From: blakes7-d-request@lysator.liu.se Subject: blakes7-d Digest V99 #67 X-Loop: blakes7-d@lysator.liu.se X-Mailing-List: archive/volume99/67 Precedence: list MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: multipart/digest; boundary="----------------------------" To: blakes7-d@lysator.liu.se Reply-To: blakes7@lysator.liu.se ------------------------------ Content-Type: text/plain blakes7-d Digest Volume 99 : Issue 67 Today's Topics: [B7L] Flat Robin 27 Re: [B7L] Flat Robin #23 [B7L] communication (fwd) Re: [B7L] Roche limit (was Too much caffeine) Re: [B7L] communication (fwd) [B7L] Horizon news - colour of justice RE: [B7L] Roche limit (was Too much caffeine) Re: [B7L] Flat Robin #23 - By Arkaroo Re: [B7L] Flat robin, chptr 26 [B7L] Blake's 7 theme music Re: [B7L] Roche limit (was Too much caffeine) Re: [B7L] Fannishness Re: [B7L] trip trap Re: [B7L] trip trap [B7L] Some things never change... Re: [B7L] Blake's 7 theme music Re: [B7L] Flat Robin chapter... 25? [B7L] Blake's XI v Babylon XI cricket match at Redemption Re: [B7L] Blake's XI v Babylon XI cricket match at Redemption Re: [B7L] Flat Robin chapter... 25? Re: [B7L] Roche limit (was Too much caffeine) ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 17 Feb 1999 22:22:30 PST From: "Penny Dreadful" To: blakes7@lysator.liu.se Cc: egomoo@geocities.com Subject: [B7L] Flat Robin 27 Message-ID: <19990218062234.25216.qmail@hotmail.com> Content-type: text/plain >Gytha hummed as she led the way out of the inn. Let Esme fixate on >dangerous elves; Nanny was about to have two handsome young men in her >bedroom. And one was too drunk, and one would too injured, for either >man to go away. The day was looking brighter and brighter. *** "You've got quite an aura on you, kid," Nanny Ogg had remarked to her, as they had stood watching Blake struggle with his burden while Granny Weatherwax made what could easily be interpreted as disparaging remarks about his manhood. "Um..." Cally had not been sure how to respond. "Your magneticomagical whatsit," the old woman had explained. "Very strong, nice colour, I can tell you've put some effort into it." Her daughters-in-law all tended for some reason to have auras so small and pale they rendered the body they surrounded nearly invisible. Avon had snorted, then tried to conceal it with a cough when the witch had turned to look directly at him. "More than *he* has," she had remarked, and had followed Blake and Granny. A short time later Avon had also left her, adjourning for unfathomable reasons of his own to a tavern with an aura like a coating of hot tar, and an odour not half so pleasant. Cally was just as happy to be alone with her thoughts. Or rather with her sensations. She was currently experiencing the psychic equivalent of a decongestant finally kicking in. This whole world was a telepathic Tesla ball, the minds of its inhabitants a discernible, bloodthirsty background hum. And octarine strands arced between her fingertips and anything with a magic-field of its own. She had the kind of eyes that could see octarine -- a wizard's eyes. And to a wizard's eyes the High Energy Magic Building, though tucked deep in the heart of Unseen University, burned like a beacon even in the full light of day. *** "High...Energy...*Magic*...Building?" "That's what they call it," Rincewind said. "And *that's* where I'll find old Hex," Avon said dubiously. "If he hasn't stepped out to stretch his legs." Rincewind giggled idiotically. Avon wondered if he hadn't coshed him a mite more enthusiastically than necessary the last few times. "Well...then, I suppose that's where we ought to go next. Lead the way, wizard," Avon said, holding tightly onto a handful of Rincewind's collar and moving toward the front entrance. "Aren't you forgetting something, Avon?" Jenna nodded toward the chair in which Vila had been sitting when he vanished. "I like to think of *this*," Avon said, tapping the wizard's pointy hat with the tip of his gun, "as our new improved Vila. Same old alcoholism, but now *twice* the cowardice. Anyhow, he said he'd be back in a jiffy. We could leave him a note..." "I'll stay here," Jenna said, and sat down in the vacated chair, after cautiously feeling to see that he hadn't in fact merely turned invisible and inaudible like his erstwhile drinking companion. Not that *he'd* mind in that case if she sat down, she thought. Avon bit back the phrase 'I think we should stick together', predicting with his latent psychic ability that the rejoinder would be 'Oh yeah? So where's Cally?'