Yeah, they give out permanent seats on the U.N. Security Council to third world nations. Just because you've got a giant portion of the world's population, an active nuclear weapons program, and a manned space program it doesn't mean you're a superpower.
I believe most current VCD friendly countries have already skipped DVD in favor of SVCD. (They both use MPEG-2 format.) All the SVCD movies I have watched look far better than any DivX;-) movie I have witnessed, and I already have the ability to view SVCD movies on a variety of standalone players. I think those countries are more likely to move to something like XSVCD or Mini-DVD rather than downgrade to DivX;-) quality. The initial reason for creating the SVCD standard was to have an alternative to American dictated formats. DivX;-) may have the same western stigma that taints DVD.
Music is more than the sum of the sounds of which it is composed. The context in which they are combined is just as (if not more) important. To answer your question, yes. I would be happy with an mp3 of a mono AM broadcast recorded on poor quality equipment, so long as that broadcast is a good piece of music that actually carries a message. If it were some piece of formulaic pop garbage, lacking any statement or purpose, then the quality of the sound reproduction might play a factor. Some of us aren't so wound up about the medium that we miss the importance of the message.
I'm not religious, but your post is bullshit. Scientology sounds like the sort of thing that you describe, but not real religions like Christianity, Hinduism and Islam, etc.
What is your definition of a "real" religion? Without sounding like a bigot, how can you claim one religion is any more valid than another?
This would also make a good weapon in a Zero-G environment, again, no chemical reaction required.
Actually, there was a handgun intended for use in space developed several years ago. The projectiles it fired were actually miniature rockets. The chemical reaction wasn't a problem. They were more concerned with recoil.
VHS macrovision is popular precisely because it's undetectable in how it alters visual quality. You'll hear lots of complaints by people who are unable to copy videos correctly, but you'll never hear a complaint by anyone about how macrovision has degraded their signal -- it hasn't.
Hook up the output of your DVD player to your VHS VCR. Hook up the output of your VHS VCR to your TV. Play a DVD and notice how Macrovision degrades the video signal on your TV even though you're not making a copy.
The combination of DVD and VHS Macrovision results in a lot of angry DVD owners.
People in law enforcement abuse these supposedly non-lethal" weapons all the time. You can get in a lot of trouble if you shoot someone with your standard issue pistol, but it's excusable to kill someone with a headshot from a beanbag gun or a rubber bullet. Pepper spray is a favorite tool to torture people in custody. It's common practice to swab the eyes of bound protestors with this stuff. The point is, labeling something as "non-lethal" usually leads to that weapon being used in ways which kill people.
...and at the end of the day, what do you have? A stock Honda Prelude, exactly like millions of others on the road. People have already pointed out the obvious fact (one which you strangely seem to miss) that people modify inexpensive cars because they enjoy it, but I admire the rice burners for their originality. These people turn a mass produced product into a totally original statement about themselves. Sure, some ricy Honda Civic might look silly to some with an enormous wing and wheels that stick out from the car, but there's only one like it. The owner's friends can recognize his car from a several blocks away. Those cars are works of art. Your prelude is just another lump of metal stamped out of the factory. I doubt they're crushed when you zoom away from them at a traffic light. After all, there's millions of boring consumers just like you.
Even if NEAR never transmits another signal to Earth, it is doing more good on Eros than it would in a terrestrial museum. We can always put replicas in museums if we want something to look at, but I'd get more satisfaction knowing that an Earth probe is still there at this very moment. It's scientific missions completed, NEAR now remains as a symbol of human achievement. When we send another visitor to Eros, NEAR will be there to greet it.
-I used to play a lot of Team Fortress on a 33.6k modem. Engineer is the greatest equalizing class for high ping players, as your strength (sentry guns) resides on the server (0 latency). Scout can be fun when you're severly lagged, as it makes you a difficult target for snipers. I usually stalked snipers as a combat medic, though. There's something deeply satisfying to hear a sniper whine about me getting a one-hit kill (bioweapon) on them.
-If you play Diablo II on a slow connection, you can get a little revenge on LPB's as a necromancer. Clog the game up with a screen full of minions (which run on the server) and enjoy the screams of severly lagged cable users. Muhahaha!
Minor Correction: Blind people vist slashdot.org too.
I agree with your warning about this eye surgery fad, but I have to refute the common misconception that blind people do not use computers or the internet.
I think the gaming community is starting to learn the value of patience. Games like Fallout, Baldurs Gate, and Diablo II have taunted gamers with release dates of "when it's done." While it's frustrating to wait years for a game, it's well worth it to have a great product in the end. Compare this to games such as BattleCruiser 3000 AD, which was initially shipped to stores in an unplayable condition because the software company got tired of waiting. I'm willing to wait a while for a good game to become great. Heck, I'm still waiting for Prey to come out.;-)
"Militia" points to the US Army and the National Guard, both which are controlled by the federal government. The second amendment deals with the right of the federal government to organize and upkeep an army for the protection of the people.
The National Guard is controlled by the Governors of the states in which they are located. This was to protect the sovereignty of the states against an oppressive federal government.
The spelunkers are the ones we have to worry about. Cavers follow the old rule, "take nothing but pictures, leave nothing but footprints." I'm surprised that so many people still confuse cavers with spelunkers; "spelunker" is a derogatory term.
I have met several skilled programmers and sysadmins who are blind. I have worked with computer operators who are missing an arm. Claiming that you can't be successful in the computer industry without the full use of your hands or eyes is absurd. True, it is more difficult without that luxury, but many people get along just fine without it. I'm just an ignorant U.S. citizen, so I can't speak for other countries, but here in the states there are many employers who will (ADA anyone?) equip you with a screen reader or whatever special equipment you require to do your job.
