Why Rick Perry would make a great President

Posted by Rick on in Politics 0 Comment

Why Rick Perry would make a great President

Merely based on these stats;

Texas standings against all 50 states on a variety of issues (1st means highest ranking, 50th means lowest ranking).

• State Aid Per Pupil in Average Daily Attendance – 47th

• Scholastic Assessment Test (SAT) Scores – 45th

• % of Population 25 and Older with High School Diploma – 50th

• High School Graduation Rate – 43rd

• Per Capita State Spending on State Arts Agencies – 43rd

• Birth Rate – 2nd

• Percent of Uninsured Children – 1st

• Percent of Children Living in Poverty – 4th

• Percent of Population Uninsured – 1st

• Percent of Non-Elderly Uninsured – 1st

• Percent of Low Income Population Covered by Medicaid – 49th

• Percent of Population with Employer-Based Health Insurance – 48th

• Total Health Expenditures as % of the Gross State Product – 43rd

• Per Capita State Spending on Mental Health – 50th

• Per Capita State Spending on Medicaid – 49th

• Health Care Expenditures per Capita – 44th

• Physicians per Capita – 42nd

• Registered Nurses per Capita – 44th

• Average Monthly Women, Infant, and Children (WIC) Benefits per Person – 47th

• Percent of Population Who Visit the Dentist – 46th

• Overall Birth Rate – 2nd

• Teenage Birth Rate – 7th

• Births to Unmarried Mothers – 17th

• Percent of Women with Pre-Term Birth – 9th

• Percent of Non-Elderly Women with Health Insurance – 50th

• Rate of Women Aged 40+ Who Receive Mammograms – 40th

• Cervical Cancer Rate – 11th

• Percent of Women with High Blood Pressure – 16th

• Percent of Pregnant Women Receiving Prenatal Care in First Trimester – 50th

• Women’s Voter Registration – 45th

• Women’s Voter Turnout – 49th

• Percent of Women Living in Poverty – 6th

• Mortgage Debt as Percent of Home Value – 47th

• Foreclosure Rates – 10th

• Median Net Worth of Households – 47th

• Average Credit Score – 49th

• Retirement Plan Participation – 47th

• Amount of Carbon Dioxide Emissions – 1st

• Amount of Volatile Organic Compounds Released into Air – 1st

• Amount of Toxic Chemicals Released into Water – 1st

• Amount of Recognized Cancer-Causing Carcinogens Released into Air – 1st

• Amount of Hazardous Waste Generated – 1st

• Amount of Toxic Chemicals Released into Air – 5th

• Amount of Recognized Cancer-Causing Carcinogens Released into Water – 7th

• Number of Hazardous Waste Sites on National Priority List – 7th

• Consumption of Energy per Capita – 5th

• Workers’ Compensation Coverage – 50th

• Income Inequality Between the Rich and the Poor – 9th

• Income Inequality Between the Rich and the Middle Class – 5th

• Homeowner’s Insurance Affordability – 46th

• Number of Executions – 1st

Simple Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe

Posted by Rick on in Recipe 0 Comment

Simple Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe

This is my absolutely favorite Chocolate Chip Cookie recipe. I try not to make these very often because I’ll eat the entire batch in one go.

Yield: Makes 32 cookies

Ingredients
• 1/2 cup (1/4 lb.) butter, melted and cooled to room temperature
• 1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar
• 1/3 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips (6 oz.)
• 1/2 cup chopped pecans (optional)

Preparation
1. In a bowl, with an electric mixer on medium speed, beat butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar until well blended. Beat in 3 tablespoons water and the vanilla until smooth, scraping down sides of bowl as needed.
2. In another bowl, mix flour, baking soda, and salt. Stir or beat into butter mixture until well incorporated. Stir in chocolate chips and pecans, if using.
3. Drop dough in 1-tablespoon portions, 2 inches apart, onto buttered 12- by 15-inch baking sheets.
4. Bake in a 300° oven until edges of cookies are browned, but an area about 1-inch wide in the center is still pale, about 14 minutes; if baking more than one pan at a time, switch pan positions halfway through baking.
5. With a wide spatula, transfer cookies to racks to cool. If hot cookies start to break, slide a thin spatula under them to release; let stand on pan to firm up, 2 to 5 minutes, then transfer to racks to cool completely.

Options
None. These are perfect the way they are!

Two-Tone Chocolate Fudge recipe

Posted by Rick on in Recipe 0 Comment

Two-Tone Chocolate Fudge recipe

Ingredients
(Makes about 2 1/2 pounds)
2 cups (12 ounces) semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 (11 1/2-ounce) package milk chocolate chips
1 (14-ounce) can Eagle Brand Sweetened Condensed Milk (NOT evaporated milk)
2 tablespoons coffee cream or milk
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup chopped walnuts

Directions
In saucepan, over low heat, melt semi-sweet chocolate chips with 2/3 cup sweetened condensed milk, 1 tablespoon cream and 1 teaspoon vanilla. Remove from heat; stir in 1/2 cup walnuts. Spread into aluminum foil-lined 9-inch square pan. In another saucepan, over low heat, melt milk chocolate chips with remaining sweetened condensed milk, 1 tablespoon cream and 1 teaspoon vanilla. Remove from heat; stir in remaining 1/2 cup walnuts. Spread over fudge in pan. Chill 2 hours or until firm. Turn fudge onto cutting board; peel off foil and cut into squares. Store loosely covered at room temperature.

