Whenever you hear a number read out in a movie, they always use xxx-555-xxxx because by convention the phone companies never hand out a number with this in it.
Close, but not perfect. Movie phone numbers are now in the range 555-01xx. The phone company recently reclaimed all the other numbers in the 555 prefix. Someday you might have a 555 number after all.
Microwave ovens only heat one thing: water. They're really not terribly effective for anything but melting chocolate and TV dinners. And they're incredibly inefficient compared to good old radiant heat.
For sake of argument, though, you can just assume that the stoves and ovens aboard the Firefly are fed by thermal superconductors that carry waste heat from the ship's engine. Does that make you feel better?
Even the crew of Voyager had a cook that used technology appropriate for the era.
As I recall, the crew of Voyager had a cook that used aluminum pans over gas burners.
As for your opinion of Whedon's writing, it's so far out of whack with the general consensus as to be practically meaningless.
Second. The difference in picture quality I saw when I switched my PS 2 from S-video to component video was pretty amazing, and the S-video picture was nothing to sneeze at. I really can't stand the thought of going back.
Tell me why, 500 years in the future when they have (apparently, by the looks of it) perfected "hot ion drives" but are still cooking on stoves with aluminum pots? Asthetic?
Can you think of a better way to get heat into food?
Seriously, man, stories don't have to be different for the sake of being different in order to be interesting. Besides, if they had used something other than stoves with aluminum pots, there'd be about a million posts on Slashdot from people either criticizing what they used instead, or accusing them of ripping off Star Trek.
I don't know why people like you watch television anyway. Unless you just enjoy ripping on things.
Oh, wait. I think I just answered my own question.
I don't know why you were modded down. I agree completely. Not too long ago I was the world's geekiest Farscape fan. Now I'm just not that bothered about it's pending and possible cancellation. Like you said, they were phoning it in.
On the other hand, I just finished watching Firefly, and I'm hooked. For me, this was the deal-closer:
Mal: This is all the money that so-n-so paid us in advance... (big speech here) Bad Guy #1: Keep the money! I will hunt you down and blah blah blah. Mal: Darn.
(Mal kicks Bad Guy #1 into Firefly's engine intake. Bad Guy #1 is turned into strawberry jam, which is then incinerated. Bad Guy #2 is plopped down in front of Mal.)
Mal: Now, this is all the money that so-n-so paid us in advance. Bad Guy #1: Yeah, yeah! I'm with you all the way!
Amazing how this mind bogglingly, realisticly, original and lovingly portrayed future includes present day fashion, hairstyles, and makeup.
First of all, if the fashion, hairstyles, and makeup were different, it would detract from the overriding purpose of the show, which is to tell a story that entertains. If you can't relate to it, it's not entertaining. You're right up there with the guy who said he can't accept any story that has psychics in it. Guess he hated The Matrix because of that Oracle chick, huh?
On the other hand, who's to say that these things don't go in cycles that recur? Eight hundred years from now everybody dresses and wears their hair like we did one hundred years ago, because the really wacky stuff has fallen out of fashion.
(It's been 47 seconds since I last posted a comment. 'Scuse me while I stall a bit.)
I don't give a rat's ass how good or bad it was, no movie with Dan Hedaya could ever be shudderworthy. He just rocks. Joe vs. the Volcano was good because it had Dan Hedaya in it. Dick was good because of Dan Hedaya. The remake of Shaft was good because Dan was in it. And yeah, Alien Resurrection was good-- why?-- because of Dan-the Man-Hedaya. And also that gratuitous thong shot. But mostly Dan Hedaya!
Well actually you can simplify it down to one plot: "Something happens".
Or, the other classic plot. "Nothing happens, but everybody talks about it a lot."
This post reminds me of a line from a book I read pretty often. It-- the book, I mean-- is called My Old Man And The Sea. That's not a typo; the title is a pun of the novel. It's about David and Daniel Hays, father and son, who sailed around Cape Horn in a two-man sailboat. It's a fantastic book that everybody on Earth should read. Twice.
Anyway, in the book, David (the son) reports something that an acquaintance of his said about opera. He said every opera has the same plot: boy meets girl, his friend sells an overcoat, and the girl leaps from the battlements screaming, "Aiuto!"
(Incidentally, this post would have been completely screwed up if not for the fact that OmniWeb under Mac OS X has spell-checking in textarea fields. See, 'cause I'm drunk.)
