Christmas Message to Poland Warsaw Missionaries and Families

At this Christmas season, we feel a real need to tell each one of you--missionaries, spouses and children--how well we remember you, how much we love you and how thankful we are that we could serve with you among the Poles. Those were special days which we will always cherish. And you missionaries were the best part. We hope you will share with your children your mission experiences and testimonies so that they will develop their own faith, find happiness and peace in life and carry on this magnificent work.
Last Monday we were in the Salt Lake Temple attending the sealing for Brother Mariusz Redzikowski and his bride, Jonelle. Some of you may remember him. He tried to teach Sister Tobler and me Polish before we arrived in Poland, but as all of you will remember, was not completely successful. We have felt gratitude and attachment to him ever since. The sealing, with its spirit, was a beautiful and moving reminder to us of what is important in life. Three former Poland Warsaw mission presidents and wives--Whipple, Tobler, Lewis--were there. We talked about our wonderful missionaries.
A decade or more later, we still pray for you. We know that our Heavenly Father lives in His Heaven and knows and loves each one of us. We feel love and gratitude to the Lord Jesus Christ for His pure life, His teachings and example and His infinite atonement that will bring all of us back together again, if that is what we want and we live for it. We can hardly believe how blessed we are in being members of His Church and enjoying all of the blessings that come with it. We love and sustain the prophets of God, past and present, and thank them for their legacy of faith and faithfulness to us. Every blessing we have received--and more--we wish for you.
Those of you who are good at math will know that Sister Tobler and I are getting older. I am 76 and she will be 75 on Christmas Day, hence, the name, Carol Joy. Our health is pretty good; we can't complain. Our life is enriched daily by four loving children and spouses, 17 grandchildren (16 living) and now three great grandchildren, a boy and identical twin girls. As my father-in-law used to say, "Had we known the joy of grandchildren, we would have had them first."
May the Lord bless each one of you with the real blessings of Christ and the Christmas season--peace, contentment, love, joy and a desire to serve the Master by serving His children.
Wesolych Swiat and may the Lord bless you.
Love,
Prez. i Siostra Tobler

Mists of Panderia - World of Warcraft Screensaver

mists-of-pandaria-1920x1080.jpg (1920×1080)

5.2 and 5.3 Frost DK macro
 /castsequence [mod] Raise Dead; reset=target Howling Blast,Plague Strike,null
/castsequence [combat] reset=0.3 0,0,0,0,0,Plague Leech
/castsequence reset=0.3 0,0,0,0,Frost Strike
/castsequence reset=0.3 0,0,0,Obliterate
/castsequence reset=0.3 0,0,Soul Reaper
/castsequence reset=0.3 0,Horn of Winter
/castsequence reset=5/target Howling Blast,Plague Strike
/cast [combat] Pillar of Frost
/cast [combat] Empower Rune Weapon
/startattack

DIY antennas: Build your own DTV antenna!

DIY antennas: Build your own DTV antenna!

http://cdn.makezine.com/make/television/04/DTVAntennaFINAL.pdf

Diablo 3 Monk Gear Guide by Modz

DatModz

F.A.Q

How do your Giveaways work? When do they occur?

I do my giveaways randomly and they will always follow this format, "I am going to pick a number between 1-99, you get to guess this number! You get only 1 guess, the closest guess to the number I wrote down wins the giveaway! In order to qualify you must be a follower of the stream and on US servers! Don't guess yet, I will tell you when I wrote down the number!", LET THE BEST MAN OR WOMAN WIN!

What website do you use to calculate your dps/upgrades 

I use TheAsianGamer Damage Calculator , I find it to be the most accurate and you can save your profiles.

What are your stat priorities on gear?

For each slot I focus on:

• Weapons: (Mainhand)- High DPS(Damage Range) so you want a slow weapon ie. Mace, Spear, Axe with a Socket, Critical Hit Damage, Dexterity, Vitality, (Offhand) - High DPS(with a fast weapon) 200+ Dexterity, as close to 100% critical hit damage, Socket and Vitality
• Helm : Dexterity, Critical Hit Chance, Resistances, Socket , Life %, FoT Skill Modifier
• Shoulders :Dexterity, Vitality, Resistances, Life %, +Armor
• Chest : Dexterity, Vitality, 3 sockets, Resistances, +Armor
• Pants : Dexterity, Vitality, 2 sockets, Resistances, + armor
• Belt: Dexterity, Vitality, Resistances, Armor or Life %, Pick-up Radius
• Gloves: Dexterity, Vitality, Resistances, Attack Speed, Critical Hit Chance, Critical Hit Damage
• Boots: Dexterity, Vitality, Movement Speed, Resistances, +Armor
• Bracers: Dexterity, Vitality, Critical Hit Chance, Resistances, Reduced Damage from Melee
• Rings: Dexterity, Vitality, Resistances, Attack Speed, Critical Hit Chance, Critical Hit Damage
• Amulet: Dexterity, Vitality, Life after kill, Resistances, Critical Hit Chance, Critical Hit Damage, Attack Speed

What are the max damage modifier values for each of these slots?

• Criticial Hit Chance Values:
• Gloves, up to 10%
• Amulets, up to 8.5%
• Bracers, up to 6%
• Helms, up to 6%
• Rings, up to 4.5%
• Critical Hit Damage Values
• Weapons, up to 100%, Emeralds add another 100% Max, if the weapon has a socket
• Amulets, up to 65%
• Gloves, up to 50%
• Rings, up to 34%
• Attack Speed Values: 
• Weapons, up to 11%
• Amulets, up to 9%
• Gloves, up to 9%

Spec: http://us.battle.net/d3/en/calculator/monk#aSYXgk!aXU!accbYa

Witch Doctor Inferno Guide

http://us.battle.net/d3/en/forum/topic/5912812016

 Heleon

 I've recently been shown an incredibly overpowered witch doctor build that can be used to solo virtually everything in the game with minimal gear required.

