Yeah, but things like health care and pensions are not in our Constitution. A *right* like freedom of the press IS protected from Government intrusion by our Constitution. So don't lump these all together.
But I do not believe the problem is any Government intrusion on that right. It's more of a problem of media companies having to compete for ratings by sensationalizing and making sure stories are interesting. In that sense there is no true freedom of press because sometimes the truth is spun or slants are added to make it "interesting". And any "free" news agency that tries to report the actual news that is not one of the big guys (CNN, FOX, etc) is just seen a "conspiracy rag".
Take for example someone trying to write an article pointing out some negative aspects of all the aid money we send to Israel. I'm not leaning one way or the other, but clearly, according to our media big dogs, Israel can do no wrong, so any article like that would be slapped as "anti-Semite" right away, and the newspaper labeled as some backwards commie tabloid. Just an example of what I see as the true limitation of our freedom of press here in the U.S...
Thoughts?
Re:How so? *spoiler*
on
0wnz0red
·
· Score: 3, Insightful
Yeah, I just don't get the Stephenson fascination. Everyone said Snow Crash was such a great book, so I read it. I will never read another Stephenson book again. Ever. That was the WORST ending to a decent setup ever. I just couldn't believe what I was reading. It's like he totally gave up on even attempting a reasonable conclusion.
At my company, since we're small, we need to know that new developers will click quickly. We do a technical paper exam (one hour) with some standard programming/algorithm questions. We then do a few riddles and logic puzzles. These are the best way to test raw intelligence, IMHO, since you have to think abstractly and quickly. We then do a few more design questions at a white board to test their skills at high-level design and diagrams.
However, the one thing that is difficult to test but really seems to be the deciding factor of a new hire "working out" or not, is whether or not they have the "passion". One way we try to determine their take on programming (just a job vs. a fun hobby) is to ask them to describe one software project that they have developed on their own time (not on the job or necessarily part of schoolwork). It's amazing how few actually code for fun or just to continue the learning process.
We then ask them what their favorite joke is just to jolt them a bit and see if they have a sense of humor. Most people fail this question, unfortunately;-).
Same here! I had to resort to a clean install. The Ximian red-carpet installer totally trashed my system. It kept installing multiple versions of the same package, and dependencies were far more busted than I thought possible. I also couldn't update past 7.1, so I just decided to do a fresh install and never touch Ximian again.
*shudder*
In fact, the whole Ximian Gnome experience was the final nail in my personal Gnome coffin. I made the switch to KDE after all that mess.
Actually, I've heard a story of someone on the Penn Turnpike getting a huge ticket because they did that calculation based on the entry and exit locations (stamped on the toll ticket), and the time stamps. The average speed turned out to be over 100 mph, so the cops just pulled him over right after he payed the exit toll.
See, this is the kind of stuff that gets us all scared. Everything will be monitored and compiled in some huge database, automatically sending out speeding tickets.
<sarcasm>Boy I'm glad I live in a free country</sarcasm>
My early six-switch Atari is in mint condition and sits in a primary space in my entertainment center. I have 120 games, controllers, etc. I just recently hacked my 2600 to get RCA video and audio outputs; much easier than using that old TV/Game switch on the coax line, so I'm playing it more often now. Pitfall. Best game. Period.
All were acquired through your friend and mine, Ebay. It is *the* place to find vintage Atari items.
There is also a store, BEST Electronics, that pretty much only sells Atari stuff. Check out their web page here: http://www.best-electronics-ca.com/
I've ordered several items from them; excellent shop.
2) But why did "they" choose the one, boring clock? ASClock was far superior.
3) I can't even startup the Sawfish config tools, so it looks like that'll remain a problem for me. None of the sawfish tools startup; a rep-gtk issue, I believe.
Overall, I'm *not* impressed with 2.0. I upgraded from 1.4 about two weeks ago, and have been fighting with things ever since. Can't even get anti-aliased fonts working.
