Riv's random self

[river_chaos]

I am very tempted to throw in a little romantic comedy in my fanfic...just not sure how to write it and who it should be between. Do I tred those waters, or not? [emote=monkey]think[/emote]

[Mirabilis]

I checked the school and county libraries, and there are only ittybitty books that don't cover much on weapons. I've been mostly going to the internet for the info on the weapons named in the books.

Perhaps, I can be of assistance, seeing as how I was forced to go over this topic, many a times, if you have any questions please feel free to ask em.

Here are the major weapons that were developed in WWI and changed warfare as we know it today:

Machine Gun- This weapon was used to hose down the incredible, overwhelming, numbers of both sides, who would try to charge the fields to gain more territory, or to defend a cetain area. This weapon sparked the invention of the tank.

Tank- The tank was a vehicle, introduced in WWI, to be a mobile land vehicle, that would be easy to maneuver, around the trenches, harsh evnironment, and barricades, while also being able to sustain Machine Gun fire. It was very affective until the devlopment of the Flamethrower, and Bazooka.

Flamethrower- The flamethrower, was invented to not only completely destroy, incoming tanks, but was also ment to flush out enemy soldiers out of hiding, or from other vehicles. However, the heavy equipment made the flamethrower a very slow paced weapon, and was quite hazardous, which also helped pave the way for the Boozka.

Bazooka-The boozka was designed to be a rocket powered recoilless infantry weapon, that didn't require the use of flamethrowers, as it would be usable from a much greater distance.

Posion Gas- The Germans introduced, chemcial warfare in WW I (though the united states had used it, hundreds of years prior to it, I.E. giving Native Americans infected small-pox blankets etc) as a means, to kill their enemies in trenches miles away. some famous gases were Tear Gas and Killer Mustard Gas. At first it was very lethal 1914 -1917 the gases saw the most use, killing thousands of people. But measures were taken to counter it, and to make sure all infantry units would be kept safe. As a result, it's deployment was drastically, cut back. This has given the rise for the WWI's name "The Chemist War".

Aviation- Aviation was not really used for killing people, as much as it was in WWII, but was rather used for spying on enemy camps, and to look for possible entry's through trench lines. Much later in the war, people started using the idea, of taking 2 or 3 bombs with them, (in their laps) while they would go spy, dropping them behind enemy lines, following this pilots started carrying hand held guns, shooting at other pilots, or infantry units on the ground.

Artillery- The artilley saw dramatic changes in WWI. At the beginning of the war, artillery was brought to the front lines, and used to stop an advancing platoon. But they soon remodified them to be more accurate, and affective. since your doing artillery I give some examples:

1) The first anti-air artillery was developed.

2) The creeping barrage was classified as "Perfected"

3) The very first *Box Barrage* was fired in 1915, preventing many infantry from taking a major hold up.

4) The typical Cannon, was replaced, and remodeled to a more powerful 7.7 cm FK 16. (Standard German Artillery Cannon for WW I)

5) And the artillery shell's were constantly going through changes, to explode on impact, to destroy barbed wire fences, to land and then explode as well, and even being designed to "bury" itself underground and then exploding.

These were the major weapons that changed warfare drastically in WWI, of course there were indeed other inventions such as the submarine, but that didn't see a more prominant role until WWII, though they were indeed deployed. And the invention of radar, which also did not come into play, until WWII. I would go into more detail, but I don't want to overwhelm you with info, so if you got any questions, please feel free to ask away, as I said above.

Now, as far as your love interest idea, I am sorry, I wouldn't have the slightest clue on what to say

I would tell you, go for it!

Edited February 10, 2011 by Mirabilis

[river_chaos]

The flamethrower and bazooka were used in WW1!!? Damn! I'm gonna end up rewriting my rough draft latter today. Thank a bunch Mirabilis!

[river_chaos]

I'm almost done with another shawl project!

I used medium blue and light blue yarn for this one and I plan on adding a fringe to it when my arm stops screaming at me.

