The Restaurant at the End of the Universe

Jenayah

3:01 PM

Funny enough, one of my favorite soundtracks is apparently very similar to Tron:Legacy's (haven't seen it yet).

Care to confirm?

Fatum Iustum Stultorum

►

Napoleon Wilson

Can't until I'm at home, though. ;-)

Jenayah

Also, don't look at the comments, it's super spoilery if you ever want to watch that shox ;)

Alright!

Napoleon Wilson

But the Tron: Legacy soundtrack is really nice. The movie was fine.

Jenayah

Alright!

Daft Punk right?

Napoleon Wilson

Yes.

Jenayah

3:05 PM

Have you seen 5555?

Napoleon Wilson

No, I haven't even heard about it.

Jenayah

Interstella 5555: The 5tory of the 5ecret 5tar 5ystem

Interstella 5555: The 5tory of the 5ecret 5tar 5ystem (インターステラ5555, Intāsutera Fō Faibu, "Four Five") is a Japanese-French anime adventure fantasy science fiction musical film released on 28 May 2003. The film is the visual realization of Discovery, the second studio album by Daft Punk. Interstella 5555 tells the story of the abduction and rescue of an interstellar pop band. The film was produced by Daft Punk, Cédric Hervet and Emmanuel de Buretel with Toei Animation under the supervision of Leiji Matsumoto. The film has no dialogue and uses minimal sound effects. == Plot == The main points of...

basically all their videoclips (from this album) put together form a movie, and it's not bad

Napoleon Wilson

I see.

I don't know too much about Daft Punk other than their biggest hits maybe. I've also always been a little skeptical of anime. ;-)

Sounds worth a try, though. They have some really nice music pieces.

Jenayah

@NapoleonWilson well there're at least two of those in that movie so you won't be too much lost ahah! As for the anime part, think of a Albator feel. Not people jumping at insane heights while shouting "BREATH OF THE MIGHTY RED DRAGON!!!!" or stuff, if that reassures you ;D

Well apparently Albator is called Captain Harlock abroad. Oh and they got the creator to help them with the movie so... ::)

Napoleon Wilson

Well, I don't know what Albator is to begin with. ;-)

Sounds...familiar, though.

3:13 PM

This room was placed in timeout for 3 minutes; Groundrules

It's come to my attention that one or more people here have been promoting an off-site chatroom to new users

2

This has been problematic in the past.

When handling issues on Stack Exchange sites, moderators and staff normally try to assume good faith on the part of all participants. However, we have no visibility into off-site chat rooms and cannot be expected to monitor interactions in other venues. Therefore, to avoid situations where we must necessarily assume the worst, please...

...Be clear that your chat is not an official Stack Exchange venue.
...Avoid promoting your chat in official areas of the site: main, meta, or the primary chatroom.
...Avoid allowing people you do not know or trust into your chat.
...Avoid making decisions that affect the site or other members of the site in your chat.

Those are my general recommendations.

Please note that this specific chatroom is operated by a group of users who were banned from this chat service for multiple instances of abuse and harassment.

That makes it much more likely that new users will encounter problems there... Problems that, as I already noted, we - the staff of Stack Exchange, the elected moderators of Science Fiction & Fantasy - can do nothing about.

Therefore, I must respectfully ask that there be no recommendations of this chatroom in any of the rooms associated with Science Fiction & Fantasy Stack Exchange.

TheLethalCarrot

@Shog9 Not entirely true, they started it and are active in it but doesn't mean they operate it

Shog9

3:28 PM

@TheLethalCarrot I have nothing but your word to confirm this

TheLethalCarrot

Sure, just don't want something potentially misleading laying around

FWIW though I see no problem with an off site chat if it allows for more freedom to talk about whatever you want with people you have things in common with. And personally I see no problem with mentioning it to other users

Shog9

So, here's my perspective: multiple employees spent more than a year fielding almost constant reports of abuse from these folks. If they've since reformed and/or lost control of their off-site hangout, that's great... But I have no way to know that, and I'll be damned if I'm wasting another year on them.

So... This is not open for debate. I've removed the link and suspended the person who posted it.

b_jonas

3

Q: Early sci-fi short story of a man who wanted to be buried on Earth, but the cost was too high?

I am trying to find the name of a story I remember reading in an anthology some 50 years ago about a wealthy industrialist who wanted nothing more than to be buried on Earth. People had been conditioned to want nothing more, but it was very expensive to be buried on Earth and the sales people fo...

