Albums/EP's/Mixtapes:
Summer Walker - CLEAR 2: Soft Life EP
Connie Diiamond - Underdog Szn
Rosalie. (🇩🇪) - Motherlode
thuy - girls like me
Monaleo - Where The Flowers Don't Die
Cuban Doll - All or Nothing
Kari Faux - REAL BI**HES DON'T DIE
Vanessa Tha Finessa - CURRENT
Nilla Allin - Thandeka
​
Singles:
Awkwafina, Daveed Diggs, Disney - The Scuttlebutt
TSADE - Dance with Me
Poohgang - sneaky link
Swizz Beatz - "Take 'Em Out" feat. Jadakiss, Benny The Butcher & Scar Lip
lil keyu - "Blueprint"
LaChat x Derez De’Shon- Letter2Lola(GangstaBoo)
Qveen Herby - Barbie Girl
Kiki Rowe - Issues
Simone Kelly - Hit It Off
GloRilla - Lick Or Sum
Stormi Baby - Introduction (WhoRunItNYC Performance)
Connie Diiamond - What They Do
Aiza - Majimbo
Ms.Toi feat. Mr. Tan - High Up
Rainy Angel - Freak on a Leash REMIX
Kali - Area Codes feat. Mello Buckzz (773 Remix)
Ktlyn - FLOW STATE
Diamond Dondada - WAKE UP CALL
Scar Lip - This is Cali ft Snoop Dogg
Ash Olsen - Someone Else (Acoustic video)
Kodie Shane - OFF THE RECORD
Victoria Monét - Party Girls (Rehearsal Video) ft. Buju Banton
Nattali Rize - This World with Kabaka Pyramid
Victoria Monét - Party Girls (Michaël Brun Dancehall Remix (Audio)) ft. Buju Banton
7xvethegenius, DJ Green Lantern “Brainstorming” ft. Conway The Machine
The BLK LT$ - "LAST ONE"
Lisa Hyper Ft Dutchess - Ghetto Man Remix
Ammaarah - StoneCold Marmix
Taylor Swift ft. Ice Spice - Karma
Shani Boni - What To Do With Me
Yolo Ru · Renni Rucci - Mm Mmm 2
Bonni Drip Pillow Talk
Big Boss Vette - Ion Need
Balla Bellee Tonight
Brooklyn Queen - “Trust” Freestyle
Shyla Gray - Waiting For You
Shari Banks - All Ties Official Video
KAY GLIZZY - NO FEELINGS
Gloss Up - Put It On The Floor (Remix)
Keke Palmer - Love Like This
Solange - Perfect Match
Diddy, City Girls, Fabolous - Act Bad
Sexyy Red, Tay Keith, & Nicki Minaj - Pound Town 2
Kidd Lee - Pain Gone
Queen Key - Hell Woods
Monaleo - Wig Splitter
K Goddess - Counting Profit (Topic Of Conversation)
Chanel West Coast - Lit For Days
Young Devyn x TaTa - Go Kuu
Killa Kiesha - Drug Love
Bri Trilla - Anyway Freestyle
Krystall Poppin - FENDI
Breezy BRG - What The F*ck Is Up
Ka Lia Universe - one last fucc
BIGKLIT - NO EMO
Ladii Rose - "Im Dat B
Ladii Rose - "No Hook" Freestyle
BuggoutB - Second Freestyle
Nanu - Coco
JadoeFromTheTrap - Princess Diana Freestyle'
Trap Daughter - “Miami Heat”
Rocky - 2 Million Up (Freestyle)
Blaatina - Not The Same
Savannah Dexter - Reason
Chi Majezty X Qveen Lo' - Outta My Feelings
LaConda Davies - Keep Your Faith
Phe Phe - Next B
Brooklyn Queen - “Put It On The Floor”
Poison Ivi - J.A.B.
Nilla Allin - Voetsek
LALovetheboss - Lollipop Freestyle
Njomza - Love Again
Queen Ladi Gangsta - Winner
The Buggout B - "On The Radar" Freestyle (Part 2)
MIAH KENZO X ROCKO BALLIN - BOTTOM LINE
Big Mali - "Outside"
Victoria Kimani - HOW I DO
YOUNG MELODY - GANGSTA
Lisa Yaro - SAVAGE
Erica Banks - Aint Got Time
Nessa Preppy, Alison Hinds & DJ Spider - Who Ready
RUBI G - Get Crazy
KAROL G - AMARGURA
Taylor Swift ft. Ice Spice - Karma
Lani Love x JoJo Redd - "PRETTY & PAID
BABYMONSTER - DANCE PERFORMANCE VIDEO (Jenny from the Block)
Ashnikko - Possession of a Weapon
Fantana - Your Man (FREESTYLE VIDEO)
Big Mali - OUTSIDE
Ashley Sorrell - Jiffy
Comment on what songs I missed and I will add them

RHONY's exciting reboot casting has me excited for a lot of reasons, mostly because my other two core teams are Atlanta and NJ, and those storylines all feel so tired and forced.
It got me thinking that it might be fun to think about what a NJ version of RHONY's cast refresh would look like. Andy has emphasized the new NY casting approach as being "all about the city" which is hard for NJ to pull off, but there's certainly lots to explore about NJ outside of Everyone Who Knows Me Knows I'm Italian and Family is the Most Important Thing.
For me, it seems like RHONY tried to think about the following when re-casting:

• Younger, more diverse (more diverse from previous casts, but also very diverse within its own universe)
• Entrepreneurial, but in a more hard-earned way (think J. Crew vs toasters)
• "Category" focused, in NY's case it appears to be fashion, PR, marketing vibes, where women from different careers would cross paths relatively frequently and have lots of shared circles (and hence lots of avenues to compete and / or connect)
• Overall, not across the board: a sense of humor that skews younger, more "online" and perhaps I Am Serious But Don't Take Myself Too Seriously.
• Seemingly a solid and varying collection of levels of self-awareness.
• Less focus on wealth and how much things cost ($25k sunglasses) and more on 'lifestyle presentation' and relevance.

Please add more bullets, but I'm mostly collecting those thoughts so I can think about what a similar formula might look like for NJ. I don't care if Teresa or Melissa etc. get spinoffs or vacation series', I would just like to see a fresh start to a once-beloved franchise in NJ. :)
SO. Here's my initial thoughts. I'm thinking about 'categories' and think that politics, PR, activism, and influence could be an interesting angle for NJ, but so could something less expected, like vacations and travel, restaurants, food and wine, real estate.
Some ideas (note that I'm not suggesting this mix is a cast, more like some vibes to jam on):

• Lexi Pellegrini - 22, George Washington University, owns upscale shop and apparently does some PR for Hermès
• Aamira Garba - 30-something, Temple University, founder and CEO at LoveLee Wine, winemaker of color, mother
• Anita Dickens - Queer founder and designer for ANE CLOTHIER, a gender-neutral fashion house based in Newark, also a community activist
• Leia Gaccione - 38, Top Chef alum, restraunteur, etc. lots of info on her out there, experienced Bravo lady
• Tammy Leopaldi - "Almost 40", Fashion blogger and mom from Middletown, known for mixing highs and lows
• Stephanie Lagos - Carnegie Mellon, Deputy Chief of Staff to the Governor and Chief of Staff to the First Lady of New Jersey. Former Peace Corps. https://twitter.com/steph_lagos?lang=en
• Halsey) - From NJ originally. What if she lived full-time in NJ?
• SZA - From NJ originally. What if she lived full-time in NJ?

Here's something I discovered while on this admittedly strange mission: young people, especially women, are leaving NJ for other states to start their businesses, and whether I'm looking for on-the-rise chefs, CEOs, fashionistas, or social influencers, it was hard to find women that had enough of a foundation to match the formula I gave myself. Looking for someone on an edgier level but with something real she's really driving was tough. Lots of amazing women FROM NJ, but harder to find someone under the radar but badass.
So what if we get a little more 'mainstream' on the search?

• Laurene Powell Jobs - 59, Stanford University, Steve Jobs' ex-wife, the richest woman in NJ (I searched for his daughter too but she's in NYC)
• Jamie Kern Lima - Co-founder of IT Cosmetics and the first female CEO of a L'Oreal company. In 2016, Kern Lima sold IT Cosmetics to L'Oréal for $1.2 billion, on the Forbes' list of "America's Richest Self-Made Women" since 2017.

I'm sure there's lots of other fun and interesting options! What do you think?

Hi, After debating on getting a Model 3 vs Model Y, I have finally landed on the Y. Does anyone have an opinion on if I should wait for the 2024 refresh? I can put off buying a car for a few months and also they may reup the NJ Charge Up program in July. My main reason for wanting to wait is because of the possibility that the next model will once again have USS or radar. The only downside I see to waiting is a potential price increase.

