As a lot of the above posts say, you are thinking about HDCP, not HDMI. There is on copy protection built into HDMI, just like there is no copy protection built into DVDs. Copy protection can be added (HDCP for HDMI, CSS for DVDs), but it isn't required. The cables don't really matter. Even with HDCP, they don't do any decoding/encoding whatever. They are just glorified strips of metal with plastic insulation around them.
I disagree. The search bar (or whatever its proper name in) in Windows 7 is amazing. I can't tell you how many people's computers I have worked on that have so many things in their "Start->Programs" menu that you can't even see them all. Couple that with the fact that they don't resort them (and if you do, they can't find anything anymore and yell at you), I have spent many minutes hunting through the long list of programs to find the one I needed.
With the Windows 7 search, all I need to know is a little bit of the program name. I click the Start circle thing and just start typing. By the time I have two or three letters of the programs name typed in, it has shown up. If it is the top result, I can just hit enter and it will run. If not, I just click it from the short list of apps/files.
Maybe it is because I use a Linux desktop at work all day, mainly CLI stuff, but once I upgraded to Windows 7 and got this feature I couldn't stand to use XP anymore on my home machine. Vista tried to have the same thing, but their implementation was so horribly slow (at least last time I tried a Vista machine) that it was next to worthless. Windows 7 it great.
I always wonder how much they are losing on their cashback program. It wouldn't suprise me if the vendor shares some of the cost, but MS must be paying some of it as well. Sites like fatwallet and other deal sites constantly have threads on how to game the bing cashback system with the best keywords for the highest cashback amounts. I have never used bing as a search engine, but I have received over $450 in bing cashback for things that I would have purchased anyway (I got a lot of it from helping people purchase Dell computers and having them go through a bing cashback link to kind of pay me back for configuring the computer for them).
Anyway, I am sure there are many more people who have received more than me. I guess it helps them that they can claim greater click-through numbers, but if it wasn't for the 5%-20% back that sites offer, I wouldn't bother going to Bing in the first place. I wonder what is going to happen when they realize they can't keep paying out the large cashback amounts. I am sure their click-throughs will drop by half or more.
Although I agree with you in general, I think people tend to go too much to extremes on both sides of this issue. Yes, we know a lot about the human body, how it works, and we know how to do a lot of stuff to it, but there is still tons of stuff we don't know.
Even some of the stuff/treatments that we do "know" we don't really know what we are doing. As a real life example, I take generic Flonase for allergies. It is basically a steroid that you shoot in your nose. It works great and I am glad that someone figured out that it helps allergies.
One day, I decided to read the long, wordy leaflet that comes with the prescription (don't ask me why). Here is a direct qoute from the leaflet:
The precise mechanism through which fluticasone propionate affects allergic rhinitis symptoms is not known.
If you go on to read it all, basically, in fancy doctor terms, it says that through trials they found out that this stuff works for a majority of people at the recommendend dose, but they really don't know why. They also don't know if it will work long term. And this is just a steroid for allergies.
Again, I think the advances in medicine are great, but we shouldn't overrate them. I knew a guy a few years back who basically "knew" that in his lifetime (he was around 35 at the time, probably about 40 now) that we would have the medical techonolgy to live for ever. We would be able to either "reverse the aging process" and stop cells from dying, or at minimum, implant our consciousness in a robot of some sort. Anyway, it is good to keep in mind that a lot of medicine is still, in many cases, a lot of trial and error.
I have had it for a while now and things have been good. It has virtual account numbers like you wanted that you can set either a time limit, spending limit, or both on. It has basicially everything thing else in your list as well. You can even dispute charges online without having to call anyone (just finished this and the charge was reversed within 2 days without me having to talk to anyone on the phone).
It also does have pretty nice rewards anyway, fairly reasonable interest rates, and an interest rate that will drop by.75% after 3 months on-time payments. You can also set it up to auto-pay or "pay on demand" via ACH from your bank (enter your routing and account number). Anyway, I generally think of Citi as a pretty big corporate evil, but this card, so far, has been pretty good.
The quote is from book 7. In book 1, the goblins distrust and dislike of the wizards is discussed, but not their views of ownership, so in relation to this story at large, I guess that really come along until book 7. I was just pointing out that, in general goblins are present in the very first book. As a side note, I just found out that the goblin Griphook in the first move is played by mini-me, Verne Troyer.
by the time a goblin appears in the harry potter books, she was firmly entrenched in cultural superstar status and all the ip lawyering that involves
Goblins are in the first book (Harry Potter and the Sorcerers/Philosophers Stone). Harry goes with Hagrid to Gringotts on his 11th birthday to get some gold out of his vault and the sorcerers stone out of another vault. It is Griphook (the goblin that helps them break into Gringotts in book 7) that takes Harry to his vault in book 1.
OH WAIT--THIS ARTICLE IS NOT ABOUT RURAL TRANSPORTATION, WHICH EVERYBODY KNOWS IS DIFFERENT THAN COMMUTING IN MAJOR URBAN AREAS.
The problem is that this study is quite specific, somewhat flawed, and somewhat misleading. The first paragraph of the linked study states:
"Riding public transportation can save an individual an average of $8,691 a year based on the May 5, 2009 national average gas price and the unreserved monthly parking rate, according to the American Public Transportation Association (APTA)."
