-1 Troll? Jeez. Would it have been funnier if I wrote:
"Oh good. I can..... just a minute my teleprompter froze up..... uh, I can, you know, trust you... uh... with my... with the... uh, secret communique." - Barak Øbama
>>>Despite living in a large (millions) city Blockbuster and Redbox are my only physical video rental locations
It's been interesting watching these places die. My favorite spot was a regional chain called A-to-Z Video. They closed shop and their mall location evolved into a small Mom & Pop store. Now I just noticed they went-out of business, and it looks like a porn store moved in..... not that it is a porn store but it LOOKS like one with the same dark lighting and stained appearance.
I'm curious to see what will move-in next. From a bright shiny successful store to a dark, dirty store in less than five years. But now wonder - I don't rent anymore and neither does anyone else my age. Easier to watch for free on the net.
Aside -
I'm glad A-to-Z went out. I borrowed the Swimsuit Issue 1992 from them, and it fell behind the TV. I returned all my borrowed videos but not that one because I didn't see it back there. Then I got a call about a month later, and they charged me $60! Bastards. They could have called me sooner..... in retrospect I should have just kept the video rather than return it.
Passwords appear as ***** so no worry there, but the screencaps might show a thief (or unscrupulous friend) that you've been surfing porn, or looking at photos of your sexy wife. "Wow. Mrs. Stiffler is hot."
It's funny how executives' thinking changes over time. Back in the days of VHS (early 90s) they had the opposite view - Release rentals first, and release Purchase copies a month later. Of course you could buy the VHS if you really wanted to, but the cost was kept high at $80, $100, or even $120 in order to discourage purchase by average people.
I remember wanting to buy Star Trek The Undiscovered Country, and the store clerk handed it to me and said, "That will be $84.80," and my mouth dropped open. He then told me if I come back a month later I can get it for less, and sure enough it dropped to a reasonable $25.00.
I never said Google entered. Please go back and re-read my post. The guy with the unencrypted internet, and the naked dude, were both broadcasting their private selves to the world. The difference is who gets blamed in these two cases. In the former case it's the guy outside (google) and the latter it was the guy inside.
I thought it was monumentally stupid when Oklahoma City TV stations sent-out people in vans to try and catch a tornado on camera. It served no real purpose since most of the time I couldn't see anything except lots of rain.
And as for the amateurs with their family cameras, I figure that people own their own bodies. That includes the right to abort it.
Well of course. That worked so great in the 1920s!:-| Can the moms in MADD really be so stupid as to repeat the same mistake?
re: Gun Bans.
I used a gun to defend myself two years ago. And in the mid-90s a guy grabbed my girlfriend by the throat, and I forced him to run away when I put my gun to the rear of his head.
Anyway..... I'm curious how these events would be different without a gun for self-defense. In both cases I suspect the end result would be two dead victims. Is that really want anti-gun people want.
That's not how you calculate unless you're a Used Car Salesman selling a lie. Or Comcast trying to claim its TV service is worth $10,000 per year in entertainment.
The actual cost is what matters, and food inspection is less than $1 per person. Same applies to all your other inaccurate estimates, and therefore do not add up to $20,000 in actual cost .
But Edison is dead. His copyright should have expired with him. Or 14 years - whichever came first.
And I'm not sure what the big deal is about optical recording on film? That's how most films of the 1920s, 30s, and 40s record their sound and is commonly understood. Maybe it took the engineers two years to decode the precise format.
It would be nice if Laws had some kind of logical consistency:
- The user leaves his "front door" wide open so anybody can intercept and see his unencrypted internet, and it's the spy (google) who gets in trouble.
- Meanwhile a user in Virginia wakes-up and wanders around his house naked, and a mom trespasses through the front yard, and then presses charges against the guy because she she him through a window. The mom is the one who should be found guilty, just like Google but instead it was the user inside his house who spent time in jail.
There was a Democrat in my district who tried to vote against healthcare, against the stimulus bill, and so on to appease the increasingly anti-government voters. We didn't buy his sudden change. He lost.
>>>Who'd have thought that adults would possibly object to being treated like 5 year olds?
