One of those "enumerated protections" is the due process clause of the 14th Amendment. Which says that, in fact, State governments can't use majority rule to discriminate against minorities, either.
Had to reply to this. I agree with your assessment that Heinlein's novels are not the greatest (Although I thought "Time Enough for Love" had some interesting ideas), and I was a hardcore Heinlein fanboi for a while. But his short stories are amazing. "By His Bootstraps" is one of the coolest time travel stories ever. "The Man Who Sold the Moon" is brilliant. And "Life-line" and "Let There Be Light," his first two published stories, are really good descriptions of the conflict between transformative technologies and entrenched interests, which have arguably more relevance today than when they were first written (c.f. the automobile or music industries). Because the OP asked for ideas of short stories as well as novels, and you can't include novels by everyone, by all means, feature one or two of Heinlein's short stories. Because any sci-fi/fantasy class that "avoid[s] Heinlein" is like a Classical Music class that omits Beethoven.
Now all the dungeons are a single line from beginning to end with no paths leading off.
Counterexamples: The Nexus, Gundrak (it has two entrances and a side path with an optional boss on heroic), Violet Hold and the Occulus (both would be more accurately described as rooms, not lines), Old Kingdom of Ahn'kahet (has a side branch with an optional boss on heroic)
In short, you are wrong.
I have Comcast cable internet in the Bay Area. I initially went with them because we don't have a landline and no companies offered naked DSL. This summer, we were visited no less than 4 times by AT&T folks offering their new fiberoptic service. If I switched, I would be paying 50% less each month for my internet, but I'm not going to do it. I don't want an ISP handing over my information to the government (and now lobbying for a "get out of jail free" card). I especially don't want an ISP that tries to regulate my free speech. So even though I'm paying more- a lot more- every month, I feel content. It's called voting with my wallet.
Yes, Comcast isn't perfect. I don't really approve of their throttling BitTorrent or their secret usage caps. Their "pay your bill online" page doesn't seem to work well with Firefox & AdBlock Plus. But they're a damn sight better than AT&T, and I'd much prefer giving them my money than a T1000-esque telecommunications conglomerate, TYVM.
Dude, you clearly have no reasonable understanding of Japanese history. The Samurai class ceased to have any meaningful power long before the Meiji restoration of 1868. All the power was in the hands of the merchants- they had money, which gave them power, whereas the Samurai saw money as a contamination, but neglected to realize that if you eschew money, you won't actually be able to do anything. In fact, during the Meiji reforms, the possession of swords was made illegal, for the precise purpose of further disenfranchising the Samurai.
And while it's true that anything can be a weapon, and the principle weapon of murder in modern Japan is the knife, the murder rate in Japan is significantly lower than it is in the United States. As another poster commented, culture has a lot to do with it, but the inability to acquire firearms probably contributes as well.
Actually, you do get to download the DVD artwork- cover, label, and tray inlay in PDF format. And to those who've speculated about the lack of bonus features, you get them, too. It's right there on the front page. But this is Slashdot, where we don't RTFA.
There were two questions asked and a total of six statements from the two men. Not to mention the fact that the only response to the question "wouldn't companies have to pay a premium to get their content to end-users" was "Bellsouth has promised not to do that." No mention of the policies of the other 4 major ISPs, and no mention of the possible conflicts of interest that tiered pricing would bring about. It would have been nice if the pro-neutrality guy had raised these issues- and had some backbone. (All he does is blather a little about dark fiber.) Or, barring that, if the interview/debate had been longer, so we could get more of a sense of the depth of this issue.
Are you kidding?! Tetsuya's voice acting in the original was terrible! Now, if they brought back the voice actor who did Geobaldi, that would be cool. He sounds so good with a thick Texas accent. "I kept telling him, don't go outside the ship without a spacesuit, but he just wouldn't listen." Good times, good times.
I admit I just skimmed TFA, but what qualifies as a "national campaign?" Is it just adverts on TV, or are there tax breaks involved as well? During the Carter administration in the US, there were numerous tax breaks for individuals who did things like convert their houses to solar power. The percentage of solar powered houses (whether for electricty or water heating) in Japan greatly outpaces that of the US, but do they get tax rebates from it, or is it just regular Japanese environmentalism?
