Your neighbor is also paying for your roads, your sewers, your national defense, your medical care, your social security, your fire department... and on and on and on. I'm not saying I agree with the subsidies (I'm actually quite against them) but have a bit of perspective here.
You know what... I take this back. What was I thinking. If you're using a 12v source you might not burn down your house. You won't have much power to work with on the far end of your line (a few amps, 4 or 5 perhaps) which might give you enough power to run your laptop. Of course, you could get 200 amps through a 10 meter 12 gauge wire by grounding it on the far side... but then you would burn your house down.
Boys and girls, please don't drive 400 amps through twelve gauge wire in your homes - at least not if you value your homes (or your lives)...
My co-responder Neil here laid out the technical reasons why it's a Bad Idea (tm). To summarize his explanation: the wire will get hot. Very hot. It will melt its insulation and catch your framework on fire before the copper melts itself.
I wouldn't, they provide me with so much entertainment! I mean, would you want to live in a world where the crazy people weren't allowed to talk? Who would you make fun of?
Everybody get so angry at them, but that just fuels their fires. You know how to kill the Westboro Baptists? Cunning wit and subtle mockery!
Agreed. While I feel he wants to cut far more than I'd prefer - he's the only one opposed to the constant wars and our ridiculous military spending. He's also the only one that doesn't seem to be in any industry's pocket and for that alone I'd vote for him (despite all the other stuff we disagree on). Too bad though, the GOP would never let anybody win the nomination who they didn't have firmly under their thumb.
I'm hoping nobody is wondering anymore why the youth are so disenfranchised with politics.
This is a good point - and I think in essence you agree with GP. It's important not to confuse courses with departments. Consolidating departments doesn't necessarily mean that you are going to be spitting out graduate after graduate with the same base of knowledge. You don't need a Macedonian History department for somebody to become an expert in macedonian history - that can be a focus in your graduate (or even undergraduate) level studies in a History or Anthropology department. After all, when you're specializing in a subject area in college, you interact with the professor who is the expert in that subject. The department really only provides administrative support.
Ron Paul isn't going to be an option when national election time comes around... After all, he's still a Republican, and unless he jumps ship to run for the Libertarians he'll be sitting it out.
Let's see how clear I can be about this... The US basically has three levels of government. At a very (*very*) high level, they work something like this:
Local government (municipality or county, often both) deals with local roads, zoning, sometimes select utilities (sewer is city run here), local police forces, fire dept, oftentimes things like homeless shelters and other services.
State government deals with state highways, a chunk of education funding, judicial system (and corrections, usually), state laws. State and local governments can be funded through sales, property, or income taxes and it varies from state to state. Mine is through property (at the county level) and sales (at the state level).
Federal (washington) deals with international relations, trade and currency, tariffs, national defense, national highways, managing the vast tracts of public land. The federal government is primarily funded by a national income tax.
Of course that is an idealized high-level description, and I know I'm forgetting a ton of stuff. In reality there is also tons of overlap. The federal government is very much involved in social services (welfare, medical care, education, etc) as well as some levels law enforcement (inter-state crimes, drug trafficking, etc). Different utilities are managed at different levels, and companies can receive grants or funding from any level of government.
Oh don't you worry AC Slater, I get plenty of mod points 'cause people just love what I have to say! In all seriousness though - I find a reply an almost universally better addition to the discussion than a moderation, unless there's simply no time.
We're talking nut jobs, how do you know what goes on in their heads? After all, these girls made the choice to go to school and learn to read. They and their teachers are both evil perpetrators of some abhorrent act. Innocence after all is entirely in the eyes of the beholder.
Now, if the party responsible has come forward and mentioned it being an attack on innocents, then I'll retract my statements here - but following any attack by religious wackos where the responsible party comes forward they very consistently claim it was god's will to punish the heathens.
Failed? The entire thread (starting with OP's Religion of Peace bs) is attacking Islam for one reason or another. I am simply pointing out that the problems GP lays out are not at all limited to Islam.
...totally missed the point. I'm not arguing for or against low efficiency bulbs. I personally go out of my way to use them and maintain a fairly energy efficient household. Hell, if these Phillips bulbs have a warranty anywhere near in line with their claimed life, I'll probably buy a few (and wouldn't mind spending the full $60 on them... I hate changing light bulbs:P ). What I don't like are subsidies in general. You talk about the true cost of oil and coal and I entirely agree - so why can't we objectively talk about the true cost of the LED bulbs? Sixty bucks for a light bulb that will last twenty years and sip a fraction of the power of a CFL? Great!
That, and they want insurance to pay for viagra... Stop kidding yourself here - the system is already in place, and there have been plenty of fights before the health care act over insurance covering birth control. Why would they fight one of the most cost effective measures of public health if it wasn't for religious reasons? Ideologically they can justify all sorts of other drugs to be covered, but birth control is an absolute no no?
