The Old Hack

... ...goldarn you, Prof. Now you reminded me of this. Please note: the link above is really not all that safe for work. At least not if you read closely.

Actually I can empathise. A problem that you have gotten used to and found ways to work around is still a problem. And when it is suddenly gone, it can feel like a disproportionately huge relief just because you can finally ditch the workaround and stop worrying about it.

The Moderator: Please. No spelling flames and/or corrections of this kind. They come across as condescending and invariably bait thread derailment. I am astonished that I even have to mention this. It is a point of Netiquette nearly as old as the net itself. Also, the religious point you brought up is entirely inappropriate. One, we do not need religious discussions in these forums. Two, the changes George Lucas worked on the canon he himself created can scarcely be compared to murder and suicide.

This is not even mentioning all the stuff that got created due to people being inspired by Star Wars. And one funny little detail. ILM was originally created due to Lucas deciding that it would be cheaper to create his own special effects company from scratch than hiring outside professionals. Now, remember a little film trilogy called Lord of the Rings? They had their special effects produced by a company called WETA. WETA was originally founded by Peter Jackson and two of his friends because it was cheaper to create their own special effects company than using ILM. What goes around comes around.

No, I think Yuggoth is another word for the planet Pluto.

Just don't pick up any housekeeping books with titles like "Abbas al-Azrad on the Necronomicon and the Art of Home Maintenance."

That still doesn't cover a lot of things. No byakhees or fungi of Yuggoth either!

Thanks! Dropped a little something into the till. Let's make @mlooney feel at home in the new place! Just... no more evil dishwashers. Please?

I trust you completely, old friend. Go ahead.

Arthur is a LOT smarter than I thought. And I already respected his brains.

I'll happily chip in. Would someone who isn't me please set up the Paypal thing? I hate doing stuff like that.

We also still use wheels. They are pretty old.

Seems to work again now.

Me, I'm afraid. It won't even try to load.

I was actually thinking the same thing.

Shya right. Susan can afford to buy expensive swords.

Skallagrim begs to differ. He has tested a great number of replica swords forged by modern blacksmiths, and some of these are pretty darn impressive. At one point he even demonstrated a bronze blade, which was surprisingly effective -- just not as durable as iron, obviously. ETA: These are tatami mats rolled up he is slashing to pieces. They are not quite as easy to cut as he makes it look.

Both of these would also be acceptable answers if someone did ask you what you wanted scalpels for. Sterile hypodermic needles for syringes, that one might take a little more work.

Well, in that case I am wrong and this stuff is easy to get in Denmark, too. Just order it from Amazon. The risk that they will open your package and inspect its contents is fairly small.

Swords obviously. I was thinking of scalpels and similar odd stuff of a specialised nature. I do not know how it works in the US but in Denmark at least sterilised medical supplies like scalpels are most readily available for clinics, veterinarians and hospitals. Some of it is even being kept track of such as sterile needles for syringes. (Not necessarily high security, just.. kept an eye on. The sort of stuff where money can buy the absence of awkward questions.)

It may hearten you to know how a friend of mine once dealt with a somewhat similar situation, although admittedly he was a teenager at the time. He had gotten this huge questionnaire in connection with some sort of psych evaluation thing his school had decided to put him through. It was incredibly nosy and after just a couple of serious answers he got mad and filled the entire rest of the form out with responses like, "Who wants to know?", "Push off, I am not telling you that" and "Go sod yourselves." He took artistic pride in not repeating a single insult and in getting progressively more rude as he went along. He never did hear from them about it. It may have helped that he graduated from that school less than half a year later. Possibly they decided either that he just wasn't worth the bother or figured that at least he would no longer be their problem after he graduated.

Just one of the opening shots of the Dominion War that I offhand recall would have been almost completely impossible without huge expense. It is the moment where, after the retreat from DS9 and arriving at their temporary new quarters, you get a view of the Federation fleet. It is HUGE. It contains dozens of ships and would have required the budget of a major blockbuster movie to make using physical models, I suspect. ETA: A quick Youtube search turned it up. It is here.

Having family with a lot of money would be a factor there, I suspect. It is amazing how the prospect of generous payment from a possibly repeat customer may smooth the 'awkward questions' part out of many deals.

http://www.egscomics.com/index.php?id=2398

I hereby move that we declare mlooney to be the forum's official Tea Monster. If Sesame Street can have a Cookie Monster, we can have a Tea Monster.