I can't wait to get my street paved... it's asphalt on dirt and has more cracks and potholes than actual road surface left. They've been patching it with cold patch for about 5 years now. At one point, I would see several cars a night with flats from one particularly nasty pothole... typically it was a bent rim for added excitement. We're slated for curb-to-curb rebuild this summer. Hopefully they'll fish all the VW Beetles out of the potholes before they start digging.
They marketed the contract by talking about how you could get movies from the store for free by returning your mail-in movies. That was part of the deal. They've changed the terms after the fact. There is no "entitlement mentality" in this. Blockbuster is providing less service for the same price. That's definitely a "negative impact."
The obvious solution is to walk away from Blockbuster. That's what you do when the other party doesn't live up to their obligations.
I used to sit off to the side of the outdoor chimp enclosure at the St Louis zoo for hours (this was when I was a kid) and watch their antics. My favorite was a particular chimp who would fill his mouth with water and then proceed to calmly, nonchalantly, saunter around the enclosure until he settled calmly at the bars with his back turned to the crowd. He'd then wait for several minutes, sometimes as long as 10-15, before calmly turning his head over his shoulder and dowsing whoever was nearest. He had figured out that if if he ran right up and started spitting, people got out of the way. But if he took his time, and waited long enough, some rube would get close enough for a serious dowsing. Oh, and apparently chimps can hold a *lot* of water in their mouths...
I guess your truncated nick is supposed to be "I cant believe its n<ot Mel Torme> (1103137)." And I was so hoping that you were./me crawls back to listen to Frank one more time.
just call them and complain to the nice person on the phone. I know it's a shocking thing to say, but some of them are genuinely helpful./me runs and hides
Our *four*...no... *Amongst* our weapons.... Amongst our weaponry...are such elements as versioning, snapshots, backups, an almost fanatical devotion to the pope, and nice red uniforms - oh damn!
yeah, I'm aware. What's amazing is how many small shops do charge a fee, or a minumum amount, both of which are violations of the merchant agreement. I'm always curious how they get away with it... probably no one bothers to report it and life goes on.
slightly OT, but since I own an only-slightly-larger-than-mom-and-pop business, I have to say, this sort of thing is becoming a real consideration. 10 years ago, my business was 60/40 cash/cc, now it's reversed and getting worse (because of the ubiquity of debit cards, and those stupid commercials that try to make people feel bad for paying cash...how stupid is that?). I'm seriously considering giving a cash discount just to avoid or reduce the:
1) costs of cc transactions 2) the hassle of securly storing so much paperwork 3) because cash is king!
In reality, it'll probably never happen, but once in a while I think about it.
Is there any truth to this? I've heard it several times before.
I suspect there are a number of other minor infractions that could be piled on including the various "refusal to obey a lawful order" b.s. when the officer orders you to put down the bottle before you've had a chance to drink. Worse still, the officer could "mistake" it for a weapon with the ensuing hilarity of a ride to the hospital while they try to keep all your fluids inside you.
OT, but yes. My school (Eastern Washington) does. It's a BA in CS Theory, designed for those moving on to grad school. I'm in the program because of three things:
1. It's a shorter path to a degree, and interestingly, it's easier to shove more math into the degree with that option.
2. It allows me to use my 4 quarters of french credit from a proficiency test years ago. (I guess that's part of the shorter path thing).
3. I'm 38 y.o. and want to get back into programming and *don't* want to learn how to work in a chem lab. I mean it's definitely cool, but is a distraction from what I want to do at this point.
My question is, does that make me less attractive to employers? or grad-schools? Maybe it does, but I'm hoping the real-world experience, and acquired work-ethic of being an adult will help balance that. We'll see.
Pink Floyd was really two bands though. one with Syd Barrett and one without. The Pink Floyd most people are familiar with (post Syd) didn't really get going until the very late 60's and really hit their stride in the early-mid 70's. The point is that it's a common mistake for people to think Floyd didn't really exist much before about '70.
Like I said, I'm all in favor of healthcare workers being well compensated. That includes those who make medical devices or deliver medical goods or perform services in any other part of the system. Also, it is not my intention to call foul on this particular development. Rather, it brought to mind my personal dislike of the whole system.
One question I have is: what is a reasonable profit? Is it reasonable if the cost to the sick is such that 10 people can't afford it and face continued sickness, injury or death? 100 people? 1000? etc etc. Don't think I'm trying to be alarmist stating it that way. I just don't really know any other way to put it. Likewise, I have no problem with colgate making a tidy profit from toothpaste.
It's a nasty problem. Essentially, I think there is something deeply flawed in our for-profit healthcare system (speaking as a USIAN here, BTW).
I have no answers though. Maybe someone else does.
I don't necessarily hate corporations (considering that I own a couple of small ones), though I have real issue with the corporation-as-person legal situation and the problems that come with it. But that is beside the point.
Over the past few years, I've been developing this idea (making it no longer a knee-jerk reaction) that for-profit medicine is inherently evil.
