It is the single worst ad I have ever seen on the web, bar none (been online only 4 years though, so maybe there was something worse before my time;). Then those flashing ads for miniature webcams you find on porn sites are #2 (God, they get under my skin). The "optimize your connection" ads are only #3.
Whoever came up with "Shock the Monkey" deserves to be tied down and killed slowly with an electric cattle prod.
Can anyone tell me what this ad is even SELLING? Does it sell ANYTHING? Or are they just deliberately wasting my bandwidth on an insipid little java game I don't even want? All this ad does is waste the bandwidth to download it and then hog all my limited system resources as it tracks my mouse. I honestly wouldn't be surprised to find it was created by the makers of Tylenol because people weren't getting ENOUGH headaches as it was.
I, for one, refuse to click on any link on the web if the link is
* obfuscated.
* too complex to figure out where it goes.
All ads in my experience fall into one of these categories.
In my experience, people only ever try to deliberately confuse you when they don't want you to see them screw you over. Sorry, not interested. Thus, I do not click on any ads, ever. I like to KNOW, not guess, where that link will take me.
Yes, there are two distinct types of Proto-Culture.
Protoculture the Entity In the beginning Zor, of the Robotech masters set out on a Space Folding search for other "cultures" and exploration. He came across a small planet (Earth) devoid of reasonable life and found a plant with AMAZING powers. He stripped the entire planet of it and brought it back to his galaxy. The flower did not bloom well on his home plante so he set forth to plant it on other worlds (such as the Invid homeworld) to see how it reacted. The "Flower of Life" as it was named was spread throughout the Universe by Zor and it was harvested by the now power greedy Robotech Masters whom lusted for the power in the flowers juices (now called Protoculture). Battles began to break out over control of the Flower.
Actually, as I learned it, Zor seduced the Regis (the Queen of the Invid), who were then a peaceful race in symbiosis with the Flower, and he got the secrets of Protoculture from her. He had already been experimenting with extracting energy from plants, but the flower of Life was on an order of magnitude greater. When the Republic of Tirol (his people) got hold of it, the evil Senator Nimuul and his cronies used it to conquer first their people, then most of the galaxy, calling themselves the Robotech Masters. They used Protoculture, which also has powerful mutagenic / pschotropic properties, to create the Zentraedi, a race of giant warrior-clones brainwashed into beng their obedient and dependant slave underclass. The first mission of the Zentraedi was the razing of the Invid Homeworld. They were sent to take every last flower. The Invid, being dependant on the Flower, basically went berserk over this cruelty and mutated themselves into a race of fanatical warriors led by the Regent (consort to the Regis), and they then waged war on the Robotech Masters for millennia. The Zentraedi and Masters had technology and resources, but the Invid had sheer numbers and even greater ferocity and determination, so the war dragged out. The Regis was just as bitter as the Regent, realizing how Zor had betrayed her trust, though in fact Zor was just another naive scientist putting the keys of power into the hands of evil (how apropos for/.).
Zor, whom died at one such battle against the Invid instructed his General (Breetai) on his last breath to send the SDF1, which contained the secrets of the Flower of Life and Protoculture to Earth so that it would be out of the hands of all in conflict over the Flowers power.
This is incorrect. Zor had a small faction of Zentraedi whom he secretly subverted (via music, emotion, culture etc.) to be loyal to HIM and not the Robotech Masters. His flagship, the SDF-1, contained the ONLY Protoculture Matrix in existence. He commanded his loyalists to take it to Earth, which he had never visited. However, while on the planet Haydon IV, he had a protoculture-instigated vision of the Earth as the nexus where this conflict would come to its end. He foresaw the Regis's final transmutation in this dream, and knew that this possible outcome was the last remaining hope for peace in the galaxy. So his loyalists sent the SDF-1 beyond the Robotech Masters' grasp, shortly before Zor was slain by the Invid. Breetai, in fact, did NOT know where it was sent, which is why it took him so many decades to hunt it down. In fact, as Zor lay dying, he said that if he had not sworn to protect him, he would kill him then and there.
That's when the SDF1 crash landed on Macross island in 1999.
See, the Masters had to pursue the SDF-1, because they were now wholly addicted to the Protoculture, as well as requiring it to drive the war against the Invid. The only Protoculture Matrix was on board, and no new Protoculture Energy could be extracted without it - they had only their reserves to go on. This made the SDF-1 literally the most prized possession in the galaxy - and it landed squarely in the lap of an Earth in the middle of World War III.
Add to this, that the Earth, being the planet in Zor's vision, is in fact the only remaining planet in the galaxy where the Flower can grow, and you can see why the Earth gets invaded 3 times!
What a cool way to start a story!!
(whew) whatta mouthful! But I thought someone might be interested in the in-depth story.
I've heard of these... would someone please deign to explain them to me or point me to an informative site? I went to a really piss-poor H.S. where such things were unheard of...
I took the SAT about 5 or 6 years ago. The PSAT the year before that. I know I scored highly on both... PSAT was in the mid 1500's, SAT was over 1400... I can't remember the exact scores though. Can anyone give me any advice on how to dig up my old scores? I've tried the websites for the organizations involved, whicyh are singularly unhelpful... They also try to charge for my own damned SAT scores!
I just think it would be a nice bit of resmue buffing, at a time when I need resume buffing. Any help, folks?
P.S. Don't even get started on Stuy. My GF went there and sometimes her arrogance about it drives me up the wall. The worst part is how they act like anyone could go there... as if most of us ever had that opportunity. I hate arrogant elitists who *claim* anyone's allowed in their little clique. As if most of us ever got that opportunity. Oh well, I still love her. =P
By convincing the judge / jurors / lawyers that "bad" websites harm children, you'll just set them up so they'll rule in favor of censorship next time around, "for the children."
