In the last ten years, smoking has killed 4 million Americans. Traffic has killed 400.000. Terrorism has killed 4.000. When will you stop handing total power to the government just to fight this one, close to irrelevant risk? And why not spend those many billions on the healthcare system and traffic safety?
And the ironic thing is, the closer you look - the more introspection you do - the more difficult it is to say what is good for yourself. If you actually feel your upsetness and consider why you're upset about things, rather than immediately fighting any emotion you don't like (which is what most people do most of the time, I believe), you realize that what feels so real to you now is merely something you believe because someone pounded it into your head as a child. And every time you do this - every time you take a piece out of that armor you wear every day - you get a glimpse of what life is like when lived naturally. And that life is a life without fighting, yet without fear. It's a life where, usually, compassion simply means understanding and not interfering. You realize that the desire to control things is simply your childhood fear of abandonment and abuse, and that there is no way you can control anything. And that's infinitely okay, because you also realize that life, lived naturally, is love. Being the President changes none of this. He does bad things because he's screwed up. It's as simple as that. Just like any one of us, when he hurts people, he does it out of fear and misunderstanding. And just like any of us, he's doing the best he believes he can. But I don't want him in office. I want someone who understands what life is about.
I think you hit the nail on the head prell. First of all, the bolded part. I think you *completely* defined and described what is wrong with me, in my head, and why it is so hard to reconcile and straighten things out. You see, I was raised by a single dad who was a firefighter, then a recruiter of doctors for the Air Force. Flew Pararescue in Vietnam, brought back an AFB from a tornado strike, everything. And we won't go into the wonders my grandparents did. But you know, he drilled into my head, God, Country, Honor, Duty. And NOWHERE DO I SEE THOSE THINGS TODAY! What is WRONG with these people who are supposed to be leading our country?? The things that I was taught and learned as a child, they simply don't apply.
And you look at children today, and they don't care. All they care about is the next big entertaining distraction. Do you know how many people watched American Idol last night? FULLY 1/2 OF THE VOTING POPULACE!!!! (IE: ~75 million people voted in 2004 - AI had over 36 million viewers each night this week) Then take on the Hollywood tabloids, the constant fight for attention between gaming consoles, RIAA, MPAA, and all of the others. Almost makes you think there's a conspiracy going in when you look at the NEA dumbing down the schools. Do you know that 2 Filipina girls I know that are going to a school here in SD County DO NOT HAVE TO TAKE GOVERNMENT OR PHYSICS?!?!?! I swear to God the things my grandfather forecast are all coming true. All the young ones who are coming up into the world today don't give a crap, as long as they think everything is alright. That, to me, is 60% of the problem we face right there. Just be a sheep.... just follow the leader, we don't really blind you, we just show you what we want you to see.
What makes me so angry, is that I *am* a Conservative at heart. I *AM* a Republican, through and through (yes, you can blame Alex P. Keaton) - yet, the government right now is supposed to be reflecting the views of those that voted them in, and all they are doing is shitting all over us. I tentatively supported Bush in 2004 because I *HATE* Kerry. Said pararescue father was spit on by him in '72. I ain't saying that the Dems are bad, either. I'm just saying that there isn't *ANYONE* good in Washington DC! And like any of US are going to run with all of the data collection and spying that everyone has the ability to do. I considered a run for Congress, HAHAHAHAHAHAHAH. Uh, no. I have *WAY* too many skeletons that would be thrown out on to the wolves... and these days, there's no telling what would show up.
Government should be about teamwork. And teamwork is never a
When you are a person hell-bent on control and dictatorship, it's hard to be stopped when the people who have the power to stop someone won't step up. Hell, just yesterday I read that GW Bush was saying how wonderful a president Jeb Bush would make. The man that botched the Florida election in 2000, the man with ties to arguably the most powerful family in the country if not the world... With two Bushes we have seen at least 3 wars.
Very very nicely put together.
Um, didn't we become independent from England for such things as privacy, freedom, and most of all, NO MONARCHY!??!?!
Sorry, it's beginning to look that way to me:
Oligarchy: n. pl. oligarchies
1.a. Government by a few, especially by a small faction of persons or families.
1.b. Those making up such a government.
2. A state governed by a few persons.
Monarchy: n. pl. monarchies
1. Government by a monarch.
2. A state ruled or headed by a monarch.
or: n : an autocracy governed by a monarch who usually inherits the authority
Hrm.... not a whole lot of difference there, if you ask me.
Not to mention that you can record 2 shows at once, you just have to be watching (or leave the tv channel) on one of them.
I hate Tivos. I hate their interface, I hate the way they work. And I *HATE* satelitte television because it SUCKS. Especially for HD. Yes, I've tried it, yes, I hate it. And I hate the Tivo even more.
So, as a loyal Cox Communications customer, if they go Tivo, I'll drop them altogether. I do NOT think this is a wise choice for Cox, and am going to be off to write a letter to them. I've been a consistent early adopter of their tech, and I've been so supremely happy with their DVR, it's amazing. Never had a problem. NEVER. The only thing we did experience was some signal problems with our HD, but that was the 1970s coax in my condo... cheap ass owners. That being said, the only trouble I've had in *EIGHT* years has been a) my digital telephone and b) my cable modem died after 5 years of constant use.