The US FCC has been doing it for 60 years. "Ohnoes... someone flashed a milk-dispensing body part (breast) on television. We musn't let adults see that."
I just bought three from Philips and they were no better. It takes almost 2 minutes to reach acceptable brightness (where I can read) and 3 minutes to reach full brightness. One of them has already died, probably due to being in an upside fixture which traps heat and kills electronics.
I started using CFLs in the early 90s to try to be more "green" but now I've come to hate them as an inferior product.
Yeah but does it add-up to $20,000? I could buy a new car with that. I could buy TWO cars if they are Kia imports. Every year. IMHO the services you list still don't add up to the $20,000 I paid.
Especially 30-40% of that tax is wasted on debt interest payment (i.e. nonproductive). Plus a lot of the services you list are actually PRIVATE companies (trash, firefighters, ambulance, etc) not government so they are not funded by taxes. They are funded by the yearly bill I pay upfront, or the bill they send me after usage.
Don't give credit to government for things that are actually private company's services.
Fixed that for ya.;-) Although technically I live in an "urban" zone according to the Census so I do gain SOME benefit from the policeman patrolling the street once a day, but it still doesn't add up to $20,000 worth of benefits per year. I'd estimate 40% of that, or $8000, is wasted on the non-productive activity of paying interest on the debt.
>>>So you also clearly don't keep health insurance for your family, don't benefit from (in no particular order) police services, fire departments
If I don't use the services (not sick, no snow, etc), then I'm not getting any benefit am I? What you are saying it equivalent to saying, because I have Comcast cable in my street, I'm gaining benefit from the wire even though I don't subscribe. An unused service can not be counted.
BTW you are correct I benefit from a policeman patrolling my street once a day, but no way is that worth $20,000 a year. And the trash removal is a private company not government. Ambulance is a private company not government. Fire service is a private company not government.
And of course ~40$ of the taxes I pay actually go to paying interest on the national debt. i.e. Wasted money.
Yet another monopoly. BAD. I like my solution better, where the government owns the 100 fiber pipe which is leased to private companies, and customers can choose any of 100 different companies for their TV and internet service. It would be just like the roads where government owns the system but you can choose any Freight Company you desire to move your goods.
No need. SS is a Ponzi pyramid scheme, and all pyramids eventually collapse. It's why they were outlawed by Congress, and why you often read headlines like "Equinox shutdown as illegal pyramid" by the FTC. SS was doomed from the start to fail.
At this point the only thing that will save the program is to delay retirement age to 80, so half the people will die before they ever become eligible. Just as the program originally was designed. And of course provide Welfare for people younger than 80 who need help.
>>>>>FedEx and UPS and the Intenet, all of which provide me with better, faster, cheaper mailing service than the Government service >> >>Show me how UPS or FedEx can afford to send a letter across the country for $.44
What part of "and the internet" did you not comprehend? I don't send letters anymore. Or resumes. Or even checks to pay my bills. I use the internet because it costs $0.00
>>>The Acela line in the northeast is in heavy use and ridership has been increasing
Yes because it's serving the heavily populated Northeast City (megalopolis) along I-95, but that is one of the RARE profitable lines. Lines running from Philadelphia to Pittsburgh, or Pittsburgh to Cincinnati, or Cincinnati to Indianapolis, or..... are not profitable due to lack of passengers. These lines are losing hand over fist and should be ended.
But because Amtrak is run by politicians not accountants, the lines keep running and Amtrak is deep in debt. It's a foolish way to run things. It's a waste of taxpayer earnings and labor. ----- I think Amtrak should be ended and turn-over passenger rail to private companies again (CSX, Conrail, etc). They'll make it profitable again but not being so stupid as to run lines that almost-nobody is using.
>>>It is common sense that the system is broken and unsustainable.
SS is a Ponzi pyramid scheme. All these pyramids eventually collapse due to not having enough people entering at the bottom (payers) to support the ones at the top (collectors). In fact that's why Ponzi/pyramid schemes have been outlawed by the Congress.
>>>>>- US Post Office (nearly bankrupt) >> >>This has in no way made things worse. It's the best postal system in the world.
