HDTenEightyP/NetNews huggingface dataset:
From: billmcc@seanews.akita.com (Bill McCormick)
Subject: Re: RPG Combat Rules & Reality
Keywords: rpg
Organization: SEANEWS - Seattle Public Access News & Mail
Date: Mon, 16 Nov 1992 17:17:58 GMT


From billmcc@seanews.akita.com (Bill McCormick)

In article <Bxq1G2.At@law7.DaytonOH.NCR.COM> MegaZone23 <megazone@hikita.wpi.edu> writes:
>Modern jackets/vests are fairly effective, but one thing most games ignore is
>kinetic energy. Sure, so you got DAMN lucky and the .44 didn't punch through
>your vest. Still, all the energy went somewhere. My roommate runs Cyberpunk,
>mixing 2013 and 2020 rules. One of the things he does is check for bludgeoning
>damage from a stopped shot. We've killed characters by breaking ribs, 
>puncturing lungs, etc, from repeated hits which a vest stopped. Develop a 
>system for whatever game you play. 

I've always wondered about this.  The person *shooting* the .44 had to
accept just as much momentum when shooting as the bullet imparts to the
recipient.

It seems like if the vest distributes this over a wide enough area you
could void any damage at all.

Am I missing something?  The only thing I can think of is that it's
the v(elocity) component that makes the difference of E=mv^2.

Bill
-- 
SEANEWS  []  Seattle News + Mail  []  Public Access  []  +1 206 747 NEWS
E-mail for PGP key.   MD5 (no sigs) is: 8e253e95133365a292261c7d0da58bcb


Newsgroups: sci.military
From: fencer@eng.umd.edu (Erwin Moedersheim)
Subject: Re: Hercules C-130G
Organization: Aerospace Engineering, University of Maryland, College Park
Date: Mon, 23 Nov 1992 17:30:45 GMT


From fencer@eng.umd.edu (Erwin Moedersheim)


In article <Bxyuv0.FIB@law7.DaytonOH.NCR.COM>, 
Riccardo Sibilia <rick@imp.phys.ethz.ch> writes:
>
>I heard of a G version of the C-130. What is it for? Which differences
>does it have from the others?
>
The C-130G is a tranport version of the Hercules. The aircraft are ex EC-130Q
Tacamo aircraft, which were replaced by the E-6A. All equipment related to the 
Tacamo task has been removed.

A well-known C-130G is the Blue Angels' support aircraft, Fat Albert.

Erwin

Newsgroups: sci.military
From: sasrns@unx.sas.com (Neal Smith)
Subject: Japanese Heraldry
Organization: SAS Institute Inc.
Date: Thu, 19 Nov 1992 14:09:18 GMT


From sasrns@unx.sas.com (Neal Smith)



Hi all,

  This might not be related directly to the discussions at hand, 
but I was wondering if anyone could give me some sources on Japanese
heraldry during 1300AD-1600AD?  I would like books that are detailed
and have pictures.  

Thanks
Neal Smith
sasrns@unx.sas.com



Newsgroups: sci.military
From: Mike Campbell <mike@aloysius.equinox.gen.nz>
Subject: Battleship Potemkin
Organization: Me?  Organized?
Date: Thu, 19 Nov 1992 13:55:42 GMT


From Mike Campbell <mike@aloysius.equinox.gen.nz>

> Of what importance was the Potemkin to the Tsarist navy? Was it
> a flagship, a major capital ship, or a ship of lesser importance?

Potemkin was a "Pre-Dreadnought" Battleship.  As such it was a major
unit of the Black Sea Fleet during Tsarist times.  The Tsarist (and
other minor) navies did not have a lot of Dreadnought (ie all-big-gun)
Battleships in WWI, so the older ships retained much of their
importance.