All in all, I think they've got the satelitte bubbas pegged. AND, I get free 5MB straight pipe to the 'net since I've been using the broadband for 8 years.:)
Hoorah! He shouldn't *have* to pay those taxes either. I wonder how they can make that delineation? The Feds at least should be able to put some kind of clause in the tax paperwork for a massive exemption of something anyways.
HELL YEAH!!!!!!! OOOOOH Rah! Thank you so much for your duty and your service. What you guys do makes it all so much better for the families here at home so they can see their boys and men. (Boys = sons in this case) Thank you so much for standing out there on the wall for us here at home.
What a boon for them! I know a LOT of people looking for a good reason to dump NetBackup... and I can't begin to tell you what a powerhouse Commvault has become in the last 2 years. I just went from a BackupExec -> Netbackup -> Tivoli Storage Manager -> Commvault QiNetix full implementations (obviously over the last 2-3 years), and by far, Commvault outperforms all of the rest.
So far.:D We'll see how it likes AIX's HAACMP clustering and Oracle 10g. If it can't pass that muster, well... damn. We may have to get creative!:D
Jaguar uses BMW transmissions in some of their vehicles.
And yes... you are absolutely right. How about dropping 50% in just 6 months? I'm stuck with it. But I do love it. The dealership I bought it from was awfully shady. It's just that damned transmission!
Jaguar fangirl I am, but only because I know and accept their flaws.
Heh. The guy is brownnosing Jaguar. The high end sedans from BMW, Legus, and Audi do better than six seconds. My Volvo has less than 3000 dollars in mods, and gets 5.3 on a cold day. High-end tuning indeed
I'm sorry, but if you read the article, it tells you:
However, the XK's 4.2 liter, V-8 engine should offer more than enough power for most drivers.
Anyone who knows anything about Jaguar knows that it isn't built for speed off the line - why waste all that gas and energy to get a 5000 pound car lumbering to 60 mph. The Jaguar brand has always been more attuned to style and grace, not the Italian Stallions or German Schnellbots. And I'm sorry, there's nothing graceful about punching the gas to jump out in front of the herd, just to be passed on the uptake.
I have a '98 Jaguar XK8 VDP that I bought last year. It has the same 4.2L engine in it - though not the same one, obviously. She's got so much in the way of nuts, yer damned right I've scared myself a few times. 'Twill be even worse in a month when I get the transmission replaced. I do have the ability to disengage the traction control *and* the ABS from buttons on the dash, as well as to engage Sport mode if I really feel like burning some dinos up. And then there's the J-Gate transmission box.
Jaguar's have the ability to run in both manual and automatic mode. Very nice feature indeed, if you know how to drive a stick. Mine has a CVT transmission in it, the first time I'd ever owned a car with that. The gas mileage in mine runs about 24mph with normal weekly driving. NOT BAD! It's the CVT, babeh. But for one small thing. IT'S A DAMNED BMW TRANSMISSION!!!!!!!! It's the same tranny that runs the BMW Z4's (I just saw a 2005 model for sale, with the same 4.2L engine yesterday.... *snicker* $28k). You would think that a German engineered transmission would be dang near flawless? WRONG. The front clutch pack was designed so poorly that there is a plastic ring in Drum A that can bust. And has in just about every single freakin' Z4 transmission built. And of course, it goes right after 100k miles. Which is what happened to me. $3500 bucks later, and I'll be back on the road. And buying a 2nd runabout.... But with that ability that the power of the J-Gate transmission gives you - YES, you can hit 60 in way under 6 seconds. I've done it in 5 flat. But again, it's not recommended. These cars are not for penis envy on the starting line.... but for running long and strong to the end, outpowering everyone else. Hence, the racing heritage of Jaguar going back to 1936.
Now... if ya'll want to spend all that time and money investing into electronics and software, can't you just FIX THE RELIABILITY ISSUES?!?!:D Though 5 different livelong Jag owners have assured me that once the tranny's replaced, she'll last me 300,000 miles. We'll see.
Your first statement directly negates the entirety of your post.
Consider this. Could it be, just maybe, that it's purely PR that is telling us that the 'reasons we went to war in Iraq are false'? I think so. The MSM has had a hardon for Bush ever since he was a Texas Governor. This has been proven. Also consider that we are *not* privy to everything that the NSA and DIA have in their dossiers. Shit, we aren't privy to anything but what GWB *wants* to declassify to try to cover his arse.
But you know the funny frickin' part? A) Yes, Iraq was seeking Uranium in Niger... since 1996, and as recently as 2001. Christopher Hitchens just reiterated this once again, the facts that I have known since 2002. Anyone who paid any attention at all during the run up to the war knows that. It was common knowledge in the UN. But of course, the MSM won't tell you that.
