Joe › Comments

"I know that my service provider does indeed block incoming connections on known server ports (80, 21, 25, etc) unless you have a business account.  I used to run my own web server and DNS server, but the cost of being on a business account, even here in the US, was too expensive compared to just paying for a VPS.  :-(" - Joe

"I'd add Fedora Scientific. It's a version of Fedora (called a spin) specifically designed for Scientific Computing. http://spins.fedoraproject.org..." - Joe

"submitted by reddit to blog." - Joe

"For a few reasons. 1) There are many of us who have used Usenet since the late 80's (maybe even earlier. That's when I found it). Until AOL opened it up to everybody, thus ruining it, it was home to intelligent conversation on levels that most people aren't normally exposed to. Therefore, many of us are nostalgic of that and protective of USENET. 2) People who now use USENET primarily use it for file transferring, which is illegal in many countries, but its currently not on the radar of the groups like the MPAA. Everyone would like to keep it that way. As to getting cheap usenet: I use astraweb. You can buy access by quantity rather than pay a subscription fee. I usually buy 25 gigs at a time. http://astraweb.com/" - Joe

"The second rule of USENET is: we don't talk about USENET." - Joe

"I'll be 40 this year, and returning to college to get a degree in Comp. Sci.  Your blog has been one of the things that has taken the fear away.  Thank you." - Joe

"Moocards.  Seriously.  They make the most awesome business cards you've ever seen, and a smaller version called, you guessed it, a Moocard.  Great for conferences, etc.  Unfortunately, they don't do posters (as far as I know.  I haven't been on their website in a bit).  http://us.moo.com/" - Joe

"This is a great contest.  I was planning on buying a fire, but if I win, I can give it to my partner's uncle who really loves to read but has no space for books.  :-(" - Joe

"Thanks for this. I don't have Photoshop, but I can probably try it out in Acorn or Pixelmator, or maybe GIMP as a last resort. (Only last resort because it doesn't run well on OS X, though I guess I could use it in my Ubuntu VM)." - Joe

"Okay, sorry to keep filling up this post with comments, but I found another resource: http://www.thecoremechanic.com/2009... It mentions a Mac program for mapmaking http://fmteau.perso.neuf.fr/rpgmapm..." - Joe

"Oh, and here's AlternativeTo.net's [list of Mac alternatives to Campaign Cartographer](http://alternativeto.net/softwar...). I can't attest to the usefulness of this software, but it might help you. They also have some that are [online tools.](http://alternativeto.net/softwar...). Again I can't attest to usefulness or quality. Hope you find what you need. And I hope someone here can help you more, because I'd be interested in the info myself. An option you might want to consider is finding linux software for your purpose, downloading virtualbox for free, installing ubuntu in virtualbox, and then install whatever linux software that you need. Just a thought. For future reference, you can check http://osx.iusethis.com to find OS X software in different categories based on the number of people actually using it. There's also http://alternativeto.net that lets you find alternatives to popular software. As a last..." - Joe

"For non-graphical stuff: I use Bento as my database. I use Evernote to grab and store research info (my serious research stuff is stored in DevonThink Pro, but for non-professional stuff, I use Evernote). If you don't want to buy Bento, iDatabase is a perfectly decent competitor that costs much less. (I own both, but most of my legacy stuff is in Bento. I want to play with more iDatabase more because I like the fact that the iOS app is free, unlike Filemaker which makes you buy Bento's companion iOS app twice if you have both an iPhone/iPod Touch and an iPad). I was using Timeline 3d to set up timelines, but I use Timeglider now (http://timeglider.com), because it has a free option and looks great." - Joe

"Pixelmator and Acorn might also be useful for Map Making (I have both, and I like Pixelmator better, but I've never used it for map making). I don't think you can test Pixelmator before you buy anymore (it's only on the app store), but Acorn can be downloaded and played with before you have to buy it." - Joe

"The only thing I've read by Pohl was the Heechee saga. Some of it was great. So I'll give this a chance. :-)" - Joe

"True, but I was looking for literature, not movies. Suppose I should have been more specific. :-) Thanks though." - Joe

"I ended up finding books 2-4. I'll have to buy a copy of 1 from Abebooks. :-)" - Joe

"Definitely going to look for that today. I'm actually going to two different places: My local library has a book sale (with lots of sci-fi) and my favorite bookstore, so lucky me. :-)" - Joe

"I'd come across both last night while reading about Dying Earth on Wikipedia, lol. Thanks!" - Joe

"It'd be hard to identify with the characters if they weren't somehow "still people". :-)" - Joe

"Already read Dune. Last Legends of Earth sounds interesting. I've always been a fan of Attanasio." - Joe

"Still, it's hard to imagine why he chose entitlement programs over something like Military Spending. Ah well, I don't often let a persons politics determine the status of their art (except, of course, when those politics bleed into their art so badly that you can't separate the two). The example I always use is Ezra Pound, who is my favorite poet. He was a fascist and an anti-semite, but that doesn't make his poetry any less well-written or any less important." - Joe

"Thanks!" - Joe

"I've actually read it in high school, and then again in college. Frankenstein isn't Messianic: It's Promethean (thus the subtile: The Postmodern Prometheus). Prometheus gave fire to man (basically life), and Frankenstein gave life to his creation. I love the book. I recently reread it because I was reminded of it by a Tim Powers book: *The Stress of Her Regard*, which has Mary Shelley as a character." - Joe

"Hehe. Well, "Perhaps today **is** a good day to day" is actually a Sioux phrase. I'd love to hear Worf try the latin, though." - Joe

"Cool. I'm getting a lot of stuff here. Thanks to everyone! I'm really enjoying this. I'll have a whole bunch to read while I'm stuck in bed." - Joe

"My 10th grade English teacher gave me *A Canticle for Leibowitz* for extra credit. Loved it. I think I will add that to the list for rereading." - Joe

"*shudder* LOL." - Joe

"I was going to read Accelerando this fall or winter. Have it on the "medium priority" list. Might read both in a row. I hear good things about Accelerando." - Joe

"I'll give it a chance. I last read Farmer as a teenager. Perhaps I'll see it differently now." - Joe

"I actually want them to install something so I can process information faster, lol. More memory would be nice. Too bad the singularity isn't here yet." - Joe