Hello all,
I'm sorry to butt in, but I was reading this thread earlier tonight, and it wound up raising a number of questions.
Before I address those questions, however, allow me to provide some background: In preparation for reading this thread, I poured myself a beer, a locally brewed west-coast IPA, and selected a can of Salt and Vinegar flavored Pringles, which I find accompany a beer quite nicely. I have also found something salty and fried often helps me avoid nausia, which I anticipated of this thread, so I believed I had chosen well in preparation for reading this.
However, approximately half way through my beer and this thread, and exactly 13 Pringles into the can, I discovered, nestled between two of the chips, a shiny, near mint, 2013 Lincoln penny! Imagine my surprise upon discovering a penny in my Pringles! It didn't seem possible for it to be there -- a penny resting nicely between two nesting hyperbolic paraboloid potato chips. And yet, there was the gleaming profile of old Abe almost smirking at me from inside my snack can, as if to say "funny seeing me here, isn't it?"
Flabbergasted at the discovery, I hollered to my wife in the other room, "Honey, come here an check this out!", turning roughly 45-degrees and swinging my arm outward, in order to project my voice past the den door and into the front of the house. This motion resulted in hitting my pint glass with my forearm, causing it to wobble precariously, like some ale-filled top for what seemed like an eternity, until it finally came to rest, right side up, without spilling a drop. It seems the glass being only half full (I generally take an optimists view towards beer) and bottom heavy kept the glass from toppling over.
The serendipity of the event wasn't lost on me, for only moments before discovering the penny, I had considered finishing my beer and going for a refill -- I had several pages of this thread yet to read and was thinking I may need the extra fortitude to go on. But, for some reason, call it fate, I somehow resisted the urge to down the last half-pint of my beer in exasperation at the thread and take a break for a refill. Had the glass been full upon my discovery of the penny in my Pringles, my resulting gesture would surely have caused some significant spillage, wasting a fine IPA, potentially damaging one or more of my peripheral devices, and casting a further pall upon this thread.
As it was, this swirl of circumstances left my head spinning; to my left a paradoxical situation whereupon a full pint of beer would have been a bad thing, in front of me a grueling train-wreck of an AH forum thread, and in my right hand, a penny-marred can of salt and vinegar Pringles.
This leads me to my questions:
1) What if I had been engaged in one of these 2v2 duels while I suddenly discovered a penny in my Pringles? Would I be allowed to bow out due to a Force Majeure incident? Could I refight the duel if sufficient proof, such as film said incident, were provided? Shouldn't a Force Majeure rule exist for 2v2 dueling?
2) I imagine "the community" would agree that spilling of any beer, let alone a craft-brewed west coast IPA, constitutes Force Majeure as well, no? To avoid issues, such as using "I spilled my beer" as a post-duel excuse, should we agree in the rules that all beer glasses only be filled half-way, so as to make this a reliable and consistent factor for all participants?
3) More importantly, what should I do with the remaining Pringles in my can?! Remove the penny and eat them without worry? Discard them immediately? Take a photograph as evidence and return them to the market in order to request replacement?
4) What type of flavored Pringles (or any snack food, if not a fan of Pringles) do you think best accompanies fighting 2v2 duels? Do you think any particular beverage or snack food may provide an unfair advantage to a duelist? If so, should this be ruled upon?
5) What do you think I should do with the penny? Return it with the Pringles to the market? Put it in my change dish as I would any ordinary penny? Frame and mount it above my monitor to remind me to remain light-hearted about all gaming things such as Aces High?
I sincerely hope these questions don't lead to further strife and argument on the forums, but your input on these pressing issues would be very much appreciated.
<S>
Ryno
