It seems, from this image, linked from the ESO press release, that we've more than maybe seen the first planet out of our solar system with our own eyes.
It looks like we've also confirmed that brown dwarfs are glowing, white stopsigns. Let's just hope that no one needs to build a space lane straight through our solar system with great-big bulldozer things.
There is a rather limited scope for this robot to be useful. The environments have to be toxic and/or dangerous, but not so hazardous as to kill off or discourage flies from venturing there. If the area is not hazardous enough, we'll still be sending humans in, in most cases. In addition to this, the areas have to either be "seeded" with flies, and then sealed so that said flies do not escape, or have a large enough fly population already in place.
Maybe it would be better if this machine ate cockroaches.
... As well as the FAQ at the plaintiff's website. From what I understand, the effect of the law (don't show an ID or permit a "more intense" search) is known, but the actual law itself is not.
My grandfather, a man who had been both a judge and an attourney, once told my mother that ignorance of a law is no excuse for breaking it. I have to wonder what he would say about enforced ignorance about a law; were I able to visit his grave, I'd ask him. In this case, my gut feeling and my own opinion will have to suffice.
At the moment, both are that a law that cannot be known cannot be a law at all.
I have willingly volunteered to subject myself to the "more intensive search" I believe is referenced. I was not pulled out of line, but volunteered to do it when a friend was selected, so that I could keep said friend in sight. It was a matter of security agents rifling through my carry-on baggage and passing a metal-detector wand over the entirety of my body, as far as I recall.
Though I object to the secrecy of the law, I find myself ambivalent about the practice of the law as I know it thus far. I don't need to show my state-issued ID so long as I put myself through more of a search. I can understand the search, and I can show my ID, and I can see how both would help stop a terrorist intent on boarding and destroying a plane. (Though the 9/11 hijackers used their own IDs, it doesn't mean that some jerk won't try to board a plane with a ticket in someone else's name and try to hijack it or whatnot.) Then again, I'm far from being an expert, and I readily concede that there may be other, better ways of protecting people in an airport or on a plane.
NPR (National Public Radio) and PBS (Public Broadcasting Service) both seem to be overlooked in nearly every debate over the media. (My personal opinion is that they deliver a superior source of news information, giving more information per story, a greater variety of stories, and a greater quantity of stories.)
... Not on the newer planes, at least. In more than one flight, I've noticed that stewards and stewardesses went precisely to the seat where someone had left their cellphone on, before takeoff, when that person had not been using it. They didn't even glance in the other aisles.
On the other hand, I've seen jerks use their cell phones right up to the point where the plane is first in line.
As a general rule of thumb, and as my parents taught me, no matter what is billed as "the next" anything (or anyone, for that matter), it is doomed to failure. The logic behind this is, I've determined, that by saying something is the next "X", one has set up that comparison in the minds of others; when that something does not turn out to be like, as good as, or a duplicate of "X", people assume it is a failure and avoid it as such. In their minds, they were given a sort of promise, no matter who or whom said it, that "Y" was going to be "X", again.
Will Tableau be the next Google? No, but it will be Tableau, and may even be a great service. Whether or not it will succeed, and why, remains to be determined.
(In my opinion, the difficulty of spelling a name with three vowels next to each other will be strike one against Tableau... if people can't remember how to spell it, they won't be able to find it the first/second/third/etc. time.)
And I'd like to add to it, if only a little. The knowledge that an archaeologist seeks is not simply for himself, but for the greater interest and good of mankind. It sounds high-handed and trite, I know, but it's the truth. In fact, most archaeologists (and historians in general) act much like the Open Source community does: They share information as if it were a responsibility to do so, and make their goal the discovery of new information to be shared and/or the reinterpretation of old information which would reveal new information. (I hope that wasn't too confusing.)
For what it's worth, most archeological artifacts end up in museums and the protective-but-publicly-accessable vaults (though you sometimes need a reason better than "I just wanted to find out if any Joanne Schmoe can look at ancient pottery shards"), rather than in private collections and on the auction block. For the archaeologist (and, again, historians in general), knowledge alone is its own treasure.
