HDTenEightyP/NetNews huggingface dataset:
From: callahan@lost-boy.cs.jhu.edu (Paul Callahan)
Subject: Re: Reading as an addiction (Was: 92 in rabreview)
Organization: Johns Hopkins Computer Science Department, Baltimore, MD
Date: Thu, 31 Dec 1992 21:08:24 GMT

orourke@sophia.smith.edu (Joseph O'Rourke) writes:

>Seeing the astounding quantity of books some posters consumed in 1992
>makes me wonder if reading can be a type of (benign?) addiction.  This 
>may be an especially apt description of those who (compulsively?) read a 
>hundred genre novels a year, mysteries or science fiction for example.
>	Among those who are voracious readers, do you feel the
>equivalent of withdrawal symptoms when (for whatever reason) you cannot 
>read for an extended period? 

It could be that I'm merely justifying my own behavior (I doubt I read more
than 30 books a year), but I think there is such a thing as reading
too much.  When I read continuously, the ideas go by in a blur.  I don't have a 
chance to assimilate them.  I tend to go through phases of heavy reading, 
or not reading at all.  When I'm not reading, however, I'm still being affected 
by what I've read.  If I go for a long walk, for example, I'm rarely exposed to 
anything of intrinsic cultural value, but I may see mundane things in a new 
light, based on what I've read most recently.  When people spend every moment  
of their spare time reading, I wonder if they are not denying themselves part
of the pleasure of appreciating good literature.  On this note, I also tend to
slow down for dialogue, because if it's done well, you have to hear it to 
appreciate it.

One of the things I try to do is to limit myself to books that offer something 
new or challenging.  I stopped reading SF a few years ago, for the most part, 
because I felt that most of the new books I read had little to add to the
genre.  Modern SF authors tend to make a better attempt at character development
than those of the "Golden Age," but if I'm looking for this sort of thing, I'd 
rather go with authors who make it their primary purpose; I don't need the 
sugar-coating.  I like general non-fiction as well, whether or not it's 
especially well-written, because it acts as raw data for drawing analogies and 
understanding things in new terms.  

I rarely use reading as a form of escapism.  Not to knock escapism; reading 
just seems like a dull way to go about it (I can understand if you happen to
be stuck in a hospital).  It wouldn't hurt me to read more, but I read about 
as much as I can make time for, and I don't feel I'd be better off reading
hundreds of books a year.  (I would be better off reading more material related
to my research, but that's an entirely different issue.)

--
"I would rather be torn to pieces by the poison-clawed cat, than to suffer one
instant of acceptance by the resident intellectuals of rec.arts.books." 
     [slightly modified; attribution left as an exercise to the reader]
              -- Paul Callahan, callahan@biffvm.cs.jhu.edu --
Newsgroups: rec.arts.books
From: marcy@sqwest.wimsey.bc.ca (Marcy Thompson)
Subject: Re: Reading as an addiction (Was: 92 in rabreview)
Organization: SoftQuad Inc., Surrey, British Columbia, CANADA
Date: Thu, 31 Dec 1992 23:52:26 GMT

In a recent rec.arts.books article, meltsner@crd.ge.com wrote:
>
>[Janice's note: I scored 17. Can anyone beat me?]

19. It would be 20, except that Mark's allergies mean we can't keep
books in the bedroom, so there are no books in a pile next to the bed.

Marcy

-- 

Marcy Thompson		
  SoftQuad (West)			
    marcy@sqwest.wimsey.bc.ca (preferred) or marcy@sq.com
From: pmoloney@maths.tcd.ie (Paul Moloney)
Newsgroups: rec.arts.books
Subject: Re: Irishly in L. Sprague DeCamp
Date: 21 Dec 92 12:44:10 GMT
Organization: Somewhere in the Twentieth Century

twain@milton.u.washington.edu (Barbara Hlavin) writes:
> vusl@athena.cas.vanderbilt.edu (VU Science Library) writes:

>>I am reading L. Sprague DeCamp's Lest Darkness Fall and I have a 
>>question.  In talking about Ebenezer the Jew,  DeCamp describes him
>>as distressingly pious and says, "he did not eat at all, to put it
>>Irishly, for fear of transgressing one of the innumerable rules of
>>his sect."  What does "Irishly" mean here?

