Well, if you are Christian, you could always hook up with Wycliffe. They organize teams that go around the work, translating the Bible into native languages. As I understand it, most people involved are volunteers, but Wycliffe solicits money to help pay expenses. They need translators and various kinds of support people, including technical people.
The really intriging part of working with Wycliffe is getting to see and know people who are truly remote from Western Civilization. It really sounds like one of the most unforgetable experiences imaginable.
No, I don't want the US government enforcing or even respecting foreign laws. Why should I?
And yes, I want the US to enforce US law as much as possible on anyone who acts to harm any American in any way. Why shouldn't I?
The US government has the right and even the responsibility to act in the National Interest, just like every other government. Duh!
To you critics of the US: demonstrate to me even one time when your government acted beyond it's own National Interest - and following the US lead doesn't count. Here, I'll give you some US examples to demonstrate what I'm talking about: WWI, WWII, and the League Of Nations/UN.
BTW: To you critics of the Bush Administration's Foreign Policy: where were you when Clinton was Wagging the Dog in Serbian; bombing Libia; bombing Iraq? That latest is especially hideous; occuring purely as a distraction from the Impeachment, it made weapon inspections impossible, and thereby guaranteed the continuation of the 10 year embargo which has produced so much suffering and death among the people of Iraq. And before you Bush-haters try to pin that on Bush the Elder - no one ever imagined that the Bush administration would be followed by one so cowardly and heartless as to ignore the people of Iraq and their plight for the next eight years!
There are plenty of reasons to critisize US foreign policy, but the truth is that the situation we are in is the accumulation of many years of mistakes. Personally, I think the US failed to adapt to its new role as sole remaining superpower. As such, we need to be, and be seen to be, as even-handed with the rest of the world as possible. We did become more even-handed in Asia, but barely did so in Central Europe, and have actually become worse than ever in the Middle East.
Whatever. At least Bush is focused more on addressing the problems and less on pawing the help.
I expect to be shot down for this, but must be said: some day, people will look back on this generation with the same horror with which we look back on institutionalized slavery, and for the same reason - one humanity of one group is being denied for the benefit and convenience of another. Your comment is a reflection of that attitude.
Ricky Skaggs did it. You may not like country or bluegrass, but in those genre he was/is a genuine superstar, and he walked away, created his own label, and has reportedly been doing great for years (even before "Oh Brother Where Art Thou").
I believe there are actually quite a few others. Maybe you don't hear about them because nobody's paying the "machine" to hype them; and you don't hear about popstars doing it because, without a hyped up image, you have to have some actual musical talent:-).
Let's see, there's BBSpot.com; The Onion (out of respect for it's past, if nothing else); the usual collection of blogs... man, this is sad! Any other humor sites worth a regular visit?
Use encryption. Broadcast the first segment of a show in the clear. Then at some random time during the first commercial break, announce a one or two digit code. Make the announcement so short that fast-forwarding would miss it. Then broadcast the rest of the program encrypted. If the viewer wants to see the rest of the program, they have to enter the code into a remote.
Of course the encryption can be broken - or you call a friend for the code, or just try all of the possible codes until one works. That's not the point. The point is to make skipping the ads (and missing the code) more annoying that just watching the ads.
Maybe you could sign up advertisers to sponsor the decoder hardware in exchange for logos on the remote. Also, maybe offer a premium cable version of the programs, available without encrytion (but still with ads) for a monthly fee.
The downside of all this from the network's point of view is that the programs have to be worth watching beyond the first commercial break!
It looks like a number of smaller labels, including artist-owned labels have given their entire portfolio over to EMusic to distribute, so they must be doing something right. No, they don't know who Britany Spears is, but if you like music and appreciate variety, EMusic is a goldmine. Oh, and I have no other involvement than being a customer.
Man, this will be great if it means that RAID will finally be cheap and readily available for the home market. Nobody that I know (including me) backs up their home systems nearly often enough, and the bigger that drives get, the less likely regular backup becomes.
Homes may not need five 9's availability, but losing a year or two worth of email, tax records, game saves, etc due to a hardware crash is just terrible. This is near to my heart, 'cause I just lost a 1-year old half-full 60 gigger last weekend. How I wish I'd used a mirrored set instead!
Encryt it with enough bits, then throw the key away. As processors continue to get faster, the time required to brute-force decrypt will drop. You can use Moore's Law to estimate when such a decrypt is likely to occur - though if your secret is big enough, you'll probably guess low. People can be very clever if they put their minds to it.
Of course, this is likely to be a moot point. In order to warn people, you've got be to able to convince them that your accomplishment is real. Unfortunately, history shows that once a desirable result is known to be possible, it doesn't take very long for other people to duplicate that result.
