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by Estarra

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Roark2010-04-13 21:49:38
QUOTE (Sylphas @ Apr 12 2010, 10:01 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>
Roark, any reason in particular 100% esteem is 2^16 bits worth of essence? Max integer size in Rapture, or just a nice round number to pick?

Depending on what data type we use, that could be the max. In this case, it sounds like a 2 byte database record. Usually we cap it at 60,000 to make it more even and feel less arbitrary. The DB can also store 4 byte numbers, 1 byte numbers, and other stuff. Like Sior posted, it's in the manual. Though not the most exciting thing to read...
Razenth2010-04-13 22:22:29
Not even forging code?

EDIT: This is in response to the "I haven't seen code that bad..." statement.
Roark2010-04-13 22:30:08
QUOTE (Drae @ Apr 13 2010, 03:57 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>
I am curious as to what philosophers Roark happens to enjoy most; meaning, of course, Roark in the Estarra sock puppet sense. I suppose inclusive in said query would be what outlook he tends to favor, i.e. Empiricism, greek Ontology, energeticism, etc.

I don't know what you mean by "sock puppet sense." I am not a student of what I'd call meta-philosophy, meaning classifying philosophers and different schools of thoughts and so forth. I have no clue what Ontology and energeticism are. Roark the character was originally based from John Locke, Ayn Rand, and Frederich Nietzsche. Moreso the latter two in terms of what he writes about and nearly exclusively Nietzsche in terms of his writing style. That's one thing I (David, not Roark) like about Nietzsche is his writing style. Even in cases where the content is dumb or incomprehensible, he's still fun to read. More recently, Roark-the-god has also revealed a smidgeon of similarities with the heathen Asatru philosophy of the two Eddas.

Nietzsche is the one who has the most references in the AB lists simply because he has the coolest quotes, even when they don't make sense. You will see him pop up a few times again in Transmology's AB list if Estarra doesn't rewrite it. (Also a very thin reference to a Greek myth that probably no one will ever catch.)

David-the-real-guy has similar philosophical tastes as Roark-the-god, but Roark is a grotesque exaggeration in much of where they agree. Where they differ, Roark would denounce David Henry Thoreau and Ralph Waldo Emerson for advocating primitiveness; David does very much like those two writers. David recently enjoyed a philosophical work favoring polytheism called "On Being a Pagan" by some French dude I've never heard of. That is not applicable to Roark since Lusternia is a polytheistic world. Both David and Roark find Aristotle very agreeable. David thinks Plato was a great man for his time but thinks his philosophy has an overall a negative influence due to its stance on morality. Roark doesn't really address Plato but probably wouldn't mind him because Roark is in some ways a very moralistic god. David really enjoys where economics and philosophy intersect; Roark doesn't give a whit about economics.
QUOTE (Drae @ Apr 13 2010, 03:57 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>
Also, funny to see that you are a fellow Ohioan. Seeing as a great portion of the state is Amish, it's good to see it has a coder or two.

Funny you mention that. I expect by the end of the year that I'll live in a neighborhood where all of my adjacent neighbors only ride buggies. Which is why I said the RL David would probably be in the Serenwilde. It's something over which Roark and I have a very strong disagreement.
Roark2010-04-13 22:38:54
QUOTE (Drae @ Apr 13 2010, 04:46 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>
Well, at this point his biggest obstacle tends to revolve more around the fact that he's 19 years old. Once that hurdle is overcome, I'm sure he'd love to try grabbing other peoples recipes and such. Any idea how much the equipment you use tends to run?

If you want to brew 1 gallon batches and be very cheap then there are two options.

Option 1 (preferred):
Siphon hose, a 1-gallon glass bottle from the flea market, bung and airlock, rinse-free sanitizer from the brew store.

Option 2 that my grandma used when she was too poor to buy her own wine:
A 1-gallon empty leftover milk jug, a balloon with a small hole poked in it, bleach.

Get a good wine yeast for your wine or mead. Or if you are cheap, grab the bread yeast from the grocery store's baking aisle. Then grab some honey for mead or Welch's frozen concentrate grape juice and cheap sugar for a cheap wine. (Look online for recipes to know how much to use.) After sanitizing all your equipment, mix it with water in your 1 gallon jug and then attach the airlock / bung or the balloon. Wait a while and then siphon it out gently so that you don't suck up the nasty yeast from the bottom of the jug nor splash it during the transfer because oxygen ruins the flavor. If you are too cheap to buy a hose then gently pour it so that the yeast stays at the bottom and doesn't pour out. If you are too cheap to buy bottle caps and a capper then once you have cleaned out the gallon jug, you can put the brew back in there as its "bottle."

