I have a ham license as well, and no offense, but I never understood why folks put their callsigns on their cars - it makes it trivial for that guy you blew your horn at to do a ULS search to find out who you are and where you live.
An officer reviewing recorded footage still runs into problems that an officer on-site doesn't - if the car has paper stuck over the plate, the officer at the CRT is just out of luck, but it will be obvious to an officer in person and he can remove the paper. Similarly, if a plate is swapped, the camera guy will be unable to do anything, whereas an officer that pulls someone over can see quickly that there's a discrepancy, and on the basis of the registration or a cross-check with the VIN, he can fairly quickly find out who the car really belongs to.
Traffic enforcement is all well and good, but the fact remains that it's best done by officers on the scene that can act as first-hand witnesses to the infraction and can be cross-examined if necessary.
The ticket is initiated by the police authority (or their automated system).
Absolutely not true in most localities - camera violations in the US are almost universally treated as a civil code enforcement issue, and it's the code enforcement people, NOT the police, that follow up. Additionally, once you get the ticket, you don't get to argue before a judge or jury, you get to argue before a petty bureaucrat that has no incentive whatsoever to listen to your story, or care in the least about whether you're actually guilty or not. Incidentally, that's the whole point of taking the civil route - it's a lot easier to extract money from people when the city/county doesn't actually have to deal with those pesky courts.
And before anyone tries to play the "sour grapes" card, you should know I've never gotten a camera-related ticket, and my insurance premiums reflect quite favorably on my driving habits. I just don't like it when localities go out of the way to deny people their right to due process just to score some extra cash.
The legislators have thought of that. It's an infraction, rather than a misdemeanor, so it's an administrative fine
That's the situation here in Orlando - the city recently passed an ordinance authorizing camera enforcement at six intersections in the area, but they know there's not a chance in hell it would actually stand up in court so they take the civil route in an attempt to avoid the courts altogether. I'm hoping the state hands their ass to them, though - Florida state law specifically forbids localities to enact traffic ordinances that deal with situations already covered under state law unless they have a special authorization from the state legislature, and the state hasn't given them one. So far, everyone that's had a ticket written has tried to contest the ticket (good luck arguing with a code enforcement officer) instead of arguing the legality of the ordinance itself, which has made me consider going to one of the intersections at 3am or so, stopping at the light, and then deliberately running it when the intersection is safely clear. I'd of course expect to get a ticket for it, which then would give me standing to do all kinds of things.
Additionally, Florida has very specific rules about how the revenues from traffic enforcement are to be allocated, and after some somewhat heated discussions with city officials, I've been able to determine that Orlando's portion of the take stays in the city while the rest goes directly to LaserCraft, Inc. (the camera vendor/operator), and the state doesn't see a dime of it. I'm still waiting for a copy of the city's contract to get some hard numbers. I'm thinking the money angle will probably be more apt to get the state involved than the apparently minor fact that the city is breaking state law.
The best design to compare it to is probably LOX/Kerosene running at a modest chamber pressure, with a pump feed (gas generator cycle) where the pump and its drive system are heavier than they could be, but simpler in design and with more margin (and hence more reliable and cheaper).
Rather like a Saturn V?:-D That'd be a bit of overkill for the manned flights, but as I remember the Saturn 1Bs did pretty well in that capacity.
Ares and Orion are the correct solutions to a NASA that has been traveling down the wrong technological path for nearly 30 years.
I personally know four NASA engineers currently working on Ares (one of whom is my best friend and whose equipment on board Cassini is largely responsible for the quality of the images it returns) that strongly disagree with this assessment, and they in turn know a lot more. A couple of other folks my friend stays in contact with are former co-workers at the Marshall Space Flight Center who happen to be propulsion engineers, and he tells me the general attitude of those people is that what NASA's attempting to do with the Ares I is just ludicrous, and they expect no end of problems with the idea of using a solid rocket for the sole means of propulsion for the first stage.
There are a lot of people that believe Ares is largely corporate welfare for Thiokol, and frankly I believe them. Thank you, Senator Orrin Hatch.
