Cecil Staton was elected with 38,000 votes in middle Georgia's 18th district. (His opponent got almost 24,000 votes.) There are something like 9 million people in the state. So again, yeah, some people in Georgia elected him, but those people can hardly be held as representative of Georgia as a whole. Otherwise, we wouldn't need a State Assembly, right?
Cecil Staton, as another poster has pointed out, is kind of a known idiot. He's also all by himself on this. The response of the rest of the State Senate, and just about everyone else, has been: "What?"
It's not only a stupid idea, it's an unworkable stupid idea that's going nowhere. Yeah, it's been "proposed in Georgia", but it might as well have been proposed on the moon. It has no support in Georgia and shouldn't reflect on Georgia.
This isn't that complicated, really. NASA has to prepare a budget to request money in the first place. If they don't get the money, the budget has to decrease.
You've put together a budget for next year that adds up to $115k, partly because you've been given some new stuff to do. You currently make $100k, and you've asked for a $15k raise to cover the new stuff and inflation and whatever. If you get $10k instead, you have to decrease your budget by $5k. If you get jack squat, you have to reduce it by $15k.
That's ok, you're not alone. There's another guy here who seems to think NASA has been doing NOAA's job.
NASA's mandate is to put stuff in space when we need stuff put in space.
(b) The Congress declares that the general welfare and security of the United States require that adequate provision be made for aeronautical and space activities.
The Congress further declares that such activities shall be the responsibility of, and shall be directed by, a civilian agency exercising control over aeronautical and space activities sponsored by the United States, except that activities peculiar to or primarily associated with the development of weapons systems, military operations, or the defense of the United States...
In other words, if it ain't military and it goes into space, it's NASA's job to put it there.
Furthermore, earth science is very much a part of NASA's mission:
(d) The aeronautical and space activities of the United States shall be conducted so as to contribute materially to one or more of the following objectives:
(1) The expansion of human knowledge of the Earth and of phenomena in the atmosphere and space;
That's taken directly from National Aeronautic and Space Act, which established NASA.
The whole point of having a President is that ultimately, everything goes back to one guy. He either makes these decisions, or he appoints the people who make them. The executive branch is very much the President's government.
As a rule of thumb, if some geek on Slashdot or in your IT department claims to have Asperger's without using words like "diagnosis" or "doctor", he's almost certainly just a maladjusted, misanthropic asshole who found his excuse on Wikipedia.
I seriously doubt that Asperger's is nearly as prevalent in the IT field as jackasses with bad attitudes are.
He called to ask them what the rate would be, and was quoted $0.00002/kB. End of story. For your convenience, here is a brief list of some things that do not matter:
Every single subsequent rep also quoted the rate as $0.00002/kB. It's nice that they're consistent, but doesn't matter.
The actual rate, listed elsewhere, is $0.002/kB. That is not the rate he was quoted, so it doesn't matter.
Normal cell phone data rates are rididculously high. Well, the rate he was quoted wasn't, so it doesn't matter.
Verizon CSRs can't handle unit conversions. Hilarious, but not his problem.
Verizon billed him using the rate of $0.002/kB. Verizon can bill him whatever they want, but what he owes them is dependent only on the rate he was quoted and his usage. The amount on Verizon's bill doesn't matter.
He owes Verizon about $0.72, and should pay them $0.72 and no more. If they already hit his credit card for $72, he should call his credit card company and play them the recording he made. Credit card companies sure as hell understand money.
I bought a 32" LCD HDTV earlier this year, and I love the thing. I recently sold a bunch of stuff-- including my XBox and Gamecube-- on ebay, with the plan to use the proceeds to buy a new console. As of Saturday night, I still hadn't decided between an XBox 360 and a Wii. (The goal is to get both eventually, but two new consoles at once is just a recipe for buyer's remorse.)
Even though Gears of War is tempting as hell, and would look really sweet on my TV, I eventually decided to go with the Wii. Why? Because I still have some Gamecube games I haven't beaten. Because I really want to play with the Wiimote. Most of all, because it's $250. The "premium" 360 is still $400, with no games and limited backward compatibility.
HDTV adoption won't really hurt the Wii. It would be nice if it were prettier, sure. I'd like to play Zelda at 720p, at least. But when you combine the novelty of the controller, complete backward compatibility, and a price that's 30% lower than the nearest competition, it's really not a big deal that your TV doesn't get to show off.