>Probably refers to the use of extravagant exaggeration for the 
>purpose of making a point. 

If it was Irishly, surely it'd be "he did not eat at all at all at all"?

P.
-- 
moorcockheathersiainbankshamandcornpizzapjorourkebluesbrothersspikeleepratchett
clive  P a u l   M o l o n e y    "I'm pretty witty and you're itty bitty    pe
james  Trinity College, Dublin     And isn't it a pity the city can't see?   vr
brownbladerunnerorsonscottcardprincewatchmenkatebushbatmanthekillingjoketolkien
Newsgroups: rec.arts.books
From: mnemonic@eff.org (Mike Godwin)
Subject: Re: Making notations in your books?
Originator: mnemonic@eff.org
Organization: Electronic Frontier Foundation
Date: Mon, 21 Dec 1992 23:06:04 GMT

In article <1992Dec21.195603.9463@u.washington.edu> twain@milton.u.washington.edu (Barbara Hlavin) writes:

>I can't stand books that have been written in, myself.  I find the     
>annotations either puerile or incomprehensible, and highlighting and 
>underlining fatal to my concentration. 
 ^^^^^^^^^^^

How true!


--Mike




-- 
Mike Godwin,    |"I'm waiting for the one-man revolution
mnemonic@eff.org| The only one that's coming."
(617) 864-0665  |                           
EFF, Cambridge  |                   --Robert Frost
From: bh419@cleveland.Freenet.Edu (Ted B Samsel)
Newsgroups: rec.arts.books
Subject: Re: Good Westerns
Date: 23 Dec 1992 19:41:59 GMT
Organization: Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio (USA)
NNTP-Posting-Host: hela.ins.cwru.edu


Edwin Shrake's BLESSED McGILL......
-- 
Ted....
From: mtaranto@panix.com (Mark Taranto)
Newsgroups: rec.arts.books
Subject: Re: Homeschooling
Date: 31 Dec 92 20:52:38 GMT
Organization: The Inner Clique


Mike Morris and I discussed his plans to teach his children at home, in
e-mail, sometime last spring.  At the time, my only real concern was that
his children would miss out on the social aspect of school, which I do
think is an important part of it.  Mike assured me that he was aware of
that problem, and would make sure that that he knew of its importance.

My own schooling (Catholic schools in Massachusetts, Minnesota and New Jersey)
can be used as an argument for home schooling.  I learned very little in
High School, and was bored through most of grade school.  I wish that I
had someone like Mike to teach me, during that time, and would gladly
put the education of my children in his hands.

Mark
From: libwca@emory.edu (Bill Anderson)
Newsgroups: rec.arts.books
Subject: Re: Sjowall & Wahloo and other series
Date: 30 Dec 92 15:49:35 GMT
Organization: Emory University, Atlanta, GA
X-Newsreader: Tin 1.1 PL3

mnemonic@eff.org (Mike Godwin) writes:
: 
: For readers who like to follow the growth of a character over the course
: of several crime/mystery novels, I recommend Robert Parker's first 12
: Spenser books, beginning with THE GODWULF MANUSCRIPT and ending in
: VALEDICTION. (The books after VALEDICTION, which marks a natural
: conclusion to the series, show a significant drop in quality.)
: 
: 
: 
: --Mike

Is that right before the truly ridiculous one in which Hawk and
Spenser go out and kill everybody in the Pacific Northwest?  I
stopped reading the series after that one (A Catskill Eagle?), 
but in truth, I think Parker started going downhill around the
time of Looking for Rachel Wallace.  After that, he spent an
awful lot of time with overwraught demonstrations of Spenser's
tough-but-sensitive nature, and I began to wonder if he had turned
the entire project over to a fifteen-year-old boy.  I do agree
on the early ones, though- the first one (The Godwulf Manuscript? 
Why can't I remember the titles of mystery novels?) and the
aforementioned Looking for Rachel Wallace are especially good.

