I've been told by friends who have traveled to and lived in Germany that in general, citations are given for actual unsafe driving (e.g., tailgating, unsignalled lane changes, cutting people off, etc.) rather than speed. I think that makes a lot more sense than the system we use in the US, but it also depends on active policing, and can't be done easily by mechanized means (e.g., radar guns, traffic cameras, etc.).
Yes, that's correct. Along with what you've listed, it's also illegal to cruise in the left lane. Say there's two slow cars in the right lane a short distance apart. It's pretty commonplace to see drivers zip into the left lane around the first car and then back into the right lane immediately, even though it's obvious that they're going to make another pass a few seconds later. Nobody camps in the left lane (unless there's congestion).
If someone *does* sit in the left lane and you use the right lane to pass, the Autobahnpolizei will ticket you both: the dude on the left for not keeping right, and you for passing on the right. Even though the guy in the left lane was ticketed, that doesn't get you out of your ticket.
The autobahn is also equipped with electronic speed signs so that if there is a reason to slow traffic, the polizei can post whatever speed limit they judge appropriate based on whatever incident is occurring, which seems really sensible.
(I live in France near the German border in that region of Europe that's sometimes France and sometimes Germany based on which war is on.)
One way to define immorality is the disregard of others out of selfishness. "The rules don't apply to me" is a very selfish way of life.
In theory at least, traffic laws exist to reduce conflicts between people. Red light laws and stop sign laws exist to reduce accidents; the same applies for speed laws, at least in original intent.
I agree that there is perversion of the law, that some laws are set and enforced beyond a reasonable level for the sole purpose of funding government. I'm not in argument there. But when laws are set and enforced at a reasonable level, lawbreakers are risking the livelihoods of other people for their own goals.
Getting to the movie theater faster by risking the lives of other people is definitely immoral. If that type of behavior is correlated with wealth, then wealth is correlated with at least some types of immoral behavior.
I don't necessarily agree. Going faster is not so clearly an immoral act. The German autobahn is a surprisingly safe roadway system, significantly safer than the US interstate system. There are 2.2 deaths per billion vehicle kilometers on the autobahn, and 4.5 deaths per billion km on the US interstates.
Unlimited speed means that people operate their cars based on the capabilities of the car and driver, and it turns out that people are reasonably able to make those judgments sanely. There really isn't a compelling argument that speed limits promote safety. I would argue that the other laws of the autobahn (e.g. illegal to pass on the right) do a better job of promoting safety than do speed limits.
You could be a great driver and habitually speed 5-10 mph above the limit. That is not, in of itself, a sign of sociopathic behavior.
Actually, it is.
Speed limits are set by people smarter than you are about the subject at hand.
You're ignoring the fact that speed limits are set based on the capabilities of below average cars. Wealthy people often drive high performance vehicles that can operate safely at higher speeds than a Honda or 30 year old Ford, on the same roadway.
Regardless -- the media licensing industry is a horrible, horrible mess. No question about it. Our mission is to make it easier for independent artists (music and video alike) to make a living doing what they love, and it genuinely sucks to hear when people are let down.
That's great, Peat. How does it feel to realize that you're actually a part of the problem rather than the gallant knight for the little guy that you seem to think you are?
A possibly more effective solution: Refuse to fly. Take a bus, take a train, drive, or forgo travel, but don't pay into the system by buying a plane ticket.
I'm an American who works in Europe. If I want to visit family back in the US, what am I supposed to do, take the White Star Line?
Nope. It went down because the co-pilot stalled it.
Yes, there was icing on the pitot tube, which caused the left and right airspeed indicators to disagree. The computers dropped out of normal law into alternate law.
The pilots activated anti-ice, which then cleared up the tubes, and the airspeed indicators all returned to normal. At that point, all indicators were correct.
Then the copilot freaked out and pulled back on the stick. Because the plane was in alternate law, it did not have stall prevention. The airspeed dropped to as low as 68 knots. The pilot, relief pilot, and co-pilot (who were all in the cockpit at the time) ignored all the stall warnings that the system was throwing out. They stalled a properly functioning aircraft into the ocean.
No, the captain turned to port and sloshed the water that the ship had already taken on. That's why it rolled to starboard. It had been listing to port prior to the turn.
There are crewmembers quoted in the press as stating that if the evacuation had been ordered immediately, the survival rate would have been 100%.
The evac didn't even start until more than an hour after the collision. The bridge had been notified by the commander of the engine room that there was a 160 foot long hole in the side and that the ship could not be saved, but chose to tell passengers that it was an electrical problem and they should return to their cabins. Then the captain makes it worse by ordering a turn after taking on water, which then sloshes, tipping the boat and hindering lifeboat launch.
They pretty much did the exact opposite of everything they should have done.
