There used to be a bug with Chrome where it would kill a CPU for a bit just by expanding comments, scrolling, etc. It's now solid on this page, notebook is getting really hot.
Not sure if it is a Chrome bug or Slashdot bug, but I haven't seen this recently on any page other than Flash content.
I bought a pair of blue-blocking glasses about two years ago for this very reason. At night if I can't reasonably control light levels, these blue-spectrum blocking glasses really help. lowbluelights.com offers these.
The greatest side-effect I have from blue light is delaying the sleep phase, where the quality sleep you receive is now early in the morning compared to the middle of the night. This makes mornings especially terrible and unproductive.
I've never seen a community college charge $900 / semester, let alone a University in Canada. Over ten years ago I remember friends paying $2000 per year for community college, and there's been some serious inflation and government funding cuts since then. For an Undergraduate program, you're looking around $6000 to $8000 per year (our dollar is at parity with the greenback), Medicine and Business not included. The expenses at Canadian institutions are generally lower as well. Tenured faculty average at just over $100k per year, and most staff positions are paid at the market rate but with a generous pension.
Paying for the remaining $80,000 or so in the form of weekly taxation? Unlikely, as expenses are lower. I've read a few places which state that half of our tax dollars go to health care, and we don't have nearly the same per capita military budget as the United States. My property taxes for an average house (in Canada) with a huge lot (1700 sq. ft., 1/3 acre) in a good area in a mid-sized city are $2700 / year, which include the school tax portion.
Society also pays dearly if the populace is undereducated, and I would argue that partial subsidy of higher ed saves the justice and correctional systems a boat load.
n-acetylcysteine plus vitamin b1 plus vitamin C, pre and post ethanol ingestion. I usually take 600 mg n-acetylcysteine for two drinks, 1000 mg vitamin C, and a generic B-complex vitamin, before and after.
I wouldn't believe everything this guy has to say (fundamentalist in his own respect), but the point about acetaldehyde and antidote should be remembered.
http://www.ceri.com/alcohol.htm
What people need to understand is risk management. If the initial critical security patch fixes problems with active exploits in the wild but creates one exploit that is not in the wild, you are likely better off. This is dependent on the scope of the security flaws, be it remotely exploitable, requiring user intervention, etc.
Is the end-result a more secure system? Yes, provided the second-level patch is applied shortly thereafter, as the active vulnerabilies have been patched in the interim.
I have a client who had installed pirated copies of Windows XP Professional (no domains with XP Home), using a keygen'ed corporate VLK . Two of the systems failed WGA, and one of them has been fine. They have since became fully compliant from a licensing perspective (purchased the licenses required), but still continue to run a keygen'ed corporate VLK on a workstation which passes WGA.
Yeah, that was a good one. Used McAfee to remove at the time, and it took forever going through all of my 5 1/4" floppies. ..
I was curious how the virus worked so I took a hex editor to it, managed to modify the boot string "Your PC is now Stoned!" to see the effect. There was something else in there like "LEGALIZE MARIJUANA" but I never saw this echoed to the console.
A while back, someone posted a link to this site on slashdot, http://www.politicalcompass.org/. It's theory includes a left and right, authoritarian (fascism) and libertarian (anarchism) axes.
Do visit redeemernews.org. You will find yourself surrounded by a plethora of neoconservative ideals, and a much predictable attack on anything in the right or liberal spectrum. (Although I would stress there is some degree of truth in what they say about Michael Moore's film, but it should equally be taken into the context of the source.) If you want an objective source of statistics, the site www.nationmaster.com has excellent statistics including educational, crime, and economical.
Good social systems work. I have visited the U.S. numerous times, but nothing was as blatant as the difference between rich and poor. Visited New Orleans for a week, stopped a few places on the way, and it was just unfathomable how different racial minorities were treated and the huge chasm between rich and poor. The only places I have ever felt unsafe have been in the U.S. -- and this is an objective statement, having lived in major centres such as Montreal and Toronto.
If people could set aside their greed for money and power, even a slight degree, we would see a much more functional society with more contributors.
I am curious, from a Christian perspective, if there is an explanation for this below argument. I have been pondering it for a few weeks now, but cannot seem to come to any conclusion....
