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What if Neville remembered, in some primal way, what happened to his parents? What if he was dosed up on the fruits of Newt's labours sixty-odd years down the line? What if he was adversely affected by the potion? What if that's at the root of his short-term memory problems?

If this is real, and the stars are in our grasp at last... we might actually have a shot at this whole "species" lark. We're not just angry monkeys with delusions of grandeur, we are beings capable of thought and achievement.

We are lightning bolts that learned to dream.

Paper: here

Layman's terms article: here (among others)

So: this is the EM drive. It's basically a copper cone you fire microwaves into, and it generates thrust, around ten times what you can get from a solar sail. In order to do that, it has to break a couple of laws of physics - like Newton's third law.

When first announced, it was widely assumed to be a hoax, but now a NASA team operating out of Houston say they've replicated the result, and that the thrust produced doesn't seem to come from any of the usual sources.

Their hypothesis for how it works involves overturning the Copenhagen Interpretation of quantum mechanics - in other words, goodbye Schrodinger's Cat. The alternative is Pilot Wave Theory, which (very simply) says that particles have actual locations, but are carried along by undetectable waves. It's quite an appealing theory - it perfectly replicates the standard experiments, like the double slit experiment - but hasn't really been taken up before.

I'm having difficulty understanding how pilot waves lead to EM drive; it looks like NASA are suggesting the 'waves' act on the quantum vacuum - meaning that 'vacuum' has an energy all of its own, and isn't properly 'empty' - meaning the drive moves one way, the waves propagate the other, and momentum is preserved. Not really sure, like I said, but they insist it works, and works exactly the same in vacuum and atmosphere, to boot.

Let me be clear: if the EM drive does work, it's simultaneously a reactionless drive (no exhaust), a torch-drive (can be run continuously, making it perfect for least-time courses across space), and a stardrive (it can take you up to appreciable fractions of lightspeed with no input other than electricity). It would fundamentally alter our relationship with space, and (not incidentally) render about half of science fiction as laughably obsolete as Asimov's slide-rules.

I don't think it's real. I know, it's NASA, but this would overturn too much too quickly and too simply. I think they'll find some obvious explanation, just like the superluminal neutrinos a few years back. It will suck, but I expect it.

But I'm not going to make Randall's Wager. I'm going to be an optimist; I'm going to bet you guys the opposite. Here we go:

At some point in the near future, someone (NASA? China? The inventor?) will put an EM drive in space. I bet anyone who chooses to take me up on it that the drive will generate thrust in orbit, and that it will not be shown to do so in a manner we already knew about. If I'm wrong (ie, if the EM drive doesn't work in space), I will give anyone who takes the bet either a short (less than 500 word) story or a picture of their choice. If you take the bet, then you need to say what you're wagering if you're wrong and it does work.

Any takers?

hS

(You can also jump in on my side of the bet. I think that means that everyone on the losing side has to give their wager to everyone on the winning side.)

Assume the restaurant hadn't been tricked. Then would you have obligated them to host the meal? Only to retroactively de-obligate them once the Nazis posted it to Twitter?

"That's not how time works. That's not how any of this works."

hS

And the thing was then published to Twitter (if I'm reading this right?), which definitely puts it in the higher end of DJ's scale.

Phobos said the same thing; I just forgot to mention it.

Side-note: Bleeprin is made from aspirin and brain bleach, right? And Swooping Evil venom is basically brain bleach that erases only bad memories, right?? So there's actually a canonical Potterverse substance that would make perfect bloody sense as one of the two active ingredients in Bleeprin, which I remind you is manufactured at the Hogwarts Fanfiction Academy???

This is my new headcanon, and you can't stop me. ^_^

~Neshomeh

Jacob will be back, I'm sure. And he remembers most of it too. Keep this in mind: the venom removes bad memories. For the vast majority of the muggles, they were either terrified or unaware of the magic going on. But Jacob was having the time of his life, for most of it. There were moments of terror, removed, adding to the idea that it was all a dream. But the rest of it? The best moments of his life.

