Sundog

Re: Langston Field There are problems with the Langston Field. It seems to be quite complicated. Pournelle only really detailed it's function in his co-authored The Mote in God's Eye (with Larry Niven). Most of the rest of the time, it just seemed a defense field with an interesting failure effect. However, in Mote we discover that it's semi-physically permeable. A human falls into the MacArthur's field and sticks there; he has to be pulled out by a search and rescue team. Later, a boarding team rams a pinnace through the ship's field to crash aboard, and suffer only a moment of extreme cold; similarly, three lifeboats are shot out of the field without any negative problems. However, Torpedoes (which are simply powerful nuclear missiles) detonate on contact with the field, someimes causing pin-point burn throughs, i.e. the field can be overloaded locally before the energy has a chance to disperse throughout the field. Not to mention the question of why the torpedoes aren't just set to detonate inside the field and thus destroy the ship. Plus, the fact that larger Langston Fields are more powerful than smaller ones due to having more area to radiate excess energy away with. The Moties exploit this feature with their expanding Langston Fields. So, if you want a Langston Field you're not talking a simple build. I'm not going to have much free time until monday, but I might try and build one then.

Re: Answers & Questions Q: Aw, gran'pa Gilgamesh, it's too wet to go looking for eternal life today! It's a downpour! A: Comparative numerology.

Re: Answers & Questions Q: Jool, why did you slag Moya's control console? A: Obscure Publications.

Re: Answers & Questions Q: So, other than as a gift to all humanity, why did you shoot Uwe Boll? A: A 300 pound singing Meatloaf.

Re: Answers & Questions Q: "Captain, I've got it! If we take the main deflector and..." A: This is even better. It's an "I" Bomb.

Re: What Are You Listening To Right Now? Wind of Change - Scorpions

Re: Answers & Questions Q: What's the difference between competent and incompetent librarians? A: Sirius, Uranus and Ptah.

Re: What Are You Listening To Right Now? Old and Wise - The Alan Parsons Project

Re: Greening Earth’s Deserts Good fraggin' luck. I'm betting on a boom and bust scenario, somewhere around the 20 Billion mark. There's a similar plan to the Qattara Depression one for Australia, involving a cut from the Bight to the Lake Eyre region (which is below sea level, and the location of the inland sea milllions of years ago). The idea is to alter the overall climate for greated rainfall and a natural greening of the land.

Re: A Plot Idea ... With No Good Resolution After a few "possessions" have the Dream-Fragment occupy a PC. Since he/she knows what's happening, they can direct the power. You get A) an opportunity for some really great roleplay, a chance to explore the whole "power corrupts/Absolute power corrupts absolutely" meme and C) an opportunity for the possessed PC to prove themselves a True Hero by giving up the power and returning the Dream-Fragment to it's appropriate place.

Re: What Are You Listening To Right Now? Day After Day - The Alan Parsons Project

Re: Quote of the Week from my gaming group... Because Mechanon's base and resources have been taken over by an extra-dimensional artificial intelligence. The AI doesn't want to exerminate all flesh - just all supers - but it's frighteningly more efficient than Mechanon...

Re: What Are You Listening To Right Now? All the Same - Sick Puppies

Re: Answers & Questions Q: Captain, I don't understand. Why are half of the enemy's planets on one side of the star, and the other half lined up on the other? A: Big Booms, inc.

Re: Answers & Questions Q: How much for the coffee, and how much for you to come home with me? A: Cats.

Re: Quote of the Week from my gaming group... From my Kingdom City game last night: After a rather tawdry scene between 3, Vitas and Void: The Gunny (OOC): "Let's try and get the level back up to the gutter." Later, when certain plot points have been revealed: The Gunny (OOC): "This is the most evil Champons game I've ever been in. We're going to have to rescue Mechanon." Feeling rather smaug about that last one (No, that wasn't a typo...):eg:

Re: What Are You Listening To Right Now? The theme to The Muppet Show.

Re: What Are You Listening To Right Now? The Fall of the Houe of Usher iv: Pavane ('87 Remix) - Alan Parsons Project.

Re: Answers & Questions Q: Um, how is it you have the entire cast of Iron Chef making you breakfast? A:You only wish it was a computer game.

Re: What Are You Listening To Right Now? Atlantis - Donovan

Re: Answers & Questions Q: What would you prefer to induce vomiting? A: Now, that's fast.

Re: What Are You Listening To Right Now? Amish Paradise - Weird Al Yankovic

Re: Answers & Questions Q: Hey! Youse *****, Youse done ***** alll over my **** ****!!! A: Mechanical genitalia.

Re: Answers & Questions Q: What are the philosophical underpinnings of Rock and Roll? A: Well, she wasn't sure the rectal thermometer was giving an accurate reading...

Re: Answers & Questions Q: What was it like in the old days, grandson? A: The Ivanova Theorem.