 The set up is: Acid Cloud--->Acid Rain

Grasp of the Dead--->Groping Eels

Spirit Walk--->Jaunt

Horrify--->Frightening Aspect

Big Bad Voodoo--->Rain Dance

Gargantuan--->Big Stinker

Passives: Jungle Fortitude, Vision Quest, Spirit Vessel.

 http://us.battle.net/d3/en/calculator/witch-doctor#ZTUXiQ!ZUV!ZYaYaZ

 Basic this build revolves around spamming Acid cloud while stacking life on hit, defense, and chance to freeze.

 Every time your acid cloud ticks it has a chance to proc the % chance to freeze effect, therefore, when you spam it, the freeze proc is constantly going off as long as you have a decent set which means mobs are permanently frozen in place if you set it up correctly, elite mobs can literally do nothing, same thing with bosses.

 And because each tick procs life on hit with a decent LoH amount you will be able to sit in any affix and basically tank it because you will be getting healed for something like 40-60k per second.

 If set up correctly you can stand next to inferno diablo and simply perma freeze him, preventing from using any ability or even transitioning phases.

 This build works even better if you have multiple which doctors in the party.

 Sorry I have no vid at the moment but try it for yourselves:) you won't do a ton of damage but you can literally clear any content in the game as all mobs including elite packs and bosses will be permanently stunned by your freeze on hit proc, so all you have to worry about is affixes which you simply tank with standard defense stats combined with life on hit constantly proccing from your acid cloud.

 Enjoy :D

Peli: How to solo inferno as a Monk from experience

http://us.battle.net/d3/en/forum/topic/5825482987

Hi all, I've seen a lot of complaining about monks in Inferno and people complaining that melee in general is not viable. I just wanted to inspire the community to believe that you don't need to be a full time player or real money spender to get through inferno. All you need is the ability to itemize, budget your income well, and pick the skills that fit your play style best.

I wanted to write a guide describing how I got through Inferno (Diablo and all). The build I used, the game changing items I bought, and general gear selection strategies. I also wanted to toss in some general auction house strategies that you may find helpful.

Key Concepts
Getting the most out of your primary
Sweeping wind = Free Dps
More spirit than you can shake a stick at
Mitigating damage through mobility and well timed invulnerability as well as resistance
Maximizing dps time and countering burst through use of cc, mobility, and invulnerability.

Skill Selection and explanation
http://us.battle.net/d3/en/calculator/monk#aYgiTh!ZXU!acYZYa

This is the build I used from Act I on. I'm convinced that it truly is the best build out there.

My League of Legends partner and I came up with it and named it:
"The build of answers" because it effectively counters every gimmicky fight in this game along with nearly every combination of affixes that elites can throw at you.

The best part of it is that the build can be used to kite or to stick on to ranged targets.
This makes it great if you are hunting down a treasure goblin or ranged elite or if you are kiting a pack of fire chainers.

I'll now go through each skill and explain it's uses:

Fists of Lightening: Thunderclap

Who would of thought that the very first primary with the very first rune would be what I'd stick with all the way through? Well...I did. The primary is literally the most broken thing monks have going for them. The skill does more damage per second than any other primary, while providing great mobility, while damaging in AoE, while CCing everything in AoE, while generating more spirit than any other primary. And...it proc's life on hit twice in AoE per attack. You can also jump over projectiles and damaging magic affects with the teleport and not take damage.

Blinding Flash: Faith in the Light

This skill is exceptional at providing burst damage, while also opening up an opportunity to freely deal damage. The Faith in the Light rune will proc twice for each Fists of Lightning strike and works off the AoE component to clear a crowd in no time or provide exception burst damage against a single target.

Blinding Flash also is great for interruption, especially against bosses. "Oh you wanted to do your signature move Diablo? NOT TODAY!" It makes Hammer Lords and other monsters with big swings very manageable.

Serenity: Ascension

I've always run ascension over PR. It's just plain better. The extra second of invulnerability will provide you the ability to make more attacks to gain more life and will out weigh the heal once you have a decent amount of life on hit while effectively dealing more damage. The cd also begins refreshing upon activation. Longer duration means a shorter CD.

Sweeping Wind: Blade Storm

This skill makes it possible for a monk with 20k dps to out damage a DH or Wizard with 4 times the damage on their paper doll. It's steady, reliable, free dps in AoE. While kiting mobs I constantly burn them with this skill. It's a necessary part of an inferno monk's kit IMO. It also will constantly apply and refresh resolve even while CC'd.

Seven Sided Strike: Sustained Attack

This skill is the most under-rated skill in the monk's kit. I've used it since I unlocked it and it's allowed me to win. It's a cleanse, heal, aggro shed, burst dps, ranged dps, invulnerability skill all wrapped into one.

The most obvious benefit is the invulnerability. You can avoid an arcane sentry, molten explosion/frozen explosion, a big swing, or a projectile by timing the skill well. With some life on hit (or spirit spent) it also will give you a decent heal. The damage it deals is phenomenal against a single target or a target that is hovering over an area that can't be accessed (or on the other side of a wall). Monsters also forget you exist and go chasing after your Merc (or mystic ally if you run one) which is very handy if you get yourself surrounded.
The ability is also great for keeping your 3 stack of sweeping wind and giving the enemy elites a poke at range.

I enjoy sustained attack because it provides me with the tool more often. With a 7 second shorter cd I can alternate between this and serenity to enjoy cc immunity/burst damage immunity every 5 seconds over the course of an extended fight. That strategy counters almost every boss in this game and many elites!

Mantra of Evasion: Hard Target

This mantra is excellent to keep your armor on par with your resistance. Right now, self buffed, I'm enjoying 72.80% mitigation from armor and 72.84% from resistance. It closes that gap between your resistances and armor nicely and makes grabbing dex with seize the initiative more rewarding.

The mantra itself is also really amazing. It gives me about 10% more dodge passively and an additional 9% or so when I activate it to give me a 54% chance to dodge in a pinch. That's huge against melee elites as you can use the active on this mantra to avoid damage spikes between cds. This is way way more useful than the pathetic life regen of MoH with time of need, especially since it has a broken active atm (Blizz plz fix).

