Given that Youtube is apparently trying to (slowly) phase out the old embed code, which we need to embed videos here, I thought I'd post it up here for the day when the option is removed from all videos.  The code works just fine with videos that lack the option, you just need to copy the unique ID part of the url into the code in two places. 
http://www.youtube.com/v/[enter ID code here]?version=3&hl=en_US&rel=0

Just paste this into the html view, remove all the red text, including the brackets, and replace it with the gibberish ID code from the end of the url of the video you want to embed.  You can also play with the viewer size at the start of the code.
-----
Stand between the Silver Crystal and the Golden Sea.
"Youngsters these days just have no appreciation for the magnificence of the legendary cucumber."  --Krityan Elder, Tales of Vesperia.

This is actually my first post to a forum - here goes nothing. Thanks again to Bob wor welcoming me to the community.
While this is my first post, I've been catching up on things since I found the forum and wiki. While things are pretty well fleshed-out in Earth-Luna space and the Belt has received quite a bit of attention recently, Mars seems to have been overlooked a bit. Hopefully, these three posts - and can someone else add them to the wiki; I haven't got the faintest clue how - will correct that. Opinions, suggestions, criticisms, and, of course, compliments are all welcome.
~~~

Pavonis Arcology

Pavonis
Mons in Tharsis is home to not one but
several interconnected, quasi-subterranean communities that operate under the
banner of the Pavonis Arcology. All
of them were built and are still supported and partly managed by the NERV
Foundation. They are each a part of the multi-phase plan, Project RED EARTH,
that is the main focus of the foundation's Natural Environment Re-creation
Venture. It is worth mentioning that, similar to Canada, Pavonis is bilingual
in its signage and education: English and Japanese, reflecting its founders.





Flag of Armitage III Mars, used by Pavonis

Using Binford's super-hardy
construction material vulcanocrete – a ceramic material made up of the lava
rock of Pavonis herself mixed with ground-up quartz and something else (generic
plaster mixed with pure handwavium, it's not a very good secret) – the NERV
Foundation successfully carved several Martian settlements into the extinct
volcano.

While originally rather bare of
settlers who didn't directly work for NERV members, the arcology had a boom in population
once construction on RED EARTH Phase Four started in March 2011 when the Elies,
at least for the foreseeable future, threw their lot in with Pavonis. It also
saw a slight increase during the Boskone War of Belters, but the majority who
went to Mars instead of cislunar space went to Port Lowell and Helium, instead.
The arcology' biggest population boom to date was after the opening ceremony
for New Port City when a surprising number of Japanese immigrants moved there.

[table]

<Berlin, "Take My Breath Away, 4:13>

you wanted to be specific/literal, I'd go for gradual asphyxiation. That's just boring, though.

My preferred interpretation would be the ability to create vacuums (not vacuum cleaners, but absences of air). This would work for literalism (and be a remarkably quiet way to kill someone), but might also have some utility uses.

If you wanted to get metaphorical, it makes Doug as breathtaking a sight as (meta)humanly possible.

<deadmau5 ft. Kaskade, "I Remember", 9:53>

first, I was thinking of a 'reverse amnesia' effect, but Doug already has that.

Maybe eidetic memory for the duration of the song? If Doug caught enough of the lyrics, I'd make it a retroactive effect- sort of a 'You can remember any events in your entire life with perfect clarity for 9:53'.

Otherwise, I'd see it as making it impossible for him to forget anything that happened while the song was active.

<Bachman-Turner Overdrive, "Takin' Care Of Business", 4:54>
way I can see this one going. Maybe the ability to blend into an office environment perfectly, as though he belongs there? Or maybe a time dilation effect- a way to get in a full workday in a much shorter amount of time?

Either way, it's a classic song.

...Evangelia has gone on undercover assignment in the Rogue Isles.
In other news, she racked up almost a hundred badges tonight. 
-- Bob
---------
Then the horns kicked in...
...and my shoes began to squeak.

Sadly, the copy I came across does not support "old-style" embed code, so I can only provide link to it.
-- Bob
---------
Then the horns kicked in...
...and my shoes began to squeak.

http://io9.com/5953817/easily-the-best- ... irculation

Amazon Wipes Customer's Kindle and Deletes Accountt
There's a lot of reports, but they all link back to a single blog, which is getting a lot of hits. But I do recall a correction to the extent that the victim's kindle broke down, and Amazon "merely" deleted her account and the backup there.
Exactly what happened will have to wait until the smoke clears. If we've got the whole story, then Amazon's got some splainin to do.
