This is a reply to several posts I've seen in this thread condemn that "assault weapons" or weapons that simply don't exist. I've never seen a weapon with a ceramic barrel, and in the US it is illegal to own or manufacture a weapon that can defeat metal detectors.
Anyway, on the matter of "assualt weapons" - I use scare quotes because this is an invented term. The term was invented to classify a set of weapons that was both scary looking and supposedly super-deadly. I find that people enjoy making imaginary distinctions between "hunting arms" and "assualt weapons". This is silly.
The most lethal weapon that an American can legally own is a 12 gauge shotgun loaded with #4 buckshot. Not an Uzi, Tec-9, AK-47, AR-15, handgun, or any of the other weapons that look "scary". Yes, that's right - the shotgun at Wal-Mart is the most devistatingly effective gun available. It's also the most common and "legitimate" hunting arm.
Teflon, steel-core, or otherwise armor piercing ammunition for handguns is illegal in the US. Armor piercing ammunition for rifles, on the other hand, is legal. High powered hunting rifles will pierce a standard bullet proof vest without the aid of armor piercing rounds. Soft body armor simply isn't designed to withstand a rifle.
The point is that it bothers me when people take something that looks scary (like my rifle) and say "this is a child killing machine!". It's not just FUD, it's a lie.
If you feel that people, yourself included, shouldn't have the right to defend themselves - well, that's your choice. You have the right to believe and say what you wish. But please don't delude yourself in thinking that "assault weapons" are responsible for a significant amount of crime or are especially lethal. It's just misdirection.
How, exactly, would it be "sweet"? Many large companies depend on Oracle to provide a concise, up to data database product and support. Taking such a highly advanced product and making it GPL would only lead to chaos. There would be no single source for support and updates. Just as Linux suffers from an enormous multitude of incompatible versions, so would the Oracle database be bastardized and split up into different competing products by various companies and fringe groups.
Open source may be fine for system utilities and web browsers, but not for something as complex and crucial as Oracle.
You are equating creating a spambot with detonating a nuclear weapon?
This, coming from someone posting on a site who's members frequently bitch about copyright infringement being called "piracy", because downloading an mp3 shouldn't be likened to raping and murdering on the high seas.
Sometimes, I think this site is filled with self-contradicting, self-righteous, narrow minded, socially inept individuals. Other times, I'm offered proof that it is. I'll leave it as an exercise to the reader to determine which of those times this is.
Now that that's out of the way, I would like to address a very serious issue. I, as do many of my collogues, find the term "troll" offensive and degrading. I prefer the term "conversation engineer". See, Slashdot is crap. I know it, you know it, Malda knows it, and so does Homos. Slashdot is becoming more unstable and filled with more crap daily. How many of us would have ever though Slashdot would start changing subscription? So many faithful posters were so put off by the insane, demonic ramblings of Rob Malda that a Slashdot blackout was just staged. If something isn't done soon, I fear slashdot will not be around much longer.
Slashdot is dying...
That's beside the point, though. The point is, conversation engineers work in much the same fashion security engineers do. By introducing resistance into the system, the system gets stronger. Much like resistance exercises a muscle. Who do you have to think for the advances in lameness filtering, page widening prevention, and moderation technologies? Your fellow conversation engineers, that's who! Conversation engineers are the best, perhaps the last hope of saving Slashdot.
Thank you for your time. Please think about the contribution we make before you curse us and use the degrading term "troll" again.
Hello my friend! I was wanting to help you better write code in the Java programming language.
"try getting the absolute value of an Integer"
int x = y; if(x < 0) x *= -1; System.out.println("The absolute value of x is " + x);
"You can't iterate over collections without explicitly creating a superfluous, temporary Iterator object."
ArrayList arl = arl2; for(int i=0;i<arl.size();i++) { String s = (String)arl.get(i); System.out.println(s + " was retrieved without the use of a superfluous, temporary Iterator object."); }
As you could see, these codes are easy to do. If you are having more questions then ask.