One with Everything: Mandatory! Stacking a single resistance is a cheap and effective way to get a lot of stats for not a lot of gold. Getting 40+ of the same resist on each piece is not expensive but is very very effective and even more cost effective.

Seize the initiative: This skill scales with you. Upon entering inferno, chances are that its not going to be as good for you as Transcendence. Upon achieving 1000 dex you should consider switching Transcendence out for Seize as it will effectively decrease incoming damage by 25% at that point.

Resolve: This ability is the tried and true passive that I've used since normal mode. At no point should it ever be replaced unless you are rolling a Dw/ 2-hander glass cannon spec. At low levels, it vastly out performs Seize and at high levels it vastly out performs transcendence. So it always has a spot in your build.

Itemizing your Monk

First off, every so often, go to the AH and don't buy anything. Instead go to the sell tab and look at each piece of gear. Honestly question each piece's strength and try and replace the weakest link.

IT IS OF UTMOST IMPORTANCE:

1) Keep your weapon up to date (dps / attack speed is all that matters)
2) Keep your Amulet up to date (600 life on hit amulets out perform EVERYTHING! and they are vastly less expensive than IAS amulets. (It doesn't even need other stats tbh.))
3) Keep your Shield up to date (It is huge to keep your armor value up to par, AND to have a shield with a good block percentage AND amount)
4) If those 3 pieces are sitting nicely, then upgrade your weakest slot.

What to look for in a weapon:

First off, base attack speed. Monks should really only be using daggers and fist weapons unless they find something with 25% IAS on it. You don't want to use anything with an attack rate under 1.4. Ideally, you want something with an attack rate over 1.6.

DON'T WASTE YOUR GOLD ON LoH WEAPONS! The reason these are so over priced is because the people buying them are guys that have Diablo on farm and have tons of gold for upgrades. It's a huge distraction for anyone progressing and a huge waste of gold.

You can get plenty enough LoH using your ring and amulet slots. Again,
DO NOT SACRIFICE DPS FOR LoH!

Jewelry:

Get a 600 LoH amulet. The is the most affordable slot to get lots of LoH. If you can find one with good other stats and your stacked resist, all the better. Don't waste 12 million on a poorly rolled Blackthorne's Medal!!!

You can find very reasonably priced rings with other stats and 250+ LoH on AH. I'd recommend finding rings with your stacked resist + LoH (dex is expensive in this slot and IAS is way way expensive [but really good if you can find it]).

Armor:

Try to get stuff with 40+ resist of your stacked resist. It's cheap and effective!
Also look for all resist, dex, and if possible vit or %life
However! The amount of each is more important than having all of them. People will try to charge you 10 million for a piece with 100 dex and 100 vit on it. But will only charge you 3 million for a piece with the same stats but 200 vit or 200 dex on it. Keep an eye on these things!
I have 4 dedicated "HP" slots with minimal dex and the rest of my gear has no HP on it at all but tons of dex.
AND I SAVED TONS OF MONEY DOING IT THAT WAY!

Some things to look for when building gear:

A socket and % damage for your primary on your helm. The rest of the stats don't have to be anything special but these two are really powerful! I have 9% bonus damage to FoL and 15% extra hp on my helm, some resist and minimal dex and vit +armor for my helm. I spent 900k on it and I couldn't find an upgrade for 10 mill...

Movement speed on boots: I run 12% MS on some sage's seekers that I picked up for under a million. Move speed is so so effective for kiting, dodging things manually, and keeping your dps in time high.

Attack speed on gloves: This is a very easy way to get lots of dps for not a huge cost.

Block and crit on shield: block is a given. Crit on gloves will cost you millions with a high amount of dex and IAS. But it goes for a fraction of the cost on shields since DH don't run shields. It's a great way to improve your dps!

Here is the compendium done by Unleashed. Use it!
http://us.battle.net/d3/en/forum/topic/5573705891

When itemizing the following things are most important (in corresponding order):

1) Life on Hit: Since your weapon won't have this, you have 3 slots to work with. Use all three of them to get your LoH above 1k.
2) IAS: An expensive little stat, best picked up on your weapon and gloves. Rings with both LoH and IAS are over costed, avoid them unless you find a reasonably priced gem. Keep your attack's per second around or above 2.
3) The resist you are stacking: Cheap and effective. It's the central focus across your armor slots!
4) Dex: Armor, dodge chance, and Damage. What's not to love?
5) Resist all: (int/9 counts) valuable in large doses in combination with 40+ of the resist you are stacking to get that resist all stat up there.
6) Armor: (strength counts) Dex is the best source of armor but +armor and high base armor is beneficial.
6) Vitality/%life: Use both in combination for max effect. Look for a few items with massive amounts of HP plus your stacked resist. Get your health pool over 28k and focus on your resistances. Anything that can 1 shot you with high resists and armor at this hp pool is slow enough or predictable enough to avoid. High resists and low hp means inflated value of LoH, healing (potions), and block values, which is exactly what we are going for.

Another fun and useful stat to consider:

Chance on hit to CC. These items make bosses a joke. The best one is freeze (on belt) as it works literally on every mob in the game (including treasure goblins). Stun, and blind are also good. "Hey Diablo, chill out!" Each auto attack with FoL has 2 chances to proc one of these if using a thunderclap rune and it works with the AoE. Don't sacrifice large amounts of other stats to get theses, but when given the option, get them (totally worth it!).

So here's all my little secrets that I've been hoarding until I placed Diablo on his back.

For reference here were the stats I had the first time I knocked out Diablo.

1200 LoH
2.04 Attack per second
18,300 damage (on paper doll)
29,000 hp
730 resist all
7,100 armor (buffed 20% hard target)
43% chance to dodge (buffed)
23% chance to block
4.7% chance to stun
2.1% chance to blind
2.3% chance to freeze

Feel free to ask any questions and comment. I'll keep an eye on this thread.

