Annoying Questions I'd Like Answered...

fectin · Post by **fectin** » Tue Aug 16, 2011 1:13 am

Mormon missionaries are often pretty good at both doctrine and logic. If you think some of their doctrine is offensive, ask them about it. I have a hard time carrying any sort of ill-will towards them. If you believe that something is really important to everyone else's well being though, dressing in a suit and politely telling them about it is a fairly civilized way of getting your point across.

Or maybe try to convert them to TTRPGs.

I dunno though. I tell Mormons that I'm Catholic (though not a very good one), and they quietly go away and never come back.

Chamomile · Post by **Chamomile** » Tue Aug 16, 2011 5:34 am

fectin wrote:Mormon missionaries are often pretty good at both doctrine and logic. If you think some of their doctrine is offensive, ask them about it. I have a hard time carrying any sort of ill-will towards them. If you believe that something is really important to everyone else's well being though, dressing in a suit and politely telling them about it is a fairly civilized way of getting your point across.

But they're weird. This means they should be shunned. And sometimes rioted against. And possibly it should be legal to kill them in some states.

fectin · Post by **fectin** » Tue Aug 16, 2011 6:11 am

Wow, I really made a word salad there, didn't I? Oh well.

Meikle641 · Post by **Meikle641** » Tue Aug 16, 2011 6:36 am

Does anybody remember ads for some sort of antennae booster for cellphones? They were some sort of adhesive pad that was applied inside the phone, and looks like a printed circuit or something.

Did these things work? And if so, are they still sold?

shadzar · Post by **shadzar** » Tue Aug 16, 2011 7:09 am

Meikle641 wrote:Does anybody remember ads for some sort of antennae booster for cellphones? They were some sort of adhesive pad that was applied inside the phone, and looks like a printed circuit or something.

Did these things work? And if so, are they still sold?

I think i recall it in an episode of pitchman with Billy Mays.

as to whether they work or not, i can only speculate as never bought one, but the concept is sound in principle, however it would only really work if there is enough signal strength to begin with as it only increases the antenna surface area, not the signals strength.

sometimes the headphone will amplify the signal as it would act as an antenna.

Cell Phone Signal Booster Sticker - As Seen On TV

Ravengm · Post by **Ravengm** » Tue Aug 16, 2011 6:02 pm

From my limited knowledge on the subject, the sticker drains the crap out of your battery life. But that's just what I heard.

But yeah, it only amplifies the signal you have, it doesn't make it any better. This could be fine or it could be bad, I'm not sure.

Meikle641 · Post by **Meikle641** » Tue Aug 16, 2011 8:42 pm

http://www.andybrain.com/2005/cellphone ... -analysis/

Ah well. At least I found out about these Femto cell boosters than plug into your router. That might actually give me reception in my home. Seriously, my place in the basement may as well be a faraday cage with the interference I get with wireless phones and cells.

Stahlseele · Post by **Stahlseele** » Tue Aug 16, 2011 9:05 pm

Meikle641 wrote:http://www.andybrain.com/2005/cellphone ... -analysis/

Ah well. At least I found out about these Femto cell boosters than plug into your router. That might actually give me reception in my home. Seriously, my place in the basement may as well be a faraday cage with the interference I get with wireless phones and cells.

have you heard about hackers being able to actually use these as a means of listening in to other people?

Meikle641 · Post by **Meikle641** » Tue Aug 16, 2011 9:50 pm

The femto transmitters? No, I'd only learned of them yesterday night, actually. Hopefully not as easy as how people screw around with Blue Tooth.

Stahlseele · Post by **Stahlseele** » Tue Aug 16, 2011 9:59 pm

http://www.slashgear.com/vodafone-sure- ... -14165000/

fectin · Post by **fectin** » Tue Aug 16, 2011 10:09 pm

Stahlseele wrote:
Meikle641 wrote:http://www.andybrain.com/2005/cellphone ... -analysis/

Ah well. At least I found out about these Femto cell boosters than plug into your router. That might actually give me reception in my home. Seriously, my place in the basement may as well be a faraday cage with the interference I get with wireless phones and cells.
have you heard about hackers being able to actually use these as a means of listening in to other people?

That's just FUD. That is already completely possible anytime you talk to any tower, and has been for decades (about two of them); that the same vulnerability exists in femtocells is mildly interesting, but hardly news.

Unrelatedly, AT&T gave me on of those, unsolicited, a couple months ago. It was a little weird. I litterally got a letter saying that if I came to their store, they would comp me one (must return or buy at a prorated rate if I leave inside a year).
If you dont get signal, try bitching about it. Apparently they're just giving those away.

Stahlseele · Post by **Stahlseele** » Tue Aug 16, 2011 10:25 pm

Technically, they are using customers with bad reception to build their own network in mesh form.
If they can get out enough of those, they don't need to build expensive infrastructure themselves.
And they can lay the blame on someone else, if something goes wrong.

fectin · Post by **fectin** » Tue Aug 16, 2011 10:57 pm

They're really not though. Because access to it is restricted to a list of <10 people which I have to specifically put in. I would rather throw it wide open for anyone, but that is actually not an option.

I don't know what their deal is.

Count Arioch the 28th · Thu Aug 18, 2011 4:47 am

I'm playing a half-orc Battle Sorcerer, called Krunk the Barbarian the thrice-deathcheater the Favored of Chronepsis.

