The grandparent is right, but reality TV still makes up a sliver of overall TV -- particularly if one includes cable.
Yet even regular programs with a decent story, interesting dialog and advanced character development are hobbled by the commercials. In a given hour, commericals comprise nearly one third of the time. They're distracting, irritating mindless, even more than reality shows.
And no, I don't want to shell out $200 + a monthly fee for a Tivo.
I agree with this and the grandparent post. Paypal's argument is that their user agreement prohibits me from suing them in small claims court and mandates binding arbitration for any disagreement. They also think this entitles them to recover any travel costs.
I think that's a load of crap.
But I'm also not a lawyer, and I'm better off working than fighting a protracted battle with Paypal. Then again, I also think what they're doing is unfair. So I try to balance standing up for principles, the value of my time and the overall pain in the ass factor.
It isn't Paypal's fault that the client is dishonest, but it is Paypal's fault that they transferred the money in my account, which I withdrew under the assumption that I had been paid. Then they retroactively debited my account. That's unfair.
In the future, obviously, I won't use Paypal, and my original post is a warning to others.
Until my second business experience with Paypal, I had no problem with them. I provide editing services, and one client decided to reverse his credit card charge to the tune of $600 after I transferred the money to my bank accounts.
Paypal then showed my account was "negative," which I ignored until they forwarded my account to their nasty collection agency, NCO financial systems.
On the advice of my lawyer, I paid the agency and sued Paypal in Small Claims Court. They claim I can't do that and arbitration is mandatory, but offered to split the difference and call it a day (in other words, it's worth filing a case if you've been screwed, since settling is easier than fighting). I might go that route, but one thing I know is that I'll never use Paypal again and I recommend that my friends also don't.
Yes, I've filed a complaint with my state attorney general and the FTC. I hope if enough people do, Paypal will have to end some of their most egregious, consumer-unfriendly business practices.
I'm not a professional musician and seldom notice the soundtracks of the few movies I watch. LOTR's caught my ear and a few months ago I bought all three CDs. That marks the first movie soundtracks I've bought.
I'm not argueing that the wood flute is overused or not -- but I will say that I liked it, and apparently Academy members did too. Regardless of the wood flute in other movies, I found it effective in LOTR.
Or, if the the door leads a massive mine/homeland built by dwaves, one could make it visible only in moonlight, and inscribe the password as a riddle in Elvish. A suspicious person might try numerous spells of opening before realizing that the obvious equivalent of username:admin password:secret is the key.
I'm sure this bad computer analogy could be extended, but I'll stop now.
Because Jackson did well doesn't mean that his work can't be critiqued. Some his changes were unnecessary and detracted from the overall story; just because someone posts to slashdot doesn't automatically invalidate his point because Jackson is wealthy.
In the books, Faramir does not just "shrug it off" -- the temptation for him is as great as it is for others, but he does not succumb. Another poster made the point that Faramir is corruptible but not corrupted.
The point of the story is that some will turn down great power to serve, or simply be, part of a greater good. That Faramir, though apparently not as well-regarded as his brother, can reject this option while Boromir does not, shows the multifaceted character of men.
In a note related to the grandparent, I loved the trailer for the Purist Edit (and found the purist/purest pun funny).
As an earlier post noted, if you use the laptop for class, go for it -- otherwise, you're better off with a desktop.
Mac laptops are nice, and I've admired those owned by friends. While I've heard plenty of horror stories about Dell and HP portables, the IBM Thinkpad I use has been a rock, as have the two Thinkpads used by my parents. Not all PC laptops are crap.
Still, I forsee Apple hardware at some point in my not-to-distant future...
We all know how to get in better shape: eat less, exercise more. It's a simple formula that is expounded endlessly in the media. Most days I run a few miles after work; some people bike after work; others swim, play frisbee or train in martial arts. The fact is that if you want to exercise you will, if not you'll make excuses.
