A couple of months ago, a friend of mine was rummaging around in this old hobby store and found an old version of Illuminati still in its shrink-wrap. He bought it, of course, and we all figured out how to play it.
It's one of the weirder games I've ever played, but it's really fun if you have 2-3 hours to kill. I can still remember hanging out after hours at the local computer store (massive Geek points here) eating chile relleno burritos and playing Illuminati.
Actually, for really high Geek points, Donnie brought it to the line for Star Wars (TPM), and we played it while waiting for a movie.
The game was a lot better than the movie, but that's not saying much. I've had better sunburns than TPM.
You know how it's annoying when someone else in the same room as you has the same name, so when someone says "Bob" (for example), you both turn? Lame, right?
I don't have that problem. Nobody else is named Coda.
But why, in the name of God, do I have to share a name with a file system?
That's like naming a car model "Jim" or something. Or naming a really horrible piece of software "Bob"... =o)
(This is off-topic, I know, but it doesn't get more distracting than seeing your name pop up 50-odd times in a Slashdot discussion.)
This has to be AntiOnline's most blatant attack against their enemies yet. Their accusation relies on two unproved points: 1.) HFG == ULG This looks shabby, since the two pages are totally dissimilar, and even if they were the same it wouldn't *prove* anything. 2.) HFG == Attrition Again, totally unfounded. Attrition supplies actually documentation with their assertions, making them much more credible. JP has yet to do anything but slander. I think JP's really reaching on this one. His web page, which could be a real source of news for the underground, is instead being used to throw his vitriol. To the people who are saying "kids will be kids": we're talking about the potential ruining of careers, not slanging matches between gangs of kids. JP is in a position of power, and he's abusing that. He's the underground contact of the uninformed, and as such he can say pretty much anything with impunity. I personally think the guys at Attrition should pursue legal action.
He is going to a community college. That's why. Just imagine what his questions looked like BEFORE the editors got them.
Sorry, we can't all be rich and go to MIT like "real" hackers.
I'd love to throw down $30,000 to take general ed. classes, but you know... I'm just not as cool as you.
(Trite moral: real hackers don't need to go to prestigious school, nor do they need a degree. They need to know how to hack. Community colleges are a great place to get your general ed. requirements, or just hang out while you figure out what you're doing with your life.)
Ummm... I think your credibility would be enhanced by learning how to spell "hormones". It's kind of hard to pose as someone who's taken Bio 101 without that skill. But hey, maybe you just flunked all the papers...
Anyways, to debunk: the perception that men are tool-users whereas women sit around and cook is purely cultural. Women are just as adept at tool-making as anyone else. Stupid people will always be stupid, however, so don't talk to me about blondes and screwdrivers.
I have zero interest in most tools. I see them as things to use, not things to worship. Yet I'm a programmer. Hmmm...
If people who are interested in tools are more likely to be programmers, why are so many contractors, roofers, and other assorted builders not interesting in programming? Why is there a perception of computer people being social rejects with no practical skills?
Why is the ABA and NFL all male? Because they don't hire women. Why don't they? Because there's no qualified women. Why aren't there any qualified women? Because there's very few women football programs in college or high school. Why not? Because it's just not done.
So... who knows how many great women football players they could get if they actively recruited women? We'll never know, since economic and cultural barriers make it all but impossible.
Looking at the average for a profession indicates a *statistical* relationship, not a *causal* relationship. NFL players aren't male because men are better football players, NFL players are male because the NFL recruits men.
I'm sure you could froth at the mouth about how women aren't as strong as NFL players, and how they're slower, blah blah blah. You can't compare the average woman to the average NFL player. Try comparing the average man to the NFL player.
You can't tell who would be great for a job just by looking at who normally occupies those jobs. (It would mean that white guys are *meant* to be in power, and that sounds too much like manifest destiny for me.)
Also, please leave the Red Baiting at home. It's great that you're a flaming Capitalist. Yeehaw. Moving on...
CMS is not actively recruiting women at the expense of men, they're tapping into a market that has gone untouched for too long. Isn't that what capitalism is all about?
