An interesting book, and I enjoy Stross's stuff in general, but the constant use of second person present tense got old pretty quickly for me. Hmm, Wikipedia says it was an homage to the Adventure games. I didn't think of it that way while I was reading it... I guess that makes me feel a little better about it.
My first home video game was also an Atari VCS, most likely with Combat, since that cartridge came with it.
My first arcade video game was most likely Space Invaders. I have vague memories of playing some sort of WW1 biplane game, in a bowling alley, some time in the late 70s; I'm not sure whether this was before or after my first time with Space Invaders. the game was reminiscent of Atari's Combat cartridge, but better. You might have been able to bomb ground targets... I forget.
My first wargame was around 1977, War of the Ring, by SPI. I saw it mentioned in Starlog magazine, and, being a Tolkien fanatic, had to have it. I let my parents know and one night my Dad called home asking me if this box he was holding with a "big thing like a hairy vampire" (the Balrog in Moria) on the front was the one I wanted. It was. Of course none of my friends were interested in that kind of game, as we were about 11 years old, and I was the only one of interested in such things. So I played it against myself a lot.
My first RPG-type game was Melee, from Steve Jackson Games, which I also learned about in Starlog magazine. I bought that, Ogre, and Warp War. That was probably 1978 or 1979. Soon after that, I learned about D&D from kids I was in the Boy Scouts with. I had seen D&D in Starlog, too... Starlog was apparently very important in my youth.
In the 'advanced' computing class in my high school (circa 1982), we got to use some terminals connected via acoustic coupler modem to an IBM mainframe at a local college. The IBM terminals we used seemed to have keys made of metal, and I remember they made a metallic 'Pingggg!' sound as you typed, as opposed to the more usual 'Click'. They were built very heavily. Much more so even than my beloved Type M keyboards, which would probably stop a bullet, as I always joke.
Lots of fun playing Star Trek, err, I mean, learning FORTRAN, on those things...
By the way, how many Slashdotters know how to touch type? I took a typing (as in typewriter) class in high school to fulfill some domestic skill requirement and it's one of the most useful things I ever learned. By the time my brother got to high school they were calling it keyboarding instead. Is that a common requirement these days? I took a typing class in 9th grade (1980-1981) and easily surpassed the 50wpm required to pass. I never used a computer until the following year when I could take the school's computer class, which used the Apple ][+. In the interim I forgot everything I had learned about typing and developed a sort of hyper-advanced form of hunt&peck, which I use to this day.
I still don't understand why the IBM Model M is considered the best ever.
Cons: * It's way too big and takes up too much room on the desk I once had an IBM keyboard that had the feel of the Type M, but the size of a small modern keyboard. Sadly, I spilled soda on it, gave it to a friend to clean it for me, and he wound up accidentally throwing it away. I was devastated... At least I still have my cache of a half-dozen Type M keyboards.
* The distracting clicking noise is even worse with a room full of them clicking away To some of us, that's music:-).
* The keys are too high and require too much effort to press (probably done to appease the typewriter diehards in the 1980s) I found that I could type faster on that type of keyboard than any other, except for some that Everex was selling in the early-mid 90s, which had a very similar, but not as extreme, feel to them.
* Print Screen / Scroll Lock / Pause are relics of the 1980s. That's true, though several games I play at least use Print Screen for screen shots.
Add in the fact that modern keyboards half the size of the Model M are able to fit in useful keys such as volume control, mute buttons and such, I've seen, and used briefly, keyboards with all that crap on them, and never seen much use for them.
the Model M may have been the best keyboard up to the 1990s but its glory days are past. Blasphemer!
Insert - I've never had a use for "write over mode." Has anyone? I've used it a very few times over the years while editing Medicare and Medicaid electronic billing files (text files of fixed-length fields).
Here is an ancient Usenet post I saved. It details a magic system as a programming language of sorts. I posted it to my journal, since it's pretty lengthy.
Just as in 1st Edition, 3rd edition wizards aren't proficient with swords.
Don't like magic-using dwarves or non-good rangers? Don't play one, or if you're DM, disallow those combinations. Problem solved. Those always seemed to me examples of things that should be determined by the specific campaign world, not the rule system.
I'm feeling pretty cynical about their reasons for doing this, too. The things I read about the new rules, up until I finally stopped reading in disgust, all seemed like a dumbening of the rules to appeal to attention span-challenged video gamers.
You're right, it's not very noticible, but on NPR this week (too busy to find the exact reference, but you can probably find it if you dig) they mentioned that this is the first year in a long time where gasoline usage remained flat compared to the previous year.
Since there were more cars on the road in 07, and more Americans of driving age, that seems to demonstrate some combination of the above (Less Driving, more efficient (slower) driving, or more efficient cars).
