I'm someone who spent three weeks at the start of programming trying to get a program to count the number of a, c, g, t, & n's in a text file and went on to get good at programming. Starting was slow for me and I've got the knack for it. My Y chromosome didn't magic away the errors. The beginning of the programming skill curve has a very shallow slope...
Programming is fairly unforgiving for beginners. A beginning painter makes crude but recognizable pictures while a beginning programmer only makes error messages.
Zak @14 - The torture memos weren't written before they started torturing people but rather in the middle. They knew long sleep dep wasn't immediately fatal because they were doing it and the prisoners didn't die.
How do you think the elaborate 'walling' (beating) protocol was developed? By beating prisoners to death, finding out how surprisingly fragile the human head is, and iterating. They found out it was easy to break a prisoners neck. Revise protocol. Then the torturers discovered cerebral hemorrhage. Revise protocol again.
Artificial intelligence? Many a guy has a deep relationship with his truck, I don't think much artificial intelligence is needed for the doll.
A Tickle-me-Elmo AI with an 'Oh baby, oh baby!' circuit gets you half way there.
He has spoken Bush's epitaph:
"This is a goodbye kiss, you dog," the journalist, Muntathar al Zaidi, 29, shouted.
Or at least, the last display case in the museum history of the US's invasion and occupation of Iraq under President Bush.
The Testimonials section of Bree's website has some unintentional comedy gold:
“Bree has ministered to the residents at Highlands Maternity Home and we have seen lives impacted for the Kingdom of God. We are thankful for the pro-life message...â€
Rev. Robert Michaels, Highlands Maternity Home
Those poor pregnant women, now suffering from impacted babies, the horror, the horror!
At least The Fifth Element warned you. The names translates as Boron, The Movie, and it is.
Alternate ecologies? Add in David Gerrold's Chtorr series. The Earth is invaded by a more competitive ecology--no intelligent aliens appear but Earth gets munched on. It builds slowly but is intricate and exciting.
Outside of sf, Edward O. Wilson's autobiography 'Naturalist' is a fascinating read. He's one of the last generation of discovery naturalists. He wandered across the world discovering new species of insects, birds, and mammals right and left as the first or one of the first naturalists to explore several regions. It reads like an adventure story.
| Year | Number of comments posted |
|---|---|
| 2009 | 3 |
| 2008 | 5 |
Total: 8 comments. View all these comments on a single page.
The most recent 20 comments posted to Making Light by Jim Lund:
Show all comments by Jim Lund.