I agree absolutely. If only we'd go back to using toggle-switches for computer input, the risk of viruses or security breaches would diminish enormously.
LOL, it might help if you had some idea what you were talking about. The Sesquehanna is a navigable waterway, and 33 USC 403 seems to be of the opinion that you need the permission of the federal government to construct anything, such as the poster's waterwheel, which would obstruct that waterway.
Much of the mythology surrounding the "magical" abilities of the Australian aborigine come from the same source, their technology being too advanced for a European to understand. It was lost technology to them.
Yes, I'm sure that the Europeans, who had sailed halfway around the world, bearing steel tools, mechanical clocks, telescopes, and gunpowder, were dumbstruck by the advanced technology of the local natives.
I once had a job cleaning up a piece of software which had been written by a team at Andersen Consulting.
Within it, I actually found a leap-year-determining function which went like this:
IF Year = 1980 THEN RETURN TRUE ELSE IF Year = 1984 THEN RETURN TRUE ELSE IF Year = 1988 THEN RETURN TRUE ELSE IF Year = 1992 THEN RETURN TRUE ELSE IF Year = 1996 THEN RETURN TRUE ELSE IF Year = 2000 THEN RETURN TRUE ELSE IF Year = 2004 THEN RETURN TRUE ELSE IF Year = 2008 THEN RETURN TRUE ELSE RETURN FALSE
Why do I call this this worst function of all time? Because A) it doesn't actually do the job it's supposed to B) It transcends obfuscation into the realm of the deeply sad and C) It's actually harder than doing it the obviously right way!
I have also heard it suggested that doing so would probably create many jobs in the US as the building and operations infrastructure was being put into place, not to mention the increased commerce between disparate parts of the US. I don't know the validity of these claims, but they seem reasonable enough. A good kick in the pants for us USicans economy if true, no?
Setting aside the idiotic abbreviation "USicans" (hint: the proper term for citizens of the United States of America is "Americans", for citizens of the United States of Mexico is "Mexicans", etc.)...
Although its passenger rail system could be accurately described as "completely useless" everywhere outside the coastal strip between Washington DC and Boston, the freight rail system of the USA is generally considered amongst the world's finest. With its already developed state, and tight integration with roadway freight, it's difficult to imagine in what way commerce between disparate parts of the US could be "increased" by building more rail links.
Yes, because there are all those millionaires who just couldn't afford spend $20 million on a trip, but think $5 million is a much better deal...
There are a lot of millionaires who can't afford $20 million but do think that $5 million is a good deal. The former trip is four times as expensive as the latter. You are falling victim to the common fallacy that "the rich" are a nebulous, homogenous group. Some people can afford $20 million for a thrill. Some can afford $5 million. Some can afford $100K. Some can afford $10K. Some can afford $100. There isn't any fixed line between "the rich" and "everybody else".
As another poster pointed out, the television brought the horror of the Vietnam conflict to the homes of the American people and was the reason why it was so widely opposed after a few years.
But the television didn't bring home the horrors of the North Vietnamese government to the homes of the American people - the thousands slaughtered or the over a million imprisoned in labor camps. Television, like any other medium, only shows you what you want to see.
Well in a christian fundamentalist country, displaying life of Brian to counter the hype is not a bad thing IMHO. It will be interesting how much freedom has suffered in the US since the late seventies.
You're either massively clueless, or you missed it when "The Last Temptation of Christ" and "Dogma" came out.
Re:Spaceflight as a religious endeavour
on
The Wrong Stuff
·
· Score: 1
Did it occur to you that we could get hit by a chunk of space rock tomorrow that would spell "game over" for our species? It's bound to happen long before we need to worry about the Sun going nova. Do you keep off-site backups of your critical data?
Do you really think that a few hundred colonists on the Moon or on Mars would be able to perpetuate humanity? How about a few thousand?
