I am updating it about every 5 mins as its a work in progress, any help on helping me format it would be appreciated.
I'm thinking scrolling menu bar with links on right hand side, with lnks going to all the main pages (picture gallary, blogpage, projects page, resume, forum, etc).
[ November 11, 2007, 07:27 PM: Message edited by: Blayne Bradley ]
Posted by pooka (Member # 5003) on :
I never thought of MOMRPG. Though how do you know it's not a mom role-playing-game?
I have 12 stamina and 27 guilt.
Posted by Kama (Member # 3022) on :
change the colours.
Posted by MattP (Member # 10495) on :
and the words
Posted by Jon Boy (Member # 4284) on :
You might want to correct the spelling of your own name in the index page title. Unless you want us to call you Biayne now.
Posted by Javert Hugo (Member # 3980) on :
Oh yes, those colors are much better.
Posted by Blayne Bradley (Member # 8565) on :
words?
Posted by El JT de Spang (Member # 7742) on :
I think it's a pretty decent attempt at a first webpage. Obviously, you've got a lot to learn, but at least all your links work and most everything is spelled right.
Posted by Blayne Bradley (Member # 8565) on :
red on blue is better!?
Posted by El JT de Spang (Member # 7742) on :
She's being sarcastic. Red on blue is practically unreadable.
Posted by Blayne Bradley (Member # 8565) on :
so far im currently fooling around with the rgb(0-255,0-255,0-255) scheme thingy and finding some nice colours.
Posted by Blayne Bradley (Member # 8565) on :
Hmm... I like this background colour, this wierd field grey colour. What would make good letter colour with this.
Posted by Jon Boy (Member # 4284) on :
Oh, gosh. That's making my head hurt.
Posted by Javert Hugo (Member # 3980) on :
Trial and error and trial and more error and trial and success is how I built my first website, and it's the best and only way to learn.
But yes, red on black is unreadable. You need contrast between the text and background, and for readability, do not put pictures behind the text. All that means is that your text is impossible to read.
Posted by BandoCommando (Member # 7746) on :
So.....
(since no one else has said it)
....does this mean your blogs will be on YOUR webpage instead of Hatrack now?
(while it didn't have to be said, it sure felt like it)
Posted by Blayne Bradley (Member # 8565) on :
I'll try, but I expect OBEDIENCE!
Posted by TL (Member # 8124) on :
Pink background with orange text? that doesn't work so well for my eyes. Try like, a very light gray background with black text. That would be good.
Posted by mr_porteiro_head (Member # 4644) on :
quote:Originally posted by Jon Boy: Oh, gosh. That's making my head hurt.
Oh my yes.
Posted by Blayne Bradley (Member # 8565) on :
pink? It shows up as feldgrei for me.
Posted by Teshi (Member # 5024) on :
I'm a big fan of lighter or pale backgrounds with darker lettering. It's easier to read and depending on the colouring can have a classier look
EDIT: I'm seeing it as red and blue text on a black background.
Posted by Javert Hugo (Member # 3980) on :
yeah, it's hot pink.
It is possible your browser is set to make all text readable to you, despite what horrors the site designer has created.
You might want to disable that. (no, I don't know how)
Posted by Blayne Bradley (Member # 8565) on :
just looked on a different computer its a darkish german green.
Posted by TomDavidson (Member # 124) on :
quote:so far im currently fooling around with the rgb(0-255,0-255,0-255) scheme
Note: this is not how professional web developers choose a color scheme. It might help you understand RGB color values, which is useful, but is not a good habit to form.
Posted by Blayne Bradley (Member # 8565) on :
Aha, now I see the problem, whoever sees pink is using internet explorer try using a real browser like Firefox.
Posted by breyerchic04 (Member # 6423) on :
I am working on my first webpage too, though I do have help. I'll show you guys the link in a few days.
Posted by TomDavidson (Member # 124) on :
Google the phrase "web-safe color palette."
Posted by Javert Hugo (Member # 3980) on :
A website that looks bad on a major browser is a badly designed website.
You are serving your viewers; they are not serving you. They won't switch for you.
Redo the colors.
Posted by Teshi (Member # 5024) on :
I don't think you can blame it on the browser, Blayne.
And I do see it as dark green, but only with my brightness turned way up- at which point the words become orange.
