Author Topic: Zeppelins or Talking dogs  (Read 18100 times)

JonCayen

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on: June 08, 2008, 02:36:52 AM
Episode 10 of Podcastle brought up the question "what would you do if you could do 1 thing with magic?" While that is too big of a poll to do, it made me wonder which i would prefer a Zeppelin or a talking dog?



Windup

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Reply #1 on: June 08, 2008, 03:29:14 AM

I loathe and despise commercial air travel, but I end up doing quite a bit of it.   With my very own Zeppelin, however -- no schedule, no TSA, no seat whapping me in the knees, no rubber food or any of the other irritations that make "flying steerage" such an annoying experience. 

On the other hand, I have no idea what I'd do with a talking dog.

"My whole job is in the space between 'should be' and 'is.' It's a big space."


zZzacha

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Reply #2 on: June 08, 2008, 10:39:43 AM
Hey, I'm the first to vote 'Talking dog'... Nobody wants a talking dog?
Me, I don't even like dogs, but I'd love to hear what they think. Although they'd probably only say things like "WOOOOHOOOOO!!!! I'm a dog!!! I can lick myself! I love to jump! I'm so happy! Yeah, a ball! Hi, look at me, here I am, I'm here for you, great master!!!! And I love it!!!! Woohoo!!"

I would be interested in what my 3 cats have to say. Or maybe there are things better left unknown...

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stePH

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Reply #3 on: June 08, 2008, 01:47:26 PM
Hey, I'm the first to vote 'Talking dog'... Nobody wants a talking dog?

Well, I might ask a talking dog why he licks his nuts, but the answer to that is already common knowledge.  So I voted zeppelins.

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eytanz

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Reply #4 on: June 08, 2008, 03:02:46 PM
Why would I want a talking dog? I've never really had much trouble figuring out what my dogs were trying to tell me.

Now, a zeppelin would be useful, because I'm not allowed to have pets where I live anyway, but if I got a zeppelin, I could just keep a dog in it.

So I guess what I'm saying is - can anyone get me a dog that knows how to pilot zeppelins?



Windup

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Reply #5 on: June 08, 2008, 04:07:18 PM
Why would I want a talking dog? I've never really had much trouble figuring out what my dogs were trying to tell me.

Now, a zeppelin would be useful, because I'm not allowed to have pets where I live anyway, but if I got a zeppelin, I could just keep a dog in it.

So I guess what I'm saying is - can anyone get me a dog that knows how to pilot zeppelins?


I think there's a short story in that last sentence, struggling to get out...  :D

"My whole job is in the space between 'should be' and 'is.' It's a big space."


Chodon

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Reply #6 on: June 08, 2008, 05:22:46 PM
Can the talking dog be my dog?  She's smart enough that if she could speak I'm sure she could teach me some cool tricks.

If it's not my dog that talks to me then I'm totally voting zeppelin.

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Tango Alpha Delta

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Reply #7 on: June 08, 2008, 08:39:42 PM
Yeah, gotta go with Zeppelins... unless there's a "Law of Conservation of Conversation" that says every dog who starts speaking means one less human can speak.

How much lift would I need to lift myself and a decent sound system?  Oh, and the pedaling mechanism to run the drive fan.... hmmm.  I'm sure I'd be shot down by F-16s on my way to work, but it would be an awesome commute.  :)

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Darwinist

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Reply #8 on: June 09, 2008, 04:31:27 PM
I voted Zeppelin.  It would be cool flying all over the place.  If my dogs could talk they would never shut up.  They would constantly be harrassing me to take them on walks, give them treats.   

For me, it is far better to grasp the Universe as it really is than to persist in delusion, however satisfying and reassuring.    -  Carl Sagan


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Reply #9 on: June 09, 2008, 06:50:35 PM
Zeppelin! WIN!

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birdless

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Reply #10 on: June 09, 2008, 09:43:03 PM
It was tough, but i had to go with zeppelin, too. I feel like i can understand my dog pretty clearly without her having to speak English.



Ocicat

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Reply #11 on: June 10, 2008, 04:41:44 AM

Me, I don't even like dogs, but I'd love to hear what they think. Although they'd probably only say things like "WOOOOHOOOOO!!!! I'm a dog!!! I can lick myself! I love to jump! I'm so happy! Yeah, a ball! Hi, look at me, here I am, I'm here for you, great master!!!! And I love it!!!! Woohoo!!"

That's pretty much the result of the Dexter's Lab episode referenced in the story.  He found a dog and let it into his lab.  It kept bringing him to a particular machine and barking like crazy.  Wanting to know what was up, Dexter invented a machine to allow the dog to talk.  It said "Look!  It's the thing!  The thing!  Here it is!  It's the thing!"



DarkKnightJRK

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Reply #12 on: June 10, 2008, 05:11:11 AM
Zeppelin--unless the talking dog had a slightly more human personality, ala Brian in Family Guy, then I would take the dog and then steal the zeppelin.



Listener

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Reply #13 on: June 10, 2008, 01:44:02 PM

I loathe and despise commercial air travel, but I end up doing quite a bit of it.   With my very own Zeppelin, however -- no schedule, no TSA, no seat whapping me in the knees, no rubber food or any of the other irritations that make "flying steerage" such an annoying experience. 

On the other hand, I have no idea what I'd do with a talking dog.

