Sakura, been listening to the hold music all day, and they started playing Baby Grand just now. Yes, your song has been converted to muzak. Destroy, Sakurazilla!

Erzoffinator, Happosai^2, and Prozac King, directions to Waliel's place are up on his blog. I won't be able to make the movie (bit busy, bit broke) but I'll be there later tonight. Seeyall then.

Yes, I did just say that.

And Sakki updates too! Beware her bisH0unen fixations.

Crap, I'm up late. G'nite. I have to be at work in less than 7 hours.

And yeah, handguns aren't terribly powerful with the rewritten rules, but they're not IRL either. Handguns are concealable, which is their biggest attribute.

Sadly, she was rather irate at the situation, which precluded normal troubleshooting for the infamous "Beelzebub" error - specifically, sending a priest. Some of the commentary from the rest of the crew:

"Satan can take many forms, even the form of an Error message!"
"Ma'am, is your monitor spinning in circles?"
"Call Gateway and tell them Satan has posessed your modem."
"Well, Ma'am, the Destroyer rides a binary horse." I do so love this job.

Ah well. In other news, not a lot going on. Still grinding away at special projects when I'm not typing this. Waliel, give us directions or a map to your place so we can find it. Assuming we game. Ragabash?

Going over the combat rules, I'm in favor of something quick, dirty, and nasty. We're more or less in favor of the cinematic combat, since that speeds things up and makes it more interesting with the GM giving a better description of what happens. For good fun yummy Cyberpunk toys, check out Flipper Is Dead. They've got combat revisions, guns galore, gun-making systems, etc. It's quite lusciously evil fun.

Well, here's some basic ideas for bullet damages for guns. Kinda long, since there's much variation. Or we can simply run cinematic damage effects for humans, and I'll judge. This still ought to give a reasonable expectation of what things can/will do.

SHOTGUNS:
Birdshot (#8-#6 most common) - 3d6 at 0-1 yard, 2d6 1-3 yards, 1d6 3-9 yards, 1d4 9-15 yards. No effect on armored targets over 1 yard. Pattern spread enables 2nd hit location at 9-15 yards. No wall penetration.
Breaching loads (powdered, packed lead dust) 5d6 at 0 yards, 3d6 0-1 yard, no damage past. Armored targets take full damage at contact distance, otherwise nothing penetrates armor. These rounds are designed to take out deadbolts, hinges, window locks, etc, without harming anyone in the room. No wall penetration.
4 Buckshot: 20 pellets per shell, 1d3 per pellet that strikes. 2d10 pellets within 5 yards, 1d10+6 within 15 yards, 1d10+2 within 25 yards, 1d10-2 within 35 yards.
00 Buckshot: 9 or 12 pellets per shell, 1d4 per pellet that strikes. 2d6 pellets within 5 yards, 1d10 within 15 yards, 1d6+1 within 25 yards, 1d6 within 35 yards.
Slug rounds: 7d6 - I have seen a shotgun slug that passed through 51 inches of bear, and it was quite intact. The bear was less so. A solid ounce of lead at well over 1000fps will ruin a day. These rounds are not armor-piercing. If stopped by soft armor, the round still does 1/2 damage bruise damage.

RIFLES: (only standardized military calibers listed) *all rifles do AP damage
.223/5.56x45mm NATO Fairly light round, 400 yard range with 16"bbl, 600 yards with 20-22". 4d6+1 damage.
7.62x39 Heavier round, 500 yard range w/ 16"bbl, 700-800 yard range w/ 20-22"bbl, but more damage and better penetration of armor. 5d6+2 damage, most ammunition availible is dual-purpose steel-core hollowpoint.
.308/7.62x51mm NATO capable of 800-1000 yards extreme with scope. 6d6+2 damage base.
.30-'06 1000-1300 yards extreme range with scope. Damage 7d6 base.
7.62x54R 1200-1500 yards extreme range with scope. Damage 7d6 base.
.50 BMG Very simple: If this round hits you in the torso or head, you are dead. Nuff said. Limb hits immobilize/destroy or remove. Armor will not stop a .50 BMG. Cover will not stop a .50 BMG. Vehicles will not stop a .50 BMG. Cover and vehicles will not stop a .50 BMG. I have seen one single bullet penetrate a car through the engine block, then 3 feet of dirt & rock berm behind it, and just keep on going. It was recovered intact and undamaged. Against borgs or hard targets, .50 ammunition would do around 6d10 damage. Someone with a Browning M2 (full auto belt-fed .50 BMG machinegun) is Very. Bad. News. At extreme range (1500 yards-2000 yards) damage is roughly equivalent to a .308 for game purposes.

