"Ever stop to check who pays the bills for those two studies that counter every study showing a problem?"
That's an ad hominem attack. If you have a scientific basis for your objection, I would really love to read it.
"Subthermal levels of radiation can still affect the biological function of polar molecules, which can in turn can cause carcinogenic compounds to end up where they don't belong"
Where is it that these carcinogenic compounds DO belong, exactly? You're waving your hands.
"Radiation does not have to cook an organism to harm it. It simply has to cause it to malfunction."
Now demonstrate that the radiation from wifi repeaters is more harmful than, for instance, exposure to the Sun.
"If I create a video and I don't want it shown somewhere, then I should have the right to dictate that."
How do you figure that? If you write a book, are you entitled to say "People with red hair aren't allowed to read my book", and then have that desire given the force of law?
"Do you think that lets us off having to do anything about it?"
Do, what exactly? Ask the sun nicely to stop being quite so hot?
OK, so say we stop using internal combustion engines tomorrow, and every economy on Earth crashes, and I have to eat you for dinner because there's no more food distribution.
How's that going to stop the sun from getting hotter?
If you completely fail to distinguish between apples and data, then your argument is sound. Since apples and data differ in a fundamental way (you can't really copy an apple), your argument is not sound.
Giving an idea to somebody else doesn't take it away from you.
"We ended up at war as a consequence of an economc embargo of Japan?"
Absolutely.
"Nice apology for Japanese agression!"
Roosevelt drew the foul.
"Our embargo against Japan may have irritated them"
If by "irritate" you mean "cripple", yes.
Roosevelt wanted to enter the war with Germany. He knew that the American people wouldn't support him unless there was a direct threat. He baited Japan by imposing massive embargoes on critical utilities (oil, steel, rubber) and waited for them to attack. He expected it would be Midway. It wound up being Pearl Harbor.
The Achilles heel for OpenOffice is the documentation. MS Office's Help files are pretty superb, and there is no similarly comprehensive, easy to use documentation for OpenOffice.
"I guess it depends what you mean by a "big rocket." "
Something the size of a Volkswagen is a big rocket.
"They're a LOT smaller than the ones they ride up to LEO."
Duh.
"Besides, it matters a lot less how big it is when you've got the elevator lifting it."
Again, duh.
"The point is that you can do some useful things with the elevator by riding it up LEO and kicking off instead of going all the way up to GEO or the absolute end of the tether"
What gave you the impression that I didn't think this was true?
"Yeah, you need to bring along a booster rocket,"
Which was my first statement in this discussion, if I remember correctly...
"but it's better than having to ride a rocket all the way up from the surface."
"give yourself enough orbital velocity to not re-enter the atmosphere and you're good to go"
*sigh*
That's what I said. Those rockets will not be little. The delta V between LEO and geosynchronous orbit is big. Have you ever seen the spacecraft that comm satellites ride up to GEO? They're not little. You wouldn't need quite as large of a rocket as that, but it would not be a trivial thing.
"you just need a lateral kick"...from a big rocket.
"give it a boot in the right direction and then it will settle into a lower orbit "
Uh, no. You're going to have to impart a large delta-V to change orbits, just like everybody else does. The Space Elevator does not turn off orbital mechanics.
Slashdot Mirror
"Sorry to dissapoint you, but I'm a grad student in theoretical physics."
Uh huh. You still can't spell.
Yep. I think you should do Mother Earth a favor and kill yourself.
You mean like when they successfully sued Handspring for having a teeny keyboard?
Yeah, RIM has been hoist by their own petard. Sucks to be them...glad I didn't buy their crappy equipment.
Huh? How many Windows users have iPods? How many Mac users use Microsoft software? You're vastly oversimplifying.
"Ever stop to check who pays the bills for those two studies that counter every study showing a problem?"
That's an ad hominem attack. If you have a scientific basis for your objection, I would really love to read it.
"Subthermal levels of radiation can still affect the biological function of polar molecules, which can in turn can cause carcinogenic compounds to end up where they don't belong"
Where is it that these carcinogenic compounds DO belong, exactly? You're waving your hands.
"Radiation does not have to cook an organism to harm it. It simply has to cause it to malfunction."
Now demonstrate that the radiation from wifi repeaters is more harmful than, for instance, exposure to the Sun.
If you assume it's a zero-sum game, you're right. Since it's not, you're not.
CURSE those free (beer) services!
You know the expression "beggars can't be choosers"? This is what that expression is talking about.
Good thing they're in Canada, otherwise they'd have to worry about radiation from the Sun, too.
