Researcher Pierce log
While setting up the new parmanent Cairo research station, we got some bad news. Our January success has caused our funding to be cut in half again and worse we heard that the same disease we can't cure now has mutated to the point where it can't even be treated. We did get some good news hearing that a quarantine specialist is being trained to help.
Then we get a report that diseases came back but thanks to proactive measures taken based on the info the Doctor gave us, the Johannesburg situation was not as bad as initially reported.
We knew that we had to act quickly. After working well in January, we have gotten better at what we do when together. Our medic, Dr. Erin Hunnicutt, headed to the Pacific Rim but not in time to stop outbreaks in Sydney and Osaka and outbreaks of the untreatable disease in Laos and Los Angeles reminded us of the urgency of the situation.
Before leaving the Cairo office, I was able to supply the scientist, Dr. David Houlihan, and the medic with intel and treated those in Europe. The scientist was able to acquire info about the disease which has only developed due to parents refusing to vaccinate in North America and Europe and after discovering a cure in Atlanta and treating those in Chicago and DC. we eradicated it.
I then headed east as the scientist figured out the new strain of the Martian fever to provide the medic info about the zombie plague. We used our funding for quick travel to get the medic to Cairo and cured the three curable ones before the Africa/Latin America disease caused a worldwide shutdown.
Though I wanted to develop the concept to make anti-vaxxer problems easier to cure in the future, the rest of the team wanted personal upgrades instead. Now the medic has a special assistant who can treat one area away while the scientist can now store more disease info.
While working on those upgrades, we get a video call from Oswald at UNIT. She and or it congratulated us for our work but stated our in-field assistance is no longer available. I tried explaining that is why we are successful but she won't listen. Hearing that a future outbreak in one of nine areas would probably start rioting did not matter but we were told that UNIT will discuss this at their next meeting.
Feb 25
Friday, November 27, 2015
Tuesday, November 17, 2015
Pandemic Legacy part 1
This is part of a series of upcoming blog posts adapting the events which happen in our play of Pandemic Legacy from the point of view of the character I play each month.
Starting from this point, the blog will contain elements and situations that happen within the game and are definitely spoilers so if you are going to play the game and you do not know what can happen, do not read this or any future post titled Pandemic Legacy.
Researcher Henry Pierce log:
It is never pleasant to be called into work on a holiday but at the CDC er UNIT, (That will be difficult to get used to saying) we are called when ready.
Over the years, I have sat in the conference room many times. With me are a scientist, Dr. David Houlihan, who has been through this before though not as often though he can do his job as well as I can mine and in some cases better and our medic, Erin Hunnicutt who is not as experienced but with our new communication system, we can keep a close eye on each other and easily assist when necessary even if we are on opposite sides of the world.
Commander Jacob Potter stated in his briefing that one of the four diseases seems to be mutating faster than normal but did not get specifics on which one and will update once he gets more info. He then added another factor: Our in field funding had been cut by 20% from the original standard or by 33% from the more recent one. However, unlike the original in field assistance that we used to have or the third party selected assistance of more recent usage, our team itself will determine what type of assistance to receive. After a brief discussion to determine what method to have at our disposal, we looked at the city by city report.
Seeing that South America and the southern portion of Africa was most urgent, Dr Hunnicutt headed that way with me following shortly after providing info to one of the other diseases which she was close to solving. Looking at the locations, I was pleased to see that travel within South America and from there to Africa has improved. Dr. Houlihan was heading to New York then Europe but diverted to Los Angeles instead to treat an epidemic there as it was the same infection as the one plaguing the southern hemisphere.
Unfortunately New York had an outbreak and while South America was being treated, there were multiple ones in the Southern half of Africa. Since the approval for a requested temp research station came early, we decided to build it in Cairo. We also got approval for high speed transport which Dr. Houlihan used to treat all of those in the African outbreak in one day.
