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Gods of Alair
Here are deities generally associated with Dwarves, Elves, the Triad, the Erlyid (Fallen) Empire, the Fae Mhor, Dragons, Lizardmen, Orcs, Red Dust Nomads, Nhasedans, Vampires, Khabra and Thieves in General.
Abbathor the Collapser
Death, disaster, greed M Chaos, Evil, Death, Destruction Corrupted dwarves, evil thieves, insane dwarves, Duergar. Gold coins, usually scarred or damaged
Where the pit-props fail and the roof caves in, Abbathor has weakened them; where the firedamp lurks to blast dwarves to the next life, he has gathered it; where the sudden flood fills the mine and drowns the miners, he has filled the water-pocket; and where the seam peters out and the gold is gone, Abbathor has gathered it to himself.
Moradin's great foe, his brother Abbathor represents all that is evil in the dwarven race. Most of all, he is greedy. His lust for treasure - gold, above all - is greater than any other hunger in the universe. Some twisted dwarves honour Abbathor, mostly those dishonest ones who become thieves from other dwarves, but generally he is acknowledged as existing but seldom if ever mentioned. His domains are Chaos, Evil, Death and Destruction.
Athagari
Hearth and Home F Earth, Law, Good, Community Farmers, town leaders, houswives, families Hearthstone
The patron of home and hearth for dwarves, Athagari is more often reverenced in a nod and respectful word on entering a home, in serving a meal and so on. She watches over the bearing of children, so rare and precious to dwarves, and the complex and strange processes involved in contracting a marriage.
Doignar
Fire and Magic M Fire, Magic, Chaos, Madness Those wishing to rebel, or lose themselves, or forget, or influence chance or fate by magic A wheel of irregular flames
Dwarves are an orderly lot, generally, but where one varies from such traits the cult of Doignar is there to guide him. The rather rare dwarvish wizards and sorcerers tend to honour Doignar as the only god who really understands the strange mixture of dwarves and arcanism.
Strength, luck, reckless strength, courage M War, Chaos, Luck, Strength Warriors, soldiers. those needing good fortune. Axe for Dwarves, Greatsword for humans
While dwarf leaders, generals and nobles will pray to Moradin before a battle, the average footsoldier will invoke Kord instead. Kord is the master of the headlong attack, the surprise overrun, and the stand against terrible odds. His nature is more chaotic than any other dwarven deity, and where dwarves have to deal with chance, luck or hope, they call on Kord. His domains are War, Chaos, Luck and Strength; sometimes (but not always) Good.
A cult of Kord exists among humans also, venerating the same god but viewing him differently; the humans see him with a sword not an axe for a start. This aspect of Kord is sometimes referred to as Kord Battlemaster, whereas the dwarven aspect is called Kord of the Axe, or more often just Kord.
Kord has taken considerable interest in recent events, largely through the agency of the Hand of Kord. Hildraft's inadvertent focussing of Kord's power into what became the Kordasa has greatly increased Kord's influence and significance on the Prime Material, not least by a sudden increase in worshippers. Kord was also responsible for the overtures to the other gods that ended the Holy Wars.
Kosin Vuran
Guide to the afterlife M Death, Law, Travel Few actual worshipers, but offerings made to him at funerals. Candle enclosed in stone
When dwarves die, the first thing their souls encounter is the calm, implacable but kindly presence of Kosin Vuran, who, regardless of their choices in life, guides them to the afterlife they have earned.
Moradin the Soulforger
Ruler/creator, smithing, metalworking, engineering, war M Earth, Good, Law, Protection Any dwarf; leaders, generals Hammer and Anvil
Moradin rules and leads the dwarven pantheon, and his people have many names for him; Soul Forger, Dwarffather, All-Father, Creator and so on. He forged the first dwarves out of iron and jewels and breathed life into them. He governs the arts and sciences of the dwarves; smithing, metalworking, engineering and war. His domains are Earth, Good, Law and Protection.
Anfadil
Sea, honour, justice and law M Law, Water, Travel, Destruction Seafarers, boatbuilders, justices, lawyers, those involved in matters of honour Horse with a fish's tail
More honoured by the Sea Elves of the coast than the other kindreds, Anfadil is the raiser and queller of storms and the protector of ships. Never once has any elven ship foundered whose crew had made due reverence to the Lord of the Deep. Of all the elf gods, Anfadil is least tolerant of humans, and has no compunction about raising storms to sink human vessels. He is also the patron of honour, justice and law, and is called on when difficult legal matters are at hand. Many tales are told of his horse, Tilonlias. His domains are Law, Water, Travel and Destruction. Anfadil is the god whose curse, laid on Cain, was twisted by the latter to make him into the First Vampire.
Anladur
Fate, Stars F Divination, Mysticism, Knowledge Sages, prophets, astronomers, astrologers. Single six-pointed star
Anladur is the patron of those who seek knowledge and lore, and those who probe the futures and their omens. She is also the nearest the elves really have to a god of Death, and funerary rites fall to her priests
Elmaria
Healing, the casting out of fiends F Healing, Exorcism, Good Healers, paladins, midwives. A beating heart (realistic, not cupid-shaped)
Elmaria is the gentle goddess of healers and helpers, of paladins who redeem, and of that great rarity, elvish childbirth. She shows a fiercer side, however, in her attitude to fiends summoned to the world, and her priests specialize in excorcism.
Gamarion
Fire, poetry, song, performance art M Fire, Performance Bards, speakers, singers. Lyre
Gamarion is the Fire god of the elves, and the deity revered by the more extrovert members of that race, especially those concerned with the arts.
Mithlendel
Magic and Craft M Magic, Law, Knowledge Artisans, wizards, sorcerers A single gem, radiating power
Mithlendel the Maker is revered as the Cunning Hand, the crafter, designer, solver; he is the patron of those presented with insoluble puzzles. Patience is one of his virtues, and his followers think nothing of spending a hundred years making a single object.
Craftsmanship and magic are inextricable to the elves; he also wields the arcane, and governs the energies that power elven magic. His domains are Magic, Law and Knowledge.
Nimnarie
Forest F Earth, Plant, Protection Druids, rangers, forest dwellers Spreading oak tree
Nimnarie cares for all wooded lands, and unlike her human equivalent Ehlonna takes a rather dimmer view of logging. Her devotees live as "close to nature" as possible, either living wild or encouraging trees to grow into a form suitable for use as shelter. Her domains are Earth, Plant and Protection.
Nodonn Silver Hand
War, Silver M War, Luck, Strength, Glory Warriors, soldiers, workers in silver A silver hand
The warriors of the Elvenhost revere Nodonn, the Swift and Sure, Silver Hand, Battle Lord. The least predictable of all elven gods, he grants and withholds his protection on a whim or chance, although he clearly favours the brave and daring over the dull and plodding, and despises cowards. He yearns for the day he can face Gruumsh in a fair fight and finally kill him forever. His domains are War, Luck, Strength and Destruction.
Sabath
The Destroyer, Betrayer, The Evil One M Evil, Chaos, Destruction, Illusion Those prepared to sell their souls to darkness, the evil and selfish Golden Belt with no end, scorpion
Sabath was originally one of the gods of vanished Khabra in the far south, see that section for more. Like the others, he placed all that remained of himself in an item of his regalia, in the hopes of it being discovered by fresh worshippers. Sabath's regalia was discovered by a human rogue named Eloy Brackensen, who spread his corruption far across the lands of Alair. His master-stroke was seducing an elf-maid named Milani to following Sabath; in later years, she led a bloody coup in Belamir and created the dark Scorpion Empire.
Sabath regards himself as older than and different from the rest of the gods and disdains to follow their agreements and rules. He was the only deity who refused the pact
Open worship of Sabath is outlawed in most parts of Alair, and most worshippers operate in secret.
Ironically, it was a priest of Sabath who was the first in Alair to Resurrect anyone since the Dawn Concords.
The worship of the Triad emerged as a rejection of the ancient gods of the Erlyid Empire, and spread across southern Alair. This - and the resistance of the existing faiths of the Erlyid gods and The One of Nhased, was one of the triggers of the Holy Wars. They can be worshipped as individuals or as a group.
Belisama
Nature, growth, healing, creation, magic, light, fire, revenge F Law, Earth, Plant, Magic, Good Women, craftsmen, healers, farmers, witches A single flower
Belisama symbolizes nature, in all its unpredictable, compelling, enchanting, dangerous glory, and magic - especially ritual and nature magic, particularly by women
Thunder, leadership, war, strength, power M War, Strength, Storm, Glory Leaders, soldiers, farmers, builders Hammer
Taranis is the Storm God of the Triad, the Bull God, headstrong, reckless, honourable and loyal but not overmuch given to thought or introspection
Chaos and change, the sea, the unpredictable, judgement M Sea, Chaos, Death, Luck, Justice Sailors, traders, some warriors, sorcerers Trident
Lyr is the Sea God, and thus unpredictable, whimsical, vengeful and strange. He is also the arbiter of justice, and the patron of darker magics, of the use of inadvisable power for the best of intentions.
Erlyid
The Gods of the Erlyid Empire were the strongest opposition to the Dragon Varkar Barduric, and after the Dragonslaying their faith spread through most humans in Alair. Their church reacted violently to the arising of the faiths of the Triad and Sabath, and engaged in an ultimately self-destructive war with Nhased at the peak of the Holy Wars.
The faiths have outlived the Empire, but in a much less structured and heirachical form.
Aderra
Wisdom and Magic F Knowledge, Magic, Law Judges, seekers of answers and justice, wielders of magic Open Book
Aderra is the deity people appeal to to settle things, for ideas, for justice and for answers. Her priests are often experts in divinations and informational magic. Books and the written word are very important to followers of Aderra, and her priesthood maintained several of the biggest and best libraries in the Empire. Followers of the faith could research there at will; outsiders had to donate significant contributions to the church to be allowed in. Her domains are Knowledge, Magic and Law.
In recent centuries, Aderra's church has declined in popularity in the North. Many of the libraries have closed through lack of funds or personnel; the libraries in Karsten and Lanirkos were burned on the orders of the Theocracy. The civil war in Stryre at the end of the Holy Wars era saw the destruction of her magnificent basilica in Narthal and the largest library in the world.
