I would be willing to volunteer for a one-way trip to the Red Planet. Crazy? Probably. Suicide? Who knows. Incredible opportunity? Darn right. Give me 5 or more years of notice, a hefty paycheck for those years ($1 million-ish, to toss out a figure) and I would be willing to board the ship on a one-way trip there.
Andy, you got yourself a crewmate! I only require a copy of the Google cache and updates by radio. And I can leave as soon as Thursday evening.
Hell, anything to get off a planet in which John Walsh has a talk show...
So if you know someone with a National Geographic collection dating back that far you can borrow them, or if you're really keen you can head down to your local library, find the issue in question (hopefully with at least one pair of the glasses still inside), take it to an available library internet terminal, bring up the page in question, and view away.
It's also private property in a store, yet it is still illegal to shoplift.
Except your comparison breaks down when we consider that video taping a movie in theater is more like walking into a paper store and photographing their post cards behind a glass display than walking out with tangable property.
My grandfather, a cop during your simpler time, has told me story after story about hucksters, scammers, con men, and all variety of snake oilers.
Wouldn't you expect a police officer who has delt with scammers professionally to be more in-the-know than a "retired electronics specialist?" Your grandfather has obviously been around the block and knows much better, to his admirable credit - but who's to say this guy wasn't at home with his soldering iron?
Nothing gets America going more than a little competition.
Yup.
The article says nothing about the method, the cheapest way (just off the top of my head) would be to update the Saturn 5,
That sounds nice, but practically infeasable. IIRC, there are two Saturn Vs left in the world after Apollo and Skylab. These are in no condition to fly. One is sideways, partially disassembled, exposed to the elements, and "restored," at the Johnson Space Center in Houston (its actually a rather impressive display, if you ever get the chance to see it). I don't rememebr the current location of the other.
More importantly, according to Bill Bryson's book, "A History of Nearly Everything," the bulk of the design notes and "plans" don't even exist any longer, thanks to NASA's thorough house-keeping. We're better off looking elswhere.
but (I think) the best solution would be to leverage a Space Station (one in the "right" orbit) and use that as a way station. That way you could reuse a moon obiter lander repeatedly.
If only to recycle landers, I don't think this would be practical. As far as the Apollo program goes, I believe the actual manafacture of the landers was pretty miniscule. Even if it does make sense as far as cost goes, maintaining a reusable space craft OFF Earth permanently is just asking for trouble. Astronauts can do some pretty impressive tune-ups as it is, but this would be a bit like keeping a destroyer seaworthy with only a mechanic's garage.
But hey, who ever said I know what I'm talking about?
Quick question: does it have to be a corporation owning the database, or can it be a private individual?
Why worry about it? If you feel strongly enough about this, and want to illustrate your point, incorporation is well within the means of the "private individual."
They are pusing down the price to combat the pirated games that's available cheaply, thus puttinng on the cost elsewhere ie. the western world, buy yourself some clue
I just replied to pretty much the same point here.
As long as nobody is selling the games at a loss, there's no need to raise the prices anywhere else. And if they were, why would anyone bother to begin with?
If the Chinese market makes enough money for selling there to be profitable, then you can be sure that the overall margins are being propped up by extremely high margin sales in richer countries.
Um, no. Games in wealthy countries will be sold at the whatever price the market will buy them at. If they could raise the cost, as in your scenerio, they already would have, piracy or no piracy. Companies don't just turn down free money.
Is there any kind of devkit or plans for a devkit? One of the things that adds life to a game are the user created levels. I know I wouldn't be playing Ravenshield these days if all I had access to were the stock maps. This extends to other games as well. If this thing is to have a decent life expectancy then there needs to be some kind of dev kit for user mods.
Their FAQ says they have no plans to release such tools, which I find rather disapointing. Maybe it has to do with their UT Warfare license? Who knows? They go on to explain that they intend to continue to create new content for the game for a few more years. Unfortunatly, I don't have the URL handy, and the website requires flash, which I have no desire to enable, atm.
