Due to social factors, including perceived bias and trying to avoid the stigma of being abused by a woman (often seen as emasculating) I wouldn't be surprised if the percentage of non-violent men being abused by violent women is much higher than reported. I don't have statistics in front of me, or I would be quoting them, but it would come to no surprise to me if men in those circumstances would be even more reluctant to admit to abuse than women. Consequently, I believe it is very probable that women who are prone to violence will be more likely to use it, as they won't face nearly the same penalties that men would in the same circumstances.
This is anecdotal, I know, but a woman I know was in a mutually violent relationship (they would start by arguing, and end up by hitting each other and/or throwing things). While they were both, in my mind, equally guilty of being violent, the police would ALWAYS take her side. He was the one threatened with jail time, or was forced to find somewhere else to sleep for a few days. It's an attitude that seems to be changing, though.
Power is not the problem, the old VW Beetle and the earliest Honda cars are like that. Problem is the crash test safety requirements -- would it meet those?
At 380kg/838 pounds, I find it hard to believe that it could. I think, in a head-on collision, the typical oncoming vehicle in the US would basically be wearing this one like a second coat of paint.
I'd be more worried, though, about how it handles in high winds. I drive a 2002 Taurus, a fairly beefy car by modern standards, and I still get pushed around by crosswinds. I can't imagine this thing would be easy to keep in a lane under similar circumstances.
No land mines. Not ever. They don't discriminate, they don't decide, and they don't go away if you change policy or the location of the border or no man's land. As much as I also hate your sharpshooter idea, the sharpshooter in question is at least responsible for his/her actions, and can make a decision based on observable facts, such as "Are these people likely to be drug runners/terrorists/criminals, or are they just people stupidly trying to run the border? Do they have children with them? Should I shoot the kids if they do?" (by the way, the answer to that last one is always "No". Whatever you think of illegal immigrants, the kids don't make the decision to immigrate illegally, the parents do).
Land mines can't make choices. Land mines can't take responsibility. They just blow the legs off of anyone or anything walking over them.
By the way, when you think of the border and landmines/snipers blowing up/murdering people crossing them, are you just thinking of the US/Mexico border, or the US/Canada one as well? Land mines on the US/Canada border would blow up any number of deer/wolves/moose/bears/etc.
Seriously, there are a ton of people that seem to be completely missing the 'Satan's Game' reference. Go look up Dead Alewives. They did a skit that started with the words "Dungeons and Dragons, Satan's game"
To be fair, it was called things similar to that before the skit. But yes, that skit is hilarious. For those too lazy too head to youtube and look up "Dead Alewives" and "Dungeons and Dragons", here's a link to an 8-bit version that someone made, based off the original audio: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XHdXG2gV01k
No, id like them to be doing actual labor, to help pay back their victims and society for their crime and cost of incarceration
I agree, but of course the work should be voluntary, for only one reason: forced work, even of prisoners, is basically slavery, which I'm against on general principals.
I'm not too familiar with the prison system, but giving people perks like better food, more TV time, internet usage (monitored, of course) for working to repay their debt to their victims and society seems like a good idea to me. Set the idea that work = reward, so that when they're released they (hopefully) won't run out and immediately start mugging people or robbing places or whatever.
Probably won't work... ex-cons tend to have a hard time getting work. But heck, it's worth a shot.
Also, having privileges gives the authorities another way to punish prisoners. Privileges can be taken away. Someone with nothing to lose is much harder to discipline.
You seem to be under the impression that the security theater has anything to do with security[.*]. It's about seizing more power, first and foremost.
That, and making people think they're safe to fly... air travel is vital to the US (and international) economy. If people were too afraid to fly, it would have devastating impacts on everything from car rental agencies to the tourist industry to huge companies like Boeing. That's why the government keeps throwing money at them every time they claim they're having financial troubles.
Unfortunately, and predictably, the security theater simply shifted the threat from the airplanes themselves to the large group of people waiting to get through the security that's supposed to keep them safe.