Rifles are primarily meant for pure penetration power - and are quite lethal in close combat. The .223 is the most common choice for urban/CQB (close quarters combat) rifles, because it is a fairly light cartridge with only a partial risk of penetrating walls with proper ammo (good hollowpoints, usually), yet can still be effective. The other rifles are all primarily used for long-range assault against fortified targets, or sniper work. Most common sniper rifles are .308 caliber due to the availibility of ammunition (NATO standard) and excellent performance.

HANDGUNS: Average maximum range is 50 yards with a standard handgun, 100 yard has a -2 to hit due to the short barrels. Carbines have an average 100-150 yard range for the light calibers, and up to 250 yards for the heavier rounds. Carbines also add +1 damage due to their longer barrels.
.22 LR 1d6
.25 1d6
.32 1d6+1
.357 Magnum 4d6+1
9mm 3d6
.38 3d6-1
.40 S&W 4d6-1
10mm 4d6+1
.44 Magnum 4d6+4
.45 ACP 4d6-1
.454 Casull 6d6 - There is a reason for the joke "The .454 Casull was designed to kill 3 things - King Grizzly Bears, Cape Buffalo, and North American Buicks."

I wonder just how much free, foreign, non-Chicomm-govt. access those places provided.

Ragabash, the Prozac King came up with a great idea. Let's combine Cowboy Bebop and In Nomine for your cyberpunkian RPG idea. I mean...Ed is an Ofanim, yes? And as for game, Sunday night, 8-8:30, place to be determined. Waliel will let us know, his place or his dad's place. The Erzoffinator, the Prozac King, and Happosai^2 want to go too. You up for it?

Afghani Taliban "government" lists off a new batch of proscribed items - including wigs, musical instruments, playing cards, lipstick, nail polish, catalogues with pictures of people, movies, satellite dishes, pig fat, and fireworks. TV has already been banned. The Border Guards are tasked with rounding up the items and taking the immoral instruments to the "Ministry for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice".

So why do people smuggle? It's the cheese. Specifically, in Texas the cheese is smuggled in from Mexico under the "personal supply" laws, but is then sold on the "cheese black market" for a 250% or more profit. The danger is, Mexican cheese isn't pasteurized, and let's just say that raw cheese is a bacterial love motel.

Norwegian fisherman rescues Danish vacationer from river by successfully casting a line and reeling him in. The only thing I could think of was..."You shoulda seen the one that got away!"

More on the great, earth-shattering updates to Hotmail - with the spam filter set to "high", it seems to be only partially effective, some readers complain of the messages still getting through. They did find a big warning - any e-mail sent with an all-caps subject line gets dropped in the spam filter, while the non-caps e-mail gets delivered. There were some problems with the Opera browser not able to select emails, and the crashing of Netscape 4.7, but those seem to be fixed now. URL links sent through Hotmail still bounce through an MS server, like before, which still keeps you within the MSN system even though you're viewing content elsewhere. Could this be a precursor to the "Smart Tags", where websites can be reviewed and edited by the browser to put links to MS products where the original author did not? After all, it does bring all webpages viewed in Hotmail, no matter what the browser, through an MSN redirect...

One of the first female serial killers, Aileen Wuomos, goes McVeigh and gives up all appeals and requests execution immediately. Lawyers working for a completely separate organization - not Wuomos' staff - will appeal on her behalf and attempt to get her judged incompetent, to keep her from being executed.