You're looking at it from a christian perspective still... Fundamentalist Christians blowing up abortion clinics thought the doctors and the women there were evil in the eyes of their god. Assuming this was a Muslim attack on the school, then these teachers and students absolutely were evil in the eyes of their god as well. Rational people do not excuse the misdeeds of anybody, regardless of their religion. If you had any Muslim friends, they would tell you the same damn thing. There's nothing fundamentally wrong with Islam or Christianity - but there are plenty of fundamentally wrong Christians and Muslims...
You would be *damn* hard pressed to find a religion in the history of the planet responsible for more violence and death than Christianity. Is there more violence being caused by Muslims right now at this very moment? Perhaps, but there are just about as many peace loving practicers of Islam as there are of Christianity. Wacko fundamentalists transcend religious lines.
You're right, the $60 for the bulb doesn't come directly from my wallet. I probably won't end up paying that $40 difference in power costs or taxes or even increased costs for good or services who have to pay for the power costs and taxes themselves to fund the subsidy. It is still an expense, though. I'll reword that as "we're still paying full price for the bulb" because make no mistake: Phillips is not going to be selling these for a long-term loss. Hell, I'd rather pay for it myself then have all of society pitch in for my bulb.
Now on to subsidies themselves. Sure, there are some market distortions that are good - but the point is that the ecosystem in place to subsidize some products over others is just as often (I'd argue that it's more, but I don't have the time to come up with numbers:P ) used by businesses to gain a competitive advantage for an inferior product. Subsidies for one type of product necessarily exclude others which will have their own merits - but of course now they are unable to compete with the subsidized price. My primary argument against subsidies is that they are subject to social whims, lobbying, corruption, and other abuses. I simply don't feel that the benefits (and you're right, we do get some benefits) outweigh the costs.
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Because the Republicans like it and he's a Democrat... Geeze, American politics are not that hard, people!
Cooperation amongst opposition parties? How silly. Here in the US we we prefer our politicians to kill and maim.
Bring out The Comfy Chair!!!!
Your neighbor is also paying for your roads, your sewers, your national defense, your medical care, your social security, your fire department... and on and on and on. I'm not saying I agree with the subsidies (I'm actually quite against them) but have a bit of perspective here.
You know what... I take this back. What was I thinking. If you're using a 12v source you might not burn down your house. You won't have much power to work with on the far end of your line (a few amps, 4 or 5 perhaps) which might give you enough power to run your laptop. Of course, you could get 200 amps through a 10 meter 12 gauge wire by grounding it on the far side... but then you would burn your house down.
Boys and girls, please don't drive 400 amps through twelve gauge wire in your homes - at least not if you value your homes (or your lives)...
My co-responder Neil here laid out the technical reasons why it's a Bad Idea (tm). To summarize his explanation: the wire will get hot. Very hot. It will melt its insulation and catch your framework on fire before the copper melts itself.
I don't know what's funnier... this post in and of itself, or the "Re:Idea (Score:5, Insightful)" in the header....
I wouldn't, they provide me with so much entertainment! I mean, would you want to live in a world where the crazy people weren't allowed to talk? Who would you make fun of?
Everybody get so angry at them, but that just fuels their fires. You know how to kill the Westboro Baptists? Cunning wit and subtle mockery!
Agreed. While I feel he wants to cut far more than I'd prefer - he's the only one opposed to the constant wars and our ridiculous military spending. He's also the only one that doesn't seem to be in any industry's pocket and for that alone I'd vote for him (despite all the other stuff we disagree on). Too bad though, the GOP would never let anybody win the nomination who they didn't have firmly under their thumb.
I'm hoping nobody is wondering anymore why the youth are so disenfranchised with politics.
For what it's worth, I don't see the value of teaching CS students about the Big O either.
This is a good point - and I think in essence you agree with GP. It's important not to confuse courses with departments. Consolidating departments doesn't necessarily mean that you are going to be spitting out graduate after graduate with the same base of knowledge. You don't need a Macedonian History department for somebody to become an expert in macedonian history - that can be a focus in your graduate (or even undergraduate) level studies in a History or Anthropology department. After all, when you're specializing in a subject area in college, you interact with the professor who is the expert in that subject. The department really only provides administrative support.
And as a European, polar red, you should take Alex Belits' posting with a grain of salt. He is very angry.
Ron Paul isn't going to be an option when national election time comes around... After all, he's still a Republican, and unless he jumps ship to run for the Libertarians he'll be sitting it out.
Let's see how clear I can be about this... The US basically has three levels of government. At a very (*very*) high level, they work something like this:
Local government (municipality or county, often both) deals with local roads, zoning, sometimes select utilities (sewer is city run here), local police forces, fire dept, oftentimes things like homeless shelters and other services.
