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[Baffler]

On the other hand I don't think Isildur's men would be too appreciative of Elrond murdering him, which is likely what taking the ring would have required. Starting another devastating war against his ally in the previous devastating war immediately after it had been settled in their favor would have been far worse than letting Isildur walk out and getting control of it later through more peaceful means, like after his natural death.

[TD1]

It's a Bilbo/Gollum moment. It's something Tolkien likes showing - you could do the easy act and kill Gollum, saving yourself bother later, or do the right and merciful thing and let him live, paying the later price.

Like when Galadriel could have done the easy thing and taken the ring, but didn't, to only fade and go into the West. But she did the right thing.

In Tolkien's world, this type of action defines a person as good or bad. I would argue that it's inconceivable for Elrond to do it, as such an action would automatically label him evil. Presumably he knows this.

[MetalSlimeHunt]

It's not something Tolkein likes showing, because it didn't happen outside of the film.

Anyway, the real reason why not is that nobody knew the Ring's full potential. They knew it made Sauron powerful and had a connection to the dwarf and men rings, but that's all. In that sense, Isildur taking it for himself is concerning, but the idea that it would corrupt the wearer into Sauron's thrall and oh yeah guys also Sauron is still alive because the Ring makes him immortal was a complete unknown.

Nor would that become clear for quite a while. Even those in the know believed Sauron dead until the "Necromancer" started terrorizing the world and the few who were alive for the first war start putting the pieces together.

[TD1]

The film is an extension of Tolkien's elements. Perhaps saying "it's something that defines Middle Earth" would suit better for this purpose - but the point stands. In Lord of the Rings, mercy defines a person as good, no matter the collateral.

[scrdest]

Ok here is one I guess

Why are mercenaries maligned in fiction?

In terms of being an asset mercenaries were often much more skilled, knowledgeable, and often equipped than long standing armies.

This goes even further where some orders who were Mercenaries (Hello Knight Templars!) at least for a time are... sort of sanitized of that aspect.

They are often fairly traitorous with no real loyalty to anyone. Which I guess is because... as Mercenaries they have to play both sides after their contracts are up.

They are often quite criminal, basically acting more like Bandits who are being legitimized.

1) They are easier to vilify. There is no mercenary draft, nor a higher mercenary cause. If your mook is a fighter who is not a mercenary and you have your hero stab him in the face until he dies, your audience might wonder 'Hey, what if that guy was just some mostly innocent schmuck who got drafted by/owes fealty to/was brainwashed by the wrong side purely by an accident of history?'.

2) Even being on your side, they don't particularly care about your goals. At best, they will just peacefully fuck off when the money dries up. And since your side is clearly The Good One, that makes them Not So Good.

3) ...they were, historically, both traitorous and quite 'criminal'. The latter is, well, the norm of war for most of history even for non-mercs, the former because, well... if you paid some guys to fight for you and they are a significant part of your manpower, they might start to wonder if they wouldn't be better off fighting for themselves, doubly so if you stop paying them.

[itisnotlogical]

You could try re-fastening or re-mounting or re-whatevering the PSU. I had to replace my laptop's cooling fan because it was grinding against itself and not doing so good at the whole cooling thing. Most computers I've been around developed a quirky noise of their own so I wouldn't worry about it as long as it isn't overheating.

I think power supplies are not generally a good thing to try and repair yourself so if it's really bothering you might have to replace it. I don't know for fact though.

[Yoink]

The Social EXP thread- what does it mean?!   

[CABL]

Can a person without upper teeth pronounce "th" sound correctly? I can pronounce the sound myself (I have upper teeth), I'm just curious.

[itisnotlogical]

Throughout school, "All of the above" has always been the correct answer on multiple-choice questions whenever available. Is there some reason for that that I don't know about or is it just coincidence?

[Arx]

Can a person without upper teeth pronounce "th" sound correctly? I can pronounce the sound myself (I have upper teeth), I'm just curious.

I think so. I've met a guy without who seemed to be able to, but people here often speak with such thick accents that lisping is the least of your worries.

[MetalSlimeHunt]

I can make a "th" sound by sort of tensing my tongue and stressing the exhale without touching my teeth at all, so I'm guessing the answer is yes.

I don't have any missing teeth to try it, but you could probably also do "th" against the gumline as well.

[Tawa]

Throughout school, "All of the above" has always been the correct answer on multiple-choice questions whenever available. Is there some reason for that that I don't know about or is it just coincidence?

AFAIK, most teachers don't think to have "all of the above" as an answer when it's not the correct one, as it's a tiny bit unorthodox for a multiple-choice answer.

[Frumple]

Coincide to a fair extent, though. Lot of the MC tests I've taken over the years included all of the above answers that were just wrong. It's an alright way to catch people not paying attention, kinda' like slipping a "which of these isn't" into a series of "which of these is".

... that said, a lot of the folks that make MC tests are just kinda' bad at making MC tests that don't half answer themselves. So it's entirely possible to run into a bunch where they're samey. Just don't expect it to keep working, heh.

Totally just thought of a nice thing to do to a MC test, though. Have possible answers in one problem reference the answers in previous ones. Sprinkle a handful of all of the above through the test, and then have a question that has the combined answer set of two (or more) of 'em as the correct choice :3

[Yoink]

Yo, where my German speakers at?! Is "Scheißziegel" an actual word? Can I use it and make sense?

[Avis-Mergulus]

..."Shitbrick"? Why?
Standing by for Germans with explanations.