Re: Gotta raise the BS flag on this one
From: G. D. Akin [EMAIL PROTECTED] As most of you know, I've been catching up on what you have all raved about, Babylon 5. I kept everyone up to date with an almost episode by episode commentary on season 1 and, as you told me, season 2 is even better. I have the season finale to watch later today (then a wait until next month for season 3 to come out.) What did you think of Confessions and Lamentations? That's probably my favorite ep of the season. Season 2, while it took me awhile to get used to Sheridan (I liked Sinclcair), has gripped me from episode 1. However, last night I watched Comes the Inquisitor. I watched in astonishment as this horrible, pointless episode trudged through the torture of Ambassador Delenn at the hand of a sadist who was ostensibley there to see if the Vorlons could trust her. BS flag is about halfway up the staff now and ascending rapidly. I was initially pretty turned off, too, when I first watched this episode. But on further viewings, and reading what JMS had to say, it's obvious that there's a lot more going on and being said here than what I picked up on my initial viewing. Check out http://www.midwinter.com/lurk/countries/us/guide/043.html for extnsive analysis and commentary by JMS on this episode. The Vorlons are portrayed as almost omniscinet and omnipotent, as well as almost non-knowable and non-understandable. And they have to resort to this! I don't think the Vorlons were portrayed as almost omniscient. Kosh was certainly fooled by his attempted murderer in the series pilot. They are incredibly advanced and powerful, but not omniscient or omnipotent. Future episodes will also bear this out. As to why they'd use the Inquisitor over some sci-fi plot device - the point was to put her *motives* and determination to the test. They wanted to know *why* she was doing this - were her personal motivations the correct ones? Could there have been some nicer way or hi-tech way to so this? Perhaps, but maybe the fact that they didn't choose such a way says something about the Vorlons... Some comments from JMS on this point (collected and rearranged from the link above): The pain is necessary because it's easy to consider laying down one's life intellectually; when the pain and the agony bring it home, it's no longer as easy. And there *is* no correct answer to Who are you? The only real answer is no answer, because as soon as you apply someone's term for it, you have limited yourself, defined yourself in someone else's terms. Doing things in a refined, gentle, intellectual manner is the sort of thing Delenn's used to, she can handle that easily...the goal of Sebastian was to try and *break* her. That's not intended to be done gently. You don't break someone over a cup of tea discussing philosophical concepts and the nature of personal identity. It's also not terribly dramatic to watch. Because of her position, rank and authority, she expected to be treated a certain way...which was why it was important to treat her just the opposite. It's easy to put oneself into a grand prophecy, to assume one has a destiny...to pay the price for that is something else again. Anyone can do the former; very few can ever do the latter. Sacrificing oneself happens frequently...but for just one other person, AND in a situation where no one else would ever know about it. Bear in mind that he wasn't testing people randomly; only those who felt that they were chosen of god, fulfillers of prophecy...people who assumed that they were part of some grand scheme, and thus to whom an anonymous death is an intolerable thought. Also, most probably never *got* that far, unable to stand the real pain of being placed in this position. Everybody can talk the talk; very few can walk the walk. Most probably just yanked off the bracelets and split, on the theory that they weren't being sufficiently coddled or glorified...or because being a potential prophet isn't as much fun as they'd thought. Will: thanks, and you're quite right; it does say something about the Vorlons that they'd use Jack for this purpose. Now we just have to further define what that is. It's pretty clear, to lots of folks, that the test was in some ways (most, actually) more for Delenn's benefit than Kosh's...lots of folks got this...and then others have said, Well, if that's what he meant, why didn't he just have one of them come out and SAY this, say what was learned or that this was for THEIR benefit? So frankly, whether one comes out and says something, or does not come out and say something, someone on one side or the other is going to give you a hard time about it. Then at the end we find out that Scotland Yard wasn't inept, Jack the Ripper was absconded by the Vorlons for thier inscrutable reasons. What has this to do with the Coming Darkness? Where did finding out his fate fit into the grand scheme of things? Please don't tell me he plays an important role
comic truisism
http://www.somethingpositive.net/sp05242003.html it a comic with some supprting txt... Religious bondage shackles and debilitates the mind and unfits it for every noble enterprise, every expanded project. - James Madison ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
Re: Gotta raise the BS flag on this one
Bryon Daly painstakingly wrote why I am wrong about this episode ;-) From: G. D. Akin [EMAIL PROTECTED] As most of you know, I've been catching up on what you have all raved about, Babylon 5. I kept everyone up to date with an almost episode by episode commentary on season 1 and, as you told me, season 2 is even better. I have the season finale to watch later today (then a wait until next month for season 3 to come out.) What did you think of Confessions and Lamentations? That's probably my favorite ep of the season. Good episode but my I'd be hard pressed to pick A favorite. If you force me to choose, its a tie between The Coming of Shadows and In the Shadow of Z'Ha'Dum. Season 2, while it took me awhile to get used to Sheridan (I liked Sinclcair), has gripped me from episode 1. However, last night I watched Comes the Inquisitor. I watched in astonishment as this horrible, pointless episode trudged through the torture of Ambassador Delenn at the hand of a sadist who was ostensibley there to see if the Vorlons could trust her. BS flag is about halfway up the staff now and ascending rapidly. I was initially pretty turned off, too, when I first watched this episode. But on further viewings, and reading what JMS had to say, it's obvious that there's a lot more going on and being said here than what I picked up on my initial viewing. Check out http://www.midwinter.com/lurk/countries/us/guide/043.html for extnsive analysis and commentary by JMS on this episode. The Vorlons are portrayed as almost omniscinet and omnipotent, as well as almost non-knowable and non-understandable. And they have to resort to this! I don't think the Vorlons were portrayed as almost omniscient. Kosh was certainly fooled by his attempted murderer in the series pilot. They are incredibly advanced and powerful, but not omniscient or omnipotent. Future episodes will also bear this out. As to why they'd use the Inquisitor over some sci-fi plot device - the point was to put her *motives* and determination to the test. They wanted to know *why* she was doing this - were her personal motivations the correct ones? Could there have been some nicer way or hi-tech way to so this? Perhaps, but maybe the fact that they didn't choose such a way says something about the Vorlons... Some comments from JMS on this point (collected and rearranged from the link above): The pain is necessary because it's easy to consider laying down one's life intellectually; when the pain and the agony bring it home, it's no longer as easy. And there *is* no correct answer to Who are you? The only real answer is no answer, because as soon as you apply someone's term for it, you have limited yourself, defined yourself in someone else's terms. Doing things in a refined, gentle, intellectual manner