If you're foregoing behavior that you would otherwise partake in (contacting and keeping in touch with friends) because you are fearful that some kind of dictatorial regime is going to use that behavior against you in the future, then that dictatorial regime has more power over you than it ever needed, whether it wanted it or not.
In other words, if you are seriously scared that you may be witch hunted because of your facebook profile, then your concern should be with fixing the society that you are a part of so that the fear of witch hunting is no longer reasonable (if it ever was). The type of behavior you are describing is just betraying how easy it is to manipulate you with fear.
Christ, what kind of lunatic small town did you live in? I grew up in a little town of about 5000 people in Northern California. Everytime a new family moved in somewhere people were excited. We wanted to hear about what they had done, places they had been, what kind of cool toys they had that we didn't. At the schools, we made friends with new kids if they shared interests. In the community, we sometimes hazed new folk by giving them bad directions or such, but it was all in good fun. There were always a few crazy old codgers that liked to bitch about the flatlanders and how badly they sucked at driving the small roads when they moved up to the hills, but there was no suspicion or aggression.
Sure, when new folk moved in there were rumors started, but there were rumors started about everyone. Most folk just realized that it was a small town and if you heard that Jack down the street had done A,B, and C, chances were he had done A, talked about B, and his cousin did C once when he was drunk. That was just the small town, big fish story mentality. Nobody took it with more than a grain of salt and your reputation never hinged on it. Hell, in the small towns I've lived in, I always found that anyone who had a good reputation had earned it for good reason, and anyone who had a poor one had also earned that for good reason.
If anything, I miss the small towns because of their sense of community and closeness. Whatever crazy town you lived in just sounds like it was a beehive of loonies if you ask me.
I think he meant that you couldn't even take a space ship to some point in space and see the same thing,
You could if the viewport of the spacecraft had an augmented reality overlay that enhanced the the surroundings with false color. Or, for that matter, if you had an implanted eye that could see multiple wavelengths that the human eye cannot see. If we are talking about space travel, I get the feeling that a lot of technology is going to come a long way before we fly out to these places. I mean, hell, you can already use your iPhone or Droid for augmented reality applications.
Why do you think we yanks rose to world power status so quickly, relatively speaking? From the Revolutionary War all the way up through WWII we still had to work hard, and we didn't put up with much bullshit. =P
However, as a society grows and prospers, it becomes easier to survive by doing less. Nowhere else in the world, right now, can someone have so much comfort for so little an effort as in the USA. Thus, more folk are raised with less work ethic. More folk migrate to the prosperous society where they don't have to work hard. The ratio of folk that work hard and contribute to the growth of society vs. those who don't, decreases overall, and great nations crumble. This has happened hundreds of times in history before. One day, maybe, we'll learn how to outgrow such a lame habit.
Oh good, I am glad someone posted skepticism regarding the current climate change data and mankind's influence on the environment. Now the holy war can begin. =) ... ... ... /popcorn.
So in other words, in your case, the researchers were open and honest with you and your "dear lady," therefore it is okay for them to be dishonest with a few poorly-educated native Americans?
What the hell kind of retarded inference is that? The original poster, whom made a very good point, was telling his story in order to display precisely what should be done, in all medical cases. Nowhere in the block of text you quoted, nor in his post, did he state anything that would even allude to the Native Americans in the article being entitled to some form of lesser treatment. Are you blind, hyperbolic, or just plain stupid?
Furthermore, the parent post seemed to indicate that, in the case of him and his dear lady, the contracts they signed were understood by the doctor to be both morally and legally binding. Thus, he is stating very clearly, that he has had first hand exposure to the need for proper authorization in the medical profession. If anything, you should be affirming his story as the proper way to handle things, not highlighting your response in bold to declare just what the researchers did wrong in the article. The parent knows what the researchers did wrong in the article. His anecdote was posted to clarify what should have been done to handle the situation properly. Do you throw knee-jerk reactions to every post or is it just a random comment ID generator that you use?