People have been saying for years that we need to get people checked through faster at security. This kind of threat wasn't unthinkable even ten years ago. I remember hearing people talk about the risks to holiday travelers at airports for over a decade. Huge crowds of people are vulnerable to this sort of thing, and those nice, maze-like roped lines keep people penned in like cattle, which makes explosives an extremely, horrifyingly effective weapon in those situations.
The solution is to get people through security faster. Which means less stringent security. Metal detectors and chemical sensors only, to get the people through quickly, and scan the luggage. It's a win/win: less invasive, more secure (against this kind of attack) and less expensive. Also, less frustrating for travelers, who won't have to deal with standing in line for as long as they do now.
Hopefully we make the changes needed before this kind of attack becomes common. Because, one thing I'm sure of is that terrorists around the world made note of this and will be looking at similar targets of opportunity.
With apologies to the folks of MST3k for shamelessly stealing one of their best ideas:
Tom: Hey, fellas, this sure is a screwey screw in this device, isn't it? Mike: It sure is! Crow: Yet despite all the goofyness of the thing, I just can't come up with a word that describes it Tom: Well I can Mike: You can? Tom: Why, sure!
Crow: Is it frustrate-orificcal, butt-in-your-face-ical screwya from morning 'til night?
Tom: Well you're rip-off fantastical purloin-irascable Stevejobs-an-ass-hola right!
All: It's a swindle-a-boobulal rip-you-off-obulal Toobular Pentalobular joy! An expososular-buttular humped without lubular fun for girl and boy! An Apple-fantastical scamu-lal job-ulal financial-al steal-it-all ball
Most programmers can barely write working code, and yet we magically think they'll somehow be able to write secure code. You have to walk before you can run.
Which makes me wonder if, when we get hackable robotics that are actually capable of injuring or killing people or damaging property, if we'll see an agency established along the lines of the FDA to review software for security.
Not saying it's a good (or bad) idea, just wondering about it.
The acting and special effects were fine... considering the time of the original broadcasts and the intended audience (children). I quite enjoyed it as a kid/young teen, though yes, going back to watch some of those episodes now is painful. The same thing happens to a lot of old shows, though, and if nothing else, the mythology of Dr. Who definitely withstands the tests of time.
Not 100% sure, as I'm not a lawyer, but doing so might be considered tampering with evidence or interfering with a police investigation. I'm pretty sure that they could charge you with one of those, though whether they would or whether it would stand up in court is another matter entirely.
I believe I heard that FFXI is WHY they didn't want an AH in XIV... groups of players, often RMT, would monopolize the selling certain necessities or high-value items. In theory, not having an AH can do away with that issue.
Not saying I agree with their decision, as I believe the convenience of an AH is more than worth the cost of possible cheaters and price-fixing, but I can see their point.
A month and a half away from my 40th birthday, I have to say... I don't want to live forever, but I want to live a lot longer than my naturally allotted time on earth. So many new, exciting and interesting things are happening, and continue to happen.
There will always be something on the horizon that will catch my interest and that I want to see happen. As long as I can still feel joy and excitement, as long as I still have people I care about and who care about me, I want to live.
And who doesn't want to meet their great-great-great-great grandkids?
Of course there are "right wingers" calling it the left's fault, just like there are "left wingers" calling it the right's fault. Whenever anything happens that gets people upset, a bunch of loonies crawl out of the woodwork to point fingers at each other, neatly ignoring the fact that it is everyone's responsibility that things like this are happening. Right AND left, and everyone in between. That's what democracy means. We're ALL holding the bag for what happens with our country.
I'm so goddamned sick of that argument... "There is no right to ____ in the Constitution". The Constitution is not a complete and exhaustive list of the rights of an individual. Never has been, never will be, and never was intended to be. Rights exist separately from the Constitution, which is a list of the specific ways in which the government can infringe upon the rights you already possess. For example, you already have the right to keep your property, not have it searched without your permission, and not be locked up. Per the Constitution, the Government can take your property, but only if they compensate you fairly. The Government can search your property without your permission, but only by following due process. The Government can take away your freedom, but only if you've been convicted of a crime.
The deduction that you SHOULD be making is that anything not listed in the Constitution is an inherent right that the Government has no legal recourse to infringe upon, not that the right doesn't exist!