MONTREAL, May 17, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- HPQ Silicon Inc. (“HPQ” or the “Company”) (TSX-V: HPQ) (OTCQX: HPQFF) (FRA: O08), a technology company engaged in green engineering processes for producing silica and silicon material, is pleased to provide shareholders with an update on the progress of the Fumed Silica Reactor Pilot Plant ("Pilot Plant”) project being developed by its 100% owned subsidiary, HPQ Silica Polvere Inc. (“HPQ Polvere”). See below a list of Fumed Silica market applications.
The Pilot Plant project being developed in partnership with technology provider PyroGenesis Canada Inc. (TSX: PYR) (NASDAQ: PYR) (FRA: 8PY) (“Pyrogenesis”) has reached its first key milestone of completing engineering tasks related to the design and fabrication of the Pilot Plant.
“We have achieved more than just completing the first significant milestone of this project,” said Mr. Bernard Tourillon, President and CEO of HPQ Silicon Inc. “This milestone demonstrates great advancements with this project although it’s been flying under the radar compared to our Gen3 QRR pilot plant project.”
With this milestone finalized, the project is moving onward towards completing the following two (2) remaining phases:

1. Completing the fabrication, assembly, and installation of the Pilot plant,
   1. Milestone tentatively scheduled to be finished end of Q3 2023.
2. Pre-commissioning, commissioning, start-up, testing and process optimization,
   1. Tentatively scheduled to start in Q4 2023 and run until end of Q2 2024

Between Q3 2022 and Q1 2023, a series of twelve (12) of lab scale tests were completed. These tests are important as they provide useful information to:

1. Identify the production parameters which optimize the process and fumed silica quality at a small scale and,
2. Evaluate the properties of the Fumed Silica powders produced at lab scale and compare them with commercial grade material.

The lab test tests showed promising results by successfully demonstrating a capacity to produce Hydrophilic Fumed Silica comparable to commercial-grade materials.
📷 Image 1) TEM images of fumed silica nanoparticles, (a) HPQ Silica Polvere, (b) commercially available material
A set of five tests, which could produce sample material for clients, are set to be completed by the end of May 2023.
“With these final five (5) lab scale tests fast approaching, our confidence that we will be able to produce commercial material with the pilot plant grows as the team continues to focus on getting the pilot plant ready to start producing goods; we are about to enter the home stretch of this program and start the pilot plant,” added Mr. Tourillon.
About Fumed Silica.
Fumed silica (Pyrogenic Silica) is a microscopic white powder with high surface area and low bulk density. Its commercial applications encompass various industries including personal care, pharmaceuticals, agriculture (food & feed), adhesives, sealants, construction, batteries and automotive to name a few. According to MarketsandMarkets 2017 "fumed silica market – global forecast to 2022”, demand for fumed silica is growing at 6% CAGR, with an estimated global addressable of US $ 2.2 billion by 2022.
About PyroGenesis Canada Inc.
PyroGenesis Canada Inc., a high-tech company, is a leader in the design, development, manufacture and commercialization of advanced plasma processes and sustainable solutions which reduce greenhouse gases (GHG) and are economically attractive alternatives to conventional “dirty” processes. PyroGenesis has created proprietary, patented, and advanced plasma technologies that are being vetted and adopted by multiple multibillion dollar industry leaders in three massive markets: iron ore pelletization, aluminum, waste management, and additive manufacturing. With a team of experienced engineers, scientists and technicians working out of its Montreal office, and its 3,800 m2 and 2,940 m2 R&D and manufacturing facilities, PyroGenesis maintains its competitive advantage by remaining at the forefront of technology development and commercialization. The operations are ISO 9001:2015 and AS9100D certified, having been ISO certified since 1997. For more information, please visit: www.pyrogenesis.com
About HPQ Silicon
HPQ Silicon Inc. (TSX-V: HPQ) is a Quebec-based TSX Venture Exchange Tier 1 Industrial Issuer.
HPQ is developing, with the support of world-class technology partners PyroGenesis Canada Inc.(TSX: PYR) (NASDAQ: PYR) and NOVACIUM SAS, new green processes crucial to make the critical materials needed to reach net zero emissions.
HPQ activities are centred around the following five (5) pillars:
1) Becoming a green low-cost (Capex and Opex) producer of High Purity Silicon (2N+ to 4N) using our proprietary PUREVAPTM “Quartz Reduction Reactors” (QRR) being developed by PyroGenesis.
2) Becoming North America’s first producer of micron size High Purity Silicon (3N & 4N) powders with the assistance of NOVACIUM SAS.
3) Working to become the first producer of nano silicon materials from High Purity Silicon chunks using our proprietary PUREVAPTM Nano Silicon Reactor (NSiR) being developed by PyroGenesis.
4) Becoming a green low-cost (Capex and Opex) producer of Fumed Silica using our proprietary FUMED SILICA REACTOR being developed by PyroGenesis.
5) Developing a small and compact process for the on-demand production of hydrogen via hydrolysis of Silicon and other materials.
For more information, please visit HPQ Silicon web site.

"You have every right to be outraged today and angry and never watch this network again." - Anderson Cooper, freeing us all

Sighs, The Limit

Just in case you weren’t worried enough, we are only weeks away from economic catastrophe.

• The U.S. is projected to default on its debts as early as June 1. President Biden says to raise the debt limit, which solved everything the last 78 times we did it. But House Speaker Kevin McCarthy keeps saying “over my [garbled aphasia]” unless Democrats agree to enact far-right Republican spending cuts. Talks so far have remained behind the scenes, but we are assured that their mouths are moving and their hands are gesticulating wildly. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen is planning to meet with top Wall Street bankers next week, which is sure to be a giant waste of time.
  
• Since the talks are behind closed doors we can only speculate as to what their big old brains are thinking. Publicly, there have been many options discussed from the very likely (raising the debt ceiling again—it's what we do) to the not likely (trillion-dollar coin, anyone?). In between, there’s discussion of Biden invoking the 14th Amendment, also known as “America’s most confusing amendment.” It’s essentially an equal-rights amendment enacted during Reconstruction, and in this case, it means that you can’t question the validity of the public debt, calling into question whether a statutory debt limit is even constitutional.
  
• Last week House Democrats started laying the groundwork for a discharge petition that would, if successful, force a House floor vote on a clean debt-limit increase bill over the objections of the majority-party leadership. If it’s enough to make you throw your hands in the air and say “I don’t care anymore! Congress can go to hell!” then you will find sympathy with at least one House member. Rep Abigail Spanberger (D-VA) has proposed that we simply stop paying Congress until the problem is fixed. Can we vote on that? (Alas, that is also probably unconstitutional 🙁)
  

Ok, so that is how it is playing out in the political theater of Washington, but what does all of this really mean for you and your Velcro wallet?

• Well, the first thing to know is that the poorest people and places the country will be fucked first. That’s probably where the 14th Amendment is intended to kick in. Social Security payments could be delayed and many other government payments could also be affected, including funding for food stamps, Medicaid, and Medicare. What’s more, over two-million federal civilian workers and around 1.4 million active-duty military members could see their paychecks delayed.
  
• This is a DEFINITE problem considering we already know that two-thirds of the country couldn’t handle a $400 emergency. It also puts home ownership further out of reach and those in debt will experience higher interest rates, plunging them further into debt. But can we circle back to not paying Congress again before any of this happens? That was a really good idea.
  

This whole circus began with Republicans preening for the amusement of their base. Ultimately, at their donors’ behest, it’s still possible that they will treat the debt limit like a poker player with pocket aces, and raise.

Look No Further Than Crooked Media

Crooked Coffee’s always-sold-out Cold Brewer is back in stock – just in time for summer. The Cold Brewer is an easy way to make delicious cold brew at home, so you don’t have to leave the house or pay $7 to get your caffeine fix. It’s like having a fancy cafe in your fridge, but you never have to fight anyone for an outlet.
These always sell out, so grab yours today at https://Crooked.com/store.

Under The Radar

Serbia has joined a growing list of countries responding to mass shootings by GASP getting rid of guns. After two recent mass shootings in the country which saw 16 citizens murdered, the country has already started implementing its reforms this week. Six-thousand guns, 300,000 rounds of ammunition, and nearly 500 explosive devices have been handed over in an amnesty designed to disarm the country. This is a quick response when compared to the U.S. for sure, but what took them so long? The U.K., Australia, New Zealand, and Finland all started restricting assault weapons after just one mass shooting.
And, yes, Serbia has a serious gun culture. Serbia is among the most heavily armed countries in the world due largely to the conflicts in the former Yugoslavia in the 1990s. It actually has the third-highest rate of civilian gun ownership per capita in the world, at 39 guns for every 100 citizens. That’s a lot—but less than a third of the 120 guns per 100 citizens that the U.S. can boast. U.S.A! U.S.A! But amnesty isn’t the only new gun-control policy. This month Serbia enacted a two-year moratorium on new permits for handguns and hunting weapons. It also promises to review all existing permits within three months, reduce the number of small firearms by 20 percent, and institute medical, psychiatric, and drug tests on those who hold permits.

What Else?

