The elixir

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Sgt. Howard
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Re: The elixir

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jwhouk wrote:Would this be placed after the Limerick?
... pretty much... for all practical purposes, you can ignore the limerick in this story.
Rule 17 of the Bombay Golf Course- "You shall play the ball where the monkey drops it,"
I speak fluent Limrick-
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Warrl
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Re: The elixer

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MerchManDan wrote:Damn, but I love medical procedurals. They make me feel like I'm learning new stuff (which I suppose I am, at that). Never did have much stomach for gouts of blood, though, which is probably why I never seriously considered med school.
You might enjoy medicine from a more philosophical direction, with this story in a totally different universe
GlytchMeister wrote:I'm pretty certain that was waaaay better writing than those 50 Shades books. (Never read them, but seeing as they are described as glorified BDSM Twilight Fanfics, I think I'm quite safe in this assumption)
When the first of those books came out, I knew some people who are in Seattle's BDSM community. I STRONGLY recommend that you NEVER, in their presence, even insinuate that those books have the slightest relationship to BDSM. You're likely to get a two-hour lecture on what felony charges should have resulted from the first three chapters.
Dave wrote:
AmriloJim wrote:try working "MMMMML" into conversation.
I'd say that would depend entirely on just whom one was having just what sort of conversation with! :lol:
Yes, I remember hearing a cat say that once.
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Dave
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Re: The elixir

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Dave wrote:Chlorine trifluoride as an oxidizer... hmmm. "It is of course extremely toxic, but that's the least of the problems. It is hypergolic with every known fuel, and so rapidly hypergolic that no ignition delay has ever been measured. It is also hypergolic with things such as cloth, wood, and test engineers, not to mention asbestos, sand, and water - with which it reacts explosively."
Well, I now stand in awe. I've just deduced that there must be somebody out there who is at least slightly crazier than I am.

This morning I received a copy of a marvelous reference book in the mail: the CRC Handbook of Chemistry and Physics. It's about 2300 pages full of tables about those subjects... all sorts of information about Matter in its various forms. The current version goes for almost $200, but used copies are much less expensive and most of the information won't have changed significantly... I paid $15 plus shipping for an edition from 2006.

Paging idly through it, I found a multi-page table which gives the electrical permittivity (the dielectric constant) of a very large number of liquids. In many cases, these list more than one number... they have the coefficients of a polynomial which shows how the permittivity changes with absolute temperature. To have these numbers, it's necessary that somebody must have actually measured the permittivity at two or more temperatures.

So... what I really want to know, is what lunatic actually did the measurements to determinate that the permittivity of ClF3 is 98.716 - .018000T?

That's a measurement process I would really have enjoyed watching. With a telescope. From upwind. While summoning a priest, in case it might prove necessary to have the Last Rites performed. (Assuming, of course, that there was anything left upon which such Rites might be performed.)

Jeesh. :shock:
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MerchManDan
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Re: The elixir

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I have a hunch the tests were performed by "volunteers" who were not given enough information about the chemicals they'd be working with.
Warrl wrote:
MerchManDan wrote:Damn, but I love medical procedurals. They make me feel like I'm learning new stuff (which I suppose I am, at that). Never did have much stomach for gouts of blood, though, which is probably why I never seriously considered med school.
You might enjoy medicine from a more philosophical direction, with this story in a totally different universe
One chapter in, and I'm hooked. Definitely saving that for later; thanks much! :mrgreen:
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Sgt. Howard
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Re: The elixir

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There have been a few PMs regarding Neil's (and my own) apparent warp speed battle tactics- here I will confess a secret that has kept many a combatant alive.

Your opponant cannot do ANYTHING without shifting his/her weight. If you throw your eyes out of focus, even the slightest and most subtle movement becomes preceptible. What's more, if you practice viewing out of focus, you will note that you can pay attention to periphrial vision at the same as your primary focus- you can see the whole picture at once.

In short- when you see a shift of weight, you know what he/she is about to do just as surely as if it was in a script. When you can see all extremities at once, none of them can catch you by surprise.

I am not remarkably fast. I am no longer remarkably strong. But when two punks tried to jump me in San Fransico back in 2008 they both suffered at least three broken bones apiece before they hit the ground. When you have not encountered this sort of thing before, the impression is that your opponant moves at the speed of light when in fact he/she simply knows better than you what you are about to do.
This is how Neil can outmanuver Phix or the other Apos- the bigger the beast, the more they have to move.

This isn't about speed or strength- it's about knowing how to fight. You would be surprised how few fighters, including do-trained 'martial artists', are aware of this simple fact.

