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Hello boys and girls! I’m happy to be back home with the Rangers and I’ve missed you all! My time with the Warriors was well spent and I made some awesome nerd friends while I was hanging out with them I didn’t get to bestow much of the warrior I wanted to be due to a nagging groin injury, but I did learn a lot, which in my book, is always a win. 2017 is upon us and there’s no better time to recharge the goals and recharge the motivation. This year, like the years before, I will better myself in some fashion. Whether that be physically, by achieving a PR or not having to worry about nagging injuries or mentally, where I pass a certification and move up in my career. 2017 host brand new challenges and obstacles to overcome and I’m ready for the battle ahead. For anyone who knows me, they know I love to cosplay. Halloween is one of my absolute favorite times of the year and I love to dress up and role play. I’ve been wanting to get a halloween costume that I would call a “career costume” for a long time now. Basically, taking the time, money and energy to fabricate and piece together a costume I could wear for the next 5-10 years. I’ve never found something I could commit too because of the detachment from the character and/or not having a good enough reason to cosplay this character for years to come. The Flash, Deadpool, Star-Lord, Gambit, Red Hood, Green Arrow and The Joker...there have been many choices and contemplations for “career” characters over the years but nothing stood out….until now. Enter sometime in 2018. A movie will come out called The Batman. It’s a solo Batman film and it’s directed by, written by and starred in by Ben Affleck, reprising his role as the Dark Knight. He’s also getting help from Geoff Johns to write the script/story. Geoff is a very famous writer for DC whose written works for Batman, The Flash and Green Lantern to name a few. But why is The Batman so significant? Well let me tell you. They are introducing to the silver screen for the first time, Slade Wilson aka Deathstroke aka The Terminator! HELL YEAH!! And, playing Deathstroke in the movie will be none other than Joe Manganiello. Woot Woot! Ok, so enough fanboying for now, but still, you ask. Why is Deathstroke so important right now? Well, my younger brother, Chase, has a “career costume”... And Batman needs and arch nemesis, yeah? Enter yours truly I’m going to build my own Deathstroke costume and slowly make it better over time. And the whole freakin point of all this is that my brother dresses as Batman and performs at these little kids birthday parties and stuff like that with his Batman costume. I’ve wanted to do something like that for years! And the idea is that my brother and I can choreograph a small fight scene to perform at these parties. He will “beat me up” in the end and take me away in handcuffs or something like that to get the kids cheering for Batman. Intricate right? I agree. It also sounds like a BLAST! I think this is going to be really cool because Chase and I will have established a swanky little gig a year or so before the movie even comes out and then when it does, we can smooth out our choreographed fights and make them better. I also got some cool Deathstroke gear for Christmas, like a zip-up hoodie, a lego figurine (who sits on my desk at work and points his gun at Green Arrow and Deadpool-pic coming for that), the original graphic novel, Assassins, along with Vol 1 of the New 52 take on Deathstroke with added mask. The mask isn't great quality but it would do in a pinch lol. Remind me to get a pic with that on. Ok, so now that introductions and cosplay plans for 2017 and beyond are out of the way, let’s move onto the first challenge of 2017! To make matters MOAR exciting, I will be teaming up with our very own, Mr. Willes! This will be a Co-Op/PvP challenge for the ages where he portrays the very sexy, very mouthy Deadpool VS my deadly, one-eyed assassin, Deathstroke. Together we will have goals we must meet as a “Squad of Death” and also as individual, badass, Mercenaries. There will be a slue of shit talking and crazy antics going on the next 4 weeks so I hope y’all be ready?! Each week will begin with a contract to assassinate some Squad Goals (team) as well as Merc Goals (individual) and it is up to Willes playing Wade Wilson and me playing Slade Wilson to figure things out. We’re both so happy to have everyone along for the ride and promise not to disappoint . “The Fourth Wall, Slade. It’s hard that not to understand, especially when drunk you as are…” Deathstroke's Challenge Goals Rehab/Prehab Work: Old Man Slade Work the junk in the trunk aka “Dat Ass” Left Shoulder, left groin and right wrist. Become anti-fragile. Strength Training/Gainz and Mobility: The Terminator 9-day Training week Focus on weak areas-core/abs and upper back on extra day Supple Leopard Sword Training/Combat: Stroke of Death Practice with off hand Shovelglove w/ 10# mace 5# Indian Clubs Conditioning/Training Mask: Super Soldier Sprints/Rucks KB’s/Metcons HIIT Wolf

