You are over reacting, perhaps because you don't really understand the nature of the threat. Yes, there are people who do not like our way of life, but they are not a threat to the integrity of the nation in a way that communism or fascism was. Sadly, they've been successful in manipulating us so that we do the job for them.
Terrorists are bad, dangerous people that should be stopped. But they are not a threat and we are not in a war on terror anymore that we are in a war on drugs or war on poverty or a war on the environment or any other retarded hyperbole. Get a grip.
Yeah, I fell victim to hyperbole in my haste to post. "Missed by many" would have been a better way to put it. Or maybe "missed by many would would benefit from being aware." Or maybe even "missed by everyone that isn't missing it", for logical consistency.
Being friends with people who you couldn't relate to beforehand broadens your mind in the way that mere access to the wealth of information the Internet provides can't. It's all too easy to be like a person in a exotic foreign bazaar who heads right to the McDonald's for a Big Mac. Pretty soon your circle of friends contracts until you and your asscoiates in the Virtual Jihadist club reinforce each other in a very peculiar and narrow minded world view.
This is an excellent point that continually is missed by most everyone. Not only has increased use of the internet for socializatoin lead to a decrease in the quality of friendships, it's made it more difficult to access to wider viewpoints. Most of the comments thus far on this story miss the point that it isn't contact with others that is under analysis, it's the quality of the relationship. For those of you shrugging off this news with the attitude that you've got more and better friends thanks to the internet, ask yourself how many of those friends you can talk about serious problems with. How many of them provide the emotional support that we depend on in extreme situations? I'm not at all surprised that the article reports that families are becoming the only contact of this caliber.
But above and beyond that, the internet, in all of its glory, its very susceptible to becoming an unintentional and unrecognized echo chamber. It's all too easy to spend time on sites that have information that conforms and confirms our cherished beliefs and attitudes. People have to make an effort to read about a variety of viewpoints, but that doesn't happen as much as it ideally would. There are associated risks of these echoes building up and more and more issues become polarized as a result as well.
I'm not saying that the internet is bad or that we need to find a way to "fix" this problem. But I do think that these trends are real and have real effects on the meatspace society we inhabit as well. For the most part, it is just going to result in a change, neither really better or worse, just different. But it may have a measurable, or at least significant, impact on people, either as communities or on an individual level, be it the fraying of civic ties or simply not having anyone to turn to in times of crisis and need.
It's such a shame that Feynman is gone. Have you seen the video of him on video.google.com? I don't have the link handy, but if you search for Feynman I think it's the only result. The first part is him talking about the exact example you mentioned and is transcribed in his books, but the later part seemed new to me. Maybe i just don't remember it from the book, or maybe its new (to me) material. Either way, it's cool seeing him talk.
1) Is it going to be region coded such that if I buy my console in Japan, I won't be able to play US-released games? I hate having to import my consoles back to Japan just to play games in my native language.
2) In spite of Nintendo's "bad' reputation as a kids' console, I'm excited about the potential for the new controller and gaming with my 3 year old. What kind of games are on the horizon here.
3) I know I said 2 questions, but I have one more: Is there a reliable site where I can get common sense news without a lot of hype, hyperbole, and marketing schmooze? I don't have time to sift the chaff and just want to know some fundamental aspects of the new system.
> but those rules should not be policed by government
If the government doesn't police them, who does? Private security? Posses? Vigilantes? Surely you aren't suggesting we have no system of enforcement of agreed-upon rules for conduct.
Technic Design School explains concepts behind the Technic line. I don't think there is much wrong with LEGO except perhaps not enough shelf space. But there is plenty available online.
Everyone should notice the general theme of doing things with children. Parenting isn't a job that you should approach like most others. It's more of an occupation, or even better, a cooperative activity that you undertake with the kids, all the time. Sure, everyone wants time to themselves and has stuff they have to do around the house, but doing things with them will keep them stimulated and curious about the world, not to mention build good family relationships.
