So is a fleshlight. Would you give those to a child to play with? How about something with a less specific use - like a laser pointer. Or a starter pistol.
You may consider the iPhone to be JUST a toy, but it is a portable communication computer likes of which didn't exist when you were born. Also, it contains an explosivebattery packed into a housing that heats up when in use AND a microwave device that is still argued about regarding if it causes cancer or not. And that's just the physical injuries that it can cause to an unsupervised toddler. But what do I care. Your kid, your money, your problem.
You know, on a dare from a girlfriend, I once tried to be an idiot for a week. She said I couldn't possibly do it, that there was no way I could act stupid and ignorant for a whole week, letting people think I was dumb, never chiming in with the "right" answer, asking questions instead of handing out facts. I lasted less than a day, trying to be stupid was psychological torture for me.
Interesting experiment there. But besides being at a disadvantage (unless you go on a vacation or something) cause people you communicate already know you, I'm guessing that you would have to make some really stupid choices cause you'd be agreeing with a lot of stupid people. Cause, while I guess that one could put himself/herself into shoes of an idiot and develop a pattern of idiotic thinking/logic - it would be hard to un-remember all the stuff you picked up along the way so far. Stupid ain't just the way of thinking - stupid also includes difficulties in learning. At best, you would need weeks to prepare for that role - AND people buying your act.
It has happened to all of us, hearing that little voice in the back of our heads going, "God DAMN it, they are RIGHT and I am WRONG! This can not be! Maybe if I keep arguing they will go away before everyone realizes the truth..." I've been there. I mean, if you are smart, you are opinionated, because you are used to being right. Which makes it that much harder to admit when you really are wrong. And the tjernobyl guy, as right as he is about the transliteration, is still an idiot, which just makes it burn that much more.
Nooo... not really. I tend not to go into arguments unless I am certain about something. I know... not very gentlemanly, like betting on a sure thing, but hey...
Problem with the "catfight" above is that I went into it for fun, pointing at and making fun of a troll - and then people decided to take that way to seriously and pick on me on a point that I am pretty fucking certain of. And I mean like 2nd grade stuff certain, cause that is when I was taught Cyrillic in school.
Granted, not Russian or Ukrainian "flavor" of Cyrillic, but very close to it. And in neither of those is Ch in Chernobyl pronounced anything remotely close to Tj. - there is simply no basis for it to be transliterated that way. I have no idea how Swedes pronounce it though. Maybe their "tj" is English "ch", I don't know.
So, I am quite certain how it sounds in my native language, I am quite certain how it sounds in Russian or Ukrainian and how each of the characters in the name is pronounced AND I am quite certain how it is pronounced in English. Not with a "tj" as in... well, nothing comes to mind - but with a "ch" as in chocolate or in Che Guevara.
I even provided links that explain where they are wrong with transliteration for those who believe that it should be Tjernobyl. It was a fun "catfight" for a while though.
Consider Phlebas like The State of the Art has a problem of being about nothing. It lacks the theme that would make it interesting for the viewer. Even its MacGuffin is irrelevant for the most of the story and pointless in the end. It would have to endure SEVERE changes to be filmable, most of them dealing with characters and their fates.
Now, a Culture book that MIGHT be filmable is The Player of Games. But only should a director like Christopher Nolan be found to do it - but not Nolan himself. Someone of his caliber (he got people to watch a metaphor on movie-making for 2 and a half hours - and love it) but with different "background". He does great when the theme behind the story can be translated into philosophy and metaphors. The Player of Games needs someone with a background in sociology.
Pushing Ice on the other hand can be easily filmed as a trilogy. With small changes in chronology. Sadly, the easiest way I see for it to be made is to make it into a Twilight clone. It's half way there already... Main character being a female named Bella... who gets to be rejuvenated/stay (nearly) forever young... All it needs is for the aliens to be tall, pale and handsome vampires.
Spoken like somebody who has never paid any attention to the difficulty of transliterating (not translating) Cyrillic.
Spoken like someone whose native language is not Slavic... Just because your language can't handle affricates properly, doesn't mean everyone else can't handle 'em.
And again... OP was mixing Swedish in with the English, along with displays of highly trollish and idiotic behavior. Personally, don't really have a problem with the first part, but it was easier to point at and make fun of.
