Meant to put this in my first post.
en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Methuselah_(tree)
Posting from mobile and it doesn't seem to want to create a link...sorry!
You asked where the 4 other oldest trees are...pretty sure the oldest is Methuselah in eastern California's Sierra Nevada range. Beyond that, not sure.
Write a piece of software that is used for music industry retailers and manufacturers that functions as both inventory management and point-of-sale. I know two companies who will pay for a license immediately! This is an area that has really two software solutions and they both suck tremendously.
I'm only partly joking, but see if you can find a niche market that could use some expertise, and start there. Being a high-value asset in a small market can reap huge returns.
The entire ideal of the "shock jock" show is to get ratings. XM likely had something along this line planned the entire time. Has anyone else noticed how many times shock jocks make a "comeback" on radio a couple of years after they have some big huge debacle? Being banished from a major media outlet is the ticket to fame and fortune! Stern did it...HG Wells did it before him...Opie and Anthony have made "comebacks" on various networks around the nation twice that I know of...the list will go on, because let's face it: people love shock jocks, and media loves the ratings.
But time and time again I see astronomy articles pointing out the fact that "space is BIG." Maybe a galaxy in the time you mention, maybe 2 or 3? I just find it hard to swallow, that's all. I'm too human in my brain, I suppose...the idea of human superiority still makes good sense because I have yet to see evidence to the contrary, just speculation.
Just FYI: I went to the "alien research" museum in Roswell, New Mexico the other day....and I definitely don't believe there are aliens contacting Earth. It looked like a high school science project done the night before it was due...ugh...
I agree with this parent post. It's pretty silly to assume that "if spacefaring civilizations exist, they should have colonized the ENTIRE galaxy by now." What about evolution time? Time to develop technology? Time to establish colonies? etc etc etc...
If another civilization was even dramatically ahead of ours with regards to technology, they could have started, what, 10,000 years ago? 20? Think that's enough time to colonize THE ENTIRE GALAXY??? Come on...
From the RIAA's website:
[the RIAA's] mission is to foster a business and legal climate that supports and promotes our members' creative and financial vitality.
I have a hard time figuring out what to think about the RIAA. I'm a professional musician and in all fact and seriousness, we need help. You can't pay your bills as a pro musician (or any other type of artist, I would imagine) without someone helping you out, since most artsy types aren't business-minded. The RIAA seems to have a noble goal, but it seems to me that their methods are creating a demon out of a necessary and beneficial organization. I mean, ASCAP serves a similar purpose, but they aren't going bats**t crazy over copyright stuff, and they've been in business for a long time. The difference is that ASCAP represents artists directly and the RIAA represents the companies that represent artists. It's sad that corporate manipulation runs the arts...
Any other pro musicians out there that have a voice in this? ASCAP members, have you been contacted by ASCAP regarding copyright stuff? I'm curious.
"kill the goblins first" You're outnumbered 53 to 2. Still think that's a good idea?
"kill the dark elf" You're taken unawares and you're unarmed. Still think that's a good idea?
Your point is well-taken, and I see what you're saying, but I think I may have misrepresented my meaning. DnD obviously, as you pointed out, didn't TEACH any skills that you couldn't learn otherwise. It did, however, provide practice with skills that aren't really put into practice in many places. Creativity, imagination, and a willingness to indulge in simple fantasies are things that are CERTAINLY not practiced heavily in America's public school system, and so DnD provided practice for a part of my brain that wasn't stimulated as heavily as I felt it should have been.
Granted, this is just one person's experience...
I think the big problem confronting developers these days is the financial benefits to cross-marketing a video game. Since development budgets have gotten larger, the demand by "the brass" to make more money off one particular game has increased as well. Same way that Hollywood works: if you drop a lot of money on a project, you want a strong return. The problem with this in the video game industry is that people expect a game to be a great performer in more than one category. People don't really want a roleplaying game anymore...they want a roleplaying/action/adventure game that has great puzzles and an amazing fighting system.
In short, the problem is one of expectations, not of production. One poster here brings up Fallout, one of my favorite games of all time, and a perfect illustration of my point. The game is a straight-up roleplaying game. There is fighting, but the fighting system is a bit cumbersome. However, the system still gets the job done within the confines of the environment of this game. If someone plays this game expecting a fighting system that's fast-paced, exciting, and streamlined, they're in big trouble. By the same token, if I go to the next Jerry Bruckheimer movie expecting the next "American History X" or "Man on Fire" (2 of my favorites that happen to make commentaries on important social issues), I'm going to be sorely disappointed. Not neccessarily because it's a bad movie, but because my expectations were not met. I think it's the same with video games.
Agreed. From the article:
There was some minor property damage, some spray-painting, that sort of thing, dragging newspaper stands into the streets It seems that he excpects this sort of thing to be met with a stern look and a "no-no" finger wagging. These people were destroying property, causing damage, and he keeps citing "civil" dissent as an excuse for violent and reckless acts.
The ACLU has uncovered numerous instances of the government trying to capture identities of people who are protesting against the government. Dissent may be patriotic, but this current administration doesn't think so, and they're doing everything to criminalize it, or at least intimidate those that are engaged in it to the point that they feel that it is not safe to continue expressing their beliefs. Criminalizing criminal behavior, i.e. vandalism, destruction of property, assault and battery? I guess the Bush administration really is trying to snuff out our civil liberties!
One the camera's four color detectors has completely stopped working,... I for one would love to see pictures from the RED Planet, but that could present a problem if the red color stopped working.
