I would say that so long as the system is both opt-in and voluntary, it shouldn't be a problem. As long as the censorship system isn't mandated by government AND people are free to choose filtered or unfiltered access, where's the harm?
I imagine people will use the "slippery slope" argument. It's hard to refute, since history has shown that once an innocent snowball starts rolling it quickly gathers steam and mass. That once categorization is in place,
But I tend to agree: if things are just categorized... then so what. As a single guy I wouldn't care, but if I was a parent I'd probably use the firewall + categorization and ease-off slowly as my kid(s) got older.
It varies on how grade/age you are. A friend informed me, though, that at his child's school they try to set the record straight(er) in the early grades now, compared to back when we were kids but it was just in brief conversation.
Decades ago when I was in grade school, then yes... in 1st and second grade (around age 6-7) it was Columbus that discovered America and proved the world was round, the story of the bug and the orange (or whatever)... sigh. They mentioned he was trying to get to Asia, but kind of swept it under the rug that he made a mistake... or that he spent most/all of his life thinking he reached Asia. And as someone else mentioned, we also learned about Leif Erikson.
As you got older, the myth is washed away in later grades / years. Other explorers at the time, how "educated cartographers did NOT think the world was flat," how early explorers / settlers were not such shiney examples of civilization, how Columbus thought the wrong thing, etc.
I guess they tried to "keep it simple" in the young years so they could side-step the uglier sides of the era.
But that was a WHILE ago. I have no idea what is thought now, just that a lot of things are different. Heck, my youngest brother learned different / weird ways to do simple arithmetic than I learned back "in the day."
Well, if you replace revolutionary medical breakthroughs with stupidly easy to use interfaces and streamlined packaging for features we've already seen, you've nailed it!
True, some of the features are pretty basic and, well, comparing ANYTHING to the cure for cancer is kind of rediculous.
But in some ways, his humorous analogy is quite apt.
I mean, take the iPhone4S release / announcement. People were assuming it would have bigger screen, new case, new screen-tech, could teleport you to the Enterprise-D, cure male-pattern-baldness, and use LTE on AT&T's non-LTE network. Instead it was just a basic performance upgrade, IOS5, and Sirii.
It's the hype machine: the apple-fans eat it up and the anti-apple-zealots hate it. The funny thing is, the "hype" is mostly Apple sitting on a chair and grinning as everyone else in the world generates the hype themselves.
The problem is, hype generates a big let down for the people that buy into it. And for the people that want no part in it, a large amount of annoyance followed by a smug 'Ha Ha' to the people that bought into it.
Yeh, in my OP I mentioned that " unless it gets broken down by sections/streets of a town/zip" since I wasn't sure if it went down further than town/zip.
Meanwhile you mention addresses with city names, but I can technically use two very different town names in my address since I'm in a section. I imagine my town isn't the only case like this.
So my location (GPS coords) might have one set of rules/taxes, but said system would need to not get confused by me entering one town or another. In which case it would probably need address -> GPS -> region polygon -> rule.
And how different is this than a lot of other companies?
I don't think Jobs was a saint, nor do I think Apple is "great."
But I don't see why people are throwing worshipping-love towards Jobs/Apple, or the vile hate.
Jobs did do a lot to get consumer PC stuff going back in the 80s and he-and-Apple made certain things more main-stream (mp3s, home PCs, streaming to your TV, etc).
Both did some bad stuff too, but it doesn't make them saints or the Devil
3077 counties! Oh lordy! How would we keep track of so many different taxes? That would take either a big piece of paper, or several, even! Too bad there isn't a better way of keep track of lists of things...
As others said, it's not just a list of Zipcode1 == 7%, Zipcode2 == 6%, etc. That's not TOO bad unless it gets broken down by sections/streets of a town/zip, and then you have to make sure some central database is 100% up-to-date. It's probably easier to get updates from big areas than smaller communities.
But... different communities/states have different sets of rules. Oh, for ZipCodeZ food items are an additional 1%, if the price is over $x then it's another 1%, etc. Not every community, but a lot.
In which case, you have to make sure each item is tagged correctly... not just as "food" or "electronics" but whatever every rule... everywhere... can classify an item. Imported Meats + Kosher + etc. Or this computer is Computer + Home Media Entertainment + etc.
You then need to incorporate the logic in there (perhaps as a syntax / algorithm) "for Zipcode3, if ItemPriceX > Y then Add(Z)" and all of that. And that might be a pain after a couple of years when a handful of small areas decide to change around their rules on the fly.
