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[IC][Story][Arc 1] Runtime Error |
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Posted by: robkelk - 07-24-2018, 10:44 AM - Forum: The Attic
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OOC: A short-short, just because.
Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
November 8, 2016
4:44 pm
"That's odd."
"What's odd?" Rob asked, walking over to where Kazari was performing system maintenance on the common room's computer.
"This isn't what I thought I was downloading."
Rob looked over Kazari's shoulder at the screen.
Quote:Welcome to Master PC
Welcome to the Master Command Center...
where the Master allows you to become a virtual god to the people around you...
Now, you possess the power to bend their reality to your specifications.
You are the Master's representative
Faster than even he thought possible, Rob grabbed his phone and hit the "PANIC" speed-dial button that wasn't on any of the tenants' phones. After one ring, the line connected. Before the person on the other end could reply, Rob said, "Skuld! We have an emergency down here!"
Thirty seconds later, Skuld was present and looking at the screen, with a very serious expression on her face. "Where did this come from?"
"I thought I was downloading a patch for the Pi's operating system from GitHub," Kazari replied. "I got this instead."
"I see. You haven't touched it." Skuld's statement was more a command than a question.
"We have no intention of touching it," Rob replied. "As tempting as it might be to issue a global command to raise everyone's IQ by ten points, or to 100, whichever is higher."
Approval started to show on Skuld's face for a brief moment; then she frowned. "Unfortunately, that wouldn't be a good idea, as much as it would help the individuals affected. You need to leave their lives alone."
Rob nodded. "They're their lives. Can we at least issue a global command undoing everything that Master PC may have done?"
"I'll do that from Yggdrasil."
Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
November 8, 2016
4:44 pm
"That's done. Now for the next upgrade."
Rob half-listened to Kazari performing system maintenance on the common room's computer. 'Woah. Deja vu,' he thought.
The computer kept running, completely normally.
Yggdrasil
November 8, 2016
4:45 pm (Ottawa time)
"I hate having to do system restores. There are so many things that can go wrong, especially in this situation."
Urd looked over Skuld's shoulder at the screen. "Would you rather have that thing loose?"
"Ew! No!"
OOC: Quoted text from the original "Master PC" story. No, I'm not going to provide a link.
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| [Gazeteer] The Port Phobos Fleet Museum |
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Posted by: Dartz - 07-22-2018, 05:50 PM - Forum: Fenspace
- Replies (3)
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The Fleet Museum at Port Phobos was opened in December 2023, after years of interfactional negotiations. The Museum had been on the agenda for the Convention's business meeting since the very first Convention after the end of the Boskone War.
However, for years, funding of the museum took a back foot to more pressing necessities.
Until HMS Athena was retired from SAM service and slatted for scrapping. On checking her serial number, it was found that she had originally been a ship of the Osaka City Guard.
A concerted crowdfunding effort to save the last surviving ship from Crystal Osaka eventually led to the funding of the museum - based in hanger 17 - the original staging point for the Boskone 4 assault.
6 Vessels formed the core exhibits when the museum was opened. More have since been added.
Vessels added to the collection at the museum have been preserved either because of their uniqueness, their importance in Convention history, or the events which the vessel took part in.
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HMS Athena:
Bolitho Class. Restored to her original markings of the Osaka City guard. She is one of the few remaining artifacts from the city, having been delivered to the city guard 2 weeks before the collapse of the city. She survived the collapse of the city and served alongside the Toikyo guard for years before coming up for retirement.
A concerted effort among multiple factions led to her being preserved as the signature exhibit for the museum, along with structural elements from the city itself to place her in her context.
USS Phoenix:
Federation research vessel. First Fenship to go FTL. Not flightworthy. She is suspended from the roof of the main atrium. She is currently on permanent loan from the Starfleet museum.
A simulator enables her historic flight to be re-enacted by visitors.
HMS Lydia:
Hornblower class cruiser of the Sailors Armed Militia. Retired from service due to structural damage caused during the rescue of a VTP research vessel that had become trapped at low altitude. Her Captain took her below the ship's calculated collapse depth to affect a rescue. The ship survived, and the rescue was succesful.
She is open to the public. Her propulsion systems have been permanently disabled.
