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Exactly. Copyright isn't the end-all and be-all of permissions problems. I'm sure Virgin wouldn't have had any problems if they'd used a CC picture of squirrel or something. The Wikimedia Commons has been instituting personality rights and trademark tags (though it's unclear exactly how widespread their use is; this case is an excellent illustration of why they need to do so.

Exactly. Copyright isn't the end-all and be-all of permissions problems. I'm sure Virgin wouldn't have had any problems if they'd used a CC picture of squirrel or something. The Wikimedia Commons has been instituting personality rights and trademark tags (though it's unclear exactly how widespread their use is; this case is an excellent illustration of why they need to do so.

Total idiots

but nothing concrete....

Nope, nothin concrete, BUT(!) there's ultra sekrit spy photos of Microsoft's zuPhones!!!

Just as a point of comparison, here's Wikipedia's architecture:
http://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Server_layout_diagrams

P.S. And for fun, here's the most ambitious MMO ever:
http://www.metagovernment.org/

You don't understand the scale and logistical differences. It's like comparing a guy selling stuff out of his trunk to the entirety of eBay.

Eve map, each point of which is a solar system The glow intensity indicates population density

Eve market screen for 1 item showing all buy/sell prices in the region

There's nothing more annoying than pontification from ignorant armchair physicists.

I understand your irritation, but there is no need to insult Stephen Hawking.

Two million does sound impressive. Congratulations, Wikipedia. But how does this compare to other encyclopedias? Does anyone have numbers for Britannica or World Book?

Wikipedia does, of course. It turns out some of the largest encyclopedia's written were in Chinese, and that brings in a number of complexities in determining which is larger/est. Of course if you look at all languages of Wikipedia, it's over 8 million now, but that is mostly repeats.

That's not what happened. Cingular bought AT&T Wireless from the old AT&T, the one that was created by divestiture in 1984. All the AT&T Wireless operations were folded into Cingular.

Meanwhile AT&T itself got bought by SBC (formerly Southwestern Bell) which has since bought most of the other spun-off RBOCs including Ameritech, Pacific Telesis, and BellSouth. This is "not your father's AT&T" except insofar as it constitutes a reconstruction, with regulatory approval, of the original monopoly AT&T we thought was broken up by divestiture. The other two remaining RBOCs, NYNEX and Bell Atlantic, joined forces to produce Verizon (which also bought the largest independent telco, GTE).

This article at Wikipedia provides more detail: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AT&T, or take a look at this graphic.

I also don't think any of this had much to do with "bad PR" for Cingular. The new AT&T needed a wireless carrier and negotiated the purchase of Cingular.

Not necessarily ... just make sure the rendered Cheney has one of these.

We haven't fought a victorious full-scale battle on our own since the Civil War.

And I can't think of any occasion where we have won a battle against a half-way decent foe.

China went into my Axis of Evil on the 5th of June, 1989. I'll never forgive them sumbitches for that. Never.

Does anyone else find this list hilarious? http://hemlock.knams.wikimedia.org/~leon/stats/wik icharts/index.php?wiki=enwiki&ns=articles&limit=10 0&month=08%2F2007&mode=view WikiCharts -- Top 100 -- 08/2007 Views per day Percent Title 389 659 ± 1% 3.7114% 1. Main Page 17 773 ± 3% 0.1693% 2. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows 11 368 ± 4% 0.1083% 3. Wiki 10 995 ± 4% 0.1047% 4. Harry Potter 9 649 ± 4% 0.0919% 5. Transformers (film) 5 286 ± 6% 0.0504% 6. Naruto 5 173 ± 6% 0.0493% 7. Wikipedia 4 427 ± 6% 0.0422% 8. Deaths in 2007 4 119 ± 6% 0.0392% 9. United States 3 827 ± 7% 0.0365% 10. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (film) 3 714 ± 7% 0.0354% 11. Sex 3 616 ± 7% 0.0344% 12. List of sex positions 3 584 ± 7% 0.0341% 13. Hypertext Transfer Protocol 3 535 ± 7% 0.0337% 14. The Simpsons 3 519 ± 7% 0.0335% 15. YouTube 3 486 ± 7% 0.0332% 16. Bleach (manga) 3 422 ± 7% 0.0326% 17. Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock 3 227 ± 7% 0.0307% 18. List of characters in the Harry Potter books 2 838 ± 8% 0.0270% 19. The Simpsons Movie 2 789 ± 8% 0.0266% 20. List of Konoha ninja 2 789 ± 8% 0.0266% 21. List of Akatsuki members 2 773 ± 8% 0.0264% 22. Optimus Prime 2 692 ± 8% 0.0256% 23. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince 2 676 ± 8% 0.0255% 24. Seven Wonders of the World 2 514 ± 8% 0.0239% 25. Chris Benoit 2 449 ± 8% 0.0233% 26. Harry Potter (character) 2 416 ± 8% 0.0230% 27. 50 Cent 2 368 ± 8% 0.0226% 28. Megatron ... so all wiki users are nerdy harry potter fans interested in sex? ha!