On the food side, a few simple steps do wonders for most people: -Don't drink soda. -Don't eat fast food. -Buy nonfat milk, cheese and yogurt. (You don't drink milk or eat yogurt? Start.) -Eat breakfast. Every morning. -Have some fruit on the counter so you can grab a snack before work and after. -Make lunch. This will help you avoid fast food, pizza and greasy lunches.
The library has a million fitness books, magazines and articles. They're useful for knowledge, but nothing will replace your own dedication. Everyone has an excuse as to why he or she doesn't have enough time or energy or whatever. There is no special way to start working out - you just have to do it, and no book can make you do it. Good luck.
If I hadn't posted the parent comment, this would get +1 insightful.
High school is such a petty self-contained world, whether one loves or hates it. Yet by the time I learned to play the game well enough to suceed, it was already done. I had an epiphany during my senior year - that I would have been much better off not mastering the game and living for myself.
Warcraft and Diablo didn't help in the long run - perhaps if I had invested the time I spent playing Blizzard products in exploring the world my epiphany would have occured earlier.
You're dumb, but that shouldn't be too surprising since you're 12. When you get the chance to enter a running start program as a sophomore, do it. With high school comes stupid heartache, and an early exit will save you lots of heartache.
But, in order to accomplish that, you must ignore your evil best friend, Adam. He will bring you Warcraft II, which will consume an inordinate amount of your time and eventually lead you to Diablo and Starcraft. Which is like heroin to you.
In summary: Get away from high school and addictive Blizzard products.
I can see why Dell wants to remove floppies...
on
Dell Dropping The Floppy
·
· Score: 2, Interesting
because they probably aren't making any money on the drives, or selling the disks. Meanwhile, they probably are making money by selling USB keys. And I bet they can also make more money by offering an ad-on USB floppy drive than they can with an internal drive.
But I wouldn't want a machine without a floppy. They're cheap, easy to replace, and versatile; I can transfer data to and from a 10 year old machine without a hassle. True, such a situation doesn't occur often, but when it does I'm glad to have the floppy's versatility. Much of my file movement involves relatively small text files, for which floppies are optimal.
I want the floppy available when I need it, rather than buying external drives or following around with USB devices.
The parent post makes a good point. In a world with fewer borders, that information will be carried with greater ease. But that also means that the entity with the most resources can take a path to suppress that information, and who better to do so than the government. While information Israel wants to suppress can make it on the web, Israel can in turn attack that information.
That isn't saying it's right, but before everyone starts crowing about how wonderful free information is, remember that governments will adapt.
Stanley Milgram conducted the famous psychology test to which you allude. In the 1950's, he decided test white males of a wide variety of educational levels to see their obedience to authority. (This was right after WWII, so people wanted to know how an entire nation could follow someone as evil as Hitler.) In the test, Milgram had the subject and a confederate draw straws, or something to that effect, to see who would be the teacher and learner. The learner would need to memorize words, and the teacher would apply "pain" to the learner, and if the teacher wanted to stop Milgram (or some other authority figure from Yale University, I don't recall who actually did the coercion), the psychologist would order the teacher to continue. A quick Google search revealed this for further reader: Link to the Milgram Experiment, which includes a handy picture. Today an experiment probably couldn't be conducted because most universities have strict codes governing experiments with human subjects.
Another interesting psychological phenomena that might apply to these UFO types was conducted by Solomon Asch. He brought together around a dozen people and gave each one a piece of paper with three different sized lines, then asked each person which line was longest. Out of the dozen people, though, there was only one experiment subject and all the rest were confederates, who would unanimously say a wrong answer. Then the experiment subject would usually repeat a wrong answer. If enough UFO types get together and repeat the same thing, the new guy starts to believe it and repeats the party line even if he isn't sure if it is right.
Hey, sounds like politics. Or slashdot. Or religion. If you have a basic knowledge of psychology, you probably post a large number of interesting comments relating psychological theories to behavior commonly derided on slashdot, like using Windows, etc.
After seeing this story I promptly downloaded 1.2. A minute ago I logged on to Washington Mutual to check up on my accounts, and everything worked without a flaw.