I don't disagree, scientists and science in general does need to be trustworthy and capable of standing up to criticism. My point wasn't that what the researchers at this university did was in anyway acceptable, just that an outright ban from tribal lands and an inflamed article being written about the incident seemed like overkill. Should the abuse have happened? No. Did it happen? Yes. Is getting pissed off, becoming vindictive, and seeking public sympathy for the tribe after the abuse overkill? In my opinion, yes.
Again, I am not trying to defend the researchers. This just seems like a particular case where, although there was a scandal, the scandal didn't really end up hurting anyone or anything, so shrug your shoulders, get over it, and go on with your life. Vengeful power trips are not the answer to an abuse of any kind. If the tribe leaders were offended, they should have addressed their concerns to the university clearly, concisely, and maybe requested research transparency on any topics of study that they happen to be involved with. Throwing the researchers off tribal lands permanently may very well prevent further diabetes research being done with this tribe which could endanger the future of the tribe. Thus, the reaction seems both short-sighted and silly.
Shit happened. The damage was done. Move on with your lives. That's all I was getting at. Publicizing this story on the internet isn't going to do any good other than bring out some crazies who like to look for reasons to hate on research so I just don't see the point in it all.
However, as I said, I do agree that science needs to adhere to ethical standards as you stated. I would note, however, that a case like this doesn't compare, in any manner or respect, with cases like Tuskegee, Milgram, or the Nazis. While science must be held to an ethical standard, if those standards are abused, then the response should scale to the nature of the abuse. In this case, it seems pretty trivial so I just don't see what the fuss is about.
Meh, it all seems like another case of irrational, needless drama. Should the researchers have asked permission to use the DNA samples for other research? Probably. At the very least that would have been respectful. Nonetheless, who gives a crap if they didn't? So what, some scientists took your DNA, ran some tests, did some comparisons, and found out that, shock and awe, you are descended from other human beings just like the rest of us. Furthermore, they took a few extra steps and did some research on mental illness which may or may not have provided some beneficial medical data somehow. What's the big deal?
I mean, sure, if the DNA samples were used to catalog and track the individual members of the tribe, associate them with their facebook pages, and then all that data was sold to the government or some ad agencies or something then yeah, that would suck. If your DNA was used to genetically modify some two headed cat that went on a rampage and ate babies, then yeah, that would suck. But what is the big deal with using it for more research?
Like I said, the researchers definitely should have asked permission, but banning them from the tribe seems like overkill. At worst, this situations seems like it calls for getting miffed and then shrugging it off.
Japanese Space Rock? That genre exists? Great, there goes another day of productivity in the name of researching something totally badass sounding. This better not disappoint.
I can't tell if you're joking or not, but SDO was launched on an Atlas V 401 vehicle. As for claiming it weighs 6800 lbs, I would wager that was the weight while on Earth. As other 'dotters have pointed out though, it is pretty retarded they aren't talking mass rather than weight.
If I recall correctly, the Hayabusa spacecraft MIGHT have samples on it from the asteroid. Then again, it might not. The Hayabusa was originally designed to hover above the surface of the asteroid and fire a pellet into the surface, causing an ejection of material that the probe would then collect in a sample box. However, the probe has been having propulsion issues, amongst other things, and was required to land on the surface of the asteroid rather than hover above it. This, of course, was an achievement in itself. However, upon landing, the probe's pellet ejection system failed and no surface material was displaced forcibly. As I understand it, researchers are hoping that some dust or something settled into the sample collection bin. However, at this time, there is no certainty that it will contain anything.
The most fascinating part about this mission, however, was the fact that it was using four plasma thrusters to steadily propel it to its destination. To my knowledge, this is the first time such technology has been used as the primary propulsion source for a mission. Even more fascinating is that three of the four thrusters failed and, as of now, one functioning thruster is a jury rigged hack job that they got working by using the control systems from one failed thruster and the thruster and propellant from a second. That said, Hayabusa has been an absolute testament to the tenacity and creativity in problem solving of JAXA. It has been an exciting mission, and I am very much looking forward to finding out just how lucky the unlucky probe has been in collecting dust bits from the asteroid.
