Onto the Pony Planet--Chapter 21 Notes · 1:22am Jan 16th, 2015
Onto the Pony Planet Chapter 21 Notes
A huge thanks to my pre-readers and creative consultants: Humanist, AnormalUnicornPony, metallusionsismagic, AShadowOfCygnus, bitbrony, MSPiper, MrZJunior, Forderz, Woonsocket Wrench, and my parents.
Jamais Vu is kind of the opposite feeling of deja vu. Specifically, its the feeling you're someplace nobody has ever been before, and it can be very confusing. Sometimes panic-inducing.
The phrase going commando—in reference to not wearing underwear—dates back to 1974 in the US. It may have originated from British prostitutes in WWII (the Picadilly Commandos). It's also the only proper way to wear a kilt.
Incidentally, the ponies pretty much always go commando.
Glowing Zebrafish, or GloFish, are available in the US (except California). They are genetically modified zebra danios. They were originally intended to monitor water pollution, but have since been sold commercially as aquarium fish, and now come not only in several different designer colors, but there are also other species available as well: black tetras, and tiger barbs.
By pure serendipity, as I was working on the sections involving Dale's thoughts about genetic modifications, I heard part of an interview on NPR about an artifical chromosome being introduced into yeast cells. This particuar experiement also demonstrated that the chromosome could be modified after the fact.
The scientist being interviewed speculated that such technology could potentially be used in humans to give us stuff like ultraviolet vision, or built-in immunity to Ebola, although such a use of the technology is still a ways off.
He also admitted that there would be moral and ethical concerns with doing this to humans.
The only street I can remember being named in Ponyville is "Stirrup St." Given their love of equine puns, Singletree St. seemed like a natural fit, especially in a town which we know was founded by earth ponies.
A singletree is part of a wagon harness. In the picture below, it’s the wood thing between the pony and the tire.
Eagles have very good eyesight. They're able to spot a cute little bunny from over two miles away. That's much better than what an IRL equine could do (and a human, as well).
While it's hard to imagine such a complex organ evolving through pure natural selection, it's done it not once, but somwehere between 50 and 100 times, according to Wikipedia. Here's a short YouTube clip which scratches at the surface.
There's an urban legend about how insulting it can be to season your food before even tasting it, but like most urban legends there's a grain of truth in it.
Q: Is it rude to season your food before tasting it?
A: Yes. This is an insult to the chef. You should not salt and pepper your food before tasting it. Try a bite first, then season if necessary. Don't over season; this can appear childish.
Salisbury University dining etiquette
One of the interesting things about working as a mechanic in a small town is that we often help our competition. If the guy down the street needs to borrow a tool, we loan it to him. After all, it might be us next time who has a car stuck on the hoist and needs a special tool to repair it. In fact, just today we loaned our rear bearing press tool to the guys down the road.
This is not unique to the auto repair industry, I'm sure.
However, it's worth mentioning that if you're not a member of the group, you don't get the perk. If some guy walks in off the street and wants to borrow a tool, we just shake our heads and send him on his way, maybe telling him that the AutoZone in the next town over rents tools, and he should try there.
While some of that went on when I worked in Lansing, it's far more common in the small town where I work now. This is no doubt in part because of the more limited resources, compaired to the big city. If I don't have one, the nearest store where I could buy one might be 20 miles away or more, and the tool truck only comes once a week.
If there were some kind of truth spell or potion which could be used, it would stand to reason that it ought to be used in any court case. That way, the judge could quickly get to the proper verdict, right?
And it's reasonable to assume that such a spell—or spells—exist in Equestria. Maybe the common unicorn can't cast such a spell, but an alicorn probably could. Even Twilight probably could do it; it's not that much of a stretch from the want-it-need-it spell, after all.
But using such a spell is an insanely slippery slope.
I was partially inspired by a science fiction short story, where the government has led researchers to believe that remote-viewing time machines can only view things in the far, far past. The truth is, it can only view things that have happened in the recent past.
The possibility of abusing such a machine is mind-boggling.
I'd give you a title, but both the name of the story and the author have eluded me. If anyone knows, comment, and I'll put it in.
EDIT: The Dead Past by Issac Asimov. Credit to Ybj for knowing the title and author.
Chalkos is the Greek name for copper.
ANOTHER short story I've read! Two in one chapter; that's a good sign!
Do you remember the title, hmm? Or the author?
Arthur C clarke, and either Brin, Bedford or Bear.
Light Of Other Days.
Although I think you might be thinking of an earlier short story, possibly Azimov, where the wife is caught in the time loop of seeing her child still alive. etc.
Most of the times when Ive been round, like the computer shop, and the guy has been poking at a screw and looked up to see where the packs of drivers has got to, I pop up and offer my larger test screwdriver, which has had the tip ground and nibbled over the years to make it like one of those multifoms spanners. Occasionally its actually useful.