And if we can't make travel in space safe, then we really shouldn't go.
No, Rusty, let's not to that. You might not be willing to go, and that's fine, but you're extending your own percived risk/benefit outlook as what you wish to be a matter of policy over OTHER people who don't share you view. I'm going to have to ask that you reconsider this. There are plenty of sane people for whom the chance of catastrophe is worth it. Nobody will ever force you off our little planet, but for those who would happily take a gamble, we cannot justify holding anyone back because we wouldn't do it ourselves.
A Chinese mission resulting in a fatality coming home wouldn't be new.
Both the United States and USSR have lost people on reentry. You may recall STS-107 disintegrating earlier this year. I'm not sure about post-Soviet Russia's score on the matter. So far, everyone has had the excellent fortune of never loosing a man IN space, despite several scathingly close calls, and as I understand, this is a point of pride in in both Russian and US space agencies.
And the thought of paying for each message won't improve the quality of discussion. Cell phones, 2-way pagers and now SMS text messages have always been used to conduct trite, illegal, or sexual calls even when it cost something like a buck fifty per minute.
I agree with you, but reading that first sentance I quoted gave me a different idea...
fred (schmoe@dsl.isp.com) entered #smallcozychannel
fred: hello channel
cellphonenoob: hi fr3d
fred: I've noticed a lot of trouble connecting to the server lately.
fred: The website's news hasn't been updated in two days, anyone spoken to a higher up recently?
cellphonenoob: Y do U talk like tat?
fred: Huh?
cellphonenoob: dznt ur fone cmpny chrge like a $ a msg?
fred: No. I use a computer for IRC. Why can't you spell nomrally?
cellphonenoob: omg im typng wit my thums!
fred: Ok... I can see this channel isn't raising mensa entry requirments
I think the best thing a college can do is block or reduce P2P programs, and let students do what they ostensibly are at college for.
For the most part, I agree with what you've said or at least consider it a well constructed argument. However, I've known some students who SHOULDN'T be allowed to do what they are at college for.
Ya right, if we still find texas sized objects that will end up flying within an astronomically small distance from earth in the next Decade, or Century for that matter, than there is no doubt there are things the size of a Volkswagon that are going to come very close to or hit earth and we have no idea yet.
For the most part, that was well put, though I'm not sure what you consider to be "astronomically small distances."
We can track all the space garbage and junk debris orbiting earth, but when a small or even large object moving at 64,000 mph (random number) is going to hit us, than it might never even show up on that "tracking" that NASA does of the earth orbit space debris.
This sort of scenario is beyond the scope of watching the stuff orbiting our planet for the sake of spacecraft and satellites. Though, I get the impression you would envision a fast moving object as being exceptionally difficult to pick out. This isn't so... everything's moving fast in relation to us. The best example I can think of is if you can think back to any recent comets, such as Hale-Bopp and Hykatutake (spelling?), to a casual observer, they appeared as very bright stationary objects in the sky... especially striking when you consider a comet's motion, when close enough to be viewed without any help from binoculars or a telescope, will appear exhaggerated, as opposed to when they are further out. Though, to be perfectly fair, a comet close enough to the Sun to be readily visible is a very different creature than an asteriod. Regardless, this isn't really a job NASA does; other posters have pointed out there are many amateur and/or professional astronomers who seek out new comets and asteriods as a hobby, and are, likely the best warning we have.
Here is a trivia question: How many planets are visible without a telescope? Most people will answer "five" (Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn). But if you answered "six," congratulations, you can go to the head of the class!
Perhaps we should start calling it the 6th planet at/. just to avoid tedious jokes
The other comments almost have it right. The space.com article isn't counting Earth as a planet visible without a telesceope, which strikes me as a bit absurd as it is most plainly seen in day to day life by a some slashdotters.
I appreciate that. I didn't know about this RealPC project, don't use a Mac, or had any interest in it, but the company is already a couple of notches ahead in my book for being so straightforward in their answer.
