 |
Sietch
A cave warren designed to protect a tribal community, with a population of thousands, with its own water supply in an endless desert. (Read the full article)
| "I think the term "sietch" night be related to a word "siech" in the dialect of Russian spoken by Cossacks. A siech is the war camp where a cossack host musters." (Eric S. Raymond 1/20/2010 3:06:11 AM ) |
| "Eric - interesting speculation. I've never read anything by Frank Herbert or any of his biographers about his derivation of the word." (Bill Christensen 1/20/2010 4:55:17 AM ) |
| "If you look up Taras Bulba in wiki-they use the word Sich.These are more than war camps- they tend to be natural redoubts, like islands or high ground in the middle of a swamp, so they are "places of safety".Herbert tends to use ideas and concepts from lots of exotic cultures. I recently made the connection between the Butlerian Jihad and the law brought into question at the Scopes trial...The Butler Act." (ursus 2/11/2010 9:14:58 PM ) |
Leave a comment:
Tediously, spammers have returned. So, send me your comments to bill at the site name (be sure to mention the page) and I'll post them. Thanks!
Current News Articles
JAXA Int Ball 2 Coming Right Along As Star Wars Remote
'Hocus-pocus religions and archaic weapons are no substitute for a good blaster at your side.'
Robot Bricklayer Or Passer-By Bricklayer?
'Oscar picked up a trowel. 'I'm the tool for the mortar,' the little trowel squeaked cheerfully.'
Robot Gas Station Attendant Pumps Gas For You
'... he waited for the robotrix attendant to finish fueling up his ship.'
Engineer Creates Crazy Motorized Track Hospital Bed
The Roujin Z system provides care to fully bedridden patients - and then some!
Tiny Flying Robot Weighs Just One Gram
'Aerostat meant anything that hung in the air. This was an easy trick to pull off nowadays.'
Some Ringworld Configurations Are Stable
'The Ringworld had no horizon. There was no line where the land curved away from the sky.'
TRANSFORM Dynamic Furniture Concept Becomes What You Need
'An adjustment panel outside the door would cause it to extrude various appurtenances in memory plastic...'
Harvard Metamaterials Change Structure Instantly
'Annealed in any shape for a time, and codified, the structure of that shape is retained down to the molecules.'
SnapBot Robots - You Choose Their Legs And They Choose Their Gaits
It's not really polite to tear the limbs off robots.
Dino From Magical Toys An AI Companion To Children
'...the imaginary companions discovered by needful children.'
Humanoid Robots Building Humanoid Robots
''Pardon me, Struthers,' he broke in suddenly... 'haven't you a section of the factory where only robot labor is employed?''
Darpa 'Defiant' Unmanned Autonomous Ship
'There was no wheel, and no steersman!'