Also, I found out recently that my brother was playing Halo: Reach online with the lead singer of Disturbed the other day. Here's how it went:

Z: You sound familiar... Who are you?

David: I'm the lead singer from Disturbed, David Draiman.

Z: ...Dude, I find that hard to believe...

David: *sings a line from Prayer*

Z: Okay, I know what's gonna happen, but do the noise...

David: F**** YOU!!

BOOOM!! Z's Spartan goes flying through the air.

David: You and every-- *continues to curse and rant*

Z: *laughs his butt off*

Z's my brother, and that's what he told me and Dad. Somehow I'm inclined to believe him with the way the guy responded to Z's request regarding the noise: if he didn't respond in that manner then it would have been some dipstick trying to impersonate the guy.

[*Jess♥]

we finally get to see the loom!

wow, that is very awesome.

I think i'd like to give it a go sometime.

if i can get the materials.

[river_chaos]

we finally get to see the loom!

Sorry for the long wait, Ryuki. This is the one my dad bought for me on eBay.

[*Jess♥]

aha, that makes sense. if i buy it it will be much easier to construct

i want to do this.

i would have to buy some fancy wool.

and make some wonderful garments.

I'm all pumped up, I wanna kick some weaving ass!

[river_chaos]

Weaving ass? I'll have to remember that.

Good luck constructing your loom, and feel free to ask me any questions about constructing a tri-loom or weaving.

[Mirabilis]

The flamethrower and bazooka were used in WW1!!? Damn! I'm gonna end up rewriting my rough draft latter today. Thank a bunch Mirabilis!

Hey np glad i was able to help!

Now as far as the uh...weaving project, that looks really cool. Do you plan on making another one anytime soon?

[river_chaos]

I might. I'm taking a break from it at the moment. I have tendonitous problems in my right arm and I can't do projects back to back, I have to give my arm a week or so to rest.

[*Jess♥]

wow, i looked on ebay and found those looms to be quite expensive.

I am pretty sure i can get a couple of cheap pieces of wood and knock them together in a satisfactory arrangement.

[river_chaos]

Yeah, they get up there.

It's easy and cheaper to construct one on your own, just have to remember a few key parts in the process. I can post the instructions to build one on here, would you like that?

[*Jess♥]

sure, can't hurt

I'm pretty good with this kind of thing.

I'm sure the important things are - measurements. same amount of pins each side, being half the amount as the top. firm, equal joints on the base.

what technique did you use to prevent the pins from splitting the wood?

[river_chaos]

Okay.

The tools you'll need are: electric drill (to drill holes), a saw of some sort, a tape measure, and a hammer.

Supplies: nails and glue.

First off, you need to calculate how long the two side of the right angle are going to be (C²=A²+B²), keep in mind that this is a right triangle. Once you have it measured out, mark and cut off the excess wood, and then set it on the floor in the shape of a triangle (do not try to make angles at the edges, it makes the process harder). If you have an electric screw driver and you've got some long screws around, you can use that or hammer in some nails an the two angles (my dad screwed in metal braces on the back and I found that to be more beneficial). The spacing between the pins (or nails) is usually 1/2 inch apart on the hypotnuse, and 1/4 inch on the other two sides. Mark where the nails need to go and get the drill out. Drill in holes where the nails need to go so you won't split the wood. Don't drill all the way through the wood, that'll surely split the wood and you'll be going back to the hardware store for more wood. Clean out the holes and start gluing in the nails. Leave it to dry for a few hours, then sand the wood to keep the yarn from getting caught by splinters. You can also put finish coating on the wood to protect it and to not sand the edges as often, but that's just optional.

[*Jess♥]

ah, i can use extra bits of wood to secure the corners.

drill the holes for the pins. that makes sense. good stuff.

i got a good hand drill with a few very fine bits.

thanks for that, I'll have fun.

---------

hmmm

I just thought...

I don't need to get wood and do all this fancy trickery.

I can just use meccano.

[river_chaos]

You're welcome. I'm glad I could help you.

By the way, what is meccano?