As a teenager, playing D&D did not help with my social interaction skills, but it DID, however, help me develop creativity (figuring out how to open the chest without the goblins hearing), wittiness (the dark elf waves his sword at you as he taunts you...how do you respond?), and math skills (1d8+1 S, 2d8+3 M-L, you do max damage, how much is that?). There's so much benefit that can come from these tabletop RPG's that many people simply don't "get". I lived in the "Bible Belt" and in a small community as well, so anyone caught playing these games was instinctively branded a devil worshipper....which of course is just stupid, because everyone knows you can't worship the devil in D&D. Maybe Ba'al or some other chaotic evil entity, but certainly not the devil. pfft...
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Meant to put this in my first post. en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Methuselah_(tree) Posting from mobile and it doesn't seem to want to create a link...sorry!
You asked where the 4 other oldest trees are...pretty sure the oldest is Methuselah in eastern California's Sierra Nevada range. Beyond that, not sure.
Write a piece of software that is used for music industry retailers and manufacturers that functions as both inventory management and point-of-sale. I know two companies who will pay for a license immediately! This is an area that has really two software solutions and they both suck tremendously.
I'm only partly joking, but see if you can find a niche market that could use some expertise, and start there. Being a high-value asset in a small market can reap huge returns.
Do like the guys with the crappy cars do to compensate...paint flames down its sides. Bonus: It'll also look FAST!
Anyone think it's a coincidence that the next story down on the front /. page is "This Is the Way The World Ends"?
For those not in the know with Maxwell's equations, here's the Wikipedia for them.
The entire ideal of the "shock jock" show is to get ratings. XM likely had something along this line planned the entire time. Has anyone else noticed how many times shock jocks make a "comeback" on radio a couple of years after they have some big huge debacle? Being banished from a major media outlet is the ticket to fame and fortune! Stern did it...HG Wells did it before him...Opie and Anthony have made "comebacks" on various networks around the nation twice that I know of...the list will go on, because let's face it: people love shock jocks, and media loves the ratings.
Meh, I already did that in Ultima Online. GM Miner....damn, did I have a lot of time to waste...
Just FYI: I went to the "alien research" museum in Roswell, New Mexico the other day....and I definitely don't believe there are aliens contacting Earth. It looked like a high school science project done the night before it was due...ugh...
If another civilization was even dramatically ahead of ours with regards to technology, they could have started, what, 10,000 years ago? 20? Think that's enough time to colonize THE ENTIRE GALAXY??? Come on...
I have a hard time figuring out what to think about the RIAA. I'm a professional musician and in all fact and seriousness, we need help. You can't pay your bills as a pro musician (or any other type of artist, I would imagine) without someone helping you out, since most artsy types aren't business-minded. The RIAA seems to have a noble goal, but it seems to me that their methods are creating a demon out of a necessary and beneficial organization. I mean, ASCAP serves a similar purpose, but they aren't going bats**t crazy over copyright stuff, and they've been in business for a long time. The difference is that ASCAP represents artists directly and the RIAA represents the companies that represent artists. It's sad that corporate manipulation runs the arts...
Any other pro musicians out there that have a voice in this? ASCAP members, have you been contacted by ASCAP regarding copyright stuff? I'm curious.
Hey Tom, you remember the other day you asked me what the definition of irony was? Well...
"kill the dark elf" You're taken unawares and you're unarmed. Still think that's a good idea?
Your point is well-taken, and I see what you're saying, but I think I may have misrepresented my meaning. DnD obviously, as you pointed out, didn't TEACH any skills that you couldn't learn otherwise. It did, however, provide practice with skills that aren't really put into practice in many places. Creativity, imagination, and a willingness to indulge in simple fantasies are things that are CERTAINLY not practiced heavily in America's public school system, and so DnD provided practice for a part of my brain that wasn't stimulated as heavily as I felt it should have been. Granted, this is just one person's experience...
In short, the problem is one of expectations, not of production. One poster here brings up Fallout, one of my favorite games of all time, and a perfect illustration of my point. The game is a straight-up roleplaying game. There is fighting, but the fighting system is a bit cumbersome. However, the system still gets the job done within the confines of the environment of this game. If someone plays this game expecting a fighting system that's fast-paced, exciting, and streamlined, they're in big trouble. By the same token, if I go to the next Jerry Bruckheimer movie expecting the next "American History X" or "Man on Fire" (2 of my favorites that happen to make commentaries on important social issues), I'm going to be sorely disappointed. Not neccessarily because it's a bad movie, but because my expectations were not met. I think it's the same with video games.
As a teenager, playing D&D did not help with my social interaction skills, but it DID, however, help me develop creativity (figuring out how to open the chest without the goblins hearing), wittiness (the dark elf waves his sword at you as he taunts you...how do you respond?), and math skills (1d8+1 S, 2d8+3 M-L, you do max damage, how much is that?). There's so much benefit that can come from these tabletop RPG's that many people simply don't "get". I lived in the "Bible Belt" and in a small community as well, so anyone caught playing these games was instinctively branded a devil worshipper. ...which of course is just stupid, because everyone knows you can't worship the devil in D&D. Maybe Ba'al or some other chaotic evil entity, but certainly not the devil. pfft...
aw crap...right when I post it I see it's "ethernet" instead of "internet"...guess I should read a little before posting, eh?
Al Gore's going to be pissed...and maybe a little jealous.