Actually, cedar shake shingle roofs are/were quite fashionable in certain high-dollar housing developments in the southern and western US. Unfortunately, if they are not re-treated with fire retardants on a regular basis (and, tell me, just how fire safety conscious do you think your average yuppie homeowner is?) they quickly become little better than palm frond thatching at resisting fire.
That tears it. When I build my expensive house, it will be stucco & earthenware shingles (forget the name). Of couse, that won't be for awhile.
Right. Freedom isn't for everybody. We Westerners like freedom, but other peoples prefer slavery and oppression. It is arrogant for us to think that government "of the people, for the people, by the people" is compatible with all cultures.
Turn off your sarcasm for a moment and think: How do you expect to impose democracy on a place like Iraq and have it work? That's the main problem - you can't just tell someone that they will be democratic, they have to do it themselves. Any other method will be viewed as imperialism and dealt with accordingly.
Most of us would prefer to have democratic neighbors, but we want it to work, and that takes time. We can encourage Iran's democratic movement and support anyone else who chooses democracy, or at least stop funding the dictators who put them down. It really is complicated.
Not to detract from those lovely visuals, but they're terrible delivery systems for chemical weapons. A spray bottle (with scented water) in the subway is a far better way to freak people out.
Of course, Al Queda would rather just blow up a chem plant - that's more their style.
Well, according to Ari Fleischer, if the potential war with Iraq were about the oil then the administration would just lift the embargo and let the oil flow. (Time magazine, a week or two ago)
Well, what do you expect from a liar? The war is partially about Iraqi oil being priced in euros, which won't be changed by turning the pumps back on. The fact that oil is mostly priced in dollars and that everybody is dependent on it is a good portion of what makes the dollar so strong. If too many people price their oil in euros, the dollar loses demand and may inflate a whole lot due to the sudden oversupply of currency.
Or maybe Dick Cheney just wants to give Haliburton a chance to rebuild Iraq's oil infrastructure again.
[Sue some movie studio for implying that a Civic can be made to run 9 second quarter miles]
Well, you can. It just takes a lot of money. This month's SportCompactCar mag has an article on a Neon SRT that makes 9.07 with an automatic. Of course, nearly every part (including the frame) has been replaced. It took a professional some 8 months to put it together, too.
Imagine if the utility companies forced a person to hand over keys to their residence when they signed up for service, so that the company could "inspect the premises in the interests of public safety". It wouldn't be long before the utility company would realize that they can make additional income by "renting" your key to law enforcement agencies on demand. But you, the resident would effectively have no say in this - you either agree to their terms, or you do without gas/electric/phone service.
Bad example. Utility companies are typically heavily regulated monopolies providing an essential service. A couple phone calls to the PUC and possible state Attorney General may help things along.
If you're innocent, and you don't have anything to hide, fully cooperate with the police. Doing otherwise arouses their suspicion, and will result in situations like the one you just described. I'm a law-abiding citizen (for the most part, anyway). When they come knocking, I tell them whatever they want to know, the full-out truth, warrant or no.
Truly dangerous advice. If you're innocent, then you should simply not get involved with the police any more than necessary. Sure, if you see a crime in progress, be a witness, but if the cops ask to search your car or home, say no. Police, as a rule, are honest, but overworked. If you give them something that might tie you to a crime, they may decide to stop looking for the perp and start seeing if they can make it stick to you. You don't need this kind of aggravation. Even if you are in fact innocent, it can take up a lot of time and money to prove it, all the while marking you in the eyes of others.
Why do I think like this? Well, the only time I ever meet a cop is during a traffic stop, and we don't ever know each other. If a cop shows up at my door, he's there because he wants something, not because he's just chatty. Again, he doesn't know me. If the cops spent some time getting to know people and getting people to know them, all this might change, but I won't hold my breath.
As if "more laws" was a viable solution to anything.
Well yeah, it does solve certain problems. In this case, we are just catching up with our European brethren. Privacy is about more than just protecting yourself from police on fishing expeditions (although that in itself is valuable). It's also about making identity theft harder to commit. There's also the bonus that you won't have as many people trading your info and bombarding you with ads. I get at least 5 solicitations a week to refinance my FHA mortgage, which I don't have anymore, and I get lots and lots of credit card comeons.
Do you realize just how few of our laws are obeyed anyway?
