Agreed. The typical Congress-critter is woefully ignorant of today's technology. Most couldn't stick their finger up their ass with both hands. Sometimes the best action Congress can take is to go on vacation.
As a citizen of Alabama, I can tell you that we do deserve better AND as a reader of/. we deserve news that really IS news. This is an old story. Very old.
And never trust the door-to-door people selling AT&T. They will lie through their teeth to get you to sign up. Last year one of them talked me into signing up for their service, promising that all local calls were unlimited and that I could still call everybody I currently called as a local call. Yeah, sure. I called them the next day to find out if it were true. Unlimited local calls inside a VERY small area and the calls outside that would be long distance. I cancelled the service immediately and told them that if I ever saw another one of their salesmen in my yard, I'd shoot him.
There is ambiguity to be sure, but it gets worse when people don't know how to say what they mean.
There's a store near here that sells beer and wine. The sign on the door says, "Must be 21 to enter." Well, I'm several years older than 21, so I've never gone in. I know they mean 21 or older, but that's not what the sign says.
I don't want the government to know anything about me. Of course, they have to know a little about me, like my Social Security number and whether or not I've paid my taxes, but beyond that I don't see any need for them to know anything. And, no, I don't have anything to hide.
Buying habits? Travel habits? Books I've read? Internet sites I've visited? No, no, no, and Hell no!
Our main problem on major highways, other than interstates, is that we've turned them into shopping aisles. The U.S. and state highways going into and out of cities are lined with malls, shopping centers, eateries, etc.. It makes for traffic jams possible even not in rush hour. I've seen bypasses built only to be crowded with shopping centers in only a couple of years.
The problem with interstates is that they go THROUGH cities!! Whoever came up with that brilliant idea should be drawn and quartered. It would have been SO much better if they had been built to go around downtown with spurs built to go into town.
If we're going to insist on commuting by automobile, then the highways going into cities are going to have to be limited-access highways. Leave the interstates to through traffic. Go look up the word "interstate".
It would help matters greatly if traffic engineers actually got out and drove on the streets and highways they try to manage. I imagine that their commute to and from work is quite problem-free.
1. Reduce the number of redlights needed and make the ones left more intelligent
2. Use more public transportation, especially for commuting
3. Get the idiots off the road
4. All exits should be to the right, because exits to the left mix fast and slow traffic
5. Restrict 18-wheelers to the right lane only and make them use by-passes when available
6. Get the idiots off the road.
7. Move wrecked vehicles off the highway as soon as possible, even if it means coming back to tow them later. Why shut down a whole interstate because of a vehicle in the median waiting for a tow truck?
8. Make not using turn indicators a MAJOR fine, at least $500.
9. Extend onramp and acceleration lanes
10. Get the freaking idiots off the road!
Idiots include - people talking on the phone, reading the paper, putting on makeup, sight-seeing, watching DVDs or TV, . . . you get the idea.
I can afford to lose one or two of them. Several years ago when my mother's office "upgraded" their computers, I got a bunch of the older keyboards. The action is fantastic, a real pleasure to type on for extended periods. Most are unmarked, but a couple of them are labeled IBM.
Okay, I haven't read all of the posts on this topic, so if somebody has already made this point, sue me.
It was brought up on the Neal Boortz radio show today that if a police officer asks for your name, he's searching for information. Therefore, if you voluntarily give him your name, you've just consented to a search. Could be, but I'd like to hear from a lawyer well versed in Constitutional law first.
The other scary thing I heard today was that Bush plans to unveil next month a sweeping mental health initiative that recommends screening for every citizen and promotes the use of expensive antidepressants and antipsychotic drugs favored by supporters of the administration.
Damn! If that's not getting close to a totalitarian state, I don't know what is. We're just a step or two away from hearing, "Your papers, please."
Both Republicans and Democrats want to control your life. The only difference is which areas of your life they want to control.
Not a book, but I've found it to be very helpful - dpreview has forums covering most digital cameras. You can ask questions or search for topics you're interested in. Also, if you read the in-depth review of your camera on the same site, the complicated settings are usually explained in detail.
Most of the USGS topo maps I've seen are older than Microsoft, some even older than Bill Gates. They aren't updated very often and are useless for finding roads and streets. I use USGS maps for hiking and they ARE useful for that.
Microsoft's terraserver is a PITA to use. Get "usaphotomaps" from jdmcox It's a great way to get photos and topos that you can zoom in and out of easily. The topos are still older than dirt, but the aerial photos are just a few years old.
The fact that a music "industry" exists at all is enough to tell what's wrong. Music should not be an industry.
I believe musicians should be compensated for their work, but the way we're going about it is all wrong. Just listen to what the "industry approach" has produced. And every year that goes by it gets worse.
Yes, every once in a while good music makes it out, but that is in spite of the industry, not because of it.
