The Black Campbell

FastMac is advertising their U-Socket, a standard AC power plug with a twist — two USB ports to power up devices that use those cables for power — iPhones, iPads, etc.

I’m not a LARPer.  I’ve never been ashamed of being a gamer, but I never thought going out of my way to let everyone know the levels of my geekiness was a good idea.  Nevertheless...courtesy of Nick Edwards:

No…not the comic book Phantom, but the villain in our latest Gorilla Ace! game.  The Phantom is a shadowy figure, a Russian expatriat and former Bolshevik that escaped the wrath of Stalin.  He’s settled in London, where he controls a nefarious network of criminals/anarchists/communists bent on the destruction of the ruling class that they see (arguably correctly) as sympathetic to the Nazis.

It is known that the Phantom is some kind of mechanical genius, often designing fantastical devices to aid him in his quest for international revolution.  He has attempted robberies of the Bank of England with a mole drill, designed radio-controlled explosive devices, each invention more impressive and advanced than the last.  Most of his work is done personally, but he has contracted, coerced, or threatened specialists to aid him in his work.

The Phantom has a cadre of 50-100 mooks, but has two to three times that number 0f supporters that supply his men with places to hide, weapons caches, money, and other aid.  Most of his support is in the Russian expatriate community, and is strongest in Bayswater and in the East End.

Here are some of the latest incarnations of his incredible inventiveness:

RADIOMEN

The “radiomen”, a term coined by Dex Vincetti — mechanic and inventor for the Gorilla Ace! Flying Circus — are 8′ tall metal humanoid automatons.  They are armor plated monstrosities with the servomotors and strange elastic pulley systems (muscles) protected behind plating capable of stopping most handgun rounds.  The are somewhat vulnerable at the joints.  Their head is a helmet-like object with a single glowing eye that looks much like a miner’s lamp.  The lensing is highly complex and shoots heat rays that can kill with a single shot.  The center of the lens has a camera system that seems to have highly acute short-range vision, but would be somewhat myopic.  There is a speaker grill in the “face” that gives the radiomen a terrifying grimace.  A short antenna stub sticks up out of the back of the head, offset to the right.

The radioman is powered by a strange series of dynamos and electric motors powered by a radium core located in the armored chest cavity.  The brain of the radio man is encased in the head, and is an advanced electromechanical computing device rigged into a wireless transceiver, allowing the machine to be remotely given instructions or controlled.  The range of the wireless transmissions is most likely limited to a quarter mile in the urban environment.

Body: 6   Dexterity: 2   Strength: 5   Charisma: 0   Intellect: 1   Willpower: 2

Size: 1   Move: 7   Perception: 3   Initiative:  3   Defense: 8   Stun: 6   Health: 10

Traits: Giant (+1 Size), Strong (+1 Strength), Tough (+1 Body)

Flaws: Automaton, Conspicuous (-2 Stealth), Maintenance (needs a Mechanics 3 test before each mission)

Skills: Athletics:6 (Jump: 7), Brawling: 8,  Firearms: 4, Gunnery: 4 (Eye Beam: 5)

Weapon:  Eyebeam — Damage: 4L   Attack Rating: 9L   Range: 50′   Speed: M   Rate: A; Punch:  9N

**The Intelligence and Willpower of the Radioman can be exchanged for that of the person remote controlling the device.

HOOPCYCLES

Powered by a 980cc parallel twin motor from a motorcycle, the hoopscycle is a marvel of invention.  The vehicle has a single seat with a stearing wheel that operates a gyroscope, aiding in the maneuvering of the single wheeled craft.  It is incredible fast and maneuverable, and very very loud.

Size: 1   Def: 6   Struc: 6   Speed: 110mph   Hand: +2   Crew: 1   Pass: 0   Cost: n/a

I used to have a Palm Tungsten C PDA that I carried with me everywhere.  Wasn’t quite a smartphone (back then you had to have a Blackberry to have all the bells and whistles), but it was a damned useful device.  I could email, surf the web with some imitations on a small 3″ screen (if that), I could write notes or — indeed — my 130 page master’s thesis, among other things.  It was wifi enabled and I loved the thing.

That’s what the iPad is:  a big PDA.  But infinitely more useful.  It’s not quite a netbook, but it’s more than a smartphone (without the phone.)  Initially, I saw no use for the thing until I played with one.  I’ve changed my mind, enough so I bought a 32gb version with the wifi and 3G (on the off chance I’d need it while traveling.

