"Let children learn..." Absolutely. I was reading Playboy mags when I was 10 or 12, and it did me no damage that I can see. I once found a paperback novel in a gutter (literally) in which every character had an obscene or very suggestive name (Buster Hymen, Hugh Jardon, etc.) and I wish I still had it... it was funnier than hell! I think I was about 13 then. I have been exposed to many forms of obscenity and profanity, and survived it to reach the age of 52. And from what I've seen, NOTHING is more obscene than censorship.
... and some sense... bucked this legal abortion. Now, if we can just get rid of Fritz Hollings (I live in South Carolina, so I'm doin' what I can) and his ilk, maybe we can return this Country to its citizens. It's actually past time.
If you give a child a loaded gun, odds are that you're a dumbass, regardless of what you tell him. But if you get stupid enough to do that, don't even consider TELLING him not to pull the trigger... ask him, very politely, to avoid the trigger and then offer him candy, cookies, and a soft drink. And try like hell to get the gun back. (Hell, roll him a joint if that's what it takes to get the gun back. Children can be very dangerous to themselves and to others, if they're not firmly duct taped to something solid).
They'll just steal a gun and go steal the games, and pick up a few bucks in the process. Seriously, markets go where the consumers demand, and there's nothing laws can do about it. And kids with cash are consumers... they'll get anything they want. I was doing it over 35 years ago, and many things have changed, but not that one. Oh, and they can probably get on a usenet site and download whatever they want for free. Trying to stop this is like standing on a railroad track and holding up your hand in a "halt" sign to stop the train. I wouldn't recommend it. I don't approve of a lot of these games, but there's not a damn thing that can be done to control them, (and here's the punch line) except by PARENTS.
Cloning is interesting, but I have to go with the Humaine Society on this one. I had a friend who had no sense of smell, love animals, and always kept a cat around to check out food of indeterminate age from his fridge. If the cat wouldn't eat it, my friend wouldn't, either. He'd go to the amimal shelter and pick out the ugliest kitten he could find (because he knew that nobody else was likely to take it, and it would soon be killed). What was strange is that the cats seemed to know this, and always made wonderful pets.
Folks, there are far too many animals put down every year and each one is unique. If you want a pet, go to the amimal shelter and look around. I'll bet you'll find the perfect pet for you, it won't cost you much, and you'll probably have saved its life. What could be better than that?
The angels God sends us don't, as a rule, have wings, and often aren't even human. And sometimes critters need angels, too. You can BE one. Think about it.
"... when will these people get a clue?"
They won't, unless they find one in your pocket, right next to your money... and then they'll just toss it away because they're ONLY interested in the money. But they are engaging in the ancient practice of "biting the hand that feeds them", so the solution is really simple: stop feeding them, and DARE any politician you can vote against to toss them so much as a bone.
We CAN take our government back, but we can't do it via/. (and no offense to/., just a limited sort of readers). Make these thoughts known in your local newspaper, radio talk shows (if they still exist), and all your non-nerd friends. And then write your Reps in D.C. and give 'em a piece of your mind. Let them know that you'll be watching how they vote, and then you'll watch how YOU vote. It is still our country, we just have to take it back.
Sorry, Prof, but you are mistaken. "Military" can be either an adjective or a noun, depending upon its context. This is true of many English words. And as far as the "he/she" arguements put forth in earlier posts, traditional English rules of grammar dictate that an individual person of no particular gender is called "he". I learned this thirty-some years ago in high school. However, having returned to college after thirty years I have learned that the rules are changing, and I refuse to quibble with the changes... even though their only purpose seems to be to confuse us old folks. We are never too old to learn; we are never too young to forget.
The point of life is to *learn*. Earn knowledge, and from it, develop wisdom. If this procedure brings one to other points, then they should be pursued as well, but the purpose of it all is knowledge and wisdom. And if you don't get it right this time, you'll be back again.