I don't have any answers, by a long shot, just a strong feeling that the current system is wrong at a fundamental level. The idea that some stockholder gets nice fat returns on investment; the CEO and other TLA's at the top of a medical corp get big fat paychecks; and there is a convoluted, insanely top-heavy bureaucracy managing all the paperwork turns my stomach. That all costs money, and lots of it, that could be better spent actually delivering, instead of managing and profiting from, healthcare.
The big difficulty is how do you spur development and innovation in medicine without the profit potential as a carrot. I suppose that this is one possible useful place for government (shudder) involvement. Government funded medical research, while probably horribly wasteful, might be on a par with the systemic costs of our for-profit system, but without the long-term continued costs of providing profits. In a better case scenario, since the gov't already spends a lot in this regard, it may actually be cheaper than the current system, but that's only a supposition.
I suppose I'm a luddite in this regard. I'd like the doctor to come along in his buggy and fix-up the kids in exchange for a couple of hot meals and maybe a chicken or two.
Dimagi, a for-profit company started by MIT Media Lab alums, plans to release a new mobile application called CommCare within the next two months.
I stopped reading there. The last thing countries with poor healthcare need is a for-profit companies trying to make a buck off the fact that they have poor healthcare.
The whole profit-from-other's sickness just... well... sickens me.
Now, I'm not saying that medical workers shouldn't make a great living helping people. I have a problem with *corporations* making money on top of that. It's a crime, IMO, that the healthcare industry is so profitable while people are dying from a lack of healthcare. No, I have no citation, it's just how I feel.
Catholics (I should know, I was one) have this all wrapped up already. They call it Original Sin. The theory is that we are all stained with the sins of Adam and Eve from birth and have to actively pursue innocence from the moment you're born.
There's something weird with the blue LED's for me too. I just can't seem to focus on them. It'll give me a headache if I keep trying. The other colors are fine, but the blues... horrible.
Indeed. But don't get me wrong, they both have their place. Even in something as simple as furniture, a little engineering is a good thing. But when it comes time to put tools to materials, a craftsman can take an engineer's theory and turn it into a thing of beauty.
Slashdot Mirror
I can't wait to get my street paved... it's asphalt on dirt and has more cracks and potholes than actual road surface left. They've been patching it with cold patch for about 5 years now. At one point, I would see several cars a night with flats from one particularly nasty pothole... typically it was a bent rim for added excitement. We're slated for curb-to-curb rebuild this summer. Hopefully they'll fish all the VW Beetles out of the potholes before they start digging.
And before you scream OT... I'm in WA ;-P
They marketed the contract by talking about how you could get movies from the store for free by returning your mail-in movies. That was part of the deal. They've changed the terms after the fact. There is no "entitlement mentality" in this. Blockbuster is providing less service for the same price. That's definitely a "negative impact."
The obvious solution is to walk away from Blockbuster. That's what you do when the other party doesn't live up to their obligations.
I used to sit off to the side of the outdoor chimp enclosure at the St Louis zoo for hours (this was when I was a kid) and watch their antics. My favorite was a particular chimp who would fill his mouth with water and then proceed to calmly, nonchalantly, saunter around the enclosure until he settled calmly at the bars with his back turned to the crowd. He'd then wait for several minutes, sometimes as long as 10-15, before calmly turning his head over his shoulder and dowsing whoever was nearest. He had figured out that if if he ran right up and started spitting, people got out of the way. But if he took his time, and waited long enough, some rube would get close enough for a serious dowsing. Oh, and apparently chimps can hold a *lot* of water in their mouths...
Hey, that's pretty sweet. Thanks. He was amazing.
and no, my sig is a line from "Teenage Dirtbag", on the other end of the spectrum ;)
Ah... the velvet fog...
I guess your truncated nick is supposed to be "I cant believe its n<ot Mel Torme> (1103137)." And I was so hoping that you were. /me crawls back to listen to Frank one more time.
it's true, but I figured no one would believe me.
just call them and complain to the nice person on the phone. I know it's a shocking thing to say, but some of them are genuinely helpful. /me runs and hides
Who wants to make the grammar joke?
This exact comment has already been posted. Try to be more original...
says /.
Damn, I thought that was too funny to pass up! Its lack of originality is at least half the humor.
Our *four*...no... *Amongst* our weapons.... Amongst our weaponry...are such elements as versioning, snapshots, backups, an almost fanatical devotion to the pope, and nice red uniforms - oh damn!
yeah, I'm aware. What's amazing is how many small shops do charge a fee, or a minumum amount, both of which are violations of the merchant agreement. I'm always curious how they get away with it... probably no one bothers to report it and life goes on.
slightly OT, but since I own an only-slightly-larger-than-mom-and-pop business, I have to say, this sort of thing is becoming a real consideration. 10 years ago, my business was 60/40 cash/cc, now it's reversed and getting worse (because of the ubiquity of debit cards, and those stupid commercials that try to make people feel bad for paying cash...how stupid is that?). I'm seriously considering giving a cash discount just to avoid or reduce the:
1) costs of cc transactions
2) the hassle of securly storing so much paperwork
3) because cash is king!
In reality, it'll probably never happen, but once in a while I think about it.
Is there any truth to this? I've heard it several times before.
