#golf balls and aluminum bats

[duscarasheddinn]

Looking for people to RP with in private messages

The RP idea I have is that you'd be a pair of humans or at least human-sized characters who are either roommates, dating and living together, or are spouses.

Who will I be? I'll be four characters who are all animate inanimate objects. There will be Theo the baseball, Dodger the tennis ball and Theo's wife, Avery the golf ball and the daughter of Theo and Dodger, and Dillon the aluminum baseball bat, who's best friends with Theo.

I want it to be narrated in third person and past tense. I also want it to stay SFW and gentle.

[corner-stories]

thrift store sluggers

Irey West. Bart Allen.

Baseball Bats. Gatorade. Thrifting.

1010 words.

(ao3.)

Bart was often placed on “Irey Duty,” which usually involved picking her up from school or baseball practice. On occasion he would chaperone her in gatherings of young heroes, and somewhat rarely he would be tasked with teaching her the tricks of the speed force trade. The day he taught her how to run on water was one he remembered fondly, as she spent the rest of the week referring to herself as “Speedster Jesus.”

But today was different. At a normal pace, the plucky speedster duo browsed the aisles of a Keystone City thrift store. The place was modestly sized and quite clean, a perfect treasure trove of random goodies just waiting to be found. It was somewhat crowded in the afternoon as the working class rifled around the place in search of good deals.

After walking amongst shelves and shelves of junk and knick-knacks, Bart and Irey come across the sports section.

They rummaged through random football pads and hockey sticks in search of anything that resembled baseball gear. Even though Irey was flourishing in Keystone’s Little League, she was tired of having to borrow bats from her teammates and wanted one on her own. Bart figured that thrifting one for her would cheer her up today, especially considering that he had to pick her up from after school detention.

He never did ask her how she got in trouble, but according to her teacher it had something to do with a bottle of red gatorade.

Soon enough, Bart discovered an aging Louisville Slugger in a barrel full of golf clubs. It was made of a chunk of maple that time forgot, but the price tag said ‘15$’ and it seemed to have a few more swings left in it.

“Yo, Irey! I found one!” Bart called out.

The little redhead scuffled towards her cousin. She eyed the bat, confused and unsure if it was a good fit for her.

Bart felt the weight of the Slugger in his hand. He had only seen a few of Irey’s games, but he could recall seeing her borrowing a bat of a similar size. The only difference was that said bat was made of aluminum and belonged to the largest kid on her team. Growth spurts in middle school were common, but Bart swore that Lita Roman was tall enough to pass for a high schooler. No wonder they let her play as catcher.

Irey often refused the offers of smaller bats, even by her coach. Perhaps she was just used to swinging with a bigger size, or maybe she was just very determined to prove that she was the strongest player and didn’t want to show any weakness. It could have been a bit of both.

“What size are you again?” asked Bart.

Irey shrugged as she took the bat in her hands. Almost immediately, she grasped it at the end and swung it with all her might.

Fortunately, she did not hit Bart. However, the bat just happened to strike a conveniently placed lacrosse ball just sitting on the shelves.

The plucky speedster duo could only stand and watch as the chunk of rubber flew from its stationary position and soared throughout the thrift store. It struck a wall and bounced off with a startlingly loud impact noise.

The other customers glanced over in shock as the ball descended down to the ground and landed in a basket of clothes near the changing room. Luck was on the side of the speedsters today, as the elderly lady working the cashier was conveniently napping as this all happened.

Irey’s eyes were wide and panicked when she glanced at her cousin again. Looking to him for guidance and advice was a common occurrence and Bart glaring like a deer in the headlights was even more so.

“Uh… okay, I guess we’re taking it,” Bart said, taking the Slugger from her hands. “My treat.”

Irey nodded quickly. “Okay. Can we stay here for a bit longer? I saw some old balls over there.”

It took all of Bart’s willpower to stifle a snicker. “Oh you betcha, sure.”

Irey grinned and happily skipped over to a large bin of miscellaneous sports junk. Most of them were depressingly deflated footballs and dodgeballs, but after rummaging around she managed to find some softballs and baseballs. It would be good to have a few around for practice, especially since her Little League coach had deemed Irey as “Official Back-Up Pitcher,” her killer curveball bringing her to glory.

As Irey gathered a bunch of old balls into her arms, Bart walked over with the old Slugger resting upwards against his shoulder.

“So… mind telling me why you got detention today?” he asked idly. “Did you like… pour gatorade all over a desk or something?”

Irey pursed her lips into a line and she focused only on the old bin of balls. “Do you know Linus Petzler?”

Bart nodded. “Yeah, the little shit in your gym class?”

Irey huffed. “He started tugging on girl’s ponytails during class. The teacher told him to stop but he kept doing it.”

“So you… threw gatorade at him?” Bart tried, confused.

Irey shook her head and stared her cousin straight in the eye. “No — at lunch all the girls were still mad at him, so we poured red gatorade all over a tampon and I chucked it at his table. It hit him in the face, so all the boys screamed and ran away and I took the fall for my classmates.” She spoke with a kind of honorable pride in her voice, as if she did a noble thing in order to protect the most vulnerable ones in the world.

Moments passed and Bart could only stare at her in shock. He wasn’t sure whether to fear Irey or respect her. Somehow, he managed an awkward chuckle and patted her on the shoulder.

“Well, girls will be girls,” he said with a joking grin. He gave her right arm an affectionate squeeze. “At least you’re using your powers for good.”

[jemch]

How It’s Made Index（S01~S10）

How It’s Made是由 Discovery Channel 制作一款王牌节目，又被翻译为制造的原理或造物小百科， 本片从2001年推出至今，涵盖了几乎所有的制造技术 ，非常适合机械专业和对此感兴趣的同学。希望大家享受这趟制造的艺术之旅！

第一季推出时间为2001-01-06至2001-03-31

S01E01 Aluminum foil, Snow Boards, Contact lenses, Bread. 铝箔，雪橇板，隐形眼镜，面包

本集看点：铝锭是如何一步步用轧制工艺压制成像纸一样薄的铝箔的；

S01E02 Compact Discs; Mozzarella Cheese; Pantyhose; Fluorescent Tubes. 光碟，奶酪，女式连袜裤，荧光灯管

本集看点：CD光盘是怎么从模具注塑出来的；玻璃管的热弯，以及荧光灯复杂的自动化制程；

S01E03 Toothpicks; Acrylic Bathtubs; Helicopters; Beer. 牙签，玻璃纤维增强塑料浴缸 ，直升机，啤酒

本集看点：牙签的制作，是类似于螺钉，是先用木材做成木板再切割而成；塑料的吸塑制程，玻璃纤维+树脂强化制程；碳纤维制作的飞机支架；

S01E04 Hearing Aids; 3-D Puzzles; Rubber Mats; Toilets 助听器，三维拼图，胶垫，抽水马桶

本集看点：用模具制作陶瓷的加工制程；

S01E05 Copy Paper; Jeans; Computers; Plate Glass 复印纸，牛仔裤，电脑，平板玻璃

本集看点： 浮法平板玻璃的制作过程；

S01E06 Nails and Staples; Safety Glasses; Fabrics; Bicycles 钉子，护目镜，布匹，自行车

本集看点：一卷钢丝的艺术之旅；透明塑胶模具的高亮抛光；线全自动编制成布；自行车架的焊接与喷涂工艺；

S01E07 Kayaks; Safety Boots; Electronic Signs; Cereals 皮划艇，安全靴，电子招牌，麦片粥

本集看点： 热塑性塑料的成型方法加工，不需要压力，只需要加热和摇晃即可；LED制成的大型广告或体育比赛显示屏

S01E08 Trucks; Adhesive Bandages; Computer Circuit Boards; Liquors 卡车，创口贴，计算机电路（PCB），酿酒（威士忌）

本集看点：SMT和波峰焊制程（单面器件），目前手机等产品已经主要使用回流焊制程；

S01E09 Steel; Apple Juice; Aircraft Landing Gear; Cosmetics 钢铁，苹果汁，起落架，化妆品

本集看点：钢铁是怎样练成的；车削和铣削加工，喷砂工艺，外观电镀处理；

S01E10 Holograms; Package Printing; Skin Culture; Canned Corn 全息摄影，包装盒，皮肤培植，罐装玉米

本集看点：还是不懂的全息摄影和底片冲洗；

S01E11 Plastic Bags; Solar Panels; Plastic Gasoline Containers; Hockey Sticks 塑料袋，太阳能电池板，塑料汽油桶，曲棍球棍

本集看点：塑料袋通过聚乙烯吹膜制程制作；吹塑制作塑料桶；

S01E12 Aluminum Screw Caps; Chocolate; Pills; Pasta 铝瓶盖，巧克力，药丸，面食

本集看点：铝合金的拉伸制程；

S01E13 Bicycle Helmets; Aluminum; Car Brakes; Lithium Batteries 自行车头盔，铝，汽车刹车，锂电池

本集看点：聚苯乙烯发泡注塑；电解铝制程，制作成铝锭；电池是怎么卷出来的；

本季资源链接： 

magnet:?xt=urn:btih:e1ec692441019f65979f29e09bc9f84b3bdf563e&dn

第二季推出时间为2002-09-07至2002-12-07

S02E01 Eyeglass Lenses; Granite; Potato Chips; Microprocessors 眼睛镜片，花岗石板，薯片，微处理器

本集看点：塑胶镜片的抛光和AR镀膜；芯片的封装制程；

S02E02 Honey; Fiber-Optics; Bricks; Pipe Organs 蜂蜜，光纤，砖块，管风琴

本集看点：玻璃管拉丝成为光纤；

S02E03 Personal Watercraft; Wine; Office Furniture; Ice Skates 水上摩托，葡萄酒，办公家具，溜冰鞋

S02E04 Winter Jackets; Animation; Mushrooms; Gold Rings 冬季夹克衫，动画片，蘑菇，金戒指

本集看点：用 熔模铸造工艺制作魔戒；

S02E05 Hydroponic Lettuce; Construction Wood; Recycling; Fishing Flies 水培莴苣，建筑木材，垃圾回收，假蝇饵

本集看点：完全工业化种菜；

S02E06 Diamond Cuttings; Wood Doors; Paintballs; Newspapers 切割钻石，木门，彩色球，报纸

S02E07 Carpets; Drinking Water; Laser Eye Surgery; Acoustic Guitars 地毯，饮用水，激光眼科手术，吉他

S02E08 Fiberglass Boats; Clothes Dryers; Bubble Gum; Fireworks 玻璃纤维艇，干衣机，泡泡糖，焰火

本集看点：玻璃纤维+树脂制作的船体上盖；钢板制作圆筒；

S02E09 Steel Safes; False Teeth; Airplanes; Maple Syrup 保险箱，假牙，轻型飞机，枫糖浆

本集看点：来了，玻璃纤维+树脂制作的飞机机身；

S02E10 Gummies; Aluminum Cans; Fish Farming; Bronze Sculptures 花色软糖，易拉罐，养鱼，青铜雕塑

本集看点：可口可乐，来一罐！

S02E11 Aluminum Pots and Pans; Artificial Limbs; Peanut Butter; High Intensity Light Bulbs 旋压铝制品，假肢，花生酱，高光灯泡

本集看点：用旋压而非拉伸制作的铝合金罐子和盖子，两种方式各有优势；

S02E12 Cars; Grocery Carts; Rapid Tooling and Prototyping; Collectible Coins 小汽车，购物车，快速模具成型，纪念币

本集看点：钣金的加工制程，电阻焊；3D打印树脂零件，浇铸工艺及其模具制作；银币复杂的图案转移过程；

S02E13 Ball Bearings; Electrical Wires; Lost Wax Process Casting; Automated Machines 轴承，电线，熔模铸造，自动化机器

本集看点：钢球的制造过程（冲压+研磨）； 熔模铸造的金属铸造件， 熔模本身也是通过模具制造的；极其舒适的全自动化制造过程合集；

本季资源链接：

magnet:?xt=urn:btih:543050ad51e44c744d235680efec5db2693724f7&dn

第三季推出时间为2003-10-01至2003-12-30

S03E01 Pre-inked Stamps; Cranberries; Cotton Yarn; Road Signs 原子章，酸果，棉纱，交通标志

本集看点：丝印网板的制作过程；

S03E02 Combination Locks; Pottery; Recreational Vehicles; Erasers 字码锁，陶器，休闲拖车，橡皮擦

本集看点：如何用模具制作陶罐；

S03E03 Wheel Loaders; Vegetable Oil; Hand Tools; Cotton Swabs 轮式装运机，植物油，手动工具，棉签

S03E04 Temporary Metal Fences; Asphalt Shingles; Polystyrene Products; Hard Candies 金属栅栏，沥青屋面板，泡沫板，花式硬糖

本集看点：泡沫发泡制程；

S03E05 Horse-drawn Carriages; Artificial Eyes; Dog and Cat Food; Mirrors 老式马车，假眼，猫粮和狗粮，镜子

S03E06 Yogurt; Candles; Neon Signs; Bookbindings 酸奶，蜡烛，霓虹灯，装订

S03E07 Prepared Mustard; Violins; Nuts and Bolts; Toilet Paper 芥末，小提琴，螺母螺帽，卫生纸

本集看点：螺杆的滚丝螺纹制程，螺母是钢丝在高温下压制而成的，螺母的螺纹后加工CNC制成；

S03E08 Fresh Cut Flowers; Adhesive Tape; Tofu; Lottery Tickets 鲜花，胶带，豆腐，彩票

S03E09 Inflatable Watercraft; Couscous; Modelling Dough; Wicker Products 充气筏，蒸粗麦粉，玩具胶泥，柳条编织

S03E10 Wind Generators; PVC Gloves; Thermo-Formed Glass; Fire Trucks 风力发电机，塑胶手套，热塑玻璃，消防车

本集看点：手工让平板玻璃热成型成精美盘子；

S03E11 Radiators; Hatchery Chicks; Filo Pastry; Cross-Country Skis 汽车散热器，孵蛋机，薄生面片，滑雪撬

S03E12 Electric Baseboard Heaters; Moulded Pulp Containers; Chicken; Video Games 电加热器，纸浆（鸡蛋）托盘，鸡肉，电脑游戏

本集看点：钣金连续冲压过程；

S03E13 Fire Fighter Boots; Garden Tools; Automated Machines; Gypsum Board 防火靴，园艺工具，自动化机械，石膏板

本集看点：新一期极其舒适的自动化流水线；

本季资源链接：

magnet:?xt=urn:btih:724f7b0bbf3278e4eec84db6c0373551017fb874&dn

第四季推出时间为2005-01-04至2005-03-29

S04E01 Plastic Bottles & Jars; Mail; Eggs; Handcrafted Wooden Pens 塑料瓶，邮件分拣，鸡蛋，木柄定制钢笔

本集看点：塑料瓶的吹塑制程（舒适）；鸡蛋是怎么生产的；

S04E02 Plastic Injection Moulds; Automotive Oil Filters; Filing Cabinets; Blown Glass 塑料注塑模具，汽车滤油器，档案柜，吹塑玻璃

本集看点：塑料注塑模具的加工制程：CNC加工、EDM电极加工，以及双色注塑过程；钣金柜子的加工制程；美女是如何吹玻璃的；

S04E03 High-Precision Cutting Tools; Stained Glass; Semi-Trailers; Recorders 钻头，拼花玻璃，拖车，木直笛

本集看点： 涡流加热，通过热处理后软化或硬化金属；

S04E04 Conga Drums; Metal Plating; Buttons; 康茄鼓，金属电镀，纽扣

本集看点： 金属电镀制程；

S04E05 Grinding Wheels; Compost; Window Blinds; Milk 砂轮，堆肥，百叶窗，牛奶

S04E06 Brushes & Push Brooms; Blackboards; Smoked Salmon; Zippers 木刷子，黑板，熏鲑鱼片，拉链

本集看点： 毛刷组装时的金属U型倒扣固定住刷毛；

S04E07 3D Commercial Signs; Hardwood Floors; Corrugated Polyethylene Pipe; Mattresses 立体标牌，硬木地板，聚乙烯管，床垫

本集看点： 大型塑胶型材的成型过程；弹簧的制作过程；

S04E08 Ceramic Tiles; Nuts; Steel Forgings; Skateboards 瓷砖，果仁，炼钢，滑板

本集看点： 炼钢和轧钢；

S04E09 Car Engines; Flour; Recliners; Envelopes 轿车引擎，面粉，活动躺椅，信封

S04E10 Plastic Cups & Cutlery; Special Effects Makeup; Gold; Harps 塑料杯和餐具，特技化妆，黄金，竖琴

本集看点： 热成型一次性塑料杯；简单一些的塑料管型材制作过程；金锭的制作过程；

S04E11 Countertop Laminate; Frozen Treats; Children's Building Blocks; Detergents 表面压片，雪糕，儿童积木，清洁剂

S04E12 Architectural Moldings; Pulleys; Industrial Rubber Hose; Sheet Vinyl Flooring 装饰嵌条，滑轮，橡皮管，树脂地板

S04E13 Putty Knives; Garage Doors; Electric Motors; Wool 油灰刀，车库活动门，电动机，毛料衣物

本季资源链接：

magnet:?xt=urn:btih:0e69c6104b7c64173fa6ef64df6d7a801dd95f6f&dn

第五季推出时间为2005-09-07至2005-11-29

S05E01 Paving Asphalt; Marshmallow Cookies; Loudspeakers; Electronic Door Locks 沥青石料，葵糖饼干，高音喇叭，电子门锁

S05E02 Wood Burning Stoves; Orthoses; Ballet Slippers; Buses 木炭火炉，矫正鞋具，芭蕾舞鞋，公共汽车

S05E03 Robotic Arms; Tattoos; Sanitary Napkins; Concrete Pipes 机械手，纹身，卫生巾，水泥管

S05E04 Hockey Gloves; Snack Cakes; Remoulded Tires; Wastewater Treatment 曲棍球手套，点心蛋糕，轮胎翻新，污水处理

S05E05 Ambulances; Dining Room Tables; Diatonic Accordians; Acrylic Awards 救护车，餐桌，手风琴，有机玻璃工艺品

S05E06 Alkaline Batteries; Wheelchairs; Flutes; Cowboy Boots 碱性电池，轮椅，长笛，牛仔靴

本集看点： 学习一下最常见类型电池的制作原理；

S05E07 Golf Balls; Furniture Handles; Parking Meters; Room Dividers 高尔夫球，门扣，停车计时器，房间屏风

S05E08 Suits of Armour; Street Light Poles; Bent Hardwood; Membrane Switches 铁盔甲，电灯杆，弯曲硬木，薄膜开关

本集看点： 可以看到锅仔片的结构原理；

S05E09 Sulkies; Bagpipes; Yule Logs; Fishing Lures 单座两轮马车，风笛，圣诞节原木形大蛋糕，假鱼饵

S05E10 Goalie Pads; Lapel Pins; Cardboard Boxes; Crystal Wine Glasses 守门员护具，衣襟徽章，纸盒，水晶杯

S05E11 Cement; Caskets; Soft Drinks; Glider Rockers 水泥，棺材，饮料，摆动式摇椅

S05E12 Kitchen Knives; Mannequins; Socks; Hypodermic Needles 厨刀，人体模型，纱袜，针头

S05E13 Electrical Panels; Kites; Eyeglass Frames; Toothbrushes 配电板，风筝，眼镜架，牙刷

本季资源链接：

magnet:?xt=urn:btih:997cae2b195f96293de6b35858cc50fdc73431f3&dn

第六季推出时间为2006-01-04至2006-03-29

S06E01 Three-Wheeled Vehicles; Baseball Bats; Artificial Bonsais; Trombones 三轮摩托，棒球棍，盆景，长号

S06E02 Springs; Pavers; Pianos; 弹簧，路砖，钢琴

本集看点： 各种弹簧的全自动制作过程；

S06E03 Ropes; Billiard Tables; Sailboards; Cymbals 绳索，台球桌，帆板，铙钹

S06E04 Seatbelts; Windows; Wax Figurines; Hot Air Balloons 安全带，塑钢窗，小蜡像，热气球

S06E05 Air Filters; Billiard Cues; Ice Sculptures; Suits 空气过滤器，台球杆，冰雕，西服

S06E06 Escalator Handrails; Highlighters; Guitar Strings; Wigs 自动扶梯扶手，荧光记号笔，吉他弦，假发

S06E07 Traditional Bows; Coffee Machines; Mascots; Hammocks 传统的弓，咖啡机，吉祥物，吊床

S06E08 Fiberglass Insulation; Wooden Ducks; Gumball Machines; Exhaust Systems 玻璃纤维隔层，木鸭子，口香糖球售卖机，排气管