Perhaps I'm just missing some things, but I can't find:
1) The window manager switcher (I don't want Sawfish) 2) A lot of the cool panel applets from 1.4 (clock) 3) A way to save a session and have it remember window positions (it'll start programs that were "saved", but they all default to the middle of the desktop)
Agree! I just upgraded to Gnome 2.0 on this old 400 Mhz AMD machine and it's *a lot* faster than old Gnome 1.4. I'm no longer deathly afraid to start up Nautilus!
Good work guys! This release is amazing. I'm still exploring all the new cool features...
I ordered an Afterburner the day pre-orders were avaiable, and received mine about two weeks ago. Installation was a breeze. The screen looks *so* good now. You can actually play the Gameboy Advance in all light conditions. I found that even in bright light, you had to continuously adjust the angle of the device because of nasty glare and reflections. And of course, in dim light, it was a no show. With the new light kit, however, not only can you play in the dark, but I find it much easier to play in bright light because of an anti-reflective coating that is also provided in the kit.
With all this "feel-good" methodology used in schools, it's no wonder people are getting dumber. 2+2=5? Sure, Timmy, if that makes you feel good. Central America is Kansas? Sure, that's right for you. Everyone's a winner!
I for one am sick of it. Where is the intellectual discipline? Our society will get dumber and dumber until the government no longer functions, because democracy is built upon a supposition that the populace is smart enough to know what to vote for.
Amen, brother! 'Course it's like the boiled frog. And the reason it keeps getting worse is because the people are not educated. People don't know their own country's history anymore. I'd bet most people think the cause of the Revolutionary War was those pesky Americans throwing tea overboard.
Why can't parents, and not the government, keep their children from violent and explicit games? And why can't we have a few more judges that have some common sense?
Every day you see more and more proof that the left is gaining more and more ground in this country. Things like this where government protection seems to be the only solution, so we slowly learn to accept more and more governmental control.
Yeah, I know, T(H)GSB, but oh well. This is important to me.
I wonder if in a few years, when internet telephony takes off here in the States, we'll see the telco's trying to push new legislation to ban or regulate it to make up for their lack of flexible business model.
You know, like the RIAA is doing? Gee, don't try to embrace new technology and make money off of it, just buy some legislation to make sure you may remain entrenched in your old ways...
The problem is that our government system was based on the idea of an educated people. You can't have a government by the people if all the people are just plain stupid.
These days you don't even have to be able to read or have an I.Q. above that of a coffee table to vote.
So basically, there is no hope.
Even when you try to have a simple reading test implemented in order to grant a license to vote it gets shot down by the Supreme Court (aww, the poor people can't vote because they can't read).
In my opinion, the only way to change the system is to force people to pass three simple one-page tests in order to get a voter registration card. First would be a simple history test. Second would be a simple math test. Third would be a simple test on the U.S. Constitution (perhaps just make 'em read the darn thing!!!).
Only after an educated voter base is established can these truly idiotic laws not get through.
Just wait until online voting happens and you can only vote if you register with their online services. And then taxes will only be paid online. Then passports will be requested online. Then you'll have to get your mandated federal ID online. Etc.
Sure, you're not worried now, but you always need to think about the next step.
People don't even understand percentages, let alone higher math concepts.
When asked why they now tip wait staff 25%, a friend of a friend replied "inflation". Just think about that for a second.
Unfortunately, it's the same people that think cutting taxes only benefits "the rich". You cut taxes across the board by 2%, and they all cry foul, like the rich are "getting more". Well hello, they pay more! Don't you understand what a percentage means??!?
I think it's funny the mindset the gov't has gotten us into. If we get a refund, we think we're getting money from the gov't. If we have to pay, we think it's so unfair we're having to pay the gov't.
Fact of the matter is, you pay both ways. Just in the former case you overpaid (free loan to the gov't), and in the latter case you didn't pay enough (not a free loan though, you may get penalized).
