Fire Upon the Deep & Deepness in the Sky should have a special spot in anyone's library of sci-fi. True Names, Peace War and others are also standouts.
The article mentions the board member took (and failed) a 10th grade assessment test. But the linked sample questions are from a sub-article talking about a study of 8th grade tests? Surely the test discussed in the main article is different than the linked sample.
Can it be that anyone with a high school diploma (let alone the degrees the article claims) can not only fail a test with questions like these, but then come to the opinion that the test is at fault and not their radically inadequate math and problem solving abilities? After reading all this I have decided that the article must simply be wrong- the author has had a giant practical joke played on them, or the sample test questions were from the 4th grade version?
Quite frankly, if someone with 2 post-graduate degrees (even if his masters degrees were in basket-weaving and finger painting) could only hazard guesses at questions with this level of difficulty, they should simply resign from any job related to educating others. I'd also ask for a tuition refund from their university.
If you can't find sources of news on US television you're not smart enough to understand the news...
The Newshour, Frontline, Now, BBC World, BBCAmerica nightly newscast, Charlie Rose, Democracy Now, Expose and even a couple programs on CNN international.
Or you can always try practicing that whole "reading is fundamental" thing and check out a newspaper beyond the front page or website homepage.
This rant might be more *insightful* if the author accounted for the fact that voting machines and procedures are not determined or paid for at the national level.
Although if your county or state is also in debt, I guess this would still apply.
If you're running an illegal version of windows, but happen to actually have a license for a legit copy, how can you go about getting legit?
My friend has a pirated keygen'd version of xp pro, and also has a hologramed cd of xp pro complete with serial number and all... Is there an easy upgrade path available to him to go legit, without having to reinstall (too many games/apps/whatever he says.)
Welcome to the world of The Elder Scrolls... Oblivion comes out in a week.
The only way to level your character is to use your skills or go to a trainer and pay for lessons. Want to get better at picking locks? Pick some locks...
Couple of things- first, my Rio Nitrus has been running great for about a year. I see all these annecdotes above about problems with Rio players, but every hardware model issued has had a few bad eggs. I've never had a problem with mine, or the two Rio flash drives I've bought for others.
Also- what's with the ugly comments? It could look like a lump of shit (and the Nitrus it's based on doesn't btw), as long as it's small and light. If you need to show off a pretty player, then buy some white earbuds- they're still going to trail down to a player in your pocket no one can see.
This thing is functional and (eventually) will be cheaper than the mini when they do a full production run. More storage, better battery length- what's not to like?
If you're one of those people that would never run a killer system in a beige box, then maybe this is not for you. If you can't live without a little window to see your nifty LED lights bouncing off fans, then buy a mini.
I'd issue a fatwah against the white wires, but I'm still waiting for approval for my previously proposed fatwah- death to all those turning their collars up on polo shirts. Silver Spoons wannabe motherfuckers- you ain't Ricky Schroder, bitch.
People who start conversations regarding TV (and they seem to have them as often as they can) by telling you they don't have a tv because:
a) They have WAY TOO MUCH GOING ON in their life to have time for TV b) They are WAY TOO SMART for the crap that's on TV c) They last saw a good show on TV in 1974 d) They think that divorcing themselves from pop culture is avant garde and oh so punk rock
Should please stop it. No one cares, or no one believes you. Either way, stop bugging us.
I watched the mini-series, and like many here thought it had it's pros and cons. But the fact that they're putting their money on this rather than Farscape is proof to me that the execs at SciFi just have bad taste.
It's almost like some movie execs were sitting around and someone said "I'd love to make an interesting thriller with great twists and a killer core concept, but I don't want the mildly retarded to have a hard time following the plot."
At least there is on my cable system (Time Warner Digital Cable, NYC.) It used to be called the Discovery Science channel I believe.
There are lots of programs on the *3* public TV stations available in my area, plus many of the shows on the Discovery Channel (natural sciences count as *real* imho) are great. It's up to you whether to include either of the 2 health channels, but I think we're doing alright.
Could be better, but it's not a sky-is-falling situation.
I've just read through the comments above, and nobody seems to be talking about what actually happened during this 2 hour crap fest.
If the first mini-series that the SciFi channel produced was of mediocre quality, at least they stuck to the plot. It was a reasonably faithful production of a long and complicated novel.
This new Children of Dune mini-series just rewrites Herbert every other scene. Things are out of context, people are added and subtracted, and Susan Sarandan as Princess Wensicia is suddenly the central plotter of a conspiracy that the Bene Geserit barely understands. (Uh... was she even in the first book? Or was it just that important to insert her because of her prominent billing in the credits.) There's a list a mile long of everything that's annoying about the show, and it's only 1/3 of the way through.
If you've never read the books it might have been enjoyable- I wouldn't know. But if you're familiar with the novels and you're a little geeky about them (and I assume that's a vast majority of slashdotters) you're going to hate this.
On the positive side- it looks cool. So it's got that going for it. Watch it for ten or 15 minutes and then go read the book.
Shhh! My sig fell asleep and I don't want to wake it.
In today's NYTimes (registration blah blah) there's a big op/ed piece on the subject of Hollywood versus, well, everyone else, and why the public and it's representatives in Congress just don't get it.
Slashdot Mirror
Fire Upon the Deep & Deepness in the Sky should have a special spot in anyone's library of sci-fi. True Names, Peace War and others are also standouts.
The article mentions the board member took (and failed) a 10th grade assessment test. But the linked sample questions are from a sub-article talking about a study of 8th grade tests? Surely the test discussed in the main article is different than the linked sample.