Diruc
Valour and loyalty M Good, Law, Strength, Protection, War Soldier and knights A fist in gold
Surprisingly, for a dynamic and expansionist empire, Diruc was the closest there was to a war god in the Erlyid pantheon. Diruc the Steadfast brings rewards and honour to those who hold fast, keep the line, watch their comrades' backs, honour their word. His church sponsored several fighting orders, including the Order of Kellan. His domains are Good, Law, Strength, Protection and War.
Diruc's church split, with the mainstream Church of Diruc abhorring the orc alliance and refusing to have anything to do with them, and the Church of Diruc the Warrior adopting a more accomodating approach to such allies, even to the point of allowing half-orc and occasional full orc priests. Despite the years that have passed, the departure of the orcs from the Empire and its eventual fall, relations between the two are not good, and occasional flare-ups and even fighting will happen in towns where there are churches of both denominations.
Ehlonna
Woodlands F Animal, Good, Plant, Sun Hunters, rangers, foresters Rearing Unicorn
The Lady of the Forests watches over all good people who live in the forest, love the woodlands, or make their livelihood there. She is sometimes depicted as an elf, although the reasons for this are unclear. Most hunters and rangers revere Ehlonna. Her domains are Animal, Good, Plant and Sun.
Since the decline of the relationship between the Empire and the elves, and the destruction of Sildor, Ehlonna's cult has faded into the background; and only in the Asedor forest, and the Estor in Stryre, are the woodland temples still operating.
A splinter cult, the Redeemers, lived on the fringes of the Desolation, and dedicated their lives and powers to trying to undo the damage wrought by the dragonarmy. What with the hostile terrain, the fell creatures that wandered the region, and the dragonarmy's patrols, their lives were hard and often short, but they continued to try, yearning to reclaim any tiny piece of the beauty that was once Sildor. Finally, after the Dragonslaying and the return of the elves, they achieved a large percentage of their dream. Their numbers dwindled, moving north to the remaining fragment of the Desolation. It is unknown what their fate was during the Holy Wars.
Gonvan
Death, destruction, evil M Chaos, Death, Destruction, Evil A few corrupt or insane Red Skull
Gonvan is not - strictly speaking - a god of the Erlyid pantheon, but a demon arrayed against it. In the mythology of the Erlyid, if a harvest failed, Gonvan had attacked Morganna; if a war was lost, he had tricked Diruc, and so on. Pelor is his sworn enemy. There are no public temples or followers of Gonvan, but a few desperate or corrupted individuals do worship and call on him. His domains are Chaos, Death, Evil and Destruction.
During the Imperial alliance with the Orcs, Gonvan blurred together in the popular mind with Gruumsh, chief god of the Orcs. The more conservative in the Empire - and especially the Churches of Pelor and Diruc - actively encouraged this, seeing it as a way of casting the orc people into disfavour and associating them with the mythological symbol of darkness, bad luck and evil.
With the repartiation of the majority of the orcs, this became complete and orcs were seen as followers of Gonvan, pure and simple. This made life for the orcs who stayed no easier, and within a hundred years they were all gone.
Since the fall of the Empire, he has dwindled in common perception to a character in the mythology of Pelor.
Karlan
The Sea M Water, Chaos, Luck and Travel Sailors and maritime merchants A high wave
Karlan is sailor's god, the deity of those who sail the sea. When the Empire still had a seacoast, his temples were in every port, but with the secession of Stryre he became more of a Stryran deity than an Erlyid one, and in recent years has been replaced almost entirely by Lyr of the Triad. Only a very few pirates on secluded islands still venerate him.
Karrath
Death and the afterlife M Death, Protection, Evil, Law Those wishing the deceased well in the afterlife Black Staff
Karrath is the Guide of the Fallen, leading the righteous to the planes of the Erlyid gods they worshipped in life. He protects people from damnnation, but not from death. His clerics get no access to resurrection magic.
Lilyx
Love F Good, Luck, (Law or Chaos), Sun Lovers, seducers; those marrying and the married A Rose
Lilyx is the Goddess of Love, and unsurprisngly for a decadent Empire, she is very earthy and erotic in nature. She delights in the success of love, in the pressing of a suit, and the wiles of a seducer. Her ceremonies often incorporate sex as part of the celebration, and her priests and priestesses are invariably very comely and very skilled. Oddly, she is also the Godddess of Marriage, blessing unions and answering prayers for offspring - often with explicit directions.
Morganna
Farming, harvest, growth & fertility F Earth, Animal, Plant, Healing, Law Farmers, herdsmen, mothers A Sheaf of Corn
Where the cycles of nature tick around, bringing the Spring planting around to the sweet harvest, Morganna is there, warming the seeds and nurturing the crops. All seekers after fertility and growth come to her, and a priestess is always present at harvests. Her domains are Earth, Animal, Plant, Healing and Law. Whether they work for the Imperial nobility, the heirachy of Nhased or the Kings of Stryre, the farmers and peasants are pretty much as they always have been, and her rites are celebrated at the corners of the year, just the same.
Of all the Erlyid gods, her cult survived the longest in rural districts of Stryre, the common people feeling that Belisama was rather too wayward for a reliable harvest goddess.
Olidammara
Rogues, tricksters, luck M Chaos, Luck, Trickery Thieves, vagabonds, gamblers, risk-takers Laughing Mask
Olidammara is the god of rogues; he delights in wine, women and song. He is a vagabond, prankster and a master of disguise. His temples are few, but many people are willing to raise a glass to his homour; for he represents the blind stroke of luck, the happy chance, the good guess.
Little has changed for Olidammara's cult, except in Nhased where it is discouraged as are all but the One. In fact, many people rely more on luck in these turbulent times than they do on Imperial law and order.
His domains are Chaos, Luck and Trickery.
Pelor the Shining One
Sun; pantheon ruler M Good, Healing, Strength, Sun Knights, paladins, leaders, the steadfast, general population Stylised Sun Face
Pelor is the creator of many good things, supporter of those in need and the adversary of evil. His cult is the most common among the humans of Alair, and his priests are generally well received wherever they go. The knightly order of Aeglor's Fist was sponsored by the Church of Pelor, until the religious changes in Stryre. His domains are Good, Healing, Strength and Sun.
The priesthood of Pelor were vehemently opposed to the Imperial alliance with the orc race. In the centuries since then, however, certain exceptional individuals have guided the church to different paths, and it now accepts members of nearly any race.
Paladins of Pelor are widely regarded as the most driven crusaders in Known Alair.
Fae Mhor
The Dark Elves are at heart a theocracy, bound to the demon of the Abyss who seduced them away from their brethren, and only one religion is permitted them.
Lolth
Demon Queen of Spiders F Chaos, Destruction, Evil, Trickery Fae Mhor, intelligent spiders Black Spider with a female Fae Mhor Head
Lolth, the Queen of Spiders or Queen of the Demonweb Pits, is the goddess and creator of the Fae Mhor and a chaotic evil deity who revels in chaos. She patterns her life and the lives of her worshipers on a regimen of chaotic acts and the veneration of spiders. The way that new-born spider broods tear each other apart to survive especially appeals to her. She promotes this by encouraging her worshipers to kill their rivals, thus ensuring that they are the strongest of the 'brood'. Her love of chaos often makes her appear mad but the wise see her as a calculating individual who is always several steps ahead of those who believe that they can anticipate her. She is cruel and dominating, forcing her will upon her followers and her enemies, a will which instructs the strong to crush the weak in the most torturous way imaginable.
Lolth's clerics have no set uniform, but spider motifs and darker clothes are the norm. Some rites require the worshipper to have no clothing at all. Her sacred animals are arachnids. Her clergy sacrifice the living and treasure to her glory.
Queen of Evil Dragons F Destruction, Evil, Law, Trickery Evil Dragons and Conquerers Five-headed Dragon
Tiamat, Queen of Many Colours and of None, is the deity revered by evil dragons, respected even by those who do not and according to some accounts mother to them all. She operates largely from the shadows, constantly seeking to expand her brood across the world.
She miscalculated badly when she supported Varkar Barduric, as that dark beast planned to double-cross and replace her. In the wake of his slaying, she has resumed attempts to pour dragons out of the North into Alair, though many now only pay her lip service. She is constantly on the lookout for a means to subjugate them once more - a way to cross into the Prime Material in true body to put her subjects back under the lash. Fortunately, no-one has been insane enough to facilitate this - so far.
Good Dragons, Wind M Air, Good, Luck, Protection Good Dragons, anyone seeking aid or protection against Evil dragons Star above a milky nebula
Bahamut, though primarily a dragon's god, is revered in some surprising places. He is very stern, and disapproving of all Evil, accepting no excuses for evil acts. Despite this, he is one of the most compassionate beings in the multiverse. He has limitless empathy for the downtrodden, dispossessed and the helpless. He urges his followers to promote good causes, but prefers to let them fight their own battles where they can. To him, it is better to offer healing, counsel or temporary refuge than take others' problems upon himself.
Shushkrah
Lizardmen M War, Water, Evil, Strength Lizardmen, mostly of the original stock though occasional Advanced lizardmen follow him. Red Fang
The Scales of Steel (the meaning of Shuskrah in Krultac) is the archetype of the perfect Lizard warrior; strong, quick, cunning and merciless. He shows his people the safe islands and the deadly quicksands, and gives them the strength they need to overcome humans and crack their bones for meals. The shamans of Shuskrah teach what little magic lizardmen use, but are also deadly fighters and canny marsh rangers as well. His domains are War, Water, Evil and Strength.
