Re: The worst
Nick wrote: My younger sister, Lesley, the youngest of the four of us, mother of my five-year-old niece, Sarah, could not fight off the sepsis that attacked her body. Lesley died this morning. Oh, Nick, I am so sorry to hear this. My condolences to you and your family. Jim Best Weight Loss Program - Click Here! Weight Loss Program http://tagline.excite.com/c?cp=Iwzk_O7st8cQgaQrqCb7HgAAKZT738qPhjQFbf9pb8pfqpVcAAYAAADNAAAEUtErCmY=___ http://mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l_mccmedia.com
Re: The worst
On Mon, Jan 4, 2010 at 4:47 PM, Nick Arnett nick.arn...@gmail.com wrote: My friends I hate to write this. Been putting it off for a while. My younger sister, Lesley, the youngest of the four of us, mother of my five-year-old niece, Sarah, could not fight off the sepsis that attacked her body. Lesley died this morning. I have never hurt so much. Nick ___ http://mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l_mccmedia.com I am so sorry for your loss. Lesley will live on in the memories of all who loved her. john ___ http://mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l_mccmedia.com
Re: The worst
I am so sorry, Nick. You and your family will be in our thoughts. - jmh -Original Message- From: Nick Arnett nick.arn...@gmail.com Subj: The worst Date: Mon Jan 4, 2010 3:47 pm Size: 311 bytes To: Killer Bs (David Brin et al) Discussion brin-l@mccmedia.com My friends I hate to write this. Been putting it off for a while. My younger sister, Lesley, the youngest of the four of us, mother of my five-year-old niece, Sarah, could not fight off the sepsis that attacked her body. Lesley died this morning. I have never hurt so much. Nick ___ http://mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l_mccmedia.com
RE: The worst
My heartfelt condolences, Nick. Jeroen van Baardwijk Van: brin-l-boun...@mccmedia.com [mailto:brin-l-boun...@mccmedia.com] Namens Nick Arnett Verzonden: maandag 4 januari 2010 22:48 Aan: Killer Bs (David Brin et al) Discussion Onderwerp: The worst My friends I hate to write this. Been putting it off for a while. My younger sister, Lesley, the youngest of the four of us, mother of my five-year-old niece, Sarah, could not fight off the sepsis that attacked her body. Lesley died this morning. I have never hurt so much. Nick ___ http://mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l_mccmedia.com
RE: The worst
Nick -- I will never understand these twistings of our lives, especially when such terrible separations happen in one lifetime. I'm so sorry for your loss. I hope you can find comfort wherever it is available to you, including here. Blessings to you and your family. Jo Anne evens...@hevanet.com ___ http://mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l_mccmedia.com
RE: The worst
Jo Anne wrote: I will never understand these twistings of our lives, especially when such terrible separations happen in one lifetime. I'm so sorry for your loss. I hope you can find comfort wherever it is available to you, including here. Blessings to you and your family. Today, in brazilian TV, there was an analysis of the tragedies that happened in Angra dos Reis, where families were cut in half by an earthslide. The analysts said that people never recover from the loss, and it takes about one year for life to return to normal. I hope the best for Nick and his family - needless to say, let's keep Nick's sister memory alive. Alberto Monteiro ___ http://mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l_mccmedia.com
Re: The worst
On Jan 4, 2010, at 4:47 PM, Nick Arnett nick.arn...@gmail.com wrote: My friends I hate to write this. Been putting it off for a while. My younger sister, Lesley, the youngest of the four of us, mother of my five-year-old niece, Sarah, could not fight off the sepsis that attacked her body. Lesley died this morning. I have never hurt so much. My condolences, Nick. -Bryon ___ http://mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l_mccmedia.com
Re: The worst
On Tue, Jan 5, 2010 at 11:23 AM, Alberto Monteiro albm...@centroin.com.brwrote: Today, in brazilian TV, there was an analysis of the tragedies that happened in Angra dos Reis, where families were cut in half by an earthslide. The analysts said that people never recover from the loss, and it takes about one year for life to return to normal. Not sure if I have ever really talked about it on the list, but my wife and I are part of a team that does a lot of crisis intervention and grief counseling (we were just sitting down with a family hit by suicide when I got the first news that Lesley was so sick). One thing I have learned is that life never returns to the old normal. What we can do is create a new normal... but I'm not even ready to think about that yet. I'm still just in the hurt. Thank you, everyone, for all the kind words. They mean more than I could ever explain. Nick ___ http://mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l_mccmedia.com
Re: The worst
Something I've been meaning to mention here about my sister For a number of years, she taught English at a high school in St. Thomas, USVI. I went there to visit her and saw that she had a bunch of David Brin's books on her shelf - she was a big fan! Boy, was she tickled to discover that I knew David. Somewhere in her things, she has a couple of autographed first editions with personal notes. Come to think of it, I should make sure those books don't go to Goodwll or something! I better let my parents know. Nick ___ http://mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l_mccmedia.com
The worst
My friends I hate to write this. Been putting it off for a while. My younger sister, Lesley, the youngest of the four of us, mother of my five-year-old niece, Sarah, could not fight off the sepsis that attacked her body. Lesley died this morning. I have never hurt so much. Nick ___ http://mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l_mccmedia.com
RE: The worst
From: brin-l-boun...@mccmedia.com [mailto:brin-l-boun...@mccmedia.com] On Behalf Of Nick Arnett Sent: Monday, January 04, 2010 3:48 PM To: Killer Bs (David Brin et al) Discussion Subject: The worst My friends I hate to write this. Been putting it off for a while. My younger sister, Lesley, the youngest of the four of us, mother of my five-year-old niece, Sarah, could not fight off the sepsis that attacked her body. Lesley died this morning. I have never hurt so much. Nick My most heartfelt condolences to you, Nick. Julia ___ http://mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l_mccmedia.com
