My prompts help me keep track of which machine that particular window is connected to. I've too many times edited a CGI on the wrong machine and sat there wondering why it just wasn't working.
I need a bacteria that takes care of all the household chores. While you're at it, I could use a bacteria that debugs my code and reminds me of Mother's Day.
I am thrilled that BattleStar Galactica is getting another shot. I always felt that BG was an excellent premise that just needed better writers to make it work. If they can avoid being campy and slipping into deus ex machina solutions they might pull it off.
A few suggestions for the producers:
Do not let them ever find Earth. Galactica '82 (81? 83?) was an offense against decency.
If refugees are supposed to be tired, hungry, unwashed, don't let them look like runway models (except for the emaciated part).
Starbucks be damned, keep Starbuck named "Starbuck".
Do not hire any writers from Star Trek Voyager
Try to find a plausible explanation for why the Cylons are zealously searching for the remnants of humanity in order to destroy then, and occasionally find the rag-tag fleet of presumably old slow ships, but don't gang up on them and blow them into dust.
Recognize the reality that if the Twelve Colonies of Man (ahem, take a hint from ST:TNG, the Twelve Colonies of Humanity) is wiped out, Colonial currency will be worthless. You'll just have to come up with something else for Starbuck to gamble with.
At least once an episode, have that bitchin' shot of the fighter taking off down the launch tunnels.
As a result of the better-marketing-through-vandalism, what community service was actually performed, who had to do it, and did s/he get paid for the time off?
Is it such a good thing that StarOffice will be synonomous in thousands of people's minds with OpenSource? Frankly, I'm not crazy about that happening. While StarOffice may be one of the most user-friendly *nix applications, it's still not actually friendly. I cringe at the thought that soon thousands of people will be saying "Open source? I have to use open source and it sucks! I'd much rather use my MS Word application at home. Microsoft, that's the people who put out nice programs!"
I'm glad to see the military is friendly to open source, I'm just not sure I want StarOffice to be the ambassador of the movement.
The real money issue is support, and I find that the decider is little wallet vs. big wallet. If you buy a small-time off-the-shelf product like MS Access or VB and then use it with a small in-house staff, the support you get from Microsoft will be terrible. You get a limited number of support (I use the term loosely) calls and then you're on your own. Open source products, however, like Perl or Apache, have an international network of passionate supporters who can answer any question, often in less time than you would be on hold with MS.
This trend switches when you get into big-scale products like server arrays and networks. At that point there's no substitute for a highly qualified consultant or on-staff person, and that person will/should charge a pretty penny.
Thank you Douglas Adams! Your books will always be a treasured part of my library.
I'll always treasure the memory of when my wife Starflower bought me and my friend Grady matching scripts for the radio version of the Guide. We immediately launched into a dramatic reading of several scenes, each of us assuming several different voices for different characters.
I feel like I've lost a personal friend. You'll be missed, Douglas, and long remembered!
While there are many different properties one could use to decide which is the "tallest building", the people who make it their business to keep track of records, namely the folks at Guinness, say that the "tallest building" is the CN Tower in Toronto, Canada. See their
page on the subject.
I was in a similar situation a while ago (my book is technical in nature). I had an idea for a book and wanted to find a publisher. I contacted an author whom I respected and was referred to his agent.
To make a long (and still ongoing) story short, my agent was fantastic, knew exactly what to do, who to contact, and how to negotiate a good deal. After a a lot of book-proposal redrafts she got me a contract with none other than O'Reilly and Associates. (Don't bother looking for my book just yet, it's still in the post-writing process. In answer to the inevitable question: the eland)
I can't speak to how you can tell a good fiction agent from a slime-ball, but getting references from published authors sounds like a good start. OTOH, I've heard it's considered rude to ask an author about his/her agent, so take this whole paragraph with a grain of salt.
Nevertheless, I can honestly say that w/o my wonderful agent my book would have never happened.
OK, here's a radical idea for your geek bar: go no-tech. The point of the bar would be to get AWAY from the net and computing in general. It would be popular for the same reason Burning Man is so popular with tech-heads: get away from the tech for a while.
So, no Internet connection, no places to plug in your laptop, and no networked games. Pac-man and other old-fashioned games would be permitted (they're preety much no-tech these days).
For added "get away from it all", line the walls with lead (or some other dense metal) to prevent cell phone transmission and recieving. See
this article about the movement to ban cell phones from some public places. There are also apparently some paints and wallpapers under development for this express purpose (sorry, I couldn't find any details).