Personally, I'm all for either a standard National Internet Tax or simply a simple percentage-tax by state, or no tax.
Yep. Scrollbars become unusable when one scrollbar pixel equals several pages of what's being scrolled.
Plus...ummm, doesn't "search" work on folders too? Ooops!
Depending on where I am I use both: folders and search. I can't trust the sender used words I'd want to search for... even stuff as obvious as project name or at least something from the project. IE, "here's a link to that page I was talking about..." A few months later, and my reaction is "Umm, OK?" And not every email client allows for easy tagging or a large category list.
Hypothetically if I have to backup work mail before it gets automatically deleted after X days, then my archive becomes too cumbersome if it's just one large folder by year or even quarter. So at the end of every month when I archive my email, I group them into folders (usually by project). It's not perfect since an email might belong to multiple projects, but if "search" fails to find something for me I can at least browse through dozens of emails instead of thousands.
What might you do that's not within the "norms?" can you run through walls - find a way to get an unfair advantage through quirks in the programming? I'd look for things that can ruin the experience if not fixed. That's what adds value to a beta test - finding the bugs that no one thought about.
A lot of people seem to think "Beta" just means "early access." It also doesn't help when an MMO says "beta access" to members, when it fact it really is just early-access to the game like 2 weeks before release. Also, Google doesn't help matters either with how it labels its products Beta even though the regular public has been using its feature/app for years.
My understanding, early-level play testing is like you described. I recall stories where testers would be given a list of known and obscure bugs that were a PitA to replicate and had to repeat that bit for hours and hours to say if it's done. Check every-inch of the walls of every room+hallway to see if there's a glitch/void. See if you can get the outfielder in this baseball game to run through the fence. If you and the boss hit zero-health at the same time, are you still left standing with zero-health. etc
Meanwhile, in the MMO's the users that get access to the "beta" (aka 2 week / 1 month early access) think they're gods and that what they tested was the original code. And not simply the stress-testing that it really way.
Note to self... Don't sun-bathe in the arctic... and wear layers.
Honestly though, it's been a while since I've seen much news about the Ozone layer. I hope people haven't forgotten that the damage done (or being done) is a problem.
Research into emergency evacuations by the Civil Aviation Authority in 2006 found that a significant number of passengers struggle with the most basic of tasks such as releasing the seat belt.
In terms of our genetic future, does this class of passenger need to be saved?
Eh, I can see it.
They probably mean "under stress" or "under duress." After a crash or "abrupt" landing, then panics sets in.
Your blood is probably pumping, you're almost OD'ing on adrenaline, and you're pants are probably both wet *and* brown.
I don't find it hard to believe that in a state of that kind of panic, you immediately know to "flip the big panel on your seat belt to release."
Heck, under high enough stress people forget how to do the most basic things. Fear is OK, fear is fine, but panic kills.
Can you guys imagine why anyone in Europe almost dies laughing when Americans claim they live in the world's freest country?
Well, in my case I was going to a University in a city with a bad reputation. Not insanely so, and the parts of the city where the University exist aren't as bad as other parts of it, but Newark doesn't have the reputation for being the friendliest place on Earth..
Though all things considered, I felt better off knowing the cops at my college in Newark were *also* armed. If I went to University in a quiet town with low crime, then it might be a bit off-putting.
I don't mind having armed police... though I really don't want to get into the whole banning guns / gun control thing. I have luke-warm feelings either way.
I read the original exchange [http://thefire.org/article/13592.html], as well as the linked article.
...
It seems to me that if he had simply talked rationally about this from the start (after the poster was removed) this whole problem could have been avoided. While the Campus Police may have gone too far enforcing campus rules, the prof went way out in the deep end without any concern for sanity.
Nothing the CP did was a terrible fascist crime, if Professor Miller had bothered to think before screaming, this would have been a non-issue.
First off, that was email. Part of the Internet is it brings out the worst in people. Also when you look at something from a far vantage point it's easy to make judgements.
On one hand, it's possible your opinion has some fact to it: perhaps the professor was over-reacting and a simple exchange would've solved everything.
However a lot of this over-hesitant garbage happens in schools (high school and universities). Security and Administration over-react to things in a big way, it's possible this professor had enough.
