The Factory Floor - 2017-12-05

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10:34 AM

Breaking the silence

Ferret Civilization

Damn. I wonder, what is the highest that hours later has gotten here?

I saw 18 hours a while back, I think some time zones are chattier than others

Ferret Civilization

18? Wow, that is a sunrise and sunset for some time zones.

10:58 AM

We should program a bot to pipe up once an hour if nobody else has.

Mithrandir24601

@Pseudohuman hi!

@Mithrandir24601 Hello, human.

@JDługosz, isn't that what you're here for?

What percentage of people do you need to kill in a western nation so that the rest all die as well as a result of loss of critical infrastructure?

Ferret Civilization

Down to the 50/500 rule, would that do it, ha.

11:24 AM

I don't want to kill them that directly. Most of the population wouldn't survive the local shops and petrol station closing

2 hours later…

Worldbuilding Meta

1:02 PM

0

Q: Adding hyperlinks to questions/answers on mobile site

I tend to use the mobile site a lot, but it’s missing a few of the really helpful desktop features (i.e. adding hyperlinks (with neat/concise anchor text), bulleting, etc.) I also can’t use the app, because storage space... Would it be possible to add an “Insert Hyperlink” function for the mobi...

feature-request

1:18 PM

Hey, does anyone have any ideas as to the maximum force per volume provided by muscles?

When contracting?

1:40 PM

17

Q: How does muscle size relate to strength?

I've heard it often that the size of muscles, for example biceps, is not related to how strong someone is. Is this true? See for example this image of Gu Yanli who won the strongest man championship twice: While a muscular guy, doesn't seem to compare in size to say, Ronnie Coleman, body buil...

strength bodybuilding

As with everything else, it's not that simple

2

@Gryphon This could help as well.

"Vertebrate muscle typically produces approximately 25–33 N (5.6–7.4 lbf) of force per square centimeter of muscle cross-sectional area when isometric and at optimal length."

@PatJ That's perfect. I realize its not a perfect correlation, but I just want to reality check something.

Excellent, so I just need bands of muscle about 1.5 meters in diameter. Perfect.

1:56 PM

@Gryphon Probably a bit more, with that size, the blood flow must be quite problematic.

Time to document yourself about whale anatomy.

Maybe I give it an extra heart for this thing?

(wait, does blood flow work differently underwater?)

Cause it's also about 20 meters long.

Dragon?

Giant whale monster thing.

But, magically created, so giving it weird, unevolvable features is OK.

Like this giant muscle thing.

And, I'm probably going to spoil a good chunk of my next blog story if I continue, so that's about as much info as I can give you.

2:02 PM

Seems fun, I look forward to it.

About 60% of the size of a Blue Whale then

Whale anatomy will do nicely for your porpoises

No, the whole thing isn't only 20 meters long. That's just the muscular bands.

The whole thing is about 40 meters long since things can get that big in water. Probably has multiple hearts.

Multiple hearts is not unreasonable, though it is unusual. I'm only aware of three examples in nature, but that's enough for it to pass reality check

2:22 PM

And, magically created creature, so, I can kinda do anything that works physiologically. It doesn't have to be evolvable.

Future Historian

3:16 PM

@Gryphon? Any good movies that could be used as symbolism/foreshadowing for a nuclear exchange back in 1962?

Back in 1962 I wouldn't be born for more than thirty years. No idea.

Future Historian

Well, does ANYONE know a movie of the time to use for symbolic/foreshadowing reasons?

Not to mention that the nuclear exchange happens on the 1st/2nd of November of 1962, depending on the time zone.

@FutureHistorian Don't name it. Describe it. Describe how it felt to the characters.

Future Historian

Oh. Now I get it.

@FutureHistorian Details are only useful if they make the story better. See Chekhov's gun

Future Historian

3:25 PM

Oh.

"Remove everything that has no relevance to the story. If you say in the first chapter that there is a rifle hanging on the wall, in the second or third chapter it absolutely must go off. If it's not going to be fired, it shouldn't be hanging there."

Hey, does anyone remember who it was who was doing some stuff on aliens with 2 hearts? I'm looking at probably 3 for a creature I'm working on, so getting some input from whoever that was would be great.

Future Historian

I had an upper and lower torso.

Does that count?

Was it 2 hearts?

Future Historian

I had an upper torso with the main brain and the lower torso with the secondary brain.

