• Re: The Martian Chronicles (was Re: SF: Book recommendations)

    From Lawrence =?iso-8859-13?q?D=FFOliveiro?=@ldo@nz.invalid to alt.usage.english,rec.arts.books,rec.arts.sf.written,rec.arts.sf.misc on Sun Feb 22 02:43:28 2026
    From Newsgroup: alt.usage.english

    On Wed, 4 Feb 2026 12:11:43 -0500, Cryptoengineer wrote:

    The 1968 anthology 'Farewell Fantastic Venus!" was a nostalgic
    adieu to old Venus, put together after the first atmospheric
    probes showed the reality.

    Mars and Venus both suffered from this. Remember that, up until the
    Mariner probes comprehensively debunked the idea, there were those who
    still believed the Martian rCLcanalsrCY were real.
    --- Synchronet 3.21b-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From Lawrence =?iso-8859-13?q?D=FFOliveiro?=@ldo@nz.invalid to alt.usage.english,rec.arts.books,rec.arts.sf.written,rec.arts.sf.misc on Sun Feb 22 02:49:25 2026
    From Newsgroup: alt.usage.english

    On Mon, 2 Feb 2026 14:54:04 -0800, John Ames wrote:

    It'd be interesting to track the evolution of Mars in popular
    culture over time, as the accuracy of our astronomical observations
    improved. The "canals" were always a mistranslation from
    Schiaparelli's "canali," but I don't think the idea was conclusively
    debunked 'til the 1900s. Nevertheless, Burroughs's Barsoom is a
    dying, desert world, and Welles has implications of the same as the
    motive for his Martian invasion.

    Well, Wells before Welles, anyway. ;)

    The earlier half of the 20th century was full of depictions of the
    other planets as being like exotic versions of far-flung parts of
    Earth -- none of the need for this rCLspace-suitrCY folderol. The plants
    and animals might look like nothing on Earth, but they still were
    basically plants and animals, of a sort. Basically an extension of the rCLdarkest AfricarCY and rCLexotic AsiarCY stories of the earlier century.
    --- Synchronet 3.21b-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From The True Melissa@thetruemelissa@gmail.com to alt.usage.english,rec.arts.books,rec.arts.sf.written,rec.arts.sf.misc on Sun Feb 22 06:51:12 2026
    From Newsgroup: alt.usage.english

    Verily, in article <10ndqrk$1pg48$2@dont-email.me>, did ldo@nz.invalid
    deliver unto us this message:
    On Mon, 2 Feb 2026 14:54:04 -0800, John Ames wrote:

    It'd be interesting to track the evolution of Mars in popular
    culture over time, as the accuracy of our astronomical observations improved. The "canals" were always a mistranslation from
    Schiaparelli's "canali," but I don't think the idea was conclusively debunked 'til the 1900s. Nevertheless, Burroughs's Barsoom is a
    dying, desert world, and Welles has implications of the same as the
    motive for his Martian invasion.

    Well, Wells before Welles, anyway. ;)

    The earlier half of the 20th century was full of depictions of the
    other planets as being like exotic versions of far-flung parts of
    Earth -- none of the need for this ?space-suit? folderol. The plants
    and animals might look like nothing on Earth, but they still were
    basically plants and animals, of a sort. Basically an extension of the ?darkest Africa? and ?exotic Asia? stories of the earlier century.

    The interplanetary settings let writers get crazier, though. For
    instance, Barsoom no longer had a stable atmosphere, and a single air
    factory pumped out enough breathable air for the whole planet. The far-
    flung areas don't seem to be aware of this, and nobody ever got around
    to creating a backup system -- when the air-maker and his apprentice
    happened to die at once, the whole planet started smothering.

    You can't set *that* level of nonsense in darkest Africa or the exotic
    Orient.
    --
    The True Melissa - Canal Winchester - Ohio
    United States of America - North America - Earth
    Solar System - Milky Way - Local Group
    Virgo Cluster - Laniakea Supercluster - Cosmos
    --- Synchronet 3.21b-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From kludge@kludge@panix.com (Scott Dorsey) to alt.usage.english,rec.arts.books,rec.arts.sf.written,rec.arts.sf.misc on Sun Feb 22 11:05:28 2026
    From Newsgroup: alt.usage.english

    The True Melissa <thetruemelissa@gmail.com> wrote:
    The interplanetary settings let writers get crazier, though. For
    instance, Barsoom no longer had a stable atmosphere, and a single air >factory pumped out enough breathable air for the whole planet. The far-
    flung areas don't seem to be aware of this, and nobody ever got around
    to creating a backup system -- when the air-maker and his apprentice >happened to die at once, the whole planet started smothering.

    You can't set *that* level of nonsense in darkest Africa or the exotic >Orient.

    Maybe. But where is the source of the Nile? It's actually a giant spring turned into a river by a giant pumping plant built by the ancient Egyptians. When the Nile started to dry up in the 1850s, destroying the crocodile
    purse and shoe industry, Speke and Burton were sent up the dry riverbed to
    find out what had happened.

    Warning: contains obscene digressions in Burton's footnotes.
    --scott
    --
    "C'est un Nagra. C'est suisse, et tres, tres precis."
    --- Synchronet 3.21b-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From Robert Carnegie@rja.carnegie@gmail.com to alt.usage.english,rec.arts.books,rec.arts.sf.written,rec.arts.sf.misc on Sun Feb 22 20:56:24 2026
    From Newsgroup: alt.usage.english

    On 02/02/2026 23:57, Peter Moylan wrote:
    On 03/02/26 10:01, John Ames wrote:

    (Also reminds me of a children's book from the '50s - '60s that I
    found once upon a time; that had Earth colonists landing on an
    inhospitable and seemingly-deserted Mars, only for their children to
    meet a couple Martian children, who along with the rest of their
    civilization have retreated to underground cavern-cities or something
    to that effect. I've never managed to track it down since...)

    I've re-read that in the not-so-distant past, but I can't identify it. I remember that the Earth explorers sending out exploration vehicles, and
    the Martian children had fun riding on top of them, in a game that anticipated cats riding on vacuum cleaners.

    Perhaps some more details will come to mind in the next few days.

    That may be in a different story, I want
    to say Larry Niven - a robotic probe on
    wheels lands on Mars from Earth, and the
    adult Martians, who are very different
    from Warth life, allow their children
    to play with it, ride on it, herd it
    around, while reflecting that when Earth
    astronauts foreseeably come, the Martian
    adults should keep their children away
    from that encounter.
    --- Synchronet 3.21b-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From Lawrence =?iso-8859-13?q?D=FFOliveiro?=@ldo@nz.invalid to alt.usage.english,rec.arts.books,rec.arts.sf.written,rec.arts.sf.misc on Mon Feb 23 00:05:46 2026
    From Newsgroup: alt.usage.english

    On Sun, 22 Feb 2026 06:51:12 -0500, The True Melissa wrote:

    Verily, in article <10ndqrk$1pg48$2@dont-email.me>, did
    ldo@nz.invalid deliver unto us this message:

    The earlier half of the 20th century was full of depictions of the
    other planets as being like exotic versions of far-flung parts of
    Earth -- none of the need for this rCLspace-suitrCY folderol. The
    plants and animals might look like nothing on Earth, but they still
    were basically plants and animals, of a sort. Basically an
    extension of the rCLdarkest AfricarCY and rCLexotic AsiarCY stories of the >> earlier century.

    The interplanetary settings let writers get crazier, though. For
    instance, Barsoom no longer had a stable atmosphere, and a single
    air factory pumped out enough breathable air for the whole planet.
    The far- flung areas don't seem to be aware of this, and nobody ever
    got around to creating a backup system -- when the air-maker and his apprentice happened to die at once, the whole planet started
    smothering.

    You can't set *that* level of nonsense in darkest Africa or the
    exotic Orient.

    (I havenrCOt read the Burroughs story in question -- rCLWarlord Of MarsrCY,
    is it? -- but this description <https://barsoom.fandom.com/wiki/Atmosphere_Factory> is illuminating.)

    That is certainly the kind of theme that is unique to SF -- the
    current inhabitants of an exotic world have regressed from the
    original civilization that long ago set up certain life-critical
    systems, which have started failing, so it is up to our heroes to fix
    them and save the entire world.

    Was Burroughs the first to think up this plot? Larry Niven certainly
    reused the idea in his second Ringworld novel, rCLThe Ringworld
    EngineersrCY.

    (This was written after some smartarse students at MIT discovered that
    his original Ringworld concept would need some sort of active
    thrusters to maintain it in position in the plane of its orbit, since
    it would not naturally stay in place around its Sun. So he added the
    propulsion engines, and then made it a plot point that somebody had
    been messing with them.)

    But then, this just shows how Burroughs was a cut above a lot of his contemporaries ...
    --- Synchronet 3.21b-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From Madhu@enometh@meer.net to alt.usage.english on Mon Feb 23 14:42:27 2026
    From Newsgroup: alt.usage.english

    * Peter Moylan <10lrdlo$12g6g$1@dont-email.me> :
    Wrote on Tue, 3 Feb 2026 10:57:43 +1100:

    On 03/02/26 10:01, John Ames wrote:

    (Also reminds me of a children's book from the '50s - '60s that I
    found once upon a time; that had Earth colonists landing on an
    inhospitable and seemingly-deserted Mars, only for their children to
    meet a couple Martian children, who along with the rest of their
    civilization have retreated to underground cavern-cities or something
    to that effect. I've never managed to track it down since...)

    I've re-read that in the not-so-distant past, but I can't identify it. I remember that the Earth explorers sending out exploration vehicles, and
    the Martian children had fun riding on top of them, in a game that anticipated cats riding on vacuum cleaners.

    Perhaps some more details will come to mind in the next few days.

    The one I remember from childhood is an illustrated book where, well
    what I remember of it now, the underground race would come out to eat
    those on the surface
    --- Synchronet 3.21b-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From lar3ryca@larry@invalid.ca to alt.usage.english on Mon Feb 23 10:12:32 2026
    From Newsgroup: alt.usage.english

    On 2026-02-23 03:12, Madhu wrote:
    * Peter Moylan <10lrdlo$12g6g$1@dont-email.me> :
    Wrote on Tue, 3 Feb 2026 10:57:43 +1100:

    On 03/02/26 10:01, John Ames wrote:

    (Also reminds me of a children's book from the '50s - '60s that I
    found once upon a time; that had Earth colonists landing on an
    inhospitable and seemingly-deserted Mars, only for their children to
    meet a couple Martian children, who along with the rest of their
    civilization have retreated to underground cavern-cities or something
    to that effect. I've never managed to track it down since...)

    I've re-read that in the not-so-distant past, but I can't identify it. I
    remember that the Earth explorers sending out exploration vehicles, and
    the Martian children had fun riding on top of them, in a game that
    anticipated cats riding on vacuum cleaners.

    Perhaps some more details will come to mind in the next few days.

    The one I remember from childhood is an illustrated book where, well
    what I remember of it now, the underground race would come out to eat
    those on the surface

    Sounds a lot like Welles' /The Time Machine/.
    --
    If the world was a logical place, men would ride horses sidesaddle.
    --- Synchronet 3.21b-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From Lawrence =?iso-8859-13?q?D=FFOliveiro?=@ldo@nz.invalid to alt.usage.english,rec.arts.books,rec.arts.sf.written,rec.arts.sf.misc on Tue Feb 24 02:05:41 2026
    From Newsgroup: alt.usage.english

    On Sun, 22 Feb 2026 11:05:28 -0500 (EST), Scott Dorsey wrote:

    But where is the source of the Nile?

    I remember a doco where Joanna Lumley started a journey from the Nile
    delta, and went all the way up to what was supposed to be the
    rCLsourcerCY, which was an nondescript trickle of a little brook somewhere
    in Sudan, I think it was.

    Obviously what they meant by rCLsourcerCY was rCLhighest upstream point
    where at least *some* of the water comes fromrCY. Because if they mean
    to ask rCLwhere does the water come from?rCY, then the correct answer is
    rCLall the tributaries and streams that feed into it along its lengthrCY.
    --- Synchronet 3.21b-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From Steve Hayes@hayesstw@telkomsa.net to alt.usage.english,rec.arts.books,rec.arts.sf.written,rec.arts.sf.misc on Tue Feb 24 06:42:28 2026
    From Newsgroup: alt.usage.english

    On Tue, 24 Feb 2026 02:05:41 -0000 (UTC), Lawrence D|+Oliveiro
    <ldo@nz.invalid> wrote:

    On Sun, 22 Feb 2026 11:05:28 -0500 (EST), Scott Dorsey wrote:

    But where is the source of the Nile?

    I remember a doco where Joanna Lumley started a journey from the Nile
    delta, and went all the way up to what was supposed to be the
    rCLsourcerCY, which was an nondescript trickle of a little brook somewhere
    in Sudan, I think it was.

    Obviously what they meant by rCLsourcerCY was rCLhighest upstream point
    where at least *some* of the water comes fromrCY. Because if they mean
    to ask rCLwhere does the water come from?rCY, then the correct answer is >rCLall the tributaries and streams that feed into it along its lengthrCY.

    True enough, but I think the 19th-century searches for "the source" of
    the Nile was to find the one that was farthest from the mouth, or at
    least the delta, so they could say how long "the Nile" was. In most
    such cases, of course, the people living closest to "the source" as
    deter5mined by foreign geographers had a different name for it, and
    had no idea what people living further downstream called it.

    There is a river on the border of Namibia and Angola now labelled on
    maps as Kunene, and got to be so labelled because early foreign
    tourists waved vaguely at the river and asked what it was called, and
    the locals replied "Kunene", meaning the left bank, as opposed to the
    far side of the river in what is now called Angola, which was the
    right bank.
    --
    Steve Hayes from Tshwane, South Africa
    Web: http://www.khanya.org.za/stevesig.htm
    Blog: http://khanya.wordpress.com
    E-mail - see web page, or parse: shayes at dunelm full stop org full stop uk --- Synchronet 3.21b-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From Anders D. Nygaard@news2012adn@google.com to alt.usage.english,rec.arts.books,rec.arts.sf.written,rec.arts.sf.misc on Tue Feb 24 08:57:11 2026
    From Newsgroup: alt.usage.english

    On 2/24/2026 5:42 AM, Steve Hayes wrote:
    There is a river on the border of Namibia and Angola now labelled on
    maps as Kunene, and got to be so labelled because early foreign
    tourists waved vaguely at the river and asked what it was called, and
    the locals replied "Kunene", meaning the left bank, as opposed to the
    far side of the river in what is now called Angola, which was the
    right bank.

    I guess this kind of misinterpretation (or over-) is common: The island Krakatoa which exploded about one and a half century ago was apparently
    named thus when westerners asking the locals what the name was, and got
    the answer "I don't know". In the local tongue something like "kaga tau"

    /Anders, Denmark
    --- Synchronet 3.21b-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From Cryptoengineer@petertrei@gmail.com to alt.usage.english,rec.arts.books,rec.arts.sf.written,rec.arts.sf.misc on Tue Feb 24 11:43:20 2026
    From Newsgroup: alt.usage.english

    On 2/23/2026 9:05 PM, Lawrence DrCOOliveiro wrote:
    On Sun, 22 Feb 2026 11:05:28 -0500 (EST), Scott Dorsey wrote:

    But where is the source of the Nile?

    I remember a doco where Joanna Lumley started a journey from the Nile
    delta, and went all the way up to what was supposed to be the
    rCLsourcerCY, which was an nondescript trickle of a little brook somewhere
    in Sudan, I think it was.

    Obviously what they meant by rCLsourcerCY was rCLhighest upstream point
    where at least *some* of the water comes fromrCY. Because if they mean
    to ask rCLwhere does the water come from?rCY, then the correct answer is rCLall the tributaries and streams that feed into it along its lengthrCY.

    'Source' is pretty ambiguous for most rivers.

    1. Highest altitude stream that feeds into it? Permanent? Seasonal?
    2. Furthest from the mouth? Missouri River needs to be renamed then.

    3. Some are obvious, such as where a river runs from a large lake.

    pt
    --- Synchronet 3.21b-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From scott@scott@slp53.sl.home (Scott Lurndal) to alt.usage.english,rec.arts.books,rec.arts.sf.written,rec.arts.sf.misc on Tue Feb 24 17:41:02 2026
    From Newsgroup: alt.usage.english

    Cryptoengineer <petertrei@gmail.com> writes:
    On 2/23/2026 9:05 PM, Lawrence DrCOOliveiro wrote:
    On Sun, 22 Feb 2026 11:05:28 -0500 (EST), Scott Dorsey wrote:

    But where is the source of the Nile?

    I remember a doco where Joanna Lumley started a journey from the Nile
    delta, and went all the way up to what was supposed to be the
    rCLsourcerCY, which was an nondescript trickle of a little brook somewhere >> in Sudan, I think it was.

    Obviously what they meant by rCLsourcerCY was rCLhighest upstream point
    where at least *some* of the water comes fromrCY. Because if they mean
    to ask rCLwhere does the water come from?rCY, then the correct answer is
    rCLall the tributaries and streams that feed into it along its lengthrCY.

    'Source' is pretty ambiguous for most rivers.

    1. Highest altitude stream that feeds into it? Permanent? Seasonal?
    2. Furthest from the mouth? Missouri River needs to be renamed then.

    3. Some are obvious, such as where a river runs from a large lake.

    Take the Mississippi for example, where Schoolcraft named Lake Itasca as
    the "source"; yet many smaller tributaries feed Lake Itasca itself.
    --- Synchronet 3.21b-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From Charles Hope@clh@candehope.me.uk to alt.usage.english,rec.arts.books,rec.arts.sf.written,rec.arts.sf.misc on Tue Feb 24 18:30:03 2026
    From Newsgroup: alt.usage.english

    On 24/02/2026 16:43, Cryptoengineer wrote:
    On 2/23/2026 9:05 PM, Lawrence DrCOOliveiro wrote:
    On Sun, 22 Feb 2026 11:05:28 -0500 (EST), Scott Dorsey wrote:

    But where is the source of the Nile?

    I remember a doco where Joanna Lumley started a journey from the Nile
    delta, and went all the way up to what was supposed to be the
    rCLsourcerCY, which was an nondescript trickle of a little brook somewhere >> in Sudan, I think it was.

    Obviously what they meant by rCLsourcerCY was rCLhighest upstream point
    where at least *some* of the water comes fromrCY. Because if they mean
    to ask rCLwhere does the water come from?rCY, then the correct answer is
    rCLall the tributaries and streams that feed into it along its lengthrCY.