[*Jess♥]

wow, I'm shocked you don't know meccano!

meccano is a 'toy' that is basically a construction set.

it has lots of pieces of metal with holes at regular intervals that you can put bolts through.

[river_chaos]

Ah, okay. I've never seen or heard of meccano until you mentioned it.

My parents gave me video games instead of building stuff like that when I was little, so that might be why I've never heard of it.

[*Jess♥]

he he, i think it's probably the generation gap actually

only because i never had meccano either. but i always wanted it XD

anyway, I went to the hardware store today....

omg the staff are so clueless.

after a 2 minute walk around their store, I knew more than they did.

I asked them about their metal with evenly spaced holes. they said they didn't have any. ORLY!? why did i see some 3 aisles down then?

so after lots of wandering around... I actually ended up with nothing. they wouldn't cut the wood for me so my only option in wood was a 3 metre long plank.

the metal would have been too expensive it seems.

I might go some other place and look at options of getting some type of plastic.

I can knock pins into plastic without fear of it splitting.

[river_chaos]

anyway, I went to the hardware store today....

omg the staff are so clueless.

after a 2 minute walk around their store, I knew more than they did.

I asked them about their metal with evenly spaced holes. they said they didn't have any. ORLY!? why did i see some 3 aisles down then?

so after lots of wandering around... I actually ended up with nothing. they wouldn't cut the wood for me so my only option in wood was a 3 metre long plank.

the metal would have been too expensive it seems.

I might go some other place and look at options of getting some type of plastic.

I can knock pins into plastic without fear of it splitting.

Wow, that's bad.

Usually if the staff are like that I never go to that place again or talk to the manager if he's in.

Out of curiosity: do you have a Hobby Lobby store (or some hobby store (not R/C stuff)) in your area? I got a little plastic, square loom yesterday and I thought it might help you get a basic idea on how to weave on a loom if you can get your hands on one.

[*Jess♥]

i could go to a hobby shop but it'll probably be fairly expensive.

I know the process of weaving though so I'm fairly confident i won't need much practice.

I'll just capture some video of the things i have made.

I'll make a thread about crafting to save your blog.

[river_chaos]

okedokie.

Now, a blog entry:

Why the heck am I getting ideas from listening to Distrubed lately? Did my muse go gothic or something?

[river_chaos]

My brother is disrupting the peace.

He didn't call Mom on her birthday; didn't text her, nothing. And now Mom's nagging at Dad, and Dad's starting to get mad at big brother because he won't settle things with Mom and is disrupting the peace in the valley. I'm starting to get aggitated at the little twit too

Damn it, we just got away from a typhoon of BS with the evil, and now ever so obnoxious big brother is stirring up crap and disrupting the peace in the valley!

[Mirabilis]

Every family has their moments like this. I mean, part of my family and myself just went through a crapy 4 months of crapola. I would say, prob be passive. I mean, you don't want to add fuel to the fire, but I wouldn't say avoid the problem either. I don't know if you have tried this before, and I don't mean to "burst into your family life" so to speak. However, trying to be polite and mannerly, helped me alot while I was up north, though there were many times, I wanted to, and could have, said some really hurtful and mean things. I held my tongue, and tried to do the right thing as much as I could. And, eventually the agression died down.

As far as the music, your not the only one who gets ideas from listening to music. Actually listening to music, is one of my times of meditation. It's when I get a visual look, and feel for most of my stories, and I've had this trait ever sense I was really young, around the age of 5. Oddly, enough, I've been told, that heavy rock/metal, or music in general, does have a similar affect on alot of people.

[river_chaos]

I haven't said anything yet to fuel the fire. I'm usually the quiet one in the house, my dad's the one that does the roaring. Sometimes I'm the peace keeper of the family.

As for music, I meant that I usually haven't listen much to Disturbed until recently. It's not really the type of music I listen to on a regular basis since my brother burned me out on heavy metal in general when he drove me to school last year. My muse just seems inspired by that particular group lately for some odd reason; no other group is giving me ideas for any form of art lately.

Edit: Before I forget: HAPPY VALENTINES DAY!

Edited February 15, 2011 by river_chaos