The Tidewater accent is limited to a few islands around Chesapeake bay. All other dialects, be they British or American, are bastardisations.
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The Tidewater accent is limited to a few islands around Chesapeake bay. All other dialects, be they British or American, are bastardisations.
Best post in a while here.Quote:
Originally Posted by mountaingoat
But the point is, how are you going to make those guns? The principle alone isn't enough. Then, you can't really mass produce them - the best you can get would be a stockpile of a few thousand primitive firearms after a couple of years.
What about the Brooklyn accent, buddy? :laugh4:Quote:
however, the distinction between dialects is begining to die out, replaced by a "general american" accent, which is modelled on northern midlands english (western Pennsylvania, Ohio, northern Indiana), with western influence (on is pronunced "an" as opposed to northern midlands "oon" or "o-an*"). and the area round the great lake is also going through a "norther-cities shift", with changes almost as extreme as the great vowel shift.
:inquisitive: Is it? Most seem to use American English.Quote:
And nevertheless Oxford English is the world standard.
Interesting, I've always assumed that the american accent came from the dutch. if you've heard dutch people speaking english you'll know what i mean.Quote:
Originally Posted by Ibrahim
Don't worry i understand what you mean:2thumbsup:Quote:
*there has to be a better way of representing this:shame:
nope-its basically english from the english:clown:Quote:
Originally Posted by bobbin
its, as I said, more archaic than modern british english, with modifications. general American is considered the "ideal" compramise between the dialects. the only reason its based on Northern midlands is because its the dialect with the most features seen as "compramise". the first dictionaries that show "general american" pronunciation was, not surprisingly, from Ohio, where northern midlands is anchored. the closest accent however to GA is in Nebraska/Iowa, since its the area where eastern dialects meet western ones.
well, the brooklyn accent isn't from the great lakes now, is it?:clown:Quote:
What about the Brooklyn accent, buddy?
and even it has been mellowing-though at a slower rate.
i would be going to some tartessian beach and try to nail some nice casse or sweboz lady :embarassed:
or is that what i have planed for tomorrow ?
as for a living i would make a living out of being a priest of those nice fertility cults that people had around this area of iberia before those dude with dresses came :furious3:
:D definitely tomorrow :DQuote:
i would be going to some tartessian beach and try to nail some nice casse or sweboz lady
You know what I find interesting? that many people would really like to do the same thing as characters in fiction novels, just more violent and less Idealistic: Introduce advanced Weapons to "primitive" (for all nitpicks: there is a reason I added the "" ) societies(for fun and Profit). In literature the protagonists often just want to support their "good" king/Nobleman/Dictator/whatever at defeating the evil tyrant/dragon/wizard. Here It's far less idealistic. I mean isn't there anything really worth bringing back in time from our age? Is it all just weapons and war? why not smuggle a nuke back in time? and after all, is there a need for "modern" technology in the ancient world? sure a water pump for the fields is always useful so is sanitation and other things that make life longer and less of a fight for survival. If you're keen on technology go to a Greek poleis and build fascinating little things for fun and profit that's probably what I'd do. but to turn 272bc into 2009ad (ok more like 1500 but you get my point) and to conquer the world with Sci-fi Technology no, just as a funny yet feverish dream, not as a real plan. oh and before I forget I'd like to totally out myself as :hippie: :
I think I'd really like to live in a world just scratched by human civilization, thinking of being able to drink from almost every river, eating food without the fear of pesticides and hormone extras(I'll spare out the Gene stuff as this is to controversial) and all the other things a tree hugger likes to do, of course at the expense of probably being eaten by a wild Predator or stabbed by an equally wild group of bandits :tomato:
now don't get me wrong, It's not like I greatly regret being born in this period of time. every period has it's pros and it's cons If I was to travel to the EB time I would enjoy It's pros and would not try to turn it into the time I came from. I just don't reckon it a good idea to import modern technology into the past.
man considering It's not Possible to work time travels(Impossible as in a probability with far to many 0s) and Timeline stuff being nothing but theories about a problem that Is not even possible to have, that's a damn long article I just wrote :D I should go to bed.
