Okay, quick poll: how many people posted to this column that lost the weight and kept it off more than five years? I just read through every post, and I don't think I've seen one yet.
I know that 86.1831927% of all statistics are fabricated, but I have two damn statistics to throw at you:
1 95-99% of all people who lose weight on a diet regain every pound they lost within five years.
2 The diet and exercise industry in this country rakes in an estimated $29 to 33 billion each year.
I don't know what the answer is. I wish all of you out there trying to lose fat the best of luck, don't get me wrong. But I think we're all just rodents running in a hamster wheel to feed a very, very fat corporate machine.
I believe Tolkien deserves credit for getting the ball rolling in fantasy. There have been other greats, but as far as I am aware his books were among the first in the genre to sell over 100 million copies.
But to me personally - no critic input - the story is unremarkable. I have many small criticisms, but here is the main one: I dislike the Lord of the Rings because it uses the "secret weakness" plot hole. Sauron the powerful with his countless hordes can only be stopped by the one in a million chance that the ring is destroyed. Just like the Death Star in Star Wars is invulnerable except for one little exhaust shaft. Or just how Bard's arrow just so happened to hit Smaug in his only weak spot in the Hobbit.
When I encounter a novel that makes use of villians/armies/computers/deities that are practically invulnerable except for one weakness that the heroes have a very small chance to exploit, I sell that novel to the used book store.
For some reason, my library card keeps getting revoked.:)
Ever hear of biodiesel? It's diesel manufactured from vegetable oil that normal diesel engines can use with no modifications and no increase in wear and tear. You can buy it in 55 gallon drums for about $4.50 a gallon, plus delivery. The stuff can also be mixed with regular diesel in any percentage, and of course reduces pollution.
$5 a gallon isn't much higher than fuel prices in Europe, AND if this product was mass produced it would be cheaper anyway.
The problem isn't necessarily that oil companies are trying to stomp out alternative fuels. They're just established. Petroleum transportation, refineries, and and stations all exist. Alternative fuels require massive investments for initial production, transportation, and sales... it would take years before they could hope to compete with petroleum prices.
Big oil doesn't have to compete. They've already one. Unless the government intervenes in a big way (always a very mixed blessing), alternative fuels won't be big in our lifetime.
You're crazy. Capitalism has more than its fair share of abuses, but your alternative is unworkable.
The design for, say, a Ford F-150 is just an IDEA. It's the top selling truck in the US, I believe. But nobody complains that GMC or Honda can't make F-150s.
The recipe for Papa John's pizza is just an IDEA, but for some strange reason only that particular chain sells the stuff.
If someone else started selling Stephen King novels that Stephen King had nothing to do with, there would be prosecution in a hurry.
If a company makes closed source software, they're making money off their idea, and they're keeping that idea to themselves. Just like designing a truck, or making a recipe, or writing a book. You have to pay for it, and you can't duplicate it and distribute it. This is no different. If these ideas 'must be public domain', then there's no reason for anyone to go into business.
If you hate the concept of proprietary software, exercise your free market, capitalistic right to not use it. You have no right to steal it.
First of all, The Lord of the Rings Starts really, really slowly and then travels at a fairly fast pace from halfway through the first book and onward. I don't blame you for not slogging through. The only reason I finished the Fellowship of the Ring on the first try was the use of extensive skimming.
In general, I think the hype is overrated... the books are very good, but not that good.
But - scholars correct me if I'm wrong - he seems to have really kicked off the fantasy novel. A huge number of current fantasy bestsellers are simply loaded with elements borrowed from him.
Of course, he in turn took his ideas from mythology and past authors too. I wouldn't quite label him the father of modern fantasy, but he's certainly a tremendous influence.
Even if the damage these script kiddies caused was to major companies that could afford the losses, it is still theft. They weren't after bread or medicine, they were fscking up systems for fun.
Prison can't be about rehabilitation or reeducation. Why? Because in order for effective changes to be made, you need to use torture and brainwashing. It serves one purpose, and that is 'eye for an eye'.
I'm disappointed by the people that think the kids should be let free. If they were smart enough to write the virus they had to know what it would do. Some of the blame goes to Microsoft for prioritizing ease of use over security. Some of it goes to users that opened the attachments. But neither Microsoft's mistakes nor user mistakes would be an issue if there was no virus.
Hey, did you ever try the exercise routines that he recommends in his Encyclopedia of Bodybuilding? I did, and EVERY TIME, within two weeks I couldn't handle the same weight I used when I started, no matter how hard I pushed myself.
The reason it worked for him is superior genetics, or steroids, or both. Us genetically average, drug free fellows (i.e. mere mortals) actually have a legitimate excuse for not possessing 18" biceps.
First of all, I am pro union. I have a teacher buddy whose school has no union. He is required to work the concession stand at EVERY sports event hosted by the school for no extra pay: football, basketball, baseball, volleyball, track and field. He doesn't make 56K, either. Without unions, employees are abused to no end.
On the other hand, I had the great misfortune of knowing a large number of education majors at my old University. There were certainly some bright people, but many of the rest were frightening. I do not want someone who factors 19 into 10 and 9 teaching sixth grade math to my kid! This is the exact opposite problem: the tables are turned and the union abuses the employer. Incompetent people with untouchable job security and unreasonable pay.
Your average engineer may or may not be socially backwards or lacking in common sense. But they tend to be much smarter than the average teacher. I'd rather have that electric engineer teach my kid basic math than someone who would have been better off working at a hair salon.
