Traveller-digest     Friday, September 17 1999     Volume 1999 : Number 1102



(R)1996. Traveller is a registered trademark of FarFuture Enterprises.
All rights reserved.

The following topics are covered in this digest:

re: Wiring Plans
Deckplans, lost messages and T5
RE: wiring plans
Question: Alternate Uses of Traveller Methods
Re: boing?
Re: OT: Moon Blasted Out of Orbit.
RE: Deckplans, lost messages and T5
CT to G:T Critter conversion
RE: boing?
Re: Subsidized Merchants and Fighters
Re: boing?
Re: Re: boing?
re: MT Deckplan Queries
RE: Subsidized Merchants and Fighters
RE: boing?
RE: boing?
Shipboard atmosphere cracking (was re: MT Deckplan Queries)
Humour?
Re: OT: Moon Blasted Out of Orbit.
More Art
Sunbeard's Legacy
Ending the Rim War (was Acceptable Battle Losses)
Re: CT to G:T Critter conversion
Re: GIF's & copyright

----------------------------------------------------------------------

Date: Fri, 17 Sep 1999 09:42:19 -0400
From: Walter Smith <SmithW@HARTWICK.EDU>
Subject: re: Wiring Plans

Rupert Boleyn wrote:
>>>>>>>>>
I'm currently working as a cleaner, and on one job the week before I 
started they had a big upgrade and cleanout. They threw out a good 
half dozen old 3/486's, in their cases, with drives (all small) and 
network cards. Apparently they were throwing out all their ISA 
networks cards in favour of PCI. When I asked what they'd done with 
them I was told "They all went to the dump, it's not like they were 
any use." Grrr.
>>>>>>>>>>>
A friend of mine worked a temp job at a New York city Merchant Bank
while it was merging with another bank a few years ago. They combined
their computer services departments - well, actually they eliminated one
and put the people in the other.

He took a carload of computers, network cards, modems, software
(still in shrinkwrap) and other goodies out of the dumpster, as did 
his co-workers. The company dumped it not because it was worthless,
but because to dispose of it *any* other way - even by donating it
to a charity - would have required the company to inventory it and
store it. The cost of those activities was enough that the company
simply decided to buy all new computers and forgo salvage on the old.

ObTrav: Take your Free Trader to the dump on a TL12 world. I'll bet
you'll find workable TL11 items that will be well worth the cost of moving
them to a TL8 world...if the local trash haulers haven't beaten you
to it and already ship the stuff themselves.

Walt Smith

------------------------------

Date: Fri, 17 Sep 1999 09:44:05 -0400
From: "Sword Worlder" <swordworlder@clinic.net>
Subject: Deckplans, lost messages and T5

What a time for the list to be down.  I was going to wave my arms around and
tell everyone that I just got a bunch of Seeker deckplans and other MT stuff
for The Traveller Trader ( http://www.downport.com/ttt/ ).  Has anyone
contacted Rob Miracle?  Do we know how to do that?  He said the server
sometimes gets full and needs to be flushed out (or something).

On a completely different topic, I keep seeing these little programs for the
Palm computers and I was wondering if anyone on the list does programming
for those silly things.  I was thinking that a tiny suite of programs for
Refs and players should be published along with T5.  Any thoughts on this
idea?  Are these palm computers powerful enough to keep tables and character
stats and spreadsheets and stuff? Hmmm.......

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
The TRAVELLER Domain
http://www.downport.com
Colin Michael, WebDev

------------------------------

Date: Fri, 17 Sep 1999 14:55:05 +0100
From: "Trevor, Peter" <Peter.Trevor@rb.cwplc.com>
Subject: RE: wiring plans

On 15 Sep 99, at 10:18, Leonard Erickson wrote:

> *Never* underestimate the stupidity of people doing an
> upgrade/overhaul. Unless *explicitly* instructed to save
> items being replaced, they will treat them as "worthless
> junk" no matter *how* much they are actually worth.

Remind's me of two stories:

I had a friend who worked for a telecom company.  When they threw
out their old 486 and low spec Pentium PCs a  manager  there  got
this idea that his company could be liable for defects if  people
got them second hand.  So all  the  old  PCs  were  placed  in  a
crusher and destroyed.  Not only that but a security guard had to
watch over them while they were being crushed in case  any  staff
members tried to take one.

