ADD and ADHD drugs are sought after stimulants. That's why it's over diagnosed. At my little brother's college the doctors at the school clinic give out Adderall like candy. About half his friends are on the stuff. The kids love it because its speed, and the school loves it because test scores shoot way up.
I wasn't aware there was a fad of self diagnosing Asperger's. I know two people who do have Asperger's and I wouldn't describe them as geeky, just painfully socially awkward... except they are not, at least not anymore. They went through years of therapy and more or less overcame their disability.
Stimulants and the Air Force (and probably NASA) go hand and hand. The Air Force has been using dextro-amphetamine pretty much since the beginning. Cocaine is slightly different, but it doesn't last very long and it distorts your perceptions more. It's not the sort of thing that you would really want someone working under the influence of, though I'd say it probably a lot less problematic then alcohol. I could see a person that was desensitized to dextro moving up to blow.
Maybe one of the flyboys wanted to get the Russians on the ISS high. From what I hear the Russians do a stim called methacathinone, which is nowhere near as good. Probably just a case of international goodwill getting all mucked up by the bureaucrats. Imagine, at the rate they are orbiting, that party could last a shuttle month instead of an earthly few days.
Well, there are lab diamonds. They are completely flawless and only about one-third the price, though top out at about a carat. Fancy diamonds hold their value, though they cost a fortune if they are anything but yellow. If you're old fashioned and classy you can go for a star sapphire.
I went the traditional route and while it really made her extremely happy and continues to every time a women complements her on her ring (and in that sense was a good investment), I wasn't too pleased at the financial aspects of it.
I suppose what I did take from the whole experience was that I did learn a hell of a lot about diamonds, which are somewhat fascinating.
Not to suggest she knew anything about diamonds, but the price for a 3 carat ring can vary a lot depending on its quality and source. A $16,000 3 carat ring is going to look pretty shoddy, even to a someone that doesn't know much about what to look for. Maybe she just figured that he got it at a pawn shop or that it was fake.
Seriously: why anyone becomes a fanboy for a corporation is something I'll never fathom.
Sometimes they own the company's stock. My uncle is a big Apple fan partially because made him significantly more money then he ever spent on their products (and he has a lot of Macs).
Lubricants maybe? Getting those wheels to continue to spin at those speeds might be an issue. I don't know I don't build supercars, but often it's the little things that make a difference to society.
Yeah, though US telcos have been rubbing our faces in shit for so long that SMS charges doesn't seems so bad, somehow. Back in college I got a bill from Verizon for $2000 for just voice (it was a land line, not a mobile, no long distance). I called them about it and it turned out it was a billing mistake and they promised to correct it and send a new bill. They did not, the next bill was for almost $6000. Six months later they finally got the balance straitened out, but insisted I pay over $400 in late fees because I didn't pony up the $6000 (I didn't owe them) in time. I suppose I should have sued them, but its hard to sue Verizon when you're a college kid struggling to pay rent.
Fuck Verizon, I don't care if their network is better. They will never see another dime out of me.
Who does that (I'm curious, I'm not contradicting you)? I've never heard of anything like that. I know that AT&T doesn't do it, neither does Sprint. Other posters have a said Verizon and T-Mobil don't either. Is it a non-US practice?
You can register anything you want, so long as it isn't already registered by someone else. The trick is whether you can get the trademark to hold up in court. I think if Apple tried to release "Apple Windows", the argument would come down to two things: Whether Windows is commonly used to describe any GUI and whether there is documentation of a GUI being referred to as Windows before MS trademarked the term.
I'm not saying Apple would win, just that of all the types of intellectual property, trademarks are the most legally dicey. Copyright is (or was) pretty clear, patents have a pretty simple formula to determine if they are being infringed upon, but all a court has to do is rule that your trademark is or has become generic and poof it's gone.
