8:20 AM It's The End Of The World As We Know It (And I Feel Fine)...

Yes, that's right, it's THAT WEEK. You know the one. The last of the faux-Millenium. The one where the world blows up.

On the plus side, that means April 15, 2000, will never be an issue. Wheeeee!

So did everybody have a good Christmas? I see Dr. Keyboard got his presents - LEGO Mindstorms. How cute. <G>

So, the week begins with a few projects to take care of. I have to finish the hardware inventory (oh goody! And I was afraid I'd be bored!) and make my recommendations for hardware. Personally, I'm leaning towards Dell Inspiron 500 MHz laptops for the IT staff, dual-800 MHz desktops, Palm Pilots, and company cars.

Hey, they asked.

On top of that, I have Mandrake 7 beta (Oxygen) to try out; I'm impressed so far, but then, all I've done is run the installation. When I get that done, I need to make preparations for a business trip sometime in the next couple of months - doing an off-site installation of an iTOOL system - and a trip back home to Minnesota. But for now, I need to get to work. Later.

Signature line of the day: 

"Don't try to ignore the .sig; that's impossible. Only try to realize the truth - that there is no .sig."

11:30 AM Yes, yes, I know. I'm late. Deal.

As you may have noticed, I'm not in the best of moods this morning. Due to circumstances beyond our control, my wife was laid off yesterday. What circumstances? Well, they had to do wit htha general inability of the senior management of her company to reliably find their ass with both hands and a flashlight, resulting in some incredibly poor business decisions, with the result that they no longer HAVE any business. Piffle. The job hunt begins again, and is going well. There'll be food on the table, and a roof over our heads, but it's never nice to see income levels go down.

On top of that, I came in to work to find that my favorite person in the office (hint - sarcasm) had royally screwed things up yet again. This time, he blamed it on me, very nearly successfully. Note the word "nearly." And this time - cross your fingers - he might have gotten himself fired. Think good thoughts.

So. I'm in a bad mood. Any questions?

Jerry Pournelle had an interesting letter on the political system of Starship Troopers, by Robert A. Heinlein. The letter is from someone named Talin, and I found myself disagreeing with very nearly everything in it. The good Doctor did an excellent job of a rebuttal, but it raised the topic to the forefront - at least, in my mind - yet again. Anybody else with thoughts, send them along.

10:00 AM Thanks to everybody who sent in their condolences for my wife's sudden "employment status change"; the continuing update of the saga is that they have asked her to return. Her reply to their request was short, to the point, unprintable (even here!) and in the negative. But she's already gotten some interesting replies for positions, so hopefully this will be a short search.

In other news, I got a pair of emails about the Starship Troopers question of yesterday; the first is from Chris Ward-Johnson, otherwise known as "Dr. Keyboard":

-----Original Message-----
From: Chris Ward-Johnson [mailto:chriswj@mostxlnt.co.uk]
Sent: Wednesday, December 29, 1999 2:58 AM
To: 'matt@rearviewmirror.org'
Subject: Starship troopers

Isn't one problem with the political system Heinlein outlined just the one he pointed up himself - the military becomes self-perpetuating by dint of starting stupid wars no one needs to fight. They pretend they need to fight the war, everyone thinks they need a military to fight the war, everyone ends up getting killed while young, the civilisation - such as it is - dies out. If the military didn't start the wars themselves then they'd have nothing to do, everyone would say 'hey, lets get rid of the military they're no use and stupidly expensive to no end at all' and those few who like doing that sort of thing would be out of jobs.

Regards

Chris Ward-Johnson
Dr Keyboard - Computing Answers You Can Understand
http://www.drkeyboard.co.uk

Sigh. Out of the mouths of babes and Brits...

No, actually, that's not the problem. I'll grant you, a militaristic government would be a problem, but not for the reasons you state.

Heinlein once stated "Any society which 'Ain't gonna study war no more' will inevitably be defeated - along about the next Wednesday.'" The problem isn't invaders, it's that the military is simply another way of keeping the wolves happy. So long as every citizen of your peaceful little society is a sheep, you're fine. But when you mix wolves in with the sheep, you'd better have sheepdogs.

Perhaps a better solution would be to have a society of wolves. The occasional sheep would be no problem - at least, not to the society - and it's probably just as stable, if in a different way.

The second email is from John Vogt:

-----Original Message-----
From: Jaydonalds@aol.com [mailto:Jaydonalds@aol.com]
Sent: Wednesday, December 29, 1999 4:27 AM To: matt@rearviewmirror.org Subject: Tuesday

Matt;
Sorry to hear your wife got let go. That's never good. There are benefits to this; however. She can now rest for the rest of the century.