S06E09 Chains; Bagels; Vinyl Records; 链条，硬面包圈，唱片

S06E10 Windshields; English Saddles; Butter; Post Clocks 挡风玻璃，英式马鞍，黄油，柱钟

本集看点： 夹层玻璃的制作过程；

S06E11 Individual Transporters; Canoes; Electric Guitars 双轮代步车，雪松独木舟，电吉它

S06E12 Residential Water Heaters; Air Bags; Jelly Beans; Ice Resurfacers 宅用热水器，气囊，胶质软糖，冰面修整器

S06E13 Amphibious Vehicles; Putters; Model Ships; Drumheads 水陆两用车，高尔夫球杆，轮船模型，鼓面

本季资源链接：

magnet:?xt=urn:btih:2575f1794b6554ba85b38125e673a95ecb7bb668&dn

第七季推出时间为2006-09-05至2007-03-30

S07E01 Footballs; Electric Guitar Amplifiers; Marbles; Airplane Propellers 橄榄球，吉它扩音器，玻璃球，飞机螺旋桨

本集看点： 精美的艺术品玻璃球；先锻造再CNC成型的结构件；

S07E02 Engine Blocks; Jawbreakers; Drum Shells; Drums 引擎铸模，硬球糖，爵士鼓

本集看点： 引擎的模具制造和浇铸过程；

S07E03 Lighters; Fossils; Hockey Pucks; High-Pressure Cylinders 打火机，化石，冰球，高压钢瓶

本集看点： 铝合金的多次拉伸成型过程；

S07E04 Balloons; Wallpaper; Frozen French Fries; Incandescent Light Bulbs 气球，墙纸，炸薯条，白炽灯泡

S07E05 Matches; Carousel Horses; Fine Porcelain; Fuel Tanks 火柴，旋转木马，细瓷，汽油箱

S07E06 Glass Cookware; Soap Bars; Steel Drums; Firefighter Uniforms 玻璃炊具，肥皂，铁皮鼓，防火服

S07E07 Crayons; Wooden Kayaks; Lawnmowers; Gold Chains 蜡笔，木伐子，割草机，金项链

S07E08 Inflatable Safety Devices; Braille Typewriters; Carbon-Fibre Cellos 安全气囊，盲人打字机，碳纤维大提琴

S07E09 Carbon-Fibre Masts; Fortune Cookies; IMAX Projectors; Roller Chains 碳纤维桅杆，好运饼干，IMAX 放映机，滚子链

S07E10 Firefighter Helmets; Nautical Compasses; Packaging Tubes; Hand Saws 消防员头盔，罗盘，包装软管，手锯

S07E11 Halogen Bulbs; Cellulose Insulation; Aluminum Ladders; Bamboo Fly Rods 卤素灯，纤维绝缘层，铝梯，竹制飞蝇钓竿

S07E12 Drill Bits; Photo Booths; Stamps 钻头，照相亭，邮票

S07E13 Yacht Wheels; Braided Rugs; Automobile Thermostats; Chisels 游艇方向盘，编织毯，汽车调温器，凿子

本季资源链接：

magnet:?xt=urn:btih:06d33183a0f6ea98b8a64257d73ae0ce870082c6&dn

第八季推出时间为2007-01-02至2007-04-03

S08E01 Motorcycles; Clay Pipes; Drumsticks; Whistles 摩托车，水泥管，鼓槌，哨子

S08E02 Glass Bottles; Hacksaws; Goalie Masks 玻璃瓶，钢锯，守门员面具

本集看点： 极其舒适的玻璃瓶模具制造和吹制成型制程；

S08E03 Lacrosse Sticks; Frozen Fish Products; Flashlights; Paintbrushes 长柄曲棍球杆，油炸冻鱼肉，手电筒，油漆刷

S08E04 Deep Cycle Batteries; Tins; Optical Lenses 蓄电池，白铁罐，光学镜头

本集看点： 镜头的打磨抛光制程，以及多层镜片结构；

S08E05 Pistons; Paint Rollers; Parachutes; Chimneys 活塞，油漆滚筒，降落伞，烟筒

本集看点： 先锻压成型再CNC的典型结构件；由钢板卷成圆筒的典型制程，提前制作倒钩结构进行预固定，自动化制程不需要；

S08E06 Fishing Reels; Miniature Houses; Kitchen Mixers 渔线轮，迷你房屋，厨房搅拌器

S08E07 Photographs; Fur Tanning; Welding Electrodes; Electric Violins 照片，毛皮制革，电焊条，电子小提琴

S08E08 Horseshoes; Dishwashers; Graphite Fly Rods; Pizza 马蹄铁，洗碗机，石墨飞蝇钓竿，比萨饼

S08E09 CO2 Cartridges; Pretzels; Scissor Lifts; Skating Rinks 二氧化碳弹药筒，椒盐卷饼，剪式提升机，滑冰场

S08E10 Pro Hockey Sticks; Bronzed Shoes; Treadmills; Computers 职业曲棍球棍，古铜色婴儿鞋，跑步机，掌上电脑

S08E11 Handcuffs; Caulking Compound; Propane Tanks; Forensics 手铐，堵缝剂，丙烷罐，法医学面部再造

本集看点： 上下焊接的冲压铝罐制程；

S08E12 Fur Coats; Hearses; Outdoor Lighting Fixtures; Golf Tees 毛皮大衣，灵车，室外照明器材，高尔夫球座

S08E13 Manhole Covers; Range Hoods; Artificial Logs; Snowmobiles 下水道井盖，抽油烟机，人造原木，雪地摩托

本集看点： 简单一些的金属铸造制程；

本季资源链接：

magnet:?xt=urn:btih:c04d9b7696663c9326761cf99038907f5db5f089&dn

第九季推出时间为2007-09-21至2008-04-06

S09E01 Solid Tires; Cheesecake; Canoe Paddles; Globes 实心轮胎，奶酪蛋糕，独木舟短桨，地球仪

S09E02 Boomerangs; Barbeques; Pinball Machines; Strobe Lights 回力镖 ，烧烤炉具，弹球机，闪光灯

S09E03 Wooden Bowls; Chainsaws; Stackable Potato Chips; Jet Compressor Blades 木圆盆，链锯，马铃薯片，喷气压缩机叶片

S09E04 Steel Wool; Ranges; Carved Candles; Slot Machines 钢丝棉，炊具系列，雕刻蜡烛，老虎机

S09E05 CCD Semiconductors; Airline Meals; Paper Cups; Trumpets CCD半导体，航空餐，纸杯，小号

本集看点： 先进制程之相机CCD感应芯片制作过程；

S09E06 Padlocks; Hair Clippers; Wooden Shoes; Synthetic Leather 挂锁，电推剪，木鞋，人造革

S09E07 Racing Shells; Stainless Steel Sinks; Leather; Pedal Steel Guitar 划艇，不锈钢水池，皮革，踏板钢铁吉他

S09E08 Swords; Pontoons; Grandfather Clocks; Fuses 剑，浮船， 落地大摆钟，保险丝

S09E09 Bumpers; Lighting Gels and Camera Filters; Steam-Powered Models; Candy Canes 保险杠，滤色片，蒸汽模型，苔杖糖

S09E10 Umbrellas; Outboard Motors; Silver Cutlery; Tape Measures 雨伞，舷外马达，银制餐具，卷尺

S09E11 Scalpels; Oil Paints; British Police Helmets; Ice Axes 手术刀，油画颜料，英国警察头盔，冰斧

S09E12 Bacon; Snowblowers; Luxury Cars 熏肉，扬雪车，豪华轿车

S09E13 Automatic Transmissions; Silver Miniatures; Hot Air Balloon Baskets; Darts 自动变速器，银制微型复制品，热气球吊篮，飞镖

本季资源链接：

magnet:?xt=urn:btih:a9aa449eda3eeaa8d9e9d91996dde5510940630f&dn

第十季推出时间为2008-06-11至2008-09-03

S10E01 Magnets; Cooked Ham; Silver Teapots; Crash Test Dummies 磁铁，火腿，银制茶壶，撞击测试人体模型

本集看点： 用线圈磁化的磁铁；对于收口的茶壶，内芯位置冲压模具应该是用可变形的橡胶；

S10E02 Curling Stones; Refrigerators; Aluminum Baseball Bats; Opalescent Glass 冰壶，冰箱，铝制棒球棍，乳白玻璃

S10E03 Levels; Hot Dogs; Abrasive Grains; Sandpaper 水平尺，热狗，抛光粉，砂纸

S10E04 Ice Cream Treats; Wooden Golf Clubs; Aircraft Wings; Car Battery 冰淇淋，木制高尔夫球杆头，飞机机翼，车用蓄电池回收

S10E05 Automotive Fuel Pumps; Cricket Bats; Change Machines; Ductile Iron Pipe 汽车燃油泵，板球，纸币找换机，球墨铸铁管

S10E06 Wooden Barrels; Fire Hydrants; Automotive Seats; Cathode Ray Tubes 木桶，消防栓，汽车座椅，阴极射线管

本集看点： 老式CRT电视是如何制作的；

S10E07 Stainless Steel; Football Helmets; Resin Figurines; Laboratory Glassware 不锈钢，橄榄球头盔，树脂小塑像，实验室玻璃器具

本集看点： 不锈钢轧制制程；玻璃管的热切割制程；

S10E08 Fire Extinguishers; Doughnuts; Shock Absorbers; Banjos 灭火器，甜甜圈，减震器，班卓琴

S10E09 Dress Forms; Boat Propellers; Duvets; Faucets 女装人体模型，小艇螺旋桨，羽绒被，水龙头

本集看点： 注塑的融模，再进行浇铸；

S10E10 Bronze Bells; Wooden Airplane Propellers; Charcoal Briquettes; Gas Log Fireplaces 铜钟, 木制螺旋桨, 木炭和煤气炉

S10E11 Ice Cream Cones; Tent Trailers; Shoe Polish; Pliers 折叠刀, 皂石, 变压器和传统雪鞋

S10E12 Steel Shipping Drums; Police Whistles; Miniature Train Wagons; Glass Blocks 油桶, 警笛, 微型���厢和玻璃垫块

S10E13 Pocket Knives; Soapstone Products; Electric Pole Transformers; Snowshoes 蛋筒, 篷式挂车, 鞋油和钳子

本季资源链接：

magnet:?xt=urn:btih:3e5cd2ae716c8363111416709f962ae68ec36a60&dn

[cleverwordsandotherstuffilike]

*The term “bank teller” originated in the wake of the 1929 stock market crash, when banks began hiring low-paid workers to “tell” throngs of frantic depositors that their money was gone. * The city of Slaughter, Texas (population: 11,284), has never had a homicide occur within its boundaries. * Rubbing Tabasco on one’s upper lip before bedtime is an effective temporary cure for sleep apnea. * Moths are unable to fly during an earthquake. * Ingesting small doses of ink over an extended period of time will change your eye color slightly. * Scientists estimate that sleep lost due to daylight saving time reduces the average lifespan by nearly two full months. * No NCAA basketball team from a school located in its state’s capital has ever won the national championship. * Shortly before his execution, Timothy McVeigh constructed a scale model of the Lincoln Memorial with soda crackers. * Strains of bacteria similar to E. coli have been found in spent printer cartridges – but only in the cyan ones. Scientists have no explanation. * The Australian aborigine language has over 30 words for “dust.” * Fewer divorces occur in families in which the children wake their parents before 6 a.m. on Saturdays. * For over a decade, the number of drive-by shootings has been directly proportional to increased gas prices. * Two-thirds of all the world’s coriander comes from a single valley in Italy. * Baking soda and vinegar will make your scrambled eggs fluffier. * Ancient Egyptians used molted cobra skins as condoms. * The National Weather Service will pay $30 for the rights to any original photograph of lightning. * Nearly three percent of the ice in Antarctic glaciers is penguin urine. * In the weightlessness of space a frozen pea will explode if it comes in contact with Pepsi. * Smearing a small amount of dog feces on an insect bite will relieve the itching and swelling. * The Boeing 747 is capable of flying upside-down if it weren’t for the fact that the wings would shear off when trying to roll it over. * The trucking company Elvis Presley worked at as a young man was owned by Frank Sinatra. * The only golf course on the island  of Tonga has 15 holes, and there’s no penalty if a monkey steals your golf ball. * SCUBA divers cannot pass gas at depths of 33 feet or below. * Catfish are the only animals that naturally have an ODD number of whiskers. * Polar bears can eat as many as 86 penguins in a single sitting. * The Air Force’s F-117 fighter uses aerodynamics discovered during research into how bumblebees fly. * Silly Putty was “discovered” as the residue left behind after the first latex condoms were produced. It’s not widely publicized for obvious reasons. * The volume of water that the Giant Sequoia tree consumes in a 24-hour period contains enough suspended minerals to pave 17.3 feet of a 4-lane concrete freeway. * King Henry VIII slept with a gigantic axe. * Because printed materials are being replaced by CD-ROM, microfiche and the Internet, libraries that previously sank into their foundations under the weight of their books are now in danger of collapsing in extremely high winds. * Touch-tone telephone keypads were originally planned to have buttons for Police and Fire Departments, but they were replaced with * and # when the project was cancelled in favour of developing the 911 system. * Human saliva has a boiling point three times that of regular water. * Calvin, of the “Calvin and Hobbes” comic strip, was patterned after President Calvin Coolidge, who had a pet tiger as a boy. * Watching an hour-long soap opera burns more calories than watching a three-hour baseball game. * You can actually sharpen the blades on a pencil sharpener by wrapping your pencils in aluminum foil before inserting them. * Urine from male cape water buffaloes is so flammable that some tribes use it for lantern fuel. * Due to the angle at which the optic nerve enters the brain, staring at a blue surface during sex greatly increases the intensity of orgasms. * Never hold your nose and cover your mouth when sneezing, as it can blow out your eyeballs. * Due to the natural “momentum” of the ocean, saltwater fish cannot swim backwards. * Because of the curvature of the Earth, it is nearly three miles farther to fly from Amarillo, Texas to Louisville, Kentucky than it is to return from Louisville to Amarillo. * The original inspiration for Barbie dolls comes from dolls developed by German propagandists in the late 1930s to impress young girls with the ideal notions of Aryan features. The proportions for Barbie were actually based on those of Eva Braun. * The Venezuelan brown bat can detect and dodge individual raindrops in mid-flight, arriving safely back at his cave completely dry. * The Mongolian pony is the only animal other than an elephant capable of fending off an attack by a healthy adult tiger. * Because of their unusual shape, Hershey’s Kisses contain more calories per ounce than the same amount of chocolate in other forms. * If you tar and feather a 2x4 and place it in your yard, it will ward off bats. * The largest home in the United States, North Carolina’s Biltmore House, was originally intended to be the official residence of a new monarchy to be established when the South rose again. * Nobody born in Kentucky has ever been elected to Congress. * In an effort to improve the nutritional value of its “Shamrock shakes,” McDonald’s colors them with broccoli extract. * Winston Churchill was born with a third nipple, which he removed himself with nail-clippers at the age of 14. * If you place a fresh Viagra tablet in a houseplant’s soil every six months, the plant will not wilt. * The noun “sled” originates from the name of a 18th-century mountaineer from Finland, Schletz Linden, whose body was used by his climbing partner to slide down a mountain during a winter storm after he froze to death. * If a cricket were the size of Mount Rushmore, it could jump to the moon. * The increase in the amount of metals mined and brought to the surface of the earth in order to manufacture SUVs has caused higher tides in the Northern Hemisphere. * Children conceived on airplanes never suffer from motion sickness. * Blue water in a toilet bowl causes males to urinate 7 percent more. * The Yanomami tribesmen of the Amazon basin can track game birds by the slight difference in warmth their shadows create on the forest floor as they fly by, for up to an hour after the birds have departed. * Rapid deforestation has decreased the friction of the surface of the Earth, causing it to spin infinitesimally faster and thereby cool the air, combating global warming. * The flush toilet was invented in Flushing,  NY. * On occasions when the sun is shining brightly on falling snowflakes, they contain enough ionic charge to stun insects. Observation of this phenomenon inspired the invention of the bug zapper. * Over the last two decades, more Americans died of heart attacks while watching horror movies in movie theatres than died while sky-diving. * Every common food product, with the exception of fish and veal, contains some traces of peanut enzymes. * The number of words in the Bible divided by the number of verses equals exactly 666. * An 18th-century law still on the books in Vermont makes it illegal for a woman to lick a stamp in a public place. * Constipation kills nearly twice as many people as diarrhea, mainly because the former mostly afflicts the old and weak while the latter mostly affects young, strong children. * It is physically impossible to urinate and give blood at the same time. * If you fill a standard 750ml wine bottle with live hornets, their angry buzzing will resonate at precisely the right frequency to shatter the glass. * During his famous “Blue Period,” Pablo Picasso invented the substance that eventually became known as Play-Doh. * Every year in the fall, Niagara   Falls is shut down for maintenance for 24 hours. The flow is diverted using a massive series of pipes and spigots built for this purpose in 1837.

Are these important facts true? They are from the internet so I think they must be.

[duscarasheddinn]

Ambitious roleplay idea I have

If you didn’t know, I enjoy doing Giant/Tiny roleplays.

One idea I have for a gentle one I could do with someone in DMs is one where they’re at least two human OCs of theirs who at least hang out (though I’d prefer if they both lived in the same house) and I’d be four animate inanimate objects, all of which are sports equipment.

First, there’s Theo the baseball.

Next, there’s his wife, a tennis ball named Dodger.

Together, they adopted a talking golf ball girl named Avery. She’s at the maturity of a seven year old girl.

Finally, there’s Theo’s best friend, Dillon the aluminum baseball bat. The only way he can move on his own is by rolling, which, if nothing stops him, would result in him just going in circles. The family of talking balls, though, can also roll on their own, but they can hop too. They can coordinate motion to help Dillon go places.

One way your characters could meet mine are overhearing them talk in an alley.

