>>>In some countries the governments do other things well too, like providing affordable healthcare and good education.
Not on this planet. There's not a single government on Earth that provides affordable healthcare (it costs ~$10,000 in taxes each year) or good eduction (many high school grads can't even find their own country on a map, or read a book). The belief that a central monopoly would somehow be responsive to customer demands is delusional..... as delusional as thinking the Microsoft monopoly provides a good user experience. .
>>>According to the U.S. Census Bureau, nearly 47 million Americans were without health insurance in 2008
Yes and that stat is completely-and-totally useless since it was conducted via a *mail-in ballot* (as worthless as an internet survey), and then extrapolated from a few thousands respondents to millions of people. It's flat wrong.
In addition it was discovered a lot of people who checked "not insured" actually are insured - by the government Medicare, Medicaid, or SCHIP programs - because they didn't realize they were covered by Uncle Sam. Last but not least, you have to subtract ~10 million off that figure because they are not U.S. citizens. Non-citizens will still be uninsured even with universal Hillarycare or Obamacare.
The estimates coming from actual *science-controlled* studies show the number of uninsured U.S. citizens (keyword) is only 8-9 million.
>>>After all it was known that 64k should be enough...
64K is enough. My computer could use a faster processor (say 100 megahertz), but the 64 kilobytes is plenty of room for surfing the net, or writing book reports, or balancing my checkbook.;-)
>>>My favorite impossibility from the series is Data. As a philosopher, I know that a computer will never be self-aware
I was under the impression that Data is not a computer, but instead a mechanical brain. It mimics our our brain and its neurons, but instead of using chemicals and carbon-based cells, it uses electricity and metal-based cells. In fact I've seen early tests using FPGAs where, instead of programming the FPGA directly, it was gradually taught how to give desired responses to stimuli..... comparable to how a worm's brain interacts. Simplistic but capable of learning.
So Data would be the natural progression of that early FPGA experiment, but set 300 years from now.
>>>why is a [BSG] society that can build giant spacecraft with faster than light travel not able to, say, cure cancer? How about viruses? Nope - they quarantine those >>>
If some physicist discovered a way to achieve lightspeed this year, we could build aircraft carrier-sized spaceships within ten years time, and set out to explore nearby stars during the 2020s. But we still wouldn't have a cure for cancer. Or viruses. You presume too much.
Progress in one realm of science (physics) doesn't automatically mean progress in other branches (biology). Heck, look at psychology, which has made little progress despite over 100 years of research into the brain, and is still mostly voodoo and guessing.
Your complaint is akin to those forum posters who in 1994, while watching Babylon 5, said the show ought to have transporters.
>>>I agree; I think Star Trek went overboard with the technobabble. But the point is that in ST, unlike "hard sci-fi", the technology is not the point of the show, it's character development, moral issues, etc. >>>
Question:
Why would I want to waste my time watching a show that, according to the laws of universe, cannot possibly exist? I'm not a big fan of non-existent fantasy worlds, although I did watch some of the Potter movies. I like to look at shows and think, "Well that could happen someday," and that's simply not true of Trek's magic.
>>>Like it or not, the term "sci-fi" has evolved so that it now means a type of speculative fiction which generally involves people living in the future, and frequently involves space ships but not always. >>>
By this reasoning Asimov and Heinlein and Clarke didn't create science fiction or sci-fi. A huge chunk of their stories were set in the present, and didn't involve spaceships at all. Therefore you definition is flawed.
I like my definition is better - science fiction without the science should not be using that label. It should be properly categorized as fantasy along with Harry Potter and Buffy and Star Wars.
- He'd direct me to do something, like look-up old schematics on the system, and then I'd ask him to show me the first schematic so I'd know how to use the POS software, and he'd respond, "Figure it out yourself."
- Then after lunch he'd come back and say, "Why isn't it done yet?!?!?" Um well probably because I haven't guessed the mysterious line-driven commands yet, because you failed to show them to me, or even give me a list. Duh.