You've just received a perfect case study. DC Restaurant Apologizes After Hosting Alt Right Neo Nazi Dinner with Sieg Heil Salute.

http://www.xkcd.com/1759/

*g*

~Neshomeh

Grindelwald killed the real Graves and took over his position, apparently.

I guess I kind of overlooked the rest because my brain filled in information from the Magic In North America pieces and the Fantastic Beasts book, so I didn't even realize there was a lack of exposition in those facts. ^^;

I'm sure we'll be seeing Jacob next time, what with Queenie showing up at the end and all. Fingers crossed; I really liked his character, too.

Yaaay, we saw the movie today, so I don't have to worry about spoilers anymore! But you might, so caution reading ahead. {= )

Anyway, yeah. I liked it. It was fun. For me it was just good, though, not great. It had a lot of really good stuff going for it, but I think it was trying to do just a little bit more than the run time allowed for. I really would have liked to get more in-depth with the characters—Barebone and the New Salemers felt especially shafted to me. Like... who even is that lady? Why does she hate witches/wizards so much? Why is she such a bitch? Maybe there were explanatory details that I missed, but that's kind of my point: I would've liked a little more time to expand on these things.

I also wanted more information about all the marvelous creatures we got to meet so briefly. I honestly wouldn't have minded more romping around New York catching escaped beasties. We could have done something new instead of going after the niffler a second time, even. Yeah, he was adorable, but still.

I'm not entirely clear on what the heck Grindelwald was doing there, either. Not in New York in general, I totally get that he showed up because of the Obscurial and that he probably knew a thing or two about them thanks to Arianna, but how was he able to get into what looked like a fairly high position in MACUSA coming fresh from causing mayhem over in Germany (if it was Germany)? Was there a real Graves whose place he took, or what? And why did he go to all the trouble himself? Does Grindelwald work alone, or does he have followers who might have gone in his place? Inquiring Minds Want To Know!

Also, I love Jacob and I think it's totally bogus that he got himself neuralyzed Obliviated at the end. Did he decide he'd gotten in over his head? Was he worried about making trouble for his new friends? I don't know! We didn't have nearly enough time to get to know him, and I'mma pout about it. Hmph.

Just... so many questions. o.o Hopefully the next movie will answer some of them.

~Neshomeh

Despite the name, I am not actually an Orwell fan. As I said before, Orwell is my name, and I see no reason not to use it.

Things I do enjoy: Final Fantasy, Warhammmer 40k, Dungeons and Dragons, Six of Crows, Terry Pratchett, Neil Gaiman, and Deep Space 9, among other things.

I find the sue slaying in mildly poor taste, I must admit, but I rather enjoy the bad slash works, especially the works of Poor Cynic and Trojanhorse.

And the reason I don't buy it is because you're not stupid. You knew exactly how your post would be taken and you are now showing up - with the moniker Orwell, seriously, subtlety is a dying art - to complain about the fact that we don't have an active and empowered moderator class.

It is my personal belief that if we did so, you'd be long gone.

I don't buy what you're selling, and I've seen enough mock-contrition in my life to know it when it posts in the one community left that doesn't let me let it down. You have nothing positive to add and are merely trying to stir the pot for the sake of it. To reiterate Ix's point:-

DO NOT FEED THE TROLLS.

Then why are you so invested in how it's being run? Even if you have been a lurker for quite a while, you haven't actually taken part in it before. For someone who is unaffected by the moderation here, you seem very interested in it.

More to the point, what else interests you about the community? What kind of fandoms do you like? Is there anything that brings you here other than the current drama?

I would like to remind people that pretending to engage in reasonable debate while riling everybody up is still a form of trolling, and Orwell has shown themselves to be less than trustworthy.

I'm glad it's not just me. I definitely agree that it should have been thread-nuked, and I agree with the decision to wipe Toroll's posts as soon as they appear, but at the same time my first reaction is always a little voice of "But the information!" Even when the thread is become pointless.

