Agreed - that was not a troll -- I'd like to see more on hempseed oil versus other biofuel alternatives. Slashdotters ought to be on this bandwagon, or at least aware of it.
http://www.hempcar.org/
Re: versatility -
Hemp fiber clothes are better than cotton - more durable, longer lasting.
Hemp fiber paper - more paper per acre than wood pulp, quicker crop turns, lower environmental impact by harvest.
Hemp seed - tasty snack!
and so on...
Many books available on this topic - here are a few for starters.
The Emperor Wears No Clothes by Jack Herer
The Hemp Manifesto: 101 Ways That Hemp Can Save Our World by Rowan Robinson
Hemp Horizons by John Roulac
Getting better all the time, unfortunately... the ridge I'm referring to is the highest point in the area and made the most obvious target for well over a dozen towers now. Looks like hell. I live in the northeast, and it's becoming increasingly difficult to find cell-dead real estate.
Personal Locator Beacons have been widely available from hiking and mountaineering clubs for some time now. The only major differences between the Wherify and PLBs are the frequency of transmission and the infrastructure. Oh yeah - and how they bill you for service.
First, I'm suprised/. is just picking up on this now -- Whereify's been around for a long time, working on this for a couple years.
Here's my 2 cents -- while I agree with the privacy advocates that there limits (at some point kid's old enough to take care of himself, deserving of privacy, etc), I also think that for younger kids this device is very useful. When I was two, I followed my grandfather's beagle into the woods when he turned his back for a second. I was gone all afternoon, and luckily was found before dark.
I now live on the same property. It backs up to a huge state forest and mountains, and I hope my son (coming up on his first birthday now) will someday enjoy the same hiking, exploring, climbing and wandering that I did growing up (/. will be for rainy days!). A device like this would make me feel a LOT more secure about letting him ramble solo. Looking back, I did a lot of stupid things when I was 8 or 10, playing soldiers and running & jumping from rock to rock, climbing too high by myself in trees, not watching out for snakes on sunny rocks, etc. It's easy for a kid to get hurt and immobilized, and when you're talking about a couple thousand acres, finding them is not easy. Hell, this is exactly the kind of device that serious climbers, hikers and backpackers wear on purpose for exactly that reason - they want to be found if they're injured!
I want my kid to grow up competent and able to handle himself outdoors, and to feel that I trust him to go out exploring on his own (at an appropriate age), but at the same time, if you can ameliorate some of the risk through technology, why not? It's not like this device is going to be permanently implanted; at some point, they'll outgrow it.
If you are really so attached to the internet that losing your ISP screws up your life, then you really ought to reconsider your priorities.
This is a MUCH bigger annoyance and inconvenience than you're allowing for.
I'm a new dad and I don't need this interruption in my life to take addional time away from my family. My @home connection has greatly INCREASED the amount of time I have for the things that matter with "a real person" and "social skills". I rely on my always-on @home net connection to save me time with banking, shopping, parenting advice, medical information. The implications of this are wide-ranging -- my accounts all over the place send email to my @home address, and if Cox doesn't handle any changes gracefully, it's gonna make things miserable for me. Not to mention that I'll have to explain to my non-techie wife why her grad-school profs, friends, family, co-workers, and students have to go change their address books.
Cox better look long and hard at buying and keeping the @home domain!
It's not the end of the world if you lose connectivity for a while. You will survive.
Yes, no doubt we'll survive, but time is scarce, now more than ever, and I don't need this additional burden. What a headache.
Basically, only people who were doing shady things to begin with lost freedom. I'm not a criminal so I don't give a shit if they have the right to wiretap all my phones - I'll never give them a reason to
It's a lot easier to give up freedoms than achieve them, and once Big Brother's done with the terrorists, they'll be looking for a new enemy. And THEY define what a criminal is! Like a puff of sensi after a hard week's work? Sure you don't have any stray MP3's around that you didn't pay for? Maybe installed one too many copies of Windblows someplace without buying one CD per machine?
Be careful when you say "I'm not a criminal" or "My government doesn't care about me."
First they came for the Jews
and I did not speak out
because I was not a Jew.
Then they came for the Communists
and I did not speak out
because I was not a Communist.
Then they came for the trade unionists
and I did not speak out
because I was not a trade unionist.
Then they came for me
and there was no one left
to speak out for me.
It happened at Kent State not that long ago... You're correct that people may have a difficult time shooting at their own kids or siblings, but it has already been demonstrated that in the heat of the moment and in the right situation, there would be little hesitation to shoot somebody else's kid or sibling.
I would consider asking for a corresponding reduction in working hours. A good friend works for General Datacomm, and they instituted a 4-day workweek (20% paycut) to cut costs.
