I do not think that research should be restrained, just government spending. Much good has come from pure research that was thought by others to be 'wrong'. Perhaps my tongue was clenched a little too tightly in my cheek with my remark.
I didn't say the atomic clocks were being curtailed, just the 'leap-second' for reasons of simplification in some areas, particularly Navigation.
Precision is understood to be necessary to many endeavors; celestial navigation being the most obvious. The atomic clocks are available, in all their accuracy, for all. Even lowly PC users like me get to use it to sync-up my PC clock. There just is no need of 'leap-seconds' in everyday life and it was making more problems than solutions insofar as ocean navigation what with all the instrumentation that needed to be re-calibrated.
I have military experience and have read Heinlein, however I fail to see how one second/year would have any effect whatsoever in a bomb site, arterial trajectory, or cruise missile launch. It would effect, very modestly, a Saturn probe launch; and then, only if the shot were purely ballistic, which they are not. No, 1 part in 31557168 would have little impact on Earthly weaponry.
Yes, the sun can effect the Earth. Weather is caused by the sun. I'm still not seeing the monsoons blowing on the Himalayas like the sails of a frigate and moving the Earth; however, as I said to someone earlier, there is reasonable doubt. I'll have to research this further; perhaps I'll apply for a grant.;->
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Yes, I did know this but wasn't thinking about it with relation to monsoons blowing on the Himalayas. Hmmm... I'm still having trouble with the latter but I'll bow to reasonable doubt. More research needed, I wonder if I can get a grant?;->
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Yeah, OK, I understand all that. The tides are a gravitational effect of the moon - that's outside the Earth so of course the Earth can be effected. Ditto for the solar wind.
My skepticism was about weather, such as monsoons, having a rotational effect on the Earth. My comments, vis-a-vis government grants to effectively go snipe hunting, was to do with just that: Earth originated phenomena effecting it's rotation.
Calculating special position is necessary and tricky as well; remember that the stars are also moving!
It is also my understanding that leap-seconds were an artifact of atomic clocks and has been discontinued due to the disruptions they were having on the scientific community and navigation in general. The atomic clocks, you see, are more accurate than the Earth; what are we trying to measure after all?
That's $0.02 more.
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Isn't there some pesky law about action/reaction? Isn't the Earth a closed system? How then can an Earthly force affect the Earth? Isn't that a little like picking yourself up by your bootstraps?
Just because there are people studying some 'self proclaimed' phenomenon doesn't mean that the phenomenon exists. Ever hear of "Publish or Perish" and government grants? That's what makes the impossible merely costly.
The NY Times, Miami Herald, and a few other liberal papers got together right after the presidential election and "counted all the votes" in Florida, just to prove that Gore really won. Guess what? They conceded that in every way of counting the ballots, G. W. Bush actually won.
Of course that was printed in a small by-line on page ten (or somewhere equally obscure) of the NY Times, I stumbled on it (years ago) while doing a search for something else. If they had determined that Al Bore won don't you think it would have been on page one, and for a month? Was it?
Get over it.
As to "security and integrity" in the voting system, it always comes down to this: "The people who vote don't count, it's the people who count the votes who do." - Joe Stalin
Having some experience with house wiring I have always wondered just how this whole 'internet on power lines' actually works.
I first thought about this with the advent of 'networking over power' in a home. My problem with understanding is with knowing that homes are fed via a center-tapped transformer that delivers 240VAC. The center tap is grounded so ground to one leg gives 120VAC. Now when I connect to a plug (with my network) and my other computer's power is from the other leg of the transformer just what is happening? It would seem that the signals have to go out to the transformer, through it and back to the house for that to work, right? Well, I would think that the transformer would dump the hi frequency network traffic right to ground via the center tap, how does it not?
Of course that it works says, well, that it works, but then does the signal couple to the hi voltage that feeds the transformer? I figure that everybody on the same transformer would be on my network but is it actually everybody in town?...the power-grid?
How will this internet service being offered couple through the power transformers? They are wound to work at low frequencies (60 cycles) so how do the hi frequency internet service couple through?
Will this affect the 'network over power' systems that people use in their homes?
[Too bad Nickola Tesla never finished his power station on Long Island - we'd have one large antenna for power, radio, TV, and internet all together riding massive power-waves around the world.]
I don't know about the metal (as an insulator?) but I'd be on the watch for diamond chips in the not-too-distant future. See:
http://www.apollodiamond.com/about.html
and to a lesser extent:
http://gemesis.com/about.htm
Very high thermal characteristics, radiation hard, much less fagile, optically clear from infra-red through ultra-violet, are among the things that silicon is limited by that are diamond's strengths.
Now they are becoming commercially available as wafers. (Soon anyway.)
I'm not disagreeing with Mr. Franklin. I wish to give up nothing. Thus my remarks vis-a-vis the term limits and sunset clauses.
