Let me be more clear. I don't want some housewife's personal code of conduct (drinking is wrong, kids shouldn't be out past 7:00PM, whatever) enforced on the rest of us because she believes it's right. I only want the rights afforded to us in the constitution as well as anything designed to protect us from harm caused by negligence of a person or entity enshrined in law.
The original Starcraft had roughly 30 missions. The three individual games are going to have 26-30 missions apiece. The multiplayer and other features (scenario editor) will be the same regardless of which of the games you purchase.
There's also no set price on the games. EB Games lists their estimated pre-order price for the first game at $49.99, but who's to say that the other games will be similarly priced? Blizzard has generally been very fair with their pricing I've found.
If they say that each of the games are going to sell for $50-60, then you have something. But for now, no price has been announced yet.
I think right up until Enterprise Star Trek was doing a pretty decent job of keeping things fresh. Actually, hell, even with Enterprise they were doing a decent job:
ToS: Five year deep-space mission
TaS: Never saw, so... I don't know, actually.
TNG: Regular old "mission of the week" Star Trek, does much to expand the universe
DS9: Changes the setting from a ship moving around to a station; first Star Trek series to have story arcs that span multiple seasons
VOY: One lone Starfleet ship in a completely unexplored sector of space
ENT: A flashback to the time before the Federation was formed
There's still tons of stuff they could do and do well:
A show about Section 31, the Federation's version of the CIA/Tal Shiar/Obsidian Order
A show about Starfleet Academy, think Dawson's Creek with phasers and shuttlecraft
A show about the Federation in the "Temporal Cold War" period, timeships and all
Sadly, the mishandling of Enterprise really screwed the pooch for future prospects.
The one hope we had - the reboot movie - fucked things up too IMO. They had the chance to undo all of the time paradox, technobabble bullshit and actually make a coherent story. Instead, in the first goddamned movie we already have alternate universe shit going on. (If you can't tell, I hated all of the "Mirror Universe" episodes as well as nearly any episode or arc involving time travel with the exception of that huge-ass temporal cannon spaceship in Voyager.)
If they did Star Trek in the style of the reimagined BSG - where it doesn't have a whole buttload of technobabble, shaky physics, and continuity errors - then that show would be wildly succesful. But instead, just like comic books, we're going to be befuddled with the same messed-up continuity for decades to come.
Actually, it's still illegal in Wisconsin, Michigan, Maryland, and probably a few other states.
being selfish isn't illegal, etc.
Well, so far you're 1 for 3. I figure if I dig deep enough I could find a law on some state, county, or city lawbooks somewhere that makes selfishness illegal.</nitpick>
Law!=Morality
As an aside,I read that as LAWL=Morality and was rather confused.
The law shouldn't be based on morality at all; it should be based on protecting the rights of citizens and providing for their common interest. (For instance, I don't know if there's any case history establishing that people have a right not to be irradiated by a nuclear meltdown, but nuclear regulations are a law most people would want on the books anyway.)
I don't want the law telling me that I can't buy a beer on a Sunday before noon. What if I work nights? Sunday before noon is like Saturday night to me.
I don't want the law telling me what I can and can't do with my own body or consensually with another person's body.
All I want the law to do is to protect my rights, protect your rights, and stop trying to be the morality police.
Since we're making wishes here, I also wish that Steam chat had some of the most basic features that other chat clients have had for ten years. Ghost mode, custom away messages, a friends list longer than 150 people, etc.
Obscenity laws like this shouldn't even exist in this day and age.
Seriously, obscenity? How about we go down to the soda shop and get some malts? Then we can go rough up the dorky kid and pitch woo to the cheerleaders. Check out those sexy ankles!
How will the State of Georgia arrest/punish a citizen 2000 miles away in California?
Extradition.
It's like those treaties we have with so many countries, but way easier. And if it turns into a federal case in any way, then extradition is a non-issue.
I just wish they would have made a deal with somebody at some point. I'm all over the "gaming social networks" because I'm a heavy gamer - there's LIVE, PSN, Xfire, Steam, Facebook (in a way), and now BNET 2.0. I wish they would have just cut a deal with Steam like so many games do and saved a whole bunch of people the headache.
This takes me back to the IM client wars of the early 00s...
Wouldn't the money be taxed when its spent? Doesn't India have some sort of VAT, Sales Tax, etc.?
This is why income taxes are stupid and taxes on spending are better. You can't hide the money because at some point in the chain the item was purchased from a store.
Plus, as far as slashvertisements go, I don't terribly mind when it's a company that will probably end up bringing technology to thousands of kids who've never touched a computer (much less owned one).