Regardless of the disputed origins of the term, the common usage refers to conformity, and in 40+ years I've never heard it used in reference to "stretching boundaries". From dictionary.com:
82. toe the line or mark,
a. to conform strictly to a rule, command, etc.
b. to shoulder responsibilities; do one's duty: He tried hard to toe the line on the new job.
in the whore analogy, well your own parts transfer in whatever state they were in at the end of the last encounter
Unless you've just visited a plastic surgeon to obtain [Flask of Enhanced Breast Size] or [Elixir of Tummy Fat Removal]. I understand there are other epic potions and such available from those people as well, and that there's a repeating quest on a 90 day timer that gives [Potion of Plumped Lips] as a reward.
Fortunately, the heavy fish can be done while you're watching TV or something else. I'm Horde, so I parked myself at Stonebull Lake in Mulgore and fished 'till I caught a 15-pound Mud Snapper - it's not a busy area, and no chance of being ganked. Alliance fisherman can do the same at Crystal Lake in Elwynn Forest.
I haven't caught Ironjaw yet, but it's still fun to infiltrate Ironforge in the attempt.:-) Last time I went, I was there for more than two hours before I got beat up by an overzealous priest. I'll try it again next time I get the crocolisk quest to see if it makes a difference - thanks for the tip.
I haven't seen everything he's mentioned, but I have seen quite a bit of it. Doing the New Hearthglen quest where you have to tame the horses and bring them back to Venomspite was an exercise in frustration because I couldn't dismount once I got back - this was a problem that was reported fairly regularly in the forums back in the beginning. I've run into at least half a dozen issues that required blowing away the game caches/addons in order to get stuff to work, when I'd never had a single issue of that kind previously with WoW or BC. I've reported a few spelling errors (one of the daily cooking quests asks for "Northern Stew" or "Northrend Stew", depending on where in the quest text you're looking, for instance). I think the worst one was being unable to level my cooking from 424 to 425 until once again, I blew away the game caches. Of course, that doesn't get back all the mats I burned before I figured out what was going on, and again, it's an issue that's been reported more than once in the forums.
By and large Blizzard did a good job, and they seem to be addressing problems fairly quickly, but I think WotLK should probably have stayed in the oven a few extra minutes.
Much more easier, I have to say, than getting the fishing one, where you need to win the weekly tournament (yeah, I've got all the coins already, as have many others).
The hardest part for me was getting the Magical Crawdad - Mr. Pinchy is a fairly rare drop to begin with, and on my server there is almost always a fair bit of pressure on the schools where he drops. Winning the Stranglethorn tourney wasn't particularly difficult for me, but that was before there were a bunch of 80s running in groups ganking everyone else in sight every Sunday afternoon.
A lot of them are also immune to Fear and Drain/Siphon Life, which makes it a bit of an uphill battle for warlocks Hunters on the other hand can probably go with their regular MO of engaging from half the map away.
You clearly got your drug education from the DEA and Nancy Reagan
This is part of the problem. The majority of people get their information from these PR campaigns that basically say, "Drugs are bad, mkay? You shouldn't use drugs", and that's all they know. They hear these horror stories of the one-stop-shopping drug dealer that will have every psychoactive substance known to man in stock, and is just waiting for the opportunity to get people addicted to stronger and stronger stuff. They're not aware of which people do and don't use drugs. I've not ever used myself, but I've had friends that had. Guess what - every single one of them used in moderation (some even using crystal meth on occasion), and none suffered from an addiction or were a burden on society in any way, just like the far larger number of friends I have that drink socially. Contrast that to the number of alcoholics I've known that regularly inflict harm on themselves, their families, and society in general.
Drugs certainly are capable of inflicting unimaginable amounts of harm and pain in people's lives, but then so are bad drivers. There's just too much effort being put forth by certain parties with vested interests that totally distort the real risks involved and prevent any kind of intelligent debate.
Having lived almost a year in a poor town called Milton in the western Florida panhandle, I *know* there is a problem - that area is one of the worst in the state for it. I've known a few people that have used it, mostly because it's dirt cheap in comparison to most other drugs. However, I haven't ever met anyone that's actually made it. I was addressing the manufacture of the drug, not the use of it. Even with the tight control over the availability of pseudoephedrine to the general public, meth continues to get made and abused as it gets imported from elsewhere outside the US. Anyone that thought anything else would happen is guilty of wishful thinking.
