Scientists find "kryptonite"
''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

Link-Fu
Re: Issue 9 Timing to Live [Re: Silverspar]
#8171539 - 04/30/07 03:13 PM
We've posted an extended server maintenance window here for Tuesday, May 1st.
This is our current plan to take Issue 9 live. However, there still is a full day of testing / stress testing on the Auction Server and, if you haven't noticed from the proposed patch notes there is a whole lotta stuff contained in the Issue, any of which may break on us at the worst of times. Murphy and his laws 'n such
So, plan accordingly if you like. If anything comes up to change that timing, we will post here and update the maintenance page.
--------------------
Lighthouse
Community Relations Manager


Global: @Jimmy Amp
"Broad-minded is just another way of saying a fellow's too lazy to form an opinion." -- Will Rogers

Linky-link
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3 Year Anniversary Free Respec May 1st
#8084204 - 04/18/07 03:44 PM Edit Reply Quote Quick Reply


We wanted to let players know that, as part of our celebration of the 3rd year anniversary of City of Heroes, we will be applying a free respec to all characters. So, if you have been wanting to change your powers around a little bit, switch up your power slotting or make other changes, this will be a good time to do it!
To get the most out of your character respecs, be sure to visit the Player Guide section on Respecification.
The actual timing of when the respec is May 1st, 2007
******************************
To address some common questions about this coming free respec:

Q:Will having a prior Freespec (from a previous issue) affect it?
A: Yes, it will. You cannot have 2 "Freespecs" on any given character. This Free respec will function just like all previous free respecs have. If you already have a respec, you will need to "burn" your existing one to obtain the new one.

Q: Barring vetspecs, does this mean we could have five banked respecs (Anniversary spec, Freespec, 3 trial respecs?):
A: No, this is a freespec.

Q: Given the big change IOs may make in players powers, many think a freespec will be given at some point with I9.
A:There is no free respec associated with Issue 9.
--------------------
Lighthouse
Community Relations Manager


Global: @Jimmy Amp
"Broad-minded is just another way of saying a fellow's too lazy to form an opinion." -- Will Rogers

Haven't had a chance to look at it yet, but (according to folks on rec.arts.anime.misc) here's the Best Comedy winner from this year's Anime Boston AMV contest:
AVI from the creator's site
animemusicvideos.org page
YouTube stream
Pretty obvious why it won at Anime Boston, right?

-Rob Kelk
--
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

What with the Global warming daylight saving sarcasm letter and my false poodle/sheep rumour, I guess I should be a little more hesitant about some of the more outlandish stories I come across.
Can you even trust any news source?
This paticular story is about Sony killing a goat and using it's still warm body to promote a video game.
I don't know if it's actually true, but given Sony's track record lately this wouldn't surprise me if it was.
--------------
www.foxnews.com/story/0,2...87,00.html
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howard melton

(This is responding to Kokuten's post in the "Pope-a-Dope" thread at (4/29/07 2:23 am). I thought it really was better to move this out of there, since it really doesn't relate to the original topic very much...)

Quote:

---

Interviews with rapists, interviews with rape victims. There is a whole 'rape culture' in America, and while there's a lot of knee-jerk bullshit in it, you spend enough time and effort learning, and it becomes clear. "Rape isn't about sex, it's about power" is a cliche, but it's a true one. No, I'm not saying that there are no exceptions, but it's as true as most any generalization I've run across.

---

Quote:

---

The "Rape Fantasy" is a completely different animal, and can be both an incredibly erotic experience, and an emotional high of very high grade, but the setup for doing it right requires a level of trust and communication that is abnormal in its strength and integrity. The roots of it, though, are in power and responsibility and sex, not just sex..

---

In his Discworld book "Equal Rites", Terry Pratchett has this to say about the RIAA;
"One reason for the bustle was that over large parts of the continent other people preferred to make money without working at all, and since the Disc had yet to develop a music recording industry, they were forced to fall back on older, more traditional forms of banditry"
Oh, SNAP!Wire Geek - Burning the weak and trampling the dead since 1979Wire Geek - Burning the weak and trampling the dead since 1979

For the last few months, I've been running my computer off of a single hard drive.
Just recently, though, I picked up two more of the same size, and have been wanting to set them up as a RAID array.
Except that, first, the setup prompt for my motherboard's hardware RAID controller doesn't seem to exist anymore (I tried this before, several months ago, when I first built the machine), and second, while the Device Manager shows all three HDs properly, Windows in general only acknowledges the old one, and I have no clue why.
IIUC, it is possible to do a software level RAID, but I don't know how, and Win's being bitchy would seem likely to contraindicate that if not resolved first. Even if I can't get an array up, I'd like to have access to the extra storage, y'know?
Ja, -n

