Things you often Wonder

[HongKongVillan]

I've been watching a lot of western movies lately, and I'm just in the dollar trilogy at the moment. Often in gun fights, person A will asked his partner in crime, "cover me", so person A can move swiftly to a different location without being shot at.

 

But what exactly is the partner supposed to do as "covering"? Keep shooting random shots at enemies, or accurate shots at the moment sensing Person A might just be shot at? If the former is correct, why bother asking for covering surely that's what gun fights are about, you just keep shooting at enemies until running out of ammo or defeating enemies?

 

Just one more, seems like saying "cover me" gives you that immunity. I cannot recall anyone saying " cover me" will end up dead while they hop across a gun fight.

Edited January 6 by HongKongVillan

[Mark Albrighton]

30 minutes ago, HongKongVillan said:

I've been watching a lot of western movies lately, and I'm just in the dollar trilogy at the moment. Often in gun fights, person A will asked his partner in crime, "cover me", so person A can move swiftly to a different location without being shot at.

 

But what exactly is the partner supposed to do as "covering"? Keep shooting random shots at enemies, or accurate shots at the moment sensing Person A might just be shot at? If the former is correct, why bother asking for covering surely that's what gun fights are about, you just keep shooting at enemies until running out of ammo or defeating enemies?

 

Just one more, seems like saying "cover me" gives you that immunity. I cannot recall anyone saying " cover me" will end up dead while they hop across a gun fight.

Yeah it’s often essentially short hand for “I’m now going to go from Point A to Point B. As such I will be unable to do much in the way of shooting. As such you will need to take on the lion’s share of the shooting. It would benefit both of us if your shooting enabled me to achieve my immediate goal.”

I think the idea is you keep shooting. Ideally you hit an enemy, but also the hope being the consistent and perhaps erratic firing might reduce the number of return shots.

I don’t know if you’ve got there yet but there’s a fairly memorable “cover me” scene in Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid which showcases it and the difficulty in covering someone.

[mjmooney]

1 hour ago, HongKongVillan said:

But what exactly is the partner supposed to do as "covering"? Keep shooting random shots at enemies, or accurate shots at the moment sensing Person A might just be shot at? If the former is correct, why bother asking for covering surely that's what gun fights are about, you just keep shooting at enemies until running out of ammo or defeating enemies?

Quote

Suppressive fire usually achieves its effect by threatening casualties to individuals who expose themselves to it, forcing them to inactivity and ineffectiveness by keeping their heads down, 'or else take a bullet'. Willingness to expose themselves varies depending on the morale, motivation and leadership of the target troops. Suppressive fire is often used as covering fire, defined by NATO as "Fire used to protect troops when they are within range of enemy small arms." 

Wikipedia

 

[chrisp65]

The reality is you need to assess whether you are being portrayed as the good guy in a shoot out scenario.

Should you be the good guy, no amount of bad guy machine gun fire from close range will ever hit its target (you), and so the ‘cover me’ request to a partner is redundant. Your partner could crack on finishing knitting that scarf and the result will be the same. There will be a hail of bullets from weaponry of all sizes all making metallic ping sounds as it some how rick o’shea’s off trees and mud all around you. All missing, except perhaps for one bullet which may cause no serious injury but sufficient a flesh would that you have heroic blood on you (often only realising later that you’ve lost a kidney or been shot through the head).

With this maelstrom of inconsistent poorly orchestrated hot metal all around you will manage to get off a single shot as you forward roll to take cover behind something ridiculously flimsy, a picket fence maybe, or someone’s washing on a line. Your one shot however, dispatched whilst upside down and facing the other way, well that one shot has gone down the barrel of the enemy tank, detonating a live shell and taking out 15 of their incompetent bad guys.

This causes sufficient death on the side of the baddies for the main baddy to decide to retreat, to melt away, but not before staring at you from a vantage point where they clearly could have just **** shot you. But they don’t shoot you, they swear vengeance will happen in the final quarter of the film, and then they retreat.

 

[sidcow]

7 minutes ago, chrisp65 said:

The reality is you need to assess whether you are being portrayed as the good guy in a shoot out scenario.

Should you be the good guy, no amount of bad guy machine gun fire from close range will ever hit its target (you), and so the ‘cover me’ request to a partner is redundant. Your partner could crack on finishing knitting that scarf and the result will be the same. There will be a hail of bullets from weaponry of all sizes all making metallic ping sounds as it some how rick o’shea’s off trees and mud all around you. All missing, except perhaps for one bullet which may cause no serious injury but sufficient a flesh would that you have heroic blood on you (often only realising later that you’ve lost a kidney or been shot through the head).

With this maelstrom of inconsistent poorly orchestrated hot metal all around you will manage to get off a single shot as you forward roll to take cover behind something ridiculously flimsy, a picket fence maybe, or someone’s washing on a line. Your one shot however, dispatched whilst upside down and facing the other way, well that one shot has gone down the barrel of the enemy tank, detonating a live shell and taking out 15 of their incompetent bad guys.

This causes sufficient death on the side of the baddies for the main baddy to decide to retreat, to melt away, but not before staring at you from a vantage point where they clearly could have just **** shot you. But they don’t shoot you, they swear vengeance will happen in the final quarter of the film, and then they retreat.

 

Also see baddies not just killing a hero within their grasp but leaving them to a extremely uncertain death as they make their escape.

[chrisp65]

I’ve watched a lot of films over Christmas. Most, including critically acclaimed ones, are implausible shit. I offer as evidence:

Die Hard

Aliens

 

basically, they both rely on the baddies are bad, and goodies are good magic, which is lazy and presumes the audience are **** idiots

Why is the blood no longer acid in an alien? First film, ‘hell of a defence you dare not kill it’ as it burns a hole through three metal decks. Aliens: mass shoot out with alien flesh flying everywhere from a dozen exploding aliens. But now you can wipe alien goo off your forehead like sweaty marmalade. 

