You don't kick the 15 year old drug dealer out of school to help him. You kick the 15 year old drug dealer out of school so the other 1,000 kids can go to school without having a 15 year old trying to sell them drugs.
Punishments are often not to reform the transgressor, but to protect the targets
Unfortunately, "protecting the targets" would be better served by education, not by removal of the current source. As long as there are kids in the school who are interested in getting high, there will be kids in the school who are interested in selling it. Similarly, you don't cure a disease by covering up the symptoms of that disease. Giving morphine to a terminal patient might take their pain away, but the cause of that pain will go right on killing them.
I think Margaret Wertheim has been reading a bit too many Gibson novels.:-)
This might be considered off topic by some, but if you look carefully, it is actually right on topic.
Ever noticed how the Gibson books seem to progress toward a living matrix? Like at the end of Neuromancer Case is talking to the AI and it says it has BECOME the net. And he even sees a little ghost of himself walking around in the matrix with Neuromancer and Linda Lee. Ok.. now in Virtual Light, there's the character (Security Guard with all the allergies whose name escapes me) who grew up in a trailer park that believes that God is in the TV. (Neuromancer?) In Idoru we have the "walled city" which is a virtual community created out of a shared killfile (with the help of Neuromancer?) There are other examples in his other books, but it's too early for me to recall them.
Is god in the net? Well, philosophically speaking, yes. The Christian, Muslim & Hindu gods are generally looked at as being omnipotent (all powerful) and omnipresent (everywhere at once) and of course omniscient (all knowing). How could this be? Hindu philosophy suggests that GOD (a symbol) exists in each of us. If so, anywhere we project our consciousness (including when we place our awareness "online") there GOD (still a symbol) is.
In that sense, "heaven" is merely the place where our spirit comes to contentment and bliss. Heaven is really just a state of mind, not a place you go when you die. Most humans live in a state of mind called "hell" because they choose to focus on the negatives.
If you project your anger and fear and self-loathing onto the web, then it will be just as dark and dirty and unwholesome as you believe it will be.
If you project your good will and positive thoughts onto the web you just might find it heavenly.
(and that goes for any other kind of internal or external interaction)
If you want to be happy, think happy thoughts, and the world around you will get more and more beautiful.
If you want to be angry, think selfish, angry thoughts, and the world around you will get uglier and uglier.
But try listening to your mp3s in your garage and your computer is 2 floors above you. I don't know about you, but my computer wont play that loud.
That's because you don't have 250 watt monitor speakers and a 500 watt powered amplifier hooked up to your computer the way *I* do...
of course, the neighbors complained and so we ended up spending a grand on soundproofing and insulation, but now I can go down and crank up my bass at 2 in the AM and be assured that nobody outside of the recording studio will hear anything louder than the sounds of a tv playing quietly in the next room.
The question is, If I choose to do what I want to do, should my government be stopping me? The answer is yes, if what you are doing can hurt someone else.
Ok. In the above (For the reader's reference) the first italicized statement was a question posed to the respondent, and the emboldened area is his response... to which I reply:
Can anyone be hurt by your drug-free usage of a motor vehicle?
Can anyone be hurt by a electricity in the home?
Can anyone be hurt by sleeping too much?
Can anyone be hurt by sleeping too little?
Can anyone be hurt by eating too much?
Can anyone be hurt by eating too little?
Can anyone be hurt by flying on a plane?
Can anyone be hurt by participating in sports?
Can anyone be hurt by exercising too much?
Can anyone be hurt by exercising too infrequently?
(the answer to any of the above questions is a resounding "YES!" What do you propose we do about these other hotbed, crisis situations?
But I think you can also attest to the fact that many people, when they start down a path, will continue to follow that path and with drug use, when a person starts with less addictive drugs like Pot or LSD, they often "try out" the more harmful drugs, because of the people they are around, the dealers they work with, and that can lead to other things.
FYI - Most people here could chime in gleefully that their "First" drug was probably in the form of a beer sneaked to them by their Father/Uncle/Brother/Mother when they were 5 or 6. If there is such a thing as a "gateway drug" it is much more likely to be caffiene, alcohol or nicotine, than to be LSD or marijuana.