Nowhere in that statement do I see "individual that commutes in Major Urban Areas"
Maybe in the quote from the President of the APTA (the group that did the study) he will clarify:
"In these uncertain economic times, individuals are looking for ways to do more with less," said APTA President William W. Millar. "Riding public transportation is one way to immediately save a significant amount of money. You can save money and save the planet."
Nope, it still just the generic individuals.
I actually happen to live in a "Major Urban Area". I live in the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex which is the 9th largest by population in the US[1]. Now continuing on in the linked article, it claims that in Dallas, I should be able to save $8,364 per year. If you read the methodology of the study, however, you find that they simply took the cost for a monthly unlimited public transportation pass for the area vs. the 2009 AAA average cost of driving for the area. The problem with this is that it doesn't take into account the feasibility of using public transportation. From where I live, the nearest place to get on a train or a bus is about 15 miles, too far to walk in my opinion. From where I work to the nearest public transportation stop is again about 10 miles. Just so you don't think I live out in the country, my neighborhood has over 3,000 homes in it and my office is less than 10 miles from D/FW airport, one of the largest airports in the world. The problem is that we are too spread out here. Public transportation can't work. Sure, it is fine sometimes for getting around downtown, but you have to have a car. If you have to have a car, then maintenance, cost of the car, and insurance are going to be a factor no matter what. Gas and the extra wear and tear aren't as big as a difference as they make it out to be.
My major problem with this whole report, is that it makes somewhat sensationalist claims and really tells nobody anything. Once of the cities where the findings of this report are quite true is New York. I have had several friends that have moved from here to New York and one of the most common things I hear is how no one drives and most people don't own a car. They all use public transportation or possibly taxis. So it would seem, from my admittedly anecdotal evidence, that the people this affects the most, already knew and the rest likely can't do much about it anyway.
So to sum up, I would say
OH WAIT--THIS ARTICLE IS ABOUT SAVING MONEY USING PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION IN THE 5 CITIES IN THE US WHERE IT IS ACTUALLY FEASIBLE, WHICH EVERYBODY THAT LIVES THERE KNOWS ABOUT ANYWAY
While I would not want a patent lawyer defending me in criminal court, if I was arrested and the only lawyer I knew was a patent lawyer, I would call him and ask for help getting the right kind.
I would second this. I have a family friend that is a malpractice lawyer (defends doctors). Since I am not a doctor, I have no use for his services pretty much ever. Last year, however, my aunt died and we needed a probate lawyer, so we asked him. Sure enough, he knew several and even had one working in his firm. It seems to me that, much like doctors, most lawyers are specialists these days. The downside is that there is rarely no "one-size-fits-all" lawyer, but typically, if you can find even one lawyer your trust/like, then if you need something that is not in their specialty, they can recommend someone who does specialize in what you need.
I have Verizon Fios 10Mbps up / 2 Mbps down with no other services from them. They also do DSL without phone lines and the only thing you miss out on cost wise is that you start paying the "normal" price right away instead of a 6 month promo price that is then raised to the "normal" price. Of course, if you don't live in Verizon territory, this is completely meaningless.
Excuse me, I'm an American and I understand "gratis" perfectly, thank you very much.
I also understand "vrij", "libre", "frei", "libero" and "livre".
Despite what you may have heard, we Americans are not as unsophisticated as you might think. Even those of us that are Conservatives.
Sup bro, like uhh, don't listen to this guy and his fag talk. Us Amrikens don't talk like that. L8tr, gonna go get me some Brawndo and watch Ow my balls.
But other than that, every branch attached to Protestantism seems to...[think]...scientific theory is as theoretical as the theory that there are tunnels in the north and south pole that connect in the center of the earth
You have to love generalizations. I actually attended ACU and received my CS degree in 2003. There are many, many protestants out there that interpret the Genesis account of creation as more of a parable rather than scientific fact (basically it is to say God is in charge, not the means through which the universe came into being). I can specifically say that this view is widely held by all of the scientific faculty at ACU. I took astronomy as an elective and in class it was taught that the universe was 12-14 billion years old. Saying that all protestants think the Earth is only 6,000 years old is just like saying all Muslims are terrorists.
This isn't really a justification of their ridiculously high tuition fees, they have been perfecting that for years (I graduated from here in 2003). This is a new gimmick to get more people to attend, just like the fact that they switched the whole university email systems to Google apps a year or two ago (the first university to do so). I can almost guarantee you that the $150 technology fee that they charged when I attended just got upped by about $400 to offset this cost.
Apparently, just being first in the alphabetical list of colleges isn't cutting it anymore.
(I actually did like the school and think I received a good education, I just think it was/is overpriced).
You can't really "Tap the iphone" because of Yahoo, just possibly read unencrypted Yahoo mail. I really don't see what is different between this and somebody on a laptop using wireless to check their email through standard (unencrypted) pop and/or imap.
On another note, who really cares? If you are using a Yahoo account for super secret things (trade/industry secrets, government secrets, etc), then you are dumb. If you are using a Yahoo account to talk to your aunt Mabel and get the latest C1Al!5 spam like 99% of the people out there, then who cares if your mail can be read? The only thing I could see that an average person might get would be things regarding banking, online accounts, etc., but pretty much everyplace has strict policies against sending any important information (account numbers, passwords, SSN) through email because email is insecure.
Unfortunately the "license" epidemic is only growing. Interior Designers seriously are lobbying to government to require licenses for interior decorators...because think of how horrible it would be if your house wasn't sufficiently fabulous!
