I presume that's a typographical error, but you might want to double check those numbers... especially with the hordes of people incorporating them into their IPChains/IPTables rulesets right now.:^)
... so it is pretty clear that they are culling the domain registrars.
Take a peek at MyPrivacy.Ca for a service specificically designed to stop E-mail harvesting from domain registries, while still allowing ICANN registries to contact you without interference. The website has more info, and a quick read of it will save you the agony of having me try redundantly to explain it to you.
If you have any pets (or small children) who might grab at the roll, then the under-from-the-bottom method is clearly superior.
I've seen cats get hold of the roll and start spinning... they always spin the front portion downward. With the loose sheet coming out the back, they're spinning against the flow of the roll... you don't end up with a pile o' toilet paper on the floor.
Of course, if you don't have the above concern, then the arguement loses any sort of merit, but there you go.
Sounds a whole lot like the "Ministry of Peace" in Babylon 5.
I would actually invite you to look beyond your television sets and read Orwell's 1984. Even the phrase "Ministry of Peace" is lifted directly from its pages... though in Orwell's nation of Oceania, it was the Thought Police under the Ministry of Love that did all the arresting... but that's beside the point.
Just reading that article gave me flashbacks to the Telescreens of that supposed "utopian" world. Big Brother is indeed watching you.
I'm reminded of an incident which illustrated to me in gory detail how the label "disabled" is often abused. I was working in the emergency department (in a major Canadian city) when a scruffy looking late teenage male was rolled in from the ambulance bay. He was in florid diabetic ketoacidosis, which (without too much detail) means his sugars were out of control, and his body didn't have enough insulin on board to utilize his sugar properly. (that's a gross oversimplification, but just go with me on this)
Anyhow. Going through his chart I noted that he had a long history of letting his glycemic control get out from under him. He was a little out of it (thanks to the DKA) but was awake enough to give a pretty decent history. He was feeling a little off for a few days, but basically ignored it. Made no adjustments to his insulin regimen, nor did he seek medical attention until he was in pretty rough metabolic shape.
I asked some pretty basic questions to get an idea of his disease state. He'd been diabetic from a very young age, always controlled with insulin, but didn't have a glucometer with which to check his blood sugar. Every diabetic should be checking their blood sugars with some degree of regularity. Why didn't he have one? He couldn't afford it.
Couldn't afford it? Oooookay. I knew he hadn't been living with his parents for a few years, so he was out and fending for himself. Fair enough, but I gathered that he had to have some sort of income... not only to pay his rent, but to explain the Tommy Hilfiger branded shirt, designer jeans, and brand new Nikes he was wearing on his feet. So I asked him what he did for a living.
"Nothing. I'm on disability."
"Oh? What for?" I asked, thinking I had missed something. Instead he looked at me like he thought I was completely looney-tunes.
"For diabetes, of course." He snorted.
Not only was this guy munching up our public medical system's budget with his repeated and mostly preventable frequent flyer visits to the emergency department, but he was receiving government funding for his "disability". Sure, his diabetes was poorly controlled, but not because of the disease itself, but because this guy basically didn't give a flying fuck.
Ultimately, I don't know what pissed me off more. There, of course, is the fact that this guy was milking his disease for disability benefits when thousands upon thousants of diabetics work and live and survive in the real world just fine, thank you. On top of that, some physician somewhere, at some time, had to sign the papers designating his patient as qualifying for government assistance because of his diabetes. I mean, crap, if I have asthma, can I get a cheque too?
Granted, there's probably a whole psychosocial dimension to the story I haven't explored, but the entire situation does have to strike you as being more than a little absurd. To get back to the Slashdot story, I do think that there are musculoskeletal conditions that affect the wrists enough to severely impair one's ability to perform a great number of tasks, as well as being distressingly painful to boot. But a large majority of people who have repetitive strain injuries or "Carpal Tunnel Syndrome" can benefit from antiinflammatories, physiotherapy, and appropriate work modification (ergonomics and the like). They're probably not permanently disabled and in need of financial assistance. Save the money for the people who really need it.