is the sort of thing Delenn's used to, she can handle that easily...the goal of Sebastian was to try and *break* her. That's not intended to be done gently. You don't break someone over a cup of tea discussing philosophical concepts and the nature of personal identity. It's also not terribly dramatic to watch. Because of her position, rank and authority, she expected to be treated a certain way...which was why it was important to treat her just the opposite. It's easy to put oneself into a grand prophecy, to assume one has a destiny...to pay the price for that is something else again. Anyone can do the former; very few can ever do the latter. Sacrificing oneself happens frequently...but for just one other person, AND in a situation where no one else would ever know about it. Bear in mind that he wasn't testing people randomly; only those who felt that they were chosen of god, fulfillers of prophecy...people who assumed that they were part of some grand scheme, and thus to whom an anonymous death is an intolerable thought. Also, most probably never *got* that far, unable to stand the real pain of being placed in this position. Everybody can talk the talk; very few can walk the walk. Most probably just yanked off the bracelets and split, on the theory that they weren't being sufficiently coddled or glorified...or because being a potential prophet isn't as much fun as they'd thought. Will: thanks, and you're quite right; it does say something about the Vorlons that they'd use Jack for this purpose. Now we just have to further define what that is. It's pretty clear, to lots of folks, that the test was in some ways (most, actually) more for Delenn's benefit than Kosh's...lots of folks got this...and then others have said, Well, if that's what he meant, why didn't he just have one of them come out and SAY this, say what was learned or that this was for THEIR benefit? So frankly, whether one comes out and says something, or does not come out and say something, someone on one side or the other is going to give you a hard time about it. Then at the end we find out that
Revealed: food companies knew products were addictive
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2003/07/13/ nfood13.xml Revealed: food companies knew products were addictive By Robert Matthews, Science Correspondent (Filed: 13/07/2003) Multinational food companies have known for years of research that suggests many of their products trigger chemical reactions in the brain which lead people to overeat, The Telegraph can reveal. Scientists working for Nestle and Unilever have been quietly investigating how certain foods, such as chocolate biscuits, burgers and snacks, make people binge-eat, thereby fuelling obesity. The companies insist that there is no proof that the foods create bio-chemical reactions that make people eat too much. They are not yet prepared to issue consumer warnings or change the nature of the products. However, scientists working for the industry have said manufacturers fear they have created foods that undermine the body's abilities to control intake and are battling to find a solution. We have created a bio-chemical monster, one said. The revelation will be seized on by those who allege that the food industry has been reckless. More than 300 million people worldwide are now deemed clinically obese, with an estimated 2.5 million dying each year as a result of being overweight. In Britain, more than one in five adults is obese - triple the figure of 20 years ago. Earlier this year America's leading fast-food chains, including McDonald's and Burger King, were warned of possible legal action from obese people following research on mice and rats suggesting that fast food could trigger overeating. It is now clear that the industry has known for years of similar results from research on humans. One scientist who acts as a consultant to food manufacturers said: They are aware that they have been too successful in creating food that some people just can't say no to. It's an enormous problem. The overeating effect is thought to be triggered by opioids, chemicals which produce a desire to eat more while reducing the sated feeling that normally kills appetite. Research being studied by the industry shows that although the effect is only short-lived, it can have a dramatic effect on food intake. According to a recent review of 20 years of research by scientists at the University of Sussex, when release of opioids was blocked using drugs, intake among human volunteers fell by 21 per cent. The effect was even larger among obese people, whose intake fell by 33 per cent. Further research also suggests that the opioids effect is strongest with products that involve combinations of foods which are typically high in fat and carbohydrates. These combinations are routinely used to boost the so-called palatability of products, with chocolate being added to cereals and biscuits, cheese added to savoury snacks, and buns with a high sugar content being used for hamburgers and cheeseburgers. -- William T Goodall Mail : [EMAIL PROTECTED] Web : http://www.wtgab.demon.co.uk Blog : http://radio.weblogs.com/0111221/ The fact that an opinion has been widely held is no evidence whatever that it is not utterly absurd; indeed in view of the silliness of the majority of mankind, a widespread belief is more likely to be foolish than sensible. - Bertrand Russell ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
Re: Revealed: food companies knew products were addictive
From: William T Goodall [EMAIL PROTECTED] Revealed: food companies knew products were addictive By Robert Matthews, Science Correspondent (Filed: 13/07/2003) Multinational food companies have known for years of research that suggests many of their products trigger chemical reactions in the brain which lead people to overeat, The Telegraph can reveal. This research is fascinating. I remember reading the first relevant leads to this topic in Atkin's highly controversial Diet Revolution book. He also goes in extreme detail about the relationship between sugars and cravings, and the effects of mixing carbs and proteins in a meal, etc. When those first came out, it caused quite a stir! By the way, did I forget to say it's great to be back on the list? And my greetings to all of you. JJ _ The new MSN 8: smart spam protection and 2 months FREE* http://join.msn.com/?page=features/junkmail ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
Re: Gotta raise the BS flag on this one
[EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: Another ponderable is the fascination British sci-fi shows have with the Old West. I can't think of a BritSF show that didn't try an oater (The Gunfighters, Living in Harmony). Maybe Blakes 7 didn't; don't recall. Most of them are stinkers. The only decent one is Red Dwarf's Gunfighters of the Apocalypse. (Actually, not just British SF. Star Trek did the awful Specter of the Gun and TNG had yet ANOTHER Holodeck screw-up, although I don't remember the title.) A Fist Full of Datas, I think Julia ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
Re: Irregulars query: air pressure in spinning habitats
But I still wonder what the standard temperature is? What is the lapse rate? How much does temperature drop per kilometer of increased altitude? How much does dew point drop? Those questions are well beyond my calculation abilities. If you are interested in doing a simulation, I'd be willing to work with you, Is a simulation necessary? I am not a physicist, but I thought that there is a standard formula for computing temperature and pressure according to a dry adiabatic lapse rate. That would be a formula for what happens when you reduce the press on a parcel of air adiabatically. How did the `standard atmosphere', which is a table of temperature and pressure, get defined? -- Robert J. Chassell Rattlesnake Enterprises http://www.rattlesnake.com GnuPG Key ID: 004B4AC8 http://www.teak.cc [EMAIL PROTECTED] ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
Re: Reading lists.