A better idea is for kids to tell each other about PeaceFire, spread the word, and then try to reeducate their parents.
Kids: Sit down with your folks. SHOW them how the blocking software lets you find "bad" sites. SHOW them how it blocks you from harmless and educational sites.
If we can reeducate parents from this attitude of "my opinions are your opinions", maybe we can solve the problem. Cynical lawsuits may help the plaintiff, but they'll worsen this for everyone else. (Though I'd love to see the censorware companies take a hit as much as anyone else. =)
I look at your post and I see a perfectly apt description of the current state of the "web" - content I don't care for, requiring bandwidth I have no way in hell of obtaining.
"Scientific texts could be continually altered to keep pace with research."
One thing that went through my mind instantly upon reading that:
Historical texts could be continually altered to keep pace with the political situation.
Wow, e-books will make the Ministry of Truth's job SO much simpler!! No more burning old copies and reprinting new ones - now all we need to do is change the copy stored on.NET (of course, without telling the public), and it's silently and seamlessly updated to reflect the Party's current views.
We are at war with Eurasia. We are allied with Eastasia. This is how it has always been. And it says right here in the math text that 2+2=5.
Of course, there will be those free thinking types with old books who know the truth, but they are what execution squads are for.
I bet Orwell's rolling in his grave thinking "Wish I'd thought of that!".
-Kasreyn
P.S. Yes I'm being overly alarmist, but I felt like dousing these exuberant "wow whatta cool technology" flames a bit.
How do you think books are published? SOMEONE has to type or write them at the start. They don't travel instantly from the author's brain to the page. The author sits down at his word processor or typewriter and bangs out a story. Then either the draft is submitted, and the galleys proofed, or else the document file is spellchecked and saved as a final version... either way, the typing is already done.
Third world people have to spend their time getting sufficient food for their kids and fleeing from genocidal paramilitary types; they don't have time to read books.
Until today I never heard of Bungie software... anyone care to explain to me what all this is about, and / or point me to a site that can explain it?
I'm a longtime DOOMie / Quaker, and I'm always interested in new FPS games, especially if they have a good plot! Descent, Hexen, Half-Life, DOOM, Unreal, Quake, got em all and all their spinoffs... loved em all.
Ever been to ZDnet? Ever been to CNN or ABC news online, Reuters, or even Wired?
What do they call crackers, script kiddies, and w4r3z d00dz?
They call them all "hackers", and consider them all to be demented pre-Columbine youths out to destroy society. They look snidely down their noses at Linux, which must suck since no one will charge for it.;) Whereas here on/. we glorify hackers and deplore script kiddies.
I hate to be the one to open your eyes, but ALL news sources are biased. News sells through sensationalism and slickness, not through rational, impartial reporting. And no matter how much anyone believes it only works on the "other guy", then why do we have so much ferocious debate over mere sensationalism on/.?
Yes,/. is biased, and more heavily than many news services... certainly more heavily than most news services its size. This does not present a problem, however. The reason one CHOOSES a news service is not only the coverage, but also whether they share one's own bias. If you don't like our bias, then prepare to be the Devil's Advocate here. Welcome to the World As It Is.
-Kasreyn
P.S. While it is true that "mere" programmers have little impact on the look and feel of a game, I want to raise one point. What about small game design groups where the programmers ARE the arts and design people? Plenty of computer geeks can draw and animate like no one's business, and OSS people wouldn't be OSS people if they weren't creative. Personally, I think with the right kind of team, open source games could be as well done as their corporate counterparts. However, the lack of sheer funding could impact quality in a negative way. =/
Try for 10 with your next! God, you rolled me in the aisles.
-Kasreyn
P.S. This is only Offtopic in that it is a snide remark to the people who flamed this guy, to remember a syaing that went something like, "look before you leap". =P
I meant serious as in it has a serious topic. This is not fluff like Lost in Space. I did not mean to imply that its science is air-tight.
They really put in a lot of effort on it, and yes, the science was slipshod at times. They tried, at least, they tried in fact QUITE hard. You know what the stardates were? They were a solution to time differentials between solar systems. Warp drive and the transporter were just dramatic necessities, nothing more. (You can't have a shuttle landing- and takeoff-sequences every time you send down an Away Team!)
The humanoid races were of course a constraint of reality, this was before CGI (gasp!) and monster suits were much cheaper than Hortas. And since we don't have a working transporter yet, we can hardly say we know how one *can't* work.;) Roddenberry et al called in dozens of real life scientists from NASA and elsewhere to consult with them on authenticity... they knew the sound in space thing was dumb, but it was left in for dramatic reasons. (Notice that it is still in there in modern ST, which many claim is more "scientific" just because it has better special fx and "tachyons") Hell, even today they haven't mastered the concept of the zero-gravity explosion - though George Lucas almost has. Yes, there were corners cut, and this is all based on science as it was understood in 1966.
You're right, ST does not have the hardest of science in it. However, I meant "serious" as in the subject matter, which was quite serious. The post I was replying to seemed to me to insinuate that the subject matter of ST was worthless, and I felt the desire to correct this.
I guess our definitions of serious science fiction differ. Of Asimov's stories, (which I respect highly and rank among my favorite works), I would characterize only the Foundation series and a few others as "serious", due to subject matter rather than science. =P Clarke, of course, is a highly capable scientist and it shows in his writings. But science and storytelling are sometimes not both present in the same people - many people I know find Clarke wholly unpalatable as an author, and even I find him dull at times.
Given the time period and the funds they had to work with, I still hold to the opinion that ST did a remarkably good job on science as well as plot. =) Perhaps Space Fantasy would be a more fitting term for it, but I don't see how all Sci Fi would avoid being lumped into this, because there are no black and white lines here that I see, except a line between SF and pure fantasy.