Keep in mind that geeks don't tend to be a heavy drinking bunch, so try to find a non-alchohol revenue stream. Furnishings should be large tables where people can congregate in groups of three to six. Encourage people to hold small meetings there (because they can't be interrupted). This would foster a revenue stream of snacks and non-alchohol refreshments.
My wife and I are constituents of yours in Blacksburg, VA.
Reading through a recent American Bar Association network article about the ridiculous PriceLine patents, I was delighted to see your denunciation of the PriceLine patent:
"In calling for reform of the patent system,
Rep. Rick Boucher, D-Va., ridiculed the PTO
for granting the PriceLine patent.
There was nothing novel or nonobvious behind
it except its use in cyberspace, he insisted.
'The market economy of the Western world and the theory of microeconomics is predicated on individuals setting a price at which they are willing to purchase something.' "
Well said! I'm glad to see that our representative on the hill has a good awareness of this issue.
As you know, Blacksburg has quite a few high-tech firms. The continued growth of our local economy relies on a legal system that reflects the honest and appropriate use and protection of intellectual property, not the gouging of loopholes and mistakes from an ill-informed government agency.
Slashdot Mirror
For the machine I use all the time:
export PS1="[\u]\$ " which gives me:
[miko]$ To remind me when I'm root:
PS1="\[\033[41;1;37m\][\u]\[\033[0m\]\$ "
which gives the the prompt a red background.
Miko O'Sullivan
Miko O'Sullivan
A few suggestions for the producers:
Miko O'Sullivan
Miko O'Sullivan
Reagan's not dead. Good grief, you call yourself a conservative and you don't even know that?
Miko O'Sullivan
I'm glad to see the military is friendly to open source, I'm just not sure I want StarOffice to be the ambassador of the movement.
Miko O'Sullivan
This trend switches when you get into big-scale products like server arrays and networks. At that point there's no substitute for a highly qualified consultant or on-staff person, and that person will/should charge a pretty penny.
Miko O'Sullivan
Miko O'Sullivan
I'll always treasure the memory of when my wife Starflower bought me and my friend Grady matching scripts for the radio version of the Guide. We immediately launched into a dramatic reading of several scenes, each of us assuming several different voices for different characters.
I feel like I've lost a personal friend. You'll be missed, Douglas, and long remembered!
-Miko
The black boxes are pretty cool. For a little less money I'd want one or two. -miko
While there are many different properties one could use to decide which is the "tallest building", the people who make it their business to keep track of records, namely the folks at Guinness, say that the "tallest building" is the CN Tower in Toronto, Canada. See their page on the subject.
To make a long (and still ongoing) story short, my agent was fantastic, knew exactly what to do, who to contact, and how to negotiate a good deal. After a a lot of book-proposal redrafts she got me a contract with none other than O'Reilly and Associates. (Don't bother looking for my book just yet, it's still in the post-writing process. In answer to the inevitable question: the eland)
I can't speak to how you can tell a good fiction agent from a slime-ball, but getting references from published authors sounds like a good start. OTOH, I've heard it's considered rude to ask an author about his/her agent, so take this whole paragraph with a grain of salt.
Nevertheless, I can honestly say that w/o my wonderful agent my book would have never happened.
-Miko
So, no Internet connection, no places to plug in your laptop, and no networked games. Pac-man and other old-fashioned games would be permitted (they're preety much no-tech these days).
For added "get away from it all", line the walls with lead (or some other dense metal) to prevent cell phone transmission and recieving. See this article about the movement to ban cell phones from some public places. There are also apparently some paints and wallpapers under development for this express purpose (sorry, I couldn't find any details).
Keep in mind that geeks don't tend to be a heavy drinking bunch, so try to find a non-alchohol revenue stream. Furnishings should be large tables where people can congregate in groups of three to six. Encourage people to hold small meetings there (because they can't be interrupted). This would foster a revenue stream of snacks and non-alchohol refreshments.
Miko
My wife and I are constituents of yours in Blacksburg, VA.
Reading through a recent American Bar Association network article about the ridiculous PriceLine patents, I was delighted to see your denunciation of the PriceLine patent:
Well said! I'm glad to see that our representative on the hill has a good awareness of this issue.As you know, Blacksburg has quite a few high-tech firms. The continued growth of our local economy relies on a legal system that reflects the honest and appropriate use and protection of intellectual property, not the gouging of loopholes and mistakes from an ill-informed government agency.
Keep up the good work!
- Miko O'Sullivan
Idocs.com