To be brutally honest, this is a set of Levelling/chaos maps.

Mission one is a copy of Terr's infamous "BP World:" Graveyard Map, LOTS of BP

Mission two is an outdoor city map Chock Full of high-level 5th Column.

Both maps are set up on the 45+ paradigm. So, a "bare" lowbie is up against the Purple patch and gets mad xps/tix/inf if there's a 50 in the
team.

These may be difficult or Just plain easy depending on build and difficulty solo. I was fortunate enough to get an 8-man team runthrough after publishing it.
The major complaints, other than common "Story? What Story?" were mainly about the length of the maps.

I'm open for suggestions for "Case Files" to expand on for the "frame" story.

Existing casefiles include "Terrence Knight's Wanderings" and "Place Kicker's Memoirs."
''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

Some of you know this already -- my dad has suffered from Parkinson's with dementia for about ten years now. It's been several years since he's reliably recognized me, a couple years since he could move under his own power, and about six months since he became bed-bound.

In the last few weeks, he's been intermittently refusing food and water, and it's finally taken its toll -- he's reached a point where his organs are likely to shut down in a few days if nothing is done. The only measures that can be taken at this point, though, are explicitly forbidden by the terms of his living will. His doctor has told my mom to not take him to the hospital, as it would only prolong the inevitable. Plus doing so would break the agreement she has with the hospice agency which has taken on a fair chunk of the cost of his care and which provides a lot of services for that care. The agency has, by the way, indicated that it will provide narcotic patches that will make sure that he is not suffering during these last hours -- but he also appears to have suffered a small stroke that has wiped out any vestiges of personality which had retained up to this point; I'm not entirely sure he's actually "in there" any more.

Even so, it was me my mother turned to me in order to "help" her decide whether to send him to the hospital or not.

Weighing everything I've cited above plus a few things that are private to the family, I had to counsel her not to.

So. I am right now sitting at home, hoping my father does not die before Peggy and I can get down there tomorrow, feeling a welter of emotions including but not limited to a certain anger that I was the one essentially forced to make the decision to let my father die (for all my mother claimed to be asking my advice, she was really asking me to take the decision out of her hands). And feeling a need to spill this out somewhere. And lacking a blog proper, this is my most prominent forum (pun not intended).

It's not going to be a good weekend, no matter what happens.

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

No, really.

Makes me wonder what would happen if they played around in an online world with more persistent consequences. Like say, EVE Online.

-----------------------

Epsilon

Like a computer virus that makes your ship explode.

(Edit by Bob: Fixed title so it doesn't look like they were asking some Chinese guy for help)

Are Here. Though admittedly an AMV version would rock pretty hard too.
Mr. Fnord interdimensional man of mystery

FenWiki - Your One-Stop Shop for Fenspace Information

"I. Drink. Your. NERDRAGE!"

okay, i've given it a few solo tests and tweaked it as much as i think i can, try it out and tell me what you like/hate, i'll try to be open to
critasiems

Figured I would appeal to the vast knowledge and experience of this group of people to humbly garner advice.

My laptop is nearing it's end and would like to get a replacement. I've been using my laptop (Gateway Tablet CX2618) for watching videos, archiving,
and, of course, Internet usage.

Now, I would love to play WoW on it, as well as keeping up on my archiving and videos. ...and Internet usage too.

I look forward to seeing what you suggest.

(Bob, didn't you just recently pick up a laptop for CoH?)
_____
DEATH is Certain. The hour, Uncertain...

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/in_depth/8022881.stm]Famous aircraft buzzes New York City

So, somebody forgot to tell the NYC mayor's office that a large aircraft would be flying very low in Manhattan airspace, for a photo-op. Never mind that it's this aircraft; who in his right mind would have thought to stage a low-level flight over Manhattan less than eight years after 9/11 and barely twelve weeks after the Hudson crash without telling everybody and their pet dogs, in advance, loudly?

I'm guessing somebody's in trouble...
--
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

Now that Vancouver has won the chance to host the 2010 Winter Olympics, these are some questions people from all over the world are
asking.

Believe it or not the questions about Canada were posted on an International Tourism Website.

Obviously the answers are a joke; but the questions were really asked!

Q: I have never seen it warm on Canadian TV, so how do the plants grow? ( England )

A. We import all plants fully grown and then just sit around and watch them die.

Q: Will I be able to see Polar Bears in the street? ( USA )

A: Depends on how much you've been drinking.

Q: I want to walk from Vancouver to Toronto - can I follow the Railroad tracks? ( Sweden )

A: Sure, it's only Four thousand miles, take lots of water.

Q: Is it safe to run around in the bushes in Canada ? ( Sweden )

A: So it's true what they say about Swedes.

Q: Are there any ATM's (cash machines) in Canada? Can you send me a list of them in Toronto, Vancouver, Edmonton and Halifax ? (
England )

A: What, did your last slave die of?

Q: Can you give me some information about hippo racing in Canada ? ( USA )

A: A-fri-ca is the big triangle shaped continent south of Europe. Ca-na-da is that big country to your North...oh forget it. Sure, the
hippo racing is every Tuesday night in Calgary. Come naked.

Q: Which direction is North in Canada ? ( USA )

A: Face south and then turn 180 degrees. Contact us when you get here and we'll send the rest of the directions.

Q: Can I bring cutlery into Canada ? ( England )

A: Why? Just use your fingers like we do.

Q: Can you send me the Vienna Boys' Choir schedule? ( USA )

A: Aus-tri-a is that quaint little country bordering Ger-man-y, which is...oh forget it. Sure, the Vienna Boys' Choir plays every
Tuesday night in Vancouver and in Calgary, straight after the hippo races. Come naked.

Q: Do you have perfume in Canada ? ( Germany )

A: No, WE don't stink.

Q: I have developed a new product that is the fountain of youth. Where can I sell it in Canada ? ( USA )

A: Anywhere significant numbers of Americans gather.

Q: Do you celebrate Thanksgiving in Canada ? ( USA )

A: Only at Thanksgiving.

Q: Are there supermarkets in Toronto and is milk available all year round? ( Germany )

A: No, we are a peaceful civilization of Vegan hunter/gathers. Milk is illegal.

Q: I have a question about a famous animal in Canada, but I forget its name. It's a kind of big horse with horns. ( USA )

A: It's called a Moose. They are tall and very violent, eating the brains of anyone walking close to them. You can scare them off by
spraying yourself with human urine before you go out walking.

Q: Will I be able to speak English most places I go? ( USA )

A: Yes, but you will have to learn it first.

Please send this on to any Canadian (or others) who you think will enjoy it as much as I did.

----------------------

Epsilon

Alan Moore reads Rorshach's Journal

Possibly the creepiest thing I've heard in some time....
Ebony the Black Dragon
http://ebony14.livejournal.com

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

So, I was reading some of those Let's Play archives over at [url=http://www.lparchive.org,]http://www.lparchive.org,[/url] I and I thought I'd go
look at an in-progress one. So I go over to the forums, find an interesting thread, and....

Bam, can't view this page w/out registering.

Okay, I think, I'll just go register....

What. The. Fsck.

You want me to *pay* to register in your forums?! For FORUMS?!