Still, the fact that we weren't able to actually REDUCE usage shows that we're not being as prudent as we should be. Very interesting. I didn't happen to hear that on NPR, but I agree with your conclusions.
I shake my head now as I see people racing from stop light to stop light. And even if there's no other light in sight, the racing from 0 to the speed limit is just STUPID and it's KILLING their MPG. I see people do this too. My current car is capable of extreme acceleration, but I reserve it for passing and merging, because of the noticeable drop in MPG (which I calculate using the odometer every time I fill up) when I am more... enthusiastic.
Most of us just drive less, drive slower, and drive more efficient vehicles. I have seen no evidence of this whatsoever. I live in southern NH, and over the last year have spent a fair amount of time in NV, ME, MA and NJ. The roads are more congested, driving speeds are higher if anything, and most (75% or more?) of the vehicles on the road around here are goddamned SUVs/pickup trucks/minivans.
He could use some of the material from the RotK appendices, and some of the stuff mentioned in passing in The Hobbit: The Dwarf and Goblin Wars, Gandalf getting a Dwarven Ring from Thrain (or was it Thror?) in Dol Guldur, The Wise driving the Necromancer out of Dol Guldur. Maybe with all this stuff there would be enough to make a two-part Hobbit movie.
The Racetrack is isolated, but not *that* isolated. It was a couple hour's drive in a rented SUV to get there. I don't think you could leave expensive equipment there and expect it to be unmolested.
Now, an instrument package disguised as a rock might work...
I was in Las Vegas that week for DefCon (which I wound up skipping anyway) and a Rush concert. Apparently the Classic Gaming Expo was there also during that period, but I didn't know it was in LV this year until I read a Slashdot story after it was over, sadly.
I stayed in aptly-named Furnace Creek, and two years ago stayed in Stovepipe Wells. I didn't mind the heat so much- 120' the first day, 115 the rest of the time I was there. I had a lot of cold water with me at all times.
I don't mind the Europeans - it was fun trying to figure out what the German-speakers were saying, based on my 2 years of classes in high school, 23+years ago...
At the time those pictures were taken, the ground had been baked solid. Footprints don't show up well. But when I was there this summer, I did see footprints made when the ground was muddy. There are signs telling you not to walk out there when it's wet - footprints can persist for quite a long time.
But no, really, I was at the Racetrack playa in Death Valley National Park. I'd post pictures, but the ones in TFA cover it pretty well. Although I do have a nice close-up of the ground texture.
I was there in August this year, and it was quite windy. It's very easy to imagine that if the ground had been muddy, the wind could slide the rocks around.
I'm lucky enough to have some competition in my area - there's still a K-Mart not too far from where I live, although Wal-mart is much closer (15min drive vs. 3min drive).
I'm also lucky enough to have a choice of grocery stores, so I go to the 'underdog' one, because competition is better for everyone (everyone who matters, anyway).
Slashdot Mirror
An interesting book, and I enjoy Stross's stuff in general, but the constant use of second person present tense got old pretty quickly for me. Hmm, Wikipedia says it was an homage to the Adventure games. I didn't think of it that way while I was reading it... I guess that makes me feel a little better about it.
Bum... Bum... Bum... Bum... Bum...
Bum.. Bum.. Bum.. Bum.. Bum..
Bum. Bum. Bum. Bum. Bum.
BUM!BUM!BUM!BUM!BUM!
GAME OVER
(My comment violated the "postercomment" compression filter. I will try less whitespace and/or less repetition. Comment aborted.)
Arrrg! My apologies to all for accidentally hitting 'Submit' instead of 'Preview'.
My first home video game was also an Atari VCS, most likely with Combat, since that cartridge came with it.
My first arcade video game was most likely Space Invaders. I have vague memories of playing some sort of WW1 biplane game, in a bowling alley, some time in the late 70s; I'm not sure whether this was before or after my first time with Space Invaders. the game was reminiscent of Atari's Combat cartridge, but better. You might have been able to bomb ground targets... I forget.
My first wargame was around 1977, War of the Ring, by SPI. I saw it mentioned in Starlog magazine, and, being a Tolkien fanatic, had to have it. I let my parents know and one night my Dad called home asking me if this box he was holding with a "big thing like a hairy vampire" (the Balrog in Moria) on the front was the one I wanted. It was. Of course none of my friends were interested in that kind of game, as we were about 11 years old, and I was the only one of interested in such things. So I played it against myself a lot.
My first RPG-type game was Melee, from Steve Jackson Games, which I also learned about in Starlog magazine. I bought that, Ogre, and Warp War. That was probably 1978 or 1979. Soon after that, I learned about D&D from kids I was in the Boy Scouts with. I had seen D&D in Starlog, too... Starlog was apparently very important in my youth.
