Some time ago, somebody suggested Julia Ecklar's song The Phoenix. That song happens to be on an old tape of space-filk titled "Minus Ten and Counting: Songs of the Space Age" that used to be immensely popular and somebody thoughtfully uploaded to YouTube. Here are some of the other tracks:

Minus Ten and Counting, music by Leslie Fish and lyrics by Mercedes Lackey(!), performed by Leslie Fish and Arlin Robins.

Quote:It's minus ten and counting, and soon she will be gone,
That shining stub-winged angel that we've pinned our hopes upon.
And even as she waits she seems to strain to touch the sky.
It's minus ten and counting, and we wait for her to fly.

CHORUS:
It's minus ten and counting, and time is passing fast.
It's minus ten and counting; will our next choice be our last?

It's minus ten and counting for the plan that gave her birth;
The plan that will determine if we ever leave the earth.
Will we choose to throw the plan away, forget our need to know?
It's minus ten and counting; will we stay, or will we go?

CHORUS

It's minus ten and counting for the world on which we live.
We're swiftly using all this lovely planet has to give.
The pressure builds, and soon the chance to escape will pass us by;
It's minus ten and counting: will we grow, or will we die?

CHORUS

Quote:Remember the Fifties – those fat complacent days
When the future seemed a century away.
Then up went Sputnik, gave the world a butt-kick,
And made it clear Tomorrow starts Today.

CHORUS:
Beep-beep, boop-boop, hello dere! (Hey jupa!†)
Sputnik sails giggling through the skies. (Hey! Hey! Hey!)
Red flags, red faces, jump in the race, as
The Space Age begins with a surprise! (Surprise!)

You generals once thought Von Braun a waste of cash,
And Goddard needed treatment really bad.
Then that global shot-put gave you the hot-foot,
And, beep-beep, you're blasted off the pad.

CHORUS

Done for a threat, propaganda, or prestige –
The point is, the thing was in the sky.
It made generals frown, and put money down,
And meet that bet or know the reason why.

CHORUS
That's how it started, all those years ago;
The push that got us climbing into space.
Cynic beginnings, greed for big winnings --
But look at all we've gotten from that race!
CHORUS

Old Sputnik wore out and spiraled back to Earth.
On re-entry it burned up very soon.
Hail and goodbye to that upstart of the sky…
And in twelve more years, a man walked on the moon.

CHORUS
Surprise…
And the Space Age begins with a surprise!

Quote:Prometheus, they say, brought God's fire down to man,
And we've caught it, tamed it, trained it since our history began.
Now we're going back to heaven just to look Him in the eye;
And there's a thunder 'cross the land, and a fire in the sky!

Gagarin was the first, back in Nineteen Sixty-One,
When like Icarus, undaunted, he climbed to reach the sun.
And he knew he might not make it, 'cause it's never hard to die;
But he lifted off the pad and rode a fire in the sky!

Yet a higher goal was calling, and we vowed to reach it soon,
And we gave ourselves a decade to put fire on the moon.
And Apollo told the world "we can do it if we try",
For there was one small step, and a fire in the sky!

Now two decades since Gagarin, twenty years to the day,
We've a shuttle named Columbia to open up the way!
Though they say she's just a truck, she's a truck that's aiming high!
See those big jets burning, see her fire in the sky!

Now the rest is up to us. There's a future to be won.
We must turn our faces outward; we will do what must be done.
For no cradle lasts forever; every bird must learn to fly,
And we're going to the stars! See our fire in the sky!

Yes, we're going to the stars! See our fire in the sky!

Some of you might have heard my occasional grumbling in channel about lag and the associated issues with trials. Well in order to combat this, I tried a 'fix' that someone on a trial I was on suggested, namely turning the graphics to minimum.
It seemed to work. However I was teaming with Logan (@Atlantea) today and they said the issue wasn't the graphics but with the League system itself. Cue one annoyed Shader.
You see to turn the graphics down, which (which absolutely butchers the visual quality) it rather tricky. When I go to the Graphics Tab under options the game comes to a virtual stand still. I've never actually thought to monitor the framerate, but I've monitored the netgraph stat and it wasn't pretty. Several times I've tried to change something, and I've lost my connection. 
In the end to adjust things, I've either resorted to the now out of date TweakCoH, or done registry edits via regedit. (Yes I'm showing my programing roots there)
This time however since it was such a big change I went into Safe Mode and then open and shut options. Volia! Ultra mode disabled.
However, I miss it, and need it back at least partially for the outfits.
Now my fellow Legendary tech... if you can understand the above... how do I restore CoX to its former glory without crashing.
Some assorted screengrabs are located here.  These were just a few of the screen grabs I could quickly find. For better ones I'd have to root around more.
Note the long big spike in the netgraph in this pic here. That was when I was in Graphics tab and re-enabled Advanced Graphic options and bumped the Character detail to 100% and Very High Detail.
This pic here, here and here is how the game was before I fiddled with it.
This pic here and here is running around in min mode.
Atl wanted to know what system I'm running. Well it runs Ultra mode... just.
My system:
Optiplex 360
Intel Core 2 E7400 @2.8GHz
4GB ram. (yes I know 1 gb is not used. but upgrading to 64bit involves money I don't have. Dell only shipped 32bit)

