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  3. Is this mere superstition ?

Is this mere superstition ?

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  • S Sahir Shah

    I could not find a suitable block of wood to do a calf workout (it's done by placing your toes on a block of wood and raising your heels while holding a pair of heavy dumbells or a barbell) so I used a copy of "Inside Microsoft SQL Server 6.5 by Ron Soukup". It does the job. But I wasn't feeling too good about stepping on a book. It's part of our culture (Kerala) to treat all books with reverence and to never step on one. But the rationalist part of my mind says "what the heck it's about an old version of SQL Server anyway". I am a bit confused... Is it disrespectful to step on books ?

    L'enfer, c'est les autres - Jean-Paul Sartre
    Und wenn du lange in einen abgrund blickst, blickt der Abgrund auch in dich hinein - Friedrich Nietzsche

    M Offline
    M Offline
    Michael Bergman
    wrote on last edited by
    #8

    I don't know about disrespectful, but if you are using a paperback book those pages could shift under your feet causing you to twist your ankle and/or fall. Better to use a hard bound book.

    m.bergman

    For Bruce Schneier, quanta only have one state : afraid.

    To succeed in the world it is not enough to be stupid, you must also be well-mannered. -- Voltaire

    Honesty is the best policy, but insanity is a better defense. -- Steve Landesberg

    I am not a chatbot.

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    • N NormDroid

      Roger Wright wrote:

      Bruce Schneier or Matt Pietrek

      Hey lets not forget Jeff Richter and Charles Petzold :)

      Software Kinetics Wear a hard hat it's under construction
      Metro RSS

      R Offline
      R Offline
      Roger Wright
      wrote on last edited by
      #9

      I didn't, but I wanted to keep it fairly brief. While we're at it, we might want to add Chuck Babbage to the "risky" list, along with Alan Turing.

      Will Rogers never met me.

      1 Reply Last reply
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      • M Michael Bergman

        I don't know about disrespectful, but if you are using a paperback book those pages could shift under your feet causing you to twist your ankle and/or fall. Better to use a hard bound book.

        m.bergman

        For Bruce Schneier, quanta only have one state : afraid.

        To succeed in the world it is not enough to be stupid, you must also be well-mannered. -- Voltaire

        Honesty is the best policy, but insanity is a better defense. -- Steve Landesberg

        I am not a chatbot.

        R Offline
        R Offline
        Roger Wright
        wrote on last edited by
        #10

        A good, thick dictionary would probably be okay, too. From what I see in print these days, I'd infer that few people have ever opened one.

        Will Rogers never met me.

        1 Reply Last reply
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        • R Roger Wright

          It depends on the author. Anything by Bruce Schneier or Matt Pietrek is sacred, but books by L. Ron Hubbard or Leon Uris may be safely used for anything from door stops to sanitary wipes for the outhouse. For the latter, buy the paperback versions on recycled paper, as there's less risk of paper cuts.

          Will Rogers never met me.

          S Offline
          S Offline
          Sahir Shah
          wrote on last edited by
          #11

          Roger Wright wrote:

          less risk of paper cuts

          :laugh:

          Und wenn du lange in einen abgrund blickst, blickt der Abgrund auch in dich hinein - Friedrich Nietzsche

          1 Reply Last reply
          0
          • S Sahir Shah

            I could not find a suitable block of wood to do a calf workout (it's done by placing your toes on a block of wood and raising your heels while holding a pair of heavy dumbells or a barbell) so I used a copy of "Inside Microsoft SQL Server 6.5 by Ron Soukup". It does the job. But I wasn't feeling too good about stepping on a book. It's part of our culture (Kerala) to treat all books with reverence and to never step on one. But the rationalist part of my mind says "what the heck it's about an old version of SQL Server anyway". I am a bit confused... Is it disrespectful to step on books ?

            L'enfer, c'est les autres - Jean-Paul Sartre
            Und wenn du lange in einen abgrund blickst, blickt der Abgrund auch in dich hinein - Friedrich Nietzsche

            R Offline
            R Offline
            Roger Wright
            wrote on last edited by
            #12

            Sahir Shah wrote:

            calf workout

            By the way, that's not a good idea, working your calf that way. It makes the veal tough.

            Will Rogers never met me.

            N 1 Reply Last reply
            0
            • M Michael Bergman

              I don't know about disrespectful, but if you are using a paperback book those pages could shift under your feet causing you to twist your ankle and/or fall. Better to use a hard bound book.

              m.bergman

              For Bruce Schneier, quanta only have one state : afraid.

              To succeed in the world it is not enough to be stupid, you must also be well-mannered. -- Voltaire

              Honesty is the best policy, but insanity is a better defense. -- Steve Landesberg

              I am not a chatbot.