I suspect there are a number of other minor infractions that could be piled on including the various "refusal to obey a lawful order" b.s. when the officer orders you to put down the bottle before you've had a chance to drink. Worse still, the officer could "mistake" it for a weapon with the ensuing hilarity of a ride to the hospital while they try to keep all your fluids inside you.
All in all, I think it's a pretty bad idea.
I prefer to lunch through work myself, ymmv.
(is there a school that offers a B.A.?)
OT, but yes. My school (Eastern Washington) does. It's a BA in CS Theory, designed for those moving on to grad school. I'm in the program because of three things:
1. It's a shorter path to a degree, and interestingly, it's easier to shove more math into the degree with that option.
2. It allows me to use my 4 quarters of french credit from a proficiency test years ago. (I guess that's part of the shorter path thing).
3. I'm 38 y.o. and want to get back into programming and *don't* want to learn how to work in a chem lab. I mean it's definitely cool, but is a distraction from what I want to do at this point.
My question is, does that make me less attractive to employers? or grad-schools? Maybe it does, but I'm hoping the real-world experience, and acquired work-ethic of being an adult will help balance that. We'll see.
thank you for inspiring me to finally translate that sig. I've looked at it for years thinking I really should translate it, but haven't bothered.
Now that you've taken the cheap way out and used a damn plugin to do the grunt work, I've gone and done it the right way.
and 01111001 01100101 01110011 00101100 00100000 01111001 01100101 01110011 00100000 01001001 00100000 01100001 01101101 00101110
(cross fingers it's right, 'cause I'll hear no end of crap if it's not...)
Absolutely! *I'm* certainly not dismissing any part of their history.
Pink Floyd was really two bands though. one with Syd Barrett and one without. The Pink Floyd most people are familiar with (post Syd) didn't really get going until the very late 60's and really hit their stride in the early-mid 70's. The point is that it's a common mistake for people to think Floyd didn't really exist much before about '70.
Like I said, I'm all in favor of healthcare workers being well compensated. That includes those who make medical devices or deliver medical goods or perform services in any other part of the system. Also, it is not my intention to call foul on this particular development. Rather, it brought to mind my personal dislike of the whole system.
One question I have is: what is a reasonable profit? Is it reasonable if the cost to the sick is such that 10 people can't afford it and face continued sickness, injury or death? 100 people? 1000? etc etc. Don't think I'm trying to be alarmist stating it that way. I just don't really know any other way to put it. Likewise, I have no problem with colgate making a tidy profit from toothpaste.
It's a nasty problem. Essentially, I think there is something deeply flawed in our for-profit healthcare system (speaking as a USIAN here, BTW).
I have no answers though. Maybe someone else does.
I don't necessarily hate corporations (considering that I own a couple of small ones), though I have real issue with the corporation-as-person legal situation and the problems that come with it. But that is beside the point.
Over the past few years, I've been developing this idea (making it no longer a knee-jerk reaction) that for-profit medicine is inherently evil.
I don't have any answers, by a long shot, just a strong feeling that the current system is wrong at a fundamental level. The idea that some stockholder gets nice fat returns on investment; the CEO and other TLA's at the top of a medical corp get big fat paychecks; and there is a convoluted, insanely top-heavy bureaucracy managing all the paperwork turns my stomach. That all costs money, and lots of it, that could be better spent actually delivering, instead of managing and profiting from, healthcare.
The big difficulty is how do you spur development and innovation in medicine without the profit potential as a carrot. I suppose that this is one possible useful place for government (shudder) involvement. Government funded medical research, while probably horribly wasteful, might be on a par with the systemic costs of our for-profit system, but without the long-term continued costs of providing profits. In a better case scenario, since the gov't already spends a lot in this regard, it may actually be cheaper than the current system, but that's only a supposition.
I suppose I'm a luddite in this regard. I'd like the doctor to come along in his buggy and fix-up the kids in exchange for a couple of hot meals and maybe a chicken or two.
FTFA:
Dimagi, a for-profit company started by MIT Media Lab alums, plans to release a new mobile application called CommCare within the next two months.
I stopped reading there. The last thing countries with poor healthcare need is a for-profit companies trying to make a buck off the fact that they have poor healthcare.
The whole profit-from-other's sickness just... well... sickens me.
Now, I'm not saying that medical workers shouldn't make a great living helping people. I have a problem with *corporations* making money on top of that. It's a crime, IMO, that the healthcare industry is so profitable while people are dying from a lack of healthcare. No, I have no citation, it's just how I feel.
speak for yourself!
Catholics (I should know, I was one) have this all wrapped up already. They call it Original Sin. The theory is that we are all stained with the sins of Adam and Eve from birth and have to actively pursue innocence from the moment you're born.
There's something weird with the blue LED's for me too. I just can't seem to focus on them. It'll give me a headache if I keep trying. The other colors are fine, but the blues... horrible.
Indeed. But don't get me wrong, they both have their place. Even in something as simple as furniture, a little engineering is a good thing. But when it comes time to put tools to materials, a craftsman can take an engineer's theory and turn it into a thing of beauty.
Same applies to software, IMO.
mmmm... me-jelly...