Obviously, the real reason why the S. Korean government is advocating Linux for governmental and public sector use is to keep those bureaucrats from playing Starcraft all day long on their Windows boxen...
As a graphic designer who works in-house at a real estate company, your post made me cringe. I am asked by clueless real estate vultures, er, agents on a daily basis if I can "blow up" (with plastique?) a 640x480 shot that they took with their camera phone to a nice 1800x1200 shot to publish in one of the local glossy realty magazines. Then they act like I'm some sort of impertinent layabout when I tell them that it's not a good idea and I refuse to do it. Their response is usually something like, "but you have that fancy Photoshop program, just work your magic!" A lot of people-- especially the idiots I work with-- don't seem to understand that Photoshop isn't a substitute for good basic photographic skills.
While I'm ranting, my other favorite is when I'm asked to remove cracks from driveways, add grass to bare front lawns, and remove visible power lines from photos. I try to explain the ethics of photo manipulation to them (i.e., don't add something that didn't exist in the original photo), but then again, ethics and realtors are like oil and water...
...yada yada yada. Seriously, I love how many people online, when talking about the free ipod "deal" always say something like, "this is real, it's defanately (sic) not a scam!"
Aside from the bad spelling and grammar that inevitably arise in these idiotic threads, it always crackes me up that they insist "it's not a scam." Seriously, my dad taught me this at a young age, if they tell you it's not a scam, it probably is.
No shit man. I live in Eugene, and the hippies here suck. But Portland has the insufferable hipsters... seriously. Take off the damn horn-rimmed glasses and turn off the psuedo-indie rock, you dorks.
...it's about going places here on earth, much faster. While it's fun to dream with starry eyes about the possibilities of sending the ultra-rich to Mars or some sort of 2001-esque orbital Hilton, I'm amazed that very few people have been discussing the closer-to-home application of this technology. Think of it as Concorde: the next generation. I think this may be Branson's real strategy here... imagine London to Tokyo in 4 hours!
There are people who print out on their inkjets, but those are not artists or people who care about their photography.
Agreed. I wasn't claiming to be producing fine art, I just wanted to get some irrate realtors off my back. I wouldn't take my art-grade photography to WalMart any more than I would print it on my $200 HP.
For the vast majority of people out there (think all of the grandmas, moms, and clueless coworkers in the world) with digital cameras, WalMart or a home inkjet is sufficient to print out snapshots.
For these people, sending prints to WalMart isn't an option. They want control over the printing process, and the pimply kid behind the counter at the local fotomat isn't going to make the cut.
Not only that, WalMart might not even print your photo! I took some portraits the other day of some new agents in my office (I'm the marketing guy for a real estate company, and real estate agents are a vain bunch who "need" portaits, but are too cheap to pay for a professional photographer). When I took them to Wally World to be printed, they refused, on the grounds that the photos looked "too professional." While flattered (these were shots that I took with my 3.2 megapixel Olympus in front of a wall, with a digital "backdrop" added in Photoshop), I was also royally pissed that they treated me like some kind of copyright-infringing scumbag. I wasted 20 minutes of my lunch break arguing about it with them. They wanted to see the "original," which of course, didn't exist since they were digital to begin with. And as anyone who has ever worked for egomaniacal realtors will tell you, my clients have their heads way too far up their own asses for me to explain to them why I don't have their prints. I wound up taking them home and printing them on my trusty HP deskjet, and they looked great.
God forbid you might want to print something that the wingnuts at WalMart might deem "offensive," from what I hear as well. I hate those fuckers, and refuse to set foot in their stores (unless directed by management to do so, as was the case with the photos). What's the point of saving 15 cents when your're treated like a criminal and have your time wasted?
Am I the only one who has ever snuck in to see a film I didn't pay for?
No, but this being/., you'll have a barrage of replies from indignant goody-goodies who will wag their moralizing finger at you and proclaim to all who care to hear it that they "never, ever do such things"...
You contradict yourself. At first, you claim that Libertarians believe, "there are, and should be, private charities that can help this individual, and if the government wasn't taxing us to death, those private charities would recieve sufficient donations to help everyone sufficiently.
"
But then you go on to say, "The issue I have with socialism is not that it cares about humans and human rights, but that I am forced to give my money to the government to fund social programs that I am not directly using."
With that kind of "I've-got-mine" attitude, how can you assume that your beloved private charities would receive enough funding to provide their services? If the government isn't "forcing" (your words) people to pay taxes for social services, what would compel them to do so on their own?
The problem with the Libertarian argument is that you preach "personal responsibility" out of one side of your mouth while assuming that "other people" will step up to the plate to provide social services in your privatized utopia. Just because you don't use a social service at this particular moment and financial situation in your life doesn't mean that, god forbid, you may need to someday.
