Just like cattle overgrazing a field, humans have become more and more of a risk to their own existence. If there were fewer humans, we would have many fewer problems.
I think you are rather optimistic. If that was the only problem, we should have nothing to worry about since abundance results in a lower birth rate. The problem isn't how many humans there are... abundance ends up making folks who enjoy it increasingly self-indulgent and useless. The American diet is probably a better example of that than it is of "cattle overgrazing a field". In this case, they aren't destroying the field, you see, they are destroying themselves.
Also... people (like myself) who want to hear something new once in a while.
There's a pretty good alternative station in my area so I'm covered in the car. I was kind of at loose ends in my office, though. Oddly enough, it was the Internet that has (at least for now) come to my rescue there. last.fm is a streaming music station that doesn't play the songs and artists I choose, it plays similar ones I haven't heard of. Well, actually, it plays stuff that isn't very similar, but what the hell... that works for me, too. It's not going to help you in your car, of course...
but why can't these brilliant folks put that energy to use solving problems instead of creating more?
Because then they would be competing with everybody else rather than just the limited number of people who consider that kind of bottom-feeding behavior acceptable. In all likelihood, the competition would remind them that they are not, in fact, brilliant... just competant enough to exploit an antisocial niche market. In the case of this article, Colbert isn't even doing much more than exploiting the work of other spammers. Farting about with this crap in his trailer is probably about as far up the food chain as this guy is going to get. He is probably getting a nosebleed from being interviewed in even the fanciful NYT.
Haven't we all met guys who were full of big talk and, to hear them tell it, special insight, that just never seem to get anywhere with their lives despite all the activity they devote to their special thinking-out-of-the-box projects? The typical example is always just one step away from being able to prove to everyone else that they were suckers for not being as clever as he is. Unforunately, for him, that one step is always the "????" one we see in the/. business plan posts. In the meantime, he can regal us with all of the many little ways in which he gets more for less than the rest of us.
In common parlance, "hard drive" is a synonym for computer
Look, mate, I have quite a low enough opinion of humanity as it is... I don't actually need you to come up with reasons for me to lower it more. I mean, I can wrap my mind around them saying "computer" when they mean the "monitor"... after all, it's the part that the poor dears see. But, saying "hard drive" when they mean "computer"... brrrr, I don't even want to think about how that could seem sensible to anyone.
Film fans should be *incredibly* happy with the prices of DVDs. Movies from a decade or two ago can generally be had for about $10. That's less than seeing a full-price show in a lot of theatres now, and yet some people expect to pay even less?
People can, I hope you will concede, expect whatever they please.
Anyway, just based on looking around at my friend's buying habits, I haven't seen any lessening of DVD purchases because of our having access to screeners. It is kewl to have a copy of a movie while it is still running in the theatre, and it satisfies the jones while you are waiting for a real release. But when the real release finally comes out, with the extras and without the occasional "for your consideration" scroll-by, the ones that bought DVDs before we had screeners still pick it up and the ones that didn't still don't.
So, I've seen CD buying habits change a lot, but not movie buying. They are two different kinds of products... the last thing the MPAA needs to do is to look to the RIAA for strategies.
Thanks for keeping us posted. I realize that there are many who would say, "If I cared about his opinion I'd already be listening to his show, thanks." or "Gee... and what is Clark Howard's stance?", but I, for one, am glad to be informed of what you think the positions of various talk show hosts might be. Please be sure to post to the XFce Desktop 4 Released discussion to let us know Rush Limbaugh's stance on that, as well.
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Just like cattle overgrazing a field, humans have become more and more of a risk to their own existence. If there were fewer humans, we would have many fewer problems.
I think you are rather optimistic. If that was the only problem, we should have nothing to worry about since abundance results in a lower birth rate. The problem isn't how many humans there are... abundance ends up making folks who enjoy it increasingly self-indulgent and useless. The American diet is probably a better example of that than it is of "cattle overgrazing a field". In this case, they aren't destroying the field, you see, they are destroying themselves.
Also... people (like myself) who want to hear something new once in a while.
There's a pretty good alternative station in my area so I'm covered in the car. I was kind of at loose ends in my office, though. Oddly enough, it was the Internet that has (at least for now) come to my rescue there. last.fm is a streaming music station that doesn't play the songs and artists I choose, it plays similar ones I haven't heard of. Well, actually, it plays stuff that isn't very similar, but what the hell... that works for me, too. It's not going to help you in your car, of course...
but why can't these brilliant folks put that energy to use solving problems instead of creating more?
Because then they would be competing with everybody else rather than just the limited number of people who consider that kind of bottom-feeding behavior acceptable. In all likelihood, the competition would remind them that they are not, in fact, brilliant... just competant enough to exploit an antisocial niche market. In the case of this article, Colbert isn't even doing much more than exploiting the work of other spammers. Farting about with this crap in his trailer is probably about as far up the food chain as this guy is going to get. He is probably getting a nosebleed from being interviewed in even the fanciful NYT.
Haven't we all met guys who were full of big talk and, to hear them tell it, special insight, that just never seem to get anywhere with their lives despite all the activity they devote to their special thinking-out-of-the-box projects? The typical example is always just one step away from being able to prove to everyone else that they were suckers for not being as clever as he is. Unforunately, for him, that one step is always the "????" one we see in the /. business plan posts. In the meantime, he can regal us with all of the many little ways in which he gets more for less than the rest of us.
That's f-ing brilliant, all right.
In common parlance, "hard drive" is a synonym for computer
Look, mate, I have quite a low enough opinion of humanity as it is... I don't actually need you to come up with reasons for me to lower it more. I mean, I can wrap my mind around them saying "computer" when they mean the "monitor"... after all, it's the part that the poor dears see. But, saying "hard drive" when they mean "computer"... brrrr, I don't even want to think about how that could seem sensible to anyone.
Film fans should be *incredibly* happy with the prices of DVDs. Movies from a decade or two ago can generally be had for about $10. That's less than seeing a full-price show in a lot of theatres now, and yet some people expect to pay even less?
People can, I hope you will concede, expect whatever they please.
Anyway, just based on looking around at my friend's buying habits, I haven't seen any lessening of DVD purchases because of our having access to screeners. It is kewl to have a copy of a movie while it is still running in the theatre, and it satisfies the jones while you are waiting for a real release. But when the real release finally comes out, with the extras and without the occasional "for your consideration" scroll-by, the ones that bought DVDs before we had screeners still pick it up and the ones that didn't still don't.
So, I've seen CD buying habits change a lot, but not movie buying. They are two different kinds of products... the last thing the MPAA needs to do is to look to the RIAA for strategies.
That is Rush Limbaugh's stance.
Thanks for keeping us posted. I realize that there are many who would say, "If I cared about his opinion I'd already be listening to his show, thanks." or "Gee... and what is Clark Howard's stance?", but I, for one, am glad to be informed of what you think the positions of various talk show hosts might be. Please be sure to post to the XFce Desktop 4 Released discussion to let us know Rush Limbaugh's stance on that, as well.