Balladeer

I really like the black background.

Hydrogen gas "is highly flammable and will burn in air at a very wide range of concentrations between 4% and 75%." (wiki) Oxygen is a strong oxidizer that helps flammable materials burn. Water (H2O) is made of 2 parts Hydrogen and 1 part Oxygen meaning that the gases from the separation of these elements would have a Hydrogen concentration of 66.7%. This isn't rocket science. Why do we not have engines built to run on water? Surely there can be a machine made that can separate the elements, introduce them to flame, and gain kinetic energy from the explosion of it. (And if built like car engines, the process itself should be able to charge the battery that lends to the process of separation.) There are rumors of such engines but no one stepping up to put them into production. I mean, in my mind I see H2O being separated into its elements, being channeled into a chamber and introduced to a spark which results in an explosive chemical reaction that generates force (both to move a piston and the coils to charge a battery) and turns it back into H2O again. Then it could be moved to the beginning of the process once again making it almost self-sustaining but for the flame/spark (which comes from electricity arcing off the battery anyway). I mean, am I totally off base here that something like that should work? I think if the gov't was serious about preserving the environment, making something like this work would be top priority. Too bad big oil pays a lot of the bills.

Wow, all of these are incredibly beautiful. If I had to die, I think I wouldn't mind it so much at the end of one of these. Is there any reason you have beyond the joy of creation and adding to your portfolio for this little project. I'm curious to know what, if anything, you will be doing with them.

Beautiful, Triumph. My desktop background has now changed to artistic blue glass.

Oh, almost forgot to mention. Of all the movies I saw in 2012, my favorite was actually one released in 2011. I found The Decoy Bride purely through David Tennant's roll in it and loved it thoroughly. Only movie watched in 2012 that I rate at a 10/10, though I may be biased... It has that plenty of that awkward funny that I like.

Enjoyability is purely speculative. Some people enjoy really tough game play and some enjoy games they don't have to think too hard on. It's not possible to please everyone even though I know Jeff does his best. Expecting Jeff to change his games to accommodate you specifically, though, is unrealistic. There are people on the opposite spectrum who want him to make them harder. Maybe his games AREN'T for you, but complaining about them being too hard is neither productive nor entirely true since, once again, difficulty is subjective. If you've stopped enjoying them, no one is forcing you to play. If you don't like that you've spent money on games that you don't find enjoyable... I say suck it up. Its the risk you take when you pay for any entertainment; books, movies, games, comedy shows... Nothing is guaranteed to tickle your fancy. We're here to help if you want strategy advice, otherwise repeating your grievances (to us or to Jeff) will likely get you nowhere.

Perhaps it is the "new" way for a reason. That said, I suggest trying different strategies with your game play since continuing is obviously possible from all the people who have finished them. Have you asked for help on the game boards with the specific places where you're getting stuck?

The 2012 movies I've seen include a pretty specific set of genres... Superhero movies: The Avengers - 9/10 So good I watched it twice... on purpose. I'm just a big Marvel fan so it suits me. I live to see the cameos. The Dark Knight Rises - 6/10 Meh. Batman seems so overdone these days and Gotham is always on the brink of extinction... nuthin new The Amazing Spider-Man - 7/10 Meh again. Spider-man is also overdone and this time outside of cannon but at least it was half new. Animated: Ice Age: Continental Drift - 6/10 Starting to remind me of the Land Before Time series. Another one? Really? Kids still enjoyed it. The Lorax - 9/10 Big Dr. Seuss fan to start with so seeing it on the big screen was fun. The Pirates! Band of Misfits - 8/10 Original enough to keep my interest. Brave - 7/10 From all the hype I guess I was expecting... idk, just more and better than what it was. I dislike movies that portray all men as idiots. How to Train Your Dragon had a better mix for the "viking" demeanor. Rise of the Guardians - 9/10 Very cute, and I don't just mean Jack. (Though Ashley mentioned it, too. ) Nice bit of holiday fun with a bunch of laughs thrown in. Movies Others Wanted to See: The Hunger Games - 7/10 Bethany read the book at school so the movie was requested. Like most movies based on books, it doesn't always flow because of skipped information. The Three Stooges - 2/10 I detest stupid funny which is what the 3 stooges stood for so... yeah, Chris wanted to watch it and it made the kids laugh. Chimpanzee - 1/10 Pam noticed it was at the budget theater... Would have been much better if they hadn't taken sides and invented a story around it. As it is, the rhetoric had me wishing it was over the first time "Scar" and his "gang" made an appearance. Katy Perry: Part of Me - 7/10 I think Dylan has a crush on Katy... Wasn't entirely terrible; I do like music. I learned a lot about her life and know a few more of her songs and the stories behind them. Here Comes the Boom - 9/10 Classic underdog tale and Kevin James is a favorite for ~decent~ comedy. Stupid funny is out, but awkward funny is in. Movies I wanted to See: The Odd Life of Timothy Green - 6/10 I wasn't greatly impressed. It was nice, but you always know he's dying so the emotional attachment is not created and the viewer remains un-invested. Movies they saw without me: Madagascar 3 Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Dog Days Hotel Transylvania Kids enjoyed them all, I hear. I wouldn't know first hand 'cuz I wasn't invited. Movies I wanted to See but no one would go with me so I haven't seen them yet: The Grey Man on a Ledge The Hobbit Men in Black 3 Chronicle Journey 2 Ghost Rider 2 A Thousand Words John Carter Snow White and the Huntsman Total Recall The Bourne Legacy The Perks of Being a Wallflower Wreck-It Ralph Lincoln Breaking Dawn 2 - I blame my sister. Gotta watch it for completeness. Les Miserables To be fair, there's probably a few that the kids WOULD watch with me, but not the important ones... like The Hobbit... 'cuz LoTR gave them ~nightmares~ or something silly like that, 'cuz they were only 1-5 when the orcs' heads were being chopped off... pft whatever... that was the best part!