The demarcation between SF and fantasy, it seems to me, is:
Thing happens, and here's a logical explanation of WHY and HOW it happened.
Thing happens, because it's MAGIC! And quit asking questions! (not knocking on Fantasy here, I love it)
-Kasreyn
P.S. A tip for you, from an author: Of COURSE we write the stories first. =) Sci Fi that focuses solely on the science and puts plot in the back seat is about as interesting and dramatic as a technical manual (in fact, I can think of little difference).;)
P.P.S. Wow, you made it through this huge post. Wish I had a prize to put at the bottom of the post for you. =)
Wow, this is just the Wrongness Thread.
on
ST:TMP Fixer Upper
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· Score: 1
That's "Wagon Train to the Stars", FYI
That was the spiel Gene used to sell the concept to the anal retentive studio execs back in 1966. Give the man a break!! He couldn't outright tell them, "Hey, I'm Gene Roddenberry and I want to make a massively expensive sci fi show with tons of special effects and really highbrow plots and I want you to fund me." They'd have laughed him out of town. So he went in and played down the seriousness of the series, so as to get it approved. And it worked. This is called savvy.
The first episode, "The Cage", was about Captain Pike (not Kirk) being trapped by aliens who have astounding technology but have lost their will to innovate, to try new things, to deal with the world. He finally explains to them what it means to be free, and to make their own way in life without enslaving others.
The second pilot, "Where No Man Has Gone Before", has the 2nd in command of the Enterprise gaining god-like powers from an unknown phenomenon, and the story involves how he slowly goes nuts and is corrupted by power. Not a true Sci-Fi storyline - and that was the one that sold the series!
The network was always against the show, always trying to get Gene and the rest to dumb it down, to throw in more fanged, drooling monsters. Basically, to turn it into another Lost In Space. But Gene and his gang simply refused to lower the quality to that standard.
Take the episode, "Devil in the Dark". The workers on a mining planet are being killed in the subterranean tunnels by some unknown monster. Kirk & co arrive to find that the monster has sabotaged the place's reactor and they have to find the part it stole before the whole place goes KABLOOEY. So they search through the tunnels, some redshirts get offed, the tension rises, and they find it. Kirk, et. al., are about to blast it, when Spock manages to stop them. He uses the mind meld to communicate with the creature, which calls itself the Horta. And we learn that the Horta, that disgusting evil monster, is a mother defending her young. The miners, all unknowing, have been killing her eggs. So she fights back. When the two sides learn that it's all been a misunderstanding, they make peace, and they then work TOGETHER in cooperation, as the Horta has the ability to devour stone and dig tunnels with great speed. A happy ending (except for the redshirts).
There are countless other examples. Nearly every episode spoke out against slavery, against racism, against war, every episode retained hope that mankind will somehow muddle through. Sure, there were some corny episodes, many of them in the 3rd season after Gene stopped being directly involved, but come on!
See what I mean? If this isn't serious science fiction, I'd like you to tell me what qualifies. Peace, harmony, understanding... ST had network TV's first interracial kiss, do you know that? The suits tried to stop them but Gene and Shatner and Nichols refused to kowtow to racism, and they did it.
Please don't go along saying ST is not serious SF unless you give me an idea what YOU mean by that term.
-Kasreyn
(I would say "It is You who are mistaken, about a Great Many Things", but that's rather overused)
...and I agree it's valid. I didn't mean to rant or be so obnoxious about it, I guess... me, I enjoy reading a good novel as much or more than a good movie - others might not. I just think it's a shame nowadays that more and more people tend to accept whatever the new crap Hollywood is feeding them, and be totally unwilling to actually pay attention and *think* for a couple hours. The long shots of V'ger were meant to impress on you how frickin' HUGE the thing was, and how insignificant the Enterprise and her crew are, thus setting you up for the denouoement (sic?) where we learn it is actually, originally, man-made!
Yes, they probably could have cut about half an hour of the V'ger shots, I'm not disputing that the movie has its problems. But too many people think the movie's worthless just because there's slow pacing. Rereleasing it now seems like they're just asking for it - people won't go to see it unless they use "CGI" to make Ilia do a striptease and have sex with Kirk.
It just seems like a mistake to try to remarket such serious stuff, especially when it didn't have mass-market appeal the LAST time - I think Wise & co. are going to get their asses kicked, AGAIN, and blame it on everyone but themselves, AGAIN. The only sane way for them to try to remake this, is to add phaser battles and Neo jumping off buildings and Vger turning into the Borg Queen (shades of PvP) and all that sh!t, and I fully expect them to pull a stunt like that - if they don't, it will flop again, and for the same reasons (it lacks those things).
The cast and crew didn't have many problems with ST:TMP. Wise never would agree with Gene on anything, so far as I read, and didn't agree with his vision of the ST universe. We certainly don't need him remaking it now that Gene's gone and there's no one left to make sure it's real Trek. Gene = Real Trek. Wise = try again.
And I don't see what problem so many people had with the movie. Yeah, it's not Star Wars, there are not space dogfights, B movie dialog, and Princess Leia in a gold lame bikini. So what? This is STAR TREK, this is serious Science Fiction, if you want visceral entertainment just wait a year for George Lucas to offer you another installment.
I expect it to suck horribly, and it was only in the earlier rerelease version that they finally included some of the most important scenes that were stupidly cut, such as the one where Spock grabs Kirk's hand as he tries to explain this "simple feeling" he has discovered. There is not a single more important scene anywhere in all of Star Trek. This time through they'll probably concentrate on giving half an hour to the destruction of the Klingon ships at the start, in full gory detail.
