Information I'd love to know

kzt wrote:

SWM wrote:
Most of the code names David uses aren't like that.

He does it quite a bit. Firebrand anyone?

George J. Smith wrote:

cthia wrote:Okay! Enough is ENUFF!

I have an obsession with word and idiom etymology, as if you can't tell. lol

"Operation Raging Justice," "Operation Buttercup." Etc. etc. etc., yatta yatta yatta. I always try to imagine, of which anal orifice were these names pulled. And I can usually satisfy myself. Call it a personal exercise.

But this...
"Bank Shot" was the codename of a 50-kiloton nuclear charge hidden beneath the Octagon.

WTF? That one can only be figured out by Hannibal Lecter himself.

SWM wrote:In principle, code names should have no relationship to the nature of the project or product that they name. You are quite deliberately not supposed to figure out how things get named. Because if you can figure it out, it's not a good code name.

JeffEngel wrote:
Yeah. Manticore has a good record for genuinely meaningless code names for operations; the SLN and various Havenite organizations, not good at all. It's mentioned at some point that the RMN's code names are randomly generated - exactly as planners should prefer and readers puzzle over.

(hope I sorted out the quotes correctly)

On this side of the pond a "Bank Shot" is the one that wins all the marbles, so I suppose OSJ assumed that no matter what was happening, the nuke under the Octagon would win the game for him, hence the code name.

cthia wrote:I've been trying to find some information about Old Tilman, like the type of crop it's brewed from. Anyone know?

kzt wrote:

SWM wrote:
Most of the code names David uses aren't like that.

He does it quite a bit. Firebrand anyone?

SWM wrote:In principle, code names should have no relationship to the nature of the project or product that they name. You are quite deliberately not supposed to figure out how things get named. Because if you can figure it out, it's not a good code name.

JeffEngel wrote:Yeah. Manticore has a good record for genuinely meaningless code names for operations; the SLN and various Havenite organizations, not good at all. It's mentioned at some point that the RMN's code names are randomly generated - exactly as planners should prefer and readers puzzle over.

cthia wrote:Fair enuff and makes sense. But, as I said, I am quite good at figuring them out anyways. For instance "Operation Oyster Bay" was born when...

SWM wrote:Actually, Oyster Bay is a joke which the readers are supposed to figure out. Oyster => Pearl, Bay => Harbor. Operation Oyster Bay is an example of a truly terrible code name, from a security perspective. There's no way the Alignment would really give it a name like that; it has that name solely as a joke between the author and the readers.

Most of the code names David uses aren't like that.

saber964 wrote:

cthia wrote:I've been trying to find some information about Old Tilman, like the type of crop it's brewed from. Anyone know?

FAQ House of Steel IIRC or I think in the Pearls

Old Tilman doesn’t actually have a precise terrestrial analog. The best way to think of it would be as a hoppy oatmeal stout with a touch of honey added for sweetness. What gives it its distinctive flavor, and the reason there isn’t a precise terrestrial analog, is that it is brewed exclusively on Sphinx using both oats and hops which have mutated/been genetically altered to suit their new environment. As a consequence, the oat-based malt has a fuller, sweeter flavor with a hint of almond and the hops are milder, not quite so bitter flavored. It’s really quite good, but I’m afraid I’m not prepared to share my personal stock of it with anyone else at this time. Sorry.

cthia wrote:Okay, now I can't find info in the Pearls regarding lifeboats. Was I not issued a proper access code or something.

I'm trying to figure out the difference between lifepods and lifeboats. Do lifeboats have wedges? I'm remembering when Harkness showed what happens when you bring up a wedge in the boat bay. I'm assuming that was the wedge of a lifeboat? What is the range of a lifeboat? Occupant capacity?

Also, if lifeboats have wedges then can't they be used to suicide/kamikaze a ship that picks you up by activating the wedge once you're inside their boat bay?

"Before you say a word, Admiral. I advise you to consider your position carefully. As you've just acknowledged, interstellar law requires you to obey my lawful commands. I, on the other hand, am obligated to provide for the reasonable safety of your personnel as long as you and they do obey my lawful commands. The planet Flax is less than one million kilometers from your present position. That's well within the powered range of your life pods, even allowing a two hundred percent reserve for an unassisted landing. In short, removing your personnel from your vessels in the manner I've indicated poses no threat to life or limb, assuming you've properly maintained the equipment in question. As a consequence, I'm formally informing you that failure to comply with this instruction will be interpreted as a decision on your part to resume hostilities."

saber964 wrote:

cthia wrote:I've been trying to find some information about Old Tilman, like the type of crop it's brewed from. Anyone know?

FAQ House of Steel IIRC or I think in the Pearls

Hutch wrote:From House of Steel (FAQ's answered by RFC):

Old Tilman doesn’t actually have a precise terrestrial analog. The best way to think of it would be as a hoppy oatmeal stout with a touch of honey added for sweetness. What gives it its distinctive flavor, and the reason there isn’t a precise terrestrial analog, is that it is brewed exclusively on Sphinx using both oats and hops which have mutated/been genetically altered to suit their new environment. As a consequence, the oat-based malt has a fuller, sweeter flavor with a hint of almond and the hops are milder, not quite so bitter flavored. It’s really quite good, but I’m afraid I’m not prepared to share my personal stock of it with anyone else at this time. Sorry.