Well, after reading roughly 200 (mostly off-topic, pasty-troll, and a few sickening) comments, the time has come to set my threshold higher. Sadly, I will miss the occassional classy troll. But I will regain the portion of my brain that is lost each time I have to see something as gross as "dead/naked/petrified columbine students" The rabbit thing really pushed me over the edge *ralph*. But that is neither here nor there.
Most of the (on topic) attitudes displayed here fall into one of two categories.
1) Let foreigners in. 2) Keep foreigners out.
I'm fine with both. But the people espousing to keep them out respond with the old "taking jobs from americans" theme, which is not only old and tired, but patently fraudulent. I've worked in IT all of my adult life - I've even worked in a company that processes H1-B (and related) paperwork (please pardon the somewhat ugly nature of that site - the owner "redesigned it herself" after I left them). My experiences there and in the field have shown how difficult it is to get in the country in the first place (let alone have a shot a green card), and how false claims of lower pay for immigrants (generally) are. As a group, they are held to a higher standard with regard to ability, yet are treated (by the population in general) as scabs on the landscape. Yes, there are exceptions. But there are exceptions in every pay scale and market. Eventually, the market will turn, and many of "those people" will go back home. And then the market corrections will begin to affect americans much more dramatically than now - and who will we blame then? The Jews? Another old and tired theme.
Now there's an idea!! Why don't we do this on occassion? Just send everybody in D.C. home for two days without pay, and do something cool with it - send up another probe, contribute to a worthy cause, or just otherwise make a solid contribution to funding research toward making life happier. I'm sure DC would keep being DC, and the rest of the US could use a two day break from them a couple of times a year...
Couldn't agree with this more. My wife has already declared that as soon as there are
1) educational games for linux 2) a decent checkbook program (no, not cbb, but I have to give GNUcash a shot) 3) a port of lotus smartsuite available
that i can then bring her computer back from the darkside. it is the last bastion of windows in the house (five computers).
How long will it have to be? My three year old son declares "I don't like Linux" because he can't play Elmo's Preschool on it. He does, however, like SameGnome, and promptly declares linux the greatest when I let him play on it.
Uh, point well taken, but you've forgotten a small aspect of what you are espousing: responsibility for one's actions. Free speech does not guarantee that there are no consequences for what we say, only that we have the right to say it in the first place.
ACs that post flamebait have every right to say what they do. And the consequence is that they get moderated down by the greater population.
Racists that spew forth garbage are villified by society. If said statements occur in the wrong place at the wrong time, they might cost you a job, a promising career, and friendship.
Have a little faith in the system - eventually we (as a whole population, not an internet community) will sort out our so-called online lives so that things that are acceptable online mirror acceptablility in real life.
*putting on asbestos suit*
This is where a moderation system such as slashdot's works well, and is ahead of its time. The simple fact is that there is accountability through a moderation system, and the system works well. Not perfect, but then again, it is early in development as well. But the greater good decides what comments are worth being bumped up. Just like real life. People who have something good to say are eventually heard by people who want good out of life, and those with nothing but garbage to contribute are marginalized by society.
OMIGOSH!!! I thought I was the only one in the world that did this!
Also of note: multiple rounds as a victor *will* weaken the champion. It's what gives the little upstart M&Ms their will to live and keep trying to win.
And I get to play Mike Tyson and bite them when they lose...hehe.
Have to agree here. I run two NW5 servers and a linux box (firewall/e-mail/blah blah) at my office. The three of them compete for high uptime honors (including this weekend, hehe). NetWare is a very strong platform, with excellent file and print services (z.e.n. works, yummmmm...). I love linux for what it does, and like netware for what it does. Sometimes one does a task better than the other. Unfortunately zealotry tends to reign supreme here. Right Bruce?
*29 have been accused of spousal abuse *7 have been arrested for fraud *19 have been accused of writing bad checks *117 have bankrupted at least two businesses *3 have been arrested for assault *71 cannot get a credit card due to bad credit *14 have been arrested on drug related charges *8 have been arrested for shoplifting *21 are current defendants in lawsuits *In 1998 alone, 84 were stopped for drunk driving
Half of these don't neccesarily constitute bad things in my opinion. 117 have bankrupted businesses? Many, no doubt, started out as small businessmen. Being that the great majority of small businesses fail, it would stand to reason that this would be the case. And it isn't bad - quite the opposite in fact.
Bad credit? So what. I have great credit, but I know lots of wonderful people that have bad credit, and a good measure of those I know are very intelligent and would make good lawmakers.
8 have been arrested for shoplifting. When? As teenagers? Yeesh.
21 are current lawsuit defendants. In this day and age, I'm surprised that figure isn't higher, given the fact that they are such high profile people.
That said, some of the other stats are sad, particularly those of drunk driving and spousal abuse. Sad that we can't see into the moral character of people - and moral character is important.
It's not that the stats don't mean anything, just not in the context that they are blurted out. Besides, Ted Kennedy being alive and well skews any stats like these.
Slashdot Mirror
Well, after reading roughly 200 (mostly off-topic, pasty-troll, and a few sickening) comments, the time has come to set my threshold higher. Sadly, I will miss the occassional classy troll. But I will regain the portion of my brain that is lost each time I have to see something as gross as "dead/naked/petrified columbine students" The rabbit thing really pushed me over the edge *ralph*. But that is neither here nor there.
