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Re: Pages 146, 147: You are officially my Hero

Posted: Wed Feb 13, 2019 12:15 am
by folti
Arioch wrote:Computers will probably be so good at reading Latin text in 2160 that barcodes may well be unnecessary, but know... bureaucracy.

The speech recognition on my Galaxy S4 still blows me away.
They will be still a bit faster parsing fixed form information like barcodes, or 2D codes like QR code.

And there will be still some organizations out there that'll still use OCR-A and OCR-B font which are pretty much special fonts made for OCR-ing with 1960s-70s technology, and more or less already obsolete. (OCR-B is used for machine readable passports)

(and there'll be still someone out there, who'll run their 70s vintage COBOL app written for IBM mainframes in the 1970s in an emulator, because management didn't approve costs for a migration )

Re: Pages 146, 147: You are officially my Hero

Posted: Thu Feb 14, 2019 1:06 am
by icekatze
hi hi

A friend of mine worked at an insurance company until last recently, and they were still using computers with 8 inch floppy disks and green screens for certain things.

Every computer that I got circa early 2000s no longer works, but the old 1993 era computer I've got is still chugging along just fine.

Sometimes it is a matter of the effort it takes to make peripherals compatible, and sometimes processing speed isn't the only measure of equipment quality.

Re: Pages 146, 147: You are officially my Hero

Posted: Thu Feb 14, 2019 2:46 am
by Arioch
icekatze wrote:A friend of mine worked at an insurance company until last recently, and they were still using computers with 8 inch floppy disks and green screens for certain things.

Every computer that I got circa early 2000s no longer works, but the old 1993 era computer I've got is still chugging along just fine.

Sometimes it is a matter of the effort it takes to make peripherals compatible, and sometimes processing speed isn't the only measure of equipment quality.
We're in a strange era right now where the technology is advancing quickly enough that computers usually become obsolete before they wear out, so making them last is not a priority. As the progress curve flattens out, longevity will become more of a priority.

Re: Pages 146, 147: You are officially my Hero

Posted: Thu Feb 14, 2019 9:37 am
by folti
icekatze wrote:hi hi

A friend of mine worked at an insurance company until last recently, and they were still using computers with 8 inch floppy disks and green screens for certain things.

Every computer that I got circa early 2000s no longer works, but the old 1993 era computer I've got is still chugging along just fine.

Sometimes it is a matter of the effort it takes to make peripherals compatible, and sometimes processing speed isn't the only measure of equipment quality.
Arioch wrote:We're in a strange era right now where the technology is advancing quickly enough that computers usually become obsolete before they wear out, so making them last is not a priority. As the progress curve flattens out, longevity will become more of a priority.
Plus it depends on the exact architecture and build quality of the computer in question. PCs are more consumer electronics quality, even Apple products, so they going to age quite fast, though their wear out will depend on some entropy and how heavily they were used.

Big iron from old school makers, especially from the pre-00s era will be very sturdy, and can last long with proper care (and a stream of parts, whose supply situation is different, even if you buy used ones over Ebay).

At work we have/had a few boxes of exotic hardware for one product line, some which we got after their previous operator decommissioned them, which lasted for more than decade, with a few only shut down because we ended support for that platform.

Re: Pages 146, 147: You are officially my Hero

Posted: Thu Feb 14, 2019 6:23 pm
by Mr.Tucker
"Bedding?"

Insert Beryl's wide smile here.

Re: Pages 146, 147: You are officially my Hero

Posted: Thu Feb 14, 2019 8:16 pm
by boldilocks
Mr.Tucker wrote:"Bedding?"

Insert Beryl's wide smile here.
She smirked right at him. Good thing he wasn't banging a drum.

Re: Pages 146, 147: You are officially my Hero

Posted: Thu Feb 14, 2019 11:00 pm
by raistlin34
I wonder how many of Beryl´s mannerisms, specially smiles, are deliberate. Considering Loroi seems to favor sanzai over facial expression and the other races may have another sets of non verbal signals... is she actually picking up from Alex´s own mien?

