I've been there, I've done that. All to easy to say, but trust me. I have. My entire family has. Growing up there was a period of a coupla years where the majority of in house communication was via email. Instead of walking down the hall, and knocking on my door, my mom would email me. My Dad would email me reminders about things that needed to get done. It wasn't because of a family dysfunction, but because we where all so wired it was easier that way.
Then I joined the USArmy. Email is a lifesaver when your overseas, faster than snail mail (Or @" mail as my mom so elequently puts it:-) and you don't have to worry about the time zone diffrences. But everyone I work with is wired. Most of them have wireless email[www.my2way.com]. Needless to say, the volume of email I get is ridiculous.
So I stopped repling to my emails. Period. If you need a reply ASAP, call me. Otherwise, next time I see you we can talk about it. Everyone I would want to talk to has my cell phone number (The land line is for 'net access only:-). Even my mother doesn't get replies from me. But we talk more now. We all do. Oh, I send emails. And I read my email. But my replies are all face to face, which the Net will never replace. A 30 word reply is often a 2 hour conversation. There are less misunderstands, and more new insights. Its made my 'Netperiance a more social thing.
My sister first introduced me to ^_^ 5-6 years ago. I personally believe that she uses them b/c they are easier for a novice typer. (Hold down the shift key, hit 6-6; vs. hold shift, hit ';', release shift, hit '-', hold shift, hit '0'... something way to complex for my sister back then:-)
I've always seen ^_^ as the DeeDee to my Dexter:-).
--Cam
PS, In order to stay on topic, I would like to point out that my sister STILL hasn't read LoTR. Heathen.
I just spent a year in Korea, where such "Vampire Nests" are everywhere, and packed sunup to sundown with Koreans and GIs slaughtering each other in StarCraft or Rouge Spear.
The ultrafast LAN, decient connection to the net, large monitors, a headset intercommunication system and a guy who cleaned out the ash tray for ya where the big selling points. Did I mention the headset intercom system? It was small, cheap, analog and took Rouge Spear to a completely diffrent level. Ah, the days of playing Army all day, only to get off, run to the Nest, and play special forces on the computer... Real Life vs Games:-)
But it was successfull because it was IRL. Clan wars where followed by a trip to the bar where everyone bragged about the long shot through the wall, or blowin away half the competition with a well placed C-4 charge. I would/LOVE/ to have such a place near me here. Put yourself next to a McDonalds or other watering hole. And you'll do great:-)
There isn't anything well thought out, or neatly crafted.
Did I mention that Angband is totally lacking in a plot? If you want a plot, go read J.R.Tolkien. Or watch Final Fantasy IIV, you know... that game that makes you play few parts in order to get to the really boring plot FMVs?
Everything has an air of ill-concieved pseudo-randomness Did I mentioned that I've been playing since '96. I know ppl who have been playing longer than that. That pseudo-randomness guarantees that you will never get the remotiest chance to play it the same way twice.
You walk around killing D's for $. By the time your killing D's, you shouldn't give a damn about $. You should be worring that you've got free action, see invisble, and getting resists.
This is anouther thing I like about Angband; just when you get get used to one style of play (killing o's for $) it changes. Its no longer worth your time to buy anything, and you spend your time scouring the dungeon for the randomly and pseudo-randomly generated items that really count.
Angband is possibly the best game ever. Granted the plot is totally lacking, but I can distribute the complete file on a floppy; and I judge every game against it. Its graphics are simplistic, yet convey more information than most gaming interfaces today. The controls require some learning, but allow the user to execute any command without delay or mouse movements. I've been playing it since 1996. Did I mention that it was Open Sourced in 1984, before the GPL was thought of, and can run on ANY OS that came out since then.
But its strongest aspect is that it is turn based. I can stop, walk away, smoke a cigerate, come back, walk a step, then go to the bathroom. Or I can run down a hall and assult a vault in less than 30 seconds. Because it is turn based the game runs at MY speed. I never feel that I had to make a split second decision. When I'm getting my ass kicked, I can slow down and analyze the situation.
