I think gold and silver are pretty practical right now. Most of the ideas I've seen put out are for a "complete collapse". But more than likely, it will be some prolonged emergency that snares up the infrastructure. Any length of time without food, water and electricity in this country -- much less transportation -- and you will get chaos. If that goes on for a long time, then currency will be useless. But before that happens, there will be much more immediate needs.
More than likely, we will be experiencing an emergency in our home or in our car. So plan for that first.
For money I'd recommend 1/10th oz gold pieces and silver.
You could skip the size and weight of the wool blanket and use what is called a "space blanket" it is blue or black on one side, and silver on the other. It isn't as comfy as wool, but a thinsulate insulated space blanket can be a lot lighter and provide a lot more insulation than wool--and it still insulates when wet and can reflect heat to help cool you. Also, it can be used in water collection and sterilization techniques like a tarp or polyurethane sheet. Whatever emergency supplies you have should be able to fit in a back-pack and be carried with you -- so think light. Also, it can be used with a piece of rope to make a tent. So for the weight and space -- it does triple duty and is a better insulator.
I'll second the suggestion of a big strong knife and a flint. Add in a few hack-saw blades as well and some strong braided steel wire and 100 ft of fishing line. You can fashion a lot of things with these. With these four things you can catch food, cook, build a saw and 100 other things.
Forget the yards of cotton. There will probably be clothing everywhere and this won't do if you are getting cold. If you are in a flood zone, you might think of putting some spare clothes in a rubber, water-proof rucksack. But other than New Orleans and a few other places in this country -- like most places, you're not going to be without clothes. Warm jackets, yes. So if you are in a flood plain without high land for a mile then store some clothes -- but most of the big disasters I can think of will just leave plenty of this crap everywhere. Food, water and shelter and sanitation are your main concerns -- if you can just concentrate on those you will have time and opportunity to worry about the rest.
Zip-lock bags are great. I suppose in all reality there is going to be a lot of plastic lying around after any disaster in America -- so I guess Leather satchels are out.
Add Lard and Salt. You may need to preserve things. Put them in some sort of air-tight container and separate from your pack because they will attract animals. Also, cook and eat and go to the bathroom in areas away from where you sleep and store food. There are a lot of camping things to learn -- but in reality, you are going to more likely be around houses --wether in one piece or not, without electricity and water. Making water and doing without power are your two main factors -- and finding a good place too poop. Dig a hole and put some blocks and plywood on top to form a privy. Human refuse will be the biggest health risk and a lot of people will be doing the wrong thing and getting sick. I'm thinking of getting rain barrels on the downspouts of my gutters so that I always have a few 100 gallons of water. I'll put minnows in them to keep out mosquitos. Oh, and make sure you have some effective mosquito repellant -- they will become a big issue in a flood.
Did anyone mention good wool socks? You may need to consider light canvas tennis shoes over boots if you are going to be getting over your ankles wet-- foot rot is a real issue. Some of the army boots out there are good because they are designed to dry out quickly. A water proof boot is great for protection but becomes more of a problem if you are constantly going through deep water -- drying quickly becomes more important than water proof over time.
And tea-tree oil. Great for treating almost any infection or skin ulcer. Skin infections and dysentery (and cholera and other stomach ailments) are your major risks. Get Chlorine tablets to kill bad things in water -- if you are stranded without clean water for a while you will have to make your own. Chlorine and filters will get you water faster. You can also stretch out polyurethane over a wet area and get the condensation that is formed from the evaporated water -- that will be clean. But it is a pretty slow way to get water.
I don't recommend heading for the woods. Most of us are not prepared for real survival -- and just think about all the "survivali
I was curious as well. I do know that honey and beta-dyne (or TeaTree oil --even better) can be used on wounds and skin burns. About the best thing going to heal a skin injury there is.
He might also might use in for fermentation. Or as a way to trap a bear. But I think those uses are rather impractical. You have a lot of hungry people around and more pressing needs.
Organic glue? Trade good? Used to capture hordes of ands and eat them? It and salt will definitely attract raccoons.
After all, 3000 people died on September 11 due to a rare incident that is unlikely to ever happen again. 3000 people die every day in road accidents around the world.
Good point mgv.
I think it is like 30,000 die due to prescription drugs. Even more die because they are poor and don't eat well or get preventive medicine. We could also mention highway fatalities, over eating and cigarettes.
We are spending a lot more on terrorism than anything else -- ever, based on the risk factor. Based on just the governments line about how things happened -- 9/11 could have been prevented by people doing their job rather than operating as political hacks who don't want to jeopardize a promotion. Instead of firing the sleeping guard we gave him an uzi and twice the salary. Everything now is hush hush, so you don't know if they are doing brilliant secret agent things, or spending the money on a better tail-hook party. Just look at the traffic jam in Houston during Rita... and that is perhaps one of the easier large cities to evacuate in the nation; lots of cars, roads, and the whole thing is flat. I heard an estimate (forgot the source) that no large city in the country could evacuate in less than 36 hours.
So we are screwed with any REAL terrorist threat.
I don't think the borders with Mexico will be secure until either they make more than we do or our citizens want to start sneaking out. Note that the new bankruptcy bill revokes any passport that you might have--so this is Funny and Scary -- or Scunny (a new double-plus good word).
Until BushCo starts talking about putting light rail systems in cities, I don't think they have a clue what they are doing with security or even energy policy. In fact, all I am sure they know how to do is gerrymander. Anyway, they aren't the first corrupt political group -- just the most obvious.
I had an idea that instead of trying to detect explosives, you'd hit them with an EMP (in a armored container of course) and set anything explosive off. You could possibly use a multi-spectrum microwave... whatever would induce most explosives to ignite.
You'd definitely have to pull out electronics and batteries--those would be toast. But you would be sure of getting almost any explosive unless it was a binary -- but I think most of those would have at least one highly flammable component.
