This is a remake of BS:G the same way Prince of Thieves is a Robin Hood movie. It's the same setting/universe, but a markedly different script.
That said, I *adore* the original series, but I also like this adaptation. (Though I hated SF's version of DUNE.)
There are only 2 problems I have with this version so far:
1) It lacks the grand, bombastic hollywood feel of the original. The score isn't memorable. The sets, while good, looks more "Earthy" than the originals. Never mind the lack of "A" list actors. (No, "Stands with a fist" from Dances with Wolves is NOT "A" list!)
2) I'm *not* impressed with the subplots... for example, there aren't any. No confrontation with Sire Uri. No mines to blow up to Carolon. No "Gold Cluster medal ceremony". No Colonel Tigh "borrowing" uniforms... etc. Even the card game where Starbuck punches Tigh doesn't do much.
This script so far has solely revolved around the humans making the cylons. Heck, we didn't even get to see the destruction of the fleet this time!
Still, it's a watchable and interesting adaptation. I say make the series. But give it a bigger budget and cut down on the Baltar-angst-sex scenes with the ghost of Number 6.
I disagree. I come across many quarters that have been in circulation for a long time which have lost the ridges. Next time you get a 70s or 80s quarter, compare it to a new one. Coins, like all solid objects, *wear* over time.
As for thinness, yes, that's true. *If* you have a quarter to compare it to.
Try this: go to a restaurant or cafe or something with a friend. Get your stuff, make small talk, etc. Then close your eyes and have your friend put either a worn quarter or a Sac dollar in your hand. If you can positively ID it, you're better than I am.
Is this a major issue? No. But IMHO it would be an easy one to fix.
As for bills, I think they should have raised dots for braille, as most European money does.
...is that the US has never had a good one. At least, not in recent memory.
* The Ike dollar (I keep one in my wallet as a memento) is *huge*. But five of those in your pocket and you're encumbered! * The Anthony? Bah. The "Carter Quarter" has it's heart in the right place, but not it's head. Too easy to mistake for a quarter. * The Sacagawea? Getting better, but still poor. The color change helps, but the size and shape is bad. If you're blind, it's impossible to tell from the quarter, like the Anthony.
What I'd do: * Redesign the dollar coin to be 1/10th larger than the quarter. This would be smaller than the half dollar, but still be big enough to tell what it is by touch. * Make it a different SHAPE. Square or pentagonal with rounded edges, for example.
Granted, that's a possible purpose. Maybe I saw that Connections episode one too many times or just play too much Civ. However, reason #2:
http://www.alternatehistory.com/gateway/essays/O ri onProblems.html
"Tayler's original proposal was for a vehicle 16 stories high and with a pusher plate 135 feet in diameter. The launch pad would have consisted of eight stabilization towers, each 250 feet high. The vehicle's initial mass would have been 10,000 tons. The bomb units ejected on takeoff would have yielded 0.1 kiloton, initially at an ejection rate of one per second. As the vehicle accelerated the rate would slow down and the yield would increase until 20-kiloton bombs would have been going off every ten seconds. A total of 2000 bombs would have been required, making up approximately half of the spacecraft's mass. These would have allowed it to reach escape velocity. Since the payload would have been several thousand tons, it was proposed to man the craft with a crew of 150. The original cost estimate for the construction of this craft, from Dyson, was 100 million dollars per year for 12 years. Since the vehicle could not land using the pulse drive, the designers probably anticipated that a conventional vehicle would be available to shuttle crew and material between the ship and planetary surfaces."...100,000,000 million 1959 dollars is $598,394,526 today! For twelve years? That's $7,180,734,312 ($7.1 billion) to build! People griped about paying 2.1 billion in 1991 for space shuttle Endeavor! And these are just building costs. Nasa spends $300 million to launch the shuttle. Orion wouldn't be cheap, and it wouldn't come down... so you still need some sort of "shuttle"...
Never mind the inevitable cost over-runs... Then there are the environmental issues.
Because the Orion is an interstellar spacecraft and not a LEO (low earth orbit) vehicle. Even if we wanted to spend the money to build such a craft, it would be most safely be built IN space. Which means you need a shuttle replacement anyway.
