jaosals42

More work. Personally, this section is one of my favorite thus far other than the opening scene: Cesare Vinatelli sat on a wooden stool, leaning toward the campfire in attempt to keep warm, his tent standing idly a good several feet behind him. In the morning, he planned to head into downtown Cairo and meet with leader of the expedition, Julio Delaguerra, hoping all would go well. Right now though, he, Cesare, was only concerned about keeping warm and keeping away the insects. “Damn mosquitoes!” he mumbled deeply, swatting the air with his hand vainly while the nuisances gathered around him and the fire. “Wonder how they can like this cold…” The air, while about fifty degrees Fahrenheit, seemed to be frozen. The dry air didn’t help with keeping any extra warmth in the atmosphere either. Cesare looked from the fire to the nearby ground – a hunting rifle lay on the ground next to an aged black-leather backpack. The backpack was about thirty-five years old, two years older than he, and given to him as a gift from his father after Cesare went on his first trip. On one of the sides, a small tear had been patched once and again multiple times. While old and worthless in stores, the backpack had a lot of sentimental value to him, and he swore to never trash it till it split in half. Off about five hundred meters to his left was the Nile River itself. Further off to the left and about two miles north from there were the Great Pyramids of Giza. Cairo and its lights were about another several miles north. Cesare began to feel his eyes grow heavy. He saw the time was three-fifteen in the morning and began to consider going to sleep. A rustling sound coming from the nearby reeds repressed those thoughts, however. As the moon had already set, Cesare could not see what hid in the marshes. All he knew, however, was that he didn’t wish to go to sleep with the prospect that something might attack him in the night – namely, a crocodile. “What is that?” he demanded, grabbing his rifle and noting the fact that a knife slept in its shaft suspended by his belt. “Mr. Delaguerra? No, that can’t be you…” He walked cautiously into the marsh with his boots sinking into a small pool of water of reeds and cattails. He turned on the flashlight hanging from a pocket on his chest while looking twice to both the right and left. As he approached the eastern edge of the river, the sound stopped as suddenly as it had started. He slapped the back of his neck one last time as a mosquito fell dead to the ground, failing at its task. “That’s strange. I thought I heard… Okay Cesare –You’re just hearing things, that’s it. You probably just need to get some sleep now…” He turned around, heading back to the campsite while still securely holding onto his rifle. In just a second’s time, the rustling sound returned. “Or maybe I wasn’t.” A large wall of water pushed him down on his back down onto a pile of mud, while knocking the rifle several feet back and out of reach. “Damn it!” A young crocodile rose out of the water and stomped over him, dripping more swamp water on his face. It held him down and tried to bite, but he was holding back the crocodile’s saliva filled mouth with both his hands pushing the bottom of the mouth upward. He could feel and smell the creature’s warm, foul breath flow along his body and into his nose and mouth. Its back left leg pushed down on Cesare’s right leg, cutting him slightly with its claw-like feet and forcing him to hold back a yell of pain. He continued o hold the creature back, but was running out of energy to do so with. The next thing that Cesare knew was that a booming sound suddenly rippled the air and the crocodile on him rolled over, though still breathed lightly. A shotgun nearby was pumped rather loudly in the seconds that followed. “What the…?” Cesare got up, looking behind him. The man behind pumped his shotgun again and walked to the injured crocodile, shooting it once more to kill it off, pumping the shotgun yet once more. He stood six-foot tall with a rough, almost menacing glare, charcoal-colored hair, indigo-colored