I don't believe that's the case. Unfortunately I can't cite any references, but I recently heard that "grogginess" when a person wakes hinders ones mental and physical operation as much as going without sleep for 48 hours. For some people this state of grogginess can last up to 2 hours. (I'm pretty sure that's the case for me, heh.)
According to a History channel show about the life of Davinci, he was nearly punished for being accused of sodomy. The accuser was anonymous and didn't show up to the trial to press the issue, however, ones reputation was a serious thing to have in jeopardy. 'Twas certainly no tolerant utopia in those days.
It's pretty frustrating for many computer illiterate folks to attempt to digest new technological ideas. The nerd/geek community is a real "boys club" if-you-will, in the sense that if you're not in the know it's hard to be accepted into tech savvy circles regardless whether you have an honest interest in learning, or not. We tend to be elitists and have a way of coveting our experience because it takes a special kind of person to be able to teach what they know without becomming irritated with their students incompetence.
Well, I don't think it's much different for a person well versed in legal arcana. These people work just as hard, if not harder to gain the knowledge required to master even one facet of the legal system, as a techie spends keeping abreast of the ever evolving, fast paced tech world.
Legislation is not mystic voodoo hoodoo for a simple reason...it's real. The laws and interpretations are official, they're as real as it gets when you're in a court room. Sure interpretation can vary quite a bit from person to person, but this stuff isn't pure fabrication. It's on the books.
So, that's my quick attempt at illustrating similarities in the two fields. Learned technologists and those steeped in legal knowledge both have some core things in common, like a lust for information, dedication, and intelligence. (stupid people don't survive long in these fields)
Unfortunately it seems that in many folks these things can breed arrogance. Rather than believing that your proficiency in one field of learning grants you powers in ALL fields, why not refer to the old adage (I'll have to paraphrase): A wise man knows that there's a lot which he doesn't know. With that in mind smart folks from all backgrounds should be happy to learn from one another rather than bicker and criticize.
There's a lot I haven't said, but I think my point is expressed well enough for a thread that won't get much traffic. So, there you have it.
Good lord please stop innovating new forms of storage that could potentially force more money out of my wallet! There's been, what, six different mass storage devices touted here in as many months? I can't take it anymore, I'm in a purchasing coma from all the possibilities on the horizon.
Ah, with all the exciting technological discoveries and such happening recently it's starting to look like Terrance Mckenna may be right. Timewave Zero anyone? : )
So the question is, if we used conventional rockets to quickly achieve a high speed, could the ion propulsion continue the excelleration after the rocket burns out?
Naw, you're just thinking of the media portrayal. Have you ever smoked pot? Notice how overly exagerated the high is on TV and in the movies. Most of the time they make it appear as though the person were on an LSD trip rather than having smoked a bit of grass. If you haven't smoked it then just take my word for it I guess...
The "hyper" effects of caffeine are more like an on edge jittery feeling. Probably some people are a lot more susceptable to it than others. I used to drink espresso's and have a few shots added to the drink, but I found that it made me feel almost as if I hadn't eaten anything for a long time. Yanno, like when you're so hungry you feel weak and shaky. I never feel hyper with too much caffeine, but I think it's the jitteryness that some feel which gets that lable placed on them.
I drink two cups of coffee in the morning and usually some caffinated soft drinks here and there, but I've never thought myself to be addicted at all. I also used to smoke a cigarette every hour, but I didn't have any trouble going to just one or two a day. I'll even go a week sometimes where I don't smoke at all, it's just that different situations kinda trigger a bit of desire in me. Psychological rather than physiological. So, I tend to believe that some people become addicted to substances much more easily than others. As always TV and the news will paint a very skewed picture of...well, of anything they get their hands on. : ) Oh, and I very much agree with the first post in these comments!
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I could practically weep for the truth of your words.:*(
I tell ya what though; As soon as these things are being produced by a company with stock on the market, I'ma buy the hell out of it. Mostly because I like to think that such amazingly necessary technology would be embraced. I fear it may turn out as you say though...at least in the beginning. *sigh*
Call it an oversimplification, but I think the only reason to be against something like this, is pride. Therefore anyone angered by this should give it a rest, America is not perfect IN ANY SENSE.