Sorry, but this could be so much cooler... the new Acura TL has a Bluetooth-based system that can automatically identify and patch your Bluetooth-enabled cell phone (all 2 of them on the market!) through the car's audio system for hands-free use, merely by having the phone in the car with you. Why couldn't this idea work for the iPod? Sure, you'd have to plug in some sort of adapter to your iPod, but then every time you stepped into your car, the system would automatically identify it and connect. That would be far cooler than a cable in the glovebox... I mean, jeez, I could set something like that up in my 93 Festiva!
Unfortunately, it seems that lately Volkswagens have not been the model of quality workmanship.
For the recrod, the Jetta sedan sold in the US is built in Mexico, while the Golf is built in Brazil. The Jetta Wagon, however, is the only model in the range that's still built in Germany. I've heard that the nagging little quality issues are much more rare on the wagons...
Vans and minivans get better gas mileage (worse than a car, but better than most SUVs), are safer, a lot more comfortable, and are bigger too. Yet it seems like people like you have never heard of them.
Thank crafty marketing for that. SUV's have taken over the niche that minivans once occupied because of the stereotype that male minivan drivers are essentially pussywhipped. The SUV has the image of rugged, all-American individuality, while maintaining the kid-carrying capacity of the minivan. Never mind the fact that, due to outdated governmental regulations regarding light trucks, manufacturers see much higher profit margins on these behemoths...
That will only work if you don't read any books released by Warner Books or Little, Brown & Co., as well as many, many popular magazines, all published by-- you guessed it-- Time Warner.
Vertical integration is making it harder and harder to stick it to the Man...
...for their cable modem service. I'm sick of having to pay $100 damn dollars a month for cable and internet. I'd much rather pay $29.99 and get more channels from Dish Network than put up with Comcast's rape-you-repeatedly-in-the-ass pricing tactics. (example: I used to pay $89/month for the same expanded basic cable/internat that I have now... I moved across town, and now the bill is $98.00 per month. WTF?!?) If I could just get the cable modem without the B.S. "$5.00 surcharge for not having cable TV," I'd be a much happier consumer.
Yeah, I'm sure that it doesn't allow the trains to take a curve at 300km/h, but it probably does shave a bit of time off the journey. Of course, the time I rode it, we had to stop for 10-15 minutes to wait for another train or somthing, so I guess I broke even!
The main problem is that the ICE in Germany practically never can go with its maximum speed because because of too many and too strong turns and slopes.
IIRC, hasn't the DB introduced the ICE-T (ha ha, nice acronym) Neigetechnik (tilting-technology) stock in areas such as the Black Forest, which is the sort of area you are describing? I seem to remember riding on one of these trains a back in 2000 when I was a student at Freiburg. Or are there limitations to these trains as well?
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Obviously, the real reason why the S. Korean government is advocating Linux for governmental and public sector use is to keep those bureaucrats from playing Starcraft all day long on their Windows boxen...
Sounds like a rice-boy to me...
While I'm ranting, my other favorite is when I'm asked to remove cracks from driveways, add grass to bare front lawns, and remove visible power lines from photos. I try to explain the ethics of photo manipulation to them (i.e., don't add something that didn't exist in the original photo), but then again, ethics and realtors are like oil and water...
Aside from the bad spelling and grammar that inevitably arise in these idiotic threads, it always crackes me up that they insist "it's not a scam." Seriously, my dad taught me this at a young age, if they tell you it's not a scam, it probably is.
No shit man. I live in Eugene, and the hippies here suck. But Portland has the insufferable hipsters... seriously. Take off the damn horn-rimmed glasses and turn off the psuedo-indie rock, you dorks.
Seriously, man. Burgerville rules! Too bad that they don't exist south of stenchburg, er Albany.... we don't have them down here in Eugene!
...more Mormons in space!
The Internet? That thing's still around?
...it's about going places here on earth, much faster. While it's fun to dream with starry eyes about the possibilities of sending the ultra-rich to Mars or some sort of 2001-esque orbital Hilton, I'm amazed that very few people have been discussing the closer-to-home application of this technology. Think of it as Concorde: the next generation. I think this may be Branson's real strategy here... imagine London to Tokyo in 4 hours!
Yes, but this is more of a mass-market product than any of Apple's other systems. Whatever defecit in margin there is can be offset by higher volume.
Agreed. I wasn't claiming to be producing fine art, I just wanted to get some irrate realtors off my back. I wouldn't take my art-grade photography to WalMart any more than I would print it on my $200 HP.
For the vast majority of people out there (think all of the grandmas, moms, and clueless coworkers in the world) with digital cameras, WalMart or a home inkjet is sufficient to print out snapshots.
