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I'm trying something different this time and having some fun with a themed challenge. I'm really excited about finally rolling this one out. Before we begin, though, a few things to get out of the way. You can skip straight to the challenge if you'd like: Without further ado, let's begin: While conducting research in the university library, Wolfen uncovered a letter, yellowed with age but pressed and preserved in the pages of Man Makes Himself by Gordon Childe. Wolfen's eyes widened as he read the header at the top: Dr. Henry Walton Jones, Jr. Barnette College Hamilton Hall Grove Avenue Fairfield, NY The letter was dated May 13, 1960 Surely this was a joke, or some fake letter forged by a creative university student. Regardless, Wolfen read on. To Whom it May Concern: If you're discovering this letter in the pages of the book in which I left it, your curiosities might be exactly what I need. With the help of some colleagues who will remain anonymous for reasons you may come to learn later, I have uncovered a secret war going on in our world of which only a few are aware. A group of scientists has discovered the existence of exotic matter (henceforth abbreviated XM). XM is a very powerful energy whose origin and potential are still in question, but it is believed it has existed for centuries. There are stories of Roman soothsayers who encouraged the construction of important buildings upon sites they claimed were "charmed" with mysterious energy. Indeed, mysterious and "magical" portals that channel XM from an unknown location have been discovered near iconic and influential locations whose history and origins are also shrouded in mystery, the types of places my colleagues and I frequent as researchers (temples, monuments, places of worship, etc.). Scientists are allegedly researching ways to capture and harness the energy of these portals. Unfortunately, because of an accident in which members of the research team were exposed to XM, the secret of XM has not remained a secret. I'm not certain how, but word of this mysterious and potentially dangerous powerful energy has reached people with greater influence than you or me, people whose names you would probably recognize but which I will not reprint here for security reasons. You may be wondering what this has to do with you. Because you are even aware of the existence of this book, it is clear you are an intelligent and open-minded person. Wolfen tightened his lips. He had just pulled the book of the shelf because the title caught his attention. He read on: In the time since word has spread of XM, two groups have formed with the goal of capturing and harnessing this energy. The first faction, known as The Enlightened, is an elite group of very powerful people who believe XM is the secret to the evolution and progress of mankind. The Enlightened wish to take control of XM and harness its powers to take humankind to the next level (whatever that means). The details of how and what that would entail are still shady, which is why it is so concerning. In addition, several known members of The Enlightened have a reputation for taking and abusing power and their intent may be the same for XM. The second faction is The Resistance. Their intent is to capture XM in order to keep it out of the hands of The Enlightened because they fear the power of XM would be used to manipulate and control all of humanity. Like many "resistance" movements, however, this faction doesn't seem to have as much influence as The Enlightened (both financially and culturally) but this may change over time. In addition, Resistance members tend to be wreckless in their endeavor to keep XM out of the hands of The Enlightened. As an archaeologist, I can attest to the presence of "energies" at many of the sites I have visited. This is why I have fought to obtain and protect treasures that are located at these sites. Unfortunately, at my age I may not be able to protect these sites much longer, unless I can recruit some new explorers willing to research portal locations in their area and travel to these "portals". I won't tell you which faction you should join (but anyone who knows my reputation could probably guess which I prefer) because you have a will of your own, and I don't have the resources to force you to choose. In fact, you might not have even finished this letter. If you're still reading, though, I am grateful. I encourage you to do a few things before you begin: Do some research: read up on everything you can about "Ingress," including the two factions I mentioned; there may be information about possible portals in your area. If you uncover the location of nearby portals, research these sites, as well and visit them. My hope is that by the time you find this letter, researchers have come up with a way to extract and store the XM quickly and efficiently. Research this, as well. You guessed it: I need you to explore these sites and extract as much XM as you can. But be cautious and aware of your surroundings. This could be dangerous since there are others who also want XM for their own purposes. See if you can ascertain why or how the places you visit are capable of drawing XM; is there some history behind the place or object that makes it "worthy" of such energy? I don't know what kind of shape you are in at the moment, but true explorers need to be fit for a lot of physically demanding activities: hiking, climbing, crawling, fighting, running, and lots of walking. So much walking. And you need to have a keen eye to both find what you're looking for and to make sure you aren't being followed. I will let you "work out" the details based on your own physical needs. If you're still with me, I know you are exactly what I need. Don't write back because I would rather not know who you are. Good Luck, Dr. Henry Walton "Indiana" Jones, Jr. Wolfen immediately left the campus library and straight to a private place on campus to start his research. A search for "Ingress" uncovered an app designed by Niantic Labs, a "game" in which "players" join a faction, seek and capture portals and extract XM. It couldn't be a coincidence that this app seemed