I think in order for space exploration to truly take off, more countries need to get involved. Currently, NASA is essentially the only organization left that takes on this challenge, and graciously shares a lot of its findings and discoveries derived from costly space missions and experiments to the world. It would be nice if the world community could pump something back in, in financial terms or otherwise, to help continue the trek.
---------------
Re:Is it so hard to accept the possibility?
on
The Mind of God
·
· Score: 1
infinite number? How? There has been a finite amount of time since the universe started, and the billions of years usually tossed around as the standard age of the universe are frankly, too short a time for an 'infinite' number of experiments to have occured.
Well, if you insist on dissecting my words literally...:-)
---------------
Re:Is it so hard to accept the possibility?
on
The Mind of God
·
· Score: 1
I can't agree more. The river flows both ways, and those who completely entrust in science to explain everything is perhaps just as naive as their hardcore religious counterparts. It might surprise you, but I consider myself spiritual, and actually do believe in the existence of some higher being. My point in the original post was simply to point out to the later group the possibility of humans deriving from something other than the act of God.
---------------
Is it so hard to accept the possibility?
on
The Mind of God
·
· Score: 4
"I cannot believe," writes Davies near the end of the book, "that our existence in this universe is a mere quirk of fate, an accident of history, an incidental blip in the great cosmic drama"
I've read a lot of books on religion that all use the above argument to stake their claim about the existence of "God". They all sound as if it's not possible that humans may exist simply due to one of the infinite number of experiments of the universe gone mad. We all want to believe that there's more to us than what meets the eye...the truth may be hard to accept.
Lego is in my opinion, absolutely one of the best toys ever invented. It stimulates the mind and conjures up the imagination like nothing else can. I can still remember when I was just a kid, while in bed, thinking up of all sorts of neat things to build using Lego, and wake up the next morning and try and realize them. Memories memories.
Cisco may overtake Microsoft as the most valuable company, but when it comes to global influence and branding, Cisco stay lags far behind. I hear that among the younger generation in China, "Microsoft" is spoken almost like an everyday vocabulary, with everyone striving to be the next Bill Gates. Amazing how far a well-oiled marketing machine can do. ---------------
I doubt these people truly despise dot.com's, otherwise why would they have their own web site? Seems like a marketing ploy than another else. With all that's happened online, it might be original a ploy, but definitely not surprising. ---------------
From what I heard, Linux servers perform better than Sun during average use; under heavy use, however, Sun holds up better. I'm not thinking about actually purchasing a server, just renting one to host a site. Everywhere I go, DN.com, Rackspace.com etc, it's always the same story in terms of price- Cobalt, Linux, Sun, in ascending order of bucks/month. ---------------
This is perhaps a little of topic, but can anyone tell me the major advantages/ disadvantages of a Linux server compared to Sun? Why is it that a similarly equipped Linux server always costs significantly less than it's Sun counterpart? Could less be more? ---------------
Well, perhaps that's better, though, since you are guaranteed death, and a quick one. Better than being paralyzed for life, which is what often happens in a car accident. ---------------
The fact of the matter, however, is that the entire English language is based on the permutation of only 26 characters. That was established before digital encoding was even a phrase. ---------------
I agree. Some would even say that English is much more friendly on people than say, Chinese or Japanese, simply because of its simplicity. Good or bad, I don't know, and don't want to get into:-) ---------------
I have to disagree. History has proven over and over that whenever a new technology comes out, it benefits both criminals AND the ones fighting it. An optimist like myself would argue the possibilites quantum computers could bring to better store, access, and safe guard important information. ---------------
Apart from economic reasons, I think one major reason why the internet is so "Americanized" is due to language. Our forefathers probably never thought of this when they invented English, but it turned out that English is highly "digital friendly." Foreign sites such as Chinese or Japanese are always at a disadvantage in terms of growth, due to the way their language is written out. Until that is resolved through technology, I predict the internet will continue to serve up mostly American (and British) content. It's a pity. ---------------
I wonder if Celera voluntarily chose to release this information about the genes of flies, or is doing so only to comply with president Clinton's recent call for open-source genes LOL. ---------------
Does anyone know if the online paying service offered by Yahoo or otherwise extend to people living in Canada? I could definitely use it, considering the number of bills I get each month.
