I think the Republic you thought you grew up loving was an illusion. Today, the US government probably has fewer ways of getting away with screwing you, screwing other nations, or restricting your speech than ever before. That doesn't keep them from trying, but that's what governments always do--it's part of the package.
Nixon could not have dreamt of the domestic surveillance capabilities available to the current administration. Nor did he have a rubber stamp congress. Ultimately, the system of checks and balances worked then, as it stands no chance of working now.
The Nixonians also lacked the power of arms available to the Bushies. And, they had to worry about the Soviets, a loathsome empire, to be sure. But, they did place practical limitations on America's ability to "screw" whomever it chose whenever it chose.
Furthermore, you have more ready access to education and information and more social mobility than ever before.
You used to be able to go to Berkeley for free. More to the point, we used to believe that higher education was vital to the national interest, and we were willing to front the costs. That kind of long term planning is totally absent now.
The debt is real, but ultimately not due to any particular policy--it's just that the rest of the world is starting to recover from colonialism and WWII and become serious competition again; Americans will have to get used to being less wealthy relative to the rest of the world.
That doesn't wash. We borrowed $8 trillion, and got practically nothing of value for it. We should be getting used to having ten times as many trained scientists and engineers as we had in the previous generation. Instead, we are setting ourselves up to get our asses kicked by China and India (where, apparently, they can figure out how to educate people.)
You know what I'm starting to think more and more?
Fuck this!
Increasing intrusion into my privacy
An $8 trillion federal debt due to insane tax cuts without offsets ($27,447.62 per American, at this moment)
Suspension of habeus corpus whenever they feel like it
A promise of war without end
A farcical "No child left behind" policy that produces armies of highschool graduates who can't write a five paragraph form essay, or do basic algebra
Et cetera, et cetera
The Republic I grew up loving is on life support, at best.
Is this really worth sticking around for? I didn't create all of these problems. Why should I pick up the tab? Plenty of very nice countries would love to have me (and my skills) and my wife (and her skills) and our kids (they can write essays and do math.) I'm keeping my passport current. If a majority of the American people are crazy and stupid enough to keep these nutjobs in power in November, I may just take my marbles and move on.
Where does it go from here? Many are drooling over China's expansion into these markets. Indonesia would be tempting if it was a bit more stable politically. Whever it can be done cheaper, the business will go.
Dark Side of the Moon was a masterpiece album (regardless of taste in music, the craftsmanship of everything in that album was astounding). _That_ is the reason that it was on the charts for so long.
This is absolutely true. I have been listening to this album regularly for almost thirty years, and I still can't get enough of it. It's the "Apocalypse Now" of music.
Still, given the choice of either buying or downloading, I would still choose to buy this album partly because of the artwork that it's bundled with.
I remember when I bought Dark Side of the Moon back in the '70s. It came with a really cool poster and a bunch of truly groovy stickers that you couldn't get anywhere else. It added a lot to the value of the album.
Dark Side of the Moon was a top 40 record for five years running.
I made this transition about eighteen months ago; and, though your milage may vary, I found that it really did not satisfy my desire to 'be part of the solution'.
What I encountered were a lot of very egocentric political schemers who were far more interested in self promotion than in the advancement of science, or in what we might call 'saving the planet'.
None of the people to whom I was answerable had any knowledge of how to manage IT people and projects (I am not over-generalizing, really). Their demands were unrealistic. My hours were as insane as ever (with no over time). The pressure and deadlines were just as gruelling.
Also, as you mention, the pay sucks in the academy (although, the benefits can be very decent).
Now, I'm back in the private sector doing more interesting work with more interesting people for more money.
I have started using javascript to compose XML from form data on the client side. I then pass a single parameter containing this XML back to the server in the query string. Presto! I am now able to use standard XML parsing/processing libraries to deal with all of that messy form data. This technique really shines when dealing with nested one to many relationships in forms.
I remember when we saw this coming back in the eighties. We used to talk about it over beer, etc. But, that was all just idle chatter. Hard to believe it's actually happening.
If you're concerned about maintaining your warranty, you might also look into flexible fuel vehicles, which run on ethanol/gasoline mixtures (some up to 100% ethanol!)
