Krytos

I saw The Dark Knight last night. Where to start? Well, in my honest opinion - compared to the first movie (Batman Begins), the new movie is better. Darker, feels more realistic without a silly "evil plot" such as that microwave weapon used to evaporate water to make a massive aerosol instead of making an actual massive aerosol. I won't talk about the plot, because it's good, relatively solid, and hearing about it before hand will ruin the experience. A little word of warning would be it's a bloody long movie, and it feels it - so make a pit-stop before hand. I had several moments thinking the movie had come to an open end, only it continue plowing along into some other twist and turn. I'll try to leave it at that - I really want to say more, but I think it's just too good a movie to bugger up. It's not perfect but it's a truly complete movie that you come out of satisfied in all regards, something I don't think we've had for a while. My only beef, is with Christian Bale. He plays the part well - perfect Bruce Wane. His Batman is good, too, except for the bloody voice he uses. I hate it. It's the same as from the first movie, and I'd kinda hoped they'd fixed it by now, it's too gruff and too evil. But, then, that might be due to the way Batman is portrayed in these movies. It's just so annoying to try and listen to when Batman has long or serious dialogue. Then there's Heath Ledger. By far the best Joker - part of it was the brilliantly well written character, that made the idea of someone dressed up as a clown feel right compared to other movies where it was the comic book villain approach, and partly some damn fine acting. There are very few times I find myself rooting for the bad guy, especially to be more evil - but The Joker takes the cake, brilliantly evil. Ledger's acting really was spot on - I guess all I'd ask for is some more manic laughter from him earlier in the movie. Was it an Oscar worthy performance like so many people have said? Mmm, no - 'fraid not. It was awesome, but I don't think it was an Oscar performance. That being said, it's probably the best acting I've seen all year. And I'll say nothing more! You can torture me all you want, you'll get nothing more from me! You'll just have to see it for yourself. Ok, one last word - The Joker has the best magic trick EDIT: Oh, just thought of something else that bugged me - those bloody people who clap at the start and end of the movie. Come on! It's a movie, there's no-one here to clap to except yourselves!

Umm *clicks fingers* I know this one. No, no - don't help. Argh, it's on the tip of my tongue. Is it Admiral Antillies (or however he liked to spell it)! Welcome back Scathe, you old droid you.

Wew, been a while! Unfortunatelly - nothing from me (yet). Some tips on drawing though! Star Wars related too Oh, and look out for the "subtle" ads Oh and for warning, there's a lot of lame moments in these you'll probably skip like I did - very geeky and annoying. But there's some good fundamentals in it. And, there are more episodes you can look for It should be noted that a lot of this (if not all, just modified to suit) can still be applied to painting on a computer via Photoshop, Corel Painter etc. And, assuming you've got a tablet for drawing or a scanner can be easier thanks to layers and being able to undo mistakes.

It has, at least twice if not thrice. I recall that at the start of the Black Fleet Crisis it was mentioned as having an overhaul and then at the start, or sometime in, the NJO it was definitely given a massive overhaul from the New Republic Navy as a gift to Solo - crap like top of the line equipment, armour, shielding and a top up of the hero quota to make sure it'd last another half century. Oh, and the matte black paint job.

