11–20 of 96 posts
I had not heard this quote before, and while I enjoyed the article, I would deem it worth reading just for this.
Thanks for sharing!
I still play interactive fiction every November when the IFComp publishes its games[1].
Adams never revealed the origin of 42. [0] So, just because we really don't know, I'd like to think it originates with ASCII table and the asterisk.
0 - https://www.theguardian.com/books/2011/feb/03/douglas-adams-...
This is off-topic, but I've always wanted to bring this up with fellow geeks... Integer code of the asterisk ('*') ASCII character is 42, which, is the answer to life, the universe and everything. The asterisk character is used as a wildcard character to indicate anything and everything. Adams never revealed the origin of 42. [0] So, just because we really don't know, I'd like to think it originates with ASCII table…
There's a certain sense of loss I feel at playing a game that cannot be cheated. In the mid-80's playing interactive fiction there was no way to get help unless you could convince your parents to buy you invisiclues. You had to solve these games the hard way: on your own. Sure, there are games like that today but they require hand-eye coordination or grinding, not involved word-puzzle solving and thinking in many dif…
Still a bit sad that "Hitchhiker's" wasn't in the box of questionable disks we got, but "Planetfall" seemed to be inspired by the story (at least the beginning when you're on the ship, ducking Ensign Blather and trying to avoid death in a safety webbing).
"Hitchhiker’s is hard to summarize, but one of its overarching themes is that technology, in the hands of big business and bloated bureaucracies, does not make life better: in fact it makes it far, far worse." Seems Adams was ahead of his time, I wonder what he would have thought if he were alive today given the antics of Google, Facebook et al. Incidentally, my printer is called Marvin for obvious reasons (Adams alm…
Never did think of an appropriate name for the new desktop though.
edit: thanks for all of the suggestions!
This is off-topic, but I've always wanted to bring this up with fellow geeks... Integer code of the asterisk ('*') ASCII character is 42, which, is the answer to life, the universe and everything. The asterisk character is used as a wildcard character to indicate anything and everything. Adams never revealed the origin of 42. [0] So, just because we really don't know, I'd like to think it originates with ASCII table…
- F is the 6th letter of the alphabet.
- I is the 9th letter of the alphabet.
- S is the 19th letter of the alphabet.
- H is the 8th letter of the alphabet.
6 + 9 + 19 + 8 = 42. IOW, the dolphins probably manipulated the experiment so that humans would give them more fish.
I may try the original English version, but I think it will be very difficult to grasp some words without WordNet.
This is off-topic, but I've always wanted to bring this up with fellow geeks... Integer code of the asterisk ('*') ASCII character is 42, which, is the answer to life, the universe and everything. The asterisk character is used as a wildcard character to indicate anything and everything. Adams never revealed the origin of 42. [0] So, just because we really don't know, I'd like to think it originates with ASCII table…
Actually Stephen Fry claims that Douglas Adams told him. But it seems he is taking it to the grave to honor his vow.[0]
[0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phrases_from_The_Hitchhiker%27...?