When I get conflicting directions from multiple bosses, I find it easier to just do nothing. Oftentimes in these situations I'll later get direction that, "We changed our minds. Stop doing what I told you to do, because we're going in a different direction." Yes boss.:-)
Well if the parent doesn't think there's anything wrong with it, that IS the parents decision. Just as many nudists take their children to clothes-free beaches or campgrounds where little girls see adult men nude, or little boys see adult women nude. I know a lot of Americans who would like to see those parents arrested, but fortunately saner heads prevail.
Spoken like a man who never paid attention in history class. The UK wouldn't have the freedoms it enjoys today, if it wasn't for the bloodshed of the 1600s which eventually led to the Bill of Rights. And of course there are other examples - Eastern Europe is now free thanks to uprisings. France executed its monarch to form the first french republic. Rome overthrew the ancient tyrannical kings and founded the "res publica" circa 500 B.C. adopting the slogan SPQR - "The Senate and the People of Rome"
History shows that freedom is not given. It is taken by force and power restored where it belongs (with the people).
If a judge TRIES to take-away your right of free speech, his verdict has no meaning, and can be ignored. He has overstepped his authority because no one take away your rights. So I say - ignore the verdict and publish your story. If the judge continues down this path and still tries to take-away your inalienable right to use your own mouth to speak, then he needs to be imepached. And if he refuses to step down, then the People need to exercise their just authority, and remove him by force, and replace him with a new judge that understand he is a *servant* of the People, not a master. "From time to time the Tree of Liberty must be watered with the blood of patriots and tyrants. It is its natural fertilizer." - Thomas Jefferson.
Ahhh that make sense. errrr...ummm... Okay not really. I still don't understand why MS-DOS needs the c:\ because without that slash it could still support multiple current directories.
>>>I can't think of a way to apply that argument to http, so I end up agreeing with you anyway.
. . . . . Oooo I can see the HTML. Now just need to wait for the pics to load . . . . . Might as well go get a Philly cheesesteak while I'm waiting . . . . . . . . . . . oh good, the page is displayed, and the pics are 90% finished. Only took half an hour. Who needs stinkin' modern 56000 technology? Overkill is what that is.
;-)
When I was stuck in a hotel one time, the lines were so noisy I routinely got 19k, 21k, or 24k connections. Talk about slooooow. The amazing part is that I actually bittorrented episodes of SGA and BSG at that speed. Took about 8 hours just to get one episode, so I could come home from work and watch the latest Stargate and Galactica exploits.
No this discussion is thoroughly confusing me. I don't understand why http:/ is necessary, just as I don't understand why I have to type dir a:\ ----- I grew-up learning and using the Commodore Amiga CLI (command line interface) and all you needed to do was type* dir df0: or dir df0:nudiepics. It was extremely confusing when I moved to MS-DOS in the 1990s, and had to type dir a:\ or dir a:\nudiepics.
If the Amiga and other CLIs didn't need slashes after the drive qualifier, then I don't think DOS or HTTP needs slashes either. (shrug)
* * df0: == disk floppy 0; equivalent to a: * df1: == disk floppy 1; equivalent to b: * dh0: == disk hard 0; equivalent to c: * dh1: == disk hard 1; equivalent to d: * ram: == ram disk * et cetera
You mean I'm supposed to look after that little boy in my house? The TV and PC don't magically care for him? Gaaarsh. Shucks I didn't know that - I guess my money on the TV and PC was wasted.
Had it been my newspaper, I would have published the news about the court case anyway. Government belongs to the People and all events that happen within that government, especially the Parliament, should be shared with them not hidden.
If the judge doesn't like it, he can just eat a bullet, and we the People will replace him with our own Judge.
>>>It couldn't possibly have anything to do with a long history of being male dominated with a resulting "boys club" attitude that leads to "innocent" and pervasive sexist attitudes. >>>
And it could also just be lack-of-interest, like my friend Lynn. We both started in engineering at the same time, and shared many of the same classes, until she quit during the 2nd year. When I asked her why she mentioned nothing about sexism (because there was none), but instead said she simply found the major boring.
Of course you'll reject this story, perhaps labeling Lynn as a "traitor to the feminist cause," because that's usually the outcome when I tell this tale. I've seen this same thing for women who voluntarily choose to quit a job and stay home to raise the kids. Those women are vilified by the feminists.
