Folks keep saying "Look how secure the ATMs are, we should be able to do something similar for voting."
Well, looks like the ATMs aren't that secure afterall, now are they? Sure - it's a Admin Error - but if admin errors occur with ATMs, seems electronic voting systems would be just as vulnerable.
Now, that's not so say that I'm completely against electronic voting - with the right checks and balances, such as a voter receipt and open source code, it would probably make things as reliable as the current system.
The Open-Vote people must be doing cartwheels. 'Course, their Webserver appears to be slag.
> Why do supposedly smart people believe such stupid shit?
And that's a very interesting question - one that not many people seem to ask.
A similar form: "If you're so smart, why are you so miserable."
I know a PhD who doesn't believe in evolution. I know several young earth fundamentalists who design supercomputers. How many people believe that Christianity is the only way, and those silly Moslems are all deluded? Or the Jews? Or the Pagans? And now many on the other side believe the exact same thing.
I think the answer is this: the smarter one is, the more one has to delude themselves with.
And that's the challenge of science - beating that down. Using the scientific method is the only way to beat self deception.
Interesting topic... How power efficient are any of these machines? A significant part of building these machines is disposal of waste heat as the frequency goes up. Engineers are going to be damned concerned about power consumption and heat disposal. If they don't that means the machine just isn't going to run very long.
Now, compare, say, a Cray XT3 with a distributed project like Seti@home. Both are going to consume power, but which is going to be more efficient at it? Also, considering that the Cray (and the seti@home computer) are both GP machines, it is possible to build a machine that only does one thing. While most would abhor the idea of an Excel only machine, if all you're ever going to do is simulate asteroids crashing into planets, perhaps the machine could be more efficient yet.
> Who would buy a pre-built system at all? Setup time for building your > own is slightly less than an hour.
I could build one, it wouldn't be that hard. All my machines are machines that I've built by hand.
The thing is - I have a family, a lawn to mow, house to take care of. Moreover, there are some really damn good beers to drink. All of these things take time.
Now, it was neat building my first machine. And the second. And the 6th was ok. Really, after the nth, it's all about making sure things match. I'm at the point in my life when I want some other eager monkey to build it for me. Heck, they can probably even do it cheaper than I could.
So, don't get on your high horse, Mr "ooh, I built a machine and now I think I know what I'm doing and now I can look down on everyone else." Some folks want to build one, others are happy to have 'em built for 'em. Don't question it - profit from it. Just don't get greedy, and you'll have a nice business on your hand.
Assuming God is omnipotent, omnipresent, and omni theater, what good is Prayer?
If I truly need something, God most likley already knows about it, and it's up to Him if he does anything about it.
If I truly am thankful, God will know.
Moreover, saying Grace always seemed like a cruel joke: Thanks God for making me dependent upon a scarce resource. Sure, food isn't scarce in the U.S. (for unto us was given Agribiz, and it was deemed good by the markets...) but it is scarce elsewhere.
The biggest failure is the prayer for peace. Every Sunday Charlantan says "Pray for Peace," but it never comes. And, based upon the ministerial world view, the Peace they want is completely different than the peace a different faith wants.
Prayer as a meditation? Now, that sounds a good thing. Reflect on the days events. Question if I'm really doing the right thing. Probably not a bad thing. But asking the Holy Game Show Host for stuff? Well, seems like a waste of everyone's time.
>Why can't something like this apply to tv channels? They pay their money > and then they can broastcast the shows they have rights to whenever they > like. Also this means their customers can view what ever shows when they > like.
They told me that it has something to do with competition and stuff. Oh, and the current system empowers me, the TV watcher. And stuff.
Sorry, I'd elaborate, but CSI is on. That's the show I like to watch with my 8 year old. I think it teaches him stuff.
> Anybody who only has Vonage without some form of backup line > (either a bare bones land line or a cell phone) is a bit of > a moron anyway- what would he have done if a candle lit the > drapes on fire during a power outage?
Back in the day, when Grandpa bought the first cordless phone I ever saw, I seem to recall that he was required to have a hardline phone on the premissis. Of course, that was back in the day when AT&T was Ma Bell and kind of cared if one died - or was at least regulated to care.
Now, there might be a day when VOIP is really a complete mesh network - WIFI is common enough that if your net connections are down, you just use your neighbors, or your car uplinks to the spy sat.
Hmm, if one wants to be really safe, one would have: 1) A land line 2) VOIP 3) Cell Phone 4) A 2m HT with DTMF and a connection to the local autopatch
And if one wants to be even safer, have fire-proof curtains and live in a cement house.;)
The difference between a kook and a scientist is the testing and documentation. It's easy to conjour up some "radical new idea that will shock scientists", it's something completely different to actually PROVE it.
Slashdot Mirror
Folks keep saying "Look how secure the ATMs are, we should be able to do something similar for voting."
Well, looks like the ATMs aren't that secure afterall, now are they? Sure - it's a Admin Error - but if admin errors occur with ATMs, seems electronic voting systems would be just as vulnerable.
Now, that's not so say that I'm completely against electronic voting - with the right checks and balances, such as a voter receipt and open source code, it would probably make things as reliable as the current system.
The Open-Vote people must be doing cartwheels. 'Course, their Webserver appears to be slag.
Now... it's off to the ATM before it's empty.
What's your address? :-D
Wow - a private company that makes a mistake. Gwarsh, I thought only liberal run goverments do that.
Come to think of it, that's the difference between Democrats and Republicans: Republicans outsource their failures.
No, No, it's the Giant Turtle! That's the truth!
We now know how W got elected.
We, as a country, is as dumb as a box of rocks. Please, please, please, take away our WMDs before we hurt someone.