Then there was the  farce  at  BBC  Merchandising.  They've  been
publishing Dr Who TV episodes on VHS (a big money maker for them)
and after (supposedly) getting all  material  still  in  the  BBC
Archieve they've been searching the world for  missing  episodes.
When (later) a guy from BBC Merchandising  visited  the  Archieve
building he saw to his horror a staff member spooling out old  Dr
Who video tape into a skip.  He asked what was going on  and  the
Archieve staff member looked blankly and said "its just old black
and white material, no one's interested in that!"

ObTrav:  IMTU  the  new  "Model  800"   Suleiman   class   Type-S
scout/couriers don't have the air filter problem mentioned in CT.
Imagine the irritation of the PCs (who own  an  older  Model  700
Suleiman class Type-S) when they find their  local  starport  has
destroyed all the old replacement air filters because "they're no
longer needed".  Now they have to go for the permanent fix  which
reduces their cargo space.

Regards PLST
"Rome wasn't burned in a day."

------------------------------

Date: Fri, 17 Sep 1999 09:25:25 -0500
From: "Pat Connaughton" <pconn@i1.net>
Subject: Question: Alternate Uses of Traveller Methods

Over the past decade or so, our gaming group has been using a peibald mix of
CT & MT with a light overlay or various other canonical materials. Lately,
we've been alternating our "normal" traveller with another campaign set in a
completely different era using the traveller character and combat systems.

Has this worked out for anyone else?

Also, has anyone done any systematic creation of alternative
universes/gaming settings utilitizing the Traveller System.

Please advise
Thanks
Pat Connaughton
ICQ # 2535086

------------------------------

Date: Thu, 16 Sep 1999 08:04:05
From: "Douglas E. Berry" <gridlore@pop.mindspring.com>
Subject: Re: boing?

At 12:47 AM 9/16/1999 EDT, you wrote:
>Nothing in more than a day?

I imagine the massive hurricane might have something to do with that....
- -- 

Douglas E. Berry       gridlore@mindspring.com
http://gridlore.home.mindspring.com/index.html

------------------------------

Date: Thu, 16 Sep 1999 08:08:22
From: "Douglas E. Berry" <gridlore@pop.mindspring.com>
Subject: Re: OT: Moon Blasted Out of Orbit.

At 08:28 AM 9/15/1999 PST, you wrote:

>The Sci-Fi channel *really* missed a bet here. They could have shown
>the first episode of Space:1999 "as it happened". :-)
>
>In fact, it'd be nice to have a list of various "future" events from SF
>stories (and the occasional "mainstream" book/movie) that are "going to
>happen" in the 2000-2050 time frame. 

Until I got sick, I was planning on spending my vacation next year in
Krakow, Poland.  Say around 1 June 2000...
- -- 

Douglas E. Berry       gridlore@mindspring.com
http://gridlore.home.mindspring.com/index.html

------------------------------

Date: Fri, 17 Sep 1999 15:35:09 +0100
From: "Trevor, Peter" <Peter.Trevor@rb.cwplc.com>
Subject: RE: Deckplans, lost messages and T5

Sword Worlder wrote:
> On a completely different topic, I keep seeing these little
> programs for the Palm computers and I was wondering if anyone
> on the list does programming for those silly things.  I was
> thinking that a tiny suite of programs for Refs and players
> should be published along with T5.  Any thoughts on this idea?
> Are these palm computers powerful enough to keep tables and
> character stats and spreadsheets and stuff? Hmmm.......

Or, how about WinCE?  Anybody got any  handy  RPG  utilities  for
pocket PCs?

Regards PLST
"Rome wasn't burned in a day."

------------------------------

Date: Fri, 17 Sep 1999 10:50:36 -0400 (EDT)
From: William Prankard <cmdrx@magicnet.net>
Subject: CT to G:T Critter conversion

Greetings

I was wondering if anyone has figured out a way to convert Classic
Traveller critter stats into GURPS stats.
I just recently got a copy of Chamax Plague off of e-bay and been wanting
to run that using GURPS:Traveller.

