Actually, they did have a recall on certain Optiplexes with faulty caps. I know because I had many, many GX620s repaired out of warranty at Dell's expense.
My parents let me play Oregon Trail all I wanted -- until went out into the woods one day and shot 6 squirrels, 2 deer, 3 buffalo, and a rabbit. The worst part was that they only let me drag 100 lbs. of meat back to the wagon.
Bastards.
Umm... "coil away in horror?" Unless the reader is wrapping cords up at the time, that phrase is just bizarre. I'll grant that it does have a nice "Jabberwock" sound to it, but "recoil" doesn't come from the prefix "re-" plus "coil."
Because businesses in the U.S. are subject to U.S. laws about taxes, trading, and treatment of employees. Companies that aren't bound by those laws aren't going to follow them. Laws that are intended to protect workers cost money to implement. Capitalism requires a level playing field to work. When one company (in India) doesn't have the same rules as another (in the U.S.), it isn't appropriate to have them compete without some sort of handicapping.
Actually, Starbuck's isn't cheaper than most independent coffee shops. Its ubiquity and (decent) quality have more to do with its success than price. One of my pet peeves is when people talk about a "four-dollar cup of coffee." Yes, there are many coffee drinks that you can get for four dollars, but a cup of normal coffee (not espresso) still only costs about a buck at most shops. A cup of plain espresso usually costs less than two bucks, too. It's cappuccinos and drinks that require the barista to grind, tamp, and brew the espresso beans, plus froth milk (which is more difficult than it might seem) and put flavoring or cream in it that cost four bucks. You're really paying for the labor, not the materials in that case.
1 a : the state of a religious (a nun in her 20th year of religion)
b (1) : the service and worship of God or the supernatural
(2) : commitment or devotion to religious faith or observance
2 : a personal set or institutionalized system of religious attitudes, beliefs, and practices
4 : a cause, principle, or system of beliefs held to with ardor and faith
See the fourth definition. I would consider Secular Humanism to be a system of beliefs (or cause or principle), and many of its adherents hold to its tenets with great ardor and faith (in science, the general ill-will of other religions, et c.).
You have to realize that many followers of religions don't actually believe in any of the "supernatural" portion of their faith, and continue to act on its rules and ethics out of some other personal source of goodwill. How is that so different from Secular Humanism?
A group can define itself as anything it wants. A lot of religions don't consider themselves "religions." A google search for "is not a religion" turns up pages that say:
1. Christianity is not a religion.
2. Buddhism is not a religion.
3. Scientology is not a religion.
4. Ahimsa is not a relgion.
5. Hinduism is not a religion.
et c., for Creationism, evolution(ism, I guess), Ba'Hai, Wicca, Yoga, Zen Buddhism, Falun Gong, and Alcoholics Anonymous -- just to use the first two pages of results. So, you're going to have to do better than to say that Secular Humanism doesn't consider itself a religion to prove that it's not.
It's true -- many mediocre teachers do "slip through the cracks" for years and years. That's one of the real problems with the public education system; excellent teachers are rarely rewarded and teachers who merely manage not to offend anybody really can keep their jobs forever.
I'm not anti-union, but I would bet that there are more bad public teachers in the places where the unions are strongest, and I know NY has a very strong union.
Overall, though, working for a public school is like any state job -- the pay sucks, and you have to deal with tons of dead weight and paperwork.
Union? Smoke break? I don't know what state you live in, but here (NC), there's no serious teachers' union, and it's illegal for anyone (teachers, students, parents) to smoke on campus.
Also -- "many teachers pull off part time jobs in the summer?" That's funny. What kind of job can you get for two months? A shitty one. Teachers wouldn't take those jobs if they didn't have to to survive. And good teachers do put in 55 hours a week.
I'm a high school teacher. While I agree with your concluding sentence -- I believe that I personally make about what I should at my current job, considering the two months' vacation (not three, as you say) that I get and my level of experience -- you obviously have no idea what the work environment is really like. Teachers are definitely not guaranteed employment for life. Teachers get asked to leave all the time, and for a variety of reasons. Many get fired simply because they don't teach well, but a lot also get the can due to political/legal crap -- fake sexual harassment claims, grabbing a student to break up a fight, etc. Also, states don't mandate a particular curriculum. They usually have a set of vague "learning guidelines" to get the students ready for a worthless standardized test at the end of the year. If enough of your students decide not to show up for the final test or simply don't try, then guess what? You're fired, no matter how long you've been there.
I had a pair of El-Cheapo $20 powered speakers (with a tiny subwoofer, too) last year in college. We had them hooked up to the TV, the N64, the PSX, and a computer. We used to get police radio transmissions on them while they were OFF. Explain THAT.
Is there a cop with a hearing problem in the apartment next door?
I personally enjoyed Lost in Translation and didn't find it offensive. My take on it was that Sofia Coppola has actually spent a lot of time in Japan and other countries where she felt alien, and she made a film about that experience.
I've heard from a couple of Japanese-speakers that when they watched the movie, they thought that it was Americans who were being made fun of, not the Japanese. After all, Bill Murray's character is the one who just doesn't "get" it.
Slashdot Mirror
Actually, they did have a recall on certain Optiplexes with faulty caps. I know because I had many, many GX620s repaired out of warranty at Dell's expense.
My parents let me play Oregon Trail all I wanted -- until went out into the woods one day and shot 6 squirrels, 2 deer, 3 buffalo, and a rabbit. The worst part was that they only let me drag 100 lbs. of meat back to the wagon. Bastards.
Gareth? Is that you?
Umm ... "coil away in horror?" Unless the reader is wrapping cords up at the time, that phrase is just bizarre. I'll grant that it does have a nice "Jabberwock" sound to it, but "recoil" doesn't come from the prefix "re-" plus "coil."
