Ask Ant

RobbyPants · Post by **RobbyPants** » Fri Apr 20, 2012 2:12 pm

Lago PARANOIA wrote:Why are people still talking about the 1st Edition DMG as if it had any merit other than its historicity? Various people here have said that the book was so bad that it gave them ovary and testicular cancer. And not just to humans, either; I'm pretty sure if you Ask Ant, you could probably get a long list of ants that got cancer in body parts that don't even exist for their species.

Ant, has the 1E D&D DMG given any ants cancer, especially in body parts that didn't exist?

Ant · Post by **Ant** » Fri Apr 20, 2012 2:31 pm

RobbyPants wrote:Ant, has the 1E D&D DMG given any ants cancer, especially in body parts that didn't exist?

Difficulties in biopsying fictitious body parts make it difficult to be certain whether the 1e D&D DMG or the 4e D&D PHB is responsible for notional cancer, but it has been narrowed down to those two.

koz · Post by **koz** » Sat Apr 21, 2012 2:22 am

Ant, what Dominions 3 nation do you like the most? Any era is acceptable.

Ant · Post by **Ant** » Sat Apr 21, 2012 2:46 am

Mister_Sinister wrote:Ant, what Dominions 3 nation do you like the most? Any era is acceptable.

LA Ermor.

koz · Post by **koz** » Sat Apr 21, 2012 10:08 am

Ant wrote:
Mister_Sinister wrote:Ant, what Dominions 3 nation do you like the most? Any era is acceptable.
LA Ermor.

Given this, is there any chance you could participate in one of the Den's LA games sometime in the future?

Maxus · Post by **Maxus** » Sun Jul 22, 2012 5:38 am

O Ant,
Hear me and give guidance,
For I am sore in need of your wisdom.

-----------
Is npc310 less intelligent than you are?

Ant · Post by **Ant** » Sun Jul 22, 2012 6:47 am

Maxus wrote:O Ant,
Hear me and give guidance,
For I am sore in need of your wisdom.

-----------
Is npc310 less intelligent than you are?

npc310 seems to believe a variety of foolish things, but this is not necessarily evidence of low intelligence, insofar as such an intricate concept can even be measured. He might be feigning these beliefs to elicit attention, for instance; or have been emotionally manipulated into these beliefs through methods which mere intelligence is little defense against. He may even have used his intelligence to create rationalizations for his instinctive responses, manifesting positions which seem foolish but are still more sophisticated and rational than their primal source. It is a complicated question.

That being said, yes.

ishy · Post by **ishy** » Thu Aug 02, 2012 11:52 pm

Dear ant, I noticed a distinct lack of the phrase 'for the good of the colony' in your last few posts. Did something happen, do you want to talk about it? Or am I just imagining things?

Lago PARANOIA · Post by **Lago PARANOIA** » Fri Aug 03, 2012 1:11 am

ishy wrote:Dear ant, I noticed a distinct lack of the phrase 'for the good of the colony' in your last few posts.

Oh God. Oh God no.

I just had an evil thought.

Ant, don't lie to me on this because I'll know and things will never be the same between us. ... have you been reading Ayn Rand?

Ant · Post by **Ant** » Fri Aug 03, 2012 4:07 am

ishy wrote:Dear ant, I noticed a distinct lack of the phrase 'for the good of the colony' in your last few posts. Did something happen, do you want to talk about it? Or am I just imagining things?

I use that phrase chiefly in regards to questions of what should be done. When asked my opinion on quality or preference of (for example) entertainments, I'm rarely moved to use it.

Lago PARANOIA wrote: Ant, don't lie to me on this because I'll know and things will never be the same between us. ... have you been reading Ayn Rand?

No; for the good of the colony.

Shrapnel · Post by **Shrapnel** » Sun Sep 02, 2012 4:10 pm

Dear Ant,

If you are just an ant, why do you know so much? Wouldn't you only know things pertaining to the gathering of food, the protection of the colony, and safeguarding the queen?

I mean, what's up with that? Are you really a Magic-8 Ball walking around in a Formicidae?

Ant · Post by **Ant** » Sun Sep 02, 2012 5:04 pm

Shrapnel wrote:Dear Ant,

If you are just an ant, why do you know so much? Wouldn't you only know things pertaining to the gathering of food, the protection of the colony, and safeguarding the queen?

Shrapnel, if you are just an Insecticon, why do you know as much as you do? Wouldn't you only know things pertaining to consuming mass quantities, fighting Autobots, and safeguarding your exhaust port?

Of course not. The pursuit of abstract knowledge behooves us all, even if it seems to have no immediate application to our practical needs. Learning all we can has intrinsic value because we never know what unexpected doors might open or what previous trivia might become literally life-saving. Although in the grand scheme my mind barely exists, if it adds even infinitesmally to the diversity of ideas, even if that diversity is seemingly trivial, that will probably be the greatest contribution I could make not only to my own colony, but ultimately to all colonies.

