TAPS- The Ghost Hunters

Anyone else in this show on Sci Fi? They just had a marathon of season (series) two, and the last show was incredible!

Ghost Hunters is a reality show that follows the investigations of an amateur paranormal organization: The Atlantic Paranormal Society. The founders are a couple guys named Jason and Grant who have gathered and trained up a group of interested people to observe and record what happens (or not) at various locations on the East Coast. They take on cases at the request of home owners, business owners, even public workers like heads of libraries, schools, and military places who have noticed weird things happening and would like to know what's up. TAPS people do not see a ghost under every bed or in every attic. In fact, they are notoriously sceptical. They yawn at "orbs" on video; they usually think dicy electric connections are...dicy wiring. (Jason and Grant are plumbers; they know creaky and clanky building innards.) Nine out of ten shows, they tell their clients they got nothing definitive, some things totally were explained rationally, and a few things were borderline questionable.

Then, very occasionally, they get someplace like the St. Augustine, FL Lighthouse.

This is a very tall lighthouse. It's had a few deaths including the tragic deaths of two little girls. People connected with the lighthouse museum had noted moving shadow figures, voices, the dropping sound of a prop oil bucket on the spiral staircase, and the figure of a child on the outside platform of the lightroom during storms. The TAPS folks set up recording devices in various places, including a night camera aimed straight up the middle of the lighthouse stairway, centered to view everything. They turned out all the lights and the investigative crew of about five men systematically walked through the tower and the lighthouse living quarters (now museum) with heat sensors, guiger counters, thermal cameras, and hand-held night cameras.

The team had checked out the place during daylight before they hauled in their equipment. They looked at the top room of the tower which was to be padlocked shut for after hours and it would stay that way over night. When they started working the actual night investigation, nothing much happened in the museum. Then Jason and Grant started checking out the tower. One thing they immediately figured out was the "bucket drop" sound. There was a loose window about halfway up that if slammed open and shut made a pretty big ka-boom itself in the echoey staircase.

But then things got weird. They started softly walking up the stairs and they heard what seemed to a woman's voice above them. Jason thought he heard her say, "Help me." There were no women investigators with them on this particular trip. They stopped to listen, and then called out, who was there? No answer. They continued up. Looking up they were sure they saw a shadowy figure a couple landings above them. They hurried up the stairs, sure whatever was there couldn't get past them. They hit the top landing and the motion sensor lights went on. Nothing was there. And there was no place it could have gone. They headed back down and got two others to go up. The other guys saw and heard the shadowy figure, too, and an arm partially over the railing above them at one point. Then one of the guys looked up and saw the silhouette of a head and shoulders leaning over the rail of the top landing looking down at them for a few seconds. Then it was gone. Yes! :rockon:

They packed up, told the museum director they'd check their recorded evidence, and get back to him.

Eureka! They found they had gotten some sound of the female voice, a definite shot of a moving shadow on the stair, and the ultimate "Mona Lisa of the paranormal", a shot of the shadow coming up and leaning over the top railing. At the meeting Jason said something I don't think I've heard him ever say to a client, "I think you've got a ghost."

Obviously there is the possibility of a hoax. Considering the low key way most of the episodes go, I really doubt the TAPS folks would do that. There is a possibility the museum director somehow stowed a woman in the light chamber with some means of getting past the padlocks, but it would be pretty chancy. While the person was out in the stairs in the tower, there was nowhere to hide, just walls and open metalwork stairs. And their thermal cameras detected the ghosthunters moving up the stairs but no-one else.

Can't wait to see them again on Wed. on Sci Fi. :applause:

Wanna play...action figures!?!

For those who have burned out on cute little fashion dolls, I give you something a little more on the wild side (that means you, Dingo ).

Make your own superhero with the Heromachine. If you don't mind waiting a bit for the fullest free version, click on version 2.0. Tonight the buff female figure has been very slow loading. I switched to the slim female and got quicker results on my broadband. For quicker results that are still quite a bit of fun, click on the classic version.

