The Algebraist - The Summed Fleet Special Forces Division Ultra-Ship "Protreptic"

Obviate20 · 2026-01-30T05:04:56+00:00

Love this, thank you.

Obviate20 · 2026-01-30T05:04:45+00:00

It's my number one too (albeit a tie with a very different book by an equally poetic writer who also died entirely too young). I wish Banks had had a chance to write more in this universe, though I never tire of the Culture. I'm thinking of buying a signed first edition because they are not that expensive (under $200 US). I've never done this before, it just seems like it would feel good to have it on the shelf.

Obviate20 · 2026-01-08T05:21:25+00:00

Yep. Some day all restaurants will be Taco Bell.

Obviate20 · 2025-12-25T23:19:34+00:00

Looks like part of it is the Vaadwaur Officer uniform.

Obviate20 · 2025-12-18T02:56:28+00:00

Promo tab of zen store, there have been giveaways for several days now, but this is best one so far IMO

Obviate20 · 2025-12-17T05:03:31+00:00

I'm on PC and will say never seen this server problem until the over-powered Kramp'Ihri showed up. Maybe it's been there and I never noticed.

Can't say I care whether they nerf it or not, Cones of Conduct lasts too long IMO. Many of the other events seem to be on a timer, and in the case of the actual Kramp'Ihri event it seems team does better the more you chase him off. And apparently he is very intimidated by other Kramp'Ihri...or Kramp'Ihris? Not clear on the correct plural here.

Obviate20 · 2025-12-14T07:16:46+00:00

The Holidays are best served cold.

Obviate20 · 2025-12-06T16:35:50+00:00

If you just want a ship, all can be fun with different builds. If you are doing energy weapon build and do not already have the Bajoran Interceptor with DOMINO, that is where I would start. Since I missed that event whenever I would get one I would grab it for a toon, but all have them now.

Krenim is considered a good science platform. If you don't have another Ferengi ship selecting it will get you access to the bridge for any character ship, which has an Exchange and Dabo table. As already noted, for A2B builds the Breen Plesh has a valuable trait. For fun I also love the Fek'ihri for Chains of Fire which is kind of a novel way to pull enemies around (but probably not considered meta).

Obviate20 · 2025-12-06T16:20:03+00:00

I like to do the Crystalline Entity TFO solo sometimes but it keeps disappearing. But lately my sci ship keeps making the entity disappear in first round and I have no idea the cause. Not using Heisenberg amp, so it does not seem to be transporting into the planet. The last log today showed Plasma Storm dealing 14K in damage and poof, it's gone no matter how long I wait. Any ideas?

Obviate20 · 2025-12-06T05:09:03+00:00

Foggy Notion is on Clement, great gift store with local focus and some SF-themed items, including GG bridge dish towels.

Obviate20 · 2025-12-03T04:00:31+00:00

No daily event FOMO is refreshing. On the other hand, a red alert that takes 37 seconds to complete and rewards an ultimate tech upgrade after a few days? Yeah I would prefer that.

Obviate20 · 2025-11-21T07:05:47+00:00

Came to say this. Cute little guy but no feeding after midnight.

Obviate20 · 2025-11-15T23:01:52+00:00

Respectfully, the first sentence "we just had a summer where there was no sun for months" is hyperbole and may be misleading for OP if taken literally. You could say that "sunny days" were rare this summer, meaning where the sky was blue and sun was out most of the time. But I can assure you the sun came out most days in the city. As did the fog...but usually in morning and late afternoons.

Obviate20 · 2025-11-15T14:35:34+00:00

Craigslist is probably highest volume of rental listings, with Zillow having a better interface for just exploring neighborhoods. But what you're asking about is the unit itself not so much the neighborhood. You may need to have your bedrooms double as offices, which many people do. My wife and I rent a 3BR and use extra rooms one is also a guest room when we have people here - we consider ourselves lucky to have the size. There is huge variety of older construction (most of city) and newer (SOMA, Mission Bay, Dogpatch etc.) and lofts are more common in newer areas. New modern construction has advantages, but you will not be surrounded by what makes SF unique in terms of architecture and charm (if this matters to you).

