Have you ever been to the midwestern United States? It's cows, corn, and not much us.
IMO, The problem isn't overpopulation, it's overpopulation centered around certain areas.
Now granted, when we're talking about things like usage of world resources as a whole, then yes more people will hurt that... but generally the things where you see people crammed into shanty towns, row houses, and tiny apartments is just because we have too many damn people living in one area.
I think we need something like the Homestead Act again, but for towns. Take some of that government land that is sitting around doing nothing and have a town for, say, 10,000 people planned out. Get buildings up, get infrastructure going, and offer people money to commit to moving there and living there for at least 5 years. Offer skilled workers higher bounties and guaranteed jobs (power company techs, water/sewer guys, handymen, police, EMTS, firefighters... lots of municipalities have laid off loads of guys who could use a fresh start.) Work out a bulk deal with a construction firm to build housing Extreme Makeover Home Edition style - fast and cheap, but without sacrificing too much in the way of quality. Then start moving people there in waves - first the essential workers and government to get the city up and running, and then move the regular citizenry there bit by bit.
Man, this is something I gotta write out in more detail...
If you're an author, have you considered bartering?
Let's put it this way. Say you have three author friends. Pass your book to each of them to proofread, and in turn proofread each of theirs. It's win-win, it costs nobody money, and you get the value of a different perspective. I often am in the situation where I am too blinded by my own bias and can use the outside perspective on something I've created.
Heh, I remember visiting a friend who had a pool... we'd take his Gameboy (The old school ones the size of a VHS tape), wrap it in 2 or 3 zip-lock bags, and take turns playing it underwater. Because frankly, why the hell not?
People regularly go to a special building to ask for favors from an invisible man who has the power to multiply bread and really hates figs.
People blow themselves up and kill innocent civilians because they believe they're going to get a shit-ton of virgins.
People will use a bluetooth headset because it's "safer" and then proceed to send a text message while doing 80 on the freeway.
People will avoid milk because of "unhealthy horomones" or avoid certain brands of corn because it's "genetically engineered", but they regularly eat at McDonald's and down gallons of Coca-Cola.
So yes, I'd say that there are plenty of people stupid enough to believe that.
Here's some stream-of-consciousness, ad-libbed sci-fi for you.
December 11, 2012: A meteorite containing ammonia and sodium percarbonate slams into Alabama, dissipating mustard gas into the air.
December 12, 2012: Local civilization rapidly falls apart. The federal and state governments promise relief.
December 13, 2012: The International Red Cross, Salvation Army, and local volunteers spring to action. Mass looting, rioting, and general disarray are seen. Citizens organize into militias to defend their neighborhoods.
December 15, 2012: The Alabama National Guard is deployed.
December 18, 2012: FEMA deploys federal agencies to help the damaged areas.
December 19, 2012: The army begins confiscating weapons of the militias due to martial law and a state of emergency being declared several days earlier.
December 20, 2012: The United Nations passes a resolution condeming the Asteroid belt for launching an attack on our nation.
December 21, 2012: The federal government forms the 11/12 Commission to find out why NASA didn't provide any warning about the meteor. All troops are recalled from Afghanistan and Iraq.
December 22, 2012: NASA's funding is increased to 10% of the overall defense budget.
December 24, 2012: The last American soldier leaves Afghanistan, Iraq having been cleared out the day before. George W. Bush releases a press release saying, "See? I told you they'd be home by Christmas!"
January 14, 2013: The federal government declares the periodic table of elements a state secret, and issues National Security Letters to anyone who possesses a copy or posts one in print, video, or online. Telescopes are confiscated.
January 15, 2013: The Cobb County Periodic Table of Elements is taught in some Midwestern school districts on the basis that "Chemistry is only a theory".
May 14, 2016: NASA's new shuttles (which can launch independent of a booster system and are properly protected from cosmic radiation) are rolled out. Two dozen shuttles with marines launch towards the asteroid belt to combat the new threat.
