Nowadays we expect the government to take care of us, because despite how much we think our current government/congress/president suck (evidenced by all-time low approval ratings), for some reason we are trusting people on the other side of the country to make better decisions on our behalf than we can.
We must have a lower approval rating of ourselves?
It's important to remember that the candidates are advertising themselves to a population that, for the most part, doesn't understand how anything works.
There is a choice, several perhaps, but they won't receive many votes because voters are too scared to vote for a 3rd party candidate that has a platform closer to their ideals than the 2 major parties.
WTF happened to freedom? Freedom to do as we please with the money we make instead of paying for social OR corporate welfare. Freedom to have our private lives kept private. Basic stuff this country was founded on... Neither of the major parties are standing up against violation of freedom. Our freedom burns if we won't defend it. Come on America, wake up and prove that we aren't a nation of cowards.
The media is pretending this race is close because the media is a bunch of morons.
No, the media is pretending this race is close because they want us to keep watching. That's all they ever do. They just want us to keep watching so they keep getting those advertising dollars.
They made fewer risky loans than other large banks and some people have said they didn't want or need the bailout money (I can't remember the source for that).
Many other banks did the same. Many small banks did just fine as well, not taking on undue risk. The ones that did took a huge gamble and now they're pointing the finger at the government to try to cover up for their own greed.
I liked the story in Bioshock, a lot actually, but I get that it's not the most accessible. There's a heavy philosophical aspect to the story which is revealed through the audio diaries you collect as you go. I thought that the topics the diary writers wrestled with were very interesting.. Cosmetic surgery, genetic modification, limits and consequences of ambition, free will, etc.
Beyond that, the world itself is pretty cool and I love the concept of a city under the ocean (it recalls the stories of Atlantis). The graphics were great, the plasmid system is really fun and the abilities it conveys let you approach each situation with more creativity than most games I've played (telekinesis in particular and the high level to which you can interact with objects in the environment). That said, I think if I didn't enjoy and get into the sub-stories and the moral/ethical issues they brought up I would probably consider the game ho-hum.
There's a lot of depth there but it's not the kind of dramatic story most RPG lovers might be looking for, it's more an ethical story that makes you think about yourself, your choices (are they your choices...?), consequence, and the choices of the other characters.
Can poverty be "fixed"? For whatever reason some people are just not ambitious. Some don't want better than what they have and some don't think they can achieve better. Apathy sets in. Everyone knows someone who just don't seem motivated despite being intelligent.
I spoke with a guy last night who said he's been homeless for 15 years. He said his wife and kid were killed by a drunk driver. Now he drinks and lives on the street and basically just lives to forget. He seemed very smart, coherent, and personable. He was no unkempt. I have no doubt that he could do many types of interesting and decent-paying jobs but for some reason he doesn't.
I'd like to understand this better, but it seems that until you "fix" human nature you won't "fix" poverty.
I have some old.zip files that I AES encrypted many years ago and although I thought I made the passphrase something very simple that my monkey brain would remember I dug these files up the other day and could not for the life of me remember the passphrase.
So I better go back and scrub them from the disk or else I'd be in serious trouble if there is suspicion of any computer crime and my systems are searched. I bet there are many people in this situation and that number will only be going up as these technologies get easier to use and people see the need to protect their electronic records. Should anyone in this situation have to go to jail over a few old encrypted document stores?
The problem is you're smart but most people are stupid, especially people that usually hold purse strings.
I think the company will make more money initially from this deception and more money in the long run as long as the product is good or reasonable, but it will suffer and lose in the long run if the product isn't good.
That he had to have the debate with such an ordinary crackpot speaks volumes for American democracy...
This is exactly what I thought when I watched. It seemed like such a ridiculous farce that I was not sure whether to laugh or cry. Has the bar always been this low for politicians or are we really losing all sight of what our standards should be?
Ok apparently the rest of the mods are sleeping on the job today. Reading TFA Your first assertion was correct. It's not about slowing down the thing needs to speed up in order to match mercury's orbital velocity of 47.9 km/s which is quite a bit faster than earth's measly 29.8 km/s:
There will actually be 6 total flybys (3 of mercury, 2 of venus, 1 of earth) during which the spacecraft will accelerate in order to decrease its orbital period from 365 days (that of earth) to 88 (that of mercury).
Probably because there are so many loopholes for the big businesses that know about them (or have paid legislators to pass special laws just for them). They can afford the armies of "creative" accountants and lawyers to properly exploit these loopholes while the the small businesses can't.
