
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First off, the book is gorgeous. I have no problems in having this book on my coffee table, regardless of who is coming over. It is printed in a landscape-style, instead of what is normal for books, but surprisingly it works very well. All too often, in a typical book, you have to bend the spine to make it lay flat and to keep the pages from turning over on their own. Due to the landscape-style, the book lays flat easily and the pages stay down. I would encourage any RPG Producer to publish their books in a landscape-style for that reason alone. It does fit oddly on my shelf, though if you stand it on end it fits perfectly. Of course, the pdf does not have this problem.<br />
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Substance<br />
<br />
The way this book removes page numbers is quite a oddity for me. Along the left and right sides of the pages, there are 11 circles with a symbol in them, indicating the 11 different chapters. Underneath the circles are numbers to signify which section of the chapter you are in. For example, the third chapter has the following: 3.0 3.1 3.2 and so on. These numbers are also highlighted with the same color the chapter symbols are. It takes some time to get used to it, but when you do, it works just as fast or even faster than typical page numbering.<br />
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Chapter 1 is the typical "This is Role-Playing" that is actually a rather good write up. While it is written for non-gamers, it does not dumb anything down like many other books do. This chapter also explains the navigation system that it uses, what types of dice are needed, different modes of play (like grid maps and mini's vs none), and running a game session with helpful advise for a GM. 5 Pages all told, and I am glad that they are there.<br />
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Chapters 2 and 3 are the setting info, from the prophetic vision of one man who was considered insane, to the upcoming war between the newly-discovered species of humanoids that had always been around. These would be the Seraph and the Ophanum, as well as their numerous children. They are not well-described in this book , but since this book takes place before they arrive, it makes sense.<br />
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Chapter 4 is where the world is mapped out. in other words, it gives information on the different locations around the world, especially the arcologies, which are giant buildings that contain entire cities within them.<br />
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Chapter 5 is where a few notable people and organizations are described and mentioned. The organizations are mixed and are ready for the upcoming evolutionary war, with a group for each different race type, from human to A.I., that each wants to be the winner.<br />
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Chapter 6 is where character creation starts, with the different "races" that you can be: Human, Necrosi (which are biological humans that have adapted to life underground, much like Drow except human instead of coming from Elves), Remnants (who are mutated humans that became the way they are due to radiation poisoning and the like from living outside of an arcology), Bio-Engineered (these are humans that were genetically altered to be a specific thing in life: Combat, Laborer, Stealth, or Manipulation), Nephilim (who are beings that have one parent who is a Seraph or Ophanum, and show visible signs of their parentage such as wings, for example), Lesser Nephilim (who are those with a Nephilim as a parent), Grigori (who are servants of the Seraph and Ophanum), Lesser Grigori (those beings who are born with one Grigori parent), and the Anunnaki (who are the offspring of two Nephilim where one of the Nephilim has a Seraph as a parent and the other had an Ophanum as a parent).<br />
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Alpha Omega is a Point Buy system were each race has different innate abilities and disadvantages, causing the number of available points to be different due to how certain races start out with more than others. Each race also has different limits on how high stats and skills can go, which makes choosing a race very dependent upon your character concept.<br />
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There are also 3 different types of magic in this game, or three different Wielding types. Arcane Wielders, for those who learn their abilities through being taught. Innate Wielders were born with their abilities and the power for them come from within. Spiritual Wielders are those who can harness the Alpha or Omega (living or death) energy.<br />
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Chapter 7 is the game mechanics chapter. Alpha Omega utilizes Dice Steps that are based upon the stat and skill numbers you purchased during character creations. Honestly, I would have been lost if it were not for the dice charts on section 7.1.1. This chapter covers stat checks, skill usage, combat, damage, armor and armor penetration, destroying objects, bleeding, dying, resuscitation, vehicle usage, and real world concerns like vision problems, poisons, drugs, ect. The system for Wielding (magic) is also explained in this chapter.<br />
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Chapter 8 is only 8 pages long and describes how XP is awarded and how to spend it.<br />
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One of the longest chapters in the book, Chapter 9 is the gear chapter. Guns and special ammunition, vehicles, common items, and implants, this chapter has it all. Everything is well detailed and clearly written, to the point that accurate bookkeeping for number of bullets and size of bullets, not to mention the amount and size of the special ammunition, is clearly important unless you have a lenient GM. But seriously, if you love guns and outlandish ones at that, you will love this chapter. You can have rifles that double as a mace and maul, or an axe.<br />
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Chapter 10 contains a bit more information about running a game as well as a good amount of sample NPC's.<br />
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Chapter 11 contains the index, character sheet, and a few of the more useful charts, like that of the dice pools.<br />
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Throughout the book, the full color artwork makes this book extraordinarily gorgeous. The quality that went into this book is top notch and their editor is to be praised for I found zero grammar, spelling, or punctuation mistakes.<br />
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Playing the Game<br />
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The game that I played in was online, using OpenRPG for the Virtual Tabletop Program and it worked out rather well. There were 5 characters: Zy, who was the combat-loving Remnant. Nikoli Tesla (me), a Necrosi that was the rogue of the group. Ares Ericson, who was a Manipulation based Bio-Engineered, or the charismatic one. James Stride, a Wielding Remnant. Very useful. Zekiel, a Lesser Nephilim that took the place of the Tank.<br />
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The GM set up the game as a corporate espionage sort of game, that was extremely fun to play. Again, the dice step charts were invaluable to us, especially since we were gaming online. We only gamed for 5 sessions due to the GM's upcoming college schedule, but even a year later, we are still bugging him to continue the game when he finishes his current degree.<br />
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The largest problem we had was the lack of creatures for us to deal with, but the GM got his hands on the creature book from the publisher and used it relentlessly against us. Especially since the GM was intent on play-testing and running us through every possibility.<br />
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The first combat went rather slowly, but once we understood the dice steps the rest of the combats went very quickly.<br />
