CaptainChaos74

CaptainChaos74 t1_jaxnp2c wrote

Reply to comment by lavahot in Terry Pratchett: Facing Extinction (2013) - Author Terry Pratchett, having been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s, returns to Borneo, where 18 years earlier, he encountered wild orangutans for the first time [01:01:50] by BigJimNorton

Possibly, but recursive acronyms were already a popular joke in the hacker space when GNU came out in 1984, while Going Postal wasn't published until 2004.

I think it might actually be the reverse: Terry Pratchett might have been paying homage to Richard Stallman. Pratchett was a computer geek, and the book is about automated communication, like a computer network, so it's not beyond the realm of possibilities.

The GNU in the book are disruptors who fight against the big corporation that runs the semaphore, just like the real-life GNU was a disruptor that went up against the big corporations that sold UNIX. And in the end they won. If you have an Android phone, it runs GNU/Linux. 😀

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CaptainChaos74 t1_jax6g6k wrote

Reply to comment by AlliRmbrIsDrtSkyDrt in Terry Pratchett: Facing Extinction (2013) - Author Terry Pratchett, having been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s, returns to Borneo, where 18 years earlier, he encountered wild orangutans for the first time [01:01:50] by BigJimNorton

Every web server I administer adds an X-Clacks-Overhead HTTP header to every response with a value of GNU Terry Pratchett (as well as the name of my own father who died way too young at 55).

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CaptainChaos74 t1_j9nz9k3 wrote

Reply to comment by AutoModerator in [WP]You're a software engineer who is a communications geek. You learned Morse code. One day, on a whim, you blink "console" with your eyelids. A translucent overlay over everything appears, highlighting items of interest. A realtime programming loop prompt blinks eagerly by livebeta

For a book series that explores this idea, check out the Magic 2.0 series by Scott Meyer. The first one is called Off to Be the Wizard.

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CaptainChaos74 t1_j8feh26 wrote

Reply to comment by minusmode in 7 international companies have teamed with the EU to form the International Hyperloop Association, the industry's first trade body. by lughnasadh

> Who is even benefiting from this at this point?

The auto and aviation industries. Musk has admitted that basically the only reason for Hyperloop was to sabotage high speed rail in California. I imagine this consortium has similar aims. Deflect investment from where it would actually be effective at getting people out of the car or airplane.

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