I suppose it would be more accurate to call it their first option. They are always aware of the possibility that use of force will be necessary, so they're not off guard.
It's at the top of their list but it gets picked last.
Violence is the first refuge of the incompetent, because they have nothing to fall back on.
Competent people are prepared for the incompetent, so the use of force is their first choice. They just don't take it until their other options are gone.
That's why competence keeps you out of jail. You can tell the cops that you did X, Y, and Z first, and it didn't work, whereas the incompetent guy calls the responding officer a pig and has a little trouble getting into the squad car.
Fortunately, many of the stupid sites (alternative-medicine-and-health.com, for example) are self-announcing.
Take the time to thank whatever god you pray to that "alternative health" and "new age" are industries. Most of their business depends on customers recognizing the shibboleths and clicking as opposed to scrolling past. Perhaps commoditization can be a good thing.
Revolutionizing the movie industry
on
The New Face Lift
·
· Score: 1
Now movies will contain the disclaimer;
"Any resemblance to living persons is purely coincidental. Resemblance to dead persons is possibly the result of a surgical proceedure."
It's not just the antisocial behavior. In order to be an attractive hire for one of these agencies or companies, you have to be something of a virtuoso. The people you hear about who dodge jailtime by getting hired by the people who caught them were offered those jobs because they were innovative in their lawbreaking, and had demonstrated that they had the critical thinking skills that distinguish successful criminals and good troubleshooters.
"Additionally, if you are aware of any current or previous colleagues who might also be interested in opportunities at Microsoft, I would be happy to speak with them as well. Referrals are always welcome, and are greatly appreciated."
Is it just me, or does this sound like a chain email?
They'd also have some idea how to use those swords, spears and bows, at least. Maybe knives too, if used in conjunction with or in opposition to one of the others.
Just having a weapon isn't enough. You have to be competent with it, and realize that your weapon doesn't replace your brain. If you can't keep your head and your moral compass pointed in the same direction, I'd rather not augment your threat by enabling you to project extra force on other people.
The situation I observe in New Orleans (I don't for a second believe it's that accurate) makes me wonder if society isn't just based on trust and the threat of force. I mean, once our infrastructure and utilities break down, the pressure of all those people in so little space starts to tell.
"And it's not like our military does not have nonlethal weapons, it just won't arm our guys with them for the obvious lunkhead reasons."
Care to elaborate on those obvious lunkhead reasons?
Fielding less-than-lethal weapons is not something to be done lightly. The fact that soldiers will be less familiar with them would immediately make them less effective, so you'd have to at least delay employing them except with new units who have trained with them. How many months is that, bureaucracy included?
Sustaining them in operation can be a hassle too. As has been pointed out, the less-lethal quality of these weapons lends them to freer use, which is not always good. Not to mention the ammo can be, well, wierd. It's not fun to try and differentiate pepper rounds from beanbag rounds from shotgun shells when your adrenaline is pumping, you've got tunnel vision, and your fine motor skills are so shot to hell you couldn't tie your enemy to a telephone pole if you wanted to. Bullets, on the other hand, are cheap to make.
Also, as weapons become less and less lethal their effectiveness seems to become a matter of their being used correctly, which will never happen all the time in the stress of a combat situation (which crowd control can become easily once someone throws a rock or bottle). In other words, they're more likely to fail to stop an attacker than just aiming a three round burst at the center of the body. The soldier just may be aware that his weapons were made by the lowest bidder.
Human beings can be killed by some very slight trauma, but can also survive surprising amounts of abuse. Police officers keep a healthy distance from knifers even when they have their guns on him. Why? Because even a lethally wounded man can take from 10 seconds to two minutes or therabouts to die (Yeah, those drawn out war movie scenes where the Sargeant is dying are more accurate than you might think). In 10 seconds a knifer can close a hefty distance, much less two minutes.
Obviously, less lethal weapons are not a magic bullet (mod me down if you can't forgive the pun). Only good training and understanding of the weapon and the dynamics in which it is employed can achieve those results.
This begs the question; if it becomes a precedent that a company can file suit against former employees who aren't bound by non-competition clauses, will certain religious institutions with corporate entities attached to them use this to keep people from converting to "competing" sects?
We'd be better to drop all the artificial priveledge and all the labels and treat everyone as they deserve: like shit.
We need labels to facilitate discourse and thought. Removing them entirely, while it may result in an peaceful experience of some zen-style satori or enightenment for an individual, doesn't help the flow of information in any way.
Dvorak and QWERTY use different key arrangements, so do bit paired and "space cadet" boards, yet we all call them keyboards. Should we stop?
The words are not the problem. Attitudes are, and that's an individual issue.
Either that or a load of Bothans were forced at blaster-point to get out and push. Certainly explains how they'd be familiar with the exterior vulnerabilities of the Death Star, don't it?
The fact that Occam was a theist in no way invalidates the use of his rule in arguments against the existance of God. His happiness is not our concern.
