Why would political calls be exempt from this? They're trying to sell something. I might be convinced to agree that non-profit calls are alright, but political calls?
Because we're a democracy, and voting is such a fundamentally important part of that that restrictions on campaigning are very difficult to enact.
Also, is there a fish that can fly like a bird these days or any indication in that sense? The contrary is pretty common (penguins, et al).
Flying fish. Yes, I have seen them, and they do propel themselves through the air quite impressively.
According to the program, to "guide the other sharks and hunt in packs". C'mon... We all know light gets filtered rather rapidly by water. Wouldn't sound be a better choice?
Evolution works with what it's got. Titanium would make a great skeleton, but calcium was the best that natural selection could do.
He laughed most of the time and thought the ideas were mostly ludicrous.
Did he laugh through Star Wars and Lord of the Rings too over their implausibility? Nobody involved really thinks this is what life's going to look like 200 million years from now; it's an intellectual exercise.
who started this idea years ago in the out-of-print After Man: A Zoology of the Future.
Freaky. I was going through some old books, and found my copy of this not 20 minutes ago (haven't looked at it in ages) Then I go on slashdot and see this.
The book is AMAZING. Wish they'd reprint it, my copy's showing it's age.
Re: negative vs. positive rights: Yes, but you presume that granting of visas is an overt act It needn't be, and hasn't always been. Assume that it is not and that argument turns on its head.
It IS an overt act.
I have no problem with immigration per se; in fact, I'm more pro-immigration than the vast majority of Americans. It would be nice if we could open the borders completely, but as you said, we have to take into account the social cost of doing so. I will say I would prefer that the visas (all types) go to people who are coming from places where effectively the state has completely failed, rather than just places where it's not that easy to get a good-paying job.
My problem with the H-1B visa problem is how it's been turned into a tool that employers can use against employees, both native and foreign. They're effectively using the visa program to depress statewide salaries, and lying to the government when they do it (don't tell me you can't find people with these skills here already).
Well, once you agree that a state has a right, and responsibility to control who enters its borders, I don't see how you can interpret refusing to grant someone the right to enter a country as a violation of their rights.
It comes down to positive rights and negative rights; a state is obligated to respect people's negative rights (i.e. not to interfere in certain spheres), but not all positive rights (i.e. the obligation to proactively do something).
In this case the US is not transgressing against the prospective visa holders negative rights--it's not sending officials to India or wherever to actively prevent the holder from doing certain things. It is, however, not under any obligation to proactively GIVE away the visas. Ergo, no rights have been violated.
Well, not twice as much exactly if you factor in everything. First of all, imac monitors are far superior to the monitors that come with low-end PCs. Secondly the overall quality of the hardware tends to be better. Thirdly it comes with better software packages.
That's not to say Apple hardware isn't too expensive; it is, but you do get what you pay for.
Also, their laptops are more competitive price-wise with PCs, and imho superior.
As for Cyberpunkish writing in F&SF, not sure what you mean. I'm about 18 months behind reading my subscription, but I haven't read many cyberpunkish stories in most of the two years prior to that.
I probably have a broader idea of what cyberpunk is than you. Hell, it's probably broader than most people's.
Indeed. OS X looks good, has a consistant UI and works well.
Don't forget the fact that it's compatible with a lot more applications. Real applications I mean, not gtk frontends to [insert whatever library here] that clog freshmeat.
A lot of sf fans are actively hostile to cyberpunk nowadays; all they want is multibook stories about the space navy (I swear, it seems that all they talk about on rec.arts.sf.written are Bujold and Weber). Bruce Sterling's still writing; I like his stuff, but tastes differ.
Stephenson is the darling of Slashdot, so you'll probably get a half-dozen people recommending him.
Gibson, Stephenson, and Sterling probably make up the Big Three of cyberpunk, with somewhat less famous authors like Pat Cadigan also contributing to the field.
I think the short story market is MUCH friendlier to cyberpunk--any given issue of F&SF or Asimov's will likely have a cyberpunk or cyberpunkish story.
I don't know what you mean by "recent"; last few years, or 1990 on, or what? If you haven't read C.S. Friedman's This Alien Shore, I highly recommend it. A cross between cyberpunk and space opera, and very, very good. But it's not from 1991, so not sure if you'd count it "recent".
Finally there are the novelizations of games such as Shadowrun or Cyberpunk. Never read them myself, but if that's your thing, who am I to judge?
