5386
Forum Games - The Beer Cellar! / Re: Word Association
« on: June 15, 2015, 11:00:12 PM »
Warsaw
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5388
Forum Games - The Beer Cellar! / Re: Word Association
« on: June 14, 2015, 09:55:21 AM »
Gringo
5389
Forum Games - The Beer Cellar! / Re: Word Association
« on: June 13, 2015, 11:50:40 PM »
Meccano
5394
Forum Games - The Beer Cellar! / Re: Word Association
« on: June 12, 2015, 01:51:45 PM »
Hoarse
5395
Forum Games - The Beer Cellar! / Re: Word Association
« on: June 11, 2015, 07:52:17 AM »
Mangetout
5396
Writing, Poems, AARs, and Stories - The Storyteller's Hall / Re: Feedback/criticism/brainstorming help wanted on story element concept
« on: June 09, 2015, 09:22:15 PM »
Gamling's Fire sounds interesting - I'm pretty sure I haven't run into anything like it before.
I can see why you're concerned about it being the most important factor in society, because it looks to me very much as if it is. As far as I can see, the survival of any significant community is absolutely dependent on it. How much effect that has depends on how widespread the ability is to make it. If there's one source (which is what your description implies to me), its owner will be king - probably a more absolute ruler than any in our world. If it can be made by anyone with a bit of effort and/or knowledge, it will be a necessity of life, but no more so than say food.
On which subject, I can see food being a problem too. The sort of sub-arctic environment you describe isn't going to provide enough food for a large population, even if they can keep warm. Are they growing crops and/or raising animals under Gamling's Fire too?
I'm also wondering now what it costs to make Gamling's Fire. It seems to be quite widely available, so it must be fairly cheap.
I can see why you're concerned about it being the most important factor in society, because it looks to me very much as if it is. As far as I can see, the survival of any significant community is absolutely dependent on it. How much effect that has depends on how widespread the ability is to make it. If there's one source (which is what your description implies to me), its owner will be king - probably a more absolute ruler than any in our world. If it can be made by anyone with a bit of effort and/or knowledge, it will be a necessity of life, but no more so than say food.
On which subject, I can see food being a problem too. The sort of sub-arctic environment you describe isn't going to provide enough food for a large population, even if they can keep warm. Are they growing crops and/or raising animals under Gamling's Fire too?
I'm also wondering now what it costs to make Gamling's Fire. It seems to be quite widely available, so it must be fairly cheap.
5397
History, Science, and Interesting Information - The Great Library / Re: Nature yays
« on: June 09, 2015, 12:23:41 AM »The "what if" article has at least one flaw though - some spiders DO live on the water and some are very capable swimmersYou could always let Randall Munroe know - I'm sure he'd be overjoyed to discover there are even more spider habitats...
5399
The Welcome Hall - Start Here! / Re: Hello (not very original subject for an intro post, but there you go)
« on: June 07, 2015, 10:57:22 PM »
Welcome to Exilian! I hope you enjoy your time here.
I will be at ExiliCon too (probably running the reception desk all day) - I look forward to seeing you there.
I will be at ExiliCon too (probably running the reception desk all day) - I look forward to seeing you there.
5400
History, Science, and Interesting Information - The Great Library / Re: Nature yays
« on: June 07, 2015, 10:35:42 PM »
This one is an academic paper - I suspect Jubal will find it interesting, while arachnophobes will not want to go anywhere near it.
It begins with these words:
In late October, 2009, the managers of the Back River Wastewater Treatment Plant in Baltimore, MD sought assistance in mitigating what they described as an "extreme spider situation" in their sand filtration facility.
Effectively, they had built a spider farm (covered, warm, lots of nooks and crannies, steady supply of food), and were experiencing a good breeding year. I won't present the numbers here, in case readers run away screaming, but they are quite remarkable. One of the concluding comments is this:
On-site personnel should be reassured that the spiders are harmless and the facility's immense shroud of silk should be presented in a positive light as a record-breaking natural history wonder.
For those interested, the paper is linked from the current xkcd "What If?" article.
It begins with these words:
In late October, 2009, the managers of the Back River Wastewater Treatment Plant in Baltimore, MD sought assistance in mitigating what they described as an "extreme spider situation" in their sand filtration facility.
Effectively, they had built a spider farm (covered, warm, lots of nooks and crannies, steady supply of food), and were experiencing a good breeding year. I won't present the numbers here, in case readers run away screaming, but they are quite remarkable. One of the concluding comments is this:
On-site personnel should be reassured that the spiders are harmless and the facility's immense shroud of silk should be presented in a positive light as a record-breaking natural history wonder.
For those interested, the paper is linked from the current xkcd "What If?" article.