I meant in the legal sense. My great grandfather owned a company called "Standard Electrical Company", that's pretty generic, but not so generic that he was having legal difficulties from "Standard Oil". Had his company just been called "Standard Inc.", a much better case could be made that it would be legally generic. Apple Inc. is the same way. Is it Apple Computer, Apple Records, Apple Hauling and Waste Disposal? There is legal precedent for generic names, but it tilts the playing field toward large businesses, which I'm uncomfortable with.
Hey you insensitive clod, some people make a living retouching those sharp knees.
The days of a photograph automatically being an accurate record never existed. Just look up the work of Henry Peach Robinson or Oscar Gustave Rejlander. Even the very first photograph of a human being (Louis Daguerre, 1838 not to be confused with the first photo taken by Nicéphore Niépce in 1826) was not an accurate as the exposure was so long that only one person standing still (getting his shoe shined) showed up. Going by that picture you would think the streets of Paris were empty.
Photo manipulation isn't so much a lie as it is simply artistic license. It can be used to lie, but only if it's presented as such. Retouching a fashion model isn't lying because no one is claiming that it's a record of reality. Every last aspect of every single fashion shoot is contrived: from the hair, make-up and clothing (which is usually clothes-pinned on to make it look better), to the thousands of dollars of strobes designed to highlight certain features, to the hours of digital post where you give her a digital tummy tuck, boob job, and delete the sweat from her nose. Usually she's then masked and standing in blank white space, on the cover of a magazine, which attests to the fact that it's not real.
It's actually somewhat difficult to get a picture that is an accurate depiction of reality. Just by flattening something onto a screen or piece of paper you lose so much visual information that you are already seeing an abstraction.
Technically Microsoft doesn't own the trademark on "Windows", they own "Microsoft Windows". The "Microsoft" bit makes it non-generic. Apple could theoretically call their next OS "Apple Windows", though depending on the judge's opinion they might still be successfully sued.
I agree Apple shouldn't be able to trademark "App Store" only "Apple App Store". It quite ballsy of them to even try to trademark "App Store". "Apple Inc." is about the most generic name for a corporation I can think of. It's like they are a moving company trying to make sure their listing is first in the phone book. Maybe the successful shortening of their name from "Apple Computer Inc." to "Apple Inc." has emboldened them.
The Earth has two other things going for it besides being in the right place around the right type of star and in the right part of the galaxy. It also has the moon spinning around it catching meteors, and a liquid iron core producing a strong magnetic field which keeps our atmosphere intact. Without those two things it might have been much more difficult for complex organisms to evolve.
I don't know, they have the second highest market cap of any company in the world, they must be doing something right.
Also I think I could name the CEO of most major tech companies. Jobs is definitely the most iconic, but there are plenty of other iconic people in the field.
If Jobs does pass or is forced to retire (and I hope he doesn't), it will be an interesting opportunity for Apple. Jobs runs the company with an iron fist. His style is "my way or the highway". On one hand he's been in the captain's seat when his company has done some really great things (NeXTStep, OSX), and on the other some really terrible things (iOS). The consistent thing is that everything Apple is locked down. That might change if Jobs is no longer at the wheel.
Thanks for your advice, I really appreciate it. I'm definitely not fussy about the car type. All I want is a two seat convertible. A BMW or Porsche would be great too and probably easier to find.
I really wish I'd kept up my German. It was bad to begin with and now I'm 10 years out of practice. It's a shame, because I love that part of Europe and I have to constantly go around saying "Excuse me do you speak English?" or do a lot of pointing and smiling. Every German or Austrian under 30 I've met in a major city generally is completely fluent in English, which makes it all the more humiliating.
Unless you are hanging out with Amish guys (who I think actually speak a variant of Dutch, but that's as close as your gonna get), there aren't many places in the States to practice German.
Can you rent an MX-5 in Austria? If you know a good place where they have a staff that speaks English that would be excellent as my German is pretty bad (horribly bad). I'm heading there after I get married, and while I'll settle for (anything really), I wouldn't mind climbing the Alps in any revision of an MX-5.