. "Fine," he said instead. "I'll meet you back here in an hour." "Fine," said Jenna. She stuck out her chin. "Seems like everyone's had the chance for a pint but me. Barkeep--" The landmass that was the Mended Drum's bartender this week reappeared out of the shadows. "I'll have whatever *they* were having." She waved at the sea of overturned tables all around her. "Don't do anything I wouldn't do," said Avon, nudging Rincewind out the door. "Yes," Jenna was saying to the bartender, "as a matter of fact I *do* mean all of them. *** The god Eddwode smiled broadly. He was a bit of an anomaly among the gods of the discworld, and not solely because of his unique fashion sense. Whereas most gods depended upon the strength of the belief of their followers, Eddwode's fortunes rose and fell depending upon how strongly his followers (or, as he preferred to call them, probably far more accurately, his Audience) chose *not* to believe in him. In other words he derived his power from the *willing suspension of disbelief*. Therefore he had managed to maintain a comfortable position among the bourgeoisie of Dunmanifestin since the dawn of time, despite being absolutely superfluous, merely by *not* performing miracles, so that the clear evidence of his existence could *not* be discredited. And therefore, as well, it was not at all surprising that he always felt at his very best in the vicinity of a tavern. And the 'Pullet and Whippet', although having lost almost all the fundamental characteristics of tavernliness when the spaceship had flattened it, still managed to retain the one that mattered to Eddwode: it was surrounded by incredulous drunks. Right now they were all staring open-mouthed and pointing at the thing which rested where their watering-hole had been. A cynic might have said it looked suspiciously like the hubcap of a midpriced American automobile from round about the McCarthy era. But a cynic, as the old adage goes, is just a rube who isn't drunk yet. The god Eddwode strode confidently toward the craft, wearing a grin like the grille of the aforementioned automobile, just as its occupants emerged through the hatch in the top. "Superb landing job, Toise," said the first entity to appear. He was wearing his Outfit For Venturing Outdoors, which above the aforementioned shiny black boots consisted of a silver lame body-stocking encircled by the kind of belt pro wrestlers can only dream about, black leather gauntlets which flared out at the elbow, and a heavily-tinted visor, because he didn't trust the concept of direct sunlight. "Toise," he continued nonchalantly, "apropos of nothing at all, has the sedan *always* looked like this? I don't recall it being quite so...saucerlike." The second entity, Toise, was dressed basically like the first, except that his body stocking was gold. Both brandished implausibly Plexiglas-heavy pistols. Both twitched visibly as they became aware of Eddwode standing in front of them. "Beautiful, isn't it?" Eddwode said, indicating the gleaming chrome surface of their craft. "That's *my* work. I hate to say anything, but the original design just did *not* scream 'interstellar invasion', in my humble opinion." "It *does* go very nicely with our outfits," said Toise, holstering his pistol. Eddwode crept up behind Krantor, who had walked to the edge and was now waving and making odd hand gestures at the crowd. "I suppose you'll be wanting us to take you to our leader," Eddwode suggested. "Not particularly," Krantor said. "We're just here for a little sightseeing, actually." Eddwode's smile wavered, and the spaceship suddenly lurched as though it was made of something too light to support the weight of all three of them. Krantor tumbled, but managed to land on his feet. Toise scrambled down after him. "There it is, Krantor!" he exclaimed, pointing toward the spires of Unseen University, which rose high enough to pierce the haze that hung over Ankh-Morpork. The crowd followed his finger as best they could in their inebriated state, and gasped in horror when at length their befogged minds managed to determine what it was that he was pointing at. But of *course* the alien invaders would want to take out the wizards first. "Krantor," Toise continued presently, "how did they get all those torches and pitchforks so quickly?" Eddwode's grin grew broad again. "Very well," sighed Krantor. "Take us to your leader." At that, a brilliant white figure appeared out of the grey of the milling crowd. Krantor gurgled an exclamation of recognition. "No need for that," smiled Servalan, sweeping toward the two men, their god, and their really gigantic hubcap. "Their leader will come to you." "It's *her*!" he