Being at the bottom of the page might hurt your post rating but runnign out of points shouldn't be an issue. The last few times I got mod points I recieved 15! It's taken me a few days to use them up each time.
I owned an old Porsche 944 and drove it as my daily driver for about five years. It was not an incedibly fast car and it was old and busted in many respects. But it was a very fun car to drive. And the economics of it worked out such that so far it has been one of my best investments so far as cars go. I bought it for $3000 and probably put about that much more into it over time in repairs. Now I drive a 1990 Toyota Corrola, it's not as fun to drive but it does have working AC.
I'm not sure why people keep bringing up how much farm production is "wasted" on raising beef and other meats. The food shortages of the world are caused by politics and poor national economies, not a lack of food or food production capabilities in the world at large. In fact in the US we have massive farming subsidies which encourage farmers to destroy specific crops. The purpose of the subsidies is too keep the supply lower which keeps the price on the market higher.
I wonder how fine of a resolution is possible with a setup like this with generic microphones and speakers. Maybe it would be possible to use this as a biometric lock on a computer system. It could function as a facial recognition check using the ultrasound picture or series of pictures of your face. Lighting wouldn't affect it and someone couldn't simply use a picture of you to try and fool the camera. Even a bust of your face wouldn't work the same unless it accurately simulated your bone structure and flesh.
What you say is true, in varying degrees for most every government I have ever read about. Not that I am anti government, anarchy isn't likely to get us anywhere fast. But people by and large the world over are afraid of unknowns, and will seek to shelter themselves and their progeny from the things that scare them. And of course there are plenty of power hungry asshats who will take advantage of any little power they are given to gain more by pandering to the masses in this regard.
I have a relative in the Coast Guard now who as an NCO is often directly responsible for what I think they refer to as a Ship. While I was in the Chair Force I was only two pay grades below him and the most I was ever responsible for was a few airmen's training records.
I think the issue is that terroristic attacks are only one step removed from guerrilla attacks. In that by removing the will of the civilians to support the war you errode the ability of the military to fight. The Taliban and Islamic terrorists in general believe that all US citizens are the enemy because to them this war is about absolutes of religous beliefs. Our own christian fundamentalists can be just as bad and there are a plenty of other types of fundamentalists that are just as bat shit crazy, they just haven't managed to pick a fight with the US government on such a large scale yet.
Anyways I very much enjoyed reading your post and wish I could use my mod points, but alas I have of course already participated in the conversation.
Eh, that arguement might work for Iraq but not Afghanistan. We had plenty of reason to invade them and make a regime change. The Taliban was actively supporting and training terrorists who were attacking our nation directly. Iraq isn't as clear a case but Afghanistan is pretty solid.
I think you are over stating the chivalry of national armies in the past. Civilians have very often fled in the face of an invasion by a foreign army, and for good reason. Looting and sacking conquered territory is a long standing tradition that commanders have often tried to prevent but so far as I know never succeded in stopping completely. And even when the invaders don't fall to looting themselves you can sure bet your fellow citizens will take advantage of the situation.
In all fairness the US military ahs done some pretty sketchy if not all out unlawful stuff in recent history. Not that this some how justifies the wholesale abandonment of those laws by our opponents.
Of course the Taliban using a nuke against a US city would be upsetting, as it would be if they nuked any other city or country. Using a nuke would likely lose them any support they currently enjoy from other countries. The US hasn't resorted to using WMD's and likely won't, even if you think the casualties have been unacceptably high so far they could be far worse. And of course it's an Us vs Them mentality, just as it is in the reverse. The lives of people you know will always be valued more than the lives of people you don't, that's just part of how societies function.
While I agree that they are making life and death decisions for their target and possibly for the troops on the ground that they are supporting. I disagree that the technical skills required are that valuable, let alone that they are directly equal to flight time sitting in an aircraft in flight.
True, but the bombs were aimed at averting the need to invade the japanese home islands. So several hundred thousand japanese civilians were killed by two bombs rather than the millions that would likely die in an invasion. That's not including the military casualties that were predicted. The Armed forces are still giving out medals that were originally produced in anticipation of that invasion. As ugly as using those bombs was the outcome isn't as bad as it could have been without them.
