Robotron or Galaga? Shit, that's a hard one. Both are totally badass. Galaga's more of the "thinking man's" shooter, with a whopping 2 seconds to decide: do I let my ship get captured, or do I blast the beetle while he's helpless? Robotron gave you the awesome power of being able to shoot and run in different directions. And of course, the future of humanity at stake. (Or were they all CLONES??!?!?!!?)
Man, those games ruled. OK, time to download MAME and dig for ROMs...:)
Re:Related to Earning Reports?
on
SCOrched Earth
·
· Score: 1
Could someone with financial background tell us if this is related to SCOX waiting to report their earningsfor another two weeks?
Any correlation? How would these moves affect their reports?
I would venture to guess that ALL of what is released by SCO is directly related to controlling the stock movement and trying to spur interest in investment.
Yes, but hopefully, in the end, the parents who bought the stuff (thinking it was too good to be true at that price, or from that shady dealer), are going to learn a lesson that if you want the real goods, you go through real channels. If you don't go through legit channels, you're going to be surprised.
Or at the very least, when buying something that may be from an unknown source, make sure you are able to check and see if it works before you take it home.
The whole history of the mainstream religions consists of the systematic refutation of superstitions and illogical dogma.
Some of the history of mainstream Christianity is the foundation of most of Science, and some of it is the systematic creation of superstitions and illogical dogma.
I'll take the fossil record over the bible any day.
Neither refutes the other. My point is that you shouldn't have to. The whole discussion, however, has created an atmosphere that ostracizes someone who believes this from both sides.
I am neither welcome as a Scientist nor accepted in Christianity because I dare to believe that the two are not, by their nature, in conflict. Because I believe that the conflict leads to the stupidification (is that a word?) of both sides, as each side digs in their heels and insists that their point of view is the only legitimate one. Both points of view are wrong because of the hatred each engenders for the other. It doesn't matter who "wins" at this point; nobody's "winning." You win by learning and growing. You don't learn and grow when you're trying to shout down someone else.
There is no greater proof that science has won the Evolution VS. Creationism argument than the "Intelligent Design" theory.
What bothers me most about the "Evolution VS. Creationism argument" is threefold:
1. It's an argument, not a discussion.
2. "Vs."...In this argument, the two sides are diametrically opposed to each other. Thanks to this argument, Christians are laughed out of science departments and scientists are thrown out of churches.
3. There is no third option. Anyone questioning the theological correctness of Creationism or the scientific validity of Evolution is considered a loon, and is not allowed to participate in church OR in science.
If you step outside the "argument" and look at the data, three things become abundantly clear:
1. Creationism, as described by the Institute for Creation Research and other such groups, is not theologically sound.
2. Evolution is incomplete and still has problems that need to be worked out. It is not dogma to be blindly defended, but a theory that should be reworked or discarded as we learn more things about our world.
3. It does not make sense that Science and Christianity should shun each other so absolutely over something as impossibly stupid and pointless as this Argument.
The score stands at Science -1, Christianity -1, by my scorecard. Both sides are losers. They will both continue to be losers until they first STOP ARGUING.
But what would I know? I'm one of those goddamned Secularists, or one of those moronic Christians, depending on which "side" you're on.
Should Pepsi or Dr. Pepper give in because they aren't #1 or diverse?
I agree with your points on Nintendo but Pepsi and Dr. Pepper are horrible examples of "not diverse" companies.
Dr. Pepper is a bad example because it's not its own company any more; it's owned by London-based Cadbury/Schweppes, which makes all kinds of things including candy around the globe.
Pepsi is one of the most diverse corporations, having its hands in all kinds of food production -- they own Frito-Lay, they own Quaker, they own Gatorade... http://www.pepsico.com/company/brands.shtml for a handful of their brands.
I think a GOOD example would be Sears, who recently SOLD OFF their only profitable division, the Sears Financial Network (including the Discover credit card) to Citi, so that they could focus on their retail stores. The end result? Within the very first quarter of doing so, the retail stores became profitable. By focusing on one thing and doing it well, and by not diverting corporate resources to more than one thing, they ended up doing it much better.
