Revenger Homework Assignments

Thank you Revengers for getting back to me in a timely fashion. It seems the city has many problems that are just crying out to be dealt with. And as I said before, it’s hard to know where to start. But it seems our members and their sources have provided several possible suggestions, three to be exact. Ordinarily, I might be inclined to ask that we decide together which one merits the most immediate response.

However, since they are all worthy, and no single one would require the full weight of our numbers, we can afford to divide our resources this time and take them down simultaneously. And as it happens, the timetable on these missions appears to provide a little flexibility, since some need to be dealt with sooner than others.

Behold our first three missions, numbered based on their immediacy, but not order of importance. Within each, you will find a mission profile and assignments, which will be given out based on abilities but largely open to volunteers. Those who have brought the assignment to our attention will usually get first crack, but priority must be given to who can be most affective in any given situation. And if you’re not picked the first time around, don’t worry. We are all on the roster and shall be given the chance to show the world of crime and corruption what we got!

Mission 1: Corruption at City Hall
Source: Atrum Auditor

Profile: It seems that a certain city councilman named Jeff Harlan has a reputation for corruption. However, after multiple investigations, nothing has ever stuck to him. Witnesses and evidence against him have a way of disappearing, and it’s widely believed their is a mob connection in that respect.

But we may have finally found a break. Tonight, a meeting with syndicate crime boss Joe “The Stare” Keithly is scheduled to go down at the docks, with the intent of discussing a new building project on the East Side. Atrum believes that Keithly is looking for more real estate to expand his methamphetine operations, since most of the hard drugs in the city come from the outside. If he can build his own network of labs, he will be in a position to control meth production and distribution, making him all the more powerful and the people of the city helpless in his hands!

Aims: The meeting needs to go down, and evidence collected on the Councilman. That evidence needs to finds its way into the hands of someone honest at the DA’s office. Then, we need to take down Joe Keithly and make sure he understands that his policy of intimidation and disappearances is at an end. I was thinking something dramatic, like his own methods which often involve feeding people to the fish. Let him dangle above a shark tank up to and until the point where Councilman Harlan is safely behind bars, and maybe, just maybe we’ll let him walk out on his own two feet. But of course, be creative, just know that no one dies…

Assignments: Atrum, since this is your show, you will be responsible for watching over the meeting and making sure we got audio/video on the whole thing. We’ll need at least two people to join him and make sure the take down goes smoothly. Keithly doesn’t travel alone and can be expected to have two or three armed men with him. Remember, we only need to scare the bejeezus out of him and make sure he’s sidelined until the Councilman is arrested. Volunteers?

Mission 2: Pimping Aint Easy…
Source: Panacea

Profile: It seems this mission presents the opportunity to not only avenge some deaths, but prevent many more. Panacea recently discovered two young girls left in an alley to die, strung out on drugs, and willing to provide some rather interesting information. It seems that Gus Darby, a respectable businessmen, just opened a new high-class restaurant on the waterfront. It’s the kind of place there the rich go to network in person. Deals are made over some of the best food and drink in town.

However, it is also rumored that Gus himself is doing some business in here, with notorious pimp Billy Bob! And it would seem that the two of them have a good racket going, using prostitutes to gain leverage over the powerful and influential. Unfortunately, Billy Bob’s competition seems to think that he’s got an unfair edge and needs to be taken down. A turf war could be in the winds…

Aims: Scum and villainy do not do our jobs for us! That’s why it’s up to us to take down Billy Bob and his crooked pimping empire. I suggest we find him in his den and enter full force, taking out his body guards and hired muscle in the process. Once we’re done that, we’ll make sure he understands that his days of doing business with Darby are over, but not before he hands over all the information he has on the city’s powerful elite. You never know, might come in handy…

Assignements: Panacea, I think you’ll definitely want to run point on this one, as we’re likely to find several girls in need of help once we bust up Bob’s operation. Call me crazy, but I also imagine you’re itching for a shot at him and his henchmen. I will back you up with Inferno, who’s skill will come in handy so we can set his place ablaze when we’re done clearing it. Perhaps we’ll stop by Gus’s restaurant and put a little show for him too after.  Two more volunteers for some added muscle and showmanship ought to do it. Any takers? Take down a vicious pimp people…?

Mission 3: Attorney’s Office For Sale?
Source: Judgement

Profile: It seems we have a wealthy business tycoon who’s been getting cozy with a certain woman in the DA’s office. Were not entirely sure what the nature of this relationship is, but odds are good they aren’t exactly dating!  Then again, perhaps they are, and this is said businessman’s way of finding out what’s going on within. Either way, it almost surely points towards manipulation, coercion, bribery, and/or blackmail.

