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janet reid wrote:

K, give my cad (and me) some credit! As if he would be using his own stuff and dropping shit all over the place and get identified that way. pffffttttt, way too easy! Not going to happen. But yeah, I'm in a hole, so I have started digging ....

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It's not the blackguard's arrow - it's one of Matthew's. I haven't added any specifics, so that is one way to dig me out of the hole (keep it generic and don't list the qualities that makes it Matthew's - as long as it would be possible to identify the arrow as his without doubt). But it would've been nice to say: well, if you look at this feather and this so-and-so, it's mine.

So yeah, the bad guy shot Geordie using one of Matthew's arrows ... Like Black John is going to say: "That is one hell of a message." (to Matthew and the others who is supposed to keep him safe).

Then definitely have the bird feathers unusual and the shaft painted! Matthew is rich, he can afford it!

Oooh!  You called him a backguard!  I've got shivers up my spine.

Archery fell out of use for warfare in the mid 1600s and was replaced by muskets which were being made much better by that time. It then became very popular as a sport for women. (It had always been popular as a sport for men).

However at the time of Northern Skies archery was still used for war. And the bows quite difficult to use by a small or weak person. Draw weight was well over 100 pounds, some bows were as much as 175 pounds. Archers had to be quite strong in the upper body and arms to pull the string back. Women rarely shot (I think Queen Elizabeth learned). It was considered unladylike, masculine, certainly not a weapon for a woman to learn.

If women learned to fight, (and not many did at this time) they would use a small sword or a spear. The spear was actually the traditional weapon for women.

Re feathers:

Janet, I have GOT to get you to an SCA event. What are you doing in August? Would you be open to a week at the Pennsic war?

You NEED to go shopping with me. You won't have these questions any longer.

Hand crafted arrows are absolutely identifiable by the maker. Enough that your assassin would have bought them from elsewhere rather than being traced back to him. (A bow is a woman's weapon, so I saw that with reservations) fletching, three or four fletching on arrows, the precision of the craftsmanship, how well the goose feathers were glued, etc. Remember that arrows are usually shot into targets and damaging the fletch? Or were they used new? (Unlikely)

Since arrows are used on practice targets, you want to identify your arrows from another so you can collect them after a practice shoot. And find them in the scruff if you miss at distance. (White feathers are much easier to see)

So I would have the person paint the arrows after purchase. Something personal that means something to only them. Key is, arrows are sold in bundles. You lose them during practice all the time. This person is missing one. And there are others out there WITH THE SAME MARK PATTERN. Find those arrows and you find the assassin.

Personally, I would go to where people practice archery and search the grass. You can shoot at a hay bale, but you will lose your arrows all the time. Bundled targets are where this person practices because he/she is good.

Though it is funny that I was the one who noticed this rather than Janet :-)

amy s wrote:

Rule #1: If you have an automatic car, the average person controls the car with the brake. (A manual controls the car with the accelerator.) When driving in ice, it is a key control point to stay at a steady speed because the acceleration is what makes you spin out.

Don't be afraid to put the automatic in low gear so you don't have to brake as much.  Conversely, there may be times when it helps to push the tranny to a higher gear so the drivetrain can't put the same burst of torque on the wheels.
Be aware that (on most cars) only one pair of wheels pulls or pushes.  Both brake.  I've seen someone stopped in the slushy snow with their rear wheels turning even as they were holding the car with the brake and the front wheels.  Front wheel drive has the advantage that the strongest brakes are on the drive wheels, so that shouldn't happen.

With an automatic tranny, you manage the car's energy state by feeding energy in with the accelerator and bleeding it away with the brakes.  The manual allows you more direct control of the car through the engine.  (But the newer, many-geared manumatics change that a little.)

Remember--the ONLY control you have of your car goes through that 100 or so square inches of contact patch.

It's all physics.

Fun link one
Fun link two (simpler)
Fun link funk

NJC, Just be careful, is all :-)

Janet: It's time to teach about how to drive in the cold. Especially when it is icy. 24 to 32 degrees F is mere inconvenience.

Rule #1: If you have an automatic car, the average person controls the car with the brake. (A manual controls the car with the accelerator.) When driving in ice, it is a key control point to stay at a steady speed because the acceleration is what makes you spin out. If you have antilock brakes, make sure that you press them down in a constant fashion. (No antilock? Then pump the brakes to keep from locking the wheels)

If you spin out, try to steer out of it with slow movements. Turn the wheel in the direction of the spin, even though it isn't the way you want to go. Then you can try to move out once the wheels grab again.

In heavy snow or ice, you drive straight, make wide and slow turns, and avoid lane changes. A big time of danger is during sunset since bridges freeze first because of the airflow beneath. Another is bright sunlight. People think the shiny line of black under their tires is water when in fact it is ice.

If you see ice sticking on your windshield despite the defroster, SLOW DOWN.

If you see semis stopped on the side of the road, SLOW DOWN. They know something you don't.

Put your hazards on if you are going less than the speed limit. Don't worry about stupid people who insist on passing and driving faster. I've seen more than a few spin out in front of me as I drove past them.

Don't stop for an accident unless your car is poised to protect you if someone slides off the road. Cars can be replaced. You can't. Call for help and let someone else deal with it.

If you are in an accident, stay in your car unless everyone is stopped around you. There are a lot of people hit once they get out of their cars.

Carry a shovel and junk towels in your car. Flares will only be useful once, but they will be REALLY useful during that time. Kitty litter is another thing that is handy to put in your trunk (Put it under your wheel if you are stuck and trying to get out of ice.)

Last thought. Don't let ice scare you. It's like fire. You learn to respect it and most of the time, there is no problem.

A

janet reid wrote:

Without H being inconsiderate, I have to think of something else why she would sleep with M after 10 years of not sleeping with anyone else

Ten years is a bit of a stretch.  Less than five seems improbable to the story; ditto more than eight.  And besides, she and M were childhood friends.  She was what, five years younger?  That will make M rather old to be unmarried, no?  And to undertake his various physical adventures?  (I mean with the steel, not in bed!)

ED is about not getting it up.

Parasympathetic pathways, 'P' ut it up
Sympathetic pathways, 'S' hoot it out.

DIfferent nerve endings are affected. ED can have so many different reasons. Something as simple as a monster prostate gland (which naturally gets bigger as a male ages) can interfere with fertility. It isn't just about the sperm. It can be about the plumbing, the nerves being affected by cancer or chronic disease (like diabetes), the function of the sperm, or the amount of sperm, the shape of the sperm and whether they are good swimmers, etc.

I think that the natural inclination of that time period was to blame the woman. Look at Henry the Eighth. He was the issue. Likely from either syphilis or being Kell (+) in his blood, he fathered only four children despite having multiple wives and mistresses. Yet it was Anne Boleyn who paid the price for not bearing a male heir. (Catherine Howard didn't count. I believe she got caught with her skirts up and went to the chopping block for fooling around with someone other than a king.)