Buck Rogers...now THERE is a show that deserves a good, solid "re-imagining" if there ever was one. Just so long as they hang on to the skin-tight costumes and restrict all female cast members to model-grade starlets (brains optional, but strongly discouraged), they'll have a very loyal audience indeed.
Erin Gray 0wned my adolescence.
And then there was the darker side of the show, which was really only suggested in the most vague terms...images of a nuclear holocaust which nearly eliminated humanity...the loss of so much of the species' culture (hamburgers?)...and the presumed lonliness of a man out of place in time.
Those dreary portions actually stimulated my imagination a lot as a young teenager, particularly when the stimulation of Col. Deering departing a room (sway...sway...sway...) wore off for a while.
Special effects from that time were very cheap to accomplish. Sci-Fi (channel) could, today, do even better with a $500 Dell PC and a copy of Adobe Premiere (or a linux box with appropriate tools..but then that might require a little learning curve, which takes time, and time is money, etc.).
So, you big bad executive producers, soak up a few episodes of Buck Rogers...then go whip your "re-imaginer" with whatever grade of damp pasta is required to bring THAT show back, 21st Century Style!
If you've watched the show from the very beginning, you have to have seen several differences between it and 'typical' American sci-fi programming.
For one, the show focussed on several issues that were 'uncomfortable' to american audiences. Applause there for forcing us to stretch our brains a bit!
Also, the characters were much more involved with each other, in real ways, than most other crap you see on the 'major' networks. These relationships made several viewers addicted to the show even though they watched almost no other science fiction programming. Applause for making us re-examine our own interpersonal relations a bit!
Semi-finally, just about every major character in the show was physically different from 'human' in ways to remind us of the plurality of life. Crichton's best friend had tentacles growing off his face, and a very long tongue with an adaptive toxin in the tip. The first sexy chick you saw (at the beginning of the series) was a gorgeous sky blue in color, with no hair at all. Ear-splitting applause for showing that Different is Good!!!
I hate to use the past tense so much in this commentary. But, the show is effectively killed by corporate politics/greed/stupidity. I'd be quite surprised to see it continued by fan support.
Best chance for the show to return anew would be for the son/daughter of some ultra-rich individual finding the right button to push on daddy's emotions to force funding to flow.
how could the government PROVE that the chips were flashed with this bios?
there are several devices that can be used illegally. many of these have no reporting feature to indicate they have been used illegally. one would have to CATCH the user of the device actually controlling the device in order to prove guilt.
case in point. i drove my car today at 140mph in a 55mph zone. this was a gross violation of the law. since i was not observed actually making the infraction, all the enforcers (cops) can do after the fact is look at my vehicle, which appears to be made for no other purpose than speeding, and growl.
so, i say, _prove_ the devices had software on them. most customers they attempt to contact would likely have the cloo needed to say that they received the chip 'blank'.
"With cigarettes, I absolutely agree. And that's from a smoker.
If the government ever bans tobacco, then we might just as well sign the title deed to the country over to organized crime."
This country has a title deed? Are you aware how much money this country owes? I think there might be some creditors out there who'd LOVE to get their hands on such a deed.
Back on topic, easiest-to-make water pipe can be constructed with a 2 liter soda bottle, a piece of metal screen (not copper), the end of your neighbor's garden hose (with about 6 inches of hose attached), and a few strips of duct tape.
You might have trouble finding the duct tape.
The brass fitting on your neighbor's hose will have a rubber or plastic washer in it; i strongly suggest you remove this unless you enjoy black smoke.
3 to 4 inches from the bottom of the bottle, make a hole roughly the diameter of the rubber portion of the garden hose. Insert hose into hole at such an angle as to have exit of this hose approximately contacting the bottom of the bottle. Seal your incision with duct tape. Add a second, smaller hole near the top of the bottle. This will be your carburetor. Wrap a small portion of the screen around your fingertip, creating a progressive cone. Insert this into the brass portion of the garden hose.
Add water to the bottle (or whatever you want to filter the smoke) to a little below the incision line. You don't want that liquid spilling on your couch! Fill your "bowl" with smoking medium.
If you cannot figure out the rest of the procedure, the previously described project is not for you.
Slashdot Mirror
Heh heh...you said "I anal."
