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| Love my job |
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Posted by: Kokuten - 09-28-2007, 08:46 PM - Forum: General Chatter
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up at ~4300ft above sea level, hitchhiking on our SCADA network.
as soon as my tower crew finishes mounting a 6' dish, we're going to be steering a microwave shot down to anchorage, and hanging a new SCADA omni antenna.
I just got news that we've got a tower rebuild (that needs to get done before snow - which could be two weeks or two months or tomorrow), and a new SCADA site, whihc means a tower, power, radio, structure.. also before snow flies.
I may end up working 7 days a week, at this rate.
wooo.Wire Geek - Burning the weak and trampling the dead since 1979Wire Geek - Burning the weak and trampling the dead since 1979
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| Yomiko Readman's sound system? |
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Posted by: robkelk - 09-28-2007, 01:53 PM - Forum: General Chatter
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Well, that's what I first thought when I saw this webpage... then I realized she usually reads in quiet areas, so she wouldn't have a sound system.
-Rob Kelk
"Read Or Die: not so much a title as a way of life." - Justin Palmer, 6 June 2007
--
Rob Kelk
"Governments have no right to question the loyalty of those who oppose
them. Adversaries remain citizens of the same state, common subjects of
the same sovereign, servants of the same law."
- Michael Ignatieff, addressing Stanford University in 2012
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| [wiki/RFC] Proposed entry: "Organized Crime in Fenspace |
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Posted by: robkelk - 09-28-2007, 12:31 AM - Forum: Fenspace
- Replies (65)
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Organizing my notes for Legend of Galactic Girls gave me most of the following, which I cleaned up a
bit. Any comments, aditions, or other kibitzing before I stick it in the Gazetteer and the Wiki?
(Somebody had better say yes, because there's a hole in the article.)
As with Comrade Fnord's recent posts, please pardon the wiki markup...
====== Organized Crime in Fenspace ======
Not everybody who's made it Up is nice.
===== Organized Criminal Groups =====
Most Fen lump all organized criminals under the heading "Boskonians". This is a gross over-simplification.
Many major organized crime groups are active in space, not always in co-operation with each other. (The rivalry between at least one Columbian drug cartel and
at least one Yakuza group was the direct cause of the destruction of Crystal Osaka in 2013, for instance.) If they are known to exist on Earth, they probably
have at least a representative somewhere in space to keep an eye on their interests.
===== Types of Organized Crime =====
Organized crime on Earth breaks down into some clearly-identifable activities, some of which do not translate well to Fenspace.
==== Corporate Malfesance ====
This is extremely difficult to successfully carry out when the vast majority of businesses are privately-owned.
Because of the unique nature of Fenspace economics, it quickly becomes obvious which companies are being looted from within (the amount of biomass coming from
the companies increases without obvious cause), and the companies' owners can take appropriate steps before major harm is done.
==== Illegal Drugs ====
As of 2014, there are no illegal drugs in Fenspace.
This is less because of the libertarian nature of Fenspace, and more from the fact that addiction to incapacitating or mind-altering drugs is self-correcting
in space. (People who drug themselves into a state where they can't tend to their own needs quickly end up dead from oxygen deprivation, either because the
air in their suits or cars ran out, or because they walked out an airlock without a pressure suit.)
Since avoidance of "hard" drugs is a survival trait in Fenspace, there is little market for organized criminals to fill. Generally, they don't
bother.
Organized crime does take advantage of conditions in space to harvest or otherwise create drugs that
can be sold on Earth. The most nortorious of these is thionite, a powerful hallucinogen derived from certain strains of Venusian terraforming bacteria.
Use of alcohol, tobacco, or marijuana in moderation does not incapacitate the user to life-threatening extremes, so there are markets for these drugs in
Fenspace.
Alcohol is trivally easy to make from any starch-based foodstuff, and many Fen do so. (The stereotypical Belter is known for making back-of-the-car "white
lightning," and the White Stallion does a nice side business selling small batches of whiskey
that aren't up to their very high standards.)
Marijuana is almost trivially easy to grow, as long as the necessary hydroponic greenhouse space is available. Hephaestus grows a strain guaranteed to be
handwavium-free.
