Along with all the moaning and groaning about how the video game industry is dying, there was an article on the news (BBC or CNN, I forget which) last night about re-releases of Pac-Man, Donkey Kong, a pile of Midway and other games coming out this summer for a GBA SP, XBox and some which can be played on a PC.
To my surprise I've found I frequently go through these Directors/Producers commentaries. Some are worthless, but a few
have stood out as gems:
Mel Brooks on Blazing Saddles
(?) Animal House (regarding the addition to the cast of Donald Sutherland)
(?) Il Postino (regarding the poestry of Pablo Neruda and the sacrifice of Massimo Troisi)
I'm not sure I'll care anymore for Lucas' comments than those of Star Wars "Fans" whinging about how bad the other episodes are (1. Saw it 2. Complained about how awful it was 3. Bought the DVD anyway), but good to know it's there, should I have nothing better to watch.
In other news, Simpsons voice actors on strike, wanting $360K per episode, rather than $120K presently. I say to Fox, just give em the D'oh!
Be prepared for inconvenience. I considered changing my name to "Bob 4 Apples" (not very seriously) and realized lots of forms and data entry systems can't accomodate or will trap numbers in a name field. I just pre-slugged thousands of optical scan forms with names. No space for a number so you'd get a blank.
Missing are the brilliant types of engineers who can find an answer to a problem around them without needing a bigger budget and stuff.
My father worked (among the other 10,000) engineers in Oakridge, TN, during WWII and they frequently packed delicate nulcear instruments in popcorn (dry popped, no salt or butter) simply because it worked well and was easy to dispose of.
What could be more exciting than to go to the ISS, which has as many faults as the average Disney Theme Park. Space exploration really is becoming a farce. Too bad private industry can't seem to come up with the loot necessary to run a full-scale space program itself.
Rockets by SpaceX and others are all well and good, but not even Bill Gates has the cash to fully fund a competent space program. Assume private enterprise could and did, would it be any better than what's happening these days?
"Did you remember to close the door?" "Didn't need to, it fell off and drifted away."
Reminisent of North (another Elijah Wood film) where Jon Lovitz plays North's lawyer, Arthur Belt. Their first meeting
was North (Wood) standing on a street corner and seeing a speeding ambulance go past, tailed by a car. The car stops and backs up, and Belt (Lovitz) introduces himself as his lawyer.
Great quote from the film: "North, this is America. Everybody needs a lawyer."
After you've gone it will be easier for the prof to get support on a package than something custom.
From experience, the less something you have resembles what tech support is expecting the more finger pointing and the less gets done.
As often as I've lamented how much employers spend on PC's, vs build them themselves from parts, they
would rather not have to rely on someone in-house to support hardware.
Immediate access to information is one thing. I've been fed up with teasers on the news for ages. "Coming up after these messages a carbomb goes off at the local mall" (you find it really was a terrorism drill, but that a talking head would consider this appropriate adds to my distrust of TV news.)
I hear that Alistair Cooke has passed away, on the radio on the way in to work and I can do a search through Google News and get a bit more information from choosing a source or two. I couldn't do this with TV, maybe someday we will, eh? TV films things and you get to pick and choose what you want to watch, they show you a commercial at the end of the clip or you simply pay to see it, ala carte. Content on Demand.
I left the TV for my video games and surfing over a decade ago. Too many other things to do or learn about than have my brain turned to mush with sitcoms or Oprah.
Wow, the gap is closing? You mean I can get myself arrested and deported to the gulag for insulting our Great and Glorious Leaders or for arguing with their policies?
I'm skeptical, so let's do a scientific test.
Rather than a straw-man test, why not paint up a placcard that says something like "Bush Sucks" or "Get US out of Iraq" and visit one of his campaign stops.
They have these nice little lots, well away from where the president is actually speaking for protesters. That, my dear friend, is a limitation of free speech. Bush said, years ago, that "there ought to be limits to freedom."
and how is this different from the current administration here in the US? It seems like all bush cares about is his own reelection.
