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Groups > rec.arts.sf.written > #420582 > unrolled thread

Two Book Recommendations

Started by"Brian M. Scott" <b.scott@csuohio.edu>
First post2015-08-19 00:48 -0400
Last post2015-10-20 15:14 -0400
Articles 20 on this page of 151 — 35 participants

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Contents

  Two Book Recommendations "Brian M. Scott" <b.scott@csuohio.edu> - 2015-08-19 00:48 -0400
    Re: Two Book Recommendations wdstarr@panix.com (William December Starr) - 2015-08-19 03:45 -0400
      Re: Two Book Recommendations djheydt@kithrup.com (Dorothy J Heydt) - 2015-08-19 13:12 +0000
      Re: Two Book Recommendations graydonish@gmail.com - 2015-08-19 07:23 -0700
        Re: Two Book Recommendations "Michael R N Dolbear" <me@privacy.net> - 2015-08-19 16:40 +0100
        Re: Two Book Recommendations djheydt@kithrup.com (Dorothy J Heydt) - 2015-08-19 15:51 +0000
        Re: Two Book Recommendations Robert Bannister <robban@clubtelco.com> - 2015-08-20 10:42 +0800
    Re: Two Book Recommendations djheydt@kithrup.com (Dorothy J Heydt) - 2015-08-19 13:10 +0000
      Re: Two Book Recommendations "Brian M. Scott" <b.scott@csuohio.edu> - 2015-08-19 12:25 -0400
        Re: Two Book Recommendations djheydt@kithrup.com (Dorothy J Heydt) - 2015-08-19 16:59 +0000
    Re: Two Book Recommendations David DeLaney <daviddelaney@earthlink.net> - 2015-08-19 11:47 -0500
      Re: Two Book Recommendations djheydt@kithrup.com (Dorothy J Heydt) - 2015-08-19 17:01 +0000
      Re: Two Book Recommendations Lynn McGuire <lmc@winsim.com> - 2015-08-19 14:01 -0500
        Re: Two Book Recommendations djheydt@kithrup.com (Dorothy J Heydt) - 2015-08-19 20:08 +0000
        Re: Two Book Recommendations Don Bruder <dakidd@sonic.net> - 2015-08-19 13:23 -0700
    Re: Two Book Recommendations Magewolf <Magewolf@nc.rr.com> - 2015-08-21 10:36 -0400
      Re: Two Book Recommendations djheydt@kithrup.com (Dorothy J Heydt) - 2015-08-21 14:57 +0000
      Re: Two Book Recommendations "Brian M. Scott" <b.scott@csuohio.edu> - 2015-08-21 14:27 -0400
        Re: Two Book Recommendations djheydt@kithrup.com (Dorothy J Heydt) - 2015-08-21 20:01 +0000
      Re: Two Book Recommendations David DeLaney <daviddelaney@earthlink.net> - 2015-08-21 15:20 -0500
        Re: Two Book Recommendations goldfarb@ocf.berkeley.edu (David Goldfarb) - 2015-08-22 07:17 +0000
        Re: Two Book Recommendations Magewolf <Magewolf@nc.rr.com> - 2015-08-22 15:50 -0400
          Re: Two Book Recommendations djheydt@kithrup.com (Dorothy J Heydt) - 2015-08-22 21:10 +0000
            Re: Two Book Recommendations Magewolf <Magewolf@nc.rr.com> - 2015-08-22 19:23 -0400
              Re: Two Book Recommendations djheydt@kithrup.com (Dorothy J Heydt) - 2015-08-23 00:46 +0000
                Re: Two Book Recommendations Magewolf <Magewolf@nc.rr.com> - 2015-08-23 10:41 -0400
              Re: Two Book Recommendations wollman@bimajority.org (Garrett Wollman) - 2015-08-24 02:01 +0000
                Re: Two Book Recommendations djheydt@kithrup.com (Dorothy J Heydt) - 2015-08-24 02:18 +0000
                  Re: Two Book Recommendations Cryptoengineer <treifamily@gmail.com> - 2015-08-23 22:24 -0500
                    Re: Two Book Recommendations Cryptoengineer <treifamily@gmail.com> - 2015-08-23 22:26 -0500
                    Re: Two Book Recommendations wollman@bimajority.org (Garrett Wollman) - 2015-08-24 17:23 +0000
                      Re: Two Book Recommendations David DeLaney <daviddelaney@earthlink.net> - 2015-08-24 19:01 -0500
                Re: Two Book Recommendations William Vetter <mdhangton@gmail.com> - 2015-08-24 12:11 -0400
                  Re: Two Book Recommendations David DeLaney <daviddelaney@earthlink.net> - 2015-08-24 18:55 -0500
                    Re: Two Book Recommendations William Vetter <mdhangton@gmail.com> - 2015-08-24 20:18 -0400
                      Re: Two Book Recommendations wollman@bimajority.org (Garrett Wollman) - 2015-08-25 01:49 +0000
                        Re: Two Book Recommendations William Vetter <mdhangton@gmail.com> - 2015-08-24 22:29 -0400
                    Re: Two Book Recommendations Cryptoengineer <treifamily@gmail.com> - 2015-08-24 19:55 -0500
                Re: Two Book Recommendations Steve Coltrin <spcoltri@omcl.org> - 2015-08-24 18:00 -0600
                  Re: Two Book Recommendations wdstarr@panix.com (William December Starr) - 2015-10-20 08:36 -0400
                    Re: Two Book Recommendations petertrei@gmail.com - 2015-10-20 06:20 -0700
                      Re: Two Book Recommendations ted@loft.tnolan.com (Ted Nolan <tednolan>) - 2015-10-20 13:46 +0000
                        Re: Two Book Recommendations petertrei@gmail.com - 2015-10-20 07:33 -0700
                          Re: Two Book Recommendations Kevrob <kevrob@my-deja.com> - 2015-10-20 09:58 -0700
                            Re: Two Book Recommendations Lawrence Watt-Evans <lwe@sff.net> - 2015-10-20 14:02 -0400
                              Re: Two Book Recommendations Kevrob <kevrob@my-deja.com> - 2015-10-20 11:34 -0700
                            Re: Two Book Recommendations Robert Carnegie <rja.carnegie@excite.com> - 2015-10-21 03:34 -0700
                              Re: Two Book Recommendations "Raymond Daley" <raymond.daley@ntlworld.com> - 2015-10-21 11:45 +0100
                                Re: Two Book Recommendations "J. Clarke" <j.clarke.873638@gmail.com> - 2015-10-21 18:19 -0400
                                  Re: Two Book Recommendations Lawrence Watt-Evans <lwe@sff.net> - 2015-10-22 00:07 -0400
                                  Re: Two Book Recommendations Greg Goss <gossg@gossg.org> - 2015-10-21 22:41 -0600
                                  Re: Two Book Recommendations lal_truckee <lal_truckee@yahoo.com> - 2015-10-22 07:08 -0700
                                    Re: Two Book Recommendations "J. Clarke" <j.clarke.873638@gmail.com> - 2015-10-22 18:27 -0400
                                      Re: Two Book Recommendations wdstarr@panix.com (William December Starr) - 2015-10-23 08:16 -0400
                                        Re: Two Book Recommendations Kevrob <kevrob@my-deja.com> - 2015-10-23 08:24 -0700
