Traveller-digest      Friday, October 15 1999      Volume 1999 : Number 1211



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

The following topics are covered in this digest:

Re: Annic Nova
Re: "Jump" by Sunbeard the Pirate
Re: Traveller Versions
Re: Quick astronomy question...
test
Aide De Camp Software Query
Re: Bigger ammo clips
RE: Population Growth
Re: Spraying near-c-rocks-B-gone liberally
Re: City Killing on the Cheap
Re: Population Growth
RE: Population Growth
Re: Bigger ammo clips
Re: Norris the Man
RE: Population Growth
Re: Lucan the Man...
Re Slang in Trav
The Petty States Solution ( was Lucan the Man...)
Re: Tplate v Heplar
Re War with Jump Lag
Re Battery Ships
An Open Letter
RE: Spraying near-c-rocks-B-gone liberally

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

Date: Thu, 14 Oct 1999 21:05:52 -0700
From: "Benyamene' ZeAbe' Akella" <xrp@sierratel.com>
Subject: Re: Annic Nova

>>I am not sure I am grokking this. In fact I know I'm not. Where would one
>>keep this convenient little goodie? In one's pocket?

I /was/ just teasing, it's a Beatles/AD&D Campaign thing... ;)
>
> This is based on the suggestion that most of the hydrogen used for a jump
> is used to form a normal-space "jump bubble" in jump space. If this is the
> case, the proposed stable jump bubble would be in jump space, the same
> place any ship's jump bubble is. Except a stable jump bubble doesn't
> disappear after a week and can be used again and again.

OK, I got most of that, but are you saying this natural bubble would be
following you around in real space at  a parallel point in jump space? How
does one keep it from making you be in jump? Chirping Elf not understand.
Ugh. :)

////////////////////////////////////////
Akella 0609 C654474-6 S kk+ hi++ as+ va+ dr+ da+ so@ zh- vi++  A523
IMTU tc++ ?t4 ru@ 3i+(-) c+ jt au@ st- ls+ pi+ ta@ he+

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

Date: Thu, 14 Oct 1999 21:08:07 -0700
From: "Benyamene' ZeAbe' Akella" <xrp@sierratel.com>
Subject: Re: "Jump" by Sunbeard the Pirate

> "Jump" by Sunbeard the Pirate
> (sung to the tune of "Jump" as performed by Van Halen)

I'm dying here, this is far too funny. 

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

Date: Fri, 15 Oct 1999 00:29:02 +0100
From: SD Mooney <dom@cybergoths.u-net.com>
Subject: Re: Traveller Versions

John Wood <John@elvw.demon.co.uk> writes:
>"I'm sure everyone has their own preferences, but that is _all_ it is, a
>preference.   GURPS is in no way inferior to MT, it is just _different_
>with its own faults and avantages...." (David Summers)
>
>"Personally, I feel the rules are a non-issue." (Dom Mooney)
>
>Right, now we can get on with our near-C rock throwing...

Looking back, my last post was a little tetchy, perhaps approaching a flame.

Apologies to David if it offended.

And thanks to John for a subtly phrased 'Behave yourselves'.

Dom

- ----------Dom Mooney---dom@cybergoths.u-net.com------------
                       MiB - Marines in Battledress
   "Protecting the Imperium from the Scum of the Galaxy"
Rob Prior's Mac software @ http://www.bits.org.uk/ 

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

Date: Thu, 14 Oct 1999 20:19:58 -0500
From: Black ICE <wombat@premier.net>
Subject: Re: Quick astronomy question...

Charles Collin wrote:
> 
> ...is the parsec based on a baseline of 1 AU or 2 AU?  I thought the
> latter, but working it out I get a value of 1 AU.  Why would this be the
> case since (I thought) distances to stars were measured by taking two
> views from opposite sides of the sun?  Am I just messing up the math?

_Everyone_ knows that a parsec is based on one hex.  ;-)

(Unless you're playing _Imperium_, in which case it's two hexes....)

