Profile for Student of Trinity
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Displayed name | Student of Trinity |
| Member number | 3431 |
| Title | Electric Sheep One |
| Postcount | 3335 |
| Homepage | |
| Registered | Thursday, September 4 2003 07:00 |
Recent posts
Pages
| Author | Recent posts |
|---|---|
| Purified Essence? (answer likely to be a spoiler) in Geneforge 4: Rebellion | |
|
Electric Sheep One
Member # 3431
|
written Saturday, December 16 2006 13:35
Profile
Nope. Little tiny path leads off from the central circle. -------------------- We're not doing cool. We're doing pretty. Posts: 3335 | Registered: Thursday, September 4 2003 07:00 |
| I Have A Beef With You All in General | |
|
Electric Sheep One
Member # 3431
|
written Saturday, December 16 2006 07:02
Profile
I think Kelandon may be right that people have specifically been giving him a hard time lately. Making continual snide remarks about his BoA scenarios, for instance, is despicable if you appreciate how much work those things are. I have noticed that lately he has been taking more apparent offense at those sorts of things; I would say, understandably. That doesn't warrant treating him as an equal offender. -------------------- We're not doing cool. We're doing pretty. Posts: 3335 | Registered: Thursday, September 4 2003 07:00 |
| Physics Background in General | |
|
Electric Sheep One
Member # 3431
|
written Saturday, December 16 2006 06:52
Profile
quote:I don't know if there are chemistry or biology crackpots, but the number of people who think they can explain atoms in terms of vortices seems to be large. No doubt they are a tiny proportion of the general population, but physics crackpots are a still plentiful in absolute terms. -------------------- We're not doing cool. We're doing pretty. Posts: 3335 | Registered: Thursday, September 4 2003 07:00 |
| 8000: Pseudoscience Postravaganza in General | |
|
Electric Sheep One
Member # 3431
|
written Saturday, December 16 2006 06:30
Profile
Startlingly, if the earth were hollow there would be no gravity inside. That is, if it were a perfectly spherical shell: then the gravitational pull from the far side of the sphere would exactly balance the pull from the near side, wherever you were. Insofar as it were lumpy, or had big holes at the poles, there would be some gravity; but not very much. The main gravity-like effects would just be centrifugal force pushing people outwards (as long as they were rotating with the earth), plus coriolis effects, which would be pretty confusing. -------------------- We're not doing cool. We're doing pretty. Posts: 3335 | Registered: Thursday, September 4 2003 07:00 |
| Whats's with the pylons? in Geneforge Series | |
|
Electric Sheep One
Member # 3431
|
written Thursday, December 14 2006 14:02
Profile
Unlike all other Shaper slaves, pylons receive a small but regular salary. Perhaps this is to recompense them for the unusual tedium of their tasks. The cruel irony is, that they cannot move, and thus cannot spend their money. Since they also lack pockets, normal ways of killing the pylons invariably destroy their small nesteggs. When you obliterate them instantly with dbugkill, however, their accumulated pay is left behind. Occasionally a particularly astute pedlar will come by a pylon field. Sometimes the pylons are inert, other times they are hostile and have to fry him. But sometimes they are allowed to be friendly to him, and then what pathetic rocky joy is theirs, as they try to buy ribbons, polish, files, and the like. The really cool pylons are saving up for i pods. They dream of being motionless black silhouettes. -------------------- We're not doing cool. We're doing pretty. Posts: 3335 | Registered: Thursday, September 4 2003 07:00 |
| Golden Forge in Geneforge 4: Rebellion | |
|
Electric Sheep One
Member # 3431
|
written Thursday, December 14 2006 13:52
Profile
It's kind of funny what things can and can't be enhanced. Try everything you can, and be prepared to shrug when things don't work. Enhancements are good, so don't hesitate. But there are numerous different enhancements, and some are much better, and you can only enhance anything once. So if you have one really good item that you'll probably keep using for a long time, you might want to wait until you find a really good enhancement for it. Golden Crystals are probably the best, but Steel Spines and Ethereal Bindings are also popular. The cash value is a pretty good guide. I don't know if this is a leftover that got removed after beta, but one of my characters has some sort of enhancement on his Guardian's Claymore that slows opponents. It doesn't work very often, but in a long fight with a tough opponent, it usually kicks in eventually, and really helps. I can't remember how I got that enhancement, now. -------------------- We're not doing cool. We're doing pretty. Posts: 3335 | Registered: Thursday, September 4 2003 07:00 |