trilled. "The *witch*," he added with a scowl, but not as much conviction as their previous history might have warranted. "No, no, my good spaceman," Eddwode corrected Krantor. "You see *that*?" He indicated the figure all in black creeping up behind Servalan as she left the safe environs of her gold-enchanted Mob. "*That's* a witch. Note the pointy hat, and perhaps most tellingly the broomstick -- ouch! Truly an all-purpose tool, the common household broomstick. Ah! But the harlot in white is certainly no slouch with her elbows..." "Oh boy!" said Toise. "Catfight!" *** ______________________________________________________ Get Your Private, Free Email at http://www.hotmail.com ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 17 Feb 1999 22:58:28 PST From: "Penny Dreadful" To: Blakes7@lysator.liu.se Subject: Re: [B7L] Flat Robin #23 Message-ID: <19990218065829.8055.qmail@hotmail.com> Content-type: text/plain Arkaroo yowled triumphantly: >Now Penny can't tell filthy and >highly dubious stories about me behind my back. Now I'll just have to tell them in front of your face. So, an orangutan, a rabbi, and Arkaroo walk into a bar...and someone screams "F'crissake take it to th' spin-list already!" --Penny "Smut-Shunt" Dreadful ______________________________________________________ Get Your Private, Free Email at http://www.hotmail.com ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 18 Feb 1999 09:59:20 +0000 (GMT) From: Iain Coleman To: blakes7@lysator.liu.se Subject: [B7L] communication (fwd) Message-Id: Content-Type: TEXT/PLAIN; charset=US-ASCII I'm forwarding this as Judith accidentally sent it to me rather than the list. Reply to follow when I've achieved my morning caffeine quota. ---------- Forwarded message ---------- Date: Wed, 17 Feb 1999 18:30:06 +0100 (BST) From: Judith Proctor To: Iain Coleman Subject: communication On Wed 17 Feb, Iain Coleman wrote: > Regardless of the speed of travel, B7 does have effectively instantaneous > interstellar communication. In "Horizon" we see how this is used to > enforce colonial rule on distant planets. A small ruling body of > Federation officials and loyal local leaders takes care of the day-to-day > running of things, with regular communications with Earth to keep tabs on > everything. It seems workable to me (in terms of politics, if not > necessarily physics). Actually they did have limits on communocation. In Horizon, there was initially no one in range to intercept the commisar's message. In Star one, Orac was recognised as being faster than any other method of communication. As was said earlier though, earlier empires from Romans to British have survived on communications that took months or years. Judith -- http://www.hermit.org/Blakes7 Redemption 99 - The Blakes 7/Babylon 5 convention 26-28 February 1999, Ashford International Hotel, Kent http://www.smof.com/redemption/ ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 18 Feb 1999 10:26:06 +0000 (GMT) From: Iain Coleman To: "'B7'" Subject: Re: [B7L] Roche limit (was Too much caffeine) Message-Id: Content-Type: TEXT/PLAIN; charset=US-ASCII This apparent disagreement about the meaning of the Roche limit is actually quite a nice example of the same physics manifesting itself in quite different contexts. I've underlined the main points below. On Thu, 18 Feb 1999, Taina Nieminen wrote: > > > Ian wrote, re the Roche limit: ^^^ Iain. Hmph. > > Neil wrote > <<'The Roche limit is a distance equal to 2.44 times the radius of the planet > from its centre. If a moon should approach closer than this distance, it is > shattered into fragments by the planet's gravitational field. Saturn's > rings were probably formed in this way. The limit does not apply to > artificial satellites, which are held together by their structural > cohesion.'>> As Neil pointed out, it's fundamentally the planet's mass that's important, not its radius. Patrick Moore is still an amateur, and is not immune to the odd howler. However, all shall become clear. > > >From my brother's astronomy text book: > > There is a minimum distance a satellite can be from its planet. At smaller > distances a large satellite could not withstand the differential, or > tidal, forces exerrted on it by the planet and would be torn apart. E. > Roche investigated the problem in 1850 and found that if the constituent ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ > parts of a satellite are held together only by their mutual gravitation ... ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ This is exactly the same as the scenario I described when one member of a binary stellar system expands into the Roche limit of the other: it is pulled apart because the gravitation of the companion dominates over its self-gravitation. The stellar case is also more realistic: in fact, stars _are_ held together by self-gravity, whereas satellites are generally held together by chemical bonds as well. > as if the satellite has the same density as its planet, the critical ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ This explains the discrepancy Neil pointed out. In fact the Roche limit depends on the mass of the object: in the case where both objects have the same density one can cancel out the mass and express everything in terms of relative radii. (At least, that's what I guess: I haven't actually performed the calculation to check. Hey, I'm not getting paid for this, OK?) > distance is 2.44 times the planet's radius. At a greater distance, the > satellite suffers only tidal distortion, but holds together. At a smaller > distance it is torn apart by the tidal forces, for they are greater than the > gravitational forces holding the satellite together. If the satellite > has a higher density, or a high rigidity, so that cohesive forces add to > gravitational ones in binding it together, it could survive at a > somewhat smaller distance from the planet. The critical distance at > which a large satellite can survive destruction is called Roche's limit. > And, due to the same fundamental physics, the critical distance at which a test particle (of negligible mass) will orbit a body in a binary system is also the Roche limit. Scorpio can safely be considered a test particle. Isn't physics fun? Iain (This would be so much easier with a blackboard, you know.) ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 18 Feb 1999 10:36:16 +0000 (GMT) From: Iain Coleman To: blakes7@lysator.liu.se Subject: Re: [B7L] communication (fwd) Message-Id: Content-Type: TEXT/PLAIN; charset=US-ASCII Judith: > Actually they did have limits on communocation. In Horizon, there was initially > no one in range to intercept the commisar's message. In Star one, Orac was > recognised as being faster than any other method of communication. It appears FTL communications are narrowcast rather than broadcast, in that the recipient has to be in the appropriate location to receive the message. Thus, sending a message from (say) Star One to Space Command HQ would involve contacting an intermediary who would pass the message to another known intermediary and so on. However, once the link is in place communication is effectively instantaneous: I'm sure we see some conversations over interstellar distances, don't we? Iain ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 18 Feb 1999 12:00:35 -0000 From: Robinson Paula To: "'blakes7@lysator.liu.se'" , "'space-city@world.std.com'" Subject: [B7L] Horizon news - colour of justice Message-ID: Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit Quick info-splurge: "The Colour of Justice" is to be shown on Sunday in the UK - It is on BBC2 at 10:10pm and is a filmed version of the stage play based on the events of the inquiry into the murder of Stephen Lawrence, in which Jan Chappell plays DC Holden. Paula ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 19 Feb 1999 01:33:13 +1000 From: Taina Nieminen To: "'B7'" Subject: RE: [B7L] Roche limit (was Too much caffeine) Message-ID: <01BE5BA7.D357B840@TENZIL> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit > > Ian wrote, re the Roche limit: ^^^ Iain. Hmph. I have problems with concentration and sometimes letters drop out when I'm typing and I don't always pick them up. If you were offended, I apologise. Taina ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 18 Feb 1999 18:33:18 +0000 From: Julia Jones To: blakes7@lysator.liu.se Subject: Re: [B7L] Flat Robin #23 - By Arkaroo Message-ID: In message <199902180242.VAA13731@netroamer.com>, Arkaroo Fleabane writes >'Hah hah! You appear a sultry and willing wench, desperately in need of some >semi-masochistic codependency! Howsabout we go back to my Pollock-Canning >Factory and *can* some Pollock of our own, if you know what I mean,' he asked, >sidling up alongside her. Who needs The Other List with stuff like this going on here?# Encore! -- Julia Jones "Don't philosophise with me, you electronic moron!" The Turing test - as interpreted by Kerr Avon. ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 18 Feb 1999 18:58:34 +0000 From: Julia Jones To: blakes7@lysator.liu.se Subject: Re: [B7L] Flat robin, chptr 26 Message-ID: In message <36CB9A13.3BE9@jps.net>, Helen Krummenacker writes >Gytha hummed as she led the way out of the inn. Let Esme fixate on >dangerous elves; Nanny was about to have two handsome young men in her >bedroom. And one was too drunk, and one would too injured, for either >man to go away. The day was looking brighter and brighter. More perversion seepage... I *like* the idea of Servalan as an elf a la Pratchett :-) -- Julia Jones "Don't philosophise with me, you electronic moron!" The Turing test - as interpreted by Kerr Avon. ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 18 Feb 1999 19:18:51 +0100 (BST) From: Judith Proctor To: Lysator List Subject: [B7L] Blake's 7 theme music Message-ID: Content-Type: TEXT/PLAIN; CHARSET=US-ASCII Does the music for Blake's 7 exist in written form anywhere? I've just had a query from a guy who wants to have it played on the organ at his wedding (I can imagine it sounding pretty good on a organ). Can anyone help? (I'm pretty certain it was never released as sheet music) Judith -- http://www.hermit.org/Blakes7 Redemption 99 - The Blakes 7/Babylon 5 convention 26-28 February 1999, Ashford International Hotel, Kent http://www.smof.com/redemption/ ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 18 Feb 1999 17:56:13 -0000 From: "Neil Faulkner" To: "lysator" Subject: Re: [B7L] Roche limit (was Too much caffeine) Message-ID: <000201be5b7d$80ce5cc0$3b14ac3e@default> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Iain/Taina: Thanks for the clarification on the Roche limit. It's particularly gratifying to see that my speculation on the importance of mass are confirmed (I'm something of a dunce when it comes to physics. I prefer ecology). However, going back to the original line in Traitor: 'It's above Roche's limit so it must be a spacecraft' Well, I can't see how that is vindicated - Holmes is still wrong, surely. If satellites are torn apart _below_ the Roche limit, then an object _above_ the Roche limit need not be a spacecraft. It could be anything. On the other hand, an orbitting body _below_ the Roche limit would have to be a spacecraft, not a natural satellite. In fact, Scorpio's altitude in this episode is given as a mere 40 miles, presumably well within the Roche limit of Earthlike Helotrix. So I stand by my assertion that Holmes gaffed on this one. Neil ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 18 Feb 1999 20:28:34 -0000 From: "Neil Faulkner" To: "lysator" Subject: Re: [B7L] Fannishness Message-ID: <000401be5b7d$8268d2e0$3b14ac3e@default> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Meant to address this sooner, but Work got in the way... Helen wrote: >I believe in keeping characters in >character. If one can expand it out beyond the canon, fine. In fact, I'm >outraging a number of Sherlock Holmes fans and delighting others by >setting a story with him and Irene Adler in the days of their youth. But >I feel Canon should be kept in mind, because otherwise you aren't >writing "the" characters Avon and Vila, you are just using those names >on very differnt people. I agree in principle, but putting it into practice is probably next to impossible. You can't write 'the' characters, only your own interpretation of them. This is what the scriptwriters themselves did, with consequent irregularities - by and large it worked, though, because the series does not delve too deeply into character, being primarily plot-oriented. Fanfic, OTOH, is frequently character-dominant, and the various interpretations of the characters show up more starkly. Compare, for example, Sondra Sweigman's Blake with Judith Seaman's - both are recognisably Blake, despite being poles apart in almost every respect. When I criticise fan writing, it's not so much because the writer allows her/imself to be bound to 'the canon', but because s/he is self-restricted to a canon that does not really exist. Blakes 7, the TV series, is not a canon, it is merely the basis for one, which the fans have to construct for themselves. The series is too insubstantial and too self-contradictory to qualify as complete and coherent resource in itself. >I have fun writing pastiches and fanfic, because I like writing, but in >writing for a fan audience, one has to spend less time on explanations >and more time exploring. It's well and good to write essays about why >this character may act the way he does, but it's more intriguing to show >why. That's true of good writing anyway. I agree entirely with the reduced need to explain the fundamentals - that, to me, is one of the appeals of writing fanfic. But more time exploring - the level of fannishness I've been criticising does _anything but_ explore. I wouldn't like to