Left 4 Dead 2

Hi,

Stayed up way too late last night playing through most of Left 4 Dead 2.

SO AWESOME!

Everything you loved about the first game turned up to 12. Everything kinda meh about the last game (and there wasn't much), just hacked off and gone.

And, you guys, it's HARD. We had 3 humans for most of last night. We got clobbered a couple of times and even when we won it was all by the skin of our teeth. All the new weapon options are more than offset by the new specials (the Spitter is especially insidious -- the acid goo can quickly separate parties). There were lots of great new challenges to get past rather than the simple "hold your ground" crescendo moments of the first game.

So...yeah, just fantastic.

later
Tom

Left 4 Dead 2

Hi,

Stayed up way too late last night playing through most of Left 4 Dead 2.

SO AWESOME!

Everything you loved about the first game turned up to 12. Everything kinda meh about the last game (and there wasn't much), just hacked off and gone.

And, you guys, it's HARD. We had 3 humans for most of last night. We got clobbered a couple of times and even when we won it was all by the skin of our teeth. All the new weapon options are more than offset by the new specials (the Spitter is especially insidious -- the acid goo can quickly separate parties). There were lots of great new challenges to get past rather than the simple "hold your ground" crescendo moments of the first game.

So...yeah, just fantastic.

later
Tom

8 Fathom, yo

Hi,

Mostly for larksdream who inspired this last night:

I like baleens and I can not lie
You other whales can't deny
When a cow strains krill through a bony grill
And gives a ripply smile
You get sprung!

Of course, that naturally lead to...

All right
Stop whatcha doin'
'cause I'm about to ruin
the whale watchin' cruise that ya used to.
I look funny
but yo I'm makin' money see
so yo world I hope you're ready for me.
Now gather round
I'm the new cetacean in town
And my sound's ultrasonic and it gets around.
I eat up all the krill on the continental shelf
So just let me introduce myself.
My name is Humpty, pronounced with an Umpty.
Yo Greenpeace, oh how I like to hump thee.
And all the whalers in the top ten -- please allow me to bump thee.
I'm breachin' tall, y'all.
And just like Humpty Dumpty
You're going to fall when the stereos pump me.
I like to sing,
My harmony's funky
I'm massive, I like my plankton lumpy.
I'm sick wit dis, straight whaler mack
but sometimes I get ridiculous
I'll switch up my crooning with a loud static hiss.
hey yo fat cow, c'mere -- are ya ticklish?
Yeah, I called ya fat.
Look at me, I'm gargantuan
It never stopped me from gettin mammalian
I'm a freak
I like the cows with the boom
I once got busy at the height of a typhoon
I'm crazy.
Allow me to amaze thee.
They say I'm ugly but it just don't faze me.
I'm still gettin' in the cow's pants
and I even got my own dance.

The Humpback Dance is your chance to do the hump
Do the Humpback Hump, come on and do the Humpback Hump
Do the Humpback Hump, just watch me to the Humpback Hump
Do ya know what I'm doin', doin' the Humpback Hump.

M.C. Spouts-a-lot
Tom

8 Fathom, yo

Hi,

Mostly for larksdream who inspired this last night:

I like baleens and I can not lie
You other whales can't deny
When a cow strains krill through a bony grill
And gives a ripply smile
You get sprung!

Of course, that naturally lead to...

All right
Stop whatcha doin'
'cause I'm about to ruin
the whale watchin' cruise that ya used to.
I look funny
but yo I'm makin' money see
so yo world I hope you're ready for me.
Now gather round
I'm the new cetacean in town
And my sound's ultrasonic and it gets around.
I eat up all the krill on the continental shelf
So just let me introduce myself.
My name is Humpty, pronounced with an Umpty.
Yo Greenpeace, oh how I like to hump thee.
And all the whalers in the top ten -- please allow me to bump thee.
I'm breachin' tall, y'all.
And just like Humpty Dumpty
You're going to fall when the stereos pump me.
I like to sing,
My harmony's funky
I'm massive, I like my plankton lumpy.
I'm sick wit dis, straight whaler mack
but sometimes I get ridiculous
I'll switch up my crooning with a loud static hiss.
hey yo fat cow, c'mere -- are ya ticklish?
Yeah, I called ya fat.
Look at me, I'm gargantuan
It never stopped me from gettin mammalian
I'm a freak
I like the cows with the boom
I once got busy at the height of a typhoon
I'm crazy.
Allow me to amaze thee.
They say I'm ugly but it just don't faze me.
I'm still gettin' in the cow's pants
and I even got my own dance.

The Humpback Dance is your chance to do the hump
Do the Humpback Hump, come on and do the Humpback Hump
Do the Humpback Hump, just watch me to the Humpback Hump
Do ya know what I'm doin', doin' the Humpback Hump.

M.C. Spouts-a-lot
Tom

Diaspora -- Eigen, Inc.

