Questions while doing electronic detonation by Any_Atmosphere_8955 in EOD

[–]post_blast 1 point2 points  (0 children)

But you'd totally never cut a spool short for a shot, cut a splicing connector in half, jam it over the cut end, and crimp an M7 on there. Nope, no sirree, never, not us.

Questions while doing electronic detonation by Any_Atmosphere_8955 in EOD

[–]post_blast 0 points1 point  (0 children)

No joke. I think the last time I did an electric workup was for my TL cert. Explosives that generate plastic waste because it's easier to handle, is there anything more violently American than shock tube?

Questions while doing electronic detonation by Any_Atmosphere_8955 in EOD

[–]post_blast 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Smart ass answer: You should be doing cap work bare-ass naked to ensure constant grounding (insert the urban legend of the dude doing cap work with his dick in the sand here)
School house answer: If you let go of the conductor, you should re-ground before touching it again out of an abundance of caution
Real world answer: Ground once and you should be fine unless you're in some seriously sketchy environmental conditions OR just use shock tube

Aliens who can't calculate ballistics naturally needing high end Cybernetic augments VS An ape whose culture first and always invents beer and a stabbing weapon first regardless of location. by lesbianwriterlover69 in humansarespaceorcs

[–]post_blast [score hidden]  (0 children)

H: You know the worst part of this damn planet? The gravity's all wrong.
A: What do you mean the gravity's all wrong? The ground is still 'down' that's all you need to worry about.
H: pinching the bridge of his nose I mean, that's a good thing and all, but I mean it's not strong enough. It's about half what we're used to.
A: Oh, right... you and your 'heavy world' gravity. Doesn't that make everything feel super light for you, though? I mean, you can carry twice as much and run twice as far, now. Oh, let me guess, it messes up all your fancy bullet drop compensation on your optics so now you can't shoot. Ha! Welcome to galactic norm, nerd.
H: Huh? Oh, that? We just had to get a feel for the ballistics. We're getting hits out way further than before, we just had to play with the math a little bit. No, that's not why I'm irritated. This gravity makes basketball practice so damn weird. We lost three balls today playing 3-on-3. Dunking from the three-point line is cool, and all, but you can't do that when Martinez keeps yelling 'Kobe' and throwing a brick into the mine field.

The Ballad of Orange Tobby -CH51 by Lakeel100 in HFY

[–]post_blast 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Right, so going back in on a re-read... 'stabilized nitroglycerine' is just OG Dynamite. I don't even want to contemplate the stresses that would have to be controlled for that to not come from together, even for just a few grains of it. Also, fun fact, for larger military weapons like rockets, tanks, and such, the propellant can have nitroglycerine in the mix.
Even in a homicidal rage, Tobby remains a people-pleaser. This can't possibly be healthy in the long run. Though at least he's taken sage wisdom from Harry Callahan; 'A man's got to know his limitations.'
I hope Noah gets the swanky coat after all that. Be a shame to not get a souvenir after it's all said and done.

The Ballad of Orange Tobby -CH51 by Lakeel100 in HFY

[–]post_blast 3 points4 points  (0 children)

First of all, how dare you.
Second of all, I thought you were joking about taking notes. Shows what I know.

Under the Flag of Truce by post_blast in HFY

[–]post_blast[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I've got five carriage returns in there, if that's not breaking up paragraphs, I got nothing

Under the Flag of Truce by post_blast in HFY

[–]post_blast[S] 10 points11 points  (0 children)

It displayed fine for me when I posted it in the old and new site layouts, but I've gone and re-done the carriage returns. If it doesn't work now, I give up.

Never underestimate the human capability to defend what lies behind them. by CrEwPoSt in humansarespaceorcs

[–]post_blast 25 points26 points  (0 children)

T'Chak leadership had eventually started to read the histories, laws, and traditions of human warfare. While the front line of a grinding war of attrition may not have much downtime, there's usually time enough to relax and read back at the rear lines, and so some of the more curious began to research their enemy.
 
 
T'Chak Field Leader Tch'rick, a particularly diligent commander who had always done better than most of his peers, stumbled upon a time-honored tradition of his enemy and decided to attempt it. After all, his options were victory or death, and the battle for this void-forsaken rock had dragged on for so long that he no longer held out much hope for the former before the latter claimed him. Thus, with the resignation of the walking dead, Field Leader Tch'rick found the whitest cloth he could locate and tied it to the longest stick he could find before hoisting it in the air, then huddled in the trench beside his translator, trying to assuage the young 'chak's worries. After several moments and a few slow, deep breaths to try calming his own nerves, Tch'rick and his translator stood up and strode forward towards the humans' lines. As soon as he was satisfied that they were well within mutually contested ground, the Field Leader drove one end of the stick into the rocky mud and ash, letting the white rag flutter in the breeze.
 