eyes that gave an impression of hiding disturbed thoughts behind, a more-than-noticeably large nose, and about two-weeks overdue with shaving. “That’s my shotgun, for your information,” Cesare said, looking at this complete stranger. “So it is,” the man replied, handing over the weapon. “And you were the one being saved with it, not the other way around.” Cesare scowled. “Just be glad it wasn’t a woman who saved you. You’d never see the end of it if others were to find out…” The man laughed lightly, looking no less intimidating while he chuckled away. Another rustling sound came from out of the reeds thirty feet away. A second crocodile, possibly the mate, came rushing for Cesare and the man. Cesare aimed with the gun and fired, missing the shot by a few inches. Angrily, Cesare pumped the shotgun again, and aimed for the creature again. He fired, again missing the shot by a matter of inches, pumping the shotgun once more. Suddenly, the man snatched the weapon out of Cesare’s hands and took aim at the crocodile, shooting, and hitting the creature directly. In seconds, the crocodile finished twitching and died in place. Cesare looked up at the stranger with a face of resentment. “Are you with the expedition? If so, I just hope you know that I spoke with Julio Delaguerra – he trusts me with handling the weapons.” Cesare knew this was a lie – he had never actually spoken with Julio Delaguerra directly, but he wanted to keep hold of his weapons on the trip. “He trusts you?!” the man almost burst out laughing. “We’ll see what he has to say about this when he gets here…” Cesare was on the verge of boiling. “Only there’s one problem with waiting for that,” the man continued, straightening his cap. “I’m already here.” Cesare seemed no less angry, but his anger was hidden by more sudden feelings of surprise, half in realization of who this was, and half in realizing he had lied directly to the same guy he talked about. “You certainly seemed surprised. Didn’t you know I’d be the one leading the expedition? And if that were so, wouldn’t I have to be one of the first ones to get here? Or do you feel some guilt about the story you told me?” “Julio Delaguerra,” Cesare began, ignoring him. “The Spanish-born Canadian war-hero, father of four spoiled kids, owner of a five-thousand square-foot mansion in Monaco, married to actress Kalie Bouchard, world-renowned archaeologist who built his career in six years. And all achieved it by the age of thirty-two… I should’ve recognized you when you first arrived – I should’ve known you’d be an ass.” “Actually, thirty-three as of October 7th,” the man corrected. “And it’s Kalie Delaguerra to you… Also, had I been a pushover instead of an ass, I’d never have reached the top.” He smiled mischievously, raising an eyebrow. “But enough about me. Since I’m here, I presume you have some questions?” “Just one. What’s the plan?” “Simple,” Delaguerra began. “I keep hold of the gun until the end of the expedition, and you listen to my orders.” “This isn’t the military, dammit!” Cesare retorted. “You need to quit treating this like it is!” “Remember who’s paying you to go on this trip.” Delaguerra’s eyebrows rose again. “I could always halve your share… And ahh, the military… Its hold on me has never gone away…” “Its hold?” Cesare looked surprised again. “What the heck are you talking about?” “Nothing that need concern you,” Delaguerra replied. “Just get some sleep already… You’ll definitely need the energy for…” Cesare looked behind Delaguerra to the camp, noticing something he hadn’t seen before. “What the heck is that?” Cesare pointed, interrupting Delaguerra. “What the…?” Delaguerra looked around in the direction Cesare pointed. “Oh, that… Some weird lady at the airport told me to take it. Said it was a brochure of sorts…” “That doesn’t look like any brochure I’ve ever seen before… Since when did they make them out of pitch blue without pictures of any sort…” He began to walk toward it. “Don’t tell me you’re that easily distracted…” Cesare decided to ignore him and investigate the “brochure”, as Delaguerra had called it…

