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edited 11th Apr '18 6:31:51 PM by dRoy

demarquis (4 Score & 7 Years Ago)
#7401: May 10th 2013 at 8:08:05 AM

Well, I don't want to destroy your scenario, but families often have strategies for buying in bulk such that one extra child doesn't really hurt all that much...

I'm done trying to sound smart. "Clear" is the new smart.
GameSpazzer The Beta Male from Against! The! Wall! Since: Jun, 2010
The Beta Male
#7402: May 10th 2013 at 9:16:12 AM

That works too.

MY SOUL IS DARK BUT MY HAIR IS COLORFUL — Brahian Pokémon Alchemist
DAStudent Since: Dec, 2012
#7403: May 10th 2013 at 11:17:10 PM

Let's say that there's an anti-gravity technology that works by designating "zones" of space, and applying a constant force vector on everything in that zone. You could easily have two zones right next to each other with different directions.

Now, let's say that there are two roads that are perpendicular to each other. One of the roads is up and down, and one of the roads is normal. [1] Use this image to visualize where the zones are. In the blue "zone", cars are pulled towards the up-and-down road, and in the red "zone", cars are pulled towards the normal road, so on each road, the other road appears as a vertical wall that cars are stuck to. Now, here's my question:

Would it be possible to design a car (a wheeled car with four wheels under the car, not some kind of Spider Tank) capable of moving from one road to the other? Would putting the wheels at the corners of the car, sticking out significantly in front of the hood and behind the bumper, be a valid solution?

edited 10th May '13 11:17:34 PM by DAStudent

I'd say I'm being refined Into the web I descend Killing those I've left behind I have been Endarkened
SabresEdge Show an affirming flame from a defense-in-depth Since: Oct, 2010
Show an affirming flame
#7404: May 11th 2013 at 1:00:05 AM

It seems valid, though the intersection would have to be more gradual than a single 90-degree sharp turn for the car to make the transition successfully. You may have problems with everything unsecured in the car falling forward, though.

Charlie Stross's cheerful, optimistic predictions for 2017, part one of three.
MarqFJA The Cosmopolitan Fictioneer from Deserts of the Middle East (Before Recorded History) Relationship Status: Anime is my true love
The Cosmopolitan Fictioneer
#7405: May 11th 2013 at 6:40:43 AM

Unless the setting has localized Artificial Gravity devices in the cars, of course.

Fiat iustitia, et pereat mundus.
demarquis (4 Score & 7 Years Ago)
#7406: May 11th 2013 at 8:37:29 AM

I think that there will be a small "zone" centered on where the two roads meet in which neither force is dominant. In that case, a car moving along one road toward the intersection of the other is in danger of losing all gravitational attraction to either road, and just drifting off into space, before falling randomly toward one road or the other.

Might need to guard against that.

I'm done trying to sound smart. "Clear" is the new smart.
Hermiethefrog Since: Jan, 2001
#7407: May 11th 2013 at 3:22:36 PM

How do I figure out laws that are state specific if my setting isn't in a specific state? Should I just take laws for the states in the region I think it's set in and make an average based on that?

By state specific laws I mean things like the age of consent, what you have to do to get a license, gun laws, things like that. Some of it might end up being relevant in my story, some of it is just stuff I'd like to know. I'm avoiding putting the setting in a specific state because it's a fictional city.

SabresEdge Show an affirming flame from a defense-in-depth Since: Oct, 2010
Show an affirming flame
#7408: May 11th 2013 at 3:28:47 PM

Certainly; that'd work. Or just baseline everything off an existing city. It's generally possible to figure out what laws are state-specific or federal on the Internet.

Charlie Stross's cheerful, optimistic predictions for 2017, part one of three.
MarqFJA The Cosmopolitan Fictioneer from Deserts of the Middle East (Before Recorded History) Relationship Status: Anime is my true love
The Cosmopolitan Fictioneer
#7409: May 11th 2013 at 4:52:19 PM

I think in the US, some laws are even county- or city-specific.

Fiat iustitia, et pereat mundus.
Hermiethefrog Since: Jan, 2001
#7410: May 11th 2013 at 5:12:43 PM

[up] Indeed. Things like gun laws, that's especially true.

