I'm not an engineer, but isn't the whole tower of Babel thing a little ridiculous? I mean, they were trying to build a tower that reaches to "the heavens", with very little engineering knowledge. given strength of materials alone, they really didn't have the capability to reach a couple of stories, let alone the distance they'd need to reach any kind of "the heavens". What, rock and thatch? vines? even if they had iron reinforcements, they'd have to build out a pretty wide base, which would have to be really wide to support anything reaching space.
My guess is that someone tried to do it, and the reason it fell wasn't god's wrath at the hubris of man, but just faulty engineering. And they blamed it on god.
i was doing windows registry editing in perl in 1997, so i don't think the author of that adequacy article had all the facts. also, i figured out how to do this from modules nad information on the net, and didn't have to deal withy any 14-year old hackers.
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probably this wouldn't directly control your brain, but it might affect sensory input, deceiving you into believing something that may not be entirely true. most people don't even need a chip in the brain to deceive themselves, so just think of how much a device stuck into your optic nerve can do.
but, give me a chip which lets my brain access the internets, and i'll be an early adopter for sure.
I read the first few already (including "Chasm City"), and am just waiting for the last one to come out in paperback (I only read paperbacks).
They're very enjoyable, actually, but the Amazon reviews for the one I haven't read paint a very bad picture of it. I get the feeling I'll like it anyway, since I have a very low threshold for sci-fi. I like almost everything I read, except stuff like John C. Wright's 3-book series, about Raetheon or whatever; and I didn't much care for anything Orson Scott Card wrote OTHER than Ender's Game.
I"m currently reading the first book of Brin's Uplift, and it's starting to get good, and i have the next two after that already lined up. That should last me all of a week, I think. After that, Stross' "Singularity Sky" (i have no idea, whim purchase), and then "Perdido Street Station" by China Miellville (whim purchase).
I can't believe you put "Consider Phlebas" first! "Player of Games" is much more accessible for the novice Banks reader; "Consider Phlebas" might turn people off, because it is rather dry, and really only provides a biased "outsider's" view of the Culture. Admittedly, "Player of Games" makes the Culture look like a bunch of deceitful pricks (the ending, with Imsaho, which appropriately enough means "blow it up" in Arabic). Excession is probably the best of the three you identified, (and is the first one I read from him). Let's not even bring up "Use of Weapons"...
I had my wife start with Player of Games, and she was hooked and read two or three of his... But what REALLY got her hooked on sci-fi was Dan Simmons, Hyperion Cantos... and since then she reads all of my recommendations (like Vinge), but she always compares everyone to Simmons, her first.
Now, she's reading Dune, and loves it, after which she'll probably go either back to Simmons, or take a recommendation from me (and I'm going to say Peter F. Hamilton).
Sorry about going WAY off-topic here, but I can't help it. All I read is sci-fi these days, and had I some mod points, I would've modded you up instead, just for mentioning Banks.
Also, in some regions (like 201, my former digs), you can do 555-5454 (might require an area code prefix), and it'll prompt you for a phone number and, if the number is listed, it'll tell you the name and address of the person that registered that line.
At least it did that a few years ago, haven't tried since.
This would probably be great for one's own devices (cell, palm) but using it for auths exposes the toucher to a variety of diseases, especially from public interfaces. People would probably be loathe to use this to pay for something, if they have to touch a contact point that's been touched by everyone before them.
Also, there's the possibility that someone could pick up your auth sig from a handrail or doorknob or something... unless you have to enable the auth for something like the next transaction, or the next x seconds, or key in some kind of id that indicates which touch is authorized. That adds a level of complexity that defeats the whole point of the touch interface.
Surfed through a bit, didn't seem that good, with essentially lists of companies that folded, and a sporadic link to some pdf copy of an unfinished memo describing a vague business idea, or less.
When I first started searching for this stuff, I wanted to see what a real business plan contained..