Is there any hope for freedom in a world where the powerful conspire to restrict it against the best interests of the people?
Well, this isn't the first time the world's been in this situation. For reference, please see the British Empire, French Empire, Roman Empire, Japanese Empire, German Empire, Aztec Empire, Inca Empire....and so on.
Of course, all of those came crashing down eventually. However, the combined circumstances that brought about such demises were neither pretty, nor easy to live through. There was blood. There was starvation. There was disease. There was death. So that's a good point to keep in mind as well.
Oh, one more thing, regarding the title of your post. You are not powerless as a citizen. It may seem so. It may seem any struggle you make day by day is done in futility and easily wiped away by the powers that be. That doesn't mean you are powerless though. That means that your actions, indeed, have some power. Otherwise the powers that be wouldn't go through the trouble they do to repress such actions (see, for instance, mass media smear campaigns against the people, large corporate conglomerates attacking their customers via lawsuits and other avenues, the cessation of your civil liberties at a given protest or rally, etc.) If you were powerless, truly powerless, then whatever power was in charge of the world wouldn't even bat an eye at your actions.
That said, while you may feel hopeless or depressed, stick it out anyways. As a citizen of this world, and as a human being and member of this species, it is not only your right to stand for what you believe in, but your duty. So when your letters to Congress get ignored, write more. When your votes get tossed out the window, vote in the next election, and actively campaign against the evils you see. When your rights are tread upon by the law, break the damn law, and confess to such transgressions with your chin held high in the courtroom. When this world shoves a truckload of hopeless shit into your future, go grab the shovel and start throwing it back into the very truck that dumped it. Yeah, it will be hard. Yeah, it is a pain in the ass. Yeah, it is a lot easier to sit down and watch TV after work instead. But that doesn't mean you are powerless. That means you have to square your shoulders, puff up your chest, clench your jaw, and level your gaze at the darkness of this chaotic reality and meet it, proudly, as a man (or woman) with ferocity and vigor.
And if it boils down to an armed uprising and a bath of blood for the streets, then clench your rifle, level your arm, steady your hand, and do your part. As a human being you, and I, and all others owe it to ourselves, to our children, and to our future as a species to stand proudly, strongly, and with dignity for those things we hold dear: things such as freedom, equality, safety, and community. Strong men and women have toiled and died for these things in the past. If today's world calls on you to do the same, then shy not away from the darkness in shame. No, stand strong, and bear the lineage of humanity that rests on our shoulders with pride. We are the shapers of the future of this species. Upon us rest the hopes and dreams of every generation that preceded ours. Let us do them proud.
Let the students actually understand what the kernel is and how modules work before making them go fetch sources to compile kernel modules.
Those of us who decided to jump off the Isle of Windows for a sail on the high seas of Linux didn't get that slack. We were told "Windows sucks! Go to Linux!" enough times that we decided to go for it. Now most of us are enjoying the quest of searching for module names on Google and trying to figure out why the hell the last 40 columns of pixels won't render on our screens. Make 'em learn it the right way, make 'em learn it the hard way! Yaaarrgh!
Think about it. If everyone just flat out boycotted doing anything for even a week.
The functional failure mode of that statement is that word everyone. While its hard for many of us to see (since we spend so much time on slashdot) very few folk in this country actually feel like they are getting raped by any given corporation. For instance, if I go back to my podunk little hometown, and start telling people about how shitty out internet options are here, as compared to, say, Europe, they look at me like I am crazy. Most folk are so marveled by the fact that they can Google for an answer to whatever their problem is (as well they should be) that they don't see what the big deal is about low bandwidth or poorly developed infrastructure.