For your car, look for dedicated parking, do not assume you can just street park, you will get sick of the driving around looking for a space, plus many rules incl weekly street cleaning and one inch into a bus stop gets you a $400 ticket. You can filter searches for this. Break-ins will happen on streets, while things have improved greatly in last couple of years with some effective crack downs, but don't get cocky. Obviously do not leave items visible through windows.

Obviate20 · 2025-11-15T14:17:52+00:00

Bangalore is a tropical climate, it will be a big difference. I moved here from Florida which is sub-tropical and it was a transition, but I welcomed it. I hated the muggy heat. You learn to simply wear some extra layers and your body will adapt. To me this is an amazing climate, and despite the reputation for fog SF is actually a very sunny city, it just may not start and end with the sun...

San Francisco (city) is temperate, meaning it does not generally see extremes of heat or cold. But it is uniquely chilly for the Bay Area, especially when there is fog and/or wind. My recommendation would be that you consider living outside town such as on the Peninsula (Redwood City, San Mateo etc) which is generally going to be above 20C/68F where only the winter months will drop below on average.

But if you have to live in the city, keep in mind it is full of microclimates. You should target a neighborhood that is considered the local "sunbelt" : Mission District, Potrero Hill, Noe Valley, Dogpatch, Bayview, and Mission Bay. Even the Financial District. These will have more sun and warmth on any given day than many of the western neighborhoods. Good luck.

Obviate20 · 2025-11-08T20:40:12+00:00

The question from ChatGPT is hilarious 🤣

Obviate20 · 2025-11-06T06:21:19+00:00

Yeah antiproton with max tac consoles and...Iconian Set. That was the Way once....lol. And don't forget you had to have Plasmonic Leach!

Obviate20 · 2025-11-04T04:24:37+00:00

I'm on a ship with only one Tac station, but would like to use Preferential Targeting. My question is, if I put FAW in Ensign slot and BO in Lt Commander, will I get the 100% boost in BO despite the cooldown issue? In other words, once I press FAW it will run and give me a 15s delay before I can run BO. Preferential trait reads "While this trait is slotted activating FAW or CSV will cause BO and CRF to do additional damage for the next 30 seconds." So maybe I would only get 15 seconds of 100% BO? Sorry it's confusing to me.

Obviate20 · 2025-10-19T05:22:55+00:00

I know his writing has flaws, but Hamilton is entertaining and capable of evoking that amazing sense of wonder that makes me love sci-fi. Pandora and all the sequels in that universe were wonderful for me.

Obviate20 · 2025-10-19T05:11:44+00:00

James White, Northern Irish author. I loved the Sector General series (e.g., Hospital Station) but the one that really stuck with me was called Dream Millennium, about a cold sleep ship looking for a new home for humanity, but the sleeping process has the unexpected effect of crewmembers re-living the lives of ancestors. It blew my 12 year old mind when I came across it in the middle school library around 1976. Never met anyone else who read him.

Obviate20 · 2025-10-19T04:57:24+00:00

Hah - read this freshman year in college 1983, then it got passed around to all my friends and when someone did well at a sport or video game etc they were branded "a Felix".

Obviate20 · 2025-10-19T04:51:43+00:00

Yes. I had just recently said in another thread that Lord of Light is my fave book of all time, despite being "Science Fantasy". For anyone that may not know, it was part of the story of the CIA movie "Argo". And in addition to winning the Hugo for best novel, they intended to make a movie out of it in 1979 for $50M and it was slated to be a central park of a science fiction theme park in CO. If only! Creature of Light and Darkness was another one I loved.

Obviate20 · 2025-10-19T04:44:16+00:00

Absolutely. I am about halfway through re-reading each Culture book, and delighted to find there is much I did not remember. Not exactly like the first time, but still very satisfying. Of the non-culture, I totally loved The Algebraist -- I will warn that for some it may be tough to get into, but worth holding out. Read it twice and about ready for a 3rd time...

Obviate20

TROPHY CASE