The wire work in Crouching Tiger was used more to enhance and underline the fairy tale nature of the story. I don't think it was intended to look 'real' at all.
Did ANYONE else see the fat white guy with sunglasses in the crowd of ruffians in the desert/hair-comb scene? He also appeared in the background of another scene, but I forget which.
You're soaking in it, and probably have been for years!
The chief objective of computer programming is too create useful things. Elegance is tremendously valuable but secondary. NO OTHER interactive message board has come close to Slashdot in terms of useability, readability and even whiz-bang features.
Thinking of the long-term is very much a part of capitalism. Just ask Alan Greenspan. It is only rarely a part of VENTURE capitalism, which is essentially a form of legalized gambling too often mistaken for actual capitalism.
I think wireless internet, much like cell-phones, will take hold first and foremost in countries lacking the solid phone/wire infrastructure of the US but having a solid interest in some degree of internet access. I'm thinking of China, Eastern Europe and places like that. They'll be more than happy to put up with expensive, slow and troublesome connections because that will be their only option.
In the US, so long as it is slower, more complicated and more costly, wireless Internet will be nothing more than a curiosity. We have the worlds most dependable phone system. We don't really NEED wireless, regardless of how much the idea appeals to a significant minority.
This is one of the main reasons that the US always seems so 'behind' in these things. Other countries embrace and run with cellular/wireless communications because their existing services are a.) too complicated and expensive (Japan) or b.) of a tech level barely above the Iron Age (China/Eastern Europe).
We ARE a Republic, and hopefully always will be. We are UNION of STATES. We are NOT France. Get over it.
When you vote, you vote for your state. If you are from Delaware, you cannot determine which president Kentucky will choose.
I do NOT want my country's future decided by a bunch of Californians and mid-western Union Drones alone.
The Electoral College (whether it originally intended to or not) also makes fraud more difficult. Without it, a massive fraud in one state could turn the election. With it, you'd have to organize fraud in more than one state, increasing your chances of being caught or not risking it in the first place.
If I had my way, each state would have ONE electoral vote.
I saw 'A Boy and His Dog' when it came out, when I was a kid. I found it to be creepy and depressing for all the wrong reasons. I'll have to give it another go, but I don't think it's gotten any better with time.
I'm a fan of Ellison, but mainly of his rants, essays and criticism. I have yet to read a piece of fiction of his that I would recommend to anyone. His short-story compilations all consist of work he did 30-40 years ago. What little writing he does now seems to be childish invective against childish detractors and re-hashes of his great battles of yore. I kept waiting for him to really write something good, funny or important, but if he has, I missed it.
I adored his first few books, but all that time in the warm California sun is turning him into a marshmallow. I couldn't even get half-way through his last one. He needs to move to New York, or Kansas City or something.
Lem will stand the test of time, like a box of twinkies or the first Van Halen album, lying in wait to have the dust blown off and be rediscovered by future geeks for eons to come.
I had to kind of force myself to finish 'Solaris', wheras his other books are more easily devoured. Worth the effort though. In the short story collections, he blurs the boundary between fiction, fable and poetry to great effect.
Then there's the one full of reviews of non-existent publications by non-existent authors. Brilliant stuff!
Gore, as a member of the incumbent party, and given his popular image as 'smart' and 'experienced' is most likely to win. At this point, if you don't vote against Gore, you're voting for him. The ONLY way to effectively vote against Gore is to vote for Bush, who actually has a chance of winning.
If you don't mind the idea of having Gore as your president, then by all means vote for Nader.
It's frustrating but true. It's the power/problem of a multi (more than 2) party system. If you vote for the lesser 3rd, you vote for nothing. You can only really vote AGAINST someone if you choose between the two most likely to win.
Who, in fact IS in most need of tax relief? 'The poor'? They already get it. The rich? Hmm...that all depends on who you're calling rich. Is a married couple with children and a combined income of 100K 'rich'? Sure doesn't feel that way to me!
Over-stimulating a robust economy? Right. Like anyone knows exactly where the economy will be 2 days let alone 2 years from now. I'll pay the interest and deal with inflation, thankyou very much.
All well and good, but the attitude you describe is fueled by a thing called 'morale'. This is the glue that keeps troops from heading for the hills at the first sign of danger or adversity. Morale is fuled by any one or both of 2 things, Leadership and/or Money. Most soldiers will gladly do with less of the second and more of the first. For the past 8 years, they haven't had either.
He read someone elses missive, got all fired up and feelin' holy and penned a missive of his own. All well and good, but his status as a writer lends it a nebulous credibility it doesn't deserve.