Is it possible to prove the existence of a god, or another being not residing in the same dimension as us, with only evidence from this world? I am trying to think of any one scenario where it is provable there is (or, for that matter, isn't) a God with information from our dimension or realm. Often-times, most Christians will point directly to the Bible as the sole source of information on this. The issue of course is the Bible was written by people, but as it is told in the Bible, really the word of God, but how can it be proven it is really the word of God?
I find myself frustrated with some philosophical issues of the Christian church and faith, such as bias against certain 'sins' and a level of hypocrisy apparent only to the outside world. But, as it is put in the Bible, one must not use the church as a baseline for the faith, as it merely represents fallible people who may have flawed belief systems.
Due to this information, I am an agnostic, unsure if any appropriate information will arise at either side ever, or if it is even possible, due to the above argument of a god being from a different realm or dimension. Atheism is a flawed argument itself, as one cannot prove or disprove the existence of a god with mere science from this world. Any insight you have would be most interesting.
We probably can't stop the trend, but there is the possibility of slowing it down. As you stated, the taxation policies might be the best route, with corporate tax breaks for hiring local technology workers and lower income taxes. These cannot be substantial breaks, as it might upset some WTO agreements. Your point on encouragement for students to pursue science and engineering is well taken. I know of many who simply pursue an arts degree, as the future for technical workers seems dismal.
Another alternate route is minor re-training with government subsidy. Think about the amazing thought process yourself (or other technical workers) have learned. I read in your previous post your distaste for lawyers, but the thought process is very similar. It's somewhat brutal to have to go back to school, especially if you're established. . . With a combination of good business and technical skills, the opportunities are endless. Maybe small business, consulting, partnerships with professional practice firms?
I discussed this very scenario with my girlfriend, the issue of future white-collar jobs being outsourced -- it didn't go over well. She did a few years of chemical engineering, dropped out, and works at a place that processes cheques / deposits for the banks. She was considering going through for an accounting designation, but the thought of these positions going overseas to her seemed completely unrealistic. Knowledge of this hemorrhage, outside of the technical community, is unheard of, but the people need to be informed.
What is the source of greed? The American Corporation looking for a better bottom-line and competing in the American Free-Market Economy, or the Worker who wishes protectionist policies to ensure their role in the labour market does not change. ..
This "outsourcing" is also a key source of income for the people and families of India, who also need food, drinking water, healthcare, etc. If we continue to live in excess while the poorest nations are not given a hands-up, this will only lead to further class strife and conflict.
Way back in 1996, when I first started college, I chose the path of Networking and Hardware over Software Engineering. Many fellow students questioned why, and the answer was simple -- information has no borders with the Internet -- there's always someone else out there who can write an end if statement. It is only a matter of time before all applications are web-based with the back-end in (insert Country here) and the dumb terminals at everyone's desks.
I will take the middle-ground on this issue. I work in I.T., and have seen the market collapse, nonetheless. Uncertainty lies ahead, and we must be willing to conquer these issues as workers, families, and corporations -- but protectionist legislation is not the answer.
You're right on the money -- keeping it simple for most small businesses should always be a priority. Worst case scenario, they need to power cycle the router. Usage, well, if it gets to be a problem or the ISP complains, then worry about traffic shaping and filtering.
With Starbucks charging like $4 for a cafe latte (and most independents on the same scale), I'm sure they can afford the measly monthly fee for a broadband connection and capital costs for a router / AP.
Sympatico used to have bandwidth limits of something like 5 gigs per month, but that's over. If you feel ambitious in any way, the legal stuff is below.
Here's the ever-lengthy Sympatico User Agreements:
In addition to these Policies, while using your Sympatico account, you are prohibited from conducting activities that include, but are not limited to:
Sharing of your Sympatico user account UserID and password for any purpose, including, without limitation, for concurrent dial up login sessions from the same Sympatico user account.
Causing an Internet host to become unable to effectively service requests from other hosts.
Running and/or hosting Server Applications including but not limited to HTTP, FTP, POP, SMTP, Proxy/SOCKS, NNTP, ).
Analyzing or penetrating an Internet host's security mechanisms.
Forging any part of the TCP/IP packet headers in any way.
I had the joy of calling Dell in regards to the easy access sound buttons not working on an Inspiron 8500. (e.g. volume control, mute, etc.)
First Call: - spoke with agent
- she told me to turn off the computer
- very long pause, hello, hellow.... eventually a response!
