Religion is always a contentious issue, mostly, I think, because even after thousands of years of having them, we're still not exactly sure what they're for. Religion is treated like the whatchamacallit on the tool-bench in the garage: You're not sure what it's supposed to do, but after all these years you don't want to get rid of it just in case you figure out what it's for later.
Hm... reading that over, it seems harsher than I intended it. Mind you, I'm speaking of religion, not of God. A longing to know the Mind of God, to do His Will, is often a great asset to a person, even if there isn't a god after all (best thing about religion: Selective Capitalization). Too often, though, I feel like dogmatic adherence to a religious doctrine is detrimental to its own goals.
Taken too far, religious doctrine is used not as an answer to a question, but as an excuse not to even ask the question at all. For instance, the question of how a just God could allow suffering is an extremely complicated one, yet if I brought it up at church, I'd get fifty blank stares and one "the Lord works in mysterious ways."
When I'm trying to teach someone physics ('trying' being the operative word there...), I have to be careful to make sure they understand the methods that brought about the answer, not just the right formula to plug numbers into. And that's hard, because at some level I know nine out of ten of them are just going to memorize the formulas, pass the class, and never look at it ever again. But if I just say "the path of the projectile is a parabola:"
Y(x)= (-4.9/V_x^2)x^2 + (V_y/V_x) x + Y_0
they might get one question right, and even all the ones that are basically identical to it right, but if they can't they won't even know where to start. In the same way, if you're only depending on the answers your religion taught you, you might be able to parrot back the answers you know, but if its not something you already know you're never going to be able to figure it out.
There's a phrase you hear a lot at church (or my church, anyway): "questioning one's faith." It's always said somewhat regretfully, usually after a short pause, as below:
A: I heard Tom was down at the Temple of Bacchus the other night.
B: /sigh/ Yes. He's been... questioning his faith.
In this case, the question is whether Tom might have more fun at a drunken orgy than at Sunday worship service. My point is, euphemisms like that give the impression that it's somehow immoral to ask questions about matters of faith, when in reality a well-guided doubt is crucial in establishing lasting beliefs.
The truth is, we are lucky (blessed, if you prefer) to have a natural curiosity. The idea of questions being discouraged in order to preserve someone's idea of what's proper is foolishness, for without asking new questions (or even old questions, just to double-check) there's no way to make any progress.
Whether asking these questions results in people leading better lives is a somewhat different question. Presumably, if they ask them and are ostracized by their peers, shunned, banished, excommunicated...
I can imagine situations where a person would be better off just keeping their mouth shut. I can even imagine certain situations, and certain questions, where they'd be better off keeping their mind shut, situations where one will end up happier, more productive, wiser, or any other method you care to measure success by, if they had simply never thought to question it.
But it is much harder for me to imagine a society that will not be better off if it treats such questioning with respect and patience.
Next Time(philosophy): Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann, Cthulhu, & the Large Hadron Collider
Next Time (40k): The Blood Angels, aka "Space Marines Painted Red!"
Next Time (CopStuff): Hostage Negotiations(!), Aug. 13
Friday, July 31, 2009
Tuesday, July 28, 2009
[CopWednesday 6] Repeat Offenders Offenders
So apparently that repeat offenders training was scheduled, not so much for Wednesday, per se, as it was for Tuesday. Luckily enough I caught my mistake in time, but it means I've got two posts about police stuff in a row. To make up for it, I at least have finished another 40k list, so its a mix this time.
The Repeat Offenders Section (formerly Repeat Offenders Program Experiment, ROPE) is based on a bit of criminal analysis that indicates that a disproportionately large number of crimes are committed by a disproportionately small number of criminals. Thus, by keeping an eye on a certain select group of individuals, you can stop these crimes before they happen. If there's one thing politicians love, it's (...money, but if there's a second thing, its...) pro-active enforcement, and ROS gets the job done.
The Section serves three primary roles, all of which overlap. The first is 'case enhancement'. This is where a person suspected of committing a crime is put under surveillance in the hopes that additional evidence will come to light against them. For example, the detective speaking told a story about a suspected bank robber who, while under surveillance for a previous robbery, was stopped in the middle of committing a second. Cases like that are essentially open-and-shut. Prosecutors love that.
The second is picking up warrants. This confused me a little, since I worked (way back in the beginning of the summer) with the Fugitive Unit, and they do much the same thing. Apparently the difference is that ROS follows people who are about to get warrants around, and then picks them up as soon as one's issued, whereas Fugitive just works through outstanding warrants and takes the ones they have leads on.
Finally, there's what they call 'investigative' surveillance. This is when they have a group of similar crimes that match a known offender's MO (modus operandi, or "method of operating" in Latin. Heck yes, AP Latin Poetry!). Basically, they'll just follow him around and try to catch him in the act (or, I suppose, rule him out, if it happens again without his involvement). This happens regardless of whether there's any sort of evidence linking him to the crime besides a slight similarity in methods.
Yes, it seems slightly Police State to me, as well. I've found I don't mind that as much as I used to, as long as I get to be the Police. That's either Nietzchean (way to define your own morality, Kurt!) or just some good old-fashioned Power Corrupts (Spider-Man's uncle would be so ashamed...). I think it boils down to this: I'm one of the very few people I trust. If anyone should be running around with a badge and a gun, it should be someone I trust, and thus, for lack of better options, it should be me.
Oh god, I'm sounding like a fascist again, aren't I?
Anyway... I was originally going to write a list on the Space Marines. These guys are essentially the 'base army' of 40k, the one they pitch to kids who are just getting into the hobby. There are many reasons for this: the models are fairly simple to paint, the troops are durable and jacks-of-all-trades (thus making it a very forgiving list to play), and, perhaps most of all, its easier to sell idealistic kids on an army of elite superhuman warriors defending humanity from evil.
Because the majority of people who play 40k start out playing Space Marines, they get most of the fluff written about them, and are incredibly common opponents (despite being rather rare, in-setting), especially when playing beginners. This leads to the perception (by me) that Space Marines are a 'novice faction', and its not entirely untrue. However, there are a great many very good SM players, and also a great many different ways to field an effective army.
Also because of their huge popularity, the Space Marines have no less than 4 extra Codexes, each representing a certain Chapter (in-setting, a group of SMs that operate independently) that can be played as stand-alone factions in their own right. Each Chapter has certain traits that make it unique, while still essentially fielding the same sorts of units as a standard Space Marine army.
So to start out, I picked one of these seperate Chapters to write a list for, in the hopes that after doing each speciallized group, I'd be better able to write a list that shows the more general Space Marines without stomping on any of the special Chapter's turf, so to speak.
First up, then, are the Black Templars. Space Marines are already based on the sort of 'Knight in Shining Armor' fantasy archetype (with the standard heaps of Grimdark thrown in), but in case you didn't get the imagery, the Black Templars Chapter is here to show you just how knightly they really are. Crusader-ly, in fact, as they're based (loosely) on the Knights Templar from good ole Real Life.
So, what makes the Black Templar different? I've written this list to help explain:
________________________________
Black Templars - Mechanized Crusade
HQ [note#3]
Emperor's Champion (90)
-Accept Any Challenge, No Matter the Odds (50)
Heavy Support [note#1]
Land Raider Crusader (265)
Troops [note#2]
10 x Initiates (160) + 4 x Neophytes (40)
-all with Bolt Pistol & Close-Combat Weapon
8 x Initiates (128) + 1 x Neophyte (10)
-all with Bolt Pistol & Close-Combat Weapon
-w/ meltagun (10)
-mounted in Rhino (50)
8 x Initiates (128) + 1 x Neophyte (10)
-all with Bolt Pistol & Close-Combat Weapon
-w/ meltagun (10)
-mounted in Rhino (50)
---------------------------------
Note#1:
This list is a lot shorter than usual, and here's the reason: a 265-point vehicle. Still, what kind of crusade would this be without a Land Raider Crusader? (a more effective one, possibly...) The LRC is one of three Land Raider variants, probably the best, and the Black Templars are unique in that they can field them as dedicated transports for their basic troop units, meaning in a high-points-level game you might be facing off against six or seven of the buggers. That's bad news, because with maximum armor all-around (AV14, for those of you playing along at home) they're the second-hardest vehicle to kill in the entire game, so even one is a tremendous pain.
They also mount the very excellent Twin-linked Assault Cannon, which is arguably the best all-around weapon in the game (ignoring things with blast templates, since they're trickier...). TL'ed-Assault Cannons mow down infantry in droves, and due to the Rending special rule are better than a twin-linked lascannon against armor, and with the ability to negate the armor saves of heavy infantry to boot. Seriously, they're good. Also, the sponson-mounted Hurricane Bolters count as Defensive Weapons (Strength of 4 or less), and so may be fired along with the Assault Cannon (often abbreviated 'ass-cannon', a practice I have declined) even if the LRC moved 6" that turn.
However, the biggest advantage of the LRC is its abilities as a transport. It has a huge capacity (15 models, for Black Templar), is impervious to all but the most powerful weaponry, ensuring the squad gets to their destination safely. Furthermore, models disembarking from it may make an Assault in the same turn they disembarked(!!), meaning they can potentially assault from 20" away (12" move + 2" deploy + 6" assault). It's even equipped with a handy Frag Launcher, which lets you count as having frag grenades on the turn you assault out of it (negating the opponent's initiative advantage for being in cover).
The only downside of this fantastic vehicle is the fantastic points cost that goes along with it. In fact, a lot of people would consider them impractical at lower points levels (like the 1000-points that this list is built for). However, there's a counterpoint to this, in that the number of things that can actually hurt a Land Raider are similarly limited in such a small game. Mostly, I took it because it's one of the 'signature units' of the Black Templars, but I do think it will serve admirably on the tabletop as well.
Note#2:
That first note just went on and on and on... Anyway, the main focus of this list is on mechanized assault infantry. The Black Templars (according to fluff) generally fight by running towards the enemy and then stabbing them until they die. This list has three squads that do just that. The larger one will mount up in the Land Raider Crusader, while the smaller two, mounted in Rhinos (RHINOS??) will follow it in. The smaller squads are equipped with meltaguns for at least a little anti-armor, which can either be fired out the Rhino's top hatch or on the turn they disembark, since unlike the LRC, normal transports cannot unload troops directly into an assault.
The unique thing that seperates Black Templar Initiates from normal Space Marines (which have an identical statline), besides their awesome robes, is that Neophytes (similar to SM Scouts) are bought as extra models in the same troop choice. This means that the maximum squad size is 20, rather than the traditional 10 Space Marines. True, these extra guys don't fight quite as well, but they're extra wounds that can be sacrificed instead of your Initiates, and extra attacks in close combat. Every squad has at least one Neophyte, just so you can take full advantage of Wound Allocation peculiarities.