The McJobs I've worked have always been frustrating in the sheer amount of work and attention they demand for miniscule pay. The stress of the high-tech realm, for me, is WAY more than compensated by good pay and benefites, and the ability to occasionally slack-off without someone glaring at me for not 'looking busy'.
Your management situation sounds fairly dismal, but your skills leave you with a ton of employment options. You're probably making enough cash to pay for your own training in whatever you desire, even if it's unfair that your manager sucks up whatever opportunities the company is willing to offer.
I'll never say that Scott Adams doesn't hit the nail on the head, tho'. He does! I just feel that I'm well enough rewarded that I can take those situations in stride.
Maybe you can set your boss up to embarrass the company for using pirated software and get his ass demoted. If it's really a government job, tho', good luck. The chairs in those jobs are covered with Crazy Glue!
I hate this sort of drivel about how things are 'especially difficult' for tech workers. Bull SH*T! Try spending 10-15 years in almost any NON technical career (except, perhaps, for lawyers and psychologists) to get up to 40 or 50 thou a year, and then try to stomach the sniveling of the 'poor techie' who gets 40-50 grand on his first, entry-level position!
I'm on the Hi-Tek Gravy Train and I'm NOT COMPLAINING! My job is blast compared to pretty much anything else I've done.
Try working at McJob for 7 or 8 bux an hour, with a trashy boss who fumes and threatens whenever you're 5 minutes late. There's plenty of folks who, for a variety of reasons, HAVE to rely on those jobs to survive, and have to say 'yes sir' to all the crap that gets thrown about them.
Nobody writes books or articles about THEM because they're not a good market. They don't make enough to buy books in the first place.
We 'poor techies' are a great market; trumpet one of our pet concerns on the cover of a hastily-thrown-together book or article and maybe now you'll cash in! Them techies got money and them techies buy books!
Slashdot Mirror
We included the outdoors tho', too. I remember some storm drain activities and such. Good, dangerous, idiotic fun!
The wire work in Crouching Tiger was used more to enhance and underline the fairy tale nature of the story. I don't think it was intended to look 'real' at all.
Did ANYONE else see the fat white guy with sunglasses in the crowd of ruffians in the desert/hair-comb scene? He also appeared in the background of another scene, but I forget which.
Anyone?
Beuler?
You're soaking in it, and probably have been for years!
The chief objective of computer programming is too create useful things. Elegance is tremendously valuable but secondary. NO OTHER interactive message board has come close to Slashdot in terms of useability, readability and even whiz-bang features.
Thinking of the long-term is very much a part of capitalism. Just ask Alan Greenspan. It is only rarely a part of VENTURE capitalism, which is essentially a form of legalized gambling too often mistaken for actual capitalism.
I think wireless internet, much like cell-phones, will take hold first and foremost in countries lacking the solid phone/wire infrastructure of the US but having a solid interest in some degree of internet access. I'm thinking of China, Eastern Europe and places like that. They'll be more than happy to put up with expensive, slow and troublesome connections because that will be their only option.
In the US, so long as it is slower, more complicated and more costly, wireless Internet will be nothing more than a curiosity. We have the worlds most dependable phone system. We don't really NEED wireless, regardless of how much the idea appeals to a significant minority.
This is one of the main reasons that the US always seems so 'behind' in these things. Other countries embrace and run with cellular/wireless communications because their existing services are a.) too complicated and expensive (Japan) or b.) of a tech level barely above the Iron Age (China/Eastern Europe).
We're a UNION of STATES. You have no right to affect Florida's vote if you are a citizen of Massachusetts. End of that thar story.
We ARE a Republic, and hopefully always will be. We are UNION of STATES. We are NOT France. Get over it.
When you vote, you vote for your state. If you are from Delaware, you cannot determine which president Kentucky will choose.
I do NOT want my country's future decided by a bunch of Californians and mid-western Union Drones alone.
The Electoral College (whether it originally intended to or not) also makes fraud more difficult. Without it, a massive fraud in one state could turn the election. With it, you'd have to organize fraud in more than one state, increasing your chances of being caught or not risking it in the first place.
If I had my way, each state would have ONE electoral vote.
Long Live The Electoral College!
I saw 'A Boy and His Dog' when it came out, when I was a kid. I found it to be creepy and depressing for all the wrong reasons. I'll have to give it another go, but I don't think it's gotten any better with time.
I'm a fan of Ellison, but mainly of his rants, essays and criticism. I have yet to read a piece of fiction of his that I would recommend to anyone. His short-story compilations all consist of work he did 30-40 years ago. What little writing he does now seems to be childish invective against childish detractors and re-hashes of his great battles of yore. I kept waiting for him to really write something good, funny or important, but if he has, I missed it.