What do you think Negative Video? You obviously seem to have more of an understanding of explosive chemistry.
You jest, but a detector this sensitive will be going off all the time.
They need analysis of the chemicals involved and some sort of expert system to compute the most likely factors. The Social Engineering issue of a detector going off all the time will lead to exactly the scenario you are talking about -- except without the need to buy 14 more tickets. Terrorists have a low budget, it seems.
Oh, and they can still turn a cell phone or laptop battery into an explosive with a capacitor. I would prefer some hardening inside the plane and fewer but smarter undercover agents. Even once you eliminate any weapon that can get on board a plane (which they can't even seem to accomplish in prison -- much less the airport), there are a lot of things on the plane that can become a weapon (the oxygen tanks for asthmatics, for instance).
Anyway, I'm a lot more worried about a corrupt US government that might allow bad things to happen to further their own power. I need to be convinced that my government actually cares about my welfare. So far, the evidence has been to the contrary.
I was thinking how it would not be so tough for this Robot to correct pronunciation (in marketing terms) if it was giving the kids the word they were supposed to say. Electro-Arf says; "Vote today". Boy responds "Rote todaa". Electro-Arf corrects; "No, Vote Today".
In fact, you could just have a tape recorder and just keep repeating "No [something I just said]".
I mean, we are talking about marketing hype -- not necessarily science. I expect a mass release and huge sales and then this device will show up as a glorified Speak-N-Say at Target for $19.95 in a year once the word gets out. If it is for real, it will be a small initial release because it will need beta testing. I am both being funny and cynical -- or fynical! That's a good marko-speak-word. "No, Cynical, please repeat".
I would think that either, they have negative blacks that suck in light -- or they have a Million Lumen pixel. Or more likely, they are adding all the pixels being light and comparing that to the screen at black.
This is probably are really great monitor -- but if these specs actually meant something it would mean I would be sitting right in front of a Laser Beam. Tell me this isn't the "Allen Parsons Project" and they don't plan to make Millions and Millions of these screens.;-)
Ergo... Ergo, you guys must be loads of laughs at parties.
Hot Babe:... Light as a feather... you can't feel a thing.
Slash Geek: Hey, if it touches me and causes friction, Ergo it causes feeling. That's "Ergo" with a capital "E". Meaning, a significant ergo.
Me: Significant when compared to the vibration of my foot upside your thick skull?
Slash Geek: Even when you compare a miniscule amount to a statistically large quantity--
My foot: "Whack!"
Big Geeky Cranium: "Thump"
Me: I feel better now.
Hot Babe: Oh thank you, I've been trying to ditch his conversation of how TCIP isn't really packets per se all night. Thanks for the rescue.
Me: Don't mention it. Say, have you met my overly loud and vibrating PC? It has some unique features.
Hot Babe: Well I don't really think...
Me: Hey I'm making a dirty joke, we won't do anything but sit on the washer during spin cycle.
Hot Babe: I'll get my coat.
Moral: OK. Silent PCs are not and never will be totally silent. We get that you guys don't miss anything except for the forest surrounding the trees. Sheesh! But what does this have to do with tolerating the presence of your computer or getting laid?
Really? I've fricken' put original blueprints on this sight and I'm lucky to get a 3.... you must have been really smart in a previous life or something. I wouldn't say insightful, I'd think you were more of a +4 funny.
Plus whore honey?
No, +4 Funny.
Puss gore sunny?
Never mind. More math that my dog won't understand. Even more futile because I don't have a dog. I've got a very loud PC as well, but it doesn't really bother me either because the interface requires me to cool the CPU with my prostate. It does make my teeth kind of tickle... so the sound isn't quite the issue it used to be. I never thought I'd be biting a pillow this much... live and learn.
Well what about the minimum specs for the processor and graphics card? Dude?
Dude. Just a little eye candy.
Dude, they are offloading a 3D interface -- just like Core Graphics on the Mac to be rendered by the graphics card... so you can't really get the GUI to work without the 256 Meg Card -- it isn't eye candy -- it's the whole interface and resources that will be used by future applications that want to take advantage of the Quartz--I mean Aqua technology. Plus, the services are going to require a processor that hasn't come out yet. All told, do you know of a 3Ghz CPU and 256 Meg 3D card that can run with less than a 400 Watt Power supply?
Seriously Dude?
Serious.... Dude...
Hey, I'm a Mac user and even I know that the specs aren't for eye candy. So serious.... hmmm, Major.
Dude, you're not seriously suggesting that self employment taxes nearly doubled the total revenues to the government?
Yes I am. Like I said, everyone can be rich for a short while on a credit card. The boom was coming whether Reagan was around or not. De-regulating some things made sense, but much of it cost us. Pollution (super fund sites and rivers that actually caught on fire), bank fraud (remember the $500 Billion S&L bailout?), $3 Trillion in debt (which Bush I had to deal with the hangover), and a Iran Contra (weapons to enemies and drug shipments and death squads -- oh my!). We had a 3 times bigger Boom during Clintonomics and had a $5 Trillion surplus. Trickle-down being any good for the average citizen was a huge lie -- often repeated. Much of the actual deregulation of the airlines and other industries was started during Carter's term--though Reagan gets the credit because he talked about it more. Entrepreneurs with small businesses were helped by getting rid of some paperwork. But Self-Employment tax is about equal to Payroll tax -- so isn't that almost doubling a tax? Rob Peter to Pay Paul is not creating money. 1981 was seeing a recession so the Self-Employment Tax was instituted. Thus increasing tax (though a bit less than the rate when Reagan entered office in total). So the economy did improve overall during the 1980s -- just that people were less aware of the tax. This is also when gurus of economics invented theories that deficits were good things.
