I have to agree, Mr. Pants. My previous employer paid the Gartner Group to research a particular subject. Their report indicated that our product was the best possible way of doing business. The next round of brochures had "Gartner Group reports indicate..." in big bold letters. Six months and $26 million later, the company was sold for pennies on the dollar. Not just a miss, but a miss-by-a-mile.
Since then, anytime I see "Gartner Group" in print, my brain replaces it with "information prostitutes".
> Have standards stooped so low that we're thankful for a non-crappy movie?
Well, we are talking about a culture that generally believes Paris Hilton and the latest Ben-Jen romance to be acceptable information for the nightly news.
The problem is that bad mechanics like to masquerade as good mechanics. They will prey on your lack of automotive knowledge and try to pass off a bad job as a "job well done".
Come to think of it, bad programmers are the same way...
If Delio were truly sinister, she would have edited her fabricated quotes into Wikiquote early -- thereby proving their validity!
Hmmm... maybe I should file a software patent on this method of journalism. Blast my pesky conscience! It's turning out to be such a handicap in the 21st century.
Okay. Once the phisher has "sswopard<ENTER>" in his queue, how long will it take to cycle through all combinations of those letters? My guess is that it's less than a second.
Re:Did I ever wonder how they worked?
on
How Lightsabers Work
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· Score: 2, Funny
> The point is, the average user shouldn't need to read a BOOK to set up a printer
The average user shouldn't have a problem reading a book to set up a printer. The problem occurs when a user has to print the book before setting up the printer.
You raise a good point, but I'll take great story and cheesy effects over cheesy story and great special effects. Well, okay, I actually enjoyed Starship Troopers, but let's ignore that for now:)
It's interesting you picked The Thinker as an example. Like a good movie, there is depth to this piece. It is well executed (good visual effects), but it also has a great story. Look at his face. Why is he so serious? What could be so important? He appears entirely consumed. As we watch the "naked guy on a rock", we're weaving our own story. We're becoming engaged. We care. A good story pulls us in and gives us entertainment long after the movie is over. The special effects catch our attention, but --like a roller coaster ride-- leave us excited, but wanting more.
And for those who dig even deeper, they'll discover that The Thinker (like a movie with a good story) has a detailed backstory. It is part of a larger work The Gates of Hell. That "naked guy on a rock" is pondering eternity and his place in it. Weighty stuff -- and rewarding if you're in the mood to exercise your brain.
I tried to buy these at a local Toys R Us. I carried them to the counter, but --for some mysterious reason-- none of my credit cards would work. I paid cash and carried them out of the store. The good thing was, I didn't have to walk to my car -- it came to me. The bad thing was, all the other cars in the parking lot came to me too.
I put the MegaMags in my trunk and drove home. On my way, I heard a giant "click", almost as if a satellite had taken my photo. While I was distracted, I ran off the road and hit a man. I went to see if he was okay, but just before he died, he thanked me for putting him out of his misery. It seems he had contracted the human form of a PC virus. As I got back into my car, I noticed Tiger Woods and Paris Hilton fighting in front of Fry's. Paris was yelling something about more exposure. When Tiger clubbed her with a 5-iron, I decided it was time to leave.
Once I got home, I set the MegaMags next to my PC, and it completely erased my hard drive. I was really upset because I had just installed my new Gentoo NT distribution.
Maybe I'll try again tomorrow.
Sure it's not funny. But that doesn't really seem to matter today:)
It's a small US company with a small group of close friends who own/run it. He's on the inside of that group. The HR department consists of whatever time the receptionist takes to xerox our healthcare forms.
Gee. I wonder if it's because of jerks like my boss. After interviewing a woman yesterday, he came back into the engineering area and announced in a loud voice -- "Well, she was good -- I really liked those bolt-on titties." He proceeded to discuss the woman's looks for everyone to hear.
I never once heard him address her ability (or inability) to do the job. Now I don't consider myself a feminist, but I was left speechless by his complete lack of professional (and social) competence.
TSP (Top Secret Penguin) intelligence has just handed me a terrifying report.
