Twice now in as many days, Yuku's nameservers have turned blue and died on me. There's a certain amount of broken I'm willing to accept from any
popular website, but to lose the goddamn *nameservers*...
Mr. Fnord interdimensional man of mystery

FenWiki - Your One-Stop Shop for Fenspace Information

"I. Drink. Your. NERDRAGE!"

Le sigh. This is the second DVD player I've had die on me in as many years. The first one went when it decided to jam the disk tray. This one seems to work
fine, but feed it any disk at all and it just spins for about 30 seconds, then says "The disk could not be played, please check your disk".

Unit is a Samsung VR-330 DVD/VCR combo unit.
--
Sucrose Octanitrate.
Proof positive that with sufficient motivation, you can make anything explode.

Billy Mays was found dead at his
home this morning.

http://www.express.co.uk/posts/view/110 ... ding-tapes]NASA's found the long-lost original moon landing videotapes.  The crystal-clear, crisp, first generation tapes that were lost almost immediately after they were recorded.  According to the linked article, all the footage seen in the last 40 years has been from a 16-mm film camera aimed at a TV monitor showing highly-compressed signal.  The originals are apparently incredible.
I am so looking forward to this.
-- Bob
---------
Then the horns kicked in...
...and my shoes began to squeak.

As is usually the case, I had an idle thought today. There have to be some truely Fen vehicles in Fenspace. Bob's introduced the Knight Riders, Wave Convey
makes Transformers a given, and with Hardsuits out there, there has to be Motoslaves (if not, A.C. WILL be making some). And of course there is the Blue
Blazers Jet Car

I refuse to believe that there is not a Chitty Chitty Bang Bang out there, and SOME Timelord/Pluto-aderent Senshi/UF-Fen has to have a Back To The Future style
DeLorean (sans working Flux Capacitor of course).

Anyone think of any others?

Earlier today, a newcomer on the SJGames forums asked what "filk" is. The best way to find out is to listen, so, I've pointed him at http://www.prometheus-music.com/eli/virtual.html]The Virtual Filksing and http://www.tomsmithonline.com/freestuff/index.html]Tom Smith's freebies page, but was wondering whether anyone knows of other sources of legal free filk... Anyone?
--
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

I'm transferring data from my stack of old backup CD-Rs to my NAS, and have discovered a few files now suffer from CRC errors. (That's what I get for letting the stack sit for six years... Anyway.) Sometimes, I've decided "nah, it wasn't that good". Sometimes I've been able to re-download the file. But there's a couple (so far) that I want but don't seem to be available...

Anybody got a copy of http://www.animemusicvideos.org/members ... hp?v=11886]My Sweetness or http://www.animemusicvideos.org/members ... php?v=6648]Resident EVA?
--
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

The Unseen Mechs return to Battletech

"Ah, Lisa, good. Come in, come in...." Mr. Bell noted, waving her
over to a seat, the older man turning his best grandfatherly smile in her direction. Which, of course, set Lisa on edge immediately. It wasn't that it was
faked; no one could be more pleasant and comradely than Jim Bell. But given Lisa's recent dry spell, she wasn't certain that wasn't to put her at
ease and let her down gently.

"I realize that you are, of course, still working on an ongoing piece of
investigative work. I know the cops at PSI wouldn't tolerate you around there if you were just wasting their time. But we can't afford to keep paying
you for no real return on your work.

Lisa nodded, frowning mentally. Her initial optimism regarding finding out the
identities or at least the origins of the Knight Sabres had been rooted in her "big break" in being kidnapped by Crey to apparently become one under
their control, but that had come with its own drawbacks, as she'd discovered the first time she'd run into her quarry firsthand...

***

"Miss Echo Sabre, is it?" a modulated but undeniably female voice
asked from behind her.

Lisa nearly jumped, but didn't quite engage her rocket boots as she
whirled around to come face to face with the blue and silver figure that she'd only seen in photos before now. Silicon Sabre. "Uh....yeah.
Hi."

The other woman walked a few steps closer before looking her over. "So,
since my own sources only identified you after you went active, I can imagine you're unfamiliar with me."

"Yes, actually. I had a bit of a run in with Crey
and...well."

Silicon nodded absently. "We've made a bit of an enemy in them,
certainly. I don't suppose you'd mind going somewhere more...comfortable than this rooftop to discuss the subject of what you've gotten yourself
into, taking that name?"