The debt increase was more than the tax revenue increase for crying out loud... using debt for Taxes is a phony to make the receipts look good. I am for lower taxes if government spending and waste are reduced. Sometimes debt spending can help stimulate the economy, but I prefer FDR's public works projects over Reagan's Star Wars projects because it helps people who need the help. Lowering taxes might increase revenues IF the tax revenue is used to improve infrastructure or create jobs. But as the economy was heating up, a lot of this was moved towards jobs that bled off wealth into military projects.
Just like we are doing now to prop up this economy, only we are also printing paper to buy our own debt. Nobody has been perfect on the economy. But it comes down to a struggle between money made by Labor, versus money made by Ownership.
Oh and 49% know something? We have a lot more information, but about.001% of the population KNOWS what is going on -- just like in centuries past. I'm guessing you assume you KNOW something. If you knew more you would realize that you don't know much at all. That and spare change will get you Wisdom. That is the problem; information, power, intelligence but no compassion or wisdom. That is what threatens America now.
You seem to take it for granted that war is really-really-bad, and see it as a problem when war is made less-bad, because war is really-really-bad.
When war is made less-bad... hmmm, is it the targeted cluster bomblet or the comfy pillow that would allow for "less-bad" war? You are trying to win by causing pain, death, suffering and confusion in your enemy; is military strategy then, actually moving to the "comfy pillow bomb"?
I didn't make the statement that all war had to be utterly evil. It is always tragic, however. I was talking about our policies in this war not being too concerned about collateral damage because it was all PR spin for US consumption anyway. I didn't say we are doomed because of "kids today!" Boys have always had an affinity for toys that go "boom!" It's just that being enamored of war when you grew up in a mall and just watched Arnold Swazzenegar movies and now you have the chance to vote is pretty scary. But the kids of the past were ignorant, while the PRO WAR kids on this site seem to be willfully ignorant.
Your "objective metrics" are based on what? They lady who was supposed to report on Iraqi casualties got killed when she was returning -- there was all of one person tasked with this job in a country that we ostensibly wanted on our side. I'm going to guess that we have killed or maimed about 300,000 Iraqis in the past 3 years of battle (it started before it was declared). And that there are countless birth defects.
But yes, that is probably less than WW II or the Civil War. Gee, how great. We illegally started a war on phony reasons and now have a civil war and high gas prices and more people are dying to save face for a few.
My main point, and I'll reiterate it; is if we have no control of a policy in a war as a society, then having more lethal and accurate weapons will create more deaths. The easier it gets for us to go to war and kill -- the more likely we will to engage in it.
I have a prediction; as soon as self-satisfied, over fed and spoiled America hits $4 gas prices and doesn't have heating oil for the winter, they are going to turn on Bush. Knowing that we killed the innocent or tortured apparently doesn't annoy enough people, but $200 to fill up an SUV apparently is a hanging offense.
If we didn't have an upcoming Depression, Recession, and Global Warming and we had robo-controlled kill-O-zap ray, we'd be inflicting pain on countless countries for years. That is my point. Convenient+Powerful Weapon does not equal a better lifestyle for America. War is first about diplomacy, about a goal. Good weapons may only help corporations because they make Empire building by the US more palatable.
I wish there were a bit more reading comprehension so I didn't have to say this about 6 times. The B-17 tangent was instructive AND depressing -- whee! It's like teaching math to my dog.
Why do we have to stomp on people? Nobody wants to fail at school or feel stupid or lost in a class. Sure there is a lot of "feel good" nonsense with everyone getting an "A" -- but encouragement isn't the problem. I have had a tough life at times and had ridicule and felt like everyone thought I was scum -- and that did nothing to make me strong. No, it is love and encouragement that makes people strong -- every time. If we focus more on better teaching methods than ways to eliminate below par students I think we could actually improve education.
And I'll second your opinion about crappy Teachers at Universities. There is a race to get PHDs at all cost to have credibility among Universities. We had a lot of incomprehensible foreign teachers who must have had a lot of information locked in their educated heads -- because little of it escaped to the class. Enterprising students just created databases of past tests and studied... trying to follow some of these PHDs when they are trying to talk to other humans is painful. I had on average, much better teachers when they were NOT PHDs.
By they way, I had a 3.4 average, so I'm not bitter or a bad student. I started out having a real hard time in school and later my grades improved as I "figured out" the system. Then, as I realized my grades wouldn't really matter toward a job, I let them slip as I just looked at the college as a resource to get all the computer experience I could get. I didn't bother trying to finish my second degree... I got a good job before I could finish. In the computer world it seemed that knowledge trumped grades.
The world needs a little room for people who are not the ultimate. I've known engineers with great grades and true grit and many would never have invented the wheel had it not already been diagrammed. Some people are good at school and some are good at ideas. I've read other posts lamenting calculators... it is nice that people can do things in their head or on paper... but does that always make a better engineer? I agree that everyone should understand the basics. But, People like Einstein would never have "made the grade". He was more of a dreamer than a good student. He turned out OK, I guess.
I think this "sink or swim" talk really highlights why people don't want to be engineers. I like science, but I didn't go into engineering because it was very intimidating, and really "what was in it for me?" At the end of the day, we all have dreams and want to at least make a decent living. So if I become an engineer, I spend lots of money, beat my head against a book for a number of years, then, if I'm not the uber engineer, I get a job washing cars. Any half-assed business major can get a decent job that only the elites in engineering get.
If this country were in to creation rather than ownership, we would waste a little more money on people who can do and think. Then the uber engineer would make big bucks, and even mediocre engineers could use software modeling to to more calculations per second than you have done in your entire life (the benefit of a computer--good math skills). The US and even engineers in the field, don't value engineering enough and companies are surprised we can't get good engineers? Wow, what if a CEO took a pay cut to put a few kids through college -- how often does that happen.