- -- 
AuricTech Shipyards Journeyman Gearhead
"Gold-Plated [tm] solutions for copper-plated problems!" (r)
http://www.geocities.com/Area51/Shadowlands/9776

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

Date: Fri, 15 Oct 1999 00:57:08 -0500
From: "Pat Connaughton" <pconn@i1.net>
Subject: test

Test 

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

Date: Fri, 15 Oct 1999 00:39:53 -0500
From: "Pat Connaughton" <pconn@i1.net>
Subject: Aide De Camp Software Query

Recently a reference was made to a software
package "Aide De Camp" on this list.
It was briskly followed by a inquiry for further details.

I'd like to add my 2 cents to the question.
I'd also like to here about ADC as well

Any info?
Thanks
Pat Connaughton 
ICQ # 2535086
pconn@i1.net
"He who knows not how to dissemble knows not
how to reign"
Tiberius, Emperator and Princips of Rome

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

Date: Fri, 15 Oct 1999 15:37:42 +1300
From: "Rupert Boleyn" <rboleyn@paradise.net.nz>
Subject: Re: Bigger ammo clips

On 14 Oct 99, at 3:26, Leonard Erickson wrote:

> Ouch! I never thought of *that* possibility. Just trying to find links
> that handn't been stepped on would be a chore. I bet you longed for the
> old days when the "beltes" were actual *cloth*. :-)

But not with the old water-filled MGs...

> I do hope that the after action analysis had appropriately nasty things to
> say to supply?

I think the Ordinance guys live in a little dream world of thier own.


- --
Rupert Boleyn <paradise.net.nz>
Wellington, New Zealand

A pessimist is an optimist with a sense of history.

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

Date: Fri, 15 Oct 1999 15:37:42 +1300
From: "Rupert Boleyn" <rboleyn@paradise.net.nz>
Subject: RE: Population Growth

On 14 Oct 99, at 8:12, Kiri Aradia Morgan wrote:

> I am a woman.  If someone told me that I had to share Hiroshi with one or
> two other women, I could maybe deal with it.  I wouldn't like it, but
> socialization in such a culture could overcome that.  But there is a
> reason why even Islam limits a man to four WIVES.

Actually human fertility working the way it does I suspect that the 
conception rate would start to drop off if the male:female ration 
dropped below Islam's 1:4 legal ratio.


- --
Rupert Boleyn <paradise.net.nz>
Wellington, New Zealand

A pessimist is an optimist with a sense of history.

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

Date: Fri, 15 Oct 1999 15:37:42 +1300
From: "Rupert Boleyn" <rboleyn@paradise.net.nz>
Subject: Re: Spraying near-c-rocks-B-gone liberally

On 14 Oct 99, at 10:10, Craig Berry wrote:
 
> Yes, but in LBB days, maneuvering didn't use fuel per se.  You fueled your
> power plant (and with a smallish amount of fuel, too) on a monthly basis,
> and it in turn powered any amount of thruster use during that month. Hence
> my term 'magic carpet drive'. 

The LBB's (1-3 anyway) explicitly say that the fuel is for the 
powerplant and _reaction mass_. To me this says that the original 
Traveller ships didn't use thruster plates, etc. Of course then HG came 
along and said that they do.



- --
Rupert Boleyn <paradise.net.nz>
Wellington, New Zealand

A pessimist is an optimist with a sense of history.

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

Date: Fri, 15 Oct 1999 15:37:42 +1300
From: "Rupert Boleyn" <rboleyn@paradise.net.nz>
Subject: Re: City Killing on the Cheap

On 14 Oct 99, at 12:57, Anthony Jackson wrote:
 
> Depends on how efficient you want it.  3.5 G-days (1% of c) is about a
> kiloton per kilogram, which means a couple tons of rock will do for most
> cities.  On the other hand, a conventional nuclear weapon by TL 12 is
> probably at least 10 kT/kg and much easier to deliver.  Where relativistic
> rocks really come into their own is for long-haul terrorist attacks.  Take
> a Rampart, put it on autopilot for a planet from 600 AU out; tell the
> autopilot to cut thrust a day before arrival (so it will be running quiet
> for the last 20 AU).  A month later it hits at half the speed of light
> with a force of 200,000 megatons

One of those 50DT Heavy Fighters would be good for a cool million. Yeah 
Ha! 