RE: The worst
I am dreadfully sorry to hear this. Deepest sympathies, and may things go as well as they can for your niece as well. http://idiotgrrl.livejournal.com/ Date: Mon, 4 Jan 2010 13:47:41 -0800 Subject: The worst From: nick.arn...@gmail.com To: brin-l@mccmedia.com My friends I hate to write this. Been putting it off for a while. My younger sister, Lesley, the youngest of the four of us, mother of my five-year-old niece, Sarah, could not fight off the sepsis that attacked her body. Lesley died this morning. I have never hurt so much. Nick ___ http://mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l_mccmedia.com
Re: The worst
Nick said: My friends I hate to write this. Been putting it off for a while. My younger sister, Lesley, the youngest of the four of us, mother of my five-year-old niece, Sarah, could not fight off the sepsis that attacked her body. Lesley died this morning. I have never hurt so much. Nick I'm so sorry to hear that, Nick. Rich ___ http://mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l_mccmedia.com
Re: The worst
Nick Arnett wrote: My friends I hate to write this. Been putting it off for a while. My younger sister, Lesley, the youngest of the four of us, mother of my five-year-old niece, Sarah, could not fight off the sepsis that attacked her body. Lesley died this morning. I have never hurt so much. Nick ___ http://mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l_mccmedia.com That is really sad. ___ http://mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l_mccmedia.com
Re: The worst
On 05/01/2010, at 8:47 AM, Nick Arnett wrote: My friends I hate to write this. Been putting it off for a while. My younger sister, Lesley, the youngest of the four of us, mother of my five-year-old niece, Sarah, could not fight off the sepsis that attacked her body. Lesley died this morning. I have never hurt so much. So sorry for your loss. I hope you can gain some solace from your family and friends, including us. Charlie. ___ http://mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l_mccmedia.com
Re: The worst
On Mon, Jan 4, 2010 at 3:47 PM, Nick Arnett nick.arn...@gmail.com wrote: My friends I hate to write this. Been putting it off for a while. Deepest condolences, Nick. -- Mauro Diotallevi ___ http://mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l_mccmedia.com
Re: The worst
On 4 Jan 2010, at 21:47, Nick Arnett wrote: My friends I hate to write this. Been putting it off for a while. My younger sister, Lesley, the youngest of the four of us, mother of my five-year-old niece, Sarah, could not fight off the sepsis that attacked her body. Lesley died this morning. I have never hurt so much. That's very sad news. ___ http://mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l_mccmedia.com
Re: The worst
Nick Arnett said the following on 1/4/2010 4:47 PM: My friends I hate to write this. Been putting it off for a while. My younger sister, Lesley, the youngest of the four of us, mother of my five-year-old niece, Sarah, could not fight off the sepsis that attacked her body. Lesley died this morning. I have never hurt so much. My deepest condolences, Nick. --[Lance] -- GPG Fingerprint: 409B A409 A38D 92BF 15D9 6EEE 9A82 F2AC 69AC 07B9 CACert.org Assurer ___ http://mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l_mccmedia.com
Re: The worst
Nick Arnett wrote: My friends I hate to write this. Been putting it off for a while. My younger sister, Lesley, the youngest of the four of us, mother of my five-year-old niece, Sarah, could not fight off the sepsis that attacked her body. Lesley died this morning. I have never hurt so much. Nick Nick-- I'm very sorry for your loss. ___ http://mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l_mccmedia.com
Re: The worst
Nick, I'm so sorry to hear of your loss. My condolences to you and your family. Doug ___ http://mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l_mccmedia.com
Re: The worst
Condolences and Hugs, Nick. Whoever the author was that talks about us all starting and becoming stardust, your family has been contributing too much to the beautiful heavens! Dee ___ http://mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l_mccmedia.com
SCOUTED: The Worst President in History?
Folks, http://www.rollingstone.com/news/profile/story/9961300/ This piece appeared in the Rolling Stone last Friday. It considers, without immediately jumping to its conclusion, whether GWB may be what the title suggests. (For our international readers, that's Worst US President, of course -- I'm sure that Brazil, Australia and wherever else we hail from have had their own Boneheads of State.) He's up against the likes of the corrupt but apparently likable Warren G. Harding and the corrupt and eminently unlikable Richard M. Nixon. It's a longish piece, but has some interesting moments. After reviewing a 2004 survey of 415 historians, of whom 81% rated Bush's administration a failure (and of the remaining 19%, a tenth only considered him to be the best president since Bill Clinton), he goes on to say: The lopsided decision of historians should give everyone pause. Contrary to popular stereotypes, historians are generally a cautious bunch. We assess the past from widely divergent points of view and are deeply concerned about being viewed as fair and accurate by our colleagues. When we make historical judgments, we are acting not as voters or even pundits, but as scholars who must evaluate all the evidence, good, bad or indifferent. Separate surveys, conducted by those perceived as conservatives as well as liberals, show remarkable unanimity about who the best and worst presidents have been. Historians do tend, as a group, to be far more liberal than the citizenry as a whole -- a fact the president's admirers have seized on to dismiss the poll results as transparently biased. One pro-Bush historian said the survey revealed more about the current crop of history professors than about Bush or about Bush's eventual standing. But if historians were simply motivated by a strong collective liberal bias, they might be expected to call Bush the worst president since his father, or Ronald Reagan, or Nixon. Instead, more than half of those polled -- and nearly three-fourths of those who gave Bush a negative rating -- reached back before Nixon to find a president they considered as miserable as Bush. Dave Heckuva Job, Georgie Land ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
Worst President ever?
