You do realize that censorship was part of how the Nazis consolidated their power in Germany? That whole nightmare was a textbook example of how dangerous censorship is.
The problem with this argument is that you assume that racists are of rational mind and will submit to valid argument and facts.
No, I assume that racists have their minds made up. The point of countering racist speech is to point out to people who haven't drunk the racism Kool-Aid that the racists are full of shit and assholes to boot. Stop the racists from "breeding" and save the next generation from it.
The question is which is the greater evil: racist speech or censorship? The evil of racist speech can be effectively countered with anti-racist speech, but the evil of censorship can't be easily repaired.
I got matched to Kevin Costner, whose face is shaped nothing like mine (his is long and angular; mine is pretty round) because we were wearing similar glasses and both smiling.
I'm just afraid that teenage boys will read this and try using their cell phone as a contraceptive device. "Come on, babe, it's safe... you know I'm on the cell at least an hour a day..."
The most popular English translations of ye olde publishing standbye - The Holy Bible - are covered by copyright in various jurisdictions. The Revised Standard Version and New International Version (two pillars of the modern English market) are both new enough to be under copyright, as are all of the heavily-paraphrased versions (e.g. Living Bible). Even the King James Version is under crown copyright in the UK. The most "modern" translations in the Public Domain are generally deprecated versions such as the (un-Revised) American Standard Version.
IQ tests are a reliable measure of one's ability to perform well on IQ tests. You may choose to call that "intelligence" and wrap it all up in a tidy tautology, but that doesn't really prove anything.
While debating the methodology of a study is valuable and worthwhile activity, it tends to get in the way of what generalizations can be drawn from the data. Since there is a strong positive correlation between BMI and actual obesity (even if that correlation is not 1.0 due to factors such as highly muscular individuals), and there is a strong positive correlation between IQ tests and actual intelligence (due to cultural and educational testing biases) this data identifies a negative correlation between obesity and intelligence. That's interesting and potentially useful. Now it's time for studies with more precise methodology.
Oh, give me a break. I'm not leet. I'm not badass. Although I'm fond of writing my own HTML (because in my day, we had to), I've never written any C++, the only Perl or PHP coding I've done has been modifications to other people's work, and I'm not particularly fluent in CSS or XML. The only RSS I've ever touched was installing some blog software... and to be honest, all I did there was follow written step-by-step directions. You're impressed that I set up a spare computer as a web server? Heh. You must be one of the people who's still impressed by George Junior's handling of the presidency of the U.S.
Installing Linux and Apache doesn't involve programming or writing code (unless you call editing a configuration file or two to be "writing code"). Hell, I know a guy who's a "nerd" only in the derogatory social sense (not the complimentary technological sense), and he could do it (especially with the latest Linux distros). What it takes is a willingness to try something you've never done, and to (as you put it) look under the hood if it doesn't automatically do everything exactly the way you wanted. If you're unwilling to do that, you're not a nerd... you're just some guy who uses a computer.
I've been hosting my own usenet, web sites, blogs, forums, mail, etc. for most of the past decade. (I'd probably add podcasts to the list, except for my inability to speak without pausing two or three times in mid sentence to debate phrasing and word selection in my head.) All it takes is broadband internet access, an spare PC, and some libre software. That's about as close to "free hosting" as you can get (since any self-respecting geek has that sort of stuff already), it's not that difficult, and I haven't had to post an Ask Slashdot with advice about hosting services in all that time.:)
For those who can't wait until this movie comes out (or who may not want to think about it), there's an alternative in the meantime: upstart comics publisher IDW has announced that they'll be launching a new ST:TNG comics series in January (loosely tied to the series' 20th anniversary next year), with TOS and perhaps other Trek titles coming later. More details here.
He should be pretty happy as a patent attorney. My brother-in-law does that, and the job doesn't leave a lot of time for a social life... which this kid obviously doesn't have, and certainly didn't learn anything about in his year at college.
it keeps telling me there's an update for iTunes, even though I don't have iTunes installed
Yeah, that's because Apple believes that iTunes and QuickTime Player should be standard components of any Windows or OS X system.
it only updates the software that ships with the system - anything you install separately will have to be updated separately.
Incorrect. Apple's Software Update program detects and installs updates for any Apple software you have installed, whether it came with the system or not. For example, recently after installing Final Cut Pro on a fully-updated system, it gave me another half-dozen updates to download for the apps in the Final Cut package. In this sense it performs the same function as Microsoft Update, or Adobe's Update Manager: providing updates for all of that vendor's products (regardless of when you installed them).