Note#3:
Finally, the HQ 'choice': an Emperor's Champion, mandatory in every single Black Templars list. Don't worry, though, this guy is a decent fighter in close combat, and is especially good at offing enemy Independent Characters. Additionally, the Vow he takes (Accept Any Challenge, which is practically the only one anyone actually uses) grants every other Initiate the Preferred Enemy special rule (re-roll To Wound in close combat), making them a fair bit more deadly. He'll be attached to the large squad in the Land Raider Crusader (notice how there's an extra seat left just for him?)
____________________________________
As far as strategy goes, this list plays fairly simply: 1) drive vehicles up to enemy position, 2) jump out of vehicles, 3) stab enemy until they stop moving.
However, there are some specific tactics that come into play. First, try to keep the Rhinos close behind the Land Raider Crusader in order to get a cover save against incoming fire. That way, they'll be forced to either shoot the Rhinos and miss half the time due to cover, or shoot the much-tougher LRC. Either way, you win. The Rhinos can also split off to grab distant objectives, as with a Crusader full of angry guys with swords bearing down on him, your opponent probably has bigger things to worry about. Just don't get isolated; the Rhino squads are fairly vulnerable is left be themselves.
Second, remember that you've got meltaguns in those Rhinos, so if someone leaves a tank within 18" of them, drive on up, hop out (if necessary - if he's within 10" you can just shoot him through the hatch) and pop the tank. This list is already extremely light on the anti-tank; no need to make it worse by forgetting you have meltaguns. Another thing not to forget is your extra Zeal move whenever an opponent causes casualties by shooting at you, not to mention the fact that you can (and should) Run rather than shoot during your Shooting phase. Even if your transport gets blown up, Black Templars have rather fast-moving basic infantry, so don't despair immediatly.
Another 'tactic': when possible, assault two squads at once. The large LRC group should have no problem getting one of their 15 models into contact with a second squad, and the sooner you tie up his shooters in close combat, the longer you'll live. Also, when possible try to let him survive the first turn of combat (i.e. the assault) and then beat him in combat during his own turn, since this lets you avoid a turn of him shooting you. With a little luck, you might go the whole game without losing any of your main squad to enemy fire.
Okay, that seems plenty long to me. As you can see, the Black Templar do well in a Mechanized-type list. Next time, we'll look at the Blood Angels, another Space Marines Chapter that is also close-combat oriented, but uses jump-packs and deep-striking instead of vehicles.
Next Time (40k): Blood Angels, aka more Space Marines
Next Time (Philosophy): Religon and the Benefits of Curiosity, I swear!
Next Time (Cop Stuff): Hostage Negotiations, Aug. 13th
The Repeat Offenders Section (formerly Repeat Offenders Program Experiment, ROPE) is based on a bit of criminal analysis that indicates that a disproportionately large number of crimes are committed by a disproportionately small number of criminals. Thus, by keeping an eye on a certain select group of individuals, you can stop these crimes before they happen. If there's one thing politicians love, it's (...money, but if there's a second thing, its...) pro-active enforcement, and ROS gets the job done.
The Section serves three primary roles, all of which overlap. The first is 'case enhancement'. This is where a person suspected of committing a crime is put under surveillance in the hopes that additional evidence will come to light against them. For example, the detective speaking told a story about a suspected bank robber who, while under surveillance for a previous robbery, was stopped in the middle of committing a second. Cases like that are essentially open-and-shut. Prosecutors love that.
The second is picking up warrants. This confused me a little, since I worked (way back in the beginning of the summer) with the Fugitive Unit, and they do much the same thing. Apparently the difference is that ROS follows people who are about to get warrants around, and then picks them up as soon as one's issued, whereas Fugitive just works through outstanding warrants and takes the ones they have leads on.
Finally, there's what they call 'investigative' surveillance. This is when they have a group of similar crimes that match a known offender's MO (modus operandi, or "method of operating" in Latin. Heck yes, AP Latin Poetry!). Basically, they'll just follow him around and try to catch him in the act (or, I suppose, rule him out, if it happens again without his involvement). This happens regardless of whether there's any sort of evidence linking him to the crime besides a slight similarity in methods.
Yes, it seems slightly Police State to me, as well. I've found I don't mind that as much as I used to, as long as I get to be the Police. That's either Nietzchean (way to define your own morality, Kurt!) or just some good old-fashioned Power Corrupts (Spider-Man's uncle would be so ashamed...). I think it boils down to this: I'm one of the very few people I trust. If anyone should be running around with a badge and a gun, it should be someone I trust, and thus, for lack of better options, it should be me.
Oh god, I'm sounding like a fascist again, aren't I?
Anyway... I was originally going to write a list on the Space Marines. These guys are essentially the 'base army' of 40k, the one they pitch to kids who are just getting into the hobby. There are many reasons for this: the models are fairly simple to paint, the troops are durable and jacks-of-all-trades (thus making it a very forgiving list to play), and, perhaps most of all, its easier to sell idealistic kids on an army of elite superhuman warriors defending humanity from evil.
Because the majority of people who play 40k start out playing Space Marines, they get most of the fluff written about them, and are incredibly common opponents (despite being rather rare, in-setting), especially when playing beginners. This leads to the perception (by me) that Space Marines are a 'novice faction', and its not entirely untrue. However, there are a great many very good SM players, and also a great many different ways to field an effective army.
Also because of their huge popularity, the Space Marines have no less than 4 extra Codexes, each representing a certain Chapter (in-setting, a group of SMs that operate independently) that can be played as stand-alone factions in their own right. Each Chapter has certain traits that make it unique, while still essentially fielding the same sorts of units as a standard Space Marine army.
So to start out, I picked one of these seperate Chapters to write a list for, in the hopes that after doing each speciallized group, I'd be better able to write a list that shows the more general Space Marines without stomping on any of the special Chapter's turf, so to speak.
First up, then, are the Black Templars. Space Marines are already based on the sort of 'Knight in Shining Armor' fantasy archetype (with the standard heaps of Grimdark thrown in), but in case you didn't get the imagery, the Black Templars Chapter is here to show you just how knightly they really are. Crusader-ly, in fact, as they're based (loosely) on the Knights Templar from good ole Real Life.
So, what makes the Black Templar different? I've written this list to help explain:
________________________________
Black Templars - Mechanized Crusade
HQ [note#3]
Emperor's Champion (90)
-Accept Any Challenge, No Matter the Odds (50)
Heavy Support [note#1]
Land Raider Crusader (265)
Troops [note#2]
10 x Initiates (160) + 4 x Neophytes (40)
-all with Bolt Pistol & Close-Combat Weapon
8 x Initiates (128) + 1 x Neophyte (10)
-all with Bolt Pistol & Close-Combat Weapon
-w/ meltagun (10)
-mounted in Rhino (50)
8 x Initiates (128) + 1 x Neophyte (10)
-all with Bolt Pistol & Close-Combat Weapon
-w/ meltagun (10)
-mounted in Rhino (50)
---------------------------------
Note#1:
This list is a lot shorter than usual, and here's the reason: a 265-point vehicle. Still, what kind of crusade would this be without a Land Raider Crusader? (a more effective one, possibly...) The LRC is one of three Land Raider variants, probably the best, and the Black Templars are unique in that they can field them as dedicated transports for their basic troop units, meaning in a high-points-level game you might be facing off against six or seven of the buggers. That's bad news, because with maximum armor all-around (AV14, for those of you playing along at home) they're the second-hardest vehicle to kill in the entire game, so even one is a tremendous pain.
They also mount the very excellent Twin-linked Assault Cannon, which is arguably the best all-around weapon in the game (ignoring things with blast templates, since they're trickier...). TL'ed-Assault Cannons mow down infantry in droves, and due to the Rending special rule are better than a twin-linked lascannon against armor, and with the ability to negate the armor saves of heavy infantry to boot. Seriously, they're good. Also, the sponson-mounted Hurricane Bolters count as Defensive Weapons (Strength of 4 or less), and so may be fired along with the Assault Cannon (often abbreviated 'ass-cannon', a practice I have declined) even if the LRC moved 6" that turn.
However, the biggest advantage of the LRC is its abilities as a transport. It has a huge capacity (15 models, for Black Templar), is impervious to all but the most powerful weaponry, ensuring the squad gets to their destination safely. Furthermore, models disembarking from it may make an Assault in the same turn they disembarked(!!), meaning they can potentially assault from 20" away (12" move + 2" deploy + 6" assault). It's even equipped with a handy Frag Launcher, which lets you count as having frag grenades on the turn you assault out of it (negating the opponent's initiative advantage for being in cover).
The only downside of this fantastic vehicle is the fantastic points cost that goes along with it. In fact, a lot of people would consider them impractical at lower points levels (like the 1000-points that this list is built for). However, there's a counterpoint to this, in that the number of things that can actually hurt a Land Raider are similarly limited in such a small game. Mostly, I took it because it's one of the 'signature units' of the Black Templars, but I do think it will serve admirably on the tabletop as well.
Note#2:
That first note just went on and on and on... Anyway, the main focus of this list is on mechanized assault infantry. The Black Templars (according to fluff) generally fight by running towards the enemy and then stabbing them until they die. This list has three squads that do just that. The larger one will mount up in the Land Raider Crusader, while the smaller two, mounted in Rhinos (RHINOS??) will follow it in. The smaller squads are equipped with meltaguns for at least a little anti-armor, which can either be fired out the Rhino's top hatch or on the turn they disembark, since unlike the LRC, normal transports cannot unload troops directly into an assault.
The unique thing that seperates Black Templar Initiates from normal Space Marines (which have an identical statline), besides their awesome robes, is that Neophytes (similar to SM Scouts) are bought as extra models in the same troop choice. This means that the maximum squad size is 20, rather than the traditional 10 Space Marines. True, these extra guys don't fight quite as well, but they're extra wounds that can be sacrificed instead of your Initiates, and extra attacks in close combat. Every squad has at least one Neophyte, just so you can take full advantage of Wound Allocation peculiarities.
Note#3:
Finally, the HQ 'choice': an Emperor's Champion, mandatory in every single Black Templars list. Don't worry, though, this guy is a decent fighter in close combat, and is especially good at offing enemy Independent Characters. Additionally, the Vow he takes (Accept Any Challenge, which is practically the only one anyone actually uses) grants every other Initiate the Preferred Enemy special rule (re-roll To Wound in close combat), making them a fair bit more deadly. He'll be attached to the large squad in the Land Raider Crusader (notice how there's an extra seat left just for him?)
