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One of the things I loved about writing Winter's Moons was the chance to get to know the main characters who are very different, but in such complementary ways. Cassidy Nolan (the young werewolf Alpha sister of a genetically-engineered supersoldier) has plenty of leadership qualities, but no experience. She's also got a hefty case of impostor syndrome, one that keep her from bonding completely with her pack, for fear that they might figure out exactly how out of her depth she really is.
On the other side of things, Snow has been a werewolf for a long time. She has absolutely no leadership skills, but she has a deep knowledge of werewolf traditions and how healthy packs are supposed to function. At first, Snow judges Cassidy for slipping up in all sorts of ways, but as she comes to know the Alpha more closely, she realizes that Cassidy is doing the best she can. Sure, she's failing a lot, but not so much that the situation is irretrievably broken. Best of all, Cassidy keeps trying. In Snow, Cassidy finds someone to talk to without fear of judgment. She comes to lean on the lone wolf's perspective, and a bond begins to form.
Developing the characters for this story was easy in some ways. Cassidy came ready-made from Five Moons Rising. However, she made some choices there that some of readers found difficult to stomach. After all, it looked a lot like she turned her back on the sister who went through hell to keep her alive. Getting inside Cassidy's head and reacquainting myself with her motives and her understanding of the world was a little challenging after so long away from the events of that first book. However, once I realized that Cassidy's big problem was having impostor syndrome (and also being right about it), she got a lot easier to wrap my arms around.
It took some time to find Snow's voice. I knew going into the story that I wanted the other main character to be a lone wolf. I also knew that I wanted her to be submissive. I had some ideas about submission versus dominance, and how the former is often equated to weakness. Snow is submissive, but she's not a pushover. Her lack of dominance has led her to develop strategies that have nothing to do with brute force. She thrives on passing beneath notice, and on redirection. All of those were things I was prepared to deal with. It was a surprise to discover that Snow was asexual, specifically a homoromantic asexual who is pretty sex-averse. However, it made complete sense. Her inability to find a home in the sexually-charged atmosphere of most werewolf packs was bound to make her uncomfortable, and as someone who is on the submissive side of things, she wasn't inclined to try to carve out a space for herself. When the space she did have got too tight, she simply moved on to the next one. Once I realized those things, Snow really revealed herself to me, and she's become one of my favorite characters to write.
There is a romantic subplot to this story. This was my first time writing an ace character, and I made sure to run the story past a handful of ace sensitivity readers. Hopefully I've done their advice justice. I believe sex and romance are two different things, and it was incredibly rewarding to explore tender moments through this different lens.
This duo has become one of my favorites, and I'm so looking forward to readers getting to know Cassidy and Snow the way I have.
Winter's Moons can still be preordered, and will be out from Bella Books on December 20th.
The latest installment in the Five Moons Rising series takes a bit of a jog to the side. I'd originally envisioned the series as a pretty typical trilogy/quadrilogy. Then I needed to figure out what happened in Chicago during the six months that Malice and Ruri spent trapped in the land of the fae.
As I started outlining the events that were to have happened back in town in preparation for starting the sequel to Hunter's Descent, I realized that I was doing a lot of work. For me, the most fun part of writing is in the planning stages. There's so much potential. Everything is wide open and narrative choices on the page haven't closed any doors in the story. There was a lot that needed to happen while Malice and Ruri were out of town, I decided to write a novella that would outline what was going on with Cassidy.
Things didn't go as planned. First, a brand new character showed up. Snow was really interesting to me, and brought a point of view I hadn't played with before (more about her in an upcoming post). I decided that I needed to see some of the story through her eyes also. Before I knew it, this little novella had taken on a life of its own, and Winter's Moons became a full novel. In a twist which should surprise no one who knows me, there was so much story to tell that I had to break it up into two books. (Don't worry, I've already finished the first draft to the sequel, so it won't be years and years before the next one comes out.)
Once the length of the story I had to tell became apparent, I needed to switch some things up. I went back and did my best to make sure the Winter's Moons could be read independently of the other books in Five Moons Rising (the series). Cassidy's story may have started in the first book of the series, but she was very much a secondary character there. Since this is her and Snow's story, I wanted to make sure that their two books would complete their own narrative, separate from, but related to what I started thinking of as the other half of the series. (I made a diagram to explain the series structure to my publisher. Why can't I do simple projects?)
As far as where it stands in the series, even though it stands alone, it can definitely be read as a sequel to Five Moons Rising (the novel), and/or Hunter's Descent. Both books will flesh out the world, but the plot sits well on its own.
I'm excited for readers to encounter this new branch of the series and to get to know Cassidy better, and to meet Snow. More to come while I break down character choices in upcoming posts.
Posted on January 29, 2021 by lisemactague
Most of the story in Breaking Out (my new wlw ice hockey romance coming from Bella Books in less than a month) takes place in the town of Sussburg, Pennsylvania. Don't bother looking for it, it doesn't exist. I created it out of nothing for the purpose of the story. I also invented Windsor County, the central Pennsylvania county for which Sussburg is the seat of local government.
I decided to set the story in an imaginary place for a few reasons. First, I usually write spec-fic. I've created whole worlds, so I didn't anticipate I would have too many difficulties in inventing one small town. I was both right and wrong on that one.
Second, using a real town would have meant a whole lot of research. You'd think researching a smaller area would be easier than a larger one, but that's not actually the case. In order to be true to an existing place, you have to get the details just so, and there are so many fewer details for a town of 2,000 people than there would be for a place like New York or London, so each one is so much more important to get right. Not to mention, that while small towns may look similar to outsiders, each has a different feel that can be difficult to nail down.
Finally, I wanted to make a place that was free of some of the more troubling aspects of real life. Most small towns and rural places aren't known for their progressive natures. I'm sure there are exceptions, but I wanted a place where I could be free to dismiss homophobia, at least for the most part. My main characters are both queer, KJ visibly so. No one in town has a problem with her about that.
I've made notes about the town; it's a place that's come alive in my head. There is much more to it than we see in Breaking Out. There, we see the ice rink (of course), the elementary school where Adrienne works, and the downtown bar where KJ works. We also see KJ's house and Adrienne's apartment. I'd love to get the chance to explore other places. Who knows, maybe I'll get the chance.
Posted in Breaking Out, New books | Leave a comment
How on earth did I end up writing contemporary romance? Breaking Out is a sports (ice hockey) romance, so there's still a lot of action that goes on, but it's mostly contained to the ice. The other action that happens is more of the romantic variety. And of course, it's lesfic. So it's not that different, I guess?
After finishing writing Hunter's Descent, I tried to work on its sequel, but that wasn't working. After a few aborted starts, I decided to switch gears. It was November, so I thought it might be fun to try something completely different for NaNoWriMo. (That's National Novel Writing Month for those of you not up on your acronyms.) I figured I'd take a month and 50,000 words to explore this idea that had occasionally been kicking around my head. If it didn't go anywhere, I'd only have lost a month to that plot bunny.
It turns out that little notion had some legs to it. By the end of November 2019, I was halfway through the story of Adrienne and KJ, two women living in a small town in central Pennsylvania who used ice hockey as a way to take the edge of the difficulties of their lives. (Don't bother looking up Sussburg, PA, the seat of Windsor County. I made it all up for this story.)
There was definitely a learning curve. I had to do a lot more revising of this manuscript after finishing the first draft than I normally do. It turns out that romances are hard to write! Who knew? It's not that I'm a stranger to romance. So far, all my novels have romantic subplots, so I figured I'd be able to pick that up pretty easily. I was only partially right. Instead of working the romance in around the edges of the main plot, now the romance was the main plot and everything else was secondary to it.
There were some scenes that had to be retooled. Some things that had happened to get the romance wheels turning needed to be worked in more organically so there wasn't a big flashing "plot point" sign in the middle of the scene. My beta readers were invaluable for this work, and I owe them a great deal. A lot of the pacing issues would have been a lot harder to clean up on my own. Apparently, I'd spent too much time writing about the hockey. I now have a Google doc full of removed hockey scenes, but I can always repurpose them if I decide to revisit Sussburg and the women's rec hockey scene there.
This was the first time I decided to find someone to do sensitivity reading for me. One of my mains, Adrienne, is Black. As I am not, I knew it would be important to get another set of eyes on the manuscript to correct any stereotypes, mischaracterizations, biases, and just plain ignorance that might have crept in. The incomparable KD Williamson agreed to look over my manuscript, and was incredibly helpful.
At the end of the process, I had a book that I'm excited about, and that still makes me teary-eyed in certain places even after reading it so many times I've lost count. It's almost ready to get into the reader's hands, and I can't wait to see if they love it as much as I do.
My latest novel drops in February, 2021. Breaking Out is the story of Adrienne Pierce and KJ Stennes, two women who really rub each other the wrong way when Adrienne joins the local women's rec hockey team in Sussburg, PA. Each are dealing with recent major life events that have taken a toll on the emotionally and forced themselves to confront who they are. They deal with these changes through ice hockey and growing feelings for each other. But are they right for each other, and how do they know when they don't even know themselves anymore?
Breaking Out is a low-angst wlw contemporary hockey romance.
Read below for the first chapter of Breaking Out, from Bella Books February 11, 2021.
"You're pregnant?"
Shit! KJ Stennes forced a wide smile onto her face, then bent over her skate and yanked hard at the laces. "That's great!" she growled at the floor. Crap! This is the last thing we need!
The rest of the women in the cramped room echoed her words, though with more sincerity than KJ was feeling.
"So when do you stop playing?" KJ transferred her attention to the laces on her other skate. "Don't people play until like five, six months?"
Jamie laughed. "I'm not surprised that's the first thing you'd ask. This is my last game. My doctor said it's probably okay to play until twelve weeks or so, but with my family history…" She shrugged.
"At least we have today." KJ pulled her socks down over the tops of her skates and scooted forward off the bench. She rummaged around in her hockey bag, looking for her shin guards. They came out covered in black flakes that she absentmindedly brushed off. It was time to get a new bag. She'd get around to that one day; after all, the waterproof lining had only been flaking off since last season.
Jamie draped an arm around her shoulder when she sat back down. "Look, I know you're probably freaking out right now, but it'll be okay."
"I'm not freaking out. I'm happy for you, I really am!" And she was. The whole team knew Jamie and Joe had been trying to get pregnant for a few years, but without any luck. KJ knew how badly her best friend wanted a child. "This is everything you've wanted."
If only they'd waited another year. This would have been their year to win the league championship. The first few Bolts practices had been…well, electric. Their group had been together for seven years now, each season bringing them closer. Sure, there had been some of the turnover that was to be expected on any team, especially a rec team comprised of women who were college-age through grandmothers, but the last two had been remarkably stable. They all knew how everyone played. There was no need to think about where Jean might be. KJ knew once she'd corralled the puck behind the net that Jean would be busting her ass up the boards. If she couldn't hit her with the breakout pass, Connie or Rebecca would be curling up the center, ready to go.
The Bolts only had four women on defense. There were three forward lines each with three women, but they hadn't felt the need to run three lines on D. Jamie had been her defensive partner the whole time, and now KJ was being asked to give her up with only one game to go.
KJ's shoulders slumped. "We only have four D. What are we going to do about that?"
"I've got it covered," Jamie said. "She's great. Played defense in high school. You won't have to deal with an out-of-place center, I promise."
"You sure?" KJ glanced around the crowded room. The cinderblock walls had seen better days. Light blue paint had flaked in places to reveal bright green below it and maroon below that. The Sussburg Ice Arena was her second home; there were times she felt like it had saved her life. Windsor County boasted exactly one ice rink, and she was fortunate it was in her hometown. There weren't many in this part of Central Pennsylvania. At least she didn't have to make the drive down to Harrisburg to get her hockey fix. It was what kept her centered, and it was now in danger of falling apart around her, just when she thought things might be getting a bit better.