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/1/1d/B7_s eason4_blake.jpg/

Contrary to what some people have conditioned us to believe, pork is not a huge part of the budget. If you look at this pie chart of the 2007 budget, you can see that "Community & Regional Development" is only 1%. Transportation (which probably covers the "bridge to nowhere") is 3%, but I'm going to guess that the cost of that bridge is easily dwarfed by the cost of building and repairing roads that are much more necessary.

In contrast, accoring to that graph, defense spending is 17% (Although this may be inaccurate -- there is apparently some debate about this in the Wiki. At any rate if defense spending is under-represented in this graph then the percentages of other stuff goes down.) It says that Social Security is 21%.

Read all comments up to here.
I'm really curious to know a tad more. Can one of those three in here, who actually run Windows, be kind enough and give it a try ? It is here:
http://netalert.gov.au/filters.html
You have to give an e-mail address, and an Australian postcode (if memory serves right, 4 digits).
And here is the honourable Mistress, eeh Ministress:
http://netalert.gov.au/news_and_events.html
She doesn't look like resisting the offer of some decent indecent products. Actually, to her looks, she could have been in this business until short time ago:
http://www.theage.com.au/ffximage/2006/10/18/19N_C OONAN_narrowweb__300x392,0.jpg
Oh, her boobs turn me on:
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikinews/en/thumb/d/d1 /HelenCoonan.JPG/200px-HelenCoonan.JPG

Sorry, need my hands for something else ...

Any psychedelic that's "speedy" has probably been mixed with something else and I personally would prefer to stay away. LSD has some initial effects that can feel a little "speedy" while your brain adjusts and you certainly do heat up a bit physically, but on an 8 to 12 hour trip, this lasts half an hour max (and usually MUCH less), so is more of the "coming on" than the "trip" itself.

I've usually found the Wikipedia editors to be surprisingly objective and reasonable. Do you have examples of where the locked version was "The Wrong Version"?

And again, the history and the discussions are there for a reason. Check them out, especially if the article is locked.

As many as we need until we get it right! http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/ed /LinuxDistroTimeline.png

Yes, clearly the fact that SVG wasn't used in the manner foreseen indicates it has failed utterly.

I never randomly stumble upon SVGs while browsing the web. Yes, never.

I don't think anyone bothered to read this. before making judgement about the CEO.

While there is no doubt that the Earth has had a warming trend over the past 100,000 years, it's also true that the Earth goes through the same exact cycle approximately every 100,000 years: it also conveniently explains the ice ages.

Human impact on the world has been both detrimental and conservatory, many species have been saved that would otherwise have naturally died out, regardless of urban expansion. The truth is that humans could no more stop the warming/cooling trends of the Earth anymore than we can cause them. If you have any questions to this, please refer to:

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/f/f8/Ice_ Age_Temperature.png

These "clever" scientists -cough-activists-cough- like Hansen only show you the past century and claim that we're baaaaaad and evil and self-centered while he ignores the geological history of the Earth. They use fear-mongering and bad science (refer abover to flawed/super-secret algorithms) to bolster their POLITICS with exaggerated claims. If you think they'll stop before getting overly emotional about their eco-terrorism, wait until they whip out the pictures of polar bear cubs.

Don't be played for fools. In one hundred years, people will be holding up apocalyptic signs because of the impending ice age. Now go be productive and find the real reason for the trend/cycle: orbital rotation/changes, cyclical changes in the Sun, etc. And while you're at it .. recycle aluminum, don't litter and pay mind to your personal/family's impact on the environment like a good lad and while you're at it, please don't go scaring the little kids with fairy tales.

They've got a fair selection of stories - you can even write your own (which people may see as an advantage or a disadvantage), and it's free content. They even make a printable PDF edition.

Revision 21379
Author: brion
Date: Thu Apr 19 14:26:19 2007 UTC (3 months, 3 weeks ago)
Log Message: remove sssllloowwwwwww range checks

Come on dude, ISA is 20 year old technology.

