Since when could you buy CDs with DTS or Dolby 5.1 encoded audio on them? And what does that have to do with riding around in a car and supposedly detecting CD audio defects due to "limited storage capacity"?
I can actually notice the limited storage capacity of regular music CDs....
In the car... you notice the "limited storage capacity". By which I can only assume you mean the sampling frequency, the aliasing of which is only audible to dogs and the superhuman.
Oh please. Christianity and Islam share quite a number of things, not the least of which is the fact that they're both religions. Consequently, they will, by their very nature as religions, have certain similarities. For example, in both cases, the religion can, and has been, used to manipulate people into committing evil acts in the name of their respective gods. I'm sure there are many other similarities (eg, corruption due to power, evil as a result of convolving the state with the religion, etc), but you're apparently blinded by your undying belief that Islam is somehow "unique" or "special".
With modern recording technology, cutting an album has become VERY cheap. In fact, while studying music in college, my brother used to make recordings in the basement of his house with minimal adjustments or enhancements made to the space.
Hell, even the big guns are doing this. In fact, as it happens, Thom Yorke's solo effort, "The Eraser", was composed primarily on Thom's laptop.
mp3s don't sound so great (to me anyways) with relatively decent speakers.
Not entirely self-contradictory? The car is precisely one of the reasons most people don't notice the encoding artifacts of MP3: it's probably one of the worst listening environments imaginable.
Honestly, just get yourself a little MP3 player and a car adapter. You'll thank yourself later, trust me (who the hell wants to jigger around with CDs while driving? CDs which get scratched, skip, get damaged by heat and sunlight, etc, etc).
Heh, well, in that case, you might like Radiohead's more recent work. "Kid A" and "Amnesiac" are both very much experimental electronic forays, and "Hail to the Thief" has a similar flavour. You could also check out Thom's recent solo record, "Eraser", which also has a strong electronic flair.
Incidentally, Thom's vocals only rarely approach what I would call "screaming". 'course, that's not to say you'll necessarily like them (not everyone does). Then again, in songs like "Let Down", IMHO, his voice approaches near perfection (the three-part crescendo in that song is simply mind-blowing).
But could it be that the book just sucked? I mean, I'm a pretty big King fan, but I'll be the first to admit that he's published more than his share of stinkers. And given that The Plant was being released in episodic fashion, it could be that people just discovered it wasn't very good.
Compounding the problem is that the RIAA is key in determining what gets pushed to the public. Frankly, I think that they've lost the pulse. We don't care about Brittany Spears, although my husband was caught peering at her photos when she got snapped sans the undies. For some reason, the music industry has decided to cater to 14 year old girls. Why?
Because, believe it or not, that demo (or, more specifically, the 12-18 M/F demo) commands a *lot* more disposable income than you would expect. After all, what parent doesn't buy CDs for their kids? And that ignores allowance, part-time jobs, etc. Combine that with the fact that they're *extremely* easy to market to, and more importantly, manipulate, and they really are the cash cows of the pop music industry.
Incidentally, none of this should be news to you. This has been the case for at least, oh... 25 years now, I'd guess. Probably longer.
You know, your post was fine until I hit the second paragraph, when you started in on some baseless claims about European superiority. I mean, are you seriously trying to tell me that the governments of Europe are solely responsible for building all infrastructure? That they never contract out to private firms to get the work done? I *highly* doubt that...
Except, of course, that if you're using unlicensed frequencies, you must limit power levels, which limits the utility of WiMAX, which is intended to cover large geographic areas.
People also care quite a bit about being able to see. Yet the cost of eye surgery has seen marked DECREASES. It is not covered by most health care plans.
Do you *really* need someone to point out why this is an asinine comparison? Here, let me give you a hint:
Eye surgery is optional. You don't need it to live. It's a luxury item.
Do you get it now? Please tell me you get it now...
Their rates are much lower than the predominate averages. The reason is that they don't have to maintain multiple staff positions to sort out the paperwork of filing with the insurance companies.
Absolutely right. The difference is, if you need coverage, you have to pay for it out-of-pocket. With insurance, minus the deductible, you get covered, even if it's a severe emergency.
Put another way, most people *can't* afford to pay heart surgery out-of-pocket. But many can afford insurance which would cover it. As a consequence, in a private system, insurance, and the subsequent overhead, is a necessary evil, as without it, most wouldn't be able to afford healthcare in the face of a severe medical emergency.