Aims: This city and its justice system are not for sale! I want surveillance and some answers, so feel free to find this young woman and lean on her a little. We need to know what this corporate bigwig has been asking of her so we can know what to do with him. If there’s a relationship between his office and the DA’s, we need to sever it immediately.

Assignments: Judgement, I can think of no one better to head this one up. And since Veiled Tsunami shares your passion for justice and anti-corruption, I would like her to accompany you. Let these people know that we’re watching, and we won’t tolerate conspiracies of silence or

Alright! We’ve got our assignments, now let’s get it done. And remember people, be careful out there 😉

The Future is Here: The Perpetual Motion Pacemaker!

According to the Laws of Thermal Dynamics, there is no such things as perpetual motion. However, engineers at the University of Michigan seemed to have created a device which defies that rule. Not only that, they seem to have overcome one of the pacemakers greatest drawbacks, i.e. the fact that it requires batteries to keep working. Utilizing a process known as piezoelectricity – electricity generated by pressure and/or external force – they have created the world’s first pacemaker which is powered by the beating of one’s heart.

pacemaker1This is an exciting development for obvious reasons: by creating a pacemaker which can utilize the vibrations in the chest cavity to power itself, this device can function indefinitely. As long as the user’s heart keeps beating, the pacemaker will continue to assist the heart in maintaining its rhythm. Hence the concept of perpetual motion, where feedback is used to keep things going for an infinite duration.

Currently, pacemakers are powered by batteries which have a duration of a few years. This requires that patients undergo surgery regularly in order to keep their pacemakers in working order. According to M. Amin Karami, the lead researcher, “Many of the patients are children who live with pacemakers for many years,” he said. “You can imagine how many operations they are spared if this new technology is implemented.”

The piezoelectric pacemaker is about the size of a regular battery, and has been tested extensively. According to Karami, it was able to generate create enough electricity from as few as 20 beats per minute, or as many as 600, to maintain a healthy heartbeat. However, there are still likely to be many years of testing before it is approved for medical use.

But most exciting is the implications this pacemaker has for other biomedical devices such as dispensers and sensors – all of which would live under our skin and be powered by our body heat and movements. Image if everyone was born with a defibrillator/pacemaker implanted in their chest. Surely, death from heart disease would drop substantially, and people would even be able to jack their heart rate up in emergency situations.

Check out this video of the piezoelectric pacemaker in action.


Source: Extreme Tech

Calling All Revengers! Join Me!

It is time to make our presence felt! The inner city calls out for justice, its people cocooning in their homes, afraid to walk the streets, the schools libraries and halfway houses rotting from neglect. The police are corrupt, indifferent and ineffective, and so it is up to us to restore hope. This we can do, but it will take time, commitment, and plenty of dedication from each and every one of us. We need to start somewhere, but no single target exists.

Therefore, as your leader, Captain Smackdown, I am calling on all Revengers to take up the challenge and help reign in the evildoers who are out there! Find a pusher, a dealer, a pimp, or a cop on the take. Squeeze them for information, and don’t be afraid to lean on them hard. Threaten their very existence, if necessary. Beat them to within an inch of their life if need be. Just let them know that we are out there and we are taking no prisoners!

But at the same time, be sure to leave no stone unturned. There are plenty of sources in the inner city who are ready to talk. People see things, people hear things; all kinds of things. Men, women and children, prostitutes, users, and even honest cops know things. Things they would like to share, but might be too afraid to do so publicly. But they will talk to us. Between them and the evildoers who speak to save their wretched lives, we ought to learn plenty on how criminal networks work and who is up to what.

When you’ve learned something, report back so we can pool our information and find out just who’s in charge. We need to know just how deep the infection goes, and which people need to be excised so things can start to get better.

A storm is coming! It’s name… Revenge! Join me in making it happen!

Obama’s Reelection Breaks Social Media Records

News of Obama’s reelection has certainly been met with some strong emotions. In addition to the extreme laments of certain die-hard conservatives – Trump has called for revolution, Glenn Beck has told conservatives that “Doomsday is here”, and some going as far as to proclaim the death of God – a  number of social media records have been broken.

Amongst them was the Facebook photo of Obama embracing his wife, which received the most “Likes” than anything posted on the social media website. As of writing this article, it has reached a total of 4,394,634, beating out Justin Bieber, Gangnam Style, and countless photos of cute kittens.