Ok, rant off. Thanks for listening, I feel better.
Um, no. That's not it at all. Saying that one thing would infuriate me doesn't exclude the possibility of other things infuriating me as well. The violation of personal property and the violation of my privacy are tied together. I was responding to the previous poster, who was talking about how the FBI would be stealing electricity to run the device, stating that I would be more concerned with property damage.
The main problem from my point of view is, in addition to being a rights violation, without actual human eyes on the target, I don't think the GPS would prove anything that would really stand up in court (I'm not a lawyer, obviously). Say something happens, and the suspect gets arrested. Can the prosecutors prove that their suspect was present at the crime scene? No. They can prove only that the GPS was present at the scene. Someone could have borrowed the car. Someone could have stuck the GPS to a different car (unlikely, but possible). Even if he WAS in the neighborhood, that doesn't prove the person driving the car was involved in whatever incident took place there. If the police/feds are using it to assist in prosecution, they're wasting their time.
I know, I know... it's not all about court cases, but about gathering evidence. If the guy keeps going to the same abandoned warehouse, for example, maybe it's a good idea to check out that warehouse. Still, I prefer the occasional criminals over a police state.
And, of course, it's trivial to think of countermeasures for stuff like this. Borrow other peoples cars, for example. Take public transit. Or, find the device, hitch a lift from a friend, and have someone else drive your car around while you do bad things, and you have an instant alibi. Also, I'm pretty sure professional car thieves already have tons of devices that will scan for stuff like attached GPS devices so they can disable them. It wouldn't take much for someone planning a criminal or terrorist career to get their hands on something like that.
It's not the power that I'd be angry about, it would be the unauthorized modification of my property. How do I know that's not going to damage my electrical system or void my warranty? What if I find it, can I remove it myself without damaging my vehicle? Would I have to pay someone to remove it? WOULD they remove it, if it's an FBI tracker? No, one attached to my car via magnet and running on batteries would be bad enough. If I found something like that bolted in to my car and spliced into the electrical system, I'd be beyond just angry by a long shot. That's the kind of thing that I'd pursue with a lawsuit, even if I had to cash out my 401k, sell my house, and go into debt to afford the lawyer.
As a corporate IT person, I am strictly prohibited from giving out advice to other company employees for personal (non-company) equipment, because the company sees that as a potential liability. And it's also a handy excuse to not have to answer questions for everyone who neglects to run a virus scanner.
Non-employees, though (such as friends and family) not only will impose on my time, but they seem to expect me to drop everything and fix their problems instantly. If I say No, I'm a jerk. If I charge them for the time... well, then I'm an asshole. Maybe I should just offer a work exchange: "I'll fix this problem for you, but you have to mow my lawn" kind of thing:P
That all comes down to personal preference. I like the simplistic, almost minimalist UI style of FFXI. When I tried playing WoW and Guild Wars, I found the UIs to be far too cluttered and distracting. But that's why UIs need to be more customizable, because everyone has their own preferences.
Having never played Everquest, I can't really compare the two. So, instead, I'll compare XI to XI. The XI I'm playing now is so completely different from the XI I was playing seven years ago that it's almost a completely different game. So, with that in mind, I'll respectfully have to call bullshit on your "bullshit".
No, they didn't change the UI all that much. But they've improved on almost every aspect of gameplay over the years. I can list some of them for you, if you want.
I will agree, though, that limiting PC players to the same functionality as console players is not a wise move on their part. That's behind most of the difficulties that we see in XI: "PS2 limitations". It's going to be the limiter on XIV in a couple of years, when they start to run into "PS3 limitations".
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Due to social factors, including perceived bias and trying to avoid the stigma of being abused by a woman (often seen as emasculating) I wouldn't be surprised if the percentage of non-violent men being abused by violent women is much higher than reported. I don't have statistics in front of me, or I would be quoting them, but it would come to no surprise to me if men in those circumstances would be even more reluctant to admit to abuse than women.
Consequently, I believe it is very probable that women who are prone to violence will be more likely to use it, as they won't face nearly the same penalties that men would in the same circumstances.