...Is precisely the reason why the best thing to do whenever a game like this is released is to wait a few months before buying it. In addition to the advantage of seeing how the hype meshes with reality, there's the added advantage of having the later version patches available. Let other people find the bugs for you. The prestige one gets as an early adopter just isn't worth the monetary price or less-refined level of quality that comes with it (IMO).
1) Given the number of users of P2P applications, the millions of queries that are going to be sent to this company's database are going to cost it through the nose in bandwidth, if not slashdot the server completely.
2) Most P2P applications support resuming from partial downloads. If the monitoring software cuts you off partway through a download, just continue downloading from the point where you were cut off.
Of course, there's also the fact that getting this attached to every P2P program is a Herculean task, but I don't count on that stopping our Legislators from passing a law mandating it.
The new ruling was made by a panel of three professional judges backed up by four lay judges, two of whom had technical expertise relevant to the case.
Why can't trials in the US (especially regarding technology) be overseen by judges with relevant expertise? Doesn't that seem like an obvious component of having a fair, just ruling?
The quote is from Heinlein's first published story, "Lifeline." A scientist invents a machine which will allow him to determine the exact moment a person will die (by extrapolating the length of the four-dimensional "worm" their life forms in space-time), and the life insurance companies take him to court, arguing that this device will put them out of business.
The first guy had extensive experience with both JRPG and CRPG games. He stated his positive and negative experiences with JRPGs, then explained why he later learned to love CRPGs more.
Well, yes, but one of his negative points WRT JRPGs was bad translation. Negative for FFVII: the translation was nearly sub-literate. Positive for Wizardry VII: wonderfully written text. The translation is hardly the fault of the game. In fact, a bad translation can completely ruin the main reason to play JRPGs- the storyline.
That's just a sidenote, though. The main beef I have w/ this article is that it's not a point/counterpoint. The second person is supposed to take the arguments of the first and refute them. (For example, take the point about lack of character customization in JRPGs and trot out Final Fantasy Tactics as a counterexample. Or counter the claim of Most of all, I want to be able to replay a favorite game and have a very different experience. with the example of Seiken Densetsu 3.
As it is, this article suffers from the main problem of point/counterpoint as it is written by amateurs, namely that the two sides talk right past each other so it's less like a debate and more like two, unconnected rants. I definitely think that the difference between Japanese and Western RPG design makes an interesting topic of discussion, but I imagine there will be more insightful comments here on/. (like this one, if you're reading, moderators:) ) than there were in this drivel.
Here in Japan, there's an ex-wrestler named the Great Sasuke who won a position in the Iwate Prefectural Assembly under his stage persona. There was a minor scandal because he wore his mask to the legislative sessions and the ruling party didn't like that. The bill to forbid wearing masks failed, though, so he still goes to work every day in a business suit and a full-face mask.
Wal-Mart of course has no take-back policy on games. You bought it, you keep it (unless it's defective, in which you trade it for a different copy of the same game).
You've never worked at a Wal-Mart electronics section, have you? Sure, that's the stated policy. However, in reality, the policy is "do whatever the customer wants you to" (at least at the store I worked at, it was). If you whine and bitch and moan and ask to see a manager, they'll take your return. Hell, most of the time, you just have to be firm about it- your repeat business is more important to them than a measily policy (esp. since they'll just mark the game as "defective" and send it back to the manufacturer regardless).
We had one customer come in one time and complain that the South Park game contained "inappropriate language," and so she wanted to return it. Well, no sh*t, lady! There's a label on the front and back of the box that says "Mature: Language." Not to mention the fact that it's a South Park game. But she got her return. [sarcasm] The customer is always right. [/sarcasm]
Just look at what happens to countries like Japan, Korea and Taiwan where the telecoms are state owned monoplies. You wouldn't want to end up like that, would you?
Not sure what you meant by this comment. There was a/. story a couple of days ago about 12Mb/s broadband access in Japan for $21 a month, which I'm sure is a situation a lot of people here would like to end up in (judging by the comments to the article).
In fact, because NTT is state-run, the government is very good at ensuring adequate competition- a bill was just passed forcing NTT to cut the rates it charges competitors for use of its lines. So I'd say that the telecom situation in Japan isn't that bad.