Ah! An elitist! I was wondering when you would rear your ugly head. In a Slashdot article about television, not seeing a comment of this form until this late is a rarity. Come on, read along with ol' foobar: "I never watch television except for the McNeill-Lehrer Report, which has sucked since Lehrer left. The only worthwhile forms of entertainment are Shakespeare, anime, and movies with nobody you've ever heard of in them."
(Before you mod me down, think about the fact that I'm drunk. And still, I was a little funny. Take that into consideration.)
(And for you fanboys with mod points: it's me, Joss.:wink:)
Uh... hate to point this out (especially when I'm drunk and can barely type) but Fox-- the network-- only programs in prime time. What goes on during the day is the responsibility of your local affiliate station. In my town, my affiliate programs... well, actually, I have no idea what my affiliate programs, because I have a fucking job.
At least I think I do. I may have gotten laid off today. Thus, the drunk.
Or. . . the rise of Linux has positively affected peoples' perception of OSX.
It certainly has. But not for the reason you think. Comparing Linux to anything makes that thing look better. The rise of Linux has positively affected people's perception of Windows, of BSD, of VxWorks, of DOS....
Down-moderation is a punishment. Because the moderation system only allows a coarse level of granularity-- Insightful, Flamebait, Funny, Off-topic, etc.-- it is sometimes necessary to assign a moderation to a post when it doesn't quite fit.
See, there's no "-1, Quit your whining, moron." So "Off-topic" it is.
I hope that helps you understand things a little better, festers. Oh, and by the way, karma is not redeemable. You don't need to use the "post anonymously" button to protect it.
Because light would go right through their retinas. This is known as the Ravenous Bugblatter Beast effect: if you can't see me, I must not be able to see you, either.
Slashdot Mirror
Whenever you hear a number read out in a movie, they always use xxx-555-xxxx because by convention the phone companies never hand out a number with this in it.
Close, but not perfect. Movie phone numbers are now in the range 555-01xx. The phone company recently reclaimed all the other numbers in the 555 prefix. Someday you might have a 555 number after all.
Oh, I am. I am.
Microwave ovens only heat one thing: water. They're really not terribly effective for anything but melting chocolate and TV dinners. And they're incredibly inefficient compared to good old radiant heat.
For sake of argument, though, you can just assume that the stoves and ovens aboard the Firefly are fed by thermal superconductors that carry waste heat from the ship's engine. Does that make you feel better?
Even the crew of Voyager had a cook that used technology appropriate for the era.
As I recall, the crew of Voyager had a cook that used aluminum pans over gas burners.
As for your opinion of Whedon's writing, it's so far out of whack with the general consensus as to be practically meaningless.
Second. The difference in picture quality I saw when I switched my PS 2 from S-video to component video was pretty amazing, and the S-video picture was nothing to sneeze at. I really can't stand the thought of going back.
Tell me why, 500 years in the future when they have (apparently, by the looks of it) perfected "hot ion drives" but are still cooking on stoves with aluminum pots? Asthetic?
Can you think of a better way to get heat into food?
Seriously, man, stories don't have to be different for the sake of being different in order to be interesting. Besides, if they had used something other than stoves with aluminum pots, there'd be about a million posts on Slashdot from people either criticizing what they used instead, or accusing them of ripping off Star Trek.
I don't know why people like you watch television anyway. Unless you just enjoy ripping on things.
Oh, wait. I think I just answered my own question.
So what am I missing? I'd really like to know.
You're missing the fact that my comment was never moderated at +1. I post at +2, because I'm just that cool.
Oh, fine. Bring out the big guns. Shit. Okay, you made me say it, so I'll say it.
A Night at the Roxbury... was... er... that, is, wasn't as... I mean... would have been a hell of a lot worse if it weren't for Dan Hedaya.
There, I said it.
Heh. Nobody else got your comment, but I did.
Everything is fantasy, until it becomes real. The difference between fantasy and science is merely a matter of timing.
Or, if you prefer, you can use the same turn of phrase Arthur C. Clarke coined: any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.
No, bitch, I waste my time successfully bringing down people's karma. And it ruttin' rocks!
I don't know why you were modded down. I agree completely. Not too long ago I was the world's geekiest Farscape fan. Now I'm just not that bothered about it's pending and possible cancellation. Like you said, they were phoning it in.
On the other hand, I just finished watching Firefly, and I'm hooked. For me, this was the deal-closer:
Mal: This is all the money that so-n-so paid us in advance... (big speech here)
Bad Guy #1: Keep the money! I will hunt you down and blah blah blah.
Mal: Darn.