At 10:53 AM 7/12/03 -0500, Julia Thompson wrote: I read all the Killashandra books, Are there more than two? and I thought they were OK (then again, I read the first one in junior high and the second in high school, just to give you an idea of my *emotional* age when I most enjoyed them), but I don't go back to them. I read them and found the SF ideas interesting, but admittedly did not read them for the romance. --Ronn! :) I always knew that I would see the first man on the Moon. I never dreamed that I would see the last. --Dr. Jerry Pournelle ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
Re: Reading lists.
Ronn!Blankenship wrote: At 10:53 AM 7/12/03 -0500, Julia Thompson wrote: I read all the Killashandra books, Are there more than two? Three. Crystal Singer, Killashandra, Crystal Line. I think the publication dates were something like 1981, 1985 or so, 1992. and I thought they were OK (then again, I read the first one in junior high and the second in high school, just to give you an idea of my *emotional* age when I most enjoyed them), but I don't go back to them. I read them and found the SF ideas interesting, but admittedly did not read them for the romance. I liked the stuff with the crystal itself. All the interpersonal stuff holds little interest for me now, though, so I haven't been going back to them. (Pern has more complicated politics *shown* to the reader, which makes for more interesting reading.) You want more romance/adventure, a little less SF, try _Restoree_ by McCaffrey. If you're not interested in those, then skip it. :) Julia who wouldn't recommend the Power books co-authored with Elizabeth Ann Scarborough ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
Re: Reading lists.
Julia Thompson wrote: Julia who wouldn't recommend the Power books co-authored with Elizabeth Ann Scarborough Whoops, that one got out before I finished the thought. Should have been who wouldn't recommend the Power books co-authored with Elizabeth Ann Scarborough to this group in general Amazing what happens when you jump up from the computer to deal with a minor crisis, and then come back and don't realize until a fraction of a second after you hit send that you meant to add just a bit more Julia ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
Re: Reading lists.
I expect that I will keep repeating myself on this subject occasionally, until I get a reality check that will tell me if I am alone in believing John C Wright, author of The Golden Age and The Phoenix Exultant is the hottest new author since Brin hit the scene. When I first read Startide Rising I was struck and amazed by the alieness of his aliens. In Wrights books I am similarly struck by the alieness of his far future human descendents. Some of the territory has been previously covered by other writers, but Wright manages to make all things new and expands upon subjects with surprising insight. I don't usually research writers I've found, but Wright is a special case for me and the results of the search produced some interesting results. From an interview with John C Wright: http://www.sfsite.com/05a/jcw127.htm I went to St. John's College in Annapolis, which is the home of the Great Books program. There are no tests and no grades at that school, and no lecture classes. There is never a time when the student is not allowed to speak. There are no secondary texts; we do not read some blowhard second-guessing what the geniuses of history thought; we read the geniuses in the original. We read the Great Books of Western Literature in chronological order, from Homer and Aristotle, through Hobbes and Shakespeare, Newton and Pascal, to Freud and the Federalist Papers. By graduation, the student knows Greek and Latin grammar, logic, and rhetoric, geometry, astronomy, arithmetic, and music. I can tell you what such an education does for you. You are like a man with a memory in a land of amnesiacs. All the sophomoric ideas presently being preached from the pulpits of the pundits, all the clever policies of clever politicians: it has all been done before. All their errors were refuted long, long ago. Aristotle debunked Marx two thousand years before Marx put pen to paper. The Twentieth Century A.D. might have been spared a great deal of grief and bloodshed, had she remembered the Fifth Century B.C. And: First, it is pusillanimous to write of small things when one can write of great. The abyss of time holds wonders too large to fit inside one small world, or the narrow confines of one cramped century. Science Fiction is meant to tell us traveler's tales of places and aeons men cannot reach, but imagination can. Second, it was a challenge I saw too few authors these days attempting to face. If one is going to write about the future, it might as well be the farthest future that can be dreamed. I am a space opera writer. Perhaps I am the last of my kind. I like large themes, thunder, fury, and wonder. Why blow up a city when you can blow up a world? Why launch a starship one kilometer long, when you can launch a super-starship a thousand kilometers long? Why build space armor out of carbon-steel when you can built it out of adamantium? And here is the first chapter of The Golden Age: http://www.sff.net/people/john-c-wright/golden-age-chapter-one.html xponent Post-Singularity Adventure Maru rob ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
[LISTREF] Cell phone pix
For those who had any doubts. WARNING: Not Work Safe! http://www.phonebin.com/index.cfm xponent Nasty Rabbit Maru rob ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
Re: Reading lists.
I expect that I will keep repeating myself on this subject occasionally, until I get a reality check that will tell me if I am alone in believing John C Wright, author of The Golden Age and The Phoenix Exultant is the hottest new author since Brin hit the scene. I'm a big fan of Alastair Reynolds (Revelation Space, Chasm City, Redemption Ark) and Charles Stross. The Golden Age is okay, but didn't excite me as much as it obviously did to you. Tom Beck www.prydonians.org www.mercerjewishsingles.org I always knew I'd see the first man on the Moon. I never dreamed I'd see the last. - Dr Jerry Pournelle ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
Re: On the topic of atheism.
Robert Seeberger wrote: Uh.I'm asking a serious question here Doug. And to be perfectly honest, I would trust Erik to give a straightforward answer (if there actually is one) more than anyone else participating in this discussion. If the answer is Its never actually been done or Its not possible to perform such an experiment and get meaningful results it might change the discussion a little, but that has to be accepted. BTW, WTF an IPU? But mine is a serious question too. I know it sounds like I'm being sarcastic or flippant, but you seem to have been convinced at some point by something you consider factual or actual, and I'm curious as to what it was you found to be convincing. I would say that the burden of proof is on those who claim that something exists despite a complete absence of credible evidence. I would think that since a majority (at least it appears this way correct me if I'm wrong) of the world believes in some sort of deity and since 'deities have been a dominant meme throughout history, that the burden of proof falls on both sides equally. Why? Well, you aren't going to change 10,000+ years of Theism with sophistry, no matter how compelling, with out some proof of your own. Thats not exactly fair, and not really scientific, but it sure beats the hell out of yes it is/no it isn't type arguments repeated ad infinitum. Bungee Cord Type Argument Theists have 10 millenium long traditions that include miracles, supernatural events, avatars of deities, ascensions, holy books, holy men, prophesies.. ect yadda yadda yadda that reinforce theists belief (rightly or wrongly) Athiests have... lots of arguments Agnostics are unsure /Bungee Cord Type Argument When peole are looking at the world and trying to decide what to believe, what will they find convincing, something presented as an argument or something presented as history? Can you see where my question is coming from? Question for yourself and the rest of the believers on the list: If you believe in a god, why? What convinced you? 1 Why would you ask others to do something you are unwilling to do? 2 I stated my case earlier in the thread. But I don't know what to call my position. I can send you that post if you missed it. xponent May God Bless You Maru rob ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
Sources, Anyone? Memetics, etc...