Her teammates had gone back to strapping on their pads or were chatting quietly enough that they couldn't be heard over the music playing on Rebecca's iPhone. Jamie's announcement seemed to have cast a bit of a pall over their normally raucous pre-game preparations.
KJ loved the women on her team dearly, even the ones who drove her up the wall. Any of them would do their best if moved back on defense, but it wouldn't be the same. The centers were the most logical choice. There would be no disruption to the wing pairs, and on paper at least, centers played defense and offense. Unfortunately all the Bolts' centers were far more offensive-minded than defensive-minded. Part of that was her and Jamie's fault. They were so solid on D that the centers rarely had to drop back to help out for long.
"I'm sure," Jamie said. "Trust me. I wouldn't line you up with someone who couldn't play. Now will you stop looking like we're at a funeral?"
"Okay, you got me. I'm happy for you, but I wish you could have waited until after playoffs."
Jamie squeezed her shoulder. "There's more to life than playoffs."
"I know." KJ kept her voice soft. There was no reason for the others to hear her being crappy about Jamie's big news.
"No, you don't." Jamie gentled her tone to match KJ's. "But you will." She shook KJ playfully. "Now get your gear on so we can stomp all over those Yetis."
KJ stretched her lips into an approximation of a grin. "They won't know what hit them."
The other team had come to play. KJ plunked her butt on the bench and gulped down a cool stream of water from the waiting bottle. It soothed her throat, made raw from hauling ass up and down the rink.
"Those Yetis are running our asses off," Jamie yelled around her mouth guard.
"Are they?" KJ made a show of stretching nonchalantly. "I hadn't noticed."
Jamie swatted her with the back of her glove. "Sure you did. How many times did you have to bail me out? Two?"
"Three, but I'm not counting."
"Very funny."
"You're pinching in a little on the blue line," KJ said. "Don't go after that puck unless you know you can get it."
"I always think I can."
"No thinking." KJ rapped her glove-covered knuckle on the top of Jamie's helmet. "If you have to think, it's too late."
Even through her face shield, Jamie's eye roll was as plain as day. "Sure thing, Yoda. Not all of us came out of the womb with skates on."
"I don't think my mom would have liked that." Though it might be one explanation for why she'd left KJ behind after divorcing her dad. KJ shook her head. Now was not the time to focus on her childhood drama.
"Probably not." Jamie took one last swig from her own water bottle. "Krissy and Cam are coming."
KJ popped up and waited by the boards as the other defensive pair came skating to the bench as hard as they could. The second period was the worst for substituting in players, especially for the defense. They were so far from their bench. The shift hadn't been long, but everyone learned the hard way that in the second period, you switched out when you had the opportunity. A four-minute shift was murder on the legs, not to mention the lungs.
At the far end, women's voices raised in excitement. The Yetis had the puck and knew the Bolts' defense was changing.
"Come on, Krissy!" KJ hollered. The broad swing of her arm did nothing to get the changing defensewoman to the bench, but she felt like she was helping.
Krissy's head went down, and her arms swung as she pushed herself forward as fast as she could go. The other team's center had the puck and was streaking out of her zone, already nearly to the center line. KJ waited another half second for Krissy to get close enough so she could jump the boards without incurring a penalty for too many players on the ice.
As soon as Krissy was within ten feet, KJ planted one hand on top of the boards and vaulted onto the ice. She was moving before she landed. The center had a couple of strides on her. KJ bit her lower lip and grinned as she pushed off, her blades biting deep. The sound that accompanied that first push sent a chill down her spine. There was nothing better than a footrace.
"One on!" came the call from further down the ice as one of the center's teammates alerted her to KJ's presence.
The warning wouldn't be enough.
She shot forward, all thoughts evaporating from her mind but one: take away the other player's easy path to the net.
She was low, her skate blades digging into the ice with a forceful crunch at each step. The center had to hear her, but she didn't look back. That was too bad; it would have slowed her down a fraction, possibly enough for KJ to bust past her. She dragged a breath deep into her lungs and lunged forward, drawing abreast of the center at the top of the faceoff circle. Now the woman risked a glance her way. That was all KJ needed. She flicked her wrist almost negligently, sending her stick over to collide with the other woman's. She leaned forward, giving the Yeti nowhere to go but the trajectory KJ had picked, one that curved away from the net and her goalie.
Vaughn had squared up, presenting a wall of pads and light blue athletic material to their opponent. Their hand was raised, the glove ready should the Yeti try to get a shot off. She still might attempt it, but not while she was struggling to regain control of the puck. The Yeti jabbed KJ in the side, but her elbow glanced harmlessly off KJ's chest pad.
Taking advantage of the woman's distraction from stickhandling, KJ slid her other hand down the shaft of her stick, then lifted up the Yeti's stick. The puck squirted out and away from them. KJ swiveled her hips and dug her skate blades into the ice, stopping on a dime as the Yeti kept skating forward for a moment before she realized the puck was gone. By the time she was turned around and heading for the puck again, KJ had swooped in and nabbed it, sending it toward the far boards where Michelle waited. It landed against her teammate's stick with a satisfying "thwap," and just like that, the flow of the game reversed.
She coasted past the net while she kept her eye on the action at the other end of the ice. Jamie was in the neutral zone on her way to the blue line.
"Nice work," Vaughn said. They reached their stick to tap KJ's shin guards.
"No extra charge," KJ yelled back. The mouth guard probably swallowed half of the words, but Vaughn nodded anyway.
The Yeti center who had tried to make good on her breakaway was heading to the bench. She was definitely going to need to freshen her legs up after that little bit of excitement. KJ firmed her grip on her stick. Hopefully, she'd have another crack at her.
Her own legs had a bit of a pleasant burn to them in the thigh. She didn't need a break just yet; she'd only been on the ice about fifteen seconds. She skated up to the other team's zone to take her position opposite Jamie.
She kept a sharp eye on the action as the puck was passed around among the Bolts forwards, from center to wing and back to center. The Yeti defense was starting to drag, their reactions becoming less crisp. KJ bided her time up at the line. The play wasn't coming her way quite yet. Across the way, Jamie was displaying similar patience but was also tormenting the Yeti left wing who was trying to cover her. Jamie kept sidling in front of her and the Yeti would respond by trying to move forward. KJ grinned. Jamie loved to screw with the other teams' forwards. Maybe that was why they made such a good pair.
The puck popped out from behind the net and up the boards. The forward on KJ couldn't take it any longer. She darted down to try to corral the loose puck, but Connie beat her to it.
"Open!" KJ thundered from the top of the faceoff circle. She raised her stick, telegraphing the slapshot she was about to take from the perfect pass Connie sent her way. A defender threw her body between KJ and the net. The goalie went down to her knees to stop the shot she knew was coming.
KJ angled her body and sent the puck along to Jamie, who was no longer covered as the opposing forward dashed to get to the center of the ice.
"Yes!" she yelled as Jamie caught her pass, then swiveled to the net and let fly.
It was a perfect shot, skimming barely inside the right post above the goalie's hastily stuck out mitt.
The ref whistled, pointing at the back of the net, indicating the goal was good. KJ didn't need the confirmation. Elation bubbled in her chest as she skated across the ice to grab Jamie up in a celebratory hug.
"Nice shot!" she crowed, squeezing her partner tightly around the rib cage.
"Nicer pass!" Jamie said. "It's good to go out on a bang."
KJ squeezed her again, then ducked out as the rest of her teammates skated up to pound her partner on the shoulders and helmet.
Jamie was leaving. She'd managed to forget that for a few shifts
Accessorize!!: Borderlands 3 Pistol Nerf Mod, Part 4
Posted on June 19, 2020 by lisemactague
The last time I was able to work on the pistol, I left it here. Some progress was made, and it's starting to look less like a Nerf gun, but it's not exactly Borderlands material yet.
One of the things (actually it's many things) that makes Borderlands weapons so much fun are the endless variation in accessories that can be added to each weapon. Even when they don't make sense. For example, the version of the Raptor that I'm making sports a barrel extension of some sort (is it a suppressor? an extended barrel? who can tell???) AND an itty-bitty bayonet. Those don't play well together practically, but they look cool as hell, so I'm doing both.
Aside from the itty-bitty-bayonet I made a few sessions back, I hadn't gotten to any of the fun bits, so I was excited to get started. I had a few things to tackle:
Add a mounting point for the bayonet
Make the little charging handle for the back
Figure out how to make the suppressor/muzzle extender
Make the foregrip
That's a lot, but fortunately I had a full day in the shop.
I decided to start by modifying the back of the pistol. I'd left it pretty boring, which is definitely antithetical to the Borderlands look. Now the Raptor pistol is very squared off in the back, but this Nerf pistol is all sorts of round. I stuck with the rounded look, but decided to add the lip that is seen on the Dahl pistol. There's also a little round divot taken out of the back. You can't see it well in this crappy photo, but it's there. I was able to make that using one of the stone grinding bits on my Dremel. I wasn't especially pleased with the little bits attaching the round lip to the grip. They were all sorts of gappy, and only became more so when I hit them with the heat gun. I'll be revisiting those when it comes time to prep for paint.
From there, I took a quick twenty minutes to add the attachment point for the bayonet. That ended up being a piece of 3mm craft foam that I drilled out to insert a magnet. I drill out the corresponding half of the bayonet and superglued another magnet in there and moved on with my life.
Easy-peasy right? Well, actually the magnets were too strong and I ended up pulling the one out of the bayonet pretty quickly. I wouldn't figure that out for a few hours, and would end up fixing that little error another day. *sigh*
From there, it was back to dealing with the pistol's butt (heh-heh). Since I had the detailing on the back end figured out, it was time to add the charging handle. This is one of those fiddly bits that I usually leave to the end of a build. There's something about them being so small that ends up looking wrong if it's even the slightest bit off. It's not that any of it was particularly difficult, but it needs to be symmetrical, and without much room for error. I count it as a great deal of personal growth that I decided to tackle it at this point in the build instead of waiting to the last possible moment.
So like I was saying, this wasn't a difficult piece to build. I used some 4mm EVA foam and transferred my pattern onto it using a silver Sharpie. I cut it out, then beveled and shaped the various pieces, first by gingerly cutting the with a sharp knife, then by smoothing everything over with a fine sanding drum in my Dremel. The carved in the grooves on the inside of the handle with the edge of that drum. The circles were made by scoring the surface of the foam, then hitting it with the heat gun. I took my time and planned out my cuts and was able to do it in one go without having to redo. Once again, the picture isn't great, but in real life, that handle is pretty dang close to symmetrical.
After that, it was a simple matter of affixing it to the gun, which I did with some contact cement. I'm a little concerned about how I'm going to make that transition look seamless, but that's for future me to figure out when I'm prepping everything for paint. (Sorry future Lise!)
From one fiddly bit to the next… I was excited by my progress, so I dived right in to working on the suppressor-ma-jig. After a fair amount of thought on how to deal with all the cutouts in the design, I decided to make a solid core, and then do the cutouts on a piece of 3mm foam, which I would wrap around the core. Using my handy template, I sandwiched a few layers of EVA foam together, then rounded the long edges. And then I made another one. The wrapping technique seemed tricky enough that I wanted another core in case I screwed up the first one. It's always easier to make two of something at once, then to make another one later, so I just went with it this time.
I found the center and measured the craft foam to the circumference on the piece. (Do you call it a circumference with it's not a circle?) From there, I used the template to plan out the various cutouts. In the picture, you'll see that I marked the corners on the 3mm foam. and used that to line up the cutouts. From there, I did some clean up, then I slathered the two pieces in contact cement and smushed them together. My first attempt was all right, but I didn't line it up very well. I thanked myself for making a second core, added the cutouts to another piece of 3mm foam, and wrapped it again. The second attempt was so much better than the first!! After that, I glued a beveled circular piece into the end for the barrel opening, then I hogged out a circular piece to slip it over the Nerf gun's barrel. That will eventually be glued in place. Finally, I did some cleanup and called that one done.
By this point, it was starting to get toward the end of the day. I was also being eaten alive by mosquitoes, which is a definite downside to having a garage workshop in the South. However, I was on a roll, so I pressed on. I really wanted to get some progress done on the foregrip. Once again, I started with the template. I had two slightly different sizes of foregrip to work with. The smaller was more to scale with the Dahl weapon in the game, but the larger was of a scale that would actually fit my hand. I ended up going with the larger one.