Can it be that anyone with a high school diploma (let alone the degrees the article claims) can not only fail a test with questions like these, but then come to the opinion that the test is at fault and not their radically inadequate math and problem solving abilities? After reading all this I have decided that the article must simply be wrong- the author has had a giant practical joke played on them, or the sample test questions were from the 4th grade version?
Quite frankly, if someone with 2 post-graduate degrees (even if his masters degrees were in basket-weaving and finger painting) could only hazard guesses at questions with this level of difficulty, they should simply resign from any job related to educating others. I'd also ask for a tuition refund from their university.
You're kidding right? Most of those later books can be compressed into about 14 paragraphs.
Stay tuned, film at 11:00pm shows the world might not be fair after all!
If you can't find sources of news on US television you're not smart enough to understand the news...
The Newshour, Frontline, Now, BBC World, BBCAmerica nightly newscast, Charlie Rose, Democracy Now, Expose and even a couple programs on CNN international.
Or you can always try practicing that whole "reading is fundamental" thing and check out a newspaper beyond the front page or website homepage.
This rant might be more *insightful* if the author accounted for the fact that voting machines and procedures are not determined or paid for at the national level.
Although if your county or state is also in debt, I guess this would still apply.
I should mention- it might be the corp version (the current pirated os he's running) if it makes a difference.
If you're running an illegal version of windows, but happen to actually have a license for a legit copy, how can you go about getting legit?
My friend has a pirated keygen'd version of xp pro, and also has a hologramed cd of xp pro complete with serial number and all... Is there an easy upgrade path available to him to go legit, without having to reinstall (too many games/apps/whatever he says.)
Anyone who can say they prefer an Ipod to a beer during their college years (or a fucking website for fucks sake) makes me so so sad.
Have a peanut and die.
Welcome to the world of The Elder Scrolls... Oblivion comes out in a week.
The only way to level your character is to use your skills or go to a trainer and pay for lessons. Want to get better at picking locks? Pick some locks...
Couple of things- first, my Rio Nitrus has been running great for about a year. I see all these annecdotes above about problems with Rio players, but every hardware model issued has had a few bad eggs. I've never had a problem with mine, or the two Rio flash drives I've bought for others.
Also- what's with the ugly comments? It could look like a lump of shit (and the Nitrus it's based on doesn't btw), as long as it's small and light. If you need to show off a pretty player, then buy some white earbuds- they're still going to trail down to a player in your pocket no one can see.
This thing is functional and (eventually) will be cheaper than the mini when they do a full production run. More storage, better battery length- what's not to like?
If you're one of those people that would never run a killer system in a beige box, then maybe this is not for you. If you can't live without a little window to see your nifty LED lights bouncing off fans, then buy a mini.
I'd issue a fatwah against the white wires, but I'm still waiting for approval for my previously proposed fatwah- death to all those turning their collars up on polo shirts. Silver Spoons wannabe motherfuckers- you ain't Ricky Schroder, bitch.
People who start conversations regarding TV (and they seem to have them as often as they can) by telling you they don't have a tv because:
a) They have WAY TOO MUCH GOING ON in their life to have time for TV
b) They are WAY TOO SMART for the crap that's on TV
c) They last saw a good show on TV in 1974
d) They think that divorcing themselves from pop culture is avant garde and oh so punk rock
Should please stop it. No one cares, or no one believes you. Either way, stop bugging us.
I watched the mini-series, and like many here thought it had it's pros and cons. But the fact that they're putting their money on this rather than Farscape is proof to me that the execs at SciFi just have bad taste.
It's almost like some movie execs were sitting around and someone said "I'd love to make an interesting thriller with great twists and a killer core concept, but I don't want the mildly retarded to have a hard time following the plot."
At least there is on my cable system (Time Warner Digital Cable, NYC.) It used to be called the Discovery Science channel I believe.
There are lots of programs on the *3* public TV stations available in my area, plus many of the shows on the Discovery Channel (natural sciences count as *real* imho) are great. It's up to you whether to include either of the 2 health channels, but I think we're doing alright.
Could be better, but it's not a sky-is-falling situation.
Ding Dong! The Witch is dead.
Which old Witch? The Wicked Witch!
Ding Dong! The Wicked Witch is dead.
I've just read through the comments above, and nobody seems to be talking about what actually happened during this 2 hour crap fest.
If the first mini-series that the SciFi channel produced was of mediocre quality, at least they stuck to the plot. It was a reasonably faithful production of a long and complicated novel.
This new Children of Dune mini-series just rewrites Herbert every other scene. Things are out of context, people are added and subtracted, and Susan Sarandan as Princess Wensicia is suddenly the central plotter of a conspiracy that the Bene Geserit barely understands. (Uh... was she even in the first book? Or was it just that important to insert her because of her prominent billing in the credits.) There's a list a mile long of everything that's annoying about the show, and it's only 1/3 of the way through.
If you've never read the books it might have been enjoyable- I wouldn't know. But if you're familiar with the novels and you're a little geeky about them (and I assume that's a vast majority of slashdotters) you're going to hate this.
On the positive side- it looks cool. So it's got that going for it. Watch it for ten or 15 minutes and then go read the book.
Shhh! My sig fell asleep and I don't want to wake it.
I can add NYCWireless to the list. Great source for those of us in the city.
In today's NYTimes (registration blah blah) there's a big op/ed piece on the subject of Hollywood versus, well, everyone else, and why the public and it's representatives in Congress just don't get it.