Huzzah to a new year and double huzzah to the kids going back to school tomorrow. I might finally get the computer back. Gma Sue bought them all Kindle Fire HD's but do they play them? NooOoo... They buy themselves an official Minecraft account each with the money from the Aunts instead and hoard the PC's from dawn till dusk. On the bright side, no computer means I have plenty of time to work on the bathroom remodel. Should have all the tile up today. That'll be nice. Huzzah, make merry, love like there's no tomorrow, and live like there's no yesterday. ...I may have stolen that last part from somebody. Too lazy to look up who.

I don't think the RP really died. It just hesitated. It was stagnant for what... two weeks? If there are still players interested in continuing the story, I don't see why they shouldn't. Anyone who doesn't like the direction things are going doesn't have to participate.

Jewels takes stock of the situation. ...Chaos. Yeah, that about sums it up. Spiderwebbers fighting raptors everywhere, some continuing to turn into other creatures, gremlins doing impersonations... It was like a dream only much too weird. Jewels put her over-large head in her hands... er claws. Jewels: "This is ridiculous! Just stop it! Stop it right now!" (Rawring) Amazingly, three of the nearby raptors stop their advances to make a reply. Even more amazingly, they all seem to speak in a hillbilly British accent. Raptor1: "Rawring." (But I'm 'ungry.) Raptor2: "More rawring." (We ain't 'ad a bite ta eat all day.) Raptor3: "Rawring again." (Wot's wrong wit'chu, Angus? Ya ain't been yerself fer at least an 'our.) Raptor2: "Purr." (Yeah, ya should be 'elping us bag this dinner. Gotta feed the kids at 'ome.) Jewels blinked a few times at the raptors. It was an odd sensation, hearing dinosaurs speak, but, after the initial shock, she rallied herself to solve the problem. Jewels: "You don't want to eat these, uh... creatures. I got a nibble off of an arm and they taste terrible. Maybe we could hunt for some of those birds that just went flying off." (rawr) Raptor1: "RAwrrw." (Dey smell fine to me. Meat is meat; and, with dem just standing about, might as well get 'em.) Raptor2: "Grrawr." (Yeah, I'm 'ungry, now. I don't care wot dey taste like.) They all turn their backs on her only to be met with the pointy end of three different weapons. Well... she might not be able to convince them to stop, but at least she could make for a good distraction.

You should PM me your address so I can send you a gift, Nioca. Merry Christmas to everyone with a Happy Holidays and a Ho, Ho, Ho.

I got yelled at for making wild things happen. And so did Upon Mars. And HH got more than one earful about the way he was posting, one such from myself... sorry hare. I think there was too much "that can't happen" instead of taking what was written and moving forward with it; events were either ignored or changed or both. Then it didn't help that key players stopped posting. I agree, also, that the 'vague hints' didn't help. I cornered Sylae to ask what her big post meant but it was probably something that should have been disclosed in the ooc so that other people could run with it. The blue dot was too many things to different people because it was not defined. imho, the tardis could have been comprehended if people had asked questions about it instead of ados just changing it because he didn't like it. It was congruent with other peoples' transformations until it was changed from a transformation of tyran and nikki to the ACTUAL tardis with the ACTUAL doctor. The gremlin things was ignored as 'too confusing'. I think there are two camps of writers. One that likes wild, crazy, didn't-see-that-coming things to happen, and another that likes things to be simple and planned and sensible. Put those camps together in an RP and you invariably pit them against one another.

