Got the Obligatory Simpsons Reference out of the way there!
Innyway, after a very stressful day at work yesterday, for some reason I was inspired when I got home to fire up Vice City and head for the Malibu Club with a sniper rifle, just to see what would happen if I started taking out the crowd one by one, headshot by headshot. Amusing, if sick, and I did end up getting wiped out by the cops, but it made me feel a lot more relaxed after a shitty day. Now, if I hadn't been able to indulge in that bizarre bit of sandbox mayhem, where would my pent-up aggression have gone?
(And no, stress-relieving sex wasn't a possibility. I'm a regular on/., dur-hoy!)
Because spaceships are cooler than submarines, obviously!
Still, at least you're pro-exploration on Earth rather than a 'how can we spend all this money when there are children starving?' type. There's more than enough money and resources and food to go around - it's just unevenly distributed. If people and nations stopped being assholes to each other, who knows what we could have accomplished by now, on Earth *and* in space?
The iMac - running OS8.6 - I'm typing this on is five years old, fairly stable (apart from an intermittent USB glitch reading the mouse, and the occasional Mozilla crash - far less frequent than when I used IE, though!) and hopefully still has a couple of years in it. Fingers crossed!
My four-year-old iBook (9.2.2) is even more stable, reboots needed months apart rather than weeks or days.
Macs are more cost-effective in the long term, partly because the hardware and OS don't need upgrading as frequently, and partly because you don't have spend half your time installing patches and fighting viruses and worms...
VHS beat Beta because more films were available on VHS. PS2 beats Xbox (a technically superior system in every way) because it has more games. Simple as that.
The games don't even have to be good, they just have to be *there*. Nintendo still doesn't seem to have learned this after the debacle of the N64, reasoning that 'a couple of really good games is better than 50 okay-ish ones', not taking into account that most people don't play games to the death, trying to uncover every last secret. Most people play a game for a few weeks, then toss it aside for something new. If there *isn't* anything new, they won't go back to the game they're bored with - they'll just do something else. Or buy a PlayStation(2).
In london especially, there really is no need for a car. Got something to take home? Stick your hand out in the road and climb into the big, shiny black thing that's pulled up within a minute.
... give me one good reason why, when I'm running a stable, hassle-free, mature, virus/spyware-free OS with all the applications I need, I should get *on* Windows.
That OS is Mac OS, of course. And for the record, it's not even a current Mac OS. I'm running 8.6 on the '99 iMac in front of me right now, which I use essentially for internet access, scanning and printing, and the more or less bulletproof 9.2 (maybe two crash-restarts in the past year) on my '00 iBook. Between them they do every job I need, and I've got past the "Oh my God, my hardware is slightly behind the times! I *must* find a thousand-plus pounds to buy a new kick-ass machine!" thinking that afflicted me and my bank account in my now-disappearing youth. Both machines will be in use literally until they die (and yes, I do back-up regularly).
Plus, I've used Windows at work and on other people's computers. I just plain don't like it compared to a Mac! What else can I say? It's like daubing mud on a cave wall after painting in oils...
Now, all I need is a flat big enough to *need* wireless streaming to every room as opposed to 'turn the volume up on my iTunes-connected stereo and leave the doors open'...
(Hmm, I guess I've reached the age when practicality and fiscul prudence take precedence over having the latest cool 1337 hardware. How depressing!)
Mac. Mozilla. Scripts turned off. Flash not installed. Ctrl-click, 'Block images from this server' on annoying banners. End result: great internet experience. Maybe the other 99% of users will get this as well when IE finally supports pop-up blocking...
In Italy, I think speeding is the right of every citizen. Have you seen how they drive over there? They don't need an insanely fast Italian supercar to drive like a maniac. Hell, even the police have Lamborghinis! (I'd post a link if there was one, but I think the latest Top Gear magazine has a pic...)
That's because in the case of the casinos, hacking the system loses the Powers That Be money. In politics, hacking the system gains them money. After all, if they're not in office, how can they collect their bribes, uh, kickbacks, I mean, 'lobbying contributions'?
I find it so much easier to use than the English system.
The irony is that here in England, we call it the imperial system.
And even then, it's not consistent. American gallons are smaller than British gallons.
I'm unfortunately (or maybe fortunately, since I have two standards to choose from instead of just one!) of the age where I was taught and use both systems. I use miles, yards, feet and inches for most measurements, but for my job (publishing) I use centimetres and millimetres. (I never use kilometres for anything, though.) My car's fuel efficiency is measured in miles per gallon, but I can only buy petrol priced by the litre. I measure my weight in stones and pounds, but buy produce in kilograms and grams. (Since I don't smoke weed, I have no use for ounces.)
The RIAA once reported one in six discs that you buy is a pirate disc.
Since I don't buy the few CDs I can be bothered to listen to any more from car boot sales, market stalls or 'my mate's mate down the pub', that must mean HMV, Virgin Megastore, WH Smith, Essential Music, Our Price and Asda have all sold me pirate copies. Those bastards!
(Of course, I know the RIAA don't mean *me* personally. But it's more fun that way.)