Nifty, I learned something today. Thanks, AC!
I'd like to hear more about these "anti-neutrons"... :-)
In the 'advanced' computing class in my high school (circa 1982), we got to use some terminals connected via acoustic coupler modem to an IBM mainframe at a local college. The IBM terminals we used seemed to have keys made of metal, and I remember they made a metallic 'Pingggg!' sound as you typed, as opposed to the more usual 'Click'. They were built very heavily. Much more so even than my beloved Type M keyboards, which would probably stop a bullet, as I always joke.
Lots of fun playing Star Trek, err, I mean, learning FORTRAN, on those things...
Cons:
* It's way too big and takes up too much room on the desk I once had an IBM keyboard that had the feel of the Type M, but the size of a small modern keyboard. Sadly, I spilled soda on it, gave it to a friend to clean it for me, and he wound up accidentally throwing it away. I was devastated... At least I still have my cache of a half-dozen Type M keyboards. * The distracting clicking noise is even worse with a room full of them clicking away To some of us, that's music
Here is an ancient Usenet post I saved. It details a magic system as a programming language of sorts. I posted it to my journal, since it's pretty lengthy.
http://slashdot.org/~An+ominous+Cow+art/journal/192430
Just as in 1st Edition, 3rd edition wizards aren't proficient with swords.
Don't like magic-using dwarves or non-good rangers? Don't play one, or if you're DM, disallow those combinations. Problem solved. Those always seemed to me examples of things that should be determined by the specific campaign world, not the rule system.
I'm feeling pretty cynical about their reasons for doing this, too. The things I read about the new rules, up until I finally stopped reading in disgust, all seemed like a dumbening of the rules to appeal to attention span-challenged video gamers.
Since there were more cars on the road in 07, and more Americans of driving age, that seems to demonstrate some combination of the above (Less Driving, more efficient (slower) driving, or more efficient cars).
Still, the fact that we weren't able to actually REDUCE usage shows that we're not being as prudent as we should be. Very interesting. I didn't happen to hear that on NPR, but I agree with your conclusions. I shake my head now as I see people racing from stop light to stop light. And even if there's no other light in sight, the racing from 0 to the speed limit is just STUPID and it's KILLING their MPG. I see people do this too. My current car is capable of extreme acceleration, but I reserve it for passing and merging, because of the noticeable drop in MPG (which I calculate using the odometer every time I fill up) when I am more... enthusiastic.
You make good points.
Puff of smoke.
Puff of smoke.
Streamer of smoke.
Puff of smoke.
Streamer of smoke.
He could use some of the material from the RotK appendices, and some of the stuff mentioned in passing in The Hobbit: The Dwarf and Goblin Wars, Gandalf getting a Dwarven Ring from Thrain (or was it Thror?) in Dol Guldur, The Wise driving the Necromancer out of Dol Guldur. Maybe with all this stuff there would be enough to make a two-part Hobbit movie.
The Racetrack is isolated, but not *that* isolated. It was a couple hour's drive in a rented SUV to get there. I don't think you could leave expensive equipment there and expect it to be unmolested.
Now, an instrument package disguised as a rock might work...
I was in Las Vegas that week for DefCon (which I wound up skipping anyway) and a Rush concert. Apparently the Classic Gaming Expo was there also during that period, but I didn't know it was in LV this year until I read a Slashdot story after it was over, sadly.
:-).
I stayed in aptly-named Furnace Creek, and two years ago stayed in Stovepipe Wells. I didn't mind the heat so much- 120' the first day, 115 the rest of the time I was there. I had a lot of cold water with me at all times.
I don't mind the Europeans - it was fun trying to figure out what the German-speakers were saying, based on my 2 years of classes in high school, 23+years ago...
Thanks for the tip on tipping
At the time those pictures were taken, the ground had been baked solid. Footprints don't show up well. But when I was there this summer, I did see footprints made when the ground was muddy. There are signs telling you not to walk out there when it's wet - footprints can persist for quite a long time.
Why, yes. Yes, I was.
But no, really, I was at the Racetrack playa in Death Valley National Park. I'd post pictures, but the ones in TFA cover it pretty well. Although I do have a nice close-up of the ground texture.
I was there in August this year, and it was quite windy. It's very easy to imagine that if the ground had been muddy, the wind could slide the rocks around.
I'm lucky enough to have some competition in my area - there's still a K-Mart not too far from where I live, although Wal-mart is much closer (15min drive vs. 3min drive).
I'm also lucky enough to have a choice of grocery stores, so I go to the 'underdog' one, because competition is better for everyone (everyone who matters, anyway).
I like what I've read about the Universalist Unitarians. If I were looking for a religion, that's the first I would visit.