One possible side effect: The end of "movie channels." If I can get movies on demand, where I pay to get exactly the movie I want to see, why would I pay extra for movie channels, where they might or might not show something I want to watch?
On the other hand, this could help some smaller, non-mainstream channels. For example, a friend of an acquaintance has been starting up a new TV channel. I get email messages from their publicity person all the time reminding me to write my cable company and ask them to include their channel. Small chance of my local cable monopoly capitulating, even though the channel is one I'd probably watch.
I imagine it would be much easier for their small channel, with its spread-out network of devoted fans, to be seen if people are willing to pay the cable companies to show it.
Will I get to visit Mars in my lifetime? My expiration date is sometime in the years around 2070.
Short answer: Maybe not you personally, but you'll likely see the first people who do.
Assuming a cyclical pattern of history, I'd estimate that economic and political conditions will favor a boom in NASA or other U.S.-based space exploration between 2020-2040 or shortly thereafter. Of course, that assumes that the U.S. will be victorious in any conflicts that take place up through 2020. If it's not, move those estimates forward another 20 years or so.
More relevant to you, how about the ESA? I don't really know how to classify where EU countries, taken as a whole, are right now in history. A pre-conflict time of unrest would be my best guess, making a big, expensive, non-defense-based, communal effort like manned space travel likely sometime in the 2030's to 2050's or so.
Upon further investigation it becomes apparent that this site is a Very Good Thing(tm). It is a bastion of democracy.
I typed in my zip code to see which presidential candidates got the most contributions in my area. The list went something like, "Bush, Bush, Bush, Edwards, Clark, Bush, Edwards..." and so on. I wondered whether anyone at all had donated to Kerry's campaign. Because of the disclosure requirements, I discovered that the only people nearby who donated to the Kerry campaign were local Democratic politicians.
On a fashion & beauty message board I frequent, many people have switched to Mozilla and Opera just in the last few months. The people on this board are, for the most part, not geeks. They just are getting tired of problems they're having with IE (pop-ups, viruses). The browser landscape is definitely changing. I can't wait to see the year-end Google Zeitgeist for 2004.
I would call the "pixellated" retro look exemplified by k10k boxy. That look seems to be very in in web design right now. I see a lot of sites using the combination of straight lines and tiny text (example 1, example 2).
It's easy to see why the boxy look has become so popular: it's simple to build an attractive, professional-looking site in this style using free or default templates. HTML and CSS naturally lend themselves to boxy interfaces. Building a site that uses a lot of curved shapes in its design is harder and can look like crap if you don't know what you're doing.
I seem to remember that the class was on symbolism, and the professor chose this book specifically because it had so much to do with naming and the power of names. Not that that was the entire point of the book, but that's the point of view from which we discussed it. I remember that as far as required religion class readings went, it was on the more interesting end.
AWoE was just one of many texts discussed that semester. My recollection of The Sacred and the Profane or any of the other books we read is probably similarly garbled. It was actually a very interesting and worthwhile class, as the professor encouraged discussion and often asked controversial questions to spur it.
I think I may read LeGuin's book again this summer. I remember thinking it was a little too Marin County for my tastes at the time, but my perspectives have changed a lot in the intervening years and I might like it better now.
Granted, it's been about 8 years since I read A Wizard of Earthsea, but from what I remember it would be possible to distill the book down to a simple, film-able story.
We read this book for a religion class in college and in our discussion focused on the importance of names in the book. That may be why I remember the story as basically a young man's quest to discover the name of the evil thing and thus defeat it. I can't remember if becoming a wizard was part of his quest or defeating the evil thing was part of his becoming a wizard, but I don't remember it being that complicated, plot-wise.
I saw "The Hobbit" stage play in London in December, 2000. It was the worst professionally-produced play I have ever seen.
It wasn't really a musical, though there were a couple of songs in it. The play basically consisted of the actors chasing the scenery around the stage and wrestling with elaborate costumes while shouting their lines.
You make some good points. I recently helped work on some software for a teacher technology training program here in SC. At the time, I wondered about the usefulness of the program, since it didn't seem to be teaching the teachers much beyond the basics and seemed to me to be just another administrative burden on already overworked teachers. But it hadn't occurred to me that a lot of the teachers might need this training in order to use the equipment in their classrooms and bring them up to speed with their students.
