Ummm. Billions of dollars change hands every day thanks to high speed trading. If they can't get a few donations to Japan, something's seriously amiss.
Atlantic City, Mohegan Sun, Atlantis, yadda yadda.
Any place there is a casino there's an entire city devoted to separating gullible people from their cash. How is Ghost Hunting any different?
I can also name hundreds of products that do not work as advertised (The Sony PS3 being a prime example, Other OS anyone?), and those people that bought these products are just as blinded.
Then the RIAA/MPAA, possibly the most corrupt organization in the world, will OWN the world. That's right, because 75 Trillion is more than the GDP of the entire planet, so, we would have to mortgage the EARTH to pay them (what Bank would or even could, make that loan?)
I for one, welcome our new RIAA overlords. (a long way to go for that tired joke, right?)
My youngest niece and all her friends are on facebook and she's under 13 -- she uses her ipod touch to access the site. She can type with her thumbs faster than I can on a keyboard with all 10 fingers! Her spelling is terrible, but, she gets her messages across. I'd never heard of this rule until now, I just assumed it was normal for her to be on facebook.
Ever read the fine print on coupons? It says "Cash value 1/20 of a cent" So... Anyone care to do the math on how many Groupons need to be cashed in before the company is actually worth 25 Billion Dollars?
I think that's 2 Trillion Groupons. Which means that every person on earth would have to cash in 333 Groupons each.
No you're not alone. I also consider the tablet market 'useless' because you can't really do any real work on a tablet (unless you're in a niche where keyboards aren't required). Tablets are for media consumption, so it's really a big iPod.
And just to be fair, it wasn't Apple that started this craze, it was Amazon. Yes, Amazon. The Kindle was a more successful product than you thought, because it got lots of manufacturers thinking about a Kindle sized product that did more than read ebooks.
The January 2010 CES show was filled with Kindle knock-offs (because no one had iPad knock-offs yet). Sony alone had three different models, nevermind Samsung and Toshiba.
This year, everyone's finally got their tablet out (only 2 years behind Apple), but it's still for a product that reads ebooks, butb allows you to watch Youtube too. And surf the web. But that's about it.
But yeah, I'm amazed that companies spend a lot of R&D to make a "me too" product that will suffer lackluster sales because it's not even close to being the market leader.
They still think this is like VHS machines, where we will pick a random device off the shelf at the Wiz, and that's where their sales will come from. But that's not how Americans shop anymore. Now there's only one brand worth having: Apple. And that's because they are the market leader, so there's no point in having some other, incompatible device.
So, upon ARREST (not conviction), the state can do anything like like to you? I guess that's fair, considering the government can now sexually assault you for the crime of buying an airline ticket.
We are living in a country where citizens rights have evaporated, so you can be "safe". My question is: Safe from what? I now fear the authorities more than any terrorist or criminal - because it's more likely that THEY will assault me at some point, violate what little rights I have left, and maybe even accidentally torture, maim, or kill me.
These days you can be tazed for speaking out at a public hearing, or beaten to death for crossing the street. I suspect it's only a matter of time before arrest == PMITA prison time before any kind of trial, just to get you "warmed up" for your new life as a criminal.
That William Shatner has, for more than the last decade, made an entire career out of being a parody of himself?
I think it started with those Priceline commercials where he was singing "I've got two tickets to paradise..", and since then, all he's done is essentially do an SNL skit where William Shatner plays William Shatner hamming it up.
Seriously? How did the FBI know it was "removed" then? Where I live, there are enough potholes in the road to separate your tire from your rim.
Anything held on by mere magnets and not explicitly bolted to the vehicle could rattle off and be on the side of the road for days, and then possibly get it itself accidentally attached to a long-distance truck.
I mean seriously -- if this had happened to me, I'd have gotten rid of the thing, and claim I never knew about it, and it must have fallen off the car.
What would the FBI have done if it had come off the car if the young man in question had been involved in a fender-bender? Or, let's say there was a side-impact, and he decided to have the car towed to a scrap yard, where it was subsequently crushed? Would the FBI show up at his door asking for their property back?