B) The whole trailer bit? Oh yeah... that's fully wrong too. And I know this, because the story that the media is spinning right now, is NOT ABOUT THE SAME TRAILERS WE WERE STATING WERE MANUFACTURING WMD's. I have photographs saved at home of the original trailers, and the file footage and reporting they are doing today are NOT THE SAME ONES! Not even close. But again... let's make up more stuff to shoot ourselves in the dick. They've been pulling this shit since Korea, and like they are going to stop now. Truth in journalism...HAH! The original ones were dual use for processing chemicals. Not making hydrogen. The ones they are reporting on now were filled with sand. The original evidence brought before the UN, they were not, and were capable of creating Sarin, I believe. I'd have to go back and dig out all my stuff.
C) Those lovely WMDs that the Russians moved... I can go on and on and on. But they are somewhere in the world. They just don't disappear. Why is everyone forgetting about the labs we found in Southern Iraq that had just been emptied, and the Russian ships off the coast booking it to the Indian Ocean? And just what WERE Russian Special Forces doing with trucks in the desert heading North to Syria? The documentation is all out there gang... you just have to dig.
Now all of that being said, it doesn't mean we didn't handle the whole thing like amateurs. They did! Donnie should be at least reprimanded if not asked to step down. We didn't plan, we didn't prepare, and we sure as hell didn't know what we were getting into. Personally, I think GWB can't tell the difference between Iran and Iraq. And this has cost us in so many ways, it's not even funny. Just how on EARTH are we going to be able to garner support to stop that crazy mofo over in Iran?? We don't have any clout. Bush cried wolf. And he's dirtier than I can even think. But he is still Commander-in-Chief of our Armed Forces, therefore I support the efforts because they are out there on the front lines fighting the great fight. A fight that could very well mean our survival as a country... or worse. I'm angrier at the Bush Administration than ever, but not more than I ever was at the Clintoons for selling us out to the Chinese. I have begun to start to accept that the country doesn't belong to the people anymore, but to the frickin' elitest upperclass that thinks they know what's best when they can't even SPELL C-O-N-S-T-I-T-U-T-I-O-N. Because they don't have any.
I fully agree... it ain't no joke. And neither are the Che Guevara shirts. How many of them did you see at the first illegal immigration 'protests'? Here in my town, they were (and are) all over the place.
In fact... the church on the corner from me is surrounded by MS13 and Stalin graffitti tags. It makes me ill and it makes me sick to know my father(s) and grandfathers fought for decades to defeat Communism, and here it is in our own midst. Blame A.N.S.W.E.R., the Ex-Sandinistas, and all the other corrupt mofos coming up ILLEGALY from the South. (It's not like the Canandian border is any LESS porous, but at least there aren't 8,000 of them streaming in every DAY now - some estimates up to 15,000)
The movements and the people are already here, and our government wants to give them citizenship now. Lovely!:) So, does that mean I don't have to pay taxes anymore, and I can break whatever laws I want and KEEP my American Citizenship? No.... I get to go to prison and be a felon and not vote anymore.
So, sadly friend, you weren't joking... maybe fortelling, but I don't think you were joking.
Turbo Tax, Tax Cut or Quicken Taxes - apparently we can't do our home taxes without them
Muwahahahah...
Seriously, I think I'm still the only geek I know that does her taxes by hand. The long way. 1040. Oh and those blasted state taxes too.
And sadly enough, yes, I do the math by hand too. When I double check with the damn calculator, I'm right 100% of the time. And I'm *so* not a mathemetician!:P
So the question remains... what's WRONG with me?:P
So how many are actually DOING any of those things? And did you notice they were good little capitalist consumption-enhancing options? Buy this, buy that. The idea is to *reduce* consumption.
DISCLAIMER: I am not a hippie environmentalist! But I do believe that humans are impacting the global environment, and have made decisions and choices based on REDUCING this impact. And I believe that it does start with Consumption.
What I've done so far:
-- Switched to front-loading triple loaders at the laundromat. They use less energy to wash more laundry, and less water. I follow up by line drying as much as I can, and gas drying the rest.
-- Quit driving my V8 Jaguar to work. Ok, so this was a bit of necessity with the TRANSMISSION FAULT! But, once she is repaired, I will continue commuting by bus, even though I got run over by a car 2 weeks ago. Mass transit ISN'T SAFE! (one detail no one has mentioned about it) Granted, I get ~ 26mpg even in that V8 with the CVT transmission, but it's a LOT of gas just to drive my punk arse to & from work.
-- Started ordering more online. I order all of my groceries and supplies online now, saving the cost of me driving there and back and all over the place to get them. This requires me to plan and budget accordingly, and can be a pain when I can't find what I need, but well, that's what WALKING is for.
-- Walking to do errands! Again, this was a bit necessary, but has turned into a wonderful adventure. Truthfully, I walked a lot before my car died, to do my errands, but now it's just more prolific. Walking to the post office/grocery store/coffee shop saves me 4-6 restarts of my vehicle, which uses more gasoline than sitting with it idling.
-- Replaced all of my lightbulbs with the low-energy ones from our power company. They were issuing them at 5 for $5, so I bought a bunch. We rely on solar energy as much as possible for heating and light - and of course, the lack of it for cooling in summer. In addition, we do not use air conditioning, but fans - we are lucky to live on top of a hill in SD, so we get cool breezes. It's understandable that not everyone has this option. Alternatively in the winter, we no longer burn the inefficient gas fireplace, but light a tealight or four and put a sweater on!