They dropped the "Miata" name with the NC revision in favor of just MX-5, which is more in line with Mazda's current naming scheme. I have a NB Special Addition, alas not one with the 6-speed gear box.
They really are great cars, though not for where I live, Florida. The roads here are ruler straight, and the MX-5 is best enjoyed in the turns. This is an area ruled by V8 Mustangs and F150s, hence acceleration can be a big factor.
I've never driven in Europe, I've always taken the train. In the US though, there are parts of the highway system that were not designed well, or where drivers habitually abuse the speed limit. Take the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway in NYC. Except at the bridges, the aren't really on ramps in any true sense of the word. The posted speed is 50 miles an hour but drivers usually drive as fast as traffic will allow (at night sometimes 70). There is little enforcement as the road runs through a conceit channel with no margins for a police officer to pull a driver over into. The "on ramps" are very short, usually only a few hundred feet, and you are immediately thrust directly into the right lane, there is no merging lane.
The first time I drove it I think I said: "this is exactly like making a run on the Death Star".
That's an extreme example, but having a car that can accelerate quickly is definitely an issue in the US, especially if you intend to use the freeways in major cities. The BQE is not the only poorly designed road, try i83 in Baltimore. My friend who was studying urban planning claimed it was actually in one of his text books for "how not to design a road".
You need to visit the Southwest. The dessert is beautiful, and you can drive as fast as your car can go in some areas, in other areas the speed limit is 85 and people still drive as fast as their car can go. No where for the traffic cops to hide.
Nothing like doing 90 and having the guy in the fast lane fly past you like you were standing still.
My car has a 1.8 liter engine with about 140 hp and maxes out at about 120 mph. In 5th gear it's at 4000 rpm at 65 mph. With 29 hp you're going to be at nearly redlining it at 70, even if the gear ratios are loose.
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ADD and ADHD drugs are sought after stimulants. That's why it's over diagnosed. At my little brother's college the doctors at the school clinic give out Adderall like candy. About half his friends are on the stuff. The kids love it because its speed, and the school loves it because test scores shoot way up.
I wasn't aware there was a fad of self diagnosing Asperger's. I know two people who do have Asperger's and I wouldn't describe them as geeky, just painfully socially awkward... except they are not, at least not anymore. They went through years of therapy and more or less overcame their disability.
Stimulants and the Air Force (and probably NASA) go hand and hand. The Air Force has been using dextro-amphetamine pretty much since the beginning. Cocaine is slightly different, but it doesn't last very long and it distorts your perceptions more. It's not the sort of thing that you would really want someone working under the influence of, though I'd say it probably a lot less problematic then alcohol. I could see a person that was desensitized to dextro moving up to blow.
Maybe one of the flyboys wanted to get the Russians on the ISS high. From what I hear the Russians do a stim called methacathinone, which is nowhere near as good. Probably just a case of international goodwill getting all mucked up by the bureaucrats. Imagine, at the rate they are orbiting, that party could last a shuttle month instead of an earthly few days.
Well, there are lab diamonds. They are completely flawless and only about one-third the price, though top out at about a carat. Fancy diamonds hold their value, though they cost a fortune if they are anything but yellow. If you're old fashioned and classy you can go for a star sapphire.
I went the traditional route and while it really made her extremely happy and continues to every time a women complements her on her ring (and in that sense was a good investment), I wasn't too pleased at the financial aspects of it.
I suppose what I did take from the whole experience was that I did learn a hell of a lot about diamonds, which are somewhat fascinating.
Not to suggest she knew anything about diamonds, but the price for a 3 carat ring can vary a lot depending on its quality and source. A $16,000 3 carat ring is going to look pretty shoddy, even to a someone that doesn't know much about what to look for. Maybe she just figured that he got it at a pawn shop or that it was fake.
Seriously: why anyone becomes a fanboy for a corporation is something I'll never fathom.
Sometimes they own the company's stock. My uncle is a big Apple fan partially because made him significantly more money then he ever spent on their products (and he has a lot of Macs).