Re: Pages 146, 147: You are officially my Hero

Posted: Thu Feb 14, 2019 11:52 pm
by icekatze
hi hi
raistlin34 wrote:I wonder how many of Beryl´s mannerisms, specially smiles, are deliberate. Considering Loroi seems to favor sanzai over facial expression and the other races may have another sets of non verbal signals... is she actually picking up from Alex´s own mien?
I'm sure she is at least picking up on Alex's expressions, but at the same time, she seemed to have rather human expressions right from the start too.

Her smile on page 146, panel 3, does look quite reminiscent of Alex's grin when he was pestering Fireblade in the corridor, but Beryl had her back turned at the time.

Re: Pages 146, 147: You are officially my Hero

Posted: Fri Feb 15, 2019 3:27 am
by orion1836
Odds on Beryl trying some of Alex's food?

Also, that clearly looks like "FREEZE DRIED" to me.

Re: Pages 146, 147: You are officially my Hero

Posted: Fri Feb 15, 2019 12:57 pm
by GeoModder
icekatze wrote:hi hi
raistlin34 wrote:I wonder how many of Beryl´s mannerisms, specially smiles, are deliberate. Considering Loroi seems to favor sanzai over facial expression and the other races may have another sets of non verbal signals... is she actually picking up from Alex´s own mien?
I'm sure she is at least picking up on Alex's expressions, but at the same time, she seemed to have rather human expressions right from the start too.

Her smile on page 146, panel 3, does look quite reminiscent of Alex's grin when he was pestering Fireblade in the corridor, but Beryl had her back turned at the time.
That's telesending for you. Beryl might as well have learned of this particular expression of Alex by Fireblade or one of the other Soroin escorts.

Re: Pages 146, 147: You are officially my Hero

Posted: Fri Feb 15, 2019 1:27 pm
by Errhile
Long-time lurker, first-time poster here. Hello everyone!
volrath77 wrote:
Krulle wrote:(And who wants a wager that they won't have enough water for Alex to rehydrate his rations?)
Well, Jardin can certainly pee on his rations. Current MREs can be rehydrated using any water including urine, right? I'd like to think that future rations would likely retain that bit as a contingency. If his own is not enough, well...
No, you can't.
"Rehydrate" is what you do to dried (freeze-dried aka lyophilised, spray-dried being the less-popular method) foodstuff.
Your instant coffee is a good example of a freeze-dried foodstuff that needs rehydrating. Well... I don't think I'd try doing it with urine under any circumstances! And yes, in all the military ration packs I've tried or seen tried, there was usually standard, off-the shelf freeze-dried coffee included.

However, since freeze-drying is a costly process and you'd still need water to rehydrate the food, it is used mainly for drinkable components of a military ration pack (aforementioned instant coffee, and instant beverages). Entirely freeze-dried food rations do exist (like the French RIL ration), but they are rare.

Some field rations contain water purification tablets, either iodine (that's the older technology) or some other stuff. It is meant to disinfect water (killing bacteria, funghi and other nasty stuff) and make impurities fall to the bottom, making top layer safe to drink, if usually foul-tasting and not especially good for your health.
I guess it wouldn't improve urine's potability much. Also, I don't think it would work well in microgravity.
Again, not all the military rations do contain these - some armies assume that all the potable water will be brought by the logistic services, as it is a more foolproof way of making sure your troops won't get sick due to bad local water (keep in mind: diarrhea caused way more casualties in the history of warfare on Earth than any enemy action ever did!)

A filtering apparatus (some kind of membrane, allowing only water molecules through, and keeping impurities on the other side) could be a solution, and in a high-tech setting, a workable one. If Bellarmine had such filters (personal-use ones can be as small as a bulky felt-tip pen) in her emergency supplies / crash packs, there is a chance Beryl scavenged such equipment along with the rations. But I digress.