Why the hell should a lawyer who had no bearing in the case, and was not selected as her defender, be allowed to file on her behalf to save her life, which she does not want to happen? Why should she not have the right to "her own body" and be allowed to let her life be ended? Just because someone doesn't like the death penalty means they can interfere with another's civil rights (what few remain for felons) and jerk them around like this? Might need a little rethinking here.

Modified ICBM launched from submarine puts solar-sail spacecraft on its way to orbit. It's up there successfully, and later this week will begin its travels.

One protestor killed at the G8 summit in Italy after clashes with police. Most of them are peaceful protestors, however there are some anarchists there who want "a war with police"...hopefully they get exactly what they want. And get their asses kicked doing it. At least 200 protestors - probably these idiots - threw a gasoline bomb into a local prison after smashing its windows. There's also been lots of arrests of people who tried getting past the barricade, but there's also 20,000 police and troops there to keep order.

Just the topmost story here, the one about ways to end adultery in Japan. Something about hammering nails into wooden *koff* representations of the male member, one for each year of the suspected offender. It's supposed to be a prayer to the gods to keep them from committing adultery.

I think all you'd have to do is make the husband watch. That'll do just fine.

And that, as they say, is that.

Ragabash, found the Fuller data. It's older stuff, from the days of the OSS (since updated for new ammo). Basically they measured the effect of "one-shot stops" - solid torso hits that end a fight, regardless of kills. Usually caused by "OW dammit!" effect. Assuming a torso hit, here's the percentages of gunfights ended with pistol calibers.

.22 Long Rifle: 35%
.22 Magnum: 40%
.25: 45%
.32: 63%
.380: 70%
.38: 83% (73% short barrel)
9mm: 91% (87% short barrel)
.40: 95% (91% short barrel)
.357 Magnum: 96% (85% short barrel)
10mm: 92% (86% short barrel)
.45 ACP: 95% (89% short barrel)

Kristina, I have no clue where someone's comparing Tolkien to Harry Potter. Except that they both have gnomes, dragons, and wizards in them, and magic. That's like comparing Star Wars to ET - two completely different concepts, the only similarity is that they take place in outer space.

Vladimir Putin holds press conference about NATO, says that NATO should be either disbanded or Russia allowed in. He said that there is no need for the organization anymore because the huge Soviet threat "no longer exists", and that the expansion of NATO creates "different levels of security on the continent ... which does not correspond to today's realities and is not caused by any political or military necessity." The more interesting part may be a sign of hope for the future - in regards to treaties with China and the Anti-ICBM system we're developing, he will not make any agreements with other countries to oppose the anti-missile treaty.

"Russia is not entering into any joint action with any country in this specific direction. Russia has enough of its own nuclear deterrent to react to any changes in the area of international security,"

I'm concerned about the future role of Russia, and what it will do and the company it will keep, but maybe this is a good sign. We'll see.

So how does The Reg feel about the new Hotmail? It's a pretty good update even if you're stuck with the MSN "portal" page when you go to check mail, even with new mail. Yet more "Stay Within the MS Network" controls. They'll never give up.

Microsoft backs off somewhat on Product Activation, and will allow up to 4 hardware changes within a certain (yet unspecified) time period. They also say that they will release details of the WPA methods and how it works. Windows Product Activation actually WAS smashed pretty hard by the guys at Tecchannel, and there's plenty of info on just how to do it. MS says that this is not the reason and that they can change Product Activation before its release October 25, but that's doubtful - there's not a lot of time left, to change it enough so that the entire crack by Tecchannel won't have any meaning in that amount of time will require heroic effort. From Microsoft. I can hear the snickers now.

In the world of weird (thanks Kristina!), Lovestruck arsonist continues setting fires so he can see the judge over and over again. She won't have anything to do with him, and refuses to ever respond to his phone calls. He was given a 2 year sentence in prison.

And there are days when I realize I'm not alone. A truly wonderful article on the lack of common sense in this country, and the inane things people do when they don't think - which is, sadly, far more often nowadays. Summed up beautifully:

It is a land where the strong survive but the dumb flourish and the meek really shall inherit the earth -- if they can survive long enough. Warning: Life may cause injury or death. Please dress accordingly.

