No, the Drake equation really is pretty suspect. It assumes all the processes concerned (e.g. probability of forming an earthlike planet, probability of he planet evolving life, etc) are independent events, which is highly unlikely.
Moreover it also suffers from problems of subjectivity (what is life? intelligence?). It's only really used as a rhetorical tool for people who believe intelligent aliens must exist somewhere in the Galaxy.
Basically the only people who want to hack homeland security computers would be terrorists.
So is it fair to say that someone who has a problem with the US Dept of Homeland Security is a terrorist sympathizer? Or even has terrorist tendencies?
oh - so perhaps the mod was as much of a moron as you. Here's a clue: pointing out an analogy between free software and elective government != arguing in favour of democracy for its own sake.
If that's too subtle for you, you'd better learn to stay out of grown-up conversations.
That's the question - or at least part of it. You can get rid of a bad democracy but you're stuck with a bad dictatorship (which is the worst of all possible outcomes).
In other words it's not just about whether the government (or software) is good now, it's also what say you have over how things change in the future. Most people assign a lot of value to that power.
So I guess you'd also agree with the statement: 'GOOD government is "the way to go", and democracy is a nice bonus'?
Actually since you said 'openness' and not 'freedom', perhaps you are talking within the context of proprietary software - in which case you're right: openness
per se is pretty much irrelevant. See RMS for further details.
most Americans support the right to bear arms, and will automatically assume that anybody who opposes the 2nd Amendment is a kook from Berkeley or a communist.
No, many do indeed think that, but not 'most'. Fortunately America isn't quite so full of fuckwits as you seem to imagine.
One thing I wonder is where exactly does the right to bear arms stop? Does it include any kind of weapon, e.g. nukes & whatever, or do you limit it to Oklahoma City style bombs - or maybe just assault rifles and grenades?
cubicle? wish I had one of those..
on
Cubicle Privacy
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· Score: 2, Interesting
I work in an open-plan office, which means I get to hear the noise from my neighbour, all his visitors, and all the other people in the office. At times when it gets really bad and everyone is talking it's like working in a fucking bus station.
Plus it means I have to put up with shitty overhead fluorescent lighting which makes my screen hard to see.
I hear what you're saying - and I guess I was too harsh; it was certainly a lot better than the Star Trek shows, and deserved more time than any of them.
You got it exactly right there, buddy - despite doing your best to be an ass. Stuff like the low tech/high tech mix on frontier worlds, that's exactly the kind of detail that made me think it was going to be great.
As it is, it's almost worse than Star Trek for lack of consistency. For example, how big is the Firefox universe? Is it a galaxy? A group of star systems? A single system?
I watched a few episodes; initially I thought, finally, a decent science fiction show for grown-ups. The opening was excellent. But pretty soon I realised it was falling into the same pattern as the other efforts. No attempt to create a plausible setting; instead we're all supposed to be just fascinated by how these characters interact... It was the same shit as Voyager or whatever: each episode is all about how amazing the captain is and how they all teach each other moral lessons. Yawn.
Slashdot Mirror
find an old 286 and install Windows 3.0.
See Gibbon for more on this line of argument.
It's funny, that's one thing about political discourse in the US that seems strange to Europeans. Arguments that go along the lines of:
"but the Founding Fathers clearly wanted us to have guns/abortions/prayers in high school.."
Moreover it also suffers from problems of subjectivity (what is life? intelligence?). It's only really used as a rhetorical tool for people who believe intelligent aliens must exist somewhere in the Galaxy.
So is it fair to say that someone who has a problem with the US Dept of Homeland Security is a terrorist sympathizer? Or even has terrorist tendencies?
so I guess the evidence of a massive UFO cover-up must be in some even more secure US military computers, the ones he wasn't able to get into..
I think it did well at the box office, just that they had gone too far over budget. In my view it was quite a decent flick, and a successful satire.
which conjures up an entirely different image.
Or do you just not have enough space for two/three boxes?
If that's too subtle for you, you'd better learn to stay out of grown-up conversations.
wow someone modded me as flamebait..! Is that because I mentioned RMS?
In other words it's not just about whether the government (or software) is good now, it's also what say you have over how things change in the future. Most people assign a lot of value to that power.
Actually since you said 'openness' and not 'freedom', perhaps you are talking within the context of proprietary software - in which case you're right: openness per se is pretty much irrelevant. See RMS for further details.
I'd love to lay in bed playing the Capcom classics on the PSP
Ok, just keep it to yourself; everyone does it but no-one wants to hear about it.
or whatever number they're at.
No, many do indeed think that, but not 'most'. Fortunately America isn't quite so full of fuckwits as you seem to imagine.
One thing I wonder is where exactly does the right to bear arms stop? Does it include any kind of weapon, e.g. nukes & whatever, or do you limit it to Oklahoma City style bombs - or maybe just assault rifles and grenades?
It's just you and some other idiots.
Plus it means I have to put up with shitty overhead fluorescent lighting which makes my screen hard to see.
I hate open-plan offices.
good point.. firefox, firefly, firebird.. too confusing.
I hear what you're saying - and I guess I was too harsh; it was certainly a lot better than the Star Trek shows, and deserved more time than any of them.
I watched a few episodes; initially I thought, finally, a decent science fiction show for grown-ups. The opening was excellent. But pretty soon I realised it was falling into the same pattern as the other efforts. No attempt to create a plausible setting; instead we're all supposed to be just fascinated by how these characters interact... It was the same shit as Voyager or whatever: each episode is all about how amazing the captain is and how they all teach each other moral lessons. Yawn.
cue the bad 80s soul...ooh-mm-mmmh
Interesting double use of a smiley as a closing parenthesis... I wonder is that valid?