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Robert Cosgrove
Byrne Robotics Member
Joined: 16 January 2005
Location: United States
Posts: 1710
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| Posted: 14 June 2016 at 3:40pm | IP Logged | 1
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I'm reminded of a by-mail interview I did with the late Russ Manning in which he mentioned that the (presumably editorially imposed) "4000 AD" as the time of the events of Magnus, Robot Fighter, struck him as implausibly far in the future for the world portrayed in the comic.
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Robbie Moubert
Byrne Robotics Member
Evertonian
Joined: 16 April 2004
Location: United Kingdom
Posts: 1496
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| Posted: 15 June 2016 at 6:52pm | IP Logged | 2
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Jeeves and the Wedding Bells by Sebastian Faulks. As a huge fan of PG Wodehouse I approached this with some trepidation. A couple of chapters in and nothing alarming so far. You can tell it's not Wodehouse but Faulks has captured the general tone quite well.
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Peter Martin
Byrne Robotics Member
Joined: 17 March 2008
Location: Canada
Posts: 15970
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| Posted: 15 June 2016 at 7:16pm | IP Logged | 3
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God Bess You, Mr Rosewater by Kurt Vonnegut.
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Robert Cosgrove
Byrne Robotics Member
Joined: 16 January 2005
Location: United States
Posts: 1710
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| Posted: 15 June 2016 at 7:40pm | IP Logged | 4
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A Passion for Leadership: Lessons on Change and Reform from Fifty Years of Public Service, by Robert M. Gates. Leadership interests me in the abstract, though personally I've been happier when I've been an indian than when I've been a chief, and I have no aspiration to head anything during the remainder of my working life. I liked the book. There are some good stories here, including one I'd never heard before about the acerbic Dorothy Parker. Gates draws his leadership anecdotes largely from his experiences as first, CIA Director, second, college president, and third, Secretary of Defense. While there are a few "I screwed up" stories, most of them, not surprisingly, reflect well on Gates. I listened to this in the car as a book on DVD, and candor compels me to say that when my wife happened to be along for the ride, she alternated between saying, "this is boring" and "I can't stand this guy; he's a pompous egomaniac."
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John Byrne
Grumpy Old Guy
Joined: 11 May 2005
Posts: 133413
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| Posted: 15 June 2016 at 7:47pm | IP Logged | 5
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I'm reminded of a by-mail interview I did with the late Russ Manning in which he mentioned that the (presumably editorially imposed) "4000 AD" as the time of the events of Magnus, Robot Fighter, struck him as implausibly far in the future for the world portrayed in the comic.••• Trying to predict the Future, it's a good idea to look at the Past. If our story is set 200 years hence, think about what the world was like 200 years ago. How much has changed? And how much changed between 200 years ago and 100 years ago? How much change between now and fifty years ago? 25 years ago? Things change rapidly, and faster and faster.
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Don Zomberg
Byrne Robotics Member
Joined: 23 November 2005
Posts: 2355
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| Posted: 16 June 2016 at 6:57am | IP Logged | 6
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PLAYER PIANO, by Kurt Vonnegut.
...mostly because I couldn't make it through BRAVE NEW WORLD a few years back.
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James Best
Byrne Robotics Member
Joined: 02 March 2014
Location: United States
Posts: 890
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| Posted: 16 June 2016 at 9:35pm | IP Logged | 7
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Now starting:
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Wallace Sellars
Byrne Robotics Member
Joined: 01 May 2004
Location: United States
Posts: 17700
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| Posted: 17 June 2016 at 12:18pm | IP Logged | 8
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Walter Mosley's CHARCOAL JOE
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Robbie Parry
Byrne Robotics Member
Joined: 17 June 2007
Location: United Kingdom
Posts: 12186
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| Posted: 17 June 2016 at 12:24pm | IP Logged | 9
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Things change rapidly, and faster and faster.
***
Absolutely!
Reading up on the history of Microsoft and Apple recently, it is almost depressing to think of those big, clunky computers from years ago now with the floppy disks. And yet my mobile phone is not much bigger than the palm of my hand - and can do almost anything a computer can do.
Makes me smile now to think of futuristic fiction showing VERY big computers when the reality is that all sorts of mobile devices are now smaller.
And on that note, am reading INSIDE APPLE, an unofficial book about Steve Jobs' brand. Giving me a good insight into the company. Also, I do not wish to speak ill of the dead, but I'm not sure I'd have enjoyed working for Apple if the book is accurate. I am not sure Mr Jobs' personality and way of working would have been for me.
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Peter Martin
Byrne Robotics Member
Joined: 17 March 2008
Location: Canada
Posts: 15970
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| Posted: 17 June 2016 at 4:32pm | IP Logged | 10
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it is almost depressing to think of those big, clunky computers from years ago now with the floppy disks ------------------------------------------
Robbie, it may dismay you to find out that the US Dept of Defense that co-ordinates nuclears ICBMs still uses 8-inch floppy disks. LINK
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Robbie Moubert
Byrne Robotics Member
Evertonian
Joined: 16 April 2004
Location: United Kingdom
Posts: 1496
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| Posted: 18 June 2016 at 3:36pm | IP Logged | 11
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My trepidation about Jeeves and the Wedding Bells turned out to be well-founded I'm sad to say. Too many jarring moments and instances of the author deciding to go places Wodehouse wisely steered clear of, particularly the ending.
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Robbie Parry
Byrne Robotics Member
Joined: 17 June 2007
Location: United Kingdom
Posts: 12186
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| Posted: 18 June 2016 at 3:40pm | IP Logged | 12
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Peter, that HAS to be a joke, right? ;)
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