"Actually since europe has been dealing with a large amount of the same issues as us for a much longer time it might be wise to shut the..."
Ok, our whole country is founded on the idea tha there is a better way of doing things. This has influenced our society in fundamental ways. Therefore, the ways that a European country deals with terrorism are differen than ours. As for saying that the US has not "taken action" I would point to the fact that we have not had a foreign terrorist incursion since the world trade center bombing. This is to be considered a victory on the principle that terror attacks are designed to sap the will of the people and to generate dissent against the government in power. To do this the attacks need to be more frequent and follow the form of "kicking a man when he is down." For us to be without further attacks shows that we were effective.
It is funny to me that your post shows the hallmarks of someone who has been played by the terrorists, in other words you have reacted in just the manner that they would hope. It is just like a carnival barker plays the crowds: you get some suckers to fall for your spiel and they draw the rest.
"We are moving our jobs and economy to a "Globilized" state, relying more on other countries to produce goods..."
First, the "Globalized" state you refer to is the result of many things, the largest is the increased cost of the american worker due to things like unions, minimum wage, government safety regulations (OSHA for one), federal taxation of businesses, and "benefits." Other factors like technological advancement make it easier to export things like "tech support," but without the underlying problem there would be no need to export the resources. The whole reason globalizarion works is because the cost of employing an American worker is HUGE compared to everywhere else in the world. It is actually cheaper to "export" jobs than to use the ones in the USA. It comes down to this...people will scream bloody murder when they hear that jobs are being exported, they rant about how Americans need those jobs, about how important it is to invest in America, but when push comes to shove and the "American made" product is twenty five cents more expensive they just take two steps to the left and but the one made in southeast Asia.
"...and provide services"
Actually, there are more service jobs available now in the USA than ever. This is the major growth sector in the USA as far as jobs are concerned. Why? Because most service jobs require more education and have higher pay structures than the majority of "exported" job positions and the larger pay base and required expertise makes it feasable to shoulder the added cost of employing an American worker.
"Yet Bush ignores what the world wants has a whole and refuses to respect the authority of worldwide governing bodies"
Ok, you just said that he gave the unwashed masses outside the USA JOBS and now you say he dosent give the world what they want? Plese make up your mind! Or do you mean something different, like maybe he dosen't capitulate to the governments of the world like a good little lap dog, and therefore you find reason to slight him. As for "worldwide governing bodies," there are none. There is the United Nations who depend upon the USA for their existence and yet seek to use their influence as a means to control the USA and undermine its sovrenty, but there are no "worldwide governing bodies" nor should there be.
"At the rate we are going how long will it be until foriegn countries and citizens refuse to work for american companies ? or buy american products ?"
Never...As long as we have the economy we have now and the money to provide people overseas with jobs, we will never have a problem finding people to work. If it ever came to it we could pay some communist country to force people to work in factories to produce our goods. I am surprised that it hasn't happened more already.
I agree, the idea of having "hackers" chase eachother for a "bounty" is pretty stupid if you ask me. It could lead to all sorts of problems.
Who better than a "hacker" to set someone else up to take the fall for spreading a virus? Root their box, get it to distribute the virus, leave a development trail in their files, post some whacko "hacker shit" to usenet, write some evil manif3sto and put it in a hidden directory, cover your tracks and then call the feds on them.
You could even drop some kiddie porn in there just for good measure. Nothing like picutres of a hogtied prepubescent Malaysian boy to get the media and the justice department fired up and out for blood.
The victim would be deep fried by the media before lunchtime the next day; guaranteed to have zero chance of a fair trial anywhere in the free world. The feds would probably even lock his ass up al-la-Mitnick without counsel or official charges if you did it right.
So the "hacker" cashes in while distributing his virus in the wild.
Not to mention the awesome bragging rights for framing his asshole ex-boss and getting him sent to federal pound-me-in-the-ass prison.
Man, this idea is sounding better and better all the time!
I work at a BMW retailer and I can relate a few interesting facts about why this notice is on the car in the first place.
The number one reason is that each BMW vehicle has a personalized wiring system. Each vehicle receives a different wiring harness based upon the features and options in that specific vehicle. In other words, if one 325i has an auto dimming mirror and another does not, the entire wiring harness is different between the two vehicles.
Keep in mind that the wiring harness is like the electrical backbone of the car, weighs about 50 pounds, and runs contiguously from one end of the vehicle to the other. It is NOT something you want to mess with unless you really know what you are doing. In fact, if there is ever a problem in the wiring harness BMW recommends putting in a new one.
That brings me to reason number two. Alot of your aftermarket companies hire morons to install their electronics. I know this because I see it all the time.
For example, we had a customer buy a brand new M3 convertible (~$60K american) and they installed one of those Viper alarms that tells you to "Get BACK!" when you go near the car. The guy that installed it had the great idea of yanking out the headlight control module, chopping a piece out of the wiring that controls the headlights and splicing in there to get power for his alarm. Needless to say the car was NOT OK after this. Starting the vehicle would cause the headlights to freak out...they would switch on and off randomly. To make matters worse, the malfunction caused the autoleveling feature to kick in and make the lights to bob up and down.