Wellesley High grads told: “You’re not special” | The Swellesley Report

Wellesley High grads told: “You’re not special” | The Swellesley Report

By BBROWN | Published: JUNE 5, 2012 

We’d been hearing good things over the weekend about Wellesley High School English teacher David McCullough, Jr.’s faculty speech to the Class of 2012 last Friday. Here it is, in its entirety, courtesy of Mr. McCullough:

Dr. Wong, Dr. Keough, Mrs. Novogroski, Ms. Curran, members of the board of education, family and friends of the graduates, ladies and gentlemen of the Wellesley High School class of 2012, for the privilege of speaking to you this afternoon, I am honored and grateful.  Thank you.

            So here we are… commencement… life’s great forward-looking ceremony.  (And don’t say, “What about weddings?”  Weddings are one-sided and insufficiently effective.  Weddings are bride-centric pageantry.  Other than conceding to a list of unreasonable demands, the groom just stands there.  No stately, hey-everybody-look-at-me procession.  No being given away.  No identity-changing pronouncement.  And can you imagine a television show dedicated to watching guys try on tuxedos?  Their fathers sitting there misty-eyed with joy and disbelief, their brothers lurking in the corner muttering with envy.  Left to men, weddings would be, after limits-testing procrastination, spontaneous, almost inadvertent… during halftime… on the way to the refrigerator.  And then there’s the frequency of failure: statistics tell us half of you will get divorced.  A winning percentage like that’ll get you last place in the American League East.  The Baltimore Orioles do better than weddings.)

            But this ceremony… commencement… a commencement works every time.  From this day forward… truly… in sickness and in health, through financial fiascos, through midlife crises and passably attractive sales reps at trade shows in Cincinnati, through diminishing tolerance for annoyingness, through every difference, irreconcilable and otherwise, you will stay forever graduated from high school, you and your diploma as one, ‘til death do you part.

            No, commencement is life’s great ceremonial beginning, with its own attendant and highly appropriate symbolism.  Fitting, for example, for this auspicious rite of passage, is where we find ourselves this afternoon, the venue.  Normally, I avoid clichés like the plague, wouldn’t touch them with a ten-foot pole, but here we are on a literal level playing field.  That matters.  That says something.  And your ceremonial costume… shapeless, uniform, one-size-fits-all.  Whether male or female, tall or short, scholar or slacker, spray-tanned prom queen or intergalactic X-Box assassin, each of you is dressed, you’ll notice, exactly the same.  And your diploma… but for your name, exactly the same.

            All of this is as it should be, because none of you is special.

            You are not special.  You are not exceptional.

            Contrary to what your u9 soccer trophy suggests, your glowing seventh grade report card, despite every assurance of a certain corpulent purple dinosaur, that nice Mister Rogers and your batty Aunt Sylvia, no matter how often your maternal caped crusader has swooped in to save you… you’re nothing special. 

            Yes, you’ve been pampered, cosseted, doted upon, helmeted, bubble-wrapped.  Yes, capable adults with other things to do have held you, kissed you, fed you, wiped your mouth, wiped your bottom, trained you, taught you, tutored you, coached you, listened to you, counseled you, encouraged you, consoled you and encouraged you again.  You’ve been nudged, cajoled, wheedled and implored.  You’ve been feted and fawned over and called sweetie pie.  Yes, you have.  And, certainly, we’ve been to your games, your plays, your recitals, your science fairs.  Absolutely, smiles ignite when you walk into a room, and hundreds gasp with delight at your every tweet.  Why, maybe you’ve even had your picture in the Townsman! [Editor’s upgrade: Or The Swellesley Report!] And now you’ve conquered high school… and, indisputably, here we all have gathered for you, the pride and joy of this fine community, the first to emerge from that magnificent new building…

            But do not get the idea you’re anything special.  Because you’re not.

            The empirical evidence is everywhere, numbers even an English teacher can’t ignore.  Newton, Natick, Nee… I am allowed to say Needham, yes? …that has to be two thousand high school graduates right there, give or take, and that’s just the neighborhood Ns.  Across the country no fewer than 3.2 million seniors are graduating about now from more than 37,000 high schools.  That’s 37,000 valedictorians… 37,000 class presidents… 92,000 harmonizing altos… 340,000 swaggering jocks… 2,185,967 pairs of Uggs.  But why limit ourselves to high school?  After all, you’re leaving it.  So think about this: even if you’re one in a million, on a planet of 6.8 billion that means there are nearly 7,000 people just like you.  Imagine standing somewhere over there on Washington Street on Marathon Monday and watching sixty-eight hundred yous go running by.  And consider for a moment the bigger picture: your planet, I’ll remind you, is not the center of its solar system, your solar system is not the center of its galaxy, your galaxy is not the center of the universe.  In fact, astrophysicists assure us the universe has no center; therefore, you cannot be it.  Neither can Donald Trump… which someone should tell him… although that hair is quite a phenomenon.

            “But, Dave,” you cry, “Walt Whitman tells me I’m my own version of perfection!  Epictetus tells me I have the spark of Zeus!”  And I don’t disagree.  So that makes 6.8 billion examples of perfection, 6.8 billion sparks of Zeus.  You see, if everyone is special, then no one is.  If everyone gets a trophy, trophies become meaningless.  In our unspoken but not so subtle Darwinian competition with one another–which springs, I think, from our fear of our own insignificance, a subset of our dread of mortality — we have of late, we Americans, to our detriment, come to love accolades more than genuine achievement.  We have come to see them as the point — and we’re happy to compromise standards, or ignore reality, if we suspect that’s the quickest way, or only way, to have something to put on the mantelpiece, something to pose with, crow about, something with which to leverage ourselves into a better spot on the social totem pole.  No longer is it how you play the game, no longer is it even whether you win or lose, or learn or grow, or enjoy yourself doing it…  Now it’s “So what does this get me?”  As a consequence, we cheapen worthy endeavors, and building a Guatemalan medical clinic becomes more about the application to Bowdoin than the well-being of Guatemalans.  It’s an epidemic — and in its way, not even dear old Wellesley High is immune… one of the best of the 37,000 nationwide, Wellesley High School… where good is no longer good enough, where a B is the new C, and the midlevel curriculum is called Advanced College Placement.  And I hope you caught me when I said “one of the best.”  I said “one of the best” so we can feel better about ourselves, so we can bask in a little easy distinction, however vague and unverifiable, and count ourselves among the elite, whoever they might be, and enjoy a perceived leg up on the perceived competition.  But the phrase defies logic.  By definition there can be only one best.  You’re it or you’re not.

