Until the Powers That Be supply us with some sort of alternative to the floppy, and I mean a good simple viable one, preferably some sort of magnetic media, as opposed to all that mucking about with CD burner utilities, I will keep a floppy on any system I buy/build. So far, there have been a few...Bernoulli, Syquest, Zip, Jaz, LS120 etc, but none have been made cheaply enough or ubiquitous enough to qualify. CD burning is a pain, and, while I don't mind using a bootable CD, using the burner to manipulate and transport files has always been a big pain!
I can't believe that you Americans still like to define yourselves as free! With stuff like this bullshit, not to mention all the other freedoms you people have given up since 911, I don't think you realize just how little freedom you actually have! Consider that the PTB have been trying to erode all of your so-called rights for decades, but that damn Constipatution keeps on getting in the way, that now they're doing everything in their power to do it via the back door. Since everything gets rubber stamped anyway, as your fun-loving media keeps you all preoccupied with infotainment such as OJ, the TV War on Terrorism, and now the whole Corporate Accounting Scandal circus, (as if that hasn't been going on for decades), nobody really notices what the government is really doing! We're not much different up here, as our recent bill about doubling the prices on blank recording media, with the proceeds supposedly going directly to the recording industry to pay for all that piracy.
No, this isn't offtopic...it's about just how much this latest bill merely contributes to an ongoing problem with governments, essentially worldwide governments, doing all this shit behind everybody's back. You Americans fought a revolution about tea, so why not another one about this?
>> Cities in the American south west are nothing like cities in Europe (or many in Canada, for that matter). It's an entirly different ball game.
>> These are cities designed nearly from day one to revolve around the car. We made it cheap, easy, and nearly impossible to put the sort of transit system you have in Europian cities into practice. Everything is too spread out, and too congested with traffic because we have to travle longer distances.
It seems to me that the structure of a European city would make it more difficult to build any sort of light rail system, tram, monorail or whatever. They just plain do not have the room! But build them they do, because they make sense!
Also, like I mentioned in my original post, most North American cities did have streetcars, and quite extensive systems too, before they were killed off in the '50's.
I have been over here for the past couple of months, and have had the opportunity to visit several cities, and I'll tell you that they are most definitely not immune from typical urban sprawl, right down to fast food outlets, strip malls and...trams! So it's clear that they work quite handily in both situations.
...and once again, I will ask: Why a monorail, instead of the proven technology used worldwide for all sorts of mass transit. Why reinvent the wheel when good, simple technology exists? Use the R&D budget to build more lines!
Every time a topic comes along that involves monorails, we have to put up with two things...the obligatory Simpsons quotes and now the links to the website from the guy who put one inhis backyard! I'll tell you, seeing the lyrics to Lyle Lanley and Co. is wearing just a little bit thin.
Seriously, though, I'd be interesting to know why it is that everybody in the States automatically thinks of monorails whenever non-bus public transit is discussed. Could it be that you're all becoming just a little bit too Disnified? I'm surprised there is little mention of the old San Fransisco cablecars. Maybe you'd prefer something along the lines of Alfred Ely Beach's pneumatic subway!
If you make the trip over to Europe, you will see that just about every town or city has some sort of public transit involving surface light rail, usually trams/streetcars. Every one of these systems is efficient and well run. I see no reason why the same cannot be done over here. If it's a question of space, remember that all of these European towns are strapped for any space, and efforts are made to preserve as much green space or living space as possible. Still they install the tramways. They go down the centre of multi-lane boulevards, down disused railways, purpose built elevated track, pedestrian malls, and, because they can be built to accommodate regular tired vehicles--cars, no pun intended--straight down any city streets. In short, a tram can be built to go just about anywhere that efficient public transit is needed. It's also handy that nobody would need to re-invent the wheel, as excellent, KISS technology exists. For those concerned about costs and subsidies, keep in mind that places like Zagreb and Sarajevo, both capitals of war-torn countries, don't exactly have much money to throw around, but rebuilding their own tram lines has been a priority. For the NIMBY types, these systems are quiet and often quite picturesque, especially compared to buses. (Postcards of trams are everywhere! Besides a red London Double Decker, ever see a picture postcard featuring a diesel bus?)