This led to a cluster-f$#k with the customer and the service department. The customer was pointing fingers and yelling at the sales and service staff about what a piece of krap the car was and such. Things were pretty bad until we pulled out the light control module and showed them where the aftermarket guy had spliced in to the light system and where the control board had gotten fried.
I personally think the whole reason for the sticker is because BMW wants to maintain the integrity of the electrical system in the car and to make sure people understand that if their aftermarket device screws something up BMW is not gonna pay for it. Bmw even goes so far as to place prewiring jacks in the cars for most aftermarket devices you could want: bluetooth, satalite raio, mp3 players or line in devices for the stereo, phones, alarms, cd changers, and even Universal RF transcievers (programmable garage door opener).
You could even chalk it up to those strict German engineers if you want. God knows they hate it when people mess with their systems.
terminology or language of or conforming to a political agenda.
In other words, it is actually people calling attention to something that is not a slight, then callig it a slight, and then using the engineered fervor to gain control or influence, or to gain publicity for their political platform.
In other words it is creating a false issue in an attempt to get people all riled up so that there will be an audience where there was none. Once the audience is in place you make your "statement."
Regardless, it is a vile and arrogant practice that exploits not only those who are forced into constraints that are unreasonable, but also exploits those who are the subject matter of the issue.
"We believe that if God's testimony is true, then the earth must be young."
I appreciate the intelect that you have brought to this discussion, however I differ from your viewpiont of a young earth on a couple of points.
First let me preface this with the fact that the church I attend has a pastor that has been teaching the Bible from the original languages for more than 40 years. During most of that time the pastor has taught exegetical, isogogic, categorically organized doctrine at least 6 hours a week. All of what we study comes from texturaly criticised scriptures from the oldest, most accurate manuscripts with a constant eye for reconciliation of each scripture with the entire text of the Bible.
Ok, that out of the way, the first point is that no one really knows how long Adam and Esha (Eve's name before the fall) were living in the Garden. It could have been days or millions of years.
Second, the Bible describes Satan being cast down to the earth BEFORE the Genesis 1 account of Creation. If you study the whole Bible from the original languages you will find many references to Satan and his use of the Earth before the Garden existed, even of how God placed the Earth "on ice" until it was ready for man and how He cleaned up the place before placing man on the Earth in the Garden.
Oh and by the way, we refer to faith as a "non-meritorious means of perception." Meaning that the exercise of faith attributes no merit to the one excercising it, rather, merit is attributed to the object of faith. Contrast this with empiricism and rationalism which rely uopn the merits of the individual to provide perception, faith relies on the intrinsic value and character of the object of faith to exist.
It seems only to be creationists who think that philosophical arguments about right and wrong have something to do with evolution.
I wish this were true.
Unfortunately, if evolution is the reason, cause, and source of our intellectual ascendancy then we may one day have to dispose of our "morality" and once again listen to the unrestrained voice of our ancestral past. If we are the products of eons of "survival of the fittest" isn't it arrogance to develop moral systems that ignore the natural systems that made us what we are? Wouldn't it be self destructive as well?
If natural selection is "The Way", then we have strayed into an evolutionary cul-de-sac from which the only exit is the return to brutality, ensuring that future generations receive the best that this generation has to offer (genetically speaking).
If we extrapolate the message of evolution to our personal lives, other lessons come about, the least of which advocate subjugation or destruction of those who are different or threatening to our personal survival. Violence then becomes a first resort rather than a last one.
Not to mention that human genetic experimentation becomes an imperative or even a holy grail to us as the first species to be able to recursively apply the results of natural selection (intelligence/technological advancement) to the process itself, thereby asserting and ensuring our dominance in the evolutionary race.
If evolution is the way of survival, then the Third Reich had every right to do what they did, and racial hate speech is just a biological reaction to a perceived threat to one's genetic heritage. Evolution provides a high ground from where anyone depraved enough to operate from can justify brutality, murder, even genocide.
And if evolutionary theory extends to explain the origination of life then one day everyone should get down on their knees and offer their allegiance to the god probability. Really, because that is why we are here, right? Random chance...this is just One Big Crapshoot in the Sky.
Nope, sorry, evolution has more ramifications than you can imagine, obviously.
I will add that I found the scene where Elrond described to Arwen what fate awaits her if she stays with Aragorn to be intense.
The conflict between her immediate desires and her eternal life was a fantastic thing to see.
Even my 6 year old daughter caught on to the implications of her staying in Middle Earth. She was crying and I asked her if she was ok. She remarked that while she was sad for Arwen and Aragorn it was good that her father loved her and they could leave together and they would never be apart.
Pretty cool.
As for the Matrix, having seen the conclusion I feel that it is just a "regular" movie streched over 3 episodes, ie. it had nothing special, no plumbing the depths of human experience and emotion, no great catharsis, nothing prophetic or insightful about human character. Despite a more than auspicious start the whole trilogy left something to be desired IMHO. I did like it though, it just left me a little cold when it came to my hopes for something EPIC.
