My understanding of it is that they object strongly to ACTA but have not formally moved to reject it. They probably have to go through months of bureaucratic nonsense to get to the point of agreeing to it only if big changes are made, at which point one hopes the global opposition is so strong that ACTA simply fails in its objective. On the other hand, at the end of a few month wrangling they may agree to a differently worded version of ACTA. Can't say I'm the least bit convinced that ACTA is anywhere near on its last legs though I wish it were so.
I love music and definitely enjoy listening to my iPod with some fairly decent headphones. It does give a bit of a rush. I used to bike a lot but there is no way I would ever listen to music when on a bicycle. One small mistake, such as not hearing traffic behind you can be fatal or worse (yes worse!), result in horrific injuries. I have been in a couple of painful bike crashes and really don't want to increase the likelihood of it happening again
On the other hand, every once in a while I enjoy listening with headphones while walking - but - I make a point of being extra careful when crossing at pedestrian lights and other potentially dangerous situations. This generally means checking all points of the compass visually and sometimes removing the headphones. It is just not worth leaving it up to visual alone.
However, I don't think this is something that requires legislation. Chances are that stupid people will continue to endanger themselves and others except that they would also be breaking the law if such a law were passed. Can we stop making new laws?
I don't know if anyone mentioned this already but the actual value of $75,000 depends very much on where you are and your marital and parental status.
In NY $75,000 gross per annum for a single person with no children is a decent comfortable wage.
In NY $75,000 combined income for a childless couple is scraping by.
In NY $75,000 combined income for a couple with two children is poverty.
It is really not a lot of money. Sure, if you were to hand me $75,000 with no strings attached I would put it to good use, paying off debt and keeping the balance as a buffer against furture financial or health issues. But $75,000 as annual income is pretty meagre. What does that come out as after tax?
How can you not like the original series?(!) Yeah OK, no need to explain. I love it.
Michael Caine is really a truly terrible actor, but he has done a few good things. Maybe it is a matter of limitations. Caine, just can't do much more than be Caine so Harry Palmer is perfect. Try to get any emotional range from him - forget it. I sort of love to hate him, but that's my problem not his. He was great in 'Children of Men' so I actually like him sometimes. He was terrible in countless other films so I hate him (sometimes)!
I thought Galaxy Quest was really funny and clever. I have never had any time for Tim Allen, but this film was a rare case of getting it right on so many levels.
Very, very funny.
To the best of my knowledge, any profession that involves getting up in front of huge numbers of people requires a certain kind of ego - or projection of an ego whether it be the real person or not. Most actors, musicians etc. get up there and act a part. Some of them are really bad at it. Bono, for example is probably a decent guy but he has never failed to come across as a total douchebag. Tom Cruise can't really be a total c**t. Can he? I'm guessing that Shatner has spent so long doing this stuff that his 'real life' persona in interviews is some weird projection of what he thinks he is and what he expect people to think he is. So he, like so many 'stars' plays it up and sometimes the results are decidedly weird. Combine that with idiot reporters and we have a panoply of stars that resemble sideshow freaks!
These days, I tend to err on the side of giving people a break. Big targets are easier to hit, so we trash them at the expense of our own integrity.
The NY Times article is amusing and a little insightful despite the poor writing skills of Pat Jordan. What a poorly put together article. Seems the best writing is not to be found in the printed papers anymore.
Anyway, I have always had a soft spot for William Shatner. I grew up with the Star Trek series and loved it. Still do. Now it has more of an ironic appeal (it's great because it is so cheesy), but I am also really enamoured with the look and sound of it, the production values. They did amazing stuff with limited resources. and every once in a while there was some really good writing. And the actors just got on with the job and were believable and consistent in their roles. Shatner was Jim Kirk. No question in my mind about that.
I really have no interest in the Star Trek movies. The subsequent series failed to get my attention. There is something special about the original series.
I confess to having watched and enjoyed TJ Hooker (kill me now!) but in my defense I must posit that it was a case of pubescent hormones. Can't imagine what I saw in Heather Locklear. Tramp!
A friend put me on to the album that Shatner did. Musically it was uninteresting to me but Shatner's lyrics and delivery were surprisingly listenable. Yes, funny and silly, but there is also a surprising depth.
Sounds to me like he might actually be a bit of fun to hang out with. Amazing energy for an old guy. Not bad for an old geezer. Pat Jordan strikes me as an untalented whiner. I'd be delighted to hang out with William Shatner for a day and a half. He/she made it sound like a chore. And of course Pat had to inject his/her whiny biographical details into the piece. Who is it about, Pat or Bill? Ultimately it is all about Pat. Poor Pat. Poor poor Pat.