My Grandmother told me, many years ago, that the only thing I'll ever have that can't be taken from me is knowledge. I believe that to this day, which is the main reason I'm back in college (I'm 52 years old). Over the years, everything I've ever learned came in handy at one time or another. Moral of the story: get all the education you can, get jobs that are interesting to you (and on which you can continue to learn interesting things), and most of all, don't spend too much time looking back. Yes, I have friends with very little education who make a lot more money than I can. But I wouldn't trade places with a one of them and have to do what they do every day. I try to count my blessings, but I have so many I can't keep track of them all. Hope the New Year is a great one for you all!
re: Fraternities... your post was funny as hell to me. I've never belonged to a Frat, but used to play in a band that did a lot of Frat parties, and we had a ball.. and got smashed at every one. My band was in high school then, and too young to legally drink, but that didn't matter... the "Frat Brothers" were always happy to accomodate. We'd get sloshed as hell and then have to drive 150 miles or so to get home. I miss those days! But the important thing is this: it had nothing whatsoever to do with "education", other than learning how to mix certain drinks, or get laid. I think fraternities are pretty much a joke, but they do provide some really cool parties and back in my highschool years, I turned a dollar or two playing for them.
Re:You misunderstand completely
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E ~ mc^2
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· Score: 3, Insightful
Evolution does not, in any way, invalidate the existance of God, or of His creation of life; it just attempts to explain how He did it. (I heard this from a Baptist Pastor some 35 years ago, and it made perfect sense so I wanted to pass it along. And no, I'm not a Baptist). It is perfectly rational to believe in evolution and in a Creator at the same time.
May our Creator bless you all for the new year, and may we all continue to evolve!
Re:You misunderstand completely
on
E ~ mc^2
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· Score: 1
Exactly. We cannot further our knowledge until we recognize our ignorance.
Nick, I thought that was a beautiful post. I realize that just because I can't remember my birth doesn't mean that nobody else can, either. Thanks for the insight...
I distinctly remember yesterday... I had a beer. Well, I guess I had two, or three. And a little bourbon. And then a few more beers. And I think I had more bourbon, and maybe a few more beers. But everything gets cloudy before that.
I can remember when I was very young, Mom used to read me poetry. I think she actually started this before I was born, but can't remember that for sure. But she had this one poem about a little boy who sucked his thumb, and the Scissors Man would come with his scissors and snip off the offending thumb. Then she'd put me in my crib and, when I was pretty sure nobody was looking, I'd pop my thumb in my mouth... and Mom would hide behind a door with her sewing scissors and "snip, snip, snip" them, scaring the hell out of me. I soon gave up thumb-sucking. When I was ten, I started smoking cigarettes.
bubblegoose said, in part: "...we were told refusal would be grounds for discharge."
Man! When I was in the Navy (1970) I'd have refused in a heartbeat, done the Captain's Mast, and got my young ass outta there! I didn't want to be there, didn't want to go where the bastards wanted to send me, didn't want anything to do with the whole rotten mess of 'Nam, or the Navy. Fortunately, I received an honorable medical discharge... happiest damn day of my life!
I don't think they knew what DNA was at that time, but if they did, they've probably still got my samples. I don't really care. As we used to say back then, "What they gon' do, take my f***in' birthday?"
Hell, the solution seems simple enough... just find out who the terrorist SOB is who's a threat to the Internet, and nuke the bastard. Problem solved. (As I mentioned in a previous post, I'm not exactly a liberal... I used to be, but I'm recovering, and these things take time to stablize).
Buss, I'm not exactly a liberal, but you're right about this one... all the way through. I guess I'd qualify as a libritarian, if I was sure how to spell it. But more on topic, if you want to protect the Internet from terrorists, install a firewall and convince all your friends to do the same. Ditto antivirus software, anti-spyware, etc. Sometimes, the only thing we have to fear is government itself.
"What would Jesus Christ do?" Short answer is, pretty much exactly as he pleased, which is what got Him in so much trouble in the first place. And trouble or not, maybe more of us should be a bit more like Him.
Slashdot Mirror
"would that count 0:-)" Find out what they're paying. Might be a few bucks in it for you. Otherwise, screw 'em.