While it would certainly be nice if Apple's Software Update also updated Adobe, Microsoft, and other developers' apps (instead of having to use the inferior update tools those companies provide, or ye olde stand-alone updater), it should hardly be surprising that commercial software developers aren't as chummy and free with their updates as the open-source community is.
I really wonder where I said or even intimated that a teenager would need a computer to masturbate.
I think it was the part where you equated putting the computer in the living room with depriving him of a place to jerk off in private. Maybe that's not what you meant, but (as I said) you made it sound like that. And I went on to ridicule your bizarre claim that they need some kind of porn to look at, which you most certainly did make, and seem to be standing by. What - other than your own personal history and a bunch of pseudo-sociology - do you base this on?
As far as your claim that teenagers had healthy sexual imaginations (a telltale sign of healthy sexual development) long before the internet and Playboy, I just don't even know how to respond to that.
Try doing it by setting aside your apparent belief that the advances in women's position in modern society are thanks to porn. There's a myriad of factors that have contributed to this: medical advances reducing the need for perpetual pregnancy to ensure offspring, technology making housekeeping a less demanding job, the greater emphasis on intelligence - where women and men are equal - rather than strength as a job skill, and other changes in society. The notion that being able to view photos of women with really large breasts submissively offering their vaginas to the viewer is why modern men respect women more is... dubious, at best. Furthermore, you seem to be assuming that you are among the first generation or two of sexually-healthy human males, which is not only subjective hubris, but also highly implausible, given the fact that the species has been fluorishing for thousands of years.
Oh and thank you for sharing with all of us how much fun you have had touching yourself in the dark. That was precious.
The point of that was to shoot a hole in your "teenagers need porn" assumption with a counter-example to what I assume was your own experience. But go ahead and ignore the data if it doesn't fit your thesis. I don't think porn is harmful, but your assertion that it's necessary is utterly unfounded nonsense.
This isn't a technology question; it's a sociology and psychology question. What on earth makes you think that we're qualified to help with it? While there are certainly some people on/. who have some applicable parenting experience (and they'll probably post it), the apparent demographics of the/. population suggests they're a small minority. In fact, I'd anticpate that the majority of people responding are closer in age, experience, and attitude to that 14-year-old than they are to the parents of one. Hell, I'm biologically old enough to have a kid that age, but I don't... which gives me just enough wisdom to understand that I don't know a thing about how to parent one. The college students and twentysomethings her don't even have that. If you want parenting advice, better to ask Doctor Spock, than Mister Spock.
You make it sound like he needs a computer to masturbate. Or that he even needs porn for that. Untold generations of teenagers learned to play with themselves and develop healthy sexual imaginations without the Web, BBSes, Playboy, pin-up calendars, or even dirty limericks. I've got nothing against porn, but I certainly didn't need it to fuel my imagination, and much of my best play was (and continues to be) in the dark with my eyes closed.
Fear paralyzes us and limits the freedom we cherish so much. This applies to more than just renewed fears of flying, and of our safety in public places and when traveling abroad. It applies to the way we live our lives day to day. We fear certain parts of town. We fear our neighbors. We fear opening up to people.
We need to reject that fear.
That's how I've chosen to live for many years, and people sometimes ask me how I can be so "fearless". I live in a neighborhood that some people (mostly those who've never stopped for longer than a stoplight here) consider "unsafe". I'm an openly - sometimes vocally - gay person in a conservative, often hostile community. I've gone on several solo trips overseas, visiting countries where I don't speak the language, arriving in unfamiliar cities without so much as a hotel reservation.
But I'm not fearless. I just don't let my fear stop me. Make no mistake: it tries to. I've been lost and alone. I've been robbed. I've been threatened. I've been a victim of discrimination. These things have often scared me. But I remember that far more often than these things have happened, I've remained safe, sound, and secure.
And more importantly, I remind myself that giving in to fear means giving up my freedom. It means I'm letting the people who might harm me win without a fight. The would-be thieves and assailants and bigots and terrorists would keep their freedom, and I'd lose mine.
Of course this doesn't mean we should act without regard for our safety. I pay attention to my surroundings. I've thought about how to defend myself in various kinds of situations (most of which involves handing over whatever they want and/or getting myself out of there). But having done that, I get on with my life.