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All in all, the system is rather crunchy, but easy to use in actual gameplay once everyone understands how the dice steps and pools work. The setting if fun and allows for any number of gameplays. You could go the espionage angle like we did, be off in the wilds and just try to survive, go all political within the arcologies, straight out war, and so on. It is a post-apoc setting that is gaining normalcy and is about to be hit with another apocalyptic war, and it allows for anything and just about any genre to be played.Verdilakhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12232049933490582125noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1153046495893638465.post-20610183957677470452010-05-16T06:55:00.000-07:002010-05-16T06:55:31.295-07:00Bad News about Climate ChangeBut great news to us Paleo and Primalers!<br />
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The concept of ocean acidification is pretty bad, what with its causing harm to shelled organisms. This was going to hurt the shellfish industry.<br />
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But it turns out that the amount of protein in plants goes down with increasing atmospheric CO2 ppm. This is because the plants cannot assimilate nitrates as easily (which is our main way of fertilizing, btw). This loss of protein slows plant growth and reduces nutrition content.<br />
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<a href="http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/abstract/328/5980/899">Carbon Dioxide Enrichment Inhibits Nitrate Assimilation in Wheat and Arabidopsis</a><br />
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<blockquote>The concentration of carbon dioxide in Earth’s atmosphere may double by the end of the 21st century. The response of higher plants to a carbon dioxide doubling often includes a decline in their nitrogen status, but the reasons for this decline have been uncertain. We used five independent methods with wheat and Arabidopsis to show that atmospheric carbon dioxide enrichment inhibited the assimilation of nitrate into organic nitrogen compounds. This inhibition may be largely responsible for carbon dioxide acclimation, the decrease in photosynthesis and growth of plants conducting C3 carbon fixation after long exposures (days to years) to carbon dioxide enrichment. These results suggest that the relative availability of soil ammonium and nitrate to most plants will become increasingly important in determining their productivity as well as their quality as food.</blockquote><br />
They used ppm's predicted for ~2100 to show this, but also saw harmful effects on crop growth using ppm's similar to what we're going to see in the next 40 years, even assuming some progress on limiting CO2 growth.<br />
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This also means that higher CO2 means poison ivy becomes more virulent.Verdilakhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12232049933490582125noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1153046495893638465.post-2296613649865086272010-05-16T05:55:00.000-07:002010-05-17T11:13:08.264-07:00Bacon Fruit Cups<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiKVd1ck_XBOJrTPtjWh1ZXMYe2402z8K39zb4I1BrEeqCF-2fodJadz9E7eoKHUI2NVlhdr8kWC7jH6xtS8ERUXULxSWxni62eCsW6zeFOzb9zqMkej51DbO6mFUs7rhJ-gTomK14KeSG/s1600/Bacon-Fruit-Cups.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="293" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiKVd1ck_XBOJrTPtjWh1ZXMYe2402z8K39zb4I1BrEeqCF-2fodJadz9E7eoKHUI2NVlhdr8kWC7jH6xtS8ERUXULxSWxni62eCsW6zeFOzb9zqMkej51DbO6mFUs7rhJ-gTomK14KeSG/s400/Bacon-Fruit-Cups.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />
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These are perfect for buffets, picnics, and other single-serving, no-utensils eating extravaganzas.<br />
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Ingredients:<br />
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2 lbs Bacon (long skinny pieces are better than short fat pieces)<br />
Fresh basil leaves<br />
Homemade aioli (made with bacon grease mayo and lemon juice)<br />
Fresh mango, cubed<br />
Large avocado, cubed<br />
1 teaspoon cocoa powder<br />
1 large onion, sliced into thin rings<br />
1 teaspoon brown sugar<br />
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Preheat oven to 500F. While your oven is heating up, turn the muffin upside-down onto the cookie tray (this is going to be what catches the bacon grease). <br />
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Each bacon cup will take 1 and a half to 2 slices of bacon depending on how thick the bacon and the length. You can also stretch the bacon out, lengthwise, if you wish to get more bang for your buck, but honestly, this is bacon we are talking about here! The more the merrier!<br />
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Drape a half piece over the muffin cup of the muffin tin. Stretch your second piece, and drape it across the first piece at a 90-degree angle. Fold the bacon up at a 90-degree angle, and wrap it around the cup. Tuck tail into the fold. This will take a slice and a half of bacon, if that doesn’t work, please see the following paragraph, which will use 2 slices of bacon.<br />
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Drape the bacon over the cup so one end is touching the flat part of the muffin tin, then fold the other side at a 90-degree angle and wrap the rest around the cup - it shouldn't fit all the way around. (If it does, use technique 1.) Repeat with another strip, 90 degrees offset from the first, except tuck the initial end under the first bacon loop, and make sure all wrapped ends are tucked in/under as well.<br />
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Of course, neither might work very well, but honestly, as long as it looks good enough, it will work fine enough for our purposes.<br />
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Bake bacon cups in a 500F oven. Be sure your tray catches all the melting bacon grease! Remove from the oven when bacon is brown and crispy, but NOT burned! Set the entire assembly aside to cool.<br />
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When the bacon cups are cool, carefully pry them off of the muffin tin. Lift from the bottom to avoid cracking the bacon, or otherwise damaging the shape. If you have a silicone muffin tin, this is where it comes in handy.<br />
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Cooking the Onion Topping<br />
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Add some bacon grease to a pan, slice up the onion, and cook the onions on low to medium heat with a teaspoon (or less, depending on taste) of brown sugar until the onions are extremely soft and well caramelized.<br />
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Set aside to cool. If you refrigerate the onions, let them come to room temperature before using - solidified grease is kind of gross.<br />
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Now, it is time to fill the Bacon Cups.<br />
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Chop up the avocado and mangos as to your liking. Wash the basil, pat dry, and line the bacon cups with 2-4 basil leaves, depending on size. Romain also works if you do not have any basil on hand, but to keep with the flavors, add a bit of dried basil to the homemade aiolo. Then place a spoonful in the middle of basil leaves, which are currently lining the bacon cup. Fill the rest of the bacon cup with even amounts of avocado and mango chunks. Sprinkle a little cocoa powder over the mango and avocado if you wish at this point. The top it with some of the caramelized onions. Serve.<br />
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Variations:<br />
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Substitute other fruits and herbs to fit your tastes and the seasons. The mango works because it has a nice strong acidic flavor that works well against the bacon - I'd expect cherries, pineapple, and other assertive fruits to fill the same niche. Avocado could be subbed for a nice, ripe pear - this one's about mouth feel. Cilantro and mint would be good substitutes for the basil. Also, you can use just about anything to fill the bacon cups, go wild!<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3079/3203791201_f40daf1118.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3079/3203791201_f40daf1118.jpg" width="320" wt="true" /></a></div><br />
