Re: Brin: Existence has arrived...

[David Brin]

I concur!

Thanks Nick!


On Wed, Aug 22, 2012 at 4:26 PM, Nick Arnett  wrote:

I made up for John by buying the hardcover and the Kobo e-book.
>
>
>Had pre-ordered the hardcover on Amazon, then ended up traveling without and 
>was 
>overcome by the desire to read on, so I bought and downloaded the latter (and 
>finished it on my trip).
>
>
>Nick
>
>
>On Wed, Aug 22, 2012 at 12:15 PM, John Garcia  wrote:
>
>i borrowed the hardcover from the NYPL (sorry Dr. B, but the budget is tight 
>this year and i was not willing to wait for the paperback, although i will buy 
>that when it is available) and that cover is pretty cool. the trailer was 
>great.
>>i will have to read it again but i have to digest it a bit. all in all, a 
>>great 
>>many ideas to ponder upon. good work!
>>
>>
>>On Wed, Aug 22, 2012 at 1:33 PM, David Brin  wrote:
>>
>>Heh! Both covers are great though the lensatic one is so cool.
>>>
>>>
>>>I assume you've all seen the even-cooler preview trailer
>>>tinyurl.com/exist-trailer
>>>
>>>
>>>Thrive all
>>>
>>>
>>>

From: "kananda...@aol.com" 
>>>To: brin-l@mccmedia.com
>>>Sent: Wed, August 22, 2012 7:41:08 AM
>>>Subject: Re: Brin: Existence has  arrived...
>>>
>>>
>>> 
>>>On 8/22/2012 10:08 AM, Charlie Bell wrote:
>>>> It's a shiny"3D hologram" trade paperback. Very excited!
>>>>Um. That's all.
>>>>
>>>>Davidwrote:
>>>>It's interesting how books get published differently in different 
>>>>countries.
>>>>I got the hardcover, which has a shiny dust jacket.
>>>>Iliked the book, although I do have some questions...
>>>>
>>
>>> 
>>>This seems to cry out for a comment like "I think the 
>>>electrons making my ebook cover *may be shiny*".
>>>Good thing I am not young enough to have 
>>>"accessory" envy.
>>> 
>>>Dee :-)
>>> 
>>>
>>>___
>>>http://box535.bluehost.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l_mccmedia.com
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>
>>___
>>http://box535.bluehost.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l_mccmedia.com
>>
>>
>>
>
>___
>http://box535.bluehost.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l_mccmedia.com
>
>
>
___
http://box535.bluehost.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l_mccmedia.com

Re: Brin: Existence has arrived...

[David Brin]

Heh! Both covers are great though the lensatic one is so cool.

I assume you've all seen the even-cooler preview trailer
tinyurl.com/exist-trailer

Thrive all




From: "kananda...@aol.com" 
To: brin-l@mccmedia.com
Sent: Wed, August 22, 2012 7:41:08 AM
Subject: Re: Brin: Existence has arrived...

 
On 8/22/2012 10:08 AM, Charlie Bell wrote:
> It's a shiny"3D hologram" trade paperback. Very excited!
>Um. That's all.
>
>Davidwrote:
>It's interesting how books get published differently in different 
>countries.
>I got the hardcover, which has a shiny dust jacket.
>Iliked the book, although I do have some questions...
>

> 
>This seems to cry out for a comment like "I think the 
>electrons making my ebook cover *may be shiny*".
>Good thing I am not young enough to have 
>"accessory" envy.
> 
>Dee :-)
> 
>___
http://box535.bluehost.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l_mccmedia.com

Re: Brin: Book / Time = Joy%

[David Brin]

Yep, Existence starts on Tuesday!  Send all your friends 
to tinyurl.com/exist-trailer

!!

best to all -
d___
http://box535.bluehost.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l_mccmedia.com

Re: Brin: Book / Time = Joy%

[David Brin]

Krondor eh?  I (peripherally) helped to design the world that Ray Feist set his 
books & game in.  Knew him and helped/taught him when he saw that "if Brin 
could 
get money for writing, why not me?"

Subconsciously, some of his less admirable characters were starkly clear 
self-portraits.





From: KZK 
To: brin-l@mccmedia.com
Sent: Mon, June 18, 2012 1:19:26 AM
Subject: Brin: Book / Time = Joy%

> David Brin:

> Seriously. (May I? For just a moment?)  Next time you contemplate a
> book’s retail price, try dividing it by the number of hours of
> pleasure you’ll get, reading it.  Then tell me of any other pastime
> with a better minutes per pennies ratio of sheer joy!

Video games.  It's easy to see that Good Quality video games gives a much 
better 
ratio (I'm not talking about all these first person shooter games which are 
basically 100% interchangable and are basically Doom clones).

Lets see, you probably get 3-5 times (average) from high quality games--Ico, 
Shadow of the Colossus, etc, You probably get 4-10 times from any given Zelda 
game (including handheld), 2-20 times from High quality fighter Games--Soul 
Caliber, Tekken, etc.  Possibly 100's of times from open ended games--Tetris, 
Angband, Darklands, Minesweeper, etc.

I know I spent more time playing Betray at Krondor than I did reading Magician 
(Apprentice & Master).

Then we get to TV shows/Movies.  The average person probably rewatches their 
favorite TV shows & Movies over and over again, so your conception is wrong.

___
http://box535.bluehost.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l_mccmedia.com___
http://box535.bluehost.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l_mccmedia.com

Brin events

[David Brin]

Oh by the way, many of you probably received my annual newsletter during the 
last couple of days. So you know about my book tour schedule, with in-person 
events in Seattle, Portland, the Bay Area, LA and San Diego area.

Also see http://www.davidbrin.com for info about a Tweet extravaganza on 6/20 ( 
1pm) #TorChat... and a Reddit "Ask Me Anything" marathon on 6/26!

I assume you all have seen my new web site http://www.davidbrin.com

...and the fantastic preview trailer that Patrick Farley painted and executed 
for me! tinyurl.com/exist-trailer

Sorry for the salesmanship, but I'm working hard!  And it has been 8 years 
since 
a "big brin book" so I hope you don't mind!

Best to all.
davidb___
http://box535.bluehost.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l_mccmedia.com

Re: Brin: Quantum Cryptography Outperformed By Thermodynamics

[David Brin]

Clever.  I will talk the DoD into implementing it with "Google Tap!"




From: KZK 
To: brin-l@mccmedia.com
Sent: Thu, June 14, 2012 8:31:47 PM
Subject: Brin: Quantum Cryptography Outperformed By Thermodynamics

http://www.technologyreview.com/view/428202/quantum-cryptography-outperformed-by-classical/


The idea is straightforward. Alice wants to send Bob a message via an ordinary 
wire. At each end of the wire, there are two different resistors that 
correspond 
to a 0 or 1.

Alice encodes her message by connecting these two resistors to the wire in the 
required sequence.

Bob, on the other hand, connects his resistors to the wire at random.

The crucial part of this set up is that the actual current and voltage through 
the wire is random, ideally Johnson noise. The essential features of this noise 
are determined by the combination of resistors at each end. This noise is 
public--anybody can see or measure it.

Now here's the clever bit. Bob knows which resistor he connected to the wire 
and 
so can work out which resistor Alice must have connected.

But  Eve, who is listening in to the publicly available noise, does not know 
which resistor was connected at each end and cannot work it out either because 
the laws of thermodynamics prevent the extraction of this information from this 
kind of signal.



-
"It’s cheap to maintain Lies and expensive to maintain Trvth."
--KZK's Maxim


___
http://box535.bluehost.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l_mccmedia.com___
http://box535.bluehost.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l_mccmedia.com

Re: Brin: Debunking the Myth of Intuition

[David Brin]

The one area where Sigmund Freud offered breakthrough insights of profound and 
permanent value was by demonstrating conclusively that the unconscious mind 
exists, that it has agendas that often differ from our surface 
rationalizations, 
values and proclaimed beliefs, and that it can affect our decisions and biases 
before we even begin consciously weighing them.  Alas, like so many other 
brilliant men, Freud went on to make unjustified leaps of elaboration that - 
ironically - erupted out of his own tortured unconscious.  Still, science is 
continuing the verify the origical insight.  This rumination discusses how 
difficult it is to be sure we are being truly rational. Take it as a caution. 
And repeat the sacred statement of science. “I might be wrong.” 




From:KZK 
To:brin-l@mccmedia.com
Sent:Tue, May 29, 2012 8:56:58 AM
Subject:Brin: Debunking the Myth of Intuition

http://www.spiegel.de/international/zeitgeist/interview-with-daniel-kahneman-on-the-pitfalls-of-intuition-and-memory-a-834407-druck.html


...
Kahneman: Yes. Psychologists distinguish between a "System 1" and a "System 2," 
which control our actions. System 1 represents what we may call intuition. It 
tirelessly provides us with quick impressions, intentions and feelings. System 
2, on the other hand, represents reason, self-control and intelligence.

SPIEGEL: In other words, our conscious self?

Kahneman: Yes. System 2 is the one who believes that it's making the decisions. 
But in reality, most of the time, System 1 is acting on its own, without your 
being aware of it. It's System 1 that decides whether you like a person, which 
thoughts or associations come to mind, and what you feel about something. All 
of 
this happens automatically. You can't help it, and yet you often base your 
decisions on it.

SPIEGEL: And this System 1 never sleeps?

Kahneman: That's right. System 1 can never be switched off. You can't stop it 
from doing its thing. System 2, on the other hand, is lazy and only becomes 
active when necessary. Slow, deliberate thinking is hard work. It consumes 
chemical resources in the brain, and people usually don't like that.
...

-
"It’s cheap to maintain Lies and expensive to maintain Trvth."
--KZK's Maxim

___
http://box535.bluehost.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l_mccmedia.com___
http://box535.bluehost.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l_mccmedia.com

Re: Brin: Infinite Stupidity

[David Brin]

Alas, Pagel spins a just-so story that is conveniently and charmingly free of 
reference to historical facts. For example, he ignores the fact that innovation 
sped up, intensely and supra-liearly, as the number of individuals in a society 
increased. Agrarian clans and then kingdoms allocated surplus food to 
specialists, rewarding them for talent and expertise, sometimes in accurate 
correlation to their effectiveness at innovation. 

Competitively striving to attain that status, youths who became scribes, 
blacksmiths, tool-makers, engineers and priests must have achieved enhanced 
reproductive ability almost equal to the feudal lords who soon dominated every 
society.  Hence, a proclivity for nerdiness would increase... though not quite 
in pace with an ever-rising tendency toward oligarchy.




From: Pat Mathews 
To: Brin List 
Sent: Sat, December 17, 2011 6:03:00 AM
Subject: RE: Brin: Infinite Stupidity

 
"Prone to fads" defines every urbanized civilization I've ever heard of, and 
tribal societies are less given to innovation that he thinks, because the 
traditional lore is a store of highly specialized local knowledge about 
conditions whose changes are well understood. Even the odd once-in-a-lifetime 
events can usually be answered by consulting one of the elders or grandmothers.

It's my guess that innovation is the hallmark of an expanding or frontier 
society where all bets are off and great benefits can be had from it. Or in 
borderlands where cultures interact. 


Because a lot of what he describes as "docile copying" and getting our 
information from the society at large can also be interpreted as "it is not 
rational to reinvent the wheel!" Unless it's not working for you.
And there is the other condition for innovation - to be subject to a clumsy 
procedure or machine and grit your teeth and mutter "Bad design. VERY bad 
design. I could do better." And be able to do it.

In which case all that culturally accumulated knowledge is there to serve you.


http://idiotgrrl.livejournal.com/ 




> Date: Sat, 17 Dec 2011 06:54:29 -0600
> From: evil.ke...@gmail.com
> To: brin-l@mccmedia.com
> Subject: Brin: Infinite Stupidity
> 
> Edge never fails to disappoint.
> 
>http://edge.org/conversation/infinite-stupidity-edge-conversation-with-mark-pagel
>l
> 
> ---
> "It’s cheap to maintain Lies and expensive to maintain Trvth."
> --KZK's Maxim
> 
> ___
> http://box535.bluehost.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l_mccmedia.com
> 
___
http://box535.bluehost.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l_mccmedia.com

Re: Brin: Infinite Stupidity

[David Brin]

Unbelievably pathetic.  thx




From: KZK 
To: brin-l@mccmedia.com
Sent: Sat, December 17, 2011 4:54:29 AM
Subject: Brin: Infinite Stupidity

Edge never fails to disappoint.

http://edge.org/conversation/infinite-stupidity-edge-conversation-with-mark-pagel


---
"It’s cheap to maintain Lies and expensive to maintain Trvth."
--KZK's Maxim

___
http://box535.bluehost.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l_mccmedia.com___
http://box535.bluehost.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l_mccmedia.com

Re: Brin: on Debt, Democracy, and all that

[David Brin]

BTW... I hope you all know that Brin-L style elevated discussions take place 
regularly under the "Comments" section, beneath each of my regular blog 
postings 
at http://davidbrin.blogspot.com/

A great blogmunity.  And, if you call it an extension of "Brin-L"... one of the 
oldest on the Net!

Hoping you all have happy holidays and a great 2012...*

warm regards
david brin


* The year my big novel EXISTENCE comes out! (June ;-)___
http://box535.bluehost.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l_mccmedia.com

Re: Brin: on Debt, Democracy, and all that

[David Brin]

Wow, this was more interesting than I expected it to be. "On Debt, Democracy, 
and all that..."
http://www.nakedcapitalism.com/2011/12/michael-hudson-debt-and-democracy-has-the-link-been-broken.html





>>>What with 700+ Trillion in derivatives outstanding...


Huge exaggeration.  700 trillion was artificially lent to banks so that their 
balance sheets would show enough capital so they would not have to be closed. 
 They then used it to buy treasury bonds..  Most of it is not missing.___
http://box535.bluehost.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l_mccmedia.com

Re: Brin: (Ignoring Murphy's Law) kills

[David Brin]

eeek!




From: Alberto Monteiro 
To: brin-l@mccmedia.com
Sent: Tue, December 7, 2010 3:31:53 AM
Subject: Brin: (Ignoring Murphy's Law) kills

Three days ago, a brazilian teenager was killed in hospital, because
instead of saline solution, the nurse gave her vaseline.

The reason was that the idiots that produced those products made
_identical_ vessels for them, with the difference being a minuscule
identification label.

Murphy's Law is exactly the way to prevent those stupid errors.

Text (in Portuguese):
http://pt.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caso_Stephane

Here an image of the two vessels:
http://g1.globo.com/jornal-nacional/noticia/2010/12/mae-diz-que-auxiliar-de-
enfermagem-colocou-frasco-de-vaselina-em-sp.html

Alberto Monteiro


___
http://box535.bluehost.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l_mccmedia.com___
http://box535.bluehost.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l_mccmedia.com

Re: Brin: Hrm

[David Brin]

saw it!




