I think I get what you mean... it's as if you get the computer to DO some of the grunt-work of thinking. Ever find yourself using, frex, one word processing program for creative thought, and another for routine stuff, even tho two programs are functionally identical, and maybe even very similar in use? like using the battered old favourite tool that "feels right" in meatspace, even when the almost-identical tool would have done the job just as well.
I have two vehicles: a car and a truck. The truck is my primary and it does indeed feel like an extension of my body (and I've often said as much). This applies even when I'm towing something, much like wearing heavy boots over your regular shoes doesn't change the fact that they're YOUR feet, just a bit more clumsy than usual.
The car never did become "part of me" even when it was in regular use. It just doesn't "feel right", even tho it's a much nicer vehicle.
But that's true of a lot of tools. Very often the favourite hand tool is the dinged-up piece that the dog chewed and is almost worn out, but it "feels right" to the hand, so it's the one you use, given a choice. Whereas an almost-identical tool may just not have that "right" feel. It's probably subtleties of balance and grip at work -- tactile feedback.
Now why couldn't the FSP have picked Montana? I'm trying to get moved back there (I grew up in MT) but so far the RE market is not cooperating. I have a large kennel and consequently very specific requirements (among them a lack of covenants and conditional use permit hassles, and "if you can SEE the neighbours, they're too close!")... dunno about NH, but surrounding states have become quite kennel-hostile.
Funny how that tends to go right along with nanny-state crap.:(
For music and movies, one exact digital copy may be as good as the next, but there's still a sense of security that comes from having your very own commercial hardcopy on the shelf -- it's just like having a known-good backup of any other data. Even a copied disk doesn't feel as secure (and probably isn't, given the iffy lifespan of writable disks).
Also, I've noticed is that people who never buy hardcopies tend to regard their digital collection as ephemeral and expendable. They typically don't make backups of any sort. (Tho sheer size can prohibit that. There again.. the commercial disk is an efficient backup.)
Baha'i is an oddity in that AFAIK it is the only religion that actually possesses the *original copy* of the "divinely revealed" writings of its founder, and which lets the general public SEE them.
I know someone who *witnessed* the "bar bet" (mentioned in the FAQ) being made, by LRH to two other SF authors (tho I don't recall who they were). Of course this is still "hearsay" but considering its congruence with all the positively known facts about LRH, it's good enough for me.
Sounds no different from the tumbleweeds we get in the SoCal desert -- some are bigger than a VW, and armed with hordes of small poisoned spikes. Largest one I've pulled up was over 8 feet across and it hadn't matured yet. When they're running loose in the fall, you don't want to get in their way!
The union is against it mainly because union dues are a direct percentage of what you make. If you make less, the union makes less, and more to the point, the union bosses won't have the funds to raise their OWN salaries.
(Am I a bit cynical about unions? I watched a union's pigheadedness put 90% of one town out of work because the employer COULD NOT pay what the union demanded, and went out of business.)
Indeed, it wouldn't surprise me if armed guards at the library was a bit of DHS pork on the side. The local library is part of the Los Angeles County system, tho, so getting rid of the officials responsible is at best unlikely and at worst impossible. Our county commissioners (who probably authorized the expenditure) are about as corrupt as they come, and everyone knows it, but they keep getting re-elected.:(
Name-recognition, and most people not being in the direct swath of destruction, means most people just vote for the name they know, having no pressing knowledge of reasons why they shouldn't.:(
Starting a few months ago, we now have not one, but TWO armed guards in the local public library (which is in a nice quiet older neighbourhood). I had no idea library patrons were such a rowdy lot. I asked the guards what they actually DO (they're obviously bored shitless) and they said that one day someone stole a phone, but otherwise -- nothing.
These two guards cost about $68,000/year just in wages (2 guards times 54 open hours per week, at a guess paid $12/hour), probably more with admin overhead. Yet the library has had to cut back its hours for lack of funds, despite a HUGE earmarked tax assessment.
This sort of paranoia has been spreading rapidly. It's now rare to see a mall or a major store without several patrolling armed guards... yet there was no hooliganism at these malls and stores to begin with, so what exactly are the armed guards protecting??
