tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1592992209402300549.post2272425856339170797..comments2024-03-28T08:06:43.198-04:00Comments on The Silicon Graybeard: The MartianSiGraybeardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00280583031339062059noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1592992209402300549.post-43970173762755799552015-10-17T11:39:40.702-04:002015-10-17T11:39:40.702-04:00Anon - I've read that it's a better engine...Anon - I've read that it's a better engineering movie than science movie, but that scene with the plastic sheet and duct tape made me cringe. All movies involve some sort of "suspension of disbelief", it's just a matter of how much.<br /><br />I haven't read the book, but I understand that in the book Watney identifies as an undergrad mechanical engineer and graduate botanist. The movie just went with botanist. Did the book include the duct tape and trash bag scene?SiGraybeardhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00280583031339062059noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1592992209402300549.post-67632599254837418802015-10-17T11:27:09.976-04:002015-10-17T11:27:09.976-04:00I read the book first and really enjoyed it. The ...I read the book first and really enjoyed it. The movie was good but not great, IMHO. Seems Caterpillar was the contractor who provided the MAV and rovers; what with the cast iron manhole cover nose cone and half ton tractor tires. Not to mention the Hermes spacecraft had bank vault sized (and weight) air lock doors.<br /><br />Also, the bubble on top of the rover was never explained. Why destroy a perfectly good roof to duct tape a Visqueen balloon onto it? Oh, and the exploding HAB airlock repair. Visqueen and duct tape, REALLY? 14psi delta-p. Do the math.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1592992209402300549.post-91905846369098340512015-10-13T16:16:39.207-04:002015-10-13T16:16:39.207-04:00Haven't seen the movie; may get around to it e...Haven't seen the movie; may get around to it eventually. But the sandstorm business puts me in mind of Larry Niven's description of a Martian storm:<br />"The sandstorm was at the height of its fury, which made it about as dangerous as an enraged caterpillar."<br />Eric Wilnerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04351991168469225129noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1592992209402300549.post-71388593793052778582015-10-13T10:32:13.886-04:002015-10-13T10:32:13.886-04:00When I was a kid I read all the SF I could find. ...When I was a kid I read all the SF I could find. I enjoyed a lot of SF movies. But I'm so burned out. I'm not sure if the SF has changed or I have changed. So much of it revolves around stupid stuff that I think you have to be a drug user to sit through it. I can't bring myself to go to see Martian.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1592992209402300549.post-80465939299337068282015-10-13T07:31:26.853-04:002015-10-13T07:31:26.853-04:00The movie is on our must see in theater list, and ...The movie is on our must see in theater list, and that is a very short list. <br /><br />I would also suggest spending just under an hour on YouTube to watch the interview with Andy Weir and Adam Savage.<br /><br />I read the novel and thought it was a great story, very well written, and I was concerned about the Hollywood treatment. Thank you for the positive review.<br /><br />(and off topic, using the lathe, a large live center, and a woodworking rasp to turn a taper on PVC pipe so my wife's mini shop vac was not out of commission due to the breakage of the end fitting, was just priceless.) (and yes, I could have set the tailstock over, but then you have to realign the tailstock. And the whole job was finished in less time then it would have taken to calculate the offset and then reset the tailstock.)John in Phillyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16196033252818387245noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1592992209402300549.post-58549100624114734032015-10-12T22:12:56.559-04:002015-10-12T22:12:56.559-04:00Saw it the other night. Liked it a lot. Saw some o...Saw it the other night. Liked it a lot. Saw some of the same flaws that you did but ignored them and just enjoyed the movie. For once, Hollywood made something halfway decent.Murphy's Lawhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17164780742334950772noreply@blogger.com