Personally, I'd not want a BAN on incandescents, just a "wattage tax" on lightbulbs
Because we can all agree that certain light bulbs are evil and destroying the environment. After, all, you don't NEED a wasteful incandescent bulb when a perfectly good CFL alternative is available.
Yes, let's have another social engineering tax to help remind us the right way to live our lives. I am so glad our lawmakers know best how people should behave, and they are all such stellar examples.
How will our wise and benevolent leaders help us save the environment next? Let's see, here are some other random things we can tax;
You don't NEED a big car.
You don't NEED fast computer.
You don't NEED deep fried food, so tax all those energy-hog fryers
You don't NEED an iPod, they use electricity and end up in the landfill.
You don't NEED Tivo
You don't NEED a hair dryer.
You don't NEED a TV.
Bah, the list could go on forever. You might even agree with some things on this little list.
When it comes right down to it, you don't need anything more than basic food and shelter. And that's begging the question as to whether you even need to live. People are doing so much harm to the world maybe we need fewer of them?
How do you figure? The purpose of an auction sale is to determine the market value of an item.
I presume the IRS is after those who sell new stuff on eBay, as a business, not the "garage sale" types selling used stuff.
I have purchased many "new" items on eBay, from sellers with very high positive ratings, so high, that I presume they are using eBay as a storefront for their business.
If I get a better price because the seller isn't paying taxes, that is not my problem.
The interesting question is what taxing authority has jurisdiction over those Hong Kong sellers who sell items to US buyers?
I second the motion, with regard to the cultural impact on one's sense of aesthetics.
Consider a lotto winner from random spots on the globe, who can suddenly decorate their new mansion/palace as they deem fit.
Will it be a clean steel and glass uber-modern design?
Simple "contemporary"?
Or traditional European stuff like you'd find in a castle?
How about an intricate middle eastern motif, with lots of flowery rugs?
Each would be different from the others, and you might not like one or more of them. Even then, among a given style, there will be good design and bad design. But if YOU don't like it, is it really "good design"?
Look at our politics- could we gather the will to build a 10 trillion dollar multi-generation star ship?
There are hundreds of billionaires in the world, dozens with more than 10 Billion they could spare and still be billionaires...
If one or more of them got together and endowed The Star Ship fund, with 10 Billion, and let it sit in an investment that compounded at 10% (like a stock market index fund), it would be worth 100 Trillion by the year 2100 or so.
Of course 100 Trillion "won't buy what it used to", by then, but on the other hand, other advances might make some things cheaper. By then, maybe carving out a habitat in an asteroid or some such wouldn't be impossible. Maybe they will have a space elevator working by then too. That will help.
It is difficult to amass such wealth, and usually it gets dispersed within a few generations. Another fantasy "mega investment" would be to endow an entire country a fund that would completely eliminate taxes for its residents. There is no logical reason why this couldn't happen, just political reasons.
There's your problem, right there. You are thinking on such a short time scale. If you look back 100 years, the amount of electricity being used by computers is INFINITELY more than before. In no time at all, COMPUTERS WILL USE ALL THE ELECTRICITY IN THE UNIVERSE.
Clearly this is a problem. Think about it - those electrical cords have two wires. Electricity comes in one side, swirls around your computer for a bit, heating things up and showing you devil images, then it goes out the other wire, "to the ground", where SATAN lives. I am sure all that electricity "juice" is polluting our groundwater and causing all the hideous mutations we see today. Wasn't one of earliest large-scale electric projects the TVA, and isn't Tennessee where Al Gore, the ARCHITECT of Global Warming, is from?
And who would benefit from Warm Weather - that's right, SATAN. And Nashville is the home of country music, associated with BANJO MUSIC, need I say more? Sure Al says he is against global warming, but that is just reverse psychology. There is a reason why clueless Tonight Show "Jaywalkers" didn't recognize his photo, but knew he was up to no good.
All the juice in the universe must be a lot - so... when it all seeps into the ground, WHAMO, the whole thing will burst open, unleashing the daemons of the netherworld (which has nothing to do with Netherlands, it's cold there, right now)!
Disclaimers:
All facts taken out of context on purpose.
Two animals were harmed making this post, well, just one, but I kicked it twice.
[omg, I will be SO modded down for this post, but damn, it is scary how easy it is to think like a loon.]
Yeah, I've seen that, and it is great and all, in a click-laugh, ha-ha, what's next sort of way. I hate to be a stick in the mud, but...
While the FSM site is logically just as good a religion as any other, it just won't fly in the real world. The very reason for its existence explains its ultimate failure as an acceptable religion. To wit; The world is full of "regular people".
While Pastafarianism sells a few T-Shirts, and gives y'all a laugh, no one would seriously consider "converting" to that "religion".
