The Spark: The final Step

If you haven't read the beginning(or the middle) of this story, go back and read it first please. The next post will encompase the whole story. This is kind of short, but there may be a sequel, so stay tuned!

            ...It was pretty obvious when they had reached the land of never ending cold, because it was, well, cold. The wind blew and whistled around next to Taki’s ears, and ice began to form on the red rocks around her as she trudged on. She could hear Bren’s shallow labored breathing on her back, and knew that he had fallen asleep. Soon she reached a great expanse of white, and the red rock had all but disappeared. She slept with Bren curled up next to her that night, and stared up at the Shining One in the Heavens. She fell asleep to the sound of Bren’s breathing. In the following morning, she woke to the sound of... silence. Startled, she jumped up; Bren was covered in a thin layer of frost. She put her head to his chest, and heard a faint heart beat. She yelled at him. “Bren, Bren, wake up!”

For a long moment, nothing happened, and then her bro
ther blinked his eyes. “Huh? Sis? Where are we?”

She smiled, and hugged him. “I thought you were dead, you! Get up when I call you. You almost gave me a sithen!” They traveled far that day onto the white cold. Taki sometimes thought she could see shapes moving in the white haze, white lumbering masses, but they disappeared as quickly as they came.

As night began to fall, Taki saw a small mound ahead of them, illuminated by the Shining One in the Heavens. As she approached, she could see that it was a small building. She blinked once in surprise, and then she exclaimed, “We found it Bren, we really did!”                                                                                 Robots of the Future

“zzzzz… Wha? Oh good… zzzzz…..”

As they entered the building, a blast of frigid air met them and the doors closed behind them. Taki looked back, but after what they had been through, the doors seemed insignificant. She staggered, zombie-like with Bren piggy-backing on her. The altar swelled up in front of her, blue light shining onto the top. She walked up to it and reached out with a shacking hand towards the small orb on the altar. As her hand broke the light, movement appeared all around them. Things emerged from the shadows, they looked like men, but instead of flesh, they were covered in metal, and had blue lights coming form their eyes. Where their hands should have been, instead huge blades protruded, gleaming in the faint glow from the orb. As the blue sweeping lights closed in from all around them, she hugged the cure close to her and screamed her defiance at them. After all that she had been through, after all that she had done! It was not going to end like this. The orb flared a brilliant red as if in response to her emotions.  For an instant, the world was colorless and serene, held in eternal statist. Then the red consumed all, flame exploding out from her, illuminating all in an exhilarating flare of pain. When she could see again, the familiar green shades of trees were all around her. Taki closed her eyes once more, curling herself tighter around the cure and succumbed to the sweet oblivion that welcomed her from beyond...

If you would like to look more into the concept of an apocalyptic world see here

Lego

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A war thats NOT fought with sticks

STICK WAR

 If you haven't played this game, you haven't lived.
And if you haven't, play it now at Stickpage, which you are undoubtedly unable to access at school, am I right?
 Ok, the intro says it all, but here's a sum up.

    You're in a land called Inamorta, where the war is held in a religious fashion with each nation worshiping a different style. You are called Order, and you shall bring order by killing or subduing the entire land. Yay.

    The way you play this game is just, destroy the other nation's monument(just a statue representing that nation), while preventing him from destroying yours. If you are encountering an attack that does not result in conquering the other nation, just survive the attack, they will not have a statue.  The most amazing part of this game is that you can control a single character, which immediately boosts its stats, and go on single missions or suicide attack with great effect. Select or deselect your character with the left-click and you can select a different character the same way. 

    Commands that you can issue that all but your possessed character will follow

Defend (default, fighting units rank up in front of monument, and archers and miners remain up behind lines

Garrison (basically retreat, all of your soldiers run to complete safety, leaving the monument undefended and turning into archers to defend monument)

Attack (all units but miners advance towards enemy lines)

    The upgrade zone: After every level, you will you have a moment to improve the efficiency or speed of your castle functions, and all units you have unlocked. Each level will give you 2 upgrade points, to use on whichever units you have unlocked or improve your castle. Units all have slightly different abilities, resulting in a variation of talents that you can upgrade.