say if this is because the non-explorative authors are disinterested in exploration, disdainful of it, perhaps even afraid of it. A sizable chunk of fanfic is distinctly non-daring. Neil ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 18 Feb 1999 18:02:05 -0000 From: "Neil Faulkner" To: "lysator" Subject: Re: [B7L] trip trap Message-ID: <000301be5b7d$819f6860$3b14ac3e@default> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Penny wrote: >I tend to think of men as 'it', when I have to think of *them* at all. I like these sarcastic posts of Penny's, because it proves it's got a sense of humour, though its contributions to the Flat Robin are proof enough of that. I hope we'll continue to hear more from it in the forseeable future. Neil 'I am not a man, I am a free number' ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 18 Feb 1999 13:26:06 -0800 From: mistral@ptinet.net To: B7 list Subject: Re: [B7L] trip trap Message-ID: <36CC856D.B15ACD5B@ptinet.net> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Neil Faulkner wrote: > Penny wrote: > >I tend to think of men as 'it', when I have to think of *them* at all. > > I like these sarcastic posts of Penny's, because it proves it's got a sense > of humour, though its contributions to the Flat Robin are proof enough of > that. I hope we'll continue to hear more from it in the forseeable future. > Neil > > 'I am not a man, I am a free number' LOL hysterically! Good for you, Neil. Mistral -- "And for my next trick, I shall swallow my other foot."--Vila ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 18 Feb 1999 21:32:46 +0000 From: Julia Jones To: blakes7@lysator.liu.se Subject: [B7L] Some things never change... Message-ID: Just been watching the latest Red Dwarf. I see that the Beeb's effects have improved over the last twenty odd years, but they still require at least one gratuitous nose-cam shot per episode of a science fiction series :-) -- Julia Jones "Sickbags on Standby" ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 18 Feb 1999 21:34:55 +0000 From: Julia Jones To: Lysator List Subject: Re: [B7L] Blake's 7 theme music Message-ID: In message , Judith Proctor writes >Does the music for Blake's 7 exist in written form anywhere? > >I've just had a query from a guy who wants to have it played on the organ at his >wedding (I can imagine it sounding pretty good on a organ). > >Can anyone help? (I'm pretty certain it was never released as sheet music) > It was - I have a rather poor (but legal) photocopy. Chappell music, IIRC, it may be possible to order it still. -- Julia Jones "Don't philosophise with me, you electronic moron!" The Turing test - as interpreted by Kerr Avon. ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 18 Feb 1999 22:52:35 +1100 From: Kathryn Andersen To: "Blake's 7 list" Subject: Re: [B7L] Flat Robin chapter... 25? Message-ID: <19990218225235.63754@welkin.apana.org.au> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii On Wed, Feb 17, 1999 at 08:56:15PM -0700, Helen Krummenacker wrote: > chauveline@lycosmail.com wrote: > > > > The scumble scoured its way through Travis's bloodstream. > > I didn't seem to get chapter 24 at all! What happened? This stuff is... incredible. Sort of like scumble, really. I am enjoying this insanity; obviously mixing Discworld with Blake's 7 has overcome my Discworld allergy, increasing my Terry-Pratchet-humour tolerance... or perhaps not, considering that my pterry humour tolerance runs to about half a novel before I give up. Keep it coming, folks. No, I am not a vegetarian. -- _--_|\ | Kathryn Andersen / \ | http://home.connexus.net.au/~kat \_.--.*/ | #include "standard/disclaimer.h" v | ------------| Melbourne -> Victoria -> Australia -> Southern Hemisphere Maranatha! | -> Earth -> Sol -> Milky Way Galaxy -> Universe ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 18 Feb 1999 21:37:07 -0500 From: Harriet Monkhouse <101637.2064@compuserve.com> To: "Blake's 7 (Lysator)" Subject: [B7L] Blake's XI v Babylon XI cricket match at Redemption Message-ID: <199902182137_MC2-6B00-B7D9@compuserve.com> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1 Content-Disposition: inline Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit Just over a week until Blake and Sinclair hold the toss in the Blake's XI v Babylon XI cricket match at Redemption. Suddenly it occurs to me that no umpires or referee have been appointed. Should the umpires be supplied from the two different universes? And if so, should they be wise and well-respected (eg Sinofar, who stood in the last match between Blake's XI and the Federation, and