Okay, I am completely floored by this band, The Jezabels.  Here, have a listen to this song of theirs called A Little Piece.
Done now?
Great.  Help me figure out which of Zeke's girls that song fits best!  (O_O
And for that matter, have a look at the rest of their music.  I have a feeling it's going to figure into this story pretty heavily.

Ayn Rand Railed Against Government Benefits, But Grabbed Social Security and Medicare When She Needed Them

I don't understand why these people rally against social programs that can help them in their hour of need.  What do they have against being their brother's keeper? 
Granted, there are people that abuse the system, but that should not be enough to condemn everyone to a life of misery when bad times hit.  Are they so arrogant, so blind that they believe that bad things cannot happen to them as well?

Gizmodo, that is.  This... um....  Well, words fail me.  Definitely worth a look, though:

Songs about jobs.
Drill Ye Tarriers, Drill:

Quote:Every morning at seven o'clock
You see a gang of tarriers drilling at the rock
And the foreman yells, "Now don't stand still
But come down heavy on the cast-iron drill!"
CHORUS:
And drill ye tarriers, drill!

And drill ye tarriers, drill!
For ye work all day with no sugar in your tea
When you work on the CP Railway!

And drill ye tarriers, drill!
The Boss sent us to drill a hole
He swore and cursed our Irish soul
He cursed the ship that brought us through
To work on the CP Railway crew
CHORUS
The foreman's name was Pat McGann
By gosh, he was a darn fine man!
One day a premature blast went off
And a mile in the sky went big Jim Goff
CHORUS
When payday next did come around
Big Jim a dollar short was found!
"What for?" says he; come this reply:
"You were docked for the time you were up in the sky!"
CHORUS

Quote:Up in that far north country where the skies are always blue
They're waiting for the happy day when the PGE goes through
The squawfish will be squawking, the moose will start to moo
The grizzly bears will grizzle, when the PGE goes through
CHORUS:
Oh lord, I know my toil will end
When I hear that whistle coming 'round the bend
They say that all the members of the Ercat(?) survey crew
Will be working on the extra gang when the PGE goes through
Bill Hurlighe, he's got a gal, her name is Buckskin Sue
They're going on the trapline when the PGE goes through
CHORUS
The hornets build their little nests up in the spruce and pine
They love to sting the axemen who are chopping out the line
So if the railroad bends a bit like railroads shouldn't do
Just blame it on the hornets when the PGE goes through
CHORUS
While running lines on snowshoes the snow got very deep
Old Abrigeman, he dug a hole, crawled in, and went to sleep
The snow blew in and covered him, but we know what to do!
We'll dig him out in springtime, when the PGE goes through
CHORUS(x2)

Quote:Some like the sound of the outward bound
And the driver's clickety-clack,
But I like the tone of the motor's drone
In a Kenworth, Hayes, or Mac.
My windshield shows me where I go,
My mirrors where I've been.
My tandems roll and take their toll
Of the highways that I've seen.
Well I've learned to feel through the steering wheel
The road I cannot see,
And I hit the air 'cause I really care
For the rig that's under me.
Oh the rain beats down on the way so black
And the night is blacker still,
But I'll pull this load to the open road
On the far side of the hill.
Well she's made of steel and nuts and bolts,
But you've gotta treat her right,
Or the dizzy witch will hit the ditch
And leave you cold and white.
Well there's nothing left for me to say
That's not been said before,
So I'll just say as I go my way

That I like the diesel's roar.

Quote:1. Come all you jolly tugboatmen
And listen unto me
While I tell you a story of hardships and glory
Of a lusty old life on the deep briny sea.

2. There once was a stalwart old tugboat,
Her name was the Oda G.
And I'll let you know, boys, at pullin' a tow, boys,
There was no huskier tugboat than she.

3. She came off the ways in 'eighty-nine,
For storms she cared not a damn
It was boasted around, 'twas the talk of the town
That she knew that old coastline as well as a man.

4. Now her mate was an expert at running the logs
He ne'er seemed to come to no harm
But he ran out of luck when he fell in the chuck
With a rusty old boom-chain wrapped round his left arm.

5. Her engineer was a lazy young tramp
All day he did nothin' but read
On the fantail he sat on his young lazy prat
Till a big roarin' wave swept him into the sea.

