Random Rozie musings
Jan. 30th, 2019 08:55 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
general_radixMay include stuff rephrased (consciously or no) from me poor defunct tumblog. (Aside: apparently they've gone and messed with the dashboard appearance again...)
* As I've mentioned before, Vince has a lot of old tech and storage media on hand for reference purposes; most of it's kept in at least one room close to his workstation, and it ranges from stuff that's mildly out of date from his perspective to ancient relics like Zip and Jaz drives, floppies of all inches, and other assorted gubbins that almost nothing on the Rozinante can interface with.
Durandal called it junk once, and got sat down for several hours as Vince explained, in great detail, the history behind each and every bit of retro tat in his collection, and how it was still useful to know about how these things work. It involved many terms that zipped right over Durandal's head, leading to him trying to figure out how to admit that he couldn't follow Vince without actually doing so.
And thus, Durandal learned not to call things 'junk', and Vince learned the futility of teaching Durandal about massively old tech.
* Speaking of old tech: in keeping with the "cassette futurism" vibe I want Inmortalitas to have, I like to think that VCRs and VHS tapes make a comeback at some point; the picture/sound quality aren't the best, but VCRs will record stuff no matter how hard the broadcast networks try to thwart it. Not yet sure how much stuff Vince recorded on Mars, but either way, he brought that habit to the Rozie. Like the stuff above, Durandal doesn't completely get it and thinks it's really clunky and a sub-par way to record things...but he does admit that it's a good security measure against the Pfhor, who don't have VCRs.
* Perhaps in an effort to "get it", Durandal resolves to actually use some of this old tech himself. Not any of Vince's because it might break, but next time they stop at one of the larger outer colonies, Durandal finds a place that has access to Teletext and spends a few hours reading the news.
* In keeping with the VHS thing mentioned above, there's a lot of analog stuff knocking around Inm.; it's not uncommon to see landline phones on ships, for example (though unlike the Rozie, most of them aren't corded). The simple reason for it (in-universe) is that it's harder to wear out/break.
* Joyeuse is the only non-S'pht Rozie with any musical talent beyond "sometimes writes lyrics that aren't embarrassing"; she has at least two guitars (one acoustic, one electric) and a tube amp she put together herself. Her dads and aunts all enjoy her music...it's just that her quarters are where everyone else's are, and those guitars get loud.
* One of the many radio stations of the Jovian Republic invite the Rozies to sit in the DJ booth for a few nights and discuss their adventures and whatnot. Only 10% of said adventures are suitable for even a late-night audience and they have to resort to other topics often (ex. Lysander's encyclopedic knowledge of weaponry and its components, then his experience as mission control when the complaints come rolling in from the police dept.).
* After Siofra the android cat is brought on board, Vince learns to check his bed to make sure no mischievous furballs are camping in it. He's had to take a vacuum to his mattress more than once.
* At least one of the Rozies develops the habit of wandering around the ship in the dead of night when most non-vital things (mostly lights) have been shut off. That Rozie is not Charlie, because not-100%-familiar spaces + pitch-darkness = sitting on the floor in mild terror until someone comes to get him; it can be traced back to his Salinger days when sometimes the lights would get shut off on him while he was trying to leave Dangi's half of the station.
* As expected of a medical professional, Lovelace quickly became pals with the medic S'pht; this had the less-pleasant side effect of one medic rattling off horrific surgical procedures they'd learned from her to Durandal one day.
* As I've mentioned before, Vince has a lot of old tech and storage media on hand for reference purposes; most of it's kept in at least one room close to his workstation, and it ranges from stuff that's mildly out of date from his perspective to ancient relics like Zip and Jaz drives, floppies of all inches, and other assorted gubbins that almost nothing on the Rozinante can interface with.
Durandal called it junk once, and got sat down for several hours as Vince explained, in great detail, the history behind each and every bit of retro tat in his collection, and how it was still useful to know about how these things work. It involved many terms that zipped right over Durandal's head, leading to him trying to figure out how to admit that he couldn't follow Vince without actually doing so.
And thus, Durandal learned not to call things 'junk', and Vince learned the futility of teaching Durandal about massively old tech.