Never give a bully what he wants, unless he 'wants' an ass-kicking...
Rule 17 of the Bombay Golf Course- "You shall play the ball where the monkey drops it,"
I speak fluent Limrick-
the Old Sgt.
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DinkyInky
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Re: The elixir

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Sgt. Howard wrote: This isn't about speed or strength- it's about knowing how to fight. You would be surprised how few fighters, including do-trained 'martial artists', are aware of this simple fact.

Never give a bully what he wants, unless he 'wants' an ass-kicking...
This exactly. Oh, and read Master Sun Tzu's "The Art of War" Master Morihei Ueshiba's "The Art of Peace". Know your enemy.
Yanno how some people have Angels/Devils for a conscience? I have a Dark Elf ShadowKnight and a Half Elf Ranger for mine. The really bad part is when they agree on something.

Aphyon chu kissa whol l'jaed.
--Safyr Drathmir
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Sgt. Howard
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Re: The elixir

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DinkyInky wrote:
Sgt. Howard wrote: This isn't about speed or strength- it's about knowing how to fight. You would be surprised how few fighters, including do-trained 'martial artists', are aware of this simple fact.

Never give a bully what he wants, unless he 'wants' an ass-kicking...
This exactly. Oh, and read Master Sun Tzu's "The Art of War" Master Morihei Ueshiba's "The Art of Peace". Know your enemy.
Both in my library- along with Von Clausewitz, Rommel, Napoleon, Patton, Zedric, Ryan, Zhukov and Chamberlin. My Civil War collection alone is three and a half shelves. I probably have one of the largest collections of USATMs outside of the military- many of them dated, but still viable.

"... give them a whiff of grapeshot and see if their convictions still stand..."
Rule 17 of the Bombay Golf Course- "You shall play the ball where the monkey drops it,"
I speak fluent Limrick-
the Old Sgt.
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Re: The elixir

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Sleep deprived. It should have read in addition to your excellent commentary, read these books, as knowing your enemy can help you to either finish a battle or avoid one.
Yanno how some people have Angels/Devils for a conscience? I have a Dark Elf ShadowKnight and a Half Elf Ranger for mine. The really bad part is when they agree on something.

Aphyon chu kissa whol l'jaed.
--Safyr Drathmir
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Sgt. Howard
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Re: The elixir

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DinkyInky wrote:Sleep deprived. It should have read in addition to your excellent commentary, read these books, as knowing your enemy can help you to either finish a battle or avoid one.
Ah yes- Sun Tzu is excellent reading for those not yet introduced. Ueshiba I find depends on who the translator is, otherwise his subtleties are lost on the English-speaking reader.
Rule 17 of the Bombay Golf Course- "You shall play the ball where the monkey drops it,"
I speak fluent Limrick-
the Old Sgt.
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DinkyInky
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Re: The elixir

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Sgt. Howard wrote: Ah yes- Sun Tzu is excellent reading for those not yet introduced. Ueshiba I find depends on who the translator is, otherwise his subtleties are lost on the English-speaking reader.
Ahh. I read Korean translations first, then found English ones that closely resembled those.
Yanno how some people have Angels/Devils for a conscience? I have a Dark Elf ShadowKnight and a Half Elf Ranger for mine. The really bad part is when they agree on something.

Aphyon chu kissa whol l'jaed.
--Safyr Drathmir
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Sgt. Howard
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Re: The elixir

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DinkyInky wrote:
Sgt. Howard wrote: Ah yes- Sun Tzu is excellent reading for those not yet introduced. Ueshiba I find depends on who the translator is, otherwise his subtleties are lost on the English-speaking reader.
Ahh. I read Korean translations first, then found English ones that closely resembled those.
Excellent!!! Who's work do you recommend? Most of my deep understanding of Ueshiba came from a Japanese girl I was dating at the time- I have found that many Japanese concepts do not translate well into English due to idiosyncrasies of both languages and cultures- and I do not speak more than five words in Japanese.
Last edited by Sgt. Howard on Sat Jun 20, 2015 11:33 am, edited 1 time in total.
Rule 17 of the Bombay Golf Course- "You shall play the ball where the monkey drops it,"
I speak fluent Limrick-
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Re: The elixir

Post by lake_wrangler »

Sgt. Howard wrote:Your opponant cannot do ANYTHING without shifting his/her weight. If you throw your eyes out of focus, even the slightest and most subtle movement becomes preceptible. What's more, if you practice viewing out of focus, you will note that you can pay attention to periphrial vision at the same as your primary focus- you can see the whole picture at once.

In short- when you see a shift of weight, you know what he/she is about to do just as surely as if it was in a script. When you can see all extremities at once, none of them can catch you by surprise.
So, how exactly DO you learn to throw your eyes off focus, like that?
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Re: The elixir

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lake_wrangler wrote:
Sgt. Howard wrote:Your opponant cannot do ANYTHING without shifting his/her weight. If you throw your eyes out of focus, even the slightest and most subtle movement becomes preceptible. What's more, if you practice viewing out of focus, you will note that you can pay attention to periphrial vision at the same as your primary focus- you can see the whole picture at once.