Hmm, 1.30 AM. I know, Ill read several thousand words of fanfic.
2725730
It wasn't that one--too new.
I want to say it was probably Clark, but I'm not sure enough. It's in one of my older sci-fi collections, but I don't remember which one, and couldn't find the story in time.
A few more details: the main character has lost a son or daughter to a fire, is interested in the ancient Celts(?), and suckers a scientist to help him with research, since he can't get time on the time machine. The scientist's uncle publishes a paper about how the time machine works before the government can stop them.
2725747
The Dead Past by Isaac Asimov?
2725844
Yes! That's the one!
2725844
Thank you, that was the one I was thinking of when I thought an earlier story.
Not just an urban legend. I'm reminded of an old friend at a restaurant where we both were training to become chefs, that girl would pour at least a teaspoon of salt and pepper over Anything that was put in front of her, no matter how much it was seasoned before.
I think Terry Pratchett coined the term "autocondimentor"
2725730
2725747
I recall the short story as being one of Asimov's. Sadly, I don't recall the title, either, and I no longer have most of the Good Doctor's anthologies left on my bookshelf (may have been traded off to the used bookstore during my rather extended divorce). [As an aside, I will note that, although I'd hate to sound like a closet member of the ACLU, I find that some of the capabilities we're developing in biometrics and other forensic disciplines are downright scary...]
Chalkos... I read the passage and thought, "The X26 Taser, as typically issued, holds a spare dart cartridge at the butt of the pistol grip. You've almost got it, Twi - all you have to do is get with the team examining the artifacts and take the damn thing apart..." Boy, that's gonna be a fun scene to read...
I shall no doubt have further thoughts on the chapter, but today was a rather long day, and I've pretty much used up my reserves of coherency. Forgive me, but I'll have to beg off for this evening.
My mom owns a fairly large used bookstore and when Barnes and Noble or Books-A-Million don't have a book in stock for a customer, they usually call us to see if we have it.
2725885
I've been guilty of it myself, I'll admit. I used to drown my fries in salt and vinegar.
2725886
2725844 got it: The Dead Past, by Asimov.
It's not the only field where there's a very fine line between good and mad scientist. I like to think--and part of the point of the chapter revolved around this point--that the ponies, with their available magic, and all the wonders and terrors it entails, have had very frank discussions on the use of certain spells, especially ones like Want-It-Need-It, Cadance's "you're going to love me" ability (not sure if it has a real name), or Luna's dreamwalking abilities. And of course, in the show, those spells are couched in good . . . but the potential for abuse . . . man. That's some real fridge horror.
Yeah, Twilight's pretty much figured it out. Heck, even if it doesn't have a spare magazine, the darts which the hospital staff has, or the taser itself, still have some of the wire left.
Heh, no problem. I'm just about asleep at the keyboard myself.
2725886
Theres a reason I asked back in the 80s , for biometrics, why I couldnt walk into a shop, pick up an item, and have my account debited as I walked out th door.
MIDI.
Position, Duration, Aftertouch, Chording.
That, and the Amiga had the pre kinect Mandala in the late 80s. Turned people into computer graphics, subtracted the camera feed from the video feed, and used hardware collision detect. Also, the first Virtuality rigs were A3000s. with a crud load of custom cards.
Modern machines are a MILLION times more powerful than those Amigas.
It would be nice if they could be as useful.
Hmm, a 20 cent PIC with a multitasking high speed multimedia OS, with 2 pins for power, 2 pins for USB. Well, thats all 4 pins I can think of. Why do we need any more?
2725888
I wish I owned a used book store. There's one in Ann Arbor--The Dawn Treader, IIRC, that I visit whenever I get the chance. They have the most amazing books....
2725928
But now you can! Isn't the future wonderful?
2725926
Are you sure? I remember a buddy dicking around with stereo wire and when he plugged in into the power outlet in grade 7 science the entire wire vanished. It wouldn't be too much a stretch to assure that the same happened here. Then again if she was looking for it she would probably make the conclusion just based on the fact that the darts and taser have places for a wire to attach.
I dunno, no matter what happens I look forward to seeing what you come up with. It's always worth the read
Funny story. Would you believe that some months ago, I was having lunch in a restaurant with my mom. The subject of manskirts came up, because our weirdo neighbor guy always wears a skirt. Not a fucken kilt, mind you, a fucken manskirt. So anyway, just as I was saying 'what kind of heterosexual man wears a skirt?' I SWEAR TO GOD, the ONLY man in the entire 3 million population of the city of Chicago who was actually wearing a real Scottish kilt, just so happened to walk past me at THAT PARTICULAR MOMENT IN TIME.
What are the fucking odds?
Anyway, besides traditional Scottish dress and crossdressing, why the hell would a man wear a skirt?
