Yep! Now over one third of my income goes to the government to finance wonderful projects that I'll never benefit from at several times the cost as it would be to a private industry.
And let's not forget the wonderful inventions of social security and welfare, so that I'm forced to pay even MORE of my hard-earned cash to other people!
Oh, and finally, there was that wonderful little war that he got us into. Hooray for American soldiers dying abroad, all because FDR provoked an attack on Pearl Harbor!
See? I can make generalizations that sound good, too!
"How long until we can just give up on and start addressing it as what it is: a high-end PDA with high-end PDA prices and, coincidentally, a D-Pad?"
The main difference being that the PSP doesn't have a touchscreen, thereby severely limiting its use as a PDA. I'd consider the PSP to be more along the lines of a luxury handheld gaming machine, something like what the XB360 will be to the Nintendo Revolution... though I still consider the DS to be the much better buy, and I'll likely recommend the Revolution over the 360 as well.
Maybe there's so few "evil" hackers because *gasp* most hackers aren't evil?
Seriously. Hacking is not inherently malicious. Most hackers do so as a hobby out of curiosity and/or fun, and some even out of a desire to help people! It's only the Hollywood and television-news conception of hackers that paints them as mostly "evil."
In many cases, you don't even need 3-D graphics or a huge soundtrack.
For example: I've recently come off of an addiction to a certain MMO (yes, I know; I got suckered in). The first thing I did with my "gaming time" was to dig out my SNES emulator and a ROM of Final Fantasy 6. Now, here's a game that anyone who's good at sprite-art and MIDI composing could produce, yet it still holds up today as my favorite FF game, even (or, dare I say, especially) compared to the 3D, cutscene-laden, saccharine games that Square has been vomiting upon the gaming community since the 7th game.
I know that I'm not the only one who would gladly pay to see games developed in this style again - with an emphasis on story and gameplay, rather than overproduced graphics and soundtracks.
There's also the fact that flight sim players are a niche market. The only really big moneymakers in the games industry are the "holy trinity" of action/platformers, FPS's, and sports games. That's why there's so darn many of each (well, maybe not the third, but only because EA has a virtual monopoly on them.) You'll occasionally have an anomaly (like, say, Nintendogs for the DS or the Civilization/Age of Empires franchises), but otherwise, a game company will be hard-pressed to make a big seller out of their game.
Of course, flight sims seem to be up there with adventure games these days as a "dying (as opposed to merely niche) genre."
"For once i would like to see information on how this effects more traditionally "guy" games. For instance i bet the are significantly more girls playing WoW than ever played Ultima Online despite it still being vastly a male audience."
To study this phenomenon, you would first need some way to filter out all of the guys who claim to be girls in online games. And believe me, there's more than you think.
What do you want to bet that this gets commissioned by the government as some sort of crazy space "anti-terrorist" death ray?
GWB - "Hey, boys! Build me one a' them crazy glass-lazers that that Archie-Media guy invented. Me need to go after them there rabbits in their holes for the good of... er... hey, Uncle Dick, why're we doin' that whole War on Tay-ror thing again?"
Cheney - "Um..." (Checks his weekly War on Terror Rationale Roster) "...oh, here we are! Because this is our generation's stuggle, like the Cold War generation had to tackle communism."
GWB - "Ah, a'course! Y'know, my daddy talked with a lotta' them Rush-yan fellers when *he* was Presydent!"
Cheney - "Of course, George. Now, go play with your ball."
GWB - "Ooh! Ball!" (Chases after the thrown toy; exit stage left.)
"Can a child molester live near a school? Can a blind person drive a car? Can a blogger who is not a member of the press and has never been to a school for journalism call himself a journalist?"
Bad analogy. The first two things are potentially harmful. The third is not, and could actually be construed as being beneficial.
Maybe they banned your account because... oh, I don't know... you post long, off-topic rants on how everyone is out to get you and how you're being repressed by the Evil Slashdot Hive-Mind?