Forcing the restriction of PE sales has helped to stop people from hurting themselves (and others) when making meth, but hasn't done a damn thing to keep people from *using* it, mostly because it remains relatively cheap in comparison to other drugs. I would argue the legalization of pot, opiates, and possibly cocaine and the consequent drop in price of those drugs would go a long way towards clearing up the meth problem. Obviously it's best if addiction ceases to be a problem altogether, but I think I'd much rather have to work with an opiate addiction than a meth addiction.
Not all, but enough that one has to consider the consequences.
I don't believe the consequences are bad enough to justify telling the remaining millions and millions of people how to live their lives while giving the government ridiculous amounts of power to do so.
Not to mention that you wouldn't be send to jail, get a record, and/or lose your job over possession of user amounts.
True from the government persepctive, but that doesn't mean private companies wouldn't still be subjecting employees to inane drug screens with the results determining whether they were still employed or not.
A lot of common cold medicines are controlled substances nowadays. Anything containing pseudoephedrine is subject to federal regulation, and stores that sell medicines containing it are required to keep it locked up and keep names/addresses of buyers for two years, along with a monthly limit on sales of any PE-containing products to any one individual. All because a small percentage of people *might* use it to make meth, even though you, me, and likely no one that either of us know has known anyone that has actually done it.
I would definitely consider such an ISP as well. My own main concern with net neutrality is preventing ISPs from futzing with VoIP traffic. Making third-party VoIP impractical to use is a *huge* financial incentive to actively interfere with such traffic, and is extremely easy for them to do if allowed.
It's not just the additional $30 or so per month it would cost to be forced to use any of the ISPs' "acceptable" telephony solutions - I'd also have to give up the substantial degree of functionality my current setup provides.
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I have a ham license as well, and no offense, but I never understood why folks put their callsigns on their cars - it makes it trivial for that guy you blew your horn at to do a ULS search to find out who you are and where you live.
An officer reviewing recorded footage still runs into problems that an officer on-site doesn't - if the car has paper stuck over the plate, the officer at the CRT is just out of luck, but it will be obvious to an officer in person and he can remove the paper. Similarly, if a plate is swapped, the camera guy will be unable to do anything, whereas an officer that pulls someone over can see quickly that there's a discrepancy, and on the basis of the registration or a cross-check with the VIN, he can fairly quickly find out who the car really belongs to.
Traffic enforcement is all well and good, but the fact remains that it's best done by officers on the scene that can act as first-hand witnesses to the infraction and can be cross-examined if necessary.
The ticket is initiated by the police authority (or their automated system).
Absolutely not true in most localities - camera violations in the US are almost universally treated as a civil code enforcement issue, and it's the code enforcement people, NOT the police, that follow up. Additionally, once you get the ticket, you don't get to argue before a judge or jury, you get to argue before a petty bureaucrat that has no incentive whatsoever to listen to your story, or care in the least about whether you're actually guilty or not. Incidentally, that's the whole point of taking the civil route - it's a lot easier to extract money from people when the city/county doesn't actually have to deal with those pesky courts.
And before anyone tries to play the "sour grapes" card, you should know I've never gotten a camera-related ticket, and my insurance premiums reflect quite favorably on my driving habits. I just don't like it when localities go out of the way to deny people their right to due process just to score some extra cash.
The legislators have thought of that. It's an infraction, rather than a misdemeanor, so it's an administrative fine
That's the situation here in Orlando - the city recently passed an ordinance authorizing camera enforcement at six intersections in the area, but they know there's not a chance in hell it would actually stand up in court so they take the civil route in an attempt to avoid the courts altogether. I'm hoping the state hands their ass to them, though - Florida state law specifically forbids localities to enact traffic ordinances that deal with situations already covered under state law unless they have a special authorization from the state legislature, and the state hasn't given them one. So far, everyone that's had a ticket written has tried to contest the ticket (good luck arguing with a code enforcement officer) instead of arguing the legality of the ordinance itself, which has made me consider going to one of the intersections at 3am or so, stopping at the light, and then deliberately running it when the intersection is safely clear. I'd of course expect to get a ticket for it, which then would give me standing to do all kinds of things.