North America was filled with streetcar systems right up to the '50's. Ottawa, for instance, had an excellent streetcar system that ran all over what was then the city. It was even powered by its own hydroelectric power dam on the Ottawa River! Killing it off is now considered one of the stupidest things that City Hall ever did! Toronto still has much of theirs, and has been expanding it in recent years. There are certainly no plans to build any more lines like the crappy Scarborough RT line, a monorail, that hasn't been the best of systems.
Have all the plans and designs for these practical and efficient systems been thrown out in favour of all these amusement park monorail rides? If monorails as public transit are so efficient, so quiet, so inexpensive and so simple, I fail to see why they aren't all over Europe, where space saving and efficiency is all-important.
*****
Re:Doesn't the earth receive more?
on
Lunar Power
·
· Score: 1
...and the first storm or hurricane that happens along will send you packing straight back to that harboUr!
At some point, all these local schoolboards, universities, non profit organisations etc are going to have to tell Gates & Co that they're not going to put up with this crap, and theycan take their Windoze and their licenses and insert them anally.
For that matter, I still cannot understand whyall of these schoolboards, who have been cash strapped for years due to government cutbacks, have not seen Linux and Open Source as the obvious solution!
Somebody please send any and all of these institutions a set of Red Hat discs!
Acadians from the Maritimes typically do not have much to do with Anne, either. L.M. Montgomery didn't have a French ancestry. Neither Tourtiere nor poutine are exclusively Acadian. Of course, you yanks are ignorant about anything beyond your own borders, aren't you! You prefer to adhere to misconceptions and stereotypes. That's why the rest of the world hates you!
Anyway, as the WWF is about the sorriest excuse for either sport or entertainment there is, I strongly doubt that I will be shelling out $12+ to see it, not will it be touching my tape heads!
The Bigfoot drives are Seagates. Guess what my boatanchors are! I was quite surprised when I came across them ata swapmeet. I thought these massive things had gone the way of the 5.25" floppy, as the biggest one I had seen previous to these were only good for 900 Meg.
If that's the case, instead of using platters that take up the max space inside the 5.25" case, just go with whatever diameter of platter yields the optimal results. You can still stack minimum four times the amount inside the bigger case, and probably more than that.
It seems to me that, in order to get capacity increases beyond 120 Tb, they might just have to increase the physical size of the drive. After all, the form factor they have been working with for the past while has been these 3.5", half height things.
I have two boatanchors at home, 10 Gb each, which take up essentially two complete 5.25" bays. (Is this what a full height drive is?) What would happen if they applied the technology used in the smaller form factor to something this size? After all, they should be able to fit something like 12-20 platters inside one of these things, and those platters will be wider. Will cramming all those platters inside a larger box yield some savings in overhead, too?
One of the things I have never liked about some of these multi-part, or Omnibus bills that politicos come out with is the idea that, if a really good bill has a part to it that is really distasteful, you get the bad with the good. Even if most of the bill is something that makes sense, is good for society, and is perfect in every way, the one part of it that is completely repugnant is either accepted along with it, even if it causes much damage, or the baby is thrown out with the bathwater. The Harris Tories in Ontario have been doing this since 1995, the province has been pretty much fucked up since, and they haven't saved the province one cent!
I have often thought that this sort of thing is done on purpose, so that the government can make it look like they're trying to do good work, but the bills keep getting defeated, or they use this as a way to pass unsavoury laws by hiding them in otherwise sound legislation.
In this case, I really do like the idea of banning anything to do with clandestine videotaping of somebody else's activities, while I see the.prn thing as just another way to restrict Internet use. These two items aren't particularly related, so why are they in the same bill in the first place?
A toilet! It's a fucking toilet! Doesn't need a chip. Doesn't even need electricity, and frankly, I don't think I ever want to sit on one that does, considering all those warnings I used to get from Mum about playing the (plug-in) radio while I was in the bath. Did these Japanese remember to include the counter to tell you how many sheets of two-ply you used? Oh, yeah, there's a built-in water fountain for that job!