Could someone please correct the spelling of the disorder in the body of this story. It's CARPAL not CARPEL, a reference to the eight small bones that make up the wrist. While I usually ignore minor spelling and grammatical errors (you occasionally have to on Slashdot), the fact that the actual disorder-in-question is repeatedly misspelled (beyond just a simple typo) is a little much.
Battlebots. Robot wars. Robotica. I've lost track of the number of look alike shows.
What I want to know is why Battlebots is being carried by the Comedy Network here in Canada. What the hell does Battlebots have to do with comedic television programming? The only thing I could come up with is the fact that it still meets with the Comedy Network's slogan: "Time Well Wasted."
I know the question sounds pretty anal retentive, but I can remember back to when Ren and Stimpy was being broadcast by Muchmusic, and it got yanked off the air when people complained to the CRTC (Canadian Radio and Telecommunications Commission... kinda like the FCC for you south-of-the-border types) that it didn't belong on Much because it wasn't "music related programming."
I'm still using my Amiga 4000, which compared to your K6-2 is ancient. It still hooks up just fine to the 'Net, and downloading and playing movies is a snap.
Mind you, I still have a lot of difficulty with Jon's article, and the facts contained therein. It all feels so much less than plausible. A good story, maybe, but fact? Hrm.
Anyway. Just standing up for my oft' beleagured but still treasured Amiga.:^P
The sad reality, from what I've heard, is that there are lots of doctors standing around because with nobody being yanked from the rubble, there's simply nobody to treat (beyond some acute stuff on the first day, of course).
Besides, they probably had this all set up long in advance, and kept to their timeline in keeping with all the "get back to work" directives being floated about.
Reacting to a suspension by committing suicide is most certainly not an "Indian cultural" thing, and it would be unfortunate to attribute the sad circumstances of this young man's death to such origins. I would venture that this sort of thing would have been just as likely to have happened regardless of the cultural background of the one in the middle.
Having once been a (Indian) kid dragged to the principal's office for hacking back in early high school (slithered out of a three day suspension by offering advise on how to beef up their network security to keep the malicous ones out), I can sympathize with the overwhelming weight that comes crashing down on your shoulders when the "heat" decides to grill you under the hot lights. It would be foolish for me to claim that I know what went through this young man's mind, but clearly he must have deemed the fallout from his actions too severe to overcome. Being a bright young man with high post-secondary aspirations, no doubt he perceived the scar of a ten day suspension on his record -- much like a prison record -- as something that might hold him back from getting where he wants to go in life. I think back (was it that long ago?), and don't recall suicide crossing my mind, but I can definitely see where such thoughts might have started.
It's sad. It's painful to hear about, especially within a community of other hacker types. I'm sure this story hits home for more than just me. However, I think it's important to realize that none of us are going to be able to crawl into the mind of this poor soul, and as such we're stuck with passing judgements with a VERY incomplete story. My condolences to the family.
I'd have to agree. P2P filesharing was going along for years on networks such as IRC, with nary any interference from the "outside world." Granted, when Napster rolled around it added a couple of neat features like being able to view connection-quality status, and more data on individual MP3 files... but it essentialy Microsofted the MP3 trading scene by delivering an idiot-proof interface which brought MP3 trading to the masses. Even my brother can use Napster, and my brother - when it comes to anything digital - is an idiot.
Couple that with the hype machine that surrounded Napster... not exactly something they tried to stop... and it's no wonder they managed to get up everyone's noses.
I'm forced to sit back and laugh at the people who come up to me in the hallways distressed about the demise of Napster. "What am I going to do now?" There are alternatives, and always have been... mostly overlooked because everyone was using big bad Napster. Now that they're scrounging for MP3 sources... even the alternatives have their numbered, thanks to the whole Napster song-and-dance.
