Nice to see that the US doesn't have a monopoly on loony government agencies and legislation...that's obviously in the public domain.
No, I'm afraid we've got a stranglehold on that market too... They've obtained a licensed copy of USLGAL (United States Loony Government Agencies and Legislation) from us a while back. Hate to burst your bubble. It's very expensive, the EULA is a bitch, and it requires use of a dongle whose governor is named Jeb.//Our country has a phallus and France is our whore, do the math!//Pay no attention to that man behind the curtain!
Heh, I'm downloading Facade now, looks interesting. I imagine, as a game concept, yours might actually work pretty well if done right, sort of like Sims, but I wouldn't know since I've never pl;ayed it. It'd be more personal I gather.
I can see my version now, though: "Sim Verbal Assault: The #1 game for boot camp sergeants, SIR?!" Oh yeah!
No combat. Conflict has to be handled in other ways (assuming there's conflict).
Yes, I agree, conflict should be addressed by no more than a heated discourse at afternoon tea. There shall be no throwing of crumpets, and absolutely no elbows on the table! The deadliest attack will be a gaze of consternation, such to cause the victim mild intestinal discomfort!
Passive aggressive people the world over will flock to your game!
I gotta admit, that's one hardcore rally, especially driving a left hand car on the left hand roads. That's gotta be weird. I've got to try this before I die!
Yeah, you can get a decent car far for suprisingly cheap, if you're a) good at judging what could go wrong soon b) mechanically inclined (or are friends with someone who is, and also likes your company... and/or beer) c) you really don't care what you're driving. Of course, if you do care what you drive, you can probably hold out for a good deal. It's a good idea to get on the net and try and find what parts tend to fail at what mileages for whatever make and model you're looking at. The Mexican immigrants in my area know this all too well, but it's a goddamned shame that they insist on spacing their wheels out past the fenders, and putting those shiny cowboy hats and scorpions on their rear windshield!
I guess I'm fortunate that I know where my dad's Snap-On tool boxes are, and that I'm also not afraid to turn a wrench, mix bondo and spray paint, or do whatever else--or at least try.
Seriously, though, if one's not afraid of a little work and a little bit of learning (and the cost of a Hayne's manual), there are plenty of cars out there--and many a might prettier (and faster) than a '79 Corolla. There's even plenty of former luxury and sport cars out there to be had at a reasonable price. After a bit of a freshening up, they're good to go. Too bad the parts are usually expensive--but it's a good reason to make friends at a salvage yard, you know, in case one ever needed a reason:D
Maybe you aught to do like I have to do sometimes, doing what comes naturally to an introvert, having a smile and a little chuckle while everyone else wonders what's so funny because they probably wouldn't get it anyhow. If it's especially funny, they'll probably end up laughing with or at you because of your incessant giggling, and it's all good--or they'll think you're a sick freak and watch you very carefully around their kids.
Yeah, I probably should have stopped like a few sentences ago, but so what... I'm a recovering introvert.
The problem (well, the biggest one as I see it) with the republican party, is that there is no middle anymore, anywhere. There is no right or left. What we have are socialist and even more socialist. I'll leave it as an excercise for the reader to determine which is which.
Get a portable 2.5" USB2/Firewire enclosure, there are even some with both interfaces. That's what I did when I had a 40GB drive sitting around gathering dust. I have a USB2 enclosure, which was 30 buckaroos, and apparently it draws so little power that it dosen't even need the wall wart that it came with. Bonus. The only problem is that it's sorta noisy, but it's relatively fast. It's great for moving big files around, and it's quicker and more cost effective than burning to DVD for most things.
Along with a knoppix CD, it's also most handy when some relatives' computer dies for some mysterious reason.:) Then again, I sometimes I wish my relatives had never met a computer.:(
Sorry for getting back so late, I've been gone like I said in a previous post...
I must say, however: that was a very nice waltz around the point. You could be the intellectual equivalent of Muhammad Ali. Skillfully done indeed.
I guess it all revolves entirely around exactly how you define religion, faith, and spirituality. To me, religion and spirituality are like bread. Religion is a loaf of bread in a plastic bag, mass-produced by machines, with minimal human input. There are a huge variety of breads on the shelf at the supermarket, everything from plain white bread, and sourdough, Jewish rye, to whole wheat, pumpernickel, and even bread with raisins and cinnamon baked right inside, and they come in all shapes and sizes! Hot damn. I think I associate the raisin-cinnamon bread to Scientology. It sounds good going in, but all of those good ingredients never add up, and the raisins are kinda creepy, just like thetans and Tom Cruise. Short bastard. Excuse me for the digression... The breads are consistent in quality, and the plastic bag keeps everything fresh so you can take a slice every now and then to make some toast, or perhaps a sandwich.
Some people believe that you have to open the plastic bag in a certain way to get at the grainy goodness inside, which necessarily, are the individually sliced pieces of preserved spirituality. They believe this so fervently that entire families have been opening the plastic bags the exact same manner for generations. In fact, they go to bag opening school every week so they learn to open the bag in such a way to cause minimal damage to the bag! They have faith that if they follow these instructions in at least a general way, they can preserve the continence of their plastic bag, and therefore keep their loaf moist until they get the chance to go to the market next week, lest they end up with croutons, which, incidentally, are great for soups and salads; but they like PB&Js, and cinnamon toast, not potato soup or Caesar salad!