Shuskrah's cult suffered dreadfully under the Dragon. Varkar decreed that there was only one god in the Dragonrealms, and that god was Varkar Barduric. All temples of Shuskrah, even the hidden ones in the deep Trakar, were destroyed, and all known priests slaughtered. Nonetheless, in odd corners, followers of the old god remained faithful, and many otherwise concretely loyal lizard warriors would surreptitiously make the Sign of the Scale before going into battle. There were persistent rumours that there was a secret temple hidden somewhere so deep in the Trakar that even Varkar could not find it - some said it was underwater - where a secret society of lizardfolk worked and planned for the day their people could throw off the yoke of the Dragon and revive the true faith of the lizard people. This group came out of hiding during the invasion of Varkar's realm by the Elvenhost, and provided assistance. After the war, they settled in the north to found what became Dalaghendor. The location of their secret temple, however, has never been discovered.
After the Holy Wars and the dragon invasions of the early 1900s, Dalaghendor was no more, and the cult of Shushkrah has reverted from being a state religion to a cult among the scattered lizardman communities.
These are the traditonal or Old Gods of the orcs. After Gorfang's adoption of the ancient Khabran god Hektis (see below) and the establishment of the Gorfangach, their cults lost a lot of ground. With the subsequent splintering of Gorfang's empire in the Holy Wars, things have balanced out and around half the orcs in Alair now venerate (or dread) these deities.
Bahgtru
Strength and violence M War, Strength Common warriors and strong orcs Broken Thigh Bone
Bahgtru is the son of Gruumsh and Luthic the Cave Mother. Though scorned and derided for his stupidity and lack of self-will, no one says ill of his awesome might. Other orcish gods call upon him for assistance; he is obedient, though his incredible strength always exceeds the expectations of others, and he may accidentally (?) cause harm to those who command his services, especially if they fail to give him some respect. It is said that Bahgtru once fought a tremendous reptilian monster from another world, and slew it barehanded by breaking all of its legs. His symbol is derived from this epic battle. Since this, Bahgtru has never been known to use weapons or armor of any usual kind. He wears little other than a great pair of cesti, or gauntlets, studded with steel rivets, with which to beat his victims flat. Bahgtru is a huge, incredibly muscular orc with dirty tan skin and dull green eyes; his tusks, protruding from either side of his mouth, are glistening white from gnawing on bones. Stronger clerics of this cult may help weaker clerics along to the next plane, usually without the latter's permission.
Grummsh "One-Eye"
King of the Orc Gods, Creator of the Race M Death, Destruction, Evil Most orcs Red Eye
"Old One Eye" is the primary Orcish deity, although he has a family of other appalling gods under him. His name is forbidden to be spoken except by his priests, and he's referred to by euphemisms (Old One Eye, The Eye, The Unsleeping, etc). His enmity for the elvish gods is undying and never-ending, particularly for Nodonn who he has fought once and swears one day to crush. The orcs revere him, but they fear him more, and they sacrifice and pray primarily to keep him away. The power of the priesthood depends primarily on the wits and cunning of the individual priests; if things go wrong for an Orc group and the priest is not clever, they will often blame him and slaughter him as unworthy of One Eye; if he's clever, he will shift blame to the "sinful weakness" of the community and induce them to sacrifice heavily to reverse their recent bad fortune. His domains are Death, Destruction and Evil.
Since the alliance with the Empire and his election as Overking, each successive Garkaur took care to link the improved fortunes of the orc race with himself, and thence through to One Eye. While not himself a priest, he kept a battery of Royal Priests who made sure the word of Gruumsh agreed nicely with the word of Garkaur. Gruumsh himself was apparently not unpleased at this development, as Garkaur remained in the saddle and the fortunes of the orcs remained, on the whole, good.
When the dwarf Hildraft and half-orc Sack engineered the death of Garkaur and the removal of the entire orc race from the Empire, this changed, and the successive clanlords and priests now jockey endlessly for power and influence.
Ilneval
War and tactics M War, Law, Evil Warlords, captains, exceptional soldiers Bloodied Broadsword
When Gruumsh does not have time to command his armies in Hell, he turns the job over to his chief lieutenant, Ilneval, master of command and strategy (next to Gruumsh, of course). llneval is the symbol of the leader type, the one who plunges into battle with nothing but victory and destruction on his mind. It is hinted that llneval covets Gruumsh's position as the chief god of the orcs; he has been said to have deposed one or two other orcish gods, relegating them to lesser status, in his climb to power. llneval is more of a "captain's god" than a god of the common orcish soldier; Gruumsh is preferred by chieftains and orcish kings, and Bahgtru by common warriors. Though Gruumsh does not trust Ilneval, He-Who-Never-Sleeps has Bahgtru on his side, and this relieves some of his concerns.
llneval wears a suit of red iron mail, and wields a sword that slays all non-orcs it strikes. He cannot be touched by missile weapons because of his armor's magical powers, and is immune to non-magical weapons as well. He appears to be a very war-wise and confident being; his face and arms are heavily scarred from the many battles he's fought, but the scars only increase his appeal to his orcish followers. The clerics of Ilneval use broadswords as weapons, wear red metallic armor, and are expected to be good military leaders as well as good clerics.
Luthic
Fertility, females, caves and healing F Earth, Healing, Evil Female orcs, mothers, builders Cave Entrance Rune
Luthic governs several spheres. She is the goddess of female orcs, orcish fertility (more so for females; Gruumsh is the male fertility god), caves and caverns (which she digs herself), servitude (as she serves Gruumsh), and primitive medicine, and she helps restore orcish morale. Luthic is the deity closest to Bahgtru, her son, and he will follow her commands over all others', even those of Gruumsh. Other orcish gods and goddesses fear her great claws, which are so strong they can tunnel through solid rock. Orcish clerics call her the Cave Mother and conduct her services underground. Though she represents female orcs, she is worshipped by males as well for her ferocity and her healing powers.
Luthic appears as a huge female orc who wears no armor, but has unbreakable black claws four feet long. Her hair and eyes are dull black and her skin is dark brown with a medium brown on the nose and ears. If she hears anyone abuse her name, orc or non-orc alike, she may choose to render that being susceptible to any disease, so that the next time the victim catches even the most minor of ailments, it will prove fatal within days. Orcs who follow her worship sometimes rub dirt on themselves to ensure they will have many children, and clerics use earth in casting curative spells (though this is purely a symbolic gesture and not a true material component of the spell). Luthic's worship is one of the few that allow male and female orcs to become clerics; nearly all of the other deities permit male clerics only. Orcs in her tribe (Vile Rune) generally dwell underground, and seem to commit fewer raids against other creatures, though they are especially fierce if their lair is threatened.
Shargaas
Theft and secrets M Night, Death, Dark Thieves, assassins and bandits Red crescent moon with a red skull between the horns
Shargaas the Night Lord lives in a tremendous cavern system below the fiery plain of one of the levels of Gehenna. It is said that his caves extend infinitely, and are darker than the blackest night. There, no creature has sight but Shargaas himself and his orcish spirit servants. Shargaas, though blinded completely by light from the sun, can see perfectly well in darkness out to a range of a mile or more. He can also climb any surface, even perfectly smooth ones, without slipping. In the days when he is said to have walked upon the earth, Shargaas could also hide himself and his followers so well that no mortal could detect his ambushes or lairs. As might be expected, orcish bandits and half-orc thieves hold Shargaas as their patron, as do other regular orc tribes. The major religious holidays in the worship of Shargaas are the times of the new moon, when the sky is dark and cloudy.
Yurtrus "White-Hands"
Death and disease M Death, Disease Assassins and those who worship or profit from death White hand on a dark background
Yurtrus the White Handed is the terrifying orcish god of death and disease. He appears as a huge, vaguely orcish giant covered with peeling, rotting green flesh; his hands, however, appear completely normal except for being chalk-white in color. Yurtrus has no mouth and doesn't communicate; the orcs have a way of saying "when White-Hands speaks" when they mean "never." Yurtrus is surrounded by a huge envelope of stinking gases out to 120'; any mortal beings within this radius are incapacitated by the foul miasma. The clerics of Yurtrus wear pale white gloves made from the skins of non-orcish humanoids, humans, or demi-humans, during their ceremonies. They wear thin armour woven of the same materials. In combat they use maces with the weapon's head made in the shape of a white fist. When plague or disease strike the orcs, the clerics of Yurtrus appeal to him for an end to the illness with great sacrifices of slaves and prisoners.
Red Dust Nomads
Hobushu
Horseman and archer M Animal, Protection, Travel, Strength Red Dust Nomads Horse
A mighty horseman and archer, Hobushu once had a bet with his father the Sky and mother the Earth that he could shoot an arrow through the moon in the daytime; the prize was to be everlasting strength and freedom for his people. His shot struck home, and the splinters that were broken off the moon became the stars; every month, the side of the moon he knocked off turns to face the world and can be seen to this day. The nomads of the Red Dust believe that if they live well, fight bravely and die in battle, they will join the mighty Kozaki that ride the skies with Hobushu. His domains are Animal, Protection, Travel and Strength.
Events in the north were so distant to the nomads that they were barely aware of Varkar; if they thought of him at all, they believed he was some kind of large animal that Hobushu would hunt and shoot if he needs to.
Of all the nations of Alair, the nomads of the Red Dust came out of the Holy Wars the best, claiming great swathes of land and two major cities from their eternal foes in Stryre. When the truce was established, Hobushu and the Triad agreed to make Djasrem a land for both, and a blending of the two peoples - hitherto unthinkable - built a buffer between the two nations. Hobushu's cult, as well as that of the Triad, is followed there.
Nhasedans
Omnipotent Monotheist Deity M Good, Healing, Animal Any None