MP3 trading. DivX movie trading. Piracy. By dancing buck naked in front of the regulatory agenices, it is any wonder we see Slashdot being overrun with stories about the big corporations and their draconian copy protection schemes-to-be?
Yes, if you're planning on holding a cellphone up next to the ECG of a patient while the ECG is being taken... you're going to cause havoc. I can grant you that. Heck, *SNEEZING* can interfere with most ECGs! I don't contest the fact that phones belch out interference (enough to fry a pacemaker, but at CLOSE RANGE)... but I what question a global in-hospital ban on cellphones vs. a more selective policy of keeping them out of immediate patient-care areas.
"Our results permit the conclusion that the ban on mobile phones in hospitals is based not on actual events, but on theoretical considerations in the absence of any practical information on the actual susceptibility of devices and their reaction to the electromagnetic fields involved."
We would therefore recommend that all life-saving and life-support systems that can also be used outside the hospital should be made mobile phone-proof. When apnoea monitors and respirators are protected from such interference, hazardous situations could be avoided by establishing the rule: "No portables, and mobile phones only at a distance of at least 1 metre from medical devices". With regard to emergency telephones, the minimum distance to medical devices should be at least 1.5 metres."
Much of the rest I've read on the subject more or less agrees. Granted, to fully enforce a 1.5 metre radius from sensitive equipment would probably involve drawing a lot of stupid red circles on the floor around patient beds (You'd have to do the hokey-pokey with your cellphone as you put your right foot in, the put you right foot out...). But where's the information that justifies the rampant verbal smackdown that goes on daily in hospital cafeterias, lobbies, and conference rooms? As near as I can tell, it's nonexistent.
"First Ever Webcam" to Come Offline. not First Ever "Webcam To Come Offline."
Besides, I liked the original headline: "First Ever Webcam to Coming Offline." Heh. I think this whole "All Your Base Are Belong To Us" craziness might be having an unanticpated adverse effect on the already languishing grammar of the 'Net.
I, for one, will mourn the loss of the coffee cam, not for lack of other stupid things to look at on the Internet, but for its role as an innovator. Doing something not because it's particularly earth shattering or useful, but just because you can. Geek chic!
I'd like you to show me the evidence that the use of modern cellular telephones in public-access areas of the hospital actually creates sufficient interference to cause a problem. Sure, if you're a few feet away from sensitive telemetry, I might understand. I've yet to see a conclusive, let alone sufficiently convincing study demonstrating significant disruption of hospital services by cellular phone usage.
Something I wrote elsewhere once upon a time:
This year, I've been wearing a pager in hospital, while my digital PCS
phone sits either freezing or melting in my car... stashed safely in the
parking lot. It's due to the familiar fact that hospitals have
those gigantic signs posted everywhere, screaming about how any device
that transmits RF might cause a massive explosion or result in patient
deaths. We commonly have this explained to us by the fact that "cellular
phones and other RF transmitters may
interfere with sensitive medical equipment." Aren't these sensitive pieces
of equipment RF shielded in any way to prevent this, let alone to prevent
the multitude of walkie-talkie conversations and telemetry broadcasts
permeating the hospital hallways from upsetting the various electronic
doodads? I've even seen docs answer their mobile phones right in front of
me, ON HOSPITAL PROPERTY, thumbing their noses at the dictum that "PHONE
IN HOSPITAL BAD."
I, procrastinating my own reading, did a quick search online for an answer
to this question which has plagued me and my colleauges for some time now.
Here are a few highlights from different points of view:
As an important aside, there is a condition known as diabetic retinopathy, which is very common with diabetics. 5 years after diagnosis, 23% of people with Type I (IDDM) diabetes have diabetic retinopathy. After 15 years, 80% are affecteed. There's a similar, but slightly lower incidence in the Type II (NIDDM) diabetes patient, but they're diagnosed later... and often have signs of retinopathy when they're diagnosed.
