Well, there is the whole man on the moon thing. NASA. Airplanes. Jet engines. Light bulbs. Countless medicines and vaccines. Our advances in food engineering alone, both preservation and production, have altered the world.
The list really could go on and on and on and on, but then I'd sound like one of those useless, lazy, good-for-nothing loud-mouthed Americans, right?
Stupid fuck. If you're going to be a self-hating American, at least hate yourself for legitimate reasons.
Which is exactly why we should get our legislature off its stupid ass and pound some sense into them. If we don't do it, someone else will, and profit greatly from it. We should be leading the way in genetic engineering technology, not following.
The next worldwide industrial boom will be Bioengineering. If people are willing to pay $1000 for a CPU upgrade, imagine what they would pay for blue eyes. Or broad shoulders. Or a high IQ. Or thick hair that will never fall out. Or straight teeth. The list goes on and on.
Yes, it's hard to perfect. So we should stop trying?
Bunk.
We keep trying until we get it right. Just like putting a man on the moon or at the bottom of the Marianas Trench. Few things worth doing are ever easy.
There are many genetic modifications that no child would resent their parents for. Make them healthy. Make them strong. Make them fast. Make them nimble.
Any problem would be after they are born by forcing them in a particular direction.
What I'm saying is give them the best tools available, then watch them use them in the way they'd like.
We should use science to alter our athletic ability. We should use it to modify our physical appearance, our intellectual capacity and anything else we want to improve as well.
The idea that we should just deal with the genes we are born with is crap. Practically no one objects to using gene therapy to treat medical conditions, even if the person was born with it.
What if I want to run as fast as Carl Lewis? Or lift as much as Magnus ver Magnusson? Or swim as well as Matt Biandi? What if I want to be able to do all three? Who are you to tell me I can't?
A half-assed case can be argued for Olympic competition, but if they want 'natural' athletes, they may as well shitcan the entire lot.
There are steroids that clear in 24 hours. Testosternone Propionate, for example. People can train while juiced, then stay clean just a couple days before testing. What about creatine? That stuff is made in a lab, as well, but athletes are allowed to use it. It occurs in nature, but so does testosterone and DNA.
Let the olympians juice themselves to the gills. Let the records fall.
The human race needs to drop the idea that we should be stuck with shit genetics.
"Take, for example, the corporatist American and European companies happily selling blocking software to countries like China and Saudi Arabia so their governments can pervert the Net to deny their citizens basic freedoms."
Or, look at them as providing the necessary obstacles to encourage entire legions of new hackers. There is no better way to motivate a person, especially a young person, into doing something than by telling him/her that s/he can't do so.
The Americans/Europeans get to profit from these oppressive governments while simultaneously and surreptitiously undermining those very regimes.
I can't believe you stupid fucking cunts wasted 3 Mod points to bring this innocuous post down to -1.
If anything, it was Insightful. It certainly wasn't Offtopic.
The name 'Chinux' is not only catchy, but it engenders national pride. But I guess marketing isn't important for a product to gain widespread acceptance, right? Especially not in a country that likes everything home grown.
Jackasses.
I hope all three of you get Metamoderated to the 7th Level of Hell.
"Informaton for display at a terminal apparatus of a computer is stored in blocks the first part of which contains the information which is actually displayed at the terminal and the second part of which contains information relating to the display and which may be used to influence the display at the time or in response to a keyboard entry signal."
Throughout the patent, references are made to "keyed digital data", but it never mentions mice, or pointing devices or point-and-click devices, etc.
So, if there is a literal interpretation, all you need to beat the patent is a mouse.
Now we just have to get the entire computer world to use these 'mice' things...
"...this year when the world asked for the end of all the kinds of biological weapons Mr.Bush said NO.
Six months later he realized that it was a Bad Idea(c). (needless to say why)"
Even if Bush had agreed, it wouldn't have affected the current situation with Anthrax.
There are so many countries, companies, organizations and even individuals that have, or can have biological weapons that outlawing them is mostly for show.
In a situation like this, the best strategy is to render the weapons obsolete. Give vaccinations for the diseases we can and create/perfect vaccinations for the others.
Even if all the countries of the world agreed (on paper) to give up their biological weapons, not all would comply. The same happened when the WHO asked all countries to turn over or destroy their stocks of small pox virus. Not all did. The U.S. and Russia admitted to keeping stocks, but they aren't the ones you have to worry about. It's the countries that don't tell that should keep you up at night.
