What struck me is how the options could help determine the winner. Take the top selections for weaseliest individual, for example. GW Bush won handily over Moore, Arafat, and Chirac.
One could make three separate comparisons. 55% of the people may find Bush more of a weasel than Moore. 47% may find Bush more of a weasel than Arafat. 50% may find Bush more of a weasel than Chirac. In general, it would be the same people calling President Bush the bigger weasel in each of those comparisons; to over generalize, we can call such people liberals. Similarly, people-we-could-overgeneralize-and-call-conservati ves would always tend to defend President Bush.
Because there is only one big name 'conservative' (Bush) drawing all the 'liberal' votes and three big name 'liberals' (Moore, Arafat, and Chirac) drawing the 'conservative' votes, the outcome is preordained: President Bush is called the biggest weasel. Or, the bigger lesson could be that 'liberals' are more focused in their accusations of weaselality.
Granted, I've made some generalizations here. And this is a fun poll, not a national election. But my point remains. I can't get the expression 'lies, damned lies, and statistics' out of my head.
Please excuse me as I franticly search for way to delete the parent post or at least modify it and attach it to the above discussion about interstate commerce.
I could live with this law being struck down only to see it replaced with a similar federal law. Spam is a global problem that deserves a global, not local, solution; for now, the best we can get is a national solution. Having one federal law will keep it easy for honest emailers to stay legal while outlawing spam.
The above link has moving windows which make them difficult to close. there are no backstories.
I gotta say, though, some of the... crap... is inventive.
I'd be much happier to hear that we could expect spaceflight based on rocket technology in 2004.
We can expect private parties to reach space in 9-12 months.: "In a race to achieve the first privately funded manned spaceflight, rocket engineers are poised to compete for the $10 million X Prize by launching people to the edge of space and bringing them back safely twice within a two-week period. Peter H. Diamandis, chairman and CEO of the X Prize Foundation, said he expects that a teams will launch within the next few months, using rockets and spacecraft that are already being tested and prepared for the daring venture."
In a serious effort to grab my first karma, let me suggest Amtrak's automated phone reservation system as an example of voice recognition software. While I did have to use specific phrases (such as "book that one") and I did have a difficult time when my cell phone decided to cut in and out, I am pretty impressed with it.
I'll be glad when I can say "What is Amtrak's phone number" instead of having to type "800 USA RAIL" into Google to fact check myself.
...at least you can supplement your utility needs during the day at very minimal cost!
What struck me was that part about supplementing your local utility during the day. Solar panels would be most effective during sunny summer days, just when we have the greatest need for air conditioners. With batteries as expensive as they are, we don't need power plants to meet average demand, we need power plants to meet peak demand.
If peak usage is during the day and this new technology will lead to many electricity consumers installing power cells, then we can expect a serious drop in the number of power plants needed.
Hmmm... let me do some active listening. Bob Barr voted to impeach Clinton. The impeachment was for all the wrong reasons. Mr. Barr had a bad, hidden agenda. Do not trust Mr. Barr, even if he got this one right.
Most of this is not arguable. Just because I do not agree that Mr. Barr had sinister intentions does not mean that I can argue with that assertion.
I can argue about the claims that Mr. Barr supported impeachment and that impeachment was not justified. I agree, Mr. Barr supported impeachment, it is a matter of record. I do believe that impeachment is justified. Here is why.
According to the US Constition,: "The President... shall be removed from office on impeachment for, and conviction of... high crimes." While I am neither a lawyer nor a historian, I have been led to believe that a high crime is a crime commited in a high place, i.e. a crime committed by the then current president. President Clinton did commit perjury while president of the United States. He did commit a high crime. He did deserve to be removed from office.
So please do not offer Mr. Barr's support of President Clinton's impeachment as sole support for the claim that Mr. Barr is not to be trusted. The impeachment was not without merit.
More importantly, please do not play God, read Mr. Barr's mind, and tell us what evil thoughts he was thinking. Such assertions detract from an otherwise healthy and informative debate.
In return, I will listen to both sides of the debate. Should he ask for my trust, I will remember the claim that the pro-life Mr. Barr drove his fetus to the abortion clinic.
I prefer to ask telemarketers to put me on their do-not-call list.
When I worked in customer service for a large company that did lots of telemarketting, we were told to take such requests very seriously. The costs for ignoring such a request were up to $10,000 per incident. While the maximum fines only applied to out of state calls, most telemarketting calls were out of state.
This response ("do not call") is quick and easy for me. It is not cruel and does not raise my blood pressure. And even if the law has changed, the mechanics of adding me to the do not call list probably creates a headache for the telemarketers.
I spot spam with multiple email addresses on my own domain. The email address I use here, for example, is TomorrowistSlashDot@alanmrobertson.com. I know that email sent to ScrapplefaceReader@alanmrobertson.com is most likely spam, whereas mail sent to -my first name-@alanmrobertson.com is good.
Slashdot Mirror
What struck me is how the options could help determine the winner. Take the top selections for weaseliest individual, for example. GW Bush won handily over Moore, Arafat, and Chirac.