I could be wrong, but I think a reasonably thought out "religion of reason" could be implemented. I mean would it be so bad to couch the principals in terminology acceptable for "the masses", without actually twisting the the truth?
The reality of the world is that things boil down to politics, and that means saying something like "Our idea of God is the eternal pursuit of knowledge" or some such. Not an in-your-face "God doesn't exist". Do you see the difference? I hate to say it, but I think you need to add a dose pragmatic political consideration to the purity of scientific ideas to "sell them".
I guess all I am saying is that I hope that the truth will win out in the long run, but I don't think the unvarnished truth stands much of a chance with most people.
In the words of George Carlin; Think of how stupid the average person is, and then realize half of them are stupider than that. - I would just like to add, And about one quarter of them vote!
Someone needs to start a new religion that can speak freely - and as a religion it will be protected. Take down notices can be vehemently fought on religious grounds. Fight fire with fire, as it were.
It can't be that hard, there are plenty of made up religions that have protected status standing. I mean if Science Fiction writers can make up religions, why can Slashdotters?
How about making up a religion called Objectivity? You can have the Church of Objectivity, the members would be Objectivists, and the main tenant would be that to get to Heaven you must point out the failings of other religions.
You can tell people that this is the Word of God, because he told me so. (We were having lunch one day, at Hooters. He hadn't been here for a while, and He actually snorted milkshake out of his nose when I described to him the current dogma and beliefs of the predominant religions of the world.)
There is no such thing as faith-based science. That is religion.
Heresy! I have the utmost faith in the scientific method! Don't tell me the persecutions scientific minds suffer for their beliefs are in vain.
Seriously, I agree that one wouldn't want to classify science as a religion, but (at least in the USA) it seems that you would have better legal standing in some situations if it were a "religion", as far as equal protection clauses go. E.g. a lack of belief is not protected, but if you were discriminated against for your affirmation of Science, why shouldn't that be a protected class just as much as some made-up religion?
The (possibly bad) assumption is that they would do it at a reasonable price. Most people want to do the right thing.
People will roll thru a stop sign when nobody is around, but they still slow down. The will drive 75 in a 65 zone, if they can, but not 110. I suspect they will pay a few dollars for a legitimate copy of an album, but not the same price as the actual CD.
It is not an all or nothing proposition, There will always be folks who will take a pirated version and there will be some willing to pay full retail. For an intangible like music it ought to be simple to play with prices to figure out where the maximum profit is. Hopefully EMI is ready to take the "Scary step" away from an old model to find out where that price point is.
[dropping ice cubes into the ocean...] the sea level will rise!
I know, I know!
Follow this logic carefully... Take the water, to make the ice cube, from the sea!
Or you could just freeze it in-place, maybe just plug in a freezer, open the door and sink it into the ocean. Oh my bad, that would be adding something to the ocean and making the level rise again. Never mind.
Some things in 1983 were cheaper. But many were more expensive. Even in absolute dollars, not even counting inflation.
CDs are STILL $13-18 (unless they are at Costco or "on sale", usually), but back in 1983, a decent computer cost $2000 (you can't even buy a computer that bad now, for as little as $299).
Even a nice calculator was about $50 or so (better ones now for under $20). A Color TV (A heavy CRT, 13 channels, click-click tuner) was 2 - 3 times what they cost now (for 121 channels, multi inputs, remote, etc. etc.)
The list goes on and on and gets "worse" (for the RIAA argument) when adjusting for inflation. LOTS of stuff is far cheaper than it has ever been.
I get so sick of looking at cute fuzzy animals and bright cheery flowers.
I can't tell one image from another after a while.
I have accounts at several of those "pick-a-picture" type places and not a single one of them offers memorable porn images with which to motivate your security instincts!
Just once, I'd like to make phishers look at goatse man for a long time, before they even get a chance to rip some one off. Might make them think about prison too!
Re:I call bullshit on this
on
Finding New Code
·
· Score: 4, Funny
I often Push on the Pull doors, just to see if they work.
Often the Push/Pull sign is just some control freak placing arbitrary rules on things. So what if you clock a little old lady on the other side once in a while.
I would give her DOUBLE her money back. Out of my own pocket, if I had to.
Caveat Emptor... no, wait that's not right. How about you get what you pay for? (usually).
I've lost "hotmail" many times. I am just glad that they "reserve" my user name.
Most of the confusion among the Slashdot crowd probably comes from the total lack of comprehension about how one can fail to check an email account less often than 42 times a day.
Slashdot Mirror
2) Solve some mystifying dilema.
3) Become really, really famous.
4) Then you can jolly well tell other mathematicians what to do!
or something like that... apologies to Monty Python, et. al.