In fairness to the people you are bashing; the U.S. has way lower taxes than we do and it would be political suicide in the US to increase taxes to Canadian levels.
References?
If we didn't have medicare already in Canada, it would be impossible for us to introduce it also.
Why?
And when ridiculing the U.S. you need to keep in mind the enormous amount of money private companies have at stake.
Completely agreed. But that's not a reason why socialized medicine is bad (I use that, unfortunately loaded, term over "nationalized", since it really should be state-run, much like Canada's system). It's just the reason why the US will likely never implement it, unless there's a massive populist movement in favour of it.
He's a drool, man, get it? Short bus? "Special needs"? He was picked out because he's malleable and the neocon handlers ran him as their controllable spokesperson,
You know what the scary thing is? I don't think this is even remotely true. I think the "GWB is teh stupid!" line has been used as a way to help him appeal to the "everyman", and to provide a contrast to the uppity, cerebral democrats. I think this image is, for the most part, a complete sham, a fabrication, in order to help him win the election, and the hearts and minds of the people. I'm willing to bet a) GWB is more intelligent than he would appear in the media, and b) he's in full control of his and the administration's actions.
And what makes this scary? That, in order to explain his actions, it must be necessary that he wholly believes his choice to wage war in Iraq was correct, and that, in the end, the world will see him as a hero and a visionary. So what we have is a person sporting a dangerous combination of intellect and blind ideology, with a firm grip on the current administration, which implies there will be no chance of change until he leaves office.
I've never met a manager who can tell me anything about tech. I've met plenty of techs who know a good deal about management.
How do you define that? I've had a number of managers who rose from tech positions, and all made great managers while having a deep knowledge of software development. So would you call those "techs who know a good deal about management", or "managers who know a good deal about tech"?
Ah, no, the article says the first 25,000 will be delivered by the end of the year. To quote:
Although the exact number of laptops available through the G1G1 scheme has not been revealed, Mr Bender said that the "first 25,000" people that purchase one should receive it before the end of the year.
Others will receive their machines in the first quarter of 2008.
You're modded funny, but in reality, I think your post is more insightful than you realize. I can think of nothing better than to have kids in the first world be more directly exposed to the lives of those in poorer nations.
Re:video gamers have their own version of reality
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Halo 3 Review
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It means that the associations of a stereo type and ethnicity is so ingrained that the word is now synonymous.
Wrong, simply because the link between the term "to gyp" and the ethnic group "gypsy" is by-and-large broken, except for the hyper-sensitive few, such as yourself. IOW, the words can't be synonymous because the vast majority of people aren't even aware they're connected. Go on, walk down the street and ask random people if a) they think the term "gypped" is racist, and b) what race or ethnic group they associate the term with. I'd be *shocked* if more than a small minority even know of the connection you're railing against.
Meanwhile, have you ever wondered why the word "hysterical" and "hysterectomy" seem to have the same root? Are you aware of the etymology of the term "hysterical"? Here, let me provide it for you:
"1615, from L. hystericus "of the womb," from Gk. hysterikos "of the womb, suffering in the womb," from hystera "womb" (see uterus). Originally defined as a neurotic condition peculiar to women and thought to be caused by a dysfunction of the uterus. Hysterics is 1727; hysteria, abstract noun, formed 1801."
So, by your own standards, the term "hysterical" is, in fact, sexist, and we should avoid it's use, and abuse and deride those who do use it, correct? And yet, we don't. Nor does anyone associate a sexist connotation with the word. And why? Because the sexist roots of the word are lost to time. Similarly, the racist roots of the word "gypped" (assuming there are any... others have proposed alternate explanations for it's genesis) would probably have vanished by now, if it weren't for the rabid few who can't seem to let it go.
So just let it the fuck go! I have *never once* heard someone use the term "gypped" in a negative way, intending to demean gypsies. Hell, I'll bet dollars to donuts you haven't either. But, hey, god forbid you should step down from that moral high horse you're perched so precariously upon.