                                          Re: Two Book Recommendations petertrei@gmail.com - 2015-10-23 08:36 -0700
                                            Re: Two Book Recommendations Greg Goss <gossg@gossg.org> - 2015-10-23 14:50 -0600
                                              Re: Two Book Recommendations Lawrence Watt-Evans <lwe@sff.net> - 2015-10-23 17:18 -0400
                                      Re: Two Book Recommendations lal_truckee <lal_truckee@yahoo.com> - 2015-10-26 16:26 -0700
                                  Re: Two Book Recommendations Gutless Umbrella Carrying Sissy <taustinca@gmail.com> - 2015-10-22 16:24 -0700
                                    Re: Two Book Recommendations "Brian M. Scott" <b.scott@csuohio.edu> - 2015-10-22 19:46 -0400
                                      Re: Two Book Recommendations Gutless Umbrella Carrying Sissy <taustinca@gmail.com> - 2015-10-23 09:30 -0700
                                    Re: Two Book Recommendations "Sea Wasp (Ryk E. Spoor)" <seawasp@sgeinc.invalid.com> - 2015-10-22 22:14 -0400
                                      Re: Two Book Recommendations Gutless Umbrella Carrying Sissy <taustinca@gmail.com> - 2015-10-23 09:31 -0700
                                  Re: Two Book Recommendations Moriarty <blues95@ivillage.com> - 2015-10-23 15:24 -0700
                                    Re: Two Book Recommendations Gutless Umbrella Carrying Sissy <taustinca@gmail.com> - 2015-10-23 16:03 -0700
                                      Re: Two Book Recommendations Moriarty <blues95@ivillage.com> - 2015-10-23 16:36 -0700
                                        Re: Two Book Recommendations Don Bruder <dakidd@sonic.net> - 2015-10-23 19:38 -0700
                                          Re: Two Book Recommendations Kevrob <kevrob@my-deja.com> - 2015-10-23 22:46 -0700
                                            Re: Two Book Recommendations Don Bruder <dakidd@sonic.net> - 2015-10-24 03:42 -0700
                                              Re: Two Book Recommendations "John F. Eldredge" <john@jfeldredge.com> - 2015-10-24 16:27 +0000
                                                Re: Two Book Recommendations "J. Clarke" <j.clarke.873638@gmail.com> - 2015-10-24 13:36 -0400
                                                  Re: Two Book Recommendations Don Bruder <dakidd@sonic.net> - 2015-10-24 15:24 -0700
                                                    Re: Two Book Recommendations Kevrob <kevrob@my-deja.com> - 2015-10-24 16:21 -0700
                                                Re: Two Book Recommendations wdstarr@panix.com (William December Starr) - 2015-10-25 17:14 -0400
                                                  Re: Two Book Recommendations Robert Bannister <robban@clubtelco.com> - 2015-10-26 10:51 +0800
                                                    Re: Two Book Recommendations Gene Wirchenko <genew@telus.net> - 2015-10-26 12:01 -0700
                                                      Re: Two Book Recommendations Kevrob <kevrob@my-deja.com> - 2015-10-26 12:05 -0700
                                                      Re: Two Book Recommendations "Brian M. Scott" <b.scott@csuohio.edu> - 2015-10-26 16:42 -0400
                                                        Re: Two Book Recommendations Gene Wirchenko <genew@telus.net> - 2015-10-26 19:52 -0700
                                                      Re: Two Book Recommendations Robert Bannister <robban@clubtelco.com> - 2015-10-27 10:45 +0800
                                              Re: Two Book Recommendations Kevrob <kevrob@my-deja.com> - 2015-10-24 10:51 -0700
                                                Re: Two Book Recommendations Don Bruder <dakidd@sonic.net> - 2015-10-24 20:00 -0700
                                                  Re: Two Book Recommendations "J. Clarke" <j.clarke.873638@gmail.com> - 2015-10-24 23:33 -0400
                                                    Re: Two Book Recommendations Don Bruder <dakidd@sonic.net> - 2015-10-24 23:21 -0700
                                                      Re: Two Book Recommendations Greg Goss <gossg@gossg.org> - 2015-10-25 01:07 -0600
                                                    Re: Two Book Recommendations wdstarr@panix.com (William December Starr) - 2015-10-25 17:04 -0400
                                                  Re: Two Book Recommendations Kevrob <kevrob@my-deja.com> - 2015-10-24 20:50 -0700
                                                    Re: Two Book Recommendations Don Bruder <dakidd@sonic.net> - 2015-10-24 23:21 -0700
                                                      Re: Two Book Recommendations "Brian M. Scott" <b.scott@csuohio.edu> - 2015-10-25 14:20 -0400
                                                  Re: Two Book Recommendations Robert Bannister <robban@clubtelco.com> - 2015-10-26 10:56 +0800
                                                    Re: Two Book Recommendations Kevrob <kevrob@my-deja.com> - 2015-10-25 21:50 -0700
                                                      Re: Two Book Recommendations "Brian M. Scott" <b.scott@csuohio.edu> - 2015-10-26 16:28 -0400
                                                        Re: Two Book Recommendations Kevrob <kevrob@my-deja.com> - 2015-10-26 14:22 -0700
                                                          Re: Two Book Recommendations "Brian M. Scott" <b.scott@csuohio.edu> - 2015-10-26 17:32 -0400
                                                            Re: Two Book Recommendations petertrei@gmail.com - 2015-10-26 14:52 -0700
                                                              Re: Two Book Recommendations Kevrob <kevrob@my-deja.com> - 2015-10-26 15:09 -0700
                                                                Re: Two Book Recommendations Joy Beeson <jbeeson@invalid.net.invalid> - 2015-10-27 18:08 -0400
                                                                  Re: Two Book Recommendations petertrei@gmail.com - 2015-10-28 06:19 -0700
                                                                    Re: Two Book Recommendations Kevrob <kevrob@my-deja.com> - 2015-10-28 06:38 -0700
