Please, since I am obviously such an contemptible ignoramus, how does a geek dress? I'd like to know so that when next I see one, I will recognize the moment for the privilege it will certainly be.
But seriously, have you ever picked up a pygmy goat? It's not all that hard, unless the goat in question is a pregnant nanny or in a bad mood. I don't know what kind of stock this rancher keeps, but if they're small, one might make off with a few head armed only with rope, cojones, wirecutters, and the back of a pickup truck or SUV. The animal might gnaw or crap on the inside of the SUV, but that's the price of crime.
Positing a group of people, some of whom want to steal larger livestock but none of whom brought a stock trailer, there is still the option of invading the property, overpowering the rancher and his help and then stealing both his stock and his trailer at the same time. A commercial rancher almost certain to have a least one workable trailer. It's very risky, but not completely inconceivable.
I agree. If I were a property owner (particularly with livestock) and suddenly a bunch of folks with GPS units showed up on my land and headed for a specific spot without so much as a 'by your leave' or 'Hi, we're here to do X. We'll do X quickly and be gone,' I'd be suspicious as well and likely to reach for the biggest gun I own. The geohashers could just as easily have been livestock rustlers.
I like XKCD as much as the next geek, but if they do this sort of thing without due consideration for the people whose land they're traipsing over, they should, well, STOP.
How can there be citizenship issues? Doesn't Cthulhu predate the Earth? Clearly, a being outside of normal time should be grandfathered whenever and however necessary. In fact, to settle the issue, let's get some Cthulhu cultists down to the local INS or SSA office to perform an invocation. Once the clerks there are driven stark barking mad, they can issue him INS credentials and a SSN.
1) Perform invocation of the Great Old Ones 2) ??? 3) Candidacy!
I think he's talking about returning fire, investigating a possible property trespass, or answering a known home invasion. It's the approach I have taken and would take. Then again, I'm from Texas.
More specifically, I am from that part of Central Texas known to itself as the Centroplex. I remember the Luby's Massacre of 1991 (which partially contributes to my nervousness about Luby's restaurants in particular and restaurants with glass facades in general). If, at the time, the patrons had been allowed to carry their guns on their persons instead of leaving them in their cars, George Hennard would not have been permitted to kill so many people.
Unfortunately, I don't think we can, at least where science fiction is concerned. It's probable that as a result of how Heroes, Lost, and Battlestar Galactica have been received and transmitted, companies will keep trying for "media convergence" whether they need it or not.
I sort of understand that approach when it comes to Lost, given that from the outset they did some fairly unusual stuff with presenting the chronology to actors and audience alike. It can be frustrating and off-putting, but it's also sui generis. Some phenomena (women and God, in particular) must be approached on their own terms or not at all. Heroes I also understand, since it's partially metafictional. Not giving us an online comic book to go along with a series where the contents of comic books are really important would be really dumb. Battlestar Galactica, however, I don't give a crap about. So they're all Cylons. Ok. What now? War over, humanity doomed? I found the "Last Supper" image full of clues confusing, tiresome, and apathy-reinforcing. I understand that the partial lettering on an old rusty door may later become important on Lost. However, BSG != Lost.
Interestingly, his arguments about a shepherd|flock dichotomy also don't hold true of congregationalist denominations with professional or semi-professional clergy. An ordained Baptist minister who's been called by a given congregation may (or may not) get some automatic respect at any or all the others but he is not by virtue of ordination automagically accorded any authority. Said minister might (and often does) have some halo-effect authority with members of other churches in the most local association, but beyond that, he's got exactly one vote, one voice, and no inalienable authority over anyone. If, by chance, the congregation decides he's no longer called to minister to them and he moves on to join another without being called to minister to it, he's once again a member of a church body and nothing more. Of course, I'm a lifelong Baptist, so I have no idea about the governance or jurisprudence of more hierarchical, apparently non-congregational denominations like the Methodists, Lutherans, Episcopalians, Presbyterians, etc.