It HAS to be sexism... it cannot possibly be that women find engineering to be dull & exercise their right to choose something else.
Men have penises. Women have vaginas. Men have high testosterone. Women have high estrogen. Men procreate whenever they want, from age 13 to 100. Women procreate once a month, in a cycle, which ends around age 40. Men have bony muscular bodies. Women have softer fat-covered bodies. Men are about 5-6 inches taller. Women have permanent mammary glands. Men are narrow-hipped and women are wide-hipped.
And yet despite all these differences, you still think male and female brains are identical, and therefore there should be 50-50 identical interest in the field of engineering???
You're in denial. With all the other extant differences, there's bound to be differences in the brain as well, which will manifest itself as little female interest in engineering (boring toys), and vice-versa little male interest in Health/Human Development majors.
>>>>> That's life not sexism, just the same way men can't give birth, which is also not sexism. >> >>The same way women can't choose their husband, do business, or do vote, drive a car, fight in a war, go to university, study math and science, and finally engineering. Do you see any tendency? >>
Yeah that it's impossible to have a reasonable discussion with unreasonable people who twist & distort your words (strawman arguments). What you listed were *forbidden acts* - women couldn't vote, couldn't drive, go to college, et cetera. Women were BLOCKED in the past. But today nobody's stopping a young woman to choose engineering as a major - they are free to do whatever they want. But many women simply don't want to be engineers.
For example my old lab partner Lynn started out in engineering, and then after two years she changed to premed. Her choice. She simply didn't like engineering since she said it was "boring". Isn't that what freedom's all about? Not just the right to do something, but also the right NOT to do something?
I know if I could turn back time, I'd probably do the same. Lynn was right - engineering is boring. I think I'd rather be premed or some other people-oriented career.
Three is the number we were looking for. You made a common mistake of forgetting to divide by 100 to convert your percentage into a decimal. Oh well. Thanks for playing Jeopardy. We have some attractive consolation prizes I'm sure you'll enjoy.
>>>Notice how the GP says that the sexism is all imagined, but that the main reason he wants women to become better represented is to improve the scenery. Nice.
This is why it's impossible to have a discussion - Strawman Arguments.
I never said anything like that what you falsely-claim I said. First off, I didn't say "all" sexism is imagined. There are idiots who hate women, just as there are idiots who hate blacks. What I said was "SOMETIMES people see sexism where none exists," as you just demonstrated. I'm not anywhere close to being sexist (if I was I wouldn't defer to the numerous women bosses I've had over the years).
Second you took my comment that I would like to see fewer men in my office, and twisted it to make it sound like I'm some leering playboy lecher that wants to ogle females ("improve the scenery"). What the hell??? I went to a college where the girls outnumbered the boys 2-to-1. I like having women around, not because of looks, but because they are better conversationalists. Men talk about boring ____ like football, and most times I'd rather hang with the ladies. I stand by my statement of wanting to see fewer men, but not for the reasons you pulled out of your ass. .
>>>Me, I want women to feel more comfortable taking computer related jobs because we're obviously missing out on a lot of talent by discriminating.
That's one explanation, but there are others. Have you ever considered that computer-related/engineering-related jobs are *boring as shit*??? My freshman lab partner was a girl named Lynn, and she was smarter than I, but eventually she dropped out during her sophomore year. When I asked why - she said she was bored with engineering, and changed to premed.
I don't blame women for choosing other fields. If I could rewind the clock, I'd probably choose a different path myself. Like nursing or HHD or teaching. More people oriented.
Sometimes (keyword) different people simply have different interests. Sometimes those differences fall along gender lines. That's just natural.
Slashdot Mirror
I suggest you try again chummer. There was no 'n' in his post but there was two 'r's.
I was *joking* slowpoke Anon.Coward
>>>To be a rigger?
Just act like Kanye West, instead of as a gentleman like Barack Obama, and you'll be well on your way.
>>>In some countries the governments do other things well too, like providing affordable healthcare and good education.
