DShomshak

I have not commente3d on the gun discussion because I have no competence in any of the relevant issues. Pattern Ghost's explanation of the different effects between rifles and handguns makes me feel a bit less ignorant, though, so thank you PG. (OK, at least I know that cops can't really just shoot the gun out of the perp's hand. That's fiction. And impossible. A friend of mine once encountered a coworker who did not know that!) Dean Shomshak

Regarding Hermit's mention of the moon landing: The "Chasing the Moon" series on PBS included bits of newsreel footage about the Apollo astronauts' world tour afterward. (Which the Armstrong, Aldrin and Collins hated. Not into PR, them.) But the scenes of crowds cheering the motorcade in, IIRC, India, featured people holding up signs proclaiming, "We Did It!" Apparently a lot of people took that "For All Mankind" talk seriously and indeed saw reaching the moon as a universal human achievement. That the US government presented the moon landing in this way, instead of crowing "Ha Ha We Great U Suck," was a fairly remarkable achievement in itself. Or at least it seems that way now. Unfortunately, I can't see any such emotional generosity it happening anytime soon. Dean Shomshak

The August 10, 2019 issue of The Economist has an article on ways of reducing the danger from space junk falling from orbit. As the article notes, it's not an enormous threat at present. Still, nobody in the rocketry/satellite biz wants the bad press of having someone killed by their discarded equipment. Apparently there are whole engineering and analysis companies devoted to this. Dean Shomshak

For that matter, I would expect the Gun of the Future to use sensors and computers to aim itself. The wielder onbly supplies judgement about when it should be fired. But that's really boring for a game. (For my Planetary Romance campaign, I did have it that in space combat, the only role for humans was to decide to fight. At the speeds and distances of spaceship-to-spaceship combat, humans just can't think or act fast enough. But I also made the conscious choice that spaceship combat would never happen in the campaign.) I suspect the real reason for swords appearing so much in SF was the desire for cool illustrations on pulp magazine covers. But "realism" arguments are shifty. I greatly enjoyed an internet essay on why World War Two was obviously fictional, and trite, badly written fiction at that. In the Lensman series, it was axes, not swords... super-heaqvy axes of advanced alloys, wielded by soldiers in powered armor. They were for boarding enemy spacecraft, for chopping through bulkheads (and enemy soldiers) without the risk of shooting through hulls or vital equipment. Ultimately, though, setting design is more about rationalizing choices made for style, not some Platonic ideal of techno-social forecasting. There's a tradition of swords in SF, but not so much anyone's obliged to include the trope. Dean Shomshak

The SA article on the Three-Body Problem noted in passing that a few stable solutions have been found for larger numbers of objecfs. There's an illo of some bizarre looping orbits for four identical masses. SF potential: Find a quadruple star system in one of these configurations. Cannot possibly be natural. Dean Shomshak

The SA article on the Three-Body Problem noted in passing that a few stable solutions have been found for larger numbers of objecfs. There's an illo of some bizarre looping orbits for four identical masses. SF potential: Find a quadruple star system in one of these configurations. Cannot possibly be natural. Dean Shomshak

Trump once again trotted out the claim that violent video games contribute to RL violence. The expert interviewed by All Things Considered said this hasw been studied for decades and the studies agree: There is no effect. OTOH this article appeared in my newspaper yesterday: Experts think Trump's rhetoric linked to rise in hate crimes www.heraldandnews.com/news/nation_world/experts-think-trump-s-rhetoric-linked... Experts think Trump's rhetoric linked to rise in hate crimes By MICHAEL KUNZELMAN and ASTRID GALVAN Associated Press 19 hrs ago ... data suggests a link between heated rhetoric from top political ... Dean Shomshak

I've mentioned Pinker's book, Enlightenment Now, as well as Better Angels of our Nature, which specifically looks at the decline of war. Demonstrably, we know how to make the world materially better. These methods also incidentally reduce misogyny and bigotry of all kinds. It is unfortunate, however, that significant numbers of people have strong vested interests in bigotry and misogyny, and they aren't going down without a fight. Dean Shomshak

The August, 2019 Scientific American has an article about NIAC, the NASA Innovative Advanced Concepts Program. This is NASA's "huge if true" search for new and improved propulsion methods. Most are just a little beyond the edge of current engineering, such as light sails powered by lasers. But NASA also funds a few inquiries into outright fringe science such as MEGA -- Mach Effect Gravity-Assist, which seeks a possible loophole in conservation of momentum. There's potential material here for Champions GMs as well as Star Hero. Vaguely space-related: The same issue has an article on mathematical attempts to solve the Three-Body Problem. I understand the Three-Body Problem well enough, but I sure didn't understand much of what mathematicians are doing to try to solve it. Dean Shomshak

Piecrust, as in light and flaky? Yes, honestly. The problems you list are real and matter, but they do not make irrelevant the President's role as Commander-in-Chief. I would prefer a candidate who seems to think seriously about that role. At that moment, Warren seemed deeply unserious. Dean Shomshak

