So, I was thinking... costume creator might be possible...

YEEEEEEESSS!!! 

And here's the direct download! 

http://repo.cohtitan.com/icon/icon.exe

Stick it in your COH program directory and run it from there. It boots the client directly into the character creator! 

There are a few "bugs" still. It doesn't load veteran costume pieces like the samurai set or trenchcoats, or sadly - angel wings. Ironically, that pretty much leaves ALL my mains out in the cold. But you can at least VIEW them from the "Saved Costumes" load screen!

This is a FANTASTIC step forward!

So, DH glowing King's Cross, Dumbledore outright says it's all in Harry's head, but there are three beings there - an old man, an adult, and a mangledy baby, supposedly Voldie's soul fragment. But, all the other horcruxes reflected his age when they were made, and diary Tom was described as looking quite like Harry... Now assume a fanon Evil Albus. Doesn't it make more sense that the discussion is Dumbledore's horcrux playing Tom's, as part of a Xanatos Gambit plan to negate the prophesy that would have
--
"Anko, what you do in your free time is your own choice. Use it wisely. And if you do not use it wisely, make sure you thoroughly enjoy whatever unwise thing you are doing." - HymnOfRagnorok as Orochimaru at SpaceBattles
woot Med. Eng., verb, 1st & 3rd pers. prsnt. sg. know, knows

Anyone who's a fan of Baen's ebooks should take a quick check of their site. 

Things are going to be changing in a big way by the end of this week.

How things are going to work from now on:

1) Monthly bundles will remain available at their discounted price ($18/bundle) until that month's actual publication date. All older bundles will go away as of 12/15.

2) All already-purchased books will remain available for download. Baen will not change their policies on format availability or DRM.

3) After the publication date, books will be available for individual purchase. Books currently available only in hardcover will cost $9.99, books currently available in MMPB will cost $6.99

4) After the publication date, books will be available for purchase at the same prices from the Amazon Kindle store. Books purchased through Amazon will be subject to Amazon's usual policies regarding licensing, availability, revocability, and DRM.

5) Most items have been removed from the Baen Free Library. "Second Editions" of these books will be released by Baen and through Amazon later in their publishing schedule. These will have some form of added content and will be marketed at their usual prices. At the time of release of the second edition the original version will be restored to the BFL.

6) Third-party bundles sold through Baen but not published by them will be unchanged.
--
Sucrose Octanitrate.
Proof positive that with sufficient motivation, you can make anything explode.

Here's a guide I've worked up showing how to modify the HUD/UI. I'm reposting it here. 

You can rearrange the UI in Champions. You can also change the overall scale of everything. 

Here - step by step - 

First - here's the unmodified HUD/UI.



Hit your "F12" key to access the HUD/UI alteration interface. This is what it looks like initially after hitting F12.



Each of those green boxes can be moved individually. Here - I've moved the powers tray from the bottom of the screen off to the right. 



Additionally, most of them can be individually re-scaled like you can with windows boxes (place pointer at edge until you get a double-arrow and the pull in the direction you want). Here below I've changed the scale of the two mini-map boxes in the upper right hand corner. 



And here's the end result - 



You can also change the overall scale of the HUD/UI. Hit "ESC" to get this menu. 



Then choose options. On the very first tab labeled "Basic" look at the bottom. There's a "Interface Scale" Meter. Change it to taste. 



For our example here, let's ramp it down to 65% and see what it looks like. 



Okay, that gets a lot of stuff out of the way, but leaves our chat box and type setting a little small to see. 

No worries, you can directly drag and re-size this window, then right-click on the chat tabs and go to the "Options" tab. There's a "Font-Size" slider. Ramp it up until it suits you. 

Voila!



So using a combination of all of those, you can modify the UI a lot. I don't think you can change the COLOR of the UI unfortunately. 

I hope this helps everyone out!

Specifically, ABBA's "Head Over Heels."
Head Over Heels (1981)

Benny Andersson & Björn Ulvaeus

I have a very good friend
The kind of girl who likes to follow a trend
She has a personal style
Some people like it, others tend to go wild
You hear her voice everywhere
Taking the chair
She's a leading lady
And with no trace of hesitation she keeps going
Refrain:  Head over heels
Breaking her way
Pushing through unknown jungles every day
She's a girl with a taste for the world
(The world is like a playing-ground where she goes rushing)
Head over heels
Setting the pace
Running the gauntlet in a whirl of lace
She's extreme, if you know what I mean

Her man is one I admire
He's so courageous but he's constantly tired
Each time when he speaks his mind
She pats his head and says, "That's all very fine
Exert that will of your own
When you're alone
Now we'd better hurry"
And with no trace of hesitation she keeps going
Refrain