"Is it "barbaric" when a flower uses a bee to further it's biologic process? Is it "barbaric" when when a beaver damns a river and chokes off habitat down river? Is it "Barbaric" when red ants raid the nests of other ants and steal eggs -- hatching them to serve THEIR needs?"
I wish you people were able to see past your technical "gee wizardry" for just a moment. These are animals we are talking about here! Reducing these caring, feeling animals to machines that are unable to think and act for themselves is nothing short of barbaric!
As heinous as animal experimentation is, this is simply unconscionable. To steal away the free will of any being is evil and should not be tolerated in any civilized society.
Obviously Belo owns the copyright to the article in question. They control how the article is distributed. If they wish to only allow the article to be accessed through their home page, that is their right.
"Next week Time Magazine will require you to read pages 1-36 before reading the article you want on page 37."
No, Taco. You're oversimplification is what I've come to expect from the janitors here. A better analogy would be "Next week Time Magazine will not allow you to photocopy their magazine, rearrange the page order, then pass it out to people on the street."
Granted, this is a hoax. But if you want to see just how wacky some fundamentalists can get, visit irc.christian-chat.net:6667 sometime. It is a place totally devoid of free speech and, well, freedom in general.
I actually knew of a Christian IRC server that changed thier port from 6667 to 7000 because thier patrons were complaining about the "666".
Slashdot Mirror
This is a reply to several posts I've seen in this thread condemn that "assault weapons" or weapons that simply don't exist. I've never seen a weapon with a ceramic barrel, and in the US it is illegal to own or manufacture a weapon that can defeat metal detectors.
Anyway, on the matter of "assualt weapons" - I use scare quotes because this is an invented term. The term was invented to classify a set of weapons that was both scary looking and supposedly super-deadly. I find that people enjoy making imaginary distinctions between "hunting arms" and "assualt weapons". This is silly.
The most lethal weapon that an American can legally own is a 12 gauge shotgun loaded with #4 buckshot. Not an Uzi, Tec-9, AK-47, AR-15, handgun, or any of the other weapons that look "scary". Yes, that's right - the shotgun at Wal-Mart is the most devistatingly effective gun available. It's also the most common and "legitimate" hunting arm.
Teflon, steel-core, or otherwise armor piercing ammunition for handguns is illegal in the US. Armor piercing ammunition for rifles, on the other hand, is legal. High powered hunting rifles will pierce a standard bullet proof vest without the aid of armor piercing rounds. Soft body armor simply isn't designed to withstand a rifle.
The point is that it bothers me when people take something that looks scary (like my rifle) and say "this is a child killing machine!". It's not just FUD, it's a lie.
If you feel that people, yourself included, shouldn't have the right to defend themselves - well, that's your choice. You have the right to believe and say what you wish. But please don't delude yourself in thinking that "assault weapons" are responsible for a significant amount of crime or are especially lethal. It's just misdirection.
"Oh how sweet it would be."
How, exactly, would it be "sweet"? Many large companies depend on Oracle to provide a concise, up to data database product and support. Taking such a highly advanced product and making it GPL would only lead to chaos. There would be no single source for support and updates. Just as Linux suffers from an enormous multitude of incompatible versions, so would the Oracle database be bastardized and split up into different competing products by various companies and fringe groups.
Open source may be fine for system utilities and web browsers, but not for something as complex and crucial as Oracle.
Post 223.
No, there is no 224.
Bow down before my lost prasting skillz!
You are equating creating a spambot with detonating a nuclear weapon?
This, coming from someone posting on a site who's members frequently bitch about copyright infringement being called "piracy", because downloading an mp3 shouldn't be likened to raping and murdering on the high seas.
Sometimes, I think this site is filled with self-contradicting, self-righteous, narrow minded, socially inept individuals. Other times, I'm offered proof that it is. I'll leave it as an exercise to the reader to determine which of those times this is.
Last post you cockgobblers!
