First of all the planet can easily sustain a populous double our current size, if people would just use the grey matter known as our brains that we have been greatly blessed with. There is plenty of arable and forest-able land left that we can continue to grow our overcrowded cities and support them.
But the world can't support even 6 billion people living at the standard of living of the average middle-class American. It's not even a matter of CO2 or energy - it's a matter of pollutants dumped while making the tech toys that make the economy tick... I think a far better level of sustainability would be 1 or 2 billion, and with declining birth rates, we may get to that level eventually in a few centuries. This isn't to say that the human race won't expand - we have the entirety of the universe to look forward and outward to.
I hear so many of the far leftists say "stop breeding" and such mantra to that effect, but you are unquestionably the most promiscuous people there are.
Ever heard of "birth control?" Even condoms stop 99.9% of "accidents" from happening.
there were years warmer than this one including the medieval period and a time when the arctic circle was tropical, long before SUVs.
It's not change itself that's scary, it's the *rate of change* combined with the fact that we are known to be dumping a lot of gases known to mess with the climate into the atmosphere.
The biggest danger to humanity isn't the current small regular rise in temperature (+0.6 C in the past few decades, and worst case +2.0 C in the next few decades), but the massive drop in temperature (-10 C or so) when the current interglacial period ends and we return to the world's normal state of glaciation. That's due to happen any time now --- many people say that it's overdue already, as the current interglacial has already lasted 18-20ky or so.
But it *isn't* happening now. And do we know how much CO2 we need to add to the atmosphere to stave off this effect without causing excessive warming? Your solution reminds me of giving someone cyanide to cure pneumonia. Sure it stops the coughing at the expence of killing the patient.
How often do you even wear gloves -- about a dozen times in the last year for me.
NYC - (some) winters are cold and people walk a lot more than they drive. I wear gloves more than 12x per year you insensitive clod. Not everyone's from Florida, y'know:D
I want something with a tactile keypad. Why? So I can use it with gloves on without looking at it too much. Then again, I think it's a great PDA or palmtop. What the Newton could have been if they kept developing it.
Yes I do in fact think that most sane people here in Denmark have insurance. And you know what, we got lots of burglaries, but violence is not an issue there. And no, people who break into houses are not begging for violence, you got some serious issues, seek help!
This is the US, not Denmark. Unfortunately, we do have burglaries with violence. Not all of them, but some proportion, anyway. And before you go blathering about gun ownership, not all of the violence even involves guns. It can just be a startled homeowned getting up, scaring the burglar, and the burglar getting scared and kicking the crap out of the homeowner (or vice versa). Stay in your soft socialist utopia. We handle things differently here sometimes.
I can always replace a stolen item. Thats what insurance is for.
You think that everyone has insurance on everything?
I can't give someone their life back after it has been taken, nor any motor skills they might lose in a fight, therefor I will never EVER think of an item as above somebody's health.
Have you thought of the fact that a person who's willing to break into cars and houses to steal stuff needs to be stopped one way or another because then will hurt one of their victims eventually (if you break into a house, you're basically *begging* for violence)? And, unlike them, their victims are innocent of any wrongdoing. Don't be so damn concerned about assholes that themselves have no concern for others.
This is your second post advocating violence to deal with lost property. You really should get some counseling.
If you get your property stolen, and know where it is, you'll sit on your ass and do nothing about it? W00t for you. I'm not advocating violence. I'm advocating coming with the ability to *do* violence in case the scum doesn't give up the property peacefully.
You are advocating killing someone over $2000, what the fuck is wrong with you????
Nope. I'm advocating confronting the scum who stole the $2000 object and retaking the object without payment. Said scum is after all a criminal. If said scum threatens the original poster's life, he has a right to defend himself. Whether that's by killing the person or shooting out his kneecaps is of course a choice.
Luckily, this was an actual company with a separate website/store, so I have other means of trying to reach them.
Don't be too harsh on them immediately. Their account could have well been hacked either through phishing or a dishonest employee. It happens all the time, unfortunately.
When my house was robbed, I found my $2,000 LCD monitor on ebay complete with picture of serial number on the back which matched (except for one number slightly too fuzzy to verify a match). This was the week after the robbery.
Are you in a carry-legal state? Offer to pick it up and confront him with the facts. Maybe bring a couple of big angry friends along. If he gets scared and gives it to you, good. Make sure to show it to the cops so they can match prints to your house. If he tries something, defend yourself. If I were on a jury, I'd most certainly acquit or vote for a verdict of not guilty by self defense...
