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Honorverse favorite one-liners

Join us in talking discussing all things Honor, including (but not limited to) tactics, favorite characters, and book discussions.
Re: Honorverse favorite one-liners
Post by saber964   » Thu Feb 26, 2015 6:38 pm

saber964
Admiral

Posts: 2423
Joined: Thu Dec 13, 2012 8:41 pm
Location: Spokane WA USA

lyonheart wrote:Hi SharkHunter,

I think you meant Echoes of Honor not FIE, where Allison figures out how Grayson survived such terrible radiation, almost ten years after FIE.

L


SharkHunter wrote:--snipping--
*quote="cthia"*[quote="Cauldron of Ghosts"]The other reason the medical technician didn’t pay much attention was even simpler. Given the nature of Manpower’s production methods, it was a given that a high percentage of their slaves would have some long-term medical problems. The sort of radical genetic engineering that created such slaves often produced unwanted side-effects. A slave bred for great strength might have a severe blood pressure problem, for instance, or be prone to renal failure.

...
I guess this is the entire contention between Mesa and the galaxy at large. But the point being, that the slaves would have all sorts of medical, physical, emotional and mental ailments.
...
Their discussion included possible "treatment" of said condition if freed. Said discussion was way over my head. But now my interest is rekindled. I hope there is a support structure in the Honorverse for freed slaves. If so, who would champion it. Beowulf? And I wonder what that would "do" in causing what "reverse side-effects" from "reversing the process?"*quote*
You are correct about Beowulf, in fact, their "rescue" of OldEarth was based in their ability to do just that, i.e. to design fixes to radical genetic engineering induced problems. Likely those are also sources of Regen and Prolong in the recent Honorverse, though those "recent" techniques don't work perfectly for everyone in every age group.

Still, consider that in "Flag In Exile", after an amount of deep research, Allison Harrington was able to nano-engineer a fix for the fertility problem that Grayson had experienced ever since their second generation. We also read in Torch of Freedom that they routinely scan their ex-slave immigrants to determine somatic types, so that they can apply the known "fixes" for common problems. There's also some textev in CoG, TorchOfFreedom, etc. and short stories (In Fire Forged has a bit) that ex-slaves had emigration and medical priority nearly automatically if they reached Beowulf, and similar care applied when the RMN freed slaves en-masse, which is why the BSC, and RMN tend to have a higher number of ex-slave children and descendants in their ranks per capita than anyone else.
[/quote]


Uh a nit. Allison Harrington did not begin her research into the Grayson genetic problems until she arrived on the planet in IEH and didn't discover the problem until Echo's.
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Re: Honorverse favorite one-liners
Post by Yow   » Fri Feb 27, 2015 2:28 am

Yow
Captain (Junior Grade)

Posts: 348
Joined: Mon Jan 06, 2014 3:32 pm
Location: North Carolina, United States

Anton scowled. Three people standing near him edged away. "How come I always get the Moses assignment?"
Anton's parting words ~ CoS.

Cthia's father ~ "Son, do not cater to the common belief that a person has to earn respect. That is not true. You should give every person respect right from the start. What a person has to earn is your continued respect!"
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Re: Honorverse favorite one-liners
Post by Yow   » Sun Mar 01, 2015 1:24 pm

Yow
Captain (Junior Grade)

Posts: 348
Joined: Mon Jan 06, 2014 3:32 pm
Location: North Carolina, United States

The Admiralty asked for three, we offered one, and His Majesty compromised on seven

anonymous Opposition member in response to King Roger III's fleet buildup. ~HoS

Cthia's father ~ "Son, do not cater to the common belief that a person has to earn respect. That is not true. You should give every person respect right from the start. What a person has to earn is your continued respect!"
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Re: Honorverse favorite one-liners
Post by Hutch   » Sun Mar 01, 2015 8:15 pm

Hutch
Vice Admiral

Posts: 1831
Joined: Fri Nov 26, 2010 12:40 pm
Location: Huntsville, Alabama y'all

Yow wrote:
The Admiralty asked for three, we offered one, and His Majesty compromised on seven

anonymous Opposition member in response to King Roger III's fleet buildup. ~HoS


I couldn't find it, but I think (IIRC) that was 'borrowed' from Winston Churchill, when he was in charge of the British Admiralaty (or was it the Exchuecrer (sp)) just before WW I.