Edited and adapted from: http://www.instructables.com/id/Bacon-Fruit-Cups/ and http://www.notmartha.org/archives/2008/02/27/bacon-cups/Verdilakhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12232049933490582125noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1153046495893638465.post-9631569572793073222010-05-14T02:23:00.000-07:002010-05-17T14:44:32.656-07:00Feta-Stuffed Celery<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a156/hippie_mama/Primal/IMG_7258.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a156/hippie_mama/Primal/IMG_7258.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />
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My wife and kids seem to get tired of meat as a large part of every meal, so I am looking for items that I can make for them that does not have meat, like the following Primal recipe:<br />
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6 stalks of celery<br />
1/4 cup sour cream<br />
1/4 cup feta cheese, crumbled<br />
1/4 cup chopped almonds, toasted<br />
1/4 t. dried dill<br />
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Rather simple, clean the celery and cut off the ends as normal. Mix all of the above ingredients with each other, though only use half the almonds. Fill the celery with the mixture and top it with the remaining almonds, sprinkled lightly. Cut into 4 inch pieces and serve.<br />
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While this will not be edible by myself due to the fact that dairy and I are incompatable, my wife and kids love dairy and this would make a quick and easy snack for them.<br />
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Should have 4g carbs and 3g protein per serving, which is perfect for those of us who are eating this way.Verdilakhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12232049933490582125noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1153046495893638465.post-64303212937769585012010-05-13T02:07:00.000-07:002010-05-13T02:09:31.501-07:00The Art of Smoking... food that is<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://farm1.static.flickr.com/43/86540803_9586c1ff56.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://farm1.static.flickr.com/43/86540803_9586c1ff56.jpg" width="400" wt="true" /></a></div><br />
The modern method of smoking foods evolved from its roots as a process for preserving. Long before refrigeration and chemical preservatives, smoke was used to extend the shelf life of most foods, especially meat. Wood smoke contains many of the chemicals (formaldehyde and acetic acid, among others) that slow the growth of microbes. In addition, the pH level of smoke is a very low 2.5, which is extremely friendly to microbes. <br />
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Today, smoking has become much more than an age-old technique for preserving, tenderizing, and adding flavor to food. Smoking has become an institution to festivals, clubs, organizations and above all, competitions. People are smoking cheeses, fruits, nuts, vegetables, salts, and anything else they can get their hands on. <br />
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This post, however, is about smoking meats. C'mon, its a Paleo blog, did you expect nothing less?<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><strong>Meat to Use</strong></span><br />
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First of all, you have to choose your meat and whenever someone ways the word "smoke" in reference to food, my first thought is pork. Pork offers some incredible cuts at a relatively inexpensive price, and those same cuts lend themselves extremely well to the smoking process. Some of the most common cuts used for smoking are any of the cuts from the loin as well as the motion muscles, which are Boston butt, shoulder picnic, and spare ribs from the belly. Beef brisket, beef ribs, and most other cuts from the cow also work well for the smoking process. <br />
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What I generally look for are cuts of meat that are generally tough with a lot of connective tissues and a fair amount of fat. These cuts actually benefit from the long cooking period than others because as the connective tissue dissolves, the meat becomes increasingly tender and the melting fat bastes and flavors the meat while absorbing the entire smoke flavor itself. Poultry and other lean cuts also do well from smoking; however it is necessary to brine such cuts.<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><strong>Brining</strong></span><br />
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Cuts of meat, especially from poultry and any cuts that are lean, tend to dry out during the smoking process. That is why is helpful, or necessary in some cases, to brine. A brine is a salted water solution containing anywhere from 3 to 5 percent salt by volume. The strength of your brine will depend on the cut of meat and what you hope to actually achieve by brining. A 3 percent solution, which is roughly 2 tablespoons of salt per gallon, will dissolve parts of the protein structures that maintain the contracting filaments. A 6 percent solution, which is around 4 tablespoons per quart, will moderately dissolve the actual filaments themselves. Depending on the cut and its thickness, they can be brined anywhere from 2 hours to 2 days.<br />
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Another fact to know about brining is that the interaction of salt and protein results in greater water holding capacity within the muscle cells. As a result, the weight of the brined meat will increase by 10 percent. The smoking process yields in a 20 percent loss in moisture of the meat, which is offset by the added weight that the brine creates, essentially cutting the loss of weight in half. Brines penetrate the meat from the outside to the center, unless you inject the brine into the center of the meat specifically, lending its greatest effects on the outer-most portions of the meat which are typically the first to show signs of overcooking and drying out. That is why even partial brine can make all the different in the world on any cut of meat that you smoke.<br />
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However, due to the brine, a major disadvantage is that the meat can become rather salty. To offset this, many people will add sweeteners, fruit juices, alcohols, and vinegars to provide a sweet and sour contracts that is to offset the strong flavor of the salt.<br />
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In addition to brines, which can impart an aromatic flavoring to your meat, dry rubs are also a great way for adding specific flavorings to your meat prior to smoking. When using a dry rub in addition to the brine, be sure to choose or make a rub that contains little to no extra salt/sodium content. A preferred method from brining and dry rubbing is to brine the meat, rub the meat down with mustard, and then use the dry rub. The mustard helps to create a glazing with the spices from rub within it without imparting added sweetness.<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><strong>Wood Choices</strong></span><br />
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Now, one of the most important choices in smoking is what wood you will use. However, choosing the correct wood can be a challenge, especially if you are unsure of what types of wood are available and how the wood's smoke will affect the flavor of the meat that you are smoking. Some of the best woods for smoking are listed below, as well as the types of meat that they work best with.<br />
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<strong>Alder</strong>: Natural sweetness and delicate flavor. Typically pairs well with fish, poultry, pork, and light meats. Commonly used in the Pacific Northwest to smoke salmon.<br />
