Oh, I wholeheartedly agree with that part of the French "art de vivre", actually I'll be in the middle of France in just 2 days for a gorgeous weekend:P I've lived 20 years in France and now live a couple of miles from its borders. So yes, I *do* know quite a bit of what it's like living there. Not everybody lives in a nice house in Provence, you know...
That said, the problems in France are numerous and the French are far from being happy all the time, despite the cheap wine and nice scenaries. Unemployment is rampant and a lot of people are in debt over their necks, as is the country. Since the switch to the Euro, prices have gone up a lot but salaries haven't gone up with the cost of living.
Let's all move to France, they get 5 weeks holidays + numerous public holidays AND they only work 35 hours a week, with overtime "paid back" as free days. And free medicare.
On the other hand, France has one of the highest income tax rates in the world, a huge VAT rate (19.6%), the most expensive gasoline, and very low purchasing power.
But they live the longest. Unhappy and bored, but for a loooooongtime, yeepee!!!
Since you're quoting the linked article, you may as well copy the whole paragraph evenif it hurts some feelings:
"Kerala boasts the highest literacy rate in the country (70%), a low infant mortality rate, and is the only state in which females outnumber males. Land distribution is among the most equitable in India, at least partly due to the progressive land ownership policies instituted more than a century ago in what was then the princely state of Travancore. Further extensive land reforms in the 1960's and 70's were carried out by a state government which gained the distinction, in 1957, of being the first democratically elected communist government in the world. Kerala's industrial sector is almost non-existent, however, potential investors from outside being reluctant to engage a highly politicized labour force."
Huh-oohhh, communism that *does* work? Funny how things go when there's no embargo impeding on people's will.
I just made a copy/paste from an online converter;)
Though, to correct your american ignorance, the thousands-separator varie between countries, as does the rest of the punctuation. In the USA you guys use commas, in the UK it's periods, in France just a space and in Switzerland it's " ' ", and that's just the ones I know.
Thus, one million dollars and fifty cents would be spelled:
In the USA: $1,000,000.50 In the UK: $1.000.000,50 In France: $1 000 000,50 In Switzerland: $1'000'000.50
BTW, buying DVDs from a different region is still legimate and not illegal, even if the DVD marketeers don't really like it.
Good point. I live in a country (Switzerland) where the MPAA has little to no influence and in which I regularly rent zone 1, 2 or 5 DVD at the local videoclub and have been doing so for the past 4 or 5 years and my DVD player (panasonic) was zone-free when I bought it (like all DVD players sold here).
DVD region coding is probably the stupidest ploy against consumers, especially at a time in which people can and do travel extensively around the world. Heck, you travel with your laptop and can't play a DVD you've rented once on the other side of the big pond? WTF? What's next, not being able to play media files if you're more than half a mile from home?
All these measures only lead to what's now uncorrectly called "piracy", because we want to be able to do whatever pleases us with the hardware and software WE PAID FOR, not just what we're allowed by some paranoid Hollywood coke-head lawyers. No matter what's said in their illegal EULAs (well, they're not legal here), once I've bought something it's my absolute right to do whatever I want with it as long as it remains a private matter, period.
Btw, downloading or copying stuff isn't piracy, it's not like we're robbing anyone, physically stealing property. The media industry hates us because of their so-called "loss of REVENUE", which IMHO may set a dangerous precedent. I mean, if they get their way, what's to stop them from litigating with anyone who simply doesn't buy their stuff?
"Hey, your shopping decisions harm our business! Stop buying from the competition right away, or else!"
I think it's a bad slogan for the simple reason "Intel Inside" was pretty much understood worldwide, even by non-English speakers. "Leap Ahead", besides sounding like a Chinese maoist revolutionary motto, won't appeal to the global populace the same way, unless they begin translating it in every language. Furthermore, it is a lot more difficult to articulate than "intel inside", to the point I seriously doubt a Frenchman or Spaniard could say it properly, let alone understand it first-hand.
I guess the marketroids in charge should travel a little more outside the USA, just to get a grasp of the global Marketing English understanding in non-english-speaking countries (there's a lot of them, mind you).
I confirm the legal age for buying AND drinking beer and wine is 16 in Switzerland. You gotta be 18 to drink the stronger stuff like vodka, etc.