The Money The male Rodian opposite him looked more scummy and cliché than Bromé could have imagined. Cliché or not, the job he was offering is worth a lot of money. “Alll weee neeed is som more mussil, and yoous military experience means you get goood price for helping oot.” Bromé rubbed the stubble of his chin and moved his jaw side to side. “I’m interested. BUT, I don’t want to end up on the wrong side of the law – I don’t need the GAAF taking away my pension.” The Rodian shook his head and made a high pitch wheezing sound that Bromé took as a laugh. “Thee GA hass little to doo heer in suuch parts of the ooterr rriimm. Beeside human, this is agains som pi-rates. The GA should be thanking us forr doiing theiir work bee-coss theeey too busy elss wheere.” Bromé stared at his bad hand, which had once been his good hand. This was what was at stake here. Screw the pirates, screw this alien scum opposite him. This was a chance at getting his life back. “Fine. I’m in.” “Goood Mee-stor Mab-er. Heere is whére to meeet us.” The Rodian handed over a data chip and quickly rose and left the dank, smelly cantina they were in. Bromé finished the cup of what was meant to be a Corellian Ale, and started leaving the bar as quickly as the Rodian. He didn’t like this cantina. Not a bit. It wasn’t so much the atmosphere that could choke a small child; it was the things that resided within. Bromé halted his exit in a pause of regret and his face grimaced. As time went on he had begun to realise he was becoming xenophobic. He never use to be, yet now he had trouble looking into another species face without feeling anger and having a whispering call for vengeance against anything non-human. He shook his head, hard, and walked out of the cantina and into the open – he didn’t want those feelings. Squinting as he exited the building, fresh air and sun light welcomed him home like a mother to a long lost child. In a slow exhale the bitterness within him left and Bromé was feeling better already. But reality got a hold of him too soon, as the stranger that was his right hand played into vision. Shoving the prosthetic into his pocket he strode off to his slum in the distance. **** “All I have to do is stand there, act tough, and let these smugglers do their bit. Shots shouldn’t even be fired. These guys are meant to be cowards.” Bromé said allowed to himself whilst in the confines of his temporary home, pacing back and forth. It always comforted him, talking aloud what he was going to do. Every day he awoke to the same ritual of verbally laying out what he was going to for that day – even if it was as simple as staying home and sulking. His walking took him mere meters before he was forced to turn around and walk to the other side of the room and begin pacing again. This place was pathetic, and illegal. A temporary shelter set up almost 10 years ago for refugees during the Vong war. The last thing it was meant for was to be actually lived in long term. These shelters had been built on a moment’s notice and shipped all over the galaxy, and now on worlds out of the reach of Galactic Alliance’s firm grip shanty villages had been erected with these derelict domiciles. Someone just trying to rip other people off, again. Since the war with the Vong, the GA had been slowly repairing the galaxy. More ‘important’ worlds within the core only had scars of the past these days, not still open wounds like the Outer Rim. But, too their credit, they were working their way out and helping each planet they could – it was just taking time. The most GA action in this particular stretch of dull planets was fleet activity, searching for any Vong that was missed in the 3 year long mop up operation. The presence of the GA held merit still, and would scare off pirates operating where ever GA vessels approached. It was so effective that some governments made up lies and said they’d spotted a Vong ship in their system urging a response from GA navel assets and scaring of pirates – sometimes indefinitely. And thanks to a group of merchants who found a Vong camp site that looked to be only several months old, the GA was pouncing at any information they got. Although, because of the rebuilding effort, there was a swagger of pirates in the Outer Rim – not that Core worlds were impervious, but they never had their government held ransom and the planets controls at the hands of villainous scum. That often lead to governments dealing with things themselves, with their police forces often too weak Mercenaries were the first call. When that failed, drastic actions came about. Which is where his new job came in, dealing with the ‘ruling’ and abusing pirates. He had no qualms in killing a pirate, but not if it was going to affect his later life when the GA finds out. He’d earned his pension, and he was only out here to try and fix his twisted, downward spiral of a life. As luck had it, the same world that had been suggested to him for new hand (where it wasn’t going to go on record like on a Core world) had plenty of high playing, risky jobs. He needed this new hand. He needed to start a new life and that sure as the 9 hells wasn’t going to happen with this monstrosity attached to him. “Mmm. Too much thinking.” He murmured out loud in his deep, gruff voice. On his next pace past the kitchen he grabbed a bottle of what this world calls alcohol. Ripping off the lid, he slowly began to drink away his problems.

New pixar short

If this is true, it's bad news in my opinion. I've got no problem if they make a 3rd instalment - but if those are the only platforms that the game is being made for then it's a bad outlook for LucasArts and PC games. How many games are they releasing for the PC of late? Force Unleashed - no. Clone Wars - no. Fracture - no. Lego Indiana Jones - Yes. Thrillville - no. Indiana Jones - no. Empire at War - yes. So, the last games PC have gotten are Lego (fun, but not exactly a huge title) and Empire at War (say what you like, but I actually really like this game). Both of which are now considered old - with EaW coming out in 2006 and the first Lego game in 2005 with a re-hash every year or so. But no new engines, and really only Lego Indy is a new game. I'm beginning to wonder if they'll drop the PC platform completelly. Side note, the LucasArts website bugs the crap out of me now - it takes forever to load thanks to the stupidly heavy amount of flash and videos they use. I just want to bloody browse not waste time and bandwidth on the damn menu! EDIT: Oh yeah, I also forgot to mention that LucasArts have yet to say they're making it - and Amazon has been known to either jump the gun or advertise things that don't exist. Duke Nukem Forever has been advertised on Amazon a few times

Double post aye? The Gruen Transfer - An Ad for invading New Zealand I like the second one

http://www.blogsmithmedia.com/www.engadget.com/media/2008/07/7-3-08-chinese-swat-segway.jpg