Yes, this is a good reason to hold onto that old VCR, especially if you want to record something likely to be flagged such as professional sports.
Also, the technology is required to be backward-compatible with devices created before 2005 (the date the flag goes into effect). So if you want to buy a DVR or DVD player or anything of the sort, buy it before next year.
Aha! Very good to know, even if it's after the fact. I end up helping a lot of people jump-start their cars because I carry a set of cables in my trunk. I also keep my car's user manual in the car, so that if some weird question needs to be answered, like what's the correct pressure for the front left tire, I can look it up. If my co-worker had had her car's manual with her, we might've found out about the battery cover.
So where do you put the jumper cables when the battery's dead?
We had this problem recently with a coworker's new VW. The engine was awfully nice and shiny under the hood, all modular and futuristing-looking without the visible bolts, hoses, etc. you'd see in older engines. Unfortunately, we couldn't find anyplace to attach the jumper cables so she had to get her car towed to the garage.
You are absolutely right. I was canvassing for Edwards in Augusta, GA last weekend and a lot of people I talked to said they were considering voting for Kerry because they saw him on TV the most. Fortunately, we were able to change at least a few minds. Unfortunately, we didn't get to personally talk to every person in GA.
There's one more problem, though, in the Southern states: Pastors tell their congregations how to vote and the people do it. The church fills up a bus with little old ladies, drives them to the polls, and says "Go in there and vote for X." This mostly happens at historically black churches, and the Democratic establishment in the South depends heavily on this vote. When you read that Kerry got a large percentage of the black vote and are scratching your head wondering why, this is why.
Not true. Here in SC, the Democratic party had to fund the primary themselves, which is why it was a big deal that it even took place. Because they ran it themselves, they were allowed to set the rules to some degree.
That's why there was that big fooferaw about requiring primary voters to sign an oath. The state rules said it had to be an open primary, but the SC Democratic Party was going to make everyone who voted sign an oath to affirm that they were a Democrat in order to keep the rabble out. There was such a huge outcry that they dropped the oath requirement the day before the primary, thank goodness.
Actually, turnout in this primary so far has been around 25%, which is considered really high. Expect those numbers to drop to the teens or even single digits for the rest of the primaries, though, now that the voters are being told their votes won't make a difference.
John Kerry doesn't talk about that stuff (except recently when he started cribbing Edwards' speech), but he's the only Dem candidate people remember because his face is plastered all over the TV.
It would be more accurate to say you sound like John Edwards.
[offtopic] You seem knowledgeable. Perhaps you can answer this question that's been bugging me for the last week: What is the proper way to pronounce "Mankiw"?
With blue and white collar jobs fleeting, what's left?
This is my major complaint about outsourcing. Proponents always say we'll just move on to the next big thing or to more "creative" or "high value" jobs, but they never specify what those jobs are.
The money gained from exportation primarily helps out those at the top, most people can't be at the top
Well said. It's like the silly rules demanding that all schoolchildren score above average on a given test: unless they all have the same score, by definition some must be below average. I get the impression that those who say we will move on to higher value jobs (whatever those are) are forgetting that not everyone is qualified to be in management, or even wants to be.
You make a good point. I got an AA degree from an accredited 2 year school, and noticed a huge difference in my class between the people who wanted to learn an people who just wanted to pass. It boggled my mind that people would waste their time and money going to school when they were so resistant to learning anything.
According to the abstract, rats that were fed melatonin or Vitamin E weren't affected. So all you have to do is remember to take your vitamins in the morning before you shave or blow dry your hair. (Do not take melatonin in the morning - it's often used as a sleep aid.)
And as long as you're out there and in a wine-tasting mood, may I recommend Monterey County. (Disclaimer: I'm from there, so I may be biased.) There are some really wonderful wines there: Smith & Hook, Flint, Chalone and Paraiso are some I can recommend. Plus, it's a lot less crowded than Napa and many vineyards still let you taste for free.
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One possible side effect: The end of "movie channels." If I can get movies on demand, where I pay to get exactly the movie I want to see, why would I pay extra for movie channels, where they might or might not show something I want to watch?