“It was empty today, like usual,” said Jonathan Thompson, an employee at a local coffee shop, entering the crowded four-room apartment and closing the door behind him with his head hung low. “No customers other than maybe about a dozen in five hours… Then again, who wants to visit San Francisco these days? Tell me, who?” he scratched his goatee. “We had that damn earthquake two years ago that split the peninsula… never cleaned up the mess properly… Then Davis’ damn assassination ten years earlier… What’s there to see here now other than filthy streets and destroyed spirits?” “If this business with the café continues,” said Brian worriedly, looking over a few envelopes, “we may be unable to pay our rent—one-thousand and five-hundred dollars a week…” He too, hung his head. Their sister, Jamie, jumped in. “One thing’s for certain: if President Nale and that so-called ‘modern democratic government’ don’t start making some changes around here, there’s going to be a lot of people wanting to get at their throats. Though, I never approved of the man or his administration to begin with.” She laughed grimly. “Watch the man get elected again – Somehow…” “Only way he can get in office again is if he rigs the damn elections… again… Here, people like us barely make enough money to live month-to-month, and that Nale has everything he wants in that White House. Bet his congressmen are no worse off than he is. I hope none of them remain in office after the ‘elections’.” “Don’t get your hopes up,” Jamie replied solemnly, looking at the bills in Brian’s hands. “They’ll probably all be in office until they all die, rigging every election, and likely getting others with same ideals to replace them. It’s been pretty much like this since we three were all little kids. You think it’s going to change sometime soon?” Brian shrugged, letting the bills drop onto the table. Jonathan returned to the room having changed into casual clothes. “I don’t know what’s worse,” Jamie continued. “Having a unified Congress and president, never arguing among each other, going corrupted on us, or…” She shifted on the couch a tad, scooting to the left. “…Or, having a president with at least half a brain, but a Congress filled with indecisive, ‘non-unified’ peoples who spend more time with their hands around each others throats and spending more time arguing than staying awake.” Brian laughed, while Jonathan focused away. “What’s that?” he asked loudly, looking off to the left. “Huh?” Brian quit laughing. “What are you talking about?” “That,” Jonathan pointed. An envelope had been laid on the coffee table in front of a small television, illuminated by sunlight that entered through the window. “Oh that,” Jamie responded. “I found it when checking out the mail today.” “Why does it look like that?” Jonathan inquired. “Ask that to the one who sent it our way. I just brought it in. Came that way.” “Open it.”