The first thing I did was snag a largish foam dowel from my foam stash. It wasn't going to be quite big enough, but after I wrapped it with 4mm EVA foam, it was the thickness I was looking for. I wrapped a piece of 2mm foam around the bottom, then beveled it in to match the curve in the template. After that, I cut out and refined the bottom piece. That took a fair amount of trial and error. I'd only blueprinted out the side view, so I had to check my photographic references to get the shape really figured out. I was pretty happy with how that eventually turned out, but it took a minute. The shape is very complex. Once that was the way I wanted it, I used contact cement to glue the pommel piece to the longer handle part.
After that, I needed to tackle the detailing along the side of the foregrip. This was going to be a bit challenging, given that the blueprint I've been working from is two-dimensional, while I had a three-dimensional, mostly cylindrical shape to work with. I started by cutting out the appropriate piece and mocking it up on the detailless foregrip I'd just finished. From there, I could see where I'd need to extend the piece to wrap around, so I mirrored the template piece onto some paper and extended the top part. Then I cut that one out and fiddled a bit to get everything lined up properly. Once I'd gotten it to my satisfaction, I taped the two sides together, smoothed out the joins in the middle, then transferred the whole design to some craft foam. I cut that out, then glued it to the handle using contact cement. Finally, I had to do some cleanup on the sides to maintain the tapered shapes on the pommel piece.
And with that, I came to a finish for the day. I couldn't help but pull together what I'd finished to see how it looked, and it was definitely starting to get that Borderlands feel to it. There's a lot going on with this gun, and still more pieces to come.
Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged borderlands, borderlands 3, cosplay, foam, foamsmith, props | Leave a comment
Prep, Prep, and More Prep: Borderlands 3 Nerf Mod Pistol, Part 2
Posted on May 6, 2020 by lisemactague
This is the boring part, at least it is for me. I'm always one who wants to get to the meat of a task. Prep and cleanup are the worst bits of it, but I've (finally) learned that they're as important to a process as the doing is. Now if only there was a way to go back in time and tell that to my younger art student self…
So it doesn't look like I've gotten very far. I started from here:
And I've gotten here:
I know, it doesn't look like a lot, but that is probably somewhere around ten hours or so of work. Keep in mind, I'm working full time, doing edits on my current manuscript, DMing a twice-monthly DnD game, while also trying to be a good wife and step-mom. The progress isn't going as quickly as I'd like, but it's coming.
So how did I get to my after picture?
Much of that ten hours was spent on sanding. I decided that I wanted to not only get rid of all the Nerf logos and messaging, but also the weird bits of texture. I kept a little bit of it, but most of that went. I bent myself to my task armed with big files, medium files, needle files, and many grits of sanding blocks and paper. I'd thought I could just sand away what I didn't want with my Dremel, but I quickly learned that it was doing a better job of melting the plastic than it was removing it, so I had to apply myself manually.
That was…time-consuming. Also mind-numbing. And gave me some interesting blisters. I knocked back the major stuff, then took the pistol apart to get access to certain areas.
I took the photo mostly so I'd be able to put the whole thing back together.
I'd had the idea that I would trim down the trigger, but after seeing how it went together, I decided not to mess with the structural integrity of that mechanism too much. I did fill in the weird holes in the plastic with Bondo (more sanding). I then clipped off the dart priming mechanism, and pulled apart all the orange pieces so I could prep them for paint.
And did that include more sanding? Of course it did! Apparently Nerf plastic doesn't take paint well, so everything needs to be sanded to prepare the surface for priming. In my after photo, you'll notice most of the orange bits are now black. The currently remaining orange plastic is going to be covered up as part of the mod.
While the paint dried, I sanded the body of the gun, working my way through progressively finer grits of sand paper, mostly to get rid of the worst of the file marks. It doesn't sound like much on paper, but it took a LONG time.
After all of that prep, I decided I wanted to actually make something, dammit! So I started on the little bayonet. And I was so excited that I forgot to take process photos.
You can see in the photo how it's constructed. I have a piece of plastic (Sintra) in the middle for some structure. The bulk of the construction is EVA/craft foam. I built it using blueprints I created using Inkscape (yes, more prep).
Most of my builds start with the blueprint before I ever step foot in the shop. This one is a little different because I could start with physically prepping the gun, and I only have to create the blueprint for each piece, and not the whole thing. The bayonet was an even better place to start as I really only needed one side.
Basically, I printed out the blueprint, then used is as a template to cut out foam, which I glued to the plastic base of the bayonet. I then beveled it to create the blade and insane cutouts. Stabilizing those edges with crazy glue after the fact was hugely helpful in stabilizing the pretty fragile edges. That part of the build was only a couple of hours. Now the bayonet lives in a large coffee tin so my cat with the appetite for EVA foam doesn't chew large holes into it. Once it's painted, he won't be interested, but until then, all foam items have to be locked up. One day I'll post a picture of my foam protection measures.
At that point, it was back to prepping the pistol. Everything was sanded down to where I wanted it, so I put it all back together. Everything still fit, and it went together perfectly on the second try. I gave a quick mental thank you to past me for thinking to take that picture, and screwed everything down. Then I mixed up a small bit of Apoxie Sculpt and plugged the screw holes.
The holes aren't quite flush, which I did on purpose. This is where I left it for the day, as the Apoxie Sculpt takes three hours to completely harden. However, I still need to Bondo those holes and the seams, then sand (yay!) it all back down. After that, it's make some modifications to the gun to fix the hole in the back where I removed the priming thingamajig, build a new cap at the bottom of the grip, and fill the dart storage holes at the front (not visible in this photo). Then it's build more pieces!!!
I'm reasonably pleased with my progress, I just wish there wasn't so much boring crap to get through before the fun part begins. I also wish I'd remembered to take those progress pics. More next time, I promise!
Something new: Borderlands 3 Nerf Pistol Mod, Part 1
Posted on April 27, 2020 by lisemactague
Everyone knows there's a lot going on right now. Like, a lot. What everyone might not know is that I deal with a little thing called Generalized Anxiety Disorder. Current events are making the eternal negotiation between my brain and limbic system a little…interesting.
On the one hand, this feels like the event my brain has been training for. I spend so much of my time waiting for the other show to drop, and now that it FINALLY has, those nights of lying awake while my brain spins up countless doomsday scenarios suddenly seems worth it. We started doing what we could weeks before the stay-at-home order came out. So that's a bonus!
The downside is that we've been in this for long enough that my brain has started working on new scenarios. It's not like it doesn't have fertile ground for this. My brain is a pro at worrying, about asking what-ifs ad nauseam, it's part of what makes me a decent writer. It's also getting hard to sleep at night.
When the proverbial shit first hit the fan, I had problems engaging with my creative brain. I was in a place where my creative works had naturally hit a slow point. My latest book was out to beta readers, and comments were only starting to trickle in. I'd finished my most recent prop project, and none of the ideas I'd had lined up to do next were really tickling my fancy. One idea had been to work on rehabbing my Elder Scrolls Skyrim cosplay to enter into the local con this summer, but that was sounding less and less likely.
But now that my brain had found some new ruts to churn in, I decided it was time to get back up on that creative horse I'd been letting flop around the pasture with no particular direction. First thing to get going was the novel. That does have a deadline, after all. It's a generous one, but not enough that I'd be doing myself any favors by letting it get too far away from me. On the plus side, my editing passes have been fruitful, not only because I got some great feedback from my betas (with a couple more to come, hopefully), but because I gave myself a whole chunk of time before coming back to the story. That always helps me figure out the holes in the manuscript.
That only scratches one of my creative itches, however. It's time to get a new prop project going. For that, I've decided to do something completely different, not only in the prop, but also with this very blog post. I'm going to document my progress, and add write-ups here. I have no idea if anyone else is going to be interested in that process, but I'm doing it anyway!
I'm also breaking out of the Fallout/Elder Scrolls box I'd put myself in thus far. That's right, I'm finally doing a prop outside Bethesda's IP! I have a whole new style to learn, so that's exciting! I enjoy a new challenge, and this is definitely going to deliver it. I'm also going to be modding a pre-existing item, which is something I've never done before.
So what I'm doing is transforming this lowly busted Nerf pistol I inherited from my son:
into this Borderlands 3 Dahl Raptor pistol with all sorts of bells and whistles:
I've never done any modding before. On the plus side, it no longer fires so I don't need to worry about maintaining that action. On the down side, I'm going to be doing a lot of prep to get the pistol to a point where it's ready for modification and paint. I foresee a lot of sanding in my future!
I'm looking forward to making some new things, and hopefully giving my brain something to grind on that it can actually control. We'll see how the write-ups go. The build is going to be worked on as I have the time for it, which you'd think I'd have a lot of right now, but my wife has ideas for projects…
Hunter's Descent
It's almost here!!!!!!! I've gotten my massive stack of author copies. I'm getting ready to swing into giveaway mode. The excitement is starting to take hold.
What's this all about, you ask? It's been almost two years, but the sequel to Five Moons Rising is out in right around two weeks. Hunter's Descent was a challenge to write. That should be a redundant statement. I mean, every book is its own challenge. Descent was merely challenging in a new way.
This is the first sequel that I didn't write right after the preceding book. The On Deception's Edge trilogy was written back to back to back. The first book of the series, Depths of Blue, is the first novel I ever wrote. In fact, when I started writing it, I thought the whole trilogy was going to be one book. It didn't take long before I figured out that it was much too long and I was going to have to chop what I thought was one book into three parts. Since I'd never published anything before, I had the leisure of writing through all three books in one go. Then I polished the crap out of Depths and submitted it for publication with Bella Books. While it was being considered, I was able to start working through the drafts of Heights of Green and Vortex of Crimson.
Things are different now. Hunter's Descent is my sixth novel. (WHAT!?) I wrote a steampunk novel between it and Five Moons Rising. Demon in the Machine was very different in tone and feel than Five Moons was. That was on purpose. I loved writing Demon, it's probably the easiest story I've done so far, and it scratched a creative itch I was feeling at the time, but Malice and Ruri's story was still playing out in my head.
Once I finished up with Demon, I knew I wanted to get back to them. I'd left their story on a positive, if uncertain note, and I knew there was more ground to tread there. Getting back into their heads was a bit of a challenge, however. Malice was the hardest to get a handle on. I started her story back when I was going through a lot of upheaval in my life. I was frustrated and angry, and her character lent itself to a lot of what I was going through at the time. I'm not in that place anymore, and I'm glad for it. I've moved on, but Malice has waaaay more issues than I did. Her anger is still there under the surface, ready to boil over. I was able to get back in touch with her, but it took me probably halfway through the first draft to do so.
Ruri has always been an enigma to me. She is way more even-keeled and laid back than I can ever hope to be. I really enjoy that about her character, and it's fun to explore sides of a personality that I simply don't have. This time around, I had an easier time wrapping my brain around Ruri's motivations. She's laid-back, but that doesn't mean she doesn't get frustrated. The situation I put them in, and where Malice currently is in her own head put Ruri in a bit of a pickle. Yes, even solid-as-a-rock Ruri can still lose her shit when it's justified.
I did get there, and I'm very pleased with how the story turned out and the interplay between the main characters. Hopefully, you will all be pleased as well!!
While investigating the deaths of multiple students at a boot-camp style institution, Malice and Ruri become trapped in the mysterious Kingdom of Flower and Bone–a netherworld filled with both magical and malignant beings. But which is which? Even ancient forces aren't immune to petty squabbles. Will the pair make it out alive?
Mary Alice Nolan, code-named "Malice," is a Hunter: genetically modified and rigorously trained to track and kill supranormals ("supras") such as werewolves, vampires, and demons. Seeking revenge after her sister is malevolently "turned" into a werewolf, the last thing the hot-tempered Malice expected was to develop deep desires for one of her sworn enemies.
Ruri Samson is a magnificent golden-eyed wolven without a pack. Smart, sensitive and loyal, she considers Malice her mate. Ruri would sacrifice her own life to protect her—and this time she just may have to.
Hunter's Descent is the sequel to Five Moons Rising.
Posted in Hunter's Descent, New books | 3 Comments


