This might be a dumb question, so let me cop to being almost totally ignorant of LaTeX before anyone mistakes me for someone with an informed opinion. That said, what's so bad about LaTeX? Your comment makes it sound like LaTeX kinda sucks; is that the case? I had always heard that LaTeX was kind of rad, and have been planning on fiddling with it when I can afford the new parts my pc needs... Anyway, I digress.
thanks, phatty 2x4
Re:The solution to problems like this...
on
HomeSec In the News
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· Score: 1
Bobby Kennedy was one of the most honest and effective politicians in America at the time of his assassination. They're not all bad. Just the ones who survive.
I desperately want to get rid of the burden of a car, although this city makes that infeasible, so I may have to move (although, as a voting Libertarian, I'm also considering running for office to make changes).
What kinds of changes, exactly, would a voting libertarian like yourself suggest? Government programs like buses and light rail being inherently evil and all, I mean.
Yeah, I'm a librarian, and we throw out a lot of books that won't circulate and/or won't sell at the book sale. There are a great many reasons why:
90% of book donations are people who are essentially bringing their garbage to the library and expecting a thank-you note, a tax write-off, a pat on the back, a guarantee that they will see it on the shelf, and maybe a blowjob. The vast majority of books we get are old, moderately-to-very damaged, and have some variety of higher invertebrate living in them (you would not believe how many roaches can live in a medium sized box of old, dusty, rotting books). But thanks so much for the donation.
We already have it or nobody is going to read it. Books take up physical space, which is--believe it or not--limited. We don't like it, but we have no choice but to prioritize based on what will get checked out. One reason for this is that we get way less money from taxes than you think we do. Way less (supressing rant about the jerk who yelled that he pays my salary the other day). Most of our money comes from charitible foundations. Charitible foundations who base the amount of money they give us on the number of books that get checked out. As a result, we get a lot of copies of the new Danielle Steel book, and we get a lot of educated people yelling that we're discriminating against them. The worst part is, as an educated person myself, I can't say I disagree with them.
It's not worth the trouble. Sad, but true fact: if you round up some zealots and pester the library enough, you too can effect a change in what they keep on the shelf. Case in point: this week, we got an excellent donation (one of our patrons evidently reviews books; we get a lot of brand-new, good stuff from her. As a result, she sees a lot of her donations end up on our shelves) that included an anatomy book for artists, complete with hundreds of pages of photographs of attractive, very naked people. A neighborhood artist has been asking if we were going to get anything like that for a long time. But we can't put it on the shelf because the neighborhood Baptist church has already displayed its willingness to send in its members one by one to complain about such things (or even steal them so nobody else can check them out). Between them and the crop of 14 year-old boys who know where the anatomy section is and aren't too proud to tear out a few pages, the book wouldn't last a week. The only thing I could do was call the artist and give it to her. It works out for her, but what about the other artists?
Which reminds me. A substantial number of the donations we get are propaganda. Books about why Jews are evil, why Gorbachev is the antichrist, etc., etc., etc. ad nauseum.
So you see, it's not that simple. If you're thinking of bringing a pile of damaged, marked up, dirty books to the library so you can feel like you've done some kind of public service, save yourself the trouble. We're already understaffed and underpaid, and we don't really have much in the way of spare time to sort through your garbage so you can feel like a champion of philanthropy. If you have good, clean, undamaged books, CDs, videos, DVDs, software (especially certification test materials--that stuff gets stolen so fast you wouldn't believe it), by all means, bring them in; we'll even send you a thank-you note. But don't act like it entitles you to dictate what becomes of them or like that one donation should exempt you from overdue fees for life.
In most states, it's too late for the legislature to cut university funding. You see, they already did it. Which is why so many universities are pissed off about the influence the legislature has over their curriculum and budget (and things like the price of tuition), now that state funding represents a microscopic portion of their income. See the Universities of Oregon, Texas, and, well, pretty much anywhere in the South for examples.
Holy shit, why didn't anyone tell FDR about this amazing bit of obvious wisdom?!?! You could have saved the US from... uh... recovering from the Great Depression if only you hadn't been born too late. Truly, you have a dizzying intellect.
