Sure! {= D

Subject: Sure! {= D
Author: Neshomeh
Posted on: 2018-05-01 03:21:00 UTC

To get more flavor out of any tea, use more of it. If you try steeping it longer, you'll eventually hit a point where it's either a) too bitter if it's a tannin-containing blend, or b) as strong as it's ever going to get. Oversteeping is the easiest way to ruin a good pot of tea. Some black and green teas are extremely sensitive (or just harsh) and really only need a minute.

If your mango peach green tea has chunks of fruit in it, you definitely want to use more than you would with a simple cut leaf tea that will fill your measuring device with less air between the pieces. Because physics. The terminology escapes me.

With fruit teas, I also recommend adding sweetener to taste—the least amount necessary to heighten the flavor and balance the acidity of the fruit without making your tea taste mostly of sugar/honey/whatever. YMMV.

With good loose teas, you can probably get more than one steeping out of them. The flavor won't be as strong the second time, but that's okay if it's still a nice flavor.

The quality of your water will affect the flavor of your tea, so if your tap water is iffy, use a filter device of some sort. This is probably a wise investment anyway. (I should take my own advice on this.)

What else do you want to know?

~Neshomeh

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The "be less afraid of oldbies" thread. by Thoth on 2018-04-30 23:24:00 UTC Reply

I know there are a number of us out there who are still kind of afraid of some of the oldbies. I myself will admit to experiencing such fear at times. Even though I've been here long enough to know otherwise.

So when the topic came up on Discord, we all collectively decided "NO MORE!"

And by collectively, I mean like six of us at least agreed. Or something. Maybe three? The point is, people agreed, and that's good enough for me.

So, this is the "be less afraid of the oldbies" thread. Newbies! Midbies! Talk about things! Confess your fears! Interact with oldbies!

Oldbies! Talk about things! Interact with newbies and midbies! I dunno what I'm doing here anyways! I'm totally confused!

So I hope all this somehow helps with the situation. Somehow. I have no idea.

And because I probably should; here I am! by S.M.F. on 2018-05-05 03:35:00 UTC Reply

I am S.M.F. (or AutisticAce; either works), an avid Young Wizards fan and PPC mission reader. I've hung around for the past 4+ years as an audience (most of the time) and a beta reader (more than occasionally).

Any questions? :3
Salve! by son_of_heaven176 on 2018-05-05 01:31:00 UTC Reply

Hello, PPC! Well, if Iximaz counts as an oldbie, then so do I!
I am sonofheaven176, and I've been part of the Board since *tries to remember* 2012 at the latest, I suppose, but it could have been before then.

My fandoms include Pokemon, Bakugan: Battle Brawlers, and MLP. I haven't been on the Board much in recent months (so that might also make me a returnbie?), but my claim to fame around here is as a Beta reader, provider of concrit on PPC stories that catch my attention, and Latin translator (Google Translate SUCKS at Latin!)

I see quite a few new faces around, so...welcome aBoard!
Well, then. Hi! I'm Zingenmir. by Zingenmir on 2018-05-04 14:18:00 UTC Reply

Formerly known as DawnFire, until January 2017 when I decided it was time to switch things up. I joined in January 2013 and, as I wrote below, I'd been reading PPC stories for at least 4-6 years before that. Funnily enough, I wasn't planning to become a Boarder (just wanted to ask about using agents in an outtake for a Mary-Sue parody fic I was writing); instead, I got tempted into writing characters, and, in March, used a chapter of the same M-S parody fic as my Permission piece. In a nice bit of symmetry, I ended up changing my screenname in the same month I joined and becoming a Permission Giver in the same month I got Permission, four years apart. Things can change so much.

I...admittedly don't know exactly what to say here, so I'll just go with random facts that might be interesting. 'Zingenmir' is Yiddish (which I've been studying for...wow, five years now, if you don't count an after school club in elementary school). It means 'we sing', or 'we are singing', and should technically be written with a space as it's two words. 'DawnFire', meanwhile, came from a time when my friend and I thought up some names for cats from the Warriors book series for a game we were playing; funnily enough, she was Dawnfire and I was Brightshadow. I actually used the latter name as a screen name for a bit--made maybe two comments in the Deleterius LJ community back when it was around--but ended up switching to DawnFire (and adding the extra capital letter for aesthetics) for...reasons I couldn't tell you by now.

Speaking of Deleterius: don't know how many of you remember it. It was a sporking community (there's an article on it on the wiki). I've actually been very slowly reposting material from there that people happened to save, at deleterius.dreamwidth.org. I, er, need to continue with that at some point. In the meantime, there is some stuff already posted, and I have a lot more to add.

Like (I think?) a fair number of Boarders, I'm currently a university student. I've finally almost finished my first degree. I also really, really like language: I've put a fair bit of effort into learning them, and can currently speak, in varying (descending, in fact) levels of fluency, English, Hebrew, French, Yiddish, and German. I've wanted to be a fiction writer since I was very small; my parents are also involved in it (my mom writes fiction, my dad writes poetry), and my grandmother wrote various children's books. It rather runs in the family. I've so far been published a tiny bit--a short story in a magazine, and a creative essay (on that same grandmother, actually) in a book. Someday I would love to publish more.

What else can I say? Well, obviously, I like to talk :) I used to write a ton of Harry Potter fanfiction, most of which didn't get posted anywhere; going through that gave me a potential drinking game (for other people, I guess, since I don't really drink much). I have it written out in a document on my laptop. It includes 'time travel' (forwards and backwards), 'conversation happening in public that really should have waited to happen in private,' and 'AU.' I really liked my time travel. In fact, I still do. That and AUs: if you ever want to make me write something, tempting me with an AU idea when I have even a tiny bit of free time and energy will often work. It's probably part of the reason I love both RPs and things like the Badfic Games and writing things for April Fool's Day (which I unfortunately missed this year. The Purim RP may still happen at some point, though, albeit very belatedly).

What else? Well, I've got a ton of stories in the process, I adore animals (one of my roommates this year has a dog and it is happy-making), I enjoy crafts like beading and crocheting, and I've gotten really into baking (and cooking) this year. (Probably partly just because I'm now responsible for making all my own food and I...really enjoy getting a bit creative). The number of cooking and cooking show videos I watch has similarly gone pretty far up. I've somehow only just discovered Julia Child, though I'd heard of her years earlier; apart from her, one of the more interesting cooking channels I've found on YouTube is called Townsend & Son (or Sons? Not sure). It's basically seventeenth century cooking, mostly American and British, done (in costume and with replica instruments and, where possible and applicable, ingredients) by reenactors for reenactors and casual viewers who'd like to try this stuff at home. It's fascinating.

And I believe this is where I cut myself off. Have questions? Ask away! I probably won't talk your ear off quite as much as I have here :)

~Z

PS: Want my stories of 'aaaaah an oldbie is talking to me'? I don't remember too many details off the top of my head, but there were definitely some points at the beginning where I was pretty much skipping along grinning and going 'wheee I can't believe this.' Admittedly, a small part of that was because I'd thought there would be maybe three people still using the Board now and again, but a definite part of it was 'I grew up reading stories by these people and they shaped my fanfic and writing ideas and and and they're talking to me! How is this a thing?' Still happens a little sometimes, mostly with the people I haven't talked to as much. So that's cool.

(A similar thing also happened at some point with Scapegrace, and I think also briefly with Iximaz, despite the fact that both joined after I did. But that's another story. Er, two stories. And I'm going to actually post this now, before I end up checking the length and finding out I've written three pages...)

Well, I've had at least one of those moments with you, so. by S.M.F. on 2018-05-04 18:27:00 UTC Reply

Also, PUPPER.

Any missions you've had your eye on, lately?

You have? My goodness. by Zingenmir on 2018-05-05 21:41:00 UTC Reply

I guess that's it, then: I'm officially an oldbie. How odd.

And yes, PUPPER. He's amazing. He's a really sweet dog, who thinks he's a puppy (or a cat or...look, I called him a zoo once. He has a lot of different animal traits). The one problem with him is that he sheds a lot; other than that, he's the absolute best of good boys. And it's not like he can help the shedding.

As to missions...Partially Kissed Hero. Yup. Since claiming it, I've read the whole thing, written something that's probably an outtake (there was the catharsis of an agent taking House points disguised as a teacher. It was nice to write), noted down a whole bunch of ideas, and have the opening mostly down. I say 'mostly' because it's undergone a small series of rewrites, the most recent of which happened because PKH officially became a Legendary and the dialogue needed to reflect that. So yeah, it's coming along! It won't be finished for a while, I expect, but that's the main mission I'm engaged with right now.

