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JB0

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  1. JB0
    http://www.slate.com/blogs/bad_astronomy/2016/01/21/evidence_found_of_a_possible_planet_in_the_outer_solar_system.html is a good read that avoids the whole "WHOO PLANET X" hype train. There's strongly suggestive evidence for the existence of a planet, but as of yet, one has not been found. It is compellingly strong evidence, but until an object is observed, it's circumstantial. It isn't the first time evidence has suggested a planet that didn't exist. Or vice-versa. We found Pluto through accident, as it happened to be where measurements implied a planet should be to account for variations in Neptune's orbit, but... those variations in Neptune's orbit were generated from bad measurements, Pluto wasn't actually big enough to cause them anyways, and it was sheer coincidence Pluto was in the sky at the place they were expecting to see a planet. Not to be a wet blanket or anything, just... all the "we found a new planet" stuff is a bit premature. Moreso than when the news was labelling every new Kuiper Belt Object a new planet. Also, one of the guys involved is the guy who got Pluto demoted FROM planet status. I find the irony amusing.
  2. JB0
    Oh, I guess that DOES make sense. I just assumed they were panties and a dress.
  3. JB0
    I find it... interesting... that removing their clothes also changes their underwear. Not good or bad, just a curious design decision.
  4. JB0
    Halle-friggin-leujah!
  5. JB0
    Based on the book. Hollywood can't make it up, they gotta buy it from someone else.
  6. JB0
    Both fair points. And it seems like Chronicle says it was difficult to make the transformation mechanisms hold up under the stress of being a variable Monster. Which makes sense, and that they'd keep trying does suggest it was considered to be of significant value.
  7. JB0
    You know, it strikes me as odd that the one destroid that's had the variable mode treatment is also the one with the greatest apparent need for durability and sturdiness. I mean, I suppose there's a good argument for moving a Monster from point A to point B as fast as possible, and it DID already carry the largest generator of the destroid family, but... it just seems weird that the behemoth built so heavy that it smashes hull plating every time they deploy it is the one they decided to add all the extra hinges, servos, and panels to.
  8. JB0
    I always thought that looked kinda neat. Shame the decorations get mangled so easily. Also, I've always called the intermediate mode Basquash! mode. Speaking of Kawamori mecha designs.
  9. JB0
    I know suspension of disbelief and all that, but I still find it hard to believe that it's more cost-effective to build a transformer. Of course, even if the expense IS all in the armor and reactor, the destroids still win the maintenance war. Fewer parts to worry about breaking, fewer parts to work around while replacing broken parts, and much simpler electrical and hydraulic systems. Which winds up being very important for a ground force. Especially since so much effort has been spent on making sure no one GETS to the surface. It may well be that any ground equipment is designed to operate without support for an extended period of time, because the ground forces have to be prepared to maintain a guerrilla resistance effort after the planet is in enemy hands. ... In which case thirty-foot robots may not exactly be the kind of reliable and concealable equipment they want...
  10. JB0
    MiragexMikumo one true pairing
  11. JB0
    Of course. Maximizes toy sales if kids can't reuse their old figures when playing the new movie.
  12. JB0
    Looks way better than my third-party Ravage, which is a chinese flash drive. A flash drive that doesn't work properly. On the other hand, I paid five bucks for it.
  13. JB0
    Too early for a Waifu War. We have no read on most of the characters... which I guess never stopped anyone before. Never mind, carry on.
  14. JB0
    The nostalgia! Also, even as a kid I could tell that dang action figure VF-1 was intended to be transformable. There were a LOT of weird parts in the design. I miss my old Robotech toys.
  15. JB0
    Easy answer: They launched with VF-4s and upgraded their fighters later? No idea if it's canon or not.
  16. JB0
    Of course Shiba wasn't Max's kid. We all know his only son was Basara. If I recall, it is genetically impossible for Max and Millia to have sons because the meltrandi X chromosome is dominant over the human Y chromosome. If I have somehow committed a joke to memory as canon, please correct me.
  17. JB0
    Fold time dilation. She's a lot younger than the years would suggest.
  18. JB0
    That is... a REALLY low tooth count, especially for a lightly-loaded joint. Were they originally planning to make the arms out of solid gold or something(limited-edition electrum variant!)?
  19. JB0
    Gamlin isn't in the Max/Millia tier. He stole Millia's VF-1J, complained about how sluiggish it was, and then wrecked it. He will never be forgiven for this, and earned a permanent Kakizaki-tier ranking over it.