    Here are the nations will you will encounter and inevitably conquer:

Miners

   ...Actually aren't a nation, just a fundamental unit. Near your monument are several rocks jutting up which miners will hack apart, carry a short distance back to the garrison, deposit, and resume work. Your castle already has a steady income of gold per second, but miners add an important 100+ gold bonus for every deposit. You can increase your castle's gold income, the rate your miners mine, and the amount of gold their bag can carry per trip. As your miners wear away the minerals by your monument, more gradually appear further out into the battlefield. When it is totally depleted, miners will proceed to the newer source, and so on. Since they are moving more into danger and your defenders (in defense mode) move further out into the battlefield and further away from their charge, in is in your best interests do end the battle quickly. Miners have no attack and little health, but if you possess one(increasing all miner stats for that one) and mine at the very beginning of a battle, you will get more gold at the beginning to make more soldiers, and you will be safer mining before the enemy attacks. More miners mean more gold but also the large group will diminish supplies and move out into danger faster. Consider your gains and losses of miner amounts.

Controls: WASD to shuffle around, Spacebar to mine

Swordwrath

   This is a basic swordsman unit you also start out with, though you will need to defeat the Swordwrath nation later anyway. At the beginning, you have only primitive clubs, but you can use the upgrade zone to increase the power of your blade, or your running speed. This is a cheap and close range unit, and is very often expendable. Its greatest weakness is its lack of defense. It can only offer halfhearted blocks, and is especially subject to archer's one-kill headshots. However, if you have many of these inexpensive soldiers, the garrison command will transform them all into more valuable archers. The secret to staying alive individually(no matter what you do your companions will rarely survive a charge against archers) is swerving. Archers have to change lanes in order to keep you available to shoot at, so trying to keep track of you will offer them little opportunity to fire at you. Don't evade too fast, it may result in you getting shot with the arrow you just avoided. Try spending three steps in the far lane, switch, and spend three steps in the closest lane, and so on. Do this even if you can't see an archer, but know there are archers present in the round. In any case, this is a somewhat unsatisfying unit to possess, especially in harder levels.

Controls: Run with WASD, defend(not really) with Q, and attack with Spacebar.

Archidonis

Archidons are archer units that are quick, long ranged, and amazingly satisfying to possess. They are extremely effective against swordsmen because a shot to the head is an instant kill. you can upgrade arrow damage in the upgrade zone, and the efficiency of the garrison archers under the castle upgrades. One-man missions with an archer can be extremely successful. In the level where Swordwrath is waiting until sundown to attack, use that time to take a single archer and snipe them while they're waiting. They will not retaliate!
Controls: Run with WASD, aim with mouse, hold left-click to power up shot and release to fire.

Spearton

Speartons are the ultimate warriors in this game. They are equipped with a helmet that makes them resistant to archer headshots, a long ranged spear that can be thrown, a secondary short sword that can be used once the spear has been thrown, and a shield for arrow attacks and counter attack. Not only that, but Speartons can only stab between blocks, enormously reducing chance of injury. A single Spearton(whose stats are further increased by possession) can defeat packs of Swordwrath, a giant, and innumerable archers if using the archer tip. In the upgrades, Spearton health can be further increased by improving the helmet. Upgrading the shield also increases health, but also the chances of a successful shield block. Spear damage is also upgradeable. Since fellow Speartons will immediately launch their spears at the first opponent, leaving them considerably less powerful, it is best that you obtain a Speartan before it throws away its long distance attack and fight that way. One-man missions are incredibly strong, and a Spearton is the way to do it.

Controls: Run with WASD, shield with Q, stab with Spacebar, and throw spear with F. 

Magikill

This mage unit is very weak and very strong at the same time. The unit itself can barely defend itself, with the ability to stun(paralyze for a few seconds) at close range and can actually whack you with his staff, seemingly by accident, both inflicting little damage. However, it can summon up to four minions(which you will have to upgrade to even obtain this ability to begin with) that have low health and attack, but cost you no gold once you have created a Magikill, and the unit replenishes these as they are killed. Magikills can barely walk and are extremely boring to possess. Upgrades to stun time and number of minions can be found in the upgrade zone.