Because we can all agree that certain light bulbs are evil and destroying the environment. After, all, you don't NEED a wasteful incandescent bulb when a perfectly good CFL alternative is available.
Yes, let's have another social engineering tax to help remind us the right way to live our lives. I am so glad our lawmakers know best how people should behave, and they are all such stellar examples.
How will our wise and benevolent leaders help us save the environment next? Let's see, here are some other random things we can tax;
You don't NEED a big car.
You don't NEED fast computer.
You don't NEED deep fried food, so tax all those energy-hog fryers
You don't NEED an iPod, they use electricity and end up in the landfill.
You don't NEED Tivo
You don't NEED a hair dryer.
You don't NEED a TV.
Bah, the list could go on forever. You might even agree with some things on this little list. When it comes right down to it, you don't need anything more than basic food and shelter. And that's begging the question as to whether you even need to live. People are doing so much harm to the world maybe we need fewer of them?
How do you figure? The purpose of an auction sale is to determine the market value of an item.
I presume the IRS is after those who sell new stuff on eBay, as a business, not the "garage sale" types selling used stuff.
I have purchased many "new" items on eBay, from sellers with very high positive ratings, so high, that I presume they are using eBay as a storefront for their business.
If I get a better price because the seller isn't paying taxes, that is not my problem.
The interesting question is what taxing authority has jurisdiction over those Hong Kong sellers who sell items to US buyers?
None of that will affect my un-encumbered media files, right?
Seems to me the Vista DRM "support", is only for files that, um, use DRM.
Am I missing something?
Consider a lotto winner from random spots on the globe, who can suddenly decorate their new mansion/palace as they deem fit.
Will it be a clean steel and glass uber-modern design?
Simple "contemporary"?
Or traditional European stuff like you'd find in a castle?
How about an intricate middle eastern motif, with lots of flowery rugs?
Each would be different from the others, and you might not like one or more of them. Even then, among a given style, there will be good design and bad design. But if YOU don't like it, is it really "good design"?
There are hundreds of billionaires in the world, dozens with more than 10 Billion they could spare and still be billionaires...
If one or more of them got together and endowed The Star Ship fund, with 10 Billion, and let it sit in an investment that compounded at 10% (like a stock market index fund), it would be worth 100 Trillion by the year 2100 or so.
Of course 100 Trillion "won't buy what it used to", by then, but on the other hand, other advances might make some things cheaper. By then, maybe carving out a habitat in an asteroid or some such wouldn't be impossible. Maybe they will have a space elevator working by then too. That will help.
It is difficult to amass such wealth, and usually it gets dispersed within a few generations. Another fantasy "mega investment" would be to endow an entire country a fund that would completely eliminate taxes for its residents. There is no logical reason why this couldn't happen, just political reasons.
Look it up, count them.
There's your problem, right there. You are thinking on such a short time scale. If you look back 100 years, the amount of electricity being used by computers is INFINITELY more than before. In no time at all, COMPUTERS WILL USE ALL THE ELECTRICITY IN THE UNIVERSE.
Clearly this is a problem. Think about it - those electrical cords have two wires. Electricity comes in one side, swirls around your computer for a bit, heating things up and showing you devil images, then it goes out the other wire, "to the ground", where SATAN lives. I am sure all that electricity "juice" is polluting our groundwater and causing all the hideous mutations we see today. Wasn't one of earliest large-scale electric projects the TVA, and isn't Tennessee where Al Gore, the ARCHITECT of Global Warming, is from?
And who would benefit from Warm Weather - that's right, SATAN. And Nashville is the home of country music, associated with BANJO MUSIC, need I say more? Sure Al says he is against global warming, but that is just reverse psychology. There is a reason why clueless Tonight Show "Jaywalkers" didn't recognize his photo, but knew he was up to no good.
All the juice in the universe must be a lot - so... when it all seeps into the ground, WHAMO, the whole thing will burst open, unleashing the daemons of the netherworld (which has nothing to do with Netherlands, it's cold there, right now)!
Disclaimers:
All facts taken out of context on purpose.
Two animals were harmed making this post, well, just one, but I kicked it twice.
[omg, I will be SO modded down for this post, but damn, it is scary how easy it is to think like a loon.]
There's your problem.
"Those stores" need to make money somewhere, and if you HAVE to have it NOW, then you can help pay the bills that make it available to you, NOW.
We all know you can get a better deal, if you can shop and wait.
Anything else is unfair, but necessary simply because not everyone can afford their fair share.
All the shenanigans of modern tax code boils down to the politics of extracting unfair amounts of money from whomever will pay.
Also, pretty much summed up in a recent Mark Steyn commentary.
While the FSM site is logically just as good a religion as any other, it just won't fly in the real world. The very reason for its existence explains its ultimate failure as an acceptable religion. To wit; The world is full of "regular people".
