I think everyone having anonymity is better than no one having it. I think anonymous Swiss accounts are a great idea. Not that I need one personally, but what if I have a (relatively) large sum of money I want to hide from my wife? And I'm aware that scammers, spammers, identity thieves, etc are out there, and I'm fine with that, because I'm careful. Whereas if the government further invades our privacy, there will be no less scammers, spammers, etc, just a lot more paranoia. I don't see how this benefits anyone, us paying the government to snoop on our selves?
Humans already create life on a daily basis (although many of them shouldn't). This is (or will be) just a different form of life. It doesn't answer any questions about anything though, IMO. It doesn't prove tha God exists or doesn't exist. It doesn't prove that life could have or did occur by random chance. All it proves is that some guy in a laboratory can create lipids, polypeptides, and nucleotides, and hope they all come together properly and start reproducing and eventually take over the earth (isn't that every scientist's dream? To create an unstoppable super-race that takes over the world?) I think he is just trying to beat CERN to worldwide destruction.
It's like giving out free copies of the trophy (although made of a cheaper material), so that people stop competing for the trophy, and advertisers stop wanting to pay for the competition because there are so few people competing or spectating.
However, it doesn't work like that. It's been shown that people continue to compete for the trophy, and spectators still come to watch, and the advertisers still get their money (still speaking metaphorically here). Those who take the replica trophies are the ones who would neither compete nor spectate anyway.
We would take the MRE "microwaves" apart, and mix the metal reactant (I think it was magnesium, or maybe some kind of sodium mixture) in a 2-liter coke bottle. It would go boom real loud! Also, I recently heard that mixing Clorox and brake fluid makes a lot of smoke. I don't know if that's true but I'm gonna try it when I get home!
I recently bought a 1080p, 61" DLP and a PS3 and I have to say, the HD quality on blu-ray is definitely appreciable. Even with Samsung's DNIE technology, which increases DVD image quality a lot, I still find myself wishing I had all my DVDs upgraded to blu-ray. While paying $30 for most movies seems ridiculous, for movies that would be nothing without the CG (such as Transformers) the extra $15 is worth it.
The high price of blu-ray is still just paying for the research that went in to it, and over the next few years I think the price will fall considerably. But if your TV is 40", upgrading to blu-ray is probably a waste of money.
The issue here is that the library director just gave away other people's private information, without even blinking an eye. What really bothers me, is that this being a public library, shouldn't all the computers wipe their caches/logs between users? While it's stupid to use a public library computer to shop eBay, I imagine a lot of people will be checking their mail on them. The FBI should have no reason to be looking on those computers, because there should be nothing on them. If they can recover useful information from these computers, then who's to say that any two-bit hacker can't come in and access that same information when the attendants aren't looking?
I also wonder if they're going to do a fresh OS install when they get the computers back. I guess it doesn't matter; I heard the FBI only uses hardware keyloggers anyway.
Another $25k per car (that's what, 2/3 the cost of the car itself?) out of the citizen's pockets so they can feel even less safe driving. And of course no one is going to complain.
It's not just the privacy violations that are an issue. I can leave all my important data at home and just take a blank laptop w/ an OS with me when I go out of the country, but they can still take it, along with my ipod, digital camera, and even cellphone, and keep them indefinitely, which is no different from petty theft, except that it's theft of a few thousand dollars worth of electronics. Is this because they can't afford beepers and computers for their employees? You've already got my lunch money, now you want my toys, too?!?
marketing is the only "reliable" driving force left standing
I have never been one of those "I only listen to Indie music" douchebags, but considering that all the crap that clearchannel/mtv/xm/whatever else throws at you is the same old same old, uncreative waste from no-talent assclowns, I have taken a much better liking to indie music. I think the reason there is so much undiscovered talent out there is because of the way Big Music works: pick a group they you is good, throw a shitload of money into hyping them up, then charge people $20 per CD. The reason this results in very few new artists getting air time is because the RIAA can't afford to overhype every band they sign, or even sign every band they think is good. People think that merely having talent is all it takes to make a name for yourself, which is the primary reason why they automatically assume indie music sucks (that, and a lot of it actually does).
Granted, I hate dumb singing whores as much as everyone else, but these "reliable" driving forces are more and more becoming the source of these dumb singing whores.