Still a great line.

ETA--Found the reference in Wikipedia:

....The public demanded eight new battleships instead of the four the government had planned for that year. As Winston Churchill put it, “The Admiralty had demanded six ships; the economists offered four; and we finally compromised on eight”.[
Last edited by Hutch on Mon Mar 02, 2015 3:03 pm, edited 1 time in total.
***********************************************
No boom today. Boom tomorrow. There's always a boom tomorrow.

What? Look, somebody's got to have some damn perspective around here! Boom. Sooner or later. BOOM! -LT. Cmdr. Susan Ivanova, Babylon 5
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Re: Honorverse favorite one-liners
Post by roseandheather   » Sun Mar 01, 2015 8:51 pm

roseandheather
Admiral

Posts: 2056
Joined: Sun Dec 08, 2013 10:39 pm
Location: Republic of Haven

"What the hell. I've always liked a challenge."
Mission of Honor

*copious blubbering*

IT TOOK THEM TWO DECADES AND FAR TOO MUCH BLOODSHED BUT FINALLY THE GRAND ALLIANCE IS A DREAM NO LONGER.

*curls up in bed, pulls covers overhead and screams into the sunset*

...I have a lot of feelings about this but can you blame me
~*~


I serve at the pleasure of President Pritchart.

Javier & Eloise
"You'll remember me when the west wind moves upon the fields of barley..."
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Re: Honorverse favorite one-liners
Post by Yow   » Mon Mar 02, 2015 2:42 am

Yow
Captain (Junior Grade)

Posts: 348
Joined: Mon Jan 06, 2014 3:32 pm
Location: North Carolina, United States

Her mousety
“The girl's barely twenty years of age, Hugh. What could be the danger”
snip
“Don't play the fool, Jeremy. You know the answer perfectly well, or you wouldn't have made her your queen in the first place.”

Queen Berry~ToF

Cthia's father ~ "Son, do not cater to the common belief that a person has to earn respect. That is not true. You should give every person respect right from the start. What a person has to earn is your continued respect!"
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Re: Honorverse favorite one-liners
Post by Hutch   » Mon Mar 02, 2015 10:03 am

Hutch
Vice Admiral

Posts: 1831
Joined: Fri Nov 26, 2010 12:40 pm
Location: Huntsville, Alabama y'all

Yow wrote:Her mousety
“The girl's barely twenty years of age, Hugh. What could be the danger”
snip
“Don't play the fool, Jeremy. You know the answer perfectly well, or you wouldn't have made her your queen in the first place.”

Queen Berry~ToF


Which of course leads to this one-liner (with appropriate setup).

"Not hardly. I just can't deal with this any longer. I want your resignation. Now."

Hugh didn't hesitate for more than perhaps a second. "As you wish, Your Majesty. I resign as your chief of security."

"Don't call me that. My name is Berry and you damn well don't have any excuse any longer not to use it."

He bowed, slightly, and then extended his elbow. "All right, Berry. In that case, may I escort you to J. Quesenberry's?"

The smile that came to her face then was the same gleaming smile that had captivated Hugh Arai since the first time he'd seen it. But it was as if a star had become a supernova.

"Ice cream would be nice. Later. Right now, I'd be much happier if you'd take me to bed."
***********************************************
No boom today. Boom tomorrow. There's always a boom tomorrow.

What? Look, somebody's got to have some damn perspective around here! Boom. Sooner or later. BOOM! -LT. Cmdr. Susan Ivanova, Babylon 5
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Re: Honorverse favorite one-liners
Post by cthia   » Mon Mar 02, 2015 5:10 pm

cthia
Fleet Admiral

Posts: 14951
Joined: Thu Jan 23, 2014 1:10 pm

Cauldron of Ghosts
The moment they brought out the BSC people posing as Manpower pleasure slaves, Tsang and her people would get distracted and let their guard down a little further.

Well what do you know, Trojan horses in the Honorverse. :lol:


****** *


Aside:
Hope you all don't mind my sharing. But I just have to!

What a weekend. My niece's recital was an extravaganza. As always.

