Frankly in the long run its cheaper and safer for EVERYONE to drive an economy car, and rent a larger vehicle when you NEED one. You know that MAYBE once a year or every two years that you might move, or maybe that weekend or two you actually go camping.
Um...some of us actually get out more than that. So far this year I've averaged spending 3 out of 4 weekends in the woods caving, climbing, camping or hiking.
Bryan
Re:Not necessarily the war yet
on
Strike on Iraq
·
· Score: 1
But they don't deserve insults or disrespect either - it's not their fault that the ones calling the shots are idiots.
Here, Here!
Thats the best comment I've read all night. Buy the man a drink and mod him up:)
Re:Not necessarily the war yet
on
Strike on Iraq
·
· Score: 1
Yeah, 'cause the greatest threat to freedom of speech is Saddam Hussein. Suuure. Then again, you might mean they need the gas for their SUVs to get to the protest.
No one said anything about WHY the troops are over there. But the fact is, whereever our troops go...they are there to defend the Constitution and to uphold the Democratic values that all Americans cherish.
Oil...could be a reason for GW sending our men and women into harms way. I don't really see ANY good reason for sending them there.
Fact remains though...feel free to express your displeasure or pleasure over the war but remember to support the troops.
But feel free to spit on any politician that strikes your fancy!
Re:Not necessarily the war yet
on
Strike on Iraq
·
· Score: 3, Insightful
Yes, you can protest the war and support the troops, but once action starts, the time for protest has passed.
True, you can't protest the potential war anymore but you can still express your displeasure in the fact that there is a war.
I have no problems with people protesting the US presence in Iraq but the troops should never be disrespected (like many were after/during Vietnam).
Mind you, I'm not a tree hugging hippy chick (or dude) but in a democratic nation...being able to express your displeasure with the administrations current policies is what makes the US a great nation.
So to recap....
Both supporters and dissenters of the war should be able to experss their opinions, but both groups should support the troops 100%.
Re:Not necessarily the war yet
on
Strike on Iraq
·
· Score: 4, Insightful
I think when the fighting starts those anti-war protestors should switch to SUPPORTING OUR TROOPS! I know if I was over there I wouldn't want to hear about protests at home, I would want to hear about support.
It is still possible to protest the war but support the troops. Remember that those troops are over there so the protesters CAN protest.
I've never been in any area where people are satisfied with their Sprint service.
I and several friends have had Sprint phones for several years now and have no complaints with them (other than customer service). I have no land line and my Sprint phone has been my only phone for almost 3 years now.
No complaints with dropped calls, no complaints with bad service areas anywhere near an urban area or the interstate (outside of urban areas is a different story though), and no complaints about using the phone in a house or an apartment complex.
Oh and in the last 3 years I've lived in New Orleans (LA), Baton Rouge (LA), North Louisiana, and am currently living in Little Rock (AR).
Here in Arkansas, I frequently go backpacking and rock climbing and hardly ever have a problem getting a digital signal when on top of a mountain even if its miles away from a large town/interstate/mmajor highway.
But I can see how a particular cell phone companies service could suffer in a much more densly populated area.
If you had a scanner embeded in every doorway, you could already track every location you went to, what time, etc.
A buddy of mine works at a local (regional) cell phone/internet company and their employee IDs have an RFID tag in them.
This way you don't ever clock in or out because the door/hall sensors track when you enter/exit the building. They can pull up on a computer where everyone is in the building.
If there is a fire and everyone has to leave the building then they could pull up a list of who never left the building (assuming a wireless connection to a computer that hasn't burned up yet).
Also, if you are supposed to be in some of teh more secure rooms then the doors will auto-open when you approach tehm because of the tag in your ID. Not supposed to be in that room, then the door won't open.
I have a very hard time imagining how the pages would render text only, and at 40cents per log in, I don't feel like trying.