Not on this planet. There's not a single government on Earth that provides affordable healthcare (it costs ~$10,000 in taxes each year) or good eduction (many high school grads can't even find their own country on a map, or read a book). The belief that a central monopoly would somehow be responsive to customer demands is delusional..... as delusional as thinking the Microsoft monopoly provides a good user experience.
.
>>>According to the U.S. Census Bureau, nearly 47 million Americans were without health insurance in 2008
Yes and that stat is completely-and-totally useless since it was conducted via a *mail-in ballot* (as worthless as an internet survey), and then extrapolated from a few thousands respondents to millions of people. It's flat wrong.
In addition it was discovered a lot of people who checked "not insured" actually are insured - by the government Medicare, Medicaid, or SCHIP programs - because they didn't realize they were covered by Uncle Sam. Last but not least, you have to subtract ~10 million off that figure because they are not U.S. citizens. Non-citizens will still be uninsured even with universal Hillarycare or Obamacare.
The estimates coming from actual *science-controlled* studies show the number of uninsured U.S. citizens (keyword) is only 8-9 million.
>>>After all it was known that 64k should be enough...
64K is enough. My computer could use a faster processor (say 100 megahertz), but the 64 kilobytes is plenty of room for surfing the net, or writing book reports, or balancing my checkbook. ;-)
>>>My favorite impossibility from the series is Data. As a philosopher, I know that a computer will never be self-aware
I was under the impression that Data is not a computer, but instead a mechanical brain. It mimics our our brain and its neurons, but instead of using chemicals and carbon-based cells, it uses electricity and metal-based cells. In fact I've seen early tests using FPGAs where, instead of programming the FPGA directly, it was gradually taught how to give desired responses to stimuli..... comparable to how a worm's brain interacts. Simplistic but capable of learning.
So Data would be the natural progression of that early FPGA experiment, but set 300 years from now.
>>>why is a [BSG] society that can build giant spacecraft with faster than light travel not able to, say, cure cancer? How about viruses? Nope - they quarantine those
>>>
If some physicist discovered a way to achieve lightspeed this year, we could build aircraft carrier-sized spaceships within ten years time, and set out to explore nearby stars during the 2020s. But we still wouldn't have a cure for cancer. Or viruses. You presume too much.
Progress in one realm of science (physics) doesn't automatically mean progress in other branches (biology). Heck, look at psychology, which has made little progress despite over 100 years of research into the brain, and is still mostly voodoo and guessing.
Your complaint is akin to those forum posters who in 1994, while watching Babylon 5, said the show ought to have transporters.
>>>I agree; I think Star Trek went overboard with the technobabble. But the point is that in ST, unlike "hard sci-fi", the technology is not the point of the show, it's character development, moral issues, etc.
>>>
Question:
Why would I want to waste my time watching a show that, according to the laws of universe, cannot possibly exist? I'm not a big fan of non-existent fantasy worlds, although I did watch some of the Potter movies. I like to look at shows and think, "Well that could happen someday," and that's simply not true of Trek's magic.
>>>Like it or not, the term "sci-fi" has evolved so that it now means a type of speculative fiction which generally involves people living in the future, and frequently involves space ships but not always.
>>>
By this reasoning Asimov and Heinlein and Clarke didn't create science fiction or sci-fi. A huge chunk of their stories were set in the present, and didn't involve spaceships at all. Therefore you definition is flawed.
I like my definition is better - science fiction without the science should not be using that label. It should be properly categorized as fantasy along with Harry Potter and Buffy and Star Wars.
My last boss was a real pisser
- He'd direct me to do something, like look-up old schematics on the system, and then I'd ask him to show me the first schematic so I'd know how to use the POS software, and he'd respond, "Figure it out yourself."
- Then after lunch he'd come back and say, "Why isn't it done yet?!?!?" Um well probably because I haven't guessed the mysterious line-driven commands yet, because you failed to show them to me, or even give me a list. Duh.
Me too.
When I get conflicting directions from multiple bosses, I find it easier to just do nothing. Oftentimes in these situations I'll later get direction that, "We changed our minds. Stop doing what I told you to do, because we're going in a different direction." Yes boss. :-)
Well if the parent doesn't think there's anything wrong with it, that IS the parents decision. Just as many nudists take their children to clothes-free beaches or campgrounds where little girls see adult men nude, or little boys see adult women nude. I know a lot of Americans who would like to see those parents arrested, but fortunately saner heads prevail.