I can't agree enough about Blade Runner and PKDick's original story.
Just an annoying 'me too' post, with nothing of any real merit to add. Oh well!
I just read the bit about the "...Satire" line being added hours after the message was first posted.
Itchy trigger finger. Scratch that last post!
Yep. It's a hoax. Thankyou for sharing!
I adored his first few books, but all that time in the warm California sun is turning him into a marshmallow. I couldn't even get half-way through his last one. He needs to move to New York, or Kansas City or something.
Don't even get me started on William Gibson!
Lem will stand the test of time, like a box of twinkies or the first Van Halen album, lying in wait to have the dust blown off and be rediscovered by future geeks for eons to come.
I had to kind of force myself to finish 'Solaris', wheras his other books are more easily devoured. Worth the effort though. In the short story collections, he blurs the boundary between fiction, fable and poetry to great effect.
Then there's the one full of reviews of non-existent publications by non-existent authors. Brilliant stuff!
Are fresh out of college and still full of the 'Liberal College Activist' mindset that makes college life so exciting and important-feeling.
They haven't grown out of it yet, but they will.
Gore, as a member of the incumbent party, and given his popular image as 'smart' and 'experienced' is most likely to win. At this point, if you don't vote against Gore, you're voting for him. The ONLY way to effectively vote against Gore is to vote for Bush, who actually has a chance of winning.
If you don't mind the idea of having Gore as your president, then by all means vote for Nader.
Sad, but that's how it works.
It's frustrating but true. It's the power/problem of a multi (more than 2) party system. If you vote for the lesser 3rd, you vote for nothing. You can only really vote AGAINST someone if you choose between the two most likely to win.
Your Libertarian vote, while well-intended, will effectively go to Gore.
A Vote For Anyone But Bush Is A Vote For Gore
It's as simple as that. Stomp your foot and make all the childish 'statements' you want.
Who, in fact IS in most need of tax relief? 'The poor'? They already get it. The rich? Hmm...that all depends on who you're calling rich. Is a married couple with children and a combined income of 100K 'rich'? Sure doesn't feel that way to me!
Over-stimulating a robust economy? Right. Like anyone knows exactly where the economy will be 2 days let alone 2 years from now. I'll pay the interest and deal with inflation, thankyou very much.
Nat'l debt? Nah. Worry about that later!
All well and good, but the attitude you describe is fueled by a thing called 'morale'. This is the glue that keeps troops from heading for the hills at the first sign of danger or adversity. Morale is fuled by any one or both of 2 things, Leadership and/or Money. Most soldiers will gladly do with less of the second and more of the first. For the past 8 years, they haven't had either.
He read someone elses missive, got all fired up and feelin' holy and penned a missive of his own. All well and good, but his status as a writer lends it a nebulous credibility it doesn't deserve.
The McJobs I've worked have always been frustrating in the sheer amount of work and attention they demand for miniscule pay. The stress of the high-tech realm, for me, is WAY more than compensated by good pay and benefites, and the ability to occasionally slack-off without someone glaring at me for not 'looking busy'.
Your management situation sounds fairly dismal, but your skills leave you with a ton of employment options. You're probably making enough cash to pay for your own training in whatever you desire, even if it's unfair that your manager sucks up whatever opportunities the company is willing to offer.
I'll never say that Scott Adams doesn't hit the nail on the head, tho'. He does! I just feel that I'm well enough rewarded that I can take those situations in stride.
Maybe you can set your boss up to embarrass the company for using pirated software and get his ass demoted. If it's really a government job, tho', good luck. The chairs in those jobs are covered with Crazy Glue!
Good luck, cheers and all that.
-k
I hate this sort of drivel about how things are 'especially difficult' for tech workers. Bull SH*T! Try spending 10-15 years in almost any NON technical career (except, perhaps, for lawyers and psychologists) to get up to 40 or 50 thou a year, and then try to stomach the sniveling of the 'poor techie' who gets 40-50 grand on his first, entry-level position!
I'm on the Hi-Tek Gravy Train and I'm NOT COMPLAINING! My job is blast compared to pretty much anything else I've done.
Try working at McJob for 7 or 8 bux an hour, with a trashy boss who fumes and threatens whenever you're 5 minutes late. There's plenty of folks who, for a variety of reasons, HAVE to rely on those jobs to survive, and have to say 'yes sir' to all the crap that gets thrown about them.
Nobody writes books or articles about THEM because they're not a good market. They don't make enough to buy books in the first place.
We 'poor techies' are a great market; trumpet one of our pet concerns on the cover of a hastily-thrown-together book or article and maybe now you'll cash in! Them techies got money and them techies buy books!