Giant

Giants are much larger than the average miner, and the monument is enormous!

Giants are really...big. And slow. And weak, sort of. They're not powerful in the sense of harming your possessed character, as you have triple the fighting power of any normal Spearton, which is the favored unit to battle these behemoths. However, a whole bunch of weaker units will easily be slaughtered, and a deep reserve of health will make their deaths almost worthless. Magikill are also a useful component, as they summon infinite amounts of minions, which will slow them down. Giants will destroy your monument in a heartbeat if they reach it, so don't let them. They're really slow, will stop to fight anything in their way, and you can kill a few with your single Spartan, so yes, it is a matter of letting them reach their goal. They practically never do. Giant attack are huge, as in range, and will stun everything in that range with every swipe. The only upgrade they have is further increasing their health, making it easier to reach their goals. Giants can be very valuable in your hands because the enemy doesn't have a champion like you. :) But make sure you get your money's worth, they're expensive and not that fun to possess. Default giants stop to fight with every little enemy. If you possessed the giant, and did not stop for the little annoyances...you may actually reach your enemy's precious monument...

Controls: WASD to walk really slowly, Spacebar to hit people with your humongo club or unfortunate victim.

After you defeat a nation, you will obtain their unit and they will be available for upgrades. Be aware that the unit you receive will not be fully loaded like the ones you just annihilated. Oh, and stay on your toes on the last level. Enjoy!

STICK WAR 2 IS COMING OUT SOON. FOLLOW THIS BLOG SO YOU CAN BE ON. THE. EDGE.(yes, i know, that was incredibly cheezy.)

-Retrotech

If you're going to get Google Chrome...

 You should try at least 4 extensions.

 

NUMBER 1:
If you have a Pandora Account, try out the Better Pandora to help block out ads and other annoyances
NUMBER 2:
YouTube Downloader, downloads any youtube vids as flv's or MP4's
NUMBER 3:

Google news, you'll find it somewhere. great way to keep up to date- especially if you need a current event for World Geography.
NUMBER 4:
Sometimes google news is not enough for cool people who are on the edge. Technology News works the same as Google News, just gives you some headlines and lets you pick what to read more of

As for themes, if you want to keep it together, just stay with the default, Classic Blue Chrome Theme. Anything else will get kind of distracting.
If you want some thing cooler, try Halo Reach themes, or Tiger or Midnight Tiger, or the series by www.electrodexs.net

-Retrotech

How to get ads out of your Gmail

Are you tired of ads that appear on top of your Gmail inbox? Well don't worry, I have a simple and quick solution you can use.

If you click on your Gmail settings there will be a tab named Web Clips. Then uncheck the box named Show My Web Clips Above the Inbox and done, as easy as that!

Hope this helps.

      -Forerunner

Today's Daily Photo Gallery

Here are this week's tech gallery. Enjoy!

 

Science has done it again; the picture above is the first EVER Carbon-Neutral Convention Center.  The Dublin Convention Center has a very sophisticated central brain that monitors environmental conditions and adjusts energy usage accordingly in real time. Maybe technology will solve the current environmental problems we have around the world, lets just see if we can do what needs to be done quickly and efficiently.

If you click on the following link to Popular Science, you will see a picture of the first ever experimental lung-on-a-chip; the ersatz lung, created by Dongeun Huh of Harvard University, is chip is no bigger that a multivitamin and is made of a polymer sheet and artificial alveolus. Its not going to be long before the first heart-on-a-chip, and now seems 

Every day Japan has something interesting and new to show use. If you click on the link you will see Japan's Fembot who, with the help of breath analysis software and mouth movement observations, learned how to sing. Japan is cool like that, making copy cat robots that learn how to sing on their own.
           - By Forerunner