A buddy of mine is in a private contractor. He figures out the materials and time needed for a project and then adds 30% to both. He has yet to go once over budget or past deadline, and he rarely comes sailing in way under budget or deadline either. It's a good rule of thumb.
In a word, yes. It's not the government's business what people put into their bodies, do to their bodies, etc.
Rather than make something illegal, education would be way more effective in my opinion.
When I was in elementary school (primary school), I had physical education a few times a week. We spent a good half hour running around on the playground. I was in better shape in elementary school and high school (secondary school) than I am now because of that physical activity.
Our health classes, though, weren't really too heavy on the practicality part of exercise. I know the difference between aerobic and anaerobic exercise, but at the time I wasn't really aware of their significance. Now, 5+ years after high school I have a lot of work ahead of me to get to a healthier weight.
From the drug perspective, the education we use is absolutely wrong. It's just all "drugs are bad, mmmkay?". A bit more honesty would be helpful. Yes, opiates can make you feel really, really good. They will also likely destroy your life, and that's not even considering the risks of transmission of blood-borne diseases with needle sharing. If you hammer these kind of things into kids heads instead of spending an afternoon talking about it so you can meet some federally-mandated quota, then perhaps less kids would actually use dangerous drugs.
Ultimately, though, that's as far as the government should go. Legalize it, tax it, and use a portion of the taxes to help the people that are the worst off and educate the populace without resorting to deception. The money the government pulls in by taxing marijuana and cocaine and the money the government saves by cutting back on drug enforcement would more than pay for the dearth of rehab programs that we already have.
If your motivation is to punish people who are bad at math, at least we could do something useful with that money if it were an -actual- tax.
It's not my motivation at all - I'm just saying what it is.
I probably best fall under the spectrum of a libertarian (small l). I don't give a shit what you do or who you do it with so long as its consensual and doesn't directly infringe on another person's rights.
From a governmental side, trying to legislate human behavior is a huge mess. Look how well prohibition worked out. Instead, we should tax it and put a portion of those taxes towards recovery programs for the people who need help.
From a personal side, if you read "1 in $SEVERAL_MILLION chances of winning" and you still play, then that's stupidity on your part. I am in favor of helping people who are in so deep with an addiction or compulsion that they are destroying their lives and the lives of those around them. I am not in favor of babysitting people who don't have any damn common sense. I believe that there are significantly more people that use marijuana, cocaine, ecstasy, or engage in other potentially compulsive behaviors and are able to lead a relatively normal life and thus don't need any help whatsoever.
Incidentally, if we want to do something useful with the money, the government is the last place it should go. It's a huge, bloated mess. At least you said:
Taxes go to the government, where they're at least supposed to be spent on social welfare programs, defense, infrastructure, etc.
So that tells me that you are at least aware of the fact that the government is a huge, inefficient mess.
If the government really gave a damn about its people, there are tons of social programs already working in other countries. All we would have to do is consult with them and emulate the program. Instead, we get proposals loaded up with special interests that will provide short term fixes at best.
Online casino revenue will go either to more annoying ads and spam for online casinos or directly into the pockets of it's shareholders.
If it's paid for in America and its an online casino, the money can be tracked either via bank accounts or credit cards. If it can be tracked it can be taxed. Tax the online casinos and funnel a goodly portion of the money into gambling regulatory agencies to keep track of these online casinos. Perhaps demand some sort of certification and fine sites/players that are not certified.
If it's a foreign credit card, gift card, or some other way in which money can be hidden, then that is more the IRS's department with the hiding of the finances and all that lovely jazz.
And a huge hurrdurr on my part, perhaps this could replace antifreeze in some way in the future through some sort of complex radiator system. -1 toxic chemical inside a car.
Why not just make the batteries swappable at service stations? Then the only range that matters is the distance to the next service station.
For the same reason that you can't take a piston from one engine and put it into another as easily. (Pedants stand down, I'm sure there's many cases where you can do this.) Automakers will muck it up with all of their proprietary shit and make the whole thing into a huge clusterfuck.
A standardized charging port is probably more likely than a standardized battery.
My roommate made orange truffles for his girlfriend (at the time). If you passed Chemistry lab you can make chocolates. (It's a good lot easier if you've ever played with Creepy Crawlers as a young'un.
Yes, but once you're actually in the project can change from exportable to non-exportable very quickly.
For instance, let's say you start with an open source compressor sort of program like Winrar. No biggie there. But then in version 0.42 you add in encryption. At the start everything was peachy keen, but the second you put on that encryption you should, by law, restrict its export.
