You forgot Option 3: drop down to a breatheable altitute and throw the hard drive out the window. Saves the plane, the crew, the need to destroy the data, and the need for this 125lb. magnetic gadget that screws up your watch every time you walk by... Worse comes to worse, Greenpeace gets on your case for littering, or accidentally hitting a whale, or something like that.
In other words, the second thing- this is a short-term thing to gain publicity. First, there are barely enough agencies making good ads now, let alone sustain this kind of campaign. Second, if anyone does find anyting new and different, it only takes about 30 seconds for other marketing types to glom on. Then we're bombarded with the "new and different" for a few years.
Besides- "viral marketing" is a flawed premise, at least as far as adult audiences go. Yes, viral communication is possible if you're trying to spread an idea that's similar to those already present in the viewer's mind, but once you cross the line into introducing something that the viewer didn't know he needed, you're more likely to get a cybernetic immune response.
Hey- not every member of Congress is that dumb. Don't ask me to name 'em, of course...
But I digress.
I think you're on to something here- but instead of redefining the temperature and pressure, re-define the room. Maybe this stuff could be used for constructing deep-sea exploration vehicles and habitats. That'll shave off a few degrees / add a few atmospheres to the temperature and pressure targets.
Remember: Up on the shore they work all day Out in the sun they slave away While we devotin' Full time to floatin' Under the sea...
I'll take your word on it. My primary objective was to troll for "Funny" points using the Tammy Faye analogy.
BTW- I first heard the feather/chicken joke from a bridesmaid as I was escorting her down the aisle at a wedding. Hard to keep a straight face in that context... Since it was a wedding, we had to settle for the feather- all of the chickens had been claimed by the caterer.
I carried a G3 iBook for two years of heavy use. Never saw anything that a little alcohol couldn't fix. Try two shots of Wild Turkey- it'll look fine...
You know, the government spent a long time testing those new dollar coins to find an alloy that would keep its shine. It didn't work. Nothing that gets used stays clean. Probably some sort of entropy thing.
Oh I dunno. What about the popularity of windows? Does that fit the description of something that "works, but isn't pretty"?
(1) Is it popular, or is it the only choice for most buyers?
(2) Does it really work (well)? Over the years, I've seen my colleagues on the PC side throw up their hands and reformat/reinstall some Windows version much more often than I've had to resort to the (non-destructive) "archive and install," or earlier "clean install" processes. (I'm a Mac user, and I'd probably be a lifelong Mac user if I'd've been born after 1984, but I actually predate the Intel 4004, let alone the Motorola 68000. But I digress...).
(3) "Isn't pretty" is still too much of a compliment. XP is the GUI equivalent of Tammy Faye (Baker, unless she's take on some new last name).
I actually am a constitutional scholar. I won't comment on whether the treaty is necessary or a good idea (actually I will: leges sine moribus vanae), but the "Supremacy Clause" of Article VI, Section 1, Clause 2 included treaties as part of the "supreme law of the land," with the understanding that they just can't conflict with the Constitution. And this propspective treaty wouldn't- Congress has authority to create copyright and patent legislation under Article I, Section 8, Clause 8.
Now granted, the Article I power belongs to Congress, and treaties are made by the President and only one house of the Congress, but the President's ability to make treaties (and thus the federal government's ability to make treaties, because only the executive branch has the power to make the agreement in the first place) would be meaningless if there wasn't some overlap with the broader legislative domain of the Congress. Think about it- the US is already a party to scads of treaties in the commerce and economic areas (which are traditionally in Congress' domain). Including treaties governing copyrights, trademarks, patents, etc.
No! You're not seeing the full potential- we take all of the filtered-out salt and use it to make crystallized salt cases for the nano and shuffle models! It absorbs moisture, it's transparent, and all of those people who take their iPods jogging can use it as an emergency salt lick!
The only statute the President claims as authority is the Congressional authorization for the use of force. He says that as Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces he can order it.
