I have been married 20 years. At the time we got engaged, we bought a diamond engagement ring (joint decision, split the cost) but even so we could only afford a small diamond. But it was a symbolic thing, and my wife wore it and never took it off unless she absolutely had to.
Then around five years ago the damn stone fell out and was lost. We discussed what to do about it. We could now afford a much larger real diamond, so that was an option. But reviewing the prices and comparing them with some of the substitutes now available, there really was no contest: we agreed that diamonds were overpriced and the replacement would be cubic zirconium.
Since then I've seen and would consider a moissanite jewel, but probably would stick with the CZ choice. While in some gem-geeky respects moissanite claims to be superior to diamond, there seems to be little cost saving - rather it is promoted as something that costs pretty much the same as diamond but is "better".
The real challenge I had was to find a CZ ring in which the stone was not grossly and vulgarly oversized, and where the ring itself was made from something better than "cheap" 9ct gold. I eventually bought an elegant 18K gold ring with a solitaire CZ stone of around 1 carat size. It cost a fraction (like 10%) of what the same-sized real diamond ring would have cost, and to pretty much everyone's casual glance it looks like a decent-sized diamond.
My wife loves it, shows it off, and freely admits it isn't a diamond. I don't know if this says anything about the nature or quality of our relationship, or the people we now are versus what we once were -- you can decide.
How can anyone be expected to take this seriously? To quote from the Executive Summary:
The press should increase high-quality coverage of science and technology, on the basis of the new convergent paradigm, to inform citizens so they can participate wisely in debates about ethical issues such as unexpected effects on inequality, policies concerning diversity, and the implications of transforming human nature.
If anything like this ever happens, the pigs really will be flying.
the plane tracks a moving vehicle, and follows behind it.
What I want is one of these to run above and slightly ahead of my car as I speed along winding country roads, so I can see whether there's anything up ahead that I should slow down for...
I disagree in turn. This is an excellent solution and would create a vigorous new market for tools that make installing and updating software much simpler. It would also promote more standardized hardware interfaces and so on. Why should it be easier for Dell or IBM to preload Windows than for me to insert a bootable CD that goes on to create what would in effect be the same setup as I would have got from a vendor preload?
"For the next year and a half, we are going to include (the JVM) in Windows XP. Then we'll make the changes to make sure that moving forward, we don't put Windows or our customers at risk," Cullinan said
Does Microsoft think its customers suddenly won't need Java at all in 18 months time? I don't understand this comment, unless the sole motivation for putting it back in is to get around litigation issues.
I did it - via faxyourMP.org, and said in my own, measured words how alarming I thought this was. I actually got a reply from my MP saying he agreed with everything I'd said. I don't like most of the guy's politics, but on this one I think he may do something, if only because it gives him a stick to beat the government up with.
It's not too late for you to complain too, if you haven't already.
Slashdot Mirror
I have been married 20 years. At the time we got engaged, we bought a diamond engagement ring (joint decision, split the cost) but even so we could only afford a small diamond. But it was a symbolic thing, and my wife wore it and never took it off unless she absolutely had to.
Then around five years ago the damn stone fell out and was lost. We discussed what to do about it. We could now afford a much larger real diamond, so that was an option. But reviewing the prices and comparing them with some of the substitutes now available, there really was no contest: we agreed that diamonds were overpriced and the replacement would be cubic zirconium.
Since then I've seen and would consider a moissanite jewel, but probably would stick with the CZ choice. While in some gem-geeky respects moissanite claims to be superior to diamond, there seems to be little cost saving - rather it is promoted as something that costs pretty much the same as diamond but is "better".
The real challenge I had was to find a CZ ring in which the stone was not grossly and vulgarly oversized, and where the ring itself was made from something better than "cheap" 9ct gold. I eventually bought an elegant 18K gold ring with a solitaire CZ stone of around 1 carat size. It cost a fraction (like 10%) of what the same-sized real diamond ring would have cost, and to pretty much everyone's casual glance it looks like a decent-sized diamond.
My wife loves it, shows it off, and freely admits it isn't a diamond. I don't know if this says anything about the nature or quality of our relationship, or the people we now are versus what we once were -- you can decide.
How can anyone be expected to take this seriously? To quote from the Executive Summary:
If anything like this ever happens, the pigs really will be flying.
What I want is one of these to run above and slightly ahead of my car as I speed along winding country roads, so I can see whether there's anything up ahead that I should slow down for...
Mark
I disagree in turn. This is an excellent solution and would create a vigorous new market for tools that make installing and updating software much simpler. It would also promote more standardized hardware interfaces and so on. Why should it be easier for Dell or IBM to preload Windows than for me to insert a bootable CD that goes on to create what would in effect be the same setup as I would have got from a vendor preload?
Does Microsoft think its customers suddenly won't need Java at all in 18 months time? I don't understand this comment, unless the sole motivation for putting it back in is to get around litigation issues.
I did it - via faxyourMP.org, and said in my own, measured words how alarming I thought this was. I actually got a reply from my MP saying he agreed with everything I'd said. I don't like most of the guy's politics, but on this one I think he may do something, if only because it gives him a stick to beat the government up with.
It's not too late for you to complain too, if you haven't already.