It's also true that any teenager can buy booze almost everywhere, as there's no real constraint on shopkeepers if they get caught, which almost never happens. It's pretty stupid since some towns (like mine) have decided to ban alcohol sale altogether after 9PM (in shops, not in bars), regardless of the age of the buyer, as to keep teenagers from getting pissed drunk in the streets (they're noisy, you see...).
I would have much prefered a thougher law against shopkeepers who sell to underage people, so I could buy myself a beer at night without going to a bar...
Although I agree with you about Canon cameras (they rock, been using Canon for over 15 years here), there's one point of your argument that needs clarifying and will probably upset you: Canon's CCD chips come from Sony, except for the high-end dSLR models (custom CMOS sensors). All point'n'shoot Canon camera (Powershots, Ixus etc.) have a Sony CCD inside.
As for the lenses, I agree that they *do* produce good glass for the most part of their production and, mostly, have the best electronics, best menu navigation system and their dSLR sensors are absolutely outstanding.
I'm actually waiting for the Powershot Pro2, whenever it's announced. Should inherit Sony's 10MP CCD (same as in the R1), get Canon's anti-shake (oh man do I love this function in low light!), good glass (I imagine a new fast 28-200 or 24-140) and Canon's electronics and flip-screen (the R1's is really... eeeekk I hate it!).
Then again, Canon doesn't support linux for any of its printers and devices...
Is it true that we are overdue for a reversal in the polarity of the Earths magnetic field? Would this be a Bad Thing for us humans if it happened soon?
Yes, it would be a Very Bad Thing (tm) because when a reversal happens, we're left without the Earth's magnetic field, which protects us from lethal cosmic rays which are high enery/DNA disruptive stuff, such as gamma rays among other niceties.
Magnetic field reversals coincide with mass surface life extinctions, I'll bet it won't do us any good if it happens in our lifetime.
Consider that the third world and much of asia is desperate to ramp up industrial production to help their economies grow. The way they look at it, they can either worry about global warming or the bigger fish they have to fry, i.e. poverty and catching up to the rest of the world. Are they going to spend huge amounts of money trying to clean up their industries? No. They're going to pollute the fuck out of everything while they manufacture all the disposable crap they'll be selling to the rest of us. Crap we ASKED them to produce, of course.
Consider that the first world has already shifted most of its heavy industry to the third world. The only thing most of US can do to reduce global warming is stop driving cars and use clean energy generation methods. Is this going to happen? No. Not while our self-absorbed leaders are so fascinated with the oil economy they're willing to overthrow other countries to increase their supply.
Conclusion: The situation is completely and hopelessly fucked. Everyone is acting in their pathetic selfish self-interest, and nobody is willing to give anything up to change anything. Whatever's going to happen is going to happen.
I think you nailed the real issues at work here and I thank you for that.
What's needed is a radical reaction, should we *really* want to curve the global changes about to kick our asses. But *who* is really ready to abandon some petty comfort to reduce his/her energy consumption? It's not a treaty or some tame government decisions that will truly make a difference if the global populace keeps expecting things to be solved without any effort on their side. Western societies are made of servile, assisted and selfish individuals who, for the most, expect others to solve the bigger issued without them ever lifting a finger (hey, that's what I pay tax for!).
Drive/ride a power-efficient vehicle (and less) or public transports when possible, use low-power lightbulbs, don't abuse the heating and A/C, put solar tiles on your roof (for hot water and electricity), properly insulate your home (VERY important if you live in temperate/cold regions), etc. Just these few technical changes and some behavior adjustments would already make a HUGE difference in the yearly domestic energy bill of any country, which means less CO2 (and other crap) released in our collective environment. But also less taxes paid over oil...
Industries comply more and more with environmental regulations and since energy has become more expensive it has become a concern to use it as efficiently as possible, since in the end energy saved = money saved. But I don't see individual homes being targeted by energy-saving regulations, incandescent lightbulbs taxed so people stop buying them, etc.
Unless there's a true collective initiative (followed by at least 80% of the population), what we now call "efforts" to address the true problems won't do much to reduce the impact of what Mother Nature is about to slap us with.