    'Source' is pretty ambiguous for most rivers.

    1. Highest altitude stream that feeds into it? Permanent? Seasonal?
    2. Furthest from the mouth? Missouri River needs to be renamed then.

    3. Some are obvious, such as where a river runs from a large lake.

    pt

    yes, but where does that lake get its water from?

    --- Synchronet 3.21b-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From lar3ryca@larry@invalid.ca to alt.usage.english,rec.arts.books,rec.arts.sf.written,rec.arts.sf.misc on Tue Feb 24 14:24:43 2026
    From Newsgroup: alt.usage.english

    On 2026-02-24 14:04, Ted Nolan <tednolan> wrote:
    In article <ii617m-aos3.ln1@newsauth.orpheusnet.co.uk>,
    Charles Hope <clh@candehope.me.uk> wrote:
    On 24/02/2026 16:43, Cryptoengineer wrote:
    On 2/23/2026 9:05 PM, Lawrence DrCOOliveiro wrote:
    On Sun, 22 Feb 2026 11:05:28 -0500 (EST), Scott Dorsey wrote:

    But where is the source of the Nile?

    I remember a doco where Joanna Lumley started a journey from the Nile
    delta, and went all the way up to what was supposed to be the
    rCLsourcerCY, which was an nondescript trickle of a little brook somewhere >>>> in Sudan, I think it was.

    Obviously what they meant by rCLsourcerCY was rCLhighest upstream point >>>> where at least *some* of the water comes fromrCY. Because if they mean >>>> to ask rCLwhere does the water come from?rCY, then the correct answer is >>>> rCLall the tributaries and streams that feed into it along its lengthrCY. >>>
    'Source' is pretty ambiguous for most rivers.

    1. Highest altitude stream that feeds into it? Permanent? Seasonal?
    2. Furthest from the mouth? Missouri River needs to be renamed then.

    3. Some are obvious, such as where a river runs from a large lake.

    pt

    yes, but where does that lake get its water from?


    Turtles!

    All the way down?
    --
    I went into a book store and asked the girl,
    "Do you have the Prince Harry book, the one you can put on your phone?"
    She said, "Do you mean the PDF file?"
    "No" I said, "that's his uncle."

    --- Synchronet 3.21b-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From Lawrence =?iso-8859-13?q?D=FFOliveiro?=@ldo@nz.invalid to alt.usage.english,rec.arts.books,rec.arts.sf.written,rec.arts.sf.misc on Tue Feb 24 21:06:20 2026
    From Newsgroup: alt.usage.english

    Speaking of the Martian Chronicles, I found this while idly browsing
    through the fortune-cookie files you get on a Linux system:

    "A horrible little boy came up to me and said, `You know in your book
    The Martian Chronicles?' I said, `Yes?' He said, `You know where you
    talk about Deimos rising in the East?' I said, `Yes?' He said `No.'
    -- So I hit him."
    -- attributed to Ray Bradbury
    --- Synchronet 3.21b-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From Anders D. Nygaard@news2012adn@google.com to alt.usage.english,rec.arts.books,rec.arts.sf.written,rec.arts.sf.misc on Tue Feb 24 22:45:23 2026
    From Newsgroup: alt.usage.english

    On 2/24/2026 9:24 PM, lar3ryca wrote:

    I went into a book store and asked the girl,
    "Do you have the Prince Harry book, the one you can put on your phone?"
    She said, "Do you mean the PDF file?"
    "No" I said, "that's his uncle."

    Usually, your .sig gives rise to a chuckle or two; sometimes after
    I've turned it around in my mind for a while.
    But this one ... I just don't get it.

    A hint for the humour-challenged, please?

    /Anders, Denmark
    --- Synchronet 3.21b-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From Blueshirt@blueshirt@indigo.news to alt.usage.english,rec.arts.books,rec.arts.sf.written on Tue Feb 24 21:50:43 2026
    From Newsgroup: alt.usage.english

    Anders D. Nygaard wrote:

    On 2/24/2026 9:24 PM, lar3ryca wrote:

    I went into a book store and asked the girl,
    "Do you have the Prince Harry book, the one you can put
    on your phone?" She said, "Do you mean the PDF file?"
    "No" I said, "that's his uncle."

    Usually, your .sig gives rise to a chuckle or two; sometimes
    after I've turned it around in my mind for a while.
    But this one ... I just don't get it.

    A hint for the humour-challenged, please?

    Clue: Jeffrey Epstein...

    --- Synchronet 3.21b-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From Cryptoengineer@petertrei@gmail.com to alt.usage.english,rec.arts.books,rec.arts.sf.written,rec.arts.sf.misc on Tue Feb 24 16:54:39 2026
    From Newsgroup: alt.usage.english

    On 2/24/2026 12:41 PM, Scott Lurndal wrote:
    Cryptoengineer <petertrei@gmail.com> writes:
    On 2/23/2026 9:05 PM, Lawrence DrCOOliveiro wrote:
    On Sun, 22 Feb 2026 11:05:28 -0500 (EST), Scott Dorsey wrote:

    But where is the source of the Nile?

    I remember a doco where Joanna Lumley started a journey from the Nile
    delta, and went all the way up to what was supposed to be the
    rCLsourcerCY, which was an nondescript trickle of a little brook somewhere >>> in Sudan, I think it was.

    Obviously what they meant by rCLsourcerCY was rCLhighest upstream point
    where at least *some* of the water comes fromrCY. Because if they mean
    to ask rCLwhere does the water come from?rCY, then the correct answer is >>> rCLall the tributaries and streams that feed into it along its lengthrCY. >>
    'Source' is pretty ambiguous for most rivers.

    1. Highest altitude stream that feeds into it? Permanent? Seasonal?
    2. Furthest from the mouth? Missouri River needs to be renamed then.

    3. Some are obvious, such as where a river runs from a large lake.

    Take the Mississippi for example, where Schoolcraft named Lake Itasca as
    the "source"; yet many smaller tributaries feed Lake Itasca itself.

    I've seen a qualification concerning whether there is a detectable
    current running from a tributary across the lake to the exiting river.

    pt


    --- Synchronet 3.21b-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From Cryptoengineer@petertrei@gmail.com to alt.usage.english,rec.arts.books,rec.arts.sf.written,rec.arts.sf.misc on Tue Feb 24 16:57:52 2026
    From Newsgroup: alt.usage.english

    On 2/24/2026 4:45 PM, Anders D. Nygaard wrote:
    On 2/24/2026 9:24 PM, lar3ryca wrote:

    I went into a book store and asked the girl,
    "Do you have the Prince Harry book, the one you can put on your phone?"
    She said, "Do you mean the PDF file?"
    "No" I said, "that's his uncle."

    Usually, your .sig gives rise to a chuckle or two; sometimes after
    I've turned it around in my mind for a while.
    But this one ... I just don't get it.

    A hint for the humour-challenged, please?

    /Anders, Denmark

    In English, 'PDF File' sounds fairly close
    to 'Pedophile'

    pt
    --- Synchronet 3.21b-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From scott@scott@slp53.sl.home (Scott Lurndal) to alt.usage.english,rec.arts.books,rec.arts.sf.written,rec.arts.sf.misc on Wed Feb 25 00:27:51 2026
    From Newsgroup: alt.usage.english

    Cryptoengineer <petertrei@gmail.com> writes:
    On 2/24/2026 12:41 PM, Scott Lurndal wrote:
    Cryptoengineer <petertrei@gmail.com> writes:
    On 2/23/2026 9:05 PM, Lawrence DrCOOliveiro wrote:
    On Sun, 22 Feb 2026 11:05:28 -0500 (EST), Scott Dorsey wrote:

    But where is the source of the Nile?

    I remember a doco where Joanna Lumley started a journey from the Nile
    delta, and went all the way up to what was supposed to be the
    rCLsourcerCY, which was an nondescript trickle of a little brook somewhere >>>> in Sudan, I think it was.

    Obviously what they meant by rCLsourcerCY was rCLhighest upstream point >>>> where at least *some* of the water comes fromrCY. Because if they mean >>>> to ask rCLwhere does the water come from?rCY, then the correct answer is >>>> rCLall the tributaries and streams that feed into it along its lengthrCY. >>>
    'Source' is pretty ambiguous for most rivers.

    1. Highest altitude stream that feeds into it? Permanent? Seasonal?
    2. Furthest from the mouth? Missouri River needs to be renamed then.

    3. Some are obvious, such as where a river runs from a large lake.

    Take the Mississippi for example, where Schoolcraft named Lake Itasca as
    the "source"; yet many smaller tributaries feed Lake Itasca itself.

    I've seen a qualification concerning whether there is a detectable
    current running from a tributary across the lake to the exiting river.


    Makes sense.
    --- Synchronet 3.21b-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From Lawrence =?iso-8859-13?q?D=FFOliveiro?=@ldo@nz.invalid to alt.usage.english,rec.arts.books,rec.arts.sf.written,rec.arts.sf.misc on Wed Feb 25 03:30:53 2026
    From Newsgroup: alt.usage.english

    On Tue, 24 Feb 2026 11:43:20 -0500, Cryptoengineer wrote:

    On 2/23/2026 9:05 PM, Lawrence DrCOOliveiro wrote:

    I remember a doco where Joanna Lumley started a journey from the
    Nile delta, and went all the way up to what was supposed to be the
    rCLsourcerCY, which was an nondescript trickle of a little brook
    somewhere in Sudan, I think it was.

    Obviously what they meant by rCLsourcerCY was rCLhighest upstream point
    where at least *some* of the water comes fromrCY. Because if they
    mean to ask rCLwhere does the water come from?rCY, then the correct
    answer is rCLall the tributaries and streams that feed into it along
    its lengthrCY.

    'Source' is pretty ambiguous for most rivers.

    1. Highest altitude stream that feeds into it? Permanent? Seasonal?
    2. Furthest from the mouth? Missouri River needs to be renamed then.
    3. Some are obvious, such as where a river runs from a large lake.

    Also (I guess restating point 2):

    4. What happens if the river is fed from another river with a
    different name?

    For consider: the rCLNilerCY river, under that name, ends (begins?) at Khartoum. Upstream from that, you have no rCLNilerCY as such, only the
    rCLWhite NilerCY and the rCLBlue NilerCY. (You can see the difference in the colours of the water where they join -- the separation continues quite
    some distance downstream from that.)

    As I remember, the rCLBlue NilerCY comes from somewhere in Ethiopia, where there are some tall cliffs that turn into a line of truly magnificent waterfalls in the rainy season; these are what feed the annual floods
    that the ancient Egyptians depended on so crucially for their
    agrarian-based society to survive in a desert.

    Whereas the rCLWhite NilerCY is the source of water that has never dried
    up in human history, so it has kept the Nile flowing no matter what.

    LumleyrCOs journey seemed to consider the rCLWhite NilerCY as the
    continuation of the rCLNilerCY, for the purposes of determining the
    source. This seems to me pretty arbitrary.
    --- Synchronet 3.21b-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From Lawrence =?iso-8859-13?q?D=FFOliveiro?=@ldo@nz.invalid to alt.usage.english,rec.arts.books,rec.arts.sf.written,rec.arts.sf.misc on Wed Feb 25 03:36:31 2026
    From Newsgroup: alt.usage.english

    On Tue, 24 Feb 2026 16:57:52 -0500, Cryptoengineer wrote:

    In English, 'PDF File' sounds fairly close to 'Pedophile'

    I keep thinking of that scene in rCLThe IT CrowdrCY set in an airport,
    where the PA announcement asks for someone named rCLPeter FilerCY to
    report to the enquiries desk. And a man jumps up, shouting rCLIrCOm Peter File!rCY multiple times as the announcement repeats, while rushing to
    answer the summons.

    As I recall, the scene looked like a real airport, with lots of people
    around. DonrCOt you admire the guts of actors, to play a part like that, shouting something embarrassing at the top of their voice, in a public
    place?
    --- Synchronet 3.21b-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From Tony Cooper@tonycooper214@gmail.com to alt.usage.english,rec.arts.books,rec.arts.sf.written on Tue Feb 24 23:13:59 2026
    From Newsgroup: alt.usage.english

    On Tue, 24 Feb 2026 21:50:43 GMT, "Blueshirt" <blueshirt@indigo.news>
    wrote:

    Anders D. Nygaard wrote:

    On 2/24/2026 9:24 PM, lar3ryca wrote:

    I went into a book store and asked the girl,
    "Do you have the Prince Harry book, the one you can put
    on your phone?" She said, "Do you mean the PDF file?"
    "No" I said, "that's his uncle."

    Usually, your .sig gives rise to a chuckle or two; sometimes
    after I've turned it around in my mind for a while.
    But this one ... I just don't get it.

    A hint for the humour-challenged, please?

    Clue: Jeffrey Epstein...


    No...the former Prince Andrew. Read "PDF file" as pedo-phile.

    --- Synchronet 3.21b-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From Steve Hayes@hayesstw@telkomsa.net to alt.usage.english,rec.arts.books,rec.arts.sf.written,rec.arts.sf.misc on Wed Feb 25 06:47:07 2026
    From Newsgroup: alt.usage.english

    On Tue, 24 Feb 2026 11:43:20 -0500, Cryptoengineer
    <petertrei@gmail.com> wrote:

    On 2/23/2026 9:05 PM, Lawrence DrCOOliveiro wrote:
    On Sun, 22 Feb 2026 11:05:28 -0500 (EST), Scott Dorsey wrote:

    But where is the source of the Nile?

    I remember a doco where Joanna Lumley started a journey from the Nile
    delta, and went all the way up to what was supposed to be the
    rCLsourcerCY, which was an nondescript trickle of a little brook somewhere >> in Sudan, I think it was.

    Obviously what they meant by rCLsourcerCY was rCLhighest upstream point
    where at least *some* of the water comes fromrCY. Because if they mean
    to ask rCLwhere does the water come from?rCY, then the correct answer is
    rCLall the tributaries and streams that feed into it along its lengthrCY.

    'Source' is pretty ambiguous for most rivers.

    1. Highest altitude stream that feeds into it? Permanent? Seasonal?
    2. Furthest from the mouth? Missouri River needs to be renamed then.

    3. Some are obvious, such as where a river runs from a large lake.

    2. is most important for those who want to make lists of the world's
    longest rivers, highest mountains, etc.

    The main contenders were the Amazon, the Nile, and the
    Mississippi/Missouri. I believe the Amazon won at the last count,
    because a branch of its delta made it a bit longer than the Nile.

    When my wife and I visited England some years ago we made a point of
    visiting Wastwater in Cumbria, because my wife's grandmother had
    always told her that it had the highest mountain, the deepest lake,
    the smallest church, and the biggest liar (but he's dead).

    Pics here: <https://ondermynende.wordpress.com/2015/05/10/uk-trip-10-may-2005-whitehaven-to-girvan/>
    --
    Stephen Hayes, Author of The Year of the Dragon
    Sample or purchase The Year of the Dragon: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/907935
    Web site: http://www.khanya.org.za/stevesig.htm
    Blog: http://methodius.blogspot.com
    E-mail: shayes@dunelm.org.uk or if you use Gmail hayesstw@telkomsa.net
    --- Synchronet 3.21b-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From Anders D. Nygaard@news2012adn@google.com to alt.usage.english,rec.arts.books,rec.arts.sf.written,rec.arts.sf.misc on Wed Feb 25 11:58:22 2026
    From Newsgroup: alt.usage.english

    On 2/24/2026 10:57 PM, Cryptoengineer wrote:
    On 2/24/2026 4:45 PM, Anders D. Nygaard wrote:
    On 2/24/2026 9:24 PM, lar3ryca wrote:

    I went into a book store and asked the girl,
    "Do you have the Prince Harry book, the one you can put on your phone?"
    She said, "Do you mean the PDF file?"
    "No" I said, "that's his uncle."

    Usually, your .sig gives rise to a chuckle or two; sometimes after
    I've turned it around in my mind for a while.
    But this one ... I just don't get it.

    A hint for the humour-challenged, please?

    In English, 'PDF File' sounds fairly close
    to 'Pedophile'

    Fsvo "fairly close", I suppose - thank you.

    But I see now why I had difficulties in getting it:
    As I understand it, Ms. Giuffre was 17 at the time in question,
    which in MyE is not sufficiently low to qualify.
    Have I missed other cases, or are norms merely different elsewhere?

    /Anders, Denmark


    --- Synchronet 3.21b-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From Torbjorn Lindgren@tl@none.invalid to alt.usage.english,rec.arts.books,rec.arts.sf.written,rec.arts.sf.misc on Wed Feb 25 15:04:08 2026
    From Newsgroup: alt.usage.english

    Anders D. Nygaard <news2012adn@google.com> wrote:
    On 2/24/2026 10:57 PM, Cryptoengineer wrote:
    On 2/24/2026 4:45 PM, Anders D. Nygaard wrote:
    On 2/24/2026 9:24 PM, lar3ryca wrote:

    I went into a book store and asked the girl,
    "Do you have the Prince Harry book, the one you can put on your phone?" >>>> She said, "Do you mean the PDF file?"
    "No" I said, "that's his uncle."

    Usually, your .sig gives rise to a chuckle or two; sometimes after
    I've turned it around in my mind for a while.
    But this one ... I just don't get it.

    A hint for the humour-challenged, please?

    In English, 'PDF File' sounds fairly close
    to 'Pedophile'

    Fsvo "fairly close", I suppose - thank you.

    But I see now why I had difficulties in getting it:
    As I understand it, Ms. Giuffre was 17 at the time in question,
    which in MyE is not sufficiently low to qualify.
    Have I missed other cases, or are norms merely different elsewhere?

    Ms. Giuffre was only one of many and very far from the worst.

    The 2005 Palm Beach investion started with a report that he sexually
    abused a 14-year-old girl (reported by the mother of the girl) and
    after considerable investigation the Grand Jury indictment were about
    36 girls between age 14 and 17 in Manhattan, New York and Palm Beach,
    Florida and other locations.

    As I understand it the court case where he plead guilty in 2008 was
    based on that indictment. It's all badly formatted PDFs at best so I'm
    not going to spend time trying to find out exactly what charges
    survived to that point! but it's listed as "procuring a child for
    prostitution and soliciting a prostitute."

    AFAIK the never finished 2019 investigation also involved allegations
    about girls much younger than "merely" 17 and Ghislaine Maxwell's
    conviction appears to involv among other things a 14 year old girl
    which I assume was also part of the case against Epstein.

    So not a direct conviction there but likely only because he was dead
    by that point.