I don't know what's stupider: Our attempts at terrorism enforcement, or the government/corporate stooges that authorize this kind of nonsense.
I see a line of lead-lined clothing, or perhaps backscatter resistant underwear. I mean, if you *never* know when you're being scanned, you have to assume you're being scanned ALL THE TIME.
Didn't the former CEO of SUN say "get over it, you already have no privacy" --- if only he knew how right he was.
Don't forget to add some Boomers that look like "The Terminator". Really. Bubble Gum Crisis? That was like absolute proof that anime is just dreck that makes something "original" by copying from 9 different sources.
Of course, the flipside to that was that "the Matrix" was a ripoff of 'Ghost in the Shell.'
I *trust* Hollywood.... to fuck it up. Hollywood has not made a good film since "Fight Club". Leave Blade Runner alone. It's perfect as it is. What's next, a sequel to "Casablanca"? How about a prequel, where Rick is *in* Paris? God, when will it all end? Can someone please NUKE Hollywood to save us from them? It would be a public service to humanity. I didn't even bother going to the sequel to TRON (still haven't seen it, that's right), out of respect for the original. Hollywood, can you hear me? STOP RIGHT NOW. I will find you and burn down the set if you start shooting Blade Runner sequels. For the love of god, STOP!
Some here feel that Manning is a traitor and hanging's too good for him. Some here feel that the guy is a hero, and should be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.
There are many arguments for and against. Regardless, Manning is only so far CHARGED with various "crimes". I haven't seen that the prosecution has any actual evidence to convict.
Consider the financial meltdown for a moment. Do you realize that NO ONE has gone to jail for that? Nobody. Nada (don't reply about Madoff, that's not related).Sure, there were some guys from Bear Stearns that were charged, but the convictions didn't happen because the prosecution couldn't convince a jury, because they just didn't have enough evidence.
Lately, prosecutors haven't even been pursuing charges unless they are sure they can make it stick. Of course, the military is different in that they think they can railroad anyone they like, to make an example and keep the rest of us in line. But the truth is, when Manning comes to trial, the prosecution may have a hard time making the case stick.
In the meantime, put the noose away and give the dude a little more breathing room. After all, we are supposedly living in a country where you are innocent until proven guilty. Unless you guys with the noose in your hands want to change that about the "land of the free" as well.. Yeah America. You're number one.
Grim Natwick, the animation artist who created the character of Betty Boop told a story to Howard Beckerman, an animation historian, and my instructor when I attended School of Visual Arts in NYC.
Apparently, Grim was up for a scholarship to the Art Institute of Vienna, and he was competing against another young artist of the time, a young man named Adolf Hitler. Grim got the scholarship, beating out Adolf.
For decades, Grim blamed himself for World War II. If he'd let Adolf win the scholarship, that guy might have just gone on to become some nameless painter doing still-lifes, instead of becoming the most infamous name in all of history.
I'm not sure how true this all is, but it sounds plausible. Either way, it's a good story related to Betty Boop.
How do people this stupid have $200,000 to begin with?
I've worked hard for many years, and while my lifestyle isn't excessive, I still don't have anywhere near that kind of money to throw around even if I was getting laid by a real girlfriend.
This guy gave "her" $200k and never even got a blow?
Wow, where do I find suckers like this? I need the cash.
Syfy could be a great source of Chinese-made or Indian made Sci-Fi movies. And since China doesn't give a rat's ass about copyrights, we could see their take on Terminator or Predator.
At least in *their* version of the Matrix, Neo would be doing real kung fu... or actually know kung fu... or actually act like he could do kung fu... or hopefully act... But I digress.
Secondly, I'm seeing Sci-Fi migrating to other channels. ION was recently running Firefly, The Family Network runs old Lost in Space episodes, and Firefly is coming to the Science Channel starting March 6th.
All that said, I think someone needs to reboot a Sci-Fi network, because SyFy's owners (USA) just don't get it. There's so much existing content out there. It's weird that FX runs more sci-fi movies than the SyFy channel.
