Example: Make a big donation, and all of a sudden, you can get married in the main sanctuary, even if you've been divorced multiple times. No donation, you get remarried in a little side room because "you're divorced... tsk tsk."
Money for future favours - it's still an "indulgence", a quid pro quo, a "wink wink nudge nudge", a "bending of the rules."
Please elaborate. Which religions, in your opinion, are "pyramid schemes"?
All of them. It's the nature of the beast, and of the people who come up with these scams (which explains why both gamblers and religious have the same illogical belief that for them, it will be different *because*...)
Marx was wrong - religion isn't the opiate of the masses, just the gullible stupid narcissists who think that they have a *special* place in the universe. They're called a "flock" for a reason - the sheeple just line up to get clipped, over and over.
No thanks... you can have my eyeballs when you pry them from my cold dead skull.
Besides, can you imagine the product liability lawsuits from accidents? "He didn't see where he was going because he was looking at where he was going" will actually parse. That's just fucked up!
Some people are just like that - busybodies who don't have a clue.
I used to tie my old dog to my car bumper when I'd go into the restaurant for breakfast. He had his bowl of water, and he'd sit mostly in the shade, and people would pet him on their way in, and feed him scraps on their way out.
One day this crazy-looking woman (when you can see the whites of their eyes all around their iris, they're nuts - look at Sarah Palin when she gets cranked up as a good example of this physiological "tell":-) and started cursing me out for being so mean to my dog, and how it was dangerous for the dog because someone might not see him (anyone driving in the parking lot who can't see one of these seriously needs their eyes examined), etc. She even had the nerve to call the cops. The cops came, and when they started with the same BS, I pointed out the parking lot was private property, and gave them a choice - kindly fuck off and we'll pretend this never happened or be reported for being out of uniform (they had removed their name tags, but I still had the unit number). Always travel with a mini tape recorder. It solves SO many problems when the police start acting like dicks (it's always the male cops... must be a "mark my territory thing" - the female cops would stop by and feed the dog, and never gave any problems. I remember getting pulled over one time because he had his head sticking out the window - not illegal. The law requires the driver's side mirror and either an internal mirror or the passenger side mirror be visible, so it didn't matter that he was blocking the view of the passenger mirror, and there's no requirement that he wear a seatbelt - he's property, same as a bag of groceries - but give some people a uniform...)
You can't buy a cell phone without a built-in camcorder nowadays. Give anyone who catches the person in the act a 50% "vigilante fee". $3,000 is a reasonable fine. One city had it at $2,000 over a decade ago, and their parks were the cleanest I've ever seen. Sure you can bring your dog there... but at $2k a pop, EVERYONE picked up.
The maximum fine here hasn't been adjusted in several decades, and has gone from a major penalty to a minor one, thanks to inflation.
The cell phone video would also have solved your immediate problem - record her harassing you, then phone the police to report it. Amazingly enough, people tend to run away when you start videoing them acting 5t00p1d.
Would you kindly stop leaving your environmentally useful high-grade fertilizer all over the sidewalk?
I stoop and scoop. I would be in favour of converting dog owners who don't pick up after their dogs into soylent green. Or fining them a minimum of $3,000 per incident.
Or finding out where they live, putting it in a paper bag on their doorstep, setting it on fire and ringing the doorbell.
I'd also like to see a ban on those overly-long retractable dog leashes - too many times, the "rat on a rope" at the other end takes a dump while the owner is pointedly looking the other way, attempting plausible deniability. Our lease laws say a maximum lead length of 2 meters - 6 feet, but the fine, at a maximum of $300, isn't worth enforcing. At $3k a pop, it gets worthwhile.
Cities are experimenting with turning dog wastes into both biofuel and electricity. Give me back my carbon tax credit, you ignorant clod!
The dog is a 100% organic heater, and applies its warmth in a more efficient, directed fashion than space heaters (warming my bed or my lap, rather than the walls and ceiling). Give me back my carbon tax credit, you ignorant clod!
A few years ago we got around to banning the practice of rendering euthanized dog carcasses and turning them into doggie biscuits. It's interesting because one of the articles (in Protegez-vous - a french-language consumer protection magazine) specifically mentioned dog cookies that were pretty doggy... (it's a pun that doesn't translate too well).
The biggest supplier of dog carcases was the local SPCA (which has a much less than stellar reputation - actually, quite a scandalous one. It would have been better for the animals if the board of directors and the head administrator had been euthanized and the place closed down).