The game kicks ass. I have wasted many a day playing it. I lost a keyboard when my HDD crashed and killed my best character. Check it out, read the help files, read rec.games.roguelike.angband and get hooked:-)
I hate Cheat Sheats. If I use it, I'm admitting that the game is to hard to play, and that I'm not smart enough. I hate to admit that. So you can imagine that I never play games like Final Fantasy 7,8,9... the game is to hard. There are to many random items with little or no way to find out what todo. The world is to big with to few clues. And the plot line is to strange to be understood; I love surprises, but they have to be something I shoulda seen coming.
Which is anouther thing. I'm here to play a game. If I wanted to watch a movie I'd use the VCR. When I spend more time watching the game than I do playing it, its not worth my time. Soul Reaver:LoK was a good game with an exellent plot. It had me on the edge of my seat trying to figure out who was pulling Kain's strings, without ever getting the way of playing the game. Metal Gear Solid had a good plot that moved the game play along, and made sence of it all.
A good game that had a weak plot was Castlevania. But it was excellent for anouther reason. I spent more time exploring the castle and finding items than I did beating the game. And that was after I beat the game.
When I play a game, I want something I have to think about. I want something that gets my addrenaline running. And sometimes I want something that my fingers can play without me there. I don't want something that is more of a challenge to me than it is my wallet.
The shiney graphics are cool, but don't sell me a demo of the 3D abilities of the card I've already bought. Use the eyecandy to enhance the story and gameplay. My favorite game of all time is Angband. Writen in 1984 and constantly updated through the years, the graphics have been updated to color, and nothing else. Yet I can come into a new situation, and with just a glace at the screen, know my situation, recognize any of the 800+ monsters that could be attacking me, and be up todate on the game. It has no plot, but that ensures that you never play the same game twice. I'm still playin it after 6 years:-)
I noticed that the most recent bid seems to be from an S_Hussein@StealTheOil.iraq in an apparent attempt to corner the market on Japan's military might.
Once he powers the hardsuits with Playstation2 consoles, he'll be unstopable. May god have mercy on our souls.
Actually... when I was stationed in Korea, where even the American Newspapers report on local events instead of American events, I read an article about Japan delaying the Export of PS2s because they where afraid they could be used as guidance systems for weapons platforms.
Thankfully, the Japanise where reminded that they where the only nation whose military consisted of large robots controlled by the fantasies of geeks and nerds everywhere.
Personally, I just think it was Japans weak attempt to pretend to have the capacity of a military superpower.
God, the first girl I dated I met on a BBS. Heck, I even asked her out online:-)
I miss good ol' INDEX in 'Lanta.
Every week we'd have a Bash... the INDEX office was filled with shit we ganked:-) Not just everything from a Waffle house but the employees, but a stool from Quzar, a newspaper stand, and countless road signs. We tried to get the Ben&Jerries cow, but security in that mall had caught onto us. Me and a bunch of others used to get online at night and all sneak out and drive around Atlanta packed into various small cars. Ever been 13 people inna pickup truck going 80mph down a neighbor hood road driven by the only person old enough to drink, and who was, of course, drunk?
God, what I loss in highschool I made up on the INDEX BBS:-)
So what happened to the cheesy ASCII graphics on Tradewars?:-) It just ain't the same!:-)
Like the other dude said... its all a matter of finding the right race components. And the 'hack' is just a racing chip that replaces your current enginge control chip.
My truck doesn't have a chip... it's limited to 110mph by the physics of a super light truck hitting a bumb in the road. The Wright brothers got famous for a few of seconds in the air, why can't I?:-)
Thank you for your reply. I understand your position better, and am no longer disturbed because of it:-).
However, let me clarify myself on one point. I do not believe that just because one soldier dies, every citizen of his country should rush to avenge his death. However, his country should not ask him to die unless it is willing to put EVERYTHING into winning. Vietnam was a farce because the only people who gave everything, were those who went.
Put down your copy of Thus Spake Zarathustra for a second and recognize that some of us -- perhaps not you -- prefer to deliberate before locking-and-loading, lacing up our BDU's and leaping at the latest state-sponsored crusade.
Exactly... except that soldiers have already promised not to deliberate. We've agreed that we'll let the US do that; while we train. So that when we ARE needed, we are ready. The tragity is that those who decide to send us on the next crusade, don't have the balls to follow through. One soldier dies in combat amd as it gets all over CNN, the US pulls everyone out. Nothing accomplished but the death of an American.