Slashdot Mirror
Okay, quick poll: how many people posted to this column that lost the weight and kept it off more than five years? I just read through every post, and I don't think I've seen one yet.
I know that 86.1831927% of all statistics are fabricated, but I have two damn statistics to throw at you:
1 95-99% of all people who lose weight on a diet regain every pound they lost within five years.
2 The diet and exercise industry in this country rakes in an estimated $29 to 33 billion each year.
I don't know what the answer is. I wish all of you out there trying to lose fat the best of luck, don't get me wrong. But I think we're all just rodents running in a hamster wheel to feed a very, very fat corporate machine.
Okay, Doc, let me give it a go...
:)
I believe Tolkien deserves credit for getting the ball rolling in fantasy. There have been other greats, but as far as I am aware his books were among the first in the genre to sell over 100 million copies.
But to me personally - no critic input - the story is unremarkable. I have many small criticisms, but here is the main one: I dislike the Lord of the Rings because it uses the "secret weakness" plot hole. Sauron the powerful with his countless hordes can only be stopped by the one in a million chance that the ring is destroyed. Just like the Death Star in Star Wars is invulnerable except for one little exhaust shaft. Or just how Bard's arrow just so happened to hit Smaug in his only weak spot in the Hobbit.
When I encounter a novel that makes use of villians/armies/computers/deities that are practically invulnerable except for one weakness that the heroes have a very small chance to exploit, I sell that novel to the used book store.
For some reason, my library card keeps getting revoked.
Now we have to do your homework? Come on, that one's easy.
Ever hear of biodiesel? It's diesel manufactured from vegetable oil that normal diesel engines can use with no modifications and no increase in wear and tear. You can buy it in 55 gallon drums for about $4.50 a gallon, plus delivery. The stuff can also be mixed with regular diesel in any percentage, and of course reduces pollution. $5 a gallon isn't much higher than fuel prices in Europe, AND if this product was mass produced it would be cheaper anyway.
The problem isn't necessarily that oil companies are trying to stomp out alternative fuels. They're just established. Petroleum transportation, refineries, and and stations all exist. Alternative fuels require massive investments for initial production, transportation, and sales... it would take years before they could hope to compete with petroleum prices.
Big oil doesn't have to compete. They've already one. Unless the government intervenes in a big way (always a very mixed blessing), alternative fuels won't be big in our lifetime.
You're crazy. Capitalism has more than its fair share of abuses, but your alternative is unworkable.
The design for, say, a Ford F-150 is just an IDEA. It's the top selling truck in the US, I believe. But nobody complains that GMC or Honda can't make F-150s.
The recipe for Papa John's pizza is just an IDEA, but for some strange reason only that particular chain sells the stuff.
If someone else started selling Stephen King novels that Stephen King had nothing to do with, there would be prosecution in a hurry.
If a company makes closed source software, they're making money off their idea, and they're keeping that idea to themselves. Just like designing a truck, or making a recipe, or writing a book. You have to pay for it, and you can't duplicate it and distribute it. This is no different. If these ideas 'must be public domain', then there's no reason for anyone to go into business.
If you hate the concept of proprietary software, exercise your free market, capitalistic right to not use it. You have no right to steal it.
First of all, The Lord of the Rings Starts really, really slowly and then travels at a fairly fast pace from halfway through the first book and onward. I don't blame you for not slogging through. The only reason I finished the Fellowship of the Ring on the first try was the use of extensive skimming.
In general, I think the hype is overrated... the books are very good, but not that good.
But - scholars correct me if I'm wrong - he seems to have really kicked off the fantasy novel. A huge number of current fantasy bestsellers are simply loaded with elements borrowed from him.
Of course, he in turn took his ideas from mythology and past authors too. I wouldn't quite label him the father of modern fantasy, but he's certainly a tremendous influence.
I agree.
Even if the damage these script kiddies caused was to major companies that could afford the losses, it is still theft. They weren't after bread or medicine, they were fscking up systems for fun.
Prison can't be about rehabilitation or reeducation. Why? Because in order for effective changes to be made, you need to use torture and brainwashing. It serves one purpose, and that is 'eye for an eye'.
I'm disappointed by the people that think the kids should be let free. If they were smart enough to write the virus they had to know what it would do. Some of the blame goes to Microsoft for prioritizing ease of use over security. Some of it goes to users that opened the attachments. But neither Microsoft's mistakes nor user mistakes would be an issue if there was no virus.
Hey, did you ever try the exercise routines that he recommends in his Encyclopedia of Bodybuilding? I did, and EVERY TIME, within two weeks I couldn't handle the same weight I used when I started, no matter how hard I pushed myself. The reason it worked for him is superior genetics, or steroids, or both. Us genetically average, drug free fellows (i.e. mere mortals) actually have a legitimate excuse for not possessing 18" biceps.
First of all, I am pro union. I have a teacher buddy whose school has no union. He is required to work the concession stand at EVERY sports event hosted by the school for no extra pay: football, basketball, baseball, volleyball, track and field. He doesn't make 56K, either. Without unions, employees are abused to no end.
On the other hand, I had the great misfortune of knowing a large number of education majors at my old University. There were certainly some bright people, but many of the rest were frightening. I do not want someone who factors 19 into 10 and 9 teaching sixth grade math to my kid! This is the exact opposite problem: the tables are turned and the union abuses the employer. Incompetent people with untouchable job security and unreasonable pay.
Your average engineer may or may not be socially backwards or lacking in common sense. But they tend to be much smarter than the average teacher. I'd rather have that electric engineer teach my kid basic math than someone who would have been better off working at a hair salon.