I agree with the other posts that something does not seem quite right about the site, but apart from some exaggeration here and there I don't see much to mark it as a parody, either.
You plod away at the keyboard, obsessed and consumed with getting that new item, or finishing that last quest, and while so consumed you begin to hate the game. Vehemently. It's a game that goes on forever, and one that you can never win.
"He loves and hates the ring, as he loves and hates himself." -Gandalf in the first LOTR movie, referring to Gollum.
Steel tariffs in America are probably a strategic attempt to maintain a viable domestic steel industry. The same goes for farm subsidies. If a country should ever have to go it alone, globally speaking, being able to produce its own steel and food increases its security.
"Blade Runner", "Rollerball", "Silent Running", "1984", "Fail-Safe", "The China Syndrome", "Terminator", "The Hot Zone", "Logan's Run", "The Postman", "Fahrenheit 451", "Neuromancer", "Count Zero", "Mona Lisa Overdrive", "Jurassic Park"
Note, that the utility of fairy tales is to allow an uninitiated person the opportunity follow, in other people's footsteps as it were, the predictive reasoning and forecasting of certain sequences of events. The decision making process is composed of four parts: Define the problem, define alternative solutions, forecast results of solutions, and & collapse possibilities by acting on a solution (this is reinterpreted to varying degrees by people, but is a pretty good model). Anyhow, fairy tales are used for giving messages of the sort, 'this kind of action is bad, because it leads to this kind of result'. Reference the Brothers Grimm for a plethora of such fabals, fairy tales, and stories.
(Following up on Brin's observation that most science fiction shows a world that is worse for its technological advances):
In order for most stories to be interesting or to provide decision-making utility, they rely on some sort of conflict. A science fiction story of a world where everything is equal to or better than in our world has no new opportunities for conflict, and thus is not very suitable for interesting lessons.
"soviet USSR" would be redundant, as Soviet is the first "S" (or the middle "C" in CCCP).
I take "Soviet Russia" as the combination of a place and a time. "Russia between the years 1917 and 1992, more or less" or perhaps "Russia during the second half of the 20th century (the cold war years)"
I was going to look for the last time something along these lines was posted (geez it must have been in the last 14 days), but I am afraid it will be modded as redundant by the time I can find it and put it up. I think we need some metaduplication to handle this.
Sigh...The first two paragraphs were insightful and well-written. I was hoping for more material and a conclusion, but then I got lost. Spongebob and the Red Army: is that just a joke?
And a quibble: I would say Road Warrior and its subsequent airings on HBO and cable put it smack-dab in the middle of Gen X's media indoctrination. It may even have pioneered the play-it-ten-times-a-week behavior for more recent cable classics such as A Few Good Men, Tremors, etc.
I've found that usability tasks that involve end-users have a nice side benefit of increasing their affinity for the product. This is true whether they help with early focus groups, participatory design, or post-launch-feedback usability testing. They like to have their opinion valued. They like to contribute. They are curious as to the results of their contributions.
My experience of this impact has admittedly been with relatively small user bases, where usability participants can improve adoption and perception via word-of-mouth. But I have to think that end-user involvement could pay similar dividends for those OSS projects that want to go beyond scratching one itch and have a larger audience. Perhaps by involving well-known usability experts, or journalists, or any other group with the potential for wide communication.
I think Gabriel's programming workshop concept is more novel than the software-to-bridge comparison. Learning about historical programs, learning about the lives of programmers, and writing hundreds of programs in a mentored environment would be an interesting approach. This may sound strange, but a lot of it happens already. There is already quite a bit of celebrity for some language inventors and other visionaries in the industry.
Perhaps programming studios will be not so much like Renaissance art schools, but more like craft workshops such as Karl Faberge's, where different craftsmen had different responsibilities, but they all came together to create something wonderful. This is because of the mentoring aspect (oversight by more experienced craftsmen), and the fact that programmers often have to collaborate with other programmers (to say nothing of managers, testers, users, etc.).
Although much of the proposed programming MFA program may remain a novelty, I expect some of it may filter out into the more standard undergraduate curriculum over time.
From the promo spots, this looks EXACTLY like the X-Files. Spaceships, bright lights, military activity, even a person with dark fluid in their eyes. Some of this may be due to common source material, but the visuals seemed way too similar.
As a devoted Farscape fan, I am not going to watch Sci-Fi if I can avoid it. Can anyone who saw the first episode comment on visual similarities? Maybe some episodes will be different due to the different directors. Or maybe this series will have a better ending than the X-Files did?
It seems to me from Tim Kay's statements that everybody should be using his company's technology, that at the least he is hoping to get lots of free advertising.
What will stop robots and other artificial life forms in future from being treated as subhuman, like many people were in the past (and unfortuneately in the present). I can see the day when we do have robots that are almost human, but will they be our slaves or our friends?
