You've *got* to be kidding. Christians are one of the least-discriminated-against groups in this country. At the moment, the most-bashed group is the liberals. Fundamentalist Christians also get slammed, but *not* Christians, as a general rule.
With the fundamentalists, it isn't so much their religion that gets slammed, but the willful ignorance that goes along with it. "Intelligent design" is *not* science, no matter how many times you say them in the same sentence. Getting upset at gay couples for wanting the same recognition as non-gay couples is not socially fair, no matter how much anal sex or cunnilingus upsets your delicate sensibilities. And unfortunately, fundamentalists are one of the groups to do the most discriminating.
That's the difference. There are many Christians I hold in great esteem, and would not dare (or even want) to impugn their beliefs. I don't even believe fundamentalists are real Christians; I believe they are a cult.
But that's perhaps a kneejerk reaction to those fundamentalists who believe Mormonism, Catholicism, and Unitarianism are "just" cults.
Unfortunately, living in the computer ghetto with Linux, the printer manufacturers don't write drivers for us. We have to figure it out for ourselves.
With MS-Windows, it just works because the printer manufacturers write the drivers for MS-Windows. That's why, with every printer I install, I end up installing another 20M of software, just to support printing.
Yeah, it's a pain in the ass to set up CUPS. It'd be nice if we could just bum the MS-Windows drivers that come with the printer, but that ain't gonna happen, because each printer comes with its own damned installer, too.
Printers "just work" in MS-Windows because the printer manufacturers made sure it "just works." Since they don't care about Linux (or *BSD, or Solaris, or... (favorite non-MS OS goes here)), it's *going* to be hard to get a printer to work perfectly, with all the functionality.
The problem is, CUPS is still just a pain in the ass to set up where it *shouldn't* be. We have enough problems setting up the drivers to work well; why isn't there something to remove the basic administrative pain?
Not anymore, it doesn't. SunRay server software is now available for Linux, as well. So you can run a *cheap* SunRay lab. Get some SunRays off eBay, buy the server software (it's kinda spendy, but cheaper than the Sun hardware), and run a couple of dozen SunRays off a single server.
They are really nice machines. Fanless. And their software is getting very capable. You can even mount USB pen drives off the back of them.
I think Rhode Island might want to have a few words with you about this. The US probably won't want to let it go, even if it is a tiny little state that can't even stick up for itself in a/. post.
The U.S. also lacks a national "identity" card and state speech controls (although with more and more statists like you, who knows...). Feel free to get the fuck out...
No state speech controls? Try saying that on national broadcast TV.
I've used whitespace-blocked programming languages (MUMPS, anyone?) and they blow. They blow so hard, they suck.
Someone (I think it may have been Stroustrap) said (and I paraphrase), "The restrictions of the language translate to restrictions in the programming solution." I find white-space blocking restrictive and somewhat... arbitrary.
I understand these are my opinions, and others feel differently. Python looks like it might have been a good language for me if it wasn't for the pain of whitespace blocking. But you know what? It doesn't matter, because Python is there for those that like rules and restrictions, and Perl is there for those that thrive in chaos, and Forth is there for those who like to invent their language to fit the solution every time.
Lisp is there for those that like lots of tiny little chunks of things. C is there for those who aren't man enough for assembler. C++ is there for those who like pain (those are called masochists, right?). Objective-C is there for those who can't *quite* commit to Smalltalk. COBOL is there for the clearly insane obsessive-compulsive.
Java is there for those who used to listen to marketing hype. C# is there for those who grew disillusioned with the old marketing hype, and who listened to the *new* marketing hype.
That's the great thing, even about sucky languages like Python. Everyone has their place.
Evolution is sufficently poorly characterised that it isn't very good at making predictions, and there aren't many new observations to test them on, so that trivial view of hypothesis doesn't work too well either.
Evolution is poorly characterised inasmuch as biology is poorly characterised. Worse, evolution is governed as much by chaos as it is by pure biology. And, there are many competing hypothesises... hypothesi... explanations about the processes of evolution-- punctuated equilibrium vs. gradual change, for example, though that debate seems to be dying down.
But, many of the predictions stemming from evolutionary theory *have* been proven out-- intron variance in geographically isolated populations, for instance.
The fossil record itself does not provide much in the way of evolutionary theory; all the interesting work is happening in microbiology. Like trying to piece together a treasure map from a few fragments of paper, the fossil record shows hints of clues, but does little otherwise.
If we come to try and make judgements about long-time-scale dynamic processes from point observations, we fall into the trap of blind inductionism. And that's not (good) science.