Wrong on a few counts: (1) Constitution trumps legislation; (2) Assuming the validity of the legislation, there is nothing in this statute to prevent an ongoing surveillance process under the emergency provisions of Section 3125- AG Gonzales can fax the court with a new request every two days after initiating the process for each 48-hour block of time; (3) the Congressional resolution wasn't a statute, but still enough to trigger presidential war powers; (4) the President has cited such constitutional authority.
So to prevent another attack, I authorized the National Security Agency -- consistent with the Constitution and laws -- to intercept international communications in which one party has known links to al Qaeda and related terrorist groups...
This week, new claims have been made about other ways we are tracking down al Qaeda to prevent attacks on America. It is important for Americans to understand that our activities strictly target al Qaeda and its known affiliates. Al Qaeda is our enemy, and we want to know their plans. The intelligence activities I have authorized are lawful and have been briefed to appropriate members of Congress, both Republican and Democrat. The privacy of all Americans is fiercely protected in all our activities. The government does not listen to domestic phone calls without court approval. We are not trolling through the personal lives of millions of innocent Americans. Our efforts are focused on links to al Qaeda terrorists and its affiliates who want to harm the American people.
- From the President's 05.13.06 radio address
Does it really need to be spelled out further? Here: he says it's a military operation, so he can ignore all those other laws that say he can't do it. He doesn't dare use the common term for that authority, and nobody else in a position of responsibility wants to use the words either. "Martial law" tends to provoke rather emotional reactions.
I'm just clarifying a few misspellings, to put it in your terms. The president does have the constitutional and/or legal authority necessary to undertake this program, and a few steps beyond if need be (Korematsu has been criticized, but it has yet to be overturned...) To call it "martial law" when the civilian government is still in place, and both the minority party and individial citizens can raise a big stink about it without fear of reprisal is simply an emotional overreaction. Calm down.
I'm guessing that your extensive use of quotation marks in your writing makes the execs afraid that you'd be constantly making air-quote gestures with your hands while you're talking with your guests, which will eventually lead to carpal tunnel syndrome, or maybe rotator-cuff problems. Then you'll start emphasizing key words instead of using the air quotes, which will sound condescending after 5-10 minutes, and piss off both guests and audience alike. Your ratings will plummet, ad revenues would follow, and the network will fall back on yet another mid-range comedian making lowbrow sexual references every 30 seconds.
Or maybe you're just one of those types with a "face for radio," if ya know what I mean. Voice quality no longer matters in a radio host (ever hear Mark Levin?) But that's just a guess...
Is it, now? There's more to the Constitution than the 4th Amendment- try looking at Art. IV, Section 4 - The Executive and Legislature are obliged to protect the States, and any Judiciary right to review regarding such efforts is limited under the "political question" doctrine.
what bothers me is the cavalier attitude behind it...
If you don't like a politician's personality, vote for someone else. If your candidate loses, wait patiently for the next election. Repeat as necessary. Campaign for someone if you like. Run for office, even. That's how our brand of democracy works.
and the fact that it is already being abused to track down people who aren't terrorists...
Name one person who has even been charged, let alone detained.
but who are merely doing their job to keep government entities like the NSA under some semblance of control - the journalists.
Read that pesky Constitution again. Journalists aren't part of the system. The NSA is an executive agency subject to congressional and judicial (not journalistic) oversight. Besides, "freedom of the press" has never conferred any special status on trained "journalists." Free speech and press rights apply equally to all citizens.
There is no end to the manner in which this kind of information could be abused.
Puffery. Records of who calls who is a type of circumstantial evidence regularly obtained by law enforcement and accepted as relevant by courts. This is merely a matter of scale. And besides, the courts are usually more concerned with actual harm than potential harm, of which there has been none so far. Good luck seeking an injuction against continuation of a program which serves a compelling state interest. Even if a court (like the 9th Circus) were to find this program to be unlawful, the proper remedy would be to apply the usual exclusionary rule to any such evidence and evidence derived therefrom in a criminal trial of a suspected terrorist, or a self-righteous journalist who knowingly publishes unlawfully obtained classified information.