On a more philosophical note - I wouldn't mind living in a world without copyright or patent laws.
Really? That's easy enough to test. Throw out everything you own or use that was invented, designed, or written under copyright or patent protection since, say, 1917, and replace it with the equivalent, if any, that was independently independently inside the Soviet Union. Since those creators of I.P. did not have the protections that you say you could live without, you be kind of simulating that sort of world.
In the interests of fairness, I will similarly discard everything that the Soviet Union contributed to my life. Let's see... okay, I'll get rid of Tetris... there. Gee, I wonder what kind of computer you'll be reading this with? I do hope that you don't ever get seriously ill. On the other hand, I hear those Soviet films are all great for hot dates!
Have a great life!
Re:Knowing your limitations
on
Social Robot?
·
· Score: 1
Wow, must have touched a nerve!
Actually, I was a CMU drama student - MFA program, playwriting - for a year back in 82-83. I was amazed at the time by the animosity between colleges at CMU. Since my BS was in Physics, I can testify that the hostility went both ways. Sounds like it hasn't changed much!
(*sigh*) Too bad, really. They are just geeks in a different way. And they can act human, at least for a little while. Surely you guys are willing to give them that!
Re:Why a social robot?
on
Social Robot?
·
· Score: 4, Insightful
I happened to cross paths with someone who worked on Grace, and he mentioned that he taught it "how to ride an elevator".
That's all he said, but I've been thinking about it ever since. Would I want to get in an elevator with a huge, industrial looking faceless machine? Okay, yes I would, but would my mom? No. What about a robot that has a face, but that stares grimly straight ahead? Or one that continually tries to make eye contact? Wouldn't those all seem creepy inside an elevator?
The fact is, human behavior is highly context specific, and we feel uncomfortable and/or threatened when "people" around us behave improperly. Don't believe me? Try peeking over a bathroom stall sometime. That's why we need a socially aware robot.
Knowing your limitations
on
Social Robot?
·
· Score: 3, Interesting
The reason that the only people commenting about ClearCASE's good points are ClearCASE specialists/admins (yes, me too) is because your average ClearCASE user isn't an admin, and also frankly doesn't care enough about version control to be posting about it on/.:)
Well, that and its inapplicability to most open source projects - ie, high per-seat cost, and need to share a filesystem over the internet.
Don't get me wrong - ClearCase is the best VCS I've ever used - but it isn't perfect for every problem.
Why do today's software and consumer electronics users expect to be able to fire up their new toy and magically have a complete understanding of how to use it?"
You've got to be kidding. Why? Because it's their money.
People can operate very complex systems - if they have to, or if you pay them enough.
So many posts have lamented the dehumanizing effects of remote-control warfare. Well, guess what - unless you're currently out on the front lines, you're already engaged in the ultimate form of remote-control warfare. Has there ever been another place or time when a government launches a massive military campaign, and all it asks of its civilian population is more consumer spending and travel? Has that dehumanized the opponents in your eyes? Are you willing to give up our push-button military and put yourself into the battle?
Slashdot Mirror
The really intriging part of working with Wycliffe is getting to see and know people who are truly remote from Western Civilization. It really sounds like one of the most unforgetable experiences imaginable.
If you worry about it landing on you: asteroid.
And yes, I want the US to enforce US law as much as possible on anyone who acts to harm any American in any way. Why shouldn't I?
The US government has the right and even the responsibility to act in the National Interest, just like every other government. Duh!
To you critics of the US: demonstrate to me even one time when your government acted beyond it's own National Interest - and following the US lead doesn't count. Here, I'll give you some US examples to demonstrate what I'm talking about: WWI, WWII, and the League Of Nations/UN.
BTW: To you critics of the Bush Administration's Foreign Policy: where were you when Clinton was Wagging the Dog in Serbian; bombing Libia; bombing Iraq? That latest is especially hideous; occuring purely as a distraction from the Impeachment, it made weapon inspections impossible, and thereby guaranteed the continuation of the 10 year embargo which has produced so much suffering and death among the people of Iraq. And before you Bush-haters try to pin that on Bush the Elder - no one ever imagined that the Bush administration would be followed by one so cowardly and heartless as to ignore the people of Iraq and their plight for the next eight years!
There are plenty of reasons to critisize US foreign policy, but the truth is that the situation we are in is the accumulation of many years of mistakes. Personally, I think the US failed to adapt to its new role as sole remaining superpower. As such, we need to be, and be seen to be, as even-handed with the rest of the world as possible. We did become more even-handed in Asia, but barely did so in Central Europe, and have actually become worse than ever in the Middle East.
Whatever. At least Bush is focused more on addressing the problems and less on pawing the help.