The thing that got me to really dig Star Wars anything, was the Cartoon Network series. Now that is what The Force is supposed to be like! It was exciting and new, and I'm (sadly) pretty damn sure that Episode 3, and any other SW movie that may be made later on will not hold a candle to what was unleashed by the animated series.
Golly, Chicago seems rife with conflict circling around the psycho Mayor Daley. I mean this is the guy who had cops, national guardsmen, regular army personnel equipped with bazookas etc, brought out to suppress a protest of the Democratic convention in the late sixties.* I dunno, but he seems a bit heavy handed to me...
I'm a pretty big TNG fan. I'm almost done watching season 3 and this is the first time I've been able to see every episode (seasons 1-3, 4 is in the pipe, thank you suprnova!:) ) so I'm really able to observe the way the characters and stories develop.
Ok, so every problem they come across can pretty much be solved with Geordi and Data with a sprinkling of Picard because he's a bad ass captain. But, much like what happened to the show Sliders, Star Trek really did seem to head down the soap opera alley after TNG.
TNG brings up a lot of personal dilemmas and interesting characters with amazing powers (Q) which allowed for some pretty wild problems. It didn't need the soap opera feel to garner an attachment to the characters. I hate to have to fall back on this but, the social commentary from TNG can be applied to any time period. When you try to tackle current issues you prevent future generations from being able to identify with your show. And, on top of that, television has enough trash on it fiction and non-fiction, I want to watch a show that doesn't take a political stance.
I want a show that allows me to think, and hopefully introduces nifty new lines of thought, but if I want current affairs I'll come to/. or put on the real news (not that I actually want to watch the real news, you don't know what your getting there...). It's only 30-60 minutes, is that so much to ask?
I'm sure you had one heck of an ordeal there. As a matter of fact, I'm sure we've all had a real ordeal at one store or another. I think it's odd to see so many people bashing this or that company for their terrible customer service and claiming that the whole darn place is corrupt and evil.
Where do you shop now? Circuit City? CompUSA? Some smaller miscelanious store? Wherever it is, I'll betcha there's a long list of folks who have written the place off in much the same fashion as your writing off BestBuy. Shoot, there's probably a double handful who had a mirror image experience with your new bastion of electronics.
I point this out only because I never notice it being pointed out in these discussions. The angry folks are the ones who are ready willing and able to get up and shout about their bad experience. They're pissed off dag nabbit! But, they're <I>not</I> always right. In fact you'll never ever ever catch an angry person ranting on here about some places crappy service and then describing a scenario where they look like a total ass. It'll all be justified because of this or that store's grevious wrongdoing.
I'm really just being Devil's advocate here, and I'm not trying to start an argument. (I don't want you mailing any pertinant "...for Dummies" books to me. *grin* ) And, to prove it I'll give you a little tid bit O' info I know about CompUSA. The guys in corporate, and therefore the regional directors etc... feel that the people walking through the doors to their store are walking wallets and nothing more. No duh! You say, right? Well they actually teach the employees that they should visualize $32,000 tattood across the foreheads of their customers. This is because they figured out that the average consumer will spend about that amount on technology items in their lifetime. They want as much of that as they can get their hands on so they'll do whatever they have to to get it.
I know that these companies don't give a damn about me. I know they're only after my money regardless. But, shit, to iterate it in that fashion to the employees makes me sick. Am I alone on that one? Hah, I know I'm not, and I know someone will want to respond in concurrance because, like I said, the angry ones speak up. Then again I may get no response because I'm jumping in on this jabber when the story is already at the bottom of the main/. page. *sigh* ah well.:)
This is yet another case of media fear mongering designed to stimulate consumption of product "X", where "X" is whatever the hell they want you to buy. In this case I am inclined to believe that a company such as Lysol is likely involved.
I've been on many a rant concering this topic where the public is fed FEAR FEAR FEAR! I'll try to streamline my thoughts a bit.
I am sick to death (not from my shower curtain) of popular media perpetuating inane and dare I say, asinine phobias. Everything from SARS and West Nile virus to this shower curtain BS. Remember when they told us that our dish sponges and towels were just covered with evil bacteria?