Anybody who seriously thinks they need one of these contraptions should be forced to a lifetime of using an old two-holer behind some farmer's barn!
Never mind Apple Auto Glass...what about Apple Inc., the record company the Beatles started in...67? Was there ever some sort of lawsuit involving Apple Inc. and Apple Computer over the name? What happened?
Seriously, if more and more of these companies are able to create trademarks out of common words, (and when you get right down to it, it all depends on a judge's interpretation), pretty soon, the entire language will be "protected" from everyday use. Picture the day when, by law, the word Windows will only have one legal definition, i.e. a certain M$ operating system. People will have to invent another word to describe that glass thing in the wall they open to get fresh air, and soon after, the trademarked word Windows will cease to have any meaning!
This has been going on already for decades where everything from home appliances to all manner of consumer electronics to furniture and mattresses to auto parts. Why should we be surprised that this is happening with PCs?
I'm more curious about why people _don't_ realize this is happening when they think they're buying a fancy namebrand. That's why I tell everybody who asks me for computer purchase advice to GET A CLONE! Not only are you not paying for the label, but you're buying upgradeability that just isn't there in a Compaq, an IBM or a Dell.
I thought it was a gold record, and on the side of V'ger at that!
Does anybody know if the gold record, on whichever spacecraft it was, was a million seller? (...or is that platinum...)
Anyway, yes, I understand that the instructions for playing the disk were somehow encoded on the label. Did some idiot, forgetting that these Domesday Discs were supposed to have longevity, not think to do this, or at least somehow detail the encoding in some simple form?
Somewhere at home, I have a copy of a Blue Peter Annual that was sent over from British relatives. One of the articles in it goes on about the wedding of Princess Anne to Capt. Mark Phillips, in 1973.
Never seen the series, but from the book, it looked like it might have been a good watch. I take it it's still on!
Tedious? You betcha! I don't think this thing's worth a damn even for training Olympians!
One of the joys of going skiing to a resort is the idea that there are many different runs, all with different features, not to mention changes in scenery, view, interacting with other skiers (ski bunnies!), getting pissed off at snowboarders etc...and APRES SKI! I'm as much a fan of technology as anybody here, but anybody who think this overblown video game has obviously never been on skis, or at least got off the bunny hill!
Now that I think about it, here's an excellent use for one of these things...this is exactly the place where they can confine all those asshole snowboarders! Until then, I'll just keep on spraying them with snow whenever they plant their asses right in the middle of the slope for whatever snowboarder reason. They haven't clued in that most people move off to the side!)
Left wing? Are you joking? There is very little left wing media in the states. There's only right wing, and further right wing. NBC, ABC, CBS. CNN etc are all owned by large corporations, which will put whatever spin on whatever story to put it in such a light as to make more money for the parent corporation.
Do you think, for instance, that NBC, which used to be owned by GE, holder of many big stakes in the nuclear industry, whould be allowed to run an anti-nuke, i.e. left wing, story?
Problem is, you yanks haven;t the figgiest notion of what left wing really is, because it's just about non existant down there!
The drug war witchhunt, in which you now have to pee in a jar to prove yourself innocent of the charge of having ingested certain plant derivatives...
The whole revenge over 9/11 thing, where dissent against the "war" on terrorism, as protected by so-called freedom of speech laws is put down as being pro-terrorist...
Having a presidential election decided by the same people that were put there by the "winning" candidate's daddy, back when he was the prez, as opposed by the democratic process...
Hell, you guys can't even legally smoke a Cuban cigar, let alone have any hope of visiting a country that is such a huge massive threat to you, (but no probs doing business with Vietnam, with whom you went to war)...
Here 'tis, and it was in the Ottawa Xpress, a weekly alternative paper that has a reputation for touching stories that "go unnoticed" by the mainstream media, (not having to worry about upsetting major advertizers).