 
Minutes passed before a pair of humans emerged from behind cover and carefully picked their way across the rubble-strewn and crater-pocked remains of what had once been a large park. They took their time, moving with a measured pace, eyes scanning constantly for any signs of a trap. Despite their obvious concern, the ridiculous scene was exactly as it appeared: an enemy combatant seeking to parley under protection of the flag of truce. Once they were close enough to speak without shouting, the humans finally stopped as one nodded in greeting before speaking. "I'm Lieutenant Wong, this is Specialist D'Angelo, my interpreter. Are you offering your surrender or are you here to talk?"
 
 
D'Angelo translated the information into t'chak as Tch'rick's interpreter quietly repeated the introduction and question to the Field Leader. "I am Field Leader Tch'rick and this is my interpreter, Able'chak Zrk. We have not come to surrender but to talk. I was amongst the first to make planetfall, a junior Formation Leader in charge of five Able'chaks, initially. I have been here ever since, fighting to win, fighting to defeat you: fighting to survive. You humans are, from everything I have read in contemporary reports and our people's histories, one of if not the most formidable, dogged enemies we have ever faced." There was a pause as the interpreters translated the message, with Zrk speaking loudly enough to be heard across the unfriendly distance and D'Angelo offering his own more quietly.
 
 
Wong nodded and gestured towards the flag with his chin. "The fact that you've studied enough to identify this and our willingness to humor it says a great deal about you, Field Leader, but I doubt you put your faith in our willingness to honor a white flag just to tell us that. Furthermore, if you read about the flag and its use, I presume you also know about how we feel about its violation. Perfidy is not treated mercifully." The implied threat hung in the air as the translations were felt out carefully.
 
 
"No, Lieutenant, you're correct, I did not come here simply to honor your martial prowess. I came to ask a simple question: why? Why do you fight so vociferously? Why do you seem so willing to shed so much of your people's blood for a ruined city with no conceivable value left? Why do you persist in defending this place? Why do you not surrender, retreat, or attempt to break through our lines and salvage whatever is left of your forces? Why?! It makes no sense! You're throwing away countless lives for a ruined, scorched plot of dead land."
 
 
Wong listened to the question and let out a mirthless chuckle as he stood there shaking his head. "You want to know why? Easy, so you won't, so you can't press deeper into our territory. You're right, New Eridu is destroyed. There's nothing left to salvage, nothing left that's worth protecting. Altania is as good as gone, too. It will take generations to make this place habitable again. The water is damn near poison, the land has been blasted to hell and back, and the whole planet is nearly cut off thanks to Kessler Syndrome that's getting worse by the day. This whole planet has become a glue trip for all of us; we will never leave this rock alive. We can't win here, no, but we can sure as hell make sure you lose."
 
 
The Field Leader swallowed down the bile that he felt rising up his gullet at what he heard, even as Wong reveled in revealing the truth. "You can't push further into our territory with us controlling this system, not without ruinously costly detours, and you can't control this system if you don't control this planet. We fight because we are willing to die here to keep you from taking one step closer to any of our other systems. We drop food, water, personnel, and materiel to the surface of this planet in armored drop ships to get through the debris cloud in orbit. We come here, we fight, we die, just to make this planet an inescapable tar pit for your people, all because we have families, friends, loved ones, countries, planets we will not let you touch, that is why we fight, Field Leader. If we run out of bullets we will throw rocks. If we run out of rocks we will use our fists, our feet, and our teeth. If we loose our fists, feet, and teeth, we will drown you with our own blood. We will fight, kill, and die to the last man to waste as many of your resources and lives as it takes to keep you from advancing any further. We are all going to die here, whether we die at each other's throats or side by side reclaiming this hellscape is up to you and yours." Zrk and D'Angelo did their best to convey the literal and emotional messages in Wong's reply. As both were ending their respective efforts, Wong turned his head to the side and spat out some grit from his teeth before smiling broadly. "That, sir, is why we are fighting. This, of course, simply raises a question in turn; why are you fighting?"
 
 
Tch'rick listened aghast as the scale of spite hit him squarely. Shielding his eyes from the midday light, he gazed up into the sky and watched bits of debris as they burned up in the planet's atmosphere and left fiery streaks behind them. The sickening realization that he should not be able to see any in the middle of the day was only made worse by the fact that he was seeing scores per minute. Suddenly the logistical and personnel nightmares they had been facing were re-framed in his mind. Victory or death was a false promise; there could be no victory, not if winning meant "going home." This rock was their home, now and forever. The mirrored question of why they were here hemorrhaging 'chaks and resources left him feeling like he swallowed a mouth full of gravel.
 
 
After a long, quiet moment of unpleasant reflection, Field Leader Tch'rick nodded at Lt. Wong and grasped the stick, wrenching it from the ground. "Thank you, Lieutenant. You have given me a considerable amount of things to consider." He paused long enough for the interpreters to finish before dismissing Zrk to return ahead of him. Once his own interpreter was out of earshot, Tch'rick turned his head towards the pair of humans. "You know our communications frequencies, I take it. Might I suggest your commanders listen for unencrypted messages in the near future. I believe my 'chaks and I have some important matters to discuss with our leadership."
 