It's difficult to really sum up my feelings here but let me point out a problem with this kind of reporting. There are a lot of people, let me say a LOT of people, who believe everything (or most) of what they hear on the news or read in the paper etc. Does anybody know a person who is adversely affected by the bacteria on a shower curtain? Is there anybody who is surprised to hear that a shower cutrain has bacteria on it? It's a warm moist environment and I think most of us don't wash the whole curtain come cleaning time. The conditions for bacteria to grow should be considered common knowledge right? Well, what I'm getting at is SO WHAT! Regardless of their two sentances worth of disclaimer which says only "immune-compromised" individuals are at risk. This is not a threat to every day living, it should not be considered news worthy. (right now I don't think this study is worthy to wipe my butt with) The folks I mentioned before, are now wasting time and money trying to stay safe in a world that popular media wants to prove is horrid and full of dangers. Even folks who aren't immune-compromised now feel that their curtain is now a threat. "The world is out to get you, but we're right here with our crack team of soi-disant reporters who will direct you to purchase the goods that will keep you safe!"
I'm not saying that the evils and dangers that popular media loves to put in the lime light are non existant. But, it seems to me that it is irresponsible to sow the seeds of worry one after another over trivial matters.
Are we truly such gluttons for punishment and discomfort that we will continue to allow the airing of bad news all the time? Bad bad bad, the world is a terrible place, look what this person did oh it's awful, now look at this, ooh you're not safe here, nope not there either, oh at home? Yeah you're not safe there either! There are a lot of good people in the world. There are a lot of good things being done in communities across the country and even in those heathen non-american countries. Yes, even there one can find goodness. Why do we not want to see it? Or has the population been bludgeoned into submission and the fear tactics that worked yesterday will be re-implimented tomorrow?
Unfortunately I am becoming pretty out of touch with the news as my only sources these days seem to be/. and word of mouth information. I just can't bring myself to watch TV and be pissed off for a few hours at the garbage on the air. But, how am I supposed to rage properly if I don't keep in touch? *sigh*
I really hope some of what I've said here makes sense. It may be more than a bit disjointed, but it's a frustrating topic and I find that clarity is sometimes hard to maintain when ranting. Thanks for reading to the end though! Oh, and since/. has so many non American readers let me say, you aren't really heathens. : P
I posted a question along these lines the last time the "motorcycle girl" was posted. I didn't get a response, but I have always been under the impression that radiation was cumulative. Which is to say that if you can survive up to X amount of radiation, and get a small dose, "Y" then tomorrow you can only survive X-Y. Any edjumacated informers here? Sheesh this is/. I should be inundated with solid information even before I preview my post!
Had you wanted to help this poor soul and facilitate the placebo effect, then you would simply have described a somewhat plausible way in which he could accomplish this mission. Now how is he supposed to convince himself that he isn't just trying to fool himself?
"Ok, this one's for real, it'll work...but seriously no it's not...but yanno really it should work...except that I'm fakin...no no no, heh just kidding this is the real deal right here yessiree-bob!"
I was always under the impression that the radiation one is exposed to builds up. That is, if I'm exposed to X amount of radiation today and my limit is Y then tomorrow I can only be exposed to Y - X or less, otherwise I'll suffer. Does that make sense? I'm just curious about that part, wouldn't she have to stop her rides in the near future lest she come down with a nasty case of radiation poisoning?
Anyway, I agree that this is a very touching pictorial and I am very glad to have had the opportunity to see this. If it weren't for the fact that she obviously has to have some sort of pass in order to enter the dead zone I would be very interested in travelling there myself.
I find it difficult to put to words the emotion that rises from gazing upon this post-apocolyptic scene. For truely that is an accurate description of the dead zone.
When visiting I imagine that one could experience several things all at once. One could feel what it could have been like if the cold war had ended in the mutually assured destruction that was promised were the damn to break. Also, a sense of what things were like before civilization gripped the planet. Before there was noise pollution we had silence broken only by the sounds of nature. (Anyone who's read Timeline by Michael Crichton may harken back to comments written on the difference in ambient sounds.)
It seems beautiful and terrible by turns. It makes me want to cry, yet I yearn to experience this most rare place myself.
Ok, so I didn't want to be the first to say it but yeah I agree here. At the very least the anti-drug programs could be streamlined. Educate the kiddies and sweep the crack heads off the streets, but stop wasting time and energy fighting drugs like marijuana.
