Not to be too conspiratorial, but in my opinion Dean's campaign, which was successful up until Iowa, was executed by a terrified Democratic National Committee. They knew he had the charisma and the message to energize a new kind of Democrat that would radically skew primary voter demographics to the far left of center, and easily win the nomination.
The problem is that Far Left, and Far Right are pretty balanced in percentage and pretty much guaranteed to vote for their respective candidate. The middle of the electorate somehow lacks the brain power to make a decision until the day of the election, and it is the middle ground voters that both Republicans and Democrats have to convince for any hope of winning a national election.
The crux of the matter is that Democrats were too afraid that Dean would alienate this middle ground who would then flock to Bush for safety from the scary leftist man. It is, in my opinion, a symptom of the larger problem Democrats have which is A LACK OF BALLS, political gumption, willingness to take risks. It makes their politics bland and in most cases its hard to tell the Democrats apart from Republicans. The Democrats wanted a safe choice for candidate; and so they chose John Kerry, who for all the Republican ads proclaiming him as liberal as Ted Kennedy, has all the charisma of a chia pet and is only slightly more inspiring than the wooden Al Gore was in 2000.
In some ways, I suppose Kerry is the perfect candidate for the Democratic Party. In one body, he sums up the total lack of direction the DNC has at the moment. He just complains that things need to change without really putting forth any plans for doing so. And in the rare instance that he does, its a weak and watered down idea designed, once again, to avoid alienation of that key center of the electorate.
Its a shame that Dean had to be brought down in this election cycle. I really feel like he had the will and the ability to make a change in American politics. For once, there was a candidate who appeared to have a strong message and mostly non-compromising stand on issues. I think that if he had been allowed to run he might have brought some sorely needed new life into the Democratic Party, maybe even enough to offset whatever segments of the middle ground he might have alienated with his Progressive ideas.
Democrats could learn a thing or two from Republicans in the area of taking risks. In the 90's, Republicans figured out that there was a base of rabid Christian conservatives begging for recognition, and they effectively leveraged their fanatical conservatism to win both the House, the Senate, and later the Presidency (though the term winning in that case is subjective and open for interpretation). The Republicans took a risk of alienating the key center ground with a Far Right enhanced agenda with the hope that any losses would be offset by their new Christian Coalition friends, and their gamble paid off in spades. Democrats could learn a thing or two here.
While I understand that the issues on the left are generally more emotionally charged (gay rights, abortion, etc.) and carry a greater risk of alienation, there is a huge pool of apathetic potential voters out there with a Progressive mindset that would vote if they were stroked in the right way with some political attention to things other than social security (THEY WILL NEVER SEE IT). It's no wonder voter turnout has been declining for decades. People feel zero connection with politics anymore because it's only peripherally connected to any concerns they have, and they are cynical that politicians only care about votes (which is true). I also believe people have a greater understanding of how politics really work now, that is to say that your elected representatives do not represent YOU, they represent the goal of their party to stay in power. It's sad, and it weakens our republic. This is the other part of why Dean had to go--he wouldn't necessarily tow the party line.
Why should the pulp industry care whether hemp is illegal?
They care because the paper companies own most of the logging rights to the forrests from which their pulp comes from. This effectively shuts out competition because all of the wood is spoken for. If, on the other hand, hemp could be easily grown anywhere and processed into paper that would mean anybody could easily enter into the market. Its just another example of protectionism in our so called capitalist society.
I realize that they are doing multiple layers here, but I have to wonder about the gas permeability of woven material and/or thin layers of plastic. Does anybody have any data on much gas would be able to escape through such a material in a vacuum?
Cost Effective? Sarah Tonin says otherwise!
on
Robots in Hospitals
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· Score: 2, Informative
The hospital my roomate works in has one of these. Its name is Sarah Tonin. It is damned money pit. For one, the thing is slow. Very Slow. It creeps up and down the hallways and when it requested the elevator, it blocks it for use by anyone else. Second, the thing is consistently broken. It spends more time in repairs than it does making rounds. All of this for a flat annual lease whose price is somewhat higher than the salary of the entry level support staff position the thing replaced. There is no way the thing is cost effective, and one of the hospital administrators admitted as much to me at party once. The robot is not about cost effectiveness or usefulness. Its about appearing progressive to patients. The patients see the robot and think "Gee! I must surely get top notch medical care here if they have such hi-tek stuff!" Its an extension of the modern medical fallacy that technology necessarily improves care. The patients would do alot better if the hospital ditched the damned robot and its related support costs and hired an entry level transporter to carry the specimens and a nurse anywhere in the place to lower patient-nurse loads.