Posted by Jon Boy (Member # 4284) on :
quote:Originally posted by Blayne Bradley: Aha, now I see the problem, whoever sees pink is using internet explorer try using a real browser like Firefox.
Try learning how to make a web page that displays properly in multiple browsers.
Posted by erosomniac (Member # 6834) on :
quote:Originally posted by Blayne Bradley: Aha, now I see the problem, whoever sees pink is using internet explorer try using a real browser like Firefox.
I hate coding for IE too, but you'd be best off sticking to web safe colors.
Posted by Blayne Bradley (Member # 8565) on :
Hows this.
Posted by breyerchic04 (Member # 6423) on :
From an art perspective orange looks better with a more blue tone or green looks better with a redder color.
quote: MMORPG can sounds like "MOM-Rocket"
It either needs to be can sound like or sounds like, not both.
Posted by Uprooted (Member # 8353) on :
I'm getting black background w/ red and blue type on both Firefox and Explorer.
Posted by Tante Shvester (Member # 8202) on :
Mazel Tov on your new endeavor. Enjoy.
Posted by Dagonee (Member # 5818) on :
It can be a huge time saver.
Posted by Blayne Bradley (Member # 8565) on :
I have no idea what any of those errors mean, im making my page using emacs.
Posted by TL (Member # 8124) on :
You know what's good? How the faq has a white background with white letters. That's good design. Time-tested.
Posted by erosomniac (Member # 6834) on :
quote:Originally posted by Blayne Bradley: Hows this.
Good, now change the font color to a web safe one as well. You should also change your link colors, as they're impossible to read without highlighting.
FYI, you're also using deprecated code (the font tag, for starters). While it will still display properly in most browsers, if you're learning from scratch, you may as well learn the right way.
Posted by TomDavidson (Member # 124) on :
quote:im making my page using emacs.
Those errors have nothing to do with the text editor you're using -- although I advise against emacs, personally, FWIW -- but rather flaws in the text itself. To "validate" in this context means that the page complies with certain standards of good code.
Note that a page can be displayed without validating, and can be hideously ugly and non-functional while still validating. But validation is a good habit to get into.
Posted by Blayne Bradley (Member # 8565) on :
TL what browser are you using, I didnt adjust the font at all on the 2 pages linked, should be the default black letters on white background.
Posted by Blayne Bradley (Member # 8565) on :
lettering should be websafe now.
Posted by breyerchic04 (Member # 6423) on :
Yeah it was black on white for me. I reccomend that for the whole website.
Posted by fugu13 (Member # 2859) on :
eros: web safe colors aren't really important any more; or at least, the colors that are web safe are a much wider range than the official list.
Blayne: you should learn what those errors mean. That will make you a much better html creator. If you need help with any particular one, ask.
Posted by Blayne Bradley (Member # 8565) on :
what. Thats bland though.
Posted by Blayne Bradley (Member # 8565) on :
ill be right back, heading home be back in 30ish minutes.
Posted by erosomniac (Member # 6834) on :
quote:Originally posted by fugu13: eros: web safe colors aren't really important any more; or at least, the colors that are web safe are a much wider range than the official list.
True, but I think sticking to web safe colors is a good idea for someone just beginning to experiment with design, especially given the wide range of browsers (esp. mobile ones) that will not render the majority of the hex color palette correctly.
Posted by Jon Boy (Member # 4284) on :
web safe ≠ readable and aesthetically pleasing
fugu: Is there an unofficial list of the newer web-safe colors?
[ October 17, 2007, 05:42 PM: Message edited by: Jon Boy ]
Posted by breyerchic04 (Member # 6423) on :
That's my webpage though I still need to upload many images and write a few policies. Soon I will actually begin blogging too. In a few days we'll move it to my own domain www.knitsandweaves.com
What do you guys think?
Posted by fugu13 (Member # 2859) on :
Hmmm, someone has to have compiled one, though I don't recall having seen such a compilation.
Basically, there are a wide range of colors that are rendered just as accurately as the web safe colors (which aren't all rendered accurately) across most modern browsers.
Any color that can be described in the form aabbcc is usually safe (some web safe colors list use these, even, though the official ones are only 216 different ones). Of course, the official list was made when many computers only did 256 colors.
I would probably stick with that expanded list of (4096, I believe) web safe colors (or ones near web safe colors) for my primary palette, and do what I wanted with accents.
Posted by King of Men (Member # 6684) on :
quote:Originally posted by TomDavidson:
quote:im making my page using emacs.