The first drug I used was alcohol, followed by a few months of cigarette smoking (i didn't inhale). That was when I was 12 or so. My next incidence of drug usage was not until I was 19... and I used LSD. Since that time (i'm now 25) I have escalated my drug usage to.... pot.
I still don't drink or smoke cigarettes, I don't use cocaine or heroin or any other drugs... just pot and LSD.
Where's my gateway?
(Or is it just POSSIBLE that the CHOICE lies with the INDIVIDUAL, rather than the SUBSTANCE?)
What I was saying is that drug use affects people's lives in a negative way - nothing more, nothing less.
If you want to live an unhappy, unproductive life, that's fucking fine with me. But don't tell me that doesn't affect the people around you in a negative way.
What the other posters have been trying to point out to you (subtly and not so-subtly) is that ANY ACTIVITY can have both positive and negative effects on the lives of the people around you. Be it drug usage, mountain climbing or driving a car.
If you want to be a total psychotic asshole, that's fucking fine with me. But don't tell me that it doesn't affect the people around you in a negative way.
It depends which sects you ask. Many Christians, however, would say that God controls everything (and therefore, in a sense, wrote all the books).
Using the above as my starting point, wouldn't it be more realistic to say that any power that the devil has is power granted him from God? (Since god controls everything, and therefore, in a sense, controls the devil too.)
-----------------------
In the beginning was GOD and VOID.
(Genesis, first creation myth)
From what was everything created?
God or Void?
If you say void, then everything that exists is really NOTHING (since it was created from nothing.)
If you say God, then everything that exists is really GOD (since it was created from GOD, who is infinate, who has no beginning nor end.)
Since it makes less sense to believe that everything was created from nothing, it stands to reason that "the devil" is really just another aspect of GOD himself. As am I. As are you. As is this chair.
At least I'm not a complete moron.:) Try reading the words I type and then applying a little common sense and REASON... and see if you can't discern just a little tiny piece of what my *POINT* was.
The FBI exist to protect people like me from people like you. I like that.
So what'choo goan do when dey come fo' you?
Seriously. What happens when you let a government steadily encroach on the rights of its citizenship? The end result is a police state, where thinking against the party line (see the USSR about 10 years ago) is punished swiftly, severely and in many cases, permanently. Once that happens, what will *YOU* do if the people who make it into power don't follow *YOUR* ideology? What will you do when *YOUR* private activities become the "problem?"
Carnivore really sucks. That is, if you are not a good, honest, positive, can-do, hard-working person.
I'm a good, honest, positive, can-do, hard-working person. I also smoke marijuana in my free time. Unfortunately, this small act which causes large amounts of personal satisfaction (and stress relief from all that can-do, hard-working) is considered to be criminal behavior by the powers that be -- Not because of its inherent dangers. Not because of damage it does -- but because it is politically viable to keep it this way.
As a morally upstanding individual, how do I reconcile my own desire to pursue my right of freedom and happiness with the desire of my government to be my mommy?
I don't want the government looking over my shoulder no matter what. It's not what they are or aren't doing with the system now, but the potential for abuse that has most of us up in arms.
Just out of curiosity, would you consider using a stolen credit card number to make purchases "stealing from a bank"? I would... Although I admit that the card holder is often the one held responsible so the bank can cover its ass.
FYI - At least in the US, you can't be held liable beyond the first $50.00 if someone gets ahold of your credit card and charges up a bunch of stuff. Your credit card company will try to make you feel like it's all your fault and you better pay, but this is intimidation that has no strength you don't give it.
Do you ever wash your hands? Every time you apply soap, you're killing millions of bacteria. Odds are that some activity in your daily life ultimately results in the death of some animal (even if you're a vegan). I, personally, draw the line at humans. That is, if you're human, you have a fundamental right to live. Otherwise, it's nice, but I won't worry about it. If another animal is proven to be sentient, then I'll include it
I agree with you to a point, right up the part in bold, actually. I do my best not to cause ANY lifeform undue harm, death or suffering. I can't stop the fact that my breathing/washing/walking is destroying millions of bacteria, but I *CAN* pick up the bug on my floor with a little piece of paper and deposit him on the front lawn, rather than smashing him with my shoe or squishing him up in a tissue.