I'm banning the "self-proclaimed clown".

Some more I worked on recently... The house was an apartment, probably less than a decade old at the most, yet the interior style of the apartment was a fairly dated one in appearance. The whole apartment had a rustic smell to it as many of the walls were made of wood, with etches of wear lines evident in the wood itself in design. Most of the furniture in the house too, was no different, minus the wear lines. The floor for the kitchen was made of stone, while that of the living area was wooden. There was no doorway, but rather a stone archway that led from the foyer to the kitchen and likewise for the living area. Directly across from the main door and down a small hallway was the one and only bedroom in the house. The kitchen and dining area made up the left third of the house, kitchen up front, and dining area toward the back, flanking a set of a few windows overlooking a portion of the city with a nice view of Quito's downtown core. Tucked toward the back of the kitchen and dining area was a small half-bathroom with. The living area made up the right third of the apartment, with a small sitting area in the front half of the living area, and the television and other electronics making up the other half. The Mercedes' modern electronics, plasma television, surround-sound mini-stereo system, and lava lamps bordering the television contrasted greatly with the rustic appearance of the house. The bedroom third was more modern in appearance. The bedroom was spacious: in one corner of the room lied a computer on a glass desk, and the other corner contain yet another stereo set, and one of the dressers. Right in the center of the room was the bed itself, king-sized, and stuffed with feathers that seemed to sink with the body and just let it sink right in like a foot into a sock. The bathroom, on the right end of the bedroom third, was made of glass walls, and the toilet and sink of nearly spotless porcelain, appearing almost to have never been used. The cedar cabinets were filled with various medications, creams, deodorants, and other bathroom etiquette, the remainder which was mostly Lina's makeup and cotton swabs. Across from the cabinets was a tall chrome shower, glistening brightly when light shone on it, bathroom light or sunlight from the window beside it. Now to get his food and then start on the dinner for tomorrow, Lina said in her mind. She searched through several rustic, wooden cabinets in the kitchen left of the main entrance but saw nothing that caught her attention. "Hmmm…" There was another short pause and then Lina's eyebrows rose. "There you are!" exclaimed Lina, opening the cupboard over the microwave oven. "Don't bother hiding again, fruit – I'll always find you!" she laughed softly as she pulled out an orange and a plum, then reaching into the refrigerator to pull out a bottle of water. She then put the three items in a paper bag she recovered from the picnic basket. Making sure that bag was clean, she then dumped the remainder of the trash in the basket away. About ten minutes later, while Lina was in the living area watching television, the telephone in the kitchen rang and she ran over to answer it. "Hello?" Lina greeted. "Hello, my dear! How are you?" Lina recognized her mother's gentle voice over the phone. "Mamá!" Lina exclaimed, smiling and clenching the phone in delight. "How are you? I thought you would have been sleeping right about now. Did Steve wake you up?" "Steve's in another hotel room down the hall from me, darling," her mother replied with the same warmth that Lina spoke with. "Well, I would be sleeping if there wasn't the need to be packing right now. "By the way, did you know that Steve got married here to Alma last month? You know – that lady he talked about often before we left on the trip? They've been talking to each other online for more than five years and met each other in person shortly after we arrived here. She'll join us on our trip." "Really?" Lina's eyes rose. "Wow… A lot can truly happen in only a year…You're packing because plane leaves soon, doesn't it?" "At two this morning. We've only got a bit under two hours before the flight departs. I'm almost done packing away my items. We'll be tired, but the trip ought to be long enough for us to regain our rest." "So, mom, how is Tía Marta?" "She's doing better now, ever since she moved from Edinburgh, south to work at a new job in Bristol. She'll probably be working there for about five more years till retirement – and more good news is her doctor has said that her sugar and cholesterol levels have gone down. "How about you?" her mother asked, changing gears. "How have you been?" "Uh, fine," Lina replied subconsciously. "I'm… no I'll let it be a surprise for tomorrow…" Lina replied then remembering the dinner she planned to host the next night. "Right now though, Francisco has a meeting at the bank in about thirty minutes." "Oh, and how is he doing?" "Good enough. While Francisco's wages have been cut a few times, we've been able to at least keep our apartment. And the hospital work isn't getting any better either, but hey, like I said – the apartment is still receiving its payments." "Well Lina, sorry about it, really," her mother continued. "And while I would truly love to stay and talk with you, I have to go now. Steve and Alma will probably be knocking on the door soon asking if I'm ready to go. Lina, my beautiful daughter, I hope Francisco does well at the meeting, and I know I'll be seeing you both tomorrow." "I know so too. Love you, and bye Mamá." "Bye, Lina – Love you, too." Lina's mom ended the call on the hotel phone, then immediately went to search through the mail they received from the hotel. Nothing interesting other than mostly junk mail. That was when she stumbled across some strange letter. Whatever it was, she had never before seen a piece of mail like that one before. "What's this?" she asked herself, picking it up. It was a letter, addressed to Yolanda, Steve, and Alma Pena and made of blue-colored paper. "I don't think I'll open this up until the three of us are done packing," Lina's mother said to herself, stuffing it in one of the pockets of her green coat. Lina hung up the phone as Francisco left the bedroom, now dressed in a black business suit and complete with a bowtie and a leather briefcase. "Lina," he asked, approaching the front door. "Do you have my snack ready?" "Of course – here you go," She happily handed him the paper bag and pecked him on the cheek. "Thanks, Lina," he responded, pecking her back then headed out through the door and began to walk down the stairs. "See you later." "Take care, Francisco." Lina called down the stairs. "You too," he called back. Francisco quickly stopped right before reaching the staircase down. "Oh, by the way, Lina." "Yes, Francisco?" "Be sure the windows are closed. It's supposed to rain a bit later. Just saying as we sometimes leave it open when we try to let the wind in." "I'll be sure they are closed." Lina closed the door to the apartment, and immediately closed a window she had left open in the living area behind the main couch. Then, she turned back on the television, raising the volume up high so she could hear it in the kitchen as she pulled a chicken out of the freezer, two bags of rice and four bags of lentils from the cabinet, and five plantains from a bowl on the corner of the counter.