OP was using Swedish transliteration. Google Tjernobyl - you should get Swedish Wikipedia entry for Chernobyl among the first results. Chornobyl is transliteration into English of Ukrainian name for the place. Chernobyl is transliteration into English of Russian name for the place - the source of the word in most languages around the world as it was the name it became "famous" for. Russian being the language of the land and all, land being the former USSR.
The starting letter that looks like a backwards four or funny Y to Roman alphabet user is often transliterated as Tj
Transliteration is not a perfect process. Ask Kaddafi/Khaddaffi/Quaddafi/Ghaddafi...
You mean like that time Americans didn't know how to pronounce Iraq? Despite being at war with that country. Hint: Most of the world doesn't have such a problem. Then again, most of the world knows that what is happening in Japan currently is a nuclear accident. Not nucular.
Then again, that is a bit of a "oranges and tangerines" situation there, with tsar, tzar, czar being variations of transliterations of a single term from several languages, with added s-z letter-play for British-American variations. Bonus points for the word originally being a distorted form of Caesar. Kinda the way Charlmagne transformed into the word meaning the king in Slavic languages.
On the other hand, Chernobil has only one correct transliteration into English. Or are you suggesting we also start calling it Cherunobiru or whatever the transliteration from Ukrainian to Japanese to English may be, considering that this is a story about a nuclear accident in Japan? Or should I start writing all names in my native language as well (whatever its name may be this week)? ernobil. Naaah... wouldn't work. Slashdot keeps eating my characters.
...we were typing this in Ukrainian and using Ukrainian transliteration instead of English. Or do you suggest we all start using our native languages for discussion? How 'bout alphabets? We already got a Japanese version so...
That we ARE writing in English, and that we ARE writing this on The Interweb and that there is this thing called The Google so that we can check for proper spelling? And that OP is not one of those "inhabitants" that you mention?
Either way, I was well aware that OP was mixing his native Swedish transliteration with English (that SWE in his name kinda gives it away, and him using the Swedish transliteration and all). I was also aware that he was a complete troll and/or an idiot. Either way, a target for ridicule. Now, me pointing out his mixing of languages as inability to spell properly, might have been a cheap shot and an example of ungentlemanly conduct on my part but then again I thought "Aaah, fuck it. It's Slashdot."
my 15 month old, I let her play with several apps on my iphone
You may not have noticed this, but your PORTABLE TELEPHONE COMPUTER is NOT A TOY intended for TODDLERS. And just because iPhone is a toy for grownup Appleoids, that doesn't make it suitable toy for small children. You do know that some toys are made strictly for adults? Just like some beverages, medication, tools, vehicles, guns etc.
If anyone, I am afraid that YOU are the one that needs education regarding what IS, and what is NOT suited for use by infants. As for teaching your kid the concept of money... I'm afraid that it is congenital. Your fault to be precise. You are after all using an Apple product. You'll be lucky if your kid doesn't end up selling the house around you to by the age of 6 in order to buy himself/herself shiny things.
...and you question his "expertize" on the matter of nuclear disasters? Really? I fear that you, Mr. Anonymous, are overly optimistic regarding the education and intelligence of the average Slashdotter.
It is left as an exercise for the reader to decide whether a book is "as bad" as an iPhone.
Was your book connected to Internet and other communication networks? Could you order a wagon of smurfberries from your book? Or "extra features and animals"? While standing there waiting for your parents?
Right, because giving parents a tool to combat unauthorized purchases is the equivalent of sending your kid out into the world wrapped in a pillow.
If you need to "combat" your kid's "unauthorized purchases" - you're doing it wrong. Seriously, have a talk with your kid instead. Explain how those purchases cost real money. Explain how they will be taken out of his/her allowance, gift money, birthday/Christmas presents etc. if he/she does those purchases without authorization from you. Alternatively, introduce a "pay for your smurfberries" plan - plenty of chores around the house you can get your kid to do at 10 cents/hour. Bonus points if you manage to teach it to have more respect for third world workers or to fear prison.
About 40% of worldwide total Guinness volume is brewed and sold in Africa, with Foreign Extra Stout the most popular variant. The Michael Power advertising campaign was a critical success for Guinness in Africa, running for nearly a decade before being replaced in 2006 with "Guinness Greatness".