Check out http://www.bplans.com/sp/; click on Sample Business Plans for some very thorough plans, but that page has some other stuff that might be useful (marketing plans, etc), although be warned, the company sells business plan software, among other things.
Enjoy.
The computer will also alert shoppers as they approach favorite items or promotions.
Oh great, like I need a machine alerting me and everyone around me that we're approaching the condom aisle and there's a discount on my usual brand in bulk quantities.
...
Ok, yeah, i know, wishful thinking...
Isn't it true that the percentage of votes a candidate's party gets determines their likelyhood of getting taken somewhat more seriously in the next election? I remember hearing that somewhere. If this is true, it's something to think about, especially in the longer term, as your 3rd party might benefit, even if they lose this time around.
Cellphone batteries have come a long way, and i've seen some tiny batteries on tiny phones... why don't they have two batteries, one for the handheld, and one for the cellphone?
One - the guy was fired, and he's 63; many organizations attempt to get rid of people before retirement, because then the person doesn't get the full package. They were probably looking for a reason, and this was it.
Two - When media says "computer server", it doesn't have to be a "server" in the sense that slashdotters think. Media doesn't know; this could've been a sparc 10 used to generate a report or something.
Too many replies entered my head on this one:
- That's cool
- Do we get to pick the body part? I'm thinking: this and a bottle of Viagra.
- Imagine a Beowulf cluster of these?
- In Russia...
[ ] Sleep in [ ] Prepare for debate [ ] Campaign door to door [ ] Go to bathroom [ ] Oppress the populace [X] Rotate tires [ ] Control the means of production
Probably won't happen in my lifetime, but with some kind of life-extension breakthrough it may; a generation ship is a ship that holds a lot of people and travels for a long time.
Given the length of time it takes to travel between solar systems, this is (currently) the only viable way to get a ship to another system with living humans on it (I don't think cryo would work, have they successfully defrosted anyone yet?). It would have to be sufficiently large enough to carry a large enough group of people to propagate without inbreeding over a very long time (50,000 years, i think it is, to travel to alpha (or is it proxima) centauri, 4.3 light years, i believe).
It would also need massive production capabilities, not only to produce the food and resources used by the passengers and crew, but also to research, develop, and apply any breakthroughs that improve the ship. Maybe an AI to run the whole thing as well, to maintain knowledge and history in case of societal breakdown.
Of course, all this is based on current propulsion methods. Come up with something that can tap into hyperspace and we're on our way!
People are very quick to judge someone they've never heard, or only heard selected excerpts which usually just highlight whatever position the media venue is pursuing. All media is biased, one way or another. Think for your self.
I thought I'd list some points that might be interesting:
- Many media would love to publish something that makes Howard look bad, and they probably tailed him for years when he was married, but they could never show that he cheated on his long-time (20 years!) wife. She divorced him, btw, and he appeared to be quite devastated by this for some time. The same goes for his current girlfriend Beth Ostrosky, total hottie, although I haven't listened for a while, so I don't know if they're still together.
Beth image search: http://images.google.com/images?q=beth+ostrosky&hl =en&btnG=Google+Search
- His show isn't just porn and sleaze (although I admit it's a part of it); the show is essentially about the characters, and their interactions between themselves and their guests, and the stories they tell. Sure, there's occasionally some 'obscene' stuff, but that's life for most anyone who interacts with people. It's like a soap opera, almost, with some very interesting reactions, but this aspect of the show is an acquired taste, because it takes time to get to know and understand the players.
Here's a link to a site run by a guy who writes summaries of every Howard show; it's called Mark's Friggin http://www.marksfriggin.com/.
Slashdot Mirror
I'm not an engineer, but isn't the whole tower of Babel thing a little ridiculous? I mean, they were trying to build a tower that reaches to "the heavens", with very little engineering knowledge. given strength of materials alone, they really didn't have the capability to reach a couple of stories, let alone the distance they'd need to reach any kind of "the heavens". What, rock and thatch? vines? even if they had iron reinforcements, they'd have to build out a pretty wide base, which would have to be really wide to support anything reaching space.