Hey guys and gals-welcome back to the wacky world of Wild Wolf! With this being the last challenge of the year, I really want to push myself and make this a worthy end to 2016, which, IMO, has been one of the craziest, most swanky years of my life. So. Much. Has. Happened. SO many epic NF meetups, so many new sports, new friends and new opportunities. It’s just hard to sum it all up into words but this year has changed me for the better. Right now, I’m dealing with a new injury: my groin/abductor. I strained or pulled it while going too deep in my squats and an issue with my form. I’m pretty sure I wasn’t tracking my knee over my foot every time and this has caused issues in my abductor area. Now, I’m on full blown-out rehab mode on the injury. I even ordered a set of mini-bands for Black Friday to help with this process. I’m also adding the mini-bands to my shoulder rehab as well. 110% will be focused on strengthening these injured areas and getting me back to “fighting form”. This challenge will be dedicated to turning me back into the badass street level hero I used to be. What exactly is a “street level hero”? The term typically pertains to heroes who stick to the streets due to being a bit out of their weight class when dealing with anything more dangerous or powerful. These characters almost never use anything other than martial arts, hand-to-hand fighting skills, and various weapons and gadgets (including guns) to get the job done. Who are some famous “street level heroes”? Batman Daredevil The Punisher Iron Fist Moon Knight Spider-Man Any of the Robins And even Deadpool You get the picture. But those are some big names being thrown out there, especially Batman, probably the most iconic hero of them all. During these next 5 weeks, I will be harnessing my skills and doing what I need to do to get my body and my mind prepped to become a SLH. It will take hard work, long days and countless hours of training and studying...but I am willing to close out this year properly. Goal #1: Take Care of your Body so you can Take Care of the Streets Rehab my groin and shoulder EVERY DAY. Simple. It should take 20-30 min a day to rehab both areas which isn’t anything. I need to get this done, though. No excuses. Goal #2: Build the Diaphragm and Become a Better Fighting Machine Breathing techniques-especially once I get my Training Mask in :). I got a hella good deal during Black Friday and finally pulled the trigger on one. I will practice various breathing techniques and follow Brian McKenzie’s Protocol post workout routine as prescribed/Rx’d. Goal #3: Be a Better Steward of your Studies 3x a week. 15 minute sessions. A+ training. NO. MORE. EXCUSES! I’ve really fallen behind on this but need to get back on my hacker game and study some more. I’m almost done with module 801 and then I can move onto testing. Studying also applies to learning more about how to make myself antifragile. Always strive to learn more and soak up the knowledge that is out there. Goal #4: Continue to Eat for Size I’ve put on about 8 pounds or so, but it’s not all lean muscle. Focus on eating for size but also focus on eating clean as well. I need to be eating more veggies and I want to include veggies in 80% of my meals. I should also be drinking 100+ oz of water a day and 30+ more on training days. This one’s gonna be reaaaal simple you guys and I’m excited to have you along for the last challenge of 2016! Wolf

