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Thread: Dancing Robots

  1. #31
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    Cool Re: Dancing Robots

    I came across this robots.txt file that is quite amusing if you understand what a robots.txt file does:

    User-agent: *
    Disallow: /harming/humans
    Disallow: /harming/machines
    Disallow: /risking/own/existence
    Disallow: /edit/
    A homage to Azimov's Three Laws of Robotics.

    Acorn
    Acorn - installed Xara software: Cloud+/Pro+ and most others back through time (to CC's Artworks). Contact for technical remediation/consultancy for your web designs.
    When we provide assistance, your responses are valuable as they benefit the community. TG Nuggets you might like. Report faults: Xara Cloud+/Pro+/Magix Legacy; Xara KB & Chat

  2. #32
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    Default Re: Dancing Robots

    strangely azimov, like heinlein was not so much a favorites of mine... in a way its the emphasis on accuracy rather then imagination, like wading through forsyth's pages long rendition of how the rifle was put togther and set up.. yawn, that's not storytelling its lazy padding [imo] and it does not highten the tension, it induces boredom, unless you love the micro-management of the plot...

    I admit to liking heinlein's by his bootstraps because I was a sucker for time travel paradox.. but stranger in a strange land was, well verbose

    which brings we back to azimov's I robot - in a way this was not sci-fi to me, it was a morality tale dressed up in sci-fi clothing... no imagination in the sheckley sense..
    -------------------------------
    Nothing lasts forever...

  3. #33
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    Default Re: Dancing Robots

    I read "Watchbird" and it was a great read.

    It addresses a lot of concepts that we are really trying to come to grips with today - not about robotics, but how we treat animals, how we treat people, etc..

    I read a ton of SciFi as a teenager, often preferring short stories to novels.

    Here's my little list that made an impact.

    The Invisible Man - with a huge fear of crowds, you don't get that from the films.
    The Time Machine
    The War of the Worlds

    This book really stunned me as a teenager, I was amazed at the depth of the book (it examines the arrogance of man to think that we can understand everything) and it scared me. Very definitely to be read not just watched. If anything of the films the Russian one is the best. I was fortunate enough to see a wonderful stage version in London a couple of years back.

    Solaris - Stanislaw Lem.

    I loved "The Moon is a Harsh Mistress" - Heinlein - particularly it's quirk on evolving artificial intelligence.

    As an adult I read "Starship Troopers" and discovered it was really about citizenship rather than anything else. I was impressed - again the film takes the superficial subject rather than the actual subject.

    We read these books and see the general subject, but often these Scifi books use the escapism that going to another future brings to talk about issues that exist in real life. Watchbird is superficially quite a simple story but it touches on a lot of big issues around what constitutes murder.

    Scifi was always my love as a teenager. I then discovered wonderful Ghost stories from Conan Doyle. Today I mostly read autobiographies.

    Here's my tips for some incredible autobiographies.

    "The Lonely Sea and the Sky" by Francis Chichester.
    "The Forgotten Soldier" by Guy Sajer (somewhat controversial)
    "The Outsider" by Fredrick Forsyth.

  4. #34
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    Default Re: Dancing Robots

    hg wells fan then

    stansilaw lem's the futurological congress a 1970's ascerbic satire of the soviet bloc, is an all time favorite of mine, I only wish I could read the original in polish - the way he blended realitiy and illusion is just wonderful

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Fu...gical_Congress
    Last edited by handrawn; 04 February 2021 at 01:20 PM. Reason: add link
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    Nothing lasts forever...

  5. #35
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    Default Re: Dancing Robots

    I've always been a sci-fi fan ...

    I think my favourite series was the LENSMAN series by E. E. SMITH
    Keith
    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
    There are 10 types of people in this world .... Those who understand binary, and those who don't.

  6. #36
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    Default Re: Dancing Robots

    Quote Originally Posted by ss-kalm View Post
    I've always been a sci-fi fan ...

    I think my favorite series was the LENSMAN series by E. E. SMITH
    Yes that is a terrific series.
    Larry a.k.a wizard509

    Never give up. You will never fail, but you may find a lot of ways that don't work.

  7. #37
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    Default Re: Dancing Robots

    Paul Auster - In the Country of Last Things - Leviathan - Hand to Mouth...pretty much anything by him is a bit special.
    ** Detailed "Create A Spinning Logo Tutorial" is available in .pdf format for download at this link **
    Outside of a dog, a book is a man's best friend. Inside of a dog, it's too dark to read. Groucho Marx.

  8. #38
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    Default Re: Dancing Robots

    Quote Originally Posted by handrawn View Post
    hg wells fan then

    stansilaw lem's the futurological congress a 1970's ascerbic satire of the soviet bloc, is an all time favorite of mine, I only wish I could read the original in polish - the way he blended realitiy and illusion is just wonderful

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Fu...gical_Congress
    actually, he was born in Ukraine, and moved to Poland only after the end of the war.
    his works are really wonderful, I somehow heard them read in the original language. I didn't understand anything, but it was still very exciting.
    Last edited by Rik; 19 February 2021 at 12:10 PM. Reason: original link reinstated

  9. #39
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    Default Re: Dancing Robots

    [spam post deleted]

    sorry, but he was born in Poland in Lwów

    ok that part of Poland is now part of Ukraine, Lviv - but when he was born it was Poland, he was Polish; when the Soviet [Union] Ukraine annexed Lwów at the end of WWII the familiy 'were resettled' to Kraków

    Last edited by handrawn; 18 February 2021 at 06:05 PM.
    -------------------------------
    Nothing lasts forever...

  10. #40
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    Default Re: Dancing Robots

    nice try with the spam

    ah you have been zapped ...
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    Nothing lasts forever...

 

 

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