The differences I was alluding to were life support systems, navigational systems, etc. and that would make a spacecraft more difficult to design and build than a missle.
But yes, the propulsion systems are essentially the same.
The top dog shouldn't wait for those weaker than him to approve their own destruction, as it will never come.
He should just indiscriminately eliminate threats while they are weak, much the way adult male lions kill the male cubs in a pride so as to limit future competition.
We, the U.S., should simply snuff out anyone, be it a country, race, religion or individual, on Earth that might be a threat one day.
Fair play is overrated, especially when your life hangs in the balance.
"Human Rights have been proven to be a Good Thing for Western cultures. What makes us so sure they work for cultures which are not in any way comparable to ours?"
I've thought about this, as well. What I always come up with is this: Why doesn't China have an immigration problem?
Ask Asians in America if they want to move to China. You'll get a resounding "no". Ask Asians living in China if they want to live in the U.S. I suspect the answer will be different.
Another experiment would be to temporarily transplant people into the opposite culture. This is done already in the form of exchange students. The people visiting the U.S. and living like an American will probably want to stay. The people visiting China and living like the average Chinese citizen will be counting the days to get home.
I think if people are exposed both to cultures that grant or restrict human rights, they will choose overwhelmingly to live in the culture that promotes individual freedom.
"I don't think China wants to actually attack the U.S."
I don't either, actually. But it's still a better feeling to be the only kid on the block with a gun. It's nice to not worry. I'd rather see no one have nukes than see everyone have them.
This being said, the same argument won't hold up for all countries. If Iraq had ICBMs, I don't doubt for a second they would use them.
If any post mentions the U.S. govt's plan to build a missle defense system, it gets modded down into oblivion, usually with associated comments dismissing the threat as being unlikely or impossible.
But China is getting ready to put men in space, and it is widely cheered as a Good Thing.
How so many people miss the correlation is beyond me.
A rocket is far more complicated than a missle, and the technologies are remarkably parallel.
You see a country that doesn't like the U.S. developing technology that can easily be used to deliver a nuclear payload and you cheer, while simultaneously objecting to the very plan that can protect us from the developing threat.
If the idea of another cold war appeals to you, by all means, cheer on.
Now, go ahead and mod me into oblivion as 'Flamebait' or 'Offtopic'. What/. really needs is a 'Doesn't Buy Into Liberal Utopian Ideologies' or 'I Don't Like The Way You Think' negative mod option. It would be closer to the truth.
While I was working in Europe, I had this discussion about a thousand times with the various European nationalities, but especially the English and Scottish.
The mechanics of American Football necessitate protective gear. The size mismatches alone make it a requirement.
A common scenario in American football is a 180-pound receiver, standing completely still while catching a mid-field pass, being slammed into by a 250-pound linebacker running top speed. This generally does not happen in rugby.
Without pads, there would be regular incidents (as in every game) of broken bones, paralyzed players and even deaths.
In the spirit of fairness, I offered to demonstrate this fact to a particularly loudmouthed Scottsman, that happened to be a former rugby player. I weigh 230 solid pounds at 6' 1".
We were in a hotel bar, at the time. So we stepped into the first floor hallway, and he walked to the far end. Some people from the bar gathered to watch.
He stood at the end of the hall and braced for impact. I ran as fast as I could and dove into his stomach using my shoulder as the impact site.
When he regained conciousness 3 minutes later, he was more understanding of my point of view. After he vomited on himself, that is.
As if the skeletons and musculature of rugby players are somehow sturdier than a football player's...
Slashdot Mirror
Well, there is the whole man on the moon thing. NASA. Airplanes. Jet engines. Light bulbs. Countless medicines and vaccines. Our advances in food engineering alone, both preservation and production, have altered the world.
The list really could go on and on and on and on, but then I'd sound like one of those useless, lazy, good-for-nothing loud-mouthed Americans, right?
Stupid fuck. If you're going to be a self-hating American, at least hate yourself for legitimate reasons.
Knunov
"...what if these animal-halves that you start creating are sentient?"
Easy. We grant them citizenship, explain to them they are victims, then give them money until the day they die.
We also give Ron Jeremy a go at it. He'll screw anything.
Knunov
Which is exactly why we should get our legislature off its stupid ass and pound some sense into them. If we don't do it, someone else will, and profit greatly from it. We should be leading the way in genetic engineering technology, not following.