Hey Everyone! Since I’m in new and uncharted territory right now, I thought I would introduce myself. Names Wild Wolf but most people call me Wolfie I’ve been with the Rangers for the past 2 years now and it’s been a wonderful stint with even better people but now my workouts have shifted more to an iron heavy routine whereas normally, I’m more of a BW/Calisthenics enthusiast who plays around with kettlebells and parkour and other fun equipment. They call me the Werespartan because I went from “not a fan of running and never covering more than 5 miles at one time” to running the Spartan Beast with fellow NF Ranger, @EricMN and ended up covering 12+ miles that day and over 4 ½ hours on the course. Fuckin A, right? So, I like to dabble in a lot of things. Well, whilst “dabbling in things“ back at the end of January this year, I fell on my shoulder and caused a Type 2 AC joint separation. BUMMER!! ...I know. A type 2 AC separation is something I can live with, but it greatly effects my lifting game. Overhead press is basically out...clean and press, front squats...even backsquat’s. It’s been since last September/October since I’ve lifted real weights so I had NO idea what my shoulder would tolerate. Thankfully, I’ve gotten back into a lifting routine and I’m now on my second week of 3x a week. Last week was a little funky because I decided in the beginning that I wanted to do the Juggernaut 2.0 program and then mid-week decided I needed something a little more basic and decided to go with Starting Strength. So, Friday and Monday, the 24th marked the first 2 days of Starting Strength. My lifts are as followed: A Day Zercher Squat 3x5 Bench Press (partial reps stopping 2 blocks (6-8 inches) above chest) 3x5 Rack Pull 1x5 B Day Zercher Squat 3x5 Bent over row 3x5 Rack pull 1x5 This prolly looks a lot different than someone else’s Starting Strength big lifts but none of these lifts compromise my shoulder and that’s what’s important. I haven’t figured out what to do about the power clean/clean when I hit the next phase of SS but maybe I can employ the help of you fine, iron bending folks when the time comes. My #’s are not very impressive but I’ll shoot up in no time and I’m excited about adding some lean muscle back onto my already lean frame. My challenge will continue off my last 2 challenges over in the Ranger’s guild. It follows the story of Ryan, an up and coming hacker who is discovered by a hacktivist group called DedSec and one of its prodigy’s, Marcus Holloway. Marcus is grooming Ryan aka W0lf, to be a l337 hacker and help DedSec take down the evil spying corporation, Blume. All this is based off the upcoming video game, .Watch Dogs 2, which releases November 15th, the day after my birthday! If you would like to check out the last two challenges, I have them linked in my signature and down below in the profile post. The story and the theme are all related to me trying to get my A+ certification and move on from there. My 365-day challenge to myself is to complete A+, Security+, Network+ and then move onto Linux+ all by this time next year. I also want to get into some programming like Python. Right now, I work at a job I don’t really like but it pays me decent money. I want to work somewhere...doing something I’m actually interested in and hacking/IT stuff, especially the deeper level stuff REALLY interest me. And then working out again… I hope to get in the groove with Starting Strength because this past week has been wonderful. I missed working out and I missed lifting to be specific. The change of scenery should be fun because I already recognize a few familiar ugly mugs around here. *Cough* Rurik, Willes, and Volki *Cough* Here are my goals below: A+ Training- No more fucking around-shoot for 4-6 hours of trainings a week. FINISH the 801 Module and prep for the exam Starting Strength 3x a week-get to gym earlier to have more time for accessory work Focus on mobility and “limberness” on off days. Gaelic Football and/or Parkour on the weekends. Mass Gain-get back on your protein shake/post workout smoothie game to help with mass gain. Lots of water. Lots of sleep-take naps during the day if needed Cool things going on this Challenge: My birthday is November 14th! (W00t! 29!) Halloween-I'm going as Ace Ventura...lol. Thanksgiving-I usually attend 4-6 of these because of split families and in-laws. This means lots of leftovers but more importantly "bulk food". I could just load up on turkey, sweet potatoes or mashed potatoes w/ brown gravy and any choice of yummy veggie tray... Yep! I can't wait for Thanksgiving. Finally getting my hair trimmed/cut-got an appoint for the 5th. I know that sounds girly but whatev's I've been growing that shit for over 11 months now lol. I've discovered I have "locks" as my sister and wife call them lol and I think I inspired our very own @Volki to grow his out as well? It won't be a drastic cut but I need some shape bad. I almost have a mullet. Almost. Thanks for having me Warriors! W0lf