Its not as though the new group is repenting. I think I'd be somewhat more impressed if it were the management that actually DID the lying were apologizing for it.
[...]if they don't lock down the service to known, registered client programs, it's just a matter of time until someone creates a high volume IM spambot (if they haven't already).
And when they do, they will block accounts who contact thousands of users with a single message or whatever other characteristics of the spambot exist. This is just a simple part of service maintainence.
By the same logic, its just a matter of time until someone creates a high volume IRC spambot. Such scripts/clients exist, but all well run networks are configured in such away that regular users never see them.
"The ACLU actively supports affirmative action as a remedy for discrimination in employment and education."
[...]
"Equal protection under law" and all that. I don't see how you can look at the 14th amendment as part of a Constitution of principles and pull "active support" for AA from it. Neutrality, maybe, but not active support.
I will agree support for affirmitive action strikes me as a departure from the constitutional literalism usually trademarked by the ACLU. Though, my take on the matter -and my advice to the Ask Slashdot submitter- is to look at the ACLU's stance on issues which matter to you, and donate accordingly. Then donate to groups favoring your positions differing from the ACLU as you see fit. If you're significantly incompatable, don't give anything, obviously. Then perhaps see if John Ashcroft needs another paper pusher:)
Slashdot Mirror
I would be willing to volunteer for a one-way trip to the Red Planet. Crazy? Probably. Suicide? Who knows. Incredible opportunity? Darn right. Give me 5 or more years of notice, a hefty paycheck for those years ($1 million-ish, to toss out a figure) and I would be willing to board the ship on a one-way trip there.
Andy, you got yourself a crewmate! I only require a copy of the Google cache and updates by radio. And I can leave as soon as Thursday evening.
Hell, anything to get off a planet in which John Walsh has a talk show...
So if you know someone with a National Geographic collection dating back that far you can borrow them, or if you're really keen you can head down to your local library, find the issue in question (hopefully with at least one pair of the glasses still inside), take it to an available library internet terminal, bring up the page in question, and view away.
I just used a Tostitos bag and a coat hanger.
Please don't mod me as funny...
It's also private property in a store, yet it is still illegal to shoplift.
Except your comparison breaks down when we consider that video taping a movie in theater is more like walking into a paper store and photographing their post cards behind a glass display than walking out with tangable property.
My grandfather, a cop during your simpler time, has told me story after story about hucksters, scammers, con men, and all variety of snake oilers.
Wouldn't you expect a police officer who has delt with scammers professionally to be more in-the-know than a "retired electronics specialist?" Your grandfather has obviously been around the block and knows much better, to his admirable credit - but who's to say this guy wasn't at home with his soldering iron?
A pilot that hits a penguin is in serious trouble.
Especially since the Linux community can be so hostile!
Nothing gets America going more than a little competition.
Yup.
The article says nothing about the method, the cheapest way (just off the top of my head) would be to update the Saturn 5,
That sounds nice, but practically infeasable. IIRC, there are two Saturn Vs left in the world after Apollo and Skylab. These are in no condition to fly. One is sideways, partially disassembled, exposed to the elements, and "restored," at the Johnson Space Center in Houston (its actually a rather impressive display, if you ever get the chance to see it). I don't rememebr the current location of the other.
More importantly, according to Bill Bryson's book, "A History of Nearly Everything," the bulk of the design notes and "plans" don't even exist any longer, thanks to NASA's thorough house-keeping. We're better off looking elswhere.
but (I think) the best solution would be to leverage a Space Station (one in the "right" orbit) and use that as a way station. That way you could reuse a moon obiter lander repeatedly.
If only to recycle landers, I don't think this would be practical. As far as the Apollo program goes, I believe the actual manafacture of the landers was pretty miniscule. Even if it does make sense as far as cost goes, maintaining a reusable space craft OFF Earth permanently is just asking for trouble. Astronauts can do some pretty impressive tune-ups as it is, but this would be a bit like keeping a destroyer seaworthy with only a mechanic's garage.
