I always liked this one: parallel train tracks appear to converge in perspective. what angle must they be laid at to appear to be parallel in perspective?
yeah, but it's more like brand control. they want to evoke a certain mood. it's done with the colors, lighting, clothing, layout, and yes, music. sure, it could be used for sinister purposes, but more often than not, it's about consistency of message.
As an arachnophobe, i really don't wanna think about this. -giant spiders attacking everyone!-
are you an actual arachnophobe? this site suggests it is a european thing: it "began as misplaced fear during the plague (having historical basis), then was passed down through European families adding a cultural basis". And they report success treating it with virtual reality.
Sure, but they have a standard form. and a fairly standardized language, even a standard tone. It is no longer funny and ironic, for instance, to describe your writing as "rants" or "ramblings", etc. (even though they are).
My advice is pick the really important things to preserve and save them well. eg- print it out. Everything else: just do the minimum, and throw away the crap. Most of it will probably be fine anyway, for our lifetime, but the important stuff you've already taken care of.
(btw, the specific problem with burnt CDs is the decay of the organic dye, iirc. the blue ones last the longest.)
I don't know... I hear you on the ergonomic things, but then I don't think comfort, in general, is conducive to good programming. Having the right desk, the right light, the right chair, the right mouse, etc. - IMHO these are all distractions. and of course if you have no injuries or other physical limitations, etc.
When you need to do good work, you need to eat healthy, lay off the caffeine and alcohol, and get the sleep you need. and ideally, get some exercise. Get out and walk or do pullups or something while you think. That doesn't cost money. Then you can do great work anywhere.
So Sparkle is like a graphic designer's version of Interface Builder for OS X... but "vector based" which means... hmm, Windows users will now get Flash-like wackiness for interfaces?
However, I've never seen metrics for the amount of money spent on pharmaceutical advertising/lobbying vs. drug development, and your suggeston that the former outweighs the latter is a little hard to believe. Can you cite some figures? If this is true, I'd like to have them on hand.
My biggest problem with the pharmaceutical companies is fundamental; they have to be profitable like any other company, they need recurring revenue, and being public, they have to grow. We have to need their drugs, we have to remain sick for them to be successful. They don't win by curing diseases. So they need a different business model in which they win when diseases are eradicated. Putting everyone in maintenance mode should be the worst thing of all.
Oh and btw, thanks for your level headed reply. it's... so refreshing here...
By necessity, this is a lengthy, complex, costly process.
In your bullet points you forgot marketing (including courting the doctors), on which is spent more money than all your other bullet points above combined.
And you know, they don't really care all that much if the drugs actually work. They lobby to abolish the FDA. They want to sell their drugs for massive profits and have the federal government protect them from lawsuits (eg the thimerosal controversy). Yay.
Re:Thanks to Apple and Open Source
on
Bill Gates Speaks Out
·
· Score: 3, Insightful
Microsoft doesn't want cool features and creativity. They want money.
No, money is good, but growth potential is everything. valuation is based on potential. They have to grow. they can't stop changing. if they do, they become a commodity. they might as well sell electricity or water. they fear that software may cease to be a growth industry. that's why everything has to look shiny and new and improved all the time. that's why they fear open source. it's not the money. They do want cool features.
...in an Aug. 23 interview with Arms Control Today, a Department of State official confirmed that a new National Intelligence Estimate (NIE) predicts that Iran will not be able to acquire fissile material for a weapon before "early to mid-next decade."
those responsible for such an off-message NIE will probably soon be leaving to "spend more time with family".
What is prayer for? How about asking for God's forgiveness? How about Praise? How about thanking God? How about asking for comfort?
Yeah.. you know, I realize how pointless it is discussing religion here... but what the hey.
