Follow Slashdot blog updates by subscribing to our blog RSS feed

 



Forgot your password?
typodupeerror
×
Technology

Submission + - One Hundred Fears of Solitude - Granta Magazine (granta.com)

aqk writes: This is not an actual submission, but it might be /.worthy if it can ever be put online.
The Summer, 2010 issue #111 of Granta Magazine has an article by Hal Crowther: "One Hundred fears of Solitude" which is a damning denunciation (is there any other kind?) of modern communications and other technology- Facebook, Twitter,Cellphones, laptops, googling et al. It appears, according to him, that today's technology is driving us all to some sort of technologically-driven Hell. Well, perhaps solitude. "The Human Race is DOOMED!" etc. Whilst he gives us copious references to Scott and Helen Nearing. Well, you get the idea.
He implies, nay, BOASTS that he is a proud luddite. And he has seemingly much ammunition to back up his contention that technology (or perhaps the modern human) is finished..

Harummph! This is fuel certainly for any /.er worth his metal... umm mettle.
As a subscriber to Granta, I'll see if I can somehow hack in to the mag's website and perhaps cut'n'paste a copy of the Granta diatribe onto one of my websites.
And then, lets see if Crowther and Granta still believe in copyright laws at least...

Comment Re:Earth has two poles (Score 0) 88

Good point! (I'm in Canada)
But every time I see one of these idiot TV thingees about masses of electrons flying out from the Sun, they always seem to show them being attracted to the Northern Hemisphere. Why is this?
Do you really get to see the Southern Lights like we do?

Does maybe the South Pole just get a shitload of positrons instead? (that might make it even more dramatic!)
All kidding aside, just why is this?

Comment Re:Thank goodness: (Score 0) 138

I hope that an easy text will be developed from this in the next few years. I couldn't imagine walking into a haze of Alzheimer's without knowing about it. This is one of those tests that I will ABSOLUTELY not be missing once I book it in.

Ummm.. don't you remember?
You had one of those tests last week. You told me so.

Comment Re:Use hydrogen? OMG- with Ponies also? (Score 0) 363

Gasoline burns hotter than hydrogen, but thanks to the Hindenburg crash video, we don't have hydrogen cars either.

Gasoline burns, hydrogen explodes. There's a difference. And the issues with hydrogen cars are a multi-paragraph post that I don't feel like writing right now, but (lousy energy density, present impossibility of storage, no infrastructure) are the main reasons, not lingering Hindenburg memories. Who on earth modded GP Insightful?

Wrong and Wrong.
Gasoline explodes AND Hydrogen explodes.
Gasoline burns AND Hydrogen burns.
E.G.- Gasoline EXPLODES inside your Car's IC engine. Surprise! That is how a gasoline engine works.
But you can burn it on a wick- but you had better be careful when the flame creeps down to the container of gasoline and air. That's why we don't use gasoline in coal-oil lanterns.
As well, Hydrogen will burn, if it is controlled by a small nozzle such as a welder's torch.

And- Why we do not use Hydrogen in cars? IT's TOO DAMN EXPENSIVE! And hard to make and control!
Gasoline is quite easy to make from Catalytic crackers. You can do this to make Hydrogen also, but whats the point?
You are still stuch refining fossil fuels. AND AND- Hydrogen is a shitload harder to store and control than Gasoline!
And guess what? At STP, there is much more hydrogen in a gallon of gasoline, than in a gallon of hydrogen.
Figure THIS one out!

I haven't read Scientific American lately.. Are BMW and Shell still inserting those ridiculous "Hydrogen Cars - The FUTURE!" advertisements? The SciAm ad agency must be giggling all the way to the bank...

Comment A TOE! Ugh! I blew CHUNKS! (Score 0) 207

Once, a long time ago, in my foolish youth, when extremely inebriated one night, I had just such an embarrassing occurrence.
Staggering into work the next morning, I managed to tell my boss what had happened:

Me: I got so pissed last night that I blew Chunks

Boss: That's OK! We all get pissed that bad some days.

Me: You don't understand! "Chunks" is my dog!

Comment Re:Really FOURTEEN different halves = 7 ? (Score 0) 199

The article does state that you need 5 of 7 to restore.

So if three of them should happen to suffer an unfortunate "accident", everything is totally screwed?

YES! But I say we get all seven, just to be sure!
And, perhaps Al Gore also, for starting this jimcrackery in the first place.

Frankly, I'm tired of this interweb nonsense with all its tubes.
I would like to get back to my productive REAL-WORLD job. (Fashioning grapplegrommets out of laminated chickenfat)
Hey- the interweb was fun, but it (and this slashdot jibber-jabber) has gone on long enough, don't you think?

Time to get back to work, ladies!
I'm buying a plane ticket to Ottawa shortly. I suggest that any of you /.ers that know something about those other six loose-loafer poseurs, track 'em down respectively. And let's do the job RIGHT this time.

Slashdot Top Deals

He has not acquired a fortune; the fortune has acquired him. -- Bion

Working...