Re:video gamers have their own version of reality
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Halo 3 Review
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· Score: 1
You know what? You're a hyper-sensitive idiot. If you can't understand why there's a clear difference between deliberately using a slur to attack someone, and innocently using a word while ignorant of the fact that it's etymological roots are based in racism, then there's no possible way I can reason with you. Clearly, you see racism, bigotry, and hate everywhere, even where there is none. Frankly, I feel kind of sad for you... your world must be a pretty horrible place.
Re:video gamers have their own version of reality
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Halo 3 Review
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· Score: 1
I say "God I wish my boss wasn't such a tightwad, he gyped me out of a raise". Consequence: This links Cheap/theft with Gypsies.
Only if people realize that "gyp" is short for "gypsy". And since most don't, the slur has no power, and becomes just another word.
Frankly, I would argue it is *you* that is the problem. By getting offended, you are essentially imbuing the word with power it didn't previously have. Oh well, I'm sure you can get offended enough for the rest of us, while we find better things to do.
By the way, I'd recommend watching the season 4 episode of Southpark entitled "Chef Goes Nanners"... it might be enlightening.
I can hear it now: "Patricia Neri was in office while the Liberals were in charge and they had 13 years to do something about it..." yada yada yada
Wait, is this actually the case? I've been trying to dig around for Ms. Neri's party affiliation, and I can't find anything in particular, though it appears she donated to the Liberal Party in '99, implying she is, in fact, a Liberal. I had just assumed that, given she was in a fairly prominent post in a major ministry, she was a member of the Conservative Party, but if that's not the case, I take back my comments re. the Conservatives. The Conservative Party has a ton of problems, including a PM that apparently doesn't believe in free speech for the party members, but I don't want to lay this one at their feet if Ms. Neri is, in fact, a Liberal Party member.
... while it's clear a conflict of interest has occurred here, at least the government has been forced to remove Ms. Neri as the heritage minister, since it's an apparent violation of ethics laws. Contrast this to, say, the US, where such things are the norm, and are practically expected from elected officials.
IOW, while something clearly egregious has occurred here, I would argue that the removal of the heritage minister is a clear victory for the people. In addition, this may result in greater scrutiny of the current government, and may serve as an interesting piece of ammunition against a government that was, in theory, supposed to be the ethical alternative to the corrupt Liberals.
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Since when could you buy CDs with DTS or Dolby 5.1 encoded audio on them? And what does that have to do with riding around in a car and supposedly detecting CD audio defects due to "limited storage capacity"?
I can actually notice the limited storage capacity of regular music CDs. ...
In the car... you notice the "limited storage capacity". By which I can only assume you mean the sampling frequency, the aliasing of which is only audible to dogs and the superhuman.
Gotcha.
Oh please. Christianity and Islam share quite a number of things, not the least of which is the fact that they're both religions. Consequently, they will, by their very nature as religions, have certain similarities. For example, in both cases, the religion can, and has been, used to manipulate people into committing evil acts in the name of their respective gods. I'm sure there are many other similarities (eg, corruption due to power, evil as a result of convolving the state with the religion, etc), but you're apparently blinded by your undying belief that Islam is somehow "unique" or "special".
And, just FYI: it's not.
Radiohead from the Black Eyed Peas or Coldplay
You apologize! Apologize RIGHT NOW!
With modern recording technology, cutting an album has become VERY cheap. In fact, while studying music in college, my brother used to make recordings in the basement of his house with minimal adjustments or enhancements made to the space.
Hell, even the big guns are doing this. In fact, as it happens, Thom Yorke's solo effort, "The Eraser", was composed primarily on Thom's laptop.
How are
because I mostly listen to music in the car
and
mp3s don't sound so great (to me anyways) with relatively decent speakers.
Not entirely self-contradictory? The car is precisely one of the reasons most people don't notice the encoding artifacts of MP3: it's probably one of the worst listening environments imaginable.
Honestly, just get yourself a little MP3 player and a car adapter. You'll thank yourself later, trust me (who the hell wants to jigger around with CDs while driving? CDs which get scratched, skip, get damaged by heat and sunlight, etc, etc).
Heh, well, in that case, you might like Radiohead's more recent work. "Kid A" and "Amnesiac" are both very much experimental electronic forays, and "Hail to the Thief" has a similar flavour. You could also check out Thom's recent solo record, "Eraser", which also has a strong electronic flair.
Incidentally, Thom's vocals only rarely approach what I would call "screaming". 'course, that's not to say you'll necessarily like them (not everyone does). Then again, in songs like "Let Down", IMHO, his voice approaches near perfection (the three-part crescendo in that song is simply mind-blowing).