Occam's Razor is a tool. It doesn't exist to support your hypotheses, only to test them.
"RPGs are based on a dice game, and is really about mathematics. The people with powerful characters are the ones who can do math, not the once with a cable modem in the same town as the server."
Basically true (about D&D and other RPGs, I mean), although it's not the ideal. The Holy Grail of both P&P (Pencil & Paper) and MMO- RPGs is a system that conforms to common sense, so that math enters your gameplay only a little more than it enters the processes by which you live your everyday life.
That way you can really focus on *CHARACTER* development, rather than *STAT* development.
You can use an analog watch, if it's correctly set, to find your direction in the wilderness. Point the hour hand at the sun, and halfway between the hour hand and 12 o'clock will be either North or South, depending on your lattitude and time of year.
Yeah, that's not much, but it's cool. It also means you can set your analog watches with a compass, and, with a little math and a sure reckoning of where north is, estimate your lattitude by finding how close the sun is to vertical, and in which direction it deviates.
Thinking about this problem has brought to my attention that I've been a Boy Scout for far too long...
I wouldn't count on that to matter much. It might; in Bizzarro world, where Superman is bad and dogs take people for walks, but I wouldn't lean on that premise in our universe.
I think this will probably be another Asimo; fun to think about, but generally impractical. Who wants to sit online waiting in a queue because all available robots are looking for The Catcher in the Rye?
Perhaps the flying-car industry will pick up an endorsement from people who want lower highway maintainence costs; It seems an easy way to have multi-level freeways without having to actually build them.
The only problem is that the more levels you add the greater the odds for a crash of biblical proportions. If the engine fails on one car, it drops like a stone into the levels below. And when this flaming mass of metal and flesh hits the ground...ick.
Of course, with no barrier between one level and the next there would also be the added danger of people making vertical lane changes...and police pursuits would get a lot more hairy.
We are definitely not ready for masses of flying cars. Lets work on a more ubiquitous rail system, eh?
Slashdot Mirror
I suppose it would be more accurate to call it their first option. They are always aware of the possibility that use of force will be necessary, so they're not off guard.
It's at the top of their list but it gets picked last.
Violence is the first refuge of the incompetent, because they have nothing to fall back on.
Competent people are prepared for the incompetent, so the use of force is their first choice. They just don't take it until their other options are gone.
That's why competence keeps you out of jail. You can tell the cops that you did X, Y, and Z first, and it didn't work, whereas the incompetent guy calls the responding officer a pig and has a little trouble getting into the squad car.
Indeed, his anonymity is a great part of his power. So long as they can't pin him (or her) down, Microsoft may actually have to move its ass.
As a man, he can be fired, he can be sued for breach of contract. But as a symbol, he can be everlasting.
*cue viscerally resonant cinematic soundtrack*
I smell a montage coming on.
Fortunately, many of the stupid sites (alternative-medicine-and-health.com, for example) are self-announcing.
Take the time to thank whatever god you pray to that "alternative health" and "new age" are industries. Most of their business depends on customers recognizing the shibboleths and clicking as opposed to scrolling past. Perhaps commoditization can be a good thing.
Now movies will contain the disclaimer;
"Any resemblance to living persons is purely coincidental. Resemblance to dead persons is possibly the result of a surgical proceedure."
FLASH: Employees of Evil Empire Say Organization Empire, Evil. Film at eleven.
After all, he had the sense to post anonymously.
It's not just the antisocial behavior. In order to be an attractive hire for one of these agencies or companies, you have to be something of a virtuoso. The people you hear about who dodge jailtime by getting hired by the people who caught them were offered those jobs because they were innovative in their lawbreaking, and had demonstrated that they had the critical thinking skills that distinguish successful criminals and good troubleshooters.
From TFA:
"Additionally, if you are aware of any current or previous colleagues who might also be interested in opportunities at Microsoft, I would be happy to speak with them as well. Referrals are always welcome, and are greatly appreciated."
Is it just me, or does this sound like a chain email?
...but until it can handle a Poison Bite 105/ 401 Recitiation of Sins/ 402 Verdict/ Fire Ball, I think we've still got a long way to go.
They'd also have some idea how to use those swords, spears and bows, at least. Maybe knives too, if used in conjunction with or in opposition to one of the others.
Just having a weapon isn't enough. You have to be competent with it, and realize that your weapon doesn't replace your brain. If you can't keep your head and your moral compass pointed in the same direction, I'd rather not augment your threat by enabling you to project extra force on other people.
The situation I observe in New Orleans (I don't for a second believe it's that accurate) makes me wonder if society isn't just based on trust and the threat of force. I mean, once our infrastructure and utilities break down, the pressure of all those people in so little space starts to tell.
"And it's not like our military does not have nonlethal weapons, it just won't arm our guys with them for the obvious lunkhead reasons."
Care to elaborate on those obvious lunkhead reasons?
Fielding less-than-lethal weapons is not something to be done lightly. The fact that soldiers will be less familiar with them would immediately make them less effective, so you'd have to at least delay employing them except with new units who have trained with them. How many months is that, bureaucracy included?