            If you’ve learned anything in your years here I hope it’s that education should be for, rather than material advantage, the exhilaration of learning.  You’ve learned, too, I hope, as Sophocles assured us, that wisdom is the chief element of happiness.  (Second is ice cream…  just an fyi)  I also hope you’ve learned enough to recognize how little you know… how little you know now… at the moment… for today is just the beginning.  It’s where you go from here that matters.

            As you commence, then, and before you scatter to the winds, I urge you to do whatever you do for no reason other than you love it and believe in its importance.  Don’t bother with work you don’t believe in any more than you would a spouse you’re not crazy about, lest you too find yourself on the wrong side of a Baltimore Orioles comparison.  Resist the easy comforts of complacency, the specious glitter of materialism, the narcotic paralysis of self-satisfaction.  Be worthy of your advantages.  And read… read all the time… read as a matter of principle, as a matter of self-respect.  Read as a nourishing staple of life.  Develop and protect a moral sensibility and demonstrate the character to apply it.  Dream big.  Work hard.  Think for yourself.  Love everything you love, everyone you love, with all your might.  And do so, please, with a sense of urgency, for every tick of the clock subtracts from fewer and fewer; and as surely as there are commencements there are cessations, and you’ll be in no condition to enjoy the ceremony attendant to that eventuality no matter how delightful the afternoon.

            The fulfilling life, the distinctive life, the relevant life, is an achievement, not something that will fall into your lap because you’re a nice person or mommy ordered it from the caterer.  You’ll note the founding fathers took pains to secure your inalienable right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness–quite an active verb, “pursuit”–which leaves, I should think, little time for lying around watching parrots rollerskate on Youtube.  The first President Roosevelt, the old rough rider, advocated the strenuous life.  Mr. Thoreau wanted to drive life into a corner, to live deep and suck out all the marrow.  The poet Mary Oliver tells us to row, row into the swirl and roil.  Locally, someone… I forget who… from time to time encourages young scholars to carpe the heck out of the diem.  The point is the same: get busy, have at it.  Don’t wait for inspiration or passion to find you.  Get up, get out, explore, find it yourself, and grab hold with both hands.  (Now, before you dash off and get your YOLO tattoo, let me point out the illogic of that trendy little expression–because you can and should live not merely once, but every day of your life.  Rather than You Only Live Once, it should be You Live Only Once… but because YLOO doesn’t have the same ring, we shrug and decide it doesn’t matter.)

            None of this day-seizing, though, this YLOOing, should be interpreted as license for self-indulgence.  Like accolades ought to be, the fulfilled life is a consequence, a gratifying byproduct.  It’s what happens when you’re thinking about more important things.  Climb the mountain not to plant your flag, but to embrace the challenge, enjoy the air and behold the view.  Climb it so you can see the world, not so the world can see you.  Go to Paris to be in Paris, not to cross it off your list and congratulate yourself for being worldly.  Exercise free will and creative, independent thought not for the satisfactions they will bring you, but for the good they will do others, the rest of the 6.8 billion–and those who will follow them.  And then you too will discover the great and curious truth of the human experience is that selflessness is the best thing you can do for yourself.  The sweetest joys of life, then, come only with the recognition that you’re not special.

            Because everyone is.

            Congratulations.  Good luck.  Make for yourselves, please, for your sake and for ours, extraordinary lives.

                                                                                    David McCullough

 

Inferno Monk Guide - Forums - Diablo III

Inferno Monk Guide - Forums - Diablo III
by tongxinglian #637

A few days ago I managed to solo all of Inferno and since then I have been getting spammed with with questions from fellow monk friends. Thus, I have decided to make a brief guide to help other monks through inferno.

Part 1-Resists Resists are the key to any monk build as most of you know. Melee in general have an extreme disadvantage right now because skilled ranged classes can kite all day and don't need near the amount of resist we do. To put things into perspective, I had almost 1200 resist to all when soloing Diablo. Which leads to my next topic-how monks should gear and spec to maximize their resistance.

The key to resistances as a monk is using the passive One of Everything. This passive will allow you to get your resistances fairly high. The passive allows all your resistances to be equal to your highest one. Thus when gearing to abuse this passive, try to pick one element you want to stack (probably easiest if you pick the element you are already highest with) and look for gear that has resistance to that element on it and resist to all elements. So for instance, if fire resistance is your highest, if you get gear with 50 resistance to fire and 50 resistance to all elements, you are actually adding 100 resistance to all elements. As you can see for yourself, abusing this can really add up.

The next step to maximizing your resistance is using Mantra of Healing with the rune Time of Need. This will boost your resistance by 20%, which can be a very large number as your resistances get higher.

Part 2-Spec The two specs I used for soloing are: http://us.battle.net/d3/en/calculator/monk#WYjXgQ!ZYU!ZacYYc http://us.battle.net/d3/en/calculator/monk#bZjXgQ!aYU!aZcYYc The first one is only for if you have your resists at a decent mark. It allows you to be in melee range and take hits. It is meant to reduce the amount of damage you take to a minimum. Please note though, even though we are a melee class, there is no amount of resist I have found that will let you continuously sit in melee range.