'the frequent failure of our space launches, which occur at a time when they are flying over the part of Earth not visible from Russia, where we do not see the spacecraft and do not receive telemetric information, are not clear to us,'
We are to believe that the Russians are completely blind when the spacecraft are on the other side of the Earth? They have no satellites relaying telemetry? Laughable. (Apparently, so is their space program).
why on earth did they name the newest, most advanced aircraft carriers on the planet after a President who was never elected by anyone (he was appointed, first as VP and then inherited the Pres position when Nixon quit), and who was a complete failure? Maybe it's supposed to be an acknowledgement that our powerful government isn't a democracy at all, but really a plutocracy where a small cabal controls who gets appointed into powerful positions through rigged elections, much like in Saddam's Iraq.
Gerald Ford served on aircraft carriers during WW2. The Navy names its big ships after prominent Naval vets.
Looking at the OS X preferences panel for iCloud, it just looks like a rehash of MobileMe (which was just a rehash of.mac). I'm flipping back and forth between the preferences pages for iCloud and for MobileMe, and they seem to offer nearly identical services (though MobileMe costs money).
The content providers *are* willing to provide streaming content, the disagreement is over price. If you asked Netflix customers to contact the providers directly, the providers will just reply that Netflix is unwilling to pay a fair price for their product. The issue is that there seems to be no way to determine "fair price" of media content.
Slashdot Mirror
I'm not sure if you're aware, but earthquakes are much more common in Japan than tsunami are. Remember Kobe?
I think so. Basketball player, right? I realize he was good, but equating him to an earthquake seems a bit over the top.
You're on slashdot and you don't know who the Bad Astronomer is? Pretty sure he's good at math.
I've been told by friends who have traveled to and lived in Germany that in general, citations are given for actual unsafe driving (e.g., tailgating, unsignalled lane changes, cutting people off, etc.) rather than speed. I think that makes a lot more sense than the system we use in the US, but it also depends on active policing, and can't be done easily by mechanized means (e.g., radar guns, traffic cameras, etc.).
Yes, that's correct. Along with what you've listed, it's also illegal to cruise in the left lane. Say there's two slow cars in the right lane a short distance apart. It's pretty commonplace to see drivers zip into the left lane around the first car and then back into the right lane immediately, even though it's obvious that they're going to make another pass a few seconds later. Nobody camps in the left lane (unless there's congestion).
If someone *does* sit in the left lane and you use the right lane to pass, the Autobahnpolizei will ticket you both: the dude on the left for not keeping right, and you for passing on the right. Even though the guy in the left lane was ticketed, that doesn't get you out of your ticket.
The autobahn is also equipped with electronic speed signs so that if there is a reason to slow traffic, the polizei can post whatever speed limit they judge appropriate based on whatever incident is occurring, which seems really sensible.
(I live in France near the German border in that region of Europe that's sometimes France and sometimes Germany based on which war is on.)
One way to define immorality is the disregard of others out of selfishness. "The rules don't apply to me" is a very selfish way of life.
In theory at least, traffic laws exist to reduce conflicts between people. Red light laws and stop sign laws exist to reduce accidents; the same applies for speed laws, at least in original intent.
I agree that there is perversion of the law, that some laws are set and enforced beyond a reasonable level for the sole purpose of funding government. I'm not in argument there. But when laws are set and enforced at a reasonable level, lawbreakers are risking the livelihoods of other people for their own goals.
Getting to the movie theater faster by risking the lives of other people is definitely immoral. If that type of behavior is correlated with wealth, then wealth is correlated with at least some types of immoral behavior.
I don't necessarily agree. Going faster is not so clearly an immoral act. The German autobahn is a surprisingly safe roadway system, significantly safer than the US interstate system. There are 2.2 deaths per billion vehicle kilometers on the autobahn, and 4.5 deaths per billion km on the US interstates.
Unlimited speed means that people operate their cars based on the capabilities of the car and driver, and it turns out that people are reasonably able to make those judgments sanely. There really isn't a compelling argument that speed limits promote safety. I would argue that the other laws of the autobahn (e.g. illegal to pass on the right) do a better job of promoting safety than do speed limits.
You could be a great driver and habitually speed 5-10 mph above the limit. That is not, in of itself, a sign of sociopathic behavior.
Actually, it is.
Speed limits are set by people smarter than you are about the subject at hand.
You're ignoring the fact that speed limits are set based on the capabilities of below average cars. Wealthy people often drive high performance vehicles that can operate safely at higher speeds than a Honda or 30 year old Ford, on the same roadway.
Regardless -- the media licensing industry is a horrible, horrible mess. No question about it. Our mission is to make it easier for independent artists (music and video alike) to make a living doing what they love, and it genuinely sucks to hear when people are let down.