From: KZK 
To: brin-l@mccmedia.com
Sent: Thu, December 2, 2010 11:04:50 PM
Subject: Brin: Hrm

http://amultiverse.com/2010/09/29/dont-ask-dont-swim/

___
http://box535.bluehost.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l_mccmedia.com___
http://box535.bluehost.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l_mccmedia.com

Re: Brin: Arguing Doesn't Work: Fact Vs Belief

[David Brin]

My questionnaire include some digs at the notion of Toxic Memes.
 http://www.davidbrin.com/questionnaire.html




From: Michael Harney 
To: Killer Bs (David Brin et al) Discussion 
Sent: Sun, November 21, 2010 9:55:54 AM
Subject: Re: Brin: Arguing Doesn't Work: Fact Vs Belief

On 11/21/2010 10:17 AM, Nick Arnett wrote: 

>
>
>On Sun, Nov 14, 2010 at 11:21 AM, Michael Harney 
> wrote:
>
>Dawkins addresses this a bit in his book _The God Delusion_.   
> Evolutionarily, it makes sense.  Children cannot afford to   
> disbelieve 
>things that are told to them by elders.  Doing so   means consuming 
>poisonous things or getting too close to lions   or other dangerous 
>predators. 

That seems tautological to me, since it is only true if   what you're 
being told is true.  Believing false information   of that nature would 
be selected against, so one could imagine   that humans could have 
evolved a strong sense of when to   believe those in authority.

Actually, false ideas would only be selected against if those ideas had 
negative survival value.  If the survival value is neutral, then the idea 
and the people who believe it continue.  Or, an idea may have negative 
survival value for the individual, but positive value for the group. ex: 
the 
Aztecs would sacrifice people to the gods during times of famine to try and 
appease the gods to end the famine.  Though bad for the individual being 
sacrificed, whether or not the famine ended, the group would be better off 
as there would be less mouths to feed and fewer people would starve.  You 
do 
have a point though as teenagers actually lose judgment and consequence 
ability in their early teen years, it makes it more likely for them to 
disregard what they have been taught, making it more likely to try 
something 
that they were told was bad.  Any thing that has negative consequence is 
likely to be witnessed by others and the taboo reinforced, but expectations 
to can influence what a person sees.  If the parents said "Say your prayers 
every morning and night or bad things will happen".  If a rebellious teen 
stops saying their prayers, they are more likely to interpret any bad thing 
that happens as a direct consequence of not saying their prayers as that
 
is what they expect.  In this way, people may end up crediting the wrong 
idea for good or bad results resulting in neutral ideas being sustained.  



 Besides, some of us had parents who taught us to be   skeptical of 
authority.  I'm fairly sure DB's kids have been   taught that!
>
>
>"Be skeptical of authority, kid."
>
>
>"Why?"
>
>
>"Because I'm your father and I said so."
>
>
>Nick
>
True, but the idea of teaching children to question authority is a 
relatively new one, or rather, it is one that only a small portion of the 
population engaged in until recently.  Even now I would say it is still a 
small minority of the population.  If holy texts are any indicator, 
questioning authority back in much older times usually ended in the 
questioning person being killed.
___
http://box535.bluehost.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l_mccmedia.com

Re: Brin: Claw

[David Brin]

leaves out WWII




From: KZK 
To: brin-l@mccmedia.com
Sent: Thu, August 26, 2010 4:00:15 PM
Subject: Brin: Claw

This "Graph" puts the 23Trillion in Perspective:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/79361...@n00/4868316187/

Obama's Kleptocratic Banksters aren't really very different from Bush's.

___
http://box535.bluehost.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l_mccmedia.com___
http://box535.bluehost.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l_mccmedia.com

Re: Brin: The Digital Surveillance State: Vast, Secret, and Dangerous

[David Brin]

You got me.  I skimmed.  the modern sin.  If you had any idea how many people I 
must respond to.




From: KZK 
To: brin-l@mccmedia.com
Sent: Mon, August 23, 2010 12:24:31 AM
Subject: Re: Brin: The Digital Surveillance State: Vast, Secret, and Dangerous

On 8/21/2010 10:14 PM, Chris Frandsen wrote:
> This is the same anti government pitch being pushed right now to hamstring 
> this 
>administration.

So, we should just ignore it when Obama is worse, in this case on spying 
on Americans, than Bush was, just because he has a (D) after his name?

We should just ignore it when Obama does the opposite of what he 
campaigned on, just because he has a (D) after his name?

We should Shut our mouths over things that when Bush did them, were 
completely outrageous, just because he has a (D) after his name?

So we should just turn of four brains and accept everything he does as 
good, and just and right, and beyond criticism, just because he has a 
(D) after his name?

>

> Chris
>
> On Aug 21, 2010, at 21:51, David Brin  wrote:
>
>> Whine, moan bitch complain without any sensible suggestions... yep, that's 
>> the 
>>Cato way.
>>
>> Above all, aim all suspicion-of-authority at some vague "government" and 
>> ignore 
>>all other forces.
>>
>> From: KZK
>> To: brin-l@mccmedia.com
>> Sent: Sat, August 21, 2010 6:42:35 PM
>> Subject: Brin: The Digital Surveillance State: Vast, Secret, and Dangerous
>>
>>http://www.cato-unbound.org/2010/08/09/glenn-greenwald/the-digital-surveillance-state-vast-secret-and-dangerous/
>>/
>>

___
http://box535.bluehost.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l_mccmedia.com___
http://box535.bluehost.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l_mccmedia.com

Re: Brin: The Digital Surveillance State: Vast, Secret, and Dangerous

[David Brin]

Whine, moan bitch complain without any sensible suggestions... yep, that's the 
Cato way.

Above all, aim all suspicion-of-authority at some vague "government" and ignore 
all other forces.




From: KZK 
To: brin-l@mccmedia.com
Sent: Sat, August 21, 2010 6:42:35 PM
Subject: Brin: The Digital Surveillance State: Vast, Secret, and Dangerous

http://www.cato-unbound.org/2010/08/09/glenn-greenwald/the-digital-surveillance-state-vast-secret-and-dangerous/


And as we acquiesce to more and more sacrifices of our privacy to the 
omnipotent 
Surveillance State, it builds the wall of secrecy behind which it operates 
higher and more impenetrable, which means it constantly knows more about the 
actions of citizens, while citizens constantly know less about it. We chirp 
endlessly about the Congress, the White House, the Supreme Court, the Democrats 
and Republicans, but this is the Real U.S. Government: a massive Surveillance 
State functioning in darkness, beyond elections and parties, so secret, vast 
and 
powerful that it evades the control or knowledge of any one person or even any 
organization.


___
http://box535.bluehost.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l_mccmedia.com___
http://box535.bluehost.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l_mccmedia.com

Re: Brin: Beds, FM Radiation, and Left-Sided Cancer

[David Brin]

Thanks KZK and happy July 4th to all!

Oh, drop by http://www.davidbrin.com  to see a number of my most recent podcast 
videos, some of which have gone quite viral!  Especially the "advice to 
students at college."

Thrive all.


 With cordial regards,

David Brin
http://www.davidbrin.com





From: KZK 
To: brin-l@mccmedia.com
Sent: Sun, July 4, 2010 5:49:05 AM
Subject: Brin: Beds, FM Radiation, and Left-Sided Cancer

http://www.scientificamerican.com/blog/post.cfm?id=left-sided-cancer-blame-your-bed-an-2010-07-02


Metal bed-frames as antenna's..

___
http://box535.bluehost.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l_mccmedia.com___
http://box535.bluehost.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l_mccmedia.com

Re: Two interesting Articles for Dr. Brin:

[David Brin]

Wow, this guy is really something.

I'll tout him on my blog.

Who is he?

Thanks for sharing it.




From: KZK 
To: brin-l@mccmedia.com
Sent: Fri, March 19, 2010 6:51:11 PM
Subject: Two interesting Articles for Dr. Brin:

http://www.asymptosis.com/libertarians-republicans-and-democrats-new-findings-on-morality-empathy-and-sympathy.html

http://www.asymptosis.com/are-machines-replacing-humans-or-am-i-a-luddite.html

___
http://box535.bluehost.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l_mccmedia.com___
http://box535.bluehost.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l_mccmedia.com

Re: Two interesting Articles for Dr. Brin:

[David Brin]

I challenge libertarians to imagine it is 1861.  In which army do they fight?

They are romantics and hence illogical.  In fact, they think they are for the 
Horatio Alger rags to riches innovators.  They hate it when you ask them how 
well that works when the rich become feudal lords.

Patron Saint Adam Smith actually would have been a democrat




From: KZK 
To: brin-l@mccmedia.com
Sent: Sat, March 20, 2010 2:49:02 PM
Subject: Re: Two interesting Articles for Dr. Brin:

On 3/20/2010 12:00 AM, David Brin wrote:

> Wow, this guy is really something.
> 
> I'll tout him on my blog.
> 
> Who is he?

I don't know, I just found his site a few days ago.  Your best bet would be to 
try and email him and ask.  (Their are unscrupulous ways like looking up who 
the website was registered to by using whois).  Then again, I'm partial to 
pseudonyms.

> Thanks for sharing it.

I think their have also been other things going on for a number of years.  
Namely, most employers (90+%) now won't hire people who are not currently 
employed (they brag about this).  So people who lose thier job are finding it 
very difficult to reenter the workforce.  And people who've never been employed 
have extreme trouble just getting that first job (look at the unemployment 
"underemployed %").

Libertarians can be summed up in one statement:  Libertarians are for anything 
that increases the: Wealth, Power, Rights, and Privileges, of the already 
Wealthy and Powerful Elites;  Libertarians are also for anything that decreases 
the: Wealth, Power, Rights, and Privileges, of everyone else, especially the 
poorest or minorities.

After all, the Libertarian party has in the past had a Pro-Apartheid plank in 
it's platform.  You can usually get a Libertarian to argue that Slavery is OK, 
because people have a right to sell themselves.

> From: KZK
> 
> http://www.asymptosis.com/libertarians-republicans-and-democrats-new-findings-on-morality-empathy-and-sympathy.html
> 
> http://www.asymptosis.com/are-machines-replacing-humans-or-am-i-a-luddite.html

___
http://box535.bluehost.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l_mccmedia.com___
http://box535.bluehost.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l_mccmedia.com

Re: Brin: Lesley's copy of Kiln People

[David Brin]

Nick, if it consoles at all, I wish I grew up in a family as clearly tight and 
loving as yours must have been.  Stay strong and thrive-all.

david brin___
http://mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l_mccmedia.com

Re: BRIN: Uplift books on Kindle?

[David Brin]

I have a query in.  Alas, it is a department that I have no influence over, but 
I will keep trying...

thanks

db




From: John Williams 
To: Killer Bs (David Brin et al) Discussion 
Sent: Mon, January 11, 2010 1:18:32 AM
Subject: Re: BRIN: Uplift books on Kindle?

On Thu, Jan 7, 2010 at 3:00 PM, David Brin  wrote:
> The Startide Rising release says "January 11 2009".   I suspectt that's a
> misprint and should be January 11, 2010?"  That'd explain the glitch and
> should resolve in a week.

Nope, still no Kindle edition of Startide Rising available.

___
http://mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l_mccmedia.com___
http://mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l_mccmedia.com

Re: BRIN: Uplift books on Kindle?

[David Brin]

The Startide Rising release says "January 11 2009".   I suspectt that's a 
misprint and should be January 11, 2010?"  That'd explain the glitch and should 
resolve in a week.

I have a query in about Brightness Reef thanks!




From: John Williams 
To: Killer Bs (David Brin et al) Discussion 
Sent: Wed, January 6, 2010 10:23:00 PM
Subject: BRIN: Uplift books on Kindle?

I was checking again for the Uplift books on Amazon Kindle, and things
have improved since the last time I looked, but the status is odd.

Uplift War is available on Kindle, and Heaven's Reach is available for
pre-order (Jan 13 release).

Oddly, Brightness Reef and Infinity's Shore are nowhere to be found on
Kindle. Why release Heaven's Reach but not the other two in the
trilogy?

And Startide Rising is still missing. If you search the Kindle store
for "David Brin", you find a listing for Startide Rising: "Kindle
Edition - Jan 11, 2009 Buy $3.55 Available for Pre-order" but clicking
on the link gives a page that says "Pricing information not available"
and no way to purchase or pre-order the Kindle edition of the book.

What is going on?

___
http://mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l_mccmedia.com___
http://mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l_mccmedia.com

Re: Brin: Re: is Brin-l active?

[David Brin]

Hi Nick.

I had sent a note to bri...@nickarnett.net or to  brin-l@mccmedia.com and had 
it bounce.

Is this the nick.arn...@gmail.com addr to send missives to Brin-L?

Here's the message I tried to send:

=
Dear Brin-L discussion list.  Dr. Christine Carmichael charm...@gmail.com  
wants to collate a bunch of stories that illustrate physics concepts.Any of you 
who know books or stories that might be relevant can inform her separately at 
charm...@gmail.com

"I want to use stories written by scientists that really illustrate a physics 
concept creatively and imaginatively. They are harder to find than I thought."

I know she should contact David Hartwell, whose ASCENT OF WONDER and THE HARD 
SF RENAISSANCE both ought to provide some grist.  Anything elkse come to mind?

Hope you all have a super decade.

 With cordial regards,

David Brin
http://www.davidbrin.com



Hoping UR thriving Nick.

d



From: Nick Arnett 
To: Killer Bs (David Brin et al) Discussion 
Sent: Sun, January 3, 2010 2:22:22 PM
Subject: Brin: Re: is Brin-l active?




On Sun, Jan 3, 2010 at 2:19 PM, d.brin  wrote:


>>is Brin-l active?
>
>

Yes.

And we're cooking up a new project, a wiki for SF and fantasy, starting with a 
focus on a particular writer's works...  Guess who.

 
Nick
___
http://mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l_mccmedia.com

Re: Brin: Re: is Brin-l active?

[David Brin]

Let me know how I can help!




From: Richard Baker 
To: Killer Bs (David Brin et al) Discussion 
Sent: Sun, January 3, 2010 2:35:44 PM
Subject: Re: Brin: Re: is Brin-l active?

Nick said:

> And we're cooking up a new project, a wiki for SF and fantasy, starting with 
> a focus on a particular writer's works...  Guess who.

Benford? Bear? Baxter?

Rich
GCU I Give Up!
___
http://mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l_mccmedia.com___
http://mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l_mccmedia.com

Re: Brin: Life after people - The Invaders

[David Brin]

Thanks.  Lots of fun.

Thrive on!