I mean, if they're just trying to get publicity for a stupid book they've written that uses very bad pseudo-science (they're architects, FFS), why not go all the way?
Or "Save the Planet - Soylent Green 4Ever"
Or "Save the Planet - Baby-In-A-Bag in resealable pouches"
I'd vote for "Save the Planet - FOAD" for these two authors. They bring nothing useful to the table.
I demand environmental offset credits for the offal that my dogs prevent from going directly into landfills and being converted into methane.
Well, the offal doesn't go directly into the landfill but it's still being converted to methane. Trust me.
Only if you're feeding your dogs a diet high in corn and corn byproducts. the cheaper corn-based dog foods end up being more expensive (the dog eats more AND gets fat), and you have the joy of having to pick up two to three times as much dog shit. Read the labels. If the first ingredient is grain-based (or worse, they don't list the ingredients), skip it. What you'll save per pound you'll more than lose by having the dog consume more pounds per day. Plus you'll more likely have an obese dog.
What about all the dog poop in public areas where my child has to watch out for when he plays? This runs off into the storm drains and in to the ocean which means temporary closure of our beaches? I think this is called pollution.
RE: people not scooping after their pets - demand higher fines. As a dog owner, I would welcome a fine of $3,000 plus temporary confiscation of the dog, along with boarding fees for one month for people who don't poop-and-scoop. Offer the dog up for adoption, and if someone else adopts the dog during that month, too bad, sucks 2 be U, maybe you'll pick up next time.
RE: runoff - pig farms and crop fertilizer are much bigger culprits.
Actually, dog and cat feces, being primarily meat-based, is not good fertilizer. Otherwise, you're absolutely right.
Even the screwed-up article point out that most dogs and cats eat food that is mostly grain-based, not meat-based. Most people don't actually read the labels to see the list of ingredients, and a lot of dog food manufacturers list the #1 ingredient as corn or corn byproducts. Only buy those if you like picking up two to three times as much dog shit as a better-quality food.
they can make a big splash by regulating pet ownership in the name of the "environment."
As the owner of two dogs, sign me up. I demand environmental offset credits for the offal that my dogs prevent from going directly into landfills and being converted into methane. Additionally, I want additional credits for the conversion of said otherwise-useless offal and meat byproducts into environmentally useful high-grade fertilizer. And a program for harvesting this valuable resource - maybe funded by a tax on stupid university professors dumb ideas?
I also want another credit for the carbon offset from being able to turn the heat down at night - because happiness is a warm puppy. Dogs are just as good as an electric blanket. Actually, they're better - they continue to work during power failures.
Also, I should get an additional carbon credit for every kilometer I do with the dogs dragging me around on either roller blades (summer) or a sled (winter). And both investment credits and a subsidy for the purchase of a dog-drawn cart.
And for the bonus round, you can always grind up those professors who wrote this piece of trash as a quick way to make a buck; my wolf probably isn't too fussy about who he eats - he chews EVERYTHING, and I'm sure their carbon footprint is larger than his. And, since they're already producing shit, why not cut out the middle man...
Seriously, the Internet is finally killing off phone books, especially the Yellow Pages. Advertisers have learned that it's more cost-effective to take out the smallest yellow pages ad possible, and just put their web site url in it. AND not to bother with the overpriced "portal" offers.
Also, the White Pages phone books are becoming obsolete, since so many people have cell phones nowadays.
Your comment has prompted me to send the following email to Yellow Pages Group:
Hi:
I always end up throwing the telephone directories (Yellow Pages and White Pages) in the recycling bin because I don't use them. For me, the Internet has rendered both products redundant. In fact, in a quick informal survey of friends and family, everyone else does the same thing.
Do you have any programs in place where municipalities can have a general "opt-out" for phone book distribution, and only people who actively want a copy can opt in, so we can help reduce the cost to municipalities of processing this waste?
Thank you.
I get enough junk mail as is... at least SOME of the junk mail is useful... but neither the Yellow Pages nor the White Pages gets looked at any more. They're a total waste of time, energy, and resources, and as outmoded as buggy whips. Next step - lobbying my municipality to add a "recycling surtax" on junk mail over a certain weight (this would survive a court challenge, since it's not an outright ban on all junk mail). I don't have a fireplace, so why would I want a phone book?