As far as sentience in animals...
I have witnessed both cats and dogs execute "planned" activity. One example would be along these lines:
Two dogs that live together with the same "master" are both given a treat at the same time. The first one gobbles up his treat in a few moments, while the second is taking her time in eating. The first dog runs to the window and begins barking loudly. The second dog drops her treat and also runs to the window to bark. At this point, the first dog stops barking and goes over and munches her treat.
He had a plan and he used it to deceive another for his own benefit. Sounds like sentience to me.
FYI, I have all but about 10 episodes of The Simpsons on VCD, so I've seen them all. I have a good understanding of how the show has progressed over the years.
I figured I'd pop in to say that I'd be willing to pay a reasonable fee for good quality, stereo VHS recordings of all/most of the episodes. Anybody feel like dubbing off their collection for some cash?
So far I've heard 2 applications:
1) popsicles
2) MRI scan models (presumably colored with different flavors of popsicle base)
I read down about 80-100 posts and didn't see anyone else mention this, so I'm back to address it for you.
The biggest use for such technology (which is mentioned in the article, btw) would be something along the following:
You need to build a cast of something for mass reproduction. Currently, you create some sort of solid prototype shape and then cast it and then find a way to cut your cast apart which can alter and distort the way the mold works. By having your original prototypical shape created out of ice, you can create your cast and then just wait a couple of hours for the ice to melt and have your flawless, non-distorted cast.
Nothing like a new emulator for your old computer to remind you that those old games you thought were so fun, really were pretty quirky.
Some of them were, admittedly, pretty quirky, and many many of them were downright lame. It's pretty much the same with any form of entertainment... the past obscures all but the brightest examples of the past (both good and bad) and leaves you with the impression that "in the good old days, games/movies/music was much higher quality than it is today."
That's the myth anyway. The truth of the matter is that while the 70's had some really great bands (Jimi Hendrix, Led Zeppelin) that we still remember and revere today, it also had plenty of fly-by-night Britney Spears-style one-hit wonders who have faded out of memory.
Same with games. There will always be many made each year and only a small percentage of them will be successful and of that group, only a small percentage will stand the test of time.
For going on 5 years now I've been saying that somebody should remake the old Electronic Arts game Mail Order Monsters using a Quake-like rendering engine during the monster battle scenes. Or do something similar with Archon II.
(And if somebody does do it, please let me know.)
-The Reverend (I am not a Nazi nor a Troll)
Re:Family values are inverse of technological valu
on
Trigger Happy
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· Score: 3
Now, how many people who spend a lot of time on the net, or even the computer, are being told by their parents to come out and watch TV with them? When computers are actualy promoting an interactive medium of entertainment, much better then vegetating.
I don't know about you, but I got heavily into online bulliten boards (aka BBS) about 13 years ago. I used to spend most of my "tv time" in my bedroom, alone, logged onto various WWIV and Renegade boards reading and responding to posts... (which made slashdot a natural choice for me when BBSing started to die out)... anyway, the point is, I was repeatedly accused of being "addicted" to my computer, though I always argued that interactivity with other people's thoughts was a much more productive use of my time than watching ESPN (which is what my family spends most of their leisure time doing.)
My parents went so far in those days as to physically sever the cable from my monitor so that I had to splice it back together (in secret) whenever I wanted to logon.... or disabling the phone lines in our house. (I ran a 30 foot phone cable over to the neighbor's box.) Eventually, they got over it and let me be.
Now, years later, I'm out on my own, still relatively "obsessed" with computers, and the only real difference is that now, my parents are online too, so they can check email & sports stats while they're watching espn.
Besides, would you actually have time to play with a 32 processor Alpha if you had NP wearing only a trenchcoat/smile and a Lamborghini? Hmm.
Of course he would... Natalie would only be able to distract him for what? 30 seconds? 2 1/2 minutes? And then as soon as it was over (for him, not her) there'd be that temptation to go for a drive or boot up the Alpha...
