Profile for Or else o'erleap.
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Displayed name | Or else o'erleap. |
| Member number | 335 |
| Title | Law Bringer |
| Postcount | 14579 |
| Homepage | http://www.polarisboard.net |
| Registered | Saturday, December 1 2001 08:00 |
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| Author | Recent posts |
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| The one calculator in General | |
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Law Bringer
Member # 335
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written Saturday, September 10 2005 19:23
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With a modern computer processor generating a large number of "random" numbers as fast as it can, a trillion digits will last significantly less than an hour. That's a definite repetition problem. —Alrael, who doesn't see how that would work better on a calculator. Yes, the processor is much slower, so you go through digits slower, but no calculators have all of pi stored. Most only store around 15 digits. That kind of "random" very quickly gets noticed. Posts: 14579 | Registered: Saturday, December 1 2001 08:00 |
| Food? in The Avernum Trilogy | |
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Law Bringer
Member # 335
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written Saturday, September 10 2005 07:38
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In no point in the game is food necessary for resting, although there are a few times when you'll have to come up with some. Instead of standing in place to rest, consider heading on to another destination. By the time you get there you'll probably be healed. —Alorael, who would recommend using priests to heal whenever they have the energy. Energy restores much faster than health, so that will save you overall healing time. Posts: 14579 | Registered: Saturday, December 1 2001 08:00 |
| Mathematical Logic... in General | |
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Law Bringer
Member # 335
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written Friday, September 9 2005 12:33
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That's a good point, Khoth, but it will take someone with more knowledge of this than I have to prove or disprove it. Let's define |I| as the set of irrational numbers. I'm confident that |N| < |R| and that |N| < |Q|. I'm not sure if |I| < |R| or |I| = |R|, but it's not relevant, because I am reasonably sure that |Q| < |R| and |Q| < |I|. So yes, that would make the set of rational numbers smaller than the set of real numbers. The set of irrational numbers might prove the Continuum Hypothesis by example as well, but I'm not at all confident of it. —Alorael, who actually leans towards the belief that |I| = |R|, although he can't justify it in any way. Posts: 14579 | Registered: Saturday, December 1 2001 08:00 |
| Mathematical Logic... in General | |
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Law Bringer
Member # 335
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written Friday, September 9 2005 08:08
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It's been significantly longer since I've studied sets, but here's how I reason through the first two. 1. R contains "more" elements than N. Correspondance isn't exactly an accurate test, but it makes the answer obvious in this case. (An interesting thing to ponder is the set of natural numbers and the set of square numbers. While all square numbers are natural and not all natural numbers are square, the sets are the "same" infinite size because each natural number, n, corresponds to one and only one square number, n^2.) 2. R is the same size as (0,1). The difference is one of scale, not of elements. Again, this isn't formal, but you can hopefully see why they are the same size. The two above neither prove nor disprove the existence of a set between N and R in size. —Alorael, who believes that the second step is somewhat arguable. He's willing to propose that in this case such a definition of sizes of infinity is more useful than another definition, although he has no particular grounds for doing so. Posts: 14579 | Registered: Saturday, December 1 2001 08:00 |
| MMMMM in General | |
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Law Bringer
Member # 335
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written Friday, September 9 2005 07:52
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Trepanning was used for all kinds of things. That could easily have been one of them, and not necessarily distinct from medical applications. It may also have been done to let spirits in. —Alorael, who requested double trepanning. One hole on each side to prevent traffic flow problems. Posts: 14579 | Registered: Saturday, December 1 2001 08:00 |
| Forum 13 in Richard White Games | |
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Law Bringer
Member # 335
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written Friday, September 9 2005 07:44
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Misc. lasted about half a year after that incident, though. I think that's one thing that can't be blamed on the banner and its fallout. The number of self-proclaimed pointless topics probably had much more to do with the removal of Misc. —Alorael, who isn't quite sure he has his dates right. Misc. did disappear in early October of 2002, correct? Posts: 14579 | Registered: Saturday, December 1 2001 08:00 |
| Happy birthday to me!! in General | |
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Law Bringer
Member # 335
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written Friday, September 9 2005 07:34
