All Consuming: Nhoj

Weird but fun

nobody@www.allconsuming.net (Nhoj) — Sat, 22 Dec 2007 06:07:50 GMT

by Rudy Rucker

Usually, I like my science fiction set on Earth, in the near future, and undiluted by fantasy. This book fulfills two out of three of those criteria. I like it anyway.

A story about "The Dangerous Book for Boys"

nobody@www.allconsuming.net (Nhoj) — Sat, 14 Jul 2007 18:22:40 GMT

The Dangerous Book for Boys

by Conn Iggulden

Fun and educational but fusty, and riddled with errors.

This book is often fun and educational, but the frequent mistakes and “young fogey” tone get annoying. It resembles something out of the early 20th century, not just in style, but in substance.

While I was reading, every few pages, I noticed a mistake. Were they trying to bring the American edition to print in a hurry?

Although I appreciate the imperative to get away from the TV and out of the house, some more diversity in the historical sections would have been nice. I would have loved to have read some stories of brave acts by African Americans and women, for example.

Nevertheless, I enjoyed it. I have heard that a corresponding “Daring Book for Girls” is coming out in time for Christmas. I plan to read that one too—maybe it will be better.

Addendum: here’s an example of the kind of error I’m referring to. On page 161, in the section, “Finding Direction with a Watch,” Iggulden writes, “If it’s summer, wind it back an hour; if it’s winter, wind it forward an hour.” Of course, the second part of that sentence is wrong. If it’s winter, the hour hand points to 12 when the sun is at its highest point in the sky. If it’s winter, leave the setting on your watch alone. Good fact checkers should have caught that.

As for the fustiness, the best example is the grammar section, where Iggulden writes, “The general rule for prepositions is: Don’t end a sentence with a preposition.” That rule may have been popular in the 19th century, when reformist-minded grammarians wanted to make English sound more like Latin. These days, however, it’s the sort of nonsense up with which we do not put.

A story about "National Geographic Picture Atlas of Our Universe"

nobody@www.allconsuming.net (Nhoj) — Thu, 28 Dec 2006 18:37:21 GMT

National Geographic Picture Atlas of Our Universe

by Roy A. Gallant

Some friends of mine had this too—they called it, “Are you nervous?”

A story about "Colossal Cave Adventure"

nobody@www.allconsuming.net (Nhoj) — Tue, 19 Dec 2006 00:18:04 GMT

Colossal Cave Adventure

I knew this game as simply “Adventure.” The first time I played it was in December 1980 at my Uncle Michael’s house in Mill Valley, California. He had a terminal with no monitor. Rather, it printed everything on green bar paper.

Later in 1981, I played the game again at the Hamilton College Computer Center on a Terak. The Terak had a CRT monitor, its own CPU and 8” floppies. It was quite advanced.

How "UCSD P-system" changed my life

nobody@www.allconsuming.net (Nhoj) — Tue, 19 Dec 2006 00:12:17 GMT

UCSD P-system

The UCSD P-system was my first operating system. When I used it (1981-1987), I didn’t even know the term, “operating system.” I just knew I had files, a compiler, an editor, and a way to execute programs. The mental image I have of the P-system is not that of a desktop (like modern systems) but rather that of a series of rooms. In some ways, this seems like a richer experience than the desktop metaphor. The mind fills in imaginary graphics the same way it creates pictures when one is reading a book.

A story about "Terak 8510/a"

nobody@www.allconsuming.net (Nhoj) — Tue, 19 Dec 2006 00:08:14 GMT

Terak 8510/a

Here’s a Terak page

A story about "Dataman"

nobody@www.allconsuming.net (Nhoj) — Tue, 19 Dec 2006 00:03:39 GMT

Dataman

When I was eight years old, I got a Dataman for Christmas. I immediately started playing with it and stopped paying attention to the activities of the day or to any other presents. My Dad said it was a toy I could relate to.

Why it's taking me forever to finish consuming "Spin State"

nobody@www.allconsuming.net (Nhoj) — Thu, 14 Dec 2006 05:27:04 GMT

Spin State

by Chris Moriarty

With my new job, I don’t have much free time for fiction. Or rather, I only have time for the fiction I love. I renewed it three times: now it’s time to give it back to the library.

Excellent intro to machine learning

nobody@www.allconsuming.net (Nhoj) — Tue, 24 Oct 2006 03:58:50 GMT

Data Mining: Practical Machine Learning Tools and Techniques, Second Edition (Morgan Kaufmann Series in Data Management Systems)

by Ian H. Witten

Yes, I read this book in a weekend. I can’t say I understood it all but I read it. I think I have some insight now into what it is like to be a graduate student. Anyway, it’s very cool. At some point I’ll go back and reread the parts I need to reread. The related software package, Weka, is very nice and helps those (like me) who aren’t too familiar with statistical terminology to learn by playing.

A review of "Rainbows End"

nobody@www.allconsuming.net (Nhoj) — Wed, 23 Aug 2006 05:34:18 GMT

Rainbows End

by Vernor Vinge

Vernor Vinge’s novel, Rainbows End takes place about 20 years in the future, in 2025. In the novel, this is an era in which the young understand much more about their world than grown-ups do. Old people find themselves going back to “high school” (which is attended by junior high or middle school-aged kids) to learn how to function in this new world.