In fact, as I left the theater from watching Revolutions I thought "Oh well, thank God that the Return of the King will be out soon."
It could be. In fact, Homeopathy (IIRC) works in a way that might prove this true.
An example of homeopathy goes like this: If you want to sleep, give yourself a small quantity of a STIMULANT. Your body will try to counteract the stimulant and return itself to equilibrium. Because the amount of stimulant is small your biological reaction to it will be more than is necessary to counteract the stimulant and the result will me a natural depressant effect.
In the case of the G3 phone, the body may be reacting to brain dammage in a similar way, ie. a small amount of brain dammage causes the body to compensate, but overcompensation results in benefits.
If this is actually the case then the only question I have is how long will I be able to dominate my favorite Quake server before my brain turns to marmalade.
I have a recommendation for you: Pick up a Cliff notes on the subject of the United States Constitution and the function of the US government, or you could substitute a third grade government textbook.
Ps. Pay special attention to any parts that use the words "Rule of Law", "Republic", "Checks and Balances", "Congress", "Senate", "Three Houses", "Electorial College", "States", or "Representation."
As for those who moderated this person up, you could use the same treatment.
I find it endlessly fascinating that most people prefer sensationalism to truth.
"At that point, it will become possible to slowly roll back the age of the body as, for example, 46th generation smooth muscle cells divide and become 17th generation smooth muscle cells. Over a period of several years your body would effectively become younger"
This assumes that telomeres are the only thing that cause aging. There may be other as yet unknows or misunderstood processes that cause aging.
Re:Differnet times for a different world
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Security Versus Science
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· Score: 2, Interesting
"Moreover, we had already identified Osama as a threat, and Bush was busy cancelling funds to arrest him"
Ok, if you are alluding to this to try to state a case that Bush is the problem or a contributing factor behind the September 11 attack on the World Trade center then you are wrong. The attack would have been carried out either way. That's the beauty of a terrorist organisation and nonconventional armies, they are capable of operating efficiently without central leadership.
If you are saying that Bush should have done more to catch Osama, maybe you should rember that Osama was offered to the US Government THREE TIMES during the Clinton administration and Clinton refused to take him into custody or even address the problem.
You state that Bush has curtailed the freedoms of the American people, however, it is difficult to see this as anything more than a personal attack on someone that you have political differences with. The reason is that the "freedoms" of the American people have been being systematically destroyed since "The New Deal." Any decrease in the freedom that you percieve in your daily life now may either be from your own bias, or attributed to a new expression of the same structures that have been circumventing your freedoms since before you were born. From my perspective you are crying wolf after the entire village has already been carried off and eaten. In other words, it's a little late.
You also state that the world had not changed in a fundamental way, but it has. However, it did not change in 2001, but in 1979 when the terrorist attacks directed at the USA started in earnest. The problem that we are experiencing is the result of years of mismanaging and ignoring a growing problem.
Re:Never never never again...
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Blind Lake
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· Score: 1
My apologies for the ambiguity, but I was referring to another review which I had thought I linked to in my post.
I have not read your review (nor will I read a reveiw on/. again, like I stated in my post), and I ment no offense to you personally or professionally.
In addition I would like to commend you on your integrity. Your reply to my post was controlled, intelligent, and non-confrontational considering what was probably construed by you as a personal attack. Thank you.
"Number (or percentage) of successful attacks against servers maintained by professionals, sorted by operating system."
With a truly sucessful attack you never know that you have been hit.
Never never never again...
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Blind Lake
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· Score: 2, Insightful
...will I read a/. review of a fiction book.
As an entertainment form, I value reading higher (WAY higher) than movies and television. Combine that with a fickle disposition for genre and style and the result is that there are too few fiction books that will satisfy me. The last thing I need is some amateur wack job disclosing the whole plot in a "review" and ruining the book entirely.
IMHO, the "review" that I am referring to should have been removed faster than a goatse link on the main page labeled "microsoft goes bankrupt."
Thanks for the reviews guys, but fool me once, shame on you, fool me twice and I'll have to murder you and your whole family with a pack of silly straws and a cantaloupe.
Someone on/. has said this before and I will state it again for the record.
Long halflife raidoactive elements are not the ones that you have to look out for when you are trying to avoid radiation poisoning and chromosomal dammage.
Short halflives usually mean high energy particles and aggressive decomposition which, in turn means more intense radiation.
Carbon 14 is raidoactive for God's sake and it is in just about any food you can think of. It just has a fantastically long halflife.
DU has an enormously long halflife and produces mostly alpha particles when it decays (if my sources are correct) which can be blocked with a sheet of notebook paper!
I would be much more concerned with the toxic properties of DU rather than the radioactive ones. However, lead(Pb) is pretty damn poisonous as well and you never see anyone complaining about it being used in bullets or munitions.
More importantly, I would personally trade DU munitions scattered around my country if it could ensure that a mass murdering despot would be removed from power.