                                                                      Re: Two Book Recommendations petertrei@gmail.com - 2015-10-28 07:11 -0700
                                                                        Re: Two Book Recommendations ted@loft.tnolan.com (Ted Nolan <tednolan>) - 2015-10-28 14:59 +0000
                                                                        Re: Two Book Recommendations Kevrob <kevrob@my-deja.com> - 2015-10-28 08:17 -0700
                                                                          Re: Two Book Recommendations Lawrence Watt-Evans <lwe@sff.net> - 2015-10-28 11:47 -0400
                                                                            Re: Two Book Recommendations petertrei@gmail.com - 2015-10-28 09:01 -0700
                                                                        Re: Two Book Recommendations David Johnston <David@block.net> - 2015-10-28 13:26 -0600
                                                              Re: Two Book Recommendations "Brian M. Scott" <b.scott@csuohio.edu> - 2015-10-26 18:13 -0400
                                                      Re: Two Book Recommendations Robert Bannister <robban@clubtelco.com> - 2015-10-27 10:47 +0800
                                          Re: Two Book Recommendations "J. Clarke" <j.clarke.873638@gmail.com> - 2015-10-24 06:03 -0400
                                Re: Two Book Recommendations David Johnston <David@block.net> - 2015-10-21 16:50 -0600
                                  Re: Two Book Recommendations ted@loft.tnolan.com (Ted Nolan <tednolan>) - 2015-10-21 23:11 +0000
                              Re: Two Book Recommendations Lawrence Watt-Evans <lwe@sff.net> - 2015-10-21 11:41 -0400
                                Re: Two Book Recommendations ted@loft.tnolan.com (Ted Nolan <tednolan>) - 2015-10-21 16:03 +0000
                                  Re: Two Book Recommendations Kevrob <kevrob@my-deja.com> - 2015-10-21 13:08 -0700
                        Re: Two Book Recommendations Robert Carnegie <rja.carnegie@excite.com> - 2015-10-20 09:40 -0700
                          Re: Two Book Recommendations Robert Bannister <robban@clubtelco.com> - 2015-10-21 08:13 +0800
                            Re: Two Book Recommendations Greg Goss <gossg@gossg.org> - 2015-10-20 18:21 -0600
                              Re: Two Book Recommendations "John F. Eldredge" <john@jfeldredge.com> - 2015-10-21 00:43 +0000
                              Re: Two Book Recommendations Kevrob <kevrob@my-deja.com> - 2015-10-20 18:50 -0700
                              Re: Two Book Recommendations Robert Bannister <robban@clubtelco.com> - 2015-10-21 10:13 +0800
                            Re: Two Book Recommendations "Gary R. Schmidt" <grschmidt@acm.org> - 2015-10-21 12:34 +1100
                              Re: Two Book Recommendations Robert Bannister <robban@clubtelco.com> - 2015-10-21 10:15 +0800
                                Re: Two Book Recommendations "Gary R. Schmidt" <grschmidt@acm.org> - 2015-10-21 16:35 +1100
                                  Re: Two Book Recommendations Moriarty <blues95@ivillage.com> - 2015-10-23 15:20 -0700
                                    Re: Two Book Recommendations Robert Bannister <robban@clubtelco.com> - 2015-10-24 08:59 +0800
                            Re: Two Book Recommendations wdstarr@panix.com (William December Starr) - 2015-10-23 09:17 -0400
                        Re: Two Book Recommendations lal_truckee <lal_truckee@yahoo.com> - 2015-10-20 10:24 -0700
                        Re: Two Book Recommendations Greg Goss <gossg@gossg.org> - 2015-10-20 18:07 -0600
                      Re: Two Book Recommendations "Brian M. Scott" <b.scott@csuohio.edu> - 2015-10-20 21:20 -0400
                    Re: Two Book Recommendations Steve Coltrin <spcoltri@omcl.org> - 2015-10-20 08:02 -0600
                      Re: Two Book Recommendations Jaimie Vandenbergh <jaimie@sometimes.sessile.org> - 2015-10-23 02:32 +0100
                    Re: Two Book Recommendations Kay Shapero <kay@invalid.net> - 2015-10-20 22:59 -0700
                Re: Two Book Recommendations Robert Bannister <robban@clubtelco.com> - 2015-08-25 11:07 +0800
                  Re: Two Book Recommendations Cryptoengineer <treifamily@gmail.com> - 2015-08-24 22:40 -0500
                    Re: Two Book Recommendations Greg Goss <gossg@gossg.org> - 2015-08-25 08:06 -0600
                    Re: Two Book Recommendations Robert Bannister <robban@clubtelco.com> - 2015-08-26 11:44 +0800
                      Re: Two Book Recommendations Greg Goss <gossg@gossg.org> - 2015-08-26 08:54 -0600
                        Re: Two Book Recommendations Kevrob <kevrob@my-deja.com> - 2015-08-26 09:06 -0700
                          Re: Two Book Recommendations petertrei@gmail.com - 2015-08-26 09:24 -0700
                        Re: Two Book Recommendations Robert Bannister <robban@clubtelco.com> - 2015-08-27 10:25 +0800
                          Re: Two Book Recommendations Kevrob <kevrob@my-deja.com> - 2015-08-27 04:35 -0700
                  Re: Two Book Recommendations Steve Coltrin <spcoltri@omcl.org> - 2015-08-24 22:17 -0600
                    Re: Two Book Recommendations Kevrob <kevrob@my-deja.com> - 2015-08-25 04:34 -0700
                      Re: Two Book Recommendations Greg Goss <gossg@gossg.org> - 2015-08-25 08:10 -0600
                        Re: Two Book Recommendations petertrei@gmail.com - 2015-08-25 07:49 -0700
                  Re: Two Book Recommendations Robert Carnegie <rja.carnegie@excite.com> - 2015-08-25 06:27 -0700
          Re: Two Book Recommendations Gene Wirchenko <genew@telus.net> - 2015-08-25 12:50 -0700
            Re: Two Book Recommendations David DeLaney <daviddelaney@earthlink.net> - 2015-08-26 01:17 -0500
              Re: Two Book Recommendations goldfarb@ocf.berkeley.edu (David Goldfarb) - 2015-08-31 07:31 +0000
                Re: Two Book Recommendations William Hyde <wthyde1953@gmail.com> - 2015-10-20 11:57 -0700
                  Re: Two Book Recommendations "Brian M. Scott" <b.scott@csuohio.edu> - 2015-10-20 15:14 -0400