The difference between a drunk driver and a stoned driver is, that while a drunk driver will plow through a stop sign without even slowing down, a stoned driver will stop and wait for it to turn green:)
Honestly, though, I have a lot of frinds who drive stoned and I really can't tell the difference when riding with them. I think your friend who fell asleep at the wheel must have had something else with his weed, because I've never seen someone pass out from smoking weed.
If people want to take drugs, and ruin their lives
The only reason pot has ever ruined a life is because the Federal Government made it illegal and started arresting people for it. You have obviously been brainwashed by the government and I wish you would stop spreading their propaganda on/.
95% of computer users don't understand them. At all. That's the way the computer industry is, and most people just accept it. Sure, we encourage them to learn, but it doesn't mean they want to or have to. Just like the majority of geeks don't want to have to learn how to change their own oil or patch a hole in sheetrock (I think?), most computer users don't want to have to learn about the system in order to use it. They just want it to work, and when it doesn't, it's easier for them to pay someone else to fix it. Aunt Mildred doesn't care what OS she's using, she has one specific task she wants to do and that's all she cares about. If she has to learn the specifics of her hardware and OS to make it work then it's not worth her time.
Of course the teenager working at Best Buy probably didn't think to ask her if she was running Linux, hell, he probably didn't even know what it was. Try to see it from her point of view.
Thanks, that was an interesting read. But it still states that causality is not violated. The virtual photons may have wave functions that extend outside of the light cone, but that doesn't mean a virtual particle or any kind of information at all travels FTL. When the effects of many interactions are aggregated, we see that no superliminal interactions actually occured, despite the apparent probability that they could have. The particle actually states that "Quantum field theory is supposed to properly apply special relativity to quantum mechanics." My mention of classical mechanics was referring specifically to relativity.
Of course we will understand them better. I don't know why you would think we couldn't. And I seriously doubt we would ever come to the conclusion that our model of the atom is sufficient or complete. I know that quantum mechanics have their own set of rules, but there are some rules that they both seem to follow, such as E=MC^2. Look at the levels of energy the LHC will pump into a few thousand protons, and they will still only accelerate to the sub-light speeds predicted by classical physics. Nor have electrons been observed to travel FTL, aside from "curious" effects such as entanglement and tunnelling, which I believe appear due to the particles' wave-like nature (meaning they CAN exist in more than one place at the same time). Of course IANAQP but I am pretty damn sure electrons have never been observed to actually travel faster than C. If I am wrong, please provide source as I would really like to read about that.
I personally think this is more humane than a life sentence in prison. In any case, it's a political decision not a religious one.
firebombing medical clinics
I actually don't have an argument for this. All I know is the Christian religion teaches people not to kill, etc (despite what the Catholic Church may have done in the past) while Islam teaches that killing Christians racks up points in heaven.
See Heisenberg. The wavelength of the particle in question is probably as large or larger than the distances it is supposed to jump. Although electrons are said to be point particles, they are also waves and the exact location of this "point" cannot be resolved, only the probability that it is at a certain point. Electrons exhibit strange behavior but eventually after we begin to understand them better I believe we will find that they do conform to the same physical laws as macroscopic objects.
If aliens are able to break the laws of physics to come here, then I'm sure they can break the laws of physics to produce some kind of material (like the "magic metal" from Roswell) that doesn't vaporize in a nuclear detonation. Of course, in this case they wouldn't be breaking the laws of physics, it would just mean that our interpretation of the laws is wrong. One thing that always did bother me, though, is how their fragile little alien bodies can withstand the G-forces involved in the cool aerial stunts people always claim to see them do.
And Vux, I don't think comparing an F-22 to a trebuchet would be anything like comparing the weapons of an interstellar-travelling species to those of an F-22. Then again, maybe they don't even have weapons. Maybe their civ has been peaceful for so many thousands of years that weapons aren't even a part of their thinking anymore? But doubtful, if they're a sexually-reproducing organic species on a planet with various other organic lifeforms that may want to eat them.
Slashdot Mirror
I think everyone having anonymity is better than no one having it. I think anonymous Swiss accounts are a great idea. Not that I need one personally, but what if I have a (relatively) large sum of money I want to hide from my wife? And I'm aware that scammers, spammers, identity thieves, etc are out there, and I'm fine with that, because I'm careful. Whereas if the government further invades our privacy, there will be no less scammers, spammers, etc, just a lot more paranoia. I don't see how this benefits anyone, us paying the government to snoop on our selves?