to match nearly everything the letter described. More research uncovered information about XM, the Niantic project, each faction, and much more. Wolfen also discovered that there were several portals nearby, some glowing white, some blue, and some green and fields of bright "energy" of either blue or green passing between portals. He couldn't resist. Wolfen downloaded the app to his phone. Based on what his heart and head were saying, he joined The Resistance. His adventure was just beginning. Goals: Explore: walk at least 12,000 steps/day M-F. Get Fit: continue the #100for100 challenge: at least 100 bodyweight movements per day 3 sets 3 days/week that includes the following: Avoid traps: 15 hi-steps Sword-fight: 15 side-to-side arm swings Duck-and-dive: 5 burpees Fist-fight: vary jabs, punches, hooks, and uppercuts (Boxtastic app?) Explore caves: low crawl for 10 "steps". Climb cliffs: 5 pullups Run: continue running schedule, but include 3x100 yard sprints at least 2 days/week Research: continue research for school (first priority) look up information on various portal locations before exploring them. The purpose of this challenge is to become more connected to "place" using an app that both encourages you to walk and explore more and calls your attention to places you might otherwise have just passed by or glanced at without thinking. Therefore, when you visit these "portals" really look at them, study them, all while being mindful of what you learned from your research. Document these findings. Read at least one article/week from National Geographic or similar publication Read at least one book-length work of history/archeology/anthropology (i.e. something Indiana Jones might read). Historical fiction is acceptable, as long as it is rooted in truth.

Hello everyone, I am currently in the process of writing my dissertation, as part of it, I am required to carry out primary research to find out if the identified user requirements are suitable and to also potentially identify additional requirements. The aim of this project is to develop a mobile application that will · enable the users to create custom workouts · set specific strength progression schemes · record lifted weights & repetitions. · use that data to determine whether to increase, maintain or lower intensity · estimate future progress · show past workout data I would be very grateful if you could spare a minute and carry out the questionnaire http://www.smartsurvey.co.uk/s/2BWLO/ Thank you!

Hi y'all! As you've probably guessed, my main goal in this challenge is to train for the Army 10-miler that I'll be running in October, if I get the chance (registration is full)! Either way, I'm going to train for it as if I'm running it.... And now I've told enough people that I'm doing it so I can't back out! My goals this challenge are generally the same: Get healthier and stronger without letting life "get in the way." So, without further ado, the QUESTS: 1. Train for the 10-miler - I have about a month and a half to get as good at this as possible. Just as a reference, I used to run roughly a mile every day about 8 years ago and since then it's been on a steady decline (I never liked to run, I did it because I had to). I still lead a moderately active lifestyle, but the last time I ran was in March when I did 5 miles with minimum training (read: signed up last minute, panicked, ran it anyway). I don't want to do that again (and, frankly, don't think I CAN), so I'm taking this run more seriously. I don't think I'll be setting any records (I run about a 10-11 minute mile lol), but I'd like to be able to run 10 miles without passing out or feeling super nervous about it. SPECIFIC goals for this one are that I'll likely be using the Nike+ training app or finding some other training program that I can follow, instead of just saying "go for a run today," which I already know won't be enough to make me do it. I'm also looking for a good way to keep me accountable, whether that's through some kind of consequence or by unlocking loot (or both. Both is good). 2. Study for the GRE - I'm planning on taking the GRE in the few weeks after the 10-mile run, which gives me about 52 days. My goal is to do a problem set/exercise every day here to there (7/wk, about a half-hour time commitment each day) which I think is do-able. 3. Don't snack mindlessly - My last challenge included reducing my carb intake for one meal a day. But I always found I was snacking a bunch (I'm talking chips, candy, etc.). For this challenge I'm going to try to keep a log of what I snack on and focus on NOT doing that. I'm still allowing myself to snack mindfully - for example, having a piece of dark chocolate to satisfy a sweets craving or eat seaweed snacks for my salty fix. These are purposeful choices to eat healthier alternatives to junk food. 4. Work on research paper 30 min every weekday - In my last challenge, I tried to read 2 academic papers a week in order to help me prepare/get in the mindset of writing my research paper. Actually WRITING the dang thing was oddly, getting in the way of me completing that challenge successfully, so this time 'round, I'm tweaking this so that the writing of the paper is the priority. I want to make this a consistent effort instead of writing in chunks for 2 or 3 hours at a time every few days. (I'm also hoping 30 min will turn into longer as I get into the swing of things, so I'll get more work done!) 5. Read 1 page a day - I want to get back into reading for fun so I'm starting with doing at least one page a day. My plan is to read before I go to sleep, which will hopefully make me sleep better (no passing out to the glow of some electronic), so I'll kill 2 birds with one stone there. I'm setting up the habit, which is why my metric for reaching this goal is SO small. But that's how we do here at NF. What FIVE GOALS this time?!?!? Of course, like it usually does, these are likely going to change as I learn what works and doesn't throughout the month. ANYWHO - got any suggestions on ways to keep myself accountable (esp with the running)? Or good training programs for running 10 miles? Or any running music suggestions? Cool books to read? I'm all ears!

