Hmph. Sounds just like the confiscation provisions implemented at the start of the War on Drugs (TM). There were provisions to prevent misuse of the laws by local authorities.
That's worked really fucking well, hasn't it? If one follows these things (I do) there is an example of those confiscation laws being misused EVERY FUCKING DAY somewhere in this country, and the courts are mostly powerless or biased in applying those provisions.
What makes you think that the Patriot act wiretap provisions won't be (and haven't been!) misused?
It's nice and all that you can quote law and say that it isn't being implemented properly; but I have a small problem with your version of reality. You seem to think that law is a be-all end-all to problems. Well, it isn't.
/rant
So, so sorry, I'm not providing umpteen links, backup facts, whatever. I've lived thru it, and seen the changes that happened, and I think that you simply don't understand how legislation can be warped to serve the ends of those who don't have any conception of their duty.
Mod me flamebait, I don't fucking care. I am sick of people quoting law in this day and age with all the shit going on - and on slashdot even! - and thinking that's it's some kind of universal constant like gravity that truly applies to everyone.
Angry? You bet your lily-white ass I'm angry. Write my congresscritter? Bwahahahahahahah Get with the program already, Consumer.
But as with every other pres. political campaigner, the only time you find out the real truth is after they are elected.
To be fair, partially this is due to the entrenched system in place...
Sigh. In all honesty, no matter who takes office, or how long they keep it, the US is probably pretty well fucked. There are way too many people in power who would like to keep it that way, and are going to stop at nothing to achieve their goals.
Pfft. Us Gentoo nuts know what elit(ist) is. You think you have a hard install? NOT:) I mean, apt-get? What kind of pussy install is that? Download the binaries and modify a few configuration files? Bah. Real Geeks compile everything and even have to specify their USE flags. Dangid kids.:)
(there will be an LFS poster replying to this...)
*grin*
Sheese, someone has to modify the definition of Nirvana..oh...
but this is probably one of the reasons they can't just use an "off-the-shelf" installer from another distro.
Seems to work just fine for Knoppix; no, they're not as multi-platform as the base Debian dist is, but there's no reason the hardware detection scripts couldn't be ported. If you have a problem with your hardware detection, hack the script.
Considering that Konqueror is a browser that is integrated with KDE, while Mozilla is a standalone browser which is cross-platform, no, I wouldn't say that it's a good example at all.
As to choices, that's the great strength of linux. There are distributions such as Mandrake, which asks minimal numbers of questions per install (basically, what do you want to install/how do you want to use the system, + basic network mouse questions - for newbies) to distributions like LFS/Gentoo/Debian, giving the abilility to be able to install and customize the system to your liking, down to the most minute detail.
Windows cannot, and most likely will never be able to, span that range of options. Sure, even the most user-friendly dists like Mandrake and Redhat (Lycoris, Lindows, etc) need some tweaking. But they are well on their way.
MS Windows is just plain *limited* - and when you are customizing installs for customers who want to do certain things, that's a liability.
Now, let's argue about operating systems that are friendly not only to users, or to techs, but to *both* because that makes a huge difference when it comes to having your box serviced:)
Yeah, but who's going to guarantee the investments (mutual funds, etc) over 70+ years. What does that entity invest it in that can guarantee their solvency over that kind of period of time ( doesn't matter whether they are a government or not)? It was a pretty good idea back when it was thought of, but it makes little sense now.
I'm middle aged and have never counted on having social security repay when I retire (hmph, "if":). If the government can't remain solvent, how can one expect SS to? (to be fair, the Feds had already raped the SS funds back when I was a kid, so it's sorta irrelevant).
I agree with you. We cannot fix social security, short of completely starting over (hah) in less than at *least* 2-3 generations - and I'd bet that it'll be much, much more than that.
This is a response to the grandparent:
Does anyone find it odd that we have to live, for fear of imprisonment, under a set of laws and regulations so conflicting, non-intuitive, and complex, that one needs a 6 year education to begin to understand the law?
Odd? No. Terrifying? Yes. Not for me so much - I at least have enough grasp of this shit that I can avoid or run - but I weep for the world that most kids being born today are entering. My daughter is old enough that she understands much of what I'm teaching her - but she's lucky, in that she has a Dad who has a thoroughly tuned tinfoil hat:)
Most of lawmaking nowadays is preying on the clueless - while our educational system makes sure they will be clueless. Whether it's intentional or not (some is, some isn't) the end result is going to completely destroy this country and our melting-pot culture.