Now that that's out of the way, I would like to address a very serious issue. I, as do many of my collogues, find the term "troll" offensive and degrading. I prefer the term "conversation engineer". See, Slashdot is crap. I know it, you know it, Malda knows it, and so does Homos. Slashdot is becoming more unstable and filled with more crap daily. How many of us would have ever though Slashdot would start changing subscription? So many faithful posters were so put off by the insane, demonic ramblings of Rob Malda that a Slashdot blackout was just staged. If something isn't done soon, I fear slashdot will not be around much longer.
Slashdot is dying...
That's beside the point, though. The point is, conversation engineers work in much the same fashion security engineers do. By introducing resistance into the system, the system gets stronger. Much like resistance exercises a muscle. Who do you have to think for the advances in lameness filtering, page widening prevention, and moderation technologies? Your fellow conversation engineers, that's who! Conversation engineers are the best, perhaps the last hope of saving Slashdot.
Thank you for your time. Please think about the contribution we make before you curse us and use the degrading term "troll" again.
Who the hell is pudge?
Or is that just a synonym for CoyboyKneel?
Hello my friend! I was wanting to help you better write code in the Java programming language.
"try getting the absolute value of an Integer"
int x = y;
if(x < 0)
x *= -1;
System.out.println("The absolute value of x is " + x);
"You can't iterate over collections without explicitly creating a superfluous, temporary Iterator object."
ArrayList arl = arl2;
for(int i=0;i<arl.size();i++)
{
String s = (String)arl.get(i);
System.out.println(s + " was retrieved without the use of a superfluous, temporary Iterator object.");
}
As you could see, these codes are easy to do. If you are having more questions then ask.
Last Post You WHORES!!!!
I claim this post for Kathleen Fent.
"Is it "barbaric" when a flower uses a bee to further it's biologic process? Is it "barbaric" when when a beaver damns a river and chokes off habitat down river? Is it "Barbaric" when red ants raid the nests of other ants and steal eggs -- hatching them to serve THEIR needs?"
Yes.
I wish you people were able to see past your technical "gee wizardry" for just a moment. These are animals we are talking about here! Reducing these caring, feeling animals to machines that are unable to think and act for themselves is nothing short of barbaric!
As heinous as animal experimentation is, this is simply unconscionable. To steal away the free will of any being is evil and should not be tolerated in any civilized society.
Down with Michelle's fascist regime of censorship! Long live the Widener!
Last, Bitches!
Obviously Belo owns the copyright to the article in question. They control how the article is distributed. If they wish to only allow the article to be accessed through their home page, that is their right.
"Next week Time Magazine will require you to read pages 1-36 before reading the article you want on page 37."
No, Taco. You're oversimplification is what I've come to expect from the janitors here. A better analogy would be "Next week Time Magazine will not allow you to photocopy their magazine, rearrange the page order, then pass it out to people on the street."
Granted, this is a hoax. But if you want to see just how wacky some fundamentalists can get, visit irc.christian-chat.net:6667 sometime. It is a place totally devoid of free speech and, well, freedom in general. I actually knew of a Christian IRC server that changed thier port from 6667 to 7000 because thier patrons were complaining about the "666".
Ingredients: Corn, Partially Hydrogenated Canola and/or Sunflower Oil, Whole Wheat, Rice Flour, Oat Flour, Sugar, Maltodextrin, Salt, Cheddar Cheese (Cultured Milk, Salt, Enzymes), Whey, Ass, Buttermilk Solids, Romano Cheese From Cow's Milk (Cultured Pasteurized Part Skim Milk, Salt, Enzymes), Whey Protien Concentrate, Estrogen, Partially Hydrogenated Soybean and Cottonseed Oil, Onion Powder, Natural and Artificial Flavors, Disodium Phosphate, Autolyzed Yeast, Citric Acid, Hydrolyzed Wheat Gluten, Garlic Powder, Lactic Acid, Artificial Colors (Including Yellow 6), Disodium Inosinate, and Disodium Guanylate.