A relatively recent faith, originally restricted to the central regions of the Erlyid Empire. In the year 420, a mysterious prophet appeared in Lanirkos and began preaching the faith of a god he would call only The One. His own name he never revealed, saying only that he was 'the voice'. The cult was a simple and undemanding one, involving a basic respect for all forms of life, and an energy created by harmony between all living things. The only drawback was that the faith of The One precluded tolerance of the existence of any other gods. This was not popular with the Imperial authorities. Over the next few years, The Voice of The One was persecuted and hounded, though his followers some of them in high places managed to preserve him from major harm. Claims of miracles were alternately voiced and denied.
Finally, in 453 Imperial, The Voice of The One died in Karsten and was immediately and publicly assumed into Heaven. The cult of The One grew rather rapidly after that, becoming more militant in the years after its first and only prophet lived and died. The Church of the One has worshipers of all kinds and races, and the domains of Good, Healing, and Animal. Since siezing control of the central province of the Empire, the heirachy of the One waxed massively in power, exerting a strong but generally benevolent dictatorship over the population, and achieving some measure of control of very nearly every facet of life in their land. Generally, their rule was no better or worse than that of most secular governments, but in one aspect they were absolutely adamant; there is no true faith other than that in The One, and all other faiths are false idolatary and not to be tolerated. All citizens of Nhased had to be members of the church in good standing; anyone holding any form of power or public office above a certain level had to be a member of the priesthood. The penalty for preaching a foreign faith anywhere in the land was branding and banishment for the first offence and death for the second. Visitors of different faiths were tolerated, though overt displays of their creed - public worship, open wearing of holy symbols, public use of clerical magic - was punished severely. The great mother-temple, the Cathedral of The One, was the largest religious structure ever created in Alair, and also the de facto capital of the Theocracy.
There were several knightly orders which served the Church, of which the most notable were Vokrid, Rogryn and Fimgalet. Knights of Rogryn were particularly noted for their unceasing vigilance along the fringes of the Desolation.
All this changed during the Holy Wars period. The renewed vigour of the Erlyid Empire under Crixus the Great and his successors resulted in renewed expansionism to the west, and war with Nhased. For ten years, mighty imperial legions strove with the Army of the Light of the One, back and forth over increasingly ruined country on the border. Despite nearly two thousand years of war-lore, the Empire was definitely coming off worst by 1792 when a single event changed everything. The Voice of The One, subsumed into Heaven on his death in 420, returned to Alair with the Word of The One.
Preaching at first at the very front line, he entered the holy city of Karsten and spoke to enraptured thousands in the great Cathederal of The One. The People of the One, he said, should not seek to conquer the infidel, only defend and protect themselves against his wiles and assaults. In a paroxysm of religious remorse, the commanders of the Light Ones pulled their forces back to Nhased's original borders and opened negotiations for an armistice.
It was this point that Cardinal Gilraid, Commissioner of the Designators of the True Faith, made the shocking claim that the newly-appeared prophet was not what he claimed to be, but an Imperial imtelligence agent. While the presentation of evidence and counter-evidence, witness and counter-witness lashed back and forth, the theological debate and accusations of heresy and blasphemy were more fiery by far. The monolithic Church of the One had never known internal disagreement on this scale, and the schism split the entire Theocracy into fragments, with adherents of each side scattered randomly across the country, each man examining his own faith to choose his side.
After several bloody years of confusion the two factions established themselves into stronghold areas and settled into a protracted and savage civil war.The Gilraidists, the larger party, were hampered by fighting a war on two fronts, with both the Empire and with the Voicers. The latter were still guided by the Voice of the One, upon whose head the Gilraidists placed an astronomical price.
In 1850, the Voice of the One, desperate to end the sectarian war between the Voicers and Gilraidists, began a complex and powerful piece of ritual magic, the Ritual of Flaying. The spell was targeted on the largest concentration of Gilraidist troops, somewhere in the Brinnon region of Nhased. It took him a year to complete and when released, inflicted unbelievable amounts of damage to both land and life. The effects were far in excess of what was intended; shockwaves rippled out from the original target for nearly two hundred miles, exterminating all life and reducing the countryside to a magically poisoned wasteland. Technically, this won the war for the Voicers, but their country was effectively destroyed. Over half the population of Nhased was killed in one day. Karsten and Lanirkos were both ruined and the Cathederal of the One, centre of their faith, was destroyed and the ruins inaccessible. The Voice was not seen again after the Flaying, and it is supposed that he was destroyed by his own apocalypse.
The damage of the Ritual of Flaying extended over the eastern border and engulfed most of the war zone between Nhased and the Erlyid Empire, destroying ninety percent of the fighting capability of both nations in one stroke. A big slice of the Asedor Forest was also destroyed, displacing many wild elves and centaurs, some of whom fled north into the rest of Alair, especially Belamir.
First Vampire M Chaos Evil Death Blood Vampires, vampire thralls Single Drop of Blood
As documented in the forbidden book of the Sopedalia, Cain was the first elf ever to murder another elf, back in the Golden Age before the coming of other races to Alair. Cursed by the elvish god Anfadil, he twisted the effects of the curse to suit his own ends, now horribly distorted, becoming the first vampire in the process. Believed dead, he operated under cover, bestowing the Blood Gift on more and more sentient creatures. The elves, mightier then than in later days, proved too resistant for his purposes, perhaps because their lifespans made the "eternal" life of the vampire less appealing, but with the arrival of humans Cain was furnished with all the raw material he needed, and his power grew rapidly. The oldest of the High Clans were created personally by Cain to organize his forces, though some rebelled and abandoned his cause to pursue their own goals. Finally, the existence of the subculture of the vampires became known to the elves, and five of their greatest heroes, led by Galoriand and Elverandil, challenged Cain in his lair. Though they defeated him, they were unable to put an end to him, and were forced instead to imprison him on the demiplane Arnora, pinched off and sealed against any conceivable intrusion. An attempt to rescue Cain by using one of the two Primal Weapons to breach Arnora, masterminded by Cullinan, was foiled by the destruction of the Vintares Gate and the sequestering of Zero-One in the Hallows.
Vampires still venerate Cain, but he is unable to grant prayers or spells and so has no priesthood; technically his position is that of a demigod or legendary hero.
Khabra
Khabra was an ancient land located deep in what is now the great desert south of the Red Dust. It rose and fell in the time between the arrival of humans in Alair and the founding of the Erlyid Empire. The cities and fields were swallowed by the desert and with the death of their last followers the gods of Khabra faced the dreadful fate of becoming Lost Gods. In a desperate attempt to avoid this, they poured all their remaining power into binding themselves each into an item of regalia, buried deep beneath a pyramid lost in the sands. If a being could be persuaded to take up the regalia and convert to their worship, they could rise again.
In the fullness of time, a party of four adventurers did discover the pyramid, and each took to themselves a piece of regalia. The gods they accepted survived and returned to the world; the rest met their end, fading to endless whispers in the sand. Only the survivors are listed here.
Hektis the Warmaster
The God of War, Touchstone of Honour, The True Word, Faithful Companion M War, Good, Law, Protection Soldiers, Warriors, Fighters, those with a code of honor Golden vambrace set with lapis lazuli
Hektis is Sabath's brother, and must constantly be on watch for his sibling's treachery and malice. Adopted by the orc Gorfang, the cult of Hektis spread into the orc fortress of Gadûhvrás after his takeover of the ruins, and became the state religion of his empire, the Gorfangach. After the collapse of that empire in the Holy Wars, Hektis' cult remains primary in Gadûhvrás and Kishshul.
Nebekheshut the Fatemaster
Messenger of the Gods, Executor of Fate M Fate, Law, Divination, Water None Silver Sandals
Nebekheshut is the messenger, the courier. He delivers all effects to their cause. He does nothing, makes nothing, takes nothing. He simply connects things to where they must go. He brings life and death, but he neither creates nor kills. He is inescapable and unchangable, the ultimate instrument of a cold and indifferent fate.
His regalia-bearer, Lynien Savanoth, restored his cult as the "Balancers", distributing wealth differently, and on her deification accepted his ability to grant Resurrection to her followers.
Since that time, little has been heard of the cult of Nebekheshut, and it is possible that the Fatemaster accepted his end and passed away.
Gennen of the Book
The Master of Lore, Keeper of Knowledge, Lord of Magic M Knowledge, Law, Magic, Earth Wizards, lawyers, scribes and sages, workers of magic Book
Gennen of The Book is the knower of all things, the keeper of the scrolls, the wise man, the holder of the answers. He knows the deeds and thoughts of all men and helps judge them after death, assisting his consort Nepthis in this.
Gennen's regalia was taken by the aasimar sorceress Méabh, increasing her magical power and knowledge of many things greatly. After the conclusion of her journeys with Gorfang, Eloy and Lynien, Méabh returned to the ancient Giantish ruins in the Deep Trakar and established the Sorcerer's Isle, later known as Tearstone, a secret retreat and college for sorcery and research. A closely-guarded secret, Tearstone remains a mere rumour even now, but the cult of Gennen of the Book is still followed there, five hundred years after Méabh's day.
Lynien, Lady of Chance
Lady of Chance F Luck, Charm, Trickery Thieves, the desperate and the reckless A bag with unknown contents
After her death and the recovery of the Seeds of Life, Nebekheshut ceded the power of Resurrection to the tiefling thief and adventuress Lynien, elevating her to the status of a Goddess.
She is the Goddess of Thieves and the Fateless, of Chance and the Unexpected, the light-fingered and self-sufficient; Lynien, Lady of Chance. Those preparing to venture out on thieves business, those about to risk all on blind chance, those with their backs up against the wall and nothing but insouciance to help them, call on Lynien.