Bill

Newsgroups: rec.arts.books
From: claird@NeoSoft.com (Cameron Laird)
Subject: Re: Judith Martin is too (was: Wits and Half-Wits)
Organization: NeoSoft Communications Services -- (713) 684-5900
Date: Mon, 28 Dec 1992 13:45:44 GMT

In article <1992Dec28.021009.1208@netcom.com> tmaddox@netcom.com (Tom Maddox) writes:
>In article <BzuIFF.3q7@NeoSoft.com> claird@NeoSoft.com (Cameron Laird) writes:
>>In article <Bzs03t.KKH@dcs.glasgow.ac.uk> jack@dcs.glasgow.ac.uk (Jack Campin) writes:
>>>hhenderson@vax.clarku.edu quoted Tom Maddox:
>>>> I'm much more concerned with whether people are being interesting, witty,
>>>> enlightening, provocative.  In short, when it comes to public exchanges of
>>>> the written word, I would hold up Oscar Wilde or Dorothy Parker as exemplars
>>>> rather than Miss Manners.  
			.
			.
			.
>	And maybe not.  While your presciption for "great wit" is both
>concise and superficially plausible, it is suitable more to some idealized
>18th century drawing room than to a late 20th century computer newsgroup.
>
>	And in any case, both Dorothy Parker and Oscar Wilde could be 
>discourteous when they felt the situation called for it.  For instance,
			.
			.
			.
I applaud the civility with which you
have described our differences.
-- 

Cameron Laird
claird@Neosoft.com (claird%Neosoft.com@uunet.uu.net)	+1 713 267 7966
claird@litwin.com (claird%litwin.com@uunet.uu.net)  	+1 713 996 8546
Xref: sparky rec.arts.books:23081 alt.news-media:1701
From: wagner@ohstpy.mps.ohio-state.edu
Newsgroups: rec.arts.books,alt.news-media
Subject: Re: Morally good hypertext
Date: 22 Dec 92 20:52:28 EST
Organization: The Ohio State University, Department of Physics

In article <1992Dec22.215515.27418@netcom.com>, robj@netcom.com (Rob Jellinghaus) writes:
> 
> No one is claiming future hypertext systems will be a panacea.  But I
> see no reason to claim, _a priori_, that any such system--no matter
> how widely distributed, how anarchically organized, and how open to
> general discourse--will simply wind up suffering from exactly the same
> problems of our current one-way, single-source, mass media.  The
> characteristics of the technology are fundamentally different; this is
> a statement of fact, not a techie subjunctive.
> 
> -- 
> Rob Jellinghaus    |  "Next time you see a lie being spread or a bad 
> robj@netcom.com    |   decision being made out of sheer ignorance,
> robj@xanadu.com    |   pause, and think of hypertext."
> uunet!netcom!robj  |       -- K. Eric Drexler, _Engines of Creation_

The technology in question is the technology which produces apathy, the 
technology which makes MTV more popular than CNN.  It is a technology
of myelin sheaths and axons and so on.  

My optimistic techie friend, what makes you think that people disinclined
to walk to look at books to settle some question of fact will start 
clattering on keyboards?  Oh, yes, usenet is growing exponentially.
In fact, usenet is growing so fast that the speed required to keep all
that information stored will exceed c (3x10^10 cm/s) soon. No trouble
with relativity, though, because no information is being transmitted.
Ba-da-ba-tschhh.
                                                                
As an antidote to your optimism, I would suggest reading biographies
of some of the guys {e.g. Horace Greeley} who thought that a free 
press (tm) would change the US, empower the little guy, etc.   Then 
(again, all of this is well-intentioned suggestion) read
{preferably in rapid succession} a history of US politics 1870-1920
and a copy of the US's #1 news daily (USA Today), or the #1 weekly 
journal (TV Guide).  Then think again about whether hypertext will stop
lying demagogues who make you feel good about the world and your 
place in it.
                       