Granted, CBN is not what I think of when I think of journalistic integrity, but I felt this article read like an advertisement. I mean, I expect the producers of the games to wax eloquent about how great they are, but this is insane:
Games such as "Catechumen," set in ancient Rome, feature spectacular 3-D graphics and allow the player to take part in a fierce battle between good and evil.
That just sounds like it comes straight out of a press release. Of course, when you're dealing with a genre that includes Bible Adventures, maybe you have to plug it all you can...
What if the makers of SpamAssassin or such adapted their algorithms to filter "objectionable" content websites? A lot of spam is for pornography as it is. The software would scan the page you're trying to reach and come up with an "Objectionable Score" from 1-10, maybe with a flag as well (pr0n, info on birth control, etc). The person doing the install could then set the threshold and possibly set certain flags as ok.
PS: I thought of this idea, therefor it's copyright me. Any company that wants to use it is feel to negotiate with me for the rights.:)
Slashdot Mirror
One of those "enumerated protections" is the due process clause of the 14th Amendment. Which says that, in fact, State governments can't use majority rule to discriminate against minorities, either.
Had to reply to this. I agree with your assessment that Heinlein's novels are not the greatest (Although I thought "Time Enough for Love" had some interesting ideas), and I was a hardcore Heinlein fanboi for a while. But his short stories are amazing. "By His Bootstraps" is one of the coolest time travel stories ever. "The Man Who Sold the Moon" is brilliant. And "Life-line" and "Let There Be Light," his first two published stories, are really good descriptions of the conflict between transformative technologies and entrenched interests, which have arguably more relevance today than when they were first written (c.f. the automobile or music industries). Because the OP asked for ideas of short stories as well as novels, and you can't include novels by everyone, by all means, feature one or two of Heinlein's short stories. Because any sci-fi/fantasy class that "avoid[s] Heinlein" is like a Classical Music class that omits Beethoven.
Now all the dungeons are a single line from beginning to end with no paths leading off.
Counterexamples: The Nexus, Gundrak (it has two entrances and a side path with an optional boss on heroic), Violet Hold and the Occulus (both would be more accurately described as rooms, not lines), Old Kingdom of Ahn'kahet (has a side branch with an optional boss on heroic) In short, you are wrong.
Sumo wrestler.
Yes, Comcast isn't perfect. I don't really approve of their throttling BitTorrent or their secret usage caps. Their "pay your bill online" page doesn't seem to work well with Firefox & AdBlock Plus. But they're a damn sight better than AT&T, and I'd much prefer giving them my money than a T1000-esque telecommunications conglomerate, TYVM.
And while it's true that anything can be a weapon, and the principle weapon of murder in modern Japan is the knife, the murder rate in Japan is significantly lower than it is in the United States. As another poster commented, culture has a lot to do with it, but the inability to acquire firearms probably contributes as well.
Actually, you do get to download the DVD artwork- cover, label, and tray inlay in PDF format. And to those who've speculated about the lack of bonus features, you get them, too. It's right there on the front page. But this is Slashdot, where we don't RTFA.
There were two questions asked and a total of six statements from the two men. Not to mention the fact that the only response to the question "wouldn't companies have to pay a premium to get their content to end-users" was "Bellsouth has promised not to do that." No mention of the policies of the other 4 major ISPs, and no mention of the possible conflicts of interest that tiered pricing would bring about. It would have been nice if the pro-neutrality guy had raised these issues- and had some backbone. (All he does is blather a little about dark fiber.) Or, barring that, if the interview/debate had been longer, so we could get more of a sense of the depth of this issue.
Are you kidding?! Tetsuya's voice acting in the original was terrible! Now, if they brought back the voice actor who did Geobaldi, that would be cool. He sounds so good with a thick Texas accent. "I kept telling him, don't go outside the ship without a spacesuit, but he just wouldn't listen." Good times, good times.
Actually, Battia only has the ears. No tail.
Here's the link to the Wired story.
I admit I just skimmed TFA, but what qualifies as a "national campaign?" Is it just adverts on TV, or are there tax breaks involved as well? During the Carter administration in the US, there were numerous tax breaks for individuals who did things like convert their houses to solar power. The percentage of solar powered houses (whether for electricty or water heating) in Japan greatly outpaces that of the US, but do they get tax rebates from it, or is it just regular Japanese environmentalism?
Further coverage of this myth here.
