Merry Christmas 2018

Sometimes, the kindest gift of all is the gift of time and attention.

Thank you for your lovely Christmas Presence.

Merry Christmas & a Happy Hearth's Warming!

https://www.deviantart.com/paintedhoofprints/art/Merry-Christmas-from-Fluttershy-341743363

Don We Now Our Gay Apparel

https://www.123rf.com/photo_69713519_stock-vector-kids-in-elfes-costumes-going-christmas-caroling-flat-vector-illustration.html

Deck the Halls exhorts me to don my Gay Apparel. Okay, but is Gay Apparel light, medium, or heavy armor? I need to know this so I know how many turns it will take me to don (or hastily don) it!

Of course, given that people wearing said Gay Apparel are singers, that means they're probably bards, and bards only wear light armor because that doesn't interfere with their spellcasting.

And there's probably a benefit to singing while wearing Gay Apparel, because otherwise the carolers wouldn't be doing it as a group.

You know where this is going, right?


Gay Apparel
Light Armor
Aura: faint illusion
Caster Level: 6th
Cost: 4,150 gp

Gay apparel is a +2 reinforced tunic of red, green and white, usually decorated with bells and festive designs of snowflakes, candy canes and reindeer. Because it is essentially a shirt, gay apparel can be donned or doffed as a move action (this is a specific property of the item). While wearing gay apparel, the wearer gains a +2 circumstance bonus on Bluff, Diplomacy, and Sense Motive checks made specifically to attract, flirt with, or romantically influence a creature. The GM is the final arbiter of whether a given check qualifies as seduction.

When worn by anyone possessing bardic performance, gay apparel grants the Lingering Performance feat. When worn by anyone with at least one rank in Perform: Sing, it grants the use of the Basic Harmony teamwork feat even if they lack the prerequisites.

Construction Requirements: Craft Magic Arms and Armor, auditory hallucination, heroism; Cost 2075 gp

Special: The creator must possess the Lingering Performance and Basic Harmony feats.

Gay Apparel, Lesser
Light Armor
Aura: faint illusion
Caster Level: 3rd
Cost: 1,150 gp

Lesser gay apparel functions as gay apparel, except it is a +1 reinforced tunic and does not grant the Lingering Performance feat. In addition, the circumstance bonus it grants on Bluff, Diplomacy, and Sense Motive checks made for seduction is only +1. 

Construction Requirements: Craft Magic Arms and Armor, auditory hallucination; Cost 575 gp 

Special: The creator must possess the Basic Harmony feat.

 

Gay Apparel, Greater
Light Armor
Aura: moderate illusion
Caster Level: 9th
Cost: 24,150 gp

Greater gay apparel functions as gay apparel, except it is a +3 reinforced tunic, its circumstance bonus on Bluff, Diplomacy, and Sense Motive checks made for seduction is +3, and it possesses the harmonizing special armor ability.

Construction Requirements: Craft Magic Arms and Armor, auditory hallucination, heroism, major image; Cost 12,075 gp

Special: The creator must possess the Lingering Performance and Basic Harmony feats.

 

Don your bard-assisting tunic!

Fa-la-la-la-la, la-la-la-la!

It's very quick, no need to panic!

Fa-la-la-la-la, la-la-la-la!

It doesn't take a Standard Action!

Fa-la-la, la-la-la, la-la-la!

Just a Move, so get to crackin'!

Fa-la-la-la-la, la-la-la-la!

Apologies for my Absence

I know I haven't been posting much lately. Part of that has been due to increased familial demands on my time / general holiday craziness -- there's a reason why I typically take a break from blogging in late December -- but part of it has been health-related.

I don't know when it started, but at some point I didn't have as much energy as I used to. Not only was I lethargic, but my brain felt sleepy; I couldn't think as quickly as I used to and my creativity steeply declined. All I wanted to was just chill out and quietly read or play on the computer instead of writing or working on Operation Blazing Sword / Pink Pistols.

