People in this thread keep referring to "the Google Van." Around these parts, all the Google vehicles that have been spotted have been hybrid sedans (usually a Toyota Prius). The one I've seen in person (also a Prius), the camera mast was 6 to 7 feet off the ground. As a 6'5" individual, that's kinda of my vantage point anyway. I'm glad I didn't walk past that guy's garden wall!
Ah, yes, that was quite the media brouhaha around these parts last fall. Despite the fact that it later turned out the woman who filed the complaint had been trespassing, cutting through his yard (resulting in her being in a place a normal person would not have been able to see in his kitchen window) he was convicted of indecent exposure a few months later. The judge waived any jail time, saying that he didn't put people in jail for being stupid [referring to the defendant not closing the curtains] or (and I quote) "We'd all be in jail." Despite not getting jail time, the case is being appealed "on principle" according to the man's lawyer.
Of course, in VA, indecent exposure will land you on the sex offender registry, too.
My iPod/iPhone etc. are completely full of independent , unsigned artists. I haven't bought a major label record in at least three or four years, but have bought at least 250 or so CDs (or digital albums) in that same time (and been comped at least as many more).
Most are from local bands, artists my band has toured/played with, and touring bands we've seen when supporting other local artists. It's all about getting out there and seeing what's coming through your town. There is so much amazing talent out there, schlepping it from city to city in a smelly van, who would love nothing more than to know that they've reached one more fan. Patronize your local live music venues and get to know your local and regional acts.
Then comes the important part....educate your friends.
You keep saying "you will be partially at fault," but that is incorrect for most jurisdictions. Maybe in the grand universal karma scheme of things, sure...but not when it comes to issuing citations!
Here in Virginia, if you hit anyone from behind, as far as the law is concerned, it IS your fault. No exceptions. I have rear ended two people, and I have been rear ended three times myself (ah, lovely Northern VA traffic). There is no wiggle room, there is no gray area. The law is very very black and white on this subject.
Recently, an allowance was made for a situation wherein one is cut off just before or during an emergency braking situation. If someone zips in and fills your assured distance zone, thereby eliminating the space you'd been saving to slow down, they can be held responsible. However, this requires that a third-party witness (someone not a passenger in either car involved) testify on your behalf at court (meaning the rear-ender will still be issued a citation and have to go to court to fight it).
This is exactly what happened the last time I hit someone (the guy cut me off just as everyone in my lane hit their brakes). Unfortunately, in my case, none of the other nearby cars bothered to stop (just zoomed around us, honking at us for blocking traffic), so I was unable to provide a non-involved witness at my trial. I had to pay the fine (and deal with the insurance repercussions as my insurer was forced to fix the car of the jackass that cut me off).
Hell, I was told by a friend of mine (a state trooper) that in Virginia one is allowed to back up (yes, reverse) 500 feet on a public highway. If they are hit from behind during this idiotic maneuver, the person hitting from the rear is still charged.
"...But officer, he reversed 550 feet!" Good luck proving that one in court!
Even better, cruise some junkyards, getting plenty of pictures or wrecked, rusting, or otherwise trashed Mustangs, and create a "Rustang of the Month" Calender. Then call up Ford, and follow all the rules to obtain the proper licenses to sell the calendar (though maybe not be so clear with exactly what shape the mustangs are in when you're filling out the forms).
Every picture could have a nice "authorized and licensed by Ford Motor Company" prominently watermarked somewhere on it.
Of course, then you'd need to be able to disappear once they started sending their lawyers after you...
3) A liquor license, even just wine-beer, for R-rated evening showings after 8pm.
Heh, and you somehow think this will help alleviate the irritating behavior described your earlier points? Good luck shushing the asshole on his cell phone once he's got a few beers in him! Ooh, and just wait until he gets pissed at the bad guy's antics, and throws what's left of his latest beer at the screen!
Yep, it did bomb in the theater, but I rather enjoyed it. The acting was decent, the effects good, and the story nowhere near as predicable as the trailer made it out to be. I think they outsmarted themselves with the trailer. In an effort not to give away the real plot, they made the film appear to have a rather formulaic "AI goes crazy, kills humans" story line. Which, it did--at first. If you haven't seen it, it's certainly worth the rental fee.
I'm guessing it was the iguana. That's the only animal I saw, too. You'd think they'd be more specific in the credits. Say something like "Iguana Wrangler." Actually, I'm not even sure it was an iguana. I thought it looked like it was meant to be some sort of alien species...it sure looked a lot knobbier than any iguanas I've ever seen (and I've known some knobby iguanas, I tell you what). Great...now I have to go see it again, just to be sure.....