                                        -Luke
				wagner@mps.ohio-state.edu                       
Newsgroups: rec.arts.books
From: jmc@SAIL.Stanford.EDU (John McCarthy)
Subject: Re: Cultural Appropriation and the New Age
Reply-To: jmc@cs.Stanford.EDU
Organization: Computer Science Department, Stanford University
	<1992Dec24.023537.11215@panix.com>
	<1992Dec24.172929.13284@u.washington.edu>
Date: 24 Dec 92 11:26:25

I think the statue on Interstate 280 south of San Francisco should be
returned to Easter Island.
--
John McCarthy, Computer Science Department, Stanford, CA 94305
*
He who refuses to do arithmetic is doomed to talk nonsense.

Newsgroups: rec.arts.books
From: rcrowley@donne.zso.dec.com (Rebecca Crowley)
Subject: Re: Making notations in your books?
Organization: Digital Equipment Corporation
X-Newsreader: Tin 1.1 PL5
Date: Mon, 21 Dec 1992 08:50:30 GMT

Aaron L Dickey (kieran@world.std.com) wrote:
: What are your feelings about making notes, highlighting, etc., in the
: books that you own?

I used to be completely incapable of marking up books, but managed
to start by reading a phenomenally bad paperback introduction to
poetry about 8 years ago.  I think that book hit the wall at least
three times, and after a certain point, I just started rewriting it.
I eventually burned it (use of Man and Mankind -- this by a female
author -- averaged twice a paragraph.  It had the *worst* interpretation
of Hopkins' "The Windhover", demonstrably incorrect since it never
*once* mentioned falconry.).  I have no idea why I bothered to finish
it.  Lack of character, or perversity, probably.

Ever since then, I've had no trouble whatsoever marking up texts for
classes, and books, in general, when I violently disagree with
the author.  Needless to say, I am something less than concerned
about the value of these books when I'm done with them, although
I haven't had to burn any of them since that horrendous poetry book.

Rebecca Crowley		Standard disclaimers apply 	rcrowley@zso.dec.com
	"Free will.  You have it.  What are you doing with it?"
Xref: sparky rec.arts.books:23042 misc.books.technical:1812 alt.internet.services:2103 comp.org.eff.talk:7940
From: gt1293c@cad.gatech.edu (Scott Radeker)
Newsgroups: rec.arts.books,misc.books.technical,alt.internet.services,comp.org.eff.talk
Subject: Re: The Online BookStore Announcement: The Internet Companion
Date: 22 Dec 1992 13:34:35 -0500
Organization: Georgia Institute of Technology, CAE/CAD Lab
Distribution: usa
NNTP-Posting-Host: cae.cad.gatech.edu

In article <1992Dec18.220916.21674@netcom.com> jest@netcom.com (Jeff Stieglitz) writes:
>What about the introduction by Al Gore?  It's signed:
>
>"Vice President Al Gore, August, 1992
>
>Hmmm, the authors knew it would be a best seller before it hit the
>stores, *and* Al Gore knew back in August that he would win the 


Most likely, he wrote it as Senator Al Gore in August, but by the time the
book went to print, he had won the election and it would no longer have been
accurate to call him anything but VP.


Scott

-- 
W. Scott Radeker, IV			                      Cast Member 
Internet:  gt1293c@cad.gatech.edu	        Lenox Square Disney Store
24860 Georgia Tech Station		3393 Peachtree Street, Suite E-12
Atlanta, GA 30332		                        Atlanta, GA 30326
From: lmollett@lunatix.uucp (Laura Mollett)
Subject: Re: Born in Bethlehem?
Organization: Lexington Public Access Unix. -KY- (606) 255-9121
Date: Wed, 30 Dec 1992 05:49:42 GMT

In article <BHANAFEE.92Dec29173129@picasso.ads.com> bhanafee@picasso.ads.com (Brian Hanafee) writes:
>
>In article <1992Dec29.215249.16364@lunatix.uucp> lmollett@lunatix.uucp (Laura Mollett) writes:
>>she went into the stable and placed the child in a manager,
>>and an ox and a donkey worshiped him.
>
>One of the better typos I've seen this month.
>
Well, have you ever tried to look up large amounts of source material, type it
quickly into the computer (without running over your time limit), while holding
a squirming child on your lap :)?  My apologies for the error, and I promise
it'll never happen again - NOT.
				Laura
>--
>Brian Hanafee                         Advanced Decision Systems
>bhanafee@ads.com                      1500 Plymouth Street
>(415) 960-7300                        Mountain View, CA 94043-1230
From: minsky@media.mit.edu (Marvin Minsky)
Newsgroups: rec.arts.books
Subject: Re: Anyone read "The Turing Option" yet?
Keywords: turing novel
Date: 23 Dec 92 22:58:54 GMT
Organization: MIT Media Laboratory
Cc: minsky