It's not quotas, it's not affirmative action, it's not keeping the Man down. They just feel that females would bring a little something to the classes... and they're right.
Ok, this is stupid. Kids shouldn't watch TV. That's plain old common sense, not people trying to oppress the kids. TV is not good. TV is not a right. SOMEONE needs to find out how media affects kids. Simple truth. Someone's doing that. Why are you bitching?
I mean, it just seems that you're trying to back the underdog here, regardless of whether or not the action is good. Your motto now seems to be "leave the kids alone." It's ok for kids not to watch TV. It's ok for kids not to watch movies. That's a good thing. If someone wanted to limit kid's access to books, the internet, etc., then you can get pissy. There is nothing educational about the ***VAST*** majority of TV and movies. There is no reason beyond entertainment, and the entertainment is unhealthy at that.
I really thought some of your articles were good, but shit... this is really pretty lame. DO NOT DEFEND TV. TV IS BAD. TV IS AN ATOMIZING FORCE IN SOCIETY. THERE IS NO REASON FOR TV.
Katz, this is really stupid. You're trying to defend kids' inalienable rights to see crappy movies?
I honestly think most kids would benefit from not seeing the crap in the theaters right now. They would be better off going for a walk, hanging out at a coffee house, or reading the newspaper.
You're protesting the petty abuses of middle management, when the real damage is being done on a much grander scale. Are people really better off for seeing Eyes Wide Shut? Should people be complaining about being left out of the entertainment complex?
"Oh damn, I didn't see some trite piece of cinematic crap that I'd have to pay $10 for, which is approximately the price of a book. Bloody hell!"
Instead of sneaking in, how about not seeing movies at all? That would really show the big guys what's up. And think about it: if only a minority of kids saw the crap on screen these days, politicians couldn't attack violent/profane/sexual movies as the cause of all teenage instability.
Kids! Unite! See only independent movies at independent movie theaters! Fight the man!
Just for bragging's sake, I've read _Ender's_Shadow_. A friend of mine's mother was a book dealer, so she'd come back from conventions with lots of one-offs and "do not distribute" copies. Long story short, I borrowed _Ender's_Shadow_ and read it. *VERY* good book.
It's about Bean, the little kid in Ender's squadron. It's from his point of view, and where he came from, who he is, etc. Card calls this a "parallel novel." Anyways, I thought it was more like _Ender's_Game_ than any of the sequels, mainly because some of it takes place in Battle School.
Don't read _Shadow_ before _Game_, however. _Shadow_ gives a lot of stuff away about _Game_, but not visa versa.
According to dictionary.com, "censorship" is, among other things, the act of "deleting parts of publications or correspondence or theatrical performances."
Now, some of us make choices to have our input censored, granted, but your daughter did not make the choice to have you as her father, nor did she make the choice to have her input censored.
Some of us make choices, children have choices made for them. Now, I understand that it's in the best interests of children to not see certain things, but "the children" are used as bait in the war against all things not Disney.
I have to show ID to see a damn movie because we need to protect the children all of a sudden. Congress wanted to regulate the internet to save the children.
So many people do things in the name of children, but no one has asked children what they want done. I'm not saying children should have full access, but I do think that people really need to think about what they're doing in the name of their children.
Look any socialist country. All state-run industries are bloated, inefficient, and under productive. What's so special about the USPS that it should be different?
Ah yes... but they're cheap. Corporations are interested in one thing: profits. Serving the customer well is a means to an end, not the end itself.
Some things, it's true, shouldn't be government-run. Some industries are non-essential, and hyper-competition can be a good thing for the consumer.
Health care, for example, should be government-run. "Right," someone's going to say, "but then you'll end up waiting 3 hours for a Band-Aid." The obvious answer to this involves spending time in a hospital. The last time I was in one was when my father dislocated his shoulder. It took 5 hours to establish that it was no longer dislocated and $600 in bills (painkiller, brace, ice pack, etc) to "fix" the problem.
