So the GP suggested a layer of aluminum for just that purpose. Is the heat carrying capacity of aluminum insufficient? What if you had active cooling sucking heat out of the aluminum at the chip's edge?

So what if the launch loop didn't have the turnarounds at each end? What if the two stations were near one of the poles instead of at the equator? You locate at a latitude just far enough away from the pole to make the circumference of a circular loop equal to 4000km. Then, instead of tossing the cable up in a straight line and have to turn it around at the other end, you toss it in the air, and the earth's rotation carries it around to the other station "halfway around the world", where it's launched up again.

Maybe it wouldn't curve just because the earth is turning underneath it? Maybe it would go in a straight line equal to a great circle headed away from the pole?

Seems like there's a middle ground where the designer could provide for a dual path experience. Create levels and challenges that can't be solved using the god-like tools developed in the previous installment. Newbies to the 2nd installment could play through and gain the tools they need along the way. Imports could play through and still be entertained by the challenges and gain new tools.

I think it's limiting to assume that any uber-powerful skill can be applied to solve any kind of problem.

Um. Your first test case has incorrect delimiters -- {} vs (), or maybe everything after the first one is wrong. Maybe we should have done a code review?

If they form a monastery around the clock it may survive.

There's a book about that idea that I just finished reading. It was both challenging and interesting on many levels.

I was expecting your signature to be something funny about webcams from Logitech.

I've set the over/under at 8 for how many times folks have responded to one of your posts with something semantically equivalent to my comment.

Like maybe this one?

Wait a minute. I think you're trying to start a meme about how to pronounce meme.

I CALL SHENANIGANS!

There hasn't been a massive loss in intelligence, there's been a vast widening of the market that now includes many more folks without any geek cred or desire to do system things. They're just trying to do whatever their application is doing for them.