Those errors have nothing to do with the text editor you're using -- although I advise against emacs, personally, FWIW -- but rather flaws in the text itself. To "validate" in this context means that the page complies with certain standards of good code.
Note that a page can be displayed without validating, and can be hideously ugly and non-functional while still validating. But validation is a good habit to get into.
What have you got against emacs?! Posted by TomDavidson (Member # 124) on :
I don't have anything against emacs. I don't have anything against writing code by chipping at stone with chisels, either.
Posted by fugu13 (Member # 2859) on :
Maybe he's a vi(m) guy?
For html/css, I think anything syntax highlighting is fine, so emacs works for me.
Coding, now, I expect some things that are easier to get elsewhere, usually.
Posted by King of Men (Member # 6684) on :
And rightly so; the advantage of chisels and stone is that you can use the result to bash in the heads of people who don't believe in programmable editing environments.
Posted by MattP (Member # 10495) on :
I think someone has an editor crush...
Posted by mr_porteiro_head (Member # 4644) on :
<-- vi guy
Posted by Mike (Member # 55) on :
<-- vim guy
I'm not convinced that IDEs are anything other than a crutch. Posted by Mucus (Member # 9735) on :
:q!
Posted by steven (Member # 8099) on :
Blayne's site won't load.
Posted by pooka (Member # 5003) on :
Either that, or he's gone for an avant garde "white on white" theme.
Posted by rollainm (Member # 8318) on :
It's...beautiful!
Posted by BlackBlade (Member # 8376) on :
I knew I should have checked the 2nd page of this thread before attempting to view Blayne's site.
Posted by Blayne Bradley (Member # 8565) on :
the linux server seemed to have crashed sometime after I left the school.
Posted by Wonder Dog (Member # 5691) on :
linux...server...crashed? Who runs this machine?!
Posted by Blayne Bradley (Member # 8565) on :
the school does.
Posted by Blayne Bradley (Member # 8565) on :
k back up it seems.
Posted by Morbo (Member # 5309) on :
Dude, you've got to get away from canned McFiction. There are plenty of genius level writers, Tolkien is not the only one.edit: and Asimov.
quote: 14. Q) What do you like reading? A) Fantasy and Science Fiction.
15. Q) Details? A) Forgotten Realms and DragonLance are persoanl favorite "Worlds" of mine. While it is true that some standalone works I like but it takes a certain level of genius to break from the fantasy stereotypes firmly entrenched by JRR Tolkien's legacy as seen in FR & DL. The Artemies Fowl books I consider works of friggin art in that respect pure genius I say!
16. Q) Science Fiction? A) While I like in general Star Trek and Star Wars I have a much stronger preference for "smart" science fiction.
17. Q) Examples? A) Babylon 5, Battlestar Galactica, Isaac Asimov books, Haloverse novels.
[ October 18, 2007, 04:00 PM: Message edited by: Morbo ]
Posted by Blayne Bradley (Member # 8565) on :
Yes there are more that I have enjoyed but I can nolonger remember them. Which is why I go to Hatrack alot, only way I can remember things otherwise "poof!" its gone after about 2 weeks.
Posted by Morbo (Member # 5309) on :
That explains a lot. Posted by erosomniac (Member # 6834) on :
Hey Blayne, like I said earlier, you should probably change the link colors, as the standard blue & purple is really difficult to read without highlighting on the background you're using.
Posted by Phanto (Member # 5897) on :
I don't think it looks terrible. It is not a bad start and has a long way to go, though.
Posted by Blayne Bradley (Member # 8565) on :
working on it. is there a way in the <aref url="etc"> tag to add in colour?
Posted by Fusiachi (Member # 7376) on :
Typically, you would do that within the body tag, with attributes link, alink, and vlink. If you were some sort of html junkie.
That said, I'd use a style sheet.
Edit: If you were looking to change color on a link-by-link basis, throw a font tag directly in front of the link text. But again, style sheets are where it's at.
Posted by fugu13 (Member # 2859) on :
CSS >> vlink/alink/link/font tags
Posted by erosomniac (Member # 6834) on :
quote:Originally posted by Blayne Bradley: working on it. is there a way in the <aref url="etc"> tag to add in colour?
What the two above me have said. Use CSS. If you're not up to working with a separate stylesheet yet, just use an internal stylesheet.