Sometimes, as in the case of Pepsi, diversity can help a company weather the storm and do a better job. And sometimes, such as Sears' case, you do a better job with a narrow focus.
"Frotz, Q. X and Rumble, M (1991): Dilatory freeble-tropism in the edible polka-dotted starfish, Asterias gigantiferus (L) (Echinodermata, Asteroidea), when treated with radioactive magnesium pemoline. J. f. Krankschaft und Gierschift, 221(6):340-347."
Not only is the above comment informative and insightful, but this bit is brilliantly funny. I would have run out of clever ideas at about the word "starfish."
Re:US is not socialist? Sez who!
on
Linux in 2004?
·
· Score: 1
Where do you get off saying the US is not a socialist govt?
I think the real question is... where did I say that it isn't one?
Re:My Bet Is On 2006
on
Linux in 2004?
·
· Score: 4, Insightful
Other governments its a different story because they are not all whores like ours.
I'm afraid that other countries' reluctance to use Microsoft has very little to do with being whores.
I mean, put yourself in their shoes. You can use a foreign OS that you can't see the insides of to connect to the internet made in a country that is a superpower and wants to stay that way. Or, you can pick Linux, which may be made partially in the USA but at least you can look on the insides, modify it, and have your geeks keep an eye for any trojans.
Deciding not to use Windows has little to do with whether or not they're whores and everything to do with nationalism and national security.
In fact if anything, other countries are just whores to their own businesses instead of USA's businesses. Which makes sense, obviously.
Generally corporate interference with and influence on government increases -- out of necessity -- the closer a country is to Socialism. This should be obvious: In a Socialist system, influencing the government is the ONLY way for a business to be successful! For that reason, the US government isn't the big whore it's made out to be compared to the rest of the world.
Bipolar disorder: There are 3 main types of bipolar, and 16 different subcategories. This has led some people to suspect that the people working on diagnostic tools have Obsessive Compulsive disorder. Bipolar people tend to work in bursts of high activity, with roughly equal periods of low/no activity. They also tend to drink heavily, as alchohol smooths the ride.
For those of us who are most definitely bipolar, there are other things that help to smooth the ride.
1. Regular sleep. Absolutely vital. If it's past 11PM, you're reading this, and you're bipolar, save a bookmark on this and come back and read it after you've had 9 hours.
2. Healthy diet. Plan a trip to the grocery store once or twice a week to get lots of fruit and salad; try to cut caffeine AND alcohol out of your diet.
3. Regular exercise. Do something regularly that helps keep your average activity level high -- such as biking or walking to work -- and once or twice a week do something that actually involves strenuous exercise, such as playing tennis.
4. Express yourself. Bipolar folks are typically more creative than non-bipolar folks -- something having to do with being able to see both sides of the issue. Pick an art -- an instrument you play, writing, painting, anything -- and improvise on it regularly. You don't have to record it, you don't have to let anyone hear or see what you do, you just have to do it to let that expression get out.
OK, and a beer now and then doesn't hurt. Unless you're an alcoholic bipolar. Then it does.
Well, anyhow, this works for me. And when I don't do it, it doesn't work for me. Any time you can avoid the ups and downs without using drugs is good.
Yes, well, that's why we want fair competition between all of the computer OS and system manufacturers, and not just one company strong-arming the rest. When there are a number of players, then if one of them tries to strong-arm the rest, the rest squash them.
People didn't like IBM in the past because they were the dominant player and the rest of the industry couldn't stop them if IBM tried strong-arm tactics. In the mainframe biz this is still true, but now there are alternatives to mainframes (PC farms). People don't like Microsoft now because they are so powerful that they can strong-arm basically at will. Linux is changing that.
Most corporations do some good things and some bad things. Very few are basically evil. And a few are basically good.
Apple is like any other corporation. Not all corporations are evil faceless satans. I realize that to a great many people that what I have just said here is heretical...