Most of the time you'll just hear about what bands THEY like. A lot of them will be truly awful garage bands your friends like just because they know someone in the band.
"Here, listen to this!"
"Good grief, that's awful! Just a lot of hackneyed grunge rock with substandard production values, an overly loud drummer, and
a guitarist who plays the same 3 chords over and over again."
"Yeah, doesn't that sound sweet? -I- know the drummer, he's a good friend of mine."
I should be entitled to it at the expense of the rest of the world (and, no, I'm not implying some sort of zero-sum game crap, and I don't believe that our wealth comes from exploiting the rest of the world, but I do think that we shouldn't artificially restrict their opportunities).
How is restricting H-1B visas artificially restricting their opportunities? They're not entitled to them; any we give to them are basically a gift.
I live in New York City, which obviously isn't the best place to look for a job. At the moment I'm trying to get into a decent graduate or law school; if that doesn't work Plan C--relocation goes into effect. Las Vegas doesn't sound too bad. Warm weather might be nice.
Lawyers routinely earn six figures straight out of school.
The top 10% graduates of the top 10% law schools will make about 100k, as long as they start out in New York or San Francisco. The other 99% make do with far less.
I frequently have to recruit workers on H1B visas because many US schools seem more interesting in boosting people's self esteem than teaching students anything useful
No, you've just been brainwashed into the media into thinking that US-educated people are incompetent.
Slashdot Mirror
Why would political calls be exempt from this? They're trying to sell something. I might be convinced to agree that non-profit calls are alright, but political calls?
Because we're a democracy, and voting is such a fundamentally important part of that that restrictions on campaigning are very difficult to enact.
I am still a staunch believer in the fact that "global warming" is something that the Earth will fix on it's own.
And I am a staunch believer in the fact that the Earth will "fix" global warming by getting rid of us.
Also, is there a fish that can fly like a bird these days or any indication in that sense? The contrary is pretty common (penguins, et al).
Flying fish. Yes, I have seen them, and they do propel themselves through the air quite impressively.
According to the program, to "guide the other sharks and hunt in packs". C'mon... We all know light gets filtered rather rapidly by water. Wouldn't sound be a better choice?
Evolution works with what it's got. Titanium would make a great skeleton, but calcium was the best that natural selection could do.
He laughed most of the time and thought the ideas were mostly ludicrous.
Did he laugh through Star Wars and Lord of the Rings too over their implausibility? Nobody involved really thinks this is what life's going to look like 200 million years from now; it's an intellectual exercise.
Their explanation how they can be land animals without a skeleton was kind of sketchy, in my opinion.
Like slugs, snails, and worms? Land animals, no skeleton, there you go.
It also seemed to think that the same Classes (Amphibian, Fish, etc) would exist 200 million years from now, which seems a bit off.
Well, considering both amphibians and fishes have existed far longer than that already, I don't think it's way off.
who started this idea years ago in the out-of-print After Man: A Zoology of the Future.
Freaky. I was going through some old books, and found my copy of this not 20 minutes ago (haven't looked at it in ages) Then I go on slashdot and see this.
The book is AMAZING. Wish they'd reprint it, my copy's showing it's age.
Re: negative vs. positive rights: Yes, but you presume that granting of visas is an overt act It needn't be, and hasn't always been. Assume that it is not and that argument turns on its head.
It IS an overt act. I have no problem with immigration per se; in fact, I'm more pro-immigration than the vast majority of Americans. It would be nice if we could open the borders completely, but as you said, we have to take into account the social cost of doing so. I will say I would prefer that the visas (all types) go to people who are coming from places where effectively the state has completely failed, rather than just places where it's not that easy to get a good-paying job.
My problem with the H-1B visa problem is how it's been turned into a tool that employers can use against employees, both native and foreign. They're effectively using the visa program to depress statewide salaries, and lying to the government when they do it (don't tell me you can't find people with these skills here already).
Actually, he's right. That's Gibson's one weak book. Gibson=good books, Sterling=good books, Sterling+Gibson=good try but unsuccessful.
Well, once you agree that a state has a right, and responsibility to control who enters its borders, I don't see how you can interpret refusing to grant someone the right to enter a country as a violation of their rights.
It comes down to positive rights and negative rights; a state is obligated to respect people's negative rights (i.e. not to interfere in certain spheres), but not all positive rights (i.e. the obligation to proactively do something).
