There no disability cheques. There is no safety net of any kind left to pay for anything.
This is emphatically untrue. I am a dialysis patient, and I know. 75% of dialysis patients are unemployed, but they all keep getting treatment (~$50,000/year), and getting rides to the clinic, and living in whatever situation they've got. There are no subways around here to ride on.
One guy I knew was doing fairly well for himself - he had an apartment, complained routinely about his roommates, and, of course, never worked a day in his life. Oh, except for that couple weeks at Office Depot, stocking shelves. But that was more work than he wanted to do, so he quit. It apparently had no impact on his benifits. And, by the way, he was living in South Lake Tahoe. Quite the life for a disabled guy - no work, nothing to do but get the groceries, occassionally go skiing, or sunbathing in the summer, read, drink beer, or whatever other relatively inexpensive fancy took him.
When people tell you there is no safety net in this country (because of Republicans or otherwise), they are ignorant or lying.
Counter suggestion: 10 years minimum, then take it PD when the sales for the previous 4 years drop below 4% of the total for the first ten years. The classics may stay in print and keep racking up sales, but Steamboat Willie will finally be free.
Problem with this is that your relying on accountants to tell you when's enough. I think Disney's accountants can game any money-based system easily enough.
Time limits are better, 'cause we can pretty easily pinpoint the release/first sale, and we all know how to count... ergo: they are enforcable.
This is not true. A big part of the problem with Amtrak is that they are operatiing on the same rail infrastructure that the freight operators use. Freight has different speed requirements. And, the freight operators want to (and do) keep their tracks very busy. The result is that Amtrak can't go any faster than the freight train in front of it.
Amtrak is actually slower on the same routes that fully private companies ran 80 years ago. Significantly slower in some cases. It isn't a technology issue, it's an organization issue. Freight is worth a lot of money, and doesn't generate differential speed problems - it all can be shipped at roughly the same speed. Passengers are the ones who are picky about being shunted onto a siding for an hour to wait for the inbound freight to clear the switch...
There was a book "Derailed: What Went Wrong and What to Do About America's Passenger Train" that goes on and on about this.
As those who've read it will remember, silent communication while around others can lead to a whole new set of problems all it's own... Especially when it's apparent that you're communicating, but not what you're saying.
This is a problem with spoken language too. We had a couple of Phillipina workers at my dialysis clinic that were asked to stop speaking Tagalog to each other - it makes people uncomfortable when there is communication going on around them and they can't understand/percieve it. Happens with hearing impaired people too - they can wind up getting paranoid that "people are talking about them". Generally, they aren't, but if you can't tell...
This is the big argument for openness and transparency. Others aren't generally out to get you, but if you can't tell what they're up to... who knows? The best solution is just to open up and share your information.
Or, with cell-phones, shut up and talk to them in person when you can be together. Your conversation just isn't that important.
Amen. There is way too much teenage carping about "stuff costs money, everything should be free" on Slashdot. Get over it. Get a job. Pay for the stuff you want. This is not the *AA asking for copyrights to be extended to (forever-1day), this is software companies making legitimate products and asking to get paid for them, in the first few years after creation. Entirely reasonable. Come on guys, how many of you want to be software developers? How many of you want to get paid enough that you can move out of your parents' basement? How do you expect to do that if the going rate for sales of your primary skill is zero dollars? You aren't going to make it up on volume...
My last computer purchase was a Sony Vaio, from Best Buy. I use it daily, but I don't know or care what the processor speed is - 2Ghz+, I think. But I just don't care anymore.
I make $65K per year, I'm single. I owe the bank $100K for the house, no car loan, no credit card debt. I no expensive vices. Money is not really a problem for me - I have enough for the things I want to do.
What I don't have enough of is time. I'm not going to waste it dealing with buggy hand built computers, or reading up on the latest video hardware. That was me 10 years ago, but my interests have changed. Computers just don't facinate me anymore. I have other interests (including actually USING the computer) that are more compelling than trading hundreds of hours of my time to save a few bucks here and there on a computer. I don't care if I could build one and save $150. My free time is worth at least $50 an hour to me, and I it would take at least 3 hour for the video card alone - to read through the reviews, compare prices, purchase, install hardware, install drivers, update drivers, etc. Not to mention the pain of dealing with some software not being compatible with cutting edge parts...
Not for me any more! Leave that to high school and college students who are short on cash, but long on free time and enthusism. And of course, short on female companionship... (couldn't resist).
I think we're getting closer to "cost-effective" fusion, if for no other reason than that the alternatives are getting more expensive. If the cost of fusion just stays constant, fusion will eventually win out. Other energy sources will simply become more expensive, leaving fusion the "bargain" energy source.