Nobody has ever overdosed on it and people don't kill for it. We have a new theater to fight in which, unchecked could have a much wider area of devestation were it to collapse or even stumble.
While I'm at it I'll also add that we need to stop throwing people in jail and considering the individual problem solved. Increase the amount of contribution prisoners must make to society. Decrease the amount of creature comforts in prisons. Hey, look more money!
So I break into your place, this thing starts screeching at me. It's a dragon so naturally I'm scared right? Now I run away...but not before I smash the robotic howler monkey with something blunt and now you're out 18 grand. Ah, but at least your $2000.00 computer is safe. Yay!
Ooh, but if it's the black one maybe I'll steal it instead. The red would clash with my walls and white is a touch austere don't you think?
This is an impractical post put up for the purpose of being silly.
Slashdot Mirror
I don't believe that's the case. Unfortunately I can't cite any references, but I recently heard that "grogginess" when a person wakes hinders ones mental and physical operation as much as going without sleep for 48 hours. For some people this state of grogginess can last up to 2 hours. (I'm pretty sure that's the case for me, heh.)
According to a History channel show about the life of Davinci, he was nearly punished for being accused of sodomy. The accuser was anonymous and didn't show up to the trial to press the issue, however, ones reputation was a serious thing to have in jeopardy. 'Twas certainly no tolerant utopia in those days.
I tell ya what; Right up to the day he died, that man knew where his towel was.
It's pretty frustrating for many computer illiterate folks to attempt to digest new technological ideas. The nerd/geek community is a real "boys club" if-you-will, in the sense that if you're not in the know it's hard to be accepted into tech savvy circles regardless whether you have an honest interest in learning, or not. We tend to be elitists and have a way of coveting our experience because it takes a special kind of person to be able to teach what they know without becomming irritated with their students incompetence.
Well, I don't think it's much different for a person well versed in legal arcana. These people work just as hard, if not harder to gain the knowledge required to master even one facet of the legal system, as a techie spends keeping abreast of the ever evolving, fast paced tech world.
Legislation is not mystic voodoo hoodoo for a simple reason...it's real. The laws and interpretations are official, they're as real as it gets when you're in a court room. Sure interpretation can vary quite a bit from person to person, but this stuff isn't pure fabrication. It's on the books.
So, that's my quick attempt at illustrating similarities in the two fields. Learned technologists and those steeped in legal knowledge both have some core things in common, like a lust for information, dedication, and intelligence. (stupid people don't survive long in these fields) Unfortunately it seems that in many folks these things can breed arrogance. Rather than believing that your proficiency in one field of learning grants you powers in ALL fields, why not refer to the old adage (I'll have to paraphrase): A wise man knows that there's a lot which he doesn't know. With that in mind smart folks from all backgrounds should be happy to learn from one another rather than bicker and criticize.
There's a lot I haven't said, but I think my point is expressed well enough for a thread that won't get much traffic. So, there you have it.
Ah, with all the exciting technological discoveries and such happening recently it's starting to look like Terrance Mckenna may be right. Timewave Zero anyone? : )
So the question is, if we used conventional rockets to quickly achieve a high speed, could the ion propulsion continue the excelleration after the rocket burns out?
"Oh, he's Canadian, don't rob hi...wait a minute, my RFID scanner says he's a filthy American! Get him!"
Perhaps in this situation I overreact a bit. Tee hee.
The "hyper" effects of caffeine are more like an on edge jittery feeling. Probably some people are a lot more susceptable to it than others. I used to drink espresso's and have a few shots added to the drink, but I found that it made me feel almost as if I hadn't eaten anything for a long time. Yanno, like when you're so hungry you feel weak and shaky. I never feel hyper with too much caffeine, but I think it's the jitteryness that some feel which gets that lable placed on them.
I drink two cups of coffee in the morning and usually some caffinated soft drinks here and there, but I've never thought myself to be addicted at all. I also used to smoke a cigarette every hour, but I didn't have any trouble going to just one or two a day. I'll even go a week sometimes where I don't smoke at all, it's just that different situations kinda trigger a bit of desire in me. Psychological rather than physiological. So, I tend to believe that some people become addicted to substances much more easily than others. As always TV and the news will paint a very skewed picture of...well, of anything they get their hands on. : ) Oh, and I very much agree with the first post in these comments!
