"Some breeds are better than others, of course, but generally the ones that are family-protective also require a lot of time to *bond* with the family... which is to say, if you wanted that much "dog time" you'd probably already have a dog..."
I'm actually in a basement suite right now and don't have the space for a dog (nor am I allowed to have one); I was actually thinking about two years' time when I will be purchasing a house. After owning a cat for several years, I can definitely say that I'm a dog person;) Anyway, having said all this, thanks very much for the advice! How would I go about finding a specific dog with a good parentage?
I was actually looking for a place to start - there are so many breeds out there, and I would rather trust the opinions of a few/.ers than Auntie May who breeds killer pit bulls in her spare time. Rest assured, I will not take your advice blindly:)
I like this - why not a sword? I've got a sawed-off baseball bat for personal home security - it's about three feet long, but it's small enough to be swung around indoors, would make one heck of a throwing weapon, and best of all, my kid can't blow his brains out with one. Low-tech mace. Also, it doesn't require as a permit, doesn't require ammunition, and doesn't require training. I just hope that any potential home intruders aren't carrying guns themselves...
Reading a post like this sincerely makes me want to get a huge dog, but I'm concerned about my kid (and eventually kids) around one. I've heard too many horror stories of dogs attacking their owner's kids to go out and get one. Anybody have any recommendations in regards to breeds of dogs that are insanely protective of the family and *won't* attack Junior if the dog's ears are being pulled?
Bruce Sterling: author of several cyberpunk and SF novels, most notably "Islands in the Net," "The Hacker Crackdown" and "The Artificial Kid." Kim Stanley Robinson, author of the Mars Trilogy (Red, Green, Blue) as well as the more recent "Years of Salt and Rice." Cory Doctorow, "Down and Out in the Magic Kingdom." Never heard of Pat Murphy. Norman Spinrad wrote "Deus X" and "The Iron Dream," among other novels. Ken Wharton never heard of either.
Finally, the king, John Shirley. The grandfather of cyberpunk, he wrote "City Come A Walkin'" (of which Gibson says was his major influence), and later the Eclipse trilogy. He's all over the map in terms of writing styles, but he's been doing SF & horror for a good thirty years. He might not be as famous as Clarke or Asimov, but his writing style is very slick and his works are all eminantly readable.
Granted, these folks might not be the most famous SF writers, but they are certainly talented. When Shirley speaks, *I* sit up and pay attention.
...the subject for this story reads "Hair Could Help Police To Check Alibris," and then wonder if they could really trace your book purchases with DNA from your hair...
I'm pro-life, but there are still a few inconsistencies with the silent scream video that don't seem to add up - like the fact that babies pre-term don't seem to be *able* to feel pain due to the lack of a cortex - no cognitive functions, no intelligent response to pain. Be careful about this one - I have a feeling that it's going to be debunked, eventually.
As a proud father of a 6 month old baby boy, however, I would gladly strangle anybody who proudly told me that they had an abortion, or support the "rights" of people who do. There, now how's that for being political?;) Best part about this section is that you can't get modded down for your political opinions either... hopefully...
Finished reading The Prestige a few months ago, which was a *terrific* book, although not the sort of SF you're probably expecting - sorta steampunk, but more low-tech than the Difference Engine. Well worth your time, though. As other people have mentioned, he's not exactly a new writer (shows you how much I know!) but he's still very interesting.
The Extremes is also an interesting book about virtual reality & worlds within worlds, but my favourite of the two is still the Prestige.
Although I'm not usually a fanboy, Neil Gaiman's work has typically been stellar - do yourself a favour and pick up Coraline, last year's winner (novella? novelette? not sure which), an absolutely fantastic story about a young girl who visits the "flip side" of existence. There's no way that I can explain it without it sounding cheezy. Anyway, if you would just read that one story, you'd see that the current state of SF is pretty good.
Although not quite as current, other works by British SF writers such as J.G. Ballard and Christopher Priest are still fairly recent but are absolutely fascinating, even when held up to giants such as Bradbury and Clarke, even going back to Mary Shelley. Yes, we will remember Ballard for a *very* long time, and I think that Neil Gaiman will outlast a lot of pulp SF being written today.
So why then not just get a Gameboy Advance SP, a flash card and go to town (~$120 later)? Why pay $500 for this? The SP is *much* smaller, and you can actually play hundreds of games on it.
I don't see the DS as the successor to the GBA, though - to me, it's just a niche toy (expensive + touch screen = niche). I'm sure that Nintendo will still put out games for the GBA and are not abandoning the platform - of course, I could be wrong;) Anyway, there are still great games out there that I haven't gotten a chance to play yet, like Fire Emblem, Metroid: Zero Mission, etc. - if they do abandon the platform, well, that will mean that prices will go down for GBA games, right? I really can't see Nintendo selling DS games for $40-50 (what they sell for up here in Canada) when GBA games are selling in the same price range. Everybody wins!
