motorcyclists are bouncing around like Mars Pathfinder
That is exactly the mental image I had! Complete with loony sound effects. Something like: CRASH, inflation-Thwump! (inflated cyclist goes sailing through the air) boing, boing, boing.....
Without a doubt. I owe a lot to my parents. They gave me love, support, and wisdom.
What I got from ritalin was an experience with a mental state that I had not experienced on my own. A state of focus, of being in touch with my surroundings. It was a conscious, personal decision in college to achieve something of this mental state without medicinal aid. I'm not on ritalin any more because I choose not to be. I choose the way I do because of the person I am. I am who I am in large part because of the upbringing my parents gave me. However, for a time, the ritalin honestly did help.
It's my view that drugs are neither good nor bad in and of themselves, it's how they're used that makes the difference.
I was diagnosed in high school with ADD. No hyperactivity, just the tendency to royally space out. My mind would wander galaxies and universes while my mom was trying to remind me to mow the lawn. Scatterbrained was my middle name. Incredible potential, but no focus.
My father was a skeptic about this whole ritalin/ADD thing, and for good reason. We were involved in Scouts, and he'd seen a number of parents who would drug up their kids with the Standard Mind-Medication during the week to keep them docile, then dump them on a campout with a backpack full of sugar-foods. My mom was a critic, too, but she realized that I needed something to help me deal with this problem that was interfering with school and life. Like you, my mom did the research. Alternative treatments, herbal treatments, all the rest. In the end, she tried the ritalin route: Just a very, very low dosage. And it worked.
As I grew up, from high school into college, I learned to notice my own mental state more. I realized that, as a child, I literally did not know how to focus my own mind. Ritalin was a crutch that helped me to keep my mind on what was going on in the world around me. As I grew more self-aware, I grew less dependent. I did have a valid handicap, and in the beginning, I needed help. In college, I qualified for educational assistance under the Americans with Disabilities Act. But I'm a very independent, muleheadedly stubborn person, and I reject advantages handed to me this way. I prefer to overcome.
My father, as I said, was a skeptic. He said he was the same way as I was growing up, and he's just fine now. My mom had two counterpoints: 1) ADD was not a medically recognized condition when he was growing up, and 2) the rigorous discipline of 20 years in the military did for him what ritalin did for me. Without even knowing it was there, he learned to overcome a handicap, and she saw it more clearly than he did.
My (adopted) younger sister is another case. She was diagnosed with ADHD, and given ritalin. It's my mom's opinion now that my sister never really had ADHD, that she was just another stubborn kid. Such cases happen. She's still a handful (especially since she recently got her driver's license), but I think my parents are doing rather well raising her. (For one thing, no amount of begging and pleading is getting her a car as a birthday or Christmas present.)
I hope it's not too much of a boast to say that we're all fairly intelligent kids in my family, on the upper end of the curve. And it is tough being a 'geek' or 'nerd' growing up in high school. My best advice is to let her know that you love her, and that make sure she realizes that, when she is ridiculed (everyone gets ridiculed in school at some point), it's not because there's anything wrong with her. Help her to know that she is not alone.
The fact that you are wise and loving enough to be the Worried Parent you've shown yourself to be so far is a very good sign for her future. May God bless and look after you both.
A well-written post. However, I'd like to counter a couple of your points.
Japan where guns are strictly controlled
From what I've read, per-capita crime rates amongst Japanese living in America are lower than amongst their kin living in Japan. Interpret this how you will. I interpret it to reinforce the concept that legalized gun ownership has the potential to reduce crime... It's just that, for some cultural reason, the Japanese have a lower starting-point. This doesn't altogether contradict your position, it's just another view of it.
And regarding the Supreme Court's position on the second amendment, you might want to read this opinion column on the recent ruling by the federal Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. The Court stated, in a nutshell, that there was no Judiciary history of applying the Second Amendment to individuals. This fellow runs down a long list of cases that the court apparently ignored, from the Dred Scott case to U.S. v. Verdugo-Urquidez in 1991.