Headers are often ceramic, although I don't know how much that's actually worth.
Humans already create life on a daily basis (although many of them shouldn't). This is (or will be) just a different form of life. It doesn't answer any questions about anything though, IMO. It doesn't prove tha God exists or doesn't exist. It doesn't prove that life could have or did occur by random chance. All it proves is that some guy in a laboratory can create lipids, polypeptides, and nucleotides, and hope they all come together properly and start reproducing and eventually take over the earth (isn't that every scientist's dream? To create an unstoppable super-race that takes over the world?) I think he is just trying to beat CERN to worldwide destruction.
It's not like either of those.
It's like giving out free copies of the trophy (although made of a cheaper material), so that people stop competing for the trophy, and advertisers stop wanting to pay for the competition because there are so few people competing or spectating.
However, it doesn't work like that. It's been shown that people continue to compete for the trophy, and spectators still come to watch, and the advertisers still get their money (still speaking metaphorically here). Those who take the replica trophies are the ones who would neither compete nor spectate anyway.
Wasn't that Paul Harvey?
Yeah that's exactly what women look for in a man: intelligence.
Who needs those expensive kits and instructions?
Two words: POTATO LAUNCHER!!!
We would take the MRE "microwaves" apart, and mix the metal reactant (I think it was magnesium, or maybe some kind of sodium mixture) in a 2-liter coke bottle. It would go boom real loud! Also, I recently heard that mixing Clorox and brake fluid makes a lot of smoke. I don't know if that's true but I'm gonna try it when I get home!
Don't forget Eamon!
I recently bought a 1080p, 61" DLP and a PS3 and I have to say, the HD quality on blu-ray is definitely appreciable. Even with Samsung's DNIE technology, which increases DVD image quality a lot, I still find myself wishing I had all my DVDs upgraded to blu-ray. While paying $30 for most movies seems ridiculous, for movies that would be nothing without the CG (such as Transformers) the extra $15 is worth it.
The high price of blu-ray is still just paying for the research that went in to it, and over the next few years I think the price will fall considerably. But if your TV is 40", upgrading to blu-ray is probably a waste of money.
mod parent up.
The issue here is that the library director just gave away other people's private information, without even blinking an eye. What really bothers me, is that this being a public library, shouldn't all the computers wipe their caches/logs between users? While it's stupid to use a public library computer to shop eBay, I imagine a lot of people will be checking their mail on them. The FBI should have no reason to be looking on those computers, because there should be nothing on them. If they can recover useful information from these computers, then who's to say that any two-bit hacker can't come in and access that same information when the attendants aren't looking?
I also wonder if they're going to do a fresh OS install when they get the computers back. I guess it doesn't matter; I heard the FBI only uses hardware keyloggers anyway.
Godwin's law on the first post!
Another $25k per car (that's what, 2/3 the cost of the car itself?) out of the citizen's pockets so they can feel even less safe driving. And of course no one is going to complain.
No, but they shouldn't mod down something they don't understand.
It's not just the privacy violations that are an issue. I can leave all my important data at home and just take a blank laptop w/ an OS with me when I go out of the country, but they can still take it, along with my ipod, digital camera, and even cellphone, and keep them indefinitely, which is no different from petty theft, except that it's theft of a few thousand dollars worth of electronics. Is this because they can't afford beepers and computers for their employees? You've already got my lunch money, now you want my toys, too?!?
When did they start making V-4's?
marketing is the only "reliable" driving force left standing
I have never been one of those "I only listen to Indie music" douchebags, but considering that all the crap that clearchannel/mtv/xm/whatever else throws at you is the same old same old, uncreative waste from no-talent assclowns, I have taken a much better liking to indie music. I think the reason there is so much undiscovered talent out there is because of the way Big Music works: pick a group they you is good, throw a shitload of money into hyping them up, then charge people $20 per CD. The reason this results in very few new artists getting air time is because the RIAA can't afford to overhype every band they sign, or even sign every band they think is good. People think that merely having talent is all it takes to make a name for yourself, which is the primary reason why they automatically assume indie music sucks (that, and a lot of it actually does).