Windows 7 Pro SP1 32 Bit (yes I know!). Windows Experience Index of 5.9 held down by the HDD. (The other numbers are 6.3 and 7.2)
ATI Radeon HD 5700 Series card (it was a pain and a half to get a card that ran Ultra and fits into the case)
ASDL modem ... its slow, split via a network switch between several computers. The top speed is 50kB/s. Welcome to 'Hi-speed' net in rural Australia. The most I've ever seen CoX peak at is 20kB/s.
Anyone got any advise?
Shader

On the one hand the Bloc is now DEAD. DEAD! BWAHAHAHAHAH! Thank you!
On the other hand, the Liberals are almost dead as well. This is a literally unprecedented trouncing for the party that has been a mainstay in politics for over a hundred years. It appears that the Liberals ability to self-sabotage finally hit its peak. If this doesn't convince them to get off their collective heads out of each others assholes and realise that the opponents are people outside the Liberal party then nothing will and the Liberal party is destined to go the way of the old PC party (maybe absorbed by the NDP?).
On the third hand yay for the NDP. I voted for them this election mainly because I was sick of Liberal infighting and incompetence, and I think think that's why a lot of people voted for them. I'm very glad to see the massive inroads in Quebec they managed to attain (especially at the cost to the Bloc, wahaha!) and hope they manage to maintain this momentum in 4~5 years.
On the fourth hand we get a Conservative Majority. I can't say I'm happy about that at all. I guess its time for us to watch the Cons dismantle much of our social services for the next five years or so (and it probably cost me, personally, a job) and one can only hope they don't try rolling back our expanded human rights as well (I imagine the Trans rights bill that almost passed pre-election will never see the light of day for as long as they are in office, for instance).
Overall I have to say I am extremely ambivalent of the outcome.
---------------
Epsilon

Now that college is done, the writing bug has bit hard, and I'm up to 42k on chapter 7. I'm posting a quick bit from early in the chapter to sound people out and see what people think.
--------------
"What's that?" Daley leaned forward, interested.
"That's what we believe to be a *second* Visitor incursion. We believe
the original girl never actually left. And that the event we recorded
earlier this week is an unrelated second newcomer."
Leon raised an eyebrow and looked over at the scientist. "Yet when we
asked about mysterious sailor girls, you looked very much like a man
with a guilty secret." He smiled slightly as Ohara started, and leaned
back. He seemed to be less angry than before, giving the IDEC
administrator the chance to recover and mop his face again.
"Well," Ohara began slowly. "The pinhole detector isn't exactly refined
science yet, but we *can* detect similarities. And I can say with
reasonable certainty that the Visitor and our newest arrival have
nothing in common with each other. Wherever the new Visitor is from,
it's not the same place."
"And you think it's another Sailor girl?"
"Occam's Razor, inspector." Ohara took a breath and looked over at Leon.
"The first sailor girl stayed out of events, even when things were
coming apart earlier this year. She only becomes active again when we
have another arrival, from an unknown location. The only realistic
conclusion is that we've got a Visitor from the same location. Hopefully
another Senshi."
Daley raised an eyebrow. "Hopefully?"
Ohara pulled up a montage of boss monster fights from Sailor Moon and
played them on the monitor. "If the anime is any indication, inspector,
the *average* threat requires an entire team of magically enhanced girls
to deal with, and the leader is usually only dealt with at great
personal sacrifice. And every single time, the future of the whole human
race is on the line.
"For all our sakes, Inspectors, I sincerely hope we've got another
Senshi with us today. And so should you."
-------------------------
Opinions?
---
Those who fear the darkness have never seen what the light can do.

Found this on one of the aggregation sites I read semiregularly.
-- Bob
---------
Then the horns kicked in...
...and my shoes began to squeak.

Watching BBC World News right now.  The PotUS is going to be making a statement soon, but the word is that US forces are in possession of his body.
He may not have been truly responsible for the September 11th attacks... but it is good to know that, with all the other things he is responsible for, he is no longer among the living.

I promised everybody another stub this weekend to have at - considering that we're finally writing about the Battle of Serenity Valley, what better stub to flesh out than that story's setting?