Then the chess match of the decade. Tierney had been challenged by a master who is less than ten points from a Senior Master ranking. My niece hadn't played anyone on that particular level. My sister was a bit concerned as the buildup to this match had intensified over the last several weeks. A match that had taken almost a year and a half to arrange, as my niece is so busy and this guy lives in New York and attends a school for the gifted in Indiana.

First game, playing white, he managed to force a draw. Or perhaps I should say that my niece managed to force a draw, because this guy had taken a knight and two pawns free and clear. Then my niece lost her queen, but still managed a draw. Right away I'm thinking 'Uh oh, this guy is strong, my niece is in for it.'

Second game, my niece is now playing white. She wins a hard fought game, but barely. Although it isn't, she calls that game a draw as well, because although she mated the guy, his very next move would have resulted in a mate as well.

Tierney has always had a problem with these type wins and refers to them as either mutual draws resulting in a peace treaty or mutual cases of mass destruction. Someone suggested an alternate ending to the Battle of Manticore which offers up a victorious Havenite Navy and a surrendered Manticore before Honor could hyper in, resulting in Honor taking her forces directly to Haven and forcing an equal an opposite surrender. My niece argues that scenario to be "an impasse leading to a truce, or mutual destruction resulting from leaders with the IQ of a Byng or the mind conditioning of a Filareta."

So, my niece is now involved in a friendly(she thought) discussion with this guy, after the first technical win — trying to relegate this particular win to the "draw" category. All of my niece's cheerleaders are going "just shut up Tierney and accept the win!" Internally, I was too. I know her and what she was alluding to, regarding her feelings. I've played her enough and we've discussed the above alternate scenario.

The Turning Point
Tierney turns to me "You know how I feel about this Uncle. It isn't really a true win."

"You're crazy," says the guy.

"Perhaps you should just accept the win honey," pushes my sister. She thinks Tierney's in over her head and should just take any win she can get. I began to give it a try "Yes Princess, I know how you feel about this type of win but—"

"Yea, you should just listen to your daddy and take the win. You're not really a strong player and I just wasted my time coming all the way to North Carolina. You're not going to win another."

You could hear the proverbial pin drop after that remark. Even the kid's own parents were shocked at his attitude and rudeness. My sister's face showed concern for my niece's feelings whose face registered shock as well. Everyone was shocked to silence.

I was about to break the silence and offer my niece solace, but before I could, her Nimoy brow tried to launch itself. My niece raises a brow like Spock, but it goes up and down when she's startled, shocked, deeply thinking and angered. For the first time I liken it to Honor's nervous tick (in retrospect)... :lol:

Tierney altogether shocks everyone by bursting out into hysterical laughter. I mean, she couldn't stop herself. And that kind of laughter is catchy. We found ourselves laughing as well, though no one knew why. Except my sister wasn't much laughing. "Are you okay dear?" That only made her laugh harder, "No mom!" And more laughter.

Then the arrogant twit "Well, let's just leave dad. She's obviously lost it. She can't handle the pressure, and she's really not a good player at all."

"You just sit yourself right back down bucko. Not a good player? Ha! I'll have you know that I(and boy did she stress that I) could have been riding Glue Factory(her horse). I haven't seen or ridden my horse for almost two months and I wanted to visit with my Uncle and ride. Instead, I'm stuck inside wasting a snowless day here on the coast playing chess with the likes of you. I'm not a strong player??? The first game was a draw, but only because I wanted to see how you'd handle a grand left oblique not supported en appui. NOT VERY WELL! You should have won that game. You had overwhelming material advantage and position, but you blundered again by allowing me to sacrifice my Queen for much better position simultaneously pinning your bishop for the duration of the battle until she was lost.

"The second game, you opened up with a variation of my second favorite defense and my curiosity got the best of me. I wanted to see how well you'd handle yourself with a Queen's gambit. Guess what? NOT VERY! I could have beaten you easily. BOTH GAMES!"

The very silent pin-drop could be heard again. Everyone that knows my niece was shocked. She's so well mannered.

"We'll continue, from the beginning. Two four-out-of-seven falls as originally planned, but this time we'll eliminate the stupid clock."

My niece doesn't like speed chess. Actually she detests it. "It's like you have two opponents -- a stupid ticking clock, and if your opponent is stupid then there are two stupid sources vying for attention," she always says. Tierney just likes to be given a good game, and she says speed chess prevents a good game.