text:
Musk says he'll be Twitter CEO until a replacement is found
Elon Musk said Tuesday that he plans on remaining as Twitter's CEO until he can find someone willing to replace him in the job.
Musk's announcement came after millions of Twitter users asked him to step down in an unscientific poll the billionaire himself created and promised to abide by.
Since taking over San Francisco-based Twitter in late October, Musk's run as CEO has been marked by quickly issued rules and policies that have often been withdrawn or changed soon after being made public.
He has also alienated some investors in his electric vehicle company Tesla who are concerned that Twitter is taking too much of his attention.
Some of Musk's actions have unnerved Twitter advertisers and turned off users. They include laying off half of Twitter's workforce, letting go contract content moderators and disbanding a council of trust and safety advisors that the company formed in 2016 to address hate speech, child exploitation, suicide, self-harm and other problems on the platform.
Bantering with Twitter followers last Sunday, he said that the person replacing him "must like pain a lot" to run a company that he said has been "in the fast lane to bankruptcy."
BusinessEntertainmentTesla
Not just for kids: Toymakers aim more products at grown-ups
Canada moves to mandate electric vehicle sales starting in 2026

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


text:
Posted April 30, 2011 April 30, 2011 Tony James Slater
We interrupt these tales of Jordan for a brief news bulletin:
It seems that there was a Royal Wedding this morning. Oh, you heard about that?
Well, even I was not immune to the delights of it. Or, to be frank, the opportunity to take the piss out of it. The trouble is, they make it SO easy… As I cracked the lid on my first bottle of cider (I am in Somerset y'know!) I flicked around and discovered that there was almost nothing else on the telly which would provide as much sport. I tuned in to BBC One just as the commentators, who had been at it since 6 am and had clearly run out of anything meaningful to say in the first ten minutes, were discussing whether or not Elton John needed the toilet. It looked like he did – but did he? High drama at nine in the morning, with the distinct possibility of even higher drama by ten – at which point, with no other option, Elton would surely piss himself in public.
"But he's Elton John! He can do whatever he wants! If he wants to go to the loo, he can go," enthused the commentator.
This was gripping stuff. Groundbreaking journalism.
I hate commentators. This one (Huw Edwards) wouldn't shut up about the young Princes William and Harry following the coffin of their mother Lady Di – "and then they were truly brothers, in an almost Shakespearian sense," he said.
So, what? More truly brothers than, say, me and my brother? Than anyone, anywhere in the world that has an actual brother? And they were Shakespearian in what way? Did they kill their mother? Murder anyone? Have confused gender issues? No. They lost a parent. Something that has never happened to anyone since Shakespeare's day, and of course features heavily in all of his work. This commentator, it occurred to me, was a bloody idiot.
Or maybe I was drunk. Well had I learned the dangers of drinking too early – imitating a ridiculous royal wave with both hands and forgetting there's a glass of wine in one of them.
"Who are all this lot?" Mum asked, as a small fleet of minibuses emerged from the Palace.
We struggled to explain, but after much discussion we couldn't figure it out. The commentator, despite his incredible boredom and utter lack of anything new to say, didn't bother to inform us. He did, however, point out that with him was noted historian Simon Schama. He'd been pointing this out every ten minutes or so, as though to prompt the noted historian into saying something. "With me is Simon Schama… the Noted Historian who has been paid about ten grand to sit here with me, and consequently is now about to SAY SOMETHING God damn it!'
By the time we'd decided who was arriving, another bunch of cars seemed to be pulling up amidst flourishes of ushers and clergymen in vast superman capes.
"Who's this lot then?" Mum asked.
I sighed. It was going to be one of those days.
A new arrival at the Abbey caused a stir of interest. Ah, it was Lady blah-de-blah, "dressed by Anna Valentine," (but I heard she tied her shoelaces herself).
Anna Valentine had obviously had a busy morning rushing back and forth between royal households in London, as she'd dressed quite a few people. She must be dying for a cup of tea, I thought. I spent most of the show hoping to hear "And hear is Mr and Mrs Cheapskate Royal from Doncaster, dressed by P.R. Imark…"
The lead trumpeter in his raised gallery was featured quite closely. After leading a fanfare he removed his trumpet with a dramatic flourish, and we were treated to a High Definition view of his spit raining down on the hats below.
And what hats! Of course they're ridiculous, that goes without saying. But one gigantic silver lampshade was clearly pushing the boundaries of what is structurally feasible in headgear. As my sister pointed out, "if all the guests had solar panels installed in their hats they could power the whole of London for the day!"
Kate Middleton's father, an ex-market trader from Doncaster (okay, flight attendant from Leeds), was giving her some last minute advice in the car (whilst the camera crew focused on her cleavage). I was practising my lip-reading and I'm pretty sure I saw him say: "Eh up lass, ye've dun good there. Get yer 'ands on im and dun't let 'im go 'till 'e's impregnated yer. Then we're 'ome free."
Kate's beginners version of the royal wave was vigourous – we figured it'd be a few years before RSI set in and she scaled it down to the barely perceptible movement favoured by the Queen.
Price William, however, arrived in a black cab with a cardboard royal crown stuck over the 'taxi' sign. But it was a Bentley taxi, which makes all the difference. And then he was out of the taxi and into the church – which made me think about camera placement. I can't imagine why anyone would specify an aerial view with extreme zoom capabilities when the groom is bald as a plucked egg on top? I had to marvel at the power of a lens that can pick out a necrotic hair follicle from the top of Westminster Abbey.
That trip down the aisle was memorable for one reason; it was the exact moment that Mum stood up to pass round cups of tea. From my perspective her ass perfectly obscured all 42" of widescreen, HD action.
The blokes were led into position by a church official dressed like one of the faculty at Hogwarts, complete with brandished wand. Actually it looked disturbingly like the thing used to brand horses. Perhaps Kate was getting more than she'd bargained for. I couldn't resist my favourite joke when I saw a group of Sisters sitting off to one side.
"How much fun d'you reckon they're having?"
My sister saw it coming. "Nun," she said.
The two Princes, standing at the altar, were struggling not to laugh. Harry was swaying, regretting having one more glass of wine before leaving the palace. Our eyes were on Kate's sister, looking very tasty in her plain white dress. Looking tastier than Kate, by quite a lot. It suddenly occurred to me that, as best man, little Harry was obligated to at least try and shag her. I wasn't the only one having that thought – at that moment the camera caught Harry in a backward glance followed by a few sly words and a grin to Willie. "Gonna tap that tonight," he was saying.
No wonder he was smiling.
I watched the vows and cringed as soon as the bible readings began. 'Fear God and his Wrath and Sacrifice Yourself to Him' seemed to be the gist of it. Highly appropriate for a wedding. Bu then, when has the bible been appropriate? Elton John had spent the entire ceremony inside God's holy church, standing right next to his gay lover without so much as a lightening bolt from heaven.
I contemplated this, and decided to switch channels. I'd seen the bit that mattered and the TV coverage would be endless. I was starting to think it would go on all night as well. At what point would the cameras peel away? Perhaps we'd see the future monarch being conceived from about 11:30pm….
I welcome your thoughts and opinions, as always!
⟵Petra To Go
Eat, drink, be merry! Then get fat.⟶
12 thoughts on "The Remains of The Day…"
Krista Reynen says:
Yes it was rather unfortunate of your mother to stand and pass round the drinks during the ONLY really important part of live television… Not that her grey sweatpant'ed posterior was unattractive, just not what one had expected to see during possiby the only royal wedding in the next 20 years!
I DEFINATLY saw Harry swaying and sweating…that last glass was one to many for the lad. (That or the anticipation of nobbing the bridesmaid…)
Tony James Slater says:
Or else he too was busting for a widdle. Unless they train royals from a young age to have the bladder of a marble statue, why do they plan ceremonies with constant, unbroken coverage that last for hours? Where's a young bloke to nip off for a crafty no.1? Wel at least they provided a few trees in Westminster Abeey…
Linda Condron says:
Ooooh Harry, I'll never say ginger minger again, he's a lil hottie! Does that make me a cougar! Again, twice in one week 🙂
Only hot when compared to his Royal Receedingness! Seriously, of all the ridiculous hats in attendance, why was Willie, the only one who really needed it, left bare? Harry though – at his age he's bound to be all mouth and no trousers. As Pippa possibly found out, after a few thousand quids worth of champeigne… gotta be hard to resist as a chat up line that – "Hey love, wanna come back to my palace and drink the national debt of a third world country?"
Ah, Linda, you and your taste in men!
Watch it, the queen herself banned our Chaser boys from doing a parody commentary of the wedding. Way harsh Liz!
And they'd have done such a good job of it too! Maybe infiltrated – disguised by big hats! I'd have liked to see them lounging along the route somewhere with a few tinnies, sitting on deck chairs in shorts and thongs. Commentary like "ay, yeah, there goes 'is missis, looking a bit tasty too I reckon…" – The Bogan Commentators!
Gerry Fenge says:
Ooh, you naughty satirical rogue you! Thanks for giving us something to giggle at, Tony. (By the way I notice one of the 'likes' comes from a certain Tony Slater – fancy him having the same name as you!)
Well, it'd be awfully hypocritical of me to write something I didn't like – and then expect you poor buggers to read it, eh!
By a very long chalk, this is by far the best commentary I've seen on That Wedding. Mind you, I've been huddled in a cave trying to avoid it. But having seen how it went down Chez Slater, I can see the attraction. And I don't just mean the cider.
Thanks Debi! Honestly, it was a lot more bawdy than that. The distilled version is almost… civilized by comparison!
subliminal messages says:
You should participate in a contest for among the finest blogs on the web. I'll suggest this web site!
Well, shux. Thanks! Mind you, I'm 100% certain that this is a spam comment – I just couldn't resist having it up on my blog though! It makes me feel warm inside to be told nice things, even if it is from an evil robot on the other side of the world!
Tony and Roo are an unusual pair. You can never lose them in a crowd; Roo, because her hair is a multi-hued rainbow wonder, and her Black Milk leggings match it; and Tony, because things you'd rather not see are usually hanging out of the holes in his trousers. Which sometimes causes people to avoid him. Tony is a travel writer and Roo is a photographer; together, they have been traveling the world for over eight years. They have been to many strange places, and done strange things in them. This blog is mostly about that; occasionally it features other stuff too. BE WARNED! Herein lies foolishness…
Check out Tony's books! You know you want to…


Whether you want to post amazing video from the top of a ski slope or record your grandson's baseball game, the Neurona OpticHD sunglasses is a great way to capture it all in style. These cool-looking, comfortable sunglasses have a built-in camcorder to record all those special moments in glorious full high definition. And with integrated Wi-Fi, you can even stream real-time video wirelessly to your Android or iOS smartphone or tablet.
The glasses have excellent video record & playback quality. They are not bulky to wear.Easily transfers video to a computer. The software however is terrible to play thru an android phone. It is only made for an android phone but does not work anyway. Other than the software the glasses work very well !
These are really terrible. They use wi-if not Bluetooth so you cannot use them when you are out and about. Also they use a micro-SD but I have not been able to export the videos.
Returned, not what I expected. I gave it 2 Starts because I believe HSN will provide better products in the future.
Got mine quick, but I can't seem to get them to work. They don't connect to my phone and they won't video anything. Time to return them.
I coach a 8u baseball team. We use a pitching machine so I got these to wear while i am running the machine. I thought awesome i can record my players so they can see what i see. To good to be true. They are now in the same drawer as my 3D's glass.


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Home Donor News Somaliland: EU Hands-over Sheikh Technical Veterinary School to IGAD
Somaliland: EU Hands-over Sheikh Technical Veterinary School to IGAD
EU Somalia Unit Press Release: 20 May 2013
Somalilandsun – Today, the European Union has launched the handing over phase of the Sheikh Technical Veterinary School to the Inter-Governmental Authority for Development (IGAD).
The pioneer school specialised in animal health and initiated by the EU in Somaliland 10 years ago, will indeed soon become a regional centre of excellence within the Horn of Africa.
With a third aid envelope of 3 million EUR, the EU will ensure a smooth transition of the school management and boost the school's education services. This by upgrading the academic programmes to university level and by extending training and collaboration with other institutions in the entire Horn of Africa.
The Sheikh Technical Veterinary School is one of the EU's main success stories in Somaliland. It was created in 2002 as part of the EU's efforts in supporting the Somali livestock sector. It has successfully trained a generation of competent professionals, from the entire region of the Horn of Africa, to manage animal disease control and support regional trade. A major effort that contributed to the lifting of a regional livestock export ban which led to an export increase of Somali livestock from 2.5 million in 2007 to 4.8 million in 2011.
The Sheikh Technical Veterinary School is currently managed by EU's implementing partner, Terra Nuova, under the auspices of the African Union Inter-regional Bureau for Animal Resources. IGAD has recently decided to adopt the School and the handing over process should end within the next three years.
Magali Uytterhaeghe
Press and Information Officer
Delegation of the European Union in Kenya
Somalia Unit
00100 Nairobi
Tel: +254.20.271.28.30
Fax: +254.20.271.09.97
Cell: +254.717.10.44.14
Email: Magali.UYTTERHAEGHE@ext.eeas.eu
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Its design reflects the necessary steps for the "ritual" of steam cooking: cutting, steaming and serving.It starts with cutting the vegetables on the steaming board and placing it on top of the water boiler. The lid contains the interface which allows the user to close the steamer and set the timer in one go.
After the food is ready the user might open the lid and scoop the meal directly to the plate. The interface disappears as soon as the lid is lifted.
The steaming board has a texture that helps the user to scoop the food to the plate and not to the sides.