I've been to quite a few small towns here in California (one of the more developed states) where people still think they are getting fast internet speeds by connecting to their cell phone provider's 3g network because it is an improvement over their old dial up line. While one small town here and there may not mean much to the voter pool, when you start adding up every single voter citizen from every single small community, you'll see that such a perception can influence a large amount of the voter pool. Combine that with the fact that there are people with cable and/or dsl access in big cities that do nothing but check their e-mail everyday (and for that, our crap service here in the states is more than adequate) and you'll start to see why so few people actually think that there is anything wrong with internet access in this country.
As 'dotters, it's easy for us to forget that the mass majority of the US does not care about stuff like telco politics or Google's data acquisition. Similarly, there are a lot of people who don't really care about what the oil companies, or the tobacco companies, or the corn subsidy, or whatever the next $BIG_SCARY_EVIL_SOCIAL_INTEREST is. For most people, life is as simple as getting up, drudging to a job they hate, sticking it out for 8 hours, and going home to watch TV. Try to explain to them a good reason to go on a nationwide boycott that involves anything other than their own starvation and you will be seen as a raving lunatic.
That's not to say we shouldn't keep speaking up and doing what we can, but that's a generalized ramble about why we aren't boycotting as a nation....yet.
As of reading this comment, it is modded funny. Such a judgment stands as a true testament to the embittered, jaded, and all around Schadenfreude sense of humor that folks have today. =)
and makes the bigger-brained among us yawn at the idea that anyone is impressed with 64 loops around a couple of rocks that aren't going anywhere fast...
That's a bit of an arrogant statement. While you hit the nail right on the head with the margins in spacecraft design, I have to say that seeing the orbital plots of a mission as complex as Cassini, is, in no way, a yawning experience. While you may think that it's nothing more than a few geometric loops around some rocks that aren't going anywhere, those of us who have worked on orbital mechanics problems understand, in no small part, just how complex the math must have been to work out those solutions. Furthermore, we have a fascination with the idea of getting to fiddle with problems like that ourselves one day. In fact, this particular plot has inspired me to pull out my 3-body problem source code when I get home and revisit some of the algorithms used to optimize fuel consumption for 3 body orbital problems.
What I am getting at is that those 64 loops around a couple of rocks, which you so trivialize, represent, to those of us involved in this field, a visual depiction of a very high level of hard, computer intensive work that we are familiar with. It's kind of like hearing a symphony play a composer's final musical construct. Those who are composers can appreciate the symphony as it depicts, audibly, just how intensive, deep, and subtle the composer must have been in his work. Likewise, those of us that are familiar with these types of problems can look at the visualization and appreciate the incredible mathematical nuance and finagling that must have gone into doing these calculations.
Then again, very few people tend to have any appreciation for the engineering intensive processes that go into even common, everyday appliances like computers and cars, so I suppose I shouldn't be surprised when a self-proclaimed 'bigger-brained' person cannot appreciate the depth and culmination of work that a plot like the one linked to in the summary represents.
Also, if we are talking perl 5.10, you would need to use single quotes rather than double quotes as the double quotes would try to interpret the '$' character as a sigil and thus look for the scalar variable $1. So in summation:
And to top it all off one of California's only nuclear power plants operating right in that high earthquake zone! I can't think of a better paradise frankly. Plenty of circus and wine for the locals, and if something fundamental gets fubarred we have a nice messy nuclear explosion to cover it all up*. Ah the promised land. =)
*: So as to not lose geek cred, I do realize that Diablo Canyon will not be exploding anytime soon and that, in the event of an actual reactor issue, an explosion will not be the resultant phenomenon. For humor purposes, however, I enjoy pointing out the delicious absurdity of building a nuclear power plant near a fault line.
Slashdot Mirror
It also costs money, and those frappacuinos stack up. =/
If you're foregoing behavior that you would otherwise partake in (contacting and keeping in touch with friends) because you are fearful that some kind of dictatorial regime is going to use that behavior against you in the future, then that dictatorial regime has more power over you than it ever needed, whether it wanted it or not.
