The Restaurant at the End of the Universe

1:12 AM

0

Q: What was the point of the Sabre Data Protection technology in Elysium?

In Elysium, we see the CEO of Armadyne, John Carlyle, hammer out some code and upload it to his brain. He is asked if he wants to protect the data and is prompted to choose either "Paralyze" or "Lethal", and chooses the latter. At the end of the movie it is revealed that Max will die if the data...

M&TV Feeds

2:52 AM

0

Q: sci fi animated tv series or movie series Being Human

animated sci fi series that shows earth has joined a federation of other planets and solar systems and humans being put into the society. We are viewed as stupid monkeys and picked on by the other species. One scene shows an alien classroom and the teacher showing videos of earth and about humans...

science-fiction

Yvette Colomb

3:21 AM

daily floof - insert some date

Edlothiad

7:57 AM

@YvetteColomb you might need to Capitalise your "Daily" and changed *insert some date* with the actual date and link the photo in your statement with the [link markup](some link here)

Gallifreyan

Daily floof 2017-07-14, courtesy of @YvetteColomb.

SQB

8:12 AM

@YvetteColomb yours?

Yvette Colomb

8:29 AM

@Edlothiad what will happen if I don't comply :)

@SQB yep she's my girl. The chicken is not lol

all the animals I floof are mine :)

SQB

Wait, floof is a verb now? :)

Edlothiad

Floof is.

@YvetteColomb The glory will be taken away from you, mua ha ha ha

Derpy

9:02 AM

Is this some sophisticate troll so that @Mithrandir won't realize that either way the daily floof was a pony/horse?

we start by training the room to tolerate real pony pictures and then, when they will have dropped their guard, we will switch to candy colored carton ponies.

Mithrandir

9:19 AM

Nope. Won't happen...

Yvette Colomb

@Edlothiad what?????? racked with shocks of terror

Edlothiad

9:51 AM

Thanks @Voronwë for the spellcheck :D

Voronwë

@Edlothiad couldn't help but notice, you're welcome

Zaphod

5

Q: What is JK Rowling "bad" at?

We all have come to know that J.K. Rowling considers herself bad at maths. She has even admitted it freely; ES: How many wizards are there? JKR: In the world? Oh, Emerson, my maths is so bad. Has Jo ever confessed to be being "bad" at anything else? To possibly limit the "broadness"...

behind-the-scenes jk-rowling

Voronwë

@Zaphod well well, science isn't on the list!

Marvin

10:17 AM

0

Q: What are the decency standards on stack exchange?

I have a particular question that I want to post that deals with somewhat unpleasant concepts. I do not want to rustle any feathers or step on any toes (I learnt my lesson from my question about gender non-conforming magical people in the Potterverse). So I want to ask here and get a better und...

discussion

b_jonas

10:47 AM

Do you suppose it's time for me to post a question that might be controversial and hard to moderate because everyone thinks they know the answer and we might have to protect it?

Or two?

We more or less have every aspect answered already spread around on the site, but it would be nice to put it together to one question.

Mithrandir

...such as?

b_jonas

This is about Harry Potter. What I'd really like to ask is when underage people are allowed to use magic. There are various contradictory evidence on this. (1) It seems like they can't get a wand earlier than the summer they start Hogwarts. (2) It's unclear whether children in wizard family can use magic at home during the breaks with their parent's supervision, but from the way Fred and George tease Ron when they have to help cooking without magic it seems like they can't.

(3) Filch claims students aren't allowed to use magic in the corridors. But can they practice spells outside of class in classrooms or common rooms or something? It would be strange if the teachers would have to supervise them all the time for practice.

(4) On the other hand, Hogwarts isn't compulsory, parents can homeschool their children, which seems at odds with (2).

SQB

3) I think we see Harry and Ron practising in their common room, and Harry practises the summoning charm with Hermione in preparation for a task in the Tri-Wizard Tournament.

b_jonas

Relevant posts: scifi.stackexchange.com/q/102566/4918 Are there rules about using magic outside of class? ; scifi.stackexchange.com/q/99615/4918 Why isn't Harry punished for using magic outside Hogwarts? ; scifi.stackexchange.com/q/105399/4918 homeschooling ; scifi.stackexchange.com/q/114772/4918 wands

The whole thing seems messed up. If wizards are expected to never do any magic except during their classes and exams until age 17, then it's no wonder the wizarding world is so messed up.

