Anonymous - for you

I think I have made all the necessary corrections (I'm sure you'll let me know!)

I will try better next week - most of those that post comments here are charming and forgiving, certainly not judgmental - are you the exception that proves the rule?

mission 7 - venus in the shadows

I know I said I would post a summary yesterday, but things really got away from me.................. :(

So a little later than promised, here it is.

For those of you who like to just punch in the final answer there is still time!

I have to say I did the whole thing backwards again. Chaos in the house meant I couldn’t really hear what Ianto said! – I heard him mention Dark talk - but he does that every week! - I also picked up on something about a gadget

Oh yeah a gadget, if you have read anything I have written before, you will know I am a gadget fiend.

Following Iantos’ advice

Listen to dark talk – there are 2 pieces of info here –

The whistle blower has recently lost his wife (relates back to Conrad’s note) and he is propositioned during the call, so he is somewhere a little seedy perhaps? (I think its safe to assume he isn’t calling from home!)

As soon as he mentions Blue Sky the signal drops only to leave static. Abigail is suitably surprised she obviously hasn’t signed up to be a Torchwood recruit.

Time for the gadget: this week it’s an audio tracker!!

It’s a bit like playing a memory game - click on the start button and a 3D map appears, it zooms in to 3 blocks which change to red and labels appear, as each place is identified, listen to the sound clips and work out where the signal might be coming from click on your selection .

If you have got it right your map shifts to the next set of buildings – If you’ve got it wrong you will be given a signal lost message and you have to start again.

If you are still having trouble the buildings are:-

Bus station

Rock Club

Stadium

Fish & Chip Shop

Local Pub

Cathedral

When you finally get to the Cathedral, you are rewarded with a CCTV type picture and yet another dead body.

The clue is behind the body on the wall (written in blood- a suitably melodramatic idea!)

The whistleblower has written Venus

Type this into the mission response window and TA DA – that’s it till next week :)

Any theories I’m missing send me a comment.

Venus Rising

Oh Sam.

You are too good at this game.

This is a quick note just to sing your praises. I will do a proper mission summary tomorrow.

twitter to the pidgin

Ok - There's been little to think about after Torchwood this week so I have been thinking about Twitter.

I'm not sure I get it or indeed, if there is anything, to get - (I'm sorry Mike)

I think it’s a generation thing - or it could be because it is a relatively slow method of communication, I'm not sure which.

Don't get me wrong I love the idea, but following your messages almost seems like an invasion of privacy- that at times makes me grin :)

I have enjoyed Madame Zee - this I think is because she writes for public consumption.

Your own txt style is tempered (different to your blog) - is this because you are aware of twitter or because you know your friends will just get it? (It could of course just be coz you are a man!!) (Men say a lot more in fewer words) - You seem to say a lot with such a few characters to play with.

I find some peoples messages are much more (I'm stuck for what to say!) - Mundane - more ordinary statements - less poetic. Do you do the poetry on purpose - "House music bleeds from the ceiling..." It’s not quite the same as limericks but there may be a market!

Sam - I hummed and ha'd about the whole Pidgin thing and went for it two days ago - I was working on the theory that I could always delete it if I hated it! :)

I have to say it appeals quite a lot - it’s not as pretty as some of the other IM devices but it’s a tidy gadget that has been designed by someone who has a sense of humour (that appeals!)

I don't have hundreds of contacts but I will continue to play with it for a while (I suspect it may stay)

It’s got quite a cool spell checker and if you type as badly as I do that's a good thing.

If I am talking to more than one person the conversation windows are contained and you utilise tabs to move between them.

All in all it’s quite a neat gadget!

If anyone out there has any other life changing widgets, gadgets, blidgets or gizmos that promise to make my life better I'd love to try!!

mission 6 - I have nothing to moan about

Before I start

Sam do you have a hand in writing the game? - Is there something we should know?!

(re Natalies website.)

Even with all of Toshiko's gadgets and PC know how the Torchwood team can't crack the password on Fischers laptop (umm, yeah ok how many passwords did they crack in this weeks TV episode? ;))

So this week’s mission is to find the whistleblower.

OBJECTIVE Find the identity of the New Eden whistleblower. They might be going by a codename - a short phrase.

Ianto instructs us that we should search through Natalie's web surfing records from the hotel room (these are stored in the mission files), and reminds us that we may need to use the tools that are available to us.

Yippee a gadget - I love gadgets.

I have to confess at this point that I looked at the list and started at the bottom - I know it’s a bit like reading the end of a book first but If you scan the list we have been directed to most of sites before and unlike some I am not cat obsessed!

So starting at the end of this list then, this is the link

http://www.blakeenquiries.co.uk/pleasesaveme.html

It takes you to what I think is supposed to be a hidden file - dark and murky! There’s the phrase - no it’s never that easy! :)

Its nine symbols which when you go to tools become clear are an alien code.

Type them in to the translator - All in one go it’s quite a clever gadget and if you put the symbols in individually is gives you with a random combination of letters - I had to play :)

- You may find that it is easier to have 2 windows open at this point you can't cut and paste the symbols!

When you finish typing in the symbols don't forget to press the translate button!
The words I MOAN appear on the screen

Big brother is watching - I promise I won't complain ever again!! - lol

I MOAN is of course NAOMI backwards - there is a theory about how people choose passwords! ;)

Armed with this info go back to

http://www.blakeenquiries.co.uk/pleasesaveme.html

Type in Naomi (all lowercase) and click send, you are rewarded with Natalie’s video diary - apparently she wasn't so bad after all :)

At the end of the video she tells you that the whistleblower is going to contact her through Dark Talk and will use the code BLUE SKY.

This is the cliff hanger because this call is supposed to happen next week........

To keep the torchwood team happy type Blue Sky into the mission response window and Ianto congratulates you accordingly.....