Greetings from the warm Caribbean to all... I am currently developing essays with one of my students, for possible publication. I'm interested to know if any of our knowledgeable list members can point me in the right direction for information, resources, etc. on the following topics: 1. Memetics -memes -mind viruses 2. Robert Anton Wilson 3. Daniel Pinkwater 4. Theodore Sturgeon's More than human 5. Alejandro Jodorowsky I am in your tender mercies.. Thanks in advance. JJ _ Help STOP SPAM with the new MSN 8 and get 2 months FREE* http://join.msn.com/?page=features/junkmail ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
Re: Reading lists.
- Original Message - From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Sunday, July 13, 2003 2:30 PM Subject: Re: Reading lists. I expect that I will keep repeating myself on this subject occasionally, until I get a reality check that will tell me if I am alone in believing John C Wright, author of The Golden Age and The Phoenix Exultant is the hottest new author since Brin hit the scene. I'm a big fan of Alastair Reynolds (Revelation Space, Chasm City, Redemption Ark) and Charles Stross. I'm a big fan of Stross also. Reynolds is really good and I like his books alot, but I didn't find them as invigorating or original as Wright. The Golden Age is okay, but didn't excite me as much as it obviously did to you. Thanks for the honest opinion Tom! Not what I had hoped for obviously, but greatly appreciated in any case. Hey Nick! I would be greatly interested in a [Books] tag for the headers. Would this be worthwhile if there is some interest from others? I suspect it might bring more participation from the lurking set. xponent Questions And Answers Maru rob ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
Re: On the topic of atheism.
- Original Message - From: Doug Pensinger [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: Killer Bs Discussion [EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Sunday, July 13, 2003 2:47 PM Subject: Re: On the topic of atheism. Robert Seeberger wrote: Uh.I'm asking a serious question here Doug. And to be perfectly honest, I would trust Erik to give a straightforward answer (if there actually is one) more than anyone else participating in this discussion. If the answer is Its never actually been done or Its not possible to perform such an experiment and get meaningful results it might change the discussion a little, but that has to be accepted. BTW, WTF an IPU? But mine is a serious question too. OK! That's fair then. I urge everyone (who cares about the subject) to provide some sort of justification for their beliefs. I'm going to give this some thought. xponent Belief Maru rob ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
The limits of vision
http://architecture.mit.edu/house_n/web/resources/articles/lifeinthefuture/MIRACLES%20OF%20THE%20NEXT%20FIFTY%20YEARS.htm The year 200 as viewed from 1950 xponent Almost Maru rob ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
Re: Irregulars query: air pressure in spinning habitats
On Mon, Jul 07, 2003 at 06:49:35PM -0400, Robert J. Chassell wrote: But I still wonder what the standard temperature is? What is the lapse rate? How much does temperature drop per kilometer of increased altitude? How much does dew point drop? Those questions are well beyond my calculation abilities. If you are interested in doing a simulation, I'd be willing to work with you, Is a simulation necessary? As I said, I don't know how to calculate it from first principles, so I think it is. Of course, it is possible there is some clever way to calculate it that I don't know. I am not a physicist, but I thought that there is a standard formula for computing temperature and pressure according to a dry adiabatic lapse rate. But is it a phenomenological formula? I would think measurements were made of the lapse rate, and then a curve was fit to the data. That would be a formula for what happens when you reduce the press on a parcel of air adiabatically. How did the `standard atmosphere', which is a table of temperature and pressure, get defined? My guess is above. Where did you see the table? Didn't they give any references? -- Erik Reuter [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.erikreuter.net/ ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
Re: Reading lists.
--- Julia Thompson [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: Deborah Harrell wrote: --- Julia Thompson [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: Debbi, if you're following this thread, McCaffrey has written some non-SF stuff, some of it about women who ride horses. Try _Ring of Fear_ or _The Lady_, unless you absolutely can't stand romances. :) snip But *romance novels*?!! With heaving bosoms and manly pillars, straining bodices and breeches moulded to his calves? Not me! ;) grin Maybe I should have used looks innocently at the ceiling rather than ;) ... I _have_ read a few of those... There are novels that aren't like the formulated Harlequin romances, but are still romances rather than some other sort of novel. The formulaic ones found in the Romance Novels section, usually with way more pink on the cover than anyone should really want, hold no interest for me, but ones that are reasonable novels in their own right but have that romantic slant to them are OK at times. (At times.) serious I do enjoy historical romances that are well-researched, with an interesting story to tell (and not some jaded variation on poor girl-who-is-hated-by-all-other-women-because-she's-ravishingly-beautiful becomes governess/milkmaid/cook for rich man, and then they fall into/on the bed/hay/table). But if the story doesn't have characters I care about, decent approximations of people with conflicting goals, warts and genuine humor, like you I have no interest in it. And don't get me started on the pink thing! ;) Debbi What If The Yellowstone Wolfpacks Were Group Sentients Maru __ Do you Yahoo!? SBC Yahoo! DSL - Now only $29.95 per month! http://sbc.yahoo.com ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
Re: On the topic of atheism.
--- Doug Pensinger [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: Deborah Harrell wrote: An Invisible Pink Unicorn. But this is a false impression, as The Unicorn Who Watches Over the World is *not* pink, but a silvery grey with 'blue roan'-type points. No its not! 8^) Is too!...INFINITY! grin It's fun to look back over your little created universelet [I suspect the majority of listmembers have made up their own worlds and wrote about them at some point in their lives], and see Oh, here I'd just read _Black Beauty_ -- and yep, that's _Just So Stories_... My own sentient-horse-world (oh, what a surprise!) began before first grade, and evolved from magic horses to ones who'd been genetically engineered (Andre Norton's _Breed To Come_, in sixth grade), and their 'angel-equivalent unicorns' became the 'leaders of the rebellion against the evil Controllers' - here the Tolkien influence rises, WRT inventing a language, a mythology etc. ... What fun! Debbi Pink Is Fine For Roses Maru __ Do you Yahoo!? SBC Yahoo! DSL - Now only $29.95 per month! http://sbc.yahoo.com ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
Re: On the topic of atheism.