My guess is that someone tried to do it, and the reason it fell wasn't god's wrath at the hubris of man, but just faulty engineering. And they blamed it on god.
i wish i had a copy of THAT project plan...
i was doing windows registry editing in perl in 1997, so i don't think the author of that adequacy article had all the facts. also, i figured out how to do this from modules nad information on the net, and didn't have to deal withy any 14-year old hackers.
I for one welcome our new
probably this wouldn't directly control your brain, but it might affect sensory input, deceiving you into believing something that may not be entirely true. most people don't even need a chip in the brain to deceive themselves, so just think of how much a device stuck into your optic nerve can do.
but, give me a chip which lets my brain access the internets, and i'll be an early adopter for sure.
Now you can deny any video evidence someone brings against you. "That wasn't me, it's one of them Brunner edits" or whatever.
Thanks for replying, Doctor...
I read the first few already (including "Chasm City"), and am just waiting for the last one to come out in paperback (I only read paperbacks).
They're very enjoyable, actually, but the Amazon reviews for the one I haven't read paint a very bad picture of it. I get the feeling I'll like it anyway, since I have a very low threshold for sci-fi. I like almost everything I read, except stuff like John C. Wright's 3-book series, about Raetheon or whatever; and I didn't much care for anything Orson Scott Card wrote OTHER than Ender's Game.
I"m currently reading the first book of Brin's Uplift, and it's starting to get good, and i have the next two after that already lined up. That should last me all of a week, I think. After that, Stross' "Singularity Sky" (i have no idea, whim purchase), and then "Perdido Street Station" by China Miellville (whim purchase).
-Tom
I can't believe you put "Consider Phlebas" first! "Player of Games" is much more accessible for the novice Banks reader; "Consider Phlebas" might turn people off, because it is rather dry, and really only provides a biased "outsider's" view of the Culture. Admittedly, "Player of Games" makes the Culture look like a bunch of deceitful pricks (the ending, with Imsaho, which appropriately enough means "blow it up" in Arabic). Excession is probably the best of the three you identified, (and is the first one I read from him). Let's not even bring up "Use of Weapons"...
I had my wife start with Player of Games, and she was hooked and read two or three of his... But what REALLY got her hooked on sci-fi was Dan Simmons, Hyperion Cantos... and since then she reads all of my recommendations (like Vinge), but she always compares everyone to Simmons, her first.
Now, she's reading Dune, and loves it, after which she'll probably go either back to Simmons, or take a recommendation from me (and I'm going to say Peter F. Hamilton).
Sorry about going WAY off-topic here, but I can't help it. All I read is sci-fi these days, and had I some mod points, I would've modded you up instead, just for mentioning Banks.
Anyone got any other good recommendations?
-Tom
non-linux software: Does it run on Linux?
...
...
linux software: Imagine a Beowulf cluster
some hardware: Will it run linux?
patents, copyrights, trademarks: All Your Base
-tom
Also, in some regions (like 201, my former digs), you can do 555-5454 (might require an area code prefix), and it'll prompt you for a phone number and, if the number is listed, it'll tell you the name and address of the person that registered that line.
At least it did that a few years ago, haven't tried since.
the closest thing I can think of is the "Hawking mat" from Dan Simmons' "Hyperion Cantos"...
John Varley, in "Steel Beach", has a character and his clone have sex, after one of them has a sex change.
This would probably be great for one's own devices (cell, palm) but using it for auths exposes the toucher to a variety of diseases, especially from public interfaces. People would probably be loathe to use this to pay for something, if they have to touch a contact point that's been touched by everyone before them.
Also, there's the possibility that someone could pick up your auth sig from a handrail or doorknob or something... unless you have to enable the auth for something like the next transaction, or the next x seconds, or key in some kind of id that indicates which touch is authorized. That adds a level of complexity that defeats the whole point of the touch interface.
Surfed through a bit, didn't seem that good, with essentially lists of companies that folded, and a sporadic link to some pdf copy of an unfinished memo describing a vague business idea, or less.