____________________________________
As far as strategy goes, this list plays fairly simply: 1) drive vehicles up to enemy position, 2) jump out of vehicles, 3) stab enemy until they stop moving.
However, there are some specific tactics that come into play. First, try to keep the Rhinos close behind the Land Raider Crusader in order to get a cover save against incoming fire. That way, they'll be forced to either shoot the Rhinos and miss half the time due to cover, or shoot the much-tougher LRC. Either way, you win. The Rhinos can also split off to grab distant objectives, as with a Crusader full of angry guys with swords bearing down on him, your opponent probably has bigger things to worry about. Just don't get isolated; the Rhino squads are fairly vulnerable is left be themselves.
Second, remember that you've got meltaguns in those Rhinos, so if someone leaves a tank within 18" of them, drive on up, hop out (if necessary - if he's within 10" you can just shoot him through the hatch) and pop the tank. This list is already extremely light on the anti-tank; no need to make it worse by forgetting you have meltaguns. Another thing not to forget is your extra Zeal move whenever an opponent causes casualties by shooting at you, not to mention the fact that you can (and should) Run rather than shoot during your Shooting phase. Even if your transport gets blown up, Black Templars have rather fast-moving basic infantry, so don't despair immediatly.
Another 'tactic': when possible, assault two squads at once. The large LRC group should have no problem getting one of their 15 models into contact with a second squad, and the sooner you tie up his shooters in close combat, the longer you'll live. Also, when possible try to let him survive the first turn of combat (i.e. the assault) and then beat him in combat during his own turn, since this lets you avoid a turn of him shooting you. With a little luck, you might go the whole game without losing any of your main squad to enemy fire.
Okay, that seems plenty long to me. As you can see, the Black Templar do well in a Mechanized-type list. Next time, we'll look at the Blood Angels, another Space Marines Chapter that is also close-combat oriented, but uses jump-packs and deep-striking instead of vehicles.
Next Time (40k): Blood Angels, aka more Space Marines
Next Time (Philosophy): Religon and the Benefits of Curiosity, I swear!
Next Time (Cop Stuff): Hostage Negotiations, Aug. 13th
Monday, July 27, 2009
[CopWednesday 5] They See Me Rollin'...
I finally got to go on my ride-along with the MoCo Police Department. For anyone not familiar with the practice, a ride-along is when a civilian accompanies a patrol officer as he goes about his regular business (technically, because they're not members of the military, police officers are generally 'civilians' as well, but the term is still used to refer to persons not affiliated with the force). It's seen as a way of ensuring transparency and improve public relations; if people are allowed to see what goes on behind the scenes of police work, they tend to be less paranoid. You're allowed to do one every six months (though because I'm an intern, I get to go once a month if I want - yay perks), and if you've never done one, I'd strongly recommend it. They're informative, if nothing else.
I showed up at the police station around 3:30, just after the evening shift was finishing roll call and heading out. The officer I was with had 13-odd years under his belt, first in D.C. and then here in Montgomery County. He had a shaved head and wore athletic-style sunglasses, and except for the beginings of a beer belly, didn't look a day over 25. The car was the classic Crown Vic cop car. Unless otherwise noted, I was instructed to get out of the car but hang back while the officer dealt with whoever he needed to.
For the first hour or so, nothing major happened. He told some drug dealers loitering outside a 7-Eleven to move along, wrote someone a $250 ticket for parking their car in a fire lane, and generally drove around running license plates through his computer (some people don't know this: the police have access to complete vehicle histories through their laptops, and run license numbers of passing cars as a matter of course. Invasion of privacy? Hey, you've been warned.).
Around 5, things started to pick up. We answered a call for larceny of a cell phone. Two people had gotten in a fight, and one had driven off with the other one's phone, which was being held until an apology was offered. It was obviously a lover's spat, made awkward by the fact that both parties were guys. Let me say this: the police don't care if you're gay. It's easier if you just tell them, rather than dancing around it and saying he's a 'friend'. We went to the thief's house, convinced him he's taken the phone by mistake, and returned it to the first man.
A bit after that, we responded to a possible suicide in an apartment complex. The man had left his social worker a note reading "If you've recieved this, I'm already dead." Somehow, that sounds hilarious when dead-panned over the dispatcher's radio, so spirits were unusually high when we knocked on his door to check that he was alive. Sure enough, he was fine; he explained that he'd left the note last week when he was feeling "bummed out," and that he was doing much better this week, so after making him call his social worker to clear things up, we moved on to the next job, a 'threatening communication' call.
On the way there, a call came in for a suspect fleeing the scene of a shoplifting. Suddenly, the car was going 100 mph down Germantown Rd, siren wailing as we dodged through intersections and wove between confused motorists. People, its not hard: when you hear a siren, get to the right.
After ducking down a residential street a block from where the suspect had jumped a fence, we slowed to a mere 60 mph, scanning the sidestreets for the suspect, but a few minutes later we got the call that someone else had picked him up, so we drove to their location to assist in the questioning. Apparently, him and his 'baby momma' (who was picked up a few streets down) had been shoplifting tubes of cortisone cream (of all things), and he still had several tubes on his person. The shopkeeper decided not to press charges (for a theft under $200 dollars, he'd have only been issued a citation anyway), so we issued him a trespass banning him from returning to the store and cut him loose.
After that, we cleared the call we'd been on our way to: an ex-con, ankle bracelet and all, had threatened to beat up an 11-year old for hitting his car with a football on accident, so we told the kid's mom how to file for a peace order and instructed her to stay away from him. The guy was on house arrest after stabbing his then-girlfriend (now ex-girlfriend, I hope), and had numerous dealing with the police in the past, but that was basically all we could do.
A summer thunderstorm was blowing in at that point, so we waited it out in the car. When it cleared, we recieved word that all the traffic lights on Rt. 118 were out, so we directed traffic for a few hours while the electric company sent a guy out to fix them (I say 'we', but I had to wait in the car for this one: directing traffic is actually one of the most dangerous things police do on a regular basis).
There was one last call before I got dropped off for the night. A man, apparently drunk, was loitering around a convenience store, and didn't leave when the shopkeeper asked him to do so. We showed up to have a word with him. During the conversation, he lied several times about his name, which was unwise considering one of the officers responding with us had dealt with him not two nights before on a different call. He kept putting his hands in his pockets after being repeatedly told not to. It was probably just nerves, but the third time he did it, the officers made him put his hands on the hood of the car and patted him down, just to be safe. After a few minutes, his ride showed up and we let him go.
I was dropped back at the station around 8:30, halfway through the evening shift and just as the overlapping midnight shift was coming on. Overall, it was a fun evening, with plenty of variety and a few instances of edge-of-my-seat action (that prioity call was quite something). Of course, it was all completely mundane for the officer driving me around: just your average Saturday night for the boys in blue (or black, in this case).
In any event, it doesn't seem like the sort of job that'd get boring too fast.
Next Time (Cop Stuff): Repeat Offenders Training this Wednesday
Next Time (40k): Black Templars, one of four Space Marines Chapters that got their own Codex
Next Time (philosophy): The Importance of Being Philosophical, response
______________________________
General Updates: JulNoWriMo is finally starting to move again. That is to say, I only need to write 4,000 words a day for the next four days in order to finish it on time. I probably won't, just because that'd be painful. Besides, if I was allowed to count what I write here, I'd be done already, so I don't feel too bad.
I finished Baccano!, and it was great. It's kind of an action/comedy set (mostly) in 1930s America, and focuses on a group of gangsters, terrorists, alchemists, and thieves who get caught up in a train robbery. The story is told non-chronologically, from various points of view, so it can seem confusing at first, but you can definitely get the feel for it. The cast is robust, featuring no less than four action-girls (two of whom are emotionless girls, to boot), two psychopaths, five or six legitimate heroes, a creepy child, a heartstrings-pulling nice girl, and a comedy duo to round it off. That said, it's a fairly short show, only 13 episodes (plus 3 OVAs that serve as an epilogue). You'll like it, and you should watch it (I watched the dubbed version, which is good enough to make the subbed version unnecessary).
I showed up at the police station around 3:30, just after the evening shift was finishing roll call and heading out. The officer I was with had 13-odd years under his belt, first in D.C. and then here in Montgomery County. He had a shaved head and wore athletic-style sunglasses, and except for the beginings of a beer belly, didn't look a day over 25. The car was the classic Crown Vic cop car. Unless otherwise noted, I was instructed to get out of the car but hang back while the officer dealt with whoever he needed to.
For the first hour or so, nothing major happened. He told some drug dealers loitering outside a 7-Eleven to move along, wrote someone a $250 ticket for parking their car in a fire lane, and generally drove around running license plates through his computer (some people don't know this: the police have access to complete vehicle histories through their laptops, and run license numbers of passing cars as a matter of course. Invasion of privacy? Hey, you've been warned.).
Around 5, things started to pick up. We answered a call for larceny of a cell phone. Two people had gotten in a fight, and one had driven off with the other one's phone, which was being held until an apology was offered. It was obviously a lover's spat, made awkward by the fact that both parties were guys. Let me say this: the police don't care if you're gay. It's easier if you just tell them, rather than dancing around it and saying he's a 'friend'. We went to the thief's house, convinced him he's taken the phone by mistake, and returned it to the first man.
A bit after that, we responded to a possible suicide in an apartment complex. The man had left his social worker a note reading "If you've recieved this, I'm already dead." Somehow, that sounds hilarious when dead-panned over the dispatcher's radio, so spirits were unusually high when we knocked on his door to check that he was alive. Sure enough, he was fine; he explained that he'd left the note last week when he was feeling "bummed out," and that he was doing much better this week, so after making him call his social worker to clear things up, we moved on to the next job, a 'threatening communication' call.
On the way there, a call came in for a suspect fleeing the scene of a shoplifting. Suddenly, the car was going 100 mph down Germantown Rd, siren wailing as we dodged through intersections and wove between confused motorists. People, its not hard: when you hear a siren, get to the right.
After ducking down a residential street a block from where the suspect had jumped a fence, we slowed to a mere 60 mph, scanning the sidestreets for the suspect, but a few minutes later we got the call that someone else had picked him up, so we drove to their location to assist in the questioning. Apparently, him and his 'baby momma' (who was picked up a few streets down) had been shoplifting tubes of cortisone cream (of all things), and he still had several tubes on his person. The shopkeeper decided not to press charges (for a theft under $200 dollars, he'd have only been issued a citation anyway), so we issued him a trespass banning him from returning to the store and cut him loose.