I don't feel any incentive to vote this election. Furthermore, I don't want to take part of the blame for putting either of the two frontrunning bozos into office.:p
So you figure that by doing absolutely NOTHING you're keeping yourself blame free? So sorry, it doesn't work that way. By not voting, you are implicitely stating that you're quite happy with the current system. The big guys WANT YOUR VOTE. But if they can have your TOTAL INDIFFERENCE, well, hey! That's just as good! That way the only people voting will be the ones who are buying into the current flawed two-party system and it will guarantee that not only will they win THIS election, but they'll win the NEXT one too. (Keep in mind that there is virtually no difference between Democratic & Republican government.)
Similarly, I heard a lot of stuff about "throwing your vote away on Perot" 8 years ago. If more people "throw their votes away" this time, perhaps we'll have something resembling a true democracy by the time the next 8 years have rolled around.
(Government and your participation in it requires long-term preperation and commitment, not one-time ballot stamping.)
but hell, there is plenty of anecdotal evidence that the 'Psychic Friends Network' can really tell you if you significant other is cheating on you.
Hey, don't believe the hype! Everybody knows that the REAL money is on Miss Cleo's Psychic Tarot phone readings! Miss Cleo wouldn't lie to you.. she has a pseudo-Jamaican accent!
Well, since Wicca is really just a modern invention, much like Scientology, a lot of us (most of us) don't have a lot of sympathy for it.
2000 years ago, Christianity was a modern invention. At that time Earth Mother religions were going strong and had been for many thousands of years previous. Just because wicca has been underground during YOUR lifetime doesn't mean it's the new kid on the block. And regardless of any particular religion's age or number of followers, freedom of religion exists to protect the rights of ALL citizens, not just the narrow minded and bandwagon jumpers.
That being said, I'm not Christian (in the religious sense) OR Wiccan.
"The two real political parties in America are the winners and the losers. The people refuse to acknowledge this. They claim allegiance in two imaginary parties, the Republicans and the Democrats, instead." -Kurt Vonnegutt, Jr.
The above is a quote I've had on nothinghead.com for going on two years now. Speaks volumes as to the current and continuing state of US politics.
They're simply extremely lazy people and don't want to work, so I have to pay for them.
THanks for being alert. In answer to your question, I have apparently been singled out by at least one moderately annoying (and mildly retarded) troll. His latest escalation seems to be that he's going to post as my alter-ego (John_Profit) and attempt to be even more annoying than he was when he started calling me a nazi.
They're simply extremely lazy people and don't want to work, so I have to pay for them.
If you think they have it so good and you're tired of footing the bill -- nobody is stopping you from joining them and becoming homeless yourself. I'm sure you'll agree that it would be the SMARTEST possible choice, since you get to have the occassional meal at the free soup kitchen and get to sleep in those oh-so-glamorous cardboard boxes under the freeway. There's a space reserved for you today! Don't be late!
And to be perfectly frank with you I don't have a huge amount of sympathy for those people, I had to live on an extremely low amount of my entire life until I started pulling money for myself. I don't believe this is simply because I am different to them, it comes down to effort. I am currently a little uncertain about this though, I don't know if all men really were created equal anymore, I am beginning to lose faith in that.
The majority of street people (in the US) are those who have psychological or physiological problems that prevent them from working. (I.e. the crazies and the cripples) Some of the rest are also the MAJOR drug addicts & runaway children. There IS a small percentage of homeless people who are just like you and could work if they wanted to, but they are vastly in the minority.
Slashdot Mirror
You don't kick the 15 year old drug dealer out of school to help him. You kick the 15 year old drug dealer out of school so the other 1,000 kids can go to school without having a 15 year old trying to sell them drugs.
Punishments are often not to reform the transgressor, but to protect the targets
Unfortunately, "protecting the targets" would be better served by education, not by removal of the current source. As long as there are kids in the school who are interested in getting high, there will be kids in the school who are interested in selling it. Similarly, you don't cure a disease by covering up the symptoms of that disease. Giving morphine to a terminal patient might take their pain away, but the cause of that pain will go right on killing them.
-The Reverend (I am not a Nazi nor a Troll)
I think Margaret Wertheim has been reading a bit too many Gibson novels. :-)
This might be considered off topic by some, but if you look carefully, it is actually right on topic.