Actually, your idea is pretty good. But for MS's purposes (i.e. making money without regard for the law, consumers, or pretty much anything else), they'd be better off with a FreeBSD base, because then they wouldn't have to GPL anything they modify from the underlying *NIX to make their GUI fit more tightly (or be more kludgey, which is I suppose more likely from MS). Even the teeniest possibility of GPL 'infection' would be trouble for MS's business model. As a fan of Apple, I find the simplicity and potential for effectiveness of your idea tremendously frightening.
The simple fact that something is a cliche has no bearing on whether or not it's true. In this case, it remains true that it's not terribly wise to trust Microsoft.
Sure, he told us. But was there anyone who didn't already know? We were talking about how the google relevance model was essentially an extrapolation of bibliometrics to the 'net back in the GSLIS at least 2 years ago. The prevailing consensus was that it was about time someone thought of it.
NL is my second-favorite search engine (second to the mighty google), due in large part to its massive index and its ability to use complex Boolean (try that on google). When you really need to drill down and/or cut through a major noise:signal ratio, there's no better engine on the web, in my experience.
Anyone know of another decent engine with a good boolean implementation?
'effecting' is not a word.
'Effect' is a noun.
'Affect' is a verb, as is its present tense, 'affecting'.
On the whole, I think this is a really good layman's explanation of what a gigantic crock of shit the SSSCA is, though I think CmdrTroll is right--the damned thing is too much and will never be taken seriously even by the technoweenies in congress.
Oh christ! Someone tell Norway! And Sweden. And most of industrialized Europe.
Socialized education (like socialized medicine) works everywhere except in the heads you freaky rah rah capitalism types. Newsflash, genius: social programs are alive and well in most first world nations; the world extends beyond the borders of the US of A.
You seem to have missed his point. Let me reiterate. When ads on the web were like ads in a newspaper or magazine (which is to say they didn't move around, didn't try to track you, etc., but rather just occupied their part of whatever it was you were reading, to be read or ignored at your discretion) pretty much nobody was trying to block them.
The number of pageviews from discreet hosts tallied by the site can suffice as an analog of subscription data. Anything else is too much, and will result in my attempting to block it. I'm not opposed to advertising. I'm just opposed to invasive, ridiculous advertising that tries to track me and further profit from the sale of data about me--I gave them no permission for such.
...install FreeBSD and find out.
I'm really glad to see this. I'm not l33+ enough (nor am I possessed of the resolve to become so) for some of the FreeBSD fundamentals (making my plug n play pci sound card work, for example--by all accounts not a terribly hard thing to do, but I just don't have the background to understand the instructions I found or the time and patience to learn it. Incidentally, this may be irrelevant by now, as I stopped using FreeBSD a little over a year ago). What I do know is this: the FreeBSD ports collection is the bomb. No joke. As is the installer. I found the installation to be easier than most linux installs (especially the nasty gui ones *coughmandrakecough*).
Here's the thing: you just heard me admit to not having the chops to make a fucking soundcard work. Now, that said, the ports collection is *easy*. That said, it is also *powerful*. Once I wrapped my head around the idea that ports would actually do what it does (i.e. not take up much space, be easy to use, go get the source, compile it for your system, and install it, complete with all dependencies), my non-sound-worthy ass was installing all manner of stuff with ease.
In fact, my exposure to the FreeBSD ports collection was the main reason I found Linux distasteful, and have avoided using it. If I could get something that would figure out my damned sound card by itself and work out of the box (like Linux) with the astonishingly easy and powerful ports system, I would be in non-l33+-but-reasonably-competent-end-user heaven.
This is trolling. It oughtn't be encouraged. Maybe some kind of private organzization should look into it.
Wal*Mart has lowered the cost of purchasing for the poor by starting out rich and using that money and the associated power to manufacture more poor. Steamroll mom and pop, put them out of business, then employ them in a demeaning greeter job for minimum wage; they gotta eat too, right? So they have to work somewhere, right? And where the fuck else are the gonna work when Wal*Mart has eliminated every other business in town?