After that, we cleared the call we'd been on our way to: an ex-con, ankle bracelet and all, had threatened to beat up an 11-year old for hitting his car with a football on accident, so we told the kid's mom how to file for a peace order and instructed her to stay away from him. The guy was on house arrest after stabbing his then-girlfriend (now ex-girlfriend, I hope), and had numerous dealing with the police in the past, but that was basically all we could do.
A summer thunderstorm was blowing in at that point, so we waited it out in the car. When it cleared, we recieved word that all the traffic lights on Rt. 118 were out, so we directed traffic for a few hours while the electric company sent a guy out to fix them (I say 'we', but I had to wait in the car for this one: directing traffic is actually one of the most dangerous things police do on a regular basis).
There was one last call before I got dropped off for the night. A man, apparently drunk, was loitering around a convenience store, and didn't leave when the shopkeeper asked him to do so. We showed up to have a word with him. During the conversation, he lied several times about his name, which was unwise considering one of the officers responding with us had dealt with him not two nights before on a different call. He kept putting his hands in his pockets after being repeatedly told not to. It was probably just nerves, but the third time he did it, the officers made him put his hands on the hood of the car and patted him down, just to be safe. After a few minutes, his ride showed up and we let him go.
I was dropped back at the station around 8:30, halfway through the evening shift and just as the overlapping midnight shift was coming on. Overall, it was a fun evening, with plenty of variety and a few instances of edge-of-my-seat action (that prioity call was quite something). Of course, it was all completely mundane for the officer driving me around: just your average Saturday night for the boys in blue (or black, in this case).
In any event, it doesn't seem like the sort of job that'd get boring too fast.
Next Time (Cop Stuff): Repeat Offenders Training this Wednesday
Next Time (40k): Black Templars, one of four Space Marines Chapters that got their own Codex
Next Time (philosophy): The Importance of Being Philosophical, response
______________________________
General Updates: JulNoWriMo is finally starting to move again. That is to say, I only need to write 4,000 words a day for the next four days in order to finish it on time. I probably won't, just because that'd be painful. Besides, if I was allowed to count what I write here, I'd be done already, so I don't feel too bad.
I finished Baccano!, and it was great. It's kind of an action/comedy set (mostly) in 1930s America, and focuses on a group of gangsters, terrorists, alchemists, and thieves who get caught up in a train robbery. The story is told non-chronologically, from various points of view, so it can seem confusing at first, but you can definitely get the feel for it. The cast is robust, featuring no less than four action-girls (two of whom are emotionless girls, to boot), two psychopaths, five or six legitimate heroes, a creepy child, a heartstrings-pulling nice girl, and a comedy duo to round it off. That said, it's a fairly short show, only 13 episodes (plus 3 OVAs that serve as an epilogue). You'll like it, and you should watch it (I watched the dubbed version, which is good enough to make the subbed version unnecessary).
Friday, July 24, 2009
The Green Tide overcomes Relationship Issues
Today was reasonably boring, in that I didn't have work to do and didn't feel like writing (my poor JulNoWriMo is stuck at 35,000, and I've got a week left), so I pretty much wasted the entire day.
I did clean the gutters, and let me say this: Anyone who has never been on the roof of their own home should correct that promptly. Really. It's like a big private patio with a great view, and the only drawback is that the floor is at an angle. If I didn't have to get out a ladder in order to get up there, it'd be one of my favorite places in the house ('on the house', properly).
I also went to my church's Young Adult Fellowship group, which I'd been skipping the last few weeks. They were talking about "Relationships," which is a nice Christian euphemism for sex. We went through the Song of Solomon, probably the most under-read book in the Bible. Naturally, it was hilariously awkward. I'd almost forgotten how silly we Christians are about that.
Someone else also asked me (rhetorically, I'm sure) what the word 'monogamy' meant to me. For a minute I considered typing up my thoughts on the matter here, in one big, definitive posting. Then I decided that'd probably become regrettably woe-is-ronery-me in a matter of seconds, so I didn't. Instead, I did the exact opposite of address my oddly-skewed view of what makes for a successful relationship.
I wrote an army list for the Space Orks.
[People who are sick of my current 40k phase should tune out here and skip to the last paragraph]
As I mentioned before, WH40k started as 'Generic Fantasy Archetypes in Space!', and still bears this influence despite being wildly more successful than it's counterpart, Warhammer Fantasy Battles (which, to be fair, is an excellent and strategically-complex game, but is utterly lacking in chainswords). Naturally, a fantasy setting has Orcs, and in space, they are called Orks.
Get used to that K-replacement. The Orks have the dubious honor of being 40k's comic relief faction. They are laughably absurd in a galaxy which is otherwise exceedingly grim and dark. Of course, that kind of 'comic relief' involves them being able to field a gun that uses their own young as ammunition, and shoots them through a portal into Hell at enemies, who are then devoured alive by the Ork's now-insane progeny. It also involves spelling everything with Ks, no Hs, and no Gs.
Despite that (honestly, probably because of this) Orks have a wide and devoted player base. The Ork army is based essentially on a single statline, the Ork Boyz. Crappy Ballistics Skill and Initiative, but high Toughness and Weapon Skill, along with 2 Attacks in hand-to-hand, make these guys natural assault units. And since the entire army is made of Boyz (in essence; the Elite units are generally just Boyz with better guns), being assault-focussed is a no-brainer. Add in that Boyz are only 6 points each, and have special morale rules (the "Mob Rule") that benefit from having gigantic squads, and the Ork 'tactic' of choice becomes apparent: put as many Boyz on the table as possible, run towards the nearest enemy, and beat the crap out of them. This is affectionately known as the Green Tide (because Orks are green, you see?).
Now, if all there were was Boyz, they'd have trouble with certain units, so it's still necessary to provide some support to your horde of Orks, but it's important not to take too many special units. Thus, the list:
___________________________
Ork - Kombined Arms
HQ: [note#2]
Big Mek (35)
-w/ Kustom Force Field (35)
-w/ 'Eavy Armour (5)
Troops: [note#1]
30 x Shoota Boyz (180)
-3 w/ Big Shoota (15)
20 x Slugga Boyz (120)
-w/ Nob (10)
. -w/ Power Klaw (25)
. -w/ Bosspole (5)
20 x Slugga Boyz (120)
-w/ Nob (10)
. -w/ Power Klaw (25)
. -w/ Bosspole (5)
Fast Attack: [note#3]
2 x Deffkoptas (70)
-both w/ twin-linked Rokkit Launcha (20)
-first w/ buzzsaw (25)
-other w/ Bigboom (15)
2 x Deffkoptas (70)
-both w/ twin-linked Rokkit Launcha (20)
-first w/ buzzsaw (25)
-other w/ Bigbomm (15)
Heavy Support: [note#4]
3 x Killa Kans (105)
-w/ Grotzooka (30)
Note#1:
The heart of this army is in these troops. There is one squad of 30 'Shoota Boyz', Boyz with at least somewhat effective rifles. This squad is also equiped with three Big Shootas, somewhat more effective machineguns. Even though Orks only hit about a third of the time, a big enough squad shooting will probably cause some decent damage, and they're still capable in an assault. The Shoota Boyz are backing up two squads of 20 'Slugga Boyz', who are the same, but exchange their rifles for pistols and crude melee weapons. That means they get four attacks on the charge, with enough bodies to soak up return damage like a sponge. Each Slugga squad contains a Nob (Ork veteran) with a power klaw and a bosspole. The bosspole allows them to reroll any failed morale checks, while the power klaw allows them to act as anti-tank squads in a pinch.
Note#2:
The Orks have three HQ choices, with the most obvious being the Warboss, a sort of huge, tough, destroy everything in close combat guy that punchs holes in battletanks with his hands. I didn't take him. Instead, I took a Big Mek, who acts as a support character. First off, he's nice and cheap. Second, with his Kustom Force Field, he provides a much-needed cover save for my mass of exposed infantry, which allows that many more of them to get into combat. He would probably attach to one of the two Slugga squads, staying on the edge to be within Force Field range of the other one, since leaving him seperate is just asking for him to get picked off, even in 'Eavy Armour (it confuses me that a race incapable of prounoucing the letter H still uses proper British spelling of the word 'armor'...).
Note#3:
Ahh, the Deffkopta (yes, its a helicopter that causes death). Deffkoptas count as jetbikes for movement purposes, which means they can go up to 24". They also have Scout, which means they get a free move before the start of the game. Thus, if you have first turn, you can Scout 24", move 12", and assault 6", for a total of 42" before your opponent even moves. If you're not going first, just Outflank with them to come in off a table edge and hit your opponent that way. They've got some of the few accurate rocket launchers you can have (twin-linked means hitting 55% of the time rather than 33%), and the buzzsaw is basically a powerfist. I threw in Bigbomms (a quirky sort of anti-infantry bomb) to get some horde-killing out of this unit in case there's no vehicles to kill. Basically, they can kill the things that would kill my Boyz, making for an excellent support unit. Which is why I took two of them.
Note#4:
And last, the Killa Kans (yes, they're metal cans that kill people). Kans are the cheapest walkers in the game (edit: actually, it's Imperial Guard Sentinels, but close enough), and a full squad of three provides the final cog in this list, for two reasons. 1) They draw a lot of fire away from the Boyz, and can soak up a fair bit of shooting. They draw fire because they are 2) a dangerous threat of their own right, either making 6 Str10 attacks in close combat (and immune to a large portion of return fire) or shooting 6 Str6 blast templates.
___________________________________
Granted, I could've dropped the Deffkoptas and Kans and instead stuck 65 more Ork Boyz in this list for a maximized Green Tide, but I like to think this is both a good bit more interesting and at least a little more effective.
Tactically, the Deffkoptas are two fast-moving suicide units that should kill anything too threatening right away, protecting my massive block of infantry advancing up the center of the table under the KFF cover save, led by a trio of very threatening-looking walkers that actually can dish out the damage. Once the Sluggas get into melee, they should be able to either kill their opponents (it they're basic infantry or a very small assault unit) or at least tie them up for the rest of the game (if they're Terminators or other hard-to-kill guys) while the Shootas cover the rear.
Thus, I recognized some of the important advantages of being single: namely, there's no one getting pissy if you waste all your time playing with your plastic army men.
Next Time (40k): Spess Muhraines!
Next Time (Cop Stuff): Ridealong on Saturday(!)
Next Time (philosophy): Sorry, I only think about trivial things these days.