My wife is a licensed Interior Designer in Texas. In Texas, you cannot legally call yourself an interior designer unless you have a license, otherwise you are an interior decorator.
I will say, however, that many people's ideas of what an interior designer does are incorrect, mainly because of shows on HGTV. Most think it is picking out curtains, carpet, and paint colors, which, if that is all there was, I would completely agree that requiring licensing would be dumb.
In reality, a large majority of interior designers (like my wife) do corporate design. She spends most of her days laying out floor plans in AutoCAD. She has to worry about things like egress (make sure everyone can get out quickly and safely in case of a fire) and ADA (American's with Divisibilities Act) requirements, i.e. doors have to open certain ways, hallways have to be a certain width, etc. Yes, occasionally she does pick out fabric and flooring (color and materials), but mainly it is space planning and making sure spaces meed all required building codes.
Remember a little while back when that club caught on fire and so many people died because the door opened in instead of out? Well, it is likely that was an old building that didn't meet code, but things like that are what professional interior designers are trained to look out for. I, for one, would prefer to know that, especially when I am in a public place, some one with at least a little bit of training has made sure that I can get out pretty easily, without being trampled, in case of an emergency. Then again, I could just be biased.
I still don't really see why not admitting the satellites exist is censorship. What do we expect them to do? Publish when, where, and how each one will be launched, where it is in orbit, and what its function is? Obviously you can't hide a satellite, just like you can't fully hide any military base, but you can conceal the purpose so you don't if it is a laser from sky that can kill a person instantly, or just a decoy satellite that just beeps like sputnik. If you put enough of them up and assume that an enemy has a limited first strike capability (i.e. they can't shoot down all your satellites at once), then you increase your odds that your important ones might remain in case you get attacked (since they won't know exactly which ones to target and will just have to take educated guesses).
I am very opposed to the illegal wire taps, the constant invasion of privacy, and many other things that the government does, but I do think, in some cases, it is okay for the government to have secrets and for them to say "we can't talk about that" or "we don't know what you are talking about". Obviously finding that line, and making sure that a system of checks and balances stays in place so that things don't go to far is hard to do (we are screwing it up right now).
I had noticed the outage and think it may be a DNS issue. I guess I won't be buying anything today. Take a look at the whois output for amazon.com:
# whois amazon.com
Whois Server Version 2.0
Domain names in the.com and.net domains can now be registered
with many different competing registrars. Go to http://www.internic.net/
for detailed information.
Server Name: AMAZON.COM.ZZZZZ.GET.LAID.AT.WWW.SWINGINGCOMMUNITY.COM
IP Address: 69.41.185.219
Registrar: INNERWISE, INC. D/B/A ITSYOURDOMAIN.COM
Whois Server: whois.itsyourdomain.com
Referral URL: http://www.itsyourdomain.com/
Server Name: AMAZON.COM.MORE.INFO.AT.WWW.BEYONDWHOIS.COM
IP Address: 203.36.226.2
Registrar: TUCOWS INC.
Whois Server: whois.tucows.com
Referral URL: http://domainhelp.opensrs.net/
Server Name: AMAZON.COM.IS.N0T.AS.1337.AS.WWW.GULLI.COM
IP Address: 80.190.192.24
Registrar: EPAG DOMAINSERVICES GMBH
Whois Server: whois.enterprice.net
Referral URL: http://www.enterprice.net/
I wonder, though, how the creation of freaky-ass-bug-eyed aliens would fit into the "God created man is his own image" idea. Perhaps that God is so wacky and cool he can take on any shape?
Really, I have always thought the "in His own image" thing was taken way to literally. I don't really think God would give Himself a physical body like ours that is inferior to many animals in many ways (we are slower than cheetahs, can't see as well as eagles, can't swim like fish, etc.) Honestly if you get down to it, there are a lot of things that suck somewhat about our bodies (a quasi-flawed design that causes a large percentage to experience lower back pain, etc.). Obviously there are some who would say that God has a "perfect" human body that, since it isn't marred by sin, doesn't have the same flaws, but I honestly think the idea of God having a physical body is kind of silly. I mean, I can't even be in two places at once with my physical body, much less everywhere at once.
So it comes down to, what does "in His own image" mean? We like much of the creation story in Gensis, I think it is meant to be taken figuratively, not literally. We are set apart from the animals in that we have a conscience and free will. In this way, we are like God. We can basically do whatever we want, and reason about what we want to do. Although I am not a Catholic, I agree with their stance that it is completely possible for alien life to exist (although I think intelligent life, at least that we can/will find anytime soon, is unlikely for other scientific reasons). This alien life could even be "in His own image" as well, since it isn't really a physical appearance thing, and more of a soul/conscience thing.
This is a key phrase I think. If you step back at look at the intent laws of Deuteronomy, they are really mostly for the well being of the community at large (things like use the restroom outside of camp [Deut 23:12-13], etc.). This, in my interpretation, is more about someone who is in your community who is, to use a churchy phrase, sowing discord. It is basically someone who is going around trying to get you to do things you shouldn't and tempt you away from God. That person should be dealt with so they don't bring down the community. Is stoning a little harsh? Yes, but in those days, you couldn't just move the next suburb over and never see the guy again, or even really lock him up in jail since the Israelites at this time were basically nomads.