Guinness Stout is brewed under licence internationally in several countries, including Nigeria,[69][70] the Bahamas, Canada[71], and Indonesia.[72] The unfermented but hopped Guinness wort extract is shipped from Dublin and blended with beer brewed locally.
Granted, those towns were pretty much (90% or so) flooded away, but again... actual data from reports about those towns indicates the number of people ACCOUNTED for and found dead. And even those number taken in account, it is nowhere close to 88000.
You can't have an estimated number of people gone missing. For someone or some thing to go missing it has to be accounted for prior to its disappearance. It HAS to exist. It has to be a known, identifiable entity. With humans, it means that it has to be a living, breathing person with name, birth date, address etc.
So if John Smith living at 12 Apple Avenue suddenly one day is not there anymore it can be reported that he has gone missing. But if you have hundreds of unidentified people coming into a coffee shop each day and then one day there are only dozens of people coming in - you can't say that those people are missing.
On the other hand, when a dead body is found it can be determined that it is the body of John Smith who lived at number 12 Apple Avenue, or it can be an UNKNOWN male.
Those people in Minamisanriku and Rikuzentakata, until they are listed by name and etc. are at best (worst) "unaccounted for". Not missing. They must be identifiable to be missing.
But, thanks to paralel processing, in every town you can have officials attending reports and sending the estimated total for his town to regional officials who add them up and send them to province officials who.... well, do you get it, don't you?
And there is the key word. Estimated. Not "official".
I can pull and estimate out my ass in under a second. A very precise estimate at that. It would still come out of my ass. 88000 ACTUAL people to be missing you need data about REAL people. And sure... 88000 can go missing even in a fraction of a second (if nuclear weapons are used as someone pointed out above), but you would not be able to know the actual number of people missing for days and months later until all that data is compiled. And even today, after years of data-compiling, Hiroshima and Nagasaki body counts are at best "around" a certain number due to the nature of deaths - meaning that there is always SOME number of cases that are "estimated" in the event of a catastrophe of such magnitude.
But it is one thing to go and say "70000-80000 people were killed immediately in Hiroshima" after years of data gathering and compiling and blurting out "88000 are missing" in less than first 24 hours.
You simply can't be certain of such a number unless you yourself gathered 88000 people in a stadium somewhere and then airlifted that stadium and dropped it into ocean somewhere.
But, thanks to paralel processing, in every town you can have officials attending reports
Did you notice the 5 minutes per person per 100 locations part I mentioned up there? Regardless of how fast you send in the report, you still need time to gather actual data about ACTUAL PEOPLE missing.
You can have unknown dead people found, but only known people may go missing.
It will be VERY hard for you to NOT find one report that refers to BBC claiming that number. In fact, if you've heard that news prior to reading my post above, then you've heard it referring to BBC. Best part is, their shitty twitter-clone "live-feed" gets flushed after 24 hours (at least I couldn't find any way of digging up that original "88000" post), so the original post is now long gone - but it still gets parroted around on blogs and by "news agencies".
Except then that would not be really official as it would pretty soon be filled by people looking for Somyang Gie. Or some other equivalent.
But besides that, and the fact that it would take time and other resources to set up such a database, the people remain the main factor that would slow down gathering of such information. Most would not be aware of the database's existence. Others wouldn't be able to use it due to the lack of resources or understanding of computers.
Take a look at Google's Person Finder. Even today, more that 48 hours later it counts about 61100 records. Checked it yesterday, it wasn't even half that. And that is not the number of people missing - but the number of entries for both missing and found, many of them probably repeated several times by different people.
BBC imagined up that 88000 number in less than 24 hours.
Slashdot Mirror
So is a fleshlight. Would you give those to a child to play with?
How about something with a less specific use - like a laser pointer. Or a starter pistol.
You may consider the iPhone to be JUST a toy, but it is a portable communication computer likes of which didn't exist when you were born.
Also, it contains an explosive battery packed into a housing that heats up when in use AND a microwave device that is still argued about regarding if it causes cancer or not.
And that's just the physical injuries that it can cause to an unsupervised toddler.
But what do I care. Your kid, your money, your problem.
You know, on a dare from a girlfriend, I once tried to be an idiot for a week. She said I couldn't possibly do it, that there was no way I could act stupid and ignorant for a whole week, letting people think I was dumb, never chiming in with the "right" answer, asking questions instead of handing out facts. I lasted less than a day, trying to be stupid was psychological torture for me.
