> Husbands can already intimidate their wives;
> employers can intimidate their employees; and
> the poor already vote less than the wealthy,
Well, yes, but they can only be intimidated into
not voting, a problem to which I can see no ready
fix-all solution. But with voting at home,
the husband/employer/etc can watch *how* the
voter votes, making it possible to intimidate
him into voting in a desired way, which makes the
problem worse. This problem is also why absentee
ballots should be issued only on an absolutely
necessary basis (which was another recommendation
of the report, by the way).
And then there was the mark, which was three
marks to the pound, making it 6s 8d. That one
is *really* archaic, though. They stopped coining
it in the 16th century, though it continued on
as a unit of account for some time after that
(similar to what would happen later with the
guinea).
And on the other, it may collapse tomorrow. You
can't predict the future, only study the past.
The US has shown more stability in the recent
past than China.
> And it's completely within an apartment
> manager's rights to only rent to white people,
> because scientifically statistically speaking,
> black people are more likely to invite trouble.
No, but only because there is a law specifically
prohibiting him from doing so. It's completely
within his rights ro refuse to rent to you because
your last name starts with "L", or simply for no
reason at all.
> Whatever happened to "innocent until proven
> guilty"?
Mainly, it's a rule that only applies to criminal
trials, which this is not.
> seems like Disney has reached a new low,
> ripping off Anime like that
Nah, they've been this low before. Look
around the net about "The Lion King", which ripped
off large chunks of Tezuka's "Jungle Emperor"
(parts of which were released in the US as
"Kimba the White Lion").
> Smart tags can be easily turned off by the end
> user. There is a BUTTON ON THE TOOLBAR to do
> this.
Helps, although it'd be better if they were off
by default. 90% of people never change their
defaults; most have no clue how to, even if there
is a button on the toolbar. If nobody tells
them to push the button on the toolbar, they
won't.
> Smart tags can be easily turned off by a page
> author. There is a META tag that does this.
Better; the fact that page authors can prevent
Microsoft from modifying their pages is a good
thing.
> Smart tags look nothing like ordinary links.
> They are purple dotted lines uder the word.
> When you mouse-over them, an (i) info symbol
> appears. You CANNOT mistake smart tags for
> ordinary links.
No, actually it makes some sense, because
there may not be time to get a warrant.
So, if the police don't have a warrant, but
suspect the data may be deleted before they
can get one, they can copy it (but not read it).
Then, once they have the warrant, they can read
their copy (or destroy it unread if the judge
refuses to give them a warrant).
> Whoever modded this up to 5 must have been
> reading too much Ayn Rand. In fact, if these
> companies force competitors out of business, I
> am essentially forced to eat there. (Yes, I
> know, I can go home and make myself a sandwich,
> but you get the point.)
No, actually, I *don't* get the point. You *can*
make yourself a sandwich--bring one from home,
whatever. You are *not* forced to eat there.
> Same goes for IMO one of the best episodes of
> TNG, The Pegasus
The Pegasus was kinda neat, a good character
study, but the premise was *way* too much for
my suspension of disbelief. "Let me get this
straight. The Federation *willingly* signed a
treaty that says the Romulans and the Klingons
get to have cloaking tech and they don't?? What,
were the Fed diplomats all drunk?"
> * because there is less of a given resource per > person *
Uh, no. The price increases because the
demand now exceeds the supply. The supply
has not changed, but the demand has. Whether
or not there is more or less of a resource
per person is irrelevant. There increase in
demand may be because there are more people,
or it may be because each individual person
wants more. In either case, the price increases
until the demand once again meets the supply,
because the rising price both reduces demand and
increases supply. Basic economics, the
basic way capitalism works. What's the
problem?
Fuckedcompany *has* been put on its own
list. Pud put it there to acknowledge
the server problems he's been having
lately (nothing really severe, but
irritating). He only gave one or two
point, though.
> A "bull" market is one which charges ahead full
> strength -- duh, like a bull.
Well, maybe. The origins of "bull" in this
context are far from clear.
> A "bear" market is one which runs out of
> strength and seems to hibernate like a bear. It
> will come back eventually, but for the time
> being it's dead to the world.
Nope. Bear markets are indeed named after the
"bears", the people who sell short, who prosper
in such markets, not the other way around.
The older, more full name is "bearskin jobbers",
referring to an old proverb, "Don't sell the
bearskin before you've caught the bear"--which,
of course, is exactly what a short seller does.
> BTW, we already make internal combustion
> engines almost that small - model aircraft
> engines are tiny.
Model aircraft engines can be much *smaller*
than that; the smallest are about the size
of your thumb. The problem with miniature
internal combustion engines isn't size, it's
*noise*. Those things scream like mini
banshees.
. The Lockheed P-80A was the first US fighter to
> be sent to a combat zone (Italy) and then was
> used to great effect in Korea.
At least until the USSR backed China's counter-
offensive and the P-80 pilots were shocked to
find themselves outclassed by the Soviets'
shiny new MiG-15s. But then our pilots got F-86
Sabres which evened things up nicely. "All we
want for Christmas is our wings swept back..."