Many BrainPal(TM) users find it useful to give their BrainPal(TM) a name other than BrainPal(TM). Would you like to name your BrainPal(TM) at this time?
"Yes," I said.
Please speak the name you would like to give your BrainPal(TM).
"'Asshole,'" I said.
You have selected "Asshole,"the BrainPal wrote, and to its credit it spelled the word correctly. Be aware that many recruits have selected this name for their BrainPal(TM)...
...between my thought password and the parental controls I'll have in place to keep nieces and nephews from using Uncle Glas' computer for immoral purposes. Probably never be able to get into the bloody thing again.
Stardust's mission has gone relatively smoothly- I've been checking in every few months because I can't help but be impressed by scale of this experiment. And this time, they ever thought to put a parachute in the return capsule, unlike that other probe which captured solar wind particles, then smashed into the desert floor when the stunt 'copters didn't make the catch. (The sun must've been in their eyes...) The comet pass-through two years ago might have been overshadowed by the Mars Rover(s) story- one of 'em landed just around the same time as Stardust's Wild 2 encounter.
...what the other 96% is ignorant of? Competitive Advantage! Survival of the Fittest! If they want to get their news and info the slow way, that's their problem. Here's on for ya: "Let them read newspapers!"
Heaven help those few Chinese who seek to cast off the crushing totalitarian oppression under which they have suffered for over half a century now. And may those western corporations complicit in these evils suffer the same fate as those who have reduced a great nation to near-slavery.
(And I'm a bit surprised that Slashdot is a day behind with this story- it was on the wires and in the blogosphere early Sunday EDT.)
(Even in jest,) that's the wrong target, tovarich. I know it might be difficult, but we really ought to be directing our efforts against the shark, and not the remoras.
The trickiest part will be finding alternative sources for textiles, cheap plastic goods, etc. But as far as finding another billion-person consumer market for our corporations to target- that's easy. I'm thinking of a five-letter word for "democracy" that starts with an "i"... (I know it should be capitalized, to show proper respect to a noble nation, but I don't want someone in Rio Linda thinking I mean "L"...)
Izvenitye- we'll never know if armed intervention would've worked in Vietnam, because artificial boundaries were placed on the military. Afghanistan- well, you'd know more about the history than I would. Kosovo and Iraq- where are Milosevic and Hussein now? Sounds like somebody won;^)
"I suggest your country put more attention to diplomacy and other means of solving matters peacefully and avoiding armed conflicts."
You must be European. The 20th century stands as testimony to the inadequacy of diplomacy and "peaceful" means. Remember the Washington Naval Accords, Munich, the Korean ceasefire, "detente," and the former Yugoslavia?
Grow up. Force works. Victory ends conflicts. It's an ugly truth. If you doubt me, ask the Czechs, South Vietnamese (if you can find any alive), and millions of forgotten others what good diplomacy did for them the day after the civilized, peaceful types signed their accords and turned away.
Yes, attacks from China- perhaps you noticed that trial baloon they sent up a few months back when one of their generals threatened the US with a nuclear response to any US military support for Taiwan? Their "long term view" includes developing the ability to counter US technology (like all of our GPS-guided bombs) so that when they take any action in the pacific, we won't be able to intervene. Why are they building so many new submarines? Why are they developing an independent space program ("reinventing the wheel"), rather than cooperating with international efforts that are several decades more advanced. This is not the behavior of a peaceful state that hopes to gain some leverage over the US by holding up a few boatloads of cheap trinkets and consumer goods, or by waving a fistful of T-Bills at us. A whole lot of good that all did for the Japanese...
The only better news than this "orbital communications jammer" would be a renewed effort by the US to develop anti-satellite weapons, like those fighter-launched missiles we tested in the 80's. Our military superiority depends on maintaining an technological edge, protecting our C3I, and grabbing the higher ground, whether that be earth orbit or the moon. If we ever need to face a determined power like China, to protect our own or our allies in the region, it could easily expand into a really messy fight. Our only hope to stop the opposition early, before the body count (on either side) gets high, would be to render them blind and deaf before they do the same to us.