We then had an epidemic in London followed by a report from HQ: The disease from South America and Africa has mutated significantly and is not currently curable. Treating it will also be more difficult. Please cure the other three diseases.
Shortly after, Dr. Houlihan made it to Cairo to cure the disease in the far east and after Dr. Hunnicutt reported that she found the cure for the one which was in the eastern US and Europe, was airlifted to Atlanta to cure that one before treating the northeast part of North America in one full swoop.
I made my way to the far east and was able to eradicate that disease before heading west. After an epidemic was reported in the Middle East, we used our fourth and final funded event to promote disease awareness day leading to one quiet night. While Dr. Hunnicutt treated the incurable disease, Dr. Houlihan was able to treat those affected by the most recent epidemic and meet me on the way to Cairo to provide the info I needed to cure the last curable disease and since I treated the last known case of it on the way, that was also eradicated.
At the debriefing in which we were told that a dispatcher and a young protégé are being trained to possibly join us in future missions, our crew was told they can make a couple of upgrades while stating that due to our recent success our future in field funding is being cut in half. We asked about making the station in Cairo permanent which was immediately approved.
We then got a call on our coms. The name stated John Smith but he told us to call him the Doctor who we also know as the president of the world. After thanking us for our hard work, he stated that the disease we cured in the far east was something of which he saw a mutated version in his past on the planet Mars 40 something years from now. We then got a download from him about that incident which will allow us to cure that disease in the future on site rather than at a research station. He also provided a list of where things might happen next.
Date: Jan 29
Starting from this point, the blog will contain elements and situations that happen within the game and are definitely spoilers so if you are going to play the game and you do not know what can happen, do not read this or any future post titled Pandemic Legacy.
Researcher Henry Pierce log:
It is never pleasant to be called into work on a holiday but at the CDC er UNIT, (That will be difficult to get used to saying) we are called when ready.
Over the years, I have sat in the conference room many times. With me are a scientist, Dr. David Houlihan, who has been through this before though not as often though he can do his job as well as I can mine and in some cases better and our medic, Erin Hunnicutt who is not as experienced but with our new communication system, we can keep a close eye on each other and easily assist when necessary even if we are on opposite sides of the world.
Commander Jacob Potter stated in his briefing that one of the four diseases seems to be mutating faster than normal but did not get specifics on which one and will update once he gets more info. He then added another factor: Our in field funding had been cut by 20% from the original standard or by 33% from the more recent one. However, unlike the original in field assistance that we used to have or the third party selected assistance of more recent usage, our team itself will determine what type of assistance to receive. After a brief discussion to determine what method to have at our disposal, we looked at the city by city report.
Seeing that South America and the southern portion of Africa was most urgent, Dr Hunnicutt headed that way with me following shortly after providing info to one of the other diseases which she was close to solving. Looking at the locations, I was pleased to see that travel within South America and from there to Africa has improved. Dr. Houlihan was heading to New York then Europe but diverted to Los Angeles instead to treat an epidemic there as it was the same infection as the one plaguing the southern hemisphere.
Unfortunately New York had an outbreak and while South America was being treated, there were multiple ones in the Southern half of Africa. Since the approval for a requested temp research station came early, we decided to build it in Cairo. We also got approval for high speed transport which Dr. Houlihan used to treat all of those in the African outbreak in one day.
We then had an epidemic in London followed by a report from HQ: The disease from South America and Africa has mutated significantly and is not currently curable. Treating it will also be more difficult. Please cure the other three diseases.
Shortly after, Dr. Houlihan made it to Cairo to cure the disease in the far east and after Dr. Hunnicutt reported that she found the cure for the one which was in the eastern US and Europe, was airlifted to Atlanta to cure that one before treating the northeast part of North America in one full swoop.