[jemch]

How It’s Made Index（S11~S20）

How It’s Made是由 Discovery Channel 制作一款王牌节目，又被翻译为制造的原理或造物小百科， 本片从2001年推出至今，涵盖了几乎所有的制造技术 ，非常适合机械专业和对此感兴趣的同学。希望大家享受这趟制造的艺术之旅！

第十一季推出时间为2008-09-10至2008-12-03

S11E01 Binoculars; Sparklers; Rubber Boots; Circular Saw Blades 望远镜，焰火，长统水靴，圆锯锯片

本集看点：光学镜头的精密组装制程，AR镀膜制程；

S11E02 Anatomical Models; Jukeboxes; Tortilla Chips; Spark Plugs 解剖学模型，自动点唱机，墨西哥玉米片，火花塞

S11E03 Pencils; Metal Recycling; Coffee 铅笔，金属回收，咖啡

S11E04 Javelins; Cuckoo Clocks; Hearts of Palm; Windshield Wipers 标枪，布谷鸟钟，棕榈芯，雨刷

S11E05 Technical Glass; Washing Machines; Playing Cards; Crossbows 工业玻璃，洗衣机，扑克牌，弩

本集看点：玻璃镜片的模具加工制程；

S11E06 Cine Cameras; Glass Christmas Ornaments; Giant Tires 电影摄影机，圣诞节玻璃装饰品，巨型轮胎

S11E07 Microphones; Hot Tubs; Artificial Turf; Beer Steins 麦克风，按摩缸，人工草坪，啤酒杯

S11E08 Hot Rods; Decorative Eggs; Fire Hose Nozzles; Baseballs 改装车，装饰蛋，灭火水龙带喷嘴，棒球

S11E09 Accordions; Pineapples; Artificial Joints 手风琴，菠萝，人工关节

S11E10 Giant Valves; Sardines; Barographs; Disposable Diapers 巨型阀门，沙丁鱼罐头，气压计，一次性尿片

S11E11 Heated Skate Blades; Gliders; Hand Bells; Fire Hoses 加热式冰靴，滑翔机，手摇铃铛，灭火水龙带

S11E12 Induction Cooktops; Truck Scales; Tetra Pak Containers; Harmonicas 电磁炉，车重地衡，利乐包装盒，口琴

S11E13 Baseball Gloves; Medical Electrodes; Stetson Hats 棒球手套，医疗电极，牛仔帽

本季资源链接：

magnet:?xt=urn:btih:d779bce9b74c0b6e06c209442fe6d2bd0577fd92&dn

第十二季推出时间为2008-09-10至2008-12-03

S12E01 Pneumatic Impact Wrenches; Cultured Marble Sinks; Plantain Chips; NASCAR Stock Cars 气动扳手，人造大理石水池，炸香蕉片，纳斯卡赛车

S12E02 Jaws of Life; Artificial Christmas Trees; Soda Crackers; Ratchets 救生钳，人造圣诞树，苏打饼干，棘轮扳手

S12E03 Thermometers; Produce Scales; Aircraft Painting; Luxury Chocolates 温度计，挂秤，飞机机身彩绘，高档巧克力

S12E04 Carburetors; Air Conditioners; Sugar 气化器，空调机，糖

S12E05 Combination Wrenches; Deli Meats; Golf Carts; Airships 组合扳手，香肠，高尔夫球车，飞艇

S12E06 Carbon Fibre Car Parts; Hand Dryers; Recycled Polyester Yarn; Fleece 碳纤维汽车零件，手烘干机，回收聚酯制丝线，羊毛布料

S12E07 Police Badges; Muffins; Car Washes; Pressure Gauges 警徽，松饼，洗车房，压力表

S12E08 Metal Detectors; Rum; Tiffany Reproductions; Aircraft Engines 金属探测器，兰姆酒， 蒂凡尼灯具，飞机引擎

S12E09 Riding Mowers; Popcorn; Adjustable Beds; Cultured Diamonds 乘骑式割草机，爆米花，可调床垫，人造钻石

S12E10 Airstream Trailers; Horseradish; Industrial Steam Boilers; Deodorant 流线型拖车，辣根，工业蒸汽锅炉，防臭剂

S12E11 Screwdrivers; Compact Track Loaders; Physician Scales; Carbon Fibre Bats 螺丝刀，链带式装卸机，体重秤，碳纤维棒球棒

S12E12 Escalators; Kevlar Canoes; Goat Cheese; Disc Music Boxes 自动扶梯，凯夫拉尔独木舟，羊奶酪，碟式音乐盒

S12E13 Motorcycle Engines; Glass Enamel Sculptures; Hand-Made Paper; Vaulting Poles 摩托车引擎，玻璃搪瓷雕刻，手工纸，撑竿

本季资源链接：

magnet:?xt=urn:btih:f97da4fb8bfc1cf29bb923ad6dd2eaff6b522c9d&dn

第十三季推出时间为2009-05-01至2009-07-24

S13E01 Hammers; Swiss Cheese; Roller Skates; Coloured Pencils 锤子，瑞士奶酪，旱冰鞋，彩色铅笔

S13E02 Carbon Fiber Bicycles; Blood Products; Forged Chandeliers; Ballpoint Pens 碳纤维自行车，血液制品，锻造吊灯，圆珠笔

本集看点：如何用碳纤维制作自行车支架；

S13E03 Swiss Army Knives; Player Piano Rolls; Oil Tankers; Racing Wheels 瑞士军刀，钢琴演奏器，油轮，赛车轮毂

本集看点：真瑞士军刀！

S13E04 Bowling Balls; Barber Poles; Felt; Radar Guns 保龄球，旋转彩柱，毛毡，雷达测速枪

S13E05 Pipe Fittings; Music Boxes; Pepper Mills; Hot Rod Steering Columns 铜管件，圆柱音乐盒，胡椒磨，汽车方向柱

S13E06 Gears; Leather Watchbands; Vitrelle Dishes; Kitchen Shears 齿轮，真皮表带，抗摔玻璃碗碟，厨用剪刀

本集看点：齿轮插齿和滚齿制程；

S13E07 Pressure Cookers; Mechanical Singing Birds; Oceanographic Buoys; Tank Trailers 高压锅，唱歌机械鸟，浮标，不锈钢罐拖车

S13E08 Aluminum Boats; Alpine Horns; Luxury Watches 铝壳船，高山牛角，豪华手表

S13E09 ATVs; Alpine Skis; Laser Cutters; Marble Sculptures 全地形车，高山滑雪板，激光切割机，大理石雕塑

S13E10 Socket Sets; Leather Shoes; Aluminum Water Bottles; Bike Chains 套筒扳手，皮鞋，铝制水瓶，自行车链条

S13E11 Carved Wood Sculptures; Flatware; Cow Bells; Fountain Pens 木雕，餐具，牛铃，钢笔

S13E12 Olive Oil; Lift Trucks; Seamless Rolled Rings; Ski Boots 橄榄油，叉车，无缝环件，滑雪靴

S13E13 Cookware; Inlaid Boxes; High-Efficiency Water Heaters; Vespa Scooters 专业炊具，豪华镶嵌盒，高效率热水器，电动车

本季资源链接：

magnet:?xt=urn:btih:b164e21986d83657baf215347cf40ae2c33ed64a&dn

第十四季推出时间为2009-09-18至2010-01-08

S14E01 Mini GP Motorcycles; Fig Cookies; Tool Boxes; Pipe Bends 迷你锦标赛摩托车，无花果曲奇饼，工具箱，弯头

S14E02 Revolver Replicas; Arc Trainers; Oil Furnaces; Vegetable Peelers; Pizza Cutters 西部左轮手枪复制品，健身椭圆机，废油燃烧器，削皮器和薄饼切削刀

S14E03 Metal Golf Clubs; Waffles; Custom Wires and Cables Train Wheels; 金属高尔夫球杆，华夫烘饼，订制线缆，火车轮子

本集看点：热锻成型工艺；

S14E04 Sails; Walnuts; Wheel Immobilizers; Honeycomb Structural Panels 风帆，核桃，轮胎防盗器，蜂窝结构板

S14E05 Surfboards; Stickers; Sandwich Cookies; Concrete Roofing Tiles 冲浪板，贴纸，夹芯饼干，混凝土瓦

S14E06 Ski Goggles; Tower Cranes; Porcelain Figurines; Diesel Engines 滑雪风镜，塔吊，瓷小雕像，柴油引擎

本集看点：塔吊是如何长高的；

S14E07 Stuffed Olives; Astrolabes; Western Saddles 酿水榄，星盘，西部马鞍

S14E08 Custom Running Shoes; Axes; Racing Karts; Animatronics 订制跑鞋，斧头，卡丁车，电子动画

S14E09 Headphones; Diving Regulators; Reflector Light Bulbs 耳机，潜水呼吸调节器，聚光灯泡

S14E10 Fly Fishing Reels; House Paint; Weaving Looms; Ice Makers 飞钓卷筒，房屋涂料，编织机，制冰机

S14E11 Graphite Pencil Leads; Clarinets; Special Effects; 石墨铅笔芯，单簧管，特技效果

S14E12 Air Boats; Onions; 3D Metal Printing; Curved Cabinet Doors 空气船，洋葱，三维金属打印，弧形木柜门

本集看点：金属的3D打印制程；

S14E13 Retractable Ballpoint Pens; Solar Salt; Tubas; 圆珠笔，日晒盐，大号

本季资源链接：

magnet:?xt=urn:btih:5101c33367df80cb2ba1566fc8f467dbcde21af5&dn

第十五季推出时间为2010-04-02至2010-06-18

S15E01 Kelp Caviar; Luxury Sailboats; Dental Crowns; High-Performance Engines 海带鱼子酱，豪华帆船，人造牙冠，发动机

S15E02 Leather Briefcases; Crop Dusters; Corn Whiskey; Drag Racing Clutches 真皮公文包，喷洒农药飞机，玉米威士忌，直线竞速赛车离合器

S15E03 Train Rails; Desalinated Water; Racing Wheelchairs; Parquetry 火车钢轨，淡化水，竞速轮椅，拼花木地板

S15E04 Flight Simulators; Bookbinding; Greenhouse Tomatoes; Hurricane-Proof Shutters 飞行模拟器，传统装订，温室西红柿，防风百叶窗

S15E05 Worcestershire Sauce; Lawn Bowls; Radio-Controlled Model Jets; 辣酱油，草地滚球，遥控模型喷气机

S15E06 Pipes; Rock Climbing Gear; Leather Bike Saddles; Luxury Sports Cars 烟斗，攀岩丝扣锁，自行车座，豪华跑车

S15E07 Replica Foods; Traffic Cone Dispensers; Rocking Horses; London Taxis 食品模型，交通安全锥，摇马，伦敦出租车

S15E08 Miniature Furniture; Garden Steam Locomotives; Hovercraft; Folding Bicycles 迷你家具，庭院蒸汽机车，气垫船，折迭自行车

S15E09 Crosscut Saws; Haggis; Collectible Firearms; 横割锯，肉馅羊肚，收藏枪支

S15E10 Alligator Bags; Lockers; Bench Planes; Deployable Flight Recorders 鳄鱼手袋，储物柜，木工台刨，飞行纪录仪

S15E11 Grapples; Flavorings; Dog Sleds; Athletic Shoes 抓斗，调味品，狗雪撬，运动鞋

S15E12 Retractile Cords; Wood Frame Sports Cars; Sushi 伸缩绳，木结构跑车，寿司

S15E13 Leather Wallets; French Horns; Soy Sauce; Children's Ride-On Cars 真皮钱包，圆号，酱油，儿童骑乘汽车

本季资源链接：

magnet:?xt=urn:btih:f6b32d4b2d935fa1a9af9d02b026367bca667ce5&dn

第十六季推出时间为2010-10-01至 2010-12-24

S16E01 Millefiori Glass Paperweights; Road Salt; Nutcrackers; Car Doors 千花玻璃纸镇，道路除冰盐，胡桃夹子，汽车门

S16E02 Straight Razors; Black Pudding; Steering Wheels; Inorganic Pigments 直剃须刀，黑香肠，方向盘，无机颜料

S16E03 Cast Iron Cookware; Biodiesel; Clothing Hangers; Stone Wool Insulation 铸铁炊具，生物柴油，衣架，石棉

本集看点：连续铸造制程；

S16E04 Needles & Pins; Architectural Mouldings; Locomotives; Clothespins 针，建筑木线条，机车，衣夹

本集看点：针尖的抛光制程，针孔的冲压制程；

S16E05 Filigree Glass; Fish Food; Motor Homes 掐丝玻璃，鱼饲料，房车

S16E06 Surgical Instruments; Ketchup; Double-Decker Buses; Walking Sticks 手术器械，番茄酱，手杖

S16E07 Audio Tubes; Light Bars; Model Aircraft; Snare Drums 音频真空管，灯条，木制模型飞机，金属小鼓

S16E08 Kitchen Accessories; Central Vacuums; Paper-Maché Animals; Hydraulic Cylinders 厨房配件，中央吸尘器，纸型动物，液���缸

S16E09 Liquor Jugs; Deli Meats; NASCAR Engines 粘土酒壶，家禽熟肉制品，NASCAR发动机

S16E10 Digital Dentistry; Nail Clippers; Poster Restoration; Canola Oil 数字牙科，海报恢复，菜籽油

S16E11 Dial Thermometers; Hummus; Spent Fuel Containers; Straw Sombreros 温度计，豆泥，燃料容器，秸秆宽边帽

S16E12 Tequila; Water Beds; Flip Flops; Silver 龙舌兰酒，水床，人字拖，银子

S16E13 Composite Propane Cylinders; Salsa; Water-pumping Windmills; Dragsters 复合丙烷缸，辣调味汁，抽水风车，高速赛车

本集看点：玻璃纤维制作的罐子；

本季资源链接：

magnet:?xt=urn:btih:4fc2ea711b18dc3079a0cdb65688b59f2cf1317f&dn

第十七季推出时间为2011-04-08至 2011-06-24

S17E01 Decorative Sombreros; Salad Dressings; Cap Guns; Regenerative Medicine 装饰戴草帽，沙拉酱和腌泡汁，帽枪，再生医学

S17E02 Cheese Graters; Hot Sauce; Silver Jewelery; Traditional Mexican Chairs 芝士刨，辣酱，银首饰，传统墨西哥椅

S17E03 Game calls; Mayonnaise; Traditional Razor Blades; Butterfly Safety Razors 哨，蛋黄酱，传统剃须刀片，蝴蝶安全剃刀

S17E04 Corn Tortillas; Crankshafts & Camshafts; Bush Planes; Aluminum Bike Wheels 玉米饼，曲轴和凸轮轴，布什飞机，铝自行车轮

S17E05 Folding Kayaks; Pi?atas; Garbage Trucks; Ceramic Composite Brake Discs 折叠皮艇，彩罐，垃圾车，陶瓷复合刹车盘

S17E06 Rolled Wafers; Wood Pellets; Class & Championship Rings; 威化饼，木颗粒，总冠军戒指

S17E07 Speed skates; synthetic rubber; cocoa beans; and bulk chocolate 速度溜冰鞋，可可豆，散装巧克力

S17E08 Custom Steering Wheels; Aerospace Fuel Lines; Apple Pies; Household Radiators 定做方向盘，苹果馅饼，家用散热器

S17E09 Whips; automated pizza makers; incense cones; and scale turbine engines 鞭子，自动比萨饼机，香锥，喷气发动机模型

S17E10 Heather gems; instant film; beet sugar; electric roadsters 希瑟宝石，即时胶片，甜菜糖，电动跑车

S17E11 Underwater robots; lasagne; band saws; and ski trekking poles 水下机器人，烤宽面条，带锯床，登山杖

S17E12 Laminated Wood Beams; Sport Utility Vehicles; Veggie Burgers; Wood-boring Augers 木质横梁，运动型多功能车，素食汉堡，钻木螺旋钻

S17E13 Turbochargers; enchiladas; and watches; 涡轮增压器，辣酱玉米饼馅，手表

本集看点：中空的铸造零件是如何制作的；

本季资源链接：

magnet:?xt=urn:btih:153c8f17185e424a1da8805f16bf13cd9f9d70ad&dn

第十八季推出时间为2011-09-14至 2011-12-06

S18E01 Patterned Glass Panels; Road Cases; Stop-Frame Animation 压花玻璃面板，公路应急箱，定格动画

S18E02 Industrial Wire Ropes; Living Walls; Large Format Cameras; Gemstones 工业钢丝绳，生活墙，大画幅相机，宝石

S18E03 Chocolate Coins; Floor Heating System; Pedal Cars; Latex Swords 巧克力金币， 地板采暖系统，踏板汽车，乳胶剑

S18E04 Farmed Caviar; Intake Manifolds; Motorcycle Jackets; Forged Spades 养殖鱼子酱，进气管，机车夹克，铲子和铁锹

S18E05 Wax Figures; Awnings; Sandwich Crackers; Pewter Tankards 蜡像，遮阳篷，三明治饼干，锡制酒杯

S18E06 Cufflinks; Blueberry Turnovers; Dashboards; Pottery 袖扣， 蓝莓饼，仪表板，陶器

S18E07 Fish Replicas; Siren Systems; Pre-Packaged Sandwiches; Candlesticks 鱼模型，警报器系统，预包装三明治，烛台

S18E08 Pipe Cleaners; Blue Stilton Cheese; Smart Electric Meters; Telescopes 管道清洁剂，蓝斯蒂尔顿奶酪，智能电表，望远镜

S18E09 Rally Cars; Pork Pies; Floating Fountains; Artificial Stone Ornaments 拉力赛车，猪肉馅饼，浮动喷泉，人造石饰品

S18E10 Tapioca Pudding; Snow Plows; Paddle Boats; Fibre Cement Siding 木薯布丁，除雪车，桨船，纤维水泥墙板

S18E11 Pharmaceutical Blister Packs; Deli Slicers; Oysters; Weathervanes 药品泡罩包装，德利切片机，牡蛎，风向标

S18E12 Top & Bowler Hats; Solar Water Heaters; Sticky Buns; Electrostatic Speakers 圆顶礼帽，太阳能热水器，粘小奶油甜面包，静电式扬声器

S18E13 Turntables; Steam Engines; Playground Equipment; Teflon Pans 唱盘，蒸汽机，运动场设备，不粘锅

本季资源链接：

magnet:?xt=urn:btih:2689e5e93e88a4f1c599bf77f90d3227cebfa7d8&dn

第十九季推出时间为2012-04-19至 2012-06-24

S19E01 Garden Forks; English Toffee; Paint Chip Cards; Bundt Pans 花园艺叉,英式太妃糖，油漆色卡，蛋糕模具

S19E02 Pewter Flasks; Potato Salad; Hydrogen Fuel Cells; Engineered Wood Siding 锡制酒瓶，马铃薯沙拉，氢燃料电池组，工程木板墙

S19E03 Canvas Wall Tents; Peace Pipes; Shredded Wheat Cereal; Cannons 帆布帐篷，印第安式烟斗，块状麦片，加农炮

S19E04 Robotic Hunting Decoys; Canned Tomatoes; Scoreboards; Lassos 捕猎诱饵，罐装番茄酱，电子计分板，捕牛套索

S19E05 Turf Grass; Beef Jerky; Wood Chippers; Bowling Pins 草坪，长条牛肉干，木片切削机，保龄球球瓶

S19E06 Multi-Tools; Jojoba Oil; Marionettes 多用途工具刀，荷荷芭油，提线木偶

S19E07 Fish Decoys; Film Digitization; Cylinder Stoves; Concrete Light Poles 鱼饵，影片数字化存储，筒形火炉，混凝土灯杆

S19E08 Bamboo Bicycles; Chainsaw Art; Breath Mints; Manual Motorcycle Transmissions 竹制自行车，木雕，薄荷糖，变速箱总成

S19E09 Dinnerware; Air Brake Tanks; Frosted Cereal; Fossils 陶瓷餐具，气刹储气罐，麦片，化石

S19E10 Clay; Pitted Prunes; Spurs; Polyurethane Tires 黏土，话梅，马靴，轮胎

S19E11 Tasers; Canned Soup; Jaw Harps; Diving Boards 泰瑟枪，汤品罐头，口弓，跳水板

S19E12 Space Pens; Reef Aquariums; Metal Caskets; Composite Bike Wheels 太空笔，水族馆，金属棺材，复合自行车轮子

S19E13 Navajo Rugs; Crude Oil; Kaleidoscopes; Titanium Dental Implants 纳瓦霍地毯，原油，万花筒，钛牙科植入物

本季资源链接：

magnet:?xt=urn:btih:91bb1169cf63a02a4394608268efd8de9703bdcb&dn

第二十季推出时间为2012-10-25至 2013-01-10

S20E01 Native Healing Drums;Raisins;Stereoscopic Viewers;Ribbon Microphones 印地安疗愈鼓，葡萄干，立体图片观赏器，铝带式麦克风

S20E02 Horse Bits; Oat Cereal; Turquoise Jewelry; Electric Scooters 马衔，燕麦片，土耳其玉首饰，电动滑板车

S20E03 Stagecoaches;Road Reflectors;Fire Baked Pottery;Custom Motorcycle Tanks 驿马车，反光道钉，火烤陶器，订制摩托车油箱

S20E04 Replica Clay Pipes;Drinking Fountains;Orange Liqueur;Compound Bows 复刻陶瓷烟斗，饮水机，柳橙甜酒，复合弓

S20E05 Tissues;Travel Trailers;Slippers;Motorcycle Helmets 面纸，旅行拖车，拖鞋，摩托车安全帽

S20E06 U-Locks; Tepees; Croissants; Rolling Luggage U型锁，圆锥帐篷，可颂面包，滚轮行李箱

S20E07 Prams;Factory-Built Homes;Wood Flutes;Bicycle Tires 婴儿车，组合式房屋，木笛，单车轮胎

S20E08 Thinning Shears;Wagon Wheels;Toaster Pastries;Violin Bows 打薄剪，马车轮，果酱夹心饼，小提琴弓

S20E09 1000th Item: Cycling Shoes;Yurts;Marine Plywood;Oil & Encaustic Paint 自行车卡鞋地，蒙古包，船用合板，油彩和蜡彩

S20E10 Nail Nippers; Jade Putters; Ice Cider; Water Skis 指甲钳，玉石推杆，苹果冰酒，滑水板

S20E11 Paper Fans; Walnut Oil; Copper 纸扇，胡桃油，铜

S20E12 Cast Iron Tubs; Hopi Kachina Dolls; Mine Truck Engine; Memory Cards 铸铁浴缸，霍皮族娃娃，矿场卡车引擎重建，记忆卡

S20E13 Gut Strings;Absinthe;Belt Buckles;Lever Locks 肠弦，苦艾酒，皮带头，杆锁

本季资源链接：

magnet:?xt=urn:btih:3b16e409e27f9101e3d9b5ba17cf000344174c58&dn

[convivialdave]

Golf history is a favorite avocation so am opining here about the recent circumstance of Bryson DeChambeau.

The newly crowned US Open Champion is an iconoclast of the game [for various reasons I won’t go into here...read about him yourself, he is a terribly interesting character study] and has caused quite a stir in the professional game for his central thesis: distance wins.

