There are just some things that work in Europe, but not the US. Like 1, 2, or 5 dollar coins. Coins may be sturdier than paper, but Americans hate them jangling around in their pockets and have always chosen paper over coins. Likewise I think roundabouts may be one of those European ideas (like government monopoly care) that simply won't work in the US.
Your study says roundabouts reduce the number of accidents from people who drive through redlights but does not say it reduces all accidents. Roundabouts simply introduce a NEW kind of accident - sideswiping, bumper grinding, and so on. They also increase bicycling accidents: "The findings were not as favorable for cyclists though. Of the injury accidents reported for roundabouts, 36 percent involved two-wheeled vehicles, as compared to only 23 percent at signalized intersections."
Also I wonder if the decreased rate (5 per 100 cars versus 7 per 100 cars) is because the drivers, like me, are extra cautious. As drivers become more familiar with the new system, they'll probably grow more wreckless, drive faster speeds, and the accident rate will climb again to match the old redlight signal.
And finally:
A lot of the redlight problems disappear with better traffic control, like lower limits (35) and left-turn signals that prevent cross-traffic collisions. To me forcing people to stop is safer than introducing a circle where people zip-around like the Indy 500.
Yeah I've verified these quotes. I also maintain a list of quotes that are often attributed to the Founders, but were actually said by other people, in order to correct mis-attributed quotes.
What makes you think I supported going to War in 1941 or 1916? Those were European Wars and NONE of our business. Let the Europeans squabble amongst themselves w/o American interference.
As for the Japanese attack, it was already declared by Japan to be a war on the US, so future casualties were coming. Inaction was not an option. And finally the Civil War was started, not by an attack, but by a secession of several Member States from the Union. Commander Lincoln had already decided to use force to make those states rejoin, so again, peace was not an option.
>>>Please refrain from using vulgar terms such as f@#k, s$!t, and lib$@l.
No. I am Anglo-Saxon and proud of using these words. The imported French terms like "intercourse" and "poo" are a lousy substitute. Oh and I'm not eating "la beef" or "la pork" for dinner. It's fresh-fried COW and PIG dammit. Don't sit there and label my Anglo-Saxon language as "vulgar".
I don't. Going to war over a few deaths (~3000) is ridiculous and juvenile. Since 9/11 approximately 420,000 people have died on the highway. If we're going to spend billions of dollars trying to prevent death, let's spend it on the thing that kills the most people - cars. Not terrorists.
>>>pass the Patriotic Gestapo Bill quickly - etc ad nauseum. Mass frigging hysteria
I saw the same thing in late 2008 and through most of 2009. "We gotta pass these Bailout and Stimulus Bills quickly, without even bothering to read them!" The Republicans almost all voted these bills down, but since the Democrats had the majority they rammed them through anyway. Hysteria.
I hate them all. I wish the Congress was run by Libertarians or constitutionalists. People who obey the 9th and 10th amendments instead of pretending they did not exist.
>>>>>>Treat everything you do online as if you have zero privacy. That way, in case something goes screwy, you have no surprises waiting for you. >>>> >>>>Hi sheep! - Krneki >> >>The opposite of sheep, I'd say. This sounds like sound advice for the intelligent and careful. > >Only if your creative limitation are within the boundary of the current social moral. For everyone thinking outside of the box, it's a tragedy. The world is a dynamic environment, where we always have to question our moral and knowledge. - Krneki >
Wow you have mastered the art of writing Bullshit in a way that sounds thoughtful & intelligent, but actually says nothing at all. Maybe we should audition you for Penn & Teller. As far as I'm concerned the previous two posters are correct (be careful when online), and you Krneki contributed nothing of value.
>>>the only folks willing to become public servants will be those that are truly interested in doing the public good, rather than serving their own pockets.
Yeah. Like Christians and other moralists. Oh horror. Say goodbye to internet porn, or beer, or sex before marriage, or.....
>>>The only way to accomplish your goals is with term limits, public funding, and no money allowed by any public interest to be funneled to a politician
It isn't the "only" way. Another alternative is to have no government, except the bare minimum. "It is only to protect our rights, that we have any government at all." - Thomas Jefferson, founder of the Democrat Party. Let's return to a government that only exercises the powers granted to it by the Constitution, and all other powers be reserved to the Citizens.
Oh and let's not forget to revoke all corporate licenses, since their power is almost as dangerous as Congresses' power.
"Avarice and ambition will break the strongest cords of our Constitution as a whale goes through a net. Our Constitution is made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other." - John Adams
"No man's life, liberty or fortune is safe while our legislature is in session." -- Benjamin Franklin. Sir, there are two passions which have a powerful influence in the affairs of men. These are ambition and avarice; the love of power and the love of money. Separately, each of these has great force in prompting men to action; but, when united in view of the same object, they have, in many minds, the most violent effects." - Dangers of a Salaried Bureaucracy, 1787
I wish people would start listening to these guys.
