I'm not sure if you're serious or trolling, but I'll assume serious. Are you implying that a theist who believes in an afterlife would be more cavalier with their physical health since they consider life on Earth as merely a speed bump on the trip to eternal salvation? I know that holds true for many evangelicals with regard to our natural resources and the health of the planet (("F**k the earth, god gave it to us to rape and pillage so don't complain to me about my Hummer!"), but most religious people I know are generally not smokers and drinkers.
Why would an atheist avoid physical (guilty) pleasures like drinking or smoking? Would a longer, more boring life be preferable to a shorter, exciting, experience-filled existence? I would say the more surprising thing about the fact that he drank and smoked is that he is knowledgeable about the scientific body of evidence related to the detrimental health effects. He made an informed decision to spend what he knew was a finite existence doing things that gave him pleasure rather than squandering that time twiddling his thumbs.
You are so right...atheism was such a small part of what he wrote and spoke about. It certainly was the topic that sold tickets and books, but he commented and wrote about nearly every topic related to culture and civilization. Love him or hate him, he was always interesting and thought-provoking.
Back in the days of Shareware there was a similar attitude from people who actually paid the software author. Part of that was encouraged by the authors, they would list people that had purchased their program or thank them personally. The big difference today is the people who created the stuff that is being "shared" via torrent are usually so distantly removed from the purchase that they don't realize or care that some geek bought their CD or DVD. So there is no longer a recognition from the creator of the work (Bono emails the guys....."Thanks for buying my CD!"), which means the purchaser (former thief) doesn't get any thanks or acknowledgement from the artist and instead must toot his/her own horn.
That's why I like buying product directly from the artist whenever possible, via their website or even at a live show (yes, many artists sell CD's and other merchandise after their shows). I plan on sending Louis CK $5 even if I only watch his video once, mainly because I think it's a great idea and I want other artists to try the same thing (plus he's funny as hell).
Religious people generally keep their faith to themselves unless provoked, and give generously to the poor worldwide. What's not to like about them?
Religious people are inefficient at helping the poor since they sometimes/often/usually/always waste a significant portion of their time and resources on promoting superstitions and fallacies. Every bible that is passed along could instead be a book about math or science, or a box of rice or a jug of fresh drinking water. Every hour wasted filling their minds with myths about gods who descended from the sky and once walked the earth could instead be used to teach them farming or other trade skills. Sometimes religious people dispense advice that actually is measurably detrimental to the health and well being of those they are trying to assist (i.e. Catholic missionary workers discouraging distribution of condoms to migratory workers in Africa).
I have many, many friends and family who are religious, and the vast majority are harmless. I don't dislike religious people, but that doesn't mean I should quietly allow them to spread their delusions, whether related to science, math, or mythical invisible beings. Instead I try to politely steer them to knowledge and away from superstition. I like Carl Sagan's approach rather than Richard Dawson's.:)
I'd bash stamp collectors as well if they actively worked to block the teaching of science in schools, denied funding for legitimate scientific research, and pushed their viewpoint through taxpayer funded faith-based initiatives.
Stamp collectors actually help subsidize the US mail since they boost profits with minimal cost to the post office. What's not to like about them?
Almost as if someone had designed it....
on
Is the Earth Special?
·
· Score: 2, Insightful
I can already hear the "intelligent design" folks jumping on this topic as proof that we aren't here through random chance but were assembled by some creator. Just as an FYI, the "rare earth hypothesis" has been circulating in the scientific community for many years.
I'm speaking strictly from personal experience with my small business (hardware store employing 30 people) and what I hear from other small business owners both locally and in the hardware industry around the country, but the banks don't appear to be loaning anyone anything lately. Even with the Fed pumping money into the system they still aren't willing to loan it out to small businesses or individuals. Money is going to money, and that's doing nothing to help the businesses and individuals that are struggling.
Jon Stewart covered this topic quite well the other day. So essentially we (US Treasury) loaned the banks money at 0.01% and then they loaned us (US Treasury) the money back at a higher rate. WTF?
In fact, I seem to remember reading that time zones (as opposed to high noon being at a different minute for each quarter degree of longitude) were invented to set railroad schedules.
Yes, British rail specifically.
That's because the median person (by average, did you mean mean or median?) by wealth lives in a developing country and thus has little need for customer service in an offshore call center. Unless, of course, you choose a measure of wealth that puts the median person in India.