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Happy birthday, Thralni! Sounds like you got good gifts. Now you need to start agitating for a car. It may take a few years of wheedling to get one without paying yourself. [Edit: Crimes against nature.] —Alorael, who would post a Rachmaninoff trombone cake if he could find an image of one. Sadly he couldn't even find either a Rachmaninoff cake or a trombone cake. [ Friday, September 09, 2005 07:35: Message edited by: Reverbatim ] Posts: 14579 | Registered: Saturday, December 1 2001 08:00 |
| Not Another Leaving Topic in General | |
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Law Bringer
Member # 335
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written Thursday, September 8 2005 15:37
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I'm unwilling to wait. I do love the speech, though. It's so moving! —Alorael, who nominates Lucky for status as the 7.8th surrogate voice of RW. Posts: 14579 | Registered: Saturday, December 1 2001 08:00 |
| Does anyone remember in General | |
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Law Bringer
Member # 335
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written Thursday, September 8 2005 15:28
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Dungeon Siege was released in 2002. That's old? —Alorael, who must be playing games that are truly ancient. Well, okay. Angband can legitimately be called ancient, and 3 in Three is getting there. He didn't think Nethergate was quite "old" yet. More "aged" in a good way. Posts: 14579 | Registered: Saturday, December 1 2001 08:00 |
| If you had 3 wishes... in General | |
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Law Bringer
Member # 335
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written Thursday, September 8 2005 08:21
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World peace, world prosperity, world happiness, and a sandwich. No, that's four. Okay, ditch world happiness. Hm. That doesn't include an endless supply of skribbane, either. Or a new rifle. I guess peace and prosperity have to go as well. —Alorael, who is very sorry. But, well, personal needs come first. Posts: 14579 | Registered: Saturday, December 1 2001 08:00 |
| The one calculator in General | |
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Law Bringer
Member # 335
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written Wednesday, September 7 2005 19:03
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Actually, that's a good question. Since all pseudorandom number generators are just a long string of numbers and become predictable if the current location is known, so all presumably depend on some form of random seeding. Pi has a few other problems, I think. The fact that it has to be calculated, not arbitrarily declared, is one of them. While pi is irrational, I'm not sure if anyone has proved, or even can prove, that it has random and even distribution. —Alorael, who would rather stick to the tried and true ways of generating "random" numbers. That's not the kind of thing you want to trust to dumb luck. Posts: 14579 | Registered: Saturday, December 1 2001 08:00 |
| Good Avernum 3 party? in The Avernum Trilogy | |
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Law Bringer
Member # 335
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written Wednesday, September 7 2005 18:53
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Once you can do 199 damage with rocks and sticks, the added abilities of your weapons become more important. I'm generally more impressed by the swords than the polearms. Very few of the latter stand out, and many of the former do. On the other hand, you'll probably be using only two, and at most four, so that's not really a concern. I like having one character specialized in each, personally. —Alorael, whoose level of typso seems to be incresaing dramatically. Funy things, typos. Posts: 14579 | Registered: Saturday, December 1 2001 08:00 |
| Weird Vahnatai in The Avernum Trilogy | |
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Law Bringer
Member # 335
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written Wednesday, September 7 2005 12:06
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There is no E in vahnatai, extra or otherwise. There is arguably an extra H, but I would pronounce vanatai differently. —Alorael, who thinks the "vahn" should sound more like "yawn" than "van." Posts: 14579 | Registered: Saturday, December 1 2001 08:00 |
| E3 Fort Emergence trainer in The Exile Trilogy | |
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Law Bringer
Member # 335
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written Wednesday, September 7 2005 11:57
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No. All trainers have the same prices. Some are just more obnoxious about it. —Alorael, who never understood why luck is free. You'd think anyone who could teach death prevention techniques would charge an arm and a leg! Posts: 14579 | Registered: Saturday, December 1 2001 08:00 |
| MMMMM in General | |
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Law Bringer
Member # 335
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written Wednesday, September 7 2005 11:55
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Laudanum did work. On the other hand, it worked because it was a combination of alcohol and opium. Prescribing laudanum as a painkiller for severe discomfort might make senes, but prescribing it for everything does not. —Alorael, who wouldn't put laudanum in the same category as Tuskegee. Laudanum was mistaken, but Tuskegee was wrong on almost all levels. Posts: 14579 | Registered: Saturday, December 1 2001 08:00 |
| E2: Oddities and curiosities. in The Exile Trilogy | |
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Law Bringer
Member # 335
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written Wednesday, September 7 2005 11:52
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Not so much inside jokes as implicit and explicit references to kung fu movies of the worst sort. —Alorael, who would consider several characters appearing in all of the Exiles inside jokes. But they're inside jokes, so you have to find them for yourself. Posts: 14579 | Registered: Saturday, December 1 2001 08:00 |
