July 5, 2008

Headmaster Report #11

Things continue to run smoothly. I spent this past week in Orlando, enjoying some time with my cousins and aunts that climaxed in a wedding, woot. No, not my wedding. Long report this week with tons of news and updates, so keep reading. And on the random side, whenever I am troubled over a situation, I just ask myself:

What Would Stephen Colbert Do?

Well... I read his book this past week, hilarious, if you are in the U.S., otherwise it's not really relevant.

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News

--With the release of Freighters and Transports in my last report, we now have all of the required courses for the release of a new degree! Degrees have been fairly popular (though they could always be more popular), but we have a good number of you working towards them and earning them. Really, a degree is just something fun to show on your dossier saying that you have learned well. Anyways, today I announce the release of the Dark Maven - Flight degree! The requirements are as follows:

->Starfighter Studies

->Freighter/Transport Studies

->Capital Starship Studies

->Astronomy

--Attention those ranked Apprentice through Jedi Hunter! Once again, the Journeymen Competition has arrived! Starting tomorrow, we would like for you to tell us what you would do if you were Grand Master for one week. It can be serious or comedic, just make it good! Submissions should be sent to [Log in to view e-mail addresses] by July 18th (the same day The Dark Knight opens, for which I'm proudly seeing a midnight showing of). Details for the competition can be found here!

--I believe we ended up with six applications for EP of IRC Basics, and it was a hard decision after narrowing it down to three. However, Dacien and I have decided that the new EP of IRC Basics will be.... Kyra Starfire!!

--Congrats also to the new Sith CORE EP..... Taigikori!

--And while we're on the topic of EPs, Capital Starship Studies is now without one, so applications are now open. As always, you must be at least the rank of Protector, have already passed the course, and be able to grade exams within at least 72 hours. Include in your application something you like and don't like about the course and/or exam, also include your personal answer key to the exam. Send applications to myself and Dacien by July 15th.

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Projects

--The SA Audit started a little over two weeks ago and is going well. Remember, to those who are working on it, to try to email your audits to BOTH Dacien and I by mid-July. In fact, let's just say July 18th, since that's such a momentous day.

--It's been six months since the last Blast from the Past Week, and that means it's time for another jump backwards. The next BftP Week will start with my next report in two weeks, so prepare!

--The Shadow Academy is currently developing around eight or nine new courses, as well as like six new degrees that we throw in now and then. Basically, we are keeping ourselves very busy. Expect a new course to be released, just maybe, towards the latter part of August. One particular project we're working on is revamping all of our programming courses, plus a future degree.

--Courses and degrees aren't the only things we're working on on the Arcanum, though. Another big project is revamping the Dark Vault to make it bigger, better, and more..... useful. It's a good bit of coding, so don't expect it to be released anytime soon, but small things will arrive now and then. The first part of it is turning all of the old courses into reference files, which mainly is just waiting on me to code some things.

--Alongside revamping the Dark Vault, we're also working on improving the in-universe side of the Shadow Academy. There's a few more Wiki pages to finish updating before that project is finished, and after that it's just making things bigger, better, stronger, faster, longer, and the other stuff in that Daft Punk song. At the top of the list? The SA navy, which is pretty weak. Yeah, sure, we are a school, but that doesn't mean we can't pack heat.

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Featured Course of the Report

Fellow DB'ers, I'm tired of a certain member's constant bitching at me to do this or that. So I've decided to end it right now, before I'm forced to go buy ammo for Sweetness. Without further ado, the featured course for this report is none other than....... Lightsaber Studies! Yes, that's right Braecen, I hope you're happy. I swear, women are lower maintenance than you :P

So what can I say about this course? It's... um... well... nice... I guess. Teaches you about lightsabers and forms and stuff like that, which is cool. There's also an advanced course that we're working on, and I personally hate watching a sequel without having seen the original first. I'm a firm believer in watching the OT before the Prequels. So yeah, take Lightsaber Studies, because it's talks about lightsabers, which are kick ass. Course notes and exam can be found here.

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Important Links

--SA Website

--SA Degree Requirements

--SA Forums

--Lightsaber Studies Course Notes

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Summary

• Dark Maven - Flight now available!

• Journeymen Competition - July now running!

• Congrats to new EPs Kyra Starfire and Taigikori!

• Capital Starship Studies EP open to applications

• Lots of stuff being worked on, stay tuned, never know when we'll need help

Sith Warlord Aabsdu di Plagia Dupar

Headmaster of the Brotherhood