Not only that, WalMart might not even print your photo! I took some portraits the other day of some new agents in my office (I'm the marketing guy for a real estate company, and real estate agents are a vain bunch who "need" portaits, but are too cheap to pay for a professional photographer). When I took them to Wally World to be printed, they refused, on the grounds that the photos looked "too professional." While flattered (these were shots that I took with my 3.2 megapixel Olympus in front of a wall, with a digital "backdrop" added in Photoshop), I was also royally pissed that they treated me like some kind of copyright-infringing scumbag. I wasted 20 minutes of my lunch break arguing about it with them. They wanted to see the "original," which of course, didn't exist since they were digital to begin with. And as anyone who has ever worked for egomaniacal realtors will tell you, my clients have their heads way too far up their own asses for me to explain to them why I don't have their prints. I wound up taking them home and printing them on my trusty HP deskjet, and they looked great.
God forbid you might want to print something that the wingnuts at WalMart might deem "offensive," from what I hear as well. I hate those fuckers, and refuse to set foot in their stores (unless directed by management to do so, as was the case with the photos). What's the point of saving 15 cents when your're treated like a criminal and have your time wasted?
No, but this being /., you'll have a barrage of replies from indignant goody-goodies who will wag their moralizing finger at you and proclaim to all who care to hear it that they "never, ever do such things"...
Screw pyroclasts! For my money, it's got to be a Lahar... 400MPH boiling mud and debris riding on a cushion of air, baby!
That's good
The toppings contain potassium benzoate... That's bad
Oh, that's right: the continued annoying barrage of "in Soviet Russia..." and "imagine a beowulf cluster" jokes. Nerds are too predictable!
But then you go on to say, "The issue I have with socialism is not that it cares about humans and human rights, but that I am forced to give my money to the government to fund social programs that I am not directly using."
With that kind of "I've-got-mine" attitude, how can you assume that your beloved private charities would receive enough funding to provide their services? If the government isn't "forcing" (your words) people to pay taxes for social services, what would compel them to do so on their own?
The problem with the Libertarian argument is that you preach "personal responsibility" out of one side of your mouth while assuming that "other people" will step up to the plate to provide social services in your privatized utopia. Just because you don't use a social service at this particular moment and financial situation in your life doesn't mean that, god forbid, you may need to someday.
Sorry, but this could be so much cooler... the new Acura TL has a Bluetooth-based system that can automatically identify and patch your Bluetooth-enabled cell phone (all 2 of them on the market!) through the car's audio system for hands-free use, merely by having the phone in the car with you. Why couldn't this idea work for the iPod? Sure, you'd have to plug in some sort of adapter to your iPod, but then every time you stepped into your car, the system would automatically identify it and connect. That would be far cooler than a cable in the glovebox... I mean, jeez, I could set something like that up in my 93 Festiva!
For the recrod, the Jetta sedan sold in the US is built in Mexico, while the Golf is built in Brazil. The Jetta Wagon, however, is the only model in the range that's still built in Germany. I've heard that the nagging little quality issues are much more rare on the wagons...
Thank crafty marketing for that. SUV's have taken over the niche that minivans once occupied because of the stereotype that male minivan drivers are essentially pussywhipped. The SUV has the image of rugged, all-American individuality, while maintaining the kid-carrying capacity of the minivan. Never mind the fact that, due to outdated governmental regulations regarding light trucks, manufacturers see much higher profit margins on these behemoths...
Vertical integration is making it harder and harder to stick it to the Man...
...for their cable modem service. I'm sick of having to pay $100 damn dollars a month for cable and internet. I'd much rather pay $29.99 and get more channels from Dish Network than put up with Comcast's rape-you-repeatedly-in-the-ass pricing tactics. (example: I used to pay $89/month for the same expanded basic cable/internat that I have now... I moved across town, and now the bill is $98.00 per month. WTF?!?) If I could just get the cable modem without the B.S. "$5.00 surcharge for not having cable TV," I'd be a much happier consumer.
Yeah, I'm sure that it doesn't allow the trains to take a curve at 300km/h, but it probably does shave a bit of time off the journey. Of course, the time I rode it, we had to stop for 10-15 minutes to wait for another train or somthing, so I guess I broke even!
IIRC, hasn't the DB introduced the ICE-T (ha ha, nice acronym) Neigetechnik (tilting-technology) stock in areas such as the Black Forest, which is the sort of area you are describing? I seem to remember riding on one of these trains a back in 2000 when I was a student at Freiburg. Or are there limitations to these trains as well?
Seriously, the Philips is nice, much better than some god-awful no-name machine like an Apex or Sampo.