You seem to have a lot of hatred for AOL, but I remember when it was called Quantum Link (see link) and offered in the mid-80s a web type interface before the web existed. It also provided the earliest Online Sims games (called Club Caribe). And although I preferred to use FIDOnet and Usenet, AOL did have decent forums for asking questions. Those posts were answered by a national audience, which was a huge step-up from the local BBSes.
My memories of AOL are generally positive, and I still use them today. $7/month is a hard-to-beat deal for net access.
LiveJournal is going downhill fast (annoying popup ads for example), and most of my friends have stopped posting there since moving to facebook.
As for the guy's other comments I agree that Linux is a confusing mish-mash: - Should I use GNU, Ubuntu, Puppy, or some other variant? I picked Ubuntu: - Now do I use Gubuntu, Xubuntu, Lubuntu, or some other confusing mishmash of first letters? - And what is this Lucid Lynx and Intrepid Ibex and other weird names everyone keeps talking about?
Since I'm a geek I plowed through this nonsense and found the answers. But your average person would just roll his/her eyes, say "Forget it", and go buy a $2000 Windows laptop at Best Buy because it's easier and doesn't require thinking or learning nerd-speak. People like my brother who would rather spend $70/month to have a Comcast technician install his television, rather than do the setup himself and get TV for free (via antenna). He's the type to walk in a store and just buy the first Windows machine he see, rather than mess with learning Linux.
One advantage of Facebook is that it's a central resource where (almost) everybody hangs out. Like Usenet used to be.
If everybody starts putting-up their own OSS variants of Facebook, then the community will fragment - just like what happened to Newsgroups. I used to be able to log in one spot and be done. Now I have to log in 20 different web boards to catch up with the latest news/gossip .
>>>I probably won't use you as a reliable source for FPS reviews
Why not? I have modern consoles (PS2, X360, Wii) and newer games just like most people. The fact I also enjoy classic gaming (as far back as 1977) shouldn't diminish my opinion of FPSes...... on the contrary I would think it would enhance my opinion, because I and my fellow classic gamers have the longview of the genre, not just the recent past.
BTW another FPS I enjoyed was Metroid Prime..... mainly because it wasn't about shooting/button mashing. It was more of a hide-and-seek type game, just like the original NES and Super Nintendo games. Nintendo called it an "FPA" and that's probably the best description. .
>>>There were so many different types of gameplay that 3D perspectives just can't give you!
You're right. There are a lot of Commodore=64, Amiga, and Super Nintendo game styles that simply don't exist in the modern 3D world, because the companies figure anything less than 3D won't sell. So those styles died out.
>>>without a life cap frustrating the 5 year old with poor manual dexterity who just wants to see what the 4th level of Contra looks like.
You make a good point, but that's also why those old games had 20-30 different "variations" where you could adjust how many lives you got, or how many enemies were on screen, or whatever. The games on the old Atari console had some variations that were so easy (1 ghost in PacMan) even a baby could get to level 4. Meanwhile the adults could brag they got to level 4 on the hardest "invisible ghosts" setting.
That's something that should be in modern games, with varying levels of difficulty, rather than the cheat of being able to save anytime you desire. "Ooops I got killed. Let's just pretend that didn't happen. Load game." Getting a 100% perfect game no longer requires skill - just lots of patience.
You say you beat Prince of Persia? Wow. Color me unimpressed. Now let's see you do it on the original NES game without the saves
Yeah but no one would believe me - "Yeah suuuure you did." In contrast with the old nonsaving games, beating the game with only 2-3 lives was the only way.
>>>But my laserdisk holds the proof that Han shot first.
George Lucas re-released that laserdisc on DVD. It's much better quality (480p digital out, not 480i analog NTSC or PAL), so you might want to upgrade?
Slashdot Mirror
You can buy Atari and NES joysticks/pads that plug into your USB port, and thereby recreate the original feel.
There are just some things that work in Europe, but not the US. Like 1, 2, or 5 dollar coins. Coins may be sturdier than paper, but Americans hate them jangling around in their pockets and have always chosen paper over coins. Likewise I think roundabouts may be one of those European ideas (like government monopoly care) that simply won't work in the US.
Your study says roundabouts reduce the number of accidents from people who drive through redlights but does not say it reduces all accidents. Roundabouts simply introduce a NEW kind of accident - sideswiping, bumper grinding, and so on. They also increase bicycling accidents: "The findings were not as favorable for cyclists though. Of the injury accidents reported for roundabouts, 36 percent involved two-wheeled vehicles, as compared to only 23 percent at signalized intersections."