Ever noticed how the Gibson books seem to progress toward a living matrix? Like at the end of Neuromancer Case is talking to the AI and it says it has BECOME the net. And he even sees a little ghost of himself walking around in the matrix with Neuromancer and Linda Lee. Ok.. now in Virtual Light, there's the character (Security Guard with all the allergies whose name escapes me) who grew up in a trailer park that believes that God is in the TV. (Neuromancer?) In Idoru we have the "walled city" which is a virtual community created out of a shared killfile (with the help of Neuromancer?) There are other examples in his other books, but it's too early for me to recall them.
Is god in the net? Well, philosophically speaking, yes. The Christian, Muslim & Hindu gods are generally looked at as being omnipotent (all powerful) and omnipresent (everywhere at once) and of course omniscient (all knowing). How could this be? Hindu philosophy suggests that GOD (a symbol) exists in each of us. If so, anywhere we project our consciousness (including when we place our awareness "online") there GOD (still a symbol) is.
In that sense, "heaven" is merely the place where our spirit comes to contentment and bliss. Heaven is really just a state of mind, not a place you go when you die. Most humans live in a state of mind called "hell" because they choose to focus on the negatives.
If you project your anger and fear and self-loathing onto the web, then it will be just as dark and dirty and unwholesome as you believe it will be.
If you project your good will and positive thoughts onto the web you just might find it heavenly.
(and that goes for any other kind of internal or external interaction)
If you want to be happy, think happy thoughts, and the world around you will get more and more beautiful.
If you want to be angry, think selfish, angry thoughts, and the world around you will get uglier and uglier.
-The Reverend (I am not a Nazi nor a Troll)
500 watt powered amplifier
So sorry. a powered amplifier is completely redundant. I meant powered subwoofer.
-The Reverend (I am not a Nazi nor a Troll)
But try listening to your mp3s in your garage and your computer is 2 floors above you. I don't know about you, but my computer wont play that loud.
That's because you don't have 250 watt monitor speakers and a 500 watt powered amplifier hooked up to your computer the way *I* do...
of course, the neighbors complained and so we ended up spending a grand on soundproofing and insulation, but now I can go down and crank up my bass at 2 in the AM and be assured that nobody outside of the recording studio will hear anything louder than the sounds of a tv playing quietly in the next room.
-The Reverend (I am not a Nazi nor a Troll)
The question is, If I choose to do what I want to do, should my government be stopping me?
The answer is yes, if what you are doing can hurt someone else.
Ok. In the above (For the reader's reference) the first italicized statement was a question posed to the respondent, and the emboldened area is his response... to which I reply:
Can anyone be hurt by your drug-free usage of a motor vehicle?
Can anyone be hurt by a electricity in the home?
Can anyone be hurt by sleeping too much?
Can anyone be hurt by sleeping too little?
Can anyone be hurt by eating too much?
Can anyone be hurt by eating too little?
Can anyone be hurt by flying on a plane?
Can anyone be hurt by participating in sports?
Can anyone be hurt by exercising too much?
Can anyone be hurt by exercising too infrequently?
(the answer to any of the above questions is a resounding "YES!" What do you propose we do about these other hotbed, crisis situations?
-The Reverend (I am not a Nazi nor a Troll)
But I think you can also attest to the fact that many people, when they start down a path, will continue to follow that path and with drug use, when a person starts with less addictive drugs like Pot or LSD, they often "try out" the more harmful drugs, because of the people they are around, the dealers they work with, and that can lead to other things.
FYI - Most people here could chime in gleefully that their "First" drug was probably in the form of a beer sneaked to them by their Father/Uncle/Brother/Mother when they were 5 or 6. If there is such a thing as a "gateway drug" it is much more likely to be caffiene, alcohol or nicotine, than to be LSD or marijuana.
The first drug I used was alcohol, followed by a few months of cigarette smoking (i didn't inhale). That was when I was 12 or so. My next incidence of drug usage was not until I was 19... and I used LSD. Since that time (i'm now 25) I have escalated my drug usage to.... pot.