    So, yeah, "everyone" using the P term for Epstein and I think there's
    enough evidence for this to be warranted. The major quibble from
    people in the reports tends to be about WHEN there was enough
    evidence, not if there was.
    --- Synchronet 3.21b-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From John Ames@commodorejohn@gmail.com to alt.usage.english,rec.arts.books,rec.arts.sf.written,rec.arts.sf.misc on Wed Feb 25 10:55:33 2026
    From Newsgroup: alt.usage.english

    On Mon, 23 Feb 2026 00:05:46 -0000 (UTC)
    Lawrence DrCOOliveiro <ldo@nz.invalid> wrote:
    But then, this just shows how Burroughs was a cut above a lot of his contemporaries ...
    Funnily enough that's how Burroughs got into the game to begin with; he
    read some of the slop that the pulps were printing and figured "hell,
    if *this* can get printed, I can do better..." A classic example of how
    much difference just *giving a damn* can make.
    --- Synchronet 3.21b-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From Paul S Person@psperson@old.netcom.invalid to alt.usage.english,rec.arts.books,rec.arts.sf.written,rec.arts.sf.misc on Wed Feb 25 13:58:01 2026
    From Newsgroup: alt.usage.english

    On Wed, 25 Feb 2026 03:21:59 -0000 (UTC), Lawrence D|Oliveiro
    <ldo@nz.invalid> wrote:
    On Tue, 24 Feb 2026 08:57:11 +0100, Anders D. Nygaard wrote:

    I guess this kind of misinterpretation (or over-) is common: The
    island Krakatoa which exploded about one and a half century ago was
    apparently named thus when westerners asking the locals what the
    name was, and got the answer "I don't know". In the local tongue
    something like "kaga tau"

    That kind of explanation is only plausible in areas taken over by
    colonists unfamiliar with the language and culture of prior
    inhabitants.

    Since those inhabitants from before colonial times are still very much
    in charge on that island, as in the rest of Indonesia, they would know
    what name to use.
    Then again, there is the probable legend that, as the USA expanded
    West, the explorers asked each tribe in turn what the next tribe was
    called. The tribes mostly used something like "The People" for
    themselves, and something like "Those Sh*tHeads" for the others.
    I say legend because I believe a lot of names so obtained are still in
    use, and they would surely have been long-since changed if they were
    really insults from some other tribe.
    --
    "Here lies the Tuscan poet Aretino,
    Who evil spoke of everyone but God,
    Giving as his excuse, 'I never knew him.'"
    --- Synchronet 3.21b-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From Paul S Person@psperson@old.netcom.invalid to alt.usage.english,rec.arts.books,rec.arts.sf.written,rec.arts.sf.misc on Wed Feb 25 14:03:22 2026
    From Newsgroup: alt.usage.english

    On Tue, 24 Feb 2026 16:57:52 -0500, Cryptoengineer
    <petertrei@gmail.com> wrote:
    On 2/24/2026 4:45 PM, Anders D. Nygaard wrote:
    On 2/24/2026 9:24 PM, lar3ryca wrote:

    I went into a book store and asked the girl,
    "Do you have the Prince Harry book, the one you can put on your phone?"
    She said, "Do you mean the PDF file?"
    "No" I said, "that's his uncle."

    Usually, your .sig gives rise to a chuckle or two; sometimes after
    I've turned it around in my mind for a while.
    But this one ... I just don't get it.

    A hint for the humour-challenged, please?

    /Anders, Denmark

    In English, 'PDF File' sounds fairly close
    to 'Pedophile'
    Apparently, "PDF" has some pronounciation other than the three
    letters. One that sounds a lot like "pedo".
    But not here.
    --
    "Here lies the Tuscan poet Aretino,
    Who evil spoke of everyone but God,
    Giving as his excuse, 'I never knew him.'"
    --- Synchronet 3.21b-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From Lynn McGuire@lynnmcguire5@gmail.com to alt.usage.english,rec.arts.books,rec.arts.sf.written,rec.arts.sf.misc on Wed Feb 25 16:32:17 2026
    From Newsgroup: alt.usage.english

    On 2/25/2026 12:55 PM, John Ames wrote:
    On Mon, 23 Feb 2026 00:05:46 -0000 (UTC)
    Lawrence DrCOOliveiro <ldo@nz.invalid> wrote:

    But then, this just shows how Burroughs was a cut above a lot of his
    contemporaries ...

    Funnily enough that's how Burroughs got into the game to begin with; he
    read some of the slop that the pulps were printing and figured "hell,
    if *this* can get printed, I can do better..." A classic example of how
    much difference just *giving a damn* can make.

    In the 1970s, you could buy most of Burrough's Tarzan, Pellucidar, and
    Mars books in B. Daltons. I bought and read them all. Pure pulp and I
    loved them all.

    Lynn

    --- Synchronet 3.21b-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From ted@loft.tnolan.com (Ted Nolan@tednolan to alt.usage.english,rec.arts.books,rec.arts.sf.written,rec.arts.sf.misc on Wed Feb 25 22:39:01 2026
    From Newsgroup: alt.usage.english

    In article <10nnt9i$15onp$1@dont-email.me>,
    Lynn McGuire <lynnmcguire5@gmail.com> wrote:
    On 2/25/2026 12:55 PM, John Ames wrote:
    On Mon, 23 Feb 2026 00:05:46 -0000 (UTC)
    Lawrence DrCOOliveiro <ldo@nz.invalid> wrote:

    But then, this just shows how Burroughs was a cut above a lot of his
    contemporaries ...

    Funnily enough that's how Burroughs got into the game to begin with; he
    read some of the slop that the pulps were printing and figured "hell,
    if *this* can get printed, I can do better..." A classic example of how
    much difference just *giving a damn* can make.

    In the 1970s, you could buy most of Burrough's Tarzan, Pellucidar, and
    Mars books in B. Daltons. I bought and read them all. Pure pulp and I >loved them all.

    Lynn


    They are mostly available on Gutenberg now. I know that doesn't help Lynn
    as they are not well printed & bound there :-), but anyone else who is
    curious can look them up.
    --
    columbiaclosings.com
    What's not in Columbia anymore..
    --- Synchronet 3.21b-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From Lawrence =?iso-8859-13?q?D=FFOliveiro?=@ldo@nz.invalid to alt.usage.english,rec.arts.books,rec.arts.sf.written,rec.arts.sf.misc on Wed Feb 25 22:39:37 2026
    From Newsgroup: alt.usage.english

    On Wed, 25 Feb 2026 16:32:17 -0600, Lynn McGuire wrote:

    In the 1970s, you could buy most of Burrough's Tarzan, Pellucidar,
    and Mars books in B. Daltons. I bought and read them all. Pure pulp
    and I loved them all.

    rCLTarzanrCY remains his most famous creation (among the plebeian
    mainstream, anyway ;)). But his rCLMarsrCY series was the first.
    --- Synchronet 3.21b-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From Bobbie Sellers@bliss-sf4ever@dslextreme.com to alt.usage.english,rec.arts.books,rec.arts.sf.written,rec.arts.sf.misc on Wed Feb 25 17:22:19 2026
    From Newsgroup: alt.usage.english



    On 2/25/26 14:32, Lynn McGuire wrote:
    On 2/25/2026 12:55 PM, John Ames wrote:
    On Mon, 23 Feb 2026 00:05:46 -0000 (UTC)
    Lawrence DrCOOliveiro <ldo@nz.invalid> wrote:

    But then, this just shows how Burroughs was a cut above a lot of his
    contemporaries ...

    Funnily enough that's how Burroughs got into the game to begin with; he
    read some of the slop that the pulps were printing and figured "hell,
    if *this* can get printed, I can do better..." A classic example of how
    much difference just *giving a damn* can make.

    In the 1970s, you could buy most of Burrough's Tarzan, Pellucidar, and
    Mars books in B. Daltons.-a I bought and read them all.-a Pure pulp and I loved them all.

    Lynn


    I read those much earlier from public libraries.
    Are your sure that we are not talking about the Burroughs of "Naked Lunch",
    "Nova", "Junkie" and other prefigurations of modern horror.

    bliss
    --- Synchronet 3.21b-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From Lynn McGuire@lynnmcguire5@gmail.com to alt.usage.english,rec.arts.books,rec.arts.sf.written,rec.arts.sf.misc on Wed Feb 25 19:45:42 2026
    From Newsgroup: alt.usage.english

    On 2/25/2026 7:22 PM, Bobbie Sellers wrote:


    On 2/25/26 14:32, Lynn McGuire wrote:
    On 2/25/2026 12:55 PM, John Ames wrote:
    On Mon, 23 Feb 2026 00:05:46 -0000 (UTC)
    Lawrence DrCOOliveiro <ldo@nz.invalid> wrote:

    But then, this just shows how Burroughs was a cut above a lot of his
    contemporaries ...

    Funnily enough that's how Burroughs got into the game to begin with; he
    read some of the slop that the pulps were printing and figured "hell,
    if *this* can get printed, I can do better..." A classic example of how
    much difference just *giving a damn* can make.

    In the 1970s, you could buy most of Burrough's Tarzan, Pellucidar, and
    Mars books in B. Daltons.-a I bought and read them all.-a Pure pulp and
    I loved them all.

    Lynn


    -a-a-a-aI read those much earlier from public libraries.
    -a-a-a-aAre your sure that we are not talking about the Burroughs of "Naked Lunch",
    "Nova", "Junkie" and other prefigurations of modern horror.

    -a-a-a-abliss

    I bought "Tarzan of the Apes" by Edgar Rice Burroughs published by
    Ballantine Books in 1972 for 95 cents:
    https://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/pl.cgi?342428

    Here is the cover:
    https://www.isfdb.org/wiki/images/4/46/TRZNFTHPSQ1972.jpg

    I lost all of my 50 ? 60 ? 70 ? ERB books in The Great Flood of 1989.

    Lynn

    --- Synchronet 3.21b-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From Steve Hayes@hayesstw@telkomsa.net to alt.usage.english,rec.arts.books,rec.arts.sf.written,rec.arts.sf.misc on Thu Feb 26 04:07:28 2026
    From Newsgroup: alt.usage.english

    On Wed, 25 Feb 2026 13:58:01 -0800, Paul S Person
    <psperson@old.netcom.invalid> wrote:

    Then again, there is the probable legend that, as the USA expanded
    West, the explorers asked each tribe in turn what the next tribe was
    called. The tribes mostly used something like "The People" for
    themselves, and something like "Those Sh*tHeads" for the others.

    There is a story I heard, attributed to John Blacking, erstwhile
    professor of Anthropology at Wits University, to the effect that an
    early European tourist in what is now Namibia asked some local people
    about who a couple of darker-skinned people passing by were. They
    replied "Damara", which, in their language, meant "two black people".

    That word then got applied to the people now known as Herero.

    There were other dark-skinned people who spoke a different language,
    whom the travellers' interloqutors called "the shit Damara" (or as one contemporary book put it, "the night-soil Damara"). Those people are
    known as "Damara" nowadays.
    --
    Steve Hayes from Tshwane, South Africa
    Web: http://www.khanya.org.za/stevesig.htm
    Blog: http://khanya.wordpress.com
    E-mail - see web page, or parse: shayes at dunelm full stop org full stop uk --- Synchronet 3.21b-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From Bobbie Sellers@bliss-sf4ever@dslextreme.com to alt.usage.english,rec.arts.books,rec.arts.sf.written,rec.arts.sf.misc on Wed Feb 25 18:11:17 2026
    From Newsgroup: alt.usage.english



    On 2/25/26 17:45, Lynn McGuire wrote:
    On 2/25/2026 7:22 PM, Bobbie Sellers wrote:


    On 2/25/26 14:32, Lynn McGuire wrote:
    On 2/25/2026 12:55 PM, John Ames wrote:
    On Mon, 23 Feb 2026 00:05:46 -0000 (UTC)
    Lawrence DrCOOliveiro <ldo@nz.invalid> wrote:

    But then, this just shows how Burroughs was a cut above a lot of his >>>>> contemporaries ...

    Funnily enough that's how Burroughs got into the game to begin with; he >>>> read some of the slop that the pulps were printing and figured "hell,
    if *this* can get printed, I can do better..." A classic example of how >>>> much difference just *giving a damn* can make.

    In the 1970s, you could buy most of Burrough's Tarzan, Pellucidar,
    and Mars books in B. Daltons.-a I bought and read them all.-a Pure pulp >>> and I loved them all.

    Lynn


    -a-a-a-a-aI read those much earlier from public libraries.
    -a-a-a-a-aAre your sure that we are not talking about the Burroughs of
    "Naked Lunch",
    "Nova", "Junkie" and other prefigurations of modern horror.

    -a-a-a-a-abliss

    I bought "Tarzan of the Apes" by Edgar Rice Burroughs published by Ballantine Books in 1972 for 95 cents:
    -a-a https://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/pl.cgi?342428

    Here is the cover:
    -a-a https://www.isfdb.org/wiki/images/4/46/TRZNFTHPSQ1972.jpg

    I lost all of my 50 ? 60 ? 70 ? ERB books in The Great Flood of 1989.

    Lynn


    I refer to a different but related Burroughs
    "Naked Lunch" by William Seward. Burroughs.
    Edgar Rice was before pulps but William Seward
    was of an age to be reading pulps.
    Edgar Rice may have been reading "Penny Dreadfuls".

    Tarzan
    Novel series by Edgar Rice Burroughs
    tarzan.com
    Tarzan is a series of 24 adventure novels written by Edgar Rice Burroughs and published between 1912 and 1966, followed by several novels either co-written by Burroughs, or officially authorized by his estate. There are also two works written by Burroughs especially for children that are not considered part of the main series Continued in Wikipedia



    https://en.wikipedia.org rC| wiki rC| William_S._Burroughs> Wikipedia

    https://en.wikipedia.org rC| wiki rC| William_S._Burroughs
    William S. Burroughs - Wikipedia
    Excerpts from Naked Lunch were first published in the United States in 1958. The novel was initially rejected by City Lights Books, the publisher of Ginsberg's Howl, and Olympia Press publisher Maurice Girodias, who had published English-language novels in France that were controversial for their subjective views of sex and antisocial characters.
    Well if Burroughs William had read pulps his work is far above that.
    He killed his wife playing William Tell. His books reflect a paronoic
    outlook
    with lots of homosexual overtones. aside from "Junkie" and "Queer". He was
    a drug user but avoided psychedelics which was likely a good idea.

    bliss
    --- Synchronet 3.21b-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From Cryptoengineer@petertrei@gmail.com to alt.usage.english,rec.arts.books,rec.arts.sf.written,rec.arts.sf.misc on Wed Feb 25 22:03:44 2026
    From Newsgroup: alt.usage.english

    On 2/25/2026 5:58 AM, Anders D. Nygaard wrote:
    On 2/24/2026 10:57 PM, Cryptoengineer wrote:
    On 2/24/2026 4:45 PM, Anders D. Nygaard wrote:
    On 2/24/2026 9:24 PM, lar3ryca wrote:

    I went into a book store and asked the girl,
    "Do you have the Prince Harry book, the one you can put on your phone?" >>>> She said, "Do you mean the PDF file?"
    "No" I said, "that's his uncle."

    Usually, your .sig gives rise to a chuckle or two; sometimes after
    I've turned it around in my mind for a while.
    But this one ... I just don't get it.

    A hint for the humour-challenged, please?

    In English, 'PDF File' sounds fairly close
    to 'Pedophile'

    Fsvo "fairly close", I suppose - thank you.

    But I see now why I had difficulties in getting it:
    As I understand it, Ms. Giuffre was 17 at the time in question,
    which in MyE is not sufficiently low to qualify.
    Have I missed other cases, or are norms merely different elsewhere?

    /Anders, Denmark

    Norms vary, even within the US, where Age of Consent
    can be 16, 17, or 18, depending on state. Some states
    have 'Romeo and Juliet Laws', making sex legal as
    young as 13, if the partners are close in age (typically
    less than two years).

    Wikipedia tells me the AoC in Denmark is 15 for the
    younger partner when the older is not in a position
    of authority over the younger, 18 otherwise.

    pt
    --- Synchronet 3.21b-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From Cryptoengineer@petertrei@gmail.com to alt.usage.english,rec.arts.books,rec.arts.sf.written,rec.arts.sf.misc on Wed Feb 25 22:12:23 2026
    From Newsgroup: alt.usage.english

    On 2/24/2026 10:30 PM, Lawrence DrCOOliveiro wrote:
    On Tue, 24 Feb 2026 11:43:20 -0500, Cryptoengineer wrote:

    On 2/23/2026 9:05 PM, Lawrence DrCOOliveiro wrote:

    I remember a doco where Joanna Lumley started a journey from the
    Nile delta, and went all the way up to what was supposed to be the
    rCLsourcerCY, which was an nondescript trickle of a little brook
    somewhere in Sudan, I think it was.

    Obviously what they meant by rCLsourcerCY was rCLhighest upstream point
    where at least *some* of the water comes fromrCY. Because if they
    mean to ask rCLwhere does the water come from?rCY, then the correct
    answer is rCLall the tributaries and streams that feed into it along
    its lengthrCY.

    'Source' is pretty ambiguous for most rivers.

    1. Highest altitude stream that feeds into it? Permanent? Seasonal?
    2. Furthest from the mouth? Missouri River needs to be renamed then.
    3. Some are obvious, such as where a river runs from a large lake.

    Also (I guess restating point 2):

    4. What happens if the river is fed from another river with a
    different name?

    For consider: the rCLNilerCY river, under that name, ends (begins?) at Khartoum. Upstream from that, you have no rCLNilerCY as such, only the rCLWhite NilerCY and the rCLBlue NilerCY. (You can see the difference in the colours of the water where they join -- the separation continues quite
    some distance downstream from that.)

    As I remember, the rCLBlue NilerCY comes from somewhere in Ethiopia, where there are some tall cliffs that turn into a line of truly magnificent waterfalls in the rainy season; these are what feed the annual floods
    that the ancient Egyptians depended on so crucially for their
    agrarian-based society to survive in a desert.

    Whereas the rCLWhite NilerCY is the source of water that has never dried
    up in human history, so it has kept the Nile flowing no matter what.

    LumleyrCOs journey seemed to consider the rCLWhite NilerCY as the continuation of the rCLNilerCY, for the purposes of determining the
    source. This seems to me pretty arbitrary.