Also I wonder if the decreased rate (5 per 100 cars versus 7 per 100 cars) is because the drivers, like me, are extra cautious. As drivers become more familiar with the new system, they'll probably grow more wreckless, drive faster speeds, and the accident rate will climb again to match the old redlight signal.
And finally:
A lot of the redlight problems disappear with better traffic control, like lower limits (35) and left-turn signals that prevent cross-traffic collisions. To me forcing people to stop is safer than introducing a circle where people zip-around like the Indy 500.
I still think redlights are safer than roundabouts.
>>>It is not the roundabouts that are dangerous, it is the morons that are abusing them that are dangerous.
So then why bother to replace the redlights, if the new idea can also be abused, and therefore no more effective?
Yeah I've verified these quotes. I also maintain a list of quotes that are often attributed to the Founders, but were actually said by other people, in order to correct mis-attributed quotes.
What makes you think I supported going to War in 1941 or 1916? Those were European Wars and NONE of our business. Let the Europeans squabble amongst themselves w/o American interference.
As for the Japanese attack, it was already declared by Japan to be a war on the US, so future casualties were coming. Inaction was not an option. And finally the Civil War was started, not by an attack, but by a secession of several Member States from the Union. Commander Lincoln had already decided to use force to make those states rejoin, so again, peace was not an option.
>>>It could also be considered that *nobody* owns you or can own you, not even yourself
If you don't own your own body, then you don't own your mouth. Or your uterus. Or your sex organ. Or your brain.
Which would also mean you don't have a right to free speech, or abortion, or sex with whomever you wish, or freedom of thought.
Welcome to 1984.
If you don't own your body, then you are slave.
Therefore it you are not slave, you should be free to do whatever you want with your body or its organs, including termination.
>>>Please refrain from using vulgar terms such as f@#k, s$!t, and lib$@l.
No. I am Anglo-Saxon and proud of using these words. The imported French terms like "intercourse" and "poo" are a lousy substitute. Oh and I'm not eating "la beef" or "la pork" for dinner. It's fresh-fried COW and PIG dammit. Don't sit there and label my Anglo-Saxon language as "vulgar".
Or a Republic. (The laws rule, even above the government.)
>>>Invade Afghanistan (which I agreed with)
I don't. Going to war over a few deaths (~3000) is ridiculous and juvenile. Since 9/11 approximately 420,000 people have died on the highway. If we're going to spend billions of dollars trying to prevent death, let's spend it on the thing that kills the most people - cars. Not terrorists.
>>>pass the Patriotic Gestapo Bill quickly - etc ad nauseum. Mass frigging hysteria
I saw the same thing in late 2008 and through most of 2009. "We gotta pass these Bailout and Stimulus Bills quickly, without even bothering to read them!" The Republicans almost all voted these bills down, but since the Democrats had the majority they rammed them through anyway. Hysteria.
I hate them all. I wish the Congress was run by Libertarians or constitutionalists. People who obey the 9th and 10th amendments instead of pretending they did not exist.
>>>>>>Treat everything you do online as if you have zero privacy. That way, in case something goes screwy, you have no surprises waiting for you.
>>>>
>>>>Hi sheep! - Krneki
>>
>>The opposite of sheep, I'd say. This sounds like sound advice for the intelligent and careful.
>
>Only if your creative limitation are within the boundary of the current social moral. For everyone thinking outside of the box, it's a tragedy. The world is a dynamic environment, where we always have to question our moral and knowledge. - Krneki
>
Wow you have mastered the art of writing Bullshit in a way that sounds thoughtful & intelligent, but actually says nothing at all. Maybe we should audition you for Penn & Teller. As far as I'm concerned the previous two posters are correct (be careful when online), and you Krneki contributed nothing of value.
>>>the only folks willing to become public servants will be those that are truly interested in doing the public good, rather than serving their own pockets.
Yeah. Like Christians and other moralists. Oh horror.
Say goodbye to internet porn, or beer, or sex before marriage, or.....
>>>The only way to accomplish your goals is with term limits, public funding, and no money allowed by any public interest to be funneled to a politician
It isn't the "only" way. Another alternative is to have no government, except the bare minimum. "It is only to protect our rights, that we have any government at all." - Thomas Jefferson, founder of the Democrat Party. Let's return to a government that only exercises the powers granted to it by the Constitution, and all other powers be reserved to the Citizens.
Oh and let's not forget to revoke all corporate licenses, since their power is almost as dangerous as Congresses' power.