Just my two bits. Keep on reading, keep on learning, keep on thinking.
Mean and spiteful? Yes. Vigilantism? Might be a bit of a strong word for this case. And the RIAA comparison isn't quite right either.
These geeks aren't seeking to administrate Justice. They aren't looking to deprive anyone of life, liberty, or property through force or fraud.
My guess is they're trying to 'teach him a lesson' under that old edict of 'turnabout is fair play'. That, or they're just engaging in a childish-but-satisfying prank, from which they derive no profit.
The RIAA sought to deprive people of property through force: namely, internet connections through DoS attacks.
The geeks in this case may be guilty of minor mail fraud, having used his name and address without his permission. A small crime, and in their minds, the risk of getting caught and found guilty is evidently worth the satisfaction of watching him throw a fit.
"eGovOS? I've used a lot of platforms, but I haven't heard of that one before. Name sounds like it was formulated by some Fedral commission. If that's so, it's gotta be a resource hog."
...unless we time it just right. So it takes 30,000 light years for a message to reach us, and it reaches us today. We build the time machine, go back about 60,000 years, give or take as needed... and time our answer to reach them 30,000 years ago tomorrow, just a day after they sent the first message!
Brilliant, eh?
Just got to be careful not to accidentally mess with prehistory while we're back there. Unless you subscribe to the closed-loop theory of time travel which states that we exist because at some point in the future we will go back in time and accidentally shape history into the form it is today.... How's that for a head-exploding thought?
Okay, they're asking $500 for every Class Member, and $50 for each ad Bonzi has served up.
To be a Class Member, you have to certify in writing that you've seen one of those ads. Judging from the plethora of 'mom' stories I've seen here, I'm guessing it's hard to be an internet user and -not- have seen one of these ads at least once.
According to the August 2000 census figures, there are approximately 44 million households in the US with internet access. Making a rough guess that each of these households could have one Class Member (some could have more, some could have less), that's a potential payout of $22 BILLION even before counting how many ads they've served.
My guess: I seriously doubt that each computer-using household in the U.S. is going to receive $500. That's more than many taxpayers got from Bush's big Tax Refund. And I seriously doubt Bonzi is going to pay out $22 Billion. That's just a big, scary number being thrown at them by the law firm.
Bonzi will settle, give the lawyers suing them a huge payoff, maybe a small token check for each of the class members that signs up and agrees not to be a part of any future suit against Bonzi, and it'll be business as usual.
The most widely used "criss-cross" and "straight" lacing patterns were identified as the strongest. But criss-cross came out on top for a short, wide set of eyeholes - that is, when the vertical distance between eyeholes is low, and horizontal distance is high. Straight lacing came out tops for a long, skinny set of eyeholes....
Furthermore, most people, including Polster, opt for criss-cross lacing not because it is stronger, but because it is easy and you do not end up with uneven ends - a big risk with straight lacing. Straight lacing is sometimes used in the army because, if the foot is injured, you can cut the lace with one swipe.
Name: Dannon Date of birth: It was on my birthday. Time of birth: Don't remember. Place of birth: The hospital. Birth weight: I've gained a few pounds since then. Sex: I'm waiting for marriage. Sex at birth: What are you, some kind of sicko? Current address: Here Previous address: There Current occupation: Answerer of 43 questions Previous occupation: Reader of/. Desired occupation: Multimillionaire Are you a terrorist: No. Do you read 2600: Nope. Do you read slashdot: Just for the articles! Are you sure you're not a terrorist: Not last I checked. Are you quite sure you're not a terrorist: I'm rather certain. What are you currently studying: Goofing Off 102 Current GPA: 5.0 Highest level of education completed: Goofing Off 101 If you are in a car with a helium balloon, and you accelerate, what happens to the balloon: It stays a balloon. Are you a god: I'd never tell Gozer otherwise. When will you stop being a terrorist: When did I start being a terrorist? Boxers or briefs: Pajamas. Do you know any terrorists: If I meet any, I'll let you know. Do you know the Muffin Man: The one that lives on Dury Lane? Do you know the CowboyNeil: Not personally, but I've voted for him. What is the airspeed velocity of an unladen swallow: African, or European? Are you carrying any hazardous materials: Well, I had Taco Bell for lunch. Are you carrying any illegal items: Just this One Ring. Who is Keyser Soze: Watch the movie yourself, I'm not going to spoil it for you. Are you absolutely positive you are a terrosit: I'd think I'd know if I was a terrorist. I'm not.