And then comes along Jesus, except, to me, he's pitching homemade bread, fresh from the oven. It's the kind of heavenly, doughy bread that you could just imagine crawling into to take a good nap. It's tastier, and probably has better nutritional value than the stuff available at the market. It's really amazing, drewl-inducing stuff. Best of all: he gives you the recipe, so you can cruise down to the local agora and grab up the commonly available ingredients, and then you can easily create a fantastic Martha Stuart-esque loaf of Jesus-bread at home, for practically nothing, all it takes is a bit of work. That's the enlightenment part, I think. To be Christian is to aspire to the bread baking mastery incarnate, and disincarnate, that is Jesus, is it not? He's not the sort of masterbaker to lord his culinary awesomeness over us. He wants everyone to be as good as him in the kitchen; otherwise, what is the point!
The institutional bread makers then see what an amazing thing Jesus had going on, and they say, "Goddamnit, we can do that too, but we'll make it up so that people don't need to waste their time with baking and ovens and all that crap... And we'll make a profit doing it!" The rest is a bloody history of bland, mass-produced bread that rolls eagerly between thumb and forefinger into hard, tasteless pearls of spirituality. Personally, I think Jesus would be disappointed, particularly with the missionary method of opening the bag.
Sorry to be getting back to all these wonderful people who thought I was trolling (wasn't even trying, and I wasn't even being particularly anti-religious for that matter, and for the most part I couldn't care less about what people chose to do with their time as long as they keep it out of public office), but since I've been out of country for the last ten days, I felt the need to break my/. habit. Ohhh. Cool mentholated slashdot!
Playing WoW 40 hours a week is a purely selfish activity.
You see, you're begging the question. Maybe it is, maybe it isn't, who cares? What you're doing is assuming that the human races' interest in spirituality is not purely selfish, and therefore that religious activity is more inherently "pure" and deserving of pursuit than other activities, and I'd call that a logical fallacy. Why do we do anything? Because we desire some outcome. Christians want to live with Jesus in the afterlife--or at least they desire to not burn in hell. Bhuddists want their next incarnation to have less suffering, and ultimately desire to join Bhuddah in enlightenment. Muslims want their 72 virgins, the ancient Pharoahs wanted to become gods, and so on.
My point was that it is possible to be addicted to church as an activity and lifestyle, as much as any other activity or lifestyle. Is it possible to be addicted to doing good--to go as far as martyrizing your time, money, family and life to get a physical/spiritual high? Yeah, I'd argue it. Maybe the reaction one receives from helping others is chemical, or maybe becaue god above is shining down happy rays of sunlight, who knows, it dosen't really matter. However, there are/have been people who get off on giving everything away because they like the feeling, and I'd say that's different from occasionally doing good for the sake of improving the lives of others.
Is joining a monastary any more or less worthwhile--or antisocial for that matter--than gorging on Doritos and playing WoW with your antisocial fellows over the internet? That's the question for the ages, isn't it?
As far as if I know people who attend mega-churches, and if they behave literally as giant flock of sheep? I can say unequivocally that I DO have experience in this area, despite being a definitively non-religious person. One of my cousins was a minister at an evangelical church here in Colorado; he moved to Texas not too long ago, and is now a minister at one of the mega-churches down there. They do the tele-evangelical thing, and have a setup for some crazy number of people. It's literally a stadium, and they have capacity for some 50,000+ people, and every service is full. He's a nice guy, and he's really pulling it in now: $100,000+ yearly. It's basically like I described in my previous post. It's a hub for thousands of people's daily lives. They've got a mini-mall, day care and all kinds of stuff, and I'm sure that they could use the services of an entire WalMart just to satisfy their followers.
I attended some of his services when he was here, despite my dread of it... And it's really somewhat of a mystery how he ended up there, because none of my family is particularly religious, however spiritual we tend to be. The church told the followers how to vote, and were into the micro management of the followers' lives, not unlike some other sects like the Jehovas' Witnesses. At the time, I believe most of the followers would not question anything short of the command to jump off a bridge.
Suffice it to say that I think that Jesus would not be especially pleased.
That's the biggest crock of shit statement that I've ever heard. If you're very religious, then your church/instution owns your ass, and most likely for the duration of your life. And, of course, they expect you to pitch in with your time and money. Then, your thoughts should be occupied with the theology constantly, and how to progress further in it. Thats not too much different than how I lusted after some of the rarer unique items in Diablo2. I even had a dream about it, pathetic, yes, but regardless I'm sure I was hooked in a way.
You can go and look at some of the mega churches that are springing up around the US. They're a self-contained lifestyle, not entirely unlike those Arcologies units you could get in SimCity. Every aspect of many of these people's lives revolves around this giant metal and glass dispenser of salvation, but that's not so different than it has been in the past, is it? Rip one of these people out of their lifestyle, and they're going to suffer!