    Defining 'the source' of the Nile is similarly difficult, since
    variously named rivers descend through a series of lakes from
    Lake Victoria before the stream takes the name 'Nile'. Victoria
    has long tributary, the Kagera, which extends nearly 400 miles
    further.

    pt
    --- Synchronet 3.21b-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From ted@loft.tnolan.com (Ted Nolan@tednolan to alt.usage.english,rec.arts.books,rec.arts.sf.written,rec.arts.sf.misc on Thu Feb 26 03:22:55 2026
    From Newsgroup: alt.usage.english

    In article <10nod6g$1a8js$1@dont-email.me>,
    Cryptoengineer <petertrei@gmail.com> wrote:
    On 2/25/2026 5:58 AM, Anders D. Nygaard wrote:
    On 2/24/2026 10:57 PM, Cryptoengineer wrote:
    On 2/24/2026 4:45 PM, Anders D. Nygaard wrote:
    On 2/24/2026 9:24 PM, lar3ryca wrote:

    I went into a book store and asked the girl,
    "Do you have the Prince Harry book, the one you can put on your phone?" >>>>> She said, "Do you mean the PDF file?"
    "No" I said, "that's his uncle."

    Usually, your .sig gives rise to a chuckle or two; sometimes after
    I've turned it around in my mind for a while.
    But this one ... I just don't get it.

    A hint for the humour-challenged, please?

    In English, 'PDF File' sounds fairly close
    to 'Pedophile'

    Fsvo "fairly close", I suppose - thank you.

    But I see now why I had difficulties in getting it:
    As I understand it, Ms. Giuffre was 17 at the time in question,
    which in MyE is not sufficiently low to qualify.
    Have I missed other cases, or are norms merely different elsewhere?

    /Anders, Denmark

    Norms vary, even within the US, where Age of Consent
    can be 16, 17, or 18, depending on state. Some states
    have 'Romeo and Juliet Laws', making sex legal as
    young as 13, if the partners are close in age (typically
    less than two years).


    Also known as "shotgun wedding" laws...
    --
    columbiaclosings.com
    What's not in Columbia anymore..
    --- Synchronet 3.21b-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From lar3ryca@larry@invalid.ca to alt.usage.english,rec.arts.books,rec.arts.sf.written,rec.arts.sf.misc on Wed Feb 25 22:09:22 2026
    From Newsgroup: alt.usage.english

    On 2026-02-25 21:22, Ted Nolan <tednolan> wrote:
    In article <10nod6g$1a8js$1@dont-email.me>,
    Cryptoengineer <petertrei@gmail.com> wrote:
    On 2/25/2026 5:58 AM, Anders D. Nygaard wrote:
    On 2/24/2026 10:57 PM, Cryptoengineer wrote:
    On 2/24/2026 4:45 PM, Anders D. Nygaard wrote:
    On 2/24/2026 9:24 PM, lar3ryca wrote:

    I went into a book store and asked the girl,
    "Do you have the Prince Harry book, the one you can put on your phone?" >>>>>> She said, "Do you mean the PDF file?"
    "No" I said, "that's his uncle."

    Usually, your .sig gives rise to a chuckle or two; sometimes after
    I've turned it around in my mind for a while.
    But this one ... I just don't get it.

    A hint for the humour-challenged, please?

    In English, 'PDF File' sounds fairly close
    to 'Pedophile'

    Fsvo "fairly close", I suppose - thank you.

    But I see now why I had difficulties in getting it:
    As I understand it, Ms. Giuffre was 17 at the time in question,
    which in MyE is not sufficiently low to qualify.
    Have I missed other cases, or are norms merely different elsewhere?

    /Anders, Denmark

    Norms vary, even within the US, where Age of Consent
    can be 16, 17, or 18, depending on state. Some states
    have 'Romeo and Juliet Laws', making sex legal as
    young as 13, if the partners are close in age (typically
    less than two years).


    Also known as "shotgun wedding" laws...

    A few of my friends were talking, and one had recently married. His wife
    was quite obviously farther along in her pregnancy than their marriage
    date. One of the others said, "You aren't legally married you know. Her
    father doesn't have a license for his shotgun."
    --
    Knowledge is knowing a tomato is a fruit.
    Wisdom is knowing not to put it in a fruit salad.
    --- Synchronet 3.21b-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From lar3ryca@larry@invalid.ca to alt.usage.english,rec.arts.books,rec.arts.sf.written,rec.arts.sf.misc on Wed Feb 25 22:11:55 2026
    From Newsgroup: alt.usage.english

    On 2026-02-25 16:03, Paul S Person wrote:
    On Tue, 24 Feb 2026 16:57:52 -0500, Cryptoengineer
    <petertrei@gmail.com> wrote:

    On 2/24/2026 4:45 PM, Anders D. Nygaard wrote:
    On 2/24/2026 9:24 PM, lar3ryca wrote:

    I went into a book store and asked the girl,
    "Do you have the Prince Harry book, the one you can put on your phone?" >>>> She said, "Do you mean the PDF file?"
    "No" I said, "that's his uncle."

    Usually, your .sig gives rise to a chuckle or two; sometimes after
    I've turned it around in my mind for a while.
    But this one ... I just don't get it.

    A hint for the humour-challenged, please?

    /Anders, Denmark

    In English, 'PDF File' sounds fairly close
    to 'Pedophile'

    Apparently, "PDF" has some pronounciation other than the three
    letters. One that sounds a lot like "pedo".

    But not here.

    It's a joke, son. It only has to be close enough.
    --
    I never made a mistake in my life. I thought I did once, but I was wrong.
    --- Synchronet 3.21b-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From athel.cb@gmail.com@user12588@newsgrouper.org.invalid to alt.usage.english,rec.arts.books,rec.arts.sf.written,rec.arts.sf.misc on Thu Feb 26 09:29:35 2026
    From Newsgroup: alt.usage.english


    Steve Hayes <hayesstw@telkomsa.net> posted:

    On Tue, 24 Feb 2026 11:43:20 -0500, Cryptoengineer
    <petertrei@gmail.com> wrote:

    On 2/23/2026 9:05 PM, Lawrence DrCOOliveiro wrote:
    On Sun, 22 Feb 2026 11:05:28 -0500 (EST), Scott Dorsey wrote:

    But where is the source of the Nile?

    I remember a doco where Joanna Lumley started a journey from the Nile
    delta, and went all the way up to what was supposed to be the
    rCLsourcerCY, which was an nondescript trickle of a little brook somewhere >> in Sudan, I think it was.

    Obviously what they meant by rCLsourcerCY was rCLhighest upstream point
    where at least *some* of the water comes fromrCY. Because if they mean
    to ask rCLwhere does the water come from?rCY, then the correct answer is >> rCLall the tributaries and streams that feed into it along its lengthrCY.

    'Source' is pretty ambiguous for most rivers.

    1. Highest altitude stream that feeds into it? Permanent? Seasonal?
    2. Furthest from the mouth? Missouri River needs to be renamed then.

    3. Some are obvious, such as where a river runs from a large lake.

    2. is most important for those who want to make lists of the world's
    longest rivers, highest mountains, etc.

    The main contenders were the Amazon, the Nile, and the
    Mississippi/Missouri. I believe the Amazon won at the last count,
    because a branch of its delta made it a bit longer than the Nile.

    When my wife and I visited England some years ago we made a point of
    visiting Wastwater in Cumbria, because my wife's grandmother had
    always told her that it had the highest mountain, the deepest lake,
    the smallest church, and the biggest liar (but he's dead).

    Not as dead as one might hope. He's still in the White House spewing out lies.

    Pics here: <https://ondermynende.wordpress.com/2015/05/10/uk-trip-10-may-2005-whitehaven-to-girvan/>





    --
    athel

    Living in Marseilles for 38 years; mainly in England before that
    --- Synchronet 3.21b-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From Paul S Person@psperson@old.netcom.invalid to alt.usage.english,rec.arts.books,rec.arts.sf.written,rec.arts.sf.misc on Thu Feb 26 08:01:12 2026
    From Newsgroup: alt.usage.english

    On 26 Feb 2026 03:22:55 GMT, ted@loft.tnolan.com (Ted Nolan
    <tednolan>) wrote:
    In article <10nod6g$1a8js$1@dont-email.me>,
    Cryptoengineer <petertrei@gmail.com> wrote:
    <snippo, topic is age of consent>
    Norms vary, even within the US, where Age of Consent
    can be 16, 17, or 18, depending on state. Some states
    have 'Romeo and Juliet Laws', making sex legal as
    young as 13, if the partners are close in age (typically
    less than two years).


    Also known as "shotgun wedding" laws...
    IIRC, the "R&J laws" were passed to prevent the application of
    Statutory Rape laws to those cases.
    --
    "Here lies the Tuscan poet Aretino,
    Who evil spoke of everyone but God,
    Giving as his excuse, 'I never knew him.'"
    --- Synchronet 3.21b-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From Paul S Person@psperson@old.netcom.invalid to alt.usage.english,rec.arts.books,rec.arts.sf.written,rec.arts.sf.misc on Thu Feb 26 08:02:22 2026
    From Newsgroup: alt.usage.english

    On Wed, 25 Feb 2026 22:11:55 -0600, lar3ryca <larry@invalid.ca> wrote:
    On 2026-02-25 16:03, Paul S Person wrote:
    On Tue, 24 Feb 2026 16:57:52 -0500, Cryptoengineer
    <petertrei@gmail.com> wrote:

    On 2/24/2026 4:45 PM, Anders D. Nygaard wrote:
    On 2/24/2026 9:24 PM, lar3ryca wrote:

    I went into a book store and asked the girl,
    "Do you have the Prince Harry book, the one you can put on your phone?" >>>>> She said, "Do you mean the PDF file?"
    "No" I said, "that's his uncle."

    Usually, your .sig gives rise to a chuckle or two; sometimes after
    I've turned it around in my mind for a while.
    But this one ... I just don't get it.

    A hint for the humour-challenged, please?

    /Anders, Denmark

    In English, 'PDF File' sounds fairly close
    to 'Pedophile'

    Apparently, "PDF" has some pronounciation other than the three
    letters. One that sounds a lot like "pedo".

    But not here.

    It's a joke, son. It only has to be close enough.
    My point is that, for me, it is nowhere near close enough.
    Maybe if it involved a bicycle and its pedals ...
    --
    "Here lies the Tuscan poet Aretino,
    Who evil spoke of everyone but God,
    Giving as his excuse, 'I never knew him.'"
    --- Synchronet 3.21b-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From Paul S Person@psperson@old.netcom.invalid to alt.usage.english,rec.arts.books,rec.arts.sf.written,rec.arts.sf.misc on Thu Feb 26 08:07:47 2026
    From Newsgroup: alt.usage.english

    On Thu, 26 Feb 2026 09:29:35 GMT, athel.cb@gmail.com <user12588@newsgrouper.org.invalid> wrote:

    Steve Hayes <hayesstw@telkomsa.net> posted:

    On Tue, 24 Feb 2026 11:43:20 -0500, Cryptoengineer
    <petertrei@gmail.com> wrote:

    On 2/23/2026 9:05 PM, Lawrence DAOliveiro wrote:
    On Sun, 22 Feb 2026 11:05:28 -0500 (EST), Scott Dorsey wrote:

    But where is the source of the Nile?

    I remember a doco where Joanna Lumley started a journey from the Nile
    delta, and went all the way up to what was supposed to be the
    osourceo, which was an nondescript trickle of a little brook somewhere
    in Sudan, I think it was.

    Obviously what they meant by osourceo was ohighest upstream point
    where at least *some* of the water comes fromo. Because if they mean
    to ask owhere does the water come from?o, then the correct answer is
    oall the tributaries and streams that feed into it along its lengtho.

    'Source' is pretty ambiguous for most rivers.

    1. Highest altitude stream that feeds into it? Permanent? Seasonal?
    2. Furthest from the mouth? Missouri River needs to be renamed then.

    3. Some are obvious, such as where a river runs from a large lake.

    2. is most important for those who want to make lists of the world's
    longest rivers, highest mountains, etc.

    The main contenders were the Amazon, the Nile, and the
    Mississippi/Missouri. I believe the Amazon won at the last count,
    because a branch of its delta made it a bit longer than the Nile.

    When my wife and I visited England some years ago we made a point of
    visiting Wastwater in Cumbria, because my wife's grandmother had
    always told her that it had the highest mountain, the deepest lake,
    the smallest church, and the biggest liar (but he's dead).

    Not as dead as one might hope. He's still in the White House spewing out lies. Actually, the Secretary for Homeland Insecurity appears to be spewing
    out lies a lot more regularly.
    Of course, they are always the /same/ lie: "<whoever> is a violent
    convicted felon". More recently, "<whoever> is part of a left-wing
    conspiracy to expose what the ICE and friends are really doing"
    appears to be added to the mix.
    But we should not forget the anti-gun nuts on the left who, more
    obviously perhaps in the past, used every single mass murder to push
    for their favorite solution, whether it would have prevented the event
    or not.
    As I have said, there are wing-nuts on both sides. The only new thing
    here is that some of the wing-nuts are indeed running the country.
    --
    "Here lies the Tuscan poet Aretino,
    Who evil spoke of everyone but God,
    Giving as his excuse, 'I never knew him.'"
    --- Synchronet 3.21b-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From Paul S Person@psperson@old.netcom.invalid to alt.usage.english,rec.arts.books,rec.arts.sf.written,rec.arts.sf.misc on Thu Feb 26 08:11:36 2026
    From Newsgroup: alt.usage.english

    On Wed, 25 Feb 2026 17:22:19 -0800, Bobbie Sellers <bliss-sf4ever@dslextreme.com> wrote:


    On 2/25/26 14:32, Lynn McGuire wrote:
    On 2/25/2026 12:55 PM, John Ames wrote:
    On Mon, 23 Feb 2026 00:05:46 -0000 (UTC)
    Lawrence DAOliveiro <ldo@nz.invalid> wrote:

    But then, this just shows how Burroughs was a cut above a lot of his
    contemporaries ...

    Funnily enough that's how Burroughs got into the game to begin with; he
    read some of the slop that the pulps were printing and figured "hell,
    if *this* can get printed, I can do better..." A classic example of how
    much difference just *giving a damn* can make.

    In the 1970s, you could buy most of Burrough's Tarzan, Pellucidar, and
    Mars books in B. Daltons.a I bought and read them all.a Pure pulp and I
    loved them all.

    Lynn


    I read those much earlier from public libraries.
    Are your sure that we are not talking about the Burroughs of "Naked Lunch",
    "Nova", "Junkie" and other prefigurations of modern horror.
    The DVD for Cronenberg's film of /Naked Lunch/ has a contemporary-with-the-film's-release interview with Burroughs doing a
    fine spaced-out druggee act and Cronenberg visibly trying to stay as
    far away from him (while remaining in frame) as possible.
    I don't know about the book (never having read it) but the /film/
    appears to be more about how the book was written (and the death of
    Burrough's wife) than anything else.
    This is the Cronenberg film with the /really/ big bugs, BTW.
    --
    "Here lies the Tuscan poet Aretino,
    Who evil spoke of everyone but God,
    Giving as his excuse, 'I never knew him.'"
    --- Synchronet 3.21b-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From William Hyde@wthyde1953@gmail.com to alt.usage.english,rec.arts.books,rec.arts.sf.written,rec.arts.sf.misc on Thu Feb 26 11:20:16 2026
    From Newsgroup: alt.usage.english

    Lynn McGuire wrote:
    On 2/25/2026 7:22 PM, Bobbie Sellers wrote:


    On 2/25/26 14:32, Lynn McGuire wrote:
    On 2/25/2026 12:55 PM, John Ames wrote:
    On Mon, 23 Feb 2026 00:05:46 -0000 (UTC)
    Lawrence DrCOOliveiro <ldo@nz.invalid> wrote:

    But then, this just shows how Burroughs was a cut above a lot of his >>>>> contemporaries ...

    Funnily enough that's how Burroughs got into the game to begin with; he >>>> read some of the slop that the pulps were printing and figured "hell,
    if *this* can get printed, I can do better..." A classic example of how >>>> much difference just *giving a damn* can make.

    In the 1970s, you could buy most of Burrough's Tarzan, Pellucidar,
    and Mars books in B. Daltons.-a I bought and read them all.-a Pure pulp >>> and I loved them all.

    Lynn


    -a-a-a-a-aI read those much earlier from public libraries.
    -a-a-a-a-aAre your sure that we are not talking about the Burroughs of
    "Naked Lunch",
    "Nova", "Junkie" and other prefigurations of modern horror.

    -a-a-a-a-abliss

    I bought "Tarzan of the Apes" by Edgar Rice Burroughs published by Ballantine Books in 1972 for 95 cents:
    -a-a https://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/pl.cgi?342428

    Here is the cover:
    -a-a https://www.isfdb.org/wiki/images/4/46/TRZNFTHPSQ1972.jpg

    I lost all of my 50 ? 60 ? 70 ? ERB books in The Great Flood of 1989.

    I bought the Tarzan books when I was nine or ten years old, read them
    over and over, along with a book or two from his other series.

    Regrettably, I decided at age 12 that these were too "childish" and gave
    them away. The only ERB I have left is his "Beyond the Farthest Star", mentioned in an earlier thread.

    William Hyde


    --- Synchronet 3.21b-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From William Hyde@wthyde1953@gmail.com to alt.usage.english,rec.arts.books,rec.arts.sf.written,rec.arts.sf.misc on Thu Feb 26 11:40:35 2026
    From Newsgroup: alt.usage.english

    Bobbie Sellers wrote:


    On 2/25/26 17:45, Lynn McGuire wrote:
    On 2/25/2026 7:22 PM, Bobbie Sellers wrote:


    On 2/25/26 14:32, Lynn McGuire wrote:
    On 2/25/2026 12:55 PM, John Ames wrote:
    On Mon, 23 Feb 2026 00:05:46 -0000 (UTC)
    Lawrence DrCOOliveiro <ldo@nz.invalid> wrote:

    But then, this just shows how Burroughs was a cut above a lot of his >>>>>> contemporaries ...

    Funnily enough that's how Burroughs got into the game to begin
    with; he
    read some of the slop that the pulps were printing and figured "hell, >>>>> if *this* can get printed, I can do better..." A classic example of >>>>> how
    much difference just *giving a damn* can make.

    In the 1970s, you could buy most of Burrough's Tarzan, Pellucidar,
    and Mars books in B. Daltons.-a I bought and read them all.-a Pure
    pulp and I loved them all.

    Lynn


    -a-a-a-a-aI read those much earlier from public libraries.
    -a-a-a-a-aAre your sure that we are not talking about the Burroughs of
    "Naked Lunch",
    "Nova", "Junkie" and other prefigurations of modern horror.