"Avarice and ambition will break the strongest cords of our Constitution as a whale goes through a net. Our Constitution is made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other." - John Adams
"No man's life, liberty or fortune is safe while our legislature is in session." -- Benjamin Franklin. Sir, there are two passions which have a powerful influence in the affairs of men. These are ambition and avarice; the love of power and the love of money. Separately, each of these has great force in prompting men to action; but, when united in view of the same object, they have, in many minds, the most violent effects." - Dangers of a Salaried Bureaucracy, 1787
I wish people would start listening to these guys.
>>>Try trillian.
Trisha McMillian? Yeah she was great. But not as much fun as Rachael Leigh Cook (the egg smashing girl).
You seem to have a lot of hatred for AOL, but I remember when it was called Quantum Link (see link) and offered in the mid-80s a web type interface before the web existed. It also provided the earliest Online Sims games (called Club Caribe). And although I preferred to use FIDOnet and Usenet, AOL did have decent forums for asking questions. Those posts were answered by a national audience, which was a huge step-up from the local BBSes.
My memories of AOL are generally positive, and I still use them today. $7/month is a hard-to-beat deal for net access.
http://www.qlinklives.org/
LiveJournal is going downhill fast (annoying popup ads for example), and most of my friends have stopped posting there since moving to facebook.
As for the guy's other comments I agree that Linux is a confusing mish-mash:
- Should I use GNU, Ubuntu, Puppy, or some other variant?
I picked Ubuntu:
- Now do I use Gubuntu, Xubuntu, Lubuntu, or some other confusing mishmash of first letters?
- And what is this Lucid Lynx and Intrepid Ibex and other weird names everyone keeps talking about?
Since I'm a geek I plowed through this nonsense and found the answers. But your average person would just roll his/her eyes, say "Forget it", and go buy a $2000 Windows laptop at Best Buy because it's easier and doesn't require thinking or learning nerd-speak. People like my brother who would rather spend $70/month to have a Comcast technician install his television, rather than do the setup himself and get TV for free (via antenna). He's the type to walk in a store and just buy the first Windows machine he see, rather than mess with learning Linux.
One advantage of Facebook is that it's a central resource where (almost) everybody hangs out. Like Usenet used to be.
If everybody starts putting-up their own OSS variants of Facebook, then the community will fragment - just like what happened to Newsgroups. I used to be able to log in one spot and be done. Now I have to log in 20 different web boards to catch up with the latest news/gossip
.
>>>I probably won't use you as a reliable source for FPS reviews
Why not? I have modern consoles (PS2, X360, Wii) and newer games just like most people. The fact I also enjoy classic gaming (as far back as 1977) shouldn't diminish my opinion of FPSes...... on the contrary I would think it would enhance my opinion, because I and my fellow classic gamers have the longview of the genre, not just the recent past.
BTW another FPS I enjoyed was Metroid Prime..... mainly because it wasn't about shooting/button mashing. It was more of a hide-and-seek type game, just like the original NES and Super Nintendo games. Nintendo called it an "FPA" and that's probably the best description.
.
>>>There were so many different types of gameplay that 3D perspectives just can't give you!
You're right. There are a lot of Commodore=64, Amiga, and Super Nintendo game styles that simply don't exist in the modern 3D world, because the companies figure anything less than 3D won't sell. So those styles died out.
>>>without a life cap frustrating the 5 year old with poor manual dexterity who just wants to see what the 4th level of Contra looks like.
You make a good point, but that's also why those old games had 20-30 different "variations" where you could adjust how many lives you got, or how many enemies were on screen, or whatever. The games on the old Atari console had some variations that were so easy (1 ghost in PacMan) even a baby could get to level 4. Meanwhile the adults could brag they got to level 4 on the hardest "invisible ghosts" setting.
That's something that should be in modern games, with varying levels of difficulty, rather than the cheat of being able to save anytime you desire. "Ooops I got killed. Let's just pretend that didn't happen. Load game." Getting a 100% perfect game no longer requires skill - just lots of patience.
You say you beat Prince of Persia? Wow. Color me unimpressed. Now let's see you do it on the original NES game without the saves
>>>"I beat GAME X with only 2 deaths"
Yeah but no one would believe me - "Yeah suuuure you did." In contrast with the old nonsaving games, beating the game with only 2-3 lives was the only way.
I
>>>But my laserdisk holds the proof that Han shot first.
George Lucas re-released that laserdisc on DVD. It's much better quality (480p digital out, not 480i analog NTSC or PAL), so you might want to upgrade?
>>>Most of the Roman graffiti preserved at Pompei has dubious artistic value - http://www.pompeiana.org/Resources/Ancient/Graffiti%20from%20Pompeii.htm
I feel like I'm reading Twitter. While a historian might like to see SOME of Twitter saved, I doubt they think it necessary to preserve all of it.