What are you missing? The thing that makes sci-fi (as opposed to space opera) interesting -- the human questions. What is it to be human? How do we know we are? What are memories but pictures that we cling to? How long a life must we lead for it to be worthwhile? And so on. Sci-fi, especially as practiced by PKD, uses future technology as a mirror to look at ourselves.
It's okay to think it's boring, though, if you don't like that kind of slow moving thoughtful movie. A lot of people think 2001: A Space Odyssey is boring, and while I love the movie, I can't really tell them they're wrong.
Thanks for the reply. Don't get me wrong...while I enjoy a good explosion filled movie (I am a guy after all), I like a good story, I've enjoyed reading good SF over the years. I STILL like 2001...hell, I was REALLY a kid when I saw that in the original showing in the theater..and I liked it as a kid back then. Like I said..I should like Blade Runner.
But honestly, if you and others hadn't posted what you were supposed to get out of BR..I'd not have gleaned it...I've seen it a few times, and could never really figure out the movie...and for some reason I never saw the 'message' in it.
Again..has been at least a decade or so since I've viewed it, and I've heard there are directors cuts and all..so, maybe worth another look, especially after knowing what to look for...but until then..I've just never gotten it.
Not so much any more. In fact, Netflix sees streaming as their primary business model and will be the focus of their strategy going forward, according to a slideshow on the company's own website. The same slide show indicates that Netflix expects the physical DVD-shipping model to peak sometime next year and then decline.
That sucks...I mean...that would put an end to people making "backup" copies of the media from NF before sending them back...you know, as a personal service in case NF breaks their copy?
:)
I dunno...I stream some things that aren't available in BR, but I don't figure to spend money on a HD tv, only to view things in low quality?
I mean...I pay them to RENT physical media...dvd's and blurays. The streaming stuff is an incidental free add on service to me.
Ok, I know they have recently added a streaming option only...but that is just the lowest level offered by Netflix. Their main business still is renting media...mailing it to you, you mail it back...etc.
I'd think that argument would suffice to take them out of the Apple Tax setup?
You know...and I'll admit maybe I should rent and take another look, perhaps one of the special editions of Blade Runner...but honestly, I've never been that enamoured with the movie.
I was a bit young-ish when I saw it when originally released in the movie theater. I was then, expecting more star war-ish.
I've seen it as an adult...and again, so far, never been that impressed with it. I have never been overwhelmed with the special effects, even back then. It seems to move slow and boring to me.
I'm a fan of other PKD stuff...starting to go back and read his stuff, and I like some of the other movies made from his stories, but I dunno. Am I the only techie/geeky type person that just did not thing Blade Runner was anything special?
What am I missing? I think I should love this movie, based on other things I enjoy...but just never have "gotten it".
If a local city or state passes a stupid law you don't like...you can easily move to a city or state that has laws more to your liking....and you have a more important vote and chance to voice your opposition to such laws on a local level.
On the federal level....you're fucked....notice how today the Feds seem to listen very little to anyone in the country as to what they want...
Basically...because the Constitution grants limited, specifically enumerated powers to the Federal govt....anything not listed there...is reserved for the states.
So basically, if it ain't in the constitution, the Feds aren't supposed to be able to do it....
No...S corp....where you can pay yourself a 'reasonable' salary....and you only have to pay SE taxes (SS and medicare) on that portion of what you bring in.
The rest falls through at the EOY and you only pay state and federal tax on that portion...saves money.
YOu can also write off mileage....deductions for all business expenses...etc. All perfectly legal....
Nothing wrong with trying to keep as much money as you can while playing it according to the law.
I suppose you don't take the personal deductions you are alloted on your taxes? No deduction for kids or house payments?
Sure we have them...but no one is ever required to register and get one...unless perhaps they were going to travel outside the country. Heck, its only been in the last few years that you needed anything more than a birth certificate copy, or a drivers license to go back and forth on vacation to Mexico from the US.
Also, it is NOT a national ID. It is issued by my state...other states and the federal govt, for the most part..do not have the information from my DL immediately upon query. There isn't a national drivers license database.
And most important...where the fuck is it in the constitution for the Federal Govt. to issues national id??
...much more likely to consider reasons for being in business other than making money. Motivations like making the best product or offering the best service. Or selling a product/service that no one else does.
Ok..re-read this and had to ask further of you.
Why in the world would anyone be in business or even WORK for that matter..if it were not to make money?
I can assure you, if I had all the money I needed to live the rest of my life..I'd certainly never work another day in my life. Travel, having fun, and chasing different women is what I'd be doing the rest of my days.
Seriously, why would anyone start or be in a business if not to make a good living (money)?