In a study published in New Scientist, they calculated a medium dog eats 164 kilograms of meat and 95kg of cereals every year. It takes 43.3 square metres of land to produce 1kg of chicken a year. This means it takes 0.84 hectares to feed Fido.
Sorry, but that "meat" is animal byproducts that would otherwise end up in a landfill. Nobody but the family dog or cat is going to eat beef lips, eyelids, rendered gristle, etc.
Also, they leave out the cost of manufacture. How much does it cost to manufacture a car, and also to build and maintain the related infrastructure (roads, snow clearing, etc) compared to the cost of producing a dog?
Then throw in the environmental impact of consumables. Gallons of toxic antifreeze, tens or hundreds of gallons of windshield washer literally sprayed all over the environment, contaminated waste engine oil and transmission fluid, etc., asbestos from brake dust and clutch linings, - toxic waste, compared to the organic fertilizer Fido produces from what would otherwise be scrap food.
Contrary to the "study", Fido does NOT eat prime chicken - he gets the left-overs off the carcass, the table scraps, etc., that would otherwise just add up to more organic waste. As such, Fido also reduces the rat problem at landfills, as well as converting waste food into fertilizer if you have a compost heap.
Also, when you need a new car, you have to fork out big bucks. Need a new dog? They can make their own replacements, and you can get pretty much any "pure-bred" for free. I've gotten 2 Newfoundlanders for free (one from a local dog rescue, one as a reward for keeping a lost mutt for two months until the original owners were found, and a St. Bernard for $125 (she was less than a buck a pound, if you're into pricing meat) at the local dog pound. And a wolf, again for free.
You can eat my dogs when you pry their leash from my cold dead hands. But make it a fair fight - both of you naked, armed with nothing but your teeth and claws. My money's on the dogs.
The EVF video output is 1280 x 720 Progressive, the LCD video output is 1024 x 600. 720P can be tapped from the HDMI and HD-SDI ports, while HD-SDI Dual Port and HDMI will provide 1080P output in playback only.
In other words, if you hok up a RED ONE camera to a laprascope, the very best you'll see in real time is 1280x720p, which is pretty crappy - even consumer-grade camcorders can do that.
Call us back in a decade when they really can do 4k surgery.
This story got it so wrong (so what else is new)...
On the other hand, from a story perspective, Doom was absolutely rubbish. You start in a room, no idea what's going on and you are surrounded by demons. You have to read the manual and supporting media to get a grip on it all
I'm sure most of the people who played Doom are going "There was a manual?!?
Everyone I know just started playing, died a few times, and figured it out.
Slashdot Mirror
Spelling and morals are both still optional?
Example: Make a big donation, and all of a sudden, you can get married in the main sanctuary, even if you've been divorced multiple times. No donation, you get remarried in a little side room because "you're divorced ... tsk tsk."
Money for future favours - it's still an "indulgence", a quid pro quo, a "wink wink nudge nudge", a "bending of the rules."
What is this "used to" that you talk about?
All of them. It's the nature of the beast, and of the people who come up with these scams (which explains why both gamblers and religious have the same illogical belief that for them, it will be different *because* ...)
Marx was wrong - religion isn't the opiate of the masses, just the gullible stupid narcissists who think that they have a *special* place in the universe. They're called a "flock" for a reason - the sheeple just line up to get clipped, over and over.
No thanks ... you can have my eyeballs when you pry them from my cold dead skull.
Besides, can you imagine the product liability lawsuits from accidents? "He didn't see where he was going because he was looking at where he was going" will actually parse. That's just fucked up!
Some people are just like that - busybodies who don't have a clue. I used to tie my old dog to my car bumper when I'd go into the restaurant for breakfast. He had his bowl of water, and he'd sit mostly in the shade, and people would pet him on their way in, and feed him scraps on their way out.
One day this crazy-looking woman (when you can see the whites of their eyes all around their iris, they're nuts - look at Sarah Palin when she gets cranked up as a good example of this physiological "tell" :-) and started cursing me out for being so mean to my dog, and how it was dangerous for the dog because someone might not see him (anyone driving in the parking lot who can't see one of these seriously needs their eyes examined), etc. She even had the nerve to call the cops. The cops came, and when they started with the same BS, I pointed out the parking lot was private property, and gave them a choice - kindly fuck off and we'll pretend this never happened or be reported for being out of uniform (they had removed their name tags, but I still had the unit number). Always travel with a mini tape recorder. It solves SO many problems when the police start acting like dicks (it's always the male cops ... must be a "mark my territory thing" - the female cops would stop by and feed the dog, and never gave any problems. I remember getting pulled over one time because he had his head sticking out the window - not illegal. The law requires the driver's side mirror and either an internal mirror or the passenger side mirror be visible, so it didn't matter that he was blocking the view of the passenger mirror, and there's no requirement that he wear a seatbelt - he's property, same as a bag of groceries - but give some people a uniform ...)