Granted, I hate dumb singing whores as much as everyone else, but these "reliable" driving forces are more and more becoming the source of these dumb singing whores.
The difference between a drunk driver and a stoned driver is, that while a drunk driver will plow through a stop sign without even slowing down, a stoned driver will stop and wait for it to turn green :)
Honestly, though, I have a lot of frinds who drive stoned and I really can't tell the difference when riding with them. I think your friend who fell asleep at the wheel must have had something else with his weed, because I've never seen someone pass out from smoking weed.
If people want to take drugs, and ruin their lives
The only reason pot has ever ruined a life is because the Federal Government made it illegal and started arresting people for it. You have obviously been brainwashed by the government and I wish you would stop spreading their propaganda on /.
95% of computer users don't understand them. At all. That's the way the computer industry is, and most people just accept it. Sure, we encourage them to learn, but it doesn't mean they want to or have to. Just like the majority of geeks don't want to have to learn how to change their own oil or patch a hole in sheetrock (I think?), most computer users don't want to have to learn about the system in order to use it. They just want it to work, and when it doesn't, it's easier for them to pay someone else to fix it. Aunt Mildred doesn't care what OS she's using, she has one specific task she wants to do and that's all she cares about. If she has to learn the specifics of her hardware and OS to make it work then it's not worth her time.
Of course the teenager working at Best Buy probably didn't think to ask her if she was running Linux, hell, he probably didn't even know what it was. Try to see it from her point of view.
Thanks, that was an interesting read. But it still states that causality is not violated. The virtual photons may have wave functions that extend outside of the light cone, but that doesn't mean a virtual particle or any kind of information at all travels FTL. When the effects of many interactions are aggregated, we see that no superliminal interactions actually occured, despite the apparent probability that they could have. The particle actually states that "Quantum field theory is supposed to properly apply special relativity to quantum mechanics." My mention of classical mechanics was referring specifically to relativity.
QP is a strange world. Cheers.
Of course we will understand them better. I don't know why you would think we couldn't. And I seriously doubt we would ever come to the conclusion that our model of the atom is sufficient or complete. I know that quantum mechanics have their own set of rules, but there are some rules that they both seem to follow, such as E=MC^2. Look at the levels of energy the LHC will pump into a few thousand protons, and they will still only accelerate to the sub-light speeds predicted by classical physics. Nor have electrons been observed to travel FTL, aside from "curious" effects such as entanglement and tunnelling, which I believe appear due to the particles' wave-like nature (meaning they CAN exist in more than one place at the same time). Of course IANAQP but I am pretty damn sure electrons have never been observed to actually travel faster than C. If I am wrong, please provide source as I would really like to read about that.
dropping bombs on buildings from planes
But in the name of politics, not religion.
Lethal Injections
I personally think this is more humane than a life sentence in prison. In any case, it's a political decision not a religious one.
firebombing medical clinics
I actually don't have an argument for this. All I know is the Christian religion teaches people not to kill, etc (despite what the Catholic Church may have done in the past) while Islam teaches that killing Christians racks up points in heaven.
See Heisenberg. The wavelength of the particle in question is probably as large or larger than the distances it is supposed to jump. Although electrons are said to be point particles, they are also waves and the exact location of this "point" cannot be resolved, only the probability that it is at a certain point. Electrons exhibit strange behavior but eventually after we begin to understand them better I believe we will find that they do conform to the same physical laws as macroscopic objects.
If aliens are able to break the laws of physics to come here, then I'm sure they can break the laws of physics to produce some kind of material (like the "magic metal" from Roswell) that doesn't vaporize in a nuclear detonation. Of course, in this case they wouldn't be breaking the laws of physics, it would just mean that our interpretation of the laws is wrong. One thing that always did bother me, though, is how their fragile little alien bodies can withstand the G-forces involved in the cool aerial stunts people always claim to see them do.
And Vux, I don't think comparing an F-22 to a trebuchet would be anything like comparing the weapons of an interstellar-travelling species to those of an F-22. Then again, maybe they don't even have weapons. Maybe their civ has been peaceful for so many thousands of years that weapons aren't even a part of their thinking anymore? But doubtful, if they're a sexually-reproducing organic species on a planet with various other organic lifeforms that may want to eat them.