Your bank charges you to use the online account manager? Thats strange becasue here in the US there is a huge push to get people to use direct deposit and online banking.
My guess is it's a lot cheaper doing things electronicaly than having you walk into their brick and mortar store.
Would you like to write a clarification anytime you write your name on anything just because some celebrity has the same name?
And even then, what happens if you have to write your clarification in a place the celebrity doesn't like? i.e. a famous Christian musician has your name and you write for Penthouse. By placing your disclaimer in the Penthouse mag the rock star may not like being associated in any way with that mag.
Or could you charge the famous person for all the free advertisement you are giving him/her?
--can't help ya but I want a lit up keyboard real bad. Always wanted one. I like to be able to sit in front of the monitor but NOT have to have an overhead light to see the keys
Try placing one of those small strands of Christmas lights under your desk. I have had this setup for a few years. I have the lights (blue) strung between the legs/supports of the desk.
When I sit back in my chair I can't see the lights and I have the strand plugged into the aux outlet on my stereo and can turn it off and on by turnign the radio off and on (and when I don't want the radio on I just flip it over to the aux/computer channel).
I've pondered making some kind of LED thing to go under the desk and erplace the Christmas lights but the lights "Just Work".
This is news to me. Mind you I have an old plan (about 2 yrs old) and have just chosen a new one but it doesn't take effect til the next billing cycle.
But when I got my phone the Sprint people TOLD me that if I didn't want to use my minutes to check voice mail then I would have to use a landline to check it.
So if you meant that by using a landline to check your voicemail then I agree. But if you meant checkign you voicemail from the phone itself then AFAIK they do/did charge you.
Hmmm, if slashdot tradition holds up, soon sprint will be discontinuing this service, and quite possibly out of business.
Actually, I have Sprint service adn went to check something on my acount on their website just now. The front page for the Sprint PCS site works but the account site is down.
This brings up an interesting note on ISPs. Why do broadband companies cap bandwidth at all? Why not just divide up the available bandwidth evenly among all the requesting users.
A better question is how come they can send the FBI after you for geting more bandwidth that you have paid for but you can't send the FBI after them for not providing the bandwidth that you have paid for?
Seems like a double standard. Cable company promises a certain level of bandwidth but doesn't deliver so you run some software and get this larger amount of bandwidth.
But you can goto jail whereas teh cable company can't?
Absentee voting, for all the publicity it generated in certain recent elections, is appropriate for a wide range of situations.
One flaw in the absentee voting system that was pointed out on NPR recently is that if you vote early...say 2-3 weeks early and then something changes in the election, what do you do then?
What about the people who voted for the recently dead senator?? (the guy who mondale is replacing)?
If you have voted by absentee for the dead guy and now you want to change your vote...how is that accomplished?
By voting early you have allowed yourself to be an uninformed voter (uninformed of the last 3 weeks at least) and by voting for the dead guy should your vote automaticly go towards his replacement? Or should you be allowed to revote?
Whatever the choice on that issue it would be easier to implemment that the same situation for serviceman or citizens in foreign countries.
I'm not knockign anyone's choice to vote absentee but it does carry some risks.
Another problem that occurs to me is that we don't ID people to vote. That would help eliminate alot of voter fraud, but certainly not all. Why can't we simply look at someone's driver's liscense or state ID card when they come to vote?
In Louisiana, we show our driver liscense to vote. I nkow I've done so many times. I think you can just show a voter card but I never remember to bring that with me. It's easier for me to show my DL and have them look my name up on a roll.
I think the voter card is used because not everyone has a state issued ID card. Now I don't know why they don't have an ID card or who they get about with normal living but thats my guess about that policy.
the biggest problem is that our elections are from 7amto 7pm on TUESDAYS! They need to move the elections to Sundays and open the polls for 24 hours. As it is, alot of people are simply unable to vote because of work and commutes.
Anywhere I have worked at you are allowed to miss work for a couple of hours (ie half-day), get paid for this time off and go vote.