The History News Network at George Mason University has just polled historians informally on the Bush record. Four hundred and fifteen, about a third of those contacted, answered -- maybe they were all crazed liberals -- making the project as unofficial as it was interesting. These were the results: 338 said they believed Bush was failing, while 77 said he was succeeding. Fifty said they thought he was the worst president ever. Worse than Buchanan. This is what those historians said -- and it should be noted that some of the criticism about deficit spending and misuse of the military came from self-identified conservatives -- about the Bush record: He has taken the country into an unwinnable war and alienated friend and foe alike in the process; He is bankrupting the country with a combination of aggressive military spending and reduced taxation of the rich; He has deliberately and dangerously attacked separation of church and state; He has repeatedly misled, to use a kind word, the American people on affairs domestic and foreign; He has proved to be incompetent in affairs domestic (New Orleans) and foreign ( Iraq and the battle against al-Qaida); He has sacrificed American employment (including the toleration of pension and benefit elimination) to increase overall productivity; He is ignorantly hostile to science and technological progress; He has tolerated or ignored one of the republic's oldest problems, corporate cheating in supplying the military in wartime. Still, while the great majority said he was failing as president less than 15% were willing now to say he was the worst president. http://news.yahoo.com/s/ucrr/20051203/cm_ucrr/isgeorgebushtheworstpresidentever -- Gary Denton http://www.apollocon.org June 23-25, 2006 The budget should be balanced; the treasury should be refilled; public debt should be reduced; and the arrogance of public officials should be controlled. -Cicero. 106-43 B.C. Easter Lemming Liberal News Digest - http://elemming2.blogspot.com ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
Re: The Worst Thing Nixon Ever Did
On Thu, 06 May 2004 20:06:54 -0700, Doug Pensinger [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote quoting http://www.techcentralstation.com/041504I.html ~~~ Doug, DDT was banned in the United States for obvious reasons and all but a few have hailed that decision. Those few are now getting funding from anti-government think tanks and some corporate sponsors. Tech Central Station, a fake news and opinion outlet supported by corporations it writes opinions for, is now paid to be against the DDT ban. TCS receives funding based on PR campaigns it undertakes for clients. For more on Tech Central Station see Meet the Press - How James Glassman reinvented journalism--as lobbying. http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/features/2003/0312.confessore.html DDT use was already in decline in the US because of increased insect resistance. DDT (dichlorodiphenyltrichlorethane) killed many beneficial insects, birds, and aquatic animals not just malarial mosquitoes and it presents a carcinogenic risk to humans, DDT is a persistent chemical it does not break down but increasing builds up, particularly as it moves up the food chain. During the 1950s and 1960s several species of birds, including osprey, cormorant, brown pelican, bald eagle, prairie falcon, sparrow hawk, and peregrine falcon, were severely effected the pesticide DDT. A chemical derived from the DDT weakened the egg shells of these birds, reducing their ability to reproduce. From a Bush government website: How can DDT, DDE, and DDD affect my health? DDT affects the nervous system. People who accidentally swallowed large amounts of DDT became excitable and had tremors and seizures. These effects went away after the exposure stopped. No effects were seen in people who took small daily doses of DDT by capsule for 18 months. A study in humans showed that women who had high amounts of a form of DDE in their breast milk were unable to breast feed their babies for as long as women who had little DDE in the breast milk. Another study in humans showed that women who had high amounts of DDE in breast milk had an increased chance of having premature babies. In animals, short-term exposure to large amounts of DDT in food affected the nervous system, while long-term exposure to smaller amounts affected the liver. Also in animals, short-term oral exposure to small amounts of DDT or its breakdown products may also have harmful effects on reproduction. How likely are DDT, DDE, and DDD to cause cancer? Studies in DDT-exposed workers did not show increases in cancer. Studies in animals given DDT with the food have shown that DDT can cause liver cancer. The Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) determined that DDT may reasonable be anticipated to be a human carcinogen. The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) determined that DDT may possibly cause cancer in humans. The EPA determined that DDT, DDE, and DDD are probable human carcinogens. http://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/tfacts35.html DDT is NOT banned now for control of malaria in most of the rest of the world. This recent campaign against regulation of DDT has evidently been started by companies making DDT because the United Nations has recently recommended a ban on all uses of DDT except for malaria control. This malaria organization wants to get rid of DDT, but not until a cheap effective replacement is found and may clarify some issues. http://www.malaria.org/DDTpage.html #1 on google for liberal news ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
Re: The (Third?) Worst Thing Nixon Ever Did
At 08:06 PM 5/6/2004 -0700 Doug Pensinger wrote: http://www.techcentralstation.com/041504I.html Why did Nixon push for a [DDT] ban? We may never know. A few older Washington DC policy experts have suggested that some of his election campaign supporters were chemical companies that produced alternatives to DDT and so stood to gain handsomely by the DDT phase out. Others say that it is more likely that senior officials in his administration pressured Nixon into the decision given the potential votes he stood to lose in his native and very green state of California. But the why of his decision pales beside what this decision has wrought: two million deaths a year from malaria alone. Just imagine if Bush tried lifting the ban on DDT. JDG ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
The Worst Thing Nixon Ever Did
http://www.techcentralstation.com/041504I.html Why did Nixon push for a [DDT] ban? We may never know. A few older Washington DC policy experts have suggested that some of his election campaign supporters were chemical companies that produced alternatives to DDT and so stood to gain handsomely by the DDT phase out. Others say that it is more likely that senior officials in his administration pressured Nixon into the decision given the potential votes he stood to lose in his native and very green state of California. But the why of his decision pales beside what this decision has wrought: two million deaths a year from malaria alone. -- Doug ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
What are the worst jobs in Science?