Your view must have been obscured then. I watched the webcast that had a clear unobstructed angle and Steve tossed it (didn't THROW it) to a person sitting nearby. I've heard (unconfirmed) that the camera had worked flawlessly in practice runs before the keynote but in the process drained its battery, which is why it didn't work in the demo.
People have really blown it out of proportion and make it sound like Steve threw a fit. He didn't. He wanted to, I think, but didn't. He tried to blow it off with a "oh well, whatever. let's move on" gesture. I seem to remember him even shrugging a bit when he did it, but I can't say for sure if my memory is accurate on that point.
I metamoderated on this comment and thought that it was really good, so I posted this followup too. This sentiment needs a wider following and national attention.
What the hell does that wired link have to do with anything? Security lapses at Los Alamos and a laser that fucked up someone's eye because they didn't realize it was turned on? Huh?
My college, a small private women's college in Japan, gave (actually rolled the cost into student fees) 15G iPods to this year's incoming class of freshman. We pre-installed a series of listening materials (conversations, etc) and are involved in developing more advanced and comprehensive materials for future classes. We've been covered in MacFan magazine here but I don't think its been published in English.
It's been a good program so far and a large percentage of students are using the machines. Unfortunately many of our students are computer illiterate or have very low skills and thus aren't able to use the iPod on their own for personal study or amusement. But we're off in the right direction and the program will be getting better as it grows, undoubtedly.
We might go with iPod minis next year since they don't need the extra space. We are encouraging students to use them as hard disks as well as listening devices.
I thought you were being useful and poignant. I think it is a bit ironic that such a milestone track is actually available for free. I guess free doesn't really equal bad after all, does it?
I had a discussion and ended up giving a lecture to the Japanese postal worker who required me to fill out my address and phone number and provide official ID in order to by a $13 money order. I asked why it was important to have my info (as well as the info of the recieving party) in order to send him a few $$ and was told that it was security, what with all the terrorists running around. When he asked for the reason why I was sending the money and I just said it was a gift (it was actually for an XBox game I bought from a friend), he was stymied and wanted me to give more specific information.
Why does it matter what my name, address, phone number or reasons are for wanting a money order? I realize that money lenders (post offices in Japan also have banking services and are the best (only?) place to get international Money Orders) want to keep track of money transfers and that unregulated transfers aren't cool in their eyes, but what is the difference between buying US cash dollars and sending them and buying a money order. I get a bit of security in the money order in that only the recipient can cash it, but does that security necessitate my personal information? I can hardly see how.
Now I doubt that I made it clear that this is the linked article, not one of my own experiences. Hopefully his site holds up and this is irrelevant and modded Troll.
After my successful social engineering attempt at work, the District Loss Prevention Supervisor asked me if I would do some penetration testing at some of the stores in his district. I made my first attempt today and the following story tells the tale.
All names, places, titles, and work related information have been changed for the sake of security and privacy. The following article is NOT a textbook for stealing/shoplifting. The following article IS a resource for all security personnel to use as a means of training and defense against social engineering.
I decided to work a short day today so I only had time to make my attempts on two stores. I met the District Loss Prevention Supervisor (Charles) at 7a.m. in Middleville and asked him a few questions before I got started. He told me that he and a few of his plain clothed security guys had done this in the past and one of them held the record in the district for getting out the door without getting stopped with a $400 DVD player. I assumed that it must have been a while since that happened if the price was that high. What I said to him next really peaked his interest.
Isreal: "Man, I'm about to walk out that door with $4000 worth of merchandise and I'll stop and talk to a cashier on the way out."
His eyes almost fell out of his head, but the look quickly turned to one of disbelief.
Charles: "OK Isreal, lets try and be a bit more serious about this. I REALLY want to know if my people are doing their jobs."
After trying to get him to place a friendly wager on my prediction, and failing, I headed for the doors. I was wearing a black collared polo shirt and khaki pants. I didn't want to look completely like a bum, but at the same time, thought a shirt and tie would be too much of an advantage for me. I was in the center of middle-class America and wanted to blend in.