We mostly obey the ones that make sense - robbery, murder, and arson are fairly rare. The ones we tend not to obey are frequently archaic (the one about requiring a flagman to walk in front of any car driven by a woman) and some are simply unreasonable (most speed limits are a bit low, especially on the highway. Some troopers have even complained about this).
The only problem is that every single one of them I've come across has had a controlling parasite "broker" in the middle - as was the one we encountered. The broker broke all the merger terms by refusing to hand over control of the company. He illegally siezed the company and the millions invested and looted it all. Ficticious board resolutions were used to change who could sign on the company bank accounts, etc. Offshore Bermuda accounts were used to funnel things to Swiss accounts - sounds hollywood, but it was very effective.
Damn. Sounds like your dirtball needs to piss off the wrong guy - it would be a shame if he screwed over some mafia boss' nephew.
Depends on the school. Go to a high school or easy college like GMU or UVA and you should get a 3.8+ if you do stuff like turn in homework. It's the hard colleges where a 3.5 is considered a damn good grade where it's
OK not to get straight A's. Of course, I got a 2.5 in high school because I couldn't be bothered to turn in homework. I did it, I just never saw the point in grades at a place like that.
when the US gummint's TIA program hands the FBI info about someone with the same name as mine, and they pull a Jackson Games (or Limone/Salvati) caper on me, I can sue the government?
Well, you'll have to wait until the TIA gets a budget. Congress recently pulled their money until they can demonstrate that the sort of thing you mention (and, more broadly, violation of the right to privacy) don't happen.
A computer can never "think" as a human does because if it did, it would simply be a human and not a computer.
So, by definition (your), computers can't think. Big deal - we build a thinking machine and let the philosophers argue over what to call it. I figure that Frank Herbert pretty much nailed what would happen if that came to pass.
The cool part is that I'll probably live to see it happen.
I'm pretty sure that it's already been settled that a single bit is not copyrightable. In other words, there is a minimum amount of creative effort necessary to allow copyright to apply.
I remember reading somewhere once that fairuse is actually only available to you if you are able to carry it out, the manufacturers/publishers dont have to provide you with the ability to copy something freely or run/play that copy freely.
Copyright was created in order to enrich the public good, both through works entering the public domain and through limited use beforehand. Congress has effectively eliminated the latter, and Palladium has the potential to eliminate the latter. With the public good portion of the law eliminated, I see no reason to keep the other side - IP appears to be going obsolete. Of course, there is the matter of paying off enough congressmen to get this to happen. I wonder who might support that.
As usual, i expect someone on here to clarify my position, wether its right or wrong etc.
Changing it yourself is a violation of the DMCA, even though you're the copyright holder because the DMCA protects that bit not your copyright.
Bullshit. It is illegal to circumvent a technological method for protecting access to a copyrighted work. Since you own the work in question, and the bit is not copyrighted, you may abuse the encryption any way you like.
So then why in that URL I provided, and other times, do the official institutes that date objects show a date 0.27-3.5 million years old when the sample was only 50 years old?
Simple - measure an isotope that has a known, long half-life and tends not to vary too much in initial concentration. You can get the half-life from measuring a known sample and extrapolating, as radioactive decay is fairly reliable. Of course, this being the real world, we don't have the luxury of certainty.
To talk to your children you would need to have a language to teach them, of course... this thing could take a long time to get going.
In fact, it could take a few years. You don't need to build a big complex language in order to ask your kid to go gather fruit with her mother, or to tell your son about hunting.
Something like this happens in 'Red Mars' - the cable snaps after the end-point in space is blown up, and wraps itself aroung the planet, with huge destructive force, making a giant trench. KSR prides himself on being as scientifically accurate as possible, is this an error?
Slashdot Mirror
Actually, cedar shake shingle roofs are/were quite fashionable in certain high-dollar housing developments in the southern and western US. Unfortunately, if they are not re-treated with fire retardants on a regular basis (and, tell me, just how fire safety conscious do you think your average yuppie homeowner is?) they quickly become little better than palm frond thatching at resisting fire.
That tears it. When I build my expensive house, it will be stucco & earthenware shingles (forget the name). Of couse, that won't be for awhile.
Right. Freedom isn't for everybody. We Westerners like freedom, but other peoples prefer slavery and oppression. It is arrogant for us to think that government "of the people, for the people, by the people" is compatible with all cultures.