In short- when you see a shift of weight, you know what he/she is about to do just as surely as if it was in a script. When you can see all extremities at once, none of them can catch you by surprise.
So, how exactly DO you learn to throw your eyes off focus, like that?
Look at something and relax your eyes. It takes practice. In my case, I remove my bifocals. While looking at something. pay attention to things at the extreme of your vision without moving your eyes... look at other things without 'looking' at them. After a while, you will notice that you see everything at once. Again, it takes practice.

Now imagine if your opponent flat out told you exactly what he was going to do just before he did it- THIS is the advantage that you have given yourself... and he has NO CLUE how you are doing it.
Rule 17 of the Bombay Golf Course- "You shall play the ball where the monkey drops it,"
I speak fluent Limrick-
the Old Sgt.
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Dave
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Re: The elixir

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Sgt. Howard wrote: Look at something and relax your eyes. It takes practice. In my case, I remove my bifocals. While looking at something. pay attention to things at the extreme of your vision without moving your eyes... look at other things without 'looking' at them. After a while, you will notice that you see everything at once. Again, it takes practice.

Now imagine if your opponent flat out told you exactly what he was going to do just before he did it- THIS is the advantage that you have given yourself... and he has NO CLUE how you are doing it.
There's a neat trick based on the same phenomenon I learned years ago... "nightwalking". Go out for a walk on a dark night someday... no moon, no streetlights. Instead of looking down at your path to figure out where to step, look straight ahead at the horizon, or even a bit above it where there's nothing to see... and ignore where your eyes are looking. Instead, "open up" and let in all of what your peripheral vision is perceiving, without paying particular attention to any one part of it... and just walk, in the dark.

After a bit of practice you'll find yourself walking through the dark quite comfortably, stepping confidently, and avoiding obstacles in your path, without ever "looking at them" or "watching where you're going". You'll be using your peripheral vision (lower resolution, but quite sensitive to motion) over a very wide field of view all at once, rather than your "foveal" vision (very high resolution, but sees only a very small area at any one time).

It's also an interesting meditative "be here now" technique. The act of "tuning in" to such a broad visual field and processing it all in parallel, as you walk, seems to induce something of an alpha-wave state... "mind chatter" quiets down. I've never been instructed formally in Zen but I suspect that this may be a bit like what Zazen (walking meditation) is about.
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Re: The elixir

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Dave wrote:
Sgt. Howard wrote: Look at something and relax your eyes. It takes practice. In my case, I remove my bifocals. While looking at something. pay attention to things at the extreme of your vision without moving your eyes... look at other things without 'looking' at them. After a while, you will notice that you see everything at once. Again, it takes practice.

Now imagine if your opponent flat out told you exactly what he was going to do just before he did it- THIS is the advantage that you have given yourself... and he has NO CLUE how you are doing it.
There's a neat trick based on the same phenomenon I learned years ago... "nightwalking". Go out for a walk on a dark night someday... no moon, no streetlights. Instead of looking down at your path to figure out where to step, look straight ahead at the horizon, or even a bit above it where there's nothing to see... and ignore where your eyes are looking. Instead, "open up" and let in all of what your peripheral vision is perceiving, without paying particular attention to any one part of it... and just walk, in the dark.

After a bit of practice you'll find yourself walking through the dark quite comfortably, stepping confidently, and avoiding obstacles in your path, without ever "looking at them" or "watching where you're going". You'll be using your peripheral vision (lower resolution, but quite sensitive to motion) over a very wide field of view all at once, rather than your "foveal" vision (very high resolution, but sees only a very small area at any one time).
It's also an interesting meditative "be here now" technique. The act of "tuning in" to such a broad visual field and processing it all in parallel, as you walk, seems to induce something of an alpha-wave state... "mind chatter" quiets down. I've never been instructed formally in Zen but I suspect that this may be a bit like what Zazen (walking meditation) is about.
This is because of the way the human eye is set up- when you are looking ar something, it is focused on a part of the retina called the 'fovia'. The fovia is heavily clusterd with cones, which are color receptors... and require a goodly amount of light. Rods, which are B&W receptors (and require much less light), are scattered among the cones elsewhere on the retina- this is why you periphrial vision works at night while your focal vision does not... this is also why you do not see color at night.
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I speak fluent Limrick-
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Re: The elixir

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THERE- it took a bit, but this old Luddite finally managed to post the latest attempt.
Understand- "cut and paste' was taught to me with scissors and glue. I have an older KODAK digital with a 'Documents' setting that I am using for this... seems to be working.
Attachments
"I am no ...CAT... puny mortal- as you will find out when I slowly tear you apart,"
"I am no ...CAT... puny mortal- as you will find out when I slowly tear you apart,"
Revamp1.jpg (229.65 KiB) Viewed 15974 times
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Re: The elixir

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Funny you should mention the 'off-focus' thing; it's a number on the long list of 'I thought I was the first (and only) one to have discovered that!..." that so makes up a great deal of my childhood.