... is to *not* get a notebook. Get the biggest server case you can find, put a physical lock on it (the case, not *to* anything), put some bricks inside, and voila! too awkward to rip off. Also, make sure you're using at least a 19" CRT with "HEAVY - THIS SIDE UP" stenciled on the side. Get an old-school IBM/Lexmark keyboard that weighs 7lbs (I KID YOU NOT). DON'T buy a cordless mouse. That'll be gone in a week. Likewise, make sure you go optical - when I was in college I lost two mouse balls due to roaming thieves.
Make sure all your crap is huge, ungainly, and ridiculously difficult to move. It'll be a pain to get in and out at the end of the year, but at least it will still be there. To seal the deal, go to Radio Shack, get a couple of LCDs, hook one up to everything and make it flash (find a geek who can help you with this). Sometimes the illusion of security is better than security itself.
Lastly, try to get a room to yourself and don't make any friends. This last tip will especially help you to fit in around here - angry hermits who can't get dates;) Just kidding, I love you guys. But seriously, your own room, no friends. Also, grow your hair long and say enigmatic things like "Did you know that I can see your room from here?" even though you're inside your own room and you have no idea where the other guy's room is, or "Now where's that Stryker saw I left on my bed..."
Tell ya what: i'll just keep quoting myself until it sinks in, mmkay? "Seriously, I don't care. If people like using Apple computers, that's great; I'm not going to flame somebody because they're using different hardware, a different OS, whatever."
I'm confused. How can I reconcile the statements "The Powerbooks haven't been defective" with "I know there have been problems with the hardware"?
Seriously, I don't care. If people like using Apple computers, that's great; I'm not going to flame somebody because they're using different hardware, a different OS, whatever. I almost bought an ibook before I fell in love with my X31. I just wish that Apple apologists weren't so darn zealous & would recognise that the Big Apple has problems too.
"The Powerbooks haven't been defective." Wow, how completely and utterly WRONG. Links below.
What about the huge issue with motherboards on Powerbooks, the ones which would sizzle and die? How about the LCD problem a couple of months ago? I'm not dreaming these problems; I've got no problems with people who use Apple computers, but I *do* have a problem with such users who think that there have never been any problems with the hardware.
It's FUD because you basically said that all x86 computers are crap and all Apple computers are used by God Almighty himself. Your experience with "recent" Intel notebooks are limited to a sample of one, with which you are assuming that every single notebook built since the Pentium days with an Intel/AMD chip is crap. You spent what, 1000 pounds on an iBook? I spent about 600 pounds ($1500 CAD; not really fair comparison, but what the heck) on a brand new IBM X31 notebook, naerly top of the line for the ultraportable class.
The "current state of play" is that *all* notebook manufacturers, including Apple *and* IBM. Saying that you'd never buy another Intel computer because of one crappy Toshiba and encouraging others to buy Apple instead is, well, propadana-ish, don't you think? I'm simply presenting an opposing opinion that not all x86 notebooks suck.
Nice FUD! What about all the press lately about defective powerbooks that apple refuses to fix? problems with ipods that apple refuses to acknowledge? Apple has just as many problems as Intel-based computers does.
For the record, I've got an IBM Thinkpad 350C that's over 10 years old that *just* stopped working, and I think it's the power cord. I'll take Big Blue and 10 years of productivity over *anything* else, regardless of os or manufacturer, anyday.
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Without an i/o device, i'm pretty sure the computer *didn't* get the message.
I'm actually in a basement suite right now and don't have the space for a dog (nor am I allowed to have one); I was actually thinking about two years' time when I will be purchasing a house. After owning a cat for several years, I can definitely say that I'm a dog person ;) Anyway, having said all this, thanks very much for the advice! How would I go about finding a specific dog with a good parentage?
I was actually looking for a place to start - there are so many breeds out there, and I would rather trust the opinions of a few /.ers than Auntie May who breeds killer pit bulls in her spare time. Rest assured, I will not take your advice blindly :)
I like this - why not a sword? I've got a sawed-off baseball bat for personal home security - it's about three feet long, but it's small enough to be swung around indoors, would make one heck of a throwing weapon, and best of all, my kid can't blow his brains out with one. Low-tech mace. Also, it doesn't require as a permit, doesn't require ammunition, and doesn't require training. I just hope that any potential home intruders aren't carrying guns themselves...