My roommates and I aired everything out for a few days, true, as we were sorting between 'recoverable' and 'disposable'. But the fumes were very, very powerful, and the airing out didn't near do the whole job, even with air filters and fresheners galore at hand. We couldn't sleep in the same place as our stuff because of the smoke fumes.
The objective was to take stuff we wouldn't need and contain the fumes so that our new place wouldn't be tainted by it. And, since our bookshelves were gone, we needed another place to store stuff anyway. The plastic bin/baking soda solution served the purposes of both containing and absorbing the fumes.
By now (again, it's been since May), when I want a book out of that bin, I can take it out and it's fine. I keep the books in there still now because I don't have any bookshelves yet.
I can relate. Had a fire in my apartment building last May. Started at the other end of the building, flames were stopped before they passed the walls into my living room, but the smoke and water damage was severe.
For good clothes: Find a good dry cleaner. One with experience in treating smoke damage, or who can outsource it to someone who does.
For average clothes: A few good washes with OxyClean (or similar product) works very well.
Furniture: Well, all I had was old hand-me-downs that weren't worth keeping. If you've got something worth keeping, find a professional.
Computer: This is a tough one. My computer was on when the smoke was filling the air, so the inside got pretty much coated with beads of tar. I ended up claiming it as a loss and building myself a new one. One or two of the parts were semi-salvageable with very careful cleaning, but no doubt the lifespans were shortened.
Books, small items: If it wasn't ruined by water from the firehoses, my suggestion is to put them in a large Rubbermaid-style plastic bin for a few months. Duct-tape around the edge to keep the odor in, and toss a box of baking soda in. (Arm & Hammer makes these boxes now with tear-off side panels that are great for deodorizing.) Works wonders.
Why put an eagle at the top of a flagpole? Why decorate the walls of a local courthouse with portraits of significant figures in local history?
Pure decoration. Nothing more. For each courthouse, there's generally an official, most likely a judge, with some level of authority over how to decorate the place, within a certain budget. That official gets to decide what portraits to put on the walls, and so on.
So, one judges thinks it's worth the budget money to spring for extra-nice flags (which can be purchased pretty much anywhere you can purchase the ordinary-looking flags). Another judge in another district may think it's more important to repaint the walls this fiscal year.
And if the city taxpayers think that the municipal judge is wasting their money... well, more often than not, local law has a way of dealing with it.
I don't honestly think most judges, in deciding how to make a courtroom look proper and formal, would waste a second thought on the reaction of anyone prone to jumping at conspiracy shadows.
DoS: Denial of Service DDoS: Distributed Denial of Service DDDoS: Distributed Distributed Denial of Service? Brought to you by the Department of Redundancy Dept.? Or just a very, -very- distributed attack?
What I want to know is, could this Information Awareness Office have possibly chosen a worse logo for discounting the paranoid fears of conspiracy theorists?
Slashdot Mirror
...so he's protesting logging, and logging the experience.
I'm going to have to give this sequel a One-Star review. The plot is so thin a child could see through it, and it's totally lacking in originality.
Why would someone who is wanted for 21 murders be bagging groceries?
The local fast food places aren't hiring?
Genetic code explorers: Fear their coughs and hacks.
