See A Light 2013-02-14

[Fairportfan]

But seriously, I have some friends that will have a full conversation, while standing in front of a pub band at full volume.. and I can barely hear what they are saying, much less why they seem to be ignoring the band they came to see!!!! :/

I useta be able to do that.

Of course, the fact that the main PA horns were behind us where we were right up at the stage and we were hearing almost as much from the band's stage monitors as we were from the PA may have had something to do with it.

[liquidschwartz]

"Mommmyyyyy!"

[kingklash]

Hoo-boy! I think I'd want to be long elsewhere if/when that big mama bird shows up.

[Dave]

I wonder if sirens remember their births.

As in, are they conscious while still in the egg?

Do we know for sure that they're egg-born, any more than humans are?

Mammals come in three major classes: placentals (like humans, live-bearers and relatively mature at birth), marsupials (live-born in a very early undeveloped stage, and nourished in a pouch for months) and monotremes (egg-layers). Some snakes (and some reptiles I believe) have evolved live-birth.

Figuring out the parabiology of modern-fictional spins on mythical beasts is always tricky... but it seems to me that Sirens could easily be more similar to humans to birds in their basic makeup. They might even have evolved from mutated/cursed/blessed/transformed human stock, long ago... "grafting" of some mystical bird-like attributes onto the normal human form.

If they are egg-born, though... there are quite a few birds which are mobile very soon after hatching, and which are aware enough to "imprint" on the first living being they see after birth (it's how they usually know Momma). They might very well remember something from the pre-shellcrack era.

[bmonk]

This cannot be a trap. The location of the explosives, the cart positioned for the fast exit. It was meant to destroy the tunnel and let the person who lit the fuse a fast way out. This fuse burned quickly due to how fast it made it to the crates further down the tunnel. So fast means of exit was needed, hence the cart.

Its a trap.

• You don't initiate a fuse deep in the mine to detonate explosive between you and the entrance. You set up the fuse so it starts outside the entrance and burns in to the explosives.
• Mine cars are not rollercoasters, there is nothing holding them down on the tracks. Top safe speed is about a jog. At the speed they are going, which the hypothetical demolitions person would also have to achieve to get to minimum safe distance, they have burned through their next 2 lifetimes worth of luck already.

I trump you with the Rule of Funny. I agree, in principle--but getting blown to bits is not as exciting and funny as having a rollercoaster mine car.

[Mark N]

Do we know for sure that they're egg-born, any more than humans are?

Mammals come in three major classes: placentals (like humans, live-bearers and relatively mature at birth), marsupials (live-born in a very early undeveloped stage, and nourished in a pouch for months) and monotremes (egg-layers). Some snakes (and some reptiles I believe) have evolved live-birth.

Figuring out the parabiology of modern-fictional spins on mythical beasts is always tricky... but it seems to me that Sirens could easily be more similar to humans to birds in their basic makeup. They might even have evolved from mutated/cursed/blessed/transformed human stock, long ago... "grafting" of some mystical bird-like attributes onto the normal human form.

If they are egg-born, though... there are quite a few birds which are mobile very soon after hatching, and which are aware enough to "imprint" on the first living being they see after birth (it's how they usually know Momma). They might very well remember something from the pre-shellcrack era.

We also do not know if any of the supernatural species have originated in Earth's biosphere in the first place. If they did not then they will have little in common with species that developed here.

[Fairportfan]

We also do not know if any of the supernatural species have originated in Earth's biosphere in the first place. If they did not then they will have little in common with species that developed here.

A number (well, two species that we know of for sure) of them appear able to interbreed with humans, which argues for some commonality.

[Wyvern]

T minus 3...2...1. We have lift off. Testing the new orbital catapult inspired by Jules Verne.

I was thinking it better resembled the Nazi V-3 cannon, at least in principle.

If you remember that, you should check out the shaft lid incident from the Pascal-B blast of Opertation Plumbbob...

[KnightDelight]

And my little attempt at a song parody. (hope no one from the group "America" sees it. They have enough money in their left hip pockets to say "have that asshole killed!")

On the first part of the journey, they were rolling for their lives
There was fire and crates and burning things and a passage to go to light

The first thing they met was a blast from behind
and a roaring, kind of sound
the heat was hot and the cart was pushed
and it started to leave the ground.

Riding through a tunnel in a cart with no name
they felt blasts, of searing pain
And the tunnel, it can channel the flame
yeah it's gonna shoot 'em out, like a runaway train.

La la laaa la-la la la ....

[Julie]

This cannot be a trap. The location of the explosives, the cart positioned for the fast exit. It was meant to destroy the tunnel and let the person who lit the fuse a fast way out. This fuse burned quickly due to how fast it made it to the crates further down the tunnel. So fast means of exit was needed, hence the cart.

Its a trap.

• You don't initiate a fuse deep in the mine to detonate explosive between you and the entrance. You set up the fuse so it starts outside the entrance and burns in to the explosives.
• Mine cars are not rollercoasters, there is nothing holding them down on the tracks. Top safe speed is about a jog. At the speed they are going, which the hypothetical demolitions person would also have to achieve to get to minimum safe distance, they have burned through their next 2 lifetimes worth of luck already.

I trump you with the Rule of Funny. I agree, in principle--but getting blown to bits is not as exciting and funny as having a rollercoaster mine car.

I agree with bmonk!