data processing power would be exponentially increased over what is possible with today's silicon-based computing.
Please, please, please stop misusing the word "exponentially". It just means that something is increasing (or declining) at a constant rate, which is practically the opposite of what is meant here.
My guess is that in addition to being anti-hunting, they are also anti-gun (those two often go together). Well something else you discover is that often the anti-gun crowd is very, very uneducated about guns. Rather than learn all about them so as to have more solid arguments, they are scared by them and thus know little to nothing about them.
You presume quite a bit, don't you?
The truth is that gun fetishists are really compensating for feelings of sexual inadequacy, and are furthermore likely to be found driving vehicles that get very poor gas mileage, thus increasing our dependence on foreign oil. Their common exaggerated machismo conceals a deep underlying fear of even leaving their homes without the protection of a firearm.
A legitimate business was shut down globally for an unknown length of time because one of their customers was doing something wrong
Suppose someone used a Toyota automobile as getaway car after robbing a bank. Certainly you don't think that Toyota should be allowed to continue operating if their products are being used in this way?
We are born with an innate sense of fairness and justice. Young children, e.g., can readily make judgements about what is right and wrong long before they've been indoctrinated with religion or ethical training. So can my dog, for that matter.
Judging that slavery was "right" wasn't as arbitrary or as easily done as you assume. Society didn't decide that "certain people don't deserve certain rights" so much as it refused to recognize slaves as "people". They were considered property, more akin to draft animals than humans, and thus the moral standards we apply to human relationships didn't apply. Dehumanization is the key. You see much the same thing with the "illegal immigrant" issue in the U.S. today. In order to justify the level of brutality that many conservatives believe is warranted, it is necessary to demonize them all as dangerous criminals, when the truth is that most are hard-working people who are contributing far more to society more than they are able to claim in return. So innocent children are not to be educated, the sick are not to be treated, and labor is not to be fairly compensated. And Jesus is entirely OK with this, because they are all (even the children) "criminals".
The relationship between religion and morality/ethics is by no means straightforward. While it may be true that some people are constrained in their behavior by their understanding of their God's demands and threats of punishment, it's also true that God can be used just as easily to *override* our innate sense of morality and justice. We are allowed to deny basic humane treatment to heathens who don't worship as we do, just as we're allowed to deny it to slaves and others who we've dehumanized.
My imaginary conservative friend, who always displays perfect consistency in all of his opinions, is outraged that his tax dollars are being spent to defend private trademarks and IP. Trademarks belonging, moreover, to corporations that pay very little in taxes themselves. "What has happened to individual responsibility in this country?" he might be heard to exclaim. "Surely these firms could defend their IP monopolies themselves, without public assistance. I mean, this is the NFL! You mean to tell me they can't find a few hired thugs to show these pirates how not to do business?"
Re:This is what's wrong with private healthcare.
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How Doctors Die
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They invested more time, effort, and money, so they deserve at least the opportunity to have a better return on that investment.
So... A good return on investment is an entitlement now in capitalist economies? Would you care to buy my house?
What I like even less about biometrics replacing passwords is that the emphasis shifts from something you know (and, of course, can change or use selectively) to who you are. Because your biometrics identify you, you're traceable wherever you go, forever.
I look at it like training wheels on 2-wheel bicycles. They definitely make it easier for a beginner to make it down the driveway and back, but at some point they become a hindrance and you'll want them off.
This isn't about old geezers pining for the UI they used back in the day; they're used to changing UIs and have been through many. This is about not being able to remove the training wheels, or to get a bike without them.
You never see anything like this from Linux repositories simply because Linux users would never stand for it. Many (maybe most) of the Windows users I know accept malware and crapware as just the unavoidable cost of getting what they need or want in a convenient way.
So it's a cultural thing, and it will take a lot of user education to create a higher level of expectation. The trouble is that I don't see from where the incentive to provide that education is going to come, interests in the MS ecosystem being vested as they are.
It's things likie this, and the constant breakage because of change for the sake of change or to "be different", rather than focusing on stability, that drive people to non-free vendors.
Because as we well know, no proprietary operating system would ever make a change without giving you the choice of adopting it or not...
We are reaping the latest crop that was sown by modern education.
To be fair, I'm not sure how effectively any educational system could cope with the level of distraction that kids face these days. The development of basic skills - reading, writing, math - requires significant time in practice and drills, and at any given time they have access to gadgets that are much more compelling time sinks.
whats wrong with profit motive driving down the cost of access to space?