I did the cut-and-paste thing, as I suspect the link won't last all that long.
*****
Vetting the health-care system
Pet hospitals a telling tale about the future of medical free enterprise
Alan Martin
Biko's trip to the vet could teach
Roy Romanow a thing or two
about health care
If Roy Romanow wants to save the Canadian health-care system he should buy himself a pet.
A rare Bolivian iguana would be best, but a dog will suffice.
Mr. Romanow, of course, is Prime Minister Jean Chrøen's health czar, entrusted to rescue our public health care system from the brink of collapse. This is no small task as various governments tighten health budgets like a prodded sphincter and our medical professionals flee like rats from a sinking ship.
Later this month the former Saskatchewan premier will deliver an interim report based on consultations he's had with citizens and medical professionals here and in Europe. A final report will follow in November.
Romanow has said that though he is intent on preserving a universally accessible system, he is not averse to considering a new role for private health care providers.
For many Canadians, the United States embodies much that is wrong with free enterprise medicine. The socio-economic divide, critics decry, is nowhere more evident than between those who have private medical plans and those that are left with the pedestrian, public system.
It's a system we are only beginning to consider seriously as Alberta and Ontario threaten Health Minister Allan Rock with private hospitals.
But if Romanow really wants insight into the future of our health-care system he need look no further than his nearest pet hospital.
Why?
Because while fact-finding missions to such hip locales as London, Paris and Stockholm, are de rigeur for any commissioner worth his salt, the realities of a private health-care system are already too familiar to millions of Canadian pet owners.
Consider this: a routine, non-emergency visit to a vet sets you back nearly $100. If you have medical insurance for when accident strikes you're on safe ground, if not, prepare for your kids to pay their own tuition.
If there is any advantage to such a system, it is that unnecessary medical intervention may be limited. In our health care system, unnecessary procedures are an everyday occurrence, a folly we don't fully appreciate because we never see the bill. With vets there is no escaping it. You know what you get, and pay for what you get.
With veterinarian practice being a happy mix of business and medicine, however, you might well appreciate how the lines of medical judgement can be blurred. Take for example the vet in Montreal who tried to convince a friend to give his cancer-riddled dog, weekly blood transfusions, at $200 a pop - this, just after he had given the dog less than a month to live.
The practice isn't limited to major procedures. My dog Biko uses a non-medicinal, over the counter ear cleaner to stave off ear infections. Twice, when purchasing refill containers, I've been confronted by vets who insist (unsuccessfully) on giving her a $46 "assessment."
I had another glimpse into the future when I took the old girl to the vet recently. At the end of the visit I was given a mystery goodie bag to take home. An autopsy of the contents revealed a 2.5-kilogram bag of dog food and brochures peddling the various wares of pharmaceutical giants Bayer and Pfizer. For $65.95 a month, I also learned, I could sign up for PetPlan's all-inclusive insurance plan - root canals and "final arrangements for your dog" all on the house.
Imagine a future health-care system where visits to the doctor are rewarded with goodie bags sponsored by Big Pharma, insurance conglomerates or some breakfast cereal company out to change your brand loyalty? Or where the medical care your loved ones receive is dependent on an insurance plan or the generosity of your chequebook?
Most pet owners gamble with their pet's health by not getting insurance, including yours truly. I know of countless owners who wished they hadn't - the couple who dropped several grand on inconclusive diagnostic tests for their pooch's mysterious indigestion; another who spent nearly a month's mortgage payment on labour-inducing drugs to save their pregnant cat.
Of course, they balk at the bill but they don't hesitate. They love their pets, and pony up accordingly. For those who can't, we get besieged by emotional appeals for help.
Next time you read such a story - the Ottawa Petfinder prints them at least once a month - substitute Fifi for a person. That's the future of medical free enterprise.
Canadian pet owners are already on familiar terms with that future.