~UP
[Note: To establish my own credibility on this subject, I submit that I am a student and History Major at a university noted within academic circles for its history department; just as an example of this, we had a visiting professor, last year, who was one of the top five asian-history historians on the planet.]
Sadly, keeping your sanity is pretty much a failed prospect. About 95 per cent of college students go insane during at least four times in their college careers (namely, Finals). Just remember to go insane in ways that do as little damage to yourself and others, and you'll be fine.
As for keeping your stuff secure, that can get tricky. Keep your laptop by your side whenever you go out with it (and I do suggest that you take it with you for note-taking). Your room should stay secure if both you and your roommate keep it locked 24/7. If you cannot trust your roommate and/or said roommate refuses to lock the door, talk to your Resident Assistant (or whatever he or she is called at your school)--usually these are the people living on your floor of the dormitory who are older/senior to your grade level and charged with taking care (read: managing, not babysitting) of you and your fellow floormates. If this fails, work your way up the food chain until you can get an acceptable solution worked out.
As others have said, use common sense. Don't display your shiney, new iPod in your window or whatnot. Also make sure your machines have at least a modicum of security; if employing a WAN, for instance, make sure it's secured with a password and 128-bit encryption (minimum). Data theft can be as bad or worse than physical-object theft, as I'm sure you well know.
Finally, make sure you make friends (or at least allies) on your floor. Even if you aren't a big, buff, and physically imposing guy or gal, this can help keep your toys secure. Think of it as a tiny neighborhood watch system--people will be more inclined to report a suspicious person casing your joint, or just plain old robbing it, if they know and like you.
Anyhow, don't stress about college, remember to have fun, and be the best student you can. College is not like high school or prep school, so enter into it with an open mind and a willingness to adapt.
Oh, and the story was based on real a real story. So yes, girls have been locked up for drawing hopscotch on the sidewalk (by insane southern frankenstien judges)
Sorry, it's a pet peeve, and I have to address the issue here, even if it is off-topic. "Based on a true story" does not mean or remain synonomous with "the events depicted in this re-enactment are factual." To my experience, "based on a true story" tends to mean "inspired by actual events, but not depicting them as a documentary would." In other words, it's a way Hollywood tries to legitimize its fiction.
Anyhow, back on topic, I am by no means a lawyer or NY resident, but the cynic in me is saying that this arrest (in front of a major news syndicate camera!) was... somewhat politically motivated. Were it not for the RNC being in town, I doubt that this guy would have been arrested. Fined/ticketed, maybe, but not arrested and taken off the streets.
I probably wouldn't buy one at ninety bucks a bandage, but I would think that hemophiliacs (and their parents) would definitely consider such a cost... well, inconsiderable.
Ok, last comment in this thread while I have no sleep, I promise!
The US isn't a colony because the former colonists kicked the British out... twice. The rest was taken from Mexico in a war, bought from Russia and Spain, and taken, by treaty, purchase, and war, from the Native Americans. (We only bought the right to obtain the land from the French, not the land itself.)
As for the idea about putting the area above a country within the definition of that country's borders, I think there may have already been a treaty signed and passed. Or perhaps it was a U.N. resolution... either way, space is (and should be) apolitical. If the situation were to happen where borders extended for (in example) three hundred miles above the surface, then the terrestrial international situation would worsen, because it then really would be (technological) might makes right in space.
As for the "wild west" analogy, I suggest reading Ezra Meeker's Personal Experiences on the Oregon Trail Sixty Years Ago, which is the 1912, 5th edition of the book. There was surprisingly more (and more democratic) justice in the American West than one might otherwise assume.
Closing note: Be patient, for we may yet achieve our dreams of mastering space. All progress takes time.
in NASA's defense, this of course does NOT mean they overspent $565 billion. NASA's budget was around $15 billion this year so you can easily imagine that overspending by $550 billion is impossible.
Heheh... I just thought of something. It's probably ludicrous, but maybe they haven't gotten enough funding to get a good auditor. You know, a couple of people in the firm forgot to account for a decimal space, and we get a figure of 550 billion instead of 5.5 billion. Or maybe someone carried a few too many ones.
