Stupid Question About Superman And Ford Prefect....
Okami One And Only
Krypton orbits another red star.
Ford Prefect from Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy was born on a planet
orbiting betelguese.
Superman was born on Krypton.
Superman has superpowers because he was born under a the Kryptonian red
sun and came to earth, which has a yellow one, and the difference gives
him powers.
Ford Prefect was born under the Betelguesian red sun, and came to earth
which has a yellow sun.
Now, here's what I don' get....why hasn't Ford Prefect got
superpowers?!
(I told you it was a stupid question.)
Gusty
And Only spoke forth:
>(I told you it was a stupid question.)
Because.
--
D.
"The Sphynx of the Caverns is the deadliest of all.
It possesses the head of a snake,
the body of a snake
and the feet of a snake."
Kaare Fiedler Christiansen
<snip explanation about how Superman got his super powers (which I
actually didn't know before)>
> Now, here's what I don' get....why hasn't Ford Prefect got
> superpowers?!
Who says he hasn't?
Best
Kåre
Omicron Machine
When I was least expecting it, Kaare Fiedler Christiansen wrote:
> <snip bit about how Kaare didn't know how Superman got his powers, which I didn't know anyone didn't know.>
> Who says he hasn't?
>
> Best
> Kåre
I'd think that if Ford had super-powers, he'd really be the type to
abuse them at every possible oppratunity. Like to impress of intimidate
people into giving him free drinks.
Lee K. Seitz
Okami One And Only <shapeshif...@gmail.com> wrote:
[snip]
>Superman has superpowers because he was born under a the Kryptonian red
>sun and came to earth, which has a yellow one, and the difference gives
>him powers.
>
>Ford Prefect was born under the Betelguesian red sun, and came to earth
>which has a yellow sun.
>
>Now, here's what I don' get....why hasn't Ford Prefect got
>superpowers?!
Because Superman is a Kryptonian and Ford is a, er, Betelguesian. The
red suns, which desipte that one similarity are still far from
identical, are merely one factor in the rise of life on the two
planets. You also have to factor in size of the sun, age of the sun,
energy output of the sun, spectra of the sun, distance of the planet
from the sun, gravity, atmospheric composition, land composition, sea
composition (if present), period of rotation, direction of roatation,
length of solar revolution, degree of planetary tilt, proximity of
closest improbability field, average temperature, limits of seasonal
extremes, amount of rainfall, average cloud cover, average number of
visits by parties from advanced extra-planetary civilizations,
attitudes on evolutionary/social interference by members of said
parties, maximum wind speed, position of continents (if any), size of
continents, arrangement of continents, plans for hyperspace bypasses
in the area, amount of pollution, evolutionary advancement of each
species at the time Kal-el and Ford Prefect left their respective
planets, length of each being's trip, amount of radiation shielding on
each's vessel, method of propulsion, number of years living on Earth,
and the price of tea on the Galactic Exchange. (It would take to long
to explain that last one. Just trust me, okay?)
You owe the Oracle a Kryptonite towel. Oh wait, this is my
newsreader, not my e-mail client. Never mind.
--
lkseitz (Lee K. Seitz) .at. hiwaay @dot@ net
"Courage without conscience is a wild beast."
-- Robert G. Ingersoll
Omicron Machine
When I was least expecting it, Lee K. Seitz wrote:
> and the price of tea on the Galactic Exchange. (It would take to long
> to explain that last one. Just trust me, okay?)
Well, there is the whole "inter-connectedness of all things"...and
Chaos Theory....a butterfly flaps it's wings in Central Park, it rains
in Singapore. You eat a jellybaby, you're responsible for the untimely
demise of a silkworm.
But according to the Superman lore, none of those things are treated as
relevant (with the possible exception if the price of tea on the
Galactic Exchange). It is the sheer fact, independant of all other, of
the colour of Earth's and Krypton's suns.
Omicron Machine
Kenny Hutchings wrote:
> In article <11q3fv3...@corp.supernews.com>, lks...@see.my.sig
> says...