Slashdot Mirror
Actually, with boats, the little vehicle has the right of way. The king of the waterways is the humble rowboat.
Yes.
Yeah, they give out permanent seats on the U.N. Security Council to third world nations.
Just because you've got a giant portion of the world's population, an active nuclear weapons program, and a manned space program it doesn't mean you're a superpower.
I believe most current VCD friendly countries have already skipped DVD in favor of SVCD. (They both use MPEG-2 format.) All the SVCD movies I have watched look far better than any DivX ;-) movie I have witnessed, and I already have the ability to view SVCD movies on a variety of standalone players. I think those countries are more likely to move to something like XSVCD or Mini-DVD rather than downgrade to DivX ;-) quality. The initial reason for creating the SVCD standard was to have an alternative to American dictated formats. DivX ;-) may have the same western stigma that taints DVD.
They wear adult diapers.
Music is more than the sum of the sounds of which it is composed. The context in which they are combined is just as (if not more) important. To answer your question, yes. I would be happy with an mp3 of a mono AM broadcast recorded on poor quality equipment, so long as that broadcast is a good piece of music that actually carries a message. If it were some piece of formulaic pop garbage, lacking any statement or purpose, then the quality of the sound reproduction might play a factor. Some of us aren't so wound up about the medium that we miss the importance of the message.
...and they still cost about the same.
We listen to the music, not the sounds.
Ok, I'll bite. What's the difference between a Religion and a "religion?"
What is your definition of a "real" religion? Without sounding like a bigot, how can you claim one religion is any more valid than another?
Actually, there was a handgun intended for use in space developed several years ago. The projectiles it fired were actually miniature rockets. The chemical reaction wasn't a problem. They were more concerned with recoil.
Is the infamous Toilet Cam. (Yes, I know it was fake. That's part of the charm.)
VHS macrovision is popular precisely because it's undetectable in how it alters visual quality. You'll hear lots of complaints by people who are unable to copy videos correctly, but you'll never hear a complaint by anyone about how macrovision has degraded their signal -- it hasn't. Hook up the output of your DVD player to your VHS VCR. Hook up the output of your VHS VCR to your TV. Play a DVD and notice how Macrovision degrades the video signal on your TV even though you're not making a copy. The combination of DVD and VHS Macrovision results in a lot of angry DVD owners.
People in law enforcement abuse these supposedly non-lethal" weapons all the time. You can get in a lot of trouble if you shoot someone with your standard issue pistol, but it's excusable to kill someone with a headshot from a beanbag gun or a rubber bullet. Pepper spray is a favorite tool to torture people in custody. It's common practice to swab the eyes of bound protestors with this stuff. The point is, labeling something as "non-lethal" usually leads to that weapon being used in ways which kill people.
...and at the end of the day, what do you have? A stock Honda Prelude, exactly like millions of others on the road. People have already pointed out the obvious fact (one which you strangely seem to miss) that people modify inexpensive cars because they enjoy it, but I admire the rice burners for their originality. These people turn a mass produced product into a totally original statement about themselves. Sure, some ricy Honda Civic might look silly to some with an enormous wing and wheels that stick out from the car, but there's only one like it. The owner's friends can recognize his car from a several blocks away. Those cars are works of art. Your prelude is just another lump of metal stamped out of the factory. I doubt they're crushed when you zoom away from them at a traffic light. After all, there's millions of boring consumers just like you.
Even if NEAR never transmits another signal to Earth, it is doing more good on Eros than it would in a terrestrial museum. We can always put replicas in museums if we want something to look at, but I'd get more satisfaction knowing that an Earth probe is still there at this very moment. It's scientific missions completed, NEAR now remains as a symbol of human achievement. When we send another visitor to Eros, NEAR will be there to greet it.
-I used to play a lot of Team Fortress on a 33.6k modem. Engineer is the greatest equalizing class for high ping players, as your strength (sentry guns) resides on the server (0 latency). Scout can be fun when you're severly lagged, as it makes you a difficult target for snipers. I usually stalked snipers as a combat medic, though. There's something deeply satisfying to hear a sniper whine about me getting a one-hit kill (bioweapon) on them. -If you play Diablo II on a slow connection, you can get a little revenge on LPB's as a necromancer. Clog the game up with a screen full of minions (which run on the server) and enjoy the screams of severly lagged cable users. Muhahaha!
Minor Correction: Blind people vist slashdot.org too. I agree with your warning about this eye surgery fad, but I have to refute the common misconception that blind people do not use computers or the internet.
I think the gaming community is starting to learn the value of patience. Games like Fallout, Baldurs Gate, and Diablo II have taunted gamers with release dates of "when it's done." While it's frustrating to wait years for a game, it's well worth it to have a great product in the end. Compare this to games such as BattleCruiser 3000 AD, which was initially shipped to stores in an unplayable condition because the software company got tired of waiting. I'm willing to wait a while for a good game to become great. Heck, I'm still waiting for Prey to come out. ;-)
More efficient electric power distribution would be a benefit as well.
The spelunkers are the ones we have to worry about. Cavers follow the old rule, "take nothing but pictures, leave nothing but footprints." I'm surprised that so many people still confuse cavers with spelunkers; "spelunker" is a derogatory term.
An eagle has a left wing and a right wing, but they're just for flapping. The bird brain is in the middle.
I have met several skilled programmers and sysadmins who are blind. I have worked with computer operators who are missing an arm. Claiming that you can't be successful in the computer industry without the full use of your hands or eyes is absurd. True, it is more difficult without that luxury, but many people get along just fine without it. I'm just an ignorant U.S. citizen, so I can't speak for other countries, but here in the states there are many employers who will (ADA anyone?) equip you with a screen reader or whatever special equipment you require to do your job.