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That would be the logical thing for humans to do but history shows that our behaviour is different than what you describe.

Environment of Easter Island

Rapa Nui is a barren island, but this was not always the case. Studies of pollen cores prove that the first Polynesian settlers found an island paradise of lush, subtropical forest6. Within 400 years of colonization, deforestation was well underway5.

700 years after colonization, the forests were gone, every species of land bird was extinct and shellfish were overexploited. Without trees, the inhabitants could no longer make sea faring canoes with which to hunt porpoises, the main staple of their diet.

http://www.apj.co.uk/rapanui_primer/primer_environment.asp

The Castle in Bran *looks* the part. If Disney were to make a real castle, it would look like this. It is well located for access by train from all over the country. I'm not sure it would be a good investment as their door policy isn't exactly difficult to skip around.

Anyway, the castle at Poenari is the real deal, though it is difficult to get there. You have to climb up a very steep mountain side to actually get to the castle, sometimes you are watched by armed guards protecting a nearby Hydro plant or something. The guys had guns, I didn't ask. This castle really was the home of Vlad the Impaler and the slope you climb to reach it once had the decapetated heads of his victims strewn across it on spikes.

The castle itself is actually very small and nobody is ever going to make moey selling tours there (hence Bran is where the tours are sent). It is spooky and very, very cool. It is perched on a teeny tiny outcropping from the mountain and is a really fantastic experience , as I recounted here many years ago http://www.apj.co.uk/tales/vlad.htm#vlad.

A Vax 11/780 at the DEC office in Ottawa, ON circa 1978.
Photo courtesy of Wikipedia
Star Trek Calendars, Tax Tables, and Snoopy Games. Oh, and a Wumpus. :-)

Shortly thereafter, I messed around with a Sinclair ZX80. I was hooked. I love the smell of solder flux in the morning.

Moved through a second-hand HP calculator (desk sized) that included a thermal printer and a 'magnetic card reader' for storage. It used RPN and it was addictive. (Noisy, and gave the impression it was working hard when it calculated.)

I didn't see an x86 until the early 90s. A feat that likely helped me quite a bit.

Okay, I know I should have posted this sooner, but I was recovering from the after film party.

First of all, the full review of the film and party, is http://www.apj.co.uk/reviews/review-hitchhikers-gu ide-to-the-galaxy.asphere and the scans of the film Premiere Booklet are http://www.apj.co.uk/reviews/hitchhikers-guide-to- the-galaxy-premiere-program.asphere. I have included my own photographs, one of which is a Vogon dancing!

I liked this film; I'm a big fan, a bit of a dork you might say. I can quote lines from the books which I read nearly 20 years ago. This isn't quite the funniest movie of the year, but it is worthwhile and enjoyable. It is, perhaps a bit too much, of a rollicking romp through the galaxy. It also has some catchy music and will put a smile on your face. I give this film a positive 8/10.

Let's get some context here...

There are three types of people who will be seeing this movie.

First, there are the Uninitiated, those who know not what the mind of Douglas Adams is capable of.

Second, there are the Fans and thirdly, there are the Fans.

Yes, I know that the Fans are in two groups, but this is for a reason. The first group, lets call them Fans (a) are really not going to like this movie. The second group, lets call them Fans (b) are going to have a ball and like the Uninitiated, will want to see the film at least once more to pick up on all the stuff they missed the first time.

Fans (a) are going to say that the story line has been changed too much, it has been "Hollywoodified", that Arthur Dent never gets it on with Trillian, that there is no such thing as a Point of View Gun. These are the fans that think they are the biggest fans of all. They are the fans that know absolutely nothing.

Fans (b) know absolutely all they need to know about "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" (from now on H2G2). Each incarnation of the story is different. Douglas was always tinkering with his creation. When George Lucas was filming The Empire Strikes Back, Douglas was already showing George how this tinkering should be done. Like George, Douglas doesn't always get it right, but in the main, the updated story is usually better than the last.

This movie is no different. There are new plot threads, there are new gags, there are some old threads untied, retired and turned into knots. Some work, some leave you a little bemused. On the whole, I think that a damn good job has been done to reduce an enormous amount of dialogue into something that allows me as a fan to quote lines before they are said and the Uninitiated to get some idea of what the plot is all about.

