The drives on a Traveller ship are immensely powerful.
Interstellar Wars equivalent to the Type-A aka Beowulf is the Hero Class (Vilani Siigiizuni).
It pulls 1.5g acceleration and can do so for many, many days (the primitive early designs get two years on the power plant and that's what drives the maneuver drive later plants run for 200 years).
At any rate, this means there's no need for aerobraking on re-entry.
Real world spacecraft use aero-braking because it's free delta-V and the rocket equation is merciless so every gram you don't have to carry in fuel is precious.
When you can pull 1.5g for a minimum of two years, the energy budget is changed just a bit. You're probably not going to see much use of Hohmann transfer orbits in a Traveller setting. Breaking physics rocks!
The re-entry profile for a Traveller ship is going to be the same as its launch, except mirrored. The Traveller maneuver drive is unidirectional so you let the hull weathervane and power your way down to a soft touchdown.
What this also means is there's no such thing as a ship that cannot land if its drive can pull more thrust than the local surface gravity, it just changes the profile if it's unstreamlined because the air speeds must be kept lower. Whether the designer of the unstreamlined ship bothered with landing gear or not is another matter.
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03 January 2014
02 January 2014
Crit Up My Sleeve
I am thinking the angle is as important as the count of the pips.
I think I like it more from the top.
Than from a lower angle.
I think I like it more from the top.
Than from a lower angle.
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| 4 is still a crit! |
Potential For Evil
People like to invoke Godwin's law when comparisons are made between something done today and something done by the National Socialists.
But one must always look very carefully at anything such evil people did; even if it's as prosaic as delivering food to orphans.
"The nazis did it." IS a reason to look at a policy, program or law more closely and examine the potential for such things to cause harm. The burden of proof is on those who choose to emulate the actions of evil and not on those who oppose it.
The same thing goes for Communists, perhaps more so because Hitler was a piker compared to Stalin and Mao.
But one must always look very carefully at anything such evil people did; even if it's as prosaic as delivering food to orphans.
"The nazis did it." IS a reason to look at a policy, program or law more closely and examine the potential for such things to cause harm. The burden of proof is on those who choose to emulate the actions of evil and not on those who oppose it.
The same thing goes for Communists, perhaps more so because Hitler was a piker compared to Stalin and Mao.
Tat Concept
Here's what I was thinking of...
It's a bit of a double meaning...
Rolling a 3 is a critical success in GURPS.
Facing the viewer is 2-2-3... One of my favorite calibers. Can't do 277 or 308 with six siders...
It's a bit of a double meaning...
Rolling a 3 is a critical success in GURPS.
Facing the viewer is 2-2-3... One of my favorite calibers. Can't do 277 or 308 with six siders...
01 January 2014
Po Boy
What the LaRue Tactical Po Boy is: A Hensoldt Wetzlar 2.5x 25mm telescope mounted in a standard LT-649 30mm pivoting mount with a spacer to take up the 5mm difference in the tube diameters. Update: it was also available in the taller LT-755 mount.
LaRue ended up with a supply of the Hensoldt scopes from... I don't think it was ever definitively proven where the optics came from but the supposition was that they were off something like a recoiless rifle or other AT weapon that was being withdrawn from service.
What it does is sit behind a red-dot and make it into an illuminated fixed power 2.5x rifle scope.
Originally I had it mounted on Dottie behind an EOTech 552. I stopped using it because when I changed over to the Aimpoint M4s and LaRue LT15-9 rails the barrel nut interfered with where the Aimpoint had to be to fit the magnifier. It sat on a shelf in the closet for a few years.
The other day I bumped into it and wondered... "What if?"
Because I'd decided on at least a 4x scope for Dottie and 6.8x43mm, and had successfully mounted the SUIT L2A2 on her, the Aimpoint had a new home on Kaylee.
I had it mounted as far back as it would go, but wondered if I could mount it way forward. The pertinent question being, "will it clear a standard delta ring?"
Turns out, yes.
I liked this unit when I first bought it and I am happy I held onto it. If I recall correctly it was a mere $230 when a genuine EOTech 3x magnifier was $400 so it was worth losing 0.5x. The whole thing is 0.7 lb. and has the handy LaRue quick detach lever to shed the weight should I want to.
LaRue ended up with a supply of the Hensoldt scopes from... I don't think it was ever definitively proven where the optics came from but the supposition was that they were off something like a recoiless rifle or other AT weapon that was being withdrawn from service.
What it does is sit behind a red-dot and make it into an illuminated fixed power 2.5x rifle scope.
Originally I had it mounted on Dottie behind an EOTech 552. I stopped using it because when I changed over to the Aimpoint M4s and LaRue LT15-9 rails the barrel nut interfered with where the Aimpoint had to be to fit the magnifier. It sat on a shelf in the closet for a few years.
The other day I bumped into it and wondered... "What if?"
Because I'd decided on at least a 4x scope for Dottie and 6.8x43mm, and had successfully mounted the SUIT L2A2 on her, the Aimpoint had a new home on Kaylee.
I had it mounted as far back as it would go, but wondered if I could mount it way forward. The pertinent question being, "will it clear a standard delta ring?"
