The first major book being put out by them to get the line going is by Mark Millar, a well known superhero book writer... but it's a romance book aimed at teenage girls.
All the techs here learn by rote, not by principles.
They're good at networking stuff like routers and whatnot. I'm teaching them to be passable at Linux administration, considering I got everything set up and running fine, and they just need to make sure nothing breaks.
But they have no concept on how to code, and I don't think it's something I'll be able to teach them.
I cannot emphasize how true it is that they just try to apply the exact same solution to every problem.
And the weirdest part is, they can learn some pretty arcane syntax fine for command line stuff in Linux fine, but they don't totally understand the concept of directories and file system structure. They know by memory how to type these complex commands, but they don't really grasp the idea of directories and the ability to tinker with stuff.
When I came here, I was a moderately talented if somewhat inexperienced Linux admin. I learn extremely quickly though, and I'm picking up stuff at a great pace. This is why I was brought here... We just get it on some level that these guys don't, due to having grown up around a more tech focused culture I guess.
I'm currently in Nigeria, working for a company that's an ISP with plans to expand into fixed wireless phone stuff as well. I'm pretty much their head (and debateably only) technical person, and the only other non-Nigerian here besides the head of the company. The Nigerian techs are okay at what they do (mainly making sure the routers and satellite connection are fine), but fall apart on anything related to configuring the Linux servers. They're enthusiastic learners though, even if they lack the technical background to pick things up very quickly. I was specifically imported for this purpose, setting up their servers, making sure everything runs smoothly, and helping the Nigerian techs learn how to keep the machines running. My role has expanded to include web development of internal apps as well, since I have a very strong background with web dev stuff.
That said, working in Nigeria is absurd, both frustrating and amusing at the same time.
The biggest problem here is the power. The power goes out between three and twenty times a day. We have an extensive UPS and generator system that keeps all our machines online.
We have a side division of our company that does major installs of networks for local companies and government agencies. I was brought to a site to survey putting a 300 machine network into a building with no roof. All of the individual offices did have roofs, but the main part of the building with the hallways connecting everything together was completely open to the elements. Furthermore, the doors of the offices were of very poor construction, so dust and rain could easily come from underneath and mess up everything inside. We're trying to convince them to put a roof on the building, just even a glass one or something, but it looks like they're just going to be having a lot of inhospitable operating conditions for their hardware instead.
The strangest part is that this isn't at all unusual... In another instance, a company wanted a 20 machine network installed, and freaked out when they saw cabling and routers on the bill. They said they didn't ask for that. They didn't understand you needed these things to actually connect the computers together on the network.
It's a good thing I'm incredibly laid back and just find everything kind of funny, or I probably would have jumped off a roof by now.
I would love to see League be a hit, but it looks like they're butchering it already... I don't have very high hopes. I vaguely remember hearing they added somebody (Tom Sawyer or Huck Finn I think?) as a character in order to appeal to American audiences. I'm not a total purist by any means (Hell, I liked the organic web shooters in Spider-Man), but I've just got a baaaad feeling about this one.
That's why by far the smartest thing to do in this situation is use already existing Marvel characters. I wouldn't create any new characters I cared about very much in the process of doing this. The best chance of success while minimizing risk, I think, would be the try to focus on some aspect of a pre-existing character that was never really fleshed out before. There's already an installed fan base, and you're not risking losing anything.
According to comments made by Marvel President Bill Jemas, when a creative team submits a comic book they receive an $8,000 budget to produce it. Marvel then covers the cost of publishing, marketing and distribution, and pays bonuses to the team, based upon sales. If the book sells well, the creators could earn a number of bonuses at different tiers.
There's also a lot more information here, and there will be more info in Marville #7 (which is probably the only way they can get that particular comic to sell, it it not popular).
While it's true comics went on a steady decline, the comic book industry is very cyclical and is starting another upswing. Just look at all the comic book movies coming down the pipe for evidence... X-Men 1 & 2, Spider-Man 1 & 2, Daredevil, Bulletproof Monk, The Hulk, League of Extraordinary Gentleman (As LXG for the movie or something dumb like that), The Punisher, and about five more that are scheduled to begin production within the next two to three years.