I also want to rewrite my first ever attempt at a mission (with my Permission agent pair, even), but I expect that'll go slower since I don't want to drop PKH by accident. There's also the mission in which the Sato kids are rescued: Karen DuLay and I are continuing to work on that. It needs an ending and then a reworking, since we started it quite a while ago and it also began life as a Tumblr RP. I still like a good chunk of what we've got, though.

Apart from that, I've got several interludes in the works: one just needs me to finish editing it and check in with the betas, another features the Reader and Kozar for the first time in a while, and...I'd swear there's at least one more floating around that I'm currently working on, but I can't think what, apart from a slow-moving Plort thing. All of this will show up at some point, anyway.

Thanks for asking!

~Z

Aww yeah, more of the Reader! by S.M.F. on 2018-05-05 22:30:00 UTC Reply

(Her missions may partly be why, btw. ;) )

Send the pupper many hugs and kisses for me!

And ooo, good luck with PKH! Once I'm done with exams (... and then come back from my chorale's trip to Europe that starts no longer than five days later), you can consider me a volunteer for betaing! :>

:) I'm glad there's an audience! by Zingenmir on 2018-05-11 09:23:00 UTC Reply

You're never really sure, you know? Especially with a character who's been somewhat inactive for a few years, stories-wise. So, yeah, glad to hear it (and no need to be intimidated or whatever: as people go, I'm generally the nice and friendly type).

The puppy sends his thanks. He's...okay, I keep trying to use the wrong language here. Content/satisfied/pleased is roughly what I want here, and that's what he is with the attention. And you should see him when the dog walker comes: although my roommate knows her through friends, she'd never really visited before, so now the dog thinks of her as *his* friend, the one whose sole purpose in coming here is to give him attention and take him for a nice long walk. The only difference between that and how he sees all other visitors is that the walk is guaranteed (and none of the silly two-leggers who live with him will try to take some of the attention for themselves)!

And thanks! If I have even half a draft by the time you've finished all that (assuming you're either in the exam period now or going to be soon), I'll call it a success. My school term is ongoing, so I unfortunately can't go "ooh, summer--time to write!" and have that work out well. Still, I'm writing it in spare bits of time, so it is moving. And thanks for volunteering! The more betas the better, I expect; beyond that generally being a good thing, this is probably going to be long and something I want to really work very well. Think Cale Sèche, except, you know, a non-cowritten mission. I am intending it to have a good deal of character exploration, though, so that's another commonality. Also hopefully interesting to more than just me and the two or so people I've been running my main ideas by so far.

Anyway. Good luck with your exams, and enjoy the trip! It sounds like fun. What kind of things does your chorale sing?

~Z

*what kind of music does your chorale sing. by Zingenmir on 2018-05-11 09:24:00 UTC Reply

Words, Zing, words...you know some better ones. Use them.

I know what you meant. ;) by S.M.F. on 2018-05-11 14:12:00 UTC Reply

And we're... kind of a multi-purpose choir? We've done Mozart and "old classical", but we've also done modern pieces like "Even When He Is Silent" (VERY tearjerky, especially if you look into the story behind it.) and "Flight Song" (not as well known, but it was written in the last decade or so and I love it).

Hello! I'm Ozzielot by Ozzielot on 2018-05-03 00:56:00 UTC Reply

I joined in 2011, but I don't post very much because I tend to not know what to say.

For video games, I like Sonic, Zelda, Undertale, and Splatoon games, but mostly the Splatoon games. Lately, I've been playing Splatoon 2.

On my free time, I just lurk, hang around in chat, read sporkings on das-sporking, do greater-than killer sudoku puzzles, and occasionally read novels from the library.

Ozzielot

Sudoku-fan high-five! o/ (nm) by S.M.F. on 2018-05-03 18:32:00 UTC Reply

*high fives* (nm) by Ozzielot on 2018-05-03 20:32:00 UTC Reply

Hi! I'm Huinesoron. ^_^ by Huinesoron on 2018-05-02 11:13:00 UTC Reply

I have been since late 2002, when I needed an email address to discuss the upcoming Two Towers movie with a schoolfriend. I joined the PPC on Talk Like a Pirate Day 2003, and you haven't been able to shake me off since. ^^ I wound up here because someone pointed me at the Board in a review of one of my fics, and quickly made a whole bunch of friends (this was back in the days of Livejournal and MSN Messenger; Kaitlyn has discussed what that was like). Ten years ago now, I got married to one of them. ^^ I love this place and the spirit it still has, even if it is filled entirely with newbies (you know... people who joined in 2005 or later!).

I have a tendency towards deep geekery, of the type that involves mass fanon generation: I have a whole website devoted to crackpot theories on my primary fandom (Middle-earth, now and forever), and at various times in the past have concocted whole rickety fanon edifices around Harry Potter (the accepted history of North American magic is a classic 'written by the victors' scenario, and President Pickles' evil MACUSA refuses to acknowledge the wealth of native and black magic on the continent), Young Wizards (that one's still going on), and... a whole bunch of other stuff, to be honest. My writings for the PPC are very much the same thing, with the advantage(???) that my crazy theories end up becoming canon.

When not holding forth on obscure and pointless trivia, I have pretty much the least interesting science job you can imagine: I'm a computer-based chemist specialising in compliance with laws and regulations. Which... pretty much means I spend my time researching and holding forth on obscure and pointless trivia. Funny how that works! :D

I have trouble coping in large groups or fast-moving situations; that's one of the reasons for my perennial absence from the various chats. I am famously bad at finishing projects - most of my cowriters leave the PPC before we actually finish anything, and I have one mission that's still technically ongoing from 2005. I never say anything in ten words if a thousand will do. And when, about a year ago, I needed to email Miss Cam about something, I was exactly as terrified as all of you are around me. ;)

hS

Huh, nice to know more about you! (nm) by twistedwindowpane on 2018-05-03 01:32:00 UTC Reply
Re: Hi! I'm Huinesoron. ^_^ by S.M.F. on 2018-05-03 00:47:00 UTC Reply

... What was that thing you emailed Miss Cam about? I don't recall if it was ever discussed on the Board.

(I mean, if you still can't disclose it, that's also fine. :V)

What's the craziest theory you've ever had become canon about something that ISN'T PPC?

Fear not, it's entirely disclosable. :) by Huinesoron on 2018-05-03 09:06:00 UTC Reply

I was letting her know about the OFUM movie trailer we* put together. She was quite pleased with it! But it was still terrifying.

(*The trailer was written and drawn by me, with voice talent from me and six other Boarders.)

Now, crazy theories... hmm. My interpretation of the Ilvermorny houses turned out to be different from JRK's... the one Fantastic Beasts film so far hasn't explored any of the background stuff there... um, Tolkien isn't writing much these days... actually, come to think of it, when The Children of Hurin came out I speculated on whether it meant we were going to get all three of the Great Tales. Well, Beren and Luthien came out last year, and The Fall of Gondolin is due in August, so that happened!

Yeah, most of my theorising is reinterpretations of things that have already happened, not predictions for the future. And my Doctor Who theories have all been wildly off-base.

hS

Oh! I have a new answer. by Huinesoron on 2018-05-04 13:03:00 UTC Reply

Me, March this year, speaking of the Hobbit films:

"Also there's all the money they must have made from the theme park... what? Whaddaya mean there wasn't one? But... the barrel ride! The thing with the molten gold! DoS was blatantly an advert for their big rollercoasters!"

TheOneRing.net, April this year:

"And finally, the rumor that has slowly been building up steam online, and now appears to be something to be taken seriously, a Middle-earth theme park. Universal Studios in Florida is looking to build its 4th park and fleshing out which themed lands will occupy the space. Nintendo, Ministry of Magic from Harry Potter, Jurassic World and Middle-earth are all rumored possibilities. Universal already has land purchased in the area near the other parks in Orlando, and two of the mentioned possible lands already exist in their other parks..... The DisneyandMore blog that posted this story is well regarded in knowing what is going on with amusement parks, and Universal began toying with the idea of a Middle-earth land as far back as 2010. ... If this deal is real, expect it to be confirmed soon, part of the deal involves having the park built within 5 years. Fasten your seat belts, keep your hands and arms inside the vehicle and hold onto your hats, it’s going to be a wild ride."

So there you go! My wildest theory that came (potentially) true.

hS

/Applauds! (nm) by S.M.F. on 2018-05-04 16:27:00 UTC Reply

That trailer is glorious (nm) by Thoth on 2018-05-03 17:15:00 UTC Reply

Fascinating! by Thoth on 2018-05-02 12:29:00 UTC Reply

Yeah, I think the terrifying thing (for some of us, at least) has a little bit to do with Being A Fan. Which I will absolutely confess to: yours the first spinoffs I actually read after TOS, and I absolutely adore Tales From DoGA, Newbies, Swan's Egg, and Lofty Skies/Crashing Down/The Reorganization.