Calm down, there, pal. I don't know where you're getting your information from, but from what I know, the US unemployment rate is holding short of 6% as of April. The unemployment rate of the Great Depression was about 25%. So in terms of real unemployment, we're doing about four times better than we were back in the 1930s.
Yes, the recession is bad, and on-going; I'm not going to make apologies for the current President because I, myself, don't like him. But, as a student training in history, I felt that I had to correct that one (run-on) sentence of your short but panicked post.
I'm not going to tell you what to do, but I do advise that you at least take a few deep breaths.
Let's be realistic, here; we're talking about the USA, where corporations are, by and large, getting off the hook one way or another left and right. Prominent examples of this can be found in Enron (barely a slap on the rist of those most responsible), Microsoft (a slap on the wrist, at most), Martha Stewart (convicted, but sentenced to a minimum security prison that seems to have been the inspiration for the no-security facility Sideshow Bob was sentenced to do time in), Halliburton (yet to face any sort of prosecution whatsoever, to my knowledge), and Wal*Mart (they find out in a self-audit that they were abusing labor laws... and the governments of those various states let them off after they promise to fix it).
I'm not sure which is more easily and quickly held responsible, but I'd still rather have NASA around, trying to do the job. I'd explain further, but my mind is all discombobulated from lack of sleep.
I wasn't attacking Microsoft, I was attacking some of what I've read on forums about people touting two gun mojo, destructable environments/vehicles and online play as "new" things, when they aren't at all.
I think you'll find that most of them agree with you. It's not that these are new to the genre or technology, it's that they are new to the game or platform itself.
I quite clearly remember playing Red Faction and enjoying the destructable environments. I also remember griping about it, because they had their physics all screwed up when it came to the "destructable" terrain, too. That, and the fact that some things... weren't actually destructable.
I'll go ahead and admit right now, I'm a Bungie fanatic. I'm looking forward to Halo 2. I'm not looking forward to it because of the duel-wielding "mojo" (as you put it), the destructable environments, or the online play. I'm looking forward to it for its story, primarily, but also for its gameplay. (This latter thing tends to be the sum of all the non-story parts, true, but it's also how those parts are put together.)...... And I'm still a little miffed that every single "major" game BUT Halo 2 has been mentioned on the front page of Slashdot for being at E3. It's a bit better than chopped liver, you know.:-P
I am no scholar of religion, so you'll have to help me out here, but my reading of that which you've quoted imparts to me that faith and deeds are both needed.
Now, if this is the case, then I have to ask about all the humans who came before monotheism (or the relatively-modern monotheisms, if you so choose)? And what about the Athiests and Agnostics who do as much or more good than the (just fine and normal) Christians, Jews, Hindus, etc.? Are they, despite their good deeds, to be damned for not believing or not being sure of the existance of any god?
(Personal side note: I'm an Agnostic, and I'm comfortable "up here on the fence," seeing both sides of the argument and not wishing to reject either. I'm also not baiting you, here... I may not agree with what you will say, nor am I garaunteed to reply to it, but I am interested in your response, should you choose to give one.)
That one's easy--Halo 2. I wasn't able to be physically present at E3, but I'd still gone into it with little enthusiasm and nominal expectations. I expected some more progress from Halflife 2, maybe another movie from the Doom 3 folks, and, if lucky, something from Blizzard, as well. I knew that Bungie was going to be at E3, but all I expected from them was, at the most, another teaser or demo video. They pretty much "submarined" their way into the conference, with just about nothing coming out of them as to whether or not they were even going to be there until last Thursday.
So they showed up, and I wasn't there for it, off studying for a more-important Final Exam. I get back, check a website or two, and WHAM! Halo news sites have gone bonkers. So I get curious and start checking things out... couple of interviews, ok, nothing too awful special, damn spiffy new screenshots, and... sweet jeebus, they had a playable demo and there's already a shakey-cam version of the presentation they gave before they allowed folks to have at it. I watch the presentation, of course, expecting something along the lines of Halo's multiplayer action in look and feel.
Nope, I'm most pleasantly surprised. Even through the really crappy compression and resolution, I'm blown away. Customizable this, that, and another thing, new weapons that look, sound, and work better than anything I've seen in a video game, before, and... destructable environments AND intelligently-designed destructable vehicles!? Woah, momma!