Slashdot Mirror
morality
Etymology
From Old French moralite
http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/morality
Let me be more clear. I don't want some housewife's personal code of conduct (drinking is wrong, kids shouldn't be out past 7:00PM, whatever) enforced on the rest of us because she believes it's right. I only want the rights afforded to us in the constitution as well as anything designed to protect us from harm caused by negligence of a person or entity enshrined in law.
The original Starcraft had roughly 30 missions. The three individual games are going to have 26-30 missions apiece. The multiplayer and other features (scenario editor) will be the same regardless of which of the games you purchase.
There's also no set price on the games. EB Games lists their estimated pre-order price for the first game at $49.99, but who's to say that the other games will be similarly priced? Blizzard has generally been very fair with their pricing I've found.
If they say that each of the games are going to sell for $50-60, then you have something. But for now, no price has been announced yet.
In my day, a trojan horse was a goddamned wooden tank full of angry ninja soldiers.
I think right up until Enterprise Star Trek was doing a pretty decent job of keeping things fresh. Actually, hell, even with Enterprise they were doing a decent job:
There's still tons of stuff they could do and do well:
Sadly, the mishandling of Enterprise really screwed the pooch for future prospects.
The one hope we had - the reboot movie - fucked things up too IMO. They had the chance to undo all of the time paradox, technobabble bullshit and actually make a coherent story. Instead, in the first goddamned movie we already have alternate universe shit going on. (If you can't tell, I hated all of the "Mirror Universe" episodes as well as nearly any episode or arc involving time travel with the exception of that huge-ass temporal cannon spaceship in Voyager.)
If they did Star Trek in the style of the reimagined BSG - where it doesn't have a whole buttload of technobabble, shaky physics, and continuity errors - then that show would be wildly succesful. But instead, just like comic books, we're going to be befuddled with the same messed-up continuity for decades to come.
Being a dick isn't illegal
<nitpick>Harassment.
sleeping with your wife's sister isn't illegal
Actually, it's still illegal in Wisconsin, Michigan, Maryland, and probably a few other states.
being selfish isn't illegal, etc.
Well, so far you're 1 for 3. I figure if I dig deep enough I could find a law on some state, county, or city lawbooks somewhere that makes selfishness illegal.</nitpick>
Law!=Morality
As an aside,I read that as LAWL=Morality and was rather confused.
The law shouldn't be based on morality at all; it should be based on protecting the rights of citizens and providing for their common interest. (For instance, I don't know if there's any case history establishing that people have a right not to be irradiated by a nuclear meltdown, but nuclear regulations are a law most people would want on the books anyway.)
I don't want the law telling me that I can't buy a beer on a Sunday before noon. What if I work nights? Sunday before noon is like Saturday night to me.
I don't want the law telling me what I can and can't do with my own body or consensually with another person's body.
All I want the law to do is to protect my rights, protect your rights, and stop trying to be the morality police.
Since we're making wishes here, I also wish that Steam chat had some of the most basic features that other chat clients have had for ten years. Ghost mode, custom away messages, a friends list longer than 150 people, etc.
That entire activity makes my nighttime hobby of railgun sniping on Quake Live seem all the more pathetic.
Obscenity laws like this shouldn't even exist in this day and age.
Seriously, obscenity? How about we go down to the soda shop and get some malts? Then we can go rough up the dorky kid and pitch woo to the cheerleaders. Check out those sexy ankles!
How will the State of Georgia arrest/punish a citizen 2000 miles away in California?
Extradition.
It's like those treaties we have with so many countries, but way easier. And if it turns into a federal case in any way, then extradition is a non-issue.
I just wish they would have made a deal with somebody at some point. I'm all over the "gaming social networks" because I'm a heavy gamer - there's LIVE, PSN, Xfire, Steam, Facebook (in a way), and now BNET 2.0. I wish they would have just cut a deal with Steam like so many games do and saved a whole bunch of people the headache.
This takes me back to the IM client wars of the early 00s...
Wouldn't the money be taxed when its spent? Doesn't India have some sort of VAT, Sales Tax, etc.?
This is why income taxes are stupid and taxes on spending are better. You can't hide the money because at some point in the chain the item was purchased from a store.
Plus, as far as slashvertisements go, I don't terribly mind when it's a company that will probably end up bringing technology to thousands of kids who've never touched a computer (much less owned one).
It's OLPC minus the bureaucracy.
A buddy of mine is in a private contractor. He figures out the materials and time needed for a project and then adds 30% to both. He has yet to go once over budget or past deadline, and he rarely comes sailing in way under budget or deadline either. It's a good rule of thumb.
but software will never be able to make those decisions, because, in the final analysis, they are subjective decisions.
Until such a point that a sufficiently advanced AI can make those judgments correctly most of the time.
In a word, yes. It's not the government's business what people put into their bodies, do to their bodies, etc.