One of these people is Robert Gu, a poet and a recovering Alzheimer’s patient, who is lucky enough to regain his mental function through new therapies. Although he has regained his intelligence, he has lost both his poetic ability and his characteristic meanness. He semi-unintentionally gets drawn into a scheme involving the UCSD library and international espionage.

All of the ubiquitous computing people use in this fictional future scenario is based on something called SHE (Secure Hardware Environment, I think), which is sort of like Trusted Computing. A couple of times in the novel, characters find themselves frustrated by the fact that below a certain level, you can’t change things. Below a certain level (where SHE comes into play—possibly at the OS), there are “no user-modifiable parts inside.” Of course, this restriction is quite different from the neo-DIY/Make Magazine style hardware hacking we see today. It reminds me of those little remote control cars that were all the rage a few Christmases ago. You could “customize” them, which meant snapping off a few pre-designed parts and snapping on other ones. In the novel, SHE allows for far more complex combinations, creating a network effect much like the Internet itself. In this future, people are making creations that don’t make much sense to folks from our time—ubiquitous computing allows possibilities that we cannot yet envision. However, I still get the sense that something is lost when hackers give up the ability to modify their OS or below.

A related geek reference—I found it rather hard to believe that:

the GNU Hurd kernel is released by 2025.
it’s illegal—someone uses a contraband “HurdOS” box in the novel.

Anyway, I definitely recommend this book—I enjoyed both the tech and the humanity of this near-future tale.

A story about "As You Like It (Folger Shakespeare Library)"

nobody@www.allconsuming.net (Nhoj) — Wed, 23 Aug 2006 05:06:16 GMT

As You Like It (Folger Shakespeare Library)

by William Shakespeare

I read this for the seminar at Stags Leap Wine Cellars. Unfortunately, I think I’m a little out of practice in seminar or maybe I was always that way and just don’t remember. Anyway, I noticed myself thinking that we were approaching the book in the wrong way. I tried to articulate my concerns but they came out all wrong: I said maybe we shouldn’t take the play so seriously but my comment was interpreted to mean that it wasn’t worth analyzing. That’s not really what I meant.

Fifteen years away from the Program gave me some sense of how transparent the ideological underpinnings are for some people. Someone actually brought up Plato’s divided line. I feel like someone brought up that metaphor in every darn seminar! I felt like taunting that guy and saying, “No! Shakespeare was not thinking of Plato’s divided line when he wrote As You Like It.”

Another person brought up Plato’s noble lie (was I in the wrong seminar?) and said that most of the problems in the world were caused by people of lesser quality (or some similar elitist description) having power. Did I not notice this kind of elitism when I was at St. John’s or was I just lucky enough to have seminar with a more democratically-minded group?

A review of "Kiln People (The Kiln Books)"

nobody@www.allconsuming.net (Nhoj) — Wed, 16 Aug 2006 04:32:11 GMT

Kiln People (The Kiln Books)

by David Brin

As a detective story, this novel is pretty good. However, where it really shines is in the premise, a world in which people can create “dittos,” or expendable clay copies of themselves. The copies last one day and then their memories can be uploaded into the original’s mind.

Anyway, the idea that I really liked was that of the “standing wave,” the metaphor characters in this novel use to describe continuity of consciousness. This idea really makes clear the distinction between self and memory. That is, another entity could share my memories and appear to be me. However, if this being did not continue my standing wave, didn’t continue my original consciousness, it wouldn’t really be me.

The standing wave varies from person to person. Since the dittos are offshoots of the original, their memories can be uploaded. However, one cannot upload someone else’s dittos memories because, as it turns out, every person’s experience of reality is totally different. The ditto’s memories would be nonsense.

Anyway, I have been trying to come up with a suitable explanation for why I have a problem with SF technologies like the transporter in Star Trek or with Kurzweil-style “uploading.” The standing wave metaphor really makes it clear. If it breaks or interrupts the standing wave, my copy isn’t really me!

More noir than SF

nobody@www.allconsuming.net (Nhoj) — Wed, 26 Jul 2006 22:26:01 GMT

Altered Carbon: A Takeshi Kovacs Novel (Takeshi Kovacs Novels)

by Richard K. Morgan

Since I’m more into SF than noir, it’s not really my thing. Also, a bit too much violence for my tastes.

Why it's taking me forever to finish consuming "Altered Carbon: A Takeshi Kovacs Novel (Takeshi Kovacs Novels)"

nobody@www.allconsuming.net (Nhoj) — Fri, 30 Jun 2006 18:31:03 GMT

Altered Carbon: A Takeshi Kovacs Novel (Takeshi Kovacs Novels)

by Richard K. Morgan

I’m kind of busy, what with the baby and all, plus learning Scheme, plus learning Spanish, plus practicing the guitar. Nonetheless, I find some time to read this “SF noir.” Although it’s good SF, in a strange way it seems sort of dated, even though it’s only a few years old. I don’t get quite the, “Aha!” feeling I get when reading my favorites like Cory Doctorow, David Brin, or Vernor Vinge. These authors all seem to be part of a long conversation on which I’m eavesdropping.