Yeah if you ignore FedEx and UPS and the Internet, all of which provide me with better, faster, cheaper mailing service than the Government service does. So yeah you're right. USPS is the best in the world - if you ignore the ones that are better.;-) .
>>>>>Sedition Act was repealed on December 13, 1920. SO while it was a dick move, that very same government removed it.
Until it was revived again in 1942. And the again in 1952. And also existed in 1861. And in 1797. This Sedition Act (or variants thereof) keeps coming back, so it would be unwise to think it can't pop up again in the now, or the future. And that's why I listed it as an example fo government programs causing harm. .
>>>>>- Amtrak (nearly bankrupt) >> >>How did the government intervention make this worse?
A private company would eliminate unprofitable lines that lack customers (like how Circuit City disappeared), but government keeps foolishly running lines that are losing money. That needs to stop. ----- Also in my personal opinion, Amtrak's time has passed like the horse-and-wagon. Trains are fine in heavily-populated cities (metros,subways), but when going long distance most people would rather travel by car or bus, not train so end those lines that keep losing money. .
>>A) The Current health policy(prior Health care reform) will costs the federal government a fucking lot. >>B) Health care reform wont reduce it to zero. but it will reduce it.
The CBO disagrees, and they've crunched the numbers (and yes I've read a summary of the report). It WAS supposed to reduce costs, but now they are saying it will actually cost MORE than the previous system, because of enrolling more people (i.e. more dollars spent). So I consider it a good example of good intentions going bad. .
>>YOU yes YOU are a fucking nitwit.
Perhaps true, but you'll notice I am not the one who chose to turn a FRIENDLY conversation into a schoolground fight
Slashdot Mirror
-1 Troll? Jeez. Would it have been funnier if I wrote:
"Oh good. I can..... just a minute my teleprompter froze up..... uh, I can, you know, trust you... uh... with my... with the... uh, secret communique." - Barak Øbama
"Oh good. I can trust you then. Heh heh heh heh." - George Duh Bush
Precisely. I don't go round bragging about the various politicians and CEOs that have "disappeared" over the years. Ooops
I shouldna told ya that.
>>>as you're typing them in, they show each letter for a second or so then it becomes an asterisk
No. They don't.
>>>Despite living in a large (millions) city Blockbuster and Redbox are my only physical video rental locations
It's been interesting watching these places die. My favorite spot was a regional chain called A-to-Z Video. They closed shop and their mall location evolved into a small Mom & Pop store. Now I just noticed they went-out of business, and it looks like a porn store moved in..... not that it is a porn store but it LOOKS like one with the same dark lighting and stained appearance.
I'm curious to see what will move-in next. From a bright shiny successful store to a dark, dirty store in less than five years. But now wonder - I don't rent anymore and neither does anyone else my age. Easier to watch for free on the net.
Aside -
I'm glad A-to-Z went out. I borrowed the Swimsuit Issue 1992 from them, and it fell behind the TV. I returned all my borrowed videos but not that one because I didn't see it back there. Then I got a call about a month later, and they charged me $60! Bastards. They could have called me sooner..... in retrospect I should have just kept the video rather than return it.
Passwords appear as ***** so no worry there, but the screencaps might show a thief (or unscrupulous friend) that you've been surfing porn, or looking at photos of your sexy wife. "Wow. Mrs. Stiffler is hot."
It's funny how executives' thinking changes over time. Back in the days of VHS (early 90s) they had the opposite view - Release rentals first, and release Purchase copies a month later. Of course you could buy the VHS if you really wanted to, but the cost was kept high at $80, $100, or even $120 in order to discourage purchase by average people.
I remember wanting to buy Star Trek The Undiscovered Country, and the store clerk handed it to me and said, "That will be $84.80," and my mouth dropped open. He then told me if I come back a month later I can get it for less, and sure enough it dropped to a reasonable $25.00.
I never said Google entered. Please go back and re-read my post. The guy with the unencrypted internet, and the naked dude, were both broadcasting their private selves to the world. The difference is who gets blamed in these two cases. In the former case it's the guy outside (google) and the latter it was the guy inside.