So... that doesn't make you any less scary, I will admit.

Anyways, I can't spend an entire post fanboying (yes you can (shut up, me)), so I suppose I should say something else...

Um.

Wow, I am really bad at this. Perhaps I'll think of something later. :-P

Here's some stuff that should. by Huinesoron on 2018-05-02 12:55:00 UTC Reply

-The Newbies missions aren't actually finished! I have Lou and Nar's final mission in a half-completed state. I started it back in '07, and last touched it in... stars, 2014, maybe?

-There was a... two, three year gap in the middle of The Reorganisation, during which my cowriter left. When I came back to it, I had to cobble together the whole thing by myself. If you read it, you'll find that almost every plot thread was set into motion by the end of chapter 6; everything after that was me trying to tie things up.

-Swan's Egg was a nightmare. The DIO part was heavily rewritten following backlash on the Board, and the final part with people receiving the Message was originally going to be a cowrite - except I was too secretive, and once they found out what I was asking them to write none of my cowriters wanted to do it any more. That trilogy is definitely the biggest crash-and-burn I've had in my time writing.

From your end of time, it looks like I just effortlessly built a plinth on which to sit in my glory, or whatever metaphor floats your walnut. From my end, though, what you see is just the ramshackle collection of ideas that I actually got round to writing down, finishing, and publishing. I don't know if that helps?

Also occasionally people drop things on my head. Once upon a time it was bjam with cupcakes; now it's you with buckets of water. The more things change, the more I'm all sodden now. ^_~

hS

I mean that makes sense. by Thoth on 2018-05-02 13:10:00 UTC Reply

Thing is, your mess caught on. :-P

I'm not firmly convinced that anyone here actually knows what they're doing, really. I certainly don't. I'm pretty sure I'm messing something up horribly, but people seem to like my work, so I guess I must be doing something right...

/shrug

Speaking of weird textual habits, there's one. Ever noticed how you can tell where people come from by what weird textual quirks they've picked up? if they /me, they're probably IRCers. :wave, they're MUDers. #IFDEF RANT or /rant, they've likely got some sort of programming background (although those are getting more widespread). Emoticons that start with a curly brace, and it's probably Neshomeh. :-P

If you hang around long enough... by Huinesoron on 2018-05-02 13:19:00 UTC Reply

... anything you do will catch on, simply because there's no-one who remembers before it was there. ^_^

I used to put all of my actions in slashes...

/Demonstrates that/

... but at some point I switched over to square brackets. [Shrugs] Don't know why; I come from the time when most people used *this*, so I may just have been distinguishing myself.

hS

:shrugs by Thoth on 2018-05-02 19:22:00 UTC Reply

I mean, *this* is coming back. Because Discord is a thing, and that's how Discord does it. (although /me works on PC...)

But again, I just have a bizarre fascination with this sort of thing. Dunno why. Probably the same reason I trawl MUDs and look at logs of ancient usenet flamewars. Which are, on occasion, pretty hilarious (I saw a post about how we'd all be running HURD on our RISC machines. :-P)

Huh. I always do it with underscores... by Delta Juliette on 2018-05-03 05:13:00 UTC Reply

Dunno why! Actually, yes I do- it was underscores for italics in Google Talk for quite a while.

(You should, of course, ignore everything I say- I use the light interface for Discord, I am clearly not to be trusted. :P )

Figures by Thoth on 2018-05-03 13:44:00 UTC Reply

The thing is, I've used asterisks for actions as long as I can remember. I even wrote it on paper when I was in the third grade. And that was long before I actually was active online. It was after we got broadband, though (when I was really young, I remember my dad refusing to allow my brother to use the internet because he eas expecting phone calls. And the computer system ran OS9. It is so weird to me that I can remember that...).

So I guess my question to myself is this: where the heck did I get it from?

Re: The "be less afraid of oldbies" thread. by Miah on 2018-05-02 08:11:00 UTC Reply

I joined in January of 2010 and got Permission before the prompt system came into effect, so it's been a while, I guess. I am pretty busy most of the time, but have been trying to check the Board semi-regularly lately.

I have three kids. The oldest is probably older than a lot of people here, which is kind of freaky. He's graduating high school in about three weeks, and his Quizbowl team just won their third straight state championship. He gets to go to Nationals again at the end of the month.

My little Doomsprout will be ten in June. (I know some of you remember when he was just a little Sprout.) He's into musical theater (children's program) now, and just finished Treasure Island. I homeschool him and ferry him to various appointments.

I spend most of my online time on AO3. I've got some Haven fanfic on there. Heed the warnings if you decide to look me up. I play a lot of video games including Fallout New Vegas, 3, and 4. Dragon Age Origins, and just picked up the Deus Ex: Mankind Divided earlier this year. Skyrim in the past, but let the Eldest have it for now. I watch Warcabbage play things like Far Cry and Resident Evil. I like reading Origins fanfic, and might eventually get around to posting the fic I wrote for it. Maybe.

I'm a big Marvel fan, MCU and as much as I can get caught up on of the comics. I like NCIS, Stargate, Criminal Minds, and DCTV shows (I'm only about halfway caught up on them, though). Trollhunters, How to Train Your Dragon, Futurama, My concentration is bad (autoimmune disease) so I don't watch plot heavy things as often anymore.

It's really cutting into my reading, too. I have read multiple Hank the Cowdog books this year. The Sprout requires a chapter read to him as part of his bedtime routine. I talked him into Treasure Island in honor of his play, so a real book, yay!

Other stuff about me: I make hats on round knitting looms, paint little wooden toys, and complete shoddy carpentry projects (when my joints cooperate). I made a Hoppit Hole for the rabbit the Sprout wants to get. It's actually not bad for me. I like Pinterest and planning elaborate birthday parties for my kids until they get too big to want them. Futurama for the Sprout this year. The kid has literally watched the entire show (even the movie season) 14 times and is on his 15th round now.

QUESTION: For those who are fresher on Redwall. What do you think of it for a kid? All I think of when I think of Redwall these days is Stormsong's origin fic, and I can't remember how dark the real books get. (I know not THAT dark, but he is young socially speaking.)

Any questions for me?

Re: The "be less afraid of oldbies" thread. by Anonymous on 2018-05-02 17:03:00 UTC Reply

Oooh, Redwall! My impression from memory is that it's far more in the line of "showing kids that dragons can be fought" line than it is the "unnecessary GrimDark" line. I think it got the GrimDark reputation because when melodramatic wee cubs turn into melodramatic teenagers*, they revisit their haunts with new tools. There's battle and sacrifice, but it's not generally gory, I don't think.

Though I'd steer him (and everyone!) away from Redclaw.

I'm so glad to hear you're doing well and the Doomsprout and other offspring and Warcabbage as well. And congrats on hopeful new rabbit! They're pretty great pets.

*This isn't a callout, or at least only a very little and self-deprecating one. I have always had a flair for the melodramatic. Angsty one-shots for the win!

WOW, self, it has been a while, hasn't it. That were me. (nm) by VM on 2018-05-02 17:04:00 UTC Reply

Knitting looms? by Clersyn on 2018-05-02 17:02:00 UTC Reply

I know a little about knitting, but I hadn’t heard of knitting looms! How do they work?

Also, where did you learn carpentry? I am currently learning more about stage carpentry so I can be a more competent and well-rounded theater tech person, so I’m curious where/how people pick up general carpentry skills.

Carpentry by Miah on 2018-05-03 02:47:00 UTC Reply

I make little things usually. I've made a couple of child sized chairs (don't look too closely at the cut ends of the boards. It, uh, is supposed to be crooked and uneven.) I've also done some simple wall shelves and very simple bookshelves. My mom reclaimed her power tools a while ago, so that has slowed me down. I mean seriously, you leave your junk at my house for a decade I think that's a legit claim I have. I've got to knuckle down and buy some of my own. I cannot use a hand saw much.

The Hoppit Hole there were no plans anywhere, I had to do a lot of thinking. I actually found a hand made wooden box for the base at a thrift shop for cheap. Then I found a piece of wood, did some actual math to figure out the circumference of a half circle of the size of those materials. Used that to figure out how much cover board I needed given that 1x2's are actually .75 inches wide. I was proud of getting all that right! Then I bought indoor/outdoor carpeting to cover it in green. I wish I could show you a picture. It really turned out good.