It turns out that Intel is creating an evil mirror universe twin of VI. It will use Clippy's CLI-based cousin VIgor! The editor will be embedded in the processor itself and will constantly offer suggestions whether you're running Windows or Linux. ("I see you've booted your computer, would you like to edit your Quicken folder with VIIV?")
The implications are mind-boggling. However, all is not lost. This could be the event that finally leads to a cease-fire in the vi-emacs flamewar. Both sides will put aside their differences and unite to stop the spread of the evil VIIV editor! Unite now! Stop VIIV before it edits you!
And remember: many Bothans died to get this information.
One of problems with the DaVinci code is that Brown didn't make up summits to suit the book. He took real events and twisted them to fit his book.
The summit you're referring to is the First Council of Nicea (held in 325AD). The Council met to establish a standard for Christian beliefs (sort of an RFC-0001 for the Christian church). This was an attempt to prevent so many churches springing up with fringe practices, but still calling themselves Christian[1].
That is an oversimplification -- but I'm trying to cut back on my/. time.
The council did not arbitrarily "vote that Jesus was God". Jesus had been worshipped as God for many, many years before the Council met. The council examined the available evidence to decide if Jesus (God the Son) was equal-with or subordinate-to God the Father. The Council affirmed that Jesus held equal status. (The Nicean Creed summarizes their affirmation.)
Of course, someone who holds to the Arian heresy will have a different take on the Council:)
[1] Case in point: A group called the gnostics believed that all matter was inherently evil, all spirit inherently good -- so they lived a life of self-indulgence but labeled themselves as Christian.
To recap: I was very careful to distinguish evidence from proof. The OP said Jesus never personally claimed divinity. OP implied that the apostle Paul made up the divinity of Jesus. My response was to cite specific evidence that Jesus did make that claim. I never offered that as proof of the claim itself, only that the claim was made.
In a discussion concerning the documented words of a person, it is not a problem to use the generally-accepted documentation of that person's words. The discussion of the accuracy of that documentation is an entirely different discussion.
I'm not trying to convince you of the divinity of Jesus -- please stop doing the "angry athiest" thing. Take some deep breaths and settle down. I'm not Islamic, but I would be foolish to argue the existance of a man named Mohammed.
There are several documents written by non-believers which show that Jesus of Narazeth lived. (Josephus, Tacitus, Pliny the Younger, and Lucian).
Finally, to use your reasoning, Ben Franklin could have been a made-up person designed by the founding fathers to take the heat. The proofs you claim are just made up forgeries by people who benefitted from this made-up personality.
Sarcasm aside -- at some point you must mark the difference between possible and probable.
And finally: I can't believe you used the word "retort". I try to never retort! But I will respond that you should read Metzger's book. You'll have a much more accurate view of how the Gospels were written and how they were transmitted through the ages. And I promise, the book is scholarly and will under no circumstances try to convert you.
The original poster made an incorrect statement concerning the generally-accepted documentation of the words of Jesus of Nazareth known to Christians as Jesus Christ. The OP stated that Jesus never claimed divinity -- my post cited material which shows he did make that claim. My intention was to correct a factual mistake, not engage him in a debate on the actual divinity (or not) of Jesus.
If you want to start discussing whether the documentation is correct, then I'll point you to Bruce Metzger's Textual Criticism of the New Testament. It's an interesting analysis of how the New Testament texts have been passed down. It's a very readable book and was written without that "I'm an (atheist/Christian) pretending to be unbiased" slant that drives me nuts.
Your last paragraph is amusing.
How do you really know that Benjamin Franklin actually existed? I mean, besides the fact that there were people in the 18th century who wrote about him as if he existed. It's well-established that a man named Jesus of Nazareth existed. The debate is whether or not he is divine.
I'll now stop wasting my time arguing with you, since I'm sure you're just a large brain in a jar and I'm only a figment of your imagination.
>Interestingly, he didn't make claims to deity, it was Paul that did most of that for him
Certainly you're entitled to your views on whether or not Jesus is the Christ, but you shouldn't misrepresent facts. Jesus made several claims to divinity -- both direct and oblique.
Matthew 11:27: Jesus claims an exclusive Father/Son relationship with God.
