I just finished reading Starman Jones (Sept. 1 2008), it is about the
6 or 7th time I have read it since I did first in 1954
There is a 'computer' in the control room, it is there, but almost un-
described. Heinlein would have been aware of the vacuum tube monsters
that existed in 1952 and 1953 , however this one is small enough to
fit into the 'worry room'. On the other hand it is hard to tell
exactly what it does! Astrogation in Starman Jones is a human-machine
'symbiosis' quite cleverly worked out by Heinlein, though some of the
Astrogator's work seems more theoretical physics than engineering
physics, methinks it would be the other way around. O well Heinlein
does the science fiction 'gold standard' of showing us how star travel
is done and not giving us techno-bable about what is going...

Ïîìîùü Añïèpàíòàì wrote:

On Aug 25, 4:57 pm, Quadibloc wrote:

Thanks for the suggestion. Based on the Wikipedia page for "Logic of
Empire" I don't think that's the story I'm looking for, although the
premise of the story is intriguing. However, I remember the story I'm
looking for as not being a full novella or even a short story, but
more like a throwaway bit springing from the brain of a writer
brimming over with stories.

Thanks again.

On Mon, 25 Aug 2008, Quadibloc wrote:

Of course, "Logic of Empire" is about a couple of guys who get
drunk and sign up for indentured labor on Venus. They get separated
(and the one out of the picture readily fixes the problem) and the
main character experiences something akin to "I Am A Fugitive From a Chain
Gang". A tough life, and then he escapes, living with other escapees. Not
a rich life.

Michael

Just re-read Starship Troopers, again, a commonplace event in my life,
at least. As SF war fiction goes, I think it has the top spot;
Weber's Honor Harrington series is a near second.

Now, Heinlien has his character muse on some deep topics, and one is
Morality.

The contention is that any real morality must be based on survival, as
it is the only test of usefulness. The level to which you can rise in
morality is how much you can subsume personal survival to the survival
of the group... family, gang, nation, race, sentient beings, or all
life. Included in this is the tacit understanding that one can behave
morally without understanding why it is moral.

Under this philosophy, the soldier is one of the most moral and
righteous in society, since he is putting his life in the way of
threats to his nation/race/group of sentients. Heinlien clearly had
some ideas about 20th century life being filled with immoral (that is,
anti-survival) things.

What current rules and regulations can you think of are immoral under
this philosophy?

Copywrite 1961.

Cover blurb says: "The best-selling underground novel by the dean of
American science fiction writers."

Original cost? 95 cents, US.

I actually set out looking for a copy of Niven's 'Integral Trees', but
I'll take what I can get.

TBerk

I just finished watching my new Blu-ray disk of 2001.

It's been a long time since I've watched 2001. I first saw it in a
theater in London in 1968 and I'm sure I've watched it at home on VHS
since then but it's been a while.

However, I have a fairly clear recollection that, in the segment in
which the scientist Haywood Floyd is traveling to the moon to see the
monolith, there are shots of the exterior of the space craft with blue
Pan Am logos clearly visible.

On the commentary track Gary Lockwood even mentions the Pan Am logos.

But they are gone from the Blu-ray disk! The exterior shots of the space
craft, except for a few at a great distance, have been deleted.

Inside the space station we still see logos for Hilton and AT&T.

Why? Is this the same sort of reaction as the deletion of the Twin
Towers from a few films? Or is it because Pan Am is no longer around to
pay for product placement?

The jacket of the Blu-ray disk says it was "digitally remastered" but I
wouldn't have expected that to include editing the content.

--
Norm

Neil Schulman sent around this IMDB link today: http://www.imdb.com/news/ni0553942/

This is nearly a perfect combination of director and material, and I
was contemplating trying to make this conneciton myself once the
Virginia Edition is put to bed.

If you haven't seen Dark City -- do so.

Heinlein makes it clear that he is open to paranormal powers such as
telepathy, telekinesis, and others being real, or at least possible.

I used to think so too. But the more I read, the more I have reached
the opposite conclusion.

These people can NEVER do these things under any controlled and
verifiable conditions. It's ALWAYS just someone claiming to be able
to do something, but it only happens at random, not on command in a
test, and other BS. For quite a few years James Randi has offered
prize money (currently $1 million) to anyone who can do anything
paranormal under controlled conditions. No takers.

Heinlein goofed on this one.

The tests set up in Time For the Stars were excellent. In real life
tests of that nature those results NEVER come about though, not even
with identical twins.
** Posted from http://www.teranews.com **

Should the US Gov't initate an Apollo style program to produce a totally
autonomous transport system?

Such a system would solve many of the pressing problems we experiance
today and for the forseeable future. Safety would be greatly advanced.
DWIs would be a fading memory, traffic violations erased. Insurance
costs would plummet while fuel could be used in the most efficent manner
possible.

I envision a system in which a community vehicle on stand-by responds to
a request from your cell phone within a few minutes. Trucks would be
available by special request. Fueling and required maintenence would all
be handled through the system. Billing would be automatic and savings
would be immense since you only pay for usage, not driveway storage.
Congestion would also be relieved.

I believe this to be technologically possible now. Comments?