But hey, who ever said I know what I'm talking about?
Quick question: does it have to be a corporation owning the database, or can it be a private individual?
Why worry about it? If you feel strongly enough about this, and want to illustrate your point, incorporation is well within the means of the "private individual."
They are pusing down the price to combat the pirated games that's available cheaply, thus puttinng on the cost elsewhere ie. the western world, buy yourself some clue
I just replied to pretty much the same point here.
As long as nobody is selling the games at a loss, there's no need to raise the prices anywhere else. And if they were, why would anyone bother to begin with?
If the Chinese market makes enough money for selling there to be profitable, then you can be sure that the overall margins are being propped up by extremely high margin sales in richer countries.
Um, no. Games in wealthy countries will be sold at the whatever price the market will buy them at. If they could raise the cost, as in your scenerio, they already would have, piracy or no piracy. Companies don't just turn down free money.
Is there any kind of devkit or plans for a devkit? One of the things that adds life to a game are the user created levels. I know I wouldn't be playing Ravenshield these days if all I had access to were the stock maps. This extends to other games as well. If this thing is to have a decent life expectancy then there needs to be some kind of dev kit for user mods.
Their FAQ says they have no plans to release such tools, which I find rather disapointing. Maybe it has to do with their UT Warfare license? Who knows? They go on to explain that they intend to continue to create new content for the game for a few more years. Unfortunatly, I don't have the URL handy, and the website requires flash, which I have no desire to enable, atm.
And if we can't make travel in space safe, then we really shouldn't go.
No, Rusty, let's not to that. You might not be willing to go, and that's fine, but you're extending your own percived risk/benefit outlook as what you wish to be a matter of policy over OTHER people who don't share you view. I'm going to have to ask that you reconsider this. There are plenty of sane people for whom the chance of catastrophe is worth it. Nobody will ever force you off our little planet, but for those who would happily take a gamble, we cannot justify holding anyone back because we wouldn't do it ourselves.
A Chinese mission resulting in a fatality coming home wouldn't be new.
Both the United States and USSR have lost people on reentry. You may recall STS-107 disintegrating earlier this year. I'm not sure about post-Soviet Russia's score on the matter. So far, everyone has had the excellent fortune of never loosing a man IN space, despite several scathingly close calls, and as I understand, this is a point of pride in in both Russian and US space agencies.
I studiously avoided the subtitles. Will have to give it another viewing!
Bandy, may I suggest duct tape?
And the thought of paying for each message won't improve the quality of discussion. Cell phones, 2-way pagers and now SMS text messages have always been used to conduct trite, illegal, or sexual calls even when it cost something like a buck fifty per minute.
I agree with you, but reading that first sentance I quoted gave me a different idea...
fred (schmoe@dsl.isp.com) entered #smallcozychannel
fred: hello channel
cellphonenoob: hi fr3d
fred: I've noticed a lot of trouble connecting to the server lately.
fred: The website's news hasn't been updated in two days, anyone spoken to a higher up recently?
cellphonenoob: Y do U talk like tat?
fred: Huh?
cellphonenoob: dznt ur fone cmpny chrge like a $ a msg?
fred: No. I use a computer for IRC. Why can't you spell nomrally?
cellphonenoob: omg im typng wit my thums!
fred: Ok... I can see this channel isn't raising mensa entry requirments
I think the best thing a college can do is block or reduce P2P programs, and let students do what they ostensibly are at college for.
For the most part, I agree with what you've said or at least consider it a well constructed argument. However, I've known some students who SHOULDN'T be allowed to do what they are at college for.
...just being cute.
That way, both poor countries and linux will grow more and more powerful
I think phrasing it that way makes it much less likely to happen.
