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Previa_fun posted:I'll be vacationing with the girlfriend and some friends on Dauphin Island in may. Better get there before the fucker washes away in a few years. I was there last year and it's going fast. I'm not in LA, but in the Montgomery area. All of the heat, none of the charm.
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Apr 6, 2016 10:52
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corn in the fridge posted:Meh, I think I'll give it a pass for now. Tbh I wasnt too invested in the characters or the setting but I enjoyed it as a simple adventure story that could be taken at face value. You might try reading some of the warhammer 40k's horus heresy stuff. Alot of it is pretty low brow, but still entertaining from a "space marines running around shooting stuff" perspective.
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Apr 6, 2016 10:56
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corn in the fridge posted:I figure there's a lot of sci-fi nerds itt so I'll ask this question here. Having just read Dune, are any of the other books in the series worth reading? Dune Messiah is decent enough. Children of Dune starts getting weird as gently caress but the beginnings of the Golden Path is cool as hell Leto II when he gets his sandfish armour is loving kick rear end God Emperor ..... ummmm...... read it once. Not great. Heritics of Dune - some great concepts, loving lousy writing. Some like it, I didnt. Just do not go any further. Do not read anything else either a prequel or sequel to Heritics. They are dire, Kevin J Anderson should not write another single fuckign word
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Apr 6, 2016 11:25
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CAT INTERCEPTOR posted:Dune Messiah is decent enough. Children of Dune starts getting weird as gently caress but the beginnings of the Golden Path is cool as hell Leto II when he gets his sandfish armour is loving kick rear end The Sci-Fi mini series was pretty good, original Dune is by far my favorite book. Ian McNiece made an excellent Baron
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Apr 6, 2016 11:31
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CommieGIR posted:The Sci-Fi mini series was pretty good, original Dune is by far my favorite book. Ian McNiece made an excellent Baron Never seen the mini-series. I *hated* the David Lynch movie - until I understood that a movie does not have to be book perfect. poo poo is still weird as gently caress but looked at by itself it's a hell of a movie.
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Apr 6, 2016 12:10
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The guy training me got called out to an emergency outage early this morning so I have nothing to do until he gets back (whenever that is). I asked my boss what he wants me to do and he said to just hang out. 
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Apr 6, 2016 12:13
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CAT INTERCEPTOR posted:Never seen the mini-series. I *hated* the David Lynch movie - until I understood that a movie does not have to be book perfect. poo poo is still weird as gently caress but looked at by itself it's a hell of a movie. Yeah, I was not a fan of the David Lynch movie. It was awful and didn't do the book justice.
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Apr 6, 2016 12:16
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Elmnt80 posted:You might try reading some of the warhammer 40k's horus heresy stuff. Alot of it is pretty low brow, but still entertaining from a "space marines running around shooting stuff" perspective. Lol I don't think i could deign to read anything with a warhammer logo on the cover If I want something deliciously low brow I usually go for some alternate history
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Apr 6, 2016 12:20
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corn in the fridge posted:Lol I don't think i could deign to read anything with a warhammer logo on the cover Have you read any Neal Stephenson books yet? He seems to be a real love/hate type author, but he hits the right notes for my geeky-type sci-fi fix. Anathem and Seveneves in particular are great "what if" and/or "holy poo poo, we're hosed" stories. I've just finished Seveneves, and it was one hell of a ride. If you decide to read it, don't spoil anything for yourself, you absolutely need to go in blind. And if you haven't read them yet, Snow Crash and The Diamond Age are cyperpunk classics. Another great author that's admittedly more towards weird-fi than outright sci-fi is China Miéville. Perdido Street Station is one of my favorite books ever. And if you don't mind bamboo and clockwork rather than electronics and robotics, Paolo Bacigalupi's debut novel The Windup Girl is amazing, too.
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Apr 6, 2016 12:35
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GG there's Warhammer 40K books? WHY????? Right now I'm reading David Eddings The Elumium series. Not because its good but because Sparhawk is just such a ridiculously over the top unstoppable murder machine - plus reading a real book is just such a nice way to unwind the brain. TBH I should dig out my copy of Lord of the Rings
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Apr 6, 2016 12:42
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CAT INTERCEPTOR posted:Never seen the mini-series. I *hated* the David Lynch movie - until I understood that a movie does not have to be book perfect. poo poo is still weird as gently caress but looked at by itself it's a hell of a movie. I would reallllllllllllllly love to have seen this version: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jg4OCeSTL08
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Apr 6, 2016 12:49
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some texas redneck posted:a cousin is looking for names for a dog she's adopting. One of the suggested names? Bucephalus. That would be cruel. 