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<strong>Apple</strong>: Sweet and fruity mild taste. Works best with ham, fish, and poultry.<br />
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<strong>Hickory</strong>: The king of woods used in the Southern BBQ belt. A strong and pungent wood with a smoky, almost bacon-like flavor. Best with ribs and red meat.<br />
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<strong>Maple</strong>: Sweet and light tasting, though it has a tendency to darken the color of the meat if presentation is important to you. Works well when balances with oak, apple, or alder. Use this wood for ham and poultry.<br />
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<strong>Mesquite</strong>: If you are not careful when using this wood to smoke with, the flavor of the smoke will overpower the meat. To stay safe, do not use this wood when smoking any cut of meat that requires a prolonged smoking time. This wood is oily in nature, meaning it tends to pop ember as well as burn hot and fast. Best used with other woods, especially near the end of the smoking process, for any type of meat that you wish to have that mesquite flavor.<br />
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<strong>Pecan</strong>: This wood belongs to the hickory family and is therefore rather similar in nature. This wood is pungent like hickory, but with a fruity flavor, so use sparingly. Pecan burns cooler than most woods, which makes it ideal for smoking meats that require a longer smoking time.<br />
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<strong>Oak</strong>: This wood is also excellent for smoking cuts of meat that require longer smoking times, especially the larger cuts. It produces a good strong smoke flavor that doesn't overpower. Ideal for beef briskets. Red oak has a sweeter flavor while white oak burns longer.<br />
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<strong>Cherry</strong>: This wood tens to turn meats a rich mahogany and is therefore perfect for beef and pork, especially when used with hickory, oak, pecan, or alder.<br />
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<strong>Grapevine</strong> <strong>Cuttings</strong>: These are perfect for smoking fish, poultry, and the lighter beef cuts. However, the effects of grapevine cuttings can also be achieved by soaking wood chips in an inexpensive wine.<br />
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There are 2 types of smoking: Hot and cold. Cold smoking is done at a low temperature and is not intended to actually cook the meat. The meat is held in an unheated chamber and smoke is funneled through it from a fire box. Wood dust or pellets works best for cold smoking, as they will smolder and smoke at lower temperatures better than thicker pieces of wood.<br />
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Hot smoking is a technique where the meat is help directly above or within the same enclosure as the wood, so that it cooks as it smoked. Hot smoked cuts tend to have a firmer, drier texture, making temperature, timing, and moisture content rather important. Optimal temperature for hot smoking is at 212 degrees. Remember, low heat and slow cooking are the keys to success, even when you are hot smoking. This temperature gives the smoke enough time to sink in and naturally tenderize the meal while slowly cooking the meat, which gives the natural fibers in meat time to break down and become tender.<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><strong>Which Smoker to Use</strong></span><br />
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Last but not least, it is time to decide on the type of smoker to smoke that cut of meat that you have decided which wood to use, to brine or not brine, and to dry rub or no. Now is when you have to determine which smoker will work best for you. While the capacity and portability are completely dependant on what you are cooking as well as where you doing the cooking, the type of fuel used is an important consideration when choosing your smoker.<br />
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<strong>Electric</strong>: These smokers have a rod that heats up electrically and ignites the wood pellets, which are used as both the heat source and for their smoking qualities. The pellets are fed into the firebox by an auger, which is controlled by a thermostat. Very must so the type of smoker that you start and forget about until it is finished.<br />
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<strong>Gas Fired</strong>: This style works much the same way as the eclectic smokers, but uses natural gas/propane to ignite the wood. What makes these types of smokers interesting is that they can often be used for both hot and cold smoking. They also generally contain some sort of water pan to help retain the moisture level of the smoked meats. This is my preferred smoker.<br />
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<strong>Barbeque Pit</strong>: If charcoal is used as fuel, as it often is with these types of smokers, it should be lit and left until there is a gray ash covering the coals, just as with grilling. The wood that provides the smoke should be soaked prior to the smoking and then placed on the charcoal with the food being placed on the racks. When the smoke begins to form, the smoker is closed and the food is left to cook. Alternatively, the wood can be used as the fuel to create the smoky flavor. <br />
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There are also barbeque pits that use propane gas for the lighting of the wood directly, as well as units that contain fireboxes off to the side for indirect and cold smoking.<br />
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Lastly, smoking can be done on the top of the stove by purchasing a stoke-top smoker pan or by making your own using a series of solid and perforated pans. Oven smoking also works rather well, but it does tend to ruin the oven for any other type of cooking since the flavor of the smoke tends to stay for a long time.Verdilakhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12232049933490582125noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1153046495893638465.post-8948556002323817142010-05-12T01:53:00.000-07:002010-05-12T16:53:50.271-07:00The great things about civilizationJohn Durant from <a href="http://hunter-gatherer.com/blog/whats-so-good-about-civilization-plenty-actually">Hunter-Gatherer.com</a> posited the following question to other paleobloggers and I thought I would join in:<br />
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<blockquote>Here's the question. If you had to live as part of an actual hunter-gatherer tribe 10,000 to 40,000 years ago, what would you miss the most about the modern world? Culture and technology are likely to be popular answers, so get more specific. If you say music, tell us what bands. If you say the technology, tell us why UNIX stirs your soul. Make it personal. Try to find things that if given the choice between a perfectly healthy hunter-gatherer lifestyle without what you love about modernity and a "healthy" modern lifestyle based on the conventional wisdom, you'd choose modernity.</blockquote><br />
This question actually is something that I have been thinking about quite a bit over the past few months. When I read about the Hadza in a National Geographic magazine and how they live, it really sparked something within myself and is more than likely a large reason as to why I switched to a Paleo lifestyle so readily. While I think it would do me a world of good to actually live off the land as they do, I also have quite a few hesitations about it.<br />
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For one, though I do not have a great number of acquaintances in real life, I am rather social, especially online. Facebook is a complete waste of time and has some serious privacy issues with their entire system, but I do love it for the simple fact that it allows me to stay connected. Same with twitter, forums, chat rooms, and blogs. I like to read and see other people's experiences and how they viewed them. I like to know about my family and friends, what they are up to, upcoming weddings, and so on. All of which would have been impossible 10-40,000 years ago.<br />