Mind you, I haven't worked in a situation where my commute is so far that I couldn't make it home, vote and return to work but I guess you could just come into work late (after voting).
As far as leaving the polls open for 24 hours, most places have a very hard time getting enough people to man the polls for the 12 hours they are open now. Getting enough people for 24 hour operation would be a disaster or impossible in a lot of places.
Well, the I personally think that this method works out the best - and plus - let's say u were popular - wouldn't having every tom, dick and harry calling u in America cost the reciever a lot of money?
I don't know if the overseas people understand that in America, we don't usually pay per-minute charges.
You pay a monthly service charge and get a set amount of minutes that are used for incomming or outgoing calls.
Cell phones need to move towards a pay one flat rate and unlimited usage. I view it as old-style internet charges. Eventually (I guess after they recoup soem initial investment costs) the cell phone companies will move towards a flat rate plan.
As for your complaint about drivers with cell phones, there are earphones that allow a driver to keep both hands on the wheel.
It's not that they are holding the phone with one had (although that doesn't help the problem) but there was a 20/20 or Nightline style news show that had people drive while counting backwards (from some large 5 digit number) by 7's.
The study showed that the people who were counting backwards drove as badly as people talking on cell phones.
So it's not just the act of holding the phone but the mental strain of paying a lot of attention tothe call and not enough attention to whats on teh road in front of them.
Think of how much faster people are able to call 911 to report a stranded motorist or a crime being committed and how many lives are saved because of cell phones.
I think this is a great use of cell phones. But notice that you aren't talking about people driving while talking and then having to get off the phone to call 911.
Am I the only one who thinks that the Loads are better than the black album?
Probably.
But usually there are two schools of thought on Metallica. Either you like the old stuff and realize that the new stuff is mostly cover songs and re-hashed old stuff or you like the new stuff.
Personally (as if you couldn't tell from above:) I like the older, pre-black, albums a lot more than the albums that have been released since black.
What is there to "deal" with about people talking on phones?
I'm finewith people who talk on the phone but its the super-freaking loud RINGER that people use that gets on my nerves.
I don't need to hear some 4-note song being blared at 60-db nor do I want to hear a semi-normal telephone ringer. And what about the people who choose not to leave voice mail and call over and over again?!?! If the person didn't answer then leave a message, thats why he pays for voice mail.
My favorite phone ringer is on a Samsung 3500. It's called "1-Beep" and when I get a call all the phone does is beep once. It's super easy to ignore if I don't want to (or can't) answer the phone and it hardly gets more than a slight glance from others.
Slashdot Mirror
Frankly in the long run its cheaper and safer for EVERYONE to drive an economy car, and rent a larger vehicle when you NEED one. You know that MAYBE once a year or every two years that you might move, or maybe that weekend or two you actually go camping.
Um...some of us actually get out more than that. So far this year I've averaged spending 3 out of 4 weekends in the woods caving, climbing, camping or hiking.
Bryan
But they don't deserve insults or disrespect either - it's not their fault that the ones calling the shots are idiots.
:)
Here, Here!
Thats the best comment I've read all night. Buy the man a drink and mod him up
Yeah, 'cause the greatest threat to freedom of speech is Saddam Hussein. Suuure. Then again, you might mean they need the gas for their SUVs to get to the protest.
No one said anything about WHY the troops are over there. But the fact is, whereever our troops go...they are there to defend the Constitution and to uphold the Democratic values that all Americans cherish.
Oil...could be a reason for GW sending our men and women into harms way. I don't really see ANY good reason for sending them there.
Fact remains though...feel free to express your displeasure or pleasure over the war but remember to support the troops.
But feel free to spit on any politician that strikes your fancy!
Yes, you can protest the war and support the troops, but once action starts, the time for protest has passed.
True, you can't protest the potential war anymore but you can still express your displeasure in the fact that there is a war.