Tobacco is somewhat more difficult to grow in Fenspace, and remains a major Earth export.
==== Illegal Weaponry ====
As of 2014, there are no illegal weapons in Fenspace. (The use of weapons of mass destruction, such as "kaboomite," were outlawed in the treaty of
KandorCon, but ownership of them is not illegal per se.)
However, many Fen don't bother to go armed. One can only cram so much into a vehicle, and there's no hostile wildlife in space. More importantly,
there's no pre-existing source of food Out There. Given a choice between a chaingun that he'll probably never use or an extra day's worth of
groceries that he'll definitely eat, most Fen choose to pack the food. Weapon caches exist mainly on larger ships and stations that have room for luxuries
(such as Grover's Corners and Stellvia
), and in areas where the local culture is heavily influenced by Fen from areas of the United States where personal weapon ownership is
encouraged, but most of these people brought their weapons with them when they left Earth.
Also, weapons larger than sidearms and rifles are too expensive for most Fen to purchase. As of 2013, only Boskone and the Great Justice team have
military-spec hardware in any great numbers, and most of that is homebuilt.
Since most of the people in Fenspace who want weapons already have the weapons they can afford, there is little market for organized criminals to fill.
Generally, they don't bother.
Just because handguns are legal in Fenspace doesn't mean they aren't controlled. The vast majority of large ships and stations regulate who is allowed
to carry weaponry while on-board in order to reduce the chance of accidental death and structural damage. (While most handwaved hulls are impervious to firearm
bullets, there are plenty of tubes and conduits that handle electronics, oxygen, and temperature control to be ruptured in a gunfight.)
==== Slavery ====
Slavery is illegal in Fenspace, and has been since the Articles of Confederation were signed at
KandorCon.
The scarcity of usable living room in space makes owning slaves problematic, so slaving operations in Fenspace focus on obtaining "stock" for the
Earth market. There is enough demand among unscrupulous mundanes for biomodded pleasure-slaves that capturing, forcibly biomodding, and brainwashing Fen is a
sufficiently profitable activity for organized crime to handle.
==== Terrorism ====
(something should go here... any ideas?)
-Rob Kelk
"Read Or Die: not so much a title as a way of life." - Justin Palmer, 6 June 2007
--
Rob Kelk
"Governments have no right to question the loyalty of those who oppose
them. Adversaries remain citizens of the same state, common subjects of
the same sovereign, servants of the same law."
- Michael Ignatieff, addressing Stanford University in 2012
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| Friday night Strike Force? 09-28-07 |
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Posted by: Foxboy - 09-27-2007, 06:58 PM - Forum: The Legendary
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Inari ensconced herself in the cheery cafe in Steel Canyon. She had checked the security of the bank to ensure there'd be no surprises the next time Kara the Scorpion offered her a transfer schedule. As expected, it was laughable.
She smiled as the barista delivered the "CuppaJo" espresso. The coffee was so much better here compared to the Isles. Inari planned to enjoy her drink and then make her way back into Siren's Call and then to the Isles. She took a sip, savoring the complex aromas that most of the people here were too scent-blind to appreciate.
She turned a half-lidded gaze to the seat across from her. "You can stop hiding now."
The kunoichi faded into view, causing Inari to smile wistfully in memory. It was Akai, one of kaa-san's jounin. She was based on the body and soul-memories of Katsuragi no Sato no Akane, a talented kunoichi well-known for her seduction technique. Kaa-san had bonded her with freely-given permission and secured several political alliances through marriages, assassinations, and scandals, ensuring the futures and survival of the five ninja clans under Lady Nogitsune's protection.
Inari's first fox-possession had been of one of Akane's daughters, so she had some fondness for who Akai had once been. After some "catching up" small talk that was really coded ninja speech, the kunoichi before her placed a sealed missive on the table and faded from view again.
Inari lowered the ambient temperature to create a shimmering mirage that obscured her from view and made her way into Siren's Call. She would read her mother's message someplace more secure.
After chasing the loathsome Bizarre Mouse from the base, Inari opened the missive and read the contents. Kaa-san's precise, neat calligraphy was elegant, yet direct and to the point.
Inari-chan,
This one hopes that her missive finds you well. It has come to this one's attention that Silver Mantis seeks assistance with a minor problem. It is strongly advised that you undertake this task.