A belated letter to the editor

Dear New York Times,

I was reading through your Sunday June 7, 2009 television section, and I noticed an error in your article, "Commercials you can't Zap". On page 10, you said, “…there aren’t many other names associated with a blimp except perhaps Hindenburg.” The Hindenburg was a zeppelin and not a blimp. A zeppelin is different from a blimp in that it has a rigid inside frame and inside gasbags holding the lifting gas, generally hydrogen. This allows for interior walkways and rooms inside the main body of the airship. A blimp, on the other hand has no rigid internal structure, and is generally lifted with helium. The only place crew can be is in the gondola, also the location of the engines. After the Hindenburg, zeppelins suffered for a huge PR disaster, even though most US zeppelins were helium inflated (unlike the Hindenburg), blimps became the airship of choice. Also, there are plenty of famous blimps and zeppelins, like Graf Zeppelin, USS Malcolm, USS Los Angeles, or LZ-126. I know that I’m being nitpicky, but I didn’t have anything else to do today.

Sincerely,
JTS

More importantly, who is the idiot that thought this was a zeppelin?

The Spark: The Journey

The stage of this story is in a post-apocalyptic world in which bio-wars have eliminated large  amounts of the human race and caused flora and fauna to mutate into gigantic equivalents of what they once were. The current denizens of this world live without technology or remembrance of what was before the change. This is the continuation of the first post "The Spark". Please read that before beginning on this. Enjoy. Also, for an alternate method of housing in the event of a post-apocaliptic setting see here.

                                   -Crisp

In the ensuing morning, the gan’lehir publicly announced that the shirl was indeed once again on the loose, but that the cure had been found. This very incident had been inscribed upon the Ruin where the gan’lehirs of ages past had written their wisdom. They would have to send just one person to go find the cure because they could spare no more. The hunting party was called up onto the stage, they had discovered this threat, so one of them would have the honor of being the seeker of the cure. Horl was too old, and the Maray brothers would have to stay and help provide food for the village. That left just Taki and Ranyu. But Ranyu wasn’t there. He had been taken by a fever the previous night.

Taki realized with a shock that she was the one the gan’lehir was pointing at.

The matter decided, the gan’lehir retuned began to go back into his ganji “But wait!” Taki called out as the gan’lehir, “I have a little brother to take care of! I can’t go and just leave him here!” The gan’lehir smiled “Well, then you may take him with you if that is your will, for we will have no use for him here.”

“But how will I find the cure? I don’t even know what it looks like!”

“The cure will be found in a structure from the time before, in a in a high place of no life. You will walk for many ten day in the direction of the Shining One in the Heavens until you reach the realm of never ending cold.” With that, the gan’lehir returned back into the dark recesses of his ganji.

The next morning, they set of, following the fading light of the Shining One in the Heavens. They walked for hours, stopping only very few times. At mid day, when the sun was beating down in sweltering waves of heat, the jungle abruptly withered away and was replaced by the sand of the desert, with its dunes twisting outwards like the coils of a thousand snakes. It was common knowledge among the clan that anyone foolish to head out into the desert unprepared would die of thirst or be lost forever to become one of the many corpses it harvested.

Taki had brought a map that would bring them across the desert and had brought plenty of water till the proposed water hole. Time had no meaning in the desert, where there were no animals to pay attention to the coming and going of the sun, all that changed was the temperature. As the sun set, they set up camp and prepared to sleep. Taki closed her eyes and tried to rest. What would a place of never ending cold be like? She wondered. It certainly was getting colder here. She shivered. How could it be so hot during the day, but now it was freezing? She slept fitfully, feeling unprotected and exposed with the great expanse of light above her as the stars came out and empty nothingness all around with only the faintest hint of the jungle in the distance. They crossed in a slow zigzag pattern leading from water hole to water hole. They lingered at the water holes for only a few days before moving on to the next, knowing the importance of speed in their voyage. Indeed, if they did not return in time, then there would be nothing to return to. The treks from one watering hole to another were hell, leaving them hollow and sunken like wraiths at the end, while the moments of watery bliss barely seemed enough before it was gone. After a time, Taki began to wonder, if they were ever going to leave the desert, or if they were just going to walk forever like ghosts.