Fast, efficient service? No. Less paperwork? No. Lower prices? No. More industry experts? No. (The doctor that we saw for all of 15 minutes looked younger than me.) Also, since I moved out, I'm uninsured. If I get a broken leg or something, I'm fucked. If I get cancer or some other expensive disease, I'm going to have to die.
So when I look at any socialist country (hell, let's say Sweden) I see free schools and free medicine. Yes, yes, the taxes are massive, but what's 80% of jack shit?
I think that the majority of people here are jumping to conclusions. Mindcraft's behavior can be explained without them being a puppet of MS.
I'm guessing that the guys at Mindcraft aren't real hardcore Linux hackers, and so when the time came for a head-to-head, they setup Linux as best they could, setup NT, and did some tests. The Linux community, such as it is, felt their OS was being dissed, and wah lah, holy war.
Thanks to the great reaction of the Linux community, the mainstream media began looking at the study with honest-to-god skepticism instead of reporting "LUsers Hate Mindcraft".
Now Mindcraft more than likely feels like they're under attack, which they are. If you put out a study saying NT is better than Linux, prepare to deal with a lot of criticism.
Mindcraft's money comes from people wanting to hire them as independent testers. If no one trusts them, they lose big time. Right now they're trying to get trust in their company back up by making another test which is much more open.
MS doesn't have to figure into any of this, and I think if you all run around looking under your beds for the Evil Empire of MS, you'll just look silly.
This does not mean that I think the study's results are valid, nor do I think that NT is better than Linux, nor do I work for MS or Mindcraft. IANAL, YMMV, and all the related disclaimers.
Just remember... if someone accused *you* of cheating, lying, and incompetence, wouldn't you try and refute those claims?
Slashdot Mirror
A couple of months ago, a friend of mine was rummaging around in this old hobby store and found an old version of Illuminati still in its shrink-wrap. He bought it, of course, and we all figured out how to play it.
It's one of the weirder games I've ever played, but it's really fun if you have 2-3 hours to kill. I can still remember hanging out after hours at the local computer store (massive Geek points here) eating chile relleno burritos and playing Illuminati.
Actually, for really high Geek points, Donnie brought it to the line for Star Wars (TPM), and we played it while waiting for a movie.
The game was a lot better than the movie, but that's not saying much. I've had better sunburns than TPM.
You know how it's annoying when someone else in the same room as you has the same name, so when someone says "Bob" (for example), you both turn? Lame, right?
I don't have that problem. Nobody else is named Coda.
But why, in the name of God, do I have to share a name with a file system?
That's like naming a car model "Jim" or something. Or naming a really horrible piece of software "Bob"... =o)
(This is off-topic, I know, but it doesn't get more distracting than seeing your name pop up 50-odd times in a Slashdot discussion.)
If it walks like a duck, talks like a duck, and acts like a duck, it is most likely a duck.
But to continue with the flawed metaphor, how can you tell two ducks apart? How can you tell that two piles of duck shit came from the same duck?
Also, AntiOnline covers far more "hacker groups" than Attrition. Why wouldn't AntiOnline hack a few sites to stir up something on a slow news day?
So, besides being a shill for AntiOnline, what do you do in your spare time?
This has to be AntiOnline's most blatant attack against their enemies yet. Their accusation relies on two unproved points: 1.) HFG == ULG This looks shabby, since the two pages are totally dissimilar, and even if they were the same it wouldn't *prove* anything. 2.) HFG == Attrition Again, totally unfounded. Attrition supplies actually documentation with their assertions, making them much more credible. JP has yet to do anything but slander. I think JP's really reaching on this one. His web page, which could be a real source of news for the underground, is instead being used to throw his vitriol. To the people who are saying "kids will be kids": we're talking about the potential ruining of careers, not slanging matches between gangs of kids. JP is in a position of power, and he's abusing that. He's the underground contact of the uninformed, and as such he can say pretty much anything with impunity. I personally think the guys at Attrition should pursue legal action.
He is going to a community college. That's why. Just imagine what his questions looked like BEFORE the editors got them.
Sorry, we can't all be rich and go to MIT like "real" hackers.
I'd love to throw down $30,000 to take general ed. classes, but you know... I'm just not as cool as you.