Interesting experiment there.
But besides being at a disadvantage (unless you go on a vacation or something) cause people you communicate already know you, I'm guessing that you would have to make some really stupid choices cause you'd be agreeing with a lot of stupid people.
Cause, while I guess that one could put himself/herself into shoes of an idiot and develop a pattern of idiotic thinking/logic - it would be hard to un-remember all the stuff you picked up along the way so far.
Stupid ain't just the way of thinking - stupid also includes difficulties in learning.
At best, you would need weeks to prepare for that role - AND people buying your act.
It has happened to all of us, hearing that little voice in the back of our heads going, "God DAMN it, they are RIGHT and I am WRONG! This can not be! Maybe if I keep arguing they will go away before everyone realizes the truth..." I've been there. I mean, if you are smart, you are opinionated, because you are used to being right. Which makes it that much harder to admit when you really are wrong. And the tjernobyl guy, as right as he is about the transliteration, is still an idiot, which just makes it burn that much more.
Nooo... not really. I tend not to go into arguments unless I am certain about something. I know... not very gentlemanly, like betting on a sure thing, but hey...
Problem with the "catfight" above is that I went into it for fun, pointing at and making fun of a troll - and then people decided to take that way to seriously and pick on me on a point that I am pretty fucking certain of.
And I mean like 2nd grade stuff certain, cause that is when I was taught Cyrillic in school.
Granted, not Russian or Ukrainian "flavor" of Cyrillic, but very close to it. And in neither of those is Ch in Chernobyl pronounced anything remotely close to Tj. - there is simply no basis for it to be transliterated that way. I have no idea how Swedes pronounce it though. Maybe their "tj" is English "ch", I don't know.
So, I am quite certain how it sounds in my native language, I am quite certain how it sounds in Russian or Ukrainian and how each of the characters in the name is pronounced AND I am quite certain how it is pronounced in English.
Not with a "tj" as in... well, nothing comes to mind - but with a "ch" as in chocolate or in Che Guevara.
I even provided links that explain where they are wrong with transliteration for those who believe that it should be Tjernobyl.
It was a fun "catfight" for a while though.
Simply film just the original story, not the whole book.
In fact, you could probably film all that in half an hour or 40 minutes.
Well... that project has been kicked around already. Only not with Michael Bay.
...that was basically created in order to market a toy. You know... a series of 20-minute commercials.
Kinda like with Masters of the Universe. Or G.I. JOE.
In Contact?
I remember some religious bullshit about "believing" (into something they had physical evidence for) but not paranormal.
Consider Phlebas like The State of the Art has a problem of being about nothing. It lacks the theme that would make it interesting for the viewer.
Even its MacGuffin is irrelevant for the most of the story and pointless in the end. It would have to endure SEVERE changes to be filmable, most of them dealing with characters and their fates.
Now, a Culture book that MIGHT be filmable is The Player of Games. But only should a director like Christopher Nolan be found to do it - but not Nolan himself. Someone of his caliber (he got people to watch a metaphor on movie-making for 2 and a half hours - and love it) but with different "background".
He does great when the theme behind the story can be translated into philosophy and metaphors. The Player of Games needs someone with a background in sociology.
Pushing Ice on the other hand can be easily filmed as a trilogy. With small changes in chronology.
Sadly, the easiest way I see for it to be made is to make it into a Twilight clone.
It's half way there already... Main character being a female named Bella... who gets to be rejuvenated/stay (nearly) forever young...
All it needs is for the aliens to be tall, pale and handsome vampires.
Just drop it dude. No one is buying your side of it. The more you argue, the more foolish you look.
But I paid for the full course!
And I'll have you know, ladies quite like the way I look.
Spoken like somebody who has never paid any attention to the difficulty of transliterating (not translating) Cyrillic.
Spoken like someone whose native language is not Slavic...
Just because your language can't handle affricates properly, doesn't mean everyone else can't handle 'em.
And again... OP was mixing Swedish in with the English, along with displays of highly trollish and idiotic behavior.
Personally, don't really have a problem with the first part, but it was easier to point at and make fun of.