For one view of this, watch the DVD for A.I. (Artificial Intelligence) by Spielberg/Kubrick.
This post really made me think. I thought it was 100% serious until I read the last two paragraphs, and I'm still not sure it isn't.
middle class Americans and Western Europeans in the 12-28 age bracket. ...
With middle age creeping up on them,
As somebody just past 28, I have to disagree that anybody younger than me can see middle age over their shoulder.
But is this so terrible? I'd propose that, no, it isn't. Look at what has gone before: we've lost great art forms such as traditional oral storytelling, the inscription of heiroglyphics into stone tablets, papyrus scrolls. The printing press upset the wonderful tradition of books copied and illuminated (illustrated) by monks. Yes, it is sad when traditional and familiar art forms fade away, but it also signifies progress.
I think some of these are a loss (oral storytelling particularly) but I don't think stone carvings or papyrus are missed. The latter are still "print media" - just like a book but more unwieldy.
We're reaching a point where the sheer amount of information available exceeds the expressive power of the book. Flash, DVD, and video games are the media of the future.
I don't see any of these as a bigger threat to books than the "moving pictures" we've had for many decades. Interactivity is certainly making leaps and bounds in entertainment, but it is not a full replacement of non-interactive media.
This attempt to adapt what is essentially a dying and doomed art form to modern tastes is touching, but ultimately doomed to failure. And while we should (and probably will) all look back fondly on the Book Era, we should not shy from our destiny in the Information Age.
We are on the verge of accomplishing great things for Mankind. This is a time like no other previous, and with all probability like none to come. Let us not be distracted by nostalgia and wistful dreams.
Discuss.
Re:What if it is hacked?
on
Robot Wars
·
· Score: 1
Yes, remember the Battle Droids in "The Phantom Menace"
Slashdot Mirror
I didn't think the original MAVAV.org site was very funny, but the collection of defaced banners was worth a few chuckles.
I agree with the other posts that something does not seem quite right about the site, but apart from some exaggeration here and there I don't see much to mark it as a parody, either.
What makes this funny?
You plod away at the keyboard, obsessed and consumed with getting that new item, or finishing that last quest, and while so consumed you begin to hate the game. Vehemently. It's a game that goes on forever, and one that you can never win.
"He loves and hates the ring, as he loves and hates himself."
-Gandalf in the first LOTR movie, referring to Gollum.
Steel tariffs in America are probably a strategic attempt to maintain a viable domestic steel industry. The same goes for farm subsidies. If a country should ever have to go it alone, globally speaking, being able to produce its own steel and food increases its security.
"Blade Runner", "Rollerball", "Silent Running", "1984", "Fail-Safe", "The China Syndrome", "Terminator", "The Hot Zone", "Logan's Run", "The Postman", "Fahrenheit 451", "Neuromancer", "Count Zero", "Mona Lisa Overdrive", "Jurassic Park"
Note, that the utility of fairy tales is to allow an uninitiated person the opportunity follow, in other people's footsteps as it were, the predictive reasoning and forecasting of certain sequences of events. The decision making process is composed of four parts: Define the problem, define alternative solutions, forecast results of solutions, and & collapse possibilities by acting on a solution (this is reinterpreted to varying degrees by people, but is a pretty good model). Anyhow, fairy tales are used for giving messages of the sort, 'this kind of action is bad, because it leads to this kind of result'. Reference the Brothers Grimm for a plethora of such fabals, fairy tales, and stories.
(Following up on Brin's observation that most science fiction shows a world that is worse for its technological advances):
In order for most stories to be interesting or to provide decision-making utility, they rely on some sort of conflict. A science fiction story of a world where everything is equal to or better than in our world has no new opportunities for conflict, and thus is not very suitable for interesting lessons.
---
Funny, I didn't see a swarm of orange ninjas...
---
They wouldn't be very good ninjas if you could see them!
Here it is. 14 days exactly!
"soviet USSR" would be redundant, as Soviet is the first "S" (or the middle "C" in CCCP).
I take "Soviet Russia" as the combination of a place and a time. "Russia between the years 1917 and 1992, more or less" or perhaps "Russia during the second half of the 20th century (the cold war years)"
I was going to look for the last time something along these lines was posted (geez it must have been in the last 14 days), but I am afraid it will be modded as redundant by the time I can find it and put it up. I think we need some metaduplication to handle this.
333Mhz? What a waste of speed. I can do all of my personal work on my 180Mhz PentiumPro. That includes playing Civ3 (minimum recommended: 350Mhz).
Sigh...The first two paragraphs were insightful and well-written. I was hoping for more material and a conclusion, but then I got lost. Spongebob and the Red Army: is that just a joke?
