As an Australian I have to ask... where did this meme come from? You hear it from Americans online quite a bit... but I don't get it. Bruce isn't even a particularly common name here... I certainly don't know anyone by that name.
I'm guessing some movie/TV show that I haven't seen?
Yeah I like playing the market in MMOs more than I enjoy the other aspects of the game actually. Really interesting to watch those mini-economies at work.
Works better in games without the concept of soul-bound/bind on pickup/bind on equip items (e.g. Lineage II, EvE Online... almost everything can be bought, sold, reused forever). Sorta doesn't work as well in WoW and other games with soulbinding (e.g. Aion) because the "use once, can't trade" aspect of the gear distorts its value (you can't resell something once you use it, so it's value is otherwise less than it would be).
Have to say "ditto", as an Australian who spends ~6 months a year in the US. Two main observations with US news:
- It's quite partisan. You tend to hear one side of the argument from one channel, and the other from another. Rarely do you hear a well-balanced story out of a single source. I think the lack of a well funded public broadcaster (ala BBC or Australian ABC) is most of the reason behind this.
- The emphasis placed on local, national, international is almost completely the opposite of what I'm used to in Australia. Generally in Australia, an international story or major domestic (but never local) story would be first in the bulletin. From my trips to the UK it appears to be similar there. Local stuff would be relegated to 2/3rds through the news, with sport and weather at the end. In the US it seems to be mostly local/domestic, then maybe if you're lucky one international story near the end (and only if its really major... you never hear 'interesting but not that important' stories from overseas like you do elsewhere).
The other odd thing (to me at least), is that even if you compared a US local news with an Australian local news bulletin, the type of stories they run are quite different. In the US they have local stories like "the mall is getting extended" or "they are putting traffic lights in on this intersection". That'd never get reported at home... the local stories are more along the lines of what the local/State govt. is doing, or any major crime incidents etc.
On the other hand, the US does one thing way better than anyone else - weather. Even little local stations in small towns have their own meteorologist and often their own Doppler radar, and they actually know what they are talking about! In Australia you just get some vacant blonde chick who knows NOTHING about weather, reading the script sent to her by the weather bureau.:)
Re:News for nerds. Stuff that matters
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Health Care Reform
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· Score: 1
You do realise that in countries with universal health care systems, there are still private hospitals, right? Just because there is a public option, does not mean that there is not still a private option.
FWIW in my country, there's about a 50/50 split of private vs public hospitals.
Also don't confused government-PAID healthcare (i.e. single payer, but doctors themselves are still private businesses free to do what they want), with government-RUN healthcare (where the government actually runs the clinics/treatments themselves). Most countries have the former, not the latter. So comparisons with the Soviet Union etc are a bit... wrong.
Re:This bill has nothing to do with health care.
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Health Care Reform
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· Score: 5, Insightful
You know, you're right. And I say this as an Australian living with our wonderful (and I'm not being sarcastic) universal, single-payer health care system here.
In the past on Slashdot, when the issue of US healthcare reform has come up, you inevitably get all the Canadians/Europeans/Australians/New Zealanders on here going "OMG of course you should reform - your system sucks, and ours works pretty well". It seems like a no-brainer... why would you not want to move to a system like ours. It's cheaper, more efficient, everyone is covered, health insurance is not tied to your employer, and the health outcomes returned are better. I was one of those people... it seemed absolutely crazy (as in, literally mind-bendingly insane) that someone would want to oppose moving from the overpriced, inefficient and inequitable system you currently have to a system like most of the rest of the world employs.
BUT......now that I actually ~read~ something about the proposal itself, I see why Americans are debating it so much. It isn't really giving you guys a system like that in CA/EU/AU at all! Rather, it's just modifying the current system somewhat. It isn't really a fresh, new or particularly efficient system. It's tacking something onto what's already there... giving it a coat of paint if you will, but not really addressing the underlying problems. It's not introducing a single payer system like in most other developed countries. And although I would personally still support it on balance, had I been an American, I would agree that it's not really a straightforward decision and it does have some significant flaws.
So to non-Americans mystified at the opposition to this, take a read of the actual proposal. It's not a stark choice between "the system they have now" and "a system like in other countries". Rather the proposal is for something kinda inbetween, which runs the risk that it may not work as well as ~either~.