In other words, if you are seriously scared that you may be witch hunted because of your facebook profile, then your concern should be with fixing the society that you are a part of so that the fear of witch hunting is no longer reasonable (if it ever was). The type of behavior you are describing is just betraying how easy it is to manipulate you with fear.
Christ, what kind of lunatic small town did you live in? I grew up in a little town of about 5000 people in Northern California. Everytime a new family moved in somewhere people were excited. We wanted to hear about what they had done, places they had been, what kind of cool toys they had that we didn't. At the schools, we made friends with new kids if they shared interests. In the community, we sometimes hazed new folk by giving them bad directions or such, but it was all in good fun. There were always a few crazy old codgers that liked to bitch about the flatlanders and how badly they sucked at driving the small roads when they moved up to the hills, but there was no suspicion or aggression.
Sure, when new folk moved in there were rumors started, but there were rumors started about everyone. Most folk just realized that it was a small town and if you heard that Jack down the street had done A,B, and C, chances were he had done A, talked about B, and his cousin did C once when he was drunk. That was just the small town, big fish story mentality. Nobody took it with more than a grain of salt and your reputation never hinged on it. Hell, in the small towns I've lived in, I always found that anyone who had a good reputation had earned it for good reason, and anyone who had a poor one had also earned that for good reason.
If anything, I miss the small towns because of their sense of community and closeness. Whatever crazy town you lived in just sounds like it was a beehive of loonies if you ask me.
I think he meant that you couldn't even take a space ship to some point in space and see the same thing,
You could if the viewport of the spacecraft had an augmented reality overlay that enhanced the the surroundings with false color. Or, for that matter, if you had an implanted eye that could see multiple wavelengths that the human eye cannot see. If we are talking about space travel, I get the feeling that a lot of technology is going to come a long way before we fly out to these places. I mean, hell, you can already use your iPhone or Droid for augmented reality applications.
This is a great idea! All of the dykes I know are very powerful women indeed! Genious!
(Yeah, yeah, I know, bad taste, but c'mon someone had to go there.)
Why do you think we yanks rose to world power status so quickly, relatively speaking? From the Revolutionary War all the way up through WWII we still had to work hard, and we didn't put up with much bullshit. =P
However, as a society grows and prospers, it becomes easier to survive by doing less. Nowhere else in the world, right now, can someone have so much comfort for so little an effort as in the USA. Thus, more folk are raised with less work ethic. More folk migrate to the prosperous society where they don't have to work hard. The ratio of folk that work hard and contribute to the growth of society vs. those who don't, decreases overall, and great nations crumble. This has happened hundreds of times in history before. One day, maybe, we'll learn how to outgrow such a lame habit.
Oh good, I am glad someone posted skepticism regarding the current climate change data and mankind's influence on the environment. Now the holy war can begin. =)
...
...
...
/popcorn.
So in other words, in your case, the researchers were open and honest with you and your "dear lady," therefore it is okay for them to be dishonest with a few poorly-educated native Americans?
What the hell kind of retarded inference is that? The original poster, whom made a very good point, was telling his story in order to display precisely what should be done, in all medical cases. Nowhere in the block of text you quoted, nor in his post, did he state anything that would even allude to the Native Americans in the article being entitled to some form of lesser treatment. Are you blind, hyperbolic, or just plain stupid?
Furthermore, the parent post seemed to indicate that, in the case of him and his dear lady, the contracts they signed were understood by the doctor to be both morally and legally binding. Thus, he is stating very clearly, that he has had first hand exposure to the need for proper authorization in the medical profession. If anything, you should be affirming his story as the proper way to handle things, not highlighting your response in bold to declare just what the researchers did wrong in the article. The parent knows what the researchers did wrong in the article. His anecdote was posted to clarify what should have been done to handle the situation properly. Do you throw knee-jerk reactions to every post or is it just a random comment ID generator that you use?