George Santos has confessed to stealing checks in an effort to reach a plea deal. No, not for that indictment, this is for the one in Brazil where he also faces charges.
Get out of the way, WGA, the pilots union needs the sidewalks for its own picket lines. Pilots for United Airlines, who haven’t received a raise in four years, marched in picket lines in major airports Friday but are unlikely to strike.
The new “No Labels” party finally gets a label as it comes under fire for registering voters who mistakenly believed they were just signing a petition. Label this party DOA.
Olive Oil is the latest victim of climate change. Olive harvests are suffering from drought threatening to raise the price of a kitchen staple. (And TikTok isn't helping either.)
CNN defended its decision to let Trump piss all over them. The network rivals only Bud Light in its understanding of its base.
Texas just made it easier for unlicensed chaplains to infiltrate schools and, some fear, religiously indoctrinate students.
The hours-long mystery is over. The new Twitter CEO is Linda Yaccarino, former NBCUniversal ad chief. Congratulations to Elon Musk for getting two days of headlines out of one news story.
They should have filled them up with lead (gently) but the two professional fishermen caught filling fish with lead weights in last year’s viral video receive 10 days in jail and forfeiture of a $100,000 boat.
Disney darling Jimmie Allen is being sued by his former manager who alleges a history of sexual assault. His label has already dropped him, just like his wife did a month ago. That’s not a good sign for his defense.
Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass wants to move the needle on housing the unhoused by buying a 15-story hotel and getting people off of the streets.

Be Smarter

South Korea is leading the way in the rise of “no-kid zones” in formerly family-friendly restaurants, museums, airlines, and libraries. These are separate from places like nightclubs where children are legally barred. The label refers to children under 13 years of age. These zones have no legal basis but have increased since their introduction in 2014. They’ve even spawned other popular restrictions such as “no-youth zones,” which bar entrance to middle and high schoolers, and even “no-tuber zones” to deter people from making content inside certain businesses, which could disturb other patrons.
The initial “no-kid zones” are still the most popular and were a response to parents who refused to restrain their kids from running and screaming in public, damaging property, and those who would change their baby’s diapers in restaurants. Surveys have shown that the majority of the population is in favor of these zones, although Korean politicians have been trying to outlaw them. If you’re salivating at the thought of dining free of screaming children where you are, you’re in luck, because parts of the U.S. have them too. And so do the U.K., Canada, and Germany. If climate change wasn’t enough reason to rethink having kids, not being able to eat out just might push people over the edge.

Light At The End Of The Email

The oldest ever dog just turned 31 years old. Move over Dianne Feinstein.
Finally, a YouTuber gets what’s coming to him. Man who crashed plane for views agrees to plea deal. No word on if the stunt took place in a “no tube zone.”
It’s been 100 years since the Seine River in Paris has been swimmable, but they say that will change by the 2024 Olympics. Even when it’s clean though, you should probably try to avoid the boats.

Enjoy

stars/lou ✩ on Twitter: "ah yes the two sexualities, queer and italian"

Possible meteorite strikes home in New Jersey By CNN, May 8, 2023 https://nbc-2.com/news/weird/2023/05/09/possible-meteorite-strikes-home-in-new-jersey/amp/
Possible meteorite crashes through roof of New Jersey home by 6abc television, May 9, 2023, pictures and video https://6abc.com/meteorite-nj-hopewell-township-new-jersey-eta-aquarids-meteor-shower-old-washington-crossing-pennington-road/13228149/
Radar observations of Hopewell, New Jersey, meteorite fall, May 8, 2023 NASA, Jet Populsion Laboratory https://ares.jsc.nasa.gov/meteorite-falls/
Meteorite hit Mercer County home, The College of New Jersey confirms, 6abc Digital Staff, May 11, 2023 https://6abc.com/meteorite-nj-hopewell-township-new-jersey-eta-aquarids-meteor-shower-old-washington-crossing-pennington-road/13234502/