(Should Pun Moderations be +1 or -1?)
What a fascinating creature! Lenses and vision all over its body? Would that mean its vision is 20/20/20/20/20/20/20....?
motorcyclists are bouncing around like Mars Pathfinder
That is exactly the mental image I had! Complete with loony sound effects. Something like:
CRASH, inflation-Thwump! (inflated cyclist goes sailing through the air) boing, boing, boing.....
Without a doubt. I owe a lot to my parents. They gave me love, support, and wisdom.
What I got from ritalin was an experience with a mental state that I had not experienced on my own. A state of focus, of being in touch with my surroundings. It was a conscious, personal decision in college to achieve something of this mental state without medicinal aid. I'm not on ritalin any more because I choose not to be. I choose the way I do because of the person I am. I am who I am in large part because of the upbringing my parents gave me. However, for a time, the ritalin honestly did help.
It's my view that drugs are neither good nor bad in and of themselves, it's how they're used that makes the difference.
I was diagnosed in high school with ADD. No hyperactivity, just the tendency to royally space out. My mind would wander galaxies and universes while my mom was trying to remind me to mow the lawn. Scatterbrained was my middle name. Incredible potential, but no focus.
My father was a skeptic about this whole ritalin/ADD thing, and for good reason. We were involved in Scouts, and he'd seen a number of parents who would drug up their kids with the Standard Mind-Medication during the week to keep them docile, then dump them on a campout with a backpack full of sugar-foods. My mom was a critic, too, but she realized that I needed something to help me deal with this problem that was interfering with school and life. Like you, my mom did the research. Alternative treatments, herbal treatments, all the rest. In the end, she tried the ritalin route: Just a very, very low dosage. And it worked.
As I grew up, from high school into college, I learned to notice my own mental state more. I realized that, as a child, I literally did not know how to focus my own mind. Ritalin was a crutch that helped me to keep my mind on what was going on in the world around me. As I grew more self-aware, I grew less dependent. I did have a valid handicap, and in the beginning, I needed help. In college, I qualified for educational assistance under the Americans with Disabilities Act. But I'm a very independent, muleheadedly stubborn person, and I reject advantages handed to me this way. I prefer to overcome.
My father, as I said, was a skeptic. He said he was the same way as I was growing up, and he's just fine now. My mom had two counterpoints: 1) ADD was not a medically recognized condition when he was growing up, and 2) the rigorous discipline of 20 years in the military did for him what ritalin did for me. Without even knowing it was there, he learned to overcome a handicap, and she saw it more clearly than he did.
My (adopted) younger sister is another case. She was diagnosed with ADHD, and given ritalin. It's my mom's opinion now that my sister never really had ADHD, that she was just another stubborn kid. Such cases happen. She's still a handful (especially since she recently got her driver's license), but I think my parents are doing rather well raising her. (For one thing, no amount of begging and pleading is getting her a car as a birthday or Christmas present.)
I hope it's not too much of a boast to say that we're all fairly intelligent kids in my family, on the upper end of the curve. And it is tough being a 'geek' or 'nerd' growing up in high school. My best advice is to let her know that you love her, and that make sure she realizes that, when she is ridiculed (everyone gets ridiculed in school at some point), it's not because there's anything wrong with her. Help her to know that she is not alone.
The fact that you are wise and loving enough to be the Worried Parent you've shown yourself to be so far is a very good sign for her future. May God bless and look after you both.
A well-written post. However, I'd like to counter a couple of your points.
Japan where guns are strictly controlled
From what I've read, per-capita crime rates amongst Japanese living in America are lower than amongst their kin living in Japan. Interpret this how you will. I interpret it to reinforce the concept that legalized gun ownership has the potential to reduce crime... It's just that, for some cultural reason, the Japanese have a lower starting-point. This doesn't altogether contradict your position, it's just another view of it.