Is it really as bad as all that? I'm fairly certain my web servers would stand up admirably to a slashdotting. Does anyone have any real numbers on what sort of traffic a good slashdotting generates? Our average daily traffic is six million unique visitors...I can't imagine Slashdot could add that big a percentage of that.
Now mind you, I'm fairly confident, but not certain. I'm not about to challenge the world to "do their worst" against my boxes, so no URL for you!
(Though an intuitive googler could probably figure it out. Oh, and if you *do* think you have it, I'm talking about my work boxes, NOT my personal or band websites. Those? Those would go down with a whiff of magic smoke in a hurry!)
Horses, which also learn pretty quickly how to open doors (especially when said door leads to an area containing food), are also some the most brain-dead, stupid, idiotic (did I mention STUPID?) animals to have graced this planet. They have only three moods I'll call "eating," "sleeping," and "complete, utter panic."
Revenge of the nerds indeed! The original post referred to the NFL, or National *Football* League. Football is a sport where the ball is not hit, as mentioned in the parent, so much as it is tossed and carried.
Haven't much watched anything other than Battlebots, eh?
Because the article said "T. Kennedy" was on the list, and he was detained. Why a "T. Kennedy" was stopped when his name is Edward, who knows. Perhaps he waddled up to the ticket counter and told the agent he was Ted Kennedy. See, if he'd just gone by his given name, all this could have been avoided.
Actually, Apple does allow test drives of their equipment. With each successive release of newer Xserve models, Apple sends us a couple of them to bang on for a few months. They did the same thing for the Xserve RAID. I was pretty sad when I had to send that one back...that's a great piece of swag.
Now, they send equipment knowing that once we've done our testing, that we'll put in a nice big order of Xserves or a couple of RAIDs. It certainly is nice to have them around to try and break before they end up in production, though.
Nothing looks as cool as racks of shiny brushed aluminum Xserves. And the RAIDs! Lots of pretty lights. Our Mac racks are always a destination when our Network PM (who really hates us and our Macs) is showing VIPs around the server room. They get a lot of "oohs" and "aahs" that the endless rows of Sun boxes don't. (Plus, it's fun when I get to compare the capabilities of a $4000 Xserve to a $40,000 Sun, and the Xserve comes out on top. Big effing deal it only has one power supply--his main complaint--redundant servers are cost effective at that price point!)
Anyway, if you're a high enough profile client, Apple is very accommodating.
I don't know about you, but having a big-ass section of wall falling towards me would make my nipples go soft pretty fast! Probably also cause some retreating further south.
Glad to see other folks noticed the nippin' going on there. The slight under-my-breath invuluntary "ooh" that escaped was enough to earn me a punch in the arm and a dirty look from my girlfriend.
Hmmm..I wonder what they'd take as tax payment then? 4.5% of three cows and a goat (a good trade for a Jet Ski, I'd say) would come to what, five chickens and a sack of grain?
I'm not sure about your state, but here in VA if one buys a car (either used or new) from a retailer or private party, it is taxed.
Legally, any good that is sold, whether it be the first time or resale is subject to state sales tax.
Cars are easy for the state to keep track of. When you go to register a new (to you) vehicle, the DMV makes you pay the tax before you can continue. It's a little bit harder for them to send a tax inspector to every yard sale and flea market. They know when to choose their battles.
From a cube-mate who recently bought a boat: Watercraft are also taxed in this manner (here in VA).
In my HS, the "in" crowd also were all good students, taking honors and AP classes. Now, being smart didn't make one part of that crowd. Proficiency in athletics was the other requirement. Believe you me, no one who ever took woodshop, industrial arts, or got less than a C in any class for a marking period would ever have been accepted to that crowd.
Of course, while mine was a public school, it still was pretty snobby (I'd estimate 35% or more got Bimmers on their 16th b'day). We had a fairly sizable farmer contingent, but they mostly kept to themselves (in woodshop, hehe). Then there were the usual other circles: stoners, goth kids, band geeks, etc.
Believe it or not, football players weren't the "in" jocks, either. One had to be a soccer or lacrosse player to be one of the elite.
I kinda surfed the edges of all the cliques. I was an honor student, and a starter on the soccer team...but was also in the marching band, which tempered my popularity quite a bit. Oh well, I still had a good time.
Slashdot Mirror
Well not yet, of course...but a guy can dream!
Heh, I can easily peer over a 2m wall. Would it be illegal for me to walk around the streets of residential Tokyo?
"That gaijin is too tall! Arrest him!"
People in this thread keep referring to "the Google Van." Around these parts, all the Google vehicles that have been spotted have been hybrid sedans (usually a Toyota Prius). The one I've seen in person (also a Prius), the camera mast was 6 to 7 feet off the ground. As a 6'5" individual, that's kinda of my vantage point anyway. I'm glad I didn't walk past that guy's garden wall!