Matthew 26:63-64: High Priest asks Jesus if he is the Christ (aka the Messiah) and Jesus answers that he is.
John 8:58: Jesus states "Before Abraham was born, I am" The term "I am" is considered by Jews to be the name of God. (When God appeared to Moses as the burning bush, Moses asked His name. The response was "I am".)
John 14:6: "No one comes to the Father, except through me." -- while not a direct claim of deity, it's a very weighty statement of Jesus as Savior of the world. This is one of Jesus' statements that prevents most Christians from jumping on the "all religions are equal" bandwagon.
For more detail, check out Josh McDowell's Evidence which Demands a Verdict -- specificially, the chapter "Lord, Liar, or Lunatic?".
I just took it as a subpoint to his discussion of overpopulation, but I can see your point of how he meant it as a danger.
There certainly are problems with the push toward wholesale acceptance of homosexuality, but I can't see global depopulation being one of those dangers.
> It's good to know you've got a scientific basis for your homophobia...
I didn't see any fear of homosexuality in the parent post, but I do have a question. Why is any level of disagreement with the homosexual lifestyle immediately branded as a phobia? It seems like the term is overused and misused an awful lot.
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Since then, anytime I see "Gartner Group" in print, my brain replaces it with "information prostitutes".
Nawww, Apple gets the cool purple Mace Windu lightsaber. Guaranteed to not die like a chump.
Well, we are talking about a culture that generally believes Paris Hilton and the latest Ben-Jen romance to be acceptable information for the nightly news.
In short: yes, standards have stooped so low.
Come to think of it, bad programmers are the same way...
Hmmm ... maybe I should file a software patent on this method of journalism. Blast my pesky conscience! It's turning out to be such a handicap in the 21st century.
Okay. Once the phisher has "sswopard<ENTER>" in his queue, how long will it take to cycle through all combinations of those letters? My guess is that it's less than a second.
It's all in the mitachlorians, kid.
>Not to me it doesn't.
So your other computer is a UNIVAC? :)
The average user shouldn't have a problem reading a book to set up a printer. The problem occurs when a user has to print the book before setting up the printer.
Agreed. I was working on Solaris about five years ago and it didn't allow setuid root scripts.
It's interesting you picked The Thinker as an example. Like a good movie, there is depth to this piece. It is well executed (good visual effects), but it also has a great story. Look at his face. Why is he so serious? What could be so important? He appears entirely consumed. As we watch the "naked guy on a rock", we're weaving our own story. We're becoming engaged. We care. A good story pulls us in and gives us entertainment long after the movie is over. The special effects catch our attention, but --like a roller coaster ride-- leave us excited, but wanting more.
And for those who dig even deeper, they'll discover that The Thinker (like a movie with a good story) has a detailed backstory. It is part of a larger work The Gates of Hell. That "naked guy on a rock" is pondering eternity and his place in it. Weighty stuff -- and rewarding if you're in the mood to exercise your brain.
Was it really controversial? Unconventional, maybe, but not controversial.
I put the MegaMags in my trunk and drove home. On my way, I heard a giant "click", almost as if a satellite had taken my photo. While I was distracted, I ran off the road and hit a man. I went to see if he was okay, but just before he died, he thanked me for putting him out of his misery. It seems he had contracted the human form of a PC virus. As I got back into my car, I noticed Tiger Woods and Paris Hilton fighting in front of Fry's. Paris was yelling something about more exposure. When Tiger clubbed her with a 5-iron, I decided it was time to leave.
Once I got home, I set the MegaMags next to my PC, and it completely erased my hard drive. I was really upset because I had just installed my new Gentoo NT distribution.
Maybe I'll try again tomorrow.
:)
Sure it's not funny. But that doesn't really seem to matter today
Bottom line: He's here to stay.
I never once heard him address her ability (or inability) to do the job. Now I don't consider myself a feminist, but I was left speechless by his complete lack of professional (and social) competence.
I bet he cares when he needs to do some editing, or check his e-mail.