With best wishes, for a confident and ambitious 21st Century,

David Brin
www.davidbrin.com






From: Alberto Vieira Ferreira Monteiro 
To: Killer Bs (David Brin et al) Discussion 
Sent: Saturday, October 17, 2009 5:10:12 PM
Subject: Brin: Life after people - The Invaders

A great episode!!!

Tool-using dolphins, self-uplifing chimpanzees, dolphins that remember humans 
as Gods in the Golden Age.

What's next? Whales, Gorillas or AIs?

Alberto Monteiro

___
http://mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l_mccmedia.com___
http://mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l_mccmedia.com

Re: Brin: Dark Matter / Energy in Doubt

[David Brin]

Interesting stuff!




From: KZK 
To: brin-l@mccmedia.com
Sent: Friday, October 2, 2009 6:38:22 PM
Subject: Brin: Dark Matter / Energy in Doubt

This paper (pdf) shows how MOG (Modified Gravity or Scalar-Tensor-Vector) 
theory explains the Bullet cluster 'proof' of dark matter without dark matter:
http://arxiv.org/abs/astro-ph/0702146

This article argues, weakly, that the apparent acceleration of the universe can 
be explained without Dark energy (and they hope to refine their theory more and 
produce some testable predictions):
http://seedmagazine.com/content/article/erasing_dark_energy/

___
http://mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l_mccmedia.com___
http://mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l_mccmedia.com

Libertarian Morality--Up with good King John, down with Robin Hood.

[David Brin]

Not sure I see where Trent is coming from, associating me with such nonsense.  

I am a "libertarian" in a sense that is not shared by many other 
"libertarians..." in that I believe that harnessing interhuman competition is 
the core element that enabled the Enlightenment to escape the brutal traps of 
nearly every other human civilization.  

Our markets, democracy, science and law courts are all complex machines 
designed to foster and harness competitive efforts by groups that are 
self-organizing and internally cooperative, but eager to win in rivalry viz 
other groups.  Harnessing this was not easy, since most winners immediately try 
to cheat and prevent further competition.  This is the way of oligarchy.

It is also the reason that most modern American libertarians are complete 
whackos.  They ignore 5,000 years of human history, in their shrill claims that 
ONLY government bureaucrats represent any threat to freedom or markets etc.  

Bureaucrats CAN endanger freedom, true, and a healthy impulse should always be 
to encourage citizens to do more and see if govt can do less.  But to ignore 
the fact that oligarchy was, is, and always will be the main enemy... well, 
that is simply mass stupidity.

And that is ALL I will say about this now. I have explained at length elsewhere.
About  looking past "political totems": 
http://www.reformthelp.org/theory/generalizing/foe.php
and... http://www.reformthelp.org/theory/positioning/models.php
and...http://www.davidbrin.com/libertarian1.html
I do dream the LP will someday take its rightful place as a reasonable, 
pro-freedom and markets party to replace the undead GOP.  But till that miracle 
happens, I'll just say I am delighted that at least adults are back in 
charge... even uneven and flawed ones.

Please remove Re: Brin from this thread.

And thrive all.

db






From: Trent Shipley 
To: brin-l@mccmedia.com
Sent: Thursday, August 6, 2009 7:42:49 PM
Subject: Brin: Libertarian Morality--Up with good King John, down with Robin 
Hood.

I wrote a suggestion to my Arizona State legislators about de-funding
the state universities in favor of tuition vouchers.  Vouchers would be
in keeping with Arizona's conservative libertarian bias in favor of a
low taxes-low wages-strong small business environment.  If I lived in
Massachusetts or Minnesota where the culture favors high tax-high
wage-strong big business I would never have made this suggestion.
Anyhow, I am through with school.  As a good libertarian and social
Darwinist it is now time to screw the following generations.

When I inappropriately sent a selection of my idea as an off topic
contribution to the Phoenix Linux email list I was astounded that the
comments came not from the left but from the RIGHT!  The respondents
were self-educated technicians suspicious of higher education in general
and wanted NO public funds spent on higher education.

It started me thinking about the bases of libertarianism and American
conservatism.  Previously when I had thought of libertarianism, I had
not thought of it as particularly based in a moral principle.  I thought
it just a political extension of liberal or neo-classical economics that
reduced the general welfare to economic efficiency.

Of course, I knew there was another strain in libertarianism that was
based in morality.  This was an ideological commitment to maximize
individual freedom.  Basically Aleister Crowley's "Harm no one and do
what thou wilt", with the "harm no one" clause being
optional--particularly when doing business.

But there other moral strains mentioned by one of my libertarian Linux
respondents. "Taking money from some one who earned it to give it to
some one who didn't is stealing, government or otherwise."  This
actually combines two moral axioms common to libertarians and
conservatives.  The first is that taxes are a form of theft.  The second
is that it is immoral to give (poor) people money. (Exceptions are made
for rich people and corporations because in that case they earn the
money through their cleverness and not through class conscious theft).
The morality of "taxes are theft", in particular, is logically self
consistent; therefore, convincing on its face.



I used to be a pacifist. I was raised Mennonite.  Pacifism is a
logically self-consistent principle.  Killing is horrific, killing is
murder, killing for a cause or for war is still horrific and is still
murder.  The problem is that war is an inescapable part of the human
condition.  Even in the best of times the potential is there.  Pacifism
doesn't allow for the complexities of human reality, it isn't pragmatic.



The moral principle that "taxes are theft" suffers from a similar
limitation.  Logically taxes ARE theft.  However, one must be expedient
and practical.  We have a society to run.  We need to buy social goods.
Social goods have to be paid for and that money has always come from taxes.

There is a more fundamental problem with libert

Re: Brin: On 'Incomprehesibility'

[David Brin]

Today's DVD's

1- are not universal if you record on "minus" or "plus" mode and many units 
throw fits, even then

2- fast-forward and reverse are a mess.  They are twichy and over and 
undershoot like mad.

3- menu navigation is often torment

4-  You cannot copy incrementally, onto the end of a segment of DVD that you 
already recorded some before.

5-  Very few computers let you use a DVD as an optical mass storage device, 
even though it is the perfect medium for making your monthly hard-disk backup.  
They insist it can only be used AS a DVD-video storage device.

6 -  Even with new hacks and machines, there is still collusion between 
manufacturers and studios, meant to diminish and hinder copying of anything you 
legitimately own.  Yes, there are reasons for this.  But clearly the market is 
not functioning, or some company would simply be selling units that do what the 
customer wants.___
http://mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l_mccmedia.com

Re: Brin: Language

[David Brin]

>Which shows how diametrically different Galactic lawyers are to US 
lawyers, who are frequently hired to find some way of making the 
contract say the exact opposite of what it is meant to say because 
one of the signatories wants to do what he wants rather than what he agreed to.

YEP!

>"In one respect at least the Martians are a happy people; they have 
no lawyers." -- Edgar Rice Burroughs, "A Princess of Mars"



Actually, it is much more subtle than that.  Lawyers are like bees.  They 
really can be very useful.  But in large quantities they kill.

My allegory?  How can we both help Russia and the US at the same time?

Send tham half our lawyers - freedom in both countries will go up.

Send half the graduates of our Business Schools.  Both economies skyrocket.

Send half of Nasa's managers.  We get a good space program, they get some good 
farm labor.___
http://mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l_mccmedia.com

Re: Brin: Language

[David Brin]

Fascinating!  I'll use the Mandarin /time part in my current novel.






From: KZK 
To: brin-l@mccmedia.com
Sent: Sunday, June 28, 2009 3:00:34 PM
Subject: Brin: Language

I'd like to hear Dr. Brin's thoughts on this:
http://edge.org/3rd_culture/boroditsky09/boroditsky09_index.html

He touched on the concept in some of the Uplift Novels, where galactic
languages have generally been constructed in a way that eliminates
metaphore.  Also I would like to know how it plays into Dr. Brin's 5
Dominate world Meme's theory.

___
http://mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l_mccmedia.com___
http://mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l_mccmedia.com

Re: BRIN: Startide books on Kindle?

[David Brin]

Great! Thanks for the quick response. Any idea how long it will be
before Kindle editions are available?



I have no idea.  Hopefully just a matter of months.

Meanwhile folks, remember to drop by http://www.davidbrin.com
and/or my blog http://davidbrin.blogspot.com/

I've been on several episodes of Life After People.

Be sure to order THROUGH STRANGER EYES for your Brin fix.

Also see several novellas of mine on Baen's UNIVERSE Magazine online, including 
two very different comedies!

Oh, any of you who used to pre-read my manuscripts... are you still interested? 
 I have a couple of items, starting with my wife's new YA sf novel.  Cheryl has 
written a lovely, somewhat feminine story about a girl on a colony planet, 
growing up fast while her nation goes through a conflict a lot like WWI.   It's 
really good!  But could use some more eyes.

db___
http://mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l_mccmedia.com

Re: BRIN: Startide books on Kindle?

[David Brin]

John, I have the contracts in-hand, as we speak!
 With cordial regards,

David Brin
http://www.davidbrin.com





From: John Williams 
To: Killer Bs (David Brin et al) Discussion 
Sent: Thursday, June 11, 2009 11:08:03 AM
Subject: BRIN: Startide books on Kindle?

Any idea why none of Startide Rising or the many sequels are available
in Amazon Kindle format?

I've been curious for some time why so few SF books are available for
Kindle. Only about 1 in 5 of SF books that I would like to purchase
are available for Kindle. The only explanation I can come up with is
that Amazon caps the Kindle edition price at $9.99 (has anyone seen a
SF Kindle book above $9.99?) and the publishers think there is no
profit in it at that price. But paperback editions are frequently less
than $9.99, so that explanation requires that the costs for selling a
Kindle edition are higher than for a paperback, which would be odd. Is
Kindle flawed in this way?

___
http://mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l_mccmedia.com___
http://mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l_mccmedia.com

Re: Brin: Re: New Uplift Universe question....

[David Brin]

I'm on it.  seriously




From: Nick Arnett 
To: Killer Bs (David Brin et al) Discussion 
Sent: Friday, May 8, 2009 7:54:29 PM
Subject: Brin: Re: New Uplift Universe question




On Fri, May 8, 2009 at 6:10 PM, Dan M  wrote:

I've got a question that I think about when I think of Brin.  He hasn't
written a regular novel since Kiln People, which was about 6 years ago...and
his last graphic novel was a year after that.

Is it fair to say that, while he will continue to write short fiction, the
probability of a new novel is exponentially decaying, or will there be new
novels?

Somebody had to bring this to David's attention, thus the subject change!

Nick ___
http://mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l_mccmedia.com

Re: Problem with (and, specially, without) Brin: [was: On the Housing Market]

[David Brin]

Hi Nick.

I am reading this at db...@sbcglobal.net

But that address gets pass-thru from two other addresses:  
b...@alumni.caltech.edu  and b...@cts.com(I doubt those are listed on 
Brin-L but you might check.

Thanks for plowing through this.

david




From: Nick Arnett 
To: Killer Bs (David Brin et al) Discussion 
Sent: Thursday, February 26, 2009 10:15:18 AM
Subject: Re: Problem with (and, specially, without) Brin: [was: On the Housing  
Market]

And you're getting this at the email address below?  That's what shows up in 
the headers as the actual address to which the email was sent?

I'm really sorry about this... it was working perfectly before the move and I 
can't see any reason it shouldn't now.

On the other hand, if you don't reply to this message, I'll know that Julia 
figured it out.

Nick


2009/2/26 David Brin 

I have to agree with Alberto.  Some other solution is needed, since I am 
getting all subject lines, all the time...




From: Alberto Monteiro 
To: Killer Bs (David Brin et al) Discussion 
Sent: Thursday, February 26, 2009 9:47:57 AM
Subject: Problem with (and, specially, without) Brin: [was: On the Housing 
Market]


David Brin complained:
> 
> Alas, both versions came through.  Nick, have we run out of
> solutions here? 
>
May I offer a suggestion?

* Set the standard David Brin account to receive no mails

* Create (someone else could do it) a dummy account, like
  david.brin.k...@somewhere, run by a 'bot, and subscribe it
  to the list

* The 'bot has the primary purpose of forwarding to the standard David
  Brin account every message whose subject includes the string "Brin:"

* The 'bot has the secondary purpose of forwarding to the list every
  message it receives from the main David Brin account

Alberto Monteiro


___
http://mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l_mccmedia.com


___
http://mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l_mccmedia.com___
http://mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l_mccmedia.com

Re: Problem with (and, specially, without) Brin: [was: On the Housing Market]

[David Brin]

I have to agree with Alberto.  Some other solution is needed, since I am 
getting all subject lines, all the time...




From: Alberto Monteiro 
To: Killer Bs (David Brin et al) Discussion 
Sent: Thursday, February 26, 2009 9:47:57 AM
Subject: Problem with (and, specially, without) Brin: [was: On the Housing 
Market]

David Brin complained:
> 
> Alas, both versions came through.  Nick, have we run out of
> solutions here? 
>
May I offer a suggestion?

* Set the standard David Brin account to receive no mails

* Create (someone else could do it) a dummy account, like
  david.brin.k...@somewhere, run by a 'bot, and subscribe it
  to the list

* The 'bot has the primary purpose of forwarding to the standard David
  Brin account every message whose subject includes the string "Brin:"

* The 'bot has the secondary purpose of forwarding to the list every
  message it receives from the main David Brin account

Alberto Monteiro


___
http://mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l_mccmedia.com___
http://mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l_mccmedia.com

and a test with no colons

[David Brin]

From: David Brin 
To: Killer Bs (David Brin et al) Discussion 
Sent: Thursday, February 26, 2009 10:05:08 AM
Subject: Re: Looking for a story...


Sorry folks.  Must test three subject lines this time.

With "Re:"

With "Brin:"

Without either.




From: Andrew Crystall 
To: brin-l@mccmedia.com
Sent: Thursday, February 26, 2009 9:30:53 AM
Subject: Looking for a story...

I'm looking for a story I read - I think it was a short story. It 
features a grunt's eye view of an  attack on an alien position, with 
the attackers being aliens of the same species, but bred by Humans as 
part of their society.

AndrewC

___
http://mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l_mccmedia.com___
http://mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l_mccmedia.com

Brin:

[David Brin]

with "Brin:"



____
From: David Brin 
To: Killer Bs (David Brin et al) Discussion 
Sent: Thursday, February 26, 2009 10:05:08 AM
Subject: Re: Looking for a story...


Sorry folks.  Must test three subject lines this time.

With "Re:"

With "Brin:"

Without either.




From: Andrew Crystall 
To: brin-l@mccmedia.com
Sent: Thursday, February 26, 2009 9:30:53 AM
Subject: Looking for a story...