Maybe awesome for 1976 is awful for 2007.

Twin Ion Wind Engine!
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/d/d9/TIEf ighter.jpg

Depends on where you live.

In Sweden tri-pane glazing is pretty much standard these days (the place I lived that was built 15 years ago had tri-pane, currently living in a house built in the 60s with ordinary double-pane. I can't imagine any new windows being anything that tri-pane around here. To get it just look at this thermal image: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/f/f2/Pass ivhaus_thermogram_gedaemmt_ungedaemmt.png

When it comes to heavy duty insulation there's more of a trade-off. It's not the insulation itself that's costly but the building process. If you build a heavily insulated house it needs to be air-tight with forced ventilation if used it in a somewhat cold climates. Otherwise the humid air inside will travel along the existing openings and when it makes contact with colder ares it will create condensation. And that condesation will lead to a mold problem... which is usually pretty bad.

It only takes days if you use the php import script to import the sql dump, which was not designed for importing the entire dump.

Use the ANSI C implementation, which takes about 20 minutes to convert the XML to SQL and then takes a few hours to import into MySQL. Please not that you need a properly configured MySQL server in order to efficiently run a local copy of Wikipedia, which must have at least 8GB of ram.

http://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Xml2sql

Ahaha, 2.9GB? That's the text alone. Images will net you more than 200GB more. And yes, you do need a LAMP/WAMP and working mediawiki, but it wouldn't take 'days' it would take a few hours max. Also is this guy aware that wikipedia is available on DVD already?

along with his sidekick: a pontiac grand am

Grand Am?! Um, no. The Knight Industries Two Thousand (K.I.T.T.) was a Firebird Trans-Am. Compare and contrast: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/88 /800px-83firebird.jpg http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/2a /'85-'88_Pontiac_Grand_Am.jpg

But you're right, the plots of those shows (including Battle of the Planets, aka Voltron) were simplistic and preposterous. "Together with the good planets of the solar system..." Evil witches, coffin-shaped star ships, helpful mice...

Anyway, we al know KITT was built using captured Cylon technology as part of the Battlestar Galactica's crew's attempt to bring Earth up to technological parity...

along with his sidekick: a pontiac grand am

Grand Am?! Um, no. The Knight Industries Two Thousand (K.I.T.T.) was a Firebird Trans-Am. Compare and contrast: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/88 /800px-83firebird.jpg http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/2a /'85-'88_Pontiac_Grand_Am.jpg

But you're right, the plots of those shows (including Battle of the Planets, aka Voltron) were simplistic and preposterous. "Together with the good planets of the solar system..." Evil witches, coffin-shaped star ships, helpful mice...

Anyway, we al know KITT was built using captured Cylon technology as part of the Battlestar Galactica's crew's attempt to bring Earth up to technological parity...

As it happens, I've got a photo right here.
Been using this technique for years, actually.

The St. George's Cross and the Red Cross are different.
In your nation's flag, the red bars extend to the edge of the flag. On the red cross, the red is completely surrounded by white.
See:
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thum b/1/1a/Flag_of_the_Red_Cross.svg/800px-Flag_of_the _Red_Cross.svg.png
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thum b/b/be/Flag_of_England.svg/800px-Flag_of_England.s vg.png

Feel free to use St. George's. I don't think anyone owns rights to THAT. ;)

The St. George's Cross and the Red Cross are different.
In your nation's flag, the red bars extend to the edge of the flag. On the red cross, the red is completely surrounded by white.
See:
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thum b/1/1a/Flag_of_the_Red_Cross.svg/800px-Flag_of_the _Red_Cross.svg.png
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thum b/b/be/Flag_of_England.svg/800px-Flag_of_England.s vg.png

Feel free to use St. George's. I don't think anyone owns rights to THAT. ;)

That's the real irony of this. A (not 'the') red cross is basically an international symbol of first aid. Last I checked you can't hold a trademark on diluted marks. I can't go out and trademark (and assume no one holds a trademark on) a mortar & pestle. Same goes for the three balls for pawn shops or the barber's pole.

Three balls;

Barber's Pole;

Mortar and Pestle;

Red Cross (also has 'red crescent' and 'red crystal');

International Symbol of Accessibility

Know any more?

That's the real irony of this. A (not 'the') red cross is basically an international symbol of first aid. Last I checked you can't hold a trademark on diluted marks. I can't go out and trademark (and assume no one holds a trademark on) a mortar & pestle. Same goes for the three balls for pawn shops or the barber's pole.