R153 0F 7H3 H4CK71V157 (Rise of the Hacktivist) CH4PT3R 1: EM41LS W0lf, You ever get the feeling you’re being watched? That light graze across the subconscious that lets you know someone has their eyes on you...Yeah, I get that feeling too. No matter what I say or do, I know someone is aware of my actions and reactions and honestly...that’s some scary shit, bro. Blume controls ctOS 2.0 and ctOS 2.0 controls everything, man. It’s a giant spider web of data at their disposal. They use our friends, online purchases and even shit we type in Nudle to track us...to ‘watch’ us. The injustices need to stop! What happened to our basic freedoms? I’ll tell you what happened...we’re being robbed of them right underneath our noses. And no one's doing a damn thing about it... but DedSec is. Oh yeah! We’re in it to win it playboy! I’ve heard about you. You’re new, which may seem weird I even know you exist, but see, DedSec is everywhere and we’re always looking for new recruits to train up. I heard you might be interested in joining the cause? Actually, I head you might even want to head up the Dallas division of DedSec. I can dig your drive, but you got lots of work to do if you wanna be Alpha W0lf in Dallas, bro. So, here I am, offering up my services along with my team of highly trained individuals. Periodically, we’ll all reach out to you and make sure you’re given the best opportunity to help us and DedSec succeed. Since you’re already working through A+ (yeah, I know), the best advice I can give starting out is to finish it and move onto some more advanced stuff. If you can’t hack...I hate to say it, bro, but if you can’t hack it...DedSec will find someone else. I bought you some time because I know potential when I see it. It’s gonna be grueling at first. I won’t lie to you, it may even be downright boring, something like where you want to punch a fuckin keyboard. But I promise it’ll go fast. I went through the gauntlet before.. I self taught myself ya know? And so can you. How bad do you want to help, W0lf? How bad do you want to join DedSec? Retr0 0ut! His blue eyes scanned the computer screen, bloodshot from the lack of sleep these last few days. The excitement of the email was enough to make the corner of his mouth twitch upwards into the slightest of smirks but he couldn’t hide the giant grin underneath any longer. Are you going to respond or just drool over it? “What do you think?” W0lf said outloud, answering his own question. With a brief moment to collect his thoughts, the would-be hacker began to fold his laptop screen down then flipped it back up in a flash, revealing the email staring back at him. He drew in a long, deep breath, filling his entire chest cavity and lungs with fresh oxygen then blew it out with a huff. “Fuck it. What’s the worse that could happen…” and with a small click, W0lf hit the reply button, forever changing his fate from that moment on… Hello and welcome to the first installment of a 3-part series I will be doing entitled R1S3 OF THE H4CKT1V1ST. It may even extend beyond the 3 challenges but for now I want to stick with the original 3 and not overwhelm myself. I’m so excited you’re here, btw! I don’t normally introduce myself because I feel like most of you already know me and my story but now I am starting a new chapter in my life and want to kinda start things off fresh, so here’s a new introduction to where things are at right now (and where they’re going): My name is Wild Wolf but the Rangers tend to prefer Wolfie I am going on 29 years old this November (SCORPIO!) and I am married to my best friend and love of my life, Heather. We have 3 handsome boys, Racer (6), Declan (3) and Orin, about to be 2 August 26th! I’m coming off a Type II AC Joint shoulder separation that happened at the end of January when I was playing Quidditch down in Austin. You heard that right, Quidditch, lol. Brutal sport. Sad I got hurt..but it introduced me to an awesome couple who then introduced me to Gaelic Football. I’m finally back to some normalcy and I’m able to workout and do things I love to do again (like working out or playing with my kids)-I get to be ME again. It’s been nice, lemme say. Plus, Pokemon Go... How many miles have I walked trying to catch Pokemon? A lot. MOVING ON! I am an avid learner in the ways of the world and like to try new and exciting things-Hold your tongue Sparrow -and these next 3 challenges (if not more) will be about putting some consistency in my life and learning something (a skill) I’ve always thought was awesome and intriguing: learning to be a