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Secondly, I am a voracious reader. I can read through 100 pages of a book in an hour, less if the story is truly compelling. I am a huge fan of Terry Goodkind's Sword of Truth series, and I can read through them all in less than a week. Song of Ice and Fire is another wonderful series by George R. R. Martin, as well as Wildcards which he edits and contributes to. I love history and will read anything on it that I can get my hands on, especially if it is something new and previously unknown. I could not give up my books, the printing press is one of the greatest items ever imagined by man.<br />
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I am a gamer, I could not give up my Playstations and my Xbox, I think my kids would rebel if I tried to take away their Gameboys. And not just the systems and games themselves, I would seriously miss the interaction that occurs when you game with your friends. On that note, my favorite types of games are tabletop rpg's. If you follow this blog at all, I talk about them like Tri-Stat dX and Apocalypse Prevention, Inc. I love to roll dice and imagine myself in a different body within a different world, even if it is all virtual. I am unsure if my ancestors played such games of make-believe, but in seeing the way that kids play, I am pretty sure that they would have. But I would miss the ability to game with friends from all over the world at the same time and create a story together, something that would be much harder to do within a small, nomadic tribe.<br />
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Entertainment in the form of music, movies, and videos. While I love myself some narratives and stories as evidenced in the previous paragraph, I like to be able to view stories visually through movies and television. It is something that I seriously look forward to.<br />
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Knowledge is a huge for me, I could not just accept that my small idea of the world around me, as the way a tribe would have seen it 10-40,000 years ago would have. In fact, I daresay that this one is true for anyone who is living a Paleolithic lifestyle. Research and information, facts and charts, I could not live without this sort of stuff. Including useless facts.<br />
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Lastly, I could not give up my modern technology. I love my propane grill. I use it weekly, cooking up massive amounts of meat to see my family through the week, but I would not mind firing it up daily just for a burger or two. Yes, I also love wood fires as well as eating over them, but I love the convenience and the level of control that I have when I use my gas grill. AC units and heaters are also high on my list of things that I would miss. I would not be a happy camper, freezing my butt off and hungry, having to go hunt through snow for my meal with not much to keep myself warm. Same with the heat, I could not deal with that very well.<br />
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So all in all, I am a modern creature who chooses to live two aspects of my life in line with my paleo ancestors, namely diet and exercise. What about you guys who are reading this? What is something that you would miss if you were suddenly thrust back in time to 10-40,000 years ago?Verdilakhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12232049933490582125noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1153046495893638465.post-60381405423122866052010-05-11T08:32:00.000-07:002010-05-11T08:32:38.886-07:00Game Review for Apocalypse Prevention, Inc.I originally posted this review to <a href="http://www.rpg.net/reviews/archive/14/14076.phtml">RPG.net</a>, but felt the need to re-post it over here due to quality of this game and the number of sourcebooks that are coming out, on schedule. Unfortunately, since this review was written, I have yet to have been able to play or run a game using this system and setting. I hope to rectify this in the near future. However, what I said in this review still stands.<br />
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The cover touts the game as "An Action, Horror RPG... with a twist of Humor", and it gives some humor already in just the Disclaimer, though it is slightly lacking in the rest of the book. Starting off, there is summary of the setting, the mood of the game, playable races, and of the system that is used. I rather like a page full of short and sweet summaries of what the book is planning on giving you.<br />
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Then of course there is the "What is Roleplaying" section (slight nitpick, on the cover page of the pdf it states "An Action, Horror RPG" but everywhere else its "An Action Horror RPG") which is only 2 paragraphs with 2 sentences digging on the lack of RPG in video games. I would have rather seen just 1 sentence since 2 seems to be a bit of an overkill.<br />
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A 2 column format is used throughout the book, which is better than the full page format in my opinion. The pdf is also very clean, and readability is excellent. There are some light gray splotches to give a blood stained feel to it, which helps to re-enforce the Horror aspect.<br />
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Some slight spelling and punctuation mistakes that lasts only in this first section of the book, but nothing thats too distracting. The rest of the book is either completely missing any mistakes or I was too involved with the book to even notice them.<br />
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Before the first Chapter there is a full page mock-up of an official letter from API, which I rather like since it helps to get you into the mood of being in character rather quickly. However, the rest of the book reads like a Core Book, so the feeling that this letter gives is lost. I think it would have been better placed at the end of the book, after the character sheets.<br />
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The example game play of the GM and 2 players was very un-inspiring. I would have left it off or write down dialog from an actual game.<br />
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Chapter 1: CHARACTER CREATION<br />
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Character Creation in API has 5 steps, of which Concepts, Passion, and Race are apart of Step 1.<br />
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Concepts is where you decide on what type of character you will want to play, their sex, history, disposition, ethnicity, family life, and occupation. Passion is API's version of Alignment and I rather like how this is done rather than having none or a specific set of what you can and cannot do due to your alignment. Passions are what your character feel strongly about, their purpose in other words. It's not stated how many passions one can have, but it's assumed that you can have 1 Passion at a time. Whenever you act within your Passion you receive bonus XP and possibly to checks relating to their Passion. A rather nice way to encourage roleplaying one's Passion and in staying in character.<br />
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Between Passions and Races there is a 2 page Character Creation Reference Guide and a 3 page sample character, which really should have been places at the end of the Chapter. It is confusing for a first time player, because it makes you worry you might have missed something.<br />
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Races given are Humans, Burners, Changelings, Locks (Fish People), Spectrals, Taylari (Vampires), and Wolf People. What is nice is that if your character dies, you can continue to play your character as a Spectral and still be apart of the game.<br />
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Step 2 is where you assign your Attributes with 30 points between 6 Attributes with 10 levels for each. 4 or 5 is given as the average but I would have preferred a set number for average, such as 4. You must have 1 point in each attribute and the costs are 1 point is spent of Attributes between 1-8 and 2 points for 9 and 10. The Attributes are Power, Agility, Vigor, Intellect, Insight, and Charm.<br />