As someone who isn't French, Chinese or American, let me say the following that might reassure you a bit.
- I have nothing but trust and respect in Airbus and its planes. Chinese planes on the other hand... I doubt I'd feel very safe on those.
- And wines? French wine on the whole is still some of the best in the world (Australia puts up some pretty stiff competition too). Californian wines these days are getting pretty good too. But Chinese? Not even close... and I don't even think there is much in the way of Chinese wine in markets outside Asia anyway.
The French still do some things very well indeed.
As for the Americans. I'm not American, but "made in USA" (increasingly rare these days!) is a mark that to me that usually means sturdy, well-built and reliable. I'd buy American over Chinese given the choice, even if the American product was 20-30% more expensive. Tools and machinery is one area where you still see a lot of US-made products and they are some of the most respected brands in the business.
I'm sorry, I just find it staggering that there are such huuuuge fees on EFT in America. Everywhere else, a cheque might attract a fee, because it is slow, cumbersome and requires manual effort. OTOH, EFT is free, virtually everywhere. The banks want you to use it, cause it's less work for them.
Hell, even the fee for a WIRE transfer to a FOREIGN account is less than 4% (I think it's 2% at my bank). A 4% fee to a domestic account is just highway robbery.
Without any exaggeration I can say the following:
- I have never written a cheque, nor even had a cheque account. - In my life (27 years), I have received 3 cheques. One of which was actually from the US. The other two were in the early 90s.
Not to dispute that for you, this development is exciting and a time-saver (after all, it's not your fault that your client can't pay you electronically). I'm just so shocked at the size of the fees!:o
As an aside, it's stunning to think of the absolutely massive hardware that must sit behind Google and Facebook. I mean, 11% and 7% of ~total web traffic in the US~, respectively. That's a lot of bytes! Frankly I find it shocking/amazing that any single site can command such a massive slice of all traffic, given the size of the web and all. 11% for Google's stuff combined doesn't surprise me but 7% for FB certainly does. I mean, it's a popular site and I use it, but I doubt it makes up 7% of my browsing-related traffic.
Concrete playgrounds... ugh. Have to admit you do see a lot of them in America. Was a bit of a shock to me having grown up in Australia where most playgrounds are a) huge (as in, 5 or 6 football fields in size); and b) filled with grass and trees (except for the part reserved for an actual sports/playing field).
The article's Australian, and having grown up (and went to school) in Australia I can say that ~most~ suburban schools in Australia do NOT have a fence around their boundary. Mine didn't. Although I think things are changing... a school near where I live now has just had a fence installed in the last couple of years.
I spend a lot of time in the US though and it does seem over there that even in many suburban and rural areas, school playgrounds are fenced.
Makes a lot of sense, really. Actually I can foresee a world where there IS no petrol/gas station equivalent. I mean, why go somewhere specifically to charge your car, when you can do it while you're parked at the supermarket. On top of the fact that you'd be charging (slowly) at home using household mains and perhaps at work as well, I really think the need for stand-alone businesses that JUST charge cars will be minimal, at least in urban areas. On highways though they'll obviously be needed.
One step further, what about a standardised little plug built into parking meters/light poles that you could charge off (perhaps for a fee)? The power is already there (since the light pole is powered). An additional source of revenue for city governments perhaps? Then you could charge almost anywhere there is a lit road.
Hmm you guys in the US got shafted by having one exclusive carrier for the iPhone. Here you buy it unlocked and can use it on any network. And most allow you to tether it and use whatever apps (incl. VoIP) you want on it, out of the box.
Sad that the iPhone is more crippled in its ~home~ market than anywhere else. I couldn't stand owning a network-locked phone.
Which explains a lot about why the ads are necessary in the US I suppose. Because seeing a doctor ~is~ free in most other developed countries. (Well ok, to be pedantic, a slice of your tax money pays for it... but you have to pay that anyway, sooo).
My home is Australia but I've spent a decent amount of time in both the US (several years) and NZ (4 or 5 months). I don't remember seeing a single prescription drug ad in NZ, but in the US geez, there's one every ad break. I think there must be some serious limitations on the NZ version of the law allowing it... either that or a cultural difference that just doesn't make it as worthwhile for the pharma companies.