This might not be the place to discuss the pathology of diabetic retinopathy in detail, but I'll babble enough so you can understand the therapy for it. Changes in the blood vessels which supply the retina in the early stages of this condition lead to inefficient oxygen delivery to the active tissues -- ischemia. As a response, the blood vessels branch, grow, and proliferate to combat this. This is a Bad Thing, because the new vessels can get in the way of the retinal surface, or break causing haemmorhages, retinal detatchment.
The treatment of choice for this is a laser therapy, different from the Lasix/Excimer cornea-modifying modalities, which goes by the super-funky name "pan-retinal laser photocoagulation"(I love saying that) where peripheral parts of the retina are zapped with an argon laser. This reduces the metabolic oxygen requirement for the peripheral retina... such that the more important central structures are spared. Done right, and at the right time, this can reduce the incidence of severe visual loss by 50%, and as much as 90% in some studies.
I don't want to sound offtopic (discussing a different laser therapy), but I'm concerned that someone who is diabetic might fall into this thread and assume that all laser therapies are the same, and thus make judgements about photocoagulation therapy based on the concerns raised about Excimer.
I happen to have 20/10 vision as well, but I'm nowhere as stuck-up about it.
20/20 is "average vision," with average determined the same way you'd define a mean on a normal distribution. Naturally, there will be outliers in both directions. Thus, there are a fair number of people with better-than-average vision, by definition.
It's important to realize as well that most people have their vision checked with a visual acuity scale designed to determine distance vision... one of those pesky things with the gigantic letter "E" at the top. It's an extremely gross measure of visual acuity, meant only as a screening test. Near vision, astigmatisim, visual field defects, isolated visual irregularities, etc. don't show up. The test itself is often woefully inaccurate. So take your numbers as a rough estimate, not something laid down in stone.
It really depends on your definition of how big the Seattle "region" is. I mean, some people would consider Vancouver to be fairly close to Seattle. Wonder if any 13+ Slashdot readers from B.C. are going to give it a try.:^)
Feel free to extend the analogy in other directions to include tourist destinations in Idaho, Nevada, California, Wyoming... heh heh heh... after all, they post driving directions on their website, and I'm damned sure people will be willing to drive from those states and probably farther to get their hands on an X-Box.
Why not set up an el-cheapo PC running Win as a gateway box, and network your Linux machine through it. Damned counterintuitive, since it works so well the OTHER WAY AROUND (hell... forget Win-->Linux Gateway, just install Linux everywher), but at least that way you'll be able to use one of those "free access" offers.
It will be extremely important for the folks at Debian to make it absolutely, undeniably, and irrevocably clear that usage of the "unstable" or "bleeding edge" version of the distribution is at the peril of the end user. It's said that "we all know that if we use something that's beta/bleeding edge, we know we are risking life, limb and sanity"... but common sense is not as common as most of us would like to believe. It might seem obvious to most Slashdot regulars, but it's the sort of thing that really makes a mess when it smacks the newbie population... and potentially adds a little more (irrelevant) fuel to distro flame wars.
If it's not made painfully obvious that we're dealing with two different distributions, people will start generalizing. One can forsee everything from "Debian is not user friendly" to "Debian is unstable" to "Linux suXX0rz! W1ND0ZE r001z!" Okay. I'm going overboard at the end there, but I hope my point is made.
RedHat has managed to handle this well with their RawHide release, Mandrake with its Cooker, etc etc... I don't forsee any major obstacles to Debian giving "the people what they want" with what they've described as their "sludgey" release. As long as they're kept separate, especially such that Debian doesn't sacrifice its established position with its reliable frozen releases, it's a good thing. Hell... it might tip me over the edge into installing Debian around here...
Hard to be 100% vaporware when you've already got a development environment to show for your efforts. Granted, a lot of the groundwork was laid by Tao-Group, but you've got to give credit to a company like Amiga Inc. who -- though less than a year old -- has managed to pull itself together with something significant to show for it.