At first, I thought it was just seasonal depression brought on by the anniversary of the dog attack and the usual holiday blahs, being compounded by all the awful political infighting and name-calling that's happening across social media.

Then at some point I had a realization: I had gone through this exact scenario before and I'd fixed it with a daily iron supplement. And, oh yeah, I'd stopped taking daily iron because the doctor I'd seen after the dog attack told me I didn't need it and should go off of it. And just like before, I've been craving meat (usually red meat) and having trouble thinking clearly and expressing myself properly.

I find it a bit strange that it took about a year for me to begin suffering effects from whatever mild anemia I have, but whatever, my body is weird in general.

So I took an iron supplement the night I made the connection and the next morning, I wasn't exhausted all morning and half the afternoon. I actually felt well-rested. I had not one but two really neat ideas (one political, one geeky) that basically crept up and dope-slapped me upside the head.

I feel like MYSELF for the first time in literal months.

So yeah, to hell with that doctor. I'm back on iron (don't freak out, it's only 50mg a day, not a massive dose) and I'm feeling good again. The cobwebs have been cleared and I'm thinking once again.

I expect to begin posting actual good stuff soon.


(Please, no comments from the Cult of Cast Iron regarding how all I need to do is cook my food in cast iron pans. I need more than whatever piddly amount leeches into the food.)

ACP Episode 036: The Brain Worms

In This Episode:

• Erin and Weer’d Talk about some recent political drama with a certain hosting site;
• Oddball gives us some of his observations on Cold Steel Knives, as well as the company behind them;
• Weer'd Fisks an interesting series from Viceland about guns called "Maybe I'm Wrong";
• and David begins a series on concealed carry options, starting with belt carry.

Listen to the episode here.

Did you know that we have a Patreon? Join now for the low, low cost of $4/month (that’s $1/podcast) and you’ll get to listen to our podcast on Friday instead of Mondays, as well as patron-only content like mag dump episodes and our hilarious blooper reels and film tracks.


Show Notes

Main Topic

• [Site] BANNED Sargon And Now Everyone is Canceling
• You Cannot Trust [Site]

Oddball's Corner Pocket

• Lynn Thompson Questionable Range Behavior

Weer'd Audio Fisk

• Maybe I'm Wrong: On Mental Health and Gun Ownership
• Maybe I'm Wrong: Gun Bans Don't Work
• Maybe I'm Wrong: Regulating Guns like Cars
• Maybe I'm Wrong: Media Coverage of Mass Shootings
• Maybe I'm wrong, but guns might do more to harm than protect
• Weapon types used in mass shootings in the United States between 1982 and November 2018
• Lawdog: We License cars
• Assorted Calibers Podcast Ep 029

Gun Lovers and Other Strangers

• Can Appendix Carry Work for Big Dudes?

ACP Episode 035: Grumpy Old Podcasters

In This Episode:

• Erin and Weer’d Talk about home defense and guns they want for Christmas;
• They also discuss the story of a Harvard student who was asked to move out of her apartment by her landlord because of her legally owned guns;
• Weer'd fisks Cory Booker as he talks gun control with Jordan Klepper;
• Oddball talks about the different types of locking mechanisms folding knives have;
• and Steve takes a day off to talk about what the future has in store for his Private Investigator business.

Listen to the episode here.

Did you know that we have a Patreon? Join now for the low, low cost of $4/month (that’s $1/podcast) and you’ll get to listen to our podcast on Friday instead of Mondays, as well as patron-only content like mag dump episodes and our hilarious blooper reels and film tracks.


Show Notes

Main Topic

• Landlord Tells Harvard Student to Move Out Over Legally Owned Guns
• Gun Safety PSA | Andi Mack | Disney Channel

Weer’d Audio Fisk

• Jordan Klepper Solves Guns - Senator Cory Booker on Guns and Bacon
• 12 Leading Causes of Death in the US
• What does it take to repeal a constitutional amendment?
• The Eighteenth Amendment

Happy Hanukkah, Everypony!

