malek77

Ah well kiddies - since the mortar idea is perhaps not going to pass OH&S tests in the ops department...any better ideas for a verticle mouseholing system, for use in skyscrapers?

(I've had a suggestion for a masonry style hole saw on a jack-mounted drill...with some kind of grenade or gas system in the head to eject the 'concrete plug'...?)

My life experience is what most people would consider sheltered, closeted, even parochial. My contact with the evils of the world is through school alone, and even in that small form I can't understand what drives the mindless/annoying/bully sorts...so yeah, I know where you're coming from.

I don't understand the criminal mindset - and while I can reason using the Rules JoeQ just put up (btw, Tnx!!), the result would still be a fairly nice person...who just happened to deal.

There's something more to criminals than just desperation - particularly in Australia where its honestly not that hard to survive. There's an element of malice, of deliberate sociopathy...I'm trying to understand, but can't.

In my home town, we actually had a drive by - apparently relating to drugs, unpayed debts...and an unreturned lawnmower. That's how it started. One guy didn't pay, the other stole his mower as revenge...

It was so petty, and turned so dangerous. Maybe it was a tit for tat thing...but there's something missing in the logic...and its that bit I don't understand about how the CP world is normally presented.

Guantanamo worries me. I wish they'd do something clear about the legal situation.

At least establish a precedent for a new class of detainee (other than criminal or enemy combatant) and have some form of transparency regarding conditions and prisoner rights...I can only see such situations becoming more common. More people locked up, more questions, and never enough answers...

Which brings us BACK TO THE ORIGINAL TOPIC.

*hint hint*

Guantanamo is an interesting example of the threats we could expect in the future - governments using their own loopholes (sounds obscene, hey?) to indefinitely lock up people on obscure charges. They can even reasonably explain it as a necessary evil given the threat Terrorism represents.

There's the 'immigration zone' thing Australia is fiddling with, to keep illegals out. Its shrinking, tightening, becoming optimised to keep people out. (Generally, I'm Pro-immigration, but I'm not in favour of allowing all illegals, for the simple reason that's basically surrendering your countries immigration laws to criminals.)

The Fingerprinting thing - perhaps its not so much 'everyone is a criminal'...perhaps the system will generate a state where only completely biometrically identifiable people will be trusted...thus excluding Terrorists (rather than the more obvious interpretation of catching them by having an enormous database of everyones prints. Not like fingerprints help stop terrorism anyway - they normally die as they conduct their final act...)

Another thing that's spooked me is something called an Eye Toy. Sounds innocent hey? Go read 1984...we know we're buying something that 'watches' us, we know we're connecting it to a TV and game console/computer system, we know that these things are heading for more and more internet connectivity, mobile that phones can track (and watch!) us, the possibilities of combining all the various Gov't databases, the datamining Business is starting to do, the liability pressures that are making Banks look for 'significant markers' in the actions of their customers for things criminal and terrorist...

Argh! On one hand the above seems good, on the other it seems to be changing the concept of freedom. We don't subscribe to a society for mutual benefit as a choice, we are built in and enclosed by it for the something elses benefit.

*Scratches head.*

I have no specific point to make, other than I'm nervous for all the above reasons - and I feel hypocritical for having issues w/ illegal immigrants and terrorists at the same time as wanting lesser oversight...

Meh. Some OT post that was...

Surface plants on the brains of test animals demonstrate the ability to connect a computer to a brain...

Significant international posturing regarding renewed Space Development...

The Shuttle disaster...

How Iraq became a global economic superpower - step 1: piss off America, step 2: embroil America in long running financial support to recover country, step 3: build a World Stock Exchange as a show of good will...

Israel constructs its own 'Berlin Wall' to keep out Palestinian suicide bombers and clearly define borders...

OBL secretly assassinated by NSA agents, who continue to 'support' the AQ organisation to crystallize support to allow it to be targetted...

(ok, so it was true until the last one, but Hey! Never let the truth get in the way of a good story )

I SOooooooooooooooo hope it isn't just a bunch of countries calling each others bluff...