OOC: G'day all - I would have posted this yesterday, but when I hit the submit button the website went down So, I'd like to invite any and everyone to join this RP - it's open to everyone! Even if you've never done an RP, jump on board - we don't bite! (except maybe Tofu). Join in and help write a fun story! If you're interested, read the following - just some little heads ups. Setting: It's 5-10 Years after the Yuuzhan Vong war, and what's left of the Vong have been mopped up by the Galactic Alliance (the New Republic renamed, sharing the banner with the Empire). The galaxy is still picking up the pieces, even though the Core worlds were able to start rebuilding as soon as the Vong surrendered. The further out from the Core you travel, the less has the Galactic Alliance (GA) has been able to do with their efforts focusing on the powerful core worlds. This has left the Outer Rim to return to where its name of fame came from - unrest. Pirates, smugglers, bounty hunters, mercenaries, warlords and more roam the space doing as they do best. The GA attempts to help, though they are to stretched out at the moment and true help is still a year off at least. Restrictions: The idea of this RP is to look through the eyes of those who are suffering the most (or causing the suffering) in this time of peril and rebuilding in the Galaxy. Character restrictions are that your character cannot be a member of the Jedi order or the GA (whether in the army, fleet or even a diplomat), however they can be retired from service. We are avoiding over powerful characters, so while you can be in charge or a crack mercenary outfit - keep in mind that they too would be rebuilding from the recent ravaging war, and wouldn't be able to stand toe to toe against the GA military might. So, no pirates with a Star Destroyer You can have space ships, and have been from the Peace Brigade if you'd like - that's up to you. The majority of unrest is to be kept in the Outer Rim area, seeing as the GA would be able to crack down on pirates and the sort attacking more controlled areas of space. But that's not to say that core worlds are immune I'd like to see some evil characters - not cliché, lets destroy the galaxy evil cackling laughter, but more evil for their own greed. Such as a Pirate who's taken control of a small world and is pillaging it. Or even a corporate CEO of a core world taking advantage of refugees. If you'd like more than one character, that's fine too - as long as they're not there for the sake of it and do get constant use as a main character (ala Luke, Leia, Han). Same goes for minor characters, but being minor they needn't appear much and adhere to the major character rules of use etc. Other than the idea of keeping characters believable and not a powerful figure in the galaxy you're open to what you want to do. Oh, the final "restriction" is just to proof read what you post. This is just to make sure other writers know what's going on and anyone reading it understands, avoiding confusion - so it may be an idea to write up your post in Word if you want and copy and past. For those new to RPs and want to join, if you'd like to talk or comment (like this post here) start with "OOC:" - this stands for Out Of Character, so everyone knows what you're writing isn't meant to be part of the story. Also, for your first post, introduce yourself and your character(s) with an OOC post - but you needn't give away character secrets if you want. Have fun and enjoy!

Making up for lost time Besides - I could argue that's just an excsuse to spam http://img74.imageshack.us/img74/9982/motivator1efe88c86e7054gp3.jpg Happy Tofu?

We've got some equipment like that over here - not sure if it's the same size etc. but they are huge, and have the same circular scoop mechanism. http://i7.tinypic.com/6ui3o0g.jpg http://i73.photobucket.com/albums/i240/Nismodified/motivator5007415.jpg http://i162.photobucket.com/albums/t266/joshtoner/motivationalposters/Spent.jpg http://gthing.net/wp-content/uploads/2007/07/wp-content-uploads-2007-06-motivator3312125.jpg http://www.3gnmedia.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/10/chances.jpg http://ash.distanteye.org/stuff/motivation/Herpies.jpg Swear word A bit NSFW

Making a scale model EDIT:

