I find that very hard to believe. I'm a Canadian and travel to the U.S. several times per year. It has never happened to me, and I've never heard of it happening to anyone that I know.
????
This question is on the declaration form you fill out every time you fly to the USA from Canada.
If airlines who give more legroom end up getting more custom because of it then this will hopefully influence companies in the end. But it's never quite as simple as that...
You're right - It never is. Exactly the *opposite* happens. The market has shown time and time again that if you give the flying public an option between 1) a cheaper ticket or 2) legroom they'll pick a cheaper ticket every time. People just are not willing to complain about lack of comfort. They might complain when they board and sit down, but next time they'll pick that same airline again.
Re:This list is for shit...
on
Top 50 DVDs
·
· Score: 1
There are also a ton of other classic movies that should be here and aren't
Sigh. To get on the list the movie had to have lots of nifty DVD-stuff, sound, great transfer, lots of extras, new scenes etc. Hence the inclusion of The Goonies and the exclusion of The Ususal Suspects.
Bah! My first computer used a cassette to load programs (at about 300 baud, I think). Eventually, we got a single floppy for it (single sided, what's that, 180K?)
180K?!? Luxury!! We used to have to get out of the lake at three o'clock in the morning, clean the lake, eat a handful of hot gravel, go to work at the mill every day for tuppence a month, come home, and Dad would beat us around the head and neck with a broken bottle, if we were LUCKY!
firstly it was a genuine problem with many back-end financial (and other) systems that had a huge amount of effort and expense spent on them and were fixed, invisibly (to the general public) thanks to a great effort by many in the IT industry. Secondly it was an over-hyped problem that was never really going to affect desktop PC's and the like, which was over-sold to the public and never materialised.
So you pay over $13 dollars for 4 hours of relaxing in a tropical environment
Not a fair comparison as the locals are paid in euros and paying in euros. A better comparison is how many hours an average German has to work in order to relax inside this bubble.
"Terrorists hate freedom" is just bushite propaganda. Terrorists want freedom.
Just like the Taliban wanted their women the freedom to vote and wanted their little girls the freedom to go to school, and oh yeah, they were very keen on religious freedoms.
The upper house is the Senate, which consists of a bunch of unelected old fogies who ratify legislation passed by the House of Commons
This is a common misconception. The Canadian Senate does a heck of a lot, including a LOT of valuable committee work. Sure they are Senators who abuse the system, but there are a lot of hard-working ones too. Here's a good summary I found on the web:
----
Examining and revising legislation, investigating national issues and representing regional, provincial and minority interests - these are important functions in a modern democracy. They are also the duties of Canada's Senate. Senators represent; investigate; deliberate; and legislate.
At the Quebec Conference of 1864, the Canadian founders of Confederation worked out a blueprint for the Constitution of the new country. The founders were convinced that Canada's Parliament would need two houses to make sure that legislation received careful consideration. They gave the Senate legislative powers similar to those of the House of Commons, but anticipated a very different role for it. The Senate was to be, in the words of Canada's first Prime Minister, Sir John A. Macdonald, a place of "sober second thought".
The founders spelled out the constitution and responsibilities of Parliament, and of the Senate within Parliament, in the law they called the British North America Act. We now call that law the Constitution Act, 1867.
Today, Canada's Senate consists of 105 senators from a wide variety of backgrounds and from every province and territory. Its membership is about one-third the size of that of the House of Commons, and it operates at about one-fifth of the cost.
Senators consult in their home provinces and throughout Canada and then gather in Ottawa in order to make their contribution to Canada's governance.
Canada's Senate is made up of men and women with a wide range of career experience. Scan the ranks of the Senate and you will find business people, lawyers, teachers, surgeons, aboriginal leaders and journalists. Other senators have experience in fields such as agriculture, the environment, manufacturing, the oil and gas and fishing industries, unions, economics, police and military work, and, of course, federal, provincial and municipal politics. With this expertise, senators can get to the heart of complex bills and committee investigations. They understand the issues, focus on the key points and can respond to the needs of the people and organizations affected.
Former cabinet ministers, senior civil servants, provincial premiers and party leaders bring an understanding of law-making and the business of government to the Senate.