As a veteran, a former Marine, I know the cost of freedom too well to give it up. If we allow terrorists, or any declared eminy of our country, the ability to hide behind our Constitution we will soon not have it at all.
Just what essential freedom are you being deprived of now that you had prior to 9/11 (and the Patriot Act) anyway?
There is a rising clamor for the Patriot Act to be dismantled, for the 'security vs. privacy' reasoning, but should it be?
Who, exactly has been inconvenienced by this act of self-preservation? The media has been clamouring for victems, yet none serface. Why is that? Consider this, if you will. (Recently posted elsewhere, here at Slashdot, as well.)
Where does privacy end and security begin, and visa-versa? Is the threat from internal terrorists over? Are we secure in our homes, workplaces, and skyscrapers; or, does the threat continue?
If we are not yet secure than what price will we pay for privacy now? It's nice for you and me to have privacy but should those who would plot to destroy our civilization have the privacy to make their plans?
Our Constitution is a wonderful document, and should endure forever, but it is not a suicide pact, after all. During times of war certain liberties have always needed to be suspended (temporarily, as in 'sunset clause') for the greater need of preserving it.
This "we all have to be free and at total liberty to do whatever we want," is an emotion that should have been put to rest when we were weaned from our mother's teat. We all have to live together; and, that means that we all can't do whatever we want, whenever we want.
It's time to grow up and hope that our leaders can get this job done before the F**cking do-gooders screw it all up and we're all bowing to Mecca. So far they are.
Remember that there are also built-in safe guards within our Constitution that secure our continued freedoms. Things like "term limits" will stop any Commander-in-Chief from becoming too powerful. Things like our Congress, that can and do make laws with sunset clauses built-in so that we get our liberties and freedoms back once the problem is settled.
The Patriot Act has such a Sunset Clause, did you know that? It will just go away on it's own. It doesn't need your, or anybodies, help. Our (Republican) Congress did well by us there.
All this decent does, when presented too early (like now), is to embolden our enemies and make the job harder and more dangerous for our troupes. This is a political tactic to draw out the war in order to make the current administration look bad so that some pin-head can win the next election and get more of our people killed. Please don't fall for that trap. You are being played.
Some of our politicians, especially the liberals, don't care about who dies or who wins, as long as they get elected. That is their mission, the rest is just theater to them. Don't fall into that trap, and it is one. Remember, we were attacked and we are responding in a way to insure that we won't be again. That is how it should be.
It's time to grow up. The world is bigger than your basement. Don't let them play on you this way.
They live, while you sleep.
We need to protect ourselves. The current administration is doing that. The term limits and sunset clauses will put everything back the way it was before 9/11, just without the threat of further attacks. Won't that be nice? Isn't that worth something? Think about it.
It's a hard world out there and the boogey-man does want to kill you!
That was a terribly interesting parenthetical aside (or frightening ones depending on where you come down on the security vs. privacy thing), don't you think? I mean, where DO you draw that line?
There is a rising clamor for the Patriot Act to be dismantled, for much the same reasoning, but should it be?
Where does privacy end and security begin, and visa-versa? Is the threat from internal terrorists over? Are we secure in our homes, workplaces, and skyscrapers; or, does the threat continue?
If we are not yet secure than what price will we pay for privacy now? It's nice for you and me to have privacy but should those who would plot to destroy our civilization have the privacy to make their plans?
Our Constitution is a wonderful document, and should endure forever, but it is not a suicide pact, after all. During times of war certain liberties have always needed to be suspended (temporarily, as in 'sunset clause') for the greater need of preserving it.
This "we all have to be free and at total liberty to do whatever we want," is an emotion that should have been put to rest when we were weaned from our mother's teat. We all have to live together; and, that means that we all can't do whatever we want, whenever we want.
It's time to grow up and hope that our leaders can get this job done before the F**cking do-gooders screw it all up and we're all bowing to Mecca.
So far they are.
Remember that there are also built-in safe guards within our Constitution that secure our continued freedoms. Things like "term limits" will stop any Commander-in-Chief from becoming too powerful. Things like our Congress, that can and do make laws with sunset clauses built-in so that we get our liberties and freedoms back once the problem is settled.
The Patriot Act has such a Sunset Clause, did you know that? It will just go away on it's own. It doesn't need your, or anybodies, help. Our (Republican) Congress did well by us there.
All this decent does, when presented too early (like now), is to embolden our enemies and make the job harder and more dangerous for our troupes. This is a political tactic to draw out the war in order to make the current administration look bad so that some pin-head can win the next election and get more of our people killed. Please don't fall for that trap. You are being played.
Some of our politicians, especially the liberals, don't care about who dies or who wins, as long as they get elected. That is their mission, the rest is just theater to them. Don't fall into that trap, and it is one. Remember, we were attacked and we are responding in a way to insure that we won't be again. That is how it should be.
It's time to grow up. The world is bigger than your basement. Don't let them play on you this way.
They live, while you sleep.