As they walked, the sands started to develop a reddish tinge and they could see faint red smudges in the distance Taki fell asleep hoping that the end of the desert was near. In the afternoon, they reached the cliffs the mountains. The soil was red but it had game trails in it, and Taki hoped that they would find some thing to hunt other than just the small mice that they had found in the sparse grass in the desert waterholes. As they traveled through the rocky game trails that covered the sheer slopes, Bren slipped. He tumbled over towards edge of the cliff above the jagged rocks below and hung by his fingers for what seemed like a life time before Taki hauled him back up.

His pack fell and burst on the rocks, strewing its contents.

“Ow, ow, ow!” He said through clenched teeth.

Taki cut back his legging to reveal a large red gash on his shin.

Taki winced, not just at the cut, but also because the pack dropped had contained their fire starter and fuel along with many days of rations. They decided that any delay would be impossible and that they would have to get out of the mountains before they could take care of it the cut. That night, they ate nothing, and went to sleep on the jagged red rocks. The next morning, Taki brought down a long legged creature with large horns, and short ears.

“How do we eat it?” Bren asked

We have no fire, Taki thought, “We will have to eat it raw.” She bit into it, and almost immediately spit it out again, but her stomach wanted more. She ate, and ate and ate, until she thought she could eat no more. She felt sickened, and retched, but most of the meat stayed down. By the 3rd day through the mountains, the wound was infected and Taki was carrying Bren on her back.

There will be more...

Also, here are some pictures to accompany the previous story:

Pictures are by Retrotech, who gives permission to have them published.

Where Eagles Dare

   While probably not the best film ever made, my favorite piece of cinema is 1969's Where Eagles Dare. While it has a mediocre plot, I remember that the movie had several more attributes that made it fantastic to watch. The soundtrack, opening credit sequence, and sets stand out in my mind as some of the parts that made it good.

pure greatness

   The first thing that I think of when the movie is mentioned is the soundtrack. From some research I found that it was written by Ron Godwin, a relative unknown who went on to later fame as a composer.

He's the one with the hair.

The music really builds suspense and contributes immensely to the mood of the story. the music is the same basic song throughout the movie, though it is cleverly adapted to fit whichever scene it is played during. The music was recorded by a military band, greatly enhancing the fell of it as a war film. This remains one of my favorite movie soundtracks, and is a major reason why I love this film.
    Another well-done aspect of Where Eagles Dare is the opening credit sequence. I don’t know the name of the font used, but it is perfect for the setting in the Bavarian Alps, as the type is older looking, and clearly German, saying something about the movie without any explanation or dialogue. In addition to the lettering, the opening shots of the Alps, most filmed from the perspective of a low flying cargo plane really drew me in. These shots thrill you before the action even starts, and make the audience feel like part of the story before it even begins.

Pictured: Richard Burton. Not pictured: the right movie.

   Thirdly, the acting in the movie is phenomenal. It stars Richard Burton and a young Clint Eastwood, both of whom fit their roles perfectly. They bring life to the characters, and act in a way that is believable, consistent with the rest of the film. I really identified with their characters at a young age, which in turn caused myself to enjoy the film immensely.

Mountains! Also, the setting.

Finally, the best part of Where Eagles Dare is the setting. It was on location in the breathtaking Alps of Bavarian Austria, a wise move on the studio’s part. This makes the story altogether more realistic and believable, and was one of the principle reasons that I enjoyed the film. On the interior, the sets are no less exquisitely crafted, with extreme attention to detail and realism. This distinguishes from many other 1960’s war films, which were all about the action rather than accuracy. The set designs really do transport you to the Alps in 1944, and while the plot may not be very realistic, the rest of the movie certainly is.