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Apr 6, 2016 13:15
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CAT INTERCEPTOR posted:GG there's Warhammer 40K books? WHY????? People like fantasizing about a dark dystopian future?
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Apr 6, 2016 13:29
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Well let's see here... TerribleRobot and I hang out a bunch since he's in redneckistan close-ish to the RVA compound. He's always privy to goony poo poo at my place and has been around forever. AcidRonin's in DC and skylineboy08 is in Yorktown. We both hang out a bunch but we know eachother more through eve (and our weird kik/whatsapp/telegram chat thing) than AI. InitialDave came by the RVA compound on his trip to the USA. He brought me a bunch of delicious English microbrews and some awesome orange soda called Irn Bru or something like that. iForge and I go back a ways too. He's up in Wilmington, DE. He comes down to help on stuff and has the twin of my Comanche. We drove up to Maine and back together and he's one cool dude. I met him at alternate.eago's place and he sold me Jormungandr. SlowIsFast came through my neck of the woods on a road trip, and we pressed in bushings for TerribleRobot's Forester at the RVA compound. chrisgt and Frankenstein (I forget his forum name but that's what he goes by on IRC) I met at SlowIsFast's rally team at NEFR and we had a shitload of fun replacing 2 subaru engines. kastein I met on that same trip, and towed half of his parts Justy through Massachusetts. Met a shitload of you at NEAI last year, including Holdbrooks where I filmed his Warboy scene. Wrar brought his baller BMW around the RVA compound and we did some suspension poo poo to it. sharkytm dropped an australian's van off at the RVA compound and we hung out for a couple nights with TerribleRobot. literallyafish I haven't technically met yet, but he's staying at my place for like 6 weeks at the end of the summer and his van's been sitting at the RVA compound. Larrymer I met this past weekend driving the Gorester back from Grand Rapids to RVA. He bought me lunch and his wife made me cookies  Super cool dude.Bucephalus I see in the bushes every now and then. I think that's all the AI goons. There's another list like that for eve goons that have won eve for the most part. Weirdly enough, every single goon interaction has been positive. Y'alls good people  I miss anybody? Adiabatic fucked around with this message at 13:47 on Apr 6, 2016 |
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Apr 6, 2016 13:40
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KozmoNaut posted:Have you read any Neal Stephenson books yet? He seems to be a real love/hate type author, but he hits the right notes for my geeky-type sci-fi fix. Anathem and Seveneves in particular are great "what if" and/or "holy poo poo, we're hosed" stories. I've just finished Seveneves, and it was one hell of a ride. If you decide to read it, don't spoil anything for yourself, you absolutely need to go in blind. And if you haven't read them yet, Snow Crash and The Diamond Age are cyperpunk classics. Interesting recommendations, I'll look into it. Though I probably won't get around to any of them for a while cuz i usually like to alternate between fiction and non-fiction and ive been told I need to have read or be reading johnathan franzen's latest book by the time i visit my sister next month so we can talk about it
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Apr 6, 2016 13:40
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I breifly met Micromancer, he seemed like a swell guy.
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Apr 6, 2016 13:51
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Adiabatic posted:Larrymer I met this past weekend driving the Gorester back from Grand Rapids to RVA. He bought me lunch and his wife made me cookies  I've only met Adiabatic, as many know he's a good dude. I have no intention of meeting TT based on his posting, lol. If I see him at some point I will try my hardest to not be a dick, though. PaintVagrant is in the area, not sure about anybody else in Detroit. I don't have interesting cars anymore and about as close I get to car fun is iRacing at this point. 