I decided I would start off by taking a quick walk around the store just to get a feel for the place, and to see how many employees were on the salesfloor. It seemed like everywhere I turned, a different employee was asking me if I needed any help so I figured I had better make my move quick and get out the door since the plan I had in mind required me to do so.
I walked into the back "employees only" area of the store behind a group (3) of people who looked like they were just arriving to work. I followed one of the girls as she was taking off her jacket so I could take a look at the coat rack. I was hoping to find an employee's work vest hanging around and I wasn't disappointed. I know that most overnighters could care less about taking them home to wash and there were plenty to choose from. I quickly checked through them for a name badge, but wasn't quite as lucky as I was hoping to be so I took the cleanest one I could find and headed for the warehouse.
As I walked down the back hallway, I took quick glances in every room looking for an emply one. I didn't find any so I asked an employee where the breakroom was and headed in that direction. I was trying to find some paperwork that I could carry into the warehouse to use as 'official company documents'. I hit the jackpot when I opened the breakroom door when I noticed that the store had a seperate room for smokers as well, so I decided that I had worked hard enough so far and I deserved a break. After a refreshing dose of a nicotine inhaler I was back on the job. A quick survey of the non-smoking break room turned up a printout of employees who were scheduled to work that day. I knew that Charles wouldn't be happy to know that it was left lying around for anyone to pick up so it was going to serve a dual purpose.
1. The printout would guarantee that Charles would chew out the stores management for letting something like that get out of their site.
2. It would function as the 'official document' that I would need to complete my objective.
I folded up my paperwork and headed for the store's warehouse. I entered the warehouse like I owned the plac
The modifiers keys are always right at hand, on a laptop moreso than a desktop even. It really isn't needed at all, although it does take a slight shift in usage patterns. It's a pretty shallow curve, as even I adjust to it quickly. I use a MS trackball explorer on my desktop with all sorts of buttons and mappings, but modifier keys on my laptop, no trouble.
Slashdot Mirror
Amen to the bit about Twilight 2000.
You are over reacting, perhaps because you don't really understand the nature of the threat. Yes, there are people who do not like our way of life, but they are not a threat to the integrity of the nation in a way that communism or fascism was. Sadly, they've been successful in manipulating us so that we do the job for them.
Terrorists are bad, dangerous people that should be stopped. But they are not a threat and we are not in a war on terror anymore that we are in a war on drugs or war on poverty or a war on the environment or any other retarded hyperbole. Get a grip.
I'd consider switching if OmniOutliner, OmniGraffle, and OmniWeb were available on Linux. But they aren't, so I won't.
Linux is the worst thing since raping puppies and drowning children?
Yeah, I fell victim to hyperbole in my haste to post. "Missed by many" would have been a better way to put it. Or maybe "missed by many would would benefit from being aware." Or maybe even "missed by everyone that isn't missing it", for logical consistency.
Being friends with people who you couldn't relate to beforehand broadens your mind in the way that mere access to the wealth of information the Internet provides can't. It's all too easy to be like a person in a exotic foreign bazaar who heads right to the McDonald's for a Big Mac. Pretty soon your circle of friends contracts until you and your asscoiates in the Virtual Jihadist club reinforce each other in a very peculiar and narrow minded world view.
This is an excellent point that continually is missed by most everyone. Not only has increased use of the internet for socializatoin lead to a decrease in the quality of friendships, it's made it more difficult to access to wider viewpoints. Most of the comments thus far on this story miss the point that it isn't contact with others that is under analysis, it's the quality of the relationship. For those of you shrugging off this news with the attitude that you've got more and better friends thanks to the internet, ask yourself how many of those friends you can talk about serious problems with. How many of them provide the emotional support that we depend on in extreme situations? I'm not at all surprised that the article reports that families are becoming the only contact of this caliber.
But above and beyond that, the internet, in all of its glory, its very susceptible to becoming an unintentional and unrecognized echo chamber. It's all too easy to spend time on sites that have information that conforms and confirms our cherished beliefs and attitudes. People have to make an effort to read about a variety of viewpoints, but that doesn't happen as much as it ideally would. There are associated risks of these echoes building up and more and more issues become polarized as a result as well.