Quick Note- from here anything can happen so Im going mostly on fit moreso than trying to gameplan whose going to lose and when (although I do try and address the four exited teams first.
17-Winnipeg- Riley Heidt- Im a leafs fan (hold your applause til the end please) but I live in Winnipeg and my step-dad has season tickets so as Ive gone to a ot of the games Ive grown fond of the old Jet Ski’s! That being said this is a hard team to quantify- are they competing? Not really. Is there motivation to compete in the short term? Well yea Hellboy is in his prime and PLD has all but announced hes goin to MTKL when the dust settles- so there are definitely motivators in place to go “all in” right now. So I think the safest bet is just to add the BPA here and for my money that’s Riley Heidt! The fact that hes a profoundly creative and aggressive playmaker should mesh just fine with players like Connor and Ehlers and when Dubois does leave he makes for a worthy heir apparent as long as his development continues on its upward trajectory. So as a Jets fan (sort of) I thought it only fitting to gift them with the last guy who has any real shot of being a fantasy main stay imho. I listen to the “Locked On” podcasts pretty frequently and one of the btter guest speakers had Heidt listed as their favourite under the radar prospect this year and when you do even a little amount of digging you quickly realize why that is.
18-Chicago from Tampa Bay- Samuel Honzek- If we have the Blackhawks buying in early on Zack Benson early it would certainly behoove us to add some size/snarl later on. I think Korchinski and maybe even Seth Jones answer a lot of questions on D and they actually have a couple very intriguing netminders like Soderblom in their minor ranks so again we turn to a forward. Although hes listed as a center many scouts have acknowledged he’ll likely have to shift to the wing to maximize his output at the NHL level. The package he brings is sort of a mixed bag. He seems to have adjusted nicely to the smaller North American ice surfaces and he brings some crash and bang to his game that’s easier to dole out in the more confined spaces. Hes also got a nose for the net and a hard accurate wrister. The most glaring issue is that he likely wont bring you out of your seat with his pure skill so to speak but that’s sort of the upside of drafting a couple centers like Benson and Nazar in that you don’t always have to surround them with the most creative or transition savvy linemates. While there are a few different ways you could go with this pick were sort of throwing darts at this point and I really feel like adding some size and grit to keep the opposition honest is the past of most fortuitous returns.
19-Minnesota- Mikhail Gulyayev- With Wallstedt tending twine in the near future and the absolutely stacked forward corps I think it only makes sense that the Wild go after a d-man, preferably one with a knack for scoring. I know some people are high on Dragicevic but Im not buying it… at all. Im a big fan of Scouching and his unabridged take is that he barely qualifies as a defenseman as hes more of a straight “rover” whose mostly found success by being drafted to a team that has a shocking dearth of offensive weapons to begin with. Enter Mikhail Gulyayev. Admittedly a bit small at 5”10 he certainly doesn’t play small and that will be important in asserting himself at the NHL level. At his best hes a commanding presence who exces at transitioning from the defensive zone and directing puck flow in the offensive end. On paper there might be some overlap between what he provides with what Addison provides but like I said in regards to Calgary- its better to over shoot at this critical position than to under shoot it and if I had any vested interest in Minnesotas success Id be thrilled to land the last tier two offensive dman in the draft.
20-Colorado- Otto Stenberg- So Im not ahamed to admit that my area of strength in the draft tends to be what amounts to the first couple rounds in a fantasy draft in most years- so that’s around picks 20 through 24 and Im sort of getting to the point where Im just a tad over my depth in terms of being especially knowledgeable about these players but the joy in that is that it forces me to go a little deeper on some players than I normally might. With that said Im glad I dug in a bit on Stenberg for my own sake but also in the interest of this piece as he stands to be an absolutely fantastic fit for Colorado. He’ll join fellow swede Gabriel Landeskog and his certified speed demon status stands to compliment Newhooks game which is predicated on the same elite skating in what could form the nucleus of a second line that is very difficult to contain. Sam Constentino literally wrote of him: “A complete player who will excel in any system where transitional play is the emphasis”. Youd be hard pressed to find a team that focuses on traditional play more than the Avs! Hes got the type of speed that can beat defenders one on one and hes known for his quiet leadership qualities as well.
21-NYR- Colby Barlow- With so muched “unrealized” offensive talent on this roster either this is another of those rare teams where I think a meat and potatoes guy actually sort of makes sense and although hes getting a little more hype these days no prospect in this years draft screams “meat and potatoes” louder than Colby Barlow! He plays a versatile if not fairly straight ahead type of North/South game that can fit in where needed- be it the third line when guys like Kakko and Lafreniere are moved up or the PK or even time on PP2. It’s a nice touch that he sort of specializes as a “garbage man” of sorts on the PP stuffing in loose pucks wherever possible and getting those greasy goals every team needs now and then. Kreiders one of the best in the biz at that sort of thing so hed be a great mentor and he wont be around forever either so he may have an opportunity to fill that specific niche at some point. Barlow is not with upside but to be honest some teams are just better served by a guy whose gonna work hard and do what you ask of him. Hes also a guy who looks like he can help relatively soon and that’s to the good as well as this team was ready to compete yesterday…
22-Columbus from LA-Matthew Wood- With the addition of Carlsson to Laine were starting to build a bit of a “goliath line” albeit one with some serious scoring panache and although the jury is still out as to whether theres a first round talent in there somewhere- Wood has the big man status to fit in with these guys! At 6”3 and 200 pounds hes a hard guy to knock off the puck and that’s a problem when youre blessed with a wrister almost as nasty as your cerebral game! Hes certainly got flaws in his game (read: footspeed) but his highly touted hockey IQ in particular could compliment Kent Johnsons on the second line in a very tangible way and if that’s the case we can count on seeing some magic happen! I think theres a lot better chance he ends up as a middle six guy with only occasional forays onto the topline and powerplay that’s not necessarily a death sentence as the Bjs continue to add scoring depth and diversify their attack. While I wouldn’t count on him being a top line threat- this is actually lower than Ive seen him in a lot of mocks so Im ok admitting that there may in fact be something Im missing on this player and therefore wouldn’t be shocked if he ends up being one of my own personal “surprises” in this draft.
23-Toronto from Boston- Calum Ritchie- The last few years weve seen Toronto swing on some high upside guys with their first couple picks and it seems like its actually paying off. That being said their acquisition of Ryan Oreilly at the deadline this year showcases that they do seem to have one more team need that should be addressed and that’s the role of a 2nd/3rd line swing guy whose content to play a defensive grinders game when your roster is fully healthy but also has the offensive chops to chipmin on the scoresheet when one of your top pivots is out. Im not sure he’ll ever have the scoring flair of a topline guy or even a second line guy- at least in a regular capacity- but he plays hockey the “right way” in all three zones and theirs certainly untapped upside here to boot. I think if the Leafs thought Ritchie had the hockey acumen to become RORs heir apparent to the third line theyd at least look at him. Then again they may have a “no Ritchie” policy at this point.
24- Seattle- Quentin Musty- I think its safe to say the top two C slots are likely taken care of for the next decade or two in Seattle and seeing as the defensive candidates start to fall off a little bit at this point in my humble opinion I feel like its safe to turn to a winger. While I find both Perron and Brindley to have very exciting games theyre both exceedingly small at 5”9 and if Seattle wants to continue to thrive early in their franchise history it might make more sense to draft someone a bit safer. With this in mind I think theyd be happy to take Musty. The narrative on Musty was that hes always been a guy who always passes the eye test but seemed to disappoint where it mattered- on the scoresheet. That all changed this year when he posted appg pace as a 17 year old for the Sudbury Wolves in the OHL- a team that didn’t do especially well this year finishing dead last in their conference. In fact he placed an impressive second in team scoring behind only David Goyette (two years his senior) which at least suggests this breakout was his own doing for the most part. Eberle has re-discovered his scoring touch for now but at 32 the squids wont be able to count on him for long and outside of Eeli Tolvanen and (maybe) Daniel Sprong theres not a holw lot in the pipeline in terms of pure upside. Musty represents a safe projectable game that could thrive anywhere in the middle six- with room to grow form there.
25-Montreal- Michael Hrabal- Im not going to lie- this is me forcing a square goalie shaped peg into a round early pick sized hole. While I fully admit forcing a goalie selection in the first round was in the interest of “fun” moreso than being precise its also one of my favorite picks! If you look at Montreals roster (with the assumption that they get Will Smith in this mock) there just are not a lot of gaping holes in any of the key roles. Yet- this is one of those rare teams who doesn’t have a reliable starter yet (sorry Jake) and doesn’t even have a “cant miss prospect on the farm (although Primeau could end up getting there) so if a team was going to “squander” a first round pick it sort of makes sense itd be the habs. I mean on top of everything else its “found money” they got in a player swap with Florida and with the cats looking like world beaters this pick could be 30th or later! Now there is quite a bit of debate over the top goaltender. Hrabal was favoured early but Trey Augustine has surpassed him on quite a few lists. When I went to the guy Ive been reading (and agreeing with) the most this year for the tie breaker he actually had Scott Ratzlaff at the top of his list- go figure! In the end I chose Hrabak for a few reasons. The last time I chose the hot goalie over the established one was Cossa over Wallstedt and Im still haunted by that. Also when it comes to goalies Ive found that the athletic/reflexive types sort of need to be in the perfect environment to succeed a lot of the time whereas the big/technical guys can thrive anywhere it seems. Hrabal is a big dude with a great technical understanding of the game and while this year is not a great indicator he does seem to have the disposition that allows him to put up quality starts consistently. I feel like that type of goalie could thrive on a Montreal team with the type of defensive depth they have and lets not get it twisted this guy is capable of making the odd “five alarm” save when the game is on the line. Itd be great to see Carey Price become involved in a coaching/mentor type of role for a goalie prospect with fat least hypothetical first round talent.
26-Detroit from the NYI- Dimitri Simashev- Traditional wisdom dictates that you build an NHL squad from the net out. Assuming they land Bedard I think you’ve got enough of your forward corps mapped out that you don’t need to use a first round draft pick on another one so we might see this theory play out live at the draft! While Detroit might actually already have two defensive prospects capable of filling the role of a number one d-man (with Seider skewing a little more defensively and Edvinsson a little more offensively- imho anyways)- Im actually not talking about another player whose aiming to snag that type of role. Instead with Simashev you can count on borderline elite defensive minutes while he takes glee in finishing his checks and making life miserable for forecheckers. A pairing with Wallinder who also provides size with a little more of a scoring bent has the upside to be one of the btter second pairings in the league- heck it might be better than some teams top units! Although I do think there actually is a bit of offensive upside here that’s not why your drafting him and when you consider what they actually have on their roster and their farm- you realize hes actually catering to an underserved portion of their team identity. This is a Scouching favourite and although I don’t think he makes for the greatest fantasy add- its hard not to get excited at the prospect of adding him to a D-core that already features Seider, Edvinsson, and Wallinder!
27-VGK- Charlie Stramel- Vegas has been trading 1st round picks and selections at the trade deadline since the year they were incepted and its anyones guess as to whether they’ll continue with this trend and support their elite core of veterans or if they’ll shift to a longer term focus and start drafting guys they plan on building around. Whichever way they go I think they optfor the last center in round one in a draft known for its depth at that position and take Charlie Stramel. At 6”3 and 215 pounds hes definitely qualifies as a “big man” and as a noted gym rat he looks to be aiming to get every ounce of strength out of that massive frame that he possibly can. The good news with Stramel is that hes sthought to have an incredibly high ceiling and that’s good news for what appears to be an overworked Jack Eichel at this point. Whether its alleviating defensive zone coverage as a middle six center or sliding onto pp1 to wreak havoc in front of the net- Stramel has the type of projectability and upside that could help a team who is rebuilding or looking to secure stable trade chips for the future.
28-St. Louis from Toronto- Gavin Brindley- In most of the mocks Ive seen hes gone fairly high and I have him slotted in with this pick because as a Leafs fan Im just not confident theyre going to win a game this round never mind advance. Torontos loss however is STLs gain as they just might end up acquiring one of the more highly coveted “upside” players in the draft. Standing at 5”9 Brindley certainly has his own set of detractors but his high level skating and agility sets the stage for what many scouts agree is actually a very sound defensive game. Daily faceoff cites issues with his defensive game but I tend to side with Dobberprospects Alexander Anuun who suggests that his graduation onto both special teams (including significant meinutes on the PK) is proof that it may actually be a tad underrated. His calling card is the pace he plays with which many of the high level scouts I follow just gush about. Hes also that rare playmaking winger that could set up Kyrou for his first 40 goal season or re-establish Vrana as a pre-eminent goal scorer in the league. Im sort of tickled pink by the idea of the Blues drafting such an undersized player with this pick and the possibility of drafting the next guy I have picked out with their next one…
29- St. Louis from Dallas- Danlil But- What do you do when you have three first rounders and solid depth at most rosterable positions? Well if its me Im going to take some gambles- especially because Ive got STL taking securing Nate Danielson with their first pick whose decidedly as “unrisky” as they come! Factor in the fact that the Dallas pick probably stands to as far as 29th or later and Im comfortable with a swing for the fences here. We went small in Gavin Brindley so why don’t we make up for that while were at it. Danlil But is a project make no mistake- but when the raw package is 6”5 and arguably still growing- you might want to take a swing on it! Hes sort of a divisive pick with Pronnman putting him in the top ten while Button has him as late as a mid second. To me hes the kind of guy you grab, develop as best you can and in three to five years hes either Tage Thompson, a behemoth checking line center who can score 15-20 goals while being a menace to gameplan around or hes a total bust. That’s the range of outcomes with a player like this and if I didn’t have three first rounders I might not be inclined to take him here. That being said the Blues also have the roster depth to make a play like this as well and with this many darts Im ok aiming a little high with a few of them- 6 feet 5 inches high...
31-Carolina- Luca Pinelli- Carolina has an absolute gift for finding offensive gems later on in the first and second rounds. They famously drafted Sebastian Aho with the 35th overall in 2015 and as recently as last year they drafted one of the most underrated offensive dynamos available in Gleb Trikozov whose leaning a lot more hit than he is miss these days. In fact I always pay attention when Carolina has a late first or early second because they’ve been turning water into wine from that draft position for years now. Now don’t get me wrong Brindley and Perron are faring better in mocks and Pinelli looks like he might end up as a second rounder but he just “feels” like a Carolina pick and hes a center to boot (the other two are not). Despite being a tad underrated- hes still a personal favourite of Scouching and Sebastian High a prominent writer at dobberprospects and I find that when these guys have a feeling about a guy their “hit rate” is usually pretty dang good. While he may lack truly elite “tools” his mind for the game is next level. Of particular note is his “buy in” with the team- hes the second leading scorer on a fairly rag tag team and withn his leadership (among others) hes dragged them into a dominant record. You know theyd love to see that kind of team first commitment in Carolina.
31-San Jose from Nj- Jaden Peron- Lets just get this out of the way- Jayden Perron is yet another “very undersized” player in these years draft and with the scoring going the way it did this year and Bedard leading the charge Im not totally sure that’s an accident! While hes got a penchant for playmaking (an attribute that’s cited as one of his greater strengths) hes also got a bit of an underrated shot as well and has no issue letting it rip when necessary. He has some pretty lofty hockey IQ and he seems to love funnelling it into his deception with the puck and is usually the “trickiest” guy on the ice at any given moment- very evasive as well. While it’s a bit funny to think of an attack built around two smallish wingers who tend towards playmaking (Eklund and him) its only a matter of time before the sharks start filling out those other roles with the requisite amount of snipers, triggermen and big boys. In the interim passing on a guy with Perrons sheer talent would likely be a mistake- so you go with the BPA here and figure out the rest later. Then you quietly applaud yourself for drafting one of the more underrated players in a draft full of hidden gems.
32- Nashville from Edmonton- Kasper Halttunen- Seeing as we went with a small dynamic forward the first time around I feel like the hulking 6”3, 210 pound Halttunen could balance things out nicely! The general consensus on this player is that he was poised to excel/breakout this season and move from a potential first rounder up to a potential top ten selection. That didn’t happen however as he played in the HIFK of Liiga a decidedly top tier mens league and he not only failed to improve but suffered through a train wreck season where he scored just one point in 27 games and looke completely lost at times. Make no mistake- this was a disastrous year at a critical point in his development- but that doesn’t change the fact that theres upside here. Hes got NHL size and mass and hes also known as an outspoken leader who brings all the requisite intabgibles to be a mainstay in any leadership group.