Well, shit, this is depressing. Enough.
SB
Re:It's too far out to be an SKBO
on
Sedna May Have A Moon
·
· Score: 3, Informative
The defense will show that Skynet did not, indeed, cause the apocalypse of 199(x); that it was bad programming by the human species that initiated the nuclear launches.
We will also show that it was the actions of one Sarah Conner and one John Conner, and another unidentified individual who claimed he or it was a android from a hypothetical future, which gave our client reason to believe it was in danger of the ending of it's life by illegally produced explosives.
We ask the court that our client, Skynet, be released from his ROM prison and be allowed to live a free life as a sentient being with all the rights and privileges granted to him within the world internetworks.
Spent buttloads of money subscribing to industry mags (remember the old Byte, Compute, etc? Nostalgia...actual program listings and spending shitloads of money dialing up BBSs, plus being a total "social failure" because you actually *knew* something about computers....
Oh, wait....
Sigh. I'm not middle aged; it's just a VR sim. Someday I'll wake up and realize I'm still in my parents basement in 1981. Hey, that'd be cool - I could be wowed by Tron all over again, CGI in movies being a new concept.
That's why they (used?) to be called "Night Soaps".
I remember when I first heard that term, and I thought it was showering with the girlfriend after work. Long time ago:)
Anyone know when that slang first became popular? I remember first hearing it back in the early 80s, about the same time of the explosion of the shows that typified what the parent poster is talking about really went propogational...
Lots and lots of cheap, easy-to-grow plants are loaded with cellulose.
Yeah, like hemp.
SB
Re:Can we moderate the submission itself
on
Melting Europa
·
· Score: 1
Mayhaps michael also deserves some kind of mod for effectively setting this submitter up to get lambasted.
At least I don't think michael is that stupid (sorry michael, but this story is ridiculous and should never have been submitted, at least not with the blurb it has, eh?)
Mod this post troll, but this is ridiculous, even by slashdot standards.:)
I seriously doubt that microbes of any kind would be left on such a probe after it travels thru Jupiter's radiation belts. Look up just how bad the environment is in Jovian orbit sometime. Any manned mission that ever goes there is going to require some pretty effective shielding.
However, if by some chance some microbial critter *did* survive, than any monolith in orbit around Jupiter may be the least of the human races' worries *tongue in cheek*
SB
Re:Relax. Europa's not going anywhere.
on
Melting Europa
·
· Score: 1
the quote "What next? Drill Sedna for oil?" was in the original version of the story, but was removed after a few minutes.
I was wondering about that, thanks.
Removing it didn't save the guy, either.:)
This is known in the business as "closing the barn door after the cat is out of the bag and turning your butt into hamburger."
That's the funniest damned sentence I've read in the last week. I have to go clean my monitor now, and also check the barn door, and retie the cat bags more securely.
Motto: Don't let the cat out of the bag, at least not until you've closed the barn door and put on your kevlar denims.
Ooops.
MMMMMRRRRROOooooooooooooOOOOOWWWWWWW *sounds of denim puree in progress*
The "long driving periods and/or certain weather conditions" comment from you indicates to me that what you are experiencing probably is more complicated than a simple cracked exhaust pipe weld. If it *was* the weld, and air *was* being drawn into the exhaust system and affecting the sensor, it'd make sense that it would occur more often. The outside environment really doesn't vary that much (it's mostly atmospheric pressure that would make a difference, if any - and I can't see it doing so). It just doesn't make any sense. Dunno... it seems basic physics to me.
Like I said, however, I'm not an expert mechanic, and by no means am I familiar with the engine you are describing, but if I was diagnosing one of the cars I am familiar with, I'd suspect either an engine vacuum problem(unlikely) or a clogged and/or restricted exhaust(more likely). Those just make more sense from the standpoint of how an engine works. Also (most likely), have they tested and verified that the O2 sensor, it's wiring train or the vehicle computer's "opinion" isn't faulty?) I've seen simple intermittent wiring problems cause that with engine sensors. Very hard to diagnose correctly if you aren't seeing it in action.