Now...this has been known for quite a while, but what BCD has done has taken that truth to heart and has worked tirelessly to prove it...and he has.  This is not some fly by night player either.  Prior to his physical metamorphosis he was an NCAA and USGA champion [big stuff in the game of golf].  This man had much to lose by trying to pull off something so audacious.  He is to be applauded.

What all the fuss is about is that this truth [distance wins], while known, has escaped both the current crop of top tier tour players AND the professional governing bodies [I am pointing the finger at you, USGA and R&A], neither lifting much of a finger to do much about it.

Why does this matter?  In the eyes of the traditionalists, this is not the way the game was meant to be played [especially in the US Open where accuracy formerly reigned supreme].  This is a relative critique and does not stand scrutiny as the confluence of talent, desire, and work will try and find a way.

My lament is more practical.  Given this truth, nearly every world class golf course hosting major championships under this ‘new reality’ will be rendered superfluous.  It is this both sentimental and practical break from the past which I regret most.  Think of it this way...would Fenway Park be its same self should the players use aluminum bats?  No way, they’d be parking homers on Lansdowne Street multiples a game...worse yet, rounds of tournament golf will slow to a crawl given golfers will be waiting on nearly every tee shot [for groups ahead to clear].

So what to do?  A combination of 3-4 things in my estimation:

1 Have the USGA and R&A come down solidly on rolling back the golf ball to 1999-2000 standards [around the year before the Titleist ProV1, a ball that was revolutionary in its design and effect]

2 Roll back the size of the clubhead for tournament golf [currently at 460 cc volume for the driver].  This will make mad lashes much more difficult to achieve with consistency

3 Instead of growing rough out laterally from the fairway center line, also consider growing rough vertically from the tee [the farther out the higher the grass]

4 Consider in course out of bounds [even experiment with OB zones].  This is an easy fix so it won’t put financial pressure on clubs to make expensive architectural changes to host golf courses, save for the price of nice wooden white stakes and perhaps white paint spray

[photo courtesy of TheSun.uk]

[arimarmell]

History Of Baseball Bat

Although the baseball bat is a rather straightforward concept but it's also a quite complex object. There're some baseball bats mentioned below the information about you can get in terms of their interesting history and excellent design. It's important to know the bat's major concepts before deciding what bat to purchase. So, you're welcome to learn about some of the most interesting baseball bats facts: A baseball bat is represented by a smooth "rod" used by the batter for hitting the golf ball that is thrown by the pitcher. This is the signal for other gamers to run to the bases and to score a homerun. The thickest part of the bat that's used to hit the ball is called the "barrel". The barrel gets thinner and is gradually transforming into the handle. Usually, metal bats have a rubber surface to ensure a good grip. There's also a "knob" located at the other finish that helps a player to firmly hold the bat. It's advisable to consider all of these aspects while choosing an appropriate bat. Do you want to learn more? Visit buy baseball bat.

In the earliest days of baseball when this game was mostly popular among younger players there was a great variety of bats which were mostly handmade. Consequently, sizes and shapes differed greatly. After baseball became a more official sports game, the baseball bats also got an official size and shape. In 1859, definite rules concerning the diameter with the bat were established, and it greatly depends on the league you're playing in. so, before purchasing a bat ensure that you know your league's rules on baseball as well as bat measurements. Although baseball bats look extremely similar, there're very small differences which can be not visible to the human eye.

America's Nationwide Pastime reached the top of glory in 1860s. Alexander Joy Cartwright improved the online game in 1845 to the kind it is today. However, the requirements to baseball bats have changed for numerous times since that time. Thus, the bats have been produced from different sorts of material ranging from aluminum to wood.

Although the style of baseball uniform has often changed, almost nothing has drastically changed concerning the style of the bat. There're different kinds of bats specially created for Little Leagues, Senior Leagues, college, and pros. Almost every coalition has its own standards for keg diameter and loop dimensions.

Components Of The Bat

Generally, there're three categories of bats: wooden, Aluminum alloys and Graphite/Titanium lined bats.

Wood: usually willow wooden bats are manufactured in Canada and Australia. These bats are highly appreciated for their wonderful grain and fibrous structure. Seasoned wood is usually used to make bats which demonstrate long fibers of wider nature. The greatest advantage of wood bats is customizability when it comes to the barrel and grip. Besides, such bats won't unexpectedly crack and they aren't expensive.

Aluminum alloys: these bats coat approximately $200. They are stronger but at the same time lighter than others and help to develop higher speeds. The most preferred alloy is 7046; however, such bats as CU31/7050 with increased magnesium, zirconium, and copper content have more strength, offer less vibration and bigger distance as well as serve much longer. Graphite/Titanium lined bats are the lightest ones. Besides, they offer enough power and help to lessen the shock of hitting the golf ball.

[brooksfhrk840-blog]

Guidelines & Techniques On Buying The Most Desirable Baseball Cap Display

Wooden Baseball Bats - From Wood to Aluminum

It appears that for such a straightforward, single-purpose item like a baseball bat, it would be easy to buy one for your sports daughter or son. Yet the truth is, there are all sort of baseball bats. Worry not, the following basics will certainly lead you in the ideal instructions to obtaining the sure-shot baseball bat your boy or little girl desire.

Buying a baseball bat is an extremely personal process. When choosing golf clubs, you require to offer your option of bat the same factor to consider that you would. The bat you select must be the best fit for your particular arm length, grip, height and style of swing. You would not pick a driver at random and anticipate to march approximately the tee and land a hole-in-one. You would ensure that your motorist has the best feel to fulfill your sweet spot and assist you land the ball at 300 yards. The very same guideline is true for baseball bats. You desire the bat that will let you step up to the plate and drive the ball right over the center field fence.

Longer bats have a much better opportunity of hitting that sphere, but the lighter the bat, the a lot more effective a batter's swing and the faster and also further the sphere will go! A thick barrel on a baseball bat can imply a more effective hit, yet at the same time it will also evaluate down the bat. It all comes down to your preferred batting style.

Some gamers also state that they choose wood baseball bats since of the conventional look. The noise made when the bat hits the ball is greatly different. They say a "fracture" sounds way much better than the "ping" sound of an aluminum bats hitting the ball.

With costs upwards of $400, starting and intermediate gamers ought to not feel forced to purchase the most current and greatest. Lots of similar bats are readily available at attractive prices from the discount retailers. Looking cool at the plate with a big bat with extreme https://www.trademama.com graphics is not almost as remarkable as hitting the ball and getting on base so often that the other groups recognize you as a danger.

Overall though, purchasing a baseball bat is a personal choice. You'll certainly desire to choose a baseball bat maker that uses great deals of personalization so you can develop the baseball bat most ideal to your size, height, weight and strength. Numerous also prefer to pick their https://www.washingtonpost.com/newssearch/?query=baseball bats colors and include a signature but few bat makers allow such personalization and personalization due to making expense aspects. So if you are not a professional baseball player, you simply choose the baseball bat that fits you finest.

Simply make sure you're buying the finest when you buy discount rate baseball bats. Purchasing a baseball bat is an extremely individual process. Aside from your personal requirements, think about the barrel size of the discount rate baseball bats you're going shopping for. The 2nd measurement of value in choosing a bat is the taper, or the size of the bat at its deal with. Shopping for discount rate baseball bats does not necessarily suggest compromising quality.

[twinkiekinesis]

Box & Spirit: Chapter 7 ~Tobi versus Ricky~

Facing the downed man in a newly awakened rage, Tobi glared down at Ricky with cold eyes that would occasionally fill themselves with lightning. Ricky, who was stunned by the new atmosphere Tobi produced, looked up at the boy with a small hint of fear. Just a little while ago, the wolf boy was literally shaking his butt at him and cracking odd, cheesy puns. Now here he was with eyes so cold it made blizzards seem like heatwaves in comparison. But the fact still remained that he had slandered the hunter's legacy.

What am I doing? Ricky suddenly realized. This kid's nothing but mincemeat! I can take him! Pulling himself from his scared hesitation, he got up and crossed his arms over his face before pulling them down to his sides, summoning his white, magnetic aurora from his hands. He made a small, devlish grin at the boy, whose hateful eyes continued glaring at Ricky. "I gotta say, you kinda got me with those scare tactics there, kid. I'll give you credit for that. But you're going down. I'll have your head hanging on my wall. But don't worry; you'll little bird friend's gonna hang right next to you so you won't be lonely! Aren't I generous!"

His palms still emitting lightning, Tobi clutched his fists as Ricky talked about the friend he had hurt. He didn't respond, but his wolf ears were perked and alert, as if he took every word Ricky had just now said to heart. After a couple of seconds, the sparks of lightning stopped bouncing around Tobi's hands, though the static was still there. His eyes didn't blink or twitch---they were locked onto Ricky the entire time. Ricky raised his hand and motioned a finger at Tobi mockingly. After a couple more seconds, wind blew past Ricky's cowboy hat and Tobi's wolf ears. The tension was so strong that one could try to cut it with a knife, but the knife would end up breaking from the handle, crack, shatter, then evaporate to dust that would vanish into nothingness.

Then there was a loud pop that sounded through the air.

The two would dash at high speeds from where they stood and curled their fists, throwing a straight jab that would connect with one another's. When their fists collided, the sound of the impact rung through the air loudly. Tobi lifted his right leg quickly, kicking Ricky's arm away before pulling it to his chest, lunging his foot towards Ricky's face quickly. The would be cowboy turned his body to the side to avoid the kick before throwing another punch at Tobi, who leaned his head back to avoid the oncoming hook of the man's fist. He sat his right leg back on the ground quickly before turning his body to the left, spinning backwards while sticking out his left leg, smashing his heel against Ricky's left hip. Ricky quickly grunted before grabbing the hip with his left hand, but was fast enough to dodge the incoming palm strike by leaping quickly out of the hybrid's reach. Tobi quickly stepped forward and swung his left palm forward, only to have Ricky dodge it. However, he was caught off guard by pale one's leg, which swept on the ground and off of Ricky's feet. Tobi hopped off of the ground and curled into a ball before rolling rapidly in mid air. "Heavy Leg Arts!!" He rolled down towards the ground before uncurling from his ball, his left leg pulled underneath him while his right leg stuck out, the fierce momentum of the spin strengthening the power of his heel. "Splitting Edge Axe!!"

Ricky leaped backwards off the ground before Tobi's heel hit the ground, thinking he was safe. However, when his heel smashed into the ground, A stream of shards made of ice began to erupt from the concrete that was cracking towards Ricky's direction. The ice was forming fast, and a shard erected beneath Ricky, whose body was shaved by the point of the shard that cut his body. He gritted in pain before raising his left hand in front of him, levitating slightly, summoning a horde of metal objects from the supermarket behind him, among them being pots, pans, barbaque grills, bats, forks, spoons, knives, ovens, cheese graters, and aluminum foil, which wrapped around each other to shape into katanas. "Metal Scrapping!!" The objects would fly quickly and violently at Tobi, who effortlessly blocked and doged the objects without fail. He leaped from the ground and pulled his legs together, corkscrewing his body past the metal as his arms were crossed on his chest. He then landed in a crouching position to dodge more of the storm of metal before quickly standing up and positioning his wrists in front of his face, blocking the fast moving spoons and pots that would have killed a normal man at the speed they were sent flying at. As one of the flaming barbecue grills approached, Tobi lifted his hand and stiffened it, delivering a swift, powerful chop at the grill, which would continue flying past Tobi until it suddenly split in two. Tobi swung his across his body, kicking an approaching oven back at Ricky so hard that the strength of the kick had overpowered the influence Ricky had on it. The oven was sent flying back at Ricky, who quickly put his arms in front of him, summoning a white barrier of energy in front of him to deflect the oven, which bounced of of it and onto the ground in front of him. He lowered the barrier when he suddenly heard a scream. It came from Tobi, who had clutched onto a cut part of sweater. One of the aluminum blades had grazed his shoulder, which made him breathe heavily for a moment.

"Oh?" Ricky grinned, levitating the oven again. "Does that make you tick, wolf boy?" He swipe his hand across his chest, sending the oven flying at Tobi, who sprung high in the air before he was hit by it. With a flick of his finger, Ricky sent the other aluninum blades up at the airborne Tobi, who moved himself back and forth to avoid the rocketing blades before they came coming down at him.

"Heavy Leg Arts: Gust Scissor!!" Tobi flipped his body backwards before kicking his leg horizontally, sending a crescent-shaped blast of wind from his foot and at the blades, which split apart and scattered through the air. He looked down at Ricky before diving down towards him. He pulled his right palm to its shoulder, forming a ball of lightning, wind, ice, and sound on the center of his hand. "Heavy Palm Arts!"

"Ha! Go ahead and try it!" Ricky challenged as he summoned two lawn mowers from the supermarket, levitating them before spinning them upside down. He pulled the strings on the mowers to turn them on, activating the frantically-spinning blades that were facing Tobi, who kept on diving towards the man.

“Echo Force!!” Covering his palm in hard, durable permafrost, Tobi slammed his hand onto the sides of the two lawn mowers put together, the lightning of the ball going through the mowers, causing their blades to spin faster than they should before the engine started to suddenly leak smoke. After about two seconds, the lawnmowers exploded. The force of the explosion sent Ricky even further into the market. Tobi didn't seem to be as hurt by the explosion, simply crossing his arms over his face when it happened. When the smoke cleared, Tobi darted forward, balling his hand into a fist as he dashed to Ricky, who was still rolling backwards from Tobi from the explosion.

The man recovered on his feet before getting onto his feet and balling his left hand into a fist as well, calling upon more metalic objects to clamp around his hand. The ball of metal material then left his hand and shaped into a large, spinning fan that would pull Tobi closer in towards its shredding force. "Steel Fan!!" The fan brought in not only Tobi, but the metal objects behind him. Tobi heard the clanking noises of the objects being lifted from the ground and turned around, facing away from the fan that he was getting closer and closer to. He began to run against the fan's suction, hopping over dryers, washing machines, and coat hangers. He slid underneath a refrigerators, golf cubs, and bicycles. All these objects along with some others that came in contact with the fan controlled by Ricky were shredded like paper.

Wait a minute! It's just air, right?! Tobi stopped running and placed his right hand in front of him. His palm blasted a huge burst of wind that hit the middle of Ricky's fan, which kept moving regardless of the shot of wind. Tobi kept his hand out, shooting a fast-moving whirlwind that seemed to have a bigger effect. The blades were slowing down. Suddenly, though, Tobi was then suddenly hit by a bowling ball from the back of the head, knocking him off his feet and towards the spinning blades. He yelled and panicked for a moment as he was pulled into a flip by the fan before putting his legs together and his arms above his head, spinning with his feet facing the fan. "Twister Smasher!!" He hit the middle of the fan, which moved just as fast. As if hitting against metal, the fan began emitting sparks from the contact of the frantically spinning Tobi, pushing it back towards Ricky, who didn't want to be the one getting chopped into the pieces. With a fierce grunt, he punched the air in front of him, pushing the fan further against Tobi, who growled just as fiercely and pushed onto the fans, which began to crack and break due to his overwhelming force. The clamped pieces of metal then broke, allowing Tobi to drill his way into Ricky, who felt his body get struck by the spinning boy's rotating legs. He coughed out a bit of blood as one of the pupils in his eyes rolled to the back of his head, his other one shrinking in shocking pain. Tobi then leaped backwards from his spinning before pulling his hands to his shoulders, thrusting them both rapidly at Ricky. "Pattycake Rapid!!" The palms of the angered hybrid struck Ricky's body and face like a non-stop piston, his body jittering from one palm strike after another. Tobi then pulled both of his hands behind his back before clapping them in front of Ricky, sending a blue crescent wave of sound at him. "Symbol Clapper!!" The wave was so big that it dragged Ricky to the other side of the supermarket before dispersing, leaving the damaged Ricky flying into the refrigerated shelves of meat at the back of the store, a raw chicken leg falling into his mouth.

Ricky spat out the raw meat before standing up a bit shakingly, gurgling up a wad of saliva mixed with blood before spitting onto the floor beside him. "You really did a number on my handsome face, wolf boy." He moved his hand to his bruised eye and blood-stained chin. "You know, there were a lot of girls that killed to have a guy with a face like mine pounding them 'til the break of dawn."

Tobi walked towards Ricky as he opened his palms beside him, sparks of his blue electricity jumping from his hands. "Oh, I'll break you alright..."

"Oh, you really think so?" Ricky motioned his hand across his chest before curling it into a fist. "In case you haven't noticed, I'm a living magnent. And what's usually used to build buildings like this? Pipes, screws, copper, steel plates, beams...metal." As he spoke, the floor beneath him and Tobi began to shake as screws and pipes began to unwind from the high ceiling and distant walls. "And we're just so happening to be standing around a whole bunch of it!" The paint and structure of the ceiling began to collapse as wires, screws, and pipes all rushed around Ricky and clamped around him.

Tobi looked around, noticing the metals all around them going towards Ricky, the ones behind him rushing in Tobi's direction. He put his palms out, summoning the blue rings of sound to protect him. "Sound Barrier!!" The bowling balls, active chainsaws, kitchen silverware and construction tools bounced off of Tobi's barrier and continued heading towards Ricky, who was covered in all sorts of metals. Then the floors shook even more violently than before. Tobi quickly crouched down and placed his palm onto the floor. "Ice Rink!!" Combined with his Sound Barrier technique that was still in play, Tobi covered the floor inside the barrier with ice while various metal screws and plates erupted from the ground like a geyser shooting water. Keeping the barrier activated, Tobi pushed on the ground behind him quickly, riding on the frozen tile like a snowboard, guiding it left and right to avoid the heaps of metal flying towards him. Hopping from the ground while holding onto the front of the tile, Tobi flew out of the doors seconds before the entire supermarket came crashing down. However, the falling rubble would levitate in the middle of the collapse, and draw towards a huge ball of metal objects that emitted white sparks of electricity-like aurora.

"You survived, wolf boy? I don't see your corpse anywhere here..." Ricky, who spoke behind the cluster of metal, levitated it over his head, lifting his hand underneath the giant, floating ball of metal. "Oh! There you are! Well, it doesn't matter! This'll end it for good!"

Tobi's wolf ears stuck up as he looked at the giant ball of metal. It wasn't the size of the ball that got him. It was the violent energy that it produced within itself. He heard the erratic and violent vibrations that sounded unstable in the ball, even though it was high above Ricky's head. If that ball were to land, who knows what would happen to the entire city. "Ricky! Don't! You'll trash this whole town!"

"Ha! Please, I know my own town more than anyone here! Especially a mongoling pest like you!!" Ricky pulled his raised hand back before lunging it forward. "Meteor Junkyard!!"

Tobi had pondered about using the Sound Barrier technique again, but he wasn't entirely sure if it would work. Mixed in that clamp of metal was aluminum, which hurt him more than anything else inside of that ball. Plus, he figured he should stop it. Even if it was Ricky's town, there were still innocent, freed animals running loose. He knew Sunshine could handle it, but it would still hurt him. The last thing Tobi wanted to think about was another hurt friend. "No choice then..." Tobi would open his right palm while the ball came flying. From his hand came a ball of his own; a shining white sphere that glowed blue. Composed of sound, lightning, wind, and another inhuman source, it grew larger and larger in his palm until it was the same size as Ricky's Meteor Junkyard. He lifted the palm carrying it back before aiming at the approaching ball. "Sparkling Moon..." He would fling his hand forward, throwing the ball of light with as much of his superhuman force as he could. "Cannon!!"

The ball of metal and the ball of light would fly at each other until they connected. The ball of metal would push onto Tobi's sphere of light, and the ball of light pushed against the ball of metal. Tobi and Ricky had their palms out, staring at the balls they had shot. The struggle between the two spheres would cause all the metal objects in a wide vicnity around them to levitate and float from the ground. The temperature around the entire city rapidly rose and dropped constantly, going from freezing, blistering cold to unrealistically, unfathomably hot. Meanwhile, a white electromagnetic aurora leaked from Ricky's body while smaller metals surrounded the cowboy hat-wearing man. On the ground, cold winds would blow from the back of Tobi's feet. His wolf ears stayed perked up while his teeth clamped against each other. The wind was blowing fast around him, causing his hair to dance from his head. After a while, Tobi's Shining ball would slowly engulf Ricky's before suddenly exploding. The two spheres dispersed, Tobi's releasing snow, cold air that moved through the air around him like a hurricane, and a ringing whistling noise that would echo throughout the town, while Ricky's sent shards of destroyed metals flying in all directions. Forks and spoons darted through windows while fan blades and pipes flew past Tobi, narrowly missing them.

