He was really misinformed it seems about his reasons to not become a vegetarian:
Scientific American: Have you ever considered becoming a vegetarian?
I went through a big stage of my life where I thought, you know, maybe it would be better to be a vegetarian, so I researched it. In no uncertain terms did I research it. Let's say this represents one cow, which will keep me in food for, let's say, a month. Now that cow needs this much land and food. Well, you can imagine, that cow needs x by x amount of land, and you can grow trees in it. Around that cow, you can have goannas, kangaroos, wallabies. You can have every other single Australian animal in and around that cow. If I was a vegetarian, to feed me for that month, I need this much land, and nothing else can grow there. Herein lies our problem. If we level that much land to grow rice and whatever, then no other animal could live there except for some insect pest species. Which is very unfortunate.
Now, almost any environmentalist or informed vegetarian can tell you why this is wrong. I mean the cow needs food, too obviously. It takes much more grain and water to make a pound of meat than it takes to make a pound of... well, grain. You have to raise the animal over some time.
It's a shame too, because he was a good environmentalist. And his heart was in the right place. He genuinely cared about animals.
Well... I have doubts this is true and not just pure FUD of the highest degree.
I mean I just can't imagine someone actually thinking this would be a good idea to develop into an actual product. I just can't imagine someone at a company being so thick-headed that they actually think this is something that customer's wouldn't mind.
I mean if people at Google are actually considering something like this, then I'd say Google has lost it's way and needs a change in management.
Seriously... fire whoever came up with this idea and took it seriously or supported it. They're just poison for the company.
(PS. How many people bought and still use those mid-90s Gateway 2000 Destination PC's that were supposed to go into your living room and used wireless keyboard and mouse so you could work from your couch?)
The big problem I think with such a huge system distributed throughout the entire house, serving up media, being your tool for all your needs... is that it will cost quite a bit... and it might be obsolete in a few years.
Imagine having an Atari 2600 / 8 Track / Beta video / 9600 baud modem machine integrated into your house...
Or even if its not part of your house, you still bought all this crap and invested in it... you're going to want to hold on to it for as long as possible, probably to the point it just feels ridiculous and overhyped.
Then some better solution comes along for cheaper. And you realize you could have bought dedicated machines that offered more features for less.
Most programs have preferences saved in a plist file in either ~/Library/Preferences or/Library/Preferences. There might also be some other resources that got installed.
The nice thing though is that it's all obvious where it is and it's usually all very clearly labeled... and the BULK of all a programs resources are in the.app folder that hosts the actual binary among other things. So just deleting the.app gets rid of 99% of things associated with a program usually.
You don't need to mess with anything nasty since Mac OS X doesn't have anything like the horrible Windows Registry scheme of saving application settings and data. On Mac OS X everything is in a file.
Also, Mac apps in general don't screw with your system very much, so even if you delete the program from your Applications folder and get all that hard drive space back, but then forget to delete the tiny preferences file that might exist, you won't notice since it's just a small file that is no longer being used by anything, and not affecting your system at all.
If you DO want to get rid of everything though, apparently there's a commercial uninstaller available called AppZapper (check macupdate.com).
But that's not being witty, that's just being honest. He shouldn't be punished for complying, and doing nothing illegal.
I agree though if you KNOW what these people are like, then you should KNOW that you might be better off lying for the time being. It's unfortunate that they force people to not be honest, but that's the way it is.
You can be punished now for what you believe, how you feel, and what you WOULD do. It's not just all about your actions anymore.
If you read the message board post the guy made... this isn't just about over-reaction... it's about government officials being power hungry and being real jerks to ordinary people.
Some of the questions they asked were invasive and inappropriate... and the customs guy seemed to think it was up to him personally to decide what's legal and what isn't.
Heck this is my last semester before graduation. I'm only taking four classes. And when I bought books this semester it came to about $410. That's a rip-off.
I don't see how the temperature increasing inside a sealed box indicates that thermodynamics has been violated and energy has been created. You would need to keep tabs on a lot more things in there to make sure that the temperature increased while nothing else decreased... then something would have been violated.
Imagine having a strong enough box around a big system that converts matter to energy. Or even just two chemicals reacting exothermically.
"What we have developed is a way to construct magnetic fields so that when you travel round the magnetic fields, starting and stopping at the same position, you have gained energy," McCarthy said.
So where do you get the energy to travel around the fields?