How do you rearrange RPG to sound like rocket? >_>
Posted by James Tiberius Kirk (Member # 2832) on :
Rocket-propelled grenade.
--j_k
Posted by JonHecht (Member # 9712) on :
>_< Oy, duh.
Thanks, I totally forgot RPGs...
Posted by Nighthawk (Member # 4176) on :
Nice to see that your website has an easily rememberable URL...
Oh, and it appears to be down for me. No matter.
Posted by JonHecht (Member # 9712) on :
You go to John Abbott?
Posted by anti_maven (Member # 9789) on :
Blayne, have a word with the SysAdmin - looks like this site is down again, or at least unreachable.
Cheers.
Posted by Lyrhawn (Member # 7039) on :
quote:Originally posted by Morbo: Dude, you've got to get away from canned McFiction. There are plenty of genius level writers, Tolkien is not the only one.edit: and Asimov.
quote: 14. Q) What do you like reading? A) Fantasy and Science Fiction.
15. Q) Details? A) Forgotten Realms and DragonLance are persoanl favorite "Worlds" of mine. While it is true that some standalone works I like but it takes a certain level of genius to break from the fantasy stereotypes firmly entrenched by JRR Tolkien's legacy as seen in FR & DL. The Artemies Fowl books I consider works of friggin art in that respect pure genius I say!
16. Q) Science Fiction? A) While I like in general Star Trek and Star Wars I have a much stronger preference for "smart" science fiction.
17. Q) Examples? A) Babylon 5, Battlestar Galactica, Isaac Asimov books, Haloverse novels.
I take issue with Star Wars and Star Trek being depicted as "stupid" science fiction. B5 and BSG are great, to be sure, but they aren't magical, and ST and SW don't suck*
*Well okay, SOME of what's in there DOES suck, but some of it is also friggin' awesome, and I don't think the best B5 is better than the best ST or the best SW, I think they closely fall in around each other. Also, the reinvention of BSG has a decade on Star Trek's prime, and 30 years on the old Star Wars, and frankly I think those old timers still hold up amazingly well against the shows that've had the benefit of looking back on their precursors to see what works and what doesn't.
I think Star Trek and Star Wars both get beaten up on a lot, sometimes fairly (we all know TOS is MST3K material, and VOY and Enterprise are soundly inferior) and then unfairly (TNG was a pioneer and DS9 was some utterly fantastic television). Surely it's easy to rip on them because they are older, and because a great many people do, in comparison with today's excellent works of fiction (BSG/FF and such), but I think it's always best to interject and assign credit where credit is due.
Posted by Kama (Member # 3022) on :
I take issue with people distinguishing between "smart" and "stupid" books or movies in general.
Posted by Blayne Bradley (Member # 8565) on :
SW and ST have their moments but the movies for SW don't particularly compare with the scifi i have seen recently, and ST while nice to watch on an episode by episode basis don't have enough direction or structure overall they were enjoyable but not brilliant. BAB5 once you got past the slowness of the first season was brilliant.
Posted by Blayne Bradley (Member # 8565) on :
Also I do not distinguish it as "smart" and "stupid" when did I say so? I distinguish it as scifi that tries to be smart and scifi that doesnt usually try to be smart, it doesnt automatically make it stupid just less smart.
Posted by TomDavidson (Member # 124) on :
I have to admit that it does depress me to see franchise novels held up as examples of "smart" sci-fi, with no mention whatsoever of Bova, Niven, etc.
Posted by fugu13 (Member # 2859) on :
Maybe you could just call it the science fiction you like more?
Posted by fugu13 (Member # 2859) on :
Tom: while I like Bova and Niven, they aren't who would spring to mind for 'smart' sci-fi, personally.
Posted by mr_porteiro_head (Member # 4644) on :
"No, honey, I don't think you're stupid. You're just not very smart."
Posted by TomDavidson (Member # 124) on :
I shudder at the thought of trying to get a group of Internet geeks to agree on a list of "smart" sci-fi authors.
Posted by Blayne Bradley (Member # 8565) on :
its possible i may have read them but it would be so long ago that I would have no memory of it.
Posted by TomDavidson (Member # 124) on :
Anyway, to sum up: we are universally agreed that there is better science fiction out there than the science fiction you are reading now. *giggle*
Posted by Primal Curve (Member # 3587) on :
I think we can all (excluding Mr. Bradley) safely agree on the following equation:
Haloverse Novels ≠ Smart Fiction
Posted by Blayne Bradley (Member # 8565) on :
They sure as hell are you arrogant ass. Have you ever read them?