It'd never work because people and nations don't go to war over things they think are trivial. And if it's not trivial they are likely to fight tooth and nail for whatever their cause. This is already evident in that the terrorists have resorted to being terrorists because they do not have the resources to fight in a more traditional way on a field of battle. Even we, in the USA, did this during the Revolutionary War.
We didn't necessarily fall to the same level as the terrorists of today. But at the time shooting from any available cover, specifically targeting officers, and not forming up in ranks to exchange volleys was considered very dishonorable and unsavory by the British.
That's the Air Force as a whole not just the drone pilots.
What is laughable though is that the drone pilots get their time flying drones counted as flight hours which count toward their career gates. So for being at less risk than most anyone else and essentially playing flight sim games all day they get bonus pay.
My Grandfather, who is a nuclear engineer, told me that we had nuke batteries or powerplants the size of a 55 gallon drum powering radar outposts in the Arctic. That was more than a decade ago though.
I of course can't cite any examples because I don't know if one exists. But it is plausible for a patent holder to prevent their invention from making it to the market. This would only make sense in a case like consipracy nuts always pushed, that the oil companies bought out the patents for incredibly efficient ICE engines because it would hurt the value of their main product.
Again, not saying it's ever happened but a situation like that isn't too hard to imagine.
And if we were to ban photoshopping in advertisements what would be next, banning makeup? It's just not going to happen and if it did it wouldn't be worth the trouble. Just push for honesty in advertising in general and hope for the best.
I thought it was The Sound of Thunder, but whatever. I'd also push for a focus on Short Stories and I'd add "I Have No Mouth But I Must Scream" by Ellison and "Answer" by Brown.
I would agree except that I don't. I read Dune and a bunch of the books that came after it when I was in middle school and liked them. Stranger in a Strange land I didn't read until a couple years ago but I don't see why I wouldn't have liked it when I was much younger as it's much easier to follow than Dune was.
Why not? We should be able to easily build very small generator trailers that you can tow. The generator could easily put out enough current to power the car and charge it's battey. Just pick up a trailer for those long trips when you know you'll need it. And late night emergencies shouldn't really be an issue so long as you haven't completely drained the battery during the day. And you could always purchase your own generator trailer if it's really such a big concern for you just in case.
You don't actually need to have a fast recharge capability though for occasional long trips. I've seen a number of mini trailers for electric conversions that were nothing more than a small generator and fuel tank strapped on an axle. The output of the generator would have to be just a little more than the vehicle needs to maintian speed. The excess can go to charging the car's main battery pack for any time you need to accelerate quickly.
I could see a company like Uhaul renting out generator trailers. When you plan to make a trip you just go get a trailer and hook it up, make sure it's set to generate the proper amount of electricity, fuel it up and hit the road. If we wanted it could even be made smart enough to interface directly with a car's control computers so that would be needed is to plug in some cables and hitch it to the car.
My 1985 Porsche 944 would do at least 400 miles on a tank of gasoline. But since the fuel gauge never worked right and the odometer was busted I couldn't really say how far it could go, I just know I've driven it 400 miles before stopping for gas and lunch. It did have a 25 gallon gas tank though.
Math is about patterns, but you can't utilize that pattern if you haven't already noticed it yourself or had it taught to you. At some point you have to start using memorized patterns to solve equations because it will take far too long to rediscover them all over again. An example I remember from that test that got me was quadratic formula, after at least ten years of not having seen an example of it or used it that knowledge is simply gone.
Which is kind of funny when you think that the reason I was clep'ing that course was to attempt to get my Associates in a field I had already been working in for six years. That was a couple years ago and I still haven't needed it. So I would question the validity of the need for that level of mathematics in the first place for my vocation.