This is what we need to do in response to these terrorist attacks. We need to figure out how to make ourselves reasonably safe. For example, we need to start taking airline security seriously for a change, to make it harder for someone to take over a plane. We need to build the diplomatic and intelligence skills to reduce the chances of someone getting to the airport (or train station or bridge or amusement park or whatever) in the first place. We need to practice the national "humility" that the president called for in his election campaign, so people won't be so motivated to take us down.
Notice that I didn't say "make it impossible". We can't ever be 100% safe. We never could. The world has always been a dangerous place. So all we can do - all we've ever done - is to take reasonable precautions... then proceed to make whatever good we can with our lives. As individuals and as a society.
Slashdot Mirror
You do realize that censorship was part of how the Nazis consolidated their power in Germany? That whole nightmare was a textbook example of how dangerous censorship is.
So what are you suggesting? That we censor stories about racism? I don't think that pretending it doesn't exist will make it go away.
The question is which is the greater evil: racist speech or censorship? The evil of racist speech can be effectively countered with anti-racist speech, but the evil of censorship can't be easily repaired.
In other words, if it doesn't affect you personally, you don't give a damn how other people feel.
I got matched to Kevin Costner, whose face is shaped nothing like mine (his is long and angular; mine is pretty round) because we were wearing similar glasses and both smiling.
I'm just afraid that teenage boys will read this and try using their cell phone as a contraceptive device. "Come on, babe, it's safe... you know I'm on the cell at least an hour a day..."
The most popular English translations of ye olde publishing standbye - The Holy Bible - are covered by copyright in various jurisdictions. The Revised Standard Version and New International Version (two pillars of the modern English market) are both new enough to be under copyright, as are all of the heavily-paraphrased versions (e.g. Living Bible). Even the King James Version is under crown copyright in the UK. The most "modern" translations in the Public Domain are generally deprecated versions such as the (un-Revised) American Standard Version.
Right. Instead of being stupid because you're fat, you may be fat because you're stupid.
IQ tests are a reliable measure of one's ability to perform well on IQ tests. You may choose to call that "intelligence" and wrap it all up in a tidy tautology, but that doesn't really prove anything.
While debating the methodology of a study is valuable and worthwhile activity, it tends to get in the way of what generalizations can be drawn from the data. Since there is a strong positive correlation between BMI and actual obesity (even if that correlation is not 1.0 due to factors such as highly muscular individuals), and there is a strong positive correlation between IQ tests and actual intelligence (due to cultural and educational testing biases) this data identifies a negative correlation between obesity and intelligence. That's interesting and potentially useful. Now it's time for studies with more precise methodology.
Oh, give me a break. I'm not leet. I'm not badass. Although I'm fond of writing my own HTML (because in my day, we had to), I've never written any C++, the only Perl or PHP coding I've done has been modifications to other people's work, and I'm not particularly fluent in CSS or XML. The only RSS I've ever touched was installing some blog software... and to be honest, all I did there was follow written step-by-step directions. You're impressed that I set up a spare computer as a web server? Heh. You must be one of the people who's still impressed by George Junior's handling of the presidency of the U.S.
Installing Linux and Apache doesn't involve programming or writing code (unless you call editing a configuration file or two to be "writing code"). Hell, I know a guy who's a "nerd" only in the derogatory social sense (not the complimentary technological sense), and he could do it (especially with the latest Linux distros). What it takes is a willingness to try something you've never done, and to (as you put it) look under the hood if it doesn't automatically do everything exactly the way you wanted. If you're unwilling to do that, you're not a nerd... you're just some guy who uses a computer.
I've been hosting my own usenet, web sites, blogs, forums, mail, etc. for most of the past decade. (I'd probably add podcasts to the list, except for my inability to speak without pausing two or three times in mid sentence to debate phrasing and word selection in my head.) All it takes is broadband internet access, an spare PC, and some libre software. That's about as close to "free hosting" as you can get (since any self-respecting geek has that sort of stuff already), it's not that difficult, and I haven't had to post an Ask Slashdot with advice about hosting services in all that time. :)
You do realize that only half a dozen distinct corporations control 99% of the entertainment industry, don't you?
For those who can't wait until this movie comes out (or who may not want to think about it), there's an alternative in the meantime: upstart comics publisher IDW has announced that they'll be launching a new ST:TNG comics series in January (loosely tied to the series' 20th anniversary next year), with TOS and perhaps other Trek titles coming later. More details here.