Ricky floated downwards after the explosion died down, some of the metals that were still in tact falling to the ground with his descent. "So, you can control it, huh? Didn't know wolfy here could use Stardust Energy."

Tobi raised an eyebrow. "Yeah, I can. And so can...you...?"

"You look lost," Ricky said as he took his hat off, dusting it off before putting it on his head.

"Well, it's just that," Tobi replied, "You have to be pure of heart in order to use Stardust Energy. You're kind of a prick, but...Your hands are glowing white."

"So they are," Ricky said as he snapped his finger, a white spark running through his hand briefly. "It's Nebula Energy."

"I know it is," Tobi squinted. "But why is yours so white?"

"Heh. You know, I don't know," Ricky answered. "Sometimes it comes in all shapes and sizes?"

"That doesn't explain anything," Tobi told him. "I've never seen Stardust Energy with the same color as Nebula Energy!"

Ricky laughed a little. "You're still young, kid. You don't know what you're talking about."

Tobi raised his brow again. "Am I? I'm a whole ton older than you, that's for sure."

Ricky and Tobi stared each other down for a moment before Takanata let out a small chuckle. "You've got some moxy, kid. If you hadn't gone against me, maybe we could have been friends!"

"I don't hang with people that hurt the ones I care about."

"Well, it's not like you can apologize now, anyway!" Ricky pulled two fingers of each hand to his chest, one being an index and the other the middle. The fingertips emitted small sparks of magnetic lightning before blasting small but quick beams of said lightning at Tobi. "Scrapping Pulse!!"

Tobi summoned a wall of permafrost in front of him to block the magnetic beams. He then kicked his leg on the wall, sending it sliding towards Ricky, who would jump over the wall and land in front of Tobi, summoning clamped together metal to coat his right knee. He lunged it forward towards Tobi. "Iron Knee!"

Covering his knee in permafrost, Tobi matched his knee with Ricky's. After they both lowered their legs, the two launched a barrage of punches and kicks at each other, each blow either hitting each other's or missing one another. The whipping sound the attacks made as they went by each other, along with the crashing ring that sounded every time they connected, was loud and vicious. Finally, Ricky lifted his head, summoning a plate of aluminum foil to coat it before slamming it down onto Tobi's forehead, which swung downward from the blow. With a malicious grin, Ricky summoned more aluminum forward to cover his whole head before landing another headbutt on the back of the boy's head.

"So, I was right..." Ricky grinned before pulling the aluminum helmet off of him. "I can throw a lawmower at you and you'll just shrug it off, and I can toss an entire factory chimney at you and it's nothing. But with a teeny-weeny bit of aluminum..." The aluminum would quickly morph into the shape of a sword. "You're on your knees!"

Tobi raised his head slowly, noticing the blade. Quickly, he leaned his body all the way back to avoid the underhand swing of the blade. The tip of the blade grazed Tobi's chin ever so gently, causing a small cut to open on the tip of it. After barely avoiding the attack, Tobi went in to swing his left leg at Ricky, who cleverly decided to block the blow with a wall of aluminum that was formed from the same material used to make the makeshift sword. Once the demigod's leg hit the aluminum, Ricky had the substance wrap around Tobi's leg like a snack wrap. "Gotcha now!"

"C-Crap!" Tobi was going to move his hand to his leg, trying desperately to pull the aluminum from his limb. "Off! Off! Get it off!"

"I thought so!" Ricky curled up his left fist before smashing it into Tobi's face, sending him off of his feet and landing onto the floor on his back. The boy stood up, a bit of blood trickling from his nose. The moment get got back on his feet, he saw Ricky approach him. His reflex kicking in, he raised his left aluminum covered leg towards him again. But when he swung it, the leg moved slowly, and the fierce power that lied behind the move seemed to have died down. The kick was slowed down enough for Ricky to duck underneath it. While dodging the kick, Ricky summoned shards of metal around his arms. The shards would begin to rotate violently on his arm as he punched it into Tobi's body again. "Ricky Dicer!!"

Tobi's eyes darted open from the twisting sensation of pain that now went through him. His mouth opened wide to cough up the blood Ricky had forced out of him. His pupils practically screamed as his head was thrown back. The pieces of metal went through his clothes and slashed his body. After digging into the boy's stomach, Ricky made his arm extend further into his body, launching the boy off his feet again. He was sent further back from where the store was, and he crashed against the wall of an apartment building so hard that he had made a crater on the bricks it was formed by. When he tried to move, he felt a wave of pain inside his gut. Shoot...Why does he have to play dirty? Tobi was never good at hiding this specific weakness of his. He slowly developed a resistance towards an aluminum, but it could still hinder him in battle, especially when the foe he faced had the power to manipulate it. With the amount of aluminum on his leg, his entire body was weakened. It wasn't as thick as a rock, but it was enough to weaken his attacks and make his body more vulnerable.

"I-I guess I'd better get this off..." he pondered. He looked around quickly, hoping to find a knife. The aluminum was wrapped around his leg pretty tightly, but at least it didn't sink into his skin. Looking for a knife or at least something to pry the coating off with, he decided to detach from the wall, barely able to stand on his feet, his legs trembling when they touched the ground. It wasn't until then that he had realized that the aluminum wasn't even on his skin. It was on his pants, but just a little tightly. Furthermore, he had ten little knives he carries around wherever he went: His claws. Growing the claws from underneath his fingernails, he raised his hand before swinging it down towards his leg when he would abruptly pause. A burning, unpleasant sensation went through his leg as he began to scream from terrifying pain. He fell onto his back and grab onto his leg as he felt the aluminum sink through the pants leg and into his skin slowly. The torturing sensation made him roll along the ground while he hugged his leg tightly.

"You're not going anywhere," stated Ricky, who was slowly walking towards the downed Tobi. He raised his hand, manipulating the now sharpened aluminum to go into his leg. "I'm almost sure there was a saying...Uh...A cornered wolf is a weak wolf? I think that was it, yeah."

Tobi screamed even louder before proceeding with a rather embarrassing solution to this situation. He quickly grabbed the sides of his pants and, with all the force he could muster, tore them off with the sound of ripped paper being heard as they separated from his body. He stood up, leaving his lower half in a pair of blue and black stripped boxers. He grabbed his chest, panting from the now subsiding pain he had to endure.

"Desperate times call for desperate measures, huh?" Ricky laughed at Tobi, who was now in the general public in only his boxers.

Tobi reached down to his leg, pinching the sharp pieces of aluminum wedged into his skin before pulling them out of him. Blood came running down his entire left leg, but he felt better and back to normal. He looked at Ricky, who had summoned various metallic objects around him, mostly aluminum foil. "Great..." he sighed to himself. He then balled up his fists and pulled them back as they became coated in white clouds. He then began to throw punches into Ricky's direction, rapidly blasting fist-shaped clouds at him. "Cloud Shooter!!"

"An aluminum version of...!" Ricky flung the metals and machete-shaped pieces of aluminum at Tobi. "Metal Scrapping!!"

The clouds and metals would rapidly hit against each other, the clouds fading into the air while the aluminum blades shattered. The other metals that hit the clouds were knocked aside or destroyed by the force of the fluffy fists. The two stared at each other as their attacks canceled out one another, clamping their teeth as they stared at each other with an intense rage. Tobi stopped punching the air, ceasing his barrage of flying cloud fists, and Ricky lowered his hand, stopping the metals from rushing at his target. The two males ran towards each other while balling their firsts up pulling them back and punching at each other, the single jabs of theirs connecting just like they did when they first started the battle, only this time there was a different effect. For Tobi, a burst of sound and lightning flailed from behind him, as if the colliding fists were a trigger that set off the hurricane-like gusts and ringing noise. For Ricky, anything that was metallic went flying away from him, as if the two blows were a signal for them to escape. For the cowboy hat-wearing hunter and the wanted wolf hybrid in boxers, the fight hadn't ended. Not yet.

The hot sun beamed over the still ruined plains that was set ablaze the night before. Though tired and sweating, the pandas, both the anthropomorphic and the ones on all fours, continued planting the fresh soil on top of the layers of burnt grass, planting seeds into the ground in hopes that the new flowers would replace the old ones that had perished from the fire. Though, some of the smaller panda cubs held funerals for the flowers that perished. They seemed to have been really been attached to them, for some of them cried at these makeshift funeral services over the lost of the precious flowers. Thankfully, there wasn't any loss of life, but there were other animals that got hurt. Those that weren't pandas, such as rabbits, birds, foxes, and so on, were taken under Courage's care.

"A-Almost done..." Courage wrapped a white paper bandage around a small white rabbit's ear. He smiled softly while a blush covered his cheek faintly. "T-There you go...N-Now you're all better...A-Ah, but don't exert yourself," he politely warned. This particular hare happened to be frolicking by a nearby tree when the fire happened. The flames burned through the wood of the tree, causing it to fall from its stump and land on the rabbit's leg. It was stuck beneath the tree, so it wasn't able to flee from the fire that would engulf its unfortunate left ear. Luckily, a couple of the pandas worked together to lift the still burning tree for a little so one of them could scoop the rabbit from underneath the burning wood. This all explained the burn mark wrapped beneath its bandages, as well as the cluster of burn marks and splinter wounds that was patched by another wrap of bandages, which complimented the small crutch that was just his size.

"I-I'm glad I was able to help," Courage said happily with his delicate tone. Practically having his own little vet service, Courage sat behind the boulder he hid behind earlier, only this time it was to nurture the animals that were unlucky enough to have been hurt by the fire. There were little resting beds made of scarlet string, some of which the resting pigeons, baby foxes, and even tiny snakes laid on. They were in casts, covered in bandages, and received miniature bits of peaches. With his beloved Sprinkles sitting next to him wearing a nurse cap with a red cross on it, Courage looked around at all the small animals that have received his care, and the long line of animals that were still seeking it. It was a long line, but it was better than having to deal with them the way they approached him earlier. The woodland creatures that pleaded for his help came in by dozens all at once. Each of them were begging to get treated all at once, some of them even barking at Courage for not getting to them first. It was a nightmare for the boy, especially since he could understand and communicate with animals, which meant he could hear every bark, hiss, and whimper these animals made. One of the birds even tweeted some bad things about Sprinkles. It was when his eyes began to water that they began to calm themselves down, even going over to the boy to apologize to him. They all agreed to get treated one by one before the pink-faced boy fainted, which seem like would happen at any time in that moment.

"Help! Anyone!? We need a doctor? Surgeon? Someone?!"

Courage looked up to the distressing call, his bunny ears bouncing with his movements. He saw a group of odd birds approaching them. "O-Oh! I-I can help you...b-but y-you have to wait in line," Courage instructed with his usual lack of assertiveness. "So, c-can you please...?"

"T-There's no time!" said one of the approaching birds. "My baby is dying, and I need someone to help her! Aren't you the boy Jenny's friend talked about?!"

"W-What--I-I mean...S-Sorry!" Courage apologized. "I-I came off as rude, I-I'm sorry..." The other animals began to turn around, but before they could retaliate against the begging newcomers, they gasped, staring at one of the birds. She was being carried, and had a shard of metal pierced through its body. Courage, who was bowing repeatedly, continued apologizing. "I-I d-don't really know what you're talking about," he trembled, "B-But I promise to...wait, d-dying...?" Amidst his constant apologizing, that part of their pleading got to him at last. He looked up and saw the Polkavoice Parrots land in front of him, presenting the severely injured Jenny to the bunny boy. Courage gasped silently, his eyes widening wide as he stared at the bird.

"T...Tobi..." managed the pain-filled Jenny whilst slipping away from her consciousness.

T-Tobi?! Courage's eyes darted open while he slowly scooped Jenny up in his hands. The piece of metal was lodged deep into her belly. Courage wasn't exactly a vet, but he knew that she was lucky to be alive with such a big piece lodged in such a small body.

"S-She's been slipping out of consciousness constantly on the way here," said the mother.

"But since she keeps waking up," the father expressed, "that means she should be fine...right?"

"Please...I just want my sister to be safe," begged Jenny's beloved brother, Tango with watery eyes. "W-We haven't seen her in so long, and the first time we're freed from Ricky's insanity, she..."

"Ricky..." Courage remembered what Tobi had said about him. But to think that he was actually this cruel didn't really occur to him. "W-Wait," Courage said to the birds. "A-Are there any other animals in trouble, too?"

"Well," answered the mother bird, "there were animals that were enslaved by Ricky. But that wolf boy help freed them, it seems."

"Right now," the father chimed in, "He's bumping heads with that Ricky fellow. Giving him a good beating, I hope," he muttered under his breath.

"He seemed really angry to me," recalled Tango. "I've never seen anyone even spit in Ricky's direction, let alone hit him."

"A-Angry...?" Courage took another look at the pained bird he held in his palms. She said Tobi's name, so he assumed that the two were friends. If Ricky had hurt Jenny, then, from what experience taught him, Tobi wasn't going to go easy on him. He just hoped that his friend didn't level the entire city. "I-I see...U-Um...D-Do you happen to know someone named Sunshine? Was he there?"

"Sunshine...?" They all hummed before the brother raised its wing. "I may have a clue on who you're talking about. Was he some weird boy with a hula skirt throwing parties?"

Courage nodded eagerly. "Y-Yes! That's him! How is he doing?"

The birds looked at each other for a moment, then glanced back up at Courage. "He can pop the loudest bubbles..." Tango said in amazement

"Yeah," grunted the father. "Nearly made me drop our sweet Jenny, he did."

Sunshine was okay, and so was Tobi. Courage sighed in relief. He didn't know what he was so worried about to begin with, though he was honestly a nervous wreck in general. In fact, his worry returned, but more so for the people and things around the two. "T-Thank goodness, they're alright..." Finally, he returned his focus onto Jenny, whose eyes were still closed as her feathery body laid in his palms. "O-Okay...U-Um, e-excuse me?" He called out to the other animals softly. "D-Do you all mind waiting just a teeny bit...?"

The animals looked at each other, then nodded. Jenny's injury was more severe than any of theirs, so they complied with Courage's request with various grunts and howls that Courage understood clearly. Okay! Take your time! We'll be fine for just a little longer! Don't keep that girl waiting now!

Courage blushed at the consent of the animals, then held Jenny in his left hand while his right hand took out the crimson-colored sewing needle he simply named the Scarlet Needle. The needle would shine a light that would glow red from the tip. The light would form into a miniature sphere of energy that spewed out scarlet strings. These strings slowly moved to the metal lodged into Jenny and wrapped around it before tugging on it slowly. The blood spurted from her, and the sight of it nearly made Courage hurl. But he had to be professional. He never thought about being a doctor, but his sewing skills on a body were just as good as they were on his toys. He's healed animals bigger than birds, and even humans; this shouldn't be a problem for them. He might even consider going into a medical field if it weren't for his discomfort for blood.

The strings held onto the metal tightly while slowly and gently wedging it out of Jenny's stomach. Finally, after over a minute, the metal slipped out, the piece of it that was stuck inside her now coated in red fluids. Courage sighed before hearing Tango panicking.

"S-She's bleeding! Hurry up and close the wound! Hurry!"

Courage cooed before looking down at Jenny. Her stomach blasted a fountain of blood at Courage's face before the pressure of the blood lowered, causing her to bleed normally. Courage innocently blinked his eyes a couple of times before suddenly going from pink-cheeked to pale-skinned, almost as pale as his wolf hybrid friend was, and suddenly collapsed.

"Huh!? H-He passed out!" Screamed the mother. When Courage fell, he released Jenny and the Scarlet needle unconsciously. Meanwhile, her daughter was still bleeding heavily. "W-What do we do?!"

"I-I don't know!" panicked the father. He pecked Courage's cheek constantly, the sound of the touch against his jaw sounding like knocking on a hollow log. "Wake up! Wake up, would you?!"

"Oh man, oh my gosh...What are we going to do?" worried Tango as he paced back and forth. "I-I don't want to lose my sister to some piece of...metal!"

Watching the birds losing the hang of themselves, the chipmunks, beavers, ducks, squirrels, and baby dears all looked at each other, their eyes filled with one thought that they all understood: Help them. They gathered around in a circle, reaching their furry paws and wings out to each others before suddenly raising them in the air, each letting out a squeal of their own species. One of the chipmunks donned a military general helmet, which shined bright from the reflection of the bright sun above them, and climbed on top of the boulder while holding a twig in his hands. Smacking his tail on the stone beneath him, he pointed to a fruit tree, and churred to one of the ducks. Spider webs! Get some spider webs over here, chop chop! The ducks quacked in compliance and scattered away from the rocks. They searched whatever tree was still standing, successfully finding webs forged in the branches and even in some bushes. Meanwhile, the beaver looked down at its fellow mammals below, the other beavers.

You guys! Show that unconscious bastard the power of our dam-busting tails of steel! Slap him back to his senses! The other beavers followed the churred commands of the helmet-wearing one, running to the knocked out Courage on all fours. The group of beavers lifted their tails as high as they could before slamming them down repeatedly onto the boy's cheeks. The barrage of tail slaps would redden the boy's face and, as a result, would swollen it slightly. The head beaver nodded in approval before looking at the still bleeding Jenny. He then looked at two squirrels, who, judging from the sight of the two holding hands, seemed to be a couple.

Love birds! Go sit on that bird's lap like it's the comfiest love-making bed you've ever got frisky on! Hop to it! The couple blushed from the beaver's crude slur, but followed the order nonetheless. The quickly rushed to the bleeding Polkavoice Parrot and sat their bushy tails on Jenny's open wound, ceasing the bleeding for as long as they could while they held hands. The lead beaver looked at the other animals that remained, who did their best to calm down Tango, along with his parents, by offering them fruits and flowers.

The ducks returned with sticks of spider webs that they presented to the beaver. Good! Let's use that to patch the wound up as much as we can! Bushy tails, get off of the bird and make some room! The squirrels looked up and nodded at the general beaver before hopping off of Jenny, who began to bleed again. Swiftly, the ducks would pull the webs from the sticks and wrap them around the gashing wound. After tying the webs together tightly over the huge cut, they quacked at the beaver in charge, letting it know that she was okay.

Meanwhile, the group of beavers carried their tails above their heads as much as they could before simultaneously slamming them down on Courage at once, causing the red-cheeked boy to rock his head upward. His bunny ears jumped up, his color returned, and his eyes darted open. He looked around quickly and saw that Jenny's wound was covered in webs. It was a bit strange, but it at least stopped the bleeding for now. He was going to crawl over to her before he felt dashing stings of pain ring in his reddened cheeks, and they weren't from his blushing. Courage then heard the churring of one of chipmunk on the rock, who seemed to be talking directly to him.

No sleeping on the job! Got it!?

Courage blushed, though it was hardly noticeable because of the red tail marks on his face. He looked up at the chipmunk, holding his hands to his chest while he nodded. "O-Okay!" He said softly, but with a voice determined to heal the Polkavoice Parrot and everyone else afterwards. He crawled to Jenny, then took out the Scarlet Needle. He removed the webs from Jenny's wound, causing more blood to gush out again. Courage nearly went pale again, leaning backwards at the sight of the blood before rocking forward again, closing his eyes and squealing while raising his needle. P-Please! Watch me, Sprinkles! With quick motions, Courage swung his needle around Jenny's body, strings appearing from the motions of the needle around the wound in a web-like pattern. The strings would draw into each other, closing the bloody wound slowly. After a couple of seconds, Courage began moving his needle through the cut that had shrunk in size, concluding the stitching of the wound before falling backwards and sighing. He wiped a trickle of sweat from his forehead before sighing. "A-All done..."

All the other animals around them cheered and applauded the exhausted Courage for his success, chirping and churring in celebration. Some of the little bunnies even threw flower petals, which substituted for confetti. The corner of the general chipmunk's eye emitted a single glint of light. You did good, kid, it churred to Courage, who was still red in the cheeks from the earlier slaps. Tango and his parents quickly rushed to Jenny, enveloping her in a group hug as they cried happily, thankful that their daughter escaped the claws of death.

"U-Um..." Courage leaned up, looking at the family. "I-I think you should be gentle," he warned them. "I-I'm sure my strings won't break, b-but just in case..."

"O-Oh, right..."

"Right, you are..."

"Sorry, sis." The three birds let go of Jenny, embarrassed. They were overwhelmed to see their daughter no longer in danger, but they wanted to have some self-control, too. They took a step back, allowing Courage to scoop her up and place her in one of the beds made of string. Courage would then turn to face Sprinkles, moving his arms around the plush and holding it happily.

"T-Thank you," Said the mother Polkavoice Parrot. "I-I know it's not nearly enough to make up for what you've done, but..."