I made my way to the far east and was able to eradicate that disease before heading west. After an epidemic was reported in the Middle East, we used our fourth and final funded event to promote disease awareness day leading to one quiet night. While Dr. Hunnicutt treated the incurable disease, Dr. Houlihan was able to treat those affected by the most recent epidemic and meet me on the way to Cairo to provide the info I needed to cure the last curable disease and since I treated the last known case of it on the way, that was also eradicated.
At the debriefing in which we were told that a dispatcher and a young protégé are being trained to possibly join us in future missions, our crew was told they can make a couple of upgrades while stating that due to our recent success our future in field funding is being cut in half. We asked about making the station in Cairo permanent which was immediately approved.
We then got a call on our coms. The name stated John Smith but he told us to call him the Doctor who we also know as the president of the world. After thanking us for our hard work, he stated that the disease we cured in the far east was something of which he saw a mutated version in his past on the planet Mars 40 something years from now. We then got a download from him about that incident which will allow us to cure that disease in the future on site rather than at a research station. He also provided a list of where things might happen next.
Date: Jan 29
Pandemic Legacy intro
The concept of a legacy board game is that things within the game constantly change through the use of a special deck of ordered cards which are revealed during specific moments of the game. It is designed to be played once in multiple sessions and things that happen in one session can affect all future ones.
Having picked up a copy of Pandemic Legacy, I realized it would be cool to provide a blog from the POV of the character I am playing. FYI: The blog will provide spoilers for the game. If by any chance you are going to play it, reading the entries will provide information that will be revealed during the course of play.
Commander Jacob Potter entry:
It is a new year and new challenges await. In the past we have treated multiple diseases throughout the world often with success and under close control preventing cities from the chaos that would occur from multiple outbreaks or in worst case scenario shutting down the entire planet for a couple of days to restore order on the occasions we failed.
Due to the worldwide economic situation and threat of terrorism, our organization, the Center for Disease Control, has been integrated into Unified Intelligence Taskforce also known as UNIT. This means that the military assistance we had in the past that prevented city uprising will no longer be there meaning that cities can go bad if things don't go well and that our personnel are no longer protected if an outbreak occurs in their area meaning that all of us are at risk of to get ill or distressed hampering our performance or even be lost.
We were also informed that the in-field funding will be provided on an "as needed" basis and that new procedures are being considered in case we fail. I am not sure exactly what either means but no doubt our team will eventually find out. At least through UNIT, there is improved research facilities, communications, and infrastructure. The crew has also been through specialized training for more techniques possibly allowing them to become better at their jobs.
I was hoping for a quiet New Year's Day but no luck as multiple reports are arriving. Time to call the crew in and get started.
Jan 1
Having picked up a copy of Pandemic Legacy, I realized it would be cool to provide a blog from the POV of the character I am playing. FYI: The blog will provide spoilers for the game. If by any chance you are going to play it, reading the entries will provide information that will be revealed during the course of play.
Commander Jacob Potter entry:
It is a new year and new challenges await. In the past we have treated multiple diseases throughout the world often with success and under close control preventing cities from the chaos that would occur from multiple outbreaks or in worst case scenario shutting down the entire planet for a couple of days to restore order on the occasions we failed.
Due to the worldwide economic situation and threat of terrorism, our organization, the Center for Disease Control, has been integrated into Unified Intelligence Taskforce also known as UNIT. This means that the military assistance we had in the past that prevented city uprising will no longer be there meaning that cities can go bad if things don't go well and that our personnel are no longer protected if an outbreak occurs in their area meaning that all of us are at risk of to get ill or distressed hampering our performance or even be lost.
We were also informed that the in-field funding will be provided on an "as needed" basis and that new procedures are being considered in case we fail. I am not sure exactly what either means but no doubt our team will eventually find out. At least through UNIT, there is improved research facilities, communications, and infrastructure. The crew has also been through specialized training for more techniques possibly allowing them to become better at their jobs.
I was hoping for a quiet New Year's Day but no luck as multiple reports are arriving. Time to call the crew in and get started.