You going to have to kite sometimes until your cooldowns come back up. My usual rotation against high level inferno mobs is to open with a blind-> serenity ->breath of heaven (to get your spirit back and heal) ->spam mantra of healing ->repeat. Also make sure to always have your ally up. For bosses this rotation is similar however I tend to save my blind and serenity to stop or avoid boss mechanics. Blind is also great if you need to get your ally back up. The second spec is meant for people who are struggling with resist. This is a kite build. The idea is to have your ally up and use deadly reach to get hits in while running. If mobs get too close, use your lashing tail kick to peel and slow them down. This is also a great spec for most of the bosses in inferno. As you can see I use ally in both builds. I think the ally is crucial because it takes aggro away from you, thus minimizing damage on you. Also the 10% HP boost is pretty nice.

Part 3-Gear The order of stats you should focus on is: 1) Resists 2) Vitality 3) Dexterity 4) Attack Speed I can not stress enough to focus on resists before anything else. When I soloed I only had 12k dps. DPS is not going to keep you alive. Once you have decent stats, my biggest suggestion to you is maximizing attack speed without sacrificing resists. When weapon shopping look for fists or daggers only which have a attack speed bonus on them. This is because the faster you attack, the faster you generate spirit. With an excess of spirit you will always have enough spirit to use your crucial skills when needed and be able to spam mantra of healing. That is pretty much all the tips I have.

The only other tip I have is that in regards to groups, I find that grouping with a barb is very beneficial. Ask him to use his resistance shout. When stacked with your mantra your resistances will get to absurd amount (2k to all resistances is doable). Since both of you will have low dps, ask him to go earthquake (and beserker too if has decent gear). With this combo you can pull whole zones and he can earthquake them down. If you have any questions or would like to add to this guide please feel free to post. Guide Additions

Part 4-Farming Since many of the posts claim that money seems to be an issue, I have decided to add a monk farming section to help. I will show you that it is possible to make 4 mil a day minimum. The first run is for people that are struggling getting into Act 2. You won't make amazing gold but it will be enough to get the gear you need to start farming harder stuff.

1) Select Imprisoned Angel Quest-The Cursed Hold in Act 1.

2) Go to festering woods. There should be packs roaming outside the waypoint, if not locate the two caves. There is one pack per cave. Get 2 Stacks.

3) Once you have 2 stacks go to Halls of Agony Level 2. You should get at least one stack in here while finding the exit.

4) Enter the cursed hold, there should be at least 2 more packs in here which will cap you at 5. Free the prisoners and kill the warden.

5) Locate the butcher and kill any packs on the way.

6) Kill the butcher Note: Doing this run will help you find some upgrades needed for Act 2. However, what you will find is a lot of it is garbage. You will however find resist to all elements gear which is your money maker. Many resist to all gear in Act 1 will sell for 200k minimum. Some rings I have found in there have even gone for a mil+. The next run what I currently do to farm my gold. I average about 4 mil a day doing this run.

The great thing is you don't need amazing gear for this run, just patience. However once gear comes this run can be done in about 30 min.

1) Select the quest Siegebreaker-Kill the Siegebreaker

2) Go to Rakkis Crossing to pick up tyreal. Clear all the mobs to seigebreaker. Most likely you will get a stack. If you see dungeon open called underbridge, go inside.

3)Clear all mobs in the underbridge and look for a chest. Make sure if you see the chest do not open it until you have 5 stacks.

4) Go to the keep depths level 1. As soon as you go to the WP, if you head out of the first room and you enter a giant room with fire, it is likely there is a chest there too. Again, do not open it until you 5 stacks. Proceed to get 2 stacks from level 1.

5) Once you get 2 stacks, port to town, go back to level 1 WP and go to keep depths level 2. Get 2 stacks. If you don't have 5 stacks by now port to town and go to level 3.

6) Go loot all the chests you left.

7) Kill seigebreaker Now the reason why I say you do not need amazing gear for this and just patience...is that with Tyreal he can kill most of the rare packs. You can die, AFK for a few minutes and let him go to work.

Please note, if the mobs are vampiric, shielding, or health link, you need to help him kill them. If you don't have the gear for it either skip them or pull them to the entrance and rez-> serenity->dps repeat....once you get gear you wont have to die at all. And trust me, in the end it is worth the repair bill starting out. The reason why I think act 3 is good, is because you can still get amazing loot from it and eventually the run times become fast. You can get 1h 1.1k dps weps (which are selling for 5 mil+). Many of the blues you get will be 700+ 1h which will sell for around 100k. And last, the resist gear I haven gotten has been as high as 70+ to all elements which with the right stats will sell for a few mil.

Inferno Monk Guide - Forums - Diablo III

1 Breath of Heaven(Great Single or Multi Target Heal)-Circle of Life

2 Serenity(Escape Tool + Great Heal)-Peaceful Repose

3 Inner Sanctuary(Blocking/Escape Tool + Great Heal)-Safe Haven

4 Mantra of Healing(Life Per Second + Increased LPS)-Sustenance

Primary Attack Fist of Thunder(Good for quick in and out attacks + AoE)-Thunderclap

Secondary Attack Sweeping Wind(Good AoE for Kiting)-Bladestorm

Passives

-Sixth Sense(Increased Dodge)

-Seize the Initiative(Increased Armor by 100% Dex)

-Beacon of Ytar(15% Reduction on Cooldowns)

Use a shield, with this build you will have to time CDs correctly and learn to kite properly, it is good for both party and solo play, been using it and have not had any issues, good luck and happy hunting!!

Inferno Monk Guide - Forums - Diablo III

Part 4-Farming Since many of the posts claim that money seems to be an issue, I have decided to add a monk farming section to help. I will show you that it is possible to make 4 mil a day minimum.

The first run is for people that are struggling getting into Act 2. You won't make amazing gold but it will be enough to get the gear you need to start farming harder stuff.

1) Select Imprisoned Angel Quest-The Cursed Hold in Act 1.

2) Go to festering woods. There should be packs roaming outside the waypoint, if not locate the two caves. There is one pack per cave. Get 2 Stacks.

3) Once you have 2 stacks go to Halls of Agony Level 2. You should get at least one stack in here while finding the exit.