What you could- theoretically - with your urine and some modern ration packs, is reheat them: a number of modern field rations rely on flameless ration heaters to heat the main course. Put a hermetically sealed food package in a plastic bag with the heater, add a little water, and a chemical reaction will start, producing enough heat to get you a warm meal in a couple of minutes. Quality of the water is of little consequence, remember however you'll be tearing that food packet open, once it is heated.
A side effect of the reaction, however, is release of gaseous hydrogen (and a few other gases). Not important in the field, it is however highly volatile - and therefore unadvisable in enclosed spaces. The FRH bags are actually maked with waringns to keep troops from heating up their food packets indoors, and especially inside their vehicles. For exactly that reason, I believe it would be highly inadvisable to try it on board of the shuttle.
Also, it wouldn't be necessary: the food can be eaten cold, it is simply less appealing, although ready and fit for consumption as-is in most cases.

Since Bellarmine didn't seemed to be designed with atmospheric flight in mind, I assume it didn't carried conventional military field rations as emergency food, more likely something like RL lifeboat & life raft food supplies (which tend to include canned potable water, in addition to water purification methods like solar stills... but those would be totally useless in space).

Re: Pages 146, 147: You are officially my Hero

Posted: Fri Feb 15, 2019 1:40 pm
by SVlad
The shuttle should have some source of fresh water for emergency situations - Loroi need to drink water too.

Re: Pages 146, 147: You are officially my Hero

Posted: Fri Feb 15, 2019 4:24 pm
by bunnyboy
What was the war/military movie, were the heroes were crew of water cleaning unit?

And about mannerism copying mechanism, our brain is wired to mimic the emotions and work of others.
Thats is why we work so well tohether as unit. I m sure it is same for loroi.

Re: Pages 146, 147: You are officially my Hero

Posted: Mon Feb 18, 2019 3:39 am
by CrimsonFALKE
What if the human food is similar to Loroi pet or cattle feed?

Re: Pages 146, 147: You are officially my Hero

Posted: Mon Feb 18, 2019 7:05 am
by Errhile
SVlad wrote:The shuttle should have some source of fresh water for emergency situations - Loroi need to drink water too.
I'm sure they have a supply of fresh water on board - not only for emergency operations, but as standard equipment also. I mean, the shuttle is meant to ferry passengers on trips several hours long, right? Perhaps even up to few days. Loroi might be eating only one meal a day, but this still means you need to prepare that meal. And have it stored somewhere, even if we are talking shelf-stable, military ration packs similar to beforementioned MREs.

Still, I'm under impression that the current situation means extending the shuttle's mission beyond standard parameters. Then, the question becomes to be whether the water supply is renewable. Have the Loroi bothered to install water recycling system on an essentially short-range shuttle (even if it was meant to be a captain's gig for a capital warship)?

As far as I know, IRL water recycling rigs are rather large, cumbersome and power-hungry. While Loroi tech is way better, size and power consumption might still be a problem enough to make them omit such a piece of equipment from a shuttle (capital ships most certainly have these, but I guess a shuttle could be just going with an adequately sized water tank).

Another problem is the power consumption: we've been told the shuttle will be powering down to keep emissions at minimum, and thus avoid being detected. Which could mean there will be not enough power in the system to operate a water recycler, if one is present.

Re: Pages 146, 147: You are officially my Hero

Posted: Mon Feb 18, 2019 8:19 am
by SVlad
Errhile wrote: As far as I know, IRL water recycling rigs are rather large, cumbersome and power-hungry. While Loroi tech is way better, size and power consumption might still be a problem enough to make them omit such a piece of equipment from a shuttle (capital ships most certainly have these, but I guess a shuttle could be just going with an adequately sized water tank).
As large, as typical server rack.
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Re: Pages 146, 147: You are officially my Hero

Posted: Mon Feb 18, 2019 1:34 pm
by Errhile
SVlad wrote: As large, as typical server rack.
I stand corrected, then :)