(Well, okay, the "Serenity Valley" page is also a stub... We'll do that one next.)
Here's Ganymede as it currently stands:

Quote:{{stub}}
{{planetbox
|name=Ganymede
|image=Ganymede.jpg
|orbit=1,070,000 from Jupiter (mean)
|diameter=5,262 km (equatorial)
|gravity=0.14 G
|year=7.154 days
|day=7.154 hours
|temp=122°K (-151°C)
|atmosphere=n/a
|waterice=90%
|population=
|political=[[Fenspace Convention]
|government=Direct Democracy
|capital=[[Serenity Valley]
}}

{{quote|Ganymede isn't [[Main Belt|the Belt], there's a lot of connectivity between the domes here, mostly for safety purposes. It's actually helped keep things under control a little out here, keeps the [[Boskonians|pirates] from raiding the outlying settlements if they know the militia's five minutes from anywhere, right? The moon's not as tightly wired as you guys back in [[Cislunar Space|cislunar], or even around [[Mars], but trust me; if a dome went dark all of a sudden, the [[Browncoats] would know.|20px|20px|[[S. Malaclypse Fnord], 20 August 2012}}

'''Ganymede''', found in the [[Jupiter|Jovian] subsystem, is the largest moon in the [[Sol|Solar] System.

== History ==

There were many arguments between the [[Browncoats] and [[Heinleinians] over "ownership" of Ganymede in the early days of the Fen Diaspora, based on the factions' respective source fiction. The [[Fivers] eventually got them to share.

The 2013 [[Convention] was held in '''[[Serenity Valley]''', Ganymede's capital.

==Places of Interest==
* [[Serenity Valley] (capital)
** Jupiter Mining Corporation headquarters
* Whedonite domed towns
** Little Jakarta
** Shadow
* Heinleinian Juvie "farms in the sky"

==Related Links==
* [[Io]
* [[Callisto]
* [[Europa]

== Notes ==

{{Browncoats}}{{places}}[[Categorylaces in Fenspace][[Category:Jupiter]

We spent the day today at Alison and John's annual May Day party, which is always a cookout and picnic and a lot of fun in general. And in addition to the food, there are two other highlights that are present at this party every year -- the maypole

-- Bob
---------
Then the horns kicked in...
...and my shoes began to squeak.

If you're an author and have books published by one of the big publishers you might want to do a check on if the figures they are sending you on your actual e-book sales are accurate. Kristine Kathryn Rusch recently started taking a hard look at what was being reported in her royalty statements by her publishers and found quite a few anomalies as far as what was being reported and actual sales. When she started checking with other authors she was not the only author to notice that something was way off in what they were being told by their publishers and agents.
It used to be very difficult or impossible for an author to get access to their actual sales figures but that has changed with bookscan sales figures being cheaply and readily accessible and its becoming an issue that is about to explode in the faces of publishers who have been systematically under stating sales to authors in their royalty statements.
See:
http://kriswrites.com/201...usch-royalty-statements/
and the update
http://kriswrites.com/201...yalty-statements-update/
Also worth reading:
http://kriswrites.com/201...ch-trust-me/   Book publishing and authors.
http://kriswrites.com/201...sea-changes/   What is happening with publishing.
Side note to Bob this may have to be moved into politics as it may prove a bit incendiary....
--Werehawk--
My mom's brief take on upcoming Guatemalan Elections "In last throes of preelection activities. Much loudspeaker vote pleading."

A while ago, Timote Wrote:You might want to check out Rush's 'Different Stages' collection if you can find it. 3 CDs, 33 live tracks.
Edit: actually, thinking about that album reminded me of another Rush song.
Nobody's Hero - Rush

I knew he was different in his sexuality
I went to his parties as a straight minority
It never seemed a threat to my masculinity
He only introduced me to a wider reality
As the years went by, we drifted apart
When I heard that he was gone
I felt a shadow cross my heart
But he's nobody's hero
Save the drowning child
Cure the wasting disease
Hero -- lands the crippled airplane
Solves great mysteries
Hero -- not the handsome actor
Who plays a hero's role
Hero -- not the glamour girl
Who'd love to sell her soul
If anybody's buying,
Nobody's hero
I didn't know the girl, but I knew her family
All their lives were shattered in a nightmare of brutality
They try to carry on, try to bear the agony
Try to hold some faith in the goodness of humanity
As the years went by, we drifted apart
When I heard that she was gone
I felt a shadow cross my heart
But she's nobody's hero
Is the voice of reason against the howling mob
Hero -- is the pride of purpose
In the unrewarding job
Hero -- not the champion player
Who plays the perfect game
Hero -- not the glamour boy
Who loves to sell his name
Everybody's buying
Nobody's hero
As the years went by, we drifted apart
When I heard that you were gone
I felt a shadow cross my heart
But he's nobody's hero
Save the drowning child
Cure the wasting disease
Hero -- lands the crippled airplane
Solves great mysteries
Hero -- not the handsome actor
Who plays a hero's role
Hero -- not the glamour girl
Who'd love to sell her soul
If anybody's buying,
Nobody's hero
Hero
Power: Inspires people in the AoE to stand up for their beleifs. (like in stories/films where the Villain beats down the hero, but before he can finish the hero, the townsfolk decide "we've had enough of you" and the villain) suddenly finds the lambs are becoming lions around him
Youtube link to the music video
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PDJwu2rugG0
__________________
This has been another, Useless Fact.