Ps afteral It's all just a barbarisation of Ape Talk ;)
Ew, animals poop in those.Quote:
drink from almost every river,
There's a game called Darkest of Days coming out soon that includes a section where you can massacre Roman legionnaries with assault rifles and machine guns. :2thumbsup:
@ Ca Putt: Time travel is actually impossible. Time is only a method we use to measure change. So we are in the same world in the same 'time' as everything in history. There is nothing to go back to....we are already there.
And don't bother going on about how 'time' slows down near the speed of light or near black holes etc. Change and the things we use to measure time (vibration of molecules) may slow down...theoretically because we have yet to encounter lightspeed travel or black holes.
But as for Aemilius Paulus, I love your idea. Sure most of it is very hard, and knowing the basic principles doesn't make you able to reproduce something neccessarily, but even if you could impart most of the basics there are many intelligent people (and many unintelligent) who lived in that time with nothing BUT (pseudo)science to do all day. You just need to lay the foundation, convince a few people, LEARN THE LANGUAGE and let them help you out. The technology we have nowadays developed slowly from the basics before that. If you can provide the impetus and a big jump forward and even a few idea's for future research you could have your titanium and nickel and computers and then make a version of Rome:Total war minus all the shitty limitations and historical inaccuracies....which is of course your long term goal in all this I assume?
I would rather see time as a Dimension like length and width. oh but It is theoretically possible with a Worm hole but no one knows IF they really exist or are just a Theory. and leave alone to be able to control where and when you got to :D . so in other words It's possible on paper but will not happen.
and Time "speed down" would only work(if at all) to travel into the future without aging but that too is not probable to happen in the next few years.(or ever)
sorry if I missed the latest publication about this topic.
don't forget: there is Animal poop(and worse) in drinking water today as well they just don't tell you.
I am interested in how the chinese managed to make soy sauce out of discarded human hair. Sure its disgusting and unhygenic now, especially when you consider all the menstrual blood they ended up finding in it before it the company maiking it was shut down, but could be a hell of a technology revolution for the future when we are all starving.Quote:
Originally Posted by Ca Putt
The legal tolerances for disgusting things in foods are scarily high, but it hasn't killed us all yet.
Edit: Also, all water in the world has gone through a set of kidneys or 2 before. Actually in any glass of water you are statistically likely to have at least 1 molecule that has been drunk by Julius Caesar in it. And for the Hellene lovers don't worry, there is also a pretty good chance that Megas Alexandros drank at least 1 of those molecules too.
One of the best features of our age is that if you live in some developed country, neirther authorities, nor social situation force you to live in some way. I you like nature, you can live in some distant place in a quiet cottage, if you wish to make career and money, you can, if you enjoy crowds, you can go to a large city.Quote:
Originally Posted by Ca Putt
I like your idea of seeking some untouched place in that period. But if had chance to travel to past, I would seek people. The eastern part of Hellenic world would be nice as was mentioned before, that interesting clash of cultures. But I would also like to unravel some mysteries (just of curiosity), to see for example building of Stonehenge, destruction of Minoan civilasation, why was Teotihuacan abndoned...
For Hellenic / Roman lovers: in every glass of water that that silly Roman / Hellenic lover drinks is at least 1 molecule that Alexandros / Caesar peed. :laugh4::laugh4::laugh4: (no offence; no flamewar please)
Considering that people willingly put worst stuff in their mouths and cups. I don't really think its so bad that food is 100% sanitized. -_-'
I try to smuggle a bunch of acricultural books with me, introduce windmills, new plows
and such stuff. Simply because acriculture was the base of every civilication until the industrial revolution ( except perhaps the italien merchant cities, but even that is debatable ) and therefore the ability to create more food = more people = more wealth = more power.
Then i conquer the world. :laugh4:
I will clone Megas Alexandros with the DNA that I find in the water in my kitchen then. Then I will conquer the present day world exploiting his military genius.Quote:
Originally Posted by Blxz
Yeah, I heard they actually make legal restrictions on food toxicity so high that we'll all be killed by acid eroding our internal organs and the chinese will take over.Quote:
Originally Posted by Blxz
I know it's true, a scientist (well his title was dr, he may have been a fitness therapist) said so.