This month I'm keeping my challenge really simple and focussing on getting s**t done. No theme, no bells and whistle, just balls. Or something like that.. I'm coming for you, things! Quest 1. Share the awesome. Keeping this from the last challenge. Even the suckiest of days contains a little glimmer of hope. At least that's what I'm going to attempt to prove to myself... Each day I'll post 1 awesome thing that happened. This can be anything that brightened my day even if by a little; whether it be a life altering achievement, hitting a workout goal, or something small like seeing a Deer on the way to work, or something funny that happened during the day. Quest 2. Hold the Plank. Mission Objective: Hold a 2 minute plank. I'm currently at around 50-70 seconds, but I'm sure I can get more if I man up. Quest 3. Hit the Trails. Throughout the challenge I will do a total 30km of trail running. Quest 4. Do The Thing. Spend a total of 105 minutes each week working on some form of "life advancement". This works out at just 15 minutes a day, but will more likely be longer sessions over fewer days. This could be anything that helps me level up towards living a better, healthier (and happier!) life. Researching workouts/nutrition, searching for jobs, writing, and general life research stuff will be counted. I'm sure over the course of this challenge this quest will become slightly less vague... Actually doing workouts won't count towards the total. Also, I used a calculator to work out 15x7. What the hell is wrong with me? Bonus Stuff Daily Dare PVP. Going for Gold this time. Assassin Mini Challenge: Firefly Theme! Yisssss

WHAT'S UP MY NERDFITNESS PEEPS!!! BLACKTEZCA IS BACK AND ROCKING OUT WITH THE MONKS!! Man already the new forums are up! Awesome! Let's do this! I'm BlackTezca, you may remember from such topics as From Lurker to (Newb) Rebel!, BlackTezca's Daily Battle Towards Feline Greatness, and my personal favorite BlackTezca's 1st Trial: Become an Artsy, Geeky Amazon. I'm continuing on my journey towards geeky, otaku, Amazon awesomeness and for this challenge (and the next since I plan ahead), I'll be with my martial art loving peeps. There won't be a whole lot of martials arts for this challenge, but you know what? So to reiterate my main quest: My Main Quest is to be as POWERFUL and BATTLE READY as Wonder Woman Not the theme for this challenge but I love the shit out of this image I did relatively well for my first challenge despite some minor setbacks, so my confidence (*cough* maybe arrogance *cough*) is super high! I originally planned on jumping straight into finding a studio and learning Krav Maga, but considering my trip (which cost me some major $$$$$$$$$$) and StillSkies 2nd challenge getting me interested in opening my mind to other martial arts, I'm pushing that off a little bit. Just a little bit; I still use kick boxing workouts for a bit of my cardio (especially combined with HIIT) and my Art quest is gonna be pretty fun . Now enough stalling! TIME TO REVEAL MY SIDE QUESTS!!! Side Quest 1: During my workouts, focus on upper body strength training for at least 20 minutes, at least 3 days a week. Details: I have strong legs, and despite my complaints about my back, I don't think my core is anything to laugh out. But I have laughably weak arms and I want to be strong all over. I have my dumbbells, I have my Fitness Blender, time to put more focus on my upper body and strengthen what I consider to be my weakest area Contingencies: I do downhill ski. The ski season is almost over. I have one more, longish, ski trip planned and downhill skiing does not really use your arms (unless you fall. Then your arms are most useful). I will try to get my upper body workouts done during the time before and after I return from my trip. Tracking: I'll be tracking using MyFitnessPal ( username BlackTezca ) and this lovely thread will be updated. Grading: A for 3+ days a week ( 3 Str 1Sta ) B for mostly 2 days a week ( 3 Str ) C for mostly 3 days a week ( 2 Sta ) F for all else Side Quest 2: During my workouts, focus on core and lower back strength and flexibility for at least 20 minutes, at least 2 days a