Wapsi Square Forum

Just Old Al wrote:She is alive and well, perhaps a bit singed and needing another go by the mages for being in that area, but still alive and well.

The way this gang keeps getting into Interesting Situations, it might be worth investing in a high-volume drive-through dee-bad-vib-erator setup of some sort. A high-pressure holy-water spray, sage-and-sweetgrass smudge generator, 7.1-channel 24-bit audio system to play Gregorian and Tibetan Buddhist chants... that sort of thing.

Just Old Al wrote:

GlytchMeister wrote:

jwhouk wrote:...The irony is that my internet really did go down shortly after I posted that...

I won't confirm or deny if I had anything to do with that, via twitchy explosives, hideous acids, or technological shenanigans...

If YOU had his computer would have caught fire. Some of us are more subtle...

"Subtle" being the hack that makes the computer repeatedly downgrade itself to Windows 3.0? That's getting close to the "crimes against humanity" threshold, Al...

Or the one that opens up an error box that says

Suspicious file detected in C:
Delete C: to fix?
Yes Cancel

Pressing cancel just makes it come back later.

Dave wrote: "Subtle" being the hack that makes the computer repeatedly downgrade itself to Windows 3.0? That's getting close to the "crimes against humanity" threshold, Al...

Nothing so...nice. Windows For Workgroups 3.11...or Windows ME (the ME stood for Moronic Engineering).

That was... interesting. I had not thought Safyr would be whom he would seek out.

This is going to be interesting.

...

Oh, and I think I was able to still get online using Windows NT, so that wouldn't be such an issue... trying to find an old copy of Netscrape, though...

jwhouk wrote:That was... interesting. I had not thought Safyr would be whom he would seek out.

This is going to be interesting.

Who did you think it was gonna be?

Not good.

Wolf-who-watches wrote:One's ears itch . . . (?)

Two does not think that will help. Help enough.

--FreeFlier

I sincerely appreciate the creativity and imagination of everyone that contributes to the tales told here- thank you.

GlytchMeister wrote:

jwhouk wrote:That was... interesting. I had not thought Safyr would be whom he would seek out.

This is going to be interesting.

Who did you think it was gonna be?

I think I'd had an idea it might be Fergus or Sterling, but Dinky's little post earlier seemed to neg that idea.

Neither of them know John, and I'm not even sure either of them know Prroul.

GlytchMeister wrote:Neither of them know John, and I'm not even sure either of them know Prroul.

Correct on both counts.

FreeFlier wrote: O-kay . . . apparently she is required to report anything like this to higher authority for review and follow-up.

OTOH, if it gets more heavies to make sure it's well and truly dead . . .

--FreeFlier

The more the merrier. Al would have NO problem with your companion and her cohort at his back. Staunch allies.

Thanks to the offices of John the danger has been dealt with, but there is always a next time, despite the sincere wishes of an old man that it FOR ONCE not be so...

Dave wrote: The way this gang keeps getting into Interesting Situations, it might be worth investing in a high-volume drive-through dee-bad-vib-erator setup of some sort. A high-pressure holy-water spray, sage-and-sweetgrass smudge generator, 7.1-channel 24-bit audio system to play Gregorian and Tibetan Buddhist chants... that sort of thing.

Sadly, that wouldn't work, though Gods only know it would be handy!

Human intent and Power is needed - otherwise it's a brushfire and a car wash. Despite the best efforts of Glytch and some even less stable types, magic hasn't been rendered to the mechanical. I will say, though, that Al's thinking of investing in something a little heavier duty than Clara for these jobs - like a little truck like this.

Perfect for the weekend getaway to the smoking pits of Mordor...

I think the Minnesota State Patrol might have some problems seeing that rolling around the Twin Cities all the time.

jwhouk wrote:I think the Minnesota State Patrol might have some problems seeing that rolling around the Twin Cities all the time.

Legal as apple pies in Autumn. Friend of mine owns a half-track - an old M3. He's offered to let me try and drive it - and I have steadily refused the opportunity. I may be nuts, but that is just NUTS. Seeing that thing with turn signals and a license plate is just jarring.