And a quibble: I would say Road Warrior and its subsequent airings on HBO and cable put it smack-dab in the middle of Gen X's media indoctrination. It may even have pioneered the play-it-ten-times-a-week behavior for more recent cable classics such as A Few Good Men, Tremors, etc.
I think Taken is a 10-episode miniseries. It may have taken budget from Farscape, but it's not taking its time slot.
I've found that usability tasks that involve end-users have a nice side benefit of increasing their affinity for the product. This is true whether they help with early focus groups, participatory design, or post-launch-feedback usability testing. They like to have their opinion valued. They like to contribute. They are curious as to the results of their contributions.
My experience of this impact has admittedly been with relatively small user bases, where usability participants can improve adoption and perception via word-of-mouth. But I have to think that end-user involvement could pay similar dividends for those OSS projects that want to go beyond scratching one itch and have a larger audience. Perhaps by involving well-known usability experts, or journalists, or any other group with the potential for wide communication.
I think Gabriel's programming workshop concept is more novel than the software-to-bridge comparison. Learning about historical programs, learning about the lives of programmers, and writing hundreds of programs in a mentored environment would be an interesting approach. This may sound strange, but a lot of it happens already. There is already quite a bit of celebrity for some language inventors and other visionaries in the industry.
Perhaps programming studios will be not so much like Renaissance art schools, but more like craft workshops such as Karl Faberge's, where different craftsmen had different responsibilities, but they all came together to create something wonderful. This is because of the mentoring aspect (oversight by more experienced craftsmen), and the fact that programmers often have to collaborate with other programmers (to say nothing of managers, testers, users, etc.).
Although much of the proposed programming MFA program may remain a novelty, I expect some of it may filter out into the more standard undergraduate curriculum over time.
Franklin Institute
While the article has lots of good information, I did not come away with an understanding of the author's "framework."
Perhaps a diagram, or an outline summary would help.
From the promo spots, this looks EXACTLY like the X-Files. Spaceships, bright lights, military activity, even a person with dark fluid in their eyes. Some of this may be due to common source material, but the visuals seemed way too similar.
As a devoted Farscape fan, I am not going to watch Sci-Fi if I can avoid it. Can anyone who saw the first episode comment on visual similarities? Maybe some episodes will be different due to the different directors. Or maybe this series will have a better ending than the X-Files did?
I have good relations with the principles of an accesibility testing firm and believe the businesses can compliment each other well.
- content, please join us!
-Hello, Conform-To-Accepted Standards. How have you been?
-Oh, I didn't see you over there, Provide-alternative-methods-to-access-non-textual
The virgin birth of the one who will bring balance to the force (read: somehow change the human condition) in Episode 1 seemed pretty biblical to me.
It seems to me from Tim Kay's statements that everybody should be using his company's technology, that at the least he is hoping to get lots of free advertising.
What will stop robots and other artificial life forms in future from being treated as subhuman, like many people were in the past (and unfortuneately in the present). I can see the day when we do have robots that are almost human, but will they be our slaves or our friends?
For one view of this, watch the DVD for A.I. (Artificial Intelligence) by Spielberg/Kubrick.
This post really made me think. I thought it was 100% serious until I read the last two paragraphs, and I'm still not sure it isn't.
...
With middle age creeping up on them,
middle class Americans and Western Europeans in the 12-28 age bracket.
As somebody just past 28, I have to disagree that anybody younger than me can see middle age over their shoulder.
But is this so terrible? I'd propose that, no, it isn't. Look at what has gone before: we've lost great art forms such as traditional oral storytelling, the inscription of heiroglyphics into stone tablets, papyrus scrolls. The printing press upset the wonderful tradition of books copied and illuminated (illustrated) by monks. Yes, it is sad when traditional and familiar art forms fade away, but it also signifies progress.
I think some of these are a loss (oral storytelling particularly) but I don't think stone carvings or papyrus are missed. The latter are still "print media" - just like a book but more unwieldy.
We're reaching a point where the sheer amount of information available exceeds the expressive power of the book. Flash, DVD, and video games are the media of the future.
I don't see any of these as a bigger threat to books than the "moving pictures" we've had for many decades. Interactivity is certainly making leaps and bounds in entertainment, but it is not a full replacement of non-interactive media.
This attempt to adapt what is essentially a dying and doomed art form to modern tastes is touching, but ultimately doomed to failure. And while we should (and probably will) all look back fondly on the Book Era, we should not shy from our destiny in the Information Age. We are on the verge of accomplishing great things for Mankind. This is a time like no other previous, and with all probability like none to come. Let us not be distracted by nostalgia and wistful dreams.
Discuss.
Yes, remember the Battle Droids in "The Phantom Menace"
_Ender's Game_ by Orson Scott Card
We'll just have to lower the draft age limit.