"Given the extremely high levels of birth defects and rare cancers seen by Iraqis since 1991 the general consensus among the medical community is that DU munitions do cause considerable harm when used in battle."
Your report of a "general consensus among doctors" is far from empirical evidence or even reasoned logical conclusions. Regardless of this "consensus", there are other scenarios that could provide explanation. Ever given thought to the idea that maybe these purported "birth defects and rare cancers" could result from neurotoxins or other chemical or biological agents that were released in the first Gulf War, or even during testing like in at least one other unfortunate incident where the people who lived in Iraq were gassed by their esteemed leader?
That is a plausible explanation, however, you also have to consider where the statistics you are alluding to come from and how they are compiled. Flimsy evidence and unsupported claims do not a case for condemnation make.
"the general consensus among the medical community is that DU munitions do cause considerable harm when used in battle.
That is definitely true, especially when these munitions intersect the cranium of a person...definitely causes considerable harm, yep.
It is completely impossible to say anything truly intelligent or enlightening in a space this size, excep
Re:Prison is evil, the Bible speaks against prison
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Blaster Writer Caught
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· Score: 1
Hey buddy, I know you are trying to be devout and all, but you need to study your Bible some more before you spout off. Your points and their connection have little to do with fact and history and less to do with theology. Not trying to flame here, just trying to say that from a theological point of view you don't make any sense at all.
Joshua was receiving information form God about how to run his country. God told him to look out for certain things and to avoid certain things, specifically, the tenets and the theology of the phallic cult. The pagan gods named El, Baal, Ashtarte are foremost among the gods that the passage refers to, but specifically the practices involved in the phallic cult which were epidemic in the ancient world.
God also stated protocol for handling the judicial system in that time because the Jews were not just a spiritual group of people, but were a NATION. Therefore they needed a system of jurisprudence, law, and government hierarchy.
Furthermore, your references to the ideas of justice and liberty as Greek/Roman gods are misplaced as well. They may have been depicted in some related ways in stone or mural, but the depiction and the actual ideas are quite separate.
Even worse, the term justice is used in the Bible to describe God himself. Saying that justice is a Greek god and that you won't be subject to it is bordering on blasphemy.
Then to top it all off you don't even go into the proper translation of the passages form the original languages. If I were you I would take a class in systematic theology at some seminary near you. It might help with your historical viewpoint and fill in the gaps in your understanding of the character and integrity of the God that is described in the Bible.
An interesting aside, I have heard that the original script had the array of human batteries doing double duty as a massive multinode computing array that the machines executed it's core operating system on.
In other words, the relationship between the humans and the machines was much more symbiotic that producer/comsumer duality. The trap for the machines was that the humans could not be released or destroyed even if the machines discovered a new power source because they were using the humans to stay sentient.
From what I understand, the script was changed because audiences were not anticipated to be able to understand the idea.
This short "story" is actually an examination of what would happen if Superman and Lois were to get married and try to have children. Kind of a scientific exploration of the impossibility of Superman.
Niven discribes what would happen to Lois's feeble body as her and Superman writhe in the throes of pasion. Not to mention what would happen to her at the moment of climax. Remember, "faster than a speeding bullet"? Now apply it to SEX! Eeeeewww!
The illustration of Superman's super powered sperm cells riddling holes in every woman in metropolis is especially hilarious.
The idea that life originated elsewhere violates Occam's razor.
"Since life exists here it started here" is congruent with Occam's razor. This is especially pertinent in light of the fact that there have been no signs of life on any other planet we have been able to observe.
Actually, some people are predicting that Moore's law will fail, but not in the way that you think.
The facts seem to show that we will have even faster development of processors than Moore's law states.
The idea behind this is based on the rate of technological development in human history. If you were to graph the rate of technological advancement for recorded history you would see a long line of incremental yet minimal growth punctuated by the recent 100-150 years where the increase is almost geometric.
Also consider that faster processors themselves fuel the forces that drive technological development. In other words, with more processing power we can research, design, and implement new technologies faster and more efficiently. In addition, other industries that feed into the development of processor technology reap the benefits of the faster/more powerful computers. They in turn contribute to the increase in the speed of development.
Due to this type of chain reaction where one advancement can increase the rate of many other advancements, some people believe that the rate of all technological development will only accellerate from its present rate. Based on this assumption, Moore's Law will fall, but only because we have left it behind for something better!
The problem with not condoning weapons research is that it never stops. Either we do it, or someone else does. Whoever gets there first is the winner and holds a temporary advantage.
When I hear people talk like this about military research I envision someone driving a horse and buggy...on a multilane interstate...in the left lane...ON PURPOSE!
In other words, the idea is not only stupid, but it could get people hurt in unbelievably brutal ways.
Slashdot Mirror
Rebuttal post incoming...
"Actually since europe has been dealing with a large amount of the same issues as us for a much longer time it might be wise to shut the..."