| The Insidious Infiltrator in Geneforge 4: Rebellion | |
|
Electric Sheep One
Member # 3431
|
written Thursday, December 14 2006 13:40
Profile
Jeff didn't explain everything I think he should have in G4, but he was pretty good about explaining a lot of things. -------------------- We're not doing cool. We're doing pretty. Posts: 3335 | Registered: Thursday, September 4 2003 07:00 |
| 8000: Pseudoscience Postravaganza in General | |
|
Electric Sheep One
Member # 3431
|
written Thursday, December 14 2006 12:24
Profile
The thing that really irritated me about the Martian Meteorite story was that it got a lot of popular media coverage, but you really had to dig to find the details of how anyone could be so confident of something so apparently preposterous. Dintiradan's reaction was the one every intelligent person should have been having immediately, but none of the many news stories about these funny rocks ever raised a peep. It was just 'about those rocks from Mars, now ...', as if rocks from other planets were on sale every week at Walmart. That people question scientific orthodoxy isn't anywhere near as big a problem as that nobody even seemed to realize how bizarre it was to claim to have found a rock from Mars. That's shocking scientific ignorance. If more people were like Dintiradan, we'd have a lot fewer people dismissing science, because the amazing facts and arguments of real science might actually get publicized, instead of the watered down drivel that is all most people are offered. -------------------- We're not doing cool. We're doing pretty. Posts: 3335 | Registered: Thursday, September 4 2003 07:00 |
| 5353: Pseudohistory Phatassathon in General | |
|
Electric Sheep One
Member # 3431
|
written Thursday, December 14 2006 12:02
Profile
HPB is a good choice. I once met an old guy who was a member of the Theosophical Society. He had the certificate on his wall. My favorite bit of TS history is the story of how some of its officers decided that a young Indian named Jiddu Krishnamurti was to be a sort of theosophical messiah. They somehow got legal custody of him, raised him to be a messiah, and created a sub-society for his followers, called the Order of the Star. This order grew quite large, but when Krishnamurti grew up he dissolved it, declaring that he was nobody's messiah and that 'truth is a trackless land'. Krishnamurti nonetheless spent the rest of his life as a sort of anarchistic guru, and how genuine his enlightenment was is open to question. He was sure as heck closer to the genuine article than his theosophist patrons, though. -------------------- We're not doing cool. We're doing pretty. Posts: 3335 | Registered: Thursday, September 4 2003 07:00 |
| 8000: Pseudoscience Postravaganza in General | |
|
Electric Sheep One
Member # 3431
|
written Thursday, December 14 2006 09:30
Profile
This one is actually pretty solid. 1) Meteorite impacts on Mars, whose big craters we can easily see, can easily blast bits of Mars into space. 2) Trapped in these rock pores were gases, whose composition could be analyzed. It matched, to amazing precision, the composition of the Martian atmosphere, as measured by the mid-1970's Viking probes. -------------------- We're not doing cool. We're doing pretty. Posts: 3335 | Registered: Thursday, September 4 2003 07:00 |
| 5353: Pseudohistory Phatassathon in General | |
|
Electric Sheep One
Member # 3431
|
written Thursday, December 14 2006 02:10
Profile
