Bujeezus Christ, is every act of malice an act of terrorism these days?
terrorism (n.) The unlawful use or threatened use of force or violence by a person or an organized group against people or property with the intention of intimidating or coercing societies or governments, often for ideological or political reasons.
Do you honestly think that this NJ suburbanite with his toy laser pointer was trying to coerce the government? It's VERY bloody unlikely that this was terrorism.
The words "terrorist" and "terrorism" and the way they've been bandied about lately has caused them to lose all meaning and become a generic insult.
He wasn't even labled as a terrorist! From the article:
"Justice Department officials said they do not suspect terrorism in any of the cases, but said Banach's arrest shows how seriously they take the matter."
con.sume (v.) "To purchase (goods or services) for direct use or ownership."
Yes, a grocery store will accept rotten food back -- I've done it. "I bought this yesterday and its covered in mold already"
That's because it's defective, not because you didn't like it. Stores will gladly exchange for a defective disc.
Oh, and read the label on that jar of jelly. "Return unused portion for refund". Most companies *want* you to tell them you didn't like their product.
This is true, but this is a return directly to the manufacturer, not to the retailer. And you don't think that the manufacturer would stop giving you refunds when you keep returning their goods?
Every company in the world understands the consumer is their customer except the music/movie industry who wants to push us into slavery.
I wholeheartedly agree that the entertainment industry is fighting a battle they can't win (although I'd skip your "slavery" drama). I also understand from a retailer's point of view that unlike material goods that are visibly "used", media like music and DVDs are ripe for copy/return abuse and cut into their profits. Blame the pirates, not the honest consumers like you and me. Again, I'm talking about from a retailer's point of view; I'm not trying to debate P2P.
Unfortunately, your last comparison (dealing with whether a movie is a consumable or an object that can be returned) is flawed.
Fine, it still works with a DVD. So you think that a grocery store would routinely accept items for return that were mostly eaten because they didn't suit your taste? The problem is that retailers don't know how much of that DVD you consumed before returning it, so they have to assume you watched all of it. I'd be laughed out of the store if I tried to return a mostly empty jar of jelly, not because there was some kind of material defect, but because I just didn't like the taste.
Secondly, as for buying a DVD, you can also return it if you don't like it -- or can you? Most places won't take them back, like software, for some reason.
I think you know why they won't take them back. It's because, again, the content being purchased is non-consumable and can be easily duplicated. If a book could be quickly, cheaply and undetectibly duplicated by a home consumer using a high-tech book duplicating machine (yes, I know about photocopiers, but this is not undetectable, quick or cheap), do you think that book stores would continue to be so liberal about accepting returns? I think not. If the stores themselves weren't willing to recind their "liberal" return policies, you bet your boots that the publishing industry would be all over their backs about it, just like the entertainment industry is up in arms about movie and music duplication.
I know! And the nerve of people making really bad analogies that are totally irrelevant...
For one thing, you can see the food before you buy it without having to pay for this privelage.
You're one to talk about bad analogies. Movies are to viewing as food is to eating. Both require payment before they are consumed.
Also, unless the food is rotten, one grapefruit isn't gonna taste that much different than the next.
You could make the same argument about the cookie-cutter plots, actors and special effects that Hollywood has been churning out for the last 15-20 years. Again, bad analogy. Like a video rental store, supermarkets are filled with tens of thousands of different food items that most certainly "taste...different than the next". Are you saying that all catsups taste the same? Try telling that to the person that only likes Heinz. Unless you rent the same movie over and over again, your argument falls short.
Movies can't be viewed before you decide to pay, nor do you have any guarantee of standards of quality really.
Again, food can't be eaten before you decide to pay, nor do you have any guarantee of standards of "quality" -- in other words, will this suit my personal taste -- when trying a new product (i.e. a new brand of catsup), until you try it.
The supermarket is but one example of many purveyors of goods in this life that require payment before consumption and no guarantee that you'll like the item you chose. I will agree, however, that with non-consumable items such as clothing, most retailers will allow you to return the item for a refund if you decide you don't like it. The problem is that seeing a movie is really purchasing a block of time to consume something that can be consumed, in theory, an infinite number of times. Even if you didn't like the movie, you still consumed that block of time you purchased. What you're really purchasing when seeing a movie in the theater, for example, is the rental of a small space (your seat) to view the movie. The theatre still has to pay its employees and heat the place, even if you didn't like what you saw in that seat.
