
The Virtual Reality of John Carmack - avisk
http://www.dmagazine.com/publications/d-ceo/2015/september/virtual-reality-of-john-carmack
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brayton
> "No, he would not leave Texas, he said. In fact, as a condition of his
> acceptance, he said Oculus would have to open an office in Dallas—which it
> has since done."

Power move

~~~
6stringmerc
No kidding. They're hiring a Software Engineer according to their website.
I'll have to keep checking back if there's ever anything I might be qualified
for, like the Office Admin. I'm not joking! It's in my professional
background!

~~~
reneherse
You should make contact, get on their radar, and apply anyway. Lots of times
available jobs never make it to a job board, but are given to people already
in the common network. Go for it!

~~~
6stringmerc
Thanks for the positive encouragement! Also the valid point about never
knowing what opportunities may exist. I think I'll reach out using their
available channels and do just that, make an introduction, see if anything
might come about. I don't intend to waste their time, but I'd love a foot in
the door, so to speak!

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prezjordan
> "I embrace the mundane work and find insights while exploring it."

I love this quote. I'm still early in my career, and unfortunately find myself
focusing far too much at the big picture and becoming overwhelmed by it. Any
tips for "embracing the mundane"?

~~~
gdubs
Read Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance

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chadgeidel
I've asked this question before on HN and was down voted mercilessly, so I'll
try to rephrase.

Why does everyone point to Zen as such a significant work? I've tried to read
it on 3 separate occasions now, and I'm not "getting it". I'm fully willing to
be completely wrong about this, but it frustrates me that Pirsig focuses so
much on what I read as "the absolute value of quality" when - IMHO, it's
merely a relative term.

I get the point he's making early in the book about "doing it yourself" vs
"buying it", but as the book goes on I get more and more frustrated with what
appears to me to be the central premise.

Can you point me to a "guide to reading 'Zen'" or something similar which can
show me where I'm going wrong?

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glibgil
Why don't you just finish reading the book or just leave it alone? I
understand there are books that are hard to read, but this is very much a do-
or-don't thing. How can we help you finish a book? Just read it or don't.

Edit: I'm getting down-voted so let me put a fine point on it. Reading a book
is a pretty low risk commitment. You could be reading dozens of a books a
year. The book we are talking about is considered to be a "great American
novel" and less risky still. No one should have to convince you to finish it.
If you don't like it enough to finish it, then don't bother.
[http://www.modernlibrary.com/top-100/100-best-
novels/](http://www.modernlibrary.com/top-100/100-best-novels/)

~~~
chadgeidel
I'm not down voting you, but you didn't actually answer my question. I didn't
ask for help to finish the book. I asked for perspective why it's a "great
novel".

~~~
glibgil
I know, but the idea of struggling with a book? Can't you just think about it
after you finish reading it?

~~~
zardo
You can't just hold the entirety of the massive brain dump that is a novel in
your head at once. You have to stop and think along the way. Or at least, I
do.

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6stringmerc
Everything John Carmack says he likes about Dallas is what I like about
Dallas, and absolutely hated about Austin. I purposefuly fled Austin to return
to Dallas years ago. There's something unique in the independent spirit in
this area, and it persists year after year. I'm exceptionally pleased at his
reasoning, and may quote some of his verbiage when appropriate.

~~~
Ocerge
After spending a couple of years in Austin, I always felt it had a veneer of
"cool" that was mostly fake. It's cool because people say it is; it's really
not a liberal oasis in a sea of conservatism, it just seems like it is. Having
lived there, if you're not into going downtown or sweating your ass off doing
something outdoors, there's not much in Austin that you can't find for cheaper
elsewhere.

~~~
phkahler
>> It's cool because people say it is.

I know a guy that moved to Michigan from LA. He said the same. People have a
vision of California that dates from the 50's before the traffic, cost of
living, and pollution got bad. The only thing nice about it now is the climate
in his opinion. From what I've read and seen (a week in SF) he's about right.

~~~
setpatchaddress
No, the image most non-West-Coasters have of California was always a mirage.
There was smog in the San Fernando Valley in the 50's.

But you can't really judge all of it from LA. California is huge, and LA is a
small but uniquely artificial, plastic-y place, inhabited by pretend humans.
If that's a problem for you, you're not going to like it. San Francisco has
its own unique bullshit factor that you may also not like, but it's not the
same culture as LA.

And the climate is getting worse (thanks to global warming).

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MrZongle2
My favorite quote from the article: _“A lot of people, especially from
California, say, ‘Texas? Why the hell are you in Texas?’ But I am generally
happy to wave the flag and say, ‘No, I am not here under duress.’ I actually
like it here. And we appreciate the sense of the Southern hospitality. You
don’t get the sense that everyone needs to be coddled and taken care of. You
get the sense of gumption.”_

This is why many of us live in "flyover country".

~~~
pnut
I used to live in California, and now live in Austin.

Have to agree w/ other commenter, there's actually a pretty surprising overlap
in personality types between the two places. Maybe Austin skews a little
younger (both biologically and socially).

However... Texas is for materialists, hands down. You don't go there for
natural splendor or the climate. The beach is a turd, and you're surrounded by
500 miles of polarized right wing fundamentalists in every direction. But it's
centrally located! Which means you will be flying/renting a car to leave town,
period.

California is for people who value quality of life, and are willing to pay
every penny they have now and forever, to approach it, to the point that they
have no quality.

After these and other living arrangements, I'm done with population centers.
Give me a rail connected village please.

~~~
6stringmerc
"You don't go to Texas for natural splendor" sounds exactly like what a
California transplant to Austin would say because they can't ride their bike
to the Hill Country, the pine forests of East Texas, or the Trinity River in
North Texas.

~~~
masterj
As an East Texas native who's now in California... sorry, Texas has some
pretty vistas, but there's no comparison to the Sierras and California Coast.

God, I miss good Mexican food and TexMex though.

~~~
6stringmerc
Never said Texas surpassed California in the nature department, but to claim
Texas is devoid of natural beauty in such a blase fashion is just ignorant,
methinks.

~~~
scarecrowbob
Pretty much. I'm in Fredericksburg. There are other places and they all have
their positive virtues, but not much better IME.

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baby
> In fact, as he continues he leans forward and seems on the verge of standing
> up

I always stops on sentences like this one and admire the writing.

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Animats
We should have the technology to do VR acceptably now, although display
technology and tracking technology both needed an upgrade. The problem
remains, what do you use it for? If there's a killer app for VR, it hasn't
been invented yet.

Also, the headgear needs to be far less clunky. Samsung is making progress in
this area. The Oculus Rift is as bulky as some of the 1990s headgear.

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gashad
"“It was a binary thing,” he says matter-of-factly. “We didn’t get into
suborbital space within the 10 years; thus it was not a success.”" I had to
read that sentence twice. I saw "binary" and didn't think 10=ten.

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hkailahi
Binary outcome - a success or not a success

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boriselec
What is good (and inexpensive) kit to start doing things with VR?

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alexrkass
Google Cardboard (or one of the many versions thereof- I prefer the C1 Glass)