http://img52.imageshack.us/img52/1510/comperrors.png http://img62.imageshack.us/img62/7812/doesnotapprove.png

Thanks for the compliment and the input, though I personally like characters presenting themselves through dialogue and actions. Sometimes, like with more important characters, I'll narrate an extra level of detail for them. Though I'll take into account what you said if I end up changing character roles a bit. :) Some more I worked on recently: "It's getting to be late," Mary started. "I'm going to give our baby some nom-noms. Ana, could you check the mailbox? I haven't had the time to go down there all day with so many things to do now that 'Día de los Muertos' is coming up." "Sure, Mary!" Ana replied, getting a jacket and heading out into the twilight. The door of the two story townhome opened silently into a small, two-lane street. Down a pair of left turns across the streets followed by a right turn at the end took her to the neighborhood mailboxes. Using the gray key Mary had given her, she opened the mailbox for the respective address of the home where Mary lived… Well, it didn't go so well the first try… "Open up you stupid mailbox!" Ana exclaimed, trying to force the key in again and again. Eventually, the lock budged and she finally could get inside to get the mail. However, when she pulled it out, the name on the envelope was addressed to a Mr. and Mrs. (or Señor y Señora in this instance) García… "Merde!" Ana swore, stuffing the envelope back into the mailbox and rapidly shutting the door. She looked around her, making sure no one had seen her get into the wrong mailbox on account of the possibility that someone might think she was stealing other peoples' mail. "What box was it again…?" she whispered gruffly under her breath, turning to the adjacent box. The key didn't work there either – in fact even less so… She had to fight to get the key out of that lock. She tried the one underneath, with no avail. She had to try about four more times till she realized the box for Mary's household was the one directly above the box she had first tried to unlock. Why couldn't I have remembered that was the box I wanted to open? Ana chuckled to herself. She took the mail inside, looking at it briefly for the correct name then checking again that no one had seen her trying to access the other boxes, and headed back in the direction of the townhome, down the thin streets and entered the house a few minutes later. One thing she didn't notice was the strange blue letter in the middle of the stack of mail that Ana had taken… Lina watched the trees lining the avenues of the city and soon turned her attention from the trees to the twilight in the west. It always amazed her how such a simple thing as sunset could be so beautiful. "Lina," said her husband softly, face still looking straight at the roads. "What's the deal with your friends? What were you guys talking about that had to deal with that one 'Delaguerra' guy? Just wondering…" "Oh, nothing," Lina replied, turning to him briefly and then looking back at the sunset when noticing his attention being diverted to the road. "Just… Mary and Ana wanted to join with us tomorrow when Mamá arrives from back from London. I told them to wait and see how things went before telling them anything definite. Cesare, Mary's husband, went on a safari for a bit with the 'Delaguerra' guy. That's why I brought his name up." "Cesare?" Francisco interrupted. "How's he been?" "I don't know," Lina replied. "He wasn't home – Mary told me he left this morning at four. Didn't ask Mary how he was either…" Francisco sighed. "Well, we can only hope the best, eh Lina? What about their kids?" "I'm guessing they're still with their grandparents. I actually forgot they were even living with them…" Lina scratched her head. "Cesare and Mary have… money problems, you know…" "Well, thanks anyway for telling me," Francisco turned back to the road. "I'm sure everything'll be fine with all of them." The sun disappeared completely behind the mountains shortly before the end of the trip. All that remained of it were peaks of light on the horizon to the west. The remaining color in the sky was rapidly vanishing upon reaching the apartment block's parking lot. When they arrived at the apartment door itself, Lina checked the time again. It was a few minutes till seven that evening. "Look at the hour!" gasped Francisco when Lina showed him the phone. "I haven't time to prepare something to eat during the meeting, and barely enough to even dress!" "Don't worry about it, my love," Lina said. "I'll prepare something for you while you're at it," "Thanks, Lina." Francisco pecked her on the cheek and turned for their bedroom to get dressed for the meeting.

Ban Push as he obviously hasn't studied statistics, or more accurately in this case, probability

I resized it to 1024 x 768. It was initially 2048 x 1152

http://img695.imageshack.us/img695/4237/desktopuv.jpg The left side of the screen is better organized as you can see. Mass Effect 2 FTW Windows XP for now. Considering Windows 7 later this year.

Banned because of σx² + σy² + 2ρ(σx)(σy) σx² + σy² - 2ρ(σx)(σy)

