Well said, and you should have been modded higher.
I think you'll find the TiVo (or similar device) gives you the "pay for only what I want to see" experience you are looking for. It'll help cut out all the chaff. Even a VCR is better than nothing.
Mindless channel surfing for something and watching junk just because you can't get yourself to turn it off is a big part of the problem. You wouldn't eat anything put in front of you (unless you were starving) so why watch anything on TV just because it is there?
"Imagine when you ride in a truck/bus that has lots of vibration. You eventually get used to it, and if you ride long enough, you feel kind of funny when you get off the bus and stand on "solid" non-vibrating ground."
Very similar to coming off a boat after a few days. You still have your "sea legs" and wobble for a while. I remember standing in the shower with my eyes closed after finishing a week long ocean survey and feeling my body swaying like I was still on the boat.
I think that having the TV or radio on while doing other things is a modern substitute for the old extended family environment we used to have. We are trying to simulate the chatter and noise from being around other family members that is missing from most single/2 person homes now.
I also think it prevents us from becoming overly vigilant, and thus jumpy, when things are too quiet. Picture a person back in ancient Kenya trying to sleep in the quiet of the bush but hyper vigilant of any sounds. Having background noise turns that off.
Maybe I'm over doing the evolutionary biology approach here...
I plan on driving my car into a wall as much as possible because I can get new parts for it. Not likely due to the cost of the parts. Unless the government tries to force the cost of new body parts onto the taxpayer this would be too expensive for most people.
Just wait though, some whiny activist group backed up by biotech $ will come out and say "But what about my sick baby!? What about my 80yr old mother? These parts should be covered by Medicare!". Can't say no to that!
It does also violate the 2nd law because it is supposedly a closed system that is creating more energy than it uses, thus becoming more ordered. Nuke plants aren't closed because you have to take the creation of the uranium into account.
First Class tix, cell phones...all justifiable because so much irreplaceable work has come out of the Media Lab. Hold on, let me think of some...uhhhh...ummmmm...I know, lots of articles about themselves in Wired!
I got a secret clearance during my stint at a defense research laboratory. It was pretty painless so I can't understand a company making a big deal of it unless they are in the habit of hiring non-US citizens or recent immigrants. Basically it involved filling out forms and fingerprinting + a photo. The biggest pain in the butt was trying to remember all my old addresses and people who could vouch for all those periods.
Isn't the wandering craftsman/technical worker forming the foundation of the economy a return to the medieval economy? You had the bulk of the population working on a survival basis with a crust of "elite" getting the lion's share of the goods. What's next, guilds?
Americans are also slaves to the consumerist mentality. Houses that would've been considered mansions 50 yrs ago are now considered the standard for new suburban developments. Most families own multiple cars, many of them costing well over $20K. To pay for all of this both parents work (assuming a couple with a family) full time. Once the bar is set higher I guess it'll be time to change the child labor laws so the kids can start supporting the household also.
I'd rather have the time off the Europeans have than a fat paycheck. The richest person in the world can never buy more time than the poorest person. There'll always be 24 hrs in a day.
I got a big kick once when a contractor told me about the huge kitchens they were putting into all of the new mini-mansions. He said the people never used them to cook since they were too busy working paying for the expensive house! Plus he'd come back to do work months later and the houses barely had any furniture in them because they were so in debt for the lavish home and cars. Spend spend spend!
Slashdot Mirror
Well said, and you should have been modded higher.
I think you'll find the TiVo (or similar device) gives you the "pay for only what I want to see" experience you are looking for. It'll help cut out all the chaff. Even a VCR is better than nothing.
Mindless channel surfing for something and watching junk just because you can't get yourself to turn it off is a big part of the problem. You wouldn't eat anything put in front of you (unless you were starving) so why watch anything on TV just because it is there?
Behavioral science isn't as easily quantified as, say, high energy physics. So you just have to change your expections with this type of subject.
"Imagine when you ride in a truck/bus that has lots of vibration. You eventually get used to it, and if you ride long enough, you feel kind of funny when you get off the bus and stand on "solid" non-vibrating ground."