SS Ciara:
Great Justice Star Destroyer - restored to her wartime configuration. She is permanently moored as an exhibit. Her propulsion systems are supposedly functional. Ciara occasionally hosts fenkinder overnight in her crew bunkrooms, and runs an amateur radio station. She's suspected to be haunted.
SS Destiny Nova:
One of two surviving Boskone vessels (White Stallion is the other). Restored to her wartime configuration, with a second exhibit of her time in Panzer Kunst Grupper service. She is widley believed by the museum's curators to be haunted.
SS Yeager
Blackbird Class Vessel. One of the original production run. Retired from military service shortly after the Boskone War - she served as a training and research vessel for the next 6 years before being flown to the museum and permanently moored.
She is the only exhibit that is still regularly flying on the Warbird circuit at air and space shows, drumming up support for the museum.
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[IC][Story][Arc 1] Ti Kallisti |
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Posted by: Labster - 07-22-2018, 04:20 AM - Forum: The Attic
- Replies (4)
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"Ti Kallisti" (part 1 of 4)
====================
Tuesday, September 27, 2016
Los Angeles International Airport
I was sitting in a brand new van, going nowhere. I was intending to go somewhere, of course, but as so many other L.A. stories go, I was stuck in traffic on an overpass. Leave it to L.A. to design an airport like a freeway, only fill it with too many cars.
The white van was decorated only with a single azure stripe which flowed into a wide elliptical hook shape on the front door, with a blue oval dotting the inside of the hook. It was one of those so-called 15 passenger vans, though I was pretty sure you couldn't fit fifteen Americans in there. Right now though, the van only had two passengers.
The van lurched to life, then came to a sudden stop ten seconds later. I rolled forward in my seat. "Athena," I chided, "You have to look at the cars in front of him, too. He's got nowhere to go, so there's no reason to jerk forward."
"Sorry, Brent," she frowned. I really wish that I had been able to teach Athena Glory to drive with a smaller car, but it was pretty clear we were going to need a big vehicle to transport all of the residents of our apartments for outings, even for something as simple as for shopping.
The choice to buy the van was proven right yesterday, when I was informed that we'd be getting seven new tenants to live in our complex. And what tenants they would be -- Chiyo, Osaka, Sakaki, Tomo, Yomi, Kagura, and Kaorin. Names that were already burned in my mind, as the students of Azumanga Daioh.
I was really excited to meet the characters of my favorite anime. At least, that's how I was supposed to feel, right? But I don't know though, I've never been much for fannish devotion. I've met famous actors and and Congressmembers, and they all just seem like ordinary folks to me; maybe they just shine a little more brightly.
So honestly, I was anxious. I wanted them to like me, and I wanted to like them. Liking someone on TV is not the same as knowing the real person. Real people have flaws and habits you don't see on-screen. But honestly honestly, I just wanted them to be happy here -- and I wanted to make Yomi and Tomo laugh.
When the van finally inched forward to the international terminal, Athena hopped out, and I got into the driver's seat. Someone had to wait for our new arrivals -- Athena was experienced at that, and not allowed to drive solo on a learner's permit. I pulled the van around and began to circle the airport. "Fun".
Athena, for her part, had shown pretty good aptitude for motor vehicles, so long as she could keep her concentration. Having spent her youth piloting larger vehicles than this while dodging motorboats, the only thing that still tripped her up was the engine's sudden power.
Athena carried a sign bearing the names of two of our passengers in large letters in two different scripts, lovingly written by our Japanese resident, Akari Mizunashi.
Quote: 水原 MIZUHARA
榊 SAKAKI
It turns out that writing kanji manages to be difficult even if you have an example in front of you, and that a practiced hand makes all the difference. It's kind of old school, holding up a sign for VIP pickup, but people still do it. The modern way wouldn't do; I truly doubted they had opted for an interuniversal cell phone plan.
Anyway, the names chosen were something of a social hack; from watching the anime, those were the two most likely to spot their names and react appropriately. The report forwarded from Sebastian indicated that Tomo Takino appeared to be the group's leader, which made me wonder exactly what led to that tragic misunderstanding. Unless they were entirely different from fiction, the only way Tomo gets to be the leader is under the Peter Principle.