"and in typical slashdot fashion, anything that bashes paying for content get's +5 Insightful."
See, and I thought that "typical slashdot fashion" was that there's always some jackass that thinks that they're the only one bucking the Hive Mind.
+5 Insightful means that four people thought the content was worthwhile. That's all. If the moderation causes you so much hand-wringing, turn it off.
Crybaby.
"Please don't mistake the service being available to you as the same as for you"
Huh?
"If I write a book, I can dictate which bookstores it is sold in."
Nonsense.
"I can dictate which record stores can sell it"
How?
"which bands can record it"
As long as they pay you the standard licensing fee due songwriters, they can perform it any time they want to, though.
"That is how it exists today"
Maybe on some planet. Not Earth. Nor are any of these strictures you discuss your Rights.
"If I create a video and I don't want it shown somewhere, then I should have the right to dictate that."
How do you figure that? If you write a book, are you entitled to say "People with red hair aren't allowed to read my book", and then have that desire given the force of law?
You have no such right.
"Do you think that lets us off having to do anything about it?"
Do, what exactly? Ask the sun nicely to stop being quite so hot?
OK, so say we stop using internal combustion engines tomorrow, and every economy on Earth crashes, and I have to eat you for dinner because there's no more food distribution.
How's that going to stop the sun from getting hotter?
And, clearly, it's not so clear to other people. Just because you say it doesn't make it so. Same goes for judges, for that matter.
If you completely fail to distinguish between apples and data, then your argument is sound. Since apples and data differ in a fundamental way (you can't really copy an apple), your argument is not sound.
Giving an idea to somebody else doesn't take it away from you.
"We ended up at war as a consequence of an economc embargo of Japan?"
Absolutely.
"Nice apology for Japanese agression!"
Roosevelt drew the foul.
"Our embargo against Japan may have irritated them"
If by "irritate" you mean "cripple", yes.
Roosevelt wanted to enter the war with Germany. He knew that the American people wouldn't support him unless there was a direct threat. He baited Japan by imposing massive embargoes on critical utilities (oil, steel, rubber) and waited for them to attack. He expected it would be Midway. It wound up being Pearl Harbor.
The Achilles heel for OpenOffice is the documentation. MS Office's Help files are pretty superb, and there is no similarly comprehensive, easy to use documentation for OpenOffice.
"major obstical to you, you might want to spend more time on education"
Mr. Pot? Mr. Kettle. Mr. Kettle? Mr. Pot.
Here's the statement you're responding to: "You mean my engineering degree was lacking because it didn't teach me that file-sharing is wrong?"
Here's what you said: "Maybe it wasn't spoon-fed to you, but it was there - or it should have been."
Any eighth grader should be able to identify the statement you are responding to as the object of your statement.
If you're going to smartass me, you need to bring your A game.
How can either Mazda or North America have a fault, in this sense?
I'd say if you buy a car you can't refuel it's your own damn fault.
Ooooh...you showed me. Wow. It's almost enough to make me forget that you don't have the vaguest idea of what you're talking about!
Almost.
"I guess it depends what you mean by a "big rocket." "
Something the size of a Volkswagen is a big rocket.
"They're a LOT smaller than the ones they ride up to LEO."
Duh.
"Besides, it matters a lot less how big it is when you've got the elevator lifting it."
Again, duh.
"The point is that you can do some useful things with the elevator by riding it up LEO and kicking off instead of going all the way up to GEO or the absolute end of the tether"
What gave you the impression that I didn't think this was true?
"Yeah, you need to bring along a booster rocket,"
Which was my first statement in this discussion, if I remember correctly...
"but it's better than having to ride a rocket all the way up from the surface."
Welcome to Clueville.
Uh huh. BS Aerospace Engineering, May 2003. Big public university. At no point did any professor ever mention peer to peer filesharing.
"give yourself enough orbital velocity to not re-enter the atmosphere and you're good to go"
...from a big rocket.
*sigh*
That's what I said. Those rockets will not be little. The delta V between LEO and geosynchronous orbit is big. Have you ever seen the spacecraft that comm satellites ride up to GEO? They're not little. You wouldn't need quite as large of a rocket as that, but it would not be a trivial thing.
"you just need a lateral kick"
You could do it the hard way if you really wanted to... : )
"give it a boot in the right direction and then it will settle into a lower orbit "
Uh, no. You're going to have to impart a large delta-V to change orbits, just like everybody else does. The Space Elevator does not turn off orbital mechanics.