The problem is, we just value the WINNER. So everyone wants to be the CEO and many think they are actually going to become the CEO. And then we are frustrated and bitter and scolding people for having to use calculators. Life is tough. Arrrr! I agree there are a lot of lazy students but, it doesn't really pay to work anyway. It's financially more successful to make good connections and hire some bright student from a low wage market and to look good in a suite and spout positive, can do phrases. The guy who you are going to work for is going to know much less math than the parent engineer. Why do you respect him more?
Good point "Voting". Actions and goals are not always the same thing. MS has shown in the past that they will cut dirt cheap deals to keep a country using Microsoft.
But perhaps manipulating Microsoft into a dirt cheap deal or going OSS results in the same thing. Because if it is successful, other countries will do the same thing for leverage.
If People reading the Wall Street Journal, always masters of the obvious, buy the stated reason, then the "Common Knowledge Fact At the Water Cooler" (CKFAWC) will believe that countries are moving to Open Source. So sometimes, the truth is less important than the propaganda. Enough deceit and it becomes true.
Funny how, what the CEO believes becomes the "Common Knowledge".
Not talking to "ldspartan", but to the previous posts. I was trying to make a point that our weapons are TOO good right now, and don't allow for Americans to know what sacrifice is. In WW II, everyone sacrificed for the war effort. I can imagine that in not too long, troops will sit in bunkers with joysticks and will attack remotely. The only people who will see the weapons will be the ones who are about to die. We will be told what the war is about and what great heroes we are. Just like now, but without the inevitable return of troops who will tell a more grim and uncertain story. It is tradition that we send off Conservative Heroes and bring home Liberal Veterans (for the most part). The Government and Big Industry have many stories of glory.
We are doomed. We have children who vote who know more about planes than policy. I could give a sh!t what a dumb ass calls a smart weapon. This seems like the same crowd who talk about typos when they have no argument.
It always amazes me that no matter how much information some people can stuff it their heads, they are still clueless. My point is that our weapons accuracy is not the issue... it is our policies. If your policies are not to value civilians than we will just have better weapons to kill more innocent people.
And you guys can't get past which plane is dropping the weapon. What does your prostate look like?
I don't blame you for your ignorance. A lot of people were told how successful Reagan's economy was. Anyone can be wealthier on a credit card for a few months. That in essence was the Reagan Success... lots of debt. Supply Side Economics means increasing Supply creates demand. How many Big Macs can you eat? It essentially is putting money in the hands of the wealthy creates wealth. No, it just distributes it up. The greatest boom in the economy comes from growth in the Middle Class; i.e., FDR pushed "Demand Side Economics". More buyers.
Reagan "doubled the tax base" because in 1981, when the deficits were looking out of control, he implemented the "Self-Employment Tax" which almost doubled taxes. Since your employer pays if FOR you, you might not have known about it. If you work for yourself, you'll notice it doubles your taxes. I'd be for lowering taxes... you have too much waste and spending to cover, however. And as our society gets more complex, we have more shared "infrastructure" to support. A lot of teaching in high school and college fails to really appreciate the REAL economics at play.
And software IS unlimited. After the programmers and lawyers and advertising, it takes about 10 pennies for each new CD. Financial Services ARE unlimited because each account for a bank can be used to loan out 5 to 10 times more money. How much loaned money is then collateral for a new loan? Nobody knows. Is the government paying its own debts with printed fiat paper... somebody knows but not you or I.
And I'm not open to being wrong if its with someone who hasn't said anything I didn't already know about. If you had something new to say besides the usual Conservative theories.
I don't believe it. Like the oil companies saying there is not global warming. Something is causing a lot of child birth defects in Iraq. The Serin gas only has about 5 years and then it becomes mostly harmless. Could be a lot of things.
But there was no evidence for Gulf War Syndrome according to official channels. Non-government research thinks it is Depleted Uranium.
On the TV Show 24, they have multiple images. They control motion and sound to indicate "action". In a circular video, you could easily "direct" attention by increasing activity, sound or some "uniqueness"... it would definitely be more work to pull off. We have been used to a generation of TV and there is a lot of "understanding" between the producer and the audience... but it isn't necessarily the only way to produce video. When I took classes on the basics, it was interesting to learn the rules of continuity that most of us aren't aware of consciously, but if any of the "rules" are broken, we notice immediately.
I think 3D "puppets" of interactive movies are the future. A host system would render the perspective and real actors "script" the actions of the puppets. The wrap-around movie may be interesting as a novelty... but it would take too much of the director and audience (like 3D glasses on pseudo 3d today). I think it may have a great use in documentaries to "make people feel" like they are there... a better witness, where you DON'T want to "direct" the audience. Authenticity or information is a fantastic use for this. Perhaps an undersea IMAX (read "fishbowl"). I would love it, but I doubt you'd want to see an action picture this way. A horror movie would be "too intense" to be enjoyable by anyone sane. Just my two cents.
The problem is, everyone has a reality that they accept, and the information to prove or disprove any other reality.
I could have also talked about depleted Uranium and the birth defects it's causing--we all know we used plenty of that in Iraq.
I really cannot be 100% positive of what is happening in Iraq since I am not personally there. I just know that I cannot trust government sources on this. There is also no press "on the ground" -- other than foreign press which paints a different picture.
Just accept the argument that it isn't the weapon's accuracy that is the issue now.... it is the diplomat that sets the agenda for the military. "Shock and Awe" was designed to break the resistance of the Iraqi people before the invasion. If we were supposed to be greeted with flowers, why didn't we just invade? We'd been softening up Iraq for years. In hind-sight it was a bad decision. Had I known that our government was run by such idiots, I would have seen this with fore-sight.
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I think gold and silver are pretty practical right now. Most of the ideas I've seen put out are for a "complete collapse". But more than likely, it will be some prolonged emergency that snares up the infrastructure. Any length of time without food, water and electricity in this country -- much less transportation -- and you will get chaos. If that goes on for a long time, then currency will be useless. But before that happens, there will be much more immediate needs.
