So I got off work this morning, came home, decided to play some GTA, flipped on the computer, and was met with a "Disk Read Error, Press CTRL-ALT-DEL to
restart" message. I've tried half a dozen things, including a mostly unproductive call to Seagate tech support, and the problem still exists. I
downloaded and ran Seagate's drive tools thingy, and it claims the disk is fine. It's an older computer, a P4 1.9, with 512 Ram and the current hard
drive is a Seagate barracuda 160gig PATA drive. Anyone have any solutions to this problem? I've tried the WinXP recovery tools, used fixmbr and makeboot,
did a chkdsk /r, and I'm wondering if the onboard IDE controller is dying. If so, anyone have any recommendations to replace it? I can't exactly
afford to replace the whole machine right now, because, well, I work in the fast food industry. I can barely afford to keep myself supplied with liquor most
days Any help is greatly appreciated. I'm confident that, with the combined computer expertise and experience present on these boards, a solution can
be found. Once again, thanks for your time.

-WolffFalling out of aeroplanes and hiding out in holes

Waiting for the sunset to come, people going home

Jump out from behind them and shoot them in the head

Now everybody dancing the dance of the dead

IF I'm awake and aware enough to tank a TF by then (I have a dental appointment on the 20th), I'd like to challenge the Big Boy, Dr. Q.

http://cityofheroes.wikia.com/wiki/Dr._ ... Task_Force

Per PWiki, this is supposed to be 'one of the longest TFs in the game'

Given our speed through the Sara Moore TF, I think we can knock it out in 4:30-5:00 hours.

Thoughts?
"No can brain today. Want cheezeburger."
From NGE: Nobody Dies, by Gregg Landsman
http://www.fanfiction.net/s/5579457/1/NGE_Nobody_Dies

Ever want a magnetic touch?

This guy is going into overkill to get it.

WARNINGS

Definately don't read this webpage while eating.

Be warned there are some rather graphic pictures of the procedure.

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http://www.bmezine.com/news/pubring/20060115.html

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here is a guy with a tattoo that is a measurable improvement over all the other tattoos he could have put on his body.

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http://www.technovelgy.com/ct/Science-F ... wsNum=1670

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howard melton

God bless

I've found A Mother's Love to be one of the better Naruto fanworks out there, though granted it could have
been better at some points (most exceptionally, chapter 100, because the battle with the Aketsuki was just plain anti-climactic).

What are everyone else's thoughts on it?

So, while poking about the Virtue wiki, I found a variety of interesting characters(and looked up a few Legendary ones), which led me to this question: what
would be some of your favorite "making of" stories for you characters?

For me, well, everyone knows the story about Silicon Sabre, aka Sylia. Saw the costume part, said "could we?" and the avalanche started.

Sell-Sword, however, was probably more interesting. His motivation is profit, pure and simple, and super-villainy just isn't profitable in his long run
analysis. However, this outlook is something of a mutation from his original concept. A friend and I were discussing DnD and he noted his great distaste for
the concept of Drizz't Du'orden, the first of many, many "good" Drow, which watered down the concept of such a well-designed evil
society/race to the point that more people think of "how can I make a good Drow" than "how can I make an interesting evil one?", thus
hammering the concept into the ground.

Proto-Sell-Sword was born of the desire to balance the two, essentially making him a Drow that was an upstanding member of his own race, but liked by good
characters....he plays the True Neutral card to the hilt, not being unnecessarily cruel or backstabbing because it'd aggravate potential customers/allies
that he could manipulate later. By contrast, he's a "good" Drow, but his actions aren't rooted in morality, but aggressive self-interest. He
plays the "good guy game" because playing that well keeps heroes off his back, not because he wouldn't appreciate torturing a defeated foe for
the heck of it.

