2020-09-04
Since we've been talking so much about different shells -- the Bourne shell, the Bash shell, the Almquist shell, the Debian Almquist shell, the Zee shell -- I thought we should talk about another sort of shell that has played an important part in my life.
Namely, the different-coloured Koopa shells one finds in Mario Kart, and certain other Super Mario games.
First we have the generic green shells, which move in a straight line, and bounce off things until they hit someone. Then we have the homing red shells, which curve towards the player in front of you. And then there are the unerring blue spiky shells, which take out whoever is in the lead.
But what should you do if you happen to be in the lead and someone fires one of those blue shells at you? Is there anything you can do to escape your impending doom?
Well, if you're lucky enough to have an invincibility power-up star, or the Bullet Bill launcher, then you don't actually have anything to worry about. The Super Horn should also do the trick. Otherwise, the obvious solution is to slow down just enough to let the person in second place briefly overtake you, and then when they take the brutal blast of the blue bullet, you can move back into first place.