Please don't think I'm siding with the credit card companies. They are indeed very sleazy, and I think there should be more laws to control them. However, with a little practice, the offers are not hard to read at all. A healthy level of skepticism and a little patience is all you need. I mean, yes, reading the entire 'terms of service' pamphlet would probably give me a headache, but I've been able to save hundreds of dollars in interest using balance transfers just by checking;
1. How long the offer is good for. 2. What fees there are (The *only* fee I will pay is a 3% balance transfer fee, it pays for itself)
This is all printed in normal size print on the 1 page letter they send you. The hardest thing you are called on to do is turn the page over and possibly follow an asterisked footnote.
After that, just make the payments on time (otherwise they jack the interest rate up and charge you enormous penalties), don't buy anything with it (since payments are applied to the low interest balance first), and you're fine. When the offer runs out, if you haven't paid the balance off yet, transfer it again (I get offers in the mail every week and I have only average credit). They notify you in writing in advance if any of your terms are going to change and give you the option to cancel.
>That's it? out off all the wonderful, amazing, things in this world? The fun and the heart-wrenching? All you can do is worry about what happens to wyou when you die?
>That's morbid.
What part of his post gave you the impression that he was worried? The whole concept of Christianity is based on the belief that faith in Jesus is what saves your soul. You either believe or you don't. No need to worry. And there's no law that states Christians can't enjoy life.
>And no, you're not going to Heaven. nobody is. When those neurons stop firing, it's over- quit hiding from it. How about you enjoy the brief few years between now and then? > Instead of just accepting some Semitic goat-herder's doublethink (he's god! he's man! he's both!), and boring the rest of us with that particularly inane drivel that is quoting the > bible.
I assume you either have proof there is no heaven, or you have faith that there is no heaven.
Otherwise, it would be illogical to sound so certain, right?
> what a thoroughly depressing little cult christianity is. "I'm going to burn for all eternity, and my only hope is to plead with some >invisible entity and give shedloads of money to a priest with bad hair and bad breath to talk to me once a week? Screw that.
Yes, the concept of hell is depressing. That does not mean that it isn't true. And there is no pleading involved whatsoever where salvation (eternal life) is concerned ("ask, and you shall receive").
And as for giving money...again, not a requirement. The Catholic church has developed a reputation for this, I'll admit. They're filthy rich. However, I have found that this is not the case in most Protestant churches. And I am not aware of any faith (Catholicism included) where donations are a requirement for salvation.
Most non profit organizations ask for donations churches, the ACLU, EFF, etc, etc.
> got a better explanation? Or do you buy the crap the creationists sell you?
Yes. Evolution guided by an intelligent creator (I call it God).
Perhaps instead of phrasing it as abuse of power you could phrase it like this:
"You're right, if you are not doing anything illegal, you *don't* have anything to hide. But, you are not the one who gets to decide what is illegal and what is legal. The government decides this."
The counter to this is, of course, that we get to vote for our leaders. However, you may want to point out that we do not get a vote on each and every law that is passed.
Haven't read Fast Food Nation yet, although I've heard about some of the information in it second hand...very disturbing.
Also haven't seen "Supersize Me", but didn't the guy basically *try* to eat the most unhealthy things on the menu? Soso Whaley did a similar study and got far different results. She lost weight and her cholesterol went down.
You mentioned how pop culture is affecting kids, then you mention Vedic Math...and my mind jumped to Star Trek:Deep Space Nine (Vedic being one of the levels in the Bajoran religous hierarchy).
Methinks you may have a point...
>Nor do I like the assumption that the government has the right to know what I'm doing and how I'm driving
If you cause an accident they have every right to know. Its no different than an eyewitness stating that you were driving recklessly. In fact, its more reliable than an eyewitness.
> Hell, if you played for 40 hour, only gained 3 levels, but had a kickass time playing, wouldn't that be alright?
The goal of the game should nopt be to make the character as high level > as possible.
> Umm, actually no you can't. Haven't you ever seen a book with the warning about selling it without the cover?
But he's not talking about the cover, he's talking about ripping out pages. Ripping off the cover has special meaning, it means tha the publisher receives no money from the sale. Ripping out pages does not mean the same thing.
