Not counting the invention of the heliograph by the Greeks (I'm assuming you're discounting data streams composed entirely of letters), isn't that kind of the whole point of fiber optics? Geek-grrl-in-training
"I live in Boise, but I don't have a lawn, I feel cheated out of my wormholes."
I just want you to know I'm going to post this on my wall and forward it to my friends. I have been arguing this view point for years, but I've never stated it quite this concisely.
Geek-grrl in training
"Television was the religion of the 90's. I'm an atheist."
>(BTW, I am a Christian, and believe in absolute right and wrong, being defined by God's revelation to us, mostly documented in the Bible. > Outside of that grounding, I see no basis for deceny and order. But our culture as a whole still is based mostly on Judeo/Christian ethics despite > the rampant philosphical denial of the fundementals of that ethics in our culture.) > (also, I respect the rules of those of other worldviews, and will agree to live under the rule of the majority's views, whether they are "good" > acording to how I have come to understand good or not. However, would much prefer that our Judeo/Christian values continue, as they have > proven to be the most benificial to all...) While I am not a Christian, I will cheerfully agree with you to a point, for the following reason. Judeo-Christian ethics came into being specifically for a small self sufficient group of human beings. The ethics promoted by Leviticus/Deuteronomy are the ethics that are going to do the least damage to a homogenous group of people, for the most part. As a rule, ethics as a field boils down to the set of actions that are going to do the least damage to the largest group of people in the long run. Thus:people who kill are wrong. They are damaging a large group of people, with no compensating benefit. However, there always comes a time when people decide to distort this basic principle into something for their own use. I don't even remember how many people I have heard cover up their own personal distaste for some activity that harmed no one, by saying it was immoral, or unChristian. I fear to tie a country's laws to something that can be so easily distorted and perverted. A country can only survive by doing the best it can for all of its' citizens, all of the time. And when the populace is short sighted and selfish, the best thing for the country and its' citizens may not be what the citizens want. I realize I've gotten a little off topic from my reply, but I hope this makes sense in that context...
Geek-grrl in training "Hit a man over the head with a fish and he'll have a headache. Teach a man to hit himself over the head with a fish, and he'll have headaches for the rest of his life."
If you think that would be cool, go check out Hewlett Packard's new Jornada 430se at http://www.hp.com/jornada/pr oducts/430se/overview.html. The technology's already out on the market. Disclaimer:I contract to HP, and have no qualms about pimping their really cool stuff.:) Geek-grrl in training "I haven't lost my mind, it's backed up on tape somewhere."
More relevant, probably, is whether it is "appropriate and necessary" to ban using these words for domains. No, I don't see a lot of socially relevant content coming out of these domains, but on the other hand, what damage are we doing by letting then be taken, as opposed to setting more precedents for censorship by banning these domains. And it's not like it's going to make it any easier to find porn, you can't get much easier than it is now...
Geek-grrl in training "We're gonna go to the mall and window shoplift."
Re:My reply (small spoiler, but a good read)
on
South Park The Movie
·
· Score: 1
>"I do not agree with your idea that a 16 year old can't have just as much experience if not more than a 20 year old, it all depends on how your raised, if as you seem to think children should be moderated and prevented from seeing certain movies and such, then obviously they will have less experience than someone who does get to watch those movies."
This is a horride example about one of the ills of they so-called 'Human Potential Movement' that started in the 60's, which is now only rearing it's ugly head with my generation and the one below.
It's also a fallacy, as well as mathematically incorrect:). >
Exposure does not bring experience, time does. it is the essence of what experience is. Exposed brings information, but not necessarily the facilities to handle it.
One:It's only mathematically invalid if you honestly believe that learning is directly related to time. A dubious statement at best, I study less than a lot of my classmates, and yet I get better grades. (for your reference, I am 21, with no children, although 5 years of babysitting gave me a pretty good grasp of child development.) Experience can only be defined as the exposure to new situations, something which may or may not vary in accordance with time. Two:A child who is never exposed to a situation cannot learn to handle it, regardless of their age. Learning is only possible when information/experience is available. Three:Exposure to sex never hurt anyone. In many cultures it's customary for children to watch their parents having sex. The damage is done when the child is abused, i.e. coerced, frightened, etc. Four:REGARDLESS of your parenting skills, by the time your child is 12 or 13, he has access to information you did not spoon feed him. He knows what sex is, chances are he has seen genetalia other than his own, and has a good idea what they are for. In essence, this movie will not show him anything he doesn't already know. (Sorry for the masculine pronouns, english is annoying.)