Turns out, yes.
 |
| All up 9.5 lb. 6.3 for the rifle, 1 for the magazine, 0.9 for the Aimpoint, 0.7 for the Po Boy, 0.2 for the X300 and 0.4 for the MS3. |
 |
| You can see light between them! |
 |
| Po Boy mounted and pivoted out of the way. |
 |
| In firing position. |
 |
| The view through the unmagnified Aimpoint. |
 |
| The view with the camera back where my eye would be. With the Po Boy folded out of the way like this, it's kind of an ersatz spotting scope too. VERY ersatz. |
 |
| The view magnified 2.5x! |
I liked this unit when I first bought it and I am happy I held onto it. If I recall correctly it was a mere $230 when a genuine EOTech 3x magnifier was $400 so it was worth losing 0.5x. The whole thing is 0.7 lb. and has the handy LaRue quick detach lever to shed the weight should I want to.
31 December 2013
Just 1,600 ly Rimward
Dahveeie dimmed the lights on the bridge down to nothing and covered the tell-tale and master indicator panels with her tablet.
Space is dark!
I started to ask what she was doing, and wondering if this was some Terrani prelude to romance when she shushed me and whispered, "let your eyes adjust."
So I waited in the dark listening to the rasp of the air circulation system and the hum of the electronics.
Slowly I started to realize that there was actually a lot of light coming in through the clear canopy of the flying bridge. A moment later, I began to see colors and shapes.
"The Orion Molecular Cloud," she said, "you just can't see much of it naked eye from down well with the muck over you."
I sat in silent awe at what I could see.
"Spacers!" Dahveeie quietly said under her breath, "Systemers is more like it. Can't wait to get to the next well and swim in the muck. Never look OUT and see SPACE!"
Space is dark!
I started to ask what she was doing, and wondering if this was some Terrani prelude to romance when she shushed me and whispered, "let your eyes adjust."
So I waited in the dark listening to the rasp of the air circulation system and the hum of the electronics.
Slowly I started to realize that there was actually a lot of light coming in through the clear canopy of the flying bridge. A moment later, I began to see colors and shapes.
"The Orion Molecular Cloud," she said, "you just can't see much of it naked eye from down well with the muck over you."
I sat in silent awe at what I could see.
"Spacers!" Dahveeie quietly said under her breath, "Systemers is more like it. Can't wait to get to the next well and swim in the muck. Never look OUT and see SPACE!"
30 December 2013
Money Saving Idea
This might not work for you, but I am going to give it a shot.
If I can live without it long enough to save up the money to afford it; I can probably keep living without it.
It's crazy simple.
Now to find the willpower...
If I can live without it long enough to save up the money to afford it; I can probably keep living without it.
It's crazy simple.
Now to find the willpower...
Passing
The first lesson I internalized with my minty fresh third stripe was that nothing was the fault of the people I supervised.
Anything I was supervising was my responsibility and if they fucked up, it was MY fault.
The second lesson, which turned out to be related, was that once you sign for it, it's yours to deal with.
The corollary to lesson two is that once someone else signs for it, it is no longer your problem. With that in mind, don't sign until you're ready to own it.
I am sick of hearing about people attempting to absolve themselves of their responsibilities by blaming the people they hired to do the work after they signed the work release.
It's especially galling to hear it with the "I wasn't there" excuse. Your authorized agent must have been, therefore you were there by proxy. Don't give your damn proxy to someone who cannot properly represent you or don't complain when they don't. Pick one.
The proxy in question is most often the spouse of the complainer.
The first person you should blame is yourself for over-delegating. Your proxy didn't inspect the work done while the crew was still present and signed the work release, that makes it your fault and you now own the mistakes made.
Suck it up.
If you don't like it? see lesson one.
Anything I was supervising was my responsibility and if they fucked up, it was MY fault.
The second lesson, which turned out to be related, was that once you sign for it, it's yours to deal with.
The corollary to lesson two is that once someone else signs for it, it is no longer your problem. With that in mind, don't sign until you're ready to own it.
I am sick of hearing about people attempting to absolve themselves of their responsibilities by blaming the people they hired to do the work after they signed the work release.
It's especially galling to hear it with the "I wasn't there" excuse. Your authorized agent must have been, therefore you were there by proxy. Don't give your damn proxy to someone who cannot properly represent you or don't complain when they don't. Pick one.
The proxy in question is most often the spouse of the complainer.
The first person you should blame is yourself for over-delegating. Your proxy didn't inspect the work done while the crew was still present and signed the work release, that makes it your fault and you now own the mistakes made.
Suck it up.
If you don't like it? see lesson one.
Inflation
Well, it seems that since we only send lawyers to Congress instead of Scientists, Engineers and Economists, we're going to get a stupid-huge increase in the minimum wage.
Oh my Gods the fallacies flying from the lips of the idiots advocating for the increase.
In the first place they have no idea why jobs exist in the first place. A business is hiring because of one or both of two related things. Either there's too much work for the owner to do themselves, or the owner doesn't want to be bothered with doing the work at all.
Those are related because they are both indications of a successful business. A business that's doing so much business that it takes more labor than the owner has to fulfill the customers demand or one that's doing enough business the owner can indulge in the luxury of not doing the actual work any more.
In the latter case, if the government mandated cost of hiring the luxury employee is too great, that job ceases to exist and the owner returns to it. In the former case, if the increase in cost of the employee exceeds the amount of money coming into a business the owner has to make his business smaller to allow the work do be done without the employee or go out of business. Notice how there's no job for our minimum wage earner now?
Even assuming that cranking the minimum wage through the roof doesn't result in mass firings the benefit from the increase is like a gossamer net stopping a freight train. With sensitive enough instrumentation, you could see that the train's velocity was altered by the resistance of the net, but realistically there was no effect.