Table S-12, 80% of the way down the page provides the easiest summary to use to compare.
FY2005 the USGOV is slated to spend $510 billion on Social Security vs. $429 billion on DoD. This doesn't count "homeland security" - it's a different department, but the SS payments don't count Medicare and Medicad; those are $290 and $188 billion each, respectively.
Interest on the national debt is running at $176 billion. It's fifth or so - remember, interest rates have plummetted in recent years!
Interestingly, the USGOV labels 62% of spending as "non-discretionary" including the big social programs (SS, Medicare, Medicad) and interest on the debt, and 38% "discretionary", of which about 47% is defense, the rest "non-defense".
How much would a long haul semi-truck operation save if they could run their trucks 24/7 and didn't have to pay for drivers? That's a lot of profit to be had and profit drives innovation.
I've done a little research lately on railroads, and ran across a similar situation in that industry. With the advent of diesel locomotives, railroads were able to significantly reduce the number of engines they operated, as the diesels could pull more then steam engines. You wound up with fewer trains, which were much longer (more railcars). This meant fewer jobs for engine crews. Additionally, no one was required to shovel coal (no fireman). Great, huh?
Not so fast - the railroad workers have a union! The union insisted on retaining the redundant fireman, even though he no longer had anything to do. Also, additional crews were required on multi-unit consists, even though they were not technically needed...
So, watch for that teamster's union strike when someone suggests automating semis or a cabbie protest when someone suggests allowing AutoCab(tm) to being operation.
The sad fact is that any time change comes around, there is someone who will percieve it to be a threat to their short-term interest. If that group is numerous or has political clout... well, the change won't benifit YOU by the time they are done restricting/channelling the benefits.
I trust the computer in my 16-yo neighbor's car more than I trust the 16-yo though...
I'd be willing to give up direct control of my car in exchange for the improved safety and consequent reduced cost of transportation. All those people killed and especially those injured in car wrecks aren't free, and they aren't paying their own bills either. "Insurance pays" means it's coming out of my pocket to some degree...
I do want an exception for motorcycles - on the grounds that an idiot on a bike is surely going to kill himself, and very unlikely to kill anyone else.
the book's gotta say something about painting parts yellow to make your car go faster..
Parts, hell, paint the whole car yellow!!
Seriously, I once owned a car tinted, as Road and Track described it, "eye-popping yellow". I regret not getting the same color on my next car. Nothing like being able to pick your car out in the parking lot as long as only a sliver of it is visible! As a side benifit, the car appeared clean even when it was filthy. Something about the bright color overwhelming the dirt or something. But you really couldn't see dirt on the car unless you were standing right next to it.
I'd claim it was safer too (improves your chances of being seen), only I got t-boned in a low speed accident - 16yo girl "didn't see me" while trying to pass on the right as I was turning into the A&W on a two lane road (one lane each way). I guess the car wasn't bright enough.
As someone who's owned cars with spoilers, I confirm that they do add downward pressure to the back of the car. The calculation for this is quite simple: if the spoiler weighs 15lbs, it adds 15lbs of downforce.
Of course, you could put 15lbs of potatos in the trunk, and you'd get the same effect.
Ultimately, you want robots to do ALL the work, so none of us have jobs - we are all then free to roam around doing whatever leisure activity suits us.
Unless, of course, you believe that leisure is a communist plot that undermines the natural order and class system...
Now I can take pictures of Mt. St. Helens' glowing rocks! Before, my camera lens kept melting. With this new ceramic heat-resistant lens, my time on the volcano is only limited by the durability of my asbestos suit!
:-)
Not a good thing. You want the first thing that fails to be something that is NOT critical to continued life. So that:
When your camera melts first, you continue to live but think, "Gee, I should get out of here."
When your suit melts first, you die...
By way of offering a solution, take your old camera with you to use as a canary.
We, the intelligent and knowledgable people of the world have a right to take advantage of those less gifted.
They must either pay us to setup their computers/networks, or allow us free reign in using those devices as we wish! It is our destiny! They are but meat for our consumption! They are sub-human, meant for servitude. Let them serve quietly and humbly, and no complaining about rights to property and such. They have only the rights WE give them! Stupid Eloi!
And even just vanilla traction control is an absolute godsend when driving my Mustang through the snow.
And why are you driving a Mustang in the snow?!? Ok, I did it too for 6 or 7 years (a convertible no less), but then I wised up and bought a Subaru. Doesn't look as sharp, but I'm no longer putting my life in peril everytime it snows. And as a nice bonus, I can get the car into the garage without shoveling the driveway.:-)
That is such a bogus complaint. CBS shot itself in the foot - there was no conspiracy. No one forced CBS to ignore the contrary evidence, they did that on their own.