We need to protect ourselves. The current administration is doing that. The term limits and sunset clauses will put everything back the way it was before 9/11, just without the threat of further attacks. Won't that be nice? Isn't that worth something? Think about it. It's a hard world out there and the boogey-man does want to kill you!
Ah yes, it was very nice. Of course it was on PBS because no sponser would pick it up - too little market share.
If you want 'real science' all the time, get off the couch and into a classroom. Thats a real reality show, complete with homework and everything. If you do it right there won't be time for the "idiot box" - they call it that for a reason you know.
This is interesting. I sent the following letter to my Senators and Congressman two days ago:
"I was reading about the Chinese launching a man into space and though of what a wonderful opportunity this could be for us; and, what a grave National Security risk it represents if we do nothing.
"As their goal is to explore and possibly colonize the moon, we should find a way to collaborate with them. If you remember, I wrote to you regarding a moon base a few months ago. (Word document attached.)
"I would like to point out the ultimate strategical significance having a moon base would be to whomever had it. I mentioned linear accelerator in my 'case for a moon base' paper, what I failed to do was to point out the use such a device would be as a weapon.
"Imagine if you will, using a linear accelerator to launch a payload of a couple of tons of rock at 20,000 MPH straight at the Earth. Neither chemical nor nuclear warheads would be needed as the 'meteor' would cause more damage than any thermonuclear device could. Having a few small reaction motors on the rock would make it steerable into any city on Earth.
"We would not even be able to fight back. Sending a warhead to the moon base would be entirely futile as it would be seen from a long, long way off and destroyed. We would have to be there already and in sufficient strength to ward off any take-over attack.
"(In 1966, Robert A. Heinlein wrote a science fiction story about this very scenario in his book, "The Moon is a Harsh Mistress.")
"The United States must be a presence on the moon if anybody is going to be. If we cannot collaborate with the Chinese then we have to compete with them and build our own permanent installation on the moon. That installation must include at least one linear accelerator. This is imperative for the survival of our country.
"Personally, I would prefer to collaborate with them (and a coalition of nations) to insure a peaceful and harmonious coexistence.
"However we approach this situation, though, we have to go to the moon for permanence or our Nation will surely perish.
This is only natural. Unix gets about 2% sucessfull attacks because it is the most mature of the Operating systems in general use; Mirosoft gets 26% because it is maturing, but has a ways to go; Linux has more than maturity problems that'll keep it at the top of the 'hit list' for a while to come. It is the least mature so there will be more holes, sorry to pop the 'geek' bubble on this. Also, because it is considered so secure by the open source community, there is less effort to plug the holes. This is the 'see no evil, fix no evil' effect at work. Then again the whole concept of open-source might be working against fixing it, after all, the people working on it can't even agree on common abbreviations, how do they go about coordinating the effort to plug security holes?
It has been said, the more popular an op-sys gets, the more its vulnerabilities will be shown. No amount of wishing will make them go away. People wrote it, it has flaws!
Oh the irony, nurds attacking nurds! Say it ain't so Joe!
I sent the following position paper to all my Congressmen and to JPL as well as NASA. Comments welcome.
To Whom It May Concern:
I believe that as long as we keep probes to Mars and the outer planets confined to robotics than I haven't much of a problem with costs, the science and technology generated pays for itself; however, I believe that we as a nation, and the world as partners, should be concentrating our manned efforts into a permanent Lunar colony.
The benefits of a Lunar base should be self-evident but somehow seem to be on a low priority, if any priority at all. The moon would make a wonderful laboratory for all sorts of science. Sunlight is abundant and could be harvested for microwave transmission back to Earth to help alleviate our energy needs. Collectors could be at both lunar poles thereby providing continuous, uninterrupted energy (except during lunar eclipses).
Observatories are another natural for the moon. Huge mirrors could be constructed and the telescopes used to detect, amongst other things, near-Earth objects that might prove disastrous to life here on Earth. Launching defenses against a threatening asteroid, comet, etc. would also be more cost effective from the moon allowing for larger payloads, even payloads such as reaction motors to push the object into a non-threatening orbit.
The moon could also serve as a base for other solar system exploration for the same reason, easier escape velocity would mean cheaper, larger payloads. With the unrestricted sunlight, even for half the time (away from the poles), linear accelerators would become the 'modus operandi' for launching vehicles back to earth and the rest of the system. Reaction fuel would not be needed except for maneuvering and breaking, again increasing the payload.
The moon should also prove to be a valuable source of minerals; and, as any permanent base would necessarily have to be built underground, finding those minerals would be a by-product of the development of bases.
Once Lunar colonies are established and, to some extent self-sufficient, then manned exploration of the rest of the planets and moons would be more practical.
I am a believer that Robert Heinlein was a visionary in this regard and once the 'romantic filler' for his stories about moon colonization are factored out, his ideas are not only practical but actually the only reasonable road to the rest of the Solar System. Our moon is the natural stepping stone to the planets, the stars, and beyond.