Stuff like what we perceive is not necessarily Reality, how to pay attention to 'the little stuff', etc .

Really though, once I had a taste for it, internalized it, I didn't spend much time developing these types of thing- they are still there, just atrophied a bit.
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Re: The elixir

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TazManiac wrote:Funny you should mention the 'off-focus' thing; it's a number on the long list of 'I thought I was the first (and only) one to have discovered that!..." that so makes up a great deal of my childhood.

Stuff like what we perceive is not necessarily Reality, how to pay attention to 'the little stuff', etc .

Really though, once I had a taste for it, internalized it, I didn't spend much time developing these types of thing- they are still there, just atrophied a bit.
There is much of the human condition that we as a species have 'lost' only because we think it unnessisary- your nose, for instance, is more sensitive than you think. I can not only smell human blood, I can usually differentiate blood types. I know when a woman is pregnant... by smell. I can tell what is burning by the smell of smoke. I can identify most preditors... and track them... by scent. My nose is probably no more sensitive than most- I have simply taught myself how to identify what I smell.

I do not wear after shave or deoderant- it leaves me 'nose blind'.
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I speak fluent Limrick-
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Re: The elixir

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Sgt. Howard wrote:
TazManiac wrote:Funny you should mention the 'off-focus' thing; it's a number on the long list of 'I thought I was the first (and only) one to have discovered that!..." that so makes up a great deal of my childhood.

Stuff like what we perceive is not necessarily Reality, how to pay attention to 'the little stuff', etc .

Really though, once I had a taste for it, internalized it, I didn't spend much time developing these types of thing- they are still there, just atrophied a bit.
There is much of the human condition that we as a species have 'lost' only because we think it unnessisary- your nose, for instance, is more sensitive than you think. I can not only smell human blood, I can usually differentiate blood types. I know when a woman is pregnant... by smell. I can tell what is burning by the smell of smoke. I can identify most preditors... and track them... by scent. My nose is probably no more sensitive than most- I have simply taught myself how to identify what I smell.

I do not wear after shave or deoderant- it leaves me 'nose blind'.
Hmm, does it ever get so bad you taste it? I can't hunt anymore, because the taste of drinking liquefied pennies was so overwhelming. I know when an animal is hurt or giving birth by scent, but nothing amazing like what you're saying.
Mall makeup kiosks...I have a "juju" bag of coffee beans...hold it to my nose inside a linen handkerchief and run. I once broke a gals glasses, her nose, and nearly her neck, when she sprayed perfume into the air around my face as I was running through on the way to work.
At the time, I was 24, brash, short fused, foul mouthed, and violent on provocation.
So I took that scent, which left me gasping and blind to be an attack, and spun on reflex, hitting the mark on one. Security were friends...stopped me before she got hurt worse, got her boss, my boss, danced around cops...

She was suspended for two days, I missed the day by being hospitalised for allergic reactions, the mall paid my Mother's boss to dryclean my suit and an entire mall suddenly developed new policies on perfume samples and advertising.

So...Coffee beans.

I also only wear perfume on my skin that is chemical free, and hand blended from distilled oils. If I do like a commercial scent, I place some on a bit of cotton, and close it in a locket. It never touches my skin.
Yanno how some people have Angels/Devils for a conscience? I have a Dark Elf ShadowKnight and a Half Elf Ranger for mine. The really bad part is when they agree on something.

Aphyon chu kissa whol l'jaed.
--Safyr Drathmir
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Dave
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Re: The elixir

Post by Dave »

DinkyInky wrote:I also only wear perfume on my skin that is chemical free, and hand blended from distilled oils. If I do like a commercial scent, I place some on a bit of cotton, and close it in a locket. It never touches my skin.
You have my sympathies and appreciation! I'm allergic to a lot of aromatics (inherited this from my mother's side of the family), and have to take a deep breath and dash past those perfume kiosks. Getting past the duty-free perfume shops at the airport is one of the more annoying aspects of traveling for me.

Years ago, the admin at a startup I worked at, came in wearing Georgio one day... by mid-day I had to go home, with a migraine-like attack that left me aphasic... I was literally unable to tell my wife what was wrong. Scary stuff!

One of the things that impressed me about my wife, when we first met in '84, was that she never wore perfume. The rest, as they say, is history. :D
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