Don't get me wrong, I love it too when people use my codes. But that's different than when you spent hours working on a script for a particular client, and some other web designer steals it, calls it his own, and charges people for it.
Well, "Hello world" usually refers to Java, not JavaScript, however. I think the later language gets abused and copied a lot more often, simply due to the simplicity to doing so.
As a JavaScript programmer, I find myself confronted with this issue virtually everyday. As you know, programs written in JavaScript are called scripts, and most aren't all that hard to write- or all that original. I try to create mine as much as possible from scratch, and only try to borrow ideas from good scripts I see. There are "JavaScript programmers" out there, however, that would simply copy an entire code from others, modify a couple of variable names, and call them their own. I often don't know whether it is appropriate for me to confront these people, since scripts are so easy to write and simplistic, and it is possible a code looks just like yours due to coincidence. In those cases where you are sure they copied your code, you still can't proof it, or even that you came up with the code in the first place.
I agree the reasons were more than academic during the cold war when it came to space exploration. What do you think could be used now to fill the viod left by the cold war, and motivate people to be enthusiastic about space development? Commercialism is still too risky and far fetched to be a propellant.
It seems that during the cold war, the US was a lot more motivated and interested in space development and exploration than after. I cringe each time I hear on the news another NASA funding cut; when will people realize that knowledge cannot and shouldn't be measured in dollar signs?
From what I understand, iDcide informs you whenever a site tries to track you, and allows you to take action accordingly. While the idea is good, I think many people who install it will end up removing the program. Let's face it, a LOT of sites use cookies to track their visitors; personally, probably every other site I visit does this. I don't want the paranoiac IDcide bombarding me with information about all of these sites. I already have one called BlackIce (a program that alarms you whenever it thinks your internet connection is being probed or hacked). Two will definitely drive me isane. LOL.
My argument with Windows is that it manages to archive a good balance between ease of use and functionality. Remember, computers are used often by people who don't even know where the "on" switch for it is located. Try telling them to learn Linux with Gnome. You say it's not all that difficult, but could you say that that applies to the average joe?
Slashdot Mirror
I think in order for space exploration to truly take off, more countries need to get involved. Currently, NASA is essentially the only organization left that takes on this challenge, and graciously shares a lot of its findings and discoveries derived from costly space missions and experiments to the world. It would be nice if the world community could pump something back in, in financial terms or otherwise, to help continue the trek.
---------------
Well, if you insist on dissecting my words literally... :-)
---------------
I can't agree more. The river flows both ways, and those who completely entrust in science to explain everything is perhaps just as naive as their hardcore religious counterparts. It might surprise you, but I consider myself spiritual, and actually do believe in the existence of some higher being. My point in the original post was simply to point out to the later group the possibility of humans deriving from something other than the act of God.
---------------
I've read a lot of books on religion that all use the above argument to stake their claim about the existence of "God". They all sound as if it's not possible that humans may exist simply due to one of the infinite number of experiments of the universe gone mad. We all want to believe that there's more to us than what meets the eye...the truth may be hard to accept.
---------------
Lego is in my opinion, absolutely one of the best toys ever invented. It stimulates the mind and conjures up the imagination like nothing else can. I can still remember when I was just a kid, while in bed, thinking up of all sorts of neat things to build using Lego, and wake up the next morning and try and realize them. Memories memories.
---------------
Cisco may overtake Microsoft as the most valuable company, but when it comes to global influence and branding, Cisco stay lags far behind. I hear that among the younger generation in China, "Microsoft" is spoken almost like an everyday vocabulary, with everyone striving to be the next Bill Gates. Amazing how far a well-oiled marketing machine can do.
---------------
I doubt these people truly despise dot.com's, otherwise why would they have their own web site? Seems like a marketing ploy than another else. With all that's happened online, it might be original a ploy, but definitely not surprising.