Let's focus on what's practical, economical, and with the highest possible long range payoff. Let's go to the moon and build there for permanence.
Mars is none of those things before the moon is utilized. A manned voyage there, at this time, would be monstrously risky with little or no return on investment. It is staggering to even contemplate the amount of fuel alone that would be required to go there, break into orbit, land, take-off again and launch back to Earth. Mars has a deep gravity well. Not as deep as Earth's but vastly deeper than the moon's.
With linear accelerators (LE) on the moon you could put lots of fuel pods and other supplies into orbit around Mars before a manned expedition even took off to go there. And, once the LE's were built, the cost of sending the supplies there (before the men) would be simply the cost of the supplies, no resources need be expended to get them there beyond the steering and breaking fuel for the containers; and, you'd need to send that however you went.
Doing it like that, you could establish a permanent base on Mars the very first manned trip there and be able to periodically re-supply it just that easy as well.
Just imagine this, the taxpayers would be able to watch the Luna colonies being built with a decent back yard telescope - that's priceless PR in and of itself. Get off the dime, colonize the moon. Save the Mars dream for when it can become a practical reality. We need the moon to make that reality come true.
Absolutly, you have it just right. Consider the geek who is trying to make a name for himself (even in his own mind); why would he attack a computer base that was (collectively) 10% of the market when the 90% market base would generate so much more publicity?
How much national news would an attack on Apple or Redhat even get, if any?
It's all about ego, baby, only ego.
And, on that note, the geek probably has a Mac and/or a Linux system and thinks they are the "Gift from the gods" and, as such, feels it would be sacreligious to attack them.
(Some people build sand castles and some knock them down. The builders learn how to make them stronger, but it's always easier to destroy than to build.)
\Ge"nus\ (j[=e]"n[u^]s), n.; pl. Genera. [L., birth, race, kind, sort; akin to Gr. ?. See Gender, and cf. Benign.] 1. (Logic) A class of objects divided into several subordinate species; a class more extensive than a species; a precisely defined and exactly divided class; one of the five predicable conceptions, or sorts of terms.
2. (Biol.) An assemblage of species, having so many fundamental points of structure in common, that in the judgment of competent scientists, they may receive a common substantive name. A genus is not necessarily the lowest definable group of species, for it may often be divided into several subgenera. In proportion as its definition is exact, it is natural genus; if its definition can not be made clear, it is more or less an artificial genus.
Note: Thus in the animal kingdom the lion, leopard, tiger, cat, and panther are species of the Cat kind or genus, while in the vegetable kingdom all the species of oak form a single genus. Some genera are represented by a multitude of species, as Solanum (Nightshade) and Carex (Sedge), others by few, and some by only one known species. -------
Note that Cat would be genus wherein tigers and lions are species. It is possible for tigers and lions to produce offspring (ligers and tigons, depending on which is the father). Therefore it is neither defined nor practiced that interspicies breeding is prohibited.
I haven't been able to find any hybrids for ape pairings. In fact, to further clarify your question, a hybrid is defined as:
------- hybrid
(Genetics) The offspring of genetically dissimilar parents or stock, especially the offspring produced by breeding plants or animals of different varieties, species, or races. -------
So there you have it, it is definitely possible to cross-breed species from within a genus or subgenus!
When in doubt, look it up.
Idi Amin may have had a chimp or a gorilla for a girlfriend after all! (Maybe one of each! Heh, heh, heh.)
It would explain some rumors about Idi Amin... So will the probate lawyers be looking for these 'apes' when 'Dada' bites the bullet? There could be quite an estate, if they can teach them not to eat the lawyers first (but why do that?)
Pray tell, how do you use a character editor on a drive that the BIOS doesn't recognize? This is a new approach to me, and I've been in the business for nearly thirty years. Please elaborate, I like learning new tricks.
Has anyone looked into using the power lines? Y'all do get 220VAC at your homes, don'tcha. Let the internet ride the power, baby. Surf the 60 cycle waves.
Hi speed to all! Power to the people - broadband to the power.
I love simple solutions to tough problems; or is this not 'hi-tech' enough for y'all?;->
Slashdot Mirror
I do not think that research should be restrained, just government spending. Much good has come from pure research that was thought by others to be 'wrong'. Perhaps my tongue was clenched a little too tightly in my cheek with my remark.
;->
I didn't say the atomic clocks were being curtailed, just the 'leap-second' for reasons of simplification in some areas, particularly Navigation.
Precision is understood to be necessary to many endeavors; celestial navigation being the most obvious. The atomic clocks are available, in all their accuracy, for all. Even lowly PC users like me get to use it to sync-up my PC clock. There just is no need of 'leap-seconds' in everyday life and it was making more problems than solutions insofar as ocean navigation what with all the instrumentation that needed to be re-calibrated.