In the major navies there were also large numbers of ships of similar
classes, however they tended to be relegated to secondary duties,
leaving the battle line to the dreadnoughts.
--
Mike Campbell,
mike@alyosius.equinox.gen.nz
I am no longer surprised when my facts are seen by
someone lese as fiction

Newsgroups: sci.military
From: Richard Pierson <fist@iscp.bellcore.com>
Subject: Re: Battleship Diplomacy 
Organization: Bell Communications Research (Bellcore)
Date: Fri, 13 Nov 1992 17:39:35 GMT


From Richard Pierson <fist@iscp.bellcore.com>

Pardon my comment but "Bu**sh**". There is something very
reassuring about calling in a fire mission, getting a "shot
out" and hearing that freight car pass by overhead 30 seconds
later and not have to adjust the round, realizing its a BB
and knowing that she wont: Run out of fuel, ammo, daylight
and has GMG's that love their jobs. My own personal opinion
is that if there is going to be any "Gunboat Diplomacy" I
want it to be "Our Gunboat Diplomacy" and not someone elses.
:-) 
-- 
##########################################################
There are only two types of ships in the NAVY; SUBMARINES 
                 and TARGETS !!!
#1/XS1100LH	#2/10/10/92
Richard Pierson E06584 vnet: [908] 699-6063
Internet: fist@iscp.bellcore.com,|| UUNET:uunet!bcr!fist  
#include <std.disclaimer> My opinions are my own!!!
I Don't shop in malls, I buy my jeans, jackets and ammo
in the same store.

Newsgroups: sci.military
From: gawne@stsci.edu
Subject: Re: "jeeps"
Organization: Space Telescope Science Institute
Date: Thu, 19 Nov 1992 14:02:49 GMT


From gawne@stsci.edu

In article <BxvFFo.8ot@law7.DaytonOH.NCR.COM>, 
Dick Huddleston <dick.huddleston@yob.sccsi.com> writes:

> next is the much larger "HUMV", affectionatly called
> Hum - Vees and they carry weapons platforms, ambulances, etc.  The jeeps
> were also called 4X4s from the four wheel drive ability.  Of course, most
> army trucks had that capability, including the  next formaer step up from
> a 1/4 ton, the 3/4 ton truck, alas with no real moniker.  
> 
> Hope this helps some.  
> 
> P.S. The M-38s were used in Korea, and carried 105 Recoilless Rifles: in
> the Desert Storm, HumVees carried TOW missles (much bigger).

Some nitpicking here...

1) The current vehicle is the HMMWV, and I can't recall what it all stands for.

2) I really think a 105 RR dwarfs a TOW.  Any informed users of either care
   to comment?

3) Dim memories of conversations amid beer drinking at Ft Bliss TX seem to
   tell me there was something called a "jeep" derived from GP (general
   purpose) vehicle that General Pershing used when pursuing Pancho Villa
   around northern Mexico in 1916.  "Jeep" then became a generic name for
   a light rough terrain vehicle.

-Bill Gawne, Space Telescope Science Institute
 GySgt USMCR

Newsgroups: sci.military
From: JKG100G@oduvm.cc.odu.edu
Subject: Re: Random Navy Cap Protocol Question
Organization: Old Dominion University
Date: Fri, 20 Nov 1992 15:29:47 GMT


From JKG100G@oduvm.cc.odu.edu

1.  Tom Schoene (WWO@CORNELLA) writes that one should be sure to buy and
wear gold dolphin--not silver dolphin--hats, since "the enlisted personnel
tend to be more upset about people wearing caps with the silver enlisted
dophins since they have to go through a lot to earn them."
2.  Tom, are you insinuating that we gold dolphin wearers did NOT have to
"go through a lot to earn them"?  :-)
3.  Actually, the protocol appears to be changing:  it used to be (10-15
years ago when I first entered subs) that dolphins were ONLY worn on a hat
by those submarine qualified.  Nowadays this is not the case, mainly since
so many boats have incorporated dolphins into the only command ball caps
they sell.
4.  As for the wearing of Navy ballcaps, in this submarine officers humble
opinion, wear them in good health!  I would _prefer_ that only sub-qualified
guys wore dolphin hats, but will presume that any one I see in one (unless
he looks like a complete sleaze-bag) who is _not_ sub-qualified is wearing
the cap out of pride in and in honor of the boat in question.
5.  Illegitimi non carborundum.