Is great for non-techies, and is well written. But I suspect the average/.'er has learned most of the stuff in books 1&2 by osmosis already... and I'll wager that book 3 isn't much of a departure in terms of content.
"Tibet has been an independent country (even an empire at times) in Central Asia since about 1000 BCE." That's -873 by the Tibetan Calendar. (http://mypage.direct.ca/w/wattj/Western.htm) (2130 -3003= -873)).
I really, really, really dislike the "Before Common Era" CRAP that has become vogue of late. It's Anno Domini guys. You may not believe in the Christian God. You may not believe in God at all.
BUT the civilized world accepts the AD dating system. Period. People don't go around with 36 or 48 hour days, though it is possible. Saying "1000 BCE" means about the same as "4492 by the Coptic Calendar". However with BCE, because you're still dating from the birth of Jesus Christ, you're only putting a Politically Correct name to it.
If you want to make a break, do METRIC TIME. At least that's a standard the rest of the world acknowledges for measurement. (Check out http://www.indwes.edu/Faculty/bcupp/things/metrict m.htm).
The main problem of outsourced IT is that I've rarely seen two different consultants agree on anything!
Consultant one: Well, you have a small shop and don't want a dedicated IT guy, so I'll set up Microsoft SBS (Small Business Server) so you'll have any function you can possibly need.
Consultant two: I don't know what that other guy was thinking, but it's pointless! You could have just bought (insert single application here) and saved a TON of money!...repeat as necessary with *every* piece of software/hardware in the environment, each time a new consultant comes by.
Something broken? Obviously the guy who worked on it last/set it up was a moron. Needless to say that this gets much worse depending on how many different guys you use. And not having a company-to-company relationship can really hurt when the e-mail server is down and John won't return phone calls.
When I was in Vienna, Austria back in July of 1994, the big news on MTV Text was the new Indiana Jones movie, supposedly to focus around the "Spear of Destiny", the spear which stabbed Christ during the Crucifixion was in the works. Hmm.
BTW, MTV Text was a second MTV channel (this is back when Euro MTV was in English 24-7) which was text only news.
When can we forget this car fad? There are 8,000 cars in the this country. (Which accounted for 96 auto-related deaths!) Horses are not only much more efficient and clean, but are also MUCH safer. It's obvious they're just rich toys that will never catch on for most people. Would you pay 1 or 2 years wages for some machine that can't even pull 250lbs? Really!! These machines haven't made anyone's life any better. 25 miles to a gallon of gasoline? My horse can do that at a quarter the cost, and doesn't put those foul black gasses into the air.
And then these people, speeding around on the 10 miles of these new, expensive, "toy" paved roads. Even 10 miles of pavement is too much in our glorious 48-state Republic. Paved roads are dangerous! They encourage high rates of speed in these confounded contraptions!! Fortunately, 15 states now have 20mph speed limits. Still too fast, if you ask me.
And these other fads! Just as useless. Teddy bears. Flying machines. Nickelodeon machines. Victrola machines. Machines! Machines!! Machines!!! All these useless "entertaining" contraptions!! Technology for technology's sake!! What in the name of Heaven and Earth are they good for?!?
We live in an enlightened age. We have an 11% literacy rate! And $13 a week for a mere 59 hours of work per week is plenty!
Enough useless toys!! We need to hunker down, combat bimetallism to retain the gold standard, and return to an agrarian society! I'm convinced that all this so-called progress has only resulted in unhappy people being subjected to the morally bankrupt cities. Being forced to work jobs they don't like in squalor.
You watch. If this so-called "progress" continues, we'll have women voters, lose the protectorate in Cuba, and have a slothful and degenerate society! What's next, pre-cooked foodstuffs?!?
This is a nation which still hasn't launched a person into space, let alone have the capacity to go to the moon soon. At the time of the Apollo missions, the US was spending 1% (http://members.aol.com/dsportree/VH04.htm) of the GNP on NASA. The Soviets were probably spending about the same amount of dough. That's was 6 billion in 1967 dollars, or about 32 billion dollars today. Can China afford this? I'm dubious, especially given the current world economy.
