Re:It's a damn scooter
on
This is IT?
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· Score: 1
I can walk faster than that.
Man, you must be tearin' it up when you walk. That is roughly 7.5 minute miles. When I ran marathons, I ran just under 8 minute miles--nowhere near world-class, but in about the middle of the pack. You must be some kinda walkin' machine.
Most of the time fetishes are sexual, but consider this:
Just look a the people who wear jerseys with their favorite athlete's name on it. "I can't play football, but I can wear X's jersey." "I can't be Bruce Smith, but I can buy the same smelly shoe he wears." This is fetish worship. And while a young girl may never be Britanny, she can have the surgery, dye the hair, and wear the clothes. Again, it's fetish worship.
So, my question is this: What is the impact of something completely manufactured to be celebrity on this sociological phenomenon? At least with real people, including surgically and chemically enhanced people, there is the possibility to emulate them.
(Sorry for the length. Skip to the last paragraph if you want the really interesting bit.)
I use cable broadband provided by a startup called Astound. Astound is a subsidiary of Excel Energy, formerly Northern States Power, an electric company. They also provide telephone and cable TV service.
My town, St. Cloud, MN, is the first town they have provided service to. Recently, they have expanded to Contra Costa, CA. It has been interesting to watch their evolution.
Initially, they relied on a third party to provide Internet service--they only provided connectivity. Recently, they have taken the service in house. The original TOS stated that you could only have one computer accessing the Internet via the cable modem, but over time this prohibition has disappeared.
I have a Linux box doing firewall and NAT duty hooked to the modem. One day I was having problem renewing the lease on my DHCP address, and since I rely on the Internet for work, I called support. The first level of support, which was Astound, told me to unplug the modem, etc. and when that did not work they called Broadband Now, the third-party service provider. When the BBNow tech came on the line they ran some diagnostics and told me the modem was working but they couldn't access the computer. At this point they asked what operating system I was running. When I told them Linux, they said something to the tune of, "Oh. I understand," and dropped the lease from their end. Coincidentally, I never had any other problems after that, and the TOS changed soon after that too.
Now, I am not saying that I caused the change, but I am sure that Astound figured you have to choose your battles. Really, as people have already said, sharing bandwidth is not the same as sharing/stealing cable.
One last bit...About 5 years ago I sat next to the CEO of a regional electricity co-op on an airplane. He told me for the past 15 years all the new or replacement powerlines had been wrapped in fiber. When they did it they were not 100% sure what the fiber would be used for, but they figured it was a smart thing to do. When I talked to him, they were making their first moves into providing broadband access to their customers, which is exactly what Excel is doing with Astound.
It takes on a interesting shade of meaning when fully and correctly quoted doesn't it? Consider the word essential.
What is an essential liberty? Is freedom of movement? Yes. Is boarding an airplane essential? No. Is the freedom to associate? Yes. Is using electronic communications? No.
The difficulty is when you attempt to live in world full of artifical dichotomies. "It's this way or that way." The world is fully of shades of gray, but many people insist on black and white.
Dropping the word "essential" from Benjamin Franklin's quote is a convenient way to force the discussion into black and white terms.
I am called to active duty so that I, your basic computer nerd, can be taught how to shoot a gun and aim for the head.
Don't worry. They train you to shoot center of mass. The head is too small of a target.
It is interesting however, that--and I am not singling out this particular poster--so many will demand their precious civil liberties, yet when it comes to actually fighting for them so few are willing.
It may be hackneyed, but "Freedom isn't free."
Re:President Bush Confuses Packistan and Afganista
on
More WTC News
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· Score: 1
Excuse me anonymous coward, but you are the idiot.
It has been well documented that OSB travels between Pakistan and Afganistan, and therefore both countries are worried that we might attack them. We currently do not have diplomatic relations with Afganistan and therefore have no means of formal communications with them. We do however have diplomatic relations with Pakistan and therefore have been formally communicating with them.
Re:"Pearl Harbor" - when did they know?
on
More WTC News
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· Score: 1
Why was airport security not tightened?