There are people who have far more at stake than Bush. You and I probably haven't heard their names a lot, but they'll be behind most of the mudslinging because they preceive they have something to lose.
I was pointing out to someone yesterday a fellow we don't hear much about these days. Ralph Reed. He left the leadership of the Christian Coalition so he could work quietly behind the scenes. Who do you suppose is the architect of Bush's more religious-conservative proposals?
Pay less attention to the man on the throne and more to those who stand behind it. In China it isn't simply Hu Jintao or Wen Jiabao who have so much to lose, but the members of the whole political machine, right down to those party members out in the towns and villages. The CCP isn't the workers party, but the peasants party.
It's not too much of a worry. There's only about 6 people in manchester with telephones. They only just got fire you know
Probably a safe bet that all the copper that they had down there will go, replaced by glass. Left to their own devices, whomever was owner of the communications cables down there was regularly trying to get just a little bit more out of copper and resisting the expense of going to fibre. The hurdle has now been cleared to replace it as quick as they can, which will be fastest to put in? Copper or glass?
And now tell me... did those workstations survive such a traumatic experience?
Fortunately the were mostly off when the fire happened. No guarrantee of that sort of luck these days as people seem to think it's fine to leave one running with a screen saver on. After all, it's not really on, right?
About ten years ago we had a fire in an electrical cage under the computer room. Large stacks of cable had been
laying about in the cage, where some brilliant person decided to pile several boxes of paper, too. Sparks from construction work
smoldered in the paper and, despite the cable insullation being fire resistant, with enough heat it burns like petrol. Black soot
settled everywhere, as smoke went into the ventillation system and all but one workstation were out (somehow the powermains and one line failed to short out) We were in
during the weekend and laid enough cable to bring up basic services by the following Monday, but inhaled unknown quantities of asbestos and compounds released from the burnt plastic and rubber.
In the end the failure of fire alarms was blamed on the fire, too, but the firemarshall found the wires for it (which are supposed to survive fire) had been disconnected for years.
It'll be interesting to see how this all came about.
Personally, I'd prefer a China which was promoting a market economy, promoting (and a#enacting) political reform (MASSIVE progress since Den Xiao Ping) and moving steadily towards democracy, rather than jumping in the deep end. Saying that, I am concerned about the overtures of beijing regarding HK's basic law in recent weeks.
I thoroughly recommend you read Plato's 'The Republic' - not a hard read but a concise critic of democracy and its pitfalls.
96 years back the Manchu dynasty met its end. Maintaining her grip on power, the Empress Dowager effectively killed the dynasty, herself, with the execution of Kuang Hsu (so he couldn't take the throne upon her death, after she kept him imprisoned most of his life.) There are parallels. Their goals may be at opposite ends, but the methods of achieving those goals are greatly similar.
Does anybody know how they go about blocking "unwanted" internet site from the public? I am sure there is a way around it. I mean, unless they don't have any lines to the outside world (and yes, they do have lines to the outside world) it would be impossible for them to absolutely block content.
There is one thing that spreads information faster than the internet, and that is word of mouth. All that needs to happen is someone reads a piece before it's blocked and then tells a couple people, who tell a few other people and in little time word has gotten around.
I've got to think that anyone with the will and some time would easily be able to bypass the blockage, either by using underground ISPs, satellite, or other means.
This is the other side of the blade for China. They want an educated, technologically savvy population. People with such skillz and of an attitude will find a way and always be one step ahead. They should just call it a game and let the people have their way. At the very least, it could generate some goodwill toward the government. Holding the people back won't work forever.
Block the web or not, information still floods into the PRC and it's like the dutch boy trying to hold back the north sea with his finger.
Newspapers and magazines flourish which the CCP have been hard pressed to stop. It's like swatting flies with a hammer.