What is doesn't really say to me is that someone wants to go live somewhere else or follow someone else's rules that you should hunt them down and stone them. Basically, just let them go. In the case of a Jewish person converting to another religion, as I understand things (I am not Jewish, but Christian), the reaction from their friends and family would range from not much changing them to treating them as dead or gone depending on the sect of Judisim they belong to. On the other hand, to put it in more early Biblical context, a Jewish leader today isn't likely to search out people who have left the faith and shame them or anything else, they are simply gone. If a person converted, however, and kept coming to synagogue meetings regularly trying to convert the people there, they would probably take issue with it and try to stop the person through some means (although not likely stoning today).
So that's 38 Starbucks in one square mile? That's what it sounds like.
Actually, without exact locations/distances, the best you could assume is two square miles. Think of it this way, you are in the middle, there is one Starbucks 1 mile to the east, one Starbucks 1 mile to the west, one 1 mile to the north, and one 1 mile to the south. If you take these as being on the perimeter of your area, the distance from the "east" Starbucks to the "west" Starbucks is 2 miles (one mile to get to you and one mile from you to get to the other starbucks). That would give you a square with 2 mile sides.
I know you probably just meant to point out how ridiculous the concentration of Starbucks is, but after all this is slashdot where everyone wants to be "technically correct, which is the best kind of correct." (futurama quote)
Or also the fact that even on an entry level tennis will still cost you about $200 to get into- two rackets, plus some balls- assuming you even have a tennis court near you- I sure did not have one in walk/bicycle range. Its also kind of tough to play at night, or by yourself, etc. etc.
Although I agree that the OP is wrong (I'll get to that in a second), this seems like a little bit of an exaggeration for effect. If you are just getting into tennis, you don't need a $100 racket. My first racket cost $25. I now play regularly (at least once a week) and bought myself my "dream" racket (for me at least) after doing a lot of research on them and it still only cost $80 and I absolutely love it. Now if I was trying to enter tournaments and win every one, I might get a $100+ racket, but as a casual player (as I said once or twice a week with my dad or friends) I kind of view my $80 racket as a splurge even then. Balls cost $3-4 a can, so all together, assuming you have some kind of athletic shoes, you probably would need about $50-60 to get started. If you can convince a friend to start trying to play with you, then you only need about $30 since your friend can buy their own racket. Also, I am not sure where you live, but here in Texas at least (where football is king remember) just about every public high school has at least 1 or 2 courts at it that are free for anyone to play on (as long as the high school isn't currently having practice or a tournament). Also (again, this may be different in different states), pretty much everyone I know lives within bicycle range of a high school (some rides may be a little long admittedly). Lastly, most of those courts have lights that are on at least a couple of times a week and even have a plywood board with a net high line painted on it for practicing by yourself.
Now with all that said I haven't played in the past month due to the cold, wind, and rain (and remember I am in Texas). I have played tennis on my Wii though. So even though I normally play real tennis once a week, these last few weeks have had to be Wii tennis weeks due to the weather.
As for bowling, there are probably 3 or 4 bowling alleys left in my general area (close enough for me to consider driving to). They all fall into one of two categories, $20-25 per game per person (way too expensive IMHO) or a place where I fear getting shot/robbed/suffocated by smoking. I love bowling, but actual bowling alleys seem to have been in great decline lately and the ones left are either too expensive to go to a lot, or too scary to go to at all. I have loved having my Wii and getting to go bowling again, even if it is just a simulation.
I'm sure that people won't mind downloading them and it will save some $.
I disagree with this. I would mind downloading them and I am computer guy/nerd/whatever. I don't want to sit in an uncomfortable office chair in front of a PC to watch a movie for 2-3 hours. I have already setup my TV, DVD Player, Surround Sound, etc. so I can sit on my comfy couch to watch movies. I also don't want to have to either purchase fancy speakers, etc for my PC (I don't play games, so I have no real need for them) and I don't want to have the hassle of trying to hook a PC up to my TV. Although I know all it would take would be a few cables and it isn't that hard to change the video source, I would have to have the following:
1. A PC to hook up to the TV (assuming I don't want to move mine from my desk in my home office)
2. Either a video card with an S-Video out or a TV with a VGA input
3. A way to make sure the PC was quite, but wouldn't overheat and could fit in my TV cabinet and still look nice (so my Interior Designer wife wouldn't freak out about the computer sitting on the floor next to the TV)
4. A wireless card for the PC, since I use a wired connection right now because my DSL modem/router is right by my PC and there is no cable run to where the TV is.
5. Some sort of remote for the PC, since there is no real good surface that is convenient and/or close by to use a mouse (assuming I had a wireless one) on.
Sure, I could watch it on my computer, but I just don't like it and feel that (other than here on slashdot) I am not in the minority. I also, like most people (again other than those on slashdot) don't have a media center type PC hooked up to my main living room TV. I know how to do I, and could do it, but it is a lot of hassle and expense when I can just rent/buy dvd's and put them in my already connected DVD player (that, by the way, I don't have to worry about security updates, blue screens, Linux configuration files, hard drive failures, etc.). Maybe as the media pc "appliances" become more common, this will become more of a reality, but I think right now, most people just don't want to watch a downloaded movie. (and don't even get me started on the likely DRM issues that would come with such a service)
Slashdot Mirror
As a lot of the above posts say, you are thinking about HDCP, not HDMI. There is on copy protection built into HDMI, just like there is no copy protection built into DVDs. Copy protection can be added (HDCP for HDMI, CSS for DVDs), but it isn't required. The cables don't really matter. Even with HDCP, they don't do any decoding/encoding whatever. They are just glorified strips of metal with plastic insulation around them.