I understand that Cassini used gravitational assists to accelerate for the journey to Saturn. Does anybody know what maximum speed is attainable through these gravity assist maneuvers within our solar system? Just how fast could we make something go by doing a long series of these things with the most massive bodies in our solar system?
Slight New Madrid shake yesterday.
on
Is This The Big One?
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· Score: 2, Interesting
There was a small earthquake near New Madrid, MO just yesterday. It was only 3.7 (I think), but it still serves as a reminder that its there and active. Interesting that there was a small quake there while all these quakes have been occuring on the West Coast.
While it is true that a text message is open for viewing WHILE IN TRANSIT, that doesn't give the phone company the right to keep a copy of it when it reaches its destination. To extend the postcard anaology, it would be like the post office intentionally running all postcards through a photocopier. Its true that they do scan the card to get the address, they do not preserve that information. Everytime it goes through a mail sorting facility it gets rescanned and OCRd, just like keeping a copy of a text message is not required for it to reach its destination.
Buffering text messages for users that are out of range is another issue all together. It requires a short term copy to be kept until successful delivery, but following that, it should be discarded just like your mailbox is empty when you pick up your postcard.
An excellent point. The media and the government are geared to make you afraid. If you haven't you should watch Michael Moore's Bowling for Columbine. He addresses this fear mongering in his documentary.
The good thing about CF is that if companies stop advancing the format, its so large an adapter can easily be made to use your SD card in a CF slot. Sometimes bigger is better.
This process is unique because the feedstock does not have to be dried. This has been a huge problem (cost) in other processes.
One way to tap solar energy is to have shallow ponds which grow algae & other water plants in large quantities, then harvest and feed the biomass into one of these plants.
It's unfortunate that I do not have mod-points to push this up, but what the poster is saying is very insightful. Growing algae as an energy crop is a great way to increase available cultivation area. The 'ponds' don't have to be ponds at all. You can grow algae at sea and then haul it in for collection and processing. Waste reprocessing plus agaeculture could easily support our energy needs now and in the future. The nitrogen rich fertilizer from the waste processing could even be used to enrich the algae fields
You use that excuse too?! I thought I was the only one! "Honestly sir, it was Outlooks fault that all this porn is open on my computer! It just automatically previews and opens anything in my inbox, and you know how much of that darned pron spam we get!"
Please explain what makes this illegal. I don't see how it would be any different than importing a CD from a shop in Russia. It just seems to me like the advantage Allofmp3.com has is just a reality of international business brought to a consumer level.
I too have downloaded the PDC build from MSDN; and while I agree that it is slow, I don't think it's fair to make any sort of performance judgements based on that build. We're talking about a PRE-ALPHA build here. The majority of the damn thing is missing, and what is there will most likely change dramatically before the release. It is THREE years from release afterall. That the released the PDC build at all is amazing. I for one will reserve judgement on Longhorn until it goes gold.
This might sound depressing, but bear in mind that as the cost of good and services drop, so does cost of living. I'd be happy to take a 50% pay cut if everything I bought cost 66% less.
In an ideal world that would be true, but I can't say I expect any prices at the consumer level to drop signifigantly in the face of decreased costs for production. It seems to me that prices are remaining, more or less, static while corporate profits skyrocket with little trickle down to the underlings like you and me. The net result of which is the destruction of the middle income class in favor of a very small, very powerful, ultra-wealthy upper class, and a massive poverty line level lower class.
Economic models predict that money saved through outsourcing will end up enriching all of the economies involved, but they fail to account for the increadibly disgusting level of greed that infects upper level corporate culture. The savings are funneled into outrageous pay packages for crooked CEOs appointed and approved by braindead boards of directors. The car is careening towards the cliff and nobody is at the fucking wheel.
