Any movie that is actually going to be worth watching is going to have to hack out big chunks of that stuff. I agree. They could do away completely with the Tom Bombadil subplot.
If the Drake Equation is any good at all, there are likely to be hundreds of millions of other civilizations in the universe. It's certainly reasonable to assume that a good portion of them have observed/are observing/will observe the universe as well. Why pin the blame on just us?
The only thing I can figure is that the Democrats in Congress are simply allowing him to take as much rope as he needs to hang himself, thereby helping to assure a Democratic victory in 2008. Given the fact that any progressive legislation they attempt is either vetoed by the President, stymied by the Justice Department Republican sockpuppets or filibustered by the Congressional Republicans, it doesn't appear that they have much choice in the matter.
Chris Knight: As you know, Mitch and I were working on the cyanide system. Well, eariler today it ate itself. But, these little set-backs are just what we need to take a giant step forward. Right, Kent? Needless to say, I was a little despondent about the melt down, but then, it the midst of my preparations for hari kiri, it came to me. It is possible to synthesize excited bromide in an argon matrix. It's an excimer frozen in its excited state. Bodey: Th...That's impossible. Knight: It's a chemical laser but in solid, not gaseous, form. Put simply, in deference to you, Kent, it's like lasing a stick of dynamite. As soon as we apply a field, we couple to a state, it is radiatively coupled to the ground state. I figure we can extract at least 10 to the 21st photons per cubic centimeter which will give one kilojoule per cubic centimeter at 600 nanometers, or, one megajoule per liter.
Since the plane is apparently mostly blue, and the search area appears to be mainly scrub and rock, would it be possible to automate a grid search over the area via Google Earth, and have the system automatically tag any significant areas of blue for later examination?
It's a shame, because now I won't be buying it either, and it looks like an absolutely incredible game that the developers deserve to get every penny for. This rootkit action is inexcusable; I refused to purchase any Sony products after the CD-rootkit fiasco, and this has just reinforced that decision. What's worse is that I was planning to upgrade my system specifically to play this game (and to keep up with the power curve in general). So in addition to 2K not getting the revenue, neither is a motherboard manufacturer, memory manufacturer, graphics card maker or AMD or Intel. They'll have to wait.
Unless, of course, a crack appears OR Sony decides to backpedal as fast as they did last time.
Am I the only one who finds it odd that, in his statement, Klaus denounces the politicizing of science, while at the same time calling for science to be politicized in his party's favor? It's intellectual dishonesty at its most base, very much like Bush & Co.'s attempts to vet and censure science to suit its own needs. Lysenko would be proud, I'm sure.
Scientists go where the facts are, not where the opinion lies. If any significant number of scientists reach the same conclusion independently, then yes, that's a "consensus". It should be a warning sign; instead, many right-wing radio talk-show hosts are conflating it with simple agreement: "we have decided that global warming exists, and that's how it will be."
These guys need desperately to get a grip on how science works. Scientists don't dictate, they report.
I find I can do just about everything I need to do on a Windows machine easily and without problems. Does Windows crash more often than it should? Sure. I appreciate the fact that Linux is far more malleable and stable than Windows, and can be tailored to the users' exact needs on demand. I've used the Ubuntu and Knoppix Live CD's, and even installed them under VMware, and have been pleasantly surprised...at first. After the initial "gee whiz, this thing does a lot" phase, I find I can re-use my old adage about full-function SLR cameras: "the more you can do, the more you have to do. I found myself at points completely baffled as to how to proceed with a procedure, and searched online for answers. I often found that solutions entailed invoking the terminal to input (to me) extremely cryptic command strings without understanding what they were or what they did. I'd really rather not have to wade through a book the shape of a cinder block to figure this out.
I understand that this is a normal migration issue, but with Linux of whatever flavor, it seems more onerous than Windows. I do sometimes have to open a CMD session in Windows, but very, very infrequently. Nearly everything can be done in the GUI. I think the one thing that keeps me from migrating is the reliance on the terminal to perform many functions (yes, I realize that this is one of the things that also makes Linux extremely powerful and flexible). I wish there would be more of an effort to transcribe more terminal functions, more intuitively, to GUI. That, more than anything, would help me migrate to Linux.