The same is true of the price of labor. Labor is a cost. Increase costs, prices increase. This is Econ 101 stuff. This is basic ledger stuff.
What the advocates all don't seem to know (or care) about is that the unskilled labor rate establishes the cost of just about everything. Tripling the price of that labor triples the price of everything, and pretty soon everyone's wages are tripled too to accommodate the increase in costs. There is zero difference between making $10 an hour when a burger is $5 than making $30 an hour when a burger costs $15. It still takes a half hour of labor to earn the price of a burger.
Look around you and think hard; because the "I guess I just won't be going to McDonalds" solution isn't. The place that hires the most unskilled minimum wage workers in your local area is the grocery store.
Oh my Gods the fallacies flying from the lips of the idiots advocating for the increase.
In the first place they have no idea why jobs exist in the first place. A business is hiring because of one or both of two related things. Either there's too much work for the owner to do themselves, or the owner doesn't want to be bothered with doing the work at all.
Those are related because they are both indications of a successful business. A business that's doing so much business that it takes more labor than the owner has to fulfill the customers demand or one that's doing enough business the owner can indulge in the luxury of not doing the actual work any more.
In the latter case, if the government mandated cost of hiring the luxury employee is too great, that job ceases to exist and the owner returns to it. In the former case, if the increase in cost of the employee exceeds the amount of money coming into a business the owner has to make his business smaller to allow the work do be done without the employee or go out of business. Notice how there's no job for our minimum wage earner now?
Even assuming that cranking the minimum wage through the roof doesn't result in mass firings the benefit from the increase is like a gossamer net stopping a freight train. With sensitive enough instrumentation, you could see that the train's velocity was altered by the resistance of the net, but realistically there was no effect.
The same is true of the price of labor. Labor is a cost. Increase costs, prices increase. This is Econ 101 stuff. This is basic ledger stuff.
What the advocates all don't seem to know (or care) about is that the unskilled labor rate establishes the cost of just about everything. Tripling the price of that labor triples the price of everything, and pretty soon everyone's wages are tripled too to accommodate the increase in costs. There is zero difference between making $10 an hour when a burger is $5 than making $30 an hour when a burger costs $15. It still takes a half hour of labor to earn the price of a burger.
Look around you and think hard; because the "I guess I just won't be going to McDonalds" solution isn't. The place that hires the most unskilled minimum wage workers in your local area is the grocery store.
Traveller Cartography
Directions in the real world.
Alpha Centauri is trailing.
Sagittarius is coreward.
Orion is rimward.
Epsilon is spinward.
Alpha Centauri is trailing.
Sagittarius is coreward.
Orion is rimward.
Epsilon is spinward.
29 December 2013
Range Update
My Browning Hi-Power shoots well. The surplus 13 round magazine I got doesn't reliably accept 13 rounds. The Mec-Gar 13 and 15 rounders work like they should. My spur hammer bit my web.
Marv's FÉG Hi-Power also shoots well. He had a couple of extraction failures, but nothing consistent enough to pin down the precise cause. His round hammer nipped the web of my hand too.
Marv's new Ruger Mark II ejects in a parabolic arc that goes straight over the lane divider and down my shirt. Got a nasty burn on my neck from that. Also got kudos from the range officer for keeping my gun down range while I did the brass dance.
Willard's Walther P.1 is a strange bird, but it shoots very well. While there are a few 9mm's I'd choose after it, nearly any other 9mm is on my list before it. It just doesn't fit me.
As I mentioned earlier, putting the sear spring back in correctly on my Ruger Standard fixed an alarming "burst" mode. The trigger with the spring wrong was 2 lb. 4 oz. and after it's 3 lb. 2 oz. It's also a damn tack driver.
Willard brought out an assortment of his handguns and let us waste some ammo. His S&W Mod 15 snubby is a dream. His S&W 5904 was very pleasant and it's the first old-style S&W auto that's felt remotely good in my hand. I think that's because I've learned more about how to shoot correctly than when it really bothered me.
Thumbs up to Florida Firearms Academy's New Port Richey location. It's a nice, well run 25 yard indoor range. Being nearby doesn't hurt either.
For clean up I continued my experiment with Frog Lube. I have to admit that it sure takes carbon off. This is the first CLP I've used that seems to actually be good at cleaning, lubricating and protecting. Lots better than the Break-Free CLP I was issued in the Army.
Marv's FÉG Hi-Power also shoots well. He had a couple of extraction failures, but nothing consistent enough to pin down the precise cause. His round hammer nipped the web of my hand too.
Marv's new Ruger Mark II ejects in a parabolic arc that goes straight over the lane divider and down my shirt. Got a nasty burn on my neck from that. Also got kudos from the range officer for keeping my gun down range while I did the brass dance.
Willard's Walther P.1 is a strange bird, but it shoots very well. While there are a few 9mm's I'd choose after it, nearly any other 9mm is on my list before it. It just doesn't fit me.
As I mentioned earlier, putting the sear spring back in correctly on my Ruger Standard fixed an alarming "burst" mode. The trigger with the spring wrong was 2 lb. 4 oz. and after it's 3 lb. 2 oz. It's also a damn tack driver.
Willard brought out an assortment of his handguns and let us waste some ammo. His S&W Mod 15 snubby is a dream. His S&W 5904 was very pleasant and it's the first old-style S&W auto that's felt remotely good in my hand. I think that's because I've learned more about how to shoot correctly than when it really bothered me.
