Well, SF is a lot bigger than space opera and network TV is not the only visual media of significance.
Perhaps I expressed myself badly, but in visual media whether TV or movies SF qua SF is no longer a gamble. If you have a good story with good characters and all that stuff, the fact that it takes place in the future or an alternate universe or where-ever is not a deal-killer. You can casually introduce SF elements into the Simpsons, Married...with Children, SNL, and so on... and the suits will scarcely blink.
While it is true that space opera is not a dominant are form on network television, neither is the western, and the situation comedy is definitely anemic these days. Reality TV and Crime shows are what people want to see. If you can get a Reality TV Crime Show in outer space, it'll sell.
Meanwhile: on cable... how many StarGate spinoffs are there going to be?
And on the big screen: Not only are there many highly profitable space operas (The Whathiker's Guide to the Whataxy?), the rest of the SF genre is so popular that it can form the backstory to realistic comedies such as "America's Sweetheart".
Screen sci-fi has finally caught up with written science fiction.... There's just no need for "Star Trek" anymore.
I don't want to admit it, but Card is right. Star Trek was wonderful in large part because it was the first of its kind on TV. Now SF is not a gamble TV and is all over the place. That's a good thing since we can now concentrate on good story, characters and so on.
This is perhaps a natural step in the development of a genre. Even Homer was great mostly because he was the first (have you every actually read the Illiad (even in translation?) It's not that good!)
I still have a warm place in my heart for Star Trek that will never go away, but it must seem mysterious to those young whippersnappers who have never lived in a universe without Star Trek.
As it turned out, the crew management application, unbeknownst to anyone at Comair, could process only a set number of changes--32,000 per month--before shutting down.
Sounds like some sort of overflow problem. Hmmm....
The big issue is, of course, the business units and IT playing "After you, Alfonse..." but it's fun to seek out the pebble that set off the avalanche.
Of many possible technical & organizational approaches, which you employ depends on what is your goal.
1. If your goal is to be a nice guy who doesn't bother anyone and gets all your studying done, then the most practical technique is to quit volunteering.
2. If you're a music or poly sci major who is not really interested in network administration as a career... then cut your losses... this sort of volunteering isn't really helping.
3. But if your goal is to get out of college with something helpful to put on your resume, then treat this like a professional opportunity! Show that you can do a top-notch job of network adminstration by learning the techniques, putting in the time including the hard-nosed ejection of malefactors, and allowing for that time in your study schedule.
After all, when you get your diploma, how many of your competitors are going to be able to say, "I managed a 500-node network, achieving X% of whatever metric most impresses employers.Given the choice between someone who got all A's and someone who accomplished something useful while getting decent grades... who would you hire?
The Theory Of UnIntelligent Design (THUID) is a scientific alternative to the discreditted theory of "evolution".
THUID postulates that the development of intelligent life on earth cannot have occurred by blind chance, but only by the direct intervention of an Outside Direct Designer (codenamed "ODD"). This ODD being discloses its very nature in the details of the human structure.
For example, would an intelligent Designer include the appendix - an organ whose sole function is to burst, causing inconvenience and painful death?
What of dental caries: a phenomenon unknown before the development of human intelligence, yet almost inevitable when our human desire for sweets is coupled to the brainpower that ensures a steady, unhealthy supply?
And let us not even BEGIN to talk about the humorous side of human reproduction...
... suffice it to say that ALL EVIDENCE shows that the marvelous human being has CLEARLY been designed by a GREAT DESIGNER that is unfortunately lacking in INTELLIGENCE!!!
Please support this SCIENTIFIC study as it battles the twin unscientific principles of EVOLUTION and of INTELLIGENT DESIGN.
I believe (...and I urge anyone who knows better to correct this...) that what they're saying is that if you spend your mod points on something meaningful like "Funny" or "Flamebait", that your moderation can be Meta-Moderated, but not if you mod "Over/Underrated".
Some people (myself included) think that Over/Under is therefore a pretty wussy thing to do! If you have an opinion, put it out there proudly with a mod that risks M2-ing!
Why waste time on unoriginal insults? I'm sure that you can actually add something creative to the discussion with only a little effort.