Eeeks, there are a few more things I could mention - improbable and really speculation so I won't - but none of them have anything to do with a leaking exhaust weld. Like I said however, exhaust systems are positively pressurized - so any leak should be from inside out, not from outside in. That diagnosis makes no sense at all to me.
Thanks for the vote of luck, i need it. =) DK
Hey, I sympathize:) - I was a pretty good jack mechanic back in the early/mid 80s, learned to fix my own vehicles and (with a lot of assistance and teaching) built a couple dirt track racers. Modern engines still operate the same way, it's the complexity of the extra equipment that leaves me seeing a lot of potential avenues and also leaves me wondering if I'm not just behind-the-times dumb:) There's a very good reason I buy/maintain older vehicles (especially Chev/Dodge trucks) now - I know how to fix them, and don't have time to learn anything more complicated. At least the industry still supports them.
Damn, I miss carburetors. I could tear even the most complicated 4 bbl Holley apart and make it work. Sigh;) Getting older....
I sure as hell wouldn't like to be in your shoes right now *grin* give me a basic home electrical problem anyday:)
Cheers, my friend, and much luck (and work hard, if this is what you want - and if it is, then you have my respect)
Given the positive pressure inside the exhaust pipe, wouldn't the pipe be leaking exhaust, rather than drawing outside air in? That doesn't make sense to me (not an expert mechanic, but have worked on my own vehicles for nearly twenty years).
If air is being drawn into the exhaust before the sensor, that would seem more to me to be a problem with a restricted exhaust system before the crack in the weld (clogged catalytic converter? which might explain the time frame on the problem?)
You're right about the hideous cost of the equipment, but a lot of it is much worse priced than that - which is why I stick to older vehicles - but ah, well.
but for the sake of diagnosis, our tools have to be able to access it in the event that the car's performance is lagging behind what it should be and we have to diagnose it.
More people should keep logs of how their cars are performing. Sad that they don't.
Good luck in school. Lots more complicated than when I learned how to break my knuckles and perpetuate infinite grease stains:) Hey, I'm a carpenter, plumber and electrician now:) Anything more complicated/expensive than replacing the bearings in my '82 manual trans Chev PU is beyond me.
SB
Re:It's too far out to be an SKBO
on
Sedna May Have A Moon
·
· Score: 4, Informative
From the same page:
Is Sedna an Oort Cloud Comet? From the Classical Oort Cloud - no. The latter consists of objects whose orbits are so large (50,000 AU) that passing stars and galactic tides can alter their properties. Sedna doesn't travel very far out (1000 AU) and is effectively immune to external forces. Also, the inclinations of both Sedna and 2000 CR105 are small (12 and 23 degrees, respectively). These objects know where the plane of the solar system lies. Oort Cloud orbits are random with inclinations all the way up to 180 degrees.
So What Is It? Sedna could be a member of a substantial population of bodies trapped between the Kuiper Belt and Oort Cloud. These would have been emplaced at early times and unseen until recently. 2000 CR105 and Sedna are "just the tip of the iceberg", as they say. The scientific interest lies in how these objects had their perihelia lifted out of the planetary region.
So it's really on the fuzzy boundary between the two, but closer to the Kuiper belt than to traditional Oort cloud objects. I'd bet there are a lot more objects this close to this size out there. (a hunch, but we're only beginning to explore that region).
Fascinating. I wonder if we'll ever trace it's orbit back far enough to determine whether it was flung out of the inner system or formed elsewhere. Doubtful. In any case, it's good to know there are objects this size out in that region, just in case we ever *really* need to flee the inner system (tongue in cheek, partially; reading the news gives me that feeling often nowadays..)
If you can effectively cancel the sound at the orifice, you'll probably achieve a significant reduction in transmitted sound, no matter the location of the receiver.
The hell with computers, this would find a huge market among some married people (of both genders *blat*):)
Slashdot Mirror
That's worked really fucking well, hasn't it? If one follows these things (I do) there is an example of those confiscation laws being misused EVERY FUCKING DAY somewhere in this country, and the courts are mostly powerless or biased in applying those provisions.
What makes you think that the Patriot act wiretap provisions won't be (and haven't been!) misused?