*sarcasm*Because, that would have resulted in giving up some of our precious civil liberties. And as we all know, those who are willing to give up civil liberties in the name of security, deserve neither.*/sarcasm*
Re:One of the terrorist brothers was already dead!
on
More WTC News
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· Score: 1
Right, he survives a plane smashing into his building, he witnesses people falling 80+ stories to their deaths, walks across Manhattan in the midst of utter chaos, and YOU expect him to have perfect grammar.
Yeah, running a relatively well known website with your e-mail address all over doesn't exactly help out in the spam avoidance department either.
Why do you guys think you have to make some sort of gratuitous self-important comment after EVERY article posted? Your own self-importance is beginning to wear mighty thin.
From my perspective, what's going on isn't really "attention deficit;" it more a change in literacy. (For my argument I will extend literacy beyond the written word.)
If you consider all the data inundating us at any one moment--the radio is on, the TV's on, the phone is ringing, the newpaper is open on the table, etc.--it quickly becomes evident that we are literally swimming in data constantly.
How much of the data that surrounds us is actually useful as information? How do we filter the noise from the signal. With the increase in data surely the signal to noise ration is decreasing, which partially explains our inability to keep track of "stuff."
Now, here is where the literacy part comes in: A truly literate person from this time forward will have to develop a keen ability to filter signal from noise. We can lament the rise of bullet statements as a feature of writing, or the reliance on memory aids (palm computers), or the fast paced editing of television, etc., OR we can accept the fact that the way we communicate has changed forever and adapt. (What is going on right now is no different than what went on during the transition from oral to written communication, or from the written to the printed word.)
Slashdot Mirror
I can walk faster than that.
Man, you must be tearin' it up when you walk. That is roughly 7.5 minute miles. When I ran marathons, I ran just under 8 minute miles--nowhere near world-class, but in about the middle of the pack. You must be some kinda walkin' machine.
Most of the time fetishes are sexual, but consider this:
Just look a the people who wear jerseys with their favorite athlete's name on it. "I can't play football, but I can wear X's jersey." "I can't be Bruce Smith, but I can buy the same smelly shoe he wears." This is fetish worship. And while a young girl may never be Britanny, she can have the surgery, dye the hair, and wear the clothes. Again, it's fetish worship.
So, my question is this: What is the impact of something completely manufactured to be celebrity on this sociological phenomenon? At least with real people, including surgically and chemically enhanced people, there is the possibility to emulate them.
(Sorry for the length. Skip to the last paragraph if you want the really interesting bit.)
I use cable broadband provided by a startup called Astound. Astound is a subsidiary of Excel Energy, formerly Northern States Power, an electric company. They also provide telephone and cable TV service.
My town, St. Cloud, MN, is the first town they have provided service to. Recently, they have expanded to Contra Costa, CA. It has been interesting to watch their evolution.
Initially, they relied on a third party to provide Internet service--they only provided connectivity. Recently, they have taken the service in house. The original TOS stated that you could only have one computer accessing the Internet via the cable modem, but over time this prohibition has disappeared.
I have a Linux box doing firewall and NAT duty hooked to the modem. One day I was having problem renewing the lease on my DHCP address, and since I rely on the Internet for work, I called support. The first level of support, which was Astound, told me to unplug the modem, etc. and when that did not work they called Broadband Now, the third-party service provider. When the BBNow tech came on the line they ran some diagnostics and told me the modem was working but they couldn't access the computer. At this point they asked what operating system I was running. When I told them Linux, they said something to the tune of, "Oh. I understand," and dropped the lease from their end. Coincidentally, I never had any other problems after that, and the TOS changed soon after that too.
Now, I am not saying that I caused the change, but I am sure that Astound figured you have to choose your battles. Really, as people have already said, sharing bandwidth is not the same as sharing/stealing cable.
