"Being that Americans don't hardly even get killed anymore when they wage their war..."
Not to get too far off your point or be an argumentative dick, but I guess this depends upon your definition of "hardly even get killed"
Re:What about conventional fission reactors?
on
Return to the Moon
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· Score: 1
I respectfully disagree with your opening statement (taking it at face value). If our lawmakers and corporate honchos had used some foresight to base policy upon emerging (or future) technologies, we may not have all the legal problems we've had with things like DMCA, DRM, SPAM, etc.
Or that other project "ReligiousIcons@home" where people find the likeness of religious figures in everyday objects like toast, squashed insects, pies, foot fungus, and excrement.
But let's not look at this as a strictly U.S. problem. In reality, the only thing that the Federal Government did wrong was taking no action (essentially, deciding not to decide.)
FWIW, the CT case is not unprecedented:
Six state supreme courts have ruled that private economic development projects are a considered public use: Kansas, Maryland, Minnesota, New York, North Dakota, and (obviously) Connecticut.
Eight states have ruled that private economic development is not considered public use: Arkansas,Florida, Illinois, Kentucky, Maine, Michigan, South Carolina, and Washington.
I would like to see my state added to that list, so off I go to write to my State Representative.
"Nobody wants wind power? The heck nobody wants it! I do, and I'm sure many other posters here do too. I don't find it ugly - I think the turbines look quite nice."
An earlier poster used a Boston Globe article pertaining to an inititative to place some wind power generation equipment in Cape Cod. The most publicized points of contention on either side are those pertaining to "environmental impact." In my experience, the people up here who are so vehemently against this are the people who don't think the turbines look nice and don't want them obstructing their view of the ocean.
Personally, I think they look cool, but I'm not so sure I would want one blocking my view of the ocean if I paid such a great deal of money for an oceanfront home either. The rest of the noise on the subject is just that: noise.
Passwords are nothing new. The concept of using longer, stronger passwords(phrases) is not new.
We have Security Policies, Acceptable Use Policies, User training... Where have we gotten? In my 15 years in the IT field, I have tried to remain a proponent of user education, but I've recently thrown up my hands. Users are STUPID! Most of the people to whom I've provided service over the past decade can't remember not to take a bath with their hair dryer, let alone 7 unique, strong passwords (or one good password, for that matter).
"I think that you fail to see how much better off everyone is when companies have to stop and make sure that their products aren't dangerous..."
With all due respect, companies who have to pay settlements due to class action suits rarely "stop and make sure their products aren't dangerous." AAMOF, as part of the settlements, companies paying them out are often paying their way out of admission that their products are, in fact, unsafe.
Through the evolution of our "great justice system," we've ended up with a vicious cycle: Companies that (directly or indirectly) injured their customers created the need for restitution. Unfortunately, that opened the door for frivolous suits, indemnity insurance, tort law attorneys, etc. These things are now sadly considered a cost of doing business. Imagine if 1/2 the corporate dollars spent on lawyers and insurance companies were spent on R&D...
Exactly. If you'll notice, all shuttles are marked with the letters "STS," which is an acronym for "Space Transportation System." Hell, the word "Shuttle" was used for a reason:
According to Dictionary.com:
shuttle (shtl) n.
a. Regular travel back and forth over an established, often short route by a vehicle.
b. A vehicle used in such travel: took the shuttle across town.
c. A route used by a vehicle in such travel: the Washington-New York air shuttle.
If it can't do what it's supposed to do, why do we have it?
FWIW, I don't think this is a design issue (faulty parts/installation notwithstanding) as much as it is a political one. What needs to happen is for politics to get the hell out of science.
To be fair, there are _MANY_ companies producing medical devices that use the Windows OS. View it as "dangerously stupid" if you wish, however, if you've visited your doctor or a hospital recently, you've probably come in contact with at least one of them. I'm not a Windows fanatic, but having worked at a med. device company for a number of years, I can tell you that for Regulatory Compliance (validation) purposes, off-the-shelf software, such as Windows, can make an enormous difference in the overall cost and time-to-market of a medical device. This could be the difference between a treatment being available or not.
"even games with beneficial or neutral content can be harmful to children because of the connection between gameplay and our obesity epidemic."
I've played these games all of my life. I'm not a criminal. I'm not a sociopath. I'm not overweight.
When are people going to start taking responsibility for the things they and their children do, rather than blaming it upon "outside influences."
Kids become criminals because they aren't taught to NOT be criminals and because their parents are too soft/stupid/lazy to discipline them appropriately
Kids become fat because they eat to damn much.