"You saved our daughter's life," the father smiled. "I'm glad that wolf boy told us about you...Tobi, was it?"

"U-Uh...Yes," Courage nodded, blushing a little. "I-I wish I could do more, but..."

"You did more than enough," Tango assured. "What did you say your name was?"

"C-Courage," answered the bunny boy shyly, holding onto his beloved Sprinkles. "Courage...S-Starfall..." He bowed his head to the family gently while blushing, his swollen cheeks starting to heal.

"Oh? And such a gentleman, too," giggled the mother. "You can call me Salsa."

"Jenson," the father introduced, "And we couldn't be more thankful to you than we are now, Courage."

"A-Ah, i-it's okay, really," Courage objected. "I-It...P-Please--"

"Nope, too late," Jenson argued in a mellow fashion. "We all owe you one, right sweetie?"

"Mhm," nodded salsa, smiling.

"Just give us a call whenever you need us, okay?" Tango chuckled, flapping his wings and flying off the ground. "Nice hoodie, by the way. Do they come in my size?"

"I-I don't think so," Courage softly answered the flying bird, "But I can make one for you if you want..."

"Really?! Alright!" Zinged Tango as he spun happily.

"B-But...I..." Courage looked to the crowd of animals lined up, each of them still waiting to get treated. "I need to finish treating everyone else..."

"Oh, gotcha..." Tango descended back down next to Jenny, looking at her for a while before a smile formed on his lips. "It's just good to have her back," Salsa relieved. "Yeah, you said it," sighed Jenson, who brushed his wing on his daughter's forehead. "She saved us too, you know."

"You really are the best sister in the world," complimented the thankful Tango while watching over his resting sister. Courage would smile softly at the sight of the three birds gathering around Jenny, who rested ever so gently on the scarlet bed he had made for her. Watching the parrots tend to their beloved daughter and sibling brought Courage's thoughts back in time. Back before he and his friends called themselves the Taku Residence, back before he was a Tea Spirit. Staring over at his beloved plush, he reached over it and softly held it close to him. He looked in Sprinkles eyes, remembering the woman that gave him the doll. Her wonderful, warm smile brought a gentle ease in Courage's heart, making him want to hug the memento even closer. D-Did I do well, Sprinkles...? Did I do well...Bella? The boy was nearly about to cry when he felt something tug at the bottom of his sleeve. It was the general beaver, who seemed to be happy, judging from his smile. Nonetheless, the mammal directed Courage's eyes to the group of other animals that needed treatment. However, it seemed like they were more patient and humble than last time, too. In fact, judging from the peaceful, relaxed noises they were waiting, they were willing to wait as long as they needed to. It seemed as if seeing Courage save Jenny's life brought a new perspective of things to the forest animals. It was as if their once selfish need of getting healed as soon as possible was replaced with patience, generosity, and, most of all, sympathy. "U-Um..." Courage gazed upon the smiling animals, taking a deep breath before standing on his feet shyly. In a voice just as shy, he began to speak. "E-Everyone...I-I appreciate your understanding...s-so..." He took another deep breath, then, holding Sprinkles to his side, took out his Scarlet Needle again, holding it to his chest. "Please, j-just wait a bit longer! I-I'll help you all out as much as I can!"

Puddles of rainwater lied beneath the scrapped pieces of dull, dented aluminum by one of the apartment buildings of Takanata Town. Shards of the metal pierced parts of the buildings wall, as well as the medium-sized town hall building that lied directly across the street from it. The flagpole barring its leader's signature hat that once stood tall was cut by the scrap of aluminum, causing it to fall directly on top of the building made purely out of the finest mahogany wood, splitting the structure in two like an axe. The rainwater puddles were the result of clouds that immediately dispersed on impact with the metal, which was surprisingly dented by the white fluffs. Some of the water even splashed onto the apartment building's windows, staining them with the trails of the droplets' descent down the surface.

Panting with ragged breaths, Tobi and Ricky stood about fifteen feet away from each other. Their faces were covered with bruises and scratches. Cuts that oozed out small bits of blood, some bigger than others, trickled down their cheeks gently. Their clothes, if not torn from their earlier attacks, were partially damaged from the storm of clouds and aluminum that they flung at each other. Tobi, grabbing his left shoulder, which was also cut by the metal, leaned forward slightly with his right eye closed, his left one squinting a little. His wolf ears flopped slightly, the right one even bleeding a bit; it had gotten hit by aluminum as well. Across from him, Ricky held onto his side, staring at Tobi with his hat slightly tilted off his head. Moving his hand from his water-stained clothes, adjusted his hat, covering the bruise on his forehead from one of the strikes from Tobi's Cloud Shooter technique. A gentle breeze flew by them.

"You sure you ain't getting to high for your bridges, kid?" Ricky taunted from a distance.

"You sure you're big head's not getting too fat for your hat?" Tobi taunted from a far.

Ricky snarled. "I'll have you know that this hat here is a one of a kind from the ol' wild west!" He adjusted his hat a bit more again, then spat on the ground. "Not like you would know, boxer boy." He snapped his finger. "Oh yeah. I've been so busy kicking your ass that I almost forgot why I was in the first place." He motioned his finger at Tobi. "Give me that Song of Bonding! That thing's gonna be more than just another money maker!"

"After the way you trashed Panda Valley? And after you hurt Jenny?" Tobi's eyes sparked another glare of rage towards Ricky. "After all of that, you still expect me to give back what you stole from those guys?"

"Figured you say that," Ricky hissed. "How stupid, going out of your way for a couple of stupid pandas. Pity you're gonna die here, wolf boy. I almost feel sorry for you." He spread his arms apart and began to levitate off the ground. "Emphasis on the 'almost' part. But you trashed my town and my factory, so that's all the more reason for me to serve you your own head on a silver platter!"

After that, the two charged themselves at each other. Ricky's white aura began to radiate from his body again, and the same aura began to form around the fallen pieces of aluminum, which seemed to have become duller from hitting Tobi's clouds. After hurling another round of aluminum at Tobi, who dodged the pieces by quickly sidestepping from side to side during his approach towards Ricky, the hybrid balled his left hand into a fist and went for a straight jab at Ricky's face. Ricky tilted his head to the side, then swung his right leg at Tobi's left hip. Tobi felt the kick strike his side, but still dodged Ricky's right hook by crouching down. He jumped from the ground while kicking one of his legs out. Managing to land a back-flip kick on Ricky's chin and sending his head rocking backwards, Tobi put his legs together and spun, forming a violent twister around himself before charging at Ricky. "Twister Smasher!!" Ricky quickly caught wind of Tobi's approach—in more ways than one. He quickly floated backwards, avoiding the drilling kick that broke through the concrete floor, debris of the street being sent flying everywhere, even in some of the town hall's windows. He gathered all the aluminum that he had flung at Tobi and wrapped it around his right arm. The aluminum, which covered Ricky's arm from hand to elbow, grew sharp, spinning shards that, along with the man's fist, was hurled at Tobi. "Ricky Dicer!!"

Tobi turned to the side to see Ricky leaping at him, then spread out his legs while they were buried in the ground. He put his arms out, summoning his dome barrier made of sound. "Sound Barrier!!" The rings of sound bounced Ricky back, giving Tobi enough time to pull himself out of the ground and run towards Ricky before sliding on his feet, crouching down and channeling a violent gust of wind around his right leg. Doing another backflip with his wind-covered leg out, he shot a crescent-shaped wave of powerful wind at Ricky. "Gust Scissor!!"

Ricky quickly flew to the side, avoiding the threatening gust. Tobi crouched down and proceeded with the same action, this time covering both of his legs with the wind, and proceeded to flip again and again, shooting the waves of wind at Ricky. Ricky then pushed his hands out in front of him, closing them before pulling out his middle and index finger on both hands, the tips of his fingers shining a bit. "Scrapping Pulse!!" From his fingers blasted streaks of white, magnetic electricity directed at Tobi, who opened his legs and somersaulted in mid-air to gain higher leverage, avoiding the blasts before he curled into a ball, violently spinning as he darted downwards towards Ricky's head. He stuck out his leg, then, as he uncurled, raised it during his flip. "Splitting Edge Axe!!"

Reacting quickly, Ricky ascended beneath Tobi before floating higher into the air, avoiding the wolf boy's axe kick, which would break more of the ground, sending cracks and fractures through the street in front of him, allowing the gigantic, cold shards of sharp, freezing ice to instantly emerge from them. Tobi quickly got up on his feet and turned behind him before looking up, seeing Ricky upraise the flagpole that had fallen. Then, he would let a burst of his white aura spike from his body while clenching both of his fists together. Tobi had prepared to dodge the pole should he decide to throw at him when his wolf ears suddenly perked up. He turned to the apartment building behind him, hearing from inside the rooms the clanking noises of products made of metal. The clanking noises became louder and more intense. Turning his head back to Rick and then back to the apartment, the male crouched down when irons, knives, televisions air conditioners, bowling balls, sinks, toilets, pipes, hammers, nails, washing machines, and other such metallic items broke through the windows and walls of the building. He quickly sprung off the ground, ascending into the air while avoiding the metal materials that flew out of the building.

When a bowling ball came flying at him, Tobi did a backflip, kicking the ball in the air above him. Once he was a couple inches lower than the ball, he summoned a cloud beneath his feet, standing on it while catching the bowling ball with his leg. Like a soccer player, Tobi kicked the ball in place with his leg, then proceeded to knee the ball with his left, then right, in succession while looking at Ricky, who levitated the flagpole that was horizontally facing Tobi. The man quickly threw his arms in front of himself, sending the spinning pole at Tobi. With one more knee to the bowling ball, he knocked the sphere into the air before pulling his leg back. Right before the ball hit the cloud, Tobi swung his leg forward, kicking the ball so hard that electric sparks emitted from it briefly before it flew at the spinning pole so hard that it hit one of its ends, sending it flying off course. Meanwhile, however, the ball continued flying at Ricky, who stuck out his arms and stopped the flying ball at a sudden halt. Ricky then squinted a little, looking past Tobi before letting out a cocky grin. Confusing Tobi with the sudden smirk, he shot the bowling ball back at Tobi, who leaned his body back on the cloud, avoiding the fast-moving sphere. He then leaned forward, facing Ricky and sticking his tongue out at him. "You missed!"

"Did I?" Ricky motioned his finger to himself. The flagpole, still flying from the earlier toss, became coated in white, magnetic aura. The spinning flagpole began to come back in the same course it flew in. By the time Tobi, who was confused by the hollow sound behind him, turned around to see the pole, it had already struck Tobi on the head with enough force to send him falling from the cloud. The boy's body smashed through the rooftop, and he fell through floor after floor, and his fall eventually ended when he hit a concrete floor on his stomach.

"Ow..." Tobi groaned a little as he got up, rubbing the back of his head while he looked at his surroundings. There were rows and rows of washing and drying machines, though some of the machines seemed to have been removed. When he looked up, he saw holes, and not just the one that his fall had created. Those must have been from when Ricky was trying to whale on me. It was clear where he was, though. He walked through the isles of dryers, still seeing one of them running. The blue, red, and yellow patterns of close that spun in circles in the drying machine persuaded Tobi's eyes to follow their movements. His pupils swirled round and round with the clothes' trip in the washing machine. For a moment, Tobi forgot about the fight and the blood running down the side of his head, and, like a child, was hypnotized by the clothes in the drying machine with an open-mouthed smile. "Whoa...And here I thought the people in this town wore nothing but bland junk; this might be the most colorful dryer I've ever seen..." The dryer then came to a stop, and the clothes would fall to the bottom of the contraption gently. Tobi looked closer to see what looked like a pair of jeans that seemed to be just his size. His wolf ears perked up, and he opened the dryer's hatch, grabbed the pants, and slid them on. The blue pants were just like the ones he wore before he ripped them off earlier. Heck, he could hardly tell the difference. Good as new!

"Damn. You really are still alive," hissed Ricky, who floated in one of the holes in the ceiling above Tobi. "And you have pants. Good; I want your head on display, not...whatever small business you have in there."

"Hey! Low blow!" Tobi blushed, covering his crotch with his hands while turning to Ricky. "You don't see me judging your junk, do you?"

"It's bigger than yours, I can tell you that. I bet ants use it for a hammock," the cowboy hat-wearing man insulted.

"That's...!" Tobi was going to argue, but the thought of ants using the pride of men as a lounge space began to scare him. Is that where they store our bread crumbs? Are they giving birth in there? Tobi, now curious, tugged the front of his pants and lowered his head in search for the ants. His wolf ears perked up again when he heard grinding, metallic on both sides of him. Quickly, he jumped backwards, avoiding the dryers and washing machines crashing together. He clung to the wall behind him, then sprung off of it when he saw an ironing board come his way. Once he made it back on the floor, the washing and drying machines rushed across the floor at Tobi, who jumped over the charging machines, the machines letting out various clothes and undergarments. The washing machines in particular spilled soapy water that would splash onto the floor. Tobi, who did a handstand over one of the hurled dryers, landed on top of the slippery puddle of water behind him, causing him to trip and stumble off his feet.

Eep...! As he began to collapse, one of the dryers caught Tobi in its opened hatch, the door closing and locking the wolf boy inside. Ricky shot a blast of electromagnetic energy at the dryer that trapped Tobi, forcing it to spin Tobi around frantically. Despite having traveled at faster speeds before, the fast spinning made Tobi dizzy. He saw the colorful patterns that swirled with him; the luscious yellow of a skirt, the beautiful pink of a dress, the casual blue of a T-shirt, and the fancy black of lingerie panties. Then, a pair of small, white underwear smacked him in the face. Gross...!

Ricky would lift his arm up quickly, sending the drying machine that trapped Tobi through one of the holes on the ceiling. It went through the holes Tobi flew through before finally stopping high above the apartment building's rooftop. Ricky soon began to follow the trail of the machine's ascent. As he made his way up, he sent out a ripple-like magnetic wave that flowed through the entire building. Floating higher and higher, all kinds of silverware and household appliances followed him, along with a couple of boilers. Pointing his finger at the levitating dryer, the knives, TVs, ironing boards, washing machines, vacuums, pots, pants, refrigerators, screws, hammers, nails, saws, cheese graters, and other such metal objects were sent flying at the machine and stuck to it like flies on paper. The objects clamped on one another, squeezing the dryer and slowly crushing it.

It's getting a bit cramped in here! Tobi heard the metals outside forced onto the dryer. He didn't waste any time; he kicked the hatch of the door open, but only to find a group of kitchen knives flying at him. He didn't have enough room to stick out a Sound Barrier, so he had to take a risk. "Heavy Leg Arts: Tapdance Turret!!" Tobi kicked both of his legs quickly, his feet fast, fierce legs kicking the knives away.

"Oh no you don't!" Yelled Ricky, crossing his arms around his chest before lunging them in front of him, sending the five boilers flying at the cluster of metal. "I'll blow you sky high!"

Tobi saw the group of boilers heading towards him. He prepared his legs again, pulling them back to his body. "Heavy Leg Arts...!"

"And the chicken's in the coot!" Ricky clenched his fists, ceasing the movement of the four while one of them continued flying at Tobi.

"Tapdance Turret!!" Tobi was careful this time, not wanting to risk blowing up the boiler then and there. With a swift but not as powerful flurry of kicks, Tobi stomped the boiler away, sending it falling back to the other ones still floating in midair.

When that happened, Ricky, with a victorious grin, opened his hands and threw them in front of him again, sending all the boilers at Tobi at once. Two of them suddenly changed course, scattered away from each other, and entered the middle of the cluster. The other three latched onto one another by the dryer door Tobi's legs were poking out of. Ricky than clutched his left fist, raising it in the air as an intense flow of magnetic white energy seeped from his fist. "Can Crusher!!" Ricky tightened his fist. All at once, the cluster of metal would crush into one another as if squeezed by titanium arms its size. Everything, including the washing machine Tobi was in, started to flatten and become crushed. Tobi lifted his his arms and spread apart his legs, looking at the boilers that were attached to the front of the dryer while he kept the machine from being crushed, despite tons of weight struggling against him. "Time to end this!" Ricky pointed his index and middle finger at one of the exposed boilers. A spark of magnetic energy formed in his fingertips and circled around them quickly before traveling into his hand, causing the same kind of energy to spike even more.

"Scrapping Burst!!" The fingers sent a powerful, larger beam of magnetic energy at the boiler attached to the top of the machine. It pierced the machine and the clod of other metals, piercing the other boilers as well. And with that, the ball of mashed together metal exploded, the flaming pieces of metal scattering everywhere in the sky as the bursting flames expanded through the sky. Like rain, the fire-covered scraps fell on top of the ground and on the rooftops. Some of the burning debris of the metal fell past Ricky, who stared at the smoke that started to clear up. When it had completely faded, he saw no sign of Tobi. "Yeah! I got him!" He moved his hand to his hat, tossing it in the air. "Yee-haw! Suck it, wolf boy! I just blew you to Kingdom Come, and you ain't ever coming back down!" Ricky smacked his knee, laughing and celebrating as his hat gently floated downward. It glided towards the ground of the other side of the town hall, moving toward the side facing away from the apartment building that Tobi and Ricky by and near a row of buildings with a hot dog cart lying nearby. At the end of its small trip, it landed on top of a drying machine covered in thick, sturdy permafrost. From top to bottom and from back to front, it was coated with ice. A couple of seconds after the hat struck its landing, A leg kicked the door off of the machine. After a couple of cowboy-like cheers, Ricky grabbed his hip, rubbing a tear from his eye. He moved his hands above his head to grab his hat, only to notice that he had tossed it away when he was overcome with joy.

"Got ahead of myself there..." He looked around, searching for his valuable hat. "Now where did you go, you slipper snake..." As he slowly started to lower himself, his controlled movements would suddenly knock him into an unexpected, surprise fall that was triggered by the sudden movement of the air around him. It was brief, but it was like an Earthquake in the sky. From what it sounded like, it was triggered by a loud, grotesque belch. Ricky hit the rooftop of the apartment building, but stood back up quickly. Who could possibly burp that loudly. He stepped off of the rooftop and floated ahead. Entering the airspace of the town hall, his nose caught an odd whiff, an abnormal aroma. After two more sniffs, he was able to identify it. ...Honey Mustard.

"Mmmm! Not bad! Not bad at all!"

Ricky's eyes dilated when he heard the familiar, indistinguishable voice. What in tarnation...!? Ricky quickly flew over to the other side of the town hall, and he couldn't believe his eyes. Right below him was the wolf hybrid chewing on a hot dog by a detached dryer wearing his hat. The pale-skinned male took another bite from the sausage, delighted sounds of approval escaping his lips.

"This Hot Dog's pretty hot, if I say so myself!" Tobi licked his lips, waving the half-eaten hot dog around in his hand. "The honey mustard on it does taste kinda weird, though. What's in this stuff anyway?" He moved his free hand to the hot dog cart, summoning a vortex of wind from his palm to suck the bottle of honey mustard into his grasp. After catching it, Tobi read front of the bottle. " 'Ricky's Steel-hard Honey mustard?' Is that what you're going for, dude?" He flipped the bottle around, raising an eyebrow as he read the ingredients out loud. " ...Bacon grease, pig fat, honey, mustard, tomato juice, coconut milk, editable food coloring... Hey, at least you were creative."

"Shut up!" Ricky yelled at Tobi. How is he still here? He should have been blown to bits!

"Maybe you should ask Sunny for help," Tobi suggested while he finished his hot dog. "If he did the same thing that you did, he'd probably be good at it." Tobi smacked his lips, taking off the cowboy hat and waving it around his mouth. "Man, this stuff's gonna kill me before any aluminum does."

With an angry vein growing from his forehead, Ricky swiped his hand across his chest, forcing the hot dog cart to slam into Tobi from behind. While it did knock the cowboy hat from off his head, Tobi, while pushed by the cart, flipped over it with one hand, landing perfectly on his feet. He then looked up at Ricky, who caught the hat in his hand and put it back on his head again.

"You have been nothing but a sore pain in my behind, Tobi Kuma Yukio." Being responded with a simple shrug by the boy, Ricky clenched his fists, letting the white-colored nebula energy seep from his hands again. "Butting your head into my business, showing up in my factory, trashing my town...My town is mine! What makes you think that you can just tear it up like this, huh?!"

"Hey, you're rich," Tobi responded. "And so is everyone else here. Or...everyone that was here..." Must have gotten chased out by the animals here and fled in the forests by the mountain or something. Pfft, good luck. "You guys can just buy a new town!" "Just buy a new one? What if I don't want a new one?!" Ricky retorted. "Then I guess you're just being a brat then," Tobi answered with perked up wolf ears. His voice was gentle like feathers, yet his words were as blunt as a hammer.

