I wonder if it's possible to prevent frivolous patents by increasing the cost of patents.
Perhaps they could institute a sliding scale for the cost of patents.
e.g. For each patent applied for, the fee shall be
$n for 1-10 patents held
10*$n for 11-50 patents held
100*$n for 51-100 patents held
1000*$n for 101-500 patents held
10000*$n for 501-1000 patents held
100000*$n for 1001-5000 patents held
1000000*$n for 5001-10000 patents held
and so on...
I don't know how much a patent application costs, but imagine that my base figure up there (n) is $500.00 Getting patents suddenly becomes VERY expensive by the time you have a lot of patents.
Patent holders may, of course, reduce their patent count by voluntarily releasing the patent to the public domain.
This would have many useful effects. Financially punishing patent squatters; preventing frivolous patents; scads of IP being released to the public domain; reducing the workload on the USPTO so that they might actually be able to investigate patents rather than just rubber-stamping them (as they seem to do); and allowing the little guy with a few good ideas to still have affordable patents.
It's probably a slightly simplistic view, but it seems like a good place to start.
What do y'all think?
You seem to have linked the good times you had while smoking to the actual act of smoking. Think about it. The cigarettes had absolutely nothing to do with the relaxation, the good conversations, the hot sex with gorgeous women - it was just something you did at around the same time. Force yourself to unlink the cigarettes from the good times and you won't suffer cravings.
I smoked about a pack a day for some 20-odd years until I stopped a little over 3 years ago. I never had any cravings after about the first 2 or three days. On a few occasions, such as those you mentioned, or after a really nice meal, I would experience a little regretful longing, but in no way could I call it a craving. It was more of a case of thinking something like "It's a shame I don't smoke, because now would be the perfect time for a smoke if I did."
I admit that I have had maybe 3 or 4 cigarettes in those 3 years, but each one was planned and not as a sudden response to an unexpected "craving". I really did not enjoy any of them, and the last one I had actually felt uncomfortable in my hand. So I call myself a non-smoker today and genuinely believe it.
It's in your language - you see not smoking as a sacrifice. Every time you mention to anyone that you're giving up, you subtly reinforce to yourself the idea that you are depriving yourself of something pleasurable.
I stopped smoking instead of giving up. I made a point of referring to it in that fashion. The thing is, because of that attitude, I made sure I didn't feel like I was missing out on anything.
Giving up smoking is hard - I tried it several times. Stopping smoking is much easier.
You're 100% correct, of course. The article does indeed point out that no evidence can be found that Bill Gates ever said that. But there are times when, in the interests of humour, the judicious application of a little artistic license renders that (mis)quote thoroughly appropriate.
Hell, I get both. I occasionally get spam turning up in my Gmail inbox - very rarely, I admit, but it does happen - and I get some valid emails flagged as Spam (more of the latter than the former). So yeah, it's not a problem solved, but it's no longer much of a problem for me. I reckon it's a pretty reasonable compromise, so I keep using it.
Colour me clueless, but I don't see a privacy issue with determining when people are looking at the ad, as long as there is no identification of who is doing the looking (including both absolute and relative identification).
You'd think so, wouldn't you? I didn't work at this particular site at the time, and it may be an amalgamation of several anecdotes into one urban legend, but read on...
An apprentice electrician did the old "absent-mindedly press the EPO beside the door" trick, plunging the site into blackout. After that, the computer room manager decided to prevent any recurrence of the same, by covering the EPO with a clear plastic hood that bore several obvious warnings and required a concerted effort to lift before gaining access to the EPO switch. A few months later, a different electrician, manoeuvring amongst the machinery with his ladder on his shoulder found the need to back up a couple of feet, and smashed the EPO hood. Guess what happened immediately after the hood smashed? Bingo! The EPO got pushed by the foot of the ladder!
If, as you indicate, the fabric of your family is shot through with alcoholism, you would be well advised to continue to stay right away from booze. Trust me, alcoholism and Asperger's is not a pretty mix, particularly when you are given to isolation.
And do yourself a huge favour, call it Asperger's syndrome rather than any sort of "disorder". That way you'll have less chance of convincing yourself to play the victim if it doesn't sound like a disability. Alcholism + isolation + victim mentality = MuchDoublePlusUnGoodliness
From the very first of the summary: "A problem with Google's Personalized Home Page feature..."
Note: The personalised home page feature is not gmail. Which kinda indicates that you did not RPTH (Read Past The Headline). You do know that Google is more than gmail, don't you?
Aside from that, it's still a free service and if one doesn't like it, one can run one's friggin' own individually customisable web portal server. So lucky you - Your rhetoric applies, even if your fucts are facked up!
I've actually seen that as an easter egg in a taxi fleet management program I used once. From Midnight until Noon on AFD, the date and time display in the top right corner of the screen read 32/03/19xx. I nearly called the help desk to report the "bug" until I realised what the date should have read.
Integrate the browser into the operating system? Brilliant!
Don't be silly. Microsoft tried that and lost - well, not much really - a little momentum is all.
But never mind that, we want to do something (almost) totally new! We want to integrate the OS into the browser.