Automatic payroll deduction is one of the nastiest tricks the over-sized government has pulled on us! If we actually had to write out checks each year for the full amount we're *actually* paying, the government realizes there would be a tax revolt that very year. But take out a little each check, and no problem.
The reason electronic books have not harmed physical book sales is a much different argument than the music thing.
The reason e-books have not harmed book sales is because nobody wants to stare at a computer screen for hours reading a book, forgetting where they left off and having trouble following the scrolling as they go. People still want a set of pages they can physically touch. It's been like that for hundreds of years, and I know I don't find reading a book on a computer relaxing AT ALL after I've been staring at it for 10 hours at work already.
The music all ends up in the same medium most of the time; namely a CD. So the delivery mechanism is the same. Not so with e-books. Hence the apple and oranges comparison.
Think about Australia. A while ago they had to register a handgun with the country. People were upset, but the other side said "as long as you don't do anything wrong with the gun, why does it matter whether or not we have your registration?"
So, everyone registered.
Then, years later, the government used those registrations to go door to door and collect all the guns because they thought it would help decrease crime.
See, it's just the little things at first; the little pieces that eventually lead to something major. You're right, it's no big deal if we don't do anything illegal *now*, but how can we keep the government in check if they keep taking away our liberties?
P.S. - Crimes went up an amazing amount in Australia just the next year. Especially home breakins because the thiefs knew the homeowners wouldn't have a gun.
This morning I signed up for Dish Network. I got a nice channel selection, and for $5 more per month I got my 7 local channels (NBC, FOX, ABC, CBS, PBS, UPN, WB).
It *was* the lack of local channels keeping me from satellite until I heard about this local channel package. And there was no way I was shelling out the outrageous sums to the local cable monopoly.
Check out Dish; they have some great offers going on right now.
Slashdot Mirror
Amen!
The concept of "Homeland Security" was invented 215 years ago with the 2nd amendment to our Constitution.
Yeah, but things like health care and pensions are not in our Constitution. A *right* like freedom of the press IS protected from Government intrusion by our Constitution. So don't lump these all together.
But I do not believe the problem is any Government intrusion on that right. It's more of a problem of media companies having to compete for ratings by sensationalizing and making sure stories are interesting. In that sense there is no true freedom of press because sometimes the truth is spun or slants are added to make it "interesting". And any "free" news agency that tries to report the actual news that is not one of the big guys (CNN, FOX, etc) is just seen a "conspiracy rag".
Take for example someone trying to write an article pointing out some negative aspects of all the aid money we send to Israel. I'm not leaning one way or the other, but clearly, according to our media big dogs, Israel can do no wrong, so any article like that would be slapped as "anti-Semite" right away, and the newspaper labeled as some backwards commie tabloid. Just an example of what I see as the true limitation of our freedom of press here in the U.S...
Thoughts?
Yeah, I just don't get the Stephenson fascination. Everyone said Snow Crash was such a great book, so I read it. I will never read another Stephenson book again. Ever. That was the WORST ending to a decent setup ever. I just couldn't believe what I was reading. It's like he totally gave up on even attempting a reasonable conclusion.
At my company, since we're small, we need to know that new developers will click quickly. We do a technical paper exam (one hour) with some standard programming/algorithm questions. We then do a few riddles and logic puzzles. These are the best way to test raw intelligence, IMHO, since you have to think abstractly and quickly. We then do a few more design questions at a white board to test their skills at high-level design and diagrams.
;-).
However, the one thing that is difficult to test but really seems to be the deciding factor of a new hire "working out" or not, is whether or not they have the "passion". One way we try to determine their take on programming (just a job vs. a fun hobby) is to ask them to describe one software project that they have developed on their own time (not on the job or necessarily part of schoolwork). It's amazing how few actually code for fun or just to continue the learning process.
We then ask them what their favorite joke is just to jolt them a bit and see if they have a sense of humor. Most people fail this question, unfortunately
Same here! I had to resort to a clean install. The Ximian red-carpet installer totally trashed my system. It kept installing multiple versions of the same package, and dependencies were far more busted than I thought possible. I also couldn't update past 7.1, so I just decided to do a fresh install and never touch Ximian again.