So, yeah... definately going with Halo 2, there, and I'm rather unsure why it hasn't been covered here.
Maybe it's because I grew up near Yellowstone, but I think some people are confusing National Park trails with City Park trails. In the latter, people are the big problem; in the former, everything else is the big problem. Places like Teton National Park, Yellowstone, and others... 99.99% of the time, what ends up getting someone hurt or killed is something other than another human being. It's that person going on a hike without the proper preparation, or without the proper information on, for example, what to do when he or she comes upon a bear or rattlesnake.
A lot of people who live around those parts chalk it up as stupid cityslicker tourists hauling off and Darwin-ing themselves (though not always in those exact words). The thing is, that's not always the case, and most of them know it. The big rescues and lots of people going missing are what make the nightly news, around there, not a couple people dying in a freak snowstorm.
Give people the option of being able to pick up an RFID-like device... that can be detected at range with the proper equipment, with unique identifiers not tagged to personal information--and not capable of being tied to such information. Tell them what they are, what the dangers are, and let them decide for themselves... and you sure as all hell better not let someone go up that hiking path alone! That's just asking for trouble, and when you're ten miles from the nearest hospital, or more, trouble has a tendency to answer.
Don't worry about the understaffed, over-busy park rangers raping or killing someone. Anyone with the proper amount of patience, time, and knowledge can do that. No, worry about the unlucky people caught in a flash-flood, or a freak snowstorm, or by their own dull wits.
Slashdot Mirror
It seems, from this image, linked from the ESO press release, that we've more than maybe seen the first planet out of our solar system with our own eyes.
It looks like we've also confirmed that brown dwarfs are glowing, white stopsigns. Let's just hope that no one needs to build a space lane straight through our solar system with great-big bulldozer things.
[/lame attempt at humor]
~UP
There is a rather limited scope for this robot to be useful. The environments have to be toxic and/or dangerous, but not so hazardous as to kill off or discourage flies from venturing there. If the area is not hazardous enough, we'll still be sending humans in, in most cases. In addition to this, the areas have to either be "seeded" with flies, and then sealed so that said flies do not escape, or have a large enough fly population already in place.
Maybe it would be better if this machine ate cockroaches.
~UP
Dang I hate to pay those M$ royalties!
No kidding! They don't even anesthetize you for the operation!
What are they doing with all that back skin, anyway?
~UP
... As well as the FAQ at the plaintiff's website. From what I understand, the effect of the law (don't show an ID or permit a "more intense" search) is known, but the actual law itself is not.
My grandfather, a man who had been both a judge and an attourney, once told my mother that ignorance of a law is no excuse for breaking it. I have to wonder what he would say about enforced ignorance about a law; were I able to visit his grave, I'd ask him. In this case, my gut feeling and my own opinion will have to suffice.
At the moment, both are that a law that cannot be known cannot be a law at all.
I have willingly volunteered to subject myself to the "more intensive search" I believe is referenced. I was not pulled out of line, but volunteered to do it when a friend was selected, so that I could keep said friend in sight. It was a matter of security agents rifling through my carry-on baggage and passing a metal-detector wand over the entirety of my body, as far as I recall.
Though I object to the secrecy of the law, I find myself ambivalent about the practice of the law as I know it thus far. I don't need to show my state-issued ID so long as I put myself through more of a search. I can understand the search, and I can show my ID, and I can see how both would help stop a terrorist intent on boarding and destroying a plane. (Though the 9/11 hijackers used their own IDs, it doesn't mean that some jerk won't try to board a plane with a ticket in someone else's name and try to hijack it or whatnot.) Then again, I'm far from being an expert, and I readily concede that there may be other, better ways of protecting people in an airport or on a plane.
~UP
NPR (National Public Radio) and PBS (Public Broadcasting Service) both seem to be overlooked in nearly every debate over the media. (My personal opinion is that they deliver a superior source of news information, giving more information per story, a greater variety of stories, and a greater quantity of stories.)