And why a CG enterprise? It was fully convincing before, why fiddle with it and risk ruining it / alienating fans? (Trust me, long time ST fans like myself are their only real market) OOOOH, a CG Enterprise! In this day, everyone's imaginations are so stunted that they actually need such devices to help them suspend disbelief for a measly 2 hours, and that's sad. Letting the imagination atrophy is like letting any other part of your mind go to waste.
My quick take on this:
ST = stories delving into what makes us human, what friendship means, stories about diversity and unity, fellowship and peace. A hopeful look ahead, an optimistic story looking to the future and predicting peace, not more endless wars. Heh! look at that corny animated phaser. =)
SW = Luke looks like a puppy dog. Qui-Gonn kicks butt. Obi-Wan kicks more butt. God, we hate Jar-Jar. Damn, Leia/Padme's hot. (others' opinion, not mine - she's a bit young) Oooh! Big flashy explosion. =O And the Emperor is pure Grade A liquid Evil in a can.
Get it straight.
-Kasreyn
PS, the writeup wasn't horrible; this is a discussion for ST fans, we have no need of people who don't know what "ST" is and can't connect "ST" to "Enterprise" in this discussion.
The USPTO has no pro-Symantec bias. If another company had come forward with this first, THEY would have the patent and SYMANTEC might be getting sued.
It's all well and good to complain about the stupid way the Patent Office is handling things (I agree 100%), but corporations can't just sit on their laurels and say "this is a terrible shame", they either work with the system or they go bust.
In many of these cases, the registering company is registering the trademark just so none of their competitors will get it. The way patents are being handed out for a nickel apiece, it's first come first served. I think the board of directors of Symantec would agree with me that this was their only option.
Don't be mad at one specific corporation, be mad at the system. Corporations don't have a lot of leeway in how they act, after all. If it were a friendly and happy system, corporations would be friendly and happy (though poor).
"Before all you liberals start loudly complaining (yet again) about the inadequacies of the marketplace..."
If no one complains, nothing gets fixed. And even then, things only rarely get fixed.
"...if you don't like what this company is doing you can a) not work for them, and/or b) not buy their goods or services..."
Ok, brighteyes, you tell me: HOW? What company is it, huh? Do you know? Do *I* know? No. We don't, and do you know why? Because the company is trying its best to gag anyone who speaks up about how much they suck. How does one boycott a company when one NEVER KNOWS THERE IS A PROBLEM? It is because of conscientious and brave people like this guy, speaking up, that problems are brought to the public's attention.
Of course, it doesn't matter to you, and I'm not going to waste time flaming you because you're clearly expecting and desiring it. You're doubtless too busy right now despising me to listen to me. Whatever. But when your wonderful new president and his corporate friends decide a telescreen needs to be installed in your house to monitor you, you might finally start complaining about your "bottom line".
Either that, or this is highly sarcastic and not very clearly written as such. However, a sarcastic piece disguised as a serious one is ALSO called a troll, because it's designed to catch the unobservant and hasty posters.
"...throw cash at the problem"
No one uses language like that except to argue AGAINST something. Not to mention the reference to the Tower of Babel, which seems like a sly joke to me.
"The internet needn't be a lawless frontier anymore"
Anyone who posts as much as this guy does has GOT to know what effect that sentence will have on/.
Thus, the above post is: A troll, a flamebait, or a moron who after posting a TON still can't see that this sort of thing is inflammatory here.
So what's with "5, Insightful"?! Maybe "4, Nicely Subtle Troll".
This one seems pretty simple to me... I translate the WIPO's ruling much more clearly as, "For shame, Lockheed, you didn't bring a big enough briefcase to the back room."
Either that, or whoever elected WIPO God made sure to put only corporate loving pukes who're more conservative than the Archangel Gabriel on it.
Any other possibilities? Are they just hiring people from the US Patent Office, former Florida Election officials, or anyone else who is chronically blind to the very very obvious?
DDR is great fun I agree, but being a scored game I have seen it quickly turn into a cutthroat competition. SOMe people play DDr just for fun, but most I know play obsessively, trying to get that SS rating on maniac level...
A better example of non-zero-sum games are things like SimCity as mentioned above, Riven and Myst as mentioned above, and Conway's Game of Life, all of which are more like simulations (Maxis calls them "computer toys" rather than "games").
Personally, I think the world could do well with more Lego, books, and other free-form "toys", than more Quake and football and other reptile-brain amusement. Though you gotta admit, petting the reptile brain feels nice. =)
The transformers were, initially, made of quality metal and the transformations were really innovative and overly complex (JUST the way they should have been!), while the Go-Bots were plastic and crude, thus cheaper.
Metal Go-Bots came later, ironically around when the Transformers started going over to cheap crude plastic. Not very long after, the Transformers got pretty weak... but the originals still rule. I even take them out every once in a while and transform them so I won't forget how (in case I need to in an emergency)...
I have almost every transformer on that list (95% of them) from my childhood... I didn't take too good care of them though, and many are broken. I wish I had treated them better... not that I would EVER sell them!! =P But still, it's a shame they're not in good shape. I also have an almost complete set of the Transformers comic book series, with an extra copy of #1 in mint condition... how sad is THAT?!
Transformers remain next to only Legos, Atari 2600's, and 386 PC's as the best toys of the 80's IMO. Pity they can't make transformers, lego, OR computers the way they used to.;-)
Slashdot Mirror
Trust me, this is both easier on the eyes and easier to read than any other combo I have found.
-Kasreyn
It is the single worst ad I have ever seen on the web, bar none (been online only 4 years though, so maybe there was something worse before my time ;). Then those flashing ads for miniature webcams you find on porn sites are #2 (God, they get under my skin). The "optimize your connection" ads are only #3.
Whoever came up with "Shock the Monkey" deserves to be tied down and killed slowly with an electric cattle prod.