I have military experience and have read Heinlein, however I fail to see how one second/year would have any effect whatsoever in a bomb site, arterial trajectory, or cruise missile launch. It would effect, very modestly, a Saturn probe launch; and then, only if the shot were purely ballistic, which they are not. No, 1 part in 31557168 would have little impact on Earthly weaponry.
Grok this?
Yes, the sun can effect the Earth. Weather is caused by the sun. I'm still not seeing the monsoons blowing on the Himalayas like the sails of a frigate and moving the Earth; however, as I said to someone earlier, there is reasonable doubt. I'll have to research this further; perhaps I'll apply for a grant. ;->
Yes, I did know this but wasn't thinking about it with relation to monsoons blowing on the Himalayas. Hmmm... I'm still having trouble with the latter but I'll bow to reasonable doubt. More research needed, I wonder if I can get a grant? ;->
Yeah, OK, I understand all that. The tides are a gravitational effect of the moon - that's outside the Earth so of course the Earth can be effected. Ditto for the solar wind.
My skepticism was about weather, such as monsoons, having a rotational effect on the Earth. My comments, vis-a-vis government grants to effectively go snipe hunting, was to do with just that: Earth originated phenomena effecting it's rotation.
Calculating special position is necessary and tricky as well; remember that the stars are also moving!
It is also my understanding that leap-seconds were an artifact of atomic clocks and has been discontinued due to the disruptions they were having on the scientific community and navigation in general. The atomic clocks, you see, are more accurate than the Earth; what are we trying to measure after all?
That's $0.02 more.
Isn't there some pesky law about action/reaction? Isn't the Earth a closed system? How then can an Earthly force affect the Earth? Isn't that a little like picking yourself up by your bootstraps?
Just because there are people studying some 'self proclaimed' phenomenon doesn't mean that the phenomenon exists. Ever hear of "Publish or Perish" and government grants? That's what makes the impossible merely costly.
Happy New Year
One way to perpetrate a lie is to omit the truth
The NY Times, Miami Herald, and a few other liberal papers got together right after the presidential election and "counted all the votes" in Florida, just to prove that Gore really won. Guess what? They conceded that in every way of counting the ballots, G. W. Bush actually won.
Of course that was printed in a small by-line on page ten (or somewhere equally obscure) of the NY Times, I stumbled on it (years ago) while doing a search for something else. If they had determined that Al Bore won don't you think it would have been on page one, and for a month? Was it?
Get over it.
As to "security and integrity" in the voting system, it always comes down to this: "The people who vote don't count, it's the people who count the votes who do." - Joe Stalin
I'm Aime Watts, and that's the way it is.
Having some experience with house wiring I have always wondered just how this whole 'internet on power lines' actually works.
...the power-grid?
I first thought about this with the advent of 'networking over power' in a home. My problem with understanding is with knowing that homes are fed via a center-tapped transformer that delivers 240VAC. The center tap is grounded so ground to one leg gives 120VAC. Now when I connect to a plug (with my network) and my other computer's power is from the other leg of the transformer just what is happening? It would seem that the signals have to go out to the transformer, through it and back to the house for that to work, right? Well, I would think that the transformer would dump the hi frequency network traffic right to ground via the center tap, how does it not?
Of course that it works says, well, that it works, but then does the signal couple to the hi voltage that feeds the transformer? I figure that everybody on the same transformer would be on my network but is it actually everybody in town?
How will this internet service being offered couple through the power transformers? They are wound to work at low frequencies (60 cycles) so how do the hi frequency internet service couple through?
Will this affect the 'network over power' systems that people use in their homes?
[Too bad Nickola Tesla never finished his power station on Long Island - we'd have one large antenna for power, radio, TV, and internet all together riding massive power-waves around the world.]
Just curious...
Aime Watts
aimew@sprintmail.com
I don't know about the metal (as an insulator?) but I'd be on the watch for diamond chips in the not-too-distant future. See:
http://www.apollodiamond.com/about.html
and to a lesser extent:
http://gemesis.com/about.htm
Very high thermal characteristics, radiation hard, much less fagile, optically clear from infra-red through ultra-violet, are among the things that silicon is limited by that are diamond's strengths.
Now they are becoming commercially available as wafers. (Soon anyway.)
Moores(sp?) law is in no danger.
I'm not disagreeing with Mr. Franklin. I wish to give up nothing. Thus my remarks vis-a-vis the term limits and sunset clauses.
As a veteran, a former Marine, I know the cost of freedom too well to give it up. If we allow terrorists, or any declared eminy of our country, the ability to hide behind our Constitution we will soon not have it at all.
Just what essential freedom are you being deprived of now that you had prior to 9/11 (and the Patriot Act) anyway?
There is a rising clamor for the Patriot Act to be dismantled, for the 'security vs. privacy' reasoning, but should it be?
Who, exactly has been inconvenienced by this act of self-preservation? The media has been clamouring for victems, yet none serface. Why is that? Consider this, if you will. (Recently posted elsewhere, here at Slashdot, as well.)