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#420803

Fromgoldfarb@ocf.berkeley.edu (David Goldfarb)
Date2015-08-22 07:17 +0000
Message-ID<ntH2xK.xwB@kithrup.com>
In reply to#420784
In article <RN-dnelinKudFUrInZ2dnUU7-f-dnZ2d@earthlink.com>,
David DeLaney  <dbd@vic.com> wrote:
>ps: will start book 2 pretty soon

I'm not quite two-thirds of the way through _A Succession of Bad Days_
and I'm still wondering if it's ever going to develop a plot.  But it's
engaging enough that I don't mind.

It does contain what I'm pretty sure is wish-fulfillment fantasy about
the kind of smithcrafting you could do if you were telekinetic and
didn't have to faff about with actual material tools but could just
shape molten metal directly with your mind; also some wish-fulfillment
about what kind of house Graydon would live in if he had infinite money.
(And access to telekinetic smiths.)

But hey, I've often wished I were telekinetic myself.

-- 
   David Goldfarb          |"It's okay to disagree with me.  However, once I
goldfarbdj@gmail.com       |explain where you're wrong you're supposed to
goldfarb@ocf.berkeley.edu  |become enlightened and change your mind.
                           |Congratulating me on how smart I am is optional."
                           |              -- Karl Johanson

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#420831

FromMagewolf <Magewolf@nc.rr.com>
Date2015-08-22 15:50 -0400
Message-ID<mrajnu$3uv$1@dont-email.me>
In reply to#420784
On 8/21/2015 4:20 PM, David DeLaney wrote:
> On 2015-08-21, Magewolf <Magewolf@nc.rr.com> wrote:
>> On 8/19/2015 12:48 AM, Brian M. Scott wrote:
>>> A little while back Graydon Saunders dropped in and
>>> mentioned a couple of books that he???s self-published.  I???ve
>>> now read them, and I can wholeheartedly recommend them.
>>
>> After all the praise here I went ahead and bought The March North. I
>> have only had a chance to read the first few pages but it reminds me a
>> bit of The Black Company so far.
>
> I have read The March North over the past couple of days, and give it about
> seven stars out of five. Military epic fantasy, with power level turned up
> past eleven, because, really, when one of the qualifications for becoming
> a top-rank sorcerer is _successfully_ completing the ritual that makes you
> immortal (well, unaging and rather hard to damage or sicken), over the
> centuries top-rank sorcerers tend to accumulate, IF there's a social contract
> that's magically enforceable in place that stops them killing each other off
> and/or becoming the next Dark Lord and enslaving some tens or hundreds of
> miles around them.
>     And one of the obvious uses for top-rank sorcerers is in the military, of
> course. (Several of the obvious uses are, actually.)
>
> Oh, and for those of you who are amused by the descriptions here of FOOF,
> about the third-worst-possible oxidizer for rockets ever dreamed up, and
> the pipeline.corante.com blog? Take a look at chapter 17...
>
> Reminiscent of the Black Company, yes, but curiously easier to absorb the
> background slow-reveals and worldbuilding info on, and I found the characters
> easier to understand. More human, ironically enough. Good show!
>
> Dave, not only are there easter eggs, but they're EXPLOSIVE ones
>
> ps: will start book 2 pretty soon
>


I have often thought that a good knowledge of chemistry and any kind of 
transformation magic or alchemy would be way more powerful then anything 
that actually shows up in most fantasy stories. I mean if you could make 
Chlorine trifluoride and set up tanks of it ready to break at will all 
around what kind of army would you have to worry about?

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#420835

Fromdjheydt@kithrup.com (Dorothy J Heydt)
Date2015-08-22 21:10 +0000
Message-ID<ntI5H0.yt0@kithrup.com>
In reply to#420831
In article <mrajnu$3uv$1@dont-email.me>, Magewolf  <Magewolf@nc.rr.com> wrote:
>On 8/21/2015 4:20 PM, David DeLaney wrote:
>> On 2015-08-21, Magewolf <Magewolf@nc.rr.com> wrote:
>>> On 8/19/2015 12:48 AM, Brian M. Scott wrote:
>>>> A little while back Graydon Saunders dropped in and
>>>> mentioned a couple of books that he???s self-published.  I???ve
>>>> now read them, and I can wholeheartedly recommend them.
>>>
>>> After all the praise here I went ahead and bought The March North. I
>>> have only had a chance to read the first few pages but it reminds me a
>>> bit of The Black Company so far.
>>
>> I have read The March North over the past couple of days, and give it about
>> seven stars out of five. Military epic fantasy, with power level turned up
>> past eleven, because, really, when one of the qualifications for becoming
>> a top-rank sorcerer is _successfully_ completing the ritual that makes you
>> immortal (well, unaging and rather hard to damage or sicken), over the
>> centuries top-rank sorcerers tend to accumulate, IF there's a social contract
>> that's magically enforceable in place that stops them killing each other off
>> and/or becoming the next Dark Lord and enslaving some tens or hundreds of
>> miles around them.
>>     And one of the obvious uses for top-rank sorcerers is in the military, of
>> course. (Several of the obvious uses are, actually.)
>>
>> Oh, and for those of you who are amused by the descriptions here of FOOF,
>> about the third-worst-possible oxidizer for rockets ever dreamed up, and
>> the pipeline.corante.com blog? Take a look at chapter 17...
>>
>> Reminiscent of the Black Company, yes, but curiously easier to absorb the
>> background slow-reveals and worldbuilding info on, and I found the characters
>> easier to understand. More human, ironically enough. Good show!
>>
>> Dave, not only are there easter eggs, but they're EXPLOSIVE ones
>>
>> ps: will start book 2 pretty soon
>>
>
>
>I have often thought that a good knowledge of chemistry and any kind of 
>transformation magic or alchemy would be way more powerful then anything 
>that actually shows up in most fantasy stories. I mean if you could make 
>Chlorine trifluoride and set up tanks of it ready to break at will all 
>around what kind of army would you have to worry about?

That sounds like the sort of thing that would've been done in the
Bad Old Days, which covers not only the past times of vicious
sorcerous wars, but all the other realms outside and around the
Commonweal.  Both popular feeling and the laws of the Commonweal
are passionately against doing that kind of thing.

Instead, magical alchemy is used for separating component
elements out of plain old dirt, and using them to construct
unbelievably beautiful buildings.

-- 
Dorothy J. Heydt
Vallejo, California
djheydt at gmail dot com
Should you wish to email me, you'd better use the gmail edress.
Kithrup's all spammy and hotmail's been hacked.

