"Don't you feel safer? I wish an independent 3rd party group could get together and see what they could get through security without being arrested for the experiment. So little of what the TSA is doing is any more than illusion."
That would be interesting. So why don't you do it? Yeah, me neither. You'd probably succeed in getting lots of stuff through, but if you got caught... I'm sorry but I'll be laughing when they send you up the river for 10 years. "But your honor, I was doing a story for my blog on the inadequacies of the TSA..." Yes, what the TSA is chartered to do is restore the illusion that travel is safe. That was an illusion that we had before 9/11, and it's always been an illusion. But like a placebo, it worked to some degree, And restoring it is probably the best that can be achieved.
One way to think about this is to remember that thinking of someone who argues with you in a way that abuses logic and reason, or is insulting, is not really a "bully". Using the analogy of "bullying" to what anyone can do to you over the internet is disabling. He's just using words. Use your own without fear. It's not like he's going to reach out of your monitor and grab you around the neck. Things sure have changed since I was a kid: "Dad, I'm being bullied at school!" "What happened son, did he hit you?" "No." "Did he knock you down, or give you a wedgie or something?" "No." "Well, what did he do to you?" "He made fun of me!" "...he made fun of you?" "Yeah." "Well, you're not being bullied, son, you're being outsmarted. Think of a clever way to respond and if he really starts bullying you let me know."
Now, while I'm at it, here's another little truth about the internet that you (and modern parents) need to know. There is no such thing as "cyber-sex".
What always fascinated me about Batman was that he had no super powers. Superman, Spiderman, Hulk, etc. all had some sort of super ability that was explained by magic or techno-babble that masqueraded as science. So what is Batman's "super" power? He's just obsessed. That's it. Ordinary human obsession. Granted, it's taken to extremes and supplemented by boatloads of wealth, but it's within the range of what could be achieved by an ordinary human. But you know what? I think Batman could kick Superman's ass. (Does this sound like a conversation that Norm and Cliff would have down at Cheers?)
I'd like to see that type of presentation used to show the credits for a film. You could color the contributions according to acting, camera, sound work, directing, etc.
One way to encourage people to develop and protect a healthy dose of skepticism is to show them what techniques are used to maintain faith. If anyone tries to destroy my faith, I put my fingers in my ears and sing the theme from the Flintstones loudly until they go away.
I can't speak for all Americans but I'm afraid that one day a fascist government will take over and our Constitutional rights will be eliminated. I hope that day never comes. Oh, wait...OK, I hope it's over with soon.
Considering his stance on net neutrality, and public investment in infrastructure (read that as jobs for engineers), I don't think that he's wrong on tech issues. But even if he were, Slashdotters are not merely tech nerds and nothing else. We are union members, civil rights advocates, environmentalists, victims of crime, soldiers, gun rights advocates, etc. When I vote, my primary issues are with labor, thus I typically support Democratic candidates. But I knew many staunch union members who voted Republican because gun rights, or an anti-abortion stance were more important to them as issues. Slashdotters are a diverse bunch.
I'm seeing a lot of comments that my idea is bad because my vote secrecy is lost. But the receipt with the random number needn't be printed on forms that say "Clark County Voter Verification Receipt" etc. It can be a simple fortune cookie size piece of paper with a number on it and that's all. If you need one to prove to your boss that you voted Republican, then you'll find hundreds of them in the trash and on the ground outside your polling place. You could grab some of them in advance to put in your pocket in case your boss is waiting for you. The number could also be simply written down or memorized. Or be chosen from a list. There's lots of ways that this could be done without losing the right to a secret ballot.
This is admittedly a little off-topic as it doesn't answer the original poster's questions, but I'd like to see a national system where, when I vote I'm issued a random number. When I get home I can look up my number on the net and it will show how I voted. That way I at least know how my own vote was counted.
It may seem like cheating to set up the install such that you have to click a box to have it not be the default. But they're only responding to the anti-competitive approach of Microsoft which sets up IE as the default before you even get the computer out of the box.
Thank God I live in the U.S. where at least we have free speech zones where we are free to speak our minds. We value our freedom of speech so highly that we protect those in the free speech zones with chain link fencing and barbed wire.