I have no problems with people protesting the US presence in Iraq but the troops should never be disrespected (like many were after/during Vietnam).
Mind you, I'm not a tree hugging hippy chick (or dude) but in a democratic nation...being able to express your displeasure with the administrations current policies is what makes the US a great nation.
So to recap....
Both supporters and dissenters of the war should be able to experss their opinions, but both groups should support the troops 100%.
I think when the fighting starts those anti-war protestors should switch to SUPPORTING OUR TROOPS! I know if I was over there I wouldn't want to hear about protests at home, I would want to hear about support.
It is still possible to protest the war but support the troops. Remember that those troops are over there so the protesters CAN protest.
The truth is, there are several seemingly innoccent actions that are technically illegal.
Like a blowjob from your girlfriend. Crime against nature or sodomy law violation in a whole lotta states.
I and several friends have had Sprint phones for several years now and have no complaints with them (other than customer service). I have no land line and my Sprint phone has been my only phone for almost 3 years now.
No complaints with dropped calls, no complaints with bad service areas anywhere near an urban area or the interstate (outside of urban areas is a different story though), and no complaints about using the phone in a house or an apartment complex.
Oh and in the last 3 years I've lived in New Orleans (LA), Baton Rouge (LA), North Louisiana, and am currently living in Little Rock (AR).
Here in Arkansas, I frequently go backpacking and rock climbing and hardly ever have a problem getting a digital signal when on top of a mountain even if its miles away from a large town/interstate/mmajor highway.
But I can see how a particular cell phone companies service could suffer in a much more densly populated area.
A buddy of mine works at a local (regional) cell phone/internet company and their employee IDs have an RFID tag in them.
This way you don't ever clock in or out because the door/hall sensors track when you enter/exit the building. They can pull up on a computer where everyone is in the building.
If there is a fire and everyone has to leave the building then they could pull up a list of who never left the building (assuming a wireless connection to a computer that hasn't burned up yet).
Also, if you are supposed to be in some of teh more secure rooms then the doors will auto-open when you approach tehm because of the tag in your ID. Not supposed to be in that room, then the door won't open.
Your bank charges you to use the online account manager? Thats strange becasue here in the US there is a huge push to get people to use direct deposit and online banking.
My guess is it's a lot cheaper doing things electronicaly than having you walk into their brick and mortar store.
And even then, what happens if you have to write your clarification in a place the celebrity doesn't like? i.e. a famous Christian musician has your name and you write for Penthouse. By placing your disclaimer in the Penthouse mag the rock star may not like being associated in any way with that mag.
Or could you charge the famous person for all the free advertisement you are giving him/her?
Does Canada have high income taxes? Sales taxes?
How is the pay in Canada for a Civil Engineer?
Depending on the answers to these questions, I may have found the next place I want to move to :)
Try placing one of those small strands of Christmas lights under your desk. I have had this setup for a few years. I have the lights (blue) strung between the legs/supports of the desk.
When I sit back in my chair I can't see the lights and I have the strand plugged into the aux outlet on my stereo and can turn it off and on by turnign the radio off and on (and when I don't want the radio on I just flip it over to the aux/computer channel).
I've pondered making some kind of LED thing to go under the desk and erplace the Christmas lights but the lights "Just Work".
But when I got my phone the Sprint people TOLD me that if I didn't want to use my minutes to check voice mail then I would have to use a landline to check it.
So if you meant that by using a landline to check your voicemail then I agree. But if you meant checkign you voicemail from the phone itself then AFAIK they do/did charge you.
Press the OK/[Envelop picture] button
Select Voice
Select Reset
Actually, I have Sprint service adn went to check something on my acount on their website just now. The front page for the Sprint PCS site works but the account site is down.
Dunno if it's related but one can hope...
A better question is how come they can send the FBI after you for geting more bandwidth that you have paid for but you can't send the FBI after them for not providing the bandwidth that you have paid for?