Eigen Inc. T2 E-1 R1

The scatter of humanity across the galaxy has allowed for a wide range of social experiments, some intentional, most accidental. Eigen was a little of both. Certainly, an aggressive belief in free market capitalism was encouraged by the original settlers. The planet was basically ruled through an intricate web of corporate partnerships providing services to the employee-stockholders of one another. Life for many of these employee-stockholders on the bottom rung was pretty rough, but food and shelter was almost always available. The rush to gain a competitive edge brought about ecological disaster, but that was always offset by technical advancement. Even today, the people of Eigen live within climate-controlled domes or arcologies. If life was measured in dollars and cents, you got a lot for your money.

All of this changed when Friedrich Eigen, a researcher working out among the large asteroid belt within the system re-discovered the process of slipstream travel. Working on his designs in secret, he built a prototype slipstream module, installed it into the small survey vessel he lived in and lit out for the slipknot. Luckily, his first manned trial was a success and he returned to Eigen several months later with a complete map of the cluster and a batch of completely unique items.

Eigen's employer sought to claim all rights to his inventions and trade goods, but Eigen was smart enough to play off his employer's rivals against one another. Everyone was anxious to obtain slipstream ships, but only Eigen knew how to make them. In the end, he was allowed to start a small company of his own, the sole manufacturer of slipstream units. He charged a fortune and soon Eigen Inc's profits outpaced everyone else. In the end, Eigen wrested controlling interest of several other large corporations and became the primary employer of the system. Such unabashed ambition and daring (and enormous economic clout) was enough to get the home world renamed to Eigen in honor of the corporation that based itself there.

Although Eigen had a stranglehold on the system, it was clever enough to allow a blossoming of smaller, independent companies. None of them have the direct clout to take on Eigen directly, but they can pursue risky strategies or novel ideas and if they pay off, Eigen can swoop in to take advantage. It's worked fairly well and no one has been able to duplicate Eigen's technical leap and gain an edge (though Eigen always watches).

So things proceeded fairly well for a century or two and then Eigen and Fairhaven were both wrenched away from their cluster and attached to this new one. Eigen is anxious to expand into the new territories and the thousands of independent traders are rushing out to form what deals they can. Eigen is disappointed at the relative poverty of the new systems it finds in this cluster, but hopes to take advantage of Eigen and Fairhaven's abundance to leverage themselves into a position of control. If they could just capture one of Apex's advanced starcraft and reverse engineer it, they'd easily be able to overtake Apex and rule the cluster.

Aspects:

• Unbridled Ambition
  
• Domed cities in the wastelands
  
• Large merchant fleet
  

later
Tom

Diaspora -- Eigen, Inc.

Eigen Inc. T2 E-1 R1

The scatter of humanity across the galaxy has allowed for a wide range of social experiments, some intentional, most accidental. Eigen was a little of both. Certainly, an aggressive belief in free market capitalism was encouraged by the original settlers. The planet was basically ruled through an intricate web of corporate partnerships providing services to the employee-stockholders of one another. Life for many of these employee-stockholders on the bottom rung was pretty rough, but food and shelter was almost always available. The rush to gain a competitive edge brought about ecological disaster, but that was always offset by technical advancement. Even today, the people of Eigen live within climate-controlled domes or arcologies. If life was measured in dollars and cents, you got a lot for your money.

All of this changed when Friedrich Eigen, a researcher working out among the large asteroid belt within the system re-discovered the process of slipstream travel. Working on his designs in secret, he built a prototype slipstream module, installed it into the small survey vessel he lived in and lit out for the slipknot. Luckily, his first manned trial was a success and he returned to Eigen several months later with a complete map of the cluster and a batch of completely unique items.

Eigen's employer sought to claim all rights to his inventions and trade goods, but Eigen was smart enough to play off his employer's rivals against one another. Everyone was anxious to obtain slipstream ships, but only Eigen knew how to make them. In the end, he was allowed to start a small company of his own, the sole manufacturer of slipstream units. He charged a fortune and soon Eigen Inc's profits outpaced everyone else. In the end, Eigen wrested controlling interest of several other large corporations and became the primary employer of the system. Such unabashed ambition and daring (and enormous economic clout) was enough to get the home world renamed to Eigen in honor of the corporation that based itself there.

Although Eigen had a stranglehold on the system, it was clever enough to allow a blossoming of smaller, independent companies. None of them have the direct clout to take on Eigen directly, but they can pursue risky strategies or novel ideas and if they pay off, Eigen can swoop in to take advantage. It's worked fairly well and no one has been able to duplicate Eigen's technical leap and gain an edge (though Eigen always watches).

So things proceeded fairly well for a century or two and then Eigen and Fairhaven were both wrenched away from their cluster and attached to this new one. Eigen is anxious to expand into the new territories and the thousands of independent traders are rushing out to form what deals they can. Eigen is disappointed at the relative poverty of the new systems it finds in this cluster, but hopes to take advantage of Eigen and Fairhaven's abundance to leverage themselves into a position of control. If they could just capture one of Apex's advanced starcraft and reverse engineer it, they'd easily be able to overtake Apex and rule the cluster.

Aspects:

• Unbridled Ambition
  
• Domed cities in the wastelands
  
• Large merchant fleet
  

later
Tom