> The US plane was intercepting electronic
> communications originating in China, i.e.
> spying.
Erhm, no. While it is commonplace to refer to
such surveillance as spying, it is not. It is
perfectly legal information gathering, completely
permissible by international law. A spy is
one who conceals his true loyalties in order to
infiltrate the target; he lies about whom he works
for. A good rule of thumb here is that someone
who wears his country's uniform *cannot* be a spy
as long as he wears that uniform, as he displays
his allegiance for all to see.
No, I don't buy this; for the F-8 to have *wanted*
to ram his plane into the EP-3, he'd have to be
pretty much a kamikaze. The F-8 is a little bitty
plane and the EP-3 is a great big plane; in order
to do any real damage to the EP-3, he'd have to
destroy his own plane and probably lose his life
(which, in fact, he did). The EP-3 didn't
intentionally run into the F-8 because that's not
possible; the F-8 just gets out of the way. The
F-8 didn't intentionally run into the EP-3 because
nobody sane would try something like that.
> The US is risking the lives of its service
> members instead of just mealey mouthing a
> quick "I'm sorry" it doesn't really mean. Why?
> Cultural norms.
Well, while that *is* part of it, there's other
problems too. The Chinese have *not* guaranteed
our people's return if we actually give an
apology. They've just said, "Apologize, and then
we can talk about it." I'm sure one of the more
frightening scenarios running through Bush's head
is this: We apologize. The Chinese then put our
people on trial--exhibit number one, our apology
and admission we were at fault.
Slashdot Mirror
> Husbands can already intimidate their wives;
> employers can intimidate their employees; and
> the poor already vote less than the wealthy,
Well, yes, but they can only be intimidated into
not voting, a problem to which I can see no ready
fix-all solution. But with voting at home,
the husband/employer/etc can watch *how* the
voter votes, making it possible to intimidate
him into voting in a desired way, which makes the
problem worse. This problem is also why absentee
ballots should be issued only on an absolutely
necessary basis (which was another recommendation
of the report, by the way).
Chris Mattern
And then there was the mark, which was three
marks to the pound, making it 6s 8d. That one
is *really* archaic, though. They stopped coining
it in the 16th century, though it continued on
as a unit of account for some time after that
(similar to what would happen later with the
guinea).
Chris Mattern
And on the other, it may collapse tomorrow. You
can't predict the future, only study the past.
The US has shown more stability in the recent
past than China.
Chris Mattern
> And it's completely within an apartment
> manager's rights to only rent to white people,
> because scientifically statistically speaking,
> black people are more likely to invite trouble.
No, but only because there is a law specifically
prohibiting him from doing so. It's completely
within his rights ro refuse to rent to you because
your last name starts with "L", or simply for no
reason at all.
> Whatever happened to "innocent until proven
> guilty"?
Mainly, it's a rule that only applies to criminal
trials, which this is not.
Chris Mattern
> seems like Disney has reached a new low,
> ripping off Anime like that
Nah, they've been this low before. Look
around the net about "The Lion King", which ripped
off large chunks of Tezuka's "Jungle Emperor"
(parts of which were released in the US as
"Kimba the White Lion").
Chris Mattern
> I'm not sure if the BBC 'get it' yet, though:
> they filed this story under "Entertainment:
> Film".
As opposed to "getting it" Slashdot, which
filed it under "Movies". Ummmm...
Chris Mattern
> Smart tags can be easily turned off by the end
> user. There is a BUTTON ON THE TOOLBAR to do
> this.
Helps, although it'd be better if they were off
by default. 90% of people never change their
defaults; most have no clue how to, even if there
is a button on the toolbar. If nobody tells
them to push the button on the toolbar, they
won't.
> Smart tags can be easily turned off by a page
> author. There is a META tag that does this.
Better; the fact that page authors can prevent
Microsoft from modifying their pages is a good
thing.
> Smart tags look nothing like ordinary links.
> They are purple dotted lines uder the word.
> When you mouse-over them, an (i) info symbol
> appears. You CANNOT mistake smart tags for
> ordinary links.
You've never worked a help desk, have you?
Chris Mattern
> Besides who the hell is going to want to play ;-)
> blackjack with an 8 year old?
Depends. How much cash has he got?
Chris Mattern
No, actually it makes some sense, because
there may not be time to get a warrant.
So, if the police don't have a warrant, but
suspect the data may be deleted before they
can get one, they can copy it (but not read it).
Then, once they have the warrant, they can read
their copy (or destroy it unread if the judge
refuses to give them a warrant).
Chris Mattern
> Whoever modded this up to 5 must have been
> reading too much Ayn Rand. In fact, if these
> companies force competitors out of business, I
> am essentially forced to eat there. (Yes, I
> know, I can go home and make myself a sandwich,
> but you get the point.)
No, actually, I *don't* get the point. You *can*
make yourself a sandwich--bring one from home,
whatever. You are *not* forced to eat there.