Seems like a double standard. Cable company promises a certain level of bandwidth but doesn't deliver so you run some software and get this larger amount of bandwidth.
But you can goto jail whereas teh cable company can't?
Something doesn't smell right...
One flaw in the absentee voting system that was pointed out on NPR recently is that if you vote early...say 2-3 weeks early and then something changes in the election, what do you do then?
What about the people who voted for the recently dead senator?? (the guy who mondale is replacing)?
If you have voted by absentee for the dead guy and now you want to change your vote...how is that accomplished?
By voting early you have allowed yourself to be an uninformed voter (uninformed of the last 3 weeks at least) and by voting for the dead guy should your vote automaticly go towards his replacement? Or should you be allowed to revote?
Whatever the choice on that issue it would be easier to implemment that the same situation for serviceman or citizens in foreign countries.
I'm not knockign anyone's choice to vote absentee but it does carry some risks.
In Louisiana, we show our driver liscense to vote. I nkow I've done so many times. I think you can just show a voter card but I never remember to bring that with me. It's easier for me to show my DL and have them look my name up on a roll.
I think the voter card is used because not everyone has a state issued ID card. Now I don't know why they don't have an ID card or who they get about with normal living but thats my guess about that policy.
Anywhere I have worked at you are allowed to miss work for a couple of hours (ie half-day), get paid for this time off and go vote.
Mind you, I haven't worked in a situation where my commute is so far that I couldn't make it home, vote and return to work but I guess you could just come into work late (after voting).
As far as leaving the polls open for 24 hours, most places have a very hard time getting enough people to man the polls for the 12 hours they are open now. Getting enough people for 24 hour operation would be a disaster or impossible in a lot of places.
Here's a thought. Aren't a lot of first world countries about the size of the average US state?
If so then that means that we average 11000 / 50 = 220 murders per year per state.
Not to bad, if there is an average then SOMEONE has to be above average.
I don't know if the overseas people understand that in America, we don't usually pay per-minute charges.
You pay a monthly service charge and get a set amount of minutes that are used for incomming or outgoing calls.
Cell phones need to move towards a pay one flat rate and unlimited usage. I view it as old-style internet charges. Eventually (I guess after they recoup soem initial investment costs) the cell phone companies will move towards a flat rate plan.
It's not that they are holding the phone with one had (although that doesn't help the problem) but there was a 20/20 or Nightline style news show that had people drive while counting backwards (from some large 5 digit number) by 7's.
The study showed that the people who were counting backwards drove as badly as people talking on cell phones.
So it's not just the act of holding the phone but the mental strain of paying a lot of attention tothe call and not enough attention to whats on teh road in front of them.
Think of how much faster people are able to call 911 to report a stranded motorist or a crime being committed and how many lives are saved because of cell phones.
I think this is a great use of cell phones. But notice that you aren't talking about people driving while talking and then having to get off the phone to call 911.
Probably.
But usually there are two schools of thought on Metallica. Either you like the old stuff and realize that the new stuff is mostly cover songs and re-hashed old stuff or you like the new stuff.
Personally (as if you couldn't tell from above :) I like the older, pre-black, albums a lot more than the albums that have been released since black.
What is there to "deal" with about people talking on phones?
I'm finewith people who talk on the phone but its the super-freaking loud RINGER that people use that gets on my nerves.
I don't need to hear some 4-note song being blared at 60-db nor do I want to hear a semi-normal telephone ringer. And what about the people who choose not to leave voice mail and call over and over again?!?! If the person didn't answer then leave a message, thats why he pays for voice mail.
My favorite phone ringer is on a Samsung 3500. It's called "1-Beep" and when I get a call all the phone does is beep once. It's super easy to ignore if I don't want to (or can't) answer the phone and it hardly gets more than a slight glance from others.
Or like having your dog go missing. Then going outto eat soon thereafter....