This is anecdotal, I know, but a woman I know was in a mutually violent relationship (they would start by arguing, and end up by hitting each other and/or throwing things). While they were both, in my mind, equally guilty of being violent, the police would ALWAYS take her side. He was the one threatened with jail time, or was forced to find somewhere else to sleep for a few days. It's an attitude that seems to be changing, though.
Power is not the problem, the old VW Beetle and the earliest Honda cars are like that. Problem is the crash test safety requirements -- would it meet those?
At 380kg/838 pounds, I find it hard to believe that it could. I think, in a head-on collision, the typical oncoming vehicle in the US would basically be wearing this one like a second coat of paint.
I'd be more worried, though, about how it handles in high winds. I drive a 2002 Taurus, a fairly beefy car by modern standards, and I still get pushed around by crosswinds. I can't imagine this thing would be easy to keep in a lane under similar circumstances.
No land mines. Not ever. They don't discriminate, they don't decide, and they don't go away if you change policy or the location of the border or no man's land. As much as I also hate your sharpshooter idea, the sharpshooter in question is at least responsible for his/her actions, and can make a decision based on observable facts, such as "Are these people likely to be drug runners/terrorists/criminals, or are they just people stupidly trying to run the border? Do they have children with them? Should I shoot the kids if they do?" (by the way, the answer to that last one is always "No". Whatever you think of illegal immigrants, the kids don't make the decision to immigrate illegally, the parents do).
Land mines can't make choices. Land mines can't take responsibility. They just blow the legs off of anyone or anything walking over them.
By the way, when you think of the border and landmines/snipers blowing up/murdering people crossing them, are you just thinking of the US/Mexico border, or the US/Canada one as well? Land mines on the US/Canada border would blow up any number of deer/wolves/moose/bears/etc.
Seriously, there are a ton of people that seem to be completely missing the 'Satan's Game' reference. Go look up Dead Alewives. They did a skit that started with the words "Dungeons and Dragons, Satan's game"
To be fair, it was called things similar to that before the skit. But yes, that skit is hilarious.
For those too lazy too head to youtube and look up "Dead Alewives" and "Dungeons and Dragons", here's a link to an 8-bit version that someone made, based off the original audio:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XHdXG2gV01k
No, id like them to be doing actual labor, to help pay back their victims and society for their crime and cost of incarceration
I agree, but of course the work should be voluntary, for only one reason: forced work, even of prisoners, is basically slavery, which I'm against on general principals.
I'm not too familiar with the prison system, but giving people perks like better food, more TV time, internet usage (monitored, of course) for working to repay their debt to their victims and society seems like a good idea to me. Set the idea that work = reward, so that when they're released they (hopefully) won't run out and immediately start mugging people or robbing places or whatever.
Probably won't work... ex-cons tend to have a hard time getting work. But heck, it's worth a shot.
Also, having privileges gives the authorities another way to punish prisoners. Privileges can be taken away. Someone with nothing to lose is much harder to discipline.
You seem to be under the impression that the security theater has anything to do with security[.*]. It's about seizing more power, first and foremost.
That, and making people think they're safe to fly... air travel is vital to the US (and international) economy. If people were too afraid to fly, it would have devastating impacts on everything from car rental agencies to the tourist industry to huge companies like Boeing. That's why the government keeps throwing money at them every time they claim they're having financial troubles.
Unfortunately, and predictably, the security theater simply shifted the threat from the airplanes themselves to the large group of people waiting to get through the security that's supposed to keep them safe.
People have been saying for years that we need to get people checked through faster at security. This kind of threat wasn't unthinkable even ten years ago. I remember hearing people talk about the risks to holiday travelers at airports for over a decade. Huge crowds of people are vulnerable to this sort of thing, and those nice, maze-like roped lines keep people penned in like cattle, which makes explosives an extremely, horrifyingly effective weapon in those situations.
The solution is to get people through security faster. Which means less stringent security. Metal detectors and chemical sensors only, to get the people through quickly, and scan the luggage. It's a win/win: less invasive, more secure (against this kind of attack) and less expensive. Also, less frustrating for travelers, who won't have to deal with standing in line for as long as they do now.