Burns: Smithers, get me some strike breakers. The kind they had in the thirties.
(Smithers brings in Grampa Simpson)
Abe: We can't bust heads like we used to, but we have our ways. (grumbles of acknolwedgement from the strike breakers) One trick is to tell them stories that don't go anywhere. Like the time I caught the ferry over to Shelbyville. I needed a new heel for my shoe, so I decided to go to Morganville, which is what they called Shelbyville in those days. So I tied an onion to my belt, which was the style at the time. Now to take the ferry cost a nickel, and in those days, nickels had pictures of bumblebees on them! "Gimme five bees for a quarter," you'd say. Now, where was I? Oh yes. The important thing was that I had an onion on my belt, which was the style at the time. We didn't have white onions, because of The War. The only thing you could get was those big yellow ones...
>Software security liability should be >proportional to the cost.
Actually, it should be proportional to the amount of damage caused by the software. Cost has nothing to do with it.
>If it's not quality code then they should be >liable for false advertising at the least and >outright scamming the consumers at the best.
Who determines what 'quality' is? We can't even aagree on what a quality linux distribution is. If a security flaw is discovered, does that mean its not "quality" code? It's impossible to write bug free code that accounts for every possibility.
I have no sympathy for people who choose to put themselves in such a situation. Plus, one of them will supposedly get something out of the deal - a job. Read the post below by Lxy about the show really being an extended job interview.
Because most of the middle class has too much to lose, or at least thinks they have too much to lose, by taking any action to change the system. Most revolutionary change is spearheaded by people who feel they have nothing to lose.
Slashdot Mirror
Please don't think I'm siding with the credit card companies. They are indeed very sleazy, and I think there should be more laws to control them. However, with a little practice, the offers are not hard to read at all. A healthy level of skepticism and a little patience is all you need. I mean, yes, reading the entire 'terms of service' pamphlet would probably give me a headache, but I've been able to save hundreds of dollars in interest using balance transfers just by checking;
1. How long the offer is good for.
2. What fees there are (The *only* fee I will pay is a 3% balance transfer fee, it pays for itself)
This is all printed in normal size print on the 1 page letter they send you. The hardest thing you are called on to do is turn the page over and possibly follow an asterisked footnote.
After that, just make the payments on time (otherwise they jack the interest rate up and charge you enormous penalties), don't buy anything with it (since payments are applied to the low interest balance first), and you're fine. When the offer runs out, if you haven't paid the balance off yet, transfer it again (I get offers in the mail every week and I have only average credit). They notify you in writing in advance if any of your terms are going to change and give you the option to cancel.
>That's it? out off all the wonderful, amazing, things in this world? The fun and the heart-wrenching? All you can do is worry about what happens to wyou when you die? >That's morbid.
What part of his post gave you the impression that he was worried? The whole concept of Christianity is based on the belief that faith in Jesus is what saves your soul. You either believe or you don't. No need to worry. And there's no law that states Christians can't enjoy life.
>And no, you're not going to Heaven. nobody is. When those neurons stop firing, it's over- quit hiding from it. How about you enjoy the brief few years between now and then? > Instead of just accepting some Semitic goat-herder's doublethink (he's god! he's man! he's both!), and boring the rest of us with that particularly inane drivel that is quoting the > bible.
I assume you either have proof there is no heaven, or you have faith that there is no heaven. Otherwise, it would be illogical to sound so certain, right?
You know, its irrational to express so much hatred toward God and/or Jesus if you truly believe that they don't exist.
> what a thoroughly depressing little cult christianity is. "I'm going to burn for all eternity, and my only hope is to plead with some >invisible entity and give shedloads of money to a priest with bad hair and bad breath to talk to me once a week? Screw that.
Yes, the concept of hell is depressing. That does not mean that it isn't true. And there is no pleading involved whatsoever where salvation (eternal life) is concerned ("ask, and you shall receive").
And as for giving money...again, not a requirement. The Catholic church has developed a reputation for this, I'll admit. They're filthy rich. However, I have found that this is not the case in most Protestant churches. And I am not aware of any faith (Catholicism included) where donations are a requirement for salvation.
Most non profit organizations ask for donations churches, the ACLU, EFF, etc, etc.