You're forgetting that when you buy a full CD you are getting more than the music. You get the physical cd with full quality audio, the liner notes, the case, and maybe one of those god foresaken "Enhanced CD" interfaces to play the disc. Downloaded music is bare-bones, its like an audio version of a Dodge Neon. It should be cheaper by design and purpose.
If you want value-added extras like liner-notes and leather seats, you pay extra for it per song by buying a cd. Thats the incentive for paying extra for the CD.
No, downloaded music costs should have zero parity with the cost of music ON the actual CD. It should be much cheaper, if for no other reason than for the fact that all you're getting is lousy compressed audio.
I agree that the land rush was a driving factor in the exploration and colonization of the American west. Unfortunately, due to Article II of the Outer Space Treaty of 1967, there is little incentive for countries to go into space for the purpose of grabbing territory before someone else claims it. "Outer space, including the moon and other celestial bodies, is not subject to national appropriation by claim of sovereignty, by means of use or occupation, or by any other means." That pretty much rules out staking a claim on Mars (at least for the government).
I think if that part of the treaty was stricken, and space opened for first come, first serve claims it would do a lot to drive exploration. Unfortunately, it would also open a new window (here and in space) for the kind of territorial disputes we have and continue to suffer here on earth. But on the bright side of that, at least we might get cool space ships with photon torpedos etc.
Some friends and I were discussing this a while back and thought it would be cool if there was an online multiplayer game where you choose to be either a criminal or a cop. As a criminal, you commit crimes against other people and as a cop you respond to them.
Criminals would get points for the number of and severity of the crimes they commit without getting arrested. Cops could get points for the work they do. And the roles could be interchangeable so you could have good cops turning criminal, and vice versa with criminals becoming vigilantes.
How about Rumsfeld? He didn't just fall off a turnip truck in 2000 either -- he's been pulling strings in Washington DC since the Eisenhower administration! Did you vote for Rumsfeld? Why didn't he disappear after 8 years in the executive team?
Oh, its far more obscene than that, my friend. Not only has Rumsfeld's service in Washington continued for nearly two centuries now, but he is, in fact, Skeletor of Eternia! I submit as evidence this google search. Who will be our He-Man?? Howard Dean? Joe Lieberman??
I wonder what kind of genetically engineered dog beast they could come up with for 2.5 million. Look at the amazing variation in canine species achieved through passive manipulation (selective breeding), and imagine what could be done with active manipulation through genetic engineering and goal of creating a large, robust, energy efficient, intelligent, and fast animal capable of serving as a pack animal, protector, or weapon.
If they can make a cat that glows under UV light, why can't we have battlefield dog beasts! Besides, just imagine the fun the soldiers could have when they cry out "Release the HOUNDS!" or "CRY HAVOC! and LET SLIP THE DOGS OF WAR!"
I think it is time to create a court system for dealing with patent issues. If intellectual property is going to become a litigous cash cow comodity for businesses, I think we should move the work load of handling these cases out of the federal court system. The courts are overburdened as it is without having to deal with crap like this. I think it should be a process more like arbitration than a full blown court proceeding.
There could bea pool of technical arbiters (maybe former engineers and such) assigned to cases based on the relevance of their experience areas to the involved patents. They could better process the cases based on the merits of the patents, and they would be more likely to know of applicable prior art without extensive research. That would streamline things a great deal.
Then for fairness, maybe the parties could appeal the case directly into the appeals court. But at least all of the major research would be completed, and the information would be available easily to the appellate judge.
This is the first election I have been interested in participating in in a long time. Not that I didn't before, I just find this one actually interesting. The stakes are insanely high now.
Really though, it doesn't matter if you are a geek, or a jock. It matters if you are hard working, and are likeable. You can be likeable for your appearance, your personality, intelligence, or any combination of those. Granted, good looks really do give you an edge, but they are not the end all and be all of success. Jock and geek labels are both dead ends, you need to be a well rounded person.
