While it is true that the Pope had their eyes burned out so they couldn't find their way back from Hell after they were burned at the stake, they still seem to do alright now and then.
Hmm... that's funny. I thought America was a Federal Republic that was Constitutionally designed to thwart the will of the majority. Otherwise, why give Kansas two Senators?
Lot's of companies have perks. I once had a job offer where one of the perks was a tasty free lunch every day and a bonus system where I could trade my bonus for up to a month's paid vacation. I couldn't afford to take the job at the salary they were offering ever since my girlfriend sold me to my current masters (she racked up a ton of credit card debt in my name), and frankly I was nervous that there would be a trade off for such perks in insane amounts of unpaid overtime. Besides, I don't take much vacation anyway, and I'd worry about taking a month off (oh, look we didn't need him for a month, guess we can lay him off if need be).
Oh, and of course, I was watching the special fetures on the Incredibles, and they showed some of the perks for working for Pixar. We all know there are a ton of perks for woking for Google.
Frankly, in the old days at some companies, they had things like a company motor pools and pensions. So, muffin baskets don't impress me that much.
Right, and this is the thing that people miss. Unless you are planning on putting someone away for good for every crime that causes someone to do "hard time" then the goal should be to turn that person around. We know what abuse does to people. Best case scenario? The person comes out hardened, having deadened themselves to the abuse they suffer while inside. A more effective and vicious criminal. Worst case scenario? You have a person released into the general society whose a convicted felon, and has a harder time getting an honest job than a person who was never sent to prison. Naturally this person falls back into crime, but maybe prison scares him/her very much even so. Maybe he'll "suicide by cop" rather than go back, and take a few civilians out with him/her.
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But then our prison system serves a political purpose that has nothing to do with deterrence (in the sense that people think) or rehabilitation. It's purpose is to keep the average citizen falling in line with whatever an authority figure tells them, no matter what kind of authority figures they are: Police Torture in Chicago.
FORMER HOMICIDE DETECTIVE Frank Laverty, who died of cancer on December 5, will be remembered for turning the Chicago Police Department on its head. Perhaps that's too mild a statement. In standing up for an African-American teenager the state wanted to put to death, a young man he'd never met, he wasn't just turning the department on its head but bouncing it a few times for good measure.
Laverty shook loose a secret of police record keeping. Twenty-five years ago, in violation of the law, detectives maintained "street files"--documents that weren't turned over to defense lawyers because they contained inconvenient truths that could hamper the prosecution of the men or women the police had decided were perpetrators. Thanks to Laverty, that widely accepted practice came to an end.
Seriously, people don't want to know about this stuff as long as they aren't on the receiving end, and I'm actually surprised at the number of young men in our society who are open homosexual sadists (usually among the hard right "family values" crowd, too). It's the most chilling thing that comes up again and again in articles like these. We're really not very far from the circus atmosphere of Elizabethan executions when you come right down to it.
MR. PINK: I don't wanna kill anybody. But if I gotta get out that door, and you're standing in my way, one way of the other, you're gettin outta my way.
MR. WHITE: That's the way I look at it. A choice between doin ten years, and takin out some stupid motherfucker, ain't no choice at all. But I ain't no madman either. What the fuck was Joe thinkin? You can't work with a guy like that. That mother-fucker's unstable. What do you think? Do you think he panicked, or ya think he's just trigger-happy?
Me, I go by the old bumper sticker slogan WWMBD? (What Would Mr. Blond Do?)
Truthfully, rehabilitation is the only choice for a sane society, pity I don't live in one.
Hmm.. that reminds me of why I'm not so upset about this Watchmen movie. It's being treated by people as if their Koran is being made into a (possibly) bad movie...
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Well, my Koran was old E. C. Comics... such as Tales from the Crypt which Black Freighter is loosely based on (both the art and the story could have appeared in an old Vault of Horror with no changes). So... my favorite comics were already horribly desecrated, and yet the sun still comes up each day. C'est la vie...
In fact, I've always seen Watchmen as an obituary for the comics industry... this black, funereal thing morning an artform's lost potential, so I'm interested to see how or if this is translated to the screen. I think that's why they included Marooned in the book, as a history lesson.
JRPG Watchmen?