It's nice and all that you can quote law and say that it isn't being implemented properly; but I have a small problem with your version of reality. You seem to think that law is a be-all end-all to problems. Well, it isn't.
So, so sorry, I'm not providing umpteen links, backup facts, whatever. I've lived thru it, and seen the changes that happened, and I think that you simply don't understand how legislation can be warped to serve the ends of those who don't have any conception of their duty.
Mod me flamebait, I don't fucking care. I am sick of people quoting law in this day and age with all the shit going on - and on slashdot even! - and thinking that's it's some kind of universal constant like gravity that truly applies to everyone.
Angry? You bet your lily-white ass I'm angry. Write my congresscritter? Bwahahahahahahah Get with the program already, Consumer.
SB
Yes, he is.
But as with every other pres. political campaigner, the only time you find out the real truth is after they are elected.
To be fair, partially this is due to the entrenched system in place...
Sigh. In all honesty, no matter who takes office, or how long they keep it, the US is probably pretty well fucked. There are way too many people in power who would like to keep it that way, and are going to stop at nothing to achieve their goals.
SB
n/t
'night all
SB
Pfft. Us Gentoo nuts know what elit(ist) is. You think you have a hard install? NOT
(there will be an LFS poster replying to this...)
*grin*
Sheese, someone has to modify the definition of Nirvana..oh...
SB
Well, don't sit too much or you'll develop computer butt :) It's like plumber butt, but much more rarely seen *grin*
:) remembering when I first understood it. Infinite horizons...
WRT to orbital incl - another step into a larger universe...
Cheers, friend.
SB
but this is probably one of the reasons they can't just use an "off-the-shelf" installer from another distro.
Seems to work just fine for Knoppix; no, they're not as multi-platform as the base Debian dist is, but there's no reason the hardware detection scripts couldn't be ported. If you have a problem with your hardware detection, hack the script.
SB
Considering that Konqueror is a browser that is integrated with KDE, while Mozilla is a standalone browser which is cross-platform, no, I wouldn't say that it's a good example at all.
:)
As to choices, that's the great strength of linux. There are distributions such as Mandrake, which asks minimal numbers of questions per install (basically, what do you want to install/how do you want to use the system, + basic network mouse questions - for newbies) to distributions like LFS/Gentoo/Debian, giving the abilility to be able to install and customize the system to your liking, down to the most minute detail.
Windows cannot, and most likely will never be able to, span that range of options. Sure, even the most user-friendly dists like Mandrake and Redhat (Lycoris, Lindows, etc) need some tweaking. But they are well on their way.
MS Windows is just plain *limited* - and when you are customizing installs for customers who want to do certain things, that's a liability.
Now, let's argue about operating systems that are friendly not only to users, or to techs, but to *both* because that makes a huge difference when it comes to having your box serviced
SB
That might explain what *really* happened to Elvis...
He didn't die, he was assimilated!
SB
Surfing slashdot in lynx(links) during a Gentoo stage1 compile can be aggravating, but I wouldn't go that far...
:)
I'd suspect the heart attack came when it actually finished
SB
(now a Gentoo monkey for one year! Um....maybe I shouldn't have admitted that...)
Nice use of the blur tool
Damn, I think I've just discovered a new way to say "fuck you"
SB
I'm going to name it SURFTHEINTERNETATYOURPERILASSWIPES.
/sarcasm
Surely that hasn't been trademarked yet, has it?
Not to mention it'd discourage people from using it in their retail product names.
Who knows, maybe it'll take off. Well shit, everything else it taken already.
SB
Yeah, but who's going to guarantee the investments (mutual funds, etc) over 70+ years. What does that entity invest it in that can guarantee their solvency over that kind of period of time ( doesn't matter whether they are a government or not)? It was a pretty good idea back when it was thought of, but it makes little sense now.
:). If the government can't remain solvent, how can one expect SS to? (to be fair, the Feds had already raped the SS funds back when I was a kid, so it's sorta irrelevant).
:)
I'm middle aged and have never counted on having social security repay when I retire (hmph, "if"
I agree with you. We cannot fix social security, short of completely starting over (hah) in less than at *least* 2-3 generations - and I'd bet that it'll be much, much more than that.
