ISD Challenge Ship Report 2 : I-B

There is lots of fresh content, please be sure to read through the entire report and pay SPECIAL ATTENTION to the competitions.

News:
- ECR 2004 has started (TIE/XWA files due NOVEMBER 5) more details in competitions section
- After getting wtfpwned by Ace003 (20-7) I was inspired and now provide a new service to the ship (see ‘Services’)
- Congratulations to Ranj’e Lilos and Impluse on their promotions to Lieutenant. No fighting over the badge boys, you each get one of your own.
- Please welcome Impulse to Tempest and Captain Coranel Both back to Typhoon.
- The Battlegroup Commander, Mell, will be retiring due to real life woes after this ECR. Slight skiff between Mell and Stu was promptly overcome in a chat over cookies and milk.
- Stuart successfully bids on and receives Freelancer… watch out FW baddies, you’re about to get wtfpwned by your new ‘Challenge’r in his TIE Fighter
- Windows XP Service Patch 2 fubars EH battle and mission patches. A fix was promptly made by Darkhill and can be found here: http://www.ehnet.org/mb/viewtopic.php?t=4116
-The Emperor’s Hammer has been mentioned in an Australian gaming magazine (Click here to see scans of the article.)

Services:
As your Commodore I can provide many services including, but not limited to the following simple bulleted list:
- Custom Uniform Design
- An ear for problems you are having in your Real Life
- Raining of rewards upon deserving people
- Answers to questions about the ship or command staff on the ship
- An ear for problems you may be having with your commander or ship mates
- BSFing (in certain cases)
- *NEW* LoC Dispenser – Contact me if you would like to play MP XWA against me; I’m quite easy to beat, so it’s an easy LoC for 10 minutes of beating up on your COM.

Note on Freeworlds and other MMORPGs:
-MMORPGs such as Freeworlds and Star Wars Galaxies do count as weekly activity, however they do NOT excuse you from competitions. If there is a competition running you are expected to put that competition as a higher priority than the MMORPG. Your superior generally has no way of knowing if and how often you play MMORPGs so it is recommended you keep them informed as to your level of activity in that regard.

Recommended Routine:
I would like every member of the ship to attempt to adopt a routine similar to this following example at least once a day, it will benefit everyone.

1. Log in to your Squadron’s selected Instant Messaging Program
2. Check your email
3. Check the TIECorps site for news http://www.ehtiecorps.org/news.asp
4. Check the Ship’s site for news and comps http://isdchallenge.tcbg.net/main.php
5. Check the BG’s site for news and comps http://www.tcbg.net/main.php
6. Check the Wing’s Messageboard http://www.ehnet.org/mb/viewforum.php?f=46

Contact:
I can be contacted via:
Email: sgeers@hotmail.com
MSN: sgeers@hotmail.com
AIM: ltsgeers
IRC: `Stuart
Yahoo: sgeers

Wing Egroups:
Wing’s : wingx@isdchallenge.tcbg.net
Inferno : inferno@isdchallenge.tcbg.net
Typhoon : typhoon@isdchallenge.tcbg.net
Thunder : thunder@isdchallenge.tcbg.net
Tempest : tempest@isdchallenge.tcbg.net

Funnies/quotes/other assorted fun :) :
The history of the Supersoaker (taken from Uncle John’s Bathroom Reader)
Lonnie Johnson loved to tinker. As a kid, he used to take his brothers’ and sisters’ toys apart to see how they worked. By high school, he graduated to mixing rocket fuel in the family kitchen. One year he used scrap motors, jukebox parts, and an old butane tank to create a remote-controlled, programmable robot… which won first prize in the University of Alabama science fair. Not bad for a kid from the poor side of Mobile, Alabama.

Johnson got an engineering degree from Tuskeegee Institute and wound up working at the Jet Propulsion Lab in Pasadena, California. But he still spent his spare time tinkering. He recalls that one evening in 1982, “I was experimenting with inventions that used water instead of freon as a refrigeration fluid. As I was shooting water through a high-pressure nozzle in the bathtub, I thought ‘Wow, this would make a neat water pistol.”