And if you don't think the Waltons-or whoever owns the joint these days- (i.e. the rich) are winning (i.e. making money hand over fist with no regard for the wellbeing of *anyone* except themselves), then it is you, sir, who has his head up his butt.
Why would that be funny?
Perhaps you can explain to me why you have a right to beam your conversation into my space (indeed, through my body) but I have no right to listen.
The notions of 'interception' and 'theft' necessitate that something is removed from the posession of its inital owner. If I steal your car, you no longer have a car. If I intercept your pass, your team no longer has a football. If I hack directv or pick up your cell conversation on a radio, you and the directv have not lost anything (and are in fact quite unlikely to know that I exist with regard to your broadcasts). You beamed it into my space, I used it. You lost nothing. The end.
Slashdot Mirror
This might be a dumb question, so let me cop to being almost totally ignorant of LaTeX before anyone mistakes me for someone with an informed opinion.
That said, what's so bad about LaTeX? Your comment makes it sound like LaTeX kinda sucks; is that the case? I had always heard that LaTeX was kind of rad, and have been planning on fiddling with it when I can afford the new parts my pc needs... Anyway, I digress.
thanks,
phatty 2x4
Bobby Kennedy was one of the most honest and effective politicians in America at the time of his assassination.
They're not all bad. Just the ones who survive.
Word. Also, you wouldn't hear any Americans suggesting the French were cowardly after the Battle of Yorktown.
I desperately want to get rid of the burden of a car, although this city makes that infeasible, so I may have to move (although, as a voting Libertarian, I'm also considering running for office to make changes).
What kinds of changes, exactly, would a voting libertarian like yourself suggest? Government programs like buses and light rail being inherently evil and all, I mean.
So you see, it's not that simple. If you're thinking of bringing a pile of damaged, marked up, dirty books to the library so you can feel like you've done some kind of public service, save yourself the trouble. We're already understaffed and underpaid, and we don't really have much in the way of spare time to sort through your garbage so you can feel like a champion of philanthropy. If you have good, clean, undamaged books, CDs, videos, DVDs, software (especially certification test materials--that stuff gets stolen so fast you wouldn't believe it), by all means, bring them in; we'll even send you a thank-you note. But don't act like it entitles you to dictate what becomes of them or like that one donation should exempt you from overdue fees for life.
-phatty 2x4
Perhaps you ought to try living in a non-college town.
In most states, it's too late for the legislature to cut university funding. You see, they already did it. Which is why so many universities are pissed off about the influence the legislature has over their curriculum and budget (and things like the price of tuition), now that state funding represents a microscopic portion of their income.
See the Universities of Oregon, Texas, and, well, pretty much anywhere in the South for examples.
Holy shit, why didn't anyone tell FDR about this amazing bit of obvious wisdom?!?! You could have saved the US from ... uh ... recovering from the Great Depression if only you hadn't been born too late. Truly, you have a dizzying intellect.
We need a mozilla-esque frontpage replacement.
What, like Amaya?
Actually, your idea is pretty good. But for MS's purposes (i.e. making money without regard for the law, consumers, or pretty much anything else), they'd be better off with a FreeBSD base, because then they wouldn't have to GPL anything they modify from the underlying *NIX to make their GUI fit more tightly (or be more kludgey, which is I suppose more likely from MS). Even the teeniest possibility of GPL 'infection' would be trouble for MS's business model.
As a fan of Apple, I find the simplicity and potential for effectiveness of your idea tremendously frightening.
The simple fact that something is a cliche has no bearing on whether or not it's true.
In this case, it remains true that it's not terribly wise to trust Microsoft.
Ow.
I've just given myself a headache from rolling my eyes too hard.
Sure, he told us. But was there anyone who didn't already know? We were talking about how the google relevance model was essentially an extrapolation of bibliometrics to the 'net back in the GSLIS at least 2 years ago. The prevailing consensus was that it was about time someone thought of it.
Hmm. So what would happen if Nader and Bork spoke up on behalf of free software?
grammar is spelled without an 'e'.