I sometimes use the Ana White site for free woodworking plans. It has to be very simple for me to do it. Anything more complicated I have to get my dad to do with his woodshop type tools.

For learning, I'd say start very small. Use some hand tools if you can for the feel of it, and be proud of that first crooked whatever you make. Then just keep making stuff. I've made a lot of mistakes as I've gone along. I like Pinterest and just find ideas for things there.

For equipment I have a powered drill, tape measure, screwdrivers, hammer, hand saw, and sandpaper. None of that is very expensive. I need to get a jigsaw and a skill saw. If you are buying the cheap pine boards then best to go inside and check each one for knots, splinters, and being warped. Some of them are really no good for anything. Also, most places will cut large pieces like plywood in the store as long as you don't want anything too complicated.
On the Looms by Calliope on 2018-05-02 23:50:00 UTC Reply

Assuming this is the same as what I have, it's a thing with pegs in a shape or pattern - mine are circular - that you wrap the yarn around, then pull it over the next row of wrapped yarn, push it down, and repeat. End as instructed.

(This is not a very clear description, I imagine, but I'm trying, I promise.)

Re: On the Looms by Miah on 2018-05-03 02:04:00 UTC Reply

I call it Knitting for Dummies. Hehe. Just wrap and pull over and over. You can get complicated and make neat things with them, but I've only ever made hats and tube shaped scarves.

I mean, I read 'em in the third grade... by Thoth on 2018-05-02 13:13:00 UTC Reply

But I have a longstanding history of reading stuff before I'm supposed to (I read Snow Crash in 6th grade, so...).

OTOH, I got them for my cousins when they were around that age, and nobody complained and they liked them. So I'd say that's the time.

They should be fine for the Doomsprout. :-P

I see myself as a "midbie", but eh. by SkarmorySilver on 2018-05-01 23:49:00 UTC Reply

I've been around since July of 2014, I believe, and may have been reading PPC works for longer than that - I don't know when I started but I apparently won't stop anytime soon. My personal definition is that the attendance range for newbies is about one to two years, middlebies would've been here from three or so years to around six or seven, and anybody who's been around longer is an oldbie. I guess the definition is highly subjective, though, so if you guys feel I'm an oldbie by chronological association (I joined not long after Iximaz posted their first mission, and they've been given the oldbie hat IIRC), then I suppose I can roll with it.

At any rate, I've been online since 2007, which was way back during my early days in college, so at the time I was just an innocent little... well... one of how many non-canon Skarmory pre-evolutions the Internet has produced. I say this because the first fandom I ever produced artwork for was Pokémon (which still is my biggest fandom today), and fanmade Pokémon specifically where why I joined DeviantArt in the first place - I'd seen some very good "fakemon" artists on dA and thought I'd give it a try. I think I've explained my online history since then a few times before, but I gradually expanded to other fandoms including various movies, books, TV shows, manga and anime, and even certain kinks!

Looking back, getting sucked into fandom at such a young age was both a blessing and a curse, since it allowed me to find friends and common interests at a much faster pace than college life ever could, but at the same time my skin hadn't yet turned to steel, so to speak. That left me woefully unprepared for the harsh lessons of social interactions online - and believe me, I did get in trouble multiple times both online and off for being a selfish egotistic little bugger, and I have no excuse for those actions. If there's one good thing that's come out of it, though, it's the personality equivalent of Skarmory's Silver Pokedex entry: "After nesting in bramble bushes, the wings of its chicks grow hard from scratches by thorns." In other words, the drama I'd accidentally caused and the humiliation I was rightly subjected to in retaliation caused me to wise up and begin to make honest efforts to become a better person. I think my family recognized this as well and the various social events and interactions they chucked me into during my graduate period helped me grow up just as much as my online interactions did. Of course, I do still make slip-ups every now and then, but at the end of the day I also have a better idea of working with how people think and feel.

Be that as it may, though, it should be obvious why I comprehensively disemboweled the one and only badfic I ever managed to complete for my first mission - it had always been my intent to spork it for my first outing even before I joined the PPC, let alone getting Permission. I understand that it was probably not the smartest move in hindsight and that there were plenty of safer alternatives to use as a jumping off point, but there was a lot of emotional baggage associated with that fic, so from my standpoint, I guess missioning it and exploring the legacy of said mission was the only possible way I could cope. It's kinda sad that I haven't been able to pick up that level of investment for any mission I've written since then, but I've already made it this far with my characters and I've got quite a few plans as to where they'll go in the future. I just need to find the motivation as well as the time away from Real Life things (and many, many other personal projects!) to return to PPC stuff, and hopefully interacting with you guys should help restore that motivation.

If you want to get to know me in other places aside from the PPC and the Discord, my DeviantArt and Tumblr handle are both SkarmorySilver. I had a Twitter for a short while but it's DOA, and while I do have both a Spotify, YouTube, and SoundCloud, those are largely for faving and consuming media content rather than producing them, so dA and Tumblr are your best bets. I've also shared my Gmail around here before (once again, it's the same handle as my PPC account) if you want to check me out on Hangouts, and though I don't use that as often as Discord nowadays, I may drop in every so often to check how some of my chatroom buddies are doing.

Tl;dr, I talk way too much, have feathers made of knives, and am far too busy with Real Life right now to do much else. Yeah, that's me. Ask me stuff! :D

Oh, and by the way... (pluggage!) by SkarmorySilver on 2018-05-01 23:52:00 UTC Reply

...I'm currently in the process of cross-posting all of my PPC missions and interludes to AO3 now, since I don't want to see them accidentally deleted due to some freak accident or something. Once I've put up all my past writings there, I'll post new missions both here and on my AO3 account concurrently from that point forward. Some of my past missions have even been updated ~~and improved~~ a little during the cross-posting process, so if you want to read the newest, bestest versions of them, my AO3 page is where it's at! :D

https://archiveofourown.org/users/SkarmorySilver/works

Well, I guess I have to classify as an oldbie by now, huh? by doctorlit on 2018-05-01 22:42:00 UTC Reply

It's been about a decade, I think. Although I certainly hope no one is feeling intimidated by me, as I'm hardly even a person.

So hi. I'm doctorlit. I am a workaholic with a psychological need to feel busy. I have little to no emotional spectrum to speak of (unless a hose gets kinked around me, in which case the Rage Glasses go on). I have difficulty understanding the emotions of others, and can barely tell people apart unless I've been around them constantly for months. I strongly believe in depriving myself of fun time unless I've run out of work to do, and am secretly obsessed with living forever.

I'm really stingy with money, even though I don't really need to be. Even so, I've amassed a large chunk of tv shows, books and games in my condo that I almost never touch, due to the previously mentioned fun deprivation, and a very time-eating zookeeper job at an understaffed zoo.

I have a large and complex spin-off planned in my head that weaves the stories of multiple characters together, but I'm also a perfectionist, so i write so slowly that I doubt I'll ever get it all written out before I die.

I don't really know what else to say about me. I eat, sleep, and job, and sometimes I do hobby work in between.

—doctorlit, or whatever there is of him
I'm not an oldbie. by Thoth on 2018-05-01 18:54:00 UTC Reply

But I did say for people to talk about things, so what the heck?

Hiya, I'm Thoth, kinda-not-newbie-maybe? I mean, I've been around for most of a year now...

It seems I've earned some degree of respect, somehow, and I also got permission and did a co-mission. I'm honestly kinda baffled by all this, but it seems pretty cool? so I'm just gonna roll with it.

I'm probably the youngest member of the PPC Programmer Coalition, which exists because I say it does.

Besides that, I'm an avid reader (most recently, Neshomeh has dragged me into finally reading Pern), and a gamer, although most of the games I actually play on a regular basis released before I was born.

Also a bit of a computer history nut. So that's a thing.

Yeah, so... the oldbies were asking the newbies and whatnot to ask them stuff... and I'm a newbie? so I guess... the oldbies can ask me stuff?

What the heck. I've been grilling you guys, you deserve a free swing or two. :-P
If Ix counts as an oldbie, I think I do too. by To The Scapemobile! on 2018-05-01 17:34:00 UTC Reply

Hello! I am Scapegrace. I write a lot more original fiction than fanfic these days, but I'm still a colossal nerd. My primary fandom these days is probably Worm, a web novel about a bullied teenage girl who has superpowers and eventually saves the world along with a ragtag bunch of misfits she was befriended by. Other fandoms include HP, Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell, Pokémon, Red Dwarf, Overwatch, Doctor Who, early Buffy, XCOM, and more besides.