What we saw a few years ago was a massive reduction in popularity because comics started catering more to hardcore collectors than casual fans, with the whole six different covers by the hottest new artist for every issue craze and the focus on flash rather than substance, largely brought about by a wealth of artists but a dry spell for great writers. Now with people like Ellis, Millar, Bendis, etc., comics are starting to get more appeal to the casual fan again.
This is especially true with recent pushes toward trade paperback sales rather than individual issues, and the creation of the more Manga-esque Tsunami line by Marvel, which is an attempt to capture the rather large Manga fan base in the United States right now, including a female demographic that's not as well represented in traditional American comics.
People interested in becoming creators of comics might want to check out Marvel's Epic line, which is accepting submissions from newcomers to the business. If your work is accepted they guide you through the process of basically getting the entire book together yourself, and then they publish it. Because they only have to worry about publishing and you do pretty much everything on the creative end of things, books don't have to sell incredibly well and they can remain viable entities, unlike Marvel's normal titles with are pretty much all top 100 sellers.
I believe it pays $8k to be split up among the creators as they see fit. The big drawback is that they gain ownership of any new characters you create if I remember correctly, but to people trying to break into the business this may be a great opportunity.
I've also read that the basis for a lot of the hatred of Islamic fundamentalists toward Christian Europe is because they believe that God granted them their scientific advancements in harmony with their faith, and when the Crusades happened, the Christians stole their gifts of insight from God and perverted it by seperating it from its Islamic faith.
Of course, I guess that doesn't explain how the Greeks knew so much without any divine Islamic revelations, but don't look at me, I'm just paraphrasing crap I read weeks ago online.:)
It looks like it's actually standing up pretty well to the Slashdot Effect so far... of course, that's probably because it's still like 4am on the East Coast of the States.:)
There are several websites out there that track LiveJournal friends lists and allow you to see how many steps away you are from people, who is in your immediate circle, and other features. They're also a lot more complete, since I believe they gain the friends data by scraping the user info pages of people, instead of each person having to sign up and upload a list of all their friends.
Also, LiveJournal has a few features built directly into the site that do somewhat similar things. You can get a list of friends who are popular with your own friends, and a listing of all the most recent posts of your friends' friends.
As a side note on that, he's already kind of starred in a superhero movie... if you listen to the director's commentary track on the Donnie Darko DVD (The first one with the director and Gyllenhaal himself), they discuss a lot of how Donnie Darko is kind of a superhero movie. I didn't pick up on it until it was explained through the commentary, but once it was, it made a lot of sense.
Last summer, we were experiencing a particularly violent storm. At one point, lightning struck a powerline going into the house, and it traveled in causing incredible damage to all the electronics in our house. Altogether, it destroyed a TV, a router, a hub, a scanner, two phones, an XBox and all four controllers, and three PCs. The insides of all the electronics were totally fried. The sole machine that survived the strike: my (at the time) new flat panel iMac. It didn't even crash! Every other machine on the network was destroyed, massive internal damage to the hardware, stuff melted together and everything, and my iMac didn't crash. The only damage to it was that the network card was fried. A quick trip to the nearest Apple repair shop, and I was back up and running while we were all still waiting for new PCs in the mail.
I think that the prime difference is that IE was so integrated that it was interchangeable with the Windows Explorer. If Apple were to make the Finder into a web browser, then it would be a more similar situation. However, Safari is just an app, not an extension of the Finder. If iFinder or something came out, it would be more of a case for heavy OS-Browser integration.
"A baby-sitter two nights in a row is close to impossible in our family so I stuck on my old copy of The Matrix as a poor sub for a night out. It was the first time Gill had ever seen it and she actually managed to ruin it for me completely by pointing out a major plot hurdle the next two films really better explain. We're all living in The Matrix, right? We're all slaves to the robotic parasites who use our bodies as batteries while they distract us with our nice, glamorous lives in what we perceive to be the real world, right? Neo is The One who's going to free us from these evil robot masters and help us all wake up and reclaim our planet, right? So far, so good, but the world we reclaim is a post-nuclear nightmare, brother! No sun, no fun, no food, no nice clothes, no new comics every Wednesday or Thursday. Imagine everything and everyone you know suddenly switching off as you open your eyes in your little special effects pod and Lawrence bloody Fishburne is standing there with a nuclear winter blowing behind him, telling us he's saved humanity.