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Then the sub-attributes are given and how to calculate them, which is easily done. However, they are supposed to be apart of Step 5 of the Character Creation process so I was expecting them to be further down. it makes sense for them to be where they are, I was just confused at first. The sub-attributes are Health, Initiative, Stamina, and Movement (running, jumping, climbing, swimming and walking).<br />
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The third Step is to assign Skills out of 30+IQ points and are purchased in the same manner Attributes are. The Skills are rather general and are set up as 10 levels, meaning to roll skill checks you roll a d20+Attribute level+Skill level with a max roll of 40 possible which would allow a nearly impossible feat to succeed. I wont go through the skills here, mainly due to the generalness of them, and how to handle skill checks isn't either. There are a few new aspects, for me anyways, such as a rule on how 2 or more people using the same skill to accomplish something is handled and that some skills and be used in conjunction with others as well as attributes. Also, Attributes are not linked to just one skill and thats it. For example, researching something on a computer would use IQ+Computers but typing speedily would use Agility+Computers. There are also specific skills for only Spectrals due to their unique nature.<br />
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Weapon Styles allow one to use a weapon without penalty and each level purchased gives bonuses of one manner or another that stack with previous levels. Fighting Styles can be mixed with all of their bonuses stacking, though to receive any of the special techniques in a specific style you must have purchased 4, 7 or 10 levels in it. These Styles are where one can see that the author of API must have played a Palladium Books game somewhere in their past and it's a rather good thing. You wont be disappointed.<br />
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Step 4 is where you can spend your Bonus Points (16 for Humans, 10 for the other races) on Gifts, take Drawbacks to increase your Bonus Points, purchase more levels of Attributes or Skills, purchase Equipment, and any Cybernetics one might desire. I like the Gifts and Drawbacks listed out, giving you many opportunities to spend your Bonus Points on ways to round out your character, as well as the Cybernetics which allows you to create a complete Cyborg if that is your wish.<br />
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Step 5 is where you are supposed to calculate your combat bonuses and sub-attributes, but that is done in Steps 2 and 3.<br />
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Chapter 2: COMBAT<br />
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Stamina should have been described with the other stats instead of in the combat (though i understand why it was) but besides that, I really like the Combat, including the Stamina system. It does add a bit more bookkeeping for both the player and GM as well as makes the game somewhat crunchy, it is nice to see that everything in combat is attributed for. I can definitely see the roots of this game as akin to the Palladium Books system, especially with the Fighting Styles and Weapon Styles, but the Combat System and Stamina System, or DGS (Dynamic Game System) of API not only improves what Palladium Books uses, but it completely blows them out of the water. It is such a good combat system that not only should you think about getting the book on this merit alone, I will describe how it works.<br />
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How DGS works is thus: You have Stamina (derived by [Vigor+Insight]x3) which you spend in combat. A punch may cost 1 point, and a dodge 1 point as well. The longer combat lasts, as well as the more actions you take, you WILL tire. At half your Stamina you will take penalties, at 1/4th your Stamina you will take more, and at 1/8th you will take even more. When you get to zero you are completely worn out and cannot do anything but rest. Luckily Stamina is replenished quickly, but not quickly enough to do so while engaged in combat. The second part to DGS is that every combat move takes time. A round is 10 seconds and there are 20 counts to a round.<br />
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So an example combat from your character's point of view might be thus: You and your opponent roll for Initiative, the winner gets to act on Count 1, the rest act on Count 2-9 depending on how low they rolled for their initiative. So if you roll a 21 and your opponent rolls a 22, they go on Count 1 and you go on Count 2. They use a full attack with a broadsword which lowers their Stamina by 1 for the attack and uses 5 Counts, meaning their next attack can be done on Count 6 if they dont dodge or do anything else. You decide to Dodge which reduces your Stamina by 1 and uses 3 Counts meaning you get to attack on Count 5. And so on.<br />
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The DGS has all situations explained out in the combat section, really showing off the fact that they did their homework and play-tested the crap out of these rules. There are rules for when someone jumps into the combat during the middle of the round, what happens when 2 or more combatants go on the same Count, Surprise Attacks, what happens if the round ends and you havent used up all of your Attacks yet, how to handle a situation where the entire group (or just 2 of them) decide to attack the Big Bad at the exact same time, everything. Knock-outs arent reliant on a Natural 20 as with many systems, which is very nice. There are rules for Improvised Weapons and Improvised Weapons that are similar to a Weapon they are already proficient with. Rules for Melee, Ranged, Armor, Armor Piercing.... like I said, this is one solid system and I cant say enough about it.<br />
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You owe it to yourself to read the combat section if you have EVER felt discouraged, dismayed, unsure of, or any other feeling but complete and abject joy from any other Combat System.<br />
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DGS is an Active Combat and Active Defense system, meaning you roll for your strikes on a d20 plus bonuses and try to get the highest number possible and you roll a d20 plus bonuses for your defensive action trying to match or do better than the strike being leveled at you. It is cinematic and realistic at the same time and it works beautifully. Yes, it means a bit longer combat, yes it means a bit more bookkeeping, but the way it is laid out, with rules for all contingencies, I dont know how I will be able to play any other game without utilizing this combat system in one way or another.<br />
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Chapter 3: MAGIC<br />
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The magic chapter starts off basically detailing how all things that are "supernatural", like psionics, demons' natural abilities, religious miracles, and good old wizardry all use the same energy, Mana. I really like how all magic is set up with one system and it's how you roleplay it that determines how it is perceived within the game world. There are three levels of magic spells/abilities which are called Circles and Mana is converted from Stamina depending on which Circle you are casting from. The first Circle holds the easiest magic and you convert 1 Stamina into 1 Mana. The second Circle is harder magic and you convert 2 Stamina into 1 Mana. The third Circle holds the hardest magic and the most reality altering magics. Converting for the third Circle is 3 Stamina for 1 Mana.<br />
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I really like how Stamina is used as the cost in Magic, Combat, and Natural Abilites, giving a very visual aspect of how such things tire you out the more you do stuff in a short amount of time. Too many games has a system for how you get tired, but the visual aspect is normally lost. In API, you easily can roleplay out how tired, how worn out, or how energetic your character is at any given point since Stamina is tied in with everything that you do.<br />