My primary interest, however, is in robot combat. I'm an avid follower of the UK live scene and try to keep up with the US stuff. I have watched and devoured every episode of Robot Wars, Battlebots, Robotica, King Of Bots, Clash Bots, and This Is Fighting Robots (the last three are new shows from China). I am obsessed with combat robotics to the same degree that hS is with Tolkien and Ix is with Harry Potter. Does it constitute a fandom? I don't know. What I DO know is that it's a huge part of my life.

...

It occurs to me that talking about my obsession with murderously violent killer robots is not helping with the "fear not the oldbies" thing. Whoops.

Oh, hey, WOOOORM! by S.M.F. on 2018-05-04 20:34:00 UTC Reply

And to that, I add two thoughts:

1: Sue!Entities? O.o Like godling Sues in the PJO 'verse, I'd assume.

and 2: Young Wizards crossover, Y/N?

Worm's... tricky. by Scapegrace on 2018-05-05 00:25:00 UTC Reply

God Mode Sues tend to be very popular because a lot of sad, lonely, mediocre men on the internet have latched onto this series and think that they can Decisions Good. They cannot. They do not. Their characters compensate for this by being brutally overpowered even by the standards of Worm.

As for an Entity, well, they're essentially Suvians already - their power, as it were, is having literally all the powers, and the entire narrative hinges around them. Also they are pretty and gold. =]

YW crossed over with Worm would be... interesting, to say the least. One imagines that the Entities are a race that the Lone Power really, really got to - they're a broiling mass of infighting, constantly-hungry alien death monsters that exist in loads of universes at once. Who could ask for better minions? Thus, wizardry has to compete with triggered capes in the fight against the heat death of the universe, and when capes are really bad at working together, that's a problem.

Decisions Good is a difficult process. by S.M.F. on 2018-05-05 00:56:00 UTC Reply

Presumably we can fix this with BETAS! \o/

Ahem.

And Conflict to Defeat Entropy versus what is essentially Conflict Resolution... Presumably wizard-to- parahuman relations might go better than shard-to-Instrumentality ones.

See, you're kinda getting that backwards. by To The Scapemobile! on 2018-05-05 11:38:00 UTC Reply

Parahuman powers are, at heart, information-gathering tools. However, they predispose the parahuman in question to seek out conflict and participate in it. This is a deliberate act of sabotage on the part of the Entities. It means that cooperation between shard users is much harder work than with civilians. In essence, the Entities are playing poker when the world they're devouring is playing Exploding Snap, and generally it's only too late when you find out they're using a deck with seven aces in it.

Parahumans would be deeply and immediately suspicious of YW wizards, and wizards would be outright horrified by the way that Earth Bet has gone to rack and ruin in the space of a few decades. Wizards being wizards, though, they'd still try to improve the situation... which is when the Simurgh gets involved. I would be genuinely scared for anyone on Errantry in Earth Bet. You'd need an army of wizards just to fight on even terms!

Which sounds fun, now that I think about it. =]

And completely separate: consider. by S.M.F. on 2018-05-05 23:22:00 UTC Reply

This, except substitute Lung for Lizord.
That's what I was hoping! by S.M.F. on 2018-05-05 14:04:00 UTC Reply

The Worm-verse sounds as if it has a low ethics constant (granted, that's a term from Stealing the Elf-King's Roses and not Young Wizards, if I remember right); maybe that's a side-effect of the Entities' presence?

Ah, but what if you have two visionaries? :V (Meaning Arhu and Nita.)

*runs* :P (nm) by Zingenmir on 2018-05-04 14:08:00 UTC Reply

(nm)? by Snowblaze on 2018-05-01 10:52:00 UTC Reply

I've been wondering for a while what the (nm) thing some of you put on the end of your posts actually means. Can you help me out with that, please?
Sorry, I'm far too curious for my own good.

Fun fact: by Zingenmir on 2018-05-01 16:36:00 UTC Reply

NM&NMs, which are basically bleepolate versions of M&Ms in, I believe, various Sue-created colors like urple and wilver, came from people not realizing the (nm) was automatic and adding it themselves, resulting in subject lines that ended (nm)(nm). More (okay similar and a little more) information can be found here on the wiki, under the bleepolate entry (second subentry).

~Z

PS: ...am I somehow an oldbie now? I mean, if Iximaz is one...and Novastorme is one...oh man. I guess we 2013ers are old is now. Help? It's a weird thought. Though not quite as weird as the thought of fifteen year oldbies. Speaking of which, congratulations, all of you--shouldn't we celebrate sometime this year? That's quite an anniversary!

You joined in 2013? by Novastorme on 2018-05-01 17:30:00 UTC Reply

I've always thought of you being around for a while longer than that. No offence.

Wait, really? by Zingenmir on 2018-05-01 18:27:00 UTC Reply

Cool. :D

Yeah, I joined on January 13, 2013. Something like that. I'd rediscovered the PPC around December 2012--I'd been reading PPC stuff for at least 4-6 years before that (it and assorted associated communities helped shape a lot of my ideas about fanfic and other writing), but December 2012 was when I found out it was still a pretty active community.

Funnily enough, I wasn't planning to stay; I just wanted to ask about writing an outtake with PPC agents for the Mary-Sue parody fic I was writing. And then someone asked if I was planning to get Permission, and I started thinking about it, and suddenly I had a bunch of characters forming...and now I'm still here, developing stories and characters and occasionally actually finishing something, getting it through the beta stage, and even posting it. Amazing how plans change.

~Z

It's a quirk of the Board. by Badger421 on 2018-05-01 11:14:00 UTC Reply

When you don't put anything in the actual message section of your post it attaches the little (nm) to the end of the subject line. It's just an abbreviation of 'no message'.

Wait Ix is an oldbie? I guess I'm an oldbie then too. by Novastorme on 2018-05-01 08:29:00 UTC Reply

Certainly don't feel like it sometimes, but it must be the old age eating away at my memory :p

So yeah... Hi I'm Novastorme, you won't see me posting on the board all that much, it's not because I'm not interested, I just don't have a massive amount of time on my hands. I will occasionally post writing prompts on the Board (yes, yes I know you're overdue one I meant to do it yesterday), and they're meant to be little things that don't even have to involve your PPC characters if you want. I'm more active on the Discord, although I do mainly lurk there, and then occasionally drop into the conversation (much like I am on the Board just with greater frequency), and I'm always interested in playing games (especially multi-player/co-op ones), so if there's a game you want to play with/against a Brit, let me know and I'll see if my laptop can handle it.

I don't write a lot, I have got Permission and have got a Prelude for those agents out (and nothing else) although I am currently planning missions for two other teams (when I find badfic for them to mission). When I do write it's more often than not either a little bit of one of the fanfics that I've got planned, or my own original story that has gone through more iterations than I care to remember. I also do quite a bit of online RPing on another forum, and that will occasionally bleed through into here, either with my want to get a D&D group up and running on our Discord (or maybe elsewhere if others want it there), or with some of my agent ideas coming from said RP's.

I can't remember any real embarrassing newbie stuff that I did, although I do remember Nesh saying that I had perhaps the cutest Mini-Aragog in existence, when in my first fanfic I wrote, (which was also a badfic) from before I joined the PPC (and in fact lead me to joining the PPC), I misspelled Hufflepuff to... Hugglepuff.

Novastorme
Who writes a lot and on second though can see why he could be intimidating.

Names... by son_of_heaven176 on 2018-05-03 01:56:00 UTC Reply

I apologize if I am amiss, but did you use to go by "Storme Hawk" on this Board?

Yes, yes I did. by Novastorme on 2018-05-03 19:21:00 UTC Reply

And sorry for not replying to your emails, I haven't been using the email address you've been sending them to for a while now.

Is that so? by son_of_heaven176 on 2018-05-05 01:25:00 UTC Reply

Are you still interested in betaing for me? And if so, what is your current e-mail address?

I'm Phobos by Phobos on 2018-05-01 05:09:00 UTC Reply

Joined the Board as Barid, but changed it when I decided to make a self-insert...who may still be lost in HQ somewhere. Never did get back to him.

Anyway, I never was a newbie. I appeared on the board as a fully formed midbie. Mostly that's due to listening to Nesh talk about stuff while we were dating.

I write stuff, but only like once every couple of years (see: Agent Phobos, above) so there are a lot of loose ends hanging around. I do intend to get back to Agent Decima, Barid and Brightbeard, Agent(?) Phobos, Catastrophe Theory, Going Postal, Temporally Offended (still not officially a thing yet), Baron Phobos, Troll shenanigans. All of that stuff is planned, but in various states of disorganization.

A large part of the reason none of that stuff is getting done is that I spend a substantial amount of time being a semi-professional Magic: the Gathering player. I travel to regional events quarterly and grind local tournaments pretty constantly. I also write a Magic blog over at BadMoonMTG. I think it's pretty all right, but I don't have the time to really get it off the ground via social media.