Can anyone tell me what this ad is even SELLING? Does it sell ANYTHING? Or are they just deliberately wasting my bandwidth on an insipid little java game I don't even want? All this ad does is waste the bandwidth to download it and then hog all my limited system resources as it tracks my mouse. I honestly wouldn't be surprised to find it was created by the makers of Tylenol because people weren't getting ENOUGH headaches as it was.
Grrrr!
-Kasreyn
I, for one, refuse to click on any link on the web if the link is
* obfuscated.
* too complex to figure out where it goes.
All ads in my experience fall into one of these categories.
In my experience, people only ever try to deliberately confuse you when they don't want you to see them screw you over. Sorry, not interested. Thus, I do not click on any ads, ever. I like to KNOW, not guess, where that link will take me.
-Kasreyn
Yes, there are two distinct types of Proto-Culture.
/.).
Protoculture the Entity In the beginning Zor, of the Robotech masters set out on a Space Folding search for other "cultures" and exploration. He came across a small planet (Earth) devoid of reasonable life and found a plant with AMAZING powers. He stripped the entire planet of it and brought it back to his galaxy. The flower did not bloom well on his home plante so he set forth to plant it on other worlds (such as the Invid homeworld) to see how it reacted. The "Flower of Life" as it was named was spread throughout the Universe by Zor and it was harvested by the now power greedy Robotech Masters whom lusted for the power in the flowers juices (now called Protoculture). Battles began to break out over control of the Flower.
Actually, as I learned it, Zor seduced the Regis (the Queen of the Invid), who were then a peaceful race in symbiosis with the Flower, and he got the secrets of Protoculture from her. He had already been experimenting with extracting energy from plants, but the flower of Life was on an order of magnitude greater. When the Republic of Tirol (his people) got hold of it, the evil Senator Nimuul and his cronies used it to conquer first their people, then most of the galaxy, calling themselves the Robotech Masters. They used Protoculture, which also has powerful mutagenic / pschotropic properties, to create the Zentraedi, a race of giant warrior-clones brainwashed into beng their obedient and dependant slave underclass. The first mission of the Zentraedi was the razing of the Invid Homeworld. They were sent to take every last flower. The Invid, being dependant on the Flower, basically went berserk over this cruelty and mutated themselves into a race of fanatical warriors led by the Regent (consort to the Regis), and they then waged war on the Robotech Masters for millennia. The Zentraedi and Masters had technology and resources, but the Invid had sheer numbers and even greater ferocity and determination, so the war dragged out. The Regis was just as bitter as the Regent, realizing how Zor had betrayed her trust, though in fact Zor was just another naive scientist putting the keys of power into the hands of evil (how apropos for
Zor, whom died at one such battle against the Invid instructed his General (Breetai) on his last breath to send the SDF1, which contained the secrets of the Flower of Life and Protoculture to Earth so that it would be out of the hands of all in conflict over the Flowers power.
This is incorrect. Zor had a small faction of Zentraedi whom he secretly subverted (via music, emotion, culture etc.) to be loyal to HIM and not the Robotech Masters. His flagship, the SDF-1, contained the ONLY Protoculture Matrix in existence. He commanded his loyalists to take it to Earth, which he had never visited. However, while on the planet Haydon IV, he had a protoculture-instigated vision of the Earth as the nexus where this conflict would come to its end. He foresaw the Regis's final transmutation in this dream, and knew that this possible outcome was the last remaining hope for peace in the galaxy. So his loyalists sent the SDF-1 beyond the Robotech Masters' grasp, shortly before Zor was slain by the Invid. Breetai, in fact, did NOT know where it was sent, which is why it took him so many decades to hunt it down. In fact, as Zor lay dying, he said that if he had not sworn to protect him, he would kill him then and there.
That's when the SDF1 crash landed on Macross island in 1999.
See, the Masters had to pursue the SDF-1, because they were now wholly addicted to the Protoculture, as well as requiring it to drive the war against the Invid. The only Protoculture Matrix was on board, and no new Protoculture Energy could be extracted without it - they had only their reserves to go on. This made the SDF-1 literally the most prized possession in the galaxy - and it landed squarely in the lap of an Earth in the middle of World War III.
Add to this, that the Earth, being the planet in Zor's vision, is in fact the only remaining planet in the galaxy where the Flower can grow, and you can see why the Earth gets invaded 3 times!
What a cool way to start a story!!
(whew) whatta mouthful! But I thought someone might be interested in the in-depth story.
-Kasreyn
I've heard of these... would someone please deign to explain them to me or point me to an informative site? I went to a really piss-poor H.S. where such things were unheard of...
Thanks in advance,
-Kasreyn
Kind OT yeah, but maybe someone can help me...
I took the SAT about 5 or 6 years ago. The PSAT the year before that. I know I scored highly on both... PSAT was in the mid 1500's, SAT was over 1400... I can't remember the exact scores though. Can anyone give me any advice on how to dig up my old scores? I've tried the websites for the organizations involved, whicyh are singularly unhelpful... They also try to charge for my own damned SAT scores!
I just think it would be a nice bit of resmue buffing, at a time when I need resume buffing. Any help, folks?
P.S. Don't even get started on Stuy. My GF went there and sometimes her arrogance about it drives me up the wall. The worst part is how they act like anyone could go there... as if most of us ever had that opportunity. I hate arrogant elitists who *claim* anyone's allowed in their little clique. As if most of us ever got that opportunity. Oh well, I still love her. =P
-Kasreyn
By convincing the judge / jurors / lawyers that "bad" websites harm children, you'll just set them up so they'll rule in favor of censorship next time around, "for the children."
A better idea is for kids to tell each other about PeaceFire, spread the word, and then try to reeducate their parents.
Kids: Sit down with your folks. SHOW them how the blocking software lets you find "bad" sites. SHOW them how it blocks you from harmless and educational sites.
