You my friend don't have a clue what you are talking about. I hate it when peeps get on a message board and put down other viewpoints without all the facts!
It was a spaceship that looked like a "DC-8" that brought the Thetans to earth to be annihilated by volcanoes packed full of nuclear bombs!
Wow!!! I forgot about Tom Swift!!!
I used to stop by the library on the way home from school (yes I'm a geek - it is Slashdot) and read Tom Swift. So long ago now! My memory banks are all fuzzed up from college and I don't remember much about my youth. (Damn bong resin has stolen my youth!) Anyways I do have fond memory of Tom Swift books. I can almost smell those old dusty pages.
If you just want to get him hooked within a few milliseconds. Put Ender's Game in his hands.
Then build the 'foundation' with Asimov of course.
Switch it up big time with some Zelazny. Not Lord of Light. (yet) Try Doorways in the Sand.
Dan Simmons Hyperion Cantos is excellent.
Then blow his mind away with Clifford Simak - City.
Back to Hard SF with some Verner Vinge - A Fire Upon the Deep.
Mix in Pratchet and Douglas Adams when things get too moody.
My number one suggestion is that you read the books first and then pass them on. You can talk about the books together. Even if it is what you might think of as tough material for a kid, if you talk about it together, then you can help him work through it with your years of wisdom.
Don't let him get within a mile of Dhalgren by Samuel R. Delany. It will twist up his mind. Most adults can't get through it.
Avoid Peter F. Hamilton until he is much older.
Dont forget to mention that he pays David Stern's little fines in pennies.
Dropping 100,000 pennies outside Stern's office door is pretty damn funny.
He is also know to match his fines with charitable donations. Pretty cool dude. And, never think that he is stupid. He even still trys to answer all his emails everyday.
Heard in an interview, where he likes to leave his ATM reciept on the ATM machine and then hide behind the corner and chuckle as the next patron picks up his reciept (as we all do) and checks out his $467,000 balance in his petty cash account. Now tell me that's something you wouldn't do when you make your first billion.
I work in the flight sim business developing software. I was in the commercial side of things (Lear, Cessna, 777, etc) for a couple of years and most of the host software is written in Fortran.
Now I am in the military side of things (Apache, Commanche, F18, etc.) Fortran and Ada form the basis for much of the host code.
It is an ugly depressing world down in the bowels of the host code for these high tech sims. The Visuals, networking (HLA), and newer systems are starting to propogate towards newer code.
It is interesting to see the mish-mash build for such huge projects. CGF (computer generated forces), SAF, IOS (instructor operating staions), are typically of a more modern paradigm, but they interface with Ada and Fortran code that drives the host simulation. You have never seen so many global variables in you life. GOTO's abound. It is a wonder to me at times how the systems work at all. But diligence and hours and hours of trainer time seem to work out most of the bugs.
I usually get 10 or so hours a week on a trainer and most of the time don't even fire up the engines and fly it around. At first it is the ultimate video game, but after a while, it is just a job and deadlines have to be met and my code must work.
Flight Sims are amazing engineering projects involving hundred of engineers and millions of lines of code. It is imposible for one engineer to know the inner working of all the systems (although I think my cubie might). It is definately an exciting and satisfying industry to get into as a young engineer or software geek, but be prepared to get out that old FORTRAN book from your freshman year in college because you will need it. Oh yeah, and brush up on your Ada. And you better know Unix/Linux. Windows don't play in the real time sim world. All of our systems are progressing from proprietary Unix systems (SGI-IRIX) and the like to Linux (RedHat). Host, visual, IG, networking. All of it eventually will be Linux based PC systems. The cost savings are too important to ignore. And we have the inhouse know-how to run on any system. Why not the cheapest?
Agreed on the Vinge point. I just finished A Deepness in the Sky and as I read the article description, I couldn't help but think about that book. The nano-sensors were a key plot point in that one. Also lots of good stuff in thier about software. Document that code of yours...you never know it may be used by the Queng Ho tens of thousands of years from now.