I think we both agree that war isn't something that should be entered light-heartedly.:-)
Vergil, its nice to know that you'd be the first to put the gun to my head and pull the trigger.
I am an American Soldier. And next time I am in a fighting position in the middle of Kosovo, drenched from a weeklong rain, spending Christmas with my rifle instead of my family; I will remeber that an American Citizen would send me to war without the technology to win, so that I would die, so that everyone could be reminded how horrible war is.
War is not about killing. War is about proving to the other guy that you mean business, and will stop at nothing to get what you want. If something is imporant enough for one soldier to die for, then it should be important enough for every citizen of his country to die for. Including you, Vergil. Anything less is a waste of life.
I live for the day that war could be bloodless, for the day that after months of combat, nothing has been lost but years of stockpiling AI's armed with guns.
We should never forget how horrible war is. And that is why we should do everything to make it as bloodless as possible.
--Cam "The object of war is not to die for your country, but to make the other bastard die for his" General George Patton
PS Vergil, I'll remeber you next time I'm in a strange land doing some bullshit because my country asked me to. And if any of my soldiers die because we lacked the technological, finacal, or moral support we needed... I'll remeber you.
I use the Sprint PCS network, but get my service through an associate of Sprint, US Unwired. Which means that I get raped when it comes to cost.
However, the PCS network is wonderfull for cross contry travel. I have travelled all over Lousiana, and between La, NYC, Chicago, and Houston and rarely am I not in some kind of coverage. And while I due have to pay roaming chargers; I always keep my calls short, and never have to pay to much. The main seller for me was, I don't have to pay long distance, so calling home from NYC or from the barraks cost me the same.
--Cam
As you seem so willing to share your sex life by protecting it as shodily as you did; we would like to skip the hassels of the courts and laws. As such, we have enclosed a check for $2500. BTW, we have encluded a copy of the CrackedPorn magazine in which your wife is the Cover star. We where thankfull for the pictures of yourself, your wife, and your 3 mistresses, and the story of you, the hooker, and the dog is one of the best we have published todate. CrackedPorn will be hitting the racks tommorow, be sure to tell your family and friends about it.
--The Editor
PS. Might I suggest that dogs prefer bacon fat over tartar sauce?
Actually, the aircraft I work on do us inertial navigation systems. And while they are expensive as all hell; I've only had to replace 2, right as the warranty expired.
I would assume that in the future you will see most aircraft with Inertial Navigation systems, making the ADS-B system even more percise. Untill then, a GPS system with an error of 5 meters, or possibly even 50 meters (How big is that plane anyways?) would work just fine.
Funny thing, as I was logging into Slashdot, I was also reading the paper. Well, ok. I was reading the funnies, and scanning the front page.
The thing is, this newspaper (Stars and Stripes: Asia) seems to be made up of rehashed press releases and stories off the wire. Of course, with its main selling point being the only English paper avalable in Korea, it doesn't have to do any true reporting.
Which is what I think newspapers will have to do in the future. I think that in order to survive, newspapers will have to do more investigative reporting; more in depth articles. Less sensationalism or canned press releases. And less news off the wire. Sell the service of having someone go out and find out whats actually happening. And remeber, most ppl read a newspaper with a salt-shaker, so trust is something they'll have to reclaim.
--Cam PS Don't forget the comics and humor articles... we are a pleasure centered species:)
This is a shining example of why a human explorer will always be better.
covering about 100 square feet daily. And on favorable terrain. I could cover that in 15m, in any kind of terrain.
15 feet away, searching for anything that seems like a rock Now, in a terrain loaded with rocks, 15 feet might be just right. But when you hit a dry spot, and all the rocks are 16 feet from you... you need more range. Esp when it takes you 20minutes to move a foot.
No mechanics or spare parts were taken along, either, since the aim is to make Nomad completely autonomous. At least Nomad doesn't need to run to the crapper ever few hours. But if they ever get it to assimlate surrounding materials in order to make spare parts, it probably will.
``The breakthrough technologies are robotic classification and search. Humans classify every time they sort pennies from nickels, and they search every time they lose their car keys,'' said William ``Red'' Whittaker, founder of the Field Robotics Center at CMU. ``But these are new skills for robots.'' Ah... the entire reason for OpenSource... Use existing source code!
