Unless you've been through the struggle of working through these issues, I wouldn't casually toss out the recommendation of adoption. That's a slap in the face to those who want a child of their own flesh and blood more than anything.
Not to say that adoption is a bad thing at all - but that the majority of folks who can have kids easily never face that prospect. When science makes advances that allow more people to have their own babies, it's obviously the more preferred choice for those who could use it.
Cloning has the potential to really help some couples with fertility issues - it's too bad that the popular discussion of cloning has obscured that point. Certainly nuts like these Raelians don't help matters much!
Or what about the old Adventure series on cassette tape? You'd start the tape, then go have dinner waiting for the game to load!
Re:What a maroon... what a ta-ra-ra-boom-deeyay!
on
David Brin On LOTR
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· Score: 1, Flamebait
a good guess, but actually a Bugs Bunny quotation!
What a maroon... what a ta-ra-ra-boom-deeyay!
on
David Brin On LOTR
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· Score: 3, Insightful
This guy simply had too much space to fill.
1. Of course this is a backward-looking tale - it was modeled after ancient Scandinavian mythologies. 2. It's also about a world in transition, and the dawn of Man's dominance, so in that sense it is forward-looking. 3. Is anybody else sick to death of comparisons with Star Wars? Puh-lease... 4. And while we're at it, is anybode else EXTRA sick of drawn out analogies to the real geopolitical world of the 20th century? Too many bozos waste too much time trying to play matchup in a self-congratulatory exercise.
"let's see, Thorin Oakenshield's reestablishment of the Kingdom Under the Mountain is really a metaphor for the Palestinian's struggle against Israel..."
The question is, will existing digital equipment handle content that's protected in this manner? Or will it be like the case with my Jornada, for which there are basically no decent eBooks available, since it preceded the version of Windows CE that had built-in protections like this...
In the article, it states that Lycos isn't being paid for this - sure, that's probably because this is a trial of the idea, but going forward this is a pretty cheap way to get the word out...
On a loading dock??? They'd have to do a LOT of work to ensure that it could survive the abuse that your typical dock worker would put these babies through. Current handheld scanners or truck-mounted displays do a fine job of meeting those needs already.
While there are some niche applications that could prove useful, I think this is a case of Microsoft trying desperately to find the Next Big Thing. The desktop/laptop industry is maturing, and with that comes a potential threat to the continued insane levels of profit coming from the Windows & Office products.
The key words there are "typefaces which are supposed to be..."
One of the great things about Nethack is how much is left to your own imagination. The experience is somewhat akin to listening to a baseball game on the radio, which can often be a richer experience than watching it on TV. Gameplay, content, and humor make Nethack quite simply the best computer game I've ever played, period.
How many other games can you come back to years later and still find them entertaining?
I recall going to GenCon back in the mid- to late-80's and playing a great game called MidiMaze on a daisy chain of Atari computers. Each player was a happy face that rolled around through a maze and it was your basic fragfest, with up to 20 people at a time gathered around the ring.
*sob* You just brought back memories of my first home computer, the old Atari 400 with the keyboard pad and single cartridge slot. Back then, it cost $200 to go from 8K to 16K!
Understand that you need to make it possible for the client to change their mind half-way through
That's a fantastic point - all too often when a Project Manager rises from the technical ranks, they don't understand the changing needs of business. After all, the whole point of a project is to meet a business need, not just deliver exactly what was specified at the beginning of the venture. I'm currently dealing with a PM who is a former programmer, and she looks at the project plan as a rigid structure (i.e., if one tasks slips by a day, the whole project slips by a day). The best project managers combine an in-depth understanding of the business with rock-solid organizational skills, and a heap o' "people skills" to boot, which is required to bring a variety of interests together to accomplish a larger goal.
Paper, pencils, crayons for those dazzling multi-color pie charts, in/out trays, and paper clips. No licensing fees, no support needs, no viruses. What could be better?
One big factor as to why companies don't pay dividends has to do with income tax. Wealthy stockholders who have substantial non-401K or IRA accounts don't like receiving dividends, because they have to pay income tax immediately on them, as opposed to selling an asset at a higher price later on and paying the lower capital gains tax.
Yes, it's stupid in the long run, but in the short term, it's basically a fool's market - you'd be surprised just how many companies don't pay dividends now, and don't plan no paying them in the forseeable future (read: most tech stocks).
Perhaps if you want to stay shuttered away in a corner responding to requests slipped under the door, that's the way to go.