What set Amiga apart from it's competitors when it was first released was some seriously ahead-of-its-time-ass-kicking hardware with a very intelligently designed (for the time) software interfaced to it. Unfortunately, the reliance on a stringent hardware specification was part of Amiga's untimely demise. In a world where entire corporations revolve around a specific type of chipset (sound cards, video cards, ethernet cards, etc etc), there's no way Amiga was in any position to keep up. The market is just moving too fast, and Amiga ended up spending way too much time thrashing around in financial distress to be able to keep up.
The current "Amiga Administration" admit the fact. That was then, this is now. They're clinging to the past no longer.
Yes, Intel, AMD and Transmeta appear to be the CPU big boys, but Amiga is promising an operating system that is processor independent. Wham. Level the playing field, and maybe even invite other big boys like DEC and Motorola into the game. I think the entire concept of a truly processor-independent OS has some startling potential to shake up the hardware market.
What about the OS factor? Well, with AmigaOS being hostable on multiple OSes (yes, even Windoze eventually), in addition to being as standalone OS when it's ready for release. The consumer is thus free to run in the environment of their choice and still run Amiga style applications Software that isn't OS restricted. Wowie. Once again, breaks down the traditional OS barriers. THIS I really would like to see them pull off!
My only skepticism comes from their ability to deliver on this exciting and rather ambitious set of promises. The Amiga market has been burned so many times that it's difficult to look at new promises without spewing your glass of milk out your nose because you're laughing so hard. I think that the current Amiga Inc. has managed to do a lot in a very small amount of time, and as a big fan of the original Amiga plaform I'm willing in typical fashion to give them time to stand and deliver. I look forward to what else they have to offer.
Amiga once again has an opportunity to break new ground (though some may argue that the only Amiga in this new machine is in the name and the logo). I wish them the best of luck.
RedHat has the visibility and penetrance into the consumer market that Amiga craves. Realize also that we're talking about the Amiga SDK => Software Development Kit. It's a package which gives a very bare-bones look at how the new AmigaOS is going to function, to give developers a heads-up as far as what kind of environment they'll have to work with as far as creating new apps and porting over old ones. For the development phase, the "AmigaOS" will be hosted by Linux... but that's for development. It will be hostable on multiple platforms, and even as a stand-alone OS by the time it's ready for release (insert your share of "New Amiga Real Soon Now" jokes here). To extend the analogy, they're running their ferrari with the VW engine until their own engine is ready to be dropped in.:^)
In short, if you're going to host with Linux, and want some serious impact on the general public, there are plenty of distributions to choose from. Some are better choices than others, and the ubiquitous distro-flame-wars are proof of that. Why not go corporate... go well established... go RedHat. I'm sure RedHat has plenty more going for it than just slick PR, while your opinions of the actual distribution may vary.
Slashdot Mirror
... can I fit one in my 1986 Honda Civic?
Um. 292?
I presume that's a typographical error, but you might want to double check those numbers... especially with the hordes of people incorporating them into their IPChains/IPTables rulesets right now. :^)
Take a peek at MyPrivacy.Ca for a service specificically designed to stop E-mail harvesting from domain registries, while still allowing ICANN registries to contact you without interference. The website has more info, and a quick read of it will save you the agony of having me try redundantly to explain it to you.
I've seen cats get hold of the roll and start spinning... they always spin the front portion downward. With the loose sheet coming out the back, they're spinning against the flow of the roll... you don't end up with a pile o' toilet paper on the floor.
Of course, if you don't have the above concern, then the arguement loses any sort of merit, but there you go.
Just reading that article gave me flashbacks to the Telescreens of that supposed "utopian" world. Big Brother is indeed watching you.
Anyhow. Going through his chart I noted that he had a long history of letting his glycemic control get out from under him. He was a little out of it (thanks to the DKA) but was awake enough to give a pretty decent history. He was feeling a little off for a few days, but basically ignored it. Made no adjustments to his insulin regimen, nor did he seek medical attention until he was in pretty rough metabolic shape.