I mean, Star Trek content alone could fill some airtime especially since Deep Space Nine hasn't run anywhere for about a decade. Heck, I'd be a fan of any channel to run Star Blazers and Robotech. And Babylon 5. And Space:1999.
When it stopped being a pro & consumer electronics company, and started being a multimedia conglomerate.
Suddenly the folks running Columbia Pictures had a say in the board-room concerning what products would do and be capable of.
This is how we wound up with audio CDs that had root-kits on them, and MP3 players that didn't play MP3s. When Sony just made hardware, it was damn good hardware. Especially in the pro-area, stuff like BetacamSP was top-notch equipment.
But they lost their way, become too convoluted, too mired in internal politics and too many chefs spoiling the soup.
If they had *never* put their claws into all other media, and had just stayed a hardware company, Slashdotters would be singing their praises, and they'd probably be bigger than Apple.
Meanwhile, the prick in Arizona that shot the Congresswoman and killed 6 other people, he gets due process, and no lock out on his accounts for a fair trial.
Tell me, where else in the world does this kind of crap happen? Oh, third-world banana-republics? Welcome to America.
Yes, in America we have a legal system, but don't ever confuse that for a JUSTICE system.
Other than being named by the military as the person behind the leaks, I haven't seen one shred of evidence that he actually did anything that was claimed by the government. For all we know, it was Dick Cheney and Robert Novack, and they just picked this guy as someone to take the fall.
Really nice of you to hang this individual on the basis of nothing. I'm glad to see that you support his right to a speedy trial and that he should be innocent until proven guilty.
Please move to another country where you can hang people without a trial. Until there's a complete burning of the constitution, broadcast on TV for all to see, I'm going to assume we're all still living in the United States of America, thank you.
Slashdot Mirror
Ummm. Billions of dollars change hands every day thanks to high speed trading. If they can't get a few donations to Japan, something's seriously amiss.
Atlantic City, Mohegan Sun, Atlantis, yadda yadda.
Any place there is a casino there's an entire city devoted to separating gullible people from their cash. How is Ghost Hunting any different?
I can also name hundreds of products that do not work as advertised (The Sony PS3 being a prime example, Other OS anyone?), and those people that bought these products are just as blinded.
Hasn't anyone heard of P.T. Barnum?
I hope they win this case and get their money.
Then the RIAA/MPAA, possibly the most corrupt organization in the world, will OWN the world. That's right, because 75 Trillion is more than the GDP of the entire planet, so, we would have to mortgage the EARTH to pay them (what Bank would or even could, make that loan?)
I for one, welcome our new RIAA overlords. (a long way to go for that tired joke, right?)
Or, one Mil-Spec toilet seat...
And they want me to pick up a piece of paper, Oh god, I'm so depressed... [/MARVIN]
My youngest niece and all her friends are on facebook and she's under 13 -- she uses her ipod touch to access the site. She can type with her thumbs faster than I can on a keyboard with all 10 fingers! Her spelling is terrible, but, she gets her messages across. I'd never heard of this rule until now, I just assumed it was normal for her to be on facebook.
Ever read the fine print on coupons? It says "Cash value 1/20 of a cent" So... Anyone care to do the math on how many Groupons need to be cashed in before the company is actually worth 25 Billion Dollars?
I think that's 2 Trillion Groupons. Which means that every person on earth would have to cash in 333 Groupons each.
No you're not alone. I also consider the tablet market 'useless' because you can't really do any real work on a tablet (unless you're in a niche where keyboards aren't required). Tablets are for media consumption, so it's really a big iPod.
And just to be fair, it wasn't Apple that started this craze, it was Amazon. Yes, Amazon. The Kindle was a more successful product than you thought, because it got lots of manufacturers thinking about a Kindle sized product that did more than read ebooks.
The January 2010 CES show was filled with Kindle knock-offs (because no one had iPad knock-offs yet). Sony alone had three different models, nevermind Samsung and Toshiba.
This year, everyone's finally got their tablet out (only 2 years behind Apple), but it's still for a product that reads ebooks, butb allows you to watch Youtube too. And surf the web. But that's about it.