The Prestige FTW!

I used to consider him my favorite. Even have an autographed pic with accompanying letter from him but, meh. His newer books are not as good as the old ones. He puts less thought into them and more piles of no-reason puns that his fans have sent him. I also distinctly remember his books being better BEFORE I was inducted into the adult conspiracy. Freaking-out at a pair of colorful panties just isn't as fun anymore.

Have you been reading Xanth lately?

Sy!! How could I not know today is your B-day? You share it with my youngest who is now 9. *gives Sy super-mega-Happy-Birthday huggles*

Retconned as neatly as I could putting everything to do with the tardis into Jewels' head while everyone else went on around her. ADoS, if you need that staff, you could always just pretend that you had it all along. Or say you fell asleep with a dream of having it brought to you only to have it appear on your lap when you awoke. Or it could have been on the bus the whole time since it IS your bus. I think that's the only thing the tardis brought about that should still be IC. My post ends shortly before Trinit Eye comes rolling back out of the forest but I didn't want my post to be monster long. Anyone who wants to, feel free to use my character in the raptor pack solution.

Jewels stood for a moment in a dazed stupor. She blinks a few times before taking in her surroundings. A stag stood before her, head askew, and looking confused. The last thing she remembered was wishing for a translator and then... and then... Jewels: Woah, that was really weird... Did I just fall asleep? While standing up? ("Rawwwr... Arrwr? Rrawrra?") A sudden crack above her head drew Jewels' attention upwards. There was a tiny gray cloud floating there, no bigger than her head, flashing with internal lightning and spilling out big fat rain drops she had not before until one landed in her eye. While blinking it out, the cloud began to spin slowly thinning until there was naught but a wisp and the little blue glowing dot that she had just seen transform Actaeon into a stag. It hovered there above her for a few more seconds before moving off behind the bus where she could not see it. A storm above my head while I dream of weird and wild things that don't make sense? Her puzzled mind instinctively pieced together the play on words and named it: Brainstorm. She immediately found the thought very odd... well the entirety of their circumstances was very odd so why not think oddly about it? The dream had given her a vague notion, though. Something she hadn't thought to look for before... Something that would give them what they needed to work together. Leaving Actaeon, she pushed her way past and onto the bus. Standing next to the drivers seat - since her tail wouldn't allow her to sit - she scoured the bus controls with her eyes. There were a number of compartments she tried to explore but three-inch long claws weren't exactly as versatile as opposable thumbs. She turned her head to spy a white-sheet faced Excalibur sitting near the front of the bus. His hand was on the hilt of his sword and his eyes were wide and wary. Great... all she needed was someone chasing her with a sword again. Ever so slowly she turned to face him. She pointed a claw at him and then tapped one of the compartments. She didn't think that a growl would help her case any so instead she borrowed a page from her cat and tried to purr as gently as she could. An upward inflection at the end turned it into a seeming question. She looked at Excalibur expectantly but all he did was shake his head at her. Maybe she was just too close for comfort. She took a few steps backwards so she was on the stairs. She repeated her actions pointing at Excalibur, pointing at the compartment she could no longer reach, and then purring especially sweetly... at least she hoped it sounded sweet. Tentatively Excalibur spoke. Excalibur: "You want me to open that compartment?" Jewels nodded her head and purred all the more. Excalibur: "Why?" At this Jewels frowned. She held up her clawed hands had shook them at him in frustration. Jewels: I'm looking for something and I don't have thumbs! ("Rraarwwr!") Of course that had the opposite effect that she had wanted as there was soon a blade pointed at her nose once again. All-be-it a shakily held one, but still it looked sharp from her vantage point. He lifted the sword to swing but the baby raptor ran forward and almost made him trip. Jewels ducked as Excalibur swung wildly while trying to regain his balance. The tip of it scraped against the compartment instead causing it to pop open. There it was! Just as she had imagined it would be! Jewels leapt forward pushing Excalibur into the drivers seat, sword arm knocked over the wheel, and nipped at the exposed knob with her teeth. When they caught, she pulled back gently until there was a subtle click. Jewels: "There. Did that do anything? Testing, testing... is this thing on?" (Rawrs) She cocked her head at Excalibur who sat blinking and shaking his head. Jewels: "Oy, Excalibur, can you understand me?" Excalibur: "Uh... yeah. But I don't know if that's a good thing. Means I've probably gone into shock and am hallucinating."