Thumbs up to Florida Firearms Academy's New Port Richey location. It's a nice, well run 25 yard indoor range. Being nearby doesn't hurt either.
For clean up I continued my experiment with Frog Lube. I have to admit that it sure takes carbon off. This is the first CLP I've used that seems to actually be good at cleaning, lubricating and protecting. Lots better than the Break-Free CLP I was issued in the Army.
Sunday Rimfire
Marv made the trade of the day.
He swapped his Ruger Standard for a Mark II 50th Anniversary.
In other news, my pistol is returned to semi-automatic function now that the sear spring is installed correctly. One of the dangers of taking a gun all the way apart to clean every crevice is the chance you'll put something back in wrong. With the spring's leg on the wrong step, it slam fires pretty good.
He swapped his Ruger Standard for a Mark II 50th Anniversary.
 |
| Pictured with my 1957 made Standard. |
In other news, my pistol is returned to semi-automatic function now that the sear spring is installed correctly. One of the dangers of taking a gun all the way apart to clean every crevice is the chance you'll put something back in wrong. With the spring's leg on the wrong step, it slam fires pretty good.
TL 6
TL 6 is a retread of an earlier idea, but scrubbed to be historical instead of being world specific.
George Hurst was born on February 28, 1891 in Los Angeles. His mother was a the daughter of a miner from the 1849 gold rush so she named her only son George so that he'd be named after a successful miner (George Hearst), unlike his grandfather.
George took to the idea of mining, but did so in a scientific manner, going to college back east to learn geology in college and graduating cum laude from Johns Hopkins University.
His latin studies morphed into learning Portuguese and Spanish and geology took him to South America in search of the ever elusive blue jade.
He is equally at home in the US and Brazil, but prefers São Paulo to "home".
He is now 30 and in search of the fortune he knows is buried in the mountains and jungles of the Amazon basin.
24 December 2013
Better
It is better to remain silent and be thought a fool; than to speak and remove all doubt.
Lately I feel like I've left very little doubt.
Lately I feel like I've left very little doubt.
Help I'm Burning!
Tam called me a hipster.
Ouch.
Really, OUCH.
I am not sure what the proper response is to prove that I am actually human.
Cutting myself seems like it would be confirmation of her accusation.
Ouch.
Really, OUCH.
I am not sure what the proper response is to prove that I am actually human.
Cutting myself seems like it would be confirmation of her accusation.
Illuminated Man Cave
Marv is preparing to move out of his flood-zone house. He's lived there since 1953!!!
That means there's sixty years of accumulated stuff tucked into every corner.
One of those things was this cunning pole-lamp.
I've noticed that there seems to be a war on about lights being useful for reading for the last ten years or so. The choices have been too dim to use or so bright you need welding goggles. I prefer a light which shines on my book and leaves the rest of the room softly illuminated. This pole-lamp fits the bill nicely.
That means there's sixty years of accumulated stuff tucked into every corner.
One of those things was this cunning pole-lamp.
I've noticed that there seems to be a war on about lights being useful for reading for the last ten years or so. The choices have been too dim to use or so bright you need welding goggles. I prefer a light which shines on my book and leaves the rest of the room softly illuminated. This pole-lamp fits the bill nicely.
Merry Christmas!
At the risk of being accused of being a homophobe...
Merry Christmas!
Happy Saturnalia!
What's Kwanza?
Chanukah is over, but I hope you had a good one.
Merry Christmas!
Happy Saturnalia!
What's Kwanza?
Chanukah is over, but I hope you had a good one.
More On (Moron?) The Furry-ous Caliber Debate
Someone trolled Arfcom with some "myths of the 6.5" and attempted to get a rise out of the 6.8 community.
Hey, he's a troll and it's Arfcom, shocker of the year that it worked!
Several times he asserted that he'd heard people on the 6.8 Forums putting forth the "myths" he was refuting.
I looked very hard and couldn't find anyone saying any such thing any time recently.
The thing is, all of his myths were once true. Because there's a dedicated body of people who really like the 6.5 Grendel/.264 LBC the perceived faults had been addressed. It is no longer 2007.
The second huge claim is the 6.8 community trolls the 6.5 forums stirring up trouble.
Because that has certainly been true of the 6.5 fans at the 6.8 forums from time to time; I went looking for instances of the reverse.
Guess what I did not find?
What I did find in recent debates were several heartfelt posts about how they'd bungled their presentation of the round to the public at large and how well the 6.8 crowd had done at the same job. Self criticism not attacks by trolls!
All in all I found the 6.5 forums no different than the 6.8 forums in nearly all respects. The same "where do I find...?" type posts. The same bazaars swapping parts. Same sense of community.
Almost as if the trolls are merely trolls and not representative of the larger body of the community.
Who'd of thunk it?
Hey, he's a troll and it's Arfcom, shocker of the year that it worked!
Several times he asserted that he'd heard people on the 6.8 Forums putting forth the "myths" he was refuting.
I looked very hard and couldn't find anyone saying any such thing any time recently.
The thing is, all of his myths were once true. Because there's a dedicated body of people who really like the 6.5 Grendel/.264 LBC the perceived faults had been addressed. It is no longer 2007.
The second huge claim is the 6.8 community trolls the 6.5 forums stirring up trouble.
Because that has certainly been true of the 6.5 fans at the 6.8 forums from time to time; I went looking for instances of the reverse.
Guess what I did not find?