OP was using Swedish transliteration. Google Tjernobyl - you should get Swedish Wikipedia entry for Chernobyl among the first results.
Chornobyl is transliteration into English of Ukrainian name for the place.
Chernobyl is transliteration into English of Russian name for the place - the source of the word in most languages around the world as it was the name it became "famous" for. Russian being the language of the land and all, land being the former USSR.
The starting letter that looks like a backwards four or funny Y to Roman alphabet user is often transliterated as Tj
Nope. You are thinking of another Cyrillic letter. Chernobyl or Chornobyl - either word uses a much "harder and stronger" letter.
Both are also available in latinic form.
Not that Tj would be proper transliteration of either of those in English. Much too soft for "tshe", utterly wrong for "che".
Transliteration is not a perfect process. Ask Kaddafi/Khaddaffi/Quaddafi/Ghaddafi...
You mean like that time Americans didn't know how to pronounce Iraq? Despite being at war with that country.
Hint: Most of the world doesn't have such a problem.
Then again, most of the world knows that what is happening in Japan currently is a nuclear accident. Not nucular.
You're not a troll, just a dumb shit.
Well hey... Your mom doesn't seem to mind.
If we're gonna talk about alphabets.
Then again, that is a bit of a "oranges and tangerines" situation there, with tsar, tzar, czar being variations of transliterations of a single term from several languages, with added s-z letter-play for British-American variations. Bonus points for the word originally being a distorted form of Caesar.
Kinda the way Charlmagne transformed into the word meaning the king in Slavic languages.
On the other hand, Chernobil has only one correct transliteration into English.
Or are you suggesting we also start calling it Cherunobiru or whatever the transliteration from Ukrainian to Japanese to English may be, considering that this is a story about a nuclear accident in Japan?
Or should I start writing all names in my native language as well (whatever its name may be this week)?
ernobil. Naaah... wouldn't work. Slashdot keeps eating my characters.
...we were typing this in Ukrainian and using Ukrainian transliteration instead of English.
Or do you suggest we all start using our native languages for discussion? How 'bout alphabets? We already got a Japanese version so...
That we ARE writing in English, and that we ARE writing this on The Interweb and that there is this thing called The Google so that we can check for proper spelling?
And that OP is not one of those "inhabitants" that you mention?
Either way, I was well aware that OP was mixing his native Swedish transliteration with English (that SWE in his name kinda gives it away, and him using the Swedish transliteration and all).
I was also aware that he was a complete troll and/or an idiot. Either way, a target for ridicule.
Now, me pointing out his mixing of languages as inability to spell properly, might have been a cheap shot and an example of ungentlemanly conduct on my part but then again I thought "Aaah, fuck it. It's Slashdot."
my 15 month old, I let her play with several apps on my iphone
You may not have noticed this, but your PORTABLE TELEPHONE COMPUTER is NOT A TOY intended for TODDLERS.
And just because iPhone is a toy for grownup Appleoids, that doesn't make it suitable toy for small children.
You do know that some toys are made strictly for adults? Just like some beverages, medication, tools, vehicles, guns etc.
If anyone, I am afraid that YOU are the one that needs education regarding what IS, and what is NOT suited for use by infants.
As for teaching your kid the concept of money... I'm afraid that it is congenital. Your fault to be precise. You are after all using an Apple product.
You'll be lucky if your kid doesn't end up selling the house around you to by the age of 6 in order to buy himself/herself shiny things.
...and you question his "expertize" on the matter of nuclear disasters? Really?
I fear that you, Mr. Anonymous, are overly optimistic regarding the education and intelligence of the average Slashdotter.
It is left as an exercise for the reader to decide whether a book is "as bad" as an iPhone.
Was your book connected to Internet and other communication networks?
Could you order a wagon of smurfberries from your book? Or "extra features and animals"? While standing there waiting for your parents?
Right, because giving parents a tool to combat unauthorized purchases is the equivalent of sending your kid out into the world wrapped in a pillow.
If you need to "combat" your kid's "unauthorized purchases" - you're doing it wrong.
Seriously, have a talk with your kid instead. Explain how those purchases cost real money.
Explain how they will be taken out of his/her allowance, gift money, birthday/Christmas presents etc. if he/she does those purchases without authorization from you.
Alternatively, introduce a "pay for your smurfberries" plan - plenty of chores around the house you can get your kid to do at 10 cents/hour.
