Wapsi Held Hostage - Day 14 (was Castela Notice 2015-07-05)

[jwhouk]

In case you were wondering, I was making the Whitewater Warhawk "wings" sign. It's a little complicated.

[Sgt. Howard]

... a purple 1967 Volkswagen Type II - more commonly known as an "original Beetle" ...

You mean a Type I.

Not shown: Type 181 "Thing"

A copy of the hobby site I created in '97 and maintained through '08 still resides on my server:
VW•F•V - Volkswagens in Film & Video.

Type 181 'Thing" is an updated version of the military issue 'Kübelwagon' (literally, 'Bucket car') of WWII

[TazManiac]

PS- I'm squinting pretty hard but I think that chart has a glaring omission...



(Is it the 20th yet?)

[Hansontoons]

In the open area behind where we all are sitting, a large greenish glow appeared in the wall - about two and a half meters by three and a half meters.

Through the glow emerged two headlights - and, slowly a purple 1967 Volkswagen Type II - more commonly known as an "original Beetle" - drove through the opening.

Inside, two men - looking to be in their early 20's - looked around the room in panic.

"What the - what are we doing inside?" said the driver.

"Uh, Terry?" the passenger said, looking around. "I don't think this is 2105..."

"No duh," the driver - who looked a bit perturbed - replied. He gave a forced smile towards the rest our group. "What does the chrono say?"

The passenger looked down.

"Twenty-fifteen," he stated. "Transposed the numbers. Understandable, used to do that all the time in high school."

"Yeah, well, we're not in high school anymore, Jamie..." Terry motioned at the bunch of strange faces looking at them.

"Oh. Uh. Heh." Jamie waved back at everyone with a gritted smile. "We have to get out-of-heeeere..." he said with a little sing-song urgency in his voice.

"I don't know if I have the bat-ter-ry-juuuice," Terry said with an equal amount of urgency.

"Too ba-aaad," Jamie replied and motioned to him to turn the car around.

Terry ground the gears of the VW and put the car in reverse. He then carefully executed a Y-turn - which I had to get out of the way for, as he nearly ran over my chair - then pressed a few buttons on what appeared to be a GPS on the dashboard.

Suddenly, the beam of greenish light projected out from the top of the car towards the outside wall of our meeting place.

I noticed a Whitewater parking decal on the back side window of the Bug - complete with an outline of Old Main.

"Are you guys from Whitewater?" I asked.

"Oh, yeah! Hey, Go Warhawks!" Jamie made a strange sign with his hand and fingers, which I unconsciously made back to him.

The Bug slowly edged through the window, and - with a flash, the car and the light were gone.

I looked at the now-blank wall, then turned to the rest of the group.

"Uh, what's everyone looking at me for?"

DWC understood completely, flashing a quick thumbs-up sign and calling out "Gig'em Aggies!"

The voice floats out of the shadows:
"How many Aggies does it take to change a lightbulb?
Trick question, there's no instruction manual. "

By the way, isn't that a dangerous area to say such a thing? They might send BEVO after you.

The number depends!

Only one. The Aggie holds the bulb to the socket and the world revolves around him/her.

Minimum of three. One to hold the bulb, two to safely turn the ladder.

Being an Aggie, I have full joking rights. Making them and appreciating them!

And is this meeting in Austin???

[DinkyInky]

Being an Aggie, I have full joking rights. Making them and appreciating them!

And is this meeting in Austin???

Your loc lists you in UT country, hence my response. Or are you alumni? Anyway, I have just as much right to joke about them...

EDIT: Now I see the north of part...

[Gyrrakavian]

Gyrre raised an eyebrow at the newcomers. All things considered, their arrival oughtened have surprised him as much as it did. He turned his chair around and started rummaging through his bag. “So, what kind of power source do you all need. I should have a few options." Gyrre withdrew a strange looking 11" long, 5" wide hexagonal cylinder from his messenger bag. It had a domed top, a flared base and appeared to be made of some sort of black or very dark gray mineral. As the light dimly reflected from it, carved glyphs faintly showed in three columns along each side. Gyrre consulted a different notebook, then carefully depressed the center of the dome and rotated it 45° clockwise, then 21° counterclockwise, followed by 10°clockwise. All of the glyphs lite up from behind with honey yellow glow. Gyrre methodically pressed a series of glyphs, each changed to a ghostly blue and hummed a different note. When done, Gyrre set the odd object on the floor and took the steps back.

The object started spinning in three segments of the cylinder itself along two unseen seams and then began to levitate. The same ghostly blue light of the selected glyphs blasted out from the bottom of the object and something could dimly be seen to be taking shape within the glare. The spinning slowed and the light faded. Gyrre stepped foward. Just in time to catch the marvelous machine.

[Gyrrakavian]

“Got to love ancient tech." He said with a smile. Gesturing to the new, black and red crystal framed in the same wryblack mineral as the storage lantern, “Zero point modulator, anyone?". Gyrre looked at the newcomers. “This is usually the best bet so long as there's something to use as jumper cables. I also have a standard car battery and an aether crystal but I've no idea how to hook the crystal up." Not that I bothered asking the air pirates I swiped it from Gyrre added in his head. “Anyways, this funky doodad," he held up the first strange object, “is called a storage lamp. It's probably as old as the spiral door key and was made by the the same long dead civilization. As near as we can figure, it generates subspace storage areas and draws from the same subspace energy source as the rest of their tech."
Gyrre shrugged, “Honestly, we only have the vaguest idea of how any of it works on the basic level and we've no clue as to the actual mechanisms." Gyrre chuckled nervously, “We just know how to use some of it." Gyrre looked to the side muttered, “And none of the reverse-engineering projects have been carried out with noble goals in mind. Thank God for those tamper-resistant fail-safes."