Die Hard, I have prodded all this duct to try to find him, all except this one last six foot long section, but I’ve just heard the kettle click in another room, so I’ll not bother searching this last piece of duct. Also, I appear to have brought guns that can destroy walls but not shoot through an upturned **** chipboard desk. I’ll make a note to bring actual bullets if we face this scenario ever again. 

[sidcow]

A brilliant illustration of baddies being unable to kill goodies is Star Wars. 

After an attack on a Jawa vehicle Obi Wan surmises the attack was carried out by stormtroopers saying the blast points were too accurate for Sandpeople and only Imperial Stormtroopers are so precise. 

Yet for the rest of the movies Stormtroopers seem incapable of hitting a barn door even from a few feet away.  

Edited January 6 by sidcow

[Xela]

Just now, sidcow said:

A brilliant illustration of baddies being unable to kill goodies is Star Wars. 

After an attack on a Jawa vehicle Obi Wan surmises the attack was carried out by stormtroopers saying tge blast points were too accurate for Sandpeople and only Imperial Stormtroopers are so precise. 

Yet for the rest of the movies Stormtroopers seem incapable of hitting a barn door even from a few feet away.  

What about the elite stormtroopers being beaten by raccoons with catapults and pebbles in return of the jedi?! 

[Rds1983]

2 hours ago, Xela said:

What about the elite stormtroopers being beaten by raccoons with catapults and pebbles in return of the jedi?! 

Raccoons who then eat the stormtroopers. 

[lapal_fan]

I wonder if any of the fallen VTers' family/friends come on here, just to read the posts as a sort of.. comfort blanket? 

And if any of mine would do the same, or if it would just be left, unread.   Because many of us in OT have thousands of posts, which is a pretty personal insight into things.  It's almost like we've written our own memoirs in some cases. 

I mean, all of my friends and family know I'm an annoying swine, but occasionally I'll drop a banger of a post, where I don't think I've ever been asked those questions/opinions before - like "do I wipe my arse sitting or standing?".

I imagine my children would feel comforted to read I sit. 

[sidcow]

34 minutes ago, lapal_fan said:

 

I imagine my children would feel comforted to read I sit. 

I imagine they'd be horrified 

[Davkaus]

I think that your imaginary wife and kids will stop having thoughts and feelings when you do  

[tonyh29]

1 hour ago, lapal_fan said:

I wonder if any of the fallen VTers' family/friends come on here, just to read the posts as a sort of.. comfort blanket? 

And if any of mine would do the same, or if it would just be left, unread.   Because many of us in OT have thousands of posts, which is a pretty personal insight into things.  It's almost like we've written our own memoirs in some cases. 

I mean, all of my friends and family know I'm an annoying swine, but occasionally I'll drop a banger of a post, where I don't think I've ever been asked those questions/opinions before - like "do I wipe my arse sitting or standing?".

I imagine my children would feel comforted to read I sit. 

I'm hoping that @limpid  has a kill switch for the fallen that erases all your posts  ..if not @blandy  tidying up some threads is the next best thing  

[Wainy316]

On 06/01/2024 at 10:23, chrisp65 said:

Why is the blood no longer acid in an alien? First film, ‘hell of a defence you dare not kill it’ as it burns a hole through three metal decks. Aliens: mass shoot out with alien flesh flying everywhere from a dozen exploding aliens. But now you can wipe alien goo off your forehead like sweaty marmalade. 

Tell that to Drake...

 

Edited January 8 by Wainy316

[rjw63]

I wonder why the transfer thread in on-topic is so busy.

I know forums are for discussion but the transfer thread is 99% full of bollox with people talking in circles

[choffer]

2 hours ago, lapal_fan said:

I wonder if any of the fallen VTers' family/friends come on here, just to read the posts as a sort of.. comfort blanket? 

And if any of mine would do the same, or if it would just be left, unread.   Because many of us in OT have thousands of posts, which is a pretty personal insight into things.  It's almost like we've written our own memoirs in some cases. 

I mean, all of my friends and family know I'm an annoying swine, but occasionally I'll drop a banger of a post, where I don't think I've ever been asked those questions/opinions before - like "do I wipe my arse sitting or standing?".

I imagine my children would feel comforted to read I sit. 

I suspect my missus already reads everything I post (Hi KT ). She's even started calling it Villa Chat to throw me off the scent. 

[limpid]

42 minutes ago, tonyh29 said:

I'm hoping that @limpid  has a kill switch for the fallen that erases all your posts  ..if not @blandy  tidying up some threads is the next best thing  

Even if I did, I've no way of knowing that something happened and can't delete all the copies that ChatGPT et al have guzzled.

[sidcow]

53 minutes ago, rjw63 said:

 the transfer thread is 99% full of bollox with people talking in circles

So very much like off topic then

[blandy]

2 hours ago, tonyh29 said:

if not @blandy  tidying up some threads is the next best thing  

Oh bugger. He’s recovered 

[Follyfoot]

On 06/01/2024 at 08:32, HongKongVillan said:

I've been watching a lot of western movies lately, and I'm just in the dollar trilogy at the moment. Often in gun fights, person A will asked his partner in crime, "cover me", so person A can move swiftly to a different location without being shot at.

 

But what exactly is the partner supposed to do as "covering"? Keep shooting random shots at enemies, or accurate shots at the moment sensing Person A might just be shot at? If the former is correct, why bother asking for covering surely that's what gun fights are about, you just keep shooting at enemies until running out of ammo or defeating enemies?

 

Just one more, seems like saying "cover me" gives you that immunity. I cannot recall anyone saying " cover me" will end up dead while they hop across a gun fight.

cover my six