> <snip>
> It's funny, I was just reading that and thinking "am I in the wrong
> froup or is the w**dch*ck question coming in some original form here?"..
>
> K.
Why is that starred out? I love that word. It was featured in one of
the first full sentences I ever spoke.
Lee K. Seitz
Omicron Machine <shapeshif...@gmail.com> wrote:
>
>Kenny Hutchings wrote:
>> It's funny, I was just reading that and thinking "am I in the wrong
>> froup or is the w**dch*ck question coming in some original form here?"..
>Why is that starred out? I love that word. It was featured in one of
>the first full sentences I ever spoke.
The Internet Oracle despises w**dch*cks. For the reasons, see any and
all of these:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internet_Oracle#Style
(Second bullet of the "Style" section.)
http://cgi.cs.indiana.edu/~oracle/digest.cgi?N=996#996-07
(Look for "What's the problem with woodchucks?" in the answer (in
blue).)
http://www.henriettesherbal.com/rhod/info.html#II.2
And, of course, there's the Internet Oracle's home page, but you won't
find any w**dch*ck references there, of course. Except in the
Oracularity Digest Archives.
http://cgi.cs.indiana.edu/~oracle
--
lkseitz (Lee K. Seitz) .at. hiwaay @dot@ net
Get the answers to all your questions.
Learn about the Internet Oracle.
http://cgi.cs.indiana.edu/~oracle/
Lee K. Seitz
Omicron Machine <shapeshif...@gmail.com> wrote:
>
>When I was least expecting it, Lee K. Seitz wrote:
>
>> and the price of tea on the Galactic Exchange. (It would take to long
>> to explain that last one. Just trust me, okay?)
>But according to the Superman lore, none of those things are treated as
>relevant (with the possible exception if the price of tea on the
>Galactic Exchange). It is the sheer fact, independant of all other, of
>the colour of Earth's and Krypton's suns.
Insert this as the third sentence of my reply and perhaps you will
gain enlightenment:
Just because life arose on both worlds does not mean their
evolutionary paths followed the same routes or that the organisms from
each are biochemically similar.
--
lkseitz (Lee K. Seitz) .at. hiwaay @dot@ net
"In eradicating an evil, it makes a difference whether it is uprooted
or rooted up. The difference is in the reformer."
-- Ambrose Bierce, _A Cynic Looks at Life_
Gaz
Is it because they're both fictional characters invented by 2 different
people who probably didn't get the chance to discuss continuity of such
things?
--
Gaz
Rasmus Bøg Hansen
Afterwards the following was on the screen:
> In article <1134763055.2...@g44g2000cwa.googlegroups.com>,
> Omicron Machine <shapeshif...@gmail.com> wrote:
>>
>>Kenny Hutchings wrote:
>>> It's funny, I was just reading that and thinking "am I in the wrong
>>> froup or is the w**dch*ck question coming in some original form here?"..
>
>>Why is that starred out? I love that word. It was featured in one of
>>the first full sentences I ever spoke.
>
> The Internet Oracle despises w**dch*cks. For the reasons, see any and
> all of these:
>
> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internet_Oracle#Style
> (Second bullet of the "Style" section.)
Somehow I miss a reference to Monkey Island...
Though, thinking again there probably shouldn't be :-)
--
-- [ Rasmus "Møffe" Bøg Hansen ] ---------------------------------------
42.3454% of statistics are completely made up
- Matt Benneke
----------------------------------------------[ moffe at zz9 dot dk ] --
leftno...@gmail.com
Ford is not said to be from Betelguese, or even from a planet orbiting
Betelguese. He is, "From a small planet somewhere in the vicinity of
Betelguese."
Second:
Kryton is described as having a red sun, but the reason for this is not
given. The creators of Superman were unfamiliar with the helium-burning
properties of red giants, so that's likely not the reason.
Okami One And Only wrote:
LeoPetr
> superpowers?!
Ford does not have superpowers because, even though he was born on
Betelgeuse Seven just like Superman, he went to Betelgeuse Five instead
of Earth after the Great Collapsing Hrung disaster. Betelgeuse Five,
being so close to the mighty star of Betelgeuse, is swamped by a
constant stream of loose ions and other solar wind debris that has
sterilized Ford of all superpowers before he started hitchhiking.