And that, I think, is the Morning Report.

Well. No doubt by now you've all noticed, but the MS crew running Hotmail has totally revamped things - it's a whole brand new, kinda pretty, new look. Although...the only adverts I yet see are for MS products...most of the actual page is in the same place, but the scheme finally proves that MS has assimilated Hotmail. Wonder if that's gonna happen to all of the MSN.

Hello Koizumi, anyone? Sanrio, ruler of the evil, festering disease upon humanity known as Hello Kitty, will soon be turning its nefarious schemes towards the Japanese government, quite possibly in the first step to taking over the world. More directly, Sanrio has begun marketing current Japanese politicians as HK characters - PM Koizumi as the horse, Finance Minister Shiokawa is the dog, and Foreign Minister Tanaka (in a rather sexist, though funny, move) is the hen. They will have stickers, notebooks, little toys, all the vile products Sanrio uses to turn your children to the Dark Side, all emblazoned with the Koizumi and Japanese government signs. Who will Sanrio declare a takeover of next? Could future Hello Kitty characters replace other major governments? Beware! Check those around you! Save yourself, and your country from a terrible future! FBI does inventory, comes up short 400 guns and 180 laptops. Some of the laptops reportedly have or had classified information on them. This disclosure, after previous FBI incidents - the traitor bastard spy Robert Hanssen, the shooting at Ruby Ridge, the White House travel office scandal, the horrible tragedy at the Branch Davidian compound, the document foul-up in the McVeigh trial, the nuclear spying case with Wen Ho Li...all of those occurred during the previous administration. Now we have all kinds of missing guns and computers from that time...yet more evidence of the embarrassment of the previous eight years. And to join in the fray, the INS also reported 539 missing guns as well. The big worry is, they're not specifically mentioning handguns - the government uses LOTS of full-auto weapons, and the implication is that some of those have gotten out. Yay for our dear FBI, who couldn't even keep track of itself let alone the rest of the US.

Embryo-adoptees are testifying before congress in the hearings as to whether or not federal funding of stem cell research should be done. The big question is, are we killing humans to get these stem cells? At what point does a fertilized egg become a fetus or a human? Admittedly, at present the biotech companies are only using embryos that would have been discarded anyways, from the fertility clinics, however there was the one reported in the previous story asking directly for donations, and paying $50 for sperm and $2000 for egg cells. So they aren't all using the "about-to-be-destroyed-anyways" line. The other question is...it's all theories. Noone knows whether it can be done at all. Which is the biggest controversy of all...

Sam, Happy Summer Wedding is still as infectious as ever. Just wanted you to know that.

Cornell is messed up.

Israelis send choppers to Bethlehem, flattening the house of suspected HAMAS terrorists, killing 4. The situation's still at a low boil over there, and will be. And it would seem the peace process is quite dead, so back to the usual.

President Bush proposes to give Resident Alien status to 3 million Mexican illegal aliens living in the US. "Now we have the president of Mexico and the president of the United States and our governments committed to working together on immigration issues". RIGHT. The previous president before Fox was on public record as stating that they encouraged the dregs of Mexican society - the criminals, the rapists, the thieves, the unwanted - to emigrate north and run the border into the US. Yes, there are also regular families that try to make the run to a better life, but no small amount of them are the less-desirable.

And one suggestion, once they become Residents, is to tax their paycheck - not to send the money to the treasury to support them and other American citizens...but to be sent back to Mexico for the families of the workers. Great. Enjoy police protection for free, get all kinds of benefits from the government, and be able to send money back home to a foreign country for your family. Why can't CITIZENS do that, hmm? Rather than having our tax money go to the feds (at a rate of nearly 2 thousand billion dollars per year), let's get everything for free and send the money the government would normally take to our parents. Gotta be fair. Welfare, Medicaid, schooling, all of that. Hell, maybe I'll just refund my citizenship and apply for resident alien status, and get it all free.