And regarding the Supreme Court's position on the second amendment, you might want to read this opinion column on the recent ruling by the federal Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. The Court stated, in a nutshell, that there was no Judiciary history of applying the Second Amendment to individuals. This fellow runs down a long list of cases that the court apparently ignored, from the Dred Scott case to U.S. v. Verdugo-Urquidez in 1991.
Just my two bits. Keep on reading, keep on learning, keep on thinking.
...about the grits at Summer Camp.
Mean and spiteful? Yes. Vigilantism? Might be a bit of a strong word for this case. And the RIAA comparison isn't quite right either.
These geeks aren't seeking to administrate Justice. They aren't looking to deprive anyone of life, liberty, or property through force or fraud.
My guess is they're trying to 'teach him a lesson' under that old edict of 'turnabout is fair play'. That, or they're just engaging in a childish-but-satisfying prank, from which they derive no profit.
The RIAA sought to deprive people of property through force: namely, internet connections through DoS attacks.
The geeks in this case may be guilty of minor mail fraud, having used his name and address without his permission. A small crime, and in their minds, the risk of getting caught and found guilty is evidently worth the satisfaction of watching him throw a fit.
...after reading the headline:
"eGovOS? I've used a lot of platforms, but I haven't heard of that one before. Name sounds like it was formulated by some Fedral commission. If that's so, it's gotta be a resource hog."
...unless we time it just right. So it takes 30,000 light years for a message to reach us, and it reaches us today. We build the time machine, go back about 60,000 years, give or take as needed... and time our answer to reach them 30,000 years ago tomorrow, just a day after they sent the first message!
Brilliant, eh?
Just got to be careful not to accidentally mess with prehistory while we're back there. Unless you subscribe to the closed-loop theory of time travel which states that we exist because at some point in the future we will go back in time and accidentally shape history into the form it is today.... How's that for a head-exploding thought?
But wouldn't it be something if humans were patentable?
Next news flash: Cancer Man not patentable. Trademarked, maybe.
...it was all a hoax. Just like the government's secret UFOs were really weather balloons, swamp gas, and light reflecting from Venus.
Or maybe they're "coming clean" because that's what They want us to believe!
Okay, they're asking $500 for every Class Member, and $50 for each ad Bonzi has served up.
To be a Class Member, you have to certify in writing that you've seen one of those ads. Judging from the plethora of 'mom' stories I've seen here, I'm guessing it's hard to be an internet user and -not- have seen one of these ads at least once.
According to the August 2000 census figures, there are approximately 44 million households in the US with internet access. Making a rough guess that each of these households could have one Class Member (some could have more, some could have less), that's a potential payout of $22 BILLION even before counting how many ads they've served.
My guess: I seriously doubt that each computer-using household in the U.S. is going to receive $500. That's more than many taxpayers got from Bush's big Tax Refund. And I seriously doubt Bonzi is going to pay out $22 Billion. That's just a big, scary number being thrown at them by the law firm.
Bonzi will settle, give the lawyers suing them a huge payoff, maybe a small token check for each of the class members that signs up and agrees not to be a part of any future suit against Bonzi, and it'll be business as usual.
Shut Michael Moore up for about a half an hour.
I suggest we start a fundraiser right now.
Can we get a bulk rate on a by-the-year silencing?
Name: Dannon /.
Date of birth: It was on my birthday.
Time of birth: Don't remember.
Place of birth: The hospital.
Birth weight: I've gained a few pounds since then.
Sex: I'm waiting for marriage.
Sex at birth: What are you, some kind of sicko?
Current address: Here
Previous address: There
Current occupation: Answerer of 43 questions
Previous occupation: Reader of
Desired occupation: Multimillionaire
Are you a terrorist: No.
Do you read 2600: Nope.
Do you read slashdot: Just for the articles!
Are you sure you're not a terrorist: Not last I checked.
Are you quite sure you're not a terrorist: I'm rather certain.