Yes, Kansas City most definitely has its rural areas. Even Johnson County -- supposedly one of the 10th wealthiest counties in the nation (at least was at one time) -- has plenty of rural zones in it. Go take a drive around 151st and Anticoch sometime. A nice dichotomy of 3000 sq. ft. houses and the farms they're swallowing up as Overland Park marches southward.
The cool thing about smart cards is that you enter the PIN on the card itself...
So if I find your lost card, I can reduce the number of digit combinations that I have to try just by looking at the keys that are dirty and/or the ink is wearing off?
Let's see, these jobs will be going from Blue states to Red states. Hmmmmm......
Well, if it works out, it sounds like a win-win to me: those who supported Kerry's plan to keep jobs from moving overseas got their wish, and those who voted for Bush get to continue to screw those who didn't.
It's pretty much universally accepted that mortgage debt is good debt (if you can truly afford the house, that is -- i.e. you didn't buy a million dollar house on a $30K salary). Unlike other personal loans, you get a tax deduction for the interest you pay. And current mortgage interest rates make it more cost effective to pay 7% interest so you can put any savings you have into the market that historically pays an average of 10% a year.
I have three categories that I put data into, that I've decided to call Red, Yellow and Green.
Red data is the most important and irreplacable -- things like financial data, things I've written, important emails, family videos, etc.
Yellow data is not as important, but would be in inconvenience to replace -- things like purchased software, esoteric software drivers, etc.
Green data is data that I like to have on hand but that could be easily replaced or that are updated frequently -- things like Linux distributions, freeware, etc.
For the Red data, I create PAR2 parity files and burn 3 copies (with the PAR2 data). One is stored at home, one at work and one in a safety deposit box. Sensative data (like financial data) is encrypted with a key located in the deposit box.
For the Yellow data, I burn 2 copies. One is stored at home and the other at work.
For the Green data, I burn 1 copy.
I will still need to keep an eye on the Red data and check the copies once every year or two, perhaps reburning to the most current technology, but I feel fairly confident that this data is safe, having three copies in different geographic locations, each with redundant parity files (with 10-20% redundancy) that can be used to reconstruct damaged data.
YMMV. Hopefully my scheme works; I haven't had any catastrophic events that affect my data yet.
Re:George Bush ignores the way of Christ
on
Pre-Election Discussion
·
· Score: 3, Insightful
I've made arguments along these lines to people who play the "righteous religion" card on Bush. Great job on your post.
It's amazing how many people focus on certain "Book X, Chapter Y, Verse Z" of the Bible and completely ignore the overarching themes in the bible of compassion, etc.
Do you agree, or do you think I'm taking it too far? I actually think I may have... oh well.
No, you're not taking it too far. It sounds like you're on the right path and might want to read up on the voluntary simplicity movement (which is mostly just a subset of beliefs from buddhism).
Lest you think that Indians can't have the name "Fernandes" or not be "traditional" (as you put it), you'd better brush up on your history and geography.
There is no 'need' to use indentation when writing code in most modern programming languages (C, Java, etc.), but it sure helps the readability of the code. Same rule applies to judicious and consistent use of CAPS in something like SQL. Not everyone likes to use or has access to a syntax highlighting editor; CAPS (and indentation) are guaranteed to be portable to any editor.
I can see how one's age is inversely proportional to the connection speed that they would be happy with. When you're in your 60s, the Internet is probably still a scary, new thing to you and you're probably not playing online games or using P2P applications. As the more computer savvy replace the less computer savvy in the population, I would expect the desire to have fast connectivity to rise.
When I read the quotes from the article, I'm seeing people who are 46, 49, 61, 74, etc., so I'm wondering if the figures in this article are representative of all Internet users. Where were the quotes from 8 year olds?
...and the only directions it would send back said "You are standing in an open field west of a white house, with a boarded front door. There is a small mailbox here."
