The way I learned it, the blade isn't turned to have the cutting edge toward you at all. In response to an overhead strike, the cutting edge is turned to the right by rotating the wrists, then the curve of the back of the blade is used to either guide the other sword down to the tsuba (hand guard), or to flip the other blade clear to the left side, placing your own blade back in a high neutral position for a follow up strike, The cutting edge is never more than 45 to 90 degrees off line from that of an attack. This was called "dashing"

The first iai-do cut I learned was a level horizontal cut to the abdomen with a left crossing step followed by a a hard strike to the back of the opposing blade with the back of your own (while untwisting your feet) to clear the way to take one or both hands off at the wrist. It wasn't the least bit awkward. The first strike itself is made with one hand on the sword, and coming across the body like a right handed batter swinging from a left stance.

I was taught that in a pinch, a direct block with the bottom 1/3 of the blade was acceptable since most of the cuts were made with the remaining 2/3 anyway.

Back on topic, I saw 1408 this weekend, so I thought I'd add a classic. Air vents that are big enough, and strong enough to crawl through.

Also, whenever someone needs wiring for anything, the can pop off a light fixture and pull out about 50 extra feet of the stuff.

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A Nerd can figure out how long it will take the original Enterprise traveling at warp 6.5 to travel from Regulus to Antares.
A Geek with think he can use that to pick up a girl in a bar.
A Dork knows he can't pick up the girl with it, but will hang around for hours anyway, just in case she asks.
She might. You never know.

Nothing ever breaks or fails once it reaches 100% capacity or tolerance or whatever. It can always exceed its maximum limit in an emergancy. And no one ever recalibrates their figures afterwards so they will actually know how much their systems can handle.

(This supports my theory that in Star Trek the Enterprise itself takes steps to ensure the meatbag crew doesn't damage it and sets the tolerances much lower than they actually are.)

Medieval James Bond to Q

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A person's name, or a mark representing it, as signed personally or by deputy, as in subscribing a letter or other document.

Of course, it's an engineering safety factor, much like Scotty's estimates of how long a repair/refit/upgrade/juryrig will take.

For the Enterprise, it's usually about 5 (*10³).

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A person's name, or a mark representing it, as signed personally or by deputy, as in subscribing a letter or other document.

Just to annoyingly go back to the topic of swords, my friend Nigel has trained with one and because he is big and strong he can use a heavier sword than most people and apparently he can gain an advantage by whacking an oponent's sword in a way that threatens to damage it. This puts his opponents at a disadvantage because they have to struggle to protect not only themselves but also their weapon. I realize this is not the same as cutting a sword with a sword, but I imagine this tactic could have resulted in a lot of broken swords in actual historical use.

Even more than that, TNG had Scotty telling Jordie to forget the manual because he was the one that wrote it. "Don't worry, they'll hold"

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Numbers are not case sensitive. (me)

Why biogenics "not real"?I suppose that every weapon that kills people but damage properly very slightly is "biogenic" in ST jargon.
Real world examples - neutron bomb, salted bomb, biological weapons.

The word biogenic literally just means originating in a biological source. Bee stings, snake venom, and the common cold are all biogenic. In ST it was used incorrectly to refer to a planet-threatening variety of illegal weapon.

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"If this were play'd upon a stage now, I could condemn it as an improbable fiction."
Shakespeare, Twelfth Night
Illuminati's Razor-The most complicatedly evil answer is usually the most correct answer. - Fazor
"Every book is a children's book if the kid can read." - Mitch Hedberg
"Distance doesn’t matter much in space, where if you just start a thing off with the right kind of shove, sooner or later it will get where you want it to go." -Frederik Pohl, Mining the Oort

Another cliche:

Automobile engines are always hard to start when the good-guy is pursued by [bad-guy | monster | alien | fierce animal | etc.].

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"All natural, huh? So is lightning." - Mike Rowe

How do you know that in ST it wasn't used correctly to refer to a planet-threatening variety of illegal weapon originating in a biological source?

The "nuclear" in "nuclear weapons," after all, is somewhat more specific than the general definition of "nuclear."