But could it be that the book just sucked? I mean, I'm a pretty big King fan, but I'll be the first to admit that he's published more than his share of stinkers. And given that The Plant was being released in episodic fashion, it could be that people just discovered it wasn't very good.
Compounding the problem is that the RIAA is key in determining what gets pushed to the public. Frankly, I think that they've lost the pulse. We don't care about Brittany Spears, although my husband was caught peering at her photos when she got snapped sans the undies. For some reason, the music industry has decided to cater to 14 year old girls. Why?
Because, believe it or not, that demo (or, more specifically, the 12-18 M/F demo) commands a *lot* more disposable income than you would expect. After all, what parent doesn't buy CDs for their kids? And that ignores allowance, part-time jobs, etc. Combine that with the fact that they're *extremely* easy to market to, and more importantly, manipulate, and they really are the cash cows of the pop music industry.
Incidentally, none of this should be news to you. This has been the case for at least, oh... 25 years now, I'd guess. Probably longer.
Oh, stuff is build by private contractors. But the planning is not done by them.
What makes you believe the US is any different?? (Here's a hint: it's not)
You know, your post was fine until I hit the second paragraph, when you started in on some baseless claims about European superiority. I mean, are you seriously trying to tell me that the governments of Europe are solely responsible for building all infrastructure? That they never contract out to private firms to get the work done? I *highly* doubt that...
Except, of course, that if you're using unlicensed frequencies, you must limit power levels, which limits the utility of WiMAX, which is intended to cover large geographic areas.
Red light cameras really don't add safety. Regardless of how long the light has been yellow, if it is yellow, I'm stomping on my brakes.
No, they don't add to *your* safety. Not everyone takes the same view regarding yellow lights.
People also care quite a bit about being able to see. Yet the cost of eye surgery has seen marked DECREASES. It is not covered by most health care plans.
Do you *really* need someone to point out why this is an asinine comparison? Here, let me give you a hint:
Eye surgery is optional. You don't need it to live. It's a luxury item.
Do you get it now? Please tell me you get it now...
Their rates are much lower than the predominate averages. The reason is that they don't have to maintain multiple staff positions to sort out the paperwork of filing with the insurance companies.
Absolutely right. The difference is, if you need coverage, you have to pay for it out-of-pocket. With insurance, minus the deductible, you get covered, even if it's a severe emergency.
Put another way, most people *can't* afford to pay heart surgery out-of-pocket. But many can afford insurance which would cover it. As a consequence, in a private system, insurance, and the subsequent overhead, is a necessary evil, as without it, most wouldn't be able to afford healthcare in the face of a severe medical emergency.
In fairness to the people you are bashing; the U.S. has way lower taxes than we do and it would be political suicide in the US to increase taxes to Canadian levels.
References?
If we didn't have medicare already in Canada, it would be impossible for us to introduce it also.
Why?
And when ridiculing the U.S. you need to keep in mind the enormous amount of money private companies have at stake.
Completely agreed. But that's not a reason why socialized medicine is bad (I use that, unfortunately loaded, term over "nationalized", since it really should be state-run, much like Canada's system). It's just the reason why the US will likely never implement it, unless there's a massive populist movement in favour of it.
Trying to, like... enforce the constitution. How dare they legislate from the bench!
He's a drool, man, get it? Short bus? "Special needs"? He was picked out because he's malleable and the neocon handlers ran him as their controllable spokesperson,
You know what the scary thing is? I don't think this is even remotely true. I think the "GWB is teh stupid!" line has been used as a way to help him appeal to the "everyman", and to provide a contrast to the uppity, cerebral democrats. I think this image is, for the most part, a complete sham, a fabrication, in order to help him win the election, and the hearts and minds of the people. I'm willing to bet a) GWB is more intelligent than he would appear in the media, and b) he's in full control of his and the administration's actions.
And what makes this scary? That, in order to explain his actions, it must be necessary that he wholly believes his choice to wage war in Iraq was correct, and that, in the end, the world will see him as a hero and a visionary. So what we have is a person sporting a dangerous combination of intellect and blind ideology, with a firm grip on the current administration, which implies there will be no chance of change until he leaves office.
