Slide rule..

Post #24,348 by Ashton 1/14/02 5:14:20 PM Reply	Slide rule.. Seemed a reasonable compromise without surrendering to the false precision of a calculator - you had to carry the exponent in head (paper) = a necessity to consider orders of magnitude all along, thus a certain insurance against the folly of.. [cartoon] Guy in a factory is looking up at a conveyor bringing 'steering wheels' along. They are HUGE steering wheels. Supervisor sez to engineer nearby, Inches! you idiot.. INCHES* - not FEET !!!* [/cartoon] ..not to mention the lost Mars lander: METERS/mks you idiot <<< BTW - I try to keep it in the head mostly, too -- use it or lose it. Lotsa recent folks never quite got it to.. lose. :( A.
Post #24,357 by boxley 1/14/02 5:54:31 PM Reply	lack of cribbage can cause that Used to be when I played cribbage daily I could add subtract multiply prodigous number sequences. Since I dont play any more I have a hard time counting my change. Dont use it ya lose it. thanx, bill My Dreams aren't as empty as my conscience seems to be
Post #24,392 by Ric Locke 1/14/02 11:26:54 PM Reply	BSJ Ah, yes, orders of magnitude. Fermi numbers, the only really easy way to do horseback calculations. Possible to really impress the innumerate, if you're inclined that way. We had a competition in high school, in the early sixties, called "number sense". The idea was to develop methods for quick calculation of estimates and even precise values. 10/9=11, 100/99=101; place the decimal point correctly. No need to memorize the times 11 table; 11*ab = a a+b b. This was a statewide contest with lower levels, total of three; I never went very far up the ladder, but the habit has stayed with me. Combine with a little practical knowledge (a simple concrete slab is four inches thick, or 1/9 of a yard; how many cubic yards to do the slab? Impress your friends!) Do you know Terry Pratchett? His caricature of the early-1800s architect and planner, "Capability" Brown, is "Bloody Stupid" Johnson; one of BSJ's triumphs is the fish pond at the palace, which is a hundred yards long and an inch wide. Regards, Ric
Post #24,400 by Ashton 1/15/02 4:35:33 AM Reply	Keep seein wry quotes by Pratchett.. Esp in the Mac forum Guess this means I gotta read something of his - anyone that acerbic has gotta have a few cluez. But he seems to have written so Much stuff.. Hmmm - wonder if he's a reincarnation of Philip K. Dick? Suggested first 2 or 3? Preferably with the nastiest takes on er standard social customs (I'd rather start with dessert ;-) On 'rounding' - I noticed some of the calc. tricks, but seem to just use variants of - if mult x 19? hell just do 20 and remember to subtract 1 (times whatever you multiplied by). Rarely used such stuff as cancelling out 9s for a check. Sloth. Which just confirms: knowing's not Enough! :-\ufffd Cheers, A.
Post #24,413 by Silverlock 1/15/02 8:45:46 AM Reply	Good Omens Co-written with Neil Gaiman and a furiously funny read. Take the movie "The Omen" and apply the dryest wit to it and you come somewhat near to describing the story. Except that description doesn't take into account the partnership of a demon and a devil, the appearance of Tibetan Lamas, spaceships, the Four Motorcyclists of the Apocalypse, the Other Four Motorcyclists of the Apocolypse or Sister Mary Loquacious (of the Order of Chattering Beryl). There have been reports for a while now that Terry Gilliam will direct a movie version of this story. Those reports have subsided since that colossal ripoff "Dogma" hit the screens. When I visit the aquarium, the same thought keeps running through my mind; Leemmmooonnn, Buuttteerrr, MMMmmmmmm good!