I did clean the gutters, and let me say this: Anyone who has never been on the roof of their own home should correct that promptly. Really. It's like a big private patio with a great view, and the only drawback is that the floor is at an angle. If I didn't have to get out a ladder in order to get up there, it'd be one of my favorite places in the house ('on the house', properly).
I also went to my church's Young Adult Fellowship group, which I'd been skipping the last few weeks. They were talking about "Relationships," which is a nice Christian euphemism for sex. We went through the Song of Solomon, probably the most under-read book in the Bible. Naturally, it was hilariously awkward. I'd almost forgotten how silly we Christians are about that.
Someone else also asked me (rhetorically, I'm sure) what the word 'monogamy' meant to me. For a minute I considered typing up my thoughts on the matter here, in one big, definitive posting. Then I decided that'd probably become regrettably woe-is-ronery-me in a matter of seconds, so I didn't. Instead, I did the exact opposite of address my oddly-skewed view of what makes for a successful relationship.
I wrote an army list for the Space Orks.
[People who are sick of my current 40k phase should tune out here and skip to the last paragraph]
As I mentioned before, WH40k started as 'Generic Fantasy Archetypes in Space!', and still bears this influence despite being wildly more successful than it's counterpart, Warhammer Fantasy Battles (which, to be fair, is an excellent and strategically-complex game, but is utterly lacking in chainswords). Naturally, a fantasy setting has Orcs, and in space, they are called Orks.
Get used to that K-replacement. The Orks have the dubious honor of being 40k's comic relief faction. They are laughably absurd in a galaxy which is otherwise exceedingly grim and dark. Of course, that kind of 'comic relief' involves them being able to field a gun that uses their own young as ammunition, and shoots them through a portal into Hell at enemies, who are then devoured alive by the Ork's now-insane progeny. It also involves spelling everything with Ks, no Hs, and no Gs.
Despite that (honestly, probably because of this) Orks have a wide and devoted player base. The Ork army is based essentially on a single statline, the Ork Boyz. Crappy Ballistics Skill and Initiative, but high Toughness and Weapon Skill, along with 2 Attacks in hand-to-hand, make these guys natural assault units. And since the entire army is made of Boyz (in essence; the Elite units are generally just Boyz with better guns), being assault-focussed is a no-brainer. Add in that Boyz are only 6 points each, and have special morale rules (the "Mob Rule") that benefit from having gigantic squads, and the Ork 'tactic' of choice becomes apparent: put as many Boyz on the table as possible, run towards the nearest enemy, and beat the crap out of them. This is affectionately known as the Green Tide (because Orks are green, you see?).
Now, if all there were was Boyz, they'd have trouble with certain units, so it's still necessary to provide some support to your horde of Orks, but it's important not to take too many special units. Thus, the list:
___________________________
Ork - Kombined Arms
HQ: [note#2]
Big Mek (35)
-w/ Kustom Force Field (35)
-w/ 'Eavy Armour (5)
Troops: [note#1]
30 x Shoota Boyz (180)
-3 w/ Big Shoota (15)
20 x Slugga Boyz (120)
-w/ Nob (10)
. -w/ Power Klaw (25)
. -w/ Bosspole (5)
20 x Slugga Boyz (120)
-w/ Nob (10)
. -w/ Power Klaw (25)
. -w/ Bosspole (5)
Fast Attack: [note#3]
2 x Deffkoptas (70)
-both w/ twin-linked Rokkit Launcha (20)
-first w/ buzzsaw (25)
-other w/ Bigboom (15)
2 x Deffkoptas (70)
-both w/ twin-linked Rokkit Launcha (20)
-first w/ buzzsaw (25)
-other w/ Bigbomm (15)
Heavy Support: [note#4]
3 x Killa Kans (105)
-w/ Grotzooka (30)
Note#1:
The heart of this army is in these troops. There is one squad of 30 'Shoota Boyz', Boyz with at least somewhat effective rifles. This squad is also equiped with three Big Shootas, somewhat more effective machineguns. Even though Orks only hit about a third of the time, a big enough squad shooting will probably cause some decent damage, and they're still capable in an assault. The Shoota Boyz are backing up two squads of 20 'Slugga Boyz', who are the same, but exchange their rifles for pistols and crude melee weapons. That means they get four attacks on the charge, with enough bodies to soak up return damage like a sponge. Each Slugga squad contains a Nob (Ork veteran) with a power klaw and a bosspole. The bosspole allows them to reroll any failed morale checks, while the power klaw allows them to act as anti-tank squads in a pinch.
Note#2:
The Orks have three HQ choices, with the most obvious being the Warboss, a sort of huge, tough, destroy everything in close combat guy that punchs holes in battletanks with his hands. I didn't take him. Instead, I took a Big Mek, who acts as a support character. First off, he's nice and cheap. Second, with his Kustom Force Field, he provides a much-needed cover save for my mass of exposed infantry, which allows that many more of them to get into combat. He would probably attach to one of the two Slugga squads, staying on the edge to be within Force Field range of the other one, since leaving him seperate is just asking for him to get picked off, even in 'Eavy Armour (it confuses me that a race incapable of prounoucing the letter H still uses proper British spelling of the word 'armor'...).
Note#3:
Ahh, the Deffkopta (yes, its a helicopter that causes death). Deffkoptas count as jetbikes for movement purposes, which means they can go up to 24". They also have Scout, which means they get a free move before the start of the game. Thus, if you have first turn, you can Scout 24", move 12", and assault 6", for a total of 42" before your opponent even moves. If you're not going first, just Outflank with them to come in off a table edge and hit your opponent that way. They've got some of the few accurate rocket launchers you can have (twin-linked means hitting 55% of the time rather than 33%), and the buzzsaw is basically a powerfist. I threw in Bigbomms (a quirky sort of anti-infantry bomb) to get some horde-killing out of this unit in case there's no vehicles to kill. Basically, they can kill the things that would kill my Boyz, making for an excellent support unit. Which is why I took two of them.
Note#4:
And last, the Killa Kans (yes, they're metal cans that kill people). Kans are the cheapest walkers in the game (edit: actually, it's Imperial Guard Sentinels, but close enough), and a full squad of three provides the final cog in this list, for two reasons. 1) They draw a lot of fire away from the Boyz, and can soak up a fair bit of shooting. They draw fire because they are 2) a dangerous threat of their own right, either making 6 Str10 attacks in close combat (and immune to a large portion of return fire) or shooting 6 Str6 blast templates.
___________________________________
Granted, I could've dropped the Deffkoptas and Kans and instead stuck 65 more Ork Boyz in this list for a maximized Green Tide, but I like to think this is both a good bit more interesting and at least a little more effective.
Tactically, the Deffkoptas are two fast-moving suicide units that should kill anything too threatening right away, protecting my massive block of infantry advancing up the center of the table under the KFF cover save, led by a trio of very threatening-looking walkers that actually can dish out the damage. Once the Sluggas get into melee, they should be able to either kill their opponents (it they're basic infantry or a very small assault unit) or at least tie them up for the rest of the game (if they're Terminators or other hard-to-kill guys) while the Shootas cover the rear.
Thus, I recognized some of the important advantages of being single: namely, there's no one getting pissy if you waste all your time playing with your plastic army men.
Next Time (40k): Spess Muhraines!
Next Time (Cop Stuff): Ridealong on Saturday(!)
Next Time (philosophy): Sorry, I only think about trivial things these days.
Wednesday, July 22, 2009
General Updates, plus Eldar Jetbikes List
So first off, my standard updates. First, Otakon was this weekend, and as usual it was a blast. I suspect this had more to do with staying in a hotel and walking around Baltimore with friends than it did with the actual con, but hey, I'm not complaining. It's surprising how little you can spend on food when you try, especially with the hotel's complimentary continental breakfast. Anyway, I watched most of Baccano! (yes, exclamation point is part of the title), and its a top-notch show, but I'll wait until I've finished it to rant about why its so great.
At work, I got transferred to a new unit: (Grand) Auto Theft. This was a transfer I'd specifically requested (though really, the request was basically "anything but Records"...), so I'm pretty excited about it. Don't ask me what I'm doing, because I can't tell you. I expect it to be tricky, but interesting, and I might actually land some convictions(!). I might also waste a month and earn the ire of a half dozen auto detectives, but hey, with great power comes great responsibility...
Besides all that, I've been generally wasting my time, and when I waste my time, I tend to waste it on 40k. I got a paycheck in the mail (from UMBC, which I forgot to pick up end of last semester), so I'll be buying the rest of my Tau army fairly soon. Painting is going to be another issue entirely; it'll probably only come together one piece at a time as I make use of the Battle Bunker's free paint bar.
In any event, I was flipping through the Eldar Codex (figuratively; its a pdf) and I began trying to think of what sort of list it would be able to field at 1000 pts. This led to me reading Eldar tactics online, which led to toying with different loadouts, which led to (after several hours) writing up my own Army-List for a faction I have no intention of playing purely as a mental exercise.
But it was interesting, and let me notice some weaknesses in my own list. More importantly, it let me recognize the strengths of an Eldar playstyle (jetbike Eldar, in this case), so I could more effectively counter them.
So I've decided on a new project for the next few weeks: I will write one army list for every 40k faction, and analyze its strengths and weaknesses. And I'll post them here, because I don't have anywhere better to write it down, and it shows off what is prehaps 40k's greatest strength: the variety of ways it can be played, depending on what you field.
So, Eldar! They're basically Elves-in-Space (40k was originally a spin-off of Warhammer Fantasy, hence the Elves/Orcs/etc.), and focus on fast, mobile troops at the expense of staying power, as well as a variety of excellent single-role elite units. However, I focussed on what I thought was coolest about this army: Jetbikes. Because even Space-Elves are cool when they're riding on jetbikes. Especially if they have lances.
________________________________________
HQ: [note#1]
Autarch (70)
-on Jetbike (30)
-Laser Lance (20)
-Fusion Gun (10)
-Mandiblaster (10)
Fast Attack:
5x Shining Spears
-w/ Exarch (12)
-Starlance (15)
-Withdraw (25)
Heavy Support: [note#2]
Falcon Grav-tank (115)
-Scatter Laser (15)
-Shuriken Cannon (10)
-Holofields (35)
-Spirit Stone (10)
Elites:
6xFire Dragons (96)
Troops [note#3]
7x Guardian Jetbikes (154)
-2 w/ Shuriken Cannon (20)
7x Guardian Jetbikes (154)
-2 w/ Shuriken Cannon (20)
Note#1
The Autarch will be attached to the Shining Spears unit, and together they form the core of this army (read: a gigantically inefficient points-sink). Together, this unit is packing 2 Str8 (one of which is Melta) and 4 Str6 shots from 6" range, followed up by 16 Str6 powerweapon attacks (i.e. they ignore armour saves) on the charge. Ideally, these would jet up to directly behind an enemy transport, blow it up with shooting (good odds, considering the Aut's fusiongun is BS 6) and then assault whatever it's holding, killing it before it can attack back. 5th Edition is Transports Edition, and wiping entire transport units in one turn is extremely powerful. As far as upgrades go, this is a pretty standard 'Autarch Lancer' setup, with two exceptions: Withdraw on the Exarch, because Shining Spears are awesome on a charge but will lose most close combats if they get stuck in for more than one or two rounds (so Hit-and-Run is very useful, even if its just to break off and charge the same unit again), and Mandiblasters, which I took because I had a few extra points left at the end, and another attack never hurt anybody (or... it never hurt the guy making the attack, anyway).