What are you currently studying: Goofing Off 102
Current GPA: 5.0
Highest level of education completed: Goofing Off 101
If you are in a car with a helium balloon, and you accelerate, what happens to the balloon: It stays a balloon.
Are you a god: I'd never tell Gozer otherwise.
When will you stop being a terrorist: When did I start being a terrorist?
Boxers or briefs: Pajamas.
Do you know any terrorists: If I meet any, I'll let you know.
Do you know the Muffin Man: The one that lives on Dury Lane?
Do you know the CowboyNeil: Not personally, but I've voted for him.
What is the airspeed velocity of an unladen swallow: African, or European?
Are you carrying any hazardous materials: Well, I had Taco Bell for lunch.
Are you carrying any illegal items: Just this One Ring.
Who is Keyser Soze: Watch the movie yourself, I'm not going to spoil it for you.
Are you absolutely positive you are a terrosit: I'd think I'd know if I was a terrorist. I'm not.
My roommates and I aired everything out for a few days, true, as we were sorting between 'recoverable' and 'disposable'. But the fumes were very, very powerful, and the airing out didn't near do the whole job, even with air filters and fresheners galore at hand. We couldn't sleep in the same place as our stuff because of the smoke fumes.
The objective was to take stuff we wouldn't need and contain the fumes so that our new place wouldn't be tainted by it. And, since our bookshelves were gone, we needed another place to store stuff anyway. The plastic bin/baking soda solution served the purposes of both containing and absorbing the fumes.
By now (again, it's been since May), when I want a book out of that bin, I can take it out and it's fine. I keep the books in there still now because I don't have any bookshelves yet.
I can relate. Had a fire in my apartment building last May. Started at the other end of the building, flames were stopped before they passed the walls into my living room, but the smoke and water damage was severe.
For good clothes: Find a good dry cleaner. One with experience in treating smoke damage, or who can outsource it to someone who does.
For average clothes: A few good washes with OxyClean (or similar product) works very well.
Furniture: Well, all I had was old hand-me-downs that weren't worth keeping. If you've got something worth keeping, find a professional.
Computer: This is a tough one. My computer was on when the smoke was filling the air, so the inside got pretty much coated with beads of tar. I ended up claiming it as a loss and building myself a new one. One or two of the parts were semi-salvageable with very careful cleaning, but no doubt the lifespans were shortened.
Books, small items: If it wasn't ruined by water from the firehoses, my suggestion is to put them in a large Rubbermaid-style plastic bin for a few months. Duct-tape around the edge to keep the odor in, and toss a box of baking soda in. (Arm & Hammer makes these boxes now with tear-off side panels that are great for deodorizing.) Works wonders.
Best of luck.
Why put an eagle at the top of a flagpole? Why decorate the walls of a local courthouse with portraits of significant figures in local history?
Pure decoration. Nothing more. For each courthouse, there's generally an official, most likely a judge, with some level of authority over how to decorate the place, within a certain budget. That official gets to decide what portraits to put on the walls, and so on.
So, one judges thinks it's worth the budget money to spring for extra-nice flags (which can be purchased pretty much anywhere you can purchase the ordinary-looking flags). Another judge in another district may think it's more important to repaint the walls this fiscal year.
And if the city taxpayers think that the municipal judge is wasting their money... well, more often than not, local law has a way of dealing with it.
I don't honestly think most judges, in deciding how to make a courtroom look proper and formal, would waste a second thought on the reaction of anyone prone to jumping at conspiracy shadows.
DoS: Denial of Service
:)
DDoS: Distributed Denial of Service
DDDoS: Distributed Distributed Denial of Service? Brought to you by the Department of Redundancy Dept.? Or just a very, -very- distributed attack?
Don't mind me, I'm just easily amused.
'Tin Man' Heart Surgeon
What I want to know is, could this Information Awareness Office have possibly chosen a worse logo for discounting the paranoid fears of conspiracy theorists?