Cancer

Re: The Last Word My understanding is that even sighing is different. I once read that Swedes tend to sigh while inhaling, while Americans sigh with a long-trailing exhale.

Re: Longest Running Thread EVER Since feral momcat was shipped off, the kittens have become much more sociable ... hardly a surprise, but it has greatly increased the photo-op's. And they no longer zip for cover when I flush the toilet, too.

Re: Yet another kitten picutre One short of a six-pack.

Re: The Last Word I wouldn't be so harsh as to say they are getting dumber. The preparation they are coming in with has changed, some of that good, some of that otherwise. There is a wide gulf of things which I take for granted as being on one's intellectual toolkit that make them stare in slackjawed wonder. There are things they think about and do casually that I have never considered. More interesting is the attitudes and ethics they come in with, and while that's always an individual thing, location has nearly as much to do with it as time.

Re: The Last Word Well, it's the first of classes, but since my class doesn't meet on Wednesdays, the first class for me is tomorrow. Working on my syllabus now.

Re: The Last Word And here, it's first day of fall quarter at the university.

Re: WWYCD: Out of cash Our team would just wait around. We've had ours assets handed to us on a plate before, and I figure it'll happen again. Did I say that?

Re: NGD Scenes from a Hat "There's more than one way to skin a cat," to the Universal Sisterhood of Catgirls.

Re: The Last Word I have a different perspective, having had the job I always thought I wanted, and had it turn to sh*t.

Re: Vehicles, halving already negative DCVs? I'll try that, though the idea caught me by surprise, since when building a vehicle (just as in building a base) the first thing you do is pick the size, which brings in the Size modifier right at the very front of the process.

Re: Musings on Random Musings Memo: Do not try to include mathematics in your "Complicated sex". It's too good a soporific.

Re: The Last Word Mind you, if you do love your job and you're incautious enough to let others know, the first thing that happens is that they freeze your pay (because they don't have to pay you so much to keep you), and the second thing they do is start messing with your duties so you no longer like the job. No matter what they say, no manager likes happy subordinates. The whole point of being a manager is that you get to make people miserable simply because they are your subordinates.

Re: The Last Word Putting it off ... so that you're older and more tired ... might not be the best option. Our first was born when I was 39.

Re: The Last Word Hee hee. Loaner preschool kids to childless couples. There's a contraceptive program that works wonders.

Re: NGD Scenes from a Hat

Re: Longest Running Thread EVER Make them pay extra.

Can one use Suppress on Skills and Skill Levels (as opposed to Characteristics and Powers)?

Re: The Last Word My memory is that when SETI@home first came out, the 2-d FFT displays it made were considered Way Cool as a screensaver purely on aesthetic grounds. The involvement in SETI was gravy.

Re: Vehicles, halving already negative DCVs? Point of clarification: I'm not concerned about vehicle-vs-vehicle combat yet, though that's the next thing to think about. It's a Champions campaign, and the vehicle in question is a VTOL jet. Since the team lacks flyers or speedsters, I anticipate us using this as team transport. Presumably it will occur to some villainous type energy blaster, or volkswagen-throwing brick, to take potshots at us while we're en route. I want to build the vehicle (and the character who'll be flying it) so we have at least a sporting chance of dodging that kind of flak, as we come in for the Air Cav sort of team drop. Right now there's NO plans to arm the aircraft (though it might be armored), so I'm not immediately concerned with OCV, but DCV is something else. Treb, I'll look in my 5eR to find the bit about operations by someone without Combat Piloting skill resulting in half DCV, but that won't happen for at least 12 hours.

Re: Vehicles, halving already negative DCVs? Well, I didn't follow up on the thing that triggered my first post. If you accept a negative base DCV at face value, then as written you're better off with an untrained shlub at pilot, because the vehicle is half DCV in that situation. And (for example), of course, taking half of a base DCV of -4 is -2.

Re: Longest Running Thread EVER The thing that gives me the giggles is ... what's the opportunity? For people to take headshots at faculty/staff? If so, as faculty, I'll arrange to be somewhere else at the time. But if it's an opportunity for faculty/staff to take headshots at targets they want, damn I want in on that action.

The Champions team has accumulated enough pooled XP's so we can afford a VTOL aircraft to transport us all, maybe. That leads to yet another silly rules question from someone who's never thought much about building vehicles before ... There's an old Rule Question thread bearing on the situation of modifying a negative DCV (here) saying that the worst DCV a character can end up with is zero. Does this same statement apply to large vehicles (like jet aircraft)? If so, then the negative base DCV (when you build one) for these things really means how much DEX you must build into the thing before it matters, and/or how many Combat Piloting SL's the pilot has to have before any meaningful evasive maneuvers can be performed with it? Seems like for any plausible vehicle, that sort of makes Combat Piloting worthless, since you'll need to spend a dozen or two character points before any possible benefit can be realized. Alternately, your vehicle will consume scores more character points in construction than originally imagined before it's anything but a Big Fat Target.

Re: Longest Running Thread EVER Once again, the administration gives me the giggles by sending out an email with the subject "Faculty/Staff Headshot Opportunity". Yeesh.

Re: Answers & Questions

Re: NGD Scenes from a Hat They look exactly like they do in real life right now. NT: Subtle signs your GM is out for a T.P.K. must quicker than you anticipated.