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#420841

FromMagewolf <Magewolf@nc.rr.com>
Date2015-08-22 19:23 -0400
Message-ID<mrb06c$gno$1@dont-email.me>
In reply to#420835
On 8/22/2015 5:10 PM, Dorothy J Heydt wrote:
> In article <mrajnu$3uv$1@dont-email.me>, Magewolf  <Magewolf@nc.rr.com> wrote:
>> On 8/21/2015 4:20 PM, David DeLaney wrote:
>>> On 2015-08-21, Magewolf <Magewolf@nc.rr.com> wrote:
>>>> On 8/19/2015 12:48 AM, Brian M. Scott wrote:
>>>>> A little while back Graydon Saunders dropped in and
>>>>> mentioned a couple of books that he???s self-published.  I???ve
>>>>> now read them, and I can wholeheartedly recommend them.
>>>>
>>>> After all the praise here I went ahead and bought The March North. I
>>>> have only had a chance to read the first few pages but it reminds me a
>>>> bit of The Black Company so far.
>>>
>>> I have read The March North over the past couple of days, and give it about
>>> seven stars out of five. Military epic fantasy, with power level turned up
>>> past eleven, because, really, when one of the qualifications for becoming
>>> a top-rank sorcerer is _successfully_ completing the ritual that makes you
>>> immortal (well, unaging and rather hard to damage or sicken), over the
>>> centuries top-rank sorcerers tend to accumulate, IF there's a social contract
>>> that's magically enforceable in place that stops them killing each other off
>>> and/or becoming the next Dark Lord and enslaving some tens or hundreds of
>>> miles around them.
>>>      And one of the obvious uses for top-rank sorcerers is in the military, of
>>> course. (Several of the obvious uses are, actually.)
>>>
>>> Oh, and for those of you who are amused by the descriptions here of FOOF,
>>> about the third-worst-possible oxidizer for rockets ever dreamed up, and
>>> the pipeline.corante.com blog? Take a look at chapter 17...
>>>
>>> Reminiscent of the Black Company, yes, but curiously easier to absorb the
>>> background slow-reveals and worldbuilding info on, and I found the characters
>>> easier to understand. More human, ironically enough. Good show!
>>>
>>> Dave, not only are there easter eggs, but they're EXPLOSIVE ones
>>>
>>> ps: will start book 2 pretty soon
>>>
>>
>>
>> I have often thought that a good knowledge of chemistry and any kind of
>> transformation magic or alchemy would be way more powerful then anything
>> that actually shows up in most fantasy stories. I mean if you could make
>> Chlorine trifluoride and set up tanks of it ready to break at will all
>> around what kind of army would you have to worry about?
>
> That sounds like the sort of thing that would've been done in the
> Bad Old Days, which covers not only the past times of vicious
> sorcerous wars, but all the other realms outside and around the
> Commonweal.  Both popular feeling and the laws of the Commonweal
> are passionately against doing that kind of thing.
>
> Instead, magical alchemy is used for separating component
> elements out of plain old dirt, and using them to construct
> unbelievably beautiful buildings.
>

I think it would not take much interaction with Chlorine trifluoride or 
the equivalent to be passionately against it. The hard part would be 
surviving to have any opinion at all.

[toc] | [prev] | [next] | [standalone]


#420847

Fromdjheydt@kithrup.com (Dorothy J Heydt)
Date2015-08-23 00:46 +0000
Message-ID<ntIFIB.1Eo7@kithrup.com>
In reply to#420841
In article <mrb06c$gno$1@dont-email.me>, Magewolf  <Magewolf@nc.rr.com> wrote:
>On 8/22/2015 5:10 PM, Dorothy J Heydt wrote:
>> In article <mrajnu$3uv$1@dont-email.me>, Magewolf  <Magewolf@nc.rr.com> wrote:
>>> On 8/21/2015 4:20 PM, David DeLaney wrote:
>>>> On 2015-08-21, Magewolf <Magewolf@nc.rr.com> wrote:
>>>>> On 8/19/2015 12:48 AM, Brian M. Scott wrote:
>>>>>> A little while back Graydon Saunders dropped in and
>>>>>> mentioned a couple of books that he???s self-published.  I???ve
>>>>>> now read them, and I can wholeheartedly recommend them.
>>>>>
>>>>> After all the praise here I went ahead and bought The March North. I
>>>>> have only had a chance to read the first few pages but it reminds me a
>>>>> bit of The Black Company so far.
>>>>
>>>> I have read The March North over the past couple of days, and give it about
>>>> seven stars out of five. Military epic fantasy, with power level turned up
>>>> past eleven, because, really, when one of the qualifications for becoming
>>>> a top-rank sorcerer is _successfully_ completing the ritual that makes you
>>>> immortal (well, unaging and rather hard to damage or sicken), over the
>>>> centuries top-rank sorcerers tend to accumulate, IF there's a social
>contract
>>>> that's magically enforceable in place that stops them killing each other off
>>>> and/or becoming the next Dark Lord and enslaving some tens or hundreds of
>>>> miles around them.
>>>>      And one of the obvious uses for top-rank sorcerers is in the
>military, of
>>>> course. (Several of the obvious uses are, actually.)
>>>>
>>>> Oh, and for those of you who are amused by the descriptions here of FOOF,
>>>> about the third-worst-possible oxidizer for rockets ever dreamed up, and
>>>> the pipeline.corante.com blog? Take a look at chapter 17...
>>>>
>>>> Reminiscent of the Black Company, yes, but curiously easier to absorb the
>>>> background slow-reveals and worldbuilding info on, and I found the
>characters
>>>> easier to understand. More human, ironically enough. Good show!
>>>>
>>>> Dave, not only are there easter eggs, but they're EXPLOSIVE ones
>>>>
>>>> ps: will start book 2 pretty soon
>>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> I have often thought that a good knowledge of chemistry and any kind of
>>> transformation magic or alchemy would be way more powerful then anything
>>> that actually shows up in most fantasy stories. I mean if you could make
>>> Chlorine trifluoride and set up tanks of it ready to break at will all
>>> around what kind of army would you have to worry about?
>>
>> That sounds like the sort of thing that would've been done in the
>> Bad Old Days, which covers not only the past times of vicious
>> sorcerous wars, but all the other realms outside and around the
>> Commonweal.  Both popular feeling and the laws of the Commonweal
>> are passionately against doing that kind of thing.
>>
>> Instead, magical alchemy is used for separating component
>> elements out of plain old dirt, and using them to construct
>> unbelievably beautiful buildings.
>>
>
>I think it would not take much interaction with Chlorine trifluoride or 
>the equivalent to be passionately against it. The hard part would be 
>surviving to have any opinion at all.

Well, some of the Independents apparently did.  If you read the
books, do not take the Independents at face value.  One of them
looks like a sweet young thing, another like a leathery old mountain
man, one like a nice old granny who is always knitting.  You begin to
notice that maybe they're not what they seem when you see the
critters they're riding.

-- 
Dorothy J. Heydt
Vallejo, California
djheydt at gmail dot com
Should you wish to email me, you'd better use the gmail edress.
Kithrup's all spammy and hotmail's been hacked.

