Emptybee
2mo ago
The eras system reminds me of the Rhys and Fall mod for Civ IV. I was ambivalent about it then not sure how I feel about it now. I guess I'll wait and see what how it winds up playing. One rule of thumb about Civilization that I've followed since III: don't buy the game until the complete version is released. So I've got a year or so.
Emptybee
3mo ago
It's much more than just having an air marshal tag along on each of her flights. It also comes with enhanced security screening at each checkpoint. Even if you're comfortable with the wasted resources—and three marshals per flight plus a bomb dog team at each stop comes to a lot of resources—that's harassment unless they really have some evidence of wrong doing.
Emptybee
3mo ago
I think you're exactly right about the underlying motivation. But, as Walterdim's post makes clear, reframing "flying glass" to 'shrapnel" is so trivial that a lot of people are going to do it without even thinking. And if "flying glass" sounds less badass than "bullet", "shrapnel" is arguably even more badass.
Emptybee
6mo ago
It's annoying that the usual suspects will use this to push their "men are evil!" agenda but aside from that I don't see this anything to be concerned about. There's a well-known political maxim that everyone hates Congress yet, paradoxically, most people like their congressperson. I think the same phenomena is in play here. Most of those women saying "bear" doubtless have several men in their lives who they'd much prefer to a bear. They probably also think other women would be darn lucky to have one of their men in such a situation. That their men are just random strangers to those other women never occurs to them.
Emptybee
8mo ago
In knife vs. bat, knife wins by charging in—sacrificing their offhand arm as a shield—and stabbing the vitals. An experienced fighter can do all that. An inexperienced fighter? They'll dance around looking for an opening that lets them stab without getting hit themselves. But time is on the side of the person with the bat. Reach gives them far more openings; sooner or later one will pay off.
Emptybee
11mo ago
It's hard to say, since it's been almost two decades since I read it. I do recall it was a slow burn. Also, I've never found Stirling to be as engaging as Gibson. But he is one of cyberpunk's definitive authors.
Emptybee
1yr ago
"somewhere between 15% to 30% of plastics turn to ash when incinerated, which is far less efficient than coal."
My gut check says that this makes sense. We started using coal precisely because it burned so well. It does seem likely that plastic wouldn't burn nearly as thoroughly.
Emptybee
1yr ago
Yeah, it blew me away when I first read it. So many of the WWII histories I've read painted the struggle as a near thing but, when the economics are laid bare, it's clear that, if the war dragged on, the Axis were doomed.
Emptybee
1yr ago
Is this the one you're thinking of: http://www.combinedfleet.com/economic.htm?
Emptybee
1yr ago
I've always found this analysis enlightening: Why Japan Really Lost The War. The economic disparity between the U.S. and Japan is staggering.
Emptybee
1yr ago
That's exactly how any new technology works. First, it's so expensive only the idle rich can afford to play with it. Then as more development occurs, funded by those same idle rich, it becomes cheap enough for the working rich. Then the middle class. Then, finally, for everyone.
To my mind, the biggest argument against "the rich keep it all to themselves"—aside from that never having happened with any other tech—is this: national borders. If Country A limits cognitive enhancement to its elites and Country B gives it to everyone, pretty soon Country A will be irrelevant.
Emptybee
1yr ago
I like the proposed changes for the blocking system. You're absolutely right about the Reddit version. Giving users the ability to exclude others from the conversation was a foolish design choice which has already been weaponized and I think will only get worse once more people figure out how it works.
Emptybee
1yr ago
A few possibilities occur:
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Pickpocketing takes a certain level of skill. If you're criminally inclined, strong arm robbery or purse snatching are much easier.
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Maybe it does occur, but isn't reported to police (either because people assume they just lost their wallet or the amount lost isn't worth the trouble).
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Maybe it's reported to police, but isn't considered newsworthy.
Check out The Covenant, the Sword, and the Arm of the Lord (CSA). They were quite real and, by all accounts, a genuine threat.
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