                                  James

(Standard disclaimer/disclaimers presumed)

Newsgroups: sci.military
From: Steven.Schultz <Steven.Schultz@mixcom.mixcom.com>
Subject: Re: Former Soviet Navy Posting Number 8: 'Yankee II' class SSBN
Organization: Milwaukee Internet Xchange BBS, Milwaukee, WI U.S.A.
Date: Wed, 18 Nov 1992 14:43:44 GMT


From Steven.Schultz <Steven.Schultz@mixcom.mixcom.com>

The Yankee II has been decommissioned and scrapped.

-- 
Steve Schultz     Steven.Schultz@mixcom.com

Newsgroups: sci.military
From: giddy@ac.dal.ca
Subject: INFO on SIMFIRE??
Organization: Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada
Date: Fri, 20 Nov 1992 15:26:36 GMT


From giddy@ac.dal.ca

Hello:

I am looking for information about an item I just purchased at a local
surplus store.
It is a laser projector designed to mount on a rifle, in this case, FN.
and has a piezo sensor in the mount which when triggered, fires a 20
or so msec flash of pulsed IR lased light forward. It has fine adjustments
for aiming, an onboard 9 volt battery and a connector for some other part.

It is marked "SIMFIRE" made in England in 1986.6

I am guessing that a blank would trigger the laser as it is quite insensitive.

Maybe a battle training aid? perhaps you also have a sensor on your body
to register a "hit" ?

any suggestions or info welcome, 
Thanks, Kevin
From: dluebke@nostromo.cc.colorado.edu (Dave Luebke)
Newsgroups: sci.virtual-worlds
Subject: INFO?: Graduate studies in VR
Date: 20 Nov 92 02:53:20 GMT
Article-I.D.: u.1992Nov21.051145.24733
Organization: University of Washington
Originator: hlab@stein.u.washington.edu


Hello All,

I am a senior chemistry major looking into graduate programs in Computer
Science, specifically virtual reality and related fields like scientific
visualization and immersive interface design. The Colorado College, where
I go to school, is a small liberal arts campus without much information
on CS programs around the country. I was wondering if the people on this
listserve could help me out. I realize that information of this type is
compiled into the FAQ post, but I have looked that over and realized that
most of the info is a year or two out of date. What I could specifically
use are contacts at various school to whom I could write, request application
materials, and ask questions of regarding their programs. Anything you
might suggest would be greatly appreciated.

In case you want to e-mail me directly (and keep my personal quests from
cluttering up the listserv) :
Dave Luebke     | dluebke@nostromo.cc.colorado.edu

Thanks in advance!

Dave
From: 73317.646@CompuServe.COM (Dan D. Gutierrez)
Newsgroups: sci.virtual-worlds
Subject: Re: INFO: VR displays at COMDEX?
Date: 21 Nov 92 17:27:22 GMT
Article-I.D.: u.1992Nov22.040224.6580
Organization: University of Washington
Originator: hlab@stein.u.washington.edu


I was at COMDEX Mon-Thurs.  There were few VR displays, however, the
Bally's venue was FULL of Multi-Media booths.  That stuff was really
impressive...

_ddg
From: Michael Almquist <squish@hitl.washington.edu>
Subject: Re: INDUSTRY: Future short/long term economic forecasts?
Originator: hlab@stein.u.washington.edu
Organization: HITL vacationeer
Date: Wed, 18 Nov 1992 20:29:32 GMT


In article <1992Nov18.063859.17246@hitl.washington.edu> Kenneth Tolman writes:
>  What, in your expert opinions, are the future economic prospects for
>the field of virtual reality?  (I am curious, because I am thinking of
>banking a career on it, and I would like to hear opinions)
You should search the archives and snag my review of the 2nd EFDPMA conference.
Dr. Jacobson and Dr. Latta and I think Alan Wexelblat (oops sp?) all discussed
the VR future and market.  To sum it up:

  Dr. Jacobson - soon - 1+ years
  Dr. Latta - not so soon - 5+ years

Alan talked about factors involved in making it work/take off.