However, the lack of a good DnD group to create the character for meant that the concept remained in my head for the foreseeable future, until I got into CoH.
The Drow mentality made Sell-Sword a former mercenary, with few moral scruples, and his pragmatism(and the game's salvage function) meant he became a
rather mercenary character even as a hero. He realizes he won't be a Lord Recluse or a Nemesis, and thus contents himself with living the good life off the
profits of "do-goodery", while his lack of moral fiber means he gets jobs from clients other heroes would soon spit in their face as touch(Crey, the
Family, the Tsoo). He works with Riot Force because it's an up and coming group whose loyalty to their membership will keep him safe if he pisses off the
wrong people(and, to be frank, he doesn't see it as "good and evil", so why not hang out with people he likes for his own reasons?). Betraying
them loses that, so he won't turn turncoat, but if he gets some money to turn a blind eye and not notify the group of something going down,
well...that's not technically violating his contract with Riot Force...they can't prove he knew about it ahead
of time.

Thus, you have the long and twisted mental track that led to the modern Sell-Sword. So what's your story?
---
"Oh, silver blade, forged in the depths of the beyond. Heed my summons and purge those who stand in my way. Lay
waste."

I've been thinking about doing a DW Stagger for Nanoha Strikers, and I'm looking for some setting info.

Thoughts and speculation is quite welcome.

Thanks.

Here you go, then: http://www.presepe.jp/m44/show/id/8OsfSGXvgBw%3D]promo art and http://i66.photobucket.com/albums/h254/ ... enozf3.jpg]character line art for the upcoming anime, Slayers Revolution.
--
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

Gundam 00 - Wings of Despair

Gurren Lagann - Libera Me From Hell
- Grumpy Uncle Gearhead

Several days ago, I was dared to make a combination of the 'cute girl with glasses' and the catgirl trend. Not stopping there, I decided to make her origin a little different, making her a former magical girl advisor now in the magical girl role. (It should be noted that she didn't get as lucky as our resident penguin when it comes to students). Then, following a question from OpMegs and Uni about if she'd qualify for a talking animal of her own, my brain went to the scary place.
Meganeko, once a mere magical girl advisor, found herself in a bit of grief when the next girl to be touched by destiny was lost in a paperwork screwup by a filing clerk taking a chance to get stoned. Some of the power was sent, as was a weapon, but not everything, and they had no idea where she was! Not game to send a stray talking animal into the madness that is Paragon, they gave her a mostly human form, the rest of the power, a mystical hammer, and sent her down to get a hero license and find their missing girl the old fashioned way!
Alice Baker was a homeless girl on the streets of Paragon, spending her days on the move and trying to survive, even as her friends vanished into the likes of the Lost, the Thorns and the Council. Then, she woke up with pointed ears, purple hair and a magical bow. With no clue where it came from, and a number of people she'd known and trusted becoming mutated Lost and making a mess of the shelter she'd been staying at, she'd taken an opening at a possible future and gone for a hero license. A smartass comment got her the name of Just Another Archer.
Needless to say, these two are linked, and finally met when Neko earned a high enough rating to enter the Hollows, where Alice has found she can make enough to survive by keeping the gangs in check... and that's when the problems started. The power in the two of them has recombined, making JAA a 'full' magical girl... but it also recognizes Neko as the wielder of the power. Which makes them each others familiar, and only one of them can be active at a time...
Now the pair find themselves linked. While one is more or less human, the other is left as a mere cat, riding on their shoulder, and they don't always agree on their approach (Neko's used to teaching more 'normal' magical girls, and Alice is more interested in street level problems and the likes of the Lost). But they can't seize complete control of the power, and have to work together. Besides, the bond that links them... they've come to enjoy, almost need, the others company.

... man, that's a bad image.
But yes, like I said, my brain worries me.

Do you have an email address for the person who did your avatar picture? I've got a couple ideas noodling around and I may have a bit extra cash next
month; I'd like to discuss a commission with whoever it is.

--sofaspud
--"Listening to your kid is the audio equivalent of a Salvador Dali painting, Spud." --OpMegs