There is no such thing as a highly religious person that goes to church only once a week, and dosen't think about it between those periods. Such a person is a Homer Simpson, he goes mostly because EVERYONE else would think that much worse of him if he didn't. Especially Jebus. Of course, there are spiritual people who reject the institution, but not necessairly the enlightenment. Being religious is as much about being married to the institution as it is about following the faith, as I see it.
Is it a suprise that it was easy to follow? Sure, it can be difficult when reading the plays, because they were obviously not meant to be read. They were meant to acted on stage, which by all accounts, was usually surrounded by chaos... Poor people and beer. One couldn't hope for better conditions! I'm sure it was difficult enough, but it still brought in the crowds...
Oh, I've seen prints that rival those examples they have in the store, and with much older photo printers, using regular pigment based OEM inks, and regular inkjet photo paper. Indeed, I've made some myself!
Epson's modern UltraChrome K3 inkjets, for example, use the *exact* same ink set, with the same gamut as their wide-format professional series. I've seen images produced with the older generation models that would blow your mind. Of course, dye inks are going to generally produce a wider color gamut, but they fade, and fast. Epson's pigments are rated to last over a hundred years before fading noticeably, and they have an excellent gamut. I hear the UltraChrome K3 inks do superbly with black levels, and that's hugely important!
The trick is, to get great prints, you've got to be a friend of Photoshop, understand what a histogram is telling you, know how to adjust black and white points, know how to use "levels" and "curves", know how to adjust gamma and contrast, and further how to tune individual areas of an image, at the very least. It's imperative to understand what color space does for your images. The sRGB JPEG that comes straight from the average digital camera simply does not cut it if your images are contrasty, or have a ***wide*** range of vibrant colors. Some DSLRs support Adobe RGB 1998 color space for JPEG, and this is the way to go, but people just don't know. Of course, it's best to shoot in RAW if possible... Better color range, plus you have a better chance to fiddle with exposure.
It also helps GREATLY to have and use color management hardware and software to profile your monitor, at the very least. It makes all the difference in the world, but average people just are not going to go through the effort, partly because they don't know better, and partly because they're just printing a picture of their kid to put on the fridge, or give to Aunt Jane. However, if they saw what someone who knows better could do to their print, they might be inclined to learn!
Naturally, the images printed as examples are designed to show off what the printer can do. To begin with, they have wide variations in color, they have good contrast, and are sharp as a tack--everything to make the would-be buyer and printer drewl with envy. The images were likely made with professional cameras, lenses and other equipment, by someone who knows how to use them effectively... Then they were likely edited to near perfection. Adding all of that up, should one expect that grandma's prints would look like the examples? Of course not... But are the printers capable? Yes, absolutely!
And therein lies the problem. Software can't automatically do these things, and it will never do them to the capacity that an experienced human can. It's going to be above the head of the average person to go about doing these things, because the learning curve is steep, and they just want to print photos to hang on the fridge, after all. And there's nothing wrong with that.
You're absolutely correct, as far as I can see. Diesel smoke is influenced by a) the air-fuel ratio b) the timing of the injection of fuel into the cylinder. Since diesel engines typically rarely run at stoichiometric (where some smoke could result) ratio for very long, I don't see the hydrogen having a smoke reducing/power+efficiency increasing ability as a result of being used purely as a fuel.
The thing is, after the diesel is injected into the cylinder, there is a sort of lag in the combustion of the fuel, because of oxygen availability and proximity. It's not instantaneous, just like gasoline in an engine, it takes time for the flame to propagate in the cylinder, however short that time is. Obviously, more efficiency is obtained when the flame is contained going at full blast for the entire power stroke, but since there is a lag in combustion, the fuel has to be injected before the cylinder reaches top dead center on the power stroke. Under full load conditions, the combustion lag is longer because the increased fuel, but similar fuel/air proximity. This results in unburnt fuel getting exhausted, resulting in higher exhaust gas temperatures, and typically more boost if there is a turbocharger present--the unburnt fuel is being combusted in the manifold, just before the turbo. It's not obvious, but in the diesel truck tuning industry, this is actually desirable--it increases efficiency and performance because that fuel is still being utilized--to increase boost pressure (increasing the effective compression ratio and therefore efficiency) and allow for even more fuel to be injected, but I'm sure it causes more stress on the engine's materials.
Consumer trucks can already have propane injection installed as aftermarket modifications. Propane is injected into the intake manifold. It's just a guess, I'm not a diesel guy, but I know a bit about it... I'd guess the result of doing so is to effectively decrease the ignition lag of the diesel fuel itself, thereby allowing injection timings nearer TDC... Thus giving the fuel more time to completely burn in the power stroke, increasing efficiency, power, and reducing particulate emissions--but only at high load conditions. If any of that makes any sense, particularly to a non-gearhead, I'd be surprised, but oh well.
If this is the case, they're obviously touting hydrogen because "everyone" knows hydrogen is "green", and propane is not, you know, even though it's probably more efficient and cheaper to just use propane.
Yeah, I thought Canon made their own CCDs. At least they're not at Sony's mercy.
