I would love for their to be a Netflix-ish "subscription" service to something like this. No way would I ever buy the whole set, but what about sending you one, keeping it as long as you want, and then sending the next when you return it? If it works for "Lemony Snicket" it should work for "The Iliad..."?
Another thing that got forgotten was the fact that against all probability a sperm whale had suddenly been called into existence several miles above the surface of an alien planet.
And since this is not a naturally tenable position for a whale, this poor innocent creature had very little time to come to terms with its identity as a whale before it then had to come to terms with not being a whale any more.
This is a complete record of its thoughts from the moment it began its life till the moment it ended it.
Ah... ! What's happening? it thought.
Er, excuse me, who am I?
Hello?
Why am I here? What's my purpose in life?
What do I mean by who am I?
Calm down, get a grip now... oh! this is an interesting sensation, what is it? It's a sort of... yawning, tingling sensation in my... my... well I suppose I'd better start finding names for things if I want to make any headway in what for the sake of what I shall call an argument I shall call the world, so let's call it my stomach.
Good. Ooooh, it's getting quite strong. And hey, what's about this whistling roaring sound going past what I'm suddenly going to call my head? Perhaps I can call that... wind! Is that a good name? It'll do... perhaps I can find a better name for it later when I've found out what it's for. It must be something very important because there certainly seems to be a hell of a lot of it. Hey! What's this thing? This... let's call it a tail - yeah, tail. Hey! I can can really thrash it about pretty good can't I? Wow! Wow! That feels great! Doesn't seem to achieve very much but I'll probably find out what it's for later on. Now - have I built up any coherent picture of things yet?
No.
Never mind, hey, this is really exciting, so much to find out about, so much to look forward to, I'm quite dizzy with anticipation...
Or is it the wind?
There really is a lot of that now isn't it?
And wow! Hey! What's this thing suddenly coming towards me very fast? Very very fast. So big and flat and round, it needs a big wide sounding name like... ow... ound... round... ground! That's it! That's a good name - ground!
I wonder if it will be friends with me?
And the rest, after a sudden wet thud, was silence.
Only on Slashdot can you possibly find a single story that simultaneously manages to stimulate discussion about Wi-Fi, Ayn Rand, Meter Readers, and outsourcing to India.
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Are you going to be the first one with your back up against a wall when the Revolution comes?
Easiest solution: Just pick up an move to Greenwich. Problem solved! I hear the shepherd's pie is lovely this time of year...
I think it's time to change to Binary Time. It's either light (1) or dark (0). This would certainly make setting my alarm clock easier...
It all boils down to two simple words...
"Look"
and
"Feel"
I would love for their to be a Netflix-ish "subscription" service to something like this. No way would I ever buy the whole set, but what about sending you one, keeping it as long as you want, and then sending the next when you return it? If it works for "Lemony Snicket" it should work for "The Iliad..."?
Another thing that got forgotten was the fact that against all probability a sperm whale had suddenly been called into existence several miles above the surface of an alien planet.
... ! What's happening? it thought.
... oh! this is an interesting sensation, what is it? It's a sort of ... yawning, tingling sensation in my ... my ... well I suppose I'd better start finding names for things if I want to make any headway in what for the sake of what I shall call an argument I shall call the world, so let's call it my stomach.
... wind! Is that a good name? It'll do ... perhaps I can find a better name for it later when I've found out what it's for. It must be something very important because there certainly seems to be a hell of a lot of it. Hey! What's this thing? This ... let's call it a tail - yeah, tail. Hey! I can can really thrash it about pretty good can't I? Wow! Wow! That feels great! Doesn't seem to achieve very much but I'll probably find out what it's for later on. Now - have I built up any coherent picture of things yet?
...
... ow ... ound ... round ... ground! That's it! That's a good name - ground!
And since this is not a naturally tenable position for a whale, this poor innocent creature had very little time to come to terms with its identity as a whale before it then had to come to terms with not being a whale any more.
This is a complete record of its thoughts from the moment it began its life till the moment it ended it.
Ah
Er, excuse me, who am I?
Hello?
Why am I here? What's my purpose in life?
What do I mean by who am I?
Calm down, get a grip now
Good. Ooooh, it's getting quite strong. And hey, what's about this whistling roaring sound going past what I'm suddenly going to call my head? Perhaps I can call that
No.
Never mind, hey, this is really exciting, so much to find out about, so much to look forward to, I'm quite dizzy with anticipation
Or is it the wind?
There really is a lot of that now isn't it?
And wow! Hey! What's this thing suddenly coming towards me very fast? Very very fast. So big and flat and round, it needs a big wide sounding name like
I wonder if it will be friends with me?
And the rest, after a sudden wet thud, was silence.
So if they unveil a huge new boat, is it considered a "watermark?"
Ah, yes, chapter 12 of the forthcoming Martha Stewart autobiography. But how did you get an advance copy???
Only on Slashdot can you possibly find a single story that simultaneously manages to stimulate discussion about Wi-Fi, Ayn Rand, Meter Readers, and outsourcing to India.
I'm not sure if I love it here or hate it here.