EDIT: ah sorry that sounds incredibly over cynical, didn't mean to be offensive, i was having a bad day :clown:
Too bad most of today's biologists-researchers agree that human chromosomes are so immensely difficult to replicate that cloning humans is either an enterprise for the far future or altogether impossible. I am more inclined to believe the former, as men of learning repudiated many things that now exist. In any case, scientific opinion is infinitely more valuable than mine.Quote:
Originally Posted by Centurio Nixalsverdrus
And speaking of the molecule thing, that is horse-sheisse. Poor science there. Too much bloody water on this wet planet fro that to happen. The chances are small. Iskander lived a much shorter life than Caesar. Then again, he drank like ten Makedonians, which would equal about fifty Romans... No wonder the real Greeks looked down on Makedonians. No truly cultured person would do such thing to himself.
I have read more than I care about Alexandros, and most of his aspects, mainly in the end of his life, were quite horrendous and repugnant. He started out quite well though, but the inhumanly cruel and lengthy fighting in Central Asia, with those guerrillas moved something in his head (a Russian expression meaning he went a bit crazy), as much of his entourage noted.
Except it's filtered. And a few parts per trillion of anything don't bother me.Quote:
don't forget: there is Animal poop(and worse) in drinking water today as well they just don't tell you.
He was just a megalomaniac - nothing crazy about that. :clown:Quote:
have read more than I care about Alexandros, and most of his aspects, mainly in the end of his life, were quite horrendous and repugnant. He started out quite well though, but the inhumanly cruel and lengthy fighting in Central Asia, with those guerrillas moved something in his head (a Russian expression meaning he went a bit crazy), as much of his entourage noted.
Oh no, it was far, far worse. More like a psychopath with stunningly shocking authoritarianism in the end. Just read any good biography of him. In the Footsteps of Alexander by Michael Wood is a good beginner.Quote:
Originally Posted by Azathoth
Pfft. Who needs culture. :idea2: I know! Maybe I'd head to makedonia and see how good their grog was.:beam:Quote:
Originally Posted by Aemilius Paulus
Pfft, got to my native Russia. Vodka is four times more effective, but without the coarse, sickly-sweet taste of the thick Makedonian wine. That stuff was mass-produced for binge-drinking, and not for its taste, so some odd connoisseur would come and savour its "goodness". Plus, after four cups of that unmixed wine, you will no longer care about the taste. Nor about anything else. That is the beauty of alcoholism.Quote:
Originally Posted by miotas
Really, is it that difficult to tell when I'm joking? Megalomania and delusions of grandeur (godhood) are often a symptom of mental illness (call it psychosis), and with a clown thrown in it's simply inexcusable.Quote:
Oh no, it was far, far worse. More like a psychopath with stunningly shocking authoritarianism in the end. Just read any good biography of him. In the Footsteps of Alexander by Michael Wood is a good beginner.
You--> :embarassed: :whip: <--MeSpoiler Alert, click show to read:
So you want to make us believe the Russians drink Vodka for its taste?Quote:
Originally Posted by Aemilius Paulus
Anyways, you do know the average dying age for a Russian male is 59 (fifty-nine!)?
In part due to the highest murder rate in Europe (for a country)Quote:
Originally Posted by Centurio Nixalsverdrus
Of course not. I was saying it is best to drink vodka, which is pure spirits and water, without any flavour (if it has a flavour, EU does not recognise it as vodka anymore) than the disgusting Makedonian wine, and vodka will bring you to the goal of Makedonian alcohol orgies much faster with less nastiness.Quote:
Originally Posted by Centurio Nixalsverdrus
You could kidnap one of Alexander's kids. History didn't miss them much.
But why? Genetics do not have much effect on person's psyche anyway, and especially since his children were diluted by Roxanne's genes. Environment can produce a genius out of an average child. Smart parents producing smart children is mainly a sign of the smart environment created by the smart parents.