Q: Why are the chinese communists so afraid of free exchange of ideas and criticism?
A: They're afraid they'll have to give up power and find real jobs.
It's not the security of the country tyrants desire, it's their own security. It's unfair to call them
leaders.
The more you tighten
your grip, Tarkin, the more star systems will slip through your fingers.
It's just a matter of time before we have ads like this on the toob:
Save! Save! Save!
Save 20% to 50% off other leading brands of rockets at SpaceX Rocket-O-Rama!
Come on down and bring the whole family, first 25 in the door get a free gift
pack of Sunscreen, SpaceX Sunhat and Binoculars. Be the first on your
block to put a mouse, dog, rabbit, chicken or chimpanzee into orbit! (Children
not recommended) Why settle for mini-cams around your house, when you can
monitor security from space, or watch your neighbor's house or the whole town! Always
know where your spouse or kids are! Act now, launch windows are
going fast!
Usually the 'fire button' is your right index finger. Not your thumb.
Ah, but see, mine is from when you had a firebutton on the joystick base which you hit, not directly on, but with the side of the thumb. I remember times when it felt like the end of my thumb was going to fall off, the joint hurt so bad.
Slashdot Mirror
So between games you can post on /.
Along with all the moaning and groaning about how the video game industry is dying, there was an article on the news (BBC or CNN, I forget which) last night about re-releases of Pac-Man, Donkey Kong, a pile of Midway and other games coming out this summer for a GBA SP, XBox and some which can be played on a PC.
Next thing it'll be transmitting voice and pictures over radio waves... AS IF!
Mel Brooks on Blazing Saddles
(?) Animal House (regarding the addition to the cast of Donald Sutherland)
(?) Il Postino (regarding the poestry of Pablo Neruda and the sacrifice of Massimo Troisi)
I'm not sure I'll care anymore for Lucas' comments than those of Star Wars "Fans" whinging about how bad the other episodes are (1. Saw it 2. Complained about how awful it was 3. Bought the DVD anyway), but good to know it's there, should I have nothing better to watch.
In other news, Simpsons voice actors on strike, wanting $360K per episode, rather than $120K presently. I say to Fox, just give em the D'oh!
I wonder if they have red herring flavor yet
Not true! Some helpful groups:
comp.microsoft.bsod
microsoft.useless.posts.on.dotnet
alt.windows.0wn3d
alt.windows.no.you.stupid.piece.of.shit.just.do. it.damn.you
rec.windows.uninstall
Be prepared for inconvenience. I considered changing my name to "Bob 4 Apples" (not very seriously) and realized lots of forms and data entry systems can't accomodate or will trap numbers in a name field. I just pre-slugged thousands of optical scan forms with names. No space for a number so you'd get a blank.
My father worked (among the other 10,000) engineers in Oakridge, TN, during WWII and they frequently packed delicate nulcear instruments in popcorn (dry popped, no salt or butter) simply because it worked well and was easy to dispose of.
Rockets by SpaceX and others are all well and good, but not even Bill Gates has the cash to fully fund a competent space program. Assume private enterprise could and did, would it be any better than what's happening these days?
"Did you remember to close the door?" "Didn't need to, it fell off and drifted away."
Great quote from the film: "North, this is America. Everybody needs a lawyer."
As often as I've lamented how much employers spend on PC's, vs build them themselves from parts, they would rather not have to rely on someone in-house to support hardware.
I hear that Alistair Cooke has passed away, on the radio on the way in to work and I can do a search through Google News and get a bit more information from choosing a source or two. I couldn't do this with TV, maybe someday we will, eh? TV films things and you get to pick and choose what you want to watch, they show you a commercial at the end of the clip or you simply pay to see it, ala carte. Content on Demand.
I left the TV for my video games and surfing over a decade ago. Too many other things to do or learn about than have my brain turned to mush with sitcoms or Oprah.