Three balls;

Barber's Pole;

Mortar and Pestle;

Red Cross (also has 'red crescent' and 'red crystal');

International Symbol of Accessibility

Know any more?

That's the real irony of this. A (not 'the') red cross is basically an international symbol of first aid. Last I checked you can't hold a trademark on diluted marks. I can't go out and trademark (and assume no one holds a trademark on) a mortar & pestle. Same goes for the three balls for pawn shops or the barber's pole.

Three balls;

Barber's Pole;

Mortar and Pestle;

Red Cross (also has 'red crescent' and 'red crystal');

International Symbol of Accessibility

Know any more?

That's the real irony of this. A (not 'the') red cross is basically an international symbol of first aid. Last I checked you can't hold a trademark on diluted marks. I can't go out and trademark (and assume no one holds a trademark on) a mortar & pestle. Same goes for the three balls for pawn shops or the barber's pole.

Three balls;

Barber's Pole;

Mortar and Pestle;

Red Cross (also has 'red crescent' and 'red crystal');

International Symbol of Accessibility

Know any more?

So they want their cross? fine, just use any of the available alternative symbols!

I would love to see how the fanatic catholic population of the USA react after getting help from the Red Crescent .

In all seriously... it does shows you to what extent corporations have no "soul" or common sense... shees guys it is the red cross.

But what does the Hitchhiler's Guide say? I can't find a single thing on the internet. Googling the phrase ["The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" "vacuum of space"] returns no results, neither does a Google Books search. Wikipedia's entry on HHGTTG says nothing about the subject, despite the fact that Ford and Arthur are picked up by the Heart of Gold (as a pair of chairs) after being thrown out of the Vogon ship.

If I was at home I'd just look it up in the book itself. Unfortunately I wouldn't be able to make this post as I haven't paid my internet bill. Damned whores get all my money these days (especially the whores at British Petroleum).

I'm surpeised that none of my fellow nerds have consulted the Guide, as it is in fact the most definitive giude to anything, surpassing even the Encyclopedia Galactica (which was, of course, invented by Isaac Asimov, who was never personally thrown out of a Vogon ship).

Bugger. Someone please look it up? Kthx.

-mcgrew

But what does the Hitchhiler's Guide say? I can't find a single thing on the internet. Googling the phrase ["The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" "vacuum of space"] returns no results, neither does a Google Books search. Wikipedia's entry on HHGTTG says nothing about the subject, despite the fact that Ford and Arthur are picked up by the Heart of Gold (as a pair of chairs) after being thrown out of the Vogon ship.

If I was at home I'd just look it up in the book itself. Unfortunately I wouldn't be able to make this post as I haven't paid my internet bill. Damned whores get all my money these days (especially the whores at British Petroleum).

I'm surpeised that none of my fellow nerds have consulted the Guide, as it is in fact the most definitive giude to anything, surpassing even the Encyclopedia Galactica (which was, of course, invented by Isaac Asimov, who was never personally thrown out of a Vogon ship).

Bugger. Someone please look it up? Kthx.

-mcgrew

THIS IS SATIRE, COVERED BY FREE SPEECH

http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/United_States_Co nstitution

In case somebody is looking at us, I'm sure events like this one left some of their astronomers pondering:
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/5d /Castle_Bravo_Blast.jpg

My bet is they will try to work out why a solar system with so few asteroids and comets, would see a large quantity of impacts, on a single planet, over such a short time period. ; )

for reference, i'm referring to the newer, more sleekly designed turbines than the older scaffold-looking eyesores (i'll agree with you there)

given an estimated total build cost of $1.60/watt, that's roughly equivalent to nuclear, but without all of the ongoing costs of large security forces, fuel cycles, decommissioning, and all of the nasty waste left over. let's not forget that uranium is getting more expensive and the spent fuel is piling up.

Now, i'm not anti-nuclear, in fact i think we should be building breeders as fast as wen can, but to discount wind, which is economically similar to nuclear in build cost per watt, is cheaper to maintain, and doesn't have a lot of the nasty side effects because of someone as subjective as "it's ugly".... seems silly to me>

how pretty are a bunch more nuclear reactors all over the place?

how much beautiful habitat will your kids miss out on because there's a power plant there?

how much land will be restricted from your babies eyes because of the countless acres around the waste storage facility that are cordoned off for national security?

wind turbines can be put right where power is needed if the location has a steady breeze, the're high enough off the ground that the land underneath is still usable for farming or.... whatever.

it's not nearly as ugly as it used to be, is it really worth discounting?