Also, unlike Superman's Kryptonese parents, Ford's were immigrant
Praxibetel who had come to settle on Betelgeuse Seven. The physiology is
slightly different.
--
Leo Petr - http://LPetr.org/
import java.lang.Disclaimer;
Tian
I think the deciding factor was the gravity of the planet.
Superman grew up on a planet with much more mass than Ford Prefect.
--
Tian
Wednesday I installed my new radioSHARK. This thing allows me
to listen to FM and AM stations on my computer. I'm now using
one less large electronic device. I qualify the statement
because I had to get a $32.42 USB expansion port to plug it into.
http://tian.greens.org
Tian
> When I was least expecting it, Lee K. Seitz wrote:
>
>
>>and the price of tea on the Galactic Exchange. (It would take to long
>>to explain that last one. Just trust me, okay?)
>
>
> Well, there is the whole "inter-connectedness of all things"...and
> Chaos Theory....a butterfly flaps it's wings in Central Park, it rains
> in Singapore. You eat a jellybaby, you're responsible for the untimely
> demise of a silkworm.
>
I eat a fair trade chocolate with "FREEDOM AND JUSTICE" stamped into it.
Magnus Pedersen
It's great :-D
/Magnus
--
"Ford, you're turning into a penguin. Stop it."
Douglas N. Adams (1952-2001)
Gaz / Aaron C
<some snippage may occur. YMMV>
> I think the deciding factor was the gravity of the planet.
> Superman grew up on a planet with much more mass than Ford Prefect.
>
than Ford Prefect. Then again, I'm sure that there are asteroids,
meteors, etc...
Yes, it was intentionally misread.
--
Gaz the First
Wishing everybody a Happy Solstice Celebration of Their Choosing (SCoTC)
Dave Adalian
news:sMqdnQKh8oD...@comcast.com...
> Tian wrote:
> <some snippage may occur. YMMV>
>> I think the deciding factor was the gravity of the planet.
>> Superman grew up on a planet with much more mass than Ford Prefect.
>>
> I can't think of any planets, real or fictional, which have less mass than
> Ford Prefect. Then again, I'm sure that there are asteroids, meteors,
> etc...
>
> Yes, it was intentionally misread.
>
Since "planet" means "wanderer," technically Ford is a planet.
-- Dave
http://starry-starry-nights.blogspot.com/
Rasmus Bøg Hansen
Afterwards the following was on the screen:
> "Gaz / Aaron C" <aa...@acwpd.com> wrote in message
Ah yes, if it doesn't need to be in orbit, Ford Prefect would be a
planet then.
Is there some definition on what is needed to be a planet in the
astronomical sense? I remember a lot of discussion whether the
trans-neptunian objects (Pluto and farther) really are planets...
--
-- [ Rasmus "Møffe" Bøg Hansen ] ---------------------------------------
A computer without Windows is like a chocolate cake without mustard.
Omicron Machine
I heard talk a while back about a planet out past pluto on the verge of
being officially recognised as a planet. They were going to call it
Xena, and it's moon Gabriel. I'm aware people have been on the verge of
calling it things before, but that was the first time since I read
Mostly Harmless. Now, no matter what else happens, any planet past
pluto is in my eyes known as Rupert.
Dave Adalian
news:87y81w2...@grignard.amagerkollegiet.dk...
> "Dave Adalian" <dpalta AT comcast.net> hit the keyboard.
> Afterwards the following was on the screen:
>
>> "Gaz / Aaron C" <aa...@acwpd.com> wrote in message
>> news:sMqdnQKh8oD...@comcast.com...
>>> Tian wrote:
>>> <some snippage may occur. YMMV>
>>>> I think the deciding factor was the gravity of the planet.
>>>> Superman grew up on a planet with much more mass than Ford Prefect.
>>>>
>>> I can't think of any planets, real or fictional, which have less mass
>>> than
>>> Ford Prefect. Then again, I'm sure that there are asteroids, meteors,
>>> etc...