Posted by kmbboots (Member # 8576) on :
If I wanted to, I could hang out with Joseph Staten in the next couple of weeks.
Posted by Primal Curve (Member # 3587) on :
quote:Originally posted by Blayne Bradley: They sure as hell are you arrogant ass. Have you ever read them?
What's your problem, Blayne? I haven't picked on you in months because I feel like you don't get it and you're not improving. I also feel like you might need some help and so I thought I'd offer you some sage advice as I've previously been in the stage you seem to be stuck in right now.
Do you want me to go back to making fun of your whenever I can? Because, if you call me names or swear at me again, I'll make sure to mercilessly mock you in every venue we share. I will never stop and I will make sure you feel like a worthless human being every day.
That is not a threat. It is a promise.
Posted by twinky (Member # 693) on :
One that would entail regular violations of the user agreement.
Posted by Primal Curve (Member # 3587) on :
It wouldn't be the first time.
Posted by erosomniac (Member # 6834) on :
And demonstrates immaturity that far outclasses Blayne's.
Posted by Primal Curve (Member # 3587) on :
Is this supposed to somehow deter me?
Posted by erosomniac (Member # 6834) on :
One would hope it would, yes.
Posted by camus (Member # 8052) on :
quote:That is not a threat. It is a promise.
I've never understood this particular phrase. Isn't it a threat that you promise to carry out, thus making it both a threat and a promise? Or is this a way of trying to make something that is rather unscary sound really scary? If so, I don't get how that works either.
Posted by The Pixiest (Member # 1863) on :
He's saying his threat is not an empty one.
Hey Blayne, how are you going to feel about all these inane posts you do 20 years from now when they're still googlable? I assume Blayne Bradley is you're real name. Could you at least post under an alias? Something that won't cost you a job down the line?
I know when I google up posts I made in the 80s I want to crawl under a rock and die. I'm just thankful I was wise enough to use an alias.
Remember, some forums don't prune regularly like Hatrack does. And just because it disappears off Hatrack doesn't mean it's gone forever. There ARE internet archiving sites out there with more disk space than common sense.
Posted by Noemon (Member # 1115) on :
What on earth would cause the ad for this page to be for lingerie?
Posted by kmbboots (Member # 8576) on :
Puppies in costume for me. Seriously, are none of you gaming geeks impressed that I get to (if I want) hang out with the guy that wrote the "scripts" for Halo?
I mean, I'm not impressed because I haven't played a computer game since Pong, but still...
Posted by MrSquicky (Member # 1802) on :
quote:What on earth would cause the ad for this page to be for lingerie?
People were acting like boobs?
Posted by mr_porteiro_head (Member # 4644) on :
Squicky wins.
Posted by Noemon (Member # 1115) on :
:: laugh :: That he does.
Posted by TomDavidson (Member # 124) on :
quote:I know when I google up posts I made in the 80s I want to crawl under a rock and die.
*blink* Are there actually USENET archives that go that far back?
Posted by fugu13 (Member # 2859) on :
I think there are archives to nearly the beginning of USENET, so yeah.
Posted by BlackBlade (Member # 8376) on :
quote:Originally posted by mr_porteiro_head: Squicky wins.
True story!
-----
Primal Curve it's not as if you NEED Blayne's approval, and you certainly don't NEED to make fun of him. I'd really appreciate it if you held off on declaring all out war on Blayne within this forum. Please just leave him be.
I can't see any good coming out of it, just ignore Blayne's posts or at least ignore his responses to your jabs.
I am positive you knew that insulting the Halo novels would be akin to arming the bomb waiting to explode, please try to refrain from doing it.
TIA?
Posted by Primal Curve (Member # 3587) on :
<grunts> War Good. Halo Bad.
Posted by Jon Boy (Member # 4284) on :
Other people were criticizing Blayne's tastes first. Blayne apparently has a much lower tolerance for criticism from Primal Curve, though.
Posted by Morbo (Member # 5309) on :
What caught my eye in Blayne's list wasn't the specific authors/franchises, but that it was almost exclusively franchises. The best authors don't write in those (except possibly when they are just getting started.)
