#my new one's highest setting is weaker than my old one's lowest setting AND MY OLD ONE WASNT EVEN STRONG LIKE???

[kuliak]

Giving the filters something to chew on.

This patch started off with inspiration from a new Cinematic Lab video where he explored a patch from Soma Digest 16 that mixed an LFO and a clock for an interesting rhythmic effect. Reading over the comments, this behavior is because the triggers on the Pulsar 23 are velocity sensitive, so the LFO effectively offsets the velocity - when it's high, the pulses hit extra hard, and when it's low they can be softer or even completely nullified. If the two sources are unrelated, their phase/frequency relationship creates a slowly drifting groove.

I set up this behavior using Maths Ch 4 EOC as the clock and Ch 1 with an offset as the LFO, then mixed via Quantus Pax. It took a bit of tuning, but this allowed me to get the variable strength trigger sequence as well as a lot of related modulation: EOR from 1 gates Just Friends, which modulates a lot of filter behavior, and both envelopes control a number of other parameters through the patch. The other part of this behavior needs a "velocity sensitive" envelope or VCA, so I used my old friend Sinc Bucina to get that gnarly resonance. The pings were still a bit harsh, so I actually sent the trigger sequence to the gate input instead - I still found the attack to be plenty fast on the strong gates, but it mellowed out the weaker ones so the whole sequence can breathe.

The only melodic voice is Three Body, receiving phase modulation from both of its side oscillators. The saw and "cosaw" outs are mixed via Waver with mild waveshaping and AM, and the fold out goes through Bucina - since the gate is resonant, all of this shape modulation gives the gate a lot to respond to and creates that rich "riffing" texture.

The straight mix output goes through QPAS, receiving all of those linked envelopes from Just Friends, then through Electus Versio for some interesting texture. Kick is Taiko, synthy snare is Daiko, and hats are Crucible, with the drum mix going through Milky Way for compression then Ikarie for some resonant distortion.

My only real qualm here, and it's a small one, is the sequencing. I used a locked sequence in Marbles (clocked by Ch4 EOC) on +/-5v, with Planar controlling spread and bias. This is a far stretch from what I usually do, but allows for more range in transposing the sequence - loosely, bias controls the root note and spread controls how far apart the highest and lowest note of the phrase can be. I think this is much more expressive than I'd been doing it before, however I need to attenuate the XY outs before sending them into Marbles. The direct output had so much sway over the sequence that I had a very small zone of the Joystick that made musical changes. So I need to attenuate that for the future, and also need some modulation on the drums. More cables coming in the near future which should fix that problem.

[goblin-gardens]

Gob Or Not? An Extremely Scientific Examination Of The Mighty Nein

A couple weeks ago, as an attempt to lure my friend Grim into Critical Role, I made a Goblin Inventory of the M9. this post is an updated survey of the team, slightly reformatted, mostly to be more accurate to my current understanding of the characters (as of Episode 58) and also funnier.

Abstract:

The goals of the initial report were two-fold. First, to examine the differences between being a member of the goblin species and Being Goblin, and second to determine whether Nott The Brave was truly the most Goblin of the group. The first findings showed that Nott scored a 40 out of 77 on the Goblin Scale, not an especially high score and far from the highest in the group. While the conclusions of this survey are not wildly different, the key to Science is repeating your experiments and coming up with not-exactly-identical findings, and doing this roughly a billion times and then you can say that you’re Probably Right (Most Of The Time).

The Goblin Quotient is determined by quantifying, on a scale of 0-11, how fully a person embodies each of the 7 Habits Of Highly Effective Goblins. These are, 1) Collection Of Crap, 2) Chaos, 3) Minionhood, 4) Gooey Center, 5) Laser Pointer Focus, 6) Furious Devotion, and 7) Hideous Cackling.

the full text of this very serious academic paper is under the cut and not behind a paywall.

1) Collection Of Crap

Top scorer, Caleb Widogast As a wizard, Caleb has purposefully immersed himself in Collecting. He is constantly filling his pockets with spell components including, but by no means limited to, sulfur, molasses, honeycomb, bits of copper wire, and literal bat shit. it’s all just. in his pockets. being slimy. Other Caleb Collections include: Books, Paper, Friends, Magic, and Pain. unfortunately, he still has not collected a fantasy therapist to help him KonMari some of it into healthier boxes. Nott’s new form has upped her Collecting habits, but this is a fundamental hobby of Veth’s. This quells some uncertainty about how much of this is truly Her. turns out, lots! (Runners up: Jester, with the animals and haversack of holding, Nott, with the buttons. Special mention: Fjord, with his balls.) Lowest Scorer, Yasha: a 6 of 11 ain’t shabby, but it’s not much compared to the others. This might be due to her having had less screen time, but she does tend to travel light.

Trait The Second) Chaos.

Top scorer, Jester Lavorre: The M9 are a pretty Chaotic group, but Jester is the only one who’s built a religion out of chaos. She’s a high priestess of drawing dicks on things. Her magic powers come from a divine mandate to fuck shit up. Pets (to which she has added Yarnball) up the chaos meter, and their virtually indestructible plot armor means they’re not going anywhere execpt maybe home wth Yeza. In general, Jester’s childhood in the Lavish Chateau was sort of like a pandora’s jack in the box getting wound tighter and tighter and tighter past all physical comprehension, and though the lid has been lifted, the spring is only just starting to sproing. we haven’t even reached the Zenith yet! After seeing some more of Veth and Yeza, it’s clear they’re not the most sedate of couples. Some eyebrows have definitely gotten singed in the Brenatto lab. However, since they aren’t the ones who burned it to the ground, a bit of Safe Science Techniques have to at least be assumed. (Runner up: Molly, with the egg dick incident) Lowest scorer, Beau: She’s not settling down, but she is… settling. Beau does her share of the check-ins, and has made the highest number of Agreements To Not Be Assholes Together. She might be in the running for mom friend??

C) Minionhood.

Top scorer, Fjord “No-Name” Swordvjore. In CR, goblins are not often leaders. They will work together to target weaker and easy opponents, but aren’t typically masterminds. They aren’t prone to individual heroism and rarely, if ever, go out of their way to save a friend. In their villages, little value is placed on familial relationships or education, they’re not big team players, and everyone has a terrible sense of humor. So how does Fjord factor into this? By showing the other side of the coin, like how tactics that don’t rely on using yourself as canon fodder are more successful, or like how the power of friendship and diverse skill sets makes your team stronger. Nott is not much of a follower, though she is an aggressive supporter. Though both these green kids were outcasts when they were younger, finding love with Yeza, stating a family and running a business has given Veth a strong sense of what she wants, and it’s not to be a leader or a follower. (runners up: Caduceus Clay, committed WildMinion and Jester, Travelerite) Lowest scorer, Caleb Widogast. He’s had his brush with Minionhood and the further and safer from it he feels, the more he wants revenge.

Four) Gooey Center Top scorer, Yasha Nydoorin. The Gooey Center is protected by a spiky, brittle, intimidating, crunchy, and/or off putting exterior.  Yasha is our big, scary, tenderhearted wlw. our giant soft-hearted, angelic, full-of-boiling-murderous-rage, lightning-punching, funeral-not-having runaway who loves her wife and makes us cry. she shaves her arms with her sword. she uses books in non-traditional ways. she vanishes into the night sometimes in a very mysterious and tragic manner. she is our most Romantic player character, and she is super ripped and super queer, which are all aspirational goblin qualities. in practice, most goblins connect with their gooey center by being squished by someone like Yasha, maybe with a giant hammer. Nott does more to protect others’ feelings than her own, really. Poking at her sore spots makes her stab at yours, but she’s pretty up front about how she feels. When actually fighting, she’s proven to be pretty adept at not being hit. (runners up: Caleb, glass canon with a very crunchy exterior, Fjord, known horc twunk, Caducues, mystery boy, and Molly, who rudely showed us just how how close that center can be to the surface) Lowest scorer: Nott! She’s actually…. Relatively well adjusted? Has emotional intelligence?