Slashdot Mirror
Snopes has an article on it, well including this issue: http://www.snopes.com/inboxer/outrage/mlking.asp And Wikipedia has a page about it: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martin_Luther_King,_Jr._authorship_issues
Being at the bottom of the page might hurt your post rating but runnign out of points shouldn't be an issue. The last few times I got mod points I recieved 15! It's taken me a few days to use them up each time.
I owned an old Porsche 944 and drove it as my daily driver for about five years. It was not an incedibly fast car and it was old and busted in many respects. But it was a very fun car to drive. And the economics of it worked out such that so far it has been one of my best investments so far as cars go. I bought it for $3000 and probably put about that much more into it over time in repairs. Now I drive a 1990 Toyota Corrola, it's not as fun to drive but it does have working AC.
I'm not sure why people keep bringing up how much farm production is "wasted" on raising beef and other meats. The food shortages of the world are caused by politics and poor national economies, not a lack of food or food production capabilities in the world at large. In fact in the US we have massive farming subsidies which encourage farmers to destroy specific crops. The purpose of the subsidies is too keep the supply lower which keeps the price on the market higher.
I wonder how fine of a resolution is possible with a setup like this with generic microphones and speakers. Maybe it would be possible to use this as a biometric lock on a computer system. It could function as a facial recognition check using the ultrasound picture or series of pictures of your face. Lighting wouldn't affect it and someone couldn't simply use a picture of you to try and fool the camera. Even a bust of your face wouldn't work the same unless it accurately simulated your bone structure and flesh.
What you say is true, in varying degrees for most every government I have ever read about. Not that I am anti government, anarchy isn't likely to get us anywhere fast. But people by and large the world over are afraid of unknowns, and will seek to shelter themselves and their progeny from the things that scare them. And of course there are plenty of power hungry asshats who will take advantage of any little power they are given to gain more by pandering to the masses in this regard.
I have a relative in the Coast Guard now who as an NCO is often directly responsible for what I think they refer to as a Ship. While I was in the Chair Force I was only two pay grades below him and the most I was ever responsible for was a few airmen's training records.
I think the issue is that terroristic attacks are only one step removed from guerrilla attacks. In that by removing the will of the civilians to support the war you errode the ability of the military to fight. The Taliban and Islamic terrorists in general believe that all US citizens are the enemy because to them this war is about absolutes of religous beliefs. Our own christian fundamentalists can be just as bad and there are a plenty of other types of fundamentalists that are just as bat shit crazy, they just haven't managed to pick a fight with the US government on such a large scale yet.
Anyways I very much enjoyed reading your post and wish I could use my mod points, but alas I have of course already participated in the conversation.
Eh, that arguement might work for Iraq but not Afghanistan. We had plenty of reason to invade them and make a regime change. The Taliban was actively supporting and training terrorists who were attacking our nation directly. Iraq isn't as clear a case but Afghanistan is pretty solid.
I think you are over stating the chivalry of national armies in the past. Civilians have very often fled in the face of an invasion by a foreign army, and for good reason. Looting and sacking conquered territory is a long standing tradition that commanders have often tried to prevent but so far as I know never succeded in stopping completely. And even when the invaders don't fall to looting themselves you can sure bet your fellow citizens will take advantage of the situation.
In all fairness the US military ahs done some pretty sketchy if not all out unlawful stuff in recent history. Not that this some how justifies the wholesale abandonment of those laws by our opponents.
Of course the Taliban using a nuke against a US city would be upsetting, as it would be if they nuked any other city or country. Using a nuke would likely lose them any support they currently enjoy from other countries. The US hasn't resorted to using WMD's and likely won't, even if you think the casualties have been unacceptably high so far they could be far worse. And of course it's an Us vs Them mentality, just as it is in the reverse. The lives of people you know will always be valued more than the lives of people you don't, that's just part of how societies function.
While I agree that they are making life and death decisions for their target and possibly for the troops on the ground that they are supporting. I disagree that the technical skills required are that valuable, let alone that they are directly equal to flight time sitting in an aircraft in flight.