And don't forget that he was called in when they were already shooting. The original actor was cast "too young". Which if my calculations are correct, Aragorn is supposed to be at least in his 50s - going on the basis of the Story of Arwen and Aragorn (in the appendix). After being in NZ for two days he had to shoot Weathertop.
Remember, though, that Aragorn is one of the last of Numenor, who were granted lifespan far greater than that of normal men. Originally from the isle of Numenor, the long life and hardiness of Aragorn and his people was a reward for fighting with the Valar against the original enemy, Morgoth. (As an aside, you may note that when Gandalf falls into darkness, his foe is identified as a "Balrog of Morgoth")
So Aragorn is older than he appears, but one cannot compare him to normal men because of his noble lineage.
Slashdot Mirror
Yet even regular programs with a decent story, interesting dialog and advanced character development are hobbled by the commercials. In a given hour, commericals comprise nearly one third of the time. They're distracting, irritating mindless, even more than reality shows.
And no, I don't want to shell out $200 + a monthly fee for a Tivo.
I think that's a load of crap.
But I'm also not a lawyer, and I'm better off working than fighting a protracted battle with Paypal. Then again, I also think what they're doing is unfair. So I try to balance standing up for principles, the value of my time and the overall pain in the ass factor.
In the future, obviously, I won't use Paypal, and my original post is a warning to others.
The poster said in Galileo's time, not Galileo's thoery. There's a subtle difference, although I understand the idea of your comment. [/pedant]
Paypal then showed my account was "negative," which I ignored until they forwarded my account to their nasty collection agency, NCO financial systems.
On the advice of my lawyer, I paid the agency and sued Paypal in Small Claims Court. They claim I can't do that and arbitration is mandatory, but offered to split the difference and call it a day (in other words, it's worth filing a case if you've been screwed, since settling is easier than fighting). I might go that route, but one thing I know is that I'll never use Paypal again and I recommend that my friends also don't.
Yes, I've filed a complaint with my state attorney general and the FTC. I hope if enough people do, Paypal will have to end some of their most egregious, consumer-unfriendly business practices.
And, if they're reading the comments, probably the last too.
I'm not argueing that the wood flute is overused or not -- but I will say that I liked it, and apparently Academy members did too. Regardless of the wood flute in other movies, I found it effective in LOTR.
I'd like to amend the blurb to: "Plus, they had pictures, until they were posted to the front page of slashdot."
This comes from the ~20th comment.
I'm going to recommend you avoid the ivey league.
Or, if the the door leads a massive mine/homeland built by dwaves, one could make it visible only in moonlight, and inscribe the password as a riddle in Elvish. A suspicious person might try numerous spells of opening before realizing that the obvious equivalent of username:admin password:secret is the key.
I'm sure this bad computer analogy could be extended, but I'll stop now.
Ad hominem attacks don't make an arguement.
Because Jackson did well doesn't mean that his work can't be critiqued. Some his changes were unnecessary and detracted from the overall story; just because someone posts to slashdot doesn't automatically invalidate his point because Jackson is wealthy.
(I know, don't feed trolls, but still...)
In the books, Faramir does not just "shrug it off" -- the temptation for him is as great as it is for others, but he does not succumb. Another poster made the point that Faramir is corruptible but not corrupted.
The point of the story is that some will turn down great power to serve, or simply be, part of a greater good. That Faramir, though apparently not as well-regarded as his brother, can reject this option while Boromir does not, shows the multifaceted character of men.
In a note related to the grandparent, I loved the trailer for the Purist Edit (and found the purist/purest pun funny).
Here's another story.
Funny that I come to submit the article and already find it at the top of the page...
As an earlier post noted, if you use the laptop for class, go for it -- otherwise, you're better off with a desktop.
Mac laptops are nice, and I've admired those owned by friends. While I've heard plenty of horror stories about Dell and HP portables, the IBM Thinkpad I use has been a rock, as have the two Thinkpads used by my parents. Not all PC laptops are crap.