              S Offline
              S Offline
              Sahir Shah
              wrote on last edited by
              #13

              Michael Bergman wrote:

              those pages could shift under your feet causing you to twist your ankle

              Yes, that occured to me as well, later on. I am switching to a hardbound coffee table book which looks much more stable and solid. Thx.

              Und wenn du lange in einen abgrund blickst, blickt der Abgrund auch in dich hinein - Friedrich Nietzsche

              1 Reply Last reply
              0
              • S Sahir Shah

                I could not find a suitable block of wood to do a calf workout (it's done by placing your toes on a block of wood and raising your heels while holding a pair of heavy dumbells or a barbell) so I used a copy of "Inside Microsoft SQL Server 6.5 by Ron Soukup". It does the job. But I wasn't feeling too good about stepping on a book. It's part of our culture (Kerala) to treat all books with reverence and to never step on one. But the rationalist part of my mind says "what the heck it's about an old version of SQL Server anyway". I am a bit confused... Is it disrespectful to step on books ?

                L'enfer, c'est les autres - Jean-Paul Sartre
                Und wenn du lange in einen abgrund blickst, blickt der Abgrund auch in dich hinein - Friedrich Nietzsche

                L Offline
                L Offline
                Lost User
                wrote on last edited by
                #14

                Hard to believe, but once upon a time books were written and copied by hand. Even the paper was made by hand, which made the material to write and bind a book more expensive than normal people could ever afford. Not to speak about how expensive things got when you also wanted the cover decorated or some illustrations. Books were extremely valuable and contained reserved knowledge (most people could not even read). And here in Europe many books were copied by monks for their libraries. Certainly they had a preference for religious topics, which also might have added to the way books were treated.

                I'm invincible, I can't be vinced

                R 1 Reply Last reply
                0
                • L Lost User

                  Hard to believe, but once upon a time books were written and copied by hand. Even the paper was made by hand, which made the material to write and bind a book more expensive than normal people could ever afford. Not to speak about how expensive things got when you also wanted the cover decorated or some illustrations. Books were extremely valuable and contained reserved knowledge (most people could not even read). And here in Europe many books were copied by monks for their libraries. Certainly they had a preference for religious topics, which also might have added to the way books were treated.

                  I'm invincible, I can't be vinced

                  R Offline
                  R Offline
                  Roger Wright
                  wrote on last edited by
                  #15

                  They were expensive and rare, certainly, but it was worth every drachma. Books then were a lot lighter than the clay tablets we used in school.

                  Will Rogers never met me.

                  L 1 Reply Last reply
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                  • R Roger Wright

                    Sahir Shah wrote:

                    calf workout

                    By the way, that's not a good idea, working your calf that way. It makes the veal tough.

                    Will Rogers never met me.

                    N Offline
                    N Offline
                    NormDroid
                    wrote on last edited by
                    #16

                    >Don't come out with comments like that or else he will go into a hoof.

                    Software Kinetics Wear a hard hat it's under construction
                    Metro RSS

                    1 Reply Last reply
                    0
                    • R Roger Wright

                      They were expensive and rare, certainly, but it was worth every drachma. Books then were a lot lighter than the clay tablets we used in school.

                      Will Rogers never met me.

                      L Offline
                      L Offline
                      Lost User
                      wrote on last edited by
                      #17

                      Clay tablets already were an improvement over painting things on cave walls. Did you ever try to carry your cave around with you? But it took a few thousand years to get from cave walls to clay tablets because some other projects had higher priority, like developing better weapons than simple clubs.

                      I'm invincible, I can't be vinced

                      R 1 Reply Last reply
                      0
                      • S Sahir Shah

                        I could not find a suitable block of wood to do a calf workout (it's done by placing your toes on a block of wood and raising your heels while holding a pair of heavy dumbells or a barbell) so I used a copy of "Inside Microsoft SQL Server 6.5 by Ron Soukup". It does the job. But I wasn't feeling too good about stepping on a book. It's part of our culture (Kerala) to treat all books with reverence and to never step on one. But the rationalist part of my mind says "what the heck it's about an old version of SQL Server anyway". I am a bit confused... Is it disrespectful to step on books ?

                        L'enfer, c'est les autres - Jean-Paul Sartre
                        Und wenn du lange in einen abgrund blickst, blickt der Abgrund auch in dich hinein - Friedrich Nietzsche

                        E Offline
                        E Offline
                        Eytukan
                        wrote on last edited by
                        #18

                        Do you need someone's advice on this? I'll agree if asked by someone in the west. Who have different beliefs But you say you are from India and I'm amazed to know, you do know how much respect we give to books. Or any thing for that matter. Will you step on a Quran/Bible or whatever that is applicable to you? To me every book is means the same.

                        Sahir Shah wrote:

                        rationalist part of my mind

                        Make that as "damaged" excuse me if I'm over reacting. But I JUST hate what you've posted.