``It's quite moody actually,'' he said. ``Some days it's perfect, and others nothing will work.'' I appologize, they did.
I have never understood the reason behind robotic exploration. Sure, NASA didn't have to call the Mars Landers parents, but its not like we force people to make the choice. A human explorer is more capable of collecting information, moving around the terrain, and surving the experiance. And then said explorer goes from around the country, making money talking about what he did. And all the ppl "Oh" and "Ah", and all the kids say "I wanna do that when I grow up".
I think Nomad is great, it took alot of hard work, and I don't see the problems overcome as being easy ones. And I personally wouldn't want to spend several years walking around a piece of ice looking for rocks when I could get a robot to do it for me. But robotic explorers are not the way togo... they should be kept to the menial work that we are to lazy todo.
We still know nothing about this planet. Hell, more than half of our probes have failed (I know about the faster, cheaper idea...). But without a few more major successes in the probe category and certainly a method of escape for astronauts venturing to Mars, it would be little more than suicide for anyone to think about going up there now.
Unlike our trips to the moon, which we proceeded with years of prob trips. Oh wait, No. We were the first to land only b/c the 1st Russian probe crashed hours before we landed. Well, its good that we had those extra Save-A-Spaceman pods on the moon incase our lander crashed.
The first trip to the moon was little more than suicide. Every trip to the moon was little more than suicide. Thats what a congressional medal of honor should be given out for.
What new technology needs to be invented so we can go to Mars? None.
So why arn't we there? Because America is to scared to allow someone else to risk thier own life to benifit the entire race.
I'm sorry to say that I haven't read most of his stuff. I didn't discover Niven untill right before I took the hop over the big pond, and finding English books over here isn't easy.
What got me started on him was the Man-Kzin Wars, which arn't even by him. Its a collection of short stories by several SciFi Writers. They're a good collection of casual reads, although the stories by Niven suck. They're not his kind of stories, even if he did create the universe.
His collection of short stories in N Space is onna my favorite books. "Choclate Manhole Covers" is the best (and only logical) explantion of Alien visitation I've heard. The only thing he failed to explain is why only red-necks seem to get abducted. "Inconsistant Moon" is a good love story. Both of the multiple universe stories where good. I'll save space and time by just saying that most of the stories in that collection are excellent.
Sources said the problem occurred because the computer system was overloaded and badly stressed.
In order to deal with the incress of information that needs to analysed in order to maintian national security, the NSA has announced the advent of NSA@home. This screensaver will analize everything from ariel photographs of Bagdad to the habits of interns in DC.
Use of this client will count as government service for the purposes of everything but taxes and the draft.
Ender's Game. The rest of the series went from OK to bad, but Ender's Game is one of the best Books I've read. It changed my approach to how I thought about ppl, and I read it when I was 17.
Niven is also a great writer. Untill I read him, I never seriously consider the implications of technologies on society, etc. etc. His "Mote In Gods Eye" and "The Grabbing Hand" where both good.
Welcome to the first 24/7 WebNose that will go with me all the time. If I smell it, you smell it. I have a WebNose along with a 56.5k connection through my cell phone, allowing your nose to be with my nose at all times.
I've been experamenting with a WebNose in my hamster cage, however I've decided that you, the smeller, want something more variable and intresting.
Please don't email me complaining that you can't smell anything, its not my fault if my room smells just as jank and stale as yours.
Kevin Mitnick hasn't used a computer in at least 5 years. Think how much the net and computing in general has changed in that time. The rise of microsoft, the advent of WindowsNT. Does Mitnick even know how to surf the Web? I won't even try to comment on how Unix has changed. Unless Mitnick does some major catching up, he is no more a threat than my ignorant ass.
Hopefully his parol officer will recognize this fact... which will open alot of job oppertunities.
Slashdot Mirror
I've been there, I've done that. All to easy to say, but trust me. I have. My entire family has. Growing up there was a period of a coupla years where the majority of in house communication was via email. Instead of walking down the hall, and knocking on my door, my mom would email me. My Dad would email me reminders about things that needed to get done. It wasn't because of a family dysfunction, but because we where all so wired it was easier that way.