5️⃣) Laser Pointer Focus Top scorer: Caduceus Clay. Related to Minionhood, this is the aspect of Goblinry that the leader uses to achieve goals. the dogged focus of a True Goblin is powerful and direct, but can be redirected with the proper pressure or leadership, or lost when a cause or leader is not compelling enough or doesn’t provide adequate payment. the Laser Pointer Focus has an investigatory aspect as well, gathering little bits of info from every which way in moments, though the information gathered is rarely put to use immediately. Caduceus, who sees all but doesn’t always act on it, and is content to support the Nein and follow their meandering path to his goal, checks many of these boxes. Nott knows exactly what she wants in life, which is her old life. She knows how to get it, which is to keep Caleb alive until he can learn a powerful enough spell. The difference between her pursuit of her goal and Caduceus’s lies in the fact that this isn’t a Hero’s Quest for her, with no Tests of Character or Symbolic Goals set or arbitrated by an outside force. (runners up: Fjord, spiritually chasing a laser pointer at all times, Jester, whose laser pointer always points at chaos. Special mention: Frumpkin) Lowest scorer: Beau. Maybe she’s still figuring out what her driving forces are. She knows what they aren’t, but Not Being The Same Type Of Shitty As My Dad isn’t a full thesis. She’s dedicated to protecting her friends, but until we see exactly what it is that she defines herself in opposition to (ie. get that sweet sweet Loregard) her intentions might remain a bit fuzzy around the edges.

VI) Furious Devotion Top scorer: Beauregard Lionett. Also going hand in hand with Minionhood (Minionhood has two hands), this is the trait that makes goblins actually willing to die in battle against adventurers and town guards and shit. It doesn’t require any comfort with or willingness to follow authority, it’s the more feral side of love that is reigned in by Minionhood in true Goblins. this is the part of the Goblin that drives the Collecting of Crap because it genuinely loves all the shit it finds. Beau is a prime example of this trait, especially because as she gets more and more invested in a person or ideal, her willingness to let go, even in the face of likely death, decreases dramatically. see episode 55 for reference, among others. she also has a rather Goblinish inability to effectively communicate the depths of her feelings, though this is sort of an aspect of her defense of her Gooey Center and something she’s actively working on. Now here’s something Nott’s got. So much love. More love than can be contained by one family. Angry love, protective love, throw-all-the-dishes-on-the-floor-in-a-pile love. Draw the dragon’s attention so her friend she’s had for less than a day can get away love. She can and will sacrifice herself for the people she cares about. (runners up: Nott, whomst loves, Yasha, very good at using the Fury to pursue the Devotion, Jester, whose love is so powerful it brings people back from the dead, and Caleb, even less able to discuss his feelings than Beau) Lowest scorer: Fjord. This does NOT mean he doesn’t love his friends, or that he’s not sometimes very angry, but they aren’t connected. He’s still keeping everyone at arm’s length, tbh. Again, this is something that will be easier to judge with more backstory.

and finally 7) Hideous Cackling Top Score: Mollymauk Tealeaf. This is what a Goblin does when surveying their Collection of Crap and the Chaos they have caused. This is how they communicate with fellow Minions in the know, how they react to seeing someone else’s Gooey Center, to catching the Laser Pointer. This is the easiest way to express their feelings of Devotion. The Hideous Cackle of a True Goblin is un-selfconscious and entirely for the benefit of the Cackler. Cackling Hideously is an act of self love. You can find your goblin group by listening to the Discordant Chorus made by Cackling together, and when you’re all reveling in the cacophony, there you are. It’s a little hedonistic and a little punk and a little queer, disregarding conventional expectations of beauty or family or polite behavior, and all about diving deep into the things that you are and the things that make you happy. An extremely Molly philosophy, truth be told. Nott Cackles, sometimes. More since Yeza is back. Unclear whether this arc ending in safe Brenatto Boys will leave her more prone to Cackling, or if she’ll miss them and be too sad :( (runner up: Jester, gleeful agent of chaos) Lowest scorers: Caleb and Fjord. Part of their higher charisma is being careful with their words and presentation. A truly Hideous Cackle doesn’t have time to be self conscious.

And now, the rankings themselves!

Nott The Brave Collection of Crap– So. Many. Buttons.  10/11 Chaos– FLUFFERNUTTERRRRRRRRRR!  8/11 Minionhood– Eh. She’s more of a supporter than a follower.  3/11 Gooey Center–  She’s not particularly secretive about her feelings or opinions 4/11 Laser Pointer Focus–  Her main goals are all inwardly motivated and have not changed during the campaign.  3/11 Furious Devotion– Her love is extremely powerful.  10/11 Hideous Cackling– Reunited with her husband, she has felt freer to Cackle, she also seems to appreciate her current job a lot  6/11 total score: 44/77

Caleb Collection of Crap– keeps everything in his pockets except for his cat, which is in his heart.  11/11 Chaos– Absolutely creates it, and is starting to revel in it.  6/11 Minionhood– Formerly a Minion, he is now hellbent on the destruction of the System. Good for him.  0/11 Gooey Center– Easily smashed by any large or medium-sized hammer, but maintains staunch denial of inner Gooeyness.  8/11 Laser Pointer Focus– Has goal, will travel. Difficult to redirect.  5/11 Furious Devotion– Slow to accept his own devotion, but very committed once he has.  10/11 Hideous Cackling– Having friends and talking about his feelings is good for him. He’s getting better at this. 3/11 total score: 43/77

Yasha Collection of Crap– A whole book of pressed flowers!  6/11 Chaos– She doesn’t really revel in it :/.  5/11 Minionhood-- Serves a higher power and follows along the decisions of others in the group, even when not super enthused about them, like going to Xhorhas.  8/11 Gooey Center– All the Gooeyer for being well protected, and though her emotional walls are not the most formidable in the party, the amount of protected feeling was unexpected  11/11 Laser Pointer Focus– Loyal to two guides, the Stormlord and the M9, though the Stormlord can pull her easily away from the group.  9/11 Furious Devotion– Very very angry.  10/11 Hideous Cackling– Could stand to be a bit more open about it.  4/11 Total score: 53/77

Fjord Collection of Crap– Collection is limited in scope and volume, but high in Strangeness.  8/11 Chaos– a troublemaker, for sure and certain.  7/11 Minionhood– Literally A Minion right now, summons demonic minions on occasion.  11/11 Gooey Center– Desperately wants somebody, anybody, to tell him he’s doing a Good Job. Adamantly refuses to admit that.  8/11 Laser Pointer Focus– this man cannot resist pushing buttons, be they physical, emotional, or likely to end the word.  10/11 Furious Devotion– He is angry, but it’s not focused. To get more points here, he needs to be less angry at himself.  3/11 Hideous Cackling– too self conscious! loosen up! needs to Cackle in his own voice.  3/11 total score: 50/77