I think humanity is about to get its collective ass kicked in a proverbial way... Hopefully it will happen quickly enough for the collective memory to remain and be passed to future generations, so they won't repeat the process (hey, one can hope! It's free!).
tons of people were using GNU software back when USENET, UUCP and 56k leased lines ruled the day.
You might want to check your timeline, 14.4kbps ruled the day back then.;) And that was fast! I prolly still got an old Hayes modem collecting dust in some closet from back then.
56k only came after the WWW took off, circa 1993-94. And there were 2 competing chipsets then, Rockwell's V56 and US Robotics X2.
Oh, come on, don't be so naive. Pharma companies such as Roche have developed drugs that are extremely efficient against many forms of cancer, yet those drugs don't exist on the market for the sole reason there's not enough profit to be made. Not that they'd lose money over it (ever seen big pharma posting losses?), just that the profit margin wouldn't be big enough. Instead, the molecules end up in veterinary drugs that improve productivity (the case for one of Roche's molecules primarily developed for a certain -an severe - kind of ovarian cancer) or in a sealed envelope at the bottom of vault, never to be seen again, a complete and utter loss of knowledge.
The same goes for research. For instance, did you know several pharma companies barred researchers from developing any kind of AIDS vaccine for the past 20 year? If such a vaccine existed, it'd have to be mass produced as a generic in the face of the epidemic, which is now killing millions in under-developed (read poor) countries. Instructions were given to only develop treatments as long and expensive as possible to maximize profit.
My ex-wife works for one of Roche's competitors and she told me of several efficient drugs being shelved because the marketing dept decided the profit forecast was too slim. Thousands of people (obviously not enough) with multiple sclerosis, Crohn's disease or AIDS are being left aside dying and/or suffering on the altar of profit and (I guess mostly) shareholders' dividends.
Pharma companies are truly evil, probably a lot more than all other industries put together. The welfare of human beings definitely isn't one of their objectives and hasn't been for quite some time now. Remember they have no interest whastoever to see us fit and healthy!
The easiest and best way would most certainly be to go there yourself, keep her company for awhile, and type her e-mails! It'll be a lot nicer for her in all aspects, whithout having to devise complex stuff for her to use *alone*, which will be most likely difficult and tiring for her.
Stop being a geek for a few hours and be a human friend. Parkinson's disease is extremely tiring, people affected by it at the stage you describe benefit a lot more from some human presence than any gadget, unless of course if such gagdget were to function seamlessly (wich it prolly won't).
With such a narrow gene pool, could this be an indication that this particular species has attained an evolutionary standpoint at which the present DNA happens to be at the end of its possible evolution?
Some genetics/evolution specialists here care to explain?
It's not just bad support for OS's other than Linux which has me so pissed with Canon either. From what I've read online, and this is just an example of one particular Canon product, the Canon BJC-5000 was one printer which came out shortly before XP, but was made "obsolete" by a slightly later model of printer shortly after, so Canon decided not to produce 5000 drivers for XP.
I owned one of those and have refused to buy Canon printers ever since. They did the same thing with a laser printer, the LBP600 IIRC, which only worked with win95/98 since Canon never issued NT drivers. Now that I use Linux on a regular basis, I can't and won't be bothered with their lack of support for anyhting else than last year's OS. Their attitude is outrageous and insulting to the IT community, period.
OTOH, I really like their cameras with which I've only had success for the past 15 years (A-1, EOS 5 and Powershot G5). Their sensors and internal software are really good, IMHO better than those of Nikon. I'm actually saving for an EOS-20D with some nice wide-angle glass;)
Slashdot Mirror
From Bigelow's website: "At this point in time, the vehicle is happy and healthy."
Reminds me of some elevators and automatic doors, all very happy to serve.
*chuckles*
Oh, I wholeheartedly agree with that part of the French "art de vivre", actually I'll be in the middle of France in just 2 days for a gorgeous weekend :P I've lived 20 years in France and now live a couple of miles from its borders. So yes, I *do* know quite a bit of what it's like living there. Not everybody lives in a nice house in Provence, you know...
That said, the problems in France are numerous and the French are far from being happy all the time, despite the cheap wine and nice scenaries. Unemployment is rampant and a lot of people are in debt over their necks, as is the country. Since the switch to the Euro, prices have gone up a lot but salaries haven't gone up with the cost of living.