I've read a couple of his books now and enjoyed both quite a bit.
How did this get modded as insightful. It is funny if you are an anti-war liberal. Otherwise it is way off the mark.
Remember, Ender was a badass that attacked with a killing strike before his opponent could gain advantage. That is what we are doing in Iraq. He felt bad afterwards and hated doing it, but loved the fact that he was still alive after the conflict.
"All these things may be immoral, and in violation of the "rules of war", but, rightly or wrongly, these people think they are fighting for their very survival, and the survival of their home."
Or Not. The ones that are still fighting are fighting due to crosswired religous beliefs of Islam. If I die for Allah and kill Americans I will get rewarded. That is crazy. The ones still fighting are scared to not fight. I don't think the majority of everyday people want The Butcher of Bagdad' in power.
Quit trying to make the Iraqi 'defenders' sound noble. They are scared or decieved fools. The brave and smart will get out of the way and let us do what they couldn't.
For the Slashdot religous crowd (there are a few): SadDammed Hussein will spend the rest of eternity paying for his evils.
For all the agnostics (which seems to be a Slashdot majority: SaDAMN Hussein will spend the rest of his life paying for his evils. Looking at the news this morning that should be a couple of more days.
Either way...
Of course we want to know what happened so that we can in the future avoid this catastrophe happening again, and that will provide comfort to the families of astronauts and the nations citizens, but prayer will also provide comfort and peace and understanding to all. Which helps heal more is a matter of debate I suppose, but is merely argumentative and pretty petty.
God Bless our brave adventurers. After having touched the face of God in thier journeys, may they find peace in this thier final sojourn.
Lord comfort thier families and our Nations.
Then how exactly does calling for the murder of certain particular groups considered decent?
You meant to say: How is calling for... considered decent.
Well the answer is that it is not, and no reasonable person would say it is. Now what is your point. Or are you just posting to hear yourself speak.
Slashdot Mirror
http://lhcathome.cern.ch/
You my friend don't have a clue what you are talking about. I hate it when peeps get on a message board and put down other viewpoints without all the facts! It was a spaceship that looked like a "DC-8" that brought the Thetans to earth to be annihilated by volcanoes packed full of nuclear bombs!
Here is a free weight loss website comparable to WeightWatchers and the like. www.sparkpeople.com
Wow!!! I forgot about Tom Swift!!! I used to stop by the library on the way home from school (yes I'm a geek - it is Slashdot) and read Tom Swift. So long ago now! My memory banks are all fuzzed up from college and I don't remember much about my youth. (Damn bong resin has stolen my youth!) Anyways I do have fond memory of Tom Swift books. I can almost smell those old dusty pages.
If you just want to get him hooked within a few milliseconds. Put Ender's Game in his hands. Then build the 'foundation' with Asimov of course. Switch it up big time with some Zelazny. Not Lord of Light. (yet) Try Doorways in the Sand. Dan Simmons Hyperion Cantos is excellent. Then blow his mind away with Clifford Simak - City. Back to Hard SF with some Verner Vinge - A Fire Upon the Deep. Mix in Pratchet and Douglas Adams when things get too moody. My number one suggestion is that you read the books first and then pass them on. You can talk about the books together. Even if it is what you might think of as tough material for a kid, if you talk about it together, then you can help him work through it with your years of wisdom. Don't let him get within a mile of Dhalgren by Samuel R. Delany. It will twist up his mind. Most adults can't get through it. Avoid Peter F. Hamilton until he is much older.
Dont forget to mention that he pays David Stern's little fines in pennies. Dropping 100,000 pennies outside Stern's office door is pretty damn funny. He is also know to match his fines with charitable donations. Pretty cool dude. And, never think that he is stupid. He even still trys to answer all his emails everyday. Heard in an interview, where he likes to leave his ATM reciept on the ATM machine and then hide behind the corner and chuckle as the next patron picks up his reciept (as we all do) and checks out his $467,000 balance in his petty cash account. Now tell me that's something you wouldn't do when you make your first billion.