Just what does the profit motive have to do with driving down the cost? Is there some sort of competitive market for commodity deep-space launchers? Can we now choose among dozens of alternative vendors to get that "just-right" balance of cost and safety/reliability?
Since 'elite' schools have tougher acceptance criteria, it only makes sense their students would perform better.
Well, thats kind of the point, and that alone may justify the presumption that a graduate of an "elite" school will be more talented. In general, if you're smart and prepared to work hard, I'd recommend going to the most selective school that you can get into (and afford, after whatever aid may be available). The level that your peers are at will determine the level at which your classes are taught, how much is expected of you, and ultimately where you set the bar for yourself.
The most valuable information on Facebook to anyone who wants to screw with you is your social network. Back in the 1950s you could be blacklisted out of your career if you were observed associating with a politically suspect person, but the FBI would have to do a fair amount of work to establish that. Now, it's as easy as a click of the mouse. You might be turned down for a job or promotion because of someone on your friends list, but you'll never know what the real reason was.
It would be foolish to spend tens of trillions of dollars or more to build a military from scratch when you could just spend the billion or so it takes to win the US Presidency, which comes complete with control over the strongest military in the world. That's the best return on investment you'll find anywhere.
Indeed... I drove a 2nd generation turbo RX-7 for about 10 years until the late 90s and still miss the ride. It purred like a kitten right up to the redline at 7,000 rpm, and handled like a slot car. Went from that to a pickup truck, which has its own virtues, but it's still sad to see the rotaries go out of production.
In my experience, conservatives typically bundle monopoly corporatism under their umbrella of "free enterprise". As long as wealth is being concentrated, they're fine with it.
It's kind of the company store all over but at a macro level instead of just in small towns.
This is the most insightful thing I've read so far today. Step back and take in the big picture, and you'll see that the "Reagan Revolution" is far from over.
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data processing power would be exponentially increased over what is possible with today's silicon-based computing.
Please, please, please stop misusing the word "exponentially". It just means that something is increasing (or declining) at a constant rate, which is practically the opposite of what is meant here.
My guess is that in addition to being anti-hunting, they are also anti-gun (those two often go together). Well something else you discover is that often the anti-gun crowd is very, very uneducated about guns. Rather than learn all about them so as to have more solid arguments, they are scared by them and thus know little to nothing about them.
You presume quite a bit, don't you?
The truth is that gun fetishists are really compensating for feelings of sexual inadequacy, and are furthermore likely to be found driving vehicles that get very poor gas mileage, thus increasing our dependence on foreign oil. Their common exaggerated machismo conceals a deep underlying fear of even leaving their homes without the protection of a firearm.
So, now we're both full of crap.
A legitimate business was shut down globally for an unknown length of time because one of their customers was doing something wrong
Suppose someone used a Toyota automobile as getaway car after robbing a bank. Certainly you don't think that Toyota should be allowed to continue operating if their products are being used in this way?
We are born with an innate sense of fairness and justice. Young children, e.g., can readily make judgements about what is right and wrong long before they've been indoctrinated with religion or ethical training. So can my dog, for that matter.
Judging that slavery was "right" wasn't as arbitrary or as easily done as you assume. Society didn't decide that "certain people don't deserve certain rights" so much as it refused to recognize slaves as "people". They were considered property, more akin to draft animals than humans, and thus the moral standards we apply to human relationships didn't apply. Dehumanization is the key. You see much the same thing with the "illegal immigrant" issue in the U.S. today. In order to justify the level of brutality that many conservatives believe is warranted, it is necessary to demonize them all as dangerous criminals, when the truth is that most are hard-working people who are contributing far more to society more than they are able to claim in return. So innocent children are not to be educated, the sick are not to be treated, and labor is not to be fairly compensated. And Jesus is entirely OK with this, because they are all (even the children) "criminals".
The relationship between religion and morality/ethics is by no means straightforward. While it may be true that some people are constrained in their behavior by their understanding of their God's demands and threats of punishment, it's also true that God can be used just as easily to *override* our innate sense of morality and justice. We are allowed to deny basic humane treatment to heathens who don't worship as we do, just as we're allowed to deny it to slaves and others who we've dehumanized.
Waste of my tax dollars if ever there was one...
My imaginary conservative friend, who always displays perfect consistency in all of his opinions, is outraged that his tax dollars are being spent to defend private trademarks and IP. Trademarks belonging, moreover, to corporations that pay very little in taxes themselves. "What has happened to individual responsibility in this country?" he might be heard to exclaim. "Surely these firms could defend their IP monopolies themselves, without public assistance. I mean, this is the NFL! You mean to tell me they can't find a few hired thugs to show these pirates how not to do business?"