Then I joined the USArmy. Email is a lifesaver when your overseas, faster than snail mail (Or @" mail as my mom so elequently puts it:-) and you don't have to worry about the time zone diffrences. But everyone I work with is wired. Most of them have wireless email[www.my2way.com]. Needless to say, the volume of email I get is ridiculous.
So I stopped repling to my emails. Period. If you need a reply ASAP, call me. Otherwise, next time I see you we can talk about it. Everyone I would want to talk to has my cell phone number (The land line is for 'net access only:-). Even my mother doesn't get replies from me. But we talk more now. We all do. Oh, I send emails. And I read my email. But my replies are all face to face, which the Net will never replace. A 30 word reply is often a 2 hour conversation. There are less misunderstands, and more new insights. Its made my 'Netperiance a more social thing.
Just say NO to Reply
--Cam
My sister first introduced me to ^_^ 5-6 years ago. I personally believe that she uses them b/c they are easier for a novice typer. (Hold down the shift key, hit 6-6; vs. hold shift, hit ';', release shift, hit '-', hold shift, hit '0'... something way to complex for my sister back then:-)
:-).
--Cam
PS, In order to stay on topic, I would like to point out that my sister STILL hasn't read LoTR. Heathen.
I've always seen ^_^ as the DeeDee to my Dexter
I just spent a year in Korea, where such "Vampire Nests" are everywhere, and packed sunup to sundown with Koreans and GIs slaughtering each other in StarCraft or Rouge Spear.
/LOVE/ to have such a place near me here. Put yourself next to a McDonalds or other watering hole. And you'll do great:-)
The ultrafast LAN, decient connection to the net, large monitors, a headset intercommunication system and a guy who cleaned out the ash tray for ya where the big selling points. Did I mention the headset intercom system? It was small, cheap, analog and took Rouge Spear to a completely diffrent level. Ah, the days of playing Army all day, only to get off, run to the Nest, and play special forces on the computer... Real Life vs Games:-)
But it was successfull because it was IRL. Clan wars where followed by a trip to the bar where everyone bragged about the long shot through the wall, or blowin away half the competition with a well placed C-4 charge. I would
--Cam
Plus, I'm fairly sure that Angband wasn't around since 1984. Maybe you're thinking of Moria?
A look at the help files reveals that Moria was released in 1985, followed by UMoria in 1989, with Angband in 1994. I stand corrected:-)
--Cam
There isn't anything well thought out, or neatly crafted.
Did I mention that Angband is totally lacking in a plot? If you want a plot, go read J.R.Tolkien. Or watch Final Fantasy IIV, you know... that game that makes you play few parts in order to get to the really boring plot FMVs?
Everything has an air of ill-concieved pseudo-randomness
Did I mentioned that I've been playing since '96. I know ppl who have been playing longer than that. That pseudo-randomness guarantees that you will never get the remotiest chance to play it the same way twice.
You walk around killing D's for $.
By the time your killing D's, you shouldn't give a damn about $. You should be worring that you've got free action, see invisble, and getting resists.
This is anouther thing I like about Angband; just when you get get used to one style of play (killing o's for $) it changes. Its no longer worth your time to buy anything, and you spend your time scouring the dungeon for the randomly and pseudo-randomly generated items that really count.
--Cam
Turn Based RPGs aren't gone, they're just hiding.
Angband is possibly the best game ever. Granted the plot is totally lacking, but I can distribute the complete file on a floppy; and I judge every game against it. Its graphics are simplistic, yet convey more information than most gaming interfaces today. The controls require some learning, but allow the user to execute any command without delay or mouse movements. I've been playing it since 1996. Did I mention that it was Open Sourced in 1984, before the GPL was thought of, and can run on ANY OS that came out since then.
But its strongest aspect is that it is turn based. I can stop, walk away, smoke a cigerate, come back, walk a step, then go to the bathroom. Or I can run down a hall and assult a vault in less than 30 seconds. Because it is turn based the game runs at MY speed. I never feel that I had to make a split second decision. When I'm getting my ass kicked, I can slow down and analyze the situation.