PopSci has the answer. http://www.popsci.com/popsci/science/article/0,12543,484153-1,00.html In their Sepember issue, they published the results of an informal survey: The 10 Most Brilliant Scientists. http://www.popsci.com/popsci/science/article/0,12543,472942-1,00.html Jon Le Blog: http://zarq.livejournal.com _ Need more e-mail storage? Get 10MB with Hotmail Extra Storage. http://join.msn.com/?PAGE=features/es ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
Re: What are the worst jobs in Science Fiction?
What are the worst jobs in Science Fiction? 1. Typesetter to Alfred Bester 2. Temperance lecturer to Jerry Pournelle 3. Etiquette coach to Harlan William Taylor --- Tytlal to Brin ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
Re: What are the worst jobs in Science Fiction?
[EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: What are the worst jobs in Science Fiction? 1. Typesetter to Alfred Bester 2. Temperance lecturer to Jerry Pournelle 3. Etiquette coach to Harlan Courtesy Dan: Sex Therapist to Robert Heinlein. Hair stylist to Isaac Asimov. Continuity Czar for the Star Trek Universe. Klingon grammarian. Not quite SF, but similar: Voice for The Unabridged Tom Clancy book-on-tape collection. Illustrator for Stephen King Julia ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
Re: Br!n: A Group Is Its Own Worst Enemy
--- Robert J. Chassell [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: Recently, Clay Shirky wrote an essay on how to create and maintain long-lived groups among people who communicate with each other electronically. Interestingly, although Shirky does not say so specifically, his main focus parallels that of David Brin, who wrote an essay on disputation arenas. Shirky focuses on groups: how to enhance their success and longevity. Brin focuses on civilization: how to gain from the Internet a benefit as great as those we have harvested from four marvels of our age -- science, democracy, the justice system, and fair markets. For both, a key underlying theme is that members of a group must be accountable. Shirky's essay is called, A Group Is Its Own Worst Enemy http://www.shirky.com/writings/group_enemy.html and Brin's essay is called Disputation Arenas: Harnessing Conflict and Competition for Society's Benefit http://www.davidbrin.com/disputationarticle1.html rest of summaries snipped for brevity Thanks for posting these, and the commentary. Group dynamics is a fascinating subject, and I rather like the medieval duel aspect of 'throwing down the gauntlet' WRT well-researched debate on important issues. Debbi __ Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! SiteBuilder - Free, easy-to-use web site design software http://sitebuilder.yahoo.com ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
Re: Worst Opening Sentences Contest 2003
If only I was good enough to write so horribly. George A P.S. Top posting ain't bad all the time. - Original Message - From: Robert Seeberger [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Tuesday, July 22, 2003 6:51 AM Subject: Worst Opening Sentences Contest 2003 2003 Bulwer-Lytton Fiction Contest. http://www.sjsu.edu/depts/english/2003.htm Winner They had but one last remaining night together, so they embraced each other as tightly as that two-flavor entwined string cheese that is orange and yellowish-white, the orange probably being a bland Cheddar and the white . . . Mozzarella, although it could possibly be Provolone or just plain American, as it really doesn't taste distinctly dissimilar from the orange, yet they would have you believe it does by coloring it differently. Ms. Mariann Simms Wetumpka, AL Runner-Up The flock of geese flew overhead in a V formation - not in an old-fashioned-looking Times New Roman kind of a V, branched out slightly at the two opposite arms at the top of the V, nor in a more modern-looking, straight and crisp, linear Arial sort of V (although since they were flying, Arial might have been appropriate), but in a slightly asymmetric, tilting off-to-one-side sort of italicized Courier New-like V - and LaFonte knew that he was just the type of man to know the difference. John Dotson (U.S. Naval Officer) Arlington, VA Grand Panjandrum's Special Prize Colin grabbed the switchgear and slammed the spritely Vauxhall Vixen into a lower gear as he screamed through the roundabout heading toward the familiar pink rowhouse in Puking-On-The-Wold, his mind filled with the image of his comely Olive, dressed in some lacy underthing, waiting on the couch with only a smile and a cucumber sandwich, hoping that his lunch hour would provide sufficient time for both a naughty little romp and a digestive biscuit. Randy Groom Visalia, CA Winner: Science Fiction Colonel Cleatus Yorbville had been one seriously bored astronaut for the first few months of his diplomatic mission on the third planet of the Frangelicus XIV system, but all that had changed on the day he'd discovered that his tiny, multipedal and infinitely hospitable alien hosts were not only edible but tasted remarkably like that stuff that's left on the pan after you've made cinnamon buns and burned them a little. Mark Silcox Auburn AL 36830 Runner-Up: 'Thy're here!' whispered Billy Joe under his foul breath through yellowed teeth as brilliant white light permeated all of the windows of his trailer, and he flashed back to fragmented recollections of the previous four abductions--the questions, the pain, the probe--which he was powerless to stop but this time was better prepared for, having just finished a seventh bean burrito, a case of Bud, and four packs of Pop Rocks. Jim Sheppeck II Newtown, PA Dishonorable Mentions: She fumbled for her laser gun, knowing that the alien was eager to ravage her, unlike Captain Johnson, who wanted to take things slow since he was coming off the heels of a very painful divorce. Wendy Burt Colorado Springs, CO Brock de-holstered his Maxi-Hurt 3000 phaser and blasted off the Narguwullian trooper's head, the way a teenager pops the head off a zit, except of course on a much larger scale because those Narguwullians are big suckers, and although Brock had personally had some door stoppers in his teenage years, most zits aren't twelve feet high, blue, and liable to rip your arms off if you look at them the wrong way, and are also much less inclined to leave a mess on the flight deck. Geoff Blackwell Bundaberg QLD Australia xponent Paperback Writer Maru rob ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