I'm looking for a story I read - I think it was a short story. It 
features a grunt's eye view of an  attack on an alien position, with 
the attackers being aliens of the same species, but bred by Humans as 
part of their society.

AndrewC

___
http://mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l_mccmedia.com___
http://mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l_mccmedia.com

Re: Looking for a story...

[David Brin]

Sorry folks.  Must test three subject lines this time.

With "Re:"

With "Brin:"

Without either.




From: Andrew Crystall 
To: brin-l@mccmedia.com
Sent: Thursday, February 26, 2009 9:30:53 AM
Subject: Looking for a story...

I'm looking for a story I read - I think it was a short story. It 
features a grunt's eye view of an  attack on an alien position, with 
the attackers being aliens of the same species, but bred by Humans as 
part of their society.

AndrewC

___
http://mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l_mccmedia.com___
http://mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l_mccmedia.com

Re: Looking for a story...

[David Brin]

Sorry.  Doesn't ring a bell

 With cordial regards,

David Brin
http://www.davidbrin.com





From: Andrew Crystall 
To: brin-l@mccmedia.com
Sent: Thursday, February 26, 2009 9:30:53 AM
Subject: Looking for a story...

I'm looking for a story I read - I think it was a short story. It 
features a grunt's eye view of an  attack on an alien position, with 
the attackers being aliens of the same species, but bred by Humans as 
part of their society.

AndrewC

___
http://mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l_mccmedia.com___
http://mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l_mccmedia.com

Re: On the Housing Market

[David Brin]

Alas, both versions came through.  Nick, have we run out of solutions here?
david




From: David Brin 
To: Killer Bs (David Brin et al) Discussion 
Sent: Wednesday, February 25, 2009 7:58:46 PM
Subject: On the Housing Market


Testing without "Re:"




From: Rceeberger 
To: Killer Bs (David Brin et al)  Discussion 
Sent: Wednesday, February 25, 2009 6:25:30 PM
Subject: RE: On the Housing Market


On 2/24/2009 11:22:40 PM, Dan M (dsummersmi...@comcast.net) wrote:
> > Thanks John!
> > Those were pretty much the kinds of arguments I was seeing in 2006-2007
> > that
> > made me anticipate the bubble bursting.
> > Do you see the correction lasting 12 - 18 months or perhaps longer?
> 
> 
> I
> won't argue with the basic premise, because I saw it too...especially for
> the coasts, NV, etc,

Sure, those areas were what tipped me off that something was up, though to be 
honest, I anticipated the bubble bursting only in the highly priced areas with 
the rest of the country riding it out mostly unmolested. I saw the loan 
problems as being a parallel situation and never expected such a dramatic 
implosion.


> but I have found that it is more expensive to live in a
> 1350 sq. foot apartment that's
> not as nice as my house than it would be if I
> bought my old 2950 sq. foot house at the price I sold it, paid 20% down,
> and
> lost the interest on the down payment money.  This figures in all the
> costs
> of maintenance, the but not the 400 sq. foot of storage for furniture
> and
> books and stuff that we are storing until we move to wherever Teri gets a
> call.

Down on the far south side of town, also on the pricey side of real estate, 
1000 sq ft runs $800 - $1000 depending on how nice the appointments are.  Of 
course there is a price level above and one below, depending on ones income 
bracket.


> 
> On the whole, up on the north side of Houston,
> it's cheaper per sq. ft. per
> year to own than to rent.  I think that's
> very unusual for the US, so I
> think Houston is just below the live because of expensive downtown
> rentalsif we weren't hoping to leave soon, it wouldn't make sense to
> rent.
> 
Right now houses in Clear Lake are quite inexpensive. Prices are way down from 
2005 levels. 10 - 20 percent in many cases. When I was first recognizing the 
bubble, I noticed a lot of billboards advertizing homes in the 400-500K range 
and I wondered who in the hell were buying these homes. I still have no idea.

For John, one of the better real estate sites I visit is HAR.com


xponent
Da Moneez Maru
rob 

___
http://mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l_mccmedia.com___
http://mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l_mccmedia.com

On the Housing Market

[David Brin]

Testing without "Re:"




From: Rceeberger 
To: Killer Bs (David Brin et al)  Discussion 
Sent: Wednesday, February 25, 2009 6:25:30 PM
Subject: RE: On the Housing Market


On 2/24/2009 11:22:40 PM, Dan M (dsummersmi...@comcast.net) wrote:
> > Thanks John!
> > Those were pretty much the kinds of arguments I was seeing in 2006-2007
> > that
> > made me anticipate the bubble bursting.
> > Do you see the correction lasting 12 - 18 months or perhaps longer?
> 
> 
> I
> won't argue with the basic premise, because I saw it too...especially for
> the coasts, NV, etc,

Sure, those areas were what tipped me off that something was up, though to be 
honest, I anticipated the bubble bursting only in the highly priced areas with 
the rest of the country riding it out mostly unmolested. I saw the loan 
problems as being a parallel situation and never expected such a dramatic 
implosion.


> but I have found that it is more expensive to live in a
> 1350 sq. foot apartment that's
> not as nice as my house than it would be if I
> bought my old 2950 sq. foot house at the price I sold it, paid 20% down,
> and
> lost the interest on the down payment money.  This figures in all the
> costs
> of maintenance, the but not the 400 sq. foot of storage for furniture
> and
> books and stuff that we are storing until we move to wherever Teri gets a
> call.

Down on the far south side of town, also on the pricey side of real estate, 
1000 sq ft runs $800 - $1000 depending on how nice the appointments are.  Of 
course there is a price level above and one below, depending on ones income 
bracket.


> 
> On the whole, up on the north side of Houston,
> it's cheaper per sq. ft. per
> year to own than to rent.  I think that's
> very unusual for the US, so I
> think Houston is just below the live because of expensive downtown
> rentalsif we weren't hoping to leave soon, it wouldn't make sense to
> rent.
> 
Right now houses in Clear Lake are quite inexpensive. Prices are way down from 
2005 levels. 10 - 20 percent in many cases. When I was first recognizing the 
bubble, I noticed a lot of billboards advertizing homes in the 400-500K range 
and I wondered who in the hell were buying these homes. I still have no idea.

For John, one of the better real estate sites I visit is HAR.com


xponent
Da Moneez Maru
rob 

___
http://mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l_mccmedia.com___
http://mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l_mccmedia.com

Re: On the Housing Market

[David Brin]

I'm testing by replying once with "Re: in the subject line and once without.

If only the "Re:" comes to me, then we have a PARTIAL version of the old 
method, and I'll ask that folks remove "Re:" unless they seriously want my 
attention.  (The old "Re: Brin:" was better)

If I get both, then another solution is needed.

thrive all!

d



____
From: Rceeberger 
To: Killer Bs (David Brin et al)  Discussion 
Sent: Wednesday, February 25, 2009 6:25:30 PM
Subject: RE: On the Housing Market


On 2/24/2009 11:22:40 PM, Dan M (dsummersmi...@comcast.net) wrote:
> > Thanks John!
> > Those were pretty much the kinds of arguments I was seeing in 2006-2007
> > that
> > made me anticipate the bubble bursting.
> > Do you see the correction lasting 12 - 18 months or perhaps longer?
> 
> 
> I
> won't argue with the basic premise, because I saw it too...especially for
> the coasts, NV, etc,

Sure, those areas were what tipped me off that something was up, though to be 
honest, I anticipated the bubble bursting only in the highly priced areas with 
the rest of the country riding it out mostly unmolested. I saw the loan 
problems as being a parallel situation and never expected such a dramatic 
implosion.


> but I have found that it is more expensive to live in a
> 1350 sq. foot apartment that's
> not as nice as my house than it would be if I
> bought my old 2950 sq. foot house at the price I sold it, paid 20% down,
> and
> lost the interest on the down payment money.  This figures in all the
> costs
> of maintenance, the but not the 400 sq. foot of storage for furniture
> and
> books and stuff that we are storing until we move to wherever Teri gets a
> call.

Down on the far south side of town, also on the pricey side of real estate, 
1000 sq ft runs $800 - $1000 depending on how nice the appointments are.  Of 
course there is a price level above and one below, depending on ones income 
bracket.


> 
> On the whole, up on the north side of Houston,
> it's cheaper per sq. ft. per
> year to own than to rent.  I think that's
> very unusual for the US, so I
> think Houston is just below the live because of expensive downtown
> rentalsif we weren't hoping to leave soon, it wouldn't make sense to
> rent.
> 
Right now houses in Clear Lake are quite inexpensive. Prices are way down from 
2005 levels. 10 - 20 percent in many cases. When I was first recognizing the 
bubble, I noticed a lot of billboards advertizing homes in the 400-500K range 
and I wondered who in the hell were buying these homes. I still have no idea.

For John, one of the better real estate sites I visit is HAR.com


xponent
Da Moneez Maru
rob 

___
http://mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l_mccmedia.com___
http://mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l_mccmedia.com

Re: Watch the news out of Switzerland -

[David Brin]

Yep, Pat.  My chief fear is that people won't get riled up enough.






From: Pat Mathews 
To: Brin List 
Sent: Monday, February 23, 2009 7:26:42 AM
Subject: Watch the news out of Switzerland -

UBS is starting to look very, very bad.

I remember reading Earth and taking the Helvetian War for granted as the major 
early-21st Century Crisis without bothering to wonder what triggered the public 
mood of anger at their secrecy and covering up for dictators etc. Now, several 
months into the current recession, it becomes painfully clear - 

People will tolerate a lot of this sort of thing while they're making money or 
have hopes of making money. It's when the economy crashes and takes Main Street 
down with it that they get out the tar and feathers - and later the nukes. I've 
been watching it unfold with my own eyes.

So - back to Earth - a worldwide economic crash in which the Swiss Bankers 
appeared to be the primary culprits, and the witch hunt is on until Helvetia 
glows in the dark. Yes. This makes SUCH good sense. Different timeline, of 
course, since it's the American financiers who are now in danger of being 
tarred and feathered and ridden out of town on a rail. But - google for UBS in 
trouble.

http://idiotgrrl.livejournal.com/ ___
http://mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l_mccmedia.com

Re: Testing for DB

[David Brin]

>>This message should not reach (i.e., bother) David Brin.

Nick

Alas, This one did... as well as the other one.  So it isn't working.  

Bear with us, folks!

db___
http://mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l_mccmedia.com

Re: [Brin-l] Admin page for Brin-L

[David Brin]

Nick I just got both of your replies to me.

Please do one version with "Brin:" in the subject line and one without 
(labelled) - I should only get one.

Sorry to the rest of you for this transition finagling!

db





From: Nick Arnett 
To: Killer Bs (David Brin et al) Discussion 
Sent: Thursday, February 19, 2009 9:03:03 AM
Subject: Re: [Brin-l] Admin page for Brin-L

Should be done now... let me know if it isn't working.

Nick


2009/2/19 David Brin 

One item, Nick... the old list was set only to include me when people put 
"Brin:" in the subject line.  That way I remained available for occasional high 
points of interest, but the list did not help to delay my next novel!

Is there any way we can go back to that regime?  Or something similar?

Thanks & all best
david brin




From: Nick Arnett 
To: Killer Bs (David Brin et al) Discussion 
Sent: Thursday, February 19, 2009 7:49:46 AM
Subject: Re: [Brin-l] Admin page for Brin-L





On Thu, Feb 19, 2009 at 12:18 AM, Charlie Bell  wrote:


On 19/02/2009, at 3:26 AM, Nick Arnett wrote:


Not sure if you really expect that, but it is only supposed to work on
mccmedia.com



Well, I received an email saying this:

***
Moving the Brin-L list... if your address was set to "No mail," you should be 
able to change it back yourself... or Nick will do it for you eventually 
(there's a lot to do right now).Welcome to the bri...@nickarnett.net mailing 
list!

Ugh.  That's not supposed to happen.  Thanks for letting me know.

Nick 
___
http://mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l_mccmedia.com___
http://mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l_mccmedia.com

Re: [Brin-l] Admin page for Brin-L

[David Brin]

One item, Nick... the old list was set only to include me when people put 
"Brin:" in the subject line.  That way I remained available for occasional high 
points of interest, but the list did not help to delay my next novel!

Is there any way we can go back to that regime?  Or something similar?

Thanks & all best
david brin




From: Nick Arnett 
To: Killer Bs (David Brin et al) Discussion 
Sent: Thursday, February 19, 2009 7:49:46 AM
Subject: Re: [Brin-l] Admin page for Brin-L




On Thu, Feb 19, 2009 at 12:18 AM, Charlie Bell  wrote:


On 19/02/2009, at 3:26 AM, Nick Arnett wrote:


Not sure if you really expect that, but it is only supposed to work on
mccmedia.com



Well, I received an email saying this:

***
Moving the Brin-L list... if your address was set to "No mail," you should be 
able to change it back yourself... or Nick will do it for you eventually 
(there's a lot to do right now).Welcome to the bri...@nickarnett.net mailing 
list!

Ugh.  That's not supposed to happen.  Thanks for letting me know.

Nick ___
http://mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l_mccmedia.com

Re: Weekly Chat Reminder

[David Brin]

Bill thanks for continuing this fine old tradition!  Glad I removed most of the 
politics to http://davidbrin.blogspot.com/

One thing.  Were some of you formerly pre-readers of my works who used to work 
with me, offering feedback on books?  I think I have contacted many of you, 
lately.  But feel free to write to me  at davidb...@sbcglobal.net and remind me 
what you pre-read for me before.

I may have a couple more cool items!

Thrive all and long live Brin-L!

david b___
http://mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l_mccmedia.com

Re: [Brin-l] Brin: Some stuff from Down Under

[David Brin]

Charlie, you are all in our hope and prayers.  A year ago, my kids were 
volunteering at shelters during the San Diego fires and my eldest and I helped 
staff a National Guard checkpoint.  But we experienced nothing even remotely 
like what you describe.  The "Australian Method" of building homes to resist 
fire and "shelter in place" worked well, where it was tried.  But You lot have 
experienced its limits.

I just removed one Eucalyptus tree and more will go.  They are just too 
dangerous.

Good luck.
david brin___
http://mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l_mccmedia.com

Re: Brin: an Obama joke!

[David Brin]

hrrr





From: Alberto Vieira Ferreira Monteiro 
To: Killer Bs (David Brin et al) Discussion 
Sent: Monday, February 9, 2009 3:42:48 PM
Subject: Brin: an Obama joke!

After four years trying to fix USA's economy, Obama dies.

But he does not die alone: as an asteroid smashes against Earth,
everybody dies. However, in the confusion of dealing with
7 billion incoming souls, the afterlife bureaucracy sends Obama to Hell.

There, he complains, but only after a long time he is heard.