Thanks in advance.

\\  // Commander X
 \\//  CEO X-TEK Industries of Deneb, LIC
T E K  Starship Contractor & High Energy Weapons Research
 //\\  http://www.magicnet.net/~cmdrx/xtek/xtek.htm
//  \\ 0608 D557777-A kk- va+ so+ zh+ da+ A723

------------------------------

Date: Fri, 17 Sep 1999 15:50:29 +0100
From: "Trevor, Peter" <Peter.Trevor@rb.cwplc.com>
Subject: RE: boing?

Douglas E. Berry wrote:
> At 12:47 AM 9/16/1999 EDT, you wrote:
> > Nothing in more than a day?
>
> I imagine the massive hurricane might have something to do with
> that....

That's right, kiddies: emails  have  almost  no  weight  and  are
easily blow around in strong winds.  To ensure your emails travel
through cyberspace safely try  anchoring  them  down  with  heavy
multimedia attachments.  :-^

Regards PLST
Thank god its Friday!

------------------------------

Date: Fri, 17 Sep 1999 08:05:04 -0700
From: shudson@lightspeed.bc.ca (Steven Hudson)
Subject: Re: Subsidized Merchants and Fighters

>From: Phil Kitching <postmark.design@btinternet.com>
>Subject: Re: Subsidized Merchants and Fighters
...
>But if you bolt an IHF to your subbie, expect no one without some
>serious modifications to attack you.

You consider a lobotomy to be a _modification_? You must be a harsh ref :)

------------------------------

Date: Fri, 17 Sep 1999 08:05:37 -0700
From: Bruce Johnson <johnson@pharmacy.arizona.edu>
Subject: Re: boing?

Trevor, Peter wrote:
> 
> Douglas E. Berry wrote:
> > At 12:47 AM 9/16/1999 EDT, you wrote:
> > > Nothing in more than a day?
> >
> > I imagine the massive hurricane might have something to do with
> > that....
> 
> That's right, kiddies: emails  have  almost  no  weight  and  are
> easily blow around in strong winds.  To ensure your emails travel
> through cyberspace safely try  anchoring  them  down  with  heavy
> multimedia attachments.  :-^

I'm not getting bounces from mails to the list, so the server's up, just
nothing's getting through to the list...:-(

------------------------------

Date: Fri, 17 Sep 1999 08:13:47 -0700 (PDT)
From: "Zane H. Healy" <healyzh@aracnet.com>
Subject: Re: Re: boing?

Well, I got one copy of this message, since it was sent to both me and the
list, I suspect I should have gotten two.  However, I am seeing a little
traffic from the list in my mailbox at the moment.  Doesn't look like much,
but since I'm telnet'd in reading with 'elm' instead of on my main system
using Eudora, I'm not sure.

				Zane

> 
> I got a digest shortly after sending that message, but the digest didn't 
> contain my message. I sent in a response to one of the messages in the digest 
> this morning, but have not yet seen another digest. Either the list's 
> digesting tool is dispeptic or outgoing communication is sporadic due to the 
> hurricane.  Are the non-digest subscribers seeing anything?
> 
> GC
> 
> 
> In a message dated 9/16/99 6:38:08 PM, Zane wrote:
> 
> >>Nothing in more than a day?
> >>
> >>GC
> >
> >This is wierd, I got this message you sent to the list this morning.  Also
> >I got a couple other messages tonite, but I've had basically nothing today.
> >Also yesterdays traffic was VERY, VERY light.  Oops, actually yesterdays
> >traffic was dead after 0014.
> >
> >I'd be blaming my ISP if not for your message.  I'm currently investigating
> >why one of the mailing lists I'm on, and is physically located a few miles
> >away, doesn't seem to be sending traffic either.
> >
> >               Zane
> 

------------------------------

Date: Thu, 16 Sep 1999 19:28:19 CEST
From: "Patrik Holmstrm" <glappkaeft@hotmail.com>
Subject: re: MT Deckplan Queries

>I'll see you the CO and raise you a heat problem:
>
>All the air you breathe now has to be run through a fusion plant and >have 
>lots of energy blasted at it. Won't it come out of the "brute->force" 
>cracker as a superheated gas?
>
>How do you cool it down to breatheableness? Can the radiators on the
>ship handle that kind of heat load in addition to that of the power >plant, 
>solar heating, etc?