No matter how pro-corporation you may be I think anyone should at least be able to see that a business owned by a single individual is much more likely to act in an ethical manner, is much more likely to consider reasons for being in business other than making money.
I *am* a business owned by a single person..ME.
There is no way on God's green earth that I'd do business in the US today without incorporating. One..for protection.
Two...for tax benefits.
Pretty simple today...even a one person company is pretty much foolish in today's legal and taxation society not to form his own corporation.
Except for the minor detail that it doesn't apply to most things folks complain about. There's a defined list [cornell.edu] of offenses RICO can be used with, but things like "sneaky use of contracts" and "changing opinions" are not in there. Sure, there's a few general items, like "wire fraud", which can be stretched to cover anything done online, but it's a pretty long stretch. RICO isn't designed to make prosecution of corporations easier. It's designed to target specific behavior patterns common to organized crime.
Actually...RICO is a good example of US laws being used and extended in ways there were NEVER intended. RICO has been bastardized to go after regular non-criminal businesses and more...
That's why it is a VERY good idea to argue and almost fight every law, because so far...there's been very few laws passed that the govt. hasn't taken full advantage of...and often used in new and creative new ways that help to squash peoples rights.
That is, I have no sympathy for screams of anguish over how union pay packages are outrageous and bankrupting companies, so long as upper management pay packages are also outrageous.
Well, I do.
I believe it is up to the individual to be able to negotiate their salary/bill rate and benefits. If some one, a management type, can somehow pull off convincing someone he is actually worth millions a year, etc...then more power to him. The people hiring him are the idiots.
I know what my skills are worth in the marketplace...and when I negotiate salary for a W2 job, or bill rate for a 1099 job...I keep that in mind. I may take a little less money, for more paid time off...I insist on EVERY job, that I get paid for every hour I'm there. I don't work for free...if I work over 40 hours in a week, I insist that every hour over that comes in at least at normal hourly rate. That keeps them honest on how much they work me.
My free time is VERY valuable to me...I only work to earn money to have to enjoy my free time...
If you are stupid, or timid, or don't have enough incentive to study your worth and fight for it...then I don't have a lot of sympathy for you, I'm sorry. If I can do it..so can you. I'm nothing that special.
And if you screwed around in school...didn't study, didn't work there...and all you can do is dig a ditch..well, that's your lot in life. As the saying goes, the world needs ditch diggers too.
You just don't deserve $30/hr...long paid vacations, and huge benefits like someone who worked and made something of themselves and have the working worth more demanding than physical labor....someone with a skill, deserves more.
I don't like the unions, because they can skew this....and reward lackluster or downright BAD performance.
Unions has a purpose way back in the day, and they did do some beneficial things that we all enjoy today. However, those times are past..and they are more of a drag on the economy today. And hey, is some people want to join unions...well, while I don't like them...it should be your right to do so. I don't, however, think any one person should be forced to join a union and pay dues to work tho. They should have a choice...otherwise is un-American IMHO.
A simple middle ground would be to dissolve more corporations.
Well, don't be quite so hasty!!
Remember, in the US, most business and employers are not the huge faceless corporations everyone is going on about...they are small businesses.
Without incorporation, it would be virtually impossible (or stupid at the very least) for a person or couple of people to try to start their own business. They need that corporate protection so that they can take some risk, but not risk losing everything they own personally (house, cars, kids college fund, life savings) for something even slightly going wrong in their business. Heck, even if they're not even at fault, in today's litigious society...you can get lawsuits thrown at you for nothing...and a person trying to start a new business would get killed automatically for life over something potentially meaningless.
And also...especially for the small business person, or one person contractor...you NEED the benefits incorporating gives you, the tax breaks. It is about the ONLY way for a person to keep his hard earned wages.
It'd be nice if a dev environment could genuinely mirror production, but very few people are that lucky.
Or to even have a dev environment PERIOD.
On so many things I've seen...even govt/DoD...I've seen things where the dev machine becomes the production machine as soon as it is working good enough to go. Back then, we found that when buying the machine for dev...to try to get as much hardware as we could because we knew there was a great chance that it would also turn into production.
When I was a kid, the winters were cold and the house felt colder. Learning to "procrastinate" (until the morning) was a challenge, but preferable to getting up out of warm bed to stumble my way into a freezing cold bathroom.
No heating in your homes you're lived in? Why not just turn the heat up a few notches and not have a freezing house?
A good rule of thumb is that if you can't admit something to your spouse, you're probably doing something that isn't healthy for your relationship.
Hmm, I'd always heard that open, honest tell everything conversation must be avoided at all costs if you want a marriage to last...not saying to lie, but telling everything?!? Generally not a good idea.
