Quick Fire Questions (A Place to Ask and Answer)

[mosaix]

I imagine the majority of the world's population would get by well enough on rice.

I think, I maybe wrong, that both wheat and rice are of the grass 'family', so if an engineered virus was to wipe out grass...

 

[alchemist]

Thanks for the further info, Hex and mosaix.
Re pain meds: there would be large variation depending on route of administration, rate of absorption of the meds, whether it needs to be metabolised to work etc. If you had a character most pain-free half an hour after taking oral medication, it would be plausible.

 

[TheDustyZebra]

Thanks, HJ! That ought to make it work just fine, then.

As to pain medication, I'm not an expert, but I would not find it out of line if the character were mostly pain-free shortly after mealtimes; though there are medications that say NOT to take them with food, I think that most heavy-duty things want to be taken at mealtimes.

 

[MstrTal]

So no one has an inkling how large a corporation has to be to cause world wide depression by disappearing?

 

[HareBrain]

The size of Lehman Brothers?

 

[TheDustyZebra]

I think the corporation you're thinking of would be along the lines of the Shipstone company in Heinlein's Friday. I would hazard a guess that Procter & Gamble comes close, or Pepsi. The sheer number of brands under those umbrellas will stagger the mind, and if they all suddenly disappeared it would definitely cause a ripple, if not a wave. (I haven't paid any attention in years, so I won't guarantee that those companies haven't sold off half their holdings in the meantime, but there's undoubtedly an equivalent if so.)

 

[MstrTal]

Hmmm thanks!

Plus on the upside I never did like the taste of Pepsi.

 

[alchemist]

On the rice/ wheat dying issue: I read a book at school called "Death of Grass" which may have been written by John Christopher. You may know all about it already, but I haven't heard of it since school and it might be useful so I thought I'd mention it.

"Might be useful"? I've only gone and bought it! Apart from the research, looks like an excellent read too.

 

[Hex]

"Might be useful"? I've only gone and bought it! Apart from the research, looks like an excellent read too.

Brilliant! It stayed with me, which is more than I can say for a lot of the stuff we read at school.
I'm so suggestible. I've just reserved it from the library. I will need to see if it's as good as I (think I) remember.

 

[Mouse]

I have a question then. (And I'm sure I've asked this, or something similar before, but I've forgotten)... Is it ok to mention Google/Facebook etc, in your work? And I think I had something else to ask, but again, I've forgotten.

 

[alchemist]

I don't know the answer, but have another question. In an army, how would a Private address a Sergeant? Sarge, Sergeant, Sir? (I doubt the latter). I'll accept an answer based upon any army, except Salvation.

 

[goldhawk]

I have a question then. (And I'm sure I've asked this, or something similar before, but I've forgotten)... Is it ok to mention Google/Facebook etc, in your work? And I think I had something else to ask, but again, I've forgotten.

Yes, you can call anything by its proper name.

I don't know the answer, but have another question. In an army, how would a Private address a Sergeant? Sarge, Sergeant, Sir? (I doubt the latter). I'll accept an answer based upon any army, except Salvation.

It depends on the army and its traditions. In some, you never call anyone but officers sir. In others, sergeants expect to be called sir; calling them sergeant would be considered too formal and insubordinate.

 

[alchemist]

I had thought it would be fairly consistent. Ah, well. How about the British army? My fictional, private, army grew out of a pan-EU force, but has a British commander.

And thanks!

 

[Mouse]

Yes, you can call anything by its proper name.

Aha. I thought you could. Ta muchly.

 

[Pyan]

In the British Army, my understanding is that, as an NCO (Non-Commissioned Officer), a sergeant is addressed as "Sarge!" or "Sergeant!", as a corporal is "Corp!" or "Corporal!"

Only commissioned officers (Lieutenant, Captain, Major, Brigadier, General, etc) are addressed as "Sir!"

 

[alchemist]

Thanks, pyan. I seem to have stumbled correctly so far, and "Corp!" gives me an idea.

 

[HareBrain]

I have another one of my steamship questions, but hopefully a quickie.

If a ship's captain wanted to stop propulsion, would the engines be kept running in a neutral gear, or would the engines be allowed to slow to a stop and the steam diverted? (In the former case I assume there would still be quite a lot of noise, in the latter case I assume almost none.) Or would it depend on how quickly he might want to get moving again?

OK, maybe not such a quickie.

 

[Droflet]

Hello HB. My understanding: If the captain simply wanted to stop the engines, that is stop the propeller (or paddles) he would order: "All stop." This would essentially keep the engine going but disengage from the drive shaft.

If he wanted to halt the momentum of the vessel: "All stop. All engines full astern." If it was an emergency perhaps adding: "All stop, emergency." Or something like that.

Hopefully there's a mariner aboard the good ship Chrons.

 

[paranoid marvin]

Unless complete silence was needed, I would be surprised if the captain would shut down the engine. Considering how long it would take to build up steam in order to start moving again, and considering the loss of control that would occur as a result of the engine being cut, I cannot think that the captain would want power cutting completey. Then again I'm not a mariner , so this is an opinion rather than a fact!

 

[HareBrain]

Thanks guys, I think you're right. Even if the boilers were kept up and the steam blown off rather than used for propulsion, it would still take time to wind the engines back up. Makes more sense just to disengage the shaft.

You'd think with the popularity of steampunk more of us would know how these things work!