Add my $0.02:

  Squish - 2+ years its going to take off like wild fire - be there or 
           eat ashes

- mike
-- 
VR: (VEE-R') n. 1) It's the Swiss Army knife of the mind.
Newsgroups: sci.virtual-worlds
From: books@fsunuc.physics.fsu.edu (Roger Books)
Subject: Re: TECH: 2 video cards?
Originator: hlab@stein.u.washington.edu
Organization: FSU nuclear physics
Date: Mon, 23 Nov 1992 15:03:33 GMT



In article <1992Nov22.040207.6524@u.washington.edu>
bm@shadow.cc.columbia.edu (Blair MacIntyre) writes:

>The key here is that you are hooking up a _monochrome_ card, not a CGA
>card.  A monochrome card on the PC is one of those old things that lets
>you display 80x24(25?) text characters ... remember those?  No graphics,
>no colour.  Had flash and underline attributes, some even had the APL
>character set (oooh, ahhh!)

No, this last is not true.  You can use a hercules card as the
monochrome.  It is still fairly useless for VR, but the card does do
graphics, it just uses a different memory address than the color
cards.

>--
>Blair MacIntyre --- bm@cs.columbia.edu --- CS Department, Columbia University
>
>"Men can get into shaving, because it reminds them of what stud hombres
>they are, having to tame their manliness on a regular basis." - Dave Barry
From: davidr@davidr.mentorg.com (FPD - D1434)
Newsgroups: sci.virtual-worlds
Subject: Re: TECH: 2 video cards?
Date: 19 Nov 92 16:31:36 GMT
Article-I.D.: u.1992Nov21.051021.24406
Organization: mentor
Originator: hlab@stein.u.washington.edu


In article <1992Nov19.072049.2479@u.washington.edu>, dstampe@psych.toronto.edu (
Dave Stampe) writes:
|> 
|> TJR122@PSUVM.PSU.EDU writes:
|> >
|> >Has anyone out there ever played with building a dual display for under
|> >$275?  I've seen CGA cards that have an RF output.  So you could use
|> >a Casio LCD TV.  But how could I get the computer to recognize 2 such video
|> >cards?
|> 
|> First, CGA cards may be a bit hard to find these days (the "compatible"
|> modes of other cards just don't produce the right color outputs).  Then
|> CGA cards are _very_ slow, and have a limited number of colors.
|> 
|> I've worked out multi-card methods for VGA cards, and the techniques should
|> be transferrable.  But it requires modifying the cards or extending your 
|> computer bus.  Basically, you interrupt the A19 and AEN bus lines (or cut
|> the traces on the card) and add some logic gates so you can hold A19 low
|> and AEN high on the card(s) you don't want to talk to.  Otherwise, you pass
|> the signals throuugh.
|> 
|> There are now some multi-VGA cards available, and you can reprogram the
|> VGA card's registers to produce NTSC timing.  But it's up to you to put
|> the sync and color into the proper format.  I find it easier to use LCD
|> panels with RGB inputs.
|> 
|> 
|> --------------------------------------------------------------------------
|> | My life is Hardware,                    |         Dave Stampe          | 
|> | my destiny is Software,                 | dstampe@psych.toronto.edu    |
|> | my CPU is Wetware...                    | dstampe@sunee.uwaterloo.ca   | 
|> | Am I a techno-psychologist, or just an engineer dabbling in psychology?|
|> ---------------------------------------------------------------------------

This may not be useful, but what the hey...

Borland C++ 3.1 allows you to add a monochrome card and monitor and when you
invoke the debugger on some application, the application comes up normally
on the color monitor and the debugger on the monochrome.

I'm told this works because the color and monochrome cards use different
memory areas. (I'm new to PCs so I can't get more technical than this.)

David Ransier
From: cdshaw@cs.ualberta.ca (Chris Shaw)
Newsgroups: sci.virtual-worlds
Subject: Re: SCI: Vr and Psychology
Date: 14 Nov 92 03:33:40 GMT
Article-I.D.: u.1992Nov16.030405.21349
Organization: University of Alberta
Originator: hlab@stein.u.washington.edu



In article <1992Nov9.215820.10740@u.washington.edu>
jsct+@andrew.cmu.edu (Joshua Eli Schachter) writes:

>There also have been studies where a child is placed on a table. Below a 
>certain age, they will walk off the table (plexiglass was placed there so
>it only looked like it wasnt there), but after that age they will not.

This is not correct. 