When I first started searching for this stuff, I wanted to see what a real business plan contained..
Check out http://www.bplans.com/sp/; click on Sample Business Plans for some very thorough plans, but that page has some other stuff that might be useful (marketing plans, etc), although be warned, the company sells business plan software, among other things.
Enjoy.
The computer will also alert shoppers as they approach favorite items or promotions.
Oh great, like I need a machine alerting me and everyone around me that we're approaching the condom aisle and there's a discount on my usual brand in bulk quantities.
...
Ok, yeah, i know, wishful thinking...
Do you subscribe to any of the Singularity theories of Vernor Vinge, and do you agree with his timeline estimates?
Isn't it true that the percentage of votes a candidate's party gets determines their likelyhood of getting taken somewhat more seriously in the next election? I remember hearing that somewhere. If this is true, it's something to think about, especially in the longer term, as your 3rd party might benefit, even if they lose this time around.
Cellphone batteries have come a long way, and i've seen some tiny batteries on tiny phones... why don't they have two batteries, one for the handheld, and one for the cellphone?
One - the guy was fired, and he's 63; many organizations attempt to get rid of people before retirement, because then the person doesn't get the full package. They were probably looking for a reason, and this was it.
Two - When media says "computer server", it doesn't have to be a "server" in the sense that slashdotters think. Media doesn't know; this could've been a sparc 10 used to generate a report or something.
NEVER stick your password post-it on the monitor! It goes under the keyboard.
Too many replies entered my head on this one:
- That's cool
- Do we get to pick the body part? I'm thinking: this and a bottle of Viagra.
- Imagine a Beowulf cluster of these?
- In Russia...
Ok, not that many...
I get in like 8-12 hacks a day, usually in the morning, right before my first cigarette.
Probably won't happen in my lifetime, but with some kind of life-extension breakthrough it may; a generation ship is a ship that holds a lot of people and travels for a long time.
Given the length of time it takes to travel between solar systems, this is (currently) the only viable way to get a ship to another system with living humans on it (I don't think cryo would work, have they successfully defrosted anyone yet?). It would have to be sufficiently large enough to carry a large enough group of people to propagate without inbreeding over a very long time (50,000 years, i think it is, to travel to alpha (or is it proxima) centauri, 4.3 light years, i believe).
It would also need massive production capabilities, not only to produce the food and resources used by the passengers and crew, but also to research, develop, and apply any breakthroughs that improve the ship. Maybe an AI to run the whole thing as well, to maintain knowledge and history in case of societal breakdown.
Of course, all this is based on current propulsion methods. Come up with something that can tap into hyperspace and we're on our way!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Generation_ship has some stuff about the generation ship.
Tastes like chicken, patent pending...
People are very quick to judge someone they've never heard, or only heard selected excerpts which usually just highlight whatever position the media venue is pursuing. All media is biased, one way or another. Think for your self.
l =en&btnG=Google+Search
I thought I'd list some points that might be interesting:
- Many media would love to publish something that makes Howard look bad, and they probably tailed him for years when he was married, but they could never show that he cheated on his long-time (20 years!) wife. She divorced him, btw, and he appeared to be quite devastated by this for some time. The same goes for his current girlfriend Beth Ostrosky, total hottie, although I haven't listened for a while, so I don't know if they're still together.
Beth image search: http://images.google.com/images?q=beth+ostrosky&h
- His show isn't just porn and sleaze (although I admit it's a part of it); the show is essentially about the characters, and their interactions between themselves and their guests, and the stories they tell. Sure, there's occasionally some 'obscene' stuff, but that's life for most anyone who interacts with people. It's like a soap opera, almost, with some very interesting reactions, but this aspect of the show is an acquired taste, because it takes time to get to know and understand the players.
Here's a link to a site run by a guy who writes summaries of every Howard show; it's called Mark's Friggin http://www.marksfriggin.com/.
Enjoy,
-Tom