- --
Rupert Boleyn <paradise.net.nz>
Wellington, New Zealand

A pessimist is an optimist with a sense of history.

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

Date: Fri, 15 Oct 1999 15:37:42 +1300
From: "Rupert Boleyn" <rboleyn@paradise.net.nz>
Subject: Re: Population Growth

On 14 Oct 99, at 13:59, Charles Collin wrote:

> Alas, a lack of healthy reproductive males is not usually a problem (well,
> a _total_ lack would be of course...).  It's a lack of fertile females
> that really slows you down, which is why population biologists concentrate
> on them as the limiting factor.  
> 
> I remember one of my teachers telling me "Men are expendable.  We could
> easily eliminate 90% of the males on the planet and survive quite well.
> How does that make you feel?" My response was "A 10:1 female to male
> ratio? Let's do it!" :-)  Of course it only occurred to me later that
> unless they were selecting for good gaming genes I would probably be one
> of the first eliminated... :-) 

Unless you had a system of artifical insemination I suspect that the 
conception rate would probably be quite low with a Male:female ratio as 
low as 1:10. 1:4 would probably work OK, though.

> The short version is that after a few generations there would be some
> inbreeding problems, but with careful record-keeping and match-making you
> could keep going for a while.  

Inbreeding is probably not going to have that bad an effect as the 
really bad specimens are going to be killed out pretty quickly. Bear in 
mind that when breeding particular characteristics in or out of 
domestic animals inbreeding is heavily used.


- --
Rupert Boleyn <paradise.net.nz>
Wellington, New Zealand

A pessimist is an optimist with a sense of history.

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

Date: Fri, 15 Oct 1999 15:37:42 +1300
From: "Rupert Boleyn" <rboleyn@paradise.net.nz>
Subject: RE: Population Growth

On 14 Oct 99, at 15:58, Timothy.Collinson@solent.ac.u wrote:
 
> I'm presuming the world they're on (or bit of it that they're inhabiting
> at any rate) is so Edenic that the 'survivor kids' as someone dubbed them
> would have no problem eating.  The idea was to have the population
> increase as rapidly as their limited numbers (and high infant mortality
> rate) would allow.  I'm presuming that food can be abundant in a
> completely untouched-by-humans landscape and that the little nutritional
> knowledge they have would ensure something of a balanced diet.

If what I've been reading is correct the mother and child mortality 
rate, while high, probably wouldn't cause a drop in population under 
such conditions as malnutrition and starvation seem to be by far the 
biggest causes of miscarriage, death in labour and child death.

> Assuming that they have next to no ability to hunt for meat (at least at
> first - I reckon they'd learn swiftly), that would leave fruit, nuts,
> vegetables, berries, fungi...

Once there are children around hunting would become very important. 
Unless there's a good plant source of protein and fat without animals 
to eat the children will tend to grow up small and the rate of brain 
developmental problems would be high. A child needs substanial amounts 
of fat in its diet until the brain stops growing at about five.

> Anything obvious I've missed?

If current obstetric fashions continue, along with the recent trends in 
western standards of beauty the mortality rate in labour is going to 
push 100% for mother and child unless someone learns to perfrom 
ceaseran sections very quickly. The C-section rate is rediculous these 
days, and the current fashion is for slim hips.


- --
Rupert Boleyn <paradise.net.nz>
Wellington, New Zealand

A pessimist is an optimist with a sense of history.