---------------
From what I heard, Linux servers perform better than Sun during average use; under heavy use, however, Sun holds up better. I'm not thinking about actually purchasing a server, just renting one to host a site. Everywhere I go, DN.com, Rackspace.com etc, it's always the same story in terms of price- Cobalt, Linux, Sun, in ascending order of bucks/month.
---------------
This is perhaps a little of topic, but can anyone tell me the major advantages/ disadvantages of a Linux server compared to Sun? Why is it that a similarly equipped Linux server always costs significantly less than it's Sun counterpart? Could less be more?
---------------
Well, perhaps that's better, though, since you are guaranteed death, and a quick one. Better than being paralyzed for life, which is what often happens in a car accident.
---------------
The fact of the matter, however, is that the entire English language is based on the permutation of only 26 characters. That was established before digital encoding was even a phrase.
---------------
I agree. Some would even say that English is much more friendly on people than say, Chinese or Japanese, simply because of its simplicity. Good or bad, I don't know, and don't want to get into :-)
---------------
I have to disagree. History has proven over and over that whenever a new technology comes out, it benefits both criminals AND the ones fighting it. An optimist like myself would argue the possibilites quantum computers could bring to better store, access, and safe guard important information.
---------------
Apart from economic reasons, I think one major reason why the internet is so "Americanized" is due to language. Our forefathers probably never thought of this when they invented English, but it turned out that English is highly "digital friendly." Foreign sites such as Chinese or Japanese are always at a disadvantage in terms of growth, due to the way their language is written out. Until that is resolved through technology, I predict the internet will continue to serve up mostly American (and British) content. It's a pity.
---------------
I wonder if Celera voluntarily chose to release this information about the genes of flies, or is doing so only to comply with president Clinton's recent call for open-source genes LOL.
---------------
And so much more dangerous.
---------------
Does anyone know if the online paying service offered by Yahoo or otherwise extend to people living in Canada? I could definitely use it, considering the number of bills I get each month.
---------------
Don't get me wrong, I love it too when people use my codes. But that's different than when you spent hours working on a script for a particular client, and some other web designer steals it, calls it his own, and charges people for it.
---------------
Exactly!
---------------
Well, "Hello world" usually refers to Java, not JavaScript, however. I think the later language gets abused and copied a lot more often, simply due to the simplicity to doing so.
---------------
As a JavaScript programmer, I find myself confronted with this issue virtually everyday. As you know, programs written in JavaScript are called scripts, and most aren't all that hard to write- or all that original. I try to create mine as much as possible from scratch, and only try to borrow ideas from good scripts I see. There are "JavaScript programmers" out there, however, that would simply copy an entire code from others, modify a couple of variable names, and call them their own. I often don't know whether it is appropriate for me to confront these people, since scripts are so easy to write and simplistic, and it is possible a code looks just like yours due to coincidence. In those cases where you are sure they copied your code, you still can't proof it, or even that you came up with the code in the first place.
---------------
I agree the reasons were more than academic during the cold war when it came to space exploration. What do you think could be used now to fill the viod left by the cold war, and motivate people to be enthusiastic about space development? Commercialism is still too risky and far fetched to be a propellant.
---------------
It seems that during the cold war, the US was a lot more motivated and interested in space development and exploration than after. I cringe each time I hear on the news another NASA funding cut; when will people realize that knowledge cannot and shouldn't be measured in dollar signs?
---------------
From what I understand, iDcide informs you whenever a site tries to track you, and allows you to take action accordingly. While the idea is good, I think many people who install it will end up removing the program. Let's face it, a LOT of sites use cookies to track their visitors; personally, probably every other site I visit does this. I don't want the paranoiac IDcide bombarding me with information about all of these sites. I already have one called BlackIce (a program that alarms you whenever it thinks your internet connection is being probed or hacked). Two will definitely drive me isane. LOL.
---------------
My argument with Windows is that it manages to archive a good balance between ease of use and functionality. Remember, computers are used often by people who don't even know where the "on" switch for it is located. Try telling them to learn Linux with Gnome. You say it's not all that difficult, but could you say that that applies to the average joe?
---------------