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User: bigjarom

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  1. Arthur C. Clarke introduced me to space elevators on Report: Space Elevators Are Feasible · · Score: 5, Informative

    For anyone interested in the concept of the space elevator, The Fountains of Paradise (1979 Novel) by Arthur C. Clarke, is a must-read!
    It's a very well-written novel that focuses on many of the technical aspects of building a space elevator.

  2. More Yahoo nonsense on David Pogue and Yahoo's "Normals" Problem · · Score: 4, Insightful

    I actually got mad while following live tweets of Pogue's talk. But then I thought, "Well, this is going to fail in few months anyway," so then I felt better.

  3. Why such an odd number? on Mars One Selects Second Round Candidate Astronauts · · Score: 2

    Why not a nice round number like 1024?

  4. WIRED on Ask Slashdot: What Magazines Do You Still Read? · · Score: 2

    I still have a subscription to the physical version of Wired, and the content is top-notch - when I do read it; but I usually don't read it in that format. It's all online, and sitting down with a magazine is just not something I ever think to do anymore. I will very likely not renew.

  5. Re:I'm not even a fan, but on Orson Scott Card's Superman Story Shelved After Homophobia Controversy · · Score: 1

    Yeah, that's why I said "most." I wholeheartedly agree that Empire was right-wing nonsense.

  6. Re:I'm not even a fan, but on Orson Scott Card's Superman Story Shelved After Homophobia Controversy · · Score: 1

    Let me clarify a bit. I was raised in a very conservative Mormon home. I am very the opposite of that now. So I may be judging him through a different lens than some people. As far as 20 books: I've the whole Ender series, the whole Alvin Maker series, About half of the Homecoming series, and 4 or five others.

  7. Re:I'm not even a fan, but on Orson Scott Card's Superman Story Shelved After Homophobia Controversy · · Score: 5, Informative

    Agreed that he's overrated in general, but the original Ender novel is excellent. That being said, I have read about 20 of his books, and a funny thing is that Card's personal view are not at all evident in most of his books. I know he's a Mormon and everything, but the characters and situations in his stories often convey a very progressive and rational outlook on the universe.

  8. Re:I'm also looking for somewhere new on Ask Slashdot: What's the Best Place To Relocate? · · Score: 1

    Yeah, that's very similar to Tempe, AZ which is actually where I live. The ASU folks are fine, it's everyone else in in the greater Phoenix metro area that are the problem.

  9. Re:I'm also looking for somewhere new on Ask Slashdot: What's the Best Place To Relocate? · · Score: 1

    I lived in Calgary for 15 years. I know it's not the coldest place in the world, but it's too cold for me.

  10. I'm also looking for somewhere new on Ask Slashdot: What's the Best Place To Relocate? · · Score: 1

    I relocated from Calgary, Canada to Phoenix, Arizona about 5 years ago almost entirely for the AZ weather, which I love. I absolutely can't stand the backward politics and social attitudes here though. I too am looking for possible alternatives in the future. I would like to find somewhere with consistently warm weather, progressive social and political attitudes, and reasonable immigration policies for a Data Analyst with a Master's degree. Does such a place exist?

  11. NES vs. Sega Genesis on How Much Detail Is Too Much For Games? · · Score: 5, Funny

    I used to use this exact same argument to tell my friend why his 16-bit Sega Genesis was worse than my 8-bit NES. Really I was just jealous.

  12. ~5 years late on Canadians To Get Unbundled Cable TV Channels · · Score: 4, Insightful

    This is great, but it has become a moot point for myself and others who have long since abandoned cable television.

  13. Re:stopped using it? on Why Microsoft Killed the Windows Start Button · · Score: 1

    The ribbon was absolutely awful in 2007, especially for power users. With Office 2010 we could finally customize it, so instead of awful it became annoying but usable once thoroughly configured.

  14. Re:I Wonder If They'll Check White People on Arizona H-1B Workers Advised to Carry Papers At All Times · · Score: 5, Insightful

    I'm a caucasian Canadian citizen living in Arizona on TN-status as a Management Consultant, and I have a valid Arizona driver's license. I doubt that I will be randomly asked for my immigration papers. I somehow don't think that I'm the reason Jan Brewer, Joe Arpaio and company came up with this law.