Parent has hit the nail on the head. Company size is the main factor in job happiness as far as I'm concerned. Smaller company = less red-tape, more autonomy, a wider rage of responsiblities and tasks, flatter organizational structure, etc.
That would certainly explain why florists, hairdressers, and soon have higher job satisfaction -- not a lot of Fortune 500 florists or salons out there...
I currently work for a large telecommunications company and definitely miss my days back at smaller companies, so count me as one of those seven.
Worse things than completely going against your beliefs and morals?!? Here's a heads-up to the parent poster who apparently lives on the second level of Maslow's hierarchy of needs: aversion isn't always about the danger or risk of dying.
It's nice to see graduates of the Milgram Experiment are still alive and well, and posting on Slashdot.
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Bujeezus Christ, is every act of malice an act of terrorism these days?
terrorism (n.) The unlawful use or threatened use of force or violence by a person or an organized group against people or property with the intention of intimidating or coercing societies or governments, often for ideological or political reasons.
Do you honestly think that this NJ suburbanite with his toy laser pointer was trying to coerce the government? It's VERY bloody unlikely that this was terrorism.
The words "terrorist" and "terrorism" and the way they've been bandied about lately has caused them to lose all meaning and become a generic insult.
"Justice Department officials said they do not suspect terrorism in any of the cases, but said Banach's arrest shows how seriously they take the matter."
Is this an abuse of the PATRIOT act, or what?
I'm used to reading my system text as a white font on a blue background.
con.sume (v.) "To purchase (goods or services) for direct use or ownership."
That's because it's defective, not because you didn't like it. Stores will gladly exchange for a defective disc.
This is true, but this is a return directly to the manufacturer, not to the retailer. And you don't think that the manufacturer would stop giving you refunds when you keep returning their goods?
I wholeheartedly agree that the entertainment industry is fighting a battle they can't win (although I'd skip your "slavery" drama). I also understand from a retailer's point of view that unlike material goods that are visibly "used", media like music and DVDs are ripe for copy/return abuse and cut into their profits. Blame the pirates, not the honest consumers like you and me. Again, I'm talking about from a retailer's point of view; I'm not trying to debate P2P.
Fine, it still works with a DVD. So you think that a grocery store would routinely accept items for return that were mostly eaten because they didn't suit your taste? The problem is that retailers don't know how much of that DVD you consumed before returning it, so they have to assume you watched all of it. I'd be laughed out of the store if I tried to return a mostly empty jar of jelly, not because there was some kind of material defect, but because I just didn't like the taste.
I think you know why they won't take them back. It's because, again, the content being purchased is non-consumable and can be easily duplicated. If a book could be quickly, cheaply and undetectibly duplicated by a home consumer using a high-tech book duplicating machine (yes, I know about photocopiers, but this is not undetectable, quick or cheap), do you think that book stores would continue to be so liberal about accepting returns? I think not. If the stores themselves weren't willing to recind their "liberal" return policies, you bet your boots that the publishing industry would be all over their backs about it, just like the entertainment industry is up in arms about movie and music duplication.
You're one to talk about bad analogies. Movies are to viewing as food is to eating. Both require payment before they are consumed.
You could make the same argument about the cookie-cutter plots, actors and special effects that Hollywood has been churning out for the last 15-20 years. Again, bad analogy. Like a video rental store, supermarkets are filled with tens of thousands of different food items that most certainly "taste...different than the next". Are you saying that all catsups taste the same? Try telling that to the person that only likes Heinz. Unless you rent the same movie over and over again, your argument falls short.Again, food can't be eaten before you decide to pay, nor do you have any guarantee of standards of "quality" -- in other words, will this suit my personal taste -- when trying a new product (i.e. a new brand of catsup), until you try it.
The supermarket is but one example of many purveyors of goods in this life that require payment before consumption and no guarantee that you'll like the item you chose. I will agree, however, that with non-consumable items such as clothing, most retailers will allow you to return the item for a refund if you decide you don't like it. The problem is that seeing a movie is really purchasing a block of time to consume something that can be consumed, in theory, an infinite number of times. Even if you didn't like the movie, you still consumed that block of time you purchased. What you're really purchasing when seeing a movie in the theater, for example, is the rental of a small space (your seat) to view the movie. The theatre still has to pay its employees and heat the place, even if you didn't like what you saw in that seat.