[toc] | [prev] | [next] | [standalone]


#420866

FromMagewolf <Magewolf@nc.rr.com>
Date2015-08-23 10:41 -0400
Message-ID<mrcm04$qts$1@dont-email.me>
In reply to#420847
On 8/22/2015 8:46 PM, Dorothy J Heydt wrote:
> In article <mrb06c$gno$1@dont-email.me>, Magewolf  <Magewolf@nc.rr.com> wrote:
>> On 8/22/2015 5:10 PM, Dorothy J Heydt wrote:
>>> In article <mrajnu$3uv$1@dont-email.me>, Magewolf  <Magewolf@nc.rr.com> wrote:
>>>> On 8/21/2015 4:20 PM, David DeLaney wrote:
>>>>> On 2015-08-21, Magewolf <Magewolf@nc.rr.com> wrote:
>>>>>> On 8/19/2015 12:48 AM, Brian M. Scott wrote:
>>>>>>> A little while back Graydon Saunders dropped in and
>>>>>>> mentioned a couple of books that he???s self-published.  I???ve
>>>>>>> now read them, and I can wholeheartedly recommend them.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> After all the praise here I went ahead and bought The March North. I
>>>>>> have only had a chance to read the first few pages but it reminds me a
>>>>>> bit of The Black Company so far.
>>>>>
>>>>> I have read The March North over the past couple of days, and give it about
>>>>> seven stars out of five. Military epic fantasy, with power level turned up
>>>>> past eleven, because, really, when one of the qualifications for becoming
>>>>> a top-rank sorcerer is _successfully_ completing the ritual that makes you
>>>>> immortal (well, unaging and rather hard to damage or sicken), over the
>>>>> centuries top-rank sorcerers tend to accumulate, IF there's a social
>> contract
>>>>> that's magically enforceable in place that stops them killing each other off
>>>>> and/or becoming the next Dark Lord and enslaving some tens or hundreds of
>>>>> miles around them.
>>>>>       And one of the obvious uses for top-rank sorcerers is in the
>> military, of
>>>>> course. (Several of the obvious uses are, actually.)
>>>>>
>>>>> Oh, and for those of you who are amused by the descriptions here of FOOF,
>>>>> about the third-worst-possible oxidizer for rockets ever dreamed up, and
>>>>> the pipeline.corante.com blog? Take a look at chapter 17...
>>>>>
>>>>> Reminiscent of the Black Company, yes, but curiously easier to absorb the
>>>>> background slow-reveals and worldbuilding info on, and I found the
>> characters
>>>>> easier to understand. More human, ironically enough. Good show!
>>>>>
>>>>> Dave, not only are there easter eggs, but they're EXPLOSIVE ones
>>>>>
>>>>> ps: will start book 2 pretty soon
>>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> I have often thought that a good knowledge of chemistry and any kind of
>>>> transformation magic or alchemy would be way more powerful then anything
>>>> that actually shows up in most fantasy stories. I mean if you could make
>>>> Chlorine trifluoride and set up tanks of it ready to break at will all
>>>> around what kind of army would you have to worry about?
>>>
>>> That sounds like the sort of thing that would've been done in the
>>> Bad Old Days, which covers not only the past times of vicious
>>> sorcerous wars, but all the other realms outside and around the
>>> Commonweal.  Both popular feeling and the laws of the Commonweal
>>> are passionately against doing that kind of thing.
>>>
>>> Instead, magical alchemy is used for separating component
>>> elements out of plain old dirt, and using them to construct
>>> unbelievably beautiful buildings.
>>>
>>
>> I think it would not take much interaction with Chlorine trifluoride or
>> the equivalent to be passionately against it. The hard part would be
>> surviving to have any opinion at all.
>
> Well, some of the Independents apparently did.  If you read the
> books, do not take the Independents at face value.  One of them
> looks like a sweet young thing, another like a leathery old mountain
> man, one like a nice old granny who is always knitting.  You begin to
> notice that maybe they're not what they seem when you see the
> critters they're riding.
>

Well, that is one of the ways the book reminds me of The Black Company. 
The Independents seem to have a bit in common with The Ten Who Were 
Taken thought I have only gotten to chapter 9. Of course the 
Independents seem much nicer so far. The Ten did not really play well 
with others.

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#420934

Fromwollman@bimajority.org (Garrett Wollman)
Date2015-08-24 02:01 +0000
Message-ID<mrdttf$1qp3$4@grapevine.csail.mit.edu>
In reply to#420841
In article <mrb06c$gno$1@dont-email.me>, Magewolf  <Magewolf@nc.rr.com> wrote:

>I think it would not take much interaction with Chlorine trifluoride or 
>the equivalent to be passionately against it. The hard part would be 
>surviving to have any opinion at all.

OK, is that the cue for the obligatory quote from "Ignition!"?  Here
it is:

	It is, of course, extremely toxic, but that's the least of the
	problem. It is hypergolic with every known fuel, and so
	rapidly hypergolic that no ignition delay has ever been
	measured. It is also hypergolic with such things as cloth,
	wood, and test engineers, not to mention asbestos, sand, and
	water-with which it reacts explosively. It can be kept in some
	of the ordinary structural metals-steel, copper, aluminium,
	etc.-because of the formation of a thin film of insoluble
	metal fluoride which protects the bulk of the metal, just as
	the invisible coat of oxide on aluminium keeps it from burning
	up in the atmosphere. If, however, this coat is melted or
	scrubbed off, and has no chance to reform, the operator is
	confronted with the problem of coping with a metal-fluorine
	fire. For dealing with this situation, I have always
	recommended a good pair of running shoes.

(John Clark, /Ignition!/, via Derek Lowe)

This is why the idea of using ClF3 as an oxidizer for liquid-fuel
rockets was discarded early on.  It IS produced in fairly large
industrial quantities nowadays -- it's used in the semiconductor
industry to clean oxides off of surfaces.[1]  More Derek Lowe:

	There's a report from the early 1950s ... of a one-ton spill
	of the stuff. It burned its way through a foot of concrete
	floor and chewed up another meter of sand and gravel beneath,
	completing a day that I'm sure no one involved ever
	forgot. That process, I should add, would necessarily have
	been accompanied by copious amounts of horribly toxic and
	corrosive by-products: it's bad enough when your reagent
	ignites wet sand, but the clouds of hot hydrofluoric acid are
	your special door prize if you're foolhardy enough to hang
	around and watch the fireworks.

-GAWollman

[1] Which is to say that it's a more powerful oxidizer than oxygen
itself.  Nasty, nasty stuff.
-- 
Garrett A. Wollman    | What intellectual phenomenon can be older, or more oft
wollman@bimajority.org| repeated, than the story of a large research program
Opinions not shared by| that impaled itself upon a false central assumption
my employers.         | accepted by all practitioners? - S.J. Gould, 1993

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#420935

Fromdjheydt@kithrup.com (Dorothy J Heydt)
Date2015-08-24 02:18 +0000
Message-ID<ntKEEG.xH4@kithrup.com>
In reply to#420934
In article <mrdttf$1qp3$4@grapevine.csail.mit.edu>,
Garrett Wollman <wollman@bimajority.org> wrote:
>
>OK, is that the cue for the obligatory quote from "Ignition!"?  Here
>it is:
>
>	It is, of course, extremely toxic, but that's the least of the
>	problem. It is hypergolic with every known fuel, and so
>	rapidly hypergolic that no ignition delay has ever been
>	measured.