Exactly! How about an instance in which the governing body makes a mistake? Anyone who has been been blacklisted by a clueless, overzealous NOC admin can attest to the frustration of having to try to undo the damage.
I'm currently dealing with a situation with the jackasses at "SpywareLabs.com" so I hate these scum as much as the next guy and personally wouldn't mind lodging a boot or two in their asses, but asking for internet censorship is asking for trouble.
Just last night, I was sitting in front of the television, mouth agape (I know, it's my fault for sitting in front of the TV!) as a "representative" for a group of Kalahari Bushmen (I am not kidding) was explaining to [Jane Pauley?] that the tribe was angry at a UK-based pharma company for patenting the use of some element of a plant, that they have been consuming for thousands of years, as an appetite suppressant.
I admit that I changed the channel before hearing the rest of the piece, however, I listened long enough for me to realize the absurdity of this entire patent system:
The plant grows naturally. People have been consuming it (Bushmen) for 1000s of years. It's obvious that the plant cannot be patented, but the notion of using the plant (or elements thereof) as an appetite suppressant? I just don't see how realizing (I used the word "realizing" because they really didn't "discover" anything) that the plant suppresses your appetite (something obviously already "known" by the Bushmen) makes using it as an appetite supressant a legally protected concept.
Having spent many years in the "Life Sciences" arena, I can attest to how (sadly) true this is. I hopped on board a small research division of a very large company. The division was essentially a group of scientists who really did (do) care about finding a CURE for a specific disease. The large corporation (who owns another division that benefits greatly from a TREATMENT for said disease) starts to do the math...
research division (whose operating costs were mere pennies on the larger company's P&L.): shut down.
That interesting stories like this are degraded to anti-American propaganda and the hateful jackasses who post garbage like the parent are modded Insightful?
Attention mods! Put down the crack pipe before picking up the mouse.
Slashdot Mirror
"Being that Americans don't hardly even get killed anymore when they wage their war ..."
Not to get too far off your point or be an argumentative dick, but I guess this depends upon your definition of "hardly even get killed"
I respectfully disagree with your opening statement (taking it at face value). If our lawmakers and corporate honchos had used some foresight to base policy upon emerging (or future) technologies, we may not have all the legal problems we've had with things like DMCA, DRM, SPAM, etc.
Or that other project "ReligiousIcons@home" where people find the likeness of religious figures in everyday objects like toast, squashed insects, pies, foot fungus, and excrement.
... welcome our new Supersonic Dust Particle Overlords.
We can all look forward to a newly redisigned Clippy!
Seriously, how about hiring a Security Design Guru...
You know what would be really cool on a T-shirt? "I Teabagged Pedro."
...and chicks throw their panties at me when they see me in my "Free Kevin" T-shirt.
"Does this frighten anybody but me?"
Nope! I'm frightened by it too.
But let's not look at this as a strictly U.S. problem. In reality, the only thing that the Federal Government did wrong was taking no action (essentially, deciding not to decide.)
FWIW, the CT case is not unprecedented:
Six state supreme courts have ruled that private economic development projects are a considered public use: Kansas, Maryland, Minnesota, New York, North Dakota, and (obviously) Connecticut. Eight states have ruled that private economic development is not considered public use: Arkansas,Florida, Illinois, Kentucky, Maine, Michigan, South Carolina, and Washington. I would like to see my state added to that list, so off I go to write to my State Representative.
"What are you going to do?
We're going to move in next to you and ruin your country too.
It's sort of like the NSA selling tin foil hats.
That was probably the most well-deserved bitch slap I've read in months.
"Nobody wants wind power? The heck nobody wants it! I do, and I'm sure many other posters here do too. I don't find it ugly - I think the turbines look quite nice."
An earlier poster used a Boston Globe article pertaining to an inititative to place some wind power generation equipment in Cape Cod. The most publicized points of contention on either side are those pertaining to "environmental impact." In my experience, the people up here who are so vehemently against this are the people who don't think the turbines look nice and don't want them obstructing their view of the ocean.
Personally, I think they look cool, but I'm not so sure I would want one blocking my view of the ocean if I paid such a great deal of money for an oceanfront home either. The rest of the noise on the subject is just that: noise.
Do we even need to RTFA?
Passwords are nothing new. The concept of using longer, stronger passwords(phrases) is not new.
We have Security Policies, Acceptable Use Policies, User training... Where have we gotten? In my 15 years in the IT field, I have tried to remain a proponent of user education, but I've recently thrown up my hands. Users are STUPID! Most of the people to whom I've provided service over the past decade can't remember not to take a bath with their hair dryer, let alone 7 unique, strong passwords (or one good password, for that matter).