For example: in 1983 a special committee of the Senate examined a bill to create a Canadian Security Intelligence Service. The Chair's previous experience as Clerk of the Privy Council had given him expertise in security matters. The committee recommended so many changes that the House of Commons withdrew the bill and rewrote it. The House of Commons and the Senate then passed the new bill which incorporated the improvements initiated by Senators.
Increasingly, the Senate reflects our multicultural society. Senators come from many different ethnic backgrounds and religions. Canada's aboriginal First Nations and Black communities are represented in the Senate, as are Canadians of Arab, Greek, Italian, Jewish, Ukrainian and other origins.
The founders of Confederation wanted senators to have extensive experience before reaching the Senate and so restricted membership to persons 30 years of age or more. In order to let them gain parliamentary experience, senators were given lifetime appointments. In 1965, Parliament introduced retirement at age 75, based upon the model for judges. In 1997, the average age in the Senate was 64, compared to about 52 in the Commons. A complete changeover in Senate membership takes place about every 17 years. This continuity creates a kind of long-term institutional memory. Senators can track issues over time, form lasting working relationships and develop a thorough understanding of Parliament.
I fondly remember the Meccano clock kit I built when I was a kid. I even remember the way I stuck the numbers on crookedly on the clock face. The weight was a cylinder filled with old nuts, IIRC.
I would personally not care to receive an e-mail after two years from someone who wants to ask me something about a post that would be obsolete by then
I completely disagree. Every so often I get a email from someone who googlegrouped me up asking me if I'd managed to solve problem XYZ back in 1998. If the problem's been solved I'm happy to help. It's all good usenet karma.
>as has the ability to deep link to a single post.
You can still deep-link, but it's a pain. If you click the "options button" in a post in a thread then "show original" you wind up with a URL to a single post.
Nothing beats the convenience of good ol' analog VHS. For example, a weekly program in my VCR tapes 'The West Wing.' If I'm not home Wednesday night I end up with a copy anyway. If I want to watch it in the bedroom I pop the tape out and watch it there - If I want to watch it with my girlfriend I pop the tape in her machine at her place. When I'm done I just rewind and tape something else over it. No burning, no hassle.
Sorry... I wasn't clear. I wasn't saying that's how teleporters claimed to work in the Star Trek world... I was saying that that's how the author of the book suggested a teleporter might actually work if you could ever build the thing (i.e. "Star Trek teleporters can't work the way they describe but here's one model"), if you could ever get past the whole "building something out of atoms" business (not to mention the vaporizing the person part.)
Remember, most of the time there's no receiving station.
However, they do use a receiving station when one's available... Not sure if it's just polite or if there's a real reason, i.e. slightly safer.
I completely understand these attitudes - Software makers, even after 20+ years, can't seem to make these basic tasks easy for people. Why the heck should you have to go to school? Copy and paste? Oops wanted to paste an address, but along with the address I've pasted the margins from the other doc too now my doc is all buggered up! Clear printer spool? cancel cancel cancel cancel Print job is still there... Reboot. Print job is still there. IPConfig? There isn't even a desktop icon for "Refresh network settings..." you've got to "go to DOS." Email attachments? No warning that says "Hey do you really want to send this 4 meg JPG to aunt Mabel on her dialup connection?"
Stop blaming the users and start blaming the people who make the software.
[Insert generic comment about how those people should use macs instead here.]
YES! Now I can own that same model cell phone Gordon Gecko used on his beach front property in the movie Wall Street! I've been waiting to use a cell phone just like that!
Enter +brick +motorola into eBay, get yourself a phone and activate it on your favourite analog network. Presto, welcome to 1986.
Actually the problem with "outlawing" guns is the same as England faces (they have that law): Only the bad guys have guns!
Right, but if there are generally fewer guns in circulation then it's harder for "petty criminals" to get their hands on them. In Canada there are fewer gun crimes simply because your average petty thief has a harder time getting a gun.
Exactly. What most slashdotters fail to realize is CD-R/RW technology is too hard to use for many users. I just did some tech support over the weekend for someone who is very computer illiterate. Floppy? Put it in, click "save as" click A: and type the file name. CD? Well, umm... open Nero and format so you can drag and drop... wait um no these are CD-Rs you bought have to burn those. Burn? Like in a fire... No wait... what I mean is... Nothing has yet emerged that is as easy to use as the floppy.