On the other hand, this could help some smaller, non-mainstream channels. For example, a friend of an acquaintance has been starting up a new TV channel. I get email messages from their publicity person all the time reminding me to write my cable company and ask them to include their channel. Small chance of my local cable monopoly capitulating, even though the channel is one I'd probably watch.
I imagine it would be much easier for their small channel, with its spread-out network of devoted fans, to be seen if people are willing to pay the cable companies to show it.
Will I get to visit Mars in my lifetime? My expiration date is sometime in the years around 2070.
Short answer: Maybe not you personally, but you'll likely see the first people who do.
Assuming a cyclical pattern of history, I'd estimate that economic and political conditions will favor a boom in NASA or other U.S.-based space exploration between 2020-2040 or shortly thereafter. Of course, that assumes that the U.S. will be victorious in any conflicts that take place up through 2020. If it's not, move those estimates forward another 20 years or so.
More relevant to you, how about the ESA? I don't really know how to classify where EU countries, taken as a whole, are right now in history. A pre-conflict time of unrest would be my best guess, making a big, expensive, non-defense-based, communal effort like manned space travel likely sometime in the 2030's to 2050's or so.
Upon further investigation it becomes apparent that this site is a Very Good Thing(tm). It is a bastion of democracy.
I typed in my zip code to see which presidential candidates got the most contributions in my area. The list went something like, "Bush, Bush, Bush, Edwards, Clark, Bush, Edwards..." and so on. I wondered whether anyone at all had donated to Kerry's campaign. Because of the disclosure requirements, I discovered that the only people nearby who donated to the Kerry campaign were local Democratic politicians.
On a fashion & beauty message board I frequent, many people have switched to Mozilla and Opera just in the last few months. The people on this board are, for the most part, not geeks. They just are getting tired of problems they're having with IE (pop-ups, viruses). The browser landscape is definitely changing. I can't wait to see the year-end Google Zeitgeist for 2004.
And what about layaway? Can I put down 22 cents a week and pick up my song at the end of the month?
I would call the "pixellated" retro look exemplified by k10k boxy. That look seems to be very in in web design right now. I see a lot of sites using the combination of straight lines and tiny text (example 1, example 2).
It's easy to see why the boxy look has become so popular: it's simple to build an attractive, professional-looking site in this style using free or default templates. HTML and CSS naturally lend themselves to boxy interfaces. Building a site that uses a lot of curved shapes in its design is harder and can look like crap if you don't know what you're doing.
I seem to remember that the class was on symbolism, and the professor chose this book specifically because it had so much to do with naming and the power of names. Not that that was the entire point of the book, but that's the point of view from which we discussed it. I remember that as far as required religion class readings went, it was on the more interesting end.
AWoE was just one of many texts discussed that semester. My recollection of The Sacred and the Profane or any of the other books we read is probably similarly garbled. It was actually a very interesting and worthwhile class, as the professor encouraged discussion and often asked controversial questions to spur it.
I think I may read LeGuin's book again this summer. I remember thinking it was a little too Marin County for my tastes at the time, but my perspectives have changed a lot in the intervening years and I might like it better now.
The production values are lower, okay, but CGI can fill in rough edges for this science fiction or fantasty stuff.
Low production values + CGI can themselves be the rough edges. Remember the tiger attack from the Children of Dune mini-series?
Granted, it's been about 8 years since I read A Wizard of Earthsea, but from what I remember it would be possible to distill the book down to a simple, film-able story.
We read this book for a religion class in college and in our discussion focused on the importance of names in the book. That may be why I remember the story as basically a young man's quest to discover the name of the evil thing and thus defeat it. I can't remember if becoming a wizard was part of his quest or defeating the evil thing was part of his becoming a wizard, but I don't remember it being that complicated, plot-wise.
I saw "The Hobbit" stage play in London in December, 2000. It was the worst professionally-produced play I have ever seen.
It wasn't really a musical, though there were a couple of songs in it. The play basically consisted of the actors chasing the scenery around the stage and wrestling with elaborate costumes while shouting their lines.
You make some good points. I recently helped work on some software for a teacher technology training program here in SC. At the time, I wondered about the usefulness of the program, since it didn't seem to be teaching the teachers much beyond the basics and seemed to me to be just another administrative burden on already overworked teachers. But it hadn't occurred to me that a lot of the teachers might need this training in order to use the equipment in their classrooms and bring them up to speed with their students.