He built a prototype squirt gun out of PVC pipe, plexiglass, and a plastic soda bottle. Then he approached several toy companies… but none of them thought a squirt gun with a 50-foot range would sell. Johnson even looked into manufacturing the toys himself, but couldn’t afford the $200,000 molding cost.

In March 1989, he went to the International Toy Fair in New York and tried to sell his invention again. This time, the Larami Corporation was interested. They arranged a meeting with Johnson at their headquarters in Philadelphia. When everyone was seated, Johnson opened his suitcase, whipped out his prototype, and shot a burst of water across the entire room. Larami bought the gun on the spot. Within a year, “Super Soaker” was the bestselling squirt gun in history.
Competitions:
Exercise Cantina Run 2004!

It is a dark time for the Emperor's Hammers TCBG. Recent convoys carrying cargo supplies, namely "critical resources" from ALCI Fleet have been coming under attack and been captured.
The Cantina's on the ISD's Challenge, Colossus and Relentless have now run dry... and many a pilot is now sober - a dark time, indeed, for TCBG. (Yes, this means no milk either!!!)

Part 1: Flying DUE NOVEMBER 5 to me sgeers@hotmail.com CC your CMDR

TIE SUBMISSION
TIE-FREE #105 - Blowing Crap Up
http://www.emperorshammer.net/battles/battle.asp?record=350
XWA SUBMISSION
XWA-FREE #65 - Combat Patrol
http://www.emperorshammer.net/battles/battle.asp?record=753

EVERY Pilot must complete at least one of these two. Any pilot who does not send in at LEAST one of the two receives a score of 0 for BOTH platforms for their squadron, drastically lowering average scores for their squadron and ship. If a pilot only flys 1 of the two their score for the non-flown platform will be nulled.
I.E. BubbaX of Cyclone 3-2 doesnt fly either. He receives a score of 0 for XWA and 0 for TIE. Mell of Cyclone 2-3 flys the TIE mission and gets a score of 10,000 . He receives a score of 10,000 for TIE and is not included in the average for XWA. Sephiroth of Tempest flys TIE and gets a score of 12,000 and XWA with a score of 100,000. He receives a score of 12,000 for TIE and 100,000 for XWA.

Flying both is encouraged!!
Part 2: Graphic DUE NOVEMBER 12
Send to: BubbaX AnimeJWC@earthlink.net and me sgeers@hotmail.com

NO pilot will be excused. Everyone has access to a graphics program. Pilots are to create a graphic which reflects life in the Cantina of your ship. Each submission will receive a score relating to quality, humor (clean humor), and realism to the TIE Corps Battlegroups. The scores will be out of 10 for each section. These will be combined and divided by 3 for an overall score.
For those of you who don’t have fancy gfx skillz, I want to see stick drawings!! (with or without captions)

Part 3: Fiction DUE NOVEMBER 19
Send to: BubbaX AnimeJWC@earthlink.net and me sgeers@hotmail.com

ALL Pilots again to be included as a word processing package is accessible to all. Each pilot is to write a funny cantina story OR to write about the battle to capture the ALCI Thieves. Minimum word count is to be 500 and maximum is to be 2500. Score will be given to humorous submissions. as well as quality. Spelling and grammar not to be an issue, however, it is requested all submissions be in English.
Part 4: Mission Creation DUE DECEMBER 3

The Mission Design section is to be a Ship event. Each ship will work as a single unit to design a battle of 4-6 missions based on the capture of the ALCI Thieves. mission design tools are readily available on the Science Office site and there are several members of the Tactical office who can offer advice and assistance. Score will be judged on the briefing and debriefing and also the "fun factor" of the mission. In Flight humor is a must.

If you are interested in contributing in any way; be it creation, plotline writing, plotline suggestions, general ideas, testing, etc. Email me IMMEDIATELY at sgeers@hotmail.com.