- asked to remove the battery, 5 minutes later, put the battery back in.......
(it goes on like this -- I'd rather not put you through the agony!)
- eventually, she said she spoke with a manager, and had a solution, and was going to e-mail the fix out, said I'd wait until I got the message, refused to describe the fix, they hung up on the call.
Here's the e-mail:
HI THIS DIANA FROM DELL TECHNICAL SUPPORT I AM SENDING U ALINK REGARDING THE SOUND BUTTON http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb; en-us;174091
THANK U
DIANA
The information in this article applies to:
* Microsoft Access 97 (WTF?!?!)
It ended up being a connector for the buttons under one of the trim pieces wasn't fully inserted. THE SUPPORT CALL TOOK AN HOUR AND A HALF FOR A FEW REBOOTS!!! (This is with extra "CompleteCare" service")
Case in point: There are many brilliant Indian programmers and support staff, but equally as many incompetent ones.
Do you honestly expect schools to NOT have Microsoft software? Most likely, for nearly everyone in those schools, Windows is all they're going to use in their lives. Why would schools put forth all that time, money, and effort into switching over to Linux if all that will happen is the students would be less prepared for the real world?
Really, how difficult can it be to switch from one software package or operating system to another, for end-user tasks? OpenOffice and Microsoft Office are so similar the differences aren't relevant, except for more advanced tasks.
The principles are the same, log in to the system, click on what application you want to run. . . Children are not dullards, they can read basic instructions on the screen, just as there are alternate problem solving methods listed in textbooks for everyday subjects. Any company I've been employed with is more interested in your ability to learn quickly, less than being hugely efficient in one specialized area. Sure, some spreadsheet formulas may be different, but this teaches them how to research fundamentals.
What is the most technically-adept group of society? Our children -- they are the ones IMing all of their friends, on-line game addicts, it wasn't this way 10 years ago.
- This makes card vendors inclined to think only the Windows platform is truly important
The progression to Linux as an OS is inevitable. With full countries advocating the use of Linux and Open Source, and good corporate supports such as IBM, Novell / SuSE, HP, etc. this will put pressure on hardware vendors to make drivers available.
At this point, if native driver support (most likely hugely more stable and clean) cannot be found with a specific vendor or product, a competitor's product will be integrated into the contract, thus power of scale comes into play.
This will nonetheless slow initial adoption, but once the ball gets rolling, within lets say 1-2 years, Linux drivers will be an expectation.
Would it be possible to run an alternative trade group for the music industry comprised of the small labels?
Consider this. . . With the marketing power of a single organization backed by the independent labels, a form of web delivery could be started, such as a site for the independent trade group. Users of the site could rate the music, cutting marketing costs for the labels, and devoting more of the profits to the artists.
A subscription-based system or inexpensive downloads (e.g. $0.25 per song) without copy controls would ensure a broad user base. The cost-effectiveness to download the songs free would be minimized, so the market may gravitate to purchasing at least 50% of the music.
I'm tired of pop and radioplay, just bring me real music and I'll pay.
Re:Personal experiences with ADHD, mood swings, et
on
Working with ADHD?
·
· Score: 1
Well, it was really complicated to start with. . . I knew something was wrong, I mentioned it to my M.D. a few times, but never really did anything about it.
Had a visit with a naturopath, and she did some blood work, checked out accupuncture points (this is a bit sketchy, but seems to have a reasonable degree of accuracy), and recommended I read the book "Eat Right for Your Type" -- search for ISBN #039914255X. It's impossible to follow everything in the book, it's just way too hard core, but even the small changes made a big difference. The main point of it, is our immune system reacts differently depending on the blood type, which change what food is ideal. The first thing to do is find out your blood type, and then proceed to read -- even skim -- the book.
Regarding the compounts, the ones that seemed to make the greatest difference were the B-vitamins, amino acid precursors (5-HTP -- 5-HydroxyTryptophan, and L-Tyrosine), and Omega-3 fatty acids.