Words in law have very specific meanings, and frequently those meanings are spelled out within the laws themselves. This is not a bad thing, and it's basically inevitable anyway. Jargon happens.
This is just a guarantee to cover their collective asses if Nintendo doesn't ship as many systems as they say they will.
So? Why is that ok?
Without that clause, if EBGames doesn't have the system they promised me, then we have a problem. If they don't have it because Nintendo promised to ship it but didn't, then EBGames and Nintendo have a problem. EBGames has to make good to me somehow, and (not that it makes any difference to me) Nintendo probably has to make good to EBGames somehow. That's how business works. This clause basically says that if Nintendo doesn't ship the system they promised EBGames (and EBGames in turn promised me), then oh well.
If EBGames chooses to cover its ass in this fashion, then there's no point in dealing with EBGames. They've basically written into the deal the phrase "by the way, our supplier cannot be trusted, so we cannot be trusted either". So screw 'em.
... a reservation deposit does not guarantee receipt of a system available to purchase at launch.
That's not a reservation, it's a carnival game. I was going to preorder a Wii at the EBGames that's less than half a mile from my house, but screw it. What's the point?
An AC already pointed this out, but I'm without mod points: This is not patronage. A patron supports the worker until the work is completed. These people are supporting themselves while they do the work, and collecting payment only if and when the work is done to the payer's satisfaction.
We have a scheduled meeting every single day, at the same time. Lasts 10-15 minutes most days-- it's longer on Tuesdays. It's an essential part of our process, which is a sort of modified Scrum, and it works extremely well.
Word on the interblogosupersphereway was that there would be another Nintendo event in New York today, presumably to announce the price and release date of the Wii in North America. In the excitement over the event in Japan last night though, everybody seems to have forgotten about it.
The information in this story conflicts with the information coming out of Japan last night, and is basically unconfirmed rumor right now.
So, does anybody know what time the New York event is supposed to start? Is anybody going to cover it, or is everyone sleeping late after staying up to read Famitsu translations?
Now you can sync everything you buy on the iTunes Store back to any authorized computer.
See that? See how it says you can sync stuff back to a computer? From the iPod? Do you need some sort of picture with an ipod and a computer and an arrow from the ipod to the computer that says "BACK" over it, in order to make that clearer?
Hey check it out, I will even follow links for you. This right here is from the page to which the word "back" links:
SYNC BOTH WAYS
...
But what if you want to hear that song at work? Now you can, with reverse sync. Connect your iPod to any authorized computer -- iTunes lets you authorize up to five -- and you can sync everything you purchased from the iTunes Store back to it.(1)
...
1. Music and media not purchased from the iTunes store only syncs one way, from your computer to your iPod.
Okay? Do you understand now that Apple has added a new feature, which they call reverse sync, which allows you to sync in a reverse fashion (ie back, ie from an iPod to a computer)? Do you further understand that this is a new feature in iTunes, and that it does not involve manually copying files to your iPod, mounted as a disk? Is it clear now, to you, that this is not the same functionality as that to which you so snidely directed me, a person who is frankly your better, if only in the realm of reading comprehension?
Is there anything else I can help you with? Are you able to follow the news without assistance? Would you like me to read to you some instructions for tying your damn shoelaces, and perhaps walk you through the diagrams? Perhaps it would be better to direct you to a literacy program, which is a place where you can learn to read (ie teach a man, namely you, to fish rather than give the man, that's you again, an actual fish which will feed him only once)? Seriously, how can I best help you, here? Because I am here to help.
A big part of the appeal of the Shuffle is that it had an integrated USB connector - you could use it to replace a USB flash drive and get an MP3 player to boot, without having to carry around a cable. Now you need a cable - a stupid proprietary one at that, not even a standard mini-USB connector.
I was happy to see the new Shuffle, until you pointed this out. Not because I want or need a USB flash drive, but because it's just less convenient. My girlfriend has one of the white Shuffles, and it's been great for mindlessly grabbing some music to take with us. I've always thought of it as a sort of sample syringe for music: You jab it into the laptop, it sucks up whatever's in there, and then you pull it out and you're good to go.