Gee, sounds like thiotimoline.


-- 
Dorothy J. Heydt
Vallejo, California
djheydt at gmail dot com
Should you wish to email me, you'd better use the gmail edress.
Kithrup's all spammy and hotmail's been hacked.

[toc] | [prev] | [next] | [standalone]


#420938

FromCryptoengineer <treifamily@gmail.com>
Date2015-08-23 22:24 -0500
Message-ID<XnsA4FFEE2509AA4melchizedek@216.166.97.131>
In reply to#420935
djheydt@kithrup.com (Dorothy J Heydt) wrote in news:ntKEEG.xH4@kithrup.com:

> In article <mrdttf$1qp3$4@grapevine.csail.mit.edu>,
> Garrett Wollman <wollman@bimajority.org> wrote:
>>
>>OK, is that the cue for the obligatory quote from "Ignition!"?  Here
>>it is:
>>
>>     It is, of course, extremely toxic, but that's the least of the
>>     problem. It is hypergolic with every known fuel, and so
>>     rapidly hypergolic that no ignition delay has ever been
>>     measured.
> 
> Gee, sounds like thiotimoline.

The "Things I Won't Work With" blog has a nice entry on Cf3:
http://pipeline.corante.com/archives/2013/04/05/chlorine_trifluoride_some_e
mpirical_findings.php

"Ignition" is here:
http://library.sciencemadness.org/library/books/ignition.pdf

pt

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#420939

FromCryptoengineer <treifamily@gmail.com>
Date2015-08-23 22:26 -0500
Message-ID<XnsA4FFEE6698A05melchizedek@216.166.97.131>
In reply to#420938
Cryptoengineer <treifamily@gmail.com> wrote in
news:XnsA4FFEE2509AA4melchizedek@216.166.97.131: 

> djheydt@kithrup.com (Dorothy J Heydt) wrote in
> news:ntKEEG.xH4@kithrup.com: 
> 
>> In article <mrdttf$1qp3$4@grapevine.csail.mit.edu>,
>> Garrett Wollman <wollman@bimajority.org> wrote:
>>>
>>>OK, is that the cue for the obligatory quote from "Ignition!"?  Here
>>>it is:
>>>
>>>     It is, of course, extremely toxic, but that's the least of the
>>>     problem. It is hypergolic with every known fuel, and so
>>>     rapidly hypergolic that no ignition delay has ever been
>>>     measured.
>> 
>> Gee, sounds like thiotimoline.
> 
> The "Things I Won't Work With" blog has a nice entry on Cf3:
                                                          ^ClF3
> http://pipeline.corante.com/archives/2013/04/05/chlorine_trifluoride_so
> me_e mpirical_findings.php
> 
> "Ignition" is here:
> http://library.sciencemadness.org/library/books/ignition.pdf
> 
> pt
> 

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#420983

Fromwollman@bimajority.org (Garrett Wollman)
Date2015-08-24 17:23 +0000
Message-ID<mrfjue$2b3m$2@grapevine.csail.mit.edu>
In reply to#420938
In article <XnsA4FFEE2509AA4melchizedek@216.166.97.131>,
Cryptoengineer  <treifamily@gmail.com> wrote:

>The "Things I Won't Work With" blog has a nice entry on Cf3:
>http://pipeline.corante.com/archives/2013/04/05/chlorine_trifluoride_some_e
>mpirical_findings.php

Correction: it's the "In the Pipeline" blog (whose primary topic is
medicinal chemistry), which has a category "Things I Won't Work With".
The blog has changed hosts; it's now at
<http://blogs.sciencemag.org/pipeline/> and the pages in this category
are at
<http://blogs.sciencemag.org/pipeline/archives/category/things-i-wont-work-with>.

-GAWollman

-- 
Garrett A. Wollman    | What intellectual phenomenon can be older, or more oft
wollman@bimajority.org| repeated, than the story of a large research program
Opinions not shared by| that impaled itself upon a false central assumption
my employers.         | accepted by all practitioners? - S.J. Gould, 1993

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#421019

FromDavid DeLaney <daviddelaney@earthlink.net>
Date2015-08-24 19:01 -0500
Message-ID<RsSdnVt8z_30LUbInZ2dnUU7-UOdnZ2d@earthlink.com>
In reply to#420983
On 2015-08-24, Garrett Wollman <wollman@bimajority.org> wrote:
> Cryptoengineer  <treifamily@gmail.com> wrote:
>>The "Things I Won't Work With" blog has a nice entry on Cf3:
>>http://pipeline.corante.com/archives/2013/04/05/chlorine_trifluoride_some_e
>>mpirical_findings.php
>
> Correction: it's the "In the Pipeline" blog (whose primary topic is
> medicinal chemistry), which has a category "Things I Won't Work With".
> The blog has changed hosts; it's now at 
> <http://blogs.sciencemag.org/pipeline/>  .

Has it now... oh, okay, the notice at the top of its pages says so (but,
annoyingly, not in clickable form; clicking on the element takes you right
back to pipeline.corante.com ).

I'd noticed it had been having periods, for me, where it gave some sort of
HTML error rather than displaying, earlier this year on and off. Hope the
move helps with that!

Oh, and I see his related category "Things I'm Glad I Don't Do" has a post
from to-day, on a related subject!

Dave
-- 
\/David	DeLaney	posting	thru EarthLink - "It's not the pot that	grows the flower
It's not the clock that	slows the hour 	The definition's plain for anyone to see
Love is	all it takes to	make a family" - R&P. VISUALIZE	HAPPYNET VRbeable<BLINK>
http://gatekeeper.vic.com/~dbd/	-net.legends/Magic / I WUV you in all CAPS! --K.

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#420978

FromWilliam Vetter <mdhangton@gmail.com>
Date2015-08-24 12:11 -0400
Message-ID<mrffk1$csg$1@dont-email.me>
In reply to#420934
Garrett Wollman wrote:
>
> [1] Which is to say that it's a more powerful oxidizer than oxygen
> itself.

This statement is wrong.  There are a lot of things that clean off 
oxides.

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#421017

FromDavid DeLaney <daviddelaney@earthlink.net>
Date2015-08-24 18:55 -0500
Message-ID<s56dnQvyPqSVMkbInZ2dnUU7-LOdnZ2d@earthlink.com>
In reply to#420978
On 2015-08-24, William Vetter <mdhangton@gmail.com> wrote:
> Garrett Wollman wrote:
>> [1] Which is to say that it's a more powerful oxidizer than oxygen itself.
>
> This statement is wrong.  There are a lot of things that clean off 
> oxides.