After Thoughts ----------------------------------- The Visit “Synthetic organic replacement has come a long way in the last five or so years. Whilst it doesn’t hold the 100% success rate, or the low price, of prosthetic replacement you cannot argue with the product. That metallic skeleton sheathed in synth-flesh might fool the eye, and even the brain, but it does not fool you.” Bromé Maber grunted in response, still not looking the Doctor in the eye. Yet, he could feel the Doctor’s unblinking gaze burning into the top of his head. But Bromé’s eyes were focussed on the human hand floating in tank on his desk. Illuminated blue, it was an eerie feeling staring at the hand. A hand so life like, and yet it never truly belonged to a living body. To a real person. “So, what’s the process again?” “We take cells from your body and use advanced cloning technology to reproduce a copy of the hand you lost. This process takes several days in order to ensure the quality of the new hand, but once ready the hand needs only be re-attached, sorry, attached as if it were severed in an accident. This procedure is done by droid with several physicians standing watch. All in all the process takes just under two weeks for the new hand to be attached. The ‘rehab’ takes a little longer - closer to a month.” “And what happens if it don’t take?” “Several years ago this was of high concern – now it is more of a moot point. For varying reasons, a host sometime will not accept the grafted replacement.” He said interlacing the fingers of his two real hands. Even though this was the third time he’d asked the question, the Doctor didn’t even flinch with annoyance. “It is simply removed and the prosthetic replaces it again. I realise your concern Mr. Maber, but you needn’t worry so much. Grafting technology took a leap forward after research into the Yuuzhan Vong’s techniques - improving operation time, improved probability of success and reduced cost to you. Of course, that’s not to say it’s perfect. Even their biotech didn’t guarantee the success of a graft, and again it was to do with the host’s body, what they called ‘Shamed Ones’. However, our modern technology can predict the likely hood of success, and you rank very high. Our techniques are arguably better than their biotech counter parts now. Success is all but guaranteed.” He begrudgingly grunted again, eyes never leaving the hand in the tank. The hand that could be his. No longer would the cold metal on his forearm frightening him when he awoke with a foreign object on his body, haunting him, teasing him with realities faults. Ever since the war with those bloody Vong scum, those alien bastards, he has shared his body with a machine. The Army only allowed prosthetic replacements in their health care, thanks to the cheap price and guaranteed success of the parts. “Thanks Doc. Maybe some other time.” At last his gaze left the tank as he rose and began to leave the room. Would a new hand really fix his shattered mind? Draped in a heavy coat and less the expensive clothing, Bromé made a less than admirable attempt at blending into the doctor’s brilliant looking office. Curves, arches, fine details and ceramics shades of white and blue littered the room’s architecture. High tech gizmos sat on his glorious Oaften white wood desk. It was a stark contrast to the barrens he was forced to live in, the stagnant part of the planet born of refugees flooding any planet that would give them shelter. “Err, Mr. Maber.” The Doctor faulted in his speech. “This is the third time you’ve seen me this month alone. How long have you been on Avsgot Vale now? How long do you intend to stay? I see people like you a lot more than you must realise. You’ve fought the good fight, come out alive but scarred mentally and physically and are looking to cleanse yourself someway. I know this will sound like a sales pitch, but from my experience, you will get some of your life back with this procedure. You needn’t torture yourself, constantly aware of your physical impairment.” There was a long pause as Bromé didn’t react to the doctor’s words. He just stood there, staring at the doorway leading out of the room, held in his place as if bound in place by an invisible force. Finally the doctor spoke again. “Do you even realise every time I mention the word ‘hand’ you stroke your prosthetic?” Bromé looked down and sure enough his good hand caressed the bad. He stood still for a long, pensive second, then all of a sudden, as if the words broke his bonding to the ground, he curtly nodded and walked to the door. “Thanks Doc.” And he proceeded to leave with the thought burnt into his mind, All I need now is the money.

http://www.unmotivate.com/pictures/batman.jpg http://www.knowmoremedia.com/uploads/Easton%20Blogging%20Poster.jpg http://plan4.tv/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2006/12/looting.jpg http://i14.tinypic.com/4xvr18x.jpg http://i153.photobucket.com/albums/s234/himurathetenken2/1154040563073.jpg http://i63.photobucket.com/albums/h126/jerdogg985/motivation/awife.jpg http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b329/PinkNinja21/motivation%20posters/1182156474471.jpg http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b329/PinkNinja21/motivation%20posters/1182205499448.jpg http://i32.photobucket.com/albums/d22/pissedoffsocrmom/146167662olz4.jpg http://i32.photobucket.com/albums/d22/pissedoffsocrmom/kungfu.jpg http://i16.tinypic.com/541vpft.jpg http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b60/Dark_Orange/Temp/Motivation/Beefcake.jpg http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b60/Dark_Orange/Temp/Motivation/Ambition.jpg For Rob Some may take offence Probably NSFW Probably NSFW NSFW NSFWish Yah, NSFW

Ah, crud - Tofu is back. I mean welcome back .. yeah. So, erm, what were we talking about? Oh yes. So, Tofu, would you do it again? Recommend it to someone?