Since you are not producing any extra energy the radiators are running at 
normal load. However if you cool the gas somewhere where the AC isn't built 
to handle extra heat you could have a local heat build-up.

<Assumption IMTU>
Ships are air-conditioned to prevent heat build-up (in closed rooms, centre 
of the ship etc.). Areas like engineering, workshops, weapons and hangars 
have heavy duty cooling while staterooms, the bridge etc. have a lesser 
degree of cooling.

All this nice heat is then transported (at huge efficiencies) to the 
radiators (that are even more efficient) and is radiated away from the ship. 
This system is not perfect however and especially engineers can literary 
work in their shirtsleeves. Ship-atmosphere tend to have a temperature 
between 20-30 degrees Celsius (cold end - staterooms/bridge, hot end - 
engineering).

So each room is rated at a number of Watts equal to what the AC can handle.

Patrik Holmstrm <glappkaeft@hotmail.com>

______________________________________________________
Get Your Private, Free Email at http://www.hotmail.com

------------------------------

Date: Fri, 17 Sep 1999 16:12:48 +0100
From: "Trevor, Peter" <Peter.Trevor@rb.cwplc.com>
Subject: RE: Subsidized Merchants and Fighters

Phil Kitching wrote:
> But if you bolt an IHF to your subbie, expect no one without
> some serious modifications to attack you.

IIRC Oberlindes Lines bolted an AHL to a subbie ... and still had
problems with Vargr corsairs!

Regards PLST
(Can't be bothered to do a tag line)

------------------------------

Date: Fri, 17 Sep 1999 11:23:29 -0400
From: Walter Smith <SmithW@HARTWICK.EDU>
Subject: RE: boing?

- ------ =_NextPart_000_01BF00FF.11EF0200
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"
Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit

The keyboard has survived. The stack of internetworking magazines
beside it, however...

LOL!!

Walt

- -----Original Message-----
From:	Trevor, Peter [SMTP:Peter.Trevor@rb.cwplc.com]
Sent:	Friday, September 17, 1999 10:50 AM
To:	'traveller@lists.imagiconline.com'
Subject:	RE: boing?

Douglas E. Berry wrote:
> At 12:47 AM 9/16/1999 EDT, you wrote:
> > Nothing in more than a day?
>
> I imagine the massive hurricane might have something to do with
> that....

That's right, kiddies: emails  have  almost  no  weight  and  are
easily blow around in strong winds.  To ensure your emails travel
through cyberspace safely try  anchoring  them  down  with  heavy
multimedia attachments.  :-^

Regards PLST
Thank god its Friday!
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------------------------------

Date: Fri, 17 Sep 1999 16:22:32 +0100
From: "Trevor, Peter" <Peter.Trevor@rb.cwplc.com>
Subject: RE: boing?

Bruce Johnson wrote:
> I'm not getting bounces from mails to the list, so the server's
> up, just nothing's getting through to the list...:-(

I think its getting better (I hope):  worst  delay  recently  has
been 21h 37m for a round trip to the TML and back.  Last  message
I sent was a mere 13m.

Regards PLST

------------------------------

Date: Fri, 17 Sep 1999 11:31:05 -0400
From: Walter Smith <SmithW@HARTWICK.EDU>
Subject: Shipboard atmosphere cracking (was re: MT Deckplan Queries)

Patrick   wrote:
>>>>>>>>
>How do you cool it down to breatheableness? Can the radiators on the
>ship handle that kind of heat load in addition to that of the power >plant, 
>solar heating, etc?

Since you are not producing any extra energy the radiators are running at 
normal load. However if you cool the gas somewhere where the AC isn't built 
to handle extra heat you could have a local heat build-up.
>>>>>>>
The radiators will be running at normal load, but the gases are being
vented to the internal areas of the ship - in effect, instead of the power
plant radiating excess heat into space through its own efficient radiators,
it's radiating the heat into the ship's habitable compartments. That 
should require some good gear to move the heat to the external radiators.