In the human diet, we consume tryptophan from foods like meats, etc. -- turkey is commonly known to have a high amount of tryptophan. The problem with eating tryptophan in the diet is that there is a plethora of other amino acids competing across the same transport bus to reach the brain. You're a fellow geek, think of it as like one IRQ and thousands of devices sharing the same IRQ. The more traffic other devices make on the bus, the less of everything else that gets through. Elevated insulin levels clear the blood of many other amino acids and leave tryptophan, so if you ever wonder why "you've got the munchies" at night, maybe you've just got the serotonin munchies! (Look at many people who are depressed, bingeing out on ice cream, sweets, chips, chocolate, etc.) 5-HTP or 5-HydroxyTryptophan is the next step in the conversion process from Tryptophan, and one step away from 5-HT, serotonin, or 5-hydroxytryptamine. So many people could avoid antidepressant use with simple 5-HTP supplementation, other than with severe depression, where antidepressants would be strongly recommended. If you want formalized published literature to read about it, check out ISBN #0553379461, otherwise there's tons of info on the net, just cross-reference it really well to get rid of the zealots.
L-Tyrosine is yet another amino acid precursor. It is used to form dopamine, epinephrine, norepinephrine (adrenaline, noradrenaline), melanin, and thyroid hormone. It may have multiple forms of action, boosting thyroid hormone levels as well as brain activity. I can't remember all of the details, go out on the net my son (j/k), googleize it!!!
Regarding the Omega-3 fatty acids, I am using a combination of EPA and DHA. They mostly have mood stabilizing properties similar to lithium (from one study anyways), help out circulation, and I think I read somewhere it makes the membranes at the synapse more fluid, so that bursts of neurotransmitter are not released at once, but rather in a more orderly fashion.
If you have any sleep disturbances, the melatonin might be worth a try as well. It made a huge difference in my case, but reacts completely the opposite with my other family members.
Re:Personal experiences with ADHD, mood swings, et
on
Working with ADHD?
·
· Score: 1
I wanted to post this before it left my brain. . . Will reply to the rest later on tonight....
Check out this article:
http://www.wpic.pitt.edu/stanley/3rdbipconf/Abst ra cts/poster_j.htm
"Personality Differences Between Bipolar and Unipolar Patients
Results: Using MBTI continuum scores, bipolar patients were significantly more extroverted, intuitive, and perceiving, and less introverted, sensing and judging than were unipolar patients."
Slashdot Mirror
There used to be a bug with Chrome where it would kill a CPU for a bit just by expanding comments, scrolling, etc. It's now solid on this page, notebook is getting really hot. Not sure if it is a Chrome bug or Slashdot bug, but I haven't seen this recently on any page other than Flash content.
I bought a pair of blue-blocking glasses about two years ago for this very reason. At night if I can't reasonably control light levels, these blue-spectrum blocking glasses really help. lowbluelights.com offers these.
The greatest side-effect I have from blue light is delaying the sleep phase, where the quality sleep you receive is now early in the morning compared to the middle of the night. This makes mornings especially terrible and unproductive.
I've never seen a community college charge $900 / semester, let alone a University in Canada. Over ten years ago I remember friends paying $2000 per year for community college, and there's been some serious inflation and government funding cuts since then. For an Undergraduate program, you're looking around $6000 to $8000 per year (our dollar is at parity with the greenback), Medicine and Business not included. The expenses at Canadian institutions are generally lower as well. Tenured faculty average at just over $100k per year, and most staff positions are paid at the market rate but with a generous pension.
Paying for the remaining $80,000 or so in the form of weekly taxation? Unlikely, as expenses are lower. I've read a few places which state that half of our tax dollars go to health care, and we don't have nearly the same per capita military budget as the United States. My property taxes for an average house (in Canada) with a huge lot (1700 sq. ft., 1/3 acre) in a good area in a mid-sized city are $2700 / year, which include the school tax portion.
Society also pays dearly if the populace is undereducated, and I would argue that partial subsidy of higher ed saves the justice and correctional systems a boat load.
n-acetylcysteine plus vitamin b1 plus vitamin C, pre and post ethanol ingestion. I usually take 600 mg n-acetylcysteine for two drinks, 1000 mg vitamin C, and a generic B-complex vitamin, before and after. I wouldn't believe everything this guy has to say (fundamentalist in his own respect), but the point about acetaldehyde and antidote should be remembered. http://www.ceri.com/alcohol.htm
John Smith http://www.johnsmiths.co.uk/
Bears, Beats, Battlestar Galactica.
Who's the co-operative? I've dealt with Quadro and HuronTel in the past for branch offices.