Here's a little bit about the sony LCD though: this post at dpreview I happened upon this after I fudged up the LCD cover on my 20D. It's inexpensive and easy to fix, and there's a little sony logo just under the Canon logo. I should've taken a picture! There's probably more parts on the camera that were sourced than I'd ever care to know. But it's interesting anyway.
Oh, this goddamned stupid argument again. So, if you're not committing crimes, why don't we stick a camera up your ass so you can have a perpetual colonsocopy? Obviously, it would be good for your health, no? It could have embedded GPS, and remote monitoring so in the event that you develop a polyp the doctors can come and tear you out of your mistress' bed and take that sucker out!
Maybe some of us don't like living under a microscope, for any reason? Could increase your safety in a way significantly relative to the amount of privacy (every)one gives up? I sincerely doubt it.
I'll take my chances with the fucking speeders and terrorists, thanks.
They also at least some LCD screens on Canon products. I know my 20D has one, I'd guess most/other models do also. That's kinda' creepy, I hate Sony but I like Canon. It's sorta' like being an anti-semetic Jew. Damnit!
It's just too bad those damned langoliers will eat it up again tonight.
That's really funny that you happened to reminded me of this, and it's been quite a loooong time ago... We were at Dulles Int. Airport waiting for a flight (I think), and none other than Stephen King looks over and says "Isn't it a nice day to fly?", or something like that. I was just a little dude, but I was a fan. It's been such a long time ago, but I remember that it was a quote from one One Past Midnight, I'd have to look it up again. It was just after he lost all the weight I think. What a weird but cool guy.
I imagine he gets quite a kick out of it when he does that:D Lord knows he has the material!
Absolutely, I've seen largish pieces of concrete, tires and whatnot do exactly as you describe. The relative velocity appears to increase logarithmically after the first bounce. Scary stuff. The worst I've seen: a car creamed by an exploding brake drum on a dirt-hauling trailer. That fate should be reserved for child molesters and corrupt representatives. Always stay FAR, FAR away from those whenever possible, and get by as quick as possible.
The second worst I've seen was a tractor-trailer hitting the concrete barricade on the opposite side of the freeway. That whole thing cruised across my side of the interstate at least 60mph and just in front of me. There was another piece that went behind me, it creamed another car, then there was a pile up because of it! Fortunately nobody was killed. I've had all kinds of close calls on the highway; I must be a magnet, but a relatively lucky one.
Hah, I live just a few blocks down the street from a prominent jesuit university, and there are many non-Catholic, and indeed many non-Christian students. I use their library, it's close, and they're even kind enough to give people in the neighborhood library cards. Aside from a (very) few crucifixes and virgin marys around inside, and some nice stained glass here and there, you'd never know if you didn't go there for theological studies--because they make it a point to not bring faith into the sciences. They've apparently learned their lesson since Galileo's time.
You pay a premium price to go attend--two or three times as much as one pays at the most sought-after (and therefore expensive) state sponsored university. It's a good education, no doubt, their math department is especially well repudiated, but I doubt it's much better than one can get for lots less elsewhere. So, yeah, do the math. They're more than happy to take the money from a non-Catholic to grow their school. The only problem is their enrollment is pretty much at capacity year after year. Maybe they can do all the grandparent asks of, I have no idea, but it would look pretty bad regardless.
Damn, you caught me with my penis down. Errr. Yes, I meant my mother. FUCK! Pants, damnit, P-E-N-I-S!! Yeah, anyway.... Goddamned four letter acronyms and five letter penii.
That sounds like a fair chunk of change, but it's really not. In real terms of what the city could do with that money: pave 30 feet of two lane road (using immigrant labor), pay a few maintaince guys for a year (and their pensions), pay a newish DA for a year, provide a decent computer lab... It's a slap on the hand, and in the broad scope of things, almost insignifigant. At least they'll be a little more hesitant to grab out of the Civil Liberties cookie jar... Maybe.
On the bright side, because of the UCLA, they've just paid for his higher education and maybe a decent car--depending on what he wants to study. He'll make more buckaroos and get taxed for it, and they'll have it back in 30 years or so, assuming he dosen't move. And that's priceless, I think.
No, it's more like a leasing company getting really bent out of shape if you've caused excess wear and damage on their car during the period of the lease--and they'll make you pay big time, or your credit is going in the dumper.
Comercially, it has to be in the ISPs best interest to make their network as virus free as possible. Do I think it's unreasonable for an ISP to disconnect wormed computers? Not at all, especially if it's outlined in the terms of service! Should the government be involved? No. (note I usually vote democrat, yet think we do not need to government to hold our hands) Worm free ISPs will be more profitable and more desireable by the consumer. The economy will sort it, and automatically.
Wow, that's really too bad. Personally, and this is just me, but I'm thinking of finding an old mid 60's-70's Porsche 911, just to slap a HEMI sticker on it, so I can then drive around and shout out "GOT HEMI?!" at all the Hemi-less loosers! Maybe I'll get lucky and stumble upon one of the '76 3.0Ls that some elderly ex-lawyer has in his garage. Oh yes. It's mine, precious.
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Nice to see that the US doesn't have a monopoly on loony government agencies and legislation...that's obviously in the public domain.