-- Set my computer and monitor to turn off when not in use. This has been tricky, because I suffered some data corruption. So now, the machine & hard drive stay on, but the monitor goes off after 10 minutes of inuse, instead of to a screen saver. Same goes for XBox, DVR and television - all power off after some period of inactivity, usually set for 2-4 hours depending on the device.
-- QUIT USING KITCHEN APPLIANCES!!!! Fortunately, I'm an excellent chef, so this wasn't a big deal for me. I threw out my microwave, can opener, and a bunch of other appliances. These things suck the life out of you anyways. I have a manual can opener that I can wield faster than I can even GET to the electric. The only appliances I have anymore are a hand blender, a blender blender, and a coffee pot/espresso machine. All of which are unplugged from the wall after usage. Oh, and that pesky toaster oven went bye bye too... And get a grill! It costs me 15 bucks to fill up my propane tank once a month rather than whatever it costs me to run my stove. My stove/oven is the most inefficient item in my home.
-- Keep time with the birds. That's what I do. I get up with the sun, and I pass out with the sun. Seriously, even with the time change, I was out cold by 21:05 last night. No need to keep additional lights or television on, we were in bed, the house locked down.
-- CONSERVE WATER!!! Take shorter showers!!! I can't believe I've seen no comments on this yet. My biggest pet peeve is my husband who runs the hottest water he can stand and stays in the shower for 20-30 minutes. I have hair down to my ASS and I STILL don't take 15 minute showers! I
You can also get MD hifi units to put next to your CD player, which I've yet to see for MP3 Virtually ANY DVD player on the market will play MP3-CDs. Where have you been in the last 5 years?
Actually, I've bought 2 Sony DVD Players, and NEITHER will play burned *or* mp3 CDs. Go figure.
I am so happy that you are on the right path, and believe me, you are. One of my best friends got into the h scene down here in SD and was literally scared straight (into alcoholism) when he moved to LA. He's done hard time, too, so that doesn't help(your initials aren't TH are they!??!!?). But you have a plan, you have goals, and that is a start. *smile* You will find your way, all of us with brains do eventually.:P
Good luck and blessings be unto you in your efforts to recover. For what it's worth.... that's a lot of how I did it, and a lot of times I thought it wasn't going to work. I'll keep you in my thoughts!
Your post really moved me...... And I'm *so* glad that you are making inroads to successfully getting clean. I think it's like love...we all have to find our own way. I was lucky to have 3 other people quit meth cold turkey with me, and we all used each other's support to stay off of it. I'm soon counting 7 years clear and free of it. I started out like you, once a month/week, whatever... but moving to Cali was my undoing. That was truly horrible. And after just one year, we knew we had to escape or die.
I hope that you do eventually get clean, and I think you will because you see the importance of it, and you have a desire in there to work towards it. GOOD FOR YOU! HOWEVER - please do not fool yourself thinking that you won't die because of it. You may not OD or get AIDS or something, but what happens the first time you inject something that ISN'T horse? Out here, they have been tampering severely with the h they bring over from Mexico and stomp it with stuff like Drano, and some other really bad things. I've had 7 friends pass away from heroin, LSD, and they ALL were safe and responsible. Just be careful, know your dose, know your source, and try to get better. I wish that there were more avenues for assistance out there like there is in Europe.
I was *VERY* happy to see what Princeton came up with. The stereo vision was fooking RAD! Congrats, and I can't wait to read that PDF. I'm going to be looking for lots more info on the Urbania Race!
I don't know where you are, but my HD PBS station rebroadcasts Tuesday's NOVA in HighDef on Saturdays and Sundays. KPBS is the local station here in San Diego... you might check your local website and see if they are planning on doing that. I plan to watch it again in HD. And kick my husband's arse if he snores through it again!:P
I think this is probably the most intelligent post I've seen on/. in oh... a few days at least. Honestly, I would really like to help answer that question. I say we go with the $100 laptops loaded with Ubunto in Farsi, load them up with copies of Wikipedia (HEY, it's a start for a connection to the rest of the world), set them all up on a private VPN with an outbound connection in a NON-MUSLIM COUNTRY, and go at it!
After all if people can molest children live on the Internet with similar setups, why can't they get around the damn Great Firewalls using the same methods? Ok, this may not be a perfectly thought out solution, but hey, I tried!:P
Thank you for posting this. I had seen some of these documents on another blog site, and confirmed many of the same things that some people have been chucking out here today.
The truth is out there, and I believe that it will be found utilizing ALL of the information resources we have. And if that means the Internet, GREAT!
What I think is being overlooked by the OSS community is the ability to analyze the documents and possibly pull together a filtering program and software to look through it for patterns, key words, etc. It would have to be Arabic aware, including the many tongues of Arabic, so it would be a *huge* challenge. But I know that there are such brilliant people out there, it could happen!
Why is it that the first thing that goes running through my head is a bunch of Jedi kids running around at Hogwarts?? That's about the best thing that comes to mind. I hope it hits development at least... I'll hold my breath until I see an air date. With 2 movies to make before production even starts, Lucas could be dead by then.