We loan tools and give advice to certain shops. There's one oil change place we're friends with, and then Smitty's, our towing people (they have a shop too [they're the guys who fail at fixing their own tow trucks]). Oh, and this Mexican radiator shop that's a little ways away from us. But honestly, the rest of the competition in our actual neighborhood are a bunch of pricks. If they ever came around asking for shit, I'd probably tell them to fuck off.
2726039
The only thing you can do when that happens is laugh (or cry).
And honestly, kilts are pretty comfortable. I've been meaning to buy a proper kilt (or barring that, a utilikilt) one of these days.
To paraphrase Harry Potter, for "the breeze on the privates."
Or course, you're in a town of 3 million. I live in a town of 1,280, so we're just a bit more tight-knit. Heck, our shop lets the owner of the NAPA-flagged store down the road go to training classes on our dime, and he lets us go to NAPA classes. And our CarQuest parts rep is dating one of the mechanics who works for us.
2725960
And what's the price? Not a penny - just your liberty [cue Vincent Price evil laugh...]
We're straying dangerously off-topic, but I recall a conversation with a fellow at a church function. We got onto the subject of what I did for a living, and he proposed that everyone should have their fingerprints and DNA "on file". He blithely dismissed my concerns, saying he had nothing to hide. I was, needless to say, aghast.
He wasn't stupid, by any means - five minutes' worth of conversation would disabuse you of that notion. But, that struck me as being extraordinarily foolish (and I'm being generous...).
The implications of a truth spell that forces you to answer are pretty terrifying. The uncompromising nature of many Systems of Law can create a horrible situation when coupled with absolute truth. Kangaroo courts with such a feature don't even bear thinking on.
2725931 It's pretty sweet. Find all kinds of out of print books there and I get them for free!
2726091
Well, it depends, really. "I don't want to tell you that" can be the truth, after all...
2726063 lol
Well yeah, but my shop is actually in a suburb on the far north end of Chicago. It's still very urban, but pretty much all of the mechanics and parts store guys know each other around here.
Funny, this reminds me of the movie "The Invention of Lying", a particulary funny but also thought-provoking picture of a world where everybody always speaks the truth. Always. Lying doesn't exist. Until one person, our main character, discovers he has the ability to say things that aren't true. You would think that this would quickly lead to him abusing that ability, but an interesting aspect of the movie was how he used lying to help other people.
Was a fun movie.
2726081
Why, you'll hardly notice it's gone!
horrornewsnetwork.net/images/price.jpg
Well, of course. Because if you're innocent, you have nothing to hide, and therefore there's no harm in a large, faceless bureaucracy having your personal data on record forever. What could possibly go wrong with such a system?
2726091
Really, there's a lot of mind-magic in Equestria, and the implications of all of it are frightening. If, hypothetically, Cadance can cast the love spell on a random subject + herself, she can have an empire of fanatically loyal followers in no time at all. As an aside, I wonder if that spell would have worked on Tirek?
2726173
True, but I'd think that a good spell or potion would work around that. If not, I suppose you'd still have to have a skilled interrogator.
2726317
Well, it was the same way in Lansing. Those of us on the northwest side all knew each other and mostly got along, but we didn't have anything to do with the mid-town shops, or the ones over on the east side.
2726446
Hmm. I'll have to check that out. It sounds interesting!
All questions of privacy aside, how hard could it seriously be to say "I'm casting a truth spell now" and proceed to cast the "you will say the things I telepathically order you to say" spell instead?
2728522
That'd probably depend on how good everyone watching is. If there're any decent mages nearby, you'd better hope you can bribe them to your side, else you're outta luck. With no-one skilled at reading spells, it'd be a lot easier, but you'd still need to be careful. It'd be pretty easy to mess up and make the target say something implausible, or make them say it in an implausible way (strange cadence, uncharacteristic word choice, etc), and reveal yourself anyway.
I am actually surprised ponies would use copper for such an experiment. Silver is a better conductor and they seem to have sufficient quantities of it.
Compelling honesty I would think a much harder thing to do than detecting falsehood. Thing is, as soft as ponies seem to be on mind control, that Twilight would drink such a potion for Luna without resistance if asked. Think of how many reforming spells they had in just the ponyville library.
Just noticed this is your 200th blog post so..... Happy 200th blog post.
2726039
A better question is 'If they want to, why not?'
2741055 You know, it's a free country, and I respect people's choices in those kinds of things. I just don't see the appeal of it.
2741215
Well, sure. I mean, I don't see the appeal in wearing formal clothing, but plenty of people like it; I only bristle when I'm forced into doing it because it's quite uncomfortable for me.
Just that there's a big difference in 'I don't see the appeal' and 'This person is weird/etc for doing a thing', and we as a culture could do much better not stigmatizing people who want to express themselves in nontraditional ways, because the more of that we welcome, we make ourselves more free as well.
2741261 I don't care what you say, they're still fucking weird lol.
Though to be perfectly fair, we're fucking bronies.
2741396
I like 'quirky' myself. Gets rid of the negative connotation weird inherently carries with it