One last bit...About 5 years ago I sat next to the CEO of a regional electricity co-op on an airplane. He told me for the past 15 years all the new or replacement powerlines had been wrapped in fiber. When they did it they were not 100% sure what the fiber would be used for, but they figured it was a smart thing to do. When I talked to him, they were making their first moves into providing broadband access to their customers, which is exactly what Excel is doing with Astound.
I am sure others will list more from this work, but there is a really interesting passage that describes inter-networking as a wasp's nest.
Would you be willing to give an example of "rabid Christianity" that has been negatively affecting morality and ideology in the US?
It's Shakespeare.
Julius Ceasar Act III Scene i:
"Cry 'Havoc!' and let slip the dogs of war,
That this foul deed shall smell above the earth
With carrion men, groaning for burial."
It is Athony's speech after Ceasar is killed. As you can see in the rest of the phrase it is about revenge for a "foul deed."
As a veteran of the Armed Forces, who now is Director of Marketing, I am all for this.
"Cry 'Havoc' and let loose the dogs of marketing!"
Wrong. We did not declare war against Iraq. There was a vote of support from the Congress, but no declaration of ware.
Thank-you for the exact quote.
It takes on a interesting shade of meaning when fully and correctly quoted doesn't it? Consider the word essential.
What is an essential liberty? Is freedom of movement? Yes. Is boarding an airplane essential? No. Is the freedom to associate? Yes. Is using electronic communications? No.
The difficulty is when you attempt to live in world full of artifical dichotomies. "It's this way or that way." The world is fully of shades of gray, but many people insist on black and white.
Dropping the word "essential" from Benjamin Franklin's quote is a convenient way to force the discussion into black and white terms.
Don't worry. They train you to shoot center of mass. The head is too small of a target.
It is interesting however, that--and I am not singling out this particular poster--so many will demand their precious civil liberties, yet when it comes to actually fighting for them so few are willing.
It may be hackneyed, but "Freedom isn't free."
Excuse me anonymous coward, but you are the idiot.
It has been well documented that OSB travels between Pakistan and Afganistan, and therefore both countries are worried that we might attack them. We currently do not have diplomatic relations with Afganistan and therefore have no means of formal communications with them. We do however have diplomatic relations with Pakistan and therefore have been formally communicating with them.
I will admit that I was an English major in college, and I am no math genius, but... 1+1=2
Exactly!
Why was airport security not tightened?
*sarcasm*Because, that would have resulted in giving up some of our precious civil liberties. And as we all know, those who are willing to give up civil liberties in the name of security, deserve neither.*/sarcasm*
The man's identity was stolen. See this article.
This added to avoid lameness filter.
USA Today has this interesting explanation of why/how the towers fell.
Right, he survives a plane smashing into his building, he witnesses people falling 80+ stories to their deaths, walks across Manhattan in the midst of utter chaos, and YOU expect him to have perfect grammar.
You are foolish if you really believe: a) America should become isolationist and b) a terrorist attack would change our policies.
I will remind you that the above was under Clintons watch.
Why do you guys think you have to make some sort of gratuitous self-important comment after EVERY article posted? Your own self-importance is beginning to wear mighty thin.
Michael: Mod this down, censor.
If you consider all the data inundating us at any one moment--the radio is on, the TV's on, the phone is ringing, the newpaper is open on the table, etc.--it quickly becomes evident that we are literally swimming in data constantly.
How much of the data that surrounds us is actually useful as information? How do we filter the noise from the signal. With the increase in data surely the signal to noise ration is decreasing, which partially explains our inability to keep track of "stuff."
Now, here is where the literacy part comes in: A truly literate person from this time forward will have to develop a keen ability to filter signal from noise. We can lament the rise of bullet statements as a feature of writing, or the reliance on memory aids (palm computers), or the fast paced editing of television, etc., OR we can accept the fact that the way we communicate has changed forever and adapt. (What is going on right now is no different than what went on during the transition from oral to written communication, or from the written to the printed word.)
It's sink or swim.
Even our private information? This really is a tyrannical paradox isn't? I would rather have information remain un-free then, thank you.