    -a-a-a-a-abliss

    I bought "Tarzan of the Apes" by Edgar Rice Burroughs published by
    Ballantine Books in 1972 for 95 cents:
    -a-a-a https://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/pl.cgi?342428

    Here is the cover:
    -a-a-a https://www.isfdb.org/wiki/images/4/46/TRZNFTHPSQ1972.jpg

    I lost all of my 50 ? 60 ? 70 ? ERB books in The Great Flood of 1989.

    Lynn


    -a-a-a-aI refer to a different but related Burroughs
    -a-a-a-a"Naked Lunch" by William Seward. Burroughs.
    -a-a-a-aEdgar Rice was before pulps but William Seward
    was of an age to be reading pulps.
    -a-a-a-aEdgar Rice may have been reading "Penny Dreadfuls".

    Burroughs published a great deal in "Argosy" which became a pulp before
    1900. But it may not have felt like pulp writing to a later generation,
    as they paid him 2.5 cents per word - a pay rate for magazine fiction
    that has not since been equaled (after inflation, of course). Rex Stout,
    in pre-Wolfe mode, was the only other writer paid that much.

    For contrast, Gernsback in the 20s paid a tenth of that (if he paid at
    all) while even Astounding in it's late 1930s golden age paid a cent,
    while its competitors mostly paid half a cent.

    In one of his books Clarke talks about slogging through background
    material for 2001. William Burroughs was staying at the same hotel.
    They met for a drink, Clarke, as he said "hoping for some inspiration".

    But none of that material was ever used.


    William Hyde


    --- Synchronet 3.21b-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From scott@scott@slp53.sl.home (Scott Lurndal) to alt.usage.english,rec.arts.books,rec.arts.sf.written,rec.arts.sf.misc on Thu Feb 26 16:43:53 2026
    From Newsgroup: alt.usage.english

    William Hyde <wthyde1953@gmail.com> writes:
    Lynn McGuire wrote:
    On 2/25/2026 7:22 PM, Bobbie Sellers wrote:


    On 2/25/26 14:32, Lynn McGuire wrote:
    On 2/25/2026 12:55 PM, John Ames wrote:
    On Mon, 23 Feb 2026 00:05:46 -0000 (UTC)
    Lawrence DrCOOliveiro <ldo@nz.invalid> wrote:

    But then, this just shows how Burroughs was a cut above a lot of his >>>>>> contemporaries ...

    Funnily enough that's how Burroughs got into the game to begin with; he >>>>> read some of the slop that the pulps were printing and figured "hell, >>>>> if *this* can get printed, I can do better..." A classic example of how >>>>> much difference just *giving a damn* can make.

    In the 1970s, you could buy most of Burrough's Tarzan, Pellucidar,
    and Mars books in B. Daltons.-a I bought and read them all.-a Pure pulp >>>> and I loved them all.

    Lynn


    -a-a-a-a-aI read those much earlier from public libraries.
    -a-a-a-a-aAre your sure that we are not talking about the Burroughs of
    "Naked Lunch",
    "Nova", "Junkie" and other prefigurations of modern horror.

    -a-a-a-a-abliss

    I bought "Tarzan of the Apes" by Edgar Rice Burroughs published by
    Ballantine Books in 1972 for 95 cents:
    -a-a https://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/pl.cgi?342428

    Here is the cover:
    -a-a https://www.isfdb.org/wiki/images/4/46/TRZNFTHPSQ1972.jpg

    I lost all of my 50 ? 60 ? 70 ? ERB books in The Great Flood of 1989.

    I bought the Tarzan books when I was nine or ten years old, read them
    over and over, along with a book or two from his other series.

    Regrettably, I decided at age 12 that these were too "childish" and gave >them away. The only ERB I have left is his "Beyond the Farthest Star", >mentioned in an earlier thread.

    I still have a handful. Haven't read them in decades, however.

    $ testa burroughs

    artist title format location
    Burroughs Corporation B7000/B6000 ALGOL Reference Manual Perfect A027 Burroughs, Edgar Rice 10 Llana of Gathol soft A016
    Burroughs, Edgar Rice 11 John Carter of Mars soft A016
    Burroughs, Edgar Rice 6 The Master Mind of Mars soft A016
    Burroughs, Edgar Rice 7 A Fighting Man of Mars soft A016
    Burroughs, Edgar Rice 9 Synthetic Men of Mars soft A016
    Burroughs, Edgar Rice Savage Pellucidar soft A016
    Burroughs, Edgar Rice Science Fiction Classics hard A016

    (final column is box number in storage).
    --- Synchronet 3.21b-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From The True Melissa@thetruemelissa@gmail.com to alt.usage.english,rec.arts.books,rec.arts.sf.written,rec.arts.sf.misc on Thu Feb 26 11:52:08 2026
    From Newsgroup: alt.usage.english

    Verily, in article <n09skfF9a0vU1@mid.individual.net>, did
    ted@loft.tnolan.com deliver unto us this message:

    In article <10nod6g$1a8js$1@dont-email.me>,
    Cryptoengineer <petertrei@gmail.com> wrote:

    Norms vary, even within the US, where Age of Consent
    can be 16, 17, or 18, depending on state. Some states
    have 'Romeo and Juliet Laws', making sex legal as
    young as 13, if the partners are close in age (typically
    less than two years).

    Also known as "shotgun wedding" laws...

    A shotgun wedding generally means that the bride is pregnant, not
    something about either party's age.

    It supposedly comes from a stereotype of an angry father forcing a man
    to make an honest woman of his pregnant daughter, allegedly standing
    there with a shotgun to make sure the groom didn't bolt from the
    ceremony.
    --
    The True Melissa - Canal Winchester - Ohio
    United States of America - North America - Earth
    Solar System - Milky Way - Local Group
    Virgo Cluster - Laniakea Supercluster - Cosmos
    --- Synchronet 3.21b-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From Bobbie Sellers@bliss-sf4ever@dslextreme.com to alt.usage.english,rec.arts.books,rec.arts.sf.written,rec.arts.sf.misc on Thu Feb 26 09:41:52 2026
    From Newsgroup: alt.usage.english



    On 2/26/26 08:11, Paul S Person wrote:
    On Wed, 25 Feb 2026 17:22:19 -0800, Bobbie Sellers <bliss-sf4ever@dslextreme.com> wrote:



    On 2/25/26 14:32, Lynn McGuire wrote:
    On 2/25/2026 12:55 PM, John Ames wrote:
    On Mon, 23 Feb 2026 00:05:46 -0000 (UTC)
    Lawrence DrCOOliveiro <ldo@nz.invalid> wrote:

    But then, this just shows how Burroughs was a cut above a lot of his >>>>> contemporaries ...

    Funnily enough that's how Burroughs got into the game to begin with; he >>>> read some of the slop that the pulps were printing and figured "hell,
    if *this* can get printed, I can do better..." A classic example of how >>>> much difference just *giving a damn* can make.

    In the 1970s, you could buy most of Burrough's Tarzan, Pellucidar, and
    Mars books in B. Daltons.-a I bought and read them all.-a Pure pulp and I >>> loved them all.

    Lynn


    I read those much earlier from public libraries.
    Are your sure that we are not talking about the Burroughs of "Naked Lunch",
    "Nova", "Junkie" and other prefigurations of modern horror.

    The DVD for Cronenberg's film of /Naked Lunch/ has a contemporary-with-the-film's-release interview with Burroughs doing a
    fine spaced-out druggee act and Cronenberg visibly trying to stay as
    far away from him (while remaining in frame) as possible.

    I don't know about the book (never having read it) but the /film/
    appears to be more about how the book was written (and the death of Burrough's wife) than anything else.

    This is the Cronenberg film with the /really/ big bugs, BTW.

    Yes it was pretty good translation of several books into visual metaphors
    the Big bugs talk out of their excretory orifices. Burroughs was an exterminator
    and a junkie so he had a lot of issues. I read several Burroughs books
    in my
    completist phase. I don't care to read them any longer as they represent paranoic homosexual fantasies.

    bliss
    --- Synchronet 3.21b-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From ted@loft.tnolan.com (Ted Nolan@tednolan to alt.usage.english,rec.arts.books,rec.arts.sf.written,rec.arts.sf.misc on Thu Feb 26 17:42:16 2026
    From Newsgroup: alt.usage.english

    In article <MPG.440a4445fcc1cfe0989aeb@news.eternal-september.org>,
    The True Melissa <thetruemelissa@gmail.com> wrote:
    Verily, in article <n09skfF9a0vU1@mid.individual.net>, did >ted@loft.tnolan.com deliver unto us this message:

    In article <10nod6g$1a8js$1@dont-email.me>,
    Cryptoengineer <petertrei@gmail.com> wrote:

    Norms vary, even within the US, where Age of Consent
    can be 16, 17, or 18, depending on state. Some states
    have 'Romeo and Juliet Laws', making sex legal as
    young as 13, if the partners are close in age (typically
    less than two years).

    Also known as "shotgun wedding" laws...

    A shotgun wedding generally means that the bride is pregnant, not
    something about either party's age.

    It supposedly comes from a stereotype of an angry father forcing a man
    to make an honest woman of his pregnant daughter, allegedly standing
    there with a shotgun to make sure the groom didn't bolt from the
    ceremony.


    In general that's why a 13 year old would get married, otherwise the families would just break it up.
    --
    columbiaclosings.com
    What's not in Columbia anymore..
    --- Synchronet 3.21b-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From Kerr-Mudd, John@admin@127.0.0.1 to alt.usage.english,rec.arts.books,rec.arts.sf.written,rec.arts.sf.misc on Thu Feb 26 20:16:13 2026
    From Newsgroup: alt.usage.english

    On Wed, 25 Feb 2026 22:11:55 -0600
    lar3ryca <larry@invalid.ca> wrote:
    []

    --[I broke the sig sep]
    I never made a mistake in my life. I thought I did once, but I was wrong.

    I've stolen that line as well!
    --
    Bah, and indeed Humbug.
    --- Synchronet 3.21b-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From Steve Hayes@hayesstw@telkomsa.net to alt.usage.english,rec.arts.books,rec.arts.sf.written,rec.arts.sf.misc on Fri Feb 27 07:05:09 2026
    From Newsgroup: alt.usage.english

    On Thu, 26 Feb 2026 08:02:22 -0800, Paul S Person
    <psperson@old.netcom.invalid> wrote:

    On Wed, 25 Feb 2026 22:11:55 -0600, lar3ryca <larry@invalid.ca> wrote:

    On 2026-02-25 16:03, Paul S Person wrote:
    On Tue, 24 Feb 2026 16:57:52 -0500, Cryptoengineer
    <petertrei@gmail.com> wrote:

    On 2/24/2026 4:45 PM, Anders D. Nygaard wrote:
    On 2/24/2026 9:24 PM, lar3ryca wrote:

    I went into a book store and asked the girl,
    "Do you have the Prince Harry book, the one you can put on your phone?" >>>>>> She said, "Do you mean the PDF file?"
    "No" I said, "that's his uncle."

    Usually, your .sig gives rise to a chuckle or two; sometimes after
    I've turned it around in my mind for a while.
    But this one ... I just don't get it.

    A hint for the humour-challenged, please?

    /Anders, Denmark

    In English, 'PDF File' sounds fairly close
    to 'Pedophile'

    Apparently, "PDF" has some pronounciation other than the three
    letters. One that sounds a lot like "pedo".

    But not here.

    It's a joke, son. It only has to be close enough.

    My point is that, for me, it is nowhere near close enough.

    Maybe if it involved a bicycle and its pedals ...

    Your eyes is like pools -- pools of muddy water
    Your lips is like petals -- bicycle pedals
    Your teeth is like the stars -- they come out at night.
    --
    Stephen Hayes, Author of The Year of the Dragon
    Sample or purchase The Year of the Dragon: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/907935
    Web site: http://www.khanya.org.za/stevesig.htm
    Blog: http://methodius.blogspot.com
    E-mail: shayes@dunelm.org.uk or if you use Gmail hayesstw@telkomsa.net
    --- Synchronet 3.21b-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From Paul S Person@psperson@old.netcom.invalid to alt.usage.english,rec.arts.books,rec.arts.sf.written,rec.arts.sf.misc on Fri Feb 27 08:30:30 2026
    From Newsgroup: alt.usage.english

    On Thu, 26 Feb 2026 16:43:53 GMT, scott@slp53.sl.home (Scott Lurndal)
    wrote:
    William Hyde <wthyde1953@gmail.com> writes:
    Lynn McGuire wrote:
    On 2/25/2026 7:22 PM, Bobbie Sellers wrote:


    On 2/25/26 14:32, Lynn McGuire wrote:
    On 2/25/2026 12:55 PM, John Ames wrote:
    On Mon, 23 Feb 2026 00:05:46 -0000 (UTC)
    Lawrence DrCOOliveiro <ldo@nz.invalid> wrote:

    But then, this just shows how Burroughs was a cut above a lot of his >>>>>>> contemporaries ...

    Funnily enough that's how Burroughs got into the game to begin with; he >>>>>> read some of the slop that the pulps were printing and figured "hell, >>>>>> if *this* can get printed, I can do better..." A classic example of how >>>>>> much difference just *giving a damn* can make.

    In the 1970s, you could buy most of Burrough's Tarzan, Pellucidar,
    and Mars books in B. Daltons.-a I bought and read them all.-a Pure pulp >>>>> and I loved them all.

    Lynn


    -a-a-a-a-aI read those much earlier from public libraries.
    -a-a-a-a-aAre your sure that we are not talking about the Burroughs of >>>> "Naked Lunch",
    "Nova", "Junkie" and other prefigurations of modern horror.

    -a-a-a-a-abliss

    I bought "Tarzan of the Apes" by Edgar Rice Burroughs published by
    Ballantine Books in 1972 for 95 cents:
    -a-a https://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/pl.cgi?342428

    Here is the cover:
    -a-a https://www.isfdb.org/wiki/images/4/46/TRZNFTHPSQ1972.jpg

    I lost all of my 50 ? 60 ? 70 ? ERB books in The Great Flood of 1989.

    I bought the Tarzan books when I was nine or ten years old, read them
    over and over, along with a book or two from his other series.

    Regrettably, I decided at age 12 that these were too "childish" and gave >>them away. The only ERB I have left is his "Beyond the Farthest Star", >>mentioned in an earlier thread.

    I still have a handful. Haven't read them in decades, however.

    $ testa burroughs

    artist title format location
    Burroughs Corporation B7000/B6000 ALGOL Reference Manual Perfect A027 >Burroughs, Edgar Rice 10 Llana of Gathol soft A016
    Burroughs, Edgar Rice 11 John Carter of Mars soft A016
    Burroughs, Edgar Rice 6 The Master Mind of Mars soft A016 >Burroughs, Edgar Rice 7 A Fighting Man of Mars soft A016 >Burroughs, Edgar Rice 9 Synthetic Men of Mars soft A016
    Burroughs, Edgar Rice Savage Pellucidar soft A016
    Burroughs, Edgar Rice Science Fiction Classics hard A016

    (final column is box number in storage).
    That first one appears to be ... non-canonical.
    --
    "Here lies the Tuscan poet Aretino,
    Who evil spoke of everyone but God,
    Giving as his excuse, 'I never knew him.'"
    --- Synchronet 3.21b-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From lar3ryca@larry@invalid.ca to alt.usage.english,rec.arts.books,rec.arts.sf.written,rec.arts.sf.misc on Fri Feb 27 14:22:26 2026
    From Newsgroup: alt.usage.english

    On 2026-02-26 10:02, Paul S Person wrote:
    On Wed, 25 Feb 2026 22:11:55 -0600, lar3ryca <larry@invalid.ca> wrote:

    On 2026-02-25 16:03, Paul S Person wrote:
    On Tue, 24 Feb 2026 16:57:52 -0500, Cryptoengineer
    <petertrei@gmail.com> wrote:

    On 2/24/2026 4:45 PM, Anders D. Nygaard wrote:
    On 2/24/2026 9:24 PM, lar3ryca wrote:

    I went into a book store and asked the girl,
    "Do you have the Prince Harry book, the one you can put on your phone?" >>>>>> She said, "Do you mean the PDF file?"
    "No" I said, "that's his uncle."

    Usually, your .sig gives rise to a chuckle or two; sometimes after
    I've turned it around in my mind for a while.
    But this one ... I just don't get it.

    A hint for the humour-challenged, please?

    /Anders, Denmark

    In English, 'PDF File' sounds fairly close
    to 'Pedophile'

    Apparently, "PDF" has some pronounciation other than the three
    letters. One that sounds a lot like "pedo".

    But not here.

    It's a joke, son. It only has to be close enough.

    My point is that, for me, it is nowhere near close enough.

    Not everyone gets every joke.

    Maybe if it involved a bicycle and its pedals ...

    Say what? How can "PDF file" possibly be pronounced in a way that would suggest 'pedal'?

    I pronounce "PDF file" as "pee dee eff file".
    --
    Tinsel is really snake mirrors.
    --- Synchronet 3.21b-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From Peter Moylan@peter@pmoylan.org to alt.usage.english,rec.arts.books,rec.arts.sf.written,rec.arts.sf.misc on Sat Feb 28 22:50:13 2026
    From Newsgroup: alt.usage.english

    On 23/02/26 11:05, Lawrence DrCOOliveiro wrote:

    (I havenrCOt read the Burroughs story in question -- rCLWarlord Of
    MarsrCY, is it? -- but this description <https://barsoom.fandom.com/wiki/Atmosphere_Factory> is
    illuminating.)

    That is certainly the kind of theme that is unique to SF -- the
    current inhabitants of an exotic world have regressed from the
    original civilization that long ago set up certain life-critical
    systems, which have started failing, so it is up to our heroes to
    fix them and save the entire world.

    Was Burroughs the first to think up this plot? Larry Niven certainly
    reused the idea in his second Ringworld novel, rCLThe Ringworld
    EngineersrCY.

    Before Niven (but after Burroughs), that theme appeared in at least two well-known "multi-generation ship" novels that are probably familiar to
    most readers of this thread. I can't name them because of a temporary
    senior moment, but it will come back to me by tomorrow.
    --
    Peter Moylan peter@pmoylan.org http://www.pmoylan.org
    Newcastle, NSW
    --- Synchronet 3.21d-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From Paul S Person@psperson@old.netcom.invalid to alt.usage.english,rec.arts.books,rec.arts.sf.written,rec.arts.sf.misc on Sat Feb 28 08:30:55 2026
    From Newsgroup: alt.usage.english

    On Fri, 27 Feb 2026 14:22:26 -0600, lar3ryca <larry@invalid.ca> wrote:
    On 2026-02-26 10:02, Paul S Person wrote:
    <snippo>

    My point is that, for me, it is nowhere near close enough.