Hopefully we make the changes needed before this kind of attack becomes common. Because, one thing I'm sure of is that terrorists around the world made note of this and will be looking at similar targets of opportunity.
I am a complex man of many personalities.
With apologies to the folks of MST3k for shamelessly stealing one of their best ideas:
Tom: Hey, fellas, this sure is a screwey screw in this device, isn't it?
Mike: It sure is!
Crow: Yet despite all the goofyness of the thing, I just can't come up with a word that describes it
Tom: Well I can
Mike: You can?
Tom: Why, sure!
Tom: Oh, it's stupid-alubulal, annoya-nonpractical pentular lobular fun!
Mike: Aggravata-maximal irrita-scam-ulal?
Tom: Right-o, that's the one!
Crow: Is it frustrate-orificcal, butt-in-your-face-ical screwya from morning 'til night?
Tom: Well you're rip-off fantastical purloin-irascable Stevejobs-an-ass-hola right!
All: It's a swindle-a-boobulal rip-you-off-obulal Toobular Pentalobular joy!
An expososular-buttular humped without lubular fun for girl and boy!
An Apple-fantastical scamu-lal job-ulal financial-al steal-it-all ball
Crow: the most defraud-o-riffical
Mike: Fleece-yer-customeral
Crow: con-game-el-fuck-you-lar
Tom: Jobs-u-big-crook-ular
All: Screw job off them all!
Most programmers can barely write working code, and yet we magically think they'll somehow be able to write secure code. You have to walk before you can run.
Which makes me wonder if, when we get hackable robotics that are actually capable of injuring or killing people or damaging property, if we'll see an agency established along the lines of the FDA to review software for security.
Not saying it's a good (or bad) idea, just wondering about it.
What if it's a robot programmer?
One way or another, it would be a robot programmer programming your robot.
The acting and special effects were fine... considering the time of the original broadcasts and the intended audience (children). I quite enjoyed it as a kid/young teen, though yes, going back to watch some of those episodes now is painful. The same thing happens to a lot of old shows, though, and if nothing else, the mythology of Dr. Who definitely withstands the tests of time.
Not 100% sure, as I'm not a lawyer, but doing so might be considered tampering with evidence or interfering with a police investigation. I'm pretty sure that they could charge you with one of those, though whether they would or whether it would stand up in court is another matter entirely.
I believe I heard that FFXI is WHY they didn't want an AH in XIV... groups of players, often RMT, would monopolize the selling certain necessities or high-value items. In theory, not having an AH can do away with that issue.
Not saying I agree with their decision, as I believe the convenience of an AH is more than worth the cost of possible cheaters and price-fixing, but I can see their point.
A month and a half away from my 40th birthday, I have to say... I don't want to live forever, but I want to live a lot longer than my naturally allotted time on earth. So many new, exciting and interesting things are happening, and continue to happen.
There will always be something on the horizon that will catch my interest and that I want to see happen. As long as I can still feel joy and excitement, as long as I still have people I care about and who care about me, I want to live.
And who doesn't want to meet their great-great-great-great grandkids?
Of course there are "right wingers" calling it the left's fault, just like there are "left wingers" calling it the right's fault. Whenever anything happens that gets people upset, a bunch of loonies crawl out of the woodwork to point fingers at each other, neatly ignoring the fact that it is everyone's responsibility that things like this are happening. Right AND left, and everyone in between. That's what democracy means. We're ALL holding the bag for what happens with our country.
Considering what they were up against, I would have said the only way to be sure would be to push the planet into the sun.
Well, if nothing else, option 3 would take care of any concerns regarding food or housing. She'd be set for life, assuming she survived the rampage.
Sorry about this. You've just triggered a rant.
I'm so goddamned sick of that argument... "There is no right to ____ in the Constitution". The Constitution is not a complete and exhaustive list of the rights of an individual. Never has been, never will be, and never was intended to be. Rights exist separately from the Constitution, which is a list of the specific ways in which the government can infringe upon the rights you already possess.