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Apr 6, 2016 13:58
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Previa_fun posted:I'll be vacationing with the girlfriend and some friends on Dauphin Island in may. Eh, if you haven't already paid for your tickets, I'd talk you out of it. It's fun for a day trip but I would send you to Orange Beach or Pensacola; though I think May might be the start of the tourist season and thus $$$. There is a kick rear end burger joint on DI though. Or was up until last year. If you're into people watching, it will be fun. Born and raised in Alabama, and I somewhat like my state despite its loads of wasted potential, but man...the natives...can be interesting. CommieGIR posted:Oh man, I was down there for vacation last year, should've asked if there was any goons around. Yup, you should have
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Apr 6, 2016 14:11
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The only goon, AI or otherwise I've met was T1g. I drove up to his corner of bumblefuck arkansas on the way back from texas a few years ago and we cruised around checking out the nature trails and the like. Then I got him blackout drunk on leftover whiskey from texas while watching top gear. Good times. Between texas and florida, I've never seen anything approaching mountains, so it felt like I was driving through the himilayas to get there. Met an eve person earlier that same day for lunch, was also a cool dude. Overall, all of my meeting random internet nerds has been pretty chill. And if it feels weird, just say gently caress it and crack open a bottle. Makes everything better.
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Apr 6, 2016 14:22
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Dune is great, Messiah and Children are OK, the rest are skippable but if you finished the first 3 you're probably invested enough to finish the series. Do not touch anything written by the son. Somebody mentioned Stephenson. I liked Cryptonomicon and Snow Crash and Anathem, and I managed to finish System of the World (massive trilogy), but there's something about his writing style that rubs me the wrong way. When I started reading the sample chapter of Seveneves, I got a few hundred words in, said "Oh gently caress this", and closed it. So if you don't like his stuff, well, I can see it. Try "The Big U" if you get a chance, it's a very early book of his, it's short, and it's different from a lot of his later efforts.
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Apr 6, 2016 14:31
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I love Dune, enjoyed the next two books but stopped there. I'll pick it up again one of these days...
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Apr 6, 2016 14:40
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Adiabatic posted:
I'm just happy to be mentioned 
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Apr 6, 2016 14:47
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Astonishing Wang posted:I'm just happy to be mentioned TELL ME IF I'VE MET YOU DAMNIT 
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Apr 6, 2016 14:54
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Quoting poo poo from way back but oh well I've been busy.Mat_Drinks posted:Get yourself some Kroil for next time. PB Blaster is barely better than WD40. literally a fish posted:If any of you remember the time lapse test thing I did in mid-February, I've made it a youtube channel and posted all months up to March now; CommieGIR posted:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R3gZISoOUV8 CommieGIR posted:HAHA. No, if you are IT, you'd better be reachable at all times and all places. Noise Complaint posted:NEAI 2016 is gonna have some lawnmower races if I have my way, however. Adiabatic posted:
Speaking of that anyone in the Los Angeles area? Looks like I'm doing a long weekend and will have 8-5 free on Saturday the 16th. This last week has been stupid busy. Customer support Thursday and Friday, music festival type thing in town all weekend, track day Monday then monster maintenance yesterday followed by pint night because we flew in people to help. Today after work I'm going home and I'm just going to crash for a few hours.
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Apr 6, 2016 14:55
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Colorado Ski Trip after action report: Only busted my rear end a couple dozen times. Feeling my age, that's for sure. All you women in Colorado need to seriously start wearing some sunblock and facial moisturizer. 20 year olds look like they're 60.
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Apr 6, 2016 14:59
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SWAI: Nobody wants to drive to Albuquerque, and my MG might not make it anywhere else 
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Apr 6, 2016 15:07
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Sad but also a great thread title
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Apr 6, 2016 15:16
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Pham Nuwen posted:Nobody wants to drive to Albuquerque That left turn is poorly marked.
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Apr 6, 2016 15:18
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I don't think anybody's recommended the Hyperion Cantos by Dan Simmons yet, but those would fit the bill admirably. There's also C. J. Cherryh's Alliance-Union stuff (and there's a LOT of it) that can be pretty fun to read. Or perhaps you would be interested in Larry Niven? Ringworld is great and The Ringworld Engineers is also good. Or there's the stuff he did with Pournelle like Lucifer's Hammer or The Mote in God's Eye. And then there's Heinlein. A lot of his stuff is just plain action-y.