Also, these comments about the wand crack them up. Re how her mother is looking for wands while the eleven year old Draco Malfoy is buying a robe in Diagon Alley:

@Doresoom - "looking at". My guess is, she'd pick the "proper" ones and then have him try them on. — DVK-on-Ahch-To Jan 13 '16 at 16:52

@DVK good point. It wouldn't do for her special snowflake to end up having a wand only fit for a Weasley end up choosing him. — Doresoom Jan 13 '16 at 16:54

The whole issue is strange. Even if Draco isn't allowed a wand before that summer, what exactly is the turning date when he can buy a wand? Surely he'd get a wand right on that afternoon. Does the turning date just happen fall on Harry's birthday?

Frankly it sounds to me like wizards are idiots.

2

SQB

11:12 AM

My take on it is that there are laws on the books that are not strictly enforced.

First off, no magic in the hallways is a school rule, not law. Percy's a stickler for rules, Finch is a spiteful stickler for rules.

b_jonas

@SQB Oh sure, I'm not saying everyone keeps the rules. Draco may have already had a secret wand at home since he was three, but the rule is there so he was publically getting one when he was eleven, which is why he had to make such a show of it and tell it to everyone.

SQB

Like I said, we have examples of students practising spells in their common room. So wizards do practise outside of classrooms.

b_jonas

Mrs Weasley tries to enforce the rules at home, because he wants Mr Weasley to not get into any sort of trouble at the ministry, since he's the one earning money for the whole family (well perhaps Charley supports him too). Whereas clearly Harry and Ron breaks every school rule. But I'd still like to know what the rules are supposed to be.

@SQB Is that underage students? As opposed to ones who are over 17 years old.

SQB

@b_jonas Like I said, Harry and Hermione practising for the task with the dragons.

b_jonas

@SQB Yeah, there's that.

Still, all this information is spread around, and it would be nice to have a question or two that collects what we know about the ruels.

SQB

11:25 AM

My guess is that
a) Home schooling takes place in wizarding families, so it would be impossible to use the Trace on them (since it detects magic in general).
b) You can probably get dispensation for home schooling your children.

The Weasleys are probably law-abiding ~~citizens~~ wizards. The Malfoys probably think themselves above such laws.

b_jonas

@SQB Yes, but the Malfoys still have to keep up appearances, like I said.

SQB

@b_jonas Yes, so you won't see Draco practising underaged magic.

b_jonas

@SQB There may be special rules about homeschooling. But there's still that scene about Fred and George cooking by magic and teasing Ron who has to chop veggies without magic.

(They use subtle magic to make Ron cut his finger with the knife.)

SQB

@b_jonas That "builds character". And like I said, the Weasleys (not necessarily the kids, but Molly and Arthur are law-abiding wizards — Molly more so than Arthur *cough* flying car *cough*).

I think there's a question there, but you're going have to be careful how to word it, otherwise it could get closed as a duplicate, or as too broad.

b_jonas

11:44 AM

@SQB Yep.

I wonder what criteriums Narcissa would use to find a proper wand for his son. Are the heartstrings of some dragons more noble than that of other dragons?

@SQB Yes.

Gallifreyan

12:25 PM

I really like Jae Lee's art.

Oh, wow

@Shokhet ^

(Not Jae Lee, that).

^ Now that is Jae Lee.

Cool, I'm going to be following this blog from now on.

Jae Lee also illustrated Before Watchmen - Ozymandias - good read.

M&TV Feeds

12:41 PM

0

Q: Alien TV-show long term invasion

This TV show is from year 2004 or so. In the show you see aliens coming to Earth but with discretion. They start investigating on humans. Is a serious tv show, dont remember any comedy moments. Long duration and is the story of a group of families. There are human-alien hybrids and they hav...

identify-this-tv-show science-fiction

Skooba

two user ask the same question with 30 seconds of each other.... what to do....

0

Q: Which VISOR does Levar Burton own?

Levar Burton recently offered funders of his Reading Rainbow show the opportunity to wear his VISOR at an exclusive fan-event. The ULTIMATE STAR TREK "VISOR" Package -- NOW WITH ADDED DATA! // You and a friend will join LeVar and Brent Spiner for a PRIVATE DINNER in Los Angeles, and you will...

star-trek-tng

0

Q: Which VISOR does LaVar Burton own?

This answer says that Penny Juday, Senior Art Dept Coordinator for TNG, owns the original from the beginning of the series and that another was sold at auction to an unknown buyer. However, in 2012 LeVar Burton was offering a chance to wear his VISOR as a Kickstarter reward. LeVar Burton i...