Additionally, Florida has very specific rules about how the revenues from traffic enforcement are to be allocated, and after some somewhat heated discussions with city officials, I've been able to determine that Orlando's portion of the take stays in the city while the rest goes directly to LaserCraft, Inc. (the camera vendor/operator), and the state doesn't see a dime of it. I'm still waiting for a copy of the city's contract to get some hard numbers. I'm thinking the money angle will probably be more apt to get the state involved than the apparently minor fact that the city is breaking state law.
The best design to compare it to is probably LOX/Kerosene running at a modest chamber pressure, with a pump feed (gas generator cycle) where the pump and its drive system are heavier than they could be, but simpler in design and with more margin (and hence more reliable and cheaper).
:-D That'd be a bit of overkill for the manned flights, but as I remember the Saturn 1Bs did pretty well in that capacity.
Rather like a Saturn V?
Ares and Orion are the correct solutions to a NASA that has been traveling down the wrong technological path for nearly 30 years.
I personally know four NASA engineers currently working on Ares (one of whom is my best friend and whose equipment on board Cassini is largely responsible for the quality of the images it returns) that strongly disagree with this assessment, and they in turn know a lot more. A couple of other folks my friend stays in contact with are former co-workers at the Marshall Space Flight Center who happen to be propulsion engineers, and he tells me the general attitude of those people is that what NASA's attempting to do with the Ares I is just ludicrous, and they expect no end of problems with the idea of using a solid rocket for the sole means of propulsion for the first stage.
There are a lot of people that believe Ares is largely corporate welfare for Thiokol, and frankly I believe them. Thank you, Senator Orrin Hatch.
Regardless of the disputed origins of the term, the common usage refers to conformity, and in 40+ years I've never heard it used in reference to "stretching boundaries". From dictionary.com:
82. toe the line or mark,
a. to conform strictly to a rule, command, etc.
b. to shoulder responsibilities; do one's duty:
He tried hard to toe the line on the new job.
Wireless power transmission is wasteful.
So are linear power supplies, but there are still plenty of applications for them.
in the whore analogy, well your own parts transfer in whatever state they were in at the end of the last encounter
Unless you've just visited a plastic surgeon to obtain [Flask of Enhanced Breast Size] or [Elixir of Tummy Fat Removal]. I understand there are other epic potions and such available from those people as well, and that there's a repeating quest on a 90 day timer that gives [Potion of Plumped Lips] as a reward.
What's 'authentic' about killing a million rats to level up a character?
:-)
Especially when apparently only 20-30% of those rats have eyes, ears, or whatever other part of their anatomy you're supposed to collect.
Determination seems able to bring you just as far, even in real life.
That, and/or the ability to write a big check to the appropriate parties. Seems like Sony is being reflective of the real world in general.
Fortunately, the heavy fish can be done while you're watching TV or something else. I'm Horde, so I parked myself at Stonebull Lake in Mulgore and fished 'till I caught a 15-pound Mud Snapper - it's not a busy area, and no chance of being ganked. Alliance fisherman can do the same at Crystal Lake in Elwynn Forest.
:-) Last time I went, I was there for more than two hours before I got beat up by an overzealous priest. I'll try it again next time I get the crocolisk quest to see if it makes a difference - thanks for the tip.
I haven't caught Ironjaw yet, but it's still fun to infiltrate Ironforge in the attempt.
I haven't seen everything he's mentioned, but I have seen quite a bit of it. Doing the New Hearthglen quest where you have to tame the horses and bring them back to Venomspite was an exercise in frustration because I couldn't dismount once I got back - this was a problem that was reported fairly regularly in the forums back in the beginning. I've run into at least half a dozen issues that required blowing away the game caches/addons in order to get stuff to work, when I'd never had a single issue of that kind previously with WoW or BC. I've reported a few spelling errors (one of the daily cooking quests asks for "Northern Stew" or "Northrend Stew", depending on where in the quest text you're looking, for instance). I think the worst one was being unable to level my cooking from 424 to 425 until once again, I blew away the game caches. Of course, that doesn't get back all the mats I burned before I figured out what was going on, and again, it's an issue that's been reported more than once in the forums.
By and large Blizzard did a good job, and they seem to be addressing problems fairly quickly, but I think WotLK should probably have stayed in the oven a few extra minutes.
The NPC "Natalie Tootiblare" to be found in the Dalaran sewers gave me a bit of a chuckle.
Much more easier, I have to say, than getting the fishing one, where you need to win the weekly tournament (yeah, I've got all the coins already, as have many others).