What I did find in recent debates were several heartfelt posts about how they'd bungled their presentation of the round to the public at large and how well the 6.8 crowd had done at the same job. Self criticism not attacks by trolls!
All in all I found the 6.5 forums no different than the 6.8 forums in nearly all respects. The same "where do I find...?" type posts. The same bazaars swapping parts. Same sense of community.
Almost as if the trolls are merely trolls and not representative of the larger body of the community.
Who'd of thunk it?
Better
I am wondering if it really would be better if Mr Robertson had lied about how he felt about homosexuals.
Think about it.
Would you rather know who dislikes your way of life out in the open so you can make a reasoned decision to avoid spending your time and money in a way that supports them; or would you prefer they dislike you silently?
I prefer it be in the open.
Of course, he didn't say he disliked any particular homosexual, he merely stated that he felt it was a sin and that his belief was backed by Scripture.
Notice that he never said he'd refuse to do business with Gays?
Has he ever refused to hire homosexuals? Ever fired someone who he later discovered was gay?
He's head and shoulders above A&E who may be in violation of the 1964 Civil Rights Act for suspending him. Oh yeah, everyone who's been saying that A&E had every right to fire him over his remarks forgot the religion clause of that law, didn't they?
Think about it.
Would you rather know who dislikes your way of life out in the open so you can make a reasoned decision to avoid spending your time and money in a way that supports them; or would you prefer they dislike you silently?
I prefer it be in the open.
Of course, he didn't say he disliked any particular homosexual, he merely stated that he felt it was a sin and that his belief was backed by Scripture.
Notice that he never said he'd refuse to do business with Gays?
Has he ever refused to hire homosexuals? Ever fired someone who he later discovered was gay?
He's head and shoulders above A&E who may be in violation of the 1964 Civil Rights Act for suspending him. Oh yeah, everyone who's been saying that A&E had every right to fire him over his remarks forgot the religion clause of that law, didn't they?
23 December 2013
Here's The Deal
I did a shitty thing.
I am ashamed of myself for doing the shitty thing.
While I've been forgiven by the person I did the shitty thing to, I am still too embarrassed to speak to them.
It was a shitty thing.
I'd probably be less ashamed if it wasn't being the exact kind of asshole I've been working hard to not be anymore.
Admitting the wrong is as brave as I can be at the moment.
I am ashamed of myself for doing the shitty thing.
While I've been forgiven by the person I did the shitty thing to, I am still too embarrassed to speak to them.
It was a shitty thing.
I'd probably be less ashamed if it wasn't being the exact kind of asshole I've been working hard to not be anymore.
Admitting the wrong is as brave as I can be at the moment.
Light Bulb Loophole
And you know it's coming...
Halogen bulbs got an exemption to the incandescent ban and I happen to like the quality of the light.
They use less juice than conventional bulbs, 53w for 75w equivalence for example and just flat look better than compact florescent. They also work with dimmer switches, which CF bulbs are miserable at.
Halogen bulbs got an exemption to the incandescent ban and I happen to like the quality of the light.
They use less juice than conventional bulbs, 53w for 75w equivalence for example and just flat look better than compact florescent. They also work with dimmer switches, which CF bulbs are miserable at.
Forty Five
Today is not my birthday.
But I am presently 45 years old plus some days.
I am my favorite caliber for a while!
Tee hee!
But I am presently 45 years old plus some days.
I am my favorite caliber for a while!
Tee hee!
22 December 2013
TL 5
Kasper Meylin is originally from Hesse-Kassel and was abducted when he was 14 and shipped off to Virginia for seven back breaking years as an indentured farm-hand.
He spent the next two years trapping to earn enough money to stake a homestead in western Virginia for himself and his wife, Gretchen.
His time as a trapper has made him known and welcome among the nearby Tutelo tribes.
His prized possessions are a trade tomahawk and a Pennsylvania rifle.
His hopes and dreams are very high in 1753 America.
Update:
$450 and 8.3 lb. for buckskins. Yikes! He's not carrying much more than the weapons thanks to the cost of that. $4,000 of his starting wealth is tied up in his household, including the land, house and livestock. There are things that he reasonable could take with him from home that exceed the $1,000 normally allowed; an understanding GM will allow it.
He spent the next two years trapping to earn enough money to stake a homestead in western Virginia for himself and his wife, Gretchen.
His time as a trapper has made him known and welcome among the nearby Tutelo tribes.
His prized possessions are a trade tomahawk and a Pennsylvania rifle.
His hopes and dreams are very high in 1753 America.
Update:
$450 and 8.3 lb. for buckskins. Yikes! He's not carrying much more than the weapons thanks to the cost of that. $4,000 of his starting wealth is tied up in his household, including the land, house and livestock. There are things that he reasonable could take with him from home that exceed the $1,000 normally allowed; an understanding GM will allow it.
Need New Ink
Because I am a homemaker, I just realized that I can just get all tatted up!
I think three six siders adding up to three on the inside of my right wrist is appropriate for a rabid GURPS GM.
I think three six siders adding up to three on the inside of my right wrist is appropriate for a rabid GURPS GM.
TL Project
TL5 and TL6 are 99% done.
Got to finalize the character sheets and make write ups.
I might even get that done later today.
TL5 was a road block. The Patriot being in high rotation helped a lot with breaking the character creation block.
Got to finalize the character sheets and make write ups.
I might even get that done later today.
TL5 was a road block. The Patriot being in high rotation helped a lot with breaking the character creation block.
21 December 2013
Gone
There is no giant box under the tree.
