Fiction and Fan-fiction Writing Resource Center

[Ragnarok]

Thank you all!

BBCcode seems to be having a tizzy trying to deal with multiple spoilers- attempting to separate one set results in a 'message body is empty' error, so everything is under one huge spoiler now. Sorry.
EDITED AGAIN:
Fixed. Guess a spoiler ending got lost or something.

EDIT:
Would it be impudent to ask if this thread could be stickied so it remains useful and accessible between fanfics?

[Athena]

I recently found this site, from the National Land Survey of Iceland, with all sorts of maps and stuff, including maps for municipalities/districts. Plus most of it is in english! Might be useful for someone.

[Abprallen]

I may be able to help a little if anyone has any questions about forensic and csi work, and some of the legal stuff surrounding it.

[Róisín]

Luth, Abprallen: both of those sound really useful.

[Lazy8]

You know what's really a pain, is trying to search for information on Thor (the actual mythological figure), and constantly getting back a bucketload of Marvel stuff. I'd just like to know what weapons he's known for using other than Mjölnir - not even special weapons with names, just types of weapons in general. So is anyone here better-versed in Norse mythology than I am?

[LooNEY_DAC]

You know what's really a pain, is trying to search for information on Thor (the actual mythological figure), and constantly getting back a bucketload of Marvel stuff. I'd just like to know what weapons he's known for using other than Mjölnir - not even special weapons with names, just types of weapons in general. So is anyone here better-versed in Norse mythology than I am?

Yes and no; I would suggest that you go to Laufey's Tumblr and ask, as she responds with more alacrity there.

[Róisín]

Isn't there some search function you can use for that? I know there is one on Google that lets you do searches while adding a minus sign followed by the stuff you don't want to know about? As, for example, if you want to know about Wales, the country, but don't want to drown in conspiracy sites, you can type in Wales + country -Princess -Diana and get a far more sensible result. So you could enter, say, 'Thor' -Chris -Hemsworth' +folklore + weapons. And hope to get a sensible result. Also, Thor is depicted in the old stories as having a knife and a sword, shield and helmet, and of course lightning.

But ask Laufey, she will likely know more.

[Lazy8]

Oh yeah, I have been using the -Marvel tag. The problem is that that's giving me stuff like top ten lists of weapons of the Æsir in general, when no, take a hint, I'm looking for information on Thor in particular. (Handy as search engines are, some resources are simply irreplaceable it seems...) And aha, even knowing about the presence of a sword helps! Thanks! Laufey's Tumblr also sounds worth a look; I'll keep it in mind.

[Róisín]

She also has a Saga thread on the forum.

[JoB]

Oh yeah, I have been using the -Marvel tag. The problem is that that's giving me stuff like top ten lists of weapons of the Æsir in general, when no, take a hint, I'm looking for information on Thor in particular.

Well, a bit of Wikipedia surfin' suggests that among Thors possessions are the gloves Járngreipr (indispensable accessory to be able to use Mjölnir), the belt Megingjörð (a magic item said to double his bodily strength), and the staff Gríðarvölr (also a magic item).

I'ld hope that those names are sufficiently unique to de-Marvel your next Google spree.

[Róisín]

Indeed, I had forgotten the gloves, belt and staff! I suppose they count as weapons.

[Ragnarok]

Got a question for anyone knowledgeable about ancient military history:

How did formations like pike blocks (a la the Swiss) drill and practice without inflicting losses on themselves or their 'opponents'? I mean, even with a blunt tip a pike would still skewer 'enemy' horses...to say nothing of the damage crossbows or other weapons could inflict. Did they just consider a few people maimed and crippled acceptable losses, or did they drill in other ways?

[LooNEY_DAC]

Got a question for anyone knowledgeable about ancient military history:

How did formations like pike blocks (a la the Swiss) drill and practice without inflicting losses on themselves or their 'opponents'? I mean, even with a blunt tip a pike would still skewer 'enemy' horses...to say nothing of the damage crossbows or other weapons could inflict. Did they just consider a few people maimed and crippled acceptable losses, or did they drill in other ways?

Drill has never been anything other than practicing the movements; AFAIK, no one practiced against an opponent until the introduction of "war games" in the 19th Century. Drill is designed to make performing the movements unconscious/instinctual, as the terror engendered by battle strongly inhibits rational thought. Read Clausewitz' "On War" for more info.

[Iceea]

Got a question for anyone knowledgeable about ancient military history:

How did formations like pike blocks (a la the Swiss) drill and practice without inflicting losses on themselves or their 'opponents'? I mean, even with a blunt tip a pike would still skewer 'enemy' horses...to say nothing of the damage crossbows or other weapons could inflict. Did they just consider a few people maimed and crippled acceptable losses, or did they drill in other ways?

Ragnarok, This is more of an answer to one of your Dec  04 2016 questions. Nova on PBS (hmm, or maybe it was Secrets of the Dead) recently, last fall, did a show on the effectiveness of plate armor vs early firearms. It was a very interesting program. It seems that the pointed pot bellied look of late plate armor was done to help deflect the bullet.

As to military practice, as LooNEY_DAC points out it was not done against opponents. It was done to ingrain the proper responses into the soldiers or sailors brain so they could  function in the heat of battle. I still remember the General Quarters call that happened right after reveille one morning when I was on the ship out at sea. You could almost hear the collective groan from all the berthing spaces, who's dumb idea is it have a drill now!#^%*. The words that followed right after the standard GQ call were "THIS IS NOT A DRILL", put quite a bit more responsiveness into everyone's movements. No big deal, a small trash fire in a storage space. Probably from someone smoking...
But yes you just do what you are trained to do without thinking about it. At one duty station there was an extremely obnoxious alarm on the wall right outside my room. When it went off in the middle of the night I would often wake up as I was pulling my pants on 

[RanVor]

So, is this the place to go to when I need help with Japanese translation for my fanfics?