The game kicks ass. I have wasted many a day playing it. I lost a keyboard when my HDD crashed and killed my best character. Check it out, read the help files, read rec.games.roguelike.angband and get hooked:-)
--Cam
I hate Cheat Sheats. If I use it, I'm admitting that the game is to hard to play, and that I'm not smart enough. I hate to admit that. So you can imagine that I never play games like Final Fantasy 7,8,9... the game is to hard. There are to many random items with little or no way to find out what todo. The world is to big with to few clues. And the plot line is to strange to be understood; I love surprises, but they have to be something I shoulda seen coming.
Which is anouther thing. I'm here to play a game. If I wanted to watch a movie I'd use the VCR. When I spend more time watching the game than I do playing it, its not worth my time. Soul Reaver:LoK was a good game with an exellent plot. It had me on the edge of my seat trying to figure out who was pulling Kain's strings, without ever getting the way of playing the game. Metal Gear Solid had a good plot that moved the game play along, and made sence of it all.
A good game that had a weak plot was Castlevania. But it was excellent for anouther reason. I spent more time exploring the castle and finding items than I did beating the game. And that was after I beat the game.
When I play a game, I want something I have to think about. I want something that gets my addrenaline running. And sometimes I want something that my fingers can play without me there. I don't want something that is more of a challenge to me than it is my wallet.
The shiney graphics are cool, but don't sell me a demo of the 3D abilities of the card I've already bought. Use the eyecandy to enhance the story and gameplay. My favorite game of all time is Angband. Writen in 1984 and constantly updated through the years, the graphics have been updated to color, and nothing else. Yet I can come into a new situation, and with just a glace at the screen, know my situation, recognize any of the 800+ monsters that could be attacking me, and be up todate on the game. It has no plot, but that ensures that you never play the same game twice. I'm still playin it after 6 years:-)
--Cam
I noticed that the most recent bid seems to be from an S_Hussein@StealTheOil.iraq in an apparent attempt to corner the market on Japan's military might.
Once he powers the hardsuits with Playstation2 consoles, he'll be unstopable. May god have mercy on our souls.
--Cam
Actually... when I was stationed in Korea, where even the American Newspapers report on local events instead of American events, I read an article about Japan delaying the Export of PS2s because they where afraid they could be used as guidance systems for weapons platforms.
Thankfully, the Japanise where reminded that they where the only nation whose military consisted of large robots controlled by the fantasies of geeks and nerds everywhere.
Personally, I just think it was Japans weak attempt to pretend to have the capacity of a military superpower.
--Cam
Come now... don't forget the good ones. Johhny Mnemonic ;based on NetRunner.
And... uhm..
--Cam
God, the first girl I dated I met on a BBS. Heck, I even asked her out online:-)
I miss good ol' INDEX in 'Lanta.
Every week we'd have a Bash... the INDEX office was filled with shit we ganked:-) Not just everything from a Waffle house but the employees, but a stool from Quzar, a newspaper stand, and countless road signs. We tried to get the Ben&Jerries cow, but security in that mall had caught onto us. Me and a bunch of others used to get online at night and all sneak out and drive around Atlanta packed into various small cars. Ever been 13 people inna pickup truck going 80mph down a neighbor hood road driven by the only person old enough to drink, and who was, of course, drunk?
God, what I loss in highschool I made up on the INDEX BBS:-)
So what happened to the cheesy ASCII graphics on Tradewars?:-) It just ain't the same!:-)
--Cam
Like the other dude said... its all a matter of finding the right race components. And the 'hack' is just a racing chip that replaces your current enginge control chip.
My truck doesn't have a chip... it's limited to 110mph by the physics of a super light truck hitting a bumb in the road. The Wright brothers got famous for a few of seconds in the air, why can't I?:-)
--Cam
Virgel,
Thank you for your reply. I understand your position better, and am no longer disturbed because of it:-).
However, let me clarify myself on one point. I do not believe that just because one soldier dies, every citizen of his country should rush to avenge his death. However, his country should not ask him to die unless it is willing to put EVERYTHING into winning. Vietnam was a farce because the only people who gave everything, were those who went.
Put down your copy of Thus Spake Zarathustra for a second and recognize that some of us -- perhaps not you -- prefer to deliberate before locking-and-loading, lacing up our BDU's and leaping at the latest state-sponsored crusade.