Still, I forsee Apple hardware at some point in my not-to-distant future...
So what do you think of the English skills of most students?
Yesterday I read in The Atlantic. (I find the timing of finding that and then this book review interesting...)
It was like seeing myself fully explained for the first time. If you're not interested in buying the book, the article will probably do just as well.
We all know how to get in better shape: eat less, exercise more. It's a simple formula that is expounded endlessly in the media. Most days I run a few miles after work; some people bike after work; others swim, play frisbee or train in martial arts. The fact is that if you want to exercise you will, if not you'll make excuses.
On the food side, a few simple steps do wonders for most people:
-Don't drink soda.
-Don't eat fast food.
-Buy nonfat milk, cheese and yogurt. (You don't drink milk or eat yogurt? Start.)
-Eat breakfast. Every morning.
-Have some fruit on the counter so you can grab a snack before work and after.
-Make lunch. This will help you avoid fast food, pizza and greasy lunches.
The library has a million fitness books, magazines and articles. They're useful for knowledge, but nothing will replace your own dedication. Everyone has an excuse as to why he or she doesn't have enough time or energy or whatever. There is no special way to start working out - you just have to do it, and no book can make you do it. Good luck.
I'm surprised this is modded as funny...
I would give it +1 Insightful.
If I hadn't posted the parent comment, this would get +1 insightful.
High school is such a petty self-contained world, whether one loves or hates it. Yet by the time I learned to play the game well enough to suceed, it was already done. I had an epiphany during my senior year - that I would have been much better off not mastering the game and living for myself.
Warcraft and Diablo didn't help in the long run - perhaps if I had invested the time I spent playing Blizzard products in exploring the world my epiphany would have occured earlier.
You're dumb, but that shouldn't be too surprising since you're 12. When you get the chance to enter a running start program as a sophomore, do it. With high school comes stupid heartache, and an early exit will save you lots of heartache.
But, in order to accomplish that, you must ignore your evil best friend, Adam. He will bring you Warcraft II, which will consume an inordinate amount of your time and eventually lead you to Diablo and Starcraft. Which is like heroin to you.
In summary: Get away from high school and addictive Blizzard products.
But I wouldn't want a machine without a floppy. They're cheap, easy to replace, and versatile; I can transfer data to and from a 10 year old machine without a hassle. True, such a situation doesn't occur often, but when it does I'm glad to have the floppy's versatility. Much of my file movement involves relatively small text files, for which floppies are optimal.
I want the floppy available when I need it, rather than buying external drives or following around with USB devices.
That isn't saying it's right, but before everyone starts crowing about how wonderful free information is, remember that governments will adapt.
Another interesting psychological phenomena that might apply to these UFO types was conducted by Solomon Asch. He brought together around a dozen people and gave each one a piece of paper with three different sized lines, then asked each person which line was longest. Out of the dozen people, though, there was only one experiment subject and all the rest were confederates, who would unanimously say a wrong answer. Then the experiment subject would usually repeat a wrong answer. If enough UFO types get together and repeat the same thing, the new guy starts to believe it and repeats the party line even if he isn't sure if it is right.
Hey, sounds like politics. Or slashdot. Or religion. If you have a basic knowledge of psychology, you probably post a large number of interesting comments relating psychological theories to behavior commonly derided on slashdot, like using Windows, etc.
After seeing this story I promptly downloaded 1.2. A minute ago I logged on to Washington Mutual to check up on my accounts, and everything worked without a flaw.
Remember, though, that Aragorn is one of the last of Numenor, who were granted lifespan far greater than that of normal men. Originally from the isle of Numenor, the long life and hardiness of Aragorn and his people was a reward for fighting with the Valar against the original enemy, Morgoth. (As an aside, you may note that when Gandalf falls into darkness, his foe is identified as a "Balrog of Morgoth")
So Aragorn is older than he appears, but one cannot compare him to normal men because of his noble lineage.