I know! And the nerve of those greedy grocery stores wanting you to wait and see if you like the food by paying for it first...
Yes, Kansas City most definitely has its rural areas. Even Johnson County -- supposedly one of the 10th wealthiest counties in the nation (at least was at one time) -- has plenty of rural zones in it. Go take a drive around 151st and Anticoch sometime. A nice dichotomy of 3000 sq. ft. houses and the farms they're swallowing up as Overland Park marches southward.
Let's see, these jobs will be going from Blue states to Red states. Hmmmmm......
Well, if it works out, it sounds like a win-win to me: those who supported Kerry's plan to keep jobs from moving overseas got their wish, and those who voted for Bush get to continue to screw those who didn't.
(FYI, I'm a Blue living in a Red state)
Hopefully these minutes weren't typed by Bill Burkett on his P4 using OpenOffice and then printed from his Canon PIXMA iP5000...
It's pretty much universally accepted that mortgage debt is good debt (if you can truly afford the house, that is -- i.e. you didn't buy a million dollar house on a $30K salary). Unlike other personal loans, you get a tax deduction for the interest you pay. And current mortgage interest rates make it more cost effective to pay 7% interest so you can put any savings you have into the market that historically pays an average of 10% a year.
I have three categories that I put data into, that I've decided to call Red, Yellow and Green.
Red data is the most important and irreplacable -- things like financial data, things I've written, important emails, family videos, etc.
Yellow data is not as important, but would be in inconvenience to replace -- things like purchased software, esoteric software drivers, etc.
Green data is data that I like to have on hand but that could be easily replaced or that are updated frequently -- things like Linux distributions, freeware, etc.
For the Red data, I create PAR2 parity files and burn 3 copies (with the PAR2 data). One is stored at home, one at work and one in a safety deposit box. Sensative data (like financial data) is encrypted with a key located in the deposit box.
For the Yellow data, I burn 2 copies. One is stored at home and the other at work.
For the Green data, I burn 1 copy.
I will still need to keep an eye on the Red data and check the copies once every year or two, perhaps reburning to the most current technology, but I feel fairly confident that this data is safe, having three copies in different geographic locations, each with redundant parity files (with 10-20% redundancy) that can be used to reconstruct damaged data.
YMMV. Hopefully my scheme works; I haven't had any catastrophic events that affect my data yet.
I've made arguments along these lines to people who play the "righteous religion" card on Bush. Great job on your post. It's amazing how many people focus on certain "Book X, Chapter Y, Verse Z" of the Bible and completely ignore the overarching themes in the bible of compassion, etc.
...of alienation extends to his website.
My (and probably a lot of others') employee ID is unfortunately my social security number. Like hell I'm giving you that.
Given the ubiquity of WiFi these days, I'm assuming "the toilet" doesn't count as a strange place anymore...
Lest you think that Indians can't have the name "Fernandes" or not be "traditional" (as you put it), you'd better brush up on your history and geography.
There is no 'need' to use indentation when writing code in most modern programming languages (C, Java, etc.), but it sure helps the readability of the code. Same rule applies to judicious and consistent use of CAPS in something like SQL. Not everyone likes to use or has access to a syntax highlighting editor; CAPS (and indentation) are guaranteed to be portable to any editor.
When I read the quotes from the article, I'm seeing people who are 46, 49, 61, 74, etc., so I'm wondering if the figures in this article are representative of all Internet users. Where were the quotes from 8 year olds?
...and the only directions it would send back said "You are standing in an open field west of a white house, with a boarded front door. There is a small mailbox here."
That would certainly explain why florists, hairdressers, and soon have higher job satisfaction -- not a lot of Fortune 500 florists or salons out there...
I currently work for a large telecommunications company and definitely miss my days back at smaller companies, so count me as one of those seven.
It's nice to see graduates of the Milgram Experiment are still alive and well, and posting on Slashdot.
3) Mr. Noodle's brother Mr. Noodle*
*caveat: only (possibly) humorous to those with small children.