Note#2
The Falcon Grav-tank is arguably the best, or at least the most versatile, tank in the game. Its a fast skimmer with both a Str8 AP2 Pulse Laser (two shots per turn) for killing heavy armor and Terminators, and (with Scatter Lasers and Shuriken Cannon) excellent volume of fire for transports and medium infantry. In short, its a threat to everything on the board, and with Holofields and Spirit Stones, its quite durable as well.
That said, it's here mainly as a mount for the Fire Dragons, which balance out the Falcon's versatility with single-minded killyness. Dragons, with their fusion guns, can take down any vehicle practically guaranteed, so much so that they're usually overkill. However, they can also dump low-AP firepower into tough units like Terminators, Carnifexes, Ork Nobz... Basically, they're a kill button: deploy them next to something, and that something dies. The combo of Falcon+Fire Dragons is rather common, and is known as the 'Dragon Wagon'.
Note#3
Oh, wait, I need to have troops selections? What a bother... Keeping with the 'all fast all the time' theme of this list, the two mandatory troops choices are filled in by two 7-man (6 makes more sense, but the points worked out this way...) Guardian Jetbike squads. With two shuriken cannons in each squad, these guys can dish out a reasonable amount of firepower, considering how few models they are. However, there's only seven of them, so even with their increased Toughness and 3+ Save, they're a pretty fragile unit. Thankfully, their speed allows them to keep (mostly) out of harm's way, and a last-turn Turboboost can still be used to contest or even control objectives (hurrah for 24"-move Troops!).
__________________________________________
So that's that. This army is extremely small (only 27 models!) and extremely fast (nothing that moves slower than 24"). Ideally, it would get second turn (and thus last move of the game), and keep everything off the board on Turn 1 to avoid getting shot up first turn. The Autarch and Dragon Wagon should systematically destroy high-value targets, with the Jetbikes keeping mobile and out of trouble. On the last turn, they zip onto lightly-defended (or undefended) objectives, blast the opponent off them, and win.
Next Time (40k): An Ork List! WAAAAAAAARGH!
Next Time (Cops Stuff): Ridealong this Saturday
Next Time (Philosophy): Um...well, I'm open to intriguing questions/enlightening discussion. Also, Hume is a jerk.
At work, I got transferred to a new unit: (Grand) Auto Theft. This was a transfer I'd specifically requested (though really, the request was basically "anything but Records"...), so I'm pretty excited about it. Don't ask me what I'm doing, because I can't tell you. I expect it to be tricky, but interesting, and I might actually land some convictions(!). I might also waste a month and earn the ire of a half dozen auto detectives, but hey, with great power comes great responsibility...
Besides all that, I've been generally wasting my time, and when I waste my time, I tend to waste it on 40k. I got a paycheck in the mail (from UMBC, which I forgot to pick up end of last semester), so I'll be buying the rest of my Tau army fairly soon. Painting is going to be another issue entirely; it'll probably only come together one piece at a time as I make use of the Battle Bunker's free paint bar.
In any event, I was flipping through the Eldar Codex (figuratively; its a pdf) and I began trying to think of what sort of list it would be able to field at 1000 pts. This led to me reading Eldar tactics online, which led to toying with different loadouts, which led to (after several hours) writing up my own Army-List for a faction I have no intention of playing purely as a mental exercise.
But it was interesting, and let me notice some weaknesses in my own list. More importantly, it let me recognize the strengths of an Eldar playstyle (jetbike Eldar, in this case), so I could more effectively counter them.
So I've decided on a new project for the next few weeks: I will write one army list for every 40k faction, and analyze its strengths and weaknesses. And I'll post them here, because I don't have anywhere better to write it down, and it shows off what is prehaps 40k's greatest strength: the variety of ways it can be played, depending on what you field.
So, Eldar! They're basically Elves-in-Space (40k was originally a spin-off of Warhammer Fantasy, hence the Elves/Orcs/etc.), and focus on fast, mobile troops at the expense of staying power, as well as a variety of excellent single-role elite units. However, I focussed on what I thought was coolest about this army: Jetbikes. Because even Space-Elves are cool when they're riding on jetbikes. Especially if they have lances.
________________________________________
HQ: [note#1]
Autarch (70)
-on Jetbike (30)
-Laser Lance (20)
-Fusion Gun (10)
-Mandiblaster (10)
Fast Attack:
5x Shining Spears
-w/ Exarch (12)
-Starlance (15)
-Withdraw (25)
Heavy Support: [note#2]
Falcon Grav-tank (115)
-Scatter Laser (15)
-Shuriken Cannon (10)
-Holofields (35)
-Spirit Stone (10)
Elites:
6xFire Dragons (96)
Troops [note#3]
7x Guardian Jetbikes (154)
-2 w/ Shuriken Cannon (20)
7x Guardian Jetbikes (154)
-2 w/ Shuriken Cannon (20)
Note#1
The Autarch will be attached to the Shining Spears unit, and together they form the core of this army (read: a gigantically inefficient points-sink). Together, this unit is packing 2 Str8 (one of which is Melta) and 4 Str6 shots from 6" range, followed up by 16 Str6 powerweapon attacks (i.e. they ignore armour saves) on the charge. Ideally, these would jet up to directly behind an enemy transport, blow it up with shooting (good odds, considering the Aut's fusiongun is BS 6) and then assault whatever it's holding, killing it before it can attack back. 5th Edition is Transports Edition, and wiping entire transport units in one turn is extremely powerful. As far as upgrades go, this is a pretty standard 'Autarch Lancer' setup, with two exceptions: Withdraw on the Exarch, because Shining Spears are awesome on a charge but will lose most close combats if they get stuck in for more than one or two rounds (so Hit-and-Run is very useful, even if its just to break off and charge the same unit again), and Mandiblasters, which I took because I had a few extra points left at the end, and another attack never hurt anybody (or... it never hurt the guy making the attack, anyway).
Note#2
The Falcon Grav-tank is arguably the best, or at least the most versatile, tank in the game. Its a fast skimmer with both a Str8 AP2 Pulse Laser (two shots per turn) for killing heavy armor and Terminators, and (with Scatter Lasers and Shuriken Cannon) excellent volume of fire for transports and medium infantry. In short, its a threat to everything on the board, and with Holofields and Spirit Stones, its quite durable as well.
That said, it's here mainly as a mount for the Fire Dragons, which balance out the Falcon's versatility with single-minded killyness. Dragons, with their fusion guns, can take down any vehicle practically guaranteed, so much so that they're usually overkill. However, they can also dump low-AP firepower into tough units like Terminators, Carnifexes, Ork Nobz... Basically, they're a kill button: deploy them next to something, and that something dies. The combo of Falcon+Fire Dragons is rather common, and is known as the 'Dragon Wagon'.
Note#3
Oh, wait, I need to have troops selections? What a bother... Keeping with the 'all fast all the time' theme of this list, the two mandatory troops choices are filled in by two 7-man (6 makes more sense, but the points worked out this way...) Guardian Jetbike squads. With two shuriken cannons in each squad, these guys can dish out a reasonable amount of firepower, considering how few models they are. However, there's only seven of them, so even with their increased Toughness and 3+ Save, they're a pretty fragile unit. Thankfully, their speed allows them to keep (mostly) out of harm's way, and a last-turn Turboboost can still be used to contest or even control objectives (hurrah for 24"-move Troops!).
__________________________________________
So that's that. This army is extremely small (only 27 models!) and extremely fast (nothing that moves slower than 24"). Ideally, it would get second turn (and thus last move of the game), and keep everything off the board on Turn 1 to avoid getting shot up first turn. The Autarch and Dragon Wagon should systematically destroy high-value targets, with the Jetbikes keeping mobile and out of trouble. On the last turn, they zip onto lightly-defended (or undefended) objectives, blast the opponent off them, and win.
Next Time (40k): An Ork List! WAAAAAAAARGH!
Next Time (Cops Stuff): Ridealong this Saturday
Next Time (Philosophy): Um...well, I'm open to intriguing questions/enlightening discussion. Also, Hume is a jerk.
Wednesday, July 15, 2009
[CopWednesday 4] Taze Me, Bro
That's right, I finally got to attend one of my internship training sessions again (there'd been a week or two where none were scheduled, disappointingly). This week more than made up for the lost time, though. Also, it tangentially relates to what we've been discussing in terms of purpose! More on that later.
Today's lesson was given by one of the academy's instructors, a grizzled-but-pleasant fellow who bragged that he had just become a grandfather a few days before. He opened with a short video he'd made of the previous class through the academy, Session 54. It looked like essentially what you'd expect: the instructors get in your face if you're not on your game, but everyone's there to learn, and as long as you're trying they'll help you along. Most of the candidates seemed like they were having fun. MCPD has a pretty great training facility, complete with indoor range and driving course (they also train firefighters and, interestingly enough, schoolbus drivers on the same course). Of the 16 candidates, two dropped out, both of their own volition, which I guess is more encouraging than if they'd been kicked out. After that, we split into two groups. The first went to tazer demonstration, the second to the PRISM Simulator (technically, I was in the second group, but it makes more sense to talk about the tazer first).
For the tazer demonstration, I GOT TAZED AND IT WAS AWESOME! Erm, anyway... But yeah, we were given the option to get tazed, and I figured it's not something everyone gets to do, so I might as well. For the record, it feels pretty much like you'd expect, only moreso. It doesn't really hurt, per se, so much as all your muscles tighten up, you can't do anything, and you shout "whoa!". The looks of pain on the faces of people being tazed are mainly the result of this contraction, as opposed to actual discomfort. We only got about a half-second burst; the normal shot is five seconds long, to allow the suspect to be detained while still incapacitated.
