Monday, October 19, 2015
Another influence: The Andromeda Strain
As long as I am posting some old movie clips, I thought that I would share a trailer for a good film made from a great book about what an encounter with extraterrestrial life might look like, Michael Crichton's debut novel, The Andromeda Strain. Exceptionally well done, the full movie is a must-see!
Pardon Our Dust!
Greetings to interstellar travelers everywhere!
This is the Betelgeuse Bistro, a discussion forum for selected members of the EdX course on Super-Earths and Life, and to try to find ways to have insane amounts of fun along the way and perhaps carry it all forward into something else.
There is, of course, an existing Facebook page, of which I am and shall remain a member. However, due to the rapid growth in membership and free-ranging format of Facebook, I felt a couple of days ago that my feed was filling up with a lot of irrelevant stuff, and more recently there have just been a few people out there who have failed to show respect for others with no one to effectively enforce proper standards of behavior. This forum will be different. Pretty much anything goes, within the bounds of fairness, decency, respect, and complete adherence to the standards of conduct for the course: i.e.--no sharing or cheating of test or quiz answers or materials! Here are some ground rules:
1.) Don't say anything that you wouldn't say in person from two feet away--Please!!! Picture us all holding silly glasses with paper umbrellas in them!
2.) For the most part, I want to stay focused on the course material, and cover material for the given week rather than speeding ahead. I would rather spend time discussing the material and questions that may spring from it with intelligent and engaging material rather than someone who just wants to do the minimum to burn through the coursework in minimum time. I'm taking a paced approach through this course in order to do my own reading and discuss things in depth.
3.) Relevant contributions in line with current course material for the week are welcome!
4.) All members must post "selfies" with either a tie-dye or Hawaiian print shirt or other tastefully festive clothing,just because that's just how we roll here at The Betelgeuse Bistro! (Okay, I'm kidding about that, but it would be cool and feel free to share if so inclined!)
This list is subject to revision, but I think that if everyone just adheres to Rule No.1 everything will be fine!
Part of what will make this work is to keep the number of members down to selected intelligent, fun-loving people who like to push the envelope. Therefore, membership will be by invitation only.
The other part of making it all work is fair but immediate and ruthless enforcement of the above standards. At this point, I will introduce myself as the Head Bouncer of this establishment:
I am also the night janitor and standby DJ.
There is a lot more to follow. In the meantime, I hope that you will accept our invitation to join us here!
Deglato brosco!
Ron Easley
This is the Betelgeuse Bistro, a discussion forum for selected members of the EdX course on Super-Earths and Life, and to try to find ways to have insane amounts of fun along the way and perhaps carry it all forward into something else.
There is, of course, an existing Facebook page, of which I am and shall remain a member. However, due to the rapid growth in membership and free-ranging format of Facebook, I felt a couple of days ago that my feed was filling up with a lot of irrelevant stuff, and more recently there have just been a few people out there who have failed to show respect for others with no one to effectively enforce proper standards of behavior. This forum will be different. Pretty much anything goes, within the bounds of fairness, decency, respect, and complete adherence to the standards of conduct for the course: i.e.--no sharing or cheating of test or quiz answers or materials! Here are some ground rules:
1.) Don't say anything that you wouldn't say in person from two feet away--Please!!! Picture us all holding silly glasses with paper umbrellas in them!
2.) For the most part, I want to stay focused on the course material, and cover material for the given week rather than speeding ahead. I would rather spend time discussing the material and questions that may spring from it with intelligent and engaging material rather than someone who just wants to do the minimum to burn through the coursework in minimum time. I'm taking a paced approach through this course in order to do my own reading and discuss things in depth.
3.) Relevant contributions in line with current course material for the week are welcome!
4.) All members must post "selfies" with either a tie-dye or Hawaiian print shirt or other tastefully festive clothing,just because that's just how we roll here at The Betelgeuse Bistro! (Okay, I'm kidding about that, but it would be cool and feel free to share if so inclined!)
This list is subject to revision, but I think that if everyone just adheres to Rule No.1 everything will be fine!
Part of what will make this work is to keep the number of members down to selected intelligent, fun-loving people who like to push the envelope. Therefore, membership will be by invitation only.
The other part of making it all work is fair but immediate and ruthless enforcement of the above standards. At this point, I will introduce myself as the Head Bouncer of this establishment:
I am also the night janitor and standby DJ.
There is a lot more to follow. In the meantime, I hope that you will accept our invitation to join us here!
Deglato brosco!
Ron Easley
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