There is almost nothing you could have done to deter me from those actions. I felt as if I was a part of a "wild frontier", and had control and abilities that very few others possessed (and, I was probably right). The feeling was that of real power - something that most people in their very early teens (when I was arrested for the crimes mentioned) don't often get a lot of... especially as the "geeky kid" at school who got picked on all the time (this was the early 90s in small town New Zealand - not the best place for a geek). Trying to convince anyone to willingly give up that sense of "worth" without getting something equal in return is pretty much impossible.
To distill down your stated motivations, you were seeking power and a form of acceptance. Not much different from most young criminals, really. And the same thing could've motivated you not to do it as does motivate them: friends who value you without requiring that you break laws.
This is why it's so important to get young kids involved in after school activities and clubs. Sure, you might not have been interested in joining a youth soccer league, but what about a chess club? Or a gaming group? Basically, anywhere where you can make friends (in real life) and get positive feedback and acceptance. If you had had those, would you still have felt the need to break into banks?
There's a world of difference between staying out after curfew or getting drunk enough to throw up on your dad when he confronts you as you try to sneak in through the patio door, and knocking a major Web portal offline. Any 15 year old should understand the difference between those two, let alone a 30 year old pining for when he was 15.
Interesting thought. Have you thought of writing a screenplay on this subject? Perhaps a comedy that would show society in, say, 500 years suffering the effects of this regression?
Is it? Have you asked the people who have their money in those banks, and rely on it to survive?
Just the fact that you asked such an idiotic question shows you have no understanding of the banking system. Furthermore, it's shortsighted greed like yours that's causing this mess in the first place.
That fact escaped you, or are you going to be like the rest of the herd, ignore history as recent as last week, and pretend this was a Democratic proposal?
Speaker Pelosi gave a rousing speech in favor of this monstrosity; President Bush did so, as well. Guess which party has clean hands in all of this?
The President will re-write your hard drive. Not only that, but he will scramble any disks that are even close to your computer. He will recalibrate your refrigerator's coolness setting so all your ice cream goes melty. He will demagnetize the strips on all your credhe cards, screw up the tracking on your television and use subspace field harmonics to scratch any CDs you try to play.
he will give your ex-girlfriend your new phone number. He will mix Kool-aid into your fishtank. He will drink all your beer and leave his socks out on the coffee table when there's company coming over. He will put a dead kitten in the back pocket of your good suhe pants and hide your car keys when you are late for work.
Bush will make you fall in love with a penguin. He will give you nightmares about circus midgets. He will pour sugar in your gas tank and shave off both your eyebrows while dating your girlfriend behind your back and billing the dinner and hotel room to your Discover card.
He will seduce your grandmother. He does not matter if she is dead, such is the power of Bush, he reaches out beyond the grave to sully those things we hold most dear.
He moves your car randomly around parking lots so you can't find it. He will kick your dog. He will leave libidinous messages on your boss's voice mail in your voice! he is insidious and subtle. He is dangerous and terrifying to behold. He is also a rather interesting shade of mauve.
Bush will give you Dutch Elm disease. He will leave the toilet seat up. He will make a batch of methamphetamine in your bathtub and then leave bacon cooking on the stove while he goes out to chase grade schoolers with your new snowblower.
It's so much fun watching Republicans and Democrats fight over who's fault the economic crisis (crises?) is. It's like watching my kids fight over who broke a toy when they were both pulling on it.
"You pulled harder! It's your fault!" "Nyuh-uh, you wouldn't let go, it's your fault!"
Grow the hell up and realize that government interference in the markets caused this shambles in the first place. More government interference won't fix anything, it'll just make things worse.
Then the Democrats should've passed bills ending funding and let Bush veto them. Then go back and compromise. That way, they would've been telling America "We tried, but we can't do it yet. Send more of us up in 2008 and we'll clean house." They failed to seize that initiative, however, and while they may still pick up some seats in November, they won't have the veto-proof majority they otherwise may have had.
Not that I want the Democrats involved any more than the Republicans, but political strategy is so fascinating.:)
Could not have happened. None of the intelligence agencies were allowed to trade information with each other, thanks the actions of a Clinton political appointee*. That's the primary reason no one was able to connect the dots about the attack in time. One group knew something was being planned, and another group knew about suspicious pilot trainees, but without connecting that information it was impossible to know what would happen.