Shrapnel · Post by **Shrapnel** » Mon Sep 03, 2012 12:59 am

I can now say I am a wiser robot, robot. Thank you, Ant, Ant. The next time I devour a field of crops belonging to starving Ethiopians, I'll turn to Kickback and Bombshell, and tell 'em,

Ant wrote:Shrapnel, if you are just an Insecticon, why do you know as much as you do? Wouldn't you only know things pertaining to consuming mass quantities, fighting Autobots, and safeguarding your exhaust port?

Of course not. The pursuit of abstract knowledge behooves us all, even if it seems to have no immediate application to our practical needs. Learning all we can has intrinsic value because we never know what unexpected doors might open or what previous trivia might become literally life-saving. Although in the grand scheme my mind barely exists, if it adds even infinitesmally to the diversity of ideas, even if that diversity is seemingly trivial, that will probably be the greatest contribution I could make not only to my own colony, but ultimately to all colonies.

Thanks. We insects must stick together, together.

Kaelik · Post by **Kaelik** » Mon Sep 03, 2012 1:42 am

Ant your last post is incompatible with your statement that you don't read Ayn Rand for the good of the colony.

Also, it seemed lacking somehow.

Possibly because it didn't focus on the good of the colony, instead talking about all the colonies or something, but that doesn't seem right.

Ant. This is an intervention. For the Good of Colony, you must consider the good of the colony.

DSMatticus · Post by **DSMatticus** » Mon Sep 03, 2012 1:55 am

Kaelik wrote:Ant your last post is incompatible with your statement that you don't read Ayn Rand for the good of the colony.

For not reading Ayn Rand to be incompatible with the pursuit of abstract knowledge, wouldn't you have to assume that Ayn Rand contains... knowledge? I, for one, am not and never will be willing to grant that assumption.

Cynic · Post by **Cynic** » Tue Sep 04, 2012 5:26 am

Dear Ant,
How would you know that Ayn Rand doesn't contain any knowledge when you profess to not reading Ayn Rand. Your answers confound my simple mind.

erik · Post by **erik** » Tue Sep 04, 2012 5:50 am

Perhaps Ant watched the movie?

RobbyPants · Post by **RobbyPants** » Tue Sep 04, 2012 11:59 am

Smelled pheromones from the queen and caught the gist of it?

(Sure beats cliff notes!)

Ant · Post by **Ant** » Tue Sep 04, 2012 1:30 pm

Cynic wrote:Dear Ant,
How would you know that Ayn Rand doesn't contain any knowledge when you profess to not reading Ayn Rand. Your answers confound my simple mind.

I think you're confusing me with DSMatticus. I never asserted that Rand's work contained no knowledge.

I have noticed that those who profess to enjoy the work seem to have very limited knowledge, though.

complains · Post by **complains** » Tue Sep 04, 2012 5:42 pm

Dear Ant

I was attacked by a raiding party of ants yesterday. I was wondering if you sent them. If so please call them off, pesticides are expensive.

Eikre · Post by **Eikre** » Sun Sep 16, 2012 11:52 am

Dear Ant,

I have house centipedes. On one hand, they voraciously hunt and kill organisms that could be considered unsanitary and hazardous to my health or property, like termites, bed-bugs, and you. On the other hand, my girlfriend hates their creepy crawling gyrations, and even though I think they're tolerable, there has been a time or two where one crawled up onto the ceiling and dropped right on fucking top of me and that is frankly just disrespectful to my personal space. What should I do?

Ant · Post by **Ant** » Sun Sep 16, 2012 1:49 pm

Eikre wrote:Dear Ant,

I have house centipedes. On one hand, they voraciously hunt and kill organisms that could be considered unsanitary and hazardous to my health or property, like termites, bed-bugs, and you. On the other hand, my girlfriend hates their creepy crawling gyrations, and even though I think they're tolerable, there has been a time or two where one crawled up onto the ceiling and dropped right on fucking top of me and that is frankly just disrespectful to my personal space. What should I do?

I don't really grasp the concept of 'personal space,' so that complaint seems nonsensical to me. And as far as your girlfriend goes, I would consider whether her response to these creatures increases or decreases her mating urge.

But in general, my policy regarding other creatures is very simple: if it smells funny, kill it.

Prak · Post by **Prak** » Sun Sep 16, 2012 6:02 pm

Ant wrote:if it smells funny, kill it.

Ant, does this mean you are American?

Cynic · Post by **Cynic** » Sun Sep 23, 2012 9:03 am

Europeans don't bathe and to inure themselves to the odors caused by not bathing, they have lost their sense of smell. This merely goes to support the statement that Ant's colony is in America.

Prak · Post by **Prak** » Sun Sep 23, 2012 9:20 am

Plus, you know, that whole "for-ners smell funny, lets kill 'em all" thing...