One could make three separate comparisons. 55% of the people may find Bush more of a weasel than Moore. 47% may find Bush more of a weasel than Arafat. 50% may find Bush more of a weasel than Chirac. In general, it would be the same people calling President Bush the bigger weasel in each of those comparisons; to over generalize, we can call such people liberals. Similarly, people-we-could-overgeneralize-and-call-conservati ves would always tend to defend President Bush.
Because there is only one big name 'conservative' (Bush) drawing all the 'liberal' votes and three big name 'liberals' (Moore, Arafat, and Chirac) drawing the 'conservative' votes, the outcome is preordained: President Bush is called the biggest weasel. Or, the bigger lesson could be that 'liberals' are more focused in their accusations of weaselality.
Granted, I've made some generalizations here. And this is a fun poll, not a national election. But my point remains. I can't get the expression 'lies, damned lies, and statistics' out of my head.
Please excuse me as I franticly search for way to delete the parent post or at least modify it and attach it to the above discussion about interstate commerce.
Sigh.
While I am not a lawyer, this strikes me as an attempt by Missouri to regulate interstate commerce. This was one of the few things that the federal government was initially designed to do. Missouri is not supposed to regulate commerce between residents of Missouri and residents of Florida.
I could live with this law being struck down only to see it replaced with a similar federal law. Spam is a global problem that deserves a global, not local, solution; for now, the best we can get is a national solution. Having one federal law will keep it easy for honest emailers to stay legal while outlawing spam.
The above link has moving windows which make them difficult to close. there are no backstories. I gotta say, though, some of the ... crap ... is inventive.
I'd be much happier to hear that we could expect spaceflight based on rocket technology in 2004.
We can expect private parties to reach space in 9-12 months.: "In a race to achieve the first privately funded manned spaceflight, rocket engineers are poised to compete for the $10 million X Prize by launching people to the edge of space and bringing them back safely twice within a two-week period. Peter H. Diamandis, chairman and CEO of the X Prize Foundation, said he expects that a teams will launch within the next few months, using rockets and spacecraft that are already being tested and prepared for the daring venture."
I'll forward your concern to Mr. Gates. I'm sure it's just a matter of time before he tries to assist you with this matter.
In a serious effort to grab my first karma, let me suggest Amtrak's automated phone reservation system as an example of voice recognition software. While I did have to use specific phrases (such as "book that one") and I did have a difficult time when my cell phone decided to cut in and out, I am pretty impressed with it.
I'll be glad when I can say "What is Amtrak's phone number" instead of having to type "800 USA RAIL" into Google to fact check myself.
What struck me was that part about supplementing your local utility during the day. Solar panels would be most effective during sunny summer days, just when we have the greatest need for air conditioners. With batteries as expensive as they are, we don't need power plants to meet average demand, we need power plants to meet peak demand.
If peak usage is during the day and this new technology will lead to many electricity consumers installing power cells, then we can expect a serious drop in the number of power plants needed.
Vacuums cannot be found in nature either. That doesn't make my CRT bad. Nor does it make IP bad.
- I get spam to HometownNewspaperReader@mydomain.com. I posted a response to an article.
- I get spam to Blog1Reader@mydomain.com and Blog2Reader@mydomain.com. Again, I posted responses in the reader comment sections.
As mentioned above, it takes time for the spam to roll in. But it does roll in.Hmmm ... let me do some active listening. Bob Barr voted to impeach Clinton. The impeachment was for all the wrong reasons. Mr. Barr had a bad, hidden agenda. Do not trust Mr. Barr, even if he got this one right.
Most of this is not arguable. Just because I do not agree that Mr. Barr had sinister intentions does not mean that I can argue with that assertion.
I can argue about the claims that Mr. Barr supported impeachment and that impeachment was not justified. I agree, Mr. Barr supported impeachment, it is a matter of record. I do believe that impeachment is justified. Here is why.
According to the US Constition,: "The President... shall be removed from office on impeachment for, and conviction of... high crimes." While I am neither a lawyer nor a historian, I have been led to believe that a high crime is a crime commited in a high place, i.e. a crime committed by the then current president. President Clinton did commit perjury while president of the United States. He did commit a high crime. He did deserve to be removed from office.
So please do not offer Mr. Barr's support of President Clinton's impeachment as sole support for the claim that Mr. Barr is not to be trusted. The impeachment was not without merit.
More importantly, please do not play God, read Mr. Barr's mind, and tell us what evil thoughts he was thinking. Such assertions detract from an otherwise healthy and informative debate.
In return, I will listen to both sides of the debate. Should he ask for my trust, I will remember the claim that the pro-life Mr. Barr drove his fetus to the abortion clinic.
</LongFesteringRant>I prefer to ask telemarketers to put me on their do-not-call list.
When I worked in customer service for a large company that did lots of telemarketting, we were told to take such requests very seriously. The costs for ignoring such a request were up to $10,000 per incident. While the maximum fines only applied to out of state calls, most telemarketting calls were out of state.
This response ("do not call") is quick and easy for me. It is not cruel and does not raise my blood pressure. And even if the law has changed, the mechanics of adding me to the do not call list probably creates a headache for the telemarketers.
I spot spam with multiple email addresses on my own domain. The email address I use here, for example, is TomorrowistSlashDot@alanmrobertson.com. I know that email sent to ScrapplefaceReader@alanmrobertson.com is most likely spam, whereas mail sent to -my first name-@alanmrobertson.com is good.