Word has it that after the main series is done, they have another lined up which takes place on Earth. Apparently a couple of Viper pilots cruise around the planet on hoverbikes to help people.
Why the fsck are city police allowed to have "Secret" documents anyway? In the city government I work for, *every* document or piece of writing is available for public viewing at anytime, including police documents. It looks to me like NYPD may be getting to big for its britches.
They didn't. In fact it was the law itself they were protesting. Sometimes you have to exercise your freedoms in defiance of the law to make a point. That's what I was getting as, as opposed to the OP, who seems to think that every law mandated by government is essentially good and proper. It just ain't so. Free Speech Zones, anyone?
sumdumass:"Breaking laws and property damage is in no way free speech. I don't see how you can think it is. Should someone who doesn't like what your saying be able to deface your car in the name of free speech?
Do what you want. But tell it like it is, Those that oppose criminal and illegal activity are not opposing free speech."
I know exactly what you're saying. Why, how could a bunch of misfits and malcontents actually consider destroying property in the name of free speech by, say, throwing countless crates of legally-purchased tea into Boston Harbor?
I find the current crop of pharma ads to be useless. If they aren't willing to tell me what the drug is for, just to save a few seconds of airtime cost, I'm damn sure not going to jump through hoops to send for their DVD, or waste my and my doctor's time asking him about something I may or may not need.
If you had never heard of McDonald's, would you be influenced by an ad showing a woman walking around her house, staring wistfully at pictures of food, followed by the voiceover: "Send for our free DVD explaining the benefits of BigMac, and ask your food service representative if BigMac might be right for you"?
It may seem odd that capsaicin, a pain-causing compund, can relieve pain. Based on research, it appears that the receptors targetted by capsaicin can eventually become "fatigued", and stop responding, thus easing pain in the case of arthritis or shingles. A doctor friend of mine told me he was once involved in capsaicin pain-relief research. According to him, they injected several rabbits with a relatively pure capsaicin extract. The rabbits writhed in agony for an entire night, but the next day seemed calm and normal. They were put through a battery of tests, and to the incredulity of the researchers, they didn't respond to any pain stimulus whatsoever. It was (he said) as though they'd been completely and permanently anesthetised. In effect, they had "burned out" the capsaicin receptors of the rabbits.
I haven't had my Sam & Max fix for years. Whether it be the comics, the cartoons, or the game, it's gut-busting hilarity. As far as the game goes, I hope they include more easter eggs. I still laugh at the "pick up the whack-a-mole game" bit..."Are you dense? I said I can't pick that up!"
Hm. The first thing I thought when I was the article was that this would be great for large-scale search & rescue operations. Piles of "plain vanilla" uniforms could be instantly programmed to display the rescue operative's name and unit on the back, color-coded. A flick of a switch could cause the uniform to blink an "I've found a survivor" pattern, to draw attention. Why are these guys only thinking of ad space?
As someone who's spent many years working with kids in educational settings, my own experience tells me that these kinds of interctive learning software are junk. Any program that claims to "make learning fun" will immediately be seen for what they are by the average seven-year-old. Those who are slow learners will quickly be frustrated by having the progress of the "game" be blocked by a sudden spelling or math problem that's difficult to figure out, while more adept students will have to wonder what the monster's motivation is for handing out schoolwork. Instead of trying to disguise learning as a game, I think one should use the opposite approach of taking something that's intrinsically fun, then figuring out what one can learn from it; this is the approach that the best science educators have taken for years.
...because obviously no one can shoulder-surf or social-engineer your PIN, in order to use your system later. And certainly no one can use Play-doh to spoof your fingerprints. Yep. Completely safe.
'Another scenario for a possible nuclear preemptive strike is in case of an "imminent attack from adversary biological weapons that only effects from nuclear weapons can safely destroy."'
Thank God they're finally taking the Xenomorph threat seriously.
Slashdot Mirror
If the Drake Equation is any good at all, there are likely to be hundreds of millions of other civilizations in the universe. It's certainly reasonable to assume that a good portion of them have observed/are observing/will observe the universe as well. Why pin the blame on just us?