This is an interesting notion to me. Google owns blogger and there are countless Brazilian blogspot.com blogs linking music files on Rapid Share MegaUpload etc. (there is a lot of really great stuff, particularly Reggae). People in Brazil are behaving as if it were already legal to share files so it seems the Brazilian gubment is simply adapting to something they can't change. This filesharing thing causes no social unrest, perhaps soothes the impoverished by providing free entertainment. A massive win for the beleaguered government of a difficult country. It can hardly be a philosophical question for the politicians, merely a matter of pragmatism. The question I have is how does Google (or Yougle if you prefer!) fit in? I'm often surprised that so many of these blogs survive. I suppose if someone linked fucking Lady Ga Ga tracks there would be a take down notice immediately and the blog would disappear. Legalize it!
OK, so I'm not PopeRatzo, but frankly I'm tempted by your offer. You think the US is so great? It has many great things going for it certainly, but seriously it has many really grave problems that remain unaddressed. Same goes for Brazil. Or every other country. I'm in a situation at present that sees my future for the next couple of years, of being a few dollars away from living on the street. It is only thanks to friends, family and a great employer that I'm getting by. I am immigrant living in the US. Legal status is not a passport to middleclass wealth and comfort. If you have a bit of bad luck or a negative change of circumstances in this country it can be really harsh and unmerciful. I think if you changed your tone you might actually do better in your own country.
18 months is way too early for introducing tech in my opinion. If you have any old non-functioning keyboards, mice etc. around let the kid bang away on them, but don't bother with trying to introduce the kid to an interactive computing experience.
My impression of some of the pretend computers they sell at places like Toys'r'Expensive is that they are very limited (even to the kids - Fisher Price et al make this crap for dumb kids) and really not the great educational aids they claim to be.
If my older son is average in terms of being ready for doing stuff on a computer - I suggest that about age 3- 4 is a good time to let the kids have a go at a real hand-me-down computer. One you don't care about too much.
My 2-3/4 years of age boy is happily enjoying his toy animals and acting out parts of his favourite films - Madagascar / Ice Age etc. Under 3-1/2 is a time for learning how to interact with people (anthropomorphic animals seem to have been great for helping with that for centuries!) and getting to know the world.
All kids are different. My two are radically different. The older one has always been really gentle and careful and almost all of his toys are undamaged. The younger one is a lovely little monster and stuff just gets broken due to his rambunctious enthusiasm, manic energy and superhuman strength (and perhaps dad not living in the same house(?). Causes quite a bit of trouble of course. By saying that I'm suggesting that I could be completely wrong and your 18 month old may be ready to start living in the basement! Just don't introduce him to Cheetos and Mountain Dew until much later. Mkay? Just my two and sixpence guv.
I can't help thinking that there a lot of people who don't yet comprehend that stuff they do on the internet is actually part of real life and can have real life consequences.
I do not mean to make excuses for Hadley Jons, but maybe she thought she was just having an online chat with her 'friends'. Maybe she was just clueless rather than malicious. I would like to think this is correct, but I expect not.
I think you can be sure that it has happened numerous times before and just hasn't been discovered. It just happened in this case that 'Jaxon Goodman, the 17-year-old son of Etchison's defense lawyer' found the post on Facebook. I hope his dad rewarded him appropriately. But surely the survival of a just legal system (I know, I know it is anything but just) should not have to rely on the efforts of the 17 year old son of the lawyer.
Regarding Hadley Jons saying sorry - hmmm, I suspect that she was sorry she had to pay a fine and go back to school. I doubt she felt any remorse for making the Facebook post. I expect she will present her essay triple-spaced in 20 point Comic Sans.
and much of what Jesus and Muhammed purportedly said are more in the vein of moral and philosophical teaching than mystical silliness. Some good philosophical teachings have been hijacked and distorted by organized religion, I have no doubt about that. It seems some are naturally predisposed both emotionally and psychologically to need to believe in the abstract and the rest of us quite happily enjoy life believing in the concrete and provable.
Has anyone asked why the stickers are there in the first place? Do they have any utilitarian or aesthetic purpose? Is it perhaps to make the hardware as loathsome and ugly as the Windows OS under the hood? It is really obnoxious and they should stop this practice immediately.
That's exactly what I thought. I think it was really unfortunate he ever mentioned god. It perpetuates this silly and irrelevant debate over whether there is a divine creator or not and simply gets in the way of gaining new knowledge and making new discoveries.