Lubricants maybe? Getting those wheels to continue to spin at those speeds might be an issue. I don't know I don't build supercars, but often it's the little things that make a difference to society.
Yeah, though US telcos have been rubbing our faces in shit for so long that SMS charges doesn't seems so bad, somehow. Back in college I got a bill from Verizon for $2000 for just voice (it was a land line, not a mobile, no long distance). I called them about it and it turned out it was a billing mistake and they promised to correct it and send a new bill. They did not, the next bill was for almost $6000. Six months later they finally got the balance straitened out, but insisted I pay over $400 in late fees because I didn't pony up the $6000 (I didn't owe them) in time. I suppose I should have sued them, but its hard to sue Verizon when you're a college kid struggling to pay rent.
Fuck Verizon, I don't care if their network is better. They will never see another dime out of me.
Who does that (I'm curious, I'm not contradicting you)? I've never heard of anything like that. I know that AT&T doesn't do it, neither does Sprint. Other posters have a said Verizon and T-Mobil don't either. Is it a non-US practice?
The iMac is an exception to the rule (ditto the old iBook). I suppose I should have said if it runs iOS rather then OS X it sucks.
It's avoidable. Never buy anything from them that begins with an "i". Anything that begins with an "M" you're ok.
You can register anything you want, so long as it isn't already registered by someone else. The trick is whether you can get the trademark to hold up in court. I think if Apple tried to release "Apple Windows", the argument would come down to two things: Whether Windows is commonly used to describe any GUI and whether there is documentation of a GUI being referred to as Windows before MS trademarked the term.
I'm not saying Apple would win, just that of all the types of intellectual property, trademarks are the most legally dicey. Copyright is (or was) pretty clear, patents have a pretty simple formula to determine if they are being infringed upon, but all a court has to do is rule that your trademark is or has become generic and poof it's gone.
My understanding is that while Microsoft may claim it, it hasn't stood up in court. That might be out of date though.
I meant in the legal sense. My great grandfather owned a company called "Standard Electrical Company", that's pretty generic, but not so generic that he was having legal difficulties from "Standard Oil". Had his company just been called "Standard Inc.", a much better case could be made that it would be legally generic. Apple Inc. is the same way. Is it Apple Computer, Apple Records, Apple Hauling and Waste Disposal? There is legal precedent for generic names, but it tilts the playing field toward large businesses, which I'm uncomfortable with.
Hey you insensitive clod, some people make a living retouching those sharp knees.
The days of a photograph automatically being an accurate record never existed. Just look up the work of Henry Peach Robinson or Oscar Gustave Rejlander. Even the very first photograph of a human being (Louis Daguerre, 1838 not to be confused with the first photo taken by Nicéphore Niépce in 1826) was not an accurate as the exposure was so long that only one person standing still (getting his shoe shined) showed up. Going by that picture you would think the streets of Paris were empty.
Photo manipulation isn't so much a lie as it is simply artistic license. It can be used to lie, but only if it's presented as such. Retouching a fashion model isn't lying because no one is claiming that it's a record of reality. Every last aspect of every single fashion shoot is contrived: from the hair, make-up and clothing (which is usually clothes-pinned on to make it look better), to the thousands of dollars of strobes designed to highlight certain features, to the hours of digital post where you give her a digital tummy tuck, boob job, and delete the sweat from her nose. Usually she's then masked and standing in blank white space, on the cover of a magazine, which attests to the fact that it's not real.
It's actually somewhat difficult to get a picture that is an accurate depiction of reality. Just by flattening something onto a screen or piece of paper you lose so much visual information that you are already seeing an abstraction.
Technically Microsoft doesn't own the trademark on "Windows", they own "Microsoft Windows". The "Microsoft" bit makes it non-generic. Apple could theoretically call their next OS "Apple Windows", though depending on the judge's opinion they might still be successfully sued.