Interestingly enough, Stan Lee didn't get anything out of the X-Men movie either, and he didn't say anything back then. As a matter of fact, up until he recently he was often quoted as basically saying, "I'm an old man, what do I need all that money for? I already have enough, I don't really mind being screwed out of it." I wonder why exactly he changed his mind and decided to pursue legal action at this particular time. It could be due to Spider-Man being so much more of a blockbuster than the respectable X-Men was, and also with the Hulk, Daredevil, and second X-Men movies coming out soon that he'd like to establish some sort of precedent.
You can hear all about it in the excellent Stan Lee's Mutants, Monsters, and Marvels, hosted by the always great K. Smith. It comes highly recommended.
It also comes included in the Spider-Man DVD Gift Set, if you feel like screwing Stan Lee over while watching about Stan Lee getting screwed over!
I bet if you could get Lady Jane and Scarlet and the Baroness to all go at it at once and webcast it, you could start charging a monthly subscription fee.
Don't we already have a freedom oriented state? New Hampshire is about the best starting ground you're going to get, with its stances on most taxes and whatnot.
Liberty-oriented people do not equal liberals. I'm pretty sure these people would be classified as Libertarians, who tend to generally be more right wing anyway.
Not that it changes the fact that it won't really make much of a difference, but as someone with strong Libertarian leanings and fairly strong anti-Liberal stances, I get defensive about being mislabelled.:)
Slashdot Mirror
Actually, I travelled halfway across the world for lots of money.
Err, actually, no.
Epic is not superhero focused.
The first major book being put out by them to get the line going is by Mark Millar, a well known superhero book writer... but it's a romance book aimed at teenage girls.
I'm having very similar experiences right now.
All the techs here learn by rote, not by principles.
They're good at networking stuff like routers and whatnot. I'm teaching them to be passable at Linux administration, considering I got everything set up and running fine, and they just need to make sure nothing breaks.
But they have no concept on how to code, and I don't think it's something I'll be able to teach them.
I cannot emphasize how true it is that they just try to apply the exact same solution to every problem.
And the weirdest part is, they can learn some pretty arcane syntax fine for command line stuff in Linux fine, but they don't totally understand the concept of directories and file system structure. They know by memory how to type these complex commands, but they don't really grasp the idea of directories and the ability to tinker with stuff.
When I came here, I was a moderately talented if somewhat inexperienced Linux admin. I learn extremely quickly though, and I'm picking up stuff at a great pace. This is why I was brought here... We just get it on some level that these guys don't, due to having grown up around a more tech focused culture I guess.
I'm currently in Nigeria, working for a company that's an ISP with plans to expand into fixed wireless phone stuff as well. I'm pretty much their head (and debateably only) technical person, and the only other non-Nigerian here besides the head of the company. The Nigerian techs are okay at what they do (mainly making sure the routers and satellite connection are fine), but fall apart on anything related to configuring the Linux servers. They're enthusiastic learners though, even if they lack the technical background to pick things up very quickly. I was specifically imported for this purpose, setting up their servers, making sure everything runs smoothly, and helping the Nigerian techs learn how to keep the machines running. My role has expanded to include web development of internal apps as well, since I have a very strong background with web dev stuff.
That said, working in Nigeria is absurd, both frustrating and amusing at the same time.
The biggest problem here is the power. The power goes out between three and twenty times a day. We have an extensive UPS and generator system that keeps all our machines online.
We have a side division of our company that does major installs of networks for local companies and government agencies. I was brought to a site to survey putting a 300 machine network into a building with no roof. All of the individual offices did have roofs, but the main part of the building with the hallways connecting everything together was completely open to the elements. Furthermore, the doors of the offices were of very poor construction, so dust and rain could easily come from underneath and mess up everything inside. We're trying to convince them to put a roof on the building, just even a glass one or something, but it looks like they're just going to be having a lot of inhospitable operating conditions for their hardware instead.