Turn off your sarcasm for a moment and think: How do you expect to impose democracy on a place like Iraq and have it work? That's the main problem - you can't just tell someone that they will be democratic, they have to do it themselves. Any other method will be viewed as imperialism and dealt with accordingly.
Most of us would prefer to have democratic neighbors, but we want it to work, and that takes time. We can encourage Iran's democratic movement and support anyone else who chooses democracy, or at least stop funding the dictators who put them down. It really is complicated.
Many of the teams have moved to things like H2O2 (hydrogen peroxide) that shouldnt fall into trouble with the new laws. I think.
Wasn't Carmack saying that his main problem was from trying to obtain it in units less than a railcar?
I'm thinking that something illegal might have been going on in that club.
Give that man a cigar! The first illegal thing going on is that it was operating at all. The Fire department ordered it closed in June.
Not to detract from those lovely visuals, but they're terrible delivery systems for chemical weapons. A spray bottle (with scented water) in the subway is a far better way to freak people out.
Of course, Al Queda would rather just blow up a chem plant - that's more their style.
Well, according to Ari Fleischer, if the potential war with Iraq were about the oil then the administration would just lift the embargo and let the oil flow. (Time magazine, a week or two ago)
Well, what do you expect from a liar? The war is partially about Iraqi oil being priced in euros, which won't be changed by turning the pumps back on. The fact that oil is mostly priced in dollars and that everybody is dependent on it is a good portion of what makes the dollar so strong. If too many people price their oil in euros, the dollar loses demand and may inflate a whole lot due to the sudden oversupply of currency.
Or maybe Dick Cheney just wants to give Haliburton a chance to rebuild Iraq's oil infrastructure again.
[Sue some movie studio for implying that a Civic can be made to run 9 second quarter miles]
Well, you can. It just takes a lot of money. This month's SportCompactCar mag has an article on a Neon SRT that makes 9.07 with an automatic. Of course, nearly every part (including the frame) has been replaced. It took a professional some 8 months to put it together, too.
Imagine if the utility companies forced a person to hand over keys to their residence when they signed up for service, so that the company could "inspect the premises in the interests of public safety". It wouldn't be long before the utility company would realize that they can make additional income by "renting" your key to law enforcement agencies on demand. But you, the resident would effectively have no say in this - you either agree to their terms, or you do without gas/electric/phone service.
Bad example. Utility companies are typically heavily regulated monopolies providing an essential service. A couple phone calls to the PUC and possible state Attorney General may help things along.
If you're innocent, and you don't have anything to hide, fully cooperate with the police. Doing otherwise arouses their suspicion, and will result in situations like the one you just described. I'm a law-abiding citizen (for the most part, anyway). When they come knocking, I tell them whatever they want to know, the full-out truth, warrant or no.
Truly dangerous advice. If you're innocent, then you should simply not get involved with the police any more than necessary. Sure, if you see a crime in progress, be a witness, but if the cops ask to search your car or home, say no. Police, as a rule, are honest, but overworked. If you give them something that might tie you to a crime, they may decide to stop looking for the perp and start seeing if they can make it stick to you. You don't need this kind of aggravation. Even if you are in fact innocent, it can take up a lot of time and money to prove it, all the while marking you in the eyes of others.
Why do I think like this? Well, the only time I ever meet a cop is during a traffic stop, and we don't ever know each other. If a cop shows up at my door, he's there because he wants something, not because he's just chatty. Again, he doesn't know me. If the cops spent some time getting to know people and getting people to know them, all this might change, but I won't hold my breath.
As if "more laws" was a viable solution to anything.
Well yeah, it does solve certain problems. In this case, we are just catching up with our European brethren. Privacy is about more than just protecting yourself from police on fishing expeditions (although that in itself is valuable). It's also about making identity theft harder to commit. There's also the bonus that you won't have as many people trading your info and bombarding you with ads. I get at least 5 solicitations a week to refinance my FHA mortgage, which I don't have anymore, and I get lots and lots of credit card comeons.
Do you realize just how few of our laws are obeyed anyway?
We mostly obey the ones that make sense - robbery, murder, and arson are fairly rare. The ones we tend not to obey are frequently archaic (the one about requiring a flagman to walk in front of any car driven by a woman) and some are simply unreasonable (most speed limits are a bit low, especially on the highway. Some troopers have even complained about this).
Sitting on inventory
Does this actually present a problem? Won't this be seen as legitimizing Linux in their eyes, thus being a strategic blunder?