hacker. Luckily I have some friends on here whom have done such things or trained/learned to be a hacker. I’m looking at you @Volki and if I remember correctly, @darkfoxx and @EricMN know coding and that’s hacker stuff right? Anyways, lots of people in the NF community know about this stuff so I think I’ll have some help on here :). Right now, I’m hacking my way through CompTIA A+. (Lol, like what I did there ←) I’m at 20% right now but after I’m finished I’ll get my certification and move onto the next stage of my training. I realize that hacking is something that can take YEARS and even DECADES to learn and get good at and that’s fine, I understand, but I still wanna get on the path TO learn, ya know? I’m a n00b if there ever was one, but you gotta start somewhere. Edit: I use the free website Cybrary.It for ALL my training needs. You can't beat free! I needed a good challenge theme and thought, what better theme than my current obsession, the upcoming Ubisoft title Watch Dogs 2. The story is about a brilliant young hacker named Marcus Holloway and his hacktivist group called DedSec whom take on an evil corporation among other swanky things. The game comes out the day after my birthday, November 15th, so it will be a nice birthday present to myself because I’m excited about playing! I’m thinking I want to pre-order the Collector's Edition that comes with some cool in-game goodies as well as some awesome extra vanity items like your own robot that you can control with a phone based app! No lie- Check it out. This series of challenges will be based off me training to be a hacker and helping out Marcus aka Retr0 and the hacktivist group, DedSec take down the bad guys: Blume Corp. as well as various other corporations like Blume. Ubisoft (the company that made the game) did a good job of creating these fictional companies that somewhat resembles our RL companies. Like instead of Google, there's Nudle. Haha. Anyways, I want to combine elements from my last 3-4 challenges because I think I can find a synergy in there somewhere and maybe not do ALL the things but at least do ALL the things I want to do. I will have story elements for your viewing pleasure as well as some fun co-op things that won’t be hard or anything. If your name is Mr.Willes (or Mr_w as I will call him) then your co-op task will always be cold shower related #KiddingNotKidding The way the challenges will work is they will be based off growing 3 skill trees that are from the game itself: The C0MB4T H4CK3R, GH0ST H4CK3R and TR1CKST3R H4CK3R skill trees as well as keeping a semi-tight schedule on getting my IT/hacker certs. I will give myself some leeway since I am a family man and work a full-time job but this is where some mad discipline skillz come into play. Getting up early and using my lunch hour to train/study will be crucial. Hell, using ANY free time I have not interfering with family time is crucial! I’ve made a Google Sheet that lists all my daily/weekly tasks that I can complete, how much each task will be worth (points wise) and what skill tree it coincides with. I’m going to be introducing Progress Bars for these three skill trees and as I grow my RP hacker, W0lf, the skill trees will grow as well. Example of how the points will work: +3 to CH (C0MB4T H4CK3R) for completing a KB workout, +5 to GH (GH0ST H4CK3R) for getting 6+ quality sleep cycles, etc., etc., Another thing I will be implementing from Watch Dogs 2, aka WD2, is what’s called, “The Follower System”. Basically, completing assignments each week will gain me followers and the more followers I have, the more damage I can eventually do to Blume and ctOS while adding to my RL skills. This system is a double standard too because it relates to me being a follower of threads. A good goal is to be able to check in with all my friends at least 1x a week. Catching up may be out of the question because of time, but at least let them know I’m still there supporting them. I know this isn’t required but it’ll make me feel better. I will start a Nail Biting Accountability thread Here is the link to the Nail Biting Accountability thread. Just like Rangerbrain, I will eventually conquer this mother. I’m really excited about getting my certs and learning this as a skill because I’m wanting to expand beyond my current job right now. I dunno where I’ll be at towards the end of 2016, but I want to have made a huge dent in my training and blazing a path towards a career I would actually enjoy. I’m thrilled y’all are along for the ride! W0lf