Yes, you're correct, I forgot about call centers. However, by interact I meant in some coordinated fashion where a UTC would be advantageous. For example, if I was calling Mastercard customer service there is no need for me to notify Michael in India that I will be calling him at a specific time. However, if my daughter is traveling to India then a UTC might help since we could arrange to speak at 04:30 UTC and not have to figure out how many hours ahead or behind she is when traveling.
As far as "mean" versus "median", I meant average as in Joe Six-Pack (for the US) and his/her equivalent in the rest of the world. The vast majority of the human population is born, grows up, and dies within a very small geographic radius and never travels beyond that radius. I live in the NY metro area, and have traveled a decent amount (Canada, Mexico, all of the US and Alaska, and several trips to Europe) but sadly that type of travel is really the exception among people I know. So for most Americans a time-zone difference never really goes beyond 3 hours (NY to CA) which is relatively manageable.
Wasn't time based on the rotation of the earth and the relative position of the sun in the sky? The hours of the day were tracked long before people started setting up multiple time zones...look at a sundial and there are numbers and those numbers were pretty much same. Time zones only date to the mid-1800's so they certainly aren't a "relic of the past".
Don't get me wrong, there certainly are advantages to using a standard time (and plenty of scientific, military, and technical applications use either UTC or GMT), but the average person will want to track time in relationship to their day as they experience it. And face it, the average person does very little traveling, very little interaction with people outside their time zone, and probably never interacts with someone in a significantly different time zone (i.e. on the other side of the world).
You are exactly the people that Groupon wants to reach. A business wants to appeal to a new customer with the deal, but not give away a super deal to existing customers. They want you to try a powerboat adventure, hoping you'll come back again at full price.
If you just go once, you'll have fun and save money.
I wish I still had mod points to bump up your comment. The whole PCI compliance scam is a pet peeve of mine. I own a hardware store and we're fully compliant, but it cost a bunch and is a real pain considering that we're trying to protect credit cards and a system that is essentially poorly secured in the first place. There are thousands and thousands of independent business owners that are not anywhere near compliant, and they have no clue how to get in compliance. They are just scared that when a breach happens they will lose their merchant privileges and maybe be held liable for the losses. Meanwhile, Citi and other large targets get broken into regularly for millions and millions in losses.
I certainly don't think that small merchants can be lax in their security procedures, but I think the bankcard industry needs to subsidize the security updates and do a much better job of educating and assisting the retail store owners. These are restaurant owners, deli owners, clothing stores, hardware stores, and other businesses where the owner is not real tech or security savvy. They know how to cook a meal, slice ham on a machine, measure an inseam, or cut a key. These folks take credit cards (and pay the insane fees) because the must to stay in business. They are saddled with bankcards that are inherently insecure (seriously, check the signature on the back of the card?).
Sorry, I'm ranting...but I still wish I had the mod points I had yesterday.
I don't support illegal immigration but I certainly don't think the solution is "Show me your papers" mentality.
And I'm from NY, so I guess since I'm not near the border. Obviously all those illegal immigrants plop right down after they cross the border because I never hear of any illegal immigrants up here in the northeast, so this issue doesn't affect me. It especially won't affect me because I will not set foot in AZ while this law is in effect.
>I don't know how it's in Canada, but here in Germany, recording someone without previously having his agreement, is still illegal, even when in public.
If I see you doing a crime in the US, Canada, Germany, wherever, and I have a camera, I'm going to record it, and fuck what you think or what the law says.
So you're the guy I saw hiding in the bushes and recording the little girls illegally playing on the grass in the park. Can you send them some of those recordings via IRC so I can help you analyze them?
Too bad the retailer has no incentive other than threats from the industry. Small business owners pay the highest transaction fees for bankcards, and now they are being saddled with additional costs to beef up security to protect the bankcard industry profits.
True, but there is much confusion out there in "mom & pop" land. I own a small business and I'm certainly confused about the requirements, and I've got enough tech savvy to be dangerous.:)
As someone else pointed out, the big breaches get the press while the small ones may not be getting seen above the media "noise". So if Joe's Hardware gets broken into and bankcards are stolen it's not a big deal and it doesn't hit the Slashdot front page.
So maybe a bad analogy, but I guess I'm voicing the thoughts of small business owners (I run a discussion email list).
What I'm suggesting is that the bankcard industry is wetting their pants about retailer security and meanwhile the breaches are occurring at much more lucrative targets. I certainly think retailers need to secure their systems, but at what cost? For example, assume retailer has a secure WiFi network using WPA-2. That WiFi is on the same segment as their wired network. PCI standards require the business to segment the WiFi. That's obviously "best practice", but that means the business needs to invest in an upgraded firewall. When these businesses are struggling just to stay afloat they can't afford this technology investment.