Tellepsen is performing extensive project management, and construction services for a major plastics facility in the Houston Ship Channel area. The project includes piping, structural, and mechanical equipment installations.
The Project involves a piping scope that includes the installation and testing of 254,352 linear feet of carbon steel and stainless steel piping and 50,000 welds. It includes the installation, grouting and alignment of 874 pieces of mechanical equipment that includes but is not limited to pumps, towers, dryers, shakers, and reactors. The structural scope includes the erection of 2,149 tons of steel that has a mixture of both fireproofed and bare steel.
The project has a peak manpower of 1,300 Tellepsen employees. In addition, we coordinate daily with multiple other contractors. Tellepsen maintains the site schedule and coordinates with all of the other contractors to get schedule updates to maintain a centralized schedule. Tellepsen also managed the majority of our clients' subcontractors. We maintain a complete set of jobsite drawings along with redlining and as-builts.


text:
Home>News And BLOG>Gloucestershire News>Geronimo the alpaca will be euthanised, Downing Street insists
Geronimo the alpaca will be euthanised, Downing Street insists
The Government insisted there can be no reprieve for Wickwar's Geronimo the alpaca as crowds of animal rights protesters marched on Downing Street.
Geronimo has twice tested positive for bovine tuberculosis, and the Department of Food, Environment and Rural Affairs (Defra) has ordered he be euthanised.
Around 30 people – including fellow alpaca farmers who had lost animals in similar circumstances – gathered outside Defra's headquarters in Smith Square, Westminster on Monday,
Several alpacas who were reportedly due to attend the march were not brought along due to safety concerns.
Protesters marched past the Houses of Parliament to the gates of Downing Street on Whitehall.
Some carried banners reading "We stand with Geronimo" and "Eustice, admit you're wrong."
The campaigners, including Geronimo's owner Helen Mcdonald, believe that the alpaca is free of TB and that Defra's tests are highly likely to be inaccurate.
They are demanding a different type of test be used to prove Geronimo's disease status before his death.
But Downing Street insisted that all the evidence on the animal's condition had been "looked at very carefully."
The Prime Minister's official spokesman said: "We know how distressing losing animals to TB is for anyone. That is why the Environment Secretary has looked at this extremely carefully and interrogated all the evidence.
"The fact remains that Geronimo has sadly tested positive twice using a highly specific and reliable and validated test.
"This is something the Environment Secretary has looked at very carefully."
Ms Macdonald said that when Defra officials do attend Shepherds Close Farm to euthanise Geronimo she will not break the law.
"I'm not going to break the law but I am not going to make it easy. I'm not going to be helping them kill an animal that does not need to be killed," she said.
"This is an animal injustice and everyone can relate to it and people are coming from all sectors of farming to support us.
"We can make a difference. Geronimo is the poster boy for doing a better job than what we have done in the past."
Ms Macdonald, who imported Geronimo from New Zealand, believes the tests are returning false positives, but has been refused permission to have him tested a third time.
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Yes i have use it, i also have used an amazing website that do pretty much the same.
IT is called http://www.youconvertit.com and they have got more, instead of the media file conversion they have two extra things.
2- File sending capability up to 300MB.


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Ten famous scientists of India
ArticlesGeneral
By The Peeper Times	 Last updated Jul 2, 2019
Some famous Indian scientists
The advancement in the field of Science & Technology, esp. in the past few years, has been phenomenal. But do you know that many inventions that we see today have become possible due to Indian scientists? In this article, we highlight 10 such Indian scientists who contributed immensely in this field.
While Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar, Homi Jehangir Bhabha, Vikram Sarabhai are well-known in building India's post-independent Science & Technology infrastructure as well as policies, Sir Jagdish Bose, Satyendra Nath Bose, Aryabhata and others are popular for their discoveries which changed the way we look at world. Read below to know more about them and others:
1) Aryabhata
Indian astronomer and mathematician, he was born in 476 A.D., and adorned the court of Chandragupta Vikramaditya. His book, Aryabhatiya, is well-known for his work in the field of mathematics (mensuration, arithmetic and geometric progressions, etc) and astronomy (geometric/trigonometric aspects of the celestial sphere, shape of the earth, reason behind day and night, etc.).
2) Sir Jagdish Chandra Bose
He is credited to be the first person to put India on the science-map of the world by his inventions. Crescograph, an instrument for measuring growth in plants, was developed by him. He also showed that plants respond to light rays and wireless waves. While his scientific prowess is well-known, not many know that he was a good writer as well. He has authored two famous books – Response in the Living and Non-living (1902) and The Nervous Mechanism of Plants (1926).
3) Sir C.V. Raman
He is the first Indian to get Nobel Prize in Science. He was awarded the Nobel for Physics in 1930 for his discovery, 'Raman Effect.' He also gave the world the theory of the blue colour of ocean and theory of musical instruments. Founder of the Raman Research Institute, he was also the recipient of the Lenin Peace Prize in 1958.
READ ALSO: Agni-5 – A weapon of peace
4) Satyendra Nath Bose
Well-known for the Bose-Einstein statistics (B–E statistics), a type of quantum statistics which he developed together with Albert Einstein. The particles which obey B–E statistics are known as 'bosons' (named after him). He was awarded Padma Vibhushan in 1958 for his invaluable work.
5) Dr Homi Jehangir Bhabha
An eminent cosmic ray scientist, Dr Bhabha is mostly known as the chief architect of India's nuclear programme. He established two popular research institutions in India, namely the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR), and the Atomic Energy Establishment at Trombay (which was renamed as the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC) after his death). He is also remembered for his work in identifying the elementary particles called mesons.
6) Dr Vikram Sarabhai
Well-known in the field of cosmic rays, Padma Bhushan Dr Sarabhai is credited to have put India on the international map in the field of space research. He was the brain behind the formation of the Physical Research Laboratory, which is considered to be a cradle of Indian Space programme. Born in a business family, his range of interests varied from textiles to nuclear power, and pharmaceuticals to electronics.
7) Dr Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar
Popular for his work on magneto-chemistry, Dr Bhatnagar opened a chain of National Research Laboratories in India. He was the Founder Director of the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR). It is in his name that Shanti Swarup Bhatanagar Memorial Award was instituted in 1958. The award is given for the outstanding contributions in Physics; Chemistry; Biology; Engineering; Earth, Atmosphere, Ocean and Planetary Sciences; Medicine and Mathematics to Indian scientists.
YOU MAY LIKE TO READ: Science in everyday life
8) Prof Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar
Nephew of Sir C.V. Raman, he is best known for the discovery of Chandrasekhar Limit. The formulation of the Chandrasekhar Limit led to the discovery of neutron stars and black holes; and plays a crucial role in understanding the stellar evolution. For his outstanding researches in the field of Astronomy, he (jointly with the nuclear astrophysicist W.A. Fowler) was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1983.
9) Dr Hargobind Khorana
Indian-born world renowned biochemist, he was awarded the Nobel prize in 1968 in Physiology and Medicine (along with M.W. Nirenberg and R.W. Holley) for developing the method of synthesis of DNA and RNA. He has also been awarded Padma Bhushan by the Government of India.
10) Dr Raja Ramanna
Well-known nuclear physicist, he is credited to have played an important role in placing the country's indigenous nuclear capabilities on a firm footing. He was associated with India's first peaceful nuclear experiment at Pokhran on May 18, 1974.
AryabhataBARCC.V. RamanDr Homi Jehangir BhabhaFamous Indian Scientistsfamous scientists of indiaJagdish Chandra BoseVikram Sarabhai
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Q: Tensorflow-GPU Error: "RuntimeError: CUDA runtime implicit initialization on GPU:0 failed. Status: all CUDA-capable devices are busy or unavailable" I am using a GTX-1660Ti on training a Convnet. I was able to use my GPU to train 3 weeks ago. Today, I tried training my model and ran in to the following error.
RuntimeError: CUDA runtime implicit initialization on GPU:0 failed. Status: all CUDA-capable devices are busy or unavailable

When I run,
tf.config.list_physical_devices(device_type='GPU')
print("Num GPUs Available: ", len(tf.config.experimental.list_physical_devices('GPU')))

I get
[PhysicalDevice(name='/physical_device:GPU:0', device_type='GPU')]
Num GPUs Available:  1

When I run
import tensorflow as tf
if tf.test.gpu_device_name():
    print('Default GPU Device: {}'.format(tf.test.gpu_device_name()))
else:
    print("Please install GPU version of TF")

I also ge the same RunTimeError.
I'm not sure why I'm getting this issue when it was working fine couple weeks ago... Anyone have similar issue? I have tensorflow-gpu installed and my tensorflow.version is '2.2.0. I'm also using Ubuntu 20.04 on WSL

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


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Q: unwanted scrollbar right margin On my remote server and localhost, the scrollbar attached to my container with overflow-scroll seems to have a margin on the right which is causing the background color to show through.
Here - on code snippet - the code is identical but there is no such margin.
EDIT : behavior expanded upon
When the browser is resized, the background color flashes in and out to the right of the scrollbar as the element resizes.
Furthermore, when the mouse is released at a window width wherein the background is not showing to the right of the element, the behavior persists on the next resize. But when the mouse is released at a window width wherein the background is showing to the right of the element, the scrollbar jumps to the right to cover the background and justify itself to the right edge where it belongs, and then the behavior seems to be fixed for all future resizing until the browser is refreshed.
Additionally, the behavior is not present on every refresh. It seems to be random, about 1 out of every 2-3 refreshes.
So then, why does the background color show to the right of the scrollbar during resize? And why does releasing the mouse when the background is showing temporarily fix the issue barring a page refresh?