Ok, our whole country is founded on the idea tha there is a better way of doing things. This has influenced our society in fundamental ways. Therefore, the ways that a European country deals with terrorism are differen than ours. As for saying that the US has not "taken action" I would point to the fact that we have not had a foreign terrorist incursion since the world trade center bombing. This is to be considered a victory on the principle that terror attacks are designed to sap the will of the people and to generate dissent against the government in power. To do this the attacks need to be more frequent and follow the form of "kicking a man when he is down." For us to be without further attacks shows that we were effective.
It is funny to me that your post shows the hallmarks of someone who has been played by the terrorists, in other words you have reacted in just the manner that they would hope. It is just like a carnival barker plays the crowds: you get some suckers to fall for your spiel and they draw the rest.
"We are moving our jobs and economy to a "Globilized" state, relying more on other countries to produce goods..."
First, the "Globalized" state you refer to is the result of many things, the largest is the increased cost of the american worker due to things like unions, minimum wage, government safety regulations (OSHA for one), federal taxation of businesses, and "benefits." Other factors like technological advancement make it easier to export things like "tech support," but without the underlying problem there would be no need to export the resources. The whole reason globalizarion works is because the cost of employing an American worker is HUGE compared to everywhere else in the world. It is actually cheaper to "export" jobs than to use the ones in the USA. It comes down to this...people will scream bloody murder when they hear that jobs are being exported, they rant about how Americans need those jobs, about how important it is to invest in America, but when push comes to shove and the "American made" product is twenty five cents more expensive they just take two steps to the left and but the one made in southeast Asia.
"...and provide services"
Actually, there are more service jobs available now in the USA than ever. This is the major growth sector in the USA as far as jobs are concerned. Why? Because most service jobs require more education and have higher pay structures than the majority of "exported" job positions and the larger pay base and required expertise makes it feasable to shoulder the added cost of employing an American worker.
"Yet Bush ignores what the world wants has a whole and refuses to respect the authority of worldwide governing bodies"
Ok, you just said that he gave the unwashed masses outside the USA JOBS and now you say he dosent give the world what they want? Plese make up your mind! Or do you mean something different, like maybe he dosen't capitulate to the governments of the world like a good little lap dog, and therefore you find reason to slight him. As for "worldwide governing bodies," there are none. There is the United Nations who depend upon the USA for their existence and yet seek to use their influence as a means to control the USA and undermine its sovrenty, but there are no "worldwide governing bodies" nor should there be.
"At the rate we are going how long will it be until foriegn countries and citizens refuse to work for american companies ? or buy american products ?"
Never...As long as we have the economy we have now and the money to provide people overseas with jobs, we will never have a problem finding people to work. If it ever came to it we could pay some communist country to force people to work in factories to produce our goods. I am surprised that it hasn't happened more already.
I agree, the idea of having "hackers" chase eachother for a "bounty" is pretty stupid if you ask me. It could lead to all sorts of problems.
Who better than a "hacker" to set someone else up to take the fall for spreading a virus? Root their box, get it to distribute the virus, leave a development trail in their files, post some whacko "hacker shit" to usenet, write some evil manif3sto and put it in a hidden directory, cover your tracks and then call the feds on them.
You could even drop some kiddie porn in there just for good measure. Nothing like picutres of a hogtied prepubescent Malaysian boy to get the media and the justice department fired up and out for blood.
The victim would be deep fried by the media before lunchtime the next day; guaranteed to have zero chance of a fair trial anywhere in the free world. The feds would probably even lock his ass up al-la-Mitnick without counsel or official charges if you did it right.
So the "hacker" cashes in while distributing his virus in the wild.
Not to mention the awesome bragging rights for framing his asshole ex-boss and getting him sent to federal pound-me-in-the-ass prison.
Man, this idea is sounding better and better all the time!
I work at a BMW retailer and I can relate a few interesting facts about why this notice is on the car in the first place.
The number one reason is that each BMW vehicle has a personalized wiring system. Each vehicle receives a different wiring harness based upon the features and options in that specific vehicle. In other words, if one 325i has an auto dimming mirror and another does not, the entire wiring harness is different between the two vehicles.
Keep in mind that the wiring harness is like the electrical backbone of the car, weighs about 50 pounds, and runs contiguously from one end of the vehicle to the other. It is NOT something you want to mess with unless you really know what you are doing. In fact, if there is ever a problem in the wiring harness BMW recommends putting in a new one.
That brings me to reason number two. Alot of your aftermarket companies hire morons to install their electronics. I know this because I see it all the time.
For example, we had a customer buy a brand new M3 convertible (~$60K american) and they installed one of those Viper alarms that tells you to "Get BACK!" when you go near the car. The guy that installed it had the great idea of yanking out the headlight control module, chopping a piece out of the wiring that controls the headlights and splicing in there to get power for his alarm. Needless to say the car was NOT OK after this. Starting the vehicle would cause the headlights to freak out...they would switch on and off randomly. To make matters worse, the malfunction caused the autoleveling feature to kick in and make the lights to bob up and down.
