For those of you who don't want to wait, or would rather not fry your noodle, I've had a LOT of good experience with Metabolift by TwinLab. Doesn't leave your mouth tasting like a urinal (coffee 3 hours after you're done) or make your stomach feel like....well, like it has NoDoz in it. If I had to describe it, I'd say it just makes you feel like you just woke from a good 6 hours of sound sleep.
No, I don't work for TwinLab, but again, I've been using it for a few years and everyone I introduce it to swears by it. CVS (a local pharmacy chain) carries it in most locations, but I'm sure you can find it elsewhere, including GNC. It's gotten me through more than a few nights of intense coding and NOC shifts.
Psiren writes: "Ad just don't work. I have *never* bought anything from a banner on any website."
A friend, just the other day, had a somewhat similar sentiment -- that ads were fairly indiscriminate and he would buy from banner ads if they were only relevant to the forum they were posted on. His specific gripe was a satellite board he frequented. Hm. Maybe it was on Delphi. But anyway, I replied that the only banner ads I have ever purchased from were on Slashdot (namely ThinkGeek), because at least they're in the ballpark of something I'd be interested in. Let's check cnn.com, see what they're offering...
New AOL 7.0 Sports Illustrated Subscription CNN's E-Store Fantasy Baseball
No thanks.
I think banners can work, but perhaps relying on them for a supporting revenue stream is too much. Dunno. I'm not a marketing guy.
Waffle Iron writes: "Every time somebody sneaks snacks into a movie in their purse, the movie industry loses a few dollars of revenue that should have been spent on outrageously priced candy."
Your analogy is not lost on me, but just to be a nitpicking bastard, the concession sales go to the theatre. The studios make their money from ticket sales.
kmellis writes:
But I've been watching a couple hours of TV a day, and it's helped my mood. Within moderation, I think that its unique kind of stimulation may be healthy.
"A couple of hours" and "within moderation", IMO, seem to contradict each other.
I am not trying to bludgeon you with a high horse. This just strikes me as odd.
Spam is sending broadcast advertisements. That's the first place your analogy breaks down. Second, you have the right to speak, you do not have the right to be heard. Sending email requires that I bother with the email.
evand wrote:
"First of all, her needs are simple. She needs to check her email, surf the web, and use a word processor. With Mail.app, Internet Explorer/OmniWeb, and AppleWorks, her needs are fulfilled."
A 486 running QNX will do it for about a thousand or three cheaper. Hit the MIT Flea Market this year if you're in New England and discover what machines considered obsolete almost a full decade ago can actually accomplish.
Actually, it seems like a pretty good idea to me. I've been voluntarily car-less and using cycling/public transportation since 1996ish and something that used 5 cents worth of electricity to take me around Boston at 12mph? I can see myself buying one at $3,000, maybe. It's a lot better than a car and hey, I can breathe! =)
Try reading Alice in Wonderland with all the drug references redacted. Not only is it less interesting, it doesn't make any sense. This is going to be about as popular as non-alcoholic beer, and for the same reason.
I'm the maintainer of mitfleamarket.com. If anyone has any pics of the flea or just suggestions of how to make the page more useful for people, throw me an email at jason@macross.com.
Thanks,
Jason
TWR wrote:
"I maintain that he is a moron. His arguments are logically invalid. "
Great. I didn't say he was bright, I just noted that it was "ad hominem" and as such illogical and irrelevant. Noting the problems with an argument is the way to be constructive...well, if you're into that sort of thing. Anyone can call someone a moron.
"The difference is that I don't think police brutality is a serious problem in the US. Are there brutal cops? Sure. Is there something institutionally rotten about cops? Nope."
Their own Internal Affairs bureau might take umbrage with this statement.
"I maintain that, by and large, cops are decent human beings who put their lives on the line for complete strangers."
I can't say I've ever met a police officer who fit this mold. Generally, they're in it for a paycheck like...well, just about any other job out there. I'm not saying they don't exist, but if you expect me to believe that a significant number ("by and large") are altrustic protectors of truth, justice and the American way, I'll suggest that such an environment would make police misconduct a very, very hard thing to get away with. Think what you want about Mumia Abu Jamal, but the Chicago Police are...stunningly infested with self-admitted corruption. The Los Angeles PD was on the brink of having the government take over perations for the same.