The political world is rough, there are millions of rumors about every politician, both good and bad. There are known to be any number of people who hate Bush (or Kerry, or [insert_name_here]) and will fabricate any kind of story about said politician. Check Snopes - false rumors are a daily thing. What investigative journalism is supposed to do is investigate the validity of this stuff. CBS was in such a tizzy to produce a story that they forgot to actually do the investigation.
They were sloppy, and they're paying for it. This is Good.
Slashdot Mirror
This is emphatically untrue. I am a dialysis patient, and I know. 75% of dialysis patients are unemployed, but they all keep getting treatment (~$50,000/year), and getting rides to the clinic, and living in whatever situation they've got. There are no subways around here to ride on.
One guy I knew was doing fairly well for himself - he had an apartment, complained routinely about his roommates, and, of course, never worked a day in his life. Oh, except for that couple weeks at Office Depot, stocking shelves. But that was more work than he wanted to do, so he quit. It apparently had no impact on his benifits. And, by the way, he was living in South Lake Tahoe. Quite the life for a disabled guy - no work, nothing to do but get the groceries, occassionally go skiing, or sunbathing in the summer, read, drink beer, or whatever other relatively inexpensive fancy took him.
When people tell you there is no safety net in this country (because of Republicans or otherwise), they are ignorant or lying.
Problem with this is that your relying on accountants to tell you when's enough. I think Disney's accountants can game any money-based system easily enough.
Time limits are better, 'cause we can pretty easily pinpoint the release/first sale, and we all know how to count... ergo: they are enforcable.
Amtrak is actually slower on the same routes that fully private companies ran 80 years ago. Significantly slower in some cases. It isn't a technology issue, it's an organization issue. Freight is worth a lot of money, and doesn't generate differential speed problems - it all can be shipped at roughly the same speed. Passengers are the ones who are picky about being shunted onto a siding for an hour to wait for the inbound freight to clear the switch...
There was a book "Derailed: What Went Wrong and What to Do About America's Passenger Train" that goes on and on about this.
Hey, that used to be my favorite place to eat! And they did have really good whipped butter too...
This is a problem with spoken language too. We had a couple of Phillipina workers at my dialysis clinic that were asked to stop speaking Tagalog to each other - it makes people uncomfortable when there is communication going on around them and they can't understand/percieve it. Happens with hearing impaired people too - they can wind up getting paranoid that "people are talking about them". Generally, they aren't, but if you can't tell...
This is the big argument for openness and transparency. Others aren't generally out to get you, but if you can't tell what they're up to... who knows? The best solution is just to open up and share your information.
Or, with cell-phones, shut up and talk to them in person when you can be together. Your conversation just isn't that important.
I read the Guardian daily. It's my source for left-wing myths and propaganda. Gotta keep up on what the opposition is thinking...
What can I say, I'm an inganear.
Might want to check that i-->e thing out too.
Amen. There is way too much teenage carping about "stuff costs money, everything should be free" on Slashdot. Get over it. Get a job. Pay for the stuff you want. This is not the *AA asking for copyrights to be extended to (forever-1day), this is software companies making legitimate products and asking to get paid for them, in the first few years after creation. Entirely reasonable. Come on guys, how many of you want to be software developers? How many of you want to get paid enough that you can move out of your parents' basement? How do you expect to do that if the going rate for sales of your primary skill is zero dollars? You aren't going to make it up on volume...
My last computer purchase was a Sony Vaio, from Best Buy. I use it daily, but I don't know or care what the processor speed is - 2Ghz+, I think. But I just don't care anymore.
I make $65K per year, I'm single. I owe the bank $100K for the house, no car loan, no credit card debt. I no expensive vices. Money is not really a problem for me - I have enough for the things I want to do.
What I don't have enough of is time. I'm not going to waste it dealing with buggy hand built computers, or reading up on the latest video hardware. That was me 10 years ago, but my interests have changed. Computers just don't facinate me anymore. I have other interests (including actually USING the computer) that are more compelling than trading hundreds of hours of my time to save a few bucks here and there on a computer. I don't care if I could build one and save $150. My free time is worth at least $50 an hour to me, and I it would take at least 3 hour for the video card alone - to read through the reviews, compare prices, purchase, install hardware, install drivers, update drivers, etc. Not to mention the pain of dealing with some software not being compatible with cutting edge parts...
Not for me any more! Leave that to high school and college students who are short on cash, but long on free time and enthusism. And of course, short on female companionship... (couldn't resist).
http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/budget/fy2005/tables .html Take a look at table S-12, it has a simple summary.
