keithcurtis

Re: How to cram crew members into your spacecraft For me it's the noise and the cramped conditions. A few hours is OK, but my last couple of flights to and from China or Australia were near interminable. Business class would be nicer, but I'm a member of the economy tribe. I don't really mind the flying part, unless there's substantial turbulence. Keith "I gets the airsick bad, then" Curtis

Re: How to cram crew members into your spacecraft It looks like two across instead of three across, plus room for a complete set of stairs in between each row. Looks like less density by far, to me. The "Economy Seating With Even Rows Raised" looks like a possibly more workable idea. Keith "always forgets how much he hates air travel until after he gets on the plane" Curtis

Re: Help - I need a base I try to be. Keith "leaving a silver bullet" Curtis

Re: Airlocks are for losers Since the quote originally referred to maximizing the surface area for the purpose of photosynthesis, I had assumed we were speaking of a decidedly non-human physiology. I was merely pointing out that in contrast to the statement I originally referenced, increasing size does not automatically increase surface area relative to the organism. Keith "nothing more" Curtis

Re: Airlocks are for losers Since those equalities can exist regardless of size, I figured them to be superfluous. Keith "Simplest terms" Curtis

Re: Airlocks are for losers

Re: Is the Hero the Ultimate System? It's the ultimate system only if you never change it or play another. I look at it as the penultimate system. I will continually modify it to meet my needs. Or maybe some day I'll start playing something new penultimate system. "Ultimate" implies you think there will never be a reason to change. Keith "I'd like Hero, but with about 90% less stuff in it" Curtis

Re: Lost cities under Russian lake... Seeing as there is no cultural continuity between modern Iraq and the region of Mesopotamia in ancient times, I have no trouble using both terms. "Ancient Iraq" might be an acceptable term, like "Ancient Greece", which bears no cultural resemblance to Modern Greece. Keith "That which we call a rose..." Curtis

Re: Planetary Magnetic Field Question

Re: Stegosaur at Angkor Wat? It's George. Keith "Obscure reference" Curtis

Re: How Fast Do Rogue Planets Move? Spoilers ahead! The book is far different from the movie. In the book, there are two planets, not a planet and star. Bronson Alpha is a gas giant, roughly the size of Neptune. Bronson Beta is a terrestrial planet/satellite. They were torn from their original orbit presumably by the close passage of another star. The original inhabitants of Bronson Beta saw their doom for centuries, but earth had no such luck. Putting aside the amazing coincidence of these planets coming to our solar system (the characters often ponder if it is divinely-directed, a la the Flood), the motions are fairly well described. The planets arrive from the southern (and fairly unwatched, in the early 20th century) skies, roughly 90° from the ecliptic. They pass through the solar system on a parabolic(?) course, whipping around the sun. Thus they pass by the earth twice, at six month intervals. On the first passage, Bronson Alpha destroys the Moon. Whether this was a direct impact or if it is torn apart by tidal forces is unspecified. Earth is devastated, of course and civilization collapses. It is on the second pass that the end comes. A few hastily-constructed rockets brave the passage between Earth and Bronson Beta, which has been thawing all this time. Bronson Alpha impacts the earth with a glancing blow, which of course destroys it utterly. The gravitational forces of the masses in question cause Bronson Alpha to continue out into space, while Bronson Beta takes an eccentric orbit about the sun, canted 90° to the ecliptic while varying in distance from the sun somewhat between the distances described by Venus and Mars. Unlikely premise in the extreme, but again, the characters note this in the book, some becoming extremely religious. It's a great read, and probably my first experience with an Apocalyptic novel. Keith "Recommends the sequel, too" Curtis

Given: The earth, through means irrelevant to the question, has had its axis of rotation changed. The new Equator is roughly the old 100°W meridian, and the new poles are the equatorial Atlantic between S. America and Africa, and the Equatorial Pacific, around the Marshall Islands. I have a good enough grasp of general climate theory to make a new climate map that doesn't suspend disbelief to the layman observer. However, I do not have a sufficient grasp to know what would be the effect on the magnetic field. Right now, my assumption is that the planet was re-oriented as a whole, that the core moved along with it. This does not have to be so. I know that the magnetic North (and I presume the overall magnetic field) wanders over the passage of time. If the magnetic axis roughly matches the rotational axis, as it does now, I assume that the effect on my climatic assumptions would be minimal. However, assuming that the magnetic field moved along with the earth, and that magnetic north is now equatorial, rotating every 24 hours, what might be some observed phenomena? Would this seriously impact the livability of life on earth? Is it even possible? Please note, I'm not looking for ecological consequences. This was an apocalypse, and its effect on species and life around the world has been dealt with. I'm looking for the long-term effects on the nature of earth's surface environment. Would there be equatorial auroras? High radiation areas? Would solar flares and winds be more of a hazard? Greater temperature fluctuations? Would there be effects on the compass, beyond pointing to a fixed spot on the equator? Would this be advantageous or disadvantageous to navigation? Any ideas? Keith "sprucing up the Savage Earth" Curtis

Re: How Fast Do Rogue Planets Move? Cancer, have you ever tried to work out the feasibility of the Bronson Bodies from When Worlds Collide? Keith "I must have read that book a dozen times" Curtis

Re: Catgirls (and Catboys) for Fantasy 'Tain't much, but here's the Savage Earth entry. Keith "meow-meow-meow-meow" Curtis

Re: Valdorian Age map It was sent to Hero Games. I don't know if it was ever posted. Keith "mapper" Curtis