I disagree. The search bar (or whatever its proper name in) in Windows 7 is amazing. I can't tell you how many people's computers I have worked on that have so many things in their "Start->Programs" menu that you can't even see them all. Couple that with the fact that they don't resort them (and if you do, they can't find anything anymore and yell at you), I have spent many minutes hunting through the long list of programs to find the one I needed.
With the Windows 7 search, all I need to know is a little bit of the program name. I click the Start circle thing and just start typing. By the time I have two or three letters of the programs name typed in, it has shown up. If it is the top result, I can just hit enter and it will run. If not, I just click it from the short list of apps/files.
Maybe it is because I use a Linux desktop at work all day, mainly CLI stuff, but once I upgraded to Windows 7 and got this feature I couldn't stand to use XP anymore on my home machine. Vista tried to have the same thing, but their implementation was so horribly slow (at least last time I tried a Vista machine) that it was next to worthless. Windows 7 it great.
Try this: http://discovermagazine.com/2010/mar/07-dr-drank-broth-gave-ulcer-solved-medical-mystery
I always wonder how much they are losing on their cashback program. It wouldn't suprise me if the vendor shares some of the cost, but MS must be paying some of it as well. Sites like fatwallet and other deal sites constantly have threads on how to game the bing cashback system with the best keywords for the highest cashback amounts. I have never used bing as a search engine, but I have received over $450 in bing cashback for things that I would have purchased anyway (I got a lot of it from helping people purchase Dell computers and having them go through a bing cashback link to kind of pay me back for configuring the computer for them).
Anyway, I am sure there are many more people who have received more than me. I guess it helps them that they can claim greater click-through numbers, but if it wasn't for the 5%-20% back that sites offer, I wouldn't bother going to Bing in the first place. I wonder what is going to happen when they realize they can't keep paying out the large cashback amounts. I am sure their click-throughs will drop by half or more.
Although I agree with you in general, I think people tend to go too much to extremes on both sides of this issue. Yes, we know a lot about the human body, how it works, and we know how to do a lot of stuff to it, but there is still tons of stuff we don't know.
Even some of the stuff/treatments that we do "know" we don't really know what we are doing. As a real life example, I take generic Flonase for allergies. It is basically a steroid that you shoot in your nose. It works great and I am glad that someone figured out that it helps allergies.
One day, I decided to read the long, wordy leaflet that comes with the prescription (don't ask me why). Here is a direct qoute from the leaflet:
The precise mechanism through which fluticasone propionate affects allergic rhinitis symptoms is not known.
Here is the complete leaflet in PDF form if you are interested: http://us.gsk.com/products/assets/us_flonase.pdf
If you go on to read it all, basically, in fancy doctor terms, it says that through trials they found out that this stuff works for a majority of people at the recommendend dose, but they really don't know why. They also don't know if it will work long term. And this is just a steroid for allergies.
Again, I think the advances in medicine are great, but we shouldn't overrate them. I knew a guy a few years back who basically "knew" that in his lifetime (he was around 35 at the time, probably about 40 now) that we would have the medical techonolgy to live for ever. We would be able to either "reverse the aging process" and stop cells from dying, or at minimum, implant our consciousness in a robot of some sort. Anyway, it is good to keep in mind that a lot of medicine is still, in many cases, a lot of trial and error.
I would recommend the Citi Forward Card:
.75% after 3 months on-time payments. You can also set it up to auto-pay or "pay on demand" via ACH from your bank (enter your routing and account number). Anyway, I generally think of Citi as a pretty big corporate evil, but this card, so far, has been pretty good.
http://creditcards.citicards.com/usc/citiforward/single/external/affiliates/Q309/rewards/default.htm?app=UNSOL&app_COL=COLLEGE&sc=46EZA3U9&sc_COL=4CECA3T9&m=90J600000ZW&langId=EN&siteId=CB&B=V&screenID=3124&link=Consumer_15687859&ProspectID=94A073FC70EB478AB75EF008227CD425
I have had it for a while now and things have been good. It has virtual account numbers like you wanted that you can set either a time limit, spending limit, or both on. It has basicially everything thing else in your list as well. You can even dispute charges online without having to call anyone (just finished this and the charge was reversed within 2 days without me having to talk to anyone on the phone). It also does have pretty nice rewards anyway, fairly reasonable interest rates, and an interest rate that will drop by
The quote is from book 7. In book 1, the goblins distrust and dislike of the wizards is discussed, but not their views of ownership, so in relation to this story at large, I guess that really come along until book 7. I was just pointing out that, in general goblins are present in the very first book. As a side note, I just found out that the goblin Griphook in the first move is played by mini-me, Verne Troyer.
by the time a goblin appears in the harry potter books, she was firmly entrenched in cultural superstar status and all the ip lawyering that involves
Goblins are in the first book (Harry Potter and the Sorcerers/Philosophers Stone). Harry goes with Hagrid to Gringotts on his 11th birthday to get some gold out of his vault and the sorcerers stone out of another vault. It is Griphook (the goblin that helps them break into Gringotts in book 7) that takes Harry to his vault in book 1.
I think this is the link you are looking for: Google Apps for School
OH WAIT--THIS ARTICLE IS NOT ABOUT RURAL TRANSPORTATION, WHICH EVERYBODY KNOWS IS DIFFERENT THAN COMMUTING IN MAJOR URBAN AREAS.