"...You've got a tongue on you, kid..." Ricky began to float from the ground, which started to violently and uncontrollably shake. "I think now's about time I shut you up for good...!" When Ricky said that, the buildings next to him and Tobi began to shake twice as much as the ground. They moved side to side, as if they were being wedged out of the ground. Then, all at once, they were pulled from the ground and started to float towards Ricky. Ricky moved his other hand toward the town hall and apartment building, lifting them from their respective sites as well. His entire body began glowing an electrifying white, and building after building began to hover close around Ricky. Even the industrial chimney that he had tossed earlier joined with the other large, gigantic structures. Finally, with a loud howl, various strings of metal---copper, bronze, silver, titanium and, of course, aluminum, began to intertwine with one another to form a sphere of all kinds of metals. The finishing touch was none other than the gold statue of Ricky that had once stood in the small park. With a snap of his finger, the gold statue shattered like glass, and its scrapped, shiny pieces fell into the ball of metals, blending into it like sugar in coffee. The ball would constantly change into the colors of the metals observed as it floated closer and closer to Ricky's chest. Like a sponge, his chest would absorb the ball of metal, which faded into a golden light into his body. Ricky crossed his arms over his head, balled up his fists, and pulled them to both sides of his waist, his skin now covered in a gold luster, which shined brightly from below onto the floating, colossal structures above him.

"Say your prayers, Yukio!"

[steelehorton5-blog]

Understanding baseball as being a sport can be something that occurs with time. You may even change jobs at some point, and you absolutely need to know what your teammates are up to also correct? Baseball is really a crew effort, and you're about to find out things that can help you increase your game.

There are various essential things for the baseball gamer. A cap helps keep direct sunlight from the eye when getting a put fly. A glove lets you get the golf ball. The bat is used to hit the golf ball. Ultimately, baseball cleats provide you with the required grip necessary while running. If you'd love to increase your left arm strength, make sure you're around daily tossing the baseball and swinging your bat. The more you carry out the action, the better it gets. You don't have to lift weight loads to formulate your arm durability. Continually tossing a baseball or swinging a bat will work amazing things. If you're into stealing bases, exercise getting qualified prospects off from bases. Consuming leads implies you need to know not merely your own personal speed, but the velocity in the pitcher's select off of transfer, the pace of his delivery for the dish, and the velocity and precision in the catcher's arm. There's a great deal to look at that'll affect how much steer you take. Don't allow baseball take over your daily life. You need a bust from everything, which includes baseball. Time out can in fact possess a rejuvenating result on both you and your baseball potential, so remember to take pleasure in other pursuits. Once you get back to baseball, you'll feel restored and ready to overcome the world. The kind of glove you want to use is crucial. You will find gloves made for every single situation. For example, a catcher's glove and an outfielder's glove change by shape and size. To make sure you manage the soccer ball in accordance with your placement, be sure you are built with the correct glove. Keep your go up, the eyes stage and focus on the ball when batting. You ought to be hunting more than your front left arm. When you change your eyesight or move the head, your back shoulder blades will change in reaction. Staying centered on your ball and keeping your head immobile will give you better the right time and a lot more consistency. As a baseball trainer, you will end up supposed to give a suitable post-activity talk. No matter if your crew is the winner or drops, you need to have some unique remarks prepared. Your speak must be good, and you will congratulate your players on a game well enjoyed. Especially make notice of types of very good sportsmanship. Don't worry too much in regards to the report. Make it optimistic, finish it together with your crew cheer and go your merry techniques smiling. Know how to stride properly in india national cricket team . Use your left part for influence if you swing righty. Remaining-handers should do the contrary. As the golf ball nears the platter, stpe forward to improve your momentum. Young and smaller players should keep their strides shorter. Make sure you are ready to run soon after your bat makes contact with the baseball. In the first place, rid yourself of the bat as opposed to tossing it. That may be harmful because it is typically made from timber or light weight aluminum. That squandered movements also slows down you straight down if you go to initial bottom. Baseball bats come in a variety of measures, weights and dimensions. Think about your height and power in choosing a bat. A longer bat offers you more achieve, although a more heavy bat adds potential. The dimensions of your hands can assist you establish the correct diameter for the bat. Swing various baseball bats prior to deciding which one believes one of the most secure for you. Build repetition into any practice drills that you are performing. To obtain great at anything at all, you must perform repeatedly it. In baseball that means reproducing at bats again and again. It indicates shagging take flight balls time and again. It implies having a increase perform drill until you imagine it. Only then are you going to begin to learn the skills. To have a runner out in the beginning through the 2nd baseman's place, psychological preparing is a lot more significant than durability, since the chuck is indeed quick. Ready your techniques in order that you follow-through with all the toss. You have plenty of time to obtain the runner out, so make sure your have is precise. It can help to enjoy baseball a lot more when you have good tips to go through. Thankfully you found this excellent report that had many suggestions exhibiting exactly what makes baseball a unique sport. Have them near by while you carry on and love this amazing sports activity. Soon enough you will notice you admiration increase so much fonder of baseball.

[biofunmy]

At Black Colleges, the Baseball Teams Increasingly Aren’t

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — Before each game, Clarence Carter III glances across the diamond as the opposing team warms up. He peeks in the dugout, scans the outfield and takes inventory around the infield during batting practice, counting how many African-Americans he can spot on the other team.

This is not an unusual drill for African-Americans playing in the major leagues, where their numbers have dwindled in recent decades, or in the similarly exclusive world of youth travel baseball.

But what makes this exercise striking is that Carter, a junior infielder at Bethune-Cookman University, plays for — and often against — one of America’s historically black colleges.

“It did catch me by surprise; I’m not going to lie,” said Carter, who transferred to Bethune-Cookman from a community college in Fullerton, Calif. “I would have thought coming to an H.B.C.U. there would be more black people, but things aren’t always what you expect.”

While baseball’s struggles to attract African-American talent and fans are well documented, the depth of the issue comes into sharper relief for teams in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference, a group of historically black colleges and universities stretching from Maryland to Florida. At each of the nine MEAC colleges that compete in baseball, the baseball teams often feature more white and Latino players than African-Americans.

Consider the standard-bearer for the conference, Bethune-Cookman, which has won 19 MEAC championships and plays its home games at Jackie Robinson Ballpark, the same field where Robinson first suited up for a game after signing with the Brooklyn Dodgers. At times this season, the Wildcats have not started a single African-American player.

There is a litany of reasons African-Americans have turned away from baseball, including the decimation of youth programs in areas where there historically have been large African-American communities and the sport’s ballooning costs — both for equipment (a top-shelf aluminum bat runs about $325) and exposure (participating on travel teams can cost thousands of dollars a year).

Billy Hawkins, a University of Houston professor who has written extensively on race and college sports, said young black athletes have become less likely to gravitate toward baseball because they — and their parents — have an easier time envisioning success in football and basketball. The numbers reflect that: African-Americans comprised 7.8 percent of opening day roster spots in the majors this year, down from the peak of 18.7 percent in 1981.

“Major League Baseball hasn’t developed a cultural relevance similar to those other leagues,” Hawkins said of the N.B.A. and N.F.L. “These other leagues have prospered in attracting black players, but also having a blackness like you’d talk about in music or dress. For some reason, M.L.B. hasn’t evolved similarly.”

To stay competitive, H.B.C.U.s have had to cast a wider net. Lynn Thompson, the athletic director at Bethune-Cookman since 1990, said he saw the start of the decline of baseball growing up in Daytona Beach in the late 1960s; in neighborhoods where his friends once rode their bikes to play sandlot ball, redevelopment paved over ball fields in favor of basketball courts and parking lots.

Bethune-Cookman began recruiting out of Florida’s deep pool of Latino players early on, and Thompson said that he has given the same marching orders each time he hires a baseball coach, something he did for the sixth time last August.

“We just happen to be historically black; we’re not exclusively black,” Thompson said. “Our job is to tell the great story of Bethune-Cookman through the lives of these great kids who wear our uniforms, wherever they come from and whatever they look like.”

This is a complicated stance, and it has drawn criticism. It is not unusual for H.B.C.U. football teams to recruit white kickers or punters, or to look farther afield to fill out their tennis and golf teams. But baseball can strike a different chord, particularly because of the legacy of the Negro Leagues and Robinson’s stature as a civil rights icon.

“We’ve taken some heat from some people,” Thompson said. “But look, we’re Division I, and if you’re a high school kid and you’re playing right field and batting .198 and you think just because we’re an H.B.C.U., you think you ought to be able to get a scholarship, you’re wrong.”

He continued: “When you come to bat against the University of Miami and this guy’s throwing 96 miles per hour with a slider that falls off the earth, you’ve got to be able to perform. Ain’t no excuses then.”

If Bethune-Cookman’s baseball team, which has four African-Americans, does not resemble its student body, which is 79 percent African-American, it is nevertheless a melting pot. This year, there are players who are Dominican, Puerto Rican, Cuban, Colombian, Peruvian, Mexican and Jamaican; there also are white players, who make up about half the 28-player roster.

The team’s first-year coach, Jonathan Hernandez, 33, grew up in Hialeah, Fla., a heavily Cuban community near Miami, where he was a product of Major League Baseball’s Reviving Baseball in Inner Cities youth program. He has put together a promising recruiting class — including two African-American players — that is ranked 60th among Division I programs, according to one analysis. Bethune-Cookman is the only H.B.C.U. on that list.

“I know that we’ve got to be able to give black players more opportunities,” Hernandez said. “There are definitely talented baseball players out there, and we have to find them.”

Finding them, though, is getting harder; N.C.A.A. data from 2018 showed only 4 percent of college players are African-American. And when an H.B.C.U. identifies an exceptional black prospect, it soon finds itself competing against both elite programs with more resources and professional teams dangling signing bonuses.

Sherman Reed, in his ninth season as the coach at Coppin State, said that he commiserates with a handful of African-American college coaches, like Edwin Thompson at Eastern Kentucky and Kerrick Jackson at Southern University, about the difficulties of recruiting.

“Economics plays such a big part of this,” Reed said. “More than people want to say.”

Showcase events that gather the best talent, for example, can cost about $800 for a player to attend, and include as many as 1,000 players — but perhaps only a dozen African-Americans, Reed said. Of those, he said, eight might have major-college tools.

“It’s a rat race to get those kids,” Reed said. “We like the kid, but Penn State is there and likes the kid, Vanderbilt is there and likes the kid. They always ask, ‘Coach, how many guys have you got drafted?’ I tell them, ‘If I get you, you’ll be the first one.’”

At the other end of the food chain, he said, are the emails and phone calls from African-American high school players who Reed believes should be aiming lower than Division I. “Instead of ignoring the kid’s video, I try to be truthful,” Reed said. “I might say, ‘There’s some tools I like, but there’s a good junior college in your area where you can learn your trade.’”

The sweet spot for Reed works something like this: a tip from his extensive web of contacts about a player who, for whatever reason, has fallen through the cracks. Someone like Jahmon Taylor, a live-armed pitcher from Altamonte Springs, Fla., whom Rickie Weeks Sr. — the father of a former big leaguer and top overall pick out of Southern University — said was not being recruited. Or a player like Nazir McIlwain, a first baseman from Passaic, N.J., who could not afford the admission fee to a showcase that might have showed off his sweet swing to bigger programs.

Both are seniors at Coppin State now. Taylor owns the record for career strikeouts, and McIlwain set the one for hits. But they are among only six African-Americans on Reed’s current roster.

Back at Bethune-Cookman, Hernandez hopes for a similar progression for Khalil Smith, a freshman outfielder from Southfield, Mich. Smith starred on an entirely African-American team in high school, and he was close to Demetrius Sims, a minor leaguer in the Miami Marlins organization who starred at Bethune-Cookman.

Sims was part of one of the brightest moments in the program’s history: in 2017, the Wildcats briefly became baseball darlings — winning three N.C.A.A. tournament games, including one against Florida, the eventual national champion.

But maintaining that level has proved challenging. The Wildcats, who missed the postseason at 17-38, have had three coaches in the last three seasons, and operate with a fraction of the resources that other college teams in their baseball-rich state enjoy. They travel by bus to away games — as far as nine hours to Greensboro, N.C. — and played their last home game on March 27, before Jackie Robinson Ballpark was taken over by a minor league team. Since then, the Wildcats have practiced at a local park.

The players, though, are appreciative that Hernandez allows them to be themselves, something that is not a given in the buttoned-up baseball world.

“There’s more swagger to it,” Joe Fernando, a senior infielder from Brooklyn, said of H.B.C.U. baseball. “You look at our team, you’ve got guys here with gold chains, dark shades, whatever. Look good, feel good, play good.”

Carter said his experience as a student at a historically black university has been similarly liberating. He is not judged by the way he dresses or the way he talks, and says he does not have to mute himself to fit in. “I’m not an outcast,” he said.

Ignoring the unwritten codes of conduct that many blame for pushing the sport toward cultural irrelevance, Carter said, could be the path to drawing African-Americans back to the game.

“If people could just accept us more in this sport,” Carter said. “If they let us express ourselves — not in a disrespectful way — but just learn to accept how we actually play we will come out of our shell and start picking up the bats again.”

Sahred From Source link Sports

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[exfrenchdorsl4p0a1]

Divertimento #126

Some hash brown potatoes have been recalled because they may have been "contaminated with extraneous golf ball materials, that despite our stringent supply standards may have been inadvertently harvested with potatoes." Did Greeks help sculpt the terra cotta warriors? "Chinese artists may have encountered examples of Greek art, which made its way into Asia after the reign of Alexander the Great..." "In light of their most successful year ever, every single one of Porsche's 21,000 employees receives a bonus of 9111€ regardless of being an engineer, a cleaning lady or canteen staff."  "Better than working at Comcast, where all their employees got for Comcast making 5 billion last year was a candy bar." "It took 12 hours and 2,750 shots for Tom Amberry, a 71-year-old retired California podiatrist, to set the world record for free throws consecutively shot and made... Amberry stopped at the 12-hour mark, but only because the gym janitors made him." (He has a cool device that returns the ball to him after each shot).  "He made 500 consecutive free throws on 473 separate occasions, according to notes he kept." "From the literature, a consensus emerges that there are (only) two groups of mammalian non-swimmers..." (answer at the BBC) Recycling plants use magnets to sort aluminum (even though aluminum isn't magnetic).   And it's not by process of elimination.  The magnets actually move the aluminum.  Explained at the link. "Scientists have found a way to use spinach to build working human heart muscle..." An explanation of why "lb" is used as an abbreviation for "pound." Sexual subculture of the week: "feederism."

   As a banana changes from green to yellow, which stage is the best time to eat it? A longread at Golfworld gives details about the caddies on the LPGA circuit. If airport runways were circular, "that would enable planes to take off in the direction most advantageous for them. Namely, the direction without any crosswinds." Social Security cards (and numbers) explained. "...the PSAT 8/9 answer sheet begins by asking many very personal questions of each student; though nowhere on the form or booklet does it say these questions are optional... The answer sheet had spaces for the student’s name, grade level, sex, date of birth, student ID number or Social Security number, race/ethnic group, military relation, home address, email address, mobile phone,  grade point average, courses taken, and parents’ highest level of education." There have been 1500 attacks with acid in London since 2011.  Unlike the worldwide numbers, in the UK over 70% of the victims are men. Alice Elizabeth Doherty was born in Minneapolis and is the only known person with hypertrichosis lanuginosa born in the United States of America. The International Edible Book Festival is an annual event usually held on or around April 1, which is also known as Edible Book Day..  "edible books" are created, displayed, and small events are held. The creations are photographed and then consumed... The original "Brexit" occurred 450,000 years ago.  "The scars of these events can be found on the seabed of the English Channel... huge, 100m-deep [holes] carved into the bedrock and hundreds of metres to several kilometres in diameter... we interpret these as giant plunge pools..."

How NOT to install slats in a door. The Kentucky Coal Mining Museum is now powered by solar energy.  "We believe that this project will help save at least $8,000 to $10,000 off the energy costs on this building alone.." "When people think about traveling to the past, they worry about accidentally changing the present, but no one in the present really thinks they can radically change the future."  (and 20 other profound "showerthoughts") (there's a subreddit for that) "A small-town Iowa newspaper with a staff of 10 people - most of whom are related to each other – has won a Pulitzer Prize for taking on powerful agricultural companies over farm pollution." A scientific study of energy expenditure while playing golf. (facepalm) Details about the Fatty Arbuckle scandal. The Weather Channel offers a stunning indictment of the sugar industry and how it has destroyed Lake Okeechobee.  "It’s the culmination of 135 years of engineering missteps, hubris and a determination to turn Everglades sawgrass into cash crops." Transillumination of a stick deodorant container. Should the world "internet" be capitalized?  Not a simple answer (the proportion of usage is about 50:50). A guide to medieval coins. Information about Skrydstrup Woman (and Egtved Girl).

There is a new theory on the biologic cause of migraine. "Contrary to what has previously been believed, we found that the arteries on the outside of the skull did not expand during migraine attacks..." Swiss chocolate companies are experiencing major problems. "Discovered in the mud of a shallow lagoon in the Philippines, a living creature of [shipworm] has never been described before – even though its existence has been known for more than 200 years thanks to fossils of the baseball bat-sized tubes that encase the creature." (video at the link) Dehydration may contribute to chronic renal disease, not just acute renal failure.

"Few people ever saw the images of China girls, although for decades they were ubiquitous in movie theaters. At the beginning of a reel of film, there would be a few frames of a woman’s head. She might be dressed up; she might be scowling at the camera. She might blink or move her head.

But if audiences saw her, it was only because there had been a mistake. These frames weren’t for public consumption. The China girl was there to assist the lab technicians processing the film..." Googie architecture [not "google"] is a form of modern architecture, a subdivision of futurist architecture influenced by car culture, jets, the Space Age, and the Atomic Age. Queen Elizabeth II spent more time in the armed forces than the entire Donald Trump family and their in-laws combined. In April Britain experienced its first ever working day without coal power since the Industrial Revolution.  "A National Grid spokesman said the record low was a sign of things to come, with coal-free days becoming increasingly common as the polluting fuel is phased out." A woman "missed a $10,000 dream cruise of the Galapagos Islands because she was bumped from an overbooked Air Canada flight." Remembering Pat Tillman.

"The incidence of angiostrongyliasis, nicknamed “rat lungworm” illness because of its origins (it comes from a parasite in the lungs of rats via rat feces to snails and slugs and then through contaminated food or drink to humans) is on the rise in Hawaii." A nightmare scenario for Florida:  "If property values start to fall, Cason said, banks could stop writing 30-year mortgages for coastal homes, shrinking the pool of able buyers and sending prices lower still. Those properties make up a quarter of the city’s tax base; if that revenue fell, the city would struggle to provide the services that make it such a desirable place to live, causing more sales and another drop in revenue. And all of that could happen before the rising sea consumes a single home." The ultimate "steadicam." Showerthought: "University is great because you're effectively an unemployed alcoholic, but your parents are really proud of you." Indian "pundits" were spies who mapped huge swathes of South Asia.  "Singh took detailed records of his trips, taken on foot through forbidden lands, often under cover of darkness. At the end of each years-long adventure, he returned his hard-won intel to his employer, the British Crown."  They recorded their results on a rosary. Suggestions for overcoming "Ad-block walls." How to open an apparently impossible puzzle box.  (very clever mechanism) "According to legend, pirate treasure reportedly worth £100 million is buried on an Indian Ocean island. Although the region is thought to be littered with hidden treasure, this one is said to be the Holy Grail, the world’s biggest booty haul. The story, which reads like a Hollywood script, has been passed down through generations on the islands of the Seychelles and La Réunion." "Belphegor's prime is the palindromic prime number 1000000000000066600000000000001, a number which reads the same both backwards and forwards and is only divisible by itself and one." Easy to remember: 13 zeros followed by "666" followed by 13 zeros. Updated information on Otzi. "Melissophilia might just be the weirdest, most awkward and most cringeworthy sexual fetish ever..."