text:
Soccer: Knee injury may keep Japan defender Itakura out of World Cup
Newsfrom Japan
Sports Sep 13, 2022 12:31; updated Sep 13, 2022 12:37 (JST)
Borussia Monchengladbach defender Ko Itakura suffered a knee injury while training with his German top-flight club on Monday, putting him in doubt for Japan's World Cup squad. The 25-year-old suffered a partial tear of the medial collateral ligament in his left knee, but the injury will not require surgery. He is unlikely to return to the pitch before the Bundesliga enters the World Cup break in November, the club said. Itakura has played a key role in Monchengladbach's defense early in the season after helping Schalke win the German second-division title last season. The World Cup finals in Q...
Click for full story
Kyodo News Soccer

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


text:
F1 legend Sir Frank Williams dies, aged 79
> News > Formula 1
By Mat Coch
Monday 29th November, 2021 - 2:14am
Sir Frank Williams
Sir Frank Williams, the founder and former team principal of the Williams Formula 1 team, has died at the age of 79.
Williams passed away on Sunday morning surrounded by family, having been admitted to hospital on Friday.
"The Williams Racing team is truly saddened by the passing of our founder Sir Frank Williams," Jost Capito, Williams Racing CEO and team principal, said in a statement issued by the team.
"Sir Frank was a legend and icon of our sport. His passing marks the end of an era for our team and for the sport of Formula 1. He was one of a kind and a true pioneer.
"Despite considerable adversity in his life, he led our team to 16 World Championships making us one of the most successful teams in the history of the sport.
"His values including integrity, teamwork and a fierce independence and determination, remain the core ethos of our team and are his legacy, as is the Williams family name under which we proudly race.
"Our thoughts are with the Williams family at this difficult time."
Having run a team in junior formulae, Williams entered Formula 1 in 1969.
He battled through until eventually founding Williams Grand Prix Engineering, with which he enjoyed great success with Patrick Head from the late 1970s.
Alan Jones won the team's first world championship in 1980, with Keke Rosberg and Nelson Piquet following later in the decade.
His team then dominated the mid-1990s, with Nigel Mansell, Alain Prost, Damon Hill, and Jacques Villeneuve all winning the world drivers' championship at the wheel of a Williams.
In 1986, a road accident in France following a test session saw Williams suffer spinal injuries, leaving him a tetraplegic.
He received an OBE that same year, was knighted in 1999, and also made a Knight of the Legion of Honour on the back of the success his team enjoyed with Renault during the 1990s.
In latter years, he scaled back his involvement in the team, stepping down from the board in 2012 where he was replaced by his daughter, Claire.
The Williams family's involvement with F1 came to an end in August 2020 when the business was sold to Dorilton Capital.