I still don't drink or smoke cigarettes, I don't use cocaine or heroin or any other drugs... just pot and LSD.
Where's my gateway?
(Or is it just POSSIBLE that the CHOICE lies with the INDIVIDUAL, rather than the SUBSTANCE?)
-The Reverend (I am not a Nazi nor a Troll)
What I was saying is that drug use affects people's lives in a negative way - nothing more, nothing less.
If you want to live an unhappy, unproductive life, that's fucking fine with me. But don't tell me that doesn't affect the people around you in a negative way.
What the other posters have been trying to point out to you (subtly and not so-subtly) is that ANY ACTIVITY can have both positive and negative effects on the lives of the people around you. Be it drug usage, mountain climbing or driving a car.
If you want to be a total psychotic asshole, that's fucking fine with me. But don't tell me that it doesn't affect the people around you in a negative way.
-The Reverend (I am not a Nazi nor a Troll)
It depends which sects you ask. Many Christians, however, would say that God controls everything (and therefore, in a sense, wrote all the books).
Using the above as my starting point, wouldn't it be more realistic to say that any power that the devil has is power granted him from God? (Since god controls everything, and therefore, in a sense, controls the devil too.)
-----------------------
In the beginning was GOD and VOID.
(Genesis, first creation myth)
From what was everything created?
God or Void?
If you say void, then everything that exists is really NOTHING (since it was created from nothing.)
If you say God, then everything that exists is really GOD (since it was created from GOD, who is infinate, who has no beginning nor end.)
Since it makes less sense to believe that everything was created from nothing, it stands to reason that "the devil" is really just another aspect of GOD himself. As am I. As are you. As is this chair.
-The Reverend (I am not a Nazi nor a Troll)
At least I'm not a complete moron. :) Try reading the words I type and then applying a little common sense and REASON... and see if you can't discern just a little tiny piece of what my *POINT* was.
Thank you, drive through.
-The Reverend (I am not a Nazi nor a Troll)
The FBI exist to protect people like me from people like you. I like that.
So what'choo goan do when dey come fo' you?
Seriously. What happens when you let a government steadily encroach on the rights of its citizenship? The end result is a police state, where thinking against the party line (see the USSR about 10 years ago) is punished swiftly, severely and in many cases, permanently. Once that happens, what will *YOU* do if the people who make it into power don't follow *YOUR* ideology? What will you do when *YOUR* private activities become the "problem?"
-The Reverend (I am not a Nazi nor a Troll)
Carnivore really sucks. That is, if you are not a good, honest, positive, can-do, hard-working person.
I'm a good, honest, positive, can-do, hard-working person. I also smoke marijuana in my free time. Unfortunately, this small act which causes large amounts of personal satisfaction (and stress relief from all that can-do, hard-working) is considered to be criminal behavior by the powers that be -- Not because of its inherent dangers. Not because of damage it does -- but because it is politically viable to keep it this way.
As a morally upstanding individual, how do I reconcile my own desire to pursue my right of freedom and happiness with the desire of my government to be my mommy?
I don't want the government looking over my shoulder no matter what. It's not what they are or aren't doing with the system now, but the potential for abuse that has most of us up in arms.
-The Reverend (I am not a Nazi nor a Troll)
Just out of curiosity, would you consider using a stolen credit card number to make purchases "stealing from a bank"? I would... Although I admit that the card holder is often the one held responsible so the bank can cover its ass.
FYI - At least in the US, you can't be held liable beyond the first $50.00 if someone gets ahold of your credit card and charges up a bunch of stuff. Your credit card company will try to make you feel like it's all your fault and you better pay, but this is intimidation that has no strength you don't give it.
-The Reverend (I am not a Nazi nor a Troll)
Do you ever wash your hands? Every time you apply soap, you're killing millions of bacteria. Odds are that some activity in your daily life ultimately results in the death of some animal (even if you're a vegan). I, personally, draw the line at humans. That is, if you're human, you have a fundamental right to live. Otherwise, it's nice, but I won't worry about it. If another animal is proven to be sentient, then I'll include it
I agree with you to a point, right up the part in bold, actually. I do my best not to cause ANY lifeform undue harm, death or suffering. I can't stop the fact that my breathing/washing/walking is destroying millions of bacteria, but I *CAN* pick up the bug on my floor with a little piece of paper and deposit him on the front lawn, rather than smashing him with my shoe or squishing him up in a tissue.