Beau Collection of Crap– Wants to know everything, is building a family. Some points lost for minimalist monk aesthetic.  8/11 Chaos– Aspiring member of Nott the Best Detective Agency, punches people to learn about them. BUT she is apparently a Voice Of Reason, which makes it harder. 4/11 Minionhood– would destroy me for even suggesting it.  1/11 Gooey Center– just! wants! everyone! to! get! along!  7/11 Laser Pointer Focus– Is becoming a moral compass?  2/11 Furious Devotion– JUST! WANTS! EVERYONE! TO! GET! ALONG!  11/11 Hideous Cackling– Tries too hard to be cool. Like yeah, she is cool, but she tries too hard to make sure people know.  5/11 total score: 38/77

Molly Collection of Crap– Behold the coat. 8/11 Chaos– He has that certain je ne se quois.  10/11 Minionhood– The Moonweaver in not a fan of her followers following anyone’s orders. also he has his own minions and doesn’t want them  3/11 Gooey Center-- Loves openly and without reservation. and also……………………  8/11 Laser Pointer Focus– Molly’s focus is loving his friends and knowing fuck all.  5/11 Furious Devotion– Found a tall sad lady and made his circus adopt her. gives money to orphans.  7/11 Hideous Cackling– Genuinely personified this action for two years.  11/11 total score: 52/77

Jester Collection of Crap– In addition to being the Holder Of The Bag, she also collects doughnuts and cool shit. While most of her random shit has potential uses, it’s also a whole lot of random shit. Some of its weasels.  10/11 Chaos– Spreading discord is a religious mandate for her. Her powers come from chaos.  11/11 Minionhood– A champion of the Yes And, she is more likely to voice her opinion of an existing plan than come up with her own. She is definitely a better minion than the Traveler’s other ONE.  10/11 Gooey Center– Physically well-defended, she has the luxury of wearing her heart on her sleeve. 6/11 Laser Pointer Focus– It might seem like she’s easily distracted, but that’s actually because her surface level attention is secondary. her primary goal is actually Fucking Shit Up, and she’s good at it. 7/11 Furious Devotion– Gets attached and does. not. let. go.  10/11 Hideous Cackling– The end goal of practically everything Jester does is Cackling With The Traveler, and she often succeeds.  10/11 total score: 64/77

Caduceus: Collection of Crap– Dude has a swarm of bugs living in his staff, and his backpack is full of tea.  8/11 Chaos– NOT a fan of stuff that disrupts the proper order of nature, but he is developing a wonderful and unique sense of humor. 5/11 Minionhood– Of all the M9, Caduceus has the strongest adherence to an ironclad and pre-written set of ethics and willingness to follow the path a greater power has laid out for him.  10/11 Gooey Center– Encourages everyone else to talk about their feelings, yet doesn’t talk about his own in the same way. Mysterious. 7/11 Laser Pointer Focus– Has a well-defined goal, but not a well defined path. 11/11 Furious Devotion-- You can’t be On A Quest To Save Your Home (And The World?) if you’re not devoted to your home. However we haven’t seen the fury? Structured devotion is different and not exactly Goblin. 5/11 Hideous Cackling– Cackling is a bit more intense than what he does, but he’s on the right track. 5/11 total score: 51/77

final ranking (out of 77)

38, Beau 👊

43, Caleb 🐱

44, Nott 🏹

50, Fjord 🗡️

51, Caduceus 🐞

52, Molly 🎴

53, Yasha ⚡

64, Jester 🦄

All in all, a pretty Goblin Group, and Nott, the only one who is physically a goblin, is not even in the middle of the pack. Clearly, true Goblin Spirit is something else all together. 

It seem that perhaps the True Goblin Was The Friends We Made Along The Way. also Jester.

[astrogeoguy]

Comet Wirtanen Brightens before the Winter Solstice, Telescope Shopping Tips, the Moon covers a Star, and the Full Moon Before Yule Spoils the Ursids!

(Above: This image of Comet 46P/Wirtanen was captured by talented Canadian astrophotographer Alan Dyer on December 15, 2018. More of his amazing sky work is here.)

Hello, Stargazers!

Here are your Astronomy Skylights for the week of December 16th, 2018 by Chris Vaughan. Feel free to pass this along to your friends and send me your comments, questions, and suggested topics. I repost these emails with photos at http://astrogeoguy.tumblr.com/ where all the old editions are archived. You can also follow me on Twitter as @astrogeoguy! Unless otherwise noted, all times are Eastern Time. Please click this MailChimp link to subscribe to these emails. If you are a teacher or group leader interested joining me on a guided field trip to York University’s Allan I. Carswell Observatory or the David Dunlap Observatory, visit www.astrogeo.ca.

I can bring my Digital Starlab inflatable planetarium to your school or other daytime or evening event, visit DiscoveryPlanitarium.com and request me. We’ll tour the Universe together!

Public Astro-Events

Every Monday evening, York University’s Allan I. Carswell Observatory runs an online star party - broadcasting views from four telescopes/cameras, answering viewer questions, and taking requests! Details are here. On Wednesday nights they offer free public viewing through their rooftop telescopes. If it’s cloudy, the astronomers give tours and presentations. Details are here. 

If the skies are clear, from 7 to 10 pm on Sunday, December 16, at the Iroquois Sports Centre in Whitby, astronomers from RASC will set up telescopes to view Comet 46P/Wirtanen (more about the comet below), and the public are welcome to join them. Details are here. 

Solstice!

Happy Holidays, everyone! Or, as we astronomers say, “Have a Happy Solstice and a Merry Perihelion!” 

For the Northern Hemisphere, the first day of winter, also called the Winter Solstice, occurs on Friday, December 21 at 5:23 pm Eastern Time. At that precise moment, the north pole of Earth’s axis of rotation will be tilting directly away from the sun. Every day, at local noon, the sun reaches its highest position in the sky for that day. But at the Winter Solstice, that highest position is the lowest (i.e., farthest south, celestially) for the entire year, and we receive the shortest amount of daylight. The sunlight that we do get this time of year is diluted because it’s spread over a larger area, the same way a flashlight beam looks dimmer when you shine it obliquely at a wall (try it!). 

(Above: At the Winter Solstice, the Earth’s axis of rotation tips away from the sun, putting the noonday sun lowest in the southern sky for the year.)

Fewer hours and weaker sunlight both translate into less received solar energy (insolation) and therefore colder temperatures! Good news for us, though - after Friday, our days start growing longer again! For our friends in the Southern Hemisphere, the Sun will attain its highest noon-time height for the year on the solstice, and it marks the start of their summer season. 

It is NOT the case, as some people think, that we are colder in winter because we are farther from the Sun (a position called aphelion). That event happens every year in early July! On the contrary – we’re approaching Earth’s nearest position from the Sun (perihelion), which occurs every January 4, or thereabouts. 

Some people think that Christmas was deliberately placed close to the solstice, and Easter placed close to the Vernal Equinox, because early non-Christian “pagans” were already holding celebrations to mark the astronomical changing of the seasons. 

Telescope Buying Tips

A few people have asked me about buying a first telescope. Two of the most important characteristics in telescope performance are its aperture (the diameter of the main “tube”) and the sturdiness of the mount/tripod. The aperture is the diameter of the main mirror or lens in the telescope - and the larger it is, the more light it can gather, allowing fainter objects to be seen more easily. A larger aperture also increases the telescope’s angular resolution, or sharpness, which is especially helpful for planets. 

In a refractor telescope (the type with the lens at the front end of the main tube), look for a minimum diameter of 60 mm. This type of telescope will offer nice views of the brighter planets, the Moon, double stars, and brighter nebulae and clusters. The performance of a telescope improves with the square of the aperture, so an 80 mm telescopes is (80*80)/(60*60) = 1.8 times more powerful than a 60 mm telescope! That’s nearly twice as good! 

(Above: A Dobsonian-style telescope offers the ideal mix of ease of use, stability, and light-gathering for seeing the moon, planets, and deep sky objects.)