The experiment to which you are referring is JJ Gibson's "Visual
Cliff" experiments, in which very young animals are put on a
plexiglass table in which one side has a checkerboard pattern that
looks close (located at the table, top), while the other side has a
two foot deep hole in it. That is, as you stand on the surface of the
table, it looks like you're looking over the edge of a cliff, despite
the fact that there is a plexiglass surface over top of this big hole.

 -------------------- <- plexiglass
 |         |
 |         | <- cliff edge
 |---------|
 
All animals preferred to stay on the "safe" side of the cliff,
including babies 1 day old, and kittens raised in total darkness until
they were placed on the surface of the table. A blind animal shows no
preference, and will roamall over the table, because it feels flat
over the entire surface.  However, it LOOKs like there's this big pit
on one side.

The purpose of the experiment was to determine if animals and people
learn visual 3D perception or are born with it. The Visual Cliff shows
fairly convincingly that animals have 3D visual perception at birth.

-- Chris Shaw 
University of Alberta 
cdshaw@cs.UAlberta.ca 
CatchPhrase:
Bogus as HELL !
Newsgroups: sci.virtual-worlds
From: jpc@tauon.ph.unimelb.edu.au (John Costella)
Subject: Re: TECH: Optical computing & VR?
Originator: hlab@stein.u.washington.edu
Organization: University of Washington
Date: Tue, 24 Nov 1992 10:23:03 GMT



>         I was just wondering if anyone out there has heard of any
>         developments in the field of optical computing.

>         BTW, what kind of an impact do you think it will have on VR?

When, commercially, it gives more bang per buck than whatever else is
around, then it will be pushing forwards the bounds of computing
power.  This will help VR, of course, but I don't think it makes much
difference whether your computing power is coming from electronics,
photonics or steam power, as long as it's powerful. There may be some
nice side-benefits for VR in terms of less heat/noise/fields/
radiation flying about the place, though, so the commerical dynamics
for VR may make it more attractive a little earlier (say 2-3 yrs) than
for mainstream apps, at least for some parts of the system.

Of course, photonics has the great advantage that photons move along 
at almost the speed of light (er .. add `in vacuo' to that latter 
one :), whereas electrons are extremely reticent to do so. So from a 
basic physics point of view, the electronics-->photonics move is 
ultimately inevitable. But whether it's three years or three hundred 
before photonics is the commercial winner is something that I'm sure 
the big computer manufacturers are assessing regularly :).

John

----------------------------------------------------------------------------
John P. Costella              School of Physics, The University of Melbourne
jpc@tauon.ph.unimelb.edu.au         Tel: +61 3 543-7795, Fax: +61 3 347-4783
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
From: STU0590@RIC.EDU
Newsgroups: sci.virtual-worlds
Subject: Re: TECH: Power Glove Success!
Date: 23 Nov 92 15:30:22 GMT
Article-I.D.: u.1992Nov23.162540.26302
Organization: University of Washington
Originator: hlab@stein.u.washington.edu



arRGGH!!
 
I bought the power glove also and hooked it up to my printer port with
power from the game... the glove beeps when the computer goes on and
when I try that raquet ball demo it says "waiting for glove" and never
finds it!  What is wrong?
 
Help! 
 
 Thanks .... 
 
 P.S.: I hate you for getting it to run so quick... humph!
 
 
ken
Newsgroups: sci.virtual-worlds
From: jpc@tauon.ph.unimelb.edu.au (John Costella)
Subject: Re: PHIL: "Cyberspace" - did Gibson really coin the term?
Originator: hlab@stein.u.washington.edu
Organization: University of Washington
Date: Thu, 19 Nov 1992 02:11:07 GMT


> Today in my Computer-Human Interaction class, we were discussing a
> paper on VR (by Rheingold, I think). Our prof said that he doubted
> that William Gibson was the "real" coiner of the term cyberspace. 

> So I ask you: have any of you encountered any uses of the term
> "cyberspace" _before_ William Gibson started using the term in his
> stories? 

The Oxford English Dictionary endeavours to list every English
word that was not already obsolete by the year AD 1050. (!) They
also endeavour to quote (among other things) the *first* historical
usage of every word in printed English.