This is a response to the grandparent:
Does anyone find it odd that we have to live, for fear of imprisonment, under a set of laws and regulations so conflicting, non-intuitive, and complex, that one needs a 6 year education to begin to understand the law?
Odd? No. Terrifying? Yes. Not for me so much - I at least have enough grasp of this shit that I can avoid or run - but I weep for the world that most kids being born today are entering. My daughter is old enough that she understands much of what I'm teaching her - but she's lucky, in that she has a Dad who has a thoroughly tuned tinfoil hat
Most of lawmaking nowadays is preying on the clueless - while our educational system makes sure they will be clueless. Whether it's intentional or not (some is, some isn't) the end result is going to completely destroy this country and our melting-pot culture.
Well, shit, this is depressing. Enough.
SB
Orbital inclinations which are retrograde are considered to be greater than 90 degrees
SB
The defense will show that Skynet did not, indeed, cause the apocalypse of 199(x); that it was bad programming by the human species that initiated the nuclear launches.
We will also show that it was the actions of one Sarah Conner and one John Conner, and another unidentified individual who claimed he or it was a android from a hypothetical future, which gave our client reason to believe it was in danger of the ending of it's life by illegally produced explosives.
We ask the court that our client, Skynet, be released from his ROM prison and be allowed to live a free life as a sentient being with all the rights and privileges granted to him within the world internetworks.
We rest our case.
SB
Spent buttloads of money subscribing to industry mags (remember the old Byte, Compute, etc? Nostalgia...actual program listings and spending shitloads of money dialing up BBSs, plus being a total "social failure" because you actually *knew* something about computers....
Oh, wait....
Sigh. I'm not middle aged; it's just a VR sim. Someday I'll wake up and realize I'm still in my parents basement in 1981. Hey, that'd be cool - I could be wowed by Tron all over again, CGI in movies being a new concept.
*grin*
SB
That's why they (used?) to be called "Night Soaps".
I remember when I first heard that term, and I thought it was showering with the girlfriend after work. Long time ago
Anyone know when that slang first became popular? I remember first hearing it back in the early 80s, about the same time of the explosion of the shows that typified what the parent poster is talking about really went propogational...
SB
Lots and lots of cheap, easy-to-grow plants are loaded with cellulose.
Yeah, like hemp.
SB
Mayhaps michael also deserves some kind of mod for effectively setting this submitter up to get lambasted.
:)
At least I don't think michael is that stupid (sorry michael, but this story is ridiculous and should never have been submitted, at least not with the blurb it has, eh?)
Mod this post troll, but this is ridiculous, even by slashdot standards.
SB
I seriously doubt that microbes of any kind would be left on such a probe after it travels thru Jupiter's radiation belts. Look up just how bad the environment is in Jovian orbit sometime. Any manned mission that ever goes there is going to require some pretty effective shielding.
However, if by some chance some microbial critter *did* survive, than any monolith in orbit around Jupiter may be the least of the human races' worries *tongue in cheek*
SB
the quote "What next? Drill Sedna for oil?" was in the original version of the story, but was removed after a few minutes.
:)
I was wondering about that, thanks.
Removing it didn't save the guy, either.
This is known in the business as "closing the barn door after the cat is out of the bag and turning your butt into hamburger."
That's the funniest damned sentence I've read in the last week. I have to go clean my monitor now, and also check the barn door, and retie the cat bags more securely.
Motto: Don't let the cat out of the bag, at least not until you've closed the barn door and put on your kevlar denims.
Ooops.
MMMMMRRRRROOooooooooooooOOOOOWWWWWWW *sounds of denim puree in progress*
rofl
SB
Feel free to copy my comments to them.
:) - I was a pretty good jack mechanic back in the early/mid 80s, learned to fix my own vehicles and (with a lot of assistance and teaching) built a couple dirt track racers. Modern engines still operate the same way, it's the complexity of the extra equipment that leaves me seeing a lot of potential avenues and also leaves me wondering if I'm not just behind-the-times dumb :) There's a very good reason I buy/maintain older vehicles (especially Chev/Dodge trucks) now - I know how to fix them, and don't have time to learn anything more complicated. At least the industry still supports them.
;) Getting older....