But yeah, I'm amazed that companies spend a lot of R&D to make a "me too" product that will suffer lackluster sales because it's not even close to being the market leader.
They still think this is like VHS machines, where we will pick a random device off the shelf at the Wiz, and that's where their sales will come from. But that's not how Americans shop anymore. Now there's only one brand worth having: Apple. And that's because they are the market leader, so there's no point in having some other, incompatible device.
So, upon ARREST (not conviction), the state can do anything like like to you? I guess that's fair, considering the government can now sexually assault you for the crime of buying an airline ticket.
We are living in a country where citizens rights have evaporated, so you can be "safe". My question is: Safe from what? I now fear the authorities more than any terrorist or criminal - because it's more likely that THEY will assault me at some point, violate what little rights I have left, and maybe even accidentally torture, maim, or kill me.
These days you can be tazed for speaking out at a public hearing, or beaten to death for crossing the street. I suspect it's only a matter of time before arrest == PMITA prison time before any kind of trial, just to get you "warmed up" for your new life as a criminal.
Heh, hehe heheheh heheheheheheh....
He said 'hard disk'.
Heh, hehe heheheh heheheheheheh....
That William Shatner has, for more than the last decade, made an entire career out of being a parody of himself?
I think it started with those Priceline commercials where he was singing "I've got two tickets to paradise..", and since then, all he's done is essentially do an SNL skit where William Shatner plays William Shatner hamming it up.
And only he could get away with it.
And then we'd be discussing YOU on slashdot... How you were tazed, and dragged off to solitary.
Seriously? How did the FBI know it was "removed" then? Where I live, there are enough potholes in the road to separate your tire from your rim.
Anything held on by mere magnets and not explicitly bolted to the vehicle could rattle off and be on the side of the road for days, and then possibly get it itself accidentally attached to a long-distance truck.
I mean seriously -- if this had happened to me, I'd have gotten rid of the thing, and claim I never knew about it, and it must have fallen off the car.
What would the FBI have done if it had come off the car if the young man in question had been involved in a fender-bender? Or, let's say there was a side-impact, and he decided to have the car towed to a scrap yard, where it was subsequently crushed? Would the FBI show up at his door asking for their property back?
I don't know what's stupider: Our attempts at terrorism enforcement, or the government/corporate stooges that authorize this kind of nonsense.
I see a line of lead-lined clothing, or perhaps backscatter resistant underwear. I mean, if you *never* know when you're being scanned, you have to assume you're being scanned ALL THE TIME.
Didn't the former CEO of SUN say "get over it, you already have no privacy" --- if only he knew how right he was.
As you're likely to be sexually assaulted by a TSA agent.
Or be exposed to child porn naked body scanners.
Don't forget to add some Boomers that look like "The Terminator". Really. Bubble Gum Crisis? That was like absolute proof that anime is just dreck that makes something "original" by copying from 9 different sources.
Of course, the flipside to that was that "the Matrix" was a ripoff of 'Ghost in the Shell.'
I *trust* Hollywood.... to fuck it up. Hollywood has not made a good film since "Fight Club". Leave Blade Runner alone. It's perfect as it is. What's next, a sequel to "Casablanca"? How about a prequel, where Rick is *in* Paris? God, when will it all end? Can someone please NUKE Hollywood to save us from them? It would be a public service to humanity. I didn't even bother going to the sequel to TRON (still haven't seen it, that's right), out of respect for the original. Hollywood, can you hear me? STOP RIGHT NOW. I will find you and burn down the set if you start shooting Blade Runner sequels.
For the love of god, STOP!
Some here feel that Manning is a traitor and hanging's too good for him. Some here feel that the guy is a hero, and should be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.
There are many arguments for and against. Regardless, Manning is only so far CHARGED with various "crimes". I haven't seen that the prosecution has any actual evidence to convict.
Consider the financial meltdown for a moment. Do you realize that NO ONE has gone to jail for that? Nobody. Nada (don't reply about Madoff, that's not related).Sure, there were some guys from Bear Stearns that were charged, but the convictions didn't happen because the prosecution couldn't convince a jury, because they just didn't have enough evidence.