"Women never seem to understand this basic concept: if you don't get married, you won't get divorced."
I can pretty much understand getting married only if you intend to have kids with some one.
Other than that...why bother?
I saw a study recently...that rated happiness in relationships between men and women. Out of couples..the happiest in the relationships, were those with no kids. The least happy, were the couples with toddlers I think around kindergarten range.
It also said that the satisfaction in a relationship, deteriorated as a function of the length of time of the relationship.
I don't think men and women were meant to be together in one monogamous relation for all their adult lives. Why would the divorce rate be so high if it weren't otherwise?
Nah..I like to hook up with a woman...enjoy our time together for a length of time...and look for the next one.
I'm still friends with many if not most of them..but I'm not looking for a lifetime stuck with one bed partner...and risking losing half my shit whenever I want to upgrade to a new 'model'.
Since it appears we may have some problems in the middle east for some time to come, I think it is time we stop worry about trying to regulate things to hell, and start pumping our own oil pronto!!!
For one thing....let's lift the fucking ban on drilling in the Gulf.
Slashdot Mirror
Thanks for the reply. Don't get me wrong...while I enjoy a good explosion filled movie (I am a guy after all), I like a good story, I've enjoyed reading good SF over the years. I STILL like 2001...hell, I was REALLY a kid when I saw that in the original showing in the theater..and I liked it as a kid back then. Like I said..I should like Blade Runner.
But honestly, if you and others hadn't posted what you were supposed to get out of BR..I'd not have gleaned it...I've seen it a few times, and could never really figure out the movie...and for some reason I never saw the 'message' in it.
Again..has been at least a decade or so since I've viewed it, and I've heard there are directors cuts and all..so, maybe worth another look, especially after knowing what to look for...but until then..I've just never gotten it.
That sucks...I mean...that would put an end to people making "backup" copies of the media from NF before sending them back...you know, as a personal service in case NF breaks their copy?
I dunno...I stream some things that aren't available in BR, but I don't figure to spend money on a HD tv, only to view things in low quality?
I mean...I pay them to RENT physical media...dvd's and blurays. The streaming stuff is an incidental free add on service to me.
Ok, I know they have recently added a streaming option only...but that is just the lowest level offered by Netflix. Their main business still is renting media...mailing it to you, you mail it back...etc.
I'd think that argument would suffice to take them out of the Apple Tax setup?
Just a thought.
I was a bit young-ish when I saw it when originally released in the movie theater. I was then, expecting more star war-ish.
I've seen it as an adult...and again, so far, never been that impressed with it. I have never been overwhelmed with the special effects, even back then. It seems to move slow and boring to me.
I'm a fan of other PKD stuff...starting to go back and read his stuff, and I like some of the other movies made from his stories, but I dunno. Am I the only techie/geeky type person that just did not thing Blade Runner was anything special?
What am I missing? I think I should love this movie, based on other things I enjoy...but just never have "gotten it".
If a local city or state passes a stupid law you don't like...you can easily move to a city or state that has laws more to your liking....and you have a more important vote and chance to voice your opposition to such laws on a local level.
On the federal level....you're fucked....notice how today the Feds seem to listen very little to anyone in the country as to what they want...
So basically, if it ain't in the constitution, the Feds aren't supposed to be able to do it....
The rest falls through at the EOY and you only pay state and federal tax on that portion...saves money.
YOu can also write off mileage....deductions for all business expenses...etc. All perfectly legal....
Nothing wrong with trying to keep as much money as you can while playing it according to the law.
I suppose you don't take the personal deductions you are alloted on your taxes? No deduction for kids or house payments?
It is no different than that.
Sure we have them...but no one is ever required to register and get one...unless perhaps they were going to travel outside the country. Heck, its only been in the last few years that you needed anything more than a birth certificate copy, or a drivers license to go back and forth on vacation to Mexico from the US.
And most important...where the fuck is it in the constitution for the Federal Govt. to issues national id??
Ok..re-read this and had to ask further of you.
Why in the world would anyone be in business or even WORK for that matter..if it were not to make money?
I can assure you, if I had all the money I needed to live the rest of my life..I'd certainly never work another day in my life. Travel, having fun, and chasing different women is what I'd be doing the rest of my days.
Seriously, why would anyone start or be in a business if not to make a good living (money)?
I *am* a business owned by a single person..ME.
There is no way on God's green earth that I'd do business in the US today without incorporating. One..for protection.
Two...for tax benefits.
Pretty simple today...even a one person company is pretty much foolish in today's legal and taxation society not to form his own corporation.
I thought it was because Jane....*whack*....just....*whack*....wouldn't....*whack*.....listen!!!
