Wednesday, March 21, 2007

   AAARRRRGGGGGHHHHH!!! DAMN YOU TO HELL PHOTOBUCKET!!!
i totally had some awesome pictures to show you today, but photobucket is being a complete ARSEHOLE and i cant even get to the homepage, let alone sign in.

*sigh* i guess i'll have to fill y'all in verbally...


So, Sunday i worked all day, monday i didnt do anything, la di dah


yesterday i went to Greenwich, cuz they have a Maritime Museum there, among other things, so i hopped on a 286 bus and travelled down there. The museum was ok, though i have bee there quite a few times before, so i didnt stick around
for much, but entry was free, which is good,
and i did have fun on this boat simulator thing where you're at the helm of this HUGE ship (cruise liner, container ship or military frigate...you get to choose)
and you have to manouvre it through a port of your choice to berth it in port. its actually really hard! especially when theres a time limit too.

After that i walked up to the Royal Observatory, which is in Greenwich park, which was mostly closed yesterday, BUT the only real reason people go there is to stand over the meridian line. This place my friends, is where TIME was invented. sorta.
You know how global times are always plus or minus so many hours GMT? well, GMT stands for Greenwich Mean Time. Its because its where the zero degrees longitude line is located.
on one side of the line is the Western Hemisphere, on the other side of the line is the Eastern Hemisphere.
people like to stand with both feet on either side of the line. its why Britian should always be in the centre of world maps, with the Americas to the west and Asia and Oceania to the East. yup.
i have pictures of all this, but PHOTOBUCKET has "server issues" wah wah wah...


anyhoo, after i did that, i took this PHENOMENAL panoramic shot of London from the Observatory (DAMN YOU PHOTOBUCKKKEEEEETTTTTTUUUHHHH!!!!)

and then i headed down to Greenwich village, which, to behonest, hasnt got much going for it. There's a University, a DLR train station and a tunnel that goes under the Thames river. Its a pretty cool tunnel, its really really old,
and its a FOOT tunnel, so you can WALK underneath the River Thames. ^^ the other cool thing in Greenwich is the Cutty Sark, which is this huge old preserved Tea Clipper Ship.
unfortunatly, its under major restoration works at the moment, so it was all under cover and i couldnt see it.

and that was pretty much my day yesterdy. Oh, and i went to Kung Fu too. ^^

So thats it from me today. when photobucket gets off its arse and sorts itself out, i'll post up those most excellent pictures i had to show you today. ^^

i found this website the other day. did you know that in New Jersey it is illegal to slurp soup? or that in Texas it is illegal for a person to shoot a buffalo from the second story of their hotel?
all these and other crazy laws can be found at this website here: Crazy Laws of America some of these are just insane!


i'll leave you with the next part of the VIRTUE data files (yay!) These are from VIRTUE: FAITH, and we start off with Luna! w00!

VIRTUE: FAITH DATA FILES

FILE 5: LUNA

Extracted from the data files of Darke, Commander VIRTUE: FAITH

Luna is probably simultaneously the most reliable and unreliable member of my team. Reliable in that her word is her bond, if she’s says she’ll do something; you can be sure as hell that she’ll do it.
Unreliable in that she often requires maintenance and that in our hectic line of work, often misses a routine check, which can cause problems in the field.
Luna is an Artificial Life Form, much like Midori of VIRTUE: HOPE. Unlike Midori, Luna doesn’t have the mental capacity of a super computer. Her intelligence is probably that of an average 18 year old.
Where she excels as an artificial life form however is her physical capabilities. Much of Luna’s skeletal and muscle structure is enhanced cybernetics, making her up to ten times stronger, faster, more agile and durable then any human being.
Luna can easily leap three storeys in a single jump, or bend metal. But thanks to her enhanced control system, she can also be delicate enough to juggle eggs without cracking them.
Her hair is also a unique feature. Whilst it looks like just two abnormally large ponytails, Luna has actually a measure of control over them.
She uses them as a counterbalance, much like a cat’s tail, giving her exceptional poise and agility.
This is especially apparent when she’s riding her bike, allowing her to make the tightest of turns without losing control.
Luna is FAITH’S pilot and mechanic. Luna’s control system allows her to pilot any vehicle ever made.
Her special link to our Hyper-Computer Network allows her to download vehicle specs direct from the net. After that, her natural talent comes into play, allowing her to pilot the machine to the edge of the envelope, and beyond. She’s managed to outmanoeuvre Air to Air Missiles in the “Guppy”, our CX-150-T Tilt-Jet Transport Plane.
Her favourite vehicle to use is her “Eclipse”, a CBR1100XX Super Blackbird motorcycle that she customised herself.
Ironically, it’s also her favourite weapon. She re-enforced the chassis and body panels, and put a number of special handles over the surface, and uses it as a bludgeoning weapon against some of our tougher opponents.
The re-enforcements make it incredibly heavy, but Luna has also tuned up the engine output, giving it a top speed of 140 mph.

When she’s not piloting, Luna is often found in the hanger fixing, tuning or upgrading our fleet of vehicles.
She loves to get her hands dirty with grease and oil and would happily spend all day buried in the engine of the “Guppy” if she didn’t have other duties to do. She also talks to the machines she maintains as well.
Often I have passed by the hanger to hear her talking to the suspension of a Jeep, or the breech of a P90 weapon. She claims to be able to communicate with machines, to understand what problems there are with it, to understand how far she can push it.
Whether this an actual function of Luna’s Control System, or something more instinctual based on her own machine-based nature I have yet to determine, but it works. Luna can determine what’s wrong with a machine in seconds, and fix it quickly.

Luna isn’t just a mechanic either, she’s fully combat trained and experienced. She served three tours of duty in Iraq and two tours in Cambodia back when Artificial Life Forms were considered to be still conceptual.
After that she served briefly in the Police Traffic Division until I recruited her into FAITH.
As a person Luna is fairly outgoing and friendly, though I know for a fact she prefers Machines to people.
Still, she has a good rapport with her team mates and with those from HOPE and works well with anybody.
She’s honest too, and always makes good on her word, qualities that are sorely lacking in many people I meet in this line of work.
Luna’s main weakness is, as I said earlier, the fact she needs constant maintenance herself to stay in top condition.
Normally this doesn’t extend much beyond a routine check and quick tuning. But if this is missed, it can cause problems when something breaks or wears out in the field.

Luna’s other main problem is that she doesn’t have the elite program guards HOPE’S Midori has, and thus is prone to Virus attacks and occasionally hackers.

Luckily this is rare, and Midori is always willing to help out.
Luna is fully protected against all environments, so doesn’t have to worry about water damage or dust any more than a usual human does.
She is, however, incredibly heavy due to her high performance parts, which has caused the occasional embarrassment when crossing weak roofs, or trying to utilise elevators.
Luna, like all of my team, is integral to FAITH’S missions and I am thankful for her support in all that we do. I know we wouldn’t be as flexible or successful as we are without her.

END FILE.

* * *



See ya next time folks! hopefully with pictures!



EDIT: BWA HA HA HA HA!! Photobucket is my bitch...




the foot tunnel under the Thames




The Meridian Line.



my left foot in the western Hemisphere, my right foot in the eastern hemisphere. ^^

PARNORAMA PIC TAKEN DOWN CZ IT WAS TOO BIG...FIND IT HERE:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v247/darkeangel/LondonPanorama.jpg

hope you enjoyed!

toodles
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