Doctor Manhattan: Why do people rebuild things they know are going to be destroyed? Why do people cling to life when they know they can't live forever? Think how meaningless each of your lives is! Life.. Dreams... Hope... Where'd they come from?...And where are they headed? These things... I am going to to destroy!
A while ago I bought the one only other Watchmen things (other than the comic) with Alan Moore's imprimature on it, the Watchmen Sourcebook. This was part of a selection of products for Mayfair's DC heroes game.
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Too bad nobody thought to use these for a PC game... a Watchmen American style RPG could be fun....
Well, I haven't actually looked at one of these yet, but I'm suspecting that the infection vector is Windows Media Player and P2P downloaders that preview things using Windows Media Player.
The rule is that if you are downloading files from a suspect place, it will have malware in it. I once downloaded something that had an impact both in Windows and Linux, it was a somewhat sophisticated design. (Basically, a payload of useless files that were treated as read only both by Windows and my Linux install.)
For MP3s? Well, you could always make MP3 CDs and DVDs out of them and play them one a CD/DVD player with MP3 capability. It won't be able to do anything to them, but it probably won't tell you if it is infected or not. You could also try something like a GeeXBox boot disk. Of course, caveat emptor on suspiscious MP3 files, here translated "let the downloader beware."
What if they made an Xbox 360 clone that was an elegant hardware design, high quality parts that ran as solid as a rock, ran cooly and quietly and was 100% compatible with Micrsoft Brand Xbox 360s through a total clean room reverse engineering job? Oh, and Microsoft was trying to sue them out of existence.
Yes, that's smart. In this case, i didn't even apply for the job. I put my resume with a recruiter and they said, "Oh, you must be interested in this job we were advertising." I should have known.
Yes, Memento is one of my favorite movies for this reason. Of course, it's an extreme example, but a lot of stuff in that movie just resonates with me.
Ok, not entirely over this but it was likely a big part of the reason. See I had this horrible job where they gave me a laptop specifically so I could work for them, for free, in my own time. Of course, they wanted me to take it home every night.
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Well, during the "probationary period" I forgot it at home twice and had to do my hour commute home and my hour commute back. After that, I started leaving it at work. I think I talked about getting VPN set up so I could just log in from home rather than lugging the laptop around. Of course, I didn't last much longer at that particular job (Thank God), so it was kind of academic anyway.
I'm an absent minded guy so I figure out various tricks when I need to remember things and not lose things. However, it takes a while for me to set that kind of thing up.
Slashdot Mirror
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Robin Hood versus Templars
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The Blind Dead
While it is true that the Pope had their eyes burned out so they couldn't find their way back from Hell after they were burned at the stake, they still seem to do alright now and then.
Hmm... that's funny. I thought America was a Federal Republic that was Constitutionally designed to thwart the will of the majority. Otherwise, why give Kansas two Senators?
.
Blipverts, anyone?
Lot's of companies have perks. I once had a job offer where one of the perks was a tasty free lunch every day and a bonus system where I could trade my bonus for up to a month's paid vacation. I couldn't afford to take the job at the salary they were offering ever since my girlfriend sold me to my current masters (she racked up a ton of credit card debt in my name), and frankly I was nervous that there would be a trade off for such perks in insane amounts of unpaid overtime. Besides, I don't take much vacation anyway, and I'd worry about taking a month off (oh, look we didn't need him for a month, guess we can lay him off if need be).
Oh, and of course, I was watching the special fetures on the Incredibles, and they showed some of the perks for working for Pixar. We all know there are a ton of perks for woking for Google.
Frankly, in the old days at some companies, they had things like a company motor pools and pensions. So, muffin baskets don't impress me that much.
.
The Master: I am weary, and their deaths will bring me little joy... Of course, sometimes a little is enough.
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The infamous cat hair moustache puzzle is outlined here.
Those are the kind that make Penn Gillette say "Suck Death, Puzzle loving pig!" as he shoots you with a .357 Magnum.
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But then our prison system serves a political purpose that has nothing to do with deterrence (in the sense that people think) or rehabilitation. It's purpose is to keep the average citizen falling in line with whatever an authority figure tells them, no matter what kind of authority figures they are: Police Torture in Chicago.