Slashdot Mirror
Not to be too conspiratorial, but in my opinion Dean's campaign, which was successful up until Iowa, was executed by a terrified Democratic National Committee. They knew he had the charisma and the message to energize a new kind of Democrat that would radically skew primary voter demographics to the far left of center, and easily win the nomination.
The problem is that Far Left, and Far Right are pretty balanced in percentage and pretty much guaranteed to vote for their respective candidate. The middle of the electorate somehow lacks the brain power to make a decision until the day of the election, and it is the middle ground voters that both Republicans and Democrats have to convince for any hope of winning a national election.
The crux of the matter is that Democrats were too afraid that Dean would alienate this middle ground who would then flock to Bush for safety from the scary leftist man. It is, in my opinion, a symptom of the larger problem Democrats have which is A LACK OF BALLS, political gumption, willingness to take risks. It makes their politics bland and in most cases its hard to tell the Democrats apart from Republicans. The Democrats wanted a safe choice for candidate; and so they chose John Kerry, who for all the Republican ads proclaiming him as liberal as Ted Kennedy, has all the charisma of a chia pet and is only slightly more inspiring than the wooden Al Gore was in 2000.
In some ways, I suppose Kerry is the perfect candidate for the Democratic Party. In one body, he sums up the total lack of direction the DNC has at the moment. He just complains that things need to change without really putting forth any plans for doing so. And in the rare instance that he does, its a weak and watered down idea designed, once again, to avoid alienation of that key center of the electorate.
Its a shame that Dean had to be brought down in this election cycle. I really feel like he had the will and the ability to make a change in American politics. For once, there was a candidate who appeared to have a strong message and mostly non-compromising stand on issues. I think that if he had been allowed to run he might have brought some sorely needed new life into the Democratic Party, maybe even enough to offset whatever segments of the middle ground he might have alienated with his Progressive ideas.
Democrats could learn a thing or two from Republicans in the area of taking risks. In the 90's, Republicans figured out that there was a base of rabid Christian conservatives begging for recognition, and they effectively leveraged their fanatical conservatism to win both the House, the Senate, and later the Presidency (though the term winning in that case is subjective and open for interpretation). The Republicans took a risk of alienating the key center ground with a Far Right enhanced agenda with the hope that any losses would be offset by their new Christian Coalition friends, and their gamble paid off in spades. Democrats could learn a thing or two here.
While I understand that the issues on the left are generally more emotionally charged (gay rights, abortion, etc.) and carry a greater risk of alienation, there is a huge pool of apathetic potential voters out there with a Progressive mindset that would vote if they were stroked in the right way with some political attention to things other than social security (THEY WILL NEVER SEE IT). It's no wonder voter turnout has been declining for decades. People feel zero connection with politics anymore because it's only peripherally connected to any concerns they have, and they are cynical that politicians only care about votes (which is true). I also believe people have a greater understanding of how politics really work now, that is to say that your elected representatives do not represent YOU, they represent the goal of their party to stay in power. It's sad, and it weakens our republic. This is the other part of why Dean had to go--he wouldn't necessarily tow the party line.
Kerry may be a dull candidate
Why should the pulp industry care whether hemp is illegal?
They care because the paper companies own most of the logging rights to the forrests from which their pulp comes from. This effectively shuts out competition because all of the wood is spoken for. If, on the other hand, hemp could be easily grown anywhere and processed into paper that would mean anybody could easily enter into the market. Its just another example of protectionism in our so called capitalist society.
I realize that they are doing multiple layers here, but I have to wonder about the gas permeability of woven material and/or thin layers of plastic. Does anybody have any data on much gas would be able to escape through such a material in a vacuum?
The hospital my roomate works in has one of these. Its name is Sarah Tonin. It is damned money pit. For one, the thing is slow. Very Slow. It creeps up and down the hallways and when it requested the elevator, it blocks it for use by anyone else. Second, the thing is consistently broken. It spends more time in repairs than it does making rounds. All of this for a flat annual lease whose price is somewhat higher than the salary of the entry level support staff position the thing replaced. There is no way the thing is cost effective, and one of the hospital administrators admitted as much to me at party once. The robot is not about cost effectiveness or usefulness. Its about appearing progressive to patients. The patients see the robot and think "Gee! I must surely get top notch medical care here if they have such hi-tek stuff!" Its an extension of the modern medical fallacy that technology necessarily improves care. The patients would do alot better if the hospital ditched the damned robot and its related support costs and hired an entry level transporter to carry the specimens and a nurse anywhere in the place to lower patient-nurse loads.