I regard the police as a pretty regular threat to my well-being. I am white, middle-class and 28. Recently, I stumbled across a rape-in-progress in South Boston. The officers I dealt with were professional the investigator was as well. And they all seemed honestly concerned. But I also was present at the debates at Boston University where Ralph Nader was turned away. I witnessed -- firsthand -- what cops do to peacefull kids sitting down. I know that cops can be thugs and that they tend to be thugs in packs. So for the previous person to paint police as animals is wrong. And for you to whitewash them as altrustic is equally as bombastic.
I have an idea. How about if we give police credit when it's due and sqwish them into oblivion every single time they abuse that authority? Not sometimes. Not when it's politically expedient. Every single time. Foster an enviornment where fellow officers are more afraid of staying silent than speaking up. And again, a little constructive communication wouldn't suck. Which means not calling your opponents morons.
"Go ahead, mod me down. You're still an idiot."
...which will probably mean that you need to get rid of this sig.
TWR writes:
"And you miss the point. Anyone who thinks the US sucks is free to leave."
No, I do understand the point. I disagree, however, that leaving is a solution. It is possible to disagree with you yet grasp the issue. Really.
"The moron poster..."
Yay! More ad hominem. =)
"...he is replying to clearly thinks that cops in the US are animals on the warpath, while cops overseas are sweet and kind."
The message he is responding to can be found here and it says nothing at all about cops overseas being sweet and kind. In fact it doesn't make any mention whatsoever of cops outside of the US.
"As for what he is doing to stop police brutality in America, he is posting to Slashdot. Gee, how effective. "
You'll excuse me if I point out the irony of this statement. =)
Uruk writes:
"Taking a guess that the poster is probably white isn't an ad-hominem attack, unless it's recently become somehow bad to be white in America that I didn't know about."
"ad hominem: adj. Appealing to personal considerations rather than to logic or reason: Debaters should avoid ad hominem arguments that question their opponents' motives."
It goes on for a bit, you should check it out. The Latin root literally means "to the man". You've actually gone a step further, equating being white/affluent with clueless, but that's not even nessesary to qualify for this award. Bringing up the fact that I'm French is an ad hominem attack since it is an appeal to my motives rather than an address of my argument. It matters not one iota if being French is deplorable or if you even make any conclusion from that point. Bringing up anything at all about your opponent's person is classified as "ad hominem". Really. =)
An AC (aren't they all?) wrote:
"You know, you do have the option of leaving this country if you don't like it."
How about if we stick around and try to correct what we think is wrong? Call me nuts, but running away from a problem instead of facing it is called "cowardly" where I come from. Oh, wait...
an AC (aren't they all?) wrote:
"2) The guy who sodomized the poor guy with a broken broom handle is now serving a lengthy stretch in a state prison, so what is your point? "
Uruk replied:
"Uh, that he did it?"
Not to mention that not a single police officer that heard Volpe bragging about the incident reported it. This, to me, is more telling than the act itself. Sodomizing Louima was the act of one coward. Everyone keeping silent points to an entire system which teaches cops that such things are tolerated. I can't condemn an entire force for the actions of one, but I can sure as hell condemn them for not throwing that one to the lions. And yes, you did address this, I just wanted to elaborate a bit.
Uruk added:
"But then again, you're probably a middle class whiteboy who doesn't have to worry about these types of things, since you're never a target. What do you care?"
While the AC is clearly either naive or a troll (his "If he hadn't run, he wouldn't have gotten shot" logic is hilarious), ad hominem attacks aren't much better. I thought far more of your post before I got to the end.
Hemos did a review of this on April 21st. Not complaining, just pointing it out for those who tend to find themselves more similar to certain reviewers.
While I'm not ready to say they're right and you're wrong (how could I?), I can suggest that during my year's suffering with RCN's 56k dialup tech support, I can't tell you how many times I've had customers tell me that their service sucked since RCN took over when the problem lay with either their phone lines (generally the cause of less-than-pristine connect rates, caused by wind, rain getting in the wires and squirrels (they love the copper)), their PC's, or some new software they installed.
Yes, RCN took Javanet and fucked it so hard that the founder quit out of disgust (my interpretation). They swallowed some New York ISP/community and drilled it into the ground like it was fun to do. And yes, RCN would frequently have us field tech support calls knowing full well their mail server was down, but not allow us to tell the customer, leaving us with the unpleasant task of tweaking/reinstalling things we knew weren't at fault.
But it wouldn't surprise me in the least if the problems you're having seem to be chronologically parallel to their aquisition yet have nothing at all to do with it. Just consider that possibility, however hard it might be to do (no sarcasm intended).