In this case the US is not transgressing against the prospective visa holders negative rights--it's not sending officials to India or wherever to actively prevent the holder from doing certain things. It is, however, not under any obligation to proactively GIVE away the visas. Ergo, no rights have been violated.
Well, not twice as much exactly if you factor in everything. First of all, imac monitors are far superior to the monitors that come with low-end PCs. Secondly the overall quality of the hardware tends to be better. Thirdly it comes with better software packages.
That's not to say Apple hardware isn't too expensive; it is, but you do get what you pay for.
Also, their laptops are more competitive price-wise with PCs, and imho superior.
As for the novels, personally I think Heavy Weather and Zeitgeist are brilliant, but I've had trouble convincing other people of this.
I liked Heavy Weather a great deal, but you're right, it's hard to convince other people of that fact.
As for Cyberpunkish writing in F&SF, not sure what you mean. I'm about 18 months behind reading my subscription, but I haven't read many cyberpunkish stories in most of the two years prior to that.
I probably have a broader idea of what cyberpunk is than you. Hell, it's probably broader than most people's.
Indeed. OS X looks good, has a consistant UI and works well.
Don't forget the fact that it's compatible with a lot more applications. Real applications I mean, not gtk frontends to [insert whatever library here] that clog freshmeat.
A lot of sf fans are actively hostile to cyberpunk nowadays; all they want is multibook stories about the space navy (I swear, it seems that all they talk about on rec.arts.sf.written are Bujold and Weber). Bruce Sterling's still writing; I like his stuff, but tastes differ. Stephenson is the darling of Slashdot, so you'll probably get a half-dozen people recommending him. Gibson, Stephenson, and Sterling probably make up the Big Three of cyberpunk, with somewhat less famous authors like Pat Cadigan also contributing to the field.
I think the short story market is MUCH friendlier to cyberpunk--any given issue of F&SF or Asimov's will likely have a cyberpunk or cyberpunkish story.
I don't know what you mean by "recent"; last few years, or 1990 on, or what? If you haven't read C.S. Friedman's This Alien Shore, I highly recommend it. A cross between cyberpunk and space opera, and very, very good. But it's not from 1991, so not sure if you'd count it "recent".
Finally there are the novelizations of games such as Shadowrun or Cyberpunk. Never read them myself, but if that's your thing, who am I to judge?
If they came out every month, they probably wouldn't be as good...
Do you believe that borders should be completely open, that immigration should be totally unregulated?
the word on the street is that it is his best work in years.
Ooh, the street...
Seriously though, it's not like Gibson has weak books, the man takes the time to do it right...
Ask your friends what they like...
Most of the time you'll just hear about what bands THEY like. A lot of them will be truly awful garage bands your friends like just because they know someone in the band.
"Here, listen to this!"
"Good grief, that's awful! Just a lot of hackneyed grunge rock with substandard production values, an overly loud drummer, and a guitarist who plays the same 3 chords over and over again."
"Yeah, doesn't that sound sweet? -I- know the drummer, he's a good friend of mine."
No, I didn't "miss the point". The idea of national sovereignty co-exists with the idea of natural rights.
Have you ever dealt with foreign IT workers? Some are good, very good. Many are bad. As in, staring dumbfounded at the screen bad.
I'll try to be brief as well: Governments cannot grant rights, they can only guarantee them, ignore them, or take them away.
Briefer still:
Only within their borders.
...or would everyone have preferred a version without ESR's comments and opinion, so that we could form our own?
Heh, you should see some of the stuff he's posted on Usenet. The man has a skewed and repellent view of the world in many ways...
I should be entitled to it at the expense of the rest of the world (and, no, I'm not implying some sort of zero-sum game crap, and I don't believe that our wealth comes from exploiting the rest of the world, but I do think that we shouldn't artificially restrict their opportunities).
How is restricting H-1B visas artificially restricting their opportunities? They're not entitled to them; any we give to them are basically a gift.
I live in New York City, which obviously isn't the best place to look for a job. At the moment I'm trying to get into a decent graduate or law school; if that doesn't work Plan C--relocation goes into effect. Las Vegas doesn't sound too bad. Warm weather might be nice.
Lawyers routinely earn six figures straight out of school.
The top 10% graduates of the top 10% law schools will make about 100k, as long as they start out in New York or San Francisco. The other 99% make do with far less.
I frequently have to recruit workers on H1B visas because many US schools seem more interesting in boosting people's self esteem than teaching students anything useful
No, you've just been brainwashed into the media into thinking that US-educated people are incompetent.