In article <1992Dec23.145115.8858@newshost.lanl.gov> mlbm@lanl.gov
writes: 

>Has anyone read "The Turing Option" by Harry Harrison and Marvin
>Minsky?  Apparently it is a thriller about a fellow that develops a
>true AI and becomes the target of an assortment of villainous
>agencies who want it. Or something like that. I haven't seen it in
>any local bookstores yet but here is the LofC listing: [...]

>LC Call Number:	PS3558.A667 T88 1992 
>Author:	Harrison, Harry.  
>Title:	The turing option : a novelby Harry Harrison and Marvin Minsky.  
>New York : Warner Books,c1992.
>LC Card Number:	91050396
>ISBN:	0-446-51565-5 : $21.95 ($26.95 Can.)  >

>Mark Martinez mlbm@lanl.gov

Yes, it is a technothriller about an AI in theb year 2023.  But the
book doesn't say enough about how the robot actually works.  This is
because of assorted problems between autohors and editor, etc.
However, the missing parts are filled in by two thrilling additional
chapters which you can access by e-mail by "anonymous ftp" in file
/pub/minsky/option.chapters at ftp.ai.mit.edu

I presume all RABblers know how to do this but just in case, you type
"ftp ftp.ai.mit.edu" to your (internet) system.  Then our computer
will ask for your name.  But you should reply "anonymous".  Then it
will ask for password -- but you reply with your email name --  that is
something like "mlbm@lanl.gov".
  Then type these four  commands:

cd pub
cd minsky
get option.chapters
quit

The manuscript (with some explanation) will appear in your directory.
If our computer doesn't work the chapters are also archived in
wuarchive.wustl.edu -- filed under    /doc/minsky/option.chapters
 
Newsgroups: rec.arts.books
From: hoosiers@carson.u.washington.edu (Mary Loveless)
Subject: Re: Project B.F.D. (was: An apology)
Organization: University of Washington, Seattle
Date: Tue, 22 Dec 1992 00:44:39 GMT

In article <1992Dec21.211757.24231@eff.org> mnemonic@eff.org (Mike Godwin) writes:
>In article <1992Dec21.181401.6123@u.washington.edu> hoosiers@carson.u.washington.edu (Mary Loveless) writes:
>
>>To those who drive a mental bulldozer but think of it as
>>a sporty vintage car, and to those who who assume the mental vehicle is
>>fragile and likely to break down in heavy traffic, when it actually
>>accelerates beautifully and could survive a serious collision, I say: 
>>Look at what you really have, in terms of thinking power, knowledge and
>>background and celebrate it, don't use it as a weapon.  A volley ball,
>>though.......?  
>
>And I say: Mary never metaphor she didn't like.
>
>
>--Mike
>-- 
>Mike Godwin,    |"I'm waiting for the one-man revolution
>mnemonic@eff.org| The only one that's coming."
>(617) 864-0665  |                           
>EFF, Cambridge  |                   --Robert Frost 

An aft (oops, I mean apt) comment.  Did you make that up or did you steal
it from Dorothy Parker? 

Mary Loveless  hoosiers@carson.u.washington.edu
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
All of my opinions are self-righteously my own and **certainly** have
nothing to do with the University of Washington.