6. And her deckhand was paintin' the bulwarks so fine,
Paintin' so carefully,
But he met his fate when, to admire his paintin',
He took a step back and fell into the sea.

7. Now her skipper, he was very fine man
At seafarin' he was a pip
But without a crew he didn't know what to do
So he grabbed up a lifebelt and abandoned the ship.

8. But the old Oda G. she kept tuggin' along
She towed those logs down to Long Bay
And old Penney hurrayed for the money he saved
And he sent her back north on the very next day.

UK company develops $1.50/gallon synthetic fuel with no carbon emissions.
-- Bob
---------
Then the horns kicked in...
...and my shoes began to squeak.

...now that I've discovered http://www.realmofsavage.com/ProjectSailorMoon.htm]Project Sailor Moon, the one-stop resource location for Poser/Daz resources to turn the base characters into Sailor Senshi.

Looks like I'm going to have to re-do the Leda image... but now I know where to get the hairdo for A.C. Peters. (ducks and covers)
--
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

Benjamin Rhodes has had quite a few Blue Hair Moments that have had a positive impact in general.  When he stumbled across an old MIT project to produce silicone chips with microscopic gas-turbine engines to produce power he locked himself into his lab for two weeks straight, leaving the operations to a fuming Gina Langley, a puzzled Jess Ayanami, and an indifferent R. Ruri Hoshino.
Those two weeks, however, bore fruit in the Gas-Turbine Power Supply Chip: a mass-produced silicon chip with capabilities envisioned by MIT, only vastly improved.  Running off of nothing more complex than kerosene, one chip could produce 150 watts of power for 120 hours using a mere 250ml of kerosene (or about 8.5 ounces).
The design is pure hard-tech, although refined to a very fine point to deliver such a huge level of efficiency.  Generally, nanofacs are the preferred manufacturing method, but a 'waved CNC machine that is properly suited and motivated can do just as well.  Benjamin, seeing that this was something that could add a massive boost to safety margins of any space-faring operation, made the designs public for anyone to manufacture.  Of course, this made certain that would-be mass producers of such chips would remain healthily competitive for as long as there was demand to support the market.

I don't think it actually uses the oscillation of cesium 133 so there isn't actually 9,192,631,770 cycles for each second, but the makers of this clock claim it has accuracy comparable to an cesium 133 atomic clock and is a chip level device.

http://electronicdesign.c...tter&NL=1&YM_RID=#email#

hmelton

God bless

The current announcement page replacing the classicbattletech.com forum:

Quote: CLASSICBATTLETECH.COM FORUMS

---

Due to a security breach the forums are being taken down indefinitely
while the damage to the system is accessed. Because of the nature of
this breach it is unlikely we will be restoring a backup of user
accounts as it is impossible to know who's passwords and accounts have
been compromised.


We are currently accessing our options and will get the forums back up
in one form or another as soon as possible. Thank you for your
patience.


Jason M. Knight
classicbattletech.com System Administrator

Was pondering on the Mars Terraforming Project... and ended up writing a short ficlet. Nobody really seems to be doing much with Mars right now, so I thought I'd have a shot at something. Probably part of the 'stuff happens' phase from 2014 onwards and perhaps how the MTP might eventually lead to a Martian Federation of some sort. Jet and Lenneth are really just talking heads who could be replaced by anyone.

Quote:“Would the delegate from the Town of Port Lowell please come forward and sign,” the announcer requested.

A man in a rather sharp looking business suit stepped out from a line of his contemporaries from each of the primary Martian settlements and factions. He was greeted by applause from the assembled crowd in the room, the same applause that usually greeted golfers as they holed an easy putt.

He sat down at a rather simple desk, and picked up a single electronic pen which had been left waiting. With a few quick strokes, and a thumbprint he signed the document on the electronic tablet.

There was more golf clapping as he stepped down. Most people’s arms where getting tired by now.

“It’s all very.... mundane,” remarked Lenneth, unimpressed.

“Oh?” Jet quirked an eyebrow

“You know what I mean. It feels like we’re standing in a mundane parliament or something,”

“Not really,” The two catgirls standing in bikinis sort of put paid to that. As did a pair of armoured cyborgs watching over things from the back wall. “It’s much too polite and orderly.”

“Would the delegate from Utopia Planetia please come forward and sign,” the holographic announcer requested once more, with the exact same dispassionate intonation as before.

A woman in a Starfleet Uniform. Captain Hancock according the the pre-arranged program.

