The Old Hack

It could be a lot worse. That genius Didio from DC named one of the archvillains of the execrable series Countdown... Bob.
Yes. Bob. I am sadly not kidding.

Three quarters of a century ago, the Nazis, the Gestapo and all its odious apparatus overran my homeland Denmark. Ignoring peace treaties and all civilised decency they stripped my home of its freedom and independence, reduced it to a mere cog in their war machine, a stepping stone for its conquest of Norway. As time passed, they gradually tightened the screws, taking away all our own mechanisms of government, arresting and imprisoning our police force and eventually inflicting their merciless acts of genocide on Danish homosexuals, Gypsies, disabled, Jews -- anyone that did not meet their nightmarish ideals of Aryan perfection. My family had to flee to Sweden to survive and not everyone made it to safety. Of those that did not, few survived, none of them unmarked.
But the darkness that had fallen across Europe did not last. Eventually a restless giant stirred in its sleep, awoke, and rose to come to the rescue of the Old World. Many nations fought the evils of the Nazis. Of those, few brought as much, sacrificed as much as America did.
That war is long gone now, but I have not forgotten. I and my family directly owe our lives, home and freedom to America and her people. To the soldiers who fought so long and hard, to the working men and women in the factories, to the ordinary people who made the marvelous industry of the giant work and run when it was needed the most. To fathers and mothers and brothers and sisters who sacrificed so much, lost so many they loved. To all of America's people, whatever race or creed, for all of them paid for that war, for that freedom I now have today.
Many years have passed since then. America has changed, since. Grown, and suffered growing pains. She is not perfect and never has been, but she still struggles to improve and make herself better. And precisely this is why America is great: because she always tries to be better.
I will give the last word to my father, who feels this debt as keenly as I do. He is certain that whatever troubles America is enduring she will in the fullness of time rise above them -- because Americans are their own harshest critics, because they cannot rest while they believe injustice reigns.
It has been so for two and a half centuries. And that much, at least, has not changed.
And so, in this dark time of vitriol and partisanship and division, do not forget your roots. America IS great. Do not let anyone tell you otherwise.
I believe in you. Thank you all.

WHAT DO YOU MEAN 'USED TO BE', FOUL UNBELIEVER!!!!! (!)

I have a fair number of friends who stash their cell, room key, money, etc there as the situation warrants, or even when they could have used a purse instead.  At least some of the blame falls on clothing manufacturers who insist on making clothing for women with no damn pockets.....although I suspect at least one friend of liking the Iron Man look she gets from storing a still-glowing cell phone.....
I also know of at least one case of a girl's phone getting ruined by moisture accumulation on a very hot day. :-/

Well, one Danish sports champion is named Tom Bogs, whose last name is pronounced exactly like that. He was a multiple European champion in... boxing.
I am not even kidding.

Three quarters of a century ago, the Nazis, the Gestapo and all its odious apparatus overran my homeland Denmark. Ignoring peace treaties and all civilised decency they stripped my home of its freedom and independence, reduced it to a mere cog in their war machine, a stepping stone for its conquest of Norway. As time passed, they gradually tightened the screws, taking away all our own mechanisms of government, arresting and imprisoning our police force and eventually inflicting their merciless acts of genocide on Danish homosexuals, Gypsies, disabled, Jews -- anyone that did not meet their nightmarish ideals of Aryan perfection. My family had to flee to Sweden to survive and not everyone made it to safety. Of those that did not, few survived, none of them unmarked.
But the darkness that had fallen across Europe did not last. Eventually a restless giant stirred in its sleep, awoke, and rose to come to the rescue of the Old World. Many nations fought the evils of the Nazis. Of those, few brought as much, sacrificed as much as America did.
That war is long gone now, but I have not forgotten. I and my family directly owe our lives, home and freedom to America and her people. To the soldiers who fought so long and hard, to the working men and women in the factories, to the ordinary people who made the marvelous industry of the giant work and run when it was needed the most. To fathers and mothers and brothers and sisters who sacrificed so much, lost so many they loved. To all of America's people, whatever race or creed, for all of them paid for that war, for that freedom I now have today.
Many years have passed since then. America has changed, since. Grown, and suffered growing pains. She is not perfect and never has been, but she still struggles to improve and make herself better. And precisely this is why America is great: because she always tries to be better.
I will give the last word to my father, who feels this debt as keenly as I do. He is certain that whatever troubles America is enduring she will in the fullness of time rise above them -- because Americans are their own harshest critics, because they cannot rest while they believe injustice reigns.
It has been so for two and a half centuries. And that much, at least, has not changed.
And so, in this dark time of vitriol and partisanship and division, do not forget your roots. America IS great. Do not let anyone tell you otherwise.
I believe in you. Thank you all.