Hmm.. If I got to go back in ancient or medieval times, I wouldn't want to go to some isolated wilderness, because I can still find the same thing today pretty much. I'd want to be in a thriving city or center or culture. But the only problem would be travel. I'd want to see much of the world, including villages in the countryside, but it just took so long to get from town to town compared to today. So I guess you have to pick somewhere good because you'll probably be staying there for a while. I'd pick the nomad option though and try to finish a tour of Europe and the Mediterranean, and maybe follow the Silk Road to China if possible in a lifetime. I would only try to change the past with some crazy technology if it affected an alternate timeline and not our own. Who knows what might happen then.
Yeah but about those Roman cups, I'd also be worried about the lead in addition to all the other nasty stuff they had in their drinks back then.
Ha, and I'm not surprised about those Russians and their average life expectancy lol.
The Pashtun people have been holding off better armed armies since the dawn of civilization. That's not a bad trade. Maybe it would have replaced the unhealthy drinking part of Alexander.Quote:
Originally Posted by Aemilius Paulus
And if by smart you mean alcoholic and overbearing... Sure, whatever. Just remember to kidnap someone from the Platonic school of thought and give him a cave to teach the kid in or however you want to Boys From Brazil this.
It's hard to be a king. :beam:Quote:
Originally Posted by Aemilius Paulus
Were the Makedonian orgias worse than Roman ones during imperial era? You know, vomitoria, gladiators killing each other before feasting audience and much more.
Spoiler Alert, click show to read:
If I would find myself in 272 BC I would ...
.. learn languages(Greek and Latin most likely) first few years in some small town. Then probably would move to Syracuse and warn Archimedes to get out of the city before the Romans come. Once that done I would head to Byzantion and try to take control. Would probably make some reforms and introduce new technologies(not gunpowder). If I can keep mayor powers and barbarian hordes away from the city then I guess after ten-twenty years I would have enough power to start my world conquest!
muhahaha, why does everyone targets world conquest, I'd just go to Germania!Quote:
Originally Posted by Ibn-Khaldun
Cape Cervesiam!
I'd spend my days growing frankincense in Hadramawt. That and counting my gold.
How many wives would you get Moros?
id like to roam the forests of sweboz and shag loads of blond hairy germans women and then use my knowledge i have now to destory the northern roman empire because they did nothing but make people suffer. I would then take rome for my self after recruiting a large army from the north and training them to better standards than the romans lolz :)
Umm.. There was Northern Roman Empire in history?? :inquisitive:
Uh-huh. And the German barbarians always sacked with care, killing, looting, and raping only the rich and bad, leaving the honest folk aside. Yeah. Right. Ssuuuuurrree.Quote:
Originally Posted by lionhard
or nutmeg.Quote:
Originally Posted by Moros
Quote:
Originally Posted by Aemilius Paulus
Believe it or not you would drink 861729 molecules of water a day that were once consumed by Alexander the Great.Quote:
Originally Posted by Andronikos
Spoiler Alert, click show to read:
Yes, I know the mathematics too. So what? Too much hydrates in this world anyway. You large numbers may impress a random person, but anyone who sets aside more thought to this will see the folly. And no, I am sure as hell not going to prove my counter-point with a calculation to determine the quantity of molecules on Earth. The scientific notation will render it far too abstract to have a use in a practical, common argument anyway.Quote:
Originally Posted by bobbin
Don't multiply by avagadro's number so you get something meaningful.
four.Quote:
Originally Posted by antisocialmunky
Yeah, I have to agree with Paulus. I somehow seriously doubt that all the water people drink on earth has passed through someone else's kidneys. It sounds crazy enough to be true at first but if you think about it, there's way too much water on the planet. And, while I'm not sure about this, but isn't new water even being created at the bottom of the oceans near the magma under the crust? Don't quote me on that, but I remember hearing about it on some show once.Quote:
Originally Posted by Aemilius Paulus
Sheesh...all i was doing was showing that it was statisically possible no need to be rude.Quote:
Originally Posted by Aemilius Paulus
Hydrates? yes there's a lot of them but humans consume them daily so thats not going to stop the molecules getting in, not that it matters though the vast majority of free water in the world stays as free water for a very long time and doesn't get locked up in complexes(which isn't a very long term process in most cases anyway). No idea what your going on about with the quantity of molecules on earth though its not like the water is leaving in any appreciable amount.