That is it till next week

TA DA.......................

In conclusion - or the extra bits

Besides the main mission the case files included:-

A newspaper cutting about a body being found at the Century Hotel
(Not the sort of publicity the will be looking for)

A referral letter from Aaron Copley
(Ref episode RESET)

An Autopsy Report
(Tying the TV with the Game - Natalie apparently was a reset clinical trial subject - no heart defect!)

Ianto
(Gives us his usual pep talk about listening to Dark Talk – don’t forget to listen!)

Nothing from Toshiko this week is that because she is distraught over Owens death?
(She has such bad luck with men.)

not in the mood to blog

Take the link and you may understand why. The reason I am posting this, is due to the events that have transpired. I have discovered that public awareness isn't what is should be. ;(

twitter witter

If you blog hop you will have seen the latest gadget that mike has put on his blog.

Twitter.

Wikipedia defines twitter as:-

“Twitter is a free social networking and micro-blogging service that allows users to send "updates" (or "tweets"; text-based posts, up to 140 characters long) to the Twitter website, via short message service, instant messaging, or a third-party application such as Twitterrific. “

And Twitter tells it like this

What?
Twitter is a service for friends, family, and co–workers to communicate and stay connected through the exchange of quick, frequent answers to one simple question: What are you doing?
Why?
Because even basic updates are meaningful to family members, friends, or colleagues-especially when they’re timely.
Eating soup? Research shows that moms want to know.
Running late to a meeting? Your co–workers might find that useful.
Partying? Your friends may want to join you.
How?
With Twitter, you can stay hyper–connected to your friends and always know what they’re doing. Or, you can stop following them any time. You can even set quiet times on Twitter so you’re not interrupted.

Twitter puts you in control and becomes a modern antidote to information overload.

Ok curiosity got the better of this sheep and I had to follow as instructed.

It was late on Friday when I took my first look and I came away none the wiser..! and with only 140 characters - I guess it’s really for those that talk in short sentences :(

It’s easy to use and I love the twitter blocks purely coz I love a gadget (I haven’t worked out why it’s necessary but its cool) Visual 3D things always capture my imagination!

Has my life improved since I discovered twitter?

No of course not I spend 24/7 looking after my delightful 20 month old twins, so what can I possibly twitter about? I suppose that all means is, I don’t suffer with “information overload”

(Some would say that's obvious! - I lead a sheltered life!)

Maybe I’m at that point in my life where the voyeuristic tendencies younger people seem to have, have been quashed?

Ironic that we need is to clutter even our virtual space with all this junk!

If you need to check out my witter you will need to hop to “just a mum” – the si-fi babe in me couldn’t clutter Breeda-Prime with something I wouldn’t (except for curiosity :) ) bother with.

episodes - worth a look

If you are a true torchwood boff and playing the game you may well have found these already.

I have been quite disappointed that there haven't been any tools to play with for the last few weeks so I have been reading through the episode files.

Which, unlike my first thought; that they would be a brief who did what and when, has in fact turned out to be a glorious collection of torchwood paraphernalia.

All the bits you need to be a good agent!

If you have time to kill check them out. I guarantee they will raise a smile.

there's more to black and white when you add grey

Has Adam destroyed the chance of a family reunion or does Jack still remember? What sort of character will Grey/Gray be? Will he be a people’s saviour or was his integrity destroyed at such a young age and now as a adult he is out to destroy the brother who abandoned him?
Whatever happens I am sure his appearance will be fleeting, I can't see Jack having family commitments!!

the nose knows

Ok I'm back I'm up to date and I've done mission 5.

Sam if you read this I need help thinking through the time line - see mikes blog.

I have little of interest to add at this point, I am weighed down by a travel headache - driving up/down the A22 will do that. ;(

To this end my knight in shining armour has done such a sterling job on writing up this weeks mission so I direct you there.

updates -much caffine later

duty calls

Due to unforeseen circumstances, I am losing my link to the internet.
I am going to look after a relative who is poorly. Steroids willing I should be back next week. Sadly though not until after next week’s mission, hopefully I won't miss too much :)

If you think of any thing useful that I should add to the blog, post a comment and I will add it as soon as I can.
Thanks

crossing wires

Just a quick question if you have watched this week’s episode, not one for vegetarians!

Is it a possibility that the alien, being cut up is the same alien that is being experimented on in New Eden?

This is based on Torchwood haven’t come across either alien, ref: Ianto’s mission brief last week and this week’s episode!!

I know that it doesn’t tie in with Conrad’s Alien conspiracy ideas but he was killed by a human… more later. (Definitely not a cat person/alien cross!)

So to mission 4

Straight forward – too straight forward – Torchwood spies take note!

As per instruction follow the link to Conrad’s blog. He isn’t dead as we were led to believe – no body - so no surprise there then!!!

As you watch his blog - guess who puts in an appearance – Natalie Blake.

I had said, oh so much earlier, that it was likely to be her sister in the car. (Go me!!) Having now used up my quota of brain cells for this millennia don’t expect too much more on the insight front.

Back to the Mission

Enter Natalie’s name in the mission response window

and for the sake of consistency - TA DA.

Job done. That I am afraid is it ‘til next week.

P.s - Don't forget to listen to Dark Talk!!

mission 4 - we could release a single!

Tonight’s episode of Torchwood was cool. Really sharp script I particularly liked Ianto's retort to Toshiko's comment "We could feed the world" for those of you who missed it he said "We could release a single" delivered with first class timing and dead pan expression on his face! Superb.

I have done the game but I'm not posting anything till tomorrow - I want to give you a chance, besides I adore validation.

Work the clues and you will see that one of my musings was spot on. Yippee!!
I will be more pious tomorrow and tell you all you need to know. lol