Worst Opening Sentences Contest 2003
2003 Bulwer-Lytton Fiction Contest. http://www.sjsu.edu/depts/english/2003.htm Winner They had but one last remaining night together, so they embraced each other as tightly as that two-flavor entwined string cheese that is orange and yellowish-white, the orange probably being a bland Cheddar and the white . . . Mozzarella, although it could possibly be Provolone or just plain American, as it really doesn't taste distinctly dissimilar from the orange, yet they would have you believe it does by coloring it differently. Ms. Mariann Simms Wetumpka, AL Runner-Up The flock of geese flew overhead in a V formation - not in an old-fashioned-looking Times New Roman kind of a V, branched out slightly at the two opposite arms at the top of the V, nor in a more modern-looking, straight and crisp, linear Arial sort of V (although since they were flying, Arial might have been appropriate), but in a slightly asymmetric, tilting off-to-one-side sort of italicized Courier New-like V - and LaFonte knew that he was just the type of man to know the difference. John Dotson (U.S. Naval Officer) Arlington, VA Grand Panjandrum's Special Prize Colin grabbed the switchgear and slammed the spritely Vauxhall Vixen into a lower gear as he screamed through the roundabout heading toward the familiar pink rowhouse in Puking-On-The-Wold, his mind filled with the image of his comely Olive, dressed in some lacy underthing, waiting on the couch with only a smile and a cucumber sandwich, hoping that his lunch hour would provide sufficient time for both a naughty little romp and a digestive biscuit. Randy Groom Visalia, CA Winner: Science Fiction Colonel Cleatus Yorbville had been one seriously bored astronaut for the first few months of his diplomatic mission on the third planet of the Frangelicus XIV system, but all that had changed on the day he'd discovered that his tiny, multipedal and infinitely hospitable alien hosts were not only edible but tasted remarkably like that stuff that's left on the pan after you've made cinnamon buns and burned them a little. Mark Silcox Auburn AL 36830 Runner-Up: 'Thy're here!' whispered Billy Joe under his foul breath through yellowed teeth as brilliant white light permeated all of the windows of his trailer, and he flashed back to fragmented recollections of the previous four abductions--the questions, the pain, the probe--which he was powerless to stop but this time was better prepared for, having just finished a seventh bean burrito, a case of Bud, and four packs of Pop Rocks. Jim Sheppeck II Newtown, PA Dishonorable Mentions: She fumbled for her laser gun, knowing that the alien was eager to ravage her, unlike Captain Johnson, who wanted to take things slow since he was coming off the heels of a very painful divorce. Wendy Burt Colorado Springs, CO Brock de-holstered his Maxi-Hurt 3000 phaser and blasted off the Narguwullian trooper's head, the way a teenager pops the head off a zit, except of course on a much larger scale because those Narguwullians are big suckers, and although Brock had personally had some door stoppers in his teenage years, most zits aren't twelve feet high, blue, and liable to rip your arms off if you look at them the wrong way, and are also much less inclined to leave a mess on the flight deck. Geoff Blackwell Bundaberg QLD Australia xponent Paperback Writer Maru rob ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
Re: Worst Opening Sentences Contest 2003
--- Robert Seeberger [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: 2003 Bulwer-Lytton Fiction Contest. http://www.sjsu.edu/depts/english/2003.htm Winner They had but one last remaining night together, so they embraced each other as tightly as that two-flavor entwined string cheese that is orange and yellowish-white, the orange probably being a bland Cheddar and the white . . . Mozzarella, although it could possibly be Provolone or just plain American, as it really doesn't taste distinctly dissimilar from the orange, yet they would have you believe it does by coloring it differently. Ms. Mariann Simms Wetumpka, AL snip ROTFLOL Check this one out (almost on-topic!): Winner: All Creatures Great and Small Category His knowing brown eyes held her gaze for a seeming eternity, his powerful arms clasped her slim body in an irresistible embrace, and from his broad, hairy chest a primal smell of male tantalized her nostrils; Looks like another long night in the ape house thought veterinarian Abigail Brown as she gingerly reached for the constipated gorilla's suppository. Paul Jeffery Oxford, England Thanks for the guffaws! :) Debbi It Was A Dark And Stormy Night Maru __ Do you Yahoo!? SBC Yahoo! DSL - Now only $29.95 per month! http://sbc.yahoo.com ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
Re: Worst Opening Sentences Contest 2003
As our intrepid young hero first looked about his new school's lodgings, his
eyes darted about to take in the undersized and pitted desktop, the single
chair with only three out of four footpads, the totally inadequate drawer space,
the non existent but brochure promised overhead bookshelf, the bed that
slightly sagged in the middle, the bare unadorned and paint chipped walls, and
instantly concluded that this, indeed, was a stark and dormy sight.