Posted by King of Men (Member # 6684) on :
Out of curiosity, how many people here (apart from Blayne, obviously) have actually read the Haloverse novels? I haven't, which is why I nobly refrained from laughing at their being called smart SF.
Posted by twinky (Member # 693) on :
quote:Originally posted by Jon Boy: Other people were criticizing Blayne's tastes first. Blayne apparently has a much lower tolerance for criticism from Primal Curve, though.
It's not clear whether you're just talking about this thread -- Blayne and Primal have some pretty negative history.
Added: I haven't read the Halo novels. I've considered it, since I enjoy the Halo storyline, but I haven't gotten around to them. I do know what transpires in them, though, because I went through summaries of all of the available backstory before starting Halo 3. While the backstory is complex, it wouldn't fit my definition of "smart" SF. However, not much SF does. Peter Watts comes to mind. Actually, KoM, I think you'd like Watts -- he reminds me of Richard Dawkins. Check out Blindsight, which you can get on Watts' website for free if you can't find it in a library or bookstore. It more or less defines smart SF, for me.
Posted by Jon Boy (Member # 4284) on :
quote:Originally posted by twinky: It's not clear whether you're just talking about this thread -- Blayne and Primal have some pretty negative history.
That's basically what I meant. Several other people effectively said that Halo novels are not "smart" sci-fi, but Blayne didn't blow up at anyone besides Primal, presumably because their history has given Blayne a lower tolerance for him.
Posted by twinky (Member # 693) on :
Oh, okay. Posted by The Pixiest (Member # 1863) on :
tom: try googling up an old alias some time.. if you ever used one, that is. How long ago did you get on the net?
Posted by Noemon (Member # 1115) on :
I think that Tom got online when he was a zygote (and high school junior).
Posted by Blayne Bradley (Member # 8565) on :
The Halo novels to me are of the same thread, the same emotion that the Enderverse novels instelled in me, if you took Ender Wiggin and made him just a Captain or a Sargeant about fighting the nitty gritty ground war against the Formics the books to me have the same appeal covering different aspects of a losing war against an enemy suporior in every way. Insulting Halo is to me the exact same thing as insulting Ender's Game.
Posted by TomDavidson (Member # 124) on :
So, basically, you're looking for plot-heavy military sci-fi and aren't picky about what else is in the book?
Posted by Xavier (Member # 405) on :
Okay guys, I have less patience for Blayne than just about anyone (you may remember my reaction to his joining Sakeriver) but criticizing his taste in books just strikes me as petty.
He's got his own website now, which he has at least started to blog in. That's what we all wanted. Now, he's getting plenty of attention about it (which is what HE wanted). Let's not make that attention too negative.
Posted by Samprimary (Member # 8561) on :
quote:Originally posted by King of Men: Out of curiosity, how many people here (apart from Blayne, obviously) have actually read the Haloverse novels? I haven't, which is why I nobly refrained from laughing at their being called smart SF.
They're pretty straightforward and unremarkable reading that can be condensed into "Master Chief is cool, here's why" and "Check out these twelve pages of Master Chief killing some dudes" and do just enough to flesh out the game world to give appreciable context when playing the games, like 'oh hey, I just got a radio transmission from Oni!'
I wouldn't give any of the novels more than a C grade, though -- they're just route fanboy franchise.
Posted by fugu13 (Member # 2859) on :
Blayne: you might try out some of the following books/series/authors
Most things by Elizabeth Moon (an ex-marine), particularly her Deed of Paksenarrion trilogy and Heris Serrano trilogy. Military fantasy and science fiction, respectively, with strong characterizations and lots of grittiness. (Both of them are trilogies available in single volumes for $18).
The Vorkosigan series by Lois McMaster Bujold. Imagine a young, extremely intelligent, hyperactive, but crippled before birth member of a military aristocracy on a world of honor and tradition . . . who through a series of events ends up with his own mercenary fleet to take among the stars. Several of the books have been re-issued in multi-book volumes.
The Midshipman's Hope series, by David Feintuch. I won't say too much, except that it is very gritty, well written science fiction, told over the career of a member of the UN navy in the future, starting with his first interstellar voyage. It is inspired by the Horatio Hornblower series (another series you should check out sometime), but not particularly derivative.
The Sharpe series by Bernard Cornwell. This is historical fiction about a captain in the British army who rose to that level through the ranks during the Napoleonic wars. It is excellent from military and historic viewpoints. There's also a very good television adaptation starring Sean Bean (and it made a big impact on him; he now works references into it in almost everything he does -- you might have noticed his exclamation when he cuts his finger on Narsil in one of the LOTR movies).