I tell ya what though; As soon as these things are being produced by a company with stock on the market, I'ma buy the hell out of it. Mostly because I like to think that such amazingly necessary technology would be embraced. I fear it may turn out as you say though...at least in the beginning. *sigh*
Call it an oversimplification, but I think the only reason to be against something like this, is pride. Therefore anyone angered by this should give it a rest, America is not perfect IN ANY SENSE.
*Acid Dreams by:Martin A. Lee & Bruce Shlain
Ok, so every problem they come across can pretty much be solved with Geordi and Data with a sprinkling of Picard because he's a bad ass captain. But, much like what happened to the show Sliders, Star Trek really did seem to head down the soap opera alley after TNG.
TNG brings up a lot of personal dilemmas and interesting characters with amazing powers (Q) which allowed for some pretty wild problems. It didn't need the soap opera feel to garner an attachment to the characters. I hate to have to fall back on this but, the social commentary from TNG can be applied to any time period. When you try to tackle current issues you prevent future generations from being able to identify with your show. And, on top of that, television has enough trash on it fiction and non-fiction, I want to watch a show that doesn't take a political stance.
I want a show that allows me to think, and hopefully introduces nifty new lines of thought, but if I want current affairs I'll come to /. or put on the real news (not that I actually want to watch the real news, you don't know what your getting there...). It's only 30-60 minutes, is that so much to ask?
I'm sure you had one heck of an ordeal there. As a matter of fact, I'm sure we've all had a real ordeal at one store or another. I think it's odd to see so many people bashing this or that company for their terrible customer service and claiming that the whole darn place is corrupt and evil. /. page. *sigh* ah well. :)
Where do you shop now? Circuit City? CompUSA? Some smaller miscelanious store? Wherever it is, I'll betcha there's a long list of folks who have written the place off in much the same fashion as your writing off BestBuy. Shoot, there's probably a double handful who had a mirror image experience with your new bastion of electronics.
I point this out only because I never notice it being pointed out in these discussions. The angry folks are the ones who are ready willing and able to get up and shout about their bad experience. They're pissed off dag nabbit! But, they're <I>not</I> always right. In fact you'll never ever ever catch an angry person ranting on here about some places crappy service and then describing a scenario where they look like a total ass. It'll all be justified because of this or that store's grevious wrongdoing.
I'm really just being Devil's advocate here, and I'm not trying to start an argument. (I don't want you mailing any pertinant "...for Dummies" books to me. *grin* ) And, to prove it I'll give you a little tid bit O' info I know about CompUSA. The guys in corporate, and therefore the regional directors etc... feel that the people walking through the doors to their store are walking wallets and nothing more. No duh! You say, right? Well they actually teach the employees that they should visualize $32,000 tattood across the foreheads of their customers. This is because they figured out that the average consumer will spend about that amount on technology items in their lifetime. They want as much of that as they can get their hands on so they'll do whatever they have to to get it.
I know that these companies don't give a damn about me. I know they're only after my money regardless. But, shit, to iterate it in that fashion to the employees makes me sick. Am I alone on that one? Hah, I know I'm not, and I know someone will want to respond in concurrance because, like I said, the angry ones speak up. Then again I may get no response because I'm jumping in on this jabber when the story is already at the bottom of the main
This is yet another case of media fear mongering designed to stimulate consumption of product "X", where "X" is whatever the hell they want you to buy. In this case I am inclined to believe that a company such as Lysol is likely involved.
I've been on many a rant concering this topic where the public is fed FEAR FEAR FEAR! I'll try to streamline my thoughts a bit.
I am sick to death (not from my shower curtain) of popular media perpetuating inane and dare I say, asinine phobias. Everything from SARS and West Nile virus to this shower curtain BS. Remember when they told us that our dish sponges and towels were just covered with evil bacteria?
