Hello, my name is Betty

by on November 10, 2015 at 12:01 am
Posted In: Diaries

An interesting thing about the Dixie, Twilight, and the various series and movies that followed it is that they showed us the America that was before and during the Second Great Depression. There had been decades of increasingly toxic political rancor in Washington DC between the Democrat and Republican parties, but most American citizens still considered themselves Americans first. The Texas Tech students and faculty came from every State in the Union and liked and trusted each other. The shows gave us that window into America. They spotlighted it even as that America disappeared forever.

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Tactical Light Operator Suit

by on November 9, 2015 at 12:01 am
Posted In: Jack's Defense Weekly

The TActical Light Operator Suit, or TALOS, is the American Army’s primary powered personal combat infantry armor. There have been nearly three-dozen variations on the basic TALOS since the first crude versions fought in the early Twenty-First Century’s Islamic Jihad. We took them to space, to the stars, and far beneath the ocean waves. They have fought in every environment known to man against both Terran and alien foes. The modern TALOS sports modular armor plating that can optimize it for anything from a lightly armored scout to a heavily armored bunker buster. This allowed the American Army to constantly surprise the Shang throughout The War as they never knew what they would face next.

TALOS on Deviantart

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Hello, my name is Charles

by on November 8, 2015 at 12:01 am
Posted In: Diaries

The first thing to know about the colonization ships that took humanity to the stars is that they were expensive. Or rather the hyperdrives that carved their way into hyperspace were expensive. At first it took major governments to collect enough funding and resources to build a hyperdrive, and so all expeditions had to be self-sufficient. They traveled with everything they needed to carve out life on alien worlds knowing that they would be out of contact for years. We became proficient at packing the necessities in those early colonization ships, and we continued to use those lessons today.

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Hello, my name is Jack

by on November 7, 2015 at 12:01 am
Posted In: Diaries

I love the smells of northern Minnesota. Fresh pine needles carpeting the ground. Still air after a spring rain. Roasting pinecones in a bonfire. A field full of flowers. A storm front advancing across a Great Lake. They each have their own smell and taste that is utterly unique. I have never experienced them on any other world. Not exactly. Not the totality. The lake country will ever be my home, no matter how far I travel or how many places I see. I spent two decades away from it during The War and it was changed when I returned. But the smells are still there. And I can still close my eyes and imagine the world I grew up in. I will love those smells until the day I die.

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Hello, my name is Betty

by on November 6, 2015 at 12:01 am
Posted In: Diaries

The Big Easy was right smack dab in the middle of Twilight’s season four and was more of a throwback to season three in many ways. The gang had stopped in New Orleans between missions and just wanted to relax. When of course something bad happened and they had to fix it. What followed was one of the best “caper” episodes of the entire Dixie and Twilight runs. They ran from one end of New Orleans to the other, stopped in the French Quarter to listen to some jazz, and ended on the massive dike separating the city from the lake as sunset arrived. It was generally considered the funniest episode of the season.

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