Story Wednesday July 18, 2018

[Pharaoh RutinTutin 1,586]

The Shrinking option does not necessarily need Rhoda.

Germahn Labs has not enjoyed much time on panel for several arcs.

[Scotty 1,061]

33 minutes ago, Pharaoh RutinTutin said:

The Shrinking option does not necessarily need Rhoda.

Germahn Labs has not enjoyed much time on panel for several arcs.

...Wait.... you don't think....

 

Tedd's going to be working at Germahn Labs!

 

 

Maybe.

[Pharaoh RutinTutin 1,586]

2 minutes ago, Scotty said:

...Wait.... you don't think....

While I try to avoid it, there are times when I just can't keep those neurons from firing in a meaningful sequence.

[hkmaly 490]

44 minutes ago, Scotty said:

1 hour ago, Pharaoh RutinTutin said:

The Shrinking option does not necessarily need Rhoda.

Germahn Labs has not enjoyed much time on panel for several arcs.

...Wait.... you don't think....

 

Tedd's going to be working at Germahn Labs!

Unlikely. Germahn Labs are in Europe.

[Pharaoh RutinTutin 1,586]

21 minutes ago, hkmaly said:

Germahn Labs are in Europe.

German labs are in Europe.

Germahn Labs are in Moperville.

Edit:  or should that be, Germahn Labs is in Moperville?

Even though the word "labs" is plural, the name "Germahn Labs" might be considered singular.

Grammar Police sharpshooters have me in their sights.

Edited July 19, 2018 by Pharaoh RutinTutin
Useless Detail Added

[CritterKeeper 1,102]

10 hours ago, Scotty said:

Have Rhoda shrink them down and then have them spar over a thickly frosted cake.

 

10 hours ago, ChronosCat said:

Ooh, that's perfect! Soft, tasty, and no chance of drowning!

Drowning, maybe not, but suffocation is definitely a problem with anything soft enough to sink into but not thick enough to swim in.  That was actually one of the nastier, more embarassing ways for a GM to kill off a party of adventurers -- instead of spikes or water, have your trap door drop them into a giant vat of whipped cream!

7 hours ago, hkmaly said:

What about finding some big heap of snow? Falling into snow is usually safer than falling to water ...

Snow generally doesn't get that deep in Chicagoland.  Except where it's been piled up by plows, in which case it's a jumble of ice, broken-off cement or concrete, salt, sand, and compacted (and thus hardened) snow.  Not something you want to fall onto.

55 minutes ago, Pharaoh RutinTutin said:

German labs are in Europe.

Germahn Labs are in Moperville.

Edit:  or should that be, Germahn Labs is in Moperville?

Even though the word "labs" is plural, the name "Germahn Labs" might be considered singular.

Grammar Police sharpshooters have me in their sights.

"Gehrman Labs" is the proper name of a business, a singular entity, so the proper construction is "Gehrman Labs is in Moperville."  You might then follow by saying, "There are several Gehrman labs which are scattered throughout the suburbs," in which case "Gehrman" is a shortening of the proper name, and the lower-case "labs" is referring to multiple separate facilities, thus taking the plural form "are."

[The Old Hack 2,448]

1 hour ago, CritterKeeper said:

"Gehrman Labs" is the proper name of a business, a singular entity, so the proper construction is "Gehrman Labs is in Moperville."  You might then follow by saying, "There are several Gehrman labs which are scattered throughout the suburbs," in which case "Gehrman" is a shortening of the proper name, and the lower-case "labs" is referring to multiple separate facilities, thus taking the plural form "are."

I am not sure this is Germahn to the topic.

[Scotty 1,061]

Just now, Pharaoh RutinTutin said:

Even though the word "labs" is plural, the name "Germahn Labs" might be considered singular.

Just now, CritterKeeper said:

"Gehrman Labs" is the proper name of a business, a singular entity, so the proper construction is "Gehrman Labs is in Moperville."

While the business entity itself would be singular, Q&A#4 suggests the facility is composed of multiple lab structures, which makes sense if you want to minimize potential damage if an experiment goes wrong.

 

[CritterKeeper 1,102]

1 hour ago, Scotty said:

While the business entity itself would be singular, Q&A#4 suggests the facility is composed of multiple lab structures, which makes sense if you want to minimize potential damage if an experiment goes wrong.