June 16, 2016: Space Marines touch down on one of the larger asteroids in the belt. The larger asteroids are quickly subdued, and America begins its occupation of the asteroid belt.
June 23, 2016: The current President declares combat operations in the Asteroid Belt over.
June 25, 2016: Shuttle #6 is ravaged by micrometeorites and lost with all hands. The media begins to talk about the "Asteroid Insurgency" and how it is destablizing the Asteroid Belt.
July 13, 2017: A Sergeant in the Space Marines asks the Secretary of Defense why they have to "scrounge for space debris" to up-armor their inadequately armored battle rovers. The Secretary of State says you go into space with the space marines you've got.
July 15, 2024: A solar flare causes a minor EMP that shorts out most of the Northeastern American electronics. The Space Marines are recalled in preparation for a mission to the Sun.
.
.
.
Disclaimer: I am very ill and hopped up on painkillers. It was probably a horrible idea to post this and won't seem remotely as funny as it is to me now (I'm having giggle fits), but what the hay.
Oh man, my parents have a VHS of one of the cartoons from that series somewhere. You just brought back a flood of childhood memories from great summer nights watching campy cartoons like Superman and Felix The Cat. Thank you very, very much!
So basically, it's like those crappy little trophies they hand out to every single Little League player at the end of the year (regardless of how well they actually played), except it's only one award and just once per year?
There's one huge flaw with most open source software - things like Gimp, Ubuntu, etc. It's not customization and it's not security - it's ease of use.
I'd run studies geared towards people who use computers casually - everything from the 16 year old Facebook addict to the 75 year old recipes.com addict. I'd have them try things like Ubuntu out, give them a basic rundown, and have them try it for an exclusive period (like, say, 30 days) - and then pay them for the results.
We need hard data on why the casual users don't like it.
Engineers can build wonderfully functioning tools, but they're not often pretty.
You're in the position to make investments and have savings. You're not the sort of person hit worst when things go tits up in the economy. I do agree with your points overall, though.
When banks can essentially do that whole sub-prime mortgage sold as investments sort of thing - which was borderline fraud IMO - then I'd say yes, we've let enough safeguards erode.
I honestly believe that anytime a business gets too big they are able to abuse their power. You don't hear about the small bank company with a dozen branches in one state doing shit like this. It's always the huge multinational conglomerates or the companies that make billions of dollars a year. The banks can effectively hold the economy hostage just as the RIAA & MPAA hold our culture hostage.
I know it's a bit of a tired cliche, but please dont' feed the troll - especially in this case. Whoever the hel it is has enough of a grudge on Americano that these posts have been following him around for the last few days (that I've noticed here and there). I don't really know who Americano is other than someone really doesn't like him and takes the time to troll every time he posts, but yeah. Just ignore the guy.
Yes, I realize the inherent irony in that I am essentially feeding the troll by association, but nevertheless.
Slashdot Mirror
I hope the GP has a ration of BURN cream saved up for the awesome BUUUUUUUUUURNNNNN you just gave him.</Kelso>
Overpopulated? Really?
Have you ever been to the midwestern United States? It's cows, corn, and not much us.
IMO, The problem isn't overpopulation, it's overpopulation centered around certain areas.
Now granted, when we're talking about things like usage of world resources as a whole, then yes more people will hurt that... but generally the things where you see people crammed into shanty towns, row houses, and tiny apartments is just because we have too many damn people living in one area.
I think we need something like the Homestead Act again, but for towns. Take some of that government land that is sitting around doing nothing and have a town for, say, 10,000 people planned out. Get buildings up, get infrastructure going, and offer people money to commit to moving there and living there for at least 5 years. Offer skilled workers higher bounties and guaranteed jobs (power company techs, water/sewer guys, handymen, police, EMTS, firefighters... lots of municipalities have laid off loads of guys who could use a fresh start.) Work out a bulk deal with a construction firm to build housing Extreme Makeover Home Edition style - fast and cheap, but without sacrificing too much in the way of quality. Then start moving people there in waves - first the essential workers and government to get the city up and running, and then move the regular citizenry there bit by bit.
