I always find it an odd amusement, us US'ers being so hell-bent on interfering with everyone's business--but our laws say you can't do it to us. Then we complain when some guy we don't like in a country we don't like does the same, as if our displeasure at being treated the way we treat others is acceptable.
Then again, like hell they aren't going to do it to us Yanks if they can find loopholes.
It reminds me of the movie 'August', wherein 'old money' meets the internet-financial world by the end... only Old Money takes over with finesse and precision. The fact that David Bowie played the ringleader of the company made me cringe and smile evilly at the same time.
The word 'vague' in this alone scares me. There was a super-ridiculous kerfluffle in livejournal.com years ago, which is historically noted as 'Strikethrough 2007' to those who were affected by it. One complaint from a religious-based family group, concerned with Harry Potter being portrayed in "precarious positions" both in fanfiction and artwork, sent a ripple-effect through the site. It went from deleting a few users without warning (causing a strikethrough in their username) to a basic witch-hunt, with hundreds of users--some paid accounts, or even those who footed the bill for expensive permanent accounts--being deleted, when most didn't have anything but 'harry potter' and 'fanfiction' listed in their profile's interests section. Very few involved the younger crowd at Hogwarts in sexualized-artwork. Simply implying that you were interested in Potter-based communities (even some not related to the Potter-universe itself) within the site fueled enough panic from the livejournal staff.
Funniest part was, it was done while The Boss Of Them was out for the weekend. When he returned, he gave massive apologies and reinstated users unfairly deleted. Still, the "event" lingers in the back of everyone's mind five years later.
BTW, I think you meant 'Chinophobic'. There are other definitions for 'Chimo', the most interesting one I just looked up referring to high school seniors dating high school freshman. That... I MIGHT be phobic of, lol.
Freaky shit DOES occur, however. However rare things can be, it happens. Back on June 1st, we had an F3 tornado tear us up--in Massachusetts. A complete and total shocker, as we never get ANY-thing like that. It started only about a quarter of a mile from where I live, and worsened in the next town over from us. By sheer luck and happenstance, I was facing the very beginning of it and whipped out my Crackberry to film it. And yea, all I could say was "OMG", which I got dog-piled for in the comments...
Yea, gotta respect. I can only imagine how awful they feel, which is why I hope the details come out ASAP. I don't doubt it was something out of their control. I've had a lot of crap happen in my car, whether lost brakes or severe ice storms, where if I hadn't either recovered or drove off the road to avoid other cars I would've ended up crashing my way through rush hour traffic. That's a heart-stopping event enough--can't imagine being at the helm of a machine that causes an apartment complex being destroyed.:P
Now you KNOW there's gonna be a jump-start in the government throwing big bucks into NASA. If they did it during the Communist vs. Capitalist dick-waving that went on for decades, how are they going to tolerate the idea that there are other planets out there, ones that MIGHT get to other exoplanets first? The fear, anger, propaganda... I can see Obama now...
"By 2419, we will send a man to 51 Pegasi b!"
It'd be better in a Boston accent, but hey, let's get our light-speed on!
The coverage of this was nuts. The TV in my restaurant had some idiot reporter asking someone who was there asking him, "What's the chaos like? Were there people scattering?" #1, it's a sure bet she wanted to say BODIES scattering, an #2, if not, then the question is one of the dumbest I'd ever heard. That's like asking, "Is everyone standing there in harm's way, or fleeing in terror?"
So in other words, these guys want people to pay for crap they don't want. I'd LOVE to get cable channels, but only the ones I want. I'd nix most channels and have locals and only 8-10 others. Reality-show channels? 50 news channels? ESPN 1 to 249? Christ. It's like if Wal-Fart decided to tell their customers, "if you come to our store, you have to buy EVERYTHING WE TELL YOU TO, even if you don't want it."
This was covered in Daniel Suarez' book series, Daemon and Freedom. If farmers decided to put serious conditions and stipulations, along with super-high prices on growing corn or soybeans, they'd OWN us. Corn and soy are in everything. They could fashion themselves a Big Oil-esque persona. Of course, that's if the government didn't send snipers and tanks to their property to make damned sure they didn't pull that shit.
Maybe. And maybe for the farmers, there are actual issues, like insects and bees are impeded somehow or the turbines disorient them. Lots of factors involved, I'm sure. Still, they LOOK SO FUCKING COOL, lol.
I remember the first time I saw wind turbines. We were on vacation in Pennsylvania, and a small mountain ridge had row upon row of them. All I could say was, "WOW, those things are so fucking cool!" Am I the only one who thinks they look awesome? I'd love 'em out here in my area. There's a lot of unoccupied space on the mountain ridges we have, and any move toward getting away from the reliance on fossil fuels is fine by me. I know wind/solar power needs more development and consideration, but why not start with the basics to see how it goes? Just my two cents.