Three quarters of a century ago, the Nazis, the Gestapo and all its odious apparatus overran my homeland Denmark. Ignoring peace treaties and all civilised decency they stripped my home of its freedom and independence, reduced it to a mere cog in their war machine, a stepping stone for its conquest of Norway. As time passed, they gradually tightened the screws, taking away all our own mechanisms of government, arresting and imprisoning our police force and eventually inflicting their merciless acts of genocide on Danish homosexuals, Gypsies, disabled, Jews -- anyone that did not meet their nightmarish ideals of Aryan perfection. My family had to flee to Sweden to survive and not everyone made it to safety. Of those that did not, few survived, none of them unmarked.
But the darkness that had fallen across Europe did not last. Eventually a restless giant stirred in its sleep, awoke, and rose to come to the rescue of the Old World. Many nations fought the evils of the Nazis. Of those, few brought as much, sacrificed as much as America did.
That war is long gone now, but I have not forgotten. I and my family directly owe our lives, home and freedom to America and her people. To the soldiers who fought so long and hard, to the working men and women in the factories, to the ordinary people who made the marvelous industry of the giant work and run when it was needed the most. To fathers and mothers and brothers and sisters who sacrificed so much, lost so many they loved. To all of America's people, whatever race or creed, for all of them paid for that war, for that freedom I now have today.
Many years have passed since then. America has changed, since. Grown, and suffered growing pains. She is not perfect and never has been, but she still struggles to improve and make herself better. And precisely this is why America is great: because she always tries to be better.
I will give the last word to my father, who feels this debt as keenly as I do. He is certain that whatever troubles America is enduring she will in the fullness of time rise above them -- because Americans are their own harshest critics, because they cannot rest while they believe injustice reigns.
It has been so for two and a half centuries. And that much, at least, has not changed.
And so, in this dark time of vitriol and partisanship and division, do not forget your roots. America IS great. Do not let anyone tell you otherwise.
I believe in you. Thank you all.

Thank you Hack.

Those who speak of making America great again forget that America has never truly fallen from greatness. Sometimes, people like Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. have to stand up and point out when and where America is falling short of its ideals, but the best thing about America is that we then re-dedicate to those ideals rather than throwing them on to the ash-heap of history.

Three quarters of a century ago, the Nazis, the Gestapo and all its odious apparatus overran my homeland Denmark. Ignoring peace treaties and all civilised decency they stripped my home of its freedom and independence, reduced it to a mere cog in their war machine, a stepping stone for its conquest of Norway. As time passed, they gradually tightened the screws, taking away all our own mechanisms of government, arresting and imprisoning our police force and eventually inflicting their merciless acts of genocide on Danish homosexuals, Gypsies, disabled, Jews -- anyone that did not meet their nightmarish ideals of Aryan perfection. My family had to flee to Sweden to survive and not everyone made it to safety. Of those that did not, few survived, none of them unmarked.
But the darkness that had fallen across Europe did not last. Eventually a restless giant stirred in its sleep, awoke, and rose to come to the rescue of the Old World. Many nations fought the evils of the Nazis. Of those, few brought as much, sacrificed as much as America did.
That war is long gone now, but I have not forgotten. I and my family directly owe our lives, home and freedom to America and her people. To the soldiers who fought so long and hard, to the working men and women in the factories, to the ordinary people who made the marvelous industry of the giant work and run when it was needed the most. To fathers and mothers and brothers and sisters who sacrificed so much, lost so many they loved. To all of America's people, whatever race or creed, for all of them paid for that war, for that freedom I now have today.
Many years have passed since then. America has changed, since. Grown, and suffered growing pains. She is not perfect and never has been, but she still struggles to improve and make herself better. And precisely this is why America is great: because she always tries to be better.
I will give the last word to my father, who feels this debt as keenly as I do. He is certain that whatever troubles America is enduring she will in the fullness of time rise above them -- because Americans are their own harshest critics, because they cannot rest while they believe injustice reigns.
It has been so for two and a half centuries. And that much, at least, has not changed.
And so, in this dark time of vitriol and partisanship and division, do not forget your roots. America IS great. Do not let anyone tell you otherwise.
I believe in you. Thank you all.

Wait. Seems I answered it incorrectly. I meant that it IS possible that Rhoda's spell gets tangled in Catalina's magic - it already happened twice, with Nase and with Ellen copying guardian form. It will just not cause the Shrinkageddon.

Although the reverse is NOT true: there is no name safe enough to PREVENT your child being target for mobbing if unlucky or having other reasons to be targeted, like good marks or not wanting to play the social game.
Of course, making child target might be deliberate.
Not only English: those Hebrew, Greek and Latin names were spread over whole Europe due to Christians.

