Sagan obsessed over the idea that Earth is incredibly insignificant in the long run (note the title of his book, Pale Blue Dot). I can't imagine going through life with that kind of attitude. As true as it may be, since we really can't do anything about it, taking such a big-picture kind of view would just demotivate me.
It really depends on exactly what his job at DSC was. I think if his job was in any way computer-related (which it sounds like it is), he should have to turn over the idea. If he thought it was such a great idea, he should have quit and followed through with it. I don't think he can prove he thought of the idea before he started working for DSC, so it seems to me that if he hadn't been working there chances are he wouldn't have thought of it (a little chaos theory).
My high school roommate had an old 200mhz laptop that took some SERIOUS abuse. The battery and floppy drive were duct-taped into place and a couch had been dropped on it a few times. Eventually, it got so that the hard drive couldn't write, only read, and the screen was hideously cracked and leaking. So we actually managed to boot into DOS through the floppy drive, load a Genesis emulator off a disk, and then the comp could still read the roms off the HD, so we loaded a ROM with a cool opening sequence (I think it was Mutant League Football), and hung the laptop on the wall. With the LCD screen all busted, it made a pretty psychadelic wall-hanging. Presto, art!
On the flip side, my BRAND NEW dell laptop slipped off the couch last night and fell approx. 8 inches onto shag carpeting and broke completely...it won't turn on, and somehow the power cord broke as well. Thankfully Dell is sending me a new one.
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Sagan obsessed over the idea that Earth is incredibly insignificant in the long run (note the title of his book, Pale Blue Dot). I can't imagine going through life with that kind of attitude. As true as it may be, since we really can't do anything about it, taking such a big-picture kind of view would just demotivate me.
It really depends on exactly what his job at DSC was. I think if his job was in any way computer-related (which it sounds like it is), he should have to turn over the idea. If he thought it was such a great idea, he should have quit and followed through with it. I don't think he can prove he thought of the idea before he started working for DSC, so it seems to me that if he hadn't been working there chances are he wouldn't have thought of it (a little chaos theory).
stupid rfid
My high school roommate had an old 200mhz laptop that took some SERIOUS abuse. The battery and floppy drive were duct-taped into place and a couch had been dropped on it a few times. Eventually, it got so that the hard drive couldn't write, only read, and the screen was hideously cracked and leaking. So we actually managed to boot into DOS through the floppy drive, load a Genesis emulator off a disk, and then the comp could still read the roms off the HD, so we loaded a ROM with a cool opening sequence (I think it was Mutant League Football), and hung the laptop on the wall. With the LCD screen all busted, it made a pretty psychadelic wall-hanging. Presto, art! On the flip side, my BRAND NEW dell laptop slipped off the couch last night and fell approx. 8 inches onto shag carpeting and broke completely...it won't turn on, and somehow the power cord broke as well. Thankfully Dell is sending me a new one.