"Deal?"

"Clocks are to prevent novices from taking too long. I don't wish to be here all day," he says.

"Well I don't wish to be here at all and neither of us are weak enough to take that long. Are we?"

A challenge of a sort. And her brow shoots up to emphasize that point.

"Take her out Tommy," someone in his camp says.

"Are you sure you want to do this dear?," asks my sister. Still worried about her daughter, that this time she's in over her head. Tierney hasn't really had a serious defeat and sis worries how she'll accept it.

"Since I'm here mother, I may as well have myself some fun. But now, I'm not going to hold back, and it isn't going to be pretty!"

"Hold back? She was holding back?" All of my friends were stunned at that admission.

"I don't know. But if she says she was—"


My niece's older sister is grinning like a shark and rubbing her hands together. "Don't worry mom! Look at her. She's pissed. You do NOT want to piss Tierney off. (No you don't) This is going to be good."

A new round of four-out-of-seven commences, and even though there's no clock this guy is still moving as if there is. Nine complete moves into the game, and he finds himself in a world of hurt. He needs to castle but there are a few hazards. He recognizes his dilemma, and now it takes him about two minutes to move. My older niece is about to lose it, trying not to laugh. His camp is quieter than a mouse. He sacrifices a developed knight by allowing it to be pinned. My niece's next move puzzles all of us, but she doesn't seem to be too concerned as she passes up a bishop and a pawn.

His next move is simply an attempt to free himself because castling King side is no longer a viable option. In my niece's next move she anounces mate in three. Everyone is stunned, with the exception of my niece. The poor guy turns beat red but carries on. Game over. Mate.

The second game, he's playing white and is anxious to get on with it. He opens with pawn to Queen 4. Big mistake against her if you don't really know how to play that particular weaker opening against her favorite defense. Eleven moves into the game and he's already in a double fork check, threatening mate and threatening his Queen. His Queen is history. His moves are now averaging close to three minutes. Her response time is still approximately thirty seconds.

She blew through five games before anyone knew what had happened, least of all that poor sap. One four-out-of-seven is already under her belt. She is about to win game six and the guy's hand is noticeably trembling. He's beaten, afraid, and embarrassed. Everyone in our camp begins to feel sorry for him. My sister the most. But she's only 13. He's almost nineteen, a senior, in a school for the gifted. After she handily wins game six, he quits the contest and exclaims "she is some sort of voodoo priestess!"

My niece laughs. "You mean Princess. Though I've never been accused of black magic before."

We've never seen anything like it. What a treat. This guy, at almost nineteen, has a chess rating of 2392. His father insisted on him playing my niece. We warned him, almost two years ago.

Oh, what a weekend. My niece elected to take the rest of a very nice day, riding her beloved horse.

Later that night, Duke beat Syracuse 73-54. Uh huh uh huh uh huh uh huh! Goooo ACC!

Then, at 10 PM on pay-per-view, Rhonda Rousey beat Cat Zingano in 14 seconds for the UFC Bantamweight championship. That's one-four seconds. Damn!

I paid sixty bucks for fourteen seconds! Phuck!

****** *

My niece was entertaining for most of the night. Giving Rubic's cube performances. Then Rubic's revenge, four-sided performances, lectures on the math involved, algorithms that allow you to perform the cube behind your back after getting one side.

She then alerted everyone to the upcoming pi day.
pi = 3.141592653...

3.14.15 9:26:53

March 14, 2015 @ 9:26:53. What will you all be doing during this once in a life time?

Son, your mother says I have to hang you. Personally I don't think this is a capital offense. But if I don't hang you, she's gonna hang me and frankly, I'm not the one in trouble. —cthia's father. Incident in ? Axiom of Common Sense
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Re: Honorverse favorite one-liners
Post by saber964   » Tue Mar 03, 2015 7:28 pm

saber964
Admiral

Posts: 2423
Joined: Thu Dec 13, 2012 8:41 pm
Location: Spokane WA USA

cthia wrote:Cauldron of Ghosts
The moment they brought out the BSC people posing as Manpower pleasure slaves, Tsang and her people would get distracted and let their guard down a little further.