PCI compliance requires servers be in a locked room. If the business is a three person operation and the server sits under the owners desk then is that really a big security risk, or should the owner of this small business build a secure server room?
With unlimited money I'd expect every business to secure their systems at the maximum level, but what level can we accept that will address the likely threat without bankrupting the small business owner? Do they really need to take a step back and use self-contained credit card machines?
RSA keys are compromised, Sony gets compromised, and meanwhile the bankcard industry continues to come down hard on independent retailers to force them to bring their internal systems into PCI compliance. I know small retailers that have invested tens of thousands to secure their WiFi, update their firewall, upgrade their debit pads, all to protect cardholder data. Seriously, what criminal is going to target Joe's Hardware Store to snag a few hundred bankcards? These guys want the big targets. As Willie Sutton didn't say, "That's where the money is". Criminals are going to aim at the top of the food chain, not at the mom and pop store. And even if they do hack the mom and pop store the damage is minimal compared to an RSA or Sony breach.
The government probably submitted an order to preserve information almost immediately, a common practice in both criminal and civil cases. These orders are often sent prior to a lawsuit of criminal charge being filed, kind of an advance warning not to destroy anything as we're coming for your records. That then makes it a crime even to destroy the records.
A Yugo was not a better car at a cheaper price, it was a poor quality vehicle at a cheaper price. "You get what you pay for" applied to the Yugo, but Kinect provides more accurate 3D sensors at a cheaper price. So the Yugo is not a very good comparison.
However, I do agree that to truly determine how "revolutionary" this will turn out is something that we won't know until a year or two from now.
No, you cannot let someone else use your CREDIT card to make a purchase in person. Every bankcard merchant agreement requires the merchant to verify that the person presenting the card is the person named on the card, and the merchant must verify the signature.
There are exceptions for some national chains and supermarkets where the bankcard companies negotiate a rate that accounts for potential losses and they allow the merchant to skip the signature check. That's why at CVS you can swipe your card for a purchase under $50 and never show the card to the cashier, or swipe a card at the gas pump for up to $75 worth of gas (that amount varies). You can also let someone use your card if it is also a debit card...they can enter your PIN to make the purchase. They cannot sign for the purchase since legally they are not authorized to sign for your card or your account. So mom can't let you take her card to the store to get stuff, and your boss can't send you to Home Depot to buy lumber with his card (unless it's a corporate card with no named individual on the card).
In practice many retailers don't care, I'm just pointing out that the merchant agreement prohibits you from using another persons credit card.
More and more businesses have digital video surveillance systems in place. They are installed to be used in cases of theft, robbery, assault, etc. and not to track the use of WiFi. However, if the police show up a few weeks later and subpoena the DVR they will have video of everyone in the coffee shop, library, etc. Look up on the ceiling next time you are in a hotel lobby, coffee shop, or university and see if there are camera domes.
Slashdot Mirror
I'm not sure if you're serious or trolling, but I'll assume serious. Are you implying that a theist who believes in an afterlife would be more cavalier with their physical health since they consider life on Earth as merely a speed bump on the trip to eternal salvation? I know that holds true for many evangelicals with regard to our natural resources and the health of the planet (("F**k the earth, god gave it to us to rape and pillage so don't complain to me about my Hummer!"), but most religious people I know are generally not smokers and drinkers.
Why would an atheist avoid physical (guilty) pleasures like drinking or smoking? Would a longer, more boring life be preferable to a shorter, exciting, experience-filled existence? I would say the more surprising thing about the fact that he drank and smoked is that he is knowledgeable about the scientific body of evidence related to the detrimental health effects. He made an informed decision to spend what he knew was a finite existence doing things that gave him pleasure rather than squandering that time twiddling his thumbs.
You are so right...atheism was such a small part of what he wrote and spoke about. It certainly was the topic that sold tickets and books, but he commented and wrote about nearly every topic related to culture and civilization. Love him or hate him, he was always interesting and thought-provoking.
Back in the days of Shareware there was a similar attitude from people who actually paid the software author. Part of that was encouraged by the authors, they would list people that had purchased their program or thank them personally. The big difference today is the people who created the stuff that is being "shared" via torrent are usually so distantly removed from the purchase that they don't realize or care that some geek bought their CD or DVD. So there is no longer a recognition from the creator of the work (Bono emails the guys....."Thanks for buying my CD!"), which means the purchaser (former thief) doesn't get any thanks or acknowledgement from the artist and instead must toot his/her own horn.