This led to a cluster-f$#k with the customer and the service department. The customer was pointing fingers and yelling at the sales and service staff about what a piece of krap the car was and such. Things were pretty bad until we pulled out the light control module and showed them where the aftermarket guy had spliced in to the light system and where the control board had gotten fried.
I personally think the whole reason for the sticker is because BMW wants to maintain the integrity of the electrical system in the car and to make sure people understand that if their aftermarket device screws something up BMW is not gonna pay for it. Bmw even goes so far as to place prewiring jacks in the cars for most aftermarket devices you could want: bluetooth, satalite raio, mp3 players or line in devices for the stereo, phones, alarms, cd changers, and even Universal RF transcievers (programmable garage door opener).
You could even chalk it up to those strict German engineers if you want. God knows they hate it when people mess with their systems.
Political correctness is actually this,
terminology or language of or conforming to a political agenda.
In other words, it is actually people calling attention to something that is not a slight, then callig it a slight, and then using the engineered fervor to gain control or influence, or to gain publicity for their political platform.
In other words it is creating a false issue in an attempt to get people all riled up so that there will be an audience where there was none. Once the audience is in place you make your "statement."
Regardless, it is a vile and arrogant practice that exploits not only those who are forced into constraints that are unreasonable, but also exploits those who are the subject matter of the issue.
"We believe that if God's testimony is true, then the earth must be young."
I appreciate the intelect that you have brought to this discussion, however I differ from your viewpiont of a young earth on a couple of points.
First let me preface this with the fact that the church I attend has a pastor that has been teaching the Bible from the original languages for more than 40 years. During most of that time the pastor has taught exegetical, isogogic, categorically organized doctrine at least 6 hours a week. All of what we study comes from texturaly criticised scriptures from the oldest, most accurate manuscripts with a constant eye for reconciliation of each scripture with the entire text of the Bible.
Ok, that out of the way, the first point is that no one really knows how long Adam and Esha (Eve's name before the fall) were living in the Garden. It could have been days or millions of years.
Second, the Bible describes Satan being cast down to the earth BEFORE the Genesis 1 account of Creation. If you study the whole Bible from the original languages you will find many references to Satan and his use of the Earth before the Garden existed, even of how God placed the Earth "on ice" until it was ready for man and how He cleaned up the place before placing man on the Earth in the Garden.
Oh and by the way, we refer to faith as a "non-meritorious means of perception." Meaning that the exercise of faith attributes no merit to the one excercising it, rather, merit is attributed to the object of faith. Contrast this with empiricism and rationalism which rely uopn the merits of the individual to provide perception, faith relies on the intrinsic value and character of the object of faith to exist.
It seems only to be creationists who think that philosophical arguments about right and wrong have something to do with evolution.
I wish this were true.
Unfortunately, if evolution is the reason, cause, and source of our intellectual ascendancy then we may one day have to dispose of our "morality" and once again listen to the unrestrained voice of our ancestral past. If we are the products of eons of "survival of the fittest" isn't it arrogance to develop moral systems that ignore the natural systems that made us what we are? Wouldn't it be self destructive as well?
If natural selection is "The Way", then we have strayed into an evolutionary cul-de-sac from which the only exit is the return to brutality, ensuring that future generations receive the best that this generation has to offer (genetically speaking).
If we extrapolate the message of evolution to our personal lives, other lessons come about, the least of which advocate subjugation or destruction of those who are different or threatening to our personal survival. Violence then becomes a first resort rather than a last one.
Not to mention that human genetic experimentation becomes an imperative or even a holy grail to us as the first species to be able to recursively apply the results of natural selection (intelligence/technological advancement) to the process itself, thereby asserting and ensuring our dominance in the evolutionary race.
If evolution is the way of survival, then the Third Reich had every right to do what they did, and racial hate speech is just a biological reaction to a perceived threat to one's genetic heritage. Evolution provides a high ground from where anyone depraved enough to operate from can justify brutality, murder, even genocide.
And if evolutionary theory extends to explain the origination of life then one day everyone should get down on their knees and offer their allegiance to the god probability. Really, because that is why we are here, right? Random chance...this is just One Big Crapshoot in the Sky.
Nope, sorry, evolution has more ramifications than you can imagine, obviously.
I will add that I found the scene where Elrond described to Arwen what fate awaits her if she stays with Aragorn to be intense.
The conflict between her immediate desires and her eternal life was a fantastic thing to see.
Even my 6 year old daughter caught on to the implications of her staying in Middle Earth. She was crying and I asked her if she was ok. She remarked that while she was sad for Arwen and Aragorn it was good that her father loved her and they could leave together and they would never be apart.
Pretty cool.
As for the Matrix, having seen the conclusion I feel that it is just a "regular" movie streched over 3 episodes, ie. it had nothing special, no plumbing the depths of human experience and emotion, no great catharsis, nothing prophetic or insightful about human character. Despite a more than auspicious start the whole trilogy left something to be desired IMHO. I did like it though, it just left me a little cold when it came to my hopes for something EPIC.
In fact, as I left the theater from watching Revolutions I thought "Oh well, thank God that the Return of the King will be out soon."
