brains are more inportant than fittness. Certainly more than physical
strength. Walk on a military base and look for how many people have
glasses. The reason is the military decided that smart troops are more
important than than troops with perfect vision. (Not linking brains and
glasses, but the point that allowing glasses increased the pool of good
recruits)
In the tight confines of military vehicles (like tanks) average or small
is good. I'd rather have a small, smart scout than even a smart big one,
less chace of being spotted.
I think it (female polit/male GOPOS) had more to do with the time RAH
wrote the book in, he had a chivalric view towards women. Ground fighting
is considered more messy. Let the guys do the dirty work and the ladies
fire the "clean" missiles.
Pete
... "In a mature society 'civil servant' is equal to 'civil master'." --LL
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Ä [20] SFFAN (2:463/2.5) ÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ SFFAN Ä
Msg : 27 of 233
From : Bob Klahn 1:234/2 .cę 28 .īp 96 18:55
To : Trishia Dressler
Subj : IT'S NOT JUST YOU
ÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ
BK>> Trishia, I got a series of msgs from you in my packet. They are
BK>> apparently for a single parents echo, but showed up in the SF Fan
TD> Sorry.. I had a reply packet that screwed up... yes they were for
TD> the single parents echo... hmm... could you tell me what messages
TD> were sent there ? so I can rewrite them and send them...
Sorry, I don't still have them, and they have been deleted from the BBS
after their time ran out.
BOB KLAHN
... Fire eaters quickly learn not to spit into the wind.
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Ä [20] SFFAN (2:463/2.5) ÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ SFFAN Ä
Msg : 28 of 233
From : Bob Klahn 1:234/2 .cę 28 .īp 96 18:55
To : Lawrence E Dunlap
Subj : SOFT/SLAVER WEAPON
ÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ
LED> I thought Niven might finally succumb to a backstory about the
LED> origins of the Puppeter race with some explanation about why the
LED> Puppeters were so timid.
LED> If you remember, Beowulf Shaffer's voyage to the chain-supernovae
LED> galactic core explosion sent the Puppeters running out of the galaxy
LED> for good and all, in "At The Core" which is the beginning of the
LED> passing of Puppeters from Niven's continuum.
I thought the conclusion was the Puppeteers were just excessively sensible.
BOB KLAHN
... Tip #9: Add DEVICE=FNGRCROS.SYS to CONFIG.SYS
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Ä [20] SFFAN (2:463/2.5) ÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ SFFAN Ä
Msg : 29 of 233
From : Bob Klahn 1:234/2 .cę 28 .īp 96 18:55
To : Bill Clements
Subj : EDUCATION THROUGH FIC
ÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ
BC> Posted 17 Apr 96 - BILL CLEMENTS to TODD SULLIVAN
BC>> The abovementioned situation has given us an ever growing
BC>> segment of the American public that simply sits gazing at the
BC>> drivel that is pasted between T.V. commercials. The quality of
BC>> entertainment has been spiraling downward for a number of years;
BC>> proportionate to the decrease of educational standards in
BC>> America. Unfortunately this drop in programing quality has not
BC>> been noticed by most of the viewing public.
BC> We appear to agree. Looking back at the above quote I believe
BC> that I can make a case for the the decline of United States
BC> educational standards proportionate to the annual increase in
BC> the sales of television sets to American consumers.
I'm willing to bet you can't make a valid case for declining educational
standards in the US at all. I've heard this over and over and never seen the
evidence presented. It's always some study somebody did, but no supporting
data provided.
LE>> For those interested in my viewing habits to evaluate the
LE>> consonance between my words and ideation, I only watch the ST group,
LE>> *Babylon 5* and selected sporting events on TV.
BC> content. Were it not for M*A*S*H, TNG, Florida Marlins Baseball,
I would argue that the entire Star Trek series represents a decline in
educational standards. The lack of valid scientific basis for much of
anything is the basis for my saying this. I'd like to see real scientific
knowledge extrapolated to the future.
B5 and Space above and Beyond probably do not really do any better on the
science, but they are less glitter and gimicks and heavy on plot and
character.
I'd love to continue the education discussion, if you wish. I read the
debate echo all the time.
BOB KLAHN
... My taglines are never random.
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Ä [20] SFFAN (2:463/2.5) ÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ SFFAN Ä
Msg : 30 of 233
From : Bob Klahn 1:234/2 .cę 28 .īp 96 19:07
To : Bill Clements
Subj : EDUCATION THROUGH FIC
ÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ
BC> In Florida today adult adolescence and unacceptable workmanship
BC> are not considered valid reasons to terminate an employee. An
BC> individual thus terminated will simply march down to the Florida
BC> Department of Labor and Employment Security and file for
BC> unemployment compensation. He'll get it too, 26 weeks of half
BC> pay vacation with mandatory, of course, but cursory job
BC> interviews. At this time the employers "experience rating" will
BC> go up, as will his premium for mandatory state unemployment
BC> insurance. The state of Florida grants it's residents the
BC> right, not privilege, of gainful employment. Well paid Florida
BC> residents can, if "wrongly" terminated, cause a steep upturn in
BC> an employers unemployment insurance premium.