~UP
... Not on the newer planes, at least. In more than one flight, I've noticed that stewards and stewardesses went precisely to the seat where someone had left their cellphone on, before takeoff, when that person had not been using it. They didn't even glance in the other aisles.
On the other hand, I've seen jerks use their cell phones right up to the point where the plane is first in line.
~UP
My apologies for the confusion; the professor was one of Asian Studies.
~UP
Though I was thinking specifically about when someone wanted to type the address into the URL bar, you make an excellent point.
~UP
As a general rule of thumb, and as my parents taught me, no matter what is billed as "the next" anything (or anyone, for that matter), it is doomed to failure. The logic behind this is, I've determined, that by saying something is the next "X", one has set up that comparison in the minds of others; when that something does not turn out to be like, as good as, or a duplicate of "X", people assume it is a failure and avoid it as such. In their minds, they were given a sort of promise, no matter who or whom said it, that "Y" was going to be "X", again.
Will Tableau be the next Google? No, but it will be Tableau, and may even be a great service. Whether or not it will succeed, and why, remains to be determined.
(In my opinion, the difficulty of spelling a name with three vowels next to each other will be strike one against Tableau... if people can't remember how to spell it, they won't be able to find it the first/second/third/etc. time.)
~UP
(I really need to use that "Preview" function more often.)
The vaults I mention above are those of Universities and other academic institutions.
~UP
And I'd like to add to it, if only a little. The knowledge that an archaeologist seeks is not simply for himself, but for the greater interest and good of mankind. It sounds high-handed and trite, I know, but it's the truth. In fact, most archaeologists (and historians in general) act much like the Open Source community does: They share information as if it were a responsibility to do so, and make their goal the discovery of new information to be shared and/or the reinterpretation of old information which would reveal new information. (I hope that wasn't too confusing.)
For what it's worth, most archeological artifacts end up in museums and the protective-but-publicly-accessable vaults (though you sometimes need a reason better than "I just wanted to find out if any Joanne Schmoe can look at ancient pottery shards"), rather than in private collections and on the auction block. For the archaeologist (and, again, historians in general), knowledge alone is its own treasure.
~UP
[Note: To establish my own credibility on this subject, I submit that I am a student and History Major at a university noted within academic circles for its history department; just as an example of this, we had a visiting professor, last year, who was one of the top five asian-history historians on the planet.]
Sadly, keeping your sanity is pretty much a failed prospect. About 95 per cent of college students go insane during at least four times in their college careers (namely, Finals). Just remember to go insane in ways that do as little damage to yourself and others, and you'll be fine.
As for keeping your stuff secure, that can get tricky. Keep your laptop by your side whenever you go out with it (and I do suggest that you take it with you for note-taking). Your room should stay secure if both you and your roommate keep it locked 24/7. If you cannot trust your roommate and/or said roommate refuses to lock the door, talk to your Resident Assistant (or whatever he or she is called at your school)--usually these are the people living on your floor of the dormitory who are older/senior to your grade level and charged with taking care (read: managing, not babysitting) of you and your fellow floormates. If this fails, work your way up the food chain until you can get an acceptable solution worked out.
As others have said, use common sense. Don't display your shiney, new iPod in your window or whatnot. Also make sure your machines have at least a modicum of security; if employing a WAN, for instance, make sure it's secured with a password and 128-bit encryption (minimum). Data theft can be as bad or worse than physical-object theft, as I'm sure you well know.
Finally, make sure you make friends (or at least allies) on your floor. Even if you aren't a big, buff, and physically imposing guy or gal, this can help keep your toys secure. Think of it as a tiny neighborhood watch system--people will be more inclined to report a suspicious person casing your joint, or just plain old robbing it, if they know and like you.
Anyhow, don't stress about college, remember to have fun, and be the best student you can. College is not like high school or prep school, so enter into it with an open mind and a willingness to adapt.
Cheers,
Undefined Parameter
Oh, and the story was based on real a real story. So yes, girls have been locked up for drawing hopscotch on the sidewalk (by insane southern frankenstien judges)
Sorry, it's a pet peeve, and I have to address the issue here, even if it is off-topic. "Based on a true story" does not mean or remain synonomous with "the events depicted in this re-enactment are factual." To my experience, "based on a true story" tends to mean "inspired by actual events, but not depicting them as a documentary would." In other words, it's a way Hollywood tries to legitimize its fiction.