Awards:
IS-GW: Each 1st place pilot overall scoring, in each platform during each round.
IS-SW: Each 2nd place pilot overall scoring, in each platform during each round.
IS-BW: Each 3rd place pilot overall scoring, in each platform during each round.
IS-GW: Each participating member of the BGCOM’s Escort Squadron.
IS-GR: Winner of Graphics and Fiction.
IS-SR: Runner-up of Graphics & Fiction.
IS-BR: Winner of Graphics & Fiction.
Silver Star: MVP (Most Valuable Pilot in terms of points earned for ship and participation) this will be awarded as part of the MSE requests for the pilot as merit medals cannot be awarded for competitions

TCBG Caption Competition – September:
Ends November 5, 2004
Entries to mell: mell@tcbg.net CC to me: sgeers@hotmail.com
This months Caption image is here: http://www.tcbg.net/images/captionsept.jpg participants are to add a clean, yet humerous comment to this. IS-GR to 1st, IS-SR to 2nd and IS-BR to 3rd

Challenge Historic Trivia: ANSWERS AND RESULTS
Winners: Typhoon (Coranel, Ponda, and Dirty Vader [IS-SRs])
Runners Up: Tempest (Sephiroth and Master) [IS-BRs]

1.Which Thunder Commander has served the longest term in the position?
Beef

2.In what month and year was the last time Thunder has been at full capacity in the past three years?
February/March, 2004

3.On what date was it reported the Challenge was up at 63 members?
December 7, 2000

4.Which month was the landmark 1 year in the position of COM of the ISD Challenge for VA Corran Force?
January

5.How many Commodores were appointed to the Challenge in 2002?
5

6.How many Wing Commanders were appointed on the Challenge in 2002?
2

7.How many Commander changes were made in 2002?
10

8.What is the current official Challenge IRC channel?
#wing_x

9.What was the former official Challenge IRC channel?
#isd_challenge

10.Name one way that was suggested to keep former-COM Sephiroth happy.
->Tape "Kick Me" signs on the back of WC Frey
->Slip me $10 bills in brown envelopes.
->Be active. Fly, write fiction, graphic work.
->Get educated with IWATS
->Stay in communication with your CMDR

11.How many different COMs has the Challenge had in the past 4 years?
8

12.What current command staff member served as a Flight Leader in Tempest?
LO / VA Jeron Darkonis Astoris

13.What month and year was it decided Tornado Squadron was to be shut down?
May, 2003

14.What squadron was the WC’s Own for November 2000?
Thunder

15.Which 5 members of the Challenge are the top 5 Message Board posters?
BubbaX, Alexi Stukov, Ice, Stuart, and Azurin

16.What are the 3 domains the Challenge has had their webpage on?
http://www.isdchallenge.org http://www.isdchallenge.net http://isdchallenge.tcbg.net

17.What is the location of the old ISD Challenge sickbay site which was revamped into the old Battlegroup medical centre?
http://members.aol.com/infernoHQ/sickbay.html

18.What squadron is infamous for fictional pranks for each promotion gained by one of their members?
Thunder

19.Where was Beef's mother born?
Firrerre

20.What is RA Manitsas' favorite color?
Brown

21.Who and what is the mascot of Thunder? (Spelling counts!)
Jaeger the Kangaroo

22.Who or what is the mascot of Wing X?
Boliv

23.Where does former COM Sephiroth live?
Minnesota

24.Who painted the Challenge briefing room orange around the end of April 2003?
Stuart (of course!)

25.What is the current Challenge COM’s weapon of choice?
An organic carrot

26.What was the final score of the Wing X vs Wing XX “Who is the true X competition?”
10,5 points for Wing X and 7,5 points for Wing XX

27.What is the name of the IW ship that the Challenge trounced in August of 2003?
MC-90 Fear

Roster Changes:
CT Impulse -> SL Impulse Tempest 2-2
SL Impulse -> LT Impulse
CPT Coranel Both -> Typhoon 2-2
SL Ranj'e Lilos -> LT Ranj'e Lilos

Statistics:
Only displayed Monthly (wait for report 3 : II-A)

Of the Month Awards:
Only displayed Monthly (wait for report 3 : II-A)