Slashdot Mirror
Until the Powers That Be supply us with some sort of alternative to the floppy, and I mean a good simple viable one, preferably some sort of magnetic media, as opposed to all that mucking about with CD burner utilities, I will keep a floppy on any system I buy/build. So far, there have been a few...Bernoulli, Syquest, Zip, Jaz, LS120 etc, but none have been made cheaply enough or ubiquitous enough to qualify. CD burning is a pain, and, while I don't mind using a bootable CD, using the burner to manipulate and transport files has always been a big pain!
I can't believe that you Americans still like to define yourselves as free! With stuff like this bullshit, not to mention all the other freedoms you people have given up since 911, I don't think you realize just how little freedom you actually have! Consider that the PTB have been trying to erode all of your so-called rights for decades, but that damn Constipatution keeps on getting in the way, that now they're doing everything in their power to do it via the back door. Since everything gets rubber stamped anyway, as your fun-loving media keeps you all preoccupied with infotainment such as OJ, the TV War on Terrorism, and now the whole Corporate Accounting Scandal circus, (as if that hasn't been going on for decades), nobody really notices what the government is really doing! We're not much different up here, as our recent bill about doubling the prices on blank recording media, with the proceeds supposedly going directly to the recording industry to pay for all that piracy.
No, this isn't offtopic...it's about just how much this latest bill merely contributes to an ongoing problem with governments, essentially worldwide governments, doing all this shit behind everybody's back. You Americans fought a revolution about tea, so why not another one about this?
>> Cities in the American south west are nothing like cities in Europe (or many in Canada, for that matter). It's an entirly different ball game.
>> These are cities designed nearly from day one to revolve around the car. We made it cheap, easy, and nearly impossible to put the sort of transit system you have in Europian cities into practice. Everything is too spread out, and too congested with traffic because we have to travle longer distances.
It seems to me that the structure of a European city would make it more difficult to build any sort of light rail system, tram, monorail or whatever. They just plain do not have the room! But build them they do, because they make sense!
Also, like I mentioned in my original post, most North American cities did have streetcars, and quite extensive systems too, before they were killed off in the '50's.
I have been over here for the past couple of months, and have had the opportunity to visit several cities, and I'll tell you that they are most definitely not immune from typical urban sprawl, right down to fast food outlets, strip malls and...trams! So it's clear that they work quite handily in both situations.
...and once again, I will ask: Why a monorail, instead of the proven technology used worldwide for all sorts of mass transit. Why reinvent the wheel when good, simple technology exists? Use the R&D budget to build more lines!
Every time a topic comes along that involves monorails, we have to put up with two things...the obligatory Simpsons quotes and now the links to the website from the guy who put one inhis backyard! I'll tell you, seeing the lyrics to Lyle Lanley and Co. is wearing just a little bit thin.
Seriously, though, I'd be interesting to know why it is that everybody in the States automatically thinks of monorails whenever non-bus public transit is discussed. Could it be that you're all becoming just a little bit too Disnified? I'm surprised there is little mention of the old San Fransisco cablecars. Maybe you'd prefer something along the lines of Alfred Ely Beach's pneumatic subway!
If you make the trip over to Europe, you will see that just about every town or city has some sort of public transit involving surface light rail, usually trams/streetcars. Every one of these systems is efficient and well run. I see no reason why the same cannot be done over here. If it's a question of space, remember that all of these European towns are strapped for any space, and efforts are made to preserve as much green space or living space as possible. Still they install the tramways. They go down the centre of multi-lane boulevards, down disused railways, purpose built elevated track, pedestrian malls, and, because they can be built to accommodate regular tired vehicles--cars, no pun intended--straight down any city streets. In short, a tram can be built to go just about anywhere that efficient public transit is needed. It's also handy that nobody would need to re-invent the wheel, as excellent, KISS technology exists. For those concerned about costs and subsidies, keep in mind that places like Zagreb and Sarajevo, both capitals of war-torn countries, don't exactly have much money to throw around, but rebuilding their own tram lines has been a priority. For the NIMBY types, these systems are quiet and often quite picturesque, especially compared to buses. (Postcards of trams are everywhere! Besides a red London Double Decker, ever see a picture postcard featuring a diesel bus?)
