I sometimes wonder about the average/.er's grasp on geography AND foreign languages.
Well, to be fair, one can't really have any sort of "intuitive" grasp of either the geographic, political or linguistic makeup of Belgium unless one is first aware that it is formed from part of the lowlands which were borderland territories disputed over the course of centuries between the Capetian and Hapsburg dynasties.
The closest American rough analog would be the state of Vermont (formed of territories disputed between New York and New Hamphire, where both French and English were spoken), but most Americans don't know that Vermont fought against the British in the revolution not as one of the original 13 colonies, but as an independent nation, not becoming the 14th state until 1791.
Absolutely. In fact, I'd pay $10/gallon just to watch the Ford Exhibition drivers whine.
I don't buy gas, but I couldn't afford those sort of gas prices for my bicycle. If I'm going to be "punished" for not even driving I might just as well buy a car.
The economy may be "hot" with jobs, the problem is that it's not hot with *well paying jobs*
The more you own, The more you earn The less you pay, on tax returns But if you're poor, no need to frown Just trust in Reagan, wait for trickle down
The millionaires, can pay no tax it's just the tips they give their waiters that get axed But let the poor, keep what they've got There'll be more jobs for maids and butlers and whatnot
While were on the subject of jobs, I was wondering if anyone was looking or is working for a company currently hiring a Software Engineer or Programming in the Pittsburgh area.
It's another case of the broken window economic fallacy. If more people receiving health care is what's helping keep the economy afloat, that's not a good thing.
Making a living by taking in each other's arthritis.
KFG
Re:Time For All Those Health Nazis To Shut Up!
on
The Engine of US Jobs
·
· Score: 3, Funny
It's us wheezing lard butts that are keeping America working.
Yeah, ok, but could you knock off the popping out of your little holes, grabbing us and eating us bit? It's annoying.
. ..people are able to recover from because they're using ancient technology.
When I can I even like to avoid winches and wire rigging. Ropes, block and tackle may fail slightly more often, but they're easier to handle and easier to create jury rigs out of when the shit hits the sails.
Wire's for racers and dock sailors. Quite frankly, if you really need wire just to hold your mast up you've fucked up your engineering.
PV's good for a bit of luxury now and again, but I would never ever bet my life at sea on it.
Joking aside, many of us who were alive before and during WWII do see the parallels of today's Western society to that of Soviet Russia.
Scarier than that, on "the other side of the line" people were wandering around saying things like "it can't happen here, we're a democracy" -- but it did.
Thank God it can't happen here, happen here, happen here. . .
. ..if you're not sure why go see the movie V for Vendetta.
I'll have to go see that one of these days. The other day as I was walking down the street a young man pointed at me and yelled "V for Vendetta" and I'm not sure why. Perhaps I needn't spend anything on a Halloween costume after all, but perhaps I need to worry a bit more about what the men behind the camera are thinking when they see me.
Well if I could define it, it wouldn't be wishy-washy, now would it?
The original post I responded to seemed to be sympathetic to the argument that liberal-arts education is a waste of time.
Quite the contrary, if you read some of my other posts you will discover that I consider anything but a classical liberal arts education, at the undergraduate level, to be a waste of higher education.
But anyone who has read Leviathan 'more than once' is likely to be a liberal-arts graduate themselves.
As a physics major. However, being a physics major does not preclude one from reading Hume, Shakespeare studying modern dance and photography as an art form, although it has come to my attention that some people find an arts degree in physics rather peculiar. Perhaps they do not fully understand the meaning of the word "art."
But then you have to understand that I was the sort of preteen who read Faulkner and Homer of my own volition for sheer appreciation of the language (and got Fs on the odd school English paper for being "too advanced." No, I'm not making that up) and first read Leviathan while sitting on a Spanish beach where I was studying with an Indian guru instead of going to high school.
Hey, gimme a break, it was the 60s and we didn't know any better back then.
If you have more time on your hands, read Thomas Hobbes' "Leviathan"
I have already read it. More than once.
I disagree with much of it, but it is not gibberish. I have also read Teilhard's The Phenomenon of Man. I do not know whether I disagree with it or not. It is gibberish.
By the way, I am not a programmer (although I program) and know what the word rhetoric actually means.
Slashdot Mirror
I sometimes wonder about the average /.er's grasp on geography AND foreign languages.
Well, to be fair, one can't really have any sort of "intuitive" grasp of either the geographic, political or linguistic makeup of Belgium unless one is first aware that it is formed from part of the lowlands which were borderland territories disputed over the course of centuries between the Capetian and Hapsburg dynasties.
The closest American rough analog would be the state of Vermont (formed of territories disputed between New York and New Hamphire, where both French and English were spoken), but most Americans don't know that Vermont fought against the British in the revolution not as one of the original 13 colonies, but as an independent nation, not becoming the 14th state until 1791.
So that analog will not aid their understanding.
KFG
Ok, is your point these would cost more because of the cost of transporting them?
Yes.
That didn't come out in your original comment.
I'm afraid I have the nasty habit of not always making my point explicitly.
