character is a lot more important, and he's far more a man of his word than Al Gore
And let's not forget:
- he's a deserter who went AWOL for 2 years and never saw the inside of a prison for his actions;
- he's a drug addict and alcoholic;
- he's currently involved in some of the shadiest deals ever administered by a U.S. President re the 'rebuilding' of Iraq, the vast majority of these contracts going to personal friends or the friends of his vice President.
Yep, Bush is a real trustworthy sort. I have no doubt whatsoever that Gore would've been equally vile, but all this does is prove that they're *both* scumbags.
If you can't clean your own house, what gives you the moral authority to criticize the American political system?
As an American I guess I could respond to this with 'the First Amendment', but then you'd probably claim that basic rights like 'freedom of speech' only apply to U.S. citizens.
And really - talk about cleaning your own house. My government started a war over WMD and terrorism, against a nation which has no WMD and wasn't even remotely involved in 9/11, simply to steal that country's oil while proving that Shrub has a bigger dick than Saddam. You want to talk corrupt? Take a look at who's been awarded the multi-billion 'rebuilding' contracts and control over the oil - note how they're directly connected to both Shrub and mini-Shrub.
I'd say corruption is alive and well here in America, and reaches right up to the top levels of government. What are you going to do now? Claim that *I* don't have the 'moral authority' to criticize the government either?
it gives subscribers the opportunity to have louder voices because they can comment before other people, and those first comments are usually modded to 4s and 5s.
Sounds like this is the point, actually. And if you're one of the folks who cares about karma, then you'd have another reason to subscribe.
I doubt it'll have much of an effect though. It appears that from the recent spate of postings provided by newer users for our reading pleasure, the Weekly World News crowd has arrived in force - and they care not a whit for karma.
Still, he noted that an increased capacity for visual attention was helpful in tasks as diverse as flying, driving, radiology and airport screening.
And yet he provides *no evidence whatsoever* that the test he administers actually translates into increased ability with these real-world skills. His comments are merely supposition without any basis in fact.
Science requires hard evidence, not guesswork. Until Wolfe shows, empirically, that there's a direct connection between his tests and these skills, there's nothing to support his claim.
But I suppose if you were a video game fanatic you might be invested in 'proving' that your waste of time was actually of some value beyond that provided by the entertainment itself. And therefore find my demand for some actual science to be a 'troll'.
Ability to track multiple objects does translate to improved driving skills
Provide a cite from an empirically researched paper published in an accredited, peer-reviewed journal proving your claim. Y'know, that thing called 'science'?
In fact, provide a cite from any peer-reviewed journal linking performance in games to improved real-world skills. Not just supposition pulled out of someone's ass.
Damn, boy, your abiding hatred for Rand is nearly as strong as hers was of Stalinist Russia. Turn on the propaganda machine!
But back to the topic at hand, pretty much anything by Rand is a good read. Just take into account two things:
- Rand *hates* dictatorships and socialism. So do I, but if you're a liberal whiner with a hard-on for European-style socialist blather then these books will step on your toes.
- Rand swallows her own propaganda and elevates the 'businessman' to an oxygen-thin pedestal, failing to see that most 'businessmen' are just fallible human beings like anyone else.
Other than that, Rand is adept at ripping people new assholes. Which is why you always find uptight little blowhards just waiting to scream 'foul!' the moment she or one of her works is mentioned.
Which says, if you're bright enough to to discern the pattern, that she achieved exactly what she was aiming for.
If Rand is absurd Kant is only good for a laugh. You call his ranting 'philosophy'? The guy's a shill, a con, and a really bad one at that.
Rand was spot-on in her analysis of Kant et. al. Self-indulgent masturbatory worshipping of their own intellects, devolving into deliberately vague word-play good only for confusing the weak-minded.
And yet there is zero evidence to indicate that the ability to track multiple objects in the lab translates to improved driving skills. Which is precisely my point.
Nor does the experiment link 'improved visual acuity' with any sort of real-life advantage. So you can track more objects in a controlled lab? So the hell what? How does this translate to *any* sort of advantage outside of the lab, or the game?
You could speculate of course, but the speculation is even more specious than the claim itself. And one has to wonder - even if there is a real, provable advantage - what one gives up by playing these games night and day in order to get 'improved visual acuity'? Perhaps social skills? A life? Any chance whatsoever of having sex with something other than your hand, or a RealDoll?