Hope you're not going for SOX accredidation. They failed us because we only kept mail on tape for 30 days. Default is supposed to be 2 years now. Sarbane's is a nightmare.
Slashdot Mirror
What, the rest of the world doesn't count?
That's just in the last YEAR! Now, say what again?
Ooops... Physics up there was supposed to be CIVICS!
And the ironic thing is, the closer you look - the more introspection you do - the more difficult it is to say what is good for yourself. If you actually feel your upsetness and consider why you're upset about things, rather than immediately fighting any emotion you don't like (which is what most people do most of the time, I believe), you realize that what feels so real to you now is merely something you believe because someone pounded it into your head as a child. And every time you do this - every time you take a piece out of that armor you wear every day - you get a glimpse of what life is like when lived naturally. And that life is a life without fighting, yet without fear. It's a life where, usually, compassion simply means understanding and not interfering. You realize that the desire to control things is simply your childhood fear of abandonment and abuse, and that there is no way you can control anything. And that's infinitely okay, because you also realize that life, lived naturally, is love. Being the President changes none of this. He does bad things because he's screwed up. It's as simple as that. Just like any one of us, when he hurts people, he does it out of fear and misunderstanding. And just like any of us, he's doing the best he believes he can. But I don't want him in office. I want someone who understands what life is about.
I think you hit the nail on the head prell. First of all, the bolded part. I think you *completely* defined and described what is wrong with me, in my head, and why it is so hard to reconcile and straighten things out. You see, I was raised by a single dad who was a firefighter, then a recruiter of doctors for the Air Force. Flew Pararescue in Vietnam, brought back an AFB from a tornado strike, everything. And we won't go into the wonders my grandparents did. But you know, he drilled into my head, God, Country, Honor, Duty. And NOWHERE DO I SEE THOSE THINGS TODAY! What is WRONG with these people who are supposed to be leading our country?? The things that I was taught and learned as a child, they simply don't apply.
And you look at children today, and they don't care. All they care about is the next big entertaining distraction. Do you know how many people watched American Idol last night? FULLY 1/2 OF THE VOTING POPULACE!!!! (IE: ~75 million people voted in 2004 - AI had over 36 million viewers each night this week) Then take on the Hollywood tabloids, the constant fight for attention between gaming consoles, RIAA, MPAA, and all of the others. Almost makes you think there's a conspiracy going in when you look at the NEA dumbing down the schools. Do you know that 2 Filipina girls I know that are going to a school here in SD County DO NOT HAVE TO TAKE GOVERNMENT OR PHYSICS?!?!?! I swear to God the things my grandfather forecast are all coming true. All the young ones who are coming up into the world today don't give a crap, as long as they think everything is alright. That, to me, is 60% of the problem we face right there. Just be a sheep.... just follow the leader, we don't really blind you, we just show you what we want you to see.
What makes me so angry, is that I *am* a Conservative at heart. I *AM* a Republican, through and through (yes, you can blame Alex P. Keaton) - yet, the government right now is supposed to be reflecting the views of those that voted them in, and all they are doing is shitting all over us. I tentatively supported Bush in 2004 because I *HATE* Kerry. Said pararescue father was spit on by him in '72. I ain't saying that the Dems are bad, either. I'm just saying that there isn't *ANYONE* good in Washington DC! And like any of US are going to run with all of the data collection and spying that everyone has the ability to do. I considered a run for Congress, HAHAHAHAHAHAHAH. Uh, no. I have *WAY* too many skeletons that would be thrown out on to the wolves... and these days, there's no telling what would show up.
Government should be about teamwork. And teamwork is never a
PS: Keep yer powder dry!
When you are a person hell-bent on control and dictatorship, it's hard to be stopped when the people who have the power to stop someone won't step up. Hell, just yesterday I read that GW Bush was saying how wonderful a president Jeb Bush would make. The man that botched the Florida election in 2000, the man with ties to arguably the most powerful family in the country if not the world... With two Bushes we have seen at least 3 wars.
Very very nicely put together.
Um, didn't we become independent from England for such things as privacy, freedom, and most of all, NO MONARCHY!??!?!
Sorry, it's beginning to look that way to me:
Oligarchy: n. pl. oligarchies 1.a. Government by a few, especially by a small faction of persons or families. 1.b. Those making up such a government. 2. A state governed by a few persons.
Monarchy: n. pl. monarchies 1. Government by a monarch. 2. A state ruled or headed by a monarch. or: n : an autocracy governed by a monarch who usually inherits the authority
Hrm.... not a whole lot of difference there, if you ask me.
Jho
Not to mention that you can record 2 shows at once, you just have to be watching (or leave the tv channel) on one of them.
:)
I hate Tivos. I hate their interface, I hate the way they work. And I *HATE* satelitte television because it SUCKS. Especially for HD. Yes, I've tried it, yes, I hate it. And I hate the Tivo even more.
So, as a loyal Cox Communications customer, if they go Tivo, I'll drop them altogether. I do NOT think this is a wise choice for Cox, and am going to be off to write a letter to them. I've been a consistent early adopter of their tech, and I've been so supremely happy with their DVR, it's amazing. Never had a problem. NEVER. The only thing we did experience was some signal problems with our HD, but that was the 1970s coax in my condo... cheap ass owners. That being said, the only trouble I've had in *EIGHT* years has been a) my digital telephone and b) my cable modem died after 5 years of constant use.