"I've been a Linux guy since 1995 and as much as I hate to say it, I have given up. There needs to be a singular distro at the heart of it all which is steered by either Linus or a committee that focuses on one vision and goal. Chaos is great for creating a million cool bits, but not for organizing them into one unified, cohesive unit."
You don't sound like a Linux guy to me. You sound like a BSD guy.
"So basically, if a fire occurs, my best bet is to not call the fire department but try to put it out myself, which of course risks having it spread and burn down half the city."
Exactly Correct! Similarly, since we have no public healthcare plan, if you catch the plague, just treat it yourself. Be self-sufficient. Lift yourself by your own bootstraps.
Is it just me, or does anyone else find the courtroom sketches accompanying the article a bit more cartoonish than is usual for courtroom sketches? They border on caricatures, especially the children playing in the video.
"Even in the world of Star Trek, when another species poses a threat humans have no problem turning around and baring their fangs."
True but, there is more than one way to interfere than to be an obvious threat. One day you wake up and find that your grandchildren prefer to listen to alien music, dress like aliens, believe in an alien religion, and work for aliens. This destroys your civilization slowly and peacefully.
So which intelligent species is more likely to survive: one that has a "prime directive" and doesn't interfere with other civilizations or one that views other planets as ripe for the taking. Federation Man: "Our Prime Directive instructs us not to interfere with the development of your culture." Alien: "Good because, our culture is adequately developed already and our Prime Directive says we can assimilate you and take all of your resources. Guess who wins. If its not obvious think about the history of Native Americans.
Wow! A thousand dollars for a report that tells proprietary software companies that open source is eating into their profits by forcing them to compete. I could have told them that for free.
Slashdot Mirror
"Don't you feel safer? I wish an independent 3rd party group could get together and see what they could get through security without being arrested for the experiment. So little of what the TSA is doing is any more than illusion."
That would be interesting. So why don't you do it? Yeah, me neither. You'd probably succeed in getting lots of stuff through, but if you got caught... I'm sorry but I'll be laughing when they send you up the river for 10 years. "But your honor, I was doing a story for my blog on the inadequacies of the TSA..." Yes, what the TSA is chartered to do is restore the illusion that travel is safe. That was an illusion that we had before 9/11, and it's always been an illusion. But like a placebo, it worked to some degree, And restoring it is probably the best that can be achieved.
Sorry I couldn't resist.
One way to think about this is to remember that thinking of someone who argues with you in a way that abuses logic and reason, or is insulting, is not really a "bully". Using the analogy of "bullying" to what anyone can do to you over the internet is disabling. He's just using words. Use your own without fear. It's not like he's going to reach out of your monitor and grab you around the neck.
Things sure have changed since I was a kid:
"Dad, I'm being bullied at school!"
"What happened son, did he hit you?"
"No."
"Did he knock you down, or give you a wedgie or something?"
"No."
"Well, what did he do to you?"
"He made fun of me!"
"...he made fun of you?"
"Yeah."
"Well, you're not being bullied, son, you're being outsmarted. Think of a clever way to respond and if he really starts bullying you let me know."
Now, while I'm at it, here's another little truth about the internet that you (and modern parents) need to know. There is no such thing as "cyber-sex".
If you ask me, any site that extols the virtues of Milton Friedman as an economists is "harmful to minors".
What always fascinated me about Batman was that he had no super powers. Superman, Spiderman, Hulk, etc. all had some sort of super ability that was explained by magic or techno-babble that masqueraded as science. So what is Batman's "super" power? He's just obsessed. That's it. Ordinary human obsession. Granted, it's taken to extremes and supplemented by boatloads of wealth, but it's within the range of what could be achieved by an ordinary human. But you know what? I think Batman could kick Superman's ass. (Does this sound like a conversation that Norm and Cliff would have down at Cheers?)
I'd like to see that type of presentation used to show the credits for a film. You could color the contributions according to acting, camera, sound work, directing, etc.
I followed this thread for awhile, then I had to stop and read the posters' names to see if any of them were Achilles or the Tortoise.
One way to encourage people to develop and protect a healthy dose of skepticism is to show them what techniques are used to maintain faith. If anyone tries to destroy my faith, I put my fingers in my ears and sing the theme from the Flintstones loudly until they go away.