--- Doug Pensinger [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: Deborah Harrell wrote: Yet we live in a marvelous world, with such a variety of living things: snow algae! snip and us...the singing apes. All of us made out of stardust. Frickin' *amazing*... I could have written almost everything you did in the above post, less the references to the divine. For myself it is not necessary to attach spirituality or numinous experiences to the notion of a god. smile Not *necessity,* rather 'organically grown out of.' It isn't that I *require* a god to have created the universe, but that I *experience* what I can only call Divinity. In case it wasn't clear, my notion of godhood - divinity has evolved and changed radically from what I grew up with: I started out as a bred-and-born Lutheran, found part of the doctrine of Christianity incompatible with what I learned in college (about people and what I consider 'fair just', not coursework or book-learning; IOW I never saw science and God as incompatible, but church doctrine and humankind 'did not compute' for me), and have been altering/refining/redefining my concept of the Divine ever since. And you didn't ask, but did I ever think of the possibility that there was no such Entity? Yes. In a nutshell, I quit experiencing the numinous for a time; then it resumed. Bottom line: my experience and concept of the Divine makes me strive to be a more understanding, kind and involved person. I frequently fail, but I do keep trying. wry That still doesn't answer your question, does it? Debbi __ Do you Yahoo!? SBC Yahoo! DSL - Now only $29.95 per month! http://sbc.yahoo.com ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
Re: On the topic of atheism.
--- Doug Pensinger [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: Deborah Harrell wrote: Yet we live in a marvelous world, with such a variety of living things: snow algae! snip and us...the singing apes. All of us made out of stardust. Frickin' *amazing*... I could have written almost everything you did in the above post, less the references to the divine. For myself it is not necessary to attach spirituality or numinous experiences to the notion of a god. smile Not *necessity,* rather 'organically grown out of.' It isn't that I *require* a god to have created the universe, but that I *experience* what I can only call Divinity. In case it wasn't clear, my notion of godhood - divinity has evolved and changed radically from what I grew up with: I started out as a bred-and-born Lutheran, found part of the doctrine of Christianity incompatible with what I learned in college (about people and what I consider 'fair just', not coursework or book-learning; IOW I never saw science and God as incompatible, but church doctrine and humankind 'did not compute' for me), and have been altering/refining/redefining my concept of the Divine ever since. And you didn't ask, but did I ever think of the possibility that there was no such Entity? Yes. In a nutshell, I quit experiencing the numinous for a time; then it resumed. Bottom line: my experience and concept of the Divine makes me strive to be a more understanding, kind and involved person. I frequently fail, but I do keep trying. wry That still doesn't answer your question, does it? Debbi __ Do you Yahoo!? SBC Yahoo! DSL - Now only $29.95 per month! http://sbc.yahoo.com ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
Palestinian survey
http://news.independent.co.uk/world/middle_east/story.jsp?story=424237 Mob attacks researchers who found few Palestinians want their old homes now in Israel By Eric Silver in Jerusalem 14 July 2003 A mob of about 100 Palestinian refugees stormed the office of a Ramallah polling organisation yesterday to stop it publishing a survey showing that five times as many refugees would prefer to settle permanently in a Palestinian state than return to their old homes in what is now Israel. The protesters pelted Khalil Shikaki, the director of the Palestinian Centre for Policy and Survey Research, with eggs, smashed computers and assaulted the nine staff members on duty. A female worker was treated in hospital for her injuries. This is a message for everyone not to tamper with our rights, one of the rioters said. Dr Shikaki, a leading West Bank political scientist, was undeterred. He said he was still putting the survey results on the centre's website and seeking the widest possible exposure. These people, he said, had no idea what the results were. They were sold disinformation. The poll, conducted among 4,500 refugees in the West Bank, Gaza Strip, Lebanon and Jordan, was the first to ask where they would want to live if Israel recognised a right of return. Only 10 per cent of the refugees chose Israel, even if they were allowed to live there with Palestinian citizenship; 54 per cent opted for the Palestinian state; 17 per cent for Jordan or Lebanon, and 2 per cent for other countries. Another 13 per cent rejected all these options, preferring to sit it out and wait for Israel to disappear, while 2 per cent didn't know. The future of more than three million refugees is critical to any lasting peace. It was one of the unresolved issues that caused the July 2000 Camp David summit to break down. The Palestinian militant groups Hamas and Islamic Jihad warned yesterday they would end a truce announced last month if the Palestinian Authority continued to try to disarm them. ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
Re: The limits of vision
--- Robert Seeberger [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: http://architecture.mit.edu/house_n/web/resources/articles/lifeinthefuture/MIRACLES%20OF%20THE%20NEXT%20FIFTY%20YEARS.htm The year 2000 as viewed from 1950 ...Tuberculosis in all of its forms is cured as easily as pneumonia was cured at mid-century Even in 1950 physicians did not know exactly how a piece of beefsteak is converted by the body into muscle and energythe process technically known as metabolism. The physician of 2000 knows just what diet is best for a patient. This knowledge, coupled with his knowledge of hormones, enables him to treat old age as a degenerative disease. Men and women of 70 in A.D. 2000 look as if they were 40... LOL Well, then they really did think that they'd figured out how to defeat microbes...but they forgot that *artificial selection* is even more potent than natural selection at forcing change. Cooking As An Artform Will Never Die Maru __ Do you Yahoo!? SBC Yahoo! DSL - Now only $29.95 per month! http://sbc.yahoo.com ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
Re: The limits of vision