//Our country has a phallus and France is our whore, do the math! //Pay no attention to that man behind the curtain!
No, I'm afraid we've got a stranglehold on that market too... They've obtained a licensed copy of USLGAL (United States Loony Government Agencies and Legislation) from us a while back. Hate to burst your bubble. It's very expensive, the EULA is a bitch, and it requires use of a dongle whose governor is named Jeb.
Heh, I'm downloading Facade now, looks interesting. I imagine, as a game concept, yours might actually work pretty well if done right, sort of like Sims, but I wouldn't know since I've never pl;ayed it. It'd be more personal I gather.
I can see my version now, though: "Sim Verbal Assault: The #1 game for boot camp sergeants, SIR?!" Oh yeah!
No combat. Conflict has to be handled in other ways (assuming there's conflict).
Yes, I agree, conflict should be addressed by no more than a heated discourse at afternoon tea. There shall be no throwing of crumpets, and absolutely no elbows on the table! The deadliest attack will be a gaze of consternation, such to cause the victim mild intestinal discomfort!
Passive aggressive people the world over will flock to your game!
I gotta admit, that's one hardcore rally, especially driving a left hand car on the left hand roads. That's gotta be weird. I've got to try this before I die!
Yeah, you can get a decent car far for suprisingly cheap, if you're a) good at judging what could go wrong soon b) mechanically inclined (or are friends with someone who is, and also likes your company... and/or beer) c) you really don't care what you're driving. Of course, if you do care what you drive, you can probably hold out for a good deal. It's a good idea to get on the net and try and find what parts tend to fail at what mileages for whatever make and model you're looking at. The Mexican immigrants in my area know this all too well, but it's a goddamned shame that they insist on spacing their wheels out past the fenders, and putting those shiny cowboy hats and scorpions on their rear windshield!
:D
I guess I'm fortunate that I know where my dad's Snap-On tool boxes are, and that I'm also not afraid to turn a wrench, mix bondo and spray paint, or do whatever else--or at least try.
Seriously, though, if one's not afraid of a little work and a little bit of learning (and the cost of a Hayne's manual), there are plenty of cars out there--and many a might prettier (and faster) than a '79 Corolla. There's even plenty of former luxury and sport cars out there to be had at a reasonable price. After a bit of a freshening up, they're good to go. Too bad the parts are usually expensive--but it's a good reason to make friends at a salvage yard, you know, in case one ever needed a reason
Maybe you aught to do like I have to do sometimes, doing what comes naturally to an introvert, having a smile and a little chuckle while everyone else wonders what's so funny because they probably wouldn't get it anyhow. If it's especially funny, they'll probably end up laughing with or at you because of your incessant giggling, and it's all good--or they'll think you're a sick freak and watch you very carefully around their kids.
Yeah, I probably should have stopped like a few sentences ago, but so what... I'm a recovering introvert.
The problem (well, the biggest one as I see it) with the republican party, is that there is no middle anymore, anywhere. There is no right or left. What we have are socialist and even more socialist. I'll leave it as an excercise for the reader to determine which is which.
Get a portable 2.5" USB2/Firewire enclosure, there are even some with both interfaces. That's what I did when I had a 40GB drive sitting around gathering dust. I have a USB2 enclosure, which was 30 buckaroos, and apparently it draws so little power that it dosen't even need the wall wart that it came with. Bonus. The only problem is that it's sorta noisy, but it's relatively fast. It's great for moving big files around, and it's quicker and more cost effective than burning to DVD for most things.
:) Then again, I sometimes I wish my relatives had never met a computer. :(
Along with a knoppix CD, it's also most handy when some relatives' computer dies for some mysterious reason.
Sorry for getting back so late, I've been gone like I said in a previous post...
I must say, however: that was a very nice waltz around the point. You could be the intellectual equivalent of Muhammad Ali. Skillfully done indeed.
I guess it all revolves entirely around exactly how you define religion, faith, and spirituality. To me, religion and spirituality are like bread. Religion is a loaf of bread in a plastic bag, mass-produced by machines, with minimal human input. There are a huge variety of breads on the shelf at the supermarket, everything from plain white bread, and sourdough, Jewish rye, to whole wheat, pumpernickel, and even bread with raisins and cinnamon baked right inside, and they come in all shapes and sizes! Hot damn. I think I associate the raisin-cinnamon bread to Scientology. It sounds good going in, but all of those good ingredients never add up, and the raisins are kinda creepy, just like thetans and Tom Cruise. Short bastard. Excuse me for the digression... The breads are consistent in quality, and the plastic bag keeps everything fresh so you can take a slice every now and then to make some toast, or perhaps a sandwich.
Some people believe that you have to open the plastic bag in a certain way to get at the grainy goodness inside, which necessarily, are the individually sliced pieces of preserved spirituality. They believe this so fervently that entire families have been opening the plastic bags the exact same manner for generations. In fact, they go to bag opening school every week so they learn to open the bag in such a way to cause minimal damage to the bag! They have faith that if they follow these instructions in at least a general way, they can preserve the continence of their plastic bag, and therefore keep their loaf moist until they get the chance to go to the market next week, lest they end up with croutons, which, incidentally, are great for soups and salads; but they like PB&Js, and cinnamon toast, not potato soup or Caesar salad!