*{
 margin:0;
 padding:0;
}
.grida{
 display:grid;
 grid-template-columns:14% 1fr 1fr;
 height:calc(100vh - 52px);
}
.bpart{
 height:calc(100vh - 52px);
 overflow-y:scroll;
 background:blue;
}

A: Not sure whatever the reason is but the css that's causing it is this
* {
    margin: 0;
    padding: 0;
}

I was able to fix it by specifying the margins that has zero (excluding the margin-right)
like this
* {
    margin-top: 0;
    margin-left: 0;
    margin-bottom: 0;
    padding: 0;
}

A: This is indeed a very bizarre behavior, and I must admit I spent a long time trying to figure this one out. Fear not, there is a solution to your specific issue below, though answering your question has raised more questions for me.
As far as I can tell, you're simply observing pixel rounding behavior, which is natural in all browsers when resizing fixed width vs fluid width elements. The "vertical line" as I see it is only present when resizing the browser window. Whatever the grid-template-columns value is set to, you will never be able to satisfy the fixed width of the browser at all breakpoints given your current markup and style.
This can be demonstrated by very simple math:

let x = browser width (px)
  let y = fluid grid width value (%)
  let z = fluid grid actual width value (px)
  z = x(y)

Consider the following:

x = 1500px
  y = 15%
  1500(.15) = 225

If your grid width is set at 15%, when the browser window is exactly 1500px the grid element will be 225px wide, and will not overflow into the adjacent pixel. However, when the browser is resized down to 1497px and then to 1496px, it must choose where exactly to round to a full pixel width for the grid element, which moves from the 224.55px to 224.4px. This seems to offset the scrollbar inside the overflow container, which for some reason (that hopefully someone more knowledgeable can explain) does not stick to the right side of the container on resize. As soon as the new width is established the scrollbar resets itself to the right side of the container. This is a strange behavior indeed, and I'd love if someone would expand on my answer to explain why this behavior exists in the first place.
As far as a solution goes though, I believe I have one:
Simply add a full-width, full-height element within your bpart div and assign the background to that instead of the bpart, which becomes the parent. Furthermore, and most importantly, bpart maintains the scroll property while its new child element will have an overflow:hidden property.
Your new markup looks like this:

and your css:
* {
  margin:0;
  padding:0;
}
.grida {
  display:grid;
  grid-template-columns:14% 1fr 1fr;
  height:calc(100vh - 52px);
}
.bpart {
  height:calc(100vh - 52px);
  overflow-y:scroll;
}
.bpart-inner {
  height:100%;
  width:100%;
  overflow:hidden;
  background:blue;
}

This works, as far as I can tell. Here is a fiddle:
https://jsfiddle.net/x6eL5mun/4/
Like I said, I cannot explain the default behavior. If someone can then I'm just as interested as you. Otherwise, this solution should do it for you. Thanks for piquing my interest here.

A: This maybe too simple and I am using 'CSS Grids' but I had annoying space on the right causing the horizontal scroll to need one button hit.  Here is what I did which made a difference, at least in my case.  Setting width to 99%.  Go figure.

body {
    height: 650px;
    width: 99%;
    background-color: gray;
}


text:
Colorado Topics
coronavirus Colorado General Assembly Denver Public Schools English language learners All Topics
Colorado
With school finance act, Colorado lawmakers try to pass the hot potato of teacher pay to local districts
State Rep. Barbara McLachlan, a Durango Democrat, calls for more money for education during a rally with teachers and fellow Democratic members of the House Education Committee at the Capitol Monday, April 16. (Erica Meltzer/Chalkbeat)
Keep track of everything that's happening in schools during the COVID-19 outbreak. Subscribe to our Colorado newsletter for all of the information you need, in one place.
A school finance act that puts more money into K-12 education than Colorado has spent at any point since the Great Recession passed a key House committee Monday with easy bipartisan support.
Democratic lawmakers on the House Education Committee urged local school boards to turn this money into teacher raises – and Colorado voters to provide even more funds next year.
The hearing on the school finance act occurred as hundreds of teachers descended on the Capitol as part of a day of action to ask for more school funding and protections for retirement benefits. Before the hearing started, Democratic committee members met with teachers in the foyer of the Capitol and joined them in chants of "not enough" and "no more B.S.," a reference to the state's budget stabilization or "negative" factor. That's the difference between what Colorado spends on schools and what it's constitutionally required to allocate, based on inflation and numbers of students.
A group of education advocates hopes to place a $1.6 billion tax increase for schools on the November ballot. Colorado voters have twice before rejected tax increases for education, most recently in 2013.
"We need to support our teachers, and we need to support our schools, and we need you to ensure not only that we pass the bills that we are bringing this session, but that we unite this November to ensure our kids are put first in Colorado," said state Rep. Brittany Pettersen, the Lakewood Democrat who chairs the House Education Committee.
The school finance act, which provides more detail on the education funding already set aside in the 2018-19 budget, calls for a little more than $7 billion in total program spending in 2018-19, a 6.95 percent increase from this year. The state portion is $4.5 billion, a 10 percent increase from this year; local districts would provide $2.5 billion, a 1.4 percent increase.
In addition to mandated budget increases, the bill adds $150 million more for education. That leaves the negative factor at $672 million, the smallest it has been since this budget maneuver was created during the Great Recession.
Average per-pupil spending for 2018-19 will be around $8,137, a $475 increase from this year.
During the hearing, state Rep. Barbara McLachlan, a Durango Democrat, asked Matt Cook of the Colorado Association of School Boards why teacher raises seem to come last when districts get more money, and state Rep. Alec Garnett, a Denver Democrat, asked if the legislature needs to have more oversight of how districts spend state money. Colorado does not have a statewide teacher salary schedule, and districts have a lot of discretion on how they set their budgets.
"The people on the ground are hurting," Garnett said. "They can't meet their basic needs. And I want to help them, but it's really your members who hold the key to their solution."
Colorado consistently ranks in the bottom tier for school spending and teacher pay, and a recent study ranked Colorado last for the competitiveness of its teacher salaries.
Cook said school boards are acutely aware of how low pay hurts their ability to hire and keep teachers. The availability of more money from the state will be a factor in union negotiations currently underway in districts around the state, he said.
But districts have to balance teacher pay with a wide range of needs, including services for students learning English and students with disabilities that are not funded by the state at their full cost, he said.
"We recognize that a qualified, highly motivated teacher in the classroom is a major part of a child's education," Cook said. "We're doing the best we can. Nobody wants to not pay teachers."
School district representatives told the committee that a promising state budget forecast is already turning into more services for students. An official from the Adams 12 Five Star district said the district had increased interventions for students with dyslexia in anticipation of more state money, and a superintendent from the rural Hanover district said $30 million in extra funding for rural schools – first allocated last year and now extended for a second year – allowed him to hire a second science teacher and a school counselor.
State Rep. Jim Wilson, the Republican co-sponsor of the school finance act and a former district superintendent, said he could just as easily ask lawmakers why the entire $1.3 billion budget surplus isn't going to schools.
"I won't ask you to answer that because you already know the answer," he said. "That's the same situation that a school district finds itself in."
The school finance act also:
Sends an extra $30 million to rural schools,
Creates 1,000 new spots for children with certain risk factors in publicly funded preschool and kindergarten,
Allocates money for English language learners based on the actual number of students at various levels of need, rather than dividing it based on a formula,
Calls for any general fund surplus at the end of this budget year to go into education next year,
Requires that the negative factor for 2019-20 not be any larger than it is in 2018-19.
The school finance act still needs to pass the full House before it goes to the Republican-controlled Senate.
Erica Meltzer @meltzere emeltzer@chalkbeat.org
More stories in Colorado
A Denver high school student known for her smile has died of COVID-19
By Yesenia Robles
Emotional needs, instructional support top concerns for Colorado school districts doing remote learning
Colorado General Assembly Colorado General Assembly 2018 Negative Factor School Finance School funding taxes Teacher pay
Follow Colorado:


text:
Q: rastertek tutorials - problems with third part of directx11 tut I've done third part of rastertek tutorial with DirectX11 and I have got a problem.
I have done everything before that and everything was OK and after paste last part of code and compile that I get Error message from that messagebox in graphicsclass.cpp...
And my question is: Is it problem that his code is for VS 2010 and I'm trying to compile that in VS 2012? Do I need to instal 2010?
If somebody has time, please, answear :)

A: Problem solved. Geforce 310M don't have directx 11. Delete that question or close it :)


