ashmire13 wrote:Burning at the stake should be interesting also!! I'm guessing the ability to cackle like an old crone, have a 'pickle chaser' for a tooth and a warty nose and prime requisites...
Prufrock wrote:.....must have very cold tits.I could not stop myself (thanks for the setup ashmire13).Martin
smarmy1 wrote:And now a break from all this talk of exercise 10 Business Lessons I Learned from Playing Dungeons & Dragonshttp://www.javaworld.com/community/node/3156
benjoshua wrote:And on a completely different topic, I took a bunch of castle & dungeon pictures on my recent trip to England, Wales and Scotland. I thought some of them could prove useful for a DM in a campaign. What do you think?http://www.dragonsfoot.org/forums/viewt ... 47#p755247It sounds like a good idea, but drawings have more of a dungeony feel than a photo. Still.... If this needs to be a completely different thread, I apologize.
SoulCatcher78 wrote:Not sure if this is what you're meaning but here's a quick example (just a couple of filters to adjust and desaturation):[ Image ][ Image ]
killjoy32 wrote:while you were in wales, did you go to Pembroke Castle? the dungeon there is awesome...that would have made a good picture.Al
benjoshua wrote:I barely made into Wales, in fact, I barely made it into Ludlow Castle where some of the best pictures were taken. Most were taken at the Tower of London in London(duh!) and the Edinburgh Castle in Edinburgh (duh!). I'm sure there are plenty more castles where these kinds of pictures could be procured. Unfortunately, none of them are likely in the US.
gyg wrote:Not so duh! really - Leeds Castle anyone? (For our American Friends - The City of Leeds is a little over 200 miles North of London - probably about 240 miles from Leeds Castle!!)http://www.leeds-castle.com/goto.php?re ... |s0|g1|d0& - never been there btw, mean to every Summer but just never happens - can anyone recomend it?
Texas officials worry that deluge of stimulus funds might not go to quality projects11:05 PM CDT on Wednesday, July 8, 2009By DAVE MICHAELS / The Dallas Morning News dmichaels@dallasnews.com WASHINGTON -- The federal stimulus package has deluged some Texas agencies with so much money that state officials are worried the funding might not be spent on quality projects, according to a government report issued Wednesday. The Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs, which manages home weatherization funds, has $327 million to spend on work for which it's typically given $5 million a year. The Texas Workforce Commission's added haul requires it to find summer jobs for at least 14,420 young people -- nearly 15 times the number that found jobs through the program in 2008, according to the federal Government Accountability Office. "Anytime you receive that sort of an exponential increase in funding and corresponding increase in required activity levels, you are concerned [about] how you are going to marshal the resources to address it," said Tim Irvine, chief of staff and board secretary for the Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs. Texas relies entirely on federal funding to weatherize the homes of low-income people. It has a backlog of about 14,000 households that want assistance, which can include conducting home energy audits, improving insulation and replacing inefficient heating and cooling systems, Irvine said. Last year, the program weatherized 4,100 homes, department officials said. With stimulus funds, the state thinks it could address about 48,000 homes. Familiar with grants The department has more money than it can spend directly, so it's sending funds to large entities, such as Dallas County, which are familiar with federal grant procedures. "These are well-orchestrated, well-overseen and well-managed programs," Irvine said. The GAO report found the overall impact of stimulus funds on Texas' budget remains unclear. Congress said the stimulus would create millions of new jobs and prevent states from having to cut services and workers. But Texas didn't have to grapple with a budget deficit. The report credited additional Medicaid funding -- $2.5 billion -- with helping cover a shortfall in Texas's Medicaid budget for 2009. The boost also helped absorb growth in Medicaid enrollment, which grew 5.1 percent from October 2007 to May 2009. Nearly 3 million Texans now use the program, which provides health benefits for the poor and disabled. But the state does not have many new jobs to show for its stimulus investment, which totals $14.4 billion over several years. The latest report from the U.S. House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee said Texas' highway stimulus funds were responsible for 23 new jobs through the end of May. The GAO report said the Texas Department of Transportation reported obligating over $1.16 billion of its $2.25 billion in road funding -- mostly for paving improvements and pavement widening. TxDOT reported that it selected many paving jobs because "they can be started and completed quickly," according to the GAO. "We anticipate that hiring will ramp up as the summer continues," said Chris Lippincott, a TxDOT spokesman. "In the next few months, we'll move from paperwork to orange barrels, and that will mean jobs for Texans." The stimulus sent a record amount of funding to Texas for job training programs for young people, including about $6.8 million for Dallas County. The Workforce Commission told GAO, "the extremely short time frame" makes it difficult to set up a statewide program. The GAO studied two areas of the state, which included Collin and Denton counties, where training funds were invested. Those regions identified jobs for about 970 young people as of June 19. The state has until Sept. 30 to spend the funds. "Just the report from the Gulf Coast area and North Central [Texas] is very encouraging," said Ann Hatchitt, a spokeswoman for the commission. "We can reach this goal and get those youths the experience." Feud over school cash State and federal policymakers have been feuding over how Texas intends to spend another large injection of stimulus cash -- more than $3 billion that goes to support public education. U.S. Rep. Lloyd Doggett, D-Austin, has accused state Republicans of backing money out of the state budget and replacing that money with stimulus funds. Gov. Rick Perry says the Legislature appropriately programmed stimulus funds. But Texas school districts remain confused about how they are allowed to spend the money. The GAO report says the Houston Independent School District anticipates it will receive stimulus funds "in lieu of the state dollars they were expecting for fiscal year 2010." "The report issued by GAO illustrates the problems occurring in Texas. When commentators search for abuse in the use of federal monies expended through the Economic Recovery law, they are unlikely to find a more substantial example of abuse than the denial of Texas schoolchildren of $3.2 billion in an attempt to provide political security for a few," said Doggett. The Fort Worth ISD said it intends to use about $8 million of stimulus funds to pay for state-mandated increases in teacher salaries, but isn't sure if it's allowed under the stimulus law.
Badmike wrote:I about threw up when I read this.And just think, this sort of crap is going to happen in every state once the money starts flying.....I like the part where all the millions of bucks tossed here have "stimulated" 23 jobs..... Mike B.
Prufrock wrote:The legislation was passed in Feb. It takes time to get out into the communitity Only 11% of the money has been distributed to the states. And the states will take time to get the money moving into projects. More jobs will follow. I'm in no way defending this legislation - I do not know if it will work. But I've been around long enough to know that it will take longer than 4 months for anyone to be able to determine if it is working or not.Martin