It's difficult to really sum up my feelings here but let me point out a problem with this kind of reporting. There are a lot of people, let me say a LOT of people, who believe everything (or most) of what they hear on the news or read in the paper etc. Does anybody know a person who is adversely affected by the bacteria on a shower curtain? Is there anybody who is surprised to hear that a shower cutrain has bacteria on it? It's a warm moist environment and I think most of us don't wash the whole curtain come cleaning time. The conditions for bacteria to grow should be considered common knowledge right? Well, what I'm getting at is SO WHAT! Regardless of their two sentances worth of disclaimer which says only "immune-compromised" individuals are at risk. This is not a threat to every day living, it should not be considered news worthy. (right now I don't think this study is worthy to wipe my butt with) The folks I mentioned before, are now wasting time and money trying to stay safe in a world that popular media wants to prove is horrid and full of dangers. Even folks who aren't immune-compromised now feel that their curtain is now a threat. "The world is out to get you, but we're right here with our crack team of soi-disant reporters who will direct you to purchase the goods that will keep you safe!"
I'm not saying that the evils and dangers that popular media loves to put in the lime light are non existant. But, it seems to me that it is irresponsible to sow the seeds of worry one after another over trivial matters.
Are we truly such gluttons for punishment and discomfort that we will continue to allow the airing of bad news all the time? Bad bad bad, the world is a terrible place, look what this person did oh it's awful, now look at this, ooh you're not safe here, nope not there either, oh at home? Yeah you're not safe there either! There are a lot of good people in the world. There are a lot of good things being done in communities across the country and even in those heathen non-american countries. Yes, even there one can find goodness. Why do we not want to see it? Or has the population been bludgeoned into submission and the fear tactics that worked yesterday will be re-implimented tomorrow?
Unfortunately I am becoming pretty out of touch with the news as my only sources these days seem to be /. and word of mouth information. I just can't bring myself to watch TV and be pissed off for a few hours at the garbage on the air. But, how am I supposed to rage properly if I don't keep in touch? *sigh*
I really hope some of what I've said here makes sense. It may be more than a bit disjointed, but it's a frustrating topic and I find that clarity is sometimes hard to maintain when ranting. Thanks for reading to the end though! Oh, and since /. has so many non American readers let me say, you aren't really heathens. : P
Hahaha, oh that kills me. But seriously, Drakoids are pretty mean.
"...exceptional growth..."
"...money maker..."
"...barrier to entry..."I'm sorry, what? I was thinking about this movie I saw once...oh yeah, bad pr0n, baaaad. Tee hee!
Had you wanted to help this poor soul and facilitate the placebo effect, then you would simply have described a somewhat plausible way in which he could accomplish this mission. Now how is he supposed to convince himself that he isn't just trying to fool himself?
"Ok, this one's for real, it'll work...but seriously no it's not...but yanno really it should work...except that I'm fakin...no no no, heh just kidding this is the real deal right here yessiree-bob!"
That could go on for agonizing hours. : P
I was always under the impression that the radiation one is exposed to builds up. That is, if I'm exposed to X amount of radiation today and my limit is Y then tomorrow I can only be exposed to Y - X or less, otherwise I'll suffer. Does that make sense? I'm just curious about that part, wouldn't she have to stop her rides in the near future lest she come down with a nasty case of radiation poisoning?
Anyway, I agree that this is a very touching pictorial and I am very glad to have had the opportunity to see this. If it weren't for the fact that she obviously has to have some sort of pass in order to enter the dead zone I would be very interested in travelling there myself.
I find it difficult to put to words the emotion that rises from gazing upon this post-apocolyptic scene. For truely that is an accurate description of the dead zone.
When visiting I imagine that one could experience several things all at once. One could feel what it could have been like if the cold war had ended in the mutually assured destruction that was promised were the damn to break. Also, a sense of what things were like before civilization gripped the planet. Before there was noise pollution we had silence broken only by the sounds of nature. (Anyone who's read Timeline by Michael Crichton may harken back to comments written on the difference in ambient sounds.)
It seems beautiful and terrible by turns. It makes me want to cry, yet I yearn to experience this most rare place myself.
Nobody has ever overdosed on it and people don't kill for it. We have a new theater to fight in which, unchecked could have a much wider area of devestation were it to collapse or even stumble.
While I'm at it I'll also add that we need to stop throwing people in jail and considering the individual problem solved. Increase the amount of contribution prisoners must make to society. Decrease the amount of creature comforts in prisons. Hey, look more money!
---
Ooh, but if it's the black one maybe I'll steal it instead. The red would clash with my walls and white is a touch austere don't you think?
This is an impractical post put up for the purpose of being silly.---