- 'I think I don't have to be here' he says 'I am aware that
I couldn't do much to save the economy, but I tried hard.
And, considering the utter mess that was sent to me, I
think I did a good job!'

The archangel gets his files, and says:

- 'Yes, I'm sorry. There was a terrible mistake here. You
were sent to Hell, yes, but not as a form of punishment.
You were sent to Hell to rule it and fix it. Hell after 6,000 
years of Satan administration isn't as hopeless as the USA
after 8 years of Bush administration.'

Alberto Monteiro
___
http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
___
http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l

Re: Brin: Startide Movie?

[David Brin]

Paramount hired a script but never went with it, alas.

See http://www.davidbrin.com for other news.  All best

db




From: Mauro Diotallevi 
To: Brin List 
Sent: Tuesday, February 3, 2009 11:52:12 AM
Subject: Brin: Startide Movie?

This link: 
http://scifiwire.com/2009/01/day-director-scott-derrickson-returns-to-sf-with-hyperion-film.php#more
or http://tinyurl.com/cyzs36 mentions a movie version of Startide
Rising from Paramount.  Is there any truth to this?

-- 
Mauro Diotallevi
"The number you have dialed is imaginary.  Please rotate your phone 90
degrees and try again."
___
http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
___
http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l

Re: Brin: Congratulations! Today you get rid of... of... what's his name?

[David Brin]

My suggestions to Obama are at:
http://www.davidbrin.com/suggestion.htm






From: Alberto Vieira Ferreira Monteiro 
To: Killer Bs (David Brin et al) Discussion 
Sent: Tuesday, January 20, 2009 6:03:02 AM
Subject: Brin: Congratulations! Today you get rid of... of... what's his name?

Congratulations! Today you get rid of... of... what's his name? Bull? 
Burt? Bast?

An interesting thing: those past weeks, the stock market was so hysterical
that _anything_ Obama said would make it go up, then panic would resume
the next few days and it would crash down again.

Alberto Monteiro
___
http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
___
http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l

Re: Brin: Congratulations! Today you get rid of... of... what's his name?

[David Brin]

Even putting aside my pleasure and relief that the moment had finally come,  I 
was of course inspired by President Obama's words, his call for a new spirit of 
purpose and idealism, evoking a sense of history and mission, duty and vision.  
Indeed, I hope they moved all Americans and people around the world - even 
those whose respect is as-yet guarded and suspicious.  Let us all hope that 
even grudging doubters will be swayed toward firmer feelings of appreciation, 
over the coming years, not only by the skill and character of the Obama team, 
but also by events.   By the validation that is bestowed by great success.
 
And yet, I don't feel compelled to write much about those themes and 
sentiments, all of which will be noted by others.  Instead, what I'll do - out 
of habit - is bring notice to a few side-glimmers and exceptional points 
that won't (I reckon) be mentioned by most pundits, or even historians.

For example, it struck me that President Obama repeatedly called upon us to 
rise up as adults and not only  listen to the angels of our better 
natures - not only heed  our high ideals - but also  to rediscover the arts 
of negotiation and pragmatic problem-solving that undergird those lofty 
principles, and without which they  so  easily dissolve into platitudes or 
self-righteous rationalizations. (As, indeed, the word "freedom" was cheapened 
in recent years, into a mere totem  for "my side.") 

Other nations have known duty, honor, patriotism, self-sacrifice... and even 
freedom  But it is the mix of those fine things with other ingredients -- with 
patience and craftsmanship, with both eager competition and willing 
cooperation, with reciprocal respect and healthy self-doubt -- that made the 
loftier ideals truly world-transforming.  And that notion of anchoring idealism 
in pragmatic action is the message that I felt through my bones - deeper than 
through my ears - during Barack Obama's inaugural address.

Do you want examples?

"To those who cling to power through corruption and deceit and the silencing 
of dissent, know that you are on the wrong side of history; but that we will 
extend a hand if you are willing to unclench your fist."

How simple an image, and fundamental an offer.  And then came a sentence that 
both rebuked the recent past and expressed far greater confidence in us than we 
have seen expressed (alas) by recent leaders:

"As for our common defense, we reject as false the choice between our safety 
and our ideals."

Of course you'll recognize a central theme of my book The Transparent 
Society: Will Technology Make Us Choose Between Privacy and Freedom? And 
especially since the dire events of 9/11, as I kept hoping Americans would 
reject the dismal and insipid "devil's dichotomy" we were constantly offered, 
having to choose between two things we simply cannot live without.

Those two passages were certainly noted by others. Moreover, without question, 
President Obama had to say them, whether or not he meant quite the emphasis 
that I perceived.  But two other paragraphs contained - tucked within - 
what I feel are vital hints to Barack Obama's character and agenda.  Because 
they are things he did not have to say.  Very few of the two million 
people attending in Washington, or close to a billion watching around the 
world, will note them.  But I suggest that you do.

"We will restore science to its rightful place, and wield technology's 
wonders to raise health care's quality and lower its cost. We will harness the 
sun and the winds and the soil to fuel our cars and run our factories. And we 
will transform our schools and colleges and universities to meet the demands of 
a new age."

Yes, yes.  Education, sustainability, the new technologies that may not only 
help save the nation and planet, but also start the next economic boom, in much 
the same way that our government's internet research sparked the last one... 
all of that was profoundly welcome, and expected.  But to put science first, 
ahead of all the others, and thus signaling it's "rightful place" struck me 
deeply.  This is one lawyer who knows that good decisions cannot be based 
incantations, but ultimately depend on actual, honest-to-God facts.  

We have had enough of leaders who arrogantly believed that all you need to 
govern is one thing, a powerfully certain, subjective force of will.  

But then, it can be argued that Obama also had to mention science, after the 
travesties of recent years.  Perhaps that, too, was no surprise, and I may be 
reading too much into it. So let me reach deeper for my final clue. 

"Our challenges may be new. The instruments with which we meet them may be 
new. But those values upon which our success depends - hard work and honesty, 
courage and fair play, tolerance and curiosity, loyalty and patriotism - these 
things are old. These things are true. They have been the quiet force of 
progress throughout our history. What is demanded then is a return to these

Re: Brin: Congratulations! Today you get rid of... of... what's his name?

[David Brin]

Thanks Alberto.

Hoping the world will soon be proud of us!

d




From: Alberto Vieira Ferreira Monteiro 
To: Killer Bs (David Brin et al) Discussion 
Sent: Tuesday, January 20, 2009 6:03:02 AM
Subject: Brin: Congratulations! Today you get rid of... of... what's his name?

Congratulations! Today you get rid of... of... what's his name? Bull? 
Burt? Bast?

An interesting thing: those past weeks, the stock market was so hysterical
that _anything_ Obama said would make it go up, then panic would resume
the next few days and it would crash down again.

Alberto Monteiro
___
http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
___
http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l

Re: Brin: Re: A guaranteed-unusual set of "suggestions" for Obama etc

[David Brin]

Yeager broke the sound barrier.





From: Ronn! Blankenship 
To: Killer Bs (David Brin et al)  Discussion 
Sent: Thursday, January 15, 2009 4:37:54 AM
Subject: Brin: Re: A guaranteed-unusual set of "suggestions" for Obama  etc

At 01:20 AM Thursday 1/15/2009, d.brin wrote:

>The other posting is a little  allegory about a strange event that
>happened sixty years ago -- the Miracle of 1947 -- when liberals and
>Democrats went through a wrenching, painful self-transformation,
>similar to what decent, patriotic conservatives should do, in 2009.
>( http://www.davidbrin.com/1947.htm )



Any relation to the _other_ significant event which allegedly 
occurred that year?  >:-}

Weather Balloon Maru


. . . ronn!  :)



___
http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
___
http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l

Re: Brin: on the telly again

[David Brin]

Hmmm... Just in case you were right about the manchurian-candidate
conspiracy (right conspiracy, wrong person :-)) I will stay in a natural
anti-nuclear protective valley on 2009-01-20... What if Obama is 
brainwashed by Bush and decides to wipe out the whole 
Western Civilization? :-)


I prefer conspiracy theories that at least have SOME basis in observed fact.  
Obama SEEMS to have the fewest IOUs to pay off of any entering president, ever.

No, the worry spreading everywhere is that there are powers desperate not to 
let the honest men into office.  The vulnerable hour is while Obama and Biden 
and a hundred others are standing right next to each other.
___
http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l

Re: Brin:Re: Epochal media: 200 years ago and next week!

[David Brin]

Though "my" Sheldon does bicycle 30 miles a day.

Again, the YouTube concerto is:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R4U7C1_dxCA&feature=related

thrive




From: Charlie Bell <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: Killer Bs (David Brin et al)  Discussion 
Sent: Thursday, December 4, 2008 12:47:48 AM
Subject: Brin:Re: Epochal media: 200 years ago and next week!


On 04/12/2008, at 8:53 AM, d.brin wrote:
>
> Matters of art are subjective, of course.  But I deem Beethoven's
> Violin Concerto to be the greatest work of music ever conceived by
> Man.

Arguably. It's certainly a phenomenal piece of music. Your post has  
inspired me to go and find a good recording on CD, as I've lost almost  
all off my classical music in moving around the planet - *all* my  
vinyl is gone. I shall hit the music store on Friday.

Incidentally, and Off Topic (of course - this is Brin-L after all), I  
got a bit of a nasty shock when I saw the name "Sheldon Brown" in the  
to-field, 'cause he died a few months ago. "Maybe Dr Brin doesn't know  
he died," I thought. Then I checked the address and realised it was a  
different Sheldon Brown (apparently, the computer artist, not the  
bicycling guru). So as you were. :-)

Charlie.
___
http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
___
http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l

Re: Epochal media: 200 years ago and next week!

[David Brin]

This Youtubed concert shows the marvelous Anne-Sophie Mutter as soloist.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R4U7C1_dxCA&feature=related

But get better sound on a CD.  I love the Itzhak Perlman recording.  Hope you 
enjoy it as much as I do.

By the way, folks.  Announcing  my latest short story, now available for your 
pleasure at Baen’s Universe Magazine. 

http://www.baens-universe.com/articles/Shoresteading__Part_One

The first half is up free. To read the rest (of part one), you need to 
subscribe to the magazine... which is well worth it!  (There’s more content 
than in any print zine, and you can’t beat the convenience.) Indeed, you’ll be 
able to fish back and read Parts 1-4 of my hilarious serialized sf-spoof 
comedy, “The Ancient Ones.”  And, coming this spring, another funny one in a 
much more broad comedic style: “Gorilla My Dreams.”  Also "The Smartest Mob" 
which is set in the same universe as Shoresteading."  

A Plethora!  Membership/subscriptions are on a sliding scale.  And now, just 
for you folks, an added bonus! Type in coupon code EE329517B2  - which is good 
for $5 off any subscription!

(This is the novella I hope people may nominate in 2009! ;-)




From: Julia Thompson <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: d.brin <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Cc: brin-l@mccmedia.com
Sent: Thursday, December 4, 2008 8:39:51 AM
Subject: Re: Epochal media: 200 years ago and next week!



On Wed, 3 Dec 2008, d.brin wrote:

> As for the Violin Concerto...?
>
> Matters of art are subjective, of course.  But I deem Beethoven's
> Violin Concerto to be the greatest work of music ever conceived by
> Man.

Can someone with good knowledge of this piece recommend a particular 
recording of it?

Julia
___
http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l

Re: Brin: Life after People

[David Brin]

Wayne Eddy, and gang,

Yeah, Life After People was a fun show, though I had no actual control over it. 
 In fact, I think the time scales are 10-100x too short.  It was tasty that 
they left it vague WHY we were gone.  We might even have become gods and simply 
moved away!

Anyway, it got huge ratings so there'll be a spinoff series!

db






From: Wayne Eddy <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: Killer Bs (David Brin et al)  Discussion 
Sent: Thursday, November 27, 2008 11:41:24 AM
Subject: Brin: Life after People

"Life after people" screened here in Australia last night.  It was 
interesting to watch after reading all the comments on the list a while 
back.

The narration seems to have been redubbed - I think to try and give it more 
of an Australian flavour, so perhaps it has been totally re-edited.  From 
memory there were about five interview snippets with our patron, including 
the very first one.

At one point the narrator said something along the lines of "it is 
inevitable that one day that mankind will disappear from the world".  That 
may be true,  but IMHO that time is a long way off and the Earth, the 
biosphere & building design, etc., will be changed beyond recognition by 
that time and that any predictions should take that into account.

The segment about abandoned city near Chernobyl was very interesting.  It 
would an interesting project for someone to take a series of photos over the 
next fifty or a hundred and then make it into a time lapse film.

Regards,

Wayne Eddy 

___
http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
___
http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l

Re: Brin: someone stole your idea (again)

[David Brin]

Thanks Alberto!

Interesting!

d




From: Alberto Monteiro <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: brin-l@mccmedia.com
Sent: Monday, November 17, 2008 8:42:45 AM
Subject: Brin: someone stole your idea (again)

I got this from the Tolkien mailing list.

Remember when you wrote that Sauron was the real good guy, and not
those segregationists, neo-cons and prince-heirs? Someone stole your idea

Alberto Monteiro

--

 

Orcs 
Stan Nicholls  (See All Contributors) 
Paperback, 784 pages 
Little Brown & Company 
September 08, 2008 

Description: Fantasy's bad guys finally get their due in this fast 
moving, action-packed tale of Orc valor and human treachery.Orbit 

Description: "Look at me. Look at the Orc." "There is fear and hatred 
in your eyes. To you I am a monster, a skulker in the shadows, a fiend 
to scare your children with. A creature to be hunted down and 
slaughtered like a beast in the fields. It is time you pay heed to the 
beast. And see the beast in yourself. I have your fear. But I have 
earned your respect. Hear my story. Feel the flow of blood and be 
thankful. Thankful that it was me, not you, who bore the sword. 
Thankful to the orcs; born to fight, destined to win peace for all." 
This book will change the way you feel about Orcs forever. 

About the Author: Stan Nicholls has been a key figure on the genre 
scene for more than 20 years, having been a bookseller, reviewer, and 
writer. He writes a regular column for Time Out and contributes to 
both Interzone and Starburst. He is also the author of several 
children's fantasies. 

___
http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
___
http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l

Re: Brin: from Saturday's blog

[David Brin]

Thanks Alberto

I hope we don't let you down...


- Original Message 
From: Alberto Vieira Ferreira Monteiro <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: Killer Bs (David Brin et al) Discussion 
Sent: Monday, October 27, 2008 4:09:41 PM
Subject: Brin: from Saturday's blog

> Ever notice that Sarah Palin anagrams to "Sharia plan." 
> So, clearly, she's the one who plans to institute Muslim
> law in the United States. Other anagrams include:
> a sharp nail a plain rash. Any chance of a numeralogical
> match with 666? Pleze?
>
Numerology is an easy science!