I don't think Buddhish is a religion in the same way as other religions. I see it more as a philosophy. What is the Buddhist god? Buddha? No. I don't think there is a buddhist god, therefore it is closer to atheism that theism. Of course plenty of versions of Buddhism resemble religions more due to rituals and various forms or idolatry - but that's not Buddha's fault.
and dealers - get a load of this - pure unadulterated astronaut - cosmonaut - whatevah! All the same to me innit? Lahvly! Mmmmm. Jus 50k, wot you say, eh, rich bwoy? Keep it in the freezer? Spray it on the lawn? Baptize the little'uns? Owzabout 40k then? Wot? Do I smell or summink? Come back!!!
Slashdot Mirror
My understanding of it is that they object strongly to ACTA but have not formally moved to reject it. They probably have to go through months of bureaucratic nonsense to get to the point of agreeing to it only if big changes are made, at which point one hopes the global opposition is so strong that ACTA simply fails in its objective. On the other hand, at the end of a few month wrangling they may agree to a differently worded version of ACTA. Can't say I'm the least bit convinced that ACTA is anywhere near on its last legs though I wish it were so.
That's what I was going to say!
hmm. You got there before me!
On the other hand, every once in a while I enjoy listening with headphones while walking - but - I make a point of being extra careful when crossing at pedestrian lights and other potentially dangerous situations. This generally means checking all points of the compass visually and sometimes removing the headphones. It is just not worth leaving it up to visual alone.
However, I don't think this is something that requires legislation. Chances are that stupid people will continue to endanger themselves and others except that they would also be breaking the law if such a law were passed. Can we stop making new laws?
I don't know why, but torrents from TPB never, ever worked for me. Torrents from other sites, no problem for the most part.
In NY $75,000 gross per annum for a single person with no children is a decent comfortable wage.
In NY $75,000 combined income for a childless couple is scraping by.
In NY $75,000 combined income for a couple with two children is poverty.
It is really not a lot of money. Sure, if you were to hand me $75,000 with no strings attached I would put it to good use, paying off debt and keeping the balance as a buffer against furture financial or health issues. But $75,000 as annual income is pretty meagre. What does that come out as after tax?
tiny, tiny, tiny tits.
Michael Caine is really a truly terrible actor, but he has done a few good things. Maybe it is a matter of limitations. Caine, just can't do much more than be Caine so Harry Palmer is perfect. Try to get any emotional range from him - forget it. I sort of love to hate him, but that's my problem not his. He was great in 'Children of Men' so I actually like him sometimes. He was terrible in countless other films so I hate him (sometimes)!
Very, very funny.
To the best of my knowledge, any profession that involves getting up in front of huge numbers of people requires a certain kind of ego - or projection of an ego whether it be the real person or not. Most actors, musicians etc. get up there and act a part. Some of them are really bad at it. Bono, for example is probably a decent guy but he has never failed to come across as a total douchebag. Tom Cruise can't really be a total c**t. Can he? I'm guessing that Shatner has spent so long doing this stuff that his 'real life' persona in interviews is some weird projection of what he thinks he is and what he expect people to think he is. So he, like so many 'stars' plays it up and sometimes the results are decidedly weird. Combine that with idiot reporters and we have a panoply of stars that resemble sideshow freaks!
These days, I tend to err on the side of giving people a break. Big targets are easier to hit, so we trash them at the expense of our own integrity.
Live long and prosper Jim Kirk
Anyway, I have always had a soft spot for William Shatner. I grew up with the Star Trek series and loved it. Still do. Now it has more of an ironic appeal (it's great because it is so cheesy), but I am also really enamoured with the look and sound of it, the production values. They did amazing stuff with limited resources. and every once in a while there was some really good writing. And the actors just got on with the job and were believable and consistent in their roles. Shatner was Jim Kirk. No question in my mind about that.
I really have no interest in the Star Trek movies. The subsequent series failed to get my attention. There is something special about the original series.
I confess to having watched and enjoyed TJ Hooker (kill me now!) but in my defense I must posit that it was a case of pubescent hormones. Can't imagine what I saw in Heather Locklear. Tramp!
A friend put me on to the album that Shatner did. Musically it was uninteresting to me but Shatner's lyrics and delivery were surprisingly listenable. Yes, funny and silly, but there is also a surprising depth.
Sounds to me like he might actually be a bit of fun to hang out with. Amazing energy for an old guy. Not bad for an old geezer. Pat Jordan strikes me as an untalented whiner. I'd be delighted to hang out with William Shatner for a day and a half. He/she made it sound like a chore. And of course Pat had to inject his/her whiny biographical details into the piece. Who is it about, Pat or Bill? Ultimately it is all about Pat. Poor Pat. Poor poor Pat.
Yes, I RTFA!
