JamesPadraicR

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• Commented on In which I am crabby about viral archery videos.
  Then again was Richard III really a villain, or even hunchbacked? Don't know about the first part, but the skeleton that was proven to be his had severe scoliosis. A few months ago I saw the show Resurrecting Richard III,...
• Commented on In which I am crabby about viral archery videos.
  or scattering the ground with bricks that are really painful to step on. You call that Humane? Ouch, ouch, ouch....
• Commented on In which I am crabby about viral archery videos.
  WRT arrow mounted cameras, the main problem with that is that the fletching gives your arrow spin to stabilize it (they shouldn't wobble too much, I think that depends on the shaft material). Maybe you could do something with high-speed...
• Commented on Sitrep
  It's not exactly encouraging to non-DWAM authors. Nope. I read Jemisin's blog post about that, and some of the responses (yeesh, some people...) Another suggestion, The Sheherazade? Not an actual person, but certainly not a DWAM. And make the award...
• Commented on Sitrep
  Shelley also wrote some fantasy, not sure where you'd class "The Last Man" though, other than as a long slog to get through. I think someone (Gaiman?) suggested naming it after Hope Mirlees when talk of changing it started a...
• Commented on Sitrep
  I'd say this is off-topic, but since there really isn't much of one, and I'm not on twitter, I'll add my unasked for 2¢ here wrt replacing Lovecraft as the fantasy award. They should definitely replace him, for lots of...
• Commented on Cloud cuckoo politics
  Well, there seem to be some conservatives who think it's a bad idea: Andrew Bower: The encryption ban makes us look like the Thick Party via @amendlocke...
• Commented on Cloud cuckoo politics
  Admittedly my knowledge of crypto doesn't go much past getting to play with an Enigma machine* last Sunday, but even I can see how idiotic this idea is. For one thing, just how is it supposed to apply outside of...
• Commented on Things I would make if I had a 3D printer ...
  Saw this earlier: Voxel8, 3D printer that also prints circuitry....
• Commented on Why we're not going to see sub-orbital airliners
  Thinking about it slightly more. It's like people on the interwebs are saying; "OMG! Someone bombed the NAACP, it's just like Paris!" based on headlines, not actually reading about it*. One is tragic, fortunately the other is not. *What! That...
• Commented on Why we're not going to see sub-orbital airliners
  This is a thoroughly off-topic comment on a re-tweet that Charlie, and others, have put up. Delete if inappropriate. I live literally 2.5 blocks from the NAACP bombing--go one block west, turn left, go one block south and you're there....
• Commented on Why we're not going to see sub-orbital airliners
  Kinda-sorta related; here's Russia's Buran taking off powered by jet engines, and other footage of it....
• Commented on Why we're not going to see sub-orbital airliners
  deployment of a company-size body of people from home base to anywhere in the world in ~24 hours Nah, that's what aircraft carriers are for. And now I have The Rezillos' Thunderbirds Are Go! in my head--not that I mind....
• Commented on Why we're not going to see sub-orbital airliners
  I nearly forgot; reading the twitter argument at the time reminded me of a 'Mythbusters" episode where they tested whether it was faster to drive or fly between Las Vegas to LA. After all the airport security, waiting and delays...
• Commented on Why we're not going to see sub-orbital airliners
  Every time I hear of hypersonic airliners I think of this bit of 80s TV schlock: Starflight: The Plane That Couldn't Land okay, now to go and actually read the post....
• Commented on On the lack of cultural estrangement in SF
  This rather pre-dates the whole western genre, since they were both written before Columbus even got to the Americas. Which was what I assumed your point to be--though I was thinking of them predating motion pictures. Basically paws4thot's comment was...
• Commented on On the lack of cultural estrangement in SF
  I assume that Hetermeles was referring to the novel: The Water Margin, which dates back a few centuries. I hadn't realized there was a movie--according to wikipedia several versions, movie and TV. May have to look into one, since I'm...
• Commented on CMAP: Short stories, what are they good for?
  Point taken. I think. I was going to say that other authors at that time published doorstops without being serialized. I was thinking of George Eliot, but apparently some of hers were. My understanding is that Dickens found his stories...
• Commented on CMAP: Short stories, what are they good for?
  As one of the commenters who try writing, I've found that I don't seem to be able to keep my stories at a short length. The novel I'm writing now, started with an idea for a short story that I...
• Commented on CMAP: Short stories, what are they good for?
  How many people today realise that Charles Dickens started out writing magazine serials? But wasn't he also the editor of most of those magazines? A bit of an advantage....
• Commented on Things I would make if I had a 3D printer ...
  Came across this page yesterday, for an online app to learn circuit making and simulating them. What got my attention was the second item on the page, the Circuit Scribe pen*, and am now wondering if anyone is making or...
• Commented on Things I would make if I had a 3D printer ...
  Oooh, I thought of something someone has to make: The Analytical Engine! If it can be modeled, it can be printed....
• Commented on Things I would make if I had a 3D printer ...
  Thanks. Well, turned out that there was an updated version of FlashPrint, but it didn't make any difference, so back to looking into graphics cards. Today I decided to print from an SD card instead of over wifi. Pictures or...
• Commented on Things I would make if I had a 3D printer ...
  I downloaded the latest version of the software for the printer (FlashPrint, there is a newer version for Mac, but I'm using and oldish Windows machine that I don't use that much anymore, and don't particularly want to put much...
• Commented on Things I would make if I had a 3D printer ...
  You can find some on Thingiverse (and I assume elsewhere), many of the cases are made to look like retro game consoles, but there are some other designs. Meanwhile my first attempts at printing yesterday were not too successful. Still...
• Commented on A message from our sponsors
  And didn't Charlie mention that CNG's just a part of CASE NIGHTMARE RAINBOW? Could take Bob et al. a while to deal with....
• Commented on Things I would make if I had a 3D printer ...
  Hmm, I was looking up a favorite old game a few weeks ago, Milton Bradley's Dogfight. Printing little SPADs and Fokkers shouldn't be too difficult, assuming I can find downloads....
• Commented on Things I would make if I had a 3D printer ...
  Or even cheaper: go to the supermarket and buy a pack of plastic cutlery and sand them down. Why anyone would want or need something like that is beyond me. If anyone does feel the need, that says more about...
• Commented on Things I would make if I had a 3D printer ...
  There are at least two ways of using an ipad for 3D scanning. Autodesk has an app called 123D Catch. The app is free, but it involves uploading the pictures to the company for processing rather than on the ipad...
• Commented on Things I would make if I had a 3D printer ...
  And while I'm at it; if you have questions about the amount of detail some printers can get, this is pretty impressive: Doctor Who’ Fan 3D Prints & Finishes Unbelievable Peter Capaldi Bust on Form 1+ 3D Printer The printer...