  15. Rejection letter on Now's Your Chance To Apply As an Astronaut · · Score: 5, Informative

    My brother, who is in medical school, and had no real qualifications, applied to Virgin Galactic's Astronat position a few months ago. Here's their responce:

    Dear [name]
    Thank you very much for your interest and application for the first
    Virgin Galactic Pilot-Astronaut positions.
    Despite the very demanding qualifications, we had over 500
    applications, the vast majority from very well qualified and experienced
    test pilots. As you can imagine, filtering down such a large pool of
    talent and having to leave out many highly respected test pilots, as
    well as a few flown astronauts, was an extremely difficult task.
    We were able to invite just eight of this group forward to the next
    stage of the process and I regret to inform you that we were unable to
    include you. We appreciate that this may be a major disappointment but
    it is no exaggeration to say that we received a great deal of interest
    from some of the world’s very best and highest qualified pilots.
    Thank you for your application and interest in Virgin Galactic and we
    wish you the very best in your future career.
    With regards,
    Virgin Galactic Careers

  16. What is the goal? on Ask Slashdot: How Do You View the Wall Street Protests? · · Score: 4, Insightful

    These protests lack a specific and/or measurable goal. It's really difficult to reach a goal that you haven't set. I agree with most of the rhetoric being brandied about, but the lack of focus could be a deal breaker for the occupy movement.

  17. Why aren't they deleted yet? on Hijacked Fox News Twitter Account Falsely Claims Obama Shot Dead · · Score: 4, Interesting

    I don't understand why these tweets have not yet been deleted 6-7 hours after they were posted. Does Fox News not know you can delete tweets?

  18. Paul-Barney? on Politics: Paul-Barney Bill Would Legalize Marijuana Federally · · Score: 3, Funny

    Shouldn't the heading read Paul-Frank? Or is Barney just that much more fun to say?

  19. Re:It's a problem for the "how to" crowd on Spammers Discover Kindle Self-Publishing · · Score: 1

    If you want to know how soap is made, allow me to recommend "Fight Club" by Chuck Palahniuk.

  20. NYT is being very short sighted on NY Times Asks Twitter To Shut Down Retweeting Feed · · Score: 1

    The NYT is backing itself into a corner, and is putting itself in a similar position as the RIAA. They are antagonizing their fans and readers. I just wonder how long it will be until they start suing people who regularly access their content through 'backdoor' means.

  21. Re:This sucks on NYTimes Unveils Online Subscription Plan · · Score: 1

    Ok I feel better. I only had to clear the NYT cookies to bypass this ridiculous system.

  22. This sucks on NYTimes Unveils Online Subscription Plan · · Score: 1

    I'm really upset about this. I love the NYT and it's my favorite general news source; but I simply can't justify paying that much. I guess us poor people who read a lot of news aren't in their target demographic.

  23. Re:Resist the urge! on Oxford Dictionary Considers Going Online Only · · Score: 1

    You know, for only $400 you can get the 'small type' edition.
    Check Amazon for "The Compact Edition of The Oxford English Dictionary"

  24. Re:you cannot jump 30-pages on Reading E-Books Takes Longer Than Reading Paper Books · · Score: 2, Insightful

    I am a voracious reader. I've been using a program called Palm Reader on various Palm OS devices for 5 or 6 years, for nearly all my reading needs. I can read books on my PDA way faster than a paper book, probably because I'm so accustomed to it. The only thing it's not good for is heavily annotated books like War and Peace (which I am reading right now in paper form) with all the French-English translations in the footnotes.
    Reading on a small hand-held device (currently a Palm 755p) is far superior most of the time. It provides its own illumination for night reading, it's smaller and lighter than a book, and I can store hundreds (or more) of books on it at once. The only people it would be bad for are those with poor eyesight.
    As for where I get all my ebooks, that's a discussion for a different thread.

  25. This debate is Ridiculous! on Texas Approves Conservative Curriculum · · Score: 3, Insightful

    It doesn't matter which side wins in this debate in Texas. Either way young Texas children will still grow up with no idea how many provinces there are in Canada, what language they speak in Egypt, or who the president of France is.