| Democracy on the March! or Selecting this year's cult slogan in Richard White Games | |
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Law Bringer
Member # 335
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written Wednesday, September 7 2005 08:55
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This is a company's message board. I cannot in good conscience make the underlying conspiracies too obvious at a glance. —Alorael, who does have plans, though. Oh yes. Big plans. Posts: 14579 | Registered: Saturday, December 1 2001 08:00 |
| Not Another Leaving Topic in General | |
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Law Bringer
Member # 335
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written Wednesday, September 7 2005 08:44
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You should instead include the percentage who care versus the percantage who don't in this month's batch. —Alorael, who would like it to be known that he is not comfortable being pidgeonholed into either group. He is an ambivalent carer. Posts: 14579 | Registered: Saturday, December 1 2001 08:00 |
| Democracy on the March! or Selecting this year's cult slogan in Richard White Games | |
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Law Bringer
Member # 335
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written Tuesday, September 6 2005 17:53
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Barring any sudden swing in votes, I think Pan Lever has it. —Alorael, who is off to change some settings right now. Posts: 14579 | Registered: Saturday, December 1 2001 08:00 |
| The 1 Dollar Question in General | |
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Law Bringer
Member # 335
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written Tuesday, September 6 2005 17:51
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I think everyone is looking at this wrong. If I could choose people who would drop dead suddenly, the grave diggers would be making fortunes. Every single one. The fact that I'd get money too is just gravy. When the people are random, well, it gets complicated. There's overpopulation, but then there's also the potential for disaster if someone important shuffles off this mortal coil. I couldn't off more than a couple hundred thousand like that. —Alorael, who likes to think of his current means of obtaining income as a lot like somewhat random killing for cash. Does that count as a moral-ethical judgement? Posts: 14579 | Registered: Saturday, December 1 2001 08:00 |
| Forum 13 in Richard White Games | |
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Law Bringer
Member # 335
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written Tuesday, September 6 2005 17:44
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Your only hope is to be eaten first! Plunge into the void between forums without looking back! —Alorael, who need not get into the implications of 13 in hexadecimal. Truly, we approach the End of Times Near the Later Things That Will Precede Some Other Stuff. Posts: 14579 | Registered: Saturday, December 1 2001 08:00 |
| Good Avernum 3 party? in The Avernum Trilogy | |
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Law Bringer
Member # 335
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written Tuesday, September 6 2005 17:33
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The advantage isn't actually that great, because a lot of the time I find myself wanting one mage and one priest. The real benefits are those times when extreme zapping can save the day, two characters absolutely need healing immediately. The latter especially comes up a lot, but it also isn't the entire reason for making characters good at both. So what is the reason? Energy. You can't boost either mage or priest skill as high if you're boosting them both, but the combined total will be higher than the single total, which means you'll be running around with more spell energy to burn. —Alorael, who hates potions, resting, and all other sane means of conserving energy. Having more of it is therefore a very necessary thing for him. Posts: 14579 | Registered: Saturday, December 1 2001 08:00 |
| MMMMM in General | |
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Law Bringer
Member # 335
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written Tuesday, September 6 2005 11:36
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In addition to being ethically questionable, the Tuskegee study was simply bad science. Treatment was administered to many supposedly untreated patients, people came or didn't come in ways that were in no way monitored, and the reports consistently boiled down to, "We have no idea what we're accomplishing. We have sky-high margins of error and meaningless data. Oops." The study might have been forgivable up to the discovery of penicillin, as it was morally borderline but not genuinely harmful, but it wasn't even that. There was simply never any valid data gathered. —Alorael, who will point out that the study originally grew from a much better project that died from lack of funding during the Depression. A piece of it kept going without any direction for far, far too long. Posts: 14579 | Registered: Saturday, December 1 2001 08:00 |
| Forum Dreams in General | |
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Law Bringer
Member # 335
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written Tuesday, September 6 2005 11:29
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You know how sometimes, if you're very lucky, your dream can become a reality?  —Alorael, who misses his lovely photo. [ Tuesday, September 06, 2005 17:57: Message edited by: Increditable ] Posts: 14579 | Registered: Saturday, December 1 2001 08:00 |
| This post has been removed from the archive. | |