Anyhow, back on topic, I am by no means a lawyer or NY resident, but the cynic in me is saying that this arrest (in front of a major news syndicate camera!) was... somewhat politically motivated. Were it not for the RNC being in town, I doubt that this guy would have been arrested. Fined/ticketed, maybe, but not arrested and taken off the streets.
~UP
I probably wouldn't buy one at ninety bucks a bandage, but I would think that hemophiliacs (and their parents) would definitely consider such a cost... well, inconsiderable.
~UP
Ok, last comment in this thread while I have no sleep, I promise!
The US isn't a colony because the former colonists kicked the British out... twice. The rest was taken from Mexico in a war, bought from Russia and Spain, and taken, by treaty, purchase, and war, from the Native Americans. (We only bought the right to obtain the land from the French, not the land itself.)
As for the idea about putting the area above a country within the definition of that country's borders, I think there may have already been a treaty signed and passed. Or perhaps it was a U.N. resolution... either way, space is (and should be) apolitical. If the situation were to happen where borders extended for (in example) three hundred miles above the surface, then the terrestrial international situation would worsen, because it then really would be (technological) might makes right in space.
As for the "wild west" analogy, I suggest reading Ezra Meeker's Personal Experiences on the Oregon Trail Sixty Years Ago, which is the 1912, 5th edition of the book. There was surprisingly more (and more democratic) justice in the American West than one might otherwise assume.
Closing note: Be patient, for we may yet achieve our dreams of mastering space. All progress takes time.
~UP
in NASA's defense, this of course does NOT mean they overspent $565 billion. NASA's budget was around $15 billion this year so you can easily imagine that overspending by $550 billion is impossible.
Heheh... I just thought of something. It's probably ludicrous, but maybe they haven't gotten enough funding to get a good auditor. You know, a couple of people in the firm forgot to account for a decimal space, and we get a figure of 550 billion instead of 5.5 billion. Or maybe someone carried a few too many ones.
~UP
Calm down, there, pal. I don't know where you're getting your information from, but from what I know, the US unemployment rate is holding short of 6% as of April. The unemployment rate of the Great Depression was about 25%. So in terms of real unemployment, we're doing about four times better than we were back in the 1930s.
Yes, the recession is bad, and on-going; I'm not going to make apologies for the current President because I, myself, don't like him. But, as a student training in history, I felt that I had to correct that one (run-on) sentence of your short but panicked post.
I'm not going to tell you what to do, but I do advise that you at least take a few deep breaths.
~UP
Let's be realistic, here; we're talking about the USA, where corporations are, by and large, getting off the hook one way or another left and right. Prominent examples of this can be found in Enron (barely a slap on the rist of those most responsible), Microsoft (a slap on the wrist, at most), Martha Stewart (convicted, but sentenced to a minimum security prison that seems to have been the inspiration for the no-security facility Sideshow Bob was sentenced to do time in), Halliburton (yet to face any sort of prosecution whatsoever, to my knowledge), and Wal*Mart (they find out in a self-audit that they were abusing labor laws... and the governments of those various states let them off after they promise to fix it).
I'm not sure which is more easily and quickly held responsible, but I'd still rather have NASA around, trying to do the job. I'd explain further, but my mind is all discombobulated from lack of sleep.
~UP
I wasn't attacking Microsoft, I was attacking some of what I've read on forums about people touting two gun mojo, destructable environments/vehicles and online play as "new" things, when they aren't at all.
... ... And I'm still a little miffed that every single "major" game BUT Halo 2 has been mentioned on the front page of Slashdot for being at E3. It's a bit better than chopped liver, you know. :-P
I think you'll find that most of them agree with you. It's not that these are new to the genre or technology, it's that they are new to the game or platform itself.
I quite clearly remember playing Red Faction and enjoying the destructable environments. I also remember griping about it, because they had their physics all screwed up when it came to the "destructable" terrain, too. That, and the fact that some things... weren't actually destructable.