What people need to understand is risk management. If the initial critical security patch fixes problems with active exploits in the wild but creates one exploit that is not in the wild, you are likely better off. This is dependent on the scope of the security flaws, be it remotely exploitable, requiring user intervention, etc.
Is the end-result a more secure system? Yes, provided the second-level patch is applied shortly thereafter, as the active vulnerabilies have been patched in the interim.
I have a client who had installed pirated copies of Windows XP Professional (no domains with XP Home), using a keygen'ed corporate VLK . Two of the systems failed WGA, and one of them has been fine. They have since became fully compliant from a licensing perspective (purchased the licenses required), but still continue to run a keygen'ed corporate VLK on a workstation which passes WGA.
Your write-up is nothing short of amazing, but common-sense all the same.
Thank you.
Yeah, that was a good one. Used McAfee to remove at the time, and it took forever going through all of my 5 1/4" floppies. . .
I was curious how the virus worked so I took a hex editor to it, managed to modify the boot string "Your PC is now Stoned!" to see the effect. There was something else in there like "LEGALIZE MARIJUANA" but I never saw this echoed to the console.
A while back, someone posted a link to this site on slashdot, http://www.politicalcompass.org/. It's theory includes a left and right, authoritarian (fascism) and libertarian (anarchism) axes.
a nalysis2.php
Here's a link to one of the pages including where major political figures fit on the compass. http://www.digitalronin.f2s.com/politicalcompass/
Cheers.
Do visit redeemernews.org. You will find yourself surrounded by a plethora of neoconservative ideals, and a much predictable attack on anything in the right or liberal spectrum. (Although I would stress there is some degree of truth in what they say about Michael Moore's film, but it should equally be taken into the context of the source.) If you want an objective source of statistics, the site www.nationmaster.com has excellent statistics including educational, crime, and economical.
Good social systems work. I have visited the U.S. numerous times, but nothing was as blatant as the difference between rich and poor. Visited New Orleans for a week, stopped a few places on the way, and it was just unfathomable how different racial minorities were treated and the huge chasm between rich and poor. The only places I have ever felt unsafe have been in the U.S. -- and this is an objective statement, having lived in major centres such as Montreal and Toronto.
If people could set aside their greed for money and power, even a slight degree, we would see a much more functional society with more contributors.
I am curious, from a Christian perspective, if there is an explanation for this below argument. I have been pondering it for a few weeks now, but cannot seem to come to any conclusion....
Is it possible to prove the existence of a god, or another being not residing in the same dimension as us, with only evidence from this world? I am trying to think of any one scenario where it is provable there is (or, for that matter, isn't) a God with information from our dimension or realm. Often-times, most Christians will point directly to the Bible as the sole source of information on this. The issue of course is the Bible was written by people, but as it is told in the Bible, really the word of God, but how can it be proven it is really the word of God?
I find myself frustrated with some philosophical issues of the Christian church and faith, such as bias against certain 'sins' and a level of hypocrisy apparent only to the outside world. But, as it is put in the Bible, one must not use the church as a baseline for the faith, as it merely represents fallible people who may have flawed belief systems.
Due to this information, I am an agnostic, unsure if any appropriate information will arise at either side ever, or if it is even possible, due to the above argument of a god being from a different realm or dimension. Atheism is a flawed argument itself, as one cannot prove or disprove the existence of a god with mere science from this world. Any insight you have would be most interesting.
We probably can't stop the trend, but there is the possibility of slowing it down. As you stated, the taxation policies might be the best route, with corporate tax breaks for hiring local technology workers and lower income taxes. These cannot be substantial breaks, as it might upset some WTO agreements. Your point on encouragement for students to pursue science and engineering is well taken. I know of many who simply pursue an arts degree, as the future for technical workers seems dismal.
Another alternate route is minor re-training with government subsidy. Think about the amazing thought process yourself (or other technical workers) have learned. I read in your previous post your distaste for lawyers, but the thought process is very similar. It's somewhat brutal to have to go back to school, especially if you're established. . . With a combination of good business and technical skills, the opportunities are endless. Maybe small business, consulting, partnerships with professional practice firms?
