Re:Watchmen non-fan
on
Watchmen Watched
·
· Score: 2, Interesting
No, I'm not saying I hate it at all. The book was just not for me, I'm NOT into superheroes, think dressing up in tights for a fight is kinda silly. I am a HUGE sci-fi fan though and this got a ton of hype, so I gave it a chance. I'm still expecting the movie to rock (I'm going tonight) but the whole graphic novel thing leaves me dry.
I am a non-fan (ducks). Over the years I have heard all the hype about how important it is, Time 100 Top Novels, etc. 2 weeks ago I bought it, read it, and then found the script for the movie on the 'net and read that too.
I didn't like the book. In reality, it's not a book but just 12 comics pasted together with a bit of fluff inserted that really didn't have anything to do with the plot. The whole "Graphic Novel" thing just doesn't do it for me, I read comics as a kid, this is no different. The characters are weakly written, because of the format there is very little real information on a page (I especially remember the one page with 4 or 5 panels with only the words "Ahhhhhhh" or similar.
The plot itself wasn't bad but the ending in the 'novel' was totally weak, and from what I read in the script should be very much better in the movie.
The whole pirate subtext was awful. I would have been much happier without reading it. I understand that it's going to come out this summer in the extended DVD edition.
Oh, and the whole manic depressive omnipotent mass murderer in love with a human was just ridiculous.
Ok, now with all the bashing out of the way I'll say that I have high hopes for the movie as a visual implementation of the book, and must say that I think the book must be a perfect ready-built storyboard for the movie. From what I read Zach Snyder lived with a copy under his arm and so for once, mostly, the novelist and artist's vision are going to be implemented as they intended.
So, yes, I will go see it, I'll probobly even like it, but I've given my copy of the book away.
BTW, I'm not the only one that just isn't feeling it: http://blog.newsweek.com/blogs/popvox/archive/2009/03/04/don-t-believe-the-watchmen-hype-really-don-t.aspx
I want IMAP/POP3 mail outside Eve for Eve mail. The ability to send to character@tranquililty.eve-online.com would be awesome also.
Skill training changing would likely defeat their protectionisim against robots building characters and such.
I'm sure if they have MIT on it they will come up with something useful.
I currently use EveSkillPocket on my cellphone which is a great way to keep up with skills, including multiple characters.
HQ Special: A Message from the NASA Administrator A recent report in the Orlando Sentinel suggested that NASA is not cooperating with members of President-elect Obama's transition team currently working at Headquarters. This report, largely supported by anonymous sources and hearsay, is simply wrong.
I would like to reiterate what I have stated in a previous e-mail to all NASA Officials: we must make every effort to "lean forward," to answer questions promptly, openly and accurately.
We are fully cooperating with transition team members. Since mid-November, the agency has provided 414 documents and 185 responses to 191 requests. There are six outstanding responses, and the agency will meet the deadline for those queries.
Also, we strongly urge full and free cooperation by companies performing work for NASA. I am appalled by any accusations of intimidation, and encourage a free and open exchange of information with the contractor community.
The transition team's work is too important to become mired in unsupported and anonymous allegations. The President-elect's transition team deserves everyone's complete cooperation.
Michael D. Griffin Administrator
Point of contact: David Mould, Office of Public Affairs, 202-358-1898
No, you are missing something. Relativistic effects. As you gain speed your mass goes up. Higher mass means less acceleration, and you don't pass GO (186,423 miles/sec).
Your calculations and the ones on the C-Ship page are wrong, they assume infinite acceleration past light speed. In reality you will never get past light speed so the shortest time it will take you is slightly slower than a beam of light. 30,000 ly to the center of the galaxy will take YOU 30,000ish years, where observers on the Earth will think you took millions of years.
If you accelerate at 9.8m/s^2 for half the journey and -9.8m/s^2 for the second half of the journey (so that it's just like earth's gravity) then you would arrive at the planet after:
1.94 arccosh(n/1.94 + 1) years
For n=10.5 light years, this gives 4.9 years.
For other values of distance:
4.3 ly nearest star 3.6 years
27 ly Vega 6.6 years
30,000 ly Center of our galaxy 20 years
2,000,000 ly Andromeda galaxy 28 years
Doesn't anyone else see a problem with this? You are talking about exceeding the speed of light. The MINIMUM it's going to take to go 4.3 ly is 4.3 years. Your formula is wrong.
Years ago I ran across a program called xscreensaver that would scrape the screen of a remote system and show it to you in a window. Great for monitoring your boss's P0rn habbit.
To use it they had to do a xhost +, but that's pretty common.
You have to 'subscribe' to a feed on multicast. All the channels go out but until you connect to your peer and ask for the feed it does not start being sent. Spammers would never be able to use it because they would never deliver any messages.
It's meant for audio/video also, not text.
This is why Multicast would have been so nice, one feed goes out to anyone who wanted it. The current point to point way of distributing video is a quick and dirty solution, where multicast is eligant.