                        Starting to think people post kid pics in their profiles because that was the last time they were cute - Jeremy.

                        L R K P S 5 Replies Last reply
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                        • L Lost User

                          Clay tablets already were an improvement over painting things on cave walls. Did you ever try to carry your cave around with you? But it took a few thousand years to get from cave walls to clay tablets because some other projects had higher priority, like developing better weapons than simple clubs.

                          I'm invincible, I can't be vinced

                          R Offline
                          R Offline
                          Roger Wright
                          wrote on last edited by
                          #19

                          That wheel thingy looked interesting. Did the committee ever work out the details? I bet that we could have used that to carry caves.

                          Will Rogers never met me.

                          L 1 Reply Last reply
                          0
                          • E Eytukan

                            Do you need someone's advice on this? I'll agree if asked by someone in the west. Who have different beliefs But you say you are from India and I'm amazed to know, you do know how much respect we give to books. Or any thing for that matter. Will you step on a Quran/Bible or whatever that is applicable to you? To me every book is means the same.

                            Sahir Shah wrote:

                            rationalist part of my mind

                            Make that as "damaged" excuse me if I'm over reacting. But I JUST hate what you've posted.

                            Starting to think people post kid pics in their profiles because that was the last time they were cute - Jeremy.

                            L Offline
                            L Offline
                            Lost User
                            wrote on last edited by
                            #20

                            VuNic wrote:

                            I'll agree if asked by someone in the west.

                            Those little barbarians... :)

                            VuNic wrote:

                            Will you step on a Quran/Bible or whatever that is applicable to you?

                            We barbarians are extremely practical about such things, especially when stepping onto the books somehow solves a problem at hand. Our ancestors already were like that and not being struck down by Odin or Thor just encouraged them to keep it that way.

                            VuNic wrote:

                            To me every book is means the same.

                            Let me send you some stuff our marketing guys put on paper.

                            I'm invincible, I can't be vinced

                            R E 2 Replies Last reply
                            0
                            • E Eytukan

                              Do you need someone's advice on this? I'll agree if asked by someone in the west. Who have different beliefs But you say you are from India and I'm amazed to know, you do know how much respect we give to books. Or any thing for that matter. Will you step on a Quran/Bible or whatever that is applicable to you? To me every book is means the same.

                              Sahir Shah wrote:

                              rationalist part of my mind

                              Make that as "damaged" excuse me if I'm over reacting. But I JUST hate what you've posted.

                              Starting to think people post kid pics in their profiles because that was the last time they were cute - Jeremy.

                              R Offline
                              R Offline
                              Roger Wright
                              wrote on last edited by
                              #21

                              Some books are meant to be stepped on; some authors deserve to be burned atop a pyre of their own writings. My Statistics textbook is one example. Not all things written and published are sacred; a lot of crap manages to get by the filter of good sense and taste, only to find its way to a bookshelf home it doesn't deserve. Reverence for the printed word is respectable; I, for one, have never made a mark in a book or folded a corner of a page - both are criminal acts, to my mind. But being an expert doesn't make one a writer, and many books are published these days which are deserving of no respect whatsoever. I refuse to sell my Statistics book back to the bookstore, because I cannot, in good conscience, allow it to fall into the hands of another innocent victim. When I'm done with the class in a few weeks, I plan to aerate it by making holes in it with an AK-47, so that it will burn more efficiently. No student should ever again be required to wade through this heap of crap; the authors may be fine statisticians, but they're not writers or educators, and their work does not deserve to be on anyone's required list.

                              Will Rogers never met me.

                              Mike HankeyM 1 Reply Last reply
                              0
                              • L Lost User

                                VuNic wrote:

                                I'll agree if asked by someone in the west.

                                Those little barbarians... :)

                                VuNic wrote:

                                Will you step on a Quran/Bible or whatever that is applicable to you?

                                We barbarians are extremely practical about such things, especially when stepping onto the books somehow solves a problem at hand. Our ancestors already were like that and not being struck down by Odin or Thor just encouraged them to keep it that way.

                                VuNic wrote:

                                To me every book is means the same.

                                Let me send you some stuff our marketing guys put on paper.

                                I'm invincible, I can't be vinced

                                R Offline
                                R Offline
                                Roger Wright
                                wrote on last edited by
                                #22

                                :laugh: :laugh: I agree completely! :-D

                                Will Rogers never met me.

