So it took me a while to get around to seeing Avatar. My wife and I happened to want to watch a movie at the theater this weekend. After reviewing the movies which were playing, I picked Avatar – as it seemed to be the most interesting and intellectual movie available.
The reviews I have heard about the movie were always fairly negative.
Granted I did not know too much about the movie, even after it having been out for several months. I had not read any teasers nor have I really studied it. Plus the fact that I do not have a TV and therefore I suppose I missed a lot of television commercials for the movie?
None the less, for me the movie was very well done. The graphics were mind blowing. The plot line was pretty decent. I wouldn’t say that the plotline was overly predictable at all times. There were many twists and turns I did not expect.
The main character was an interesting choice. I am unsure if he is handicapped in real life, but it really looks like he is. I think that is amazing, not only to include a handicapped person as a main character, but also to hire a handicapped actor.
I think the military aspect of the movie was very overdone, and almost GI Joe-ish. You would think in a hundred and fifty years from now we would of learn’t better ways to fight then using conventional ammunition…
I am not going to describe the plot line here, as I really do not want to classify it under another film. It does have a unique plot line, which is similar to a few other films, but unique enough to define itself.
When I went into the movie theater, I thought for sure the movie was going to be bad, from everything people have said. I came out of the theater refreshingly impressed. Just goes to show you that you shouldn’t take other peoples advice all of the time
We were deeply saddened to learn of the death of actor Robert Culp on March 24, 2010. We were fortunate enough to experience his work through the computer game Half-Life 2, when he wrestled invisible headcrabs, expressed a passionate interest in animation, and taught us all how to bring a character to life from words on a page, as he voiced one of gaming’s most beloved villains, Dr. Wallace Breen. He will be missed.
It is undeniable that the creation of the GP (General Purpose) 7 changed railroading drastically. The GP7 units were designed by Dick Dilworth of EMD. His goal was to make a road switcher which would work well “out where the real work was being done.” The design was based on observations from Alco and Baldwin Locomotives, as well as considerations of the needs of a freight train crew.
Originally the GP7 was made with limited visibility. This was partly because the union atmosphere at the time, wanted to keep the fireman on the locomotive, to simply watch the left side. In reality, Firemen were kept on the crew until the mid 80’s or early 90’s in some cases – strictly due to union pressure.
Another consideration in building the GP7 with long high hoods, and a centrally located drivers cab was the consideration of the old Steam Era Engineers and Firemen. They often liked the idea of a buffer between them and the front of the train – in case of collision. Although these hoods were not structural, and would not stop a collision as well as a heavy boiler would, the impression of the high hood did play a key role in how popular the GP7 became.
The other critical aspect which made the GP’s popular was the control stand. Dilworth brought in locomotive engineers from various railroads, and sat them down as a mock up engine cab. The Engineers told Dilworth what they wanted. And Dilworth followed through, to create a control stand, which stands in the middle of the cab, close to the right hand window. From which the Engineer could easily operate the controls while looking either forward or backwards. This design became the AAR Standard Control Stand.
EMD Could not produce GP7’s fast enough to keep up with demand, and opened up an Engine Plant in Cleveland, Ohio to try to meet demands. In total, 2,729 GP7’s were produced.
The GP9 replaced the GP7 in 1954 and ended up becoming even more popular with 3,444 units being sold. The GP18 made its debut in 1959 and augmented the GP9 until 1963 when both the GP9 and GP18 ceased production. The GP18 was less popular, with only 350 units being built.
All in all, these GPs or Geeps were the turning point of freight operations in North America.
ITC #1605 GP7 – Photo by Sean Lamb
The Geeps were all very similar looking. The unique differences are subtle, but easily identifiable. GP7’s generally have 3 vents below the drivers cab, such as the photo above. GP7’s also have a pair of grills in the access doors towards the rear of the long hood on each side. The GP7 also had a skirt covering part of the gas tank, however in late model GP7’s and early model GP9’s the skirt was retained, however with access holes added. Eventually the skirt was often removed completely later for access.
GTW #4621 GP9 with a short hood
DGVR #40 GP9 with dynamic breaking (as evident by the rounded vent at the top)
The GP9 is identifiable by often just one vent, or small half sized vents below the drivers cab. The GP9 also only has one set of grills on the access hatch doors at the rear of the long hood. And 3 sets of double grills on the central access hatch doors of the long hood as well.