Where does privacy end and security begin, and visa-versa? Is the threat from internal terrorists over? Are we secure in our homes, workplaces, and skyscrapers; or, does the threat continue?
If we are not yet secure than what price will we pay for privacy now? It's nice for you and me to have privacy but should those who would plot to destroy our civilization have the privacy to make their plans?
Our Constitution is a wonderful document, and should endure forever, but it is not a suicide pact, after all. During times of war certain liberties have always needed to be suspended (temporarily, as in 'sunset clause') for the greater need of preserving it.
This "we all have to be free and at total liberty to do whatever we want," is an emotion that should have been put to rest when we were weaned from our mother's teat. We all have to live together; and, that means that we all can't do whatever we want, whenever we want.
It's time to grow up and hope that our leaders can get this job done before the F**cking do-gooders screw it all up and we're all bowing to Mecca.
So far they are.
Remember that there are also built-in safe guards within our Constitution that secure our continued freedoms. Things like "term limits" will stop any Commander-in-Chief from becoming too powerful. Things like our Congress, that can and do make laws with sunset clauses built-in so that we get our liberties and freedoms back once the problem is settled.
The Patriot Act has such a Sunset Clause, did you know that? It will just go away on it's own. It doesn't need your, or anybodies, help. Our (Republican) Congress did well by us there.
All this decent does, when presented too early (like now), is to embolden our enemies and make the job harder and more dangerous for our troupes. This is a political tactic to draw out the war in order to make the current administration look bad so that some pin-head can win the next election and get more of our people killed. Please don't fall for that trap. You are being played.
Some of our politicians, especially the liberals, don't care about who dies or who wins, as long as they get elected. That is their mission, the rest is just theater to them. Don't fall into that trap, and it is one. Remember, we were attacked and we are responding in a way to insure that we won't be again. That is how it should be.
It's time to grow up. The world is bigger than your basement. Don't let them play on you this way.
They live, while you sleep.
We need to protect ourselves. The current administration is doing that. The term limits and sunset clauses will put everything back the way it was before 9/11, just without the threat of further attacks. Won't that be nice? Isn't that worth something? Think about it.
It's a hard world out there and the boogey-man does want to kill you!
Good night!
That was a terribly interesting parenthetical aside (or frightening ones depending on where you come down on the security vs. privacy thing), don't you think? I mean, where DO you draw that line?
There is a rising clamor for the Patriot Act to be dismantled, for much the same reasoning, but should it be?
Where does privacy end and security begin, and visa-versa? Is the threat from internal terrorists over? Are we secure in our homes, workplaces, and skyscrapers; or, does the threat continue?
If we are not yet secure than what price will we pay for privacy now? It's nice for you and me to have privacy but should those who would plot to destroy our civilization have the privacy to make their plans?
Our Constitution is a wonderful document, and should endure forever, but it is not a suicide pact, after all. During times of war certain liberties have always needed to be suspended (temporarily, as in 'sunset clause') for the greater need of preserving it.
This "we all have to be free and at total liberty to do whatever we want," is an emotion that should have been put to rest when we were weaned from our mother's teat. We all have to live together; and, that means that we all can't do whatever we want, whenever we want.
It's time to grow up and hope that our leaders can get this job done before the F**cking do-gooders screw it all up and we're all bowing to Mecca.
So far they are.
Remember that there are also built-in safe guards within our Constitution that secure our continued freedoms. Things like "term limits" will stop any Commander-in-Chief from becoming too powerful. Things like our Congress, that can and do make laws with sunset clauses built-in so that we get our liberties and freedoms back once the problem is settled.
The Patriot Act has such a Sunset Clause, did you know that? It will just go away on it's own. It doesn't need your, or anybodies, help. Our (Republican) Congress did well by us there.
All this decent does, when presented too early (like now), is to embolden our enemies and make the job harder and more dangerous for our troupes. This is a political tactic to draw out the war in order to make the current administration look bad so that some pin-head can win the next election and get more of our people killed. Please don't fall for that trap. You are being played.
Some of our politicians, especially the liberals, don't care about who dies or who wins, as long as they get elected. That is their mission, the rest is just theater to them. Don't fall into that trap, and it is one. Remember, we were attacked and we are responding in a way to insure that we won't be again. That is how it should be.
It's time to grow up. The world is bigger than your basement. Don't let them play on you this way.
They live, while you sleep.
We need to protect ourselves. The current administration is doing that. The term limits and sunset clauses will put everything back the way it was before 9/11, just without the threat of further attacks. Won't that be nice? Isn't that worth something? Think about it. It's a hard world out there and the boogey-man does want to kill you!
Good night!
Yeah, well I guess that's why they call it 'entertainment' after all. I don't watch much of it myself.
Look at it this way, you get what you pay for and little else. Anything worth anything is worth paying for.
Audit a few classes, that's ceaper and keeps you away from the boob-tube.
