Click on your finder menu and select "Secure empty trash" that should delete everything even locked files or whatever. If that does not work try a 3rd party program to delete files, go to www.macupdates.com

@ybmc:

It also doesn't help that half the boats in this series are fictional types of ships >>;;

Actually finding the velocity of even a fictional ship is possible (and just as hard as with a real ship). You can just integrate euler's equation with respect to the sail angle if you can come up with some dP to fit the volume. But I dont think its that easy. You can find your dP using Bernoulli's equation. All you then need to do is find some dimensions and you could get something surprisingly accurate.

P + 1/2rV^2 + gh = C –-> lift force which can be expressed as:
dP/dn = rV^(2/R)

@ybmc:

Didn't know that dictionaries had differing opinions on the same word, so forgive me for trying to come up with something a little concrete. And I do think that there was a particularly large break during the Skypeia party. I don't know why, but I imagine that days long party to be almost 2weeks long.

Yea actually my dictionary (oxford) just has a very ambiguous definition:
1)more than two but not many.

I find the swiss way more logical then the classic way. It still sound slame when they say it though.

@ybmc:

The problem with that statement is that there is nothing that refutes the facts here (although I never knew that about Hogwarts thanks for sharing). Apparently, even the moon phases back up Oda's timeline so far, according to another thread.

Something that someone else stated and was apparently ignored was that if you take into consideration Alabasta's Eternal Pose allowing them to skip at least an island and that Skypeia is a moving island in the sky, the Strawhat's probably moved much farther
ahead than most other people who didn't have an eternal pose or decided to actually go to a sky island.

Well actually you can calculate alot of things. If you want I can give you a rather precise estimate of how fast they are moving based on their sail size. And well once you can do that, you can figure out anything. But applying physics to manga does not really work well.

Also on a side not, I looked up the birthday stuff and it looks as if it does not have anything to do with the plot. Since Oda just made them up in an SBS–hell he even has random people give out birhdays.

@ybmc:

I'm sure since it's such a generic word, every one has their own opinion as to what "several" means, but I'm going to follow the dictionary rather than my own opinion on the term since no one here really knows Oda's preference.

Depends which dictionary you look it up on :-) But I agree; no one does know what Oda is thinking. Well I didn't mean all of the breaks were that long, I just meant they could last up to that amount. I think the larger amounts would probably fill the end of the mega arcs.

@Greg:

Um, http://www.apforums.net/showthread.php?t=11994&highlight=character+birthday

Ah so we do know. I'll check it out.

@Greg:

Yeah, and 'several' and 'few' are a fuckload less than 4 months.

I never said that GL takes place in six months, please don't put words into my mouth. Don't straw man me.

@Greg:

I already addressed this. Because he's leaving breathing room for the inevitable filler material. That way it makes sense for young viewers and readers.

Actually it leaves breathing room for ANYTHING.

@Greg:

But of course. I don't think anyone doesn't agree with that. But getting months out of a few or several days? Please.

Months maybe not, but weeks, yes. Again don't straw man me.

@Greg:

Again, as I've said from the start, it's nothing but a selfish notion. Because you have a feel for it doesn't mean Oda does. It doesn't mean he's basing his story on your experiences sailing or your idea of how long it should take.

Does anyone on the Forum even think a few days means more than a week, let alone 11 days? I'm just curious.

And now you are red herring me, thats nice. Again you bring up a moot point because he aint basing it off of yours either.

How is that selfish? Its not like i'm lacking consideration for others or that my speculation somehow profits me at the cost of anyone else. How the story resonates to the reader is what matters. And if the idea that 3-4 days does not resonates with me but does so with you then thats fine. Guess what, you don't know what Oda is thinking. And neither do I.

Yes when I refer to an event that takes place anywhere near 3-13 days–withholding 7--I refer to it as several. Or do you refer to 11 days as "a week and 4 days"? Several is relative to quantity, and I think with days a threshold like that holds up fine.

@STAREYe:

Chopper and Usopp have both changed noticeably from their original looks. Look at the first few chapters of Usopp. I don't think it lasted long, but he didn't look as good.