First two eps of the new CW SF series Pandora. Not impressed, but I'm turning into an old curmudgeon whom very little impresses. Besides, Babylon-5 spoiled me. I wouldn't say anything about Pandora is actively horrible. It's just... very seen-it-all-before, without the sharp writing and acting that could make it archetypal" instead of "formula." Sorry, I know that's not a very informative review. Dean Shomshak

I have to say, Warren probably lost my primary vote with something that may seem small: her demand for a "no first use of nukes" pledge. First, I don't like litmus-test policy oaths. It's so... Republican. Second, it's either posturing or it's incredibly arrogant. We can't know what the future may bring. It's foolish to imagine there could never be a circumstance in which first use becomes the least bad option. And very often, leaders are forced to choose least-bad options. A fair and honest pledge would be, "My administration's policy would be to not be the first to use nuclear weapons in a conflict. [Which, IIRC has been US military policy for long periods -- someone check me on this, please.] But extraordinary events may force policies to change." Not as good a sound bite, though. Dean Shomshak

Incidentally, the backstory for the MMC/Think Tank only says, "the agency." Doesn't say what country, or even that it was a country. Could have been something like VIPER. Interesting assumption there, LL, that it was American. 😀 Dean Shomshak

"Only one brain in a jar?" 😉 Since I created the Think Tank long before the Brain Trust, I never considered that question. Personally, I would not recommend using both the Think Tank and the Overbrain in the same campaign, leaving it moot. Every comic-book setting needs a brain-in-a-jar villain. It's traditional. (See: Doctor Sun in Marvel, the Brain in DC.) But not two such villains. Dean Shomshak

You mean, a fantasy series that actually ends, instead of dribbling out in endless sequels until the author dies? And maybe not even then? Thank you for the recommendation. I may need to look for this. Dean Shomshak

I'd like to buy it at some point. Given my crappy internet, though, I have to arrange this with a friend. Apart from practical difficulties downloading, for me to conduct any financial transaction over the internet would be the equivalent of putting all my money in a box on a streetcorner. The original Strike Force was one of the best game supplements I've ever read. You can learn more practical GMing from Allston than in everything White Wolf published put together, despite their fondness for chapters of "Storytelling" advice.* Okay, low bar. </snark> Dean Shomshak * And I wrote some of those chapters. </humility>

I'd like to buy it at some point. Given my crappy internet, though, I have to arrange this with a friend. Apart from practical difficulties downloading, for me to conduct any financial transaction over the internet would be the equivalent of putting all my money in a box on a streetcorner. The original Strike Force was one of the best game supplements I've ever read. You can learn more practical GMing from Allston than in everything White Wolf published put together, despite their fondness for chapters of "Storytelling" advice.* Okay, low bar. </snark> Dean Shomshak * And I wrote some of those chapters. </humility>

Likewise. There could even be a double or triple fake. Pursue the Hellspawn. Find it's a "Scoobie Doo" fake. But the con man is the slave of a real Archdevil. Dean Shomshak

Well, other projects on the list include... Mystic Enemies: Undead. Pretty straightforward. Brother Bone, Dead Heat, Decay, Haunt, and a vampire to be designed later. Mystic Enemies: Diabolical. Demons, Satanists, and such ilk. Brujo and Razor Girl, maybe Apollyon if I can think of a compelling new angle, perhaps an updated Lerajie, and a few villains I used in my campaigns but never published before. Horror Enemies: The Think Tank. Formerly the Mind Master Complex. I mentioned how not every word of mine was genius? This is one case. I used this character as a major millain in two campaigns for 10 years or so without realizing that Think Tank is so much better a name. And so obvious. Sometimes I amaze myself, and not in a good way. Anyway, it's one of my faves, especially for the way it poses as multiple low-power villains by possessing hapless people. It's a villain team all by itself. Horror Enemies: Science Gone Wrong. Doctor Black, Caiman, Ooze, Fearmonger, add one or two, or maybe fit the Great Beast and his pets in for a longer work. Or remove Fearmonger (save him for someplace else) and call the supplement Body Horror. Dean Shomshak

>FWEET< Sorry, but take it to the Political Discussion thread in Non-Gaming Discussion. Calls for revising the Totems are noted, but they aren't high on the list of projects. I think I'd like to learn a fair bit more about Native American mythologies before touching them again. For one thing, it is mythologies, plural. While some themes are fairly common, I now realize I was doing the equivalent of building a villain team of Loki, Ares, Indra and Susano-o as if they were all part of a "Eurasian Pantheon." At the very least, a revision should acknowledge that Manitou draws on figures from multiple pantheons... who might never have thought they had anything in common before the near-extermination of the peoples who worshiped them. Dean Shomshak