All in all, I think they've got the satelitte bubbas pegged. AND, I get free 5MB straight pipe to the 'net since I've been using the broadband for 8 years.
Hoorah! He shouldn't *have* to pay those taxes either. I wonder how they can make that delineation? The Feds at least should be able to put some kind of clause in the tax paperwork for a massive exemption of something anyways.
Keep your head low Zach, come home safe!
HELL YEAH!!!!!!! OOOOOH Rah! Thank you so much for your duty and your service. What you guys do makes it all so much better for the families here at home so they can see their boys and men. (Boys = sons in this case) Thank you so much for standing out there on the wall for us here at home.
I second that!!! Give 'em Hell!
What a boon for them! I know a LOT of people looking for a good reason to dump NetBackup... and I can't begin to tell you what a powerhouse Commvault has become in the last 2 years. I just went from a BackupExec -> Netbackup -> Tivoli Storage Manager -> Commvault QiNetix full implementations (obviously over the last 2-3 years), and by far, Commvault outperforms all of the rest. So far. :D We'll see how it likes AIX's HAACMP clustering and Oracle 10g. If it can't pass that muster, well... damn. We may have to get creative! :D
Jaguar uses BMW transmissions in some of their vehicles.
And yes... you are absolutely right. How about dropping 50% in just 6 months? I'm stuck with it. But I do love it. The dealership I bought it from was awfully shady. It's just that damned transmission!
Jaguar fangirl I am, but only because I know and accept their flaws.
I'm sorry, but if you read the article, it tells you: Anyone who knows anything about Jaguar knows that it isn't built for speed off the line - why waste all that gas and energy to get a 5000 pound car lumbering to 60 mph. The Jaguar brand has always been more attuned to style and grace, not the Italian Stallions or German Schnellbots. And I'm sorry, there's nothing graceful about punching the gas to jump out in front of the herd, just to be passed on the uptake.
I have a '98 Jaguar XK8 VDP that I bought last year. It has the same 4.2L engine in it - though not the same one, obviously. She's got so much in the way of nuts, yer damned right I've scared myself a few times. 'Twill be even worse in a month when I get the transmission replaced. I do have the ability to disengage the traction control *and* the ABS from buttons on the dash, as well as to engage Sport mode if I really feel like burning some dinos up. And then there's the J-Gate transmission box.
Jaguar's have the ability to run in both manual and automatic mode. Very nice feature indeed, if you know how to drive a stick. Mine has a CVT transmission in it, the first time I'd ever owned a car with that. The gas mileage in mine runs about 24mph with normal weekly driving. NOT BAD! It's the CVT, babeh. But for one small thing. IT'S A DAMNED BMW TRANSMISSION!!!!!!!! It's the same tranny that runs the BMW Z4's (I just saw a 2005 model for sale, with the same 4.2L engine yesterday.... *snicker* $28k). You would think that a German engineered transmission would be dang near flawless? WRONG. The front clutch pack was designed so poorly that there is a plastic ring in Drum A that can bust. And has in just about every single freakin' Z4 transmission built. And of course, it goes right after 100k miles. Which is what happened to me. $3500 bucks later, and I'll be back on the road. And buying a 2nd runabout.... But with that ability that the power of the J-Gate transmission gives you - YES, you can hit 60 in way under 6 seconds. I've done it in 5 flat. But again, it's not recommended. These cars are not for penis envy on the starting line.... but for running long and strong to the end, outpowering everyone else. Hence, the racing heritage of Jaguar going back to 1936.
Now... if ya'll want to spend all that time and money investing into electronics and software, can't you just FIX THE RELIABILITY ISSUES?!?!
Holy PR moves Batman!
Your first statement directly negates the entirety of your post.
Consider this. Could it be, just maybe, that it's purely PR that is telling us that the 'reasons we went to war in Iraq are false'? I think so. The MSM has had a hardon for Bush ever since he was a Texas Governor. This has been proven. Also consider that we are *not* privy to everything that the NSA and DIA have in their dossiers. Shit, we aren't privy to anything but what GWB *wants* to declassify to try to cover his arse.
But you know the funny frickin' part? A) Yes, Iraq was seeking Uranium in Niger... since 1996, and as recently as 2001. Christopher Hitchens just reiterated this once again, the facts that I have known since 2002. Anyone who paid any attention at all during the run up to the war knows that. It was common knowledge in the UN. But of course, the MSM won't tell you that.
B) The whole trailer bit? Oh yeah... that's fully wrong too. And I know this, because the story that the media is spinning right now, is NOT ABOUT THE SAME TRAILERS WE WERE STATING WERE MANUFACTURING WMD's. I have photographs saved at home of the original trailers, and the file footage and reporting they are doing today are NOT THE SAME ONES! Not even close. But again... let's make up more stuff to shoot ourselves in the dick. They've been pulling this shit since Korea, and like they are going to stop now. Truth in journalism...HAH! The original ones were dual use for processing chemicals. Not making hydrogen. The ones they are reporting on now were filled with sand. The original evidence brought before the UN, they were not, and were capable of creating Sarin, I believe. I'd have to go back and dig out all my stuff.
