Path: utzoo!utgpu!water!watmath!clyde!att!ihnp4!cbmvax!grr
From: grr@cbmvax.UUCP (George Robbins)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.amiga
Subject: Re: Jerry Pournelle
Message-ID: <3916@cbmvax.UUCP>
Date: 2 Jun 88 09:42:25 GMT
References: <7234@swan.ulowell.edu> <707@applix.UUCP> <893@entropy.ms.washington.edu> <2068@sugar.UUCP>
Reply-To: grr@cbmvax.UUCP (George Robbins)
Organization: Commodore Technology, West Chester, PA
Lines: 30

In article <2068@sugar.UUCP> karl@sugar.UUCP (Karl Lehenbauer) writes:
> [Atomic batteries to power, turbines to speed, flame level on maximum]
> 
> It used to be Jerry Pournelle would say a bunch of stupid crap and his "mad
> friend MacLean" would tell him so and he'd print that, too, so we'd say
> "He's full of crap but at least his mad friend MacLean got it right."  Then
> his mad friend died.  Now we just say "He's full of crap."  There are no 
> self-correcting mechanisms to be found, within Pournelle or apparently the
> editorial staff of Byte magazine.

Anybody who wants to take on Jerry and "correct" him need only whip out
a credit card and join the "tojerry" conferences on BIX.  He is fairly
open to correction on factual errors, except when his "facts" come from
one of his trusted sources or when he doesn't understand the distinction
you're trying to make.

On matters of opinion, he's a bit more hard headed, representing that his
opinions are based on simply using the stuff he comments on.  Of course
things are not really quite that simple, since by virtue of being a major
columnist, he gets just a bit more attention from the vendors than
Joe Average and doesn't feel the pain/pride/expectations that come from
actually having to spend precious cash to buy the stuff.

BTW, his column is posted on BIX, however only after it's too late
to get any corrections into the printed copy.

-- 
George Robbins - now working for,	uucp: {uunet|ihnp4|rutgers}!cbmvax!grr
but no way officially representing	arpa: cbmvax!grr@uunet.uu.net
Commodore, Engineering Department	fone: 215-431-9255 (only by moonlite)