Walt Smith

------------------------------

Date: Fri, 17 Sep 1999 09:03:32 -0700
From: shudson@lightspeed.bc.ca (Steven Hudson)
Subject: Humour?

>About the Author 
>     Thomas Sowell, author of several books on history, economics, and
>     other subjects, is a senior fellow at the Hoover Institution, Stanford
>...
>     that carry his nationally syndicated column. Details of his writings and
>     career are available on the Internet at www.sowell.com. 

  Somewhat humourously the link mistakenly leads to "Sowell Todd Laffitte 
Beard & Watson, L.L." - a law firm. Oops. Hopefully the 3I doesn't rely
on blind e-commo...

  ObTrav - so, by 5650 AD has the paperless office finally arrived :)

------------------------------

Date: Fri, 17 Sep 1999 09:09:54 -0700
From: Bruce Johnson <johnson@pharmacy.arizona.edu>
Subject: Re: OT: Moon Blasted Out of Orbit.

Douglas E. Berry wrote:
> 

> Until I got sick, I was planning on spending my vacation next year in
> Krakow, Poland.  Say around 1 June 2000...

UNTIL you got sick!!!??? Man, deciding to vacation when and where WWIII
starts is pretty sick in and of itself!

BTW, there's this working steam locomotive on down the Vistula, a
ways...;-)

- -- 
Bruce Johnson
University of Arizona
College of Pharmacy
Information Technology Group

------------------------------

Date: Fri, 17 Sep 1999 09:13:18 -0700
From: Bruce Johnson <johnson@pharmacy.arizona.edu>
Subject: More Art

This seemed to get eaten along the way...sorry if you get it twice

Might as well inflict^H^H^H^H expose the TML to my 3D artistry...

Only one shot right now, of the fabled Orrimot hippie-starship
'Furthur':

Not completely done yet, either, I have to figure out how I want to do
the hamstercages, and I'm not pleased with the texturing, though it's
much better than my first attempts!

http://www.u.arizona.edu/~bjohnson/traveller.html

Click on the Traveller Art link on the bottom. It's a big pic, about
100k in size. I'll get thumbnails when I have more to show off.

More on the Orrimot, and an earlier rendering is available in the
Adventure seeds section, under "The Tender" contents page.

- -- 
Bruce Johnson
University of Arizona
College of Pharmacy
Information Technology Group

------------------------------

Date: Fri, 17 Sep 1999 11:15:08 -0500
From: "Robert Eaglestone" <eaglesto@nortelnetworks.com>
Subject: Sunbeard's Legacy

The Thon found the bomb after his morning shower.  His servants were towelling
him off while he listened to the pleasant wheedling of the tree krakens in his royal
arboretum, when his augmented ears noticed an almost subliminal beeping noise --
somewhere in his sumptuous quarters.  The noise had not been there earlier, he
was sure.

The Thon sent a young slave with a summons to take to the court Wizir, who
always made it a point to be awake before the Thon.  Now shod in soft groat-leather
slippers, the Thon padded under a stone arch, out of the bathhouse, down a
colonnaded hall, paved and lined with streaked coral-marble, mostly open to the
view of the coastline of this palatial island.  Young Stage Trees studded the island's
north slope, looking like Aslan-sized cinnamon sticks frothed at the base with tufts
of soft yellow-green down.  They were interspersed with tall, wispy Trings, plants
with three boles joining two meters up, and continuing as one to soar another ten
meters, before bursting into a wide splendour of muted red foliage and pale, fist-sized
fruit.  The Trings were imported to this world within the last generation, and were
planted specifically for this vacation house.  Their progeny grew in low clumps here and
there, scattered from the foothills all the way down to the very shore, where they clung
tenaciously to available hunks of turf.

A cool breeze offered up the fresh scent of the Trings to the Thon, who accepted
them gladly.  Upon reaching the courtroom he contrived to have windholes fitted in
the court itself, with controls -- shutters, he reminded himself -- to block the holes
when desired.  Servants swung the massive marble doors on their precise pivots, and
the Thon entered to the court musicians' sithars and githars playing a deep and sincere
harmony.

