Right off the bat, I'd like to see the Google Toolbar's AutoFill function kick in -- so I didn't have to enter my zip code or what have you. But that's, um, kind of obvious, isn't it?
Fine. Then for your entertainment, The Hokey Pokey, by William Shakespeare:
O proud left foot, that ventures quick within
Then soon upon a backward journey lithe.
Anon, once more the gesture, then begin:
Command sinistral pedestal to writhe.
Commence thou then the fervid Hokey-Poke,
A mad gyration, hips in wanton swirl.
To spin! A wilde release from Heavens yoke.
Blessed dervish! Surely canst go, girl.
The Hoke, the poke - banish now thy doubt
Verily, I say, 'tis what it's all about.
-- Jeff Brechlin, of Potomac Falls, Va., winner of a Washington Post contest to write a series of instructions in the style of a famous writer.
. . . we no longer possess a rocket powerful enough to send humans even as far as the Moon. . . . Nor could we quickly build a new Saturn V because, amazingly, the plans for Saturn launchers were destroyed as part of a NASA housecleaning exercise.
Source: A Short History of Nearly Everything, by Bill Bryson, p. 205
http://www.amazon.com/gp/reader/0767908171/ref=sib _vae_pg_205/002-9859089-1211215?%5Fencoding=UTF8&k eywords=saturn%20v&p=S068&twc=4&checkSum=y305LsM1f sDb9ICtDFTWocZin%2BkpbNmn9NVEycXMNR4%3D#reader-lin k
. . . is to give the voting system a much-needed tweak. I think most people would agree that if Nader hadn't run, Gore would be president. There was a similar problematic election in France recently. The problem arises from the system of plurality voting, which can easily lead to the paradoxical result of a lesser desired candidate winning. While there are no perfect voting systems, there are much less imperfect ones, such as the Borda count, that would allow a candidate like Jobs to run without voters having to fear that their votes for him would have no chance of counting, or would only skew the election results insofar as they had any effect. Voting can be much more democratic than it currently is.
Here's a quote from an article I came across not too long ago on voting theory:
In some elections, any candidate can win, depending on which voting system is used, says Donald Saari of the University of California, Irvine. Consider 15 people deciding what beverage to serve at a party. Six prefer milk first, wine second, and beer third; five prefer beer first, wine second, and milk third; and four prefer wine first, beer second, and milk third. In a plurality vote, milk is the clear winner. But if the group decides instead to hold a runoff election between the two top contenders--milk and beer--then beer wins, since nine people prefer it over milk. And if the group awards two points to a drink each time a voter ranks it first and one point each time a voter ranks it second, suddenly wine is the winner. Although this is a concocted example, it's not an anomaly, Saari insists.
You can get the whole article, which gives a fair overview of various voting systems, at Science News, or if you prefer: http://www.sciencenews.org/20021102/bob8.asp
Vote as an individual; lemmings end up falling off cliffs. Camaraderie is no substitute for common sense, and being your own man will make you sleep better.
--Pierre S. du Pont
The article does seem at first blush inflammatory. For example:
Her ruling thundered through the world of Marvel Comics fans. The famed X-Men, those fighters of prejudice sworn to protect a world that hates and fears them, are not human, she decreed Jan. 3. Nor are many of the villains who do battle with Spiderman and the Fantastic Four. They're all "nonhuman creatures," concluded Judge Barzilay.
What is important to remember here is that this is just the real world, and doesn't count.
One of the lessons of history is that nothing is often a good thing to do and always a clever thing to say.
--Will Durant
Slashdot Mirror
No, I think the original video is this: http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-894246225 6484380604&q=ridin%60dirty+%3A+chamillionaire&hl=e n
Yeah, it needs work:
Your search - "He's dead, Jim" did not return any results.
No, really.
Right off the bat, I'd like to see the Google Toolbar's AutoFill function kick in -- so I didn't have to enter my zip code or what have you. But that's, um, kind of obvious, isn't it?
Fine. Then for your entertainment, The Hokey Pokey, by William Shakespeare:
O proud left foot, that ventures quick within
Then soon upon a backward journey lithe.
Anon, once more the gesture, then begin:
Command sinistral pedestal to writhe.
Commence thou then the fervid Hokey-Poke,
A mad gyration, hips in wanton swirl.
To spin! A wilde release from Heavens yoke.
Blessed dervish! Surely canst go, girl.
The Hoke, the poke - banish now thy doubt
Verily, I say, 'tis what it's all about.
-- Jeff Brechlin, of Potomac Falls, Va., winner of a Washington Post contest to write a series of instructions in the style of a famous writer.
. . . we no longer possess a rocket powerful enough to send humans even as far as the Moon. . . . Nor could we quickly build a new Saturn V because, amazingly, the plans for Saturn launchers were destroyed as part of a NASA housecleaning exercise.
b _vae_pg_205/002-9859089-1211215?%5Fencoding=UTF8&k eywords=saturn%20v&p=S068&twc=4&checkSum=y305LsM1f sDb9ICtDFTWocZin%2BkpbNmn9NVEycXMNR4%3D#reader-lin k
Source: A Short History of Nearly Everything, by Bill Bryson, p. 205
http://www.amazon.com/gp/reader/0767908171/ref=si
. . . is to give the voting system a much-needed tweak. I think most people would agree that if Nader hadn't run, Gore would be president. There was a similar problematic election in France recently. The problem arises from the system of plurality voting, which can easily lead to the paradoxical result of a lesser desired candidate winning. While there are no perfect voting systems, there are much less imperfect ones, such as the Borda count, that would allow a candidate like Jobs to run without voters having to fear that their votes for him would have no chance of counting, or would only skew the election results insofar as they had any effect. Voting can be much more democratic than it currently is.
Here's a quote from an article I came across not too long ago on voting theory:
In some elections, any candidate can win, depending on which voting system is used, says Donald Saari of the University of California, Irvine. Consider 15 people deciding what beverage to serve at a party. Six prefer milk first, wine second, and beer third; five prefer beer first, wine second, and milk third; and four prefer wine first, beer second, and milk third. In a plurality vote, milk is the clear winner. But if the group decides instead to hold a runoff election between the two top contenders--milk and beer--then beer wins, since nine people prefer it over milk. And if the group awards two points to a drink each time a voter ranks it first and one point each time a voter ranks it second, suddenly wine is the winner. Although this is a concocted example, it's not an anomaly, Saari insists.
You can get the whole article, which gives a fair overview of various voting systems, at Science News, or if you prefer: http://www.sciencenews.org/20021102/bob8.asp
Vote as an individual; lemmings end up falling off cliffs. Camaraderie is no substitute for common sense, and being your own man will make you sleep better.
--Pierre S. du Pont
The article does seem at first blush inflammatory. For example:
Her ruling thundered through the world of Marvel Comics fans. The famed X-Men, those fighters of prejudice sworn to protect a world that hates and fears them, are not human, she decreed Jan. 3. Nor are many of the villains who do battle with Spiderman and the Fantastic Four. They're all "nonhuman creatures," concluded Judge Barzilay.
What is important to remember here is that this is just the real world, and doesn't count.
One of the lessons of history is that nothing is often a good thing to do and always a clever thing to say.
--Will Durant