Post #24,417 by tjsinclair 1/15/02 9:43:16 AM Reply	Don't forget the Discworld series It constitutes most of his output and the every one is a satiric social commentary which just happens to be set on a 10,000 mile wide disc-shaped planet supported by four enormous elephants which are in turn standing on an even bigger tortoise. Oh, and it has wizards, gnomes, trolls, dwarves, witches, fairies, dragons, golems, vampires, werewolves and even some humans. And the Pratchett quotes have been coming from me..... Tom Sinclair Speaker-to-Suits "I know about people who talk about suffering for the common good. It's never bloody them! When you hear a man shouting "Forward, brave comrades!" you'll see he's the one behind the bloody big rock and the one wearing the only really arrow-proof helmet!" -- Rincewind gives a speech on politics. (Terry Pratchett, Interesting Times)
Post #24,535 by static 1/15/02 9:29:55 PM Reply	Reading Pratchett. If you're curious about his writing and don't know if you will want to fork out for 25+ books, then I suggest you start with "Pyramids". It nicely captures both the city-books (i.e. those set in Ankh-Morpork) and the non-city books. If you are sure you'll probably get the whole lot, start with "The Colour of Magic" and hang in there past the first 3 or 4. Like most fantasy worlds, it takes a few books for the shape of it to settle down. Most things are settled in place by "Sourcery" (5th book). OTOH, some of his early stuff remains quite good and gives you a good taste, as well. "Strata" is a particularly good example. Wade. "All around me are nothing but fakes Come with me on the biggest fake of all!"
Post #24,553 by Ric Locke 1/16/02 12:06:27 AM 1/16/02 12:08:25 AM Reply	Re: Reading Pratchett. Heh. Unless I miss my guess, Ashton should start with either Soul Music or Moving Pictures. It'd be out of order chronologically, but my take on his thought processes brings those up right away. He'll especially enjoy Mr. Clete -- dammit, I can't find my copy of Soul Music; I wanted to quote that bit [there's a really neat motorcycle ride in it, too] After that I'd suggest Mort ["Death comes to us all. When Death came to Mortimer, he offered him a job."] or Equal Rites. The wizard's staff goes to the eighth son of his eighth son, but if you're in a hurry mistakes can be made... Going back to The Colour of Magic to start at the beginning should be reserved for after one has skipped around in the middle a bit, and the latest ones should not be read without the background. The Turtle Moves! (Later edit: Pratchett is much like Gary Larson -- you can tell a lot about a person by which of the books he or she likes best. My personal favorites are Jingo and Johnny and the Bomb) Regards, Ric Edited by Ric Locke Jan. 16, 2002, 12:08:25 AM EST Expand All History
Post #24,580 by static 1/16/02 5:50:37 AM Reply	Mmm. I agree that "Moving Pictures" would work on itss own but I think "Soul Music" won't work quite as well if you don't already know a few things. But other ones that work on their own would include "Small Gods". "Wyrd Sisters" would also work, especially if you wanted to "read a few in the middle" before commiting oneself! "Mort" would work for the same reason. I agree that the latest ones need prior novels. "The Truth" for instance, is just not as good if you haven't already encountered Vetinari numerous times. Or Ankh-Morpork's Guilds. Or Vimes. Or Slant, for that matter. Or the Clacks. Or even the Bursar. Wade. "All around me are nothing but fakes Come with me on the biggest fake of all!"
Post #24,558 by Ashton 1/16/02 2:59:09 AM Reply	Thanks all, for the intro.. And Rick's likely right re the 'samplers'. Generally I find that the way someone writes about motorcycles - is a kind of Rorschak. (Actually the best ~ description for the non-rider I've read, was by a female rider maybe in her late 20s. Mainly - she was a good writer. But also an obviously competent cyclist.) 'Course other folks can attach the same significance to their fav topics too - but I find cycles overlap into much that Muricans imagine to be their version of Mexican machismo, so the concept branches into other social in(s)anities. Fact is: it ain't about gender BS at all IMexcellentO. You can See God.. at 10/10ths ;-) So I've got the Pratchett tyro list ready for next foray to the local used paperback emporium, about the largest library of such around.. Hmmm why do they have So many copies of Ishtar? Good Omens added - Hey! if Terry Gilliam does it, why.. we might see some Vincents in there. He be Brit. One Brit production of 1984 employed some members of the Vincent OC to ride around on Thought Police bikes: using slightly fibre-glassed up Series D machines. These featured full weather enclosure.. which worked - but natch some thought that was Too scooter-like :( So you could also order them naked. (Nobody ever made a scooter like those..) If anyone notices Gilliam actually going into production - please give a holler! Ashton If Mark Twain was our (US) Homer.. maybe Philip K. Dick was our Master of Extrapolations ?? News Clowns Indeed! - perfect prescience. Then there was Potiphar Breen: for the statisticians amongst us..

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