Athena texted me to come pick them up, but it took me another five minutes to circle back around to the international terminal. When I arrived, I saw the silver-haired undine surrounded by seven Japanese young women in the shade of the wide concrete overhang. The tall one was conversing with Athena, while the rest of them looked appropriately bedraggled for passengers on a long flight from Singapore. Only one of them was chipper, and running around the group like a moron. I decided: nope, exact same Tomo as I would expect.
As I pulled the the curb, Athena yanked the car doors open. The shorter one with long brown hair asked, "Miss Athena, are you a gal?" She had the widest eyes I had ever seen on a person from East Asia. That would be Osaka, codename Ayumu Kasuga -- or is that backwards?
Athena did have light hair and tanned skin, but a closer inspection would have revealed only simple silver earrings and a complete lack of false fingernails. "Uh, yeah I guess?" she replied, ignorant of twentieth century fashion trends.
Kagura said, "Cool! It's going to be an laid-back place if they have gals working there." She was the tannest member of the group, though I was actually surprised that her swimmer's tan wasn't even darker, considering how late in the year it was. She definitely had the athletic arms of a practitioner of the aquatic arts.
Chiyo Mihama had the remnant of a recent sunburn on her neck and arms. She was dealing with the downside of pale skin, as exemplified by her twintails of orangish-red hair. I felt her pain -- repeatedly, given my own complexion. And certainly, the warm, dry Santa Ana wind today wasn't helping. She sat down and dutifully buckled her seatbelt, but then realized that she couldn't reach the precious A/C vent above her head to point it toward her.
Luckily Sakaki was tall enough to reach Chiyo's vent from her adjacent seat. For all of the build-up in the anime, Sakaki wasn't really all that tall in person; I still had a a half-head on her. But her dark hair, long legs, and larger build definitely made her look more imposing than the rest of these women. I just had the advantage of knowing she was a real softie at heart.
Kaori and Yomi looked as if the trip did not suit them, and the brunettes dragged themselves aboard the van. It looks like the trip had really worn them out, however they got to our world.
In contrast, Tomo hopped in the seat right behind me and asserted, "Take us to the beach resort, and step on it, my good man!" She, like every one of the new arrivals, was a Japanese teenager. Pushing 155 centimeters, she wasn't even a whole head taller than the tweenage Chiyo-chan -- and that gap would be closing pretty soon. Tomo had a round face, wide eyes and an open-mouthed smile; her arm gestured forward into another mass of traffic.
"The beach, we definitely got. The resort…" I lingered. Athena was already shaking her head in the negative. "Oh come on, it's not that bad!"
Athena shrugged. She closed the side door, then hopped into the front with me. She toggled the radio off, and told me, "All seven here, only two bags."
"Oh," I nodded. "Shopping trip later." Still at the wheel, I fought my way away from the curb, and towards the lanes of cars that were actually moving.
She pulled a lever underneath the seat, and turned the chair all the way around. "Good morning, ladies. My name is Athena Glory, and I'm one of your fellow residents at your new apartment. Driving the car is Brent Laabs, your apartment manager."
"Hi everyone," I waved, not really looking behind me to keep my focus on the traffic ahead instead.
I heard a few obligatory yoroshiku behind me.
"If you need some help, you'll be able to find him in room 1 of the apartments.
"Now, if you look to the left, you can see the Theme Building, an example of futuristic Googie architecture. Built in 1960, it was designed to resemble a flying saucer." Athena was actually giving a tour. Incredible. She'd been here all of two weeks and she already knew more about the place than I did.
Behind me, Osaka pointed out the window, "Whoa, UFO!!"
"Very Space Age," Chiyo remarked.
As we drove to the edge of the airport, Tomo blurted, "Holy freaking crap those are giant letters!"
"What's an X-A-L?" Osaka asked. I was really happy to let our tour guide do her job.
The tenant report from Sebastian was right: they did speak English. Actually, really well, well enough that they were speaking it without even thinking about it. Not even talking to each other in Japanese, except for the occasional word. Interesting.
Their rooms were ready enough for now, on the north side of the second floor. Akari had convinced me to buy futons for the new arrivals' rooms. That way, they could decide on their own mattress and bed set, if they wanted one, and we could reuse the futons for guests. The beds that I had bought in haste were not exactly a hit -- Athena wanted a firmer mattress, while little Alice wanted a softer mattress with no lumps in a four-poster.