The same photo was posted on Twitter, where it broke another record for the most retweeted picture ever. Here again, it beat out Bieber for the numer one spot, grossing 814,121 retweets versus Bieber’s compartively modest 223,598. Also of interest is Mitt Romney’s “Thank You” photo, which garnered 910,738 Likes, less than a quarter of Obama’s victory embrace. Once again, this gap would seem to demonstrate the importance of new media in the realm of politics, and how the Obama camp has the edge.

New Super-Earth Discovered

It has been an exciting year for the discovery exoplanets! First, there was the news from Gliese 581 g, then the discovery of an Earth-like planet in Alpha Centauri. And now, scientists working in the European Southern Observatory’s HARPS apparatus have announced the discovery of the latest Super-Earth, which they believe to be the greatest candidate for extra-terrestrial life yet.

The planet is located in the HD 40307 system, an orange dwarf star that is just 42 light years from Earth. Although scientists are still not entirely sure that it’s a rocky planet, there are a number of strong indications that point towards and hospital terrestrial environment. For starters, as the sixth and farthest planet in the system, it lies within the sun’s habitable zone.

Second, the planet has a very reasonable 320 day annual cycle, which means that it receives a similar amount of solar energy compared to Earth – about 62% of what we get year round. This is positive news since most Super-Earths are situated too close to their parent stars to boast life. And last, but not least, the planet is unique amongst its near-Earth exoplanet kin in that it is not tidally locked, meaning it has a night and day cycle. Though this is not absolutely crucial to life, it is a bonus seeing as how it means one side of the planet is  not constantly exposed to radiation while the other is constantly in a state of cold, life denying darkness.

Mikko Tuomi of the University of Hertfordshire in the UK, and Guillem Anglada-Escude from Germany’s University of Goettingen are chiefly responsible for this discovery. In the coming weeks, months and years, their team will be doing their best to ascertain the planet’s composition, which they hope to be rocky in nature. If this should prove to be the case, it will move to the top of likely candidates for exoplanet colonization, pushing such planets as Gliese 581 g, the most Earth-like exoplanet discovered to date, out of the top spot.

Source: Discovery News

Remembrance Day 2012

On this day, at the 11th hour on the 11th month, we pause to remember all those who died in war. We pause to acknowledge the sacrifice of the many for the many more, who died defending freedom and this thing we call civilization from fear, oppression, genocide, hopelessness, brutality, and the scourge of war itself. And, as we have done several times now, my wife and I chose to honor the veterans by going down to the Legislature in Victoria, BC. There, massive crowds come to watch the parade, see the wreaths being laid, hear the speeches, and listen to the 21 gun salute.

And let me tell you, it was cold and rainy this year! But still, thousands of people still came out to pay their respects and show their support for the current generation of veterans and military personnel who are here at home or deployed overseas. As I’m sure most people know, Remembrance Day began as a way of commemorating those who died in the Great War, a somber anniversary that was made to coincide with Armistice Day. After four years of horror and endless conflict, the combatants agreed that the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month would mark the end of hostilities.

Since that time, it has grown to commemorate those who have died in any war, as a tribute to the terrible lessons learned in World War I, but have since come to be repeated, either through necessity or the frailty of humanity, many times since. Known as Remembrance Day in the United Kingdom, Canada and Australia, Veteran’s Day in the US, and Armistice Day in New Zealand, France and Serbia; for much of the world it is simply a day to reflect on the greatest sacrifices, worst mistakes, and terrible horrors to ever be witnessed by history.

To mark the occasion, I thought I would take the time to honor two veterans who are very near and dear to my heart. They are my grandfathers, both of whom I’m named after: Grandpa Matthew Vincent Williams and Grandpa Stewart Beverley Wilson. Both men were pilots with the Royal Canadian Air Force, flying out of bases on Canadian soil, patrolling our coasts, and training pilots and instructors how to fight.

Stewart Beverley Wilson: Born in 1922, my maternal grandfather became a pilot and flight instructor who then went on to be a instructor of flight instructors while serving at CFB (Canadian Forces Base) Trenton in Southern Ontario. He was in his 20’s for the course of his service, barely a man himself, and was responsible for teaching other young men to train other pilots how to fly. He was part of the Commonwealth Air Training Program, a vast air training program in Canada designed to ensure that Britain and the Commonwealth had enough pilots to defend the skies during the Battle of Britain, and then to take part in the Allied air offensive for the rest of the war. Afterwards, he and his family settled in Brantford, but he continued to serve as a flight instructor.