week. Details: I have mild scoliosis and I'm a code monkey. My job consists of programming hunched over at a screen and let me tell you that does WONDERS for my back health. I really need to work on this because over my last trip, walking a block or two started to really cause me pain and I don't like feeling like I'm 70 years old while still in my twenties (Actually, a relative in his 70s did not feel any back pain so boo to me). Contingencies: None because if my back hurts, even on my ski trip, I will be stretching the living shit out of it until it STOPS. Tracking: I'll be tracking using MyFitnessPal ( username BlackTezca ) and this lovely thread will be updated. Grading: A for 2+ days a week ( 3 Dex 1Str ) B for mostly 1 day a week ( 2 Dex ) F for all else Side Quest 3: Eat vegetables with every meal, 6 days a week. Details: ARRGHHHHHH!!!!!!!!! Noooo don't make me do this nooooooooo!!!!!! Okay...*deep breath*. It's not like I dislike vegetables, I just find them...hard to...put on my mind when it comes to food. Especially on the weekends. I don't buy them, I don't think about them all the time unless they are in my face or a little voice (or many voices, depending who follows this) remind me. So...I'm gonna...eat...vegetables in some recognizable form, preferably not covered in yummy yummy cheese (oh my Chicken Pepper Philly how I love you). Wish me luck guys. Contingencies: None really. I shall eat vegetables (not corn, nor a potato, nor a sweet potato *cry*) every meal, maybe even push myself to snacking on them*twitch*. Tracking: I'll be tracking using MyFitnessPal ( username BlackTezca ) and this lovely thread will be updated (I hate you all) Grading: A for 6+ days a week ( 2 Con ) B for mostly 4 to 5 days a week ( 1 Con ) C for mostly 2 to 3 days a week ( .5 Con ) F for all else Life Quest: Pay down one credit card completely and lower the debt on the other credit card. Details: Like most people, I gots some debt I need to take care of. I'm not gonna pay that all down, but with the tax refund coming in, and my vacation over, I'm gonna need to focus on paying off my cards a little more than I have been. Contingencies: None. Tracking: I'll track this weekly here of course for my summaries and I'll be watching my credit card accounts. Grading: A for One card completely paid off and the other managed ( 2 Wis ) B for One card completely paid off, nothing down on the other ( 1 Wis ) F for all else Art Quest: Research at least 5 different martial arts and draw something (sketch, full painting, etc) representing each one. Details: I have been really touched by the comments my art has gotten here and the encouragement and support is super awesome. Some of you had hoped that I would continue it and this is my answer: Art Quests are here to stay. For every challenge I do, there will be an art quest. For this challenge, since I am with the monks and since I am holding off on a studio membership, I will research a martial art and not only will I do a short summary, I will also have an artwork attached to that summary. This will be fun cause it means drawing other characters, testing out new poses, etc. This will hopefully be done on a weekly basis. Contingencies: Ski trip, but surely I can post a decent sketch or make it black and white if I must . Tracking: I have an art Tumblr and I also have a DeviantArt (WATCH ME FOR ACCOUNTABILITY). I'll use those for tracking and on a weekly basis...like a weekly update or something, I'll post art on this thread. Grading: A for 5 martial art images and research ( 2 Wis + 1 Cha ) B for 4 martial art images and research ( 2 Wis ) C for 3 martial art images and research ( 1 Wis ) F for all else OMG THAT IS FIVE QUESTS! A little intense it seems but surely if anyone I can do it...I CAN! Starting Measurements: Date: 02/19/2015 @ 6 am Weight: 137.4 ***Body Fat***: 25.48 Waist: 24 Waist @ Navel: 26 Hips: 37 Neck: 12.5 Chest: 33 Left Bicep: 11 Right Thigh: 17.5 Wrist: 6 Forearm: 9 Yeah, I measured myself already. God I'm excited! I've been getting really happy and upbeat doing these. I'm gonna rock this out...LET'S GET THIS AWESOMENESS ON THE ROAD!!! REBELS! ROCK OUT!!!