Good point. As an aside, am I the only person who sees parallels between the "kids these days" attitude expressed in this and other things going on -- blaming DOOM and Quake for Colombine, study after study trying to find out what's wrong with gaming, etc. -- and the attitudes that parents in the 60's had towards rock 'n' roll? Of course now we look back and see the rock of the 60's as basically harmless. And kids in the 60's knew rock was harmless. But there's something about games that must really bother the sensibilities of Baby Boomers.
I'm neither a Boomer nor a Boomer Junior (my parents were 'Tweeners,' the generation born during the Depression and leading up to the war -- the first US generation that hasn't produced a president) so I'm not familiar with what the Boomer sensibilities are, or what they might be.
With all due respect to karma, you can take your sympathy and shove it up your ass so far that it sees the daylight coming from your nostrils.
It's one thing to be critical of the US legal system. That's fair. It deserves criticism. It -benefits- from criticism, because enough criticism and eventually someone takes note, takes action and does something that hopefully makes the system a little better.
What I don't hear about is how much better other legal systems are. Or if I have a problem in another country, how I can address it if I don't already know the right people and can't pull the right strings. And then there's that "presumed guilty" issue so many other countries have.
I'm not happy with our system but while you're smarmily chuckling some of us are taking an active part in improving it, and I'll take my chances with it, warts and all, over the "you are only who you know" system the rest of the world uses. I sure as fuck don't need the sympathy of some cocksucking European snob.
Yep. Pretty much. I was there with my girlfriend visiting with her friends and family, and they all had access to as many GBA's, PS2's, etc as they wanted.
I believe the difference here is that this is not merely a "naked" sorceress, but a sorceress with no weapons, no items, no skills -- all she can do is run up to monsters and punch 'em out. She can't throw potions. She can't cast spells. She can't get resistances through an amulet. She doesn't get any stronger, healthier, or faster when she levels up. She's a sickly weakling punching her way through the game the entire way.
Simoniker and I made a pact with the devil. Today, this gets posted to Slashdot. Tomorrow, the main page. Next week, "Irene the Infirm" becomes a TV Movie.
Oh, you could turn off your TV.
But then there comes the McDonald's tie-in. "Irene" bumper stickers. The T-Shirt.
And then on MTV awards night... seen Britney's new costume? That's right. Irene.
Irene on Coca-cola cans. Irene on billboards. The Irene cartoon show. Irene the breakfast cereal. Irene spam.
If you are mad now, just wait until three months from now when President Bush declares war on China because of the manufacturing of Irene knock-off Barbies. They'll call Irene "the fictional video game character that launched a thousand cruise missiles." Yeah, not quite as nice as Helen of Troy, but Satan wanted the rest of a bottle of Dahlwhinnie I had in my liquor cabinet for that, and though we'd given up our souls we weren't about to give a drop to that scumbag shit.
I'm writing a story right now where, for the particular voice I've chosen, the less that is known about the main character, the better -- that way, the reader can better put him/herself in the place of the character. Of course, I've broken that rule rather badly. I'm obviously no Isaac Asimov or anything like that.
On the other hand, in (for example) Lovecraft's writing, the story's frequently being told to you by the character who experienced it. In that case, an interesting character can be a big plus. But it still isn't necessary -- Moby Dick's "Ishmael" never really talks about himself; who these characters are is never as important as what they've experienced.
When you're interacting, though, I believe you're right: If I'm not interested in the avatar I'm controlling, I'm not going to be interested in the story. Period.
Now that it's becoming clear that IBM has no interest in buying out SCO or settling, and that SCO bargained with their lawyers specifically to handle such instances, they have started attacking Linux.
As you pointed out, this is an act clearly directed at Red Hat. Red Hat is now on the record saying, "You're annoying me," and it's like it just got SCO's attention.
It's as if SCO's thinking, "Well, Plan A didn't work, Plan B was a total flop -- maybe we can get Red Hat to buy us out or settle with us? If we're enough of a pain, maybe they'll do what's necessary to make us go away?"
"All SCO execs having got rich, got jobs with micro$oft or just laying low for a while."
Why the hell would Microsoft hire any of these guys? Microsoft just wants the benefits of this case -- and none of the disadvantages. Microsoft's management is quite capable of discerning that SCO is staffed by loons.