And then comes along Jesus, except, to me, he's pitching homemade bread, fresh from the oven. It's the kind of heavenly, doughy bread that you could just imagine crawling into to take a good nap. It's tastier, and probably has better nutritional value than the stuff available at the market. It's really amazing, drewl-inducing stuff. Best of all: he gives you the recipe, so you can cruise down to the local agora and grab up the commonly available ingredients, and then you can easily create a fantastic Martha Stuart-esque loaf of Jesus-bread at home, for practically nothing, all it takes is a bit of work. That's the enlightenment part, I think. To be Christian is to aspire to the bread baking mastery incarnate, and disincarnate, that is Jesus, is it not? He's not the sort of masterbaker to lord his culinary awesomeness over us. He wants everyone to be as good as him in the kitchen; otherwise, what is the point!
The institutional bread makers then see what an amazing thing Jesus had going on, and they say, "Goddamnit, we can do that too, but we'll make it up so that people don't need to waste their time with baking and ovens and all that crap... And we'll make a profit doing it!" The rest is a bloody history of bland, mass-produced bread that rolls eagerly between thumb and forefinger into hard, tasteless pearls of spirituality. Personally, I think Jesus would be disappointed, particularly with the missionary method of opening the bag.
Sorry to be getting back to all these wonderful people who thought I was trolling (wasn't even trying, and I wasn't even being particularly anti-religious for that matter, and for the most part I couldn't care less about what people chose to do with their time as long as they keep it out of public office), but since I've been out of country for the last ten days, I felt the need to break my /. habit. Ohhh. Cool mentholated slashdot!
Playing WoW 40 hours a week is a purely selfish activity.
You see, you're begging the question. Maybe it is, maybe it isn't, who cares? What you're doing is assuming that the human races' interest in spirituality is not purely selfish, and therefore that religious activity is more inherently "pure" and deserving of pursuit than other activities, and I'd call that a logical fallacy. Why do we do anything? Because we desire some outcome. Christians want to live with Jesus in the afterlife--or at least they desire to not burn in hell. Bhuddists want their next incarnation to have less suffering, and ultimately desire to join Bhuddah in enlightenment. Muslims want their 72 virgins, the ancient Pharoahs wanted to become gods, and so on.
My point was that it is possible to be addicted to church as an activity and lifestyle, as much as any other activity or lifestyle. Is it possible to be addicted to doing good--to go as far as martyrizing your time, money, family and life to get a physical/spiritual high? Yeah, I'd argue it. Maybe the reaction one receives from helping others is chemical, or maybe becaue god above is shining down happy rays of sunlight, who knows, it dosen't really matter. However, there are/have been people who get off on giving everything away because they like the feeling, and I'd say that's different from occasionally doing good for the sake of improving the lives of others.
Is joining a monastary any more or less worthwhile--or antisocial for that matter--than gorging on Doritos and playing WoW with your antisocial fellows over the internet? That's the question for the ages, isn't it?
As far as if I know people who attend mega-churches, and if they behave literally as giant flock of sheep? I can say unequivocally that I DO have experience in this area, despite being a definitively non-religious person. One of my cousins was a minister at an evangelical church here in Colorado; he moved to Texas not too long ago, and is now a minister at one of the mega-churches down there. They do the tele-evangelical thing, and have a setup for some crazy number of people. It's literally a stadium, and they have capacity for some 50,000+ people, and every service is full. He's a nice guy, and he's really pulling it in now: $100,000+ yearly. It's basically like I described in my previous post. It's a hub for thousands of people's daily lives. They've got a mini-mall, day care and all kinds of stuff, and I'm sure that they could use the services of an entire WalMart just to satisfy their followers.
I attended some of his services when he was here, despite my dread of it... And it's really somewhat of a mystery how he ended up there, because none of my family is particularly religious, however spiritual we tend to be. The church told the followers how to vote, and were into the micro management of the followers' lives, not unlike some other sects like the Jehovas' Witnesses. At the time, I believe most of the followers would not question anything short of the command to jump off a bridge.
Suffice it to say that I think that Jesus would not be especially pleased.
That's the biggest crock of shit statement that I've ever heard. If you're very religious, then your church/instution owns your ass, and most likely for the duration of your life. And, of course, they expect you to pitch in with your time and money. Then, your thoughts should be occupied with the theology constantly, and how to progress further in it. Thats not too much different than how I lusted after some of the rarer unique items in Diablo2. I even had a dream about it, pathetic, yes, but regardless I'm sure I was hooked in a way.
You can go and look at some of the mega churches that are springing up around the US. They're a self-contained lifestyle, not entirely unlike those Arcologies units you could get in SimCity. Every aspect of many of these people's lives revolves around this giant metal and glass dispenser of salvation, but that's not so different than it has been in the past, is it? Rip one of these people out of their lifestyle, and they're going to suffer!