                                1 Reply Last reply
                                0
                                • R Roger Wright

                                  Some books are meant to be stepped on; some authors deserve to be burned atop a pyre of their own writings. My Statistics textbook is one example. Not all things written and published are sacred; a lot of crap manages to get by the filter of good sense and taste, only to find its way to a bookshelf home it doesn't deserve. Reverence for the printed word is respectable; I, for one, have never made a mark in a book or folded a corner of a page - both are criminal acts, to my mind. But being an expert doesn't make one a writer, and many books are published these days which are deserving of no respect whatsoever. I refuse to sell my Statistics book back to the bookstore, because I cannot, in good conscience, allow it to fall into the hands of another innocent victim. When I'm done with the class in a few weeks, I plan to aerate it by making holes in it with an AK-47, so that it will burn more efficiently. No student should ever again be required to wade through this heap of crap; the authors may be fine statisticians, but they're not writers or educators, and their work does not deserve to be on anyone's required list.

                                  Will Rogers never met me.

                                  Mike HankeyM Offline
                                  Mike HankeyM Offline
                                  Mike Hankey
                                  wrote on last edited by
                                  #23

                                  Roger Wright wrote:

                                  Some books are meant to be stepped on; some authors deserve to be burned atop a pyre of their own writings.

                                  I agree, anyone that can spell can write a book and it doesn't make them a scholar or the book worth reading.

                                  VS2010/Atmel Studio 6.0 ToDo Manager Extension
                                  Version 3.0 now available.

                                  1 Reply Last reply
                                  0
                                  • E Eytukan

                                    Do you need someone's advice on this? I'll agree if asked by someone in the west. Who have different beliefs But you say you are from India and I'm amazed to know, you do know how much respect we give to books. Or any thing for that matter. Will you step on a Quran/Bible or whatever that is applicable to you? To me every book is means the same.

                                    Sahir Shah wrote:

                                    rationalist part of my mind

                                    Make that as "damaged" excuse me if I'm over reacting. But I JUST hate what you've posted.

                                    Starting to think people post kid pics in their profiles because that was the last time they were cute - Jeremy.

                                    K Offline
                                    K Offline
                                    Keith Barrow
                                    wrote on last edited by
                                    #24

                                    Seriously, this is just fetishising books as objects, blown up to look like wisdom "look at the reverence we give to dead mashed trees because they contain learning". What they contain is important, and not all books are equal in that respect either.

                                    Sort of a cross between Lawrence of Arabia and Dilbert.[^]
                                    -Or-
                                    A Dead ringer for Kate Winslett[^]

                                    L 1 Reply Last reply
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                                    • R Roger Wright

                                      That wheel thingy looked interesting. Did the committee ever work out the details? I bet that we could have used that to carry caves.

                                      Will Rogers never met me.

                                      L Offline
                                      L Offline
                                      Lost User
                                      wrote on last edited by
                                      #25

                                      As far as I know they looked at two other solutions: Some people tried to replace caves with simple constructions made out of sticks and leather hides. The idea was to put together the sticks in a certain way and then cover them with the hides. It kindof worked until it got windy and the 'cave' was blown away. That led to another version made out of whole trees or even stone. Those could not be blown away that easily anymore, but it also was far too heavy to carry around with you.

                                      I'm invincible, I can't be vinced

                                      K 1 Reply Last reply
                                      0
                                      • E Eytukan

                                        Do you need someone's advice on this? I'll agree if asked by someone in the west. Who have different beliefs But you say you are from India and I'm amazed to know, you do know how much respect we give to books. Or any thing for that matter. Will you step on a Quran/Bible or whatever that is applicable to you? To me every book is means the same.

                                        Sahir Shah wrote:

                                        rationalist part of my mind

                                        Make that as "damaged" excuse me if I'm over reacting. But I JUST hate what you've posted.

                                        Starting to think people post kid pics in their profiles because that was the last time they were cute - Jeremy.

                                        P Offline
                                        P Offline
                                        Pete OHanlon
                                        wrote on last edited by
                                        #26

                                        Feel free to step on the Twilight books, or anything by Dan Brown.

                                        *pre-emptive celebratory nipple tassle jiggle* - Sean Ewington

                                        "Mind bleach! Send me mind bleach!" - Nagy Vilmos

                                        My blog | My articles | MoXAML PowerToys | Mole 2010 - debugging made easier - my favourite utility

                                        1 Reply Last reply
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                                        • L Lost User

                                          As far as I know they looked at two other solutions: Some people tried to replace caves with simple constructions made out of sticks and leather hides. The idea was to put together the sticks in a certain way and then cover them with the hides. It kindof worked until it got windy and the 'cave' was blown away. That led to another version made out of whole trees or even stone. Those could not be blown away that easily anymore, but it also was far too heavy to carry around with you.

                                          I'm invincible, I can't be vinced

                                          K Offline
                                          K Offline
                                          Keith Barrow
                                          wrote on last edited by
                                          #27

                                          You think you've got problems: try working out your calves with a Kindle, no matter how many books I download my legs still look two beanpoles in a staring contest.

                                          Sort of a cross between Lawrence of Arabia and Dilbert.[^]
                                          -Or-
                                          A Dead ringer for Kate Winslett[^]

                                          L 1 Reply Last reply
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