Lately, prosecutors haven't even been pursuing charges unless they are sure they can make it stick. Of course, the military is different in that they think they can railroad anyone they like, to make an example and keep the rest of us in line. But the truth is, when Manning comes to trial, the prosecution may have a hard time making the case stick.
In the meantime, put the noose away and give the dude a little more breathing room. After all, we are supposedly living in a country where you are innocent until proven guilty. Unless you guys with the noose in your hands want to change that about the "land of the free" as well.. Yeah America. You're number one.
Grim Natwick, the animation artist who created the character of Betty Boop told a story to Howard Beckerman, an animation historian, and my instructor when I attended School of Visual Arts in NYC.
Apparently, Grim was up for a scholarship to the Art Institute of Vienna, and he was competing against another young artist of the time, a young man named Adolf Hitler. Grim got the scholarship, beating out Adolf.
For decades, Grim blamed himself for World War II. If he'd let Adolf win the scholarship, that guy might have just gone on to become some nameless painter doing still-lifes, instead of becoming the most infamous name in all of history.
I'm not sure how true this all is, but it sounds plausible. Either way, it's a good story related to Betty Boop.
How do people this stupid have $200,000 to begin with?
I've worked hard for many years, and while my lifestyle isn't excessive, I still don't have anywhere near that kind of money to throw around even if I was getting laid by a real girlfriend.
This guy gave "her" $200k and never even got a blow?
Wow, where do I find suckers like this? I need the cash.
Outsourcing!
Syfy could be a great source of Chinese-made or Indian made Sci-Fi movies. And since China doesn't give a rat's ass about copyrights, we could see their take on Terminator or Predator.
At least in *their* version of the Matrix, Neo would be doing real kung fu... or actually know kung fu... or actually act like he could do kung fu... or hopefully act... But I digress.
Secondly, I'm seeing Sci-Fi migrating to other channels. ION was recently running Firefly, The Family Network runs old Lost in Space episodes, and Firefly is coming to the Science Channel starting March 6th.
All that said, I think someone needs to reboot a Sci-Fi network, because SyFy's owners (USA) just don't get it. There's so much existing content out there. It's weird that FX runs more sci-fi movies than the SyFy channel.
I mean, Star Trek content alone could fill some airtime especially since Deep Space Nine hasn't run anywhere for about a decade. Heck, I'd be a fan of any channel to run Star Blazers and Robotech. And Babylon 5. And Space:1999.
When it stopped being a pro & consumer electronics company, and started being a multimedia conglomerate.
Suddenly the folks running Columbia Pictures had a say in the board-room concerning what products would do and be capable of.
This is how we wound up with audio CDs that had root-kits on them, and MP3 players that didn't play MP3s. When Sony just made hardware, it was damn good hardware. Especially in the pro-area, stuff like BetacamSP was top-notch equipment.
But they lost their way, become too convoluted, too mired in internal politics and too many chefs spoiling the soup.
If they had *never* put their claws into all other media, and had just stayed a hardware company, Slashdotters would be singing their praises, and they'd probably be bigger than Apple.
And I don't see anyone rushing to close down *that* cesspool of crime...
I'm really getting tired of that when something happens "on the internet" it's somehow 1000 times worse than real-life.
Meanwhile, the prick in Arizona that shot the Congresswoman and killed 6 other people, he gets due process, and no lock out on his accounts for a fair trial.
Tell me, where else in the world does this kind of crap happen? Oh, third-world banana-republics? Welcome to America.
Yes, in America we have a legal system, but don't ever confuse that for a JUSTICE system.
Other than being named by the military as the person behind the leaks, I haven't seen one shred of evidence that he actually did anything that was claimed by the government. For all we know, it was Dick Cheney and Robert Novack, and they just picked this guy as someone to take the fall.
Really nice of you to hang this individual on the basis of nothing. I'm glad to see that you support his right to a speedy trial and that he should be innocent until proven guilty.
Please move to another country where you can hang people without a trial. Until there's a complete burning of the constitution, broadcast on TV for all to see, I'm going to assume we're all still living in the United States of America, thank you.