"Realistic plots are for lesser men"

   Where Eagles Dare is my favorite movie because of the acting, soundtrack, opening credits, and setting. I admire the film for its realism and attention to small details, really transporting the viewer into the movie. I first saw the film at a young age, when plot was more important to me, but I continue to love Where Eagles Dare to this day.
For a poorly maintained fan website, read here.
JTS

The Spark

The stage of this story is in a post-apocalyptic world in which bio-wars have eliminated large amounts of the human race and caused flora and fauna to mutate into gigantic equivalents of what they once were. The current denizens of this world live without technology or remembrance of what was before the change. Enjoy.

-Crisp

THE SPARK

        Taki tightened her grip on her ru-hook and shifted her feet anxiously on the mossy branch. Around her, the others were carefully concealed, but she could sense their frustration. This was the third time today that they had been forced to relocate after two failed hunting attempts. What was taking the behemoths so long? It had only been a few 100 helnu but the scent of the offering should have spread by now. Taki briefly considered dropping down to add to the offering, but decided against it. She sighed. It would be just her luck for a behemoth to show up while she was still down there. The brush rustled and suddenly all the warriors tensed. The jungle was silent save for the breeze wafting through the leaves and the tree’s gentle sway. Then as the world seemed to have stopped, the behemoth came roaring out of the brush, breaking the silence. The team snapped into action. Taki swept her ru-hook forward in a long circle slashing out a gash on the behemoth’s hide. “Taki to your left!” Taki twisted and swung the ru-hook up to wrap around a branch and swung up high into the trees. The behemoth’s tail came within inches of her head as she swung upwards. Arrows came from all directions as the Maray brothers shot arrows at the bulk all the while nimbly avoiding the behemoths swats. Ranyu fell out of the trees above the behemoth’s head and swung his axe down hard sending blood flying out in an arc. The behemoth staggered to the left almost crushing Horl then fell with a bone-shattering thud to the leafy floor. Taki swung down the tree to the ground. She approached the behemoth tentatively. As she got closer, she could see that its eyes were yellow, and as she reached up to touch the hide, the skin sloughed away at her touch. She jumped back; the inside revealed a yellow and brown puss weeping from flesh. “It is already rotting!” she called to the others. They slid down from their positions and ran over. The 6 hunters studied the carcass for a second. Finally Ranyu said “it has been possessed by a demon!” Horl, the oldest of the group shook his head “I have seen this before. It is the Shirl.” The rest of the team shivered at the word. Shirl was the disease that had come near to wiping out the tribe from back when they had been children. It was also the disease that had killed Taki’s mother. “How can it be the Shirl”, Taki asked, “the gan’leir banished it with the heavens root.” Horl’s expression darkened, “Nonetheless, it cannot be mistaken. We need to tell the gan’lehir at once.”

It was dark when the team got back to the camp, and as the other went to tell the gan’lehir, Taki slipped back to her ganji to check on her younger brother, Bren. As she walked in, she saw Bren hard at work with his metallurgy. “How’s my favorite little inventor doing?” she asked with a smile. “Sis!” Bren put down his small fire breather and ran over to hug her. “Did you find the yurulu?” Taki smiled at the mention of the fairytale creature that had been the topic of discussion for more than a few nights. Then her expression darkened “Bren?”

“Mfff?”

“The Shirl is in the jungle again.” Taki went to sit on the fiber mat which was their daily communal spot.”I don’t want you and the other children to run around the woods any more. I couldn’t….” her voice trailed of as she looked off into the trees. They sat there in silence, listening to the bird song. Bren turned to look at Taki, “How long will we have to stay inside?”

…….

“I don’t know.”

Later that night, as Taki was lying in her hammock, staring up out through the window at the night sky and stars listening to the birdsong as it dwindled and was replaced by the soft ambience of the forest and it’s daytime inhabitants at rest, she reflected on all that had happened since the last time the Shirl had befallen the tribe. There were many strains of the Shirl, and each had a different cure, if they had any known one at all. Many had died before the heaven root of the euliferia tree had been discovered to cure the last strain. Among them had been her mother, the seeker of the cure having returned too late for her to be saved. Driven mad by grief, their father left on long hunting expeditions, only coming back after weeks, most of the time empty handed. One time he did not come back. Many people had talked about her and the possibility of abandoning her if she was going to be like her father, a burden on the rest of the clan. They did so in hushed whispers, but she heard and that was why she had become a hunter, to show them that she was not like her father. She and Bren had lived for years on the charity of others, like unwanted guests of their own clan. Surely this threat would soon be over before the same calamity that had befallen them could occur to other children, the cure discovered and a searcher or hunter sent to retrieve it.