"Let children learn..." Absolutely. I was reading Playboy mags when I was 10 or 12, and it did me no damage that I can see. I once found a paperback novel in a gutter (literally) in which every character had an obscene or very suggestive name (Buster Hymen, Hugh Jardon, etc.) and I wish I still had it... it was funnier than hell! I think I was about 13 then. I have been exposed to many forms of obscenity and profanity, and survived it to reach the age of 52. And from what I've seen, NOTHING is more obscene than censorship.
... and some sense... bucked this legal abortion. Now, if we can just get rid of Fritz Hollings (I live in South Carolina, so I'm doin' what I can) and his ilk, maybe we can return this Country to its citizens. It's actually past time.
If you give a child a loaded gun, odds are that you're a dumbass, regardless of what you tell him. But if you get stupid enough to do that, don't even consider TELLING him not to pull the trigger... ask him, very politely, to avoid the trigger and then offer him candy, cookies, and a soft drink. And try like hell to get the gun back. (Hell, roll him a joint if that's what it takes to get the gun back. Children can be very dangerous to themselves and to others, if they're not firmly duct taped to something solid).
They'll just steal a gun and go steal the games, and pick up a few bucks in the process. Seriously, markets go where the consumers demand, and there's nothing laws can do about it. And kids with cash are consumers... they'll get anything they want. I was doing it over 35 years ago, and many things have changed, but not that one. Oh, and they can probably get on a usenet site and download whatever they want for free. Trying to stop this is like standing on a railroad track and holding up your hand in a "halt" sign to stop the train. I wouldn't recommend it. I don't approve of a lot of these games, but there's not a damn thing that can be done to control them, (and here's the punch line) except by PARENTS.
Cloning is interesting, but I have to go with the Humaine Society on this one. I had a friend who had no sense of smell, love animals, and always kept a cat around to check out food of indeterminate age from his fridge. If the cat wouldn't eat it, my friend wouldn't, either. He'd go to the amimal shelter and pick out the ugliest kitten he could find (because he knew that nobody else was likely to take it, and it would soon be killed). What was strange is that the cats seemed to know this, and always made wonderful pets. Folks, there are far too many animals put down every year and each one is unique. If you want a pet, go to the amimal shelter and look around. I'll bet you'll find the perfect pet for you, it won't cost you much, and you'll probably have saved its life. What could be better than that? The angels God sends us don't, as a rule, have wings, and often aren't even human. And sometimes critters need angels, too. You can BE one. Think about it.
"... when will these people get a clue?" They won't, unless they find one in your pocket, right next to your money... and then they'll just toss it away because they're ONLY interested in the money. But they are engaging in the ancient practice of "biting the hand that feeds them", so the solution is really simple: stop feeding them, and DARE any politician you can vote against to toss them so much as a bone.
We CAN take our government back, but we can't do it via /. (and no offense to /., just a limited sort of readers). Make these thoughts known in your local newspaper, radio talk shows (if they still exist), and all your non-nerd friends. And then write your Reps in D.C. and give 'em a piece of your mind. Let them know that you'll be watching how they vote, and then you'll watch how YOU vote. It is still our country, we just have to take it back.
Hey, NewtonsLaw, thanks for that link. That's the way things should be done. - Alph
Sorry, Prof, but you are mistaken. "Military" can be either an adjective or a noun, depending upon its context. This is true of many English words. And as far as the "he/she" arguements put forth in earlier posts, traditional English rules of grammar dictate that an individual person of no particular gender is called "he". I learned this thirty-some years ago in high school. However, having returned to college after thirty years I have learned that the rules are changing, and I refuse to quibble with the changes... even though their only purpose seems to be to confuse us old folks. We are never too old to learn; we are never too young to forget.
Schnell, I pretty much agree with you on this. If it isn't good enough to buy, it isn't good enough to steal, either.
The point of life is to *learn*. Earn knowledge, and from it, develop wisdom. If this procedure brings one to other points, then they should be pursued as well, but the purpose of it all is knowledge and wisdom. And if you don't get it right this time, you'll be back again.