I sent in something like this about three years ago. {Though this rendering
may be of a better form.]
never heard back from them.
Sould one resend the same basic idea over and over again?
William Taylor
-
Sometimes you have to
take the Bulwer by the Homer,
and deflate the situation.
___
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Re: Brin: A Group Is Its Own Worst Enemy
Recently, Clay Shirky wrote an essay on how to create and maintain long-lived groups among people who communicate with each other electronically. Interestingly, although Shirky does not say so specifically, his main focus parallels that of David Brin, who wrote an essay on disputation arenas. Shirky focuses on groups: how to enhance their success and longevity. Brin focuses on civilization: how to gain from the Internet a benefit as great as those we have harvested from four marvels of our age -- science, democracy, the justice system, and fair markets. For both, a key underlying theme is that members of a group must be accountable. Shirky's essay is called, A Group Is Its Own Worst Enemy http://www.shirky.com/writings/group_enemy.html and Brin's essay is called Disputation Arenas: Harnessing Conflict and Competition for Society's Benefit http://www.davidbrin.com/disputationarticle1.html First, I will try to summarize Shirky's thesis, then Brin's. By `groups', Shirky means many-to-many two-way conversations, not the one-to-many action of broadcasters or the one-person-to-one-person two-way action of a telephone conversation. (He says that telephone `conference calls' do not work well. This is my experience, too.) Shirky's thesis is that people in groups must develop reputations, be rewarded for doing well, be freed from exploitation, and be given enough time to converse. Shirky points out that with computers, we enjoy a new technology: Prior to the Internet, the last technology that had any real effect on the way people sat down and talked together was the table. Shirky goes on to say, ... if you are going to create a piece of social software designed to support large groups, you have to accept three things, and design for four things. The three items you need to accept are a part of the universe, like gravity. You cannot avoid them. You can start out be ignoring them or by pretending they are not issues, but they will catch up with you, just as gravity does. The three characteristics of long-lived group interaction are: * First, you cannot completely separate technical and social issues. As Winston Churchill once said of the Houses of Parliament, `we shape our buildings and our buildings shape us.' People choose which tools to provide and use; and in turn those tools enable or prevent the system from working well; and lead the members of a group to want to defend or gain more use of the tools, or not. Shirky gives as an example, a bulletin board system called Communitree that was started in the 1970s. It was founded ... on the principles of open access and free dialogue. At first it worked fine. But then some boys started causing trouble and the people who had set up Communitree could not ... defend themselves against their own users. As Shirky says, ... you could ask whether or not the founders' inability to defend themselves ... was a technical or a social problem. Did the software not allow the problem to be solved? Or was it the social configuration of the group that founded it ...? ... in a way, it doesn't matter * Second, some members of a group will emerge who care more about the group more than the average member. If the tools are available, these members will take care of the group and ensure its continuation. If the tools are not available, those whose actions destroy the group will succeed. Shirky points out that the core group in Communitree, the bulletin board founded in the 1970s, ... was undifferentiated from the group of random users that came in. They were separate in their own minds, because they knew what they wanted to do, but they couldn't defend themselves against the other users. Shirky then goes on to say, But in all successful online communities that I've looked at, a core group arises that cares about and gardens effectively. * Third, the core group has rights that trump individual rights in some situations. This goes against the libertarian view that is quite common and against the principle that one person should have one vote, with no entrance requirements. But if you do not prevent some people from destroying a group, they will destroy it. For example, Shirky talks about a proposal in the early 1990s to create a Usenet news group for discussing Tibetan culture. The proposal was voted down. In large part, this was because many in or from mainland China did not consider Tibet a country, but simply another region of China. So, since Tibet was not a country, it did not need a news group for discussing its culture. As Shirky says, ... because the one person/one vote model on Usenet said Anyone who's on Usenet gets to vote on any group, sufficiently contentious
Re: Brin: A Group Is Its Own Worst Enemy
Robert's summery of the group and disputation papers was wonderfully cogent and well-done, worthy of a fine book review or an A+ term paper. As for comparisons with THE CORE... don't just say that you saw em... write em down! Ideally specific, the more the better! Thanks folks. Thrive. With cordial regards, David Brin www.davidbrin.com ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
Re: Br¡n: A Group Is Its Own Worst Enemy
At 11:45 PM 7/4/03 -0400, Jon Gabriel wrote: I've been so incredibly busy with work lately so I've been cutting back on posting Scouted stories to the list. (In fact, from here on in, they'll probably just wind up on my blog instead.) But I thought this might be of as much interest to brinellers as it was to me. It's an essay by Clay Shirkey entitled A Group Is Its Own Worst Enemy http://www.shirky.com/writings/group_enemy.html) And in a related issue in today's news from CNN: SEX, MOB HITS, 'SIMS ONLINE' The popular commercial game, where thousands of people interact electronically, is turning into a petri dish of anti-social behavior. And that's raising questions about whether limits on conduct should be set in such emerging virtual worlds, even if they are huge adult playpens. http://www.cnn.com/2003/TECH/fun.games/07/05/misbehaving.online.ap/index.html --Ronn! :) I always knew that I would see the first man on the Moon. I never dreamed that I would see the last. --Dr. Jerry Pournelle ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
Re: Brin: A Group Is Its Own Worst Enemy
