In A Dire Market, One Country Still Cares (Little Upsilon)

Just wanted to let you guys know that if a natural disaster hits, send a message to The Stormholdian Thalassocracy, and we'll send Relief Resources with haste, no strings attached. Because Stormholdians care.

I got a boo boo on my finger today. I would love some relief but prefer if I could get it WITH strings attached.

Good job! Curious: I know about a lot of different "ocracies", what exactly is a "Thalass"ocracy?

I might learn something new today. Scary thought. :P

No strings attached hey? are you a girl? can I go out with you? lol

Rep: A Thalassocracy means "Rule of the Sea". Think countries like Carthage, Athenian Empire, etc.

Lol My countries are communist, comrade.

Hey Vlad, you have a country I had a looong time ago. Just thought to let you know.

I do?

<---- king of relief aid

Yes, you do. Pretty strategic war location actually.

Thats why I chose it. I have a big buffer zone on all sides.

And close Ocean, that an important part IMO.

Yeah. I've already got nuclear subs.

I made it onto the relief suppliers' list, but then it was taken down.

meh.

Poison Sonata,

Thanks for the edification. I DID learn something! Couple more examples would be the Phoenicians and Vikings.

You have to admire the courage of those ancient countries, building seafaring empires with the tech knowledge they had available, and the lack of navigational aids we take for granted.

Indeed. Are you a fellow history buff?

I am indeed. My collegiate career was spent pursuing a Hitory/Political Science curriculum. In the "real" world not the most financially rewarding choices to make! :D

Being American, my knowledge naturally is greater in American history (but not limited to U.S. history, pretty familiar with the native cultures' history also).

But my interest in history knows no limitations. Unless we understand where we've been, and how we got here, we'll never be capable of moving forward.

To quote a famous person: "Those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it."

Did you ever wonder how our basic tech advances came about? Example, what was going through the mind of the first guy to look at iron ore and what made him say "if I throw this into a really hot fire I bet I could make a sword out of it?"

I'd probably never make the connection. A rock's a rock, right? <

Most discoveries/advances are made by accident aren't they?

Yes, they are. Many times an inventor/scientist is looking for something quite different when they make a breakthrough discovery.

It's also strange how often these accidental discoveries are made at relatively the same time in different parts of the globe.

My ponderings are more of the way back, stone age, bronze age type. How do you accidentally smelt iron ore to turn it into useful tools/weapons? For that matter, how did anyone think "hmm, if I take coal and iron together, I can make steel"?

Alchemy was the birth of many an example of the things you mention Rep. Ancient chemists seeking the elusive power to create gold and other mysterious wonders from natures building blocks. We're still at it now, though a bit more technically, with experiments such as the large hadron collider.

Aye, Crafty, alchemy was really the forerunner of modern chemistry. Just as astrology was the forerunner of modern astronomy.

Both of those areas of study are held in disdain today, but they advanced man's knowledge of his surroundings.

And who is to say that, on some molecular level, one couldn't tweak a proton or neutron and actually convert one substance to another?

And with astrology I saw an article a few years back that presented an interesting theory. To my mind not enogh data to support it, but interesting nonetheless.

It held that the universe is filled with "pockets" of various gases, which the Solar system moves through,causing unusual effects on Earth. It also held that comets also bring these rare gases on their regular trips.

The thing that intrigued me was the theory showed how the visitations by a specific comet (forget which one) was always accompanied by extreme social

You CAN convert certain metals into pure gold if you use nuclear fusion.

See? The alchemists weren't so dumb after all!

How did your latest war turn out?

Almost finished. Killed his entire defense, including supply units, land defense divisions, and most garrisons. Now, its not even a war anymore; its a slaughter.

BTW, newest to join the USSR, is Latvian SSR. It's open for business.