For FY2004 -
Total outlays: $2,319 billion
Total Defense: $ 433 billion
So, about 1/5th or 20% of the total budget is defense. Ratios are grossly similar for '03 and '05. Current budget for '05 has defense at $429 billion.
Good point.
I think we're getting closer to "cost-effective" fusion, if for no other reason than that the alternatives are getting more expensive. If the cost of fusion just stays constant, fusion will eventually win out. Other energy sources will simply become more expensive, leaving fusion the "bargain" energy source.
Not so!
http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/budget/fy2005/tables .html
Table S-12, 80% of the way down the page provides the easiest summary to use to compare.
FY2005 the USGOV is slated to spend $510 billion on Social Security vs. $429 billion on DoD. This doesn't count "homeland security" - it's a different department, but the SS payments don't count Medicare and Medicad; those are $290 and $188 billion each, respectively.
Interest on the national debt is running at $176 billion. It's fifth or so - remember, interest rates have plummetted in recent years!
Interestingly, the USGOV labels 62% of spending as "non-discretionary" including the big social programs (SS, Medicare, Medicad) and interest on the debt, and 38% "discretionary", of which about 47% is defense, the rest "non-defense".
I've done a little research lately on railroads, and ran across a similar situation in that industry. With the advent of diesel locomotives, railroads were able to significantly reduce the number of engines they operated, as the diesels could pull more then steam engines. You wound up with fewer trains, which were much longer (more railcars). This meant fewer jobs for engine crews. Additionally, no one was required to shovel coal (no fireman). Great, huh?
Not so fast - the railroad workers have a union! The union insisted on retaining the redundant fireman, even though he no longer had anything to do. Also, additional crews were required on multi-unit consists, even though they were not technically needed...
So, watch for that teamster's union strike when someone suggests automating semis or a cabbie protest when someone suggests allowing AutoCab(tm) to being operation.
The sad fact is that any time change comes around, there is someone who will percieve it to be a threat to their short-term interest. If that group is numerous or has political clout... well, the change won't benifit YOU by the time they are done restricting/channelling the benefits.
I'd be willing to give up direct control of my car in exchange for the improved safety and consequent reduced cost of transportation. All those people killed and especially those injured in car wrecks aren't free, and they aren't paying their own bills either. "Insurance pays" means it's coming out of my pocket to some degree...
I do want an exception for motorcycles - on the grounds that an idiot on a bike is surely going to kill himself, and very unlikely to kill anyone else.
1/2at^2 = d
at = v
so... solving for d, where v = 7s, a = 32.2fps, we get...
a 1'6" high test stand, approx., and a 7.084s fall time.
Mod me up for nerdiness!
Parts, hell, paint the whole car yellow!!
Seriously, I once owned a car tinted, as Road and Track described it, "eye-popping yellow". I regret not getting the same color on my next car. Nothing like being able to pick your car out in the parking lot as long as only a sliver of it is visible! As a side benifit, the car appeared clean even when it was filthy. Something about the bright color overwhelming the dirt or something. But you really couldn't see dirt on the car unless you were standing right next to it.
I'd claim it was safer too (improves your chances of being seen), only I got t-boned in a low speed accident - 16yo girl "didn't see me" while trying to pass on the right as I was turning into the A&W on a two lane road (one lane each way). I guess the car wasn't bright enough.
Of course, you could put 15lbs of potatos in the trunk, and you'd get the same effect.
Unless, of course, you believe that leisure is a communist plot that undermines the natural order and class system...
I'm guessing you do a lot of debugging.
When your camera melts first, you continue to live but think, "Gee, I should get out of here."
When your suit melts first, you die...
By way of offering a solution, take your old camera with you to use as a canary.
They must either pay us to setup their computers/networks, or allow us free reign in using those devices as we wish! It is our destiny! They are but meat for our consumption! They are sub-human, meant for servitude. Let them serve quietly and humbly, and no complaining about rights to property and such. They have only the rights WE give them! Stupid Eloi!
And why are you driving a Mustang in the snow?!? Ok, I did it too for 6 or 7 years (a convertible no less), but then I wised up and bought a Subaru. Doesn't look as sharp, but I'm no longer putting my life in peril everytime it snows. And as a nice bonus, I can get the car into the garage without shoveling the driveway. :-)
The political world is rough, there are millions of rumors about every politician, both good and bad. There are known to be any number of people who hate Bush (or Kerry, or [insert_name_here]) and will fabricate any kind of story about said politician. Check Snopes - false rumors are a daily thing. What investigative journalism is supposed to do is investigate the validity of this stuff. CBS was in such a tizzy to produce a story that they forgot to actually do the investigation.
They were sloppy, and they're paying for it. This is Good.