"I believe that, in a free society, an individual has a reasonable expectation of proceeding through their day without being subject to arbitrary surveillance. If you remove that expectation, you take a significant step towards a functioning police state."
Indeed, perhaps THE most significant step. Arbitrary surveillance inhibits free speech, free assembly, and free movement, all in one fell swoop.
I grew up during the Cold War; I remember how the Other Half lived. Apparently the current generation has forgotten. I have a hard time believing they are deliberately emulating an Iron Curtain state, but we're surely headed in that direction. We have a smoother ride (a better economy) but that doesn't change the road we're on, so smoothly paved with good intentions.
But that's part of the point of free speech: I don't HAVE to like you, and I don't HAVE to include you; indeed, if I wish to express a sentiment that you are subhuman, this is my right. With free speech, YOU can do the same, if you wish.
And so long as we aren't exhorting others to *do actual harm*, whatever we say should be protected free speech, NO MATTER HOW REPUGNANT. Claiming that you are harmed by words is specious.
But what's happening today is that someone who says something repugnant (by whatever are the current standards of political correctness) is immediately decried as an Evil Racist or the like -- while blithely ignoring the fact that FREE SPEECH is what lets YOU label this person an Evil Racist in the first place.
I came into college at the end of the hippie era, which was the end of the Enforced Establishment era as well. I remember how not only were there so many new ideas being expressed, but these ideas were being expressed *peacefully*, with no need to do the In-Your-Face disruptive thing.
IOW -- No one needed to shout someone else down, because ALL were welcome to speak.
Now, as History always seems to do, we're swinging back the other way, and as you note, what was once Radical is now Establishment, and v.v. And we're seeing the concomitant suppression of "radical" ideas that threaten Establishment concepts.
But the more suppressed an idea becomes, the more confrontational its proponents will be, thereby feeding the notion that free speech needs to be suppressed.
With luck, things will swing back to center again, but when I look around and see how many "contented cows" we have in today's larger-scale economy, I feel little hope for that.:(
Phonehome-ware can probably dodge that bullet by getting the minimum reporting threshold set at an ordinary non-P2P-user's monthly usage, say 5GB. Even the most verbose phonehome-ware isn't going to come anywhere near that, so would be exempt.
I'm not enough of a gamer (certainly not with newer titles) to comment on your examples, but I think you're right that you have to make good choices about both what to keep, AND what to leave out.
The DOOM movie was pretty good as a turn-your-brain-off blast-'em-to-hell, and tho I generally hate camp it did a good job of throwing in every inside joke the DOOM franchise ever produced. But it fell down when it tried to interface the game TOO much with Real Life[tm] by adding weak/implausible character interactions. IMO it would have done better to just stick to the fantasy world of the game itself, but make the JOURNEY interesting, rather than try to involve us in a ridiculous character conflict.
True -- Burton Armus is a good example. As producer, he consistently makes ANY production the best it can possibly be, no matter how weak the subject material. (He produced the first season of Airwolf... which was the #1 ranked show ever in its tough initial timeslot.)
What you suggest has been done -- there were a number of roleplaying games and such in the Star Wars and Star Trek franchises (and probably a few others I'm not aware of).
But it works the other way round, too: what makes a good film doesn't necessarily make a good game. Translating passive viewing to active participation (and v.v.) is hard. Not that it can't be done, but I think you've got to have the sort of film that "makes a universe" for it to work well.
And as the SW prequels amply demonstrate, designing a film as a hook for a toy and game franchise is liable to make for a very poor movie, even if you make a ton of money off the licensing empire.
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I think I get what you mean... it's as if you get the computer to DO some of the grunt-work of thinking. Ever find yourself using, frex, one word processing program for creative thought, and another for routine stuff, even tho two programs are functionally identical, and maybe even very similar in use? like using the battered old favourite tool that "feels right" in meatspace, even when the almost-identical tool would have done the job just as well.
Control of your body is "all in the mind" too :)
I have two vehicles: a car and a truck. The truck is my primary and it does indeed feel like an extension of my body (and I've often said as much). This applies even when I'm towing something, much like wearing heavy boots over your regular shoes doesn't change the fact that they're YOUR feet, just a bit more clumsy than usual.