I remember my German officemate reading this some years ago. What I remember from his summary was that Herr Illig not only complained about the lack of non-literary evidence. He also analysed the patterns of the dates that the written histories assigned to the events they described in this period. He concluded that these patterns were more characteristic of invented data than real. For instance, way too many things are said to have occurred in the year 800. This is the sort of analysis in which Illig was evidently an expert, and it would seem to me that it could be a valuable new tool for historians. The conclusion that later writers fudged a lot of their dates sure seems a lot more plausible, however, than the notion that they completely invented all the events of several centuries. Throwing great doubt on traditional timelines is no small historical contribution, though I'd be surprised if historians really put all that much faith in the precision of all those dates anyway; but it won't make a bestseller. It is an interesting observation that for several centuries written records might be the only surviving historical evidence. The period in question was, of course, a time of social collapse. It would seem that even if mass literacy fails quickly in such a collapse, or even before it, a small population of writers capable of generating and preserving documents is apt to be the last thing to go. This population may completely lack the ability to build any durable artifacts, but it can transmit at least some of its words to posterity. On the other hand, this is only one historical example. Maybe it was a unique feature of the western European Dark Ages that there were all those scribbling monks, and that along with other topics they did see fit to mention historical events -- or at least, to present events as historical, in reasonably plausible ways. The history of India has thousands of years of florescences and collapses, though perhaps none as severe as the Roman collapse, and extensive literature in the form of epic and religious poems dating back about as long. But, astonishingly, there are practically no written records from any period of Indian history, up until very recent times. The Ramayana alone mentions many states and wars; but many of them are obviously mythical, and no-one has ever been able to identify any of them with historical states, with any degree of confidence. A few commentaries from Jain and Buddhist monks survive, for a few places and periods. But there are a dozen or so major Indian kingdoms or even empires, extending well into times at which other societies were generating ample written material, for which our only historical evidence is archaeological. There are ruins and monuments and artifacts, including coins with rulers' names and images. And not a word, in most cases, about who these people were, when they lived, or what they did. -------------------- We're not doing cool. We're doing pretty. Posts: 3335 | Registered: Thursday, September 4 2003 07:00 |
| another environmental topic in General | |
|
Electric Sheep One
Member # 3431
|
written Wednesday, December 13 2006 13:58
Profile
People who are actually growing staple foods don't starve for lack of money: they can give themselves credit. But I have read in a book by Amartya Sen that fishermen can go hungry when the price of fish falls. Apparently they don't actually catch enough fish to live on, but in good times they can sell their fish and buy enough rice to live on. I had always thought of fishing as what folks in Newfoundland did, catching great big boatloads of fish that could easily, if perhaps monotonously, feed a family. It's a bit of shock to learn of fishermen who can't afford to eat fish. Either the fishing is bad in India, or people are stuck with such primitive equipment that they don't catch many fish. Then of course there are famines, where crops fail locally. Even there, though, it normally isn't that countries become perfect dustbowls. It is more (again I learn from Sen) that people can't afford to buy food that could be had, for an elevated price. Famine-stricken areas often export food. Sen claims that no functioning democracy has ever suffered a famine, because politics can trump economics over the time scale of a famine, and no-one votes to starve. -------------------- We're not doing cool. We're doing pretty. Posts: 3335 | Registered: Thursday, September 4 2003 07:00 |
| Shaper uniforms? in Geneforge Series | |
|
Electric Sheep One
Member # 3431
|
written Wednesday, December 13 2006 13:29
Profile
Maybe all these people have so much essence oozing out of them, that anything they wear ends up blue before long. I'm imagining the Shaper market for anti-perspirants must be strong. What are embarrassing underarm stains on a hot day, compared to exuding a rogue Fyora? EDIT: 'Horses sweat, men perspire, and shapers gently glow.' [ Wednesday, December 13, 2006 13:30: Message edited by: Student of Trinity ] -------------------- We're not doing cool. We're doing pretty. Posts: 3335 | Registered: Thursday, September 4 2003 07:00 |