There stood the Wizir, dressed in Imperial high uniform, platinum buttons glinting,
boots polished to a high gloss, and his strange, pleated pants.  His customs are strange
ones, thought the Thon.  A servant began announcing His Thonness' Holy Presence, but
the Thon interrupted before all that started up.  "Ah, my Wizir, I desire your counsel over
a new matter."  The Wizir wore no expression.

"And what would your Eminence esteem my counsel for?" replied the Wizir
diplomatically.  The silver sunburst on his jacket shone slightly; he paid the extra credits
for the bioluminescent patch.  It seemed to impress the Thon as well.  With aplomb, the
Thon pronounced: "Wizir, there is a bomb in my quarters."

The Wizir hoped not.  "Shall I look into the matter, then?" he ventured.  "Of course,
Imperial stooge!" cried the Thon with feeling.  "We must defuse it immediately!  No
doubt an enemy has contrived to destroy my person and bring my people to ruin!
Yes: we must find this device, and then begin plotting immediately to make sorry
the responsible party.  At once!  Follow!"  With this outburst the Thon scurried out
of the court and back down the hallway.  It was all the Wizir could do to catch up
with him and slow him down.  "After all, " he said, "if it really is a bomb, you don't
want to be near it, do you?"  The Thon thought about it, and reluctantly agreed to
wait until the Wizir fetched some devices from his chamber.  The Thon noted the
tools with disdain; the real palace had devices better than these toys.

It was relatively easy to find.

***

"It is not a bomb", said the Wizir finally.  A few servants and the Thon were
clustered around the seated Wizir, who had set devices around the beeping
case and attached probes to its surface.  The case was the size of a small
brick -- easily big enough to house a bomb that could level the building --
matte black, with glossy traces covering two surfaces.  It was to these traces
that the Wizir attached his probes.

"What do you mean?  Of course it's a bomb!  I'm royalty!  That's how we do
things!"  protested the Thon.  He jiggled a flabby arm at the Wizir.  "Our two --
no, three -- three methods of statecraft: fear, pain, and -- oh, I'm all flustered,
I can't remember them now.  But I tell you, it SOUNDED like a bomb."  He
frowned menacingly at the Wizir.  "Why isn't it a bomb?"

The Wizir remained expressionless.  "Because it's a message."  Before the Thon
could gather a withering reply, the Wizir sent an activation code to the brick,
from which sprang a human.  The Thon issued a strangled cry.  The Wizir noted
that the Thon didn't get many holographic messages.

Before them stood a heavyset man, hale and robust, with a full golden beard
and shoulder-length hair, braided in well-managed and bejewelled locks.  He
looked every bit of his Danish heritage.  Keen, penetrating eyes and an aura
of relaxed readiness gave him a hunter's, and a metal hat with horns poking out
of them made him look every bit of a barbarian.  However, his dress indicated
that he operated a starship; this was no flatlander.  He seemed to fix the Thon
in his steely gaze and hold him transfixed, as if sizing up a side of tree ox.  The
Wizir's expression became slightly cold, and he spoke with venom.

"Sunbeard."

Then the image laughed, at once merry yet powerful.  The Wizir's devices jumped
at his laugh, and seemed to try to skitter off the table and hide.  Then he spoke.

"Greetings to the Thon!  I just thought I'd thank your royal person for your services of
late.  It's not every day I can rely on such faithful servants such as yours, in such a
blessed kingdom as yours.  And though you might protest our goods, believe me that
they are in no way meant to belittle your free, selfless grace to myself and my crew.
Think of them as a return gift from us.  I do hope you like the groatle slippers.  Farewell.
We shall probably never meet again."  The brick went quiet, possibly for good.  The Wizir
stared at the Thon's feet, and the Thon shifted uncomfortably, color rising to his cheeks.