Exactly... except that soldiers have already promised not to deliberate. We've agreed that we'll let the US do that; while we train. So that when we ARE needed, we are ready. The tragity is that those who decide to send us on the next crusade, don't have the balls to follow through. One soldier dies in combat amd as it gets all over CNN, the US pulls everyone out. Nothing accomplished but the death of an American.
I think we both agree that war isn't something that should be entered light-heartedly.:-)
--Cam
Vergil, its nice to know that you'd be the first to put the gun to my head and pull the trigger.
I am an American Soldier. And next time I am in a fighting position in the middle of Kosovo, drenched from a weeklong rain, spending Christmas with my rifle instead of my family; I will remeber that an American Citizen would send me to war without the technology to win, so that I would die, so that everyone could be reminded how horrible war is.
War is not about killing. War is about proving to the other guy that you mean business, and will stop at nothing to get what you want. If something is imporant enough for one soldier to die for, then it should be important enough for every citizen of his country to die for. Including you, Vergil. Anything less is a waste of life.
I live for the day that war could be bloodless, for the day that after months of combat, nothing has been lost but years of stockpiling AI's armed with guns.
We should never forget how horrible war is. And that is why we should do everything to make it as bloodless as possible.
--Cam
"The object of war is not to die for your country, but to make the other bastard die for his" General George Patton
PS Vergil, I'll remeber you next time I'm in a strange land doing some bullshit because my country asked me to. And if any of my soldiers die because we lacked the technological, finacal, or moral support we needed... I'll remeber you.
I use the Sprint PCS network, but get my service through an associate of Sprint, US Unwired. Which means that I get raped when it comes to cost. However, the PCS network is wonderfull for cross contry travel. I have travelled all over Lousiana, and between La, NYC, Chicago, and Houston and rarely am I not in some kind of coverage. And while I due have to pay roaming chargers; I always keep my calls short, and never have to pay to much. The main seller for me was, I don't have to pay long distance, so calling home from NYC or from the barraks cost me the same. --Cam
As you seem so willing to share your sex life by protecting it as shodily as you did; we would like to skip the hassels of the courts and laws. As such, we have enclosed a check for $2500. BTW, we have encluded a copy of the CrackedPorn magazine in which your wife is the Cover star. We where thankfull for the pictures of yourself, your wife, and your 3 mistresses, and the story of you, the hooker, and the dog is one of the best we have published todate. CrackedPorn will be hitting the racks tommorow, be sure to tell your family and friends about it.
--The Editor
PS. Might I suggest that dogs prefer bacon fat over tartar sauce?
Actually, the aircraft I work on do us inertial navigation systems. And while they are expensive as all hell; I've only had to replace 2, right as the warranty expired.
I would assume that in the future you will see most aircraft with Inertial Navigation systems, making the ADS-B system even more percise. Untill then, a GPS system with an error of 5 meters, or possibly even 50 meters (How big is that plane anyways?) would work just fine.
--Cam
Funny thing, as I was logging into Slashdot, I was also reading the paper. Well, ok. I was reading the funnies, and scanning the front page.
The thing is, this newspaper (Stars and Stripes: Asia) seems to be made up of rehashed press releases and stories off the wire. Of course, with its main selling point being the only English paper avalable in Korea, it doesn't have to do any true reporting.
Which is what I think newspapers will have to do in the future. I think that in order to survive, newspapers will have to do more investigative reporting; more in depth articles. Less sensationalism or canned press releases. And less news off the wire. Sell the service of having someone go out and find out whats actually happening. And remeber, most ppl read a newspaper with a salt-shaker, so trust is something they'll have to reclaim.
--Cam
PS Don't forget the comics and humor articles... we are a pleasure centered species:)
This is a shining example of why a human explorer will always be better.
covering about 100 square feet daily.
And on favorable terrain. I could cover that in 15m, in any kind of terrain.
15 feet away, searching for anything that seems like a rock
Now, in a terrain loaded with rocks, 15 feet might be just right. But when you hit a dry spot, and all the rocks are 16 feet from you... you need more range. Esp when it takes you 20minutes to move a foot.
No mechanics or spare parts were taken along, either, since the aim is to make Nomad completely autonomous.
At least Nomad doesn't need to run to the crapper ever few hours. But if they ever get it to assimlate surrounding materials in order to make spare parts, it probably will.
