Ian Mackinder

Re: Star Wars: Technological Stagnation? Certainly - but appearances would be deceptive. Look closer, and our alien would find a BUNCH of stuff in a modern car that are simply non-existent in a 1920s vehicle. Integrated circuits, new materials, better ergonomics / safety, different construction techniques, improved fuel economy and performance, and so forth.

Re: Shoule NASA be nixed? Been re-reading James Oberg's 'STAR-CROSSED ORBITS - Inside The US - Russian Space Alliance'. According to it, the depths to which the Russian (ex-Soviet) space program has fallen is appalling. But this is minor compared to the depths NASA have plumbed due to self-delusion, internal politics and (IMO) the sort of middle-management-and-above cluelessness best typified by 'Dilbert'. Frankly, based on the material here (and on all the stuff happening OUTSIDE this book's purview - such as 'Challenger' and 'Columbia'), have to wonder if NASA is actually salvageable. Plenty of good dedicated people "down in the trenches", but seems like it is the levels above that need, not to be "streamlined" or any other such corporate buzzword, but completely eliminated and rebuilt from scratch.

Re: Star Wars: Technological Stagnation? Except that we are talking about a milieu that is substantially bigger than any medieval-esque village. And there are fantasy backgrounds that take progress and technological change into account, anyhow.

Re: Star Wars: Technological Stagnation? To say nothing of the basic human (possibly sophont) tendency of "tweaking out" any/all tech we already have. Not just weapons, but everything. I mean, Han Solo openly refers to the "special modifications" he has made to the Millennium Falcon. I am pretty dern certain he is not unique in the Galaxy for this. Then there are the Podracers in 'Phantom Menace', which all seem to be highly modified and individualized.

Re: Star Wars: Technological Stagnation? Perhaps, but "Nuke From Orbit" could be a viable option under the right circumstances. Consider. If our Jedi is in a fairly well-defined area (like a planet, city or portions thereof), the classic (bonehead) move of any opposition is to send in the troops. What this tends to mean is that, Force willing, the Jedi gets to decimate said forces and quickly acquire transport. How many times do we see that sort of thing happen in the Clone Wars? Lots. So, nuke the area without sending in troops. If that seems way too extreme, send in a few troops if you really must - but it is a one-way trip for them WHATEVER happens (you don't tell them that, of course, but if you see them coming back, they are gone). If you lose contact with them for any reason whatsoever, nuke their locale immediately. Repeat if necessary.

Re: Quote of the Week from my gaming group... I have always been impressed by the nuclear-tipped air-to-air missile. Fired from an aircraft to take out ENTIRE FORMATIONS of enemy aircraft. And the nuclear landmine was scary, even as nuclear weapons in general go.

Re: Star Wars: Technological Stagnation? So, it doesn't have to completely eradicate them, just .... thin 'em out some.

Re: Star Wars: Technological Stagnation? Midichlorian-eating nanotech. Just spray or dust an area, then sit back and wait.

Re: Quote of the Week from my gaming group... Heck, dude. Back then, if the military could shoot it, throw it , detonate it or otherwise point it at the enemy; then there was probably nuclear ammo being developed for it.

Re: Shoule NASA be nixed? Kindly note that I wasn't saying he was incorrect. But decrying statistics in one breath, and then jumping straight to that subject in the next, seems a lot like mixed signals to me. Just sayin'.

Re: Shoule NASA be nixed?

Re: Shoule NASA be nixed? The impression I get is that NASA, like some other big complicated organizations, has become overly bureaucratized. Too many people who are only there to swap paperwork with each other, and then tell other people what they CAN'T do. Without any real long-term vision or direction, this can only get worse.

Re: "Neat" Pictures Ohhhhhh, yeeaaaahhhhhhhh.

Re: If you Had to Pick, ONE (already) Setting, to Run in, What is it? Star Trek. I'm a fan of all of the series and most of the movies (including the most recent ); have prior experience running successful FASATrek campaigns; like the genre and am comfortable with running it; have a buttload of reference material, including a very large collection of (laminated) blueprints for a bunch of different ST vessels. EDIT: Very nice pic, Vondy. Didn't know about that.