The problem is that this study is quite specific, somewhat flawed, and somewhat misleading. The first paragraph of the linked study states:
"Riding public transportation can save an individual an average of $8,691 a year based on the May 5, 2009 national average gas price and the unreserved monthly parking rate, according to the American Public Transportation Association (APTA)."
Nowhere in that statement do I see "individual that commutes in Major Urban Areas"
Maybe in the quote from the President of the APTA (the group that did the study) he will clarify:
"In these uncertain economic times, individuals are looking for ways to do more with less," said APTA President William W. Millar. "Riding public transportation is one way to immediately save a significant amount of money. You can save money and save the planet."
Nope, it still just the generic individuals.
I actually happen to live in a "Major Urban Area". I live in the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex which is the 9th largest by population in the US[1]. Now continuing on in the linked article, it claims that in Dallas, I should be able to save $8,364 per year. If you read the methodology of the study, however, you find that they simply took the cost for a monthly unlimited public transportation pass for the area vs. the 2009 AAA average cost of driving for the area. The problem with this is that it doesn't take into account the feasibility of using public transportation. From where I live, the nearest place to get on a train or a bus is about 15 miles, too far to walk in my opinion. From where I work to the nearest public transportation stop is again about 10 miles. Just so you don't think I live out in the country, my neighborhood has over 3,000 homes in it and my office is less than 10 miles from D/FW airport, one of the largest airports in the world. The problem is that we are too spread out here. Public transportation can't work. Sure, it is fine sometimes for getting around downtown, but you have to have a car. If you have to have a car, then maintenance, cost of the car, and insurance are going to be a factor no matter what. Gas and the extra wear and tear aren't as big as a difference as they make it out to be.
My major problem with this whole report, is that it makes somewhat sensationalist claims and really tells nobody anything. Once of the cities where the findings of this report are quite true is New York. I have had several friends that have moved from here to New York and one of the most common things I hear is how no one drives and most people don't own a car. They all use public transportation or possibly taxis. So it would seem, from my admittedly anecdotal evidence, that the people this affects the most, already knew and the rest likely can't do much about it anyway.
So to sum up, I would say
OH WAIT--THIS ARTICLE IS ABOUT SAVING MONEY USING PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION IN THE 5 CITIES IN THE US WHERE IT IS ACTUALLY FEASIBLE, WHICH EVERYBODY THAT LIVES THERE KNOWS ABOUT ANYWAY
[1] http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0884087.html
While I would not want a patent lawyer defending me in criminal court, if I was arrested and the only lawyer I knew was a patent lawyer, I would call him and ask for help getting the right kind.
I would second this. I have a family friend that is a malpractice lawyer (defends doctors). Since I am not a doctor, I have no use for his services pretty much ever. Last year, however, my aunt died and we needed a probate lawyer, so we asked him. Sure enough, he knew several and even had one working in his firm. It seems to me that, much like doctors, most lawyers are specialists these days. The downside is that there is rarely no "one-size-fits-all" lawyer, but typically, if you can find even one lawyer your trust/like, then if you need something that is not in their specialty, they can recommend someone who does specialize in what you need.
I have Verizon Fios 10Mbps up / 2 Mbps down with no other services from them. They also do DSL without phone lines and the only thing you miss out on cost wise is that you start paying the "normal" price right away instead of a 6 month promo price that is then raised to the "normal" price. Of course, if you don't live in Verizon territory, this is completely meaningless.
Excuse me, I'm an American and I understand "gratis" perfectly, thank you very much.
I also understand "vrij", "libre", "frei", "libero" and "livre".
Despite what you may have heard, we Americans are not as unsophisticated as you might think. Even those of us that are Conservatives.
Sup bro, like uhh, don't listen to this guy and his fag talk. Us Amrikens don't talk like that. L8tr, gonna go get me some Brawndo and watch Ow my balls.
Brought to you by Carls Jr.
But other than that, every branch attached to Protestantism seems to...[think]...scientific theory is as theoretical as the theory that there are tunnels in the north and south pole that connect in the center of the earth
You have to love generalizations. I actually attended ACU and received my CS degree in 2003. There are many, many protestants out there that interpret the Genesis account of creation as more of a parable rather than scientific fact (basically it is to say God is in charge, not the means through which the universe came into being). I can specifically say that this view is widely held by all of the scientific faculty at ACU. I took astronomy as an elective and in class it was taught that the universe was 12-14 billion years old. Saying that all protestants think the Earth is only 6,000 years old is just like saying all Muslims are terrorists.
This isn't really a justification of their ridiculously high tuition fees, they have been perfecting that for years (I graduated from here in 2003). This is a new gimmick to get more people to attend, just like the fact that they switched the whole university email systems to Google apps a year or two ago (the first university to do so). I can almost guarantee you that the $150 technology fee that they charged when I attended just got upped by about $400 to offset this cost.
Apparently, just being first in the alphabetical list of colleges isn't cutting it anymore.
(I actually did like the school and think I received a good education, I just think it was/is overpriced).
You can't really "Tap the iphone" because of Yahoo, just possibly read unencrypted Yahoo mail. I really don't see what is different between this and somebody on a laptop using wireless to check their email through standard (unencrypted) pop and/or imap. On another note, who really cares? If you are using a Yahoo account for super secret things (trade/industry secrets, government secrets, etc), then you are dumb. If you are using a Yahoo account to talk to your aunt Mabel and get the latest C1Al!5 spam like 99% of the people out there, then who cares if your mail can be read? The only thing I could see that an average person might get would be things regarding banking, online accounts, etc., but pretty much everyplace has strict policies against sending any important information (account numbers, passwords, SSN) through email because email is insecure.