Let's all move to France, they get 5 weeks holidays + numerous public holidays AND they only work 35 hours a week, with overtime "paid back" as free days. And free medicare.
On the other hand, France has one of the highest income tax rates in the world, a huge VAT rate (19.6%), the most expensive gasoline, and very low purchasing power.
But they live the longest. Unhappy and bored, but for a loooooongtime, yeepee!!!
Anyone volunteer for a Manned Rover trip?
Not until they've safely sent at least 50 people ready to serve and worship me.
Thanks anyways
Since you're quoting the linked article, you may as well copy the whole paragraph evenif it hurts some feelings:
"Kerala boasts the highest literacy rate in the country (70%), a low infant mortality rate, and is the only state in which females outnumber males. Land distribution is among the most equitable in India, at least partly due to the progressive land ownership policies instituted more than a century ago in what was then the princely state of Travancore. Further extensive land reforms in the 1960's and 70's were carried out by a state government which gained the distinction, in 1957, of being the first democratically elected communist government in the world. Kerala's industrial sector is almost non-existent, however, potential investors from outside being reluctant to engage a highly politicized labour force."
Huh-oohhh, communism that *does* work? Funny how things go when there's no embargo impeding on people's will.
Not *all* comets were manufactured by Ford in the early 80's, you know...
Woops.
See, this thing's confusing me again.
If only the whole planet could decide once and for all to use the same bloody units and notations, the world would surely be a better place...
I just made a copy/paste from an online converter ;)
Though, to correct your american ignorance, the thousands-separator varie between countries, as does the rest of the punctuation. In the USA you guys use commas, in the UK it's periods, in France just a space and in Switzerland it's " ' ", and that's just the ones I know.
Thus, one million dollars and fifty cents would be spelled:
In the USA: $1,000,000.50
In the UK: $1.000.000,50
In France: $1 000 000,50
In Switzerland: $1'000'000.50
Yup, it sometimes makes it a helluva confusing...
50.000kg is, logically, 50 metric tons, but it's also 55 short tons (US measurement system) or 49.21 long tons (UK system).
(How any educated writer could use anything but the metric system in a science-related article is anyone's guess)
Cheers,
BTW, buying DVDs from a different region is still legimate and not illegal, even if the DVD marketeers don't really like it.
Good point. I live in a country (Switzerland) where the MPAA has little to no influence and in which I regularly rent zone 1, 2 or 5 DVD at the local videoclub and have been doing so for the past 4 or 5 years and my DVD player (panasonic) was zone-free when I bought it (like all DVD players sold here).
DVD region coding is probably the stupidest ploy against consumers, especially at a time in which people can and do travel extensively around the world. Heck, you travel with your laptop and can't play a DVD you've rented once on the other side of the big pond? WTF? What's next, not being able to play media files if you're more than half a mile from home?
All these measures only lead to what's now uncorrectly called "piracy", because we want to be able to do whatever pleases us with the hardware and software WE PAID FOR, not just what we're allowed by some paranoid Hollywood coke-head lawyers. No matter what's said in their illegal EULAs (well, they're not legal here), once I've bought something it's my absolute right to do whatever I want with it as long as it remains a private matter, period.
Btw, downloading or copying stuff isn't piracy, it's not like we're robbing anyone, physically stealing property. The media industry hates us because of their so-called "loss of REVENUE", which IMHO may set a dangerous precedent. I mean, if they get their way, what's to stop them from litigating with anyone who simply doesn't buy their stuff?
"Hey, your shopping decisions harm our business! Stop buying from the competition right away, or else!"
I think it's a bad slogan for the simple reason "Intel Inside" was pretty much understood worldwide, even by non-English speakers. "Leap Ahead", besides sounding like a Chinese maoist revolutionary motto, won't appeal to the global populace the same way, unless they begin translating it in every language. Furthermore, it is a lot more difficult to articulate than "intel inside", to the point I seriously doubt a Frenchman or Spaniard could say it properly, let alone understand it first-hand.
I guess the marketroids in charge should travel a little more outside the USA, just to get a grasp of the global Marketing English understanding in non-english-speaking countries (there's a lot of them, mind you).
I confirm the legal age for buying AND drinking beer and wine is 16 in Switzerland. You gotta be 18 to drink the stronger stuff like vodka, etc.