I expect to be shot down for this, but must be said: some day, people will look back on this generation with the same horror with which we look back on institutionalized slavery, and for the same reason - one humanity of one group is being denied for the benefit and convenience of another. Your comment is a reflection of that attitude.
They just got to get Miller to write the script!
If you have mod points, please mod the parent up.
I believe there are actually quite a few others. Maybe you don't hear about them because nobody's paying the "machine" to hype them; and you don't hear about popstars doing it because, without a hyped up image, you have to have some actual musical talent :-).
Hackers? Too Fat? Say it's aint so!
Let's see, there's BBSpot.com; The Onion (out of respect for it's past, if nothing else); the usual collection of blogs... man, this is sad! Any other humor sites worth a regular visit?
Use encryption. Broadcast the first segment of a show in the clear. Then at some random time during the first commercial break, announce a one or two digit code. Make the announcement so short that fast-forwarding would miss it. Then broadcast the rest of the program encrypted. If the viewer wants to see the rest of the program, they have to enter the code into a remote.
Of course the encryption can be broken - or you call a friend for the code, or just try all of the possible codes until one works. That's not the point. The point is to make skipping the ads (and missing the code) more annoying that just watching the ads.
Maybe you could sign up advertisers to sponsor the decoder hardware in exchange for logos on the remote. Also, maybe offer a premium cable version of the programs, available without encrytion (but still with ads) for a monthly fee.
The downside of all this from the network's point of view is that the programs have to be worth watching beyond the first commercial break!
It looks like a number of smaller labels, including artist-owned labels have given their entire portfolio over to EMusic to distribute, so they must be doing something right. No, they don't know who Britany Spears is, but if you like music and appreciate variety, EMusic is a goldmine. Oh, and I have no other involvement than being a customer.
Homes may not need five 9's availability, but losing a year or two worth of email, tax records, game saves, etc due to a hardware crash is just terrible. This is near to my heart, 'cause I just lost a 1-year old half-full 60 gigger last weekend. How I wish I'd used a mirrored set instead!
Of course, this is likely to be a moot point. In order to warn people, you've got be to able to convince them that your accomplishment is real. Unfortunately, history shows that once a desirable result is known to be possible, it doesn't take very long for other people to duplicate that result.
Wow! I have to put my disc into a tray! Can it throw them back too?
Really? That's easy enough to test. Throw out everything you own or use that was invented, designed, or written under copyright or patent protection since, say, 1917, and replace it with the equivalent, if any, that was independently independently inside the Soviet Union. Since those creators of I.P. did not have the protections that you say you could live without, you be kind of simulating that sort of world.
In the interests of fairness, I will similarly discard everything that the Soviet Union contributed to my life. Let's see... okay, I'll get rid of Tetris... there. Gee, I wonder what kind of computer you'll be reading this with? I do hope that you don't ever get seriously ill. On the other hand, I hear those Soviet films are all great for hot dates!
Have a great life!
Actually, I was a CMU drama student - MFA program, playwriting - for a year back in 82-83. I was amazed at the time by the animosity between colleges at CMU. Since my BS was in Physics, I can testify that the hostility went both ways. Sounds like it hasn't changed much!
(*sigh*) Too bad, really. They are just geeks in a different way. And they can act human, at least for a little while. Surely you guys are willing to give them that!
That's all he said, but I've been thinking about it ever since. Would I want to get in an elevator with a huge, industrial looking faceless machine? Okay, yes I would, but would my mom? No. What about a robot that has a face, but that stares grimly straight ahead? Or one that continually tries to make eye contact? Wouldn't those all seem creepy inside an elevator?
The fact is, human behavior is highly context specific, and we feel uncomfortable and /or threatened when "people" around us behave improperly. Don't believe me? Try peeking over a bathroom stall sometime. That's why we need a socially aware robot.
"solicited drama students to teach GRACE how to act like a human so it will make people feel comfortable"
You have to give the builders points for knowing their limitations.
Well, that and its inapplicability to most open source projects - ie, high per-seat cost, and need to share a filesystem over the internet.
Don't get me wrong - ClearCase is the best VCS I've ever used - but it isn't perfect for every problem.
...Arthur Anderson was supposed to audit the research, right?
You've got to be kidding. Why? Because it's their money.
People can operate very complex systems - if they have to, or if you pay them enough.
So many posts have lamented the dehumanizing effects of remote-control warfare. Well, guess what - unless you're currently out on the front lines, you're already engaged in the ultimate form of remote-control warfare. Has there ever been another place or time when a government launches a massive military campaign, and all it asks of its civilian population is more consumer spending and travel? Has that dehumanized the opponents in your eyes? Are you willing to give up our push-button military and put yourself into the battle?