Malware found on two FireFox extensions
As always, excercise caution when installing anything on a computer.

As an odd musing, I considered what Chivalric orders there may be in Fenspace. In order of presidence:

* The Order of the Twilight Boundry (The Grey Knights, Faction: Cybers, Motto: Nos sto inter Lux lucis quod Obscurum ut encroches super is. [We stand between the Light and the Darkness that encroches upon it.] Suffix: KTB, Sovereign: The Grand Council of The Spiral). The Grey Knights are defenders of Life, and willingly (if not eagerly) sacrifice themselves to protect it. As such, Grey Knights are normally accompanied by a Senshi commander and at least two Spartans to keep them from having to do so. If a Grey Knight also belongs to another order, they are automatically considered at least a Knight Commander (or equivalent) in that order unless granted a greater rank in that order. As part of their oaths, Grey Knights renague all other names but that they are given on their Ceremony of Repentance (their pre-swearing name is used only for official documentation as an addendum (e.g. Sir/Dame knight title, original name).
* The Eternal Order of the Celestial Star (The Named Senshi, Faction: Senshi, Motto: Diligo quod Justicia , In Nomen nostri Animus. [Love and Justice, In the Name of Our Soul]. Suffix: CS.Name, Sovereign: The Privy Council of the Crystal Milllennium) The Named Senshi are Ranked by the singlar celestial body they are named after, with inhabited worlds at the top, followed by Stars, inhabited moons, planets, inhabited Asteroids, moons, inhabited stations, asteroids, and smaller bodies in order. The use of concepts is restricted to temporary command ranks (in order, Cosmos, Love, Eternity, Justice, Chaos, Peace. With Cosmos, Eternity, and Chaos and Love, Justice, Peace only used as a group together) and conglomerate objects (e.g. galaxies) are not used. If a member of another order, they are automatically considered at least a Knight Commander (or equivalent) in that order unless granted a greater rank in that order. Among the Senshi, Named Senshi also acquire royal rank. This starts at Princess/Prince and works downwards.
* The Order of Endymion the Protector (Faction: Senshi, Motto: Diligo victum Totus. [Love conquers All.] Suffix: KPE, Sovereign: Queen Serenity/King Endymion) The Highest order of Chivilry available to non-named Senshi. This Order is granted to those who 'have performed acts of supreme courage and valour, without thought to risk'. For example, Benjamin Rhodes is a Knight Commander of the Order of Endymion the Protector.
* The Order of the Rose (Faction: Senshi, Motto: In Diligo , nos mos change orbis terrarum. [In Love, we will change the world.] Suffix: KR, Sovereign: The End of the World) The knights of the Order of the Rose are always members of the Armed services or Police. The leader of the order has the rank of End of the World (Grand Cross of the Order), and is elected to membership of the Privy Council of the Crystal Millennium.
* The Order of the Jedi (The Jedi Knights, Faction: Warsies, Motto: In serenus , Vis rector. [In serenity, the Force guides.] Suffix: OJK(Knight)/OJM(Master)/OJE(Elder), Sovereign: The Supreme Chancellor of the Galactic Republic/The Council of Elder Jedi) The Jedi are peacekeepers and negotiators, who are able to kick ass and take names if necessary. In order of seniority: Elder, Master, Knight, Squire, Padawan. By convention, address is {Gender-specific pronoun for Master} Jedi "name".
* The Unyeilding Order of the Olympian (The Spartans, Faction: Cybers, Motto: Heracles Cruor nos patesco quod veneratio. [Heracles Blood we bare and honour.] Suffix: Sptn, Sovereign: Master-at-Arms of the Force Works Committie/Grand Cross). The Spartans are primarily a Search & Rescue organisation, but hey are also defenders of Meta-Humanity.
* The Order of the Moon Staff (Faction: Senshi, Motto: Ut necessarius , nos es illic. [When needed, we are there.] Sovereign: Queen Serenity/King Endymion). This is the Order where most Doctors and Scientists are inducted.
* The Order of the Crescent (Faction: Senshi, Motto: Lux lucis rector nostrum factum. [Light guides our actions.] Suffix: OCM, Sovereign: Queen Serenity/King Endymion). This Order is general catch-all for those who have benefited Meta-Humanity through their actions. Most of the reputable actors and civil servants in Fenspace will end up in this Order, as will those scientists that do not gain a higher ranking.