  Sarah Palin Vice President USA

if we add the _roman_ digits, we get:

Palin = L + I = 51
Vice = V + I + C = 106
President = I + D = 501
USA = V = 5

adding together, we get 663.

Now, why we should add 3?

- she was the third children from her parents
- she finished third in Miss Alaska
- she has three terms as administrative experience (2 in Wasilia + 1 in 
Alaska)

So, it's clear that _3_ is Palin's lucky number.

Adding 663 + 3, we get 666!

Alberto Monteiro

___
http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
___
http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l

Re: Brin: Are you editing the Wikipedia?

[David Brin]

Bruce said: Sooner or later, an anti-democratic ideology will  
emerge that leverages democracy itself to destroy the democracy that  
elected it, and I'm quite convinced the Bush administration comprises  
at least some pieces of that exploit. 


DB:  There are many variants, including the "largesse calumny... that the 
People always ruin democracy thru overspending.  A slander that is especially 
ironic since it is the pseudo-feudal "nobility" that have done this, not the 
people.

see:
http://www.lorencollins.net/tytler.html

The intermediate paranoid hypothesis is that the kleptos have intentionally 
weakened all our institutions of accountability, while strengthening our 
institutions of capricious authority, in order to get away with more theft.  
Not necessarily in order to destroy the US.

The extreme, manchurian version is simple, and chilling. A certain foreign 
royal (oil) house has the means, motive and opportunity to create and forge and 
hand-craft a ruling US clade and order it to send us toward a cliff.  
Cicumstantial evidence abounds.
___
http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l

Re: Brin: Are you editing the Wikipedia?

[David Brin]

PS... Brinellers are welcome to drop by http://davidbrin.blogspot.com/  and 
participate




- Original Message 
From: Alberto Monteiro <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: brin-l@mccmedia.com
Sent: Thursday, October 2, 2008 1:11:05 PM
Subject: Brin: Are you editing the Wikipedia?

I was reading article Kleptocracy

(this edition:
http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Kleptocracy&oldid=242517104
it will probably be reverted...)

and saw this:

  In 2006, the Bush Administration enunciated a policy specifically
  to internationalize an effort to resist kleptocracies, which is
  ironic as the Bush Administration runs a kleptocracy

Are you editing the Wikipedia? :-)

Alberto Monteiro

___
http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
___
http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l

Re: Brin: Are you editing the Wikipedia?

[David Brin]

Never heard of this site.  I am not the only one calling the Bushites 
kleptocrats.

Where I am almost alone is in suggesting that an accompanying theory be given 
due consideration... not necessarily as the top theory, but certainly as one 
worth pondering--

-- that, beyond rapacious theft, the intent is ACTUALLY to deliberately and 
systematically destroy the United States of America.  As in "The Manchurian 
Candidate."

Yes, it seems far-fetched, and I am only doing my job as a completist and a 
thriller writer.  Still, no other hypothesis explains the perfect correlation 
of effects.




- Original Message 
From: Alberto Monteiro <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: brin-l@mccmedia.com
Sent: Thursday, October 2, 2008 1:11:05 PM
Subject: Brin: Are you editing the Wikipedia?

I was reading article Kleptocracy

(this edition:
http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Kleptocracy&oldid=242517104
it will probably be reverted...)

and saw this:

  In 2006, the Bush Administration enunciated a policy specifically
  to internationalize an effort to resist kleptocracies, which is
  ironic as the Bush Administration runs a kleptocracy

Are you editing the Wikipedia? :-)

Alberto Monteiro

___
http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
___
http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l

Conspiracy theories

[David Brin]

The vital thing about that show was that it was the
only piece of mass media I ever saw that had the guts
to fight back against dismal conspiracy theories. 
ONLY in that episode do you learn that LH Oswald was
an expert Marine marksman, that he had stalked an
American general and very likely worked for the Soviet
KGB.

Two nights ago we saw an Australian documentary that
set up torsoes of ballistics gell and ribs  and fired
into them from the right angle, proving that the
"magic bullet" could easily have passed through
Kennedy and Connoly, exactly as claimed.

What I don't get about conspiracy theories is that
people flock to the wrong ones!  The 9/11 "loose
change"  thing was monstrously - almost cartoony -
stupid.  And yet, nobody will look at the Bush
Administration and see the blatantly obvious...

...that their relentless destruction of American
strength and influence in the world could be easily
explained by blackmail and bribery... if one hostile
foreign power had pictures of one man with a donkey.



> > Then there was the episode of _Quantum Leap_ where
> originally both (JFK and Jackie) were killed.
> >
> 
> >From a distance of about 16 years, I remember that
> episode as much
> more intense than most episodes of that show.
___
http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l

Re: Brin: What's in the works?

[David Brin]

announcing a new posting on my blog at:
http://davidbrin.blogspot.com/

___
http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l

Re: Brin: What's in the works?

[David Brin]

See:
 February '77 National Lampoon --"Grand Fifth Term
Inaugural Issue: JFK's First 6,000 Days" which
featured a silver-haired JFK on the cover. The whole
issue was a big "what if..." about how things might
have turned out had the assassin's bullet missed JFK
and hit Jackie instead. A very good issue--neatly
deflates the Kennedy myth: US steers clear of Vietnam,
but ends up in Northern Ireland instead.

___
http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l

Re: Brin: What's in the works?

[David Brin]

I agree with John.  Both sides offer up trivia to
foster visceral dislike of the other guy, having
nothing to do with how they'd govern.  I am especially
uninterested in passing slips of the tongue.  BFD.

McCain would re-appoint most of the scoundrels who
have robbed us blind.  That's kinda boring as a
soundbite.  But it's overwhelming.

A second reason... only if the GOP is utterly trounced
will its own internal reformers have a chance to
re-take the party from the alliance of Rupert Murdoch,
Karl Rove and radical fundies who actually WANT the US
to end in fiery armageddon.  Only in exile, licking
its wounds, might the Goldwater types re-take command
and save the conservative movement.
___
http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l

Re: Brin: What's in the works?

[David Brin]

While I see far more to dislike about John McCain than
there is to like... his history of vicious anger, the
fact that he never administered more than 60 men,
once, for a year and did badly, the fact that he has
always acted like an
entitled-though-oedepally-frustrated son of a high
achieving father (sound familiar?)...

...I admit that there are some likeable traits too. 
Like his willingness to occasionally part from the
standard (and completely insane) neoconservative party
line.  NOWHERE enough to be called a "maverick" alas.

Which is the chief point.  Though he has edged away
from Bush, he would appoint at least 50% the same
monsters who have been crushing the US civil service
for 8 years, preventing the FBI from investigating
corruption, the SEC from investigating Wall Street
scams, the EPA from enforcing the law, the FDA from
vetting drugs... while giving no-bid contracts to
cronies and bankrupting our kids... ALL of these are
crimes by conservative standards, BTW
___
http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l

Re: Brin: What's in the works? (was Re: Greg Bear)

[David Brin]

Thanks Nick and sorry I neglect Brin-L.  Drowning for
time, alas.  

(I blog sometimes at: http://davidbrin.blogspot.com/ )

First off... we've all just returned from a high
plains family odyssey -- from Denver (the World
Science Fiction convention) to Mt. Rushmore, Crazy
Horse, Devil's Monument and several cool caves (a
family interest of ours.)  

The Denver World Science Fiction Convention was a bit
small (they are steadily getting smaller) but
charming, friendly and one of the sweetest I ever
attended.  (My first worldcon ever was Denvention II
in 1981.)  Among the highlights:

1- SKY HORIZON  received the Hal Clement Award for
best science fiction novel for Young Adults...a short
but exciting  novel in the Heinlein tradition.

2- I got a chance to do this fabulous panel with
much-talented artists Frank Wu and Teddy Harvia, in
which I essentially did stand-up storytelling improv
with images or elements shouted from the audience
while Frank and Teddy sketched.  It got rather
rollicking and manic, with Frank & I standing on the
tables doing surfer moves, then leading the audience
in chants and songs, then getting REALLY silly.  There
must be a dozen blog entries and youTube postings
about that one event.


 My latest book is THROUGH STRANGER EYES -- a
collection of essays and book reviews from Nimble
Press.  Also...controversial ..."Star Wars on Trial :
Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers Debate the Most
Popular Science Fiction Films of All Time" from
Benbella Books.  


Other news? I was a cast member on the History Channel
show "The ArchiTechs" (http://htyp.org/The_ArchiTECHS)
as well as the History Channel's most popular show
ever:  "Life After People".  Currently appearing on
the science show "The Universe."

 I helped  launch a major new online venture UNIVERSE
Magazine. (http://www.baens-universe.com/)  Drop by
for exciting stories! Including my new serial-comedy
THE ANCIENT ONES... funniest thing you'll read this
year!  

But of course I am distracted by the elections, hoping
we'll at last save America and civilization from a
criminal gang.  (What we're seeing -- including the
outright and direct theft of half a trillion dollars
-- goes far beyond regular issues of mere left or
right.)

Thrive all.

 With cordial regards,

David Brin
http://www.davidbrin.com


___
http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l

Re: Brin: in the Conservapedia

[David Brin]

It's not even comprehensive.  I could have written a
better survivalist entry... bleah.



--- Alberto Monteiro <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:

> BTW, it's frustating that the only reference to
> David Brin in
> the Conservapedia is in article:
> 
> http://www.conservapedia.com/Survivalist_retreat
> 
> Alberto Monteiro
> 
> ___
> http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
> 

___
http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l

Re: Brin: The Transparent Society revisited, P.S.

[David Brin]

I wish I had time to respond to Ronn! in the detail
that his thoughtful missives deserve.  Alas, I am
swamped, so I'll just have to encapsulate.

There is a core American value/trait that might be
called soft-libertarian -- a belief in competition as
a fundamental wellspring of creativity and many of the
good things that came out of the Enlightenment.   
This value is fundamentally correct, even though it
flies in the face of many thousands of years of
preachings that cooperation (guided by state or
religious elites) is a greater good. 

 This trend had strange roots in certain branches of
the Protestant Reformation (and the Calvinist versions
led to very weird theology).  But there can be no
doubt that recognition of the value of individualist
competition was a great breakthrough.  Indeed, I go
into great detail about this!  

(For a rather intense look at how "truth" is
determined in science, democracy, courts and markets,
see the lead article in the American Bar Association's
Journal on Dispute Resolution (Ohio State University),
v.15, N.3, pp 597-618, Aug. 2000, "Disputation Arenas:
Harnessing Conflict and Competition for Society's
Benefit."  or at:
http://www.davidbrin.com/disputationarticle1.html)

Indeed, The Transparent Society  is largely about the
importance of this  fundamental truth.  Most
civilization saw only the drawbacks of Individualistic
competition (IC) and bent every effort to channel of
limit it.  But The enlightenment learned to harness it
in regulated markets and democracy and science etc. 
Resulting in what Robert Wright's great book NONZERO
calls the positive sum game.

In America, the state's job is to maintain safety and
fairness... but also to ensure that the IC systems of
markets and democracy work fairly, so that all
benefit.  

Moreover, in their urgent will to save the world, some
liberals and many leftists badmouthed IC and forgot
that Adam Smith was the "first liberal."  There were,
indeed, times when the cooperative/state approaches to
problem solving that were pushed by FDR and LBJ etc
lost their way.

So, from the above, you folks can see that I am fully
aware of the benefits of IC and the ways that liberals
and democrats may have "lost their way."

And... having said that... let me say that it is
utterly delusional to portray this century as in any
way balanced between Democrate "betraying Americanism"
in - say - the 1960s - and the recent neocon betrayals
of the 21st century.  That's not right, for one big
reason.  The "betrayal" that Ronald Reagan talked
about (when "the Democratic Party left me") is 90%
utter fantasy, wrought by propaganda and outright
misconception.

In fact, liberalism has a track record of simply being
right, again and again and again.  About civil right,
womens' rights, education, science, environmentalism,
the list goes on and on and on...

...and the right has had to wholly invent  its
responses, time and again.  McCathyist ravings about
commies who were never there.  A domino theory in
Southeast asia.  A so-called plague of immorality
among the young and inthe cities (red america has
higher divorce, domestic violence, teen pregnancy and
down the line)... all the way to a trumped-up "terror
war" in which the certain victims (blue cities) want a
normal life while rural/red america yammers calls for
panic.

Fact:  the great enemy of free enterprise markets was
never socialism or bureaucracy.  Across 5,000 years,
it was always aristocratism.  The mighty, using their
power to get more and steal from others and cheat. 
Adam Smith knew this and railed against cheating
cronies of the King.  Yes!  Socialism can squelch
markets too.  But that wasn't the trend under FDR or
LBJ!  When small businesses boomed and yet we had the
flattest social order of all time.

Think.  Individualistic Competition works best when
all kids get the means to grow up to be empowered
competitors!  Hence the state has a perfectly
reasonable role in ensuring equal rights and universal
education, so that the engine of markets will have the
greatest possible feedstock of human talent, and a
minimum of human talent is wasted.  

We now draw talent from all races, genders and
classes.  That's the good news and it arose from
liberalism.   But democracy and markets ARE under
threat, from burgeoning class disparity and cheating. 
And THOSE are fruits of conservatism... at least in
its recent forms.

The stock market, business startups, the GDP, and
budget balances all do better under Dems... by a huge
margin.  So what metric can the right point to? 
Lowered taxes for the rich.  Times of peace? Lowered
taxes for the rich. War? Lowered taxes for the rich. 
Surpluses?Lowered taxes for the rich.  Deficits?
Lowered taxes for the rich. 

Can anybody smell a rat?

Look, I wish there were a decent conservatism and
libertarianism around, to serve as an alternating
counterbalance to some of the admitted liberal/lefty
excesses.  There ought to be free market solutions to
many democrat/statist fi

Re: Brin: The Transparent Society revisited

[David Brin]

Seems to have been a fairly well-written article,
though the concepts seem bizarrely difficult for
people to grasp, even now.

 Of course the existence of a "10th anniversary
panel", in itself, was quite an honor.  It is one of
the few public policy books from the 20th Century that
is not only still in print but sparking lively
discussion, as the issues become more pressing every
day.

As for the 2008 presidential campaign, well, although
the lady has yet to sing the song we want to hear, it
is nevertheless time, to resume looking at the big
picture, and start rehearsing what we’ll say in the
General Election.  And so, yet again, I urge that
folks consider the Ostrich Gambit... each of us taking
responsibility for three or four “decent republicans”
who aren’t troglodytes or aristos or racists or
vicious, but instead sincerely delusional and in
denial over what has happened to the conservative
movement in America.  