Unfortunately the "license" epidemic is only growing. Interior Designers seriously are lobbying to government to require licenses for interior decorators...because think of how horrible it would be if your house wasn't sufficiently fabulous!
My wife is a licensed Interior Designer in Texas. In Texas, you cannot legally call yourself an interior designer unless you have a license, otherwise you are an interior decorator.
I will say, however, that many people's ideas of what an interior designer does are incorrect, mainly because of shows on HGTV. Most think it is picking out curtains, carpet, and paint colors, which, if that is all there was, I would completely agree that requiring licensing would be dumb.
In reality, a large majority of interior designers (like my wife) do corporate design. She spends most of her days laying out floor plans in AutoCAD. She has to worry about things like egress (make sure everyone can get out quickly and safely in case of a fire) and ADA (American's with Divisibilities Act) requirements, i.e. doors have to open certain ways, hallways have to be a certain width, etc. Yes, occasionally she does pick out fabric and flooring (color and materials), but mainly it is space planning and making sure spaces meed all required building codes.
Remember a little while back when that club caught on fire and so many people died because the door opened in instead of out? Well, it is likely that was an old building that didn't meet code, but things like that are what professional interior designers are trained to look out for. I, for one, would prefer to know that, especially when I am in a public place, some one with at least a little bit of training has made sure that I can get out pretty easily, without being trampled, in case of an emergency. Then again, I could just be biased.
I still don't really see why not admitting the satellites exist is censorship. What do we expect them to do? Publish when, where, and how each one will be launched, where it is in orbit, and what its function is? Obviously you can't hide a satellite, just like you can't fully hide any military base, but you can conceal the purpose so you don't if it is a laser from sky that can kill a person instantly, or just a decoy satellite that just beeps like sputnik. If you put enough of them up and assume that an enemy has a limited first strike capability (i.e. they can't shoot down all your satellites at once), then you increase your odds that your important ones might remain in case you get attacked (since they won't know exactly which ones to target and will just have to take educated guesses).
I am very opposed to the illegal wire taps, the constant invasion of privacy, and many other things that the government does, but I do think, in some cases, it is okay for the government to have secrets and for them to say "we can't talk about that" or "we don't know what you are talking about". Obviously finding that line, and making sure that a system of checks and balances stays in place so that things don't go to far is hard to do (we are screwing it up right now).
# whois amazon.com
Whois Server Version 2.0
Domain names in the
with many different competing registrars. Go to http://www.internic.net/
for detailed information.
Server Name: AMAZON.COM.ZZZZZ.GET.LAID.AT.WWW.SWINGINGCOMMUNITY.COM
IP Address: 69.41.185.219
Registrar: INNERWISE, INC. D/B/A ITSYOURDOMAIN.COM
Whois Server: whois.itsyourdomain.com
Referral URL: http://www.itsyourdomain.com/
Server Name: AMAZON.COM.MORE.INFO.AT.WWW.BEYONDWHOIS.COM
IP Address: 203.36.226.2
Registrar: TUCOWS INC.
Whois Server: whois.tucows.com
Referral URL: http://domainhelp.opensrs.net/
Server Name: AMAZON.COM.IS.N0T.AS.1337.AS.WWW.GULLI.COM
IP Address: 80.190.192.24
Registrar: EPAG DOMAINSERVICES GMBH
Whois Server: whois.enterprice.net
Referral URL: http://www.enterprice.net/
Domain Name: AMAZON.COM
Registrar: NETWORK SOLUTIONS, LLC.
Whois Server: whois.networksolutions.com
Referral URL: http://www.networksolutions.com/
Name Server: UDNS1.ULTRADNS.NET
Name Server: UDNS2.ULTRADNS.NET
Status: clientDeleteProhibited
Status: clientTransferProhibited
Status: clientUpdateProhibited
Updated Date: 28-mar-2008
Creation Date: 01-nov-1994
Expiration Date: 31-oct-2017
>>> Last update of whois database: Fri, 06 Jun 2008 15:26:07 EDT
Really, I have always thought the "in His own image" thing was taken way to literally. I don't really think God would give Himself a physical body like ours that is inferior to many animals in many ways (we are slower than cheetahs, can't see as well as eagles, can't swim like fish, etc.) Honestly if you get down to it, there are a lot of things that suck somewhat about our bodies (a quasi-flawed design that causes a large percentage to experience lower back pain, etc.). Obviously there are some who would say that God has a "perfect" human body that, since it isn't marred by sin, doesn't have the same flaws, but I honestly think the idea of God having a physical body is kind of silly. I mean, I can't even be in two places at once with my physical body, much less everywhere at once.
So it comes down to, what does "in His own image" mean? We like much of the creation story in Gensis, I think it is meant to be taken figuratively, not literally. We are set apart from the animals in that we have a conscience and free will. In this way, we are like God. We can basically do whatever we want, and reason about what we want to do. Although I am not a Catholic, I agree with their stance that it is completely possible for alien life to exist (although I think intelligent life, at least that we can/will find anytime soon, is unlikely for other scientific reasons). This alien life could even be "in His own image" as well, since it isn't really a physical appearance thing, and more of a soul/conscience thing.