C) Those lovely WMDs that the Russians moved... I can go on and on and on. But they are somewhere in the world. They just don't disappear. Why is everyone forgetting about the labs we found in Southern Iraq that had just been emptied, and the Russian ships off the coast booking it to the Indian Ocean? And just what WERE Russian Special Forces doing with trucks in the desert heading North to Syria? The documentation is all out there gang... you just have to dig.
Now all of that being said, it doesn't mean we didn't handle the whole thing like amateurs. They did! Donnie should be at least reprimanded if not asked to step down. We didn't plan, we didn't prepare, and we sure as hell didn't know what we were getting into. Personally, I think GWB can't tell the difference between Iran and Iraq. And this has cost us in so many ways, it's not even funny. Just how on EARTH are we going to be able to garner support to stop that crazy mofo over in Iran?? We don't have any clout. Bush cried wolf. And he's dirtier than I can even think. But he is still Commander-in-Chief of our Armed Forces, therefore I support the efforts because they are out there on the front lines fighting the great fight. A fight that could very well mean our survival as a country... or worse. I'm angrier at the Bush Administration than ever, but not more than I ever was at the Clintoons for selling us out to the Chinese. I have begun to start to accept that the country doesn't belong to the people anymore, but to the frickin' elitest upperclass that thinks they know what's best when they can't even SPELL C-O-N-S-T-I-T-U-T-I-O-N. Because they don't have any.
Just my 2pence.
I fully agree ... it ain't no joke. And neither are the Che Guevara shirts. How many of them did you see at the first illegal immigration 'protests'? Here in my town, they were (and are) all over the place.
:) So, does that mean I don't have to pay taxes anymore, and I can break whatever laws I want and KEEP my American Citizenship? No.... I get to go to prison and be a felon and not vote anymore.
/Dons flameretardant lingerie!
In fact... the church on the corner from me is surrounded by MS13 and Stalin graffitti tags. It makes me ill and it makes me sick to know my father(s) and grandfathers fought for decades to defeat Communism, and here it is in our own midst. Blame A.N.S.W.E.R., the Ex-Sandinistas, and all the other corrupt mofos coming up ILLEGALY from the South. (It's not like the Canandian border is any LESS porous, but at least there aren't 8,000 of them streaming in every DAY now - some estimates up to 15,000)
The movements and the people are already here, and our government wants to give them citizenship now. Lovely!
So, sadly friend, you weren't joking... maybe fortelling, but I don't think you were joking.
Turbo Tax, Tax Cut or Quicken Taxes - apparently we can't do our home taxes without them
:P
:P
Muwahahahah...
Seriously, I think I'm still the only geek I know that does her taxes by hand. The long way. 1040. Oh and those blasted state taxes too.
And sadly enough, yes, I do the math by hand too. When I double check with the damn calculator, I'm right 100% of the time. And I'm *so* not a mathemetician!
So the question remains... what's WRONG with me?
So how many are actually DOING any of those things? And did you notice they were good little capitalist consumption-enhancing options? Buy this, buy that. The idea is to *reduce* consumption.
DISCLAIMER: I am not a hippie environmentalist! But I do believe that humans are impacting the global environment, and have made decisions and choices based on REDUCING this impact. And I believe that it does start with Consumption.
What I've done so far:
-- Switched to front-loading triple loaders at the laundromat. They use less energy to wash more laundry, and less water. I follow up by line drying as much as I can, and gas drying the rest.
-- Quit driving my V8 Jaguar to work. Ok, so this was a bit of necessity with the TRANSMISSION FAULT! But, once she is repaired, I will continue commuting by bus, even though I got run over by a car 2 weeks ago. Mass transit ISN'T SAFE! (one detail no one has mentioned about it) Granted, I get ~ 26mpg even in that V8 with the CVT transmission, but it's a LOT of gas just to drive my punk arse to & from work.
-- Started ordering more online. I order all of my groceries and supplies online now, saving the cost of me driving there and back and all over the place to get them. This requires me to plan and budget accordingly, and can be a pain when I can't find what I need, but well, that's what WALKING is for.
-- Walking to do errands! Again, this was a bit necessary, but has turned into a wonderful adventure. Truthfully, I walked a lot before my car died, to do my errands, but now it's just more prolific. Walking to the post office/grocery store/coffee shop saves me 4-6 restarts of my vehicle, which uses more gasoline than sitting with it idling.
-- Replaced all of my lightbulbs with the low-energy ones from our power company. They were issuing them at 5 for $5, so I bought a bunch. We rely on solar energy as much as possible for heating and light - and of course, the lack of it for cooling in summer. In addition, we do not use air conditioning, but fans - we are lucky to live on top of a hill in SD, so we get cool breezes. It's understandable that not everyone has this option. Alternatively in the winter, we no longer burn the inefficient gas fireplace, but light a tealight or four and put a sweater on!
-- Set my computer and monitor to turn off when not in use. This has been tricky, because I suffered some data corruption. So now, the machine & hard drive stay on, but the monitor goes off after 10 minutes of inuse, instead of to a screen saver. Same goes for XBox, DVR and television - all power off after some period of inactivity, usually set for 2-4 hours depending on the device.