At 03:15 PM 7/13/03 -0700, Deborah Harrell wrote: --- Robert Seeberger [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: http://architecture.mit.edu/house_n/web/resources/articles/lifeinthefuture/MIRACLES%20OF%20THE%20NEXT%20FIFTY%20YEARS.htm The year 2000 as viewed from 1950 ...Tuberculosis in all of its forms is cured as easily as pneumonia was cured at mid-century Even in 1950 physicians did not know exactly how a piece of beefsteak is converted by the body into muscle and energythe process technically known as metabolism. The physician of 2000 knows just what diet is best for a patient. This knowledge, coupled with his knowledge of hormones, enables him to treat old age as a degenerative disease. Men and women of 70 in A.D. 2000 look as if they were 40... LOL Well, then they really did think that they'd figured out how to defeat microbes...but they forgot that *artificial selection* is even more potent than natural selection at forcing change. Actually, I suspect that many of today's 70-year-olds are as healthy as the 40-year-olds who lived when the article was written. (If nothing else, recall that the reason the retirement age for Social Security was set at 65 was because at the time relatively few people would live long enough to draw any benefits . . . ) --Ronn! :) I always knew that I would see the first man on the Moon. I never dreamed that I would see the last. --Dr. Jerry Pournelle ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
Re: Irregulars query: air pressure in spinning habitats
On Sun, Jul 13, 2003 at 04:40:53PM -0400, Erik Reuter wrote: But is it a phenomenological formula? I would think measurements were made of the lapse rate, and then a curve was fit to the data. I did some reading and it seems things are both simpler and more complex than my question implied. Simpler, in that with the right assumptions a simple formula CAN be derived for the earth. More complex because this formula doesn't always hold true (although under normal atmospheric conditions in the troposphere, with very dry air, it is a fairly good approximation). Anyway, the basic assumption is that the atmosphere may be modeled by a rising, dry parcel of air adiabatically expanding, reducing in pressure, and cooling. As I mentioned, this is often valid in the troposphere. It is NOT valid in the stratosphere, where ozone absorbs solar radiation and actually causes RISING temperature with increasing altitude. The applicable thermodynamic formula for this assumption is the adiabatic law, p ^ ( 1 - gamma ) = c1 T ^ (-gamma) where gamma is the ratio of the specific heat of the atmosphere at constant pressure to the specific heat at constant volume, gamma = cp / cv. This value is experimentally determined to be about 1.4 for N2 and O2 (it is 1.7 for He and 1.3 for CO2) Differentiating the adiabatic law gives ( 1 - gamma ) p ^ ( 1 - gamma ) dp / p = - gamma c1 T ^ (-gamma) dT / T and substituting c1 into this equation from the adiabatic law and solving for dp / p gives dp / p = ( 1 / ( 1 - 1 / gamma ) ) dT / T For earth, I previously gave an approximate formula for pressure, p/p0 = exp[ -0.115 h ] which may be written p/p0 = exp[ - h / hc ] where hc is 8.7km by my calculation ( or 8.5km by curve fit to experimental data). Differentiating this gives dp / p0 = - ( dh / hc ) exp [ - h / hc ] = - ( dh / hc ) p/p0 and solving for dp / p results in dp / p = - ( dh / hc ) This may be combined with the previous equation for dp / p to obtain - ( dh / hc ) = ( 1 / ( 1 - 1 / gamma ) ) dT / T Solving this for dT / dh gives dT / dh = - ( 1 - 1 / gamma ) T / hc If we use gamma = 1.4 , hc = 8.5km, and T=300K, then dT / dh = 10.1 deg/km which approximately agrees with experimental data (the number is often quoted as 9.8 deg/km), when the conditions fit the assumptions (one of which is that the air must be dry, another is that the atmosphere doesn't absorb any heat from outside sources). For the 5km habitat, the math gets more complicated since the non-linear potential correction factor cannot be neglected above about h=2km. Also, are the assumptions used in the deriviation valid for the habitat? If the heat for the habitat all comes from the surface (i.e., the endcaps are well insulated and unheated), and the air is maintained with very low moisture, then this could be a reasonable assumption. -- Erik Reuter [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.erikreuter.net/ ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
[Listref] Family Planning
I had mentioned not-too-long-ago that ovulation is not as predictable as previously thought; here is the latest study to make it to the popular press: http://www.msnbc.com/news/936390.asp ...Apparently, measuring hormones in the blood is not enough to predict what a womans reproductive system is up to. The hormones do what they are going to do and the ovaries just follow their merry path, Pierson said. We always thought that menstrual cycles and ovarian cycles were one and the same. It turns out they are just like two political parties sometimes they go along hand in hand for the good of the country and sometimes they go along their separate ways. Piersons team plans longer-term studies to see if the womens patterns are consistent from month to month. We dont know whats causing it we dont know if it is the weather or exposure to men or grapefruit juice or what, Pierson said. So, someone might actually do a study on ovulation/relationships that I'd noted previously from anecdotal observations by myself and several medical collegues... Debbi __ Do you Yahoo!? SBC Yahoo! DSL - Now only $29.95 per month! http://sbc.yahoo.com ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
government and energy: Why America is Running Out of Gas
http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1101030721-464406,00.html Why America is Running Out of Gas Inflated oil prices and natural gas shortages are wiping out jobs and savings, thanks to three decades of bungled energy policy. Get ready for more bungling long ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
Gengineering a better rat trap
http://www.msnbc.com/news/937170.asp IN A STUDY appearing this week in the journal Science, researchers at Massachusetts Institute of Technology say they have engineered cells that are able to sense and identify bioweapons spread through the mails, air, or water. The system uses mouse B lymphocytes, or white blood cells, that have been engineered to contain a jellyfish gene for a luminescent protein and altered to carry antibodies that respond to specific diseases. When antibodies on the sensor cells detect a pathogen, such as anthrax, they trigger a burst of calcium within the B cells. Within seconds, the calcium activates the bioluminescent protein and causes the whole cell to glow. This is a signal that the specimen has a dangerous germ. The system would not require advanced training to operate, in contrast to current lab techniques that are performed by highly trained scientists or technicians. It is very simple to operate, said Todd H. Rider, an MIT researcher and first author of the study. The B cells do all the hard work. Nature has designed them to detect bacteria and viruses.... ...Rider said the system, developed with funding from the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, has been tested successfully against all of the known pathogens that can be used for bioweapons, including anthrax, smallpox, plague, tularemia and encephalitis... __ Do you Yahoo!? SBC Yahoo! DSL - Now only $29.95 per month! http://sbc.yahoo.com ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
