The prototypical brilliant scientist and the owner and inventor of Flash Gordon's spaceship, on which he and Dale Arden travelled the universe, and specifically to the planet Mongo, where they engaged in battle with Ming the Merciless. http://flashgordon.ws/zarkov.htm
Indeed. Although I'm not sure 'planting an isolated outpost of the first world economy inside a third world economy' is the right metaphor or explanation, but it certainly rings true. (Although, "I Am Not An Economist:) ) I lived and worked for almost two years in Buenos Aires, Argentina, before the breaking of the currency-equivalency with the US Dollar and the subsequent devalutations and upheavals... Their situation was more of one which really was the situation of what possibly WAS one of a first-world economy (some years ago, leading to the description of BsAs as "the Paris of South America"), which later devolved through a complex interaction of government meddling, corruption, graft, theft, mismanagement, over-extension of credit and loans by true first-world economies, and who knows what else -- into a truly sorry state of affairs. And of course, one of the primary indicators of 'things gone wrong' is and was the apalling difference in living standards between the 'haves' and the 'have-nots.' You had to get used to seeing the line-ups of poor families outside the restaurants in which you just had dinner: waiting for the 11pm 'garbage time', when the restaurants put their nightly black plastic garbage bags out for later pickup. Families had certain areas staked out -- fighting for them if necessary -- so that they could open the garbage bags and retrieve whatever was edible, packing them into cardboard boxes to take home. and at the time, Buenos Aires was preparing their bid to host the Summer Olympics... Perhaps their is something in these situations which just basically makes people delusional.
You are indeed right. This concept, though, appears difficult for many Americans to comprehend and leads to some amusing consequences. There was a good-sized article in the Washington Post a few weeks back about the subject of 'tipping' in foreign countries, and a reader contributed his story about a recent trip of his to Jakarta. It seems after a LONG plane ride, a great deal of trouble when arriving at his hotel, and needing to actually change rooms after finally getting one, he was truly grateful for all the personal, personable and good help he received from the hotel bellman, so he tipped the man US$10.00. He shortly received a call in his room from the hotel manager, who politely informed the guest that he had just tipped the bellman the equivalent of a week's wages, and that the hotel would be holding this amount for him along with his usual paycheck, so that his wife could pick it up for him at the end of the week as she always did.:)
The concept of illicitly harvesting and selling organs for profit -- called 'organlegging' -- was put forth in Larry Niven's 'Gil the ARM' stories (a collection of which was published in 1976). This was long before Mr. Cook published any of his popular novels. Reference: http://www.larryniven.org/nivenisms_in_the_news.ht m
The light rail/monorail/bus system/etc arguments -- for individual communities -- go on forever, and I'm certainly not sure what the answers are for any given community. Likely this is a decision for those communities to make... I lived and worked in the Zurich area of Switzerland for almost two years: a city which is rightly credited with having the best public transit system in the world, and I can certainly attest to it. My actual place of employment was changed from one town to another (well, more like suburbs, really) during this time, but it made no difference. Here's the routine: I got up in the morning, prepared myself, and then walked outside to the tram (electric) stop right outside my apartment. Electric trams run on all routes about every 4 minutes during rush hours, and at least every 15 minutes at all other times, and were specifically designed so that any user could reach any area in the city by walking no more than the equivalent of about 4 blocks. Took the tram two stops to a subsidiary rail station, where I could catch a train to the main Zurich Hauptbahnhof train station: trains every 5 minutes -- just enough to buy a coffee and a newspaper if you wanted. Three minute train ride to main station, then no more than a 5-minute wait for a local train to my work location (let me off no longer than a three-minute walk). If you miss one connection, another is along in between five and ten minutes. In addition, anyone (foreigners included) can buy a 'Half-Price' card at any major rail station, entitling the holder to half-price fares for ALL rail and associated public transit systems in the entire country -- including the municipal tram and bus systems of all major cities. So, despite working more than 20 miles away from where I lived, I had a no-hassle, enjoyable, clean, safe and restful trip every day. I actually looked forward to the commute, it was such a pleasure. And although my 'terms of employment' entitled me to a car provided by my employer, there wasn't any point -- owning a car in a city and country of such wonderful 'public transportation' was actually a downside, whose difficulties far outweighed the benefits. The downside of the electric tram system (aside from the fact that you can't very well turn back time and install one in the middle of streets not designed for it) is that you have to again get used to the overhead electrical wires that many have come to dislike for esthetic reasons.