Rice paddies have a huge negative carbon footprint, due to their high methane production. Even sheep make less of an impact.
I've got a better idea - liquidate the breeders (you know, the families who think that having 8 kids is a good idea). The problem is over-population.
You can't buy a cell phone without a built-in camcorder nowadays. Give anyone who catches the person in the act a 50% "vigilante fee". $3,000 is a reasonable fine. One city had it at $2,000 over a decade ago, and their parks were the cleanest I've ever seen. Sure you can bring your dog there ... but at $2k a pop, EVERYONE picked up.
The maximum fine here hasn't been adjusted in several decades, and has gone from a major penalty to a minor one, thanks to inflation.
The cell phone video would also have solved your immediate problem - record her harassing you, then phone the police to report it. Amazingly enough, people tend to run away when you start videoing them acting 5t00p1d.
I stoop and scoop. I would be in favour of converting dog owners who don't pick up after their dogs into soylent green. Or fining them a minimum of $3,000 per incident.
Or finding out where they live, putting it in a paper bag on their doorstep, setting it on fire and ringing the doorbell.
I'd also like to see a ban on those overly-long retractable dog leashes - too many times, the "rat on a rope" at the other end takes a dump while the owner is pointedly looking the other way, attempting plausible deniability. Our lease laws say a maximum lead length of 2 meters - 6 feet, but the fine, at a maximum of $300, isn't worth enforcing. At $3k a pop, it gets worthwhile.
Cities are experimenting with turning dog wastes into both biofuel and electricity. Give me back my carbon tax credit, you ignorant clod!
The dog is a 100% organic heater, and applies its warmth in a more efficient, directed fashion than space heaters (warming my bed or my lap, rather than the walls and ceiling). Give me back my carbon tax credit, you ignorant clod!
In Soviet Russia, carbon taxes YOU!
A few years ago we got around to banning the practice of rendering euthanized dog carcasses and turning them into doggie biscuits. It's interesting because one of the articles (in Protegez-vous - a french-language consumer protection magazine) specifically mentioned dog cookies that were pretty doggy ... (it's a pun that doesn't translate too well).
The biggest supplier of dog carcases was the local SPCA (which has a much less than stellar reputation - actually, quite a scandalous one. It would have been better for the animals if the board of directors and the head administrator had been euthanized and the place closed down).
I mean, if they're just trying to get publicity for a stupid book they've written that uses very bad pseudo-science (they're architects, FFS), why not go all the way?
Or "Save the Planet - Soylent Green 4Ever"
Or "Save the Planet - Baby-In-A-Bag in resealable pouches"
I'd vote for "Save the Planet - FOAD" for these two authors. They bring nothing useful to the table.
Only if you're feeding your dogs a diet high in corn and corn byproducts. the cheaper corn-based dog foods end up being more expensive (the dog eats more AND gets fat), and you have the joy of having to pick up two to three times as much dog shit. Read the labels. If the first ingredient is grain-based (or worse, they don't list the ingredients), skip it. What you'll save per pound you'll more than lose by having the dog consume more pounds per day. Plus you'll more likely have an obese dog.
RE: people not scooping after their pets - demand higher fines. As a dog owner, I would welcome a fine of $3,000 plus temporary confiscation of the dog, along with boarding fees for one month for people who don't poop-and-scoop. Offer the dog up for adoption, and if someone else adopts the dog during that month, too bad, sucks 2 be U, maybe you'll pick up next time.
RE: runoff - pig farms and crop fertilizer are much bigger culprits.
To Serve Man
You'll drown in explosive doggie diarrhea long before then; in comparison, the collapse of civilization would be a blessed relief.
Only if there's not enough dark matter to bring everything back together and start the whole process over in a few hundred billion years ...
I know ... a discussion that has dog poop at one extreme and other dark matter at the other extreme ... only on slashdot ...