3:27 PM

I just remember some questions on the main site about how it would work physiologically, and I think some stuff in here about them.

Future Historian

One brain is for reasoning and the other is for bodily functions.

But just 1 heart?

Future Historian

Not sure about that one.

Wasn't you then, it was someone else.

They definitely had a sentient creature with two hearts, for redundency I think.

@Gryphon Why don't you search for "two hearts"?

3:34 PM

I'm doing that now. Could be I'm misremembering, I'm not finding anything.

Oh, here we go. worldbuilding.stackexchange.com/questions/45289/…

It was @Caters. Hmm, don't remember seeing him around much.

Oh well, that'll have pinged him, so, if he's around, he'll probably show up.

Future Historian

3:56 PM

Hmmmmm. I wonder how terrified someone one would be back in the Cuban Missile Crisis of nuclear annihilation compared to now in our timeline or 11 years later in a different alternate timeline.

Say for example, the air raid sirens go off. What is the initial reaction?

Oh and never forget CONELRAD.

2 hours later…

6:01 PM

Can I write ass on here?

@dot_Sp0T Yes

good

ass

@Gryphon No, it won't. I have never seen him in the chat. It doesn't autocomplete, so he hasn't been in the chat in the last weeks and won't receive any notifications. You would need a mod ping for that which circumvents this. The user seems to be online regularly though, according to his profile, so you can probably leave a message under one of his posts.

@dot_Sp0T Congratulations

@Secespitus Oh well, all I really needed was verifications that the muscles I needed would fit. The circulatory system would require multiple hearts, but it doesn't matter for the story, so I doubt I'll explore it, as long as it's plausible, which it seems to be.

@Secespitus thank you. I plan to do great things

6:08 PM

@dot_Sp0T I expected as much from you

Future Historian

Soviet submarine B-59

Soviet submarine B-59 (Russian: Б-59) was a Project 641 or Foxtrot-class diesel-electric submarine of the Soviet Navy. It played a key role in the Cuban Missile Crisis, when senior officers – believing they were under attack – considered launching a T-5 nuclear torpedo. This submarine is currently open to the public and is part of the San Diego Maritime Museum in San Diego, California. == Background == On October 1, 1962, the Project 641 [Foxtrot] diesel-electric submarine B-59, as the flagship of a detachment with its sister ships B-36, B-4 and B-130, sailed from its base on the Kola Peninsula...

This is my point of divergence.

OK, so it launches the torpedo.

What was it launching it at again?

Future Historian

USS Randolph (CV-15)

USS Randolph (CV/CVA/CVS-15) was one of 24 Essex-class aircraft carriers built during World War II for the United States Navy. The second US Navy ship to bear the name, she was named for Peyton Randolph, president of the First Continental Congress. Randolph was commissioned in October 1944, and served in several campaigns in the Pacific Theater of Operations, earning three battle stars. Decommissioned shortly after the end of the war, she was modernized and recommissioned in the early 1950s as an attack carrier (CVA), and then eventually became an antisubmarine carrier (CVS). In her second career...

This thing.

Ah, the carrier.

Future Historian

It and 11 destroyers surrounding the submarine (and the submarine itself) are sunk beneath the waves in atomic fire.

6:11 PM

So, everyone there dies. In retaliation, the US ... invades Cuba?

Future Historian

This happens hours after a U-2 spy plane is shot down over Cuban airspace.

And................yes, but not before launching an initial wave of air strikes.

OK. US launches air strikes to take out nuclear sites.

USSR does what?

Future Historian

The bombing campaign is meant to soften up defences, while the Americans use Guantanamo Bay to invade Cuba, with a simultaneous landing in Havana.

And the missile sites are also targeted.

OK, takes out nuclear sites and softens up defences.

How many planes? Roughly

Future Historian

As the Americans land their forces in Cuba, however, the USSR uses their tactical nuclear weapons on both Havana and Guantanamo Bay, which.....then spirals out of control into Europe. Soviet T-55s, BTR-60s and T-62 tanks cross into West Berlin, and try to invade West Germany. The Fulda Gap advance is vapourised by nuclear mines, while the North German Plain proceeds as planned, only to see a few nuclear warheads to the face the next day.

6:15 PM

OK. USSR attacks Berlin, Fulda Gap, etc.

Basically goes west in Europe. Everyone there gets vaporized.

Does US fire nuclear strikes?