I discussed this very scenario with my girlfriend, the issue of future white-collar jobs being outsourced -- it didn't go over well. She did a few years of chemical engineering, dropped out, and works at a place that processes cheques / deposits for the banks. She was considering going through for an accounting designation, but the thought of these positions going overseas to her seemed completely unrealistic. Knowledge of this hemorrhage, outside of the technical community, is unheard of, but the people need to be informed.
The next direction? No one knows.
What is the source of greed? The American Corporation looking for a better bottom-line and competing in the American Free-Market Economy, or the Worker who wishes protectionist policies to ensure their role in the labour market does not change. . .
This "outsourcing" is also a key source of income for the people and families of India, who also need food, drinking water, healthcare, etc. If we continue to live in excess while the poorest nations are not given a hands-up, this will only lead to further class strife and conflict.
Way back in 1996, when I first started college, I chose the path of Networking and Hardware over Software Engineering. Many fellow students questioned why, and the answer was simple -- information has no borders with the Internet -- there's always someone else out there who can write an end if statement. It is only a matter of time before all applications are web-based with the back-end in (insert Country here) and the dumb terminals at everyone's desks.
I will take the middle-ground on this issue. I work in I.T., and have seen the market collapse, nonetheless. Uncertainty lies ahead, and we must be willing to conquer these issues as workers, families, and corporations -- but protectionist legislation is not the answer.
You're right on the money -- keeping it simple for most small businesses should always be a priority. Worst case scenario, they need to power cycle the router. Usage, well, if it gets to be a problem or the ISP complains, then worry about traffic shaping and filtering.
With Starbucks charging like $4 for a cafe latte (and most independents on the same scale), I'm sure they can afford the measly monthly fee for a broadband connection and capital costs for a router / AP.
joel.
I attempted a download of MUTE via the Time Warner Telecom mirror of SourceForge, and it gave a 404!!! (Another mirror worked, not sure which one. . .)
Time Warner and big media looking out for their best interests???
Here's the ever-lengthy Sympatico User Agreements:
http://service1.sympatico.ca/ServiceDesk/ServiceD
Acceptable Use Policy - www.aup.sympatico.ca
"Network / Security
In addition to these Policies, while using your Sympatico account, you are prohibited from conducting activities that include, but are not limited to:
I had the joy of calling Dell in regards to the easy access sound buttons not working on an Inspiron 8500. (e.g. volume control, mute, etc.)
; en-us;174091
THANK U
DIANA
First Call:
- spoke with agent
- she told me to turn off the computer
- very long pause, hello, hellow.... eventually a response!
- asked to remove the battery, 5 minutes later, put the battery back in.......
(it goes on like this -- I'd rather not put you through the agony!)
- eventually, she said she spoke with a manager, and had a solution, and was going to e-mail the fix out, said I'd wait until I got the message, refused to describe the fix, they hung up on the call.
Here's the e-mail:
HI THIS DIANA FROM DELL TECHNICAL SUPPORT
I AM SENDING U ALINK REGARDING THE SOUND BUTTON http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb
The information in this article applies to:
* Microsoft Access 97 (WTF?!?!)
It ended up being a connector for the buttons under one of the trim pieces wasn't fully inserted. THE SUPPORT CALL TOOK AN HOUR AND A HALF FOR A FEW REBOOTS!!! (This is with extra "CompleteCare" service")
Case in point: There are many brilliant Indian programmers and support staff, but equally as many incompetent ones.
Do you honestly expect schools to NOT have Microsoft software? Most likely, for nearly everyone in those schools, Windows is all they're going to use in their lives. Why would schools put forth all that time, money, and effort into switching over to Linux if all that will happen is the students would be less prepared for the real world?
Really, how difficult can it be to switch from one software package or operating system to another, for end-user tasks? OpenOffice and Microsoft Office are so similar the differences aren't relevant, except for more advanced tasks.
The principles are the same, log in to the system, click on what application you want to run. . . Children are not dullards, they can read basic instructions on the screen, just as there are alternate problem solving methods listed in textbooks for everyday subjects. Any company I've been employed with is more interested in your ability to learn quickly, less than being hugely efficient in one specialized area. Sure, some spreadsheet formulas may be different, but this teaches them how to research fundamentals.
What is the most technically-adept group of society? Our children -- they are the ones IMing all of their friends, on-line game addicts, it wasn't this way 10 years ago.
