In 1943, he was correct. It's silly to extend his statement all the way to the 1980s and beyond. That's like me saying that "the space program does not need more than 5 space shuttles". Of course that will change in the future!
It's already changed: now, the American space program doesn't need any space shuttles at all.
Funny you should mention a shoddy experience with MCI. Here's mine:
Back when they started their "Neighborhood" plan, I said, hey, sign me up! At the time, my fiancee lived about 1400 miles away, so this would be a score - $50/month for as long as my cordless phone battery would last. They set up the long-distance service right away, and said they'd have someone contact me to establish local service in a week or two.
No one contacted me; but I got my first bill a month later, which included $120 for my "free" long-distance usage. I called, navigated a maze of telephone numbers that involved at least one web search for a number that would put me through to a human being, and got them to drop the charge. Once again, they told me they'd get someone to contact me to rectify the problem.
Again, no contact; and again, I get a $100+ bill. When I call to contest this one, I'm told that they'll credit the bill. I also cancel my service. I got to endure almost nightly calls from MCI for a month after that, trying to collect on the money they think I owed them. . . but they do eventually give up. Fortunately I never opted to have them bill me automatically, as I refuse to trust my account to any service that bills me different amounts each month.
The real kicker is that I got a call from them a couple months ago, the first in a while. They were willing to erase what I owed them, they said, if I switched back to their long-distance service. I told them, just take the debt off your record and never call me again. Shortly after that, I changed my phone number (due in part to the harassment I'd received from them). Things have been pretty hunky-dory since.
Re:DVD-Rs go 8x
on
DVD-Rs go 8x
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· Score: 2, Insightful
I would use something like that as a more portable alternative to tape backup. You obviously can't backup whole hard drives that way, but for most home-user stuff, the few gigs that gives you is more then enough.
If you want to make it unprofitable, sue the corporations that always wind up the object of the advertisement (Norton WhateverWorks always show up in my box 2-200 times per week). If they don't fund the spammers, some of their incentive dries up.
That works, if what the spammer advertises is in fact a genuine product. If I recall, the "Norton WhateverWorks" spams are for bootleg copies of the product.
"A general unwillingness to subject astronauts to such risks for a museum exhibit, among other things, eliminated that option, Weiler said."
That's a shame. But if they don't want to subject astronauts to the risk, would they consider taking volunteers from the American public? I'd sell a kidney on the black market for a chance to be a part of something like that.
I won't be buying anything that day. Why go to the store at all? It will be crowded, people will push and shove to get their hands on the lastest, bestest, cheapest item, forgetting *why* they're there in the first place.
I won't be buying anything that day either, because I'll be picking up FFX-2 this Wednesday and plan to lock myself in my house for a good two weeks afterward.:)
Seriously, I agree with this sentiment. I don't like dealing with huge crowds - I still do my Yule shopping, but I tend to do it on a weekday in mid-December. That way, most of the "crowd" is still at work or at home or otherwise not in my way; and I still have time to ship presents halfway across the country as-needed.
Our prices are designed to help our customers save money and these 'hackers' are violating your rights as a consumer as well as ours. We shall defend ourselves by any means neccesary
Evidently, "any means necessary" doesn't include decent OPSEC where the price lists are concerned, or else the lists wouldn't get out to FatWallet in the first place.:)
I'd rather have just a plain audio CD. I can record it in the format of my choice, and then do any of the things you describe above. If it's provided in a digital file format, it may or may not allow me to make CDs, load it onto portable devices, etc.; but if it's in an audio format, I control the format it takes once I record it onto my hard drive.
If the Patent Office had to Pay For Their Mistakes, they might be less likely to make the same mistakes over and over again.
That presumes the Patent Office would feel a greater sense of accountability for your money than they do for their work. Since they obviously don't give half a damn about their work, why would they care about how they spend your money?
What is the benefit of keeping the patent system versus the benefit of getting rid of it? Maybe we need to wipe our hands clean of the whole concept of patenting.
Tell me why keeping track of children in a school is such bad thing?
Tell me, when did regular attendance sheets become inadequate for this? Why does the school need to spend millions of dollars for RFID, when it's no more accurate than the old fashioned "check the box for each student that's here" method?