As far as sentience in animals...
I have witnessed both cats and dogs execute "planned" activity. One example would be along these lines:
Two dogs that live together with the same "master" are both given a treat at the same time. The first one gobbles up his treat in a few moments, while the second is taking her time in eating. The first dog runs to the window and begins barking loudly. The second dog drops her treat and also runs to the window to bark. At this point, the first dog stops barking and goes over and munches her treat.
He had a plan and he used it to deceive another for his own benefit. Sounds like sentience to me.
-The Reverend (I am not a Nazi nor a Troll)
FYI, I have all but about 10 episodes of The Simpsons on VCD, so I've seen them all. I have a good understanding of how the show has progressed over the years.
I figured I'd pop in to say that I'd be willing to pay a reasonable fee for good quality, stereo VHS recordings of all/most of the episodes. Anybody feel like dubbing off their collection for some cash?
-The Reverend (I am not a Nazi nor a Troll)
So far I've heard 2 applications:
1) popsicles
2) MRI scan models (presumably colored with different flavors of popsicle base)
I read down about 80-100 posts and didn't see anyone else mention this, so I'm back to address it for you.
The biggest use for such technology (which is mentioned in the article, btw) would be something along the following:
You need to build a cast of something for mass reproduction. Currently, you create some sort of solid prototype shape and then cast it and then find a way to cut your cast apart which can alter and distort the way the mold works. By having your original prototypical shape created out of ice, you can create your cast and then just wait a couple of hours for the ice to melt and have your flawless, non-distorted cast.
-The Reverend (I am not a Nazi nor a Troll)
Nothing like a new emulator for your old computer to remind you that those old games you thought were so fun, really were pretty quirky.
Some of them were, admittedly, pretty quirky, and many many of them were downright lame. It's pretty much the same with any form of entertainment... the past obscures all but the brightest examples of the past (both good and bad) and leaves you with the impression that "in the good old days, games/movies/music was much higher quality than it is today."
That's the myth anyway. The truth of the matter is that while the 70's had some really great bands (Jimi Hendrix, Led Zeppelin) that we still remember and revere today, it also had plenty of fly-by-night Britney Spears-style one-hit wonders who have faded out of memory.
Same with games. There will always be many made each year and only a small percentage of them will be successful and of that group, only a small percentage will stand the test of time.
For going on 5 years now I've been saying that somebody should remake the old Electronic Arts game Mail Order Monsters using a Quake-like rendering engine during the monster battle scenes. Or do something similar with Archon II.
(And if somebody does do it, please let me know.)
-The Reverend (I am not a Nazi nor a Troll)
Now, how many people who spend a lot of time on the net, or even the computer, are being told by their parents to come out and watch TV with them? When computers are actualy promoting an interactive medium of entertainment, much better then vegetating.
I don't know about you, but I got heavily into online bulliten boards (aka BBS) about 13 years ago. I used to spend most of my "tv time" in my bedroom, alone, logged onto various WWIV and Renegade boards reading and responding to posts... (which made slashdot a natural choice for me when BBSing started to die out)... anyway, the point is, I was repeatedly accused of being "addicted" to my computer, though I always argued that interactivity with other people's thoughts was a much more productive use of my time than watching ESPN (which is what my family spends most of their leisure time doing.)
My parents went so far in those days as to physically sever the cable from my monitor so that I had to splice it back together (in secret) whenever I wanted to logon.... or disabling the phone lines in our house. (I ran a 30 foot phone cable over to the neighbor's box.) Eventually, they got over it and let me be.
Now, years later, I'm out on my own, still relatively "obsessed" with computers, and the only real difference is that now, my parents are online too, so they can check email & sports stats while they're watching espn.
-The Reverend (I am not a Nazi nor a Troll)
Besides, would you actually have time to play with a 32 processor Alpha if you had NP wearing only a trenchcoat/smile and a Lamborghini? Hmm.