*shudder*
In fact, the whole Ximian Gnome experience was the final nail in my personal Gnome coffin. I made the switch to KDE after all that mess.
Actually, I've heard a story of someone on the Penn Turnpike getting a huge ticket because they did that calculation based on the entry and exit locations (stamped on the toll ticket), and the time stamps. The average speed turned out to be over 100 mph, so the cops just pulled him over right after he payed the exit toll.
See, this is the kind of stuff that gets us all scared. Everything will be monitored and compiled in some huge database, automatically sending out speeding tickets.
<sarcasm>Boy I'm glad I live in a free country</sarcasm>
My early six-switch Atari is in mint condition and sits in a primary space in my entertainment center. I have 120 games, controllers, etc. I just recently hacked my 2600 to get RCA video and audio outputs; much easier than using that old TV/Game switch on the coax line, so I'm playing it more often now. Pitfall. Best game. Period.
All were acquired through your friend and mine, Ebay. It is *the* place to find vintage Atari items.
There is also a store, BEST Electronics, that pretty much only sells Atari stuff. Check out their web page here: http://www.best-electronics-ca.com/
I've ordered several items from them; excellent shop.
1) No, that's where it used to be. No longer.
2) But why did "they" choose the one, boring clock? ASClock was far superior.
3) I can't even startup the Sawfish config tools, so it looks like that'll remain a problem for me. None of the sawfish tools startup; a rep-gtk issue, I believe.
Overall, I'm *not* impressed with 2.0. I upgraded from 1.4 about two weeks ago, and have been fighting with things ever since. Can't even get anti-aliased fonts working.
Perhaps I'm just missing some things, but I can't find:
1) The window manager switcher (I don't want Sawfish)
2) A lot of the cool panel applets from 1.4 (clock)
3) A way to save a session and have it remember window positions (it'll start programs that were "saved", but they all default to the middle of the desktop)
Can anyone fill me in? Thanks.
Agree! I just upgraded to Gnome 2.0 on this old 400 Mhz AMD machine and it's *a lot* faster than old Gnome 1.4. I'm no longer deathly afraid to start up Nautilus!
Good work guys! This release is amazing. I'm still exploring all the new cool features...
I ordered an Afterburner the day pre-orders were avaiable, and received mine about two weeks ago. Installation was a breeze. The screen looks *so* good now. You can actually play the Gameboy Advance in all light conditions. I found that even in bright light, you had to continuously adjust the angle of the device because of nasty glare and reflections. And of course, in dim light, it was a no show. With the new light kit, however, not only can you play in the dark, but I find it much easier to play in bright light because of an anti-reflective coating that is also provided in the kit.
Well worth the $35!
With all this "feel-good" methodology used in schools, it's no wonder people are getting dumber. 2+2=5? Sure, Timmy, if that makes you feel good. Central America is Kansas? Sure, that's right for you. Everyone's a winner!
I for one am sick of it. Where is the intellectual discipline? Our society will get dumber and dumber until the government no longer functions, because democracy is built upon a supposition that the populace is smart enough to know what to vote for.
Amen, brother! 'Course it's like the boiled frog. And the reason it keeps getting worse is because the people are not educated. People don't know their own country's history anymore. I'd bet most people think the cause of the Revolutionary War was those pesky Americans throwing tea overboard.
Why can't parents, and not the government, keep their children from violent and explicit games? And why can't we have a few more judges that have some common sense?
Every day you see more and more proof that the left is gaining more and more ground in this country. Things like this where government protection seems to be the only solution, so we slowly learn to accept more and more governmental control.
Yeah, I know, T(H)GSB, but oh well. This is important to me.
I wonder if in a few years, when internet telephony takes off here in the States, we'll see the telco's trying to push new legislation to ban or regulate it to make up for their lack of flexible business model.