This wonderful, talented painter, illustrator and architect did a stunning series of paintings -- many reproduced in an article in Collier's Magazine in 1948 -- graphically depicting nuclear attacks on New York and Moscow (both the detonations themselves and their aftermath). Prints of these have never been made available to the public, although several are reproduced in the book "The Art of Chesley Bonestell". After Bonestell's death, they were left/given to the New York Historical Society. They are not currently on display, but interested parties can contact the Collections Manager at the Society, and can make an appointment for a viewing. http://www.nyhistory.org/
The space elevator project cannot and should be built at all in this world, although it's an interesting scientific/technical concept. Think about the undeniably catastropic consequences of a structural failure of the elevator itself, either while under construction -- or even worse -- after completion. The construction of such a project would require one of the most stringent military (!) security cordons in history. Its continued operation would require the same. (This needs to be added to the project cost, of course); and since the USA -- the only existing power in the world with the capability to even think of this -- is rather occupied with other tasks, this just ain't gonna happen. The 'space elevator' itself would be basically the most attractive terrorist target in the entire world. Please point me to a scientific study showing that the carbon-nanotube elevator band will withstand even ONE impact from an RPG round.
So now we have 'home defense.' That topic would seem to have a pretty tenuous relationship to the original and basic purpose of this site...this entire issue seems 'off-topic' to me. If those interested in 'home defense' issues and discussions there are far better forums and sites than slashdot to find information and to debate and discuss these issues. What's next? Users posting questions like "I live in [insert State of USA here] and I'm thinking of refinancing my home. Does anyone have any information about reliable lending sources and Real Estate agents?". Acceptance of items like this dilute the worth and purpose of the site.
None of this should be of any news to anyone who has a clue about commercial implications of the public playing of recorded music in a commericial establishment, whether it be a hotel, a restaurant, a grocery store or whatever. The artists who made the music in the first place made a voluntary choice to register their music with and assign the rights and responsibilities for collecting royalty payments to which they are legally entitled-- INCLUDING recorded performances in all those places mentioned above -- to ASCAP or BMI, who then handle all the administrative details of licensing establishments, collecting legally required reports and then remitting the calculated royalty payments to artists -- nationwide. So if you run a restaurant, no you can't just play your own CD's to thousands of clients without actually reporting and paying the artists who actually made the music on those CDs: it's the law. If you want to do your own playlists, play your own CDs, etc. you can certainly do so: ASCAP and BMI both provide the means and forms for reporting what you play and for periodically paying the fees to which the artists are legally (and morally I might add) entitled: you're using their work product in a commercial enterprise to enhance and add value to what YOU are selling after all -- you shouldn't expect to get that for nothing. Alternatives include subscribing to the multitude of commercial 'business-music' providers who will deliver customized product to you by a whole bunch of technical means, AND take care of all the paperwork and payments to the licensing agencies (ASCAP and BMI) for you. Take your pick. Just don't complain about the inequity of the whole thing: it's currently the only workable way under US law to reliably and legally ensure the rights of the artists who voluntarily choose to have these agencies represent them, collect their legal entitlements for them, and provide them with auditable reports including nationwide coverage under all 'performance' criteria.
In the mid-80's a friend of mine was the chief hardware repair person for the IT department of a large department store. Noting that he was short of a particular type of thick, heavy gauge cable, he used the companies on-line supply ordering system to (attempt) to order 500 feet of said cable. About two weeks later, someone from the deliveries/loading dock area called him to tell him that there were 2 semi-trailers parked outside, all loaded with a delivery for him, and where did he want it stored? Turns out the actual order submitted went through as 500 1000-foot spools of this cable -- each wooden spool being about the size of a large coffee table...
And William Safire's column today in the New York Times, entitled "Follow-Up to Kofigate', whose first line is: "Never has there been a financial rip-off of the magnitude of the U.N. oil-for-food scandal."
THe USA has had its own torpedo problems -- some of the most glaring being the early nuclear-tipped (!) torpedo designs like the Mk 45. No Naval commander with any sense whatever would have ever considered using it, despite the millions of dollars spent on its deployment. It was reported to be the only torpedo system ever developed with a 'kill ratio' of 2.0: the target AND the sub that launched it.
Few people would think it reasonable to write to the editor of a literary magazine, commenting on and expressing opinions concerning a book which they have not read, yet several contributors have no compunctions about expressing their opinions about both Plan 9 and Inferno, despite an admitted lack of familiarity with either. At the very least, posters of 'opinions' should read some of the documents freely available from Bell Labs prior to commenting.
Else it's entirely possible that one might later come to regret snide comments made concerning the work of various members of the ACM, Bell Lab's Fellows, recipients of the National Medal of Technology, etc.
Contributors to the Inferno/Plan 9 project include Rob Pike, Phil Winterbottom, Ken Thompson, Dennis Ritchie and others.
I think perhaps their concept of 'peer review' for their work extends somewhat beyond the constituency of/.