text:
More MLB
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Free Picks » MLB Picks » New York Mets at Pittsburgh Pirates 5/27/2017 Free MLB Picks and Predictions
New York Mets at Pittsburgh Pirates 5/27/2017 Free MLB Picks and Predictions
Get todays MLB odds and lines on this game.
Probable Pitchers: Zack Wheeler vs. Gerrit Cole
The New York Mets head to PNC Park on Saturday, May 27, 2017 to take on the Pittsburgh Pirates. The expected starting pitchers are Zack Wheeler for the Mets and Gerrit Cole for the Pirates.
The odds for this matchup have New York at +128 and Pittsburgh at -138. The Mets have a 29-10-6 over/under mark and a 17-28-0 run line record. The Pirates are 26-22-0 against the run line and have a 22-24-2 over/under record.
Valuable New York Mets Betting Trends
The New York Mets are 29-10-6 against the over/under
The New York Mets are 17-28-0 against the run line
Important Pittsburgh Pirates Betting Trends
The Pittsburgh Pirates are 22-24-2 against the over/under
The Pittsburgh Pirates are 26-22-0 against the run line
Key New York Mets Injuries
05/24/17 P Tommy Milone Knee 10-day DL (5/22)
05/12/17 P Jeurys Familia Shoulder 60-day DL (5/11)
05/01/17 P Noah Syndergaard Back 60-day DL (5/1)
04/28/17 CF Yoenis Cespedes Hamstring 10-day DL (4/27)
04/01/17 P Seth Lugo Arm 10-day DL (3/30)
03/31/17 LF Brandon Nimmo Hamstring 10-day DL (3/30)
03/31/17 3B David Wright Shoulder 60-day DL (3/30)
03/30/17 P Steven Matz Elbow 10-day DL (3/30)
Key Pittsburgh Pirates Injuries
05/06/17 P Jameson Taillon Groin 10-day DL (5/4)
04/26/17 P Antonio Bastardo Quad 10-day DL (4/25)
04/18/17 CF Starling Marte Suspension 80-game suspension
Useful Pitching Statistics
The Mets have a 19-26 overall record this season. Starting pitcher Zack Wheeler has a 3-2 record with an earned run average of 3.74 and a WHIP of 1.29. He has 40 strikeouts over his 43.1 innings pitched and he's given up 36 hits. He allows 7.5 hits per 9 innings and he has a FIP of 4.21. The bullpen has an earned run average of 4.96 and they have given up 178 base hits on the year. Teams are hitting .264 against the bullpen and they've struck out 176 hitters and walked 77 batters. As a team, New York allows 9.5 hits per nine innings while striking out 9 batters per nine innings. They are 30th in the league in team earned run average at 5.09. The Mets pitchers collectively have given up 434 base hits and 232 earned runs. They have allowed 63 home runs this season, ranking them 7th in the league. New York as a pitching staff has walked 176 batters and struck out 412. They have walked 3.9 men per 9 innings while striking out 9 per 9. They have a team WHIP of 1.49 and their FIP as a unit is 4.45.
For expert handicapping advice on this matchup and other MLB games check out our handicapping tips.
As a team New York is hitting .240, good for 22nd in the league. The Mets hold a .420 team slugging percentage and an on-base percentage of .318, which is good for 18th in baseball. They rank 20th in MLB with 8.3 hits per game. Michael Conforto is hitting .336 with an on-base percentage of .429. He has 46 hits this season in 137 at bats with 32 runs batted in. He has a slugging percentage of .693 and an OPS+ of 193. Jay Bruce is hitting .248 this year and he has an on-base percentage of .328. He has totaled 41 hits and he has driven in 30 men in 165 at bats. His OPS+ is 118 while his slugging percentage is at .503. The Mets have 373 hits, including 85 doubles and 61 home runs. New York has walked 167 times so far this season and they have struck out 345 times as a unit. They have left 302 men on base and have a team OPS of .738. They score 5.04 runs per contest and have scored a total of 227 runs this year.
Pittsburgh has a 22-26 overall mark this year. With an earned run average of 3.36, Gerrit Cole has a 2-5 record and a 1.12 WHIP. He has 52 strikeouts over the 61.2 innings he's pitched. He's also given up 56 hits. He allows 8.2 hits per nine innings and his FIP stands at 3.92. The bullpen has an earned run average of 3.93 and they have given up 167 base hits on the year. Teams are hitting .263 against the Pirates bullpen. Their relievers have struck out 139 batters and walked 60 opposing hitters. As a team, Pittsburgh allows 9.5 hits per nine innings while striking out 7.3 batters per nine innings. They are 13th in the league in team earned run average at 4.14. The Pirates pitchers as a team have surrendered 448 base knocks and 196 earned runs this season. They have given up 48 home runs this year, which ranks 27th in Major League Baseball. Pittsburgh as a staff has walked 138 hitters and struck out 344 batters. They give up a walk 2.9 times per 9 innings while they strike out 7.3 per 9. Their team WHIP is 1.38 while their FIP as a staff is 3.99.
As a team, they are batting .236, good for 27th in the league. The Pirates hold a .378 team slugging percentage and an on-base percentage of .317, which is good for 20th in baseball. They rank 26th in MLB with 7.9 hits per contest. Josh Harrison comes into this matchup batting .304 with an OBP of .366. He has 52 hits this year along with 16 RBI in 171 AB's. He maintains a slugging percentage of .462 with an OPS+ of 117. Adam Frazier is hitting .361 this season and he has an OBP of .446. He has collected 35 hits in 97 at bats while driving in 18 runs. He has an OPS+ of 154 and a slugging percentage of .515. The Pirates as a unit have 379 base hits, including 72 doubles and 45 homers. Pittsburgh has walked 173 times this year and they have struck out on 343 occasions. They have had 335 men left on base and have an OPS of .695. They have scored 4.06 runs per game and totaled 195 runs this season.
Who will win tonight's Mets/Pirates MLB game against the spread?
Tony's Pick: Take the Mets +128
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Amid the chaos that was parliament's final sitting day for the year, Tony Abbott got to his feet and cleared his throat.
Over the next 20 minutes, tabling to a near-empty chamber the findings of his six-month sojourn as Indigenous envoy, the former prime minister continued down his curious path of optimism and condescension. He spoke of the "Australian paradox", of how "vast numbers of people from all around the world would literally risk death to be here, yet the First Australians often live in the conditions that people come to Australia to escape.
None of the insights Abbott brought back from his "most recent swing through remote schools" are new. These figures of disadvantage are long known. And, for the most part, his recommendations co-opt ideas that First Nations Australians have been putting to unreceptive governments for decades – higher pay for teachers in remote communities, more assistance for high-achieving students hoping to attend university.
That Abbott believes these to be his revelations alone shows he has not been listening. He is willing to contort the desires of community to suit his own ideological agenda – in the same breath condemning the jailing of people over paltry fines for school non-attendance and suggesting fines should be deducted instead from welfare payments.
This report is only further evidence Abbott sees his relationship with Indigenous Australia solely as a means to further his political career. It makes no mention of the Uluru Statement from the Heart, no mention of a First Nations Voice to Parliament. Instead, this has all just been a branding exercise for the self-proclaimed "prime minister for Indigenous affairs".
But the prospect of being able to effect meaningful change in people's lives has never been the game of politics for Abbott. This is a man who is jostling for a seat on a frontbench the polls indicate will likely find itself a shadow cabinet within six months. Rather than fighting for something he believes in, he'll scrap for a title until the bitter end.
This article was first published in the print edition of The Saturday Paper on Dec 8, 2018 as "Abbott's tour of himself". Subscribe here.


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Forest Lawn Memorial-Parks & Mortuaries is an American corporation that owns and operates a chain of cemeteries and mortuaries in Los Angeles, Orange, and Riverside counties in Southern California.

History
The company was founded by a group of San Francisco businessmen in 1906. Hubert Eaton assumed management control in 1917 and is credited with being Forest Lawn's "founder" because of his origination of the "memorial-park" plan. The first location was in Tropico, which later became part of Glendale, California.

Its facilities are officially known as memorial parks. The parks are best known for the large number of celebrity burials, especially in the Glendale and Hollywood Hills locations. Eaton opened the first mortuary (funeral home) on dedicated cemetery grounds after a battle with established funeral directors, who saw the "combination" operation as a threat. He remained as general manager until his death in 1966, when he was succeeded by his nephew, Frederick Llewellyn.

Memorial parks
 Forest Lawn Cemetery in Cathedral City, California
 Forest Lawn – Covina Hills in Covina Hills, Covina, California
 Forest Lawn – Cypress in Cypress, California
 Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Glendale, California
 Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Hollywood Hills, Los Angeles, California
 Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Long Beach, California

See also
 Forest Lawn (disambiguation)

References

External links

Cemeteries in California
Companies based in Los Angeles County, California
1906 establishments in California
Companies established in 1906

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


text:
Marilyn Monroe's first ever pin up shoot features her as naked sex goddess
The legendary Hollywood actress features in a Calendar girls book featuring pics of sex goddesses from the 40s, 50s, and 60s
Jamie MicklethwaiteAssistant News Editor
Marilyn Monroe 's first ever pin up picture has been uncovered where she appears completely naked.
The Calendar girls book portraying images of sex goddesses from the 40s, 50s and 60s, contains more than 350 images of pin-up models from the ages.
It was compiled by internationally acclaimed and award-winning photographer and author Jon Ortner and is one of the largest photographic pin-up collections in the world.
Featuring in the calendar is a rare picture of Hollywood superstar Marilyn Monroe, in what is believed to be her first pin-up shoot, taken in 1949.
Marilyn Monroe in her first ever pin up shot (Image: Schiffer Publishing Ltd/Jam Press)
At the time, Marilyn was a struggling actress trying to make in Hollywood at the age of 23.
It is believed she made $50 for posing for the naked picture for photographer Tom Kelley.
Amazon driver kicked pet dog six times
ISIS warlord so fat he's carried in 4x4
Farmer 'eaten by his own pigs'
Boy, 10, gets girl, 13, pregnant
The budding actress is shown posing naked against a red background, in the picture that was later featured in the first ever Playboy in 1953.
Despite its graphic content, the calendar aims to celebrate the female figure in the period of the sexual revolution.
The Hollywood megastar repeated the act on screen
In another photo, Diana Dors is pictured in a lacy black one-piece suit and her hair perfectly coiffed, seated on a lavish pin sofa as she posed fiercely for the camera.
The album contains pictures of the 20th century's most alluring models posing in sizzling shots.
Marilyn Monroe 'killed over bombshell diary revealing JFK's Area 51 secret'
The book spans over 397 pages, featuring Hollywood Glamour Girls, Pin-up queens, "The Girl Next Door", and various international models in saucy photos.
Marilyn was the darling of the 60s (Image: LMPC via Getty Images)
One picture shows a blonde model basking under the sun in a pool floatie wearing a strappy bikini, while another picture shows models posed kneeling down with fabric barely covering their intimates.
Some of the girls were completely nude, some shielding their breasts with flowers, a wine glass and even an umbrella.
Unseen pictures of Marilyn Monroe's 'naked corpse hidden in secret safe'
Others are pictured donning lacey outfits, holding up a line telephone while smiling at the camera lens.
Under each photo contains a calendar month written in an old typewriter font, representing the only machine used at the time to print written copy.
The hardcover calendar, published by Schiffer, is available to purchase on Amazon for $US50 and was published on November 28 this year.
Monroe is believed to have died in an overdose in 1962.
Conspiracy theorists have linked her death to JFK and even the criminal underworld.
Knife CrimeInnocent worker knifed to death by 'drunken youths' on industrial siteRobert Wilson, who worked at Thornton & Ross, is believed to have challenged the gang at the industrial site on Manchester Road, Linthwaite, for causing mayhem
Manchester United FCMan Utd fans taunt Ashley Young after arriving to nobody in Milan for Inter transfer
Young flew to Italy from Old Trafford this morning as he finalises a £1.3m move – but fans laid into their former player and even compared it to Romelu Lukaku's reception last summer