No, Garrett's perfectly correct. "Cleans rust or tarnish off what it grew on"
is NOT the definition of "is a stronger oxidizer than whatever compounded into
the rust or tarnish". Fluorine is most definitely a stronger oxidizer than
oxygen; when they compound, the _fluorine_ gets the electrons. This is part of
- well, most of - the reason why gaseous fluorine is so INCREDIBLY dangerous
to work with, and fluorine compounds of certain types almost as much or
sometimes more so.

Dave
-- 
\/David	DeLaney	posting	thru EarthLink - "It's not the pot that	grows the flower
It's not the clock that	slows the hour 	The definition's plain for anyone to see
Love is	all it takes to	make a family" - R&P. VISUALIZE	HAPPYNET VRbeable<BLINK>
http://gatekeeper.vic.com/~dbd/	-net.legends/Magic / I WUV you in all CAPS! --K.

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#421020

FromWilliam Vetter <mdhangton@gmail.com>
Date2015-08-24 20:18 -0400
Message-ID<mrgc6k$5u9$1@dont-email.me>
In reply to#421017
David DeLaney wrote:
> On 2015-08-24, William Vetter <mdhangton@gmail.com> wrote:
>> Garrett Wollman wrote:
>>> [1] Which is to say that it's a more powerful oxidizer than oxygen itself.
>> 
>> This statement is wrong.  There are a lot of things that clean off 
>> oxides.
>
> No, Garrett's perfectly correct. "Cleans rust or tarnish off what it grew on"
> is NOT the definition of "is a stronger oxidizer than whatever compounded 
> into the rust or tarnish". Fluorine is most definitely a stronger oxidizer 
> than oxygen; when they compound, the _fluorine_ gets the electrons. This is 
> part of - well, most of - the reason why gaseous fluorine is so INCREDIBLY 
> dangerous to work with, and fluorine compounds of certain types almost as 
> much or sometimes more so.
>
He said that if any chemical etchant cleans absorbed or compounded 
oxygen from a surface (which may exist as O2, O-, or O<dot>), it must 
necessarily be a stronger oxidant than O2.  That is very different from 
saying that F2 is a stronger oxidant than O2, which is what you're 
saying here.

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#421031

Fromwollman@bimajority.org (Garrett Wollman)
Date2015-08-25 01:49 +0000
Message-ID<mrghic$2jfo$1@grapevine.csail.mit.edu>
In reply to#421020
In article <mrgc6k$5u9$1@dont-email.me>,
William Vetter  <mdhangton@gmail.com> wrote:
>He said that if any chemical etchant cleans absorbed or compounded 
>oxygen from a surface

No I didn't.

-GAWollman

-- 
Garrett A. Wollman    | What intellectual phenomenon can be older, or more oft
wollman@bimajority.org| repeated, than the story of a large research program
Opinions not shared by| that impaled itself upon a false central assumption
my employers.         | accepted by all practitioners? - S.J. Gould, 1993

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#421037

FromWilliam Vetter <mdhangton@gmail.com>
Date2015-08-24 22:29 -0400
Message-ID<mrgjr7$lut$1@dont-email.me>
In reply to#421031
Garrett Wollman wrote:
> In article <mrgc6k$5u9$1@dont-email.me>,
> William Vetter  <mdhangton@gmail.com> wrote:
>> He said that if any chemical etchant cleans absorbed or compounded 
>> oxygen from a surface
>
> No I didn't.
>
> -GAWollman

This is where this came from above in the thread:

it's used in the semiconductor
industry to clean oxides off of surfaces.[1]

[1] Which is to say that it's a more powerful oxidizer than oxygen
itself.

As I read this, "which is to say" means that these two statements are 
equivalent.  I maintain that they are not.

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#421028

FromCryptoengineer <treifamily@gmail.com>
Date2015-08-24 19:55 -0500
Message-ID<XnsA500D4EB384DEmelchizedek@216.166.97.131>
In reply to#421017
David DeLaney <daviddelaney@earthlink.net> wrote in
news:s56dnQvyPqSVMkbInZ2dnUU7-LOdnZ2d@earthlink.com: 

> On 2015-08-24, William Vetter <mdhangton@gmail.com> wrote:
>> Garrett Wollman wrote:
>>> [1] Which is to say that it's a more powerful oxidizer than oxygen
>>> itself. 
>>
>> This statement is wrong.  There are a lot of things that clean off 
>> oxides.
> 
> No, Garrett's perfectly correct. "Cleans rust or tarnish off what it
> grew on" is NOT the definition of "is a stronger oxidizer than
> whatever compounded into the rust or tarnish". Fluorine is most
> definitely a stronger oxidizer than oxygen; when they compound, the
> _fluorine_ gets the electrons. This is part of - well, most of - the
> reason why gaseous fluorine is so INCREDIBLY dangerous to work with,
> and fluorine compounds of certain types almost as much or sometimes
> more so. 

Its worth recalling that CF3 will set fire to sand, and burn it.

Sand is Silicon Dioxide, the ashes of Silicon burnt in oxygen.

pt

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#421018

FromSteve Coltrin <spcoltri@omcl.org>
Date2015-08-24 18:00 -0600
Message-ID<m2zj1gjkzf.fsf@kelutral.omcl.org>
In reply to#420934
begin  fnord
wollman@bimajority.org (Garrett Wollman) writes:

> In article <mrb06c$gno$1@dont-email.me>, Magewolf  <Magewolf@nc.rr.com> wrote:
>
>>I think it would not take much interaction with Chlorine trifluoride or 
>>the equivalent to be passionately against it. The hard part would be 
>>surviving to have any opinion at all.
>
> OK, is that the cue for the obligatory quote from "Ignition!"?  Here
> it is:

[snipped; read it. -ed]

And maybe a link to Charles Stross' story "A Tall Tail", in which ClF3
does not appear but is relevant:

http://www.tor.com/2012/07/20/a-tall-tail/

-- 
Steve Coltrin    spcoltri@omcl.org   Google Groups killfiled here 
  "A group known as the League of Human Dignity helped arrange for Deuel 
  to be driven to a local livestock scale, where he could be weighed." 
  - Associated Press 

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#425017

Fromwdstarr@panix.com (William December Starr)
Date2015-10-20 08:36 -0400
Message-ID<n05cg8$54l$1@panix3.panix.com>
In reply to#421018
In article <m2zj1gjkzf.fsf@kelutral.omcl.org>,
Steve Coltrin <spcoltri@omcl.org> said:

> And maybe a link to Charles Stross' story "A Tall Tail", in which ClF3
> does not appear but is relevant:
>
> http://www.tor.com/2012/07/20/a-tall-tail/

Finally got around to reading that.  What caught my attention was a
complete side point: am I ignorant of large swathes of U.S. culture
that are quite unlike the parts I grew up with, or am I correct in
thinking that somebody should tell Charlie Stross that
seventy-year-old white lifetime mainstream Americans don't generally
talk about "scoring own goals" or "lighting the blue touch paper"?

-- wds

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