More than likely, we will be experiencing an emergency in our home or in our car. So plan for that first.
For money I'd recommend 1/10th oz gold pieces and silver.
You could skip the size and weight of the wool blanket and use what is called a "space blanket" it is blue or black on one side, and silver on the other. It isn't as comfy as wool, but a thinsulate insulated space blanket can be a lot lighter and provide a lot more insulation than wool--and it still insulates when wet and can reflect heat to help cool you. Also, it can be used in water collection and sterilization techniques like a tarp or polyurethane sheet. Whatever emergency supplies you have should be able to fit in a back-pack and be carried with you -- so think light. Also, it can be used with a piece of rope to make a tent. So for the weight and space -- it does triple duty and is a better insulator.
I'll second the suggestion of a big strong knife and a flint. Add in a few hack-saw blades as well and some strong braided steel wire and 100 ft of fishing line. You can fashion a lot of things with these. With these four things you can catch food, cook, build a saw and 100 other things.
Forget the yards of cotton. There will probably be clothing everywhere and this won't do if you are getting cold. If you are in a flood zone, you might think of putting some spare clothes in a rubber, water-proof rucksack. But other than New Orleans and a few other places in this country -- like most places, you're not going to be without clothes. Warm jackets, yes. So if you are in a flood plain without high land for a mile then store some clothes -- but most of the big disasters I can think of will just leave plenty of this crap everywhere. Food, water and shelter and sanitation are your main concerns -- if you can just concentrate on those you will have time and opportunity to worry about the rest.
Zip-lock bags are great. I suppose in all reality there is going to be a lot of plastic lying around after any disaster in America -- so I guess Leather satchels are out.
Add Lard and Salt. You may need to preserve things. Put them in some sort of air-tight container and separate from your pack because they will attract animals. Also, cook and eat and go to the bathroom in areas away from where you sleep and store food. There are a lot of camping things to learn -- but in reality, you are going to more likely be around houses --wether in one piece or not, without electricity and water. Making water and doing without power are your two main factors -- and finding a good place too poop. Dig a hole and put some blocks and plywood on top to form a privy. Human refuse will be the biggest health risk and a lot of people will be doing the wrong thing and getting sick. I'm thinking of getting rain barrels on the downspouts of my gutters so that I always have a few 100 gallons of water. I'll put minnows in them to keep out mosquitos. Oh, and make sure you have some effective mosquito repellant -- they will become a big issue in a flood.
Did anyone mention good wool socks? You may need to consider light canvas tennis shoes over boots if you are going to be getting over your ankles wet-- foot rot is a real issue. Some of the army boots out there are good because they are designed to dry out quickly. A water proof boot is great for protection but becomes more of a problem if you are constantly going through deep water -- drying quickly becomes more important than water proof over time.
And tea-tree oil. Great for treating almost any infection or skin ulcer. Skin infections and dysentery (and cholera and other stomach ailments) are your major risks. Get Chlorine tablets to kill bad things in water -- if you are stranded without clean water for a while you will have to make your own. Chlorine and filters will get you water faster. You can also stretch out polyurethane over a wet area and get the condensation that is formed from the evaporated water -- that will be clean. But it is a pretty slow way to get water.
I don't recommend heading for the woods. Most of us are not prepared for real survival -- and just think about all the "survivali
I was curious as well. I do know that honey and beta-dyne (or TeaTree oil --even better) can be used on wounds and skin burns. About the best thing going to heal a skin injury there is.
He might also might use in for fermentation. Or as a way to trap a bear. But I think those uses are rather impractical. You have a lot of hungry people around and more pressing needs.
Organic glue? Trade good? Used to capture hordes of ands and eat them? It and salt will definitely attract raccoons.
After all, 3000 people died on September 11 due to a rare incident that is unlikely to ever happen again. 3000 people die every day in road accidents around the world.
Good point mgv.
I think it is like 30,000 die due to prescription drugs.
Even more die because they are poor and don't eat well or get preventive medicine.
We could also mention highway fatalities, over eating and cigarettes.
We are spending a lot more on terrorism than anything else -- ever, based on the risk factor. Based on just the governments line about how things happened -- 9/11 could have been prevented by people doing their job rather than operating as political hacks who don't want to jeopardize a promotion. Instead of firing the sleeping guard we gave him an uzi and twice the salary. Everything now is hush hush, so you don't know if they are doing brilliant secret agent things, or spending the money on a better tail-hook party. Just look at the traffic jam in Houston during Rita... and that is perhaps one of the easier large cities to evacuate in the nation; lots of cars, roads, and the whole thing is flat. I heard an estimate (forgot the source) that no large city in the country could evacuate in less than 36 hours.
So we are screwed with any REAL terrorist threat.
I don't think the borders with Mexico will be secure until either they make more than we do or our citizens want to start sneaking out. Note that the new bankruptcy bill revokes any passport that you might have--so this is Funny and Scary -- or Scunny (a new double-plus good word).
Until BushCo starts talking about putting light rail systems in cities, I don't think they have a clue what they are doing with security or even energy policy. In fact, all I am sure they know how to do is gerrymander. Anyway, they aren't the first corrupt political group -- just the most obvious.
I had an idea that instead of trying to detect explosives, you'd hit them with an EMP (in a armored container of course) and set anything explosive off. You could possibly use a multi-spectrum microwave... whatever would induce most explosives to ignite.
You'd definitely have to pull out electronics and batteries--those would be toast. But you would be sure of getting almost any explosive unless it was a binary -- but I think most of those would have at least one highly flammable component.
What do you think Negative Video? You obviously seem to have more of an understanding of explosive chemistry.
You jest, but a detector this sensitive will be going off all the time.
They need analysis of the chemicals involved and some sort of expert system to compute the most likely factors. The Social Engineering issue of a detector going off all the time will lead to exactly the scenario you are talking about -- except without the need to buy 14 more tickets. Terrorists have a low budget, it seems.