It's been a while, but I've got a good bit of updating to do now. "Hey Lina!" one voice cheerfully answered the phone, a split second after Lina's greeting. "What's up?" Mary Vinatelli on the other line was not only one of Lina's best friends, but was also a co-worker of hers back at the hospital where she worked. Mary was tall, had long blonde hair, a set of crystal-colored eyes, and a round face, though nice as she might have looked, she often carried a cold expression unnoticeable by anyone who didn't know her well. She normally wore a long and bright red dress outdoors, no matter the setting – it was even worn on simple and casual outings such as going to the supermarket. It was one way Lina could always notice Mary in a crowd of a million – the bright, red, long dress. Despite these fancy and sometimes ostentatious dressing habits, Mary undoubtedly though, was one of the most intelligent, organized people that Lina had ever met in her life. "Nothing, Mary," Lina replied, looking off to the right out the window and at a policeman ticketing a driver. "I'm just heading back to the apartment with Francisco, so he can prepare for a meeting over at the back, while I prepare a great feast tomorrow. My mom is coming back from her year-long trip to London then. Though, Steve is going joining us tomorrow at the dinner." "Steve? Ugh…!" Mary said. Realizing the rude comment though, she altered gears and toned down the conversation. "Sorry, about that outburst," Mary apologized. "Sounds nice, though. Could I join you guys? I'm bored. Cesare's gone on a safari over in the Egyptian Sahara. Met the right people and is now headed for a few weeks on the expedition with that Delaguerra guy. Left at four in the morning. Heard Delaguerra was leading the expedition." "Delaguerra?" Lina was struck. "Julio Delaguerra? The Spaniard? No!! Ohhhh, Mary!" Francisco made a face and snorted. How dare they talk like that, especially with him around? "Good lord, Mary! What an honor! Julio Delaguerra! I wish I were not married so… you know…" Francisco elbowed Lina, his face becoming red. "He'd be mine own first provided I wasn't under the same condition!" Mary retorted. "Anyway, back to the main subject: Of course, Cesare, like always… well… he took his favorite beige suit – you know: that one with all the pockets where he put all sorts of tools and knives and stuff like that. Oh, and his beige cap covered with all those stars. He's gone, now. Safari's taking place somewhere south of Cairo. They've been talking about sightings over there, and the expedition is going to verify the findings. They think it may be stuff connected to that belief… The one they all talk about with godly powers and associations… Just some more hocus pocus rubbish. Brings in good money though, so I don't really much care in the end. "So, in other words, he's gone for a while. I'm stuck in the house with really nothing to do… Dull. Dull. Dull. That's why I was wondering if I could visit." "Well, maybe. That is if I can gather up enough food to feed the whole of you… food for six or possibly even more people might be more food than I could afford to make with the time I have…" "Ah well…" Mary sighed. "Maybe another time then? Hey, Lina – Ana would like to speak with you as well. Could I hand her over to you?" "Sure. Love you, chiquita! Bye!" "Love you too!" Mary replied, handing over the phone to Ana. Ana Saline was virtually Mary's opposite, despite being close cousins. Ana was shorter, dark-haired, thin faced, and always wore a friendly expression. It was near impossible to have a bad time around her – her friendliness and warm speech always lifted the mood in the surroundings about her. Unfortunately, she was often disorganized in both behavior and though, forgetting things constantly and making a mistake here and there, despite wanting the best for those around her. "Hi, Lina!" Ana exclaimed. "How are you doing tonight?" "Fine, Anita," Lina replied. "Just getting ready for dinner tomorrow. Mamá is coming back from the trip to London tomorrow. She's been gone a good deal of time, you know." "Oh, that's right, Lina," Ana remarked. "You did tell me she was going to be back soon. Sorry I forgot, just that I've been quite distracted recently." "It's no problem, Ana." "You think it's possible that me and Mary could join you though?" Ana wondered. "I haven't been to a get-together in ages… And I'd love to see your mother again." "Well, thing is, I don't know if I'll have enough food for the whole of you guys. But I will certainly invite you guys in the morning if I realize that I do have enough while I'm cooking the stuff." "Well, okay then Lina," Ana replied, smiling lightly behind the phone. "It's good to hear your Mamá is finally coming back. Hope your dinner goes well, and don't forget to invite us if you do have enough food!" Lina laughed. "Of course I won't, Ana! I'll see you later, hermana." "Au revoir, girl!" Ana replied, ending the call. Ana handed back Mary's phone and scratched her head. "So it doesn't look like we're going to be able to join Lina when her mom returns then…" "Well, I wouldn't feel too sorry for myself if I were you," Mary remarked. "Steve is going to be with them as well." "Oh… Steve…" Ana froze. "Maybe you're right – I can hardly believe that even Lina herself hasn't already 'killed' him." "He's just a lot of hot air, though. All bark and no bite…" Ana nodded, idly opening a jar and pulling a peppermint candy out of it, chewing on it while she and Mary stood there looking at the dog, George Walker.

I'm too old to do easter egg hunting and too young to drink (not like I like alcohol after the few accidental tastes I've had of it either). So that leaves me in a spot where today is just another Sunday... :sleep: To the rest of you all, however, enjoy it.

Does no one else have pictures to share, anymore...? :huh: http://img682.imageshack.us/img682/2980/masseffect2201002071242.png http://img541.imageshack.us/img541/2980/masseffect2201002071242.png The Paragon, and the Renegade. Same character, different playthrough.