Tack on the expenses both nations had (US with Mercury & Gemini, USSR with the various Vostok missions), and the experience China will have to gain... I'd wager on a 2012 landing and 2020 at best for a permanent base. It will take many heavy-lifting flights to get stuff to the moon, and just one disaster to set back the whole timeframe.
Further, the natural Chinese economic advantage (lots of cheap labor), is of little value in the aerospace realm. Sure, you can have folks using picks and shovels on a dam along side modern construction equipment. But on a Saturn V/N-1 type rocket? Not likely.
Can they do it? Sure. So could ESA, Japan and probably a half dozen other nations like Australia, Brazil or India. Will they? Probably, they want the bragging rights. But by 2006? No way.
BTW, I'm from Bridgeport, CT. Often on 95, my friends and I shout "GUSTAV!!" at North Carolinians driving dumb. This happens more than you might expect. We doubt they get it.:-)
There are actually a few problems: * There are no pictures of any of Whitehead's flying machines. This includes from the Bridgeport Post (now the Connecticut Post), which of all papers should have had one. (http://www.flug-revue.rotor.com/FRHeft/FRH9 805/FR 9805e.htm)
** The witness's stories don't jive (time, date, location, etc), and they were only taken down in the 1930s, after Gustav was already dead.
*** My question: Igor Sikorsky was already building planes & helicopters in Stratford/Bridgeport around 1924. Gustav didn't die until 1927. How did these guys never talk to each other and the story get more press???
I work (as a contractor) at a Board of Ed. We've had three different laptop programs, and the first two were dismal failures. Now with the 3rd one, kids won't be taking them home. The problem with laptops and kids is the same as palmtops and kids.
The problem is that children aren't adults, and are (generally) less responsible and tend to throw their bags/coats etc. In short, things get broken. Never mind "I left it at home" excuse derailing a project and wasting time in the classroom. Wired workstations are still the way to go, not only for speed, but also for reliability.
Before asking "can we", the question is "should we"?
The monkier should have been "WHEN would you go?", since the time machine only travels in the 4th dimension (time), not in the other three! That's why he drags the machine in the original film! As for the '79 version, I didn't care for it becoming a "Tardis" (Time And Relative Dimensions in Space). San Franciso indeed. Hrumph!
My site only has 5 techs, another engineer, and a program manager. (All of which, barring one tech, came in after me).
When I arrived, I started a "Thursday night out" where we go to a different pub every week. About half the crew participates.
During this time steam gets blown off, information gets passed, and these members of the team are a lot closer than the others. Sure, we don't hang out on the weekends or anything, but the night out makes the job a lot more enjoyable.
That, and drinking with the boss has its advantages. I've learned all *kinds* of useful information vis-a-vis social engineering. Relatively easy after 3 or 4 pints of Guiness.
I've been addicted to this game since I got my hands on Civ I the first week IT was out. Each version of the game has fleshed out what the others are lacking, and I gotta say: FOR ONCE THE DIPLOMACY ROCKS! Finally, the ability to trade what you want! The AI is much better as well.
Sid's cleaned up lots of the failings of Civs I & II, and the graphics are pretty, but not obtrusive.
I like the minor wonders (can be built, rebuilt...) and that the I especially like the Culture concept. That major wonders are only destroyed with a city makes sense, and that you can finally liquidate cities without going the "bleed settler" route is a big help.
I'm not particularly happy about losing my Diplomats and Spies as units, but it does make the gameplay different.
The best new improvement? The game is no longer "city oriented" but NATIONALLY oriented, so support for your units comes from the state, not each city. Much better.
BTW- To make your own civilization at startup, choose what "traits" you want (ie: Scientific, Expansionist) and click on the picture for that culture.:-)
Slashdot Mirror
What do you mean when? I thought that decision was made back in 1994!
This is a remake of BS:G the same way Prince of Thieves is a Robin Hood movie. It's the same setting/universe, but a markedly different script.
That said, I *adore* the original series, but I also like this adaptation. (Though I hated SF's version of DUNE.)
There are only 2 problems I have with this version so far:
1) It lacks the grand, bombastic hollywood feel of the original. The score isn't memorable. The sets, while good, looks more "Earthy" than the originals. Never mind the lack of "A" list actors. (No, "Stands with a fist" from Dances with Wolves is NOT "A" list!)