Even the screwed-up article point out that most dogs and cats eat food that is mostly grain-based, not meat-based. Most people don't actually read the labels to see the list of ingredients, and a lot of dog food manufacturers list the #1 ingredient as corn or corn byproducts. Only buy those if you like picking up two to three times as much dog shit as a better-quality food.
Also, dried turds can be burned as fuel - they still do it in other countries, and there's some experimenting going on to convert dog turds into biofuels and electricity.
As the owner of two dogs, sign me up. I demand environmental offset credits for the offal that my dogs prevent from going directly into landfills and being converted into methane. Additionally, I want additional credits for the conversion of said otherwise-useless offal and meat byproducts into environmentally useful high-grade fertilizer. And a program for harvesting this valuable resource - maybe funded by a tax on stupid university professors dumb ideas?
I also want another credit for the carbon offset from being able to turn the heat down at night - because happiness is a warm puppy. Dogs are just as good as an electric blanket. Actually, they're better - they continue to work during power failures.
Also, I should get an additional carbon credit for every kilometer I do with the dogs dragging me around on either roller blades (summer) or a sled (winter). And both investment credits and a subsidy for the purchase of a dog-drawn cart.
And for the bonus round, you can always grind up those professors who wrote this piece of trash as a quick way to make a buck; my wolf probably isn't too fussy about who he eats - he chews EVERYTHING, and I'm sure their carbon footprint is larger than his. And, since they're already producing shit, why not cut out the middle man ...
What's a "phone book?"
Seriously, the Internet is finally killing off phone books, especially the Yellow Pages. Advertisers have learned that it's more cost-effective to take out the smallest yellow pages ad possible, and just put their web site url in it. AND not to bother with the overpriced "portal" offers.
Also, the White Pages phone books are becoming obsolete, since so many people have cell phones nowadays.
Your comment has prompted me to send the following email to Yellow Pages Group:
I get enough junk mail as is ... at least SOME of the junk mail is useful ... but neither the Yellow Pages nor the White Pages gets looked at any more. They're a total waste of time, energy, and resources, and as outmoded as buggy whips. Next step - lobbying my municipality to add a "recycling surtax" on junk mail over a certain weight (this would survive a court challenge, since it's not an outright ban on all junk mail). I don't have a fireplace, so why would I want a phone book?
Sorry, but that "meat" is animal byproducts that would otherwise end up in a landfill. Nobody but the family dog or cat is going to eat beef lips, eyelids, rendered gristle, etc.
Also, they leave out the cost of manufacture. How much does it cost to manufacture a car, and also to build and maintain the related infrastructure (roads, snow clearing, etc) compared to the cost of producing a dog?
Then throw in the environmental impact of consumables. Gallons of toxic antifreeze, tens or hundreds of gallons of windshield washer literally sprayed all over the environment, contaminated waste engine oil and transmission fluid, etc., asbestos from brake dust and clutch linings, - toxic waste, compared to the organic fertilizer Fido produces from what would otherwise be scrap food.
Contrary to the "study", Fido does NOT eat prime chicken - he gets the left-overs off the carcass, the table scraps, etc., that would otherwise just add up to more organic waste. As such, Fido also reduces the rat problem at landfills, as well as converting waste food into fertilizer if you have a compost heap.
Also, when you need a new car, you have to fork out big bucks. Need a new dog? They can make their own replacements, and you can get pretty much any "pure-bred" for free. I've gotten 2 Newfoundlanders for free (one from a local dog rescue, one as a reward for keeping a lost mutt for two months until the original owners were found, and a St. Bernard for $125 (she was less than a buck a pound, if you're into pricing meat) at the local dog pound. And a wolf, again for free.
You can eat my dogs when you pry their leash from my cold dead hands. But make it a fair fight - both of you naked, armed with nothing but your teeth and claws. My money's on the dogs.
From the camera manufacturers' site:
In other words, if you hok up a RED ONE camera to a laprascope, the very best you'll see in real time is 1280x720p, which is pretty crappy - even consumer-grade camcorders can do that.
Call us back in a decade when they really can do 4k surgery.
This story got it so wrong (so what else is new) ...
Now why would I want to do anything that fucktarded, when I can just use the source?
And if I needed cross-platform that badly, I can always ship ONE java app with ONE instance of data.
The '90s called, they want their obsolete fat and universal binaries back.
I'm sure most of the people who played Doom are going "There was a manual?!?
Everyone I know just started playing, died a few times, and figured it out.