In reflector telescopes (the type with the large mirror inside the bottom of the main tube), diameters of 6 or 8 inches are common and affordable. Because of that aperture scaling rule, they outperform the refractor telescope by showing dimmer galaxies and clusters, especially under a dark sky, while also showing the same brighter objects. (An 8-inch reflector gathers seven times as much light as an 80 mm refractor!) 

The second important factor when shopping is the mount, including the tripod. A high quality telescope on a rickety mount is practically useless. Every time you touch it, for focusing or centering an object, you set off a wild shaking of the image. This is one of the main reasons why cheap department store telescopes are poor investments – people get frustrated when they can’t put objects in the field of view and keep them there. 

Skywatcher makes a good affordable series of starter telescopes. Here’s a 70mm diameter model that ticks all the boxes. They have larger aperture versions, too. Look for the “AZ3” part of the model number. It’s a good, lightweight, and sturdy tripod that includes slow motion controls for following the object as the Earth turns. Any other brand with the same specifications should be okay, too. 

The type of telescope I recommend most for beginners is the Dobsonian style. While larger and heavier, they are simple and easy to set up and use. They are less portable, but are quite rugged and can be transported in the trunk of your car if padded decently. The beauty of the Dobsonian design is the extremely sturdy mounting system – not a tripod, but a swivelling and tilting box that holds the big tube. Once aimed at a target, a simple nudge with your finger will re-centre the object without any undue shaking. These types of telescopes typically show a generous amount of sky in their eyepiece, making finding targets much easier. I’ll post a picture of this type here. 

The best brands of consumer telescopes include Meade Instruments, Celestron, Skywatcher, Orion, and iOptron. Some of the GTA telescope vendors include Durham Skies, New Eyes Old Skies, Ontario Telescope, KW Telescope, and Khan Scope. Many of these vendors offer both new and used equipment, which can be a very cost effective solution. Dobsonians in particular can be found used on sites like Kijiji and the Canadian astronomy selling site Astrobuysell, mainly because people find them harder to store. Prices for good, used telescopes range from $250 to $400. If you are buying used, make sure that you try the telescope on a star – to ensure that you can achieve a sharp pinpoint focus. 

One last tip – the eyepiece does the job of magnifying. So look for telescopes that accept eyepieces with 1.25” diameter barrels – the standard for quality equipment. That way you can add extra eyepieces, or upgrade to better quality ones later. Here’s an online beginner telescope buying guide from the Backyard Astronomer's Guide folks. 

Bright Comet Update

For the past few weeks, I’ve been updating you about an evening comet that anyone can see worldwide. I gave some basic information on the comet here. Here’s an update on how to see Comet 46P/Wirtanen this week and what to expect. 

(Above: The path of Comet 46P/Wirtanen through the sky for the next week, starting below the bright Pleiades Cluster at top right. Yellow dots represent 6-hour intervals.)

Comet 46P/Wirtanen is predicted to brighten until December 16, when its orbit will carry it closest to both Earth and the sun. It’s now bright enough to see without binoculars if you are under a dark sky away from artificial lights. It’s quite easy in binoculars, if you know where to look. Don’t try searching for the comet with a telescope – the patch of sky seen in the eyepiece is so small that you’ll likely miss the comet.  But once you know where it is, use the telescope to look closely at it! The moon will increasingly affect the night sky this week, so you should try to see the comet on the first clear night this week. 

Look for a faint, green, fuzzy blob surrounding a bright point of light. Reports are that the halo around the comet is as wide as a full moon – that’s half a finger’s width held at arm’s length. If Comet 46P/Wirtanen grows a tail, the tail will extend east (to the left), away from the sun. You can begin to look for the comet as soon as the sky is dark. The comet will then climb to its highest point, halfway up the southern sky, at around 10:45 pm local time. Then it will set in the west at dawn. 

The orbit of this comet is carrying it up through the plane of the solar system from below. This week, the comet will continue to drift north, moving it higher in the sky, and to the left, for observers in mid-northern latitudes. Tonight (Sunday), the comet will land four finger widths (or 4°) below, and a little to the left of, the very easy-to-identify Pleiades star cluster. That’s the bright little cluster of bluish stars above the very bright orange star Aldebaran in Taurus. For the rest of this week, the comet will make a bee-line towards the bright star Capella in Auriga (the Charioteer). On Wednesday night, the comet will pass a thumb’s width (1.3° below the Northern Trifid Nebula (also designated NGC1579), setting up a potential photo op for astrophotographers. Wirtanen will pass a pinky finger’s width (25 arc-minutes) above the medium-bright star Saclateni (Zeta Aur) on December 21, and then slide a finger’s width below  (i.e., 1° to the east of) the very bright, yellow Capella on Sunday, December 23. In late evening the comet will be nearly overhead, perfect for seeing it through the least amount of intervening air. 

The Ursids Meteor Shower Peaks

The annual Ursids meteor shower, produced by debris dropped by periodic comet 8P/Tuttle, will peak during the early hours of Saturday, December 22, when seeing up to 20 meteors per hour is possible, under dark skies. The best time to watch will be from midnight to dawn that morning. Unfortunately, a full moon on the peak night will spoil the show for Ursids meteor watchers in 2018. True Ursids will appear to radiate from a position in the sky above Ursa Minor (the Little Dipper) near the star Polaris, but the meteors can appear anywhere during the time between dusk on Friday and dawn on Saturday. 

To see the most meteors, find a wide-open dark location, preferably away from light polluted skies, and just look up with your unaided eyes. Try to put the full moon behind a tree or a building. Binoculars and telescopes are not useful for meteors – their field of view are too narrow. Try not to look at your phone’s bright screen – it’ll ruin your night vision. And keep your eyes heavenward, even while you are chatting with companions. If the peak night is cloudy, a night or two on either side of that date will be almost as good. Happy hunting!

(Above: The radiant for the Ursids meteor shower is in the northern sky near the star Kochab in Ursa Minor, which is also known as the Little Dipper.)   

The Moon and Planets

This first half of this week will still be a good opportunity to pull out your telescope or binoculars and view the moon after dinner time. (Let your telescope pre-cool outside in a secure location for an hour or two before you look through it. Keep the lens caps on until you begin your observing, and wrap the cold telescope in a plastic bag or telescope case before you bring it inside. That will minimize any frost or dew forming on the cold parts.) 

The moon was at its First Quarter phase yesterday (Saturday), so it will wax and be illuminated by slanting sunlight until Friday evening. In the meantime, the moon will move through Cetus (the Sea-Monster), then Pisces (the Fishes), and then return to Cetus’ head on Tuesday night. That night will also bring a chance to easily see the moon pass in front of, or occult, a star. 

As the southeastern sky is darkening on Tuesday evening, December 18, the dark leading limb of the moon will move over the medium-bright (magnitude +4.30) star Xi Ceti (also known as Al Kaff al Hidhmah II) at approximately 5:35 pm EST. The star will reappear from behind the moon’s opposite, illuminated east limb at 6:47 pm. Sharp eyes can watch the event without aid, but binoculars or a small telescope will make it very easy. Start looking a few minutes beforehand. It’s fun to watch the star disappear suddenly as the dark moon covers it! 

(Above: Between 5:35 pm and 6:47 pm Eastern time in the southeastern sky on Tuesday evening, December 18, the moon will occult the medium-bright star Xi Ceti (also known as Al Kaff al Hidhmah II). Binoculars or a telescope will aid in seeing the event, which is shown here towards the end, at 6:47 pm EST.)