Hello everyone! I am reaching out to this community and asking for as much help as I can for a project of mine. There is a war going on- a nasty one- when it comes to our health and wellbeing. And given that this is a fitness-related site, I am going to be covering the subject of PROTEIN (ahem, yes, I know, amino acids). But not just protein itself, but the debate between PLANT and ANIMAL proteins. Now before you wax poetic on your diet (be it paleo, gluten free, vegan, or anything in-between) I must first remind anyone reading this that the purpose of this project is to dispel myths, conceptions, and presumptions surrounding protein itself. That is to say, what it does, and the form it takes. I am looking for concrete, hard evidence about BOTH sources of proteins- ANIMALS and PLANTS. How they are absorbed. What nutrients accompany them (so the vitamins/minerals found in steak and in spinach, for example). The digestive process involved during absorption (enzymes; we have different enzymes for proteins and for carbs and fats, for example). All of that. So. Here is where YOU come in. I need your insights (without too much bias; the point of this future guide IS NOT to shame any way of eating- this is built on facts, evidence, and realism), and perhaps links to studies to support or contradict the current conception towards proteins, plant based and paleo. I also want you to provide any questions that you need answers to when it comes to protein sources- again, plant or animal. On my blog, I've written about this project a few times, and will provide the links here; but please, PLEASE, help me out, and spread the word! I want this to be a helpful guide that is not dogmatic and simply informative. Thanks again, and let's make an awesome, kick-a$$ guide! The Why of the Guide A Preview of the Upcoming Attraction

What do you call a late noob? Me! (Better late than never, right?) Hi all, after some deliberation, I decided that since fat loss is still a major long-term goal of mine, I hang out with the adventurers for a while. Did well as a level 1 rebel on my first challenge, moving up in strength training from 10 to 20 lb weights in most exercises, and 20 to 30 lb dumbbells for chest press. I walked for at least 20 minutes EVERY DAY during the last challenge, and I improved a lot by the end of my mini mission of eating < 100g carbs per day (4 times a week). By the end, I had lost 6.5 inches off my, chest, waist, and hips, yay! Since diet is like 90% of fat loss success, I’d like to focus on mostly diet stuff for this challenge. So for my first adventurer challenge, I have posed the following for myself: Main Quest: Fit into Size 8 Jeans by the end of the year (this would be a great xmas present to myself!) **EDITED** I decided that I want to incorporate a strength challenge for myself in order to maintain my strength training. I'm still new to it and need to keep it challenging, otherwise I'll get bored and might quit! So my strength challenge is a part of a long term goal of mine to do a pull up one day. I can do 20-25 lb dumbbell rows, and according to Steve's How to do a Pull Up post, I need to get to 35 lbs before I can get to pull up land. So my strength goal is to get to 35 lbs by the end of the 6-week challenge. **I'LL SAVE THIS FOR NEXT TIME!!** Drink 8 glasses of water daily: I plan to track this through myfitnesspal. It was a good tool to have during the last challenge, so I will continue to use it. To help reach this goal, I also have a water bottle at work that holds about 4 cups of water, so as long as I fill it up in the middle of the day, I’ll have drunk the majority of my water goal at work (or at least half if I don’t get a chance to refill it). Have one vegetable daily: I’ve always been good about trying to get my veggies in, but never consciously tracked this. Batch cook meals every Sunday: During my last challenge, I had a really hard time making my carb goal, but once I started preparing meals for the week, it got so much easier. So to continue this successful trend, I will batch cook a bunch of food on Sunday, divide it up into my little Tupperware containers, and I’ll have food for the week ready to go for work! Side Quest: Read: I’m going to keep this one simple, so the goal here is to find a book and finish it by the end of the challenge. Any suggestions? I read mostly fantasy, and would go for a new series. I was recommended the Mistborn Trilogy, but I am open to any recommendations. Here’s the point breakdown: Strength Challenge: 35 lb dumbbell rows: +3 STR 30 lb dumbbell rows: +2 STR 25 lb dumbbell rows: +1 STR **SAVING FOR NEXT TIME** Water Challenge: 40-42 days: +3 CONS 37-39 days: +2 CONS 36-38 days: +1 CONS Veggie Challenge: 40-42 days: +2 CONS and +1 WIS 37-39 days: +1 CONS and +1 WIS 36-38 days: +1 CONS Batch Cook Challenge: All Sundays: +2 CONS and +1 WIS 4-5 Sundays: +1 CONS and +1 WIS 3-4 Sundays: +1 CONS Read and finish book: +1 WIS (this one’s an all-or-nothing) Not sure how to allocate my points to my attributes, any suggestions there would also be very helpful. Thanks for reading my post! *EDITED: I added the attribute allocations suggested by T2sarahconnor.