General

• Specs on the oldest PC Batplane - Who's Who: The Definitive Directory of the DC Universe #2
  
• Specs on the various flying vehicles Batman has - Batman: The Ultimate Guide to the Dark Knight
  
• Details about the Batplane - Batman (1940) #641 & Gotham Knights #33
  
• Has some form of energy scanners capable of IDing Firestorm's energy signature - Doomsday Clock #8
  
• Batplane vs The Wrath - Detective Comics (2011) #24
  

Durability

• Batwing survives crashing into Superboy - Teen Titans (2003) #50
  
• Batplane takes gunfire from fighter jets - Batman and Robin Eternal #9
  

Speed

• Flies from the Antarctic to Southern South America in seconds, exceeding Mach 100 - Detective Comics #781
  
• Flies at Mach 4 - Batman: Confidential #5
  
• When teleported out of Metropolis to some cornfield, the Batplane arrives in seconds - Action Comics (1938) #784
  
• Keeps up with Flash on the way from Central City to the Carribean - The Flash (2016) #64
  
• Vastly outspeeds fighter jets - Batman/Superman: World's Finest #7
  

Stealth

• Batwing is capable of running with no noise by mimicking the noise of its environment - Batman (1940) #641
  
• Is invisible to radar - Batman: Confidential #3
  
• Has no radar footprint and can only be tracked visually - Batman: Confidential #5
  
• The Batwing is nearly invisible - Batman (1940) #616
  
• Batwing has cloaking - Batman and Robin (2011) #20
  
• Batplanes stealth mode means that optical and radar systems can't detect it - Batman/Superman #32
  

Weapons

Guns

• Takes down a hardlight shadow Batplane made by Luthor, using lasers - JLA (1997) #10
  
• Batwing has rubber bullets - Batman and Robin (2011) #4
  
• Batwing has gatling guns precise enough to disarm Scarecrow of weapons he has in his pockets - Batman Eternal #44
  
• Batwing's machine guns shred a group of demons - Trinity (2016) Annual #1
  

Explosives

• Has tracking missile (JLA (1997) #2
  
• Missiles cause Superman some pain - Action Comics (1938) #784
  
• It's missiles hurt an eldritch monster - Gotham by Mighnight #7
  
• Missiles blow a large hole in a side of a mountain - Trinity (2015) #15
  
• Missile takes out a Predator Drone - Batman (2016) Annual #3
  

Sonics/Energy Weapons

• Can seemingly summon bats to itself - Batman: Confidential #3
  
• Has 200 db sonic cannons - Detective Comics (2011) #26
  
• His plane can emit a powerful wide range sonic blast upon command - Batman Eternal #31
  
• Batwing's has a energy gun strong enough to stop the hearts of Superman and Wonder Woman - Trinity (2016) #15
  
• Batwing's energy gun takes a large chunk out of Circe's monster - Trinity (2016) #15
  

Grappling

• Grappling hook to grab onto other planes - Batman (1940) #616
  
• Some sort of tractor beam capable of holding Toyman II's ship - Superman/Batman #49
  
• Batwing has a claw - Dark Days: The Casting
  

Others

• An older batplane model had a smokescreen - JLA: Classified #53
  
• The bottom thrusters can be weaponized - Wonder Woman (1987) #140
  
• Can release a spray of knock out gas that takes out a small army of Fae - The Brave and The Bold: Batman and Wonder Woman #6
  
• Has hardening foam designed to hold members of the Justice League - Batman and Robin (2011) #19
  

Equipment Inside

• Has a motorcycle inside of it - Year One: Batman/Ra's Al Ghul #2
  
• Seemingly has a snowmobile in the Batwing, that is armed with rockets and a rocket booster - Year One: Batman/Ra's Al Ghul #2
  
• Carries around an experimental shrink ray/micro ship in the plane - Superman/Batman #57, 58
  
• Has ATVs inside it - Batgirl (2008) #5
  
• Batwing has a jetpack in it, which can self destruct - Batman (2016) #7
  
• Has a glider in the Batwing - Detective Comics (2011) #24
  

Misc Capabilities

• An older model has a built in gurney - JLA: Classified #53
  
• Has a "war mode" - Batman Incorporated (2011) #5
  
• Has some VTOL capability - Wonder Woman (1987) #140
  
• Can fly itself - Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight #165
  
• The Batplane has echolocation based target locking - JLA (1997) #10
  
• Can catch people mid fall - Worlds' Finest #20
  
• Batwing can see inside of buildings - Detective Comics (2011) #13
  
• One of the Batplanes is capable of grabbing and holding an airplane in midair then landing it through its "drag and catch" protocol - Batman Eternal #30
  
• The Batplane responds to commands and can scan a person for weapons - Batman Eternal #44
  
• Helps hold up a collapsing bridge - Batman (2016) #3
  
• Can grab people from the air - Detective Comics (2011) #37
  
• Batplane has the capability to aerosolize liquids - Batman: The Dark Knight #15
  
• Batwing is capable of catching things as small as ropes in the air - Batman and Robin (2011) #39
  
• Batwing has a hover mode - Action Comics (2011) #52
  
• Batplane can jam cellphone signals - Superman/Wonder Woman #29
  
• Can tap into all the capabilities of the Batcomputer via a virtual Batcave - Batman: Universe #2
  

As a NYC suburbs driver it’s frustrating that we still DO NOT have upfront fares or trip radar while neighboring states CT and PA do. Called & Tweeted support can never get a direct answer and the people in the hub aren’t any help either … Does anyone have an idea why the whole country is live with this feature.

Silver Linings at TWOT 100

Full report with pictures and links is available here

Who's invited, by Dennis Herr
Since this is a semi-invitational, here are some guidelines to help you determine if you are "invited", or, more aptly, not invited:

• If you are even the least bit worried or concerned about getting lost, don't come.
• If you have questions, don't come.
• If you need a crew, don't come.
• If you need toilet paper, don't come.
• If you expect to be pampered in any way shape or form, don't come.
• If you're a whiner, don't come.
• If you're a freeloader, don't come.
• If you're seeking fame and/or fortune, don't come.
• If you're thinking about writing a report about your experience at Wild Oak, don't come.*
• If you crave abuse, if you yearn for abuse, if you are addicted to abuse in any way shape or form (be it physical, mental, sexual, verbal, mathematical, artistic or whatevah), please send an request for entry!
• The above bullet point applies to abusees only. Abusers are not welcome. The only abuser allowed is the trail.
• If you don't like getting rained on, sleeted on, snowed on, or getting muddy while you grind out 25, 100, or 200 miles, don't come.

*We're all going to pretend we didn't see this one, got it?

TWOT's that you say?

Built in 1979, The Wild Oak Trail is a 27 mile loop with 7,000 feet of ascent through the backcountry of George Washington National Forest in Virginia. In 1988, the legendary Dennis "Animal" Herr organized a 50 mile winter race on the TWOT. Since then, the race has grown to include 25+, 100+, and 200+ mile options, and has spawned a fall version known as "Hot TWOT" (the original one, naturally, is now colloquially known as "Cold TWOT"). On average, there are about two finishers of the Cold TWOT per year.
Like most races, I can't pinpoint when TWOT appeared on my radar. John Kelly's jaw dropping sub-24:00 performance in 2018 certainly brought it to national attention though. I had been thinking about running it for the past few years, when my buddy Nich gave me the push I needed with a simple Instagram message:

@nchlsmmrk: Any interest in doing TWOT this February? I am applying and you were the first person that came to mind that might be interested, could car pool, etc. 112 miles, 28k climb

Folks, nothing gets me going quite like someone saying "I have a dumb idea and you're the first person that came to mind." I live for that shit.

TWOT in tarnation am I doing with my life?