Ah yes, it was very nice. Of course it was on PBS because no sponser would pick it up - too little market share.
If you want 'real science' all the time, get off the couch and into a classroom. Thats a real reality show, complete with homework and everything. If you do it right there won't be time for the "idiot box" - they call it that for a reason you know.
Reality is what it is, somebody has to pay the bills. "Pure science" has too few people's interests to attract sponsers.
If you want real science, get off your couch and take a class. What it sounds like is you want a free education.
Wow - not!
This looks more like a desperate search for research funds. I can almost see the write-up:
"ET has axe fetish, leaves clues at Stonehenge."
What an amazing bunch of, well, nothing...
Oh, wait, maybe this'll turn out to be Martian fossils? Or maybe Bigfoot's foot-prints?
Maybe it's just the marks left by whatever means they moved the stones by... ?
Unbelievable.
Maybe I need a better Rx?
Have you never heard of the Discovery & Learning Chanels? or are you looking for a lecturer to stand and talk physics all the day long?
This is interesting. I sent the following letter to my Senators and Congressman two days ago:
"I was reading about the Chinese launching a man into space and though of what a wonderful opportunity this could be for us; and, what a grave National Security risk it represents if we do nothing.
"As their goal is to explore and possibly colonize the moon, we should find a way to collaborate with them. If you remember, I wrote to you regarding a moon base a few months ago. (Word document attached.)
"I would like to point out the ultimate strategical significance having a moon base would be to whomever had it. I mentioned linear accelerator in my 'case for a moon base' paper, what I failed to do was to point out the use such a device would be as a weapon.
"Imagine if you will, using a linear accelerator to launch a payload of a couple of tons of rock at 20,000 MPH straight at the Earth. Neither chemical nor nuclear warheads would be needed as the 'meteor' would cause more damage than any thermonuclear device could. Having a few small reaction motors on the rock would make it steerable into any city on Earth.
"We would not even be able to fight back. Sending a warhead to the moon base would be entirely futile as it would be seen from a long, long way off and destroyed. We would have to be there already and in sufficient strength to ward off any take-over attack.
"(In 1966, Robert A. Heinlein wrote a science fiction story about this very scenario in his book, "The Moon is a Harsh Mistress.")
"The United States must be a presence on the moon if anybody is going to be. If we cannot collaborate with the Chinese then we have to compete with them and build our own permanent installation on the moon. That installation must include at least one linear accelerator. This is imperative for the survival of our country.
"Personally, I would prefer to collaborate with them (and a coalition of nations) to insure a peaceful and harmonious coexistence.
"However we approach this situation, though, we have to go to the moon for permanence or our Nation will surely perish.
"Best regards,"
How's that for timing?
The Shift key alone doesn't work, nor does the Alt nor Ctrl keys.
;->
So 'any key' is any key that works, which is 'most any key'.
Is that clearer?
This is only natural. Unix gets about 2% sucessfull attacks because it is the most mature of the Operating systems in general use; Mirosoft gets 26% because it is maturing, but has a ways to go; Linux has more than maturity problems that'll keep it at the top of the 'hit list' for a while to come. It is the least mature so there will be more holes, sorry to pop the 'geek' bubble on this. Also, because it is considered so secure by the open source community, there is less effort to plug the holes. This is the 'see no evil, fix no evil' effect at work. Then again the whole concept of open-source might be working against fixing it, after all, the people working on it can't even agree on common abbreviations, how do they go about coordinating the effort to plug security holes?
It has been said, the more popular an op-sys gets, the more its vulnerabilities will be shown. No amount of wishing will make them go away. People wrote it, it has flaws!
Oh the irony, nurds attacking nurds! Say it ain't so Joe!
I sent the following position paper to all my Congressmen and to JPL as well as NASA. Comments welcome.
To Whom It May Concern:
I believe that as long as we keep probes to Mars and the outer planets confined to robotics than I haven't much of a problem with costs, the science and technology generated pays for itself; however, I believe that we as a nation, and the world as partners, should be concentrating our manned efforts into a permanent Lunar colony.
The benefits of a Lunar base should be self-evident but somehow seem to be on a low priority, if any priority at all. The moon would make a wonderful laboratory for all sorts of science. Sunlight is abundant and could be harvested for microwave transmission back to Earth to help alleviate our energy needs. Collectors could be at both lunar poles thereby providing continuous, uninterrupted energy (except during lunar eclipses).
Observatories are another natural for the moon. Huge mirrors could be constructed and the telescopes used to detect, amongst other things, near-Earth objects that might prove disastrous to life here on Earth. Launching defenses against a threatening asteroid, comet, etc. would also be more cost effective from the moon allowing for larger payloads, even payloads such as reaction motors to push the object into a non-threatening orbit.