The next worldwide industrial boom will be Bioengineering. If people are willing to pay $1000 for a CPU upgrade, imagine what they would pay for blue eyes. Or broad shoulders. Or a high IQ. Or thick hair that will never fall out. Or straight teeth. The list goes on and on.
We need to be positioned well in this industry.
Knunov
This won't necessarily be so bad. There are a few equine physical characteristics that might be useful.
I'm speaking of the ability to run quickly, of course...
Knunov
Someone should setup the dot.com.museum to display all the defunct dot bombs :)
Knunov
Yes, it's hard to perfect. So we should stop trying?
Bunk.
We keep trying until we get it right. Just like putting a man on the moon or at the bottom of the Marianas Trench. Few things worth doing are ever easy.
Knunov
The original post was not a troll in any way.
There are many genetic modifications that no child would resent their parents for. Make them healthy. Make them strong. Make them fast. Make them nimble.
Any problem would be after they are born by forcing them in a particular direction.
What I'm saying is give them the best tools available, then watch them use them in the way they'd like.
Knunov
We should use science to alter our athletic ability. We should use it to modify our physical appearance, our intellectual capacity and anything else we want to improve as well.
The idea that we should just deal with the genes we are born with is crap. Practically no one objects to using gene therapy to treat medical conditions, even if the person was born with it.
What if I want to run as fast as Carl Lewis? Or lift as much as Magnus ver Magnusson? Or swim as well as Matt Biandi? What if I want to be able to do all three? Who are you to tell me I can't?
A half-assed case can be argued for Olympic competition, but if they want 'natural' athletes, they may as well shitcan the entire lot.
There are steroids that clear in 24 hours. Testosternone Propionate, for example. People can train while juiced, then stay clean just a couple days before testing. What about creatine? That stuff is made in a lab, as well, but athletes are allowed to use it. It occurs in nature, but so does testosterone and DNA.
Let the olympians juice themselves to the gills. Let the records fall.
The human race needs to drop the idea that we should be stuck with shit genetics.
Knunov
Wow. It turns out you only need 512 MB RAM, 1 gig of storage and a 900MHz CPU on your embedded device to run this.
Wait a minute...
Knunov
"Take, for example, the corporatist American and European companies happily selling blocking software to countries like China and Saudi Arabia so their governments can pervert the Net to deny their citizens basic freedoms."
Or, look at them as providing the necessary obstacles to encourage entire legions of new hackers. There is no better way to motivate a person, especially a young person, into doing something than by telling him/her that s/he can't do so.
The Americans/Europeans get to profit from these oppressive governments while simultaneously and surreptitiously undermining those very regimes.
Perfectly brilliant plan, in my opinion.
Knunov
I can't believe you stupid fucking cunts wasted 3 Mod points to bring this innocuous post down to -1.
If anything, it was Insightful. It certainly wasn't Offtopic.
The name 'Chinux' is not only catchy, but it engenders national pride. But I guess marketing isn't important for a product to gain widespread acceptance, right? Especially not in a country that likes everything home grown.
Jackasses.
I hope all three of you get Metamoderated to the 7th Level of Hell.
Knunov
"...search engines are finding password and credit card numbers while doing its indexing."
This is very serious. Could you please post the exact search engines are query strings so I can make sure my information isn't there?
Knunov
How could they have missed this one?
Instead of Red Flag Linux, which reminds one of Red Hat Linux, they should have chosen the catchy, obvious, distinct name: Chinux
Knunov
If so:
please.stop.bombing.us
(will it be Funny or Flamebait?)
Knunov
Many patents and contracts have been rendered void my minutiae in the wording. In fact, that's one of the first things lawyers look for.
nuff said?
Knunov
From the patent:
"Informaton for display at a terminal apparatus of a computer is stored in blocks the first part of which contains the information which is actually displayed at the terminal and the second part of which contains information relating to the display and which may be used to influence the display at the time or in response to a keyboard entry signal."
Throughout the patent, references are made to "keyed digital data", but it never mentions mice, or pointing devices or point-and-click devices, etc.
So, if there is a literal interpretation, all you need to beat the patent is a mouse.
Now we just have to get the entire computer world to use these 'mice' things...
Knunov
"...this year when the world asked for the end of all the kinds of biological weapons Mr.Bush said NO.
Six months later he realized that it was a Bad Idea(c). (needless to say why)"
Even if Bush had agreed, it wouldn't have affected the current situation with Anthrax.