Having just Everested in 24 hours in typically chilly January weather, I was feeling confident that I could survive the winter conditions. Since TWOT was about 50 miles longer than the Everesting challenge, I figured 36 hours would be a good time goal to shoot for.
That confidence began to wane as Nich and I drove down to Virginia through a light drizzle, then a steady rain, then an outright downpour. The 200 mile race had started two days prior, and we followed the race's Twitter feed as each runner dropped out one by one, none even reaching the 100 mile mark.
These were veterans of the TWOT 100 who had tons of experience running long distances. What the hell was waiting for us on that course?
We got our answer as we drove into camp on race morning. The North River was lapping up at the sides of the road, swollen from the inch-and-a-half of rain that had fallen. We knew we had to cross the river once per loop and wondered aloud what that was going to be like.
We got to the start with enough time to take the most awkward starting line photo ever, and after a brief pump up speech, RD Antoinette Landragin released us into the wilderness.
Alone and loving it The other runners took off up the first climb, but homeboy ain't about that life. I casually walked behind them, watching them to quickly disappear from view. I have run enough races over the years that I don't worry about how far ahead the other runners get. If things go well, most of them come back to me eventually.
The first climb of TWOT is the infamous Chestnut Ridge climb that Grindstone 100 runners know and love. It cumulatively climbs 3,350' over seven miles to the summit of Little Bald Knob (lol). I've done this climb four times during Grindstone and once in a training run, and it always sucks. There's just no way around that fact. The climb is punctuated by short steep downhill sections, so it's very difficult to get into a rhythm. Despite being on a ridge, the views are mostly obscured by trees.
Lately I've made a conscious effort to be more mindful of the positive aspects of my races, despite the fact that the word "mindful" makes me want to vomit. In that spirit, I tried to identify the silver linings of each obstacle that presented itself.
Silver lining #1: Every other climb in this loop is smaller.
I made it to the top of the climb without an issue, stopping myself once in a while to take some pictures while the conditions allowed. The summit ridge had some spots with impressive drop offs, and I made a mental note to not eat shit and fall off a cliff overnight.
The 2,000' descent to Camp Todd was on a steep but surprisingly smooth section of single track. Unfortunately, there were a dozen trees that had fallen across the trail over the winter.
Silver lining #2: Climbing over downed trees is kind of like stretching and is probably good for me... or something.
At the bottom, I found myself facing a very deep and fast moving North River. I was glad to have poles as I forded the freezing cold, thigh deep water.
Silver lining #3: I am now wide awake.
I made it through the water slowly but without an issue. Volunteer Eric was waiting for me at Camp Todd on the other side, and he greeted me with all the hospitality I've come to expect in semi-supported races: "What took you so long? We were starting to think you were dead!" Glad to see you too, friend.
I was carrying all the nutrition I needed for this loop, so I just refilled my water bottles and got back on the trail. Or rather, I sloshed uphill through an ankle deep river that had trail blazes on it. Yesterday's rain was apparently still making it's way off the mountains.
The climb up to Big Bald Knob (lol) was shorter but steeper than its predecessor. At 4,134', Big Bald Knob is - you guessed it - 200 feet shorter than Little Bald Knob. I relayed my confusion about this to the race organizers afterwards, and they explained that the words "big" and "little" refer to the size of the balds at the summit of each mountain and not to the height of the mountains themselves. I didn't see a bald on either of them, but I'll take their word for it.
The descent from Big Bald was unremarkable except for a short section with a 30% grade. I made it to the bottom without blowing up my quads and considered that a victory. I refilled my bottles again at the road crossing and started the last climb of the loop: Hankey Mountain.
On an elevation profile, Hankey Mountain looks like an afterthought. It's almost a thousand feet shorter than the previous peaks, but it contains the steepest section of the loop: Chinscraper. Aptly named, the Chinscraper climbs 517' in just 0.38 miles for an average grade of 25% and a peak grade over 40%. It's steep enough that you can stand upright and almost touch the ground in front of you in certain spots.
Suffice it to say I didn't set any course records on this climb, but I did happen to see another runner for the first time all day. Jeff Moore, a finisher of many other difficult 100 mile races, was just ahead of me in 6th. It was too early to think about racing, but after 5 hours alone in the woods I figured it would be nice to have some company. I spent a few miles chasing him down a rolling jeep road, appreciative of the fact that he was leading me through a few crucial turns. I finally caught up as we began the final descent into camp, and we got to talking about the weather.
At this point I should mention that the weather had been mild all day with clouds in the morning and some glorious sunshine and 50+ degree temperatures in the afternoon. We were on track to finish this loop under 8 hours (well under my goal of 9 hours per loop), but with limited daylight in mid-February, it was already time to start planning for the night. The forecasts were calling for 20 degree temperatures in the valley with winds gusting to 30 mph. That meant that the wind chill at the summits could approach zero. Looking at the beautiful blue sky above us, it was hard to believe that conditions would deteriorate that much, but we decided we needed to be prepared.
We arrived in camp with 7:40 elapsed, which I consider a pretty solid 100 mile pace, but tied for last place. I spent about 10 minutes in camp making sure I had enough clothing to get through the first night loop. I don't usually like to stop that long, but with limited aid on the course it was important to make sure I had everything I needed.

Night Moves

The big question for this loop was what to do at the river crossing. The RD had told us that we had the option to cross at another spot further upstream where there were stones to hop across, but this added almost a mile to the loop and there was no guarantee that we would even keep our feet dry.
Ultimately, Jeff convinced me to take the longer route because at this time of day, falling in the freezing water would have almost certainly ended our races. We summited Little Bald together, and I got a bit ahead on the descent. I negotiated the downed trees without too much issue and made the hard right turn to the alternate river crossing. I was pleased to see that the stones were just above the waterline, and a few short jumps got me to the opposite bank in one piece.
Jeff caught back up as I was refilling my bottles at Camp Todd, but he needed to get some clothing out of his pack so I hit the trail ahead of him and unfortunately didn't see him again for the rest of the race. He would go on to finish in 40:25.
Silver lining #4: I'm no longer in last place.
As predicted, the cold weather rolled in, and I progressively added more warm layers. I've gotten pretty good at micromanaging my temperature in races, which, being that I'm a sweaty disgusting bastard, is highly important. First is a Buff around the neck, which always adds a surprising amount of warmth. Then one around the ears. Then gloves, then the waterproof mitten shells, and then finally my rain shell. I had a puffer jacket stowed in my pack in case of emergency but never felt the need to use it.
Armored against the increasingly hostile elements, I finished loop 2 in 8:25, which was fairly consistent with the previous loop considering the addition of an extra mile. I again kept this stop to just 10 minutes, getting some caffeine in my system and grabbing a few slices of bacon from Jose Cardenas, who was volunteering before running the midnight single loop: "Take some bacon. The meat sweats will keep you warm on the climb." I thanked him for the motivation, and he responded, "thank me by running fast!"
It was now after midnight, and the cold front was in full swing. The wind howled through the trees on Chestnut Ridge and bits of snow pelted my face. I went to take a sip of water and realized that the mouthpieces of both bottles were freezing. This problem was solved by putting my jacket on over my pack, which then created a new problem: I now had to take off my mittens and unzip my jacket whenever I needed any food or water. Ah, the joys of running in freezing weather!
I once again made the "smart" decision to detour around the deep river crossing. This plan was thrown back in my face when I slipped on an icy rock and plunged my left leg into water up to my knee. I also managed to bang my shin on another rock in the process, which - writing this ten weeks later - appears to have left a permanent mark.
Silver lining #5: Cold feet are great motivation to move fast.
I hobbled into the heated tent at Camp Todd feeling sorry for myself, but I was greeted by Pat and Zack who had both dropped out and were waiting for a ride. I tried to convince them to join me for the rest of the loop, but it was hard enough to convince myself to go back out. So I left and hit the climb up Big Bald, which was still a river but now had sections of fresh ice to keep things interesting.
I won't describe every twist and turn of this third loop, but the bottom line is that it was very cold and I gradually worked myself into a calorie deficit because of my reluctance to take off my jacket to access my food. When the sun came up midway through the loop, the weather started to warm and I slowly worked my way back out of that deficit. I made it through the loop in 9:15, which given the conditions, I'm very pleased with. I had passed Mike Zinn on the descent from Big Bald, which put me in third place out of the five runners remaining. Mike was looking tired but determined and would go on to finish in 41:40.

On the hunt

I spent a few extra minutes at my car getting calories and caffeine in my system. With 26:15 elapsed I headed out for my final lap. That gave me 9:45 to hit my time goal. By all accounts, Nich had solidified his hold on first place and was many hours ahead of me. I was happy just to avoid being lapped. I asked how far ahead the 2nd place runner was.
"Oh you're not going to catch him. He left an hour ago and looked great!" came the response from the RD and volunteers.
"Like hell I'm not!" was what I thought to myself, but I think I responded, "Okie dokie, thanks!" as I left camp.
I'm not usually very competitive, but on the other hand...

• I wanted to prove those volunteers wrong.
• I thought it would be cool for the two Warren County, NJ runners to finish 1st and 2nd (ok, Nich technically lives in NY now, but he grew up just a few towns over from me).
• I wanted to thank Jose and those same volunteers by running fast.