The laws are inconsistent.
I thought it was monumentally stupid when Oklahoma City TV stations sent-out people in vans to try and catch a tornado on camera. It served no real purpose since most of the time I couldn't see anything except lots of rain.
And as for the amateurs with their family cameras, I figure that people own their own bodies. That includes the right to abort it.
Well of course. That worked so great in the 1920s! :-| Can the moms in MADD really be so stupid as to repeat the same mistake?
re: Gun Bans.
I used a gun to defend myself two years ago. And in the mid-90s a guy grabbed my girlfriend by the throat, and I forced him to run away when I put my gun to the rear of his head.
Anyway..... I'm curious how these events would be different without a gun for self-defense. In both cases I suspect the end result would be two dead victims. Is that really want anti-gun people want.
I cannot comprehend it
.
>>>a total cost of $12,500.
That's not how you calculate unless you're a Used Car Salesman selling a lie. Or Comcast trying to claim its TV service is worth $10,000 per year in entertainment.
The actual cost is what matters, and food inspection is less than $1 per person. Same applies to all your other inaccurate estimates, and therefore do not add up to $20,000 in actual cost
.
But Edison is dead. His copyright should have expired with him. Or 14 years - whichever came first.
And I'm not sure what the big deal is about optical recording on film? That's how most films of the 1920s, 30s, and 40s record their sound and is commonly understood. Maybe it took the engineers two years to decode the precise format.
It would be nice if Laws had some kind of logical consistency:
- The user leaves his "front door" wide open so anybody can intercept and see his unencrypted internet, and it's the spy (google) who gets in trouble.
- Meanwhile a user in Virginia wakes-up and wanders around his house naked, and a mom trespasses through the front yard, and then presses charges against the guy because she she him through a window. The mom is the one who should be found guilty, just like Google but instead it was the user inside his house who spent time in jail.
If the US we have MADD (mothers against drunk driving), so it's obvious what they are for: sober driving
Presumably MAMMA is in favor of peaceful resolution of conflicts.
MASIC already has a name: Christian.
Precisely.
There was a Democrat in my district who tried to vote against healthcare, against the stimulus bill, and so on to appease the increasingly anti-government voters. We didn't buy his sudden change. He lost.
>>>Who'd have thought that adults would possibly object to being treated like 5 year olds?
The US FCC has been doing it for 60 years. "Ohnoes... someone flashed a milk-dispensing body part (breast) on television. We musn't let adults see that."
>>>Um, CFLs have gotten better.
I just bought three from Philips and they were no better. It takes almost 2 minutes to reach acceptable brightness (where I can read) and 3 minutes to reach full brightness. One of them has already died, probably due to being in an upside fixture which traps heat and kills electronics.
I started using CFLs in the early 90s to try to be more "green" but now I've come to hate them as an inferior product.
Yeah but does it add-up to $20,000? I could buy a new car with that. I could buy TWO cars if they are Kia imports. Every year. IMHO the services you list still don't add up to the $20,000 I paid.
Especially 30-40% of that tax is wasted on debt interest payment (i.e. nonproductive). Plus a lot of the services you list are actually PRIVATE companies (trash, firefighters, ambulance, etc) not government so they are not funded by taxes. They are funded by the yearly bill I pay upfront, or the bill they send me after usage.
Don't give credit to government for things that are actually private company's services.
>>>Not everyone lives in a sucking city
Fixed that for ya. ;-) Although technically I live in an "urban" zone according to the Census so I do gain SOME benefit from the policeman patrolling the street once a day, but it still doesn't add up to $20,000 worth of benefits per year. I'd estimate 40% of that, or $8000, is wasted on the non-productive activity of paying interest on the debt.
>>>So you also clearly don't keep health insurance for your family, don't benefit from (in no particular order) police services, fire departments
If I don't use the services (not sick, no snow, etc), then I'm not getting any benefit am I? What you are saying it equivalent to saying, because I have Comcast cable in my street, I'm gaining benefit from the wire even though I don't subscribe. An unused service can not be counted.
BTW you are correct I benefit from a policeman patrolling my street once a day, but no way is that worth $20,000 a year. And the trash removal is a private company not government. Ambulance is a private company not government. Fire service is a private company not government.
