Ironically, at least one of the methods listed there - namely Meticulous Deconstruction - involves constructing a space elevator to lift mass out of Earth's gravity well.
The huge, glaring issue with the Semantic Web idea that I see is: how do you force the creators of web content to put the right semantic tags on their content? What's to stop there being thousands of sites full of nothing but semantic tags so that even Swoogling for "747" brings up porn first?
The clear answer is that the tags will have to be out of the control of the creators of the web content. That means somebody or someTHING else - namely, your Semantic Web search engine of choice - has to figure out your site's tags for you. And the ONLY way to accurately judge, classify and rank a web page is by its actual, real content. This is just another way of looking at the same problem. I'm waiting to be impressed.
That would be the number thirty. Personally I'm still waiting to find out what happened to the.i,.ii,.iii,.iv,.v,.vi,.vii,.viii,.ix,.x,.xi,.xii,.xiii,.xiv,.xv,.xvi,.xvii,.xviii,.xix,.xx,.xxi,.xxii,.xxiii,.xxiv,.xxv,.xxvi,.xxvii,.xxviii, and.xxix top-level domains.
The universe can be tinkered with? Fundamental constants were altered by the universe's previous inhabitants, as if they were... open source? Are you suggesting that God uses Linux?
Yeah, Firefly is great if you like character development. Personally, though, I like a little science in my science fiction.
Hear me out. Firefly was a great show. Watchable and very well-written. But it didn't have a whole lot of, you know, science. The emphasis is entirely NOT on the futuristic technology. We have hospitals and guns and... well, magic. The show would be less snazzy as a straight Western, but it would still work perfectly well if you subtracted seven hundred years from the timeframe, you know what I'm saying? This is at the same time what makes it so potentially appealing to the mainstream and so unsatisfactory to me, a geek. The show is set in a well-structured universe, culturally, but Joss Whedon is not a scientist and the cool-technology-loving portion of my television-watching mind recognises this.
I would describe Firefly as more "space fiction" than science fiction, and best consumed as part of a balanced diet of scifi.
Letting the franchise rest for a decade or two is exactly what is needed. It worked for Doctor Who, it worked for Battlestar Galactica... I have some of my own ideas about the future of Star Trek (two words: Mirror Borg) but I'm sure everybody else does too...
Geez, cheap basic apartment blinds, a cheesy plant, particle board desk, etc.
You seem to be forgetting: Bill Gates is a geek. I doubt he cares much about aesthetics. The really surprising thing to my mind is how tidy the place is.
All right, I'll give you the positive thinking point - if you know you are being prayed for, and believe it will help you, it will help psychologically if nothing else. But what about the people who don't know they're being prayed for? Or who do know, but don't care, or would rather they weren't? Like praying for the starving millions in Africa. Does that actually help them? Does it cause food to magically come to them? This study suggests not.
Here's what I've decided for myself. This is working all within the basic framework and underlying principles of Christianity.
Praying for things is pointless. Being omniscient, God knows what you want better than you do, or that you could express in a prayer. In fact, God knows what you need better than you do, and what you need, while it may fit in with his ineffable will, may well be at odds with what you want. Also, since everything is part of his plan, nothing you can do will hinder that plan. It's all worked out. It's all going to go according to plan anyway. Also, as God hears all prayers, there can be no "prayer threshold" - if eleven people pray for John's leg to heal, it doesn't work, but twelve people works fine, or eleven people praying for longer, or all in the same place - etc. etc. Even praying for things like guidance - if God is omnipotent, he can and will guide you whether you are asking for it or not. So why bother? Just relax and do the best you can on your own.
Telling longer stories is *precisely* where the show needs to go to get out of its current rut. Essentially every story that can be reasonably fit into 25 minutes - without altering the status quo significantly - has been thoroughly explored. The result is the writers try to fit increasingly convoluted storylines into the timeframe and we get episodes that are rushed and crazy. I hope they build from this and start doing more two-part episodes, season-length story arcs...
Slashdot Mirror
You say that now, but I heard they're getting Grant Morrison to write him.
Hah. Don't get me started on those websites which say "Forgot your password?"
Ironically, at least one of the methods listed there - namely Meticulous Deconstruction - involves constructing a space elevator to lift mass out of Earth's gravity well.
Foiled again!