My comment was about determinism. One does not need to be a determinist to believe in God. To some of us, god is not a being that can be influenced by praise, but rather more like a property or the structure of the universe. Surely there is more to life than praising or asking forgiveness from a being that has already determined your fate. Is there any meaning or purpose to that? (imho, no: hence my nihilism comment) In the one case, your job in life is to glorify this entity and hope for reward and not damnation. In the other case, one seeks to understand. We can't influence math with praise or receive forgiveness from physics. We have to study and work out the solution for ourselves.
If we see it that way, we would realize that God already knows the result of any decisions he or we make because to Him, it is about to happen, is happening, and has already happened all at the same time. His demenses extend outside of our 3-dimensional physical universe, so applying 3-dimensional linear thinking does not apply.
In other words, you might as well be a nihilist, for certainly it amounts to nothing. What could be worse? And what is the purpose of prayer, for instance? What can you tell god that he does not already know? What makes you think you have any influence? Especially if he exists at the beginning and the end, knowing all. Everything simply is. Everything and Nothing, they are indistinguishable. Ah.. let's all rise to sing the praises.
breeding favorable traits (or any trait) requires many many generations. to see this, just look at dog breeds.
I assume you mean the fact that dog breeds exist. Most are man-made. the alaskan malamute is just about the only "natural" dog left.
there was an interesting article in the Atlantic a few years ago about competitive dog breeders' ideas of genetics. Because they only breed champions they kill off a lot of good traits in dogs deemed less than perfect (as defined by the AKA).
Slashdot Mirror
Dont' call it OpenDoc...
sigh...
I always liked this one: parallel train tracks appear to converge in perspective. what angle must they be laid at to appear to be parallel in perspective?
Well you could always just wash/shower before you go to bed every night. I do that in the summer when it is hot anyway.
Joe Business Manager has his poetic license fee automatically taken out of his paycheck.
yeah, but it's more like brand control. they want to evoke a certain mood. it's done with the colors, lighting, clothing, layout, and yes, music. sure, it could be used for sinister purposes, but more often than not, it's about consistency of message.
it's all the extra revenue from customers who can't cancel the service (and aren't using resources anymore)
no kidding. first, what "is" Muzak, some sort of trademark?
I take it you didn't follow the link.
It's the audio you hear in the mall, in restaurants, everywhere and nowhere.
I think they do want that. At least for their servers.
As an arachnophobe, i really don't wanna think about this. -giant spiders attacking everyone!-
are you an actual arachnophobe? this site suggests it is a european thing: it "began as misplaced fear during the plague (having historical basis), then was passed down through European families adding a cultural basis". And they report success treating it with virtual reality.
That's one of the two Primary Tools.
The other is the sledge hammer.
with them you can do anything.
Thankfully, I've found this guy who really says it all better than I can.
It's good you don't feel the need to devote that kind of time and energy to harmless things you don't like... otherwise you'd be mistaken for a loser.
Blogs are glorified web pages are they not?
Sure, but they have a standard form. and a fairly standardized language, even a standard tone. It is no longer funny and ironic, for instance, to describe your writing as "rants" or "ramblings", etc. (even though they are).
My advice is pick the really important things to preserve and save them well. eg- print it out. Everything else: just do the minimum, and throw away the crap. Most of it will probably be fine anyway, for our lifetime, but the important stuff you've already taken care of.
(btw, the specific problem with burnt CDs is the decay of the organic dye, iirc. the blue ones last the longest.)
I'm still waiting for Kinetic Energy weapons. Ya know... big spikes of metal being dropped into our gravity well in order to obliterate targets.
what's old is new again?
I don't know... I hear you on the ergonomic things, but then I don't think comfort, in general, is conducive to good programming. Having the right desk, the right light, the right chair, the right mouse, etc. - IMHO these are all distractions. and of course if you have no injuries or other physical limitations, etc.
When you need to do good work, you need to eat healthy, lay off the caffeine and alcohol, and get the sleep you need. and ideally, get some exercise. Get out and walk or do pullups or something while you think. That doesn't cost money. Then you can do great work anywhere.