Matthew Vincent Williams: Born in 1912, my paternal grandfather enlisted in the RCAF with the hopes of becoming a pilot. However, due to his eyesight, he was instead trained as a gunner and navigator. Stationed in British Columbia, in part because he had recently become a father (one of my uncles). His tour took him to Jericho Beach in Vancouver, as part of the Western Air Command where he flew personnel in and out of the city and Vancouver Island. During the course of the war, his aircraft – a PBY Canso – sunk a Japanese submarine off the coast with depth charges while on patrol. Though he hoped of settling in the west, he returned to Ontario in Aug of 1945 to take care of his mother and settled into Hamilton. He remained in the Glider Program for many years before retiring.

Thank you all and wishing you a sober, reflective and peaceful Remembrance Day/Veteran’s Day/Armistice Day, wherever you may be. Let us hope that with every conflict and every act of sacrifice since the Great War ended, that we’ve learned something about the futility of war and the needless nature of aggression and conflict. And here’s to the day when we can settle our differences without bloodshed or violence.

Lest We Forget

NaNo News

Okay, good new and bad regarding the NaNoWriMo challenge this year. Good new I got a lot of support from people who told me they wanted to participate but couldn’t. It seems that every year, we find ourselves overloaded with our current responsibilities and unable to take on the task of additional writing. As such, my friends and colleagues who are also indie writers wished me well as I attempted to take on a new novel amidst everything else.

Bad news is, I’m dropping out of the challenge! Yes, I really wanted to take this on and thought it would be just fine to add a daily writing requirement of about 2000 words to my articling, editing and existing writing responsibilities. But unfortunately, it’s not working out. It’s not that I find myself particularly overburdened or stressed out, or the fact that I’ve gotten sick in the last few days – although those were a factor in this decision. No, the real problem is far worse. It seems that I’ve lost interest in my story idea! For a writer, I happen to think that this about the worst thing that can happen.

However, there’s an upside to this, a second bit of good news. Dropping one project allows me to make time for another. And it just happens to be the one I would rather be doing. In order to make time for NaNoWriMo, I decided to put off authoring the sequel to Whiskey Delta – aka. Pappa Zulu. But with Etemenanki sidelined, I’m now able to focus on it again. And I happen to know there are some people who would prefer to be reading it. So look for new entries. If I turn it out at a good enough rate, I might even be able to enter it into NaNo instead 😉

The Revengers Take The Field!

So… now that we’ve got a justice league ready and in place, we need a mission. Some suggestions have been made, some preliminary ideas spit-balled, but we should have some kind of consensus before we move! So to break things succinctly, I’ve taken the liberty of compiling our possible super-hero missions into the following list:

  1. Fight Crime: It has been suggested, largely by me, Captain Smackdown, that we address the growing concern of crime and violence in the inner city. People are crying out for help, wanting an end to the cycles of gang violence, drug dealing, prostitution, and intimidation. The police are largely ineffective, due to indifference, disillusionment and the vagaries of the law which prevent them from doing what needs to be done. Witnesses do not testify, and those who agree to soon wind up dead. What’s more, efforts to gain the people’s trust are hampered by incidents of police brutality and corruption that make them turn a blind eye. But we, the Revengers, are a force apart. We can go where the law cannot, find the evil-doers and bring them to justice! What’s more, we are incorruptible and cannot be bought! So we shall find the pimps, pushers, crime bosses and dirty cops, and make them all pay!
  2. Fight Criminal-Networks: This plan is a little more grandiose than taking down the scum in the inner city. For alas, all criminals and crime bosses are able to do what they do because of a large network that supports, funds and equips their activities. Drugs are being shipping in from around the country and abroad, drug labs operate all around town, and guns and explosives are brought in with the help of arms smugglers. At the top of these networks lie the worst kinds of criminal, the well-dressed, well-spoken sociopaths who make millions off of the suffering and deaths of others. They think themselves untouchable, but we will show them just how vulnerable they truly are!
  3. Fight Corruption: City Hall is a morass of decay and abuse of power. The Mayor is largely impotent, the Police Commissioner struggles to do his job, and much the elected representatives and appointees are on the take. We need to send a message and to do it now! Take down the bastards who have been getting richer off of a city in peril and make sure that all know that the people’s representatives are not for sale! What’s more, it’s becoming increasingly obvious that those in power are there because of voter fraud, smear campaigns, graft, cronyism and campaigns of intimidation. Ferreting out the individuals responsible and busting up their network of influence is paramount to straightening this city out!
  4. Fight Villains: As Police Commissions Jim Gordon once said: “What about escalation?” The presence of superheroes in the city prompts criminals to reach out to private “specialists” who, like us, are in the habit of concealing their identities and not playing but the usual rules. Their methods are unorthodox, and their aims rather grandiose, but they are very dangerous nonetheless! And unlike the criminal scum that hire them, they are not concerned with things like money. For them, it’s all about power, fear, and watching the world they so richly hate burn! And therefore, they must be stopped before they can make their maniacal visions a reality.