No, someone from SCO looking for a job with Microsoft after this is all over is going to be in for quite a surprise.
Well, I -have- been doing work with embedded Linux for the past 2 years, and boy howdy I can't tell you how cool this is to me. I know of at least two of these features we may be able to use -right f'ing now- and I'm pretty sure we can use the others as well.
I've worked with Monta Vista before; they were recommended to us by Intel for working with the new Xscale processor line. Now I see why. Wish I was using MV's kernel now.
Slashdot Mirror
I think Linus would look better as Neo. Seriously.
With RMS as the Architect...
Robotron or Galaga? Shit, that's a hard one. Both are totally badass. Galaga's more of the "thinking man's" shooter, with a whopping 2 seconds to decide: do I let my ship get captured, or do I blast the beetle while he's helpless? Robotron gave you the awesome power of being able to shoot and run in different directions. And of course, the future of humanity at stake. (Or were they all CLONES??!?!?!!?)
:)
Man, those games ruled. OK, time to download MAME and dig for ROMs...
I would venture to guess that ALL of what is released by SCO is directly related to controlling the stock movement and trying to spur interest in investment.
"Cute."
Yes, but hopefully, in the end, the parents who bought the stuff (thinking it was too good to be true at that price, or from that shady dealer), are going to learn a lesson that if you want the real goods, you go through real channels. If you don't go through legit channels, you're going to be surprised.
Or at the very least, when buying something that may be from an unknown source, make sure you are able to check and see if it works before you take it home.
That's why eBay has escrow.
This one goes to eleven.
Some of the history of mainstream Christianity is the foundation of most of Science, and some of it is the systematic creation of superstitions and illogical dogma.
Neither refutes the other. My point is that you shouldn't have to. The whole discussion, however, has created an atmosphere that ostracizes someone who believes this from both sides.
I am neither welcome as a Scientist nor accepted in Christianity because I dare to believe that the two are not, by their nature, in conflict. Because I believe that the conflict leads to the stupidification (is that a word?) of both sides, as each side digs in their heels and insists that their point of view is the only legitimate one. Both points of view are wrong because of the hatred each engenders for the other. It doesn't matter who "wins" at this point; nobody's "winning." You win by learning and growing. You don't learn and grow when you're trying to shout down someone else.
What bothers me most about the "Evolution VS. Creationism argument" is threefold:
1. It's an argument, not a discussion.
2. "Vs."
3. There is no third option. Anyone questioning the theological correctness of Creationism or the scientific validity of Evolution is considered a loon, and is not allowed to participate in church OR in science.
If you step outside the "argument" and look at the data, three things become abundantly clear:
1. Creationism, as described by the Institute for Creation Research and other such groups, is not theologically sound.
2. Evolution is incomplete and still has problems that need to be worked out. It is not dogma to be blindly defended, but a theory that should be reworked or discarded as we learn more things about our world.
3. It does not make sense that Science and Christianity should shun each other so absolutely over something as impossibly stupid and pointless as this Argument.
The score stands at Science -1, Christianity -1, by my scorecard. Both sides are losers. They will both continue to be losers until they first STOP ARGUING.
But what would I know? I'm one of those goddamned Secularists, or one of those moronic Christians, depending on which "side" you're on.
I agree with your points on Nintendo but Pepsi and Dr. Pepper are horrible examples of "not diverse" companies.
Dr. Pepper is a bad example because it's not its own company any more; it's owned by London-based Cadbury/Schweppes, which makes all kinds of things including candy around the globe.
Pepsi is one of the most diverse corporations, having its hands in all kinds of food production -- they own Frito-Lay, they own Quaker, they own Gatorade... http://www.pepsico.com/company/brands.shtml for a handful of their brands.
I think a GOOD example would be Sears, who recently SOLD OFF their only profitable division, the Sears Financial Network (including the Discover credit card) to Citi, so that they could focus on their retail stores. The end result? Within the very first quarter of doing so, the retail stores became profitable. By focusing on one thing and doing it well, and by not diverting corporate resources to more than one thing, they ended up doing it much better.