    Not everyone gets every joke.

    Maybe if it involved a bicycle and its pedals ...

    Say what? How can "PDF file" possibly be pronounced in a way that would >suggest 'pedal'?
    "pedal file" (file here being a tool using for filing metal) and
    "pedophile", OTOH ...
    I pronounce "PDF file" as "pee dee eff file".
    Which, as I said above, does not work. For me.
    --
    "Here lies the Tuscan poet Aretino,
    Who evil spoke of everyone but God,
    Giving as his excuse, 'I never knew him.'"
    --- Synchronet 3.21d-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From scott@scott@slp53.sl.home (Scott Lurndal) to alt.usage.english,rec.arts.books,rec.arts.sf.written,rec.arts.sf.misc on Sat Feb 28 17:44:42 2026
    From Newsgroup: alt.usage.english

    Peter Moylan <peter@pmoylan.org> writes:
    On 23/02/26 11:05, Lawrence DrCOOliveiro wrote:

    (I havenrCOt read the Burroughs story in question -- rCLWarlord Of
    MarsrCY, is it? -- but this description
    <https://barsoom.fandom.com/wiki/Atmosphere_Factory> is
    illuminating.)

    That is certainly the kind of theme that is unique to SF -- the
    current inhabitants of an exotic world have regressed from the
    original civilization that long ago set up certain life-critical
    systems, which have started failing, so it is up to our heroes to
    fix them and save the entire world.

    Was Burroughs the first to think up this plot? Larry Niven certainly
    reused the idea in his second Ringworld novel, rCLThe Ringworld
    EngineersrCY.

    Before Niven (but after Burroughs), that theme appeared in at least two >well-known "multi-generation ship" novels that are probably familiar to
    most readers of this thread. I can't name them because of a temporary
    senior moment, but it will come back to me by tomorrow.

    Heinlein. _Universe_ (1941) and _Common Sense_ (1941), combined by
    1963 into _Orphans of the Sky_, and touched on in _Time Enough for Love_.

    --- Synchronet 3.21d-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From Cryptoengineer@petertrei@gmail.com to alt.usage.english,rec.arts.books,rec.arts.sf.written,rec.arts.sf.misc on Sat Feb 28 15:30:06 2026
    From Newsgroup: alt.usage.english

    On 2/28/2026 12:44 PM, Scott Lurndal wrote:
    Peter Moylan <peter@pmoylan.org> writes:
    On 23/02/26 11:05, Lawrence DrCOOliveiro wrote:

    (I havenrCOt read the Burroughs story in question -- rCLWarlord Of
    MarsrCY, is it? -- but this description
    <https://barsoom.fandom.com/wiki/Atmosphere_Factory> is
    illuminating.)

    That is certainly the kind of theme that is unique to SF -- the
    current inhabitants of an exotic world have regressed from the
    original civilization that long ago set up certain life-critical
    systems, which have started failing, so it is up to our heroes to
    fix them and save the entire world.

    Was Burroughs the first to think up this plot? Larry Niven certainly
    reused the idea in his second Ringworld novel, rCLThe Ringworld
    EngineersrCY.

    Before Niven (but after Burroughs), that theme appeared in at least two
    well-known "multi-generation ship" novels that are probably familiar to
    most readers of this thread. I can't name them because of a temporary
    senior moment, but it will come back to me by tomorrow.

    Heinlein. _Universe_ (1941) and _Common Sense_ (1941), combined by
    1963 into _Orphans of the Sky_, and touched on in _Time Enough for Love_.


    To which we add 'Non-Stop' (aka 'Starship). Brian Aldiss, 1958

    That I knew, but also:

    Aniara Swedish epic poem, 1956 Harry Martinson

    pt


    --- Synchronet 3.21d-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From ted@loft.tnolan.com (Ted Nolan@tednolan to alt.usage.english,rec.arts.books,rec.arts.sf.written,rec.arts.sf.misc on Sat Feb 28 21:44:51 2026
    From Newsgroup: alt.usage.english

    In article <10nvj8e$3kmn3$3@dont-email.me>,
    Cryptoengineer <petertrei@gmail.com> wrote:
    On 2/28/2026 12:44 PM, Scott Lurndal wrote:
    Peter Moylan <peter@pmoylan.org> writes:
    On 23/02/26 11:05, Lawrence DrCOOliveiro wrote:

    (I havenrCOt read the Burroughs story in question -- rCLWarlord Of
    MarsrCY, is it? -- but this description
    <https://barsoom.fandom.com/wiki/Atmosphere_Factory> is
    illuminating.)

    That is certainly the kind of theme that is unique to SF -- the
    current inhabitants of an exotic world have regressed from the
    original civilization that long ago set up certain life-critical
    systems, which have started failing, so it is up to our heroes to
    fix them and save the entire world.

    Was Burroughs the first to think up this plot? Larry Niven certainly
    reused the idea in his second Ringworld novel, rCLThe Ringworld
    EngineersrCY.

    Before Niven (but after Burroughs), that theme appeared in at least two
    well-known "multi-generation ship" novels that are probably familiar to
    most readers of this thread. I can't name them because of a temporary
    senior moment, but it will come back to me by tomorrow.

    Heinlein. _Universe_ (1941) and _Common Sense_ (1941), combined by
    1963 into _Orphans of the Sky_, and touched on in _Time Enough for Love_.


    To which we add 'Non-Stop' (aka 'Starship). Brian Aldiss, 1958

    That I knew, but also:

    Aniara Swedish epic poem, 1956 Harry Martinson


    Van Vogt's "Empire Of The Atom" stories would certainly fit.

    And, hmm, "The Spectre General" would be a classic case.
    --
    columbiaclosings.com
    What's not in Columbia anymore..
    --- Synchronet 3.21d-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From Lawrence =?iso-8859-13?q?D=FFOliveiro?=@ldo@nz.invalid to alt.usage.english,rec.arts.books,rec.arts.sf.written,rec.arts.sf.misc on Sat Feb 28 22:20:37 2026
    From Newsgroup: alt.usage.english

    On Sat, 28 Feb 2026 22:50:13 +1100, Peter Moylan wrote:

    Before Niven (but after Burroughs), that theme appeared in at least
    two well-known "multi-generation ship" novels that are probably
    familiar to most readers of this thread.

    Which in turn reminds me of rCLThe StarlostrCY TV series, which started
    out so promisingly ... and left Harlan Ellison permanently embittered
    ...
    --- Synchronet 3.21d-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From Dimensional Traveler@dtravel@sonic.net to alt.usage.english,rec.arts.books,rec.arts.sf.written,rec.arts.sf.misc on Sat Feb 28 20:28:53 2026
    From Newsgroup: alt.usage.english

    On 2/28/2026 2:20 PM, Lawrence DrCOOliveiro wrote:
    On Sat, 28 Feb 2026 22:50:13 +1100, Peter Moylan wrote:

    Before Niven (but after Burroughs), that theme appeared in at least
    two well-known "multi-generation ship" novels that are probably
    familiar to most readers of this thread.

    Which in turn reminds me of rCLThe StarlostrCY TV series, which started
    out so promisingly ... and left Harlan Ellison permanently embittered
    ...

    As someone who recently watched that show, the "Started out" period
    ended before the production had finished hiring. Ellison pulled his
    name and replaced it with his "I hate this production" pen name before
    they had even finished re-writing his premiere episode.
    --
    I've done good in this world. Now I'm tired and just want to be a cranky
    dirty old man.
    --- Synchronet 3.21d-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From lar3ryca@larry@invalid.ca to alt.usage.english,rec.arts.books,rec.arts.sf.written,rec.arts.sf.misc on Sat Feb 28 22:35:45 2026
    From Newsgroup: alt.usage.english

    On 2026-02-28 16:20, Lawrence DrCOOliveiro wrote:
    On Sat, 28 Feb 2026 22:50:13 +1100, Peter Moylan wrote:

    Before Niven (but after Burroughs), that theme appeared in at least
    two well-known "multi-generation ship" novels that are probably
    familiar to most readers of this thread.

    Which in turn reminds me of rCLThe StarlostrCY TV series, which started
    out so promisingly ... and left Harlan Ellison permanently embittered
    ...

    Oh, is that what made him such a dickhead?

    I posted this back in 2021, but I'll post it again for the cross-posters.

    It's disappointing to find out that someone whose art you admire turns
    out to be a jackass or worse.
    My wife and I attended a late-night TV talk show hosted by Peter
    Gzowski. There were, I seem to recall, four guests, but the only ones I remember (I think) were Gilda Radner and Harlan Ellison. After the show, Ellison stood by the exit, shaking hands with the audience. I shook his
    hand and said that I really enjoyed his work, especially his short
    stories. He replied, "Name one." I named four of my favourites, turned
    and walked away, and muttered "Jerk!" loud enough for him to hear.

    Many years later I met and became friends with the son of another
    well-known S.F. author whose wife was a literary agent. I asked him if
    he had ever met Harlan Ellison. He said yes, he had, many times. I
    mentioned my encounter with him, and asked what he thought of the man.

    I can't remember his exact reply, but it was along the line of "When you
    first meet him, he seems like an arrogant little prick trying to make up
    for his short stature by being a total asshole, but deep down inside, he
    IS an arrogant little prick trying to make up for his short stature by
    being a total asshole.
    --
    O Sibili, Si.
    Ergo Fortibus es in ero.
    O Nobili! Deis Trux.
    Vatis inem?
    Causen Dux!
    --- Synchronet 3.21d-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From Robert Woodward@robertaw@drizzle.com to alt.usage.english,rec.arts.books,rec.arts.sf.written,rec.arts.sf.misc on Sat Feb 28 21:44:52 2026
    From Newsgroup: alt.usage.english

    In article <10nvj8e$3kmn3$3@dont-email.me>,
    Cryptoengineer <petertrei@gmail.com> wrote:

    On 2/28/2026 12:44 PM, Scott Lurndal wrote:
    Peter Moylan <peter@pmoylan.org> writes:
    On 23/02/26 11:05, Lawrence DrCOOliveiro wrote:

    (I havenrCOt read the Burroughs story in question -- rCLWarlord Of
    MarsrCY, is it? -- but this description
    <https://barsoom.fandom.com/wiki/Atmosphere_Factory> is
    illuminating.)

    That is certainly the kind of theme that is unique to SF -- the
    current inhabitants of an exotic world have regressed from the
    original civilization that long ago set up certain life-critical
    systems, which have started failing, so it is up to our heroes to
    fix them and save the entire world.

    Was Burroughs the first to think up this plot? Larry Niven certainly
    reused the idea in his second Ringworld novel, rCLThe Ringworld
    EngineersrCY.

    Before Niven (but after Burroughs), that theme appeared in at least two
    well-known "multi-generation ship" novels that are probably familiar to
    most readers of this thread. I can't name them because of a temporary
    senior moment, but it will come back to me by tomorrow.

    Heinlein. _Universe_ (1941) and _Common Sense_ (1941), combined by
    1963 into _Orphans of the Sky_, and touched on in _Time Enough for Love_.


    To which we add 'Non-Stop' (aka 'Starship). Brian Aldiss, 1958

    That I knew, but also:

    Aniara Swedish epic poem, 1956 Harry Martinson


    Which was described to some extent in Vernor Vinge's _A Fire Upon the
    Deep_.
    --
    "We have advanced to new and surprising levels of bafflement."
    Imperial Auditor Miles Vorkosigan describes progress in _Komarr_. rCo-----------------------------------------------------
    Robert Woodward robertaw@drizzle.com
    --- Synchronet 3.21d-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From kludge@kludge@panix.com (Scott Dorsey) to alt.usage.english,rec.arts.books,rec.arts.sf.written,rec.arts.sf.misc on Sun Mar 1 09:40:48 2026
    From Newsgroup: alt.usage.english

    Dimensional Traveler <dtravel@sonic.net> wrote:
    On 2/28/2026 2:20 PM, Lawrence DrCOOliveiro wrote:
    On Sat, 28 Feb 2026 22:50:13 +1100, Peter Moylan wrote:

    Before Niven (but after Burroughs), that theme appeared in at least
    two well-known "multi-generation ship" novels that are probably
    familiar to most readers of this thread.

    Which in turn reminds me of rCLThe StarlostrCY TV series, which started
    out so promisingly ... and left Harlan Ellison permanently embittered
    ...

    As someone who recently watched that show, the "Started out" period
    ended before the production had finished hiring. Ellison pulled his
    name and replaced it with his "I hate this production" pen name before
    they had even finished re-writing his premiere episode.

    This is true.

    Interestingly, this was a show that was built around a new computerized
    motion control technology. There's a demo reel explaining and demonstrating the technology, and apparently making the demo reel was such a feat that
    they weren't really able to duplicate the effort and the technology never actually worked to the point where they were able to use it on the show.

    I think production thought about the show only as a an effects gimmick
    program, and didn't care so much about characters and plot. When the
    effects gimmicks didn't work, they had nothing left. They had hired
    Eliison for his name and didn't understand that he actually cared about
    science fiction because they'd never known anyone to do that before.

    We may still have access to a print of the demo reel although when we showed
    it at Arisia a decade back it had turned pretty badly red. We can show it
    at Boskone if there's demand for it. It was distributed at the NAB back
    in the era when Ellison was quitting.
    --scott
    --
    "C'est un Nagra. C'est suisse, et tres, tres precis."
    --- Synchronet 3.21d-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From Paul S Person@psperson@old.netcom.invalid to alt.usage.english,rec.arts.books,rec.arts.sf.written,rec.arts.sf.misc on Sun Mar 1 08:54:52 2026
    From Newsgroup: alt.usage.english

    On Sun, 1 Mar 2026 09:40:48 -0500 (EST), kludge@panix.com (Scott
    Dorsey) wrote:
    Dimensional Traveler <dtravel@sonic.net> wrote:
    On 2/28/2026 2:20 PM, Lawrence DrCOOliveiro wrote:
    On Sat, 28 Feb 2026 22:50:13 +1100, Peter Moylan wrote:

    Before Niven (but after Burroughs), that theme appeared in at least
    two well-known "multi-generation ship" novels that are probably
    familiar to most readers of this thread.

    Which in turn reminds me of rCLThe StarlostrC? TV series, which started
    out so promisingly ... and left Harlan Ellison permanently embittered
    ...

    As someone who recently watched that show, the "Started out" period
    ended before the production had finished hiring. Ellison pulled his
    name and replaced it with his "I hate this production" pen name before >>they had even finished re-writing his premiere episode.

    This is true.

    Interestingly, this was a show that was built around a new computerized >motion control technology. There's a demo reel explaining and demonstrating >the technology, and apparently making the demo reel was such a feat that
    they weren't really able to duplicate the effort and the technology never >actually worked to the point where they were able to use it on the show.

    I think production thought about the show only as a an effects gimmick >program, and didn't care so much about characters and plot. When the
    effects gimmicks didn't work, they had nothing left. They had hired
    Eliison for his name and didn't understand that he actually cared about >science fiction because they'd never known anyone to do that before.
    TV shows only exist to create audiences for commercials. The actual
    program is of no importance whatsoever.
    And having Ellison abandon it probably made it better.
    We may still have access to a print of the demo reel although when we showed >it at Arisia a decade back it had turned pretty badly red. We can show it
    at Boskone if there's demand for it. It was distributed at the NAB back
    in the era when Ellison was quitting.
    --
    "Here lies the Tuscan poet Aretino,
    Who evil spoke of everyone but God,
    Giving as his excuse, 'I never knew him.'"
    --- Synchronet 3.21d-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From The True Melissa@thetruemelissa@gmail.com to alt.usage.english,rec.arts.books,rec.arts.sf.written,rec.arts.sf.misc on Sun Mar 1 12:46:37 2026
    From Newsgroup: alt.usage.english

    Verily, in article <5pr8qk1drbapjmvv4fa4rm5o0hq8iod3qf@4ax.com>, did psperson@old.netcom.invalid deliver unto us this message:
    TV shows only exist to create audiences for commercials. The actual
    program is of no importance whatsoever.


    We do have cable now, as well as streaming originals. In theory, at
    least, those outlets should be catering directly to viewers.

    I read years ago that we remember commericals from mediocre shows better
    than commercials from shows which genuinely interest us. If that's so,
    it does raise interesting questions about advertisers' requirements.
    --
    The True Melissa - Canal Winchester - Ohio
    United States of America - North America - Earth
    Solar System - Milky Way - Local Group
    Virgo Cluster - Laniakea Supercluster - Cosmos
    --- Synchronet 3.21d-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From richard@richard@cogsci.ed.ac.uk (Richard Tobin) to alt.usage.english,rec.arts.books,rec.arts.sf.written,rec.arts.sf.misc on Sun Mar 1 19:49:25 2026
    From Newsgroup: alt.usage.english

    In article <5pr8qk1drbapjmvv4fa4rm5o0hq8iod3qf@4ax.com>,
    Paul S Person <psperson@old.netcom.invalid> wrote:

    TV shows only exist to create audiences for commercials.

    And yet we have channels with no commercials.

    -- Richard
    --- Synchronet 3.21d-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From Christian Weisgerber@naddy@mips.inka.de to alt.usage.english,rec.arts.books,rec.arts.sf.written,rec.arts.sf.misc on Sun Mar 1 19:44:52 2026
    From Newsgroup: alt.usage.english

    On 2026-03-01, Paul S Person <psperson@old.netcom.invalid> wrote:

    TV shows only exist to create audiences for commercials. The actual
    program is of no importance whatsoever.

    Obviously not true for premium cable or (premium) streaming.
    --
    Christian "naddy" Weisgerber naddy@mips.inka.de
    --- Synchronet 3.21d-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From Bobbie Sellers@bliss-sf4ever@dslextreme.com to alt.usage.english,rec.arts.books,rec.arts.sf.written,rec.arts.sf.misc on Sun Mar 1 13:47:00 2026
    From Newsgroup: alt.usage.english



    On 3/1/26 11:49, Richard Tobin wrote:
    In article <5pr8qk1drbapjmvv4fa4rm5o0hq8iod3qf@4ax.com>,
    Paul S Person <psperson@old.netcom.invalid> wrote:

    TV shows only exist to create audiences for commercials.

    And yet we have channels with no commercials.