Jenayah

@b_jonas gonna FGITW that? ;D

Edlothiad

Understood, but just to clarify based on discussion from when the last ice age happened, am I wrong in thinking that users were allowed to have a piece in their profiles about there being an off-site chat and if anyone is interested they are allowed to join. As long as they’re not linking it? Or has this rule been changed in this case because of the two people a year was “wasted” on? (@shog, sorry forgot to reply)

b_jonas

3:34 PM

^ There are insurance companies that cover the cost of returning your dead body to the country of the insurance. I wonder if there's any phrased in such a way that some astronaut to Mars could abuse it.

Shog9

@Edlothiad the general rules regarding profiles are fairly tolerant of whatever folks want to put in them.

b_jonas

I think that tends to be one of the very few services that they promise to cover without a cost limit.

Shog9

That does NOT mean they can be used as a fig-leaf

Jenayah

@b_jonas well I mean, the guys on the ISS must have something like this, no?

b_jonas

@Jenayah I'm saying the Mars. Returning from the ISS is likely less of a problem.

Jenayah

3:36 PM

@b_jonas well, that's not wrong.

Napoleon Wilson

I'm sure they have a whole deal of special insurance anyway, though.

Edlothiad

@Shog9 I’m not all too familiar with the term “fig-leaf” but from a quick google that would suggest no mentions of the chat?

Jenayah

@b_jonas Ahah, Weir never talked about the amount of paperwork the guy from The Martian must have had to fill afterwards :D

b_jonas

I mean, the astronauts to ISS already go there knowing there's a plan for returning them alive normally, and that same technology more or less works for returning the dead body.

Jenayah

or maybe he did?

b_jonas

3:37 PM

But there are organizations who are seriously thinking of making one-way Mars missions, because bringing a colony of a few humans to Mars and sending them regular shipments is cheaper than returning anyone.

Napoleon Wilson

@b_jonas I'm sure Mark Watney thought there was a plan of returning alive for him, too, though.

b_jonas

In that case, the costs of the insurance company would be ridiculous.

Shog9

@Edlothiad "we're not linking to the room - we're just referencing the profile that links to the room"

Jenayah

@NapoleonWilson well he was presumed dead...

b_jonas

But I'll have to read the terms and conditions carefully. I didn't pay attention to this part. I payed attention to the parts that apply to the trips I make and the accidents I fear, none of which are in space.

Napoleon Wilson

3:38 PM

@Jenayah I mean when he decided to leave in the first place.

Jenayah

@b_jonas ahahah!

@NapoleonWilson ah, yeah

Edlothiad

@Shog9 Oh ok, I understand. So as I say above, it’s ok to have as long as the user arrives at the profile page organically, that is to say, stumbles across to it on its own.

b_jonas

@Jenayah No, seriously, insurance contracts are devious. I had to read some of them carefully.

Jenayah

@b_jonas I'm sure of that, I was laughing at the "I won't read the 'if you ever go to Mars/Pluto' section "

Shog9

@Edlothiad as long as no one ever references it, even obliquely, in this room... sure. If anyone does, I'll probably clear the bio and suspend network-wide to prevent reinstatement, regardless of who references it. So... Proceed with caution.

Edlothiad

3:40 PM

In addition, as Carrot said, the actual powers that be, in the off-site chatroom. Are far more respected members than the two you reference, they are but mere puppets

b_jonas

@Jenayah Yeah, but it's possible that they say "Earth" instead of "world" somewhere and I didn't pay attention to the difference.

Jenayah

@b_jonas well I mean... You're still not planning to leave Earth for your next holiday, so it's okay, innit? :)

b_jonas

Let me try to check quickly.

TheLethalCarrot

@Shog9 That seems... excessive.

Jenayah

@b_jonas check your insurance contract, or check where your next holiday is planned? :D

Edlothiad

3:42 PM

@Shog9 is this for all off-site chatrooms, as there are others, unaffiliated to the two users you mention or SE in anyway that I am a part of that may be of interest to users in certain tags on here, would that be met with the same punishment? (Namely a chatroom for /r/asoiaf)

b_jonas

@Jenayah I'm not, but I can buy insurance for someone else. It's a bit tricky because they have to reside in Hungary at the moment when the insurance starts, but other countries might have similar insurance companties.

@Jenayah Check the contract.

Or the general terms and conditions rather.