Erm. I just made a pretty cool, blue humanoid with bat wings- and I can't remember how to link it. If you want to see it, copy this:


2.0u*f1*Blue *Hair:Standard,fire,01B3F1,27B873,100,100,23,Eyebrows:Standard,eyebrows4,598AC5,FFFFFF,100,100,21,Eyes:Standard,glow,FFFF00,00B23A,100,100,20,Nose:Standard,ring2,8DCFCE,EE9F00,100,100,27,Mouth:Standard,fangs,00B23A,FFFFFF,100,100,18,Beard:Standard,fraBlank,FFFFFF,FFFFFF,100,100,26,Ears:Standard,bat,8DCFCE,8CCB9C,100,100,19,Skin:Standard,fraBlank,39BAB5,8DCFCE,100,100,6,Mask:Standard,fraBlank,FFFFFF,FFFFFF,100,100,22,Headgear:Standard,fraBlank,FFFFFF,FFFFFF,100,100,29,Undershirt:Standard,veetank,36B9EF,8CCFF9,100,100,7,Overshirt:Standard,torn,36B9EF,8CCFF9,100,100,8,Coat:Standard,fraBlank,FFFFFF,FFFFFF,100,100,25,RightGlove:Standard,fur2,39BAB5,8DCFCE,100,100,17,LeftGlove:Standard,fur2,39BAB5,8DCFCE,100,100,16,Insignia:Standard,fraBlank,FFFFFF,FFFFFF,100,100,9,Neckwear:Standard,fraBlank,FFFFFF,FFFFFF,100,100,24,Belt:Standard,dagger,CEBB9B,00A69C,100,100,15,Leggings:Standard,fur,8CCFF9,36B9EF,100,100,10,Overleggings:Standard,fraBlank,FFFFFF,FFFFFF,100,100,11,Pants:Standard,briefs,00769C,00A69C,100,100,14,RightFoot:Standard,goat,39BAB5,8DCFCE,100,100,13,LeftFoot:Standard,goat,39BAB5,8DCFCE,100,100,12,Back:Standard,fraBlank,FFFFFF,FFFFFF,100,100,3,Wings:Standard,tattered,8DCFCE,39BAB5,100,100,4,Tail:Standard,plaincat,39BAB5,FFFFFF,100,100,5,Aura:Standard,spacedots,006D6A,01B3F1,100,100,2,Companion:Standard,bat,8D6531,CEA66B,100,100,31,Background:Standard,fullscreen,F8B684,FFFFFF,100,100,1,RightHand:Standard,handxbow2,8D6531,5A3410,100,100,30,LeftHand:Standard,staff,AC814A,8D6531,100,100,28,#


go into the 2.0 version, find the six icons in the top center and click the one that has an open folder with an arrow. Paste it to the screen that comes up then click "load". It should come up. And actually starting up the program from a pre-made code brings up the program more quickly than cold-starting it.

Have fun!

Wanna play dolls?

I found a link to this at another site. Paper dolls for the 21th century. Even some guys enjoyed it. (You can make boy dolls with their pets and toys.)

Feel free to link your creations on this thread. Here's one of mine.

Virtual Kitty!

Click this link to play with the cutest virtual kitten. Use the curser to amuse her and rub her tummy and her head.

Enjoy! :cat:

Our Very Own Top Tens

I've been on another forum where this turned out to be fun. We post a series of themed Top Ten lists a la David Letterman, like Top Ten Ways to Irritate Your Significant Other or Top Ten Questions You'd Ask an Alien, etc. Some lists can be funny, others just fun and interesting.

Start with 10 and count down to 1. The person who finishes one list by being the author of (for example) The number one way of irritating your significant other is... gets to choose the next top ten topic.

To start: Top Ten Comfort Foods

10. hot apple pie a la mode :eating:

The next person will post number 9...

And the next post number 8 and so on.

On down to number one which will also include the next topic.