So Sparkle is like a graphic designer's version of Interface Builder for OS X... but "vector based" which means... hmm, Windows users will now get Flash-like wackiness for interfaces?
However, I've never seen metrics for the amount of money spent on pharmaceutical advertising/lobbying vs. drug development, and your suggeston that the former outweighs the latter is a little hard to believe. Can you cite some figures? If this is true, I'd like to have them on hand.
here's one. it has an obvious agenda.
My biggest problem with the pharmaceutical companies is fundamental; they have to be profitable like any other company, they need recurring revenue, and being public, they have to grow. We have to need their drugs, we have to remain sick for them to be successful. They don't win by curing diseases. So they need a different business model in which they win when diseases are eradicated. Putting everyone in maintenance mode should be the worst thing of all.
Oh and btw, thanks for your level headed reply. it's... so refreshing here...
By necessity, this is a lengthy, complex, costly process.
In your bullet points you forgot marketing (including courting the doctors), on which is spent more money than all your other bullet points above combined.
And you know, they don't really care all that much if the drugs actually work. They lobby to abolish the FDA. They want to sell their drugs for massive profits and have the federal government protect them from lawsuits (eg the thimerosal controversy). Yay.
Microsoft doesn't want cool features and creativity. They want money.
No, money is good, but growth potential is everything. valuation is based on potential. They have to grow. they can't stop changing. if they do, they become a commodity. they might as well sell electricity or water. they fear that software may cease to be a growth industry. that's why everything has to look shiny and new and improved all the time. that's why they fear open source. it's not the money. They do want cool features.
What does long-term exposure to such loud sound do to a child's - or an adult's - endocrine system, and what are the social consequnces of that?
It damages the kids. The younger they are the worse it is.
Noise: A Hazard for the Fetus and Newborn
Why the fuck should you have to buy an Apple branded computer just to run BSD with a better Windowing System?
Yeah, kde and gnome suck in comparison, don't they. well then you better tell those bsd and linux guys to get cracking (heh.. no pun intended).
Fyi, from the arms control wonk:
those responsible for such an off-message NIE will probably soon be leaving to "spend more time with family".
What is prayer for? How about asking for God's forgiveness? How about Praise? How about thanking God? How about asking for comfort?
Yeah.. you know, I realize how pointless it is discussing religion here... but what the hey.
My comment was about determinism. One does not need to be a determinist to believe in God. To some of us, god is not a being that can be influenced by praise, but rather more like a property or the structure of the universe. Surely there is more to life than praising or asking forgiveness from a being that has already determined your fate. Is there any meaning or purpose to that? (imho, no: hence my nihilism comment) In the one case, your job in life is to glorify this entity and hope for reward and not damnation. In the other case, one seeks to understand. We can't influence math with praise or receive forgiveness from physics. We have to study and work out the solution for ourselves.
If we see it that way, we would realize that God already knows the result of any decisions he or we make because to Him, it is about to happen, is happening, and has already happened all at the same time. His demenses extend outside of our 3-dimensional physical universe, so applying 3-dimensional linear thinking does not apply.
In other words, you might as well be a nihilist, for certainly it amounts to nothing. What could be worse? And what is the purpose of prayer, for instance? What can you tell god that he does not already know? What makes you think you have any influence? Especially if he exists at the beginning and the end, knowing all. Everything simply is. Everything and Nothing, they are indistinguishable. Ah.. let's all rise to sing the praises.
Sorry. It just came out.
breeding favorable traits (or any trait) requires many many generations.
to see this, just look at dog breeds.
I assume you mean the fact that dog breeds exist. Most are man-made. the alaskan malamute is just about the only "natural" dog left.
there was an interesting article in the Atlantic a few years ago about competitive dog breeders' ideas of genetics. Because they only breed champions they kill off a lot of good traits in dogs deemed less than perfect (as defined by the AKA).