It's also true that any teenager can buy booze almost everywhere, as there's no real constraint on shopkeepers if they get caught, which almost never happens. It's pretty stupid since some towns (like mine) have decided to ban alcohol sale altogether after 9PM (in shops, not in bars), regardless of the age of the buyer, as to keep teenagers from getting pissed drunk in the streets (they're noisy, you see...).
I would have much prefered a thougher law against shopkeepers who sell to underage people, so I could buy myself a beer at night without going to a bar...
Although I agree with you about Canon cameras (they rock, been using Canon for over 15 years here), there's one point of your argument that needs clarifying and will probably upset you: Canon's CCD chips come from Sony, except for the high-end dSLR models (custom CMOS sensors). All point'n'shoot Canon camera (Powershots, Ixus etc.) have a Sony CCD inside.
As for the lenses, I agree that they *do* produce good glass for the most part of their production and, mostly, have the best electronics, best menu navigation system and their dSLR sensors are absolutely outstanding.
I'm actually waiting for the Powershot Pro2, whenever it's announced. Should inherit Sony's 10MP CCD (same as in the R1), get Canon's anti-shake (oh man do I love this function in low light!), good glass (I imagine a new fast 28-200 or 24-140) and Canon's electronics and flip-screen (the R1's is really... eeeekk I hate it!).
Then again, Canon doesn't support linux for any of its printers and devices...
Is it true that we are overdue for a reversal in the polarity of the Earths magnetic field? Would this be a Bad Thing for us humans if it happened soon?
Yes, it would be a Very Bad Thing (tm) because when a reversal happens, we're left without the Earth's magnetic field, which protects us from lethal cosmic rays which are high enery/DNA disruptive stuff, such as gamma rays among other niceties.
Magnetic field reversals coincide with mass surface life extinctions, I'll bet it won't do us any good if it happens in our lifetime.
Consider that the third world and much of asia is desperate to ramp up industrial production to help their economies grow. The way they look at it, they can either worry about global warming or the bigger fish they have to fry, i.e. poverty and catching up to the rest of the world. Are they going to spend huge amounts of money trying to clean up their industries? No. They're going to pollute the fuck out of everything while they manufacture all the disposable crap they'll be selling to the rest of us. Crap we ASKED them to produce, of course.
Consider that the first world has already shifted most of its heavy industry to the third world. The only thing most of US can do to reduce global warming is stop driving cars and use clean energy generation methods. Is this going to happen? No. Not while our self-absorbed leaders are so fascinated with the oil economy they're willing to overthrow other countries to increase their supply.
Conclusion: The situation is completely and hopelessly fucked. Everyone is acting in their pathetic selfish self-interest, and nobody is willing to give anything up to change anything. Whatever's going to happen is going to happen.
I think you nailed the real issues at work here and I thank you for that.
What's needed is a radical reaction, should we *really* want to curve the global changes about to kick our asses. But *who* is really ready to abandon some petty comfort to reduce his/her energy consumption? It's not a treaty or some tame government decisions that will truly make a difference if the global populace keeps expecting things to be solved without any effort on their side. Western societies are made of servile, assisted and selfish individuals who, for the most, expect others to solve the bigger issued without them ever lifting a finger (hey, that's what I pay tax for!).
Drive/ride a power-efficient vehicle (and less) or public transports when possible, use low-power lightbulbs, don't abuse the heating and A/C, put solar tiles on your roof (for hot water and electricity), properly insulate your home (VERY important if you live in temperate/cold regions), etc. Just these few technical changes and some behavior adjustments would already make a HUGE difference in the yearly domestic energy bill of any country, which means less CO2 (and other crap) released in our collective environment. But also less taxes paid over oil...
Industries comply more and more with environmental regulations and since energy has become more expensive it has become a concern to use it as efficiently as possible, since in the end energy saved = money saved. But I don't see individual homes being targeted by energy-saving regulations, incandescent lightbulbs taxed so people stop buying them, etc.
Unless there's a true collective initiative (followed by at least 80% of the population), what we now call "efforts" to address the true problems won't do much to reduce the impact of what Mother Nature is about to slap us with.