Options
The chocolate can be melted in the microwave for quicker fudge

RPG: Dread Pirate King Borloff

Posted by Rick on in RPG 0 Comment

RPG: Dread Pirate King Borloff

Borloff is a good generic Pirate Captain for D20 Fantasy games.

Description: Borloff was born into piracy. His father raised Borloff to replace him from an early age. By the age of fifteen he had risen through the ranks, doing every job possible aboard ship before taking command of his own sloop. Borloff is somewhat of a lovable swindler. He has friends and enemies in many ports, usually the same person. He knows it’s only a matter of time before finally being caught, and will quit piracy “after just one more successful capture.” Unfortunately that last job never quite turns out as successful as it needs to be, and he usually forgoes his own share of the loot to be sure the crew gets enough.

Stats:
Borloff, male human Rog12: CR 12; Size M (5 ft., 9 in. tall); HD 12d6-12; hp 39; Init +8 (+4 Dex, +4 Improved Initiative); Spd 30 ft.; AC 14 (+4 Dex); Attack +10/+5 melee, or +13/+8 ranged; SV Fort +3, Ref +12, Will +6; AL CE; Str 13, Dex 18, Con 9, Int 14, Wis 15, Cha 11. Languages Spoken: Common, Giant, Ignan. Skill points: Rog 165 Skills and feats: Balance +13, Bluff +11, Climb +16, Decipher Script +19, Disable Device +17, Hide +14, Jump +15, Listen +2, Move Silently +16, Open Lock +11, Search +15, Sense Motive +16, Spot +17, Swim +16; Blind-Fight, Deceitful, Diligent, [Evasion], Improved Initiative, Power Attack. Possessions: 27,000 gp in gear.

Adventure Hooks:

– Borloff “left” a map in the possession of one of his many acquaintances on shore. They’re pretty sure that it’s worthless and offer to sell it cheap a member of the party. The map can be as real or unreal as possible, but should include some seemingly nonsense and random directions. (Take the fifth up after the green door)

– The party needs a ship. Borloff has one and offers to rent it cheap.

– The party needs a job. Borloff happens to have one, he just needs some help delivering a trifling little trinket to one of his admirers. Unfortunately the young lady in question is the daughter of the local merchant who has lost many a ship to Borloff’s raids, and has put a large reward on his head.

– The crew has mutinied. Borloff finds himself captain of a crew-less ship and Shanghais the party to fill in “temporarily.”

RPG: Manor’s Mindsight Spell

Posted by Rick on in Uncategorized 0 Comment

RPG: Manor’s Mindsight Spell

Originally part of the Landforger Project on Fidonet. Written for AD&D, but with little modification will work in DND D20

Manor’s Mindsight
Alteration
Level: 5
Range: special
Duration: 1 Turn/lvl.
Area of Effect: Creature Touched
Components: V,S,M
Casting Time: 6
Save: None

By means of this spell, a wizard gains the ability to “see” everything within a range of 20′ plus 10/ per two levels of the caster, regardless of intervening objects of any sort. No actual sensory organs are needed for the spell to function, and thus the mage may be blindfolded or in a completely dark room while using the mindsight spell. Furthermore, everything within the radius of the spell is perceived simultaneously; hence there is no need for the mage to look up or down to “see” objects above or below him.

Mind sight does not light a darkened area, though, so the mage would still perceive a dark room as a dark room, not a lighted one. The mage may overcome this obstacle by using the mindsight spell in conjunction with a darksense, infravision, or ultravision spell.

When using Manor’s Mindsight, a mage may not perceive illusions or phantasms for what they really are (unless his intelligence would normally allow him to distinguish between the illusion and reality), nor may he distinguish between magical objects and non-magical items, or make distinctions of alignment. Similarly, the mage cannot see traps, tricks, pits, magical symbols, or other invisible or magically concealed items or objects, unless he would be able to detect such items normally. A mage may surmount the problem by casting spells such as detect invisible, detect evil, detect magic, etc. previous to the actual casting of mindsight. These spells may be used with mindsight even if the radius of such spells are not equal to the radius of the mindsight spell.

The mage maintain the mindsight spell without concentration, and may move, cast spells, and engage in other activities while mindsight is in effect. If the mage wishes to view anything through the spell, however, he must concentrate and is then unable to move, cast spells, or engage in any strenuous activities. If the mage is attacked while concentrating on the mindsight, the spell is not ruined and the caster may resume viewing after combat is resolved.

The material component of the spell is the preserved eye of a blink dog, which is reusable.