I just came back here and was surprised to see the reactions to my post.
I was married to a female cop, so don't lump me with those who dislike cops. I also know a lot of cops and they're good people. Most every one I've ever met has a good sense of humor.
They will run the tag, but they'll laugh about it when they realize it's a joke. The ones I've told about the tag idea always say it would be a good joke. It's something a crook wouldn't do intentionally; they tend to want to stay away from police scrutiny.
People who own more than one car sometimes accidentally switch tags and that causes more trouble than funny tags; you could get a ticket for that.
Speaking of car tags, if you really want to mess with the police, get a personalized tag that doesn't make sense. For example, if you own a 1999 Chevrolet, get a tag that says "98 FORD". When they see it, they have to run it through the computer just to see if it's been stolen. And they will run it every time they see it.
you are required to present your driver's license for examination upon the request of any bona-fide law officer
Even if you're just walking down the street!?!? For God's sake, that's like Nazi Germany back in the forties.
When I'm driving anywhere in the U.S., it's easy to spot a Virginia driver. They are either driving at exactly the speed limit (having been beaten about the head for speeding in VA) or they're speeding at 20+ mph over the speed limit (pent-up frustration finally let free after getting out of VA).
I'm whining because the metro area I live in is not one of the areas that has traffic and weather on XM.
I didn't go to XM to get away from Clear Channel; I just like having the kind of music I like coming in clear and strong no matter where I happen to be. Plus, I can listen to Coast-to-Coast with George Noory and Art Bell in tiny little towns that have no night-time stations (and I work in a lot of small towns!).
I have seen warning signs at several service stations. Expect to see it written into law in your area if it's not already.
As for the possibility of static electricity igniting gasoline vapors, don't get back in your vehicle after you start pumping the gas. Wait until you've finished to get back in. If you're filling a container, read the warnings on the container. Some of the plastic containers are really bad about causing static electricity.
Slashdot Mirror
is learning how to pronounce it.
Hell, I just learned how to pronounce MySQL.
--
Solitary, self-taught geek.
Agreed. The typical Congress-critter is woefully ignorant of today's technology. Most couldn't stick their finger up their ass with both hands. Sometimes the best action Congress can take is to go on vacation.
As a citizen of Alabama, I can tell you that we do deserve better AND as a reader of /. we deserve news that really IS news. This is an old story. Very old.
And never trust the door-to-door people selling AT&T. They will lie through their teeth to get you to sign up. Last year one of them talked me into signing up for their service, promising that all local calls were unlimited and that I could still call everybody I currently called as a local call. Yeah, sure. I called them the next day to find out if it were true. Unlimited local calls inside a VERY small area and the calls outside that would be long distance. I cancelled the service immediately and told them that if I ever saw another one of their salesmen in my yard, I'd shoot him.
AT&T can die a long, slow, painful death.
There is ambiguity to be sure, but it gets worse when people don't know how to say what they mean.
There's a store near here that sells beer and wine. The sign on the door says, "Must be 21 to enter." Well, I'm several years older than 21, so I've never gone in. I know they mean 21 or older, but that's not what the sign says.
I don't want the government to know anything about me. Of course, they have to know a little about me, like my Social Security number and whether or not I've paid my taxes, but beyond that I don't see any need for them to know anything. And, no, I don't have anything to hide.
Buying habits? Travel habits? Books I've read? Internet sites I've visited? No, no, no, and Hell no!
A couple of added thoughts -
Our main problem on major highways, other than interstates, is that we've turned them into shopping aisles. The U.S. and state highways going into and out of cities are lined with malls, shopping centers, eateries, etc.. It makes for traffic jams possible even not in rush hour. I've seen bypasses built only to be crowded with shopping centers in only a couple of years.
The problem with interstates is that they go THROUGH cities!! Whoever came up with that brilliant idea should be drawn and quartered. It would have been SO much better if they had been built to go around downtown with spurs built to go into town.
If we're going to insist on commuting by automobile, then the highways going into cities are going to have to be limited-access highways. Leave the interstates to through traffic. Go look up the word "interstate".
It would help matters greatly if traffic engineers actually got out and drove on the streets and highways they try to manage. I imagine that their commute to and from work is quite problem-free.
Oh, c'mon. We *all* forget to signal sometimes
Well, my first thought was the death penalty, but I backed away from that.
Just some ideas.
1. Reduce the number of redlights needed and make the ones left more intelligent
2. Use more public transportation, especially for commuting
3. Get the idiots off the road
4. All exits should be to the right, because exits to the left mix fast and slow traffic
5. Restrict 18-wheelers to the right lane only and make them use by-passes when available
6. Get the idiots off the road.
7. Move wrecked vehicles off the highway as soon as possible, even if it means coming back to tow them later. Why shut down a whole interstate because of a vehicle in the median waiting for a tow truck?