Man, this is something I gotta write out in more detail...
If you're an author, have you considered bartering?
Let's put it this way. Say you have three author friends. Pass your book to each of them to proofread, and in turn proofread each of theirs. It's win-win, it costs nobody money, and you get the value of a different perspective. I often am in the situation where I am too blinded by my own bias and can use the outside perspective on something I've created.
Heh, I remember visiting a friend who had a pool... we'd take his Gameboy (The old school ones the size of a VHS tape), wrap it in 2 or 3 zip-lock bags, and take turns playing it underwater. Because frankly, why the hell not?
s anyone really stupid enough to believe
People regularly go to a special building to ask for favors from an invisible man who has the power to multiply bread and really hates figs.
People blow themselves up and kill innocent civilians because they believe they're going to get a shit-ton of virgins.
People will use a bluetooth headset because it's "safer" and then proceed to send a text message while doing 80 on the freeway.
People will avoid milk because of "unhealthy horomones" or avoid certain brands of corn because it's "genetically engineered", but they regularly eat at McDonald's and down gallons of Coca-Cola.
So yes, I'd say that there are plenty of people stupid enough to believe that.
I think the US Army would be decent enough to respect the reasoning behind it and would refrain from viewing alternatives.
On the other hand, shouldn't the US Army be decent enough to ask its soldiers to not use them instead of outright blocking them?
Well, to be fair, it's not like they can expect their soldiers to follow or-
...nevermind.
Don't forget the people who actually buy legitimately and then also pirate to get around DRM being a pain for the paying customer.
Well, there are those things called linkbombs... that probably doesn't help.
There are lots of ways you can deal with this equitably.
That's the problem right there. The **AAs are all about keeping things as inequitable as possible.
Intimidating the populace through fear and with threat of armed intervention?
That's practically the goddamned definition of terrorism...
Ignore them or file a complaint, and fly with a different company.
Make sure to write the CEO of the company and tell them about this specific person's attitude.
It sounded more like he had a touch of a Scottish or Welsh accent to me.
There are certain advantages to having sealed, fixed memory, and it's a tradeoff to get them.
I absolutely agree! I'll list some for the detractors:
In Star Trek, tractor beams had this functionality.
It kinda makes me wonder why they just never pushed the enemy Klingon ship into a decaying orbit or something rather than waste all those torpedoes...
You mean this Rosette? I'm pretty sure she's not the type to sleep around.
Here's some stream-of-consciousness, ad-libbed sci-fi for you.
December 11, 2012: A meteorite containing ammonia and sodium percarbonate slams into Alabama, dissipating mustard gas into the air.
December 12, 2012: Local civilization rapidly falls apart. The federal and state governments promise relief.
December 13, 2012: The International Red Cross, Salvation Army, and local volunteers spring to action. Mass looting, rioting, and general disarray are seen. Citizens organize into militias to defend their neighborhoods.
December 15, 2012: The Alabama National Guard is deployed.
December 18, 2012: FEMA deploys federal agencies to help the damaged areas.
December 19, 2012: The army begins confiscating weapons of the militias due to martial law and a state of emergency being declared several days earlier.
December 20, 2012: The United Nations passes a resolution condeming the Asteroid belt for launching an attack on our nation.
December 21, 2012: The federal government forms the 11/12 Commission to find out why NASA didn't provide any warning about the meteor. All troops are recalled from Afghanistan and Iraq.
December 22, 2012: NASA's funding is increased to 10% of the overall defense budget.
December 24, 2012: The last American soldier leaves Afghanistan, Iraq having been cleared out the day before. George W. Bush releases a press release saying, "See? I told you they'd be home by Christmas!"