Reading a post like this sincerely makes me want to get a huge dog, but I'm concerned about my kid (and eventually kids) around one. I've heard too many horror stories of dogs attacking their owner's kids to go out and get one. Anybody have any recommendations in regards to breeds of dogs that are insanely protective of the family and *won't* attack Junior if the dog's ears are being pulled?
Sorry, Shirley's been writing for about 25 years. Didn't want the wrong facts to get in the way of what I was saying.
Finally, the king, John Shirley. The grandfather of cyberpunk, he wrote "City Come A Walkin'" (of which Gibson says was his major influence), and later the Eclipse trilogy. He's all over the map in terms of writing styles, but he's been doing SF & horror for a good thirty years. He might not be as famous as Clarke or Asimov, but his writing style is very slick and his works are all eminantly readable.
Granted, these folks might not be the most famous SF writers, but they are certainly talented. When Shirley speaks, *I* sit up and pay attention.
So, is gmail going to be banned too, with its 1GB storage limit?
...the subject for this story reads "Hair Could Help Police To Check Alibris," and then wonder if they could really trace your book purchases with DNA from your hair...
As a proud father of a 6 month old baby boy, however, I would gladly strangle anybody who proudly told me that they had an abortion, or support the "rights" of people who do. There, now how's that for being political? ;) Best part about this section is that you can't get modded down for your political opinions either... hopefully...
The Extremes is also an interesting book about virtual reality & worlds within worlds, but my favourite of the two is still the Prestige.
An apologist is somebody who defends that which they are vehemently supporting, not somebody who apologises for it.
Priest is fairly recent, 90s and onwards, as far as I know. Gaiman's recent novels are *much* better IMHO than Sandman.
Although not quite as current, other works by British SF writers such as J.G. Ballard and Christopher Priest are still fairly recent but are absolutely fascinating, even when held up to giants such as Bradbury and Clarke, even going back to Mary Shelley. Yes, we will remember Ballard for a *very* long time, and I think that Neil Gaiman will outlast a lot of pulp SF being written today.
Well, there was your problem - you paid $26 for it!
So why then not just get a Gameboy Advance SP, a flash card and go to town (~$120 later)? Why pay $500 for this? The SP is *much* smaller, and you can actually play hundreds of games on it.
Huh... now where's that "-1 Elitist Bastard" mod option when I need it...
I don't see the DS as the successor to the GBA, though - to me, it's just a niche toy (expensive + touch screen = niche). I'm sure that Nintendo will still put out games for the GBA and are not abandoning the platform - of course, I could be wrong ;) Anyway, there are still great games out there that I haven't gotten a chance to play yet, like Fire Emblem, Metroid: Zero Mission, etc. - if they do abandon the platform, well, that will mean that prices will go down for GBA games, right? I really can't see Nintendo selling DS games for $40-50 (what they sell for up here in Canada) when GBA games are selling in the same price range. Everybody wins!
Lastly, try to get a room to yourself and don't make any friends. This last tip will especially help you to fit in around here - angry hermits who can't get dates ;) Just kidding, I love you guys. But seriously, your own room, no friends. Also, grow your hair long and say enigmatic things like "Did you know that I can see your room from here?" even though you're inside your own room and you have no idea where the other guy's room is, or "Now where's that Stryker saw I left on my bed..."
Tell ya what: i'll just keep quoting myself until it sinks in, mmkay? "Seriously, I don't care. If people like using Apple computers, that's great; I'm not going to flame somebody because they're using different hardware, a different OS, whatever."
Seriously, I don't care. If people like using Apple computers, that's great; I'm not going to flame somebody because they're using different hardware, a different OS, whatever. I almost bought an ibook before I fell in love with my X31. I just wish that Apple apologists weren't so darn zealous & would recognise that the Big Apple has problems too.
What about the huge issue with motherboards on Powerbooks, the ones which would sizzle and die? How about the LCD problem a couple of months ago? I'm not dreaming these problems; I've got no problems with people who use Apple computers, but I *do* have a problem with such users who think that there have never been any problems with the hardware.
Read some examples here if you don't believe me. Google cache of Flaming 'Books too
Speed up, cowboy!
The "current state of play" is that *all* notebook manufacturers, including Apple *and* IBM. Saying that you'd never buy another Intel computer because of one crappy Toshiba and encouraging others to buy Apple instead is, well, propadana-ish, don't you think? I'm simply presenting an opposing opinion that not all x86 notebooks suck.
For the record, I've got an IBM Thinkpad 350C that's over 10 years old that *just* stopped working, and I think it's the power cord. I'll take Big Blue and 10 years of productivity over *anything* else, regardless of os or manufacturer, anyday.