And how fast do you need to travel to make a decent amount of energy? And how much energy would it take to travel that fast?
Exactly; with mass production quality comes from design (of the product, manufacturing processes), quality control, etc. and not the ethnicity of the people pressing buttons of the manufacturing equipment. [...] People still show surprise that quality stuff can come out of Korea (again, I'm not sure what the rationale is, makes me wonder how certain people view the world ). Japan, early in its industrialization, was also synonymous with cheap low quality crap that'd fall apart if you looked at it funny or that would dissolve in the rain -- funny how perceptions change.
I don't quite like you insinuate that recognizing products from one country as being higher quality than products of another country is related to racism. I was talking about the culture and work environment, not about ethnicity.
In fact your point about the view of Japan changing is exactly the point I was making about Korea... they are improving but have a long way to go.
Your point about Japan also seems to contradict your other point. On one hand you seem to believe that any country can produce a quality product if they're given the blueprint and the proper tools. On the other hand you seem to recognize that at one time Japan's quality sucked but then it got really good. (Which is well known... I mean, it was even a joke in one of the Back to the Future movies).
Blueprints and tools aren't enough to make a quality product. Don't you think working your employees for way too many hours like they do in China affects quality? Or being in a country where workers are not allowed to group together to bargain for better working conditions and wages?
Of course the problem is that whenever the situation gets good in a country, the manufacturing just moves someplace else that has crappy labor laws that can be abused, but it's cheaper.
How much more would you be willing to pay for your iPod, so that Chinese workers didn't have to overwork themselves?
Why on Earth would you hold Sony products in high esteem? I could understand that thinking back in the 1980s... but since the 90s came Sony has always had poor-quality problems except in their professional gear. There's nothing "high-end" or quality about them.
Personally I think it's because they've stopped manufacturing their things in Japan. Now it's all about Malaysia or Indonesia or Taiwan or China or something.
Check where things are manufactured, it can tell you a lot about what level quality to expect. Different countries have different cultures and different governments and different labor laws and quality assurance programs and work ethics and wages, etc.
Then again I also can't believe you're starting to think Samsung is looking good. They've improved a lot, thanks to improvements in South Korea itself, but they're still kind of crap and have a long way to go. South Korea used to be one of the WORST countries in as far as quality manufacturing goes, but they've done a lot in the past 5 years or so to try and fix things.
I'll give you the benefit of the doubt, but... what's an actual example of this being used like in a movie or TV show or by a comedian? Or is this just the kind of thing that's used only casually among friends?
I for one, have been thinking about getting a Wii when it comes out. The last console I actually played much of was Nintendo 64... after that, all the "Playstation style" games that came out really really didn't interest me... at all. I don't like long RPGs (Zelda 64 was about the longest RPG I could stand playing), and I don't like stupid sports games. I did play a little bit of Resident Evil 2 when it came out, but that was about it. I'm not into network gaming, either.
But lately I've been digging into my older consoles like Nintendo, Super Nintendo, Genesis, and Master System... and enjoying them more than ever. So I'm hoping that the Wii might have some cool new games for me. I am doubtful I would find much on XBOX or Playstation.
It just feels like the entire industry shifted to types of games I don't like, and it all started with the first Playstation. Or maybe the consolidation of all the developers. There used to be a lot more competition it seems, and smaller developers with original ideas.
But the fact that I of all people am considering buying a Wii, makes me think that other gamers who felt alienated by the Playstation-era crap might also be considering it.
His take on it might be similar to my own. I am a liberal/Democrat, but I am against abortion since (obviously) in an ideal world such a thing would never happen. It's an ugly thing about death.
But I don't think it could ever be made illegal because there are some women who will feel the need to have an abortion anyway. As a result they may go get a "back alley" abortion from an unsafe doctor that causes her harm or kills her. This needs to stay legal so that it can be controlled and monitored. What I would support is stricter restrictions on when an abortion is ok... or see some alternatives. I did see an leaflet for an abortion clinic this year that basically made it sound like a trip to the dentist. It didn't mention the mental anguish it can cause the mother, or the health risks. If women are planning an abortion just because they were *irresponsible* then they should carry the baby and put it up for adoption. If they are considering an abortion for more serious reasons that they can't be blamed for, that's another matter.
In any case, I applaud the original poster. If more of the conservatives that I meet would be more reasonable like him, then I'd be a much happier person (and the country/world would be a better place).