So what are your duties as a parent? First off, you should have prepared your child for situations like this well before he hits adolescence. If you are trying to control information flow at this age, a:you are locking the barn door after the horse, and b:you didn't do your job in the first place. Teach your child to recognize how to deal with obscenity. And sex. And violence. Don't try to pretend they don't exist, you know better, and so does he.
It's not the fact that you are our inferiors on the social ladder, that is simply the Social Darwinism created by the fact that you are below us on the intellectual ladder. If you were a little brighter, you'd realize that you can make it up the socioeconomic ladder without ever having to kiss up to anybody, if such is your desire. Note:I'm only replying to you because you've already been moderated down, so this conversation won't show up for most people.
Geek-grrl in training
Re:Explanation of The Force is A Farce
on
Episode II Rumours
·
· Score: 1
That whole Virgin birth thing is kind of bogus anyway. Shmi is so certain there was no father. Visualize this scenario. Darth Siddious takes a little vacation to Tatooine, notices the pseudo-hot Shmi, and decides to have some fun... "You will have sex with me. You will remember nothing of this." Voila. "Virgin Birth". Or maybe Yoda was into miscegenation. Anakin's definitely got that cute and short thing going on... You've got to admit, it would explain Palpatine's interest in Anakin...
Geek-grrl in training "Of COURSE it's the murder weapon. Who would frame someone with a fake?"
The symptoms of a caffeine overdose ("caffeinism") will vary, according to individual differences and the amount consumed. Doses ranging from 250 to 750 mg (2 to 7 cups of coffee or tablets of NoDoz) can produce restlessness, nausea, headache, tense muscles, sleep disturbances, and irregular heart beats. Doses of over 750 mg (7 cups of coffee) can produce a reaction similar to an anxiety attack, including delirium, ringing ears, and light flashes. (See Caffeine)
I read Slashdot so I won't have to read ZDnet, Wired Mag, etc, etc. It's nice to have one centralized point for Linux news, humor, hardware, etc. And besides, reading it on these other sites, you miss all the interesting discussions that arise.
Geek-grrl in training "Despite the high cost of living, it remains a popular item."
If I volunteer to edit, can I get free slashdot merchandise? That would be nice....
Geek-grrl in training "Of course I still love you. Now stop whining and let me shoot you."
Re:with that attitude - enjoy unemployment
on
Feature:Geek Jobs
·
· Score: 2
Taking a course in programming seems to be a pretty standard requirement for getting a degree in Mechanical/Electrical engineering. Ironically, that's how I wound up as a CS major, I took a course in C while working on my MechE degree, and realized I'd forgotten how much I liked coding. But most of the older people in the field didn't graduate under those requirements. Some of my engineering profs are still struggling with Excel. But I find the derogatory attitude of programmers to engineers and vice-versa really annoying. They are both trained to be specialists. He has as much reason to understand network architecture as you do to design circut boards.
>Everything that you stated either happened over 20 years ago, is not proven or is just plain wrong (waco). Randy Weaver's wife was shot less than a decade ago. If you are saying that it is wrong from an ethical point of view, I'll go right along with that. If you are saying it didn't happen that way, I suggest you check ANY news source, national, local, or even a militia zine for the facts on the situation.
Geek-grrl in training "Always two there are. A geek and her sig."
Whether or not he deserved it is irrelevant. He gets several hours of inconvenience, reading through badly written and incoherent emails. We get a couple more years of obscurity, because people like you make the rest of us look incompentent. Try and focus on the larger scheme of things here. It is not about this childish concept of lashing out at any perceived threat, it is about supporting your community, and overcoming though competence rather than crass force.
I don't think you're stomping on free speech... This is a private forum, generously sponsored by Rob. If these fanatics wish to rant and rave, there are plenty of public places for them to do it. If we are indeed a community, we have the same power as any other community, to shun people we find damaging to us. Of course, there is the off chance that these disgruntled wanna-bes will go shoot up the local high school, because we gave them bad flashbacks. Tragic.
Geek-grrl in training "The complete lack of evidence is the surest sign that the conspiracy is working."