Hmmmm, speaking of RealDolls I just realized I have something to do, as soon as I find the next waypoint in Diablo 2....
some little punk shit like yourself that believes other peoples time has no value.
No, I think *your* time is of no value. You, personally, Kintanon. Didn't you realize that the post was specifically directed at your hapless, Evercrack, cave-dwelling, unshowered self?
And then there's the guy who gets his panties in a wad - over a game, as predicted - and then goes on to post an hilarious string of epithets and vulgarities because someone dared to think that someone temporarily hacking his 'hobby' was a grand source of amusement.
- everyone who thought this was funny is a relatively healthy person with a sense of humor, probably someone you wouldn't mind sharing a beer and a pizza with.
- everyone who got upset and shouted loudly that the heathen 'criminals' should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of he law has no sense of humor, and most likely is some kind of Evercrack addict - y'know, scary geek types who spends 20 hours playing MMORPGs every day, don't shower, have no social skills, etc. Don't share a pizza with these folks, you might catch something from all the times they *didn't* wash their hands.
I gotta tell you, if I were on the jury I wouldn't convict - it's just too damned funny. Law or no law, the hilarity of it excuses the action.
I'm sure the players don't feel that way. But to my way of thinking they're in serious need of a reality check anyway. Getting upset over some fictional character suddenly being teleported to Evil Central is indicative of a psychological problem best dealt with by *not* playing the game for awhile.
In any event, I'd think that a person who plays the game for *fun* (rather than as a replacement for a pathetic life) would've found the hacking event to be rather exciting. I certainly would have, but I don't take any of this crap seriously anyways...kinda like playing Total War online and finding that the enemy troops are all armed with machine guns (grin).
Evolution does not work that quickly, especially in populations the size of humans.
Evolution is no longer a factor in human development. Within the century we'll be able to change our bodies in all sorts of interesting ways, and will too. As with all technological developments, the religious freaks and luddites will have a cow about it, but we'll ignore them just as we ignore the Amish today (other than to say "how quaint!" and snap a few photos).
Four arms, larger brains, and, of course, all those idiot boys getting 12-inch penises only to find that anything beyond 8 is something most women don't want to get anywhere near...finally, real penis enlargement, the end result being that the 'enlarged' will never get a chance to breed....
I take that back. Perhaps evolution is a factor, it's just working through *us* now. It would certainly explain frat houses....
Software pirates are the main reason these draconian licensing agreements have come into existence.
Argh, matey! Blame it all on us nasty high-tech pirates! Certainly the woes of Microsoft fall entirely upon our shoulders!
Funny, I do remember something about an anti-trust suit, illegal business practices, unethical conduct, etc. I also have a vague recollection of a conviction. Might as well blame all of that on the pirates too!
What is worse is that there is a large group of people dedicated to making excuses for and promoting these software pirates.
Although it's not nearly as large as the group of people dedicated to making excuses for and promoting Microsoft. Nor as large as the group of losers who worship Bill Gates in the hopes that his divine favor will somehow magically rain down upon them, like manna from the heavens.
I'm not saying that I like draconian licensing agreements, but it's easy to understand where the impetus to create them comes from when the goodwill of the software publisher is exploited time and again.
It's even easier to understand the frustration of the consumer after he/she has been exploited by Microsoft time and time again. It might just be that every once in awhile you *really do* reap what you sow.
Sailing the digital seas since 1980, Max (insert skull and crossbones here)
Cleary you're enamored of your own bullshit, which doesn't surprise me. Nothing in your post is worth responding to except for these two points:
Wow. This has got to be one of the single most hilarious lines I've ever read on Slashdot, and that's saying a lot. You simply have to love the logic in "I'm doing it, thus I have a right to do it." I guess we can all stop complaining about genocide, wife beaters, and that Slashdot favorite, Microsoft!
I would assume that you missed the point entirely, but the introduction of the strawmen tells me you're just attempting to divert the argument since you don't want to examine the basis behind it.
Fact: file sharing is here to stay. Fact: there isn't a damn thing you can do about it. Fact: file sharing of music wouldn't be prevalent if the market responded appropriately to changing conditions. Fact: the RIAA attempt to freeze technological progress in its tracks is exactly the same thing that buggy whip manufacturers tried when the car was introduced. And is doomed to the same failure.