Your "STFU noob" is not doing anything about your "$23,304.01 in loans and no job" whereas you might actually get somewhere with a well-reasoned response or, alternatively, something that is creative and funny.
Cannot most of these towers be esthetically disguised as, say, eagle-nesting platforms, power-generating windmills, or some sort of tall, carbon-based, sunlight-absorbing life-form?
Quite apart from the merits of the Acid2 test, its use of rendering a smiley face both (a) to be the test itself and (b) to show the quality of the test result... is clever!
Most tests create an abstract "score" such as "85% compliant" which can be rendered by a graphic, such as a pie chart, but which is fundamentally different from the test itself. This abstraction process is extra work both for the researcher and for the reader. There is also the danger that it can be misleading. Edward Tufte has written on this at length in "Visual Explanations" and other books.
To put the test & the results together in a meaningful, intuitive package, as Acid2 seems to have done, is just great!
When I was just starting out, Miller Genuine Draft and BudLite seemed pretty good. I knew they were the best because everyone else was drinking them too, and they had the best commercials.
Over time, I learned to appreciate craft-brewed beers. While a total-cost-of-ownership argument could still be made in favor of MGD, for most purposes I'm more interested in a total quality experience rather than the quickest and cheapest buzz.
For many of us, the exact same logic applies to IE v. Firefox.
Slashdot Mirror
Well, SF is a lot bigger than space opera and network TV is not the only visual media of significance.
Perhaps I expressed myself badly, but in visual media whether TV or movies SF qua SF is no longer a gamble. If you have a good story with good characters and all that stuff, the fact that it takes place in the future or an alternate universe or where-ever is not a deal-killer. You can casually introduce SF elements into the Simpsons, Married...with Children, SNL, and so on ... and the suits will scarcely blink.
While it is true that space opera is not a dominant are form on network television, neither is the western, and the situation comedy is definitely anemic these days. Reality TV and Crime shows are what people want to see. If you can get a Reality TV Crime Show in outer space, it'll sell.
Meanwhile: on cable ... how many StarGate spinoffs are there going to be?
And on the big screen: Not only are there many highly profitable space operas (The Whathiker's Guide to the Whataxy?), the rest of the SF genre is so popular that it can form the backstory to realistic comedies such as "America's Sweetheart".
The show has been cancelled...but the adventure is just beginng
From the article:
I don't want to admit it, but Card is right. Star Trek was wonderful in large part because it was the first of its kind on TV. Now SF is not a gamble TV and is all over the place. That's a good thing since we can now concentrate on good story, characters and so on.
This is perhaps a natural step in the development of a genre. Even Homer was great mostly because he was the first (have you every actually read the Illiad (even in translation?) It's not that good!)
I still have a warm place in my heart for Star Trek that will never go away, but it must seem mysterious to those young whippersnappers who have never lived in a universe without Star Trek.
"OS X" infringes his distinctive name, causing confusion among mutants worldwide!
How about a GPL Merit Badge?
>it matters how exceeding a limit is handled (graceful degradation)
Your point on correct software design is exceedingly well taken ...
... but I just love the term "Graceful Degradation". Is it from Faulkner, or a New Wave band?
From the article:
Sounds like some sort of overflow problem. Hmmm....
The big issue is, of course, the business units and IT playing "After you, Alfonse..." but it's fun to seek out the pebble that set off the avalanche.
A huge volume of information is given away on the Internet for free!
The other day, I saw some kids in a parking lot telling each other dirty jokes without charging a fee!
Then there was Amy in high school; everyone says she gave away something for free, but I never found out what it was.
Giving stuff away free harms people who would like to sell it, and must stop immediately!
Of many possible technical & organizational approaches, which you employ depends on what is your goal.
1. If your goal is to be a nice guy who doesn't bother anyone and gets all your studying done, then the most practical technique is to quit volunteering.
2. If you're a music or poly sci major who is not really interested in network administration as a career ... then cut your losses ... this sort of volunteering isn't really helping.
3. But if your goal is to get out of college with something helpful to put on your resume, then treat this like a professional opportunity! Show that you can do a top-notch job of network adminstration by learning the techniques, putting in the time including the hard-nosed ejection of malefactors, and allowing for that time in your study schedule.