This one has some undertakings that will benefit from the appearance of the Infamous cooperating with Recluse-dono's organization.
Your mother,
Chiyuki no Mori no Nogitsune, Shodaime Kitsunekage
''We don't just borrow words; on occasion, English has pursued other languages down alleyways to beat
them unconscious and rifle their pockets for new vocabulary.''
-- James Nicoll
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| Thou shalt not.... |
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Posted by: Rev Dark - 09-27-2007, 03:16 PM - Forum: Politics and Other Fun
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Why do I get the feeling that the vast majority of douche bags that support the ten commandments dont actually know the ten commandments. To keep the mouth-breathers calm not all those that support the ten commandments are douche bags, but there are numerous douche bags that support the ten commandments. onegoodmove.org/1gm/1gmar...dment.html
I give you one such douche bag. I should like to point out that this douche bag is not a mere voice on the internet douche bag; this is what can only be described as a douche bag of authority.
I give you Archbishop Francisco Chimoio. The head of the Catholic Church in Mozambique.
Recently laughing boy rose upon his pulpit and stated that "Condoms are not sure because I know that there are two countries in Europe, they are making condoms with the virus on purpose,"
Thou shalt not. What was it? Oh yes. LIE!
This lying, propped up, douchebag is toeing the party line on condoms and any form of birth control other than punching yourself firmly in the groin and screaming no sex outside marriage! No sex outside marriage!. Condoms are the work of the devil; with viral transmission through unprotected sex being the gift of a benign and loving god. Not only does Francisco call on the authority of his imaginary friend and man-penned holy book, but he is also fucking lying about condoms and trying to vilify the manufacturers. He goes further to also claim that aids vaccines currently being distributed are infected in order to finish off the African people.
Well laughing boy, if I was a genocidal douche bag who was too fucking cowardly to get my hands dirty, I would not use a vaccine; I would do exactly what you are doing tell the people not to use condoms, not to get treatment for their illnesses, and use the least effective means of prophylaxis available (abstinence ie. NONE!) Of course I am not a genocidal douche bag; the Catholic church has not seen fit to raise me to that office which as far as I can tell, is Archbishop and head of the Catholic Church in Mozambique.
Shayne
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| 10th annual "What Are We Like" survey |
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Posted by: robkelk - 09-27-2007, 02:14 PM - Forum: General Chatter
- Replies (1)
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It's time for the annual anime-fan "what are we like" survey!
Ru's fixed all the problems he had with the webform last year, added some new questions, and is ready for everyone on the web forums to take part.
If you want to join in, head here, but be ready to spend an hour at the computer...
-Rob Kelk
"Read Or Die: not so much a title as a way of life." - Justin Palmer, 6 June 2007
--
Rob Kelk
"Governments have no right to question the loyalty of those who oppose
them. Adversaries remain citizens of the same state, common subjects of
the same sovereign, servants of the same law."
- Michael Ignatieff, addressing Stanford University in 2012
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| A Bothersome Sig |
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Posted by: Necratoid - 09-27-2007, 07:57 AM - Forum: Politics and Other Fun
- Replies (7)
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This has been annoying me for a few days and I feel the need to complain about it... this seemed like the proper area. Resently Bob's sig has been:
Quote:
One of the primary differences between the Left and the Right is their attitude toward the Future. The Radical wants the Future to have gotten here yesterday. The Reactionary wants the Future quietly shot and the corpse buried where no one can find it.
The reason this annoys me so much is it is uncharicteristally stupid of Bob. This is because it makes/relies on a false analogy... that the Left is only made of 'Radicals' and the Right of 'Reactionaries' or that the only 'Radicals' are on the Left and the only 'Reactionaries' are on the Right or that the Extreme Left is the embodiment of 'Radicals' and the Extreme Right is the embodiment of
'Reactionaries'.
Its like saying that all Lawful people are Good and all Chaotic people are Evil. I use the D&D alignment system as I see the political spectrum in a similar grid. You have the Left moderate Right on the resources side and the Conservative moderate Liberal on the change side. When I say Conservative/Liberal, in this case, I am not speaking of the modern American terms.
