I have seen that site. I think that's a great idea. I'll be sure to send people there when I get in arguments with them about hate-crime laws. (I think that creating victim classes is a bad idea. Creating new groups of people who refuse to be victims is a great one!)
I'm dating someone who identifies with two of the categories they mention, but I don't imagine she'd ever carry. I'll send her the link all the same.
There is a more fundamental problem with advertising.
When the users of a service pay for the service, they are the customers, and the service is the product. When advertisers pay for a service, they are the customers, and the users are the product. The service itself is relegated to a loss-leader; bait to attract users so they can be sold to the advertisers.
This is one of the primary reasons why TV is such a wasteland, while the DVD landscape is so rich.
I don't think that, as a practical matter, I could eradicate all faith within myself. I think I'd be left whining, "But it's logic! It has to work. Just 'cause!"
And you certainly can't stop just assuming that the status quo will more or less remain. If I was worried every night at bed time that the gravity might be off when I wake up I'd be reduced to a gibbering idiot. (Some would argue that this is already the case.)
It seems to me that one must ultimately place faith in something. Putting it in things that constantly work out well would seem logical. Given the choices of:
I have cancer. Fancy that.
I have cancer. Maybe God will take it away.
I have cancer. I'll roll the dice with medical Science. It works over half the time!
I'll take door number three. Interestingly, so do most religious people.
Also, I must put faith in the people I love. I can't imagine life being worth living otherwise.
I don't get the whole, "I'm spiritual" thing. Doesn't that imply the belief in a spirit? It strikes me as a cop-out, like, "I like all types of music." I'm sincerely interested in your reply to this. What does that mean?
There is a difference between belief and faith. I believe that I have ten beers in my refrigerator. But the existence of ten beers in my 'fridge isn't an article of faith. Show me evidence to the contrary, and I will cheerfully change my belief.
I also believe that men (people) are basically good. I have seen a lot of evidence to the contrary, and when presented with such evidence I get all blustery and won't listen to reason. It is an article of faith, for me.
Generally people who believe in God, do so on faith. They get all blustery and won't listen to reason when you show them evidence to the contrary. Generally people who believe that God doesn't exist don't hold it as an article of faith.
We do, however, tend to have a strong faith in logic. When the religious start making all sort of non-sense statements in the guise of logic we tend to get all blustery.
So, to the point; is there a tea kettle orbiting the Sun at 2.7 AU? That's dab in the middle of the main asteroid belt. It is far beyond the reach of human Science to look behind every asteroid and make sure there isn't a tea kettle lurking back there.
If I say I believe such a thing, will you really not say that you believe that it doesn't exist?
I am of the opinion that the single biggest problem in the world is democide. Most especially domestic democide. I have some big complaints about the U.S. government, but it does have a fairly good record on that count over the 20th and 21st centuries. (I think it's a travesty that Jackson is on the $20 . . . our record in the 19th century, and prior, is atrocious.)
The only things that can be responsibly reported are things that are well established. But they aren't news. And the irresponsible are then left to report on the news. So we need responsible journalists to report on Science. Which they can't do properly.
The outcome is what we have. Science news that is at best inaccurate. More often it's sensationalized and misleading.
If there's a solution to this I certainly don't see it.
It would only be fair for Vivendi to give Apple the same percentage cut that they accept from the recording artists. Presumably that's less than the 30% that Apple is taking.
-Peter
PS: Please read twice before moderating. There may be lurking sarcasm.
You said something about it making sense for the phone company to submit numbers to the do-not-call list for some reason. I'm proposing that it makes more sense for people to not call you unless you give them your freakin' phone number.
Slashdot Mirror
37 vs. 54 Mbps isn't peanuts.
That said, if studios encode once and stick it on both formats Blu-ray has no advantage.
-Peter
Looks like used copies are going for $25 for PS2 and $30 for Xbox. Sounds like a good candidate for a reissue.
-Peter
I have seen that site. I think that's a great idea. I'll be sure to send people there when I get in arguments with them about hate-crime laws. (I think that creating victim classes is a bad idea. Creating new groups of people who refuse to be victims is a great one!)
I'm dating someone who identifies with two of the categories they mention, but I don't imagine she'd ever carry. I'll send her the link all the same.
-Peter
I don't know if you two have met. Snocone, this is JPFO. JPFO, Snocone.
I'll let you two get acquainted.
-Peter
Awesome.
-Peter
Shouldn't the headline be "Wolfram's 2,3 Turing Machine Not Proven Universal"?
Was this proof the last chance to prove . . . whatever this thing is? Or has a specific attempt merely failed? (According to some email.)