Evolution is worse than a "long-time-scale dynamic process"; it is a complex chaotic transient deep-time dynamic process. Unlike simple deep-time proceesses like those in geology, we have few clues in a fluid landscape.
To characterise evolutionary research as "blind inductionism" is rather simple, though. As noted, evolution leaves its mark in the oddest of places, our very DNA. The deep-time nature of evolution dictates certain outcomes, like the intron example above, or mitochondrial genetic drift to map related species.
Some of these things seem assumed, but the results are entirely consistent with evolution by natural selection. There is no other theory (most notably, special creation) that explains the evidence as well as evolution.
Induction is not the only tool available to modern evolutionists. Although there are few experiments per se, modern molecular biology holds a wealth of supporting evidence.
I don't think many people are questioning the licensing-- you are right, if it's a real business, Ohio has the right to license the business and tax any income.
That's not at issue. What *is* at issue is the $50k and possible "apprenticeship" that goes along with it. Ohio doesn't do that to other retailers or direct sellers; why is it singling out ebay sellers?
Rather than being evil, Corporations provide a strong legal framework and represent one of the highest achievements of modern sophisticated society.
That's an excellent argument. Unfortunately, it sounds very much like the star-eyed idealism that makes communism sound good: "If we all work together, one for another, we can achieve great things." Looks good on paper, but it falls apart under the shear force am individual greed and selfishness.
Corporations as a charter granted by the people to perform specific tasks are good. Corporations with equal rights as individuals are bad. Like Frankenstein's monster, corporations have turned on those they were built to serve. How have they turned on us? Corporations make up the largest single block of money funding lobbyists and politicians. It is well-documented that the politician who spends the most money is most likely to get elected.
So, figure it out. Corporations and individuals representing corporations contribute the most money to political campaigns. And they don't do it simply because they want a particular candidate to win: they do it so that their particular candidate will win, and owe them a favor.
See this for more information. There's a lot more out there, too. Corporations in their current form are not the pinnacle of civilisation; they are a threat to democracy and liberty. Until we have divested them of their current legal status as protected individuals, and returned them to their former status as chartered entities, corporations, by their actions, tend to be evil.
(No, not all corporations are evil. But many tend to evil, such as those self-same airplane manufacturers, Starbucks, the pharmacuetical companies, the oil companies, and Wal*Mart.)
It's not a good thing when the state keeps secrets from its citizens, whether it forces an issue or not. If it disallows you from travelling, it is interfering with your life. There is no good reason to keep these regulations secret.
Todays predictions of a new media format through wikis and blogs are analagous to the flying cars and domed cities of the 50's.
The difference is, blogs and wikis are here, today, and not some sf prediction of the future.
Our ability to use them effectively might be a bit overrated, though. Like all the hype surrounding the Segway ("it'll transform cities!"), I think we underestimate the uselessness of the blog.
That last paragraph is just my opinion, of course. I could be really, really wrong.
Personally I would limit copyright to the lifetime of the authors + a couple of years (so dependents get time to adjust), and to make that work, eliminate non human copyright ownership, and copyright reasignment.
Excellent suggestion! But, then how do you handle communal works, or works done on contract for a company, such as software?
It's a complex subject. Very complex.
My suggestion: limit copyright to 100 years, and if a work goes out of print for more than 5 years, the copyright ends with it.
The vast majority of works affected by the Bono act have not been printed since the Bono act went into effect. If law would allow the copyright to expire due to disuse, we would have a much richer public domain, with no detriment to anyone at all. And, as long as Disney keeps pumping out copies of Steamboat Willy, Mickey Mouse will remain in copyright.
Not that this is a good solution, either. In this wired digital age, what constitutes "printing?" The simple availabilty for paid download?
Oh, well. I'd rather have a complex life than a simple one. I bore easily.
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You've *got* to be kidding. Christians are one of the least-discriminated-against groups in this country. At the moment, the most-bashed group is the liberals. Fundamentalist Christians also get slammed, but *not* Christians, as a general rule.
With the fundamentalists, it isn't so much their religion that gets slammed, but the willful ignorance that goes along with it. "Intelligent design" is *not* science, no matter how many times you say them in the same sentence. Getting upset at gay couples for wanting the same recognition as non-gay couples is not socially fair, no matter how much anal sex or cunnilingus upsets your delicate sensibilities. And unfortunately, fundamentalists are one of the groups to do the most discriminating.
That's the difference. There are many Christians I hold in great esteem, and would not dare (or even want) to impugn their beliefs. I don't even believe fundamentalists are real Christians; I believe they are a cult.