For example, you already have the right to keep your property, not have it searched without your permission, and not be locked up. Per the Constitution, the Government can take your property, but only if they compensate you fairly. The Government can search your property without your permission, but only by following due process. The Government can take away your freedom, but only if you've been convicted of a crime.
The deduction that you SHOULD be making is that anything not listed in the Constitution is an inherent right that the Government has no legal recourse to infringe upon, not that the right doesn't exist!
Ok, rant off. Thanks for listening, I feel better.
Um, no. That's not it at all. Saying that one thing would infuriate me doesn't exclude the possibility of other things infuriating me as well. The violation of personal property and the violation of my privacy are tied together. I was responding to the previous poster, who was talking about how the FBI would be stealing electricity to run the device, stating that I would be more concerned with property damage.
The main problem from my point of view is, in addition to being a rights violation, without actual human eyes on the target, I don't think the GPS would prove anything that would really stand up in court (I'm not a lawyer, obviously). Say something happens, and the suspect gets arrested. Can the prosecutors prove that their suspect was present at the crime scene? No. They can prove only that the GPS was present at the scene. Someone could have borrowed the car. Someone could have stuck the GPS to a different car (unlikely, but possible). Even if he WAS in the neighborhood, that doesn't prove the person driving the car was involved in whatever incident took place there. If the police/feds are using it to assist in prosecution, they're wasting their time.
I know, I know... it's not all about court cases, but about gathering evidence. If the guy keeps going to the same abandoned warehouse, for example, maybe it's a good idea to check out that warehouse. Still, I prefer the occasional criminals over a police state.
And, of course, it's trivial to think of countermeasures for stuff like this. Borrow other peoples cars, for example. Take public transit. Or, find the device, hitch a lift from a friend, and have someone else drive your car around while you do bad things, and you have an instant alibi.
Also, I'm pretty sure professional car thieves already have tons of devices that will scan for stuff like attached GPS devices so they can disable them. It wouldn't take much for someone planning a criminal or terrorist career to get their hands on something like that.
It's not the power that I'd be angry about, it would be the unauthorized modification of my property. How do I know that's not going to damage my electrical system or void my warranty? What if I find it, can I remove it myself without damaging my vehicle? Would I have to pay someone to remove it? WOULD they remove it, if it's an FBI tracker?
No, one attached to my car via magnet and running on batteries would be bad enough. If I found something like that bolted in to my car and spliced into the electrical system, I'd be beyond just angry by a long shot. That's the kind of thing that I'd pursue with a lawsuit, even if I had to cash out my 401k, sell my house, and go into debt to afford the lawyer.
As a corporate IT person, I am strictly prohibited from giving out advice to other company employees for personal (non-company) equipment, because the company sees that as a potential liability. And it's also a handy excuse to not have to answer questions for everyone who neglects to run a virus scanner.
Non-employees, though (such as friends and family) not only will impose on my time, but they seem to expect me to drop everything and fix their problems instantly. If I say No, I'm a jerk. If I charge them for the time... well, then I'm an asshole. Maybe I should just offer a work exchange: "I'll fix this problem for you, but you have to mow my lawn" kind of thing :P
If you're talking about XIII, there was Cid Raines. If you're talking about XIV, I haven't seen a Cid, but that doesn't mean there isn't one.
That all comes down to personal preference. I like the simplistic, almost minimalist UI style of FFXI. When I tried playing WoW and Guild Wars, I found the UIs to be far too cluttered and distracting.
But that's why UIs need to be more customizable, because everyone has their own preferences.
Having never played Everquest, I can't really compare the two. So, instead, I'll compare XI to XI. The XI I'm playing now is so completely different from the XI I was playing seven years ago that it's almost a completely different game. So, with that in mind, I'll respectfully have to call bullshit on your "bullshit".
No, they didn't change the UI all that much. But they've improved on almost every aspect of gameplay over the years. I can list some of them for you, if you want.
I will agree, though, that limiting PC players to the same functionality as console players is not a wise move on their part. That's behind most of the difficulties that we see in XI: "PS2 limitations". It's going to be the limiter on XIV in a couple of years, when they start to run into "PS3 limitations".