I work in the flight sim business developing software. I was in the commercial side of things (Lear, Cessna, 777, etc) for a couple of years and most of the host software is written in Fortran. Now I am in the military side of things (Apache, Commanche, F18, etc.) Fortran and Ada form the basis for much of the host code. It is an ugly depressing world down in the bowels of the host code for these high tech sims. The Visuals, networking (HLA), and newer systems are starting to propogate towards newer code. It is interesting to see the mish-mash build for such huge projects. CGF (computer generated forces), SAF, IOS (instructor operating staions), are typically of a more modern paradigm, but they interface with Ada and Fortran code that drives the host simulation. You have never seen so many global variables in you life. GOTO's abound. It is a wonder to me at times how the systems work at all. But diligence and hours and hours of trainer time seem to work out most of the bugs. I usually get 10 or so hours a week on a trainer and most of the time don't even fire up the engines and fly it around. At first it is the ultimate video game, but after a while, it is just a job and deadlines have to be met and my code must work. Flight Sims are amazing engineering projects involving hundred of engineers and millions of lines of code. It is imposible for one engineer to know the inner working of all the systems (although I think my cubie might). It is definately an exciting and satisfying industry to get into as a young engineer or software geek, but be prepared to get out that old FORTRAN book from your freshman year in college because you will need it. Oh yeah, and brush up on your Ada. And you better know Unix/Linux. Windows don't play in the real time sim world. All of our systems are progressing from proprietary Unix systems (SGI-IRIX) and the like to Linux (RedHat). Host, visual, IG, networking. All of it eventually will be Linux based PC systems. The cost savings are too important to ignore. And we have the inhouse know-how to run on any system. Why not the cheapest?
Agreed on the Vinge point. I just finished A Deepness in the Sky and as I read the article description, I couldn't help but think about that book. The nano-sensors were a key plot point in that one. Also lots of good stuff in thier about software. Document that code of yours...you never know it may be used by the Queng Ho tens of thousands of years from now. I've read a couple of his books now and enjoyed both quite a bit.
How did this get modded as insightful. It is funny if you are an anti-war liberal. Otherwise it is way off the mark. Remember, Ender was a badass that attacked with a killing strike before his opponent could gain advantage. That is what we are doing in Iraq. He felt bad afterwards and hated doing it, but loved the fact that he was still alive after the conflict.
"All these things may be immoral, and in violation of the "rules of war", but, rightly or wrongly, these people think they are fighting for their very survival, and the survival of their home." Or Not. The ones that are still fighting are fighting due to crosswired religous beliefs of Islam. If I die for Allah and kill Americans I will get rewarded. That is crazy. The ones still fighting are scared to not fight. I don't think the majority of everyday people want The Butcher of Bagdad' in power. Quit trying to make the Iraqi 'defenders' sound noble. They are scared or decieved fools. The brave and smart will get out of the way and let us do what they couldn't.
For the Slashdot religous crowd (there are a few): SadDammed Hussein will spend the rest of eternity paying for his evils. For all the agnostics (which seems to be a Slashdot majority: SaDAMN Hussein will spend the rest of his life paying for his evils. Looking at the news this morning that should be a couple of more days. Either way...
Of course we want to know what happened so that we can in the future avoid this catastrophe happening again, and that will provide comfort to the families of astronauts and the nations citizens, but prayer will also provide comfort and peace and understanding to all. Which helps heal more is a matter of debate I suppose, but is merely argumentative and pretty petty.
God Bless our brave adventurers. After having touched the face of God in thier journeys, may they find peace in this thier final sojourn. Lord comfort thier families and our Nations.
Then how exactly does calling for the murder of certain particular groups considered decent?
You meant to say: How is calling for