| How and how long? in General | |
|
Electric Sheep One
Member # 3431
|
written Wednesday, December 13 2006 13:22
Profile
I'm sure Jeff thinks about his plots, just normally not in much detail before doing anything else. Up to a point at least I'd be the same way. You need to have some idea where you're going, but if you plan it out too much in advance, then filling in all the gritty details afterwards will be too boring. Whereas if you leave a lot of the fleshing out for the actual writing stages, you'll be motivated through them by the thrill of discovering what you're doing. -------------------- We're not doing cool. We're doing pretty. Posts: 3335 | Registered: Thursday, September 4 2003 07:00 |
| prefected items? in Geneforge 4: Rebellion | |
|
Electric Sheep One
Member # 3431
|
written Wednesday, December 13 2006 13:15
Profile
UBB is a wise guy again. [ Wednesday, December 13, 2006 13:16: Message edited by: Student of Trinity ] -------------------- We're not doing cool. We're doing pretty. Posts: 3335 | Registered: Thursday, September 4 2003 07:00 |
| prefected items? in Geneforge 4: Rebellion | |
|
Electric Sheep One
Member # 3431
|
written Wednesday, December 13 2006 13:10
Profile
An only somewhat spoilerish answer, since in principle you are supposed to find out rather later in the game how to perfect items: Certain items of equipment which are already very good can be 'perfected' by applying certain rare substances to them, on an enchanted forge. Such 'perfected' items are actually only slightly improved, but they are then ready for further advanced forging operations, which produce powerful artifacts. Throughout the game you can find hints and notes that will allow you to piece together the necessary lore of how to make all these things. If you want explicit answers, ask again, and maybe first edit the thread's topic to include '(spoilers)'. Otherwise, just hang on to equipment that looks especially good, but isn't yet actually enchanted, and hang on to any weird substances you find. There are only a few artifacts you can make, so you don't need to keep more than a couple of copies of any one item. You can also sell (and sometimes buy) the necessary base items and perfecting substances, so you have to forgo some immediate profit to keep your materials. In addition to these ingredients, however, artifacts also require some special, rare items as ingredients. These items are always rather well hidden or guarded, and look cool, but cannot be sold. So you don't have to worry about accidentally selling the 'rare item' ingredients, but you should be sure to remember where you put them. -------------------- We're not doing cool. We're doing pretty. Posts: 3335 | Registered: Thursday, September 4 2003 07:00 |
| The Beginning Was The End in General | |
|
Electric Sheep One
Member # 3431
|
written Wednesday, December 13 2006 12:23
Profile
Welcome back. -------------------- We're not doing cool. We're doing pretty. Posts: 3335 | Registered: Thursday, September 4 2003 07:00 |
| Nothing Plus Nothing Equals Nothing in General | |
|
Electric Sheep One
Member # 3431
|
written Wednesday, December 13 2006 12:19
Profile
Not everybody has to be a scientist. But if someone I love falls gravely ill, I will want simply the approach that is most likely to really work. That is the coldness of medical science: cash on the barrel, no slack no quarter, take up thy bed and walk. I'll want that in my corner for a real fight. -------------------- We're not doing cool. We're doing pretty. Posts: 3335 | Registered: Thursday, September 4 2003 07:00 |
| Turabi Gate (spoiler) in Geneforge 4: Rebellion | |
|
Electric Sheep One
Member # 3431
|
written Wednesday, December 13 2006 10:39
Profile
That's the one, and it does seem easier to open for me. The weird thing is that I'm playing version 1.0.1 now, downloaded just a couple of days ago. The save file I tried today had me killing Matala with the last beta version, but then coming all the way back south in 1.0.1. So there seems to be some odd kind of memory here. -------------------- We're not doing cool. We're doing pretty. Posts: 3335 | Registered: Thursday, September 4 2003 07:00 |
| Turabi Gate (spoiler) in Geneforge 4: Rebellion | |
|
Electric Sheep One
Member # 3431
|
written Wednesday, December 13 2006 08:54
Profile