Because businesses in the U.S. are subject to U.S. laws about taxes, trading, and treatment of employees. Companies that aren't bound by those laws aren't going to follow them. Laws that are intended to protect workers cost money to implement. Capitalism requires a level playing field to work. When one company (in India) doesn't have the same rules as another (in the U.S.), it isn't appropriate to have them compete without some sort of handicapping.
I find it rather humorous that these people are appealing to the authority of a Franciscan monk to try to disprove Christ's resurrection.
Brother William of Occam's biography.
Want to know about unhealthy sniffing? Hang out in the sysadmin's office at my old job for ten minutes.
If that were true, there would be constant radio chatter on the ship, but we never hear that.
... maybe it is time to dump here and become a monk.
Please don't dump here. I just shampooed the carpet.
Actually, Starbuck's isn't cheaper than most independent coffee shops. Its ubiquity and (decent) quality have more to do with its success than price. One of my pet peeves is when people talk about a "four-dollar cup of coffee." Yes, there are many coffee drinks that you can get for four dollars, but a cup of normal coffee (not espresso) still only costs about a buck at most shops. A cup of plain espresso usually costs less than two bucks, too. It's cappuccinos and drinks that require the barista to grind, tamp, and brew the espresso beans, plus froth milk (which is more difficult than it might seem) and put flavoring or cream in it that cost four bucks. You're really paying for the labor, not the materials in that case.
By the way, is that poster still available?
... but I did find out my MAF was bad ...
Ah, a fellow TDI owner! Aren't they great?
Strange Brew?
It sounds so familiar, but I'm not sure.
Here's the Webster definition of religion:
1 a : the state of a religious (a nun in her 20th year of religion)
b (1) : the service and worship of God or the supernatural
(2) : commitment or devotion to religious faith or observance
2 : a personal set or institutionalized system of religious attitudes, beliefs, and practices
3 archaic : scrupulous conformity : CONSCIENTIOUSNESS
4 : a cause, principle, or system of beliefs held to with ardor and faith
See the fourth definition. I would consider Secular Humanism to be a system of beliefs (or cause or principle), and many of its adherents hold to its tenets with great ardor and faith (in science, the general ill-will of other religions, et c.).
You have to realize that many followers of religions don't actually believe in any of the "supernatural" portion of their faith, and continue to act on its rules and ethics out of some other personal source of goodwill. How is that so different from Secular Humanism?
Oh please.
A group can define itself as anything it wants. A lot of religions don't consider themselves "religions." A google search for "is not a religion" turns up pages that say:
1. Christianity is not a religion.
2. Buddhism is not a religion.
3. Scientology is not a religion.
4. Ahimsa is not a relgion.
5. Hinduism is not a religion.
et c., for Creationism, evolution(ism, I guess), Ba'Hai, Wicca, Yoga, Zen Buddhism, Falun Gong, and Alcoholics Anonymous -- just to use the first two pages of results. So, you're going to have to do better than to say that Secular Humanism doesn't consider itself a religion to prove that it's not.
spells WIPE-J-LO. No kidding. It's actually pretty creepy.
Excellent! I'd mod you up if I had the points. Good song.
It's true -- many mediocre teachers do "slip through the cracks" for years and years. That's one of the real problems with the public education system; excellent teachers are rarely rewarded and teachers who merely manage not to offend anybody really can keep their jobs forever.
I'm not anti-union, but I would bet that there are more bad public teachers in the places where the unions are strongest, and I know NY has a very strong union.
Overall, though, working for a public school is like any state job -- the pay sucks, and you have to deal with tons of dead weight and paperwork.
Union? Smoke break? I don't know what state you live in, but here (NC), there's no serious teachers' union, and it's illegal for anyone (teachers, students, parents) to smoke on campus.
Also -- "many teachers pull off part time jobs in the summer?" That's funny. What kind of job can you get for two months? A shitty one. Teachers wouldn't take those jobs if they didn't have to to survive. And good teachers do put in 55 hours a week.
I'm a high school teacher. While I agree with your concluding sentence -- I believe that I personally make about what I should at my current job, considering the two months' vacation (not three, as you say) that I get and my level of experience -- you obviously have no idea what the work environment is really like. Teachers are definitely not guaranteed employment for life. Teachers get asked to leave all the time, and for a variety of reasons. Many get fired simply because they don't teach well, but a lot also get the can due to political/legal crap -- fake sexual harassment claims, grabbing a student to break up a fight, etc. Also, states don't mandate a particular curriculum. They usually have a set of vague "learning guidelines" to get the students ready for a worthless standardized test at the end of the year. If enough of your students decide not to show up for the final test or simply don't try, then guess what? You're fired, no matter how long you've been there.
I had a pair of El-Cheapo $20 powered speakers (with a tiny subwoofer, too) last year in college. We had them hooked up to the TV, the N64, the PSX, and a computer. We used to get police radio transmissions on them while they were OFF. Explain THAT.
Is there a cop with a hearing problem in the apartment next door?
I personally enjoyed Lost in Translation and didn't find it offensive. My take on it was that Sofia Coppola has actually spent a lot of time in Japan and other countries where she felt alien, and she made a film about that experience.
I've heard from a couple of Japanese-speakers that when they watched the movie, they thought that it was Americans who were being made fun of, not the Japanese. After all, Bill Murray's character is the one who just doesn't "get" it.
what!? no videodisk?
And how is this horribly different from reality?
Steve Jobs is betting the new M acintosh will help win the holy war against IBM.
... you mean the one with the ibm processor?
haha
Why throw out rare, antique, collector item computers to the bin?
maybe because they're worthless and nobody wants them?