"Yes, well...I think I'll be okay," Lisa said, thinking rapidly.
She'd never known anyone, even the one Sabre whose name was a matter of public record, to break ranks of silence on their collective history, and since she
certainly planned to, it'd be best if they didn't know where she lived in case they were.... insisting on that silence from new members. "I hope
you understand I don't really want anyone to know who I am behind the helmet..."

"Even me," Silicon acknowledged. "Perfectly understandable. In
that case," she said, as Lisa's suit registered a new contact number in her communications database. "If you ever have any particular troubles,
feel free to call that number, and you'll get help. Beyond that, I wish you well, if you really intend to stay solo."

"Oh, it's not like that!" Lisa protested. "It's
just.... I'm not sure that I can...y'know..."

"Ah. Yes," Silicon nodded. "Very well. If you ever change your
mind, that same number can lead you to people who can get in touch with me. Until then, perhaps we'll see each other on a job of mutual interest," she
said, leaping away as Lisa watched.

**

Lisa hadn't been dense enough to miss the implied qualifier. Until she
trusted them with her identity, they'd not really trust her with theirs. Which put her back at square 2, in the sense that she now knew how to get them to
show up, but not an in-road into their identities...yet.

"However, you're too sharp for us to let go and possibly jump to a
competitor," Jim chuckled, unaware of her introspection. "So we're assigning you a job to do while you're working that we can use to keep the
accountants happy."

Lisa nodded slightly, even as she swallowed. "...so, I suppose I'll
be headed to Atlas?"

Jim looked at her for a long moment before laughing out loud. "Oh, no, Lisa. No," he laughed. "We're not demoting you to costume show duty.
You're not in trouble, just being finagled into place so we can keep you on," he chuckled, nearly laughing again at the exaggerated relief on
Lisa's face. "However, it's hardly a great example of investigative journalism like those scoops you seem to like so much," he chuckled.
"The Times puts out a weekly hero biography piece. Help the city get to know some of them a bit more intimately than "that guy in tights
that kept the Hellions from mugging me" and such," he said. "I figure you're good with people, and a good writer, so you might be able to
make it a bit more interesting than it currently is."

Lisa deflated a bit, but resolved not to let it show on her face. She knew Jim was being as generous as he could be here. A few fluff pieces to keep her job
wouldn't hurt her. "So, who'm I interviewing first, sir?"

Jim looked over to sift through his old filing system, running through the
cards like a librarian searching through the old Dewey decimal system indexes. Finally, he found the filing section he wanted and randomly pulled out a card,
before glancing at it and nodding once. "Hero by the name of Looney Toons. Seems like you won't be bored, Lisa," he chuckled.

Lisa glanced at the card and address, shrugged, and slipped it into her camera
bag. Somehow, I doubt that.

***

Several hours of research later, and Lisa wasn't so sure any
longer.

She'd expected this "Looney Toons" to be some brightly colored
costumed goofball, possibly with a Warner Brothers fetish. What she'd found was...odd. And borderline contradictory to boot. While the man was obviously a
fan of old cartoons from the number of references to them in the file footage she'd found, as well as fond of a wacky bantering style befitting of
Superball, his file information and bearing also presented a completely different picture. As a girl, she'd planned to follow in her father's footsteps
as a reporter, and he'd encouraged her in her dream by teaching her the tricks of the trade. One of which had been how to observe. And Looney Toons the
hero and Looney Toons the combatant were two very different things. As a combatant, though his nonstop chatter distracted from it, he utilized almost no
unnecessary showiness. Efficiency of motion, cover, and a clear head for thinking tactically were evident in how he operated, alone or in groups. The uniform
(and she couldn't really think of it as a costume) accented this, seeming almost military or police-like and at odds with his public personality and chosen
moniker.

History-wise, there wasn't much on him. A Portal Corp attachment to his
FBSA file registered him as a Dimensionally Displaced Person or DDP, along with a record of the time and date of his arrival, but there had been nothing
sufficiently ground breaking for them to acknowledge more than that or even interview him, and the FBSA had merely verified his general qualifications for a
hero license and then dumped him on the street. There were a few bits and pieces about a previous supergroup known as the Warriors (no connection to the
Paragon gang of the same name) which had supposedly had some kind of UN sanction, but that told her nothing that her own observations of him hadn't. Like
where he'd gotten his training or even how he'd managed a single-person dimensional entry without "anchoring" to the Portal Corp portals like
so many dimensional conduits tended to.
Beyond that, Lisa had the oddest inkling that she'd
seen him somewhere before. Which was entirely possible, given Paragon's abundant hero population and her own line of work, but she couldn't place
exactly where. Nonetheless, she was now fairly interested in the job, which would help alleviate her boredom while she waited for a break with the Sabres. At
least she had that. Dialing up the number provided, she held for a moment before eventually getting an answering machine. Shrugging, she waited for the beep.
"Hello, Mr. Sangnoir. This is Lisa Vanette from the Paragon Times and you've been selected for our weekly Heroic Insider column. If you could
just get in touch with me at some point, we could set up an interview date, or just toss a message on my voice mail. If you don't wish to participate, feel
free to contact me either way as well to let us know. Thanks!" With that, she hung up and slipped on her shoes and jacket. She was hungry, and she knew
Nene should be getting off about now. Maybe if she caught her early enough, she could get the policewoman to hit Casey's with her. Her friend always let
more slip when she was eating than she did any other time, and besides, Lisa didn't feel like heating ramen alone in her apartment tonight.