Three quarters of a century ago, the Nazis, the Gestapo and all its odious apparatus overran my homeland Denmark. Ignoring peace treaties and all civilised decency they stripped my home of its freedom and independence, reduced it to a mere cog in their war machine, a stepping stone for its conquest of Norway. As time passed, they gradually tightened the screws, taking away all our own mechanisms of government, arresting and imprisoning our police force and eventually inflicting their merciless acts of genocide on Danish homosexuals, Gypsies, disabled, Jews -- anyone that did not meet their nightmarish ideals of Aryan perfection. My family had to flee to Sweden to survive and not everyone made it to safety. Of those that did not, few survived, none of them unmarked.
But the darkness that had fallen across Europe did not last. Eventually a restless giant stirred in its sleep, awoke, and rose to come to the rescue of the Old World. Many nations fought the evils of the Nazis. Of those, few brought as much, sacrificed as much as America did.
That war is long gone now, but I have not forgotten. I and my family directly owe our lives, home and freedom to America and her people. To the soldiers who fought so long and hard, to the working men and women in the factories, to the ordinary people who made the marvelous industry of the giant work and run when it was needed the most. To fathers and mothers and brothers and sisters who sacrificed so much, lost so many they loved. To all of America's people, whatever race or creed, for all of them paid for that war, for that freedom I now have today.
Many years have passed since then. America has changed, since. Grown, and suffered growing pains. She is not perfect and never has been, but she still struggles to improve and make herself better. And precisely this is why America is great: because she always tries to be better.
I will give the last word to my father, who feels this debt as keenly as I do. He is certain that whatever troubles America is enduring she will in the fullness of time rise above them -- because Americans are their own harshest critics, because they cannot rest while they believe injustice reigns.
It has been so for two and a half centuries. And that much, at least, has not changed.
And so, in this dark time of vitriol and partisanship and division, do not forget your roots. America IS great. Do not let anyone tell you otherwise.
I believe in you. Thank you all.

GIRL, BUY A SCARF FOR YOUR EARS AND STUFF YOUR TAIL UP YOUR SWEATER!
 
When fictating becomes loud enough to startle your dog....

I can get behind this.
magic writes and rewrites spells wholesale and is the arbiter of how the system works.
  Immortals are capable of creating custom spells for themselves on the fly.  They can create permanent magical objects (artifacts) and can write one custom spell for a user-level account. (a Mark) according to the rules Magic has set up or Awaken a user-level account under the rules magic has set up.
  Humans/Animals/non-Immortal Magical beings can have no interaction with magic, be Marked or be Awakened.  Magic writes new spells and/or abilities for those who are Awakened according to the rules it has set up including the ability to create permanent magical objects and perhaps even Mark others.
I wonder: Magic has only two known functions whereas the others have a lot more.  Can Magic itself Mark someone?  One could argue that most Awakenings are handled by magic,  Can magic create an artifact?  Does magic have other functions besides rule-making that are its province alone?

Seeing all of the girls at the Mall getting shrunk would be quite a sight...although the current scene has high probability of seeing tiny Catalina getting cuddled by Rhoda, which should prove to be adorable.

Ah! Yes, that makes sense. You could compare it to the head developer of a system who happens to have a lot of lesser devs modding. When the head dev does something, it goes everywhere and everybody else puts up or shuts up. When a lesser dev does modding, it only fits within their framework and they have to spend a lot of fiddly work (the equivalent of energy cost) to make sure it doesn't either gets tangled and ruined by the official code or alternately somehow gums up adjoining areas -- in which case it would probably crash anyway because Magic wouldn't allow that.

A slight further alteration would be would Admin privileges vs user privileges.  Makes sense.

Is it too much to hope for that Rhoda's spell gets tangled in Catalina's magic and we get a Shrinkageddon instead of a Catgirl-ageddon?
Ah... as far as we know. Hypothetically, other exceptions may exist. Please forgive me for being a bit obsessive about details like this but they nag at me at times. >.<

Ah! Yes, that makes sense. You could compare it to the head developer of a system who happens to have a lot of lesser devs modding. When the head dev does something, it goes everywhere and everybody else puts up or shuts up. When a lesser dev does modding, it only fits within their framework and they have to spend a lot of fiddly work (the equivalent of energy cost) to make sure it doesn't either gets tangled and ruined by the official code or alternately somehow gums up adjoining areas -- in which case it would probably crash anyway because Magic wouldn't allow that.

I think there may be a methodological difference.
Magic doesn't need to use energy to distort a spell's effect.  It has the option to change the spell permanently rather than making temporary changes at steep energy costs.  That's why I say "Magic mods for free".

The differences aren't that big really.  It's all a matter of implementation.  You have a "fairydoll" class.  It flies and is controlled subconsciously with a method call to determine exact appearance.
Dex' version pretty much instantiates the default class. 
Nanase's version instantiates a heavily-edited child class.  A lot of bells and whistles have been added to the base class, like conscious control, some form of permanent, reusable body, and a personal spell, "fae punch"
Because Susan instantiates her version as a copy/paste code-duplicate without access to the class or class history, hers is wonky version of Nanase's where some default features havereappeared. which keep the code from crashing messily, which still happens when Susan uses the "unsummon" method.

So an even better way to make that determination is to watch via a remote camera while someone else applies said test.

This does not have much to do with electronics, but this reminds me of an internet argument I was especially saddened by. It irritates me when people cherry pick from the Bible to justify their positions -- I may be a sorry excuse for a lapsed Christian, but I still respect many of the messages the Good Book has for us. I tried to get through to this person that I simply didn't find her attitude reconcilable with what Christ had said, and she replied, "The Bible is not for people like you."
I didn't even get mad. It just saddened me so very much. I still cannot comprehend that attitude.
And I hope I never will.

A ham sandwich would be better than what's on the Republican ticket. And I'm a vegetarian.