And to go with that information: Black death was not spread by rat fleas, say researchers
Evidence from skulls in east London shows plague had to have been airborne to spread so quickly
It's Spring!! It's Spring!! After a particularly trying Canadian winter I'm more than ready for this season of renewal and since Mother Nature still hasn't gotten the spring memo for my neck-of-the-woods I'm expending my new found energy on a much needed blog cleaning.
Truth be told, I really enjoy this creative process and so I thought I would share some of my enthusiasm.
First off, I'm really not talking about the little maintenance tasks that you should be doing all year round. Ensuring that your links are still working & your pictures are still posting are best dealt with on a regular basis otherwise they become a bit of a slog. If you have fallen behind, and who doesn't on occasion, you may want to take some time to get those in order before proceeding.
Now on to de-cluttering!
The older I get the more I value a well curated space be. Since this appreciation for restrained elegance is constantly at war with my natural magpie tendencies I have to compromise. I find it helps to take a step back and try to look at my blogs with fresh eyes all the while mumbling "... less is more ... less is more".
No matter how cool they are, if those gadgets & widgets are no longer highly functional & ascetically pleasing it's time to chuck them out.
Screen real estate is valuable; use it wisely while leaving room for your cherished content to breathe.
Happy Birthday, Delos!
May you enjoy many more 
Thanks for celebrating with a sale!!
Looks like I'll finally get sucked into Assassins Creed
Thanks for the post!
Excellent news, Andronica! Looking forward to them
Hello Everyone
It came to my attention yesterday (March 13th) that one of the Royal Courts members was sending out spam messages. I immediately banned her from the site.
It appears that she was sending a variety of messages including ones with "business opportunities" and "I need help - send money ..."
I know that most of us are internet-aware enough to recognize these as spam and not respond but I just wanted to post a word to the wise.
If you do receive these types of messages, please contact me as soon as possible so that I can take appropriate action.
Now back to our regularly scheduled program
The Shared Seas of the Duch de Coeur & Rocca Sorrentina can be as treacherous as they are beautiful.
This challenge takes the adventurer through all the hazards of our fair seas armed only with his/her wits, sailing skills & a rather leaky sailboat.
See the Navigator Challenge for more details!
A new challenge has been added!
See Ornithologist in Challenges
Thanks for the information, Captain.
It's an area I don't really know anything about and what you're saying is very interesting. We'll have to investigate further.
Thanks, Mercury!
Since the Duch is committed to being non-violent, whenever I feel the urge to slay something (or someone) I goand play Skyrim or Civilization )
On the other hand, I'd love to see some survival-oriented challenges especially ones that involved some sort of strategy. Battling fortune, the elements & good old Mother Nature make for some interesting scenarios.
If anyone wants to help develop challenges, we'd love to put different teams together
We're trying to get as much variety as possible so that there is something for everyone.
About the poster - I had a lot of fun trying to find an image that would reflect the spirit of the new group. What I discovered is that it's really hard to find an appropriate"period" image that includes both men & women. Most of the pictures I found had swashbuckling pirates carrying off damsels in distress (in various states of undress).
Since I was in rather a hurry to get rolling, I went with Anne Bonney & Mary Readas in The History and Legends of Anne Bonney and Mary Read . I'm thinking that when we get established we can take a picture of our members and come up with a new poster that is more customized for us.
BTW - I owe you a Volunteer badge for helping out with the race. I'll deliver it as soon as you create your journal.