I don't disagree, scientists and science in general does need to be trustworthy and capable of standing up to criticism. My point wasn't that what the researchers at this university did was in anyway acceptable, just that an outright ban from tribal lands and an inflamed article being written about the incident seemed like overkill. Should the abuse have happened? No. Did it happen? Yes. Is getting pissed off, becoming vindictive, and seeking public sympathy for the tribe after the abuse overkill? In my opinion, yes.
Again, I am not trying to defend the researchers. This just seems like a particular case where, although there was a scandal, the scandal didn't really end up hurting anyone or anything, so shrug your shoulders, get over it, and go on with your life. Vengeful power trips are not the answer to an abuse of any kind. If the tribe leaders were offended, they should have addressed their concerns to the university clearly, concisely, and maybe requested research transparency on any topics of study that they happen to be involved with. Throwing the researchers off tribal lands permanently may very well prevent further diabetes research being done with this tribe which could endanger the future of the tribe. Thus, the reaction seems both short-sighted and silly.
Shit happened. The damage was done. Move on with your lives. That's all I was getting at. Publicizing this story on the internet isn't going to do any good other than bring out some crazies who like to look for reasons to hate on research so I just don't see the point in it all.
However, as I said, I do agree that science needs to adhere to ethical standards as you stated. I would note, however, that a case like this doesn't compare, in any manner or respect, with cases like Tuskegee, Milgram, or the Nazis. While science must be held to an ethical standard, if those standards are abused, then the response should scale to the nature of the abuse. In this case, it seems pretty trivial so I just don't see what the fuss is about.
Meh, it all seems like another case of irrational, needless drama. Should the researchers have asked permission to use the DNA samples for other research? Probably. At the very least that would have been respectful. Nonetheless, who gives a crap if they didn't? So what, some scientists took your DNA, ran some tests, did some comparisons, and found out that, shock and awe, you are descended from other human beings just like the rest of us. Furthermore, they took a few extra steps and did some research on mental illness which may or may not have provided some beneficial medical data somehow. What's the big deal?
I mean, sure, if the DNA samples were used to catalog and track the individual members of the tribe, associate them with their facebook pages, and then all that data was sold to the government or some ad agencies or something then yeah, that would suck. If your DNA was used to genetically modify some two headed cat that went on a rampage and ate babies, then yeah, that would suck. But what is the big deal with using it for more research?
Like I said, the researchers definitely should have asked permission, but banning them from the tribe seems like overkill. At worst, this situations seems like it calls for getting miffed and then shrugging it off.
Japanese Space Rock? That genre exists? Great, there goes another day of productivity in the name of researching something totally badass sounding. This better not disappoint.
I can't tell if you're joking or not, but SDO was launched on an Atlas V 401 vehicle. As for claiming it weighs 6800 lbs, I would wager that was the weight while on Earth. As other 'dotters have pointed out though, it is pretty retarded they aren't talking mass rather than weight.
If I recall correctly, the Hayabusa spacecraft MIGHT have samples on it from the asteroid. Then again, it might not. The Hayabusa was originally designed to hover above the surface of the asteroid and fire a pellet into the surface, causing an ejection of material that the probe would then collect in a sample box. However, the probe has been having propulsion issues, amongst other things, and was required to land on the surface of the asteroid rather than hover above it. This, of course, was an achievement in itself. However, upon landing, the probe's pellet ejection system failed and no surface material was displaced forcibly. As I understand it, researchers are hoping that some dust or something settled into the sample collection bin. However, at this time, there is no certainty that it will contain anything.
The most fascinating part about this mission, however, was the fact that it was using four plasma thrusters to steadily propel it to its destination. To my knowledge, this is the first time such technology has been used as the primary propulsion source for a mission. Even more fascinating is that three of the four thrusters failed and, as of now, one functioning thruster is a jury rigged hack job that they got working by using the control systems from one failed thruster and the thruster and propellant from a second. That said, Hayabusa has been an absolute testament to the tenacity and creativity in problem solving of JAXA. It has been an exciting mission, and I am very much looking forward to finding out just how lucky the unlucky probe has been in collecting dust bits from the asteroid.