> Why do supposedly smart people believe such stupid shit?
And that's a very interesting question - one that not many people seem to ask.
A similar form: "If you're so smart, why are you so miserable."
I know a PhD who doesn't believe in evolution. I know several young earth fundamentalists who design supercomputers. How many people believe that Christianity is the only way, and those silly Moslems are all deluded? Or the Jews? Or the Pagans? And now many on the other side believe the exact same thing.
I think the answer is this: the smarter one is, the more one has to delude themselves with.
And that's the challenge of science - beating that down. Using the scientific method is the only way to beat self deception.
Interesting topic... How power efficient are any of these machines? A significant part of building these machines is disposal of waste heat as the frequency goes up. Engineers are going to be damned concerned about power consumption and heat disposal. If they don't that means the machine just isn't going to run very long.
Now, compare, say, a Cray XT3 with a distributed project like Seti@home. Both are going to consume power, but which is going to be more efficient at it? Also, considering that the Cray (and the seti@home computer) are both GP machines, it is possible to build a machine that only does one thing. While most would abhor the idea of an Excel only machine, if all you're ever going to do is simulate asteroids crashing into planets, perhaps the machine could be more efficient yet.
>Why does everyone think that evolution only leads to more and more complex life forms?
Because most Jr. High punks don't pay attention in science class. That, and the ass-wipe creationists are framing the debate. They. Don't. Get. It.
Still - it's really damn chilling that there are bastards willing to propose this kind of stuff. I agree with a previous dotter - this makes me sick.
Terrorists are already using encryption to protect their privacy. Don't you think you should as well?
> Consider downloading some software that
> means you wont have to run anti-virus software.
Like free vms? http://freevms.free.fr/indexGB.html
Hey! A war on Traffic! Now that's what this country needs.
Sure would be refreshing to see a politician stand up and say "this war on $x" is just a way to get your vote, and here are the other schemes...
Can I have your bike after you get heat stroke?
Nah, it's just God's way of saying "Oops! Do Over!"
Can't wait to see you drive that in a -40 midwest winter.
Can I have your bike after you freeze to death?
> Sounds a little to, well, end-times-ish.
Well, it sure beats getting a bar code burnt on one's forehead.
> Doesn't anyone think of the canucks????
Who? Sorry, not ringing a bell.
> Who would buy a pre-built system at all? Setup time for building your
> own is slightly less than an hour.
I could build one, it wouldn't be that hard. All my machines are machines that I've built by hand.
The thing is - I have a family, a lawn to mow, house to take care of. Moreover, there are some really damn good beers to drink. All of these things take time.
Now, it was neat building my first machine. And the second. And the 6th was ok. Really, after the nth, it's all about making sure things match. I'm at the point in my life when I want some other eager monkey to build it for me. Heck, they can probably even do it cheaper than I could.
So, don't get on your high horse, Mr "ooh, I built a machine and now I think I know what I'm doing and now I can look down on everyone else." Some folks want to build one, others are happy to have 'em built for 'em. Don't question it - profit from it. Just don't get greedy, and you'll have a nice business on your hand.
Thanks, Chuck.
/. For instance, I'm deathly afraid of the color green, and.. oh, crap.)
(Never expose your weakness on
Assuming God is omnipotent, omnipresent, and omni theater, what good is Prayer?
If I truly need something, God most likley already knows about it, and it's up to Him if he does anything about it.
If I truly am thankful, God will know.
Moreover, saying Grace always seemed like a cruel joke: Thanks God for making me dependent upon a scarce resource. Sure, food isn't scarce in the U.S. (for unto us was given Agribiz, and it was deemed good by the markets...) but it is scarce elsewhere.
The biggest failure is the prayer for peace. Every Sunday Charlantan says "Pray for Peace," but it never comes. And, based upon the ministerial world view, the Peace they want is completely different than the peace a different faith wants.
Prayer as a meditation? Now, that sounds a good thing. Reflect on the days events. Question if I'm really doing the right thing. Probably not a bad thing. But asking the Holy Game Show Host for stuff? Well, seems like a waste of everyone's time.
>Why can't something like this apply to tv channels? They pay their money
> and then they can broastcast the shows they have rights to whenever they
> like. Also this means their customers can view what ever shows when they
> like.
They told me that it has something to do with competition and stuff. Oh, and the current system empowers me, the TV watcher. And stuff.
Sorry, I'd elaborate, but CSI is on. That's the show I like to watch with my 8 year old. I think it teaches him stuff.
http://www.openvotingconsortium.org/
Government has to be transparent. If it isn't? Draw your own conclusions.
It's a little embarrasing that the "Bringer of Democracy" can't even be trusted to roll out a fair voting system.
> Anybody who only has Vonage without some form of backup line
;)
> (either a bare bones land line or a cell phone) is a bit of
> a moron anyway- what would he have done if a candle lit the
> drapes on fire during a power outage?
Back in the day, when Grandpa bought the first cordless phone I ever saw, I seem to recall that he was required to have a hardline phone on the premissis. Of course, that was back in the day when AT&T was Ma Bell and kind of cared if one died - or was at least regulated to care.
Now, there might be a day when VOIP is really a complete mesh network - WIFI is common enough that if your net connections are down, you just use your neighbors, or your car uplinks to the spy sat.
Hmm, if one wants to be really safe, one would have:
1) A land line
2) VOIP
3) Cell Phone
4) A 2m HT with DTMF and a connection to the local autopatch
And if one wants to be even safer, have fire-proof curtains and live in a cement house.
The difference between a kook and a scientist is the testing and documentation. It's easy to conjour up some "radical new idea that will shock scientists", it's something completely different to actually PROVE it.
What's your point? er.