Fossett was building a submarine that 'flew' underwater, maintaining it's boyancy but overcoming it by using forces similar to an airplane (lift, control surfaces). He was going to pull a stunt to fly to the bottom of the world (Marianas trench) for a record. The vehicle is finished.
You might want to check these guys out. http://www.phoenixmotorcars.com/
No ABS but pretty much everything else you want. Not sure about the price yet but it should be in that general range.
I must say during the era I was reading Tom Swift (I still have all 33 of the books) I was rushing home to watch Thunderbirds on our old RCA black and white TV. They also had that positive spin going.
Most of Heinlein's early works (Tunnel in the Sky is my favorite) are pre-teen fodder. It's not till the 60's when he started getting into the more mature stuff.
As a kid I whet my teeth on Tom Swift Jr., by Victor Appleton III. There were a bunch of earlier ones that were Tom Swift Sr. that I didn't find as interesting, Tom Swift and his Motorcycle, etc. There are a bunch of new generation ones also, Tom Swift and his IPod or whatever.
Any good library's sci-fi section should do splendidly, especially at their schools.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tom_Swift
By the way, I got my daughter to read Tunnel in the Sky and she loved it. She's now devouring Bradbury books after reading Farenheit 451 in school (8th grade).
I agree, I'm on a Type 7 right now and love it. I use it on a PC and Unix via a switchbox. I liked mine so much I bought one for home. Unfortunately my switchbox at home isn't happy about using a USB keyboard with old large barrel type DIN type keyboard connectors on all of my motherboards. I haven't found an adapter that will properly translate it. Any recommendations?
Ok, I'm going to chime in on this. What makes a good programming language is Strong Typing, Bounds Checking, strong compiler time checks and easy maintainability. One of my favorite languages was Ada, back in the 80's, because it made it very difficult to write bad code. I also used a version of GCC called EGCC which did the same sorts of checks and added run time checks, but it also never caught on.
Coming from a Quality Assurance background, Ada satisfies the Maintainability, Portability and Reliability requirements. I was very happy to program in it after coming off Pascal and Modula-2.
Marc
Slashdot Mirror
No, I'm not saying I hate it at all. The book was just not for me, I'm NOT into superheroes, think dressing up in tights for a fight is kinda silly. I am a HUGE sci-fi fan though and this got a ton of hype, so I gave it a chance. I'm still expecting the movie to rock (I'm going tonight) but the whole graphic novel thing leaves me dry.
I am a non-fan (ducks). Over the years I have heard all the hype about how important it is, Time 100 Top Novels, etc. 2 weeks ago I bought it, read it, and then found the script for the movie on the 'net and read that too. I didn't like the book. In reality, it's not a book but just 12 comics pasted together with a bit of fluff inserted that really didn't have anything to do with the plot. The whole "Graphic Novel" thing just doesn't do it for me, I read comics as a kid, this is no different. The characters are weakly written, because of the format there is very little real information on a page (I especially remember the one page with 4 or 5 panels with only the words "Ahhhhhhh" or similar. The plot itself wasn't bad but the ending in the 'novel' was totally weak, and from what I read in the script should be very much better in the movie. The whole pirate subtext was awful. I would have been much happier without reading it. I understand that it's going to come out this summer in the extended DVD edition. Oh, and the whole manic depressive omnipotent mass murderer in love with a human was just ridiculous. Ok, now with all the bashing out of the way I'll say that I have high hopes for the movie as a visual implementation of the book, and must say that I think the book must be a perfect ready-built storyboard for the movie. From what I read Zach Snyder lived with a copy under his arm and so for once, mostly, the novelist and artist's vision are going to be implemented as they intended. So, yes, I will go see it, I'll probobly even like it, but I've given my copy of the book away. BTW, I'm not the only one that just isn't feeling it: http://blog.newsweek.com/blogs/popvox/archive/2009/03/04/don-t-believe-the-watchmen-hype-really-don-t.aspx
Most of these journals have RSS feeds. Get a good offline reader that will download the entire articles and you will be set.
I want IMAP/POP3 mail outside Eve for Eve mail. The ability to send to character@tranquililty.eve-online.com would be awesome also. Skill training changing would likely defeat their protectionisim against robots building characters and such. I'm sure if they have MIT on it they will come up with something useful. I currently use EveSkillPocket on my cellphone which is a great way to keep up with skills, including multiple characters.
I work at NASA and got this message yesterday:
HQ Special: A Message from the NASA Administrator
A recent report in the Orlando Sentinel suggested that NASA is not cooperating with members of President-elect Obama's transition team currently working at Headquarters. This report, largely supported by anonymous sources and hearsay, is simply wrong.
I would like to reiterate what I have stated in a previous e-mail to all NASA Officials: we must make every effort to "lean forward," to answer questions promptly, openly and accurately.
