That's the problem: A small number of officers (out of a much larger force that acts responsibly in doing their jobs) will eventually abuse the taser just like humans will eventually abuse every other bit of power they've managed to create or obtain since that monkey dude was whacking a tapir skull with a thigh bone after he touched the Monolith. Unfortunately, ignorance and hype will cause a weapon, or tool, or power source, or whatever that is safe and effective 9999 out of 10000 times will be banned in favor of a lesser weapon, tool, etc, that is only safe and effective 999 out of 1000 times. Or 99 out of 100 times. Or Worse.
As long as the mass media see their jobs as being fomenters of hysteria rather than purveyors of fact this will only get worse. And we're talking about the kinds of people who generally couldn't get the facts right 1 time out of 10 when they _aren't_ intentionally distorting things.
1995: The Internet isn't going to be big. 2000: Security problems are going away soon. 2005: Spam is going away soon. 2011: Tablets are going away soon.
I think you're right, but that will take some time, and in the meantime, prices will rise a lot. Domestic production in the U.S. can't return to the levels it was at 50 years ago overnight. It would take years, perhaps more than a decade for the manufacturing capabilities to return to their previous levels. Furthermore, manufacturing didn't move overseas because it was convenient or fun... it's much cheaper, so even if the U.S. returns to a reasonable level of manufacturing, things will still be more expensive than what we've become used to.
Also, look at 9/11, Katrina, Japan... Major disasters these days are met with extreme outpourings of support and help. Food riots would likely happen, but I believe humanity would deal with it in stead and not devolve into cavemen.
All those disasters happened in rich, Western countries with a level of civilization, infrastructure and order that allow that kind of help to be effective. Take a look at how these kinds of disasters affect people in places like Haiti. The fact of the matter is that most of the world, including much of the U.S., is three meals away from total anarchy. If third world countries could actually function, there would not be much starvation because we, as a planet, can produce more than enough food. What we cannot do is distribute it everywhere it's needed, mostly because of political reasons, not technological ones.
But I definitely agree with you about the need to return manufacturing back to the U.S.
If it were economically feasible, we would have done it by now... or was all that Federal money wasted on the failing Amtrak not a big enough clue for you?
We've learned a lot over the last 35 years, but politics, particularly pressure from well-meaning but mostly incredibly ignorant environmentalism prevents the solutions that would actually help.
Yes, but that's a function of the technology level. If the Internet had existed 40 years ago, those things would have happened then. And if the Internet didn't exist today, things would still be like they were during the Cold War.
And finally, the last time I checked, the Cold War actually went pretty well for the Western democracies.
I can only imagine how impressed she would have been if I had brought in my imaginary multi-monitor i7-2600K water cooled 3 way SLI gaming rig and showed her the texture of my Nanosuit while I stood in the middle of the street looking around.
Imagine how impressed she would have been if you'd fired up Nethack!
Well, it's something that's easy to prejudge wrong because "interest in the paranormal" could mean a reader of the "Skeptical Inquirer" type of person who is genuinely interested in the fact that there are a lot of weird things we can't explain (at least yet) or an idiot who falls for "psychics" and astrology and all the other superstitious nonsense associated with "the paranormal".
See, I'm one of those kind of people that would say, "Cool! Tell me about it!" I wouldn't have much interest in something called "noise rock", although I have a couple of items in my music collection that might qualify (thanks eMusic!).
I have little patience for people who react negatively to strangeness. I don't lead with my interests, which are also generally esoteric, but I don't go out of my way to hide them either. Besides, more often than you would expect, you find someone who recognizes or at least appreciates them, which more than makes up for 10 blank stares.
Slashdot Mirror
http://twitter.com/newtgingrich?
I bet Newt Minow would be tweeting too, probably about the vast intellectual wasteland that is the Internet, were he still around.
That's the problem: A small number of officers (out of a much larger force that acts responsibly in doing their jobs) will eventually abuse the taser just like humans will eventually abuse every other bit of power they've managed to create or obtain since that monkey dude was whacking a tapir skull with a thigh bone after he touched the Monolith. Unfortunately, ignorance and hype will cause a weapon, or tool, or power source, or whatever that is safe and effective 9999 out of 10000 times will be banned in favor of a lesser weapon, tool, etc, that is only safe and effective 999 out of 1000 times. Or 99 out of 100 times. Or Worse.
