Think you can escape mosquitoes by not living next to standing water? Well nature has a backup plan (especially in New Hampshire), the black fly. These little f**kers breed in cold, running streams. Their larvae attach themselves to the rocks. They are about the size of a tick. Instead of jabbing you with a dainty proboscis they scrape away a little dot of skin and slurp up the blood leaving you with a nice little spot for itching or a home for bacteria.
"mosquitoes are pretty good proof that there is no god"
No, they are proof that god is telling you not to live next to swamps and ponds. I saw a documentary where they filmed a lake in northern Sweden during the height of mosquito season. It literally sounded like a chainsaw and the air was gray with them. I've even read that reindeer herders in Siberia during the summer have to move their herds to protect them from the dense swarms (the thawed tundra surface becomes one big bog). They supposedly have found animals almost bled dry by them.
The only defense I've found that truly works against mosquitoes and black flies is a bug hat, long sleeves, and long pants. Basically dress like a beekeeper.
"rainfall would fill the insides of the tires with just enough water to make them each a breeding well for mosquitoes."
Drilling drain holes around the rim of the tires would fix that.
"I dream of the day when mosquitoes are endangered organisms."
Maybe some day they'll invent a pill that makes your blood toxic to mosquito eggs (your blood feeds the eggs in the female's belly). If not then maybe we can bioengineer mosquitoes that inject statins into you with each bite. "Hey, I itch like crazy but my cholesterol has never been lower!"
Reminds me of the guys at the place I used to work at who used a snapshot of the blue screen of death as the screensaver for a very important router. The IT division boss came into the network server room and saw it and almost had a stroke. He just made them get rid of it pretty fast.
I'd buy the DVDs (I haven't downloaded them either) if they weren't so damn expensive. Why can't they lower the price or do they think only hardcore fans would buy them anyway and they'll pay whatever we charge. I think they'd sell more if they cut the cost a bit.
The article pointed one thing to me, the Brits aren't as hypersensitive about mainstream sexual humor as the US. If they printed those anecdotes in a US paper or major website they'd get swamped with irate complaints over the "sexist big breast joke" or the "sexist 17 inch monitor joke". Plus there'd be people saying how those in those stories "created a hostile work environment for woman".
I've made a dumb support call myself. I called Verizon about a problem with my new DSL only to realize I'd switched the line in with the line out on my UPS (phone line protection too). I then proceeded to fix it while I was on the phone and disconnected myself. In my defense I was very tired.
But it worked for years for hundreds of thousands of dollars.
"Other people with common sense wouldn't do stupid shit like what he was doing."
Because they are decent or know they'd get caught eventually (and care). Maybe it worked because it was so simple?
"There's no skill involved in what he did."
But it worked! Simple plans are better than complex.
"Any waiter or someone who handles credit cards on a daily basis could do the same thing"
But all the numbers could be traced to a common place and time (the waiter and the restaurant). This guy was getting them from different places and times so it was harder to find the common thread.
The main thing this article shows is how little effort is put into prosecuting this type of crime. This guy got caught FOUR times. It seems that by focusing on the handful of big obvious thefts they ignore the even bigger crooks who commit their crimes a few at a time for many years. They need to take even small frauds seriously as they may lead back to something bigger.
I consider the police to act more like janitors (no insult implied). Most of the time they are cleaning up a mess after it has already happened. They rarely stop something before it happens. Police officers frequently say that the public needs to more active in crime prevention, they can't leave it all to the cops.
I wouldn't out of self-respect and empathy for others. Going his route is an admission of laziness and a failure to make it in the world within the rules. I'd also feel for the misery I'd be inflicting on others, something this guy seems to lack.
The sound and smell of the drilling alone is enough to make me cringe. I had a lousy dentist as a kid who would drill without any painkillers (I didn't know you could ask for them either). I remember digging my fingernails into the chair the whole time.
There seems to be a lot of blame to pass around. The cops overreacted to being disrespected and the dad is shielding his (seemingly) rotten son.
The article has some delicious irony in it.
"She said they installed the [camera] system in response to crime in the neighborhood, and at their house."
"Karlis was investigating the Gannons' 15-year-old son in connection with a June 21 mugging outside Margaritas restaurant, for which two other teens already have been charged, according to police reports. The boy also is charged with possessing a handgun stolen three years ago in Vermont, and resisting detention, police said."
So they let people play on-line games? Maybe a group of people should start accounts and use the dialog capabilities in the games to pass along news and info and get past the censorship they have on the rest of the web.
My dwarf warrior will be named "Tiananmen Massacre".