On reflection, Shadowfire does need more redevelopment than just a CC conversion. His schtick is power escalation: The more drug-tainted people he can draw upon, the more powerful he gets. But as a solo character instead of a member of the Devil's Advocates, that escalation has to involve something more than more DCs for his basic powerset. Fine, maybe he can become powerful enough to crush all opposition (until the heroes figure out they must remove him from his human power batteries, and that shouldn't be easy). Then what? He should be able to do things that lead to long-term increase in the danger he poses, that heroes will not so easily undo. Maybe he can give other people limited super-powers, building a cadre of subsidiary villains. Maybe he can enchant magic items. Perhaps he gains a VPP for ritual magic, high-powered but slow, enabling him to do either feat, or Summon spirit servants, open Gates for dark gods, things like that. I think this also means his cult becomes more important. Shadowfire becomes more of a third-tier mastermind, who occasionally can become vastly more powerful -- with the threat that he might someday become a world-beater. I shall think upon the possibilities. This discussion has been extremely useful for me. Thank you all! Dean Shomshak

They probably can't. Yesterday on The Daily (with Michael Barbaro), Nate the polling expert (I assume this was Nate Silvers, though I missed the first minute where they gave the guy's last name) pointed out that because of the electoral college, Dems must win in closely divided states. That mostly means the Midwest. And to win the Midwest, one needs white working class voters, who have been drifting away from the Democratic Party for years, and whose drift became a stampede to Trump in 2016. Well... IIRC he said 20% of white working class Obama voters switched to Trump. If Dems can't persuade a significant portion to flip back, forget it. There aren't enough minority voters or young voters not yet mobilized to overcome them. (As Nate points out, a flipped voter is twice as valuable as a new voter, because it denies a vote to the opposition.) Hopes of an alternate path by flipping Sun Belt states such as Arizona are... not mathematically impossible, but extraordinarily difficult. Dems are also not doing themselves a favor with 20+ candidates, a condition where the most extreme voices become the loudest. A month or so back, my local paper ran an editorial by a PoliSci professor who suggested Dems should keep the superdelegate system (and Republicans should adopt it), with one change: Apply it before primaries, not at the nominating convention. You don't get to appear on the debate stage or receive any sort of party help until you can show support from a certain number of elected party members and other people of influence. This might have blocked Trump in 2016, and it would cut down the present mob to a manageable number. When there are so many candidates the debate moderator has to ascertain views on issues with a show of hands, that's just ridiculous. Dean Shomshak

They probably can't. Yesterday on The Daily (with Michael Barbaro), Nate the polling expert (I assume this was Nate Silvers, though I missed the first minute where they gave the guy's last name) pointed out that because of the electoral college, Dems must win in closely divided states. That mostly means the Midwest. And to win the Midwest, one needs white working class voters, who have been drifting away from the Democratic Party for years, and whose drift became a stampede to Trump in 2016. Well... IIRC he said 20% of white working class Obama voters switched to Trump. If Dems can't persuade a significant portion to flip back, forget it. There aren't enough minority voters or young voters not yet mobilized to overcome them. (As Nate points out, a flipped voter is twice as valuable as a new voter, because it denies a vote to the opposition.) Hopes of an alternate path by flipping Sun Belt states such as Arizona are... not mathematically impossible, but extraordinarily difficult. Dems are also not doing themselves a favor with 20+ candidates, a condition where the most extreme voices become the loudest. A month or so back, my local paper ran an editorial by a PoliSci professor who suggested Dems should keep the superdelegate system (and Republicans should adopt it), with one change: Apply it before primaries, not at the nominating convention. You don't get to appear on the debate stage or receive any sort of party help until you can show support from a certain number of elected party members and other people of influence. This might have blocked Trump in 2016, and it would cut down the present mob to a manageable number. When there are so many candidates the debate moderator has to ascertain views on issues with a show of hands, that's just ridiculous. Dean Shomshak

The public television NOVA is showing a series on the planets. It's a co-production with the BBC, so it may be using the same footage as the series L. Marcus told us about on the previous page, though it has narration by Zachary Quinto instead of presentation by a professor. Last night I saw the eps on "The Inner Worlds" and "Mars." I learned stuff I hadn't known before, such as that the evidence (found by the Messenger space probe) that Mercury formed further out in the Solar System -- maybe around the orbit of Venus or Earth -- and got pushed into its present inmost slot. Another highlight was the spectacular CGI recreation of the biggest waterfall in the Solar System, 6 miles wide and 2 1/2 miles high... billions of years ago, on Mars. As part of its "Summer of Space" programming, my PBS station is also showing a series called Ancient Skies on the history of astronomy. First program, on the transition from mythology to the earliest astronomy, was kind of meh. At least, I didn't learn anything new. Pretty CGI, but some sloppiness. Like, when talking about the battle between Marduk and Tiamat in Babylonian mythology, they showed a bas-relief of the battle between the god Ninurta and Anzu the Storm-bird. Completely different myth! I hooted. (A bit of CGI animation of the battle, though, had a quite satisfactory dragon for Tiamat.) Dean Shomshak

Really? Thank you, good to know. I hadn't paid attention to Champions Online or the corporate side, as not relevant to my interests (or my internet capabilities). Perhaps I shall try again. In that case you may finally learn the secrets of the Empty Blade and its pup- er, wielder. Dean Shomshak