Offer to pick it up in person. Come to the guy's door with two burly friends, a pit bull, and a couple of shotguns. It's not like the guy'll complain to the cops about being roughed up a bit. Make sure to leave him good feedback "COMPLIANT seller..."
That's not to say people shouldn't take risks, but it's not for everyone, especially those who may have families and place a higher proprity on stability.
Actually, for people with families, having their own business might be even more important. Something with the ability to *make* money (rather than just having a worth) which can be passed across generations.
You mean like here in New Zealand, where a component of our Income Tax actually goes to a State Owned health insurance provider? We get injured at all, and the government's public health insurance steps in and pays all the bills.
Not having to deal with an insurance market where for some unfathomable reason health insurance is tied to employment also makes it a whole lot easier to start your own company if you are outside the U.S.
Exactly why I think that nationalized or state-owned health insurance would actually help true capitalism. It would remove another impediment in the path of startup companies. BTW - it's actually not that difficult to find even in expensive states. Be prepared to pay $2-300/mo in the more expensive places (read: NJ), but it isn't unobtainable.
Well, you can still kinda do that at larger employers too. I work at a place with 9000 staff, and I've got little to do while everyone else is still away on holiday. But then, if you work on a project at work and make money off it, chances are that they invoke that IP ownership clause that's no doubt in your contract, and you lose all the money you just made, as well as the chance to make any further money off it.
They'd have to prove that it was done with work equipment and on the clock. I'd refuse to sign (and have in the past crossed out) any clauses in a contract that make claim on designs done on *my* time which aren't directly related to the work which the employer is doing.
Actually, I was talking more about the fact that I doubt that working for Google is a 9-5 or even an 8-6 job. Please correct me if I'm wrong.
ve found small business owners to be petty, penny pinching assholes even though they are making money hand over fist and paying me a pitence. they never know when to just stay out of your work and constantly complicate it with their own little idotic ideas
Then again, it's better to have one or two levels of clowns above you than six or seven levels of the same:D
I think it ultimately comes down to the individual company. I've just found small organizations less annoying than large ones. This may be because I'm an anarchist at heart:D
Or find a small group within a company where you fit well, and you will feel much the same.
Agreed, though the small groups within companies are still more subject to orders from on high and blanket company policies than bona-fide small organizations.
The vast majority of companies in the US are privately held, and under 1000 employees. I notice that none on this list are less than 1000 employees. They even have the gall to call those "small" companies.
And the best way to find such a small company to work for is sometimes to open the phonebook (or use a yellow pages site) and start making calls and sending resumes. Look at their websites as well, a lot of companies show open positions on web sites without advertising on the bigger job boards like Monster (though they may use CL).
Fine, but if you're working in a smaller, less demanding company, you might have that time free, so you can work on the projects without the company knowing about it. Far better to market an idea independently than under the auspices of a large employer. At least you have the opportunity for profits far beyond a salary that way.
gourmet meals, massages
Just give me a decent salary, TYVM. If I want a massage, I can go to a masseur after hours. If I'm working in a city, I can pretty much order whatever I want to (and can afford) for lunch.
Find a good small company (~20 people) where you fit in well. You'll have much more flexibility since the Top isn't all that high in a small company. Or even start your own. Many of the companies worth considering aren't even on the radar yet.
Slashdot Mirror
But the world can't support even 6 billion people living at the standard of living of the average middle-class American. It's not even a matter of CO2 or energy - it's a matter of pollutants dumped while making the tech toys that make the economy tick... I think a far better level of sustainability would be 1 or 2 billion, and with declining birth rates, we may get to that level eventually in a few centuries. This isn't to say that the human race won't expand - we have the entirety of the universe to look forward and outward to.
I hear so many of the far leftists say "stop breeding" and such mantra to that effect, but you are unquestionably the most promiscuous people there are.
Ever heard of "birth control?" Even condoms stop 99.9% of "accidents" from happening.
-b.
It's not change itself that's scary, it's the *rate of change* combined with the fact that we are known to be dumping a lot of gases known to mess with the climate into the atmosphere.
-b.
There are other metrics as well. Snowfall vs rainfall amounts for example, which would be easily done even with 10th century BC technology.