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

Date: Fri, 15 Oct 1999 14:42:40 +1300
From: "Rupert Boleyn" <rboleyn@paradise.net.nz>
Subject: Re: Bigger ammo clips

On 13 Oct 99, at 23:34, Black ICE wrote:

> Rupert Boleyn wrote:
> > 
> <<snip>>
> > 
> > Try rebuilding an MG link in this sort of situation because the
> > resupply was of loose rifle ammo only. Fortunately it was only an
> > exercise...
> 
> I wold imagine that your thoughts were along the lines of "Fun, Travel,
> Adventure" ["FTA"], especially since I would expect that your machine
> guns, like most (if not all) modern machine guns use disintegrating-link
> belts (for the uninitiated, that means belts held together by many small
> bits of metal, connected only by the brass of the machine gun ammo, as
> opposed to one long piece of metal or cloth).

Yep. WE used FM-MAGs and C9s. Both of these use metallic disintegrating 
link belts which are not intended to be reused. It's such great fun 
scraping them up out of the sand or mud and reusing them - not.


- --
Rupert Boleyn <paradise.net.nz>
Wellington, New Zealand

A pessimist is an optimist with a sense of history.

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

Date: Fri, 15 Oct 1999 10:45:29 +1000
From: david.d.jaques-watson@centrelink.gov.au
Subject: Re: Norris the Man

Dear Folks -

Keven wrote:
>>How did this myth that Norris was a stickler for legality arrived. Isn't
he
>>the man who made himself archduke of Deneb without Strephons knowledge.
>>Strephon later confirmed it however.
>
>He had the Imperial Warrant in his hand when he signed the documents
>elevating himself to Archduke.

He also wrote himself out a pardon immediately after signing the
documents... ;-)
- ------------------------------------------------------------------------
David "Hyphen" Jaques-Watson        Beowulf Down (Tavonni/Vilis/SM 1520)
http://www.tip.net.au/~davidjw                       davidjw@pcug.org.au
"I file things in historical order, with a hashing algorithm of gravity"
- ------------------------------------------------------------------------
REQ'D DISCLAIMER - material & opinions contained within are solely those
of the author and do not necessarily represent, in whole or in part, the
position of Centrelink or any other Commonwealth Government agency.
- ------------------------------------------------------------------------

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

Date: Fri, 15 Oct 1999 10:41:35 +1000
From: david.d.jaques-watson@centrelink.gov.au
Subject: RE: Population Growth

Dear Folks -

Peter wrote:
>- - A Boy And His Dog (film) ... an extreme example

Sounds like the film was a bit different to Harlan Ellison's original short
story...

BTW, thank you Kiri for pointing out that population growth, for humans at
least, is not just a mathematical calculation (something that I thought was
obvious, but did seem to be missing in the thread).

>Another example is Edward P. Hughes' "Barley Cross" series of stories,

Another is a short story from (I think) Robert Sheckley, where the Devil
gives the main protagonist wishes in return for his soul. The one where he
is the only fertile man on Earth turns out to be much less attractive that
it first appears. He is (not unreasonably) hated by the women he has to
"service". Obviously not an old AD&D player, who should all know by now to
be careful for what you wish for - and how you word it...
- ------------------------------------------------------------------------
David "Hyphen" Jaques-Watson        Beowulf Down (Tavonni/Vilis/SM 1520)
http://www.tip.net.au/~davidjw                       davidjw@pcug.org.au
"I file things in historical order, with a hashing algorithm of gravity"
- ------------------------------------------------------------------------
REQ'D DISCLAIMER - material & opinions contained within are solely those
of the author and do not necessarily represent, in whole or in part, the
position of Centrelink or any other Commonwealth Government agency.
- ------------------------------------------------------------------------

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

Date: Fri, 15 Oct 1999 02:46:46 -0500
From: Black ICE <wombat@premier.net>
Subject: Re: Lucan the Man...

"Keven R. Pittsinger" wrote:
> 
> >
> > >In the OTU, it was almost like they were setting up a 'Norris vs Margaret'
> > >battle after Dulinor and Lucan whacked each other out.
> >
> >
> > Good call.
> 
> Thing about it is, picking a winner would be a real bitch.  Norris would have > the better overall field position *plus* a patina of legitimacy.  His downside > would be his overly long supply lines.  Margaret has the advantage of ready > resupply, but would be unpopular outside of her Safe, not to mention that her > claim is iffy at best.  She'd be constantly trying to suppress dissention in > her backfield.