The only thing I object to is his use of the dollar sign in the name Christ. I'm an agnostic, and pretty averse to most religion, but that just seems disrespectful.
Slashdot Mirror
What, like situs inversus totalis?
Now, almost any environmentalist or informed vegetarian can tell you why this is wrong. I mean the cow needs food, too obviously. It takes much more grain and water to make a pound of meat than it takes to make a pound of... well, grain. You have to raise the animal over some time.
It's a shame too, because he was a good environmentalist. And his heart was in the right place. He genuinely cared about animals.
This is so unconstitutional... isn't it? It had better be.
Now you can just accuse someone and ruin their life?
What the heck is the court even for, then?
Well... I have doubts this is true and not just pure FUD of the highest degree.
I mean I just can't imagine someone actually thinking this would be a good idea to develop into an actual product. I just can't imagine someone at a company being so thick-headed that they actually think this is something that customer's wouldn't mind.
I mean if people at Google are actually considering something like this, then I'd say Google has lost it's way and needs a change in management.
Seriously... fire whoever came up with this idea and took it seriously or supported it. They're just poison for the company.
Dear Timex,
Wonder why Blu-Ray isn't selling?
Remember RCA SelectaVision videodisks? We do.
Signed, the buying public.
What...? no one remembers SelectaVision anymore?
I curse your form!
(PS. How many people bought and still use those mid-90s Gateway 2000 Destination PC's that were supposed to go into your living room and used wireless keyboard and mouse so you could work from your couch?)
The big problem I think with such a huge system distributed throughout the entire house, serving up media, being your tool for all your needs... is that it will cost quite a bit... and it might be obsolete in a few years.
Imagine having an Atari 2600 / 8 Track / Beta video / 9600 baud modem machine integrated into your house...
Or even if its not part of your house, you still bought all this crap and invested in it... you're going to want to hold on to it for as long as possible, probably to the point it just feels ridiculous and overhyped.
Then some better solution comes along for cheaper. And you realize you could have bought dedicated machines that offered more features for less.
Most programs have preferences saved in a plist file in either ~/Library/Preferences or /Library/Preferences. There might also be some other resources that got installed.
.app folder that hosts the actual binary among other things. So just deleting the .app gets rid of 99% of things associated with a program usually.
The nice thing though is that it's all obvious where it is and it's usually all very clearly labeled... and the BULK of all a programs resources are in the
You don't need to mess with anything nasty since Mac OS X doesn't have anything like the horrible Windows Registry scheme of saving application settings and data. On Mac OS X everything is in a file.
Also, Mac apps in general don't screw with your system very much, so even if you delete the program from your Applications folder and get all that hard drive space back, but then forget to delete the tiny preferences file that might exist, you won't notice since it's just a small file that is no longer being used by anything, and not affecting your system at all.
If you DO want to get rid of everything though, apparently there's a commercial uninstaller available called AppZapper (check macupdate.com).
But that's not being witty, that's just being honest. He shouldn't be punished for complying, and doing nothing illegal.
I agree though if you KNOW what these people are like, then you should KNOW that you might be better off lying for the time being. It's unfortunate that they force people to not be honest, but that's the way it is.
You can be punished now for what you believe, how you feel, and what you WOULD do. It's not just all about your actions anymore.
If you read the message board post the guy made... this isn't just about over-reaction... it's about government officials being power hungry and being real jerks to ordinary people.
Some of the questions they asked were invasive and inappropriate... and the customs guy seemed to think it was up to him personally to decide what's legal and what isn't.
Heck this is my last semester before graduation. I'm only taking four classes. And when I bought books this semester it came to about $410. That's a rip-off.
Do you like Oregon Trail and Odell Lake?
Plutonium? What happened to the Mr. Fusion upgrade?
Or are you still using a DeLorean without a hover upgrade as well?
I don't see how the temperature increasing inside a sealed box indicates that thermodynamics has been violated and energy has been created. You would need to keep tabs on a lot more things in there to make sure that the temperature increased while nothing else decreased... then something would have been violated.
Imagine having a strong enough box around a big system that converts matter to energy. Or even just two chemicals reacting exothermically.
So where do you get the energy to travel around the fields?
And how fast do you need to travel to make a decent amount of energy? And how much energy would it take to travel that fast?
It's got to come from somewhere.
That was my first thought when I read this, too.