For a great alternate-history view of what might have happened had Zeppelins been the primary mode of air travel, check out "The Two Georges" by Richard Dreyfuss and Harry Turtledove.  It's a great book except for the Gary-Stu main character, and it remains one of my favorites.

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lowky

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Reply #14 on: June 11, 2008, 02:17:53 AM
I too went Zepplin, dogs are simplistic enough that I don't think we need them talking.  If you want a more complex talking dog read "Heart of a Dog" by Mikhail Bulgakov


Ocicat

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Reply #15 on: June 11, 2008, 03:10:44 AM
In the thread for the "Magic in a Certain Slant of Light" episode, some folks asked for stories with Zeppelins and talking dogs in them.  Don't know any - but how about a story with lots of Zeppelins and a talking cat?



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« Last Edit: June 11, 2008, 04:38:18 PM by Ocicat »



zZzacha

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Reply #16 on: June 11, 2008, 06:57:49 AM
Most seem to go for the zeppelin then. I'd never go in a zeppelin. The image of the flaming ball is way too vivid for me. I remember that day so well...

I wonder who those four anonymous (because I was the fifth) talking-dog-voters are. Maybe someone let their dog on the Escape Artists forum again?!? Watch it, or I'm gonna bring my cats.


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Rachel Swirsky

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Reply #17 on: June 11, 2008, 07:45:53 AM
I wanted talking dogs. ;-)

Here's my favorite talking dog story -- http://www.kijjohnson.com/evolution.html



Chodon

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Reply #18 on: June 11, 2008, 11:26:21 AM
I ended up voting talking dogs.  I think my dog would be a fantasitc conversationalist.  Also, I'm pretty sure I could teach her calculus if she could understand a little English.

Those who would sacrifice liberty for safety deserve neither.


Darwinist

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Reply #19 on: June 11, 2008, 01:33:53 PM
I wanted talking dogs. ;-)

Here's my favorite talking dog story -- http://www.kijjohnson.com/evolution.html

Another great talking dog story:  City by Clifford Simak

For me, it is far better to grasp the Universe as it really is than to persist in delusion, however satisfying and reassuring.    -  Carl Sagan


Russell Nash

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Reply #20 on: June 12, 2008, 10:27:18 AM
Dogs just see too much of what happens in the house.  Plus with their sharp hearing and sense of smell, nothing is hidden from them.  They carry too many details* to let them go blabbing around.

* Not details like where the bodies are buried, but details like if you eat ice cream at 2AM or how often the parents get it on after the kids are asleep.



deflective

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Reply #21 on: June 12, 2008, 09:20:28 PM
i'm gonna go be that guy and point out that, marketed right, a talking dog could produce enough revenue to buy a zeppelin



oddpod

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Reply #22 on: June 14, 2008, 05:52:31 PM
buying a zeplin isant the oanly problem , you nead a team of zeplin rangelers to land the things and how are you going to aford the upkeap! helium can get exspenseve when you have to by it buy the
football pitch cubed

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Darwinist

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Reply #23 on: June 14, 2008, 08:04:31 PM
buying a zeplin isant the oanly problem , you nead a team of zeplin rangelers to land the things and how are you going to aford the upkeap! helium can get exspenseve when you have to by it buy the
football pitch cubed

Hell, we could make mucho $ by charging for rides around the countryside.   How many wranglers do I need?  I have a wife and two kids - would that do it?

For me, it is far better to grasp the Universe as it really is than to persist in delusion, however satisfying and reassuring.    -  Carl Sagan


Windup

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Reply #24 on: June 14, 2008, 10:02:29 PM

buying a zeplin isant the oanly problem , you nead a team of zeplin rangelers to land the things and how are you going to aford the upkeap! helium can get exspenseve when you have to by it buy the
football pitch cubed


I guess I assumed that "having a zepplin" included "having all the stuff to support a zepplin" as well.  I should probably read the fine print on the offer carefully...  :D

"My whole job is in the space between 'should be' and 'is.' It's a big space."


Bdoomed

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Reply #25 on: June 17, 2008, 05:07:56 AM
you could soooo pick up chicks with a talking dog... actually a zeppelin too... hmm.

I'd like to hear my options, so I could weigh them, what do you say?
Five pounds?  Six pounds? Seven pounds?


Russell Nash

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Reply #26 on: June 17, 2008, 09:18:43 AM
you could soooo pick up chicks with a talking dog... actually a zeppelin too... hmm.

The dog doesn't have to talk.  When we got a dog, cute girls would just come up and start talking to me everywhere I went.  I kept asking my wife why I didn't buy a Eurasian when I was 17.




deflective

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Reply #27 on: June 17, 2008, 10:36:36 AM
the internets tell me that samoyeds are best for the chicks.






Russell Nash

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Reply #28 on: June 17, 2008, 02:14:10 PM
Eurasians are a cross-breed of Samoyed, Keeshond (formerly known as a Wolfspitz), and Chow chow.  Three fluffy dogs rolled into one.



That cute face had me surrounded by cute girls constantly.  All of them asking what breed she is. 



wintermute

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Reply #29 on: June 18, 2008, 07:49:48 PM
Most seem to go for the zeppelin then. I'd never go in a zeppelin. The image of the flaming ball is way too vivid for me. I remember that day so well...
What if the zeppelin in question wasn't filled with hydrogen, but some non-flammable lighter-than-air gas, like helium? You know, the stuff they've used to lift dirigibles and blimps ever since... well, since that day.

Science means that not all dreams can come true