If you can afford a partial paycut in exchange for fewer hours, take the time and enjoy it. It worked out great for him -- he was able to spend a lot of time with his wife & young daughter that he would never have done otherwise. There aren't a lot of times during the course of a career that one is given the opportunity to back off and focus on what's really important in life. And especially after the unbelieveable pace of the last 5-8 years, it's good to slow down a bit and take a breather if you have the chance.
Slashdot Mirror
http://www.hempcar.org/
Re: versatility -
Hemp fiber clothes are better than cotton - more durable, longer lasting.
Hemp fiber paper - more paper per acre than wood pulp, quicker crop turns, lower environmental impact by harvest.
Hemp seed - tasty snack!
and so on...
Many books available on this topic - here are a few for starters.
The Emperor Wears No Clothes by Jack Herer
The Hemp Manifesto: 101 Ways That Hemp Can Save Our World by Rowan Robinson
Hemp Horizons by John Roulac
Personal Locator Beacons have been widely available from hiking and mountaineering clubs for some time now. The only major differences between the Wherify and PLBs are the frequency of transmission and the infrastructure. Oh yeah - and how they bill you for service.
Here's my 2 cents -- while I agree with the privacy advocates that there limits (at some point kid's old enough to take care of himself, deserving of privacy, etc), I also think that for younger kids this device is very useful. When I was two, I followed my grandfather's beagle into the woods when he turned his back for a second. I was gone all afternoon, and luckily was found before dark.
I now live on the same property. It backs up to a huge state forest and mountains, and I hope my son (coming up on his first birthday now) will someday enjoy the same hiking, exploring, climbing and wandering that I did growing up (/. will be for rainy days!). A device like this would make me feel a LOT more secure about letting him ramble solo. Looking back, I did a lot of stupid things when I was 8 or 10, playing soldiers and running & jumping from rock to rock, climbing too high by myself in trees, not watching out for snakes on sunny rocks, etc. It's easy for a kid to get hurt and immobilized, and when you're talking about a couple thousand acres, finding them is not easy. Hell, this is exactly the kind of device that serious climbers, hikers and backpackers wear on purpose for exactly that reason - they want to be found if they're injured!
I want my kid to grow up competent and able to handle himself outdoors, and to feel that I trust him to go out exploring on his own (at an appropriate age), but at the same time, if you can ameliorate some of the risk through technology, why not? It's not like this device is going to be permanently implanted; at some point, they'll outgrow it.
This is a MUCH bigger annoyance and inconvenience than you're allowing for.
I'm a new dad and I don't need this interruption in my life to take addional time away from my family. My @home connection has greatly INCREASED the amount of time I have for the things that matter with "a real person" and "social skills". I rely on my always-on @home net connection to save me time with banking, shopping, parenting advice, medical information. The implications of this are wide-ranging -- my accounts all over the place send email to my @home address, and if Cox doesn't handle any changes gracefully, it's gonna make things miserable for me. Not to mention that I'll have to explain to my non-techie wife why her grad-school profs, friends, family, co-workers, and students have to go change their address books.
Cox better look long and hard at buying and keeping the @home domain!
It's not the end of the world if you lose connectivity for a while. You will survive.
Yes, no doubt we'll survive, but time is scarce, now more than ever, and I don't need this additional burden. What a headache.
It's a lot easier to give up freedoms than achieve them, and once Big Brother's done with the terrorists, they'll be looking for a new enemy. And THEY define what a criminal is! Like a puff of sensi after a hard week's work? Sure you don't have any stray MP3's around that you didn't pay for? Maybe installed one too many copies of Windblows someplace without buying one CD per machine?
Be careful when you say "I'm not a criminal" or "My government doesn't care about me."
First they came for the Jews
and I did not speak out
because I was not a Jew.
Then they came for the Communists
and I did not speak out
because I was not a Communist.
Then they came for the trade unionists
and I did not speak out
because I was not a trade unionist.
Then they came for me
and there was no one left
to speak out for me.
-- Pastor Martin Niemöller
It happened at Kent State not that long ago... You're correct that people may have a difficult time shooting at their own kids or siblings, but it has already been demonstrated that in the heat of the moment and in the right situation, there would be little hesitation to shoot somebody else's kid or sibling.
If you can afford a partial paycut in exchange for fewer hours, take the time and enjoy it. It worked out great for him -- he was able to spend a lot of time with his wife & young daughter that he would never have done otherwise. There aren't a lot of times during the course of a career that one is given the opportunity to back off and focus on what's really important in life. And especially after the unbelieveable pace of the last 5-8 years, it's good to slow down a bit and take a breather if you have the chance.