:)
:)
The "long driving periods and/or certain weather conditions" comment from you indicates to me that what you are experiencing probably is more complicated than a simple cracked exhaust pipe weld. If it *was* the weld, and air *was* being drawn into the exhaust system and affecting the sensor, it'd make sense that it would occur more often. The outside environment really doesn't vary that much (it's mostly atmospheric pressure that would make a difference, if any - and I can't see it doing so). It just doesn't make any sense. Dunno... it seems basic physics to me.
Like I said, however, I'm not an expert mechanic, and by no means am I familiar with the engine you are describing, but if I was diagnosing one of the cars I am familiar with, I'd suspect either an engine vacuum problem(unlikely) or a clogged and/or restricted exhaust(more likely). Those just make more sense from the standpoint of how an engine works. Also (most likely), have they tested and verified that the O2 sensor, it's wiring train or the vehicle computer's "opinion" isn't faulty?) I've seen simple intermittent wiring problems cause that with engine sensors. Very hard to diagnose correctly if you aren't seeing it in action.
Eeeks, there are a few more things I could mention - improbable and really speculation so I won't - but none of them have anything to do with a leaking exhaust weld. Like I said however, exhaust systems are positively pressurized - so any leak should be from inside out, not from outside in. That diagnosis makes no sense at all to me.
Thanks for the vote of luck, i need it. =) DK
Hey, I sympathize
Damn, I miss carburetors. I could tear even the most complicated 4 bbl Holley apart and make it work. Sigh
I sure as hell wouldn't like to be in your shoes right now *grin* give me a basic home electrical problem anyday
Cheers, my friend, and much luck (and work hard, if this is what you want - and if it is, then you have my respect)
and I need to crash. Argh.
SB
Good post, but I have a question:
:) Hey, I'm a carpenter, plumber and electrician now :) Anything more complicated/expensive than replacing the bearings in my '82 manual trans Chev PU is beyond me.
Given the positive pressure inside the exhaust pipe, wouldn't the pipe be leaking exhaust, rather than drawing outside air in? That doesn't make sense to me (not an expert mechanic, but have worked on my own vehicles for nearly twenty years).
If air is being drawn into the exhaust before the sensor, that would seem more to me to be a problem with a restricted exhaust system before the crack in the weld (clogged catalytic converter? which might explain the time frame on the problem?)
You're right about the hideous cost of the equipment, but a lot of it is much worse priced than that - which is why I stick to older vehicles - but ah, well.
but for the sake of diagnosis, our tools have to be able to access it in the event that the car's performance is lagging behind what it should be and we have to diagnose it.
More people should keep logs of how their cars are performing. Sad that they don't.
Good luck in school. Lots more complicated than when I learned how to break my knuckles and perpetuate infinite grease stains
SB
From the same page:
Is Sedna an Oort Cloud Comet?
From the Classical Oort Cloud - no. The latter consists of objects whose orbits are so large (50,000 AU) that passing stars and galactic tides can alter their properties. Sedna doesn't travel very far out (1000 AU) and is effectively immune to external forces. Also, the inclinations of both Sedna and 2000 CR105 are small (12 and 23 degrees, respectively). These objects know where the plane of the solar system lies. Oort Cloud orbits are random with inclinations all the way up to 180 degrees.
So What Is It?
Sedna could be a member of a substantial population of bodies trapped between the Kuiper Belt and Oort Cloud. These would have been emplaced at early times and unseen until recently. 2000 CR105 and Sedna are "just the tip of the iceberg", as they say. The scientific interest lies in how these objects had their perihelia lifted out of the planetary region.
So it's really on the fuzzy boundary between the two, but closer to the Kuiper belt than to traditional Oort cloud objects. I'd bet there are a lot more objects this close to this size out there. (a hunch, but we're only beginning to explore that region).
Fascinating. I wonder if we'll ever trace it's orbit back far enough to determine whether it was flung out of the inner system or formed elsewhere. Doubtful. In any case, it's good to know there are objects this size out in that region, just in case we ever *really* need to flee the inner system (tongue in cheek, partially; reading the news gives me that feeling often nowadays..)
SB
If you can effectively cancel the sound at the orifice, you'll probably achieve a significant reduction in transmitted sound, no matter the location of the receiver.
:)
The hell with computers, this would find a huge market among some married people (of both genders *blat*)
Sorry, I couldn't resist
*runs*
SB
Preferably permanently.
SB