Bonus points if you manage to teach it to have more respect for third world workers or to fear prison.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guinness#Worldwide_sales
About 40% of worldwide total Guinness volume is brewed and sold in Africa, with Foreign Extra Stout the most popular variant. The Michael Power advertising campaign was a critical success for Guinness in Africa, running for nearly a decade before being replaced in 2006 with "Guinness Greatness".
Guinness Stout is brewed under licence internationally in several countries, including Nigeria,[69][70] the Bahamas, Canada[71], and Indonesia.[72] The unfermented but hopped Guinness wort extract is shipped from Dublin and blended with beer brewed locally.
It's a part of his secrete identity. You might call it his "type 0" identity.*
*If you're not picking up on all the intentional typos by now, all I can say is "Whooosh!".
Saved me some time there.
Granted, those towns were pretty much (90% or so) flooded away, but again... actual data from reports about those towns indicates the number of people ACCOUNTED for and found dead.
And even those number taken in account, it is nowhere close to 88000.
You can't have an estimated number of people gone missing.
For someone or some thing to go missing it has to be accounted for prior to its disappearance. It HAS to exist. It has to be a known, identifiable entity.
With humans, it means that it has to be a living, breathing person with name, birth date, address etc.
So if John Smith living at 12 Apple Avenue suddenly one day is not there anymore it can be reported that he has gone missing.
But if you have hundreds of unidentified people coming into a coffee shop each day and then one day there are only dozens of people coming in - you can't say that those people are missing.
On the other hand, when a dead body is found it can be determined that it is the body of John Smith who lived at number 12 Apple Avenue, or it can be an UNKNOWN male.
Those people in Minamisanriku and Rikuzentakata, until they are listed by name and etc. are at best (worst) "unaccounted for". Not missing.
They must be identifiable to be missing.
But, thanks to paralel processing, in every town you can have officials attending reports and sending the estimated total for his town to regional officials who add them up and send them to province officials who.... well, do you get it, don't you?
And there is the key word. Estimated. Not "official".
I can pull and estimate out my ass in under a second. A very precise estimate at that. It would still come out of my ass.
88000 ACTUAL people to be missing you need data about REAL people.
And sure... 88000 can go missing even in a fraction of a second (if nuclear weapons are used as someone pointed out above), but you would not be able to know the actual number of people missing for days and months later until all that data is compiled.
And even today, after years of data-compiling, Hiroshima and Nagasaki body counts are at best "around" a certain number due to the nature of deaths - meaning that there is always SOME number of cases that are "estimated" in the event of a catastrophe of such magnitude.
But it is one thing to go and say "70000-80000 people were killed immediately in Hiroshima" after years of data gathering and compiling and blurting out "88000 are missing" in less than first 24 hours.
You simply can't be certain of such a number unless you yourself gathered 88000 people in a stadium somewhere and then airlifted that stadium and dropped it into ocean somewhere.
But, thanks to paralel processing, in every town you can have officials attending reports
Did you notice the 5 minutes per person per 100 locations part I mentioned up there?
Regardless of how fast you send in the report, you still need time to gather actual data about ACTUAL PEOPLE missing.
You can have unknown dead people found, but only known people may go missing.
Google 88000 missing.
It will be VERY hard for you to NOT find one report that refers to BBC claiming that number.
In fact, if you've heard that news prior to reading my post above, then you've heard it referring to BBC.
Best part is, their shitty twitter-clone "live-feed" gets flushed after 24 hours (at least I couldn't find any way of digging up that original "88000" post), so the original post is now long gone - but it still gets parroted around on blogs and by "news agencies".
Except then that would not be really official as it would pretty soon be filled by people looking for Somyang Gie. Or some other equivalent.
But besides that, and the fact that it would take time and other resources to set up such a database, the people remain the main factor that would slow down gathering of such information.
Most would not be aware of the database's existence.
Others wouldn't be able to use it due to the lack of resources or understanding of computers.
Take a look at Google's Person Finder.
Even today, more that 48 hours later it counts about 61100 records. Checked it yesterday, it wasn't even half that.
And that is not the number of people missing - but the number of entries for both missing and found, many of them probably repeated several times by different people.
BBC imagined up that 88000 number in less than 24 hours.