A dock isn't so bad if you have a desktop computer, but with a laptop that moves around a lot, it's suddenly a third component to keep track of, where you really only want two.
I understood all of it, guy. Which part of this did you not understand?
It's not even close to the same functionality. I don't want to store a single library on the iPod, which both machines use. I want two libraries on separate machines, and I want to use the iPod to shuttle tracks between those two libraries. You can now do that in iTunes 7, but only with tracks you've bought from iTMS.
So yeah, it's heavy as hell, but silver is like $13 per troy ounce and there are about 14.5 troy ounces in a pound. So for less than $100k you're getting a car made of something like $9.5 million worth of silver.
Sure it doesn't drive worth a damn, but that's still a pretty good deal.
On the other hand, airports are stressful. I have to get up before dawn so I can go stand in line and wait to be searched, then sit in what's effectively a really crappy, loud, uncomfortable mall, all the while worrying about missing my flight for reasons ranging from long security lines to random airline bullshit. If I do miss my flight, which has happened because of the aforementioned random airline bullshit, then this is a cascading problem-- there are reservations and probably business meetings at the other end of that flight. Typically I'm hungry, because I've gotten up too early to eat at home and the food at the airport is garbage that I can't eat before getting on a plane for several hours. By the time I get to the security gates, I'm also frequently uncomfortable from heat and from carrying bags.
All of that, and I'm not even really worried about flying, or terrorists blowing up my plane, or being pegged as a terrorist because of my ethnicity or religion. I don't have kids. I'm not generally traveling into anything stressful.
In short, airports stress me clear to hell and gone, and other people probably have far more reason, and none of us are terrorists. I'd guess that your average suicide bomber is more relaxed than I am at an airport.
If someone has proven that behavioral profiling works under these kinds of conditions, that's great and I'd love to hear about it. I just have my doubts.
Slashdot Mirror
That was a lot of words for "the show died because Ze didn't distribute it via bittorrent like I wanted him to."
a) the show ended exactly when it was supposed to, on the schedule set when it started.
b) seriously?
Cecil Staton was elected with 38,000 votes in middle Georgia's 18th district. (His opponent got almost 24,000 votes.) There are something like 9 million people in the state. So again, yeah, some people in Georgia elected him, but those people can hardly be held as representative of Georgia as a whole. Otherwise, we wouldn't need a State Assembly, right?
It's not only a stupid idea, it's an unworkable stupid idea that's going nowhere. Yeah, it's been "proposed in Georgia", but it might as well have been proposed on the moon. It has no support in Georgia and shouldn't reflect on Georgia.
You've put together a budget for next year that adds up to $115k, partly because you've been given some new stuff to do. You currently make $100k, and you've asked for a $15k raise to cover the new stuff and inflation and whatever. If you get $10k instead, you have to decrease your budget by $5k. If you get jack squat, you have to reduce it by $15k.
NASA's mandate is to put stuff in space when we need stuff put in space.
In other words, if it ain't military and it goes into space, it's NASA's job to put it there.
Furthermore, earth science is very much a part of NASA's mission:
That's taken directly from National Aeronautic and Space Act, which established NASA.
This is Bush's policy at work, make no mistake.
I seriously doubt that Asperger's is nearly as prevalent in the IT field as jackasses with bad attitudes are.
Yeah, the cops have always had it in for linux developers.
He owes Verizon about $0.72, and should pay them $0.72 and no more. If they already hit his credit card for $72, he should call his credit card company and play them the recording he made. Credit card companies sure as hell understand money.
Even though Gears of War is tempting as hell, and would look really sweet on my TV, I eventually decided to go with the Wii. Why? Because I still have some Gamecube games I haven't beaten. Because I really want to play with the Wiimote. Most of all, because it's $250. The "premium" 360 is still $400, with no games and limited backward compatibility.
HDTV adoption won't really hurt the Wii. It would be nice if it were prettier, sure. I'd like to play Zelda at 720p, at least. But when you combine the novelty of the controller, complete backward compatibility, and a price that's 30% lower than the nearest competition, it's really not a big deal that your TV doesn't get to show off.
That's why there are legal dictionaries.
Words in law have very specific meanings, and frequently those meanings are spelled out within the laws themselves. This is not a bad thing, and it's basically inevitable anyway. Jargon happens.
So? Why is that ok?