I recall situations back in school: right after the whole "trenchcoat mafia" thing, a friend's school suspended a group of kids that trench coats even though they were never in trouble for ANYTHING and wore trench coats for years. Decent grades, never got detentions, etc. But the administration "feared" they were part of some "cult" and suspended them (until the parents+lawyers yelled WTF).
Some kid corrects someone in the use of the term "gun" vs "musket" and are immediately feared for "Going Columbine" because they obviously know "too much" about fire arms. And have to see a counselor to make sure they're not going to blow up the school.
Yes, some people (including professors) are over-reactionary with certain thing and flip out at the drop of a hat.
But sometimes enough-is-enough and you have to draw the line somewhere when people react too strongly to something they fear might be a hot topic.
I can't say which scenario this fits without knowing what's been going on at that school prior to this.
If it's on a college campus it's a pretty good bet that they're actual commissioned police officers.
Also, assholes like you are a large part of why security officers end up bitter and pedantic.
Yeh, I can't speak for all campuses but mine had real cops -- graduated from police academy, carried guns, could arrest you, etc. They weren't part of a Newark precinct number but were apparently recognized cops in every other way and were recognized as having full arrest authority by the State of NJ.
Though I recall someone saying their school had rent-a-cops that could just "write you up." So I guess it varies.
NASA is famous for paying $10,000 for a toilet seat. Can you imagine how much they pay for the food? Sure, it would be cool if they had it for sale - but I don't think they'll sell many meals if they are $1,000 each.
You're right, they should just go the Lowe's and pick up a toilet + seat that's on sale. No big deal, I'm sure it would all work fine in a low / zero Gravity environment.
Actually, no. It wouldn't. Your basic toilet+seat relies on gravity. Gravity holds the seat down. Gravity operates the float valves that control how much water is held in the tank. Gravity pulls the flush water into the bowl. Gravity closes the flap valve that ends the flush. Gravity creates the siphon that pulls the wastes into the sewage pipe. Afterwards, gravity holds the water at the bottom of the bowl, making a seal that prevents sewer gasses from entering the home....
Sorry, I thought "sarcasm" was pretty apparent from my post. I forgot that stuff doesn't translate to text very well.
the "I'm sure it would all work fine" bit. Had you read the rest of my post you would've seen where I was going with all of that. Stuff here, doesn't necessarily work up there in zero / low G env.
Yeah, I have always been able to hear when CRT televisions are on, even behind closed doors...
Yeh, I can (or at least could) always tell that stuff to. But that one 27" was just... wow. Obnoxious loud. I returned it thinking something was wrong, the next one still had the whine but it was the same as the other / normal CRTs.
Now, I can't tell. There are no more CRTs in my house or at my work. Plus I'm older now so I might be passed the level where I can here stuff past a certain frequency. But I don't have any way to test well anymore.
Whenever I am maxing out my cheapo WiFi router, sometimes I can hear a very slight humming from the router
Similarly, if its very quiet, under certain conditions I can hear slight noises from my laptop (not the Fan or HDD, seems to come from the CPU), and sometimes from CRT TV's
I wonder if their issue is something like this
When my 27" tube TV was on / running, it made a high-pitched noise that drove me nuts. My parents couldn't hear it, but my brothers and I could... I guess it was high enough to be beyond the adult-ear but within the child ear... like those weird ringtones the high schoolers supposedly use.
But yeh, some electric equipment can have a hum... even if the moving parts (HD and fans) are disable. For example, flourescent lights can sometimes hum.
But no, their problem is the hypocondria; some go far as to think it's causing mental / cancer issues. I believe there were some double-blind tests where the people were found to be just thinking it in their mind.
Then again, I'm sure there are those whose believe is so strong they present psycho-sematic responses.
NASA is famous for paying $10,000 for a toilet seat. Can you imagine how much they pay for the food? Sure, it would be cool if they had it for sale - but I don't think they'll sell many meals if they are $1,000 each.
You're right, they should just go the Lowe's and pick up a toilet + seat that's on sale. No big deal, I'm sure it would all work fine in a low / zero Gravity environment.
When you're working up there, certain things on the earth (that we take for granted) are a lot more complicated. When you have to custom build things to work up there, it's going to be obscenely expensive compared to mass-produced stuff for down here.
And before you mention the $1million pen, that's just a myth. It was done privately by Fisher, who sold it to NASA.