Chris Mattern
> Same goes for IMO one of the best episodes of
> TNG, The Pegasus
The Pegasus was kinda neat, a good character
study, but the premise was *way* too much for
my suspension of disbelief. "Let me get this
straight. The Federation *willingly* signed a
treaty that says the Romulans and the Klingons
get to have cloaking tech and they don't?? What,
were the Fed diplomats all drunk?"
Chris Mattern
>> the code to begin the attack was Climb Mount
>> Surabachi(sp?)
> It wasn't Suribachi (on which the famous Iwo
> Jima flag-planting picture was taken), nor was
> it Fuji.
It was "Climb Mount Niitaka", if anybody cares.
Chris Mattern
> 3D-RTSs are prolly here to stay, it just hasn't
> been used properly for anything other than eye
> candy - yet.
Haven't played _Homeworld_, have you?
Chris Mattern
> "When demand increases, the price increases."
> * because there is less of a given resource per > person *
Uh, no. The price increases because the
demand now exceeds the supply. The supply
has not changed, but the demand has. Whether
or not there is more or less of a resource
per person is irrelevant. There increase in
demand may be because there are more people,
or it may be because each individual person
wants more. In either case, the price increases
until the demand once again meets the supply,
because the rising price both reduces demand and
increases supply. Basic economics, the
basic way capitalism works. What's the
problem?
Chris Mattern
> The AC's I can see, of course.
Indeed. Do you have *any* idea how much power
an Anonymous Coward uses?
Chris Mattern
Fuckedcompany *has* been put on its own
list. Pud put it there to acknowledge
the server problems he's been having
lately (nothing really severe, but
irritating). He only gave one or two
point, though.
Chris Mattern
> A "bull" market is one which charges ahead full
> strength -- duh, like a bull.
Well, maybe. The origins of "bull" in this
context are far from clear.
> A "bear" market is one which runs out of
> strength and seems to hibernate like a bear. It
> will come back eventually, but for the time
> being it's dead to the world.
Nope. Bear markets are indeed named after the
"bears", the people who sell short, who prosper
in such markets, not the other way around.
The older, more full name is "bearskin jobbers",
referring to an old proverb, "Don't sell the
bearskin before you've caught the bear"--which,
of course, is exactly what a short seller does.
Chris Mattern
> BTW, we already make internal combustion
> engines almost that small - model aircraft
> engines are tiny.
Model aircraft engines can be much *smaller*
than that; the smallest are about the size
of your thumb. The problem with miniature
internal combustion engines isn't size, it's
*noise*. Those things scream like mini
banshees.
Chris Mattern
> I can do anything I set my mind to!
OK, I wanna see you set your mind to skiing
through a revolving door.
Chris Mattern
. The Lockheed P-80A was the first US fighter to
> be sent to a combat zone (Italy) and then was
> used to great effect in Korea.
At least until the USSR backed China's counter-
offensive and the P-80 pilots were shocked to
find themselves outclassed by the Soviets'
shiny new MiG-15s. But then our pilots got F-86
Sabres which evened things up nicely. "All we
want for Christmas is our wings swept back..."
Chris Mattern
Got the title wrong: "All You Zombies". "By
His Bootstraps" was *another* Heinlein time travel
story.
Chris Mattern
> The Chinese fighter was not a MiG, it was an
> F-8.
Technically correct, however the F-8 is largely
the same as the MiG-21. Close enough.
Chris Mattern
> The US plane was intercepting electronic
> communications originating in China, i.e.
> spying.
Erhm, no. While it is commonplace to refer to
such surveillance as spying, it is not. It is
perfectly legal information gathering, completely
permissible by international law. A spy is
one who conceals his true loyalties in order to
infiltrate the target; he lies about whom he works
for. A good rule of thumb here is that someone
who wears his country's uniform *cannot* be a spy
as long as he wears that uniform, as he displays
his allegiance for all to see.
Chris Mattern
> I don't think this was an accident at all.
No, I don't buy this; for the F-8 to have *wanted*
to ram his plane into the EP-3, he'd have to be
pretty much a kamikaze. The F-8 is a little bitty
plane and the EP-3 is a great big plane; in order
to do any real damage to the EP-3, he'd have to
destroy his own plane and probably lose his life
(which, in fact, he did). The EP-3 didn't
intentionally run into the F-8 because that's not
possible; the F-8 just gets out of the way. The
F-8 didn't intentionally run into the EP-3 because
nobody sane would try something like that.
Chris Mattern
> The US is risking the lives of its service
> members instead of just mealey mouthing a
> quick "I'm sorry" it doesn't really mean. Why?
> Cultural norms.
Well, while that *is* part of it, there's other
problems too. The Chinese have *not* guaranteed
our people's return if we actually give an
apology. They've just said, "Apologize, and then
we can talk about it." I'm sure one of the more
frightening scenarios running through Bush's head
is this: We apologize. The Chinese then put our
people on trial--exhibit number one, our apology
and admission we were at fault.
Chris Mattern