*This isn't to blame Clinton or his administration, I believe they were acting in good faith with this rule, and thought they were doing something to protect civil liberties. They just didn't foresee the possible consequences of their actions.
Ask a stupid question, get a lot of stupid answers.
The short of it is that the people of the US all have ADHD and very short attention spans. Blah blah short term gains blah blah blah junkies blah blah blah.
If you're good enough...incorporate yourself, and go contracting.
Hey, that's a genius idea! I hate working in IT, so I'll just go start my own company so I can work in IT! And on top of it, I'll get to scout out new work on a continual basis, and will never have to worry about having a steady paycheck again for as long as I live. Why didn't I think of this before?
Being a consultant, and not just an hourly contractor, is hard. Unless you have friends and acquaintances who can help you get your first couple of contracts, you'll be living hand-to-mouth for at least the first year. It's not something to be entered into lightly, and most people in IT simply don't have the people skills to really make a go of it.
Here, here. They can start with something really tame, like just nagging about cleaning the gutters. Then move on to the hard stuff ("Why are your loser friends playing Warhammer in the garage again?"), then eventually the really insane, PTSD-inducing stuff ("Do these jeans make me look fat?") I see a huge market for this device, and not just among geeks.
Do they *really* need to state they value human life?
With the way most police departments handle no knock warrants, yes, they do need to state that up front. It would also help if they stated they valued canine life.
Interesting, the guys running the Police Department's website didn't even know enough about modern communications to add area codes to their phone numbers. No wonder they've never heard of the Streisand Effect!
Sounds like you had a crappy inspector. I've had some really good experiences with inspectors, including one who found a wiring problem that was hidden in the ductwork, and another who discovered that the drain pipes running from the gutters of the house drained right into the foundation (he poured water down to measure the drainage).
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There is almost nothing you could have done to deter me from those actions. I felt as if I was a part of a "wild frontier", and had control and abilities that very few others possessed (and, I was probably right). The feeling was that of real power - something that most people in their very early teens (when I was arrested for the crimes mentioned) don't often get a lot of... especially as the "geeky kid" at school who got picked on all the time (this was the early 90s in small town New Zealand - not the best place for a geek). Trying to convince anyone to willingly give up that sense of "worth" without getting something equal in return is pretty much impossible.
To distill down your stated motivations, you were seeking power and a form of acceptance. Not much different from most young criminals, really. And the same thing could've motivated you not to do it as does motivate them: friends who value you without requiring that you break laws.
This is why it's so important to get young kids involved in after school activities and clubs. Sure, you might not have been interested in joining a youth soccer league, but what about a chess club? Or a gaming group? Basically, anywhere where you can make friends (in real life) and get positive feedback and acceptance. If you had had those, would you still have felt the need to break into banks?
There's a world of difference between staying out after curfew or getting drunk enough to throw up on your dad when he confronts you as you try to sneak in through the patio door, and knocking a major Web portal offline. Any 15 year old should understand the difference between those two, let alone a 30 year old pining for when he was 15.
Interesting thought. Have you thought of writing a screenplay on this subject? Perhaps a comedy that would show society in, say, 500 years suffering the effects of this regression?
Are we in some kind a time loop / time DILATION FIELD. If we are we should use the ZPM powering it for other stuff.
Yes, and then put our hands on our hips and do the pelvic thrust.
I've always preferred the misanthropic principle, myself. "We see the universe the way we do because people are idiots."
The Green Party never has clean hands, they're always dirty from digging in their gardens. ;)
You're right, Bob Barr probably doesn't. ;)
Is it? Have you asked the people who have their money in those banks, and rely on it to survive?
Just the fact that you asked such an idiotic question shows you have no understanding of the banking system. Furthermore, it's shortsighted greed like yours that's causing this mess in the first place.
That fact escaped you, or are you going to be like the rest of the herd, ignore history as recent as last week, and pretend this was a Democratic proposal?
Speaker Pelosi gave a rousing speech in favor of this monstrosity; President Bush did so, as well. Guess which party has clean hands in all of this?
Then go invent a time machine, travel back in time, and fix the problem.
Oh, you can't do that? Then shut the hell up unless you have something useful to contribute.
The President will re-write your hard drive. Not only that, but he will scramble any disks that are even close to your computer. He will recalibrate your refrigerator's coolness setting so all your ice cream goes melty. He will demagnetize the strips on all your credhe cards, screw up the tracking on your television and use subspace field harmonics to scratch any CDs you try to play.
he will give your ex-girlfriend your new phone number. He will mix Kool-aid into your fishtank. He will drink all your beer and leave his socks out on the coffee table when there's company coming over. He will put a dead kitten in the back pocket of your good suhe pants and hide your car keys when you are late for work.