The Ogre Designer's Edition is shown as "out of print" at SJ Games.
We are now safely out of the window of temptation for an expensive thing that I wanted, but had not place to store and would probably have never used.
The Ogre Designer's Edition is shown as "out of print" at SJ Games.
We are now safely out of the window of temptation for an expensive thing that I wanted, but had not place to store and would probably have never used.
It's A Gas
Gas operated guns all work basically the same.
Some of the burning stuff what's pushin' the bullet is tapped to push the action.
You need two things in balance to make it work.
First the hole where the gas is tapped needs to be big enough to pass enough gas to make the action cycle.
Second the pressure that's feeding that work needs to be maintained long enough that the needed volume is tapped. This is called the dwell time. Dwell time is what matters most in an AR.
On most guns this balance is made by the designer and you don't have a choice in the matter.
The AR, on the other hand, has multiple barrel lengths and gas-port locations.
There are four gas port locations. Pistol, Carbine, Mid-Length and Rifle. We're gonna ignore pistol because we're talking rifles here.
Unless you're doing an SBR, your barrel choices are (effectively) 16" and 20". There are some choices between and some longer, but 99% of the market is 16 or 20.
The 20" barrel is the original rifle length and, SURPRISE, normally comes with a rifle gas system. This is the original balanced design and works well.
Way back in the early sixties, Colt decided that a shorter M16 would be handy, so they devised the R605. The 605 is simply a standard M16 with the barrel cut down to the front sight base with just enough poking out to put the flash-hider on. That makes it about 15-3/8" long.
It didn't work very well in cold weather because there's a pressure drop with cold ammo and there's just not enough dwell time to get the action going at those pressures. Making the gas port larger doesn't always make things better.
Modern clones of R605 with 16" barrels don't fare any better.
Colt's next attempt to make a short M16 resulted in the R607. The R607 introduces what's known as the carbine length gas system today. It has a 10" barrel with the same dwell time as the R605 and since the gas port is much closer to the chamber it is tapping much higher pressure gas. It turns out that it too doesn't have enough dwell time. A 3.5" moderator was developed to take care of both the excessive muzzle blast and give more effective dwell time.
A 4.5" moderator was developed for the 10" barreled XM177 and XM177E1 to increase reliability and finally the barrel was increased to 11.5" in the XM177E2.
Eventually Colt looked hard at the problem and found that the ideal dwell time for the carbine gas port was a 14.1" barrel. Since a 14.5" barrel is identical from the gas-port forward as a rifle, this was the length they settled on for all their carbines ever since.
Except... 14.5" is an SBR. Commercial guns got the legally mandated 16" minimum barrel length.
A 16" barrel with a carbine gas system is actually over-gassed because it has too much dwell. But it's generally good-enough and it was simple to do.
The next developments histories are a bit murky.
The idea of the R605 really snagged the imagination of many. A rifle's sight radius with a shorter handier barrel seems ideal. Thus was born the Dissipator (I think Bushmaster did it first). The Dissipator is a 16" barrel with a front sight base in the rifle position, but with a gas port in the carbine position and hidden under rifle handguards. It has the same over-gassed situation as any other 16" carbine.
Finally there's the mid-length gas system, which is literally halfway between the carbine and rifle gas port distance. What it has is nearly the same dwell as the 20" and rifle or 14.5" and carbine but with the legally mandated 16" barrel. Personally I think this is the ideal system for a 16" barrel.
Some of the burning stuff what's pushin' the bullet is tapped to push the action.
You need two things in balance to make it work.
First the hole where the gas is tapped needs to be big enough to pass enough gas to make the action cycle.
Second the pressure that's feeding that work needs to be maintained long enough that the needed volume is tapped. This is called the dwell time. Dwell time is what matters most in an AR.
On most guns this balance is made by the designer and you don't have a choice in the matter.
The AR, on the other hand, has multiple barrel lengths and gas-port locations.
There are four gas port locations. Pistol, Carbine, Mid-Length and Rifle. We're gonna ignore pistol because we're talking rifles here.
Unless you're doing an SBR, your barrel choices are (effectively) 16" and 20". There are some choices between and some longer, but 99% of the market is 16 or 20.
The 20" barrel is the original rifle length and, SURPRISE, normally comes with a rifle gas system. This is the original balanced design and works well.
Way back in the early sixties, Colt decided that a shorter M16 would be handy, so they devised the R605. The 605 is simply a standard M16 with the barrel cut down to the front sight base with just enough poking out to put the flash-hider on. That makes it about 15-3/8" long.
It didn't work very well in cold weather because there's a pressure drop with cold ammo and there's just not enough dwell time to get the action going at those pressures. Making the gas port larger doesn't always make things better.
Modern clones of R605 with 16" barrels don't fare any better.
Colt's next attempt to make a short M16 resulted in the R607. The R607 introduces what's known as the carbine length gas system today. It has a 10" barrel with the same dwell time as the R605 and since the gas port is much closer to the chamber it is tapping much higher pressure gas. It turns out that it too doesn't have enough dwell time. A 3.5" moderator was developed to take care of both the excessive muzzle blast and give more effective dwell time.
A 4.5" moderator was developed for the 10" barreled XM177 and XM177E1 to increase reliability and finally the barrel was increased to 11.5" in the XM177E2.
Eventually Colt looked hard at the problem and found that the ideal dwell time for the carbine gas port was a 14.1" barrel. Since a 14.5" barrel is identical from the gas-port forward as a rifle, this was the length they settled on for all their carbines ever since.