This is a commonly held misperception on the part of a lot of people who just don't know any better. There's much more evidence against the "Christian nation" lie, however, than there is to support it:
First, consider there is no mention of God in the Constitution of the United States. The only places where religion is mentioned are to prevent it from being used as a criteria for holding government office; and to prevent government establishment of religion.
Second, consider the Treaty of Tripoli and its implications on what the early government of our nation truly thought about the idea of the United States as a "Christian country."
The difference is that people who are stationed overseas want to vote, and typically do so in larger proportions than the continental American population. And how would you propose "making" people vote in the first place? No, it's better to spend effort where people are asking for the expenditure.
Re:Why, yes, it IS an aluminum foil hat.
on
TIA Project to End
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· Score: 2, Informative
Ashcroft - Attorney General, Justice Department.
TIA - DARPA, Defense Department.
As hard as it may be to believe, Ashcroft has nothing to do with TIA or anything else in the Pentagon. TIA was Poindexter's baby and carried Rumsfeld's seal of approval, not Ashcroft's.
I can only do about sixty on the keyboard myself. No, it's not a case of being unfamiliar on a computer keyboard. I just like the tactile feedback of my hand on the pencil, pushing down on the paper. It does something for my creativity that I can't always get from writing straight to file. Of course, once I start writing to the PC, I tend to add a lot more "flesh" to whatever I'm working on.:-)
I like to write my first drafts in pencil and paper. I use a 0.5mm #2 Pentel pencil, a Magic Rub eraser, and college-ruled paper. Subsequent drafts are typically on PC, in whatever format--usually.DOC format, since I primarily use Windows at home. I spent a half hour configuring the normal.dot template the way I wanted it, and I was off and running.
I recall listening to Harlan Ellison describe why he uses typewriters--such "features" as having to rewrite the entire page when you make mistakes, etc.. But that does help with the writing process, at least in my opinion: the more you write and re-write a story, after all, the more familiar you are with it.
Slashdot Mirror
Read on to see what this has to do with Walter Jon Williams newest book, Dread Empire's Fall: the Praxis.
<Dark Helmet Voice> Absolutely nothing! </Dark Helmet Voice>
In 1943, he was correct. It's silly to extend his statement all the way to the 1980s and beyond. That's like me saying that "the space program does not need more than 5 space shuttles". Of course that will change in the future!
It's already changed: now, the American space program doesn't need any space shuttles at all.
Actually, if you're using an OR operand, the order is irrelevant. :)
Funny you should mention a shoddy experience with MCI. Here's mine:
Back when they started their "Neighborhood" plan, I said, hey, sign me up! At the time, my fiancee lived about 1400 miles away, so this would be a score - $50/month for as long as my cordless phone battery would last. They set up the long-distance service right away, and said they'd have someone contact me to establish local service in a week or two.
No one contacted me; but I got my first bill a month later, which included $120 for my "free" long-distance usage. I called, navigated a maze of telephone numbers that involved at least one web search for a number that would put me through to a human being, and got them to drop the charge. Once again, they told me they'd get someone to contact me to rectify the problem.
Again, no contact; and again, I get a $100+ bill. When I call to contest this one, I'm told that they'll credit the bill. I also cancel my service. I got to endure almost nightly calls from MCI for a month after that, trying to collect on the money they think I owed them. . . but they do eventually give up. Fortunately I never opted to have them bill me automatically, as I refuse to trust my account to any service that bills me different amounts each month.
The real kicker is that I got a call from them a couple months ago, the first in a while. They were willing to erase what I owed them, they said, if I switched back to their long-distance service. I told them, just take the debt off your record and never call me again. Shortly after that, I changed my phone number (due in part to the harassment I'd received from them). Things have been pretty hunky-dory since.
What ever happend to REAL sci-fi that required the viewer/reader to actualy THINK....
You can still find that, if you look for it in the Sci-Fi section of your local bookstore. :)
It's a joke. Laugh!
I would use something like that as a more portable alternative to tape backup. You obviously can't backup whole hard drives that way, but for most home-user stuff, the few gigs that gives you is more then enough.
If you want to make it unprofitable, sue the corporations that always wind up the object of the advertisement (Norton WhateverWorks always show up in my box 2-200 times per week). If they don't fund the spammers, some of their incentive dries up.
That works, if what the spammer advertises is in fact a genuine product. If I recall, the "Norton WhateverWorks" spams are for bootleg copies of the product.
"A general unwillingness to subject astronauts to such risks for a museum exhibit, among other things, eliminated that option, Weiler said."