The Misplaced Legion series, by Harry Turtledove. A legion of Roman mercenaries patrolling Gaul is transported by mysterious magical means to a place not of this world, where they have to make a home. Turtledove has his flaws in writing, but this is one of his better works, and draws from a period he knows best: Byzantine history (he has a PhD in the subject, after all).
Posted by twinky (Member # 693) on :
I remember reading Midshipman's Hope. I enjoyed it.
I'm surprised no one has suggested Starship Troopers.
Posted by Jon Boy (Member # 4284) on :
I don't know if you care about this, twinky, but you're at 9999 posts right now. Just in case you hadn't noticed.
Posted by mr_porteiro_head (Member # 4644) on :
quote:The Vorkosigan series by Lois McMaster Bujold. Imagine a young, extremely intelligent, hyperactive, but crippled before birth member of a military aristocracy on a world of honor and tradition . . . who through a series of events ends up with his own mercenary fleet to take among the stars. Several of the books have been re-issued in multi-book volumes.
This series is probably my favorite space opera.
(FWIW, Blayne, I'm also a big Babylon 5 fan. I just got finished watching the entire Babylon 5 series again.)
I'll also second Starship Troopers and I'll add in Forever War.
Posted by Blayne Bradley (Member # 8565) on :
I was just at Chapters and the Ben Bova books look interesting but grrrg hardcover for the lose.
I have read afaik all of the Sharpe novels. I even have the mp3 of Over the Hills and Far Away.
Posted by fugu13 (Member # 2859) on :
Definitely to Starship Troopers and the Forever War (I was looking at my bookshelves for the most part, and sadly don't have either of those on them -- I read my parents' copies).
Oh, you'd probably like any of Gordon R. Dickson's Dorsai books (aka the Childe Cycle), too. That reminds me, I should pick up the ones I'm missing.
Posted by TomDavidson (Member # 124) on :
fugu's recommendations are all solid, Blayne, and seem to be in the style you enjoy.
Posted by King of Men (Member # 6684) on :
I strongly disagree with the recommendation of Elizabeth Moon. Her characters clunk like robots and she can't really do military writing either.
Posted by Steev (Member # 6805) on :
Have you read either of the Moon series I recommended, KoM, particularly the Deed of Paksenarrion?
Posted by Orincoro (Member # 8854) on :
So Blayne, has the website been taken down? The link is dead at the moment.
Posted by Blayne Bradley (Member # 8565) on :
my schools linux server seems unstable this week. I'm going to setup fedora on my spare box asap.
Posted by Nighthawk (Member # 4176) on :
Linux? Unstable? That's unpossible!
Posted by Primal Curve (Member # 3587) on :
It isn't when you have insufferable boobs writing faulty scripts and MySQL code on it all day.
Posted by Blayne Bradley (Member # 8565) on :
yo, ya, where can i find the system linux dictionary, im using fedora.
Posted by Blayne Bradley (Member # 8565) on :
I added some more site content, my programming projects page with links to my web programming projects. I'll upload my ASP course content eventually.
Posted by Blayne Bradley (Member # 8565) on :
Updated site, now has my pciture.
Posted by Shigosei (Member # 3831) on :
Hey, Twinky, I really enjoyed Blindsight. I thought it was a fascinating look at consciousness and our brains. The extensive notes at the end were great too.
Posted by Blayne Bradley (Member # 8565) on :
Ack, I put in a docttype and it got rid of my font colour, what happened?
Posted by Blayne Bradley (Member # 8565) on :
quote:The World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) has removed the <font> tag from its recommendations. In future versions of HTML, style sheets (CSS) will be used to define the layout and display properties of HTML elements.
You killed Kenny!
Posted by Phanto (Member # 5897) on :
The <font> tag was pretty lame, to be honest.
Posted by Flaming Toad on a Stick (Member # 9302) on :
Getting better. Keep working on it.
Posted by Fusiachi (Member # 7376) on :
Suggestion: That photo should probably be JPEG instead of PNG. Sure, JPEG is lossy, but on a photo like that distortion should be near invisible to the naked eye. PNG has its uses--this, generally speaking, isn't one of them. Be kind to your uni's bandwidth.
And as the previous poster noted, things are coming along.
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