NL is my second-favorite search engine (second to the mighty google), due in large part to its massive index and its ability to use complex Boolean (try that on google). When you really need to drill down and/or cut through a major noise:signal ratio, there's no better engine on the web, in my experience.
Anyone know of another decent engine with a good boolean implementation?
'effecting' is not a word.
'Effect' is a noun.
'Affect' is a verb, as is its present tense, 'affecting'.
On the whole, I think this is a really good layman's explanation of what a gigantic crock of shit the SSSCA is, though I think CmdrTroll is right--the damned thing is too much and will never be taken seriously even by the technoweenies in congress.
[Oil companies] don't have a monopoly on water.
You're right. They don't. Now Monsanto on the other hand...
Would manufacturing the engines out of some kind of ceramic material fix the H embrittlement thingy?
Socialism is a failure
Oh christ! Someone tell Norway! And Sweden. And most of industrialized Europe.
Socialized education (like socialized medicine) works everywhere except in the heads you freaky rah rah capitalism types. Newsflash, genius: social programs are alive and well in most first world nations; the world extends beyond the borders of the US of A.
You seem to have missed his point. Let me reiterate. When ads on the web were like ads in a newspaper or magazine (which is to say they didn't move around, didn't try to track you, etc., but rather just occupied their part of whatever it was you were reading, to be read or ignored at your discretion) pretty much nobody was trying to block them.
The number of pageviews from discreet hosts tallied by the site can suffice as an analog of subscription data. Anything else is too much, and will result in my attempting to block it. I'm not opposed to advertising. I'm just opposed to invasive, ridiculous advertising that tries to track me and further profit from the sale of data about me--I gave them no permission for such.
...install FreeBSD and find out.
I'm really glad to see this. I'm not l33+ enough (nor am I possessed of the resolve to become so) for some of the FreeBSD fundamentals (making my plug n play pci sound card work, for example--by all accounts not a terribly hard thing to do, but I just don't have the background to understand the instructions I found or the time and patience to learn it. Incidentally, this may be irrelevant by now, as I stopped using FreeBSD a little over a year ago). What I do know is this: the FreeBSD ports collection is the bomb. No joke. As is the installer. I found the installation to be easier than most linux installs (especially the nasty gui ones *coughmandrakecough*).
Here's the thing: you just heard me admit to not having the chops to make a fucking soundcard work. Now, that said, the ports collection is *easy*. That said, it is also *powerful*. Once I wrapped my head around the idea that ports would actually do what it does (i.e. not take up much space, be easy to use, go get the source, compile it for your system, and install it, complete with all dependencies), my non-sound-worthy ass was installing all manner of stuff with ease.
In fact, my exposure to the FreeBSD ports collection was the main reason I found Linux distasteful, and have avoided using it. If I could get something that would figure out my damned sound card by itself and work out of the box (like Linux) with the astonishingly easy and powerful ports system, I would be in non-l33+-but-reasonably-competent-end-user heaven.
This is trolling.
It oughtn't be encouraged.
Maybe some kind of private organzization should look into it.
Wal*Mart has lowered the cost of purchasing for the poor by starting out rich and using that money and the associated power to manufacture more poor. Steamroll mom and pop, put them out of business, then employ them in a demeaning greeter job for minimum wage; they gotta eat too, right? So they have to work somewhere, right? And where the fuck else are the gonna work when Wal*Mart has eliminated every other business in town?
And if you don't think the Waltons-or whoever owns the joint these days- (i.e. the rich) are winning (i.e. making money hand over fist with no regard for the wellbeing of *anyone* except themselves), then it is you, sir, who has his head up his butt.
Either that or some times are just not times for levity.
Perhaps you can explain to me why you have a right to beam your conversation into my space (indeed, through my body) but I have no right to listen.
The notions of 'interception' and 'theft' necessitate that something is removed from the posession of its inital owner. If I steal your car, you no longer have a car. If I intercept your pass, your team no longer has a football. If I hack directv or pick up your cell conversation on a radio, you and the directv have not lost anything (and are in fact quite unlikely to know that I exist with regard to your broadcasts). You beamed it into my space, I used it. You lost nothing. The end.