The rating is a suggestion, not a mandate.
>>>Spoken like a true 13 year old.
Spoken like a man who never paid attention in history class. The UK wouldn't have the freedoms it enjoys today, if it wasn't for the bloodshed of the 1600s which eventually led to the Bill of Rights. And of course there are other examples - Eastern Europe is now free thanks to uprisings. France executed its monarch to form the first french republic. Rome overthrew the ancient tyrannical kings and founded the "res publica" circa 500 B.C. adopting the slogan SPQR - "The Senate and the People of Rome"
History shows that freedom is not given. It is taken by force and power restored where it belongs (with the people).
If a judge TRIES to take-away your right of free speech, his verdict has no meaning, and can be ignored. He has overstepped his authority because no one take away your rights. So I say - ignore the verdict and publish your story. If the judge continues down this path and still tries to take-away your inalienable right to use your own mouth to speak, then he needs to be imepached. And if he refuses to step down, then the People need to exercise their just authority, and remove him by force, and replace him with a new judge that understand he is a *servant* of the People, not a master. "From time to time the Tree of Liberty must be watered with the blood of patriots and tyrants. It is its natural fertilizer." - Thomas Jefferson.
Ahhh that make sense. errrr...ummm... Okay not really. I still don't understand why MS-DOS needs the c:\ because without that slash it could still support multiple current directories.
>>>I can't think of a way to apply that argument to http, so I end up agreeing with you anyway.
Yep. :-)
Real nerds are still using 2400 baud modems.
. . . . . Oooo I can see the HTML. Now just need to wait for the pics to load . . . . . Might as well go get a Philly cheesesteak while I'm waiting . . . . . . . . . . . oh good, the page is displayed, and the pics are 90% finished. Only took half an hour. Who needs stinkin' modern 56000 technology? Overkill is what that is.
When I was stuck in a hotel one time, the lines were so noisy I routinely got 19k, 21k, or 24k connections. Talk about slooooow. The amazing part is that I actually bittorrented episodes of SGA and BSG at that speed. Took about 8 hours just to get one episode, so I could come home from work and watch the latest Stargate and Galactica exploits.
Apple //e? I thought it was Apple ][e? Or possibly Apple IIe? I'm so confused. (reaches for Shakespeare folio). "To be or not to be..." ahh better.
>>>Without the slashes, Slashdot would have been called something else.
Colondot?
>>>See what my point is now?
No this discussion is thoroughly confusing me. I don't understand why http:/ is necessary, just as I don't understand why I have to type dir a:\ ----- I grew-up learning and using the Commodore Amiga CLI (command line interface) and all you needed to do was type* dir df0: or dir df0:nudiepics. It was extremely confusing when I moved to MS-DOS in the 1990s, and had to type dir a:\ or dir a:\nudiepics.
If the Amiga and other CLIs didn't need slashes after the drive qualifier, then I don't think DOS or HTTP needs slashes either. (shrug)
*
* df0: == disk floppy 0; equivalent to a:
* df1: == disk floppy 1; equivalent to b:
* dh0: == disk hard 0; equivalent to c:
* dh1: == disk hard 1; equivalent to d:
* ram: == ram disk
* et cetera
No wonder I don't play online. Sounds like Usenet flamewars but much, much worse. I'd rather play alone, me versus the computer.
You mean I'm supposed to look after that little boy in my house? The TV and PC don't magically care for him? Gaaarsh. Shucks I didn't know that - I guess my money on the TV and PC was wasted.
Had it been my newspaper, I would have published the news about the court case anyway. Government belongs to the People and all events that happen within that government, especially the Parliament, should be shared with them not hidden.
If the judge doesn't like it, he can just eat a bullet, and we the People will replace him with our own Judge.
>>>It couldn't possibly have anything to do with a long history of being male dominated with a resulting "boys club" attitude that leads to "innocent" and pervasive sexist attitudes.