Wireless internet? You've got to be kidding! All this talk of Wi-Fi on planes drives me CRAZY. In economy class on most airlines I can't even open a paperback book with the seat in front of me reclined. Laptop? Forget it! Maybe a Wi-Fi PDA would work, but I think most people will be sorely disappointed when they try to use the internet in-flight, only to discover they can't even open their laptop.
Slashdot Mirror
????
This question is on the declaration form you fill out every time you fly to the USA from Canada.
Bigger than The Plywood Pelican??!! http://www.snpp.com/episodes/FABF16
You're right - It never is. Exactly the *opposite* happens. The market has shown time and time again that if you give the flying public an option between 1) a cheaper ticket or 2) legroom they'll pick a cheaper ticket every time. People just are not willing to complain about lack of comfort. They might complain when they board and sit down, but next time they'll pick that same airline again.
http://www.bartleby.com/61/24/G0202400.html
Sigh. To get on the list the movie had to have lots of nifty DVD-stuff, sound, great transfer, lots of extras, new scenes etc. Hence the inclusion of The Goonies and the exclusion of The Ususal Suspects.
Indeed. According to the site, Average user is 1000+ per day!
180K?!? Luxury!! We used to have to get out of the lake at three o'clock in the morning, clean the lake, eat a handful of hot gravel, go to work at the mill every day for tuppence a month, come home, and Dad would beat us around the head and neck with a broken bottle, if we were LUCKY!
http://ayup.co.uk/laugh/laugh0.html
Bingo! Hit the nail on the head.
Not a fair comparison as the locals are paid in euros and paying in euros. A better comparison is how many hours an average German has to work in order to relax inside this bubble.
PS Isn't $13 dollars redundant?
Just like the Taliban wanted their women the freedom to vote and wanted their little girls the freedom to go to school, and oh yeah, they were very keen on religious freedoms.
NOT.
This is a common misconception. The Canadian Senate does a heck of a lot, including a LOT of valuable committee work. Sure they are Senators who abuse the system, but there are a lot of hard-working ones too. Here's a good summary I found on the web:
----
Examining and revising legislation, investigating national issues and representing regional, provincial and minority interests - these are important functions in a modern democracy. They are also the duties of Canada's Senate. Senators represent; investigate; deliberate; and legislate.
At the Quebec Conference of 1864, the Canadian founders of Confederation worked out a blueprint for the Constitution of the new country. The founders were convinced that Canada's Parliament would need two houses to make sure that legislation received careful consideration. They gave the Senate legislative powers similar to those of the House of Commons, but anticipated a very different role for it. The Senate was to be, in the words of Canada's first Prime Minister, Sir John A. Macdonald, a place of "sober second thought".
The founders spelled out the constitution and responsibilities of Parliament, and of the Senate within Parliament, in the law they called the British North America Act. We now call that law the Constitution Act, 1867.
Today, Canada's Senate consists of 105 senators from a wide variety of backgrounds and from every province and territory. Its membership is about one-third the size of that of the House of Commons, and it operates at about one-fifth of the cost.
Senators consult in their home provinces and throughout Canada and then gather in Ottawa in order to make their contribution to Canada's governance.
Canada's Senate is made up of men and women with a wide range of career experience. Scan the ranks of the Senate and you will find business people, lawyers, teachers, surgeons, aboriginal leaders and journalists. Other senators have experience in fields such as agriculture, the environment, manufacturing, the oil and gas and fishing industries, unions, economics, police and military work, and, of course, federal, provincial and municipal politics. With this expertise, senators can get to the heart of complex bills and committee investigations. They understand the issues, focus on the key points and can respond to the needs of the people and organizations affected.
Former cabinet ministers, senior civil servants, provincial premiers and party leaders bring an understanding of law-making and the business of government to the Senate.
For example: in 1983 a special committee of the Senate examined a bill to create a Canadian Security Intelligence Service. The Chair's previous experience as Clerk of the Privy Council had given him expertise in security matters. The committee recommended so many changes that the House of Commons withdrew the bill and rewrote it. The House of Commons and the Senate then passed the new bill which incorporated the improvements initiated by Senators.
Increasingly, the Senate reflects our multicultural society. Senators come from many different ethnic backgrounds and religions. Canada's aboriginal First Nations and Black communities are represented in the Senate, as are Canadians of Arab, Greek, Italian, Jewish, Ukrainian and other origins.