I'll go ahead and admit right now, I'm a Bungie fanatic. I'm looking forward to Halo 2. I'm not looking forward to it because of the duel-wielding "mojo" (as you put it), the destructable environments, or the online play. I'm looking forward to it for its story, primarily, but also for its gameplay. (This latter thing tends to be the sum of all the non-story parts, true, but it's also how those parts are put together.)
~UP
You know, for a site that is supposedly sporting "booth babes," the proportion of guy to not-a-guy pics is, erm, notably high.
~UP
I am no scholar of religion, so you'll have to help me out here, but my reading of that which you've quoted imparts to me that faith and deeds are both needed.
Now, if this is the case, then I have to ask about all the humans who came before monotheism (or the relatively-modern monotheisms, if you so choose)? And what about the Athiests and Agnostics who do as much or more good than the (just fine and normal) Christians, Jews, Hindus, etc.? Are they, despite their good deeds, to be damned for not believing or not being sure of the existance of any god?
(Personal side note: I'm an Agnostic, and I'm comfortable "up here on the fence," seeing both sides of the argument and not wishing to reject either. I'm also not baiting you, here... I may not agree with what you will say, nor am I garaunteed to reply to it, but I am interested in your response, should you choose to give one.)
~UP
Is there such thing as a universal good? If so, what defines it? Is it a rule, and if so, what about the exceptions which it has?
~UP
Quick response: So, where does that put curiosity?
(And would it be fight, or would it be flight?)
~UP
That one's easy--Halo 2. I wasn't able to be physically present at E3, but I'd still gone into it with little enthusiasm and nominal expectations. I expected some more progress from Halflife 2, maybe another movie from the Doom 3 folks, and, if lucky, something from Blizzard, as well. I knew that Bungie was going to be at E3, but all I expected from them was, at the most, another teaser or demo video. They pretty much "submarined" their way into the conference, with just about nothing coming out of them as to whether or not they were even going to be there until last Thursday.
So they showed up, and I wasn't there for it, off studying for a more-important Final Exam. I get back, check a website or two, and WHAM! Halo news sites have gone bonkers. So I get curious and start checking things out... couple of interviews, ok, nothing too awful special, damn spiffy new screenshots, and... sweet jeebus, they had a playable demo and there's already a shakey-cam version of the presentation they gave before they allowed folks to have at it. I watch the presentation, of course, expecting something along the lines of Halo's multiplayer action in look and feel.
Nope, I'm most pleasantly surprised. Even through the really crappy compression and resolution, I'm blown away. Customizable this, that, and another thing, new weapons that look, sound, and work better than anything I've seen in a video game, before, and... destructable environments AND intelligently-designed destructable vehicles!? Woah, momma!
So, yeah... definately going with Halo 2, there, and I'm rather unsure why it hasn't been covered here.
~UP
Maybe it's because I grew up near Yellowstone, but I think some people are confusing National Park trails with City Park trails. In the latter, people are the big problem; in the former, everything else is the big problem. Places like Teton National Park, Yellowstone, and others... 99.99% of the time, what ends up getting someone hurt or killed is something other than another human being. It's that person going on a hike without the proper preparation, or without the proper information on, for example, what to do when he or she comes upon a bear or rattlesnake.
A lot of people who live around those parts chalk it up as stupid cityslicker tourists hauling off and Darwin-ing themselves (though not always in those exact words). The thing is, that's not always the case, and most of them know it. The big rescues and lots of people going missing are what make the nightly news, around there, not a couple people dying in a freak snowstorm.
Give people the option of being able to pick up an RFID-like device... that can be detected at range with the proper equipment, with unique identifiers not tagged to personal information--and not capable of being tied to such information. Tell them what they are, what the dangers are, and let them decide for themselves... and you sure as all hell better not let someone go up that hiking path alone! That's just asking for trouble, and when you're ten miles from the nearest hospital, or more, trouble has a tendency to answer.
Don't worry about the understaffed, over-busy park rangers raping or killing someone. Anyone with the proper amount of patience, time, and knowledge can do that. No, worry about the unlucky people caught in a flash-flood, or a freak snowstorm, or by their own dull wits.
~UP