Well, they still have all the chemical plants.
Oh, and they can still turn a cell phone or laptop battery into an explosive with a capacitor. I would prefer some hardening inside the plane and fewer but smarter undercover agents. Even once you eliminate any weapon that can get on board a plane (which they can't even seem to accomplish in prison -- much less the airport), there are a lot of things on the plane that can become a weapon (the oxygen tanks for asthmatics, for instance).
Anyway, I'm a lot more worried about a corrupt US government that might allow bad things to happen to further their own power. I need to be convinced that my government actually cares about my welfare. So far, the evidence has been to the contrary.
I was thinking how it would not be so tough for this Robot to correct pronunciation (in marketing terms) if it was giving the kids the word they were supposed to say. Electro-Arf says; "Vote today". Boy responds "Rote todaa". Electro-Arf corrects; "No, Vote Today".
In fact, you could just have a tape recorder and just keep repeating "No [something I just said]".
I mean, we are talking about marketing hype -- not necessarily science. I expect a mass release and huge sales and then this device will show up as a glorified Speak-N-Say at Target for $19.95 in a year once the word gets out. If it is for real, it will be a small initial release because it will need beta testing. I am both being funny and cynical -- or fynical! That's a good marko-speak-word. "No, Cynical, please repeat".
I would think that either, they have negative blacks that suck in light -- or they have a Million Lumen pixel. Or more likely, they are adding all the pixels being light and comparing that to the screen at black.
;-)
This is probably are really great monitor -- but if these specs actually meant something it would mean I would be sitting right in front of a Laser Beam. Tell me this isn't the "Allen Parsons Project" and they don't plan to make Millions and Millions of these screens.
Ergo... Ergo, you guys must be loads of laughs at parties.
... Light as a feather ... you can't feel a thing.
Hot Babe:
Slash Geek: Hey, if it touches me and causes friction, Ergo it causes feeling. That's "Ergo" with a capital "E". Meaning, a significant ergo.
Me: Significant when compared to the vibration of my foot upside your thick skull?
Slash Geek: Even when you compare a miniscule amount to a statistically large quantity--
My foot: "Whack!"
Big Geeky Cranium: "Thump"
Me: I feel better now.
Hot Babe: Oh thank you, I've been trying to ditch his conversation of how TCIP isn't really packets per se all night. Thanks for the rescue.
Me: Don't mention it. Say, have you met my overly loud and vibrating PC? It has some unique features.
Hot Babe: Well I don't really think...
Me: Hey I'm making a dirty joke, we won't do anything but sit on the washer during spin cycle.
Hot Babe: I'll get my coat.
Moral:
OK. Silent PCs are not and never will be totally silent. We get that you guys don't miss anything except for the forest surrounding the trees. Sheesh! But what does this have to do with tolerating the presence of your computer or getting laid?
+4 Insightful?
... live and learn.
Really? I've fricken' put original blueprints on this sight and I'm lucky to get a 3.... you must have been really smart in a previous life or something. I wouldn't say insightful, I'd think you were more of a +4 funny.
Plus whore honey?
No, +4 Funny.
Puss gore sunny?
Never mind. More math that my dog won't understand. Even more futile because I don't have a dog. I've got a very loud PC as well, but it doesn't really bother me either because the interface requires me to cool the CPU with my prostate. It does make my teeth kind of tickle... so the sound isn't quite the issue it used to be. I never thought I'd be biting a pillow this much
Seriously dude?
... so you can't really get the GUI to work without the 256 Meg Card -- it isn't eye candy -- it's the whole interface and resources that will be used by future applications that want to take advantage of the Quartz--I mean Aqua technology. Plus, the services are going to require a processor that hasn't come out yet. All told, do you know of a 3Ghz CPU and 256 Meg 3D card that can run with less than a 400 Watt Power supply?
... Dude ...
... hmmm, Major.
Serious.
Dude?
Yeah. Serious.
Seriously serious.
Dude!
Well what about the minimum specs for the processor and graphics card? Dude?
Dude. Just a little eye candy.
Dude, they are offloading a 3D interface -- just like Core Graphics on the Mac to be rendered by the graphics card
Seriously Dude?
Serious.
Hey, I'm a Mac user and even I know that the specs aren't for eye candy. So serious.
Dude, you're not seriously suggesting that self employment taxes nearly doubled the total revenues to the government?
Yes I am. Like I said, everyone can be rich for a short while on a credit card. The boom was coming whether Reagan was around or not. De-regulating some things made sense, but much of it cost us. Pollution (super fund sites and rivers that actually caught on fire), bank fraud (remember the $500 Billion S&L bailout?), $3 Trillion in debt (which Bush I had to deal with the hangover), and a Iran Contra (weapons to enemies and drug shipments and death squads -- oh my!). We had a 3 times bigger Boom during Clintonomics and had a $5 Trillion surplus. Trickle-down being any good for the average citizen was a huge lie -- often repeated. Much of the actual deregulation of the airlines and other industries was started during Carter's term--though Reagan gets the credit because he talked about it more. Entrepreneurs with small businesses were helped by getting rid of some paperwork. But Self-Employment tax is about equal to Payroll tax -- so isn't that almost doubling a tax? Rob Peter to Pay Paul is not creating money. 1981 was seeing a recession so the Self-Employment Tax was instituted. Thus increasing tax (though a bit less than the rate when Reagan entered office in total). So the economy did improve overall during the 1980s -- just that people were less aware of the tax. This is also when gurus of economics invented theories that deficits were good things.
The debt increase was more than the tax revenue increase for crying out loud... using debt for Taxes is a phony to make the receipts look good. I am for lower taxes if government spending and waste are reduced. Sometimes debt spending can help stimulate the economy, but I prefer FDR's public works projects over Reagan's Star Wars projects because it helps people who need the help. Lowering taxes might increase revenues IF the tax revenue is used to improve infrastructure or create jobs. But as the economy was heating up, a lot of this was moved towards jobs that bled off wealth into military projects.