If we can reeducate parents from this attitude of "my opinions are your opinions", maybe we can solve the problem. Cynical lawsuits may help the plaintiff, but they'll worsen this for everyone else. (Though I'd love to see the censorware companies take a hit as much as anyone else. =)
-Kasreyn
LOL, I love it but...
What has changed? =P
I look at your post and I see a perfectly apt description of the current state of the "web" - content I don't care for, requiring bandwidth I have no way in hell of obtaining.
Fun fun fun!!
-Kasreyn
2001-03-20 04:30:05
OK, you can all quit posting now, it's just a waste of your time. Hey, I *said* that's the right answer. =P
If I win you can get to me at k_Na_Os_Sr_Pe_Ay_Mn@hotmail.com
No spam please.
-Kasreyn
(from the article):
.NET (of course, without telling the public), and it's silently and seamlessly updated to reflect the Party's current views.
"Scientific texts could be continually altered to keep pace with research."
One thing that went through my mind instantly upon reading that:
Historical texts could be continually altered to keep pace with the political situation.
Wow, e-books will make the Ministry of Truth's job SO much simpler!! No more burning old copies and reprinting new ones - now all we need to do is change the copy stored on
We are at war with Eurasia. We are allied with Eastasia. This is how it has always been. And it says right here in the math text that 2+2=5.
Of course, there will be those free thinking types with old books who know the truth, but they are what execution squads are for.
I bet Orwell's rolling in his grave thinking "Wish I'd thought of that!".
-Kasreyn
P.S. Yes I'm being overly alarmist, but I felt like dousing these exuberant "wow whatta cool technology" flames a bit.
How do you think books are published? SOMEONE has to type or write them at the start. They don't travel instantly from the author's brain to the page. The author sits down at his word processor or typewriter and bangs out a story. Then either the draft is submitted, and the galleys proofed, or else the document file is spellchecked and saved as a final version... either way, the typing is already done.
Third world people have to spend their time getting sufficient food for their kids and fleeing from genocidal paramilitary types; they don't have time to read books.
-Kasreyn
Hi,
Until today I never heard of Bungie software... anyone care to explain to me what all this is about, and / or point me to a site that can explain it?
I'm a longtime DOOMie / Quaker, and I'm always interested in new FPS games, especially if they have a good plot! Descent, Hexen, Half-Life, DOOM, Unreal, Quake, got em all and all their spinoffs... loved em all.
So what's Marathon?
-Kasreyn
Ever been to ZDnet? Ever been to CNN or ABC news online, Reuters, or even Wired?
;) Whereas here on /. we glorify hackers and deplore script kiddies.
/.?
/. is biased, and more heavily than many news services... certainly more heavily than most news services its size. This does not present a problem, however. The reason one CHOOSES a news service is not only the coverage, but also whether they share one's own bias. If you don't like our bias, then prepare to be the Devil's Advocate here. Welcome to the World As It Is.
What do they call crackers, script kiddies, and w4r3z d00dz?
They call them all "hackers", and consider them all to be demented pre-Columbine youths out to destroy society. They look snidely down their noses at Linux, which must suck since no one will charge for it.
I hate to be the one to open your eyes, but ALL news sources are biased. News sells through sensationalism and slickness, not through rational, impartial reporting. And no matter how much anyone believes it only works on the "other guy", then why do we have so much ferocious debate over mere sensationalism on
Yes,
-Kasreyn
P.S. While it is true that "mere" programmers have little impact on the look and feel of a game, I want to raise one point. What about small game design groups where the programmers ARE the arts and design people? Plenty of computer geeks can draw and animate like no one's business, and OSS people wouldn't be OSS people if they weren't creative. Personally, I think with the right kind of team, open source games could be as well done as their corporate counterparts. However, the lack of sheer funding could impact quality in a negative way. =/
Good job! You got a lot of em that time.
Try for 10 with your next! God, you rolled me in the aisles.
-Kasreyn
P.S. This is only Offtopic in that it is a snide remark to the people who flamed this guy, to remember a syaing that went something like, "look before you leap". =P
I meant serious as in it has a serious topic. This is not fluff like Lost in Space. I did not mean to imply that its science is air-tight.
;) Roddenberry et al called in dozens of real life scientists from NASA and elsewhere to consult with them on authenticity... they knew the sound in space thing was dumb, but it was left in for dramatic reasons. (Notice that it is still in there in modern ST, which many claim is more "scientific" just because it has better special fx and "tachyons") Hell, even today they haven't mastered the concept of the zero-gravity explosion - though George Lucas almost has. Yes, there were corners cut, and this is all based on science as it was understood in 1966.
;)
They really put in a lot of effort on it, and yes, the science was slipshod at times. They tried, at least, they tried in fact QUITE hard. You know what the stardates were? They were a solution to time differentials between solar systems. Warp drive and the transporter were just dramatic necessities, nothing more. (You can't have a shuttle landing- and takeoff-sequences every time you send down an Away Team!)
The humanoid races were of course a constraint of reality, this was before CGI (gasp!) and monster suits were much cheaper than Hortas. And since we don't have a working transporter yet, we can hardly say we know how one *can't* work.
You're right, ST does not have the hardest of science in it. However, I meant "serious" as in the subject matter, which was quite serious. The post I was replying to seemed to me to insinuate that the subject matter of ST was worthless, and I felt the desire to correct this.
I guess our definitions of serious science fiction differ. Of Asimov's stories, (which I respect highly and rank among my favorite works), I would characterize only the Foundation series and a few others as "serious", due to subject matter rather than science. =P Clarke, of course, is a highly capable scientist and it shows in his writings. But science and storytelling are sometimes not both present in the same people - many people I know find Clarke wholly unpalatable as an author, and even I find him dull at times.