If scientists threw out their "failures" and did not explore unexpected results of scientific experiemnts we would still be geo-centric morons.
Unexpected results are the stuff that makes for great new discoveries. Dont' discount or marginalize what these scientists are doing.
It could be. In fact, Homeopathy (IIRC) works in a way that might prove this true.
An example of homeopathy goes like this: If you want to sleep, give yourself a small quantity of a STIMULANT. Your body will try to counteract the stimulant and return itself to equilibrium. Because the amount of stimulant is small your biological reaction to it will be more than is necessary to counteract the stimulant and the result will me a natural depressant effect.
In the case of the G3 phone, the body may be reacting to brain dammage in a similar way, ie. a small amount of brain dammage causes the body to compensate, but overcompensation results in benefits.
If this is actually the case then the only question I have is how long will I be able to dominate my favorite Quake server before my brain turns to marmalade.
I have a recommendation for you: Pick up a Cliff notes on the subject of the United States Constitution and the function of the US government, or you could substitute a third grade government textbook.
Ps. Pay special attention to any parts that use the words "Rule of Law", "Republic", "Checks and Balances", "Congress", "Senate", "Three Houses", "Electorial College", "States", or "Representation."
As for those who moderated this person up, you could use the same treatment.
I find it endlessly fascinating that most people prefer sensationalism to truth.
"At that point, it will become possible to slowly roll back the age of the body as, for example, 46th generation smooth muscle cells divide and become 17th generation smooth muscle cells. Over a period of several years your body would effectively become younger"
This assumes that telomeres are the only thing that cause aging. There may be other as yet unknows or misunderstood processes that cause aging.
"Moreover, we had already identified Osama as a threat, and Bush was busy cancelling funds to arrest him"
Ok, if you are alluding to this to try to state a case that Bush is the problem or a contributing factor behind the September 11 attack on the World Trade center then you are wrong. The attack would have been carried out either way. That's the beauty of a terrorist organisation and nonconventional armies, they are capable of operating efficiently without central leadership.
If you are saying that Bush should have done more to catch Osama, maybe you should rember that Osama was offered to the US Government THREE TIMES during the Clinton administration and Clinton refused to take him into custody or even address the problem.
You state that Bush has curtailed the freedoms of the American people, however, it is difficult to see this as anything more than a personal attack on someone that you have political differences with. The reason is that the "freedoms" of the American people have been being systematically destroyed since "The New Deal." Any decrease in the freedom that you percieve in your daily life now may either be from your own bias, or attributed to a new expression of the same structures that have been circumventing your freedoms since before you were born. From my perspective you are crying wolf after the entire village has already been carried off and eaten. In other words, it's a little late.
You also state that the world had not changed in a fundamental way, but it has. However, it did not change in 2001, but in 1979 when the terrorist attacks directed at the USA started in earnest. The problem that we are experiencing is the result of years of mismanaging and ignoring a growing problem.
My apologies for the ambiguity, but I was referring to another review which I had thought I linked to in my post.
/. again, like I stated in my post), and I ment no offense to you personally or professionally.
Unfortunately, I did not preview after editing.
The link is here now: Decipher review
I have not read your review (nor will I read a reveiw on
In addition I would like to commend you on your integrity. Your reply to my post was controlled, intelligent, and non-confrontational considering what was probably construed by you as a personal attack. Thank you.
"Number (or percentage) of successful attacks against servers maintained by professionals, sorted by operating system."
With a truly sucessful attack you never know that you have been hit.
...will I read a /. review of a fiction book.
As an entertainment form, I value reading higher (WAY higher) than movies and television. Combine that with a fickle disposition for genre and style and the result is that there are too few fiction books that will satisfy me. The last thing I need is some amateur wack job disclosing the whole plot in a "review" and ruining the book entirely.
IMHO, the "review" that I am referring to should have been removed faster than a goatse link on the main page labeled "microsoft goes bankrupt."
Thanks for the reviews guys, but fool me once, shame on you, fool me twice and I'll have to murder you and your whole family with a pack of silly straws and a cantaloupe.
Someone on /. has said this before and I will state it again for the record.
Long halflife raidoactive elements are not the ones that you have to look out for when you are trying to avoid radiation poisoning and chromosomal dammage.
Short halflives usually mean high energy particles and aggressive decomposition which, in turn means more intense radiation.
Carbon 14 is raidoactive for God's sake and it is in just about any food you can think of. It just has a fantastically long halflife.
DU has an enormously long halflife and produces mostly alpha particles when it decays (if my sources are correct) which can be blocked with a sheet of notebook paper!
I would be much more concerned with the toxic properties of DU rather than the radioactive ones. However, lead(Pb) is pretty damn poisonous as well and you never see anyone complaining about it being used in bullets or munitions.
More importantly, I would personally trade DU munitions scattered around my country if it could ensure that a mass murdering despot would be removed from power.
"Given the extremely high levels of birth defects and rare cancers seen by Iraqis since 1991 the general consensus among the medical community is that DU munitions do cause considerable harm when used in battle."