Interesting. But of course nothing new. The reason these boys did what they did is because of lack of accountability. SOme males hold THEMSELVES accountable. But nobody does it perfectly. It's a favor that others will willingly to FOR you. You repay them by (eagerly) returning the favor) See Disputation Arenas: Harnessing Conflict and Competition for Society's Benefit, lead article in the American Bar Association Journal on Dispute Resolution (Ohio State University), V.15, N.3, pp 597-618, Aug.2000. Or see http://www.davidbrin.com/disputationarticle1.html Alas, the online world has not yet developed accountability systems. See the article. Thrive db I've been so incredibly busy with work lately so I've been cutting back on posting Scouted stories to the list. (In fact, from here on in, they'll probably just wind up on my blog instead.) But I thought this might be of as much interest to brinellers as it was to me. It's an essay by Clay Shirkey entitled A Group Is Its Own Worst Enemy http://www.shirky.com/writings/group_enemy.html) It's a rather fascinating analysis of the problems that can plague long-lasting and/or long term online groups. Discusses a variety of posting patterns and topics that elicit reactions, including broadcast vs., interactive online interactions, discussions about religion, the externalization of enemies to encourage group cohesion, censorship and free speech. The reason I flagged this for you, Dr. Brin is I'm curious about your opinion of the author's premise: that many of these patterns are inherent to human interaction and are therefore unavoidable. What do you think? Anyway, of particular interest to me was this section, which talks about a problem we've experienced here in the past relating to disruptions, censorship and free speech: And, indeed, as anyone who has put discussion software into groups that were previously disconnected has seen, that does happen. Incredible things happen. The early days of Echo, the early days of usenet, the early days of Lucasfilms Habitat, over and over again, you see all this incredible upwelling of people who suddenly are connected in ways they weren't before. .. ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
Brin: A Group Is Its Own Worst Enemy
I've been so incredibly busy with work lately so I've been cutting back on posting Scouted stories to the list. (In fact, from here on in, they'll probably just wind up on my blog instead.) But I thought this might be of as much interest to brinellers as it was to me. It's an essay by Clay Shirkey entitled A Group Is Its Own Worst Enemy http://www.shirky.com/writings/group_enemy.html) It's a rather fascinating analysis of the problems that can plague long-lasting and/or long term online groups. Discusses a variety of posting patterns and topics that elicit reactions, including broadcast vs., interactive online interactions, discussions about religion, the externalization of enemies to encourage group cohesion, censorship and free speech. The reason I flagged this for you, Dr. Brin is I'm curious about your opinion of the author's premise: that many of these patterns are inherent to human interaction and are therefore unavoidable. What do you think? Anyway, of particular interest to me was this section, which talks about a problem we've experienced here in the past relating to disruptions, censorship and free speech: And, indeed, as anyone who has put discussion software into groups that were previously disconnected has seen, that does happen. Incredible things happen. The early days of Echo, the early days of usenet, the early days of Lucasfilms Habitat, over and over again, you see all this incredible upwelling of people who suddenly are connected in ways they weren't before. And then, as time sets in, difficulties emerge. In this case, one of the difficulties was occasioned by the fact that one of the institutions that got hold of some modems was a high school. And who, in 1978, was hanging out in the room with the computer and the modems in it, but the boys of that high school. And the boys weren't terribly interested in sophisticated adult conversation. They were interested in fart jokes. They were interested in salacious talk. They were interested in running amok and posting four-letter words and nyah-nyah-nyah, all over the bulletin board. And the adults who had set up Communitree were horrified, and overrun by these students. The place that was founded on open access had too much open access, too much openness. They couldn't defend themselves against their own users. The place that was founded on free speech had too much freedom. They had no way of saying No, that's not the kind of free speech we meant. But that was a requirement. In order to defend themselves against being overrun, that was something that they needed to have that they didn't have, and as a result, they simply shut the site down. Now you could ask whether or not the founders' inability to defend themselves from this onslaught, from being overrun, was a technical or a social problem. Did the software not allow the problem to be solved? Or was it the social configuration of the group that founded it, where they simply couldn't stomach the idea of adding censorship to protect their system. But in a way, it doesn't matter, because technical and social issues are deeply intertwined. There's no way to completely separate them. What matters is, a group designed this and then was unable, in the context they'd set up, partly a technical and partly a social context, to save it from this attack from within. And attack from within is what matters. Communitree wasn't shut down by people trying to crash or syn-flood the server. It was shut down by people logging in and posting, which is what the system was designed to allow. The technological pattern of normal use and attack were identical at the machine level, so there was no way to specify technologically what should and shouldn't happen. Some of the users wanted the system to continue to exist and to provide a forum for discussion. And other of the users, the high school boys, either didn't care or were actively inimical. And the system provided no way for the former group to defend itself from the latter. Now, this story has been written many times. It's actually frustrating to see how many times it's been written. You'd hope that at some point that someone would write it down, and they often do, but what then doesn't happen is other people don't read it. The most charitable description of this repeated pattern is learning from experience. But learning from experience is the worst possible way to learn something. Learning from experience is one up from remembering. That's not great. The best way to learn something is when someone else figures it out and tells you: Don't go in that swamp. There are alligators in there. Jon We're not alone Maru http://zarq.livejournal.com ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
Will the Worst Case Scenario Occur?