But that's perhaps a kneejerk reaction to those fundamentalists who believe Mormonism, Catholicism, and Unitarianism are "just" cults.
I figure it's only a matter of time until a truly democratic process does exactly what you're talking about.
The US isn't a domocracy, it a representational republic, with leanings to fascism.
Since there's currently no litmus test for what constitutes a committed gay relationship (ie marriage)...
That's your solution then. Allow gay marriage. Problem solved.
Unfortunately, living in the computer ghetto with Linux, the printer manufacturers don't write drivers for us. We have to figure it out for ourselves.
... (favorite non-MS OS goes here)), it's *going* to be hard to get a printer to work perfectly, with all the functionality.
With MS-Windows, it just works because the printer manufacturers write the drivers for MS-Windows. That's why, with every printer I install, I end up installing another 20M of software, just to support printing.
Yeah, it's a pain in the ass to set up CUPS. It'd be nice if we could just bum the MS-Windows drivers that come with the printer, but that ain't gonna happen, because each printer comes with its own damned installer, too.
Printers "just work" in MS-Windows because the printer manufacturers made sure it "just works." Since they don't care about Linux (or *BSD, or Solaris, or
The problem is, CUPS is still just a pain in the ass to set up where it *shouldn't* be. We have enough problems setting up the drivers to work well; why isn't there something to remove the basic administrative pain?
The article is utterly without merit.
That's okay. So is the patent.
He just wants to bring "democracy" to another place, ol' West style.
Not anymore, it doesn't. SunRay server software is now available for Linux, as well. So you can run a *cheap* SunRay lab. Get some SunRays off eBay, buy the server software (it's kinda spendy, but cheaper than the Sun hardware), and run a couple of dozen SunRays off a single server.
They are really nice machines. Fanless. And their software is getting very capable. You can even mount USB pen drives off the back of them.
... Rhode Island ...
/. post.
I think Rhode Island might want to have a few words with you about this. The US probably won't want to let it go, even if it is a tiny little state that can't even stick up for itself in a
America is not the world.
Oh, we *will* be, my soon-to-be-American friend. Once Bush is done, we *will* be.
The U.S. also lacks a national "identity" card and state speech controls (although with more and more statists like you, who knows...). Feel free to get the fuck out...
No state speech controls? Try saying that on national broadcast TV.
Add beer and watch the fur fly.
Add beer and invent the bubble chamber.
I've used whitespace-blocked programming languages (MUMPS, anyone?) and they blow. They blow so hard, they suck.
Someone (I think it may have been Stroustrap) said (and I paraphrase), "The restrictions of the language translate to restrictions in the programming solution." I find white-space blocking restrictive and somewhat... arbitrary.
I understand these are my opinions, and others feel differently. Python looks like it might have been a good language for me if it wasn't for the pain of whitespace blocking. But you know what? It doesn't matter, because Python is there for those that like rules and restrictions, and Perl is there for those that thrive in chaos, and Forth is there for those who like to invent their language to fit the solution every time.
Lisp is there for those that like lots of tiny little chunks of things. C is there for those who aren't man enough for assembler. C++ is there for those who like pain (those are called masochists, right?). Objective-C is there for those who can't *quite* commit to Smalltalk. COBOL is there for the clearly insane obsessive-compulsive.
Java is there for those who used to listen to marketing hype. C# is there for those who grew disillusioned with the old marketing hype, and who listened to the *new* marketing hype.
That's the great thing, even about sucky languages like Python. Everyone has their place.
Mine is INTERCAL.
Call me a cynic, but I'm inclined to think option #2 is closer to reality.
Either way, we're doomed.
Evolution is sufficently poorly characterised that it isn't very good at making predictions, and there aren't many new observations to test them on, so that trivial view of hypothesis doesn't work too well either.
Evolution is poorly characterised inasmuch as biology is poorly characterised. Worse, evolution is governed as much by chaos as it is by pure biology. And, there are many competing hypothesises... hypothesi... explanations about the processes of evolution-- punctuated equilibrium vs. gradual change, for example, though that debate seems to be dying down.
But, many of the predictions stemming from evolutionary theory *have* been proven out-- intron variance in geographically isolated populations, for instance.
The fossil record itself does not provide much in the way of evolutionary theory; all the interesting work is happening in microbiology. Like trying to piece together a treasure map from a few fragments of paper, the fossil record shows hints of clues, but does little otherwise.
If we come to try and make judgements about long-time-scale dynamic processes from point observations, we fall into the trap of blind inductionism. And that's not (good) science.