>Heinlein as an author was full of interesting dichotomies. On the one hand, he was contemptious of the "unwashed masses." On the other >hand, he was very strongly of the opinion that individuals make all of the difference (indeed many of his writings are unashamedly promoting of >libertarian / anarchist ideals). He was at times unbelievably optomistic about the future, and at other times terribly pessemistic. I don't think the views that Heinlein expressed were contradictory per se. If you state them in those terms, maybe, but I think what he portrayed in his writings was his faith in those who were willing to take self-responsibility, and his contempt was for those unwilling to do so. (Sadly, most of humanity.) >I think there is a very real danger of reading too much into a person from the fiction that they wrote. In the case of Heinlein, what he wrote was usually what he professed to believe. Check out some of his non-fiction works to see the corollaries. I think you can read a lot into the fiction someone writes. People portray what they know in the things they write. Their character interactions, their tone in regards to the material, all show a lot of the writer's views. But I think Brin seizes on only the aspects of TPM that he wants to see, and ignores the rest. We can read a lot about HIS character from his review, anyway...
Actually, the space station gave us a lot of valuable data pertinent to long term space colonies and exploration. Things like the effects of long term zero-gee that we can't get with the space shuttle. (Since it can't stay up for 6 months at a time.)
Geek-grrl in training "Eagles may soar, but weasels don't get sucked into jet engines."
It's physically impossible for me to be a whacker. While I do have trouble with women, it's usually because their boyfriends are in a corner with me discussing their hardware..:)
I'm not sure, but I think you might have meant "paragon" instead on "paradigm". One's a shining example, the other's a pattern of thought. (To define loosely.) Anyway, paranoia isn't unique to the US, we can just afford better spies..:) Paranoia and greed is the human way, and one follows the other. I'm simply impressed that Germany realizes it can reap more benefit from a secure populace. Pity the US is so short sighted. There is some irony, Germany and "police state" used to be synonyms for me.
Geek-grrl in training "I don't have a license to kill, I have a learner's permit."
>It would be an awfully big waste of space. It's only an awfully big waste of space if you assume the universe was built explicitly for us... While I fully support exploring every facet of the unknown, I don't do so because I think it's mankind's destiny... I think mankind as a whole has no great purpose. We are here, we breed, and we die. Purpose is something for the individual. BTW, nice handle..:)
Geek-grrl in training "Give a monkey a brain, and he'll swear he's the center of the universe."
Slashdot Mirror
Not counting the invention of the heliograph by the Greeks (I'm assuming you're discounting data streams composed entirely of letters), isn't that kind of the whole point of fiber optics?
Geek-grrl-in-training
"I live in Boise, but I don't have a lawn, I feel cheated out of my wormholes."
I just want you to know I'm going to post this on my wall and forward it to my friends. I have been arguing this view point for years, but I've never stated it quite this concisely.
Geek-grrl in training
"Television was the religion of the 90's. I'm an atheist."
>(BTW, I am a Christian, and believe in absolute right and wrong, being defined by God's revelation to us, mostly documented in the Bible.
> Outside of that grounding, I see no basis for deceny and order. But our culture as a whole still is based mostly on Judeo/Christian ethics despite
> the rampant philosphical denial of the fundementals of that ethics in our culture.)
> (also, I respect the rules of those of other worldviews, and will agree to live under the rule of the majority's views, whether they are "good"
> acording to how I have come to understand good or not. However, would much prefer that our Judeo/Christian values continue, as they have
> proven to be the most benificial to all...)
While I am not a Christian, I will cheerfully agree with you to a point, for the following reason. Judeo-Christian ethics came into being specifically for a small self sufficient group of human beings. The ethics promoted by Leviticus/Deuteronomy are the ethics that are going to do the least damage to a homogenous group of people, for the most part. As a rule, ethics as a field boils down to the set of actions that are going to do the least damage to the largest group of people in the long run. Thus:people who kill are wrong. They are damaging a large group of people, with no compensating benefit. However, there always comes a time when people decide to distort this basic principle into something for their own use. I don't even remember how many people I have heard cover up their own personal distaste for some activity that harmed no one, by saying it was immoral, or unChristian. I fear to tie a country's laws to something that can be so easily distorted and perverted. A country can only survive by doing the best it can for all of its' citizens, all of the time. And when the populace is short sighted and selfish, the best thing for the country and its' citizens may not be what the citizens want. I realize I've gotten a little off topic from my reply, but I hope this makes sense in that context...
Geek-grrl in training
"Hit a man over the head with a fish and he'll have a headache. Teach a man to hit himself over the head with a fish, and he'll have headaches for the rest of his life."
If you think that would be cool, go check out Hewlett Packard's new Jornada 430se at http://www.hp.com/jornada/pr oducts/430se/overview.html. The technology's already out on the market. :)
Disclaimer:I contract to HP, and have no qualms about pimping their really cool stuff.
Geek-grrl in training
"I haven't lost my mind, it's backed up on tape somewhere."