As you can see, you can buy all this stuff at your local hardware store and grocer for under $10 with wine (under $25 for mead because honey is expensive, and you need a bunch). It's just illegal to mix them and make wine if you are under 21 in the US. But most elsewhere in the world you can legally mix this and make your mead or wine. And if you want to really be lazy and get smashed, try this if it is legal for your age and locality:
* Mix a ton of sugar with water.
* Toss some yeast in it and let it ferment. Maybe throw in some yeast nutrient if you want to get more alcohol.
* Siphon the nasty alcohol-water off the yeast.
* Mix in more sugar and Kool Aid and drink immediately before the yeast starts to ferment again. You should have a party for sharing it because you'll probably go to the hospital if you drink a whole gallon of that. Or you can use a cambden tablet or wine conditioner to kill the yeast, and then you can bottle it for future consumption one bottle at a time. Don't bottle anything after adding sugar without doing this or else it will explode the bottle.

I've not made this. I suspect it would taste like a mediocre fruit punch and would get you drunk real fast.

For more, Google "welch's cheap homebrew wine". Also look up laws on this stuff. For example, if you try to distill it with a device that has not been registered with the BATF then you they may lock you in cage for 10 years and extort $10,000. Same possible outcome if you exchange your brews in return for anything or if you brew too much in a year.

Also look up the risks of exploding bottles before brewing, especially for mead. Sometimes mead seems like it is finished fermenting but then when you bottle it the yeast gets stirred up and starts fermenting again.
Sylphas2010-04-13 22:43:29
You can't sell it without a license, but damned if you can't barter with it. That's how Sybilla buys half her stuff at events: put a dozen bottles of mead in a satchel, go trade for what you want!
Unknown2010-04-13 22:51:38
QUOTE (Drae @ Apr 13 2010, 04:46 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>
Well, at this point his biggest obstacle tends to revolve more around the fact that he's 19 years old. Once that hurdle is overcome, I'm sure he'd love to try grabbing other peoples recipes and such. Any idea how much the equipment you use tends to run?



For my first 5.5 gallon batch cost me about $75. Subsequent batches run me between $20 and $35 depending on the recipe and the price of the variety of honey I decide to use.

But, this -is- for 5.5 -gallons- of 30proof alcoholic beverage. So... yeah. way worth it.

eta: wow, I need to refresh. I haven't had a bottle explode in quite some time, but I bottle in 1.25 gallon "chateau screw-top" bottles, rather than corking and foiling my own bottles. They are just a touch shy of airtight, and so carbon dioxide can escape. I am also -very- careful to not get much of the sediment. the few corked bottles I bottled to put away for aging never did explode on me
Xavius2010-04-13 23:02:52
QUOTE (Sylphas @ Apr 13 2010, 05:43 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>
You can't sell it without a license, but damned if you can't barter with it. That's how Sybilla buys half her stuff at events: put a dozen bottles of mead in a satchel, go trade for what you want!

You'd be surprised at how many places this is illegal. Of course, illegal does not always mean actively enforced.
Unknown2010-04-13 23:19:24
QUOTE (Xavius @ Apr 13 2010, 07:02 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>
You'd be surprised at how many places this is illegal. Of course, illegal does not always mean actively enforced.



I had a friend who used to sell round tokens with "tuit" engraved. You would purchase a round tuit for $15 and receive a free gift... which happened to be alcoholic.


I'm sure if he was doing so in massive volume they could probably come down on him for it, but at small pagan gatherings and such he's never run into issues.
Sylphas2010-04-13 23:28:19
It very well may be, but that's how it works a lot of time in the SCA at least.
Roark2010-04-14 00:27:28
The issue with federal law is that there is an excise tax on every gallon of alcoholic drink produced. Excise taxes refer to a tax on an item the moment it is produced, regardless of if it is used to make money or not. An exception was made in the mid to late 20th century for beer and wine (mead == wine in law) if it is is used for personal use, not commercial activity. Usually federal law considers barter to be commercial activity, so odds are even barter is illegal without getting registered to pay an excise tax. This is the same sort of tax on tobacco and gasoline and is why you don't see those taxes listed on you sales receipt like a sales tax since the manufacturer paid it regardless of if the item sold or not.

This is an old tax. There was a similar one back in the days of George Washington. Washington lobbied for a tax on whiskey. Many small commercial brewers and especially home brewers were angry about this and so refused to pay the tax because they could not afford it, and it'd force them out of business or (for home brewers) to stop making their own whiskey. It also didn't help that many people didn't view this new federal government as a legitimate power for domestic affairs. So Washington mustered his army and personally marched them into battle against the Whiskey Rebellion as it is now known.

I'm sure it's purely coincidence that Washington owned a whiskey gin that that was profitable enough to pay the tax without going out of business.