Of course, the Tukera economic influence in the Marches may help steer
an interventionist Norris into supporting Margaret (at least until
Norris learns that Strephon has, in fact, survived being assassinated). 
Thus, if Norris intervenes relatively early, Margaret may end up on the
Iridium Throne, as the least repugnant candidate.  Obviously, if Norris
waits to intervene long enough that he learns that Strephon lives, all
bets are off.

I just can't see Norris aiming for the purple himself.  His claim would
be even more shaky (unless his fleet was overwhelming enough to pull an
Arbellatra).  More importantly, I can't see Norris getting sucked into
the Brawl For The Throne, since, according to _Survival Margin_ (unless
I misunderstood), his allegiance was to the ideals of the Imperium, and
to its peoples.  Waging war against some of those peoples, for the sake
of the throne, would have been repugnant to Norris.

YMDEMV (your maneuver drive efficiency may vary).

- -- 
AuricTech Shipyards Journeyman Gearhead
"Gold-Plated [tm] solutions for copper-plated problems!" (r)
http://www.geocities.com/Area51/Shadowlands/9776

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

Date: Fri, 15 Oct 1999 08:40:44 +0100
From: "Derrick Jones" <dojones.whitestar@btinternet.com>
Subject: Re Slang in Trav

From: Douglas E. Berry
> One of my favourites was "Echo, Tango, Suitcase!"  ETS was the
> day you were schedules to leave the Army.

One of my favourites (as a Royal Signals Comms Technician, generally
used to do 'customer' support for Div Staff Officers was 'RTFM', which
as everyone knows is 'Read the F***ing Manual !", normally followed by
'Tango Sierra, Bravo'   -'Tough Sh**, B****rd' and of course 'Foxtrot Oscar,
Bravo'.....(I don't need to elaborate do I?)

Actually this sort of parlance has got me out of tricky situations...

Lt Crusher Watts, 3 (UK) Div HQ & Sig Regt could testify to this, (if he knew
what I was talking about) at 4am <some day in 1995>, when he crushed my 
perfectly made <operational length deleted for security reasons> multi channel 
core VHF cable (made with <very small number> percent tolerance) in the 
door of the secure hangar for the SECOND time on a 'rather important' exercise 
linking up with the US Army via SatNet. I'd just used the last of the Regimental
stock of the required parts, and I had to get replacements on a Priority 1 order
(Best fun I've ever had! A Signalman 'requesting' the CO's urgent signature on
the request at 4:05am, not carrying tea!) Good old LtCol Foxley! He sussed out 
exactly what I was talking about, and didn't get me done for insubordination, just
made Lt Watts get lots of beers in for me & my troop (and present it infront of the
'entire' regiment at Endex debrief -What a day!)

Anyhow, better stop my rambling... You guys will be falling asleep!

Cheers

Derrick


Derrick Jones
St Helens
Lancashire UK

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

Date: Thu, 14 Oct 99 22:12:30 -0500
From: "Eris Reddoch" <eris@pcola.gulf.net>
Subject: The Petty States Solution ( was Lucan the Man...)

On 10/13/99 at 11:31 AM,  "Chris Seamans" <semo@pil.net> said:

>Actually, to take it a step further, I'm finding the idea of a Grand
>Imperium less and less attractive by the day, and not because of
>personal ideology. On one hand, I'm starting to feel that the
>Imperium would be much more difficult to hold together from a strong
>centralized seat of government than has been portrayed to this point.
>On the other hand, I'm starting to really like the idea of smaller
>post-feudal sovereign states that are held together by a complex web
>of alliances. Something more along the lines of Europe on the eve of
>World War I.

Sounds good so far.

>Some problems with this view: It really downplays the concept of the
>Solomani as a beastly enemy intent on conquering the Imperium.
>Instead, the Solomani become just another state. 

Something like the Russia of the pre WWI scene, large and seen as
potentially dangerous, but can never seem to "pull it together."
Give me a frontier to explore along some edge of these petty states
and I'm very happy.