About ST, I am of the opinion that Heinlein wrote that story to "call to the colors" citizens. (See "Grumbles From The Grave"). This novel is only a cold war reaction (and a paycheck) for RAH. Am I cold about this - yup. RAH was a great writer of SF - I have read all his works (I think) and he seems to me to have been eclectic in his political beliefs. If you want to really learn about RAH read the whole of Lazurus Long.

Wishing you and the Mrs. the best of the new year;
John Vogt
jaydonalds@aol.com

Thanks for the kind words; as I said above, this looks to be a short break, not a major issue, but it still isn't fun. As for resting for the rest of the year - you don't know my wife! She's decided to take the opportunity to completely - and I do mean completely - clean the apartment. Top to bottom, wall to wall, with things thrown out and everything. I think the cat was complaining about being dry-cleaned, but I'm not sure - he's not a great conversationalist.

I don't pretend to know Robert Heinlein's political affiliations; having read Grumbles from the Grave, I came away thinking that the book was most likely, as Dr. Pournelle pointed out yesterday, intended to make people think. Sometimes the best way to do that is to shock them out of their complacency; other times, that backfires. On the face of it, I think he would consider Starship Troopers a failure in that respect; the only response he ever seems to have received from it is hate mail from people that were too busy talking about the book to think about the book.

Then again, it's still in print; perhaps I'm mistaken. I hope so.

I have also read all of Heinlein's works, and own 99% of them; I'm missing copies of Farnham's Freehold, The Moon is a Harsh Mistress, and The Puppet Masters. I agree that it seems to be pretty eclectic on the politics; but then, when you factor in the "let's make people think" portion of his decision, things make a bit more sense. Most of the "serious" books, the adult novels based in something recognizable as reality, feature free societies - but not democracies. Often authoritarian societies, sometimes dictatorial, but always free.

Even more telling, look to the juveniles. EVERY SINGLE ONE follows that rule. Few of them are democracies, but all of them are free. What does that tell you?

7:15 AM Stumbled across an article on CNN about Hillary Clinton's latest wacked idea; a time capsule for the citizens of America in 2100. Now, OK, if you go in for time capsules, I can see it. The capsule will be stored in a climate-controlled area of the Smithsonian Institution, stuffed full with symbols of America.

Stuff like - Ray Charles' sunglasses? WTF??

But the perfect - the most ironic, you-gotta-laugh, absolutely perfect symbol of America today - a Hostess Twinkie. Unhealthy, artificial, sticky-sweet, shallow, with a worthless creme filling. The symbol of the United States of America. I am amused.

Which makes you all feel better, I know. <G>

Continuing the discussion of Heinlein and politics, we have email from David Yerka:

-----Original Message-----
From: David Yerka [mailto:leshaworks@iname.com]
Sent: Wednesday, December 29, 1999 1:28 PM
To: jerryp@jerrypournelle.com; matt@rearviewmirror.org
Subject: R.A.H.'s Politics

Dear Matt:

Interesting discussion on the politics of R.A.H. and Starship Troopers. From my reading (a favorite author--I ve I have virtually everything he had in print) I do not see him as an advocate of political systems but rather an advocate of the individual. He appears (in so much as any *fiction* can reflect an author's beliefs) a commentator on the various ways humans conduct political/social interaction--and mostly the foolishness we practice. His over-riding belief seems to be the "competent individual." A person who is smart enough to function where ever he or she lands. A person whose "truths" are founded in observation and experience and not in creeds.

In ST, Rico learns "adult responsibility" not to "government" but to his compatriots (as eventually does his father) and by extension to his society. And of course, as with all of R.A.H.'s main characters he is a survivor.It is his "honor", what he discovers inside himself, that lead him to risk, "...lives, ...fortune, ...sacred honor." In fact, if you look at how R.A.H. describes boot camp, the training emphasises self suficiency, common sense, and smarts. The training even gives *reasoned* rather than rote needs for chain of command and following orders.

Heinlein's major characters: Jubal Harshaw, the Stone family, Manual O'Kelly, Major Ardmore,Hamilton Felix, Rod Walker, Oscar Gordon, Sam in the Puppet Masters, Zeb Carter, and of course, Woodrow Wilson Smith, to name some, all deal with govenment on an "as necessary" basis but generally with a cynical outlook. They all deal with life on their own terms--not society's, not governments.

Heinlein speaks to the individual. He never says "this is the best of all government" instead he says be a thinking, observant honorable individual, use common sense and YOU decide.

David Yerka

P.S. I recently re-read "The Number of the Beast" by R.A.H. published in 1980. Not Heinlein's best by far but I recommend to anyone who might doubt R.A.H.'s intellegence in observing popular culture (and commercial trends in popular books). With more than a few laughs at himself, science fiction authors (and characters) and the Daynoters' honored Dr. Pournelle (and his compatriot in writing Lary Niven) as well as the S.C.A. and all those fans who would rather find reality in his books to "getting a real life."