To me, however, it's not just cost, but the idea that it's cleaner. Basing the argument for/against green tech on just its cost defeats the purpose of why green tech's been in the works to begin with, amirite? You make good points, definitely, and no, the tech isn't 100% perfect; but it'd be nice to clear the air. Look at China, LA and the like. You can barely breathe.
There's a fine line between "these pedantic assholes who get off on correcting people" and people who disagree with you and are therefore wrong.
During SETI's time when it was shut down, that's as much as it'd cost. I didn't say F-22, that's getting extremely specific, and it goes by today's standards; if I say "my house is worth as much as a car" (which in some cases, it is; a POS trailer built in the 60s when electricians got their licenses from a 7-11, apparently), for you to assume that it's the cost of an Audi as compared to a Hyundai isn't my fault. The statement is true, it just needs more specifics, as in which model, new/used, etc.
So when it comes to the aircraft-comparison, I'd tell you to consult Sagan on which aircraft he'd meant, as it's his statement altogether, not mine. I mean, he's dead, but still; I can't remember which addendum to which 'Cosmos' episode it was in which he says that, but I can look it up. So the formula (circa 1993, the time period when SETI was canceled, which model Sagan spoke of) as it relates to my statement isn't based on your F-22 argument. That wasn't during Carl's time, nor the time SETI was taken down. So perhaps I should have added that as HIS factoid to make it clear that we weren't talking about today's standards.
Just like SETI, it always ticks me off when space and science projects are shelved because "it costs too much".
The cost to run SETI a year = one army fighter plane 50 years of NASA = the bank-bailout
I've shut people up who say "the space program costs too much!" with those two facts alone. It'd be nice if we did spend too much on astronomy and science. "Sorry Mr. President, we can't go to war with (insert country with oil or other resources we want control of). We decided to spend money on cool shit that's gonna expand our feeble minds for once."
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I always find it an odd amusement, us US'ers being so hell-bent on interfering with everyone's business--but our laws say you can't do it to us. Then we complain when some guy we don't like in a country we don't like does the same, as if our displeasure at being treated the way we treat others is acceptable.
Then again, like hell they aren't going to do it to us Yanks if they can find loopholes.
The more our world leans to the universe in Daniel Suarez' fiction, the more I feel a delightful mix of elation, fear, uncertainty and excitement.
Pearls of wisdom, given to me by an 'Anonymous Coward' who's decided to randomly judge my mental health and what I can handle on /.
It reminds me of the movie 'August', wherein 'old money' meets the internet-financial world by the end... only Old Money takes over with finesse and precision. The fact that David Bowie played the ringleader of the company made me cringe and smile evilly at the same time.
That's just the phobia of Chinese people, but what's the term for your sexual orientation BEING Chinese?
The word 'vague' in this alone scares me. There was a super-ridiculous kerfluffle in livejournal.com years ago, which is historically noted as 'Strikethrough 2007' to those who were affected by it. One complaint from a religious-based family group, concerned with Harry Potter being portrayed in "precarious positions" both in fanfiction and artwork, sent a ripple-effect through the site. It went from deleting a few users without warning (causing a strikethrough in their username) to a basic witch-hunt, with hundreds of users--some paid accounts, or even those who footed the bill for expensive permanent accounts--being deleted, when most didn't have anything but 'harry potter' and 'fanfiction' listed in their profile's interests section. Very few involved the younger crowd at Hogwarts in sexualized-artwork. Simply implying that you were interested in Potter-based communities (even some not related to the Potter-universe itself) within the site fueled enough panic from the livejournal staff.
Funniest part was, it was done while The Boss Of Them was out for the weekend. When he returned, he gave massive apologies and reinstated users unfairly deleted. Still, the "event" lingers in the back of everyone's mind five years later.
Oh, that's just special.
BTW, I think you meant 'Chinophobic'. There are other definitions for 'Chimo', the most interesting one I just looked up referring to high school seniors dating high school freshman. That... I MIGHT be phobic of, lol.
...that we're talking about China a LOT lately?
Freaky shit DOES occur, however. However rare things can be, it happens. Back on June 1st, we had an F3 tornado tear us up--in Massachusetts. A complete and total shocker, as we never get ANY-thing like that. It started only about a quarter of a mile from where I live, and worsened in the next town over from us. By sheer luck and happenstance, I was facing the very beginning of it and whipped out my Crackberry to film it. And yea, all I could say was "OMG", which I got dog-piled for in the comments...
Yea, gotta respect. I can only imagine how awful they feel, which is why I hope the details come out ASAP. I don't doubt it was something out of their control. I've had a lot of crap happen in my car, whether lost brakes or severe ice storms, where if I hadn't either recovered or drove off the road to avoid other cars I would've ended up crashing my way through rush hour traffic. That's a heart-stopping event enough--can't imagine being at the helm of a machine that causes an apartment complex being destroyed. :P
Now is the time to make Ceres a planet. Our fragile, blue-speck egos need it.