Do not underestimate the stubbornness of such people,
or their ability to follow Fox-generated
rationalizations all the way over a lemming-cliff! 
Still, if you can move just one, you’ll be part of a
revolution.  I have supplied the ammo!  Only,
remember, do NOT get caught up in a typical party-line
fight!  The trick that works is to show that the
Republican Party has betrayed decent conservative
values far more than the democrats ever could, while
re-defining those values in directions that should
make even Barry Goldwater spin in his grave.
http://davidbrin.com/ostrich2a.html  


___
http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l

Re: Brin: Probably not what you meant by Transparency

[David Brin]

Gadzooks.  I predicted this would be painful...  A
site that plots people convicted by crimes in a  map
of any neighborhood.
http://www.felonspy.com/search.html

We both need this new ere of better vision... and need
desperately to grow up, in order to use it wisely. 
Again, see my Google Tech Talk:  http://tinyurl.com/yy7yxm
___
http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l

Re: Brin: Singularities, Nightmares, and Japanese Sci-Fi

[David Brin]

kewl!



--- KZK <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:

>  > KZK thanks for interesting and thought-provoking
>  > stuff.
> 
> I try.
> 
>  > Look, I like Miazaki and I have enjoyed a lot of
> other
>  > anime.  Still, there seems to be a deep and
> abiding
>  > reluctance to do SF that I would call "for
> grownups".
> 
> I tried to list ones that were mostly fairly serious
> drama's with very 
> little "super deformed" animation.
> 
>  > Look, I know I have a lot more to see!  Thanks
> for the
>  > viewing assignment.  I will work my way thru it
>  > (slowly.)
> 
> Start with _Trigun_.  It's the best of the ones I
> listed.  It starts 
> goofy, but gets more & more serious.
> 
>  > >>Most stories that deal with time travel forget
> that
>  > we are also moving very rapidly in space, so if
> you
>  > were to travel in time you wouldn't bein the
> relative
>  > vicinity of where you traveled from..
> 
>  > See Benford"s TIMESCAPE that actually uses this
> as
>  > part of the plot.
> 
> Time travel is my favorite Genre of Science Fiction.
> 
> Speaking of Time-Travel and Japanese games, The best
> one was released a 
> few years ago for the Playstation called _Chrono
> Trigger_.
> 
>  > >>It seems to me, the biggest problem with faster
> than
>  > light travel (and time travel) is traveling at
> exactly
>  > the speed of light (which is
>  > division by zero).   If you could 'jump' over
> close to
>  > exactly c you
>  > could avoid most of the unpleasantries.
> 
>  > Which is why some people believe there may be
>  > tachyons.
> 
> I never knew that!
> 
>  > Thanks for the comprehensive run down of
> Japanimation
>  > studios!
> 
> Animation Quality has come a long way over just the
> past 10 years. 
> Compare the quality of the Show _Trigun_ (1998), to
> _Gungrave_ (2003?), 
> same studio and same author.
> 
>  > As for amateur CGI sf films... they do NOT have
> to be
>  > of the same rendering quality as Beowulf!  A
> helluva
>  > market niche awaits decent "cartoon" level
> renderings
>  > of really good stories.
> 
> For 2d it already exists.  It's called Flash
> animation.  There are even 
> several shows made that way on cartoon network and
> nickelodeon (_Mucha 
> Lucha_, _Handy Manny_, _fosters home for imaginary
> friends_, _sealab 
> 2021_, _harvey birdman attorney at law_, etc.).  The
> animation is very 
> awkward and unnatural, and generally doesn't look
> very good (fosters and 
> birdman being the best animated, and most
> expensive).
> 
> As for 3d, it took the guy who made _Sky Captain and
> the World of 
> Tomorrow_ something like a year and half to make
> what amounted to a 3 
> minute trailer.  It was really good, for one man
> working alone, but it 
> didn't scale up.  In order to make the movie, he
> basically had to create 
> his own studio with hundreds of employee's.
> ___
> http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
> 

___
http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l

Re: Brin: Singularities, Nightmares, and Japanese Sci-Fi

[David Brin]

KZK thanks for interesting and thought-provoking
stuff.

Look, I like Miazaki and I have enjoyed a lot of other
anime.  Still, there seems to be a deep and abiding
reluctance to do SF that I would call "for grownups". 


Look, I know I have a lot more to see!  Thanks for the
viewing assignment.  I will work my way thru it
(slowly.)

>>Most stories that deal with time travel forget that
we are also moving very rapidly in space, so if you
were to travel in time you wouldn't bein the relative
vicinity of where you traveled from..

See Benford"s TIMESCAPE that actually uses this as
part of the plot.

>>It seems to me, the biggest problem with faster than
light travel (and time travel) is traveling at exactly
the speed of light (which is 
division by zero).   If you could 'jump' over close to
exactly c you 
could avoid most of the unpleasantries.

Which is why some people believe there may be
tachyons.

Thanks for the comprehensive run down of Japanimation
studios!

As for amateur CGI sf films... they do NOT have to be
of the same rendering quality as Beowulf!  A helluva
market niche awaits decent "cartoon" level renderings
of really good stories.

db


___
http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l

Re: Brin: Singularities, Nightmares, and Japanese Sci-Fi

[David Brin]

Thanks guys.

I keep expecting that the new computer graphics would
empower semi-professionals to start a golden age of
animated SF...

But it hasn't happened yet, alas...

Maybe some of the graphics challenge winners will
spark something!
___
http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l

Re: Brin: Singularities, Nightmares, and Japanese Sci-Fi

[David Brin]

I exclude positive intervention in order to let them -
or God - off the hook.  There is (1) no evidence for
such events and (b) had others the power to intervent,
there have been mega tragedies they could have helped
us to avoid.  Just the availablity of glass lenses,
would have let us skip past a thousand hellish years.

See http://ieti.org/articles/brin.htm

Hey, if I were anti-Japan, do you think they'd have
made me guest of honor for their biggest show ever,
the World SF Convention, in Yokohama, last year?

I've seen a couple of the movies you cite.  And
thanks, I'll look into more.

Alas, I must tell you that storytelling logic often
seems deeply lacking.  PlanetS actually had some
elements I quite liked, though.

What I am trying to learn more about is the rising
KOREAN sci fi film renaissance.  I glimpsed one live
action time travel story, set in a parallel univ where
Japan still dominated Korea nowadays.  Lots of verve. 
Wish I knew the name.

ANyway, thanks and keep spreading the memes.

db



--- KZK <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:

> In your article on Singularities and Nightmares, you
> briefly discuss 
> negative intervention by outsiders (i.e. Aliens or
> so-called deities), 
> but you didn't really discuss positive /
> preventative intervention or 
> even neutral intervention by aliens.  Granted you
> explore those 
> scenarios in depth in your uplift novels, but I
> would have thought you 
> would be more of a completest in your non-fiction
> works.
> 
> But Actually I write because you say this Dr. Brin:
> 
> "For those of you who like Japanese-oriented sci
> fi... like monsters 
> that stomp cities... or just cool mythology, have a
> look at a small 
> webzine called Daikaijuzine. "
> 
> And you have also attacked anime and manga on
> several other occasions. 
> I just want to set the record straight.  Their is an
> enormous amount of 
> japanese sci-fi and it isn't all just monsters
> destroying cities or 
> giant robots.  It runs the full range and explores
> every facet of hard 
> sci-fi.  Most japanese sci-fi TV / Movies comes from
> adaptations of 
> manga and light novels, usually but not always into
> Animated Shows or 
> Animated Theatrical Movies.  Their are actually >
> 10,000 Anime shows / 
> movies that have been produced in japan over the
> years-A large fraction 
> of which are science fiction.  There are even more
> manga / novel series 
> that never get animated.
> 
> Heh, even you are probably more likely to see one of
> your own Sci-Fi 
> books made into a japanese animated movie than a
> live action hollywood one.
> 
> Here is a short list of good anime sci-fi
> shows/movies you *might* 
> actually be interested in, based on what you have
> written in the past, 
> all available in America:
> 
> -Post Singularity:
> Blame! (very short)
> Noein
> Ergo Proxy
> 
> -Post Apocalyptic:
> Scrapped Princess (don't be fooled it's not really a
> fantasy show)
> The Big O (I even threw in a not-so stereotypical
> giant robot /
>monsters stomping cities show)
> Interlude
> Avenger
> Trigun
> 
> -Existentialist / Becoming "God":
> Serial Experiments Lain
> Ergo Proxy
> The Big O
> Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya
> Kamichu!
> 
> -Polymorphic Necro-Regeneracy:
> Gungrave
> 
> -Other Good Sci-Fi Movies:
> The Place Promised in our early days
> Paprika
> [Voices of a Distant Star]
> Ghost in The Shell (inspiration for the matrix)
> Metropolis
> NausicaA of the valley of the Wind
> Castle in the Sky
> ___
> http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
> 

___
http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l

Re: Brin: The Latest In Dolphin Technology

[David Brin]

Heh... correlated with "Lost"

 I have visited the navy dolphins and beluga whales
here in San Diego.

I know some of the people involved.  They assure me
there are no suicide missions



--- Rceeberger <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:

> 
> On 3/16/2008 10:29:19 PM, David Brin
> ([EMAIL PROTECTED]) wrote:
> > this showed a scientology minister at a city
> council
> > meeting.  What dolphins?
> > 
> 
> Oh Crap! Xenu made me do it!
> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cbfDUN2WYXs
> 
> > 
> > 
> > --- Rceeberger <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
> > 
> > > http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cWOmRAhkPNg
> > >
> > >
> > > How can they do this to those poor animals?
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > > xponent
> > > Moar Lulz Maru
> > > rob
> > > ___
> > > http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
> > >
> > 
> > ___
> > http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
> ___
> http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
> 

___
http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l

Re: Brin: The Latest In Dolphin Technology

[David Brin]

this showed a scientology minister at a city council
meeting.  What dolphins?



--- Rceeberger <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:

> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cWOmRAhkPNg
> 
> 
> How can they do this to those poor animals?
> 
> 
> 
> 
> xponent
> Moar Lulz Maru
> rob
> ___
> http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
> 

___
http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l

Re: Brin: Life after People

[David Brin]

I talked about lots of great stuff!  Monkeys and cats
might use our old towers to "farm" birds... just guard
one staircase and you've got it... letting the cats or
monkeys evolve smarts, till they build tower houses of
their own!

But that wasn't the tilt the producers wanted.  

Anyone see "my" show "The Architechs"? 
 (http://htyp.org/The_ArchiTECHS)
   Copies can be ordered from the HC web site.
http://store.aetv.com/html/product/index.jhtml?id=75873

I'm running a comedy SF serial on Baen's UNIVERSE
Magazine, online.

Oh, speaking of 10,000 BC...

Game studio owner Steve Jackson and I have been
working together for more than a decade, refining an
"anthropology game"."Tribes!" is a realistic
role-playing game (formerly called "Darwinopoly"),
that is loads of fun for six to eight players (or
multiple tribes of 8 players each) who follow simple
rules to simulate life as it must have been for our
ancestors, anywhere from 10,000 to 500,000 years ago
-- hunting, foraging, mating, and occasionally
fighting.

(And, yes, it does seem relevant to 10,000 BC mania.)

Can you figure out how to survive... and have
successful offspring... in a world where only your own
wits stand between you and harshness of nature?
Tribes! has been created with the advice of several
prominent anthropologists, as well as one of the most
experienced game designers on the planet. (For more
information see the web site for Steve Jackson Games.
http://www.sjgames.com/tribes/)

Among the things people have found most fascinating is
the sexual politics that can arise from a very simple
rule set.

We’re interested in finding a few anthropology
professors who might like to try the game out on
students, perhaps as a classroom exercise. 

Folks are always welcome at
http://davidbrin.blogspot.com/

Thrive all!

> I felt bad that the other scientists got to talk
> about dogs and cats
> and rust and stuff...  What did David get left with?
>  Cockroaches.
> 
> No respect for the science fiction writer!
> 
>  - jmh
> ___
> http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
> 

___
http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l

Re: Brin: Life after People

[David Brin]

Oh... 
I appear on several episodes of the new History
Channel show "The Universe" starting with one on March
11.  (USA)


___
http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l

Re: Brin: Life after People

[David Brin]

So the lesson is get high on life... after people...!


--- Alberto Vieira Ferreira Monteiro
<[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:

> Life After People will air on 2008-03-10 21:00 on
> brazilian's
> tetrahydrocanabiol oops... The History Channel.
> 
> Alberto Monteiro
> ___
> http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
> 

___
http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l

Re: Brin: Random stuff from the blog

[David Brin]

Hmmm. Interesting as usual, Alberto...

Good perspective.


--- Alberto Monteiro <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:

> Brin blogged:
> >
> > The world's rush to embrace biofuels is causing a
> spike
> > in the price of corn and other crops and could
> worsen
> > water shortages and force poor communities off
> their land,
> > according to a U.N. official. 
> 
> Ok, but this is not the consensus. What caused the
> spike in
> the prices of vegetable food is the increase of
> income of
> millions of chinese and indians. They got richer,
> they wanted
> to eat less veggies and more meat, and the
> production of meat
> takes about 7 times more vegetable than the
> production of
> veggie food.
> 
> > But a biofuel startup in Illinois can make ethanol
> from
> > just about anything organic for less than $1 per
> gallon,
> > and it wouldn't interfere with food supplies... 
> 
> And if it becomes economically viable (a big if),
> then why
> on Earth would the organic waste be priced at zero?
> Here
> in Brazil, the price of animal fat was near zero,
> then
> we started transesterifying it to make biodiesel.
> Guess what?
> Now it's price is getting close to soybean oil.
> 
> Alberto Monteiro
> 
> 
> ___
> http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
> 

___
http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l

Re: Brin: Opacity

[David Brin]

Thanks for the InfraGard link.