2) I'm *not* impressed with the subplots... for example, there aren't any. No confrontation with Sire Uri. No mines to blow up to Carolon. No "Gold Cluster medal ceremony". No Colonel Tigh "borrowing" uniforms... etc. Even the card game where Starbuck punches Tigh doesn't do much.
This script so far has solely revolved around the humans making the cylons. Heck, we didn't even get to see the destruction of the fleet this time!
Still, it's a watchable and interesting adaptation. I say make the series. But give it a bigger budget and cut down on the Baltar-angst-sex scenes with the ghost of Number 6.
A WarSCUBA expedition has found forty-two 802.11b connections! ...none were using WEP, but Kerberos was there.
I visited Warwick Castle in England last year, and in the Mill there is an electic car... from before 1900!
i ll.asp
Warwick Castle-
http://www.warwick-castle.co.uk/castle/m
Is it me, or did the internal combustion engine somehow stop research in this area for a long time?
I disagree. I come across many quarters that have been in circulation for a long time which have lost the ridges. Next time you get a 70s or 80s quarter, compare it to a new one. Coins, like all solid objects, *wear* over time.
As for thinness, yes, that's true. *If* you have a quarter to compare it to.
Try this: go to a restaurant or cafe or something with a friend. Get your stuff, make small talk, etc. Then close your eyes and have your friend put either a worn quarter or a Sac dollar in your hand. If you can positively ID it, you're better than I am.
Is this a major issue? No. But IMHO it would be an easy one to fix.
As for bills, I think they should have raised dots for braille, as most European money does.
...is that the US has never had a good one. At least, not in recent memory.
* The Ike dollar (I keep one in my wallet as a memento) is *huge*. But five of those in your pocket and you're encumbered!
* The Anthony? Bah. The "Carter Quarter" has it's heart in the right place, but not it's head. Too easy to mistake for a quarter.
* The Sacagawea? Getting better, but still poor. The color change helps, but the size and shape is bad. If you're blind, it's impossible to tell from the quarter, like the Anthony.
What I'd do:
* Redesign the dollar coin to be 1/10th larger than the quarter. This would be smaller than the half dollar, but still be big enough to tell what it is by touch.
* Make it a different SHAPE. Square or pentagonal with rounded edges, for example.
Granted, that's a possible purpose. Maybe I saw that Connections episode one too many times or just play too much Civ. However, reason #2:
O ri onProblems.html
...100,000,000 million 1959 dollars is $598,394,526 today! For twelve years? That's $7,180,734,312 ($7.1 billion) to build!
http://www.alternatehistory.com/gateway/essays/
"Tayler's original proposal was for a vehicle 16 stories high and with a pusher plate 135 feet in diameter. The launch pad would have consisted of eight stabilization towers, each 250 feet high. The vehicle's initial mass would have been 10,000 tons. The bomb units ejected on takeoff would have yielded 0.1 kiloton, initially at an ejection rate of one per second. As the vehicle accelerated the rate would slow down and the yield would increase until 20-kiloton bombs would have been going off every ten seconds. A total of 2000 bombs would have been required, making up approximately half of the spacecraft's mass. These would have allowed it to reach escape velocity. Since the payload would have been several thousand tons, it was proposed to man the craft with a crew of 150. The original cost estimate for the construction of this craft, from Dyson, was 100 million dollars per year for 12 years. Since the vehicle could not land using the pulse drive, the designers probably anticipated that a conventional vehicle would be available to shuttle crew and material between the ship and planetary surfaces."
People griped about paying 2.1 billion in 1991 for space shuttle Endeavor!
And these are just building costs. Nasa spends $300 million to launch the shuttle. Orion wouldn't be cheap, and it wouldn't come down... so you still need some sort of "shuttle"...
Never mind the inevitable cost over-runs... Then there are the environmental issues.
Because the Orion is an interstellar spacecraft and not a LEO (low earth orbit) vehicle. Even if we wanted to spend the money to build such a craft, it would be most safely be built IN space. Which means you need a shuttle replacement anyway.