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Casting Magic also requires a vocal element, hand movement of some kind, and/or eye movement as well. Some have casting times that allow them to be used in combat, some do not. It is nice to see that in combat, small magical effects can be used, but the more damaging kinds are going to take a minute or longer to complete. It really helps to keeps the power level of the game in check and keeps it in the realm of modern fantasy.<br />
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Within each Circle are Paths, like a Path of Death of a Path of Time. To learn a 2nd Circle spell you need to have some 1st Circle spells already learned in the same Path. A nice feature of the magic system is that if you cast a written spell 5 times, you can choose to learn it without having to worry about what Path it is in. There are only 2-3 spells for each Path in the 1st Circle, and 1-2 in the 2nd and 3rd. API's magic spells are written out so you will have spell lists detailing what you can and cannot do with your magic, however you can upgrade your spell many different ways. Two characters might have the same spell, but with the ability to tailor each and every spell, the same spell can have vastly different effects. This is a wonderful feature for those who are used to spell lists in their games, as well as for those who are used to a more free-form magic system. The spell list is small, but with the customization for each and every spell, you have much more of a varied spell list than if there was a book full of only spells. Add in the fact that the spells themselves are unique to begin with, and you have a magic system that is just as varied and wonderful as the combat is.<br />
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Chapter 4: API ORGANIZATION<br />
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This Chapter starts out with the history and roots of API and a few disasters that API stopped in the past. A list of Headquarters is also given for the major areas of the world, enabling the game to take place anywhere around the globe very easily. All in all, it is well written and a good historical basis that gives enough information to run a game set in the past, but not to much to be tiresome.<br />
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Then it goes into API Agents themselves and their training, as well as their severing ties to their old lives once they become agents. That, and that they wear black suits and ties, are very reminiscent of Men in Black, and not in a bad way. Players will be happy to know that their loved ones and families are safe from being used as hostages or elements of the story by the GM, even though they have no interaction with them.<br />
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Responsibilities are also laid out for Agents of API, which is not all combat and saving the world. Check-ups on aliens and demons living a semblance of normal life is important which can bring into play some interesting roleplay opportunities. Making sure that every alien and demon is properly accounted for and legal is just as important as watching fellow agents to be sure that they are not becoming delinquent in their jobs as well.<br />
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All in all, this chapter lays down the groundwork for developing the world as a GM and your characters and a Character and it does a good job at detailing how API works on all levels.<br />
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Chapter 5: DEMONOLOGY<br />
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In API, Demons are any race that isn't human, and most are Dimensional travelers. Calling a Demon a monster or other adjective is for the worst of the worst. Many races of Demons have treaties and agreements with Earth so they can come and live, for vacation, or for other reasons. Those that come to Earth illegally or to make trouble are dealt with by API's Agents. Some of the humor comes through here in that there is a rule stating that as long as the majority of a Demon's face and body are covered then most people will think that the Demon is a human who is coming home from a costume party, or is horribly scarred, or something else rational.<br />
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Expanded descriptions of the Demons in Chapter 1 are listed here with additional information that is useful for not just one's background, but also some expanded rules specific to the Demon race. No other Demons are listed here, which is disappointing. I was expecting more Demons, but the information given on the playable races is very nice to have outside of the character creation.<br />
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Chapter 6: TELLING STORIES FOR API<br />
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This is the GM section of the book, giving information specific to the setting, Adventure Hooks, guidelines for handing out XP, and how to keep not only the drama but also the humor in a game session. Not that it's necessary, it's nice to see that there is a good page on how to to just have fun, as the GM and to keep it fun for the players as well.<br />
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Then the chapter delves into the antagonists, which is where the other Demons I would have liked to see in Chapter 5 are. Stat-ed out are basic animals, average humans, average and not so average API agents, thugs, police officers, and monster hunters. Stats for 14 Demons are given with more to be given in future sourcebooks, as well as there being a Random Monster Generator which gives many different combinations. No rules for assigning stats to monsters of popular stories, but the system is easy enough that doing so wouldn't take much time at all if you wanted a specific monster to bring into the game.<br />
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The Chapter ends with 3 races laid out like those in Chapter 1, but these are illegal races meaning that for the most part, they will not be members of API.<br />
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A Glossary of Terms and an Index finishes up the book, as well as a 1 page character sheet that is more generalized and 2 copies of a 3 page character sheet that has everything you might need, including a handy Combat Count tracker. There is also given a Combat Counter tracker sheet that holds counts for 7 combatants which will be very handy for GM's to keep things going smoothly during combat.<br />
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CONCLUSION<br />
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I give this book a 9 out of 10 and the only reason it wasnt given a 10 out of 10 is due to the Pre-Chapters section in the very beginning. It was obviously placed as an afterthought. This is also due to the arrangements of the Steps of the Character Creation which is not in sync with how Character Creation is lined out in the book. Again, I would have liked to see the Character Creation Guide at the end of the Character Creation Chapter.<br />
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Furthermore, I have to say that as someone who has played Palladium Books and despaired of it's system, I do believe I have found the perfect Palladium Books System 3.0. This system can easily be used for a multitude of settings that are meant to be realistic and yet cinematic because the DGS of API melds the two is perfect harmony.<br />
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184 pages for $12.95 as a pdf or $24.95 as a POD paperback from Lulu is a price that means everyone can afford. Third Eye Games is showing itself to be a company of Gamers for Gamers by setting the price thus for it's Core Book of what is sure to be an excellent game line.<br />