Having given this some thought I have come to the conclusion that this
portion should also be challenged. I would like to explain exactly why there
is nothing at all unreasonable in that situation, but I would prefer to do
it in an echo where it would be on-topic. If you don't get the debate echo,
is there another you would choose?
BOB KLAHN
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Ä [20] SFFAN (2:463/2.5) ÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ SFFAN Ä
Msg : 31 of 233
From : Bill Clements 1:18/230 .åō 25 .īp 96 15:09
To : Lawrence E Dunlap
Subj : EDUCATION THROUGH FICTION
ÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ
From the desk of a cynical old man...
Posted 22 Apr 96 - LAWRENCE E DUNLAP to BILL CLEMENTS
LE> This is partly due to the openness of politics and entertainment
LE> to admitting individuals who are psychological/developmental
LE> adolescents.
LE> These individuals are naturally unable to function in ordinary
LE> workplaces where success requires a harsh, brutal competition where
LE> aggressive workers fight against each other to forcibly expel their
LE> opponents for a promotion or career.
[snip]
LE> Any place else, adult adolescence and unacceptable workmanship
LE> leads to termination and chronic unemployment at which point either
LE> reformation of the dysfunctional worker occurs or unemployment leads
LE> to starvation to death on the streets or totally avoidable suicide.
These statements are not true throughout the United States today
and grow less true on a daily basis. You are reporting a trend
that will continue to spread through the U.S. unless it is
stopped by grassroots action.
In "Megatrends" trend tracker John Naisbitt says this about
`Bellwether States':
---------------------- BEGIN NAISBITT QUOTE ---------------------
Our group collects information about what's going on locally
across the country and then looks for patterns. The results can
be fascinating. For example, we have learned that there are five
states in which most social invention occurs in this country. The
other forty-five are in effect followers.
Not surprisingly, California is the key indicator state; Florida
is second, although not too far behind; the other three
trend-setter states are Washington, Colorado, and Connecticut.
---------------------------- CONTINUED --------------------------
In fact, Florida is becoming increasingly important as a
bellwether state and may soon surpass California. The reason is
demographics. In 1980 Florida had the nations oldest population
and Floridians experienced growing tension between the state's
older and younger residents. This conflict is especially
noteworthy, because by about the year 1995 the entire U.S.
population will reflect the same age-youth ratio that Florida has
now, according to Census Bureau projections. By carefully
watching Florida, we stand to learn a wealth of information about
the problems and opportunities the whole nation will face in the
future.
----------------------- END NAISBITT QUOTE ----------------------
First notice that California and Florida, both bellwether
states, are home to the chief Television and Motion Picture
production houses.
In Florida today adult adolescence and unacceptable workmanship
are not considered valid reasons to terminate an employee. An
individual thus terminated will simply march down to the Florida
Department of Labor and Employment Security and file for
unemployment compensation. He'll get it too, 26 weeks of half
pay vacation with mandatory, of course, but cursory job
interviews. At this time the employers "experience rating" will
go up, as will his premium for mandatory state unemployment
insurance. The state of Florida grants it's residents the
right, not privilege, of gainful employment. Well paid Florida
residents can, if "wrongly" terminated, cause a steep upturn in
an employers unemployment insurance premium.
[paste]
LE> This could wander off to a off-topic discussion of how US
LE> vocational incentives clashing with destructive competition.
This discussion can't go off topic. As long as I stick to
current events in Florida it is, unless you are a Floridian, for
all practical purposes science fiction. That's right, I'm living
in and reporting on your probable future.
LE> Bill, there is no other servicable disincentive to poor quality
LE> television save a viewer population uniformly rejecting trash; that
LE> requires a population sufficiently discriminating enough *to* reject
LE> the bad and favor the good.
LE> I suspect if US audiences demand family programming, it is
LE> unlikely to become manifest except major behavior change occurs in the
LE> mass population exhibiting composite anc corporate disgust with current
LE> offerings while showing favor to programming of suitable quality and
LE> benefit to a audience needing education for the next century.
Posted 17 Apr 96 - BILL CLEMENTS to TODD SULLIVAN
BC> The abovementioned situation has given us an ever growing
BC> segment of the American public that simply sits gazing at the
BC> drivel that is pasted between T.V. commercials. The quality of
BC> entertainment has been spiraling downward for a number of years;