Of course he would... Natalie would only be able to distract him for what? 30 seconds? 2 1/2 minutes? And then as soon as it was over (for him, not her) there'd be that temptation to go for a drive or boot up the Alpha...
-The Reverend (I am not a Nazi nor a Troll)
I don't feel any incentive to vote this election. Furthermore, I don't want to take part of the blame for putting either of the two frontrunning bozos into office. :p
So you figure that by doing absolutely NOTHING you're keeping yourself blame free? So sorry, it doesn't work that way. By not voting, you are implicitely stating that you're quite happy with the current system. The big guys WANT YOUR VOTE. But if they can have your TOTAL INDIFFERENCE, well, hey! That's just as good! That way the only people voting will be the ones who are buying into the current flawed two-party system and it will guarantee that not only will they win THIS election, but they'll win the NEXT one too. (Keep in mind that there is virtually no difference between Democratic & Republican government.)
Similarly, I heard a lot of stuff about "throwing your vote away on Perot" 8 years ago. If more people "throw their votes away" this time, perhaps we'll have something resembling a true democracy by the time the next 8 years have rolled around.
(Government and your participation in it requires long-term preperation and commitment, not one-time ballot stamping.)
-The Reverend (I am not a Nazi nor a Troll)
but hell, there is plenty of anecdotal evidence that the 'Psychic Friends Network' can really tell you if you significant other is cheating on you.
Hey, don't believe the hype! Everybody knows that the REAL money is on Miss Cleo's Psychic Tarot phone readings! Miss Cleo wouldn't lie to you.. she has a pseudo-Jamaican accent!
-The Reverend (I am not a Nazi nor a Troll)
Well, since Wicca is really just a modern invention, much like Scientology, a lot of us (most of us) don't have a lot of sympathy for it.
2000 years ago, Christianity was a modern invention. At that time Earth Mother religions were going strong and had been for many thousands of years previous. Just because wicca has been underground during YOUR lifetime doesn't mean it's the new kid on the block. And regardless of any particular religion's age or number of followers, freedom of religion exists to protect the rights of ALL citizens, not just the narrow minded and bandwagon jumpers.
That being said, I'm not Christian (in the religious sense) OR Wiccan.
-The Reverend (I am not a Nazi nor a Troll)
"The two real political parties in America are the winners and the losers. The people refuse to acknowledge this. They claim allegiance in two imaginary parties, the Republicans and the Democrats, instead." -Kurt Vonnegutt, Jr.
The above is a quote I've had on nothinghead.com for going on two years now. Speaks volumes as to the current and continuing state of US politics.
-The Reverend (I am not a Nazi nor a Troll)
They're simply extremely lazy people and don't want to work, so I have to pay for them.
THanks for being alert. In answer to your question, I have apparently been singled out by at least one moderately annoying (and mildly retarded) troll. His latest escalation seems to be that he's going to post as my alter-ego (John_Profit) and attempt to be even more annoying than he was when he started calling me a nazi.
I wonder if he'll ever get really clever?
-The Reverend (I am not a Nazi nor a Troll)
They're simply extremely lazy people and don't want to work, so I have to pay for them.
If you think they have it so good and you're tired of footing the bill -- nobody is stopping you from joining them and becoming homeless yourself. I'm sure you'll agree that it would be the SMARTEST possible choice, since you get to have the occassional meal at the free soup kitchen and get to sleep in those oh-so-glamorous cardboard boxes under the freeway. There's a space reserved for you today! Don't be late!
-The Reverend (I am not a Nazi nor a Troll)
And to be perfectly frank with you I don't have a huge amount of sympathy for those people, I had to live on an extremely low amount of my entire life until I started pulling money for myself. I don't believe this is simply because I am different to them, it comes down to effort. I am currently a little uncertain about this though, I don't know if all men really were created equal anymore, I am beginning to lose faith in that.
The majority of street people (in the US) are those who have psychological or physiological problems that prevent them from working. (I.e. the crazies and the cripples) Some of the rest are also the MAJOR drug addicts & runaway children. There IS a small percentage of homeless people who are just like you and could work if they wanted to, but they are vastly in the minority.
-The Reverend (I am not a Nazi nor a Troll)