"Admins make excellent janitors and terrible dictators" - Wandering Critic

That's eight years ago, at this point ( Juliette plays the oldbie card!), but the sentiment still holds true, imo. When we recovered the admin account, we realized the terrible powers it contained, and had a long discussion about how to preserve the creative-anarchist community we'd built without it.

I can recall exactly one post which the Nameless Admin edited- someone, appearing under a new name and questioning the community and its structure (not unlike yourself!) used a fairly nasty slur in the process, and the Nameless Admin removed said slur and signed the change. That was it. The discussion continued.

And, to pose a question in return, how would this be different in a more conventionally moderated board? There would still be someone with the authority to do whatever they willed to posts and users, they would just display that authority on their sleeve rather than it being something that is only picked up when needed. Even if we built a forum without such a role, someone would still have the database login- and then you've traded an adminity that can be given to anyone to one that can only be used by the technologically adept.

For years and years, we had a community that was both incredibly vibrant and also resistant to trolls by its very nature. And you know what? I think we still do. All we need the Nameless Admin for is janitorial work.

I'm personally not opposed to actual moderation.

I also think we're doing fine without it.

I also think the people with the keys to the Board are fine, trustworthy people who had proved as much over many years of membership before the idea of the Nameless Admin was conceived, and have never done anything to abuse that power since.

It just doesn't seem worth the drama to me.

That said, if members of the Board who have participated under this system have actual grievances with it that they'd like to discuss, they should absolutely bring them up, but popping up out of lurkerdom just to complain at us doesn't seem in particularly good faith to me.

~Neshomeh

Data's gone, Toroll's posts are whacked every time he pokes his head aboveground and you're just kicking a dead horse. Also the Nameless Admin system works pretty well, so I don't see a reason to change it.
Surely you have better things to do with your time?

Slotting into much the same space as your Yetis, we now have the Pure Land: a Buddhist nation behind the Saffron Curtain. In my mind, a disproportionately large chunk of the population have taken various vows of silence, making it a rather creepy place to visit. (That's probably the Saffron Curtain in question, actually.)

Hmm... so we've got three explicitly Christian nations in North America, an Islamic Caliphate, at least one Jewish state (possibly two, if Israel-Jordan counts), and now a Buddhist supernation. That's four of the Big Six*; I bet Hinduism and Sikhism feel left out.

*In Religious Education in Britain, we look into these six religions. I'm not sure what the selection criteria were - I doubt Judaism would qualify under 'biggest', but maybe it's in for historical reasons. Or maybe they just picked six that people would recognise the names of. Either way, it's been valuable knowledge, even if I can't quite remember all of the Sikh Ks.**

**There's the knife, the long hair, the underwear thing, the comb... look, it's been a long time since RE!***

***The fifth is a metal bracelet. Thanks, Wikipedia.

hS

Which is lovely, it is. I love being helped out, personally. Lovely stuff. Always nice. Once somebody held the door open for me, and, let me tell you, I was more flattered than a pancake in an anvil-dropping factory.

But, really, even assuming you've got completely benevolent intentions, is this honestly the best way to go around with it?
Because, at least from my perspective, you're a total stranger, jumping in after a troll's hijinks (said troll quite fond of impersonating people,) posting an incredibly Toroll-esque (no offence, of course, but it was the sort of thing within the fellow's utility Toroll-belt) first post, and then suggesting a pretty decently large revamp of a system we've been (I assume, anyway) fine with for a while.

Now, I'm not necessarily saying you're wrong, or that your ideas are irrelevant and ought to get scrunched up and popped in the bin, but do you get where I'm coming from? Because, even the last one, on it's own, would be a bit weird, y'know?
You're not selling yourself very well, is what I'm saying.

Anyways, I hope you're not one've those trolls. It'd shake things up, anyway.
And, er. Welcome, I suppose!