- This makes card vendors inclined to think only the Windows platform is truly important
The progression to Linux as an OS is inevitable. With full countries advocating the use of Linux and Open Source, and good corporate supports such as IBM, Novell / SuSE, HP, etc. this will put pressure on hardware vendors to make drivers available.
At this point, if native driver support (most likely hugely more stable and clean) cannot be found with a specific vendor or product, a competitor's product will be integrated into the contract, thus power of scale comes into play.
This will nonetheless slow initial adoption, but once the ball gets rolling, within lets say 1-2 years, Linux drivers will be an expectation.
Would it be possible to run an alternative trade group for the music industry comprised of the small labels?
Consider this. . . With the marketing power of a single organization backed by the independent labels, a form of web delivery could be started, such as a site for the independent trade group. Users of the site could rate the music, cutting marketing costs for the labels, and devoting more of the profits to the artists.
A subscription-based system or inexpensive downloads (e.g. $0.25 per song) without copy controls would ensure a broad user base. The cost-effectiveness to download the songs free would be minimized, so the market may gravitate to purchasing at least 50% of the music.
I'm tired of pop and radioplay, just bring me real music and I'll pay.
Well, it was really complicated to start with. . . I knew something was wrong, I mentioned it to my M.D. a few times, but never really did anything about it.
Had a visit with a naturopath, and she did some blood work, checked out accupuncture points (this is a bit sketchy, but seems to have a reasonable degree of accuracy), and recommended I read the book "Eat Right for Your Type" -- search for ISBN #039914255X. It's impossible to follow everything in the book, it's just way too hard core, but even the small changes made a big difference. The main point of it, is our immune system reacts differently depending on the blood type, which change what food is ideal. The first thing to do is find out your blood type, and then proceed to read -- even skim -- the book.
Regarding the compounts, the ones that seemed to make the greatest difference were the B-vitamins, amino acid precursors (5-HTP -- 5-HydroxyTryptophan, and L-Tyrosine), and Omega-3 fatty acids.
In the human diet, we consume tryptophan from foods like meats, etc. -- turkey is commonly known to have a high amount of tryptophan. The problem with eating tryptophan in the diet is that there is a plethora of other amino acids competing across the same transport bus to reach the brain. You're a fellow geek, think of it as like one IRQ and thousands of devices sharing the same IRQ. The more traffic other devices make on the bus, the less of everything else that gets through. Elevated insulin levels clear the blood of many other amino acids and leave tryptophan, so if you ever wonder why "you've got the munchies" at night, maybe you've just got the serotonin munchies! (Look at many people who are depressed, bingeing out on ice cream, sweets, chips, chocolate, etc.) 5-HTP or 5-HydroxyTryptophan is the next step in the conversion process from Tryptophan, and one step away from 5-HT, serotonin, or 5-hydroxytryptamine. So many people could avoid antidepressant use with simple 5-HTP supplementation, other than with severe depression, where antidepressants would be strongly recommended. If you want formalized published literature to read about it, check out ISBN #0553379461, otherwise there's tons of info on the net, just cross-reference it really well to get rid of the zealots.
L-Tyrosine is yet another amino acid precursor. It is used to form dopamine, epinephrine, norepinephrine (adrenaline, noradrenaline), melanin, and thyroid hormone. It may have multiple forms of action, boosting thyroid hormone levels as well as brain activity. I can't remember all of the details, go out on the net my son (j/k), googleize it!!!
Regarding the Omega-3 fatty acids, I am using a combination of EPA and DHA. They mostly have mood stabilizing properties similar to lithium (from one study anyways), help out circulation, and I think I read somewhere it makes the membranes at the synapse more fluid, so that bursts of neurotransmitter are not released at once, but rather in a more orderly fashion.
If you have any sleep disturbances, the melatonin might be worth a try as well. It made a huge difference in my case, but reacts completely the opposite with my other family members.
I wanted to post this before it left my brain. . . Will reply to the rest later on tonight....
t ra cts/poster_j.htm
Check out this article:
http://www.wpic.pitt.edu/stanley/3rdbipconf/Abs
"Personality Differences Between Bipolar and Unipolar Patients
Results: Using MBTI continuum scores, bipolar patients were significantly more extroverted, intuitive, and perceiving, and less introverted, sensing and judging than were unipolar patients."
Very cool reading.