Yes, and I addressed that in the part of my post you didn't quote:

7 hours ago, CritterKeeper said:

You might then follow by saying, "There are several Gehrman labs which are scattered throughout the suburbs," in which case "Gehrman" is a shortening of the proper name, and the lower-case "labs" is referring to multiple separate facilities, thus taking the plural form "are."

 

[Scotty 1,061]

32 minutes ago, CritterKeeper said:

Yes, and I addressed that in the part of my post you didn't quote:

 

It's what happens when you respond to a post after just getting out of bed....blargh...

[ChronosCat 155]

15 hours ago, CritterKeeper said:

Drowning, maybe not, but suffocation is definitely a problem with anything soft enough to sink into but not thick enough to swim in.

Well, it all depends on how large/heavy they are, and how thick and firm the cake and/or frosting is. If they're fairy-doll size, a normal single or two-layer cake that's on the firmer side ought to provide sufficient padding (so long as they're not flying too high), while not being likely to fill in the hole/crater any time soon. At smaller sizes, the risk of creating a hole that could fill in would be greater, but on the other hand by Dan's normal shrinking rules the characters would be lighter too, so it might all balance out. Smaller sizes would also bring greater risk from the frosting itself; firmer frosting would reduce the risk, but it also might be a good idea to frost the cake more lightly in that scenario as well.

[hkmaly 490]

On 7/19/2018 at 6:41 AM, Pharaoh RutinTutin said:

Germahn Labs are in Moperville.

Edit:  or should that be, Germahn Labs is in Moperville?

Where is that - ... oh, right. Ok, apparently those might be the labs Tedd would be working in.

6 hours ago, ChronosCat said:

22 hours ago, CritterKeeper said:

Drowning, maybe not, but suffocation is definitely a problem with anything soft enough to sink into but not thick enough to swim in.

Well, it all depends on how large/heavy they are, and how thick and firm the cake and/or frosting is. If they're fairy-doll size, a normal single or two-layer cake that's on the firmer side ought to provide sufficient padding (so long as they're not flying too high), while not being likely to fill in the hole/crater any time soon. At smaller sizes, the risk of creating a hole that could fill in would be greater, but on the other hand by Dan's normal shrinking rules the characters would be lighter too, so it might all balance out. Smaller sizes would also bring greater risk from the frosting itself; firmer frosting would reduce the risk, but it also might be a good idea to frost the cake more lightly in that scenario as well.

Yes ; problem with water is that if it's enough water to provide sufficient padding, it's also more than enough do drown in it, and actually enough than saving unconscious person from drowning could be hard. In case of frosting, you only need to turn them face up.

[Sky 3]

I come back and you guys are talking about drowning in cake, lol. I do like the shrinking solution though - it would work very well, especially if mass was reduced as well. But it wouldn't be good training for fighting at regular size, possibly.

 

 

[Pharaoh RutinTutin 1,586]

3 hours ago, Sky said:

I come back and you guys are talking about drowning in cake

Marie Antoinette suggested the plan.

[Tuscahoma 53]

On 7/18/2018 at 0:32 PM, ChronosCat said:

Except that (I believe) part of the purpose of sparring is to train muscle memory. As Sarah's spell takes place entirely in her head, it's questionable whether that would be helpful for training the muscles.

That is an excellent question.  I suppose not.  Perhaps improved versions of this spell might allow for that.  The only real world uses might just be to gather information from the scanned areas (versus the entertainment uses).

[ChronosCat 155]

13 hours ago, Sky said:

I do like the shrinking solution though - it would work very well, especially if mass was reduced as well. But it wouldn't be good training for fighting at regular size, possibly.

One concern I have that I was reluctant to bring up since we were having fun talking about cake is that the momentum of smaller, lighter objects is different from larger, heavier ones. As such there would be significant differences between fighting at tiny size and regular size. Still, it ought to help with learning to think about the possibilities of fighting in the air, and in some respects it would be more accurate than fighting on the ground.

Probably the best solution would be to start by practicing at tiny size, then once they got the hang of that and weren't in too much danger of falling, switch to practicing at regular size.