8. Make not using turn indicators a MAJOR fine, at least $500.
9. Extend onramp and acceleration lanes
10. Get the freaking idiots off the road!
Idiots include - people talking on the phone, reading the paper, putting on makeup, sight-seeing, watching DVDs or TV, . . . you get the idea.
I can afford to lose one or two of them. Several years ago when my mother's office "upgraded" their computers, I got a bunch of the older keyboards. The action is fantastic, a real pleasure to type on for extended periods. Most are unmarked, but a couple of them are labeled IBM.
My keyboard is one of those old ones (no windows key). It weighs almost 5 pounds. I could probably knock someone out with it and it would still work.
Okay, I haven't read all of the posts on this topic, so if somebody has already made this point, sue me.
It was brought up on the Neal Boortz radio show today that if a police officer asks for your name, he's searching for information. Therefore, if you voluntarily give him your name, you've just consented to a search. Could be, but I'd like to hear from a lawyer well versed in Constitutional law first.
The other scary thing I heard today was that Bush plans to unveil next month a sweeping mental health initiative that recommends screening for every citizen and promotes the use of expensive antidepressants and antipsychotic drugs favored by supporters of the administration.
Damn! If that's not getting close to a totalitarian state, I don't know what is. We're just a step or two away from hearing, "Your papers, please."
Both Republicans and Democrats want to control your life. The only difference is which areas of your life they want to control.
Not a book, but I've found it to be very helpful - dpreview has forums covering most digital cameras. You can ask questions or search for topics you're interested in. Also, if you read the in-depth review of your camera on the same site, the complicated settings are usually explained in detail.
dpreview forums
Most of the USGS topo maps I've seen are older than Microsoft, some even older than Bill Gates. They aren't updated very often and are useless for finding roads and streets. I use USGS maps for hiking and they ARE useful for that.
Microsoft's terraserver is a PITA to use. Get "usaphotomaps" from jdmcox It's a great way to get photos and topos that you can zoom in and out of easily. The topos are still older than dirt, but the aerial photos are just a few years old.
The fact that a music "industry" exists at all is enough to tell what's wrong. Music should not be an industry.
I believe musicians should be compensated for their work, but the way we're going about it is all wrong. Just listen to what the "industry approach" has produced. And every year that goes by it gets worse.
Yes, every once in a while good music makes it out, but that is in spite of the industry, not because of it.
That's not really as funny as you might think. I'm a widower since 2001.
I just came back here and was surprised to see the reactions to my post.
I was married to a female cop, so don't lump me with those who dislike cops. I also know a lot of cops and they're good people. Most every one I've ever met has a good sense of humor.
They will run the tag, but they'll laugh about it when they realize it's a joke. The ones I've told about the tag idea always say it would be a good joke. It's something a crook wouldn't do intentionally; they tend to want to stay away from police scrutiny.
People who own more than one car sometimes accidentally switch tags and that causes more trouble than funny tags; you could get a ticket for that.
Speaking of car tags, if you really want to mess with the police, get a personalized tag that doesn't make sense. For example, if you own a 1999 Chevrolet, get a tag that says "98 FORD". When they see it, they have to run it through the computer just to see if it's been stolen. And they will run it every time they see it.
And Einstein breaks the rule twice.
which works out to just about 1934 years without hearing the same song twice
It's a shame that there isn't that much good music to listen to for the next 1934 years.
I agree. It would be nice to be able order a real pizza.
Papa Johns --- Last one I ordered from them, the toppings started about 2" from the edge of the crust. Made a 14" pizza into a 10" pizza. Real value.
Well, if Ray Stevens can be his own Grandpa, I guess anything is possible.
you are required to present your driver's license for examination upon the request of any bona-fide law officer
Even if you're just walking down the street!?!? For God's sake, that's like Nazi Germany back in the forties.
When I'm driving anywhere in the U.S., it's easy to spot a Virginia driver. They are either driving at exactly the speed limit (having been beaten about the head for speeding in VA) or they're speeding at 20+ mph over the speed limit (pent-up frustration finally let free after getting out of VA).
I'm whining because the metro area I live in is not one of the areas that has traffic and weather on XM.
I didn't go to XM to get away from Clear Channel; I just like having the kind of music I like coming in clear and strong no matter where I happen to be. Plus, I can listen to Coast-to-Coast with George Noory and Art Bell in tiny little towns that have no night-time stations (and I work in a lot of small towns!).
I have seen warning signs at several service stations. Expect to see it written into law in your area if it's not already.
As for the possibility of static electricity igniting gasoline vapors, don't get back in your vehicle after you start pumping the gas. Wait until you've finished to get back in. If you're filling a container, read the warnings on the container. Some of the plastic containers are really bad about causing static electricity.