(Mal kicks Bad Guy #1 into Firefly's engine intake. Bad Guy #1 is turned into strawberry jam, which is then incinerated. Bad Guy #2 is plopped down in front of Mal.)
Mal: Now, this is all the money that so-n-so paid us in advance.
Bad Guy #1: Yeah, yeah! I'm with you all the way!
Slashdot is a news site?
Amazing how this mind bogglingly, realisticly, original and lovingly portrayed future includes present day fashion, hairstyles, and makeup.
First of all, if the fashion, hairstyles, and makeup were different, it would detract from the overriding purpose of the show, which is to tell a story that entertains. If you can't relate to it, it's not entertaining. You're right up there with the guy who said he can't accept any story that has psychics in it. Guess he hated The Matrix because of that Oracle chick, huh?
On the other hand, who's to say that these things don't go in cycles that recur? Eight hundred years from now everybody dresses and wears their hair like we did one hundred years ago, because the really wacky stuff has fallen out of fashion.
(It's been 47 seconds since I last posted a comment. 'Scuse me while I stall a bit.)
I don't give a rat's ass how good or bad it was, no movie with Dan Hedaya could ever be shudderworthy. He just rocks. Joe vs. the Volcano was good because it had Dan Hedaya in it. Dick was good because of Dan Hedaya. The remake of Shaft was good because Dan was in it. And yeah, Alien Resurrection was good-- why?-- because of Dan-the Man-Hedaya. And also that gratuitous thong shot. But mostly Dan Hedaya!
Kiss my ass if you don't like it.
(I'm drunk.)
Except for the fact that it isn't. Neener neener.
Well actually you can simplify it down to one plot: "Something happens".
Or, the other classic plot. "Nothing happens, but everybody talks about it a lot."
This post reminds me of a line from a book I read pretty often. It-- the book, I mean-- is called My Old Man And The Sea. That's not a typo; the title is a pun of the novel. It's about David and Daniel Hays, father and son, who sailed around Cape Horn in a two-man sailboat. It's a fantastic book that everybody on Earth should read. Twice.
Anyway, in the book, David (the son) reports something that an acquaintance of his said about opera. He said every opera has the same plot: boy meets girl, his friend sells an overcoat, and the girl leaps from the battlements screaming, "Aiuto!"
(Incidentally, this post would have been completely screwed up if not for the fact that OmniWeb under Mac OS X has spell-checking in textarea fields. See, 'cause I'm drunk.)
Ah! An elitist! I was wondering when you would rear your ugly head. In a Slashdot article about television, not seeing a comment of this form until this late is a rarity. Come on, read along with ol' foobar: "I never watch television except for the McNeill-Lehrer Report, which has sucked since Lehrer left. The only worthwhile forms of entertainment are Shakespeare, anime, and movies with nobody you've ever heard of in them."
:wink:)
(Before you mod me down, think about the fact that I'm drunk. And still, I was a little funny. Take that into consideration.)
(And for you fanboys with mod points: it's me, Joss.
Uh... hate to point this out (especially when I'm drunk and can barely type) but Fox-- the network-- only programs in prime time. What goes on during the day is the responsibility of your local affiliate station. In my town, my affiliate programs... well, actually, I have no idea what my affiliate programs, because I have a fucking job.
At least I think I do. I may have gotten laid off today. Thus, the drunk.
Possibly. ;-)
Or. . . the rise of Linux has positively affected peoples' perception of OSX.
It certainly has. But not for the reason you think. Comparing Linux to anything makes that thing look better. The rise of Linux has positively affected people's perception of Windows, of BSD, of VxWorks, of DOS....
Psychics don't exist, and I can't get into a portrayal of a future that can't possibly exist.
I knew you were going to say that.
Better that what makes you think slashdot isnt getting paid for this.
That one's easy. If Slashdot were making that kind of dough, their database wouldn't fall over so often.
213-555-0088
213 is LA...
Maybe it's just me, but I think there's another clue here that this phone number may be bogus, other than its area code.
Down-moderation is a punishment. Because the moderation system only allows a coarse level of granularity-- Insightful, Flamebait, Funny, Off-topic, etc.-- it is sometimes necessary to assign a moderation to a post when it doesn't quite fit.
See, there's no "-1, Quit your whining, moron." So "Off-topic" it is.
I hope that helps you understand things a little better, festers. Oh, and by the way, karma is not redeemable. You don't need to use the "post anonymously" button to protect it.
Because light would go right through their retinas. This is known as the Ravenous Bugblatter Beast effect: if you can't see me, I must not be able to see you, either.