My wife is a college professor. Her whole function is to shift the bell curve and to inspire students. She teaches Freshman-level English composition. Over time, her students' papers do indeed improve. I cannot say that all of them improve or that all of those who improve do so vastly. Nor can I say that all students welcome the opportunity to grow. Those who steadfastly refuse to learn are a source of great frustration. In that, you are quite correct. Some students simply lack the motivation, or the academic foundation, to make the broad forward leaps some hope they'll make.
My point, however, is that the students who won't learn - or aren't currently equipped to learn - are not the end of the story. If one accepts the idea that writing is formalized thinking, the students who improve become not only better writers, but potentially better thinkers and more likely to contribute. My wife's students do not all go into academia or the hard sciences, but it is not necessary that they do. Even if they themselves to do not contribute directly to the intellectual life of the species, they may gain just enough love of learning to inspire their children. Alternatively, they may learn later in life that they really ought to have paid attention and so require that level of commmitment from their own children.
(In the manner of a slave on a Southern plantation right before the beginning of the American Civil War) Oh yes, massa. Yah ain't nuthin but right, massa. Us is too dumb and ain't got no use for readin or book-learnin'. Yah jes' go on readin' yer big fancy books an' runnin' yer great big plantation. We ain't need no freedom anyhow. We jes' go on singin' our songs and picking our fingers ta the bone on this here cotton. We jes' simple. We jes' dumb. We nuthin' but slaves. You right, massa. You ain't never wrong, no sir, ain't never wrong.
Note, this is not intended to be offensive to African-Americans, other descendants of slaves, or even to descendants of slave-holders. It is intended to shine a slightly different light on the PP's apparently boundless arrogance, self-satisfaction, and seemingly non-existent interest in inspiring mere Muggles to greatness or even marginal contribution.
I thought that our signals already atrophy into white noise after a few light-years. So far as I can tell, the only noticeable, durable transmissions we've sent so far are the Pioneer 10 and 11 and the Voyager 1 and 2 probes, which haven't even really left the solar system yet. Somehow, I think the odds of another civilization finding one of them by accident are (no pun intended) astronomically low. The finders would probably have to intercept them quite deliberately.
I realize, of course, that you were replying sarcastically to the summary editorial.
I'm extremely wary of this and rather unconvinced that it's even necessary. There are already two GiTS movies. They were both really cool. The pacing on Innocence was very different from GiTS, but the slower pace gives the artists space. The whole thing is really a wheels-within-wheels plot, as another poster has said. Hollywood will either make it quickly and shoddily or take six years (like they did bringing A Scanner Darkly to the screen).
But to answer your question, I see it as a police/geopolitical thriller with heavy cyberpunk and philosophical overtones. I can also see how you would get that feeling. Just looking at the way the movies run (I own both and catch GiTS on TV when I can), the plots do tend toward the late revelation which suddenly pulls everything together (and times turns everything sideways at the same time).
This is slightly off-topic, Ray, but did you intend for the filename of your blog entry to be a double entrende or did BlogSpot just randomly generate it?
I feel for you, sir. I didn't realize that the identification, solicitation, and implemenation of server requirements had become a kind of unintentional, collaborative modern art. One question remains: is the propeller situated to push, pull, or hover the pony?
Slashdot Mirror
That's impossible! Everyone knows that no one lives in Wyoming. The population is bovine, all the way down.
I'm happy to oblige.
In other news, the cows have filed charged Louis Vuitton with Mass Moo-der as well as filing a Motion for Summary Judgemoont against the plaintiffs.
Clearly, I'm not enough of a geek. All I did was get a little misty-eyed when they showed the Castle and Pirate sets. Those were my favorites.
Irony: In a post making a claim discussing historical sources and their reliability, you don't cite any sources.
I'm surprised that the lameness filter does not filter for repeated mentions of itself. Is it a bug, or a feature, I wonder?