I asked some pretty basic questions to get an idea of his disease state. He'd been diabetic from a very young age, always controlled with insulin, but didn't have a glucometer with which to check his blood sugar. Every diabetic should be checking their blood sugars with some degree of regularity. Why didn't he have one? He couldn't afford it.
Couldn't afford it? Oooookay. I knew he hadn't been living with his parents for a few years, so he was out and fending for himself. Fair enough, but I gathered that he had to have some sort of income... not only to pay his rent, but to explain the Tommy Hilfiger branded shirt, designer jeans, and brand new Nikes he was wearing on his feet. So I asked him what he did for a living.
"Nothing. I'm on disability."
"Oh? What for?" I asked, thinking I had missed something. Instead he looked at me like he thought I was completely looney-tunes.
"For diabetes, of course." He snorted.
Not only was this guy munching up our public medical system's budget with his repeated and mostly preventable frequent flyer visits to the emergency department, but he was receiving government funding for his "disability". Sure, his diabetes was poorly controlled, but not because of the disease itself, but because this guy basically didn't give a flying fuck.
Ultimately, I don't know what pissed me off more. There, of course, is the fact that this guy was milking his disease for disability benefits when thousands upon thousants of diabetics work and live and survive in the real world just fine, thank you. On top of that, some physician somewhere, at some time, had to sign the papers designating his patient as qualifying for government assistance because of his diabetes. I mean, crap, if I have asthma, can I get a cheque too?
Granted, there's probably a whole psychosocial dimension to the story I haven't explored, but the entire situation does have to strike you as being more than a little absurd. To get back to the Slashdot story, I do think that there are musculoskeletal conditions that affect the wrists enough to severely impair one's ability to perform a great number of tasks, as well as being distressingly painful to boot. But a large majority of people who have repetitive strain injuries or "Carpal Tunnel Syndrome" can benefit from antiinflammatories, physiotherapy, and appropriate work modification (ergonomics and the like). They're probably not permanently disabled and in need of financial assistance. Save the money for the people who really need it.
Oh. It's fixed now. Ask and ye shall receive, I guess.
Could someone please correct the spelling of the disorder in the body of this story. It's CARPAL not CARPEL, a reference to the eight small bones that make up the wrist. While I usually ignore minor spelling and grammatical errors (you occasionally have to on Slashdot), the fact that the actual disorder-in-question is repeatedly misspelled (beyond just a simple typo) is a little much.
What I want to know is why Battlebots is being carried by the Comedy Network here in Canada. What the hell does Battlebots have to do with comedic television programming? The only thing I could come up with is the fact that it still meets with the Comedy Network's slogan: "Time Well Wasted."
I know the question sounds pretty anal retentive, but I can remember back to when Ren and Stimpy was being broadcast by Muchmusic, and it got yanked off the air when people complained to the CRTC (Canadian Radio and Telecommunications Commission... kinda like the FCC for you south-of-the-border types) that it didn't belong on Much because it wasn't "music related programming."
Um. How far offtopic am I now?
I'm still using my Amiga 4000, which compared to your K6-2 is ancient. It still hooks up just fine to the 'Net, and downloading and playing movies is a snap.
:^P
Mind you, I still have a lot of difficulty with Jon's article, and the facts contained therein. It all feels so much less than plausible. A good story, maybe, but fact? Hrm.
Anyway. Just standing up for my oft' beleagured but still treasured Amiga.
Besides, they probably had this all set up long in advance, and kept to their timeline in keeping with all the "get back to work" directives being floated about.