Slashdot Mirror
The prototypical brilliant scientist and the owner and inventor of Flash Gordon's spaceship, on which he and Dale Arden travelled the universe, and specifically to the planet Mongo, where they engaged in battle with Ming the Merciless.
http://flashgordon.ws/zarkov.htm
Indeed. Although I'm not sure 'planting an isolated outpost of the first world economy inside a third world economy' is the right metaphor or explanation, but it certainly rings true. (Although, "I Am Not An Economist :) )
I lived and worked for almost two years in Buenos Aires, Argentina, before the breaking of the currency-equivalency with the US Dollar and the subsequent devalutations and upheavals...
Their situation was more of one which really was the situation of what possibly WAS one of a first-world economy (some years ago, leading to the description of BsAs as "the Paris of South America"), which later devolved through a complex interaction of government meddling, corruption, graft, theft, mismanagement, over-extension of credit and loans by true first-world economies, and who knows what else -- into a truly sorry state of affairs. And of course, one of the primary indicators of 'things gone wrong' is and was the apalling difference in living standards between the 'haves' and the 'have-nots.' You had to get used to seeing the line-ups of poor families outside the restaurants in which you just had dinner: waiting for the 11pm 'garbage time', when the restaurants put their nightly black plastic garbage bags out for later pickup. Families had certain areas staked out -- fighting for them if necessary -- so that they could open the garbage bags and retrieve whatever was edible, packing them into cardboard boxes to take home.
and at the time, Buenos Aires was preparing their bid to host the Summer Olympics...
Perhaps their is something in these situations which just basically makes people delusional.
You are indeed right. This concept, though, appears difficult for many Americans to comprehend and leads to some amusing consequences. There was a good-sized article in the Washington Post a few weeks back about the subject of 'tipping' in foreign countries, and a reader contributed his story about a recent trip of his to Jakarta. It seems after a LONG plane ride, a great deal of trouble when arriving at his hotel, and needing to actually change rooms after finally getting one, he was truly grateful for all the personal, personable and good help he received from the hotel bellman, so he tipped the man US$10.00. :)
He shortly received a call in his room from the hotel manager, who politely informed the guest that he had just tipped the bellman the equivalent of a week's wages, and that the hotel would be holding this amount for him along with his usual paycheck, so that his wife could pick it up for him at the end of the week as she always did.
The concept of illicitly harvesting and selling organs for profit -- called 'organlegging' -- was put forth in Larry Niven's 'Gil the ARM' stories (a collection of which was published in 1976). This was long before Mr. Cook published any of his popular novels.t m
Reference: http://www.larryniven.org/nivenisms_in_the_news.h
The light rail/monorail/bus system/etc arguments -- for individual communities -- go on forever, and I'm certainly not sure what the answers are for any given community. Likely this is a decision for those communities to make...
I lived and worked in the Zurich area of Switzerland for almost two years: a city which is rightly credited with having the best public transit system in the world, and I can certainly attest to it. My actual place of employment was changed from one town to another (well, more like suburbs, really) during this time, but it made no difference.
Here's the routine: I got up in the morning, prepared myself, and then walked outside to the tram (electric) stop right outside my apartment. Electric trams run on all routes about every 4 minutes during rush hours, and at least every 15 minutes at all other times, and were specifically designed so that any user could reach any area in the city by walking no more than the equivalent of about 4 blocks. Took the tram two stops to a subsidiary rail station, where I could catch a train to the main Zurich Hauptbahnhof train station: trains every 5 minutes -- just enough to buy a coffee and a newspaper if you wanted. Three minute train ride to main station, then no more than a 5-minute wait for a local train to my work location (let me off no longer than a three-minute walk). If you miss one connection, another is along in between five and ten minutes. In addition, anyone (foreigners included) can buy a 'Half-Price' card at any major rail station, entitling the holder to half-price fares for ALL rail and associated public transit systems in the entire country -- including the municipal tram and bus systems of all major cities. So, despite working more than 20 miles away from where I lived, I had a no-hassle, enjoyable, clean, safe and restful trip every day. I actually looked forward to the commute, it was such a pleasure. And although my 'terms of employment' entitled me to a car provided by my employer, there wasn't any point -- owning a car in a city and country of such wonderful 'public transportation' was actually a downside, whose difficulties far outweighed the benefits.
The downside of the electric tram system (aside from the fact that you can't very well turn back time and install one in the middle of streets not designed for it) is that you have to again get used to the overhead electrical wires that many have come to dislike for esthetic reasons.
This wonderful, talented painter, illustrator and architect did a stunning series of paintings -- many reproduced in an article in Collier's Magazine in 1948 -- graphically depicting nuclear attacks on New York and Moscow (both the detonations themselves and their aftermath). Prints of these have never been made available to the public, although several are reproduced in the book "The Art of Chesley Bonestell". After Bonestell's death, they were left/given to the New York Historical Society. They are not currently on display, but interested parties can contact the Collections Manager at the Society, and can make an appointment for a viewing.
http://www.nyhistory.org/
The space elevator project cannot and should be built at all in this world, although it's an interesting scientific/technical concept.