[Hansontoons]

Being an Aggie, I have full joking rights. Making them and appreciating them!

And is this meeting in Austin???

Your loc lists you in UT country, hence my response. Or are you alumni? Anyway, I have just as much right to joke about them...

EDIT: Now I see the north of part...

UT is in Austin, about 2-3 hours (depending on which side of Houston you leave from, traffic, and how many suggested speed limits are ignored) from Houston. I live in the Conroe area, north of Houston.

And am A&M alum. So bring on the jokes!

I do have a question, where is there more than Corn?

I do suppose we should eventually pay attention to the buzzy/hummy thingy Gyrre is messing with, it might prove to be entertaining!

[AmriloJim]

Type 181 'Thing" is an updated version of the military issue 'Kübelwagon' (literally, 'Bucket car') of WWII

True --- produced for West German military use before imported to the US.

PS- I'm squinting pretty hard but I think that chart has a glaring omission...

True --- both the Type 14 KG and the Type 34 KG are AWOL.

[Opus the Poet]

"I don't think we are necessarily creating realities so much as we are opening paths to them. Every single possible universe, no matter how improbable, already exists. And they don't have to be possible according to our mathematics. In other universes, the laws of physics can be entirely different. The ratios of the fundamental forces could be different. Math itself could be different... So as near as I can tell, there are infinitely many universes within the multiverse, or the... Something something vortex." Glytch glanced at a smirking Kingklash and shrugged. "Sorry, I forgot what you called it. So these universes we are thinking of already exist, we are just... Creating connections."
Glytch's jaw dropped. "Now, wouldn't that be a novel idea... What if stories are a way for universes to communicate to one another? If that's the case, we're practically a cosmic switchboard right now. Fascinating..."

I want to have a talk with my writing team if that's true. I say team because things have had several sharp changes in timbre in my life, comedy, tragedy, sex farce, more comedy, huge tragic drama, another comedy, more drama, sit-com TV show, holding pattern, another sex farce... None of these could have had the same writer. And scene changes, I have had more than my fair share of scene changes...

[Sgt. Howard]

"I don't think we are necessarily creating realities so much as we are opening paths to them. Every single possible universe, no matter how improbable, already exists. And they don't have to be possible according to our mathematics. In other universes, the laws of physics can be entirely different. The ratios of the fundamental forces could be different. Math itself could be different... So as near as I can tell, there are infinitely many universes within the multiverse, or the... Something something vortex." Glytch glanced at a smirking Kingklash and shrugged. "Sorry, I forgot what you called it. So these universes we are thinking of already exist, we are just... Creating connections."
Glytch's jaw dropped. "Now, wouldn't that be a novel idea... What if stories are a way for universes to communicate to one another? If that's the case, we're practically a cosmic switchboard right now. Fascinating..."

I want to have a talk with my writing team if that's true. I say team because things have had several sharp changes in timbre in my life, comedy, tragedy, sex farce, more comedy, huge tragic drama, another comedy, more drama, sit-com TV show, holding pattern, another sex farce... None of these could have had the same writer. And scene changes, I have had more than my fair share of scene changes...

THe truth of that assesment is astounding... yet we never have access to the whole team. Chapter after chapter of our own lives are written (for the most part) by idiots we never meet- some with the most paltry excuses for their actions you could imagine. Ultimatly, tho only thing where we have any semblance of control is our own reaction to a given situation... THERE is where we show who and what we are.
It's all about attitude-
"YOU call it trouble- I call it sport,"
"Iron becomes steel with great sacrifice,"
"Every problem is an opportunity unrecognised,"
"Learn to love your job and your day becomes an adventure,"
"In the end, your friends are your greatest strength and asset- choose them well,"

[jwhouk]

"Today is where your book begins... the rest is still unwritten..." - Cassie Wells.

[AmriloJim]

It appears our WS famine may be extended...

Sorry to anyone sending me messages, or trying to contact me through Ebay. I won't have internet until July 22nd and I can't access most things with my crappy phone. Ebay items won will be delayed until then.

[jwhouk]

I was gonna say - his original ISP crapped out on him.

I definitely think he can take this loss on taxes, since lack of internet access is costing him $.

[Sgt. Howard]

We'll wait, Paul- we'll wait

[Dave]

I was gonna say - his original ISP crapped out on him..

I remember a Bizarro Sunday comic, almost 20 years ago. Classic stereotypical rendering of Hell... flames, devils with pitchforks, naked sinners toiling. In the distance we see a line of people being herded across the harsh landscape, carrying pick and shovels and pushink wheelbarrows... and all smiling happily.

In the foreground, one sufferer says to another, "Rumor has it they're being sent to dig a new pit, reserved for anyone who ever had anything to do with running a cable company."

[as363]

Taah Rah Rah Booom De AY - it's only 4 More Days Taah Rah Rah Boom De AY - Got No More to Say.

[jwhouk]

Taah Rah Rah Booom De AY - it's only 4 More Days Taah Rah Rah Boom De AY - Got No More to Say.

...Except it's actually going to be seven more days.

[Dave]

...Except it's actually going to be seven more days.

Thinking about the possibility of another "Waiting for Pablot" mashup.

[Hansontoons]

Taah Rah Rah Booom De AY - it's only 4 More Days Taah Rah Rah Boom De AY - Got No More to Say.

...Except it's actually going to be seven more days.

The horror...