I'm skeptical, so let's do a scientific test.
Rather than a straw-man test, why not paint up a placcard that says something like "Bush Sucks" or "Get US out of Iraq" and visit one of his campaign stops.
They have these nice little lots, well away from where the president is actually speaking for protesters. That, my dear friend, is a limitation of free speech. Bush said, years ago, that "there ought to be limits to freedom."
There are people who have far more at stake than Bush. You and I probably haven't heard their names a lot, but they'll be behind most of the mudslinging because they preceive they have something to lose.
I was pointing out to someone yesterday a fellow we don't hear much about these days. Ralph Reed. He left the leadership of the Christian Coalition so he could work quietly behind the scenes. Who do you suppose is the architect of Bush's more religious-conservative proposals?
Pay less attention to the man on the throne and more to those who stand behind it. In China it isn't simply Hu Jintao or Wen Jiabao who have so much to lose, but the members of the whole political machine, right down to those party members out in the towns and villages. The CCP isn't the workers party, but the peasants party.
Probably a safe bet that all the copper that they had down there will go, replaced by glass. Left to their own devices, whomever was owner of the communications cables down there was regularly trying to get just a little bit more out of copper and resisting the expense of going to fibre. The hurdle has now been cleared to replace it as quick as they can, which will be fastest to put in? Copper or glass?
Fortunately the were mostly off when the fire happened. No guarrantee of that sort of luck these days as people seem to think it's fine to leave one running with a screen saver on. After all, it's not really on, right?
Being british, they're able to cope with the suffering. Stiff upper lip and all that.
If it happened in the USA the public outcry would be deafening.
I wonder how british Amatuer Radio is doing.
About ten years ago we had a fire in an electrical cage under the computer room. Large stacks of cable had been laying about in the cage, where some brilliant person decided to pile several boxes of paper, too. Sparks from construction work smoldered in the paper and, despite the cable insullation being fire resistant, with enough heat it burns like petrol. Black soot settled everywhere, as smoke went into the ventillation system and all but one workstation were out (somehow the powermains and one line failed to short out) We were in during the weekend and laid enough cable to bring up basic services by the following Monday, but inhaled unknown quantities of asbestos and compounds released from the burnt plastic and rubber.
In the end the failure of fire alarms was blamed on the fire, too, but the firemarshall found the wires for it (which are supposed to survive fire) had been disconnected for years.
It'll be interesting to see how this all came about.
I thoroughly recommend you read Plato's 'The Republic' - not a hard read but a concise critic of democracy and its pitfalls.
96 years back the Manchu dynasty met its end. Maintaining her grip on power, the Empress Dowager effectively killed the dynasty, herself, with the execution of Kuang Hsu (so he couldn't take the throne upon her death, after she kept him imprisoned most of his life.) There are parallels. Their goals may be at opposite ends, but the methods of achieving those goals are greatly similar.
There is one thing that spreads information faster than the internet, and that is word of mouth. All that needs to happen is someone reads a piece before it's blocked and then tells a couple people, who tell a few other people and in little time word has gotten around.
This is the other side of the blade for China. They want an educated, technologically savvy population. People with such skillz and of an attitude will find a way and always be one step ahead. They should just call it a game and let the people have their way. At the very least, it could generate some goodwill toward the government. Holding the people back won't work forever.
Sadly, the gap is closing from the US side, for the good of the country and all that rot.
Q: Why are the chinese communists so afraid of free exchange of ideas and criticism?
A: They're afraid they'll have to give up power and find real jobs.
It's not the security of the country tyrants desire, it's their own security. It's unfair to call them leaders.
The more you tighten your grip, Tarkin, the more star systems will slip through your fingers.
it's going to be just like the Jetsons...
Ah, but see, mine is from when you had a firebutton on the joystick base which you hit, not directly on, but with the side of the thumb. I remember times when it felt like the end of my thumb was going to fall off, the joint hurt so bad.