You know, like the RIAA is doing? Gee, don't try to embrace new technology and make money off of it, just buy some legislation to make sure you may remain entrenched in your old ways...
The problem is that our government system was based on the idea of an educated people. You can't have a government by the people if all the people are just plain stupid.
These days you don't even have to be able to read or have an I.Q. above that of a coffee table to vote.
So basically, there is no hope.
Even when you try to have a simple reading test implemented in order to grant a license to vote it gets shot down by the Supreme Court (aww, the poor people can't vote because they can't read).
In my opinion, the only way to change the system is to force people to pass three simple one-page tests in order to get a voter registration card. First would be a simple history test. Second would be a simple math test. Third would be a simple test on the U.S. Constitution (perhaps just make 'em read the darn thing!!!).
Only after an educated voter base is established can these truly idiotic laws not get through.
Just wait until online voting happens and you can only vote if you register with their online services. And then taxes will only be paid online. Then passports will be requested online. Then you'll have to get your mandated federal ID online. Etc.
Sure, you're not worried now, but you always need to think about the next step.
People don't even understand percentages, let alone higher math concepts.
When asked why they now tip wait staff 25%, a friend of a friend replied "inflation". Just think about that for a second.
Unfortunately, it's the same people that think cutting taxes only benefits "the rich". You cut taxes across the board by 2%, and they all cry foul, like the rich are "getting more". Well hello, they pay more! Don't you understand what a percentage means??!?
Sickening.
I think it's funny the mindset the gov't has gotten us into. If we get a refund, we think we're getting money from the gov't. If we have to pay, we think it's so unfair we're having to pay the gov't.
;-)
Fact of the matter is, you pay both ways. Just in the former case you overpaid (free loan to the gov't), and in the latter case you didn't pay enough (not a free loan though, you may get penalized).
Automatic payroll deduction is one of the nastiest tricks the over-sized government has pulled on us! If we actually had to write out checks each year for the full amount we're *actually* paying, the government realizes there would be a tax revolt that very year. But take out a little each check, and no problem.
What's that example with the frog?
The reason electronic books have not harmed physical book sales is a much different argument than the music thing.
The reason e-books have not harmed book sales is because nobody wants to stare at a computer screen for hours reading a book, forgetting where they left off and having trouble following the scrolling as they go. People still want a set of pages they can physically touch. It's been like that for hundreds of years, and I know I don't find reading a book on a computer relaxing AT ALL after I've been staring at it for 10 hours at work already.
The music all ends up in the same medium most of the time; namely a CD. So the delivery mechanism is the same. Not so with e-books. Hence the apple and oranges comparison.
Think about Australia. A while ago they had to register a handgun with the country. People were upset, but the other side said "as long as you don't do anything wrong with the gun, why does it matter whether or not we have your registration?"
So, everyone registered.
Then, years later, the government used those registrations to go door to door and collect all the guns because they thought it would help decrease crime.
See, it's just the little things at first; the little pieces that eventually lead to something major. You're right, it's no big deal if we don't do anything illegal *now*, but how can we keep the government in check if they keep taking away our liberties?
P.S. - Crimes went up an amazing amount in Australia just the next year. Especially home breakins because the thiefs knew the homeowners wouldn't have a gun.
That's beautiful.
I guess they can't take the heat! As they say; make speedy egress through kitchen door.
There is a chat forum on his site:
Chat forum
I went to sharp's web site and was told I needed to download Internet Explorer. Couldn't get to any useful information whatsoever.
Great job, guys. Make a PDA for techies and don't even let the techies on your web site to read about it.
This morning I signed up for Dish Network. I got a nice channel selection, and for $5 more per month I got my 7 local channels (NBC, FOX, ABC, CBS, PBS, UPN, WB).
It *was* the lack of local channels keeping me from satellite until I heard about this local channel package. And there was no way I was shelling out the outrageous sums to the local cable monopoly.
Check out Dish; they have some great offers going on right now.