Without that clause, if EBGames doesn't have the system they promised me, then we have a problem. If they don't have it because Nintendo promised to ship it but didn't, then EBGames and Nintendo have a problem. EBGames has to make good to me somehow, and (not that it makes any difference to me) Nintendo probably has to make good to EBGames somehow. That's how business works. This clause basically says that if Nintendo doesn't ship the system they promised EBGames (and EBGames in turn promised me), then oh well.
If EBGames chooses to cover its ass in this fashion, then there's no point in dealing with EBGames. They've basically written into the deal the phrase "by the way, our supplier cannot be trusted, so we cannot be trusted either". So screw 'em.
That's not a reservation, it's a carnival game. I was going to preorder a Wii at the EBGames that's less than half a mile from my house, but screw it. What's the point?
It's a pretty clear distinction. This is a prize.
We have a scheduled meeting every single day, at the same time. Lasts 10-15 minutes most days-- it's longer on Tuesdays. It's an essential part of our process, which is a sort of modified Scrum, and it works extremely well.
The information in this story conflicts with the information coming out of Japan last night, and is basically unconfirmed rumor right now.
So, does anybody know what time the New York event is supposed to start? Is anybody going to cover it, or is everyone sleeping late after staying up to read Famitsu translations?
From the page I referenced:
See that? See how it says you can sync stuff back to a computer? From the iPod? Do you need some sort of picture with an ipod and a computer and an arrow from the ipod to the computer that says "BACK" over it, in order to make that clearer?
Hey check it out, I will even follow links for you. This right here is from the page to which the word "back" links:
Okay? Do you understand now that Apple has added a new feature, which they call reverse sync, which allows you to sync in a reverse fashion (ie back, ie from an iPod to a computer)? Do you further understand that this is a new feature in iTunes, and that it does not involve manually copying files to your iPod, mounted as a disk? Is it clear now, to you, that this is not the same functionality as that to which you so snidely directed me, a person who is frankly your better, if only in the realm of reading comprehension?
Is there anything else I can help you with? Are you able to follow the news without assistance? Would you like me to read to you some instructions for tying your damn shoelaces, and perhaps walk you through the diagrams? Perhaps it would be better to direct you to a literacy program, which is a place where you can learn to read (ie teach a man, namely you, to fish rather than give the man, that's you again, an actual fish which will feed him only once)? Seriously, how can I best help you, here? Because I am here to help.
Yes, I do. What's your point?
A dock isn't so bad if you have a desktop computer, but with a laptop that moves around a lot, it's suddenly a third component to keep track of, where you really only want two.
It's not even close to the same functionality. I don't want to store a single library on the iPod, which both machines use. I want two libraries on separate machines, and I want to use the iPod to shuttle tracks between those two libraries. You can now do that in iTunes 7, but only with tracks you've bought from iTMS.
I know this is not new, but enabling this functionality for iTMS tracks only is a real dick move.
Think so, huh?
So yeah, it's heavy as hell, but silver is like $13 per troy ounce and there are about 14.5 troy ounces in a pound. So for less than $100k you're getting a car made of something like $9.5 million worth of silver.
Sure it doesn't drive worth a damn, but that's still a pretty good deal.
On the other hand, airports are stressful. I have to get up before dawn so I can go stand in line and wait to be searched, then sit in what's effectively a really crappy, loud, uncomfortable mall, all the while worrying about missing my flight for reasons ranging from long security lines to random airline bullshit. If I do miss my flight, which has happened because of the aforementioned random airline bullshit, then this is a cascading problem-- there are reservations and probably business meetings at the other end of that flight. Typically I'm hungry, because I've gotten up too early to eat at home and the food at the airport is garbage that I can't eat before getting on a plane for several hours. By the time I get to the security gates, I'm also frequently uncomfortable from heat and from carrying bags.
All of that, and I'm not even really worried about flying, or terrorists blowing up my plane, or being pegged as a terrorist because of my ethnicity or religion. I don't have kids. I'm not generally traveling into anything stressful.
In short, airports stress me clear to hell and gone, and other people probably have far more reason, and none of us are terrorists. I'd guess that your average suicide bomber is more relaxed than I am at an airport.
If someone has proven that behavioral profiling works under these kinds of conditions, that's great and I'd love to hear about it. I just have my doubts.