But it *isn't* happening now. And do we know how much CO2 we need to add to the atmosphere to stave off this effect without causing excessive warming? Your solution reminds me of giving someone cyanide to cure pneumonia. Sure it stops the coughing at the expence of killing the patient.
-b.
NYC - (some) winters are cold and people walk a lot more than they drive. I wear gloves more than 12x per year you insensitive clod. Not everyone's from Florida, y'know
-b.
-b.
Until a cracked CODEC is released.
-b.
This is the US, not Denmark. Unfortunately, we do have burglaries with violence. Not all of them, but some proportion, anyway. And before you go blathering about gun ownership, not all of the violence even involves guns. It can just be a startled homeowned getting up, scaring the burglar, and the burglar getting scared and kicking the crap out of the homeowner (or vice versa). Stay in your soft socialist utopia. We handle things differently here sometimes.
-b.
You think that everyone has insurance on everything?
I can't give someone their life back after it has been taken, nor any motor skills they might lose in a fight, therefor I will never EVER think of an item as above somebody's health.
Have you thought of the fact that a person who's willing to break into cars and houses to steal stuff needs to be stopped one way or another because then will hurt one of their victims eventually (if you break into a house, you're basically *begging* for violence)? And, unlike them, their victims are innocent of any wrongdoing. Don't be so damn concerned about assholes that themselves have no concern for others.
-b.
If you get your property stolen, and know where it is, you'll sit on your ass and do nothing about it? W00t for you. I'm not advocating violence. I'm advocating coming with the ability to *do* violence in case the scum doesn't give up the property peacefully.
-b.
Nope. I'm advocating confronting the scum who stole the $2000 object and retaking the object without payment. Said scum is after all a criminal. If said scum threatens the original poster's life, he has a right to defend himself. Whether that's by killing the person or shooting out his kneecaps is of course a choice.
-b.
Don't be too harsh on them immediately. Their account could have well been hacked either through phishing or a dishonest employee. It happens all the time, unfortunately.
-b.
If you get a company plan, it's usually fixed price for all employees. (In a lot of states, it has to be by law.)
-b.
Are you in a carry-legal state? Offer to pick it up and confront him with the facts. Maybe bring a couple of big angry friends along. If he gets scared and gives it to you, good. Make sure to show it to the cops so they can match prints to your house. If he tries something, defend yourself. If I were on a jury, I'd most certainly acquit or vote for a verdict of not guilty by self defense...
-b.
-b.
Actually, for people with families, having their own business might be even more important. Something with the ability to *make* money (rather than just having a worth) which can be passed across generations.
-b.
Yeah, that kind of system...
Well, arent they companies (non-profit corporations) even in the strict legal sense?
-b.
Exactly why I think that nationalized or state-owned health insurance would actually help true capitalism. It would remove another impediment in the path of startup companies. BTW - it's actually not that difficult to find even in expensive states. Be prepared to pay $2-300/mo in the more expensive places (read: NJ), but it isn't unobtainable.
-b.
They'd have to prove that it was done with work equipment and on the clock. I'd refuse to sign (and have in the past crossed out) any clauses in a contract that make claim on designs done on *my* time which aren't directly related to the work which the employer is doing.
Actually, I was talking more about the fact that I doubt that working for Google is a 9-5 or even an 8-6 job. Please correct me if I'm wrong.
-b.
Then again, it's better to have one or two levels of clowns above you than six or seven levels of the same :D
I think it ultimately comes down to the individual company. I've just found small organizations less annoying than large ones. This may be because I'm an anarchist at heart :D
-b.
Agreed, though the small groups within companies are still more subject to orders from on high and blanket company policies than bona-fide small organizations.
-b.
And the best way to find such a small company to work for is sometimes to open the phonebook (or use a yellow pages site) and start making calls and sending resumes. Look at their websites as well, a lot of companies show open positions on web sites without advertising on the bigger job boards like Monster (though they may use CL).
-b.
Fine, but if you're working in a smaller, less demanding company, you might have that time free, so you can work on the projects without the company knowing about it. Far better to market an idea independently than under the auspices of a large employer. At least you have the opportunity for profits far beyond a salary that way.
gourmet meals, massages
Just give me a decent salary, TYVM. If I want a massage, I can go to a masseur after hours. If I'm working in a city, I can pretty much order whatever I want to (and can afford) for lunch.
-b.
-b.