Is great for non-techies, and is well written. But I suspect the average /.'er has learned most of the stuff in books 1&2 by osmosis already... and I'll wager that book 3 isn't much of a departure in terms of content.
"Tibet has been an independent country (even an empire at times) in Central Asia since about 1000 BCE." That's -873 by the Tibetan Calendar. (http://mypage.direct.ca/w/wattj/Western.htm) (2130 -3003= -873)).
t m.htm).
I really, really, really dislike the "Before Common Era" CRAP that has become vogue of late.
It's Anno Domini guys. You may not believe in the Christian God. You may not believe in God at all.
BUT the civilized world accepts the AD dating system. Period. People don't go around with 36 or 48 hour days, though it is possible. Saying "1000 BCE" means about the same as "4492 by the Coptic Calendar". However with BCE, because you're still dating from the birth of Jesus Christ, you're only putting a Politically Correct name to it.
If you want to make a break, do METRIC TIME. At least that's a standard the rest of the world acknowledges for measurement. (Check out http://www.indwes.edu/Faculty/bcupp/things/metric
>Soapbox$:/off
The main problem of outsourced IT is that I've rarely seen two different consultants agree on anything!
...repeat as necessary with *every* piece of software/hardware in the environment, each time a new consultant comes by.
Consultant one: Well, you have a small shop and don't want a dedicated IT guy, so I'll set up Microsoft SBS (Small Business Server) so you'll have any function you can possibly need.
Consultant two: I don't know what that other guy was thinking, but it's pointless! You could have just bought (insert single application here) and saved a TON of money!
Something broken? Obviously the guy who worked on it last/set it up was a moron. Needless to say that this gets much worse depending on how many different guys you use. And not having a company-to-company relationship can really hurt when the e-mail server is down and John won't return phone calls.
Then it'd have stopped anyone from leaving the island!
Be seeing you!
When I was in Vienna, Austria back in July of 1994, the big news on MTV Text was the new Indiana Jones movie, supposedly to focus around the "Spear of Destiny", the spear which stabbed Christ during the Crucifixion was in the works. Hmm.
BTW, MTV Text was a second MTV channel (this is back when Euro MTV was in English 24-7) which was text only news.
When can we forget this car fad?
There are 8,000 cars in the this country. (Which accounted for 96 auto-related deaths!) Horses are not only much more efficient and clean, but are also MUCH safer.
It's obvious they're just rich toys that will never catch on for most people. Would you pay 1 or 2 years wages for some machine that can't even pull 250lbs? Really!! These machines haven't made anyone's life any better. 25 miles to a gallon of gasoline? My horse can do that at a quarter the cost, and doesn't put those foul black gasses into the air.
And then these people, speeding around on the 10 miles of these new, expensive, "toy" paved roads.
Even 10 miles of pavement is too much in our glorious 48-state Republic. Paved roads are dangerous! They encourage high rates of speed in these confounded contraptions!! Fortunately, 15 states now have 20mph speed limits. Still too fast, if you ask me.
And these other fads! Just as useless. Teddy bears. Flying machines. Nickelodeon machines. Victrola machines. Machines! Machines!! Machines!!! All these useless "entertaining" contraptions!! Technology for technology's sake!! What in the name of Heaven and Earth are they good for?!?
We live in an enlightened age. We have an 11% literacy rate! And $13 a week for a mere 59 hours of work per week is plenty!
Enough useless toys!! We need to hunker down, combat bimetallism to retain the gold standard, and return to an agrarian society! I'm convinced that all this so-called progress has only resulted in unhappy people being subjected to the morally bankrupt cities. Being forced to work jobs they don't like in squalor.
You watch. If this so-called "progress" continues, we'll have women voters, lose the protectorate in Cuba, and have a slothful and degenerate society! What's next, pre-cooked foodstuffs?!?
This is a nation which still hasn't launched a person into space, let alone have the capacity to go to the moon soon. At the time of the Apollo missions, the US was spending 1% (http://members.aol.com/dsportree/VH04.htm) of the GNP on NASA. The Soviets were probably spending about the same amount of dough. That's was 6 billion in 1967 dollars, or about 32 billion dollars today. Can China afford this? I'm dubious, especially given the current world economy.