I had a friend who was actually considering buying a radiation detector back when this was in the news (he lives in Virginia, mind you). Of course, this is the same friend who also thought bird-flu/SARS/the West Nile Virus/ebola were going to sweep the world in a pandemic and Y2K was going to cause all our computers to explode. Some people are always looking for a reason to panic.
Eh, I know it's all just over-reaction and people freaking out. I've never caved into any of it.
However, whenever something like that comes up I wonder for a few minutes about 2 things. 1 - I should probably put together my "bug-out bag." I used to have one a while back with some some basic emergency stuff in case I have to leave the house. Some cash, flashlight + batteries, emergency blanket, and some things I'd replace every so often like protein bars / water bottles / glow sticks. Just in case I need to leave quickly due to an issue.
2 - Does this give me an excuse to finally buy a geiger counter? Not that I'd ever need it, but it's one of those little things that might be interesting to play with for a while. For example, I like the ticks/sounds the old ones used to make.
But as far as the whole radiation / bird flu / anthrax thing of "OMG I NEED LOTS AND LOTS OF PLASTIC SHEETS AND DUCT TAPE AND GEIGER COUNTERS AND PURELL AND...". Nope.
They have reasonable prepaid plans. I can get unlimited text, voice, and data (throttled, but meh) at 50$ a mo. I can get unthrottled data at 70.
The android phones they offer can make use of my home wifi to make and recieve calls, even if the cellular coverage is spotty. I live in the boonies, and this is a major perk. It allows me to keep a big city number where the phone company would charge me long distance otherwise.
They actually give a shit about their customers, or at least appear to more than ATT does.
They are the only other US carrier that is GSM besides the bloated whore that is ATT. The last thing I want to see is ATT shove another cellular carrier up its chancre riddled snatch.
I tried switching to T-Mobile in 1-2 years ago from AT&T for a lot of the reasons you give above.
But the coverage in my area was very poor, while AT&T's is quite good and Verizon's is great. So I stayed with AT&T.
If the coverage wouldn't be so poor by me, such as driving between the house and work, it would be a no-brainer. But dropped calls and dead zones made me want to pull my hair out.
Then again I'm sure they're stellar in other areas, especially closer to the big cities.
I don't know about the "average person", but while I am in the bathroom shaving, washing, showering, bathing, trimming, using the toilet, etc, I have neither the time nor inclination to somehow stare at (or maybe interact with) text and graphics on a mirror over the vanity...
Perhaps I am just not geeky enough?
Listening to music would be OK, I suppose:)
Nah, you aren't. I'm not a major fan of reading while I'm dropping a number 2.. but I know a bunch of people that bring reading material (and a bunch that never bother). I don't see the point in it, unless you know your stomach isn't doing too well and you're gonna be in there for a long long time.
But as for the rest, showering, shaving, brushing my teeth... I just want to be in-and-out. Why hang around in there and take longer to brush my teeth while watching YouTube when I can just brush quickly, walk 20', and just my computer. Heck, I'm usually in a hurry getting ready for work in the morning, the last thing I want is something that's gonna slow my shower (or whatever) down by even a couple of minutes.
I really don't care about the look... though I would like to know some of the hardware spaces (support of 4G/LTE, size/rez of screen, etc).
It's a brick phone with a large touch screen and very few buttons (home+volume+lock). There are only so many ways you have have that look, but there are variations.
Looking at it from the front, the 3 is almost exactly like the 4.
Looking at the profile, there are differences. The 3 had a round bowl-like back... so it wobbled as it laid there. The 4 is more of a basic rectangle
As mentioned, it was at a bar. People forget their stuff ALL of the time at a bar or when otherwise drunk. In which case they might not notice it gone until they sober up a little. I've seen and heard of it happening to people I know with their regular stuff (and expensive stuff at that). They put the phone on the bar to make a call or look something up, start to get hammered, forget it's there, and walk away. Or it falls out of their pocket and they don't realize it.
That all being said, I'd imagine there are only maybe dozens of testers. In which case a couple dozen people losing the phone twice in a year is a bit much.
Well, it was a very shallow earthquake which made a difference.
All of this is because regions are not used to dealing with X. For comparison, if some quiet neighborhood had a drive-by shooting people would be losing their minds, while people in certain cities would be saying "who the hell cares, we have 3 per week." The same goes for weather or rain.
Personally I didn't see what the big deal was with the earthquake. I felt the tremor in NJ where I work: I laughed, went back, and couldn't care less. 10 minutes later someone pulled the fire alarm because they realized most people didn't bother leaving their desk. And we remained evacuated for 45-60 minutes.