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

(This one's been bouncing around in my head for a while. It kept insisting on coming out as a story fragment, which promptly ballooned out of control. So I snipped out just the relevant bit, pasted here)
Thats not going to happen, Akio, she said flatly. One way or another, this obscene dance of yours *ends.* *Here.* She gave him the kind of smile that would have had a sensible man running for cover. Are you ready?
Oh, if we *must,* Ohtori sighed again. Come, then, if you insist. I will indulge you your childish, futile need for another duel. That is, he added condescendingly, if you can make it past my servants the Million Swords.
The air vibrated, and from the castle overhead a sudden dark cloud emerged, boiling towards us like a biblical plague of locusts.
My turn.
I reached up and pulled down my goggles, drawing Ohtoris eye. Well then, I called in my best Loony Voice, Ill see your Million Swords, and raise you my (system play) TEN THOUSAND FISTS!
From Ohtoris perspective, it must have looked as if our entire end of the platform had exploded in a giant burst of smoke from which Utena erupted a moment later, surrounded by me. *Lots* of me. If I ever make it back to Konoha, Im going to have to thank Naruto for inspiring this particular song power.
The Million Swords descended on us, blocking out the well, not the *sun,* but we were definitely fighting in the shade now.
SONG: Ten Thousand Fists
BAND: Disturbed
ALBUM: Ten Thousand Fists
Power: Imagine Narutos Kage Bunshin no Jutsu, Doug-style. No ones entirely certain if the song is limited to only ten thousand total clones (some suggest five thousand, given Dougs subconsciouss sense of humor and the fact that each clone has two fists), since the clones only appear within his metagifts normal effective radius, which is insufficient space for so many normally-sized males. Instead, the song produces as many clones as Doug wants, or has strength to maintain, up to the 30-meter volume limit, continuously replacing terminated clones.
The clones themselves are relatively fragile and disposable, although they usually take more than a single normal knockout punch to terminate. By reducing the number of clones and expending more energy and concentration, Doug can create clones that are more solid and capable of taking damage, as well as dishing it out. To most sensory systems, including mage-sight, the clones are hard to distinguish from Doug himself, and this difficulty scales directly with the solidity of any given clone.
Each clone carries a diminished variant of Dougs personal Improbability Field, which varies in strength with the amount of effort Doug is putting into maintaining each clone. At maximum solidity, a clones IF can achieve parity with Dougs.
Personality-wise, the clones can be well, theyre *Doug.* While arguments about whos the original vs whos the clone are rare, the clones *can* be argumentative, fractious, and downright loose cannon (Just like their dad, Hexe has been known to snark) at times. The more solid a clone is, the more likely it is to act as its own person. Serious combat situations tend to reduce this tendency towards excessive individuality, but there is always an element of unpredictability.
No one knows if Doug has ever been able to henge his clones, or duplicate the (in)famous Harem no Jutsu of the Rodaime Hokage. However, at least one enemy on the receiving end of this song-power has been reported as requiring intense psychological therapy, including tranquilizers, after being carried off the battlefield in a fetal position babbling unstoppably about too many Loons.

Survival
Survival
One More G*dd*mn Day
When I know what I want
And what I want will be considered tonight
Considered tonight
Just Another Day
When all that I want will
Mark me as a sinner tonight
I'm a sinner tonight
Yeah
People can no longer cover their eyes
If this disturbs you
Then walk away
You will remember
The night you were struck by the sight of
Ten Thousand Fists In The Air
Power unrestrained
Dead on the mark
Is what we will deliver tonight
Deliver tonight
Pleasure fused with pain
This triumph of the soul
Will make you shiver tonight
Make you shiver tonight
Yeah
People can no longer cover their eyes
If this disturbs you
Then walk away
You will remember
The night you were struck by the sight of
Ten Thousand Fists In The Air
We are the ones that will open your mind
Leave the weak and the haunted behind (x4)
People can no longer cover their eyes
If this disturbs you
Then walk away
You will remember
The night you were struck by the sight of
Ten Thousand Fists In The Air

Friday's Dork Tower
Can't say I disagree with Matt...

-Rob Kelk
--
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