Anyway, that's me. Now taking questions, I guess?

-Phobos

Well, if we're asking questions... by Thoth on 2018-05-01 17:01:00 UTC Reply

Why Phobos? :-P

Answers by Phobos on 2018-05-01 17:21:00 UTC Reply

So, at the time that I was thinking about changing my name, I was reading Gates of Fire for a class. There is a passage about the god (demigod?) Phobos and how the Spartans conquer fear with fear, rather than fearlessness. I just really liked it.

And now to answer some frequently asked questions:

1) No, I'm not named after the moon of Mars.

2) Bees, small spaces, an unholy combination of the two.

-Phobos

I mean, I would have guessed Quake 3... by Thoth on 2018-05-01 18:37:00 UTC Reply

But that's just because the Phobos botmatch is burned into my brain, because I spend god-knows how many hours beating it.

...Also, it seems like a lot of people here have read Gates of Fire. Would you lot recommend it?

Definitely! by Neshomeh on 2018-05-02 15:30:00 UTC Reply

It's the book Agent Suicide comes from, after all. And it's very, very good.

~Neshomeh

I'll put it on the very very very long list. (nm) by Thoth on 2018-05-02 17:29:00 UTC Reply

I would recommend Gates of Fire (nm) by Phobos on 2018-05-01 18:52:00 UTC Reply

Hi, I'm Neshomeh. by Neshomeh on 2018-05-01 01:46:00 UTC Reply

Like Juliette, I've been here about 15 years now. I can date how long I've definitely known about the PPC to June 2003, anyway, based on my ff.net review history. Probably a bit earlier. I turned 18 that month. I'm 32 now, and I live in Chicago with Phobos, my husband, who is also 32 now. I have a cat named Merlin. He is about 18. Behold my cat pics ~~if Photobucket behaves~~!

When I was a newbie, I still spent a lot of time RPing on Neopets. This was one of my characters. *cringe* Some of the Boarders at the time (I don't remember who) gave me some good advice on making her less Sueish, such as not having her share a name with one of the Valar for crying out loud. >.> They also gave me some other good language/naming tips, which is why the ones there now aren't terrible. The PPC was the first place I met people who knew more about Tolkien than I did—like a lot more—and that experience was the beginning of how I learned to be less of an arrogant little tosser. ^^

The PPC also helped teach me not to hate slash and shipping in general by way of teaching me that asexuality is a thing. I am definitely demisexual if not ace; how I feel about it varies. I thought everyone else was crazy for being so into all that stuff. Turns out they're not—and neither was I for not being into it. Go figure! These days, I enjoy reading and writing good shipping of all kinds, and have even written some M/M smut that people liked!

I didn't actually write a mission on my own until 2007, because at first I wasn't sure about the whole Sue-killing thing and I didn't come up with characters besides my self-insert until 2005, when I started writing Supernumerary and Cameo for games of Fill the Plothole (which was totally doing it wrong, but we were bad at telling people "no" back then). I rather quickly realized Cameo was a terrible agent, though, so I was stuck again until Twiggy Papaya recruited Ilraen in 2007 and let me adopt him.

My earliest contributions to the PPC, around 2004-2005, were the Glossary of Useful Technology and the Substance Menu 2.0, which NenyaQuende was good enough to link from the PPC Handbook. I also did a lot of work on the <a href="http://www.freewebs.com/ppcmanual/index.htm">PPC Manual, Second Edition (which seems to be down again as of posting this; dammit Webs). And then the wiki came along and made it all obsolete. So when I have nothing else to do, I work on that instead. {= D

... I never have nothing else to do. I have too many things to do all the time. And that is why I rarely actually get anything done.

What else? According to every personality test I've ever taken, it is difficult to be more introverted than I am. Occasionally, the effort of making conversation feels so huge that I just drop off the face of the Internet without notice for a week or two at a time. To everyone I ever have left or will leave hanging in e-mail, as a beta, as a co-writer, or anything at all, I apologize.

I'm pretty sure I'm the original PPC tea nut. I'm just quieter about it.

Oh, people often wonder about the curly bracket in my emoticons. My favorite TV show of all time is Farscape. I will never stop trying to get people to watch it. My Internet home before the PPC Board was a fansite called Friends and Defenders of Pilot, and we used the curly bracket to represent Pilot's carapace. I never stopped. {= )

Um... yeah! Anything else you want to know?

~Neshomeh

Tell me more about tea? by Tomash on 2018-05-01 02:57:00 UTC Reply

I've recently acquired more sophisticated tea-making supplies (a teapot that can do lose-leaf), and I'd like my ear talked off about the subject. I've found I like the fruit-y teas. (One thing I noticed is that, when I tried to brew one of the samples of a mango peach green tea, the flavor didn't seem to come through, unlike with the black or herbal ones. How could've that happened?)

Also, thanks for explaining what was with your emoticons. I've been curious for a while, but never got around to asking.

- Tomash

Sure! {= D by Neshomeh on 2018-05-01 03:21:00 UTC Reply

To get more flavor out of any tea, use more of it. If you try steeping it longer, you'll eventually hit a point where it's either a) too bitter if it's a tannin-containing blend, or b) as strong as it's ever going to get. Oversteeping is the easiest way to ruin a good pot of tea. Some black and green teas are extremely sensitive (or just harsh) and really only need a minute.

If your mango peach green tea has chunks of fruit in it, you definitely want to use more than you would with a simple cut leaf tea that will fill your measuring device with less air between the pieces. Because physics. The terminology escapes me.

With fruit teas, I also recommend adding sweetener to taste—the least amount necessary to heighten the flavor and balance the acidity of the fruit without making your tea taste mostly of sugar/honey/whatever. YMMV.

With good loose teas, you can probably get more than one steeping out of them. The flavor won't be as strong the second time, but that's okay if it's still a nice flavor.

The quality of your water will affect the flavor of your tea, so if your tap water is iffy, use a filter device of some sort. This is probably a wise investment anyway. (I should take my own advice on this.)

What else do you want to know?

~Neshomeh

Thanks for the tips! (nm) by Tomash on 2018-05-01 04:46:00 UTC Reply

Also by RemnantShadow on 2018-05-02 03:02:00 UTC Reply

Be sure you are using the correct temperature for whatever tea you are brewing. If it is a fruit tea you have to take note of what tea makes up the base. If the temperature is too low, flavor isn't well developed, and if it's too hot, the leaves get damaged. A good guideline is 70 to 80 C for green tea; 80 to 90 C for Oolong if you brew the western way (rolls eyes), about 85 to 95 the Chinese (real) way; and 100 C for red tea. Some sources online may cite slightly different values but this is just a general rule of thumb. Each tea is different.

P.S. I'm joking about the real/fake thing.

Keeping track of temperature by Clersyn on 2018-05-02 04:43:00 UTC Reply

How do you generally keep track of the temperature? Do you use a thermometer, or do you just have a good feel for when the water is about right?

Asian Instincts by RemnantShadow on 2018-05-02 14:29:00 UTC Reply

In all seriousness, yes you could use a thermometer. Once you do it enough, you will get an sort of intuitive sense for where the water is at. A good way without a thermometer is to just look at the water. When the water is churning slightly, not at full boil (that's actually higher than 100 C), that's for red tea, if there are small bubbles in the water, but no churning, that's good for Oolong. If you place your hand a couple of inches above the water and there is some heat and condensation on your palm, that's good for green tea (but one should wait an extra 20 seconds just in case). But, a thermometer will always be more accurate and you won't make mistakes with one.

When you say red tea... by Neshomeh on 2018-05-02 15:29:00 UTC Reply

I think you mean what we in the West know as black tea? Red tea over here is rooibos, Aspalathus linearis, not oxidized Camellia sinensis. {= )

(I don't actually like rooibos very much, myself, but it can be a good tea alternative for those who prefer to avoid caffeine.)

Also worth noting: some electric kettles, such as mine, come with temperatures settings. I'm usually too lazy to bother, though, since I tend to default to bagged tea I don't have to fuss over so much. >.>

Which reminds me, it's time for my morning tea! But I'm out of Earl Grey. What will I do? I don't know. {= (

~Neshomeh

You could borrow Nume's mini-replicator? (nm) by Tomash on 2018-05-02 20:27:00 UTC Reply

*sufficiently sci-fi bweem* by Neshomeh on 2018-05-03 13:49:00 UTC Reply

I now have a whole new box of Earl Grey. Life is good. ^_^

~Neshomeh

Especially as they're PG by Novastorme on 2018-05-01 23:36:00 UTC Reply

*ba-dum tish*

Am I an oldbie? I think I'm an oldbie. by Iximaz on 2018-05-01 00:33:00 UTC Reply

hS gave me the crown of Oldbie-ness, even though I've not been around nearly as long as some people have—four years and a bit for me—so I guess it counts.