FYI, the Dragonrider books were written by Anne Mcaffrey (sp?). They are in no way connected with MZB. Good books though...
geek-grrl in training
"If at first you don't succeed, skydiving is not for you."
More relevant, probably, is whether it is "appropriate and necessary" to ban using these words for domains. No, I don't see a lot of socially relevant content coming out of these domains, but on the other hand, what damage are we doing by letting then be taken, as opposed to setting more precedents for censorship by banning these domains. And it's not like it's going to make it any easier to find porn, you can't get much easier than it is now...
Geek-grrl in training
"We're gonna go to the mall and window shoplift."
>"I do not agree with your idea that a 16 year old can't have just as much experience if not more than a 20 year old, it all depends on how your
:).
raised, if as you seem to think children should be moderated and prevented from seeing certain movies and such, then obviously they will have
less experience than someone who does get to watch those movies."
This is a horride example about one of the ills of they so-called 'Human Potential Movement' that started in the 60's, which is now only rearing
it's ugly head with my generation and the one below.
It's also a fallacy, as well as mathematically incorrect
>
Exposure does not bring experience, time does. it is the essence of what experience is. Exposed brings information, but not necessarily the
facilities to handle it.
One:It's only mathematically invalid if you honestly believe that learning is directly related to time. A dubious statement at best, I study less than a lot of my classmates, and yet I get better grades. (for your reference, I am 21, with no children, although 5 years of babysitting gave me a pretty good grasp of child development.) Experience can only be defined as the exposure to new situations, something which may or may not vary in accordance with time.
Two:A child who is never exposed to a situation cannot learn to handle it, regardless of their age. Learning is only possible when information/experience is available.
Three:Exposure to sex never hurt anyone. In many cultures it's customary for children to watch their parents having sex. The damage is done when the child is abused, i.e. coerced, frightened, etc.
Four:REGARDLESS of your parenting skills, by the time your child is 12 or 13, he has access to information you did not spoon feed him. He knows what sex is, chances are he has seen genetalia other than his own, and has a good idea what they are for. In essence, this movie will not show him anything he doesn't already know. (Sorry for the masculine pronouns, english is annoying.)
So what are your duties as a parent? First off, you should have prepared your child for situations like this well before he hits adolescence. If you are trying to control information flow at this age, a:you are locking the barn door after the horse, and b:you didn't do your job in the first place. Teach your child to recognize how to deal with obscenity. And sex. And violence. Don't try to pretend they don't exist, you know better, and so does he.
Geek-grrl in training
It's not the fact that you are our inferiors on the social ladder, that is simply the Social Darwinism created by the fact that you are below us on the intellectual ladder. If you were a little brighter, you'd realize that you can make it up the socioeconomic ladder without ever having to kiss up to anybody, if such is your desire. Note:I'm only replying to you because you've already been moderated down, so this conversation won't show up for most people.
Geek-grrl in training
That whole Virgin birth thing is kind of bogus anyway. Shmi is so certain there was no father. Visualize this scenario. Darth Siddious takes a little vacation to Tatooine, notices the pseudo-hot Shmi, and decides to have some fun... "You will have sex with me. You will remember nothing of this." Voila. "Virgin Birth". Or maybe Yoda was into miscegenation. Anakin's definitely got that cute and short thing going on... You've got to admit, it would explain Palpatine's interest in Anakin...
Geek-grrl in training
"Of COURSE it's the murder weapon. Who would frame someone with a fake?"
A short term lease at obscenely high rates is always good.. :)
Geek-grrl in training
The symptoms of a caffeine overdose ("caffeinism") will
vary, according to individual differences and the amount consumed. Doses ranging from 250 to 750 mg (2 to 7 cups of coffee or tablets of NoDoz) can produce
restlessness, nausea, headache, tense muscles, sleep disturbances, and irregular heart beats. Doses of over 750 mg (7 cups of coffee) can produce a reaction similar
to an anxiety attack, including delirium, ringing ears, and light flashes. (See Caffeine)
Geek-grrl in training
Bread and circuses. Welfare and Jerry Springer. Behold the power of democracy.
I read Slashdot so I won't have to read ZDnet, Wired Mag, etc, etc. It's nice to have one centralized point for Linux news, humor, hardware, etc. And besides, reading it on these other sites, you miss all the interesting discussions that arise.
Geek-grrl in training
"Despite the high cost of living, it remains a popular item."
My grammar and spelling are good, and I'd be happy to do it for free, I just want a T-shirt.
Geek-grrl in training
If I volunteer to edit, can I get free slashdot merchandise? That would be nice....