I think humanity is about to get its collective ass kicked in a proverbial way... Hopefully it will happen quickly enough for the collective memory to remain and be passed to future generations, so they won't repeat the process (hey, one can hope! It's free!).
Cheers,
Unless of course the sole Trailblaizer line was taken, then it was back to 2400
;)
Ha! You were one of those rich kids, huh? We were happy with our 300 bauds phone couplers, uphill both ways!
tons of people were using GNU software back when USENET, UUCP and 56k leased lines ruled the day.
;) And that was fast! I prolly still got an old Hayes modem collecting dust in some closet from back then.
You might want to check your timeline, 14.4kbps ruled the day back then.
56k only came after the WWW took off, circa 1993-94. And there were 2 competing chipsets then, Rockwell's V56 and US Robotics X2.
Oh, come on, don't be so naive. Pharma companies such as Roche have developed drugs that are extremely efficient against many forms of cancer, yet those drugs don't exist on the market for the sole reason there's not enough profit to be made. Not that they'd lose money over it (ever seen big pharma posting losses?), just that the profit margin wouldn't be big enough. Instead, the molecules end up in veterinary drugs that improve productivity (the case for one of Roche's molecules primarily developed for a certain -an severe - kind of ovarian cancer) or in a sealed envelope at the bottom of vault, never to be seen again, a complete and utter loss of knowledge.
The same goes for research. For instance, did you know several pharma companies barred researchers from developing any kind of AIDS vaccine for the past 20 year? If such a vaccine existed, it'd have to be mass produced as a generic in the face of the epidemic, which is now killing millions in under-developed (read poor) countries. Instructions were given to only develop treatments as long and expensive as possible to maximize profit.
My ex-wife works for one of Roche's competitors and she told me of several efficient drugs being shelved because the marketing dept decided the profit forecast was too slim. Thousands of people (obviously not enough) with multiple sclerosis, Crohn's disease or AIDS are being left aside dying and/or suffering on the altar of profit and (I guess mostly) shareholders' dividends.
Pharma companies are truly evil, probably a lot more than all other industries put together. The welfare of human beings definitely isn't one of their objectives and hasn't been for quite some time now. Remember they have no interest whastoever to see us fit and healthy!
Cheers,
Check the MirrorDot page, the original server is already smoking...
The easiest and best way would most certainly be to go there yourself, keep her company for awhile, and type her e-mails! It'll be a lot nicer for her in all aspects, whithout having to devise complex stuff for her to use *alone*, which will be most likely difficult and tiring for her.
Stop being a geek for a few hours and be a human friend. Parkinson's disease is extremely tiring, people affected by it at the stage you describe benefit a lot more from some human presence than any gadget, unless of course if such gagdget were to function seamlessly (wich it prolly won't).
Cheers,
Ahem, Hitler was at the head of the National Socialist party, which is a helluvalot different from the Communist party Stalin was at the head of.
Also, please refrain from mixing Socialism and Communism, it'll enhance your chances of not looking like a complete idiot in public.
With such a narrow gene pool, could this be an indication that this particular species has attained an evolutionary standpoint at which the present DNA happens to be at the end of its possible evolution?
Some genetics/evolution specialists here care to explain?
How much is it in destroyed libraries of congress? ;)
It's not just bad support for OS's other than Linux which has me so pissed with Canon either. From what I've read online, and this is just an example of one particular Canon product, the Canon BJC-5000 was one printer which came out shortly before XP, but was made "obsolete" by a slightly later model of printer shortly after, so Canon decided not to produce 5000 drivers for XP.
;)
I owned one of those and have refused to buy Canon printers ever since. They did the same thing with a laser printer, the LBP600 IIRC, which only worked with win95/98 since Canon never issued NT drivers. Now that I use Linux on a regular basis, I can't and won't be bothered with their lack of support for anyhting else than last year's OS. Their attitude is outrageous and insulting to the IT community, period.
OTOH, I really like their cameras with which I've only had success for the past 15 years (A-1, EOS 5 and Powershot G5). Their sensors and internal software are really good, IMHO better than those of Nikon. I'm actually saving for an EOS-20D with some nice wide-angle glass
You should try Chaos UT, all the fun of UT2k4 with grappling hooks and very cool weapons. My favorite mod to play with a bunch of friends.