After 24 hours of use (actually, more like 11 hours, but I still have a 20% battery charge!), here’s the verdict so far:

Battery life — stunning.  I have the screen at about 50% brightness and it’s been more than enough, even in indirect sunlight.  I downloaded a bunch of free and a few pay apps for chat engines, a few card games and a few racing games.  The graphics are fast and it’s fun.  The contacts list was imported from my laptop without issue and is set up so you can click into the maps function to find their location, if you need, and get driving direction from where you are (the iPad can give your current location and directions.  Very slick.), or you can go to a website or email straight out of your contacts list.  I downloaded a bunch of free ebooks and bought one (Craig Frerguson’s biography — quite good.)

Graphics are fast and smooth, it’s easy to pinch/zoom for the internet, the memory doesn’t appear to be taxed with steady use, and with all the garbage I’ve thrown on it, including some pics bu no music or video yet, I’ve only used a gig of the SSD drive.

The main downside is the speed of synching the iPad with the computer.  I suspect this is due to having to go through iTunes, and formats that aren’t Apple-exclusive I’m sure get the usual Steve Jobs middle finger.  Apps and books download/synch fast, but pics seem to take forever.  With pics selected for synching, it took the iPad almost an hour to complete its task; without it’s a minute or two.  As good as the battery is (and it really is!), recharging takes a bit of time.  At 20% charge, it looks to be on target for a 2 hour recharge time (it’s been an 1:15 hours and it’s up to 60%.

The wifi is solid and quickly finds you connections, but often you have to drop to the email program to get it to go looking.  Haven’t tried the 3G yet.

Overall, style: 5 out of 5, substance/function 4 out of 5.  It’s a bit pricey, but for someone traveling a lot that needs a small machine to keep them entertained and connected, it’s a good choice.

The Guardian notes that Triumph has managed to beat Honda in the UK, becoming the most popular motorcycle line in the United Kingdom.  Not bad for having come out of receivership almost two decades ago.  They are now setting their sights on the American market, hoping to best Harley-Davidson.

As a Triumph owner, I’d love to see it.  Their machines are wonderfully engineered and stylish in a way that H-D isn’t.  They build everything, from sportbikes to cruisers, to monsters like the Rocket III.  The only thing not in their line-up is a starter bike.  (Hey, Triumph — 500cc single or twin!)

My wife has a Buell Blast — the wee 500cc single that H-D made for a decade.  It’s often the butt of jokes and looks a derision from the sportbike community, but it’s bullet-proof:  low maintenance and cost, solid transportation, an excellent commuter machine, and didn’t look half bad.  It’s hard to argue with 60mph+ in the city, dirtbike-like handling (with the right tires), and a 330 lb. weight.  I had one for two years and loved it.  But beyond the Buell line, Harley Davidson never really appealed to me.

The whole leather-clad old guy look is just a bit too cosplay or gay for me.

Raiders of the Lost Ark had one, Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow had ornithoper verions…the flying wing is one of those retro-cool vehicles that can help instantly set the mood for a Hollow Earth Expedition game.

I based this one on the Northrup N-9MB, a single seater flying wing from 1942.

VINCETTI SPECIAL (VS-2)

The Vincetti Special is a radical new design for an airplane — a flying wing.  The vehicle uses a pair of pusher propellers, powered by the Menasco C6 Buccaneer motor and supercharged to a total of 600hp.  The wingspan is a dramatic 60′, the fuselage 18′ long, with a total height of 7′ .  The craft is made out of lightweight aluminum and weights a total of 6600 lbs.  It seats one, although a second observer jump seat can be installed in place of one of the fuel bladders.

SIZE: 4   DEF: 6   STR: 8   SPEED: 300   RNG: 500 mi   CEILING: 21,500′   HAND: +2   CREW: 1   PASS: 1*   COST: $15,000

FLAW:  The craft is finicky and needs a MECHANIC 2 test before all flights.  If the jump seat is installed, the range is only 400 miles.

The speed is a bit high; the actual speed of the N-9MB was 260ish.  We also tricky ours out with a pair of M2 Brownings (for a pair, I make the linked damage 6L, instead of 5L.)

The Statement of Randolph Carter:

Battlestar Galactica and Caprica allow us a few hints for the time reference system over the course of a few episodes.  The units of measurement are about the same as today:  60 seconds to a minute, 60 minutes to an hour, 24 hours to the day.  There’s 7 days in the week and 52 weeks in a year, giving us a 365 day year. (This is pulled from Baltar’s monologue/whine-fest about the number of DNA tests he has to do in the first season.)  There are months mentioned, but never how many.