That's why I like buying product directly from the artist whenever possible, via their website or even at a live show (yes, many artists sell CD's and other merchandise after their shows). I plan on sending Louis CK $5 even if I only watch his video once, mainly because I think it's a great idea and I want other artists to try the same thing (plus he's funny as hell).
John
Religious people generally keep their faith to themselves unless provoked, and give generously to the poor worldwide. What's not to like about them?
Religious people are inefficient at helping the poor since they sometimes/often/usually/always waste a significant portion of their time and resources on promoting superstitions and fallacies. Every bible that is passed along could instead be a book about math or science, or a box of rice or a jug of fresh drinking water. Every hour wasted filling their minds with myths about gods who descended from the sky and once walked the earth could instead be used to teach them farming or other trade skills. Sometimes religious people dispense advice that actually is measurably detrimental to the health and well being of those they are trying to assist (i.e. Catholic missionary workers discouraging distribution of condoms to migratory workers in Africa).
I have many, many friends and family who are religious, and the vast majority are harmless. I don't dislike religious people, but that doesn't mean I should quietly allow them to spread their delusions, whether related to science, math, or mythical invisible beings. Instead I try to politely steer them to knowledge and away from superstition. I like Carl Sagan's approach rather than Richard Dawson's. :)
I'd bash stamp collectors as well if they actively worked to block the teaching of science in schools, denied funding for legitimate scientific research, and pushed their viewpoint through taxpayer funded faith-based initiatives.
Stamp collectors actually help subsidize the US mail since they boost profits with minimal cost to the post office. What's not to like about them?
I can already hear the "intelligent design" folks jumping on this topic as proof that we aren't here through random chance but were assembled by some creator. Just as an FYI, the "rare earth hypothesis" has been circulating in the scientific community for many years.
--soapbox--
I'm speaking strictly from personal experience with my small business (hardware store employing 30 people) and what I hear from other small business owners both locally and in the hardware industry around the country, but the banks don't appear to be loaning anyone anything lately. Even with the Fed pumping money into the system they still aren't willing to loan it out to small businesses or individuals. Money is going to money, and that's doing nothing to help the businesses and individuals that are struggling.
--end-soapbox--
Jon Stewart covered this topic quite well the other day. So essentially we (US Treasury) loaned the banks money at 0.01% and then they loaned us (US Treasury) the money back at a higher rate. WTF?
In fact, I seem to remember reading that time zones (as opposed to high noon being at a different minute for each quarter degree of longitude) were invented to set railroad schedules.
Yes, British rail specifically.
That's because the median person (by average, did you mean mean or median?) by wealth lives in a developing country and thus has little need for customer service in an offshore call center. Unless, of course, you choose a measure of wealth that puts the median person in India.
Yes, you're correct, I forgot about call centers. However, by interact I meant in some coordinated fashion where a UTC would be advantageous. For example, if I was calling Mastercard customer service there is no need for me to notify Michael in India that I will be calling him at a specific time. However, if my daughter is traveling to India then a UTC might help since we could arrange to speak at 04:30 UTC and not have to figure out how many hours ahead or behind she is when traveling.
As far as "mean" versus "median", I meant average as in Joe Six-Pack (for the US) and his/her equivalent in the rest of the world. The vast majority of the human population is born, grows up, and dies within a very small geographic radius and never travels beyond that radius. I live in the NY metro area, and have traveled a decent amount (Canada, Mexico, all of the US and Alaska, and several trips to Europe) but sadly that type of travel is really the exception among people I know. So for most Americans a time-zone difference never really goes beyond 3 hours (NY to CA) which is relatively manageable.
Wasn't time based on the rotation of the earth and the relative position of the sun in the sky? The hours of the day were tracked long before people started setting up multiple time zones...look at a sundial and there are numbers and those numbers were pretty much same. Time zones only date to the mid-1800's so they certainly aren't a "relic of the past".
Don't get me wrong, there certainly are advantages to using a standard time (and plenty of scientific, military, and technical applications use either UTC or GMT), but the average person will want to track time in relationship to their day as they experience it. And face it, the average person does very little traveling, very little interaction with people outside their time zone, and probably never interacts with someone in a significantly different time zone (i.e. on the other side of the world).
Bloomberg wanted to charge tolls to drive in NY during congested time periods...apparently London does something like this.
You are exactly the people that Groupon wants to reach. A business wants to appeal to a new customer with the deal, but not give away a super deal to existing customers. They want you to try a powerboat adventure, hoping you'll come back again at full price.