“But I get what you mean,” Jet finished. “It’s more formal than we’re used to. Mars has changed in the last few years, even since I got here.” She shrugged as if it was to be expected, and couldn’t be helped.

“With all those mundanes coming up....true mundanes who’re here for work, rather than the lifestyle.” said Lenneth with mild scorn. “I just....” she paused, “I just feel like something is ending, like our Wild West is getting a little less wild,”

“Would the delegate from the Castle of Heterodyne please come forward and sign,”

This next signatory chuffed up to the table riding a steam-powered brass and wood wheelchair.

“It’s just a Terraforming council.” said Jet, “Not a government. Y’know the mess they had trying to get the MTP started up again after the war?”

“I’ve read the same program. Since the MTP affects all the people on Mars, all the people on Mars should have a say in it.” she rolled her eyes, “And running it with a direct democracy just wasn’t practical. But with the first link, a chain is forged. And I came up to Fenspace to get away from the chains of politics,”

“Would the delegate from Grunthal please come forward and sign,”

“Yoko looks good with her medals and awards on,” Jet commented.

“Well it helps to intimidate a little,” Lenneth giggled. “I think that’s how she managed to get veto powers for us, at least.”

Jet nodded. “Without that, I wouldn’t have voted to support our signing. And I think we only got it because of our record...... And the 213 order. We punch above our weight.” Pardon the pun.

“That’s part of the problem. Most groups our size are either getting a non-veto councillor, or just getting lumped in as residents of the nearest settlement, which could be some distance away. It’s inherently unfair,”

“Would the delegate from New Adelaide please come forward and sign,”

Another beady-eyed individual wearing a very yellow suit, who spoke with an odd stammer. Jet recognised him and felt a bitter pang of anger.

“Since when has representative democracy ever been truly fair?” Jet snarked, “Besides, it’s just a project council, not a government.”

“A little short sighted are we? It starts with a project council, then an economic development council, then a joint defense agreement....which I’d actually agree with mind but anyway....then factional cooperation so we have more clout in the convention, then finally the slide towards full federalisation as more and more things get divested to the council. And while a council like this’d work for a project.... it’s a real mess for a government.” A pause. “And don’t tell me that’s not what this is going to become.”

Jet sighed. “It might happen. To be honest, I’m not sure how I feel about that either.”

“Uneasy?”

“A little,”

“Would the delegate from Marsbase Sara please come forward and sign,”

“I know it’ll solve some problems,” she continued “But it’ll introduce new ones. It could work...like the Convention does when nobody erdeside expected it to....or it could turn into an almighty clusterfuck.”

“And if you were to put a bet on it?” questioned Lenneth.

“Well, the cynical part of me says clusterfuck.” Jet admitted, after a moment’s pause. “But I’ve been trying hard to kill that part of me since I got up here. If there’s a hard push for Federal... I’d like it to succeed. The alternative gets....messy”

“Would you like them to push to Federate though? ”Lenneth pushed her point.

“Like I said, I really don’t know.”

“Would the delegate from Mos Eisley please come forward and sign,”

In an Imperial uniform no less.

He sat down and made his signature with the appropriate solemnity.

Lenneth blew out a languid sigh. “Outside of Port Lowell, I doubt many of the people here would want any sort of Union of Mars anyway. If you asked them to do it right now, very few would say yes, would they? Even the mundanes are happy with their town councils... they can ‘talk to their elected representative personally’, and the rep’ goes to the Convention for them, saving them the bother of getting involved in all the weirdness. But.... it’ll happen. It’ll happen step by little step so gently most people won’t realise until it’s done.”

The warsie signatory walked back to the line, accompanied by the same golf-clapping that had followed all of his predecessors.

Jet shrugged once more, “Well the times they are a changin’.”

The hologram inspected the datapad, immediately transmitting copies out onto the wide interwave, before he began to read.

“On behalf of the Peoples of Mars as representatives duly elected and sent from the established settlements and factions of this planet, and in recognising the collective rights of all the Peoples of Mars, we the undersigned do so establish a Council for the Terraforming of Mars, to manage the Mars Terraforming Project for the common good of all who have chosen to make their home on this world.”

There was of course, more applause.... and the strange collective feeling that something mildly important for the future may have just been accomplished.

“And that is that,” said Jet.

“Step one,” added Lenneth.

======================================================