The huge, glaring issue with the Semantic Web idea that I see is: how do you force the creators of web content to put the right semantic tags on their content? What's to stop there being thousands of sites full of nothing but semantic tags so that even Swoogling for "747" brings up porn first? The clear answer is that the tags will have to be out of the control of the creators of the web content. That means somebody or someTHING else - namely, your Semantic Web search engine of choice - has to figure out your site's tags for you. And the ONLY way to accurately judge, classify and rank a web page is by its actual, real content. This is just another way of looking at the same problem. I'm waiting to be impressed.
I barely understand any of that.
Which, in a way, is the answer to the grandparent's question.
Man, that really is a short book.
At one point I started to write a Neon Genesis Evangelion FAQ. I got as far as question one, "What the hell is going on?" and gave up.
This is true, by the way.
The universe can be tinkered with? Fundamental constants were altered by the universe's previous inhabitants, as if they were... open source? Are you suggesting that God uses Linux?
Fascinating. One question though: How do you know when your Karma has gone down to -4 or -5? Karma hasn't been a numerical value for YEARS.
Here's how: you steal your material from the distant past.
Also see this article on that very comment.
YHL. HAND.
And the opposite of the Constitution is... well, you work it out.
Played by outstanding actors. They were played by outstanding actors. Right?
Is there something you're not telling us?
Yeah, Firefly is great if you like character development. Personally, though, I like a little science in my science fiction.
Hear me out. Firefly was a great show. Watchable and very well-written. But it didn't have a whole lot of, you know, science. The emphasis is entirely NOT on the futuristic technology. We have hospitals and guns and... well, magic. The show would be less snazzy as a straight Western, but it would still work perfectly well if you subtracted seven hundred years from the timeframe, you know what I'm saying? This is at the same time what makes it so potentially appealing to the mainstream and so unsatisfactory to me, a geek. The show is set in a well-structured universe, culturally, but Joss Whedon is not a scientist and the cool-technology-loving portion of my television-watching mind recognises this.
I would describe Firefly as more "space fiction" than science fiction, and best consumed as part of a balanced diet of scifi.
They're living in the past. They need to quit living in the past.
I get it, that's a Mirror Universe version of the other guy's response, right?
Letting the franchise rest for a decade or two is exactly what is needed. It worked for Doctor Who, it worked for Battlestar Galactica... I have some of my own ideas about the future of Star Trek (two words: Mirror Borg) but I'm sure everybody else does too...
Thanks!
This is what I've been saying for a very long time. The best code is the one that nobody realises is a code at all.
I'm gonna go for "As big as or bigger than Pluto; not undergoing internal fusion".
Also, Duck Hunt was great! Wasn't it?
Exactly.
You seem to be forgetting: Bill Gates is a geek. I doubt he cares much about aesthetics. The really surprising thing to my mind is how tidy the place is.
All right, I'll give you the positive thinking point - if you know you are being prayed for, and believe it will help you, it will help psychologically if nothing else. But what about the people who don't know they're being prayed for? Or who do know, but don't care, or would rather they weren't? Like praying for the starving millions in Africa. Does that actually help them? Does it cause food to magically come to them? This study suggests not.
Here's what I've decided for myself. This is working all within the basic framework and underlying principles of Christianity.
Praying for things is pointless. Being omniscient, God knows what you want better than you do, or that you could express in a prayer. In fact, God knows what you need better than you do, and what you need, while it may fit in with his ineffable will, may well be at odds with what you want. Also, since everything is part of his plan, nothing you can do will hinder that plan. It's all worked out. It's all going to go according to plan anyway. Also, as God hears all prayers, there can be no "prayer threshold" - if eleven people pray for John's leg to heal, it doesn't work, but twelve people works fine, or eleven people praying for longer, or all in the same place - etc. etc. Even praying for things like guidance - if God is omnipotent, he can and will guide you whether you are asking for it or not. So why bother? Just relax and do the best you can on your own.
Telling longer stories is *precisely* where the show needs to go to get out of its current rut. Essentially every story that can be reasonably fit into 25 minutes - without altering the status quo significantly - has been thoroughly explored. The result is the writers try to fit increasingly convoluted storylines into the timeframe and we get episodes that are rushed and crazy. I hope they build from this and start doing more two-part episodes, season-length story arcs...