------------------------------

Date: Fri, 17 Sep 1999 09:20:22 -0700
From: shudson@lightspeed.bc.ca (Steven Hudson)
Subject: Ending the Rim War (was Acceptable Battle Losses)

>From: "Rupert Boleyn" <rboleyn@paradise.net.nz>
>Subject: Re: Acceptable Battle Losses
...
>>   My suggestion would be that the end of the war was clearly a political
>> artefact, and not an inevitable result of the military situation. If so,
...
>>   I have to wonder if some factions in the 3I (Vilani, Ilelish) maybe
>> didn't think that _another_ decade of war followed by generations of
>> military occupation of worlds prepared for protracted struggle might not
>> be a good precedent to set?
>
>How about because the Vilani didn't want to see all those nasty 
>Solomani back in the Imperium? The original 'integration' of the 
>Terrans include as a part of its cost a very strong Solomani influence 
>at court. Given the obvious economic power of the Solmani sphere 
>who long would it have taken them to regain that position if they were 
>reincorporated, even if by conquest?

  Depends on their status within (/under?) the 3I. It's sort of unclear
what the economic standing of the ex-SAR would be, as it seems unlikely
that the Sphere would just roll over and go back to playing good little
Impy citizens if they thought that they could hold out for a settlement.
If another decade (+!) of warfare is required, what will the damage to
the infrastructure be? Certainly all the off-world trade patterns will
be ruined, and Imperial funds for reconstruction would not be very likely
to be forthcoming.

  And even if much of the damage is repaired after a century, how likely
that the 3I would even think of allowing anything like a regional lobby
to re-emerge? The Party ruled for centuries in many cases - how do you
"de-nazify" that political culture*?

  * by taking a leaf from "1984", of course, but the 3I isn't supposed
to behave that way. I wonder how many private travellers were allowed
through in the first decade of the military occupation of Terra?

        Steven Hudson

------------------------------

Date: Fri, 17 Sep 1999 12:19:20 EDT
From: JFZeigler@aol.com
Subject: Re: CT to G:T Critter conversion

In a message dated 9/17/99 10:52:08 AM Eastern Daylight Time, 
cmdrx@magicnet.net writes:

> I was wondering if anyone has figured out a way to convert Classic
>  Traveller critter stats into GURPS stats.
>  I just recently got a copy of Chamax Plague off of e-bay and been wanting
>  to run that using GURPS:Traveller.

You could take a stab at it using the animal-design rules in First In.  I set 
those
up to parallel (and extend somewhat) the animal-design sequence in LBB 2.
If I remember right the Chamax "bugs" shouldn't be too hard to convert over.

- ----------
Jon F. Zeigler: Mathematician, computer geek, amateur historian, freelance
writer, occasional scribbler of bad poetry
"For any statement, no matter how innocuous, there exists a nonempty
set of people who will take offense at it."

------------------------------

Date: Thu, 16 Sep 1999 10:24:31 -0700
From: Evyn MacDude <wmacdude@worldnet.att.net>
Subject: Re: GIF's & copyright

Leonard Erickson wrote:

> In mail you write:
>
> > If you're ideological opposed to a company getting its proper due for
> > developing a standard format that has proven itself amazingly useful for the
> > storage and transfer of indexed color images, well go right ahead.
>
> They didn't develop the format. CIS developed the format, and
> essentially made a gift of it to the computer community.
>
> What Unisys did was develop a compression technique, ans then *publish*
> it WITHOUT TELLING ANYONE THEY WERE FILING A PATENT ON IT.
>
> That's like going to a party with big buffet spread and they getting
> handed a bill for what you've eaten when you are getting ready to go
> home.
>
> It may be *legal* to charge for LZW compression, but it sure as hell
> wasn't *ethical* to let people *think* it was another "open standard"
> and then turn around and charge for it after it'd gotten embedded in
> all sorts of products.
>
> It's hard to get much sleazier than that.

Only one thing to say.

This is Unisys.

- --
Evyn...
Wish I was a better person...   with more control...
Turn the other cheek...   and when the punch comes, roll...
Wish I was a kinder person...   could see the others pain...
Not over react, not judge...   and shrug off the spreadin' stain.
Damaged, by John Shirley/Donald Roeser, BOC, Heaven Forbid 1998.

------------------------------

End of Traveller-digest V1999 #1102
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