True, but the bombs were aimed at averting the need to invade the japanese home islands. So several hundred thousand japanese civilians were killed by two bombs rather than the millions that would likely die in an invasion. That's not including the military casualties that were predicted. The Armed forces are still giving out medals that were originally produced in anticipation of that invasion. As ugly as using those bombs was the outcome isn't as bad as it could have been without them.
It'd never work because people and nations don't go to war over things they think are trivial. And if it's not trivial they are likely to fight tooth and nail for whatever their cause. This is already evident in that the terrorists have resorted to being terrorists because they do not have the resources to fight in a more traditional way on a field of battle. Even we, in the USA, did this during the Revolutionary War.
We didn't necessarily fall to the same level as the terrorists of today. But at the time shooting from any available cover, specifically targeting officers, and not forming up in ranks to exchange volleys was considered very dishonorable and unsavory by the British.
That's the Air Force as a whole not just the drone pilots.
What is laughable though is that the drone pilots get their time flying drones counted as flight hours which count toward their career gates. So for being at less risk than most anyone else and essentially playing flight sim games all day they get bonus pay.
My Grandfather, who is a nuclear engineer, told me that we had nuke batteries or powerplants the size of a 55 gallon drum powering radar outposts in the Arctic. That was more than a decade ago though.
I of course can't cite any examples because I don't know if one exists. But it is plausible for a patent holder to prevent their invention from making it to the market. This would only make sense in a case like consipracy nuts always pushed, that the oil companies bought out the patents for incredibly efficient ICE engines because it would hurt the value of their main product.
Again, not saying it's ever happened but a situation like that isn't too hard to imagine.
And if we were to ban photoshopping in advertisements what would be next, banning makeup? It's just not going to happen and if it did it wouldn't be worth the trouble. Just push for honesty in advertising in general and hope for the best.
I thought it was The Sound of Thunder, but whatever. I'd also push for a focus on Short Stories and I'd add "I Have No Mouth But I Must Scream" by Ellison and "Answer" by Brown.
I would agree except that I don't. I read Dune and a bunch of the books that came after it when I was in middle school and liked them. Stranger in a Strange land I didn't read until a couple years ago but I don't see why I wouldn't have liked it when I was much younger as it's much easier to follow than Dune was.
I don't know, but his Sweet Baby's BBQ sauce is delicous.
Why not? We should be able to easily build very small generator trailers that you can tow. The generator could easily put out enough current to power the car and charge it's battey. Just pick up a trailer for those long trips when you know you'll need it. And late night emergencies shouldn't really be an issue so long as you haven't completely drained the battery during the day. And you could always purchase your own generator trailer if it's really such a big concern for you just in case.
You don't actually need to have a fast recharge capability though for occasional long trips. I've seen a number of mini trailers for electric conversions that were nothing more than a small generator and fuel tank strapped on an axle. The output of the generator would have to be just a little more than the vehicle needs to maintian speed. The excess can go to charging the car's main battery pack for any time you need to accelerate quickly.
I could see a company like Uhaul renting out generator trailers. When you plan to make a trip you just go get a trailer and hook it up, make sure it's set to generate the proper amount of electricity, fuel it up and hit the road. If we wanted it could even be made smart enough to interface directly with a car's control computers so that would be needed is to plug in some cables and hitch it to the car.
My 1985 Porsche 944 would do at least 400 miles on a tank of gasoline. But since the fuel gauge never worked right and the odometer was busted I couldn't really say how far it could go, I just know I've driven it 400 miles before stopping for gas and lunch. It did have a 25 gallon gas tank though.
Math is about patterns, but you can't utilize that pattern if you haven't already noticed it yourself or had it taught to you. At some point you have to start using memorized patterns to solve equations because it will take far too long to rediscover them all over again. An example I remember from that test that got me was quadratic formula, after at least ten years of not having seen an example of it or used it that knowledge is simply gone.
Which is kind of funny when you think that the reason I was clep'ing that course was to attempt to get my Associates in a field I had already been working in for six years. That was a couple years ago and I still haven't needed it. So I would question the validity of the need for that level of mathematics in the first place for my vocation.