The only thing I can figure is that the Democrats in Congress are simply allowing him to take as much rope as he needs to hang himself, thereby helping to assure a Democratic victory in 2008. Given the fact that any progressive legislation they attempt is either vetoed by the President, stymied by the Justice Department Republican sockpuppets or filibustered by the Congressional Republicans, it doesn't appear that they have much choice in the matter.
I'm ashamed.
Chris Knight: As you know, Mitch and I were working on the cyanide system. Well, eariler today it ate itself. But, these little set-backs are just what we need to take a giant step forward. Right, Kent? Needless to say, I was a little despondent about the melt down, but then, it the midst of my preparations for hari kiri, it came to me. It is possible to synthesize excited bromide in an argon matrix. It's an excimer frozen in its excited state.
Bodey: Th...That's impossible.
Knight: It's a chemical laser but in solid, not gaseous, form. Put simply, in deference to you, Kent, it's like lasing a stick of dynamite. As soon as we apply a field, we couple to a state, it is radiatively coupled to the ground state. I figure we can extract at least 10 to the 21st photons per cubic centimeter which will give one kilojoule per cubic centimeter at 600 nanometers, or, one megajoule per liter.
Since the plane is apparently mostly blue, and the search area appears to be mainly scrub and rock, would it be possible to automate a grid search over the area via Google Earth, and have the system automatically tag any significant areas of blue for later examination?
It's a shame, because now I won't be buying it either, and it looks like an absolutely incredible game that the developers deserve to get every penny for. This rootkit action is inexcusable; I refused to purchase any Sony products after the CD-rootkit fiasco, and this has just reinforced that decision. What's worse is that I was planning to upgrade my system specifically to play this game (and to keep up with the power curve in general). So in addition to 2K not getting the revenue, neither is a motherboard manufacturer, memory manufacturer, graphics card maker or AMD or Intel. They'll have to wait.
.torrent, anyone? DRM for the lose AGAIN.
Unless, of course, a crack appears OR Sony decides to backpedal as fast as they did last time.
Cracked
Am I the only one who finds it odd that, in his statement, Klaus denounces the politicizing of science, while at the same time calling for science to be politicized in his party's favor? It's intellectual dishonesty at its most base, very much like Bush & Co.'s attempts to vet and censure science to suit its own needs. Lysenko would be proud, I'm sure.
Scientists go where the facts are, not where the opinion lies. If any significant number of scientists reach the same conclusion independently, then yes, that's a "consensus". It should be a warning sign; instead, many right-wing radio talk-show hosts are conflating it with simple agreement: "we have decided that global warming exists, and that's how it will be."
These guys need desperately to get a grip on how science works. Scientists don't dictate, they report.
I find I can do just about everything I need to do on a Windows machine easily and without problems. Does Windows crash more often than it should? Sure. I appreciate the fact that Linux is far more malleable and stable than Windows, and can be tailored to the users' exact needs on demand. I've used the Ubuntu and Knoppix Live CD's, and even installed them under VMware, and have been pleasantly surprised...at first. After the initial "gee whiz, this thing does a lot" phase, I find I can re-use my old adage about full-function SLR cameras: "the more you can do, the more you have to do. I found myself at points completely baffled as to how to proceed with a procedure, and searched online for answers. I often found that solutions entailed invoking the terminal to input (to me) extremely cryptic command strings without understanding what they were or what they did. I'd really rather not have to wade through a book the shape of a cinder block to figure this out.
I understand that this is a normal migration issue, but with Linux of whatever flavor, it seems more onerous than Windows. I do sometimes have to open a CMD session in Windows, but very, very infrequently. Nearly everything can be done in the GUI. I think the one thing that keeps me from migrating is the reliance on the terminal to perform many functions (yes, I realize that this is one of the things that also makes Linux extremely powerful and flexible). I wish there would be more of an effort to transcribe more terminal functions, more intuitively, to GUI. That, more than anything, would help me migrate to Linux.
Word has it that after the main series is done, they have another lined up which takes place on Earth. Apparently a couple of Viper pilots cruise around the planet on hoverbikes to help people.
