Quiz - Which Fantasy/SciFi Character Are You?

[den]

if you've met me... just shut up.

Comments

[level-head.livejournal.com]

"...partly because i'm old enough to also suffer from presbyopia..."

Ah. I'm not religious at all. I hope the surgery works out; it does seem that the focal range could be offset, but of course this would necessitate a change to both parts of your bifocal lenses.

Best wishes for good results.

I'd guess that Klingon (which I know only enough of not to order targhHomvam from a tlhIngan menu) could not strictly be considered an Indo-European language. But perhaps I am out of my Sep here.

I don't have any native tlhIngan speakers as friends, and I'm not sure I'd want my be'nI'pu' marrying them. ];-)

That Japanese joke, now quite old, was among Japanese students learning English:
Q: If a person who speaks three languages is trilingual, and a person who speaks two languages is bilingual, what do you call someone who only speaks one language?

A: American.

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[acelightning.livejournal.com]

[level-head.livejournal.com]

A poet! Excellent! I dabble a bit in that direction myself.

I'm sorry you haven't found a new spot for your work; you might consider EZBoard; it is free hosting and forum service.

Here is a bit of science fiction I did in iambic pentameter recently:
http://www.livejournal.com/users/level_head/82967.html#cutid1

Eliminating glasses is difficult when the lens loses flexibility, as happens to us all... I am not exactly a "pup" either. ];-)

But, from the sound of things, the prognosis is good. I wish you well.

Batty Den is certainly a bloke of high regard, and he's been patiently, ah, pottering around while we've usurped his forum.

But I think he's distracted by Veronica. ];-)

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[acelightning.livejournal.com]

[level-head.livejournal.com]

Ah, yes, I recall now, sorry for the redundancy.

I was uninvited there, then reinvited -- but the uninvite has remained the better option, I think. It's his forum; he does not need another viewpoint.

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[acelightning.livejournal.com]

[level-head.livejournal.com]

Consider it done.

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[dewhitton.livejournal.com]

You won't be sorry adding Level Head tou your friends list.

[dewhitton.livejournal.com]

Oh, don't mind me. The high comment count makes it look like I started an interesting thread.

Yes, Veronica has distracted me. I've been helping someone do some Vampire research. Did you know they don't have tails?

[level-head.livejournal.com]

Now I am looking into this.

From the following web site:
http://bss.sfsu.edu/geog/bholzman/courses/fall99projects/vampire.htm

"Bats are the only true flying mammals, with about 925 different species identified. Of all these species, only the common vampire bat is able to maneuver on the ground as well as in the air. According to Schutt (1998), vampire bats can move side to side and backward, similar to a spider. Instead of taking off in flight from the ground, these bats actually launch themselves into the air with powerful pectoral muscles. The force comes from the bat extending its hind knees, leaning forward and using its forelimbs. The bat also invokes its triceps muscle and very long thumb. While the jump only takes about 30 milliseconds, the bat catapults itself about 4 feet into the air. Altenbach (1979) comments, “although a few other species of bats move readily on the ground and some take off from the ground, no other species possess the extreme terrestrial agility and jumping ability of Desmodus”. Once in the air, the transition into flight is basically one fluid motion. Since the vampire bat feeds at ground level, their agility and fast take-off is an amazing advantage."

Jumping 120cm up? A 7cm bat? That would be something to see!

I will send this to Mr. Kellogg as well.

===|==============/ Level Head

[dewhitton.livejournal.com]

THe short-tailed bats of New Zealand are ground-feeding insectivores, but they can't jump that high. Good grief, that's Olympic Gold Medal jumping! My dodgy calculations tell me a 2m high human (200cm) would have to jump 34m from a standing leap. 110ish feet.

[level-head.livejournal.com]

I can imagine "The Celebrated Jumping Bats of Calaveras County" as a contest.

It would be a bit tricky; the whole point of that takeoff is not to come back down, and it is a transition to flight not entirely unlike Jenny's takeoffs. (Well, in direction, even if rather more abrupt.)

Having been to Calaveras, I picture a similar Walk of Fame with stars in the sidewalk for famous vampire bats, noting the date and altitude of the jump.

The amphibious version of this contest's record is still held by Rosie the Ribiter, who cleared 21 feet 5.75 inches or more than six and a half meters in a single horizontal jump in 1986. The frog's body length is similar to the vampire bat's (7-10cm), making this an even more impressive jump.

===|==============/ Level Head