What's that you're saying? It sounds like you're saying... is it "eMax"?
Slashdot Mirror
...said God, and promptly vanished in a puff of logic.
I wonder if it's possible to prevent frivolous patents by increasing the cost of patents. Perhaps they could institute a sliding scale for the cost of patents. e.g. For each patent applied for, the fee shall be $n for 1-10 patents held 10*$n for 11-50 patents held 100*$n for 51-100 patents held 1000*$n for 101-500 patents held 10000*$n for 501-1000 patents held 100000*$n for 1001-5000 patents held 1000000*$n for 5001-10000 patents held and so on... I don't know how much a patent application costs, but imagine that my base figure up there (n) is $500.00 Getting patents suddenly becomes VERY expensive by the time you have a lot of patents. Patent holders may, of course, reduce their patent count by voluntarily releasing the patent to the public domain. This would have many useful effects. Financially punishing patent squatters; preventing frivolous patents; scads of IP being released to the public domain; reducing the workload on the USPTO so that they might actually be able to investigate patents rather than just rubber-stamping them (as they seem to do); and allowing the little guy with a few good ideas to still have affordable patents. It's probably a slightly simplistic view, but it seems like a good place to start. What do y'all think?
You seem to have linked the good times you had while smoking to the actual act of smoking. Think about it. The cigarettes had absolutely nothing to do with the relaxation, the good conversations, the hot sex with gorgeous women - it was just something you did at around the same time. Force yourself to unlink the cigarettes from the good times and you won't suffer cravings.
I smoked about a pack a day for some 20-odd years until I stopped a little over 3 years ago. I never had any cravings after about the first 2 or three days. On a few occasions, such as those you mentioned, or after a really nice meal, I would experience a little regretful longing, but in no way could I call it a craving. It was more of a case of thinking something like "It's a shame I don't smoke, because now would be the perfect time for a smoke if I did."
I admit that I have had maybe 3 or 4 cigarettes in those 3 years, but each one was planned and not as a sudden response to an unexpected "craving". I really did not enjoy any of them, and the last one I had actually felt uncomfortable in my hand. So I call myself a non-smoker today and genuinely believe it.
You gave up smoking? There's half your problem!
It's in your language - you see not smoking as a sacrifice. Every time you mention to anyone that you're giving up, you subtly reinforce to yourself the idea that you are depriving yourself of something pleasurable.
I stopped smoking instead of giving up. I made a point of referring to it in that fashion. The thing is, because of that attitude, I made sure I didn't feel like I was missing out on anything.
Giving up smoking is hard - I tried it several times. Stopping smoking is much easier.
man tunefs for the other one.
Will's just having a bitch of a time headhunting an intelligent designer.
In other words...
WHOOSH!
Must... resist... urge... to... exercise... Slashdot... List... meme...
AARGH!
5. ?
6. PROFIT!!!11
(I'm sorry, I just couldn't help myself!)
Hell, I get both. I occasionally get spam turning up in my Gmail inbox - very rarely, I admit, but it does happen - and I get some valid emails flagged as Spam (more of the latter than the former). So yeah, it's not a problem solved, but it's no longer much of a problem for me. I reckon it's a pretty reasonable compromise, so I keep using it.
Close, but no cigar. That is not the most vacuous thing ever read, it is about the most vacuous thing ever bred.
Hei! That's not a monkey on my arm, it's a chimpanzee!
STASI@Home is hardly a new project!
Colour me clueless, but I don't see a privacy issue with determining when people are looking at the ad, as long as there is no identification of who is doing the looking (including both absolute and relative identification).
An apprentice electrician did the old "absent-mindedly press the EPO beside the door" trick, plunging the site into blackout. After that, the computer room manager decided to prevent any recurrence of the same, by covering the EPO with a clear plastic hood that bore several obvious warnings and required a concerted effort to lift before gaining access to the EPO switch. A few months later, a different electrician, manoeuvring amongst the machinery with his ladder on his shoulder found the need to back up a couple of feet, and smashed the EPO hood. Guess what happened immediately after the hood smashed? Bingo! The EPO got pushed by the foot of the ladder!
And do yourself a huge favour, call it Asperger's syndrome rather than any sort of "disorder". That way you'll have less chance of convincing yourself to play the victim if it doesn't sound like a disability. Alcholism + isolation + victim mentality = MuchDoublePlusUnGoodliness
Good luck.
1975 called - They want their stereotype back.
Aside from that, it's still a free service and if one doesn't like it, one can run one's friggin' own individually customisable web portal server. So lucky you - Your rhetoric applies, even if your fucts are facked up!
I've actually seen that as an easter egg in a taxi fleet management program I used once. From Midnight until Noon on AFD, the date and time display in the top right corner of the screen read 32/03/19xx. I nearly called the help desk to report the "bug" until I realised what the date should have read.
Dude, what the hell were you searching for when you stumbled across that little gem?
On second thoughts, don't tell me - I fear the answer.
But never mind that, we want to do something (almost) totally new! We want to integrate the OS into the browser.
What's that you're saying? It sounds like you're saying... is it "eMax"?