As long as the mass media see their jobs as being fomenters of hysteria rather than purveyors of fact this will only get worse. And we're talking about the kinds of people who generally couldn't get the facts right 1 time out of 10 when they _aren't_ intentionally distorting things.
Killer gummi bears?! Thanks for the warning. I just bought a 5-pound bucket and I'll dump them right away. You might have just saved my life, bro!
1995: The Internet isn't going to be big.
2000: Security problems are going away soon.
2005: Spam is going away soon.
2011: Tablets are going away soon.
Hmmm.
He's awfully british for an american then.
And that's why the Americans could never solve it! QED
Just be careful not to use the same one IDC hired...
True, with Java, you don't have to port to different platforms, you only need to port to each new JRE as it comes out.
I hear Torgo's Executive Powder helps with that.
Yeah, but who pays to keep those kids fed up with Mountain Dew, Hot Pockets and X-Box to allow them to create all that rich, rich sebum?!
That's fine except when you live 30 miles from work. I'm all for telecommuting whenever possible, but a lot of jobs simply don't allow for that.
$5 a gallon? It's probably that high now in some places in the U.S. It's definitely hit $4 in New York.
I think you're right, but that will take some time, and in the meantime, prices will rise a lot. Domestic production in the U.S. can't return to the levels it was at 50 years ago overnight. It would take years, perhaps more than a decade for the manufacturing capabilities to return to their previous levels. Furthermore, manufacturing didn't move overseas because it was convenient or fun... it's much cheaper, so even if the U.S. returns to a reasonable level of manufacturing, things will still be more expensive than what we've become used to.
Also, look at 9/11, Katrina, Japan... Major disasters these days are met with extreme outpourings of support and help. Food riots would likely happen, but I believe humanity would deal with it in stead and not devolve into cavemen.
All those disasters happened in rich, Western countries with a level of civilization, infrastructure and order that allow that kind of help to be effective. Take a look at how these kinds of disasters affect people in places like Haiti. The fact of the matter is that most of the world, including much of the U.S., is three meals away from total anarchy. If third world countries could actually function, there would not be much starvation because we, as a planet, can produce more than enough food. What we cannot do is distribute it everywhere it's needed, mostly because of political reasons, not technological ones.
But I definitely agree with you about the need to return manufacturing back to the U.S.
If it were economically feasible, we would have done it by now... or was all that Federal money wasted on the failing Amtrak not a big enough clue for you?
We've learned a lot over the last 35 years, but politics, particularly pressure from well-meaning but mostly incredibly ignorant environmentalism prevents the solutions that would actually help.
Yeah, that's going to be good when the world economy tanks much worse than it is doing now.
Yes, but that's a function of the technology level. If the Internet had existed 40 years ago, those things would have happened then. And if the Internet didn't exist today, things would still be like they were during the Cold War.
And finally, the last time I checked, the Cold War actually went pretty well for the Western democracies.
I can only imagine how impressed she would have been if I had brought in my imaginary multi-monitor i7-2600K water cooled 3 way SLI gaming rig and showed her the texture of my Nanosuit while I stood in the middle of the street looking around.
Imagine how impressed she would have been if you'd fired up Nethack!
Did you miss the point that when they lowered prices, profit and revenue went up?
This is /., where people are almost as ignorant of economics as the Congress and White House.
"WinDOS"? Is it still 1999 where you live?
I wouldn't yet rule that scenario out as a real possibility.
Of course, Grace Hopper was an alien, from a race of intelligent orthoptera. The name gives it away.
That's why they have the insect she found in the Smithsonian museum... it was a fellow programmer.
OK, but does SDL call DirectX on Linux? Didn't think so.
I have a pretty big record collection too!
Well, it's something that's easy to prejudge wrong because "interest in the paranormal" could mean a reader of the "Skeptical Inquirer" type of person who is genuinely interested in the fact that there are a lot of weird things we can't explain (at least yet) or an idiot who falls for "psychics" and astrology and all the other superstitious nonsense associated with "the paranormal".
See, I'm one of those kind of people that would say, "Cool! Tell me about it!" I wouldn't have much interest in something called "noise rock", although I have a couple of items in my music collection that might qualify (thanks eMusic!).
I have little patience for people who react negatively to strangeness. I don't lead with my interests, which are also generally esoteric, but I don't go out of my way to hide them either. Besides, more often than you would expect, you find someone who recognizes or at least appreciates them, which more than makes up for 10 blank stares.