They invested more time, effort, and money, so they deserve at least the opportunity to have a better return on that investment.
So... A good return on investment is an entitlement now in capitalist economies? Would you care to buy my house?
These predictions look more like a corporate wish list than anything we peeps are looking for.
What I like even less about biometrics replacing passwords is that the emphasis shifts from something you know (and, of course, can change or use selectively) to who you are. Because your biometrics identify you, you're traceable wherever you go, forever.
I look at it like training wheels on 2-wheel bicycles. They definitely make it easier for a beginner to make it down the driveway and back, but at some point they become a hindrance and you'll want them off.
This isn't about old geezers pining for the UI they used back in the day; they're used to changing UIs and have been through many. This is about not being able to remove the training wheels, or to get a bike without them.
And there will always be touchy, defensive people of all ages who perceive criticism behind every simple observation.
You never see anything like this from Linux repositories simply because Linux users would never stand for it. Many (maybe most) of the Windows users I know accept malware and crapware as just the unavoidable cost of getting what they need or want in a convenient way.
So it's a cultural thing, and it will take a lot of user education to create a higher level of expectation. The trouble is that I don't see from where the incentive to provide that education is going to come, interests in the MS ecosystem being vested as they are.
The "cloud" analogy always seemed like "newspeak" to me, designed to get the customer to NOT think about where their data is
Whenever I say "the cloud", I have to wave my arms around and look at the ceiling. I just can't help myself.
It's things likie this, and the constant breakage because of change for the sake of change or to "be different", rather than focusing on stability, that drive people to non-free vendors.
Because as we well know, no proprietary operating system would ever make a change without giving you the choice of adopting it or not...
We are reaping the latest crop that was sown by modern education.
To be fair, I'm not sure how effectively any educational system could cope with the level of distraction that kids face these days. The development of basic skills - reading, writing, math - requires significant time in practice and drills, and at any given time they have access to gadgets that are much more compelling time sinks.
i never understood why NASA insists on making the Mars trip a return mission.
Because the public (who would be asked to pay for it) would never support it otherwise.
They can start colonising immediately and start building stuff.
With what, and out of what? How much stuff do you think we'd be able to send there with them, on top of the necessary oxygen, water, food, and fuel?
Read about expeditions to the North and South poles. Read about guys who climb mount Everest.
Comparing a colony on Mars to one anywhere on Earth is absurd. The cost, complexity, and technical difficulty are off by many orders of magnitude.
It won't be budget cuts, but the lack of political will.
Don't those amount to the same thing? "Political will" == a large and sustained budget.
whats wrong with profit motive driving down the cost of access to space?
Just what does the profit motive have to do with driving down the cost? Is there some sort of competitive market for commodity deep-space launchers? Can we now choose among dozens of alternative vendors to get that "just-right" balance of cost and safety/reliability?
Since 'elite' schools have tougher acceptance criteria, it only makes sense their students would perform better.
Well, thats kind of the point, and that alone may justify the presumption that a graduate of an "elite" school will be more talented. In general, if you're smart and prepared to work hard, I'd recommend going to the most selective school that you can get into (and afford, after whatever aid may be available). The level that your peers are at will determine the level at which your classes are taught, how much is expected of you, and ultimately where you set the bar for yourself.
The most valuable information on Facebook to anyone who wants to screw with you is your social network. Back in the 1950s you could be blacklisted out of your career if you were observed associating with a politically suspect person, but the FBI would have to do a fair amount of work to establish that. Now, it's as easy as a click of the mouse. You might be turned down for a job or promotion because of someone on your friends list, but you'll never know what the real reason was.
So when did con men become "social engineers"? It sounds almost like a respectable profession.
It would be foolish to spend tens of trillions of dollars or more to build a military from scratch when you could just spend the billion or so it takes to win the US Presidency, which comes complete with control over the strongest military in the world. That's the best return on investment you'll find anywhere.
Indeed... I drove a 2nd generation turbo RX-7 for about 10 years until the late 90s and still miss the ride. It purred like a kitten right up to the redline at 7,000 rpm, and handled like a slot car. Went from that to a pickup truck, which has its own virtues, but it's still sad to see the rotaries go out of production.
In my experience, conservatives typically bundle monopoly corporatism under their umbrella of "free enterprise". As long as wealth is being concentrated, they're fine with it.
It's kind of the company store all over but at a macro level instead of just in small towns.
This is the most insightful thing I've read so far today. Step back and take in the big picture, and you'll see that the "Reagan Revolution" is far from over.