B E Aggressive!
Video.
----------------
Epsilon

I just got a copy of the new version of GURPS Supers, for Fourth Edition. (The Print-on-Demand version, not the e23 file - it seems to be a better-bound book than my "print it myself and take it to Staples" copy of the In Nomine Infernal Player's Guide. I think I may be getting new releases this way when I have the choice...)
It doesn't have any IST content in it, but Mr. Stoddard acknowledges GURPS IST and Bob by name in the "Publicaton History" section of the Introduction. That's a classy thing to do, in my opinion.
The actual content? Don't know - haven't read past the Introduction yet. Ask me again after the weekend.

-Rob Kelk
"Read Or Die: not so much a title as a way of life." - Justin Palmer, 6 June 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

Fic here.
As previously recommended elsewhere in these forums, Jared "Skysaber" Ornstead's response to a challenge to Carrot-style SI into Gilderoy Lockhart.
Ow. My brain.
Seriously. Sadly, I'm discovering this work to be of the "trainwreck" variety. One doesn't want to look but, conversely, cannot look away.
There are a LOT of holes here, and a great deal of internal inconsistency. That said, if you take it as a crackfic, it's tolerable.
I "love" his use of dodgy, ethically-suspect magic while proselytyzing his particular branch of Christianity and claiming moral superiority. And yet, one of his first acts is to murder the Dursleys. Let's forget the fact that he calls Hermione Granger by name without ever being properly introduced or even having a reason for the person he's inserted into to know the First-year Gryffindor without raising suspicion. Harry's a given for just about everyone in the setting he's in.
And he CAN'T seem to resist turning every work into a mega-crossover. I've seen him set up an Addams Family cross and even set up a throwaway reference through Nicholas Flamel to the Smurfs. He also lays claim to a media empire based on "manga" based on his other fics and a remake of Raiders of the Lost Ark, since apparently the Potterverse is bereft of imaginative pop culture or decent special effects tech in the Muggle world.
And he essentially neuters Voldemort within weeks of arrival, and sets up for a big fight against Dark Lord Dumbledore.
Other opinions?
''We don't just borrow words; on occasion, English has pursued other languages down alleyways to beat
them unconscious and rifle their pockets for new vocabulary.''

-- James Nicoll

I was at work tonight when for some reason I started humming the tune to an 80's TV series I used to watch, Airwolf.
The next thing I know, there's a plotbunny gnawing on my cortex.
Durring the Boskone war, some fen get their hands on a decommisioned and gutted Russian Hind gunship. Some wavium to make it space worthy, add some weapons and wha-laa, you have a combat craft.
Some thoughts/details that I came up with are:
- At low velocity, it would be able to quickly change it's axis of movement, without taking it's guns off target.
- Hinds had/have a troop bay for a squad of troops. With an airtight hatch between the cockpit and the bay the craft can carry a boarding party, or when combat isn't expected, the troop bay can be reconfigured for cargo or cabin space.
- If/when this craft joins the Soviet airforce, it's max speed increases by .05c and the handling performance and power efficiency increases by 10%.
- name of the craft, Spacewolf, or maybe Starwolf. __________________
666-HELL The phone number of the Beast
___________________________
"I've always wanted to be somebody, but I should have been more specific." - George Carlin

Buy peanuts.

===============================================
"I'm terribly sorry, but I have to kill you quite horribly now."

Today's Daily Illuminator link, posted by Steve Jackson himself: Internet Access CAPTCHAS. I've tried it a couple of times, and the question changes.
Edit: Bob, you might want to mention this one in your fanfic-writer's guide...

-Rob Kelk
"Read Or Die: not so much a title as a way of life." - Justin Palmer, 6 June 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

Today's User Friendly Link of the Day: The DM of the Rings. What the movies would have been like if they were a D&D game.
Edit: Set a decent block of time aside for this - it's 142 webpages long.
-Rob Kelk
"Read Or Die: not so much a title as a way of life." - Justin Palmer, 6 June 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

Okay, from the Three Graces thread, and probably one of the early plotbunny posts, we know that the ship name Enterprise is banned.
Are there any others, or should we work up the series of events that banned it?
Candidate for Banning:
Millenium Falcon -- for similar reasons to the ban on Enterprise
Contrast With:
Most common ship names in Fenspace
--Anything ending in -prise among the Trekkies: NCC-1701-Q USS Reprise, NCC-1071 USS Second Prize
--Systems among the Warsies for those ships that get named: Dagobah, Yavin-4, Naboo, Corellia
--The same as the common Yacht names for those vessels already named before they lifted off: $name's Toy, John Bee etc.
''We don't just borrow words; on occasion, English has pursued other languages down alleyways to beat
them unconscious and rifle their pockets for new vocabulary.''

-- James Nicoll

Something about this reminds me heavily of One Piece (although, to be fair, I haven't watched/read much of One Piece). Maybe it's the art style, maybe it's the tone of the story, maybe it's the group of characters, but it just resonates.
In a way though, this manga reminds me of Black Lagoon -- not in any way because of the style but because Lucy is like the Rock of the Fairy Tail guild. I don't think it would be a stretch to say she's the most stable person in the guild despite her quirks (and those of her summons; Aquarius really has to be seen to be believed), and we view the menagerie of characters through her eyes.
One of the other main characters, Natsu, reminds me of Luffy. He has that same bravado, the same characteristic of setting high goals and doing ridiculous things and going through for his friends.
This manga is also rather rpg-ish. Erza-san (who is awesome), for ex., uses ex-quip to fight. Ex-quip is short for exchange-equip as far as I can tell. Basically, she whips out diff. armors and weapons as the situation warrants.
There are various guilds in the land and they survive by taking on missions of various rankings and this follows the adventures of this particularly ... destructive... guild. Or to put it another way, they subscribe to the Lina Inverse method of completing missions. ^_^
Fun manga; kefi.org has been doing it if you'd like to check it out.

Californian govt blocks compulsory microchipping for people
Quote from the article:

Quote:

---

CityWatcher.com, a Cincinnati video surveillance company, has required employees who work in its secure data center to have a microchip implanted in an arm.

---