Jenayah

@b_jonas well sure, but do the people you would take an insurance for plan a trip to the Moon soon? :)

b_jonas

@Jenayah I'll have to talk to those people first probably. Some might like the construction.

Jenayah

@b_jonas make sure they bring you a souvenir!

b_jonas

Nope, won't work I think. It only says "all countries of the world", so I think they won't even bring you home from Antarctica with this one.

Jenayah

3:47 PM

@b_jonas doesn't parts of Antartica belong to some countries?

Shog9

@Edlothiad general guidelines:

24 mins ago, by Shog9

When handling issues on Stack Exchange sites, moderators and staff normally try to assume good faith on the part of all participants. However, we have no visibility into off-site chat rooms and cannot be expected to monitor interactions in other venues. Therefore, to avoid situations where we must necessarily assume the worst, please...

b_jonas

@Jenayah No, not really.

Jenayah

@b_jonas oh, neat! Does that mean I can kill a man there and no being subject to any particular country's laws, and therefore have to wait for some kind of international consensus, which is never going to happen?

Just to clarify, I'm asking for a friend.

b_jonas

I checked another insurance company, and it also talks about the areas of all countries.

Jenayah

Who is not fishy.

At all.

He's a good friend.

Please don't judge him.

b_jonas

3:50 PM

@Jenayah There are international treaties about the Antarctica. I don't know about this case, ask on Law SE or its chat.

Jenayah

@b_jonas ahah I might do some time just for the curiosity

b_jonas

I won't check all insurance companies now.

Jenayah

and the mindwreck

b_jonas

@Jenayah law.stackexchange.com/q/13996 there's this one question I can find about Antarctica

I don't know if they have questions on space law.

Napoleon Wilson

I'd think the specific territories would adhere to their occupiers' local laws.

b_jonas

3:52 PM

Yep, they have multiple. Just search for "space", many of the hits are about space in the sense of outside of Earth.

Napoleon Wilson

I don't know if there's genuinely unowned places anymore, though.

Jenayah

@NapoleonWilson yes there are!

There was a question about this some time ago on Worldbuilding, let me fetch it.

xkcd

Eno's storied aria was once soloed by Judge Lance Ito on the alto oboe at Ohio's AirAsia Arena.

Jenayah

37

A: Why would surrounding countries not claim accessible, habitable, and unclaimed land?

There is an area of land that both Egypt and Sudan cannot claim. To claim it they would lose claim to other larger, and more profitable areas of their countries. To them it's not worth what they would lose to claim Bir Tawil. The neighbouring Hala'ib Triangle is claimed by both. Since you have...

Also, I think some "islands" (they're more rocks, but hey) sometimes emerge from the sea. I don't know who own those.

Well apparently the one I was thinking of is Iceland's:

Surtsey

Surtsey ("Surtr's island" in Icelandic, Icelandic pronunciation: [ˈsʏr̥tsei]) is a volcanic island located in the Vestmannaeyjar archipelago off the southern coast of Iceland. At 63.303°N 20.605°W / 63.303; -20.605, Surtsey is the southernmost point of Iceland. It was formed in a volcanic eruption which began 130 metres (430 feet) below sea level, and reached the surface on 14 November 1963. The eruption lasted until 5 June 1967, when the island reached its maximum size of 2.7 km2 (1.0 sq mi). Since then, wave erosion has caused the island to steadily diminish in size: as of 2012, its surface...

ibid

5:15 PM

@Shog9 - You seem very misinformed here. Unless we're thinking of a different offsite chatroom, the one in question is consists mainly of regular site users who can chat here if they wanted but just prefer the other room (most of SFF's top users are in it, and barely any of them are currently banned from chat). I've been there ever since Mithrandir pointed me towards it, and I really haven't seen any of the activity you seem to think is going on there.

Shog9

5:52 PM

@ibid I have absolutely no idea what activity is going on there, nor do I particularly care. It's not my problem... Unless y'all send new folks there.

b_jonas

Random local stuff. So the Sziget festival is going on now, which is a big cultural festival in Budapest, so you meet are lots of tourists going there. The stereotypical ones are Brits with big backpack with a quick-raise tent (that they'll erect once and leave it there at the end of the festival because it's so cheap) and sleeping pad.

Since they're a social bunch, a lot of them ask for directions to the Sziget from locals. So now I looked up how the fuck to go there, so I know before one asks for directions and I look very silly. I'm still not quite sure, because the Sziget's homepage is useless and doesn't give any directions.