As I headed up Chestnut Ridge for the final time, a bald eagle took off from a tree and flew directly over my head. Patriotic AF. Now I had to chase down second place for America too.
Then something orange in the trail caught my attention. It was an orange peel. I figured the second place guy must have accidentally dropped it. Then a mile later I found another orange peel. Then another. Then another. Each one dropped in the middle of the trail. This was clearly deliberate.
That settles it. This litterbug fuck is going down!
If you're keeping track of my motivations to run fast, they were now: spite, camaraderie, gratitude, patriotism, and spite.
Silver lining #6: Spite is a great motivator.
I charged up Little Bald and ran the descent as quickly as possible. With the sun shining and the weather heating up, I made the decision to wade through the river one more time to save myself the extra mile. The cold water actually felt good on my tired legs. Plus now wading through the semi-frozen river on Big Bald wouldn't bother me.
Big Bald felt steeper than ever, but I hammered down the backside of it, running a pair of 13 and 12 minute miles for the first time in many hours. At the road crossing, I finally spotted him. Mister soon-to-be-third-place litterbug.
"Just how many oranges do you have with you?" I demanded.
"Um. I'm not carrying any oranges," he responded with some confusion.
After some discussion, it became clear that the orange peels were left by a single loop runner who had started with a backpack full of them. I don't want to name names, so we'll just call him Schmarty Schwinn. I politely asked Schmarty after the race not to litter in National Forests and he politely thanked me for informing him about proper race decorum. Just kidding, he threw a temper tantrum and made the world's laziest TWOT pun in retaliation. Eat a dick Schmarty. Eat all the dicks.
Regardless, I still had those four other reasons to run fast. I took off up the trail to Hankey Mountain with the other runner right on my heals. I stepped on the pedal harder and he stayed with me. We arrived at the base of chin scraper and it was time for me to make my move... except that he zipped right up the climb and left me in his dust. It became clear that I might have blown my wad too early in this loop, metaphorically speaking of course. My legs were not cooperating.
I arrived at the top panting and wheezing to find this runner waiting patiently.
"Hey man, do you want to run this in together?" he asked.
"Shit, yeah, I really do." I replied.
Silver lining #7: Running with other people is fun.
Mister soon-to-be-tied-for-second non-litterbug was actually named Barry. Barry is a remarkably cool dude. With no one close behind us and my sub-36 hour goal well in hand, we enjoyed a leisurely jog through the final ten miles of the course. We swapped stories and learned the sort of personal details about each other's lives that only come out after many hours of running on a trail. At one point, he also politely waited while I pooped behind a tree. Which was nice of him.
We arrived at the finish in 35:27:00, announcing "We are tied!" just so there was no confusion. I had suggested holding hands, but I guess our words were effective enough.
Nich had finished many hours earlier, taking the win and setting the fastest Cold TWOT time by anyone not named John Kelly. His reward was having to sleep in the car for seven hours while Barry and I had our bonding session.
With the sun setting for the second time and the weather cooling again, it was time to head back to civilization and indulge in Virginia's finest cuisine: Waffle House and Cracker Barrel.
Thank you to the race directors Antoinette and Guy; to Eric, Jose, and the other volunteers; and to everyone who came out to race (not you, Schmarty). TWOT represents the perfect intersection of wilderness, community, and sadomasochism that I seek out in races. One of these days, I'd like to try the midnight single loop, but I don't know if my soul is ready for another four loop effort.

• Final time: 35:27:51
• Distance: 115.05 miles
• Elevation: 28,805 feet

Silver Linings at TWOT 100

Full report with pictures and links is available here

Who's invited, by Dennis Herr
Since this is a semi-invitational, here are some guidelines to help you determine if you are "invited", or, more aptly, not invited:

• If you are even the least bit worried or concerned about getting lost, don't come.
• If you have questions, don't come.
• If you need a crew, don't come.
• If you need toilet paper, don't come.
• If you expect to be pampered in any way shape or form, don't come.
• If you're a whiner, don't come.
• If you're a freeloader, don't come.
• If you're seeking fame and/or fortune, don't come.
• If you're thinking about writing a report about your experience at Wild Oak, don't come.*
• If you crave abuse, if you yearn for abuse, if you are addicted to abuse in any way shape or form (be it physical, mental, sexual, verbal, mathematical, artistic or whatevah), please send an request for entry!
• The above bullet point applies to abusees only. Abusers are not welcome. The only abuser allowed is the trail.
• If you don't like getting rained on, sleeted on, snowed on, or getting muddy while you grind out 25, 100, or 200 miles, don't come.

*We're all going to pretend we didn't see this one, got it?

TWOT's that you say?

Built in 1979, The Wild Oak Trail is a 27 mile loop with 7,000 feet of ascent through the backcountry of George Washington National Forest in Virginia. In 1988, the legendary Dennis "Animal" Herr organized a 50 mile winter race on the TWOT. Since then, the race has grown to include 25+, 100+, and 200+ mile options, and has spawned a fall version known as "Hot TWOT" (the original one, naturally, is now colloquially known as "Cold TWOT"). On average, there are about two finishers of the Cold TWOT per year.
Like most races, I can't pinpoint when TWOT appeared on my radar. John Kelly's jaw dropping sub-24:00 performance in 2018 certainly brought it to national attention though. I had been thinking about running it for the past few years, when my buddy Nich gave me the push I needed with a simple Instagram message:

@nchlsmmrk: Any interest in doing TWOT this February? I am applying and you were the first person that came to mind that might be interested, could car pool, etc. 112 miles, 28k climb

Folks, nothing gets me going quite like someone saying "I have a dumb idea and you're the first person that came to mind." I live for that shit.

TWOT in tarnation am I doing with my life?

Having just Everested in 24 hours in typically chilly January weather, I was feeling confident that I could survive the winter conditions. Since TWOT was about 50 miles longer than the Everesting challenge, I figured 36 hours would be a good time goal to shoot for.
That confidence began to wane as Nich and I drove down to Virginia through a light drizzle, then a steady rain, then an outright downpour. The 200 mile race had started two days prior, and we followed the race's Twitter feed as each runner dropped out one by one, none even reaching the 100 mile mark.
These were veterans of the TWOT 100 who had tons of experience running long distances. What the hell was waiting for us on that course?
We got our answer as we drove into camp on race morning. The North River was lapping up at the sides of the road, swollen from the inch-and-a-half of rain that had fallen. We knew we had to cross the river once per loop and wondered aloud what that was going to be like.
We got to the start with enough time to take the most awkward starting line photo ever, and after a brief pump up speech, RD Antoinette Landragin released us into the wilderness.
Alone and loving it The other runners took off up the first climb, but homeboy ain't about that life. I casually walked behind them, watching them to quickly disappear from view. I have run enough races over the years that I don't worry about how far ahead the other runners get. If things go well, most of them come back to me eventually.
The first climb of TWOT is the infamous Chestnut Ridge climb that Grindstone 100 runners know and love. It cumulatively climbs 3,350' over seven miles to the summit of Little Bald Knob (lol). I've done this climb four times during Grindstone and once in a training run, and it always sucks. There's just no way around that fact. The climb is punctuated by short steep downhill sections, so it's very difficult to get into a rhythm. Despite being on a ridge, the views are mostly obscured by trees.
Lately I've made a conscious effort to be more mindful of the positive aspects of my races, despite the fact that the word "mindful" makes me want to vomit. In that spirit, I tried to identify the silver linings of each obstacle that presented itself.
Silver lining #1: Every other climb in this loop is smaller.
I made it to the top of the climb without an issue, stopping myself once in a while to take some pictures while the conditions allowed. The summit ridge had some spots with impressive drop offs, and I made a mental note to not eat shit and fall off a cliff overnight.
The 2,000' descent to Camp Todd was on a steep but surprisingly smooth section of single track. Unfortunately, there were a dozen trees that had fallen across the trail over the winter.
Silver lining #2: Climbing over downed trees is kind of like stretching and is probably good for me... or something.
At the bottom, I found myself facing a very deep and fast moving North River. I was glad to have poles as I forded the freezing cold, thigh deep water.
Silver lining #3: I am now wide awake.
I made it through the water slowly but without an issue. Volunteer Eric was waiting for me at Camp Todd on the other side, and he greeted me with all the hospitality I've come to expect in semi-supported races: "What took you so long? We were starting to think you were dead!" Glad to see you too, friend.
I was carrying all the nutrition I needed for this loop, so I just refilled my water bottles and got back on the trail. Or rather, I sloshed uphill through an ankle deep river that had trail blazes on it. Yesterday's rain was apparently still making it's way off the mountains.
The climb up to Big Bald Knob (lol) was shorter but steeper than its predecessor. At 4,134', Big Bald Knob is - you guessed it - 200 feet shorter than Little Bald Knob. I relayed my confusion about this to the race organizers afterwards, and they explained that the words "big" and "little" refer to the size of the balds at the summit of each mountain and not to the height of the mountains themselves. I didn't see a bald on either of them, but I'll take their word for it.
The descent from Big Bald was unremarkable except for a short section with a 30% grade. I made it to the bottom without blowing up my quads and considered that a victory. I refilled my bottles again at the road crossing and started the last climb of the loop: Hankey Mountain.
On an elevation profile, Hankey Mountain looks like an afterthought. It's almost a thousand feet shorter than the previous peaks, but it contains the steepest section of the loop: Chinscraper. Aptly named, the Chinscraper climbs 517' in just 0.38 miles for an average grade of 25% and a peak grade over 40%. It's steep enough that you can stand upright and almost touch the ground in front of you in certain spots.
Suffice it to say I didn't set any course records on this climb, but I did happen to see another runner for the first time all day. Jeff Moore, a finisher of many other difficult 100 mile races, was just ahead of me in 6th. It was too early to think about racing, but after 5 hours alone in the woods I figured it would be nice to have some company. I spent a few miles chasing him down a rolling jeep road, appreciative of the fact that he was leading me through a few crucial turns. I finally caught up as we began the final descent into camp, and we got to talking about the weather.
At this point I should mention that the weather had been mild all day with clouds in the morning and some glorious sunshine and 50+ degree temperatures in the afternoon. We were on track to finish this loop under 8 hours (well under my goal of 9 hours per loop), but with limited daylight in mid-February, it was already time to start planning for the night. The forecasts were calling for 20 degree temperatures in the valley with winds gusting to 30 mph. That meant that the wind chill at the summits could approach zero. Looking at the beautiful blue sky above us, it was hard to believe that conditions would deteriorate that much, but we decided we needed to be prepared.
We arrived in camp with 7:40 elapsed, which I consider a pretty solid 100 mile pace, but tied for last place. I spent about 10 minutes in camp making sure I had enough clothing to get through the first night loop. I don't usually like to stop that long, but with limited aid on the course it was important to make sure I had everything I needed.