I did not know America used to be like that. Wow...
As a non-American who had never been exposed to direct marketing of prescription drugs (illegal here in Australia, as it is pretty much everywhere), I always just assumed you guys ~always~ had direct marketing of pharmaceuticals to the public. But apparently not? Which leads me to wonder whether you shouldn't get rid of it again, because it really isn't a good idea for many reasons elaborated upon in this thread.
And usually any Slashdot thread that has a theme of "OMG the US does this crazy thing noone else does" degenerates into petty nationalistic arguments between the Americans and the others (see: use of metric system). But curiously, this thread seems to show that even most Americans would prefer to get rid of their direct pharma marketing.
I've spent a lot of time in the US (years), and I have to say one of the things you notice MOST is the difference in the makeup of TV ads. In the US you get 1 or 2 prescription drug ads in every ad break. Sometimes more... up to a good 20% of total ads by my reckoning. What's hilarious (and I really mean, funny as hell) to an 'outsider' whos not used to it is that the ads are about 10 seconds ad, and 50 seconds disclaimer. "Can result in death". First time I heard that one I literally laughed and thought "haha who would buy that?!".
Yup, yyyy-mm-dd is the ISO standard date format for a reason. You get the advantage of easier chronological sorting (ala the US system of month/day), and the unambiguity of the unit size constantly going in one direct (in this case, largest to smallest).
But we don't. Americans/Canadians say that. Everyone I know says "14 March" or "the 14th of March". I've heard the "but that's how you say it" argument for the US date format before, but it's simply untrue. Other English speaking countries generally say the date before the month (or, just the date... "the 14th").
And those accursed cheap electronics (like wristwatches and low-end VCRs and stuff) that ONLY display in month/day (with no year) are terribly annoying because if it's before the 12th of any month, you have no idea what you are actually looking at (obviously if you see 5/13 though you know it's displaying it in the US format).
Having said that I agree that the system that makes the most sense is yyyy-mm-dd. Which is, in fact, the ISO standard date format (and the preferred way of representing dates in software, so that there's no ambiguity).
But I think the reason the US system annoys the rest of us is not because it's 'crazy' but rather that it's inconsistent. At least day/month/year consistently goes from smallest to largest unit. But the US system is a bit confusing if you aren't used to reading it because it goes 'medium/small/large' unit size. Not smallest to largest or largest to smallest.
Businesses do fine in Australia giving 4-6 weeks of annual leave per year. The Australian economy is booming actually - the only OECD country not to go into recession due to the subprime crisis.
Mind you, in most businesses you'd be required to give your employer reasonable notice of when you intend to take your leave, so you can't really just "up and leave".
Furthermore, it may cost companies more in leave payments here, but keep in mind they don't have to pay for any health care, which I imagine is a huge cost of running a business in the US. One advantage of free universal health care I guess.
They are basically just a list of blacklisted URLs (and probably also the equivalent IPs). As you say, dead easy to get around... these aren't sophisticated filters scanning everything you do ala China (so people comparing the situation in democracies like NZ and Australia to China are wayyyy over-reacting). The proposed Australian one just had a few hundred URLs on it.
So basically they are completely useless since any nasty material like CP is generally transmitted via usenet/private IRC/torrents/etc, not on public HTTP sites. Freedom of expression issues aside, their complete uselessness ALONE is justification for opposing the damn things. What a waste of taxpayers' money.
Wow... I was going to suggest that you just moved to a higher plan, but I took a look at their website and 25 GB is the highest. Wtf?
I thought we had it bad here in Australia with data caps, but yours are way worse. For the same $50 as you're paying for 25 GB, plans here are generally in the upwards of 60 GB (TPG will even give you 130 GB for $49.99). Plus even 200 GB plans are still under 100.
It's weird that Slingshot doesn't have any higher plans (even expensive ones!).
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As an Australian I have to ask ... where did this meme come from? You hear it from Americans online quite a bit ... but I don't get it. Bruce isn't even a particularly common name here ... I certainly don't know anyone by that name.
I'm guessing some movie/TV show that I haven't seen?