Having once been a (Indian) kid dragged to the principal's office for hacking back in early high school (slithered out of a three day suspension by offering advise on how to beef up their network security to keep the malicous ones out), I can sympathize with the overwhelming weight that comes crashing down on your shoulders when the "heat" decides to grill you under the hot lights. It would be foolish for me to claim that I know what went through this young man's mind, but clearly he must have deemed the fallout from his actions too severe to overcome. Being a bright young man with high post-secondary aspirations, no doubt he perceived the scar of a ten day suspension on his record -- much like a prison record -- as something that might hold him back from getting where he wants to go in life. I think back (was it that long ago?), and don't recall suicide crossing my mind, but I can definitely see where such thoughts might have started.
It's sad. It's painful to hear about, especially within a community of other hacker types. I'm sure this story hits home for more than just me. However, I think it's important to realize that none of us are going to be able to crawl into the mind of this poor soul, and as such we're stuck with passing judgements with a VERY incomplete story. My condolences to the family.
--- [DrPsycho] Coping with reality since 1975.
Couple that with the hype machine that surrounded Napster... not exactly something they tried to stop... and it's no wonder they managed to get up everyone's noses.
I'm forced to sit back and laugh at the people who come up to me in the hallways distressed about the demise of Napster. "What am I going to do now?" There are alternatives, and always have been... mostly overlooked because everyone was using big bad Napster. Now that they're scrounging for MP3 sources... even the alternatives have their numbered, thanks to the whole Napster song-and-dance.
MP3 trading. DivX movie trading. Piracy. By dancing buck naked in front of the regulatory agenices, it is any wonder we see Slashdot being overrun with stories about the big corporations and their draconian copy protection schemes-to-be?
--- [DrPsycho] Coping with reality since 1975.
The study I linked to above as "Effect of mobile phone on life-saving and life-sustatning systems" concluded:
Much of the rest I've read on the subject more or less agrees. Granted, to fully enforce a 1.5 metre radius from sensitive equipment would probably involve drawing a lot of stupid red circles on the floor around patient beds (You'd have to do the hokey-pokey with your cellphone as you put your right foot in, the put you right foot out...). But where's the information that justifies the rampant verbal smackdown that goes on daily in hospital cafeterias, lobbies, and conference rooms? As near as I can tell, it's nonexistent.--- [DrPsycho] Coping with reality since 1975.
"First Ever Webcam" to Come Offline.
not
First Ever "Webcam To Come Offline."
Besides, I liked the original headline: "First Ever Webcam to Coming Offline." Heh. I think this whole "All Your Base Are Belong To Us" craziness might be having an unanticpated adverse effect on the already languishing grammar of the 'Net.
I, for one, will mourn the loss of the coffee cam, not for lack of other stupid things to look at on the Internet, but for its role as an innovator. Doing something not because it's particularly earth shattering or useful, but just because you can. Geek chic!
--- [DrPsycho] Coping with reality since 1975.
Something I wrote elsewhere once upon a time:
If I'm completely in left field, please let me know so I can finally get to the bottom of this.--- [DrPsycho] Coping with reality since 1975.
--- [DrPsycho] Coping with reality since 1975.
This might not be the place to discuss the pathology of diabetic retinopathy in detail, but I'll babble enough so you can understand the therapy for it. Changes in the blood vessels which supply the retina in the early stages of this condition lead to inefficient oxygen delivery to the active tissues -- ischemia. As a response, the blood vessels branch, grow, and proliferate to combat this. This is a Bad Thing, because the new vessels can get in the way of the retinal surface, or break causing haemmorhages, retinal detatchment.
The treatment of choice for this is a laser therapy, different from the Lasix/Excimer cornea-modifying modalities, which goes by the super-funky name "pan-retinal laser photocoagulation" (I love saying that) where peripheral parts of the retina are zapped with an argon laser. This reduces the metabolic oxygen requirement for the peripheral retina... such that the more important central structures are spared. Done right, and at the right time, this can reduce the incidence of severe visual loss by 50%, and as much as 90% in some studies.
I don't want to sound offtopic (discussing a different laser therapy), but I'm concerned that someone who is diabetic might fall into this thread and assume that all laser therapies are the same, and thus make judgements about photocoagulation therapy based on the concerns raised about Excimer.