4) Enter the cursed hold, there should be at least 2 more packs in here which will cap you at 5. Free the prisoners and kill the warden.

5) Locate the butcher and kill any packs on the way.

6) Kill the butcher Note: Doing this run will help you find some upgrades needed for Act 2. However, what you will find is a lot of it is garbage.

You will however find resist to all elements gear which is your money maker. Many resist to all gear in Act 1 will sell for 200k minimum. Some rings I have found in there have even gone for a mil+. The next run what I currently do to farm my gold. I average about 4 mil a day doing this run. The great thing is you don't need amazing gear for this run, just patience. However once gear comes this run can be done in about 30 min.

1) Select the quest Siegebreaker-Kill the Siegebreaker

2) Go to Rakkis Crossing to pick up tyreal. Clear all the mobs to seigebreaker. Most likely you will get a stack. If you see dungeon open called underbridge, go inside.

3)Clear all mobs in the underbridge and look for a chest. Make sure if you see the chest do not open it until you have 5 stacks.

4) Go to the keep depths level 1. As soon as you go to the WP, if you head out of the first room and you enter a giant room with fire, it is likely there is a chest there too. Again, do not open it until you 5 stacks. Proceed to get 2 stacks from level 1.

5) Once you get 2 stacks, port to town, go back to level 1 WP and go to keep depths level 2. Get 2 stacks. If you don't have 5 stacks by now port to town and go to level 3.

6) Go loot all the chests you left.

7) Kill seigebreaker Now the reason why I say you do not need amazing gear for this and just patience...is that with Tyreal he can kill most of the rare packs. You can die, AFK for a few minutes and let him go to work. Please note, if the mobs are vampiric, shielding, or health link, you need to help him kill them. If you don't have the gear for it either skip them or pull them to the entrance and rez-> serenity->dps repeat....once you get gear you wont have to die at all.

And trust me, in the end it is worth the repair bill starting out. The reason why I think act 3 is good, is because you can still get amazing loot from it and eventually the run times become fast. You can get 1h 1.1k dps weps (which are selling for 5 mil+). Many of the blues you get will be 700+ 1h which will sell for around 100k. And last, the resist gear I haven gotten has been as high as 70+ to all elements which with the right stats will sell for a few mil.

SQL Date Math

/*Current Date*/

select GETDATE() CurrentDate

----First Day of Current Month

select DATEADD(mm, DATEDIFF(m,0,GETDATE()),0)

FirstDay_CurrentMonth

----First Day of Next Month

select DATEADD(mm, DATEDIFF(m,0,GETDATE())+1,0)

FirstDay_NextMonth

----Last Day of Previous Month

SELECT DATEADD(s,-1,DATEADD(mm, DATEDIFF(m,0,GETDATE()),0))

LastDay_PreviousMonth

----Last Day of Current Month

SELECT DATEADD(s,-1,DATEADD(mm, DATEDIFF(m,0,GETDATE())+1,0))

LastDay_CurrentMonth

----Last Day of Next Month

SELECT DATEADD(s,-1,DATEADD(mm, DATEDIFF(m,0,GETDATE())+2,0))

LastDay_NextMonth

DECLARE @dtDate DATETIME

SET @dtDate = '5/17/2012'

SELECT DATEADD(s,-1,DATEADD(mm, DATEDIFF(m,0,@dtDate)+1,0))

LastDay_AnyMonth

2010 Census Results: Congressional House Seats Change Among States

2010 Census Results: Which States Gained House Seats, Which States Lost - Real Time Economics - WSJ






The Census announced today that the U.S. population rose 9.7% to 308,745,538, the slowest increase since the Great Depression. The data also reapportioned the number of seats in the House of Representatives. Here’s the list of who lost and who gained seats:

New York	-2
Ohio	-2
Illinois	-1
Iowa	-1
Louisiana	-1
Massachusetts	-1
Michigan	-1
Missouri	-1
New Jersey	-1
Pennsylvania	-1
Arizona	1
Georgia	1
Nevada	1
South Carolina	1
Utah	1
Washington	1
Florida	2
Texas	4

Two Wireless Router Setup and Configuration

Using the 2 links below I was able to setup 2 wireless Linksys routers on the same network.  The keys that I used are below, but here is a brief summary.

Setup each router seperately.  Reset your router and change the Start IP.  On the 2nd router plug your ethernet into the LAN port, not the Internet port.  Powercycle if you can't get it to work.

Configuring two wireless routers with one SSID (network name) at home for free roaming - Scott Hanselman

Technical Summary

• First Router
  
  
  • 192.168.1.1
  • DHCP to use the range 192.168.1.3-192.168.1.254
  • A wireless channel like 11
• Second Router
  
  
  • 192.168.1.2
  • DHCP is disabled
  • Identical wireless security setup as First Router
    
    
    • Except the wireless Channel. Try channel 6 if the first is 11.
  • Plug hard-wire into the LAN port, not the WAN port.

How to Connect Two Wireless Routers Together on the Same Home Network

Important Points to remember

1. It is suggested that the length of the LAN cable connecting the two routers should not exceed 100m and that you should avoid having any joints in the cable. LAN cables are pretty cheap – I got a Cat5e cable for 25¢/m.

2. If you have a compatible router, I suggest upgrading the firmware to DD-WRT as that will slightly boost the wireless signal plus you’ll get access to tons of other settings in your router.

3. If you have enabled Wi-Fi security in your previous router, use the same settings in your new router as well.

4. It is important that you assign different SSIDs to the two routers else the same network name will appear twice in your wireless network connections window.

5. If you don’t remember the username of your router, try these combinations – root + admin, admin + admin, admin + password or admin (as username) and no password.

The Windows 8 Developer Preview is a pre-beta version of Windows 8 for developers.