Given the time period and the funds they had to work with, I still hold to the opinion that ST did a remarkably good job on science as well as plot. =) Perhaps Space Fantasy would be a more fitting term for it, but I don't see how all Sci Fi would avoid being lumped into this, because there are no black and white lines here that I see, except a line between SF and pure fantasy.
The demarcation between SF and fantasy, it seems to me, is:
Thing happens, and here's a logical explanation of WHY and HOW it happened.
Thing happens, because it's MAGIC! And quit asking questions! (not knocking on Fantasy here, I love it)
-Kasreyn
P.S. A tip for you, from an author: Of COURSE we write the stories first. =) Sci Fi that focuses solely on the science and puts plot in the back seat is about as interesting and dramatic as a technical manual (in fact, I can think of little difference).
P.P.S. Wow, you made it through this huge post. Wish I had a prize to put at the bottom of the post for you. =)
That's "Wagon Train to the Stars", FYI
That was the spiel Gene used to sell the concept to the anal retentive studio execs back in 1966. Give the man a break!! He couldn't outright tell them, "Hey, I'm Gene Roddenberry and I want to make a massively expensive sci fi show with tons of special effects and really highbrow plots and I want you to fund me." They'd have laughed him out of town. So he went in and played down the seriousness of the series, so as to get it approved. And it worked. This is called savvy.
The first episode, "The Cage", was about Captain Pike (not Kirk) being trapped by aliens who have astounding technology but have lost their will to innovate, to try new things, to deal with the world. He finally explains to them what it means to be free, and to make their own way in life without enslaving others.
The second pilot, "Where No Man Has Gone Before", has the 2nd in command of the Enterprise gaining god-like powers from an unknown phenomenon, and the story involves how he slowly goes nuts and is corrupted by power. Not a true Sci-Fi storyline - and that was the one that sold the series!
The network was always against the show, always trying to get Gene and the rest to dumb it down, to throw in more fanged, drooling monsters. Basically, to turn it into another Lost In Space. But Gene and his gang simply refused to lower the quality to that standard.
Take the episode, "Devil in the Dark". The workers on a mining planet are being killed in the subterranean tunnels by some unknown monster. Kirk & co arrive to find that the monster has sabotaged the place's reactor and they have to find the part it stole before the whole place goes KABLOOEY. So they search through the tunnels, some redshirts get offed, the tension rises, and they find it. Kirk, et. al., are about to blast it, when Spock manages to stop them. He uses the mind meld to communicate with the creature, which calls itself the Horta. And we learn that the Horta, that disgusting evil monster, is a mother defending her young. The miners, all unknowing, have been killing her eggs. So she fights back. When the two sides learn that it's all been a misunderstanding, they make peace, and they then work TOGETHER in cooperation, as the Horta has the ability to devour stone and dig tunnels with great speed. A happy ending (except for the redshirts).
There are countless other examples. Nearly every episode spoke out against slavery, against racism, against war, every episode retained hope that mankind will somehow muddle through. Sure, there were some corny episodes, many of them in the 3rd season after Gene stopped being directly involved, but come on!
See what I mean? If this isn't serious science fiction, I'd like you to tell me what qualifies. Peace, harmony, understanding... ST had network TV's first interracial kiss, do you know that? The suits tried to stop them but Gene and Shatner and Nichols refused to kowtow to racism, and they did it.
Please don't go along saying ST is not serious SF unless you give me an idea what YOU mean by that term.
-Kasreyn
(I would say "It is You who are mistaken, about a Great Many Things", but that's rather overused)
...and I agree it's valid. I didn't mean to rant or be so obnoxious about it, I guess... me, I enjoy reading a good novel as much or more than a good movie - others might not. I just think it's a shame nowadays that more and more people tend to accept whatever the new crap Hollywood is feeding them, and be totally unwilling to actually pay attention and *think* for a couple hours. The long shots of V'ger were meant to impress on you how frickin' HUGE the thing was, and how insignificant the Enterprise and her crew are, thus setting you up for the denouoement (sic?) where we learn it is actually, originally, man-made!
Yes, they probably could have cut about half an hour of the V'ger shots, I'm not disputing that the movie has its problems. But too many people think the movie's worthless just because there's slow pacing. Rereleasing it now seems like they're just asking for it - people won't go to see it unless they use "CGI" to make Ilia do a striptease and have sex with Kirk.
It just seems like a mistake to try to remarket such serious stuff, especially when it didn't have mass-market appeal the LAST time - I think Wise & co. are going to get their asses kicked, AGAIN, and blame it on everyone but themselves, AGAIN. The only sane way for them to try to remake this, is to add phaser battles and Neo jumping off buildings and Vger turning into the Borg Queen (shades of PvP) and all that sh!t, and I fully expect them to pull a stunt like that - if they don't, it will flop again, and for the same reasons (it lacks those things).
Oh well.
-Kasreyn
The cast and crew didn't have many problems with ST:TMP. Wise never would agree with Gene on anything, so far as I read, and didn't agree with his vision of the ST universe. We certainly don't need him remaking it now that Gene's gone and there's no one left to make sure it's real Trek. Gene = Real Trek. Wise = try again.
And I don't see what problem so many people had with the movie. Yeah, it's not Star Wars, there are not space dogfights, B movie dialog, and Princess Leia in a gold lame bikini. So what? This is STAR TREK, this is serious Science Fiction, if you want visceral entertainment just wait a year for George Lucas to offer you another installment.
I expect it to suck horribly, and it was only in the earlier rerelease version that they finally included some of the most important scenes that were stupidly cut, such as the one where Spock grabs Kirk's hand as he tries to explain this "simple feeling" he has discovered. There is not a single more important scene anywhere in all of Star Trek. This time through they'll probably concentrate on giving half an hour to the destruction of the Klingon ships at the start, in full gory detail.