It turns out that Intel is creating an evil mirror universe twin of VI. It will use Clippy's CLI-based cousin VIgor! The editor will be embedded in the processor itself and will constantly offer suggestions whether you're running Windows or Linux. ("I see you've booted your computer, would you like to edit your Quicken folder with VIIV?")
The implications are mind-boggling. However, all is not lost. This could be the event that finally leads to a cease-fire in the vi-emacs flamewar. Both sides will put aside their differences and unite to stop the spread of the evil VIIV editor! Unite now! Stop VIIV before it edits you!
And remember: many Bothans died to get this information.
The summit you're referring to is the First Council of Nicea (held in 325AD). The Council met to establish a standard for Christian beliefs (sort of an RFC-0001 for the Christian church). This was an attempt to prevent so many churches springing up with fringe practices, but still calling themselves Christian[1]. That is an oversimplification -- but I'm trying to cut back on my /. time.
The council did not arbitrarily "vote that Jesus was God". Jesus had been worshipped as God for many, many years before the Council met. The council examined the available evidence to decide if Jesus (God the Son) was equal-with or subordinate-to God the Father. The Council affirmed that Jesus held equal status. (The Nicean Creed summarizes their affirmation.)
Of course, someone who holds to the Arian heresy will have a different take on the Council :)
[1] Case in point: A group called the gnostics believed that all matter was inherently evil, all spirit inherently good -- so they lived a life of self-indulgence but labeled themselves as Christian.
You don't follow politics, do you? :)
In a discussion concerning the documented words of a person, it is not a problem to use the generally-accepted documentation of that person's words. The discussion of the accuracy of that documentation is an entirely different discussion.
There are several documents written by non-believers which show that Jesus of Narazeth lived. (Josephus, Tacitus, Pliny the Younger, and Lucian).
Finally, to use your reasoning, Ben Franklin could have been a made-up person designed by the founding fathers to take the heat. The proofs you claim are just made up forgeries by people who benefitted from this made-up personality.
Sarcasm aside -- at some point you must mark the difference between possible and probable.
And finally: I can't believe you used the word "retort". I try to never retort! But I will respond that you should read Metzger's book. You'll have a much more accurate view of how the Gospels were written and how they were transmitted through the ages. And I promise, the book is scholarly and will under no circumstances try to convert you.
If you want to start discussing whether the documentation is correct, then I'll point you to Bruce Metzger's Textual Criticism of the New Testament. It's an interesting analysis of how the New Testament texts have been passed down. It's a very readable book and was written without that "I'm an (atheist/Christian) pretending to be unbiased" slant that drives me nuts.
Your last paragraph is amusing. How do you really know that Benjamin Franklin actually existed? I mean, besides the fact that there were people in the 18th century who wrote about him as if he existed. It's well-established that a man named Jesus of Nazareth existed. The debate is whether or not he is divine.
I'll now stop wasting my time arguing with you, since I'm sure you're just a large brain in a jar and I'm only a figment of your imagination.
Certainly you're entitled to your views on whether or not Jesus is the Christ, but you shouldn't misrepresent facts. Jesus made several claims to divinity -- both direct and oblique.
Matthew 11:27: Jesus claims an exclusive Father/Son relationship with God.
Matthew 26:63-64: High Priest asks Jesus if he is the Christ (aka the Messiah) and Jesus answers that he is.
John 8:58: Jesus states "Before Abraham was born, I am" The term "I am" is considered by Jews to be the name of God. (When God appeared to Moses as the burning bush, Moses asked His name. The response was "I am".)
John 14:6: "No one comes to the Father, except through me." -- while not a direct claim of deity, it's a very weighty statement of Jesus as Savior of the world. This is one of Jesus' statements that prevents most Christians from jumping on the "all religions are equal" bandwagon.
For more detail, check out Josh McDowell's Evidence which Demands a Verdict -- specificially, the chapter "Lord, Liar, or Lunatic?".
There certainly are problems with the push toward wholesale acceptance of homosexuality, but I can't see global depopulation being one of those dangers.
I didn't see any fear of homosexuality in the parent post, but I do have a question. Why is any level of disagreement with the homosexual lifestyle immediately branded as a phobia? It seems like the term is overused and misused an awful lot.