Personal computing discussed
Moderators: askfranklin, renee, emkubed, Captain Ned
Know, sisters of the Boni Maroni, that any study of the life of Mauve’Bib demands the subtlest attention to details of place. Can you truly understand why a man is a thing, if you neglect to understand where he is that thing that he is?
Commence, then, with the fact that it is on the planet Coybowdan that Mauve’Bib spent his childhood -- yet it is on Arruckus, the planet known as Doon, that he fulfilled his destiny. It is Doon that is his homeworld, Doon that is his place of truimph, Doon that is forever his principle mailing address.
Send therefore to Doon your requests for recipes or reprints – or send them not at all.
-- from “The Making of the Messiah, 10,193,” by the Princess Serutan
Captain Ned wrote:Excellent find! To this day, I still use the term "Kumquat Häagen-Dazs" to describe getting a meal together with proper timing.If that sounds somewhat familiar to the sci-fi readers here, a new treasure hit my mailbox today, namely a pristine copy of National Lampoon's Doon. It'll sit proudly on the shelf next to Bored of the RIngs and my Dune first edition.
Darkmage wrote:Prior to that, I read Cork Dork. A tech reporter decided to become a wine sommelier and it chronicles her journey to becoming a certified wine expert in 18 months. Fascinating look into a world I thought might be kind of fun to try. It's also a kind of neat unintentional peek into the mindset of Manhattan residents. Note: I no longer have any desire to become a sommelier.
general_tux wrote:I'm also trying to learn a bit more about home brewing so I've been reading "Designing Great Beers".
just brew it! wrote:I dunno. Is there an expensive test you can take to be certified as a craft brew expert (with a 60% failure rate!)? Where you can spend $150 on an aroma identification kit to help you study? These wine people are off the hook.I've always imagined it to be kind of like the craft beer scene, but snobbier and a lot more expensive.
Darkmage wrote:just brew it! wrote:I've always imagined it to be kind of like the craft beer scene, but snobbier and a lot more expensive.
I dunno. Is there an expensive test you can take to be certified as a craft brew expert (with a 60% failure rate!)?
Darkmage wrote:Where you can spend $150 on an aroma identification kit to help you study? These wine people are off the hook.
just brew it! wrote:I wasn't clear. Part of the certification exam is a blind tasting. You have to identify the winery, style and year of five wines based on sight, smell and taste. This isn't how to judge wines, this is how to identify wines based upon your senses. Hell, I'd be lucky to get the continent right. One dude was off by 500 meters and didn't pass. There's also a practical exam, where you serve wine to the judges. The practical exam is full of weird traditions that barely make sense, but also a "I want a good red to go with my pork loin and keep it under $80" questions. And yeah, the test is nearly $600 to attempt. Like I said, fascinating world to peer into. It doesn't hurt that the author has a very easy going and playful writing style. Full of self-deprecating moments, too. I recommend it if you are looking for a serious look at a strange subculture.Yes, there are study aids like that for beer judging too; AFAICT most beer judges don't use them.
Darkmage wrote:I wasn't clear. Part of the certification exam is a blind tasting. You have to identify the winery, style and year of five wines based on sight, smell and taste. This isn't how to judge wines, this is how to identify wines based upon your senses. Hell, I'd be lucky to get the continent right. One dude was off by 500 meters and didn't pass. There's also a practical exam, where you serve wine to the judges. The practical exam is full of weird traditions that barely make sense, but also a "I want a good red to go with my pork loin and keep it under $80" questions. And yeah, the test is nearly $600 to attempt. Like I said, fascinating world to peer into. It doesn't hurt that the author has a very easy going and playful writing style. Full of self-deprecating moments, too. I recommend it if you are looking for a serious look at a strange subculture.
Chrispy_ wrote:Halfway through the 8-book saga known as Worldwar by Harry Turtledove.
It's easy reading, practically trash-novel actually, but it's a fun alternative history set towards the end of WWII where aliens invade with the intent to colonise and enslave mankind.
I have already exhausted all the obvious sci-fi sources (Ian M Banks, Asimov, Frank Herbert, Arthur C Clarke and read all the sci-fi must-reads from HG Wells, Ray Bradbury, Alduous Huxley, William Gibson) so Turtledove is filling a void that other fiction can't.
When I'm done with Worldwar, Can anyone comment on Gene Wolfe, Dan Simmons or Verner Vinge? They're all Hugo winners but a Hugo list can still be a bit hit-and-miss
Chrispy_ wrote:Can anyone comment on Gene Wolfe, Dan Simmons or Verner Vinge? They're all Hugo winners but a Hugo list can still be a bit hit-and-miss
Hawkwing74 wrote:I have also really enjoyed The Expanse. I took a break after Leviathan Wakes to read The Three-Body Problem after my wife finished that series and highly recommended them. My goal is to finish up both that series and Caliban's War before Season 3 of the tv show airs. I fear I am falling a bit behind...I'm enjoying James S. A. Corey's The Expanse quite a bit.
Captain Ned wrote:Simmons' Hyperion Cantos and Ilium/Olympos are mainstays in my library, as is Vernor Vinge's Zones of Thought series.
If you like your sci-fi harder, he may not have won a Hugo, but Alastair Reynolds Revelation Space universe is a good one.
touchandgo wrote:Definitely not. The Culture books are fascinating and great reads.Can't forget about Iain M. Banks in terms of science fiction.