An EMD GP18. Photo by Doug Kroll
The GP18 looks very similar to the GP9. The only exception is the Fuel Fill cap, which is positioned a little higher on the GP18. Instead of coming out of the Skirt on the GP9, it comes out of the side of the frame / lower walkway portion on the GP18. The GP18 also had a Roots Pump Supercharger.
The authors favorite Diesel-Electric Locomotive, has to be the GP9 short-hood. It was the most common locomotive I saw growing up near the CN Lines in and around Toronto, and the fact that the GP9’s are still kicking and in revenue service on several railroads, just proves their worth in my eyes. These locomotives are beasts which deserve some respect.
The video above links to this website. whatsinthebox.nl appears to be a website aimed towards promoting a new movie. But Half-Life 2 Sound Effects, and similar looking characters and environment? That is indeed strange. Could Valve be pulling our legs again?
Babel research.eu is another funny website. This website was found a while back, but became popular during the portal radio transmissions I will describe below. The website is copyrighted 2018, and as 3 logos at the bottom. The Hanso Foundation being the most interesting. The Hanso Foundation is the company in the TV Series Lost which is kind of the evil company that made things go bad (as I understand). I do not watch TV, but I will take their word on that.
The other 2 logos are Aperture Science, and Black Mesa. Both fictional companies which Valve created for use in Portal and Half Life 2 respectively. Interesting to note, that 2 of the 3 products listed on the babel website, are used in the film displayed above. The Involuntary Stomach Discharger, and the Computer Brain Interface. Yet these websites claim they are not related to each other… Odd isn’t it? Perhaps Babel Research is a new fictional company which will be the ‘good guys’ in the new upcoming Portal 2, or even Half Life Episode 3.
There are many secrets within the website itself. The most obvious is the flashing cat in the lower left hand corner. This cat, when clicked on, may allow you to download an audio file. The file is a reversed audio transmission, which translates to “Found, Project Detainable has failed!”
Portal Updates
The Portal updates last week included the patch note ‘Changed radio transmission frequency to comply with federal and state spectrum management regulations’. Which of course got all the TF2 conspiracy theorists to dig up their copy of Portal (or buy a copy) and try to figure out what that means. In the end it ended up being a ham radio operators dream. Morse Code at about 20 wpm, and SSTV Transmissions could be found through the Portal game-play. Decoding them turned into an interesting adventure.
The Slow Scan TV Images showed various clues… But in such a way to be confusing.
Each image was picked up at a separate location. There are a few hints in there at a BBS number. A BBS is a Bulletin Board System, which allows users to connect via modem, and download or read information which is posted for public or subscriber consumption. These systems sometimes have user names and passwords to protect them for subscribers only.
After decoding the string of visible letters and numbers in each SSTV Scan, People found the string “9459C6CAC8C203B8128B7CC63068D4FD” which is an md5 hash of (425) 822-5251. So now we know the BBS Telephone number.
But what about the user name and password? Oh yes, there was one! At this point, you would think, gee what if these people were wrong, and this phone number was a private number… or a private link somewhere… That would of been interesting. But none the less, indeed the user name and password were found in the morse code.
The 2nd morse code string translates to “SYSTEM DATA DUMP ACTIVE USER BACKUP ACTIVE PASSWORD BACKUP ACTIVE”. So someone tried using User name ‘Backup’ and Password ‘Backup’… This worked.
Other Morse code transmissions were…
“INTERIOR TRANSMISSION ACTIVE EXTERNAL DATA LINE ACTIVE MESSAGE DIGEST ACTIVE”.
“BEEP BEEEP BEEP BEEP BEEEP BEEEP BEEEP BEEP BEEEP BEEP BEEP”, which is in turn Morse Code for “LOL”.
“9E107D9D372BB6826BD81D3542A419D6″, which is the MD5 hash of “The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog”.
There are many other hidden ‘easter egg’ clues in many places. I think that everywhere you look, you will find some clue… Or something that looks like a clue anyhow. It is after all lent. So the easter egg hunt is on.
Half-Life Link?
So far, many of the images we have seen, relate to both Portal and Half Life 2 in some way. It has been said before that these 2 time lines are in fact linked… And it is quite possible that every valve game is linked in some way in some large story arc, which will all be interconnected at some time. With the announcement of Portal 2 confirmed, we can only assume that this new Portal game brings us closer to the Half-Life universe. Portal is said to be a prelude to the events which take place in Half Life.
Portal 2 will include a 2 person co-op player mode, which will allow 2 friends to work together to solve campaigns. I think this is a great idea, and look forward to Portal 2’s release.
For now however, I must say that I love Valve. Undeniably THE BEST computer game company ever!