I love fantasy and sci-fi, and will kick your butt in Harry Potter trivia. Currently have big dreams to run camera for Doctor Who someday in the far, far future. I'm contenting myself with writing a very cranky Time Lord agent in the meantime. I've got a bit of a reputation for writing a lot and doing horrible things to my characters. It miiight not be completely unfounded.

I'm about to turn 21, want to do film stuff with the big fancy cameras, might or might not be moving to London in a few months. I'll know as soon as I hear back if I got accepted into film school.

As for stuff I got up to when I was a newbie: I introduced myself on someone else's introduction thread, accidentally put my email in the author spot, and then proceeded to let ~~my phone's autocorrect~~ Toey ruin my spelling for a while. Fun times... fun times.
Oldbie here... Hi? by Delta Juliette on 2018-05-01 00:03:00 UTC Reply

I was realizing in Discord that this year will be my fifteenth year on the Board. I don't even know how that happened- although I'm pretty sure I have a lock on the record for longest hiatus for an active (ish) Boarder!

... So long, in fact, that I've got an entirely new self-insert for DoSAT. I should write that scene, new-me meeting old-me.

Ah! A meeting of the "me"s! by S.M.F. on 2018-05-04 18:55:00 UTC Reply

I look forward to this greatly. :>
Doooo iiiiit! by Thoth on 2018-05-01 00:23:00 UTC Reply

Those of us outside the Circle 'O Roleplay should probably get a chance to meet Juliette.

I might be an oldbie, or something by Tomash on 2018-05-01 00:02:00 UTC Reply

If I've given off unapproachable vibes, I'd be happy to try and change that. (For all I know, I've been doing a decent Tech-Priest impression around here.)

One thing that's suddenly seeming like a good idea is to do a bit of an oldbie introduction, so here goes: Hi, I'm Tomash! One of the main things I do around here is helping with technical stuff, like the PPC Board Archives and the T-Board (I did the programming for both of those a while back). I also do programming stuff in real life, and I'll be starting a Computer Science PhD at the University of Washington in Seattle next fall.

Media-wise, I tend to like works with sufficiently alien aliens (to pick an example, The Mote in God's Eye was good stuff, and I'd really like to convince someone else to read the Chanur books at some point). As is probably obvious from recent threads, I'm a Young Wizards fan. I'd definitely also count Harry Potter, the Culture series,Animorphs, and Anathem (which I highly recommend if you think you might be like me) among my fandoms as well.

I've also gotten into tabletop RPGs over the past year by way of the Dark Heresy campaign Mikel is running that used to be on the Discord (we moved to a separate server to avoid spamming everyone with dice rolls so much). That also happens to be how I got tossed into the 40k universe in the first place.

In random RL-related facts, I have a ham radio license that I haven't used in a while.

I'd also like to link my first post, in which I unironically plugged Harry Potter and the Methods of Rationality and misspelled "goodfic", in order to demonstrate that even the Old Ones started out doing vaguely silly things.

So, uh, say hi! Ask me things! (In the event you don't want to do that on the Board, my email, which also works as a Hangouts username, is clickable above.) I'm also open to beta requests (I can mainly promise an earnest attempt to look for typos and small-scale flow issues, though.)

- Tomash

Hello by Clersyn on 2018-05-01 07:52:00 UTC Reply

Hello!

Newbie here - I poked my head in before disappearing for a few months, and now I'm back (to some extent).

Looking at your first post, where you claimed you were probably just passing through, I'm curious - what about the PPC contributed to your decision to stick around?

Also, I re-read the entirety of the Animorphs series this past summer - well, perhaps I should just say "read" since I never finished all of them or read them in order before - and I would love to talk more about them sometime!

Mainly the people and community, I think by Tomash on 2018-05-01 17:00:00 UTC Reply

This is a cozy little corner of the Internet with a whole bunch of nine and cool people in it. It sucked me in back in 2011 and it looks like it hasn't stopped doing that to people since. I can definitely say I've made some good friends here.

The shared PPC universe is also a pretty funny thing and nice to tinker around with occasionally, which helps.

I haven't actually gone through and systematically re-read Animorphs, to be honest. I mainly read whichever ones I could snatch out of various libraries in some semblance of order. Maybe I should go back and revisit those books.

(and welcome back!)

- Tomash

About the Animorphs by Clersyn on 2018-05-01 23:55:00 UTC Reply

It is not always the best-written of series, having its share of ridiculous plot points, inconsistencies, and uninspiring prose (especially in the latter half of the series, which is mostly ghostwritten), and there were definitely points in my reading journey where I questioned why I was even bothering.

I think its biggest flaw for me is that it suffers from a tendency to bring up interesting things - pieces of worldbuilding, perhaps, or overarching ideas about morality - and then fail to make full use of them or explore them further in any depth. On the other hand, this means that there are some interesting ideas explored, and I found the series overall engaging.

In the end, despite many flaws which are much more evident to me now than they were the first time I encountered the books, I personally am happy with my decision to revisit them.

What?! by VM on 2018-05-01 05:05:00 UTC Reply

I Don't Hang Out Here Anymore, much, really, for a variety of complicated reasons some of which are busy-ness and some of which are mental health related, but I'm an oldbie as of I think 2005 and I'm here to say: you're going to UW?! I can actually meet you once I actually have a chance to go visit Juliette and Maslab again!

(Both of whom I owe an apology, since Life Happened and I never responded to last thing.)

VM! by Miah on 2018-05-02 06:57:00 UTC Reply

Hi! Nice to see you!
Hey you. by doctorlit on 2018-05-01 22:44:00 UTC Reply

Just want to say I'm glad to hear of you again. I'm sorry real life is keeping you away, but I hope you're doing well and keeping fed and all that. Keep yourself safe and healthy, okay?

—doctorlit, caring long distance
VM??! by Tomash on 2018-05-01 05:24:00 UTC Reply

It's nice to hear from you again! (I admit I haven't really tried to get in touch much, but that's because I figured you were busy. Sorry.).

I'll be moving up to Seattle in ~September and I'd be happy to meet up if you find an excuse to get out there. From the looks of it, Seattle seems to be a PPCer attractor.

On that note, do you have a preferred way for me to get in touch with you? (Email's clickable.)

Hiya Tomash! by Thoth on 2018-05-01 00:22:00 UTC Reply

I'd ask you cool newbie questions, but... uh... we just talked. Like, 10 seconds before I wrote this thread. I'll leave the newer newbies to ask that stuff.

Although that HPMoR bit is mildly amusing...
*Vaguely evil chuckling.* (nm) by Mikelus on 2018-05-01 00:08:00 UTC Reply

Mikel. Mikel no. (nm) by Calliope on 2018-05-01 01:07:00 UTC Reply
eep (nm) by Tomash on 2018-05-01 00:17:00 UTC Reply

Oh, but you should be afraid... >:D (nm) by Huevilsoron on 2018-04-30 23:32:00 UTC Reply

*is not afraid!* }:3 (nm) by twistedwindowpane on 2018-05-03 01:24:00 UTC Reply
hS is kind of busy today, by Kaitlyn on 2018-05-01 15:57:00 UTC Reply

Since he's had to assume full household responsibilities and also run around after his pitiable wife, who has food poisoning. Does it demystify him if you imagine him queuing up to buy Pepto-Bismal?

Anyway I'm also an oldbie, but I cleverly avoid intimidating people by never posting. Strategy! I don't really write much anymore, for the PPC or in general, because I'm a nursing student, which absorbs 100% of my energy.

hS and I met on the Board, and I can confirm that he's always been quite a formal poster. However, that was more scceptable in the early days--microblogging and facebook and Tumblr didn't rule the internet yet. You definitely typed on a keyboard, not a phone. Social media was more long-form, and communication was a bit less pithy. Think of hS and I as ~~cranky old people~~ relics from another age.

Of course hS is also pretty evil. Or should I call him... Huinesauron. :-0

-Kaitlyn, too old and tired to move with the times

Why not Huinesaurian? :P (nm) by Tomash on 2018-05-01 17:02:00 UTC Reply

o.O So, so far, I am... by Huinesoron on 2018-05-03 12:56:00 UTC Reply

-Evil.
-A small bug.
-Made with eggs.
-A Dark Lord.
-A dinosaur.