Madrugada Since: Jan, 2001
#7411: May 11th 2013 at 6:38:00 PM

Hermie, in this case Google is your very good friend. Many municipalities and all the states have their laws available on the internet. Learn to pick your search keywords carefully.

betterthanstrawberry Dreaming out loud. from back in the atmosphere. Since: Sep, 2010
Dreaming out loud.
#7412: May 12th 2013 at 2:30:29 AM

Question: could anyone maybe suggest a city that:

  • Is fairly large, well-developed and historically/economically prominent, but isn't packed to the brim with skyscrapers,
  • Would make a reasonable location for an international art/archaeology-related conference, and
  • Is (preferably) located in a country where English is widely spoken but not legally an official language?

Thank you very much in advance!

Equipped with his five senses, man explores the universe around him and calls the adventure Science.
DeMarquis (4 Score & 7 Years Ago)
#7413: May 12th 2013 at 5:18:08 AM

Washington DC.

I'm done trying to sound smart. "Clear" is the new smart.
Squeakythemaster Since: Dec, 2011
#7414: May 12th 2013 at 9:44:56 AM

Morbid I know, but if somebody broke your jaw, would you be able to scream? Or at least make some sort of sound?

TeraChimera Since: Oct, 2010
#7415: May 12th 2013 at 9:50:39 AM

I don't see why not. Your larynx is responsible for a good portion of the sounds you make, not your jaw.

Night The future of warfare in UC. from Jaburo Since: Jan, 2001 Relationship Status: Drift compatible
The future of warfare in UC.
#7416: May 12th 2013 at 9:57:10 AM

You can. Personal experience. (It wasn't my jaw, but I didn't break it.)

Nous restons ici.
Madrugada Since: Jan, 2001
#7417: May 12th 2013 at 12:31:31 PM

Sure. The sounds you made wouldn't be intelligible speech for the most part (try to say anything understandable without moving your jaw at all— go ahead, try it), but your voice doesn't originate in your mouth; your mouth simply shapes it into understandable forms.

MarqFJA The Cosmopolitan Fictioneer from Deserts of the Middle East (Before Recorded History) Relationship Status: Anime is my true love
The Cosmopolitan Fictioneer
#7418: May 12th 2013 at 1:03:14 PM

And it's technically the tongue that does most of the hard work regarding forming words/letters out of the air being ejected from the lungs, with assistance of the jaw and lips of course.

edited 12th May '13 1:04:51 PM by MarqFJA

Fiat iustitia, et pereat mundus.
Madrugada Since: Jan, 2001
#7419: May 12th 2013 at 1:21:10 PM

Yes, it's much easier to say intelligible things if you are holding your mouth closed — as, for example, if it's wired shut after being broken — than it is if you're holding it open — as, for example, when it's broken and has not yet been set and wired shut.idea

chihuahua0 Since: Jul, 2010
#7420: May 12th 2013 at 7:52:47 PM

In the 1920s, how plausible would it be for a large business owner *

to train his son to take over the company when he retires?

If that's possible, what would the training consist of? Would the son be sitting at a desk figuring out business acumen over paper? Sitting at meetings over business decisions? What else?

Madrugada Since: Jan, 2001
#7421: May 12th 2013 at 8:20:05 PM

1) Very

2) It would depend on the business owner. He might make his kid work his way up in the company, he might simply have him observe the executives, he might drop him into a high-level job from the get-go (with or without sending him to college first).

edited 12th May '13 8:20:20 PM by Madrugada

ZILtoid1991 Since: Jan, 2013
#7422: May 13th 2013 at 2:58:57 AM

What would be the maximum gore and sexual reference in a work with 15+ or 16+ rating?

CrystalGlacia from at least we're not detroit (Living Relic)
#7423: May 13th 2013 at 3:19:51 AM

That would depend on which country's rating system you're going with. If I were you, I'd write the thing first and then adjust if you have to.

"Jack, you have debauched my sloth."
MCE Since: Jan, 2001
#7424: May 13th 2013 at 12:51:04 PM

What a fun way for a person with super strength to stop a car going about 30 mph? Note that they don't have super anchoring abilities but can fly, but not while carrying a car. The person inside the car is slight more robust than a normal human and needs to survive. They are driving the car towards the character at the time, exiting a multi story car park.

alethiophile Shadowed Philosopher from Ëa Since: Nov, 2009
Shadowed Philosopher
#7425: May 13th 2013 at 1:26:30 PM

Depends on the magnitude of the super strength. Requiring that the driver survive puts a cap on the acceleration that the car can experience, which in turn puts a minimum on the distance over which the force must act. If the person can exert a lot of force in their flight, they could just hover in its path and push against the car that way; if not, they could try to run alongside it and pull, or something.

Shinigan (Naruto fanfic)

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