January 14, 2013: The federal government declares the periodic table of elements a state secret, and issues National Security Letters to anyone who possesses a copy or posts one in print, video, or online. Telescopes are confiscated.
January 15, 2013: The Cobb County Periodic Table of Elements is taught in some Midwestern school districts on the basis that "Chemistry is only a theory".
May 14, 2016: NASA's new shuttles (which can launch independent of a booster system and are properly protected from cosmic radiation) are rolled out. Two dozen shuttles with marines launch towards the asteroid belt to combat the new threat.
June 16, 2016: Space Marines touch down on one of the larger asteroids in the belt. The larger asteroids are quickly subdued, and America begins its occupation of the asteroid belt.
June 23, 2016: The current President declares combat operations in the Asteroid Belt over.
June 25, 2016: Shuttle #6 is ravaged by micrometeorites and lost with all hands. The media begins to talk about the "Asteroid Insurgency" and how it is destablizing the Asteroid Belt.
July 13, 2017: A Sergeant in the Space Marines asks the Secretary of Defense why they have to "scrounge for space debris" to up-armor their inadequately armored battle rovers. The Secretary of State says you go into space with the space marines you've got.
July 15, 2024: A solar flare causes a minor EMP that shorts out most of the Northeastern American electronics. The Space Marines are recalled in preparation for a mission to the Sun.
.
.
.
Disclaimer: I am very ill and hopped up on painkillers. It was probably a horrible idea to post this and won't seem remotely as funny as it is to me now (I'm having giggle fits), but what the hay.
Oh man, my parents have a VHS of one of the cartoons from that series somewhere. You just brought back a flood of childhood memories from great summer nights watching campy cartoons like Superman and Felix The Cat. Thank you very, very much!
So basically, it's like those crappy little trophies they hand out to every single Little League player at the end of the year (regardless of how well they actually played), except it's only one award and just once per year?
This may just be conjecture, but I hear Internet's a pretty cool guy. He has pron and doesn't afraid of anything.
Half of my ancestry is Russian (the other half is Polish). I'm only halfway decent at chess.
Maybe the "chess savant" gene is in the missing half.
I can do a hell of a backflip, though, and I'm pretty good with throwing weapons.
There's one huge flaw with most open source software - things like Gimp, Ubuntu, etc. It's not customization and it's not security - it's ease of use.
I'd run studies geared towards people who use computers casually - everything from the 16 year old Facebook addict to the 75 year old recipes.com addict. I'd have them try things like Ubuntu out, give them a basic rundown, and have them try it for an exclusive period (like, say, 30 days) - and then pay them for the results.
We need hard data on why the casual users don't like it.
Engineers can build wonderfully functioning tools, but they're not often pretty.
Use something that is more efficient at heating. If your only tool is a light bulb...
...everything looks like an anus?
I don't know what to tell you there Bobbo; either this kid has a lightbulb up his butt or his colon has a great idea." -Perry Cox
You're in the position to make investments and have savings. You're not the sort of person hit worst when things go tits up in the economy. I do agree with your points overall, though.
When banks can essentially do that whole sub-prime mortgage sold as investments sort of thing - which was borderline fraud IMO - then I'd say yes, we've let enough safeguards erode.
I honestly believe that anytime a business gets too big they are able to abuse their power. You don't hear about the small bank company with a dozen branches in one state doing shit like this. It's always the huge multinational conglomerates or the companies that make billions of dollars a year. The banks can effectively hold the economy hostage just as the RIAA & MPAA hold our culture hostage.
160kbs should be enough for anybody.
I know it's a bit of a tired cliche, but please dont' feed the troll - especially in this case. Whoever the hel it is has enough of a grudge on Americano that these posts have been following him around for the last few days (that I've noticed here and there). I don't really know who Americano is other than someone really doesn't like him and takes the time to troll every time he posts, but yeah. Just ignore the guy.
Yes, I realize the inherent irony in that I am essentially feeding the troll by association, but nevertheless.