Actually...RICO is a good example of US laws being used and extended in ways there were NEVER intended. RICO has been bastardized to go after regular non-criminal businesses and more...
That's why it is a VERY good idea to argue and almost fight every law, because so far...there's been very few laws passed that the govt. hasn't taken full advantage of...and often used in new and creative new ways that help to squash peoples rights.
Well, I do.
I believe it is up to the individual to be able to negotiate their salary/bill rate and benefits. If some one, a management type, can somehow pull off convincing someone he is actually worth millions a year, etc...then more power to him. The people hiring him are the idiots.
I know what my skills are worth in the marketplace...and when I negotiate salary for a W2 job, or bill rate for a 1099 job...I keep that in mind. I may take a little less money, for more paid time off...I insist on EVERY job, that I get paid for every hour I'm there. I don't work for free...if I work over 40 hours in a week, I insist that every hour over that comes in at least at normal hourly rate. That keeps them honest on how much they work me.
My free time is VERY valuable to me...I only work to earn money to have to enjoy my free time...
If you are stupid, or timid, or don't have enough incentive to study your worth and fight for it...then I don't have a lot of sympathy for you, I'm sorry. If I can do it..so can you. I'm nothing that special.
And if you screwed around in school...didn't study, didn't work there...and all you can do is dig a ditch..well, that's your lot in life. As the saying goes, the world needs ditch diggers too.
You just don't deserve $30/hr...long paid vacations, and huge benefits like someone who worked and made something of themselves and have the working worth more demanding than physical labor....someone with a skill, deserves more.
I don't like the unions, because they can skew this....and reward lackluster or downright BAD performance.
Unions has a purpose way back in the day, and they did do some beneficial things that we all enjoy today. However, those times are past..and they are more of a drag on the economy today. And hey, is some people want to join unions...well, while I don't like them...it should be your right to do so. I don't, however, think any one person should be forced to join a union and pay dues to work tho. They should have a choice...otherwise is un-American IMHO.
Well, don't be quite so hasty!!
Remember, in the US, most business and employers are not the huge faceless corporations everyone is going on about...they are small businesses.
Without incorporation, it would be virtually impossible (or stupid at the very least) for a person or couple of people to try to start their own business. They need that corporate protection so that they can take some risk, but not risk losing everything they own personally (house, cars, kids college fund, life savings) for something even slightly going wrong in their business. Heck, even if they're not even at fault, in today's litigious society...you can get lawsuits thrown at you for nothing...and a person trying to start a new business would get killed automatically for life over something potentially meaningless.
And also...especially for the small business person, or one person contractor...you NEED the benefits incorporating gives you, the tax breaks. It is about the ONLY way for a person to keep his hard earned wages.
People on eHarmony, Match.com and even FB start looking concertedly more attractive.
However, still no hope for denizens of Slashdot.....
Or to even have a dev environment PERIOD.
On so many things I've seen...even govt/DoD...I've seen things where the dev machine becomes the production machine as soon as it is working good enough to go. Back then, we found that when buying the machine for dev...to try to get as much hardware as we could because we knew there was a great chance that it would also turn into production.
I always thought it was MCRE..??
Microsoft Certified Reboot Engineer...?
No heating in your homes you're lived in? Why not just turn the heat up a few notches and not have a freezing house?
Most great decisions are when in the bar, or shooting the shit over beers with your friends.
When doing that, you gotta take a leak almost all the time...so, it would seem that these are when the best decisions are found!!!
Is it happy hour yet....?
Hmm, I'd always heard that open, honest tell everything conversation must be avoided at all costs if you want a marriage to last...not saying to lie, but telling everything?!? Generally not a good idea.
I can pretty much understand getting married only if you intend to have kids with some one.
Other than that...why bother?
I saw a study recently...that rated happiness in relationships between men and women. Out of couples..the happiest in the relationships, were those with no kids. The least happy, were the couples with toddlers I think around kindergarten range.
It also said that the satisfaction in a relationship, deteriorated as a function of the length of time of the relationship.
I don't think men and women were meant to be together in one monogamous relation for all their adult lives. Why would the divorce rate be so high if it weren't otherwise?
Nah..I like to hook up with a woman...enjoy our time together for a length of time...and look for the next one.
I'm still friends with many if not most of them..but I'm not looking for a lifetime stuck with one bed partner...and risking losing half my shit whenever I want to upgrade to a new 'model'.
Err...we're talking about getting laid often here...not long term relationships.
Yeah, but who has more of their real teeth left intact?
Since it appears we may have some problems in the middle east for some time to come, I think it is time we stop worry about trying to regulate things to hell, and start pumping our own oil pronto!!!
For one thing....let's lift the fucking ban on drilling in the Gulf.