Except... 14.5" is an SBR. Commercial guns got the legally mandated 16" minimum barrel length.
A 16" barrel with a carbine gas system is actually over-gassed because it has too much dwell. But it's generally good-enough and it was simple to do.
The next developments histories are a bit murky.
The idea of the R605 really snagged the imagination of many. A rifle's sight radius with a shorter handier barrel seems ideal. Thus was born the Dissipator (I think Bushmaster did it first). The Dissipator is a 16" barrel with a front sight base in the rifle position, but with a gas port in the carbine position and hidden under rifle handguards. It has the same over-gassed situation as any other 16" carbine.
Finally there's the mid-length gas system, which is literally halfway between the carbine and rifle gas port distance. What it has is nearly the same dwell as the 20" and rifle or 14.5" and carbine but with the legally mandated 16" barrel. Personally I think this is the ideal system for a 16" barrel.
Self Help
Contrary to appearances, a conversation I had DID help.
It helped a lot.
Thanks Erin!
I just needed some time to absorb and I can't absorb while there's an audience to deflect on.
It helped a lot.
Thanks Erin!
I just needed some time to absorb and I can't absorb while there's an audience to deflect on.
20 December 2013
Gaming Guest Post
FuzzyGeff was kind enough to do a write up of the Eye Spiker for me. His invention, he deserves all credit and blame.
The eyespiker may be my most feared creation, which is odd, since I wasn’t the GM when I came up with it.
It works like so: Glowing mystic runes appear on the ground, swirl about, and disappear in a flash of color; where they were, is now a tiny demonic being, dressed for mountain climbing. I point out a victim, whereupon the demon cackles gleefully and gives chase. If the victim sticks around, the demon climbs him, wraps its tail around his neck, and gets to work.
The eyespiker’s job is pretty self-explanatory. It pulls a metal rod from its belt, points it straight at one of the victim’s eyes, and pulls a handle; the rod is now L-shaped and barbed. The barbed end is, of course, pointed at the aforementioned eye. The demon pulls out a mallet, and (I assume) gains the victim’s undivided attention. As long as the poor bastard keeps spending every action he gets struggling to avoid getting a real close look at sharp, shiny metal, things don’t get any worse.
Otherwise, the eyespiker earns his name. He pounds that barbed spike through the eye and into the skull, then taps the handle on the side, giving the spike a 90° twist. Then, he puts away the hammer, draws forth the second spike, and repeats the process on the remaining eye. If anybody is getting bright ideas about toughing this out with three or more eyes, they will find that there are always enough spikes.
The mechanism is actually quite simple: the spell Perfect Illusion, ideally cast at double cost in order to fool the sense of touch. All the details are me earning my Illusion Art skill. The practical effect is just keeping one enemy from doing anything, at the cost of one illusion wizard doing nothing else. Sure, I could just put an imaginary bucket of shit on the guy’s head (hey, there’s no extra cost to fool the sense of taste...), but nobody would ask me to write that up for their blog a decade or two later.
19 December 2013
Tolerance
I was going to be specific, but then I realized it was more general.
If you want to be tolerated, you have to be tolerable.
You also have to remember that tolerate is not a synonym for "like".
If you want to be tolerated, you have to be tolerable.
You also have to remember that tolerate is not a synonym for "like".
Contemporary
The Fabrique-Nationale Hi-Power is nearly the same age as the Walther P.38.
While features of the P.38 live on in the Beretta Model 92, the HP is still made and is indistinguishable from guns designed in the past ten years except for the lack of aplastic polymer frame.
For the most part I think that the P.38 is a product of its time whereas the Browning design is simply far ahead of its time. The Walther is a lot like other designs from the late '30's and seems extraordinarily clunky by today's standards. It's completely modern in 1938 though with advanced features that surpassed nearly all of the guns that came before it in a service pistol.
While features of the P.38 live on in the Beretta Model 92, the HP is still made and is indistinguishable from guns designed in the past ten years except for the lack of a
For the most part I think that the P.38 is a product of its time whereas the Browning design is simply far ahead of its time. The Walther is a lot like other designs from the late '30's and seems extraordinarily clunky by today's standards. It's completely modern in 1938 though with advanced features that surpassed nearly all of the guns that came before it in a service pistol.
Consistent
A person of a given faith pointing out that their faith defines a particular activity is a sin is only being consistent with their faith.
Becoming angry about it when it's a behavior you engage in says more about you than it does about the person making the observation.
I am constantly amazed at people's ability to allow a faith they don't espouse to affect their lives.
Being an atheist, it's not immoral for me (a man) to ass-fuck a willing male partner. I have no God to tell me that this is a sin; nor does someone who claims this non-existent God is real have any power over OUR choice to engage in anal sex.
My being a straight male has a lot more with my refusal than any religious conviction.
Oh yeah, that whole refusal to believe in God is ALSO a sin.
Becoming angry about it when it's a behavior you engage in says more about you than it does about the person making the observation.
I am constantly amazed at people's ability to allow a faith they don't espouse to affect their lives.
Being an atheist, it's not immoral for me (a man) to ass-fuck a willing male partner. I have no God to tell me that this is a sin; nor does someone who claims this non-existent God is real have any power over OUR choice to engage in anal sex.
My being a straight male has a lot more with my refusal than any religious conviction.
Oh yeah, that whole refusal to believe in God is ALSO a sin.