Conclusion: if you want to get paid for the service, in this case music, you have to provide it at a price people are willing to pay, in the format that they want it. That's called 'capitalism'. Trying to thwart the free market is called 'acting like a fucking totalitarian idiot'.
File sharing is here because the market is refusing to respond to changing conditions. If the folks providing the service had any real interest in capitalism, they'd try to adopt a new model, much as Apple has with iTunes. Quite obviously they realize they're outdated and outmoded and don't care to adapt; the only thing they're interested in at this point is maintaining the status quo - a fool's game by any measure.
So when I say 'I'm doing it right now' it's a statement of fact for tens of millions of people. You can either try to make all of those people criminals, or you can change your business model to accommodate those people. Criminalization is for idiots who want power, not profit; and if they can't figure out a way to stay in business via the free market (again, Apple and iTunes) then they deserve to die out.
It's that simple. It's a matter of personal responsibility that I actually go out and pay for CDs that I like, despite the rather obvious and unstoppable change in the economic paradigm of music manufacturing. I will continue to do so, as I'm sure many other people will, until the RIAA chokes on itself and something else comes along to replace it.
How I feel about other human beings says nothing about my character
Sure it does. It says you're heavily invested in believing everyone else is a shit in order to make your own deplorable character more acceptable to yourself. Your beliefs tell me that only a moron would ever trust you, or turn his back on you.
Slashdot Mirror
character is a lot more important, and he's far more a man of his word than Al Gore
And let's not forget:
- he's a deserter who went AWOL for 2 years and never saw the inside of a prison for his actions;
- he's a drug addict and alcoholic;
- he's currently involved in some of the shadiest deals ever administered by a U.S. President re the 'rebuilding' of Iraq, the vast majority of these contracts going to personal friends or the friends of his vice President.
Yep, Bush is a real trustworthy sort. I have no doubt whatsoever that Gore would've been equally vile, but all this does is prove that they're *both* scumbags.
Max
If you can't clean your own house, what gives you the moral authority to criticize the American political system?
As an American I guess I could respond to this with 'the First Amendment', but then you'd probably claim that basic rights like 'freedom of speech' only apply to U.S. citizens.
And really - talk about cleaning your own house. My government started a war over WMD and terrorism, against a nation which has no WMD and wasn't even remotely involved in 9/11, simply to steal that country's oil while proving that Shrub has a bigger dick than Saddam. You want to talk corrupt? Take a look at who's been awarded the multi-billion 'rebuilding' contracts and control over the oil - note how they're directly connected to both Shrub and mini-Shrub.
I'd say corruption is alive and well here in America, and reaches right up to the top levels of government. What are you going to do now? Claim that *I* don't have the 'moral authority' to criticize the government either?
Max
I dunno, seemed pretty accurate to me - and funny, to boot. Guess it was so close to reality it hit a sore spot with some folks.
Max
it gives subscribers the opportunity to have louder voices because they can comment before other people, and those first comments are usually modded to 4s and 5s.
Sounds like this is the point, actually. And if you're one of the folks who cares about karma, then you'd have another reason to subscribe.
I doubt it'll have much of an effect though. It appears that from the recent spate of postings provided by newer users for our reading pleasure, the Weekly World News crowd has arrived in force - and they care not a whit for karma.
Max
Still, he noted that an increased capacity for visual attention was helpful in tasks as diverse as flying, driving, radiology and airport screening.
And yet he provides *no evidence whatsoever* that the test he administers actually translates into increased ability with these real-world skills. His comments are merely supposition without any basis in fact.
Science requires hard evidence, not guesswork. Until Wolfe shows, empirically, that there's a direct connection between his tests and these skills, there's nothing to support his claim.
But I suppose if you were a video game fanatic you might be invested in 'proving' that your waste of time was actually of some value beyond that provided by the entertainment itself. And therefore find my demand for some actual science to be a 'troll'.
Max
Ability to track multiple objects does translate to improved driving skills
Provide a cite from an empirically researched paper published in an accredited, peer-reviewed journal proving your claim. Y'know, that thing called 'science'?
In fact, provide a cite from any peer-reviewed journal linking performance in games to improved real-world skills. Not just supposition pulled out of someone's ass.
Max
Try Grendel. It's the first part of the saga of Beowulf told from Grendel's point of view. Excellent writing, fantastic character, depressing ending.