The Pentagon's Scariest Thoughts By ANTHONY H. CORDESMAN WASHINGTON Watching television images of American soldiers in the Kuwaiti desert, chemical-protection suits strapped to their belts, it's hard not to worry about what Saddam Hussein may have in store for them. Still, one needs to be careful in talking about worst-case scenarios: most worst cases will not happen. Consider one of the possibilities Pentagon planners have most feared an Iraqi infliction of smallpox, which can kill 30 percent of those infected. The fact is, there is no evidence that Iraq has smallpox we know for certain only that it is one of the last countries where an outbreak occurred. Most allied soldiers have been vaccinated, and the rest can quickly be inoculated. Thus the serious threat would be to civilian workers at our ports and military bases. It could hamper our logistics while we immunize these people, but smallpox doesn't seem likely to go undetected or spread so widely that it could not be contained. As for other methods of chemical or biological attack, all weapons of mass destruction are not created equal. Though VX nerve gas is very lethal, chemical weapons and toxins still must be delivered in large amounts to produce large casualties. Saddam Hussein relies primarily on large rockets and missiles with relatively simple unitary warheads and contact fuses, which cannot disseminate agents effectively over a wide area. Iraq also still seems to rely on wet versions of biological agents like anthrax, which lose effectiveness in sunlight and in hot weather. The story will be very different, however, if Iraq has developed anthrax in the form of dry micropowders that are coated for wide dissemination and resistance to the sun, and that have been re-sized to increase their infectiveness. This is possible, but we don't have enough evidence to say it is probable. This danger would be compounded if Iraq has built a covert delivery system, or has more sophisticated chemical and biological warheads and bombs. The discovery by weapons inspectors this month of warheads fitted with cluster bomblets that could spread chemical or biological agents, and of large unmanned drones, is worrisome. With improved delivery, the lethality of these agents could be 10 to 100 times higher. The pilotless drone shown to reporters outside Baghdad last week may have looked like a flimsy toy, but Iraq may have developed more sophisticated craft, and they can be very dangerous. The most efficient way to use chemical and biological agents is a low-flying, slow-flying system that releases just the right amount of an agent in a long line over a target area or that circles in a spiral. Iraq has been working on sprayers for its unmanned vehicles for two decades. Iraqi soldiers could also fly helicopters or aircraft laden with agents in suicide missions, disguising them as reconnaissance or conventional attack missions. What can our troops do? They have Patriot missile defense systems that are vastly improved from the Persian Gulf war but the new Patriots, which could work on drones and aircraft as well as missiles, are untested in real combat. And they are not designed to deal with shorter-range artillery rockets and shells that might be fired at our troops in Iraq or at close-range targets in Kuwait. The effectiveness of any missile or artillery attack by Iraq's army depends on its being able to fire large numbers of chemical rounds at relatively static targets. Thus the biggest concern would be when our forces concentrate, particularly on the edges of Iraqi cities and military bases. However, British and American forces have armored vehicles with filters and systems that increase the air pressure in the cabin, an extremely effective defense against chemical and biological agents. Further, they will carry out their major regroupings and maneuvers at night, when Iraq's army is blind. Those factors usually get lost in press coverage, which tends to look at the chemical protection suit as the first and last line of defense from a chemical attack. Yes, even a false alarm could force our soldiers to suit up the protective gear is unpleasant and being forced to use it could delay our soldiers' advance. But it is important to keep the risk of chemical or biological warfare in perspective. As for other unorthodox threats, there is speculation that retreating Iraqi troops may be ordered to set the oil fields ablaze. The Iraqi military rationale is that the oil smoke would paralyze American operations. But this seems off the mark. Our missiles do not rely on lasers anymore oil smoke does not affect satellite positioning technology. Our planes and helicopters can fly above and around such smoke. Most wells are in remote areas and thus the fires would have little tactical impact. In fact, setting the fields ablaze might do more to inhibit Iraq's military operations. Iraq could also use its dams and waterways to create a limited flood plain