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SeanF

"Ask to understand, but don't challenge unless you have the knowledge."--NEOWatcher

The contents of this post are ©2008 by SeanF and may not be copied or retransmitted in any form without the express written consent of SeanF

*Nitpick* Who Mourns For Adonais.

__________________
"If this were play'd upon a stage now, I could condemn it as an improbable fiction."
Shakespeare, Twelfth Night
Illuminati's Razor-The most complicatedly evil answer is usually the most correct answer. - Fazor
"Every book is a children's book if the kid can read." - Mitch Hedberg
"Distance doesn’t matter much in space, where if you just start a thing off with the right kind of shove, sooner or later it will get where you want it to go." -Frederik Pohl, Mining the Oort

In DS9 and Voyager, Biogeneic is used several times to refer to weapons based on their effect, not their origin. IIRC on DS9 they referred more than once to components used to "construct" biogenic materials.

__________________
"If this were play'd upon a stage now, I could condemn it as an improbable fiction."
Shakespeare, Twelfth Night
Illuminati's Razor-The most complicatedly evil answer is usually the most correct answer. - Fazor
"Every book is a children's book if the kid can read." - Mitch Hedberg
"Distance doesn’t matter much in space, where if you just start a thing off with the right kind of shove, sooner or later it will get where you want it to go." -Frederik Pohl, Mining the Oort

People who are tied or taped up can get out of their bonds. Just who ties and/or tapes these people up, morons?

The hero or villain that knocks the other to the ground, throws them into a shelf filled with glassware and they fall over, it falls on them, etc. etc. etc. and the hero or villain doesn't go over to make sure they're really dead. How lazy do you have to be to not just walk over and take a peak? If they're knocked out but still breathing, crack their neck or hit them with a pipe (they're conveniently located in all dark concrete buildings, along with steel and plastic barrels).

Damsels in distress.

The obligatory showing that good-guy military personnel didn't die due to the actions of the hero. (see Hulk and the newest Die Hard for examples)

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If we don't play god, who will?-James Watson
I never think of the future, it comes soon enough.-Albert Einstein
The large print giveth and the small print taketh away.-Tom Waits

It seems like kids are used a lot as plot devices to turn around cranky or distant characters and make them happier, "warmer", more open and emotionally demonstrative or friendlier... or as stage props to demonstrate how sweet and lovable a character is if you (or another character) hadn't already been told that yet. Fortunately, I don't often watch the kinds of movies that this is done in.

People who can't unlock their car when being chased by a bad guy, scabbling away at the lock.
I haven't used a key to open a car door for about 15 years!

'beep beep' 'flash flash'

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'The eye can only see what the mind is prepared to accept'

I could see where this might get on the nerves of someone who is cold, cranky, and distant.

Yes, well, I have. I've never not used a key to open a car door, except inasmuch as I don't bother locking the sort of car I'm able to afford, when I'm able to afford a car.

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Gillian

"Now everyone was giving her that kind of look UFOlogists get when they suddenly say, 'Hey, if you shade your eyes you can see it is just a flock of geese after all.'"

"You can't erase icing."

"I can't believe it doesn't work! I found it on the internet, man!"

Going back to the G.I. Joe cartoons of the 80s, where no one ever got killed. Yo, Joe!

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"If this were play'd upon a stage now, I could condemn it as an improbable fiction."
Shakespeare, Twelfth Night
Illuminati's Razor-The most complicatedly evil answer is usually the most correct answer. - Fazor
"Every book is a children's book if the kid can read." - Mitch Hedberg
"Distance doesn’t matter much in space, where if you just start a thing off with the right kind of shove, sooner or later it will get where you want it to go." -Frederik Pohl, Mining the Oort

Well, you know, "Don't get killed" is clearly the other half of the battle.

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Gillian

"Now everyone was giving her that kind of look UFOlogists get when they suddenly say, 'Hey, if you shade your eyes you can see it is just a flock of geese after all.'"

"You can't erase icing."

"I can't believe it doesn't work! I found it on the internet, man!"