Starting in mid-evening on Thursday, December 20, in the eastern sky, the waxing gibbous moon’s orbital motion will carry it directly through the Hyades star cluster, the stars that form the triangular face of Taurus (the Bull). The moon will enter the cluster at about 8 pm EST. It will be in the middle of the “V” of Taurus at about 11:30 pm. By 4 am EST, the moon will exit the cluster after passing within a finger’s width above the bright, orange, foreground star Aldebaran. By that time, the moon and Taurus will have moved over to sit above the western horizon. 

The December full moon, traditionally known as the Oak Moon, Cold Moon, Long Nights Moon, and the Moon before Yule, will occur at 12:49 pm EST on Saturday. This Full moon always shines in or near the stars of Taurus, but by the time the moon rises at 5 pm local time, it will be among the stars forming the feet of Gemini (the Twins). Since the moon is opposite the sun on this day of the lunar month, the moon is always fully illuminated and rises at sunset and sets at sunrise. Interestingly, full moons during the winter months in North America climb as high in the sky as the summer noonday sun, and cast similar shadows. 

Wow! The eastern pre-dawn sky is loaded with planets this week! Mercury is currently making an excellent appearance for anyone living in the Northern Hemisphere. It will be low, in a fairly dark southeastern sky, at around 6:30 am local time, and remain in view until about 7:15 am local time while it is carried higher. When viewed in a telescope, Mercury will exhibit a crescent phase. As the week wears on, Mercury will drop lower. 

By around 7 am local time, look for very bright Jupiter sitting about four finger widths below, and slightly to the left of, Mercury. On the coming weekend, Mercury will descend to pass less than a finger’s width to the upper left of Jupiter.

(Above: The eastern pre-dawn sky hosts the planets Jupiter, Mercury, and Saturn, as shown here at 7 am local time on December 17. On the weekend of December 22-23, Jupiter and Venus will be very close together.)  

Venus is much higher in the eastern sky than Mercury and Jupiter, because it rises hours earlier - at about 4 am local time. Viewed through a telescope, Venus will also show a crescent phase and it’s stunningly bright now! 

Mars continues to dominate the southern evening sky, even as it is slowly shrinking in size and brightness. This week, the reddish planet will shine in the lower part of the southern evening sky on the border between Aquarius (the Water-Bearer) and Pisces (the Fishes). Mars will set in the west just before midnight local time. 

Blue-green Uranus (“YOU-ran-us”) is in the southern evening sky. It’s still close to its peak brightness (magnitude 5.7) and size for this year. You can see Uranus without optical aid under very dark skies, but binoculars and telescopes work better. Look for Uranus about 1.5 finger widths to the upper left (east) of the modestly bright star Torcular (or Omega Piscium). That star sits a generous palm’s width above the “V” where the two starry cords of Pisces (the Fishes) meet. This week, Uranus will be at its highest point, over the southern horizon, at about 8 pm local time – the best position for seeing it clearly.

(Above: The position of distant blue Neptune, with respect to Mars this week.)  

Neptune met Mars last week, but the red planet is rapidly pulling away from the distant blue planet. Tonight (Sunday) Mars will be a palms’ width to the upper left of Neptune. This week, Neptune will become visible in strong binoculars or a telescope once the sky becomes fully dark. The planet will set at about 11 pm local time. With Mars now unavailable to help us find Neptune, look for Neptune about two finger widths to the upper left of the modestly bright star Hydor (Lambda Aquarii), where it’s been for quite some time.

Keep looking up, and enjoy the sky when you do. I love questions and requests - so, send me some!

[dunamanticarchivist]

The Munchkin Nein - Condor Widogast Part 2

Welcome back everyone, to tonight’s episode of how to murder hobo, by our resident hobo wizard, Caleb Widogast. We last left off having reviewed his FIREpower and now, onto the greater subtleties of magic that showcase the versatility of the wizard, and how well it can sync up with the rest of the Mighty Nein.

And off we go again, my labels for each spell in square brackets [buff, debuff etc]

Maximilian’s Earthen Grasp (level 2, concentration 1 minute) 

[Crowd control]

Target must make a STR save or suffer 2d6 bludgeoning DMG and is restrained.

A crowd favourite that came in clutch against the gelatinous cube in ep15.

It is the only source of non-magical damage in Caleb’s arsenal, aside from physically fighting. Restrained is a powerful condition, reducing speed to absolute zero regardless of modifiers. It also gives DISAV (disadvantage) to the target’s attack rolls, as well as ADV (advantage) to ALL attack rolls on the target. Finally, the target has DISAD on DEX saves. While Caleb can use an action to force a separate STR save on subsequent turns to deal 2d6 bludgeoning DMG, it’s probably not very efficient. The firebolt cantrip does 2d10, with advantage due to restrained (so roll that nat 20). Burning hands does 3d6 or more, and the target’s DEX save gets DISAD

On the downsides, it only has 30 feet of range, takes an action and requires concentration. The target can use its action to have another go at the STR save, which frees it if passed. However, even if the target breaks free, at the cost of Caleb’s action, that cat’s paw can still try to restrain the target again if they remain within 5 feet of it. Alternatively, it can re-position itself within a 30 foot radius of Caleb. 

Enlarge (level 2, concentration, 1 minute)

[Buff]

Another crowd favourite, especially given the targets Caleb has not very subtly chosen (Caleb is most definitely a Beauyasha shipper). Mechanically, the doubling in size gives ADV on STR checks and saves. If the target is holding weapons, they deal d4 extra DMG.

So, a straight up damage boost, especially helpful for characters with multiple attacks (Beau can go up to 5 attacks, with Sentinel reaction and flurry of blows, Molly and Yasha tie at 3 for 2nd place). And the improvement on the STR checks help with things like grappling or shoving which Beau has shown to be rather fond of (0 STR mod, but proficiency in athletics), and the STR save is good for getting out of said situations. 

Once again, its a spell that needs concentration, reinforcing the need for Caleb to hang back, which he has been doing so far. Of note is that the target and everything it bears multiplies by 8 in weight, which might cause some floors to give way. I recommend watching out for potential environmental hazards.

Reduce (level 2 transmutation, concentration, 1 minute)

[Debuff]

The flip side of the coin with Enlarge, its actually in the same spell entry, which is an advantage since Caleb can prepare both without being 2 spells (which will be increasingly important as Caleb can only prep 10 spells a day + 1 for every new level, but learns at least 2 more every new level aside from copying spells). If used on an unwilling creature, it must make a CON save, or else it gets DISAD on STR checks and saves, and gets a 1d4 DMG penalty to its weapon attacks, though it cannot reduce the DMG below 1.

So pretty much the flipped application of enlarge, making foes vulnerable  and weaker. In this case the reduction in weight might be helpful in setting off less traps, not that anyone seems particularly weighty in the Nein atm.

Haste (level 3, concentration, 30 feet, 1 minute)

[Buff]

Gotta go fast! Double speed, +2 AC, ADV on DEX saves, and an additional option: one weapon attack, dash, disengage, hide, or use an object.

Highly versatile spell for positioning, defense and offence. Double speed benefits characters with high base speed (Beau, Yasha at 40 ft) more so than others. +2 AC and ADV to DEX saves makes the target a slick dodgy fellow in combat, as well as the additional movement options. And finally, the extra attack is a simple boost while the additional interaction is up to roleplay ingenuity. 

Slow (level 3, concentration, 120 feet, 1 minute)

[Debuff]

The sister spell to Haste, but mechanically somewhat different. AoE 40 foot cube, affects up to 6 creatures. The target must make a WIS save or suffer the following effects: half speed, -2 AC, DISAD on DEX saves, cannot take reactions. Only action OR bonus action. Limited to one attack. Also, if casting a spell that costs 1 action, it has a 50% chance of being unable to complete the spell this turn and must use its action the following turn to do so. If unable to, the spell is wasted. 