text:
Q: Suppose that $u$ is harmonic on the unit disk, $f$ is a continuous bijection, is $u\circ f$ harmonic? Suppose that $u$ is harmonic on the unit disk $D$, $f$ is a continuous bijection from $\bar \Omega$ to $\bar D$, where $\Omega$ is an open connected set in $\mathbb C$, and $f$ sends the boundary of $\Omega$ to the boundary of $D$, and $f(\Omega) = D$. Is $u\circ f$ harmonic on $\Omega$?
I am trying to show that $u\circ f$ satisfies the mean value property.
Given $z_0 \in \Omega$, $f(z_0) \in D$, there exists $\delta > 0$, such that $u(f(z_0)) = \int^{2\pi}_0u(f(z_0)+re^{i\theta})\ d\theta \ \forall\  0<r <\delta$. Since $u$ is harmonic.
How do I conclude from this that $u\circ f$ satisfies the mean value property? I have the sense that if $f$ is holomorphic this would be easy since $u\circ f$ will be the real part of a holomorphic function.

A: If $f$ is not holomorphic, it is false in general. For instance, take $u(z) = z$ and $f : D \to \Omega = D$ some homeomorphism of $D$ which is not harmonic (there are many of those).
If $f$ is holomorphic, you can compute the Laplacian of $f \circ u$ directly using the chain rule and use the Cauchy-Riemann equations to conclude the result. If you want to check the mean value property like you want, the problem is that the image of a circle by $f$ is not necessarily a circle. You could try to get past this difficulty by first generalizing the mean value property to any loop (say of class $C^1$) rather than just circles, by saying that $u$ is the real part of a holomorphic function and using the Cauchy integral formula. This proof would work but I think in retrospect it will look a bit artificial.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


A common question many people have is "Does Acupuncture Hurt?" And for good reason..the idea of needles piercing the skin is not pleasant. Everyone has had a moment of feeling a flu shot or a medical syringe. So being weary of needles is understandable.
These sensations can be directly at the needle area or it may be felt in another area of the body where there is no needles present.
The reason you might feel the above needle is due to the diameter of the needle itself. However, with Acupuncture needles, they are much slimmer and thinner.
As you can see, there is a dramatic difference between the medical syringe and the standard acupuncture needle! 28.25mm to be exact. That is a HUGE difference! So don't fret about feeling the Acupuncture needle. There much less diameter to feel. Generally, you'll only feel the sensations listed above. Rarely, you might briefly feel tenderness on insertion. Past that though, one shouldn't be feeling the needles at all.
Remember, the Standard Acupuncture needle is about .25mm. However, there are still thinner gauges! At Wuji Xuan Life Wellness, we understand people don't want to feel the needles. It is with this in mind, we use the thinnest gauges of acupuncture needles for our treatments. Health, comfort & relaxation can happen the same time.
Answering Your Question of "Does Acupuncture Hurt?"
With the article, we hope to have answered any misconceptions you've had with Acupuncture & "does acupuncture hurt". It is normal to be fearful of things we don't understand. Having light shed upon the subject can change our perspective. At Wuji Xuan Life Wellness, we aim to make Acupuncture & Traditional Chinese Medicine approachable. In making it approachable, we hope to work with you & make the experience a positive one!
Every Acupuncture treatment is unique to the individual. Due to this, Traditional Chinese Medicine is practiced through a professional such as a Registered Acupuncturist (R.Ac) or a Traditional Chinese Medicine Practitioner (R.TCMP). Receive your formal TCM diagnosis via questions, pulse & tongue to get a customized treatment. Book your individualized Community Acupuncture session today.


text:
#include "../../SDL_internal.h"

#if SDL_AUDIO_DRIVER_NETBSD

/*
 * Driver for native NetBSD audio(4).
 * vedge@vedge.com.ar.
 */

#include <errno.h>
#include <unistd.h>
#include <fcntl.h>
#include <sys/time.h>
#include <sys/ioctl.h>
#include <sys/stat.h>
#include <sys/types.h>
#include <sys/audioio.h>

#include "SDL_timer.h"
#include "SDL_audio.h"
#include "../../core/unix/SDL_poll.h"
#include "../SDL_audio_c.h"
#include "../SDL_audiodev_c.h"
#include "SDL_netbsdaudio.h"

/* #define DEBUG_AUDIO */

static void
NETBSDAUDIO_DetectDevices(void)
{
    SDL_EnumUnixAudioDevices(0, NULL);
}

static void
NETBSDAUDIO_Status(_THIS)
{
#ifdef DEBUG_AUDIO
    /* *INDENT-OFF* */
    audio_info_t info;
    const struct audio_prinfo *prinfo;

    if (ioctl(this->hidden->audio_fd, AUDIO_GETINFO, &info) < 0) {
        fprintf(stderr, "AUDIO_GETINFO failed.\n");
        return;
    }

    prinfo = this->iscapture ? &info.record : &info.play;

    fprintf(stderr, "\n"
            "[%s info]\n"
            "buffer size	:   %d bytes\n"
            "sample rate	:   %i Hz\n"
            "channels	:   %i\n"
            "precision	:   %i-bit\n"
            "encoding	:   0x%x\n"
            "seek		:   %i\n"
            "sample count	:   %i\n"
            "EOF count	:   %i\n"
            "paused		:   %s\n"
            "error occured	:   %s\n"
            "waiting		:   %s\n"
            "active		:   %s\n"
            "",
            this->iscapture ? "record" : "play",
            prinfo->buffer_size,
            prinfo->sample_rate,
            prinfo->channels,
            prinfo->precision,
            prinfo->encoding,
            prinfo->seek,
            prinfo->samples,
            prinfo->eof,
            prinfo->pause ? "yes" : "no",
            prinfo->error ? "yes" : "no",
            prinfo->waiting ? "yes" : "no",
            prinfo->active ? "yes" : "no");

    fprintf(stderr, "\n"
            "[audio info]\n"
            "monitor_gain	:   %i\n"
            "hw block size	:   %d bytes\n"
            "hi watermark	:   %i\n"
            "lo watermark	:   %i\n"
            "audio mode	:   %s\n"
            "",
            info.monitor_gain,
            info.blocksize,
            info.hiwat, info.lowat,
            (info.mode == AUMODE_PLAY) ? "PLAY"
            : (info.mode = AUMODE_RECORD) ? "RECORD"
            : (info.mode == AUMODE_PLAY_ALL ? "PLAY_ALL" : "?"));

    fprintf(stderr, "\n"
            "[audio spec]\n"
            "format		:   0x%x\n"
            "size		:   %u\n"
            "",
            this->spec.format,
            this->spec.size);
    /* *INDENT-ON* */
#endif /* DEBUG_AUDIO */
}

static void
NETBSDAUDIO_PlayDevice(_THIS)
{
    struct SDL_PrivateAudioData *h = this->hidden;
    int written;

    /* Write the audio data */
    written = write(h->audio_fd, h->mixbuf, h->mixlen);
    if (written == -1) {
        /* Non recoverable error has occurred. It should be reported!!! */
        SDL_OpenedAudioDeviceDisconnected(this);
        perror("audio");
        return;
    }

#ifdef DEBUG_AUDIO
    fprintf(stderr, "Wrote %d bytes of audio data\n", written);
#endif
}

static Uint8 *
NETBSDAUDIO_GetDeviceBuf(_THIS)
{
    return (this->hidden->mixbuf);
}

static int
NETBSDAUDIO_CaptureFromDevice(_THIS, void *_buffer, int buflen)
{
    Uint8 *buffer = (Uint8 *) _buffer;
    int br;

    br = read(this->hidden->audio_fd, buffer, buflen);
    if (br == -1) {
        /* Non recoverable error has occurred. It should be reported!!! */
        perror("audio");
        return -1;
    }

#ifdef DEBUG_AUDIO
    fprintf(stderr, "Captured %d bytes of audio data\n", br);
#endif
    return 0;
}

static void
NETBSDAUDIO_FlushCapture(_THIS)
{
    audio_info_t info;
    size_t remain;
    Uint8 buf[512];

    if (ioctl(this->hidden->audio_fd, AUDIO_GETINFO, &info) < 0) {
        return;  /* oh well. */
    }

    remain = (size_t) (info.record.samples * (SDL_AUDIO_BITSIZE(this->spec.format) / 8));
    while (remain > 0) {
        const size_t len = SDL_min(sizeof (buf), remain);
        const int br = read(this->hidden->audio_fd, buf, len);
        if (br <= 0) {
            return;  /* oh well. */
        }
        remain -= br;
    }
}

static void
NETBSDAUDIO_CloseDevice(_THIS)
{
    if (this->hidden->audio_fd >= 0) {
        close(this->hidden->audio_fd);
    }
    SDL_free(this->hidden->mixbuf);
    SDL_free(this->hidden);
}

static int
NETBSDAUDIO_OpenDevice(_THIS, void *handle, const char *devname, int iscapture)
{
    SDL_AudioFormat format = 0;
    audio_info_t info;
    struct audio_prinfo *prinfo = iscapture ? &info.record : &info.play;