***

This was supposed to be a one-shot joke initially. It isn't anymore. Now I have plot ideas growing, dammit. Though I need to do research now. :lol
---
"Oh, silver blade, forged in the depths of the beyond. Heed my summons and purge those who stand in my way. Lay
waste."

Kara Skye: ((Well. Was that fun?))

Kara Skye: ^_^

P-X51: ((Sorry for all the deaths. I suck at emping compared to Shrike. &nbsp)

Fortunata Black: ((Insanity!))

Kara Skye: ((No worries.))

Fortunata Black: ((V, I couldn't have kept everyone alive in there.))

Kara Skye: ((No team total wipes))

Kara Skye: ((That's the best we could ask for, really))

P-X51: ((I bet you could have. But I won't argue it if you don't want to))

Sharlisse: ((It was a big room, with lots of chaos. =D ))

Simone Templar: ((You did great!))

P-X51: ((Thanks.))

Fortunata Black: ((Okay, let's get one or two of Borea's missions, then I'll call it a night.))

Kara Skye: ((Gonna go talk to Dark Watcher))

White Jenna: ((and I'm back.  Sorry about that!))

Fortunata Black: ((Go right ahead. And tell him to get a nice sombrero to wear. ))

Sharlisse: ((Wibbles!))

P-X51: ((Welcome back!))

Fortunata Black: ((welcome back!))

Kara Skye: (("wibbles?"))

Fortunata Black: ((I'd like to see Dark Watcher in a sombrero.))

White Jenna: ((And V... you did just fine on the healing.  I was just placed wrong and was out of reach of Healing Aura, for the most part.
 Careless of me.))

White Jenna: ((Ha!  That'd be funny.   ))

P-X51: ((I'd like to see him in one of those crazy sports fan hats with the beer cans strapped to the side.))

P-X51: ((Dark watcher: I'm glad you came. This will be a very important mission. *sip* *sip* Now then...))

Sharlisse: ((*laugh* "Dark Drunkard?" ))

White Jenna: ((complete with foam finger.   ))

Fortunata Black: ((That would be the Sports Watcher, wouldn't it?))

P-X51: ((Yeah!))

Simone Templar: (("Drunk Watcher"?))

Kara Skye: ((LOL))

Kara Skye: ((anybody else want to take the star?))

Sharlisse: (("Sho here'sh the mishishish....mishi...plan."))

P-X51: (( ))

White Jenna: *giggles at Shar*  Yes, exactly!))

Fortunata Black: ((I'll take it.))

P-X51: (("Some... sombody... refill mah hat!"))

P-X51: ((Long walk.))

White Jenna: ((Woo woo!  It's the same door!))

Sharlisse: ((*laugh* "All theshe Vanguard guysh and no shomeli...uh, waitersh."))

Kara Skye: ((*DIES....*))

P-X51: ((I've created a monster))

Sharlisse: ((*wants to go roll "Drunk Watcher" now*))

Simone Templar: ((Thish ish verrry import...imp...important, Simone Templar.  Beer run!))

Sharlisse: ((ROFL!))

Kara Skye: ((I"m getting high on the oxygen debt from laughing too hard!))

Fortunata Black: ((That's what it's all about! Having fun. ))

P-X51: ((Watcher: I've never wandered the plane of elemental alcohol before... perhaps I should change that..."))

Kara Skye: ((SHATTER))

Sharlisse: (("Thish Rikti bashe ish a shtrategic, uh. They've got shome shupplies we need. Schpecifically....six more cashesh of cold
onesh....."))

Kara Skye: ((Go on ahead, guys. I need to bio break))

Sharlisse: ((Defeat teh Rikti Leader before he finishes the beer. *nod nod* ))