That has to be the most oddball essay on a programming language I have seen recently.
Fun, but certainly weird. Almost like he said to himself -- "Let's see. They want an hour talk on perl. How far off topic will they let me get away with? Hmm -- I have this cool program to display molecules -- how can I relate organic chemistry to perl?" It would almost make one believe that Larry Wall and Weird Al are one and the same -- or perhaps a pair of (evil?) twins.
Which is certainly ok, because I'm weird enough to seek out Al's (music?) and Larry's writings.
According to my HP48gx, if I pushed you off a 300 foot cliff, you would be going aproximatly 94.4755 miles per hour when you went splat. Given friction losses, and the 80 vs 90 degree slope, 92 mph is in the ball park. Might be a bit high, but not much. ****************************
I don't think I would like to live next door to the clown with these things in his walls. Can you imagine living in an apartment complex with people on either side of you playing different stations/cds. Seems like it would be worse than someone carrying a boom box down the street.
Well, I bought one of the early editions, 15? years ago. I've read every word in it, several times, but can't say I'm finished reading it yet. I may have to buy a copy of this edition, mine is looking a bit tattered. ***********************************
I think stephenson's point about "Hole Hawg" was that it is specialized. It is made to twist a big chuck with great torque. It is made to twist that chuck all day long, day after day. It is made to be repairable and maintainable so it can keep twisting month after month and year after year. It is designed for a nitch market, "Drill big holes with a portable (sort of) drill". And it does that job very well.
There may be others that are better, but I doubt they are a lot better. If you are buying a drill in this class, you are probably more concerned with the dealer and service than the specific brand name.
Also, I doubt there are many other drills out there that would fit in the nitch that the Hole Hawg has staked out. There aren't many people who need that class of drill. ************************************
A few minutes with a spell checker would have improved this a lot. Setting it aside until tomorrow, re-reading it and straightening out some of the prose would have helped it even more. Rowan -- I am all for encouraging people to write for/. etc, but it needs to be easier to follow what you are saying.
However, unlike Richard Thieme, it was quite obvious that Rowan is trying to say something, and I have some clue about what it is.
The last few months have been wonderfull. I get to watch a new paradigm grow in real time. A lot of people seem to be distressed that it is not perfect, I am happy that it is heading in the direction we seem to be going. I will not fret about the fact we still have a ways to go.
******************************************** Remember, it's bad luck to be superstitious!!
I have seen such studies over the years, mostly on speed of transportation and energy use. They will show an exponential growth rate, the interesting ones start about 10,000 bc and follow to the present with extrapolation for the immediate future.
I expect that the bandwidth curve will follow that same trend. A letter on a ship a 4 months across the atlantic was very fast compared to speed/distance a thousand years before.
I can't put numbers on it tonight, and one of the serious disadvantages to slashdot is the obsolesence rate. It would take me a few days of part time work to write an article on the subject. I will have to find numbers to back up what I can see in my head. Are enough of you guys interested to make it worthwhile for me to put in the effort?
I expect the internet is right on the curve, I will be surprised if a knee shows up because of it.
Sorry, I vote to give this space to someone else. Not because of what he is saying, but because I can't really tell what he is trying to say. You may agree or disagree with Katz, but you can at least hear what he is trying to say. With Theime, I'm not sure what he is trying to say, or even if he is trying to say anything.
Opinions are what Katz and Pournelle are selling. I read them both, because they are willing to look at things, see them from a different angle than I had and tell me about what they see. Jon more than Jerry. I hope they both stay. And confound it, Slashdot is not forcing you to read Katz' articles. Rob is making what he has to say available so you can read it if you want to. By now you should have a fair idea what kind of things Katz will say. Read it or don't, but don't whine because he is saying them.
One would almost think that Katz is violating cherished beliefs, and what we are hearing is "burn the heritic".
Of all the things I read in these comments, the ones that seem to give that message are the saddest. And those saying it should be carefull -- their turn at the stake might come if they had the courage to give their real names and stand behind what they are saying.
Read novels on line? Well, actually, several. There are several news groups that post writings from anybody. "Sturgeons Law is pretty optimistic, '90% of everything is crap'", but occasionally you can find a jewel buried in all the crap. It makes the search worthwhile.
Let't try him for a while. He seem to lack focus tho, unless he can write a more coherent, focused article, I'll probably start just skipping over his post. However, all he will take up is a spot on the posting list for a day, and some hard drive space on your server. Not a large cost, and who knows, perhaps the next article will be something I like.
Slashdot Mirror
That has to be the most oddball essay on a programming language I have seen recently.