Lorien) or be working to their own agenda (eg Servalan - who does at least wear white - and Bester)? Or should they be neutrals (eg Spock and one of the Drs Who)? And who would the Interstellar Cricket Council choose as referee? This post really should be guaranteed neutral. Which leads me to think it must be the Man in the Shack (aka the Ruler of the Universe) from Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. Hey, wait a minute. Rulers of the Universe. Do we not have three candidates standing for this position at Redemption? And might they not be persuaded to stand (on paper, at least) in this match? So, on the one-from-each-universe principle, that would be Servalan and the Emperor Cartagia, with the Sandman as the vis replay umpire back in the pavilion. Which is a pretty good job, as he just has to sit there watching TV and chatting to the Man in the Shack (and his cat). Just to remind any interested parties, the two XIs are as follows. Anyone willing to roll dice, move our high-tech representations of the players round the field, etc, more than welcome to join me at at 10.30 on Saturday morning, subject to rain, fog etc in the boulevard. Blake's XI 1: Tarrant (RHB, occ RM) (batted a bit like Jayasuriya at Who's 7 - three sixes in the opening over) 2: Jenna (RHB, occ OB) (made a very classy century) 3: Zen (LHB) (the only one calm enough to tackle the problem spot of No. 3) 4: Blake (captain) (RHB, RM) (a first-ball duck, but picked up three wickets in three overs with his military medium) 5: Gan (RHB, RM) (batted very steadily) 6: Avon (vice-captain) (LHB, RFM) (had Bartolomew stumped, but incredulous when he was given out lbw to her) 7: Orac (RHB, WK) (sledged the opposing batsmen and made an unorthodox but brilliant hundred) 8: Soolin (RHB, LF) (bowled very fast) 9: Dayna (RHB, RFM) (her new-ball partner, who was especially pleased to dismisss Servalan) 10: Cally (LHB, LBG) (leg-spin savaged by Servalan, but had Jarvik caught in the deep trying to slog. 11: Vila (RHB, SLA) (whose many-times-great-grandmother once met Phil Tufnell in a bar) 12th man: Slave (wasn't actually called upon, but someone suggested he was Steve Barwick) Babylon XI 1: Mollari (RHB) (enjoys an occasionally effective partnership - when they don't run each other out - with…) 2: …G'Kar (LHB) (in the second innings they swap round and he faces the first ball, so neither has the honour exclusively) 3: Sheridan (vice-captain) (RHB) (um… well, I suppose he's a fairly orthodox batsman) 4: Delenn (LHB, occ SLA) (less orthodox, with an array of exquisite strokes) 5: Sinclair (captain) (RHB, occ RM) (the mainstay of the middle order) 6: Marcus (RHB, RM) (well, obviously Marcus played cricket. An all-rounder - bowls first change) 7: Ivanova (RHB, RFM) (opening bowler and can hit the ball quite hard too) 8: Kosh (RHB, WK) (protective clothing suggests keeper) 9: Garibaldi (LHB, OB) (closely related to Greg Matthews of New South Wales, though his hair has undergone the reverse process) 10: Lennier (RHB, LBG) (studied the googly and flipper during his priestly training) 11: Lyta (LHB, LF) (one of the Vorlons' adaptations made her bowl very fast) 12th man: Vir (and Stephen of course is the physio) And I'm the scorer. Harriet ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 18 Feb 1999 19:03:24 PST From: "Joanne MacQueen" To: blakes7@lysator.liu.se Subject: Re: [B7L] Blake's XI v Babylon XI cricket match at Redemption Message-ID: <19990219030325.15916.qmail@hotmail.com> Content-type: text/plain >Or should they be neutrals (eg Spock and one of the Drs Who)? [snip, snip, snippety] >Hey, wait a minute. Rulers of the Universe. Do >we not have three candidates standing for this position at >Redemption? And might they not be persuaded to stand (on paper, >at least) in this match? Well, if you can't persuade them, Doctors 4 and 5 might be useful choices (ie the ones who seemed to have some interest in the game). >6: Marcus (RHB, RM) (well, obviously Marcus played cricket. With what, pray tell? The Swiss Army stick he carries with him? >7: Ivanova (RHB, RFM) (opening bowler and can hit the ball quite >hard too) But of course. I keep hearing that she's God, so why not. >8: Kosh (RHB, WK) (protective clothing suggests keeper) Actually, Kosh's suit suggests an umpire with the entire collection of fielder's jumpers hanging off him. But the question "Howzat?" might be met with something far too enigmatic for the scorer to handle. How's your knowledge of Vorlon, Harriet? >9: Garibaldi (LHB, OB) (closely related to Greg Matthews of New South Wales, though his hair has undergone the reverse process) I'd say yeah, yeah, but someone will probably hit me for doing so Regards Joanne Like cannibalism, a matter of taste. --G. K. Chesterton ______________________________________________________ Get Your Private, Free Email at http://www.hotmail.com ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 18 Feb 1999 20:13:29 PST From: "Penny Dreadful" To: blakes7@lysator.liu.se Subject: Re: [B7L] Flat Robin chapter... 