Oda's artstyle has changed all around, and everyone looks different from way back, but those two really stand out for me when I see their introductory arcs.

Yea Usopp and Chopper went through some pretty big changes. But i'm surprised so one mentioned Nami:

Back then:
http://www.onemanga.com/One_Piece/9/11/

Now:
http://www.onemanga.com/One_Piece/445/04/

Not to mention other changes Nami went through >.>

Do we even know what their birthdays are?

Also he reason Oda uses "several" is because it's ambiguous. But then again I don't know japanese so I can't really comment. I think they mentioned Nami's foster birthday is her flashback. Then again they don't really seem the type to celebrate birthdays.

But again, my point is that the way he uses time seems to have more to do with stylistic pacing then it does with keeping track of the calendar.

You asked why use several instead of week:

1. A week is a measurable amount like "a dozen", so if he is using time to pace the story; using an ambiguous amount would make sense, since it lets the reader adjust to the pace on their on volition.
2. Your argument also works the other way around; why not be precise?
3. It is not set in stone, well not exactly at least. For the grandline portion we do know that there is definitely a minimum amount of days. And to accept that, you must also accept that there is a maximum value.

I personally see the maximum as being increments of 11ish days for sailing making the GL time closer to 3 month then 54 days. The reason I tend favor a longer sailing time is that I did a lot of sailing back when I was a kid and I have a general feel for it.

What we do know is that 1 year has not gone by. Which makes sense because the one year mark is both a landmark and there is he birthday+rogers death theory. I also think they spent around that much time in EB.

@Greg:

But you're going to tell me with a straight face that those 'few' or 'several' days amount to more than 4 months alone?

Well what would you call ten days? What about 11 day? I am pretty sure those fall under several just as well as 5 does.

Also I was referring to the start of the journey not GL. Again, I see this as nothing more than pacing. Whether it becomes important in the plot has yet to be seen. And therefore, since we do not know, I am speculating–like you are doing--that it has been close to 6 months since Luffy set off.

Note the way Oda uses time, it's always used stylistically. Take the bomb incident, he used time to give a sense of urgency. After every big fight he gives us a "after 2-3" days, which serves as pacing to explain: how tough the fight was, time to rest/goodbyes, and closure for the event. If Oda really did have a grand plan with time then he would have been more specific with travel times; but instead he used "several days later" or just a sunset backdrop. This is also a form of pacing. What he is telling the reader is "this adventure is done, now lets skip to the next one"

Which is why trying to make an actual reference frame leads to confusion on the reader's part. It's called suspension of disbelief:

"It refers to the willingness of a person to accept as true the premises of a work of fiction, even if they are fantastic or impossible. It also refers to the willingness of the audience to overlook the limitations of a medium, so that these do not interfere with the acceptance of those premises. According to the theory, suspension of disbelief is a quid pro quo: the audience tacitly agrees to provisionally suspend their judgment in exchange for the promise of entertainment."

If you add up the facts then it obviously does not make sense. I mean look at Rocket Man which took around 5 hours to arrive. Yet Merry was able to make it there on the same day. Guess what, trains–especially runaway trains--go fast, at least 20 times faster than a boat. Notice how Oda used time frames only while the SH were on their way to Enies. And not when they were coming back.

It should be pretty obvious to anyone that these timeframes are literary tools not actual measurements.

You suspend your disbelief for a floating sea train, but not for the passage of time? How does that make sense?

@Kma:

Is it really that hard to believe that its been around 2 months?
Someone once said that the trip time is somewhat like the novel, Around the World in 80 days. Although I dont think there is any relevance, it shows that 2 months is plenty of time.

This is the tale of the man who will be Pirate King. It will be all that much more impressive to transverse the Grandline in such a short time, especially when compared to other pirates.

Sides that he did it with a steamboat and train and didnt stop. But thats not the point. The only real argument is whether Oda does something with it or not. If he does, then the references have a plot meaning. If he does not then they are there for pacing, thats all.