And of course ~40$ of the taxes I pay actually go to paying interest on the national debt. i.e. Wasted money.
>>>just make it a public utility
Yet another monopoly. BAD. I like my solution better, where the government owns the 100 fiber pipe which is leased to private companies, and customers can choose any of 100 different companies for their TV and internet service. It would be just like the roads where government owns the system but you can choose any Freight Company you desire to move your goods.
>>>I have to introduce an analogy.
No need. SS is a Ponzi pyramid scheme, and all pyramids eventually collapse. It's why they were outlawed by Congress, and why you often read headlines like "Equinox shutdown as illegal pyramid" by the FTC. SS was doomed from the start to fail.
At this point the only thing that will save the program is to delay retirement age to 80, so half the people will die before they ever become eligible. Just as the program originally was designed. And of course provide Welfare for people younger than 80 who need help.
>>>>>FedEx and UPS and the Intenet, all of which provide me with better, faster, cheaper mailing service than the Government service
>>
>>Show me how UPS or FedEx can afford to send a letter across the country for $.44
What part of "and the internet" did you not comprehend? I don't send letters anymore. Or resumes. Or even checks to pay my bills. I use the internet because it costs $0.00
>>>The Acela line in the northeast is in heavy use and ridership has been increasing
Yes because it's serving the heavily populated Northeast City (megalopolis) along I-95, but that is one of the RARE profitable lines. Lines running from Philadelphia to Pittsburgh, or Pittsburgh to Cincinnati, or Cincinnati to Indianapolis, or..... are not profitable due to lack of passengers. These lines are losing hand over fist and should be ended.
But because Amtrak is run by politicians not accountants, the lines keep running and Amtrak is deep in debt. It's a foolish way to run things. It's a waste of taxpayer earnings and labor. ----- I think Amtrak should be ended and turn-over passenger rail to private companies again (CSX, Conrail, etc). They'll make it profitable again but not being so stupid as to run lines that almost-nobody is using.
>>>It is common sense that the system is broken and unsustainable.
SS is a Ponzi pyramid scheme. All these pyramids eventually collapse due to not having enough people entering at the bottom (payers) to support the ones at the top (collectors). In fact that's why Ponzi/pyramid schemes have been outlawed by the Congress.
>>>>>- US Post Office (nearly bankrupt)
>>
>>This has in no way made things worse. It's the best postal system in the world.
Yeah if you ignore FedEx and UPS and the Internet, all of which provide me with better, faster, cheaper mailing service than the Government service does. So yeah you're right. USPS is the best in the world - if you ignore the ones that are better. ;-)
.
>>>>>Sedition Act was repealed on December 13, 1920. SO while it was a dick move, that very same government removed it.
Until it was revived again in 1942. And the again in 1952. And also existed in 1861. And in 1797. This Sedition Act (or variants thereof) keeps coming back, so it would be unwise to think it can't pop up again in the now, or the future. And that's why I listed it as an example fo government programs causing harm.
.
>>>>>- Amtrak (nearly bankrupt)
>>
>>How did the government intervention make this worse?
A private company would eliminate unprofitable lines that lack customers (like how Circuit City disappeared), but government keeps foolishly running lines that are losing money. That needs to stop. ----- Also in my personal opinion, Amtrak's time has passed like the horse-and-wagon. Trains are fine in heavily-populated cities (metros,subways), but when going long distance most people would rather travel by car or bus, not train so end those lines that keep losing money.
.
>>A) The Current health policy(prior Health care reform) will costs the federal government a fucking lot.
>>B) Health care reform wont reduce it to zero. but it will reduce it.
The CBO disagrees, and they've crunched the numbers (and yes I've read a summary of the report). It WAS supposed to reduce costs, but now they are saying it will actually cost MORE than the previous system, because of enrolling more people (i.e. more dollars spent). So I consider it a good example of good intentions going bad.
.
>>YOU yes YOU are a fucking nitwit.
Perhaps true, but you'll notice I am not the one who chose to turn a FRIENDLY conversation into a schoolground fight