But if there have been fluctuations you'd have to prove that they aren't cyclical (maybe corresponding with sunspot cycles) and that they'd be able to describe a longterm linear trend. Also, the current trend corresponds with a fossil fuel based economy. For solar radiation changes to explain it there would have to be a trend to back it up and I don't see how you'd do that with current data (looking at 30 years of solar wind data? Sunspot counts?). The data you cite goes back to the beginings of the space program but atmospheric data can be checked directly in ice cores over 100,000 yrs (Greenland and Antarctica) and indirectly via oxygen isotopes even further.
There is a mechanism (greenhouse gasses) to explain the relationship between fossil fuel burning and the average global temperature. If you look at the X tons of coal, oil, and natural gas (plus slash and burning) being consumed every year globally that carbon has to be going somewhere. Unless there is some mechanism that can act as a massive sink and handle sudden huge increases in atmospheric CO2 then it must be accumulating (it is) and the physics of atmospheric CO2 are generally well understood. Methane is also part of the equation.
You really can't dismiss that 6 billion people and all of the industry that supports is having a global effect.
So instead of applying technological genius to fixing the cause (pollution) they will treat the symptom? I love it when people do everything they can to avoid having to change their behavior, like some lung cancer patient sneaking cigarettes into their hospital room. I guess self-control is a challege beyond human skill.
The article stated that it would affect visible light. How would less sunlight affect crops? I assume it would decrease plant growth and last time I checked we still needed plants to stay alive. Plus less plant growth means less CO2 consumption by them. What about countries who don't appreciate having their skies shaded? Or local weather pattern disruptions or even seasonal changes?
I can see them proposing giant sun lamps for crops to counteract the shade, all powered by coal plants. Sometimes the cure is worse than the disease.
Slashdot Mirror
In this country we still have to deal with fundi Christians and their crazy rituals: Andrea Yates
You mean the "Decibet"?
Think you can escape mosquitoes by not living next to standing water? Well nature has a backup plan (especially in New Hampshire), the black fly. These little f**kers breed in cold, running streams. Their larvae attach themselves to the rocks. They are about the size of a tick. Instead of jabbing you with a dainty proboscis they scrape away a little dot of skin and slurp up the blood leaving you with a nice little spot for itching or a home for bacteria.
"mosquitoes are pretty good proof that there is no god"
No, they are proof that god is telling you not to live next to swamps and ponds. I saw a documentary where they filmed a lake in northern Sweden during the height of mosquito season. It literally sounded like a chainsaw and the air was gray with them. I've even read that reindeer herders in Siberia during the summer have to move their herds to protect them from the dense swarms (the thawed tundra surface becomes one big bog). They supposedly have found animals almost bled dry by them.
The only defense I've found that truly works against mosquitoes and black flies is a bug hat, long sleeves, and long pants. Basically dress like a beekeeper.
"rainfall would fill the insides of the tires with just enough water to make them each a breeding well for mosquitoes."
Drilling drain holes around the rim of the tires would fix that.
"I dream of the day when mosquitoes are endangered organisms."
Maybe some day they'll invent a pill that makes your blood toxic to mosquito eggs (your blood feeds the eggs in the female's belly). If not then maybe we can bioengineer mosquitoes that inject statins into you with each bite. "Hey, I itch like crazy but my cholesterol has never been lower!"
Reminds me of the guys at the place I used to work at who used a snapshot of the blue screen of death as the screensaver for a very important router. The IT division boss came into the network server room and saw it and almost had a stroke. He just made them get rid of it pretty fast.
Because he doesn't give a shit about his kids seeing the word "shit" when they read this shit.
I'd buy the DVDs (I haven't downloaded them either) if they weren't so damn expensive. Why can't they lower the price or do they think only hardcore fans would buy them anyway and they'll pay whatever we charge. I think they'd sell more if they cut the cost a bit.
The article pointed one thing to me, the Brits aren't as hypersensitive about mainstream sexual humor as the US. If they printed those anecdotes in a US paper or major website they'd get swamped with irate complaints over the "sexist big breast joke" or the "sexist 17 inch monitor joke". Plus there'd be people saying how those in those stories "created a hostile work environment for woman".
I've made a dumb support call myself. I called Verizon about a problem with my new DSL only to realize I'd switched the line in with the line out on my UPS (phone line protection too). I then proceeded to fix it while I was on the phone and disconnected myself. In my defense I was very tired.
"He's an idiot."
But it worked for years for hundreds of thousands of dollars.
"Other people with common sense wouldn't do stupid shit like what he was doing."
Because they are decent or know they'd get caught eventually (and care). Maybe it worked because it was so simple?
"There's no skill involved in what he did."
But it worked! Simple plans are better than complex.
