crdb

20 ms·

121.
by crdb 10y ago
I think I should be more specific with my definition of bleak. It's possible to write a novel where the setting, and the story lead to dark places, and finish badly for the heroes, but without the heroes giving up on life or thinking.
122.
by crdb 10y ago
Yes, I've read almost all his books, there's still a couple sitting on my Kindle. I disagree with seeing these books as bleak, or indeed anything by Banks (it could be because our definitions of bleak differ, since I agree with yo
123.
by crdb 10y ago
I haven't watched it yet. It's months away, I think January release here. Other commenters say the plot has been substantially changed. After watching Dr. Strange I read the first 5-6 comics, because I thought it was one of the fe
124.
by crdb 10y ago
> so it's up to us to define it and find it ourselves That's the part I didn't get from the story. In fact, there was a strong sense of "the future is already written so you might as well not try to get out of it&quot
125.
by crdb 10y ago
I was going to say two recent great first contact novels (showing you can still, in our era, do first contact in an original and intelligent manner) are Cixin Liu's Three Body trilogy and Peter Watts' work. I also think many of Ch
126.
by crdb 10y ago
I disliked the story for the same reason I dislike a lot of modern SF (and arts generally): it is nihilist and depressing. The craftsmanship is good , although not great (the split structure feels a bit forced, for example). To use one&#
127.
by crdb 10y ago
Obviously, the comparison is not perfect. For starters, Have Blue was done by Kelly Johnson's Lockheed (although technically under Ben Rich, himself no slouch); Rickover's nuclear navy was similarly led and with similar low budget
128.
by crdb 10y ago
CVN-80 is going into service in 2025... just saying.
129.
by crdb 10y ago
> And the point of the ship is .. what? If you are a US taxpayer you should weep. Same as any prototype or sufficiently advanced aircraft like the F-117, pave the way for future generations like the Beast of Kandahar, demonstrate or inva
130.
by crdb 10y ago
This assumes journalists decide what gets into press. However, an editorial line is decided by the owners or other stakeholders (at the national level, it might be governments), a compliant editor is hired and made aware of the line, and th
131.
by crdb 10y ago
Is there a video of this boat in real weather? That is, waves larger than the boat [1]. How does it cope without capsizing? Do its systems still work? Is propulsion retained if strong enough turbulence "breaks" the gas bubble arou
132.
by crdb 10y ago
> Theoretically, with them you get a guarantee of food that is prepared with better safety standards. Whether this is practically true I have no idea. Anecdotally, working in Maharashtra with Indians in an Indian company for a few months
133.
by crdb 10y ago
Obligatory follow-up: http://kunstler.com/writings/eyesore-of-the-month/ If you are a bit familiar with architecture, laughs guaranteed.
134.
by crdb 10y ago
How to replicate: google "Baqend", click on their page (should be top result), press back button, press "back" arrow on browser. Screenshot: http://imgur.com/a/mLXdc Compare with: http://
135.
by crdb 10y ago
I checked out Baqend ("we" in the article) and the site prevents me from navigating back when I press "back" (I think by injecting itself as the previous page - I'm not really up to date on dark patterns). This is t
136.
by crdb 10y ago
I worked for a few months in Maharashtra with an Indian FMCG/white goods manufacturer. We were trying to develop products for the "bottom of the pyramid" market - think families living in one room on $30-100 a month. Every yo
137.
by crdb 10y ago
The section on referrals was very interesting. Effectively, she states that cold emails are fine, since on balance many referrals are low quality. Investors reading this: do you think cold emails and referrals are equivalent in terms of dea
138.
by crdb 10y ago
The article makes the case for the world descriptions and concepts introduced in SF being an inspiration to real world entrepreneurs, such as Stephenson inspiring the PayPal co-founders and a series of portal companies. But science fiction
139.
by crdb 10y ago
> It's all about people who've seen how absurdly rich you can get Yes and no. As is often bandied about, the expected value of a career in startups is lower than in many other fields, and yet people do stay after seeing through
140.
by crdb 10y ago
> It is irrelevant to the original theme of the post, but it is quite relevant to the subthread that started with two quotes from and about Rand, and you coming to criticise the poster of the second quote. My belonging to the Ayn Rand tr
141.
by crdb 10y ago
In the particular case of MailChimp, their main competitor (AFAIK), Campaign Monitor, decided to raise VC funding after about a decade of slow grind a la MailChimp. They hired a CEO with experience in 5 other VC funded startups (and with bu
142.
by crdb 10y ago
First, thank you for the long reply. I know the effort and time involved in typing those out and I really appreciate your taking it. > On the contrary, the problem with a natural language is that is imprecise, vague and ambiguous. These
143.
by crdb 10y ago
> one can suggest a book Yes, one can. My complaint here was that it was not relevant to what was being discussed. It's similar to a discussion on the latest Postgres being hijacked by yet another languages war. > In life, as opp
144.
by crdb 10y ago
No. My premise is that of "rational" argument (and I know the word is loaded in the context of Ayn Rand), that of seeking a better understanding of the world. My position is that emotional manipulation leads to a worse understandi
145.
by crdb 10y ago
> Because you criticized the parent poster exactly for making such an assumption (whether he made it or not)... I go on quite at length as to why I believe that he did. Feel free to disagree with me, so long as you explain why.
146.
by crdb 10y ago
> Thankfully, that was not an ad hominem. It was a quote against a particular BOOK. I've explained in detail why I disagree with you on this. I see you have engaged into the discussion further, for which I thank you as this is a lot
147.
by crdb 10y ago
Then demonstrate how they are wrong, with examples.
148.
by crdb 10y ago
"Don't listen to this man's arguments, he's in fallacy fallacy territory." Examples?
149.
by crdb 10y ago
But I did not appeal to authority. I gave an example of both the Trump and Clinton campaigns using manipulation to illustrate my point. Why do you disagree?
150.
by crdb 10y ago
Whilst I appreciate the recommendation, I do not understand its relevance in the context of this thread. What I am reading in your comment is an implication: - that by attacking the use of a quote to ridicule those who have read Ayn Rand an

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