I wonder how many commercials MS will add in between shows. If it's the 25+ minutes that is currently the norm on regular TV networks, then I doubt that they will get very many people to sign on.
I know that my money is staying in my pocket until someone introduces commercial-free subscription TV.
Your definition of "democracy" highlights only one of the many salient features of the form of government. Voting is useless if you do not have things like the rule of law, minority rights, and accountability; without these things, you simply have "tyranny of the majority" (which, by the way, is no better than any other tyrannical governmental form.)
"There are plenty of reasons not to vote for this law, but that line of reasoning isn't one of them."
Of course it is.
Of the three things you mentioned, two of them were a matter of Constitutional interpretation, i.e. the Constitution applies to African Americans and women, respectively. Therefore, if "only a handful of people" agreed with these things at the time of their enactment, the vast majority could have easily got together and proposed a Constitutional amendment clarifying whether Constitutional rights extend to these two groups of people.
As for the third (and keep in mind that I AM pro-choice), that was a case of unbridled judicial activism. Without Roe, the abortion movement could have slowly gained ground, elected politicians, got states to sign on, etc., until they got what they wanted. IF there were enough people supporting them, that is.
So, where am I going with this? Basically that, for any given law that is not a Constitutional matter, AT LEAST the majority must support it for it to be legitimate. To do otherwise would be to open up the government to all sorts of insane "minority legislation" and...
...oh, wait, that's already happening, so I guess I don't even need to prove my point.
Seconded. I haven't owned a television in years, and I don't plan to in the future unless there is some way to cut down on or eliminate commercials.
Seriously, 20-25 minutes of commercials in an hour is just insane. I'd be more than happy to pay an extra fee to the cable company or to the owners of the 2-3 channels I would actually watch to have them eliminated.
"- Battlestar Galactica, Farscape, Star Trek, Babylon 5, and even Futurama were made for the expressed purpose of tricking you into watching commercials."
Err... no, they weren't.
Sure, the television executives put them *on the air* to trick people into watching commercials, but behind the shows themselves were people who actually cared about creating quality entertainment. To equate all television to the level of "just there to sell you stuff" is to cheapen the artistic vision of people like Gene Rodenberry, J. Michael Strascynski, and Joss Whedon to the level of the garbage sitcoms and reality shows that litter the rest of the television airwaves. And, unless you're going to say that an episode of B5 or Farscape is no better than an episode of... er... whatever crappy reality shows are on the major networks right now (I haven't even owned a TV in almost two years), then your argument is highly subjective at best.
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And let's not forget the wonderful inventions of social security and welfare, so that I'm forced to pay even MORE of my hard-earned cash to other people!
Oh, and finally, there was that wonderful little war that he got us into. Hooray for American soldiers dying abroad, all because FDR provoked an attack on Pearl Harbor!
See? I can make generalizations that sound good, too!
The main difference being that the PSP doesn't have a touchscreen, thereby severely limiting its use as a PDA. I'd consider the PSP to be more along the lines of a luxury handheld gaming machine, something like what the XB360 will be to the Nintendo Revolution... though I still consider the DS to be the much better buy, and I'll likely recommend the Revolution over the 360 as well.
Ah, is there anything more ironic than an attorney general covering up a representation of what he's supposed to support.
Seriously. Hacking is not inherently malicious. Most hackers do so as a hobby out of curiosity and/or fun, and some even out of a desire to help people! It's only the Hollywood and television-news conception of hackers that paints them as mostly "evil."
Hey, even international spies need IP...
For example: I've recently come off of an addiction to a certain MMO (yes, I know; I got suckered in). The first thing I did with my "gaming time" was to dig out my SNES emulator and a ROM of Final Fantasy 6. Now, here's a game that anyone who's good at sprite-art and MIDI composing could produce, yet it still holds up today as my favorite FF game, even (or, dare I say, especially) compared to the 3D, cutscene-laden, saccharine games that Square has been vomiting upon the gaming community since the 7th game.