Yeah I like playing the market in MMOs more than I enjoy the other aspects of the game actually. Really interesting to watch those mini-economies at work.
Works better in games without the concept of soul-bound/bind on pickup/bind on equip items (e.g. Lineage II, EvE Online ... almost everything can be bought, sold, reused forever). Sorta doesn't work as well in WoW and other games with soulbinding (e.g. Aion) because the "use once, can't trade" aspect of the gear distorts its value (you can't resell something once you use it, so it's value is otherwise less than it would be).
Yeah because as everyone knows, Australia is in Europe...
I can't believe that actually worked! :)
Have to say "ditto", as an Australian who spends ~6 months a year in the US. Two main observations with US news:
- It's quite partisan. You tend to hear one side of the argument from one channel, and the other from another. Rarely do you hear a well-balanced story out of a single source. I think the lack of a well funded public broadcaster (ala BBC or Australian ABC) is most of the reason behind this.
- The emphasis placed on local, national, international is almost completely the opposite of what I'm used to in Australia. Generally in Australia, an international story or major domestic (but never local) story would be first in the bulletin. From my trips to the UK it appears to be similar there. Local stuff would be relegated to 2/3rds through the news, with sport and weather at the end. In the US it seems to be mostly local/domestic, then maybe if you're lucky one international story near the end (and only if its really major ... you never hear 'interesting but not that important' stories from overseas like you do elsewhere).
The other odd thing (to me at least), is that even if you compared a US local news with an Australian local news bulletin, the type of stories they run are quite different. In the US they have local stories like "the mall is getting extended" or "they are putting traffic lights in on this intersection". That'd never get reported at home ... the local stories are more along the lines of what the local/State govt. is doing, or any major crime incidents etc.
On the other hand, the US does one thing way better than anyone else - weather. Even little local stations in small towns have their own meteorologist and often their own Doppler radar, and they actually know what they are talking about! In Australia you just get some vacant blonde chick who knows NOTHING about weather, reading the script sent to her by the weather bureau. :)
You do realise that in countries with universal health care systems, there are still private hospitals, right? Just because there is a public option, does not mean that there is not still a private option.
FWIW in my country, there's about a 50/50 split of private vs public hospitals.
Also don't confused government-PAID healthcare (i.e. single payer, but doctors themselves are still private businesses free to do what they want), with government-RUN healthcare (where the government actually runs the clinics/treatments themselves). Most countries have the former, not the latter. So comparisons with the Soviet Union etc are a bit ... wrong.
You know, you're right. And I say this as an Australian living with our wonderful (and I'm not being sarcastic) universal, single-payer health care system here.
In the past on Slashdot, when the issue of US healthcare reform has come up, you inevitably get all the Canadians/Europeans/Australians/New Zealanders on here going "OMG of course you should reform - your system sucks, and ours works pretty well". It seems like a no-brainer ... why would you not want to move to a system like ours. It's cheaper, more efficient, everyone is covered, health insurance is not tied to your employer, and the health outcomes returned are better. I was one of those people ... it seemed absolutely crazy (as in, literally mind-bendingly insane) that someone would want to oppose moving from the overpriced, inefficient and inequitable system you currently have to a system like most of the rest of the world employs.
BUT... ...now that I actually ~read~ something about the proposal itself, I see why Americans are debating it so much. It isn't really giving you guys a system like that in CA/EU/AU at all! Rather, it's just modifying the current system somewhat. It isn't really a fresh, new or particularly efficient system. It's tacking something onto what's already there ... giving it a coat of paint if you will, but not really addressing the underlying problems. It's not introducing a single payer system like in most other developed countries. And although I would personally still support it on balance, had I been an American, I would agree that it's not really a straightforward decision and it does have some significant flaws.
So to non-Americans mystified at the opposition to this, take a read of the actual proposal. It's not a stark choice between "the system they have now" and "a system like in other countries". Rather the proposal is for something kinda inbetween, which runs the risk that it may not work as well as ~either~.
As someone who isn't French, Chinese or American, let me say the following that might reassure you a bit.
- I have nothing but trust and respect in Airbus and its planes. Chinese planes on the other hand ... I doubt I'd feel very safe on those.