While Pastafarianism sells a few T-Shirts, and gives y'all a laugh, no one would seriously consider "converting" to that "religion".
I could be wrong, but I think a reasonably thought out "religion of reason" could be implemented. I mean would it be so bad to couch the principals in terminology acceptable for "the masses", without actually twisting the the truth?
The reality of the world is that things boil down to politics, and that means saying something like "Our idea of God is the eternal pursuit of knowledge" or some such. Not an in-your-face "God doesn't exist". Do you see the difference? I hate to say it, but I think you need to add a dose pragmatic political consideration to the purity of scientific ideas to "sell them".
I guess all I am saying is that I hope that the truth will win out in the long run, but I don't think the unvarnished truth stands much of a chance with most people.
In the words of George Carlin; Think of how stupid the average person is, and then realize half of them are stupider than that. - I would just like to add, And about one quarter of them vote!
It can't be that hard, there are plenty of made up religions that have protected status standing. I mean if Science Fiction writers can make up religions, why can Slashdotters?
How about making up a religion called Objectivity? You can have the Church of Objectivity, the members would be Objectivists, and the main tenant would be that to get to Heaven you must point out the failings of other religions.
You can tell people that this is the Word of God, because he told me so. (We were having lunch one day, at Hooters. He hadn't been here for a while, and He actually snorted milkshake out of his nose when I described to him the current dogma and beliefs of the predominant religions of the world.)
Yea, it is written, let it be so. Amen.
Heresy! I have the utmost faith in the scientific method! Don't tell me the persecutions scientific minds suffer for their beliefs are in vain.
Seriously, I agree that one wouldn't want to classify science as a religion, but (at least in the USA) it seems that you would have better legal standing in some situations if it were a "religion", as far as equal protection clauses go. E.g. a lack of belief is not protected, but if you were discriminated against for your affirmation of Science, why shouldn't that be a protected class just as much as some made-up religion?
People will roll thru a stop sign when nobody is around, but they still slow down. The will drive 75 in a 65 zone, if they can, but not 110. I suspect they will pay a few dollars for a legitimate copy of an album, but not the same price as the actual CD.
It is not an all or nothing proposition, There will always be folks who will take a pirated version and there will be some willing to pay full retail. For an intangible like music it ought to be simple to play with prices to figure out where the maximum profit is. Hopefully EMI is ready to take the "Scary step" away from an old model to find out where that price point is.
I know, I know!
Follow this logic carefully... Take the water, to make the ice cube, from the sea!
Or you could just freeze it in-place, maybe just plug in a freezer, open the door and sink it into the ocean. Oh my bad, that would be adding something to the ocean and making the level rise again. Never mind.
So can EMI.
The point is not that the "cheaper" versions of Vista won't work in a virtual machine, it is that it is contrary to the license terms.
If you are going to violate a license agreement, it is cheaper to violate something cheaper than MSDN.
CDs are STILL $13-18 (unless they are at Costco or "on sale", usually), but back in 1983, a decent computer cost $2000 (you can't even buy a computer that bad now, for as little as $299).
Even a nice calculator was about $50 or so (better ones now for under $20). A Color TV (A heavy CRT, 13 channels, click-click tuner) was 2 - 3 times what they cost now (for 121 channels, multi inputs, remote, etc. etc.)
The list goes on and on and gets "worse" (for the RIAA argument) when adjusting for inflation. LOTS of stuff is far cheaper than it has ever been.
Bah.
Some people have both genes, but I'll Cruise away from further speculation on that subject.
I can't tell one image from another after a while.
I have accounts at several of those "pick-a-picture" type places and not a single one of them offers memorable porn images with which to motivate your security instincts!
Just once, I'd like to make phishers look at goatse man for a long time, before they even get a chance to rip some one off. Might make them think about prison too!
Often the Push/Pull sign is just some control freak placing arbitrary rules on things. So what if you clock a little old lady on the other side once in a while.
Freedom to swing both ways has its price!
I thought there was some FOSP stuff going down for which I missed my ticket.
Yeah, I could almost see it - a Free Open Source Planet...
No taxes, free beer (as in free beer). Pi*d^2 virgins for every geek ("d" can be enhanced, check your email for details.)
Everyone would have unlimited funds, thanks to a PayPal account, linked to a Nigerian bank account.
Oh, forget it, humoring the masses is too tedious right now, the phone is ringing.
Caveat Emptor... no, wait that's not right. How about you get what you pay for ? (usually).
I've lost "hotmail" many times. I am just glad that they "reserve" my user name.
Most of the confusion among the Slashdot crowd probably comes from the total lack of comprehension about how one can fail to check an email account less often than 42 times a day.