>The Vargr are particularly problematic though, and I'm trying to
>work out their role.

So, make them more the barbarian raiders that have no real interest
in conquest, just hit and run.

It's the Zhodani, Aslan, Hiver and K'kree that are the real rub.
They hem the humanii in and prevent expansion and exploration.  If
you're going this far why don't you shrink these four, and the
Vargr, to minor states (or a large number of minor states in the
Vargr's case) with gaps between them.  It's in these gaps that the
species expand, explore, and interact with each other.

Now you have several game possibilities set up.  "Several frontiers"
for exploration and "wild and woolly" games.  A number of small
interacting states for diplomacy, trade, political type games.  And
with lots of small states the possibility of lots of very small
wars, for the PC's to get mixed up in...both in and out of service.

>Of course, not only is all of this not canon, it's directly
>anti-canon which makes me a heretic of the worst sort. ;)

Welcome to the right side, Chris. ;->

Eris
- -- 
- -----------------------------------------------------------
"Eris Reddoch" <eris@pcola.gulf.net>    using MR/2 ICE #245
- -----------------------------------------------------------

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

Date: Thu, 14 Oct 99 21:01:18 -0500
From: "Eris Reddoch" <eris@pcola.gulf.net>
Subject: Re: Tplate v Heplar

On 10/12/99 at 03:54 PM,  "William F. Hostman" <aramis@gci.net> said:

>Heplar, with it's relativistic exhaust streams, is as bad for
>breaking the OTU...You can;t use it near populations, it'll cut
>concrete, etc...

At full effect HEPlaR certainly would cut concrete (and most
anything else), but why couldn't it be "detuned" near the ground
using more reaction mass but with a lower velocity exhaust?

Eris
- -- 
- -----------------------------------------------------------
"Eris Reddoch" <eris@pcola.gulf.net>    using MR/2 ICE #245
- -----------------------------------------------------------

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

Date: Fri, 15 Oct 1999 04:23:03 -0400 (EDT)
From: "William F. Hostman" <aramis@gci.net>
Subject: Re War with Jump Lag

>William F. Hostman writes:
><snipped>
>>One trick is to use a timeline in a wp with a sort function....
>>as things are determined, figure out when the info will arrive
>>back, then enter that in your sort key position. as the turn
>>rolls around, look up all the "Return Despatches" for the
>>current turn, and then return those bits to the appropriate
>>players.
>
>	This is a good place to start, but how did you handle
>	cases in which the courier carrying the info is
>	intercepted?  Of course, one could argue that a small
>	vessel doing its best to avoid contact is unlikely to
>	be intercepted, but sometimes a squadron will be
>	carrying such info.  I was working on a system in which
>	dispatches are associated with specific vessels, and
>	may either be spread to other friendly vessels in the
>	same system.  Of course, particularly sensitive orders
>	might not be spread around (to lower the odds of them
>	being captured), but this may increase the likelihood
>	that the intended recipient will miss the message.

Didn't have to, since there were no intervening stopping points, and
jumping vessels in LoS cannot be intercepted until they reach the
heliopause and precipitate out... and can squawk the data.

HOWEVER, what you do is plot your timeline like so (Using Regina/SM subsector)

Standing orders
TG 1 to protect whanga
TG 2 is reinforcements for TG1, stationed at Efate, respond if enemy sited.

Week	ID#	Loc	Item
0	1*	1910	TG 1 Stationed at Whanga(1806) to proceed upon relief
			to Efate(1705)
0	2*	1910	TG 2 @ Efate(1705) to proc. whanga & relive TG 1
0	3*	1806	Enemy Vessel Sited Msg. Tgt: Efate(1705)
0	4*	1806	Enemy Vessel Sited Msg. Tgt: Regina (1910)
1	1	2007	TG 1 Stationed at Whanga(1806) to proceed upon relief
			to Efate(1705)
1	2	2007	TG 2 @ Efate(1705) to proc. whanga & relive TG 1 a.
1	4	2007	waypoint
2	1**	1806	TG 1 Stationed at Whanga(1806) to proceed upon relief
			to Efate(1705)
2	2	1903	TG 2 @ Efate(1705) to proc. whanga & relive TG 1
2	4**	1910	Enemy sited in Whanga turn 0
2	5*	1705	Inform HQ TG 2 proceeding to Whanga