The car never did become "part of me" even when it was in regular use. It just doesn't "feel right", even tho it's a much nicer vehicle.
But that's true of a lot of tools. Very often the favourite hand tool is the dinged-up piece that the dog chewed and is almost worn out, but it "feels right" to the hand, so it's the one you use, given a choice. Whereas an almost-identical tool may just not have that "right" feel. It's probably subtleties of balance and grip at work -- tactile feedback.
Very interesting, thanks. So all is not lost. :)
What does this cost, compared to recovery from conventional hard drives??
Now why couldn't the FSP have picked Montana? I'm trying to get moved back there (I grew up in MT) but so far the RE market is not cooperating. I have a large kennel and consequently very specific requirements (among them a lack of covenants and conditional use permit hassles, and "if you can SEE the neighbours, they're too close!") ... dunno about NH, but surrounding states have become quite kennel-hostile.
:(
Funny how that tends to go right along with nanny-state crap.
Baha'i friends had books with images of the originals. Interesting to see.
Divinely-revealed or not, at least this is one religion that has done no serious harm, either to its own members or to society at large.
For music and movies, one exact digital copy may be as good as the next, but there's still a sense of security that comes from having your very own commercial hardcopy on the shelf -- it's just like having a known-good backup of any other data. Even a copied disk doesn't feel as secure (and probably isn't, given the iffy lifespan of writable disks).
.. the commercial disk is an efficient backup.)
Also, I've noticed is that people who never buy hardcopies tend to regard their digital collection as ephemeral and expendable. They typically don't make backups of any sort. (Tho sheer size can prohibit that. There again
"When herd immunity develops in the general population, the cult starves for money, and dies."
:(
Unfortunately, there are always a sufficient number of people with lousy immune systems
Baha'i is an oddity in that AFAIK it is the only religion that actually possesses the *original copy* of the "divinely revealed" writings of its founder, and which lets the general public SEE them.
I have heard rumours to the effect that one of the driving forces behind the major copyright extension acts was indeed the Co$, and not just Disney.
... I think your speculation will probably become future fact.
So
I know someone who *witnessed* the "bar bet" (mentioned in the FAQ) being made, by LRH to two other SF authors (tho I don't recall who they were). Of course this is still "hearsay" but considering its congruence with all the positively known facts about LRH, it's good enough for me.
Sounds no different from the tumbleweeds we get in the SoCal desert -- some are bigger than a VW, and armed with hordes of small poisoned spikes. Largest one I've pulled up was over 8 feet across and it hadn't matured yet. When they're running loose in the fall, you don't want to get in their way!
Not so with the union people I know... it's a percentage of their wage (a friend showed me his paycheck, the union took about 10%!)
The union is against it mainly because union dues are a direct percentage of what you make. If you make less, the union makes less, and more to the point, the union bosses won't have the funds to raise their OWN salaries.
(Am I a bit cynical about unions? I watched a union's pigheadedness put 90% of one town out of work because the employer COULD NOT pay what the union demanded, and went out of business.)
Indeed, it wouldn't surprise me if armed guards at the library was a bit of DHS pork on the side. The local library is part of the Los Angeles County system, tho, so getting rid of the officials responsible is at best unlikely and at worst impossible. Our county commissioners (who probably authorized the expenditure) are about as corrupt as they come, and everyone knows it, but they keep getting re-elected. :(
:(
Name-recognition, and most people not being in the direct swath of destruction, means most people just vote for the name they know, having no pressing knowledge of reasons why they shouldn't.
THEY are not afraid. They want to make US afraid, so we'll call on THEM to protect us.
Baaa, baaa, baaa....
And the more-radical arms of the Black Panthers.
[I don't consider nutjobs who barricade themselves in the middle of nowhere to be terrorists.]
Starting a few months ago, we now have not one, but TWO armed guards in the local public library (which is in a nice quiet older neighbourhood). I had no idea library patrons were such a rowdy lot. I asked the guards what they actually DO (they're obviously bored shitless) and they said that one day someone stole a phone, but otherwise -- nothing.