- And wines? French wine on the whole is still some of the best in the world (Australia puts up some pretty stiff competition too). Californian wines these days are getting pretty good too. But Chinese? Not even close ... and I don't even think there is much in the way of Chinese wine in markets outside Asia anyway.
The French still do some things very well indeed.
As for the Americans. I'm not American, but "made in USA" (increasingly rare these days!) is a mark that to me that usually means sturdy, well-built and reliable. I'd buy American over Chinese given the choice, even if the American product was 20-30% more expensive. Tools and machinery is one area where you still see a lot of US-made products and they are some of the most respected brands in the business.
I'm sorry, I just find it staggering that there are such huuuuge fees on EFT in America. Everywhere else, a cheque might attract a fee, because it is slow, cumbersome and requires manual effort. OTOH, EFT is free, virtually everywhere. The banks want you to use it, cause it's less work for them.
Hell, even the fee for a WIRE transfer to a FOREIGN account is less than 4% (I think it's 2% at my bank). A 4% fee to a domestic account is just highway robbery.
Without any exaggeration I can say the following:
- I have never written a cheque, nor even had a cheque account.
- In my life (27 years), I have received 3 cheques. One of which was actually from the US. The other two were in the early 90s.
Not to dispute that for you, this development is exciting and a time-saver (after all, it's not your fault that your client can't pay you electronically). I'm just so shocked at the size of the fees! :o
As an aside, it's stunning to think of the absolutely massive hardware that must sit behind Google and Facebook. I mean, 11% and 7% of ~total web traffic in the US~, respectively. That's a lot of bytes! Frankly I find it shocking/amazing that any single site can command such a massive slice of all traffic, given the size of the web and all. 11% for Google's stuff combined doesn't surprise me but 7% for FB certainly does. I mean, it's a popular site and I use it, but I doubt it makes up 7% of my browsing-related traffic.
Concrete playgrounds ... ugh. Have to admit you do see a lot of them in America. Was a bit of a shock to me having grown up in Australia where most playgrounds are a) huge (as in, 5 or 6 football fields in size); and b) filled with grass and trees (except for the part reserved for an actual sports/playing field).
The article's Australian, and having grown up (and went to school) in Australia I can say that ~most~ suburban schools in Australia do NOT have a fence around their boundary. Mine didn't. Although I think things are changing ... a school near where I live now has just had a fence installed in the last couple of years.
I spend a lot of time in the US though and it does seem over there that even in many suburban and rural areas, school playgrounds are fenced.
I never said the "unlocked" part had anything to do with the "being able to tether" part. They were in separate sentences.
Although they are somewhat related. Unlocked = able to change networks = able to change to a network that supports tethering.
Makes a lot of sense, really. Actually I can foresee a world where there IS no petrol/gas station equivalent. I mean, why go somewhere specifically to charge your car, when you can do it while you're parked at the supermarket. On top of the fact that you'd be charging (slowly) at home using household mains and perhaps at work as well, I really think the need for stand-alone businesses that JUST charge cars will be minimal, at least in urban areas. On highways though they'll obviously be needed.
One step further, what about a standardised little plug built into parking meters/light poles that you could charge off (perhaps for a fee)? The power is already there (since the light pole is powered). An additional source of revenue for city governments perhaps? Then you could charge almost anywhere there is a lit road.
Hmm you guys in the US got shafted by having one exclusive carrier for the iPhone. Here you buy it unlocked and can use it on any network. And most allow you to tether it and use whatever apps (incl. VoIP) you want on it, out of the box.
Sad that the iPhone is more crippled in its ~home~ market than anywhere else. I couldn't stand owning a network-locked phone.
Which explains a lot about why the ads are necessary in the US I suppose. Because seeing a doctor ~is~ free in most other developed countries. (Well ok, to be pedantic, a slice of your tax money pays for it ... but you have to pay that anyway, sooo).
Interesting ... didn't know NZ allowed it too.
My home is Australia but I've spent a decent amount of time in both the US (several years) and NZ (4 or 5 months). I don't remember seeing a single prescription drug ad in NZ, but in the US geez, there's one every ad break. I think there must be some serious limitations on the NZ version of the law allowing it ... either that or a cultural difference that just doesn't make it as worthwhile for the pharma companies.