1: Rochelle Bantien 2: Dynari (forgot her last name) 3: Narian Carvain Couldn't think of any other half-decent females

As many of you may know, L4d1 and 2 have aiming issues for thirdperson. I head you could fix this with particular mods though. Could anyone find one for me please? I tried looking myself, but got a lot of torrent sites (which I don't want) rather than the mod itself. Thanks

I still miss the 4 max weapons that Ashley had back in ME1. I personally would have expected that a former merc-leader like Zaeed be good with every non-heavy weapon except probably snipers (assault rifles, pistols, smgs, shotguns)... Did anyone also get the impression that,

I'll admit: It was a greater game in pretty much every aspect. I'd expect that everyone here has pointed all the upsides I would find myself personally in this game. One thing, however - Is it just I, or were there too many biotic (or at least half-biotic) squad members in this game and not quite enough combat members (even with the downloadable character included)?

Some more. A few too many to post directly on the forums http://img686.imageshack.us/img686/2860/c4...lltowna0002.jpg http://img64.imageshack.us/img64/6373/2019m10046.jpg http://img19.imageshack.us/img19/1749/c4m2...rmilla0004z.jpg http://img534.imageshack.us/img534/4863/c5m2park0001.jpg http://img706.imageshack.us/img706/8210/c5m3cemetery0011.jpg http://img686.imageshack.us/img686/5763/ma...01002012310.jpg http://img706.imageshack.us/img706/4738/ma...01002031809.jpg http://img707.imageshack.us/img707/840/mas...01002031810.jpg http://img689.imageshack.us/img689/5493/ma...01002031834.jpg http://img707.imageshack.us/img707/2558/ma...01002031836.jpg http://img19.imageshack.us/img19/1648/mass...01002031918.jpg In addition, a new movie: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tvtQWvC2hYo