Happy Hanukkah to my Jewish friends!

http://pixelkitties.deviantart.com/art/Hanukkah-Ponies-274390859

Now I need to explain to my non-Jewish friends what is going on in this picture.

During Hanukkah, children play a game with a dreidel (a four-sided spinning top, pronounced dray-del) for chocolate coins called gelt.  The rules of the game are as follows:

• Each player begins with an equal amount of gelt, usually 5 or 10 pieces.
• Each player puts one gelt into the center "pot" at the beginning of the game. 
• Each player also puts one gelt into the pot at the end of every player's turn.
• Each player spins the dreidel once during their turn. What happens next depends on which side lands face-up:
• If נ‬ (nun) is facing up, the player does nothing. 
• If ג‬ (gimel) is facing up, the player gets everything in the pot.
• If ה‬ (hey) is facing up, the player gets half of the geltin the pot. If there are an odd number of gelt, they take the half the pot rounded up.
• If ש‬ (shin) is facing up, the player adds one gelt to the pot.
• When you run out of gelt, you're out of the game. 

Yes, it's basically kids gambling for chocolate. This explains why Pinkie Pie (ostensibly an adult pony) is playing; she loves all things sugary. Apparently she keeps winning the pot (probably due to her Pinkie Sense) and Rarity is irritated that her little sister is getting "taken". 

Don't worry, Sweetie Belle! I'm sure Pinkie will share when the game is done. 

Now, for you adults who don't feel like gambling for chocolate, how about a drinking game instead? Here are the rules for Drinking Dreidel (also known as “Drink & Drei” or “Fatal Dreidel” if you’re playing with tequila), written by Molly Tolsky

• If נ‎ (nun) is facing up, you do nothing. Sounds boring, but believe me, when the game gets rolling, you’ll be grateful for those precious nuns (there’s a sentence I never thought I’d write on a Jewish website).
• • If ש‎ (shin) is facing up, you take a drink. In regular dreidel, shin means put one in. In this case, you’re putting one in… to your mouth.
• • If ה‎ (hey) is facing up, you choose somebody else to take a drink, specifically by saying, “Hey ___, take a drink.”
• • If ג‎ (gimel) is facing up, everybody takes a drink! But first you all must shout, “GIMEL!!!” and clink glasses. Don’t skip over that step — it’s important for overall morale.

Want to buy a dreidel? Amazon has them. 

ACP Episode 034: Stupid Laws

In This Episode:

• Erin and Weer’d talk about the recent Massachusetts appellate court ruling that firearm license restrictions are constitutional;
• Oddball gives us a primer on the various knife laws around the country;
• Weer'd gives us part two of the Young Turks losing their mind over guns;
• David discusses the basics of metallic cartridge reloading;
• and Steve takes a break from doing paperwork at the local Tire Center to discuss tailing and pursuit techniques.

Listen to the episode here.

Did you know that we have a Patreon? Join now for the low, low cost of $4/month (that’s $1/podcast) and you’ll get to listen to our podcast on Friday instead of Mondays, as well as patron-only content like mag dump episodes and our hilarious blooper reels and film tracks.


Show Notes

Main Topic

• Wolfenoot
• Firearms Restrictions in Boston are Constitutional
• Court Rules Gun License Restrictions Are "Constitutional"

Oddball’s Corner Pocket

• KnifeUp state laws page
• KnifeRights

Weer’d Audio Fisk

• NRA Cartoon Markets Guns to Kids
• Texas church shooting not the first time a good guy with gun takes down mass shooter
• New Jersey Childproof Handgun Law
• Criminals Typically Acquire Guns Through Social Connections, Studies Find

Gun Lovers and Other Strangers

• Basics of Reloading Playlist