    -- Richard

    Only for people who can afford it. I haven't been able to afford
    cable in many years. I watch broadcast station by and large though
    I use some PBS streaming when the static is too bad.

    bliss
    --- Synchronet 3.21d-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From Lawrence =?iso-8859-13?q?D=FFOliveiro?=@ldo@nz.invalid to alt.usage.english,rec.arts.books,rec.arts.sf.written,rec.arts.sf.misc on Sun Mar 1 21:59:13 2026
    From Newsgroup: alt.usage.english

    On Sun, 1 Mar 2026 19:44:52 -0000 (UTC), Christian Weisgerber wrote:

    On 2026-03-01, Paul S Person <psperson@old.netcom.invalid> wrote:

    TV shows only exist to create audiences for commercials. The actual
    program is of no importance whatsoever.

    Obviously not true for premium cable or (premium) streaming.

    Even that is becoming increasingly ad-ridden, too ...
    --- Synchronet 3.21d-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From Lawrence =?iso-8859-13?q?D=FFOliveiro?=@ldo@nz.invalid to alt.usage.english,rec.arts.books,rec.arts.sf.written,rec.arts.sf.misc on Sun Mar 1 22:01:33 2026
    From Newsgroup: alt.usage.english

    On Sun, 1 Mar 2026 12:46:37 -0500, The True Melissa wrote:

    I read years ago that we remember commericals from mediocre shows
    better than commercials from shows which genuinely interest us. If
    that's so, it does raise interesting questions about advertisers' requirements.

    IrCOve often wondered why the ratings services didnrCOt directly measure viewership of ads, rather than bothering with the programs between
    them at all. WouldnrCOt that give the sponsors a more accurate measure
    of the value of their spend?

    Maybe it would be *too* accurate, and tell them things they didnrCOt
    want to know ...
    --- Synchronet 3.21d-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From Lawrence =?iso-8859-13?q?D=FFOliveiro?=@ldo@nz.invalid to alt.usage.english,rec.arts.books,rec.arts.sf.written,rec.arts.sf.misc on Sun Mar 1 22:08:33 2026
    From Newsgroup: alt.usage.english

    On Sun, 1 Mar 2026 09:40:48 -0500 (EST), Scott Dorsey wrote:

    I think production thought about the show only as a an effects
    gimmick program, and didn't care so much about characters and plot.

    I feel the script was a big part of the problem.

    The way I saw it, Ellison had worked out an entire story arc, which
    would lead to actual progress over the whole series in our heroes
    figuring out how to regain control of the Ark and save its
    inhabitants.

    But I think story arcs were unheard of back then, because they meant
    the series would have to have a beginning, a middle and--worst of
    all--an end.

    Instead, we got the usual skirmish-of-the-week format, same as a
    thousand other formulaic series, where each episode didnrCOt really lead anywhere, just leaving the protagonists at the end, just as they were
    at the beginning.
    --- Synchronet 3.21d-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From Peter Moylan@peter@pmoylan.org to alt.usage.english,rec.arts.books,rec.arts.sf.written,rec.arts.sf.misc on Mon Mar 2 10:42:24 2026
    From Newsgroup: alt.usage.english

    On 02/03/26 06:49, Richard Tobin wrote:
    In article <5pr8qk1drbapjmvv4fa4rm5o0hq8iod3qf@4ax.com>, Paul S
    Person <psperson@old.netcom.invalid> wrote:

    TV shows only exist to create audiences for commercials.

    And yet we have channels with no commercials.

    Australia has two public TV networks, ABC and SBS, and initially both
    were ad-free. Then a succession of governments forced SBS to get more
    and more of its funding from ads.

    ABC is still ad-free, apart from promotion of its own shows, but those
    same governments stacked the board of directors with right-wing members,
    to the point where it almost looked like the US Supreme Court. The ABC journalists tend to lean to the left, so that was a recipe for internal dissension that has badly damaged the network.
    --
    Peter Moylan peter@pmoylan.org http://www.pmoylan.org
    Newcastle, NSW
    --- Synchronet 3.21d-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From Dimensional Traveler@dtravel@sonic.net to alt.usage.english,rec.arts.books,rec.arts.sf.written,rec.arts.sf.misc on Sun Mar 1 15:54:15 2026
    From Newsgroup: alt.usage.english

    On 2/28/2026 8:35 PM, lar3ryca wrote:
    On 2026-02-28 16:20, Lawrence DrCOOliveiro wrote:
    On Sat, 28 Feb 2026 22:50:13 +1100, Peter Moylan wrote:

    Before Niven (but after Burroughs), that theme appeared in at least
    two well-known "multi-generation ship" novels that are probably
    familiar to most readers of this thread.

    Which in turn reminds me of rCLThe StarlostrCY TV series, which started
    out so promisingly ... and left Harlan Ellison permanently embittered
    ...

    Oh, is that what made him such a dickhead?

    No, it wasn't. As evidenced by the fact that he already had his
    alter-ego's name legally established before this so he _could_ give them
    "the bird". ;)

    I posted this back in 2021, but I'll post it again for the cross-posters.

    It's disappointing to find out that someone whose art you admire turns
    out to be a jackass or worse.
    My wife and I attended a late-night TV talk show hosted by Peter
    Gzowski. There were, I seem to recall, four guests, but the only ones I remember (I think) were Gilda Radner and Harlan Ellison. After the show, Ellison stood by the exit, shaking hands with the audience. I shook his
    hand and said that I really enjoyed his work, especially his short
    stories. He replied, "Name one." I named four of my favourites, turned
    and walked away, and muttered "Jerk!" loud enough for him to hear.

    Many years later I met and became friends with the son of another well- known S.F. author whose wife was a literary agent. I asked him if he had ever met Harlan Ellison. He said yes, he had, many times. I mentioned my encounter with him, and asked what he thought of the man.

    I can't remember his exact reply, but it was along the line of "When you first meet him, he seems like an arrogant little prick trying to make up
    for his short stature by being a total asshole, but deep down inside, he
    IS an arrogant little prick trying to make up for his short stature by
    being a total asshole.

    --
    I've done good in this world. Now I'm tired and just want to be a cranky
    dirty old man.
    --- Synchronet 3.21d-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From Dimensional Traveler@dtravel@sonic.net to alt.usage.english,rec.arts.books,rec.arts.sf.written,rec.arts.sf.misc on Sun Mar 1 15:56:18 2026
    From Newsgroup: alt.usage.english

    On 3/1/2026 8:54 AM, Paul S Person wrote:
    On Sun, 1 Mar 2026 09:40:48 -0500 (EST), kludge@panix.com (Scott
    Dorsey) wrote:

    Dimensional Traveler <dtravel@sonic.net> wrote:
    On 2/28/2026 2:20 PM, Lawrence D|ore4raoOliveiro wrote:
    On Sat, 28 Feb 2026 22:50:13 +1100, Peter Moylan wrote:

    Before Niven (but after Burroughs), that theme appeared in at least
    two well-known "multi-generation ship" novels that are probably
    familiar to most readers of this thread.

    Which in turn reminds me of |ore4+oThe Starlost|ore4? TV series, which started
    out so promisingly ... and left Harlan Ellison permanently embittered
    ...

    As someone who recently watched that show, the "Started out" period
    ended before the production had finished hiring. Ellison pulled his
    name and replaced it with his "I hate this production" pen name before
    they had even finished re-writing his premiere episode.

    This is true.

    Interestingly, this was a show that was built around a new computerized
    motion control technology. There's a demo reel explaining and demonstrating >> the technology, and apparently making the demo reel was such a feat that
    they weren't really able to duplicate the effort and the technology never
    actually worked to the point where they were able to use it on the show.

    I think production thought about the show only as a an effects gimmick
    program, and didn't care so much about characters and plot. When the
    effects gimmicks didn't work, they had nothing left. They had hired
    Eliison for his name and didn't understand that he actually cared about
    science fiction because they'd never known anyone to do that before.

    TV shows only exist to create audiences for commercials. The actual
    program is of no importance whatsoever.

    And having Ellison abandon it probably made it better.

    I'm going to respectfully disagree with that.
    --
    I've done good in this world. Now I'm tired and just want to be a cranky
    dirty old man.
    --- Synchronet 3.21d-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From Dimensional Traveler@dtravel@sonic.net to alt.usage.english,rec.arts.books,rec.arts.sf.written,rec.arts.sf.misc on Sun Mar 1 15:59:11 2026
    From Newsgroup: alt.usage.english

    On 3/1/2026 2:01 PM, Lawrence DrCOOliveiro wrote:
    On Sun, 1 Mar 2026 12:46:37 -0500, The True Melissa wrote:

    I read years ago that we remember commericals from mediocre shows
    better than commercials from shows which genuinely interest us. If
    that's so, it does raise interesting questions about advertisers'
    requirements.

    IrCOve often wondered why the ratings services didnrCOt directly measure viewership of ads, rather than bothering with the programs between
    them at all. WouldnrCOt that give the sponsors a more accurate measure
    of the value of their spend?

    Maybe it would be *too* accurate, and tell them things they didnrCOt
    want to know ...

    Probably couldn't get those numbers. Different stations will put
    commercial breaks in at different times. Nielsen would have had to know exactly when those breaks were, which would have originally required the registered households to record that information in their diaries. Not
    gonna happen.
    --
    I've done good in this world. Now I'm tired and just want to be a cranky
    dirty old man.
    --- Synchronet 3.21d-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From Cryptoengineer@petertrei@gmail.com to alt.usage.english,rec.arts.books,rec.arts.sf.written,rec.arts.sf.misc on Sun Mar 1 20:12:03 2026
    From Newsgroup: alt.usage.english

    On 3/1/2026 6:59 PM, Dimensional Traveler wrote:
    On 3/1/2026 2:01 PM, Lawrence DrCOOliveiro wrote:
    On Sun, 1 Mar 2026 12:46:37 -0500, The True Melissa wrote:

    I read years ago that we remember commericals from mediocre shows
    better than commercials from shows which genuinely interest us. If
    that's so, it does raise interesting questions about advertisers'
    requirements.

    IrCOve often wondered why the ratings services didnrCOt directly measure
    viewership of ads, rather than bothering with the programs between
    them at all. WouldnrCOt that give the sponsors a more accurate measure
    of the value of their spend?

    Maybe it would be *too* accurate, and tell them things they didnrCOt
    want to know ...

    Probably couldn't get those numbers.-a Different stations will put commercial breaks in at different times.-a Nielsen would have had to know exactly when those breaks were, which would have originally required the registered households to record that information in their diaries.-a Not gonna happen.

    Not for lack of trying - learn about ultrasonic beacons.

    https://cybersnowden.com/ultrasound-tracking-beacons-in-mobile-ads/

    Short version: TV ads can carry ultrasonic tags, which are picked
    up by an app on your smartphone, and data sent to a tracking
    agency.

    pt

    --- Synchronet 3.21d-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From Snidely@snidely.too@gmail.com to alt.usage.english,rec.arts.books,rec.arts.sf.written,rec.arts.sf.misc on Sun Mar 1 22:12:42 2026
    From Newsgroup: alt.usage.english

    Cryptoengineer pounded on thar keyboard to tell us
    On 3/1/2026 6:59 PM, Dimensional Traveler wrote:
    On 3/1/2026 2:01 PM, Lawrence DrCOOliveiro wrote:
    On Sun, 1 Mar 2026 12:46:37 -0500, The True Melissa wrote:

    I read years ago that we remember commericals from mediocre shows
    better than commercials from shows which genuinely interest us. If
    that's so, it does raise interesting questions about advertisers'
    requirements.

    IrCOve often wondered why the ratings services didnrCOt directly measure >>> viewership of ads, rather than bothering with the programs between
    them at all. WouldnrCOt that give the sponsors a more accurate measure
    of the value of their spend?

    Maybe it would be *too* accurate, and tell them things they didnrCOt
    want to know ...

    Probably couldn't get those numbers.-a Different stations will put
    commercial breaks in at different times.-a Nielsen would have had to know >> exactly when those breaks were, which would have originally required the
    registered households to record that information in their diaries.-a Not
    gonna happen.

    Not for lack of trying - learn about ultrasonic beacons.

    https://cybersnowden.com/ultrasound-tracking-beacons-in-mobile-ads/

    Short version: TV ads can carry ultrasonic tags, which are picked
    up by an app on your smartphone, and data sent to a tracking
    agency.

    pt

    That's a 21st Century solution, with about 50 years where that wasn't
    an option. I think it was well into the '80s before anything other
    than the hand logs were in use. And several of the '80s solutions were
    not useful out of the lab.

    /dps
    --
    "I tried to be open-minded once. It interfered with my sense of
    humor."
    -- Bucky, _Get Fuzzy_ by Darby Conley
    --- Synchronet 3.21d-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From richard@richard@cogsci.ed.ac.uk (Richard Tobin) to alt.usage.english,rec.arts.books,rec.arts.sf.written,rec.arts.sf.misc on Mon Mar 2 10:41:09 2026
    From Newsgroup: alt.usage.english

    In article <10o2c4k$jmf3$2@dont-email.me>,
    Bobbie Sellers <blissInSanFrancisco@mouse-potato.com> wrote:

    TV shows only exist to create audiences for commercials.

    And yet we have channels with no commercials.

    Only for people who can afford it.

    Are you perhaps imagining that the situation in your country
    applies to the whole world?

    -- Richard
    --- Synchronet 3.21d-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From John Ames@commodorejohn@gmail.com to alt.usage.english,rec.arts.books,rec.arts.sf.written,rec.arts.sf.misc on Mon Mar 2 08:45:32 2026
    From Newsgroup: alt.usage.english

    On Sat, 28 Feb 2026 17:44:42 GMT
    scott@slp53.sl.home (Scott Lurndal) wrote:
    Was Burroughs the first to think up this plot? Larry Niven
    certainly reused the idea in his second Ringworld novel, |ore4+oThe Ringworld Engineers|ore4_.

    Before Niven (but after Burroughs), that theme appeared in at least
    two well-known "multi-generation ship" novels that are probably
    familiar to most readers of this thread. I can't name them because
    of a temporary senior moment, but it will come back to me by
    tomorrow.

    Heinlein. _Universe_ (1941) and _Common Sense_ (1941), combined by
    1963 into _Orphans of the Sky_, and touched on in _Time Enough for
    Love_.
    Yeah, that makes sense. Was gonna say it was the plot on a couple "Star
    Trek" episodes ("The Paradise Syndrome" and "For The World Is Hollow
    And I Have Touched The Sky,") but neither of the writers responsible
    seem to have been particularly SF-oriented so it must've already been
    in the zeitgeist.
    (A'course, the ur-theme has probably recurred throughout history - I
    was struck, on digging into Anglo-Saxon poetry last year, by how the
    remains of Roman occupation are referred to as the work of giants...)
    --- Synchronet 3.21d-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From Paul S Person@psperson@old.netcom.invalid to alt.usage.english,rec.arts.books,rec.arts.sf.written,rec.arts.sf.misc on Mon Mar 2 08:44:17 2026
    From Newsgroup: alt.usage.english

    On Sun, 1 Mar 2026 15:59:11 -0800, Dimensional Traveler
    <dtravel@sonic.net> wrote:
    On 3/1/2026 2:01 PM, Lawrence DAOliveiro wrote:
    On Sun, 1 Mar 2026 12:46:37 -0500, The True Melissa wrote:

    I read years ago that we remember commericals from mediocre shows
    better than commercials from shows which genuinely interest us. If
    that's so, it does raise interesting questions about advertisers'
    requirements.

    IAve often wondered why the ratings services didnAt directly measure
    viewership of ads, rather than bothering with the programs between
    them at all. WouldnAt that give the sponsors a more accurate measure
    of the value of their spend?

    Maybe it would be *too* accurate, and tell them things they didnAt
    want to know ...

    Probably couldn't get those numbers. Different stations will put
    commercial breaks in at different times. Nielsen would have had to know >exactly when those breaks were, which would have originally required the >registered households to record that information in their diaries. Not >gonna happen.
    I have a very strange DVD (/Carol + 2/; the case claims it is from
    Time/Life, but I have the publisher as "Whacko Inc. | Direct Holdings
    Inc."; and IIRC the disc has a different brand on it when played).
    This contains a Special with Carol Burnett, Lucille Ball, and Zero
    Mostel (with the commercials removed), which I didn't find all that
    tasty, although it did remind me that Lucille Ball really was a great
    actress, an episode of a TV show introducing The Charwoman (apparently Burnett's best-known character) -- and what I bought it for: the TV
    version of /Once Upon a Mattress/ (complete with commercials) with
    Burnett as the Princess (as opposed to the later version with her as
    the Queen).
    So, in some cases, the stations did /not/ decide where the breaks fell
    -- the Network did. And that includes the last two (which are blank on
    the DVD), most likely because those were for the local station to
    sell.
    Amazon, OTOH, is well-known to insert commercials /just before/ the
    end of a scene. This takes just as much care as inserting them
    /between/ two scenes would, but I guess doing it just before the end
    of is done to enhance viewer dissatisfaction and encourage paying
    extra for no commercials.
    --
    "Here lies the Tuscan poet Aretino,
    Who evil spoke of everyone but God,
    Giving as his excuse, 'I never knew him.'"
    --- Synchronet 3.21d-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From Paul S Person@psperson@old.netcom.invalid to alt.usage.english,rec.arts.books,rec.arts.sf.written,rec.arts.sf.misc on Mon Mar 2 08:49:28 2026
    From Newsgroup: alt.usage.english

    On Sun, 1 Mar 2026 19:44:52 -0000 (UTC), Christian Weisgerber <naddy@mips.inka.de> wrote:
    On 2026-03-01, Paul S Person <psperson@old.netcom.invalid> wrote:

    TV shows only exist to create audiences for commercials. The actual
    program is of no importance whatsoever.

    Obviously not true for premium cable or (premium) streaming.
    What part of "TV shows" did you not understand?
    --
    "Here lies the Tuscan poet Aretino,
    Who evil spoke of everyone but God,
    Giving as his excuse, 'I never knew him.'"
    --- Synchronet 3.21d-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From Paul S Person@psperson@old.netcom.invalid to alt.usage.english,rec.arts.books,rec.arts.sf.written,rec.arts.sf.misc on Mon Mar 2 08:50:57 2026
    From Newsgroup: alt.usage.english

    On Sun, 1 Mar 2026 19:49:25 -0000 (UTC), richard@cogsci.ed.ac.uk
    (Richard Tobin) wrote:
    In article <5pr8qk1drbapjmvv4fa4rm5o0hq8iod3qf@4ax.com>,
    Paul S Person <psperson@old.netcom.invalid> wrote:

    TV shows only exist to create audiences for commercials.

