Have fun, Senator Mento!

Alright, so I've been looking around for an official journalist, and I haven't been having so good luck. Anyone who's got experience wants to be paid...a lot, and anyone who just has a degree is holding out for a paying job. So I won't be able to get professional articles up on here. I did, though, find someone. I went down to the nearby Liberal Arts college yesterday and asked around, and I found a first-year journalist major who was looking for experience. His name is Thomas Jones, and I know it sounds a little lame, but I've seen his work and it's good stuff.

So then. The election is finally over. Most of you readers probably weren't paying too much attention, since there was no presidental seat in contention, but I felt very close. I was (full disclosure!) one of Senator Mento's campaign volunteers, and I worked so hard to get him into office! The incumbent rate has gone down from its historic high a generation ago, thank goodness, but it's still nearly impossible to unseat a sitting senator! Of course, the scandals did make quite a difference--I know I'll never look at my cellphone the same way again!--but we had to work long and hard to win. I'm so proud. It really didn't sink in until today, when he took the subway off to the southeast. I hope he makes good on his promises for tax cuts. I'm...I'm actually a little teary eyed.

There's your news for today. The newly elected Senator Mento :snif: left today by subway to the capitol.

Flat Hunting

Okay, I have a few announcements before I start this week's article. Firstly, Steve reported that "3 or 4 people" came in specifically asking for steak. So that means I have a readership! And it's growing. Yay!
Secondly, I got a mildly angry e-mail from a reader who had been reading when NMD was still a big corporation. She said that she really liked the heavy news articles, and that this was a great site for unbiased reporting before I bought it. Unfortunately, I'm no good at doing that. I tried. But no-one important would be interviewed, and I just couldn't do that. However, if there are more of you who really want a newsblog, I'll find someone who can. That can't be too hard, right? Leave your opinions in the poll I set up.

Anyway. Over the past few days, I've been flat hunting, thus the name of this entry. I know, I'm working for my parents for now, and they're already paying for my trade school which doesn't end for a year and a half yet and why bother looking already? Well, my parents said that I had to support myself by the time I was done with school if they were going to pay off the loans for me, and while I have time, they've been sending signals. Little things, like the empty suitcases that keep 'appearing' in my room, and the draft of a want-ad for a tenant I found on the table. I get it, mom! So I figure I move a couple miles away, and I can walk back here for work and to school for...school.
I started by looking at official mortgages. I know that I'm not likely to pay for it (at least until I can get an electrician's internship, that is), but a girl can dream, can't she? It turns out, though, that they are either incredibly expensive, or decades long. I mean, it figures...only so much space, period, and extra rooms are at a premium, but wow. The only reasonable 1 year and 6 month loans were for deep suburb houses, which were out of the question; I'm not going to bike 50 miles to work, and of course the monorail can't penetrate into the tight grouping of houses. So I'm not renting a house anytime soon.
After a quick trip to the newsstands, I printed out a quick list of rent listings nearby to check. Perhaps, though, it was a bad idea to do all this on Halloween. Most of the empty places wouldn't answer the phone number listed, and the ones with other tenants just gave me candy and a quizzical look. I guess I look younger than I thought! Flattering, but fruitless.
So, here I am with a list of phone numbers and empty candy wrappers. There's a good number, but it looks like it'll still be about a month until I can start renting. At least my parents haven't posted that want-ad yet.

--Trepa Mayfield

...and we're back!

So, for those of you patiently waiting for an update, you've both been very nice. For first time readers, you should know that the format juust changed after a few rearrangements. Though it didn't make many other news sites, the NMD News Corporation collapsed a while ago, and this domain was shuffled around to tiny companies that never bothered with it. So I decided, ya know, why not? Expect more visual changes as I get time.

Anyway, you're probably thinking, "An 18 year old girl? Who's got a factory farmer job? Just where can she find news?". I respect that. That's what Mom and Dad said too. But I figure, why strain myself? I'm currently typing this on my flexiboard as I'm walking around town, and, ya know, I'll just post the first thing I find that seems important. Huh. 'Steve's Sandwich Shop'. Let's try that.
Me: "Heya Steve! What sorta sandwiches do you have?"
Him: "Uh...mystery club, veggie, hot bean. Oh, and we've got a steak special while it lasts"
Me: "Really! Steak? From old dairy cows, I suppose."
Him: "Of course. I'm friends with Heda. The--"
Me: "-outer layer farmer on path 117 past the western lock! I know him! My dad has some sort of deal. Thanks Steve! You might get some new business soon"

I probably shouldn't have winked like that, but oh well. That's todays news: Steve's has steak.

--Trepa Mayfield.

Three Dead, One Presumed Missing

in Botched Escape Attempt

The drastic changes to our world have had drastic

effects on various movements and sectors, but

probably none so much as the environmental

movement. Greenpeace was one of the few groups who

completely opposed the great retreat, and, while they

have become less radical, other nature groups have

taken up their mantle. Their main argument has to do

with the thriving world outside our cities and farms. To

quote one member of Verdant Force (a semi-legal

organization whose stated mission of “breaking out, no

matter the cost” has drawn suspicion to their suspected

ties to organized crime) “The food chain has stabilized,

the organisms look healthy, and I bet that if we left this

claustrophobic environment, our species would

survive.” Obviously, most people have been loath to

test this.
However, one group has taken that risk. There are

still internal investigations, however, the defense

company contracted to protect the Belgium edges of

the French dome agreed to provide a spokesman to

relate what seems to have happened. “We know that

they applied for a regular nature tour, because we have

their signature and payment on record—I'm not allowed

to give out those names yet”, said one Evette Mongarde.