There is no such thing as a highly religious person that goes to church only once a week, and dosen't think about it between those periods. Such a person is a Homer Simpson, he goes mostly because EVERYONE else would think that much worse of him if he didn't. Especially Jebus. Of course, there are spiritual people who reject the institution, but not necessairly the enlightenment. Being religious is as much about being married to the institution as it is about following the faith, as I see it.
Is it a suprise that it was easy to follow? Sure, it can be difficult when reading the plays, because they were obviously not meant to be read. They were meant to acted on stage, which by all accounts, was usually surrounded by chaos... Poor people and beer. One couldn't hope for better conditions! I'm sure it was difficult enough, but it still brought in the crowds...
Oh, I've seen prints that rival those examples they have in the store, and with much older photo printers, using regular pigment based OEM inks, and regular inkjet photo paper. Indeed, I've made some myself!
Epson's modern UltraChrome K3 inkjets, for example, use the *exact* same ink set, with the same gamut as their wide-format professional series. I've seen images produced with the older generation models that would blow your mind. Of course, dye inks are going to generally produce a wider color gamut, but they fade, and fast. Epson's pigments are rated to last over a hundred years before fading noticeably, and they have an excellent gamut. I hear the UltraChrome K3 inks do superbly with black levels, and that's hugely important!
The trick is, to get great prints, you've got to be a friend of Photoshop, understand what a histogram is telling you, know how to adjust black and white points, know how to use "levels" and "curves", know how to adjust gamma and contrast, and further how to tune individual areas of an image, at the very least. It's imperative to understand what color space does for your images. The sRGB JPEG that comes straight from the average digital camera simply does not cut it if your images are contrasty, or have a ***wide*** range of vibrant colors. Some DSLRs support Adobe RGB 1998 color space for JPEG, and this is the way to go, but people just don't know. Of course, it's best to shoot in RAW if possible... Better color range, plus you have a better chance to fiddle with exposure.
It also helps GREATLY to have and use color management hardware and software to profile your monitor, at the very least. It makes all the difference in the world, but average people just are not going to go through the effort, partly because they don't know better, and partly because they're just printing a picture of their kid to put on the fridge, or give to Aunt Jane. However, if they saw what someone who knows better could do to their print, they might be inclined to learn!
Naturally, the images printed as examples are designed to show off what the printer can do. To begin with, they have wide variations in color, they have good contrast, and are sharp as a tack--everything to make the would-be buyer and printer drewl with envy. The images were likely made with professional cameras, lenses and other equipment, by someone who knows how to use them effectively... Then they were likely edited to near perfection. Adding all of that up, should one expect that grandma's prints would look like the examples? Of course not... But are the printers capable? Yes, absolutely!
And therein lies the problem. Software can't automatically do these things, and it will never do them to the capacity that an experienced human can. It's going to be above the head of the average person to go about doing these things, because the learning curve is steep, and they just want to print photos to hang on the fridge, after all. And there's nothing wrong with that.
You're absolutely correct, as far as I can see. Diesel smoke is influenced by a) the air-fuel ratio b) the timing of the injection of fuel into the cylinder. Since diesel engines typically rarely run at stoichiometric (where some smoke could result) ratio for very long, I don't see the hydrogen having a smoke reducing/power+efficiency increasing ability as a result of being used purely as a fuel.
The thing is, after the diesel is injected into the cylinder, there is a sort of lag in the combustion of the fuel, because of oxygen availability and proximity. It's not instantaneous, just like gasoline in an engine, it takes time for the flame to propagate in the cylinder, however short that time is. Obviously, more efficiency is obtained when the flame is contained going at full blast for the entire power stroke, but since there is a lag in combustion, the fuel has to be injected before the cylinder reaches top dead center on the power stroke. Under full load conditions, the combustion lag is longer because the increased fuel, but similar fuel/air proximity. This results in unburnt fuel getting exhausted, resulting in higher exhaust gas temperatures, and typically more boost if there is a turbocharger present--the unburnt fuel is being combusted in the manifold, just before the turbo. It's not obvious, but in the diesel truck tuning industry, this is actually desirable--it increases efficiency and performance because that fuel is still being utilized--to increase boost pressure (increasing the effective compression ratio and therefore efficiency) and allow for even more fuel to be injected, but I'm sure it causes more stress on the engine's materials.
Consumer trucks can already have propane injection installed as aftermarket modifications. Propane is injected into the intake manifold. It's just a guess, I'm not a diesel guy, but I know a bit about it... I'd guess the result of doing so is to effectively decrease the ignition lag of the diesel fuel itself, thereby allowing injection timings nearer TDC... Thus giving the fuel more time to completely burn in the power stroke, increasing efficiency, power, and reducing particulate emissions--but only at high load conditions. If any of that makes any sense, particularly to a non-gearhead, I'd be surprised, but oh well.
If this is the case, they're obviously touting hydrogen because "everyone" knows hydrogen is "green", and propane is not, you know, even though it's probably more efficient and cheaper to just use propane.
Yeah, I thought Canon made their own CCDs. At least they're not at Sony's mercy.