My Grandmother told me, many years ago, that the only thing I'll ever have that can't be taken from me is knowledge. I believe that to this day, which is the main reason I'm back in college (I'm 52 years old). Over the years, everything I've ever learned came in handy at one time or another. Moral of the story: get all the education you can, get jobs that are interesting to you (and on which you can continue to learn interesting things), and most of all, don't spend too much time looking back. Yes, I have friends with very little education who make a lot more money than I can. But I wouldn't trade places with a one of them and have to do what they do every day. I try to count my blessings, but I have so many I can't keep track of them all. Hope the New Year is a great one for you all!
re: Fraternities... your post was funny as hell to me. I've never belonged to a Frat, but used to play in a band that did a lot of Frat parties, and we had a ball.. and got smashed at every one. My band was in high school then, and too young to legally drink, but that didn't matter... the "Frat Brothers" were always happy to accomodate. We'd get sloshed as hell and then have to drive 150 miles or so to get home. I miss those days! But the important thing is this: it had nothing whatsoever to do with "education", other than learning how to mix certain drinks, or get laid. I think fraternities are pretty much a joke, but they do provide some really cool parties and back in my highschool years, I turned a dollar or two playing for them.
Evolution does not, in any way, invalidate the existance of God, or of His creation of life; it just attempts to explain how He did it. (I heard this from a Baptist Pastor some 35 years ago, and it made perfect sense so I wanted to pass it along. And no, I'm not a Baptist). It is perfectly rational to believe in evolution and in a Creator at the same time. May our Creator bless you all for the new year, and may we all continue to evolve!
Exactly. We cannot further our knowledge until we recognize our ignorance.
Nick, I thought that was a beautiful post. I realize that just because I can't remember my birth doesn't mean that nobody else can, either. Thanks for the insight...
I distinctly remember yesterday... I had a beer. Well, I guess I had two, or three. And a little bourbon. And then a few more beers. And I think I had more bourbon, and maybe a few more beers. But everything gets cloudy before that.
I can remember when I was very young, Mom used to read me poetry. I think she actually started this before I was born, but can't remember that for sure. But she had this one poem about a little boy who sucked his thumb, and the Scissors Man would come with his scissors and snip off the offending thumb. Then she'd put me in my crib and, when I was pretty sure nobody was looking, I'd pop my thumb in my mouth... and Mom would hide behind a door with her sewing scissors and "snip, snip, snip" them, scaring the hell out of me. I soon gave up thumb-sucking. When I was ten, I started smoking cigarettes.
Oh, man! And all this time, I thought Al Gore invented the teevee! I feel much more educated now.
bubblegoose said, in part: "...we were told refusal would be grounds for discharge." Man! When I was in the Navy (1970) I'd have refused in a heartbeat, done the Captain's Mast, and got my young ass outta there! I didn't want to be there, didn't want to go where the bastards wanted to send me, didn't want anything to do with the whole rotten mess of 'Nam, or the Navy. Fortunately, I received an honorable medical discharge... happiest damn day of my life! I don't think they knew what DNA was at that time, but if they did, they've probably still got my samples. I don't really care. As we used to say back then, "What they gon' do, take my f***in' birthday?"
Shhhhh! Please, fuck quietly... the children are asleep in Post-Soviet Russia!
Hell, the solution seems simple enough... just find out who the terrorist SOB is who's a threat to the Internet, and nuke the bastard. Problem solved. (As I mentioned in a previous post, I'm not exactly a liberal... I used to be, but I'm recovering, and these things take time to stablize).
Buss, I'm not exactly a liberal, but you're right about this one... all the way through. I guess I'd qualify as a libritarian, if I was sure how to spell it. But more on topic, if you want to protect the Internet from terrorists, install a firewall and convince all your friends to do the same. Ditto antivirus software, anti-spyware, etc. Sometimes, the only thing we have to fear is government itself.
"What would Jesus Christ do?" Short answer is, pretty much exactly as he pleased, which is what got Him in so much trouble in the first place. And trouble or not, maybe more of us should be a bit more like Him.