Though I hear it did some damage to some Washington DC landmarks.
Slashdot Mirror
I would say that so long as the system is both opt-in and voluntary, it shouldn't be a problem. As long as the censorship system isn't mandated by government AND people are free to choose filtered or unfiltered access, where's the harm?
I imagine people will use the "slippery slope" argument. It's hard to refute, since history has shown that once an innocent snowball starts rolling it quickly gathers steam and mass. That once categorization is in place,
But I tend to agree: if things are just categorized... then so what. As a single guy I wouldn't care, but if I was a parent I'd probably use the firewall + categorization and ease-off slowly as my kid(s) got older.
It varies on how grade/age you are. A friend informed me, though, that at his child's school they try to set the record straight(er) in the early grades now, compared to back when we were kids but it was just in brief conversation.
Decades ago when I was in grade school, then yes... in 1st and second grade (around age 6-7) it was Columbus that discovered America and proved the world was round, the story of the bug and the orange (or whatever)... sigh. They mentioned he was trying to get to Asia, but kind of swept it under the rug that he made a mistake... or that he spent most/all of his life thinking he reached Asia. And as someone else mentioned, we also learned about Leif Erikson.
As you got older, the myth is washed away in later grades / years. Other explorers at the time, how "educated cartographers did NOT think the world was flat," how early explorers / settlers were not such shiney examples of civilization, how Columbus thought the wrong thing, etc.
I guess they tried to "keep it simple" in the young years so they could side-step the uglier sides of the era.
But that was a WHILE ago. I have no idea what is thought now, just that a lot of things are different. Heck, my youngest brother learned different / weird ways to do simple arithmetic than I learned back "in the day."
Well, if you replace revolutionary medical breakthroughs with stupidly easy to use interfaces and streamlined packaging for features we've already seen, you've nailed it!
True, some of the features are pretty basic and, well, comparing ANYTHING to the cure for cancer is kind of rediculous.
But in some ways, his humorous analogy is quite apt.
I mean, take the iPhone4S release / announcement. People were assuming it would have bigger screen, new case, new screen-tech, could teleport you to the Enterprise-D, cure male-pattern-baldness, and use LTE on AT&T's non-LTE network. Instead it was just a basic performance upgrade, IOS5, and Sirii.
It's the hype machine: the apple-fans eat it up and the anti-apple-zealots hate it. The funny thing is, the "hype" is mostly Apple sitting on a chair and grinning as everyone else in the world generates the hype themselves.
The problem is, hype generates a big let down for the people that buy into it. And for the people that want no part in it, a large amount of annoyance followed by a smug 'Ha Ha' to the people that bought into it.
Yeh, in my OP I mentioned that " unless it gets broken down by sections/streets of a town/zip" since I wasn't sure if it went down further than town/zip.
Meanwhile you mention addresses with city names, but I can technically use two very different town names in my address since I'm in a section. I imagine my town isn't the only case like this.
So my location (GPS coords) might have one set of rules/taxes, but said system would need to not get confused by me entering one town or another. In which case it would probably need address -> GPS -> region polygon -> rule.
And how different is this than a lot of other companies?
I don't think Jobs was a saint, nor do I think Apple is "great."
But I don't see why people are throwing worshipping-love towards Jobs/Apple, or the vile hate.
Jobs did do a lot to get consumer PC stuff going back in the 80s and he-and-Apple made certain things more main-stream (mp3s, home PCs, streaming to your TV, etc).
Both did some bad stuff too, but it doesn't make them saints or the Devil
3077 counties! Oh lordy! How would we keep track of so many different taxes? That would take either a big piece of paper, or several, even! Too bad there isn't a better way of keep track of lists of things...
As others said, it's not just a list of Zipcode1 == 7%, Zipcode2 == 6%, etc. That's not TOO bad unless it gets broken down by sections/streets of a town/zip, and then you have to make sure some central database is 100% up-to-date. It's probably easier to get updates from big areas than smaller communities.
But... different communities/states have different sets of rules. Oh, for ZipCodeZ food items are an additional 1%, if the price is over $x then it's another 1%, etc. Not every community, but a lot.
In which case, you have to make sure each item is tagged correctly... not just as "food" or "electronics" but whatever every rule... everywhere... can classify an item. Imported Meats + Kosher + etc. Or this computer is Computer + Home Media Entertainment + etc.