-- QUIT USING KITCHEN APPLIANCES!!!! Fortunately, I'm an excellent chef, so this wasn't a big deal for me. I threw out my microwave, can opener, and a bunch of other appliances. These things suck the life out of you anyways. I have a manual can opener that I can wield faster than I can even GET to the electric. The only appliances I have anymore are a hand blender, a blender blender, and a coffee pot/espresso machine. All of which are unplugged from the wall after usage. Oh, and that pesky toaster oven went bye bye too... And get a grill! It costs me 15 bucks to fill up my propane tank once a month rather than whatever it costs me to run my stove. My stove/oven is the most inefficient item in my home.
-- Keep time with the birds. That's what I do. I get up with the sun, and I pass out with the sun. Seriously, even with the time change, I was out cold by 21:05 last night. No need to keep additional lights or television on, we were in bed, the house locked down.
-- CONSERVE WATER!!! Take shorter showers!!! I can't believe I've seen no comments on this yet. My biggest pet peeve is my husband who runs the hottest water he can stand and stays in the shower for 20-30 minutes. I have hair down to my ASS and I STILL don't take 15 minute showers! I
You can also get MD hifi units to put next to your CD player, which I've yet to see for MP3 Virtually ANY DVD player on the market will play MP3-CDs. Where have you been in the last 5 years?
Actually, I've bought 2 Sony DVD Players, and NEITHER will play burned *or* mp3 CDs. Go figure.
Jho
I am so happy that you are on the right path, and believe me, you are. One of my best friends got into the h scene down here in SD and was literally scared straight (into alcoholism) when he moved to LA. He's done hard time, too, so that doesn't help(your initials aren't TH are they!??!!?). But you have a plan, you have goals, and that is a start. *smile* You will find your way, all of us with brains do eventually. :P
Good luck and blessings be unto you in your efforts to recover. For what it's worth.... that's a lot of how I did it, and a lot of times I thought it wasn't going to work. I'll keep you in my thoughts!
Your post really moved me...... And I'm *so* glad that you are making inroads to successfully getting clean. I think it's like love...we all have to find our own way. I was lucky to have 3 other people quit meth cold turkey with me, and we all used each other's support to stay off of it. I'm soon counting 7 years clear and free of it. I started out like you, once a month/week, whatever... but moving to Cali was my undoing. That was truly horrible. And after just one year, we knew we had to escape or die.
I hope that you do eventually get clean, and I think you will because you see the importance of it, and you have a desire in there to work towards it. GOOD FOR YOU! HOWEVER - please do not fool yourself thinking that you won't die because of it. You may not OD or get AIDS or something, but what happens the first time you inject something that ISN'T horse? Out here, they have been tampering severely with the h they bring over from Mexico and stomp it with stuff like Drano, and some other really bad things. I've had 7 friends pass away from heroin, LSD, and they ALL were safe and responsible. Just be careful, know your dose, know your source, and try to get better. I wish that there were more avenues for assistance out there like there is in Europe.
I was *VERY* happy to see what Princeton came up with. The stereo vision was fooking RAD! Congrats, and I can't wait to read that PDF. I'm going to be looking for lots more info on the Urbania Race!
I don't know where you are, but my HD PBS station rebroadcasts Tuesday's NOVA in HighDef on Saturdays and Sundays. KPBS is the local station here in San Diego... you might check your local website and see if they are planning on doing that. I plan to watch it again in HD. And kick my husband's arse if he snores through it again! :P
I think this is probably the most intelligent post I've seen on /. in oh... a few days at least. Honestly, I would really like to help answer that question. I say we go with the $100 laptops loaded with Ubunto in Farsi, load them up with copies of Wikipedia (HEY, it's a start for a connection to the rest of the world), set them all up on a private VPN with an outbound connection in a NON-MUSLIM COUNTRY, and go at it!
:P
After all if people can molest children live on the Internet with similar setups, why can't they get around the damn Great Firewalls using the same methods? Ok, this may not be a perfectly thought out solution, but hey, I tried!
Thank you for posting this. I had seen some of these documents on another blog site, and confirmed many of the same things that some people have been chucking out here today.
The truth is out there, and I believe that it will be found utilizing ALL of the information resources we have. And if that means the Internet, GREAT!
What I think is being overlooked by the OSS community is the ability to analyze the documents and possibly pull together a filtering program and software to look through it for patterns, key words, etc. It would have to be Arabic aware, including the many tongues of Arabic, so it would be a *huge* challenge. But I know that there are such brilliant people out there, it could happen!
Why is it that the first thing that goes running through my head is a bunch of Jedi kids running around at Hogwarts?? That's about the best thing that comes to mind. I hope it hits development at least... I'll hold my breath until I see an air date. With 2 movies to make before production even starts, Lucas could be dead by then.
Hope you're not going for SOX accredidation. They failed us because we only kept mail on tape for 30 days. Default is supposed to be 2 years now. Sarbane's is a nightmare.
I think this is the most intelligent thing I've ever heard on Slashdot. :P