North America was filled with streetcar systems right up to the '50's. Ottawa, for instance, had an excellent streetcar system that ran all over what was then the city. It was even powered by its own hydroelectric power dam on the Ottawa River! Killing it off is now considered one of the stupidest things that City Hall ever did! Toronto still has much of theirs, and has been expanding it in recent years. There are certainly no plans to build any more lines like the crappy Scarborough RT line, a monorail, that hasn't been the best of systems.
Have all the plans and designs for these practical and efficient systems been thrown out in favour of all these amusement park monorail rides? If monorails as public transit are so efficient, so quiet, so inexpensive and so simple, I fail to see why they aren't all over Europe, where space saving and efficiency is all-important.
*****
...and the first storm or hurricane that happens along will send you packing straight back to that harboUr!
At some point, all these local schoolboards, universities, non profit organisations etc are going to have to tell Gates & Co that they're not going to put up with this crap, and theycan take their Windoze and their licenses and insert them anally.
For that matter, I still cannot understand whyall of these schoolboards, who have been cash strapped for years due to government cutbacks, have not seen Linux and Open Source as the obvious solution!
Somebody please send any and all of these institutions a set of Red Hat discs!
Acadians from the Maritimes typically do not have much to do with Anne, either. L.M. Montgomery didn't have a French ancestry. Neither Tourtiere nor poutine are exclusively Acadian. Of course, you yanks are ignorant about anything beyond your own borders, aren't you! You prefer to adhere to misconceptions and stereotypes. That's why the rest of the world hates you!
Anyway, as the WWF is about the sorriest excuse for either sport or entertainment there is, I strongly doubt that I will be shelling out $12+ to see it, not will it be touching my tape heads!
I'm actually quite surprised to see no comparisons to...what was it called...Pirates of Silicon Valley!
The Bigfoot drives are Seagates. Guess what my boatanchors are! I was quite surprised when I came across them ata swapmeet. I thought these massive things had gone the way of the 5.25" floppy, as the biggest one I had seen previous to these were only good for 900 Meg.
If that's the case, instead of using platters that take up the max space inside the 5.25" case, just go with whatever diameter of platter yields the optimal results. You can still stack minimum four times the amount inside the bigger case, and probably more than that.
It seems to me that, in order to get capacity increases beyond 120 Tb, they might just have to increase the physical size of the drive. After all, the form factor they have been working with for the past while has been these 3.5", half height things.
I have two boatanchors at home, 10 Gb each, which take up essentially two complete 5.25" bays. (Is this what a full height drive is?) What would happen if they applied the technology used in the smaller form factor to something this size? After all, they should be able to fit something like 12-20 platters inside one of these things, and those platters will be wider. Will cramming all those platters inside a larger box yield some savings in overhead, too?
One of the things I have never liked about some of these multi-part, or Omnibus bills that politicos come out with is the idea that, if a really good bill has a part to it that is really distasteful, you get the bad with the good. Even if most of the bill is something that makes sense, is good for society, and is perfect in every way, the one part of it that is completely repugnant is either accepted along with it, even if it causes much damage, or the baby is thrown out with the bathwater. The Harris Tories in Ontario have been doing this since 1995, the province has been pretty much fucked up since, and they haven't saved the province one cent!
.prn thing as just another way to restrict Internet use. These two items aren't particularly related, so why are they in the same bill in the first place?
I have often thought that this sort of thing is done on purpose, so that the government can make it look like they're trying to do good work, but the bills keep getting defeated, or they use this as a way to pass unsavoury laws by hiding them in otherwise sound legislation.
In this case, I really do like the idea of banning anything to do with clandestine videotaping of somebody else's activities, while I see the
Perhaps it's Omnibus bills that should be banned.
A toilet! It's a fucking toilet! Doesn't need a chip. Doesn't even need electricity, and frankly, I don't think I ever want to sit on one that does, considering all those warnings I used to get from Mum about playing the (plug-in) radio while I was in the bath. Did these Japanese remember to include the counter to tell you how many sheets of two-ply you used? Oh, yeah, there's a built-in water fountain for that job!