Might have to be more specific than that. I think to move forward, these questions need to be nailed down: !. Where is the bus now in relation to the SW forum? (close by or far away?) 2. When is the bus now in relation to the SW forum? (in the past, future, or same time?) 3. Are all currently active participants now at the bus from Trinit Eye's bringing them over? (Trinit Eye could have brought over some rubble for Randomizer to keep rummaging through if the bus is far.) 4. What is the blue dot? Or if it is still an unknown, what is the blue dot definitely NOT? (i.e. Not a demon or not the TARDIS or not a ball or wild RP energy.... or not a continuing part of the RP because it is too confusing?) By all rights, you, Oh Mighty Actaeon, are in charge of this RP. I will defer to your wisest of decisions and retcon to before the transformations I so callously made.

So... there were ALWAYS velociraptors near SW proper? Perhaps if we traveled through time, but in that case the people in the ruin would still be left behind. Or there was always a magical meadow where no one could hear things unless they eat of the fruit? When Sylae went scouting after the bus landed in the forest, she didn't mention seeing SW proper. We could choose to ignore it, of course, as we seem to be ignoring a great many things, but the premise of it being close necessitates a significant shift from cannon. The only way I can see it working is if the velociraptors/forest/berries aren't actually real but a magical manifestation of the RP energy. Perhaps the energy that changed the SWers was also strong enough to transform a rather large area into something completely different from what it was.

I am of the understanding that when Trinit Eye brought the others to the bus, he (and they) left behind SW proper. I do not consider the bus to be in proximity to the ruin. I also had intended for every active player to come along with but Randomizer seems to prefer the ruin instead. Trinit Eye actually being able to bring the whole forum to the bus while barely batting an eye seems excessively powerful. The Spiderbus had timey wimey powers in the last RP (not inflicted by the TARDIS). It was hinted at as the SWers came back to the SW proper from the RP era of days past. Though, having the TARDIS share a type of kinship with the time traveling bus could lend credibility to its appearance. I liked the little blue dot better as something not related to the TARDIS, but rather a catalyst for transformation.

It is from my understanding. The "yes?" is to confirm with everyone that we see it the same way or invite a response if someone sees it differently. And really is just a set up for giving the bus a translator button/ability. The purpose is to take out the needed middleman. I don't want to go "Rawr" and then need Lamppost to say "Jewels says, 'Hi.'" Or have Trinit Eye go "*Blink, blink*" and then need Harehunter to say "iBeast says, 'Peek-a-boo.'" Or need someone to step up when Actaeon talks and say "I speak stag!". A TARDIS-like translator gives everyone the freedom to communicate without the middleman.

Yesterday, a homeless woman named Pam was given a place to stay for up to two years. She will be provided with regular meals, needed clothing, employment education and training, budget training to get a handle on any debt she may have, a temporary job with on-the-job training to help her pay off those debts or for saving up, assistance in getting any medical treatment or prescriptions she may need, and counseling to help her deal with any emotional problems or root causes of her homelessness. By mid-second year, she should be well on her way to getting a permanent job in the community. At the end of the two years, if she chooses to stay that long, follows house rules, and completes the requirements of the training program, she will be given a used vehicle in working condition and helped to find a permanent residence she can afford.

@ADoS: I was only trying to present a catch-all solution that could help move the RP forward. After a day of taking a step back, I notice that your post was pretty much the same thing. I'm sorry for rolling my eyes at you and being snarky. @Diki: I have been too long at Rebirth where nothing happens to anyone unless I put it into motion. Your rule is a valid rule, thank you for the reminder. @Nikki & Tyran: You would have been brilliant as the Doctor and TARDIS, so says my headcannon, but I guess the idea is just too 'out there' for those that don't watch the show. Sorry I didn't ask you first, more sorry it couldn't work out. @All: The communication difficulties lie with Jewels, Trinit Eye, and (as I gathered from his << >> notation) Actaeon who is now a stag. Might I suggest a compromise that could end all of our communications woes? The Spiderbus travels through time and space, yes? It kinda has a mind of its own and ends up where we're not expecting to be, yes? It is bigger on the inside, yes? (Well when I think about dancing in the aisles I picture it that way anyway.) This is much like the premise of the TARDIS. Why not give the bus a "Translator" button as well? The bus can translate for everyone, including any intelligent creatures we run across.