Just like we are doing now to prop up this economy, only we are also printing paper to buy our own debt.
Nobody has been perfect on the economy. But it comes down to a struggle between money made by Labor, versus money made by Ownership.
Oh and 49% know something? We have a lot more information, but about .001% of the population KNOWS what is going on -- just like in centuries past. I'm guessing you assume you KNOW something. If you knew more you would realize that you don't know much at all. That and spare change will get you Wisdom. That is the problem; information, power, intelligence but no compassion or wisdom. That is what threatens America now.
You seem to take it for granted that war is really-really-bad, and see it as a problem when war is made less-bad, because war is really-really-bad.
When war is made less-bad... hmmm, is it the targeted cluster bomblet or the comfy pillow that would allow for "less-bad" war? You are trying to win by causing pain, death, suffering and confusion in your enemy; is military strategy then, actually moving to the "comfy pillow bomb"?
I didn't make the statement that all war had to be utterly evil. It is always tragic, however. I was talking about our policies in this war not being too concerned about collateral damage because it was all PR spin for US consumption anyway. I didn't say we are doomed because of "kids today!" Boys have always had an affinity for toys that go "boom!" It's just that being enamored of war when you grew up in a mall and just watched Arnold Swazzenegar movies and now you have the chance to vote is pretty scary. But the kids of the past were ignorant, while the PRO WAR kids on this site seem to be willfully ignorant.
Your "objective metrics" are based on what? They lady who was supposed to report on Iraqi casualties got killed when she was returning -- there was all of one person tasked with this job in a country that we ostensibly wanted on our side. I'm going to guess that we have killed or maimed about 300,000 Iraqis in the past 3 years of battle (it started before it was declared). And that there are countless birth defects.
But yes, that is probably less than WW II or the Civil War. Gee, how great. We illegally started a war on phony reasons and now have a civil war and high gas prices and more people are dying to save face for a few.
My main point, and I'll reiterate it; is if we have no control of a policy in a war as a society, then having more lethal and accurate weapons will create more deaths. The easier it gets for us to go to war and kill -- the more likely we will to engage in it.
I have a prediction; as soon as self-satisfied, over fed and spoiled America hits $4 gas prices and doesn't have heating oil for the winter, they are going to turn on Bush. Knowing that we killed the innocent or tortured apparently doesn't annoy enough people, but $200 to fill up an SUV apparently is a hanging offense.
If we didn't have an upcoming Depression, Recession, and Global Warming and we had robo-controlled kill-O-zap ray, we'd be inflicting pain on countless countries for years. That is my point. Convenient+Powerful Weapon does not equal a better lifestyle for America. War is first about diplomacy, about a goal. Good weapons may only help corporations because they make Empire building by the US more palatable.
I wish there were a bit more reading comprehension so I didn't have to say this about 6 times. The B-17 tangent was instructive AND depressing -- whee! It's like teaching math to my dog.
Amen Beej!
... trying to follow some of these PHDs when they are trying to talk to other humans is painful. I had on average, much better teachers when they were NOT PHDs.
... I got a good job before I could finish. In the computer world it seemed that knowledge trumped grades.
Why do we have to stomp on people? Nobody wants to fail at school or feel stupid or lost in a class. Sure there is a lot of "feel good" nonsense with everyone getting an "A" -- but encouragement isn't the problem. I have had a tough life at times and had ridicule and felt like everyone thought I was scum -- and that did nothing to make me strong. No, it is love and encouragement that makes people strong -- every time. If we focus more on better teaching methods than ways to eliminate below par students I think we could actually improve education.
And I'll second your opinion about crappy Teachers at Universities. There is a race to get PHDs at all cost to have credibility among Universities. We had a lot of incomprehensible foreign teachers who must have had a lot of information locked in their educated heads -- because little of it escaped to the class. Enterprising students just created databases of past tests and studied
By they way, I had a 3.4 average, so I'm not bitter or a bad student. I started out having a real hard time in school and later my grades improved as I "figured out" the system. Then, as I realized my grades wouldn't really matter toward a job, I let them slip as I just looked at the college as a resource to get all the computer experience I could get. I didn't bother trying to finish my second degree
A little harsh, don't you think Bender0x7D1?
... it is nice that people can do things in their head or on paper... but does that always make a better engineer? I agree that everyone should understand the basics. But, People like Einstein would never have "made the grade". He was more of a dreamer than a good student. He turned out OK, I guess.
The world needs a little room for people who are not the ultimate. I've known engineers with great grades and true grit and many would never have invented the wheel had it not already been diagrammed. Some people are good at school and some are good at ideas. I've read other posts lamenting calculators
I think this "sink or swim" talk really highlights why people don't want to be engineers. I like science, but I didn't go into engineering because it was very intimidating, and really "what was in it for me?" At the end of the day, we all have dreams and want to at least make a decent living. So if I become an engineer, I spend lots of money, beat my head against a book for a number of years, then, if I'm not the uber engineer, I get a job washing cars. Any half-assed business major can get a decent job that only the elites in engineering get.
If this country were in to creation rather than ownership, we would waste a little more money on people who can do and think. Then the uber engineer would make big bucks, and even mediocre engineers could use software modeling to to more calculations per second than you have done in your entire life (the benefit of a computer--good math skills). The US and even engineers in the field, don't value engineering enough and companies are surprised we can't get good engineers? Wow, what if a CEO took a pay cut to put a few kids through college -- how often does that happen.