The moon could also serve as a base for other solar system exploration for the same reason, easier escape velocity would mean cheaper, larger payloads. With the unrestricted sunlight, even for half the time (away from the poles), linear accelerators would become the 'modus operandi' for launching vehicles back to earth and the rest of the system. Reaction fuel would not be needed except for maneuvering and breaking, again increasing the payload.
The moon should also prove to be a valuable source of minerals; and, as any permanent base would necessarily have to be built underground, finding those minerals would be a by-product of the development of bases.
Once Lunar colonies are established and, to some extent self-sufficient, then manned exploration of the rest of the planets and moons would be more practical.
I am a believer that Robert Heinlein was a visionary in this regard and once the 'romantic filler' for his stories about moon colonization are factored out, his ideas are not only practical but actually the only reasonable road to the rest of the Solar System. Our moon is the natural stepping stone to the planets, the stars, and beyond.
Let's focus on what's practical, economical, and with the highest possible long range payoff. Let's go to the moon and build there for permanence.
Mars is none of those things before the moon is utilized. A manned voyage there, at this time, would be monstrously risky with little or no return on investment. It is staggering to even contemplate the amount of fuel alone that would be required to go there, break into orbit, land, take-off again and launch back to Earth. Mars has a deep gravity well. Not as deep as Earth's but vastly deeper than the moon's.
With linear accelerators (LE) on the moon you could put lots of fuel pods and other supplies into orbit around Mars before a manned expedition even took off to go there. And, once the LE's were built, the cost of sending the supplies there (before the men) would be simply the cost of the supplies, no resources need be expended to get them there beyond the steering and breaking fuel for the containers; and, you'd need to send that however you went.
Doing it like that, you could establish a permanent base on Mars the very first manned trip there and be able to periodically re-supply it just that easy as well.
Just imagine this, the taxpayers would be able to watch the Luna colonies being built with a decent back yard telescope - that's priceless PR in and of itself.
Get off the dime, colonize the moon. Save the Mars dream for when it can become a practical reality. We need the moon to make that reality come true.
Absolutly, you have it just right. Consider the geek who is trying to make a name for himself (even in his own mind); why would he attack a computer base that was (collectively) 10% of the market when the 90% market base would generate so much more publicity?
How much national news would an attack on Apple or Redhat even get, if any?
It's all about ego, baby, only ego.
And, on that note, the geek probably has a Mac and/or a Linux system and thinks they are the "Gift from the gods" and, as such, feels it would be sacreligious to attack them.
(Some people build sand castles and some knock them down. The builders learn how to make them stronger, but it's always easier to destroy than to build.)
According to dictionary.com, genus is defined as:
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genus
\Ge"nus\ (j[=e]"n[u^]s), n.; pl. Genera. [L., birth, race, kind, sort; akin to Gr. ?. See Gender, and cf. Benign.] 1. (Logic) A class of objects divided into several subordinate species; a class more extensive than a species; a precisely defined and exactly divided class; one of the five predicable conceptions, or sorts of terms.
2. (Biol.) An assemblage of species, having so many fundamental points of structure in common, that in the judgment of competent scientists, they may receive a common substantive name. A genus is not necessarily the lowest definable group of species, for it may often be divided into several subgenera. In proportion as its definition is exact, it is natural genus; if its definition can not be made clear, it is more or less an artificial genus.
Note: Thus in the animal kingdom the lion, leopard, tiger, cat, and panther are species of the Cat kind or genus, while in the vegetable kingdom all the species of oak form a single genus. Some genera are represented by a multitude of species, as Solanum (Nightshade) and Carex (Sedge), others by few, and some by only one known species.
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Note that Cat would be genus wherein tigers and lions are species. It is possible for tigers and lions to produce offspring (ligers and tigons, depending on which is the father). Therefore it is neither defined nor practiced that interspicies breeding is prohibited.
I haven't been able to find any hybrids for ape pairings. In fact, to further clarify your question, a hybrid is defined as:
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hybrid
(Genetics) The offspring of genetically dissimilar parents or stock, especially the offspring produced by breeding plants or animals of different varieties, species, or races.
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So there you have it, it is definitely possible to cross-breed species from within a genus or subgenus!
When in doubt, look it up.
Idi Amin may have had a chimp or a gorilla for a girlfriend after all! (Maybe one of each! Heh, heh, heh.)
It would explain some rumors about Idi Amin... So will the probate lawyers be looking for these 'apes' when 'Dada' bites the bullet? There could be quite an estate, if they can teach them not to eat the lawyers first (but why do that?)
Pray tell, how do you use a character editor on a drive that the BIOS doesn't recognize? This is a new approach to me, and I've been in the business for nearly thirty years. Please elaborate, I like learning new tricks.
Has anyone looked into using the power lines? Y'all do get 220VAC at your homes, don'tcha. Let the internet ride the power, baby. Surf the 60 cycle waves.
;->
Hi speed to all! Power to the people - broadband to the power.
I love simple solutions to tough problems; or is this not 'hi-tech' enough for y'all?