Well what do you know, Trojan horses in the Honorverse. :lol:


****** *


Aside:
Hope you all don't mind my sharing. But I just have to!

What a weekend. My niece's recital was an extravaganza. As always.

Then the chess match of the decade. Tierney had been challenged by a master who is less than ten points from a Senior Master ranking. My niece hadn't played anyone on that particular level. My sister was a bit concerned as the buildup to this match had intensified over the last several weeks. A match that had taken almost a year and a half to arrange, as my niece is so busy and this guy lives in New York and attends a school for the gifted in Indiana.

First game, playing white, he managed to force a draw. Or perhaps I should say that my niece managed to force a draw, because this guy had taken a knight and two pawns free and clear. Then my niece lost her queen, but still managed a draw. Right away I'm thinking 'Uh oh, this guy is strong, my niece is in for it.'

Second game, my niece is now playing white. She wins a hard fought game, but barely. Although it isn't, she calls that game a draw as well, because although she mated the guy, his very next move would have resulted in a mate as well.

Tierney has always had a problem with these type wins and refers to them as either mutual draws resulting in a peace treaty or mutual cases of mass destruction. Someone suggested an alternate ending to the Battle of Manticore which offers up a victorious Havenite Navy and a surrendered Manticore before Honor could hyper in, resulting in Honor taking her forces directly to Haven and forcing an equal an opposite surrender. My niece argues that scenario to be "an impasse leading to a truce, or mutual destruction resulting from leaders with the IQ of a Byng or the mind conditioning of a Filareta."

So, my niece is now involved in a friendly(she thought) discussion with this guy, after the first technical win — trying to relegate this particular win to the "draw" category. All of my niece's cheerleaders are going "just shut up Tierney and accept the win!" Internally, I was too. I know her and what she was alluding to, regarding her feelings. I've played her enough and we've discussed the above alternate scenario.

The Turning Point
Tierney turns to me "You know how I feel about this Uncle. It isn't really a true win."

"You're crazy," says the guy.

"Perhaps you should just accept the win honey," pushes my sister. She thinks Tierney's in over her head and should just take any win she can get. I began to give it a try "Yes Princess, I know how you feel about this type of win but—"

"Yea, you should just listen to your daddy and take the win. You're not really a strong player and I just wasted my time coming all the way to North Carolina. You're not going to win another."

You could hear the proverbial pin drop after that remark. Even the kid's own parents were shocked at his attitude and rudeness. My sister's face showed concern for my niece's feelings whose face registered shock as well. Everyone was shocked to silence.

I was about to break the silence and offer my niece solace, but before I could, her Nimoy brow tried to launch itself. My niece raises a brow like Spock, but it goes up and down when she's startled, shocked, deeply thinking and angered. For the first time I liken it to Honor's nervous tick (in retrospect)... :lol:

Tierney altogether shocks everyone by bursting out into hysterical laughter. I mean, she couldn't stop herself. And that kind of laughter is catchy. We found ourselves laughing as well, though no one knew why. Except my sister wasn't much laughing. "Are you okay dear?" That only made her laugh harder, "No mom!" And more laughter.

Then the arrogant twit "Well, let's just leave dad. She's obviously lost it. She can't handle the pressure, and she's really not a good player at all."

"You just sit yourself right back down bucko. Not a good player? Ha! I'll have you know that I(and boy did she stress that I) could have been riding Glue Factory(her horse). I haven't seen or ridden my horse for almost two months and I wanted to visit with my Uncle and ride. Instead, I'm stuck inside wasting a snowless day here on the coast playing chess with the likes of you. I'm not a strong player??? The first game was a draw, but only because I wanted to see how you'd handle a grand left oblique not supported en appui. NOT VERY WELL! You should have won that game. You had overwhelming material advantage and position, but you blundered again by allowing me to sacrifice my Queen for much better position simultaneously pinning your bishop for the duration of the battle until she was lost.

"The second game, you opened up with a variation of my second favorite defense and my curiosity got the best of me. I wanted to see how well you'd handle yourself with a Queen's gambit. Guess what? NOT VERY! I could have beaten you easily. BOTH GAMES!"

The very silent pin-drop could be heard again. Everyone that knows my niece was shocked. She's so well mannered.

"We'll continue, from the beginning. Two four-out-of-seven falls as originally planned, but this time we'll eliminate the stupid clock."

