"I heard a man once say that when black people would stop using the word "nigger", he would too. Although I personally dislike the word, I think he has a valid point.
"Black people" don't use that word. I've often heard this kind of logic used by racists in the interest of dismissing objections to their behavior. Under the same logic, "men" beat "women". I suppose you're okay with that, too.
I was going to suggest A Wrinkle in Time. I read that one as a kid and was fascinated by the idea of a tesseract.
Also at the time, I enjoyed several Star Trek related novels (various authors). Maybe not really science fiction, but often a fun read.
As long as I'm mentioning non-science fiction, I always suggest, young and old, Watership Down by Richard Adams. A beautifully detailed plot from the point of view of nonhuman characters, I have never heard a science fiction lover say they didn't enjoy it.
"I want to know everything about the movie before I go a spend $10 on a ticket to see it. Nothing pisses me off more than going out with the wife and spending $20 on shit."
I mean no disrespect to you personally, but this is a sad commentary on modern entertainment expectations. I don't understand not being willing to take a chance and let the writer(s) and director as artists take you on the ride on which they hope to take you? I realize Hollywood generally takes even less interest in the quality of their products than American car manufacturers do and calling the writers and directors artists is often a stretch, but I don't believe that's true in this case. Maybe everyone in the film has made mistakes in the past, but we're not talking about hacks. I think they're worth betting on. I might feel different were it a Michael Bay film (apologies to those who like mindless action films), but it's not.
Tell me, do you insist on knowing the ending of books, as well? Do you read dissertations on paintings and skip experiencing them yourself if they're available for viewing? I, personally, enjoy storytelling in whatever form and want to experience it as it's told.
Try it some time. You may find yourself enjoying it.
I remember Lincoln Logs so fondly to this day that last year a friend gave me some as kind of a joke gift. In truth, I'd actually love to take a few minutes out to put them together somehow, but the problem I face is lack of room.
This got me thinking... I wonder if space is one of the reasons so many of these older toys have lost so much popularity. Sure, sure, video games and the like go well with the "MTV Generation", but I suspect as well that with social bonds weakening and people drawing apart more and more that many of these items are left behind in the pursuit of things that can occupy without getting in the way. Maybe this doesn't affect everyone the same way, but for instance - I remember when I was a kid I had an awesome train set (the kind that would have sold for thousands today if I'd managed to keep them). I can't imagine having one today for the same reason I've heard others I know speak - where would you *put* it? But is there less space today than there was twenty years ago? I don't know, but it doesn't seem like it.
On the other hand, the household babysitter (i.e. the television) is an ideal place for entertainment and generally keeps people in one place without requiring more room as the entertainment becomes more complicated. Simply one more reason for the popularity of game consoles. Or maybe I'm completely off.
Sure, it's just one more indication among many, but it bothers me to look at this and see that, for instance, Nigeria, with greater than 26% of its citizens living on $1 or less per day, charges more on average than the US.
I'm not ignorant of the extreme gaps in the lifestyles of the rich and poor in third world countries nor the fact that the rich care so little about their countrymen, but one would think that those very same rich people could afford their own connections, eh?
The fact that you can compare a task-grouping visual concept with compression algorithms is baffling. The fact that you do so with such arrogance is slightly humorous.
This is where intellectual property gets very fuzzy and makes mincemeat of the ideals of capitalism. But there is a difference, and that is this: a complex compression algorithm (for instance) can't simply occur to me. There is tons of work involved and for two people to come up with the same exact algorithm independently is extremely unlikely. On the other hand, grouping tasks on a taskbar occured to me long before Windows did it (as in, "gosh, I have so many tasks going, I can't read my taskbar... it'd be nice to group my browsers"), That is a thought. It didn't cost me any money or man hours to think it and it has probably occurred to thousands of others. You can't say that about an algorithm or the like.
Think about that: Microsoft (among others) is patenting thoughts. I can understand the importance of marks, research and development - but what kills the concept of Laissez Faire is the idea that someone can own a simple thought.
Slashdot Mirror
"I heard a man once say that when black people would stop using the word "nigger", he would too. Although I personally dislike the word, I think he has a valid point.
"Black people" don't use that word. I've often heard this kind of logic used by racists in the interest of dismissing objections to their behavior. Under the same logic, "men" beat "women". I suppose you're okay with that, too.
I was going to suggest A Wrinkle in Time. I read that one as a kid and was fascinated by the idea of a tesseract. Also at the time, I enjoyed several Star Trek related novels (various authors). Maybe not really science fiction, but often a fun read. As long as I'm mentioning non-science fiction, I always suggest, young and old, Watership Down by Richard Adams. A beautifully detailed plot from the point of view of nonhuman characters, I have never heard a science fiction lover say they didn't enjoy it.
"I want to know everything about the movie before I go a spend $10 on a ticket to see it. Nothing pisses me off more than going out with the wife and spending $20 on shit."
I mean no disrespect to you personally, but this is a sad commentary on modern entertainment expectations. I don't understand not being willing to take a chance and let the writer(s) and director as artists take you on the ride on which they hope to take you? I realize Hollywood generally takes even less interest in the quality of their products than American car manufacturers do and calling the writers and directors artists is often a stretch, but I don't believe that's true in this case. Maybe everyone in the film has made mistakes in the past, but we're not talking about hacks. I think they're worth betting on. I might feel different were it a Michael Bay film (apologies to those who like mindless action films), but it's not.
Tell me, do you insist on knowing the ending of books, as well? Do you read dissertations on paintings and skip experiencing them yourself if they're available for viewing? I, personally, enjoy storytelling in whatever form and want to experience it as it's told.
Try it some time. You may find yourself enjoying it.
I remember Lincoln Logs so fondly to this day that last year a friend gave me some as kind of a joke gift. In truth, I'd actually love to take a few minutes out to put them together somehow, but the problem I face is lack of room.
This got me thinking... I wonder if space is one of the reasons so many of these older toys have lost so much popularity. Sure, sure, video games and the like go well with the "MTV Generation", but I suspect as well that with social bonds weakening and people drawing apart more and more that many of these items are left behind in the pursuit of things that can occupy without getting in the way. Maybe this doesn't affect everyone the same way, but for instance - I remember when I was a kid I had an awesome train set (the kind that would have sold for thousands today if I'd managed to keep them). I can't imagine having one today for the same reason I've heard others I know speak - where would you *put* it? But is there less space today than there was twenty years ago? I don't know, but it doesn't seem like it.
On the other hand, the household babysitter (i.e. the television) is an ideal place for entertainment and generally keeps people in one place without requiring more room as the entertainment becomes more complicated. Simply one more reason for the popularity of game consoles. Or maybe I'm completely off.
I'm not ignorant of the extreme gaps in the lifestyles of the rich and poor in third world countries nor the fact that the rich care so little about their countrymen, but one would think that those very same rich people could afford their own connections, eh?
This is where intellectual property gets very fuzzy and makes mincemeat of the ideals of capitalism. But there is a difference, and that is this: a complex compression algorithm (for instance) can't simply occur to me. There is tons of work involved and for two people to come up with the same exact algorithm independently is extremely unlikely. On the other hand, grouping tasks on a taskbar occured to me long before Windows did it (as in, "gosh, I have so many tasks going, I can't read my taskbar... it'd be nice to group my browsers"), That is a thought. It didn't cost me any money or man hours to think it and it has probably occurred to thousands of others. You can't say that about an algorithm or the like.
Think about that: Microsoft (among others) is patenting thoughts. I can understand the importance of marks, research and development - but what kills the concept of Laissez Faire is the idea that someone can own a simple thought.