You then need to incorporate the logic in there (perhaps as a syntax / algorithm) "for Zipcode3, if ItemPriceX > Y then Add(Z)" and all of that. And that might be a pain after a couple of years when a handful of small areas decide to change around their rules on the fly.
Personally, I'm all for either a standard National Internet Tax or simply a simple percentage-tax by state, or no tax.
Yep. Scrollbars become unusable when one scrollbar pixel equals several pages of what's being scrolled.
Plus...ummm, doesn't "search" work on folders too? Ooops!
Depending on where I am I use both: folders and search. I can't trust the sender used words I'd want to search for... even stuff as obvious as project name or at least something from the project. IE, "here's a link to that page I was talking about..." A few months later, and my reaction is "Umm, OK?" And not every email client allows for easy tagging or a large category list.
Hypothetically if I have to backup work mail before it gets automatically deleted after X days, then my archive becomes too cumbersome if it's just one large folder by year or even quarter. So at the end of every month when I archive my email, I group them into folders (usually by project). It's not perfect since an email might belong to multiple projects, but if "search" fails to find something for me I can at least browse through dozens of emails instead of thousands.
What might you do that's not within the "norms?" can you run through walls - find a way to get an unfair advantage through quirks in the programming? I'd look for things that can ruin the experience if not fixed. That's what adds value to a beta test - finding the bugs that no one thought about.
A lot of people seem to think "Beta" just means "early access." It also doesn't help when an MMO says "beta access" to members, when it fact it really is just early-access to the game like 2 weeks before release. Also, Google doesn't help matters either with how it labels its products Beta even though the regular public has been using its feature/app for years.
My understanding, early-level play testing is like you described. I recall stories where testers would be given a list of known and obscure bugs that were a PitA to replicate and had to repeat that bit for hours and hours to say if it's done. Check every-inch of the walls of every room+hallway to see if there's a glitch/void. See if you can get the outfielder in this baseball game to run through the fence. If you and the boss hit zero-health at the same time, are you still left standing with zero-health. etc
Meanwhile, in the MMO's the users that get access to the "beta" (aka 2 week / 1 month early access) think they're gods and that what they tested was the original code. And not simply the stress-testing that it really way.
Note to self... Don't sun-bathe in the arctic... and wear layers.
Honestly though, it's been a while since I've seen much news about the Ozone layer. I hope people haven't forgotten that the damage done (or being done) is a problem.
FTA:
Research into emergency evacuations by the Civil Aviation Authority in 2006 found that a significant number of passengers struggle with the most basic of tasks such as releasing the seat belt.
In terms of our genetic future, does this class of passenger need to be saved?
Eh, I can see it.
They probably mean "under stress" or "under duress." After a crash or "abrupt" landing, then panics sets in.
Your blood is probably pumping, you're almost OD'ing on adrenaline, and you're pants are probably both wet *and* brown.
I don't find it hard to believe that in a state of that kind of panic, you immediately know to "flip the big panel on your seat belt to release."
Heck, under high enough stress people forget how to do the most basic things. Fear is OK, fear is fine, but panic kills.
Can you guys imagine why anyone in Europe almost dies laughing when Americans claim they live in the world's freest country?
Well, in my case I was going to a University in a city with a bad reputation. Not insanely so, and the parts of the city where the University exist aren't as bad as other parts of it, but Newark doesn't have the reputation for being the friendliest place on Earth..
Though all things considered, I felt better off knowing the cops at my college in Newark were *also* armed. If I went to University in a quiet town with low crime, then it might be a bit off-putting.
I don't mind having armed police... though I really don't want to get into the whole banning guns / gun control thing. I have luke-warm feelings either way.
I read the original exchange [http://thefire.org/article/13592.html], as well as the linked article.
It seems to me that if he had simply talked rationally about this from the start (after the poster was removed) this whole problem could have been avoided. While the Campus Police may have gone too far enforcing campus rules, the prof went way out in the deep end without any concern for sanity.
Nothing the CP did was a terrible fascist crime, if Professor Miller had bothered to think before screaming, this would have been a non-issue.
First off, that was email. Part of the Internet is it brings out the worst in people. Also when you look at something from a far vantage point it's easy to make judgements.
On one hand, it's possible your opinion has some fact to it: perhaps the professor was over-reacting and a simple exchange would've solved everything.
However a lot of this over-hesitant garbage happens in schools (high school and universities). Security and Administration over-react to things in a big way, it's possible this professor had enough.