Seriously, people don't want to know about this stuff as long as they aren't on the receiving end, and I'm actually surprised at the number of young men in our society who are open homosexual sadists (usually among the hard right "family values" crowd, too). It's the most chilling thing that comes up again and again in articles like these. We're really not very far from the circus atmosphere of Elizabethan executions when you come right down to it.
Some philosophical thoughts on "deterrence,"
MR. PINK: I don't wanna kill anybody. But if I gotta get out that door, and you're standing in my way, one way of the other, you're gettin outta my way.
MR. WHITE: That's the way I look at it. A choice between doin ten years, and takin out some stupid motherfucker, ain't no choice at all. But I ain't no madman either. What the fuck was Joe thinkin? You can't work with a guy like that. That mother-fucker's unstable. What do you think? Do you think he panicked, or ya think he's just trigger-happy?
Me, I go by the old bumper sticker slogan WWMBD? (What Would Mr. Blond Do?)
Truthfully, rehabilitation is the only choice for a sane society, pity I don't live in one.
On the other hand, Steve Ditko may be decidedly cheerful, "Make Mr. A into an insane hobo will you..."
.
Well, my Koran was old E. C. Comics... such as Tales from the Crypt which Black Freighter is loosely based on (both the art and the story could have appeared in an old Vault of Horror with no changes). So... my favorite comics were already horribly desecrated, and yet the sun still comes up each day. C'est la vie...
In fact, I've always seen Watchmen as an obituary for the comics industry... this black, funereal thing morning an artform's lost potential, so I'm interested to see how or if this is translated to the screen. I think that's why they included Marooned in the book, as a history lesson.
JRPG Watchmen? Doctor Manhattan: Why do people rebuild things they know are going to be destroyed? Why do people cling to life when they know they can't live forever? Think how meaningless each of your lives is! Life.. Dreams... Hope... Where'd they come from? ...And where are they headed? These things... I am going to to destroy!
His position on this has changed over time. Here's a source, MOORE SLAMS V FOR VENDETTA MOVIE, PULLS LoEG FROM DC COMICS.
Hmm... yes, that's because they are doing The Black Freighter and Under the Hood as a seperate DVD set to coincide with the movies release.
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Too bad nobody thought to use these for a PC game... a Watchmen American style RPG could be fun....
Moffett's Ghost
Hey it worked on me when I was a kid!
Someone's obviously never met my Mom....
The rule is that if you are downloading files from a suspect place, it will have malware in it. I once downloaded something that had an impact both in Windows and Linux, it was a somewhat sophisticated design. (Basically, a payload of useless files that were treated as read only both by Windows and my Linux install.)
For MP3s? Well, you could always make MP3 CDs and DVDs out of them and play them one a CD/DVD player with MP3 capability. It won't be able to do anything to them, but it probably won't tell you if it is infected or not. You could also try something like a GeeXBox boot disk. Of course, caveat emptor on suspiscious MP3 files, here translated "let the downloader beware."
Here's a Primer on the GPL for people who don't understand why Stallman created it.
What if they made an Xbox 360 clone that was an elegant hardware design, high quality parts that ran as solid as a rock, ran cooly and quietly and was 100% compatible with Micrsoft Brand Xbox 360s through a total clean room reverse engineering job? Oh, and Microsoft was trying to sue them out of existence.
McCain's Economic Brain -- Why Carly Fiorina is so important to his campaign.
"Habit and Routine make my life possible"
Yes, that's smart. In this case, i didn't even apply for the job. I put my resume with a recruiter and they said, "Oh, you must be interested in this job we were advertising." I should have known.
Yes, Memento is one of my favorite movies for this reason. Of course, it's an extreme example, but a lot of stuff in that movie just resonates with me.
.
Well, during the "probationary period" I forgot it at home twice and had to do my hour commute home and my hour commute back. After that, I started leaving it at work. I think I talked about getting VPN set up so I could just log in from home rather than lugging the laptop around. Of course, I didn't last much longer at that particular job (Thank God), so it was kind of academic anyway.
I'm an absent minded guy so I figure out various tricks when I need to remember things and not lose things. However, it takes a while for me to set that kind of thing up.