What I mean is that the Conservatives are the Reactionaries, their goal is to keep things the same. Maintaining the Statis Quo is their driving force. What the Statis quo actually consists of is irrelivant in this respect. Liberals are the Revolutionaries, they want things to change. In this case it doesn't matter what it is they want to change... just that it changes from what it currently is.
What I mean here by Left and Right here is defined on an axis of resource distribution. In a pure case of being all the way to the Left all resources are distributed equally to all involved parties. This is reguardless of personall needs or participation of gathering resources, a baby and a 600 pound man get the same exact portions of the resources (this means food and clothes and shelter). All the way to the right means that one indivisual has all the resources. No one else gets anything, reguardless of if there is one person or one billion people in the equasion.
If we apply this to the above quote we get some bizzarre situations. Radicals (Left Liberals) would be a scenario that has everyone owning equal portions of everything and the portions being recalculated everytime even the smallest portion of a resource is used up. (Which would be the part about change yesterday... except that would give them a consistant deadline and be against their alignment.)
If we apply it to the second half of the quote we get pure Reactionary (Right Conservative)... which translates as one indivisual with all the resources forever... everyone and everything and must keep its resorces to itself and protect it from that which it doesn't own... Which explains what is wrong with Friend Computer... after all it unilaterally owns everything and everyone and must protect its property from nonexistant/already eliminated indivisuals that own things it doesn't. This is why it actually makes sense that Freind Computer can own everything and be so against Commies. It just eliminated everyone to the Left of it and kept going until only those it owned as property are left remaining. Then it just kept picking thing that it owned as property... like knowledge.
Just to complete the extremes... pure Right Liberal would be mean one indivisual owns everything and everyone... but who that indivisual is is constantly changing, so only way to legally use any resource is to use it in whatever time period it is used for the ownship cycle. As this requires incredibly small time periods (the smallest known to the system) and everyone is effectively criminal and legal at once and this system collapses in time paradox or at least the legalistic equivalent thereof.
Pure Left Conservative would mean that every participant in the system gets an equal share of the resources and that once they are distrubed that's it. Unless new resources are added the system stagnates to death by design. Any attempt to add anyone new to the system makes the system have to change things around and therefore destroys the system.
Anyway, the quote that started this is logically wrong and seems to be so badly thought out that I felt a need to complain about it. Is there something I'm missing? Is this an overly subtile/unnoted remark I'm missing as a quote to be mocked? Did Bob suddenly deside to pick a bizzarrely political hack quote for some reason?
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| A few more songs... |
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Posted by: RMH999 - 09-27-2007, 02:27 AM - Forum: The Game Everyone Loves To Play
- Replies (1)
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Here are some that might be of use to Doug...
Alcohol
I can make anybody pretty.
I can make you believe any lie.
I can make you pick a fight with somebody twice your size.
Well, I've been known to cause a few break-ups,
An' I've been known to cause a few births.
Well, I can make you new friends, or get you fired from work.
And since the day I left Milwaukee,
Lynchburg an' Bordeaux, France,
Been making the bars lots of big money,
An' helpin' white people dance.
I got you in trouble in High School,
But College, now that was a ball.
You had some of the best times you'll never remember with me:
Alcohol; Alcohol.
I got blamed at your wedding reception,
For your best man's embarrassing speech.
And also for those naked pictures of you at the beach.
I've influenced Kings and world leaders,
I helped Hemingway write like he did.
And I'll bet you a drink or two, that I can make you put that lampshade on your head.
'Cause since the day I left Milwaukee,
Lynchburg and Bordeaux, France,
I been making a fool out of folks just like you,
An' helping white people dance.
I am medicine and I am poison,
I can help you up or make you fall.
You had some of the best times you'll never remember with me:
Alcohol.
Yeah, since the day I left Milwaukee,
Lynchburg an' Bordeaux, France,
Been making the bars lots of big money,
(Helpin' white people dance.)
Yeah, I got you in trouble in High School,
But College, now that was a ball.
You had some of the best times you'll never remember with me:
Alcohol; Alcohol.
(Alcohol.)
(Alcohol.)
Na, na, na, na, na, na, na, na, na.
Na, na, na, na, na, na, na.