We are fully cooperating with transition team members. Since mid-November, the agency has provided 414 documents and 185 responses to 191 requests. There are six outstanding responses, and the agency will meet the deadline for those queries.
Also, we strongly urge full and free cooperation by companies performing work for NASA. I am appalled by any accusations of intimidation, and encourage a free and open exchange of information with the contractor community.
The transition team's work is too important to become mired in unsupported and anonymous allegations. The President-elect's transition team deserves everyone's complete cooperation.
Michael D. Griffin
Administrator
Point of contact: David Mould, Office of Public Affairs, 202-358-1898
One of my favorites! http://stores.nocturnal-pictures.com/-strse-46/Crack-in-the-World/Detail.bok
No, you are missing something. Relativistic effects. As you gain speed your mass goes up. Higher mass means less acceleration, and you don't pass GO (186,423 miles/sec).
Your calculations and the ones on the C-Ship page are wrong, they assume infinite acceleration past light speed. In reality you will never get past light speed so the shortest time it will take you is slightly slower than a beam of light. 30,000 ly to the center of the galaxy will take YOU 30,000ish years, where observers on the Earth will think you took millions of years.
Doesn't anyone else see a problem with this? You are talking about exceeding the speed of light. The MINIMUM it's going to take to go 4.3 ly is 4.3 years. Your formula is wrong.
Actually I meant xwatchwin. http://www.freshports.org/x11/xwatchwin/ Been a long time since I've used it.
Years ago I ran across a program called xscreensaver that would scrape the screen of a remote system and show it to you in a window. Great for monitoring your boss's P0rn habbit. To use it they had to do a xhost +, but that's pretty common.
You have to 'subscribe' to a feed on multicast. All the channels go out but until you connect to your peer and ask for the feed it does not start being sent. Spammers would never be able to use it because they would never deliver any messages. It's meant for audio/video also, not text.
Multicast is not for 'prerecored' material, it's for a live feed.
This is why Multicast would have been so nice, one feed goes out to anyone who wanted it. The current point to point way of distributing video is a quick and dirty solution, where multicast is eligant.
There has been a natural gas powered motorcycle for a while. http://www.poopreport.com/Images/Fun/Farttoy/farttoy2.jpg
Great link. I love Thunderbirds. I've got this poster on my wall http://www.europosters.eu/posters-thunderbirds-puppets-v387
http://www.youtube.com/watch%3Fv%3D63yhXg0bsfY&usg=AFQjCNFpfG0wXT4-4yM7QfqXByVLWtgxyg It's already been done. Seeing is believing
Fossett was building a submarine that 'flew' underwater, maintaining it's boyancy but overcoming it by using forces similar to an airplane (lift, control surfaces). He was going to pull a stunt to fly to the bottom of the world (Marianas trench) for a record. The vehicle is finished.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Flying_Sub.jpg Someone's imagination is running wild. If DARPA is giving them money then it's time to turn them off.
Is it possible inflation is cause by a huge amount of mass outside the bubble, causing the universe to epand at an increasing rate?
You might want to check these guys out. http://www.phoenixmotorcars.com/ No ABS but pretty much everything else you want. Not sure about the price yet but it should be in that general range.
I must say during the era I was reading Tom Swift (I still have all 33 of the books) I was rushing home to watch Thunderbirds on our old RCA black and white TV. They also had that positive spin going.
Most of Heinlein's early works (Tunnel in the Sky is my favorite) are pre-teen fodder. It's not till the 60's when he started getting into the more mature stuff. As a kid I whet my teeth on Tom Swift Jr., by Victor Appleton III. There were a bunch of earlier ones that were Tom Swift Sr. that I didn't find as interesting, Tom Swift and his Motorcycle, etc. There are a bunch of new generation ones also, Tom Swift and his IPod or whatever. Any good library's sci-fi section should do splendidly, especially at their schools. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tom_Swift By the way, I got my daughter to read Tunnel in the Sky and she loved it. She's now devouring Bradbury books after reading Farenheit 451 in school (8th grade).
I agree, I'm on a Type 7 right now and love it. I use it on a PC and Unix via a switchbox. I liked mine so much I bought one for home. Unfortunately my switchbox at home isn't happy about using a USB keyboard with old large barrel type DIN type keyboard connectors on all of my motherboards. I haven't found an adapter that will properly translate it. Any recommendations?
Ok, I'm going to chime in on this. What makes a good programming language is Strong Typing, Bounds Checking, strong compiler time checks and easy maintainability. One of my favorite languages was Ada, back in the 80's, because it made it very difficult to write bad code. I also used a version of GCC called EGCC which did the same sorts of checks and added run time checks, but it also never caught on. Coming from a Quality Assurance background, Ada satisfies the Maintainability, Portability and Reliability requirements. I was very happy to program in it after coming off Pascal and Modula-2. Marc
From XM's web site: "The pending merger is still subject to approval of the Federal Communications Commission."