My niece doesn't like speed chess. Actually she detests it. "It's like you have two opponents -- a stupid ticking clock, and if your opponent is stupid then there are two stupid sources vying for attention," she always says. Tierney just likes to be given a good game, and she says speed chess prevents a good game.

"Deal?"

"Clocks are to prevent novices from taking too long. I don't wish to be here all day," he says.

"Well I don't wish to be here at all and neither of us are weak enough to take that long. Are we?"

A challenge of a sort. And her brow shoots up to emphasize that point.

"Take her out Tommy," someone in his camp says.

"Are you sure you want to do this dear?," asks my sister. Still worried about her daughter, that this time she's in over her head. Tierney hasn't really had a serious defeat and sis worries how she'll accept it.

"Since I'm here mother, I may as well have myself some fun. But now, I'm not going to hold back, and it isn't going to be pretty!"

"Hold back? She was holding back?" All of my friends were stunned at that admission.

"I don't know. But if she says she was—"


My niece's older sister is grinning like a shark and rubbing her hands together. "Don't worry mom! Look at her. She's pissed. You do NOT want to piss Tierney off. (No you don't) This is going to be good."

A new round of four-out-of-seven commences, and even though there's no clock this guy is still moving as if there is. Nine complete moves into the game, and he finds himself in a world of hurt. He needs to castle but there are a few hazards. He recognizes his dilemma, and now it takes him about two minutes to move. My older niece is about to lose it, trying not to laugh. His camp is quieter than a mouse. He sacrifices a developed knight by allowing it to be pinned. My niece's next move puzzles all of us, but she doesn't seem to be too concerned as she passes up a bishop and a pawn.

His next move is simply an attempt to free himself because castling King side is no longer a viable option. In my niece's next move she anounces mate in three. Everyone is stunned, with the exception of my niece. The poor guy turns beat red but carries on. Game over. Mate.

The second game, he's playing white and is anxious to get on with it. He opens with pawn to Queen 4. Big mistake against her if you don't really know how to play that particular weaker opening against her favorite defense. Eleven moves into the game and he's already in a double fork check, threatening mate and threatening his Queen. His Queen is history. His moves are now averaging close to three minutes. Her response time is still approximately thirty seconds.

She blew through five games before anyone knew what had happened, least of all that poor sap. One four-out-of-seven is already under her belt. She is about to win game six and the guy's hand is noticeably trembling. He's beaten, afraid, and embarrassed. Everyone in our camp begins to feel sorry for him. My sister the most. But she's only 13. He's almost nineteen, a senior, in a school for the gifted. After she handily wins game six, he quits the contest and exclaims "she is some sort of voodoo priestess!"

My niece laughs. "You mean Princess. Though I've never been accused of black magic before."

We've never seen anything like it. What a treat. This guy, at almost nineteen, has a chess rating of 2392. His father insisted on him playing my niece. We warned him, almost two years ago.

Oh, what a weekend. My niece elected to take the rest of a very nice day, riding her beloved horse.

Later that night, Duke beat Syracuse 73-54. Uh huh uh huh uh huh uh huh! Goooo ACC!

Then, at 10 PM on pay-per-view, Rhonda Rousey beat Cat Zingano in 14 seconds for the UFC Bantamweight championship. That's one-four seconds. Damn!

I paid sixty bucks for fourteen seconds! Phuck!

****** *

My niece was entertaining for most of the night. Giving Rubic's cube performances. Then Rubic's revenge, four-sided performances, lectures on the math involved, algorithms that allow you to perform the cube behind your back after getting one side.

She then alerted everyone to the upcoming pi day.
pi = 3.141592653...

3.14.15 9:26:53

March 14, 2015 @ 9:26:53. What will you all be doing during this once in a life time?



Well I read in the paper not to long ago when a woman gave birth to a child on 1/23/15 4:56am weight 7.88lbs.

123 456 78 and missed the 9
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Re: Honorverse favorite one-liners
Post by Yow   » Tue Mar 03, 2015 9:22 pm

Yow
Captain (Junior Grade)

Posts: 348
Joined: Mon Jan 06, 2014 3:32 pm
Location: North Carolina, United States

cthia wrote:Cauldron of Ghosts
The moment they brought out the BSC people posing as Manpower pleasure slaves, Tsang and her people would get distracted and let their guard down a little further.