    /* We don't care what the devname is...we'll try to open anything. */
    /*  ...but default to first name in the list... */
    if (devname == NULL) {
        devname = SDL_GetAudioDeviceName(0, iscapture);
        if (devname == NULL) {
            return SDL_SetError("No such audio device");
        }
    }

    /* Initialize all variables that we clean on shutdown */
    this->hidden = (struct SDL_PrivateAudioData *)
        SDL_malloc((sizeof *this->hidden));
    if (this->hidden == NULL) {
        return SDL_OutOfMemory();
    }
    SDL_zerop(this->hidden);

    /* Open the audio device */
    this->hidden->audio_fd = open(devname, iscapture ? O_RDONLY : O_WRONLY);
    if (this->hidden->audio_fd < 0) {
        return SDL_SetError("Couldn't open %s: %s", devname, strerror(errno));
    }

    AUDIO_INITINFO(&info);

    prinfo->encoding = AUDIO_ENCODING_NONE;

    for (format = SDL_FirstAudioFormat(this->spec.format); format;) {
        switch (format) {
        case AUDIO_U8:
            prinfo->encoding = AUDIO_ENCODING_ULINEAR;
            prinfo->precision = 8;
            break;
        case AUDIO_S8:
            prinfo->encoding = AUDIO_ENCODING_SLINEAR;
            prinfo->precision = 8;
            break;
        case AUDIO_S16LSB:
            prinfo->encoding = AUDIO_ENCODING_SLINEAR_LE;
            prinfo->precision = 16;
            break;
        case AUDIO_S16MSB:
            prinfo->encoding = AUDIO_ENCODING_SLINEAR_BE;
            prinfo->precision = 16;
            break;
        case AUDIO_U16LSB:
            prinfo->encoding = AUDIO_ENCODING_ULINEAR_LE;
            prinfo->precision = 16;
            break;
        case AUDIO_U16MSB:
            prinfo->encoding = AUDIO_ENCODING_ULINEAR_BE;
            prinfo->precision = 16;
            break;
        }
        if (prinfo->encoding != AUDIO_ENCODING_NONE) {
            break;
        }
        format = SDL_NextAudioFormat();
    }

    if (prinfo->encoding == AUDIO_ENCODING_NONE) {
        return SDL_SetError("No supported encoding for 0x%x", this->spec.format);
    }

    this->spec.format = format;

    /* Calculate spec parameters based on our chosen format */
    SDL_CalculateAudioSpec(&this->spec);

    info.mode = iscapture ? AUMODE_RECORD : AUMODE_PLAY;
    info.blocksize = this->spec.size;
    info.hiwat = 5;
    info.lowat = 3;
    prinfo->sample_rate = this->spec.freq;
    prinfo->channels = this->spec.channels;
    (void) ioctl(this->hidden->audio_fd, AUDIO_SETINFO, &info);

    (void) ioctl(this->hidden->audio_fd, AUDIO_GETINFO, &info);
    this->spec.freq = prinfo->sample_rate;
    this->spec.channels = prinfo->channels;

    if (!iscapture) {
        /* Allocate mixing buffer */
        this->hidden->mixlen = this->spec.size;
        this->hidden->mixbuf = (Uint8 *) SDL_malloc(this->hidden->mixlen);
        if (this->hidden->mixbuf == NULL) {
            return SDL_OutOfMemory();
        }
        SDL_memset(this->hidden->mixbuf, this->spec.silence, this->spec.size);
    }

    NETBSDAUDIO_Status(this);

    /* We're ready to rock and roll. :-) */
    return 0;
}

static int
NETBSDAUDIO_Init(SDL_AudioDriverImpl * impl)
{
    /* Set the function pointers */
    impl->DetectDevices = NETBSDAUDIO_DetectDevices;
    impl->OpenDevice = NETBSDAUDIO_OpenDevice;
    impl->PlayDevice = NETBSDAUDIO_PlayDevice;
    impl->GetDeviceBuf = NETBSDAUDIO_GetDeviceBuf;
    impl->CloseDevice = NETBSDAUDIO_CloseDevice;
    impl->CaptureFromDevice = NETBSDAUDIO_CaptureFromDevice;
    impl->FlushCapture = NETBSDAUDIO_FlushCapture;

    impl->HasCaptureSupport = SDL_TRUE;
    impl->AllowsArbitraryDeviceNames = 1;

    return 1;   /* this audio target is available. */
}

AudioBootStrap NETBSDAUDIO_bootstrap = {
    "netbsd", "NetBSD audio", NETBSDAUDIO_Init, 0
};

#endif /* SDL_AUDIO_DRIVER_NETBSD */

/* vi: set ts=4 sw=4 expandtab: */

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


Great post again. Keep up the good work. Your posts are great examples to others on producing good quality content.
oooh, sole big mover :) this could get competitive!
RE: Where Can I Trade Smoke?
RE: Little Lapse in Concentration Has Cost me Bitshares that was intended for Smoke Purchase.
RE: Where can I purchase Smoke tokens?
Had no idea marijuana stocks even existed. Will be interesting to see how these perform over the coming months compared to smoke.
Hi Elliot, will the token stay the same on Bitshares for trading? or do we need to move all the tokens off Bitshares onto the smoke network?
Voted, nice introduction. Thanks for all the hard work!


text:
OBSTACLE SPORTS A BRIEF HISTORY
HISTORY OF OBSTACLE SPORTS
Early Races
708 BC Ancient Pentathlon: run, long jump, javelin, discus, wrestling
1040 Fell Running: 1.5-20 km, open terrain, many hills
1860 Steeple Chase: 3,000 m run + 28 barriers & 7 water jumps
1876 Cross Country Running: 4-12 km, open terrain
1912 Modern Pentathlon: fencing, swimming, show jumping, pistol shooting, track run
1946 Military Pentathlon Obstacle Run: 500 m + 20 obstacles
World Obstacle
The formation of an International Federation to represent the needs of athletes in "multisports" was first proposed in 1997 after the 3rd ESPN X-Games X-Adventure Race. The initiative went dormant in 2007 after the international television shows like the Eco-Challenge, and associated advertising, sponsorships and media left Adventure Racing. Joe Desena and Ian Adamson had collaborated on races since the 2001 Expedition BVI and rekindled the idea of an international federation in 2014.
World Obstacle, the Fédération Internationale de Sports d'Obstacles was founded in 2014 and formalized in 2018 to unify and develop Obstacle Sports worldwide, including Ninja Competitions, Obstacle Course Racing and Adventure Racing, to represent the athletes, and provide a pathway to world level competitions and international multisport games. The GAISF Council granted World Obstacle Observer Status in 2021. This is regarded as a critical step for international federations seeking membership of the International Olympic Committee. The first OCR European Championships were held in the Netherlands 2016, the first OCR Asia-Pacific Championships were held the Philippines in 2018, the first Ninja World Championships were held in Moscow in 2019, the first medal events in a Games recognized by the International Olympic Committee were held at the 2019 SEA Games.
The first Altitude OCR World Championships was held on Mount Kilimanjaro, Tanzania in 2021 with World's Highest OCR and E.P. Global Events. The Altitude OCR World Series and World Series Finals was added in 2022. The Adventure Racing World Cup series and World Cup Final were launched in 2021 in collaboration with Adventure 1.
A comprehensive, unabridged history of Adventure Racing with links and citations is available here.
1879 Steeplechase: 3,000 m run + 28 barriers & 7 water jumps
1911 Sea to Summit Mount Baker Marathons (Adventure Race, USA)
1968 Karrimor International Mountain Marathon (OMM, UK)
1980-1991 NZ Alpine Ironman (Adventure Race NZL)
1982-2004 WildTrek (Adventure Race, AUS)
1987- Tough Guy (Obstacle Race, UK): 12 km + 25 obstacles
1989-2008 Raid Gauloises Adventure Race World Championship(worldwide)
1995-2002, 2019 Eco-Challenge Adventure Race (worldwide)
1995-1997 ESPN X-Games X-Venture Race
1997- Sasuke (Ninja worldwide)
1997-2010 HiTec, Balance Bar & Muddy Buddy (Adventure / Obstacle Races, USA)