So let's hear it for Yankee ingenuity! Keep those jammers flying, and send up a few railguns and x-ray lasers to keep 'em company!
Slashdot Mirror
You forgot Option 3: drop down to a breatheable altitute and throw the hard drive out the window. Saves the plane, the crew, the need to destroy the data, and the need for this 125lb. magnetic gadget that screws up your watch every time you walk by... Worse comes to worse, Greenpeace gets on your case for littering, or accidentally hitting a whale, or something like that.
Fans of the strip will catch the drift.
In other words, the second thing- this is a short-term thing to gain publicity. First, there are barely enough agencies making good ads now, let alone sustain this kind of campaign. Second, if anyone does find anyting new and different, it only takes about 30 seconds for other marketing types to glom on. Then we're bombarded with the "new and different" for a few years.
Besides- "viral marketing" is a flawed premise, at least as far as adult audiences go. Yes, viral communication is possible if you're trying to spread an idea that's similar to those already present in the viewer's mind, but once you cross the line into introducing something that the viewer didn't know he needed, you're more likely to get a cybernetic immune response.
Hey- not every member of Congress is that dumb. Don't ask me to name 'em, of course...
But I digress.
I think you're on to something here- but instead of redefining the temperature and pressure, re-define the room. Maybe this stuff could be used for constructing deep-sea exploration vehicles and habitats. That'll shave off a few degrees / add a few atmospheres to the temperature and pressure targets.
Remember:
Up on the shore they work all day
Out in the sun they slave away
While we devotin'
Full time to floatin'
Under the sea...
If you really need to know that, try both. And sign the liability waiver below...
I'll take your word on it. My primary objective was to troll for "Funny" points using the Tammy Faye analogy.
BTW- I first heard the feather/chicken joke from a bridesmaid as I was escorting her down the aisle at a wedding. Hard to keep a straight face in that context... Since it was a wedding, we had to settle for the feather- all of the chickens had been claimed by the caterer.
I carried a G3 iBook for two years of heavy use. Never saw anything that a little alcohol couldn't fix. Try two shots of Wild Turkey- it'll look fine...
You know, the government spent a long time testing those new dollar coins to find an alloy that would keep its shine. It didn't work. Nothing that gets used stays clean. Probably some sort of entropy thing.
(1) Is it popular, or is it the only choice for most buyers?
(2) Does it really work (well)? Over the years, I've seen my colleagues on the PC side throw up their hands and reformat/reinstall some Windows version much more often than I've had to resort to the (non-destructive) "archive and install," or earlier "clean install" processes. (I'm a Mac user, and I'd probably be a lifelong Mac user if I'd've been born after 1984, but I actually predate the Intel 4004, let alone the Motorola 68000. But I digress...).
(3) "Isn't pretty" is still too much of a compliment. XP is the GUI equivalent of Tammy Faye (Baker, unless she's take on some new last name).
I actually am a constitutional scholar. I won't comment on whether the treaty is necessary or a good idea (actually I will: leges sine moribus vanae), but the "Supremacy Clause" of Article VI, Section 1, Clause 2 included treaties as part of the "supreme law of the land," with the understanding that they just can't conflict with the Constitution. And this propspective treaty wouldn't- Congress has authority to create copyright and patent legislation under Article I, Section 8, Clause 8.
Now granted, the Article I power belongs to Congress, and treaties are made by the President and only one house of the Congress, but the President's ability to make treaties (and thus the federal government's ability to make treaties, because only the executive branch has the power to make the agreement in the first place) would be meaningless if there wasn't some overlap with the broader legislative domain of the Congress. Think about it- the US is already a party to scads of treaties in the commerce and economic areas (which are traditionally in Congress' domain). Including treaties governing copyrights, trademarks, patents, etc.