Sweet!
Why the fsck are city police allowed to have "Secret" documents anyway? In the city government I work for, *every* document or piece of writing is available for public viewing at anytime, including police documents. It looks to me like NYPD may be getting to big for its britches.
They didn't. In fact it was the law itself they were protesting. Sometimes you have to exercise your freedoms in defiance of the law to make a point. That's what I was getting as, as opposed to the OP, who seems to think that every law mandated by government is essentially good and proper. It just ain't so. Free Speech Zones, anyone?
sumdumass: "Breaking laws and property damage is in no way free speech. I don't see how you can think it is. Should someone who doesn't like what your saying be able to deface your car in the name of free speech? Do what you want. But tell it like it is, Those that oppose criminal and illegal activity are not opposing free speech."
I know exactly what you're saying. Why, how could a bunch of misfits and malcontents actually consider destroying property in the name of free speech by, say, throwing countless crates of legally-purchased tea into Boston Harbor?
I find the current crop of pharma ads to be useless. If they aren't willing to tell me what the drug is for, just to save a few seconds of airtime cost, I'm damn sure not going to jump through hoops to send for their DVD, or waste my and my doctor's time asking him about something I may or may not need.
If you had never heard of McDonald's, would you be influenced by an ad showing a woman walking around her house, staring wistfully at pictures of food, followed by the voiceover: "Send for our free DVD explaining the benefits of BigMac, and ask your food service representative if BigMac might be right for you"?
Feh.
It may seem odd that capsaicin, a pain-causing compund, can relieve pain. Based on research, it appears that the receptors targetted by capsaicin can eventually become "fatigued", and stop responding, thus easing pain in the case of arthritis or shingles. A doctor friend of mine told me he was once involved in capsaicin pain-relief research. According to him, they injected several rabbits with a relatively pure capsaicin extract. The rabbits writhed in agony for an entire night, but the next day seemed calm and normal. They were put through a battery of tests, and to the incredulity of the researchers, they didn't respond to any pain stimulus whatsoever. It was (he said) as though they'd been completely and permanently anesthetised. In effect, they had "burned out" the capsaicin receptors of the rabbits.
I haven't had my Sam & Max fix for years. Whether it be the comics, the cartoons, or the game, it's gut-busting hilarity. As far as the game goes, I hope they include more easter eggs. I still laugh at the "pick up the whack-a-mole game" bit..."Are you dense? I said I can't pick that up!"
I really hope this franchise succeeds.
...is Mel Gibson and Homer Simpson's remix of Mr. Smith Goes to Washington.
Hm. The first thing I thought when I was the article was that this would be great for large-scale search & rescue operations. Piles of "plain vanilla" uniforms could be instantly programmed to display the rescue operative's name and unit on the back, color-coded. A flick of a switch could cause the uniform to blink an "I've found a survivor" pattern, to draw attention. Why are these guys only thinking of ad space?
...Having reproductive organs in the mouth would make my life far too complicated.
I think the GTA crack dealer would be a hell of a lot more fun at my sims bbq than, say, headcrabs.
www.wheresdeath.com
As someone who's spent many years working with kids in educational settings, my own experience tells me that these kinds of interctive learning software are junk. Any program that claims to "make learning fun" will immediately be seen for what they are by the average seven-year-old. Those who are slow learners will quickly be frustrated by having the progress of the "game" be blocked by a sudden spelling or math problem that's difficult to figure out, while more adept students will have to wonder what the monster's motivation is for handing out schoolwork. Instead of trying to disguise learning as a game, I think one should use the opposite approach of taking something that's intrinsically fun, then figuring out what one can learn from it; this is the approach that the best science educators have taken for years.
...because obviously no one can shoulder-surf or social-engineer your PIN, in order to use your system later. And certainly no one can use Play-doh to spoof your fingerprints. Yep. Completely safe.
From the article:
'Another scenario for a possible nuclear preemptive strike is in case of an "imminent attack from adversary biological weapons that only effects from nuclear weapons can safely destroy."'
Thank God they're finally taking the Xenomorph threat seriously.
I thought the porno music soundtrack they used for the robot was quite effective.