--- [DrPsycho] Coping with reality since 1975.
20/20 is "average vision," with average determined the same way you'd define a mean on a normal distribution. Naturally, there will be outliers in both directions. Thus, there are a fair number of people with better-than-average vision, by definition.
It's important to realize as well that most people have their vision checked with a visual acuity scale designed to determine distance vision... one of those pesky things with the gigantic letter "E" at the top. It's an extremely gross measure of visual acuity, meant only as a screening test. Near vision, astigmatisim, visual field defects, isolated visual irregularities, etc. don't show up. The test itself is often woefully inaccurate. So take your numbers as a rough estimate, not something laid down in stone.
--- [DrPsycho] Coping with reality since 1975.
Feel free to extend the analogy in other directions to include tourist destinations in Idaho, Nevada, California, Wyoming... heh heh heh... after all, they post driving directions on their website, and I'm damned sure people will be willing to drive from those states and probably farther to get their hands on an X-Box.
--- [DrPsycho] Coping with reality since 1975.
Why not set up an el-cheapo PC running Win as a gateway box, and network your Linux machine through it. Damned counterintuitive, since it works so well the OTHER WAY AROUND (hell... forget Win-->Linux Gateway, just install Linux everywher), but at least that way you'll be able to use one of those "free access" offers.
Heh. Gets around those annoying banners too! :^)
--- [DrPsycho] Coping with reality since 1975.
If it's not made painfully obvious that we're dealing with two different distributions, people will start generalizing. One can forsee everything from "Debian is not user friendly" to "Debian is unstable" to "Linux suXX0rz! W1ND0ZE r001z!" Okay. I'm going overboard at the end there, but I hope my point is made.
RedHat has managed to handle this well with their RawHide release, Mandrake with its Cooker, etc etc... I don't forsee any major obstacles to Debian giving "the people what they want" with what they've described as their "sludgey" release. As long as they're kept separate, especially such that Debian doesn't sacrifice its established position with its reliable frozen releases, it's a good thing. Hell... it might tip me over the edge into installing Debian around here...
--- [DrPsycho] Coping with reality since 1975.
--- [DrPsycho] Coping with reality since 1975.
The current "Amiga Administration" admit the fact. That was then, this is now. They're clinging to the past no longer.
Yes, Intel, AMD and Transmeta appear to be the CPU big boys, but Amiga is promising an operating system that is processor independent. Wham. Level the playing field, and maybe even invite other big boys like DEC and Motorola into the game. I think the entire concept of a truly processor-independent OS has some startling potential to shake up the hardware market.
What about the OS factor? Well, with AmigaOS being hostable on multiple OSes (yes, even Windoze eventually), in addition to being as standalone OS when it's ready for release. The consumer is thus free to run in the environment of their choice and still run Amiga style applications Software that isn't OS restricted. Wowie. Once again, breaks down the traditional OS barriers. THIS I really would like to see them pull off!
My only skepticism comes from their ability to deliver on this exciting and rather ambitious set of promises. The Amiga market has been burned so many times that it's difficult to look at new promises without spewing your glass of milk out your nose because you're laughing so hard. I think that the current Amiga Inc. has managed to do a lot in a very small amount of time, and as a big fan of the original Amiga plaform I'm willing in typical fashion to give them time to stand and deliver. I look forward to what else they have to offer.
Amiga once again has an opportunity to break new ground (though some may argue that the only Amiga in this new machine is in the name and the logo). I wish them the best of luck.
--- [DrPsycho] Coping with reality since 1975.
In short, if you're going to host with Linux, and want some serious impact on the general public, there are plenty of distributions to choose from. Some are better choices than others, and the ubiquitous distro-flame-wars are proof of that. Why not go corporate... go well established... go RedHat. I'm sure RedHat has plenty more going for it than just slick PR, while your opinions of the actual distribution may vary.
--- [DrPsycho] Coping with reality since 1975.