How about a used ev1? Since you like the car, you might try finding a used one.
I'm gearing up to convert an gasoline powered car to run on ethanol. I plan to make my own fuel, too. But that might be more of a project than you're up for.
You might also consider leasing something for a few years until the first crop of fuel cell vehicles becomes available. Things are moving very quickly now. Peugeot may have something ready for market by 2005.
Slashdot Mirror
Will not fix a myopic product.
Ireland is hardly the "Only [recent] success story in Western Europe. . ." However, Ireland does have a national health service.
Nixon could not have dreamt of the domestic surveillance capabilities available to the current administration. Nor did he have a rubber stamp congress. Ultimately, the system of checks and balances worked then, as it stands no chance of working now.
The Nixonians also lacked the power of arms available to the Bushies. And, they had to worry about the Soviets, a loathsome empire, to be sure. But, they did place practical limitations on America's ability to "screw" whomever it chose whenever it chose.
You used to be able to go to Berkeley for free. More to the point, we used to believe that higher education was vital to the national interest, and we were willing to front the costs. That kind of long term planning is totally absent now.
That doesn't wash. We borrowed $8 trillion, and got practically nothing of value for it. We should be getting used to having ten times as many trained scientists and engineers as we had in the previous generation. Instead, we are setting ourselves up to get our asses kicked by China and India (where, apparently, they can figure out how to educate people.)
You know what I'm starting to think more and more?
Fuck this!
The Republic I grew up loving is on life support, at best.
Is this really worth sticking around for? I didn't create all of these problems. Why should I pick up the tab? Plenty of very nice countries would love to have me (and my skills) and my wife (and her skills) and our kids (they can write essays and do math.) I'm keeping my passport current. If a majority of the American people are crazy and stupid enough to keep these nutjobs in power in November, I may just take my marbles and move on.
http://www.softghana.com/
That depends on whether you view articles nested or threaded.
Gawd! That took forever! Oh, wait. Was I supposed to plug it in first?
This is absolutely true. I have been listening to this album regularly for almost thirty years, and I still can't get enough of it. It's the "Apocalypse Now" of music.
Still, given the choice of either buying or downloading, I would still choose to buy this album partly because of the artwork that it's bundled with.
Cheers
Wow, you must have inhaled
Dark Side of the Moon was a top 40 record for five years running.
What I encountered were a lot of very egocentric political schemers who were far more interested in self promotion than in the advancement of science, or in what we might call 'saving the planet'.
None of the people to whom I was answerable had any knowledge of how to manage IT people and projects (I am not over-generalizing, really). Their demands were unrealistic. My hours were as insane as ever (with no over time). The pressure and deadlines were just as gruelling.
Also, as you mention, the pay sucks in the academy (although, the benefits can be very decent).
Now, I'm back in the private sector doing more interesting work with more interesting people for more money.
Hope this helps, and good luck!
Doesn't this encourage people to wait longer to make a contribution?
Now, all I need is for a truck to sideswipe me as I back out of my driveway, and I'll be set for life!
- Drug dealers
- Terrorists
When you want to do something clandestine, go disposable.Have fun!
a technical overview
That's what I usually do.
I remember when we saw this coming back in the eighties. We used to talk about it over beer, etc. But, that was all just idle chatter. Hard to believe it's actually happening.
How hard would it be to reduce this to a stepwise procedure that any reasonably intelligent, resourceful, dedicated person could carry out?
Making LSD from scratch required a lot of skill. But with detailed how-tos now widely available, practically anyone can make acid.
I think the parent was referring to use of hemp oil as a fuel, rather than to the distillation of EtOH from hemp material.
Dang! I didn't know that.
If you're concerned about maintaining your warranty, you might also look into flexible fuel vehicles, which run on ethanol/gasoline mixtures (some up to 100% ethanol!)
I'm gearing up to convert an gasoline powered car to run on ethanol. I plan to make my own fuel, too. But that might be more of a project than you're up for.
You might also consider leasing something for a few years until the first crop of fuel cell vehicles becomes available. Things are moving very quickly now. Peugeot may have something ready for market by 2005.