Thanks to this car, my last crash was in the future, you insensitive clod!
...Is precisely the reason why the best thing to do whenever a game like this is released is to wait a few months before buying it. In addition to the advantage of seeing how the hype meshes with reality, there's the added advantage of having the later version patches available. Let other people find the bugs for you. The prestige one gets as an early adopter just isn't worth the monetary price or less-refined level of quality that comes with it (IMO).
2) Most P2P applications support resuming from partial downloads. If the monitoring software cuts you off partway through a download, just continue downloading from the point where you were cut off.
Of course, there's also the fact that getting this attached to every P2P program is a Herculean task, but I don't count on that stopping our Legislators from passing a law mandating it.
I hope an evil bitch-queen from space doesn't enslave a bunch of cute, fuzzy sprites to cover it with netting and tow it away. I was really looking forward to spring.
The new ruling was made by a panel of three professional judges backed up by four lay judges, two of whom had technical expertise relevant to the case.
Why can't trials in the US (especially regarding technology) be overseen by judges with relevant expertise? Doesn't that seem like an obvious component of having a fair, just ruling?
The quote is from Heinlein's first published story, "Lifeline." A scientist invents a machine which will allow him to determine the exact moment a person will die (by extrapolating the length of the four-dimensional "worm" their life forms in space-time), and the life insurance companies take him to court, arguing that this device will put them out of business.
Well, yes, but one of his negative points WRT JRPGs was bad translation. Negative for FFVII: the translation was nearly sub-literate. Positive for Wizardry VII: wonderfully written text. The translation is hardly the fault of the game. In fact, a bad translation can completely ruin the main reason to play JRPGs- the storyline.
That's just a sidenote, though. The main beef I have w/ this article is that it's not a point/counterpoint. The second person is supposed to take the arguments of the first and refute them. (For example, take the point about lack of character customization in JRPGs and trot out Final Fantasy Tactics as a counterexample. Or counter the claim of Most of all, I want to be able to replay a favorite game and have a very different experience. with the example of Seiken Densetsu 3.
As it is, this article suffers from the main problem of point/counterpoint as it is written by amateurs, namely that the two sides talk right past each other so it's less like a debate and more like two, unconnected rants. I definitely think that the difference between Japanese and Western RPG design makes an interesting topic of discussion, but I imagine there will be more insightful comments here on /. (like this one, if you're reading, moderators :) ) than there were in this drivel.
Here in Japan, there's an ex-wrestler named the Great Sasuke who won a position in the Iwate Prefectural Assembly under his stage persona. There was a minor scandal because he wore his mask to the legislative sessions and the ruling party didn't like that. The bill to forbid wearing masks failed, though, so he still goes to work every day in a business suit and a full-face mask.
You've never worked at a Wal-Mart electronics section, have you? Sure, that's the stated policy. However, in reality, the policy is "do whatever the customer wants you to" (at least at the store I worked at, it was). If you whine and bitch and moan and ask to see a manager, they'll take your return. Hell, most of the time, you just have to be firm about it- your repeat business is more important to them than a measily policy (esp. since they'll just mark the game as "defective" and send it back to the manufacturer regardless).
We had one customer come in one time and complain that the South Park game contained "inappropriate language," and so she wanted to return it. Well, no sh*t, lady! There's a label on the front and back of the box that says "Mature: Language." Not to mention the fact that it's a South Park game. But she got her return. [sarcasm] The customer is always right. [/sarcasm]
Not sure what you meant by this comment. There was a /. story a couple of days ago about 12Mb/s broadband access in Japan for $21 a month, which I'm sure is a situation a lot of people here would like to end up in (judging by the comments to the article).
In fact, because NTT is state-run, the government is very good at ensuring adequate competition- a bill was just passed forcing NTT to cut the rates it charges competitors for use of its lines. So I'd say that the telecom situation in Japan isn't that bad.
Games such as "Catechumen," set in ancient Rome, feature spectacular 3-D graphics and allow the player to take part in a fierce battle between good and evil.
That just sounds like it comes straight out of a press release. Of course, when you're dealing with a genre that includes Bible Adventures, maybe you have to plug it all you can...
PS: I thought of this idea, therefor it's copyright me. Any company that wants to use it is feel to negotiate with me for the rights. :)