The one place where ex-mil vehicles like that get tricky is importing and exporting from the USA. Jeeps, not a big deal. Deuce-and-a-halfs, no problem. when you get into tracked vehicles and the like things get tricky, even if they're 70-odd years old - because they're still effective weapons. I even had a dodgy moment or two with my 110 when I brought it in from Canada - the C&E people looked a bit askance at me. If she'd had any of the weapons fittings life would have gotten interesting.

The big thing with tracked vehicles is that they need to not tear up the road. This can be done with modifications to the treads - rubber blocks and the like.

More seriously, something like that you do yourself a favour and truck it where you want to go - then go on the tracks. My buddy owns a trailer and truck and takes it to displays and such, then takes it off and lets it do its party piece.

Many tracked vehicles have pavement tracks of some kind - the military didn't want to tear up the roads on post all the time.

And transporters are the only way to go - saved the massive wear-and-tear on the tracks and running gear too. (Tracks need a lot of maintenance.)

--FreeFlier

Besides, tracked vehicles are gas guzzlers... while effective at crawling over nearly any sort of terrain, it is not the most efficient means of converting rotational motion into horizontal motion.

But yea, as long as there are no weapons mounted, and you remove the mounts as well, and get all the approval papers and license plates, and have the pavement treads... perfectly legal.

Seems to me there oughta be a way to put tire-wheels just inside the tracks, so when you gotta switch from "Nothing shall stand in my way" mode to "next stop, the other end of the damn state" mode, just jack the wheels down, lift the whole thing up about six inches, and away you go.

Kinda like those bigass trucks I see once in a while where I work that have wheels for train tracks and tires for pavement.

Just Old Al wrote:Despite the best efforts of Glytch and some even less stable types

I hear you speaking, but your words just tweed candle change badger.

Sadly, that wouldn't work, though Gods only know it would be handy!

Human intent and Power is needed - otherwise it's a brushfire and a car wash.

Well, yes, it couldn't exactly be a self-service coin-op sort of thing. You would certainly need a suitably Empowered operator. I'm not sure how you'd get the job offering notice to pass EEOC inspection, though... and as many of the Empowered are from overseas, there's that whole visa and green-card mess to deal with.

I will say, though, that Al's thinking of investing in something a little heavier duty than Clara for these jobs - like a little truck like this.

Perfect for the weekend getaway to the smoking pits of Mordor...

Lots of interesting variations on that pattern design, for sure. Command-car, haulers with winches and cranes, sporty little four-wheel variants.

I'll bet there's even one which comes equipped with a guidebook, compass, and flashlight. Might have to look into one of those myself.

ShneekeyTheLost wrote:Besides, tracked vehicles are gas guzzlers... while effective at crawling over nearly any sort of terrain, it is not the most efficient means of converting rotational motion into horizontal motion.

But yea, as long as there are no weapons mounted, and you remove the mounts as well, and get all the approval papers and license plates, and have the pavement treads... perfectly legal.

In most places you don't even need to remove the weapons mounts . . . only in the repressive ones like New Jersey.

Pavement treads aren't exactly required either . . . but they tend to call it malicious mischief or something of that sort and require you to pay fines on top of the damages if you don't use them.

BTW, many of the half-tracks have continuous rubber treads . . . essentially giant rubber bands with steel-cable reinforcements inside of them, the equivalent of the steel belts in tires.

GlytchMeister wrote:Seems to me there oughta be a way to put tire-wheels just inside the tracks, so when you gotta switch from "Nothing shall stand in my way" mode to "next stop, the other end of the damn state" mode, just jack the wheels down, lift the whole thing up about six inches, and away you go.

That's been tried any number of times . . . it doesn't work very well, partially because of the weight and the need for separate drive-trains (the needs are too different).

GlytchMeister wrote: . . . Kinda like those bigass trucks I see once in a while where I work that have wheels for train tracks and tires for pavement.

If you look closely, most of those just use the highrailer wheels for guidance and part of the weight-carrying, and the drive wheels of the truck still ride on the rails for the drive and part of the weight support. I own a former one of those trucks, and it's a standard truck once the highrailers are removed.

--FreeFlier

Right! Now that the whole thing is posted, what do you think?