Here's a little bit about the sony LCD though: this post at dpreview I happened upon this after I fudged up the LCD cover on my 20D. It's inexpensive and easy to fix, and there's a little sony logo just under the Canon logo. I should've taken a picture! There's probably more parts on the camera that were sourced than I'd ever care to know. But it's interesting anyway.
Oh, this goddamned stupid argument again. So, if you're not committing crimes, why don't we stick a camera up your ass so you can have a perpetual colonsocopy? Obviously, it would be good for your health, no? It could have embedded GPS, and remote monitoring so in the event that you develop a polyp the doctors can come and tear you out of your mistress' bed and take that sucker out!
Maybe some of us don't like living under a microscope, for any reason? Could increase your safety in a way significantly relative to the amount of privacy (every)one gives up? I sincerely doubt it.
I'll take my chances with the fucking speeders and terrorists, thanks.
They also at least some LCD screens on Canon products. I know my 20D has one, I'd guess most/other models do also. That's kinda' creepy, I hate Sony but I like Canon. It's sorta' like being an anti-semetic Jew. Damnit!
It's just too bad those damned langoliers will eat it up again tonight.
:D Lord knows he has the material!
That's really funny that you happened to reminded me of this, and it's been quite a loooong time ago... We were at Dulles Int. Airport waiting for a flight (I think), and none other than Stephen King looks over and says "Isn't it a nice day to fly?", or something like that. I was just a little dude, but I was a fan. It's been such a long time ago, but I remember that it was a quote from one One Past Midnight, I'd have to look it up again. It was just after he lost all the weight I think. What a weird but cool guy.
I imagine he gets quite a kick out of it when he does that
Absolutely, I've seen largish pieces of concrete, tires and whatnot do exactly as you describe. The relative velocity appears to increase logarithmically after the first bounce. Scary stuff. The worst I've seen: a car creamed by an exploding brake drum on a dirt-hauling trailer. That fate should be reserved for child molesters and corrupt representatives. Always stay FAR, FAR away from those whenever possible, and get by as quick as possible.
The second worst I've seen was a tractor-trailer hitting the concrete barricade on the opposite side of the freeway. That whole thing cruised across my side of the interstate at least 60mph and just in front of me. There was another piece that went behind me, it creamed another car, then there was a pile up because of it! Fortunately nobody was killed. I've had all kinds of close calls on the highway; I must be a magnet, but a relatively lucky one.
Does the cost of operating your car double when you add a passenger?
That depends, is the passenger African or European?
Hah, I live just a few blocks down the street from a prominent jesuit university, and there are many non-Catholic, and indeed many non-Christian students. I use their library, it's close, and they're even kind enough to give people in the neighborhood library cards. Aside from a (very) few crucifixes and virgin marys around inside, and some nice stained glass here and there, you'd never know if you didn't go there for theological studies--because they make it a point to not bring faith into the sciences. They've apparently learned their lesson since Galileo's time.
You pay a premium price to go attend--two or three times as much as one pays at the most sought-after (and therefore expensive) state sponsored university. It's a good education, no doubt, their math department is especially well repudiated, but I doubt it's much better than one can get for lots less elsewhere. So, yeah, do the math. They're more than happy to take the money from a non-Catholic to grow their school. The only problem is their enrollment is pretty much at capacity year after year. Maybe they can do all the grandparent asks of, I have no idea, but it would look pretty bad regardless.
Is that a typo or a Freudian slip?
Damn, you caught me with my penis down. Errr. Yes, I meant my mother. FUCK! Pants, damnit, P-E-N-I-S!! Yeah, anyway.... Goddamned four letter acronyms and five letter penii.
That sounds like a fair chunk of change, but it's really not. In real terms of what the city could do with that money: pave 30 feet of two lane road (using immigrant labor), pay a few maintaince guys for a year (and their pensions), pay a newish DA for a year, provide a decent computer lab... It's a slap on the hand, and in the broad scope of things, almost insignifigant. At least they'll be a little more hesitant to grab out of the Civil Liberties cookie jar... Maybe.
On the bright side, because of the UCLA, they've just paid for his higher education and maybe a decent car--depending on what he wants to study. He'll make more buckaroos and get taxed for it, and they'll have it back in 30 years or so, assuming he dosen't move. And that's priceless, I think.
No, it's more like a leasing company getting really bent out of shape if you've caused excess wear and damage on their car during the period of the lease--and they'll make you pay big time, or your credit is going in the dumper.
Comercially, it has to be in the ISPs best interest to make their network as virus free as possible. Do I think it's unreasonable for an ISP to disconnect wormed computers? Not at all, especially if it's outlined in the terms of service! Should the government be involved? No. (note I usually vote democrat, yet think we do not need to government to hold our hands) Worm free ISPs will be more profitable and more desireable by the consumer. The economy will sort it, and automatically.
Wow, that's really too bad. Personally, and this is just me, but I'm thinking of finding an old mid 60's-70's Porsche 911, just to slap a HEMI sticker on it, so I can then drive around and shout out "GOT HEMI?!" at all the Hemi-less loosers! Maybe I'll get lucky and stumble upon one of the '76 3.0Ls that some elderly ex-lawyer has in his garage. Oh yes. It's mine, precious.