I can't speak for all Americans but I'm afraid that one day a fascist government will take over and our Constitutional rights will be eliminated. I hope that day never comes. Oh, wait...OK, I hope it's over with soon.
Considering his stance on net neutrality, and public investment in infrastructure (read that as jobs for engineers), I don't think that he's wrong on tech issues. But even if he were, Slashdotters are not merely tech nerds and nothing else. We are union members, civil rights advocates, environmentalists, victims of crime, soldiers, gun rights advocates, etc. When I vote, my primary issues are with labor, thus I typically support Democratic candidates. But I knew many staunch union members who voted Republican because gun rights, or an anti-abortion stance were more important to them as issues. Slashdotters are a diverse bunch.
I'm seeing a lot of comments that my idea is bad because my vote secrecy is lost. But the receipt with the random number needn't be printed on forms that say "Clark County Voter Verification Receipt" etc. It can be a simple fortune cookie size piece of paper with a number on it and that's all. If you need one to prove to your boss that you voted Republican, then you'll find hundreds of them in the trash and on the ground outside your polling place. You could grab some of them in advance to put in your pocket in case your boss is waiting for you. The number could also be simply written down or memorized. Or be chosen from a list. There's lots of ways that this could be done without losing the right to a secret ballot.
This is admittedly a little off-topic as it doesn't answer the original poster's questions, but I'd like to see a national system where, when I vote I'm issued a random number. When I get home I can look up my number on the net and it will show how I voted. That way I at least know how my own vote was counted.
"Good News Everyone, 3008 will finally be the year of Linux on the Desktop"
Hubert J. Farnsworth
It may seem like cheating to set up the install such that you have to click a box to have it not be the default. But they're only responding to the anti-competitive approach of Microsoft which sets up IE as the default before you even get the computer out of the box.
Perhaps that's it. But on Tech Issues, if McCain is like Farnsworth, that's not necessarily bad. Farnsworth did, after all, invent the Finglonger.
Since you bring up Futurama, am I the only one who gets a Professor Farnsworth vibe from John McCain?
Thank God I live in the U.S. where at least we have free speech zones where we are free to speak our minds. We value our freedom of speech so highly that we protect those in the free speech zones with chain link fencing and barbed wire.
"I've been a Linux guy since 1995 and as much as I hate to say it, I have given up. There needs to be a singular distro at the heart of it all which is steered by either Linus or a committee that focuses on one vision and goal. Chaos is great for creating a million cool bits, but not for organizing them into one unified, cohesive unit."
You don't sound like a Linux guy to me. You sound like a BSD guy.
"So basically, if a fire occurs, my best bet is to not call the fire department but try to put it out myself, which of course risks having it spread and burn down half the city."
Exactly Correct! Similarly, since we have no public healthcare plan, if you catch the plague, just treat it yourself. Be self-sufficient. Lift yourself by your own bootstraps.
"I'd rather sacrifice my happiness to get into the $100k range so my kids can go to Yale."
Yale? George W. Bush went to Yale.
I assumed it was some sort of remedial school or alcoholic rehab center.
Is it just me, or does anyone else find the courtroom sketches accompanying the article a bit more cartoonish than is usual for courtroom sketches? They border on caricatures, especially the children playing in the video.
"Even in the world of Star Trek, when another species poses a threat humans have no problem turning around and baring their fangs."
True but, there is more than one way to interfere than to be an obvious threat. One day you wake up and find that your grandchildren prefer to listen to alien music, dress like aliens, believe in an alien religion, and work for aliens. This destroys your civilization slowly and peacefully.
So which intelligent species is more likely to survive: one that has a "prime directive" and doesn't interfere with other civilizations or one that views other planets as ripe for the taking.
Federation Man: "Our Prime Directive instructs us not to interfere with the development of your culture."
Alien: "Good because, our culture is adequately developed already and our Prime Directive says we can assimilate you and take all of your resources.
Guess who wins. If its not obvious think about the history of Native Americans.
I know your question was probably rhetorical but:
http://www.waterforpeople.org/
Wow! A thousand dollars for a report that tells proprietary software companies that open source is eating into their profits by forcing them to compete. I could have told them that for free.