Rather than doing work the other day, I was - as usual - thinking about the delicate art of Vertically Assaulting a skyscraper, and I had an idea for a weapon that might be useful.

Note *might*. I'd like opinions on the feasibility and sanity of operating this device.

Indoor Mortar

Imagine a tripod, with a gimbal type mount at the top, down which a mortar tube sits. One of the legs is a computer control, and has an operators pendant cable/control so it can be remotely operated.

Like most mortars, its a muzzle loader, but is electronically fired.

Situation : We know there are hostiles 3 floors above, the only entrances are well covered by troops and apex systems. Rather than dangerous frontal assaults...we shall make use of our internal mortar.

Firstly, a solid penetrator shell is loaded. The idea behind this shell is that it is launched at a very high velocity, and will cut straight up through the floors, making a clear path. It has no purpose beyond this, so has no fusing.

The second shell - an Anti-Personnel system, is designed somewhat like a claymore - it has an explosive core, packed around with projectiles, and is arranged so the 'Lethal Area' is a horizontal plane, and won't threaten the firers below.

It is fused electronically - the launcher has a transmitter, which the shell measures its distance from. Once the shell reaches that distance, it explodes. In this case, assuming each floor is 2.5m high, the shell is fused to explode at chest heigh 3 floors up - so 2.5m X 3, + 1m = 8.5m.

The AP shell travels the path cut by the earlier projectile, theoretically clearing the room it has just air burst in.

I was also thinking Anti Armour, Gas, FlashBang and 'Mouseholing' warheads would be sensible additions to the kit. (The mouseholer would allow you 'climb' a tower while avoiding possibly trapped doorways/entrances).

I had also intended the unit be able to fire in any direction by adjusting the tripod assembly - directly down or sideways,or even at an angle...

Well. That's the idea.

Thoughts?

Given my experience with getting Edgerunner of Chrys - probably about $20/$30 AUS. Which would probably be about 7->10 pounds...if you are seriously that desperate, something can be arranged...

I've done a fair whack of Play-By-Chat (PBC). I love it - i can touch type, I have all my computerised notes and calculators handy, and just go nuts writing a story for a character I can't control.

I have a fairly well established gameworld/city that I throw players into for a bit of fun, and am pondering and planning a largescale campaign here on the forums set in that City (its an island called Kiritimati, smothered in sky scrapers. Its a shiny, fast, rich type of place...even the grotty 'rafts' are well maintained around the coastline...by their owners)

If you're feeling really, really n00b, and want someone to initiate you into PBC...I can help!

For playing online - do your best to write a novel-like paragraph of what your character is thinking, intending and doing...and then in italics, probably prefixed by ooc (out of character), a note on exactly what you want the gm to know you're doing, so they understand what kind of rolls are necessary.

Hehehe - ok, what are they like?

I imagine they're full of stories of hostile take overs, how shares are fluctuating and occaisional notes on boardroom context rules or briefcase weapons...is that it? And why are there 4? Is it a continuing plot arc like StormFront?

Any comments on the Corporate Reports? They sound cool...

Ah yeah - I saw that and it freaked me out...perhaps he's sulky after someone made him shutdown his library section?

Drafted into the army, and en route to Chechnya?

A matrix Loa tried to strangle him with the mouse cable?

Hehehe - ok, I've d/led those playtest .pdf's and will have a think about it.

Failing them being any good, I'm sure I can just blow the CP 'DeepSpace' supplement out of proportion...a breakthrough engine's development would make a great plot hook.

tnx all...

...yegods...that's a protection racket.

Hand over your goods or we'll sue your a$$ off...worse, if this keeps going, it sets an extremely alarming precedent.

Hehe - if you can find a vague point that hasn't been covered in excruciating detail already, I'll be impressed...

Anything that particularly boggles you?

The Chrome and Armament sections are good for general insanity about weapons and hurting people, and have a look at Apo-Stasis if you feel like braving an attempt at totally overhauling the entire system.