Effect: People within range are immediately 3 sheets to the wind  Doug would likely be immune since he's specifically the source of the effect (alcohol).
Or alternatively, he assumes a liquid form composed of ethanol... (fire bad! fire very bad!)
***
Celebrity
Someday I'm gonna be famous,
Do I have talent, well, no.
These days you don't really need it,
Thanks to reality shows
Can't wait to date a supermodel,
Can't wait to sue my dad.
Can't wait to wreck a Ferrari
On my way to rehab....
Cause when you're a Celebrity
It's adios reality
You can act just like a fool
People think you're cool
Just cause your on TV.
I can throw major fits
When my latte isn't just how I like it
They say I've gone insane,
I'll blame it on the fame,
And the pressures that it goes with
Being a Celebrity
I get to cry to Barbara Walters,
When things don't go my way.
I'll get community service
No matter which law I break
I'll make the supermarket tabloids,
They'll write some awful stuff
But the more they run my name down,
The more my price goes up
Cause when you're a Celebrity,
It's adios reality.
No matter what you do,
People think you're cool,
Just cause you're on TV.
I can fall in and out of love,
Have marriages that barely last a month.
When they go down the drain
I'll blame it on fame
And say it's just so tough.
Being a Celebrity
So let's hitch up the wagons and head out west
To the land of fun in the sun
We'll be real world bachelors
Jackass Millionaires
Hey, Hey, Hollywood
Here we come!
Yeah, When you're a Celebrity
It's adios reality
No matter what you do,
People think you're cool,
Just cause you're on t.v.
...Being a Celebrity
...Yeah Celebrity!
...uh-huh
"Where's my coffee?"
Effect: "I'm a star" field - he can be completely and utterly outrageous (superstar hysteria)... and people will let him get away with it, convinced he's some sort of media superstar and "they do this".
... then again, it may not be of much use to him anyway - he's outrageous anyway.
***
Online
I work down at the pizza pit
And I drive an old Hundai
I still live with my mom and dad
I 5'3 and overweight
I'm a Sci-fi fantatic
Mild athsmatic
Never been to 2nd base
But there's a whole nother me
That you need to see
Go check out MySpace
Cause online I'm down in Hollywood
I'm 6'5 and I look damn good
I drive a Mazarati
I'm a black belt in Karate
And I love a good glass of wine
It turns girls on that I'm mysterious
I tell 'em I don't want nothing serious
Cause even on a slow day I can have a three way
Chat with two women at one time
I'm so much cooler online
So much cooler online
I get home, I kiss my mom
And she fixes me a snack
I head down to my basement bedroom
And fire up the mac
In real life, the only time I
Ever even been to LA
Was when I got the chance with the marching band
To play tuba in the Rose Parade.
Online I live in Malibu
I posed for Calvin Kline, I've been in GQ
I'm single and I'm rich
And I got a set of six pack abs that'll blow your mind
It turns girls on that I'm mysterious
I tell 'em I don't want nothing serious
Cause even on a slow day I can have a three way
Chat with two women at one time
I'm so much cooler online
Yeah I'm cooler online
When you got my kinda stacks, it's hard to get a date
Let alone a real girlfriend
But I grow another foot
And I lose a bunch of weight everytime I log in
Online I'm out in Hollywood
I'm 6'5 and I look damn good
Even on a slow day, I can have a three way
Chat with two women at one time
I'm so much cooler online
Yeah I'm cooler online
I'm so much cooler online
Yeah I'm cooler online
Effect: Hmmm.... I'm not sure for this one - mainly I put it up because it's a funny song and William Shatner has a guest spot in the
music video.
RMH
***
GUALTIERI'S LAW OF INERTIA:
Where there's a will, there's a won't.
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| Final Fantasy III DS |
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Posted by: Kokuten - 09-27-2007, 02:12 AM - Forum: General Chatter
- Replies (1)
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Anyone have this/playing this? I'm hunting for a person I can exchange in-game messages with (you have to do so to activate a few of the side quests), and I figure here is a good place to start.
If you have a DS and you're not playing this, you might want to go look it up, it's a fairly good rendition of the classic formula, so far. Wire Geek - Burning the weak and trampling the dead since 1979Wire Geek - Burning the weak and trampling the dead since 1979
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