(Trite moral: real hackers don't need to go to prestigious school, nor do they need a degree. They need to know how to hack. Community colleges are a great place to get your general ed. requirements, or just hang out while you figure out what you're doing with your life.)
Ummm... I think your credibility would be enhanced by learning how to spell "hormones". It's kind of hard to pose as someone who's taken Bio 101 without that skill. But hey, maybe you just flunked all the papers...
Anyways, to debunk: the perception that men are tool-users whereas women sit around and cook is purely cultural. Women are just as adept at tool-making as anyone else. Stupid people will always be stupid, however, so don't talk to me about blondes and screwdrivers.
I have zero interest in most tools. I see them as things to use, not things to worship. Yet I'm a programmer. Hmmm...
If people who are interested in tools are more likely to be programmers, why are so many contractors, roofers, and other assorted builders not interesting in programming? Why is there a perception of computer people being social rejects with no practical skills?
Chalk it up to "hormons".
Why is the ABA and NFL all male? Because they don't hire women. Why don't they? Because there's no qualified women. Why aren't there any qualified women? Because there's very few women football programs in college or high school. Why not? Because it's just not done.
So... who knows how many great women football players they could get if they actively recruited women? We'll never know, since economic and cultural barriers make it all but impossible.
Looking at the average for a profession indicates a *statistical* relationship, not a *causal* relationship. NFL players aren't male because men are better football players, NFL players are male because the NFL recruits men.
I'm sure you could froth at the mouth about how women aren't as strong as NFL players, and how they're slower, blah blah blah. You can't compare the average woman to the average NFL player. Try comparing the average man to the NFL player.
You can't tell who would be great for a job just by looking at who normally occupies those jobs. (It would mean that white guys are *meant* to be in power, and that sounds too much like manifest destiny for me.)
Also, please leave the Red Baiting at home. It's great that you're a flaming Capitalist. Yeehaw. Moving on...
CMS is not actively recruiting women at the expense of men, they're tapping into a market that has gone untouched for too long. Isn't that what capitalism is all about?
It's not quotas, it's not affirmative action, it's not keeping the Man down. They just feel that females would bring a little something to the classes... and they're right.
So... big thumbs up for CMS!
Ok, this is stupid. Kids shouldn't watch TV. That's plain old common sense, not people trying to oppress the kids. TV is not good. TV is not a right. SOMEONE needs to find out how media affects kids. Simple truth. Someone's doing that. Why are you bitching?
I mean, it just seems that you're trying to back the underdog here, regardless of whether or not the action is good. Your motto now seems to be "leave the kids alone." It's ok for kids not to watch TV. It's ok for kids not to watch movies. That's a good thing. If someone wanted to limit kid's access to books, the internet, etc., then you can get pissy. There is nothing educational about the ***VAST*** majority of TV and movies. There is no reason beyond entertainment, and the entertainment is unhealthy at that.
I really thought some of your articles were good, but shit... this is really pretty lame. DO NOT DEFEND TV. TV IS BAD. TV IS AN ATOMIZING FORCE IN SOCIETY. THERE IS NO REASON FOR TV.
Pick a new subject.
Katz, this is really stupid. You're trying to defend kids' inalienable rights to see crappy movies?
I honestly think most kids would benefit from not seeing the crap in the theaters right now. They would be better off going for a walk, hanging out at a coffee house, or reading the newspaper.
You're protesting the petty abuses of middle management, when the real damage is being done on a much grander scale. Are people really better off for seeing Eyes Wide Shut? Should people be complaining about being left out of the entertainment complex?
"Oh damn, I didn't see some trite piece of cinematic crap that I'd have to pay $10 for, which is approximately the price of a book. Bloody hell!"
Instead of sneaking in, how about not seeing movies at all? That would really show the big guys what's up. And think about it: if only a minority of kids saw the crap on screen these days, politicians couldn't attack violent/profane/sexual movies as the cause of all teenage instability.
Kids! Unite! See only independent movies at independent movie theaters! Fight the man!