What a stupid comparison.
what the....?
Was that a real Sony ad? Where was it aired?
I don't quite like you insinuate that recognizing products from one country as being higher quality than products of another country is related to racism. I was talking about the culture and work environment, not about ethnicity.
In fact your point about the view of Japan changing is exactly the point I was making about Korea... they are improving but have a long way to go.
Your point about Japan also seems to contradict your other point. On one hand you seem to believe that any country can produce a quality product if they're given the blueprint and the proper tools. On the other hand you seem to recognize that at one time Japan's quality sucked but then it got really good. (Which is well known... I mean, it was even a joke in one of the Back to the Future movies).
Blueprints and tools aren't enough to make a quality product. Don't you think working your employees for way too many hours like they do in China affects quality? Or being in a country where workers are not allowed to group together to bargain for better working conditions and wages?
Of course the problem is that whenever the situation gets good in a country, the manufacturing just moves someplace else that has crappy labor laws that can be abused, but it's cheaper.
How much more would you be willing to pay for your iPod, so that Chinese workers didn't have to overwork themselves?
Why on Earth would you hold Sony products in high esteem? I could understand that thinking back in the 1980s... but since the 90s came Sony has always had poor-quality problems except in their professional gear. There's nothing "high-end" or quality about them.
Personally I think it's because they've stopped manufacturing their things in Japan. Now it's all about Malaysia or Indonesia or Taiwan or China or something.
Check where things are manufactured, it can tell you a lot about what level quality to expect. Different countries have different cultures and different governments and different labor laws and quality assurance programs and work ethics and wages, etc.
Then again I also can't believe you're starting to think Samsung is looking good. They've improved a lot, thanks to improvements in South Korea itself, but they're still kind of crap and have a long way to go. South Korea used to be one of the WORST countries in as far as quality manufacturing goes, but they've done a lot in the past 5 years or so to try and fix things.
I'll give you the benefit of the doubt, but... what's an actual example of this being used like in a movie or TV show or by a comedian? Or is this just the kind of thing that's used only casually among friends?
I need some hardcore data, man.
Why is "good to go" funny? Because of those lame ass taco bell commercials?
An old style videogame machine.
You'll be dead before your finger can push the button.
COBET AMAPNKA is I think closer...
COBN3T AM3PNKA is more like "Sovizt Amzrika"
I for one, have been thinking about getting a Wii when it comes out. The last console I actually played much of was Nintendo 64... after that, all the "Playstation style" games that came out really really didn't interest me... at all. I don't like long RPGs (Zelda 64 was about the longest RPG I could stand playing), and I don't like stupid sports games. I did play a little bit of Resident Evil 2 when it came out, but that was about it. I'm not into network gaming, either.
But lately I've been digging into my older consoles like Nintendo, Super Nintendo, Genesis, and Master System... and enjoying them more than ever. So I'm hoping that the Wii might have some cool new games for me. I am doubtful I would find much on XBOX or Playstation.
It just feels like the entire industry shifted to types of games I don't like, and it all started with the first Playstation. Or maybe the consolidation of all the developers. There used to be a lot more competition it seems, and smaller developers with original ideas.
But the fact that I of all people am considering buying a Wii, makes me think that other gamers who felt alienated by the Playstation-era crap might also be considering it.
His take on it might be similar to my own. I am a liberal/Democrat, but I am against abortion since (obviously) in an ideal world such a thing would never happen. It's an ugly thing about death.
But I don't think it could ever be made illegal because there are some women who will feel the need to have an abortion anyway. As a result they may go get a "back alley" abortion from an unsafe doctor that causes her harm or kills her. This needs to stay legal so that it can be controlled and monitored. What I would support is stricter restrictions on when an abortion is ok... or see some alternatives. I did see an leaflet for an abortion clinic this year that basically made it sound like a trip to the dentist. It didn't mention the mental anguish it can cause the mother, or the health risks. If women are planning an abortion just because they were *irresponsible* then they should carry the baby and put it up for adoption. If they are considering an abortion for more serious reasons that they can't be blamed for, that's another matter.
In any case, I applaud the original poster. If more of the conservatives that I meet would be more reasonable like him, then I'd be a much happier person (and the country/world would be a better place).
The only thing I object to is his use of the dollar sign in the name Christ. I'm an agnostic, and pretty averse to most religion, but that just seems disrespectful.