The hardest part for me was getting the Magical Crawdad - Mr. Pinchy is a fairly rare drop to begin with, and on my server there is almost always a fair bit of pressure on the schools where he drops. Winning the Stranglethorn tourney wasn't particularly difficult for me, but that was before there were a bunch of 80s running in groups ganking everyone else in sight every Sunday afternoon.
In this case it's an achievement that gives you a reward that you can show case. Granted it's just a title, but it's still a reward.
:-)
As one of (I think) only two Saltys on my server, I'm pretty sure I understand where you're coming from.
might be possible for warlocks and hunters
A lot of them are also immune to Fear and Drain/Siphon Life, which makes it a bit of an uphill battle for warlocks Hunters on the other hand can probably go with their regular MO of engaging from half the map away.
You clearly got your drug education from the DEA and Nancy Reagan
This is part of the problem. The majority of people get their information from these PR campaigns that basically say, "Drugs are bad, mkay? You shouldn't use drugs", and that's all they know. They hear these horror stories of the one-stop-shopping drug dealer that will have every psychoactive substance known to man in stock, and is just waiting for the opportunity to get people addicted to stronger and stronger stuff. They're not aware of which people do and don't use drugs. I've not ever used myself, but I've had friends that had. Guess what - every single one of them used in moderation (some even using crystal meth on occasion), and none suffered from an addiction or were a burden on society in any way, just like the far larger number of friends I have that drink socially. Contrast that to the number of alcoholics I've known that regularly inflict harm on themselves, their families, and society in general.
Drugs certainly are capable of inflicting unimaginable amounts of harm and pain in people's lives, but then so are bad drivers. There's just too much effort being put forth by certain parties with vested interests that totally distort the real risks involved and prevent any kind of intelligent debate.
Having lived almost a year in a poor town called Milton in the western Florida panhandle, I *know* there is a problem - that area is one of the worst in the state for it. I've known a few people that have used it, mostly because it's dirt cheap in comparison to most other drugs. However, I haven't ever met anyone that's actually made it. I was addressing the manufacture of the drug, not the use of it. Even with the tight control over the availability of pseudoephedrine to the general public, meth continues to get made and abused as it gets imported from elsewhere outside the US. Anyone that thought anything else would happen is guilty of wishful thinking.
Forcing the restriction of PE sales has helped to stop people from hurting themselves (and others) when making meth, but hasn't done a damn thing to keep people from *using* it, mostly because it remains relatively cheap in comparison to other drugs. I would argue the legalization of pot, opiates, and possibly cocaine and the consequent drop in price of those drugs would go a long way towards clearing up the meth problem. Obviously it's best if addiction ceases to be a problem altogether, but I think I'd much rather have to work with an opiate addiction than a meth addiction.
Or at the very least bringing the price down to a level where one isn't out robbing people to support it?
And you'll notice that crack is an overwhelmingly lower-class drug
True. Just ask Whitney Houston.
Not all, but enough that one has to consider the consequences.
I don't believe the consequences are bad enough to justify telling the remaining millions and millions of people how to live their lives while giving the government ridiculous amounts of power to do so.
Not to mention that you wouldn't be send to jail, get a record, and/or lose your job over possession of user amounts.
True from the government persepctive, but that doesn't mean private companies wouldn't still be subjecting employees to inane drug screens with the results determining whether they were still employed or not.
Are we going to ban cars and cold medicine too?
A lot of common cold medicines are controlled substances nowadays. Anything containing pseudoephedrine is subject to federal regulation, and stores that sell medicines containing it are required to keep it locked up and keep names/addresses of buyers for two years, along with a monthly limit on sales of any PE-containing products to any one individual. All because a small percentage of people *might* use it to make meth, even though you, me, and likely no one that either of us know has known anyone that has actually done it.
I would definitely consider such an ISP as well. My own main concern with net neutrality is preventing ISPs from futzing with VoIP traffic. Making third-party VoIP impractical to use is a *huge* financial incentive to actively interfere with such traffic, and is extremely easy for them to do if allowed.
It's not just the additional $30 or so per month it would cost to be forced to use any of the ISPs' "acceptable" telephony solutions - I'd also have to give up the substantial degree of functionality my current setup provides.