After all, when you get your diploma, how many of your competitors are going to be able to say, "I managed a 500-node network, achieving X% of whatever metric most impresses employers.Given the choice between someone who got all A's and someone who accomplished something useful while getting decent grades ... who would you hire?
>Large Tenticled Aliens from Outerspace
Were we mere humans to learn the truth behind the Design of the Universe, we might gladly flee to the safety of ignorance or madness.
As we learned at Miskatonic University, "Ex Luce Ad Tenebras".
The Theory Of UnIntelligent Design (THUID) is a scientific alternative to the discreditted theory of "evolution".
THUID postulates that the development of intelligent life on earth cannot have occurred by blind chance, but only by the direct intervention of an Outside Direct Designer (codenamed "ODD"). This ODD being discloses its very nature in the details of the human structure.
For example, would an intelligent Designer include the appendix - an organ whose sole function is to burst, causing inconvenience and painful death?
What of dental caries: a phenomenon unknown before the development of human intelligence, yet almost inevitable when our human desire for sweets is coupled to the brainpower that ensures a steady, unhealthy supply?
And let us not even BEGIN to talk about the humorous side of human reproduction ...
Please support this SCIENTIFIC study as it battles the twin unscientific principles of EVOLUTION and of INTELLIGENT DESIGN.
Our School Children Must Learn The Truth!
For more information on this TRUTH that I have undercovered, see http://groups.yahoo.com/group/THUID
> I was trying to make a comment so stereotypical that it would be funny
Swoosh! That went right over my head!
Next time, I'll try looking up --- meanwhile: I apologize!
I believe (...and I urge anyone who knows better to correct this ...) that what they're saying is that if you spend your mod points on something meaningful like "Funny" or "Flamebait", that your moderation can be Meta-Moderated, but not if you mod "Over/Underrated".
Some people (myself included) think that Over/Under is therefore a pretty wussy thing to do! If you have an opinion, put it out there proudly with a mod that risks M2-ing!
It's funny that the parent got modded "-2 Overrated" when no-one had previously modded it at all!
It's also worth noting that the parent stimulated a noticable conversation ... which is a more interesting indicator of quality than "over/underrated".
Ah! that explains why Darth Vader does that dirty-old-man heavy breathing!
Why waste time on unoriginal insults? I'm sure that you can actually add something creative to the discussion with only a little effort.
Your "STFU noob" is not doing anything about your "$23,304.01 in loans and no job" whereas you might actually get somewhere with a well-reasoned response or, alternatively, something that is creative and funny.
Good luck!
>transmitters installed inside the church towers
... thus ringing in a whole new set of changes on the art of change-ringing ... The Ringing World
>nests of small transitters enclosed and contained within a treeline
That sounds cool. After all: The best disguise is the real thing!
Cannot most of these towers be esthetically disguised as, say, eagle-nesting platforms, power-generating windmills, or some sort of tall, carbon-based, sunlight-absorbing life-form?
Hopefully the time-traveller's convention will include a panel on the future.
... Easter Island's stone heads.
Lasting for 10,000 years, they offer a language-independent warning of what you felt like the morning after.
It's a cookbook!
... didn't Al Franken write that book already?
Quite apart from the merits of the Acid2 test, its use of rendering a smiley face both (a) to be the test itself and (b) to show the quality of the test result ... is clever!
Most tests create an abstract "score" such as "85% compliant" which can be rendered by a graphic, such as a pie chart, but which is fundamentally different from the test itself. This abstraction process is extra work both for the researcher and for the reader. There is also the danger that it can be misleading. Edward Tufte has written on this at length in "Visual Explanations" and other books.
To put the test & the results together in a meaningful, intuitive package, as Acid2 seems to have done, is just great!
When I was just starting out, Miller Genuine Draft and BudLite seemed pretty good. I knew they were the best because everyone else was drinking them too, and they had the best commercials.
Over time, I learned to appreciate craft-brewed beers. While a total-cost-of-ownership argument could still be made in favor of MGD, for most purposes I'm more interested in a total quality experience rather than the quickest and cheapest buzz.
For many of us, the exact same logic applies to IE v. Firefox.