And why a CG enterprise? It was fully convincing before, why fiddle with it and risk ruining it / alienating fans? (Trust me, long time ST fans like myself are their only real market) OOOOH, a CG Enterprise! In this day, everyone's imaginations are so stunted that they actually need such devices to help them suspend disbelief for a measly 2 hours, and that's sad. Letting the imagination atrophy is like letting any other part of your mind go to waste.
My quick take on this:
ST = stories delving into what makes us human, what friendship means, stories about diversity and unity, fellowship and peace. A hopeful look ahead, an optimistic story looking to the future and predicting peace, not more endless wars. Heh! look at that corny animated phaser. =)
SW = Luke looks like a puppy dog. Qui-Gonn kicks butt. Obi-Wan kicks more butt. God, we hate Jar-Jar. Damn, Leia/Padme's hot. (others' opinion, not mine - she's a bit young) Oooh! Big flashy explosion. =O And the Emperor is pure Grade A liquid Evil in a can.
Get it straight.
-Kasreyn
PS, the writeup wasn't horrible; this is a discussion for ST fans, we have no need of people who don't know what "ST" is and can't connect "ST" to "Enterprise" in this discussion.
Please note this is not a flame. =) (I hope)
The USPTO has no pro-Symantec bias. If another company had come forward with this first, THEY would have the patent and SYMANTEC might be getting sued.
It's all well and good to complain about the stupid way the Patent Office is handling things (I agree 100%), but corporations can't just sit on their laurels and say "this is a terrible shame", they either work with the system or they go bust.
In many of these cases, the registering company is registering the trademark just so none of their competitors will get it. The way patents are being handed out for a nickel apiece, it's first come first served. I think the board of directors of Symantec would agree with me that this was their only option.
Don't be mad at one specific corporation, be mad at the system. Corporations don't have a lot of leeway in how they act, after all. If it were a friendly and happy system, corporations would be friendly and happy (though poor).
-Kasreyn,
hoping I made some sense...
"Before all you liberals start loudly complaining (yet again) about the inadequacies of the marketplace..."
If no one complains, nothing gets fixed. And even then, things only rarely get fixed.
"...if you don't like what this company is doing you can a) not work for them, and/or b) not buy their goods or services..."
Ok, brighteyes, you tell me: HOW? What company is it, huh? Do you know? Do *I* know? No. We don't, and do you know why? Because the company is trying its best to gag anyone who speaks up about how much they suck. How does one boycott a company when one NEVER KNOWS THERE IS A PROBLEM? It is because of conscientious and brave people like this guy, speaking up, that problems are brought to the public's attention.
Of course, it doesn't matter to you, and I'm not going to waste time flaming you because you're clearly expecting and desiring it. You're doubtless too busy right now despising me to listen to me. Whatever. But when your wonderful new president and his corporate friends decide a telescreen needs to be installed in your house to monitor you, you might finally start complaining about your "bottom line".
The "bottom line" is freedom.
-Kasreyn
...have a nice day. =)
/.
Either that, or this is highly sarcastic and not very clearly written as such. However, a sarcastic piece disguised as a serious one is ALSO called a troll, because it's designed to catch the unobservant and hasty posters.
"...throw cash at the problem"
No one uses language like that except to argue AGAINST something. Not to mention the reference to the Tower of Babel, which seems like a sly joke to me.
"The internet needn't be a lawless frontier anymore"
Anyone who posts as much as this guy does has GOT to know what effect that sentence will have on
Thus, the above post is: A troll, a flamebait, or a moron who after posting a TON still can't see that this sort of thing is inflammatory here.
So what's with "5, Insightful"?! Maybe "4, Nicely Subtle Troll".
-Kasreyn
This one seems pretty simple to me... I translate the WIPO's ruling much more clearly as, "For shame, Lockheed, you didn't bring a big enough briefcase to the back room."
Either that, or whoever elected WIPO God made sure to put only corporate loving pukes who're more conservative than the Archangel Gabriel on it.
Any other possibilities? Are they just hiring people from the US Patent Office, former Florida Election officials, or anyone else who is chronically blind to the very very obvious?
-Kasreyn
DDR is great fun I agree, but being a scored game I have seen it quickly turn into a cutthroat competition. SOMe people play DDr just for fun, but most I know play obsessively, trying to get that SS rating on maniac level...
A better example of non-zero-sum games are things like SimCity as mentioned above, Riven and Myst as mentioned above, and Conway's Game of Life, all of which are more like simulations (Maxis calls them "computer toys" rather than "games").
Personally, I think the world could do well with more Lego, books, and other free-form "toys", than more Quake and football and other reptile-brain amusement. Though you gotta admit, petting the reptile brain feels nice. =)
-Kasreyn
The transformers were, initially, made of quality metal and the transformations were really innovative and overly complex (JUST the way they should have been!), while the Go-Bots were plastic and crude, thus cheaper.
Metal Go-Bots came later, ironically around when the Transformers started going over to cheap crude plastic. Not very long after, the Transformers got pretty weak... but the originals still rule. I even take them out every once in a while and transform them so I won't forget how (in case I need to in an emergency)...
-Kasreyn
I have almost every transformer on that list (95% of them) from my childhood... I didn't take too good care of them though, and many are broken. I wish I had treated them better... not that I would EVER sell them!! =P But still, it's a shame they're not in good shape. I also have an almost complete set of the Transformers comic book series, with an extra copy of #1 in mint condition... how sad is THAT?!
;-)
Transformers remain next to only Legos, Atari 2600's, and 386 PC's as the best toys of the 80's IMO. Pity they can't make transformers, lego, OR computers the way they used to.
-Kasreyn