3	5	1903	Inform HQ TG 2 proceeding to Whanga
3	6*	1806	TG2 arrived whanga
3	2	1705	TG 2 @ Efate(1705) to proc. whanga & relive TG 1

etc...

if something intercepts a thread, discontinue the thread ID# in all future
turns. Actions other than defense only occur when orders to do so arrive.
If using C/C++, chains of pointers are good ways. When an order/report
courier moves, simply move it's pointers to the chain for the new system.
(Each address holds a struct using
struct order
{	long ID
	short	target unit;
	short	dest hex;
	short	turn;
	short	action;
	struct *nextPtr;
	struct *prevPtr;
};

when the order is created, assign the ID; ID's do not get reused. Fill in
the data. Add it (with the appropriate turn number) to each hex's chain it
will go to. Each turn, check for couriers in held hexes; if eliminated
during combat, search all hexes for same ID, and use following bit to cut
it out:

// *currPtr should equal prevPtr->nextPrt and nextPtr->prevPtr
prevPtr = currPtr->prevPtr;
prevPtr->nextPtr = currPtr->nextPtr;
fre(&(*currPtr)); // whatever routine and format you call to recover a malloc'd
		// bit of memory for re-use.


while I know the thoery, forget me actually doing the coding... but I want
to see C/C++ source (if C/C++ used) to see if I can port it to Mac.... Just
for Dom! (and me...)

William F. Hostman  |  "Smith & Wesson: THe original Point and Click
interface!"
Aramis 0602 C55A364-C S kk+ as+ hi+ dr+ va++(--) so+ zh++ vi+ da++ sy- ge-
533
Mailto:aramis@gci.net http://home.gci.net/~aramis http://www.alaska.net/~mhaa
ICQ:14640742          AIM:AKAramis	ARM 1.0: 3 R H++ P+
IMTU 1.0: tc tm++ tn- t4-- tt+ to- tg-- ru+ ge 3i+ c+ jt-() au+ st- ls
pi+() ta+ he+(-) kk+ as+ hi+ dr+ va++(--) so+ zh++ vi+ da++ sy- ge- pi+

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

Date: Fri, 15 Oct 1999 04:35:46 -0400 (EDT)
From: "William F. Hostman" <aramis@gci.net>
Subject: Re Battery Ships

>Are there any examples of battery operated spacecraft anywhere in Traveller
>canon?

yes.. The Annic Nova.
<ducking and hiding>

William F. Hostman  |  "Smith & Wesson: THe original Point and Click
interface!"
Aramis 0602 C55A364-C S kk+ as+ hi+ dr+ va++(--) so+ zh++ vi+ da++ sy- ge-
533
Mailto:aramis@gci.net http://home.gci.net/~aramis http://www.alaska.net/~mhaa
ICQ:14640742          AIM:AKAramis	ARM 1.0: 3 R H++ P+
IMTU 1.0: tc tm++ tn- t4-- tt+ to- tg-- ru+ ge 3i+ c+ jt-() au+ st- ls
pi+() ta+ he+(-) kk+ as+ hi+ dr+ va++(--) so+ zh++ vi+ da++ sy- ge- pi+

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

Date: Fri, 15 Oct 1999 04:41:45 -0400 (EDT)
From: "William F. Hostman" <aramis@gci.net>
Subject: An Open Letter

An open letter to Messers Seamens and Summers:

Gentlemen, it would appear from your recent posts that you took my post
about the MT task system (a post in response to a third partie's request
for position statements from the MT crowd, of which, as you are probably
well aware, I am a vocal member of) as some form of personal attack on you
or your gaming style. If you took it as such, my apologies, for it was not
intended to do so. It was a response to a request for information upon a
position, nothing more.