The strangest part is that this isn't at all unusual... In another instance, a company wanted a 20 machine network installed, and freaked out when they saw cabling and routers on the bill. They said they didn't ask for that. They didn't understand you needed these things to actually connect the computers together on the network.
It's a good thing I'm incredibly laid back and just find everything kind of funny, or I probably would have jumped off a roof by now.
Assuming I could find a building with a roof...
I would love to see League be a hit, but it looks like they're butchering it already... I don't have very high hopes. I vaguely remember hearing they added somebody (Tom Sawyer or Huck Finn I think?) as a character in order to appeal to American audiences. I'm not a total purist by any means (Hell, I liked the organic web shooters in Spider-Man), but I've just got a baaaad feeling about this one.
That's why by far the smartest thing to do in this situation is use already existing Marvel characters. I wouldn't create any new characters I cared about very much in the process of doing this. The best chance of success while minimizing risk, I think, would be the try to focus on some aspect of a pre-existing character that was never really fleshed out before. There's already an installed fan base, and you're not risking losing anything.
From Newsarama:
According to comments made by Marvel President Bill Jemas, when a creative team submits a comic book they receive an $8,000 budget to produce it. Marvel then covers the cost of publishing, marketing and distribution, and pays bonuses to the team, based upon sales. If the book sells well, the creators could earn a number of bonuses at different tiers.
There's also a lot more information here, and there will be more info in Marville #7 (which is probably the only way they can get that particular comic to sell, it it not popular).
While it's true comics went on a steady decline, the comic book industry is very cyclical and is starting another upswing. Just look at all the comic book movies coming down the pipe for evidence... X-Men 1 & 2, Spider-Man 1 & 2, Daredevil, Bulletproof Monk, The Hulk, League of Extraordinary Gentleman (As LXG for the movie or something dumb like that), The Punisher, and about five more that are scheduled to begin production within the next two to three years.
What we saw a few years ago was a massive reduction in popularity because comics started catering more to hardcore collectors than casual fans, with the whole six different covers by the hottest new artist for every issue craze and the focus on flash rather than substance, largely brought about by a wealth of artists but a dry spell for great writers. Now with people like Ellis, Millar, Bendis, etc., comics are starting to get more appeal to the casual fan again.
This is especially true with recent pushes toward trade paperback sales rather than individual issues, and the creation of the more Manga-esque Tsunami line by Marvel, which is an attempt to capture the rather large Manga fan base in the United States right now, including a female demographic that's not as well represented in traditional American comics.
People interested in becoming creators of comics might want to check out Marvel's Epic line, which is accepting submissions from newcomers to the business. If your work is accepted they guide you through the process of basically getting the entire book together yourself, and then they publish it. Because they only have to worry about publishing and you do pretty much everything on the creative end of things, books don't have to sell incredibly well and they can remain viable entities, unlike Marvel's normal titles with are pretty much all top 100 sellers.
I believe it pays $8k to be split up among the creators as they see fit. The big drawback is that they gain ownership of any new characters you create if I remember correctly, but to people trying to break into the business this may be a great opportunity.
There's more truth to it than there is to Bowling for Columbine...
I've also read that the basis for a lot of the hatred of Islamic fundamentalists toward Christian Europe is because they believe that God granted them their scientific advancements in harmony with their faith, and when the Crusades happened, the Christians stole their gifts of insight from God and perverted it by seperating it from its Islamic faith.
:)
Of course, I guess that doesn't explain how the Greeks knew so much without any divine Islamic revelations, but don't look at me, I'm just paraphrasing crap I read weeks ago online.
Popularity of smarterchild
smarterchild's popularity score: 38. This is the number of members who have smarterchild on their lists.
Popularity ranking: 1 (percentile: 100.00).
smarterchild is the most popular person.
If you want to feel even worse about yourself, check that out. It's pretty sad when the most popular person is actually an AIM bot.
What kind of hosting do you have?
:)
It looks like it's actually standing up pretty well to the Slashdot Effect so far... of course, that's probably because it's still like 4am on the East Coast of the States.
There are several websites out there that track LiveJournal friends lists and allow you to see how many steps away you are from people, who is in your immediate circle, and other features. They're also a lot more complete, since I believe they gain the friends data by scraping the user info pages of people, instead of each person having to sign up and upload a list of all their friends.