Now you KNOW there's gonna be a jump-start in the government throwing big bucks into NASA. If they did it during the Communist vs. Capitalist dick-waving that went on for decades, how are they going to tolerate the idea that there are other planets out there, ones that MIGHT get to other exoplanets first? The fear, anger, propaganda... I can see Obama now...
"By 2419, we will send a man to 51 Pegasi b!"
It'd be better in a Boston accent, but hey, let's get our light-speed on!
Yes, of course. Never before have there been mechanical failures; just us dumb Yanks fucking everything up, every time.
Your jerk off material may be your country's national anthem, but that doesn't mean you're right, or better.
The coverage of this was nuts. The TV in my restaurant had some idiot reporter asking someone who was there asking him, "What's the chaos like? Were there people scattering?" #1, it's a sure bet she wanted to say BODIES scattering, an #2, if not, then the question is one of the dumbest I'd ever heard. That's like asking, "Is everyone standing there in harm's way, or fleeing in terror?"
And then some poor schlub who owns a homegrown car repair shop gets one digit wrong, and the IRS is deep in their colon. That's fair!
So in other words, these guys want people to pay for crap they don't want. I'd LOVE to get cable channels, but only the ones I want. I'd nix most channels and have locals and only 8-10 others. Reality-show channels? 50 news channels? ESPN 1 to 249? Christ. It's like if Wal-Fart decided to tell their customers, "if you come to our store, you have to buy EVERYTHING WE TELL YOU TO, even if you don't want it."
Voltaire says it best in 'When You're Evil'...
I'm the fly in your soup, I'm the pebble in your shoe
I'm the pea beneath your bed, I'm a bump on every head...
Giant razor-clawed bioengineered crabs.
The church crowds WOULD go for IE, wouldn't they?
This was covered in Daniel Suarez' book series, Daemon and Freedom. If farmers decided to put serious conditions and stipulations, along with super-high prices on growing corn or soybeans, they'd OWN us. Corn and soy are in everything. They could fashion themselves a Big Oil-esque persona. Of course, that's if the government didn't send snipers and tanks to their property to make damned sure they didn't pull that shit.
Maybe. And maybe for the farmers, there are actual issues, like insects and bees are impeded somehow or the turbines disorient them. Lots of factors involved, I'm sure. Still, they LOOK SO FUCKING COOL, lol.
I remember the first time I saw wind turbines. We were on vacation in Pennsylvania, and a small mountain ridge had row upon row of them. All I could say was, "WOW, those things are so fucking cool!" Am I the only one who thinks they look awesome? I'd love 'em out here in my area. There's a lot of unoccupied space on the mountain ridges we have, and any move toward getting away from the reliance on fossil fuels is fine by me. I know wind/solar power needs more development and consideration, but why not start with the basics to see how it goes? Just my two cents.
To me, however, it's not just cost, but the idea that it's cleaner. Basing the argument for/against green tech on just its cost defeats the purpose of why green tech's been in the works to begin with, amirite? You make good points, definitely, and no, the tech isn't 100% perfect; but it'd be nice to clear the air. Look at China, LA and the like. You can barely breathe.
There's a fine line between "these pedantic assholes who get off on correcting people" and people who disagree with you and are therefore wrong.
During SETI's time when it was shut down, that's as much as it'd cost. I didn't say F-22, that's getting extremely specific, and it goes by today's standards; if I say "my house is worth as much as a car" (which in some cases, it is; a POS trailer built in the 60s when electricians got their licenses from a 7-11, apparently), for you to assume that it's the cost of an Audi as compared to a Hyundai isn't my fault. The statement is true, it just needs more specifics, as in which model, new/used, etc.
So when it comes to the aircraft-comparison, I'd tell you to consult Sagan on which aircraft he'd meant, as it's his statement altogether, not mine. I mean, he's dead, but still; I can't remember which addendum to which 'Cosmos' episode it was in which he says that, but I can look it up. So the formula (circa 1993, the time period when SETI was canceled, which model Sagan spoke of) as it relates to my statement isn't based on your F-22 argument. That wasn't during Carl's time, nor the time SETI was taken down. So perhaps I should have added that as HIS factoid to make it clear that we weren't talking about today's standards.
Just like SETI, it always ticks me off when space and science projects are shelved because "it costs too much".
The cost to run SETI a year = one army fighter plane
50 years of NASA = the bank-bailout
I've shut people up who say "the space program costs too much!" with those two facts alone. It'd be nice if we did spend too much on astronomy and science. "Sorry Mr. President, we can't go to war with (insert country with oil or other resources we want control of). We decided to spend money on cool shit that's gonna expand our feeble minds for once."