Sometimes, as in the case of Pepsi, diversity can help a company weather the storm and do a better job. And sometimes, such as Sears' case, you do a better job with a narrow focus.
Not only is the above comment informative and insightful, but this bit is brilliantly funny. I would have run out of clever ideas at about the word "starfish."
I think the real question is... where did I say that it isn't one?
I'm afraid that other countries' reluctance to use Microsoft has very little to do with being whores.
I mean, put yourself in their shoes. You can use a foreign OS that you can't see the insides of to connect to the internet made in a country that is a superpower and wants to stay that way. Or, you can pick Linux, which may be made partially in the USA but at least you can look on the insides, modify it, and have your geeks keep an eye for any trojans.
Deciding not to use Windows has little to do with whether or not they're whores and everything to do with nationalism and national security.
In fact if anything, other countries are just whores to their own businesses instead of USA's businesses. Which makes sense, obviously.
Generally corporate interference with and influence on government increases -- out of necessity -- the closer a country is to Socialism. This should be obvious: In a Socialist system, influencing the government is the ONLY way for a business to be successful! For that reason, the US government isn't the big whore it's made out to be compared to the rest of the world.
For those of us who are most definitely bipolar, there are other things that help to smooth the ride.
1. Regular sleep. Absolutely vital. If it's past 11PM, you're reading this, and you're bipolar, save a bookmark on this and come back and read it after you've had 9 hours.
2. Healthy diet. Plan a trip to the grocery store once or twice a week to get lots of fruit and salad; try to cut caffeine AND alcohol out of your diet.
3. Regular exercise. Do something regularly that helps keep your average activity level high -- such as biking or walking to work -- and once or twice a week do something that actually involves strenuous exercise, such as playing tennis.
4. Express yourself. Bipolar folks are typically more creative than non-bipolar folks -- something having to do with being able to see both sides of the issue. Pick an art -- an instrument you play, writing, painting, anything -- and improvise on it regularly. You don't have to record it, you don't have to let anyone hear or see what you do, you just have to do it to let that expression get out.
OK, and a beer now and then doesn't hurt. Unless you're an alcoholic bipolar. Then it does.
Well, anyhow, this works for me. And when I don't do it, it doesn't work for me. Any time you can avoid the ups and downs without using drugs is good.
Eventually SCO will have no clothes left and die of exposure.
Yes, well, that's why we want fair competition between all of the computer OS and system manufacturers, and not just one company strong-arming the rest. When there are a number of players, then if one of them tries to strong-arm the rest, the rest squash them.
People didn't like IBM in the past because they were the dominant player and the rest of the industry couldn't stop them if IBM tried strong-arm tactics. In the mainframe biz this is still true, but now there are alternatives to mainframes (PC farms). People don't like Microsoft now because they are so powerful that they can strong-arm basically at will. Linux is changing that.
Most corporations do some good things and some bad things. Very few are basically evil. And a few are basically good.
Apple is like any other corporation. Not all corporations are evil faceless satans. I realize that to a great many people that what I have just said here is heretical...
Good point. As an aside, am I the only person who sees parallels between the "kids these days" attitude expressed in this and other things going on -- blaming DOOM and Quake for Colombine, study after study trying to find out what's wrong with gaming, etc. -- and the attitudes that parents in the 60's had towards rock 'n' roll? Of course now we look back and see the rock of the 60's as basically harmless. And kids in the 60's knew rock was harmless. But there's something about games that must really bother the sensibilities of Baby Boomers.
I'm neither a Boomer nor a Boomer Junior (my parents were 'Tweeners,' the generation born during the Depression and leading up to the war -- the first US generation that hasn't produced a president) so I'm not familiar with what the Boomer sensibilities are, or what they might be.
With all due respect to karma, you can take your sympathy and shove it up your ass so far that it sees the daylight coming from your nostrils.
It's one thing to be critical of the US legal system. That's fair. It deserves criticism. It -benefits- from criticism, because enough criticism and eventually someone takes note, takes action and does something that hopefully makes the system a little better.