Anybody who seriously thinks they need one of these contraptions should be forced to a lifetime of using an old two-holer behind some farmer's barn!
Thank goodness the Beatles didn't name their company Windows!
Never mind Apple Auto Glass...what about Apple Inc., the record company the Beatles started in...67? Was there ever some sort of lawsuit involving Apple Inc. and Apple Computer over the name? What happened?
Seriously, if more and more of these companies are able to create trademarks out of common words, (and when you get right down to it, it all depends on a judge's interpretation), pretty soon, the entire language will be "protected" from everyday use. Picture the day when, by law, the word Windows will only have one legal definition, i.e. a certain M$ operating system. People will have to invent another word to describe that glass thing in the wall they open to get fresh air, and soon after, the trademarked word Windows will cease to have any meaning!
This has been going on already for decades where everything from home appliances to all manner of consumer electronics to furniture and mattresses to auto parts. Why should we be surprised that this is happening with PCs?
I'm more curious about why people _don't_ realize this is happening when they think they're buying a fancy namebrand. That's why I tell everybody who asks me for computer purchase advice to GET A CLONE! Not only are you not paying for the label, but you're buying upgradeability that just isn't there in a Compaq, an IBM or a Dell.
Thought it was too good to be true!
First Post?
Whatever. Still takes like pisswater!
I thought it was a gold record, and on the side of V'ger at that!
Does anybody know if the gold record, on whichever spacecraft it was, was a million seller? (...or is that platinum...)
Anyway, yes, I understand that the instructions for playing the disk were somehow encoded on the label. Did some idiot, forgetting that these Domesday Discs were supposed to have longevity, not think to do this, or at least somehow detail the encoding in some simple form?
Somewhere at home, I have a copy of a Blue Peter Annual that was sent over from British relatives. One of the articles in it goes on about the wedding of Princess Anne to Capt. Mark Phillips, in 1973.
Never seen the series, but from the book, it looked like it might have been a good watch. I take it it's still on!
Tedious? You betcha! I don't think this thing's worth a damn even for training Olympians!
One of the joys of going skiing to a resort is the idea that there are many different runs, all with different features, not to mention changes in scenery, view, interacting with other skiers (ski bunnies!), getting pissed off at snowboarders etc...and APRES SKI! I'm as much a fan of technology as anybody here, but anybody who think this overblown video game has obviously never been on skis, or at least got off the bunny hill!
Now that I think about it, here's an excellent use for one of these things...this is exactly the place where they can confine all those asshole snowboarders! Until then, I'll just keep on spraying them with snow whenever they plant their asses right in the middle of the slope for whatever snowboarder reason. They haven't clued in that most people move off to the side!)
Left wing? Are you joking? There is very little left wing media in the states. There's only right wing, and further right wing. NBC, ABC, CBS. CNN etc are all owned by large corporations, which will put whatever spin on whatever story to put it in such a light as to make more money for the parent corporation.
Do you think, for instance, that NBC, which used to be owned by GE, holder of many big stakes in the nuclear industry, whould be allowed to run an anti-nuke, i.e. left wing, story?
Problem is, you yanks haven;t the figgiest notion of what left wing really is, because it's just about non existant down there!
No real freedom?
Lessee what's going on stateside...
The drug war witchhunt, in which you now have to pee in a jar to prove yourself innocent of the charge of having ingested certain plant derivatives...
The whole revenge over 9/11 thing, where dissent against the "war" on terrorism, as protected by so-called freedom of speech laws is put down as being pro-terrorist...
Having a presidential election decided by the same people that were put there by the "winning" candidate's daddy, back when he was the prez, as opposed by the democratic process...
Hell, you guys can't even legally smoke a Cuban cigar, let alone have any hope of visiting a country that is such a huge massive threat to you, (but no probs doing business with Vietnam, with whom you went to war)...
This is freedom?
Seems to me you have a little work to do!