25? Message-ID: <19990219041330.6916.qmail@hotmail.com> Content-type: text/plain Kathryn said: >I didn't seem to get chapter 24 at all! What happened? Chapter 25 seems to pick up seamlessly where 22 left off (23 being a Meanwhile), leading me to conclude that there *is* no Chapter 24. I deduce Chapter 25 was thusly named in an attempt to get the numbers in synch with reality (see 'Georgian Calendar') but without realizing that a Chapter 23 *had* been posted in the interim. Avona? Am I anywhere near the mark? >I am enjoying this insanity; obviously mixing Discworld with Blake's 7 >has overcome my Discworld allergy, increasing my Terry-Pratchet-humour >tolerance... or perhaps not, considering that my pterry humour >tolerance runs to about half a novel before I give up. We're currently sitting at over 25 000 words (I've been concatenating it for ease of reference, so help me). How many words in half a Discworld novel, on average, I wonder? I've never counted. --Penny "And Thus Was Born The Legend Of Chapter 24" Dreadful ______________________________________________________ Get Your Private, Free Email at http://www.hotmail.com ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 19 Feb 1999 11:08:58 +0000 (GMT) From: Iain Coleman To: lysator Subject: Re: [B7L] Roche limit (was Too much caffeine) Message-Id: Content-Type: TEXT/PLAIN; charset=US-ASCII On Thu, 18 Feb 1999, Neil Faulkner wrote: > Iain/Taina: > Thanks for the clarification on the Roche limit. It's particularly > gratifying to see that my speculation on the importance of mass are > confirmed (I'm something of a dunce when it comes to physics. I prefer > ecology). However, going back to the original line in Traitor: > > 'It's above Roche's limit so it must be a spacecraft' > > Well, I can't see how that is vindicated - Holmes is still wrong, surely. > If satellites are torn apart _below_ the Roche limit, then an object _above_ > the Roche limit need not be a spacecraft. It could be anything. Although I did adress this point, it may have been confusingly buried within a lot of other astrophysical stuff. I'll try to be a bit clearer. Forget this business about satellites being disrupted: that's not the basic physical point. Consider a test particle P (an object of negligible size and mass) and a massive body M (which is also one component of a binary system). M has a Roche limit a distance R from its center. The fundamental physics is this: Below R, P is gravitationally bound to M. Above R, P is not gravitationally bound to M. In "Traitor", M is the planet Helotrix and P is Scorpio. (The other component of the binary system is Helotrix's sun). Scorpio is above R, and hence is not gravitationally bound to Helotrix. However, it is observed to be orbiting Helotrix. If it is a natural body this is impossible: hence, it is a spacecraft. > On the other hand, an orbitting body _below_ the Roche limit would have to > be a spacecraft, not a natural satellite. In fact, Scorpio's altitude in > this episode is given as a mere 40 miles, presumably well within the Roche > limit of Earthlike Helotrix. Ah, now that last point is a goof (I hadn't noticed that a particular height was given). I make the Roche limit for Earth (with respect to the Sun) roughly 260 000 km. (I ignored the Moon, which is not really negligible, but that should still give some feel for the order of magnitude.) The only way Helotrix could have such a low Roche limit is if it is in close orbit about a very massive body. If we assume that Helotrix has the same mass and radius as Earth, and is in orbit about a planet of the mass of Jupiter, its orbital distance must be about 120 000 km. This is not impossible: Jupiter's equatorial radius is only 71 300 km and it has a couple of satellites at distances of hundreds of thousands of km. However, Helotrix would be seriously affected by being so close to such a planet. Io is 422 000 km from Jupiter. Tidal heating induces massive earthquakes and volcanoes, and it also interacts significantly with Jupiter's magnetic field. Not a nice place to live. Iain -------------------------------- End of blakes7-d Digest V99 Issue #67 *************************************