There are actually two schools of thought on tazer deployment: West Coast and East Coast. The East Coast style involves incapacitating the suspect immediately after tazing them, and goes something like this:
Cop: Freeze or you're getting tazed!
Crim: Thug 4 Life, beotch--aragahrha!
Cop: You have the right to remain silent...
The West Coast style (used in, you guessed it, California and the West Coast) involves tazing them until they submit on their own, and goes like this:
Cop: Hands up, or I'll taze you!
Crim: Make me, motherfu---araraghahah!
Cop (to now-prone Crim): Hands behind your back!
Crim (lying on ground): Go to hell, you fascist pi--araagagahgha!
Cop (to still-prone Crim): Hands behind your back!
It's probably just because I live here, but East Coast seems more efficient. After all, why give someone a choice when it just allows them to make the wrong one?
Anyway, the other activity was PRISM Training. The PRISM Simulator consists of a wall-sized screen (projected from an overhead projector), two Glock-frame laser pointers, a pair of barricades, and a giant airsoft turret (it shoots beads the size of gumballs). Basically, you and your partner stand at the barricades and watch a scene on the projector, reacting as you would if the scene were real. You can shoot the people in the projections with your laser-pointers, and if they shoot back, the airsoft turret fires in your general direction. Afterwards, the projection can be replayed in slow motion, showing the locations of every shot fired, and the instructor gives feedback on your use of cover and application of force.
We went two at a time. My partner was a cute Asian girl (talk about stressful) who worked as an auxillary down in College Park last year. The scenario was a basic Harris'n'Klebold: two shooters and a lot of innocent students between them and you. Fortunately, the kids in the scenario acted like reasonable human beings, and ran out of the way, giving us a clear window to take the two advancing gunmen down in the classic police hail of bullets.
Sadly, it didn't work out that way. After unsucessfully ordering the guys to drop their weapons (as well as one other student, who was holding a stapler very suspiciously...), we opened fire. I shot ten times, my partner twice. We hit nothing.
Now, look. I consider myself a pretty competent shooter (granted, of rifles rather than handguns). Video games are all well and good, but actual moving targets (especially ones that at least sort of shoot back) are a lot trickier. Of our twelve shots, I may have nicked one guy's elbow, and the instructor credited me with a graze on the same guy's head. My partner might have shot the other one in the leg through a thing wall, though the program doesn't count that.
The instructor pointed out that we probably used too much cover, and that my partner conserved her shots a little too well. Thus, we didn't get ourselves killed, but we probably let a few more students die than if we'd stood in the open, drawn some fire, and stopped to aim. The police are supposed to look out for themselves (the oft-repeated first rule of policework: "Go home at the end of your shift."), but at the same time they have to intentionally put themselves in danger to protect others. That's going to take some practice.
Compared to other groups that went, we were definitely the least trigger-happy; the pair after us fired 39 shots (more than both guns together could actually carry), the ones after them at least 30. One group accidentally hit a student. That said, both pairs took down their targets (and the Moscow-born BAU-wannabe chick sitting next to me scored two(!) headshots).
The reason officers carry guns is not to take other people's lives, but to protect their own. In last time's discussion, Lisa gave an example of how a gun accidentally going off and killing her brother would be serving its purpose, but having a negative effect. I would have to argue differently: that by going off accidentally, the gun has in fact failed to fulfill it's purpose. All firearms are required (by law, at least) to have a 'safety', which must be intentionally disarmed in order for the weapon to fire. If the gun goes off on accident, this safety mechanism as not fulfilled its purpose. Neither has the gun, for that matter: a weapon's purpose is to destroy only what you want destroyed.
The discrepency between what something is made for and what it is used for can complicate the discussion of a thing's purpose. In Greek philosophy, the purpose of a thing is what defines its arete (literally, virtue). The arete of a knife, for instance, is sharpness, or the ability to cut. The arete of a screwdriver is its ability to drive screws, regardless of whether it can also be used as a prybar or a can opener or anything else.
These devices are both man-made, so it is easy to define their purpose. However, the Greeks also extended the concept of arete to natural things: The arete of a horse is its speed, and thus its purpose is to run. The arete of a dog is its skill in finding game, thus the purpose of the dog is the hunt. The purpose of human beings, before you ask, is to be happy, though which virtue this is associated with is kind of up in the air.
Next Time: Being Exhausted from Otakon, Probably (plus responding to others)
Next CopWednesday: Postponed until next Sunday, after my Ridealong(!)
Today's lesson was given by one of the academy's instructors, a grizzled-but-pleasant fellow who bragged that he had just become a grandfather a few days before. He opened with a short video he'd made of the previous class through the academy, Session 54. It looked like essentially what you'd expect: the instructors get in your face if you're not on your game, but everyone's there to learn, and as long as you're trying they'll help you along. Most of the candidates seemed like they were having fun. MCPD has a pretty great training facility, complete with indoor range and driving course (they also train firefighters and, interestingly enough, schoolbus drivers on the same course). Of the 16 candidates, two dropped out, both of their own volition, which I guess is more encouraging than if they'd been kicked out. After that, we split into two groups. The first went to tazer demonstration, the second to the PRISM Simulator (technically, I was in the second group, but it makes more sense to talk about the tazer first).
For the tazer demonstration, I GOT TAZED AND IT WAS AWESOME! Erm, anyway... But yeah, we were given the option to get tazed, and I figured it's not something everyone gets to do, so I might as well. For the record, it feels pretty much like you'd expect, only moreso. It doesn't really hurt, per se, so much as all your muscles tighten up, you can't do anything, and you shout "whoa!". The looks of pain on the faces of people being tazed are mainly the result of this contraction, as opposed to actual discomfort. We only got about a half-second burst; the normal shot is five seconds long, to allow the suspect to be detained while still incapacitated.
There are actually two schools of thought on tazer deployment: West Coast and East Coast. The East Coast style involves incapacitating the suspect immediately after tazing them, and goes something like this:
Cop: Freeze or you're getting tazed!
Crim: Thug 4 Life, beotch--aragahrha!
Cop:
The West Coast style (used in, you guessed it, California and the West Coast) involves tazing them until they submit on their own, and goes like this:
Cop: Hands up, or I'll taze you!
Crim: Make me, motherfu---araraghahah!
Cop (to now-prone Crim): Hands behind your back!
Crim (lying on ground): Go to hell, you fascist pi--araagagahgha!
Cop (to still-prone Crim): Hands behind your back!
It's probably just because I live here, but East Coast seems more efficient. After all, why give someone a choice when it just allows them to make the wrong one?
Anyway, the other activity was PRISM Training. The PRISM Simulator consists of a wall-sized screen (projected from an overhead projector), two Glock-frame laser pointers, a pair of barricades, and a giant airsoft turret (it shoots beads the size of gumballs). Basically, you and your partner stand at the barricades and watch a scene on the projector, reacting as you would if the scene were real. You can shoot the people in the projections with your laser-pointers, and if they shoot back, the airsoft turret fires in your general direction. Afterwards, the projection can be replayed in slow motion, showing the locations of every shot fired, and the instructor gives feedback on your use of cover and application of force.
We went two at a time. My partner was a cute Asian girl (talk about stressful) who worked as an auxillary down in College Park last year. The scenario was a basic Harris'n'Klebold: two shooters and a lot of innocent students between them and you. Fortunately, the kids in the scenario acted like reasonable human beings, and ran out of the way, giving us a clear window to take the two advancing gunmen down in the classic police hail of bullets.
Sadly, it didn't work out that way. After unsucessfully ordering the guys to drop their weapons (as well as one other student, who was holding a stapler very suspiciously...), we opened fire. I shot ten times, my partner twice. We hit nothing.
Now, look. I consider myself a pretty competent shooter (granted, of rifles rather than handguns). Video games are all well and good, but actual moving targets (especially ones that at least sort of shoot back) are a lot trickier. Of our twelve shots, I may have nicked one guy's elbow, and the instructor credited me with a graze on the same guy's head. My partner might have shot the other one in the leg through a thing wall, though the program doesn't count that.
The instructor pointed out that we probably used too much cover, and that my partner conserved her shots a little too well. Thus, we didn't get ourselves killed, but we probably let a few more students die than if we'd stood in the open, drawn some fire, and stopped to aim. The police are supposed to look out for themselves (the oft-repeated first rule of policework: "Go home at the end of your shift."), but at the same time they have to intentionally put themselves in danger to protect others. That's going to take some practice.
Compared to other groups that went, we were definitely the least trigger-happy; the pair after us fired 39 shots (more than both guns together could actually carry), the ones after them at least 30. One group accidentally hit a student. That said, both pairs took down their targets (and the Moscow-born BAU-wannabe chick sitting next to me scored two(!) headshots).
The reason officers carry guns is not to take other people's lives, but to protect their own. In last time's discussion, Lisa gave an example of how a gun accidentally going off and killing her brother would be serving its purpose, but having a negative effect. I would have to argue differently: that by going off accidentally, the gun has in fact failed to fulfill it's purpose. All firearms are required (by law, at least) to have a 'safety', which must be intentionally disarmed in order for the weapon to fire. If the gun goes off on accident, this safety mechanism as not fulfilled its purpose. Neither has the gun, for that matter: a weapon's purpose is to destroy only what you want destroyed.
The discrepency between what something is made for and what it is used for can complicate the discussion of a thing's purpose. In Greek philosophy, the purpose of a thing is what defines its arete (literally, virtue). The arete of a knife, for instance, is sharpness, or the ability to cut. The arete of a screwdriver is its ability to drive screws, regardless of whether it can also be used as a prybar or a can opener or anything else.
These devices are both man-made, so it is easy to define their purpose. However, the Greeks also extended the concept of arete to natural things: The arete of a horse is its speed, and thus its purpose is to run. The arete of a dog is its skill in finding game, thus the purpose of the dog is the hunt. The purpose of human beings, before you ask, is to be happy, though which virtue this is associated with is kind of up in the air.
Next Time: Being Exhausted from Otakon, Probably (plus responding to others)
Next CopWednesday: Postponed until next Sunday, after my Ridealong(!)
Sunday, July 12, 2009
Purposefulness is a Warm Gun
Sonuvah....
So, you'll have to trust me when I say I spent the last 2 hours writing a gigantic, long, unusually-detailed reflection on the inherent purpose of objects, in response to a post by Lusca (Lisa, right?). It devoted several paragraphs to defining 'purpose' solely for this discussion alone. It then analyzed how that definition compared to other, more gut-level valuations of purpose, and concluded by saying that Humans Are Special, a nice controversial statement that I felt would at least lead to some ongoing debate. I even added the little 'warning: unrelated nerdiness below' line and gave a quick review of Eden of the East, which I finished watching today and rather liked.
