Whatcha reading redux.

Everything cultural, pop or otherwise. Books, movies, music, comics, poetry, random cultural geekery.
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Kommander
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Re: Whatcha reading redux.

Post by Kommander »

John_in_Longview wrote:
Kommander wrote:Which book John_in_Longview? Mona Lisa Overdrive?
Yes, that's the one.

[spoiler]It is my understanding that Bobby's (Count Zero) and Angela's memory constructs are in the Aleph (along with Colin and Finn), which contains a full copy of cyberspace. However, the Aleph is taken my Molly into the desert with the solar batteries rigged up by Slick, who says the batteries will last several months to a year. At some point the batteries will fail and the Aleph will lose power and all those in the Aleph will cease to be. I don't remember anything stating the Aleph was connected to the rest of the Matrix, so their "deaths" in the Aleph will be permanent?[/spoiler]
[spoiler]Gibson may have failed to mention specifically that it was hooked up, but the are most definitly leaving, leaving the Aleph, leaving cyberspace, and in fact leaving earth.[/spoiler]

Gibson was not a computer person. Do not read into his technical explanations too far as he pretty much just made them up as he went. If you want cyberpunk done by someone who knows computers give Snow Crash by Stephenson a read. The world he creates is so believable that it might just come true. When your done with that you can go play the original Deus Ex if you have not already. If nothing else these works of fiction should make it clear that the government has been using dystopic science fiction as a how to manual for shaping the future. :D
Cobar
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Re: Whatcha reading redux.

Post by Cobar »

Dinochrome One wrote:I'm reading Maelstrom right now. It's too bad that Walker and Mahan weren't FRAM-type destroyers with six 5-inch/fifties, some twin-40mm mounts, ASROC, and modern torpedo-tubes. Not to mention surface and air-search radars, sonar, and high-powered HF transmitters.
I'm in the middle of Firestorm now. Too advanced would have taken some of the fun out of it I think. She is advanced compared to what she is dealing with but not too far. Her crew is a lot closer to the sailing ships than she is to a modern ship leaving them better to deal with the old ways.
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Weetabix
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Re: Whatcha reading redux.

Post by Weetabix »

randy wrote:
Flintlock Tom wrote:I'm currently reading through some of E.R. Burroughs books.
I do most of my reading on my Kindle. Is there some reason, beyond [strike]profit[/strike] greed, that an e-book should cost 10 or 12 dollars?
:evil:
FIFY. I'm as big an advocate for the capitalist system as anyone, and certainly think authors and other artists should be fairly compensated, but when an electronic version of a book or music, especially back-list titles, cost as much as the physical item, I think they've moved beyond fair profit to price gouging, and provides a large incentive to indulge in digital piracy.
That's why I loves me some Project Gutenberg and abebooks.com. :geek:
Note to self: start reading sig lines. They're actually quite amusing. :D
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evan price
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Re: Whatcha reading redux.

Post by evan price »

Spell Blind by David Coe.
A reviewer on Amazon called it "Dime-Store Dresden Files".
I'll read the second one but hope it improves.

O'Brian's The Mauritius Command, Book 4 of the Aubrey/Maturin series. Pretty good, with lots of action. Unfortunately it's the last one that my library system has in the chain and I'll be forced to import the next few to jump the gaps from another library system and that takes a lot of time to order in. Clonfort as a character surprised me.

Also Book 5 of The Expanse series by James SA Corey is out and I'm reading it. Just started last night. It's like putting on a comfy pair of boots.
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Weetabix
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Re: Whatcha reading redux.

Post by Weetabix »

evan price wrote:O'Brian's The Mauritius Command, Book 4 of the Aubrey/Maturin series. Pretty good, with lots of action. Unfortunately it's the last one that my library system has in the chain and I'll be forced to import the next few to jump the gaps from another library system and that takes a lot of time to order in. Clonfort as a character surprised me.
I just finished that one recently. It's cool that it was based on an actual naval campaign with actual ship names and sizes.
Note to self: start reading sig lines. They're actually quite amusing. :D
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dfwmtx
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Re: Whatcha reading redux.

Post by dfwmtx »

Alternating between "I,Claudius", "Noble House", "The Pillow Boy of the Lady Onogoro", "The Field Manual For Super Villians", and "Save the Cat!"
"Arms are honor; slaves have neither."

"I am Chaos, I am alive...and I tell you that you are free!" -Eris Discordia
Aesop
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Re: Whatcha reading redux.

Post by Aesop »

The Blaster's Handbook.
No reason. 8-)
"There are four types of homicide: felonious, accidental, justifiable, and praiseworthy." -Ambrose Bierce, "The Devil's Dictionary"
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SoupOrMan
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Re: Whatcha reading redux.

Post by SoupOrMan »

Kommander wrote: If nothing else these works of fiction should make it clear that the government has been using dystopic science fiction as a how to manual for shaping the future. :D
Still waiting for full-body cybernetic conversion... otherwise Appleseed totally lied to me.
Remember, folks, you can't spell "douche" without "Che."

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Netpackrat
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Re: Whatcha reading redux.

Post by Netpackrat »

Netpackrat wrote:Six Frigates
I finished this tonight, and truly enjoyed it. At times I almost forgot I was reading a work of non-fiction, in that much of it reads like a thriller. An amazing story.
Cognosce teipsum et disce pati

"People come and go in our lives, especially the online ones. Some leave a fond memory, and some a bad taste." -Aesop
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SoupOrMan
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Re: Whatcha reading redux.

Post by SoupOrMan »

Weetabix wrote:
SoupOrMan wrote:Square Foot Gardening. I want to see if it lives up to the hyperbole found in the book itself.
Keep us posted. I've always been attracted to that idea.
I haven't had a chance to work on this, what with part of my neighbor's tree falling into my yard and damaging my siding and fence. It looks mostly like you do all the scutwork up front in preparing the boxes and soil mix. Then by placing the plants in each grid section in a square formation (1, 2, 4, 9, or 16 depending on the ultimate plant size), you reduce the need to thin out your plants.

It looks like it's designed to reduce labor while maximizing growth chances. Won't know for a while, though.
Remember, folks, you can't spell "douche" without "Che."

“PET PARENTS?” You’re not a “pet parent.” You’re a pet owner. Unless you’ve committed an unnatural act that succeeded in spite of biology. - Glenn Reynolds
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