"Any waiter or someone who handles credit cards on a daily basis could do the same thing"
But all the numbers could be traced to a common place and time (the waiter and the restaurant). This guy was getting them from different places and times so it was harder to find the common thread.
The main thing this article shows is how little effort is put into prosecuting this type of crime. This guy got caught FOUR times. It seems that by focusing on the handful of big obvious thefts they ignore the even bigger crooks who commit their crimes a few at a time for many years. They need to take even small frauds seriously as they may lead back to something bigger.
"it would be so easy to take $300 and turn it into several thousand"
If he can do this then I'd like to hire him as my personal investor.
I consider the police to act more like janitors (no insult implied). Most of the time they are cleaning up a mess after it has already happened. They rarely stop something before it happens. Police officers frequently say that the public needs to more active in crime prevention, they can't leave it all to the cops.
I wouldn't out of self-respect and empathy for others. Going his route is an admission of laziness and a failure to make it in the world within the rules. I'd also feel for the misery I'd be inflicting on others, something this guy seems to lack.
Maybe it was a bad idea to name it the "Space Shuttle Duke Nukem Forever"
You weren't the only one. Lets be honest, pornography drives the internet not phonography.
The sound and smell of the drilling alone is enough to make me cringe. I had a lousy dentist as a kid who would drill without any painkillers (I didn't know you could ask for them either). I remember digging my fingernails into the chair the whole time.
It goes back to the War Powers Act of 1917 but I wanted to keep it brief.
Almost forgot another...
"The couple's 15-year-old son also was arrested, charged as a juvenile in an unrelated robbery case, according to police reports and Janet Gannon."
There seems to be a lot of blame to pass around. The cops overreacted to being disrespected and the dad is shielding his (seemingly) rotten son.
The article has some delicious irony in it.
"She said they installed the [camera] system in response to crime in the neighborhood, and at their house."
"Karlis was investigating the Gannons' 15-year-old son in connection with a June 21 mugging outside Margaritas restaurant, for which two other teens already have been charged, according to police reports. The boy also is charged with possessing a handgun stolen three years ago in Vermont, and resisting detention, police said."
Sound like they just need to videotape their kid.
NH's motto: "Live Free or Die". I guess this falls under the "drop dead" part.
"how you can think that the president has some sort of monarch-like powers granted to him by the Constitution"
No, they were just given to him during the Nixon admin as part of the War Powers Resolution of 1973. All other extralegal powers were just grabbed.
So they let people play on-line games? Maybe a group of people should start accounts and use the dialog capabilities in the games to pass along news and info and get past the censorship they have on the rest of the web.
My dwarf warrior will be named "Tiananmen Massacre".
That's odd, according to the old SNL shows Generalisimo Francisco Franco died decades ago. I guess he is still alive and passing legislation.
But if there have been fluctuations you'd have to prove that they aren't cyclical (maybe corresponding with sunspot cycles) and that they'd be able to describe a longterm linear trend. Also, the current trend corresponds with a fossil fuel based economy. For solar radiation changes to explain it there would have to be a trend to back it up and I don't see how you'd do that with current data (looking at 30 years of solar wind data? Sunspot counts?). The data you cite goes back to the beginings of the space program but atmospheric data can be checked directly in ice cores over 100,000 yrs (Greenland and Antarctica) and indirectly via oxygen isotopes even further.
There is a mechanism (greenhouse gasses) to explain the relationship between fossil fuel burning and the average global temperature. If you look at the X tons of coal, oil, and natural gas (plus slash and burning) being consumed every year globally that carbon has to be going somewhere. Unless there is some mechanism that can act as a massive sink and handle sudden huge increases in atmospheric CO2 then it must be accumulating (it is) and the physics of atmospheric CO2 are generally well understood. Methane is also part of the equation.
You really can't dismiss that 6 billion people and all of the industry that supports is having a global effect.
So instead of applying technological genius to fixing the cause (pollution) they will treat the symptom? I love it when people do everything they can to avoid having to change their behavior, like some lung cancer patient sneaking cigarettes into their hospital room. I guess self-control is a challege beyond human skill.
The article stated that it would affect visible light. How would less sunlight affect crops? I assume it would decrease plant growth and last time I checked we still needed plants to stay alive. Plus less plant growth means less CO2 consumption by them. What about countries who don't appreciate having their skies shaded? Or local weather pattern disruptions or even seasonal changes?
I can see them proposing giant sun lamps for crops to counteract the shade, all powered by coal plants. Sometimes the cure is worse than the disease.
Which would you prefer to be aimed at you? A blue laser or an infrared one with the same luminosity?
The problem is that the earth doesn't work like the idealized black body that the S-B law describes. Greenhouse gases change the spectrum.