> got a better explanation? Or do you buy the crap the creationists sell you?
Yes. Evolution guided by an intelligent creator (I call it God).
Perhaps instead of phrasing it as abuse of power you could phrase it like this:
"You're right, if you are not doing anything illegal, you *don't* have anything to hide. But, you are not the one who gets to decide what is illegal and what is legal. The government decides this."
The counter to this is, of course, that we get to vote for our leaders. However, you may want to point out that we do not get a vote on each and every law that is passed.
Right, because I'm *sure* that the vast Googlebomb conspiracy is high on their list of priorities.
;)
I'd be surprised if they're even aware of it
> Mom Installing Linux Fervently
Or, Mom I'd Like to Fsck
Haven't read Fast Food Nation yet, although I've heard about some of the information in it second hand...very disturbing.
Also haven't seen "Supersize Me", but didn't the guy basically *try* to eat the most unhealthy things on the menu? Soso Whaley did a similar study and got far different results. She lost weight and her cholesterol went down.
You mentioned how pop culture is affecting kids, then you mention Vedic Math...and my mind jumped to Star Trek:Deep Space Nine (Vedic being one of the levels in the Bajoran religous hierarchy). Methinks you may have a point...
"Where's your homework?" "My dog ate my hard drive..."
>Nor do I like the assumption that the government has the right to know what I'm doing and how I'm driving
If you cause an accident they have every right to know. Its no different than an eyewitness stating that you were driving recklessly. In fact, its more reliable than an eyewitness.
> Hell, if you played for 40 hour, only gained 3 levels, but had a kickass time playing, wouldn't that be alright? The goal of the game should nopt be to make the character as high level > as possible.
I'm a munchkin, you insensitive clod!
> Umm, actually no you can't. Haven't you ever seen a book with the warning about selling it without the cover?
But he's not talking about the cover, he's talking about ripping out pages. Ripping off the cover has special meaning, it means tha the publisher receives no money from the sale. Ripping out pages does not mean the same thing.
Are you suggesting that every poor person out there got poor through no fault of their own whatsoever?
Be vewy vewy quiet...i'm installing winux!
Did Jon Katz submit this article?
That, combined with a form of fusion, will give the machines all the energy they need...
Yes, but don't forget the Google cache.
Burns: Smithers, get me some strike breakers. The kind they had in the thirties.
(Smithers brings in Grampa Simpson)
Abe: We can't bust heads like we used to, but we have our ways. (grumbles of acknolwedgement from the strike breakers) One trick is to tell them stories that don't go anywhere. Like the time I caught the ferry over to Shelbyville. I needed a new heel for my shoe, so I decided to go to Morganville, which is what they called Shelbyville in those days. So I tied an onion to my belt, which was the style at the time. Now to take the ferry cost a nickel, and in those days, nickels had pictures of bumblebees on them! "Gimme five bees for a quarter," you'd say. Now, where was I? Oh yes. The important thing was that I had an onion on my belt, which was the style at the time. We didn't have white onions, because of The War. The only thing you could get was those big yellow ones...
>Software security liability should be
>proportional to the cost.
Actually, it should be proportional to the amount of damage caused by the software. Cost has nothing to do with it.
>If it's not quality code then they should be
>liable for false advertising at the least and
>outright scamming the consumers at the best.
Who determines what 'quality' is? We can't even aagree on what a quality linux distribution is. If a security flaw is discovered, does that mean its not "quality" code? It's impossible to write bug free code that accounts for every possibility.
I have no sympathy for people who choose to put themselves in such a situation. Plus, one of them will supposedly get something out of the deal - a job. Read the post below by Lxy about the show really being an extended job interview.
Because most of the middle class has too much to lose, or at least thinks they have too much to lose, by taking any action to change the system. Most revolutionary change is spearheaded by people who feel they have nothing to lose.
Yes, except 1)The people on the show chose to be there, and 2)They do get fired for reasons - they screw up.
>Unfortunately it can also put big brother in >your pocket, shoes, shirt and pants.
That gives a whole new meaning to "wardrobe malfunction"...
"Second star to the left, straight on till morning!". ."
"I'm sorry, I couldn't locate www.secondstartotheleftstraightontillmorning.com.