...anyone about to go through the Tina Macintyre "Hydra" missions on Virtue Blueside. I would like to get the Multidimensional badge for Eva, but Macintyre didn't show up in my contact tree.

-- Bob
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I intend to be a freak for the rest of my life, and I shall baffle you with cabbages and rhinoceroses in the kitchen and incessant quotations from Now We Are Six through the mouthpiece of Lord Snooty's giant poisoned electric head. So theeeeeere....

What is with this notice that the board will go 'yuku' in the coming week? It's been up for 2 weeks now.--
Christopher Angel, aka JPublic
The Works of Christopher Angel
"Camaraderie, adventure, and steel on steel. The stuff of legend! Right, Boo?"

The author of the hugely popular "Flashman" books, George MacDonald Fraser, has died at the age of 82 ...
I have to wonder how many RPG characters drew inspiration from Flashman (knowingly or not)...-Rob Kelk
"Actually, my goal is to write neat stories. The money just makes it possible for me to write them faster and then buy neat toys."
Ryk E. Spoor, 7 November 2007
--
Rob Kelk
"Governments have no right to question the loyalty of those who oppose
them. Adversaries remain citizens of the same state, common subjects of
the same sovereign, servants of the same law."

- Michael Ignatieff, addressing Stanford University in 2012

A few of the comments about the EVA fic I recommended has made me believe I'm a bit odd in that my reading speed seems to be much higher then most (even on these boards).
For example, the last HP book took me about 5 hours to read cover to cover. This is with breaks for drinks. When I looked it up that was 198,227 words or roughly 660 words per minute.
Not the best example because I was keen on reading it but...
Anybody else got any stories of insane reading speeds for books?

Skub and Perry Bible fellowship links for Valles. Links are NSFW: Irreverent comedy
Skub

The Perry Bible FellowshipWire Geek - Burning the weak and trampling the dead since 1979Wire Geek - Burning the weak and trampling the dead since 1979

NYTimes: In the Fight Over Piracy, a Rare Stand for Privacy

Quote:

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... The surprise was not that 20-year-olds listen to Sting. It was that the university fought back.
Represented by the states attorney general, Hardy Myers, the university filed a blistering motion to quash the subpoena, accusing the industry of misleading the judge, violating student privacy laws and engaging in questionable investigative practices. ...

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Bill Martin has posted the New Year's Challenges for this year. (Edit: here's the thread.)
I'm copying them here in case anyone else wants to play (as an omake entry, since the challenges are now revealed), and so I have them for easy reference. My story will be posted later in this thread, once it's written...
First, re-introducing my three-character "Team Lovely But Dangerous":
* Yomiko Readman, R.O.D. the TV (one month after end of series)
* Chisame Hasegawa, Negima manga (current continuity - chapter 198)
* Sakura Kinomoto, Card Captor Sakura (one month after end of second movie)

Quote:

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Easy Challenge - This year, the planners behind last year's New Year Con have beefed up security, but at the expense of the entertainment budget. The troupe they planned to bring in for the debut of the LAAM (the Live-Action Anime Musical) was more than they could afford, and since it's been hyped that it will be the first LAAM at NYC, you and your teammates have been requested to fill in. You may choose to do any anime that isn't already a musical (which is the majority of them).

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Quote:

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Medium Challenge - You have recieved a summons to a group meeting of all the challenge entrants. The meeting shall take place in Colorado, and will consist of a whitewater rafting trip. You can choose to summon your team beforehand for the travel there, or you can wait and summon your team once there. Due to the quantum mechanics of the summon device, your success or failure will not affect or be affected by other challenge entrants failures or successes. As you and your team journey down the river, you hear an explosion, and once you and your team reach where the rocks have blocked the river, you'll journey over a waterfall where...
You and your three teammates, on a routine New Year's Challenge, get caught by the greatest time window ever known. Hastened by the rapids, it'll transport you over a thousand feet below, to the Land of the Lost (lost, lost lost), to the Land of the Lost (lost, lost lost).
You'll be living in the Rick, Will, and Holly Marshall era of the Land of the Lost in terms of foes, terrain, and puzzles to solve, but with the modern understanding of dinosaurs (a la Jurassic Park). You'll enter just after the moons have aligned, so unless you've got great puzzle solvers on your team, you're going to have to wait it out 3 years for the time-travel pylon to get you out of there. You will not be in the Land of the Lost with the Marshalls, the Porters, or any other challenge entrant.

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Quote:

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Hard Challenge - On New Year's Day, a meteor crashed to earth. This is not out of the ordinary, however what was on it is. Some interstellar spores came down with it, and these spores are highly contagious. Infected sentient lifeforms first show a glowing red hue over their entire body as a sign of infection. Next, comes an overwhelming urge to attack and maim others, but not kill them, and shows no sign of preference for the victim to be infected or uninfected. Upon uninfected individuals coming into contact with an infected individual, infection is almost instantaneous. Infected individuals retain their speech and reasoning capabilities, and have shown abilities to wait for the right time to rush a barricade. The spores themselves are extremely resistant to heat, radiation, and pressure as they've survived a star going supernova to send the meteor our direction. Alloys similar to electrum can contain the spores and shield individuals. You and your team will find out about the crash, and the crazy happenings within 12-24 hours of the event, and it will be up to you to deal with it. Partial wins to those who can contain contamination so that a cure may eventually be found. Full wins will go to those who can, after containment is done, can figure out a way to cure the infected souls.