``The breakthrough technologies are robotic classification and search. Humans classify every time they sort pennies from nickels, and they search every time they lose their car keys,'' said William ``Red'' Whittaker, founder of the Field Robotics Center at CMU. ``But these are new skills for robots.''
Ah... the entire reason for OpenSource... Use existing source code!
``It's quite moody actually,'' he said. ``Some days it's perfect, and others nothing will work.''
I appologize, they did.
I have never understood the reason behind robotic exploration. Sure, NASA didn't have to call the Mars Landers parents, but its not like we force people to make the choice. A human explorer is more capable of collecting information, moving around the terrain, and surving the experiance. And then said explorer goes from around the country, making money talking about what he did. And all the ppl "Oh" and "Ah", and all the kids say "I wanna do that when I grow up".
I think Nomad is great, it took alot of hard work, and I don't see the problems overcome as being easy ones. And I personally wouldn't want to spend several years walking around a piece of ice looking for rocks when I could get a robot to do it for me. But robotic explorers are not the way togo... they should be kept to the menial work that we are to lazy todo.
--Cam
We still know nothing about this planet. Hell, more than half of our probes have failed (I know about the faster, cheaper idea...). But without a few more major successes in the probe category and certainly a method of escape for astronauts venturing to Mars, it would be little more than suicide for anyone to think about going up there now.
Unlike our trips to the moon, which we proceeded with years of prob trips. Oh wait, No. We were the first to land only b/c the 1st Russian probe crashed hours before we landed. Well, its good that we had those extra Save-A-Spaceman pods on the moon incase our lander crashed.
The first trip to the moon was little more than suicide. Every trip to the moon was little more than suicide. Thats what a congressional medal of honor should be given out for.
What new technology needs to be invented so we can go to Mars?
None.
So why arn't we there?
Because America is to scared to allow someone else to risk thier own life to benifit the entire race.
--Cam
I'm sorry to say that I haven't read most of his stuff. I didn't discover Niven untill right before I took the hop over the big pond, and finding English books over here isn't easy.
What got me started on him was the Man-Kzin Wars, which arn't even by him. Its a collection of short stories by several SciFi Writers. They're a good collection of casual reads, although the stories by Niven suck. They're not his kind of stories, even if he did create the universe.
His collection of short stories in N Space is onna my favorite books. "Choclate Manhole Covers" is the best (and only logical) explantion of Alien visitation I've heard. The only thing he failed to explain is why only red-necks seem to get abducted.
"Inconsistant Moon" is a good love story. Both of the multiple universe stories where good. I'll save space and time by just saying that most of the stories in that collection are excellent.
--Cam
Sources said the problem occurred because the computer system was overloaded and badly stressed.
In order to deal with the incress of information that needs to analysed in order to maintian national security, the NSA has announced the advent of NSA@home. This screensaver will analize everything from ariel photographs of Bagdad to the habits of interns in DC.
Use of this client will count as government service for the purposes of everything but taxes and the draft.
--Cam
Ender's Game. The rest of the series went from OK to bad, but Ender's Game is one of the best Books I've read. It changed my approach to how I thought about ppl, and I read it when I was 17.
Niven is also a great writer. Untill I read him, I never seriously consider the implications of technologies on society, etc. etc. His "Mote In Gods Eye" and "The Grabbing Hand" where both good.
--Cam
Welcome to the first 24/7 WebNose that will go with me all the time. If I smell it, you smell it. I have a WebNose along with a 56.5k connection through my cell phone, allowing your nose to be with my nose at all times.
I've been experamenting with a WebNose in my hamster cage, however I've decided that you, the smeller, want something more variable and intresting.
Please don't email me complaining that you can't smell anything, its not my fault if my room smells just as jank and stale as yours.
--Cam
Kevin Mitnick hasn't used a computer in at least 5 years. Think how much the net and computing in general has changed in that time. The rise of microsoft, the advent of WindowsNT. Does Mitnick even know how to surf the Web?
I won't even try to comment on how Unix has changed.
Unless Mitnick does some major catching up, he is no more a threat than my ignorant ass.
Hopefully his parol officer will recognize this fact... which will open alot of job oppertunities.
--Cam