Please, since I am obviously such an contemptible ignoramus, how does a geek dress? I'd like to know so that when next I see one, I will recognize the moment for the privilege it will certainly be.
But seriously, have you ever picked up a pygmy goat? It's not all that hard, unless the goat in question is a pregnant nanny or in a bad mood. I don't know what kind of stock this rancher keeps, but if they're small, one might make off with a few head armed only with rope, cojones, wirecutters, and the back of a pickup truck or SUV. The animal might gnaw or crap on the inside of the SUV, but that's the price of crime.
Positing a group of people, some of whom want to steal larger livestock but none of whom brought a stock trailer, there is still the option of invading the property, overpowering the rancher and his help and then stealing both his stock and his trailer at the same time. A commercial rancher almost certain to have a least one workable trailer. It's very risky, but not completely inconceivable.
I agree. If I were a property owner (particularly with livestock) and suddenly a bunch of folks with GPS units showed up on my land and headed for a specific spot without so much as a 'by your leave' or 'Hi, we're here to do X. We'll do X quickly and be gone,' I'd be suspicious as well and likely to reach for the biggest gun I own. The geohashers could just as easily have been livestock rustlers.
I like XKCD as much as the next geek, but if they do this sort of thing without due consideration for the people whose land they're traipsing over, they should, well, STOP.
How can there be citizenship issues? Doesn't Cthulhu predate the Earth? Clearly, a being outside of normal time should be grandfathered whenever and however necessary. In fact, to settle the issue, let's get some Cthulhu cultists down to the local INS or SSA office to perform an invocation. Once the clerks there are driven stark barking mad, they can issue him INS credentials and a SSN.
1) Perform invocation of the Great Old Ones
2) ???
3) Candidacy!
I think he's talking about returning fire, investigating a possible property trespass, or answering a known home invasion. It's the approach I have taken and would take. Then again, I'm from Texas.
More specifically, I am from that part of Central Texas known to itself as the Centroplex. I remember the Luby's Massacre of 1991 (which partially contributes to my nervousness about Luby's restaurants in particular and restaurants with glass facades in general). If, at the time, the patrons had been allowed to carry their guns on their persons instead of leaving them in their cars, George Hennard would not have been permitted to kill so many people.
Unfortunately, I don't think we can, at least where science fiction is concerned. It's probable that as a result of how Heroes, Lost, and Battlestar Galactica have been received and transmitted, companies will keep trying for "media convergence" whether they need it or not.
I sort of understand that approach when it comes to Lost, given that from the outset they did some fairly unusual stuff with presenting the chronology to actors and audience alike. It can be frustrating and off-putting, but it's also sui generis. Some phenomena (women and God, in particular) must be approached on their own terms or not at all. Heroes I also understand, since it's partially metafictional. Not giving us an online comic book to go along with a series where the contents of comic books are really important would be really dumb. Battlestar Galactica, however, I don't give a crap about. So they're all Cylons. Ok. What now? War over, humanity doomed? I found the "Last Supper" image full of clues confusing, tiresome, and apathy-reinforcing. I understand that the partial lettering on an old rusty door may later become important on Lost. However, BSG != Lost.
Perhaps it's the sound of the new and improved OLPC foundation blowing a raspberry in the face of logic and common sense.
When it comes to not being seen, isn't the key really not to be blown up while not being seen?
Interestingly, his arguments about a shepherd|flock dichotomy also don't hold true of congregationalist denominations with professional or semi-professional clergy. An ordained Baptist minister who's been called by a given congregation may (or may not) get some automatic respect at any or all the others but he is not by virtue of ordination automagically accorded any authority. Said minister might (and often does) have some halo-effect authority with members of other churches in the most local association, but beyond that, he's got exactly one vote, one voice, and no inalienable authority over anyone. If, by chance, the congregation decides he's no longer called to minister to them and he moves on to join another without being called to minister to it, he's once again a member of a church body and nothing more. Of course, I'm a lifelong Baptist, so I have no idea about the governance or jurisprudence of more hierarchical, apparently non-congregational denominations like the Methodists, Lutherans, Episcopalians, Presbyterians, etc.