Here are his stats:

Str 18
Dex 14
Con 18
Int 11
Wis 9
Cha 15

He is getting his first level 2 spell (he's 4th level). He has Color Spray and Enlarge Person as his first level spells. He's got a longspear, with the feats Skill Focus: Concentration, and Stand Still. I am focused towards melee combat.

Anyway, here are the spells I have to choose from (DM is ruling "PHB only" for spells)

Glitterdust
Tasha's Hideous Laughter
Mirror Image/Blur (not sure which is better, both seem good)
False Life
Rope Trick

Glitterdust and Tasha's has issues with the fact that my charisma is modest for a sorcerer, but they are spells that fucking kill people. Rope Trick could be invaluable as a utility spell, while False Life, Blur, and Mirror Image would boost my combat endurance.

EDIT: Forgot the question! Of the 6 spells I've gotten it narrowed down to, which would you pick, and why? Why is more important than how many votes it gets.

Psychic Robot · Post by **Psychic Robot** » Thu Aug 18, 2011 6:05 am

Skill Focus: Concentration

but improved initiative exists and if you have stand still you'll want combat reflexes

Count Arioch the 28th · Thu Aug 18, 2011 11:53 am

Which of the 6 spells I am choosing from would be best?

fectin · Post by **fectin** » Thu Aug 18, 2011 11:54 am

Look at control undead also (probably next level). It's an autowin against the most common type of enemies at low level.

Glitterdust doubles as invisibility detection; that's probably the best you'll get there.

Either way, offense is better than defense.

RobbyPants · Post by **RobbyPants** » Thu Aug 18, 2011 11:57 am

Count Arioch the 28th wrote:Of the 6 spells I've gotten it narrowed down to, which would you pick, and why? Why is more important than how many votes it gets.

Personally, Glitterdust and Mirror Image would get my vote.

As you said, Glitterdust kills people. Also, note that it's not Mind-Affecting, so it will work on nearly everything, including constructs and undead (because it's Will and not Fort). With a lowish Cha, you'll want to avoid using it on stuff that has a high Will save if possible. Also, it's a bit of a utility spell in that you can find invisible stuff if you can narrow it down to a 10 foot radius. I think it's a clear winner over Tasha's Hideous Laughter.

As for Mirror Image, I like it because the miss chance early on is so much better than with Blur. This is somewhat balanced in that the duration drops each time it saves you from getting hit, but with a duration of 1 min/level, you're probably not getting much more than one, maaaybe two combats out of it anyway. Still, Blur gives you a 20% miss chance, but if you have three images, you have a 75% miss chance. Mirror Image also scales with level. Getting eight images gives you an 88% miss chance.

False Life is kinda cool, but it doesn't scale well. If the game is going to stay low level, you might pick this over Mirror Image because of the nice duration, saving you from having to cast in combat, but I'd avoid it if the game is going to go past low levels.

Rope Trick is iffy. Is your MC cool with the party camping out after one or two fights to gain their spells back? I can't count the number of threads I've seen of MCs crying about this and looking for ways to cock-block it. If your MC doesn't care and you know this for sure, then this one moves up the list a bit, in that you can spam your other spells with less need for rationing.

Prak · Post by **Prak** » Thu Aug 18, 2011 6:14 pm

What says that you can camp out in Rope Trick to regain spells? If I recall correctly, there's some time exchange trick going on, but I don't see anything in the spell description about that. Am I misremembering, and you literally just use it as a safe place to sleep once you can maintain it for eight or more hours?

RobbyPants · Post by **RobbyPants** » Thu Aug 18, 2011 6:46 pm

Prak_Anima wrote:What says that you can camp out in Rope Trick to regain spells? If I recall correctly, there's some time exchange trick going on, but I don't see anything in the spell description about that. Am I misremembering, and you literally just use it as a safe place to sleep once you can maintain it for eight or more hours?

It lasts one hour per level, so my understanding was that once you could have it last for 9 or more hours, you'd simply rest, regain your spells, and prep them, ready to go.

The time trick you're probably thinking about would be to abuse any time differences of other planes, including those you create via Genesis.

Count Arioch the 28th · Sun Aug 28, 2011 2:22 am

Quick question, somewhat of a medical nature.

My erosive esophagitis is being especially brutal lately. I choke at least once every time I eat lately. (It is due to a hietal hernia that's not suitable for operation. I am fine with that, because I'd like a very compelling reason to split my abdomen open).

I really need to find a way to get back on Prilosec, but is there anything I can do right now to help with the symptoms?

Maj · Post by **Maj** » Sun Aug 28, 2011 4:41 am

Why can't you just go buy generic prilosec at the drug store?

Wesley Street · Post by **Wesley Street** » Sun Aug 28, 2011 5:41 pm

My wife has the same issue. It's hereditary in her family. She went off Prilosec and has had success with GIH supplements from the health food store.

Cynic · Post by **Cynic** » Wed Aug 31, 2011 12:26 am

WHen I drink bottled beer, why does the beer's head start to rise and overflow?

I seem to do this everytime I drink.

Count Arioch the 28th · Wed Aug 31, 2011 1:19 am

Why is it that so many hispanic women have perfectly crafted and shaped eyebrows, but thicker mustaches than me? Just wondering why that is, I'm sure there's a cultural thing for it.