I recall situations back in school: right after the whole "trenchcoat mafia" thing, a friend's school suspended a group of kids that trench coats even though they were never in trouble for ANYTHING and wore trench coats for years. Decent grades, never got detentions, etc. But the administration "feared" they were part of some "cult" and suspended them (until the parents+lawyers yelled WTF).
Some kid corrects someone in the use of the term "gun" vs "musket" and are immediately feared for "Going Columbine" because they obviously know "too much" about fire arms. And have to see a counselor to make sure they're not going to blow up the school.
Yes, some people (including professors) are over-reactionary with certain thing and flip out at the drop of a hat.
But sometimes enough-is-enough and you have to draw the line somewhere when people react too strongly to something they fear might be a hot topic.
I can't say which scenario this fits without knowing what's been going on at that school prior to this.
If it's on a college campus it's a pretty good bet that they're actual commissioned police officers.
Also, assholes like you are a large part of why security officers end up bitter and pedantic.
Yeh, I can't speak for all campuses but mine had real cops -- graduated from police academy, carried guns, could arrest you, etc. They weren't part of a Newark precinct number but were apparently recognized cops in every other way and were recognized as having full arrest authority by the State of NJ.
Though I recall someone saying their school had rent-a-cops that could just "write you up." So I guess it varies.
NASA is famous for paying $10,000 for a toilet seat. Can you imagine how much they pay for the food? Sure, it would be cool if they had it for sale - but I don't think they'll sell many meals if they are $1,000 each.
You're right, they should just go the Lowe's and pick up a toilet + seat that's on sale. No big deal, I'm sure it would all work fine in a low / zero Gravity environment.
Actually, no. It wouldn't. Your basic toilet+seat relies on gravity. Gravity holds the seat down. Gravity operates the float valves that control how much water is held in the tank. Gravity pulls the flush water into the bowl. Gravity closes the flap valve that ends the flush. Gravity creates the siphon that pulls the wastes into the sewage pipe. Afterwards, gravity holds the water at the bottom of the bowl, making a seal that prevents sewer gasses from entering the home. ...
Sorry, I thought "sarcasm" was pretty apparent from my post. I forgot that stuff doesn't translate to text very well.
the "I'm sure it would all work fine" bit. Had you read the rest of my post you would've seen where I was going with all of that. Stuff here, doesn't necessarily work up there in zero / low G env.
Yeah, I have always been able to hear when CRT televisions are on, even behind closed doors...
Yeh, I can (or at least could) always tell that stuff to. But that one 27" was just... wow. Obnoxious loud. I returned it thinking something was wrong, the next one still had the whine but it was the same as the other / normal CRTs.
Now, I can't tell. There are no more CRTs in my house or at my work. Plus I'm older now so I might be passed the level where I can here stuff past a certain frequency. But I don't have any way to test well anymore.
Whenever I am maxing out my cheapo WiFi router, sometimes I can hear a very slight humming from the router
Similarly, if its very quiet, under certain conditions I can hear slight noises from my laptop (not the Fan or HDD, seems to come from the CPU), and sometimes from CRT TV's
I wonder if their issue is something like this
When my 27" tube TV was on / running, it made a high-pitched noise that drove me nuts. My parents couldn't hear it, but my brothers and I could... I guess it was high enough to be beyond the adult-ear but within the child ear... like those weird ringtones the high schoolers supposedly use.
But yeh, some electric equipment can have a hum... even if the moving parts (HD and fans) are disable. For example, flourescent lights can sometimes hum.
But no, their problem is the hypocondria; some go far as to think it's causing mental / cancer issues. I believe there were some double-blind tests where the people were found to be just thinking it in their mind.
Then again, I'm sure there are those whose believe is so strong they present psycho-sematic responses.
NASA is famous for paying $10,000 for a toilet seat. Can you imagine how much they pay for the food? Sure, it would be cool if they had it for sale - but I don't think they'll sell many meals if they are $1,000 each.
You're right, they should just go the Lowe's and pick up a toilet + seat that's on sale. No big deal, I'm sure it would all work fine in a low / zero Gravity environment.
When you're working up there, certain things on the earth (that we take for granted) are a lot more complicated. When you have to custom build things to work up there, it's going to be obscenely expensive compared to mass-produced stuff for down here.
And before you mention the $1million pen, that's just a myth. It was done privately by Fisher, who sold it to NASA.