No! You're not seeing the full potential- we take all of the filtered-out salt and use it to make crystallized salt cases for the nano and shuffle models! It absorbs moisture, it's transparent, and all of those people who take their iPods jogging can use it as an emergency salt lick!
Quick! To the patent office!
You're not supposed to make it progress, you're supposed to make it slow down!!!
/grumble
Oh, wait-
Darn RSS headline-only POS...
Why, yes, as a matter of fact, it is.
The only statute the President claims as authority is the Congressional authorization for the use of force. He says that as Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces he can order it.
Wrong on a few counts: (1) Constitution trumps legislation; (2) Assuming the validity of the legislation, there is nothing in this statute to prevent an ongoing surveillance process under the emergency provisions of Section 3125- AG Gonzales can fax the court with a new request every two days after initiating the process for each 48-hour block of time; (3) the Congressional resolution wasn't a statute, but still enough to trigger presidential war powers; (4) the President has cited such constitutional authority.
- From the President's 05.13.06 radio address
Does it really need to be spelled out further? Here: he says it's a military operation, so he can ignore all those other laws that say he can't do it. He doesn't dare use the common term for that authority, and nobody else in a position of responsibility wants to use the words either. "Martial law" tends to provoke rather emotional reactions.
I'm just clarifying a few misspellings, to put it in your terms. The president does have the constitutional and/or legal authority necessary to undertake this program, and a few steps beyond if need be (Korematsu has been criticized, but it has yet to be overturned...) To call it "martial law" when the civilian government is still in place, and both the minority party and individial citizens can raise a big stink about it without fear of reprisal is simply an emotional overreaction. Calm down.
I'm guessing that your extensive use of quotation marks in your writing makes the execs afraid that you'd be constantly making air-quote gestures with your hands while you're talking with your guests, which will eventually lead to carpal tunnel syndrome, or maybe rotator-cuff problems. Then you'll start emphasizing key words instead of using the air quotes, which will sound condescending after 5-10 minutes, and piss off both guests and audience alike. Your ratings will plummet, ad revenues would follow, and the network will fall back on yet another mid-range comedian making lowbrow sexual references every 30 seconds.
Or maybe you're just one of those types with a "face for radio," if ya know what I mean. Voice quality no longer matters in a radio host (ever hear Mark Levin?) But that's just a guess...
Good sig, BTW.
Maybe the cops wouldn't have been on to them so quickly if they had gone with a more subtle domain name.
Aside from this being patently illegal...
Is it, now? There's more to the Constitution than the 4th Amendment- try looking at Art. IV, Section 4 - The Executive and Legislature are obliged to protect the States, and any Judiciary right to review regarding such efforts is limited under the "political question" doctrine.
what bothers me is the cavalier attitude behind it...
If you don't like a politician's personality, vote for someone else. If your candidate loses, wait patiently for the next election. Repeat as necessary. Campaign for someone if you like. Run for office, even. That's how our brand of democracy works.
and the fact that it is already being abused to track down people who aren't terrorists...
Name one person who has even been charged, let alone detained.
but who are merely doing their job to keep government entities like the NSA under some semblance of control - the journalists.
Read that pesky Constitution again. Journalists aren't part of the system. The NSA is an executive agency subject to congressional and judicial (not journalistic) oversight. Besides, "freedom of the press" has never conferred any special status on trained "journalists." Free speech and press rights apply equally to all citizens.
There is no end to the manner in which this kind of information could be abused.
Puffery. Records of who calls who is a type of circumstantial evidence regularly obtained by law enforcement and accepted as relevant by courts. This is merely a matter of scale. And besides, the courts are usually more concerned with actual harm than potential harm, of which there has been none so far. Good luck seeking an injuction against continuation of a program which serves a compelling state interest. Even if a court (like the 9th Circus) were to find this program to be unlawful, the proper remedy would be to apply the usual exclusionary rule to any such evidence and evidence derived therefrom in a criminal trial of a suspected terrorist, or a self-righteous journalist who knowingly publishes unlawfully obtained classified information.
Again- read the Constitution. The whole thing.
