Crypto-what, now?

Cryptonomicon sounds like an interesting book with its parallels between computer code and military code breaking. Neal Stephenson, despite the quirks that Steven points out in his presentation, has emerged as a more influential author than Gibson for our purposes, I would argue. I think it's neat that Stephenson inserts real people with his characters - it gives the characters some weight especially when they have names from obscure nursery rhymes and don't seem motivated in the book. What sounds most interesting to me is the way the author describes human biological functions in mechanical terms. I'm sure I've seen it before, but it makes me think about the similarities between humans and machines.

Hackers United

On Cyberpunk: Outlaws & Hackers on the Computer Frontier: I think it's neat that hackers are compared to frontiersmen on the verge of discovery. I disagree with the idea of hackers in the 60s and 70s as having a positive connotation - what did they do to get it? Fact check, find security breaches, or just have fun with no sense of gain at someone else's expense? I don't believe that that era was some kind of "golden age" when theft never happened. Well, maybe one bad apple spoiled the bunch. I don't know.

I like how the stories are filled with detail and sound like fiction - i guess it's those that seem the wildest (like RTM and the accidental release of his daemon) are actually true. This story especially hits home the idea that the limits of computer tech haven't yet been found.

Hackers United

On Cyberpunk: Outlaws & Hackers on the Computer Frontier: I think it's neat that hackers are compared to frontiersmen on the verge of discovery. I disagree with the idea of hackers in the 60s and 70s as having a positive connotation - what did they do to get it? Fact check, find security breaches, or just have fun with no sense of gain at someone else's expense? I don't believe that that era was some kind of "golden age" when theft never happened. Well, maybe one bad apple spoiled the bunch. I don't know.

I like how the stories are filled with detail and sound like fiction - i guess it's those that seem the wildest (like RTM and the accidental release of his daemon) are actually true. This story especially hits home the idea that the limits of computer tech haven't yet been found.

Tomorrow's Party is not my idea of fun...

unless it involves going to the Lucky Dragon. I'm just waiting for the day that WalMart gets tech savvy and starts installing computer screens in its stores. It would be a small leap, considering milestone life events already happen there: births, deaths, weddings. Very neat but very big brotherish.

I really liked how the presentation linked themes from class to the book - it was really helpful for getting a feel about what it was about.

I'm surprised that the Golden Gate Bridge in All Tomorrow's Parties is the setting for a shanty-town. You'd think that such great waterfront/waterview real estate would be the spot for homes of the uber rich.

Neuromancer

Unlike Digital Sensations, I’m looking forward to reading Neuromancer since it seems like the cult classic “mother of all science-fiction relating to the internet,” making Gibson the father of the internet. Everything about the book seems right – the year it was published, 1984, was two years after Blade Runner and the year that Apple launched that great commercial and the start of the affordable ubiquitous personal computer. My worry is that the characters won’t be as interesting as the digital environment being created from Gibson’s mind or that the book won’t live up to its hype.

Digital Sensations

I found this book really confusing, and I didn't even read it! Kudos to Elif for doing such a good presentation. It sounds so difficult to grasp, that I don't really want to read it unless I could give it my undivided attention. Virtual reality is an interesting topic, but even the words themselves cause a lot of thought. Virtual reality. Virtual reality. Almost real? A simulation of real? What is real? Digital Sensations (a sexy title) states that VR is as useful as it is a new way to perceive “the real.” I really didn’t understand the whole metaphor of light and positioning viewers in the light, other than the idea that VR requires light to work. Virtual environments seem real, but I doubt that they will ever be considered really real because people know that they are not. Everyone knows that when they enter a virtual environment that it is not real. I’m not sure that people who interact with VR really want a “vehicle for merging a hyper-individuated modern consciousness into a larger whole” but maybe they want to learn how to fly planes or play games. To me, VR seems more a place for action than being. Perhaps if I knew more about the applications of VR then I would agree more with the author. Oh, and the definition of Human Geography: “The relationships between people, place, space, and the environment” (Nottingham Trent Univ.)

On the Election

Ok, let me just say this about our post-election condition with having to endure another 4 years of George Bush, the son: it’s not going to get better, it’s going to get worse. Many people feel that he’s the only one who should try to fix his own mistakes and continue to work his “strategery” to help the situation in Iraq. That’s crap. The current state of Iraq is because of Bush and I’m sure lots of Iraqis think that life was better under Saddam even if they didn’t like him – at least they had electricity to run their houses. Anyone who didn’t think that there would be a war in Iraq when Bush was elected the first time is an idiot. Never mind the Bush administration’s alienation of the UN and individual foreign nations who believed a war was not a good idea. If the Bush foreign policy machine satisfies you, and you shouldn’t be, then you can’t be happy with his domestic policies either. Leave No Child Left Behind is a joke that has muddied something as simple as educating children. I’m not a rich person, but even if I were, I can’t say that I’d relish all the tax cuts afforded to me by virtue of the fact that I have money.
The steady stream of jobs to other countries makes me ask: “What do Americans do for a living?” Because as far as I can see, they don’t do much even though they work hard and are not very educated. They’re not really politically active but opinionated. Americans can’t really afford to have someone in a foreign country do their jobs when you’re living paycheck to paycheck and are in danger everyday of no longer having a job. I don’t support any of the Republican ideology, but I don’t support the Democrats lying down on key issues and allowing the Republicans to have their way with them either. This is still supposed to be a two-party system.
Here’s why it’s going to be worse this 4 years: 1) the next people to be in Cabinet and other high positions of power will be the deep, staunch, hardcore Republicans, not the photogenic and appealing Colin Powells of the party. It will be these people who will get the laws passed that affect everyone in a negative way. 2) The Supreme Court will become more conservative and key cases could be overturned. 3) The War on Iraq and the War on Terrorism (which are two different things) will never end. I welcome comments as I step down from my soapbox.

Blogger and high traffic

You know what's great about Blogger? Everyone is on it and reads it. You know what's bad about Blogger? Everyone is on it and reads it. Of course, I only started blogging months ago, and like a true snob, I'm complaining about the high traffic when I'm a contributor to it. Blogger has been acting funny recently, so I’ve been waiting a little while to see if the errors can be fixed. Doesn’t look like it – probably just high traffic volume. Speaking of high traffic, the traffic in Hampton Roads/Seven Cities or whatever the hell you want to call this place (it will always be Tidewater to me) hasn’t gotten any better since I moved away and returned this May. Ridiculous.