[hkmaly 490]

44 minutes ago, ChronosCat said:

14 hours ago, Sky said:

I do like the shrinking solution though - it would work very well, especially if mass was reduced as well. But it wouldn't be good training for fighting at regular size, possibly.

One concern I have that I was reluctant to bring up since we were having fun talking about cake is that the momentum of smaller, lighter objects is different from larger, heavier ones. As such there would be significant differences between fighting at tiny size and regular size. Still, it ought to help with learning to think about the possibilities of fighting in the air, and in some respects it would be more accurate than fighting on the ground.

Probably the best solution would be to start by practicing at tiny size, then once they got the hang of that and weren't in too much danger of falling, switch to practicing at regular size.

Yes.

Also, very important note: Any training is better than no training. If they wouldn't be able to train at regular size, training at tiny size is at least something.

... and as a bonus, it could mean shrunk Cheerleadra training against Nanase's fairy. Hey, maybe against Susan's fairy as well! That would even safer as harming fairy wouldn't mean harming Nanase or Susan, so Elliot would be only one in danger.

[Pharaoh RutinTutin 1,586]

12 hours ago, hkmaly said:

maybe against Susan's fairy as well! That would even safer as harming fairy wouldn't mean harming Nanase or Susan, so Elliot would be only one in danger.

Remember, Susan can use the Hammers against anyone now.
Although I don't think it has been firmly established that she can use the hammers through the fairy doll.

And another thing to bear in mind if before utilizing frosting as a safety net.

 - - -

 - - -

The Cake Is A Lie.

 

And even worse,

What if someone left the cake out in the rain?

Edited July 21, 2018 by Pharaoh RutinTutin
Useless Detail Added

[CritterKeeper 1,102]

As for muscle memory, there are studies that show that athletes who sit and visualize their actions over and over get at least a measurable chunk of the improvement that compatriots get rehearsing the same moves physically.  It might not be *all* that they'd need to do, but it would help!  Especially if Sarah is the only one who can alter the "reality" of the simulation, and everyone else has to obey the laws of physics....

[The Old Hack 2,448]

2 hours ago, CritterKeeper said:

As for muscle memory, there are studies that show that athletes who sit and visualize their actions over and over get at least a measurable chunk of the improvement that compatriots get rehearsing the same moves physically.  It might not be *all* that they'd need to do, but it would help!

Possibly relevant:

[Don Edwards 548]

3 hours ago, CritterKeeper said:

Especially if Sarah is the only one who can alter the "reality" of the simulation, and everyone else has to obey the laws of physics....

Wouldn't that preclude flying combat?

[CritterKeeper 1,102]

6 hours ago, CritterKeeper said:

Especially if Sarah is the only one who can alter the "reality" of the simulation, and everyone else has to obey the laws of physics....

 

3 hours ago, Don Edwards said:

Wouldn't that preclude flying combat?

Bah, fine.  Sarah could be the only one who is able to violate the laws of physics in ways she cannot do in the real world.  Satisfied?

[hkmaly 490]

2 hours ago, CritterKeeper said:

9 hours ago, CritterKeeper said:

Especially if Sarah is the only one who can alter the "reality" of the simulation, and everyone else has to obey the laws of physics....

5 hours ago, Don Edwards said:

Wouldn't that preclude flying combat?

Bah, fine.  Sarah could be the only one who is able to violate the laws of physics in ways she cannot do in the real world.  Satisfied?

The opinion of physic professor notwithstanding, there ARE fundamental laws of universe even magic needs to follow. It's just that gravity as Einstein described it is not one of them.

9 hours ago, CritterKeeper said:

As for muscle memory, there are studies that show that athletes who sit and visualize their actions over and over get at least a measurable chunk of the improvement that compatriots get rehearsing the same moves physically.  It might not be *all* that they'd need to do, but it would help!  Especially if Sarah is the only one who can alter the "reality" of the simulation, and everyone else has to obey the laws of physics....

That might be related to the fact that muscle memory is not actually stored in muscles.

[ChronosCat 155]

On 7/21/2018 at 7:06 AM, Pharaoh RutinTutin said:

And another thing to bear in mind if before utilizing frosting as a safety net.

 - - -

 - - -

The Cake Is A Lie.

Look, just because some computer lied to you about a cake once doesn't mean all cakes are lies.