Geek-grrl in training
"Of course I still love you. Now stop whining and let me shoot you."
Taking a course in programming seems to be a pretty standard requirement for getting a degree in Mechanical/Electrical engineering. Ironically, that's how I wound up as a CS major, I took a course in C while working on my MechE degree, and realized I'd forgotten how much I liked coding. But most of the older people in the field didn't graduate under those requirements. Some of my engineering profs are still struggling with Excel. But I find the derogatory attitude of programmers to engineers and vice-versa really annoying. They are both trained to be specialists. He has as much reason to understand network architecture as you do to design circut boards.
Geek-grrl in training
>Everything that you stated either happened over 20 years ago, is not proven or is just plain wrong (waco).
Randy Weaver's wife was shot less than a decade ago. If you are saying that it is wrong from an ethical point of view, I'll go right along with that. If you are saying it didn't happen that way, I suggest you check ANY news source, national, local, or even a militia zine for the facts on the situation.
Geek-grrl in training
"Always two there are. A geek and her sig."
Whether or not he deserved it is irrelevant. He gets several hours of inconvenience, reading through badly written and incoherent emails. We get a couple more years of obscurity, because people like you make the rest of us look incompentent. Try and focus on the larger scheme of things here. It is not about this childish concept of lashing out at any perceived threat, it is about supporting your community, and overcoming though competence rather than crass force.
Geek-grrl in training
"DEATH TO FANATICS!"
I don't think you're stomping on free speech... This is a private forum, generously sponsored by Rob. If these fanatics wish to rant and rave, there are plenty of public places for them to do it. If we are indeed a community, we have the same power as any other community, to shun people we find damaging to us. Of course, there is the off chance that these disgruntled wanna-bes will go shoot up the local high school, because we gave them bad flashbacks. Tragic.
Geek-grrl in training
"The complete lack of evidence is the surest sign that the conspiracy is working."
>Heinlein as an author was full of interesting dichotomies. On the one hand, he was contemptious of the "unwashed masses." On the other >hand, he was very strongly of the opinion that individuals make all of the difference (indeed many of his writings are unashamedly promoting of
>libertarian / anarchist ideals). He was at times unbelievably optomistic about the future, and at other times terribly pessemistic.
I don't think the views that Heinlein expressed were contradictory per se. If you state them in those terms, maybe, but I think what he portrayed in his writings was his faith in those who were willing to take self-responsibility, and his contempt was for those unwilling to do so. (Sadly, most of humanity.)
>I think there is a very real danger of reading too much into a person from the fiction that they wrote.
In the case of Heinlein, what he wrote was usually what he professed to believe. Check out some of his non-fiction works to see the corollaries. I think you can read a lot into the fiction someone writes. People portray what they know in the things they write. Their character interactions, their tone in regards to the material, all show a lot of the writer's views. But I think Brin seizes on only the aspects of TPM that he wants to see, and ignores the rest. We can read a lot about HIS character from his review, anyway...
Actually, the space station gave us a lot of valuable data pertinent to long term space colonies and exploration. Things like the effects of long term zero-gee that we can't get with the space shuttle. (Since it can't stay up for 6 months at a time.)
Geek-grrl in training
"Eagles may soar, but weasels don't get sucked into jet engines."
It's physically impossible for me to be a whacker. While I do have trouble with women, it's usually because their boyfriends are in a corner with me discussing their hardware.. :)
Geek-grrl in training
^^^^
I like being a geek.
I'm not sure, but I think you might have meant "paragon" instead on "paradigm". One's a shining example, the other's a pattern of thought. (To define loosely.) Anyway, paranoia isn't unique to the US, we can just afford better spies.. :) Paranoia and greed is the human way, and one follows the other. I'm simply impressed that Germany realizes it can reap more benefit from a secure populace. Pity the US is so short sighted. There is some irony, Germany and "police state" used to be synonyms for me.
Geek-grrl in training
"I don't have a license to kill, I have a learner's permit."
There's not enough pressure to keep it in a liquid form, so it vaporizes violently.
Geek-grrl in training
"My body is a temple. Want to come over for midnight mass?"
>It would be an awfully big waste of space. :)
It's only an awfully big waste of space if you assume the universe was built explicitly for us... While I fully support exploring every facet of the unknown, I don't do so because I think it's mankind's destiny... I think mankind as a whole has no great purpose. We are here, we breed, and we die. Purpose is something for the individual. BTW, nice handle..
Geek-grrl in training
"Give a monkey a brain, and he'll swear he's the center of the universe."