Peter Hodges

Just an FYI, most of the issues that plagued the game at release have been subsenquently fixed.  As you progress in level and in the story line, I am finding the same level of enjoyment from NWN2 that I did from the early levels of World of Warcraft.  However, as Angelfire as aptly said last night to Static, Tasuja, and I, NWN2 comes without the knee deep layers of drama and dung that plague most MMO’s.  With a burgeoning mod community, I look forward to spending a lot of intimate time with the game.  I can get my RPG fix with my closest friends and without paying a monthly fee.  What’s not to like about that?

I’m going to mess with the editor a little bit and see if I can construct something for us to kill/maim/destroy.

The new Bond movie is an eye-opener in many ways.

First is the “reboot” of the story, which tells the story of how Bond received his double-oh status.  The second is the choice of actor, a compactly-built, athletic, blonde hair, blue-eyed man with a decided lack of thick British dialect.  The third, and perhaps the most rewarding, is the revamp of the way in which the Bond story is told.

Gone are the campy laser/space/nuclear bomb in a faultline megalomaniacal superweapons.  Q and Moneypenny are strangely absent.  What is left is a distillation of what makes Bond a great action film.  Over-the-top chase scenes, quirky, understated British humor, and a complicated plot make this probably the best popcorn movie of the year.  My reservations about a non-traditional James Bond evaporated after a scant ten minutes into the movie.  Daniel Craig uses his blue eyes to create an image of burning intensity, driven home with his athletic prowess (something sorely missing in the previous Bonds) and his ruthlessness.  Make no mistake, this movie is as gritty as James Bond has ever been.  In multiple sequences, Bond shows his chops in some tightly choreographed martial arts displays.  The ladies in the audience visibly swooned in the beach scenes, when Craig showed his form without the typical tuxedo coverage.

I was prepared to nitpick this movie to death, and instead, I found myself thoroughly enjoying it.  Go see the movie.

The Marine contingent was housed in the after part of the ship, between the engineering spaces and the enlisted Navy quarters. The platoon armory was sandwiched between the engineering spaces and the squad bays. An office area for the platoon sergeant and the platoon leader was attached to the armory, as well as desk space for two specialist ratings that were attached to the platoon leadership as an abbreviated staff. We had a large area that could double as a cargo hold in a pinch that could be used for drills and our daily exercise regimen. Continue Reading »

The Relentless was a marvel of modern engineering. As I took the four-passenger cargo tug from Armstrong Transfer Station, the pilot thoughtfully did a pass from bow to stern before heading for the aft launch bay. My new home was nearly a kilometer long, boasting the greatest single concentration of firepower ever included in a man-made ship. The front of the ship was shaped like a wedge, tapering back to a cubic rectangle that continued for the length of the ship and ended squarely just forward of the aft-facing thrust tubes. The ship was painted a flat black to better blend in with the vast nothingness of space, but splashes of color were visible as the ship tested its running lights. It was a simple, elegant design, providing almost no weak points in structure while maintaining maximum compartmentalization and functionality.

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My first assignment was to the Earth Ship Relentless. I took the mid-morning shuttle from Luna City to the Armstrong Transfer Station, the main hub of passenger distribution for all traffic entering and leaving Earth orbit. I was the only marine, and as such, entitled to one of the first class seats near the front of the shuttle. The other passengers nodded to me respectfully as I took my seat just aft of the control cabin. I stored my carryon bag underneath my acceleration couch and sank gratefully into the deeply padded cushions. Acceleration shouldn’t be a problem with artificial gravity controls, but the law required all ships to have the proper safeguards for travel should the internal gravity fail while in transit. Either way, it made for a very comfortable chair, especially when I was hung over.

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I had a blast (no pun intended) this past weekend in the mountains of Southeastern Oklahoma.  A multitude of firearms were shot, tannerite was detonated, and nature was communed with.  It was a rare opportunity to forge deeper friendships with some friends of mine, something which I valued highly.  Here’s a shout out to (in no particular order) Kevin, Gary, Rob, Jesse, Jacob, Doug, David, Nick, Brian, Brent, and Will. 

Work on Loss continues.  Special thanks to the posting bot, Mitch, for keeping everyone updated in my absence.  Updates are going to be coming every other day in the story until we’re caught up to the end, so stay tuned.

I’ll be out of town again this weekend, polishing my craft at a writer’s conference.  In the meantime, keep sending those emails and keep leaving those comments!

Of the sixty men and women who entered our program, forty-two graduated. Eight failed outright, while another ten voluntarily left. Shannon was among those who made it through to the end.

During the last few weeks, I felt as though I had been hollowed out. I never realized how much I had relied on her presence. I would go to eat dinner after class, and I would find myself alone in the mess. I had put a certain mount of distance between myself and the other students, spending my free time either studying or with Shannon. I had maintained a certain amount of aloofness through my success in both class and our physical tests. Continue Reading »