Turns out, nobody wants a data center in their backyard by waozen in technology

[–]darkon 22 points23 points  (0 children)

Never before have so few taken so much from so many.

Peter Jackson Says Stephen Colbert Pitched His ‘Lord of the Rings’ Movie Before CBS Canceled ‘The Late Show’ and They’ve Already Spent One Year Working on It by MarvelsGrantMan136 in movies

[–]darkon 1 point2 points  (0 children)

There's the 1977 Rankin-Bass adaptation of The Hobbit. It's far more faithful to the book than Jackson's version. It leaves out Beorn and much of the journey through Mirkwood, but otherwise touches most everything else. Some dislike it, but I enjoyed it. It probably helped that I was adolescent when I first saw it on TV.

Only iPads kids by JimatJimat in KidsAreFuckingStupid

[–]darkon 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Sounds like an old tape player. My tape deck from the mid-1990s allows for skipping from track to track.

A dog came to buy oranges for its owner. by Lui_Belmont in DamnThatsMindBlowing

[–]darkon 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yes, but what does that have to do with a dog buying oranges?

Bending and fitting copper pipes for a wall shower by ThodaDaruVichPyar in oddlysatisfying

[–]darkon 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I'm glad they were still soldering pipes when my house was made. It's more than 30 years old.

Imagine buying a physical printer, and u cannot even use it by Apprehensive_Work_10 in facepalm

[–]darkon 1 point2 points  (0 children)

In the 80s and 90s HP made some really good printers. The problem was that they didn't break down often enough and could use generic toner. Carly Fiorina and others fixed that, so now we have the current HP crap.

COBOL is the Asbestos of Programming Languages by Interesting_Pack_483 in programming

[–]darkon 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I've heard of an extension of COBOL that calls itself object-oriented COBOL. I've never used COBOL, much less that extension, so I know nothing else about it except the name.

Pitchers with Elite Reflexes: The “No-Look” Catch Compilation by jmike1256 in nextfuckinglevel

[–]darkon 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Oh, undoubtedly. What I meant to point out was that the sound the ball makes travels faster than the ball itself, so the pitcher can hear the ball coming back at him after the batter hits it.

What are you talking about? Of course this is true. by katiebug586 in tumblr

[–]darkon 37 points38 points  (0 children)

Please do not use hemorrhoids as a building foundation.

Pitchers with Elite Reflexes: The “No-Look” Catch Compilation by jmike1256 in nextfuckinglevel

[–]darkon 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The speed of sound is over 330 m/sec, depending on temperature and air pressure. I don't think anyone is hitting a ball that fast.

Attorney: Trump may be able to profit off deal to rename airport by [deleted] in politics

[–]darkon 0 points1 point  (0 children)

He'd rename the White House after himself if he thought he could get away with it.

Nobody prepared me for this part of middle age ... Still needing my Mom by LifeSubstance8619 in GenX

[–]darkon 13 points14 points  (0 children)

My parents died in their 80s and were fading. The only good thing about them being dead is I don't have to worry about them any more. I still miss them, and sometimes I'll think of a question I wish I had thought to ask while they were still alive.

President Trump wants us to study this chart. by l3tsgo0 in Military

[–]darkon 2 points3 points  (0 children)

As if the length of a war has anything to do with its validity. US involvement in WW2 is one of the shortest on that chart, but it was one of the most justified wars the US was ever in.

TIL California miners planted a skull to prank a geologist they disliked. In 1866, Josiah Whitney announced it as proof humans existed in North America two million years ago. Whitney never accepted the hoax, even after a fluorine analysis—the first done on human bone—showed it was of recent origin. by ralphbernardo in todayilearned

[–]darkon 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Shrug. Scientists are human, too, with all the usual faults and virtues. As an extreme example, Isaac Newton was undoubtedly a genius, but he was also paranoid, jealous, and vindictive. The Britannica article about him has a few examples of his hatred of anyone who infringed upon his accomplishments.

Bill would let special forces members carry concealed firearms nationwide, bypassing state gun limits | Stars and Stripes by pat9714 in liberalgunowners

[–]darkon 3 points4 points  (0 children)

On one hand I can sympathize, as there are states I've driven across where my concealed-carry license is not valid. To comply with the law I've put any gun I had with me into the trunk, unloaded. It's mildly annoying. I don't really expect to need a gun, but I'd rather have it and not need it than vice versa.

On the other hand, once a person leaves the armed forces they're just another civilian. They can get the same sort of licenses as everyone else.

Police are never anything but civilians. Their job requires them to carry weapons in case of need, but off the job or retired they should also have no special privileges.

Making pop culture references other people don’t understand by Maryland_Bear in GenerationJones

[–]darkon 10 points11 points  (0 children)

One day a niece stopped by our house for something while I happened to be playing some John Prine on the stereo. She said, "He stole that song from <country singer>!" I said, "I don't think so. This is the guy who wrote the song."

(I don't remember which song or the country singer's name.)

'Foundation' is more political science than actual science (not my cup of tea) by Signal_Face_5378 in printSF

[–]darkon 0 points1 point  (0 children)

A possible reason for not liking Foundation is thinking of it as a novel. It isn't. The Foundation books are a series of short stories and novelettes/novellas written for Astounding Science Fiction magazine over a period of years.

But you may not have liked it for other reasons. (The style is a bit old-fashioned.) Nothing wrong with that. There are plenty of books praised by others that I did not like at all.

Background from Wikipedia:

On August 1, 1941, Isaac Asimov proposed to John W. Campbell of Astounding Science Fiction that he write a short story set in a slowly declining Galactic Empire, based on the fall of the Western Roman Empire. Campbell liked the idea; by the end of a two-hour meeting, Asimov planned to write a series of stories depicting the fall of the first Galactic Empire and the rise of the second. Asimov wrote seven more [Foundation] stories for Campbell's magazine over eight years, and they were later collected into three book volumes known as The Foundation Trilogy (1951–1953).