Rather than make something illegal, education would be way more effective in my opinion.
When I was in elementary school (primary school), I had physical education a few times a week. We spent a good half hour running around on the playground. I was in better shape in elementary school and high school (secondary school) than I am now because of that physical activity.
Our health classes, though, weren't really too heavy on the practicality part of exercise. I know the difference between aerobic and anaerobic exercise, but at the time I wasn't really aware of their significance. Now, 5+ years after high school I have a lot of work ahead of me to get to a healthier weight.
From the drug perspective, the education we use is absolutely wrong. It's just all "drugs are bad, mmmkay?". A bit more honesty would be helpful. Yes, opiates can make you feel really, really good. They will also likely destroy your life, and that's not even considering the risks of transmission of blood-borne diseases with needle sharing. If you hammer these kind of things into kids heads instead of spending an afternoon talking about it so you can meet some federally-mandated quota, then perhaps less kids would actually use dangerous drugs.
Ultimately, though, that's as far as the government should go. Legalize it, tax it, and use a portion of the taxes to help the people that are the worst off and educate the populace without resorting to deception. The money the government pulls in by taxing marijuana and cocaine and the money the government saves by cutting back on drug enforcement would more than pay for the dearth of rehab programs that we already have.
Right, because if we make something illegal people would never do it and crime would go away forever. Puppies and lollipops all around gentlemen!
If your motivation is to punish people who are bad at math, at least we could do something useful with that money if it were an -actual- tax.
It's not my motivation at all - I'm just saying what it is.
I probably best fall under the spectrum of a libertarian (small l). I don't give a shit what you do or who you do it with so long as its consensual and doesn't directly infringe on another person's rights.
From a governmental side, trying to legislate human behavior is a huge mess. Look how well prohibition worked out. Instead, we should tax it and put a portion of those taxes towards recovery programs for the people who need help.
From a personal side, if you read "1 in $SEVERAL_MILLION chances of winning" and you still play, then that's stupidity on your part. I am in favor of helping people who are in so deep with an addiction or compulsion that they are destroying their lives and the lives of those around them. I am not in favor of babysitting people who don't have any damn common sense. I believe that there are significantly more people that use marijuana, cocaine, ecstasy, or engage in other potentially compulsive behaviors and are able to lead a relatively normal life and thus don't need any help whatsoever.
Incidentally, if we want to do something useful with the money, the government is the last place it should go. It's a huge, bloated mess. At least you said:
Taxes go to the government, where they're at least supposed to be spent on social welfare programs, defense, infrastructure, etc.
So that tells me that you are at least aware of the fact that the government is a huge, inefficient mess.
If the government really gave a damn about its people, there are tons of social programs already working in other countries. All we would have to do is consult with them and emulate the program. Instead, we get proposals loaded up with special interests that will provide short term fixes at best.
Online casino revenue will go either to more annoying ads and spam for online casinos or directly into the pockets of it's shareholders.
If it's paid for in America and its an online casino, the money can be tracked either via bank accounts or credit cards. If it can be tracked it can be taxed. Tax the online casinos and funnel a goodly portion of the money into gambling regulatory agencies to keep track of these online casinos. Perhaps demand some sort of certification and fine sites/players that are not certified.
If it's a foreign credit card, gift card, or some other way in which money can be hidden, then that is more the IRS's department with the hiding of the finances and all that lovely jazz.
And a huge hurrdurr on my part, perhaps this could replace antifreeze in some way in the future through some sort of complex radiator system. -1 toxic chemical inside a car.
Why not just make the batteries swappable at service stations? Then the only range that matters is the distance to the next service station.
For the same reason that you can't take a piston from one engine and put it into another as easily. (Pedants stand down, I'm sure there's many cases where you can do this.) Automakers will muck it up with all of their proprietary shit and make the whole thing into a huge clusterfuck.
A standardized charging port is probably more likely than a standardized battery.
I'd be fine with that. I'd certainly cut back on my Internet usage. Maybe my bill would end up being cheaper.
Screw it, make your own.
My roommate made orange truffles for his girlfriend (at the time). If you passed Chemistry lab you can make chocolates. (It's a good lot easier if you've ever played with Creepy Crawlers as a young'un.
Yes, but once you're actually in the project can change from exportable to non-exportable very quickly.
For instance, let's say you start with an open source compressor sort of program like Winrar. No biggie there. But then in version 0.42 you add in encryption. At the start everything was peachy keen, but the second you put on that encryption you should, by law, restrict its export.
http://store.steampowered.com/app/4100/
Games of chance and the lottery are a tax on people who are poor at math, and I wholeheartedly support it.