As we can see, its a pretty nasty debuff to the capacity of the poor targets to achieve much on its turns. Also makes it less dodgy and more sitting ducky. 

Mage Armor (level 1, 1 action, 8 hours)

[Buff]

Rather straight forward AC buff on unarmored targets: 13 + DEX mod.

This gives Caleb AC 14, which is a +3 compare to his default AC 11. Alternatively, it can give Nott AC 17 which is a +1. Or Yasha AC 15, which is also +1. The other characters at the moment will not benefit or are worse off.

Arguably it is a viable buff for Yasha who is more likely to use that AC in melee, but we have definitely seen that the encounters have a tendency to target the fire spitting wizard. Also, that 8 hour duration allows it to be cast before combat is all but certain. 

Shield (reaction, until start of character’s next turn)

[Buff]

A temporary increase to Caleb’s AC by 5. Can come in very clutch as we saw in the Victory Pit. Negates magic missile as mentioned in the previous post. Arguably, mage armor isn’t as necessary with this around, but having AC 19 as a squishy wizard feels delicious. 

Blur (level 2 illusion, concentration, 1 minute)

[Debuff technically]

We actually haven’t seen this, but it’s listed on critrolestats. Gives any attack rolls on Caleb DISAD, unless the attacker doesn’t rely on sight or sees through illusions. 

Another spell for Caleb to evasion tank, but I don’t really foresee Caleb liking to be the center of focus fire, unless for RP reasons, in which case, yep its totally going to be effective. 

Sleep (level 1 enchantment, 1 minute, 90 feet range, 20 feet radius from point)

[Crowd Control]

This entry is missing from critrole stats as of posting, but we definitely saw this in the Victory Pit. Complicated spell, which is why i saved it for nearly the last. 

To begin, roll 5d8 and addtional 2d8 for each spell level above 1. (So 22.5 is the mean, +7 each additional spell level). In the affected 20 foot radius sphere, rank the creatures from lowest HP to highest. Starting from the lowest, if their current HP is less than the rolled number, they fall asleep. Subtract the HP of the affected creature and move to the next lowest HP. If a creature’s HP is greater than the remaining pool of HP rolled, it is unaffected and the spell stops propagating. 

Once again, we’ve seen this spell do some work. Although its mechanics seem to favour putting multiple weaker creatures to sleep to avoid being overwhelmed. Also, Caleb has been mindful that it doesn’t discriminate between friendly and hostiles, which also means he could actually replicate Modern Literature without overt friendly fire. 

Finally I’ll list some non-combat spells for completion, since these do not have direct damage, unikely to have straightforward effects on hostile creatures or are too unwieldy to cast in combat. They do of course open up a whole vista of opportunity for creative roleplay and ingenuity with sufficient planning. 

Dancing Lights

Simple light sources could be crucial in setting ambushes on dark vision incapable foes, sadly, Caleb himself would be one of them. Also, it can be debated if Matt allows the combination of the light to blind foes (most likely Drow?)

Find Familiar

Good old Frumpkin everyone’s favourite therapy animal. Sick of getting kicked. Or eaten by cubes. Or poofed. Also can’t see in the dark. However, can serve as a conduit for touch based spells, extending them by a range of up to 100 feet. Can also interact with objects (as much as a cat is able to). Matt has allowed Frumpkin to make an attack, but that’s really more for roleplay. Has lots of fun potential. 

Unseen servant

Schimdt has proven pretty useful as a scroll case opener. In combat, he acts as an extra interaction with objects, at the cost of a bonus action. So theoretically, he could trigger traps that the Mighty Nein set for their enemies that require remote activation (up to 60 feet)

Friends

Generally used to avoid combat, but one could easily disguise as your enemy and then use the spell, possibly gaining an ally. Idk, once again, imagination is the limit. 

And there my friends, is Caleb Widogast in combat. Pasting my work onto Word, holy crap 3 pages worth of text? Where was this loquaciousness when I was rushing my assignment on the deadline? Thank you all for reading this far if you’ve made it. Short summary and wrapping thoughts below. 

A solid roster of spells, with a lovely amount of variation. Let it never be said that the Mighty Nein cannot work together; this wizard is able to support his newfound friends, lay on the pain to those who would hurt them and prevent that from happening to begin with. To do so to the utmost, they just need to have a bird brain or two *hrroo hrroo sneak attack*

If I had to nitpick, all these spells take up an action (aside from Shield being reaction). So only one, of all the above effects in this part and the previous, will be available for casting each turn. Spells with persistence ameliorate this to a certain extent, but in most such cases, there are opportunities for foes to counter the spell. Which of course, adds to the fun and challenge. If I had to make a recommendation, I would suggest something that makes use of only a bonus action (like Unseen Servant), to expand the capabilities of this dirty wizard. For the sake of demonstration, Melf’s Minute Meteor’s allows you to throw 2x 2d6 fire DMG meteors, subject to DEX saves (which a target has been restrained by Earthen Grasp has disadvantage on). But this is purely an indulgence on my part for theorycrafting possibilities that do not exist. 

I will be looking into the combinations with other characters shy of straight buffs. Because we need good RP reasons to get the characters to use them, cos this is Critical Role. Send me your headcannons on what scenarios could utilize the capabilities of Caleb in conjunction with the others, which I will be writing at length on in the coming days. 

“I was so sure, until I wasn’t” 

                                                  - Caleb Widogast

Also me trying to find good RP reasons for Caleb to act optimally To be fair, Caleb isn’t my character so I wouldn’t know the slightest thing about his internal thoughts, nor should I pretend to, since that’s Liam O’Brien’s job, and he does it so fucking well (except when he almost killed Beau with Caleb by accident in ep 21) But that’s a whole other can of worms that I am so not opening. Yet.

It’s almost Tuesday, FAN ARTISTS AND GIF MAKERS remember to SUBMIT!

[youspoketome]

My Favorite Albums of 2018

I tried something new this year. All year long, every time I bought a new album I added it to a note on my phone as a list so that I could adjust the order as needed. Some things settled into their order quickly, but a couple spots went down to the wire. Embarrassingly, I was just looking at my 2015 list and six albums on that list were the previous albums by six of the bands on this list, and one was a solo album by the singer of a seventh band listed here. I'm not quite sure what that means in the grand scheme of things. And that seems like a long enough introduction, so here we go!

Murder By Death - THE OTHER SHORE

Honestly, I thought Murder By Death was finished having albums on top of my best of lists. I had been so disappointed in GOOD MORNING, MAGPIE. That album had like two good songs, but the rest was at best forgettable filler and at worst sounded like a parody of themselves. The two albums since then had definitely been better, but still not at the levels of their earlier albums. Enter THE OTHER SHORE: an incredible return to the long form concept album following a story of love and dying planets in a western in space. It's full of catchy hooks without ever being clichè, small character moments and big, world-ending finishes. Best of all, it's got ripping 2-minute long cello solos. This is peak Murder By Death right here.

mewithoutYou - [UNTITLED]

mewithoutYou is another band I've loved for years, but thought was coming off of a weaker album. I enjoyed PALE HORSES (it made my top ten list the year it came out), but it didn't have anything that really grabbed me and made it a necessary part of the mwY canon. [UNTITLED] immediately feels important. It's not the most easily accessable album, but when have mewithoutYou ever been accessable? This is an album that has layers that you can appreciate as you dig down to them on further listens. Over the years mwY's sound has evolved from the heavier hollerin' of [A->B] LIFE and CATCH FOR US THE FOXES to the completely clean and folky IT'S ALL CRAZY... and back again. [UNTITLED] really blends things together by taking the heaviness from early albums and adding them in for flavor rather than building the songs around them, giving the songs depth and intensity. For my money, it's their best album since BROTHER, SISTER. Still waiting on that album/EP collector's edition to ship though, so no pictures.