What I don't hear about is how much better other legal systems are. Or if I have a problem in another country, how I can address it if I don't already know the right people and can't pull the right strings. And then there's that "presumed guilty" issue so many other countries have.
I'm not happy with our system but while you're smarmily chuckling some of us are taking an active part in improving it, and I'll take my chances with it, warts and all, over the "you are only who you know" system the rest of the world uses. I sure as fuck don't need the sympathy of some cocksucking European snob.
Fuck you and the ass you rode in town on.
Yep. Pretty much. I was there with my girlfriend visiting with her friends and family, and they all had access to as many GBA's, PS2's, etc as they wanted.
You just had to know where to shop.
I believe the difference here is that this is not merely a "naked" sorceress, but a sorceress with no weapons, no items, no skills -- all she can do is run up to monsters and punch 'em out. She can't throw potions. She can't cast spells. She can't get resistances through an amulet. She doesn't get any stronger, healthier, or faster when she levels up. She's a sickly weakling punching her way through the game the entire way.
Well, you figure that with all that heat from the demons of Hell, she's gotta be keeping warm that way.
Agreed. Diablo is just Nethack with better art, basically. Whoever modded this Offtopic needs to get meta-modded.
Simoniker and I made a pact with the devil. Today, this gets posted to Slashdot. Tomorrow, the main page. Next week, "Irene the Infirm" becomes a TV Movie.
Oh, you could turn off your TV.
But then there comes the McDonald's tie-in. "Irene" bumper stickers. The T-Shirt.
And then on MTV awards night... seen Britney's new costume? That's right. Irene.
Irene on Coca-cola cans. Irene on billboards. The Irene cartoon show. Irene the breakfast cereal. Irene spam.
If you are mad now, just wait until three months from now when President Bush declares war on China because of the manufacturing of Irene knock-off Barbies. They'll call Irene "the fictional video game character that launched a thousand cruise missiles." Yeah, not quite as nice as Helen of Troy, but Satan wanted the rest of a bottle of Dahlwhinnie I had in my liquor cabinet for that, and though we'd given up our souls we weren't about to give a drop to that scumbag shit.
So, uhm, get used to Irene, man...
I'm writing a story right now where, for the particular voice I've chosen, the less that is known about the main character, the better -- that way, the reader can better put him/herself in the place of the character. Of course, I've broken that rule rather badly. I'm obviously no Isaac Asimov or anything like that.
On the other hand, in (for example) Lovecraft's writing, the story's frequently being told to you by the character who experienced it. In that case, an interesting character can be a big plus. But it still isn't necessary -- Moby Dick's "Ishmael" never really talks about himself; who these characters are is never as important as what they've experienced.
When you're interacting, though, I believe you're right: If I'm not interested in the avatar I'm controlling, I'm not going to be interested in the story. Period.
Now that it's becoming clear that IBM has no interest in buying out SCO or settling, and that SCO bargained with their lawyers specifically to handle such instances, they have started attacking Linux.
As you pointed out, this is an act clearly directed at Red Hat. Red Hat is now on the record saying, "You're annoying me," and it's like it just got SCO's attention.
It's as if SCO's thinking, "Well, Plan A didn't work, Plan B was a total flop -- maybe we can get Red Hat to buy us out or settle with us? If we're enough of a pain, maybe they'll do what's necessary to make us go away?"
"All SCO execs having got rich, got jobs with micro$oft or just laying low for a while."
Why the hell would Microsoft hire any of these guys? Microsoft just wants the benefits of this case -- and none of the disadvantages. Microsoft's management is quite capable of discerning that SCO is staffed by loons.
No, someone from SCO looking for a job with Microsoft after this is all over is going to be in for quite a surprise.
Well, I -have- been doing work with embedded Linux for the past 2 years, and boy howdy I can't tell you how cool this is to me. I know of at least two of these features we may be able to use -right f'ing now- and I'm pretty sure we can use the others as well.
I've worked with Monta Vista before; they were recommended to us by Intel for working with the new Xscale processor line. Now I see why. Wish I was using MV's kernel now.
Maybe that can be arranged...