For myself, I greatly appreciated the manager who brought me along to meet with higher-ups as we headed into major projects, both to be exposed to their concerns as well as to offer insight that headed off "snipe hunts" early on. Many geeks who bitch about management are in the same boat as non-voters who bitch about Bush winning the election. If you actually have an opinion, be open to getting involved and make a difference!
Let's have some perspective - points 1-8 are so minor, that if those are main complaints of a book-to-movie translation, then I think Peter Jackson has triumphed mightily. I mean come on, you're pissed that they omitted Glorfindel?
That said, I agree that the council of Elrond could have been handled a little better. Explaining Boromir's vision would have both established him better as a character (his name isn't even mentioned until they're well out of Rivendell) as well has helped develop Aragorn's storyline.
As for showing Sauron... a big mistake, I think. Yes, an audience needs to have a valid enemy... but if done right, an unseen one would be even more threatening and disturbing. Perhaps PJ wasn't quite brave enough to attempt it.
On the contrary, Sauron's fleeting appearance on screen was one of the true highlights of the movie for me - really just a glimpse of Jackson's vision of the Dark Lord, substantial enough to terrify, but brief enough to still leave much to the imagination. The scene where Isildur cuts the ring from Sauron's hand is essential to telling the story of the ring - how is he supposed to do that without showing Sauron in battle???
I can't recall the game, but way back in the days of yore there was a game for the TRS-80 that created sound effects via a radio that you'd set up near the box. Anybody else recall classics like that?
I've experienced both extremes in my last two long-term positions. At the first IS shop, the crew did all sorts of things together - 5:00 p.m. Friday "tech meetings" across the street at the bar, softball leagues, even an evening out together for a big dinner and Detroit Red Wings game (about 30 of us).
Flash forward to my current shop, where our manager tried in vain more than once to put together some kind of social outing - even a simple departmental lunch. He was met with responses like, "if I don't have to be at work, I've got better things to do at home," and "I just don't like to go out much." Now, these weren't 60+ hour a week, stressed-out folks; we had a regular work week, and they just preferred to stay isolated in their cubes rather than actually interact with other people. They were nice enough people, but yeesh, that's where stereotypes come from...
I too, cut my teeth on HP3000's - first as an operator then later as an ad-hoc sysadmin and programmer. We had a nice washer n' dryer set (a 955 and a 947), and when we had temporary need for extra disk space, we brought in these Eagle drives that were about as big as a 32" TV, and would move around the computer room on their casters due to the vibrations within the case.
My eventual migration to an AS/400 environment has been a painful one - MPE is wonderfully straightforward and functional. It (along with Powerhouse, Suprtool, and other fine tools) will be missed!
Good point - I remember seeing Clan of the Cave Bear in high school, and the teacher had to run from the back of the auditorium to stop the VCR and fast-forward past bits that would have gotten him fired...
When you're roping in millions of dollars from investors and spending millions more to promote these films to specifically targetted demographic groups, they hardly qualify as hallowed works of art. First and foremost, they are business ventures - artistic vision is allowed only within the scope of that mindset.
Anybody is free to make NC-17 films, they just shouldn't be surprised that major theatres don't consider them worthwhile. Let them send their films to the art houses and indie theaters instead, if they want them shown that badly. If they prove to be a hit, the major theaters will follow.
The way I see it, this technology will allow films to be seen that otherwise would not have been, with the only cost being the snipping of some "naughty bits." Who cares?
Easier? Hardly. Far easier for the parent to rent a DVD, pop it in at PG or PG-13 setting, and let the service do the trick. Pre-screening and editing would take forever!
Slashdot Mirror
Not to say that adoption is a bad thing at all - but that the majority of folks who can have kids easily never face that prospect. When science makes advances that allow more people to have their own babies, it's obviously the more preferred choice for those who could use it.
Cloning has the potential to really help some couples with fertility issues - it's too bad that the popular discussion of cloning has obscured that point. Certainly nuts like these Raelians don't help matters much!
Or what about the old Adventure series on cassette tape? You'd start the tape, then go have dinner waiting for the game to load!
a good guess, but actually a Bugs Bunny quotation!
1. Of course this is a backward-looking tale - it was modeled after ancient Scandinavian mythologies.
2. It's also about a world in transition, and the dawn of Man's dominance, so in that sense it is forward-looking.
3. Is anybody else sick to death of comparisons with Star Wars? Puh-lease...
4. And while we're at it, is anybode else EXTRA sick of drawn out analogies to the real geopolitical world of the 20th century? Too many bozos waste too much time trying to play matchup in a self-congratulatory exercise.