Here 'tis, and it was in the Ottawa Xpress, a weekly alternative paper that has a reputation for touching stories that "go unnoticed" by the mainstream media, (not having to worry about upsetting major advertizers).
I did the cut-and-paste thing, as I suspect the link won't last all that long.
*****
Vetting the health-care system
Pet hospitals a telling tale about the future of medical free enterprise
Alan Martin
Biko's trip to the vet could teach
Roy Romanow a thing or two
about health care
If Roy Romanow wants to save the Canadian health-care system he should buy himself a pet.
A rare Bolivian iguana would be best, but a dog will suffice.
Mr. Romanow, of course, is Prime Minister Jean Chrøen's health czar, entrusted to rescue our public health care system from the brink of collapse. This is no small task as various governments tighten health budgets like a prodded sphincter and our medical professionals flee like rats from a sinking ship.
Later this month the former Saskatchewan premier will deliver an interim report based on consultations he's had with citizens and medical professionals here and in Europe. A final report will follow in November.
Romanow has said that though he is intent on preserving a universally accessible system, he is not averse to considering a new role for private health care providers.
For many Canadians, the United States embodies much that is wrong with free enterprise medicine. The socio-economic divide, critics decry, is nowhere more evident than between those who have private medical plans and those that are left with the pedestrian, public system.
It's a system we are only beginning to consider seriously as Alberta and Ontario threaten Health Minister Allan Rock with private hospitals.
But if Romanow really wants insight into the future of our health-care system he need look no further than his nearest pet hospital.
Why?
Because while fact-finding missions to such hip locales as London, Paris and Stockholm, are de rigeur for any commissioner worth his salt, the realities of a private health-care system are already too familiar to millions of Canadian pet owners.
Consider this: a routine, non-emergency visit to a vet sets you back nearly $100. If you have medical insurance for when accident strikes you're on safe ground, if not, prepare for your kids to pay their own tuition.
If there is any advantage to such a system, it is that unnecessary medical intervention may be limited. In our health care system, unnecessary procedures are an everyday occurrence, a folly we don't fully appreciate because we never see the bill. With vets there is no escaping it. You know what you get, and pay for what you get.
With veterinarian practice being a happy mix of business and medicine, however, you might well appreciate how the lines of medical judgement can be blurred. Take for example the vet in Montreal who tried to convince a friend to give his cancer-riddled dog, weekly blood transfusions, at $200 a pop - this, just after he had given the dog less than a month to live.
The practice isn't limited to major procedures. My dog Biko uses a non-medicinal, over the counter ear cleaner to stave off ear infections. Twice, when purchasing refill containers, I've been confronted by vets who insist (unsuccessfully) on giving her a $46 "assessment."
I had another glimpse into the future when I took the old girl to the vet recently. At the end of the visit I was given a mystery goodie bag to take home. An autopsy of the contents revealed a 2.5-kilogram bag of dog food and brochures peddling the various wares of pharmaceutical giants Bayer and Pfizer. For $65.95 a month, I also learned, I could sign up for PetPlan's all-inclusive insurance plan - root canals and "final arrangements for your dog" all on the house.
Imagine a future health-care system where visits to the doctor are rewarded with goodie bags sponsored by Big Pharma, insurance conglomerates or some breakfast cereal company out to change your brand loyalty? Or where the medical care your loved ones receive is dependent on an insurance plan or the generosity of your chequebook?
Most pet owners gamble with their pet's health by not getting insurance, including yours truly. I know of countless owners who wished they hadn't - the couple who dropped several grand on inconclusive diagnostic tests for their pooch's mysterious indigestion; another who spent nearly a month's mortgage payment on labour-inducing drugs to save their pregnant cat.
Of course, they balk at the bill but they don't hesitate. They love their pets, and pony up accordingly. For those who can't, we get besieged by emotional appeals for help.
Next time you read such a story - the Ottawa Petfinder prints them at least once a month - substitute Fifi for a person. That's the future of medical free enterprise.
Canadian pet owners are already on familiar terms with that future.
Mr. Romanow, visit your nearest pound.
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