Scents

code, math, design, color, contrast, love, music, rhythm, neurons, space, time, smells, sheets, blue-green, air

zmodem? best protocol ever. it was kermit that sucked
here’s my impression of how kermit works
client: here is byte number 1
server: i have received byte number 1. the checksum was 3.
client: i agree that the checksum was 3.
server: ok, we’re done with byte number 1.
client: I agree, we’re done with byte number 1.
client: here’s byte number 2.
server: you know, it’s not easy being green
now zmodem
zmodem goes something like this:
client: I’m gonna send you about 200k now, and you’re gonna bend over and take it
server: thank you sir!
( … )
server: ok, got 200k, checksum was 523
client: DID I ASK YOUR FUCKING OPINION?
server: NO SIR! SORRY SIR!

six people in this house. two think setting the thermostat over 55 is “ridiculous waste of money”. two think setting it below 72 is “fucking frigid.” HILARITY ENSUES!

Placain: Allyson asked me “what are you passionate about”, and I
thought for a few minutes that I didn’t have an answer, but then I
realized I did, but I need to think about it some and be able to
elaborate on it better. I’m passionate about ignorance, and bad
statistics, and fuzzy thinking. I’m passionate about people’s
inability to do accurate cost/benefit analyses. If you think about it,
THAT is why we don’t have a viable space program. People think “cost:
billions. benefit: a bunch of eggheads can go sightseeing while my
Latisha doesn’t have money to feed her fourteen children.” … Whereas
it should be “cost: trillians. benefit: human race doesn’t go
extinct.”

eriktown: Absolutely true. It’s something I realized a long time ago,
and has been driving me nuts for years, especially when the chief
administrator of NASA gets on TV and harps about the noble pursuit of
knowledge and the exploration of space and science for science’s
sake. And I say “Yeah, that’s great, but it doesn’t matter fuck-all to
J. Random.”

Placain: yeah, THAT’s going to sell NASA to the public.

eriktown: Exactly.

Placain: as for exploration of space… i realize this is
very anthrocentric, but really — we’re not going to ‘explore’ space. We pretty much know what’s out there. nothing. and some rocks
and gasses. but that’s not the point.

eriktown: Hell no. You’ll notice I have “space exploitation” in my
interests list on lj.

Placain: the point is that we can PUT THINGS on those rocks, and in
those vast nothings.