h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Bugger all this doom and gloom stuff. I know you have been waiting eagerly to see what else might turn up at the Bus Shelter. Can I interest you in this particular offering, Sir: U206251 ?

It reminds me of the Total Perspective Vortex: start off with a piece of fairy cake and derive a whole universe from it. Wrongly, as it happens.

It hasn't yet been posted to PR. Unfortunately.

Ah yes, Bradguth. I remember him from a PR thread or two. Seems just the kind of person Richard Linklater could use as the subject for one of his more onanistic films (Slacker, This Waking Life). Typical Austin.

There are times when I almost hope for a full scale war to shake people out of their complacency, especially the comfortable, self satisfied, decadent Americans who come into our store. Everything has fallen into their lap and they expect everything today to be even more perfect than it was yesterday. All nastiness and unpleasantness has been removed from life. You can't even see any of it on the news, except for major stories, and them it's completely saccharised (did I just make up a word?). They've got their SUV, they've got their people carrier, they've got cheap gas, they've got perfect kids, they've got a full bank balance, they've got their nice house in a nice part of town, they've got their nice church to go to, they've got nice malls and nice restaurants to go to, the shops and restaurants are full of people whose job it is to provide them with perfect, easy to deal with, homogenised service "Hi my name's Brad and I'll be your server tonight. Can I start you off with some drinks?". Have you seen the film 'Best in Show'? Kind of like the yuppie couple with the weimeraner, but not so f***ed up.

Of course, a war would be a terrible thing and I hope it doesn't come about, but if it does, they'll be wanting that nice Mr Bush to do whatever it takes to keep their world comfortable and predictable so that can continue going to the mall where they'll find their precious Red Lobster and Starbucks and The Gap and Old Navy and Pottery Barn and The Disney Store and Osh Kosh and Nordstroms and Eddie Bauer and LL Bean, and it doesn't matter what the consequences might be for the rest of the world.

Guess I went off a bit there didn't I.

Yes, you did go off there a bit, but unlike most Bus Shelter stuff it all made sense.


I have to let off steam now. I've just tried to recruit another programmer to my business and other schemes and suffered another lecture (not on hootoo) about the moral superiority of Open Source and how it will change the world yada yada yada. So I've just told them to get stuffed.

When I was a kid, I saw students on TV being marched into Black Marias for rioting. Then, when I was at University, we had the CND marches and Greenham Common. Now the main focus of outrage among many young men seems to be large software companies. Have these people ever opened their eyes and experienced anything slightly oppressive and ethically questionable in the wider world? Is there nothing better to get worked up about? A wake-up call to all nerds and dweebs: drag yourselves away from the *computer* and *engage* with the sorts of issues that *matter* - hunger, poverty, war, disease - not f**king software. Even Bill Gates, to his credit, experienced this kind of epiphany and set up the Gates Foundation. Why can't they? It's just another facet of what you've just written about, although viewed from a different angle. We *really* don't know how bad it is for some: poverty is old at 40 and dead at 45, *not* being unable to afford a proprietary developer tool. W**kers, the lot of them.

I think I understand your frustration there.

Some months ago we were watching a public access channel. A UT (University of Texas) student was bleating and whining about some upgrade or latest release of The Sims which hadn't been released on time, or wasn't going to be released at all, or... either way he wasn't going to get his precious Sims game. He concluded by snarling at the camera "Thanks a lot EA Games" and walking off.

Spoilt little toerag.

Brad has rejoined us

F102324?thread=219169?thread=&post=4615005

I've restated my view that he's an idiot, but in plain English, so there's little chance of it being understood, let alone heeded.

I hear the Bus Shelter calling....I shall propose a move. Care to be seconder?

This is interesting to you, I suspect...
http://www.gatesfoundation.org/Education/SmallHighSchools/Announcements/Announce-031112.htm

I'd be happy to second it.

I'll have a read of the link later - got some work to do before we head off to San Antonio in the AM for the weekly two-day stint.