A bit more detail here.

Y'know... one of the things that most BUGGED me about transferring any of our characters to Champions? 

Why would any of us leave without trying to save people other than ourselves? If we couldn't, what would be the point? That's not very heroic. Wouldn't we stay and be heroes and inspirations and comfort to the people of the Paragon universe in the face of the Coming Storm? Even if it meant our death or being frozen in whatever limbo or stasis lock (to use a Doctor Who term) the Paragon Universe was going to suffer on November 30th?

This is a question that was seriously on the minds of some of the RP people in SD Paragon recently. And it bugged me too when it was pointed out. 

One basic problem as I see it is that this is not just a simple jaunt or day trip to a different part of the same world. The Champions Universe is too different and distinct. It has it's own lore. Much of which would directly contradict that of Paragon. 

So this is not simply a physical relocation. This is another Universe entirely. With it's own rules. 

Case in point -  Some characters tend to translate well and others are changed. 

In my case - Cyberman 8 and Lily the Diamond transfer to Millenium City almost seamlessly in terms of theme and niche. Melee is melee. And it is indeed possible to be distinct. C8 still plays like a speedster/scrapper in MC. And Lily is still a non-subtle smasher. (and with the FreeForm powers available she can even have Mu-Style Lightning just as in COH.)

But Kara... Oh boy. Kara... is a problem. There is no direct analogue to the Controller Archetype in Champions (something I'm very much going to miss). I only recently with help made a build that even approaches the right "feel". And it's still more of a DPS build than a lock-down build. (She can do heals pretty nicely though)

So some characters come through changed. They're not the same as they were.

So taking all this into consideration, The question arises for me - are these the same people? Or just alternate universe versions? I was trying to think for awhile of an RP/Story "hook". A reason why we're all over in Millennium City. But I couldn't think of anything. So I put it on the back burner.

Until tonight/this morning, when out of the blue - I wasn't even thinking about this problem - my subconscious finally woke up and the light bulb went *DING*. 

We're all inter-dimensional scouts. The whole lot of us. (Those of our characters that COULD make the transition that is - Lora'Lai and other Kheldians for example are too tied to the Paragon Universe to make the transition.) 

But whether we transferred directly to a Universe where we keep most of our "selves" and our memories and powers intact (Champions). Or whether we are sent to another plane where we are but vague analogues of who we were (DCUO)  and maybe not even superheroes (RIFT, The Secret World or some other game) - whether we remember directly who we are or not, we're all looking for a way to save the Universe of Paragon City. In particular - Incarnates are best suited for this transition (though are not the only ones). Incarnates are most likely to be keep themselves and their memories of who they are and what their purpose is intact. Others might not wholly remember consciously. But are still seeking the answers, whether they realize it or not. Your character might've been a Troll from the Hollows who winds up as an Orion in Star Trek. Or you might be a gadgeteer who winds up as an Engineer in Guild Wars 2. 

Paragon City and its Universe have NOT died outright. It's like Galifrey in Doctor Who. It's stasis locked in an eternal moment. It's an entire Universe that's suspended in time and potential like Shroedinger's Cat on November 30th. Whether we can unlock it and get back to it or not... well. That's up to us. Both in character and in a meta sense. 

But I propose that as a semi-universal "Hook" for RP for any refugees from Paragon stranded in Champions or any other universe - That's why we finally choose to make that transition. It's why some of us wind up changed a little bit in translation. Or to quote K from MIB. "We are who we are... even if we sometimes forget it."

We aren't abandoning Paragon. We're out there looking for a way to save it and everyone there. And we'll keep looking until we find it. No matter how long it takes, no matter how many incarnations and re-incarnations and lifetimes we live.

Because that's what heroes do. 

Just a quick, four part note about HPat Deadly Heller
1. The TTH version can be found here. (Up to chapter 67 as of this writing)
2. The currently more complete (but probably less proofread) version can be found here. (Be warned: It's on a single, low traffic server, so only click once you get to the point that TTH cuts off.) (Up to chapter 102 as of this writing)
3. Given that the author has written so far ahead, and is committed to posting on a regular schedule, it is no longer necessary to post about it in the Updates thread.
4. If you want to discuss the story on this thread, go right the frak ahead.
Thanks
Luc "Not Going to Actually Bother Reading It Until It's Finished, Given It's At 102 Chapters" French

http://news.yahoo.com/something-odd-bri ... 17108.html
Well, not really. But it's interesting in how the scientists are trying to stay low-key on this; "Oh, it's just some dirt."