Ah, yes, that was quite the media brouhaha around these parts last fall. Despite the fact that it later turned out the woman who filed the complaint had been trespassing, cutting through his yard (resulting in her being in a place a normal person would not have been able to see in his kitchen window) he was convicted of indecent exposure a few months later. The judge waived any jail time, saying that he didn't put people in jail for being stupid [referring to the defendant not closing the curtains] or (and I quote) "We'd all be in jail." Despite not getting jail time, the case is being appealed "on principle" according to the man's lawyer.
Of course, in VA, indecent exposure will land you on the sex offender registry, too.
I wish I had some mod points right now...
My iPod/iPhone etc. are completely full of independent , unsigned artists. I haven't bought a major label record in at least three or four years, but have bought at least 250 or so CDs (or digital albums) in that same time (and been comped at least as many more).
Most are from local bands, artists my band has toured/played with, and touring bands we've seen when supporting other local artists. It's all about getting out there and seeing what's coming through your town. There is so much amazing talent out there, schlepping it from city to city in a smelly van, who would love nothing more than to know that they've reached one more fan. Patronize your local live music venues and get to know your local and regional acts.
Then comes the important part....educate your friends.
You keep saying "you will be partially at fault," but that is incorrect for most jurisdictions. Maybe in the grand universal karma scheme of things, sure...but not when it comes to issuing citations!
Here in Virginia, if you hit anyone from behind, as far as the law is concerned, it IS your fault. No exceptions. I have rear ended two people, and I have been rear ended three times myself (ah, lovely Northern VA traffic). There is no wiggle room, there is no gray area. The law is very very black and white on this subject.
Recently, an allowance was made for a situation wherein one is cut off just before or during an emergency braking situation. If someone zips in and fills your assured distance zone, thereby eliminating the space you'd been saving to slow down, they can be held responsible. However, this requires that a third-party witness (someone not a passenger in either car involved) testify on your behalf at court (meaning the rear-ender will still be issued a citation and have to go to court to fight it).
This is exactly what happened the last time I hit someone (the guy cut me off just as everyone in my lane hit their brakes). Unfortunately, in my case, none of the other nearby cars bothered to stop (just zoomed around us, honking at us for blocking traffic), so I was unable to provide a non-involved witness at my trial. I had to pay the fine (and deal with the insurance repercussions as my insurer was forced to fix the car of the jackass that cut me off).
Hell, I was told by a friend of mine (a state trooper) that in Virginia one is allowed to back up (yes, reverse) 500 feet on a public highway. If they are hit from behind during this idiotic maneuver, the person hitting from the rear is still charged.
"...But officer, he reversed 550 feet!" Good luck proving that one in court!
See you tomorrow I guess...
Haha...okay that made me laugh. Wish I had some mod points at the moment. Sorry to step in you guys' argument! Carry on!
Even better, cruise some junkyards, getting plenty of pictures or wrecked, rusting, or otherwise trashed Mustangs, and create a "Rustang of the Month" Calender. Then call up Ford, and follow all the rules to obtain the proper licenses to sell the calendar (though maybe not be so clear with exactly what shape the mustangs are in when you're filling out the forms).
Every picture could have a nice "authorized and licensed by Ford Motor Company" prominently watermarked somewhere on it.
Of course, then you'd need to be able to disappear once they started sending their lawyers after you...
...like they do for Gmail users losing data? Google, the first step is admitting you have a problem....
Disappearing Gmail messages baffle users
75 meters under the ground? 16,000 meters under water? There are going to be some very unhappy governments if that were the case. I call shenanigans!
3) A liquor license, even just wine-beer, for R-rated evening showings after 8pm.
Heh, and you somehow think this will help alleviate the irritating behavior described your earlier points? Good luck shushing the asshole on his cell phone once he's got a few beers in him! Ooh, and just wait until he gets pissed at the bad guy's antics, and throws what's left of his latest beer at the screen!
Yep, it did bomb in the theater, but I rather enjoyed it. The acting was decent, the effects good, and the story nowhere near as predicable as the trailer made it out to be. I think they outsmarted themselves with the trailer. In an effort not to give away the real plot, they made the film appear to have a rather formulaic "AI goes crazy, kills humans" story line. Which, it did--at first. If you haven't seen it, it's certainly worth the rental fee.
I'm guessing it was the iguana. That's the only animal I saw, too. You'd think they'd be more specific in the credits. Say something like "Iguana Wrangler." Actually, I'm not even sure it was an iguana. I thought it looked like it was meant to be some sort of alien species...it sure looked a lot knobbier than any iguanas I've ever seen (and I've known some knobby iguanas, I tell you what). Great...now I have to go see it again, just to be sure.....