Jan 1
Saturday, November 7, 2015
The nightmare continues
I am not sure why it took as long as it did to think of it but a couple of years ago I wondered what Doctor Who episode aired on the day I was born: Sat Nov 13, 1965.
I looked at the third entry and was confused:
I knew The Daleks Master Plan was the 12 part serial from the third season but had to look at Wikipedia to figure out what The Nightmare Begins was about.
I did not know that for the first two seasons and most of the third that every episode had an individual title along with being known as part of a serial.
I am laying on the couch at 7 AM on a Saturday having been awake since 4:30 AM from leg spasms that originated bowling in 1994, aggravated by a 2009 surgery and operating a fork lift the day before when my job situation prevented me from taking the day off to go to a convention. I also know these spasms would make driving or even sitting in a car 280 miles today and tomorrow for a birthday party not advisable while my right elbow is sore from trying to get better at disc golf in June.
Right now the title of the entry applies.
I looked at the third entry and was confused:
I knew The Daleks Master Plan was the 12 part serial from the third season but had to look at Wikipedia to figure out what The Nightmare Begins was about.
I did not know that for the first two seasons and most of the third that every episode had an individual title along with being known as part of a serial.
I am laying on the couch at 7 AM on a Saturday having been awake since 4:30 AM from leg spasms that originated bowling in 1994, aggravated by a 2009 surgery and operating a fork lift the day before when my job situation prevented me from taking the day off to go to a convention. I also know these spasms would make driving or even sitting in a car 280 miles today and tomorrow for a birthday party not advisable while my right elbow is sore from trying to get better at disc golf in June.
Right now the title of the entry applies.
Sunday, November 1, 2015
Moving clocks
Today, November 1st, people in most of the US move their clocks back an hour and similar to the second Saturday in March when people move them forward an hour, there will be people complaining and wondering why this is done. At least the places whose signboards are still programmed to change the clocks based on when it was done before 2007 will again be correct after being wrong for a couple of weeks.
I know there is a sign in Jimmy John's which states no one can explain why it is done so I will give it a shot:
The left column would happen if the cities don't spring forward and the right if we did not fall back. These places were chosen since most of those who read this live near one of those cities.
This is when sunrise would occur in these places if there was not a time change. Without changing the clocks the sun would rise well before most people wake up in late June and well after most people leave the house in late December.
To me, the inconvenience created by moving clocks is far better than what would happen at the solstices I'd we didn't.
I know there is a sign in Jimmy John's which states no one can explain why it is done so I will give it a shot:
The left column would happen if the cities don't spring forward and the right if we did not fall back. These places were chosen since most of those who read this live near one of those cities.
This is when sunrise would occur in these places if there was not a time change. Without changing the clocks the sun would rise well before most people wake up in late June and well after most people leave the house in late December.
To me, the inconvenience created by moving clocks is far better than what would happen at the solstices I'd we didn't.
Wednesday, October 21, 2015
Right idea, wrong bet
Many times while betting on a horse race, I will figure out how the winning horse in a race will run as far as its position on the track but the horse I believe will be in that position doesn't end up there and another one wins.
In January 2013, I realized that the Back to the Future 2 scene on Oct 21, 2015 could be interpreted with the Chicago Cubs sweeping Miami to win the National League Championship Series on or just before that date. I called it Zemekis Theory and posted to this blog about it then.
In January this year, I made a bet on the Cubs to win the pennant and thought I had a chance but the Mets pitching staff and one previously unknown player overcame the Cubs lineup. I then realized the error in the theory which others in the previous 2 1/2 years mentioned to me.
Knowing that a 4 game sweep would potentially finish on Oct 21, 2015 and that Vegas was flooded with bets on the Cubs, the correct bet that applied the Zemeskis Theory would have been on the Mets to sweep the 4 game series which would have been at least 12-1 odds and probably higher.