Night Moves

The big question for this loop was what to do at the river crossing. The RD had told us that we had the option to cross at another spot further upstream where there were stones to hop across, but this added almost a mile to the loop and there was no guarantee that we would even keep our feet dry.
Ultimately, Jeff convinced me to take the longer route because at this time of day, falling in the freezing water would have almost certainly ended our races. We summited Little Bald together, and I got a bit ahead on the descent. I negotiated the downed trees without too much issue and made the hard right turn to the alternate river crossing. I was pleased to see that the stones were just above the waterline, and a few short jumps got me to the opposite bank in one piece.
Jeff caught back up as I was refilling my bottles at Camp Todd, but he needed to get some clothing out of his pack so I hit the trail ahead of him and unfortunately didn't see him again for the rest of the race. He would go on to finish in 40:25.
Silver lining #4: I'm no longer in last place.
As predicted, the cold weather rolled in, and I progressively added more warm layers. I've gotten pretty good at micromanaging my temperature in races, which, being that I'm a sweaty disgusting bastard, is highly important. First is a Buff around the neck, which always adds a surprising amount of warmth. Then one around the ears. Then gloves, then the waterproof mitten shells, and then finally my rain shell. I had a puffer jacket stowed in my pack in case of emergency but never felt the need to use it.
Armored against the increasingly hostile elements, I finished loop 2 in 8:25, which was fairly consistent with the previous loop considering the addition of an extra mile. I again kept this stop to just 10 minutes, getting some caffeine in my system and grabbing a few slices of bacon from Jose Cardenas, who was volunteering before running the midnight single loop: "Take some bacon. The meat sweats will keep you warm on the climb." I thanked him for the motivation, and he responded, "thank me by running fast!"
It was now after midnight, and the cold front was in full swing. The wind howled through the trees on Chestnut Ridge and bits of snow pelted my face. I went to take a sip of water and realized that the mouthpieces of both bottles were freezing. This problem was solved by putting my jacket on over my pack, which then created a new problem: I now had to take off my mittens and unzip my jacket whenever I needed any food or water. Ah, the joys of running in freezing weather!
I once again made the "smart" decision to detour around the deep river crossing. This plan was thrown back in my face when I slipped on an icy rock and plunged my left leg into water up to my knee. I also managed to bang my shin on another rock in the process, which - writing this ten weeks later - appears to have left a permanent mark.
Silver lining #5: Cold feet are great motivation to move fast.
I hobbled into the heated tent at Camp Todd feeling sorry for myself, but I was greeted by Pat and Zack who had both dropped out and were waiting for a ride. I tried to convince them to join me for the rest of the loop, but it was hard enough to convince myself to go back out. So I left and hit the climb up Big Bald, which was still a river but now had sections of fresh ice to keep things interesting.
I won't describe every twist and turn of this third loop, but the bottom line is that it was very cold and I gradually worked myself into a calorie deficit because of my reluctance to take off my jacket to access my food. When the sun came up midway through the loop, the weather started to warm and I slowly worked my way back out of that deficit. I made it through the loop in 9:15, which given the conditions, I'm very pleased with. I had passed Mike Zinn on the descent from Big Bald, which put me in third place out of the five runners remaining. Mike was looking tired but determined and would go on to finish in 41:40.

On the hunt

I spent a few extra minutes at my car getting calories and caffeine in my system. With 26:15 elapsed I headed out for my final lap. That gave me 9:45 to hit my time goal. By all accounts, Nich had solidified his hold on first place and was many hours ahead of me. I was happy just to avoid being lapped. I asked how far ahead the 2nd place runner was.
"Oh you're not going to catch him. He left an hour ago and looked great!" came the response from the RD and volunteers.
"Like hell I'm not!" was what I thought to myself, but I think I responded, "Okie dokie, thanks!" as I left camp.
I'm not usually very competitive, but on the other hand...

• I wanted to prove those volunteers wrong.
• I thought it would be cool for the two Warren County, NJ runners to finish 1st and 2nd (ok, Nich technically lives in NY now, but he grew up just a few towns over from me).
• I wanted to thank Jose and those same volunteers by running fast.

As I headed up Chestnut Ridge for the final time, a bald eagle took off from a tree and flew directly over my head. Patriotic AF. Now I had to chase down second place for America too.
Then something orange in the trail caught my attention. It was an orange peel. I figured the second place guy must have accidentally dropped it. Then a mile later I found another orange peel. Then another. Then another. Each one dropped in the middle of the trail. This was clearly deliberate.
That settles it. This litterbug fuck is going down!
If you're keeping track of my motivations to run fast, they were now: spite, camaraderie, gratitude, patriotism, and spite.
Silver lining #6: Spite is a great motivator.
I charged up Little Bald and ran the descent as quickly as possible. With the sun shining and the weather heating up, I made the decision to wade through the river one more time to save myself the extra mile. The cold water actually felt good on my tired legs. Plus now wading through the semi-frozen river on Big Bald wouldn't bother me.
Big Bald felt steeper than ever, but I hammered down the backside of it, running a pair of 13 and 12 minute miles for the first time in many hours. At the road crossing, I finally spotted him. Mister soon-to-be-third-place litterbug.
"Just how many oranges do you have with you?" I demanded.
"Um. I'm not carrying any oranges," he responded with some confusion.
After some discussion, it became clear that the orange peels were left by a single loop runner who had started with a backpack full of them. I don't want to name names, so we'll just call him Schmarty Schwinn. I politely asked Schmarty after the race not to litter in National Forests and he politely thanked me for informing him about proper race decorum. Just kidding, he threw a temper tantrum and made the world's laziest TWOT pun in retaliation. Eat a dick Schmarty. Eat all the dicks.
Regardless, I still had those four other reasons to run fast. I took off up the trail to Hankey Mountain with the other runner right on my heals. I stepped on the pedal harder and he stayed with me. We arrived at the base of chin scraper and it was time for me to make my move... except that he zipped right up the climb and left me in his dust. It became clear that I might have blown my wad too early in this loop, metaphorically speaking of course. My legs were not cooperating.
I arrived at the top panting and wheezing to find this runner waiting patiently.
"Hey man, do you want to run this in together?" he asked.
"Shit, yeah, I really do." I replied.
Silver lining #7: Running with other people is fun.
Mister soon-to-be-tied-for-second non-litterbug was actually named Barry. Barry is a remarkably cool dude. With no one close behind us and my sub-36 hour goal well in hand, we enjoyed a leisurely jog through the final ten miles of the course. We swapped stories and learned the sort of personal details about each other's lives that only come out after many hours of running on a trail. At one point, he also politely waited while I pooped behind a tree. Which was nice of him.
We arrived at the finish in 35:27:00, announcing "We are tied!" just so there was no confusion. I had suggested holding hands, but I guess our words were effective enough.
Nich had finished many hours earlier, taking the win and setting the fastest Cold TWOT time by anyone not named John Kelly. His reward was having to sleep in the car for seven hours while Barry and I had our bonding session.
With the sun setting for the second time and the weather cooling again, it was time to head back to civilization and indulge in Virginia's finest cuisine: Waffle House and Cracker Barrel.
Thank you to the race directors Antoinette and Guy; to Eric, Jose, and the other volunteers; and to everyone who came out to race (not you, Schmarty). TWOT represents the perfect intersection of wilderness, community, and sadomasochism that I seek out in races. One of these days, I'd like to try the midnight single loop, but I don't know if my soul is ready for another four loop effort.

• Final time: 35:27:51
• Distance: 115.05 miles
• Elevation: 28,805 feet