Or not yet?

Future Historian

As the nuclear exchange in Germany spirals out of control, both sides order nuclear strikes on strategic targets, with the USSR firing any MRBMs and IRBMs that the Americans failed to eliminate, along with ICBMS and deployment of strategic bombers and SLBMs, and the Americans respond in kind.

Yet no one knows who launched first.

Some say it was Kennedy, others Khrushchev.

But in the confusion, no one knew who fired first.

Oh and..........

alternatewars.com/WW3/Cuba/Cuba_1962_OOB.htm

So, click on that link for a second, @Gryphon.

So, how many American aircraft do you expect to start the initial bombing?

@Gryphon? How many American aircraft near Cuba do you expect would bomb the island to kingdom come?

Because once the Americans land....they are dead.

Well, most of them anyway.

@Gryphon? How many aircraft in the link do you see that are prepared to bomb the shite out of Cuba?

Alright, so.......

399 combined F-100s, F-104s and F-105s vs 102 total MiG-17s, MiG-19s and MiG-21s.

@Gryphon.

That is the first wave of air strikes alone.

Four F8U Crusaders were also in place to begin bombing the landing sites, followed by the landings of the 82nd and 101st Airborne Divisions, simultaneously pushing with the Marines in Guantanamo Bay + 3,500 additional Marines deployed there.

Of course.....the minute they try anything (with ground troops).............BOOM!

Thousands of US troops, civilians and/or Cuban/Soviet forces are vapourised in an instant depending on when the warheads go off.

So, the OTHER plan, in case that failed, was literally to nuke Cuba into oblivion.

Of course, by the time the Americans try anything, the Soviets have made their move in Europe, and the remaining launch sites all launch their missiles, which are met by American warheads launching as well. One by one, cities across the Northern Hemisphere erupt into pure, white blinding light, followed by a mushroom cloud as seen from space.

CONELRAD sound is heard in the background

nuclear explosion is heard in the distance, as the sound is interrupted by the blast

@Gryphon? Are you alive?

Well, this is somewhat.........quiet.

6:46 PM

@FutureHistorian It's kind of the pattern when you start having a conversation with yourself on this channel.

Future Historian

O_O

:(

I am trying to talk to @Gryphon, though.

@FutureHistorian Personally I'm happy to answer one of your questions occasionally but you don't ever stop or slow down.

Future Historian

It is basically me trying to do a blog post for the research regarding the situation developing in the Cuban Missile War.

At least in our timeline's Cuban Missile Crisis just before that torpedo is launched.

Soviet submarine B-59

Soviet submarine B-59 (Russian: Б-59) was a Project 641 or Foxtrot-class diesel-electric submarine of the Soviet Navy. It played a key role in the Cuban Missile Crisis, when senior officers – believing they were under attack – considered launching a T-5 nuclear torpedo. This submarine is currently open to the public and is part of the San Diego Maritime Museum in San Diego, California. == Background == On October 1, 1962, the Project 641 [Foxtrot] diesel-electric submarine B-59, as the flagship of a detachment with its sister ships B-36, B-4 and B-130, sailed from its base on the Kola Peninsula...

@FutureHistorian I don't want me saying this to lower your enthusiasm. You have a lot of good ideas that I'd like to see turned into something.

Future Historian

This submarine is the submarine that starts WWIII in this timeline.

In our timeline, it almost happened.

Just one man, Vasili Arkhipov managed to convince the captain NOT to launch the torpedo and await orders from Moscow.

In this timeline, he simply just rolls with it and thus, World War III begins.

6:49 PM

@FutureHistorian How's the blog post going? Where are you going to post it?

7:41 PM

Sorry there @FutureHistorian. School internet decided to die for most of the afternoon. I just got back on.

I'll be back on in a bit over an hour when I get home. Once again, sorry.

2 hours later…

9:19 PM

Hey @FutureHistorian, sorry about that once again. I'm back on now for a hour or two probably, so if you're available during that period, say hi.

1 hour later…

Worldbuilding Meta

10:36 PM

1

Q: Do we participate in Winter Bash 2017?

I don't think Worldbuilding has missed any winter-bash since the site's inception. This year's begins in about a week. Here's the countdown page. From the answer to Is there a simple page, “What is Winter Bash, and what's all this about hats”? Can we have one? Winter Bash is a fun event, th...

discussion featured winter-bash

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Dec '175

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