Every one of us a) wouldn’t have come into existence, because birth is a trauma with plenty of bleeding and potential for infection on both sides, and b) you’d die from your first infection or bleed out from your first cut.
I guarantee you’ve never heard of it because it only appears in a series of novels by Steve Perry, the Matador books.
The gag is, it glues to the back of your hand. The barrel runs along your index finger, and you fire it by pointing your finger and touching the barrel tip with your fingernail.
It fires microdarts which can have a variety of effects, the #1 use being a drug called “Spasm” which makes every muscle in the body contract involuntarily, leaving the victim tied in a knot for 6 months.
The original trilogy of books:
The Man Who Never Missed
Matadora
The Machiavelli Interface
I don’t know what studio (Rockstar maybe) but I’d love a revamp of Freedom Fighters. I reinstall and play through the that game every few years. It’s really almost perfect as-is but graphics could be modernized and AI could be a little less stupid.
Religion isn’t just about evolution and how old the earth is, those are distractions from the big issues. All of the knowledge in the world won’t help you deal with the questions, “Why am I here?”, “What is my purpose? What is the point of it all?”, “Do we just die and disappear?” Knowing all the science in the world won’t make you feel at peace with these questions.
We are emotional creatures who are sadly aware of our mortality. Many need a parental figure to keep us in line, “God is watching”, and a companion for loneliness and hopelessness, “Jesus loves you” when no one else will or can help. It can feel like you have some protection against things overwise out of your control (disasters, wars, sudden deaths, accidents, illness, etc). Many people like the structure it brings their life and the comradery from being part of a like-minded group. Some join the military for this, some go into orthodox religions thick with rules and traditions, like Hassidic Jews. It can lead to a strong tribalism too, same with politics, where you instinctively distrust those who believe differently but feel you can trust those who do because you feel you understand what they feel and think.
I want to toss the Type-2 phaser from Star Trek (circa 24th century) as my personal favorite. It has this design which reads as a tool more than a weapon, which I love.
I prefer the retro aesthetics of the TOS Type 1, especially for the integrated Type 1, but regardless, it’s an excellent choice for the reason you state: it’s a very versatile tool!
I love the concept of the Type-1, and it would definitely be my favorite pick of the phasers based on function. But for how it looks, I like how the TNG Type-2 kinda blended the TOS Type-1 concept as a tool, but sized it up to the TOS Type-2 pistol in size. Best of both worlds. Still feels like a tool, but more power drill, less garage door opener or handgun.
It always bugs me a bit that all ST handgun-like phasers are “Type 2”, regardless of which design. I get what they’re doing, it’s just confusing. There are more than one TOS Type 2 designs, and obv. TOS Type 2 are radically different from TNG Type 2, of which there were several variations. The toxonomist in me wishes they’d been given at least sub-types; as it is, they’re categorized by (in-universe) date of introduction. But the shows and props department were sort of all over with them, making tweaks between seasons, so it can be rough to talk about without having memory-alpha up in a window.
I have a lot of specifications stuck in my head from previous jobs. A fun one is that precast concrete bridge beams aren’t just concrete and rebar. They typically have a bunch (20-30 or more depending on size) of 13 mm steel cables that are each under about 13,000 kg of tension. The cables are pulled to a specific tension in the concrete form, the concrete is poured around them, then the cables are cut at each end.
Lately, “just one more episode” of the tv show ER. It’s just too compelling and designed to pull your attention in with the music hits when they get a new trauma in and start yelling.
asklemmy
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