Pic of the day #4: The super-intelligent humanoid parrot

There are many parrots in all the different regions of the cosmos but no other is nearly as intelligent as Hue Avinni the Genius. Raised by a family of human academics he was in the ideal environment for his overwhelming intelligence to flourish. At the age of 8 he finished highschool and by the age of 12 he had received his first Doctorate. Unfortunately even though his academic career was brilliant his mind was wandering on other methods for gaining power. He soon set up a network of criminally intent genetic scientists and started mysterious experiments on humans and animals alike. He created many chimeras, beings that were part human and part animal, trained them, and used them as assault troops in mob-like operations. His fortune rose to huge levels from arms and drugs dealing as well as technology and body part shipping and patenting. His gangster methods at industrial espionage were legendary as was his extravagant lifestyle and addiction to an exotic mind enhancing drug called mithral. He has had 23 children all of them genetically modified clones of himself. He is 45 years old although the race of parrots he originates from have a life expectancy of at least a hundred.

Pic of the day #3: The honoring of Baron Bren McGuire

Baron Bren Mcguire had been the liberator of the border worlds and strategic consultant to the Emperor himself. He single handedly defeated Morgul the three-headed, destroyed the Machine and later hunt down the machine cult heretics. After the fall of the allied worlds of men and during the catastrophic civil wars that devastated many civilizations he helped to bring order and stability to the universe. He was appointed commander of the Praetorian Guard and regional governor of the eastern core sector. In his early nineties the old veteran presented his arms dressed in his full ceremonial Turrican suit, bearing the crest of his rank and was honored by the imperial hand for his overall contribution to galactic stability. The Baron stood firm and unmoving in the great coronation hall. He stoically received the blessings and hurriedly left to attend to his duties. Bren McGuire, a true hardened warrior, was never at ease with formalities.

Pic of the day #2: Demise of the space Pirate

The infamous Var Lothe, the space pirate was the scourge of the west galactic stream. On countless occasions he had hijacked the unaware and the unprepared. His techniques were brutally efficient and he had accumulated great wealth and a large band of associates. It all changed the day that the imperial regional governor placed a bounty on his head so high that even his own colleagues could not ignore! A mutiny was quenched and on many occasions he barely survived capture and defeat. It was during one of his raids on a border world orbiting a gas giant that his second in command Johr Aile and his faithful group of Wolves, the elite ruffians betrayed him. The attack relied on surprise and Var Lothe was surely to be doomed or captured by the ferocious pack of ships. In the last possible moment before the inevitable the old pirate dived in the atmosphere of the gas giant. The pursuers followed hot in pursuit blasting large chunks of the ship to pieces. Then gravity had its way and his ship started to be crushed under the massive pulling forces. The dogs left the hunt and in his last moment Var Lothe disappeared flaming into the thick methane gases never to be seen again. Tales of his deeds and his demise spread around nearby system and rumor has it that his ship still haunts a certain secluded dark nebula.

Pic of the day #1: The Garbage world of Brokkan

The Galactic empire had been in the climax of power for thousands of years. Countless worlds had been habitated and terraformed and a lot of resources were used in the process. Since times long past the Imperial system has fallen into decadence and corruption, the splendor of long ago lost forever. In their overconsumption the Emperors and their courts needed worlds that byproducts could be dumped. Ecologically destroyed these world were turned into massive junkyards where spaceships were left to die and decompose and all the trash of the colonies were brought to be left forever. One of these worlds is Brokkan on the outer spiral of the galaxy, once a beautiful green planet now a world covered in trash and broken metal. Scavengers have made a living here together with people with no home; space pirates, cultists, mutants, outcasts have all found their haven.

Extrasolar planet Gliese 581c

On April 24, 2007 a significant discovery was made by the HARPS instrument of the European Southern observatory. The exoplanet of Gliese 581c is within the habitable zone where water -a necessary ingredient for life as we know it - could exist in liquid form. Gliese 581 c is the first extrasolar planet believed to possibly have a surface temperature similar to that of Earth although it is significantly bigger, possibly having a radius approximately 50% larger than that of Earth and approximately 2.24 times Earth's gravity. There is a lot of speculation on whether it really is habitable and if we have finally found the first alternative to a new earth.

Last Exile

In the floating world of Prester a couple of young children are situated between the struggle of two rivaling nations Anatole and Dysis. In this victorian steampunk war setting floating warships are common and naval battles are waged above the clouds. Claus and Lavie, the two protagonists, pilot a vanship a small wingless aircraft and travel to many beautifully painted settings in the search for their father's whereabouts. The mysterious and technologically advanced guild is present to give them a difficult time and to set in motion events that will change their world forever! The language used for this world setting by the artists is ancient Greek although they use it with some poetic leave; It really doesn't make much sense for the Greek scholar. A wonderful anime nonetheless, well worth watching!

The world's first Spaceport

Conceptual plans for the world’s first tourist spaceport, designed by Foster + Partners, were unveiled.
Known as Spaceport America, the terminal and hangar facility in Upham, New Mexico, will be home to Richard Branson’s Virgin Galactic enterprise. It will operate a fleet of two transport airplanes and five spaceships designed by Burt Rutan. The design for Spaceport America includes a hangar for the spaceships, pre- and post-flight training facilities, mission control, viewing galleries, and passenger lounges.

Freespace Architecture

Architect Steve Shaw conceived the idea of a space tourist facility for his masters’ thesis at the University of Manitoba in 2004. He called it Freespace.
Structurally, Freespace is based on NASA-developed technology for the Trans-Hab module. Essentially a large inflatable bladder of multi-layered fabric construction, the skin is nine times stronger than steel. An exoskeletal aluminum truss provides rigid anchor points for docking, solar arrays, and venting. Interior walls are inflatable and facilitate internal routing of electrical and ventilation services. Freespace is designed to be constructed on Earth, collapsed, and shipped where it would be inflated for use.
It looks like a very promising period of time for pioneers of all trades.