This is an interesting notion to me. Google owns blogger and there are countless Brazilian blogspot.com blogs linking music files on Rapid Share MegaUpload etc. (there is a lot of really great stuff, particularly Reggae). People in Brazil are behaving as if it were already legal to share files so it seems the Brazilian gubment is simply adapting to something they can't change. This filesharing thing causes no social unrest, perhaps soothes the impoverished by providing free entertainment. A massive win for the beleaguered government of a difficult country. It can hardly be a philosophical question for the politicians, merely a matter of pragmatism. The question I have is how does Google (or Yougle if you prefer!) fit in? I'm often surprised that so many of these blogs survive. I suppose if someone linked fucking Lady Ga Ga tracks there would be a take down notice immediately and the blog would disappear. Legalize it!
OK, so I'm not PopeRatzo, but frankly I'm tempted by your offer. You think the US is so great? It has many great things going for it certainly, but seriously it has many really grave problems that remain unaddressed. Same goes for Brazil. Or every other country. I'm in a situation at present that sees my future for the next couple of years, of being a few dollars away from living on the street. It is only thanks to friends, family and a great employer that I'm getting by. I am immigrant living in the US. Legal status is not a passport to middleclass wealth and comfort. If you have a bit of bad luck or a negative change of circumstances in this country it can be really harsh and unmerciful. I think if you changed your tone you might actually do better in your own country.
My impression of some of the pretend computers they sell at places like Toys'r'Expensive is that they are very limited (even to the kids - Fisher Price et al make this crap for dumb kids) and really not the great educational aids they claim to be.
If my older son is average in terms of being ready for doing stuff on a computer - I suggest that about age 3- 4 is a good time to let the kids have a go at a real hand-me-down computer. One you don't care about too much.
My 2-3/4 years of age boy is happily enjoying his toy animals and acting out parts of his favourite films - Madagascar / Ice Age etc. Under 3-1/2 is a time for learning how to interact with people (anthropomorphic animals seem to have been great for helping with that for centuries!) and getting to know the world.
All kids are different. My two are radically different. The older one has always been really gentle and careful and almost all of his toys are undamaged. The younger one is a lovely little monster and stuff just gets broken due to his rambunctious enthusiasm, manic energy and superhuman strength (and perhaps dad not living in the same house(?). Causes quite a bit of trouble of course. By saying that I'm suggesting that I could be completely wrong and your 18 month old may be ready to start living in the basement! Just don't introduce him to Cheetos and Mountain Dew until much later. Mkay? Just my two and sixpence guv.
Looks like you spelled it correctly but the software people didn't! What's up with that?
I do not mean to make excuses for Hadley Jons, but maybe she thought she was just having an online chat with her 'friends'. Maybe she was just clueless rather than malicious. I would like to think this is correct, but I expect not.
Regarding Hadley Jons saying sorry - hmmm, I suspect that she was sorry she had to pay a fine and go back to school. I doubt she felt any remorse for making the Facebook post. I expect she will present her essay triple-spaced in 20 point Comic Sans.
and much of what Jesus and Muhammed purportedly said are more in the vein of moral and philosophical teaching than mystical silliness. Some good philosophical teachings have been hijacked and distorted by organized religion, I have no doubt about that. It seems some are naturally predisposed both emotionally and psychologically to need to believe in the abstract and the rest of us quite happily enjoy life believing in the concrete and provable.
Has anyone asked why the stickers are there in the first place? Do they have any utilitarian or aesthetic purpose? Is it perhaps to make the hardware as loathsome and ugly as the Windows OS under the hood? It is really obnoxious and they should stop this practice immediately.
That's exactly what I thought. I think it was really unfortunate he ever mentioned god. It perpetuates this silly and irrelevant debate over whether there is a divine creator or not and simply gets in the way of gaining new knowledge and making new discoveries.
I don't think Buddhish is a religion in the same way as other religions. I see it more as a philosophy. What is the Buddhist god? Buddha? No. I don't think there is a buddhist god, therefore it is closer to atheism that theism. Of course plenty of versions of Buddhism resemble religions more due to rituals and various forms or idolatry - but that's not Buddha's fault.
Go to any local university. What? And leave the basement? You're kidding, right?
The drawers were made by a highly skilled cabinet maker whose name eludes me at this time.
I bet she can chew gum at the same time too!
and dealers - get a load of this - pure unadulterated astronaut - cosmonaut - whatevah! All the same to me innit? Lahvly! Mmmmm. Jus 50k, wot you say, eh, rich bwoy? Keep it in the freezer? Spray it on the lawn? Baptize the little'uns? Owzabout 40k then? Wot? Do I smell or summink? Come back!!!
I expect the frozen bags of urine would be a top selling item. Great idea!