Basic Cryptozoology - Wednesday - First Period - 7/16

[brandyforapples.livejournal.com]

As the students filled in today, they were greeted with a professor dressed a little more to the times (though not really by choice) and a handout which she'd put together with her handy dandy little computer.

Yes, the woman from 1898 was doing her class with the assistance of a laptop. She could thank her teaching 'buddy' for showing her what the thing was and then a rather depressing few days without Mary (and too much guilt quite yet to pull out the alcohol) for knowing anything about it. Thank goodness for pre-installed Firefox with a Google search in the toolbar. It'd been very helpful in finding her pictures; the information she'd already known.

"I'm going to spend the first half of the class elaborating on the cryptids mentioned in the handout handwavily and then we're going to break up into pairs and discuss a number of questions I've put near some of your seats. If you have a sheet, please pair up with someone. If you don't have a sheet, find someone who does. You don't have to pair with whomsoever is sitting next to you, but it would probably be easiest."

She smiled at them all.

"I will be sitting at the front of the class after my lecture if you should need me for anything. Just raise your hand. The teaching assistants will also be around for any help you might need; they have both assured me they're happy to help. I will also be at the back of the room after class should you have any further questions or should need me for anything.

"Don't forget; we're doing shapeshifters next week!"

[ocd coming up!]

Informed Investments -- Wednesday; Third Period -- 07/16

[perfectmissyork.livejournal.com]

Today, the class would find no muffins available, but that did not mean that they would discover themselves lacking in any sort of treats that would probably spoil their lunches. The offering today was cookies, large and made just the night before, with plenty to spare considering the small numbers of the class. There were peanut butter ones for those with chocolate allergies, chocolate chip for those with peanut allergies, and then oatmeal raisin because those were healthier, right?

Charlotte herself was looking very professional in her glasses and one of her nicer business ensemble, humming a little under her breath despite her best attempts to avoid those nasty little rats (who probably carried with them all sorts of diseases, not to mention those awful earworms), as she waited for the class to come in.

( Budget time, yay! )

"So, today," she said, smartly pushing the length of the pointer down, "that's what we'll be doing today. I swear, it's not as boring or awful as it sounds! Besides, even if it is, it's incredibly important, one of those things that must be done, and, believe me, it's a lot less of a pain in your rear than bankruptcy or debt, that's for sure!"

[[ OCD on the way! has been approved for a mortgage! ]]

[[ Syllabus and Roster ]]

How to Blow Things Up: Week 2, Period 5

[tricksy-spy.livejournal.com]

The class met in the Danger Room today.  Aly was looking rather pleased at the situation. 

"Okay guys, our first practical class is here in the Danger Room so everyone can get used to the way handling explosives feel without the possibility of them actually blowing you up.  This one may be a redux for those of you who may have been in another class of mine so I apologise but review is never a bad thing."

"We're going to deal with improvised devices today, and two in particular, but first you do need to know a bit about the theory,"  Aly gave a concise but thorough lecture on explosive materials and the science behind them.  The impression she gave off was one of a child dutifully eating his meat so he could get to the pudding.  Practicalities were obviously more interesting to her

"The two explosives we're going to work with today are two improvised explosives.  You don't always have access to military material and you definitely don't always need it.  One of the most common explosives in this word - and also one of the easiest to make is anfo - fertiliser and fuel oil.  It sounds simple but a just a ton or so in a the right place could blow up a cargo ship and the harbor it's sitting in.  The other is less an explosive than a weapon.  Molotov cocktails - half gasoline, and half motor oil - you've probably already heard of them if your from this world.  They're easy to make and can do a lot of damage especially against gasoline engines or wood structures."

"There's hundreds of other kinds of improvised explosives and we'll talk about those.  What I want you to do today is to pair up and discuss when this type of improvised explosive device would be useful.  Then make anfo into a bomb and also make the Molotov cocktails.  After you have them ready, you can blow things up."



[OOC:  Please wait for The OCD is up.  All links go to wikipedia so the FBI shouldn't break down your doors.  More explanation in the OCD threads.]

[OOC2:  As a side note, the idea of anfo blowing up a ship and the harbour it's in is from an AWESOME series of books that begins with Tomorrow, When the War Began by John Marsden.  Go read them.  Seriously.  *finishes pimping for the day*]

Merc'ing 101: How to Make it as a Mercenary and Still Stay in One Piece, Wed 7/16

[crazypilotman.livejournal.com]

"Extortion and racketeering," sporting a pair of sunglass, Murdock wandered around the Danger Shop, arms wrapped around himself, "two of the most common tactics bad guys like to pull on innocent folks. Either they've had their families threatened or they've already tried to fight on their own and gotten worse for their troubles. Now most of the time, these kind of scumballs like to target folks who can't fight back at all." He stopped abruptly, tilted the glasses down a little and glanced at his students, "And I really don't like unfair fights." Hopefully, nobody would notice the bloodshot eyes or the small baggies under them.

Shoving the glasses back up, he started pacing the room again, "But there's always some bigger sleaze runnin' the whole show. He's the one you gotta bust, not the muscle. Cut off the head, the rest ain't gonna be able to move. So. You have to work out a plan. A plan to get the bad dudes without gettin' any of the innocents caught in the crossfire." He stopped moving once more. "It can be a lot harder than it sounds."

"Here's what we're gonna do today; you've been hired as a team," he put special emphasis on the team point, "to run these slime out. There are innocent people scattered about, but they should be out of the way. You have a limited amount of firepower, so you're gonna have to improvise with what's available. And hope your plan works."

(Just like last week, main portion of the class is in the OCD. Please feel free to bounce off each other's threads. Also, as I'm sure you already know, my availability is rather limited. Therefore, I've made the class as open as possible, so please mod away! wait for the OCD up!)

...or how not to get caught, Period 2, 16 Jul '08

[offthelisthero.livejournal.com]

Mohinder had set the danger-shop to look like a school laboratory. It was easier to program in the electronic gadgets that scattered the desks and meant he hadn't had to attack any passing coconuts.

"Audio surveillance," he told the class. "There are restrictions on the use of this in the legal system - warrents for example. But what can we do with a recording like this?" Mohinder held up a dictaphone and thumbed it on, his recorded voice overlapping with a parrot until the play terminated with a clatter and an offended squark.

"Moving away from the parrot-related," Mohinder continued, "Distortions can be removed from the tape; accent, dialects or even individual voices identified. Some techniques claim to identify the emontional state of the speaker." Quickly he summarised recording and simple analysis, before picking up the device on his desk.

"I'd like you to record your own speaking voice, try altering it and compare the results. You could change your pitch, speed, accent, or even language and there are always sound effects."

[OCD is up!]

Childhood Games, Class #2, Thursday period 1

[slapbetcommish.livejournal.com]

The class met out by the main campfire today, where Lily looked much happier being in the actual outdoors. "Hi, guys. You all came back!" she said, quickly doing a headcount to make sure that was true. "Today we're getting a little more active than last week and playing a game called Red Light, Green Light. Um, okay, in case you've never been in a car, you can only drive at streetlights when the light turns green, and you have to stop when it turns red. Same thing here, only minus the cars. That's another class.

"The first person will stand here," she said, standing next to the unlit campfire and turning her back, "so you can't see what everyone's doing. Everyone else stands where you guys are now, and when I say 'green light', you all run towards me. When I say 'red light' you all have to stop where you are or you're out and have to sit over there." She pointed to the spot she'd designated Time Out. Shush, old habits died hard. "The first person to reach the campfire wins, and you go on to the next round. Pretty easy, right? Any questions?

"Okay," she said, once any had been answered. "Who wants to go first?"