So now small businesses end up shouldering the increased tax burden that must be imposed since big businesses are getting out of so much of their fair share.
There's this thing a president can do... oh I keep forgetting... it rhymes with veto... oh wait, it is veto.
And at the time there were plenty enough democrats voting against it (54-44 was the margin it passed in the senate) to allow a veto to hold. So clearly enough democrats wanted it too.
Most IT certs are pretty worthless but that's due to the nature of the cert not the nature of IT. For example, I have met many MCSEs that didn't know a damn thing about how to configure a system in the real world and would hunt for years for menu options and not know anything about the command-line or any troubleshooting tools.
Most RHCEs that I know are much better. Well that's because the RHCE is a 100% practical test. They break a system and you have to fix it. They test your ability to install the OS, configure services, security, etc. All real-world stuff. I haven't met an RHCE that didn't have some actual skill. Or a CCIE. Same thing and the connection is practical exam vs multi-choice book exam or some "simulation" exam that tries to mimic a real-world situation.
Teach and test in the real world and certs are worth something.
Actually love is just a trick of the mind and body, vetted by natural selection allowing for a greater chance of survival through a deeper sense of social connection with other humans.
Brain chemicals trigger strange feelings that people often attribute to some kind of spiritual connection. Serotonin, dopamine, and others are responsible for these lovely feelings and they can be reproduced with pharmaceuticals. Love as many, if not most people think of it is a lie:)
Slashdot Mirror
Whatever happened to personal responsibility?
You must be old here...
Nowadays we expect the government to take care of us, because despite how much we think our current government/congress/president suck (evidenced by all-time low approval ratings), for some reason we are trusting people on the other side of the country to make better decisions on our behalf than we can.
We must have a lower approval rating of ourselves?
"Democracy is a device that ensures we shall be governed no better than we deserve." -George Bernard Shaw
And I guess it follows from that if we aren't educated enough to make good decisions, then we're basically screwed.
It's important to remember that the candidates are advertising themselves to a population that, for the most part, doesn't understand how anything works.
Fixed that for ya.
There is a choice, several perhaps, but they won't receive many votes because voters are too scared to vote for a 3rd party candidate that has a platform closer to their ideals than the 2 major parties.
WTF happened to freedom? Freedom to do as we please with the money we make instead of paying for social OR corporate welfare. Freedom to have our private lives kept private. Basic stuff this country was founded on... Neither of the major parties are standing up against violation of freedom. Our freedom burns if we won't defend it. Come on America, wake up and prove that we aren't a nation of cowards.
The media is pretending this race is close because the media is a bunch of morons.
No, the media is pretending this race is close because they want us to keep watching. That's all they ever do. They just want us to keep watching so they keep getting those advertising dollars.
If someone is paying 15k in taxes (using 2007 tax rate schedules), they make around 75k/yr. Check it out.
A good example of parent's point is Wells Fargo. They noticed over a year and a half ago that subprime was getting too risky so in Feb 2007 they closed parts of their subprime lending unit and tightened up lending standards and in July 2007 they announced they were closing their subprime lending unit completely.
They made fewer risky loans than other large banks and some people have said they didn't want or need the bailout money (I can't remember the source for that).
Many other banks did the same. Many small banks did just fine as well, not taking on undue risk. The ones that did took a huge gamble and now they're pointing the finger at the government to try to cover up for their own greed.
ick.
That's why you put vodka in it before you drink.. everyone knows that!
A man chooses, a slashbot.. OBEYS!
I liked the story in Bioshock, a lot actually, but I get that it's not the most accessible. There's a heavy philosophical aspect to the story which is revealed through the audio diaries you collect as you go. I thought that the topics the diary writers wrestled with were very interesting.. Cosmetic surgery, genetic modification, limits and consequences of ambition, free will, etc.
Beyond that, the world itself is pretty cool and I love the concept of a city under the ocean (it recalls the stories of Atlantis). The graphics were great, the plasmid system is really fun and the abilities it conveys let you approach each situation with more creativity than most games I've played (telekinesis in particular and the high level to which you can interact with objects in the environment). That said, I think if I didn't enjoy and get into the sub-stories and the moral/ethical issues they brought up I would probably consider the game ho-hum.