>>>
And it could also just be lack-of-interest, like my friend Lynn. We both started in engineering at the same time, and shared many of the same classes, until she quit during the 2nd year. When I asked her why she mentioned nothing about sexism (because there was none), but instead said she simply found the major boring.
Of course you'll reject this story, perhaps labeling Lynn as a "traitor to the feminist cause," because that's usually the outcome when I tell this tale. I've seen this same thing for women who voluntarily choose to quit a job and stay home to raise the kids. Those women are vilified by the feminists.
It HAS to be sexism... it cannot possibly be that women find engineering to be dull & exercise their right to choose something else.
Men have penises. Women have vaginas. Men have high testosterone. Women have high estrogen. Men procreate whenever they want, from age 13 to 100. Women procreate once a month, in a cycle, which ends around age 40. Men have bony muscular bodies. Women have softer fat-covered bodies. Men are about 5-6 inches taller. Women have permanent mammary glands. Men are narrow-hipped and women are wide-hipped.
And yet despite all these differences, you still think male and female brains are identical, and therefore there should be 50-50 identical interest in the field of engineering???
You're in denial. With all the other extant differences, there's bound to be differences in the brain as well, which will manifest itself as little female interest in engineering (boring toys), and vice-versa little male interest in Health/Human Development majors.
>>>>> That's life not sexism, just the same way men can't give birth, which is also not sexism.
>>
>>The same way women can't choose their husband, do business, or do vote, drive a car, fight in a war, go to university, study math and science, and finally engineering. Do you see any tendency?
>>
Yeah that it's impossible to have a reasonable discussion with unreasonable people who twist & distort your words (strawman arguments). What you listed were *forbidden acts* - women couldn't vote, couldn't drive, go to college, et cetera. Women were BLOCKED in the past. But today nobody's stopping a young woman to choose engineering as a major - they are free to do whatever they want. But many women simply don't want to be engineers.
For example my old lab partner Lynn started out in engineering, and then after two years she changed to premed. Her choice. She simply didn't like engineering since she said it was "boring". Isn't that what freedom's all about? Not just the right to do something, but also the right NOT to do something?
I know if I could turn back time, I'd probably do the same. Lynn was right - engineering is boring.
I think I'd rather be premed or some other people-oriented career.
No sorry.
THREE.
Three is the number we were looking for. You made a common mistake of forgetting to divide by 100 to convert your percentage into a decimal. Oh well. Thanks for playing Jeopardy. We have some attractive consolation prizes I'm sure you'll enjoy.
>>>Notice how the GP says that the sexism is all imagined, but that the main reason he wants women to become better represented is to improve the scenery. Nice.
This is why it's impossible to have a discussion - Strawman Arguments.
I never said anything like that what you falsely-claim I said. First off, I didn't say "all" sexism is imagined. There are idiots who hate women, just as there are idiots who hate blacks. What I said was "SOMETIMES people see sexism where none exists," as you just demonstrated. I'm not anywhere close to being sexist (if I was I wouldn't defer to the numerous women bosses I've had over the years).
Second you took my comment that I would like to see fewer men in my office, and twisted it to make it sound like I'm some leering playboy lecher that wants to ogle females ("improve the scenery"). What the hell??? I went to a college where the girls outnumbered the boys 2-to-1. I like having women around, not because of looks, but because they are better conversationalists. Men talk about boring ____ like football, and most times I'd rather hang with the ladies. I stand by my statement of wanting to see fewer men, but not for the reasons you pulled out of your ass.
.
>>>Me, I want women to feel more comfortable taking computer related jobs because we're obviously missing out on a lot of talent by discriminating.
That's one explanation, but there are others. Have you ever considered that computer-related/engineering-related jobs are *boring as shit*??? My freshman lab partner was a girl named Lynn, and she was smarter than I, but eventually she dropped out during her sophomore year. When I asked why - she said she was bored with engineering, and changed to premed.
I don't blame women for choosing other fields. If I could rewind the clock, I'd probably choose a different path myself. Like nursing or HHD or teaching. More people oriented.
Sometimes (keyword) different people simply have different interests.
Sometimes those differences fall along gender lines.
That's just natural.