The images today are of stinging caterpillars, from a gallery at ThoughtCo (identification and photo credits at the link.) from DIYS http://ift.tt/2q0UTSQ

[repwincoml4a0a5]

Divertimento #126

Some hash brown potatoes have been recalled because they may have been "contaminated with extraneous golf ball materials, that despite our stringent supply standards may have been inadvertently harvested with potatoes." Did Greeks help sculpt the terra cotta warriors? "Chinese artists may have encountered examples of Greek art, which made its way into Asia after the reign of Alexander the Great..." "In light of their most successful year ever, every single one of Porsche's 21,000 employees receives a bonus of 9111€ regardless of being an engineer, a cleaning lady or canteen staff."  "Better than working at Comcast, where all their employees got for Comcast making 5 billion last year was a candy bar." "It took 12 hours and 2,750 shots for Tom Amberry, a 71-year-old retired California podiatrist, to set the world record for free throws consecutively shot and made... Amberry stopped at the 12-hour mark, but only because the gym janitors made him." (He has a cool device that returns the ball to him after each shot).  "He made 500 consecutive free throws on 473 separate occasions, according to notes he kept." "From the literature, a consensus emerges that there are (only) two groups of mammalian non-swimmers..." (answer at the BBC) Recycling plants use magnets to sort aluminum (even though aluminum isn't magnetic).   And it's not by process of elimination.  The magnets actually move the aluminum.  Explained at the link. "Scientists have found a way to use spinach to build working human heart muscle..." An explanation of why "lb" is used as an abbreviation for "pound." Sexual subculture of the week: "feederism."

   As a banana changes from green to yellow, which stage is the best time to eat it? A longread at Golfworld gives details about the caddies on the LPGA circuit. If airport runways were circular, "that would enable planes to take off in the direction most advantageous for them. Namely, the direction without any crosswinds." Social Security cards (and numbers) explained. "...the PSAT 8/9 answer sheet begins by asking many very personal questions of each student; though nowhere on the form or booklet does it say these questions are optional... The answer sheet had spaces for the student’s name, grade level, sex, date of birth, student ID number or Social Security number, race/ethnic group, military relation, home address, email address, mobile phone,  grade point average, courses taken, and parents’ highest level of education." There have been 1500 attacks with acid in London since 2011.  Unlike the worldwide numbers, in the UK over 70% of the victims are men. Alice Elizabeth Doherty was born in Minneapolis and is the only known person with hypertrichosis lanuginosa born in the United States of America. The International Edible Book Festival is an annual event usually held on or around April 1, which is also known as Edible Book Day..  "edible books" are created, displayed, and small events are held. The creations are photographed and then consumed... The original "Brexit" occurred 450,000 years ago.  "The scars of these events can be found on the seabed of the English Channel... huge, 100m-deep [holes] carved into the bedrock and hundreds of metres to several kilometres in diameter... we interpret these as giant plunge pools..."

How NOT to install slats in a door. The Kentucky Coal Mining Museum is now powered by solar energy.  "We believe that this project will help save at least $8,000 to $10,000 off the energy costs on this building alone.." "When people think about traveling to the past, they worry about accidentally changing the present, but no one in the present really thinks they can radically change the future."  (and 20 other profound "showerthoughts") (there's a subreddit for that) "A small-town Iowa newspaper with a staff of 10 people - most of whom are related to each other – has won a Pulitzer Prize for taking on powerful agricultural companies over farm pollution." A scientific study of energy expenditure while playing golf. (facepalm) Details about the Fatty Arbuckle scandal. The Weather Channel offers a stunning indictment of the sugar industry and how it has destroyed Lake Okeechobee.  "It’s the culmination of 135 years of engineering missteps, hubris and a determination to turn Everglades sawgrass into cash crops." Transillumination of a stick deodorant container. Should the world "internet" be capitalized?  Not a simple answer (the proportion of usage is about 50:50). A guide to medieval coins. Information about Skrydstrup Woman (and Egtved Girl).

There is a new theory on the biologic cause of migraine. "Contrary to what has previously been believed, we found that the arteries on the outside of the skull did not expand during migraine attacks..." Swiss chocolate companies are experiencing major problems. "Discovered in the mud of a shallow lagoon in the Philippines, a living creature of [shipworm] has never been described before – even though its existence has been known for more than 200 years thanks to fossils of the baseball bat-sized tubes that encase the creature." (video at the link) Dehydration may contribute to chronic renal disease, not just acute renal failure.

"Few people ever saw the images of China girls, although for decades they were ubiquitous in movie theaters. At the beginning of a reel of film, there would be a few frames of a woman’s head. She might be dressed up; she might be scowling at the camera. She might blink or move her head.

But if audiences saw her, it was only because there had been a mistake. These frames weren’t for public consumption. The China girl was there to assist the lab technicians processing the film..." Googie architecture [not "google"] is a form of modern architecture, a subdivision of futurist architecture influenced by car culture, jets, the Space Age, and the Atomic Age. Queen Elizabeth II spent more time in the armed forces than the entire Donald Trump family and their in-laws combined. In April Britain experienced its first ever working day without coal power since the Industrial Revolution.  "A National Grid spokesman said the record low was a sign of things to come, with coal-free days becoming increasingly common as the polluting fuel is phased out." A woman "missed a $10,000 dream cruise of the Galapagos Islands because she was bumped from an overbooked Air Canada flight." Remembering Pat Tillman.

"The incidence of angiostrongyliasis, nicknamed “rat lungworm” illness because of its origins (it comes from a parasite in the lungs of rats via rat feces to snails and slugs and then through contaminated food or drink to humans) is on the rise in Hawaii." A nightmare scenario for Florida:  "If property values start to fall, Cason said, banks could stop writing 30-year mortgages for coastal homes, shrinking the pool of able buyers and sending prices lower still. Those properties make up a quarter of the city’s tax base; if that revenue fell, the city would struggle to provide the services that make it such a desirable place to live, causing more sales and another drop in revenue. And all of that could happen before the rising sea consumes a single home." The ultimate "steadicam." Showerthought: "University is great because you're effectively an unemployed alcoholic, but your parents are really proud of you." Indian "pundits" were spies who mapped huge swathes of South Asia.  "Singh took detailed records of his trips, taken on foot through forbidden lands, often under cover of darkness. At the end of each years-long adventure, he returned his hard-won intel to his employer, the British Crown."  They recorded their results on a rosary. Suggestions for overcoming "Ad-block walls." How to open an apparently impossible puzzle box.  (very clever mechanism) "According to legend, pirate treasure reportedly worth £100 million is buried on an Indian Ocean island. Although the region is thought to be littered with hidden treasure, this one is said to be the Holy Grail, the world’s biggest booty haul. The story, which reads like a Hollywood script, has been passed down through generations on the islands of the Seychelles and La Réunion." "Belphegor's prime is the palindromic prime number 1000000000000066600000000000001, a number which reads the same both backwards and forwards and is only divisible by itself and one." Easy to remember: 13 zeros followed by "666" followed by 13 zeros. Updated information on Otzi. "Melissophilia might just be the weirdest, most awkward and most cringeworthy sexual fetish ever..."

The images today are of stinging caterpillars, from a gallery at ThoughtCo (identification and photo credits at the link.) from DIYS http://ift.tt/2q0UTSQ

[stormdoors78476]

Divertimento #126

Some hash brown potatoes have been recalled because they may have been "contaminated with extraneous golf ball materials, that despite our stringent supply standards may have been inadvertently harvested with potatoes." Did Greeks help sculpt the terra cotta warriors? "Chinese artists may have encountered examples of Greek art, which made its way into Asia after the reign of Alexander the Great..." "In light of their most successful year ever, every single one of Porsche's 21,000 employees receives a bonus of 9111€ regardless of being an engineer, a cleaning lady or canteen staff."  "Better than working at Comcast, where all their employees got for Comcast making 5 billion last year was a candy bar." "It took 12 hours and 2,750 shots for Tom Amberry, a 71-year-old retired California podiatrist, to set the world record for free throws consecutively shot and made... Amberry stopped at the 12-hour mark, but only because the gym janitors made him." (He has a cool device that returns the ball to him after each shot).  "He made 500 consecutive free throws on 473 separate occasions, according to notes he kept." "From the literature, a consensus emerges that there are (only) two groups of mammalian non-swimmers..." (answer at the BBC) Recycling plants use magnets to sort aluminum (even though aluminum isn't magnetic).   And it's not by process of elimination.  The magnets actually move the aluminum.  Explained at the link. "Scientists have found a way to use spinach to build working human heart muscle..." An explanation of why "lb" is used as an abbreviation for "pound." Sexual subculture of the week: "feederism."

   As a banana changes from green to yellow, which stage is the best time to eat it? A longread at Golfworld gives details about the caddies on the LPGA circuit. If airport runways were circular, "that would enable planes to take off in the direction most advantageous for them. Namely, the direction without any crosswinds." Social Security cards (and numbers) explained. "...the PSAT 8/9 answer sheet begins by asking many very personal questions of each student; though nowhere on the form or booklet does it say these questions are optional... The answer sheet had spaces for the student’s name, grade level, sex, date of birth, student ID number or Social Security number, race/ethnic group, military relation, home address, email address, mobile phone,  grade point average, courses taken, and parents’ highest level of education." There have been 1500 attacks with acid in London since 2011.  Unlike the worldwide numbers, in the UK over 70% of the victims are men. Alice Elizabeth Doherty was born in Minneapolis and is the only known person with hypertrichosis lanuginosa born in the United States of America. The International Edible Book Festival is an annual event usually held on or around April 1, which is also known as Edible Book Day..  "edible books" are created, displayed, and small events are held. The creations are photographed and then consumed... The original "Brexit" occurred 450,000 years ago.  "The scars of these events can be found on the seabed of the English Channel... huge, 100m-deep [holes] carved into the bedrock and hundreds of metres to several kilometres in diameter... we interpret these as giant plunge pools..."

How NOT to install slats in a door. The Kentucky Coal Mining Museum is now powered by solar energy.  "We believe that this project will help save at least $8,000 to $10,000 off the energy costs on this building alone.." "When people think about traveling to the past, they worry about accidentally changing the present, but no one in the present really thinks they can radically change the future."  (and 20 other profound "showerthoughts") (there's a subreddit for that) "A small-town Iowa newspaper with a staff of 10 people - most of whom are related to each other – has won a Pulitzer Prize for taking on powerful agricultural companies over farm pollution." A scientific study of energy expenditure while playing golf. (facepalm) Details about the Fatty Arbuckle scandal. The Weather Channel offers a stunning indictment of the sugar industry and how it has destroyed Lake Okeechobee.  "It’s the culmination of 135 years of engineering missteps, hubris and a determination to turn Everglades sawgrass into cash crops." Transillumination of a stick deodorant container. Should the world "internet" be capitalized?  Not a simple answer (the proportion of usage is about 50:50). A guide to medieval coins. Information about Skrydstrup Woman (and Egtved Girl).

There is a new theory on the biologic cause of migraine. "Contrary to what has previously been believed, we found that the arteries on the outside of the skull did not expand during migraine attacks..." Swiss chocolate companies are experiencing major problems. "Discovered in the mud of a shallow lagoon in the Philippines, a living creature of [shipworm] has never been described before – even though its existence has been known for more than 200 years thanks to fossils of the baseball bat-sized tubes that encase the creature." (video at the link) Dehydration may contribute to chronic renal disease, not just acute renal failure.

"Few people ever saw the images of China girls, although for decades they were ubiquitous in movie theaters. At the beginning of a reel of film, there would be a few frames of a woman’s head. She might be dressed up; she might be scowling at the camera. She might blink or move her head.

But if audiences saw her, it was only because there had been a mistake. These frames weren’t for public consumption. The China girl was there to assist the lab technicians processing the film..." Googie architecture [not "google"] is a form of modern architecture, a subdivision of futurist architecture influenced by car culture, jets, the Space Age, and the Atomic Age. Queen Elizabeth II spent more time in the armed forces than the entire Donald Trump family and their in-laws combined. In April Britain experienced its first ever working day without coal power since the Industrial Revolution.  "A National Grid spokesman said the record low was a sign of things to come, with coal-free days becoming increasingly common as the polluting fuel is phased out." A woman "missed a $10,000 dream cruise of the Galapagos Islands because she was bumped from an overbooked Air Canada flight." Remembering Pat Tillman.

"The incidence of angiostrongyliasis, nicknamed “rat lungworm” illness because of its origins (it comes from a parasite in the lungs of rats via rat feces to snails and slugs and then through contaminated food or drink to humans) is on the rise in Hawaii." A nightmare scenario for Florida:  "If property values start to fall, Cason said, banks could stop writing 30-year mortgages for coastal homes, shrinking the pool of able buyers and sending prices lower still. Those properties make up a quarter of the city’s tax base; if that revenue fell, the city would struggle to provide the services that make it such a desirable place to live, causing more sales and another drop in revenue. And all of that could happen before the rising sea consumes a single home." The ultimate "steadicam." Showerthought: "University is great because you're effectively an unemployed alcoholic, but your parents are really proud of you." Indian "pundits" were spies who mapped huge swathes of South Asia.  "Singh took detailed records of his trips, taken on foot through forbidden lands, often under cover of darkness. At the end of each years-long adventure, he returned his hard-won intel to his employer, the British Crown."  They recorded their results on a rosary. Suggestions for overcoming "Ad-block walls." How to open an apparently impossible puzzle box.  (very clever mechanism) "According to legend, pirate treasure reportedly worth £100 million is buried on an Indian Ocean island. Although the region is thought to be littered with hidden treasure, this one is said to be the Holy Grail, the world’s biggest booty haul. The story, which reads like a Hollywood script, has been passed down through generations on the islands of the Seychelles and La Réunion." "Belphegor's prime is the palindromic prime number 1000000000000066600000000000001, a number which reads the same both backwards and forwards and is only divisible by itself and one." Easy to remember: 13 zeros followed by "666" followed by 13 zeros. Updated information on Otzi. "Melissophilia might just be the weirdest, most awkward and most cringeworthy sexual fetish ever..."

The images today are of stinging caterpillars, from a gallery at ThoughtCo (identification and photo credits at the link.) from DIYS http://ift.tt/2q0UTSQ

[repwincostl4m0a2]

Divertimento #126

Some hash brown potatoes have been recalled because they may have been "contaminated with extraneous golf ball materials, that despite our stringent supply standards may have been inadvertently harvested with potatoes." Did Greeks help sculpt the terra cotta warriors? "Chinese artists may have encountered examples of Greek art, which made its way into Asia after the reign of Alexander the Great..." "In light of their most successful year ever, every single one of Porsche's 21,000 employees receives a bonus of 9111€ regardless of being an engineer, a cleaning lady or canteen staff."  "Better than working at Comcast, where all their employees got for Comcast making 5 billion last year was a candy bar." "It took 12 hours and 2,750 shots for Tom Amberry, a 71-year-old retired California podiatrist, to set the world record for free throws consecutively shot and made... Amberry stopped at the 12-hour mark, but only because the gym janitors made him." (He has a cool device that returns the ball to him after each shot).  "He made 500 consecutive free throws on 473 separate occasions, according to notes he kept." "From the literature, a consensus emerges that there are (only) two groups of mammalian non-swimmers..." (answer at the BBC) Recycling plants use magnets to sort aluminum (even though aluminum isn't magnetic).   And it's not by process of elimination.  The magnets actually move the aluminum.  Explained at the link. "Scientists have found a way to use spinach to build working human heart muscle..." An explanation of why "lb" is used as an abbreviation for "pound." Sexual subculture of the week: "feederism."

   As a banana changes from green to yellow, which stage is the best time to eat it? A longread at Golfworld gives details about the caddies on the LPGA circuit. If airport runways were circular, "that would enable planes to take off in the direction most advantageous for them. Namely, the direction without any crosswinds." Social Security cards (and numbers) explained. "...the PSAT 8/9 answer sheet begins by asking many very personal questions of each student; though nowhere on the form or booklet does it say these questions are optional... The answer sheet had spaces for the student’s name, grade level, sex, date of birth, student ID number or Social Security number, race/ethnic group, military relation, home address, email address, mobile phone,  grade point average, courses taken, and parents’ highest level of education." There have been 1500 attacks with acid in London since 2011.  Unlike the worldwide numbers, in the UK over 70% of the victims are men. Alice Elizabeth Doherty was born in Minneapolis and is the only known person with hypertrichosis lanuginosa born in the United States of America. The International Edible Book Festival is an annual event usually held on or around April 1, which is also known as Edible Book Day..  "edible books" are created, displayed, and small events are held. The creations are photographed and then consumed... The original "Brexit" occurred 450,000 years ago.  "The scars of these events can be found on the seabed of the English Channel... huge, 100m-deep [holes] carved into the bedrock and hundreds of metres to several kilometres in diameter... we interpret these as giant plunge pools..."

How NOT to install slats in a door. The Kentucky Coal Mining Museum is now powered by solar energy.  "We believe that this project will help save at least $8,000 to $10,000 off the energy costs on this building alone.." "When people think about traveling to the past, they worry about accidentally changing the present, but no one in the present really thinks they can radically change the future."  (and 20 other profound "showerthoughts") (there's a subreddit for that) "A small-town Iowa newspaper with a staff of 10 people - most of whom are related to each other – has won a Pulitzer Prize for taking on powerful agricultural companies over farm pollution." A scientific study of energy expenditure while playing golf. (facepalm) Details about the Fatty Arbuckle scandal. The Weather Channel offers a stunning indictment of the sugar industry and how it has destroyed Lake Okeechobee.  "It’s the culmination of 135 years of engineering missteps, hubris and a determination to turn Everglades sawgrass into cash crops." Transillumination of a stick deodorant container. Should the world "internet" be capitalized?  Not a simple answer (the proportion of usage is about 50:50). A guide to medieval coins. Information about Skrydstrup Woman (and Egtved Girl).

There is a new theory on the biologic cause of migraine. "Contrary to what has previously been believed, we found that the arteries on the outside of the skull did not expand during migraine attacks..." Swiss chocolate companies are experiencing major problems. "Discovered in the mud of a shallow lagoon in the Philippines, a living creature of [shipworm] has never been described before – even though its existence has been known for more than 200 years thanks to fossils of the baseball bat-sized tubes that encase the creature." (video at the link) Dehydration may contribute to chronic renal disease, not just acute renal failure.

"Few people ever saw the images of China girls, although for decades they were ubiquitous in movie theaters. At the beginning of a reel of film, there would be a few frames of a woman’s head. She might be dressed up; she might be scowling at the camera. She might blink or move her head.

But if audiences saw her, it was only because there had been a mistake. These frames weren’t for public consumption. The China girl was there to assist the lab technicians processing the film..." Googie architecture [not "google"] is a form of modern architecture, a subdivision of futurist architecture influenced by car culture, jets, the Space Age, and the Atomic Age. Queen Elizabeth II spent more time in the armed forces than the entire Donald Trump family and their in-laws combined. In April Britain experienced its first ever working day without coal power since the Industrial Revolution.  "A National Grid spokesman said the record low was a sign of things to come, with coal-free days becoming increasingly common as the polluting fuel is phased out." A woman "missed a $10,000 dream cruise of the Galapagos Islands because she was bumped from an overbooked Air Canada flight." Remembering Pat Tillman.

"The incidence of angiostrongyliasis, nicknamed “rat lungworm” illness because of its origins (it comes from a parasite in the lungs of rats via rat feces to snails and slugs and then through contaminated food or drink to humans) is on the rise in Hawaii." A nightmare scenario for Florida:  "If property values start to fall, Cason said, banks could stop writing 30-year mortgages for coastal homes, shrinking the pool of able buyers and sending prices lower still. Those properties make up a quarter of the city’s tax base; if that revenue fell, the city would struggle to provide the services that make it such a desirable place to live, causing more sales and another drop in revenue. And all of that could happen before the rising sea consumes a single home." The ultimate "steadicam." Showerthought: "University is great because you're effectively an unemployed alcoholic, but your parents are really proud of you." Indian "pundits" were spies who mapped huge swathes of South Asia.  "Singh took detailed records of his trips, taken on foot through forbidden lands, often under cover of darkness. At the end of each years-long adventure, he returned his hard-won intel to his employer, the British Crown."  They recorded their results on a rosary. Suggestions for overcoming "Ad-block walls." How to open an apparently impossible puzzle box.  (very clever mechanism) "According to legend, pirate treasure reportedly worth £100 million is buried on an Indian Ocean island. Although the region is thought to be littered with hidden treasure, this one is said to be the Holy Grail, the world’s biggest booty haul. The story, which reads like a Hollywood script, has been passed down through generations on the islands of the Seychelles and La Réunion." "Belphegor's prime is the palindromic prime number 1000000000000066600000000000001, a number which reads the same both backwards and forwards and is only divisible by itself and one." Easy to remember: 13 zeros followed by "666" followed by 13 zeros. Updated information on Otzi. "Melissophilia might just be the weirdest, most awkward and most cringeworthy sexual fetish ever..."

The images today are of stinging caterpillars, from a gallery at ThoughtCo (identification and photo credits at the link.) from DIYS http://ift.tt/2q0UTSQ