Buck Rogers...now THERE is a show that deserves a good, solid "re-imagining" if there ever was one. Just so long as they hang on to the skin-tight costumes and restrict all female cast members to model-grade starlets (brains optional, but strongly discouraged), they'll have a very loyal audience indeed.
Erin Gray 0wned my adolescence.
And then there was the darker side of the show, which was really only suggested in the most vague terms...images of a nuclear holocaust which nearly eliminated humanity...the loss of so much of the species' culture (hamburgers?)...and the presumed lonliness of a man out of place in time.
Those dreary portions actually stimulated my imagination a lot as a young teenager, particularly when the stimulation of Col. Deering departing a room (sway...sway...sway...) wore off for a while.
Special effects from that time were very cheap to accomplish. Sci-Fi (channel) could, today, do even better with a $500 Dell PC and a copy of Adobe Premiere (or a linux box with appropriate tools..but then that might require a little learning curve, which takes time, and time is money, etc.).
So, you big bad executive producers, soak up a few episodes of Buck Rogers...then go whip your "re-imaginer" with whatever grade of damp pasta is required to bring THAT show back, 21st Century Style!
...technology remotely destroys YOU.
If you've watched the show from the very beginning, you have to have seen several differences between it and 'typical' American sci-fi programming.
For one, the show focussed on several issues that were 'uncomfortable' to american audiences. Applause there for forcing us to stretch our brains a bit!
Also, the characters were much more involved with each other, in real ways, than most other crap you see on the 'major' networks. These relationships made several viewers addicted to the show even though they watched almost no other science fiction programming. Applause for making us re-examine our own interpersonal relations a bit!
Semi-finally, just about every major character in the show was physically different from 'human' in ways to remind us of the plurality of life. Crichton's best friend had tentacles growing off his face, and a very long tongue with an adaptive toxin in the tip. The first sexy chick you saw (at the beginning of the series) was a gorgeous sky blue in color, with no hair at all. Ear-splitting applause for showing that Different is Good!!!
I hate to use the past tense so much in this commentary. But, the show is effectively killed by corporate politics/greed/stupidity. I'd be quite surprised to see it continued by fan support.
Best chance for the show to return anew would be for the son/daughter of some ultra-rich individual finding the right button to push on daddy's emotions to force funding to flow.
Sigh.
now here is an interesting question.
how could the government PROVE that the chips were flashed with this bios?
there are several devices that can be used illegally. many of these have no reporting feature to indicate they have been used illegally. one would have to CATCH the user of the device actually controlling the device in order to prove guilt.
case in point. i drove my car today at 140mph in a 55mph zone. this was a gross violation of the law. since i was not observed actually making the infraction, all the enforcers (cops) can do after the fact is look at my vehicle, which appears to be made for no other purpose than speeding, and growl.
so, i say, _prove_ the devices had software on them. most customers they attempt to contact would likely have the cloo needed to say that they received the chip 'blank'.
"With cigarettes, I absolutely agree. And that's from a smoker. If the government ever bans tobacco, then we might just as well sign the title deed to the country over to organized crime." This country has a title deed? Are you aware how much money this country owes? I think there might be some creditors out there who'd LOVE to get their hands on such a deed. Back on topic, easiest-to-make water pipe can be constructed with a 2 liter soda bottle, a piece of metal screen (not copper), the end of your neighbor's garden hose (with about 6 inches of hose attached), and a few strips of duct tape. You might have trouble finding the duct tape. The brass fitting on your neighbor's hose will have a rubber or plastic washer in it; i strongly suggest you remove this unless you enjoy black smoke. 3 to 4 inches from the bottom of the bottle, make a hole roughly the diameter of the rubber portion of the garden hose. Insert hose into hole at such an angle as to have exit of this hose approximately contacting the bottom of the bottle. Seal your incision with duct tape. Add a second, smaller hole near the top of the bottle. This will be your carburetor. Wrap a small portion of the screen around your fingertip, creating a progressive cone. Insert this into the brass portion of the garden hose. Add water to the bottle (or whatever you want to filter the smoke) to a little below the incision line. You don't want that liquid spilling on your couch! Fill your "bowl" with smoking medium. If you cannot figure out the rest of the procedure, the previously described project is not for you.
Do you smoke? If so, what? Slightly off topic, but relevant to my interests. Most hax0rs i know smoke *something* at least.