So, if you hear somebody say the film isn't as good as the [ ________ ] version (fill in the blank), then tell them they don't know a fetid dingoes kidneys what they are talking about and that they should grow up and enjoy the film for what it is.

So, let me tell you about the premiere
Sitting in Empire 4 (otherwise known as The Imperial, a pub right next door to the side exit of the Empire Cinema in Leicester Square, London), I realised it was too late to change back into normal attire and that I would have to walk into the World Premiere of "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" wearing nothing more than a dressing gown, pajamas, a towel and of course, a rubber duck.

It turned out that I was the only "normal" person wearing the obvious outfit for the premiere. The only other exhibitionist was S[____] [I had better not name him ;-)] from Buena Vista International (BVI), those behind this premiere.

After being introduced to the producers and members of the cast, the audience was reminded that we might need the provided towels at a certain point in the movie....

It was astonishing that the

Okay, I know I should have posted this sooner, but I was recovering from the after film party.

First of all, the full review of the film and party, is http://www.apj.co.uk/reviews/review-hitchhikers-gu ide-to-the-galaxy.asphere and the scans of the film Premiere Booklet are http://www.apj.co.uk/reviews/hitchhikers-guide-to- the-galaxy-premiere-program.asphere. I have included my own photographs, one of which is a Vogon dancing!

I liked this film; I'm a big fan, a bit of a dork you might say. I can quote lines from the books which I read nearly 20 years ago. This isn't quite the funniest movie of the year, but it is worthwhile and enjoyable. It is, perhaps a bit too much, of a rollicking romp through the galaxy. It also has some catchy music and will put a smile on your face. I give this film a positive 8/10.

Let's get some context here...

There are three types of people who will be seeing this movie.

First, there are the Uninitiated, those who know not what the mind of Douglas Adams is capable of.

Second, there are the Fans and thirdly, there are the Fans.

Yes, I know that the Fans are in two groups, but this is for a reason. The first group, lets call them Fans (a) are really not going to like this movie. The second group, lets call them Fans (b) are going to have a ball and like the Uninitiated, will want to see the film at least once more to pick up on all the stuff they missed the first time.

Fans (a) are going to say that the story line has been changed too much, it has been "Hollywoodified", that Arthur Dent never gets it on with Trillian, that there is no such thing as a Point of View Gun. These are the fans that think they are the biggest fans of all. They are the fans that know absolutely nothing.

Fans (b) know absolutely all they need to know about "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" (from now on H2G2). Each incarnation of the story is different. Douglas was always tinkering with his creation. When George Lucas was filming The Empire Strikes Back, Douglas was already showing George how this tinkering should be done. Like George, Douglas doesn't always get it right, but in the main, the updated story is usually better than the last.

This movie is no different. There are new plot threads, there are new gags, there are some old threads untied, retired and turned into knots. Some work, some leave you a little bemused. On the whole, I think that a damn good job has been done to reduce an enormous amount of dialogue into something that allows me as a fan to quote lines before they are said and the Uninitiated to get some idea of what the plot is all about.

So, if you hear somebody say the film isn't as good as the [ ________ ] version (fill in the blank), then tell them they don't know a fetid dingoes kidneys what they are talking about and that they should grow up and enjoy the film for what it is.

So, let me tell you about the premiere
Sitting in Empire 4 (otherwise known as The Imperial, a pub right next door to the side exit of the Empire Cinema in Leicester Square, London), I realised it was too late to change back into normal attire and that I would have to walk into the World Premiere of "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" wearing nothing more than a dressing gown, pajamas, a towel and of course, a rubber duck.

It turned out that I was the only "normal" person wearing the obvious outfit for the premiere. The only other exhibitionist was S[____] [I had better not name him ;-)] from Buena Vista International (BVI), those behind this premiere.

After being introduced to the producers and members of the cast, the audience was reminded that we might need the provided towels at a certain point in the movie....

It was astonishing that the

I recently purchased a Fujitsu P Series Lifebook that uses a TM processor (see their site for details). It's pretty slick. Don't have a CD/DVD drive, but I'm using my unit for remote admin work so I love being able to go wireless, grab a wired connection, or even use GPRS via a PC Card. The touch screen is great as well.

While I love my Lifebook P, it's not in the same size class as this device. This is more like a modern version of the IBM PC110 (complete with touchpad and thumb-positioned trackpoint). It's half the size as the P1000 series, with a faster processor.

-Isaac