Slashdot Mirror
Innyway, after a very stressful day at work yesterday, for some reason I was inspired when I got home to fire up Vice City and head for the Malibu Club with a sniper rifle, just to see what would happen if I started taking out the crowd one by one, headshot by headshot. Amusing, if sick, and I did end up getting wiped out by the cops, but it made me feel a lot more relaxed after a shitty day. Now, if I hadn't been able to indulge in that bizarre bit of sandbox mayhem, where would my pent-up aggression have gone?
(And no, stress-relieving sex wasn't a possibility. I'm a regular on /., dur-hoy!)
Still, at least you're pro-exploration on Earth rather than a 'how can we spend all this money when there are children starving?' type. There's more than enough money and resources and food to go around - it's just unevenly distributed. If people and nations stopped being assholes to each other, who knows what we could have accomplished by now, on Earth *and* in space?
At least this time there won't be any snide "RTFA" posts. They'd have to be "LTTFMP3" posts instead!
"Yer out! Home run! Home run! Yer out! Yer out! Home run! Thank you, and goodnight!"
My four-year-old iBook (9.2.2) is even more stable, reboots needed months apart rather than weeks or days.
Macs are more cost-effective in the long term, partly because the hardware and OS don't need upgrading as frequently, and partly because you don't have spend half your time installing patches and fighting viruses and worms...
And every day, I find the answer is "Yes!" Thank you, Slashdot!
The games don't even have to be good, they just have to be *there*. Nintendo still doesn't seem to have learned this after the debacle of the N64, reasoning that 'a couple of really good games is better than 50 okay-ish ones', not taking into account that most people don't play games to the death, trying to uncover every last secret. Most people play a game for a few weeks, then toss it aside for something new. If there *isn't* anything new, they won't go back to the game they're bored with - they'll just do something else. Or buy a PlayStation(2).
...first mobile phone virus dupe story!
...and the second one is bought by Max Zorin!
(Of course, by then there'll be some new *AA trying to crack down on 'illegal 3-D celebrity body scans' to take all the fun out of it...)
Wouldn't that big, shiny black thing be... a car?
A mere 36. Watch out, it's an age that takes you by surprise, as it seems so innocuous...
That OS is Mac OS, of course. And for the record, it's not even a current Mac OS. I'm running 8.6 on the '99 iMac in front of me right now, which I use essentially for internet access, scanning and printing, and the more or less bulletproof 9.2 (maybe two crash-restarts in the past year) on my '00 iBook. Between them they do every job I need, and I've got past the "Oh my God, my hardware is slightly behind the times! I *must* find a thousand-plus pounds to buy a new kick-ass machine!" thinking that afflicted me and my bank account in my now-disappearing youth. Both machines will be in use literally until they die (and yes, I do back-up regularly).
Plus, I've used Windows at work and on other people's computers. I just plain don't like it compared to a Mac! What else can I say? It's like daubing mud on a cave wall after painting in oils...
Now, all I need is a flat big enough to *need* wireless streaming to every room as opposed to 'turn the volume up on my iTunes-connected stereo and leave the doors open'...
(Hmm, I guess I've reached the age when practicality and fiscul prudence take precedence over having the latest cool 1337 hardware. How depressing!)
Bender: "What-ups?"
Fry: "Pop-ups!"
Bender: "Pop-whats?"
Fry: "Pop-ups!"
Bender: "What-whats?"
Mac. Mozilla. Scripts turned off. Flash not installed. Ctrl-click, 'Block images from this server' on annoying banners. End result: great internet experience. Maybe the other 99% of users will get this as well when IE finally supports pop-up blocking...
I rotate my tyres every single mile I drive. It kind of happens automatically with this whole 'wheel' thing.
"Smelly probe, sme-elly probe..."
(Unless it's the other Phoebe. Meh, she does nothing for me. Wake me up when the probe approaches Piper.)
In Italy, I think speeding is the right of every citizen. Have you seen how they drive over there? They don't need an insanely fast Italian supercar to drive like a maniac. Hell, even the police have Lamborghinis! (I'd post a link if there was one, but I think the latest Top Gear magazine has a pic...)
Even less appealing than before, isn't it?
I'd get more enjoyment out of a five-second appearance by Shatner than I have from the last three years of what passes for Star Trek these days!
That's because in the case of the casinos, hacking the system loses the Powers That Be money. In politics, hacking the system gains them money. After all, if they're not in office, how can they collect their bribes, uh, kickbacks, I mean, 'lobbying contributions'?
The irony is that here in England, we call it the imperial system.
And even then, it's not consistent. American gallons are smaller than British gallons.
I'm unfortunately (or maybe fortunately, since I have two standards to choose from instead of just one!) of the age where I was taught and use both systems. I use miles, yards, feet and inches for most measurements, but for my job (publishing) I use centimetres and millimetres. (I never use kilometres for anything, though.) My car's fuel efficiency is measured in miles per gallon, but I can only buy petrol priced by the litre. I measure my weight in stones and pounds, but buy produce in kilograms and grams. (Since I don't smoke weed, I have no use for ounces.)
I'm amazed I can work *any* measurements out!
"Darl is gettin' angry!"
Since I don't buy the few CDs I can be bothered to listen to any more from car boot sales, market stalls or 'my mate's mate down the pub', that must mean HMV, Virgin Megastore, WH Smith, Essential Music, Our Price and Asda have all sold me pirate copies. Those bastards!
(Of course, I know the RIAA don't mean *me* personally. But it's more fun that way.)
Will you ever find a more wretched hive of scum and villainy?