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Why Van Halen's tour contract had a "no brown M&M's" clause

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Re: Why Van Halen's tour contract had a "no brown M&M's" clause

#81

Post by arrrg »

rmc wrote: post #47
arrrg wrote: post #30

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You know, I just read this again. I first read it in a ridiculing context (“Parrots? Really?”) and didn’t think much to put it out of that context, but looking at it now I have to say my view on it has changed. I think it’s pretty alright, actually. Some of his demands have to do with his strong ethical views on software, and while I don’t agree completely with him on this, I certainly can respect him for being uncom…

Some of his demands have to do with his strong ethical views on software, and while I don’t agree completely with him on this, I certainly can respect him for being uncompromising on that. If you're going to host a talk from RMS, I'd presume you'd be aware that he has strong ethical views. I mean, that's one of the main reasons to get him to talk!

I think you would be surprised.

Re: Why Van Halen's tour contract had a "no brown M&M's" clause

#82

Post by raverbashing »

Monkeyget wrote: post #67

It reminds me of the orange juice test. You organize an annual convention for hundreds of people. You tell the banquet manager of the hotel you are considering that the morning breakfast must include a large glass of freshly squeezed orange juice for everyone of the attendees. It must be squeezed no more than two hours before the breakfast. It is not possible to do so. Squeezing that much orange in much a short amoun…

http://www.amazon.com/Commercial-Orange-Squeezer-Machine-rep...

Re: Why Van Halen's tour contract had a "no brown M&M's" clause

#83

Post by olalonde »

netcan wrote: post #20
JonnieCache wrote: post #3

This seems like a good opportunity to post RMS' rider again: https://secure.mysociety.org/admin/lists/pipermail/developer... Fabulous stuff. I wonder how often he has/gets to hang out with random parrots since this document became widely known. In my mind he is surrounded constantly by sandal-wearing acolytes wielding exotic birds of every variety.

This is a fantastic read! If you have previously done streaming using some streaming service and you can't immediately name the format it uses, chances are it is unacceptable and I won't let you use it for my speech. ..This might seem unfair--if a ticket is lost, it could be my fault. But my income is not large, and I cannot afford to assume this risk myself if the event offers me no income. The frustration I feel wh…

Please don't be surprised if I pull out my computer at dinner and begin handling some of my email. I have difficulty hearing when there is noise; at dinner, when people are speaking to each other, I usually cannot hear their words. Rather than feel bored, or impose on everyone by asking them to speak slowly at me, I do some work.

Wow, I would find that really weird. I hope everyone at his dinners get to read that notice beforehand.

Re: Why Van Halen's tour contract had a "no brown M&M's" clause

#85

Post by arrrg »

netcan wrote: post #51
arrrg wrote: post #30

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You know, I just read this again. I first read it in a ridiculing context (“Parrots? Really?”) and didn’t think much to put it out of that context, but looking at it now I have to say my view on it has changed. I think it’s pretty alright, actually. Some of his demands have to do with his strong ethical views on software, and while I don’t agree completely with him on this, I certainly can respect him for being uncom…

The eccentricity or outlandishness is not in the actual content of the requests. He doesn't request anything expensive or difficult. It's in expecting everyone involved to thoroughly read the 10,000 man page and make sure they follow everything. So, instead of calling up the hotel you always use, Lucy from event planning is presumably expected to test SSH on the hotel network and question the staff about air conditio…

I think we have to differentiate between two things: structure and writing on the one hand, demands and requirements on the other hand.

You probably won’t find many people who wouldn’t agree that the writing could be significantly tidied up (mostly to remove all the explanations and reasons – it’s ok to just have a list of demands and requirements without always explaining why something is this way or that way) and the document could be better structured.

However, the demands, while quirky, don’t seem to unreasonable to me.

Re: Why Van Halen's tour contract had a "no brown M&M's" clause

#86

Post by jordigh »

hedwall wrote: post #66
netcan wrote: post #51

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The eccentricity or outlandishness is not in the actual content of the requests. He doesn't request anything expensive or difficult. It's in expecting everyone involved to thoroughly read the 10,000 man page and make sure they follow everything. So, instead of calling up the hotel you always use, Lucy from event planning is presumably expected to test SSH on the hotel network and question the staff about air conditio…

man page? I think you texinfo page :)

Texinfo manual. Written in a much less terse style than the single-page cheat-sheet that manpages are supposed to be. :-)

Re: Why Van Halen's tour contract had a "no brown M&M's" clause

#87

Post by emiliobumachar »

Engineer's version: Write-only memory

" Out of frustration with the long and seemingly useless chain of approvals required of component specifications during which no actual checking seemed to occur, an engineer at Signetics once created a specification for a write-only memory and included it with a bunch of other specifications to be approved. This inclusion came to the attention of Signetics management only when regular customers started calling and asking for pricing information. Signetics published a corrected edition of the data book and requested the return of the 'erroneous' literature."

Re: Why Van Halen's tour contract had a "no brown M&M's" clause

#88

Post by netcan »

gonzo wrote: post #77
netcan wrote: post #20

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is a fantastic read! If you have previously done streaming using some streaming service and you can't immediately name the format it uses, chances are it is unacceptable and I won't let you use it for my speech. ..This might seem unfair--if a ticket is lost, it could be my fault. But my income is not large, and I cannot afford to assume this risk myself if the event offers me no income. The frustration I feel wh…

Do not, under any circumstance, allow rms to stay at the home of a friend, or anyone you respect or admire. "I burned the sheets." is the result in two instances with which I am familiar.

I dunno about that.

(Easily) arguably brilliant, important and (undeniably) quirky symbol of an interesting cultural and technological movement stays at your house for a day or two. Sends your wife a 14 page instruction manual for hosting him (enjoys parrots). Wears a hippy robe. Gets philosophically cranky at your kid's gameboy. Teaches your 9 year old daughter to emacs for email. Pulls out a creaky old laptop out at the dinner table. Your daughter now uses the web by emailing some program that fetches the relevant pages and emails them back. She installs GNU/Linux on her brother's gameboy. He cries.

Sounds like good story potential. Sheets are cheap.

Re: Why Van Halen's tour contract had a "no brown M&M's" clause

#90

Post by thearn4 »

JonnieCache wrote: post #3

This seems like a good opportunity to post RMS' rider again: https://secure.mysociety.org/admin/lists/pipermail/developer... Fabulous stuff. I wonder how often he has/gets to hang out with random parrots since this document became widely known. In my mind he is surrounded constantly by sandal-wearing acolytes wielding exotic birds of every variety.

Oh my.. I need need a cup of coffee to get all the way through this one
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