My wife is a college professor. Her whole function is to shift the bell curve and to inspire students. She teaches Freshman-level English composition. Over time, her students' papers do indeed improve. I cannot say that all of them improve or that all of those who improve do so vastly. Nor can I say that all students welcome the opportunity to grow. Those who steadfastly refuse to learn are a source of great frustration. In that, you are quite correct. Some students simply lack the motivation, or the academic foundation, to make the broad forward leaps some hope they'll make.
My point, however, is that the students who won't learn - or aren't currently equipped to learn - are not the end of the story. If one accepts the idea that writing is formalized thinking, the students who improve become not only better writers, but potentially better thinkers and more likely to contribute. My wife's students do not all go into academia or the hard sciences, but it is not necessary that they do. Even if they themselves to do not contribute directly to the intellectual life of the species, they may gain just enough love of learning to inspire their children. Alternatively, they may learn later in life that they really ought to have paid attention and so require that level of commmitment from their own children.
(In the manner of a slave on a Southern plantation right before the beginning of the American Civil War) Oh yes, massa. Yah ain't nuthin but right, massa. Us is too dumb and ain't got no use for readin or book-learnin'. Yah jes' go on readin' yer big fancy books an' runnin' yer great big plantation. We ain't need no freedom anyhow. We jes' go on singin' our songs and picking our fingers ta the bone on this here cotton. We jes' simple. We jes' dumb. We nuthin' but slaves. You right, massa. You ain't never wrong, no sir, ain't never wrong.
Note, this is not intended to be offensive to African-Americans, other descendants of slaves, or even to descendants of slave-holders. It is intended to shine a slightly different light on the PP's apparently boundless arrogance, self-satisfaction, and seemingly non-existent interest in inspiring mere Muggles to greatness or even marginal contribution.
The BBC reported them as cloned Labrador Retrievers, rather than cloned Golden Retrievers.
I thought that our signals already atrophy into white noise after a few light-years. So far as I can tell, the only noticeable, durable transmissions we've sent so far are the Pioneer 10 and 11 and the Voyager 1 and 2 probes, which haven't even really left the solar system yet. Somehow, I think the odds of another civilization finding one of them by accident are (no pun intended) astronomically low. The finders would probably have to intercept them quite deliberately.
I realize, of course, that you were replying sarcastically to the summary editorial.
Ah. GiTS:SAC:SSS would be the one I've not yet seen. Thanks.
I'm extremely wary of this and rather unconvinced that it's even necessary. There are already two GiTS movies. They were both really cool. The pacing on Innocence was very different from GiTS, but the slower pace gives the artists space. The whole thing is really a wheels-within-wheels plot, as another poster has said. Hollywood will either make it quickly and shoddily or take six years (like they did bringing A Scanner Darkly to the screen).
But to answer your question, I see it as a police/geopolitical thriller with heavy cyberpunk and philosophical overtones. I can also see how you would get that feeling. Just looking at the way the movies run (I own both and catch GiTS on TV when I can), the plots do tend toward the late revelation which suddenly pulls everything together (and times turns everything sideways at the same time).
My mistake. I operate on the assumption that ridiculous requirements come from managers.
"blades of the propeller to be make of red, yellow and blue sparkly stuff"
Ah, so the server will be a muted pro-Tibetan protest statement? Amazing the uses that managers can find for things, isn't it?
If only we could discipline managers by confining them to corners if they behave unreasonably.
This is slightly off-topic, Ray, but did you intend for the filename of your blog entry to be a double entrende or did BlogSpot just randomly generate it?
I feel for you, sir. I didn't realize that the identification, solicitation, and implemenation of server requirements had become a kind of unintentional, collaborative modern art. One question remains: is the propeller situated to push, pull, or hover the pony?
Congratulations, you've just invented the gyrocamel. Alternately, the gyrafozebramel.