And then I picked a title (this post's title, in fact) that references an almost-wholly-unrelated Beatles song. And then I got the urge to listen to that Beatles song. And then I followed a link that said it would let me listen to said song, and instead it crashed Firefox and lost my entire essay.
Screw you too, Internet.
Anyway, there would've been a great post here, I swear. I'll sum up what I concluded, though, and hopefully that'll serve to at least give you my perspective on it.
1) For now, we'll define a thing's 'purpose' as its "ability to enact (or facilitate the enactment) of measurable positive change with respect to a human being". This definition was reached because a) We're humans, so it makes sense to define purpose by its relation to ourselves, b) if a change is immeasurably small, you might as well round down and ignore it (otherwise everything's having an effect purely by dint of its gravitational field), and c) the possibility of a negative purpose wasn't addressed in the initial post, and complicates things somewhat.
2) From this, a great many of the things in question may have a purpose, but none inherently have a purpose. This is because their purpose is defined in relation to an external object (the source of purposefulness?), namely human beings, without which a purpose as defined is not possible.
3) The exception to this, you might have guessed, is human beings themselves. Because they are both an object and a source of purpose, a human can have purpose purely internally, through the enactment of positive change upon oneself. Of course, this self-importance is only present because of my definition, which in turn suggests something inherently subjective about the assignment of purpose. Humans are capable of creating their own raison d'etre.
That is, essentially, the gist of what I was saying, albeit the Cliff Notes version. I suspect there's some fatal flaw in my reasoning, which happens when you make up your own definitions on the fly, but I don't see it. If you do, well, let's hear it.
Next Time: More Cop Stuff - PRISM/Firearms Scenarios(!!)
__________________________________
Yeah, I liked Eden of the East.
Also: Otakon is this weekend! Liz'll be there, which is exciting because she's awesome and I haven't seen her in ages.
JulNoWriMo is going slowly; it's taken a decidedly Sci-Fi turn, which I hope was sufficiently foreshadowed...
So, you'll have to trust me when I say I spent the last 2 hours writing a gigantic, long, unusually-detailed reflection on the inherent purpose of objects, in response to a post by Lusca (Lisa, right?). It devoted several paragraphs to defining 'purpose' solely for this discussion alone. It then analyzed how that definition compared to other, more gut-level valuations of purpose, and concluded by saying that Humans Are Special, a nice controversial statement that I felt would at least lead to some ongoing debate. I even added the little 'warning: unrelated nerdiness below' line and gave a quick review of Eden of the East, which I finished watching today and rather liked.
And then I picked a title (this post's title, in fact) that references an almost-wholly-unrelated Beatles song. And then I got the urge to listen to that Beatles song. And then I followed a link that said it would let me listen to said song, and instead it crashed Firefox and lost my entire essay.
Screw you too, Internet.
Anyway, there would've been a great post here, I swear. I'll sum up what I concluded, though, and hopefully that'll serve to at least give you my perspective on it.
1) For now, we'll define a thing's 'purpose' as its "ability to enact (or facilitate the enactment) of measurable positive change with respect to a human being". This definition was reached because a) We're humans, so it makes sense to define purpose by its relation to ourselves, b) if a change is immeasurably small, you might as well round down and ignore it (otherwise everything's having an effect purely by dint of its gravitational field), and c) the possibility of a negative purpose wasn't addressed in the initial post, and complicates things somewhat.
2) From this, a great many of the things in question may have a purpose, but none inherently have a purpose. This is because their purpose is defined in relation to an external object (the source of purposefulness?), namely human beings, without which a purpose as defined is not possible.
3) The exception to this, you might have guessed, is human beings themselves. Because they are both an object and a source of purpose, a human can have purpose purely internally, through the enactment of positive change upon oneself. Of course, this self-importance is only present because of my definition, which in turn suggests something inherently subjective about the assignment of purpose. Humans are capable of creating their own raison d'etre.
That is, essentially, the gist of what I was saying, albeit the Cliff Notes version. I suspect there's some fatal flaw in my reasoning, which happens when you make up your own definitions on the fly, but I don't see it. If you do, well, let's hear it.
Next Time: More Cop Stuff - PRISM/Firearms Scenarios(!!)
__________________________________
Yeah, I liked Eden of the East.
Also: Otakon is this weekend! Liz'll be there, which is exciting because she's awesome and I haven't seen her in ages.
JulNoWriMo is going slowly; it's taken a decidedly Sci-Fi turn, which I hope was sufficiently foreshadowed...
Tuesday, July 7, 2009
Excuses, and a Proposal
Okay, so after stepping back my postings (significantly), I'm feeling a little guilty for not giving a better explanation. So, several reasons why I'm probably going to only post once or twice a week:
1) JulNoWriMo! Hey, I know I'm not doing the hardcore-English-major-version of a full 50,000 words, but its still about a thousand words every day, and it actually has to make sense plot-wise. It'd be too much of a chore, in all honesty, to be writing short essays daily on top of that. Of course, my hardcore-English-major friend is doing the full version, but she's not mocking me too horribly for being a literary wimp. In fact, its quite helpful to have someone around to bounce ideas (or more likely, TVtropes pages) off of. When her Trashy Young Adult Fantasy Adventure gets published and makes her millions, I'm sure I'll mentioned in the Forward (or at least the Afterword, I hope...).
2) Posting daily is kind of a drag. Turns out I don't really get a chance each day to think something awesome. It's regrettable, but true. So in the future, I'll try to wait for the metaphorical bucket-that-is-my-mind to fill up before I dump it out onto the page.
3) Lack of back-and-forth. Writing on your own inevitably turns into navel-gazing, which is something I've always tried (with varying degrees of success) to avoid. I'm told that the unexamined life is not worth living, but just as much, I'd say the unexamined world is not worth living in.
On that last, I'll make a proposal. The scientists and mathematicians of yore, and to a degree the philosophers of the same time (read: the Modern period), communicated their ideas to one another through letters. One would write a letter, ("Dear Hume. You're just wrong. Love, Kant.") and the other would reply ("Dear Kant. You don't even exist. Love, Hume."). And this exchange of ideas, while it led to disagreement, also led to growth in ideas.
This could work similarly. One person writes a post on what they believe/feel/logically conclude, and others respond in kind.
So, that said, I'll probably try to write up a response to Lusca's "Purpose," which asks whether there exists such a thing (any sort of thing) that is completely and entirely useless.
Next Time: Uselessness & Possibly Parmenides
___________________________________
Meanwhile, I've been up to my typical nerdy ways. For one, I played that Combat Patrol List I wrote about earlier. I won, and pretty convincingly, but it was a very close match for most of the game. Things I learned:
1) Plasma guns are deadly at 12" or less (i.e. Rapid Fire range). They kill expensive battlesuits like it's what they're made for (and it is, more or less).
2) Immobilized does not equal destroyed. It equals "turret on bunker that can still hit you every turn of the game but is too far away to be worth taking down."
3) Gun Drones make great assault units (well, for Tau, anyway...). Initiative 4 means they're hitting before many standard troops, and a 4+ save gives them decent survivability. 2 Drones took out a half-squad of Guardsmen in three turns of close combat, which was pretty demoralizing for my opponent. Chainswords are no match for frisbees, it seems.
So that was fun.
Also, I playtested my very own homebrewed RPG today! I'm pretty pleased at how it went. It's got WW1-style dogfighting! And zeppelin battleships! And sky-pirates! Okay, I've reached my exclamtion-point limit, but really I thought it went pretty well. Combat was a lot more streamlined than I'd expected, and I just need to make a few checks a little less trivial and it'll be good to go.
1) JulNoWriMo! Hey, I know I'm not doing the hardcore-English-major-version of a full 50,000 words, but its still about a thousand words every day, and it actually has to make sense plot-wise. It'd be too much of a chore, in all honesty, to be writing short essays daily on top of that. Of course, my hardcore-English-major friend is doing the full version, but she's not mocking me too horribly for being a literary wimp. In fact, its quite helpful to have someone around to bounce ideas (or more likely, TVtropes pages) off of. When her Trashy Young Adult Fantasy Adventure gets published and makes her millions, I'm sure I'll mentioned in the Forward (or at least the Afterword, I hope...).
2) Posting daily is kind of a drag. Turns out I don't really get a chance each day to think something awesome. It's regrettable, but true. So in the future, I'll try to wait for the metaphorical bucket-that-is-my-mind to fill up before I dump it out onto the page.
3) Lack of back-and-forth. Writing on your own inevitably turns into navel-gazing, which is something I've always tried (with varying degrees of success) to avoid. I'm told that the unexamined life is not worth living, but just as much, I'd say the unexamined world is not worth living in.
On that last, I'll make a proposal. The scientists and mathematicians of yore, and to a degree the philosophers of the same time (read: the Modern period), communicated their ideas to one another through letters. One would write a letter, ("Dear Hume. You're just wrong. Love, Kant.") and the other would reply ("Dear Kant. You don't even exist. Love, Hume."). And this exchange of ideas, while it led to disagreement, also led to growth in ideas.
This could work similarly. One person writes a post on what they believe/feel/logically conclude, and others respond in kind.
So, that said, I'll probably try to write up a response to Lusca's "Purpose," which asks whether there exists such a thing (any sort of thing) that is completely and entirely useless.
Next Time: Uselessness & Possibly Parmenides
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Meanwhile, I've been up to my typical nerdy ways. For one, I played that Combat Patrol List I wrote about earlier. I won, and pretty convincingly, but it was a very close match for most of the game. Things I learned:
1) Plasma guns are deadly at 12" or less (i.e. Rapid Fire range). They kill expensive battlesuits like it's what they're made for (and it is, more or less).
2) Immobilized does not equal destroyed. It equals "turret on bunker that can still hit you every turn of the game but is too far away to be worth taking down."
3) Gun Drones make great assault units (well, for Tau, anyway...). Initiative 4 means they're hitting before many standard troops, and a 4+ save gives them decent survivability. 2 Drones took out a half-squad of Guardsmen in three turns of close combat, which was pretty demoralizing for my opponent. Chainswords are no match for frisbees, it seems.
So that was fun.
Also, I playtested my very own homebrewed RPG today! I'm pretty pleased at how it went. It's got WW1-style dogfighting! And zeppelin battleships! And sky-pirates! Okay, I've reached my exclamtion-point limit, but really I thought it went pretty well. Combat was a lot more streamlined than I'd expected, and I just need to make a few checks a little less trivial and it'll be good to go.
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