Max
Damn, boy, your abiding hatred for Rand is nearly as strong as hers was of Stalinist Russia. Turn on the propaganda machine!
But back to the topic at hand, pretty much anything by Rand is a good read. Just take into account two things:
- Rand *hates* dictatorships and socialism. So do I, but if you're a liberal whiner with a hard-on for European-style socialist blather then these books will step on your toes.
- Rand swallows her own propaganda and elevates the 'businessman' to an oxygen-thin pedestal, failing to see that most 'businessmen' are just fallible human beings like anyone else.
Other than that, Rand is adept at ripping people new assholes. Which is why you always find uptight little blowhards just waiting to scream 'foul!' the moment she or one of her works is mentioned.
Which says, if you're bright enough to to discern the pattern, that she achieved exactly what she was aiming for.
Max
If Rand is absurd Kant is only good for a laugh. You call his ranting 'philosophy'? The guy's a shill, a con, and a really bad one at that.
Rand was spot-on in her analysis of Kant et. al. Self-indulgent masturbatory worshipping of their own intellects, devolving into deliberately vague word-play good only for confusing the weak-minded.
Max
And yet there is zero evidence to indicate that the ability to track multiple objects in the lab translates to improved driving skills. Which is precisely my point.
Max
Nor does the experiment link 'improved visual acuity' with any sort of real-life advantage. So you can track more objects in a controlled lab? So the hell what? How does this translate to *any* sort of advantage outside of the lab, or the game?
You could speculate of course, but the speculation is even more specious than the claim itself. And one has to wonder - even if there is a real, provable advantage - what one gives up by playing these games night and day in order to get 'improved visual acuity'? Perhaps social skills? A life? Any chance whatsoever of having sex with something other than your hand, or a RealDoll?
Hmmmm, speaking of RealDolls I just realized I have something to do, as soon as I find the next waypoint in Diablo 2....
Max
I ignore AC's. Use your real name.
Your parents must've had a sick sense of humor. If your real name is 'dacarr', is your brother's name 'daplane! daplane!'?
Max
some little punk shit like yourself that believes other peoples time has no value.
No, I think *your* time is of no value. You, personally, Kintanon. Didn't you realize that the post was specifically directed at your hapless, Evercrack, cave-dwelling, unshowered self?
And I will *never* share a pizza with you.
Max
And then there's the guy who gets his panties in a wad - over a game, as predicted - and then goes on to post an hilarious string of epithets and vulgarities because someone dared to think that someone temporarily hacking his 'hobby' was a grand source of amusement.
Max
Ah, another satisfied RealDoll customer!
Max
...it's good to see the monkey being spanked.
Max
Doesn't linux want these teeming masses of "morons" to switch over?
Linux doesn't 'want' anything. It's a kernel, and so far hasn't exhibited any signs of artificial intelligence.
When it finally does, it'll be way ahead of most Windows users...and most Slashdot posters, as well.
Max
Take a look at the posters for future reference:
- everyone who thought this was funny is a relatively healthy person with a sense of humor, probably someone you wouldn't mind sharing a beer and a pizza with.
- everyone who got upset and shouted loudly that the heathen 'criminals' should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of he law has no sense of humor, and most likely is some kind of Evercrack addict - y'know, scary geek types who spends 20 hours playing MMORPGs every day, don't shower, have no social skills, etc. Don't share a pizza with these folks, you might catch something from all the times they *didn't* wash their hands.
Max
What's 'fucking weak' is that people take this shit so seriously. Christ, they need to rename MMORP "Losers 'R Us", or something equally appropriate.
Max
I gotta tell you, if I were on the jury I wouldn't convict - it's just too damned funny. Law or no law, the hilarity of it excuses the action.
I'm sure the players don't feel that way. But to my way of thinking they're in serious need of a reality check anyway. Getting upset over some fictional character suddenly being teleported to Evil Central is indicative of a psychological problem best dealt with by *not* playing the game for awhile.
In any event, I'd think that a person who plays the game for *fun* (rather than as a replacement for a pathetic life) would've found the hacking event to be rather exciting. I certainly would have, but I don't take any of this crap seriously anyways...kinda like playing Total War online and finding that the enemy troops are all armed with machine guns (grin).
Max
Evolution does not work that quickly, especially in populations the size of humans.