That's great, Peat. How does it feel to realize that you're actually a part of the problem rather than the gallant knight for the little guy that you seem to think you are?
You belong in jail.
A possibly more effective solution: Refuse to fly. Take a bus, take a train, drive, or forgo travel, but don't pay into the system by buying a plane ticket.
I'm an American who works in Europe. If I want to visit family back in the US, what am I supposed to do, take the White Star Line?
Seriously a year to remove the vessel? Accidents like these aren't a rare occurrence, there is a whole cottage industry that handle these situations.
Not rare? This is the largest passenger vessel to capsize, ever. Very few marine salvage companies can handle a job of this scale.
Nope. It went down because the co-pilot stalled it.
Yes, there was icing on the pitot tube, which caused the left and right airspeed indicators to disagree. The computers dropped out of normal law into alternate law.
The pilots activated anti-ice, which then cleared up the tubes, and the airspeed indicators all returned to normal. At that point, all indicators were correct.
Then the copilot freaked out and pulled back on the stick. Because the plane was in alternate law, it did not have stall prevention. The airspeed dropped to as low as 68 knots. The pilot, relief pilot, and co-pilot (who were all in the cockpit at the time) ignored all the stall warnings that the system was throwing out. They stalled a properly functioning aircraft into the ocean.
No, the captain turned to port and sloshed the water that the ship had already taken on. That's why it rolled to starboard. It had been listing to port prior to the turn.
Clearly the people involved in the evacuation, even without the management of a ships captain, were very capable.
<sarcasm>Yes, this sounds like a completely capable crew.</sarcasm> Read: BBC News
There are crewmembers quoted in the press as stating that if the evacuation had been ordered immediately, the survival rate would have been 100%.
The evac didn't even start until more than an hour after the collision. The bridge had been notified by the commander of the engine room that there was a 160 foot long hole in the side and that the ship could not be saved, but chose to tell passengers that it was an electrical problem and they should return to their cabins. Then the captain makes it worse by ordering a turn after taking on water, which then sloshes, tipping the boat and hindering lifeboat launch.
They pretty much did the exact opposite of everything they should have done.
Not only did the Coast Guard order him back, but he refused the order. He gave excuses that included "it's too dark" and "but it's on its side".
I can't fathom how such a pathetic human being ever made Captain. He is obviously tremendously unqualified.
Why use horribly expensive technology when cheap alternatives are available
Because horribly expensive technology funds companies who fund lobbyists who fund congressmen.
'the frequent failure of our space launches, which occur at a time when they are flying over the part of Earth not visible from Russia, where we do not see the spacecraft and do not receive telemetric information, are not clear to us,'
We are to believe that the Russians are completely blind when the spacecraft are on the other side of the Earth? They have no satellites relaying telemetry? Laughable. (Apparently, so is their space program).
Magnetic launch puts less stress on aircraft, requires a smaller physical space on the ship, and requires less manpower to operate and maintain.
Carriers provide force projection, e.g. intimidation of smaller militaries by sending a capital ship and battle group in their direction.
It is possible that this is a fully launched and commissioned aircraft carrier.
It doesn't seem to be carrying an air wing.
why on earth did they name the newest, most advanced aircraft carriers on the planet after a President who was never elected by anyone (he was appointed, first as VP and then inherited the Pres position when Nixon quit), and who was a complete failure? Maybe it's supposed to be an acknowledgement that our powerful government isn't a democracy at all, but really a plutocracy where a small cabal controls who gets appointed into powerful positions through rigged elections, much like in Saddam's Iraq.
Gerald Ford served on aircraft carriers during WW2. The Navy names its big ships after prominent Naval vets.
Reagan-class aircraft carriers.
Such a thing does not exist. The new class of carrier is Ford class. The USS Ronald Reagan is Nimitz class.
almost hitting water if you don't have enough speed. Ski-jump gives you much more vertical speed on take off.
With flat launch, you do hit the water in high seas if they don't time the catapult launch correctly.
The US uses steam catapults, which are even better but are more expensive and are fairly involved to design.
Ford class carriers (2 currently under construction) will use magnetic launch rather than steam launch.
Looking at the OS X preferences panel for iCloud, it just looks like a rehash of MobileMe (which was just a rehash of .mac). I'm flipping back and forth between the preferences pages for iCloud and for MobileMe, and they seem to offer nearly identical services (though MobileMe costs money).
The content providers *are* willing to provide streaming content, the disagreement is over price. If you asked Netflix customers to contact the providers directly, the providers will just reply that Netflix is unwilling to pay a fair price for their product. The issue is that there seems to be no way to determine "fair price" of media content.
Your sample size is 1 site that gets only 50k hits per day, and you think you're the one with better numbers?