Think about the undeniably catastropic consequences of a structural failure of the elevator itself, either while under construction -- or even worse -- after completion.
The construction of such a project would require one of the most stringent military (!) security cordons in history. Its continued operation would require the same. (This needs to be added to the project cost, of course); and since the USA -- the only existing power in the world with the capability to even think of this -- is rather occupied with other tasks, this just ain't gonna happen.
The 'space elevator' itself would be basically the most attractive terrorist target in the entire world.
Please point me to a scientific study showing that the carbon-nanotube elevator band will withstand even ONE impact from an RPG round.
From my colleagues in Buenos Aires, Argentina:
IBM: Immensa Bolla de Mierda
(Huge piece of shit)
So now we have 'home defense.' That topic would seem to have a pretty tenuous relationship to the original and basic purpose of this site...this entire issue seems 'off-topic' to me. If those interested in 'home defense' issues and discussions there are far better forums and sites than slashdot to find information and to debate and discuss these issues. What's next? Users posting questions like "I live in [insert State of USA here] and I'm thinking of refinancing my home. Does anyone have any information about reliable lending sources and Real Estate agents?". Acceptance of items like this dilute the worth and purpose of the site.
None of this should be of any news to anyone who has a clue about commercial implications of the public playing of recorded music in a commericial establishment, whether it be a hotel, a restaurant, a grocery store or whatever. The artists who made the music in the first place made a voluntary choice to register their music with and assign the rights and responsibilities for collecting royalty payments to which they are legally entitled-- INCLUDING recorded performances in all those places mentioned above -- to ASCAP or BMI, who then handle all the administrative details of licensing establishments, collecting legally required reports and then remitting the calculated royalty payments to artists -- nationwide.
So if you run a restaurant, no you can't just play your own CD's to thousands of clients without actually reporting and paying the artists who actually made the music on those CDs: it's the law. If you want to do your own playlists, play your own CDs, etc. you can certainly do so: ASCAP and BMI both provide the means and forms for reporting what you play and for periodically paying the fees to which the artists are legally (and morally I might add) entitled: you're using their work product in a commercial enterprise to enhance and add value to what YOU are selling after all -- you shouldn't expect to get that for nothing. Alternatives include subscribing to the multitude of commercial 'business-music' providers who will deliver customized product to you by a whole bunch of technical means, AND take care of all the paperwork and payments to the licensing agencies (ASCAP and BMI) for you. Take your pick.
Just don't complain about the inequity of the whole thing: it's currently the only workable way under US law to reliably and legally ensure the rights of the artists who voluntarily choose to have these agencies represent them, collect their legal entitlements for them, and provide them with auditable reports including nationwide coverage under all 'performance' criteria.
In the mid-80's a friend of mine was the chief hardware repair person for the IT department of a large department store. Noting that he was short of a particular type of thick, heavy gauge cable, he used the companies on-line supply ordering system to (attempt) to order 500 feet of said cable. About two weeks later, someone from the deliveries/loading dock area called him to tell him that there were 2 semi-trailers parked outside, all loaded with a delivery for him, and where did he want it stored?
Turns out the actual order submitted went through as 500 1000-foot spools of this cable -- each wooden spool being about the size of a large coffee table...
Tom Servo in a comment on MST3K referred to THC as "All Hitler -- All the Time!"
And William Safire's column today in the New York Times, entitled "Follow-Up to Kofigate', whose first line is: "Never has there been a financial rip-off of the magnitude of the U.N. oil-for-food scandal."
THe USA has had its own torpedo problems -- some of the most glaring being the early nuclear-tipped (!) torpedo designs like the Mk 45. No Naval commander with any sense whatever would have ever considered using it, despite the millions of dollars spent on its deployment. It was reported to be the only torpedo system ever developed with a 'kill ratio' of 2.0: the target AND the sub that launched it.
Few people would think it reasonable to write to the editor of a literary magazine, commenting on and expressing opinions concerning a book which they have not read, yet several contributors have no compunctions about expressing their opinions about both Plan 9 and Inferno, despite an admitted lack of familiarity with either. At the very least, posters of 'opinions' should read some of the documents freely available from Bell Labs prior to commenting.
/.
Else it's entirely possible that one might later come to regret snide comments made concerning the work of various members of the ACM, Bell Lab's Fellows, recipients of the National Medal of Technology, etc.
Contributors to the Inferno/Plan 9 project include Rob Pike, Phil Winterbottom, Ken Thompson, Dennis Ritchie and others.
I think perhaps their concept of 'peer review' for their work extends somewhat beyond the constituency of