This is a key phrase I think. If you step back at look at the intent laws of Deuteronomy, they are really mostly for the well being of the community at large (things like use the restroom outside of camp [Deut 23:12-13], etc.). This, in my interpretation, is more about someone who is in your community who is, to use a churchy phrase, sowing discord. It is basically someone who is going around trying to get you to do things you shouldn't and tempt you away from God. That person should be dealt with so they don't bring down the community. Is stoning a little harsh? Yes, but in those days, you couldn't just move the next suburb over and never see the guy again, or even really lock him up in jail since the Israelites at this time were basically nomads.
What is doesn't really say to me is that someone wants to go live somewhere else or follow someone else's rules that you should hunt them down and stone them. Basically, just let them go. In the case of a Jewish person converting to another religion, as I understand things (I am not Jewish, but Christian), the reaction from their friends and family would range from not much changing them to treating them as dead or gone depending on the sect of Judisim they belong to. On the other hand, to put it in more early Biblical context, a Jewish leader today isn't likely to search out people who have left the faith and shame them or anything else, they are simply gone. If a person converted, however, and kept coming to synagogue meetings regularly trying to convert the people there, they would probably take issue with it and try to stop the person through some means (although not likely stoning today).
And let the bad analogies begin!
You know, this is kind of like leaving the keys to your car....
Actually, without exact locations/distances, the best you could assume is two square miles. Think of it this way, you are in the middle, there is one Starbucks 1 mile to the east, one Starbucks 1 mile to the west, one 1 mile to the north, and one 1 mile to the south. If you take these as being on the perimeter of your area, the distance from the "east" Starbucks to the "west" Starbucks is 2 miles (one mile to get to you and one mile from you to get to the other starbucks). That would give you a square with 2 mile sides.
I know you probably just meant to point out how ridiculous the concentration of Starbucks is, but after all this is slashdot where everyone wants to be "technically correct, which is the best kind of correct." (futurama quote)
Although I agree that the OP is wrong (I'll get to that in a second), this seems like a little bit of an exaggeration for effect. If you are just getting into tennis, you don't need a $100 racket. My first racket cost $25. I now play regularly (at least once a week) and bought myself my "dream" racket (for me at least) after doing a lot of research on them and it still only cost $80 and I absolutely love it. Now if I was trying to enter tournaments and win every one, I might get a $100+ racket, but as a casual player (as I said once or twice a week with my dad or friends) I kind of view my $80 racket as a splurge even then. Balls cost $3-4 a can, so all together, assuming you have some kind of athletic shoes, you probably would need about $50-60 to get started. If you can convince a friend to start trying to play with you, then you only need about $30 since your friend can buy their own racket. Also, I am not sure where you live, but here in Texas at least (where football is king remember) just about every public high school has at least 1 or 2 courts at it that are free for anyone to play on (as long as the high school isn't currently having practice or a tournament). Also (again, this may be different in different states), pretty much everyone I know lives within bicycle range of a high school (some rides may be a little long admittedly). Lastly, most of those courts have lights that are on at least a couple of times a week and even have a plywood board with a net high line painted on it for practicing by yourself.
Now with all that said I haven't played in the past month due to the cold, wind, and rain (and remember I am in Texas). I have played tennis on my Wii though. So even though I normally play real tennis once a week, these last few weeks have had to be Wii tennis weeks due to the weather.
As for bowling, there are probably 3 or 4 bowling alleys left in my general area (close enough for me to consider driving to). They all fall into one of two categories, $20-25 per game per person (way too expensive IMHO) or a place where I fear getting shot/robbed/suffocated by smoking. I love bowling, but actual bowling alleys seem to have been in great decline lately and the ones left are either too expensive to go to a lot, or too scary to go to at all. I have loved having my Wii and getting to go bowling again, even if it is just a simulation.
I disagree with this. I would mind downloading them and I am computer guy/nerd/whatever. I don't want to sit in an uncomfortable office chair in front of a PC to watch a movie for 2-3 hours. I have already setup my TV, DVD Player, Surround Sound, etc. so I can sit on my comfy couch to watch movies. I also don't want to have to either purchase fancy speakers, etc for my PC (I don't play games, so I have no real need for them) and I don't want to have the hassle of trying to hook a PC up to my TV. Although I know all it would take would be a few cables and it isn't that hard to change the video source, I would have to have the following:
1. A PC to hook up to the TV (assuming I don't want to move mine from my desk in my home office)
2. Either a video card with an S-Video out or a TV with a VGA input
3. A way to make sure the PC was quite, but wouldn't overheat and could fit in my TV cabinet and still look nice (so my Interior Designer wife wouldn't freak out about the computer sitting on the floor next to the TV)
4. A wireless card for the PC, since I use a wired connection right now because my DSL modem/router is right by my PC and there is no cable run to where the TV is.
5. Some sort of remote for the PC, since there is no real good surface that is convenient and/or close by to use a mouse (assuming I had a wireless one) on.
Sure, I could watch it on my computer, but I just don't like it and feel that (other than here on slashdot) I am not in the minority. I also, like most people (again other than those on slashdot) don't have a media center type PC hooked up to my main living room TV. I know how to do I, and could do it, but it is a lot of hassle and expense when I can just rent/buy dvd's and put them in my already connected DVD player (that, by the way, I don't have to worry about security updates, blue screens, Linux configuration files, hard drive failures, etc.). Maybe as the media pc "appliances" become more common, this will become more of a reality, but I think right now, most people just don't want to watch a downloaded movie. (and don't even get me started on the likely DRM issues that would come with such a service)