Sustaining them in operation can be a hassle too. As has been pointed out, the less-lethal quality of these weapons lends them to freer use, which is not always good. Not to mention the ammo can be, well, wierd. It's not fun to try and differentiate pepper rounds from beanbag rounds from shotgun shells when your adrenaline is pumping, you've got tunnel vision, and your fine motor skills are so shot to hell you couldn't tie your enemy to a telephone pole if you wanted to. Bullets, on the other hand, are cheap to make.
Also, as weapons become less and less lethal their effectiveness seems to become a matter of their being used correctly, which will never happen all the time in the stress of a combat situation (which crowd control can become easily once someone throws a rock or bottle). In other words, they're more likely to fail to stop an attacker than just aiming a three round burst at the center of the body. The soldier just may be aware that his weapons were made by the lowest bidder.
Human beings can be killed by some very slight trauma, but can also survive surprising amounts of abuse. Police officers keep a healthy distance from knifers even when they have their guns on him. Why? Because even a lethally wounded man can take from 10 seconds to two minutes or therabouts to die (Yeah, those drawn out war movie scenes where the Sargeant is dying are more accurate than you might think). In 10 seconds a knifer can close a hefty distance, much less two minutes.
Obviously, less lethal weapons are not a magic bullet (mod me down if you can't forgive the pun). Only good training and understanding of the weapon and the dynamics in which it is employed can achieve those results.
IT is not the only area this effects.
This begs the question; if it becomes a precedent that a company can file suit against former employees who aren't bound by non-competition clauses, will certain religious institutions with corporate entities attached to them use this to keep people from converting to "competing" sects?
We'd be better to drop all the artificial priveledge and all the labels and treat everyone as they deserve: like shit.
We need labels to facilitate discourse and thought. Removing them entirely, while it may result in an peaceful experience of some zen-style satori or enightenment for an individual, doesn't help the flow of information in any way.
Dvorak and QWERTY use different key arrangements, so do bit paired and "space cadet" boards, yet we all call them keyboards. Should we stop?
The words are not the problem. Attitudes are, and that's an individual issue.
You see, he has mastered the art of Offscreen Teleportation
Either that or a load of Bothans were forced at blaster-point to get out and push. Certainly explains how they'd be familiar with the exterior vulnerabilities of the Death Star, don't it?
The secret's out, people. Now everyone knows that Star Wars is not actually "hard" science fiction!
At least they didn't do a study or anything.
The fact that Occam was a theist in no way invalidates the use of his rule in arguments against the existance of God. His happiness is not our concern.
Occam's Razor is a tool. It doesn't exist to support your hypotheses, only to test them.
"RPGs are based on a dice game, and is really about mathematics. The people with powerful characters are the ones who can do math, not the once with a cable modem in the same town as the server."
Basically true (about D&D and other RPGs, I mean), although it's not the ideal. The Holy Grail of both P&P (Pencil & Paper) and MMO- RPGs is a system that conforms to common sense, so that math enters your gameplay only a little more than it enters the processes by which you live your everyday life.
That way you can really focus on *CHARACTER* development, rather than *STAT* development.
You can use an analog watch, if it's correctly set, to find your direction in the wilderness. Point the hour hand at the sun, and halfway between the hour hand and 12 o'clock will be either North or South, depending on your lattitude and time of year.
Yeah, that's not much, but it's cool. It also means you can set your analog watches with a compass, and, with a little math and a sure reckoning of where north is, estimate your lattitude by finding how close the sun is to vertical, and in which direction it deviates.
Thinking about this problem has brought to my attention that I've been a Boy Scout for far too long...
I wouldn't count on that to matter much. It might; in Bizzarro world, where Superman is bad and dogs take people for walks, but I wouldn't lean on that premise in our universe.
You mean Kamchatka?
Maybe nothing was said because they were already jaded about giant explosions, along with Baba Yagas and other wierd happenings out there.
So if I take up a life o' crime, all I have to do to when I have to do business over the wires is pad my conversations with phake phone sex?
More incentive not to get to the point too early, I guess.
But the grad students are funnier to watch.
I think this will probably be another Asimo; fun to think about, but generally impractical. Who wants to sit online waiting in a queue because all available robots are looking for The Catcher in the Rye?
Well, the server thing may be a factor. I mean, robots only become really useful when they communicate with each other, right?
Perhaps the flying-car industry will pick up an endorsement from people who want lower highway maintainence costs; It seems an easy way to have multi-level freeways without having to actually build them.
The only problem is that the more levels you add the greater the odds for a crash of biblical proportions. If the engine fails on one car, it drops like a stone into the levels below. And when this flaming mass of metal and flesh hits the ground...ick.
Of course, with no barrier between one level and the next there would also be the added danger of people making vertical lane changes...and police pursuits would get a lot more hairy.
We are definitely not ready for masses of flying cars. Lets work on a more ubiquitous rail system, eh?