Most of the (on topic) attitudes displayed here fall into one of two categories.
1) Let foreigners in.
2) Keep foreigners out.
I'm fine with both. But the people espousing to keep them out respond with the old "taking jobs from americans" theme, which is not only old and tired, but patently fraudulent. I've worked in IT all of my adult life - I've even worked in a company that processes H1-B (and related) paperwork (please pardon the somewhat ugly nature of that site - the owner "redesigned it herself" after I left them). My experiences there and in the field have shown how difficult it is to get in the country in the first place (let alone have a shot a green card), and how false claims of lower pay for immigrants (generally) are. As a group, they are held to a higher standard with regard to ability, yet are treated (by the population in general) as scabs on the landscape. Yes, there are exceptions. But there are exceptions in every pay scale and market. Eventually, the market will turn, and many of "those people" will go back home. And then the market corrections will begin to affect americans much more dramatically than now - and who will we blame then? The Jews? Another old and tired theme.
Now there's an idea!! Why don't we do this on occassion? Just send everybody in D.C. home for two days without pay, and do something cool with it - send up another probe, contribute to a worthy cause, or just otherwise make a solid contribution to funding research toward making life happier. I'm sure DC would keep being DC, and the rest of the US could use a two day break from them a couple of times a year...
Couldn't agree with this more. My wife has already declared that as soon as there are
1) educational games for linux
2) a decent checkbook program (no, not cbb, but I have to give GNUcash a shot)
3) a port of lotus smartsuite available
that i can then bring her computer back from the darkside. it is the last bastion of windows in the house (five computers).
How long will it have to be? My three year old son declares "I don't like Linux" because he can't play Elmo's Preschool on it. He does, however, like SameGnome, and promptly declares linux the greatest when I let him play on it.
Uh, point well taken, but you've forgotten a small aspect of what you are espousing: responsibility for one's actions. Free speech does not guarantee that there are no consequences for what we say, only that we have the right to say it in the first place.
ACs that post flamebait have every right to say what they do. And the consequence is that they get moderated down by the greater population.
Racists that spew forth garbage are villified by society. If said statements occur in the wrong place at the wrong time, they might cost you a job, a promising career, and friendship.
Have a little faith in the system - eventually we (as a whole population, not an internet community) will sort out our so-called online lives so that things that are acceptable online mirror acceptablility in real life.
*putting on asbestos suit*
This is where a moderation system such as slashdot's works well, and is ahead of its time. The simple fact is that there is accountability through a moderation system, and the system works well. Not perfect, but then again, it is early in development as well. But the greater good decides what comments are worth being bumped up. Just like real life. People who have something good to say are eventually heard by people who want good out of life, and those with nothing but garbage to contribute are marginalized by society.
But looking at the photo, Ballmer looks like he eats child molesters for breakfast. Creepy lookin'.
ueber
über
goodbye.
OMIGOSH!!! I thought I was the only one in the world that did this!
Also of note: multiple rounds as a victor *will* weaken the champion. It's what gives the little upstart M&Ms their will to live and keep trying to win.
And I get to play Mike Tyson and bite them when they lose...hehe.
This is possibly the funniest (and most accurate) thing I've read all day...
Does she sound like this?
"Ooh, do me, you coward!"
"If you were a *real AC*, I wouldn't have to look at you when we do this!"
Ppbbbtthhhhht!
Have to agree here. I run two NW5 servers and a linux box (firewall/e-mail/blah blah) at my office. The three of them compete for high uptime honors (including this weekend, hehe). NetWare is a very strong platform, with excellent file and print services (z.e.n. works, yummmmm...). I love linux for what it does, and like netware for what it does. Sometimes one does a task better than the other. Unfortunately zealotry tends to reign supreme here. Right Bruce?
of the 535 members of congress:
*29 have been accused of spousal abuse
*7 have been arrested for fraud
*19 have been accused of writing bad checks
*117 have bankrupted at least two businesses
*3 have been arrested for assault
*71 cannot get a credit card due to bad credit
*14 have been arrested on drug related charges
*8 have been arrested for shoplifting
*21 are current defendants in lawsuits
*In 1998 alone, 84 were stopped for drunk driving
Half of these don't neccesarily constitute bad things in my opinion. 117 have bankrupted businesses? Many, no doubt, started out as small businessmen. Being that the great majority of small businesses fail, it would stand to reason that this would be the case. And it isn't bad - quite the opposite in fact.
Bad credit? So what. I have great credit, but I know lots of wonderful people that have bad credit, and a good measure of those I know are very intelligent and would make good lawmakers.
8 have been arrested for shoplifting. When? As teenagers? Yeesh.
21 are current lawsuit defendants. In this day and age, I'm surprised that figure isn't higher, given the fact that they are such high profile people.
That said, some of the other stats are sad, particularly those of drunk driving and spousal abuse. Sad that we can't see into the moral character of people - and moral character is important.
It's not that the stats don't mean anything, just not in the context that they are blurted out. Besides, Ted Kennedy being alive and well skews any stats like these.
-burp.