The main factor preventing it from getting into your drink is the residence time in the ocean so obviously the number will be smaller but it still would be above 1 molecule per litre. I'm a fourth year chemistry student and spent two of those years studying enviromental chemistry as well so i do have a wee bit of knowledge on the subject
Its how you do the calculation, thats like telling someone not to square the c in E=mc^2 as the answers too big.:dizzy2:Quote:
Originally Posted by antisocialmunky
Yeah it's not really new though theres a load of water in the mantle so some comes out during eruptions, crust formation etc. It is also taken down into the mantle at subduction zones but these processes are happening on geological time scales so 2000 years wouldn't be enough time to make a significant difference.Quote:
Originally Posted by Andros Antonius
That's exactly what I was saying. It is only math and you asssume that the water that Alexander drunk has perfectly mixed with all other water on the Earth, what is impossible.Quote:
Originally Posted by bobbin
Spoiler Alert, click show to read:
Eh, my bad. I thought that was gm/mol when its particles/mol. lol. What I meant is you should have just quoted 3 liters per day. Your calculations give no context for that number nor does it give the average person any sort of relatable scale so its not a very useful statistic.Quote:
Originally Posted by bobbin
Seriously, given the ridiculous amount of water on this planet, the chances are quite small even if you only count the water floating at the surface of the ocean that's gettign evaporated..
Well i've found this thread sufficiently interesting that i have decided to de-lurk and have a crack at it. :idea2:
I figure the hardest step on the road to doing anything long-term will be actually getting a patron/ job where you could get noticed. I'm betting the major trade hubs would be the best spots to start looking, probably more Carthage than Rome as Carthage seems more open to new ideas than a people who considered higher thinking a corrupting foreign influence :beam: . Although the language barrier would be a fair bit smaller in Rome
And my first great re-inventions to greatness? The steam engine of course, with trains and steamships in mind. I figure Carthaginians would love a way to get stuff from A to B much faster, especially against the wind and to avoid those long walks across the desert to take back Cyrene from the Ptolemies.
There is a problem though in the task of re-inventing all the modern conveniences, in that although I know they exist and have a basic idea of how they operate or even how to make them, for the most I don't really have a real understanding of how to make a train or a steam engine or steel for that matter. You would need a team of experts, or as close as you could get to make the first working prototype on any one item. I suspect it would be rather like scientists in some developing country today trying to make a nuke without outside expertise or resources.
Once I have the funding of course I suspect it would be somewhat easy to hire some ancient geniuses or at least kidnap them (Anyone feel like a trip to Syracuse, heard there was a Greek good at math there).
However my real impact would probably be felt more in the social changes I would probably enact as my training has been heavy on Sociology, Social work, Anthropology, History (not a shock on this forum), and Politics. For example I predict Printing press leads to increased education leads to greater literacy leads to increasing middle class leads to moves for greater representation as well as further changes which if not careful leads to increased violence and if very unlucky the Shopet and his family end up being shot in a basement.
But more likely i'll i'll end up asking "What is best in life" and go hang out up north with the sweboz. :laugh4:
Same here. I've always found these "What if..." threads fascinating, even if I generally end up arguing against people's ability to effect major changes quickly.Quote:
Originally Posted by grendelfreak
I completely agree on this being the most difficult part. Even now, institutional inertia can present very high barriers to innovation, and I can't begin to imagine how difficult it would have been in 272 BC. At least in the present we have a concept of innovation being beneficial.Quote:
Originally Posted by grendelfreak
I shudder to think how many social and religious taboos you'd come up against trying to push through major changes in a timeframe that would allow you to enjoy the fruits of your labours.
Steam trains and ships would need high-pressure boilers and I'm pretty sure the metallurgy of the times just isn't up to building these. Rails also presuppose the availability of large quantities of steel, and you'd probably want that for your ships too ("Hey Sophet, I've got a great idea. Let's build a new kind of ship that relies on having a massive fire continually burning inside it!").Quote:
Originally Posted by grendelfreak
I'm still trying to think up quick-win ideas that wouldn't require too much infrastructure to roll out. So far I have:
- Stirrups
- Compass
- Crop rotation
- Germ theory of disease
I'm sure the Org can come up with others.