Using this thread I am going to be creating a list of books that I want to gather for my library. It will be a mix of classic books, reference texts, and philosophical tomes. Any suggestions are welcome. This list will also serve as a guiding point in the years to come. I will be re reading some of these titles. Some are new to me. 1. The Book of Five Rings by Musashi Miyamoto 2. The Art of Warfare by Sun Tzu 3. To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee 4. Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Carol 5. The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald 6. Where the Sidewalk Ends by Shel Silverstein 7. The Prince by Niccolo Machiavelli 8. The Republic by Plato 9. The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger 10. The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde 11. The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck 12. How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie 13. Call of the Wild by Jack London 14. The Iliad by Homer 15. The Odyssey by Homer 16. Walden by Henry David Thoreau 17. Lord of the Flies by William Golding 18. Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra 19. The Divine Comedy by Dante Alighieri 20. East of Eden by John Steinbeck 21. The Thin Red Line by James Jones 22. Adventured of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain 23. First Edition of The Boy Scout Handbook 24. Cyrano de Bergerac by Edmund Rostand 25. Tropic of Cancer by Henry Miller 26. Hatchet by Gary Paulsen 27. Animal Farm by George Orwell 28. Tarzan of the Apes by Edgar Rice Burroughs 29. Moby Dick by Herman Melville 30. Essential Manners for Men by Peter Post 31. Frankenstein by Mary Wollstonecroft Shelley 32. Hamlet by William Shakespeare 33. Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare 34 A Midsummer Night's Dream by William Shakespeare 35. A Farewell to Arms by Ernest Hemingway 36. Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson 37. The Great Railway Bazaar by Paul Theroux 38. Undaunted Courage by Stephen Ambrose 39. Paradise Lost by John Milton 40. The American Boys' Handy Book 41. King Solomon's Mines by H. Rider Haggard 42. A River Runs Through It by Norman F. Maclean 43. The Autobiography of Malcolm X 44. The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexander Dumas 45. Holy Bible 46. Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurty 47. The Maltese Falcon by Dashiell Hammett 48. The Long Goodbye by Raymond Chandler 49. The Dangerous Book for Boys by Conn and Hal Iggulden 50. Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance by Robert Persig 51. Cold Mountain by Charles Frazier 52. The Art of Expressing the Human Body by Bruce Lee I will be adding more titles to this list as I go and will also be keeping this thread up to date on what I;ve read and collected. This list is heavily inspired by The Art of Manliness's article titled "100 Must-Read Books: The Essential Man’s Library" Link here -> http://www.artofmanliness.com/2008/05/14/100-must-read-books-the-essential-mans-library/

Hey! So I'm really new on here, but I was curious if anyone else is dealing with graduate school woes? Has anyone else been through it? I'm writing my Masters thesis at a university in Taiwan and I never realized how awfully isolating it would be. Not only is it hard to make friends in school because everyone else has a job/family/bf/gf/life, but the social life is non-existent. No one seems to care about anything other than their research papers. Not that I can blame them. It's the axe hanging over all of our heads and our advisers are holding it. This loneliness is all-consuming though. It also sucks because I'm at home almost everyday writing and researching my paper. It makes me feel lazy and useless. It's not like I enjoy looking at the same paper everyday, but I have deadlines to meet. I suppose the worst part of graduate school is the lack of purpose everyone feels. No one knows why they are there, no one is that passionate about their topic, no one knows what they are doing and no one knows what they will do with their Masters degree afterwards. Of course I'm speaking as a student who is in Taiwan, but I'm fairly sure the US is quite similar. Life gets better after grad school right? It gets more rewarding? Have to ask because It's just been one of those days for me, ya know?