State government deals with state highways, a chunk of education funding, judicial system (and corrections, usually), state laws. State and local governments can be funded through sales, property, or income taxes and it varies from state to state. Mine is through property (at the county level) and sales (at the state level).
Federal (washington) deals with international relations, trade and currency, tariffs, national defense, national highways, managing the vast tracts of public land. The federal government is primarily funded by a national income tax.
Of course that is an idealized high-level description, and I know I'm forgetting a ton of stuff. In reality there is also tons of overlap. The federal government is very much involved in social services (welfare, medical care, education, etc) as well as some levels law enforcement (inter-state crimes, drug trafficking, etc). Different utilities are managed at different levels, and companies can receive grants or funding from any level of government.
Oh don't you worry AC Slater, I get plenty of mod points 'cause people just love what I have to say! In all seriousness though - I find a reply an almost universally better addition to the discussion than a moderation, unless there's simply no time.
This made me giggle, then it made me weep. I'm posting because there is no +1: Uncomfortable Truth mod....
We're talking nut jobs, how do you know what goes on in their heads? After all, these girls made the choice to go to school and learn to read. They and their teachers are both evil perpetrators of some abhorrent act. Innocence after all is entirely in the eyes of the beholder.
Now, if the party responsible has come forward and mentioned it being an attack on innocents, then I'll retract my statements here - but following any attack by religious wackos where the responsible party comes forward they very consistently claim it was god's will to punish the heathens.
Failed? The entire thread (starting with OP's Religion of Peace bs) is attacking Islam for one reason or another. I am simply pointing out that the problems GP lays out are not at all limited to Islam.
...totally missed the point. I'm not arguing for or against low efficiency bulbs. I personally go out of my way to use them and maintain a fairly energy efficient household. Hell, if these Phillips bulbs have a warranty anywhere near in line with their claimed life, I'll probably buy a few (and wouldn't mind spending the full $60 on them... I hate changing light bulbs :P ). What I don't like are subsidies in general. You talk about the true cost of oil and coal and I entirely agree - so why can't we objectively talk about the true cost of the LED bulbs? Sixty bucks for a light bulb that will last twenty years and sip a fraction of the power of a CFL? Great!
That, and they want insurance to pay for viagra... Stop kidding yourself here - the system is already in place, and there have been plenty of fights before the health care act over insurance covering birth control. Why would they fight one of the most cost effective measures of public health if it wasn't for religious reasons? Ideologically they can justify all sorts of other drugs to be covered, but birth control is an absolute no no?
Pretty sure he just feels that since he's not getting any, nobody should get any.
Thanks for finding the link for us, now could somebody with some mod points make this a wee bit more visible?
You're looking at it from a christian perspective still... Fundamentalist Christians blowing up abortion clinics thought the doctors and the women there were evil in the eyes of their god. Assuming this was a Muslim attack on the school, then these teachers and students absolutely were evil in the eyes of their god as well. Rational people do not excuse the misdeeds of anybody, regardless of their religion. If you had any Muslim friends, they would tell you the same damn thing. There's nothing fundamentally wrong with Islam or Christianity - but there are plenty of fundamentally wrong Christians and Muslims...
Oooh this is fun. My turn!!
A non-peaceful religion - like Christianity - is where adherents are told to convert or die, get burned at the stake if they don't agree, subjects members of other religions to derogatory and humiliating extra taxes and second-class legal status or worse, sentences people to death for converting away from it, and starts wars of conquest to enlarge the areas in which they can practice barbarism openly. They may also be religions that were founded by hyper-polygynists who may or may not have been pedophiles (remind you of anyone else?)
You would be *damn* hard pressed to find a religion in the history of the planet responsible for more violence and death than Christianity. Is there more violence being caused by Muslims right now at this very moment? Perhaps, but there are just about as many peace loving practicers of Islam as there are of Christianity. Wacko fundamentalists transcend religious lines.
You're right, the $60 for the bulb doesn't come directly from my wallet. I probably won't end up paying that $40 difference in power costs or taxes or even increased costs for good or services who have to pay for the power costs and taxes themselves to fund the subsidy. It is still an expense, though. I'll reword that as "we're still paying full price for the bulb" because make no mistake: Phillips is not going to be selling these for a long-term loss. Hell, I'd rather pay for it myself then have all of society pitch in for my bulb.
:P ) used by businesses to gain a competitive advantage for an inferior product. Subsidies for one type of product necessarily exclude others which will have their own merits - but of course now they are unable to compete with the subsidized price. My primary argument against subsidies is that they are subject to social whims, lobbying, corruption, and other abuses. I simply don't feel that the benefits (and you're right, we do get some benefits) outweigh the costs.
Now on to subsidies themselves. Sure, there are some market distortions that are good - but the point is that the ecosystem in place to subsidize some products over others is just as often (I'd argue that it's more, but I don't have the time to come up with numbers