"let's see, Thorin Oakenshield's reestablishment of the Kingdom Under the Mountain is really a metaphor for the Palestinian's struggle against Israel..."
In the article, it states that Lycos isn't being paid for this - sure, that's probably because this is a trial of the idea, but going forward this is a pretty cheap way to get the word out...
While there are some niche applications that could prove useful, I think this is a case of Microsoft trying desperately to find the Next Big Thing. The desktop/laptop industry is maturing, and with that comes a potential threat to the continued insane levels of profit coming from the Windows & Office products.
One of the great things about Nethack is how much is left to your own imagination. The experience is somewhat akin to listening to a baseball game on the radio, which can often be a richer experience than watching it on TV. Gameplay, content, and humor make Nethack quite simply the best computer game I've ever played, period.
How many other games can you come back to years later and still find them entertaining?
The only difference now is the splatter factor!
*sob* You just brought back memories of my first home computer, the old Atari 400 with the keyboard pad and single cartridge slot. Back then, it cost $200 to go from 8K to 16K!
That's a fantastic point - all too often when a Project Manager rises from the technical ranks, they don't understand the changing needs of business. After all, the whole point of a project is to meet a business need, not just deliver exactly what was specified at the beginning of the venture. I'm currently dealing with a PM who is a former programmer, and she looks at the project plan as a rigid structure (i.e., if one tasks slips by a day, the whole project slips by a day). The best project managers combine an in-depth understanding of the business with rock-solid organizational skills, and a heap o' "people skills" to boot, which is required to bring a variety of interests together to accomplish a larger goal.
Paper, pencils, crayons for those dazzling multi-color pie charts, in/out trays, and paper clips. No licensing fees, no support needs, no viruses. What could be better?
Yes, it's stupid in the long run, but in the short term, it's basically a fool's market - you'd be surprised just how many companies don't pay dividends now, and don't plan no paying them in the forseeable future (read: most tech stocks).
Just stupid enough to misspell "about", as well get hooked by an obvious April Fools ruse...
For myself, I greatly appreciated the manager who brought me along to meet with higher-ups as we headed into major projects, both to be exposed to their concerns as well as to offer insight that headed off "snipe hunts" early on. Many geeks who bitch about management are in the same boat as non-voters who bitch about Bush winning the election. If you actually have an opinion, be open to getting involved and make a difference!
That said, I agree that the council of Elrond could have been handled a little better. Explaining Boromir's vision would have both established him better as a character (his name isn't even mentioned until they're well out of Rivendell) as well has helped develop Aragorn's storyline.
On the contrary, Sauron's fleeting appearance on screen was one of the true highlights of the movie for me - really just a glimpse of Jackson's vision of the Dark Lord, substantial enough to terrify, but brief enough to still leave much to the imagination. The scene where Isildur cuts the ring from Sauron's hand is essential to telling the story of the ring - how is he supposed to do that without showing Sauron in battle???
I can't recall the game, but way back in the days of yore there was a game for the TRS-80 that created sound effects via a radio that you'd set up near the box. Anybody else recall classics like that?
From KITT to GM's On-Star service, who'da thunk that Knight Rider was so visionary???
Flash forward to my current shop, where our manager tried in vain more than once to put together some kind of social outing - even a simple departmental lunch. He was met with responses like, "if I don't have to be at work, I've got better things to do at home," and "I just don't like to go out much." Now, these weren't 60+ hour a week, stressed-out folks; we had a regular work week, and they just preferred to stay isolated in their cubes rather than actually interact with other people. They were nice enough people, but yeesh, that's where stereotypes come from...
My eventual migration to an AS/400 environment has been a painful one - MPE is wonderfully straightforward and functional. It (along with Powerhouse, Suprtool, and other fine tools) will be missed!
Good point - I remember seeing Clan of the Cave Bear in high school, and the teacher had to run from the back of the auditorium to stop the VCR and fast-forward past bits that would have gotten him fired...
Anybody is free to make NC-17 films, they just shouldn't be surprised that major theatres don't consider them worthwhile. Let them send their films to the art houses and indie theaters instead, if they want them shown that badly. If they prove to be a hit, the major theaters will follow.
The way I see it, this technology will allow films to be seen that otherwise would not have been, with the only cost being the snipping of some "naughty bits." Who cares?
Easier? Hardly. Far easier for the parent to rent a DVD, pop it in at PG or PG-13 setting, and let the service do the trick. Pre-screening and editing would take forever!