-Peter
There is a more fundamental problem with advertising.
When the users of a service pay for the service, they are the customers, and the service is the product. When advertisers pay for a service, they are the customers, and the users are the product. The service itself is relegated to a loss-leader; bait to attract users so they can be sold to the advertisers.
This is one of the primary reasons why TV is such a wasteland, while the DVD landscape is so rich.
-Peter
I think they are subtly stating that MS spell check damages students' ability to spell.
-Peter
And you certainly can't stop just assuming that the status quo will more or less remain. If I was worried every night at bed time that the gravity might be off when I wake up I'd be reduced to a gibbering idiot. (Some would argue that this is already the case.)
It seems to me that one must ultimately place faith in something. Putting it in things that constantly work out well would seem logical. Given the choices of:
I'll take door number three. Interestingly, so do most religious people.
Also, I must put faith in the people I love. I can't imagine life being worth living otherwise.
I don't get the whole, "I'm spiritual" thing. Doesn't that imply the belief in a spirit? It strikes me as a cop-out, like, "I like all types of music." I'm sincerely interested in your reply to this. What does that mean?
I like Hip-Hop.
-Peter
There is a difference between belief and faith. I believe that I have ten beers in my refrigerator. But the existence of ten beers in my 'fridge isn't an article of faith. Show me evidence to the contrary, and I will cheerfully change my belief.
I also believe that men (people) are basically good. I have seen a lot of evidence to the contrary, and when presented with such evidence I get all blustery and won't listen to reason. It is an article of faith, for me.
Generally people who believe in God, do so on faith. They get all blustery and won't listen to reason when you show them evidence to the contrary. Generally people who believe that God doesn't exist don't hold it as an article of faith.
We do, however, tend to have a strong faith in logic. When the religious start making all sort of non-sense statements in the guise of logic we tend to get all blustery.
So, to the point; is there a tea kettle orbiting the Sun at 2.7 AU? That's dab in the middle of the main asteroid belt. It is far beyond the reach of human Science to look behind every asteroid and make sure there isn't a tea kettle lurking back there.
If I say I believe such a thing, will you really not say that you believe that it doesn't exist?
-Peter
"Only human."
--Agent Smith on IT security
My real question is: Why can't you see the problem with coercing money out of people to fund something they find morally repugnant?
(Just for the record I'm an atheist, and I feel the same way about our invasion of Iraq.)
-Peter
*Spoilers*
But that's the whole point, isn't it? He's out of his mind on adam. He's supposed to be super-human.
-Peter
What do you mean by "cheating"?
-Peter
I think you're confused. Ecce homo is usually translated as "behold the man". Ecce means something like "look".
-Peter
Ha! Just this morning I decided to replay as a wrench-lurker. (And trying to get the Research PhD and Historian achievements.)
I don't see playing the final show-down with the wrench, though!
-Peter
Very polite of you.
-Peter
I am of the opinion that the single biggest problem in the world is democide. Most especially domestic democide. I have some big complaints about the U.S. government, but it does have a fairly good record on that count over the 20th and 21st centuries. (I think it's a travesty that Jackson is on the $20 . . . our record in the 19th century, and prior, is atrocious.)
Anyway, the risk seems pretty hypothetical.
-Peter
That's right where my head went, too. But if it's geosynchronous it'd be hard for them to hit any of the usual targets.
Guess we should keep an eye out for them launching a bunch of mirrors.
-Peter
Technically, Gibson is a Yank.
-Peter
Now that we have space money one thing is inevitable: Space Prostitutes.
-Peter
That can't be right. I've worked two jobs, and the distinguishing characteristic was that I got two paychecks.
I think that the accepted description is "getting shafted", or some less abstract description of the same act.
-Peter
I'm not a Scientist, but here's my take.
The only things that can be responsibly reported are things that are well established. But they aren't news. And the irresponsible are then left to report on the news. So we need responsible journalists to report on Science. Which they can't do properly.
The outcome is what we have. Science news that is at best inaccurate. More often it's sensationalized and misleading.
If there's a solution to this I certainly don't see it.
-Peter
It would only be fair for Vivendi to give Apple the same percentage cut that they accept from the recording artists. Presumably that's less than the 30% that Apple is taking.
-Peter
PS: Please read twice before moderating. There may be lurking sarcasm.
You said something about it making sense for the phone company to submit numbers to the do-not-call list for some reason. I'm proposing that it makes more sense for people to not call you unless you give them your freakin' phone number.
No deep philosophical meaning, or anything.
-Peter