And if you're waaaaaaaay puzzled with the netrunning system, and have the naus, ability, or insanity necessary to try and rebuild it...personal message me and we can rant about it until we collapse.

Welcome aboard though, this is a pretty newbie friendly place...we are all skilled in the arts of corruption and initiation, you'll be just like us soon enough...

Um. I dropped a Ute on Harry's Pete character...in RoadPunk.

And a Hick and a G-man...all at the same time.

Twas horribly messy.

Then again, I promptly decapitated the character with an orbitally landed spider-probe thingy, froze it and copied his brain into a VR simulation 'up stairs'...and he could keep playing, albeit as a simulated digital ghost...

Does that actually count as killing a PC?

http://www.cubittartists.org.uk/mirpink.html

Hee hee...

Um. Small problem with linear launchers. You've done physics...you'd know about acceleration stresses!

You put a human or delicate piece of equipment in that and they'll be crushed before they exit the launch track.

I am (as of this afternoon) the proud owner of two slightly used books of SF art from the 70's/early 80's...you know the ones, full of false histories of the Earth Federation in the Lagunan War, all the big dramatic Chris Foss renditions of monstrous ships-in-flight on a flamingo pink and ocean blue starfield, the trippy blue scaled/furry aliens playing flutes mournfully while Imperialistic man goes on...sorry, waxing lyrical here.

Anyway - this has reminded me of 'Traveller'.

Has anyone here played it?

Now that its a GURPS thing, is it still good?

I've heard its insanely complex. T/F?

Ooh! Goody goody...more edgerunner...

Um - are you doing the printing nightmare again, or are you just doing .pdf this year?

True.

The best, coolest, smartest and most economically feasible thing we could do is hurl an entire space budget at RLV's...Reusable Launch Vehicles - whether space plane or laser sailing pod or more efficient rockets...it does not matter. The single biggest thing between humanity and space is Escape Velocity - once we can reliably and cheaply get into orbit, all else will follow quickly.

(ps: cheaply means say, $500 per kilo of mass, rather than the current $30,000...)

At least, its good to see a little official interest in space R&D. Assuming it isn't all Rumsfield and the 'exclusive space dominance' idea...

In Aus', where 99% of people pay their bills, what ends up happening is some JERK throws a chain across the power lines and detonates the local power station, knocking us out for 6 hours...

All the lightning strikes, fires under lines, idiot children and suicidal wildlife shorting out the power system down here is ridiculous...and it always goes down on hot days in summer...

I've only heard whispers and rumours of this, and searching on the web is providing a whole heap of strange results...anyone know whats seriously going on?

http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=35570

http://www.warroom.com/every.htm

http://archives.tcm.ie/irishexaminer/2003/01/29/story46492497.asp

Big Brother is creeping up on us and I'm getting nervous...

Does anyone seriously take the cp concept of 'Revolution' as anything like political improvement?

I thought it was to do with the 'cyborg' factor changing life itself...

Me three. Anyone who thinks flower power is a fashion statement should be torched...

'E's right! Strewth mate, you should see the bloody big ones we get from Hexham, they're like 2 inches across an'ed let yer tires down if they thought there was blood in yer wheels...then there's marsh flies that've got a freaking saw for a nose and they rip holes in ya, which fester up and flies come in the next day looking to do ya over wiv maggots...

Yes, wilphe is perfectly correct, though those candles are hopeless. We have these 'garden green' coils to burn too, but they aren't much chop either. There is such a thing as 'saturation attacks' where the mozzies will get so wild that you'd die of asphyxiation if you made enough smoke to fend them off...best to get inside and do the airlock/insect quarantine thing...

What amuses me is that if particles are small enough to easily pass into the brain...then may they not equally as easily pass out again?

And if they did damage, that means they react to bodily 'stuff'  - so wouldn't they react and be absorbed before they got to the brain?

...there is some nanotech I'm considering buying. An aussie company called mountain designs has these mozzie proof pants where citronella has been embedded in the fibres on a nano level.

Sounds good to me...