I'm pretty sure I could put any three of those into one image, but all five is pushing it...

hS

I think you can get four by Tomash on 2018-05-03 17:07:00 UTC Reply

Dark Lords are evil, so those are redundant.

It's also the case that dinosaurs are made with eggs (as in, they hatch from them).

So all we need to do to get most of that list is to have you be dino!Sauron.

We could also slide in Huinesorin' from below by giving you wings and sticking you in a theme park.

There's five!

- Tomash

So what you're telling me is hS is a pterodactyl... (nm) by Iximaz on 2018-05-03 17:15:00 UTC Reply

Maybe. That WOULD be Awesome. (nm) by Thoth on 2018-05-03 18:26:00 UTC Reply

I'm afraid I have to disappoint you. by Huinesoron on 2018-05-03 19:55:00 UTC Reply

I'm very clearly a Pteranodon.

Huevilsoron/Huevosoron/Huinesauron/Huinesaurian/Huinesoarin'. Rumours that he is infested by irritating bugs are completely unfounded, thankyouverymuch.

(Sauron-crested Pteranodon sternbergi after, and in fact mostly sketched directly from, Mark Witton.)

hS

That's glorious. by Iximaz on 2018-05-03 22:29:00 UTC Reply

I love his little crown, it's so cute!

All he needs to do is go "Whee!" and then he'd be Wheenesoron! :P

And he says... by Huinesoron on 2018-05-04 08:38:00 UTC Reply

"... whee."

(Once again sketched directly from Mark Witton, this time from his launching Pteranodon longiceps.)

hS

Please find a way to make this your signature. XD (nm) by S.M.F. on 2018-05-04 15:05:00 UTC Reply

Hmm... by Huinesoron on 2018-05-04 15:27:00 UTC Reply

... I don't know how well it works.

hS

It looks kind of like a Snivy. by S.M.F. on 2018-05-04 16:28:00 UTC Reply

But it mostly just looks cute. :V So, success?

YES. (nm) by Iximaz on 2018-05-04 13:12:00 UTC Reply

What about Huinesoarin'? by Iximaz on 2018-05-03 13:35:00 UTC Reply

Now you're also a Disney ride!

Now, that just makes me think... Huineflyin'. :P (nm) by Zingenmir on 2018-05-03 18:02:00 UTC Reply

You have my vote. (nm) by Kaitlyn on 2018-05-01 17:15:00 UTC Reply

Oh dear the puns by Thoth on 2018-05-01 17:00:00 UTC Reply

I'm formal sometimes, too. Then again, I grew up on forums. Does that make me oldschool yet? :-P

But yeah! Nice to see you for once, Kaitlyn.

...Actually, I do have a question. I once heard that you were the oldbiest of oldbies. Is this true?

Leto... by Kaitlyn on 2018-05-01 17:15:00 UTC Reply

...is oldbier than I am. Also a few others who've poked their heads in over the recent years--BeautyID, I think we've seen Saphie not too long ago?

However, I think at this point I am definitely the oldbiest person who has never really left. It's a heavy responsibility, which I cope with primarily by hiding.

--Kaitlyn, mature adult

We did have Saphie! by Thoth on 2018-05-01 17:52:00 UTC Reply

Sorry you lot missed it (she didn't go up to the board, it seems... :-/), but I got to say hi to her, which was pretty awesome.

...No, I definitely didn't fanboy at all. Not in the slightest. I definitely didn't sing the praises of Suedom to the entire chat and insist that everyone should go read it ASAP. I most certainly wasn't awed by the presence of the author of one of my favorite PPC affiliated works in any way. Just to be clear. ;)

But yeah, apparently her and Andy are still Doing Things. And
apparently they've been talking about maybe doing Writing Things. I really hope they tell us if that ever happens, because I bet it would be amazing.

Oh, and if you haven't read Suedom, go read Suedom! Missandman was still up when I read it, so I have no idea where to find it now, but it as totally amazing.

Weevilsoron? ... Huevosoron? (nm) by Neshomeh on 2018-05-01 01:52:00 UTC Reply

Yes, we must make Huevosoron at this instant! (nm) by twistedwindowpane on 2018-05-03 01:22:00 UTC Reply

Huevosoron Rancherosoron? =] (nm) by To The Scapemobile! on 2018-05-03 13:00:00 UTC Reply

Eep! by Thoth on 2018-05-01 00:19:00 UTC Reply

...Jeez, don't go scaring me like that, hS! You are a Big Scary Oldbie, 'member? :-P

Although you actually are an oldbie, and somewhat scary at times... hmmm...

dumps bucket of water on hS's head.

There, I think the scary atmosphere is suitably ruined. :-)
hS, you are quite literally the one this was founded over. by Calliope on 2018-04-30 23:43:00 UTC Reply

So either be proud or saddened. Because this is all your fault.

Ooooooof course it is. ^_^ by Huinesoron on 2018-05-02 11:13:00 UTC Reply

[Dramatic sigh] I held out some hope that the curse had moved onto someone else, but in my heart of hearts I knew that this was Huinesoron Is Terrifying Episode 967: Those Pointy-Eyed Smileys Must Be Hiding Something.

(They are, actually - they're a homage to my wife and a deep cut into PPC history. But as I was never actually a Knight Who Goes ^^, I shall betray no further confidences. ^~)

hS
A Personal, and perhaps relevant, Anecdote by VM on 2018-05-01 05:29:00 UTC Reply

So I started graduate school last year. I have a friend, who has become one of my closest friends, and who gets a LOT of the same reactions hS does from people who don't know him. Fear, awe/respect, and some suspicion of arrogance/condescension. This is for three reasons.

First, he has an incredibly wide vocabulary. Dude is smarter than anyone I know. People suspect him of using large words and precise language to be a jerk, often not realizing that's just how he talks.

He LOVES language, and loves using it, and is incredibly thoughtful in his responses and statements. This often leads to people feeling overwhelmed with how to respond, and slinking away from dosagreements rather than trying to think carefully and craft a response. In arguments with my friend, I often have to tell him, hold up - I need a minute to analyze and get back to you. When he makes long, exhaustively detailed responses, he isn't trying to shut others down, but the opposite - he's trying to give their perspective the full attention and care it (and they) deserve(s).

I'm being deliberately vague about which person I mean, because I do think this is a people being intimidated by communication style thing, but the third reason is that my friend dresses nicely, wears Serious Glasses and a beard, and always looks like he's Very Seriously and Potentially Angrily disagreeing, even when he's not at all.

He combats this impression of himself by being aggressively cheerful, friendly, and also a genuinely kind person whose critique is always intended to be helpful rather than mean.

Huinesoron does this also, but doesn't have the option of grinning widely and using a Super Cheerful Tone, which means that even his super-friendly, super-helpful posts scare people, because they're long and use a certain formality of speech. So I'm at a loss, as I always am when this has come up, for the past thirteen years, for ways to explain to newbies that they should always, always apply the constitution to hS, specifically the part about assuming the best intentions, because, and I cannot stress this enough, he does have the best intentions* and try to have the self-confidence to think through his replies and respond to them honestly and thoughtfully, rather than back away scared.

* How can you tell the difference between someone who's an arrogant ill-intentioned person who likes to sound smart, and a well-intentioned person who loves language and words? The person who is your friend and ally will admit when they are wrong, and if asked for more explanation, will cheerfully provide it. I have never seen hS fail to do either.

I doubt this thread is meant to be an accusation... by The Good Mod Addict on 2018-05-03 22:55:00 UTC Reply

I definitely agree that from what I've seen, hS writes quite formally, but I'm not sure I'd go so far as to say people have been assuming he has anything but the best intentions. He always comes across to me as someone who just thinks deeply about things and is good at conveying what he means, but the sheer power of his Aura of Mysterious Oldbie-ness (plus the fact that, let's face it, the things he has worked on are nothing short of legendary in a good way here) makes some people feel that a thread like this would be a good idea.

I may be wrong. Maybe people have jumped to bad conclusions about Huinesoron a lot. I don't have the best track record of checking the Board, but that's just what I've seen.

That said, I think this thread is helping a lot. At least, I'm having a lot of fun learning things about the oldbies, and I'm willing to bet that a lot of other people are, too.

Nah, I'd say you're dead-on (nm) by Thoth on 2018-05-04 00:08:00 UTC Reply

:l That's... really accusatory, Cali. (nm) by Iximaz on 2018-04-30 23:52:00 UTC Reply

...that is not how I meant it I am so sorry. by Calliope on 2018-04-30 23:59:00 UTC Reply

It was supposed to sound more like friendly teasing. I swear.

*thunder rumbling in the background* (nm) by Iximaz on 2018-04-30 23:34:00 UTC Reply