Am I racist against immigrants? NO. A couple of good friends, and my imouto, are Residents. But they did things legally - not running the border, technically invading the country, THAT I am against an offered citizenship for. Bush and the Republicans may win votes among the hispanic groups, but they're going to risk a lot more. Also, consider this - the guys who fought for immigration and resident status...what was the point to their work? Why should they even have bothered now? It makes their struggle pointless. Keep residency for those who really want to be - and damn well close the border to the illegal immigration.

Amidst no small amount of jokes, either. The scene where General Hein's aboard his shuttle, racking cartridges through the handgun, then can't bring himself to pull the trigger, so tempted me to jump up and scream out PUSSY! You can't even kill yourself! (Go see the Tenth Magazine, 5.12.2K1 - 14.16 for the story of the Hawaii SWAT team). Let's see, other notable moments... watching the final scene with all the little "gaia particles" or whatever they were floating upwards by the big beam of light was much End of Evangelion trippiness, and I so want to do that as a video to "Spirit In the Sky" now. Waliel noticed a great little reference - look very closely at the big globe when the operator asks Hein where to fire - you'll see a little USS Enterprise orbiting the earth with everything else.

While at FAO Schwartz, we found a couple toys that were far too amusing. There's a big stuffed bear toy (for 5 grand) on the first floor...I went looking at it, and inspected the head, and then announced to Ragabash and Waliel that I had found a .30-'06 hole, to their amusement and a couple dirty looks from the staff. We also found the new Darth Maul toy - that comes cut in half already, at the waist. No joke, this is an official toy being sold (they had a bunch and were all like that) , and behind the two halves was a photo of the pit that Darth and Maul fell down. So yes, you can now own the twisted little toy.

Note to self, set up extremecounter.

And now, the news.

Ya'll thought I was paranoid? China and Russia sign the "Good-Neighborly Treaty of Friendship and Cooperation" today, strengthening ties between the two nations. Some (myself included) see it as a move opposing the United States missile defense shield, or possibly further. China was on record in 1999 as claiming this future agreement was designed to produce an Asian power axis to counter the Western global domination. They DO NOT LIKE US and are working on becoming strong enough to stare us down. Consider this - at the present time, China does not have the amphibious strength or the ground forces required to take Taiwan. Combined with Soviet forces, they do. Could this treaty have been what prompted the recent Japanese plans for military extraction of Japanese civilians from Taiwan, while under fire?

China and Russia are afraid of a new arms race if the missile defense shield is put into place. There will only be an arms race if they try to massively build up their nuclear stockpiles. Why would they build up their nuclear weapon stocks? Why, so they can launch them at the United States and try to get some past the defense shield, so they can kill tens of millions of civilians. THIS is what the Great Nations of China and Russia want?

China has few nuclear weapons. Russia has warehouses of the damn things. They both claim non-proliferation agreements. Well, if Russia gives the ChiComms a thousand nukes, it's not proliferation - the weapons already exist. And the Chinese can probably take the weapons and refurbish them, make sure they work, and also learn a hell of a lot from the Russians about ICBMs, probably a lot more than Bill Clinton gave them during his espionage-laden presidency.

People point out things like the trade balance - 115 billion in trade with the US (most of it going as profit to the Chinese) vs. around 4 billion to Russia. Well, are they counting military deals as trade? And one other ominous note - in 1939, who was Germany's biggest trading partner? France. In 1941, it was Russia. In 1941, Japan's biggest trading parter was the US. That never stopped them from starting a war with those nations, so why should heavy trade with the US today be any sort of block to what the Chinese want to do? If they want to invade Taiwan, and gain a LOT - expertise of the now-Chinese civilians, heavy industrial manufacturing, etc...they will.

Fortunately for America, the anti-ICBM system test yesterday was a success - so far, it's 2 hits for 4 attempts in the tests. Not the world's greatest accuracy, but considering you're trying to hit a target that is moving 3 miles per SECOND it can be difficult. And the system is still being tested now to see what will work and what won't, and how to make it better. The people clamoring for the halt of the system now because it "doesn't work" are fools - you do these tests not to prove it will or will not work. You test it to MAKE IT WORK. We can have a solid missile-defense system to destroy the warheads of incoming ICBMs - if the thrice-damned politicians don't play dumb.