These two guards cost about $68,000/year just in wages (2 guards times 54 open hours per week, at a guess paid $12/hour), probably more with admin overhead. Yet the library has had to cut back its hours for lack of funds, despite a HUGE earmarked tax assessment.
This sort of paranoia has been spreading rapidly. It's now rare to see a mall or a major store without several patrolling armed guards... yet there was no hooliganism at these malls and stores to begin with, so what exactly are the armed guards protecting??
"I believe that, in a free society, an individual has a reasonable expectation of proceeding through their day without being subject to arbitrary surveillance. If you remove that expectation, you take a significant step towards a functioning police state."
Indeed, perhaps THE most significant step. Arbitrary surveillance inhibits free speech, free assembly, and free movement, all in one fell swoop.
I grew up during the Cold War; I remember how the Other Half lived. Apparently the current generation has forgotten. I have a hard time believing they are deliberately emulating an Iron Curtain state, but we're surely headed in that direction. We have a smoother ride (a better economy) but that doesn't change the road we're on, so smoothly paved with good intentions.
But that's part of the point of free speech: I don't HAVE to like you, and I don't HAVE to include you; indeed, if I wish to express a sentiment that you are subhuman, this is my right. With free speech, YOU can do the same, if you wish.
And so long as we aren't exhorting others to *do actual harm*, whatever we say should be protected free speech, NO MATTER HOW REPUGNANT. Claiming that you are harmed by words is specious.
But what's happening today is that someone who says something repugnant (by whatever are the current standards of political correctness) is immediately decried as an Evil Racist or the like -- while blithely ignoring the fact that FREE SPEECH is what lets YOU label this person an Evil Racist in the first place.
I came into college at the end of the hippie era, which was the end of the Enforced Establishment era as well. I remember how not only were there so many new ideas being expressed, but these ideas were being expressed *peacefully*, with no need to do the In-Your-Face disruptive thing.
:(
IOW -- No one needed to shout someone else down, because ALL were welcome to speak.
Now, as History always seems to do, we're swinging back the other way, and as you note, what was once Radical is now Establishment, and v.v. And we're seeing the concomitant suppression of "radical" ideas that threaten Establishment concepts.
But the more suppressed an idea becomes, the more confrontational its proponents will be, thereby feeding the notion that free speech needs to be suppressed.
With luck, things will swing back to center again, but when I look around and see how many "contented cows" we have in today's larger-scale economy, I feel little hope for that.
Phonehome-ware can probably dodge that bullet by getting the minimum reporting threshold set at an ordinary non-P2P-user's monthly usage, say 5GB. Even the most verbose phonehome-ware isn't going to come anywhere near that, so would be exempt.
I'm not enough of a gamer (certainly not with newer titles) to comment on your examples, but I think you're right that you have to make good choices about both what to keep, AND what to leave out.
:)
The DOOM movie was pretty good as a turn-your-brain-off blast-'em-to-hell, and tho I generally hate camp it did a good job of throwing in every inside joke the DOOM franchise ever produced. But it fell down when it tried to interface the game TOO much with Real Life[tm] by adding weak/implausible character interactions. IMO it would have done better to just stick to the fantasy world of the game itself, but make the JOURNEY interesting, rather than try to involve us in a ridiculous character conflict.
So I guess it goes both ways.
True -- Burton Armus is a good example. As producer, he consistently makes ANY production the best it can possibly be, no matter how weak the subject material. (He produced the first season of Airwolf... which was the #1 ranked show ever in its tough initial timeslot.)
So ... which games do you think would lend themselves to a movie and/or general franchise?
Ah, I didn't realise that's what you meant.
What you suggest has been done -- there were a number of roleplaying games and such in the Star Wars and Star Trek franchises (and probably a few others I'm not aware of).
But it works the other way round, too: what makes a good film doesn't necessarily make a good game. Translating passive viewing to active participation (and v.v.) is hard. Not that it can't be done, but I think you've got to have the sort of film that "makes a universe" for it to work well.
And as the SW prequels amply demonstrate, designing a film as a hook for a toy and game franchise is liable to make for a very poor movie, even if you make a ton of money off the licensing empire.