The founders of Confederation wanted senators to have extensive experience before reaching the Senate and so restricted membership to persons 30 years of age or more. In order to let them gain parliamentary experience, senators were given lifetime appointments. In 1965, Parliament introduced retirement at age 75, based upon the model for judges. In 1997, the average age in the Senate was 64, compared to about 52 in the Commons. A complete changeover in Senate membership takes place about every 17 years. This continuity creates a kind of long-term institutional memory. Senators can track issues over time, form lasting working relationships and develop a thorough understanding of Parliament.
I fondly remember the Meccano clock kit I built when I was a kid. I even remember the way I stuck the numbers on crookedly on the clock face. The weight was a cylinder filled with old nuts, IIRC.
I completely disagree. Every so often I get a email from someone who googlegrouped me up asking me if I'd managed to solve problem XYZ back in 1998. If the problem's been solved I'm happy to help. It's all good usenet karma.
You can still deep-link, but it's a pain. If you click the "options button" in a post in a thread then "show original" you wind up with a URL to a single post.
Nothing beats the convenience of good ol' analog VHS. For example, a weekly program in my VCR tapes 'The West Wing.' If I'm not home Wednesday night I end up with a copy anyway. If I want to watch it in the bedroom I pop the tape out and watch it there - If I want to watch it with my girlfriend I pop the tape in her machine at her place. When I'm done I just rewind and tape something else over it. No burning, no hassle.
http://www.army.lv/photos/3996.jpg
Looks like something from The Thunderbirds!
Sorry... I wasn't clear. I wasn't saying that's how teleporters claimed to work in the Star Trek world... I was saying that that's how the author of the book suggested a teleporter might actually work if you could ever build the thing (i.e. "Star Trek teleporters can't work the way they describe but here's one model"), if you could ever get past the whole "building something out of atoms" business (not to mention the vaporizing the person part.)
Remember, most of the time there's no receiving station.
However, they do use a receiving station when one's available... Not sure if it's just polite or if there's a real reason, i.e. slightly safer.
1) Scan you down to the atomic level
2) Transmit the billions of petabytes of data to the receiving station
3) Rebuild you from the atomic level-up from the transmitted data
4) Confirm you'd been built correctly
5) Vaporize or otherwise annihilate the source person
Apparently it was step 5 that might be contentious.
I completely understand these attitudes - Software makers, even after 20+ years, can't seem to make these basic tasks easy for people. Why the heck should you have to go to school? Copy and paste? Oops wanted to paste an address, but along with the address I've pasted the margins from the other doc too now my doc is all buggered up! Clear printer spool? cancel cancel cancel cancel Print job is still there... Reboot. Print job is still there. IPConfig? There isn't even a desktop icon for "Refresh network settings..." you've got to "go to DOS." Email attachments? No warning that says "Hey do you really want to send this 4 meg JPG to aunt Mabel on her dialup connection?"
Stop blaming the users and start blaming the people who make the software.
[Insert generic comment about how those people should use macs instead here.]
Enter +brick +motorola into eBay, get yourself a phone and activate it on your favourite analog network. Presto, welcome to 1986.
Right, but if there are generally fewer guns in circulation then it's harder for "petty criminals" to get their hands on them. In Canada there are fewer gun crimes simply because your average petty thief has a harder time getting a gun.
Exactly. What most slashdotters fail to realize is CD-R/RW technology is too hard to use for many users. I just did some tech support over the weekend for someone who is very computer illiterate. Floppy? Put it in, click "save as" click A: and type the file name. CD? Well, umm... open Nero and format so you can drag and drop... wait um no these are CD-Rs you bought have to burn those. Burn? Like in a fire... No wait... what I mean is... Nothing has yet emerged that is as easy to use as the floppy.
Wireless internet? You've got to be kidding! All this talk of Wi-Fi on planes drives me CRAZY. In economy class on most airlines I can't even open a paperback book with the seat in front of me reclined. Laptop? Forget it! Maybe a Wi-Fi PDA would work, but I think most people will be sorely disappointed when they try to use the internet in-flight, only to discover they can't even open their laptop.
...Let's not forget about 'The Flying Car': http://viewaskew.com/tv/leno/flyingcar.html