Well what do you know, Trojan horses in the Honorverse. :lol:


****** *


Aside:
Hope you all don't mind my sharing. But I just have to!

What a weekend. My niece's recital was an extravaganza. As always.

Then the chess match of the decade. Tierney had been challenged by a master who is less than ten points from a Senior Master ranking. My niece hadn't played anyone on that particular level. My sister was a bit concerned as the buildup to this match had intensified over the last several weeks. A match that had taken almost a year and a half to arrange, as my niece is so busy and this guy lives in New York and attends a school for the gifted in Indiana.

First game, playing white, he managed to force a draw. Or perhaps I should say that my niece managed to force a draw, because this guy had taken a knight and two pawns free and clear. Then my niece lost her queen, but still managed a draw. Right away I'm thinking 'Uh oh, this guy is strong, my niece is in for it.'

Second game, my niece is now playing white. She wins a hard fought game, but barely. Although it isn't, she calls that game a draw as well, because although she mated the guy, his very next move would have resulted in a mate as well.

Tierney has always had a problem with these type wins and refers to them as either mutual draws resulting in a peace treaty or mutual cases of mass destruction. Someone suggested an alternate ending to the Battle of Manticore which offers up a victorious Havenite Navy and a surrendered Manticore before Honor could hyper in, resulting in Honor taking her forces directly to Haven and forcing an equal an opposite surrender. My niece argues that scenario to be "an impasse leading to a truce, or mutual destruction resulting from leaders with the IQ of a Byng or the mind conditioning of a Filareta."

So, my niece is now involved in a friendly(she thought) discussion with this guy, after the first technical win — trying to relegate this particular win to the "draw" category. All of my niece's cheerleaders are going "just shut up Tierney and accept the win!" Internally, I was too. I know her and what she was alluding to, regarding her feelings. I've played her enough and we've discussed the above alternate scenario.

The Turning Point
Tierney turns to me "You know how I feel about this Uncle. It isn't really a true win."

"You're crazy," says the guy.

"Perhaps you should just accept the win honey," pushes my sister. She thinks Tierney's in over her head and should just take any win she can get. I began to give it a try "Yes Princess, I know how you feel about this type of win but—"

"Yea, you should just listen to your daddy and take the win. You're not really a strong player and I just wasted my time coming all the way to North Carolina. You're not going to win another."

You could hear the proverbial pin drop after that remark. Even the kid's own parents were shocked at his attitude and rudeness. My sister's face showed concern for my niece's feelings whose face registered shock as well. Everyone was shocked to silence.

I was about to break the silence and offer my niece solace, but before I could, her Nimoy brow tried to launch itself. My niece raises a brow like Spock, but it goes up and down when she's startled, shocked, deeply thinking and angered. For the first time I liken it to Honor's nervous tick (in retrospect)... :lol:

Tierney altogether shocks everyone by bursting out into hysterical laughter. I mean, she couldn't stop herself. And that kind of laughter is catchy. We found ourselves laughing as well, though no one knew why. Except my sister wasn't much laughing. "Are you okay dear?" That only made her laugh harder, "No mom!" And more laughter.

Then the arrogant twit "Well, let's just leave dad. She's obviously lost it. She can't handle the pressure, and she's really not a good player at all."

"You just sit yourself right back down bucko. Not a good player? Ha! I'll have you know that I(and boy did she stress that I) could have been riding Glue Factory(her horse). I haven't seen or ridden my horse for almost two months and I wanted to visit with my Uncle and ride. Instead, I'm stuck inside wasting a snowless day here on the coast playing chess with the likes of you. I'm not a strong player??? The first game was a draw, but only because I wanted to see how you'd handle a grand left oblique not supported en appui. NOT VERY WELL! You should have won that game. You had overwhelming material advantage and position, but you blundered again by allowing me to sacrifice my Queen for much better position simultaneously pinning your bishop for the duration of the battle until she was lost.

"The second game, you opened up with a variation of my second favorite defense and my curiosity got the best of me. I wanted to see how well you'd handle yourself with a Queen's gambit. Guess what? NOT VERY! I could have beaten you easily. BOTH GAMES!"