That's a shame. But if they don't want to subject astronauts to the risk, would they consider taking volunteers from the American public? I'd sell a kidney on the black market for a chance to be a part of something like that.
I won't be buying anything that day. Why go to the store at all? It will be crowded, people will push and shove to get their hands on the lastest, bestest, cheapest item, forgetting *why* they're there in the first place.
I won't be buying anything that day either, because I'll be picking up FFX-2 this Wednesday and plan to lock myself in my house for a good two weeks afterward. :)
Seriously, I agree with this sentiment. I don't like dealing with huge crowds - I still do my Yule shopping, but I tend to do it on a weekday in mid-December. That way, most of the "crowd" is still at work or at home or otherwise not in my way; and I still have time to ship presents halfway across the country as-needed.
Evidently, "any means necessary" doesn't include decent OPSEC where the price lists are concerned, or else the lists wouldn't get out to FatWallet in the first place. :)
I'd rather have just a plain audio CD. I can record it in the format of my choice, and then do any of the things you describe above. If it's provided in a digital file format, it may or may not allow me to make CDs, load it onto portable devices, etc.; but if it's in an audio format, I control the format it takes once I record it onto my hard drive.
If the Patent Office had to Pay For Their Mistakes, they might be less likely to make the same mistakes over and over again.
That presumes the Patent Office would feel a greater sense of accountability for your money than they do for their work. Since they obviously don't give half a damn about their work, why would they care about how they spend your money?
What is the benefit of keeping the patent system versus the benefit of getting rid of it? Maybe we need to wipe our hands clean of the whole concept of patenting.
SGT: Quick Private, Go get a box a gas masks for those civilians
PRVT: Hey, this box is just full of baked beans
SGT: Close enough for government work!
Tell me why keeping track of children in a school is such bad thing?
Tell me, when did regular attendance sheets become inadequate for this? Why does the school need to spend millions of dollars for RFID, when it's no more accurate than the old fashioned "check the box for each student that's here" method?
It's a joke. Laugh!
I have a hard time seeing the Zealots as any different from terrorists because of the nature of their threats...
A zealot will tell you you're going to Hell. A terrorist will try to send you there.
Uhmm, except that a simple google search on "voluntary school prayer" immediately showed a third result of This case. From the article...
Since when is the Pledge of Allegiance a "voluntary school prayer"?
This is a commonly held misperception on the part of a lot of people who just don't know any better. There's much more evidence against the "Christian nation" lie, however, than there is to support it:
First, consider there is no mention of God in the Constitution of the United States. The only places where religion is mentioned are to prevent it from being used as a criteria for holding government office; and to prevent government establishment of religion.
Second, consider the Treaty of Tripoli and its implications on what the early government of our nation truly thought about the idea of the United States as a "Christian country."
I dub thee....
Very interesting. . .
. . .but stupid. ;-)
The difference is that people who are stationed overseas want to vote, and typically do so in larger proportions than the continental American population. And how would you propose "making" people vote in the first place? No, it's better to spend effort where people are asking for the expenditure.
Ashcroft - Attorney General, Justice Department.
TIA - DARPA, Defense Department.
As hard as it may be to believe, Ashcroft has nothing to do with TIA or anything else in the Pentagon. TIA was Poindexter's baby and carried Rumsfeld's seal of approval, not Ashcroft's.
He'd be more of a keeper if he voted with his brain instead of his kneecap.
I can only do about sixty on the keyboard myself. No, it's not a case of being unfamiliar on a computer keyboard. I just like the tactile feedback of my hand on the pencil, pushing down on the paper. It does something for my creativity that I can't always get from writing straight to file. Of course, once I start writing to the PC, I tend to add a lot more "flesh" to whatever I'm working on. :-)
I like to write my first drafts in pencil and paper. I use a 0.5mm #2 Pentel pencil, a Magic Rub eraser, and college-ruled paper. Subsequent drafts are typically on PC, in whatever format--usually .DOC format, since I primarily use Windows at home. I spent a half hour configuring the normal.dot template the way I wanted it, and I was off and running.
I recall listening to Harlan Ellison describe why he uses typewriters--such "features" as having to rewrite the entire page when you make mistakes, etc.. But that does help with the writing process, at least in my opinion: the more you write and re-write a story, after all, the more familiar you are with it.