So where on earth is this essence-infused skin? I have explored the whole zone with the latest version of the game, entering the zone fresh, albeit using a save file from a rather old beta. I see one promising-looking chest by the southwest summoning platform, but it is empty. It also only takes 4 living tools to open, with my 10 mech, in contrast to reports that it took 5 with a much higher skill. The only other chests are easy to open and contain other stuff, no skin. Is there some secret door I'm not finding? Am I for some reason now unable to acquire the item, just because the first time I entered the zone, way back in beta-whatever, it wasn't yet placed? Or does this item only appear randomly? Do I need higher luck? I can't find any scripts associated with it. -------------------- We're not doing cool. We're doing pretty. Posts: 3335 | Registered: Thursday, September 4 2003 07:00 |
| 8000: Pseudoscience Postravaganza in General | |
|
Electric Sheep One
Member # 3431
|
written Wednesday, December 13 2006 08:01
Profile
My plants all have deathwish. -------------------- We're not doing cool. We're doing pretty. Posts: 3335 | Registered: Thursday, September 4 2003 07:00 |
| Avernum 5 Early, Early Notes in Avernum 4 | |
|
Electric Sheep One
Member # 3431
|
written Tuesday, December 12 2006 14:46
Profile
Long John Silvarrr! -------------------- We're not doing cool. We're doing pretty. Posts: 3335 | Registered: Thursday, September 4 2003 07:00 |
| Ridiculous droppings in Geneforge 4: Rebellion | |
|
Electric Sheep One
Member # 3431
|
written Tuesday, December 12 2006 10:25
Profile
5% is a tough chance to call, though. In a hundred attacks you should get hit about 5 times, but the odds of those five hits coming nicely in 20-attempt intervals are very low. You're likely to have a few of them come quite a bit closer together, then have some longer sequences of straight failure. One tends not to notice that one has been missed 40 times in a row, when one is expecting to be hit 'hardly ever'. But we do notice 'Hey, that's three times in ten rounds!' I still wonder, but it's a hard charge to make stick. -------------------- We're not doing cool. We're doing pretty. Posts: 3335 | Registered: Thursday, September 4 2003 07:00 |
| 8000: Pseudoscience Postravaganza in General | |
|
Electric Sheep One
Member # 3431
|
written Tuesday, December 12 2006 09:34
Profile
Uh, sorry Synergy, but 'concrete matter and particles' versus 'everything is energy' is not at all accurate as a summary of the difference between classical and quantum physics. There simply is no accurate brief summary of this difference in ordinary human language. That's why quantum physics is so hard to understand: there are no familiar terms in which to state even what is unfamiliar about it. Insofar as biology and medicine deal with things on scales much larger than the molecular, they are quite right to use classical physics. Quantum physics would, in these cases, simply be a much harder way of computing the same results. Insofar as they deal with biochemistry, and get their biochemical facts right, they are fully quantum mechanical, whether they know it or not. -------------------- We're not doing cool. We're doing pretty. Posts: 3335 | Registered: Thursday, September 4 2003 07:00 |
| Ridiculous droppings in Geneforge 4: Rebellion | |
|
Electric Sheep One
Member # 3431
|
written Tuesday, December 12 2006 09:08
Profile
The chance of this happening on any given triple Thahd kill is supposed to be one in a million. In a game you get maybe a few triple Thahd kills, people who could be expected to post a report of a triple-drop here have probably played ten to twenty games of one Geneforge or other, and there are probably 50 to a 100 such people. So the number of triple Thahd kills that these boards have effectively sampled is probably within a factor of 10 of 10,000. So the fact that we have now had such a report is indeed somewhat surprising, but at a probability on the order of 0.1 to 10%, it is not utterly incredible. Take it as a more grounds for suspicion of the RNG, but not quite as a smoking gun. EDIT: Taking into account wz. As's good point that the RNG has lots more opportunities to generate surprising co-incidences, and we have only heard of these Thahd tunics, and not of similar events with Vlish tentacles and what-not ... the conclusion would seem to be that the RNG beats the rap, at least for now. [ Tuesday, December 12, 2006 09:11: Message edited by: Student of Trinity ] -------------------- We're not doing cool. We're doing pretty. Posts: 3335 | Registered: Thursday, September 4 2003 07:00 |