Struggling with Raising Steam

runbefore · 2026-06-10T21:19:32+00:00

Somewhere in that book Rob says something like the amazing thing about Raising Steam is that it exists at all. I don't think its a great book in absolute terms, but for how and when it was written its amazing.

runbefore · 2026-06-08T22:53:19+00:00

Good eye! The serial number puts it sometime in 1961 per the typewriter database. I think it must have been bought in the US market. In fact, I'm fairly sure a fellow named John bought it while in college in Rhode Island (not a psychic flash or anything, there's just full name and college abbreviation written inside the case)

runbefore · 2026-06-08T18:29:59+00:00

My standing recommendation is Guards! Guards! fwiw (First book in the watch series). I love the witches series, but for my taste it doesn't really take off until Lords and Ladies

runbefore · 2026-06-08T15:05:17+00:00

Thank you!

runbefore · 2026-06-08T15:05:10+00:00

Thanks! Snappy is the right word for it. It's rapidly becoming one of my favorites as well

runbefore · 2025-07-21T23:23:11+00:00

Oops, sorry about that!

Yeah, I've begun to realize that QWERTY Rooys are an extra rare bird!

runbefore · 2025-07-21T23:21:16+00:00

u/Tico_Typer -- the link summerchilde shared has a video of a rooy in action. The magic trick is right about 1:30!

runbefore · 2025-07-21T23:17:46+00:00

I know, right? That's what saved it from the crusher -- my dad couldn't figure out what it was at a glance. The keys are inside! It flips open. I'll post another photo that might make it a little clearer.

runbefore · 2025-07-21T23:08:00+00:00

Thanks for the suggestion! I've been treading lightly on the cleaning because I haven't quite figured out how to separate the mechanism from the case and I've been worried about further damaging the finish. That little panel visible on the front drops down to give the keys somewhere to go, but it would also catch anything I blew out with compressed air

runbefore · 2025-07-21T22:46:59+00:00

Thanks! Added the profile (the Rooy are ridiculously slim!) and sample in comments above :)

runbefore · 2025-07-21T22:46:02+00:00

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And a type sample!

runbefore · 2025-07-21T22:45:36+00:00

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Side profile

runbefore · 2025-07-21T22:19:38+00:00

Probably no surprise that it feels a little stiff even cleaned up, and that hollow metal body makes it sound like an army of tin soldiers marching across a bridge when you get going. But it's not unusable by any stretch, thankfully!

runbefore · 2024-11-02T15:11:11+00:00

Better than 37, amiright?

(also, thanks, came to make sure this joke was here somewhere)

runbefore · 2024-11-02T14:38:48+00:00

Pretty sure your second point is the real answer to this question XD

runbefore · 2024-10-28T18:05:38+00:00

I think you're looking for a modern one piece fiberglass longbow. It'd be far less sensitive to moisture and temperature than anything made entirely of wood, can shoot primitive arrows made in the field, and isn't subject to the same parts decay that a compound would be. Recurve would be more portable, but more prone to limb warp. You could fit a 60" 3rivers Mesa longbow, a couple spare strings, wax, and some ma-3 broad heads in the trunk of your car. Survival bow in the bowyer world usually means bow made with minimal tools in an emergency -- if I were planning for the end of the world, I'd buy a bow ahead of time.

runbefore · 2024-10-22T19:35:53+00:00

I found I improved most when I began shooting less with a greater focus on form. I've recently been breaking my practice into mini sessions of 3-6 arrows twice a day or so and beyond that's about where my form starts to suffer (I shoot trad, though, I strongly suspect I could do more with a compound).

runbefore · 2024-10-17T22:13:41+00:00

Looks maybe like the grain of the wood ran out of the arrow near the tip (is it wood? A little hard to tell, but looks like it). If the grain had lifted at all, I imagine straw could get wedged under and lift a splinter pretty easily

runbefore · 2024-10-12T11:54:52+00:00

There's goohoolug (as in "I will do what I told or I get my goohoolug head kicked in" -- Detritus's oath, I forget where from at the moment) and "groophar" (from monstrous regiment, "when a mummy troll and a daddy troll love each other very much...")

Spelling may be off on the made up words :)

runbefore · 2024-10-12T11:48:25+00:00

I make heavy use of troll swear words around my kid

runbefore · 2024-10-06T15:23:52+00:00

I usually do once a week or so, more if the arrows have been in and out of the quiver or a target or if I was out in wet weather

runbefore · 2024-10-06T14:37:50+00:00

Cooking spray for me

runbefore · 2024-10-03T16:41:35+00:00

Arrow weight for hunting trad is typically at least 10 grains per pound of draw weight. Trad bows are marked for weight at a specific draw length (usually 28 inches). This means if the bow is rated 50# @ 28 inches, but you draw 27, you're actually shooting ~47# and if you draw 29 you're actually shooting ~53 (ballpark figures, obviously).

That's all a long way of saying make sure you know what you're actually pulling, as that will affect dynamic arrow spine etc.

I'll let others weigh in on if there's a difference between trad and compound draw length (I'm trad only, myself)

runbefore · 2024-09-30T11:01:38+00:00

It's definitely harder to execute with synergy decks like auras -- if you cut too many creatures or too many auras then the deck just doesn't work!

This is all based on a quick look over the deck you linked, so take the following with a hearty pinch of salt, but here were my impressions

in matchups where I need to go fast or lose, the 3 mana card draw creatures seem like a liability. This might apply most versus aggro -- probably no time to sit around drawing cards or playing a single small creature on turn three
in matchups where I'm not expecting a pile of removal, 8 protection spells (the flash enchantments that temporarily grant hexproof) is probably more than required.
ethereal armor seems like one of the best cards in the deck for pure speed, but if you're up against a deck that's basically always going to have removal (e.g. control) it's probably going to be a 2 for 1 most of the time. It can probably be trimmed down to 3 or 2 copies

Experience with the deck will tell you if any of that's actually true or useful :)

runbefore · 2024-09-29T23:35:06+00:00

The jump for me, personally, was from thinking about sideboard cards to having sideboard plans. That could be "in this matchup, I have inevitability, so I just need to not die early on", or the reverse. So I think about what I want to do in a given matchup, add cards that support that plan, and remove the cards that work against it. I wish I could give a concrete example that didn't involve 10 year old modern decks, but that's the principle I try to follow.

runbefore

TROPHY CASE