I'm not saying that the internet is bad or that we need to find a way to "fix" this problem. But I do think that these trends are real and have real effects on the meatspace society we inhabit as well. For the most part, it is just going to result in a change, neither really better or worse, just different. But it may have a measurable, or at least significant, impact on people, either as communities or on an individual level, be it the fraying of civic ties or simply not having anyone to turn to in times of crisis and need.
It's such a shame that Feynman is gone. Have you seen the video of him on video.google.com? I don't have the link handy, but if you search for Feynman I think it's the only result. The first part is him talking about the exact example you mentioned and is transcribed in his books, but the later part seemed new to me. Maybe i just don't remember it from the book, or maybe its new (to me) material. Either way, it's cool seeing him talk.
Thanks for this info. I had no idea it was going to be that small. Shame about the region encoding though. That shit needs to die.
1) Is it going to be region coded such that if I buy my console in Japan, I won't be able to play US-released games? I hate having to import my consoles back to Japan just to play games in my native language.
2) In spite of Nintendo's "bad' reputation as a kids' console, I'm excited about the potential for the new controller and gaming with my 3 year old. What kind of games are on the horizon here.
3) I know I said 2 questions, but I have one more: Is there a reliable site where I can get common sense news without a lot of hype, hyperbole, and marketing schmooze? I don't have time to sift the chaff and just want to know some fundamental aspects of the new system.
My mortgage is .95%, but I live in Japan.
> but those rules should not be policed by government
If the government doesn't police them, who does? Private security? Posses? Vigilantes? Surely you aren't suggesting we have no system of enforcement of agreed-upon rules for conduct.
Technic Design School explains concepts behind the Technic line. I don't think there is much wrong with LEGO except perhaps not enough shelf space. But there is plenty available online.
I just wish the Technic crane didn't cost $150.
Good stuff here. Thanks for the post.
Everyone should notice the general theme of doing things with children. Parenting isn't a job that you should approach like most others. It's more of an occupation, or even better, a cooperative activity that you undertake with the kids, all the time. Sure, everyone wants time to themselves and has stuff they have to do around the house, but doing things with them will keep them stimulated and curious about the world, not to mention build good family relationships.
People have really blown it out of proportion and make it sound like Steve threw a fit. He didn't. He wanted to, I think, but didn't. He tried to blow it off with a "oh well, whatever. let's move on" gesture. I seem to remember him even shrugging a bit when he did it, but I can't say for sure if my memory is accurate on that point.
Nice post.
I metamoderated on this comment and thought that it was really good, so I posted this followup too. This sentiment needs a wider following and national attention.
What the hell does that wired link have to do with anything? Security lapses at Los Alamos and a laser that fucked up someone's eye because they didn't realize it was turned on? Huh?
My college, a small private women's college in Japan, gave (actually rolled the cost into student fees) 15G iPods to this year's incoming class of freshman. We pre-installed a series of listening materials (conversations, etc) and are involved in developing more advanced and comprehensive materials for future classes. We've been covered in MacFan magazine here but I don't think its been published in English.
It's been a good program so far and a large percentage of students are using the machines. Unfortunately many of our students are computer illiterate or have very low skills and thus aren't able to use the iPod on their own for personal study or amusement. But we're off in the right direction and the program will be getting better as it grows, undoubtedly.
We might go with iPod minis next year since they don't need the extra space. We are encouraging students to use them as hard disks as well as listening devices.
I thought you were being useful and poignant. I think it is a bit ironic that such a milestone track is actually available for free. I guess free doesn't really equal bad after all, does it?
How can this be flamebait?
I had a discussion and ended up giving a lecture to the Japanese postal worker who required me to fill out my address and phone number and provide official ID in order to by a $13 money order. I asked why it was important to have my info (as well as the info of the recieving party) in order to send him a few $$ and was told that it was security, what with all the terrorists running around. When he asked for the reason why I was sending the money and I just said it was a gift (it was actually for an XBox game I bought from a friend), he was stymied and wanted me to give more specific information.