I've never met a manager who can tell me anything about tech. I've met plenty of techs who know a good deal about management.
How do you define that? I've had a number of managers who rose from tech positions, and all made great managers while having a deep knowledge of software development. So would you call those "techs who know a good deal about management", or "managers who know a good deal about tech"?
IOW, I think your definitions bias your position.
You're modded funny, but in reality, I think your post is more insightful than you realize. I can think of nothing better than to have kids in the first world be more directly exposed to the lives of those in poorer nations.
It means that the associations of a stereo type and ethnicity is so ingrained that the word is now synonymous.
Wrong, simply because the link between the term "to gyp" and the ethnic group "gypsy" is by-and-large broken, except for the hyper-sensitive few, such as yourself. IOW, the words can't be synonymous because the vast majority of people aren't even aware they're connected. Go on, walk down the street and ask random people if a) they think the term "gypped" is racist, and b) what race or ethnic group they associate the term with. I'd be *shocked* if more than a small minority even know of the connection you're railing against.
Meanwhile, have you ever wondered why the word "hysterical" and "hysterectomy" seem to have the same root? Are you aware of the etymology of the term "hysterical"? Here, let me provide it for you:
"1615, from L. hystericus "of the womb," from Gk. hysterikos "of the womb, suffering in the womb," from hystera "womb" (see uterus). Originally defined as a neurotic condition peculiar to women and thought to be caused by a dysfunction of the uterus. Hysterics is 1727; hysteria, abstract noun, formed 1801."
link
So, by your own standards, the term "hysterical" is, in fact, sexist, and we should avoid it's use, and abuse and deride those who do use it, correct? And yet, we don't. Nor does anyone associate a sexist connotation with the word. And why? Because the sexist roots of the word are lost to time. Similarly, the racist roots of the word "gypped" (assuming there are any... others have proposed alternate explanations for it's genesis) would probably have vanished by now, if it weren't for the rabid few who can't seem to let it go.
So just let it the fuck go! I have *never once* heard someone use the term "gypped" in a negative way, intending to demean gypsies. Hell, I'll bet dollars to donuts you haven't either. But, hey, god forbid you should step down from that moral high horse you're perched so precariously upon.
You know what? You're a hyper-sensitive idiot. If you can't understand why there's a clear difference between deliberately using a slur to attack someone, and innocently using a word while ignorant of the fact that it's etymological roots are based in racism, then there's no possible way I can reason with you. Clearly, you see racism, bigotry, and hate everywhere, even where there is none. Frankly, I feel kind of sad for you... your world must be a pretty horrible place.
I say "God I wish my boss wasn't such a tightwad, he gyped me out of a raise". Consequence: This links Cheap/theft with Gypsies.
Only if people realize that "gyp" is short for "gypsy". And since most don't, the slur has no power, and becomes just another word.
Frankly, I would argue it is *you* that is the problem. By getting offended, you are essentially imbuing the word with power it didn't previously have. Oh well, I'm sure you can get offended enough for the rest of us, while we find better things to do.
By the way, I'd recommend watching the season 4 episode of Southpark entitled "Chef Goes Nanners"... it might be enlightening.
I can hear it now: "Patricia Neri was in office while the Liberals were in charge and they had 13 years to do something about it..." yada yada yada
Wait, is this actually the case? I've been trying to dig around for Ms. Neri's party affiliation, and I can't find anything in particular, though it appears she donated to the Liberal Party in '99, implying she is, in fact, a Liberal. I had just assumed that, given she was in a fairly prominent post in a major ministry, she was a member of the Conservative Party, but if that's not the case, I take back my comments re. the Conservatives. The Conservative Party has a ton of problems, including a PM that apparently doesn't believe in free speech for the party members, but I don't want to lay this one at their feet if Ms. Neri is, in fact, a Liberal Party member.
... while it's clear a conflict of interest has occurred here, at least the government has been forced to remove Ms. Neri as the heritage minister, since it's an apparent violation of ethics laws. Contrast this to, say, the US, where such things are the norm, and are practically expected from elected officials.
IOW, while something clearly egregious has occurred here, I would argue that the removal of the heritage minister is a clear victory for the people. In addition, this may result in greater scrutiny of the current government, and may serve as an interesting piece of ammunition against a government that was, in theory, supposed to be the ethical alternative to the corrupt Liberals.