Slashdot Mirror
For those of you who don't want to wait, or would rather not fry your noodle, I've had a LOT of good experience with Metabolift by TwinLab. Doesn't leave your mouth tasting like a urinal (coffee 3 hours after you're done) or make your stomach feel like ....well, like it has NoDoz in it. If I had to describe it, I'd say it just makes you feel like you just woke from a good 6 hours of sound sleep.
No, I don't work for TwinLab, but again, I've been using it for a few years and everyone I introduce it to swears by it. CVS (a local pharmacy chain) carries it in most locations, but I'm sure you can find it elsewhere, including GNC. It's gotten me through more than a few nights of intense coding and NOC shifts.
Amusing toy or Taliban commando gear?
You decide.
This is a shamless plug, and one for which I'm obviously going to be modded into oblivion, but...
http://www.cafepress.com/universehue
This is simply a public service for anyone who wants one. I'd be stunned if I sold even one. Feel free to grab the graphic for whatever purpose, though, I've left the © notice off for a reason.
Psiren writes:
"Ad just don't work. I have *never* bought anything from a banner on any website."
A friend, just the other day, had a somewhat similar sentiment -- that ads were fairly indiscriminate and he would buy from banner ads if they were only relevant to the forum they were posted on. His specific gripe was a satellite board he frequented. Hm. Maybe it was on Delphi. But anyway, I replied that the only banner ads I have ever purchased from were on Slashdot (namely ThinkGeek), because at least they're in the ballpark of something I'd be interested in. Let's check cnn.com, see what they're offering...
New AOL 7.0
Sports Illustrated Subscription
CNN's E-Store
Fantasy Baseball
No thanks.
I think banners can work, but perhaps relying on them for a supporting revenue stream is too much. Dunno. I'm not a marketing guy.
Waffle Iron writes:
"Every time somebody sneaks snacks into a movie in their purse, the movie industry loses a few dollars of revenue that should have been spent on outrageously priced candy."
Your analogy is not lost on me, but just to be a nitpicking bastard, the concession sales go to the theatre. The studios make their money from ticket sales.
Perhaps they could hire those nice glowing aliens at the bottom of the trench for ...PR maybe?
kmellis writes:
But I've been watching a couple hours of TV a day, and it's helped my mood. Within moderation, I think that its unique kind of stimulation may be healthy.
"A couple of hours" and "within moderation", IMO, seem to contradict each other.
I am not trying to bludgeon you with a high horse. This just strikes me as odd.
Spam is sending broadcast advertisements. That's the first place your analogy breaks down. Second, you have the right to speak, you do not have the right to be heard. Sending email requires that I bother with the email.
If you want to speak, put up a website.
evand wrote:
"First of all, her needs are simple. She needs to check her email, surf the web, and use a word processor. With Mail.app, Internet Explorer/OmniWeb, and AppleWorks, her needs are fulfilled."
A 486 running QNX will do it for about a thousand or three cheaper. Hit the MIT Flea Market this year if you're in New England and discover what machines considered obsolete almost a full decade ago can actually accomplish.
Regards,
Limekiller
Actually, it seems like a pretty good idea to me. I've been voluntarily car-less and using cycling/public transportation since 1996ish and something that used 5 cents worth of electricity to take me around Boston at 12mph? I can see myself buying one at $3,000, maybe. It's a lot better than a car and hey, I can breathe! =)
When did these things come out? Two years ago? Three? What's next? One free with every Happy Meal purchase? =)
"Of course, not having a hard drive also means limited logging."
> lpt
Try reading Alice in Wonderland with all the drug references redacted. Not only is it less interesting, it doesn't make any sense. This is going to be about as popular as non-alcoholic beer, and for the same reason.
I'm the maintainer of mitfleamarket.com. If anyone has any pics of the flea or just suggestions of how to make the page more useful for people, throw me an email at jason@macross.com. Thanks, Jason
"I maintain that he is a moron. His arguments are logically invalid. "
Great. I didn't say he was bright, I just noted that it was "ad hominem" and as such illogical and irrelevant. Noting the problems with an argument is the way to be constructive ...well, if you're into that sort of thing. Anyone can call someone a moron.
"The difference is that I don't think police brutality is a serious problem in the US. Are there brutal cops? Sure. Is there something institutionally rotten about cops? Nope."
Their own Internal Affairs bureau might take umbrage with this statement.
"I maintain that, by and large, cops are decent human beings who put their lives on the line for complete strangers."