Is there any hope for freedom in a world where the powerful conspire to restrict it against the best interests of the people?
Well, this isn't the first time the world's been in this situation. For reference, please see the British Empire, French Empire, Roman Empire, Japanese Empire, German Empire, Aztec Empire, Inca Empire....and so on.
Of course, all of those came crashing down eventually. However, the combined circumstances that brought about such demises were neither pretty, nor easy to live through. There was blood. There was starvation. There was disease. There was death. So that's a good point to keep in mind as well.
Oh, one more thing, regarding the title of your post. You are not powerless as a citizen. It may seem so. It may seem any struggle you make day by day is done in futility and easily wiped away by the powers that be. That doesn't mean you are powerless though. That means that your actions, indeed, have some power. Otherwise the powers that be wouldn't go through the trouble they do to repress such actions (see, for instance, mass media smear campaigns against the people, large corporate conglomerates attacking their customers via lawsuits and other avenues, the cessation of your civil liberties at a given protest or rally, etc.) If you were powerless, truly powerless, then whatever power was in charge of the world wouldn't even bat an eye at your actions.
That said, while you may feel hopeless or depressed, stick it out anyways. As a citizen of this world, and as a human being and member of this species, it is not only your right to stand for what you believe in, but your duty. So when your letters to Congress get ignored, write more. When your votes get tossed out the window, vote in the next election, and actively campaign against the evils you see. When your rights are tread upon by the law, break the damn law, and confess to such transgressions with your chin held high in the courtroom. When this world shoves a truckload of hopeless shit into your future, go grab the shovel and start throwing it back into the very truck that dumped it. Yeah, it will be hard. Yeah, it is a pain in the ass. Yeah, it is a lot easier to sit down and watch TV after work instead. But that doesn't mean you are powerless. That means you have to square your shoulders, puff up your chest, clench your jaw, and level your gaze at the darkness of this chaotic reality and meet it, proudly, as a man (or woman) with ferocity and vigor.
And if it boils down to an armed uprising and a bath of blood for the streets, then clench your rifle, level your arm, steady your hand, and do your part. As a human being you, and I, and all others owe it to ourselves, to our children, and to our future as a species to stand proudly, strongly, and with dignity for those things we hold dear: things such as freedom, equality, safety, and community. Strong men and women have toiled and died for these things in the past. If today's world calls on you to do the same, then shy not away from the darkness in shame. No, stand strong, and bear the lineage of humanity that rests on our shoulders with pride. We are the shapers of the future of this species. Upon us rest the hopes and dreams of every generation that preceded ours. Let us do them proud.
Too many people need to survive, and they colonize the Internet space, with their smallminded schemes.
Too many men
Too many people
Making too many problems
And not much love to go round
Can't you see
This is a land of confusion.
-- Genesis, Land of Confusion
Sorry, couldn't resist the opportunity to plug in a good song lyric.
Let the students actually understand what the kernel is and how modules work before making them go fetch sources to compile kernel modules.
Those of us who decided to jump off the Isle of Windows for a sail on the high seas of Linux didn't get that slack. We were told "Windows sucks! Go to Linux!" enough times that we decided to go for it. Now most of us are enjoying the quest of searching for module names on Google and trying to figure out why the hell the last 40 columns of pixels won't render on our screens. Make 'em learn it the right way, make 'em learn it the hard way! Yaaarrgh!
Think about it. If everyone just flat out boycotted doing anything for even a week.
The functional failure mode of that statement is that word everyone. While its hard for many of us to see (since we spend so much time on slashdot) very few folk in this country actually feel like they are getting raped by any given corporation. For instance, if I go back to my podunk little hometown, and start telling people about how shitty out internet options are here, as compared to, say, Europe, they look at me like I am crazy. Most folk are so marveled by the fact that they can Google for an answer to whatever their problem is (as well they should be) that they don't see what the big deal is about low bandwidth or poorly developed infrastructure.