“We also know that they knocked out their tour guide at

one point—and that’s when they most likely discarded

their hazard suits and oxygen tanks—because we found

the suits and tanks and the tour guide in a closet nearby.

What happened then is rather unclear. It was an

uncloudy day, so it wasn’t too difficult to track them

down. They went about forty feet southeast, probably

trying to avoid bumping up into the German dome.

Their pace looked unhurried, as if they were unaware of

any problems. And then…we just found three

bodies—not me personally, but I was told the story in

very stark details—within about ten feet of each other”.

Our spokesmen confirmed that four people left, and that

one is unaccounted for. “We are unable to divulge any

theories we have on what happened to the fourth due to

security reasons”, stated Ms. Mongarde. Though the

blogosphere has been alight with speculation, no

consensus has been reached yet.
--Weston Digno, NMD News.

NOTICE: THE CURRENT STAFF OF THE ONLINE EXTENSION OF NMD AND ITS AFFILIATES HAS BEEN CHRONICALLY LATE AND HAS RECENTLY BEEN FOUND TAKING A "YEAR OFF" DESPITE THE YOUNGNESS OF THIS WEBSITE. DUE TO THESE MISTAKES, THEY HAVE ALL BEEN TRANSFERRED TO OUR SECRETARIAL DEPARTMENT. WE APOLOGIZE FOR THE INCONVENIENCE CAUSED BY OUR NEGLIGENT EMPLOYEES AND WE HAVE HIRED AN ENTIREY NEW STAFF TO UPDATE THIS WEBSITE. THERE WILL BE NO BACK POSTING, BUT EXPECT WEEKLY UPDATES STARTING NEXT SATURDAY.
--SENIOR PRODUCER OF NMD NEWS

Side-by-Side Sports Events Represent Great Coordination--FPS's beat out RPG's by 8,641 points

As those of us who eagerly participate in sports--

electronic or real-world, active or passive--know, the

splitscreen broadcast of the Electromarathon and the

first annual Gamer's Ultimate Tournament (GUT) was

a huge, huge success. Due to the broadcasting style,

it's hard to tell which was more successful, but we do

know that there was a longer line for the

Electromarathon--mainly due to the lack of available

machines.

For sports fans, the Great Retreat was a very dismal

event. Because there is rarely a large stock of

electricity, events involving mass spectators over a

wide geographical area--especially if they're watching

on an electrical apparatus--must be sparse, otherwise

electricity keeps running out. This spelled death for

video game tournaments, for the already sparse

sporting events (like the Olympics) are only for

entrenched sports. The fact that gaming equipment

use the precious resource in great amounts means

that even casual, private tournaments are regulated

to avoid power drains.

The solution? Create the electricity as they use it! The

sweat-intensive Electromarathon produced a

whopping 9,000 kilowatt-hours over a measly 8-hour

competition, with the winner making 52 kw/hrs with

one 30-minute triathalon. This electricity was piped

(partially) from the Electromarathon in Istanbul to

the GUT taking place in Anchorage, Alaska.

The Gamer's Ultimate Tournament had similar

successes, as champions from both sides of the Pacific

convened to represent their gaming genres.

Unfortunatly, an inordinatly small turnout by the

Racing competitors meant calcualting average score;

something helpful for the Brawl community but

problematic for RTS fans--so problematic, the

announcers speculated--that they would have placed

otherwise.

This event was not only a good day for the VEGC

lobby, but wonderful news for those who can't wait

for sports leauges to start broadcasting again. If a

sports industry that has yet to go professional can do

it, so can a sport with hordes of fans bored to tears

with their casual leauges around the dome.

--Arctica Chemit, NMD news

The new Movement will Require the New Power Routing--Adjust to no TV or Computer until End of Summer

As summer season grinds towards its peak and idle

thoughts turn to making a difference in the world,

we must realize that when we are intimatly

connected globally, our actions have global

ramifications--especially when that action involves

a global movement.

Summer is normally a time for fun and relaxation,

but most still attend work, the gym converter and

other important functions--even if only nominally.

However, the new "Summer Break" orginization,

orginized by one Bontula Grear, encourages an

entirley natural summer, without work, organized

excercise, and a complete social cutoff. Unfortunatley,

due to the popularity of this "wholesome" opportunity,

as well as the normal weaker attendence during

the summer season, has caused a strong drop in

electricity reserves. As if adding insult to injury, a

horde of birds chose that particular time to divebomb

multiple domes around the world in what seems to be

a highly coordinated attack.

What with the necessary diversion to defense

applications, and the surge in use by scientists trying

to understand this behaivor, many districts were

without power. CORnarDS has just come up with a

solution, though. They offer a splicer that carries

priorities. All vital electrical applications

(refrigerator, light bulbs, etc.) will have guaranteed

power the entire time, power diverted from the

nonvital side of the wire (TV, computer, etc.).

Hopefully, media attention and loss of power will stop

the movement, but be prepared to keep this going

until the end of August.

--Editorial by Pediscribe, June 13, 2007