Days are named as they are in English — Sunday, Monday, and Wednesday are mentioned, so it would be safe, if you want to be a canon-thumper to use the days of the week as is.

Month names are gleaned mostly from set dressing — paperwork, newspapers, etc. Generally, they use the name of months with an “-ius” added to them.  Ianuarius, Februarius, Martius, Aprilus, Maius, Junius, Julius, Sextilis, Septembrius, Octobrius, Novembrius, Decembrius.  (Bolded names are seen in set dressing, others are taken from The Caprican website.)

The years seem to be based on the arrival of Galleon at the Twelve Colonies — 2000 years before the Exodus.  This is based on dating in Caprica which is frequently shown as xx:xx:xx (year, month day.)  There are other systems in the BSG series, but they appear to be, like stardates, a complete and total mess.  I would suggest using the YR01 (Year 1) system from Caprica, rather than trying to make sense of Galactica‘s dating.

To make it a bit more exotic, yet familiar enough to be grasped by the players you could use the Greek weekday names: (Monday to Sunday): Selenes, Areos, Hermiou, Dios, Aphrodytes, Kronou, Heliou.

Your ISP and people on your network won’t see what you’re searching for, but Google can still be subpoenaed by law enforcement.  Here’s the announcement.

Here’s a link:

It’s been about two years since I had the will to sit down and read a book for pleasure.  I’ve had to plow through hundreds of books in that time for my dissertation, and it nearly destroyed the love of reading for me.  I was out at Barnes & Noble looking for a copy of the new Ian McDonald novel Desolation Road, and while gathering that and a replacement copy of The Fortress of Solitudeby Jonathan Lethem (if you’ve never read him, shift your ass out to the bookstore and grab Motherless Brooklyn!)  I noticed a bit of cover art.

Normally, sci-fi cover art is highly formulaic and doesn’t often catch my attention.  Stephen Martiniere’s stuff is about the only look that will stop my eye (and is how I discovered McDonald.)  This was obviously Zeus, king of the Greek Pantheon, giving me the glowing-eyed “you will buy me!” look.  Not being manipulated by cover art at all…I immediately had a look.

Hence my purchase of James Lovegrove’s The Age of Zeus.  I’d never heard of Lovegrove, but I’m a sucker for Greek myth, especially when the back blurb suggests something close to a story idea I’d had.  I bought it yesterday.  I finished it a few minutes ago.  The bloody thing is 678 pages in paperback (well over the 100,000 word suggestion from the publishers I’ve talked to lately.)

Zeus and the Olympians show up out of nowhere ten years ago and with the aid of their panoply of monsters bring peace and justice (of a fashion) to the world.  they’ve decked the world powers in war and have settled down to rule the planet from Mount Olympus in Greece — aiding the Greek economy tremendously.  The UK (it’s a British-centered book, so I suspect the author is in the UK) and US areled by Pantheon sycopants, and only Japan is actively thumbing its nose at the gods.

A wealthy arms merchant has put together a bunch of high-tech combat armor and assembled a collection of people hurt by the Olympian “peace initiatives”, usually due to loss of family or friends.  The twelve heroes wear their TITAN suits and go off killing monsters in preparation for the big throw-down with the Gods.

The book is a fast read, the prose quick and enjoyable.  The characters are fleshed out well, the monsters are nicely brought up to modern sci-fi standards.  So well, that the monster hunts are in some ways better than the combat against the gods in the latter parts of the book.  I particularly like the Medusa — which don’t so much turn you to stone and flash-scorch you into pumice.  The Minotaur features prominently, and gives hints to the final explanation of the gods’ and their creatures’ true nature.  Even knowing where he was going with the story, I was enjoying well enough to slam through the book, but will admit that the final reveal was a bit long in coming and not really a surprise.

The book bothers to do something a lot of sci-fi using the Greek Pantheon does:  flesh out the gods.  Usually, they are glossed over, and only one or two is used to represent them — normally Dionysus or Aphrodite (the ones I find most uninteresting.)  Lovegrove gives us a good view of Zeus and Ares, Dionysus and Aphrodite once again are the main gods that the characters actually interact with, and the two that always fascinate me — Athena and Hephaestus — are given a glossing over, at best.  Lovegrove’s take on Hades — a lecherous necrophile looking to create his next object of affection, his Persephone — is creepy and funny at the same time.

Overall, it’s a good summer read for the beach or the plane.  I got through it in a few hours.