You hear her voice everywhere
Taking the chair
She's a leading lady
And with no trace of hesitation she keeps going
RefrainCoda (She's just one of those who always has to do whatever she please)
And she goes
Head over heels.
If Doug ever, in canon as opposed to omake, meets Suzumiya Haruhi, this song will create a three minute, forty-five second simulacrum (with, thanks to the second stanza, Kyon dragged along to deliver weapons-grade snark and maybe direct her unrecognized powers against an enemy).  Once the Loon realizes that, he'll probably put the song under the Do-Not-Play lock.
Edit:  ABBA's "SOS" will, of course, summon simulacra of the entire Brigade.  This is a gamebreaker, because the Nagato Yuki simulacrum would have Yuki's conscious godlike powers (unless Doug never found out about them).
By the way, "Hungry Like the Wolf" by Duran Duran should probably either produce a simulacrum of a werewolf with whom Doug's on friendly terms, or turn the Loon into a werewolf (immunities and weaknesses both, but it doesn't force him to do evil things) only for the duration of the song. Depending on what version he uses, this duration is 3 minutes 41 seconds, 4 minutes 11 seconds, or 5 minutes 14 seconds.
-----
Big Brother is watching you.  And damn, you are so bloody BORING.

Gentlemen and Ladies,
I am in the market for a new PC. I'd like something out of the box, that I can plug and chug. Primarily will be using it for video watching and net browsing. Possibly game playing. And something in the 600-750 dollar range. Any recommendations?
__________________
Into terror!,  Into valour!
Charge ahead! No! Never turn
Yes, it's into the fire we fly
And the devil will burn!
- Scarlett Pimpernell

The USA is, and has been for some years, worrying about a shortage of scientists, engineers, and other technical folk.  Apparently we are falling behind rest of the First World there, and it's going to impact our economy and our ability to dominate the world stage and whatnot.
So...
What happened in Fenspace!USA, where the initial wave of anti-handwavium panic drove what was likely a significant fraction of that entire segment of the population, from students through experienced professionals, into exile in space?
-- Bob
---------
Then the horns kicked in...
...and my shoes began to squeak.

I'm sure you've all noticed that the forums have had relative time stamping on messages for a week or so now.  Apparently this has raised some objections in some quarters, and in case you didn't read the post linked out of the announcement at the top of the forum, Yuku has now implemented a way to turn it off.  So, which would people prefer?
-- Bob
---------
Then the horns kicked in...
...and my shoes began to squeak.

A couple of programmers with a lot of skill recently decided to mod the ending to Mass Effect 3, replacing the lackluster "3 choices" ending and removing the entire Space Child sequence, and putting the ending everyone actually wanted in its place.

http://social.bioware.com/project/8587/#files
I haven't tried it yet, but I'm going to sometime soon. It's even being tweaked and perfected as time goes on, so the finished product should be even more interesting. Depending on how awesome it turns out, I may simply ignore the original endings, and consider this the "official-if-they-had-any-sense" ending.
---
Those who fear the darkness have never seen what the light can do.

For those of you who don't know van Canto, it's a German metal band that handles almost everything a cappella. Normally this would mean that their songs are useless as a cappella doesn't trigger Doug's talent, but they do use a set of drums, which as far as I can tell is enough to trigger it. After all, it's a minimum of 1 voice and 1 instrument in a language Doug understands, and van Canto usually sings in English.
Lost Forever
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K1smZBn1n8c
There is no reason, no sense
I'm caged in prisons my conciousness built
Always in fearful defense
Always pretending that my will's fulfilled
I have to somehow break out
I have to fight for the freedom to be
What is this life all about?
I have to fight for the right to be free
And so you wonder what have you become?
(Chorus)
Might be I am lost forever
Still I'm here to carry on
Even though the road is wayless
I won't doubt, I'm marching on
Might be that I'm lost forever
Walking somewhere far beyond
As long as I roam I don't care
To be lost forevermore
There was a need to be true
I had been hunting for aims that were lies
There is no need to be you
You walk on beaten paths until you die
I went ahead just to see
What I would find there was worth fighting for
I went ahead to be me
And to return to my heart, to my core
Remain in silence, save your words for us
Until the end of time we wander
Roaming to be lost
To be lost
I figure it's either a Gate song (And to return to my heart, to my core; referring to his wife or his identity as a Warrior), or it's a song that helps someone find their way in life.
Fear of the Dark (Iron Maiden cover)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k9KcMPGlZ_s
I am a man who walks alone
And when i'm walking a dark road
At night or strolling through the park
When the light begins to change
I sometimes feel a little strange
A little anxious when it's dark.
[chorus:]
Fear of the dark, fear of the dark
I have constant fear that something's always near
Fear of the dark, fear of the dark
I have a phobia that someone's always there
Have you run your fingers down the wall
And have you felt your neck skin crawl
When you're searching for the light?
Sometimes when you're scared to take a look
At the corner of the room
You've sensed that something's watching you.
[chorus]
Have you ever been alone at night
Thought you heard footsteps behind
And turned around and no-one's there?
And as you quicken up your pace
You find it hard to look again
Because you're sure there's someone there
[chorus]
Fear of the dark, fear of the dark, fear of the dark, fear of the dark. [x2]
Watching horror films the night before
Debating witches and folklore
The unknown troubles on your mind.
Maybe your mind is playing tricks
You sense, and suddenly eyes fix
On dancing shadows from behind.
[chorus]
When i'm walking a dark road
I am a man who walks alone
Two effects: It causes a zone of darkness focused around Doug, and everyone within it gets afraid of whatever might be hiding there.