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It doesn't need Flash or Shockwave or anything like that - it's plain text and JavaScript. And you can save the page and play the game off-line, too!
Pac-txt: Pac-Man meets Zork
The only question, of course, is "why?"
-Rob Kelk
"Actually, my goal is to write neat stories. The money just makes it possible for me to write them faster and then buy neat toys."
Ryk E. Spoor, 7 November 2007
--
Rob Kelk
"Governments have no right to question the loyalty of those who oppose
them. Adversaries remain citizens of the same state, common subjects of
the same sovereign, servants of the same law."

- Michael Ignatieff, addressing Stanford University in 2012

Alright after three months of writers block and Real Life interference I've managed to hammer out a few characters and I wanted to post something at least, so here they are. Please note that these are all rough drafts and things are subject to change (especially the ability names), but I figure its a good idea to get some feedback and make sure I haven't
screwed up to much. Also all these characters are as of SOS-con

Alexander "Alex" Stevens
Age:16 (27)
Height:5'
Weight:99lbs.
Hairlatinum/Silver
Eyes:Grey

Notable Mundane Attributes
Mad Tinkerer:The Harukaze's self proclaimed "part-time Mad Scientist",Alex's primary hobby (aside from watching anime) is working with handwavium.He also has some mechanical expertise.
When Dad told me to "get a job" I don't think he had this in mind rimary shareholder in Stevens & Wynn Interplanetary Freight Transport (S.W.I.F.T.), defacto owner of the Harukaze.
Okay, let's do it this way...Decent leadership and organizational skills.

'Wavium Abilities
Don't call me Tessa:Alex's premature biomod has resulted in him (now her) being a dead ringer for Teletha "Tessa" Testarossa.
Anime Body:Alex's new body is in perfect health (asthma,myopia,and other physical defects have been eliminated) but looks as much Like Tessa as possible (short
of looking like a reject from Who Framed Roger Rabbit), and does its best to stay that way (refuses to put on excess fat,hair grows back within days if cut,heals without scarring Ect.). It is also extremely tough (though she's nowhere near bulletproof).
Wizard...but not the Hogwarts kind:Alex's ability to store and process information as well as his reflex speed have been greatly enhanced. Also, parts of alex's brain and nervous system have been altered to function similar to a wireless capable internal cyberdeck.

Quirks
Game BalanceAlex must eat twice as much food as someone her size normally would or her internal cyberdeck doesn't function.
Binary Trance:When communicating with electronic devices Alex is only peripherally aware of her surroundings, Though not so much that she's unable to notice things happening directly in front of her or respond (distractedly) to conversation.Additionally,when connected with machines binary code appears to scroll across her iris' (though the effect is only noticeable up close).
Whispers in the dark:Alex can here electronic signals being broadcast nearby as unintelligible whispers,normally this is barely noticeable backround noise but in places with lots of signals it can occasionally give her headaches.
Why is my voice so High?Alex is still dealing with unintended gender switch and its consequences.
I'm not a kid,Dangit!: Dislikes being mistaken for a kid (for obvious reasons).
Must...Have...Anime!:Obsessed with collecting anime
and anime-related merchandise.
Momentary Dramatics:has a tendency to overly dramatic gestures and moments of drama.
Abstinence:Alex never drinks alcohol.

Faction:Generalist (focused on anime and manga) with ties to the senshi.
Preferred Transport:The Harukaze.

Erik Hill
Age:28
Height:5'11"
Weight:193lbs.
Hair:Brown
Eyes:Hazel

Notable Mundane Atributes
Chief Engineer:Erik has a degree in engineering and so is the default chief engineer.
Walking Mecha Database:Erik has a near encyclopedic knowledge of fictional mecha.
Not Quite Mad Engineer:while not as passionate about it as Alex,Erik does have several 'wavium projects he works on,as well as working with Alex on team projects.

'Wavium Abilities
None

Quirks
Mechaphile:Erik is obsessed with mecha (especially Giant Robots).
Work in Progress:Erik is building a giant robot...and has been for over a year (he keeps scrapping the design and starting over).
Don't Touch!Erik doesn't like anyone messing with his (incomplete) robot,Period.

Faction:Gearhead, of the macross/robotech persuasion.

William Gray
Age:38
Height:6'10"
Weight:283lbs.
Hair: Dirty Blond
Eyes:Gold

Notable Mundane Attributes
Jack of All Trades...:Will always seems to have a skill or experience relevant to the current situation (but see Quirks).
Green Thumb:Will has a real talent for working with plants and has a small garden on the Harukaze.
Music soothes the savage beast:Will has a fairly extensive and eclectic music collection which he listens to often.
Gamer:Will enjoys playing most games,anything from tabletop to console, and is a reasonably skilled player.

'Wavium Abilities
BIG Kitty:Will's biomod has apparently turned him into a Kilrathi, with all the attendant physical benefits.
Fighting Insinct:His biomod mod has also given Will an instintive knowledge of how to fight in his new form, though he is still integrating this into his own modest combat skills.

Quirks
Carnivore:Will requires significant amounts of meat in his diet.
Competitive Instinct:Along with an instinctive ability to fight Will has also gained an instinctive desire to test himself in physical competition.
Predator:Being,essentially,a seven foot tall anthropomorphic tiger,Will has a tendency to intimidate people,at least at first.
Big and Tall doesn't quite cut it:Because of his size and build,Will has difficulty finding off the shelf clothing that fits properly.
...Master of None:While possessing many skills,Will has more than basic proficiency in only a few.

Faction:Generalist.

Well that's it for now,I'm not really happy with some of the wording but at least I got it out.

Best wishes to everyone!

-- Bob
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I intend to be a freak for the rest of my life, and I shall baffle you with cabbages and rhinoceroses in the kitchen and incessant quotations from Now We Are Six through the mouthpiece of Lord Snooty's giant poisoned electric head. So theeeeeere....