I can't say I've ever met a police officer who fit this mold. Generally, they're in it for a paycheck like ...well, just about any other job out there. I'm not saying they don't exist, but if you expect me to believe that a significant number ("by and large") are altrustic protectors of truth, justice and the American way, I'll suggest that such an environment would make police misconduct a very, very hard thing to get away with. Think what you want about Mumia Abu Jamal, but the Chicago Police are ...stunningly infested with self-admitted corruption. The Los Angeles PD was on the brink of having the government take over perations for the same.
I regard the police as a pretty regular threat to my well-being. I am white, middle-class and 28. Recently, I stumbled across a rape-in-progress in South Boston. The officers I dealt with were professional the investigator was as well. And they all seemed honestly concerned. But I also was present at the debates at Boston University where Ralph Nader was turned away. I witnessed -- firsthand -- what cops do to peacefull kids sitting down. I know that cops can be thugs and that they tend to be thugs in packs. So for the previous person to paint police as animals is wrong. And for you to whitewash them as altrustic is equally as bombastic.
I have an idea. How about if we give police credit when it's due and sqwish them into oblivion every single time they abuse that authority? Not sometimes. Not when it's politically expedient. Every single time. Foster an enviornment where fellow officers are more afraid of staying silent than speaking up. And again, a little constructive communication wouldn't suck. Which means not calling your opponents morons.
"Go ahead, mod me down. You're still an idiot."
My .02,
"And you miss the point. Anyone who thinks the US sucks is free to leave."
No, I do understand the point. I disagree, however, that leaving is a solution. It is possible to disagree with you yet grasp the issue. Really.
"The moron poster..."
Yay! More ad hominem. =)
"...he is replying to clearly thinks that cops in the US are animals on the warpath, while cops overseas are sweet and kind."
The message he is responding to can be found here and it says nothing at all about cops overseas being sweet and kind. In fact it doesn't make any mention whatsoever of cops outside of the US.
"As for what he is doing to stop police brutality in America, he is posting to Slashdot. Gee, how effective. "
You'll excuse me if I point out the irony of this statement. =)
My .02,
"Taking a guess that the poster is probably white isn't an ad-hominem attack, unless it's recently become somehow bad to be white in America that I didn't know about."
From Dictionary.com:
"ad hominem: adj. Appealing to personal considerations rather than to logic or reason: Debaters should avoid ad hominem arguments that question their opponents' motives."
It goes on for a bit, you should check it out. The Latin root literally means "to the man". You've actually gone a step further, equating being white/affluent with clueless, but that's not even nessesary to qualify for this award. Bringing up the fact that I'm French is an ad hominem attack since it is an appeal to my motives rather than an address of my argument. It matters not one iota if being French is deplorable or if you even make any conclusion from that point. Bringing up anything at all about your opponent's person is classified as "ad hominem". Really. =)
My .02,
"You know, you do have the option of leaving this country if you don't like it."
How about if we stick around and try to correct what we think is wrong? Call me nuts, but running away from a problem instead of facing it is called "cowardly" where I come from. Oh, wait...
My .02,
"2) The guy who sodomized the poor guy with a broken broom handle is now serving a lengthy stretch in a state prison, so what is your point? "
Uruk replied:
"Uh, that he did it?"
Not to mention that not a single police officer that heard Volpe bragging about the incident reported it. This, to me, is more telling than the act itself. Sodomizing Louima was the act of one coward. Everyone keeping silent points to an entire system which teaches cops that such things are tolerated. I can't condemn an entire force for the actions of one, but I can sure as hell condemn them for not throwing that one to the lions. And yes, you did address this, I just wanted to elaborate a bit.
Uruk added:
"But then again, you're probably a middle class whiteboy who doesn't have to worry about these types of things, since you're never a target. What do you care?"
While the AC is clearly either naive or a troll (his "If he hadn't run, he wouldn't have gotten shot" logic is hilarious), ad hominem attacks aren't much better. I thought far more of your post before I got to the end.
My .02,
My .02,
My .02,
"Not to mention their..." "That's not to mention the somewhat..."
Not to mention what you just mentioned you mentioned.
My .02,
Yes, RCN took Javanet and fucked it so hard that the founder quit out of disgust (my interpretation). They swallowed some New York ISP/community and drilled it into the ground like it was fun to do. And yes, RCN would frequently have us field tech support calls knowing full well their mail server was down, but not allow us to tell the customer, leaving us with the unpleasant task of tweaking/reinstalling things we knew weren't at fault.
But it wouldn't surprise me in the least if the problems you're having seem to be chronologically parallel to their aquisition yet have nothing at all to do with it. Just consider that possibility, however hard it might be to do (no sarcasm intended).
My .02,
My .02,
My .02,