Anyway, now that the Chicago Cubs have again failed to win a meaningful championship (unlike the two playoff wins the team and its fans celebrated earlier this month) I decided to update the chart I made in 2009 showing the mathematical odds of the Cubs winning a World Series or National League title:
In January 2013, I realized that the Back to the Future 2 scene on Oct 21, 2015 could be interpreted with the Chicago Cubs sweeping Miami to win the National League Championship Series on or just before that date. I called it Zemekis Theory and posted to this blog about it then.
In January this year, I made a bet on the Cubs to win the pennant and thought I had a chance but the Mets pitching staff and one previously unknown player overcame the Cubs lineup. I then realized the error in the theory which others in the previous 2 1/2 years mentioned to me.
It involves the Chicago Cubs winning a championship.
Knowing that a 4 game sweep would potentially finish on Oct 21, 2015 and that Vegas was flooded with bets on the Cubs, the correct bet that applied the Zemeskis Theory would have been on the Mets to sweep the 4 game series which would have been at least 12-1 odds and probably higher.
Anyway, now that the Chicago Cubs have again failed to win a meaningful championship (unlike the two playoff wins the team and its fans celebrated earlier this month) I decided to update the chart I made in 2009 showing the mathematical odds of the Cubs winning a World Series or National League title:
New mathematical odds of the Cubs not winning a World Series since 1908: 238.76-1
New mathematical odds of the Cubs not winning the NL pennant since 1945: 571.66-1
Tuesday, September 22, 2015
Stormed by Paul
There is a "freemium" game on Xbox called World of Tanks. It plays like Call of Duty in that teams of 15 players compete live against each other but with everyone in a tank.
There are different types of tanks and different levels of them and the server pairs groups of similar levels and types in each match contested on different types of terrain raging from narrow streets to mountain passes to large fields.
Since the first victory on each tank every day gets a bonus to their XP, I usually play until I get a win on all my active tanks I play which are varied types on levels ranging from 5-7.
I had a level 6 light tank and was happy to see that the server put me in a game on a large hilly field but a little down when I realized the tanks in the game range from level 6 to 8 but there was one artillery unit on each team. That made my plan simple: Go to one edge of the field, zoom to get behind the other group of tanks and take out the artillery unit since they have the least armor but the largest shell which can hit any uncovered tank anywhere on the board.
I then noticed the gamertag of the person with the atry: Paulnotstorm. (former member of DaVinci's Notebook and half the comedy music/you tube series group Paul and Storm) I called out to my daughter to watch. I got to the edge of the field, passed one tank which did minor damage to my vehicle as I zoomed by but I got to the far end. As I went across, I got the warning I was noticed and hurried to find the arty. When I did, instead of facing the other end of the board, Paul's tank was facing me along with at least 2 other tanks as my tank was hit multiple times and destroyed before I got off a shot.
There are different types of tanks and different levels of them and the server pairs groups of similar levels and types in each match contested on different types of terrain raging from narrow streets to mountain passes to large fields.
Since the first victory on each tank every day gets a bonus to their XP, I usually play until I get a win on all my active tanks I play which are varied types on levels ranging from 5-7.
I had a level 6 light tank and was happy to see that the server put me in a game on a large hilly field but a little down when I realized the tanks in the game range from level 6 to 8 but there was one artillery unit on each team. That made my plan simple: Go to one edge of the field, zoom to get behind the other group of tanks and take out the artillery unit since they have the least armor but the largest shell which can hit any uncovered tank anywhere on the board.
I then noticed the gamertag of the person with the atry: Paulnotstorm. (former member of DaVinci's Notebook and half the comedy music/you tube series group Paul and Storm) I called out to my daughter to watch. I got to the edge of the field, passed one tank which did minor damage to my vehicle as I zoomed by but I got to the far end. As I went across, I got the warning I was noticed and hurried to find the arty. When I did, instead of facing the other end of the board, Paul's tank was facing me along with at least 2 other tanks as my tank was hit multiple times and destroyed before I got off a shot.
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