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Apr 6, 2016 15:57
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Magnus Praeda posted:I don't think anybody's recommended the Hyperion Cantos by Dan Simmons yet, but those would fit the bill admirably. Yeah, the Hyperion and Endymion books are OK, as are Ilium and Olympos. Just stay away from his website and stuff, he's a bit of a right-wing zionist conspiracy theorist nutter. Not nearly as bad as Orson Scott Card, but still. Once you know, it's hard to ignore the subtext about jews and the global caliphate etc. As he puts it himself: "The one constant thread between today and a thousand years from now will be that someone, somewhere, will be planning to kill the Jews", and that's one of his more sane statements on the subject. Now, I don't mind this at all in the context of the books, you have to have some good guys and some bad guys. You just have to know that he literally believes a lot of this stuff in real life. And the less said about Heinlein's political views, the better. KozmoNaut fucked around with this message at 16:11 on Apr 6, 2016 |
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Apr 6, 2016 16:08
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Magnus Praeda posted:And then there's Heinlein. A lot of his stuff is just plain action-y. It's going to be a while before I can trust Heinlein enough to read another one of his books. Perhaps it's not representative of the rest of his work but Stranger in a Strange Land was one of the most disappointing books I've read.
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Apr 6, 2016 16:09
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corn in the fridge posted:It's going to be a while before I can trust Heinlein enough to read another one of his books. Perhaps it's not representative of the rest of his work but Stranger in a Strange Land was one of the most disappointing books I've read. Also rampant misogyny.
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Apr 6, 2016 16:11
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Pham Nuwen posted:SWAI: Nobody wants to drive to Albuquerque, and my MG might not make it anywhere else SWAI: Getting together in the winter because otherwise it is too hot. Maybe you need to do whatever can be done to get your MG to Arizona? There are a few LA goons, I'm in Palm Springs, and there is a couple goons in AZ. What I'm saying is AZ would be right in the middle.
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Apr 6, 2016 16:20
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KozmoNaut posted:Yeah, the Hyperion and Endymion books are OK, as are Ilium and Olympos. If there's one thing about SF authors that seems more rule than exception, it's that they hold pretty extreme views politically and socially. I've always kinda had to pretend that poo poo doesn't exist unless I planned on writing an essay about it. Wrar posted:Also rampant misogyny. So, SO rampant. Dude was an MRA before MRA's were even born. But the stuff like Tunnel in the Sky and Have Spacesuit, Will Travel keep it mostly in the background.
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Apr 6, 2016 16:20
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corn in the fridge posted:It's going to be a while before I can trust Heinlein enough to read another one of his books. Perhaps it's not representative of the rest of his work but Stranger in a Strange Land was one of the most disappointing books I've read.
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Apr 6, 2016 16:26
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Magnus Praeda posted:If there's one thing about SF authors that seems more rule than exception, it's that they hold pretty extreme views politically and socially. I've always kinda had to pretend that poo poo doesn't exist unless I planned on writing an essay about it. Yeah, I dunno if there even is a middle ground. Neal Stephenson seems kinda balanced, although extremely geeky in weird ways. And China Miéville is a hardcore socialist/marxist. But then again, so am I. So I'm OK with it, but I'm sure some people dislike him for that.
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Apr 6, 2016 16:26
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KozmoNaut posted:Yeah, I dunno if there even is a middle ground. Neal Stephenson seems kinda balanced, although extremely geeky in weird ways. And Orson Scott Card.... ugh Edit oops he's already been mentioned but it bears repeating ugh ugh ugh
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Apr 6, 2016 16:38
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CAT INTERCEPTOR posted:Right now I'm reading David Eddings The Elumium series. Not because its good but because Sparhawk is just such a ridiculously over the top unstoppable murder machine - plus reading a real book is just such a nice way to unwind the brain. TBH I should dig out my copy of Lord of the Rings I really enjoyed the Elenium series by Eddings. Just a good fun read, and I always enjoy Eddings characters for whatever reason.
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Apr 6, 2016 16:38
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Adiabatic posted:And Orson Scott Card.... ugh *shudders* That pretentious prick can eat a dick.
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Apr 6, 2016 16:45
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You guys know way too much about all these authors. I judge authors solely on whether I like their books. I haven't got a clue what any of them believe politically, and really don't care. As for Orson Scott Card, he wrote one good book, and everything else I've ever tried to read from him was complete garbage, so that's how I judge him. I tend to like the simpler sci-fi, like the Berserker stuff from Saberhagen, the Bolo's by Keith Laumer, most all of David Weber's stuff, Tom Kratman and even John Ringo, although he gets pretty strange with some of his stuff (the Paladin series for sure). John Scalzi's stuff is pretty great, and I've always liked David Drake and S.M. Stirling. To share my true sci-fi/fantasy geekiness, this is what the back half of my office/computer room looks like:  That's probably half or less of what I actually have. I might have a problem.
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Apr 6, 2016 16:58
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