Talk:1114: Metallurgy

2013-12-18T18:52:29Z

BK201:

"extraterrestrial metal was often more refined and plentiful than man-made metal ingots." -I'd love to read about this. Citation needed! --[[User:Buggz|Buggz]] ([[User talk:Buggz|talk]]) 08:59, 28 September 2012 (UTC)
:Sure. Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iron_meteorite. It was mostly cultures with little industry picking up meteorites and finding that the stuff lying on the ground was miles better than the awful fragile metal that they were making from rocks. [[User:Davidy22|Davidy22]] ([[User talk:Davidy22|talk]]) 09:06, 28 September 2012 (UTC)

In fantasy stories, the world is usually much more complicated place. Meteorite, which may have easily traveled billions kilometres going through places with environment greatly different from anything available on the planet, can easily develop interresting properties. Still, for every super-cool super-effective sword, there must be many other meteorites whose properties make them LESS usefull for weapons.
Even in our universe, meteorites may went through temperatures and magnetical fields much greater that available for preindustrial civilization. -- [[Special:Contributions/89.177.52.2|89.177.52.2]] 10:42, 28 September 2012 (UTC)

That salesman was likely to sell a flashlight as a lightsabre.--[[User:DelendaEst|DelendaEst]] ([[User talk:DelendaEst|talk]]) 11:20, 28 September 2012 (UTC)

It is possible that Randall drew inspiration from the piece of news that was making rounds yesterday, best exemplified by an article in The Register titled [http://www.theregister.co.uk/2012/09/27/tibetan_alien_statue_discovered_by_nazis/|Tibetan STATUE found by 1930s NAZI expedition is of ALIEN ORIGIN]. Many publications ran a similar headline, stating that the statue, and not the material it is made from, is of extraterrestrial origin. [[User:Mem|mem]] ([[User talk:Mem|talk]]) 13:46, 28 September 2012 (UTC)

The explanation should perhaps also address how in various computer/fantasy games one will often come across a weapons dealer, a non-player character who will happily sell you whatever he has in stock. [[User:CityZen|CityZen]] ([[User talk:CityZen|talk]]) 20:06, 28 September 2012 (UTC)

: You know, the shopkeeper struck me as a particularly jaded individual, perhaps tired of the RPG fan-boys (and -girls, judging by Megan's presence) looking for a real-world souvie of their gaming exploits. He gives some half-hearted patter, but is completely forthcoming in unsalesman-like fashion: ''I'm going to lay this out without misrepresentation, and if you're dumb enough to buy this....'' But that's just me. -- [[User:IronyChef|IronyChef]] ([[User talk:IronyChef|talk]]) 14:15, 29 September 2012 (UTC)

Hey! The word "eldritch" is actually more pertinent than I thought it would be:
"eldritch"
Origin:
1500–10; earlier elrich, equivalent to Old English el- foreign, strange, uncanny ( see else) + rīce kingdom ( see rich); hence “of a strange country, pertaining to the Otherworld”; compare Old English ellende in a foreign land, exiled (cognate with German Elend penury, distress), Runic Norse alja-marki r foreigner" Woot.[[User:Noni Mausa|Noni Mausa]] ([[User talk:Noni Mausa|talk]]) 12:07, 29 September 2012 (UTC)

Anyone as annoyed as me to find a 45 year old paper costs $40? Living here in The Ferengi States of America is getting harder and harder.[[Special:Contributions/172.191.224.148|172.191.224.148]] 17:04, 29 September 2012 (UTC)ExternalMonologue
:Lol. 'Ferengi States of America' Genius.

Both of the swords can be taken as references to the Tolkien Legendarium. The first, made from a fallen star, could be a reference to Anglachel (Gurthang). Anglachel is a sword from First Age Middle Earth that was crafted from a fallen star. Turin Turambar reforged it as Gurthang. After the Fourth Age, it is the sword that Turin uses to ultimately kill Morgoth.

The second sword, which glows blue, could be a reference to the infamous Sting, which belonged to Bilbo and Frodo in the Third Age but was crafted in Gondolin in the First Age.[[Special:Contributions/70.65.139.132|70.65.139.132]] 15:42, 22 July 2013 (UTC)

Am I the only one here that thinks the swordsmith looks suspiciously like the Beret guy (with a beard (may be fake))? Or his ancestor perhaps? This kind of odd behaviour fits (albeit remotely) with the Beret Guy's persona. [[User:BK201|BK201]] ([[User talk:BK201|talk]]) 18:52, 18 December 2013 (UTC)BK201

Talk:284: Tape Measure

2013-12-12T17:35:18Z

BK201:

I think it should be mentioned that Randall uses the unit Foot instead of Meter.--[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 10:28, 8 July 2013 (UTC)

: All of the tape measures of the given type that I've used are in feet because I, like Randall, am in the US! (I've seen metric ones, but not used them). It seems entirely natural, although if you really feel it's relevant... --[[User:Quicksilver|Quicksilver]] ([[User talk:Quicksilver|talk]]) 18:41, 22 August 2013 (UTC)

:I wonder why they don't make the tapes with metric on one edge, and imperial on the other. Some rulers and most vernier calipers do that. [[User:BK201|BK201]] ([[User talk:BK201|talk]]) 17:35, 12 December 2013 (UTC)BK201

Talk:308: Interesting Life

2013-12-12T17:15:55Z

BK201:

The "interesting life" is a reference to a purported Chinese curse, "{{w|May you live in interesting times}}." There is no such curse recorded in Chinese -- it's apocryphal.

The adventure is being contrasted with working a 9-5 job in a {{w|cubicle}} farm, considered a boring and safe occupation. [[Special:Contributions/66.202.132.250|66.202.132.250]] 18:36, 4 June 2013 (UTC)

This makes me think of the early scene in the Matrix, where Morpheus tries to convince Mr. Anderson (Neo) to escape his office through the window. {{unsigned ip|173.245.52.204}}

Someone should actually perform the tensile test on the cat6 cables. Does anyone have access to such equipment? It is very likely that it varies highly across different brands. If anyone does have access, I can provide samples of different brands for testing. [[User:BK201|BK201]] ([[User talk:BK201|talk]]) 17:15, 12 December 2013 (UTC)BK201

Talk:670: Spinal Tap Amps

2013-12-12T16:52:43Z

BK201:

Specifically, it's $166.66 recurring per unit of loud. [[User:Thokling|Thokling]] ([[User talk:Thokling|talk]]) 22:49, 29 September 2013 (UTC)

I vote we start using "units of loud" instead of "decibels" {{unsigned ip|149.152.191.2}}
:Aye! [[User:BK201|BK201]] ([[User talk:BK201|talk]]) 16:52, 12 December 2013 (UTC)BK201

explain xkcd - User contributions [en]

Talk:1114: Metallurgy

Talk:284: Tape Measure

Talk:308: Interesting Life

Talk:670: Spinal Tap Amps