Why does it matter what my name, address, phone number or reasons are for wanting a money order? I realize that money lenders (post offices in Japan also have banking services and are the best (only?) place to get international Money Orders) want to keep track of money transfers and that unregulated transfers aren't cool in their eyes, but what is the difference between buying US cash dollars and sending them and buying a money order. I get a bit of security in the money order in that only the recipient can cash it, but does that security necessitate my personal information? I can hardly see how.
Really? I thought it was only 90 minutes if you use the "Better Performance" option.
Now I doubt that I made it clear that this is the linked article, not one of my own experiences. Hopefully his site holds up and this is irrelevant and modded Troll.
After my successful social engineering attempt at work, the District Loss Prevention Supervisor asked me if I would do some penetration testing at some of the stores in his district. I made my first attempt today and the following story tells the tale.
All names, places, titles, and work related information have been changed for the sake of security and privacy. The following article is NOT a textbook for stealing/shoplifting. The following article IS a resource for all security personnel to use as a means of training and defense against social engineering.
I decided to work a short day today so I only had time to make my attempts on two stores. I met the District Loss Prevention Supervisor (Charles) at 7a.m. in Middleville and asked him a few questions before I got started. He told me that he and a few of his plain clothed security guys had done this in the past and one of them held the record in the district for getting out the door without getting stopped with a $400 DVD player. I assumed that it must have been a while since that happened if the price was that high. What I said to him next really peaked his interest.
Isreal: "Man, I'm about to walk out that door with $4000 worth of merchandise and I'll stop and talk to a cashier on the way out."
His eyes almost fell out of his head, but the look quickly turned to one of disbelief.
Charles: "OK Isreal, lets try and be a bit more serious about this. I REALLY want to know if my people are doing their jobs."
After trying to get him to place a friendly wager on my prediction, and failing, I headed for the doors. I was wearing a black collared polo shirt and khaki pants. I didn't want to look completely like a bum, but at the same time, thought a shirt and tie would be too much of an advantage for me. I was in the center of middle-class America and wanted to blend in.
I decided I would start off by taking a quick walk around the store just to get a feel for the place, and to see how many employees were on the salesfloor. It seemed like everywhere I turned, a different employee was asking me if I needed any help so I figured I had better make my move quick and get out the door since the plan I had in mind required me to do so.
I walked into the back "employees only" area of the store behind a group (3) of people who looked like they were just arriving to work. I followed one of the girls as she was taking off her jacket so I could take a look at the coat rack. I was hoping to find an employee's work vest hanging around and I wasn't disappointed. I know that most overnighters could care less about taking them home to wash and there were plenty to choose from. I quickly checked through them for a name badge, but wasn't quite as lucky as I was hoping to be so I took the cleanest one I could find and headed for the warehouse.
As I walked down the back hallway, I took quick glances in every room looking for an emply one. I didn't find any so I asked an employee where the breakroom was and headed in that direction. I was trying to find some paperwork that I could carry into the warehouse to use as 'official company documents'. I hit the jackpot when I opened the breakroom door when I noticed that the store had a seperate room for smokers as well, so I decided that I had worked hard enough so far and I deserved a break. After a refreshing dose of a nicotine inhaler I was back on the job. A quick survey of the non-smoking break room turned up a printout of employees who were scheduled to work that day. I knew that Charles wouldn't be happy to know that it was left lying around for anyone to pick up so it was going to serve a dual purpose.
1. The printout would guarantee that Charles would chew out the stores management for letting something like that get out of their site.
2. It would function as the 'official document' that I would need to complete my objective.
I folded up my paperwork and headed for the store's warehouse. I entered the warehouse like I owned the plac
The modifiers keys are always right at hand, on a laptop moreso than a desktop even. It really isn't needed at all, although it does take a slight shift in usage patterns. It's a pretty shallow curve, as even I adjust to it quickly. I use a MS trackball explorer on my desktop with all sorts of buttons and mappings, but modifier keys on my laptop, no trouble.