That's still nothing compared to a semi loaded with DVDs traveling at 70mph.
He should be pretty happy as a patent attorney. My brother-in-law does that, and the job doesn't leave a lot of time for a social life... which this kid obviously doesn't have, and certainly didn't learn anything about in his year at college.
As long as people continue to be gullible idiots*, there will be people who will exploit that.
*The fact that anybody believed lonelygirl15 was real, more than a couple minutes into her first episode, indicates they still are
Incorrect. Apple's Software Update program detects and installs updates for any Apple software you have installed, whether it came with the system or not. For example, recently after installing Final Cut Pro on a fully-updated system, it gave me another half-dozen updates to download for the apps in the Final Cut package. In this sense it performs the same function as Microsoft Update, or Adobe's Update Manager: providing updates for all of that vendor's products (regardless of when you installed them).
While it would certainly be nice if Apple's Software Update also updated Adobe, Microsoft, and other developers' apps (instead of having to use the inferior update tools those companies provide, or ye olde stand-alone updater), it should hardly be surprising that commercial software developers aren't as chummy and free with their updates as the open-source community is.
This isn't a technology question; it's a sociology and psychology question. What on earth makes you think that we're qualified to help with it? While there are certainly some people on /. who have some applicable parenting experience (and they'll probably post it), the apparent demographics of the /. population suggests they're a small minority. In fact, I'd anticpate that the majority of people responding are closer in age, experience, and attitude to that 14-year-old than they are to the parents of one. Hell, I'm biologically old enough to have a kid that age, but I don't... which gives me just enough wisdom to understand that I don't know a thing about how to parent one. The college students and twentysomethings her don't even have that. If you want parenting advice, better to ask Doctor Spock, than Mister Spock.
You make it sound like he needs a computer to masturbate. Or that he even needs porn for that. Untold generations of teenagers learned to play with themselves and develop healthy sexual imaginations without the Web, BBSes, Playboy, pin-up calendars, or even dirty limericks. I've got nothing against porn, but I certainly didn't need it to fuel my imagination, and much of my best play was (and continues to be) in the dark with my eyes closed.
From an essay I wrote on 9/12/2001:
Fear paralyzes us and limits the freedom we cherish so much. This applies to more than just renewed fears of flying, and of our safety in public places and when traveling abroad. It applies to the way we live our lives day to day. We fear certain parts of town. We fear our neighbors. We fear opening up to people.
We need to reject that fear.
That's how I've chosen to live for many years, and people sometimes ask me how I can be so "fearless". I live in a neighborhood that some people (mostly those who've never stopped for longer than a stoplight here) consider "unsafe". I'm an openly - sometimes vocally - gay person in a conservative, often hostile community. I've gone on several solo trips overseas, visiting countries where I don't speak the language, arriving in unfamiliar cities without so much as a hotel reservation.
But I'm not fearless. I just don't let my fear stop me. Make no mistake: it tries to. I've been lost and alone. I've been robbed. I've been threatened. I've been a victim of discrimination. These things have often scared me. But I remember that far more often than these things have happened, I've remained safe, sound, and secure.
And more importantly, I remind myself that giving in to fear means giving up my freedom. It means I'm letting the people who might harm me win without a fight. The would-be thieves and assailants and bigots and terrorists would keep their freedom, and I'd lose mine.
Of course this doesn't mean we should act without regard for our safety. I pay attention to my surroundings. I've thought about how to defend myself in various kinds of situations (most of which involves handing over whatever they want and/or getting myself out of there). But having done that, I get on with my life.
This is what we need to do in response to these terrorist attacks. We need to figure out how to make ourselves reasonably safe. For example, we need to start taking airline security seriously for a change, to make it harder for someone to take over a plane. We need to build the diplomatic and intelligence skills to reduce the chances of someone getting to the airport (or train station or bridge or amusement park or whatever) in the first place. We need to practice the national "humility" that the president called for in his election campaign, so people won't be so motivated to take us down.
Notice that I didn't say "make it impossible". We can't ever be 100% safe. We never could. The world has always been a dangerous place. So all we can do - all we've ever done - is to take reasonable precautions... then proceed to make whatever good we can with our lives. As individuals and as a society.
One option would be to join up with Nerds On Site (the outfit that inspired Best Buy's Geek Squad).