Because "virgin" fits into the Judeo-Christian rejection of nature, especially sex. If Mary had sex then the faithful would have to accept the image of her doing it with Joseph. Making her a virgin not only keeps her clean of that awful sex stuff but also puts God in the undisputed position to be the dad. It appeals to the Madonna-Whore instinct many people seem to have.
As for the Koran I guess being divinely rewarded with "white raisins" just doesn't have the same appeal as "virgins" though I don't think virgins are all that great either. I'd prefer a few dozen cute woman with pleasant personalities and no hang ups in bed.;)
I take issue with calling it a religion at all. It is a business. They charge for all of their basic services (analysis sessions, etc). I don't see the Catholic Church charging for Mass. They ask for donations but you can attend for free. Scientology is a "pay as you go" business. If you don't have the $ you can't play. Not requiring payment for religious services should be used as part of the legal determination if an organization is a non-profit or not.
Re:Becuase People don't know what they want!
on
Why Software is Hard
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· Score: 3, Insightful
I think one thing they all have in common is that they are always custom jobs. It isn't like going to a car dealership and asking for model X in dark blue. Software is more like "I'd like a car with extra wheels on top in case it flips and purple stripes and only 1 door...". Standardization is very limited.
I suffer from "Pwneditis" where I get surprised in a FPS and stare at the other guy like a deer in the headlights for a split second before I get shot. I think they should put a delay on the other players for folks like me.
Seriously though, there is a wide range of handicaps and I've played plenty of people, for example, who have turned out to be in wheelchairs. Online gaming is a real escape for them. Some people I've talked to on teamspeak use speech assistance tech just to chat even if they aren't playing.
I've also played people who've turned out to be stoned or drunk but that is just a temporary handicap.
I seriously doubt you'd find a business of any decent size that would convert to Linux en mass. You'd have a mix of environments and they'd reasonably expect Linux to play well with others.
"Untargeted advertising is not a waste of money for the advertiser if they can get as little as 1-2% of the eyeballs interested. Think about that. That means 98-99% of the people viewing these ads DO NOT WANT YOUR CRAP."
I wonder how many sincere businesses are scammed themselves by big talking advertising firms promising the sun and the moon if they spend a lot on advertising with them. One of the biggest problems for a business is knowing what ad dollars they spent have actually worked. You may see an increase in business but you aren't sure where it came from (which is why stores ask for zipcodes so they can see where to spend ad $). I'm sure most respectable business would love to save money by not advertising to the 99% who aren't interested but knowing who those are is the trick, isn't it?
True...to a point. Beyond simple awareness there is psychological manipulation to get you to buy, probably something you wouldn't want otherwise. The huge amounts of money spent on analysis, consultants, and psychological research by companies wouldn't be spent in the first place if it didn't pay off. There is also "branding" which is intended to get you to inherently trust a label without analyzing it and get you to think of it automatically. You also have the sheer volume of advertising where they've flooded environment with so many ads that they have to produce even more to try to get your attention. Very few ads voluntarily provide actual useful information on the product. They are usually trying to get around your analytical mind and appeal to your knee-jerk emotional mind.
For all my dislike of ads in general and distrust of the darker aspects of capitalism I have to say that without marketing it would be almost impossible for a business to get started or (if they have a brick & mortar store) grow beyond the local neighborhood. People drive most places now and they aren't going to drive out to my store just to see if I have any specials or to compare prices. Word of mouth is slow and limited. The problem is the volume and pervasiveness of advertising. I can't even take an elevator now without some damn video screen trying to ram a drug ad into my brain. They even want to put ads in the trays you use in airport security lines (I feel safer already!).
People would still buy crap they don't need even without marketing, they just would be buying it at the local marketplace.
Or call, or send REAL mail. If the bill is that important they can spend $.37 (or whatever a stamp is nowadays) to send you a notice. So many notices of this type are phishing scams that they are useless. I would've done the same thing you did when I saw the wierd domain.
Another favorite gimmick they use is the "You asked to receive email on this crap or from a partner". Fine, show me where I asked for this. Who is this partner? When did I ask to receive my millionth email for refinancing or for V1gr3ra? It is just a transparent attempt to get around any laws saying you can't send it unless it was asked for or you did business with them.
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I just show up late (but I stay late too). Ok, that and the gun I keep in my desk.
Only if you hike in the Grand Tetons. Oo la la!
Well, you know you are upside down when your feet smell and your nose runs.
"How awesome would it be if we had a pristine and exhaustive record of the location of all properties from ancient Rome, or even WWII?"
Wait until some poor homeowner in Rome finds out that there is a lien on their house because Maximus Gallus didn't pay his sewer bill in 155 AD.
"It makes me wonder if the disappearance of privacy would be so bad after all?"
Be careful what you wish for. Some people shouldn't be naked in the privacy of their own homes.
That is why I surround my home with dozens of dummy homes filled with broken electronics. Security through obfuscation!