Re: The limits of vision
--- Ronn!Blankenship [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: Deborah Harrell wrote: --- Robert Seeberger wrote: http://architecture.mit.edu/house_n/web/resources/articles/lifeinthefuture/MIRACLES%20OF%20THE%20NEXT%20FIFTY%20YEARS.htm The year 2000 as viewed from 1950 ...Tuberculosis in all of its forms is cured as easily as pneumonia was cured at mid-century Even in 1950 physicians did not know exactly how a piece of beefsteak is converted by the body into muscle and energythe process technically known as metabolism. The physician of 2000 knows just what diet is best for a patient. This knowledge, coupled with his knowledge of hormones, enables him to treat old age as a degenerative disease. Men and women of 70 in A.D. 2000 look as if they were 40... LOL Well, then they really did think that they'd figured out how to defeat microbes...but they forgot that *artificial selection* is even more potent than natural selection at forcing change. Actually, I suspect that many of today's 70-year-olds are as healthy as the 40-year-olds who lived when the article was written. I don't think there's a 30-year gap, but certainly we know how to take care of ourselves better now. If people quite smoking and wore sunscreen SPF 30+ when outdoors, they would sure _look_ better as well as be healthier too. (If nothing else, recall that the reason the retirement age for Social Security was set at 65 was because at the time relatively few people would live long enough to draw any benefits . . . ) I don't recall when Social Security was started... The 'average American' life expectancy in 1950 was ~68, higher for women and lower for blacks; in 2000, it's almost 77, similar varience WRT gender and race. http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/fastats/pdf/nvsr51_03tb12.pdf (the table is at the 'top' of the file) Wow -- in 1900, it was ~47 for whites, and only mid-30s for blacks! By 1930, it was about 60(W) and 48(B). That's a huge difference in just 100 years. (I think women's lifespans started to go up as obsetrical care improved, and childbirth became less hazardous.) Debbi who is very glad to be alive *now* and not *then* __ Do you Yahoo!? SBC Yahoo! DSL - Now only $29.95 per month! http://sbc.yahoo.com ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
Re: [LISTREF] Cell phone pix
Robert Seeberger wrote: For those who had any doubts. WARNING: Not Work Safe! http://www.phonebin.com/index.cfm Might want to include a rating, as well. R? And at least the non-work-safe-ness doesn't include sound, at least not at the initial link. The penguin one is cute, though, and G. If you just want to see the penguin photo, go to http://www.phonebin.com/index.cfm?Img=1076action=photo I like penguins. (Stop me before I launch into a Lyle Lovett song) Julia ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
Re: On the topic of atheism.
Robert Seeberger wrote: OK! That's fair then. I urge everyone (who cares about the subject) to provide some sort of justification for their beliefs. I care about the subject, but not enough that I want to take the time this month to really get into it. I think that if you read various posts of mine, you'll get a feel for what I believe; if anyone has specific questions for me, I'll be happy to consider them. I'm going to give this some thought. I'll be interested in reading what you, and what a number of other people, have to say on the subject, though. (And if you want to know what is occupying my time, you can ask that, as well.) Julia ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
Re: government and energy: Why America is Running Out of Gas
--- The Fool [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1101030721-464406,00.html Why America is Running Out of Gas Inflated oil prices and natural gas shortages are wiping out jobs and savings, thanks to three decades of bungled energy policy. Get ready for more bungling ...That's because Congress lost interest in conservation and failed to keep the pressure on the car companies. Lawmakers refused to set new mileage goals. Worse, they excluded from the existing requirements light trucks and suvs, the fastest-selling vehicles and the ones that use the most gasoline. Contributing even more to the trend, they extended an extraordinary tax benefit to the gas guzzlers, so drivers who used a vehicle for work could write off the cost on their tax returnseven as much as $38,200 toward a new Hummer H2 that gets only 10 m.p.g. As might be expected, consumption rose 1.5 million bbl. a day over the past decade, to 8.8 million last year. But for owners of pricey vehicles like the Hummer, it keeps getting better. The tax-cutting bill signed into law in May expanded the write-off to $100,000. ^^ ^^^ This is obscene: a huge tax cut for a gas-sucking penile compensator. Looks like I'll have to keep the thermostat even lower this coming winter - as if 63oF wasn't low enough! Spitdogs In Their Wicker Cages Maru :/ __ Do you Yahoo!? SBC Yahoo! DSL - Now only $29.95 per month! http://sbc.yahoo.com ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
Re: Reading lists.
Deborah Harrell wrote: serious I do enjoy historical romances that are well-researched, with an interesting story to tell (and not some jaded variation on poor girl-who-is-hated-by-all-other-women-because-she's-ravishingly-beautiful becomes governess/milkmaid/cook for rich man, and then they fall into/on the bed/hay/table). But if the story doesn't have characters I care about, decent approximations of people with conflicting goals, warts and genuine humor, like you I have no interest in it. Yes. I like historical romances, or novels where there's a lot more going on than just the romance. Anything where the primary purpose is to peddle a formulaic pre-packaged easy-to-read thing is crap, IMO. And don't get me started on the pink thing! ;) If a book's cover has too much pink, I generally avoid it. I also avoid the Barbie aisle in the toy department. (And yes, I intend to continue this when my daughter is 5, and she will live a life deprived of Barbie, and she'll just have to *deal*, the way I did, and I don't think it hurt me in the long run.) Debbi What If The Yellowstone Wolfpacks Were Group Sentients Maru Well, that would be interesting! :) Julia ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
Too much TV...
...and not enough actors :) So on Friday's Buffy rerun, ep 3.12 'Helpless' Dominic Keating (Voyager) appeared as Blair, a Watcher's Council flunky who got killed. So that was amusing. And then tonight I downloaded the pilot of Eliza Dushku's (Buffy and Angel) new series 'Tru Calling' and who should be be playing corpse #1 but Hudson Leick! (Xena and Hercules). -- William T Goodall Mail : [EMAIL PROTECTED] Web : http://www.wtgab.demon.co.uk Blog : http://radio.weblogs.com/0111221/ How long a minute is depends on which side of the bathroom door you're on. ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
Re: Reading lists.