The only thing that remained, then, was to partition the new group and hand out the keys.
"We have two bedroom apartments here, so you're going to have to pair up. Remember, it's not permanent, you can always switch later," I said. I watched with interest, because unlike the last time I couldn't anticipate exactly how this would go.
"Now who do I want to live with?" Yomi Mizuhara wondered aloud.
Tomo's hand shot up, "Ooh ooh me! Pick me!"
"Doesn't anyone want to room with me? Anyone at all?"
"Meeee!" Tomo's arms waved back and forth in front of Yomi's field of vision. "Pick me, meeee!"
Yomi sighed, "Fine. I wouldn't want anyone else to suffer Tomo."
"Yaaay!"
You could see the wheels turning in Kaorin's head, as her blush began radiating heat. She meekly offered, "Miss… Miss Saka…"
Tomo interjected, "Who's going to live with Chiyo-chan? We can't have her live alone, this is a dangerous, lawless country overrun by cowboy gangs with guns."
What, no tsukkomi from Yomi for that one?
"It's not that bad, Tomo," Chiyo explained, "I was already planning on living here."
"Don't worry Chiyo-chan, I will protect you," Sakaki declared.
A wide, innocent smile appeared on Chiyo's face, "Thank you so much, Miss Sakaki!"
"Miss Saka-aaah," Kaorin was clearly let down by this turn of events.
"Well, Ah guess that makes you'n me roomies. Please take real good care of me, Kagura," Osaka offered. Kagura returned her bow.
In the end, Tomo and Yomi got number 9, directly above my own apartment. Kaorin was next door in number 10, adjacent to Osaka and Kagura in number 11. Taking the other large corner apartment in number 12 were Sakaki and her ward Chiyo.
I was a little worried about one thing, though. "Are you okay with living alone, Kaorin?" Not that I had a solution or anything.
The short girl with her a perfectly angled shingle bob took her time to answer. "No, it's fine, I'm—" she paused, "I'm right in the middle of it all this time, so I'm not going to lose again!" She held her fists to her breast. "Oh, I'm sorry, don't mind me, I must be really tired or something."
I could have sworn I felt the heat radiating off her cheeks, but that was probably just a trick of the Devil Winds. "Nah, it's okay. Let me know if you need anything."
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| Ooooh! Look what's at archive.org! |
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Posted by: robkelk - 07-21-2018, 01:13 PM - Forum: General Chatter
- Replies (1)
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78'er Klubben - A collection of digitized 78 rpm records from the 78'er Klubben in Denmark. 15,332 results as of this posting.
Yes, 78s, so there's nothing new... but in a very quick look, I see works by Bill Haley and the Comets, Glenn Miller, Louis Armstrong, Nat King Cole, Dean Martin, Vera Lynn, Ella Fitzgerald, Elvis Presley, and Bing Crosby - and that's just on the first page of results.
I am so glad it's legal to download music in Canada as long as you burn it to blank CDs you bought in Canada (and thus have paid the license fee).
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| Just discovered a nifty feature |
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Posted by: robkelk - 07-21-2018, 11:18 AM - Forum: Forums
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This works in Firefox, at least:
Go to a forum list and hover the pointer over the title of a thread you started. A tooltip will pop up: "(Click and hold to edit)". Click and hold on the title, and after about two seconds it turns into a text box that you can edit. ENTER saves the changes, ESC cancels them.
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| The Third Age now has a name |
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Posted by: robkelk - 07-21-2018, 09:03 AM - Forum: General Chatter
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And so do the First and Second Ages.
For that matter, the First, Second, and Third Ages are now defined.
What? Oh, right. The Holocene Epoch has, for the first time, been divided into three Ages: Greenlandian (11,700-8,300 years ago), Northgrippian (8,300-4,200 years ago), and Meghalayan (4,200 years ago - present).
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![[Image: 37633038_266135447307315_416252751266185...e=5BD3467F]](https://scontent.fath3-3.fna.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/37633038_266135447307315_4162527512661852160_n.jpg?_nc_cat=0&oh=1737c4e436b6e2a9c980dc3f726b0025&oe=5BD3467F)