Also, LiveJournal has a few features built directly into the site that do somewhat similar things. You can get a list of friends who are popular with your own friends, and a listing of all the most recent posts of your friends' friends.
As a side note on that, he's already kind of starred in a superhero movie... if you listen to the director's commentary track on the Donnie Darko DVD (The first one with the director and Gyllenhaal himself), they discuss a lot of how Donnie Darko is kind of a superhero movie. I didn't pick up on it until it was explained through the commentary, but once it was, it made a lot of sense.
Last summer, we were experiencing a particularly violent storm. At one point, lightning struck a powerline going into the house, and it traveled in causing incredible damage to all the electronics in our house. Altogether, it destroyed a TV, a router, a hub, a scanner, two phones, an XBox and all four controllers, and three PCs. The insides of all the electronics were totally fried. The sole machine that survived the strike: my (at the time) new flat panel iMac. It didn't even crash! Every other machine on the network was destroyed, massive internal damage to the hardware, stuff melted together and everything, and my iMac didn't crash. The only damage to it was that the network card was fried. A quick trip to the nearest Apple repair shop, and I was back up and running while we were all still waiting for new PCs in the mail.
At least it wouldn't have been a total loss if there was a boy band singer on board.
I think that the prime difference is that IE was so integrated that it was interchangeable with the Windows Explorer. If Apple were to make the Finder into a web browser, then it would be a more similar situation. However, Safari is just an app, not an extension of the Finder. If iFinder or something came out, it would be more of a case for heavy OS-Browser integration.
From the column of Mark Millar, comic book writer:
"A baby-sitter two nights in a row is close to impossible in our family so I stuck on my old copy of The Matrix as a poor sub for a night out. It was the first time Gill had ever seen it and she actually managed to ruin it for me completely by pointing out a major plot hurdle the next two films really better explain. We're all living in The Matrix, right? We're all slaves to the robotic parasites who use our bodies as batteries while they distract us with our nice, glamorous lives in what we perceive to be the real world, right? Neo is The One who's going to free us from these evil robot masters and help us all wake up and reclaim our planet, right? So far, so good, but the world we reclaim is a post-nuclear nightmare, brother! No sun, no fun, no food, no nice clothes, no new comics every Wednesday or Thursday. Imagine everything and everyone you know suddenly switching off as you open your eyes in your little special effects pod and Lawrence bloody Fishburne is standing there with a nuclear winter blowing behind him, telling us he's saved humanity.
Thanks a lot, Morpheus, you big, fucking twat."
I think that's what will happen when people finally get their mothers to start using Linux en masse, except they'll be serious.
Interestingly enough, Stan Lee didn't get anything out of the X-Men movie either, and he didn't say anything back then. As a matter of fact, up until he recently he was often quoted as basically saying, "I'm an old man, what do I need all that money for? I already have enough, I don't really mind being screwed out of it." I wonder why exactly he changed his mind and decided to pursue legal action at this particular time. It could be due to Spider-Man being so much more of a blockbuster than the respectable X-Men was, and also with the Hulk, Daredevil, and second X-Men movies coming out soon that he'd like to establish some sort of precedent.
You can hear all about it in the excellent Stan Lee's Mutants, Monsters, and Marvels, hosted by the always great K. Smith. It comes highly recommended.
It also comes included in the Spider-Man DVD Gift Set, if you feel like screwing Stan Lee over while watching about Stan Lee getting screwed over!
than Duke and Lady Jane or something.
I bet if you could get Lady Jane and Scarlet and the Baroness to all go at it at once and webcast it, you could start charging a monthly subscription fee.
Don't we already have a freedom oriented state? New Hampshire is about the best starting ground you're going to get, with its stances on most taxes and whatnot.
Liberty-oriented people do not equal liberals. I'm pretty sure these people would be classified as Libertarians, who tend to generally be more right wing anyway.
:)
Not that it changes the fact that it won't really make much of a difference, but as someone with strong Libertarian leanings and fairly strong anti-Liberal stances, I get defensive about being mislabelled.