There are so many countries, companies, organizations and even individuals that have, or can have biological weapons that outlawing them is mostly for show.
In a situation like this, the best strategy is to render the weapons obsolete. Give vaccinations for the diseases we can and create/perfect vaccinations for the others.
Even if all the countries of the world agreed (on paper) to give up their biological weapons, not all would comply. The same happened when the WHO asked all countries to turn over or destroy their stocks of small pox virus. Not all did. The U.S. and Russia admitted to keeping stocks, but they aren't the ones you have to worry about. It's the countries that don't tell that should keep you up at night.
Knunov
"McAfee Will Ignore FBI Spyware"
They've been ignoring viruses for years. Why change now?
;)
Knunov
The differences I was alluding to were life support systems, navigational systems, etc. and that would make a spacecraft more difficult to design and build than a missle.
But yes, the propulsion systems are essentially the same.
"You're starting to sound like Timothy."
No need to get personal.
Knunov
You're right.
The top dog shouldn't wait for those weaker than him to approve their own destruction, as it will never come.
He should just indiscriminately eliminate threats while they are weak, much the way adult male lions kill the male cubs in a pride so as to limit future competition.
We, the U.S., should simply snuff out anyone, be it a country, race, religion or individual, on Earth that might be a threat one day.
Fair play is overrated, especially when your life hangs in the balance.
Knunov
I'll respond in reverse.
"Human Rights have been proven to be a Good Thing for Western cultures. What makes us so sure they work for cultures which are not in any way comparable to ours?"
I've thought about this, as well. What I always come up with is this: Why doesn't China have an immigration problem?
Ask Asians in America if they want to move to China. You'll get a resounding "no". Ask Asians living in China if they want to live in the U.S. I suspect the answer will be different.
Another experiment would be to temporarily transplant people into the opposite culture. This is done already in the form of exchange students. The people visiting the U.S. and living like an American will probably want to stay. The people visiting China and living like the average Chinese citizen will be counting the days to get home.
I think if people are exposed both to cultures that grant or restrict human rights, they will choose overwhelmingly to live in the culture that promotes individual freedom.
"I don't think China wants to actually attack the U.S."
I don't either, actually. But it's still a better feeling to be the only kid on the block with a gun. It's nice to not worry. I'd rather see no one have nukes than see everyone have them.
This being said, the same argument won't hold up for all countries. If Iraq had ICBMs, I don't doubt for a second they would use them.
Knunov
If any post mentions the U.S. govt's plan to build a missle defense system, it gets modded down into oblivion, usually with associated comments dismissing the threat as being unlikely or impossible.
/. really needs is a 'Doesn't Buy Into Liberal Utopian Ideologies' or 'I Don't Like The Way You Think' negative mod option. It would be closer to the truth.
But China is getting ready to put men in space, and it is widely cheered as a Good Thing.
How so many people miss the correlation is beyond me.
A rocket is far more complicated than a missle, and the technologies are remarkably parallel.
You see a country that doesn't like the U.S. developing technology that can easily be used to deliver a nuclear payload and you cheer, while simultaneously objecting to the very plan that can protect us from the developing threat.
If the idea of another cold war appeals to you, by all means, cheer on.
Now, go ahead and mod me into oblivion as 'Flamebait' or 'Offtopic'. What
Knunov
While I was working in Europe, I had this discussion about a thousand times with the various European nationalities, but especially the English and Scottish.
The mechanics of American Football necessitate protective gear. The size mismatches alone make it a requirement.
A common scenario in American football is a 180-pound receiver, standing completely still while catching a mid-field pass, being slammed into by a 250-pound linebacker running top speed. This generally does not happen in rugby.
Without pads, there would be regular incidents (as in every game) of broken bones, paralyzed players and even deaths.
In the spirit of fairness, I offered to demonstrate this fact to a particularly loudmouthed Scottsman, that happened to be a former rugby player. I weigh 230 solid pounds at 6' 1".
We were in a hotel bar, at the time. So we stepped into the first floor hallway, and he walked to the far end. Some people from the bar gathered to watch.
He stood at the end of the hall and braced for impact. I ran as fast as I could and dove into his stomach using my shoulder as the impact site.
When he regained conciousness 3 minutes later, he was more understanding of my point of view. After he vomited on himself, that is.
As if the skeletons and musculature of rugby players are somehow sturdier than a football player's...
Knunov
I've always wanted a crystal clear, high-res action shot of a sweaty rugby player's armpit.
Knunov