Just for bragging's sake, I've read _Ender's_Shadow_. A friend of mine's mother was a book dealer, so she'd come back from conventions with lots of one-offs and "do not distribute" copies. Long story short, I borrowed _Ender's_Shadow_ and read it. *VERY* good book.
It's about Bean, the little kid in Ender's squadron. It's from his point of view, and where he came from, who he is, etc. Card calls this a "parallel novel." Anyways, I thought it was more like _Ender's_Game_ than any of the sequels, mainly because some of it takes place in Battle School.
Don't read _Shadow_ before _Game_, however. _Shadow_ gives a lot of stuff away about _Game_, but not visa versa.
Rah rah rah.
*sigh
Yeah, I think kids should really be watching more movies. I mean, the movies in theaters now are so fucking great and all...
I might agree if there was something in theaters that was worth watching, but as it is, this just reads like an "Anarchy Text Phile."
"h0W t3W bL3w b4wKz d4 m00v33 tH33teR, by j0n k4tZ"
It reminds me *way* too much of 7th grade.
According to dictionary.com, "censorship" is, among other things, the act of "deleting parts of publications or correspondence or theatrical performances."
Now, some of us make choices to have our input censored, granted, but your daughter did not make the choice to have you as her father, nor did she make the choice to have her input censored.
Some of us make choices, children have choices made for them. Now, I understand that it's in the best interests of children to not see certain things, but "the children" are used as bait in the war against all things not Disney.
I have to show ID to see a damn movie because we need to protect the children all of a sudden. Congress wanted to regulate the internet to save the children.
So many people do things in the name of children, but no one has asked children what they want done. I'm not saying children should have full access, but I do think that people really need to think about what they're doing in the name of their children.
Blame Canada.
Look any socialist country. All state-run industries are bloated, inefficient, and under productive. What's so special about the USPS that it should be different?
Ah yes... but they're cheap. Corporations are interested in one thing: profits. Serving the customer well is a means to an end, not the end itself.
Some things, it's true, shouldn't be government-run. Some industries are non-essential, and hyper-competition can be a good thing for the consumer.
Health care, for example, should be government-run. "Right," someone's going to say, "but then you'll end up waiting 3 hours for a Band-Aid." The obvious answer to this involves spending time in a hospital. The last time I was in one was when my father dislocated his shoulder. It took 5 hours to establish that it was no longer dislocated and $600 in bills (painkiller, brace, ice pack, etc) to "fix" the problem.
Fast, efficient service? No.
Less paperwork? No.
Lower prices? No.
More industry experts? No. (The doctor that we saw for all of 15 minutes looked younger than me.)
Also, since I moved out, I'm uninsured. If I get a broken leg or something, I'm fucked. If I get cancer or some other expensive disease, I'm going to have to die.
So when I look at any socialist country (hell, let's say Sweden) I see free schools and free medicine. Yes, yes, the taxes are massive, but what's 80% of jack shit?
I think that the majority of people here are jumping to conclusions. Mindcraft's behavior can be explained without them being a puppet of MS.
I'm guessing that the guys at Mindcraft aren't real hardcore Linux hackers, and so when the time came for a head-to-head, they setup Linux as best they could, setup NT, and did some tests. The Linux community, such as it is, felt their OS was being dissed, and wah lah, holy war.
Thanks to the great reaction of the Linux community, the mainstream media began looking at the study with honest-to-god skepticism instead of reporting "LUsers Hate Mindcraft".
Now Mindcraft more than likely feels like they're under attack, which they are. If you put out a study saying NT is better than Linux, prepare to deal with a lot of criticism.
Mindcraft's money comes from people wanting to hire them as independent testers. If no one trusts them, they lose big time. Right now they're trying to get trust in their company back up by making another test which is much more open.
MS doesn't have to figure into any of this, and I think if you all run around looking under your beds for the Evil Empire of MS, you'll just look silly.
This does not mean that I think the study's results are valid, nor do I think that NT is better than Linux, nor do I work for MS or Mindcraft. IANAL, YMMV, and all the related disclaimers.
Just remember... if someone accused *you* of cheating, lying, and incompetence, wouldn't you try and refute those claims?
Something to think about.