* Speaking of old tech: in keeping with the "cassette futurism" vibe I want Inmortalitas to have, I like to think that VCRs and VHS tapes make a comeback at some point; the picture/sound quality aren't the best, but VCRs will record stuff no matter how hard the broadcast networks try to thwart it. Not yet sure how much stuff Vince recorded on Mars, but either way, he brought that habit to the Rozie. Like the stuff above, Durandal doesn't completely get it and thinks it's really clunky and a sub-par way to record things...but he does admit that it's a good security measure against the Pfhor, who don't have VCRs.
* Perhaps in an effort to "get it", Durandal resolves to actually use some of this old tech himself. Not any of Vince's because it might break, but next time they stop at one of the larger outer colonies, Durandal finds a place that has access to Teletext and spends a few hours reading the news.
* In keeping with the VHS thing mentioned above, there's a lot of analog stuff knocking around Inm.; it's not uncommon to see landline phones on ships, for example (though unlike the Rozie, most of them aren't corded). The simple reason for it (in-universe) is that it's harder to wear out/break.
* Joyeuse is the only non-S'pht Rozie with any musical talent beyond "sometimes writes lyrics that aren't embarrassing"; she has at least two guitars (one acoustic, one electric) and a tube amp she put together herself. Her dads and aunts all enjoy her music...it's just that her quarters are where everyone else's are, and those guitars get loud.
* One of the many radio stations of the Jovian Republic invite the Rozies to sit in the DJ booth for a few nights and discuss their adventures and whatnot. Only 10% of said adventures are suitable for even a late-night audience and they have to resort to other topics often (ex. Lysander's encyclopedic knowledge of weaponry and its components, then his experience as mission control when the complaints come rolling in from the police dept.).
* After Siofra the android cat is brought on board, Vince learns to check his bed to make sure no mischievous furballs are camping in it. He's had to take a vacuum to his mattress more than once.
* At least one of the Rozies develops the habit of wandering around the ship in the dead of night when most non-vital things (mostly lights) have been shut off. That Rozie is not Charlie, because not-100%-familiar spaces + pitch-darkness = sitting on the floor in mild terror until someone comes to get him; it can be traced back to his Salinger days when sometimes the lights would get shut off on him while he was trying to leave Dangi's half of the station.
* As expected of a medical professional, Lovelace quickly became pals with the medic S'pht; this had the less-pleasant side effect of one medic rattling off horrific surgical procedures they'd learned from her to Durandal one day.
no subject
Date: 2019-02-01 03:51 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2019-02-01 12:23 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2019-02-02 08:10 pm (UTC)A mark of military technology, I guess? Technology that's still in use from years and decades sometimes is still there because it's tested and dependable and much less vulnerable than newer things and could be easily repaired/jury-rigged/patched with minimal technology knowledge. Also, survival bias :D
(Hoping they will avoid any Y2K bug situation in the future, however... and storage is another big question mark: magnetic storage like cassettes and floppies and such have a worrying rate of decay; optical ones like CDs and such can fail too, especially the consumer quality.)
no subject
Date: 2019-02-02 10:13 pm (UTC)I'll bet Vince transfers a lot of stuff to digital, given the problem of magnetic cohesion not lasting forever. XD; Which naturally prompts Durandal to ask why he doesn't just record straight to digital; cue broadcast network DRM or something.
no subject
Date: 2019-02-03 05:44 am (UTC)I find it amusing that android cats still shed their fur everywhere! So typical. I bet Vince lodged a few complaints. ^_^
Late night strolls through the ship are probably a common event due to how dangerous their missions are and how traumatic they can be.
Sadly I see a lot of sleepless nights because of nightmares. Also there will be moments where if someone is sharing a bed with a soldier (AKA Vince) and they have a nightmare, it's important that their partner gets away in case the soldier lashes out in his sleep.
no subject
Date: 2019-02-03 01:50 pm (UTC)Everywhere Siofra goes on warm/humid days, a trail of fur follows. XD
That is a concern, I guess; I don't see Vince as physically lashing out like that, but Haller might (good thing he sleeps alone?); he couldn't be on the front lines that often, but Haller's seen some nasty stuff, and wasn't really given help for it...