Initiative (role-playing games)

In most role-playing games and table-top wargames an initiative system determines in which order player characters and non-player characters take their actions, to avoid confusion on when a character gets to act. Methods of doing this vary from game to game.

Taking turns

In some games, such as Tunnels & Trolls, each faction takes its turn to act - and it is entirely up to the side acting who acts in which order for that side. This is one of the two most common systems in table-top wargames - with Malifaux having a variant of this by which each gang picks one member to act in turn, and the larger gang all acts together at the end.

Statistic based

The other common method, used by games like Dungeons & Dragons and Fate is for each character to be assigned an initiative number based on a relevant attribute plus a random factor, and for people to act in that order. Some games determine initiative order once, some once per round.

Shot Clock

Feng Shui and Arcanis both use a shot-clock; Each round is divided into segments or shots, and each action takes a certain number of these segments. Actions happen whenever the character's next free segment turns up.

Washington Initiative 912

Initiative Measure No. 912 was a proposed initiative in Washington, USA on the ballot in 2005 that would have repealed new motor vehicle fuel taxes passed earlier in the year by the state Legislature. The fuel tax, and this measure, were a major political issue during the 2005 elections in the state. It failed to pass, being rejected by 54.5% of voters.

The fuel tax increases enacted in 2005 for transportation purposes were 3 cents per gallon in 2005 and 2006, 2 cents in 2007, and 1.5 cents per gallon in 2008.

External links

Initiative 200

Initiative 200 was a Washington State initiative to the Legislature promoted by California affirmative-action opponent Ward Connerly and filed by Scott Smith and Tim Eyman, a mail-order salesman from Mukilteo, Washington. It sought to prohibit racial and gender preferences by state and local government. It was on the Washington ballot in November 1998 and passed with 58.22% of the vote. It added to Washington's law (but not its constitution) the following language:

(1) The state shall not discriminate against, or grant preferential treatment to, any individual or group on the basis of race, sex, color, ethnicity, or national origin in the operation of public employment, public education, or public contracting.

History

Initiative 200, a Washington State statute passed as the first major civil rights law enacted by direct public vote took place in November 1998. The voting took place statewide, with approximately 1.9 million voters taking to the polls. The enactment was inevitable with a 58.2 percent, or a grand total of 1,099,410 voters saying "yes". Statewide, all counties passed the statute, with only one exception, King County, in all places but Seattle. The law reads "All state agencies, boards, departments and commissions are prohibited from using any equal opportunity programs that grant preferential treatment in hiring. Initial consideration of race, sex, color, ethnicity or national origin may continue through outreach efforts. No comparable aggressive action to end equal opportunity programs that grant preferential treatment".

309 Road

The 309 road is a 22-kilometre (14 mi) long gravel road between the towns of Coromandel and Whitianga in New Zealand.

The 309 winds its way from Coromandel, on the west side of the Coromandel Peninsula, over the ranges to Whitianga, on the eastern side.

The road is considered extremely dangerous and deaths among tourists unfamiliar with the road and in unfit vehicles are common.

Places of interest along the road include Waiau Falls and the Kauri Grove, a stand of mature kauri trees.

Location

References

External links

Coordinates: 36°50′48″S 175°33′15″E / 36.846767°S 175.554208°E / -36.846767; 175.554208 (309 Road - nominal location)

2+2 road

A 2+2 road is a specific type of dual-carriageway being built in Ireland and in Sweden and in Finland, consisting of two lanes in each direction separated by a steel cable barrier.

These roads do not have hard shoulders and therefore they cannot be designated as Motorway at some future date. The Irish variant,however, has 3.5m lanes where there are a number of Swedish variants some with 3.25m wide lanes.

Junctions are generally at-grade roundabouts and minor roads cross under or over the mainline without connecting. They are also known as "Type 2 dual-carriageways" by the Irish National Roads Authority. These roads look similar to expressways, except that expressways often have interchanges, large medians or concrete barriers between traffic. The United States has 80,000 km of roads that fit this description.

First 2+2

The first road of this type opened in December 2007 as a new greenfield section of the N4 national primary route which joins Dublin to Sligo.

See also

List of highways numbered 44

The following highways are numbered 44.

Canada

Ontario Highway 44

India

National Highway 44 (India)

Israel

Iran

Road 44

Japan

Route 44 (Japan)

New Zealand

New Zealand State Highway 44

Thailand

Thailand Route 44

United Arab Emirates

E 44

United Kingdom

British A44 (Oxford-Aberystwyth)

United States

Interstate 44

U.S. Route 44

Alabama State Route 44

California State Route 44

Colorado State Highway 44

Delaware Route 44

Florida State Road 44

Georgia State Route 44

Hawaii Route 44

Idaho State Highway 44

Illinois Route 44 (former)

Indiana State Road 44

Iowa Highway 44

K-44 (Kansas highway)

Kentucky Route 44

Louisiana Highway 44

Maryland Route 44 (former)

M-44 (Michigan highway)

Minnesota State Highway 44

Mississippi Highway 44

Montana Highway 44

Nebraska Highway 44

Nevada State Route 44 (former)

New Jersey Route 44

New York State Route 44 (former)

• New York State Route 44A (former)

Belt (firearms)

A belt or ammunition belt is a device used to retain and feed cartridges into a firearm. Belts and the associated feed systems are typically employed to feed machine guns or other automatic weapons. Belt-fed systems minimize the proportional weight of the ammunition to the feeding device along with allowing high rates of continuous fire.

Belts were originally composed of canvas or cloth with pockets spaced evenly to allow the belt to be mechanically fed into the gun. These designs were prone to malfunctions due to the effects of oil and other contaminants altering the belt. Later belt designs used permanently connected metal links to retain the cartridges during feeding. These belts were more tolerant to exposure to solvents and oil. Many weapons designed to use non-disintegrating or canvas belts are provided with machines to automatically reload these belts with loose rounds or rounds held in stripper clips. In use during World War I, reloaders allowed ammunition belts to be recycled quickly to allow practically continuous fire.