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Book the Show
Jill was born in Pittsburgh to an art teacher and construction worker, where she learned how to teach and how to work. In high school, Jill was captain of the cross-country team, lead of the musical, and valedictorian of Highlands High School. Jill attended the Pennsylvania State University where she graduated with degrees in nutrition and theater. She developed a reputation as the singing nutrition major by creating and performing original musicals and producing rock & roll versions of the Penn State fight songs that appeared on ESPN.
Just before graduation, Jill landed a job as the writer and host of a nationally-syndicated children's nutrition program on PBS. Realizing that she could apply her interests in media to address the growing childhood obesity epidemic, Jill moved to the children's entertainment capital of the world, New York City. While pursuing her registered dietitian (RD) credential and MS in Nutrition Education at Teachers College Columbia University, Jill worked as a public school teacher and racked up stage credits as an off-Broadway actress, Radio Disney DJ, model, and puppeteer.
Development of Jump with Jill
Started in 2006, Jump with Jill debuted as a free street show in New York City's Central Park as part of Jill's master's thesis about how mass media strategies so pervasive in advertising could be employed in Ivory Tower nutrition education practice. At this same time, Jill was signed to a development deal with her band. The label passed on song after song until they heard what Jill had been singing about in her new nutrition project. A&R worked on the debut album for Jump with Jill, released in 2008, which was followed by an intense national tour. By 2011, the first dopplegangers for Jill and DJ were cast so that Jill could pursue developing the toolkit to support following the show up in the classroom while her brother Mark developed the corporate underpinnings to turn Jump with Jill from a show into a brand. By 2012, the show had completed it's first international tour and had been invited to meet the first lady as part of the Let's Move Campaign. By 2014, the show had three full-time touring casts and grew from schools as clients to health-focused organizations that could bring the show to schools at no cost on a huge scale. In this important year, Jump with Jill became the face of a Midwest grocery store campaign, the nutrition education outreach arm for a state Department of Agriculture, and the campaign activation for the Dairy Council's Fuel Up to Play 60 Program. There were Emmy nominations for the classroom support tools and Grammy nomination considerations for the music. In 2016, the research started to head to publication that Jump with Jill was effective. In 2018, Jump with Jill launched their first fitness based product for physical education teachers called the Action Pack. The entire graphic portfolio and set was redesigned to reflect the slick yet fun brand that the no longer scrappy kids' band had become.
Jill's big idea ―to use entertainment to address childhood obesity ― is now a company with ten employees emanating from a 9,000 square foot production studio in Pittsburgh, PA. Jump with Jill in-houses all music, video, and product development with their award-winning creative team. From an employment standpoint, Jump with Jill is a trendsetting place to work despite its size with parental leave, healthcare, and company match. Jump with Jill attracts certified teachers looking to use their degree outside of a traditional classroom and performers with a children's or social cause repertoire. We are dedicated to using our talents to create moving experiences around the very important topic of nutrition. Our work is not only the gold standard in nutrition education; it is recognized for excellence in entertainment.
© 2019 All rights reserved. Note to Health, LLC
What is Jump with Jill?
Jill the Creator
Touring Cast Media Kit
Jill Jayne Media Kit
Video Package
Media Rider


Dooram Nillu Song is one of the song from Velai illa Pattadhari 2 Tamil Movie. Sean Roldan along with this song Dooram Nillu Song composed all songs from Velai Illa Pattadhari Movie Tamil movie. Dhanush and Shaktisree Gopalan have contributed their voices for this awesome song from velai illa pattadhari 2 Tamil movie. Sean Roldan the music director of this movie with his own hand written Dooram Nillu Song Lyrics. Scroll down to view Dooram Nillu Song Lyrics.


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News / National / PH to welcome fully vaxxed tourists from 'green' countries — DOT
PH to welcome fully vaxxed tourists from 'green' countries — DOT
Published November 19, 2021, 9:27 AM
by Alexandria Dennise San Juan
The Philippines is now gearing up to welcome foreign tourists back to its famous destinations in the "new normal" as travel restrictions in the country continue to ease, the Department of Tourism (DOT) announced on Friday, Nov. 19.
Boracay (Photo by RJ Baculo/Unsplash)
DOT Secretary Bernadette Romulo-Puyat said the government's pandemic task force has "approved in principle" their recommendation to allow entry of fully vaccinated tourists from countries under the "green list."
"Allowing tourists from green countries or territories that have the majority of its population vaccinated and with low infection rate, will greatly help in our recovery efforts–increasing tourist arrivals and receipts among others," Puyat said.
"This move will likewise aid in bolstering consumer confidence, which is a large contributor to our gross domestic product or GDP growth," she added.
The tourism chief said the proposal to open leisure travel from "green countries," or those classified by the Department of Health (DOH) as low-risk countries, will be based on strict conditions.
Only fully vaccinated individuals with vaccines recognized by the country's Food and Drug Administration (FDA) under an Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) or those authorized by the World Health Organization (WHO) will be allowed entry to the country.
According to Puyat, the Special Technical Working Group on Travel has been tasked to immediately come up with the guidelines on international travel to be approved by the Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF) on the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases.
Puyat lauded this "welcome development," adding that other countries have already reopened their borders to international leisure travelers.
"Our ASEAN neighbors like Thailand, Vietnam, and Cambodia also did the same. We believe that it is also time for us to reopen our borders for inbound tourism as a way towards full recovery," she said.
The DOT will also be working with the Small Technical Working Group on Travel on its proposed "Vaccinated Travel Lanes or Bubbles" program to allow entry of vaccinated tourists from yellow list countries under certain restrictions and strict conditions.
In preparation for the arrival of international travelers in the new normal, the DOT has been innovating and developing programs and circuits to ensure safe, fun, and sustainable tourism for local and foreign tourists.
The country's tourism sector was among the hardest hit by the ongoing health crisis due to travel restrictions to contain the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19)
As a key economic driver, the tourism industry's contribution to the country's GDP stood at 12.7 percent in 2019, according to the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) data.
Despite the global pandemic, the Philippines' pristine beaches and world-class diving sites continue to stand out after the 28th World Travel Awards recognized the country as this year's leading beach and diving destination in Asia.
bernadette romulo-puyat
Department of Tourism (DOT)
foreign tourists
international tourists
Comelec: Tentative start of ballot printing Jan 20
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''Stop that importation'': Imee to DA's plan to import 60,000 metric tons of fish
PH records 22,958 new COVID-19 cases, lowest in past week


VeriBlock (VBK) Securing the World's blockchains using Bitcoin.
Xenios SEZC is a Cayman Islands Special Economic Zone Corporation specializing in software management and intellectual property licensing, with a focus on building cutting-edge technologies in regulatory environments that cultivate innovation. Xenios SEZC is the official sponsor of the VeriBlock blockchain project.


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Iceland's Eyjafjallajokull volcano
viewed 8,153 times and seen via embed 14 times
created April 19, 2010
YouTube - Volcanic Eruption 2. Lightning. Iceland. By Model Forecaster: Adrian Howard
Volcanic Eruption 2. Lightning. Iceland. By Weather Advance Model Forecaster: Adrian Oshon Howard. Join Our Weather Advance Storm Team ages 12 and Up a...
Global Volcanism Program | Eyjafjallajökull | Summary
Eyjafjallajökull (also known as Eyjafjöll) is located west of Katla volcano. Eyjafjallajökull consists of an E-W-trending, elongated ice-covered basaltic-andesite stratovolcano with a 2.5-km-wide summit caldera. Fissure-fed lava flows occur on both the eastern and western flanks of the volcano, but are more prominent on the western side. Although the 1666-m-high volcano has erupted during historical time, it has been less active than other volcanoes of Iceland's eastern volcanic zone, and relatively few Holocene lava flows are known. An intrusion beneath the south flank from July-December 1999 was accompanied by increased seismic activity and was constrained by tilt measurements, GPS-geodesy and InSAR. The last historical eruption of Eyjafjallajökull prior to an eruption in 2010 produced intermediate-to-silicic tephra from the central caldera during December 1821 to January 1823.
How ash could damage air planes
Several European countries have closed their airspace after a cloud of ash thrown up by a volcano in Iceland spread over the continent. The tiny particles o...
Eyjafjallajokull April.17 2010 on Vimeo
A short timelapse of the volcanic eruption at Eyjafjallajökull
Its about 30 minutes played in 18 second.
Volcano in Iceland - a gallery on Flickr
Flickr is almost certainly the best online photo management and sharing application in the world. Show off your favorite photos and videos to the world, securely and privately show content to your friends and family, or blog the photos and videos you take with a cameraphone.
Iceland Volcano 2010
by GOODinPDX - 37 links
Build a better bag and I'll link to it!
BagTheWeb Suggests
Ms. Norfleet's Volcano Exploration Bag
by Ms. Norfleet - 11 links
Links to sites for middle school students to use on an exploration about volcanoes.
Tigard Pets
A nonprofit pet-support organization that operates during/after disasters in accordance with Oregon state requirements and FEMA best practices. Tigard PETS organizes and administers a local pet and livestock sheltering plan. We are activated during/after small, medium, and large-scale disasters, such as earthquakes, floods, severe storms, volcano...
by Scitech News - 48 links
On this day: In 1859, Edwin L. Drake drilled the first successful U.S. oil well near Titusville, Pa. In 1883, the island volcano Krakatoa erupted and the resulting tidal waves claimed some 36,000 lives on the Indonesian islands of Java and Sumatra. And, in 2013, there were 48 articles in the Scitech News.
Today is International Museum Day. On this day in 1980, Mount St. Helens volcano in Washington state erupted, killing 57 people and causing $3 billion in damage. Today is also the birthday of Persian polymath, philosopher, mathematician, astronomer and poet, Omar Khayyám (1048). (34 articles)
Mount St. Helens Visitor Center 3029 Spirit Lake Memorial Hwy Castle Rock, WA 98611
by Travel Northwest - 30 links
Mount St. Helens Visitor Center at Silver Lake is on the shore of Silver Lake, 5 mi. e. of I-5 exit 49 to 3029 SR 504 (Spirit Lake Memorial Hwy.). A walk-in model of the volcano illustrates its composition; pictorial and interpretive material and a film highlight the May 18, 1980, eruption. A short trail outside the center leads to a viewpoint...