A few comments, tek:
Ya right, if we still find texas sized objects that will end up flying within an astronomically small distance from earth in the next Decade, or Century for that matter, than there is no doubt there are things the size of a Volkswagon that are going to come very close to or hit earth and we have no idea yet.
For the most part, that was well put, though I'm not sure what you consider to be "astronomically small distances."
We can track all the space garbage and junk debris orbiting earth, but when a small or even large object moving at 64,000 mph (random number) is going to hit us, than it might never even show up on that "tracking" that NASA does of the earth orbit space debris.
This sort of scenario is beyond the scope of watching the stuff orbiting our planet for the sake of spacecraft and satellites. Though, I get the impression you would envision a fast moving object as being exceptionally difficult to pick out. This isn't so... everything's moving fast in relation to us. The best example I can think of is if you can think back to any recent comets, such as Hale-Bopp and Hykatutake (spelling?), to a casual observer, they appeared as very bright stationary objects in the sky... especially striking when you consider a comet's motion, when close enough to be viewed without any help from binoculars or a telescope, will appear exhaggerated, as opposed to when they are further out. Though, to be perfectly fair, a comet close enough to the Sun to be readily visible is a very different creature than an asteriod. Regardless, this isn't really a job NASA does; other posters have pointed out there are many amateur and/or professional astronomers who seek out new comets and asteriods as a hobby, and are, likely the best warning we have.
Here is a trivia question: How many planets are visible without a telescope? Most people will answer "five" (Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn). But if you answered "six," congratulations, you can go to the head of the class!
-http://www.space.com/scienceastronomy/uranus_mooPerhaps we should start calling it the 6th planet at /. just to avoid tedious jokes
The other comments almost have it right. The space.com article isn't counting Earth as a planet visible without a telesceope, which strikes me as a bit absurd as it is most plainly seen in day to day life by a some slashdotters.
The planets you CAN see with no magnification:Mercury (1) Venus (2) Earth (3) Mars (4) Jupiter (5) Saturn (6) Uranus (7)
Don't believe them!! They're trying to... hey, get out of my room!, AARRRRGHHGHH.....
[NO CARRIER]
How did you submit the comment, then?
"Certified to fight terrorism."
The way the word it, it sounds to me like those Tom Ridge puppeteers want to issue some letters of marques and reprisal is in THIS century!
...nice guy, his friends call him "Zelig."
Why is Slashdot report on stock photos?
I appreciate that. I didn't know about this RealPC project, don't use a Mac, or had any interest in it, but the company is already a couple of notches ahead in my book for being so straightforward in their answer.
Its not as though the new group is repenting. I think I'd be somewhat more impressed if it were the management that actually DID the lying were apologizing for it.
If you double the price and can get me a robot with all the capabilities of a 19 year old cheerleader, I'll call my congressman tonight.
I'd wager that would result in some interested slashdot headlines...
Mod your CheerBot's harsh rejection algorithms
[...]if they don't lock down the service to known, registered client programs, it's just a matter of time until someone creates a high volume IM spambot (if they haven't already).
And when they do, they will block accounts who contact thousands of users with a single message or whatever other characteristics of the spambot exist. This is just a simple part of service maintainence.
By the same logic, its just a matter of time until someone creates a high volume IRC spambot. Such scripts/clients exist, but all well run networks are configured in such away that regular users never see them.
"The ACLU actively supports affirmative action as a remedy for discrimination in employment and education."
[...]
"Equal protection under law" and all that. I don't see how you can look at the 14th amendment as part of a Constitution of principles and pull "active support" for AA from it. Neutrality, maybe, but not active support.
I will agree support for affirmitive action strikes me as a departure from the constitutional literalism usually trademarked by the ACLU. Though, my take on the matter -and my advice to the Ask Slashdot submitter- is to look at the ACLU's stance on issues which matter to you, and donate accordingly. Then donate to groups favoring your positions differing from the ACLU as you see fit. If you're significantly incompatable, don't give anything, obviously. Then perhaps see if John Ashcroft needs another paper pusher :)