The problem is, we just value the WINNER. So everyone wants to be the CEO and many think they are actually going to become the CEO. And then we are frustrated and bitter and scolding people for having to use calculators. Life is tough. Arrrr! I agree there are a lot of lazy students but, it doesn't really pay to work anyway. It's financially more successful to make good connections and hire some bright student from a low wage market and to look good in a suite and spout positive, can do phrases. The guy who you are going to work for is going to know much less math than the parent engineer. Why do you respect him more?
Good point "Voting". Actions and goals are not always the same thing. MS has shown in the past that they will cut dirt cheap deals to keep a country using Microsoft.
But perhaps manipulating Microsoft into a dirt cheap deal or going OSS results in the same thing. Because if it is successful, other countries will do the same thing for leverage.
If People reading the Wall Street Journal, always masters of the obvious, buy the stated reason, then the "Common Knowledge Fact At the Water Cooler" (CKFAWC) will believe that countries are moving to Open Source. So sometimes, the truth is less important than the propaganda. Enough deceit and it becomes true.
Funny how, what the CEO believes becomes the "Common Knowledge".
Not talking to "ldspartan", but to the previous posts. I was trying to make a point that our weapons are TOO good right now, and don't allow for Americans to know what sacrifice is. In WW II, everyone sacrificed for the war effort. I can imagine that in not too long, troops will sit in bunkers with joysticks and will attack remotely. The only people who will see the weapons will be the ones who are about to die. We will be told what the war is about and what great heroes we are. Just like now, but without the inevitable return of troops who will tell a more grim and uncertain story. It is tradition that we send off Conservative Heroes and bring home Liberal Veterans (for the most part). The Government and Big Industry have many stories of glory.
We are doomed. We have children who vote who know more about planes than policy. I could give a sh!t what a dumb ass calls a smart weapon. This seems like the same crowd who talk about typos when they have no argument.
It always amazes me that no matter how much information some people can stuff it their heads, they are still clueless. My point is that our weapons accuracy is not the issue ... it is our policies. If your policies are not to value civilians than we will just have better weapons to kill more innocent people.
And you guys can't get past which plane is dropping the weapon. What does your prostate look like?
Have you inspected it?
I would have said two years ago that my government wouldn't lie about Nukes.
Now it's time for the "shame on you part" because you are obviously setting yourself up to be "fooled again".
Please, continue to trust the ones who lie to you. Government is mother and father.
I don't blame you for your ignorance. A lot of people were told how successful Reagan's economy was. ... lots of debt. Supply Side Economics means increasing Supply creates demand. How many Big Macs can you eat? It essentially is putting money in the hands of the wealthy creates wealth. No, it just distributes it up. The greatest boom in the economy comes from growth in the Middle Class; i.e., FDR pushed "Demand Side Economics". More buyers.
Anyone can be wealthier on a credit card for a few months. That in essence was the Reagan Success
Reagan "doubled the tax base" because in 1981, when the deficits were looking out of control, he implemented the "Self-Employment Tax" which almost doubled taxes. Since your employer pays if FOR you, you might not have known about it. If you work for yourself, you'll notice it doubles your taxes. I'd be for lowering taxes... you have too much waste and spending to cover, however. And as our society gets more complex, we have more shared "infrastructure" to support. A lot of teaching in high school and college fails to really appreciate the REAL economics at play.
And software IS unlimited. After the programmers and lawyers and advertising, it takes about 10 pennies for each new CD. Financial Services ARE unlimited because each account for a bank can be used to loan out 5 to 10 times more money. How much loaned money is then collateral for a new loan? Nobody knows. Is the government paying its own debts with printed fiat paper... somebody knows but not you or I.
And I'm not open to being wrong if its with someone who hasn't said anything I didn't already know about. If you had something new to say besides the usual Conservative theories.
I don't believe it. Like the oil companies saying there is not global warming. Something is causing a lot of child birth defects in Iraq. The Serin gas only has about 5 years and then it becomes mostly harmless. Could be a lot of things.
But there was no evidence for Gulf War Syndrome according to official channels. Non-government research thinks it is Depleted Uranium.
On the TV Show 24, they have multiple images. They control motion and sound to indicate "action". In a circular video, you could easily "direct" attention by increasing activity, sound or some "uniqueness"... it would definitely be more work to pull off. We have been used to a generation of TV and there is a lot of "understanding" between the producer and the audience ... but it isn't necessarily the only way to produce video. When I took classes on the basics, it was interesting to learn the rules of continuity that most of us aren't aware of consciously, but if any of the "rules" are broken, we notice immediately.
... a better witness, where you DON'T want to "direct" the audience. Authenticity or information is a fantastic use for this. Perhaps an undersea IMAX (read "fishbowl"). I would love it, but I doubt you'd want to see an action picture this way. A horror movie would be "too intense" to be enjoyable by anyone sane. Just my two cents.
I think 3D "puppets" of interactive movies are the future. A host system would render the perspective and real actors "script" the actions of the puppets. The wrap-around movie may be interesting as a novelty... but it would take too much of the director and audience (like 3D glasses on pseudo 3d today). I think it may have a great use in documentaries to "make people feel" like they are there
Google Knave; http://www.google.com/search?client=safari&rls=en& q=cluster+bombs+iraqi+neighborhood&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF -8
.... it is the diplomat that sets the agenda for the military. "Shock and Awe" was designed to break the resistance of the Iraqi people before the invasion. If we were supposed to be greeted with flowers, why didn't we just invade? We'd been softening up Iraq for years. In hind-sight it was a bad decision. Had I known that our government was run by such idiots, I would have seen this with fore-sight.
The problem is, everyone has a reality that they accept, and the information to prove or disprove any other reality.
I could have also talked about depleted Uranium and the birth defects it's causing--we all know we used plenty of that in Iraq.
I really cannot be 100% positive of what is happening in Iraq since I am not personally there. I just know that I cannot trust government sources on this. There is also no press "on the ground" -- other than foreign press which paints a different picture.
Just accept the argument that it isn't the weapon's accuracy that is the issue now