The second edition of the OED (they take about 80 years for each edition!)
came out a few years ago. Unfortunately, `cyberspace' is not in there.
This is due partly to the way they have (historically) compiled the
OED, and the fact that the word is quite new. However, new technology
means that they are anticipating a much more rapid updating of the OED
following the second edition (which was, as part of its compilation,
converted from paper to digital).

The compilers of the OED would therefore be the ones to ask this question 
of. They have teams of readers continually looking through historical
documents, who (among other things) take note of precedents in usage,
and they also seek out this information from living authors where possible.
For example, the OED wrote a letter to Gell-Mann asking him when he
first adopted the term "quark", and seeking clarification over its two 
common pronunciations.

Conversely, anyone who has researched this question should let the OED
people know their findings, and compare notes.

There is also the possibility of a term being invented in a language
other than English, but taken into English as a literal translation.
For example, the term "Quantenmechanik" was invented by Max Born in 1924;
but the OED lists its anglicised version, "quantum mechanics", as being
first adopted in Dirac's 1925 paper. Then there is the further problem 
that the term "quantum mechanics" was used in English in 1922, two years
*before* Born, but not in the way Born or Dirac used the term. (These
facts are noted in the entry in the OED.) So who invented it?

Maybe the OED people can tell you. :) 

John

----------------------------------------------------------------------------
John P. Costella              School of Physics, The University of Melbourne
jpc@tauon.ph.unimelb.edu.au         Tel: +61 3 543-7795, Fax: +61 3 347-4783
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
From: AKOSSOWSKY@TURBO.kean.edu
Newsgroups: sci.virtual-worlds
Subject: Re: SCI: More Vr and Psychology
Date: 19 Nov 92 21:50:17 GMT
Article-I.D.: u.1992Nov21.051438.25195
Organization: University of Washington
Originator: hlab@stein.u.washington.edu


A meta-simulation, eh?
I like that.
Here's a thought:
A water-proof, wireless hmd and data glove which is worn in a swimming
pool along with scuba gear. The entire pool volume can be watched by a position 
detector.
Hows that for a VR interface?
From: AKOSSOWSKY@TURBO.kean.edu
Newsgroups: sci.virtual-worlds
Subject: Re: SCI: Three dimensional sound?
Date: 19 Nov 92 21:58:58 GMT
Article-I.D.: u.1992Nov21.051454.25256
Organization: University of Washington
Originator: hlab@stein.u.washington.edu


Please note also in regards to 'virtual acoustics', the Dec '92 issue
of Popular Science, which has a blurb about a new system being developed by NASA
 Page 85.
From: eschneid@sparc53.tamu.edu (Erich R Schneider)
Newsgroups: sci.virtual-worlds
Subject: PHIL: "Cyberspace" - did Gibson really coin the term?
Date: 17 Nov 92 04:17:10 GMT
Article-I.D.: u.1992Nov18.045703.22776
Organization: Texas A&M University
Originator: hlab@stein.u.washington.edu



Today in my Computer-Human Interaction class, we were discussing a
paper on VR (by Rheingold, I think). Our prof said that he doubted
that William Gibson was the "real" coiner of the term cyberspace. His
claim was that terms like cybernetics and hyperspace had been around
for years in relation to the computer field, plus the fact that CDC
had a series of computers called the "Cyber". Thus, he thought, it's
likely that some researcher had used the term before Gibson had, and
that perhaps Gibson had picked it up there, or developed it
independently.

I countered with (1) Gibson was computer illiterate when he wrote his
first cyberspace stories and wouldn't have know the term and (2) with
all the interest in VR now, it's likely that if someone else had used
the term "cyberspace" before the 1980's, a reference would have been
uncovered by now. Neither argument conviced him.

So I ask you: have any of you encountered any uses of the term
"cyberspace" _before_ William Gibson started using the term in his
stories? (That probably would have been in 1982 or '83, when he wrote
"Burning Chrome".)

Thanks!
--
Erich Schneider  eschneid@cs.tamu.edu

"Today/Yes  Winners/Yes Losers/Yes  In the Zone/Yes  Tomorrow/No"
                       - Walter Jon Williams, _HardWired_