I understand that Cassini used gravitational assists to accelerate for the journey to Saturn. Does anybody know what maximum speed is attainable through these gravity assist maneuvers within our solar system? Just how fast could we make something go by doing a long series of these things with the most massive bodies in our solar system?
There was a small earthquake near New Madrid, MO just yesterday. It was only 3.7 (I think), but it still serves as a reminder that its there and active. Interesting that there was a small quake there while all these quakes have been occuring on the West Coast.
Recent US Earthquake Activity
While it is true that a text message is open for viewing WHILE IN TRANSIT, that doesn't give the phone company the right to keep a copy of it when it reaches its destination. To extend the postcard anaology, it would be like the post office intentionally running all postcards through a photocopier. Its true that they do scan the card to get the address, they do not preserve that information. Everytime it goes through a mail sorting facility it gets rescanned and OCRd, just like keeping a copy of a text message is not required for it to reach its destination.
Buffering text messages for users that are out of range is another issue all together. It requires a short term copy to be kept until successful delivery, but following that, it should be discarded just like your mailbox is empty when you pick up your postcard.
An excellent point. The media and the government are geared to make you afraid. If you haven't you should watch Michael Moore's Bowling for Columbine. He addresses this fear mongering in his documentary.
Works great on Windows!!!
The good thing about CF is that if companies stop advancing the format, its so large an adapter can easily be made to use your SD card in a CF slot. Sometimes bigger is better.
This process is unique because the feedstock does not have to be dried. This has been a huge problem (cost) in other processes.
One way to tap solar energy is to have shallow ponds which grow algae & other water plants in large quantities, then harvest and feed the biomass into one of these plants.
It's unfortunate that I do not have mod-points to push this up, but what the poster is saying is very insightful. Growing algae as an energy crop is a great way to increase available cultivation area. The 'ponds' don't have to be ponds at all. You can grow algae at sea and then haul it in for collection and processing. Waste reprocessing plus agaeculture could easily support our energy needs now and in the future. The nitrogen rich fertilizer from the waste processing could even be used to enrich the algae fields
... preview automatically as your boss walks by.
You use that excuse too?! I thought I was the only one! "Honestly sir, it was Outlooks fault that all this porn is open on my computer! It just automatically previews and opens anything in my inbox, and you know how much of that darned pron spam we get!"
Please explain what makes this illegal. I don't see how it would be any different than importing a CD from a shop in Russia. It just seems to me like the advantage Allofmp3.com has is just a reality of international business brought to a consumer level.
I too have downloaded the PDC build from MSDN; and while I agree that it is slow, I don't think it's fair to make any sort of performance judgements based on that build. We're talking about a PRE-ALPHA build here. The majority of the damn thing is missing, and what is there will most likely change dramatically before the release. It is THREE years from release afterall. That the released the PDC build at all is amazing. I for one will reserve judgement on Longhorn until it goes gold.
This might sound depressing, but bear in mind that as the cost of good and services drop, so does cost of living. I'd be happy to take a 50% pay cut if everything I bought cost 66% less.
In an ideal world that would be true, but I can't say I expect any prices at the consumer level to drop signifigantly in the face of decreased costs for production. It seems to me that prices are remaining, more or less, static while corporate profits skyrocket with little trickle down to the underlings like you and me. The net result of which is the destruction of the middle income class in favor of a very small, very powerful, ultra-wealthy upper class, and a massive poverty line level lower class.
Economic models predict that money saved through outsourcing will end up enriching all of the economies involved, but they fail to account for the increadibly disgusting level of greed that infects upper level corporate culture. The savings are funneled into outrageous pay packages for crooked CEOs appointed and approved by braindead boards of directors. The car is careening towards the cliff and nobody is at the fucking wheel.