>>>
>>> Yes, it was intentionally misread.
>>>
>>
>> Since "planet" means "wanderer," technically Ford is a planet.
>
> Ah yes, if it doesn't need to be in orbit, Ford Prefect would be a
> planet then.
>
> Is there some definition on what is needed to be a planet in the
> astronomical sense? I remember a lot of discussion whether the
> trans-neptunian objects (Pluto and farther) really are planets...
>
There is no generally agreed upon definition of a planet. There are even
some planets (well, they might be planets, we're not sure; they may be
failed suns) that don't orbit anything at all--they're just kind of out
there on their own, wandering. That's what all the fuss with Pluto is
about. Since there's no definition of planet no one can say with any
authority whether it is or isn't one. Pluto's in the area of Kuiper Belt
and doesn't orbit in the same plane as the other eight planets. It also
seems to be made of the same stuff as the rest of the trans-Neptunian
objects, but there's a certain attachment to Sol having nine planets, so the
arguing continues. The new KBO (Kuiper Belt Object) they've discovered is
even bigger than Pluto, so if Pluto's a planet then this new thing surely
is, and as such will be named after a Roman god. Xena is what the guy who
discovered it and his buddies were calling it as an in-joke that escaped
confinement. He already has a name picked, so if it is a planet (according
to the International Astronomical Union) it won't be Xena. (I think it
should be Rupert.) If it's just a big comet it will probably be named after
a creation myth god, like Sedna or that other unpronouncably named KBO which
I can't remember the name of right now.
-- Dave
http://starry-starry-nights.blogspot.com/
Rasmus Bøg Hansen
I think afda mostly agreed on calling it Rupert. Or perhaps that was
#afda... I think I'm too lazy to search google groups - after all we
have a living index...
--
-- [ Rasmus "Møffe" Bøg Hansen ] ---------------------------------------
Ah, they've got the internet on computers now.
Kaare Fiedler Christiansen
<snip>
> I think afda mostly agreed on calling it Rupert. Or perhaps that was
> #afda... I think I'm too lazy to search google groups - after all we
> have a living index...
True enough: 'twas on the froup! Did it ever really get named that thing?
Best
Kåre
Rasmus Bøg Hansen
Afterwards the following was on the screen:
> Rasmus Bøg Hansen wrote:
I think the thing was lost in discussions and when a decision was
taken, the media had lost interest...
I think, though, that Pluto was decided to stay a planet as it has
been so classified for many years (1936) but all the other Kuiper
objects won't be classified as planets due to the small size and
highly irregular orbits.
So if Rupert never got called Rupert I think we should just decide to
call it Rupert ;-)
--
-- [ Rasmus "Møffe" Bøg Hansen ] ---------------------------------------
Military Justice is to Justice, what Military Music is to Music.
-- Groucho Marx
Tian
> Kaare Fiedler Christiansen <ne...@kaarefc.dk> hit the keyboard.
> Afterwards the following was on the screen:
>
>
>>Rasmus Bøg Hansen wrote:
>>
>><snip>
>>
>>>I think afda mostly agreed on calling it Rupert. Or perhaps that was
>>>#afda... I think I'm too lazy to search google groups - after all we
>>>have a living index...
>>
>>True enough: 'twas on the froup! Did it ever really get named that thing?
>
>
> I think the thing was lost in discussions and when a decision was
> taken, the media had lost interest...
>
> I think, though, that Pluto was decided to stay a planet as it has
> been so classified for many years (1936) but all the other Kuiper
> objects won't be classified as planets due to the small size and
> highly irregular orbits.
>
> So if Rupert never got called Rupert I think we should just decide to
> call it Rupert ;-)
>
some object in the sky and ask "Do you think that might be Rupert?"
--
Tian
This evening I collected signatures at the San Mateo County
Green Party Meeting, where the speaker was Sanda Everet. I've
now gathered about 58 of the 150 signatures I need to get on
the California Green Party ballot as a Candidate for US Senator.
http://tian.greens.org