Conrad: Prescient Person

But With A Deficient Memory

That isn't quite deficient enough.  For instance, I recall reading a couple of short stories in compendia of science-fiction collections of same, and a few things stick with me: in one the protagonist wears unobtrusive clothing that can immediately transform itself into a strait-jacket, preventing him from - and that's where the memory gives out.

CAUTION! Do not try running whilst restrained

     I remember a line from the second one: "Old Earth had gravitrons to burn."  It concerned someone who found a magic new fuel source, that being gravitrons - or was it "gravitons"? - and who thus destabilises the entire globe.

No, Art, not literally

     Can I remember the author?  No.  Can I remember the story title?  No.  Can I even remember the title of the work they were collected in? No.

     It would be better altogether if these memories just STAYED AWAY! but of course they refuse to, the swines.  One day, memory, one day ...

     None of which has anything to do with today's title, of course - obviously! - because that would be too logical, or sensible, or both.  You see, Conrad was re-reading his zombie magnum opus "Revelations", which was written about eight years ago, and Your Humble Scribe came across a paragraph that was eerily predictive.  Art!

     "Whilst we drove back to Tarn Hill, I had N-Jin call in at a superstore we'd passed on our way to the O Group.  Despite it being the crack of dawn the car park had a lot of vehicles present, and a taped single entrance route leading to the entrance doors.  When I got into the foyer burly security guards wearing disposable gloves were keeping order over prospective shoppers queuing to get inside.

     I could see the logic - restrict entry to a single line of people, minimising personal contact and reducing the risk of passing on disease.  There was a one-way system in operation inside with more barriers and cones preventing people from moving randomly.  Once you got in you had to move along the shelves  and cabinets without being able to turn back ..."

     Interesting, nicht wahr?  At this point in The Crisis rationing wasn't an issue.  The whole thing would need lightly editing to factor in Covid-19 as having happened in the past, which would also explain why things rip along so quickly at the start.

CAUTION!  Official terminology is "Revenant"

     The Motley?  The healing and repairs are coming along nicely, thanks.  We should be back to the usual torments by Monday; Tuesday at the latest.

Well Well Wyvern

You know you're a truly sad individual when: you stand at the drinks aisle in a supermarket and look for brands of beer that offer blogging opportunities rather than type, taste or strength.

     And so it is with Conrad.  Art!

     "I.P.A." stands for "India Pale Ale" should you be curious, and was a brand of beer brewed so that it was ready to drink by the time it reached India by sea, which took a while.  The wyvern, on the other hand - "Brewers" defines it as a beast of heraldry, a winged dragon having a barbed tail, the name ultimately deriving from the Latin <sighs, Latin again?> "Vipera" for "snake".  Typically they only have two legs, so they aren't as dangerous as a full dragon, and they tend to come in small sizes, so handy for camping trips if you've run out of matches.

     Why name a beer after it?  Why not!

Back To That "Rolling Stone" Top 50 Television Sci-Fi Shows List

I'm determined to get to the end of this list, after a long delay in taking it up again, and we are now down to the top 3 <quivers with excitement> so let us itemise Number 3, which is -

<sounds of Art being shot>

     - excuse me whilst our errant Neanderthal is revived and chastised most severely, and I recommend you use mind-bleach and memory-blockers to remove all retention of the above.  Art?

Better

     Your Humble Scribe has several sets of this on DVD and might have to break them out again.  There is also a mini-series that came before the series actual, which you need to watch in order to make sense of things, or you'll be at sea with "33".  This re-imagined series is that rarest of things, a huge improvement on the original.  It is gritty and realistic and has only two things that Hom. Sap. doesn't have in 2020 A.D. - sentient robots and an interstellar Faster Than Light drive.  Be warned that it is not at all camp or cheesy and will probably make small children cry if you force them to watch it*.

"As punishment, the 'Galactica' pilots were forced to listen to Conrad's "Forbidden Planet" monograph."

     So be aware: there is "Battlestar Galactica" and there is "Battlestar Galactigarbage".  You have been warned.

Just for your information, I am now 3% of the way through "Bleak House".  Only another 912 pages to go!

More Of Stupid

Corporate stupidity in this instance.  We already covered Tumblr and how a business worth £1 billion managed to become worth only £2 million, by instantly alienating all it's users once bought out.  The 'no porn' ban was akin to buying a car, taking the wheels off and expecting it still to drive away.

     Today it's the turn of Digg to take prime place on the podium of premium plonkers.  They were a news-aggregating website that allowed users to vote for articles, begun in 2004 and doing very well.  At first.

Hooray! (Provisionally)

      They released a new iteration of Digg in 2010 to disastrous effect, with 50% of users immediately becoming ex-users.  Art?

      What went wrong?  Several things, one of which was the influence of 'investors' whose sole care was making £££.  Under their pressure, Digg was revamped and a lot of popular features removed, because who cares about the end users anyway?  And who cares if the content is driven by half a dozen corporate sites, not the users?  And who cares if so-called 'power players' can and do game the site?

The users care, apparently

     The company was sold for £350,000 to Betaworks, who then sold it to an advertising company who have stolidly refused to say how much they paid for it.  The last figure available for how much Digg made annually is from 2008, so ancient history and not relatable at all.  Of course there is a silver lining in all this, except it's for Reddit, who prospered enormously from the failure of Digg**.

     So yes, users do matter.

     ANd with that wE are doNe!

*  And a thoroughly good thing, too, in my opinion.  Death to annoying comic characters!

**  Obvious punnery avoided, I hope you notice