Evolution is worse than a "long-time-scale dynamic process"; it is a complex chaotic transient deep-time dynamic process. Unlike simple deep-time proceesses like those in geology, we have few clues in a fluid landscape.
To characterise evolutionary research as "blind inductionism" is rather simple, though. As noted, evolution leaves its mark in the oddest of places, our very DNA. The deep-time nature of evolution dictates certain outcomes, like the intron example above, or mitochondrial genetic drift to map related species.
Some of these things seem assumed, but the results are entirely consistent with evolution by natural selection. There is no other theory (most notably, special creation) that explains the evidence as well as evolution.
Induction is not the only tool available to modern evolutionists. Although there are few experiments per se, modern molecular biology holds a wealth of supporting evidence.
-Tony
This is why Douglas Adams is my God.
That's the funny bit. This *is* his real job. He gets paid for this.
I don't think many people are questioning the licensing-- you are right, if it's a real business, Ohio has the right to license the business and tax any income.
That's not at issue. What *is* at issue is the $50k and possible "apprenticeship" that goes along with it. Ohio doesn't do that to other retailers or direct sellers; why is it singling out ebay sellers?
Just like you can't put an Athlon into an Intel-socket, you can't use a rpm on debian.
.rpm && dpkg -i .deb
Just to pick nits here, but I have no trouble using RPMs on my debian box:
alien -d
Easy as pie.
Mmmm... pie.
Rather than being evil, Corporations provide a strong legal framework and represent one of the highest achievements of modern sophisticated society.
That's an excellent argument. Unfortunately, it sounds very much like the star-eyed idealism that makes communism sound good: "If we all work together, one for another, we can achieve great things." Looks good on paper, but it falls apart under the shear force am individual greed and selfishness.
Corporations as a charter granted by the people to perform specific tasks are good. Corporations with equal rights as individuals are bad. Like Frankenstein's monster, corporations have turned on those they were built to serve. How have they turned on us? Corporations make up the largest single block of money funding lobbyists and politicians. It is well-documented that the politician who spends the most money is most likely to get elected.
So, figure it out. Corporations and individuals representing corporations contribute the most money to political campaigns. And they don't do it simply because they want a particular candidate to win: they do it so that their particular candidate will win, and owe them a favor.
See this for more information. There's a lot more out there, too. Corporations in their current form are not the pinnacle of civilisation; they are a threat to democracy and liberty. Until we have divested them of their current legal status as protected individuals, and returned them to their former status as chartered entities, corporations, by their actions, tend to be evil.
(No, not all corporations are evil. But many tend to evil, such as those self-same airplane manufacturers, Starbucks, the pharmacuetical companies, the oil companies, and Wal*Mart.)
Does that mean I'm likely to pick up roadkill and eat it?
I've not used them (can't stand UML myself), but I've noticed that Eclipse has some UML tools. Try this, for instance.
Again, I have no idea about the quality of the plugin. Just one I've noticed along the way.
Not like it's ever happened before.
It's not a good thing when the state keeps secrets from its citizens, whether it forces an issue or not. If it disallows you from travelling, it is interfering with your life. There is no good reason to keep these regulations secret.
You mean this one?
The pilot wasn't a terrorist; he was suicidal. He just happened to take 216 others with him. At least, that is according to US investigators.
No amount of screening is going to fix those sorts of problems. Some people are just insane, either permanently, or temporarily (like this guy).
Todays predictions of a new media format through wikis and blogs are analagous to the flying cars and domed cities of the 50's.
The difference is, blogs and wikis are here, today, and not some sf prediction of the future.
Our ability to use them effectively might be a bit overrated, though. Like all the hype surrounding the Segway ("it'll transform cities!"), I think we underestimate the uselessness of the blog.
That last paragraph is just my opinion, of course. I could be really, really wrong.
Personally I would limit copyright to the lifetime of the authors + a couple of years (so dependents get time to adjust), and to make that work, eliminate non human copyright ownership, and copyright reasignment.
Excellent suggestion! But, then how do you handle communal works, or works done on contract for a company, such as software?
It's a complex subject. Very complex.
My suggestion: limit copyright to 100 years, and if a work goes out of print for more than 5 years, the copyright ends with it.
The vast majority of works affected by the Bono act have not been printed since the Bono act went into effect. If law would allow the copyright to expire due to disuse, we would have a much richer public domain, with no detriment to anyone at all. And, as long as Disney keeps pumping out copies of Steamboat Willy, Mickey Mouse will remain in copyright.
Not that this is a good solution, either. In this wired digital age, what constitutes "printing?" The simple availabilty for paid download?
Oh, well. I'd rather have a complex life than a simple one. I bore easily.