Spaceflight as a religious endeavour
on
The Wrong Stuff
·
· Score: 5, Insightful
One of the things which drives peoples' passion for manned spaceflight is that for many atheists it takes the same place that religion does for others - providing a reference point for the future. Many space enthusiasts believe passionately in "man's destiny in the stars" as a thing inherently good in and of itself, the kind of principle without dependence upon rationality that forms the basis of religious belief.
The only argument that manned spaceflight must be undertaken is that the Sun will eventually go nova and destroy the Earth; consequently, we had better think of a way off. Since we don't anticipate this happening within the next hundred years, however, and we do anticipate the continued advance of technology, why not ignore the question for a few hundred years and then start investigating manned spaceflight (at much less effort required)?
The answer, for many space enthusiasts, is that manned spaceflight is simply a thing which must happen, because it must. And this kind of irrational "it exists because it exists" principle is the same that many claim to despise in religion.
"There is only IBM and ITT, and AT&T, and DuPont, Dow, Union Carbide, and Exxon. Those are the nations of the world today."
Apart from the fashions and faded film stock, you'd swear this film was made last month.
You have unintentionally demonstrated why it is that the American economy works so well. At the time that movie was made, those companies you have listed were amongst the most important firms in America. Now companies which were so powerful that they were called "primal forces" and "nations of the world" have been overshadowed or have faded away completely. ITT is in pieces. IBM almost went bankrupt. AT&T's days are numbered. You won't find Union Carbide or Dow at the pinnacle of the Fortune 500. Where are Wal-Mart, Microsoft, or Amazon in this list? America's dynamic economy continues to move forward. Ossified titans don't last, and new challengers can appear out of nowhere. Compare that to Japan, or South Korea, or France.
Will you stop? I swear to God, the childishness and lack of social development evident in the antiwar movement is pushing me further and further to the right every day.
And now you're beginning to discover what the rest of us did.
What if I want to be a mostly hetero guy with slight gay inclinations, married to someone who thinks it's fine to occasionally dip into brief outside relationships?
Uh... I thought that.aero and.coop were dubious, but you want a new top-level domain for this?
The first computer programmer was a woman. Look it up if you don't believe me.
If you're talking about Ada Byron, Lady Lovelace, her claim to be "the first programmer" is badly exaggerated. The machine with which she was familiar with Babbage's Analytical Engine, which was never built.
If you're talking about Admiral Grace Hopper, then all homage to her for cool, but she was hardly the first programmer.
A Democratic President wouldn't be likely to do this.
The last four presidents who proposed actually making anything of the space program were Richard Nixon (the proposed space shuttle), Ronald Reagan (the proposed space station), George H. Bush (the proposed mission to Mars), and George W. Bush (the proposed Moon -> Mars project).
Slashdot Mirror
LOL, it might help if you had some idea what you were talking about. The Sesquehanna is a navigable waterway, and 33 USC 403 seems to be of the opinion that you need the permission of the federal government to construct anything, such as the poster's waterwheel, which would obstruct that waterway.
Yes, I'm sure that the Europeans, who had sailed halfway around the world, bearing steel tools, mechanical clocks, telescopes, and gunpowder, were dumbstruck by the advanced technology of the local natives.
Within it, I actually found a leap-year-determining function which went like this:
IF Year = 1980 THEN RETURN TRUE
ELSE IF Year = 1984 THEN RETURN TRUE
ELSE IF Year = 1988 THEN RETURN TRUE
ELSE IF Year = 1992 THEN RETURN TRUE
ELSE IF Year = 1996 THEN RETURN TRUE
ELSE IF Year = 2000 THEN RETURN TRUE
ELSE IF Year = 2004 THEN RETURN TRUE
ELSE IF Year = 2008 THEN RETURN TRUE
ELSE RETURN FALSE
Why do I call this this worst function of all time? Because A) it doesn't actually do the job it's supposed to B) It transcends obfuscation into the realm of the deeply sad and C) It's actually harder than doing it the obviously right way!
You can't fool me. Only Mario and Luigi travel that way.
Actually, they put a lot of work into it, but the Visigoths screwed it up.