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To re-iterate, THIS is what we all have been trying to do since nearly the beginning of the 2nd edition of Palladium Fantasy... FIXING IT! Seriously, I am in love with the beauty of how this system fixes nearly every gripe of what people have said about PB's system but in a completely separate way than everyone else was going.<br />
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Thank you Third Eye games for giving us a system that fixes Palladium's system.Verdilakhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12232049933490582125noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1153046495893638465.post-43988591172645255652010-05-09T04:07:00.000-07:002010-05-09T04:07:43.978-07:00Water and Dehydration<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://farm1.static.flickr.com/188/395226087_9002872142.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="http://farm1.static.flickr.com/188/395226087_9002872142.jpg" tt="true" width="400" /></a></div><br />
When I first decided to go Paleo, one thing was topmost in my mind: What am I to drink? I lived off of green tea of the Arizona brand, I drank copious amounts of the cranberry flavoured Sierra Mist, and the best drink in the world for me was Canada Dry Ginger Ale. But, they all contained one form of sugar or another, and depending on the different brands they might contain more than one type of sugar. <br />
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I tried regular teas but I'm not one to drink green tea or english tea. I do like herbal teas, but as of yet I have not made myself any due to my preference for sugar in one form or another to make said teas palatable. <br />
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I looked around for what I could drink and the answer was there the entire time: Water. Now, if you are like me, you have heard about needing to drink 8 glasses of water per day. Which amounts to 64 ounces of water a day. It seems like a large amount and rightly so: The research that stated you need 64 ounces of water a day did not, in fact, say that. Your body needs to consume 64 ounces of fluids each day. This means waters, teas, broths, liquids from vegetables, fruits, meats, and nuts that you normally consume and so on. It seems that much of the old standby research that fills our heads with CW (conventional wisdom) is regularly false or wrongly interpreted, leading to these sorts of problems. However, with the amount of liquids that people consume that are pure sugar bombs, perhaps it is a good thing that this sort of CW is staying around.<br />
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According to researchers, we are chronically dehydrated. Researchers estimate that half of the world's population is chronically dehydrated. And in America, that level is even higher at 75 percent of the population. Most people don’t think they need to worry about dehydration. To them, dehydration is something that happens to travelers in the desert when they run out of water. But there is a chronic form of dehydration that does not have the sudden and intense nature of the acute form. Chronic dehydration is widespread in the present day and affects everyone who is not drinking enough liquid. <br />
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Here is a list of problems associated with chronic dehydration:<br />
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<blockquote>Fatigue, Energy Loss: Dehydration of the tissues causes enzymatic activity to slow down.<br />
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Constipation: When chewed food enters the colon, it contains too much liquid to allow stools to form properly, and the wall of the colon reduces it. In chronic dehydration, the colon takes too much water to give to other parts of the body.<br />
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Digestive Disorders: In chronic dehydration, the secretion of digestive juices are less.<br />
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High and Low Blood Pressure: The body’s blood volume is not enough to completely fill the entire set of arteries, veins, and capillaries.<br />
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Gastritis, Stomach Ulcers: To protect its mucous membranes from being destroyed by the acidic digestive fluid it produces, the stomach secretes a layer of mucus.<br />
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Respiratory Troubles: The mucous membranes of the respiratory region are slightly moist to protect the respiratory tract from substances that might be present in inhaled air.<br />
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Acid-Alkaline Imbalance: Dehydration activates an enzymatic slowdown producing acidification.<br />
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Excess Weight and Obesity: We may overeat because we crave foods rich in water. Thirst is often confused with hunger.<br />
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Eczema: Your body needs enough moisture to sweat 20 to 24 ounces of water, the amount necessary to dilute toxins so they do not irritate the skin.<br />
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Cholesterol: When dehydration causes too much liquid to be removed from inside the cells, the body tries to stop this loss by producing more cholesterol.<br />
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Cystitis, Urinary Infections: If toxins contained in urine are insufficiently diluted, they attack the urinary mucous membranes.<br />
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Rheumatism: Dehydration abnormally increases the concentration of toxins in the blood and cellular fluids, and the pains increase in proportion to the concentration of the toxins.<br />
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Premature Aging: The body of a newborn child is composed of 80 percent liquid, but this percentage declines to no more than 70 percent in an adult and continues to decline with age.</blockquote><br />
And some more reasons why you should consume more water:<br />
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<blockquote>Your blood is over 80 percent water and needs water to make healthy new blood cells.<br />
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Your bones are over 50 percent water and, you guessed it, need water to make healthy new bone cells.<br />
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Drinking more water actually helps lessen pain in your body by getting your lymphatic system moving. The lymphatic system is a network of nodes, tubes, vessels, and fluid that move waste out of your tissues. It requires water to function properly.<br />
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Water helps to eliminate wastes and toxins from your body through the lymphatic system, kidneys, and intestines.<br />
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Water lubricates your joints and helps reduce joint pain and protect against wear and tear.<br />
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Water regulates your metabolism so if you're overweight chances are you may need more water.<br />
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Water balances body temperature.<br />
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Water helps to ensure adequate electrical functioning so your brain and nervous system function properly. Your brain and nervous system send out electrical signals to function properly. Researchers estimate that your brain gives off about the same amount of electricity as a 60 watt light bulb. So, there's some truth to the image of a light bulb going on when someone has a good idea.<br />
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Water alleviates dehydration.<br />
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Every cell and organ in your body requires adequate water to function properly.</blockquote><br />
Most of us who eat Paleo/Primal do consume enough liquids to not have any difficulties associated with less than optimal levels of liquids, especially since we do not consume sugar. But, many of those around us do, and they are for whom this post is directed towards.Verdilakhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12232049933490582125noreply@blogger.com0