You're forgetting that when you buy a full CD you are getting more than the music. You get the physical cd with full quality audio, the liner notes, the case, and maybe one of those god foresaken "Enhanced CD" interfaces to play the disc. Downloaded music is bare-bones, its like an audio version of a Dodge Neon. It should be cheaper by design and purpose.
If you want value-added extras like liner-notes and leather seats, you pay extra for it per song by buying a cd. Thats the incentive for paying extra for the CD.
No, downloaded music costs should have zero parity with the cost of music ON the actual CD. It should be much cheaper, if for no other reason than for the fact that all you're getting is lousy compressed audio.
I agree that the land rush was a driving factor in the exploration and colonization of the American west. Unfortunately, due to Article II of the Outer Space Treaty of 1967, there is little incentive for countries to go into space for the purpose of grabbing territory before someone else claims it. "Outer space, including the moon and other celestial bodies, is not subject to national appropriation by claim of sovereignty, by means of use or occupation, or by any other means." That pretty much rules out staking a claim on Mars (at least for the government).
I think if that part of the treaty was stricken, and space opened for first come, first serve claims it would do a lot to drive exploration. Unfortunately, it would also open a new window (here and in space) for the kind of territorial disputes we have and continue to suffer here on earth. But on the bright side of that, at least we might get cool space ships with photon torpedos etc.
Some friends and I were discussing this a while back and thought it would be cool if there was an online multiplayer game where you choose to be either a criminal or a cop. As a criminal, you commit crimes against other people and as a cop you respond to them.
Criminals would get points for the number of and severity of the crimes they commit without getting arrested. Cops could get points for the work they do. And the roles could be interchangeable so you could have good cops turning criminal, and vice versa with criminals becoming vigilantes.
How about Rumsfeld? He didn't just fall off a turnip truck in 2000 either -- he's been pulling strings in Washington DC since the Eisenhower administration! Did you vote for Rumsfeld? Why didn't he disappear after 8 years in the executive team?
Oh, its far more obscene than that, my friend. Not only has Rumsfeld's service in Washington continued for nearly two centuries now, but he is, in fact, Skeletor of Eternia! I submit as evidence this google search. Who will be our He-Man?? Howard Dean? Joe Lieberman??
I wonder what kind of genetically engineered dog beast they could come up with for 2.5 million. Look at the amazing variation in canine species achieved through passive manipulation (selective breeding), and imagine what could be done with active manipulation through genetic engineering and goal of creating a large, robust, energy efficient, intelligent, and fast animal capable of serving as a pack animal, protector, or weapon.
If they can make a cat that glows under UV light, why can't we have battlefield dog beasts! Besides, just imagine the fun the soldiers could have when they cry out "Release the HOUNDS!" or "CRY HAVOC! and LET SLIP THE DOGS OF WAR!"
I have a Sanyo TV that was manufactured in the US, in Arkansas no less!
Addition:
5. They ARE here, and have been for a long while but they choose not to make themselves known for whatever reason.
I'm only half joking...
I think it is time to create a court system for dealing with patent issues. If intellectual property is going to become a litigous cash cow comodity for businesses, I think we should move the work load of handling these cases out of the federal court system. The courts are overburdened as it is without having to deal with crap like this. I think it should be a process more like arbitration than a full blown court proceeding.
There could bea pool of technical arbiters (maybe former engineers and such) assigned to cases based on the relevance of their experience areas to the involved patents. They could better process the cases based on the merits of the patents, and they would be more likely to know of applicable prior art without extensive research. That would streamline things a great deal.
Then for fairness, maybe the parties could appeal the case directly into the appeals court. But at least all of the major research would be completed, and the information would be available easily to the appellate judge.
This pairing would decimate Bush and Cheney.
This is the first election I have been interested in participating in in a long time. Not that I didn't before, I just find this one actually interesting. The stakes are insanely high now.
oh wait...
Really though, it doesn't matter if you are a geek, or a jock. It matters if you are hard working, and are likeable. You can be likeable for your appearance, your personality, intelligence, or any combination of those. Granted, good looks really do give you an edge, but they are not the end all and be all of success. Jock and geek labels are both dead ends, you need to be a well rounded person.