In this city of neighborhoods, exciting new programs focused on cultural, artistic, and civic engagement for adults are happening in communities all across Philadelphia and now being implemented by the Free Library's new Division of Cultural and Civic Engagement (DCCE).
Many of us know that our 54 neighborhood libraries have consistently offered outstanding programs for children. But many libraries also offer innovative events for adults, planned and coordinated by librarians and staff, from fashion shows to historical lectures and everything in between. The DCCE has been expanding upon this existing groundwork and energy to bring new opportunities to libraries across the city.
"My work is a natural offshoot of what I've been taught to do my entire life," says Kalela Williams, Director of Neighborhood Library Enrichment Programming for the Division. "Learning was never meant to end with the school day. We didn't have much money, but my mom was a master of finding cheap tickets and opportunities. Libraries, the zoo, museums, nature walks, the theatre, or ballet—even just visiting different neighborhoods to people-watch. Most kids outgrow this stuff as teens, but I'm a forever-nerd. And nobody wants to nerd alone, so I want to bring these kinds of opportunities into our libraries."
Sparked by the success of the Free Library's signature Author Events series, the DCCE's Authors Up Close series is bringing both local and regional authors, such as Janet Benton and Lorene Cary, to neighborhood libraries, as well as for talks within the prisons with which the Free Library works as part of our Prison and Re-entry Services program.
National authors on tour are also making stops in our neighborhood libraries. On November 1, Kiese Laymon, a finalist for the Carnegie Medal, will talk about his new book Heavy: An American Memoir; at Kingsessing Library. The goal of Authors Up Close is to engage smaller audiences with authors for dialogue and conversation.
Meanwhile, former Mayor Wilson Goode is giving book talks throughout the Free Library system, as part of "This Is What Democracy Looks Like," a program series with the goal of showing that #midtermsmatter. The Free Library is encouraging Philadelphians to vote during the crucial November 6 elections.
Interesting program series are a major part of what the Division has already offered and will continue to offer. This past summer brought a series inspired by the Rare Book Department's "Flora and Fauna" exhibition. And now, with the Free Library special collections exhibition, Philadelphia: The Changing City (on view through April 13), a new program series is shaping up. Stay tuned for everything from author talks and art-making in neighborhood libraries as well as a Community Day at the Parkway Central Library, in which Philadelphians across the city will be invited for a day of touring the exhibition and taking part in exciting activities for all ages.
But there's room for systemwide series to start within neighborhoods! Led by its library supervisor and children's librarian Lisa Chianese Lopez and Sara Palmer, the Ramonita de Rodriguez Library, with support from the DCCE, has piloted a mini-series of community conversations focused on the impacts of gentrification. In March 2018, they hosted "Intentional Neighborhoods," a panel discussion in partnership with The Philadelphia Citizen. And this week, they offered a roundtable discussion and quilt-making workshop, in collaboration with local civic organizations. Another gentrification-focused program at Rodriguez is already in the works, and the DCCE plans to offer these kinds of programs in other communities.
The DCCE is also marking important anniversaries. As Parkway Central gears up to open a West Gallery exhibition called At These Crossroads: The Legacies of Frederick Douglass and W.E.B. Du Bois, neighborhood libraries will be encouraged to offer book displays and discussions around these two heroes' lives and work, marking the bicentennial and sesquicentennial of their births. An African American entrepreneur's fair celebrating the 60th anniversary of Motown Records will take place in a neighborhood library, as will an artistic program marking the 400 years since enslaved Africans first landed at Jamestown in 1619.
"The idea of the library offering systemwide African American interest programs is important to me, but exciting as well. I'm part of Philadelphia's 52% black population, so I want to see events that connect with my identity," Williams said.
She has worked with Parkway Central librarian Lisa Harris' African American Interest book group to offer workshops focused on black literature, and is also coordinating an historical and artistic event honoring the former Mother Bethel Cemetery burial ground, now Weccacoe playground, as part of One Book, One Philadelphia. Williams formerly directed the One Book program and considers it her training ground for her new role within the DCCE.
The DCCE is just beginning what will be extensive offerings in neighborhood libraries. Plans for 2019's Black History Month, Women's History Month, and Pride Month are already underway. Williams would like to see more multidisciplinary programs like the Weccacoe event, as well as artistic programs that are created by and for Philadelphians who speak languages other than English. These could build from the crucial work that Free Library Community Organizer Tania-Maria Rios has already accomplished at the Lillian Marrero Library. Another goal is the implementation of events that provide childcare, or that are welcoming for parents with children, with coloring books and other kid-friendly diversions.
"This is exciting, important, and what I hope can be, incredible work," Williams said. "Sometimes I'm so charged I can't sit still. I think it's the caffeine, but then I realize I'm so enthusiastic about doing programs."
"But also, it's the caffeine."


Our company is centrally located between New York and Los Angeles… between Europe and Asia… in Austin, Texas, a great place to live, work and play. Browse here to get a good feel of what we're talking about when we say we really love being in Austin!
We, the members of Portalarium, have chosen to come together and combine our efforts as an interdependent community of employees, owners, investors, and partners, guided by the shared principles of open participation and cooperation, with the intention of providing a sustainable, satisfying livelihood and quality of life for all our employees, members, and their dependents, as well as equally sustainable and satisfying results for our investors and partners, through the realization of our purpose to provide fun, online, social games, virtual worlds, services, and learning environments that foster our customers coming together for shared play, learning, good will, and community.
Concern, commitment, and loyalty to each other's lifetime welfare, including our families and dependents.
Commitment to Our Purpose: To provide fun games and virtual worlds that foster community, good will, learning, and people playing together.
A striving to have fun with our work (deliberately and uncompromisingly, fun-oriented in all our work endeavors; we must have some measure of fun, engagement, and satisfaction with our daily work, or question what, and how, we are doing it).
Trustworthiness assumed between us all (the expectation of honesty and integrity in all our relationships; the courage to be vulnerable to each other).
Trusted competency in each others roles (a basic trust between us all that we can get our work done, perform our role, and carry our share of the load, without close supervision, constant monitoring, or micromanagement).
A striving for admirable and prideful work (high standards of quality that we hold ourselves and each other to).
Openness/transparency (open information systems and broadcast communications; sharing all information with everyone enables effective decisions and promotes accountability).
Shared equity (employee ownership, sharing of profits and losses).
Personal freedom and responsibility (individual autonomy and responsibility in all decisions and actions).
Shared leadership (the right leader for the right task at the right time; anyone with the inclination and ability can move in and out of leadership roles as determined by self and group needs/interests).
Cooperative decision-making (including open, respectful, healthy, safe conflict).
Individual equality, no matter what our organizational role.
Mutual respect and validation between all participants (employees, owners, investors, partners, and customers).
Open invitation to all employees and stakeholders to responsibly participate in organizational operations anytime, anywhere, about anything (all employees and stakeholders are invited to attend and responsibly participate in any and all meetings, at any level, for any purpose).
Constantly emerging individual roles defined by self and group needs/interests (self-determined, fluid job descriptions).
Sharing of ideas and opinions expected (a safe, respectful environment where the open sharing of ideas and opinions is both welcome and expected).
Collaboration expected (allow the opinions, needs, desires, and goals of each other to responsibly influence decisions).
Learning-oriented (organizational investment, support and expectation for both internal and external forms of education, training, learning, teaching, mentoring, and interning; exploring the unknown where mistakes are a welcome byproduct of experimentation and experiential-learning).
Business Intelligence-oriented (organizational investment and emphasis on the acquisition, analysis, and open distribution of business intelligence data as a fundamental component of operations and decisions in every area related to our work, from game design metrics to financial analysis).
It is important to understand that Portalarium, although more democratically oriented than most traditional corporations, must still adhere to sound business practices. Portalarium expects to operate under forms of collaborative operational management that resemble those of cooperative associations. However, management and operation of Portalarium must be just as disciplined and competent as all other businesses in order to achieve the sustainable and satisfying results that are our mandate. As in other businesses, there will be those employees who are charged with the role and responsibilities of "boss" and others who will support their leadership and guidance. However, a clear distinction from most other corporations is that Portalarium is operated for the balanced benefit of all stakeholders, rather than the often typical power and benefits structure accorded to a select group of investors/shareholders/owners.


Kei Nishikori and John Isner contested a close three-set battle for the Citi Open title in Washington, D.C.
At the 2014 U.S. Open, surprise finalists Kei Nishikori and Marin Cilic met for the title. Based on his 5-2 record against his opponent, Nishikori was considered the favorite, but instead Cilic routed him in straight sets.
Nishikori rebounded from that to win two titles before the year's end, and in the first half of 2015, captured another pair. Playing his first tournament of the summer hard-court season leading up to the U.S. Open, Nishikori reached the final at the Citi Open in Washington, D.C. Along the way, he was able to exact a measure of revenge against Cilic in the semifinals, rallying to beat the Croat in three sets.
Waiting for Nishikori in the final would be another big server, John Isner. The American, fresh off a title in Atlanta, reached his third career championship match in Washington, having survived his own three-set semifinal against compatriot Steve Johnson.
Going into the match, it would be a battle to see if Nishikori's strong return game and pinpoint groundstrokes could hold up against Isner's devastating serve and power from the baseline. In their first-ever encounter in Miami earlier in the year, Isner beat Nishikori in straight sets in the quarterfinals. Throughout the bulk of the first set here, the two remained on even ground until Isner broke Nishikori at 4-5 behind two massive forehand returns to claim the first set.
In the second set, Nishikori immediately turned the tables on the American by breaking right back. The world No. 5 then consolidated, and that would turn out to be all the advantage he needed as he proved to be impenetrable on his own serve. Nishikori would go on to take the second 6-4 to level the match.
The decider was a near-mirror image of the second set as Nishikori broke early to take a 2-1 lead. From there, the Japanese star continued to play solidly on his own service games, with Isner unable to mount a challenge. Up 5-4, Nishikori clinched the championship when Isner hit a forehand into the net on match point, for his 10th career title and third of the year.
This was the fifth consecutive year Isner reached a summer hard-court final.
Nishikori reached his eighth career ATP World Tour 500-level final. His Washington win brought his record to 6-2 in those championship matches.
The last year a player won the title without being among the top two seeds was in 2011, when unseeded Radek Stepanek beat the top seed, Gael Monfils, in the final.