Setting aside the idiotic abbreviation "USicans" (hint: the proper term for citizens of the United States of America is "Americans", for citizens of the United States of Mexico is "Mexicans", etc.)...
Although its passenger rail system could be accurately described as "completely useless" everywhere outside the coastal strip between Washington DC and Boston, the freight rail system of the USA is generally considered amongst the world's finest. With its already developed state, and tight integration with roadway freight, it's difficult to imagine in what way commerce between disparate parts of the US could be "increased" by building more rail links.
There are a lot of millionaires who can't afford $20 million but do think that $5 million is a good deal. The former trip is four times as expensive as the latter. You are falling victim to the common fallacy that "the rich" are a nebulous, homogenous group. Some people can afford $20 million for a thrill. Some can afford $5 million. Some can afford $100K. Some can afford $10K. Some can afford $100. There isn't any fixed line between "the rich" and "everybody else".
Gatwick -> central London via the Gatwick "Express" - 2 Hours
Total time 8 hours.
But the television didn't bring home the horrors of the North Vietnamese government to the homes of the American people - the thousands slaughtered or the over a million imprisoned in labor camps. Television, like any other medium, only shows you what you want to see.
For non-native English speakers: this is the common military abbreviation for "killed in action", meaning a combatant who died while fighting.
You're either massively clueless, or you missed it when "The Last Temptation of Christ" and "Dogma" came out.
Do you really think that a few hundred colonists on the Moon or on Mars would be able to perpetuate humanity? How about a few thousand?
One of the things which drives peoples' passion for manned spaceflight is that for many atheists it takes the same place that religion does for others - providing a reference point for the future. Many space enthusiasts believe passionately in "man's destiny in the stars" as a thing inherently good in and of itself, the kind of principle without dependence upon rationality that forms the basis of religious belief.
The only argument that manned spaceflight must be undertaken is that the Sun will eventually go nova and destroy the Earth; consequently, we had better think of a way off. Since we don't anticipate this happening within the next hundred years, however, and we do anticipate the continued advance of technology, why not ignore the question for a few hundred years and then start investigating manned spaceflight (at much less effort required)?
The answer, for many space enthusiasts, is that manned spaceflight is simply a thing which must happen, because it must. And this kind of irrational "it exists because it exists" principle is the same that many claim to despise in religion.
Apart from the fashions and faded film stock, you'd swear this film was made last month.
You have unintentionally demonstrated why it is that the American economy works so well. At the time that movie was made, those companies you have listed were amongst the most important firms in America. Now companies which were so powerful that they were called "primal forces" and "nations of the world" have been overshadowed or have faded away completely. ITT is in pieces. IBM almost went bankrupt. AT&T's days are numbered. You won't find Union Carbide or Dow at the pinnacle of the Fortune 500. Where are Wal-Mart, Microsoft, or Amazon in this list? America's dynamic economy continues to move forward. Ossified titans don't last, and new challengers can appear out of nowhere. Compare that to Japan, or South Korea, or France.
I presume then that you will be voting for George W. Bush, the first president with an MBA (Harvard, 1975).
And now you're beginning to discover what the rest of us did.
So some backwater is the logical point.
If you want to simulate searching Amsterdam for something, try USENET. Look for any service and all you'll happen across with is garbage or porn.
Uh... I thought that
It did.
Have you ever tried using a womens' razor to shave your face? The blade is set at a different angle.
If you're talking about Ada Byron, Lady Lovelace, her claim to be "the first programmer" is badly exaggerated. The machine with which she was familiar with Babbage's Analytical Engine, which was never built.
If you're talking about Admiral Grace Hopper, then all homage to her for cool, but she was hardly the first programmer.
The last four presidents who proposed actually making anything of the space program were Richard Nixon (the proposed space shuttle), Ronald Reagan (the proposed space station), George H. Bush (the proposed mission to Mars), and George W. Bush (the proposed Moon -> Mars project).
Dr. Pib? Mr. Pibb got jealous of Dr. Pepper and went to med school too?