I had a friend who was actually considering buying a radiation detector back when this was in the news (he lives in Virginia, mind you). Of course, this is the same friend who also thought bird-flu/SARS/the West Nile Virus/ebola were going to sweep the world in a pandemic and Y2K was going to cause all our computers to explode. Some people are always looking for a reason to panic.
Eh, I know it's all just over-reaction and people freaking out. I've never caved into any of it.
However, whenever something like that comes up I wonder for a few minutes about 2 things.
1 - I should probably put together my "bug-out bag."
I used to have one a while back with some some basic emergency stuff in case I have to leave the house. Some cash, flashlight + batteries, emergency blanket, and some things I'd replace every so often like protein bars / water bottles / glow sticks. Just in case I need to leave quickly due to an issue.
2 - Does this give me an excuse to finally buy a geiger counter?
Not that I'd ever need it, but it's one of those little things that might be interesting to play with for a while. For example, I like the ticks/sounds the old ones used to make.
But as far as the whole radiation / bird flu / anthrax thing of "OMG I NEED LOTS AND LOTS OF PLASTIC SHEETS AND DUCT TAPE AND GEIGER COUNTERS AND PURELL AND ...". Nope.
The reasons I use T-Mobile:
I tried switching to T-Mobile in 1-2 years ago from AT&T for a lot of the reasons you give above.
But the coverage in my area was very poor, while AT&T's is quite good and Verizon's is great. So I stayed with AT&T.
If the coverage wouldn't be so poor by me, such as driving between the house and work, it would be a no-brainer. But dropped calls and dead zones made me want to pull my hair out.
Then again I'm sure they're stellar in other areas, especially closer to the big cities.
... Sprint / Nextel
2 small companies merging, not a huge deal.
But how many times do we have to keep splitting AT&T / Ma Bell up?
I don't know about the "average person", but while I am in the bathroom shaving, washing, showering, bathing, trimming, using the toilet, etc, I have neither the time nor inclination to somehow stare at (or maybe interact with) text and graphics on a mirror over the vanity...
Perhaps I am just not geeky enough?
Listening to music would be OK, I suppose :)
Nah, you aren't. I'm not a major fan of reading while I'm dropping a number 2.. but I know a bunch of people that bring reading material (and a bunch that never bother). I don't see the point in it, unless you know your stomach isn't doing too well and you're gonna be in there for a long long time.
But as for the rest, showering, shaving, brushing my teeth... I just want to be in-and-out. Why hang around in there and take longer to brush my teeth while watching YouTube when I can just brush quickly, walk 20', and just my computer. Heck, I'm usually in a hurry getting ready for work in the morning, the last thing I want is something that's gonna slow my shower (or whatever) down by even a couple of minutes.
There is a problem with a restaurant on the moon: good food, but no atmosphere.
Really? I heard the atmosphere was killer, yo
I really don't care about the look... though I would like to know some of the hardware spaces (support of 4G/LTE, size/rez of screen, etc).
It's a brick phone with a large touch screen and very few buttons (home+volume+lock). There are only so many ways you have have that look, but there are variations.
Looking at it from the front, the 3 is almost exactly like the 4.
Looking at the profile, there are differences. The 3 had a round bowl-like back... so it wobbled as it laid there. The 4 is more of a basic rectangle
As mentioned, it was at a bar. People forget their stuff ALL of the time at a bar or when otherwise drunk. In which case they might not notice it gone until they sober up a little. I've seen and heard of it happening to people I know with their regular stuff (and expensive stuff at that). They put the phone on the bar to make a call or look something up, start to get hammered, forget it's there, and walk away. Or it falls out of their pocket and they don't realize it.
That all being said, I'd imagine there are only maybe dozens of testers. In which case a couple dozen people losing the phone twice in a year is a bit much.
Well, it was a very shallow earthquake which made a difference.
All of this is because regions are not used to dealing with X. For comparison, if some quiet neighborhood had a drive-by shooting people would be losing their minds, while people in certain cities would be saying "who the hell cares, we have 3 per week." The same goes for weather or rain.
Personally I didn't see what the big deal was with the earthquake. I felt the tremor in NJ where I work: I laughed, went back, and couldn't care less. 10 minutes later someone pulled the fire alarm because they realized most people didn't bother leaving their desk. And we remained evacuated for 45-60 minutes.
Though I hear it did some damage to some Washington DC landmarks.