Does anyone else think this kind of thing would make a good AAR?
Ah fair enough. The amount of water on earth is not the problem it's like Andronikos says the assumption that Alexanders water has mixed completely with that water, thats the deal breaker.Quote:
Originally Posted by antisocialmunky
Good man!:2thumbsup:Quote:
Originally Posted by Andronikos
Back on topic: Simple things like what Dewirix suggested would be the most effective, stirrups alone would have a major impact on cavalry warfare.
Sadly for most of us being dropped into 272bc with limited knowledge of the languages spoken we'd most likely be sold as slaves and end up shoveling cow shit for the rest of our lives.:no:
The problem with stirrups is that the enemy will adopt them quite swiftly, unlike gunpowder. BTW, guess what is the simplest way to get saltpetre? To dig under a pile of manure (animal or human). That is why saltpetre is called a shitflower. The crystals form under the pile of excrement.
Way of the world I'm afraid. I think you have to leverage your advantage while you have it, but don't plan on continued supremacy. After all, half the time you'll probably be putting down internal rebellions, so the troops you face will be armed in the same way yours are.Quote:
Originally Posted by Aemilius Paulus
Urgh wouldn't like that job, although its still better that working in a tannery (possibly one of the worst jobs to be had in the ancient world).Quote:
Originally Posted by Aemilius Paulus
i think i would add 0 to the world
:suspanse:
seriously if archimedes did all he did in mathematical terms without a 0 imagine what he could achieve with the notion/concept that numbers can be mixed together easily broken or extended
actually the indian numeration (wich the west call erratically arabian ) is trully usefull
even today our numeration is nothing more then a 10 digit representation and in the old days each digit had 1 angle per number to represent them properly 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
simple and effective and you could build a financial empire not because you´re smarter but because it´s easyer for you to calculate the amount of interest you can charge more easily :help:
and back on topic the west was forçed to accept the indian numeration cause the italian merchants couldn´t use the roman numeration just as easily so they had harder times calculating the profit margins (when dealing with the arab merchants, thus many times loosing a few coins per deal that according to paretto theory on negociation is the worst thing you can since you give ground and your profit margins become smaller and smaller until you can get no more profit)
Economically speaking... You could also go back in time, manufacture heroin out of poppies, and become the richest man in the world.
Anyone getting that much out of balance is :skull::skull:dead:skull::skull:. I like the Falx though, almost as much as the Daneaxe.Quote:
Originally Posted by Frontline1944
That is how they got it, try studying the history of Blackpowder and early firearms...Quote:
Originally Posted by Aemilius Paulus
The reenactor said that he tried to let the falx guide itself as much as possible. I imagine that if he put more weight behind it and stepped a bit closer, he would be a little more balanced. Likely their biggest problem was getting the falx out of the scutum after the initial swipe.Quote:
Originally Posted by Macilrille
sounds familiar.:clown:Quote:
Originally Posted by Moros
Standing on one leg leaned over while delivering the blow = suicide, as is getting your weapon stuck. I think he suffers from the same misconception as almost any amateur that picks up a blade; that the harder you swing it and the more weight you put into it, the more succesfull will you be...
That is not the case, a blade is made for cutting, not hacking like an axe, not even a falx-blade. Even a Daneaxe is very effective at cutting, though it delivers deadly whacks as well.
Of course, how do you think I know that archaic method? By reading history books on the early production of gunpowder. From those books I know how to make all sorts of varieties of gunpowder, how to make it explode with horrendously loud noise, how to make it explode in colours, how to magnify the power of explosion, how to quicken the speed of explosion, how to make it resistant to water, etc. Most importantly, I know how to make grainy gunpowder, the most important innovation along with smokeless "powder" and chemical starters that initiate the explosion of the cartridge (the latter two belong to 19th century though).Quote:
Originally Posted by Macilrille
They used that method with manure in the early stages of the history of gunpowder. In the later stages of gunpowder production, they mined the saltpetre, such as the vast Chilean deposits I mentioned I would exploit if I was to make a Roman voyage to the Americas.