Gregory Alan Isakov - EVENING MACHINES

I've enjoyed Gregory Alan Isakov's previous albums of folky songs fit for sitting on the front porch at your farm while reading an old book, but whenever I'd see him live my favorite song was always the non-album track "Liars" and I'd always wish he'd record it. That song seemed darker than anything else he'd written and had this slow build to an epic climax that almost gave you chills. He finally did record it on his studio album with the Colorado Symphony in 2016 and then he followed that up with his most eclectic album yet. From the soft and haunting opener "Berth," all the way to the end, EVENING MACHINES expands on what Isakov is willing to do, keeping that same welcoming, mellow feel, but getting there in new ways and with new instruments. "Caves" captures that darkness "Liars" had in a way that is wholly satisfying to me. It feels like he wrote the album I didn't even realize I had been wanting him to write all along.

Emery - EVE

I've always enjoyed Emery, but it wasn't until their last album YOU WERE NEVER ALONE when they broke the album down song by song on a behind the scenes podcast that I fully appreciated them as musicians. Unlike a lot of bands that came out at the same time in the same genre, Emery is a band with multiple members who have actually studied how music works and can point out and name every single time signature and key change in every song. Now with EVE, I've been able to listen to the little details, noticing and appreciating the attention they give to every little part of each song. The way they don't add the screamed vocal at this part of the song because that seems to obvious, so they save it for when it'll be more striking. How they add the harmonies and layer the vocals. Some bands with that kind of background forget how to write a catchy song or what makes a song enjoyable to listen to, but Emery has this ability to perfectly blend this crazy musicianship with honest, straight from the gut songwriting. The end result is an album full of fantastic songs with awesome little parts and details that make it special and stand out.

Thrice - PALMS

For me (and a lot of people, I think) Thrice and Thursday have always been kind of linked. I discovered them at the same time, both on their second albums. They were post-hardcore bands, similar enough sounding to compare to each other and they both started experimenting with their sound on their fourth albums. Then they both announced they were breaking up within a day of each other. The weird thing is when I first discovered them, I preferred Thursday hands down. Then they both released their third albums and cemented my opinions of them, so much so that I decided not to buy Thrice's fourth album when it came out. Man, that was a huge mistake. That fourth album, VHEISSU was the album when Thrice hit their stride, expanding and exploring their sound with each release since then. Each of their post-reunion albums have continued this trend and PALMS might be their best full album yet.

Frank Turner - BE MORE KIND

To be honest, I'm surprised this album is this far down. If you had me rank my expected best albums of the year list at the beginning of the year, Frank Turner with have been number one with a bullet. But BE MORE KIND was not the album I was expecting, and I was a little let down by it. That I'm saying that my number 6 album of the year was a bit of a let down should tell you how highly I think of Frank Turner. It starts off strong with the mellow opener of "Don't Worry" followed by a full on banger in "1933." But the third track "Little Changes" just didn't hit for me. It seemed like Frank Turner dumbed down for the masses. And it's not that it's too poppy; I enjoy myself a good pop song. It's just that the songwriting seems so simple. There are a number of really good songs throughout the rest of the album (like "Blackout"), but the overarching feel for me is that it's too simplistic, there's no depth to any of the songwriting. All that said, it's hard to rag too much on it because how can you bash an album that's sole message is to be kind and positive and to treat other people decently? Maybe it's that message that made him lose his teeth. In summation, I like Frank Turner a lot, even when he's disappointing me.

Smoking Popes - INTO THE AGONY

INTO THE AGONY is the Smoking Popes first album in seven years. They were putting out albums more frequently than that while they were broken up! After being broken up from 1999-2005, the Popes returned with STAY DOWN, which was not the strongest album to come back on. It was mostly a downer and ended up being completely forgettable for me. This time, upon returning from a seven year album cycle with new album they've knocked it out of the park. It's upbeat and catchy, it's slow and meaningful, it features Josh Caterer's soaring vocals, and it's another fantastic entry into the catalog.

Death Cab For Cutie - THANK YOU FOR TODAY

I think Death Cab's existence as a band is better broken up into stages. You've got the pre-TRANSATLANTICISM era, the TRANS/PLANS era, NARROW/CODES, and now KINTSUGI/THANK YOU. TRANS/PLANS is my favorite era. It's where I discovered Death Cab, it's where I spend the most time with them, it's just the best. But after a bit of a dip there for a couple albums (not saying they were bad, it was just a dip), I felt like KINTSUGI was a step back up, and now THANK YOU FOR TODAY continues in the same vein. It's a more electronic/synthy sound than previous eras, which sets it apart from their highest peaks, so you're not just constantly comparing it to something they'll probably never reattain. I really enjoy where this era is taking them.

Alkaline Trio - IS THIS THING CURSED?

This past summer I decided to give Alkaline Trio's AGONY & IRONY a listen for the first time in I don't know how long. Everyone agrees Alkaline Trio used to be good and then got less good, and I agree, but that specific album was for me the low point, mostly because of "Love Love Kiss Kiss." But then this weird thing happened: I really enjoyed it. Even that song, which is still doofy, wasn't as bad as I remembered. I was so bummed out about it at the time, but that album has some really good songs on it. Even at their lowest point, I still really like Alkaline Trio. IS THIS THING CURSED? is a new Alkaline Trio album. It's got Matt songs, it's got Dan songs, it's got one Dan song that kind of too doofy (Little Help?), it strangely has multiple song titles that end in question marks, and it has an acoustic closer featuring Matt's scratchy-voiced wailing. This is another solid Alkaline Trio album.

The Decemberists - I'LL BE YOUR GIRL

Every year at the same time, all of the baseball websites post their top prospects lists, where they rank the upcoming minor league players in all of baseball or on each team individually, so people can get excited about the next wave of baseball All-Stars. In almost all of these lists you've got your top five or six guys who are clearly the best players in that team's minor league system in that order, but then at about number seven they kind of become interchangeable for a while. You could switch prospect #8 with #12 and no one would cause too much of a ruckus because they're all pretty similar at that point. We've reached that point in my best albums list (really, we reached that point with Alkaline Trio). These final couple spots could have also gone to 6666 by Four Fists, 9 by Saves The Day, KIDS SEE GHOSTS, or if I was in the right mood, even the new MXPX or the Matthew Thiessen solo album. What pushed I'LL BE YOUR GIRL across the line was (a) my wife's incredulousness at my mentioning it might not make the cut and (b) the fact that "Once In My Life" and "Everything Is Awful" have full-on been our anthem songs this past month. This is the Decemberists doing what they do. Folky songs about sea monsters, horse gallop rhythms, and cowboy sing-alongs. Throw in some synth lines to keep things fresh and baby, you've got a stew going.

[delectablyweepingnightmare-blog]

How I Passed the CSET....Little Tips and Pointers That Made the Difference Between Pass and Failure

New Post has been published on http://eduandlearning.tk/2017/06/21/how-i-passed-the-cset-little-tips-and-pointers-that-made-the-difference-between-pass-and-failure/

How I Passed the CSET....Little Tips and Pointers That Made the Difference Between Pass and Failure

The CSET — Your Path To A Rewarding Career!