Bush will make you fall in love with a penguin. He will give you nightmares about circus midgets. He will pour sugar in your gas tank and shave off both your eyebrows while dating your girlfriend behind your back and billing the dinner and hotel room to your Discover card.
He will seduce your grandmother. He does not matter if she is dead, such is the power of Bush, he reaches out beyond the grave to sully those things we hold most dear.
He moves your car randomly around parking lots so you can't find it. He will kick your dog. He will leave libidinous messages on your boss's voice mail in your voice! he is insidious and subtle. He is dangerous and terrifying to behold. He is also a rather interesting shade of mauve.
Bush will give you Dutch Elm disease. He will leave the toilet seat up. He will make a batch of methamphetamine in your bathtub and then leave bacon cooking on the stove while he goes out to chase grade schoolers with your new snowblower.
It's so much fun watching Republicans and Democrats fight over who's fault the economic crisis (crises?) is. It's like watching my kids fight over who broke a toy when they were both pulling on it.
"You pulled harder! It's your fault!"
"Nyuh-uh, you wouldn't let go, it's your fault!"
Grow the hell up and realize that government interference in the markets caused this shambles in the first place. More government interference won't fix anything, it'll just make things worse.
Then the Democrats should've passed bills ending funding and let Bush veto them. Then go back and compromise. That way, they would've been telling America "We tried, but we can't do it yet. Send more of us up in 2008 and we'll clean house." They failed to seize that initiative, however, and while they may still pick up some seats in November, they won't have the veto-proof majority they otherwise may have had.
Not that I want the Democrats involved any more than the Republicans, but political strategy is so fascinating. :)
Could not have happened. None of the intelligence agencies were allowed to trade information with each other, thanks the actions of a Clinton political appointee*. That's the primary reason no one was able to connect the dots about the attack in time. One group knew something was being planned, and another group knew about suspicious pilot trainees, but without connecting that information it was impossible to know what would happen.
*This isn't to blame Clinton or his administration, I believe they were acting in good faith with this rule, and thought they were doing something to protect civil liberties. They just didn't foresee the possible consequences of their actions.
Where's the moderation for "+1, Depressing"?
Ask a stupid question, get a lot of stupid answers.
The short of it is that the people of the US all have ADHD and very short attention spans. Blah blah short term gains blah blah blah junkies blah blah blah.
Huh? Did you say something?
If you're good enough...incorporate yourself, and go contracting.
Hey, that's a genius idea! I hate working in IT, so I'll just go start my own company so I can work in IT! And on top of it, I'll get to scout out new work on a continual basis, and will never have to worry about having a steady paycheck again for as long as I live. Why didn't I think of this before?
Being a consultant, and not just an hourly contractor, is hard. Unless you have friends and acquaintances who can help you get your first couple of contracts, you'll be living hand-to-mouth for at least the first year. It's not something to be entered into lightly, and most people in IT simply don't have the people skills to really make a go of it.
If you're cleaning up that much data by hand, you're doing it wrong. Set an expiration date on the data, and purge it from your systems automatically.
Here, here. They can start with something really tame, like just nagging about cleaning the gutters. Then move on to the hard stuff ("Why are your loser friends playing Warhammer in the garage again?"), then eventually the really insane, PTSD-inducing stuff ("Do these jeans make me look fat?") I see a huge market for this device, and not just among geeks.
You know who else used to spy on Germans?
Do they *really* need to state they value human life?
With the way most police departments handle no knock warrants, yes, they do need to state that up front. It would also help if they stated they valued canine life.
Yes, but the real question is: is a sysadmin from a small city qualified to be the nation's CIO?
Interesting, the guys running the Police Department's website didn't even know enough about modern communications to add area codes to their phone numbers. No wonder they've never heard of the Streisand Effect!
If a world class education were a predictor for subscribing to real truth, there wouldn't be so many Ph.D.s in the Truther movement.
Sounds like you had a crappy inspector. I've had some really good experiences with inspectors, including one who found a wiring problem that was hidden in the ductwork, and another who discovered that the drain pipes running from the gutters of the house drained right into the foundation (he poured water down to measure the drainage).