    And yet we have channels with no commercials.
    If it ain't broadcast, it ain't a channel.
    Well, in the sense that the statement above would apply to, anyway.
    --
    "Here lies the Tuscan poet Aretino,
    Who evil spoke of everyone but God,
    Giving as his excuse, 'I never knew him.'"
    --- Synchronet 3.21d-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From Paul S Person@psperson@old.netcom.invalid to alt.usage.english,rec.arts.books,rec.arts.sf.written,rec.arts.sf.misc on Mon Mar 2 08:54:39 2026
    From Newsgroup: alt.usage.english

    On Sun, 1 Mar 2026 13:47:00 -0800, Bobbie Sellers <bliss-sf4ever@dslextreme.com> wrote:


    On 3/1/26 11:49, Richard Tobin wrote:
    In article <5pr8qk1drbapjmvv4fa4rm5o0hq8iod3qf@4ax.com>,
    Paul S Person <psperson@old.netcom.invalid> wrote:

    TV shows only exist to create audiences for commercials.

    And yet we have channels with no commercials.

    -- Richard

    Only for people who can afford it. I haven't been able to afford
    cable in many years. I watch broadcast station by and large though
    I use some PBS streaming when the static is too bad.
    Both Pluto and Plex are free and offer TV channels -- and that usually
    means that they are providing the same stuff, at the same times, that
    the broadcast stations they are copying provide.
    Others may as well. This doesn't actually make sense to me, as I have long-since given up on this sort of TV, but I would think it would be
    helpful to many people who have not.
    Of course, it all depends on what stations you are interested in
    compared to what stations they provide.
    --
    "Here lies the Tuscan poet Aretino,
    Who evil spoke of everyone but God,
    Giving as his excuse, 'I never knew him.'"
    --- Synchronet 3.21d-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From Paul S Person@psperson@old.netcom.invalid to alt.usage.english,rec.arts.books,rec.arts.sf.written,rec.arts.sf.misc on Mon Mar 2 08:56:41 2026
    From Newsgroup: alt.usage.english

    On Mon, 2 Mar 2026 10:42:24 +1100, Peter Moylan <peter@pmoylan.org>
    wrote:
    On 02/03/26 06:49, Richard Tobin wrote:
    In article <5pr8qk1drbapjmvv4fa4rm5o0hq8iod3qf@4ax.com>, Paul S
    Person <psperson@old.netcom.invalid> wrote:

    TV shows only exist to create audiences for commercials.

    And yet we have channels with no commercials.

    Australia has two public TV networks, ABC and SBS, and initially both
    were ad-free. Then a succession of governments forced SBS to get more
    and more of its funding from ads.

    ABC is still ad-free, apart from promotion of its own shows, but those
    same governments stacked the board of directors with right-wing members,
    to the point where it almost looked like the US Supreme Court. The ABC >journalists tend to lean to the left, so that was a recipe for internal >dissension that has badly damaged the network.
    But are any of them wholly-owned subsidiaries of 1%-ers?
    --
    "Here lies the Tuscan poet Aretino,
    Who evil spoke of everyone but God,
    Giving as his excuse, 'I never knew him.'"
    --- Synchronet 3.21d-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From Paul S Person@psperson@old.netcom.invalid to alt.usage.english,rec.arts.books,rec.arts.sf.written,rec.arts.sf.misc on Mon Mar 2 08:57:35 2026
    From Newsgroup: alt.usage.english

    On Mon, 2 Mar 2026 10:41:09 -0000 (UTC), richard@cogsci.ed.ac.uk
    (Richard Tobin) wrote:
    In article <10o2c4k$jmf3$2@dont-email.me>,
    Bobbie Sellers <blissInSanFrancisco@mouse-potato.com> wrote:

    TV shows only exist to create audiences for commercials.

    And yet we have channels with no commercials.

    Only for people who can afford it.

    Are you perhaps imagining that the situation in your country
    applies to the whole world?
    Probably (including my comment preceded by ">>>>" above).
    --
    "Here lies the Tuscan poet Aretino,
    Who evil spoke of everyone but God,
    Giving as his excuse, 'I never knew him.'"
    --- Synchronet 3.21d-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From Tony Cooper@tonycooper214@gmail.com to alt.usage.english,rec.arts.books,rec.arts.sf.written,rec.arts.sf.misc on Mon Mar 2 13:18:55 2026
    From Newsgroup: alt.usage.english

    On Mon, 02 Mar 2026 08:50:57 -0800, Paul S Person
    <psperson@old.netcom.invalid> wrote:

    On Sun, 1 Mar 2026 19:49:25 -0000 (UTC), richard@cogsci.ed.ac.uk
    (Richard Tobin) wrote:

    In article <5pr8qk1drbapjmvv4fa4rm5o0hq8iod3qf@4ax.com>,
    Paul S Person <psperson@old.netcom.invalid> wrote:

    TV shows only exist to create audiences for commercials.

    And yet we have channels with no commercials.

    If it ain't broadcast, it ain't a channel.

    Well, in the sense that the statement above would apply to, anyway.

    On my television set, when I go to "Channel Guide", channels 2 and 15
    are PBS stations that do not carry ads. Channel 248 is HBO, which
    does not carry ads. As far as I'm concerned, they are both channels
    which carry ad-less "shows".






    --- Synchronet 3.21d-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From Cryptoengineer@petertrei@gmail.com to alt.usage.english,rec.arts.books,rec.arts.sf.written,rec.arts.sf.misc on Mon Mar 2 14:39:39 2026
    From Newsgroup: alt.usage.english

    On 3/2/2026 1:18 PM, Tony Cooper wrote:
    On Mon, 02 Mar 2026 08:50:57 -0800, Paul S Person <psperson@old.netcom.invalid> wrote:

    On Sun, 1 Mar 2026 19:49:25 -0000 (UTC), richard@cogsci.ed.ac.uk
    (Richard Tobin) wrote:

    In article <5pr8qk1drbapjmvv4fa4rm5o0hq8iod3qf@4ax.com>,
    Paul S Person <psperson@old.netcom.invalid> wrote:

    TV shows only exist to create audiences for commercials.

    And yet we have channels with no commercials.

    If it ain't broadcast, it ain't a channel.

    Well, in the sense that the statement above would apply to, anyway.

    On my television set, when I go to "Channel Guide", channels 2 and 15
    are PBS stations that do not carry ads. Channel 248 is HBO, which
    does not carry ads. As far as I'm concerned, they are both channels
    which carry ad-less "shows".

    Paul has a noticeable tendency to redefine words when his proclamations
    are called into question.

    pt
    --- Synchronet 3.21d-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From Bobbie Sellers@bliss-sf4ever@dslextreme.com to alt.usage.english,rec.arts.books,rec.arts.sf.written,rec.arts.sf.misc on Mon Mar 2 12:35:10 2026
    From Newsgroup: alt.usage.english



    On 3/2/26 10:18, Tony Cooper wrote:
    On Mon, 02 Mar 2026 08:50:57 -0800, Paul S Person <psperson@old.netcom.invalid> wrote:

    On Sun, 1 Mar 2026 19:49:25 -0000 (UTC), richard@cogsci.ed.ac.uk
    (Richard Tobin) wrote:

    In article <5pr8qk1drbapjmvv4fa4rm5o0hq8iod3qf@4ax.com>,
    Paul S Person <psperson@old.netcom.invalid> wrote:

    TV shows only exist to create audiences for commercials.

    And yet we have channels with no commercials.

    If it ain't broadcast, it ain't a channel.

    Well, in the sense that the statement above would apply to, anyway.

    On my television set, when I go to "Channel Guide", channels 2 and 15
    are PBS stations that do not carry ads. Channel 248 is HBO, which
    does not carry ads. As far as I'm concerned, they are both channels
    which carry ad-less "shows".

    In San Francisco we have 4 Main PBS channels. The largest KQED-TV
    has 4 sub channels having absorbed channel 54 with its own 4 separate sub-channesls which now carries the same shows as the original channel 9.
    They have commercials. Channel 60 has few commercials but they happen
    from time to time. Channel 32 is frequently billed as the NASA Channel but
    it runs classical music and dance from time to time. Since it became
    the NASA
    outlet I don't watch it often.

    I used to be able to pay when working for cable connection.
    Some of the stuff on specialized channels was good but there was a lot
    of it.
    Finally I decided that an ISP connection was worth the cost but eventually
    I decided Cable was a waste of time as I became more interested in
    political
    matters and I get plenty of that between broadcast PBS and commercial
    channels. If I wanted to watch MAGA Fodder there is even a stomach
    -churning channel that is devoted to that alternate fact news.
    One of the important channels #2 is a Fox Affiliate but they identify the
    Faux news bits pretty clearly and it has the best coverage of the local
    news.
    It does not display Faux's insanity. The reporters and readers have
    a wide ethnic range as do most of San Francisco's stations and reporting
    is pretty much on a liberal slant.

    bliss - "Nearly any fool can use a Linux Computer..."
    After all here I am...


    --- Synchronet 3.21d-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From Tony Cooper@tonycooper214@gmail.com to alt.usage.english,rec.arts.books,rec.arts.sf.written,rec.arts.sf.misc on Mon Mar 2 16:31:11 2026
    From Newsgroup: alt.usage.english

    On Mon, 2 Mar 2026 12:35:10 -0800, Bobbie Sellers <bliss-sf4ever@dslextreme.com> wrote:



    On 3/2/26 10:18, Tony Cooper wrote:
    On Mon, 02 Mar 2026 08:50:57 -0800, Paul S Person
    <psperson@old.netcom.invalid> wrote:

    On Sun, 1 Mar 2026 19:49:25 -0000 (UTC), richard@cogsci.ed.ac.uk
    (Richard Tobin) wrote:

    In article <5pr8qk1drbapjmvv4fa4rm5o0hq8iod3qf@4ax.com>,
    Paul S Person <psperson@old.netcom.invalid> wrote:

    TV shows only exist to create audiences for commercials.

    And yet we have channels with no commercials.

    If it ain't broadcast, it ain't a channel.

    Well, in the sense that the statement above would apply to, anyway.

    On my television set, when I go to "Channel Guide", channels 2 and 15
    are PBS stations that do not carry ads. Channel 248 is HBO, which
    does not carry ads. As far as I'm concerned, they are both channels
    which carry ad-less "shows".

    In San Francisco we have 4 Main PBS channels. The largest KQED-TV
    has 4 sub channels having absorbed channel 54 with its own 4 separate >sub-channesls which now carries the same shows as the original channel 9. >They have commercials. Channel 60 has few commercials but they happen
    from time to time. Channel 32 is frequently billed as the NASA Channel but
    it runs classical music and dance from time to time. Since it became
    the NASA
    outlet I don't watch it often.


    PBS does not air commercials that are what we commonly consider to be commercials. No soap, injury attorney, prescription drug, etc
    commericals. However, they do acknowledge certain sponsors by name,
    but they are usually foundations or summat like that.

    The exception is Masterpiece productions that are funded by Viking
    Cruises. (European river cruises) Viking's Torstein Hagen narrates
    the Viking ads. At least, the Viking ads are inoffensive (to me) and Masterpiece is worth any inconvenience.

    My television programming is via cable, but absent an antennae or
    dish, that's the only way to get a signal.

    I used to be able to pay when working for cable connection.
    Some of the stuff on specialized channels was good but there was a lot
    of it.

    I'm lucky. The condominium complex I live in negotiated a deal with
    Spectrum where each unit pays $9.11 a month for cable including over
    100 channels, HBO, and internet. Very reasonable compared to
    securing those services independently.

    The system includes a box that allows me to record every program,
    watch it later, and fast-forward through any commercial. The only
    programming I watch "live" is news and sports.

    --- Synchronet 3.21d-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From lar3ryca@larry@invalid.ca to alt.usage.english,rec.arts.books,rec.arts.sf.written,rec.arts.sf.misc on Mon Mar 2 16:07:42 2026
    From Newsgroup: alt.usage.english

    On 2026-03-02 10:49, Paul S Person wrote:
    On Sun, 1 Mar 2026 19:44:52 -0000 (UTC), Christian Weisgerber <naddy@mips.inka.de> wrote:

    On 2026-03-01, Paul S Person <psperson@old.netcom.invalid> wrote:

    TV shows only exist to create audiences for commercials. The actual
    program is of no importance whatsoever.

    Obviously not true for premium cable or (premium) streaming.

    What part of "TV shows" did you not understand?

    What part of streamed TV shows did you not understand?
    --
    My wife told me to put ketchup on the shopping list.
    I can't read any of it now.
    --- Synchronet 3.21d-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From lar3ryca@larry@invalid.ca to alt.usage.english,rec.arts.books,rec.arts.sf.written,rec.arts.sf.misc on Mon Mar 2 16:15:11 2026
    From Newsgroup: alt.usage.english

    On 2026-03-02 13:39, Cryptoengineer wrote:
    On 3/2/2026 1:18 PM, Tony Cooper wrote:
    On Mon, 02 Mar 2026 08:50:57 -0800, Paul S Person
    <psperson@old.netcom.invalid> wrote:

    On Sun, 1 Mar 2026 19:49:25 -0000 (UTC), richard@cogsci.ed.ac.uk
    (Richard Tobin) wrote:

    In article <5pr8qk1drbapjmvv4fa4rm5o0hq8iod3qf@4ax.com>,
    Paul S Person-a <psperson@old.netcom.invalid> wrote:

    TV shows only exist to create audiences for commercials.

    And yet we have channels with no commercials.

    If it ain't broadcast, it ain't a channel.

    Well, in the sense that the statement above would apply to, anyway.

    On my television set, when I go to "Channel Guide", channels 2 and 15
    are PBS stations that do not carry ads.-a Channel 248 is HBO, which
    does not carry ads.-a As far as I'm concerned, they are both channels
    which carry ad-less "shows".

    Paul has a noticeable tendency to redefine words when his proclamations
    are called into question.

    Indeed. In my English, a 'channel' is something that allows something to
    go from one place to another, or in the words of a dictionary:

    noun: Something through which another thing passes; a means of
    conveying or transmitting.

    Paul, note the absence of any mention of radio or television.
    --
    Management is about doing things right;
    leadership is doing the right things.
    ~ Peter Drucker
    --- Synchronet 3.21d-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From Lawrence =?iso-8859-13?q?D=FFOliveiro?=@ldo@nz.invalid to alt.usage.english,rec.arts.books,rec.arts.sf.written,rec.arts.sf.misc on Mon Mar 2 23:50:50 2026
    From Newsgroup: alt.usage.english

    On Mon, 2 Mar 2026 16:15:11 -0600, lar3ryca wrote:

    In my English, a 'channel' is something that allows something to go
    from one place to another ...

    ... or a marking supposedly seen on the surface of Mars.

    rCLCanalirCY, as Schiaparelli called them. Though I gather thatrCOs
    ambiguous, and could be translated as rCLchannelsrCY or rCLcanalsrCY.

    Anyway, Lowell, Burroughs and others jumped on the rCLcanalsrCY
    interpretation, and the rest is history ...
    --- Synchronet 3.21d-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From Cryptoengineer@petertrei@gmail.com to alt.usage.english,rec.arts.books,rec.arts.sf.written,rec.arts.sf.misc on Mon Mar 2 22:13:44 2026
    From Newsgroup: alt.usage.english

    On 3/2/2026 4:31 PM, Tony Cooper wrote:
    On Mon, 2 Mar 2026 12:35:10 -0800, Bobbie Sellers <bliss-sf4ever@dslextreme.com> wrote:



    On 3/2/26 10:18, Tony Cooper wrote:
    On Mon, 02 Mar 2026 08:50:57 -0800, Paul S Person
    <psperson@old.netcom.invalid> wrote:

    On Sun, 1 Mar 2026 19:49:25 -0000 (UTC), richard@cogsci.ed.ac.uk
    (Richard Tobin) wrote:

    In article <5pr8qk1drbapjmvv4fa4rm5o0hq8iod3qf@4ax.com>,
    Paul S Person <psperson@old.netcom.invalid> wrote:

    TV shows only exist to create audiences for commercials.

    And yet we have channels with no commercials.

    If it ain't broadcast, it ain't a channel.

    Well, in the sense that the statement above would apply to, anyway.

    On my television set, when I go to "Channel Guide", channels 2 and 15
    are PBS stations that do not carry ads. Channel 248 is HBO, which
    does not carry ads. As far as I'm concerned, they are both channels
    which carry ad-less "shows".

    In San Francisco we have 4 Main PBS channels. The largest KQED-TV
    has 4 sub channels having absorbed channel 54 with its own 4 separate
    sub-channesls which now carries the same shows as the original channel 9.
    They have commercials. Channel 60 has few commercials but they happen >>from time to time. Channel 32 is frequently billed as the NASA Channel but
    it runs classical music and dance from time to time. Since it became
    the NASA
    outlet I don't watch it often.


    PBS does not air commercials that are what we commonly consider to be commercials. No soap, injury attorney, prescription drug, etc
    commericals. However, they do acknowledge certain sponsors by name,
    but they are usually foundations or summat like that.

    The exception is Masterpiece productions that are funded by Viking
    Cruises. (European river cruises) Viking's Torstein Hagen narrates
    the Viking ads. At least, the Viking ads are inoffensive (to me) and Masterpiece is worth any inconvenience.

    My television programming is via cable, but absent an antennae or
    dish, that's the only way to get a signal.

    I used to be able to pay when working for cable connection.
    Some of the stuff on specialized channels was good but there was a lot
    of it.

    I'm lucky. The condominium complex I live in negotiated a deal with
    Spectrum where each unit pays $9.11 a month for cable including over
    100 channels, HBO, and internet. Very reasonable compared to
    securing those services independently.

    The system includes a box that allows me to record every program,
    watch it later, and fast-forward through any commercial. The only programming I watch "live" is news and sports.


    My regular early evening lineup is BBC World News at 5:30, local
    news at 6, and National News at 6:30.

    I DVR them all, and have a 30 second skip programmed on one of
    the buttons of my Xfinity remote.

    I start watching at 6, with the BBC - skipping any long interviews
    that carry little information. At about 20 past I'm done, and
    switch to the local news. Again, I skip the ads and teasers, and
    after the main weather there's only sports left, so I switch to
    the national news. That has a long news segment up front, then
    three tiny segments - under a minute each - with the rest of the
    time packed with ads. However, the teasers up front give enough
    away that I can often skip them. I usually finish just around 7.

    So, I watch 3 30 minute news programs in an hour, and see almost
    zero ads.

    pt

    --- Synchronet 3.21d-Linux NewsLink 1.2