Phi for All

What if the creature had some kind of flammable bile or poison it could spit as a deterrent, effective simply because it's nasty? They could have found out that they can start cooking fires more easily with it. Then the species learned how to set it aflame as they breathe out. Over time it became a weapon for them, but they still have to ignite it somehow, maybe with a spark or flame device on a ring or bracelet.

! Moderator Note It doesn't to the people you're discussing this with, and they've told you so. Please, think of another way to explain this, and break up the communication log jam. And to all involved, thanks for the increased attention to civility.

Orange is. As in, "You may love your oranges, but you don't know what orange is."

Mobius strip. A way to use paper to create a surface with only one side and one boundary component.

A big part of the problem is that the technology to reduce electrical consumption (while still enjoying its benefits) costs money up front that should be viewed as an investment with a certain payback period. Energy efficient appliances and lighting should be viewed on a cost-to-own basis rather than on a cost-to-buy basis. LED lighting is currently extremely cheap to own, when you consider longer lifespan which means less maintenance costs, and less wattage to pay the utility company (or less load on an alternative energy source like solar or wind turbine). Once you already have your low-consumption lighting and appliances in place, getting off the grid for $1000 is going to be a matter of location, imo. The best way to set up a really effective alternative power source is to pool the resources of several homes in a neighborhood. Individual home power generation is always going to be more expensive than a cooperative venture among a community segment. As DevilSolution mentions, it will cost the individual home less if you can get most of the town to dilute the costs.

Actually fitting in is boring. Standing out in a crowd, fighting to fit in but never quite making it, learning a new culture without losing your old one, these things are interesting. They make a better story. You should tilt it the other way, and make fitting in to Canadian society be really difficult, even with Canada's multicultural stance. Like maybe she's deathly allergic to maple syrup, or Tim Horton's doughnuts are like her kryptonite.

Why is being on the Canadian team so important that you have to change her? Could it be that the Canadians need more diversity in their group and that's why she's more valuable to them? This sounds like a great way to get some character conflict going, that she wants to fit in more with the Canadians but always ends up sticking out like a sore thumb. Why would this make a difference to the character? How does it help her to blend in? Why is blending in important? You could put her in an Armani suit and she's still going to stick out with that skin color and that tail. Do the breasts have a lactation function? If so, she would be more closely aligned with our monotremes. They lay eggs but also breastfeed their young. You might check out their habits to give you a clue about this alien's lifestyle. If her breasts are for forming the yolk, are we to assume she is carrying an egg? Would a non-pregnant female have those deposits? When did she mate? Was it before she got frozen? Do the markings vary from creature to creature in her species, like fingerprints? I have some trouble with the way she's dressed. Is she wearing the top to emulate the Canadians covering their own breasts? Also, the loincloth is a very functional, simple design but I don't think it would be natural for a creature with a tail like that. The back panel seems superfluous. Is she a warrior? Perhaps some kind of breastplate or scaled armor that extends to cover the genitals and back would be more natural for her race and still give you the coverup necessary for your viewers.

Apparently some work has been done with dragonflies and hyperoxia. Most spiders, however, seem to be locked into a certain size limitation by how quickly the tracheal system expands as the body expands. They get to a point where they're too big to breathe properly, or rather the trachea can't keep up with the rest of the body.

! Moderator Note Let's also keep replies focused on mainstream explanations. This is not in the proper section to start questioning QM.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aircraft_Nuclear_Propulsion Problematic, apparently.

I think they should have an enormous space-based solar array. The array powers the roads somehow? or maybe charged universal vehicle fuel cells are available to swap for depleted ones.

! Moderator Note Let's focus on the ideas and not the people who have them, to keep things civil.

Spider lungs aren't like human lungs, and a lot of them can breathe through their skin, but I would bet they need the same mixture of nitrogen/oxygen that we do, having evolved together. Too much pure oxygen in humans would cause a fluid buildup in the lungs, slowing the flow across the alveoli and making it even harder to breathe. But atmospheric pressure is a factor as well, and that may allow spiders to breathe a high oxygen mixture for longer periods of time than a normal human. Is that what you're asking, or are you talking about pumping in regular air just to increase pressure on the spider?

Males get erections several times a night during sleep. They coincide with REM sleep, iirc. A morning erection just means you recently finished a REM cycle, dreaming most likely. Of sex, most likely. It's also the body's way of testing the equipment in a non-sexual way, letting a bit of flow through the pumps, as it were.

! Moderator Note Let's discuss this in a different thread if you like, but not in this one.

! Moderator Note Please STOP cutting and pasting the work of others as your own with no citation given. Last warning.

! Moderator Note As long as the discussions are viable, civil and have enough to keep posters interested, threads remain open. The only reason other threads were locked is because they had no direction AND you claimed you were leaving. This one can be locked for those reasons, but not all the threads you've created are like this. ! Moderator Note Agreed, and it's also against the rules. Please stop doing this.

! Moderator Note Since the OP has left the discussion, it can be assumed there will be no further rebuttals. Thread closed.

! Moderator Note Please try to always include your own words in an opening post as this often sets the direction and tone of the thread.

! Moderator Note Please give a direction for this discussion so responses are meaningful to your topic. And as mentioned, a link and a small excerpt relevant to the discussion is preferable to so much cut and paste.

! Moderator Note Done. Sorry about the change.

! Moderator Note I can change the spelling in the title back, if you prefer. I was unaware of the multiple versions. Also, for everyone, let's focus on the arguments to keep the discussion from being personal.

! Moderator Note Winner of the Ironic Misspelling of the Week Award.

! Moderator Note Just a reminder to keep attacks focused on the argument and not the people involved, please.

Come on, as has been pointed out several times, there's a difference between not being enforced and being unenforceable. There's also a difference between abolishing the drinking age to set up a tots-for-tots situation and having laws in place that just don't get enforced when they don't cause a problem. Trust me, the laws do get enforced when suddenly one of these vulnerable vandals doesn't "seem to be coping" and ends up harming people or property. Promoting laws that lend flexibility to law enforcement is quite different from removing such laws in all cases. My first comment in this thread was a call for better education, and that's not always going to come from the home environment. I believe kids in the US who take drivers education courses are informed about the dangers of drink driving, and most kids get the drug talks in school as well, but I'm not sure they ever get the information about how alcohol affects them differently than an adult, and they really should. In addition to enforcement and support from home, of course. That's where it should have a firm grounding. But in case there is alcohol abuse in the home, and knowing misery loves company, another source of education seems appropriate. Except in this case the medical reasons for not allowing adolescents to drink alcohol are still as relevant as they've always been. And with modern technology, I think societal reasons for enforcing existing laws are making it more imperative to keep abuse to a minimum. I think you're distorting the position by pointing to normal, acceptable behavior while drinking and at the same time arguing against laws that try to prevent uncorrectable and often fatal mistakes by an inexperienced sector of the populace that are now eligible to drive vehicles that multiply their destructive capabilities by at least an order of magnitude. If you're not arguing for removing the laws as the OP suggests, then I apologize, but it seems like you're leaning that way. Or perhaps you've had a few and that's what's making you lean.