I did not know America used to be like that. Wow...
As a non-American who had never been exposed to direct marketing of prescription drugs (illegal here in Australia, as it is pretty much everywhere), I always just assumed you guys ~always~ had direct marketing of pharmaceuticals to the public. But apparently not? Which leads me to wonder whether you shouldn't get rid of it again, because it really isn't a good idea for many reasons elaborated upon in this thread.
And usually any Slashdot thread that has a theme of "OMG the US does this crazy thing noone else does" degenerates into petty nationalistic arguments between the Americans and the others (see: use of metric system). But curiously, this thread seems to show that even most Americans would prefer to get rid of their direct pharma marketing.
I've spent a lot of time in the US (years), and I have to say one of the things you notice MOST is the difference in the makeup of TV ads. In the US you get 1 or 2 prescription drug ads in every ad break. Sometimes more ... up to a good 20% of total ads by my reckoning. What's hilarious (and I really mean, funny as hell) to an 'outsider' whos not used to it is that the ads are about 10 seconds ad, and 50 seconds disclaimer. "Can result in death". First time I heard that one I literally laughed and thought "haha who would buy that?!".
Bad form replying to one's self but this is interesting: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Date.png
The number of countries using the US system is pretty small. It's basically the US and a few random places like Palau and Micronesia.
But - there are quite a few variations on date format, more than I thought :)
Yup, yyyy-mm-dd is the ISO standard date format for a reason. You get the advantage of easier chronological sorting (ala the US system of month/day), and the unambiguity of the unit size constantly going in one direct (in this case, largest to smallest).
But we don't. Americans/Canadians say that. Everyone I know says "14 March" or "the 14th of March". I've heard the "but that's how you say it" argument for the US date format before, but it's simply untrue. Other English speaking countries generally say the date before the month (or, just the date ... "the 14th").
And those accursed cheap electronics (like wristwatches and low-end VCRs and stuff) that ONLY display in month/day (with no year) are terribly annoying because if it's before the 12th of any month, you have no idea what you are actually looking at (obviously if you see 5/13 though you know it's displaying it in the US format).
Having said that I agree that the system that makes the most sense is yyyy-mm-dd. Which is, in fact, the ISO standard date format (and the preferred way of representing dates in software, so that there's no ambiguity).
But I think the reason the US system annoys the rest of us is not because it's 'crazy' but rather that it's inconsistent. At least day/month/year consistently goes from smallest to largest unit. But the US system is a bit confusing if you aren't used to reading it because it goes 'medium/small/large' unit size. Not smallest to largest or largest to smallest.
Businesses do fine in Australia giving 4-6 weeks of annual leave per year. The Australian economy is booming actually - the only OECD country not to go into recession due to the subprime crisis.
Mind you, in most businesses you'd be required to give your employer reasonable notice of when you intend to take your leave, so you can't really just "up and leave".
Furthermore, it may cost companies more in leave payments here, but keep in mind they don't have to pay for any health care, which I imagine is a huge cost of running a business in the US. One advantage of free universal health care I guess.
They are basically just a list of blacklisted URLs (and probably also the equivalent IPs). As you say, dead easy to get around ... these aren't sophisticated filters scanning everything you do ala China (so people comparing the situation in democracies like NZ and Australia to China are wayyyy over-reacting). The proposed Australian one just had a few hundred URLs on it.
So basically they are completely useless since any nasty material like CP is generally transmitted via usenet/private IRC/torrents/etc, not on public HTTP sites. Freedom of expression issues aside, their complete uselessness ALONE is justification for opposing the damn things. What a waste of taxpayers' money.
Haha ... "Score: -1, Funny". Nice work :P
Wow ... I was going to suggest that you just moved to a higher plan, but I took a look at their website and 25 GB is the highest. Wtf?
I thought we had it bad here in Australia with data caps, but yours are way worse. For the same $50 as you're paying for 25 GB, plans here are generally in the upwards of 60 GB (TPG will even give you 130 GB for $49.99). Plus even 200 GB plans are still under 100.
It's weird that Slingshot doesn't have any higher plans (even expensive ones!).