BTW, I want my soul back from the Kodak company.
Be sure you make a copy for your roof for Google Earth.
Because "virgin" fits into the Judeo-Christian rejection of nature, especially sex. If Mary had sex then the faithful would have to accept the image of her doing it with Joseph. Making her a virgin not only keeps her clean of that awful sex stuff but also puts God in the undisputed position to be the dad. It appeals to the Madonna-Whore instinct many people seem to have.
;)
As for the Koran I guess being divinely rewarded with "white raisins" just doesn't have the same appeal as "virgins" though I don't think virgins are all that great either. I'd prefer a few dozen cute woman with pleasant personalities and no hang ups in bed.
I take issue with calling it a religion at all. It is a business. They charge for all of their basic services (analysis sessions, etc). I don't see the Catholic Church charging for Mass. They ask for donations but you can attend for free. Scientology is a "pay as you go" business. If you don't have the $ you can't play. Not requiring payment for religious services should be used as part of the legal determination if an organization is a non-profit or not.
But will this cure dupes too?
"...living another forty years, but without sex?"
It's called a bad marriage.
*ba-dum-dum!*
I think one thing they all have in common is that they are always custom jobs. It isn't like going to a car dealership and asking for model X in dark blue. Software is more like "I'd like a car with extra wheels on top in case it flips and purple stripes and only 1 door...". Standardization is very limited.
Judging from the spam I get I wish hotmail would destroy more accounts.
Please stay out of my diary. Thank you.
I stand corrected! Now how about one in the US?
I suffer from "Pwneditis" where I get surprised in a FPS and stare at the other guy like a deer in the headlights for a split second before I get shot. I think they should put a delay on the other players for folks like me.
Seriously though, there is a wide range of handicaps and I've played plenty of people, for example, who have turned out to be in wheelchairs. Online gaming is a real escape for them. Some people I've talked to on teamspeak use speech assistance tech just to chat even if they aren't playing.
I've also played people who've turned out to be stoned or drunk but that is just a temporary handicap.
I seriously doubt you'd find a business of any decent size that would convert to Linux en mass. You'd have a mix of environments and they'd reasonably expect Linux to play well with others.
It is a wierd shot. For some reason they have his head turned. He looks like he just got surprised by a scary looking flasher.
Don't play the audio file that repeats "Buy v1gr1a! Buy v1gr1a!..."
I'd have to say it is "One Click Shopping" patented by Amazon.com. Truly, the greatest invention since this one.
"Untargeted advertising is not a waste of money for the advertiser if they can get as little as 1-2% of the eyeballs interested. Think about that. That means 98-99% of the people viewing these ads DO NOT WANT YOUR CRAP."
I wonder how many sincere businesses are scammed themselves by big talking advertising firms promising the sun and the moon if they spend a lot on advertising with them. One of the biggest problems for a business is knowing what ad dollars they spent have actually worked. You may see an increase in business but you aren't sure where it came from (which is why stores ask for zipcodes so they can see where to spend ad $). I'm sure most respectable business would love to save money by not advertising to the 99% who aren't interested but knowing who those are is the trick, isn't it?
"Marketing promotes awareness."
True...to a point. Beyond simple awareness there is psychological manipulation to get you to buy, probably something you wouldn't want otherwise. The huge amounts of money spent on analysis, consultants, and psychological research by companies wouldn't be spent in the first place if it didn't pay off. There is also "branding" which is intended to get you to inherently trust a label without analyzing it and get you to think of it automatically. You also have the sheer volume of advertising where they've flooded environment with so many ads that they have to produce even more to try to get your attention. Very few ads voluntarily provide actual useful information on the product. They are usually trying to get around your analytical mind and appeal to your knee-jerk emotional mind.
For all my dislike of ads in general and distrust of the darker aspects of capitalism I have to say that without marketing it would be almost impossible for a business to get started or (if they have a brick & mortar store) grow beyond the local neighborhood. People drive most places now and they aren't going to drive out to my store just to see if I have any specials or to compare prices. Word of mouth is slow and limited. The problem is the volume and pervasiveness of advertising. I can't even take an elevator now without some damn video screen trying to ram a drug ad into my brain. They even want to put ads in the trays you use in airport security lines (I feel safer already!).
People would still buy crap they don't need even without marketing, they just would be buying it at the local marketplace.
Or call, or send REAL mail. If the bill is that important they can spend $.37 (or whatever a stamp is nowadays) to send you a notice. So many notices of this type are phishing scams that they are useless. I would've done the same thing you did when I saw the wierd domain.
Another favorite gimmick they use is the "You asked to receive email on this crap or from a partner". Fine, show me where I asked for this. Who is this partner? When did I ask to receive my millionth email for refinancing or for V1gr3ra? It is just a transparent attempt to get around any laws saying you can't send it unless it was asked for or you did business with them.
I was on a sailboat? Really? Maybe I was talking about SHIPS IN GENERAL troll boy.