  20. JB0
    It's a tradeoff, though. Ratchet joints are generally used where you need a more stable joint than a friction fit affords. And the fewer ratchet teeth you have, the deeper each one can be, and thus the more stable the joint is. Too many teeth and you start to wonder why they didn't just use a friction joint. (Classics Roadbuster has this problem in his shoulder joints.The ratchet makes a satisfying clickclickclick, but isn't very good at holding a pose, because each tooth is very shallow, and the pawl is tiny and flimsy.) I make no comments on the specific case of MP Tracks, because it's not a toy I own.
  21. JB0
    They be trollin'.
  22. JB0
    I don't consider Kaifun out of character there. I consider him under-developed. I think at that point he's just starting to recognize that some of the folks in the military might not be crazed murderfreaks, there might actually be some decent people. And by the end of the war he's actually participating in a military operation himself. Post-war Kaifun... now that's a whole different kettle of fish.
  23. JB0
    Where is the stretch? They explicitly state in the movie, on-screen, that Leia was ALLOWED to escape so that her "rescuers" would lead them to the rebel base. In other words, she did EXACTLY what they wanted. I didn't say she gave them information during the interrogation. I said she gave them the location of the Yavin base, just as they'd planned. The point is, while she proved remarkably resistant to torture, drugs, and force-mind-reading, that didn't ACTUALLY stop her from telling them where Rebellion HQ was. Were I going to inject supposition and hypothesis, I'd suggest that Tarkin was an incompetent buffoon, and that had he left Vader to his work instead of bringing her to the bridge and making a theatrical show out of Alderaan in an attempt to rush things, she would've cracked eventually. Instead he interrupted an effective and competent interrogator's work, galvanized her will, and turned most of the galaxy against the Empire* in his "effective demonstration" of the Death Star on a defenseless planet of innocents. *It's notable that they have a fairly impressive fleet of ships in Return of the Jedi and some brand-new fighters, instead of the scraps and dregs of the first two movies. That's a good indicator that they have much more financial and material support than they did BBY. Also, you know, they blew up an entire planet of innocents and then the rebels destroyed their tool of genocide. But no one ever said that a ship can't be tracked in Star Wars. Just that the hand-off didn't happen over Tatooine, and there's no sane way to put a third ship in the opening scene of the original movie. I mean, I'm sure the prequels would've done it, but the prequels are terribly written incoherent messes. We're STILL trying to figure out the certain-point-of-view that makes Revenge of the Sith's Death Star skeleton work. Yeah, I dunno what the heck Leia was thinking there. Maybe the destruction of her home planet and entire family(at that point in the narrative) shook her up more than she let on, and it was a bad decision born of tremendous stress? Alternatively, maybe she figured that, given enough time, they could trace the rebels from Dantooine to Yavin anyways, so getting the plans to the analysts as soon as possible took priority over making sure they weren't followed.
  24. JB0
    The term valkyrie in the Macross universe is much like the term "xerox machine" in the real world. While it originally referred to a specific thing, real-world usage applies it to anything that does a similar task to that specific thing.
  25. JB0
    Also, Kakizaki's death is presented kind of horrifyingly. They don't just show his plane get smashed by the shockwave as we hear his radio cut out. They give us a nice slow shot of his terrified face disintegrating. It was kind of shocking to me and I knew it was coming. For those not familar with the show, it was also very surprising having Kakizaki die right after Roy. Very few shows kill two regular characters in a row. Besides, Kakizaki's the plucky comic relief. He was supposed to be a safe character to like! They've also made a point of showing Kakizaki's piloting skills gradually improve pilot after his disastrous early outings, and he makes a quite respectable show of things in Burst Point. And then he bites it because he just happened to be bringing up the rear when the barrier blew out. All his hard work overturned by a few seconds of bad luck. Really, Burst Point and Pineapple Salad together send a solid message that the main characters are not special in any way. Combined with Hikaru's recent near-fatal dunk and extended hospital stay, It strongly undercuts the traditional concept of "plot armor". These people are just dudes, and in a war sometimes dudes die through no fault of their own. On a non-fatal note... Burst Point is the only episode where Hikaru uses what I call "the badass switch" on his helmet, lowering the shades like in the opening sequence so he looks awesome while he's flying around. He retracts the shades right after Kakizaki's death, and never uses them again. It's a minor detail, but I find it interesting. I feel like it sort of highlights the idea that just because Hikaru's flkying Skull One now doesn't mean he's suddenly a different person. He's a better pilot, and has enough experience and judgement to command a squadron, sure. But he's still the same awkward teenager he was before Focker died. He's just not cool enough to wear shades. ON THE OTHER HAND, it's possible I'm reading way too much into a big coincidence and this is just the only episode where anyone remembered he had shades.
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