I Deborah Harrell wrote: serious I do enjoy historical romances that are well-researched, with an interesting story to tell (and not some jaded variation on poor girl-who-is-hated-by-all-other-women-because-she's-ravishingly-beautiful becomes governess/milkmaid/cook for rich man, and then they fall into/on the bed/hay/table). Hoonish females, not having human type mammary equipment, will not read romances that deal with heaving bosoms. Heaving bosuns, however, will become a subgenera of the hoonish romance novel. William Taylor -- bed/hay/table? You left out sloop/skiff/yardarm ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
Re: [Listref] Family Planning
Deborah Harrell wrote: I had mentioned not-too-long-ago that ovulation is not as predictable as previously thought; here is the latest study to make it to the popular press: Might be that pesky natural selection at work again: those whose ovulation is predictable can more easily prevent conception therefore killing those predictive genes. Alberto Monteiro ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
Re: [Listref] Family Planning
Alberto Monteiro wrote: Deborah Harrell wrote: I had mentioned not-too-long-ago that ovulation is not as predictable as previously thought; here is the latest study to make it to the popular press: Might be that pesky natural selection at work again: those whose ovulation is predictable can more easily prevent conception therefore killing those predictive genes. And maybe some of those with slightly more predictable ovulation make up for that by producing at least one extra egg every cycle :P (NFP was working for us nicely last year, just had to switch gears a bit when we *wanted* to conceive.) Julia who is close to resigning herself to comfortable just not being an option for 2-3 more months, and developing more respect every day for her grandmother who gave birth to twins in *Florida* in May of 1926 ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
Re: The limits of vision
Deborah Harrell wrote: --- Ronn!Blankenship [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: (If nothing else, recall that the reason the retirement age for Social Security was set at 65 was because at the time relatively few people would live long enough to draw any benefits . . . ) I don't recall when Social Security was started... The 'average American' life expectancy in 1950 was ~68, higher for women and lower for blacks; in 2000, it's almost 77, similar varience WRT gender and race. http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/fastats/pdf/nvsr51_03tb12.pdf (the table is at the 'top' of the file) It was started, and 65 set as the retirement age, in the 1930s. My father-in-law's analysis of it is that, at that time, at 65 you had one foot in the grave and the other on a banana peel. Looks like 3 out of Sammy's 4 grandparents will make it to 70 (the grandmothers each have less than a year to go, the grandfather who's still alive made it almost 2 years ago), and all are drawing Social Security. None of them *needs* that income, either. Julia stop me before I start going on about means testing ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
Re: [Listref] Family Planning
--- Alberto Monteiro [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: Deborah Harrell wrote: I had mentioned not-too-long-ago that ovulation is not as predictable as previously thought; here is the latest study to make it to the popular press: Might be that pesky natural selection at work again: those whose ovulation is predictable can more easily prevent conception therefore killing those predictive genes. Well, the if the biological 'purpose' of existence is to reproduce, then my understanding of hidden ovulation (from the female POV) was to 'keep the males around guessing' as to when sex might produce offspring. If ovulation was evident as in many animals, with an estrous/heat, then the males would only 'need' to be around for those specific times, and might not be available to help hunt/gather/protect-the-children. I don't think prevention of conception in general would be selected *for*, although the advantage of selective ovulation might be; by the latter, I mean that for creatures like us, with young that need a lot of care to make it to adulthood, and a huge investment required of the female, it would be very much to the advantage of the female if she only ovulated when she had established a bonded relationship with a male. He would then be around to help with child-rearing; the advantage to the male of such an induced ovulation and a bonded relationship would be that he would expend energy only in raising his own biological offspring. Debbi __ Do you Yahoo!? SBC Yahoo! DSL - Now only $29.95 per month! http://sbc.yahoo.com ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
Re: Revealed: food companies knew products were addictive
From: Jose J. Ortiz-Carlo [EMAIL PROTECTED] By the way, did I forget to say it's great to be back on the list? And my greetings to all of you. Welcome back, Jose! I'd been wondering why I hadn't seen any posts from you in a long while. -bryon _ Help STOP SPAM with the new MSN 8 and get 2 months FREE* http://join.msn.com/?page=features/junkmail ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
Re: The limits of vision
Robert Seeberger wrote: http://architecture.mit.edu/house_n/web/resources/articles/lifeinthefuture/MIRACLES%20OF%20THE%20NEXT%20FIFTY%20YEARS.htm The year 200 as viewed from 1950 1) I like the idea of just being able to hose down everything in the house. (Doesn't cover older things such as, say, the upright piano, though) 2) It's been my experience that with frozen dinners, it just *tastes* better if you do it in the conventional oven rather than in the microwave. (And cooking is probably not going to go out for as long as people have palates that appreciate subtle differences. Dan cheats and starts with a base of Prego, but he adds so much so carefully that his spaghetti sauce comes out tasting significantly better, at least if you like basil, garlic and a little red pepper, plus a few other things.) 3) Forecast of home of tomorrow? picture caption caught my eye -- I see buildings for businesses going up all the time where the sides are made of concrete poured into forms and then propped up put together. 4) Easy cure of TB -- I wish! 5) Ditto on nervous diseases such as MS Parkinson's. Cool article. Thanks, Rob! Julia ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
Re: The limits of vision
- Original Message - From: Julia Thompson [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: Killer Bs Discussion [EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Sunday, July 13, 2003 10:50 PM Subject: Re: The limits of vision Robert Seeberger wrote: http://architecture.mit.edu/house_n/web/resources/articles/lifeinthefuture/MIRACLES%20OF%20THE%20NEXT%20FIFTY%20YEARS.htm The year 200 as viewed from 1950 1) I like the idea of just being able to hose down everything in the house. (Doesn't cover older things such as, say, the upright piano, though) Or the electronics. 2) It's been my experience that with frozen dinners, it just *tastes* better if you do it in the conventional oven rather than in the microwave. For the most part, I'm not particular, I'm just feeding the machine. 3) Forecast of home of tomorrow? picture caption caught my eye -- I see buildings for businesses going up all the time where the sides are made of concrete poured into forms and then propped up put together. Thats called Tilt-Wall construction, for obvious reasons. 4) Easy cure of TB -- I wish! Probably the broadest miss in the article! 5) Ditto on nervous diseases such as MS Parkinson's. As with TB, things have gotten better and then much worse. We now have resistant bacteria and greater spread with prion related illnesses. Cool article. Thanks, Rob! I'm glad yall enjoyed it! xponent Just Take A Look At The Menu We Give You Rock A La Carte Breakfast At Tiffanies See You In Germany We're Only Here To Entertain You Maru rob ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
Re: Reading lists
Joan Vinge - there is another book about Sparks and Moon - World's End. I read and liked Psion and Catspaw and I read somewhere that there is another book in those series called Psiren, but I was unable to find it. Killashandra series - there are Killashandra, Crystal Singer and Crystal Line, but I don't remember the exact order, anyway, I saw them all in one book couple of years ago. And speaking of several books in one - Did anybody read Octavia Butler Lilith's Brood ? NR Artemis Fowl - OK, but definitely YA. Just got e-mail from Amazon.uk - my Well of Lost Plots is on it's way! :-) Ilana ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