"I think that you fail to see how much better off everyone is when companies have to stop and make sure that their products aren't dangerous..."
With all due respect, companies who have to pay settlements due to class action suits rarely "stop and make sure their products aren't dangerous." AAMOF, as part of the settlements, companies paying them out are often paying their way out of admission that their products are, in fact, unsafe.
Through the evolution of our "great justice system," we've ended up with a vicious cycle: Companies that (directly or indirectly) injured their customers created the need for restitution. Unfortunately, that opened the door for frivolous suits, indemnity insurance, tort law attorneys, etc. These things are now sadly considered a cost of doing business. Imagine if 1/2 the corporate dollars spent on lawyers and insurance companies were spent on R&D...
Exactly. If you'll notice, all shuttles are marked with the letters "STS," which is an acronym for "Space Transportation System." Hell, the word "Shuttle" was used for a reason:
According to Dictionary.com:
shuttle (shtl) n.
a. Regular travel back and forth over an established, often short route by a vehicle.
b. A vehicle used in such travel: took the shuttle across town.
c. A route used by a vehicle in such travel: the Washington-New York air shuttle.
If it can't do what it's supposed to do, why do we have it?
FWIW, I don't think this is a design issue (faulty parts/installation notwithstanding) as much as it is a political one. What needs to happen is for politics to get the hell out of science.
OK, I can understand the "coolness" factor of these things, but why all the fanfare over taking a shit?
It's a natural function. Do it, get the hell out, and get on with your life.
To be fair, there are _MANY_ companies producing medical devices that use the Windows OS. View it as "dangerously stupid" if you wish, however, if you've visited your doctor or a hospital recently, you've probably come in contact with at least one of them. I'm not a Windows fanatic, but having worked at a med. device company for a number of years, I can tell you that for Regulatory Compliance (validation) purposes, off-the-shelf software, such as Windows, can make an enormous difference in the overall cost and time-to-market of a medical device. This could be the difference between a treatment being available or not.
Ever want to knock out somebody's teeth when they come up to you on the street asking about "warp drives" and "positronic brains?"
"even games with beneficial or neutral content can be harmful to children because of the connection between gameplay and our obesity epidemic."
I've played these games all of my life. I'm not a criminal. I'm not a sociopath. I'm not overweight.
When are people going to start taking responsibility for the things they and their children do, rather than blaming it upon "outside influences."
Kids become criminals because they aren't taught to NOT be criminals and because their parents are too soft/stupid/lazy to discipline them appropriately
Kids become fat because they eat to damn much.
Exactly! How about an instance in which the governing body makes a mistake? Anyone who has been been blacklisted by a clueless, overzealous NOC admin can attest to the frustration of having to try to undo the damage.
I'm currently dealing with a situation with the jackasses at "SpywareLabs.com" so I hate these scum as much as the next guy and personally wouldn't mind lodging a boot or two in their asses, but asking for internet censorship is asking for trouble.
MOD PARENT UP!
Just last night, I was sitting in front of the television, mouth agape (I know, it's my fault for sitting in front of the TV!) as a "representative" for a group of Kalahari Bushmen (I am not kidding) was explaining to [Jane Pauley?] that the tribe was angry at a UK-based pharma company for patenting the use of some element of a plant, that they have been consuming for thousands of years, as an appetite suppressant.
I admit that I changed the channel before hearing the rest of the piece, however, I listened long enough for me to realize the absurdity of this entire patent system:
The plant grows naturally. People have been consuming it (Bushmen) for 1000s of years. It's obvious that the plant cannot be patented, but the notion of using the plant (or elements thereof) as an appetite suppressant? I just don't see how realizing (I used the word "realizing" because they really didn't "discover" anything) that the plant suppresses your appetite (something obviously already "known" by the Bushmen) makes using it as an appetite supressant a legally protected concept.
Having spent many years in the "Life Sciences" arena, I can attest to how (sadly) true this is. I hopped on board a small research division of a very large company. The division was essentially a group of scientists who really did (do) care about finding a CURE for a specific disease. The large corporation (who owns another division that benefits greatly from a TREATMENT for said disease) starts to do the math...
research division (whose operating costs were mere pennies on the larger company's P&L.): shut down.
That interesting stories like this are degraded to anti-American propaganda and the hateful jackasses who post garbage like the parent are modded Insightful?
Attention mods! Put down the crack pipe before picking up the mouse.
*yawn*
No Worries. I'm glad to see that there are people who are so passionate about exercising the right to vote. I wish there were more like you.