I agree Apple shouldn't be able to trademark "App Store" only "Apple App Store". It quite ballsy of them to even try to trademark "App Store". "Apple Inc." is about the most generic name for a corporation I can think of. It's like they are a moving company trying to make sure their listing is first in the phone book. Maybe the successful shortening of their name from "Apple Computer Inc." to "Apple Inc." has emboldened them.
The Earth has two other things going for it besides being in the right place around the right type of star and in the right part of the galaxy. It also has the moon spinning around it catching meteors, and a liquid iron core producing a strong magnetic field which keeps our atmosphere intact. Without those two things it might have been much more difficult for complex organisms to evolve.
I don't know, they have the second highest market cap of any company in the world, they must be doing something right.
Also I think I could name the CEO of most major tech companies. Jobs is definitely the most iconic, but there are plenty of other iconic people in the field.
If Jobs does pass or is forced to retire (and I hope he doesn't), it will be an interesting opportunity for Apple. Jobs runs the company with an iron fist. His style is "my way or the highway". On one hand he's been in the captain's seat when his company has done some really great things (NeXTStep, OSX), and on the other some really terrible things (iOS). The consistent thing is that everything Apple is locked down. That might change if Jobs is no longer at the wheel.
Thanks for your advice, I really appreciate it. I'm definitely not fussy about the car type. All I want is a two seat convertible. A BMW or Porsche would be great too and probably easier to find.
I really wish I'd kept up my German. It was bad to begin with and now I'm 10 years out of practice. It's a shame, because I love that part of Europe and I have to constantly go around saying "Excuse me do you speak English?" or do a lot of pointing and smiling. Every German or Austrian under 30 I've met in a major city generally is completely fluent in English, which makes it all the more humiliating.
Unless you are hanging out with Amish guys (who I think actually speak a variant of Dutch, but that's as close as your gonna get), there aren't many places in the States to practice German.
Can you rent an MX-5 in Austria? If you know a good place where they have a staff that speaks English that would be excellent as my German is pretty bad (horribly bad). I'm heading there after I get married, and while I'll settle for (anything really), I wouldn't mind climbing the Alps in any revision of an MX-5.
They dropped the "Miata" name with the NC revision in favor of just MX-5, which is more in line with Mazda's current naming scheme. I have a NB Special Addition, alas not one with the 6-speed gear box.
They really are great cars, though not for where I live, Florida. The roads here are ruler straight, and the MX-5 is best enjoyed in the turns. This is an area ruled by V8 Mustangs and F150s, hence acceleration can be a big factor.
I've never driven in Europe, I've always taken the train. In the US though, there are parts of the highway system that were not designed well, or where drivers habitually abuse the speed limit. Take the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway in NYC. Except at the bridges, the aren't really on ramps in any true sense of the word. The posted speed is 50 miles an hour but drivers usually drive as fast as traffic will allow (at night sometimes 70). There is little enforcement as the road runs through a conceit channel with no margins for a police officer to pull a driver over into. The "on ramps" are very short, usually only a few hundred feet, and you are immediately thrust directly into the right lane, there is no merging lane.
The first time I drove it I think I said: "this is exactly like making a run on the Death Star".
That's an extreme example, but having a car that can accelerate quickly is definitely an issue in the US, especially if you intend to use the freeways in major cities. The BQE is not the only poorly designed road, try i83 in Baltimore. My friend who was studying urban planning claimed it was actually in one of his text books for "how not to design a road".
I like the covered rear wheels actually. Can I get one with a Porche Boxster engine? I'd prefer 270 hp to 27 hp.
oops! meant desert not dessert
You need to visit the Southwest. The dessert is beautiful, and you can drive as fast as your car can go in some areas, in other areas the speed limit is 85 and people still drive as fast as their car can go. No where for the traffic cops to hide.
Nothing like doing 90 and having the guy in the fast lane fly past you like you were standing still.
My car has a 1.8 liter engine with about 140 hp and maxes out at about 120 mph. In 5th gear it's at 4000 rpm at 65 mph. With 29 hp you're going to be at nearly redlining it at 70, even if the gear ratios are loose.