Some more revision on the same chapter, immediately following the previous content: “Oye, Lina!” called her husband. “Ven!” Lina became startled, feeling disoriented by leaving her world of thought as suddenly as she did. “What was that, Francisco?” she shook her head in disorientation. “Oh, are we going?” Well of course, Lina,” Francisco promptly replied, swiping up the picnic basket. “Look at the time – it’s six on the nose! I’ve got to get ready for my meeting at eight over at the bank. Wish to join me? We can have a night out-on-the-town afterwards. Any place you’d like.” He was about six foot, one inch tall, about ten inches taller than Lina was. His thin black hair grew one inch straight out of his scalp. He was wearing his favorite white T-shirt with the name “Ecuador” printed on the back in blue letters along with a pair of blue jeans and white tennis shoes. He, like her, was brown eyed and of a moderate skin-tone. “No thanks,” she replied quickly, looking off toward the sunset and back toward Francisco. “Rather, I think I’ll prepare dinner tonight for when Mamá returns home tomorrow. Didn’t you remember she was coming home at the end of the month? “That’s right, she was!” Francisco slapped himself on the forehead. “I completely forgot! And you’ll need the sleep when you head in back for work tomorrow afternoon… I’m such a forgetful idiot, Lina.” “Don’t be silly, Francisco! Of course you’re not! …Let me just take the picnic blanket and then we’ll be on our way.” “Of course, Lina. Let’s go, then.” Lina picked up and rolled the blanket quietly, while Francisco went and tossed out the trash remaining in the picnic basket in a trash container nearby a set of drinking fountains. Francisco, as he and Lina began heading back for the car, decided to ask Lina a question. “Lina,” he began, clearing his throat after calling her name. “While you were lying there on the blanket, what were you thinking about exactly? You seemed very involved in your thoughts… A sports car across from them on the avenue collided lightly with a white family-van while attempting to park alongside the curb. Upon colliding, a siren in the van went off and filled the air with a loud, wailing sound that could be heard the park over. This small ordeal reminded Lina of an event that had happened not as long ago as Lina wished it had… Several years earlier, just as the war in North America broke out, Lina, her mother, Yolanda Peña, then her father and her brother were driving along a mountain road to Cuenca in southern Ecuador, going to visit a few relatives. But, when the car was about halfway through the trip, it reached a sudden turn while moving at too fast of a speed. The car drove into the guard rail and broke through, plunging fifty feet toward a road lower below and blocking it for whatever traffic there may have been. It took two hours for any other car to show up and notice they needed help. In shock, the driver of the second car immediately called emergency, which took another twenty minutes for them to arrive. Upon arrival, two ambulances showed up, one taking her father and the other taking Lina and the rest of her family minus her father. Having been knocked out at the time of the event, Lina remembered nothing for weeks due to the concussion. Several months passed with Lina, her brother and mother finally regaining energy and memory, while also improving in health. However, her father received more critical injuries and began to worsen as the months passed. He was later buried back at a cemetery near the apartment where Lina and Francisco now resided. Lina ended up marrying the driver, who ended up being Francisco. A gray moth landed on Lina’s cheek and she returned to reality. A simple swat of the hand convinced the moth to fly away while Lina turned her attention back to Francisco. “No, actually I was actually just thinking about that one city… Um… I just forgot the name though…” “Olvusulthia?” Francisco’s eyebrows rose. “Yes, them. I was really just wondering – what do you think of the weather in North America? Do you think the Olvusulthians are causing it? Do you think that maybe it is just because of global warming? Or do you think that it might be because of experiments that NAFTA may be conducting themselves? Francisco hesitated from responding for a moment, almost biting his lip before coming up with, “Well, ever since they lost the war, and particularly since the combination of Nale’s, Davison’s, and Flores’ elections last year, the pact has been in particularly poor shape, including the problems as a result of their extreme debt… but at the same time… Francisco pecked Lina as they entered the car. They fastened the seat-belts and roared up the car, heading for the city center. “… Well, you and I know too, that the Olvusulthian people are very secretive. I really don’t think much of what the media says is true, but also, I don’t believe much of common rumor either. We haven’t witnessed anything ourselves going on in there, and then there are the disappearances, believed to be taken to Olvusulthia, but too few are willing to do anything against these “kidnappings”. Hell, Lina, it is even believed there are aliens living down there. But even that may be untrue. There may not even be a single living thing down there anymore, or it could be a huge series of claustrophobic hallways under the earth, gloomy and dark, and inaccessible by the sunlight… We don’t know really what Olvusulthia truly is… Lina looked intrigued, but doubtful about what Francisco had said. “True, possibly. But like you said, we don’t know what it’s like. Maybe it really is a paradise…” “Why the question?” Lina looked off to the street for a moment then back. “Oh, the girls at work were discussing last week after reading it in the paper.” Immediately, Lina’s cell phone rang “I’ll get it – one second!” she exclaimed, reaching beside the car-seat for her purse. “It must be my mom… “Ah! Look who it is Francisco.” She showed him the phone. (02) 234-3573 was read on the screen. “Who’s that?” he asked. Lina looked at him, surprised. “Don’t you remember?” Francisco shook his head. “Lo siento Lina, but I don’t. Mind telling me who it was again?” “It’s Mary and Ana, of course!” Lina replied smiling lightly. “Who else would it be… other than them?” She then answered the phone. “Hello?”

http://img194.imageshack.us/img194/6559/p1020755s.jpg Found this dog right outside our house upon arriving home today after school. We found he had no collar on him of any sort, but we did notice he was very calm and friendly, and most of all, very well groomed. We put a sign up about twenty minutes ago on the closest mailbox and are hoping that he will be reunited within the day. I almost wanted to adopt him (our other dog doesn't have much time left), but the signs showed us that he most-likely has an owner. For sure though, he's the largest puppy I've seen in a long time. Just thought I'd share it with you guys.

You might feel a little different about the "standard shooter" idea when you finish the fifth chapter of the game... There's something waiting for you there that will completely alter the way you can play the game (though maybe you know what I'm talking about). :whistling: It's a good game, but a little overrated IMO. Played it several times through. When I first saw it, I thought it was the best thing that ever happened, but then I sorta tired of it as the lines got repetitive and there's no change in direction...

http://img33.imageshack.us/img33/4057/gmxhsconstruct0017.jpg http://img33.imageshack.us/img33/6140/gmxhsconstruct0028.jpg http://img8.imageshack.us/img8/8918/gmxhsconstruct0029.jpg Some more

They are only few of several important characters. I have around 20 or more characters, all with the point of showing different views of the situations that will unfold in the future. While I plan to focus later on on a select few characters, the others will still have their share of input in the story. Everyone will have some purpose or other in it. I am currently on my way to finishing the revision of the first, and longest chapter of this book. Some more will be posted later