Regaurds,

/s/ Wil

William F. Hostman  |  "Smith & Wesson: THe original Point and Click
interface!"
Aramis 0602 C55A364-C S kk+ as+ hi+ dr+ va++(--) so+ zh++ vi+ da++ sy- ge-
533
Mailto:aramis@gci.net http://home.gci.net/~aramis http://www.alaska.net/~mhaa
ICQ:14640742          AIM:AKAramis	ARM 1.0: 3 R H++ P+
IMTU 1.0: tc tm++ tn- t4-- tt+ to- tg-- ru+ ge 3i+ c+ jt-() au+ st- ls
pi+() ta+ he+(-) kk+ as+ hi+ dr+ va++(--) so+ zh++ vi+ da++ sy- ge- pi+

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

Date: Fri, 15 Oct 1999 16:44:36 -0700
From: "Antony Farrell" <Skaran@bigpond.com>
Subject: RE: Spraying near-c-rocks-B-gone liberally

> -----Original Message-----
> From: owner-traveller@lists.imagiconline.com
> [mailto:owner-traveller@lists.imagiconline.com]On Behalf Of Craig Berry
> Sent: Thursday, 14 October 1999 10:11 AM
> To: traveller@lists.imagiconline.com
> Subject: Re: Spraying near-c-rocks-B-gone liberally
>
>
> > Date: Thu, 14 Oct 1999 03:08:33 PST
> > From: shadow@krypton.rain.com (Leonard Erickson)
> >
> > > This is the kicker.  Yes, of course it does.  That's why you
> don't get to
> > > fly accel-flip-decel profiles in a HEPlaR vessel.  But again, a-f-d
> > > profiles are both canonical and (IMHO) part of the trav
> 'feel' -- which
> > > thus requires recourse to magic t-plates, which violate
> conservation laws
> > > and turn every lifeboat into a potential planet-cracker.  That's the
> > > dilemma.
> >
> > At least back in the LBB days, I always just assumed that there was an
> > unspoken "if you have enough fuel" for those profiles.
>
> Yes, but in LBB days, maneuvering didn't use fuel per se.  You fueled your
> power plant (and with a smallish amount of fuel, too) on a monthly basis,
> and it in turn powered any amount of thruster use during that month.
> Hence my term 'magic carpet drive'.
>
> > >> Not sure of overall density of interplanetary dust, but a 1 milligram
> > >> dust particle at 84 G-hours speed has an energy of 4.5
> megajoules with
> > >> better focus than any laser, and should be able to punch
> holes in your
> > >> average unarmored craft without difficulty.
> > >
> > > You'd think so, wouldn't you?  Good thing about that
> ultrahard unobtainium
> > > alloy they use for hulls...shame it's no good against lasers, or even
> > > missiles...just dust. :)
> >
> > Alas, it *can't be good against "dust" and not good against other
> > kinetic impacts.
>
> I know that.  Hence the smiley. :)  But one handwave is as good as
> another, once you get into the violating-physical-laws game...
>
> Note that another advantage of HEPlaR in this regard is that with a
> typical ship having only 40 G-hrs of thrust available, you can't get up
> into deadly-dust-grain velocity regimes.  But, as I mentioned, this also
> means that planning in-system trips gets much harder, and executing them
> usually takes much longer.
>
> And again, in-system jumps make sense if you have a jump drive, but
> j-drives and their associated fuel tankage make transporting a given
> payload in-system much more expensive per ton.  Most low-priority cargo
> and passengers will travel through normal space for anything under a
> month's trip time, I'd think.
>
> --
>    |   Craig Berry - cberry@cinenet.net
>  --*--  http://www.cinenet.net/users/cberry/home.html
>    |   "They do not preach that their God will rouse them
>       a little before the nuts work loose." - Kipling
>
Remember though that if you use the "original vector is retained" style of
jump drive you are still going to have a lot of maneuvering to do when you
come out of jump. So you will still need a good supply of fuel if using a
reaction drive.
Antony Farrell

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

End of Traveller-digest V1999 #1211
***********************************

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