Well, that’s my list of ideas. Got any more, feel free to add them. But then again, after grouping the possibilities like this, we might consider tackling the problems of our beloved city and our world in this precise order. Let’s start small, work our way up to the big fish, take out the enemies within, and then be forced to confront the arch-nemeses that will make us question the very nature of what we do. Perhaps I’ve internalized all these superhero movies and comic books and outlined our group’s ongoing agenda without even knowing it 😉

The Revengers Are Complete!

Alright! At long last, the Revengers are complete. All thirteen members are registered and accounted for, and so we area ready to start battling crime and corruption in the big city! Yes, I know… twelve isn’t exactly a round number, but unless the makers of Craps have lied to me, its lucky! So without further delay, here is the remainder of the Revengers starting lineup. Behold!

Dark Angel:
Alter Ego: Nina Dee – Publisher, attempting to claw her way to the top. (plus part-time barista at the local Cuppa’ coffee house)
Abilities: Mad Fighting Skills; Ability to Fly; Regeneration
Appearance: Black wings, bustier, skin-tight pants, elbow-long gloves, long blonde hair, clawed fingers and feet, and a bamboo staff
Backstory: Nina was living abroad in Tokyo when she became involved with a Yakuza arms dealer. Unaware of the deeds committed by this man, she was blinded to the wrong doing taking place around her. Until one day, when she realized a mass killing had been carried out using weapons he was shipping. When she confronted him about it, he shot her and left her in a shallow grave. While lying there, she experienced an overwhelming sense of rage, and the souls of the children reaching out to her. A horrific metamorphosis took place that not only saved her life, but transformed her mind, her body, and her soul for a single purpose – Revenge. Rising from her grave a new and malformed creature, Nina vowed to never allow the innocent to suffer at the hands of the greedy and uncaring again, and to never touch a weapon forged by the hand of man.
Catchphrase: “You’ll pray to this Angel, but the only thing I’ll save you from is your next breath!”

Freedom Fighter:
Alter ego: Carolyn Page, lover of man, beast and the epic discovery of joy.
Appearance: Blue, red and gunmetal grey ensemble with a hint of feathers, ribbons, brooch insignia, powder gray ankle flight controls, fiery sword.
Abilities: Ability to Fly, Mad Fighting Skills, Super Strength
Backstory: Page emerged from the wilderness back in June 1765 and has remained a force for joy and justice ever since. Her immortality is as mysterious as she is, as is the origin of her signature move, the high kick. To those seeking to know her past and why she fights injustice and hate with as much verve and dedication as she does, there remains only her bright smile and her enduring motto…
Catchphrase: “Freedom Fighter Flies for Freedom..!”

Pax:
Alter Ego: Lance Schubert, non-violent activist, writer
Appearance: High-tech suit, form fitting and temperature sensitive. In extreme heat, turns white, in cold, black.
Abilities: Teleportation, Healing, Elasticity
Backstory: Lance woke up one day in the hospital, the sole survivor of a collapsed California high-rise. Everyone he knew or cared for died in the fall, but his new abilities gave him a sense of purpose. And so he headed east and things started happening to his body. In addition to being able to go from one place to the next without moving, he could bend his body in ways that no human body could, and heal instantly when hurt. With his newfound abilities, his non-violent activism found new expression, as a means of stopping evil-doers without inflicting harm.
Catchphrase: “I will ease the pain.”

World War Z Trailer!

Fans of the zombie-horror genre are no doubt aware of this title, and for some time now, it’s been known that Brad Pitt would be playing the lead role in the film adaptation of Max Brook’s seminal novel. Well it seems that they are all done shooting and preparing for launch! My thanks once again to David Lim at Ellipsis Media for bringing this one to my attention. I have to admit, it made we want to abandon NaNoWriMo and get working on my zombie stories again!

Admittedly, the movie doesn’t look anything like the book, which was a collection of oral accounts that describe the zombie war over the course of many years. But people will certainly forgive that if the movie boasts the same orgiastic zombie apocalypse stuff that’s apparent in this preview! As befitting a would-be blockbuster, the movie is set to be released in June of 2013. Which is good, because I plan to see this movie while sitting in a comfortable, air-conditioned theater eating hot popcorn and laughing at all the people who predicted a zombie apocalypse was coming in 2012.

Bath salts and some isolated incidents of alcohol-induced cannibalism do not a zombie apocalypse make! Anyway, enjoy the clip.