"I wonder how I'd look in *Madonna's* underwear."  Zippy the Pinhead
------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Newsgroups: rec.arts.books
From: jw2b@galen.med.Virginia.EDU (Sara J. Wagner)
Subject: Re: Reading as an addiction (Was: 92 in rabreview)
Organization: University of Virginia
Date: Thu, 31 Dec 1992 13:20:53 GMT

In article <1992Dec31.050130.24366@sophia.smith.edu> orourke@sophia.smith.edu (Joseph O'Rourke) writes:
>Seeing the astounding quantity of books some posters consumed in 1992
>makes me wonder if reading can be a type of (benign?) addiction.  This 
>may be an especially apt description of those who (compulsively?) read a 
>hundred genre novels a year, mysteries or science fiction for example.
>	Among those who are voracious readers, do you feel the
>equivalent of withdrawal symptoms when (for whatever reason) you cannot 
>read for an extended period? 

Yes, of course.  Reading is an addiction as much as any other form of
reality-bending (no flames please).  For me, reading is a way to relax
from a stressful job and a stressful universe.  My lunchtime reading
tends to be re-reads that don't require a lot of concentration -- a
quick and easy "fix" of familiar and comfortable alternate worlds.  I
save my serious and first-time reading for evenings and weekends when
I'm less subject to interruption.  When I have other things going on
(and yes, there is life outside books), I consequently read less, and
then suffer from withdrawal.  Fortunately, one doesn't need methadone
to relieve withdrawal symptoms -- a quick trip to a bookstore or
library will get you back to flying high.

[member, Bookaholics Anonymous :-)]

--
Jane Wagner, Computer Systems and Publications Assistant
The Claude Moore Health Sciences Library| INTERNET: jw2b@virginia.edu
Box 234, UVA Health Sciences Center	| PHONE:    804-924-0188
Charlottesville, VA  22908 		| BITNET:   jw2b@virginia.bitnet
Newsgroups: rec.arts.books
From: rjwill6@PacBell.COM (Rod Williams)
Subject: Re: Stark Naked
Organization: Pacific * Bell, San Ramon, California
Date: Thu, 24 Dec 1992 21:38:04 GMT

> hoosiers@carson.u.washington.edu (Mary Loveless) writes:

>In the mid-70s, a UW law student told me that he had become acquainted
>with a trio of fellow students named (he swore it was true):  Swindler,
>Lawless, and Moneymaker.  Ah, if only they had set up a practice together! 
>
>Also, during that era, a pair of dental practitioners named Carey
>(brothers--did they go into auto mechanics later?), set up practice in the
>University district.  They immediately became known as the 'Dental
>Careys.'

Growing up in Dublin in the '50s and '60s, I used to hear
amusing references to an out-of-town firm of solicitors,
Argew & Phibbs.
-- 
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
rod williams -=- pacific bell -=- san ramon, ca -=- rjwill6@pacbell.com
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Newsgroups: rec.arts.books
From: vince@cadence.com (Vince Gibboni)
Subject: Re: Project B.F.D. (was: An apology)
Organization: Cadence Design Systems, Inc.
Date: Thu, 24 Dec 1992 00:59:28 GMT

>(Patrick Nielsen-Hayden) writes:
>
> I have to say, the more I read this discussion and others like it in
> r.a.b., the more I like the evil elitists and their in-crowd scum friends,
> and the less I care for the white knights crusading on behalf of the
> downtrodden lurkers and newbies.
>
> Admittedly, there's lots of self-actualization potential in the
> shining-armor routine, particularly if you can hoke up a crusade on behalf
> of a few never-too-clearly-specified victims.  Drama!  Adventure!  And
> best of all, you don't actually have to be fun, witty or entertaining,
> which is (after all) a lot of work.  Just clutch those grievances to your
> bosom like a long-lost friend, and remember periodically to throw yourself
> to the ground while crying "Foul!"  This way people can tell that you're
> for Justice and Fair Play.


    Well, admittedly I haven't really been paying attention, but I do think
    you've got this all wrong. The motive, I think, is not so much a noble 
    protection of the trodden-upon as a selfish interest in not having every 
    new, interesting, reasonably-clever poster sent scrambling off into 
    oblivion after being scared (or pissed) off by, for instance, one of 
    Tom's lapses into the literary equivalent of Torret's syndrome. (sp?)




--
                                                         vince@gda.cadence.com

    Man, you should have seen them kicking Edgar Allan Poe
        - John Lennon