Best I can tell, you have to take the H5 hév to the station Filatorigát, but I wonder if there's also some convenient access from the Pest side that they can use and where the ferry transfer is perhaps included in the ticket or available for a reduced price for them.

I'll call their phone customer service line and ask.

Phone line was helpful, picked up and answered immediately. From the Buda side only, from Filatorigát station.

Why they wouldn't clearly write that on their homepage I can't fathom.

Do they expect that the tourists would just divert airplanes to crash straight on Sziget or what?

That sort of thing is very frowned upon now, and would be a bad idea in such a crowded place anyway.

It was only ever excused when people diverted planes to other airports.

ibid

6:08 PM

@Shog9 I guess I should just be happy that Mith didn't know (or didn't care) about your rule then.

Jenayah

6:19 PM

He/she did it!

4

A: What is the context for this panel of Captain Marvel(Shazam) and a vibrating mechanical horse?

I did some diggings. As it turns out, that's part of the 21th page of Captain Marvel Adventures #82 As it turns out, Captain Marvel was afraid he took some weight, so he decided to burn up some fat. This can be seen on the previous page:

b_jonas

What I'm not sure is, what's the practically best route to recommend to a tourist from Kelenföld or Móricz to the H5 hév. Might depend on the time of the day.

I'll have to figure that out in advance.

b_jonas

6:38 PM

From Móricz, it seems clear that tram 19/41 is the best. Only, I never remember the numbers of all these trams so I'll have difficulty telling them that. From Kelenföld, I'm not sure if going around with the metro would be a better recommendtation.

I'll write a note in my phone.

Jenayah

That's thorough research to help people, well done @b_jonas :)

b_jonas

You'd assume there'd be a lot of labels in traffic hubs directing people towards Sziget. The tourists would still ask locals, but the labels can help the locals.

@Jenayah It's not much research. I already know mostly how the spines of the Budapest traffic work, I just have to check which one is best from certain places and times, and with the construction works affecting several lines.

Jenayah

@b_jonas well you called the customer service and all :)

b_jonas

And the route you'd go isn't always the same as the one you'd recommend to a tourist, since there are routes with many transfers that I can take quickly but not easily explain to someone.

@Jenayah That was the fastest part.

I didn't expect them to pick up so fast.

Oh, there's also a direct express bus from the airport to Sziget. Nice, although that one I don't need to know, there are probably signs at the airport, and it's not relevant unless I'm at the airport.

Ah no, that express bus only ran for one day, on the first day.

Still, useful. Was probably sponsored.

There's no way the transport company did that all by himself if Sziget hadn't payed for it.

Zaphod

38

Q: What is the context for this panel of Captain Marvel(Shazam) and a vibrating mechanical horse?

So, I ran into this panel on a search some months ago, and got curious about the context. So I tried a Google search. Big mistake. There exist a completely different assortment of Marvel vibrators apparently. Reverse image searches didn't give me anything to work from, nor did attempts to restr...

dc comics episode-identification shazam

b_jonas

6:51 PM

And, on a completely different note, no, they didn't add a third airport bus for during the day, one that both didn't stop at all stations between the airport and Köki and wasn't the direct city connection one with the high extra fare.

I must have imagined that from some misunderstood information.

Would be useful.

Naming the normal airport bus "200E" (where the "E" normally indicates it stops at few stations) was a rather misleading thing by the way.

b_jonas

7:10 PM

So basically now there are five different levels of transport from the airport, depending on how much you're paying and how many you're traveling together with:

public transport with 200E, premium rate public transport bus 100E (requires a 900 HUF ticket and goes directly to three stops in the city center, skipping through everything), shuttle (which is like a taxi but 8 people get into the same car and it takes them to 8 different places in the order it determines to be optimal for a fixed 1800 HUF per person), taxi, and car.

I guess a car you own and renting a car could count separately, so six.

Oh, and BUD airport terminal 1 reopened after a long time of being closed (I assumed it was closed forever), so your options are different there. Let me check what the heck that terminal is actually doing. Are they even open for general purpose international passenger transport really?

Nope, apparently it is not open. Will it be open then? I'll have to look this up.

Möoz

10:14 PM

@TheLethalCarrot That is excessive. I dare say that's Shog's point though.

Transcript for

The Restaurant at the End of the Univ…