Excellent comments. I think you came closer to my original intent than I did with my own post yesterday. <G>

I find myself agreeing intensely with Heinlein, or rather, with your view of what Heinlein was saying. I've remarked here an in other places that the world has become a lonely place for those with the intelligence and responsibility to be a member of such a society; with our "social" programs, litigious society, and fear of the unknown, the government, and fellow citizens, what place is there for those who would feel at home traveling with Lazarus Long? How many of us are left who would give our left arm for a car like Gay Deceiver - or even more precious, the ability to build a car like Gay Deceiver? Or a Dora? Or a computer like Minerva?

I've never quite given in to the temptation of immersing myself in the worlds Heinlein gave us, to try and find reality in the worlds as he wrote them rather than the world that is. But I can understand the temptation. How petty the world seems, compared to the society of Boondock! How many of us really give a damn about who Clinton slept with? Or who in Hollywood has the freshest boob/nose/lip/hip/etc job?

How many of us don't feel something stir inside when we read that passage in "Glory Road?" You know the one:

I wanted a Roc's egg. I wanted a harem loaded with lovely odalisques less than the dust beneath my chariot wheels, the rust that never stained my sword. I wanted raw red gold in nuggets the size of your fist and feed that lousy claim jumper to the huskies! I wanted to get up feeling brisk and go out and break some lances, then pick a likely wench for my droit du seigneur -- I wanted to stand up to the Baron and dare him to touch my wench. I wanted to hear the purple water chuckling against the skin of the Nancy Lee in the cool of the morning watch and not another sound, nor any movement save the slow tilting of the wings of the albatross that had been pacing us the last thousand miles.

I wanted the hurtling moons of Barsoom. I wanted Storisende and Poictesme, and Holmes shaking me awake to tell me, "The game's afoot!" I wanted to float down the Mississippi on a raft and elude a mob in company with the Duke of Bilgewater and the Lost Dauphin.

I wanted Prester John, and Excalibur held by a moon-white arm out of a silent lake. I wanted to sail with Ulysses and with Tros of Samothrace and eat the lotus in a land that seemed always afternoon. I wanted the feeling of romance and the sense of wonder I had known as a kid. I wanted the world to be what they had promised me it was going to be -- instead of the tawdry, lousy, fouled-up mess it is...

But that world seems gone. Today's world is lawyers, reporters, and politicians. Even my last refuge of computers is turning into a debating society where you win points not with your logic or wit but with volume and vitriol, where declaring jihad and refusing to compromise or consider other points of view is a valid tactic.

I can't even risk it all, if I choose, in a bid to reach the stars myself. Someday, just for fun, try getting permission from the FAA to launch something. Anything. I can practically guarantee you won't get it. And that saddens me. I want my Roc's egg; and I'd like to know who's taken it from me.

There's also a comment from Bo Leuf on Heinlein's popularity, which I'll post even though he has "<" and ">" signs in his email signature:

-----Original Message-----
From: Bo Leuf [mailto:bo@leuf.com]
Sent: Wednesday, December 29, 1999 1:32 PM
To: matt@rearviewmirror.org
Subject: heinlein

The books that RAH wrote were always interesting, both to me personally, and as a bookshop staple (back in the 80s). People would come in and admit to being a Heinlein fan, buy a few new editions and walk out. Others would come in, rant on about the dirty old lecher, buy a few more copies for their collection and walk out. Still others would denounce his extremist right wing views and, yup, ask for the latest new titles. Yet others would come in, say zip about RAH but instead chat about all manner of other authors. Needless to say, they too walked out with a few RAH titles among their other selections.

Well over a decade I spent selling SF -- and Heinlein consistently came up as the overall top selling author. Remarkable, really.

/ Bo
--
"Bo Leuf" <bo@leuf.com>
Leuf fc3 Consultancy
http://www.leuf.com/

I'm not surprised. Bottle shops sell dreams, and Robert Heinlein was the best bottle shop keeper of them all. Even if he did lie about those damned canals and the forests of Venus.

Last thought for today. We all, in one form or another, spend our time measuring things precisely. I measure traffic and uptime, as do some of the other members of the Gang. Tom and some of the others measure words and pages. We all eye deadlines with dread that grows larger as time grows shorter. So while you're measuring time today - be it the clock until you can go home for another three day weekend, or the calendar for the point of that three day weekend, remember this passage.

When I heard the learn'd astronomer;
When the proofs, the figures, were arranged
in columns before me;
When I was shown the charts and the diagrams,
to add, divide, and measure them;
When I, sitting, heard the astronomer,
where he lectured with much applause in the lecture-room,
How soon, unaccountable, I became tired and sick;
Till rising and gliding out, I wander'd off by myself,
In the mystical moist night-air, and from time to time,
Look'd up in perfect silence at the stars.

-- Walt Whitman, Leaves of Grass