The very silent pin-drop could be heard again. Everyone that knows my niece was shocked. She's so well mannered.

"We'll continue, from the beginning. Two four-out-of-seven falls as originally planned, but this time we'll eliminate the stupid clock."

My niece doesn't like speed chess. Actually she detests it. "It's like you have two opponents -- a stupid ticking clock, and if your opponent is stupid then there are two stupid sources vying for attention," she always says. Tierney just likes to be given a good game, and she says speed chess prevents a good game.

"Deal?"

"Clocks are to prevent novices from taking too long. I don't wish to be here all day," he says.

"Well I don't wish to be here at all and neither of us are weak enough to take that long. Are we?"

A challenge of a sort. And her brow shoots up to emphasize that point.

"Take her out Tommy," someone in his camp says.

"Are you sure you want to do this dear?," asks my sister. Still worried about her daughter, that this time she's in over her head. Tierney hasn't really had a serious defeat and sis worries how she'll accept it.

"Since I'm here mother, I may as well have myself some fun. But now, I'm not going to hold back, and it isn't going to be pretty!"

"Hold back? She was holding back?" All of my friends were stunned at that admission.

"I don't know. But if she says she was—"


My niece's older sister is grinning like a shark and rubbing her hands together. "Don't worry mom! Look at her. She's pissed. You do NOT want to piss Tierney off. (No you don't) This is going to be good."

A new round of four-out-of-seven commences, and even though there's no clock this guy is still moving as if there is. Nine complete moves into the game, and he finds himself in a world of hurt. He needs to castle but there are a few hazards. He recognizes his dilemma, and now it takes him about two minutes to move. My older niece is about to lose it, trying not to laugh. His camp is quieter than a mouse. He sacrifices a developed knight by allowing it to be pinned. My niece's next move puzzles all of us, but she doesn't seem to be too concerned as she passes up a bishop and a pawn.

His next move is simply an attempt to free himself because castling King side is no longer a viable option. In my niece's next move she anounces mate in three. Everyone is stunned, with the exception of my niece. The poor guy turns beat red but carries on. Game over. Mate.

The second game, he's playing white and is anxious to get on with it. He opens with pawn to Queen 4. Big mistake against her if you don't really know how to play that particular weaker opening against her favorite defense. Eleven moves into the game and he's already in a double fork check, threatening mate and threatening his Queen. His Queen is history. His moves are now averaging close to three minutes. Her response time is still approximately thirty seconds.

She blew through five games before anyone knew what had happened, least of all that poor sap. One four-out-of-seven is already under her belt. She is about to win game six and the guy's hand is noticeably trembling. He's beaten, afraid, and embarrassed. Everyone in our camp begins to feel sorry for him. My sister the most. But she's only 13. He's almost nineteen, a senior, in a school for the gifted. After she handily wins game six, he quits the contest and exclaims "she is some sort of voodoo priestess!"

My niece laughs. "You mean Princess. Though I've never been accused of black magic before."

We've never seen anything like it. What a treat. This guy, at almost nineteen, has a chess rating of 2392. His father insisted on him playing my niece. We warned him, almost two years ago.

Oh, what a weekend. My niece elected to take the rest of a very nice day, riding her beloved horse.

Later that night, Duke beat Syracuse 73-54. Uh huh uh huh uh huh uh huh! Goooo ACC!

Then, at 10 PM on pay-per-view, Rhonda Rousey beat Cat Zingano in 14 seconds for the UFC Bantamweight championship. That's one-four seconds. Damn!

I paid sixty bucks for fourteen seconds! Phuck!

****** *

My niece was entertaining for most of the night. Giving Rubic's cube performances. Then Rubic's revenge, four-sided performances, lectures on the math involved, algorithms that allow you to perform the cube behind your back after getting one side.

She then alerted everyone to the upcoming pi day.
pi = 3.141592653...

3.14.15 9:26:53

March 14, 2015 @ 9:26:53. What will you all be doing during this once in a life time?


#!!!!!!!!!!!&^

I'll be working for that piece of pie. :cry:

Cthia's father ~ "Son, do not cater to the common belief that a person has to earn respect. That is not true. You should give every person respect right from the start. What a person has to earn is your continued respect!"
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