Re: "Neat" Pictures Does it really matter? Because it's all good.

Re: Quote of the Week from my gaming group...

Re: A Thread for Random Videos http://www.cracked.com/funny-6737-shake-weight/ (WARNING - NSFW)

Re: Adventurers' Club Update Sadly, no update this month - one of our GMs was hit with the flu, hence session cancelled.

Re: "Neat" Pictures "All Gods are B##t##ds!!!! All Gods are B##t##ds!!!! All Gods ar-AAGGGHHHH!!!!!!!!!"

Re: Quote of the Week from my gaming group... Brilliant. As so often happens, DrHoz, I'd rep ya if I could. Would somebody else please do the honours?

Re: Quote of the Week from my gaming group... We gathered that.

Re: What Have You Watched Recently? Maybe not actually collide (at least in one piece), but I am certain the results wouldn't be pretty. Also, I'm guessing that stuff like would be a significant factor.

Re: What Have You Watched Recently? 'Pirates Of The Caribbean 4'. Loads of fun, greatly enjoyed it (as expected). You don't watch these movies for deep psychological study, historical insights or beautifully ceafted plots. You watch them for the kewl stuff and general fun involved. Great to see Cap'n Jack again. And Barbossa. And Gibbs. Ian McShane as Blackbeard was one seriously scary dude as well. Three ARRRS out of Four, certainly.

Re: Adventurers' Club Update Anyhow, not much to report this month. The four primary Player-Characters each continue doing their respective things in different parts of the USA. Can't do justice to what the other PCs are currently going through, so I'll concentrate on what my character, Captain Ferguson, is contending with. As was mentioned, he and several of his crew were asked to assist the US Navy, which had lost a submarine off San Diego. Ferguson was given commend of a salvage vessel and soon found the sub, which had apparently sustained damage and sunk in about 200 feet of water. Sent divers down, finding that some sections of the sub had been sealed off, but no signs of life. [As an aside, I want to mention a book that gave me, as a Player, lots of insight into this situation. 'The Terrible Hours' by Peter Maas. The story of US Naval officer Charles 'Swede' Momsen ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Momsen ), who led the rescue of the crew trapped on the USS Squalus ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Squalus ), and who almost single-handedly made submarine rescues possible. Before his efforts, if you were in a sub that sank, you were dead, end of story.] Began efforts to raise the sub as quickly as was reasonable - on the slim chance that there were still survivors. Had a few hassles, needless to say. The most significant was an abortive attempt at piracy by some criminal-types based on a nearby island. As a Player, I admittedly had harsh criticisms about how the Referees handled this part, but I said all that was needed to be said at the time. Anyhow, the criminal-types soon left - except for the leader, who was clapped in irons and locked away for later. Ferguson has special plans for his disposition, which I won't mention just yet because I want to surprise the Referees with it. Let's just say it is totally in keeping with both the genre and the era. Problems with the radio - the USN base in San Diego was supposedly acknowledging our signals, but the USN cruiser that arrived a little while later had no knowldge of this (and , yes, I made sure it really was a USN ship). So may be something funny going on. Anyhow, we have gotten the sub up to the surface and onto a nearby beach. Aft harch opened, and venting lots of Hydrogen (from the flooded Battery Room). Conning Tower Hatch and Forward Hatch both jammed, and the possibility has been raised that survivors could have taken refuge inside the torpedo tubes. So, as the session ends, we're getting ready to crack the outside doors - noting that each tube COULD be holding either survivors (in dire need of decompression and medical attention) or a torpedo (possibly live).

Re: Iron Skies Trailers Quite well done. Honestly though, big zap gun or not, that thing would have been toast if the Yank troops had more than one bazooka team and two Sherman Tanks. Heck, just with those, they almost had it. In broad daylight, a few Typhoons or Thunderbolts would have turned it into scrap.