Unless othrwise specified, the orders of chivilry follow the following Rank structure:
Knight/Dame Grand Cross
Knight/Dame Commander
Knight/Dame
Companion

The Senshi also have the 'Lady/Lord of the Realm' honour, which is a glorified 'Key to the City' type honour for those they cannot grant other ranks to.

From this point forward, the chief flunkies of the Fifth Column will be known as "Nose Ferret" and "Lefty." And "Ming." That is all.

(Resulting from a Mender Lazarus TF last night. I would've come up with appropriate pet names for Vandal and Requiem, but I was too busy eating pavement from the effin' ambushes. Kudos to Terr for soloing three AVs with marginal assistance from the rest of us.)
Ebony the Black Dragon
http://ebony14.livejournal.com

"Good night, and may the Good Lord take a Viking to you."

...is a lot of fun, if rather short.  Check it out -- don't forget to page back to its very beginning (only 30 or so messages).

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

Just spotted this Haruhi in a Bunny Suit origami figure and thought I'd share it.
The rest of the site also has more Haruhi origami, as well as Evangelion Units 01 and 03, if you poke around.
''We don't just borrow words; on occasion, English has pursued other languages down alleyways to beat
them unconscious and rifle their pockets for new vocabulary.''

-- James Nicoll

An External Blue Ray Burner/Multi-Burner... measuring measuring at 127mm x 154mm x 20mm and weighing only 330 grams.
This article's a bit old, of course... the price is already down by about USD100 - I know because I just got back from looking at one at a Yodobashi's.  The only reason why I'm not buying one right now is because it's not region free, nor do I know how to make one so.  I have yet to see a similar American product in that form-factor.  Although, Panasonic is said to have had, for a little bit, an internal model for notebooks.  Damned if I can find one, though, and it's not as fast as this one.

Story here.
''We don't just borrow words; on occasion, English has pursued other languages down alleyways to beat
them unconscious and rifle their pockets for new vocabulary.''

-- James Nicoll

http://surbrook.devermore.net/adaptatio ... _hand.html

Allright gang, it's probably time we consider one of the elephants in the room. What shall we do about/with the MTP? Which means to an extent, what shall we do about/with terraforming Mars?

The following stuff is a bit of brainstorming on my part that's partially recycled from another project. Comment at will:

Quote:As I get older, and... not "wiser." I doubt that age brings that much wisdom. "More cynical" would probably work. Anyway. The more I look at Mars, and the more we learn about it (in OTL, and certainly in Fenspace) the more I question the validity of the great Heinleinian Martian Manifest Destiny plan that seems to drive most conceptions of terraforming the planet.

Should we go to Mars? Absolutely. Should we stay there on a permanent basis? Of course. Should we change the planet to suit us? That I don't know.

Leaving aside the philosophical and moral questions of terraforming, I can't quite shake the idea that turning Mars into a miniature copy of Earth is the right thing to do. Mars is Mars, and just cut-pasting Earth on top of it *feels* wrong.

So where does this vague maundering leave us? Well, in my personal vision of the "terraformed" Mars we can forget a good chunk of the greenery. It's obviously a bit warmer, of course, and has a breathable atmosphere, maybe with a largish sea around Hellas and randomly scattered lakes. This Mars would be a cross between the deserts of New Mexico, the steppe of Central Asia with a bit of the Serengeti thrown in for flavor - long stretches of wide open plains punctuated by clusters of trees near open water sources. It's a very Pulper sort of Mars when you think about it, with plenty of wastes for people to have Adventures in.

Anyone want a copy of Bioshock? I got a copy to give away with my Steam pre-order of Bioshock 2.

Be aware this game needs a bit of a decent PC (if you can play CoH fine, you're golden), and it's on Steam.

First come first serve. Gimme an email, I'll send it off.