Yes, this is a good reason to hold onto that old VCR, especially if you want to record something likely to be flagged such as professional sports.
Also, the technology is required to be backward-compatible with devices created before 2005 (the date the flag goes into effect). So if you want to buy a DVR or DVD player or anything of the sort, buy it before next year.
Aha! Very good to know, even if it's after the fact. I end up helping a lot of people jump-start their cars because I carry a set of cables in my trunk. I also keep my car's user manual in the car, so that if some weird question needs to be answered, like what's the correct pressure for the front left tire, I can look it up. If my co-worker had had her car's manual with her, we might've found out about the battery cover.
So where do you put the jumper cables when the battery's dead?
We had this problem recently with a coworker's new VW. The engine was awfully nice and shiny under the hood, all modular and futuristing-looking without the visible bolts, hoses, etc. you'd see in older engines. Unfortunately, we couldn't find anyplace to attach the jumper cables so she had to get her car towed to the garage.
You are absolutely right. I was canvassing for Edwards in Augusta, GA last weekend and a lot of people I talked to said they were considering voting for Kerry because they saw him on TV the most. Fortunately, we were able to change at least a few minds. Unfortunately, we didn't get to personally talk to every person in GA.
There's one more problem, though, in the Southern states: Pastors tell their congregations how to vote and the people do it. The church fills up a bus with little old ladies, drives them to the polls, and says "Go in there and vote for X." This mostly happens at historically black churches, and the Democratic establishment in the South depends heavily on this vote. When you read that Kerry got a large percentage of the black vote and are scratching your head wondering why, this is why.
Not true. Here in SC, the Democratic party had to fund the primary themselves, which is why it was a big deal that it even took place. Because they ran it themselves, they were allowed to set the rules to some degree.
That's why there was that big fooferaw about requiring primary voters to sign an oath. The state rules said it had to be an open primary, but the SC Democratic Party was going to make everyone who voted sign an oath to affirm that they were a Democrat in order to keep the rabble out. There was such a huge outcry that they dropped the oath requirement the day before the primary, thank goodness.
Actually, turnout in this primary so far has been around 25%, which is considered really high. Expect those numbers to drop to the teens or even single digits for the rest of the primaries, though, now that the voters are being told their votes won't make a difference.
I like it! From now on, in all discussions of alternative energy sources, I will recommend building "DHE plants". Who can argue with that?
John Kerry doesn't talk about that stuff (except recently when he started cribbing Edwards' speech), but he's the only Dem candidate people remember because his face is plastered all over the TV.
It would be more accurate to say you sound like John Edwards.
[offtopic]
You seem knowledgeable. Perhaps you can answer this question that's been bugging me for the last week: What is the proper way to pronounce "Mankiw"?
With blue and white collar jobs fleeting, what's left?
This is my major complaint about outsourcing. Proponents always say we'll just move on to the next big thing or to more "creative" or "high value" jobs, but they never specify what those jobs are.
The money gained from exportation primarily helps out those at the top, most people can't be at the top
Well said. It's like the silly rules demanding that all schoolchildren score above average on a given test: unless they all have the same score, by definition some must be below average. I get the impression that those who say we will move on to higher value jobs (whatever those are) are forgetting that not everyone is qualified to be in management, or even wants to be.
You make a good point. I got an AA degree from an accredited 2 year school, and noticed a huge difference in my class between the people who wanted to learn an people who just wanted to pass. It boggled my mind that people would waste their time and money going to school when they were so resistant to learning anything.
According to the abstract, rats that were fed melatonin or Vitamin E weren't affected. So all you have to do is remember to take your vitamins in the morning before you shave or blow dry your hair. (Do not take melatonin in the morning - it's often used as a sleep aid.)
And as long as you're out there and in a wine-tasting mood, may I recommend Monterey County. (Disclaimer: I'm from there, so I may be biased.) There are some really wonderful wines there: Smith & Hook, Flint, Chalone and Paraiso are some I can recommend. Plus, it's a lot less crowded than Napa and many vineyards still let you taste for free.