Evolution is no longer a factor in human development. Within the century we'll be able to change our bodies in all sorts of interesting ways, and will too. As with all technological developments, the religious freaks and luddites will have a cow about it, but we'll ignore them just as we ignore the Amish today (other than to say "how quaint!" and snap a few photos).
Four arms, larger brains, and, of course, all those idiot boys getting 12-inch penises only to find that anything beyond 8 is something most women don't want to get anywhere near...finally, real penis enlargement, the end result being that the 'enlarged' will never get a chance to breed....
I take that back. Perhaps evolution is a factor, it's just working through *us* now. It would certainly explain frat houses....
Max
By 2880 we will have developed amazing technology such as asteroid repellent beams, fusion and flying cars.
I sure as hell hope not. People can't drive for shit right now, and you want to give them *flying cars*???
Only if I can mount SAMs on my property, thanks.
Max
And of course, there will be a small group of people, partisans, who do not accept the progress, who live in caves and try to destroy the Matrix.
Descendents of the employees of the RIAA, MPAA, Disney and Microsoft, no doubt.
Max
Software pirates are the main reason these draconian licensing agreements have come into existence.
Argh, matey! Blame it all on us nasty high-tech pirates! Certainly the woes of Microsoft fall entirely upon our shoulders!
Funny, I do remember something about an anti-trust suit, illegal business practices, unethical conduct, etc. I also have a vague recollection of a conviction. Might as well blame all of that on the pirates too!
What is worse is that there is a large group of people dedicated to making excuses for and promoting these software pirates.
Although it's not nearly as large as the group of people dedicated to making excuses for and promoting Microsoft. Nor as large as the group of losers who worship Bill Gates in the hopes that his divine favor will somehow magically rain down upon them, like manna from the heavens.
I'm not saying that I like draconian licensing agreements, but it's easy to understand where the impetus to create them comes from when the goodwill of the software publisher is exploited time and again.
It's even easier to understand the frustration of the consumer after he/she has been exploited by Microsoft time and time again. It might just be that every once in awhile you *really do* reap what you sow.
Sailing the digital seas since 1980,
Max
(insert skull and crossbones here)
Cleary you're enamored of your own bullshit, which doesn't surprise me. Nothing in your post is worth responding to except for these two points:
Wow. This has got to be one of the single most hilarious lines I've ever read on Slashdot, and that's saying a lot. You simply have to love the logic in "I'm doing it, thus I have a right to do it." I guess we can all stop complaining about genocide, wife beaters, and that Slashdot favorite, Microsoft!
I would assume that you missed the point entirely, but the introduction of the strawmen tells me you're just attempting to divert the argument since you don't want to examine the basis behind it.
Fact: file sharing is here to stay.
Fact: there isn't a damn thing you can do about it.
Fact: file sharing of music wouldn't be prevalent if the market responded appropriately to changing conditions.
Fact: the RIAA attempt to freeze technological progress in its tracks is exactly the same thing that buggy whip manufacturers tried when the car was introduced. And is doomed to the same failure.
Conclusion: if you want to get paid for the service, in this case music, you have to provide it at a price people are willing to pay, in the format that they want it. That's called 'capitalism'. Trying to thwart the free market is called 'acting like a fucking totalitarian idiot'.
File sharing is here because the market is refusing to respond to changing conditions. If the folks providing the service had any real interest in capitalism, they'd try to adopt a new model, much as Apple has with iTunes. Quite obviously they realize they're outdated and outmoded and don't care to adapt; the only thing they're interested in at this point is maintaining the status quo - a fool's game by any measure.
So when I say 'I'm doing it right now' it's a statement of fact for tens of millions of people. You can either try to make all of those people criminals, or you can change your business model to accommodate those people. Criminalization is for idiots who want power, not profit; and if they can't figure out a way to stay in business via the free market (again, Apple and iTunes) then they deserve to die out.
It's that simple. It's a matter of personal responsibility that I actually go out and pay for CDs that I like, despite the rather obvious and unstoppable change in the economic paradigm of music manufacturing. I will continue to do so, as I'm sure many other people will, until the RIAA chokes on itself and something else comes along to replace it.
How I feel about other human beings says nothing about my character
Sure it does. It says you're heavily invested in believing everyone else is a shit in order to make your own deplorable character more acceptable to yourself. Your beliefs tell me that only a moron would ever trust you, or turn his back on you.
And that's all for me - junior.
Max