I'm in the Mac support business- have been since 1995. What's a "certification"?
To hell with the teenagers- the wee ones are 2, 3, and 6!
...between my thought password and the parental controls I'll have in place to keep nieces and nephews from using Uncle Glas' computer for immoral purposes. Probably never be able to get into the bloody thing again.
http://stardust.jpl.nasa.gov/photo/comet3d.html -
Stardust's mission has gone relatively smoothly- I've been checking in every few months because I can't help but be impressed by scale of this experiment. And this time, they ever thought to put a parachute in the return capsule, unlike that other probe which captured solar wind particles, then smashed into the desert floor when the stunt 'copters didn't make the catch. (The sun must've been in their eyes...) The comet pass-through two years ago might have been overshadowed by the Mars Rover(s) story- one of 'em landed just around the same time as Stardust's Wild 2 encounter.
...what the other 96% is ignorant of? Competitive Advantage! Survival of the Fittest! If they want to get their news and info the slow way, that's their problem. Here's on for ya: "Let them read newspapers!"
Heaven help those few Chinese who seek to cast off the crushing totalitarian oppression under which they have suffered for over half a century now. And may those western corporations complicit in these evils suffer the same fate as those who have reduced a great nation to near-slavery.
(And I'm a bit surprised that Slashdot is a day behind with this story- it was on the wires and in the blogosphere early Sunday EDT.)
(Even in jest,) that's the wrong target, tovarich. I know it might be difficult, but we really ought to be directing our efforts against the shark, and not the remoras. The trickiest part will be finding alternative sources for textiles, cheap plastic goods, etc. But as far as finding another billion-person consumer market for our corporations to target- that's easy. I'm thinking of a five-letter word for "democracy" that starts with an "i"... (I know it should be capitalized, to show proper respect to a noble nation, but I don't want someone in Rio Linda thinking I mean "L"...)
Izvenitye- we'll never know if armed intervention would've worked in Vietnam, because artificial boundaries were placed on the military. Afghanistan- well, you'd know more about the history than I would. Kosovo and Iraq- where are Milosevic and Hussein now? Sounds like somebody won ;^)
"I suggest your country put more attention to diplomacy and other means of solving matters peacefully and avoiding armed conflicts."
You must be European. The 20th century stands as testimony to the inadequacy of diplomacy and "peaceful" means. Remember the Washington Naval Accords, Munich, the Korean ceasefire, "detente," and the former Yugoslavia?
Grow up. Force works. Victory ends conflicts. It's an ugly truth. If you doubt me, ask the Czechs, South Vietnamese (if you can find any alive), and millions of forgotten others what good diplomacy did for them the day after the civilized, peaceful types signed their accords and turned away.
Yes, attacks from China- perhaps you noticed that trial baloon they sent up a few months back when one of their generals threatened the US with a nuclear response to any US military support for Taiwan? Their "long term view" includes developing the ability to counter US technology (like all of our GPS-guided bombs) so that when they take any action in the pacific, we won't be able to intervene. Why are they building so many new submarines? Why are they developing an independent space program ("reinventing the wheel"), rather than cooperating with international efforts that are several decades more advanced. This is not the behavior of a peaceful state that hopes to gain some leverage over the US by holding up a few boatloads of cheap trinkets and consumer goods, or by waving a fistful of T-Bills at us. A whole lot of good that all did for the Japanese...
The only better news than this "orbital communications jammer" would be a renewed effort by the US to develop anti-satellite weapons, like those fighter-launched missiles we tested in the 80's. Our military superiority depends on maintaining an technological edge, protecting our C3I, and grabbing the higher ground, whether that be earth orbit or the moon. If we ever need to face a determined power like China, to protect our own or our allies in the region, it could easily expand into a really messy fight. Our only hope to stop the opposition early, before the body count (on either side) gets high, would be to render them blind and deaf before they do the same to us.
So let's hear it for Yankee ingenuity! Keep those jammers flying, and send up a few railguns and x-ray lasers to keep 'em company!