I've been to quite a few small towns here in California (one of the more developed states) where people still think they are getting fast internet speeds by connecting to their cell phone provider's 3g network because it is an improvement over their old dial up line. While one small town here and there may not mean much to the voter pool, when you start adding up every single voter citizen from every single small community, you'll see that such a perception can influence a large amount of the voter pool. Combine that with the fact that there are people with cable and/or dsl access in big cities that do nothing but check their e-mail everyday (and for that, our crap service here in the states is more than adequate) and you'll start to see why so few people actually think that there is anything wrong with internet access in this country.
As 'dotters, it's easy for us to forget that the mass majority of the US does not care about stuff like telco politics or Google's data acquisition. Similarly, there are a lot of people who don't really care about what the oil companies, or the tobacco companies, or the corn subsidy, or whatever the next $BIG_SCARY_EVIL_SOCIAL_INTEREST is. For most people, life is as simple as getting up, drudging to a job they hate, sticking it out for 8 hours, and going home to watch TV. Try to explain to them a good reason to go on a nationwide boycott that involves anything other than their own starvation and you will be seen as a raving lunatic.
That's not to say we shouldn't keep speaking up and doing what we can, but that's a generalized ramble about why we aren't boycotting as a nation....yet.
As of reading this comment, it is modded funny. Such a judgment stands as a true testament to the embittered, jaded, and all around Schadenfreude sense of humor that folks have today. =)
and makes the bigger-brained among us yawn at the idea that anyone is impressed with 64 loops around a couple of rocks that aren't going anywhere fast...
That's a bit of an arrogant statement. While you hit the nail right on the head with the margins in spacecraft design, I have to say that seeing the orbital plots of a mission as complex as Cassini, is, in no way, a yawning experience. While you may think that it's nothing more than a few geometric loops around some rocks that aren't going anywhere, those of us who have worked on orbital mechanics problems understand, in no small part, just how complex the math must have been to work out those solutions. Furthermore, we have a fascination with the idea of getting to fiddle with problems like that ourselves one day. In fact, this particular plot has inspired me to pull out my 3-body problem source code when I get home and revisit some of the algorithms used to optimize fuel consumption for 3 body orbital problems.
What I am getting at is that those 64 loops around a couple of rocks, which you so trivialize, represent, to those of us involved in this field, a visual depiction of a very high level of hard, computer intensive work that we are familiar with. It's kind of like hearing a symphony play a composer's final musical construct. Those who are composers can appreciate the symphony as it depicts, audibly, just how intensive, deep, and subtle the composer must have been in his work. Likewise, those of us that are familiar with these types of problems can look at the visualization and appreciate the incredible mathematical nuance and finagling that must have gone into doing these calculations.
Then again, very few people tend to have any appreciation for the engineering intensive processes that go into even common, everyday appliances like computers and cars, so I suppose I shouldn't be surprised when a self-proclaimed 'bigger-brained' person cannot appreciate the depth and culmination of work that a plot like the one linked to in the summary represents.
Also, if we are talking perl 5.10, you would need to use single quotes rather than double quotes as the double quotes would try to interpret the '$' character as a sigil and thus look for the scalar variable $1. So in summation:
...would be the most correct.
print '$1.00';
If the supreme court strikes down software patents with their Bilski ruling, they shall become more powerful than we can possibly imagine!
Right??
Only if the video involves cats wearing things....or making awkward faces.
Fetal Alcohol Syndrome?
And to top it all off one of California's only nuclear power plants operating right in that high earthquake zone! I can't think of a better paradise frankly. Plenty of circus and wine for the locals, and if something fundamental gets fubarred we have a nice messy nuclear explosion to cover it all up*. Ah the promised land. =)
*: So as to not lose geek cred, I do realize that Diablo Canyon will not be exploding anytime soon and that, in the event of an actual reactor issue, an explosion will not be the resultant phenomenon. For humor purposes, however, I enjoy pointing out the delicious absurdity of building a nuclear power plant near a fault line.
Well said.