Few careers can provide the levels of responsibility, satisfaction and fulfillment that teaching brings to California educators. Each day, thousands of teachers across California help their students to study, to learn and to reach for their dreams.

Good Teachers Create Great Lives

Teachers can touch lives in ways that no one else can. Everyone remembers at least one teacher who provided them with encouragement and inspiration, with the help and advice that they needed just when they needed it most.

You are one small step away from becoming such a teacher.

Good Teachers Also Lead Great Lives

But teachers don’t just inspire and educate. As a teacher, you’ll enjoy respect from your family and friends, and a social status given to few other professionals. You’ll have long paid vacations that will enable you to travel the world or pursue your own goals. And you’ll have an income that will bring you independence and a career path that can lead you from challenge to success.

All that stands between you and a rewarding career of educating, guiding and inspiring students right now is your CSET test.

Pass The CSET exam, Pass On Your CSET test Knowledge

The CSET exam is a series of single-subject tests intended to prove to the California Commission on Teacher Credentialing that you have the basic CSET test knowledge and ability to teach your subject in a classroom. There is also a CSET Multiple Subject exam which is required for K-8 certification.

Currently there is a

CSET Mathematics

CSET English

CSET Social Science

CSET Science

CSET Spanish

CSET Business

CSET Health Science

CSET Home Economics

CSET Physical Education

CSET French

CSET Spanish

CSET German

CSET Industrial and Technology Education

CSET Art

CSET Agriculture

With hard work and, no less importantly, the right CSET test preparation, you should find it easy to pass the CSET and start your teaching career.

What You Need To Know About The CSET

Whichever subject you intend to teach, you’ll find that passing the CSET test will require you to make use of two sets of skills: recalling the CSET knowledge that you possess about your subject; and answering exam questions quickly and accurately.

Both of these skill sets are vitally important on the CSET.

What is the CSET?

The CSET is a single subject exam, intended to replace the old Single Subject Assessments for Teaching and Praxis II tests. There are three types of test in the CSET:

Single Subject Teaching Credentials are mainly used from grades 7-12 and authorize a teacher to teach one particular subject.

Multiple Subject Teaching Credentials allow teachers to teach a range of different subjects and are generally used in elementary schools for grades K-6.

Education Specialist Instruction Credentials allow teachers to teach students who have a particular disability or special need in grades K-12.

Each exam in the CSET contains a number of subtests and lasts up to five hours. The sub-tests themselves are not timed however, allowing you to spend more time on areas that you find difficult and less time on the parts that you know best.

Time management will be an important element in getting the score you need to pass the CSET exam and become a teacher.

Two Types Of Questions, Two Types Of Challenge

CSET exam questions come in two forms: multiple-choice questions ask you to choose the best answer from a number of options. In these questions, it is important to remember that the best answer isn’t necessarily the only correct answer. You may find that two CSET exam answers look correct but one answer will be more correct than the other. (This also means that when two answers look the same, you’ve got a 50/50 chance of guessing the right one.)

Constructed-response CSET questions ask you to discuss, describe, analyze, explain etc. Often you’ll be asked to complete more than one task. Always read the question carefully and make sure that you have completed all the tasks.

CSET Test Taking Tips for Essay Writing

CSET Test Preparation– How To Cram Fast And Effectively

Whatever your subject, the CSET exam is going to expect you to have memorized vast amounts of information. Some of that CSET information you’ll know well because you use it every day. But much of the details that will turn up in the exam will be the sort of knowledge that will normally have you turning to the books to find the answers.

In the CSET, you’ll need to be able to recall those facts from your memory. That means being able to cram.

Top Methods To Quickly Complete CSET Test Preparation

At some point, just about everyone finds themselves having to cram for an exam. It might not be the best way to learn, but it’s often the only way to pass the test.

There are a number of effective techniques that you can use to fill your head with the information you need to breeze through your CSET exam.

1. Organize Your Priorities

No one excels at everything. There will inevitably be some subjects at which you are stronger and others at which you are weaker. You’ll need to make sure that you spend more time memorizing and learning your weaker areas than your stronger ones for the CSET.

Don’t worry if it looks like there’s a huge difference between the amount of work you have to do and the amount of time you have to do it. The next step will be to chop down the work and preparation required to pass the CSET.

2. Pick And Store for the CSET

Once you’ve identified those areas that will need the most work, read all the information through once. Highlight the most important points (don’t just underline: it’s easier to picture a highlighted page than an underlined sentence).

There are a number of different methods that you can then use to store your CSET exam information in your head:

o Break up what you need to learn into bite-sized chunks. There’s a limit to how much you can stuff into your short-term memory in one go. Take each piece a little at a time.

o Acrostics help you remember a list in the right order by turning them into strange sentences. My Dear Aunt Sally is the famous way to remember to Multiply and Divide before you Add and Subtract. You can create your own acrostic for any set of facts on the CSET.

o Turn your CSET notes into musical notes. If you can put the words you’re trying to memorize to a tune you like, you’ll find them much easier to remember. You might not be able to hum in the exam, but you can sing in the shower — and in the process, keep memorizing for the CSET;

3. Get the CSET Rammed Right In There! Cramming only puts the information you want in your head for a short time (using what you’re memorizing will keep it there for the long term). In order to stop what you’ve memorized falling out before your CSET exam, you’ll need to keep seeing it and going over it right up until you need it on the day.

Acing The CSET

The actual content of your exam will depend on the subject you’re thinking of teaching. The official CSET study guides will tell you what you’re supposed to know before you walk into the CSET exam room. You should certainly be familiar with the CSET guides that apply to you.

What the CSET study guides won’t tell you though is how to ace the CSET when you aren’t sure of the answer. That isn’t because you can’t do it; it’s because they don’t want you to know how to do it.

Here are 5 Ways To Ace The CSET (Even When You Don’t Know The Answer) 1. Do the easy questions first

Use the first few minutes of the exam to zip through the paper. You’ll certainly find some of the questions easier than others. Do those straight away. It will make you feel a bit better and give you more time for the tough questions. And if you find yourself getting stuck on a question, make a mark, leave it and move on. Come back to it at the end when you’ll have more time, more focus and less panic.

2. Use a process of elimination This is an absolute must on any multiple choice question. There will always be one or two questions that are outrageously wrong. Knock them out quick and your score doubles.

3. Drop extreme language and numbers One way to pick the bad answer choices from the good is to look at the wording of the answers. The examiners generally prefer the correct answer to be wishy-washy. Any answer choice that uses words like ‘all’, ‘never’ or ‘always’ are probably wrong. Similarly, on math and science questions, the highest and lowest figures are usually bad choices too. Take them out.

4. Identify similar answers

Another way to hone in on the right answer choices is to pick out any answers that look the same. Usually on the CSET exam, two answers will be extreme, one will look right and one will be right.

The one that looks right has been put there deliberately to confuse you.

The examiners are hoping that as you rush through the exam, you won’t notice that there’s a better answer right next to it and pick the wrong choice. That’s mean, but it actually does you a favor. When two answer choices look similar, one of them is likely to be right.

5. Use previous questions

One of the great things about long exams like the CSET is that the answer to one question can often be found in another part of the test. It’s going to be almost impossible for the examiners not to repeat a subject or duplicate a point. If you’re scratching your head over a question, move on and keep an eye out for it later. There’s a good chance that they’ll give the game away in a different question.

Those are just five simple tactics you can use to ace the CSET test. There are dozens of others and you’ll need them all to put yourself in the classroom and in front of the blackboard. To learn all the tactics you need, and to make sure that your CSET test preparation is right on track, check out our Study Guide and start your teaching career with top marks.

Source by Cary Hanson