Fun, but certainly weird. Almost like he said to himself -- "Let's see. They want an hour talk on perl. How far off topic will they let me get away with? Hmm -- I have this cool program to display molecules -- how can I relate organic chemistry to perl?" It would almost make one believe that Larry Wall and Weird Al are one and the same -- or perhaps a pair of (evil?) twins.
Which is certainly ok, because I'm weird enough to seek out Al's (music?) and Larry's writings.
Jim
According to my HP48gx, if I pushed you off a 300 foot cliff, you would be going aproximatly 94.4755 miles per hour when you went splat. Given friction losses, and the 80 vs 90 degree slope, 92 mph is in the ball park. Might be a bit high, but not much.
****************************
I don't think I would like to live next door to the clown with these things in his walls. Can you imagine living in an apartment complex with people on either side of you playing different stations/cds. Seems like it would be worse than someone carrying a boom box down the street.
Well, I bought one of the early editions, 15? years ago. I've read every word in it, several times, but can't say I'm finished reading it yet. I may have to buy a copy of this edition, mine is looking a bit tattered.
***********************************
I think stephenson's point about "Hole Hawg" was that it is specialized. It is made to twist a big chuck with great torque. It is made to twist that chuck all day long, day after day. It is made to be repairable and maintainable so it can keep twisting month after month and year after year. It is designed for a nitch market, "Drill big holes with a portable (sort of) drill". And it does that job very well.
There may be others that are better, but I doubt they are a lot better. If you are buying a drill in this class, you are probably more concerned with the dealer and service than the specific brand name.
Also, I doubt there are many other drills out there that would fit in the nitch that the Hole Hawg has staked out. There aren't many people who need that class of drill.
************************************
Perhaps we should have learned it in kindergarten, but it doesn't hurt to be reminded once in a while.
************************
A few minutes with a spell checker would have improved this a lot. Setting it aside until tomorrow, re-reading it and straightening out some of the prose would have helped it even more. Rowan -- I am all for encouraging people to write for /. etc, but it needs to be easier to follow what you are saying.
However, unlike Richard Thieme, it was quite obvious that Rowan is trying to say something, and I have some clue about what it is.
Jim
The last few months have been wonderfull. I get to watch a new paradigm grow in real time. A lot of people seem to be distressed that it is not perfect, I am happy that it is heading in the direction we seem to be going. I will not fret about the fact we still have a ways to go.
********************************************
Remember, it's bad luck to be superstitious!!
I have seen such studies over the years, mostly on speed of transportation and energy use. They will show an exponential growth rate, the interesting ones start about 10,000 bc and follow to the present with extrapolation for the immediate future.
I expect that the bandwidth curve will follow that same trend. A letter on a ship a 4 months across the atlantic was very fast compared to speed/distance a thousand years before.
I can't put numbers on it tonight, and one of the serious disadvantages to slashdot is the obsolesence rate. It would take me a few days of part time work to write an article on the subject. I will have to find numbers to back up what I can see in my head. Are enough of you guys interested to make it worthwhile for me to put in the effort?
I expect the internet is right on the curve, I will be surprised if a knee shows up because of it.
Jim Hurlburt
jlh@ewa.net; jhurlburt@cwcmh.org
Sorry, I vote to give this space to someone else. Not because of what he is saying, but because I can't really tell what he is trying to say. You may agree or disagree with Katz, but you can at least hear what he is trying to say. With Theime, I'm not sure what he is trying to say, or even if he is trying to say anything.
Opinions are what Katz and Pournelle are selling. I read them both, because they are willing to look at things, see them from a different angle than I had and tell me about what they see. Jon more than Jerry. I hope they both stay. And confound it, Slashdot is not forcing you to read Katz' articles. Rob is making what he has to say available so you can read it if you want to. By now you should have a fair idea what kind of things Katz will say. Read it or don't, but don't whine because he is saying them.
One would almost think that Katz is violating cherished beliefs, and what we are hearing is "burn the heritic".
Of all the things I read in these comments, the ones that seem to give that message are the saddest. And those saying it should be carefull -- their turn at the stake might come if they had the courage to give their real names and stand behind what they are saying.
Jim Hurlburt
jlh@ewa.net
Read novels on line? Well, actually, several. There are several news groups that post writings from anybody. "Sturgeons Law is pretty optimistic, '90% of everything is crap'", but occasionally you can find a jewel buried in all the crap. It makes the search worthwhile.
Let't try him for a while. He seem to lack focus tho, unless he can write a more coherent, focused article, I'll probably start just skipping over his post. However, all he will take up is a spot on the posting list for a day, and some hard drive space on your server. Not a large cost, and who knows, perhaps the next article will be something I like.
Jim
Looks like linux is doing just fine.
First they ignore you
Then they laugh at you
Then they fight you
Then you win.
Or--
Linux who?
Not a chance.
Well, maybe someday.
I knew it all along.