I'll post the following tonight on-blog:

---



The latest issue of Baen’s UNIVERSE MAGAZINE is out,
containing two big items from yours truly -- Part Five
of my comedic serial “The Ancient Ones”... plus a
fast-paced, action novella “The Smartest Mob.”  The
latter is an excerpt from my novel in progress,
another lavish, near-future exploration, like EARTH. 
This one is the best portrayal of rapid,
tech-empowered citizen action that you’ll see, this
side of Vernor Vinge!   Subscribe to the top online
magazine ever! http://baens-universe.com/

Now click to the coolest bit of urban theater. Will
somebody please tell the organizers that it is an
almost perfect rendition of a scene from my short
story "Coexistence"? 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jwMj3PJDxuo

Some of the most influential leaders of the space
community are quietly working to offer the next U.S.
president an alternative to President Bush's "vision
for space exploration" -- one that would delete a
lunar base and move instead toward manned missions to
asteroids, starting in about 2025, along with a
renewed emphasis on Earth environmental spacecraft. 
Dang, is sanity popping out all over? 
http://www.spaceflightnow.com/news/n0801/18avweek/

The latest in a long series of fascinating articles by
sexual-anthropologist David Buss has just come out:
“Women Want It All:  Good Genes, Economic Investment,
Parenting  Proclivities, and Emotional Commitment," in
the journal Evolutionary Psychology.
http://www.epjournal.net/filestore/EP06134146.pdf

Bill Gates and ex-Microsoft executive Charles Simonyi
have donated a combined $30 million to the Large
Synoptic Survey Telescope, which will feature the
largest digital camera ever constructed. Scientists
say it will provide a "color movie" of the universe.
The donation will go partly to the construction of
LSST's three giant mirrors, which will enable it to
survey more of the sky faster than any other
telescope. With its three-billion pixel camera, the
telescope will produce 30 terabytes of images that
will be immediately available to the public online.
(Comet and asteroid hunt from your home!) The LSST
requires huge amounts of data processing. Project
leaders estimate it will generate 1.2 gigabytes per
second, which is orders of magnitude more data than
the most data-intense astronomical application
available today.
http://www.wired.com/science/space/news/2008/01/internet_telescope


Some misc interesting things...

Aliens spying on us from another star system  might be
able to discern continents and oceans on our planet by
plotting the fluctuation in brightness as sunlight
falls on different surface features such as forests,
deserts and seas. 
http://www.space.com/searchforlife/080131-seti-galactic-wifi.html

Watching the Watchers: Why Surveillance Is a Two-Way
Street: If governments and businesses can keep an eye
on us in public spaces, we ought to be able to look
back. 
http://www.popularmechanics.com/technology/military_law/4237005.html

Meanwhile, the FBI is gearing up to create a  massive
computer database of people's physical
characteristics, all part of an effort the bureau says
to better identify criminals and terrorists.  What on
Earth makes the civil libertarians think they can stop
this trend, by trying to outlaw or regulate it?  Are
they really that stupid, to think that you can order
back the tide?  In ten years, not one of them has ever
been able to cite a single example, from history, when
top elites allowed themselves to be blinded. 
Fortunately, there is another approach... if anybody
will listen...
http://www.cnn.com/2008/TECH/02/04/fbi.biometrics/index.html?eref=ib_topstories

Speaking of surveillance... "Aliens spying on us from
another star system might be able to discern
continents and oceans on our planet, using technology
barely more advanced than our own."
http://space.newscientist.com/article/dn13126-alien-astronomers-could-discern-earths-features.html

Currently, the largest conventional wind turbines in
the world produce only five megawatts of power.
However, one large maglev wind turbine could generate
one gigawatt of clean power, enough to supply energy
to 750,000 homes. It would also increase generation
capacity by 20% over conventional wind turbines and
decrease operational costs by 50%. If that isn’t
enough, the maglev wind turbines will be operational
for about 500 years! 
http://www.inhabitat.com/2007/11/26/super-powered-magnetic-wind-turbine-maglev/

Speaking of which, Britain is to launch a huge
expansion of offshore wind-power with plans for
thousands of turbines in the North Sea, Irish Sea and
around the coast of Scotland.   The scheme could see
turbines so large that they would reach 850ft into the
sky. 
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/environment/article3022277.ece

An exceptional article about bizarre and tragic events
at the edges of artificial intelligence research.  (I
knew one of these guys.) "Two AI Pioneers. Two Bizarre
Suici

Re: Brin: Dolphin wheels

[David Brin]

--- Robert Seeberger <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:

>
http://www.metacafe.com/watch/1041454/dolphin_play_bubble_rings/
> 
> Them Fins sure are smart!
> 


Wholly mackeral dere!



___
http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l

Re: Brin: Exposition in the Knesset about the life of Sousa Mendes

[David Brin]

Yes, I knew of him.  A great man.  There are about
twenty international diplomats who did this sort of
thing.  The most famous was Wallenberg of Sweden.

I'm glad to hear he is being honored.


--- Alberto Monteiro <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:

> 
> I got this from another list. I think you may be
> interested :-)
> 
> > Exposicao no Knesset sobre a vida de Sousa Mendes,
> Consul de 
> > Portugal em Bordeus que salvou muitas vidas do
> nazismo
> 
> Exposition in the Knesset about the life of Sousa
> Mendes,
> Portuguese Consul in Bordeaux that saved many lifes
> from nazism
>  
> http://videos.sapo.pt/gMSnp97ZacuCVILQm4ko
> 
> Alberto Monteiro
> 
> ___
> http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
> 

___
http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l

Re: Brin:World Building Wiki

[David Brin]

Trent... cool looking game...
___
http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l

Re: Brin: Residents save houses when fire department is too late

[David Brin]

--- Julia Thompson <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:

> Makeshift brigade makes a stand - and wins

Thanks Julia.   Um, yes, though of course these are
rich people in Malibu.  Still, they have the spirit of
 the Age of Empowered Citizenship.


___
http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l

Re: Brin: Fire info

[David Brin]

> Don't you mean personalities, plural?


Hrm... you mean the one I download into grays or the
one I use for greens?

IAAMOAKPC
___
http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l

Re: Brin: Fire info

[David Brin]

> That's Dr. Brin for you.  At Nippon 2007 I  happened
> to observe him
> stuff 10,000 yen into the donation box for a fan
> that had to taken to
> the hospital by ambulence.

SHucks, Jim, that ain't much.  Anyway, it's part of my
attempt to create massive fandom cognitive dissonance.
 Half of the community thinks I'm cool and the other
half considers me an SOB.

 Diff is, the latter set can't ever point to an actual
action or event, only at a personality.  And on THAT
basis... well... I guess I agree with them! ;-)

Your SOB
___
http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l

RE: Brin: Fire info

[David Brin]

--- John Garcia <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:

> Isn't CERT one of those volunteer programs setup by
> FEMA? Dr. Brin, did you
> do any training with them?

About twenty five hours.  Any less would be absurd,
any more would eliminate most working parents.

See:
https://www.citizencorps.gov/cert/
___
http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l

Re: Brin: Fire info

[David Brin]

We did take two vanloads of stuff away along with
kids.  But I was never ordered out and things seem to
be getting better.  Thanks all!
___
http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l

Re: Brin: Fire info

[David Brin]

thanks Nick,
Thanks for asking. Cheryl & the kids & pets are with
Cheryl's mom in her mobile home along el camino real,
in a more urban part of Encinitas.  All are fine. 

Last night I stood on the hilltop behind my home,
looking up Lone Jack Road at hillside lines of fire
near Del Dios Highway.  It was tense, especially with
Santa Ana wind gusts whirling in all directions.

Last I checked at 5pm the fires seemed to have veered
south into lower Rancho Santa Fe (2nd richest
community in America). Another finger threatens from
the north but the Bridges country club is paying big
$$ to help block it for us.  Nice of them.

With the family cared-for, I put on my green CERT*
vest & goggles and hard hat to canvassed our
neighborhood to see who
had stayed.  Then I helped man a sheriff’s roadblock
for a while.   And again a while later with the
natural…er… National Guard.

 Ever wonder what happened to civil defense, in an era
of high techHomelandSecurity?  It’s guys like me…
heaven help us!

d.

___
http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l

Re: Brin: Fires in California

[David Brin]

;-)

--- PAT MATHEWS <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:

> 
> 
> Oh, you're out there! Ouch...
> 
> After the Cerro Grande fire up in Los Alamos some
> years ago, I bought 
> soft-sided cat carriers for my fellows and made them
> as attractive as 
> possible in hopes they'd sleep in them. I keep them
> on waist-high bookcases 
> one near each dor. That way in case we have to
> evacuate, packing them up 
> will be a lot easier.
> 
> Best of luck and may you and yours escape the fire.
> 
> Pat
> 
> http://idiotgrrl.livejournal.com/
> 
> "You never know who is swimming naked until the tide
> goes out." Warren 
> Buffett
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> >From: David Brin <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
> >Reply-To: Killer Bs Discussion
> 
> >To: Killer Bs Discussion 
> >Subject: Re: Brin: Fires in California
> >Date: Mon, 22 Oct 2007 13:37:19 -0700 (PDT)
> >
> >
> >Thanks, it is almost exactly the anniversary of the
> >2003 Cedar Fire.
> >
> >We've taken the younger two plus pets to grandma.
> >
> >Watching closely.  Avoiding falling ash. Horrible
> air
> >quality. But wind
> >directions seem to favor us.  A very bad santa ana
> is
> >being opposed by an offshore push right over us.
> >What drama!
> >
> >Forced to prepare, though.  Small but real chance
> of
> >total evacuation. Jim Burns paintings & Hugos and
> kid
> >mementos and
> >photos... what a lot of stuff you notice when you
> have
> >to...
> >
> >
> >--- Alberto Vieira Ferreira Monteiro
> ><[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
> >
> > > I heard about the fires. I hope nobody here is
> in
> > > any danger.
> > >
> > > Alberto Monteiro
> > > ___
> > > http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
> > >
> >
> >___
> >http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
> 
> 
> ___
> http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
> 

___
http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l

Re: Brin: Fires in California

[David Brin]

Thanks, it is almost exactly the anniversary of the
2003 Cedar Fire.

We've taken the younger two plus pets to grandma. 

Watching closely.  Avoiding falling ash. Horrible air
quality. But wind
directions seem to favor us.  A very bad santa ana is
being opposed by an offshore push right over us. 
What drama!

Forced to prepare, though.  Small but real chance of
total evacuation. Jim Burns paintings & Hugos and kid
mementos and
photos... what a lot of stuff you notice when you have
to...


--- Alberto Vieira Ferreira Monteiro
<[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:

> I heard about the fires. I hope nobody here is in
> any danger.
> 
> Alberto Monteiro
> ___
> http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
> 

___
http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l

Re: Brin: Tame rats and foxes?

[David Brin]

Thanks Jim.  Fascinating.

Ever read Brunner's STAND ON ZANZIBAR?  Some related
stuff.  thrive

--- Jim Sharkey <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:

> 
> I apologize if this is something that's been posted
> before (the 
> article is over a year old) but I saw this on a
> forum I frequent
> and thought it might be of interest:
> 
>
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/07/25/health/25rats.html?_r=2&pagewanted=all&oref=slogin&oref=slogin
> 
> It's about a group of scientists in Russia who have
> been experimenting
> over the past 50 years with domestication and how it
> might be possible
> through selective breeding in a short time rather
> than a long one.
> They're also attempting to establish whether or not
> there are
> certain genes that more readily allow domestication
> than others.  I
> found it fascinating, especially the sheer scope of
> it.
> 
> I'm sure some of you were probably already aware of
> this experiment,
> but for the rest of us I thought it might be an
> interesting read.
> 
> Jim
> I want a pet silver fox Maru
> 
> ___
> Join Excite! - http://www.excite.com
> The most personalized portal on the Web!
> 
> 
> ___
> http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
> 

___
http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l

Re: Brin: Uplift at Star Trek

[David Brin]

Huh.

Ah well.

Stay well!

d


--- Alberto Vieira Ferreira Monteiro
<[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:

> Watching a Deep Space 9 episode, something caught my
> attention.
> 
> Quoting from:
>
http://memory-alpha.org/en/wiki/Vorta#History_and_Politics
> 
>   The Vorta believe, perhaps apocryphally, that they
> previously 
>   existed as small, timid, ape-like creatures living
> in hollowed-out 
>   trees to avoid the many predators on their
> homeworld. A group 
>   of Vorta hid a Changeling from an angry mob, and
> in return the 
>   Changeling promised that one day they would be
> transformed 
>   and placed at the head of a vast interstellar
> empire. The 
>   Founders fulfilled this promise by genetically
> changing the 
>   Vorta into humanoids and employing them at the
> highest 
>   level of the Dominion. (DS9: "Treachery, Faith and
> the Great River")
> 
> Is this an Uplift rip-off?
> 
> Alberto Monteiro
> ___
> http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
> 

___
http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l

Re: Brin: all sorts of Science Fiction & etc.

[David Brin]

Might as well do an update.

At DailyKos I've been serializing 
(http://www.dailykos.com/user/David%20Brin)
the "Suggestions to the New Congress"
essay that I posted at:
http://www.davidbrin.com/suggestions.html

Any of you would be welcome to post comments there on
on my blog at:
http://www.davidbrin.blogspot.com/

Also stirring the pot have been two sprawling essays
on the Lifeboat Foundation site:

One of them is all about the coming "singularity" and
whether we'll become gods or self-destruct:
  http://lifeboat.com/ex/singularities.and.nightmares


The other is about the stunning arrogance of the SETI
community, for wanting to broadcast into space without
even talking about it with anybody:
 http://lifeboat.com/ex/shouting.at.the.cosmos

Any of you all still into science fiction?  I have
some stories and novellas and a SERIALIZED SF COMEDY
NOVEL running on the best online science fiction
magazine ever.  Jim Baen's UNIVERSE Magazine gives you
about three to four times your money's worth than any
other magazine or source of SF, paying great rates to
top authors.  

http://www.baens-universe.com/

If the comedy tickles your fancy, I will listen to
suggested bad puns and cruel ideas!

Finally, any of you experts on BATTERIES?  My wife's
writing a nonfiction book about the history of the
battery.  Need expert readers!

Hoping all brinellers are thriving in these
challenging times.

 With cordial regards,

David Brin
http://www.davidbrin.com

___
http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l

Re: Brin: BASIC for kids

[David Brin]

Thanks Alberto.  Hoping kidbasic will do some good.

Now an alert to all brinellers!

Catch the premiere of my NEW HISTORY CHANNEL SHOW -- 
“The ArchiTechs!”

PREMIERE:  Wednesday, October 11  at  11:00 PM
REPEATS: October 12 at 3 AM  & October 14 at 11:00 AM

(See:
http://www.history.com/shows.do?action=detail&episodeId=192813
)

Here is what the History Channel says about this bold
new show: 

"Five geniuses are challenged: innovate fire rescue
and evacuation tools for skyscraper disasters... and
do it in 48 hours!  Watch a small team of designers
and visionaries form a high-tech think tank, racing
the clock to shape bold, over-the-horizon designs for
the future. With unprecedented cooperation from New
York's regional fire departments, episode#1 culminates
in a dramatic presentation to Former FDNY Commissioner
Thomas Von Essen, one of the heroes of 9/11 " 

If  ratings are good, this exciting series will send
our dynamic (and handsome) team tackling rapid
"innovation makeover" challenges, ranging from
spaceflight to eco-power to creating "the next
humvee."  (We went zooming around the desert,
interviewing Special Forces, dissecting hummers, then
created a wholly new design, all at behest of a
four-star general.)  

Help spread the word about this breakthrough in
entertaining and smart/informative television!

___
http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l