There will be more...

THE Doctor

                    
From Left to Right: Sarah Jane Smith, Mickey Smith, Jackie Tyler, Rose Tyler, Tenth DOCTOR, Captain Jack Harkness, Martha Jones, Donna Noble, and behind, the TARDIS

         In lack of anything to blog about, Doctor Who. The show originated and is still being developed in the United Kingdoms, but it has made its way into American programming, which I think is amazing. The show started in 1963, with a mysterious man, a Time Lord that traveled through time and space, and death and disasters seem to follow him, as he encounters time after time enemies as supernatural occurrences that are pure sci-fi. The show faded out for a while, before it picked back up by popular demand as the newer and currently broadcasted series. This new series has 5 series featuring the the ninth(Christopher Eccleston), tenth(David Tennant), and eleventh(Matt Smith) lives of the Doctor.

         As with all time lords, the Doctor has two hearts, twelve lives and the power to regenerate through them(which changes his appearance!), and apparently has no name. In this new series, he is the last time lord in existence, the rest of his kind having died out in The Great Time War against the Daleks, a unemotional and deadly race. He possesses the last TARDIS, a machine that travels through time and space, a living machine that looks remarkably like a blue police box. It was meant to disguise itself based on its surroundings and time period, but when the chameleon device broke down, the doctor decided he enjoyed the current form too much to fix it. Also in his skills is a brilliant mind with eons of experience, and it is seriously refreshing to have the hero know what the heck he's doing. A sonic probe he calls a sonic screwdriver that accesses just about all devices and can scan and identify different things, plus a lot of other uses. Psychic paper allows the subject to see what they want to see or whatever the user wants them to see.

         Because travelling through time alone is pretty lonely and he's the last of his kind, he usually finds a human companion who accompanies him. The heartbreaking fact is he can never really have a love, because he is cursed to endure forever while the wither and die of age. In this series he has a bored with life girl named Rose, who decides to accompany him for two series and becomes his first love. Captain Jack Harkness, a jaunty, time traveling con man turned slightly more decent, and is later gifted with an extraordinary ability. Martha Jones, a would be medical doctor taken for a quick trip with the doctor in gratitude for saving his life. However, the one thank-you trip extends further and further, until Martha accompanies him for an entire series. Donna Noble, another person with a lesser role in life becomes the doctors companion for an episode,  and is generally known for her no-nonsense attitude with the doctor.

     Until I actually catch up with this new series, I can't tell you anything about Series 5, and the Eleventh Doctor and his new companion. So stay tuned unless I find something a little more current and on the edge-ish.

  

    - "He's like fire, and ice and rage. He's like the night and the storm at the heart of a sun. He's ancient and forever. He burns at the center of time and he can see the turn of the universe." Doctor Who Series 3, The Family of Blood

-RETROTECH






                                                

Georgetown Airfest 2010

Last weekend the Georgetown municipal Airport held its annual Airfest. there were dozens of planes and helicopters on display, from the golden days of aviation, to supermodern military choppers. There was fun for all ages, from the model plane enthusiast to the World War two buff. Some of the more notable planes included "The Devil Dog", a B-25J Mitchel, the "Buzzin Cuzzin", a P-51D arguably the best land based fighter aircraft of WWII "The Spirit", a custom single seater decked out and chrome, and an Apache attack helicopter used by the US army's air cavalry. The Devil Dog has the distinction of having appeared on an eppisode of mythbusters.

the Devil Dog

 "The Spirit" in all her Chromium glory

 Tail section of "the Devil Dog"

 the "Buzzin Cuzzin"

an AH-64 Apache attack Helicopter

One of the many scary bits on the Apache