Windows Metro Style Apps Developer Downloads

Windows 8 Developer Preview downloads The Windows 8 Developer Preview is a pre-beta version of Windows 8 for developers. These downloads include prerelease software that may change without notice. The software is provided as is, and you bear the risk of using it. It may not be stable, operate correctly or work the way the final version of the software will. It should not be used in a production environment. The features and functionality in the prerelease software may not appear in the final version. Some product features and functionality may require advanced or additional hardware, or installation of other software. Note: You can't uninstall the Windows 8 Developer Preview. To go back to your previous operating system, you must reinstall it from restore or installation media.

SolidWorks Tutorial page for reference.

SolidWorks Tutorials – Videos, guides, lessons and project files I SolidWorks
SourceForge.net: Free-CAD

I am looking at a possible job opening that needs SolidWorks knowledgebase.  I will review all of these tutorials and then possibly download a Free/Open Source version of 3D CAD - Free-CAD.

Create your own Google Chrome Web App - usually a link to a web page

Tutorial: Getting Started - Chrome Web Store - Google Code
How To Create Your Own Chrome Web Apps | VikiTech.com

Using the two pages up above, I created a Google Chrome app to link to my blog here.  It is pretty simple, just follow the instructions.  Here are some things that I overlooked and might make it easier for you.  You will need to name the JSON file "manifest.json" using your notepad editor.  Also create a new folder in the beginning.

Here is the end result -  Download My Google Chrome App Drag the saved file over Chrome to Install.

Below is the code I used for my "manifest.json".

---

{
"name": "Jeff W Thomas Blog",
"description": "Connect with Jeff W Thomas, business analyst, political junkie, gamer, and most importantly family man!",
"version": "1.0",
"icons": {
"128": "128.png"
},
"app": {
"urls": [
"http://jeffwthomas.blogspot.com"
],
"launch": {
"web_url": "http://jeffwthomas.blogspot.com"
}
},
"permissions": [
"unlimitedStorage",
"notifications"
]
}

Free Fax Services from your PC

Today, I had to send some paperwork in via fax.  I don't have a landline at home or a fax machine.  I have Google Voice, Google Mail and a lot of other services offered by Google.  There doesn't seem to be at this moment a Google fax service linked with Google Voice.  I however did find these two services.

FaxZero
http://www.gotfreefax.com/

Today, I used FaxZero and had no issues in sending the document.  There are limitations with the free service, but for sending free short faxes it worked great.

Appendicitis - The Removal of the Useless

Last Wednesday after dinner I had a good dinner and had some bloating afterwords.  My digestive track was boisterous letting me know that it was working and I thought nothing of it.  Thursday came around and I had the most uncomfortable bloating and pain in my stomach.  I took some Gas-Ex and Ibuprofen to get rid of it.  That didn't help at all. 

Friday came and I was watching the girls all by myself in the morning.  I was in immense pain and apparently had a 101 degree fever as well.  I was out of it.  I knew that I needed to get some rest and get the girls over to grandma's house.  As I was showering, I felt that my stomach pain was concentrated on my right side.  Which was odd cause the day before it was my entire stomach.  So after the shower, I got online and Dr. Googled myself.  I knew then that something was wrong with my appendix.

I got the girls ready and myself; we were heading to grandma's.  Right as I was doing that my wife came home.  I looked at her and said, "I think I have appendicitis!"  We got in the van and went straight to grandma's.  She was telling me all about her hair appointment.  We went straight to InstaCare.  The doctor there told me he was 80% sure that I had appendicitis and would be in surgery in about 5-7 hours.  He told me to go to the hospital emergency to have a CT Scan done.

We left InstaCare and drove straight to the emergency room.  I had my vitals taken and withing 30 minutes had some morphine pumped into my IV.  It sure does make you feel better.  As the emergency doctor looked at me, he wondered it was Appendicitis or my Gall Bladder.  A CT Scan would confirm either way. 

I learned something about myself after the CT Scan.  I have a horse-shoe shaped kidney.  Also, it was confirmed that I had Appendicitis and was going into surgery in a few hours.

1913 was when I was rolled into the Operating Room.  The next thing I remembered is I woke up in recovery, then woke up again in my room.  I was exhausted and slept for awhile.

Today, as I write this, I am still recovering and will be back to "normal" next week or so. 

Don't reduce all stomach pain to food poisoning or an upset stomach.  It is much better to catch it before your appendix bursts.  Instead of a overnight procedure, it takes a week to take care of.

Related articles, courtesy of Zemanta:

• Appendicitis Symptoms and Causes
• How can one tell if their appendix has burst?
• What are the symptoms of appendicitis?
• Chest pain following gall bladder surgery?

Looking for work

Yesterday was my last day at Ceridian working as a contractor through Kelly IT.  I was a Documentation Analyst on the EDI (electronic data interchange) team.  I am off to new adventures looking for opportunities.  This morning I updated my LinkedIn profile and at the beginning of the year I updated my resume.  Hopefully something soon comes of it.

LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/jeffwthomas
Resume: http://tiny.cc/jeffthomas

I have had ups and downs the last 18 months in looking for work.  I worked at Convergys for 5 years and didn't see that position ending, but it did.  Last year was rough on me and I found work at JC Video Systems, a leader in the golf technology industry, and also work with Ceridian, a health care and HR operation.

_____________________________________________
From: Thomas, Jeff
Sent: Tuesday, January 31, 2012 2:08 PM
To: jeff.wthomas@gmail.com
Subject: Signing off - JeffWThomas

Greetings –

As many of you know, my contract with Ceridian ends today, hopefully there is an extension!  I have enjoyed working here and having the chance to work with you.

As I move on, I would like to update my references.  If you would like, please list your contact information including phone number, email, and any other means to contact you. 

You can keep in touch with my by email jeff.wthomas@gmail.com or call me at my cell (801) 558-2966.  Also below, I have listed my LinkedIn and Twitter information.

I wish you and Ceridian success in your future endeavors.

Best regards,

Jeff

Email: jeff.wthomas@gmail.com

Cell: (801) 558-2966

LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/jeffwthomas

Twitter: twitter.com/jeffwthomas