P1 Firing Pin Blockage
Here is the firing pin block in position in its slot in the firing pin.
The block is moved up and out of the way by an arm to the right of the hammer that is raised by cocking the hammer. It falls when the hammer comes off the sear and the trigger is released; much like a transfer bar behaves.
As you can see that's a substantial hunk of metal to "shear" away to keep it from stopping the firing pin. The groove on the opposite side is where the firing pin retainer resides.
Next we have the firing pin inside the safety as it would be with the safety engaged.
That little lump on the bottom left of the safety is a cam that presses the sear release down and drops the hammer when you put the gun on safe. Note that the recess that allows the firing pin to move forward is out of alignment with the head of the pin before that cam can press the sear release. So, the safety does NOT become a selector switch if you remove the firing pin block because the safety itself is a block as well.
If one were to remove both the safety and the firing pin block, it would be no more likely to fire than an M1911 with the safety off and grip safety pressed.
The block is moved up and out of the way by an arm to the right of the hammer that is raised by cocking the hammer. It falls when the hammer comes off the sear and the trigger is released; much like a transfer bar behaves.
As you can see that's a substantial hunk of metal to "shear" away to keep it from stopping the firing pin. The groove on the opposite side is where the firing pin retainer resides.
Next we have the firing pin inside the safety as it would be with the safety engaged.
That little lump on the bottom left of the safety is a cam that presses the sear release down and drops the hammer when you put the gun on safe. Note that the recess that allows the firing pin to move forward is out of alignment with the head of the pin before that cam can press the sear release. So, the safety does NOT become a selector switch if you remove the firing pin block because the safety itself is a block as well.
If one were to remove both the safety and the firing pin block, it would be no more likely to fire than an M1911 with the safety off and grip safety pressed.
Evidence
Perhaps the best evidence that both the AWB and NFA are chickenshit massive wastes of time and effort is the recent turn-in of an StG.44 at a California gun "buy-back" (itself a chickenshit term).
That gun spent the past 68 years doing nothing but collecting dust and rust despite being a genuine selective fire assault rifle.
Notice that neither California's assault weapon ban or the federal National Firearms Act kept someone from possessing that gun surreptitiously? At least I assume surreptitiously, because:
"Possession of automatic weapons or short-barreled shotguns or rifles prohibited without DOJ "Dangerous Weapons Permit"; permission rarely granted outside of film industry. Suppressors (aka silencers) prohibited. Destructive devices are prohibited unless are designated as curios & relics, in which case a collectors permit can be obtained. The only AOW's that are permitted are smoothbore pistols and firearms with a combination of a smoothbore and rifle barrel."With all those violations, it was not a $30,000 rifle, it was contraband. But like all banned things that one can easily carry, it's also very easy to hide.
18 December 2013
Pistole Modele Ein
Also known as the Walther P1.
I mentioned to a friend that I'd never fired a P38 and he brought over his P1 for me to play with.
The P1 is in essence a post-war manufactured P38. The very earliest were identical except for markings. Quickly production changed to the more common alloy frame.
There are more pics below the cut.
I mentioned to a friend that I'd never fired a P38 and he brought over his P1 for me to play with.
The P1 is in essence a post-war manufactured P38. The very earliest were identical except for markings. Quickly production changed to the more common alloy frame.
There are more pics below the cut.
17 December 2013
Talent
I braced in the small space behind and between the pilot's and navigation couches.
I knew I should be in a couch myself, but there was no station for me to man. Every once and a while I could actually feel acceleration as the utility grav system strained to keep up with the inputs from the controls as Hamilton pushed the old picket ship as hard as the systems would take. It suddenly hit me why all pilots sounded bored when doing the everyday routine ship-handling. Compared to what he was doing now, it was like reading about sex... I'd never ask why we didn't just let the computer fly the ship again.
He was surrounded by the holo-display giving him an all around field of view. I could see we were maneuvering because the orientation lines would rotate and spin in response to the sometimes violent movement of the controls.
Occasionally Dahveeie, our navigator, would relay a quiet reminder about a vector or obstacle as we made ourselves a more elusive target.
But the art was to her right.
He'd explained it to me once, or tried, it was like explaining color to the blind.
I knew I should be in a couch myself, but there was no station for me to man. Every once and a while I could actually feel acceleration as the utility grav system strained to keep up with the inputs from the controls as Hamilton pushed the old picket ship as hard as the systems would take. It suddenly hit me why all pilots sounded bored when doing the everyday routine ship-handling. Compared to what he was doing now, it was like reading about sex... I'd never ask why we didn't just let the computer fly the ship again.
He was surrounded by the holo-display giving him an all around field of view. I could see we were maneuvering because the orientation lines would rotate and spin in response to the sometimes violent movement of the controls.
Occasionally Dahveeie, our navigator, would relay a quiet reminder about a vector or obstacle as we made ourselves a more elusive target.
But the art was to her right.
He'd explained it to me once, or tried, it was like explaining color to the blind.
15 December 2013
Term Of The Art
Anglave provides us a new description for the precise moment that an internet forum discussion becomes pointless.
"Then the Cessna hit the treadmill."
Ref here.
"Then the Cessna hit the treadmill."
Ref here.
Potential
Just because I could, does not mean I did.
Just because I can, does not mean I will.
However, just because I haven't does not mean I won't.
Try to keep that in mind while you're blaming me.
Just because I can, does not mean I will.
However, just because I haven't does not mean I won't.
Try to keep that in mind while you're blaming me.
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