I know that I'm not the only one who would gladly pay to see games developed in this style again - with an emphasis on story and gameplay, rather than overproduced graphics and soundtracks.
Of course, flight sims seem to be up there with adventure games these days as a "dying (as opposed to merely niche) genre."
I'll take a guess and say that the answer is: "If you were to say that the left (or right) door was the door to the kingly feast, would you be lying?"
Er, maybe not... unless you think that a pencil that kills BACTERIA would kill FUNGI. :P
To study this phenomenon, you would first need some way to filter out all of the guys who claim to be girls in online games. And believe me, there's more than you think.
GWB - "Hey, boys! Build me one a' them crazy glass-lazers that that Archie-Media guy invented. Me need to go after them there rabbits in their holes for the good of... er... hey, Uncle Dick, why're we doin' that whole War on Tay-ror thing again?"
Cheney - "Um..." (Checks his weekly War on Terror Rationale Roster) "...oh, here we are! Because this is our generation's stuggle, like the Cold War generation had to tackle communism."
GWB - "Ah, a'course! Y'know, my daddy talked with a lotta' them Rush-yan fellers when *he* was Presydent!"
Cheney - "Of course, George. Now, go play with your ball."
GWB - "Ooh! Ball!" (Chases after the thrown toy; exit stage left.)
A child molester near a school has a great potential of causing harm. A blind person driving a car has a great potential of causing harm.
What makes a "certified" journalist less likely to use anonymous sources than a blogger?
Bad analogy. The first two things are potentially harmful. The third is not, and could actually be construed as being beneficial.
...nah, that can't be it...
I know that my money is staying in my pocket until someone introduces commercial-free subscription TV.
Your definition of "democracy" highlights only one of the many salient features of the form of government. Voting is useless if you do not have things like the rule of law, minority rights, and accountability; without these things, you simply have "tyranny of the majority" (which, by the way, is no better than any other tyrannical governmental form.)
Clearly we need a Beowulf cluster to slay this gigantic King Kong cluster!
Oh, and also, a Microsoft coder bit my sister once...
You mean a shot of espresso? A shot of coffee wouldn't do much.
Of course it is.
Of the three things you mentioned, two of them were a matter of Constitutional interpretation, i.e. the Constitution applies to African Americans and women, respectively. Therefore, if "only a handful of people" agreed with these things at the time of their enactment, the vast majority could have easily got together and proposed a Constitutional amendment clarifying whether Constitutional rights extend to these two groups of people.
As for the third (and keep in mind that I AM pro-choice), that was a case of unbridled judicial activism. Without Roe, the abortion movement could have slowly gained ground, elected politicians, got states to sign on, etc., until they got what they wanted. IF there were enough people supporting them, that is.
So, where am I going with this? Basically that, for any given law that is not a Constitutional matter, AT LEAST the majority must support it for it to be legitimate. To do otherwise would be to open up the government to all sorts of insane "minority legislation" and...
...oh, wait, that's already happening, so I guess I don't even need to prove my point.
Seriously, 20-25 minutes of commercials in an hour is just insane. I'd be more than happy to pay an extra fee to the cable company or to the owners of the 2-3 channels I would actually watch to have them eliminated.
Err... no, they weren't.
Sure, the television executives put them *on the air* to trick people into watching commercials, but behind the shows themselves were people who actually cared about creating quality entertainment. To equate all television to the level of "just there to sell you stuff" is to cheapen the artistic vision of people like Gene Rodenberry, J. Michael Strascynski, and Joss Whedon to the level of the garbage sitcoms and reality shows that litter the rest of the television airwaves. And, unless you're going to say that an episode of B5 or Farscape is no better than an episode of... er... whatever crappy reality shows are on the major networks right now (I haven't even owned a TV in almost two years), then your argument is highly subjective at best.
Now when the guy three doors down blasts bad hip-hop that can be heard throughout the entire floor, he can do it more clearly!
If the fish "get confuded", then I think there's more than one thing wrong with it.
Great way to get your daily value of iron, I suppose.