Fortunately not. Nuclear weapons require highly enriched uranium, in the area of 90%. A nuclear reactor on the other hand needs the uranium enriched to a rather "mild" 10%-20%. (according to wiki, reactors only need 3-4%). What is enriching? Well, the uranium used is more commonly found as the isotope u-238 with only a very small percent (less than 1% of natural uranium) being the wanted u235 isotope. Enriching converts some of the u238 to u235 for use. How safe would it be? Well, the two problems that pop to mind are: the reactor melting down in your car - whoops. This is where the nuclear reaction becomes unstable and more to the point uncontrollable and produces a lot of heat (if you didn't know, the "basics" of a nuclear reactor is to have a controlled nuclear/fission reaction produce heat to evaporate water and turn turbines - similar to a coal plant). Without control the reactor will produce enough heat to melt through the car without sufficient protection. This protection would quiet literally weigh a ton or more (metric ton too) and not be suitable for cars. The other, more potent problem in my mind is that everyone would be driving a dirty bomb - where you to crash, the lovely radioactive waste would escape and could potentially create an un-livable area. Oh joy. Nuclear car is a bad idea. Nuclear power to charge a car? Maybe. Especially if battery technology gets better and cleaner to produce and dispose of. Personally my hand goes up for fuel cell technology. Not the hydrogen fuel cells - I'm still waiting for there to be enough of these cars for a significant crash which will detonate the liquid oxygen and hydrogen. There'd be a nice fire ball. Rather, I remember there being research being done into ceramic fuel cells. Ceramic plates when put together creating electricity. Now, assuming there's no dangerous chemical byproduct, this is perfect..ish. The way we get "fuel" won't be the same, but car designs won't need to be radically changed and with solid fuel cells you don't have to worry about the problems with liquids (or in the case of the current fuel cell tech, keeping oxygen and hydrogen as liquids). I think, and hope, it would be a great solution. The only problem is..I haven't heard about them for a long time EDIT: Here's a company working on it Wiki article about a form of ceramic fuel cells Doesn't seem as grand as I'd hoped for reading the wiki page, however the companies site seemed at least a step in the right direction (maybe a bit more)

God, sorry to hear that Eagle.

That's all I could find

I'm opposed to those Macs primarily because of the new LCDs they're using, which have a high gloss finish (if you've ever used a laptop with a high gloss screen you'll know how annoying it is, if you haven't they look cool and glossy for about a day and then as soon as you start having dark areas on the screen all you get is a reflection of the real world. Can't watch movies, can't play games, can't do graphic work. Glossy screens have to be one of the stupidest fads of recent computers - PC and Mac) and the smaller model, which is a 20" or 24", only shows 6bit colour and not the quoted 8bit. Some people were suing Apple over this a while ago, false advertising and the such, I wonder how that went? Knowing Apple it was either settled out of court or they were bullied out of the law suite. I can't help but get more and more annoyed at Apple, they make decent products (OK, well the design things well - how they make them is another thing as many iPod gone another brand MP3 player will tell you, or someone who's dropped an iPhone), but they have become real pricks. Websites, or people, who speak out against Apple get shot down. I remember when AppleInsider was forced to take down news articles about Macs because Apple didn't like the PR. They closed an entire site because they were sick of the bad press - and these are sites that report soley on Macs, the good and bad - threatened with law suits that people can't afford. Hell, how many people heard about Apple using slave labour and when they were caught raising the pay of said people to just above the slave labour mark. Sorry for the extended, anti-apple rant at the end there, I'm just getting sick and tired of this sort of political, don't tell the truth, act all nice up front and be a prick in real life bull crap and Apple play the part too well - maybe they should run for some political position? Umm, as for the topic? Yeah, cool vid - I'm watching all 5 now, they're actually quiet nice to watch. Games from memory lane, and others I've never seen or heard of. I liked the look of those Arcade flight sims, especially the one where you can light saber fight. Oh, and the pod racer arcade thing was cool too! It made me actually want to watch Ep1 for something

Oh no, someone let me post links with lots of words! RUN Oh no, the GOD aweful irony Watch out Giraffes, you're on the menu! No words can explain this Real Unicorn..ish Was still probably safer than her driving Awww swwweeeet, space beer!

Diablo 3

Zee Germans. Though I only get to watch the highlights on the news

Blizzard's own warcraft (metal) band

I recognise that song! Anybody else? Answer: Mad World by Tears for Fears, from The Hurting Oh yes, I remember that song and it's cover from Donnie Darko by Gary Jules (apparently). Much slower and with a darker mood. Both of which I've got on this computer, and listening to both back to back is quiet interesting with Tears' version being up beat and feeling as if it focuses more towards the bizarre dream world whereas the cover's darker note is far more sad and feels sadistic. @LLF: I so want that game and the time to play it. I had a quick go late last year and at a game convention, which mainly involved watching some characters talk, and it instantly reminded me of KotR. From what I hear, it's even better the KotR. @Sin: I never really got into the Metal Gear games. What's it about? What's the game-play like etc.?