Tack on the expenses both nations had (US with Mercury & Gemini, USSR with the various Vostok missions), and the experience China will have to gain... I'd wager on a 2012 landing and 2020 at best for a permanent base. It will take many heavy-lifting flights to get stuff to the moon, and just one disaster to set back the whole timeframe.
Further, the natural Chinese economic advantage (lots of cheap labor), is of little value in the aerospace realm. Sure, you can have folks using picks and shovels on a dam along side modern construction equipment. But on a Saturn V/N-1 type rocket? Not likely.
Can they do it? Sure. So could ESA, Japan and probably a half dozen other nations like Australia, Brazil or India. Will they? Probably, they want the bragging rights. But by 2006? No way.
...when you're cool, the sun always shines.
:-)
Toast!
"R"
URABUTLN
BTW, I'm from Bridgeport, CT. Often on 95, my friends and I shout "GUSTAV!!" at North Carolinians driving dumb. This happens more than you might expect. We doubt they get it. :-)
9 805/FR 9805e.htm)
There are actually a few problems:
* There are no pictures of any of Whitehead's flying machines. This includes from the Bridgeport Post (now the Connecticut Post), which of all papers should have had one.
(http://www.flug-revue.rotor.com/FRHeft/FRH
** The witness's stories don't jive (time, date, location, etc), and they were only taken down in the 1930s, after Gustav was already dead.
*** My question: Igor Sikorsky was already building planes & helicopters in Stratford/Bridgeport around 1924. Gustav didn't die until 1927. How did these guys never talk to each other and the story get more press???
That anyone actually considers this thing authentic.
I work (as a contractor) at a Board of Ed. We've had three different laptop programs, and the first two were dismal failures. Now with the 3rd one, kids won't be taking them home. The problem with laptops and kids is the same as palmtops and kids.
The problem is that children aren't adults, and are (generally) less responsible and tend to throw their bags/coats etc. In short, things get broken. Never mind "I left it at home" excuse derailing a project and wasting time in the classroom. Wired workstations are still the way to go, not only for speed, but also for reliability.
Before asking "can we", the question is "should we"?
To know how many of these "internal Microsoft e-mails" are frauds. I mean, I see an *awful* lot of them, and I'm not really looking for them.
I didn't say he had a TARDIS, just that the 79' version travelled in both time and space, vs. just time.
The monkier should have been "WHEN would you go?", since the time machine only travels in the 4th dimension (time), not in the other three!
That's why he drags the machine in the original film!
As for the '79 version, I didn't care for it becoming a "Tardis" (Time And Relative Dimensions in Space). San Franciso indeed. Hrumph!
Sure, why not. Heck, I blocked France on principle!
My site only has 5 techs, another engineer, and a program manager. (All of which, barring one tech, came in after me).
When I arrived, I started a "Thursday night out" where we go to a different pub every week. About half the crew participates.
During this time steam gets blown off, information gets passed, and these members of the team are a lot closer than the others. Sure, we don't hang out on the weekends or anything, but the night out makes the job a lot more enjoyable.
That, and drinking with the boss has its advantages. I've learned all *kinds* of useful information vis-a-vis social engineering. Relatively easy after 3 or 4 pints of Guiness.
I've been addicted to this game since I got my hands on Civ I the first week IT was out. Each version of the game has fleshed out what the others are lacking, and I gotta say: FOR ONCE THE DIPLOMACY ROCKS! Finally, the ability to trade what you want! The AI is much better as well.
:-)
Sid's cleaned up lots of the failings of Civs I & II, and the graphics are pretty, but not obtrusive.
I like the minor wonders (can be built, rebuilt...) and that the I especially like the Culture concept. That major wonders are only destroyed with a city makes sense, and that you can finally liquidate cities without going the "bleed settler" route is a big help.
I'm not particularly happy about losing my Diplomats and Spies as units, but it does make the gameplay different.
The best new improvement? The game is no longer "city oriented" but NATIONALLY oriented, so support for your units comes from the state, not each city. Much better.
BTW- To make your own civilization at startup, choose what "traits" you want (ie: Scientific, Expansionist) and click on the picture for that culture.