The young girl staggered as a guard piled two bulky bags in her arms and strapped a third to her back. "You'll be fine," he said. "It is an honor to tend to the princess." The girl shook her red hair out of her eyes and smiled. "It is indeed, Marcus, and an even greater one to dance for her at her wedding celebration in just two moons." "It might be difficult, young dancer," he said, strapping on his swordbelt and sheath. "You have been trapped in a dungeon for six months with your father." "I will be ready for the challenge, and I will regain my honor and my father's freedom." Her skinny knees shook under the weight of the princess's luggage. "Although, that first mountain may be a mite troublesome." Marcus laughed. "I would help you, young friend, but I have to protect the princess and her royal buffoon--I mean, the scribe." He froze at the sound of a dry cough behind him. "Guard," the royal scribe said imperiously. "I believe we are ready to move. Have you counted the luggage again? I don't want the princess's dowry to come up short when we arrive at the castle." "Of course, sir. Everything is accounted for." "And the weapons?" The scribe squinted suspiciously at the young girl, who shrank beneath his gaze. "All accounted for, sir," Marcus said carefully. "Then get in position. We have to stick to a schedule." He shuffled away like a wrinkled stick drowning in his robes, with Marcus escorting him. Welcome to my challenge, all! These next few weeks I will be aiming to improve my cardio (a goal that majorly failed last time because I dislike gyms) and relieve the pain in my upper back through yoga classes. My last challenge failed pretty miserably because I didn't make a schedule. This time around, all goals will be based on my success in scheduling my workouts. Goal 1: Prepare to dance at the wedding party. I haven't danced in a long time, so I need to dance three or four times a week to be ready for the big party. If not, her father the king might imprison me again. In the second week of my journey, we will pass over the great mountain. I will not be able to dance, so I'll have to dance before and after our week in the mountain. For dancing on Monday and Thursday nights at 7, and Saturday mornings at 9, I will receive +3 STA, +1 STR, and +1 CON. A: 18 dances (3/week, on schedule) B: 15-17 dances on schedule C: 12-14 D: 9-11 F: 0-8 Goal 2: Stretch out my aching back. Carrying all this baggage really hurts! My upper back is stiff and sore. I will attend yoga sessions on Tuesday and Friday afternoons every week. Again, the second week I will not be able to. I can get extra points or make up sessions for attending Wednesday afternoon/evening Pilates or Yoga. For this, I will receive +4 DEX. A: 12 yoga and pilates sessions per week, on schedule B: 10-11 yogas C: 8-9 D: 6-7 F: 0-5 Goal 3: Don't Open the Box I'm carrying five bags filled with the treasures of the princess. I cannot open these bags--if I do, or if anything goes missing, the scribe will blame me. So I need to resist the treats: no snacks, no sweets, no nothing for six weeks. For this I will earn +1 STA and +1 CHA, because I can dance more (and better) without junk in my system or heavy jewels around my neck. A: The box stays closed. B: 1-2 treats C: 3-5 treats D: 5-6 treats F: 7 or more treats Goal 4: Outsmart the Scribe That nasty scribe doesn't trust me a bit with the princess's dowry. So, to make sure he doesn't try to put me back in jail, I have to learn as much as I can. I'll spend my time doing research on medieval weaponry. Again, I have to stick to a schedule, just like the scribe said. Week 1: make an annotated bibliography of sources. Find information I can use: books, internet sources, and more. We'll be looking at a broad spectrum of stuff here: types of weapons, how they are used, who used them, how they evolved over time, how they are are made, battle strategies, etc. I've found some cool resources thanks to some fellow NFers. Week 2: mountain. Not much is going to happen here. Week 3: Find an area of focus. This can be whatever I find the most info on or whatever I am most interested in pursuing. Start doing more work. Learn my weapons inside and out. Week 4: Zoom in on the area of focus. Hope to connect this to a greater aspect of research: historical significance of the invention of the stirrup, for example, would be a great thing to look into. Have this all figure out by now. Week 5: if I have enough substance to write a research paper, I will start writing this week. Week 6: finish writing. Goal: 8 pages. For sticking to the schedule planned, I will gain +4 WIS. I hope you will join me on my journey across the mountains. Godspeed to you all!

Because I'm a nerd, I want to do some mondo research projects this summer. I want to look into naval technology and combat weapons, either across cultures in the Middle Ages or over time in one area. I will most likely look at naval tech and ships cross-culturally (Europe, Asia, the Middle East) and combat weapons in Germany (Antiquity to Early Modernity). Here's the trouble: I can't find any books. I don't know if I'm using the wrong search queries or if all the university libraries through which I searched just don't have books on the subject. I'd love some recommendations! Books on combat weapons, battle strategies, ships, technologies, navigation--anything. Thanks for your help!