Your report of a "general consensus among doctors" is far from empirical evidence or even reasoned logical conclusions. Regardless of this "consensus", there are other scenarios that could provide explanation. Ever given thought to the idea that maybe these purported "birth defects and rare cancers" could result from neurotoxins or other chemical or biological agents that were released in the first Gulf War, or even during testing like in at least one other unfortunate incident where the people who lived in Iraq were gassed by their esteemed leader?
That is a plausible explanation, however, you also have to consider where the statistics you are alluding to come from and how they are compiled. Flimsy evidence and unsupported claims do not a case for condemnation make.
"the general consensus among the medical community is that DU munitions do cause considerable harm when used in battle.
That is definitely true, especially when these munitions intersect the cranium of a person...definitely causes considerable harm, yep.
It is completely impossible to say anything truly intelligent or enlightening in a space this size, excep
Hey buddy, I know you are trying to be devout and all, but you need to study your Bible some more before you spout off. Your points and their connection have little to do with fact and history and less to do with theology. Not trying to flame here, just trying to say that from a theological point of view you don't make any sense at all.
Joshua was receiving information form God about how to run his country. God told him to look out for certain things and to avoid certain things, specifically, the tenets and the theology of the phallic cult. The pagan gods named El, Baal, Ashtarte are foremost among the gods that the passage refers to, but specifically the practices involved in the phallic cult which were epidemic in the ancient world.
God also stated protocol for handling the judicial system in that time because the Jews were not just a spiritual group of people, but were a NATION. Therefore they needed a system of jurisprudence, law, and government hierarchy.
Furthermore, your references to the ideas of justice and liberty as Greek/Roman gods are misplaced as well. They may have been depicted in some related ways in stone or mural, but the depiction and the actual ideas are quite separate.
Even worse, the term justice is used in the Bible to describe God himself. Saying that justice is a Greek god and that you won't be subject to it is bordering on blasphemy.
Then to top it all off you don't even go into the proper translation of the passages form the original languages. If I were you I would take a class in systematic theology at some seminary near you. It might help with your historical viewpoint and fill in the gaps in your understanding of the character and integrity of the God that is described in the Bible.
Hey, some of have had a really hard time getting laid over the years.
It can be really discouraging. Sometimes people get desperate.
As a last resort we can always commit some white collar computer crime and get buttslammed with impunity for two to ten.
It may not be pretty, but it's all some of us have to look forward to.
"Humans as batteries?"
An interesting aside, I have heard that the original script had the array of human batteries doing double duty as a massive multinode computing array that the machines executed it's core operating system on.
In other words, the relationship between the humans and the machines was much more symbiotic that producer/comsumer duality. The trap for the machines was that the humans could not be released or destroyed even if the machines discovered a new power source because they were using the humans to stay sentient.
From what I understand, the script was changed because audiences were not anticipated to be able to understand the idea.
This short "story" is actually an examination of what would happen if Superman and Lois were to get married and try to have children. Kind of a scientific exploration of the impossibility of Superman.
Niven discribes what would happen to Lois's feeble body as her and Superman writhe in the throes of pasion. Not to mention what would happen to her at the moment of climax. Remember, "faster than a speeding bullet"? Now apply it to SEX! Eeeeewww!
The illustration of Superman's super powered sperm cells riddling holes in every woman in metropolis is especially hilarious.
The idea that life originated elsewhere violates Occam's razor.
"Since life exists here it started here" is congruent with Occam's razor. This is especially pertinent in light of the fact that there have been no signs of life on any other planet we have been able to observe.
"...but a little objectivity..."
You must be new here.
Actually, some people are predicting that Moore's law will fail, but not in the way that you think.
The facts seem to show that we will have even faster development of processors than Moore's law states.
The idea behind this is based on the rate of technological development in human history. If you were to graph the rate of technological advancement for recorded history you would see a long line of incremental yet minimal growth punctuated by the recent 100-150 years where the increase is almost geometric.
Also consider that faster processors themselves fuel the forces that drive technological development. In other words, with more processing power we can research, design, and implement new technologies faster and more efficiently. In addition, other industries that feed into the development of processor technology reap the benefits of the faster/more powerful computers. They in turn contribute to the increase in the speed of development.
Due to this type of chain reaction where one advancement can increase the rate of many other advancements, some people believe that the rate of all technological development will only accellerate from its present rate. Based on this assumption, Moore's Law will fall, but only because we have left it behind for something better!
"While I don't condone weapons research,"
The problem with not condoning weapons research is that it never stops. Either we do it, or someone else does. Whoever gets there first is the winner and holds a temporary advantage.
When I hear people talk like this about military research I envision someone driving a horse and buggy...on a multilane interstate...in the left lane...ON PURPOSE!
In other words, the idea is not only stupid, but it could get people hurt in unbelievably brutal ways.
The directions mention tunring off the system restore capability to ensure that the computer dosen't reinfect itself from a backup.
Maybe you skipped that step?