The only problem is that every single one of them I've come across has had a controlling parasite "broker" in the middle - as was the one we encountered. The broker broke all the merger terms by refusing to hand over control of the company. He illegally siezed the company and the millions invested and looted it all. Ficticious board resolutions were used to change who could sign on the company bank accounts, etc. Offshore Bermuda accounts were used to funnel things to Swiss accounts - sounds hollywood, but it was very effective.
Damn. Sounds like your dirtball needs to piss off the wrong guy - it would be a shame if he screwed over some mafia boss' nephew.
I'm in college right now, and it'd be ideal for me to go out and find a middle school kid who fits the nerd profile and help them learn to program.
Just be careful - you don't want to freak out his parents about some guy he met on the Internet.
Shakespeare wrote a decent play about 400 years ago about a couple of hormone-crazed teenagers who couldn't see the big picture and committed suicide.
And he ripped it off of a greek play from about 2000 years ago, so yes, it's been going on a while.
Its not OKAY to not have a 4.0 GPA
Depends on the school. Go to a high school or easy college like GMU or UVA and you should get a 3.8+ if you do stuff like turn in homework. It's the hard colleges where a 3.5 is considered a damn good grade where it's OK not to get straight A's. Of course, I got a 2.5 in high school because I couldn't be bothered to turn in homework. I did it, I just never saw the point in grades at a place like that.
when the US gummint's TIA program hands the FBI info about someone with the same name as mine, and they pull a Jackson Games (or Limone/Salvati) caper on me, I can sue the government?
Well, you'll have to wait until the TIA gets a budget. Congress recently pulled their money until they can demonstrate that the sort of thing you mention (and, more broadly, violation of the right to privacy) don't happen.
Het, when I get out of college, odds are there will be jobs of 50k and up just waiting for me
Looks like you'll be doing Graduate level work at Hard Knocks U.
here really should be a book that teaches programmers how to negotiate with management and how to work with HR. I've had to learn that the hard way.
Yeah, I'm still learning that one. Kind of hard in some places, where management's idea of negotiation is 'my way or the highway'.
A computer can never "think" as a human does because if it did, it would simply be a human and not a computer.
So, by definition (your), computers can't think. Big deal - we build a thinking machine and let the philosophers argue over what to call it. I figure that Frank Herbert pretty much nailed what would happen if that came to pass.
The cool part is that I'll probably live to see it happen.
in this case, the bit will be copyrighted.
I'm pretty sure that it's already been settled that a single bit is not copyrightable. In other words, there is a minimum amount of creative effort necessary to allow copyright to apply.
I remember reading somewhere once that fairuse is actually only available to you if you are able to carry it out, the manufacturers/publishers dont have to provide you with the ability to copy something freely or run/play that copy freely.
Copyright was created in order to enrich the public good, both through works entering the public domain and through limited use beforehand. Congress has effectively eliminated the latter, and Palladium has the potential to eliminate the latter. With the public good portion of the law eliminated, I see no reason to keep the other side - IP appears to be going obsolete. Of course, there is the matter of paying off enough congressmen to get this to happen. I wonder who might support that.
As usual, i expect someone on here to clarify my position, wether its right or wrong etc.
I would hope that that person would be you.
Changing it yourself is a violation of the DMCA, even though you're the copyright holder because the DMCA protects that bit not your copyright.
Bullshit. It is illegal to circumvent a technological method for protecting access to a copyrighted work. Since you own the work in question, and the bit is not copyrighted, you may abuse the encryption any way you like.
So then why in that URL I provided, and other times, do the official institutes that date objects show a date 0.27-3.5 million years old when the sample was only 50 years old?
Simple - measure an isotope that has a known, long half-life and tends not to vary too much in initial concentration. You can get the half-life from measuring a known sample and extrapolating, as radioactive decay is fairly reliable. Of course, this being the real world, we don't have the luxury of certainty.
To talk to your children you would need to have a language to teach them, of course... this thing could take a long time to get going.
In fact, it could take a few years. You don't need to build a big complex language in order to ask your kid to go gather fruit with her mother, or to tell your son about hunting.
Something like this happens in 'Red Mars' - the cable snaps after the end-point in space is blown up, and wraps itself aroung the planet, with huge destructive force, making a giant trench. KSR prides himself on being as scientifically accurate as possible, is this an error?
The cable lacks sufficient strength to do this.