Very similar to coming off a boat after a few days. You still have your "sea legs" and wobble for a while. I remember standing in the shower with my eyes closed after finishing a week long ocean survey and feeling my body swaying like I was still on the boat.
Finally, a voice of reason in the wilderness
I think that having the TV or radio on while doing other things is a modern substitute for the old extended family environment we used to have. We are trying to simulate the chatter and noise from being around other family members that is missing from most single/2 person homes now.
I also think it prevents us from becoming overly vigilant, and thus jumpy, when things are too quiet. Picture a person back in ancient Kenya trying to sleep in the quiet of the bush but hyper vigilant of any sounds. Having background noise turns that off.
Maybe I'm over doing the evolutionary biology approach here...
Why do we have anime articles on /. either?
It finally came down to this. After years of hounding users to make backups now we'll have to hound users to stop backing up their systems!
;)
I plan on driving my car into a wall as much as possible because I can get new parts for it. Not likely due to the cost of the parts. Unless the government tries to force the cost of new body parts onto the taxpayer this would be too expensive for most people.
Just wait though, some whiny activist group backed up by biotech $ will come out and say "But what about my sick baby!? What about my 80yr old mother? These parts should be covered by Medicare!". Can't say no to that!
Why is it that the people I least want to see live forever are the ones who will?
It does also violate the 2nd law because it is supposedly a closed system that is creating more energy than it uses, thus becoming more ordered. Nuke plants aren't closed because you have to take the creation of the uranium into account.
Maybe his domestic power needs are 3 100W light bulbs.
I'd like to see this applied to biological systems. Imagine being able to run for miles yet feel more refreshed than ever at the end!
It could also be applied to networks, just think, the more traffic on the network the more bandwidth is available!
What is your point? It was posted on CNN, etc. Not exactly a backwater story. A big claim in the big press is newsworthy.
This means the return of the "US" festivals!
First Class tix, cell phones...all justifiable because so much irreplaceable work has come out of the Media Lab. Hold on, let me think of some...uhhhh...ummmmm...I know, lots of articles about themselves in Wired!
What's the problem with this? At least all of CA's worst hypochondriacs will be in one place now.
Slashdot makes people angry and violent so we should...naaah, forget it.
I'd say murders and attempted murders don't qualify as peaceably assembling.
Most ads require being able to actually see them. Maybe he should buy some bandwith off Ebay while he's at it.
The real issue here is why you read Fox "Nothing Too Sleezy To Air" news?
"Indiana Jones and the Creatively Drained Director"
I don't think that big copper tube was a heatsink, I assume it is just there to act as a container for the LN.
I got a secret clearance during my stint at a defense research laboratory. It was pretty painless so I can't understand a company making a big deal of it unless they are in the habit of hiring non-US citizens or recent immigrants. Basically it involved filling out forms and fingerprinting + a photo. The biggest pain in the butt was trying to remember all my old addresses and people who could vouch for all those periods.
Isn't the wandering craftsman/technical worker forming the foundation of the economy a return to the medieval economy? You had the bulk of the population working on a survival basis with a crust of "elite" getting the lion's share of the goods. What's next, guilds?
Americans are also slaves to the consumerist mentality. Houses that would've been considered mansions 50 yrs ago are now considered the standard for new suburban developments. Most families own multiple cars, many of them costing well over $20K. To pay for all of this both parents work (assuming a couple with a family) full time. Once the bar is set higher I guess it'll be time to change the child labor laws so the kids can start supporting the household also.
I'd rather have the time off the Europeans have than a fat paycheck. The richest person in the world can never buy more time than the poorest person. There'll always be 24 hrs in a day.
I got a big kick once when a contractor told me about the huge kitchens they were putting into all of the new mini-mansions. He said the people never used them to cook since they were too busy working paying for the expensive house! Plus he'd come back to do work months later and the houses barely had any furniture in them because they were so in debt for the lavish home and cars. Spend spend spend!