Is it really as bad as all that? I'm fairly certain my web servers would stand up admirably to a slashdotting. Does anyone have any real numbers on what sort of traffic a good slashdotting generates? Our average daily traffic is six million unique visitors...I can't imagine Slashdot could add that big a percentage of that.
Now mind you, I'm fairly confident, but not certain. I'm not about to challenge the world to "do their worst" against my boxes, so no URL for you!
(Though an intuitive googler could probably figure it out. Oh, and if you *do* think you have it, I'm talking about my work boxes, NOT my personal or band websites. Those? Those would go down with a whiff of magic smoke in a hurry!)
Cheers
What are you talking about? You just posted about it!
(horse owners will know what I mean here).
Agreed. Chokecherry trees must taste REALLY good.
Horses, which also learn pretty quickly how to open doors (especially when said door leads to an area containing food), are also some the most brain-dead, stupid, idiotic (did I mention STUPID?) animals to have graced this planet. They have only three moods I'll call "eating," "sleeping," and "complete, utter panic."
As a kid I ran over one with my bike. I continued to go back and forth on top of him.
Dude, you ever get those issues worked out? That's a little...intense.
Revenge of the nerds indeed! The original post referred to the NFL, or National *Football* League. Football is a sport where the ball is not hit, as mentioned in the parent, so much as it is tossed and carried.
Haven't much watched anything other than Battlebots, eh?
NO WE DON'T!!!
er...wait...
Damn.
Because the article said "T. Kennedy" was on the list, and he was detained. Why a "T. Kennedy" was stopped when his name is Edward, who knows. Perhaps he waddled up to the ticket counter and told the agent he was Ted Kennedy. See, if he'd just gone by his given name, all this could have been avoided.
Actually, Apple does allow test drives of their equipment. With each successive release of newer Xserve models, Apple sends us a couple of them to bang on for a few months. They did the same thing for the Xserve RAID. I was pretty sad when I had to send that one back...that's a great piece of swag.
Now, they send equipment knowing that once we've done our testing, that we'll put in a nice big order of Xserves or a couple of RAIDs. It certainly is nice to have them around to try and break before they end up in production, though.
Nothing looks as cool as racks of shiny brushed aluminum Xserves. And the RAIDs! Lots of pretty lights. Our Mac racks are always a destination when our Network PM (who really hates us and our Macs) is showing VIPs around the server room. They get a lot of "oohs" and "aahs" that the endless rows of Sun boxes don't. (Plus, it's fun when I get to compare the capabilities of a $4000 Xserve to a $40,000 Sun, and the Xserve comes out on top. Big effing deal it only has one power supply--his main complaint--redundant servers are cost effective at that price point!)
Anyway, if you're a high enough profile client, Apple is very accommodating.
I don't know about you, but having a big-ass section of wall falling towards me would make my nipples go soft pretty fast! Probably also cause some retreating further south.
Glad to see other folks noticed the nippin' going on there. The slight under-my-breath invuluntary "ooh" that escaped was enough to earn me a punch in the arm and a dirty look from my girlfriend.
Hmmm..I wonder what they'd take as tax payment then? 4.5% of three cows and a goat (a good trade for a Jet Ski, I'd say) would come to what, five chickens and a sack of grain?
I'm not sure about your state, but here in VA if one buys a car (either used or new) from a retailer or private party, it is taxed.
Legally, any good that is sold, whether it be the first time or resale is subject to state sales tax.
Cars are easy for the state to keep track of. When you go to register a new (to you) vehicle, the DMV makes you pay the tax before you can continue. It's a little bit harder for them to send a tax inspector to every yard sale and flea market. They know when to choose their battles.
From a cube-mate who recently bought a boat: Watercraft are also taxed in this manner (here in VA).
Yah, I gotta agree with you Johnny.
In my HS, the "in" crowd also were all good students, taking honors and AP classes. Now, being smart didn't make one part of that crowd. Proficiency in athletics was the other requirement. Believe you me, no one who ever took woodshop, industrial arts, or got less than a C in any class for a marking period would ever have been accepted to that crowd.
Of course, while mine was a public school, it still was pretty snobby (I'd estimate 35% or more got Bimmers on their 16th b'day). We had a fairly sizable farmer contingent, but they mostly kept to themselves (in woodshop, hehe). Then there were the usual other circles: stoners, goth kids, band geeks, etc.
Believe it or not, football players weren't the "in" jocks, either. One had to be a soccer or lacrosse player to be one of the elite.
I kinda surfed the edges of all the cliques. I was an honor student, and a starter on the soccer team...but was also in the marching band, which tempered my popularity quite a bit. Oh well, I still had a good time.