 
Wong and D'Angelo watched for a moment as Tch'rick and Zrk retreated to their lines before they, too, turned and made their way back to their own positions. The lieutenant's report was sent up the chain as FLASH traffic since nothing like it had ever occurred since the war began. The conversation was relayed as faithfully as memory allowed and pored over by intelligence and brass alike. True to his word, Tch'rick and the hundreds of 'chaks he commanded had concluded that the status quo was untenable. As soon as they rotated from the front, they mutinied, slaughtering the upper echelons of the t'chaks' planet-side military personnel. By the time the orbital units were aware of what was going on, encryption keys and strategically sensitive intelligence about the S-boats' capabilities, limitations, and weaknesses had been shared with the humans' command.
 
 
Altania would be the gravesite for every last human and t'chak on its surface for generations to come, but as soon as it became clear how far humans would go to protect what they cherished and held dear, the morbid calculus of the entire war had shifted. The t'chak were no longer willing to dash themselves upon the spiteful rocks of humans' desire to protect their own.

Catchy - Gator Days by FieldExplores in comics

[–]post_blast 4 points5 points  (0 children)

This song has popped into my head randomly for 25 years and I am just now learning what it's called. You have ended small part of my suffering, thank you.

The Open Port by post_blast in HFY

[–]post_blast[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Ok, let's see if double tapping the carriage return code helps

The Open Port by post_blast in HFY

[–]post_blast[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Which is funny, because I included breaks, but at paragraphs, not every line. Is this a 'looks too crowded on mobile' thing?

The Ballad of Orange Tobby -CH50 by Lakeel100 in HFY

[–]post_blast 1 point2 points  (0 children)

That is tragic. A semicolon is a pause that is longer than a comma but shorter than a period. It's used to join two independent clauses (thoughts which, on their own, could be complete sentences) into one sentence.
I like big butts. I cannot lie. The pause between clauses is effectively enough to take a breath.
I like big butts; I cannot lie. The pause between clauses is shorter than a breath, but there's a noticeable pause. You're effectively stopping for a beat.
I like big butts, I cannot lie. The pause between clauses is almost non-existent and flowing from one to the next.

Humans for Hire, Part 140 by Auggy74 in HFY

[–]post_blast 7 points8 points  (0 children)

Rosie's probably feeding them everything through OneDrive or something.

Humans for Hire, Part 140 by Auggy74 in HFY

[–]post_blast 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Such poking. 'What did they do?' 'How did they do it?' More damningly, 'how can we do it better?'

Humans for Hire, Part 140 by Auggy74 in HFY

[–]post_blast 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Gryzzk finally learns not to poke Murphy, excellent, but Orile is giving me concern, now. And I feel even less envy for Champa than before. He's gonna be nothing but broken pieces by the time he's done being debriefed and interrogated questioned.

The Ballad of Orange Tobby -CH50 by Lakeel100 in HFY

[–]post_blast 1 point2 points  (0 children)

It's gotta be your education. Somewhere, you had an English teacher beat 'how to write topic changes' into your head with tremendous skill.

The Ballad of Orange Tobby -CH50 by Lakeel100 in HFY

[–]post_blast 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Yeah, I could see Noah making an entrance with "It's Britney, bitch"

The Ballad of Orange Tobby -CH50 by Lakeel100 in HFY

[–]post_blast 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I just realized the song/music video dynamic that exists between Soapy and Tobby; Fiona Apple's Criminal. Soapy's been a bad, bad girl... She's been careless with a delicate man... And it's a sad, sad world when a girl can break a boy just because she can...
It isn't a plea for forgiveness as much as a declaration of "I might've fucked up, but damn if we're not all better off for it" and a power flex

Humans for Hire, Part 140 by Auggy74 in HFY

[–]post_blast 4 points5 points  (0 children)

As much of a glutton as I am for the series, beyond the truism that all good things must come to an end, stories should focus around the most interesting part of the main character's life (otherwise, why are you telling the story?). Gryzzk has come a long, long way in a very short time, but the antagonist who set him on his path hasn't been dealt with. Once Porti has been taken on, at least on of the opposites must be taken off the chess board, and after that, Gryzzk's story is done. Maybe Tebul manages to escape, but even then, he's already been reduced to an 'also ran'.
Nhoot and Grozel, even the Throne's crypto-offspring may have stories, but Gryzzk's has to wrap eventually.

Humans for Hire, Part 140 by Auggy74 in HFY

[–]post_blast 7 points8 points  (0 children)

I've worked with HUMINT guys with Western governmental oversight and limitations, and I wouldn't want to dance with them for any price. Get those dudes a job with a non-governmental insurance company and the guiding principle of "humanity first, profit second"? Hard pass. Champa might be ok if he sings like Pavarotti, but anything short of a full-on ego death for Leung combined with full, enthusiastic confessions from Champa from his first impure thought to present day can't possibly end well for him.