KFG
Belgians do not speak Belgian. They speak either French or a dialect of Dutch known as Flemish.
, 00.html
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,3-1604253
KFG
Why would you pay for gas for a bicycle?
I wouldn't. I would pay for bananas, rice and lentils.
KFG
We consider it as essential as food.
How do you think my food gets grown and transported to me?
KFG
Absolutely. In fact, I'd pay $10/gallon just to watch the Ford Exhibition drivers whine.
I don't buy gas, but I couldn't afford those sort of gas prices for my bicycle. If I'm going to be "punished" for not even driving I might just as well buy a car.
KFG
You do not pay more for gas. You pay more in taxes.
I meant fans who wanted free content online.
I know.
KFG
In any case, I don't really see the relevance of this on slashdot. If you replace blog with book, I don't know how this is news for nerds.
Power.
KFG
Something tells me this guy's going to end up doing time, no matter how good his book might have been.
Patriots serve in all sorts of less than obvious ways. Sometimes jail time for opposing the state is one of them.
KFG
It's nice to see a company adapt to the fans. . .
.who have been screaming for more advertising.
. .
KFG
The economy may be "hot" with jobs, the problem is that it's not hot with *well paying jobs*
The more you own, The more you earn
The less you pay, on tax returns
But if you're poor, no need to frown
Just trust in Reagan, wait for trickle down
The millionaires, can pay no tax
it's just the tips they give their waiters that get axed
But let the poor, keep what they've got
There'll be more jobs for maids and butlers and whatnot
- Terry Phelan
KFG
While were on the subject of jobs, I was wondering if anyone was looking or is working for a company currently hiring a Software Engineer or Programming in the Pittsburgh area.
Target.
Thanks in advance for your help.
You're welcome.
KFG
It's another case of the broken window economic fallacy. If more people receiving health care is what's helping keep the economy afloat, that's not a good thing.
Making a living by taking in each other's arthritis.
KFG
It's us wheezing lard butts that are keeping America working.
Yeah, ok, but could you knock off the popping out of your little holes, grabbing us and eating us bit? It's annoying.
KFG
Yeah, I hear ya, but perfectly innocent people have actually died because some mechnical engineer didn't know the correct answer to the question.
KFG
Why change now?
"The boat will cost about $556,000 to build and it will be for sale at some point after its crossing."
Follow the money.
KFG
. . .people are able to recover from because they're using ancient technology.
When I can I even like to avoid winches and wire rigging. Ropes, block and tackle may fail slightly more often, but they're easier to handle and easier to create jury rigs out of when the shit hits the sails.
Wire's for racers and dock sailors. Quite frankly, if you really need wire just to hold your mast up you've fucked up your engineering.
PV's good for a bit of luxury now and again, but I would never ever bet my life at sea on it.
KFG
. . . concentrate...concentrate...concentrate...
It's a Westworld reference.
KFG
There's a reason our fighter planes aren't called the Kitty or the Puppy.
The Puppy
KFG
I left my steel tube in my other pants.
And here I was beginning to think you just weren't happy to see me.
KFG
Joking aside, many of us who were alive before and during WWII do see the parallels of today's Western society to that of Soviet Russia.
Scarier than that, on "the other side of the line" people were wandering around saying things like "it can't happen here, we're a democracy" -- but it did.
Thank God it can't happen here, happen here, happen here. . .
KFG
. . .if you're not sure why go see the movie V for Vendetta.
I'll have to go see that one of these days. The other day as I was walking down the street a young man pointed at me and yelled "V for Vendetta" and I'm not sure why. Perhaps I needn't spend anything on a Halloween costume after all, but perhaps I need to worry a bit more about what the men behind the camera are thinking when they see me.
KFG
. . . what do you consider 'wishy-washy'?
Well if I could define it, it wouldn't be wishy-washy, now would it?
The original post I responded to seemed to be sympathetic to the argument that liberal-arts education is a waste of time.
Quite the contrary, if you read some of my other posts you will discover that I consider anything but a classical liberal arts education, at the undergraduate level, to be a waste of higher education.
But anyone who has read Leviathan 'more than once' is likely to be a liberal-arts graduate themselves.
As a physics major. However, being a physics major does not preclude one from reading Hume, Shakespeare studying modern dance and photography as an art form, although it has come to my attention that some people find an arts degree in physics rather peculiar. Perhaps they do not fully understand the meaning of the word "art."
But then you have to understand that I was the sort of preteen who read Faulkner and Homer of my own volition for sheer appreciation of the language (and got Fs on the odd school English paper for being "too advanced." No, I'm not making that up) and first read Leviathan while sitting on a Spanish beach where I was studying with an Indian guru instead of going to high school.
Hey, gimme a break, it was the 60s and we didn't know any better back then.
KFG
If you have more time on your hands, read Thomas Hobbes' "Leviathan"
I have already read it. More than once.
I disagree with much of it, but it is not gibberish. I have also read Teilhard's The Phenomenon of Man. I do not know whether I disagree with it or not. It is gibberish.
By the way, I am not a programmer (although I program) and know what the word rhetoric actually means.
KFG