There's a lot of depth there but it's not the kind of dramatic story most RPG lovers might be looking for, it's more an ethical story that makes you think about yourself, your choices (are they your choices...?), consequence, and the choices of the other characters.
Can poverty be "fixed"? For whatever reason some people are just not ambitious. Some don't want better than what they have and some don't think they can achieve better. Apathy sets in. Everyone knows someone who just don't seem motivated despite being intelligent.
I spoke with a guy last night who said he's been homeless for 15 years. He said his wife and kid were killed by a drunk driver. Now he drinks and lives on the street and basically just lives to forget. He seemed very smart, coherent, and personable. He was no unkempt. I have no doubt that he could do many types of interesting and decent-paying jobs but for some reason he doesn't.
I'd like to understand this better, but it seems that until you "fix" human nature you won't "fix" poverty.
My favorite is:
"Give a man a fire and he's warm for a day. Set a man on fire and he's warm for the rest of his life."
Great journal entry! Very concise and summed up what a lot of us are thinking.
I have some old .zip files that I AES encrypted many years ago and although I thought I made the passphrase something very simple that my monkey brain would remember I dug these files up the other day and could not for the life of me remember the passphrase.
So I better go back and scrub them from the disk or else I'd be in serious trouble if there is suspicion of any computer crime and my systems are searched. I bet there are many people in this situation and that number will only be going up as these technologies get easier to use and people see the need to protect their electronic records. Should anyone in this situation have to go to jail over a few old encrypted document stores?
I don't play many games, mostly because they do have shitty plots (Assassin's Creed comes to mind), but Bioshock's story hooked me from day 1.
Plans for a trilogy doesn't preclude good plots. Ever hear of LoTR?
The problem is you're smart but most people are stupid, especially people that usually hold purse strings.
I think the company will make more money initially from this deception and more money in the long run as long as the product is good or reasonable, but it will suffer and lose in the long run if the product isn't good.
That he had to have the debate with such an ordinary crackpot speaks volumes for American democracy...
This is exactly what I thought when I watched. It seemed like such a ridiculous farce that I was not sure whether to laugh or cry. Has the bar always been this low for politicians or are we really losing all sight of what our standards should be?
Ok apparently the rest of the mods are sleeping on the job today. Reading TFA Your first assertion was correct. It's not about slowing down the thing needs to speed up in order to match mercury's orbital velocity of 47.9 km/s which is quite a bit faster than earth's measly 29.8 km/s:
Info on gravity assists for the MESSENGER mission.
There will actually be 6 total flybys (3 of mercury, 2 of venus, 1 of earth) during which the spacecraft will accelerate in order to decrease its orbital period from 365 days (that of earth) to 88 (that of mercury).
Probably because there are so many loopholes for the big businesses that know about them (or have paid legislators to pass special laws just for them). They can afford the armies of "creative" accountants and lawyers to properly exploit these loopholes while the the small businesses can't.
So now small businesses end up shouldering the increased tax burden that must be imposed since big businesses are getting out of so much of their fair share.
There's this thing a president can do... oh I keep forgetting... it rhymes with veto... oh wait, it is veto.
And at the time there were plenty enough democrats voting against it (54-44 was the margin it passed in the senate) to allow a veto to hold. So clearly enough democrats wanted it too.
Oops, sorry :)
Most IT certs are pretty worthless but that's due to the nature of the cert not the nature of IT. For example, I have met many MCSEs that didn't know a damn thing about how to configure a system in the real world and would hunt for years for menu options and not know anything about the command-line or any troubleshooting tools.
/rant off
Most RHCEs that I know are much better. Well that's because the RHCE is a 100% practical test. They break a system and you have to fix it. They test your ability to install the OS, configure services, security, etc. All real-world stuff. I haven't met an RHCE that didn't have some actual skill. Or a CCIE. Same thing and the connection is practical exam vs multi-choice book exam or some "simulation" exam that tries to mimic a real-world situation.
Teach and test in the real world and certs are worth something.
I pick up new stuff up quickly.
I'll be checking your future posts to verify that you pick up grammar up quickly.
Actually love is just a trick of the mind and body, vetted by natural selection allowing for a greater chance of survival through a deeper sense of social connection with other humans.
:)
Brain chemicals trigger strange feelings that people often attribute to some kind of spiritual connection. Serotonin, dopamine, and others are responsible for these lovely feelings and they can be reproduced with pharmaceuticals. Love as many, if not most people think of it is a lie
Good fucking grief reading that made my head hurt.