If you just go once, you'll have fun and save money.
I wish I still had mod points to bump up your comment. The whole PCI compliance scam is a pet peeve of mine. I own a hardware store and we're fully compliant, but it cost a bunch and is a real pain considering that we're trying to protect credit cards and a system that is essentially poorly secured in the first place. There are thousands and thousands of independent business owners that are not anywhere near compliant, and they have no clue how to get in compliance. They are just scared that when a breach happens they will lose their merchant privileges and maybe be held liable for the losses. Meanwhile, Citi and other large targets get broken into regularly for millions and millions in losses.
I certainly don't think that small merchants can be lax in their security procedures, but I think the bankcard industry needs to subsidize the security updates and do a much better job of educating and assisting the retail store owners. These are restaurant owners, deli owners, clothing stores, hardware stores, and other businesses where the owner is not real tech or security savvy. They know how to cook a meal, slice ham on a machine, measure an inseam, or cut a key. These folks take credit cards (and pay the insane fees) because the must to stay in business. They are saddled with bankcards that are inherently insecure (seriously, check the signature on the back of the card?).
Sorry, I'm ranting...but I still wish I had the mod points I had yesterday.
I don't support illegal immigration but I certainly don't think the solution is "Show me your papers" mentality.
And I'm from NY, so I guess since I'm not near the border. Obviously all those illegal immigrants plop right down after they cross the border because I never hear of any illegal immigrants up here in the northeast, so this issue doesn't affect me. It especially won't affect me because I will not set foot in AZ while this law is in effect.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0082926/
With "smell-o-vision" you would avoid the need for the scrath-and-sniff Odorama card.
>I don't know how it's in Canada, but here in Germany, recording someone without previously having his agreement, is still illegal, even when in public.
If I see you doing a crime in the US, Canada, Germany, wherever, and I have a camera, I'm going to record it, and fuck what you think or what the law says.
So you're the guy I saw hiding in the bushes and recording the little girls illegally playing on the grass in the park. Can you send them some of those recordings via IRC so I can help you analyze them?
Too bad the retailer has no incentive other than threats from the industry. Small business owners pay the highest transaction fees for bankcards, and now they are being saddled with additional costs to beef up security to protect the bankcard industry profits.
Sorry, ranting a bit here. :)
True, but there is much confusion out there in "mom & pop" land. I own a small business and I'm certainly confused about the requirements, and I've got enough tech savvy to be dangerous. :)
As someone else pointed out, the big breaches get the press while the small ones may not be getting seen above the media "noise". So if Joe's Hardware gets broken into and bankcards are stolen it's not a big deal and it doesn't hit the Slashdot front page.
So maybe a bad analogy, but I guess I'm voicing the thoughts of small business owners (I run a discussion email list).
What I'm suggesting is that the bankcard industry is wetting their pants about retailer security and meanwhile the breaches are occurring at much more lucrative targets. I certainly think retailers need to secure their systems, but at what cost? For example, assume retailer has a secure WiFi network using WPA-2. That WiFi is on the same segment as their wired network. PCI standards require the business to segment the WiFi. That's obviously "best practice", but that means the business needs to invest in an upgraded firewall. When these businesses are struggling just to stay afloat they can't afford this technology investment.
PCI compliance requires servers be in a locked room. If the business is a three person operation and the server sits under the owners desk then is that really a big security risk, or should the owner of this small business build a secure server room?
With unlimited money I'd expect every business to secure their systems at the maximum level, but what level can we accept that will address the likely threat without bankrupting the small business owner? Do they really need to take a step back and use self-contained credit card machines?
RSA keys are compromised, Sony gets compromised, and meanwhile the bankcard industry continues to come down hard on independent retailers to force them to bring their internal systems into PCI compliance. I know small retailers that have invested tens of thousands to secure their WiFi, update their firewall, upgrade their debit pads, all to protect cardholder data. Seriously, what criminal is going to target Joe's Hardware Store to snag a few hundred bankcards? These guys want the big targets. As Willie Sutton didn't say, "That's where the money is". Criminals are going to aim at the top of the food chain, not at the mom and pop store. And even if they do hack the mom and pop store the damage is minimal compared to an RSA or Sony breach.
Good luck finding it for $400. The supplies of this tablet are extremely limited leading to prices in the mid to high $500 range.
The government probably submitted an order to preserve information almost immediately, a common practice in both criminal and civil cases. These orders are often sent prior to a lawsuit of criminal charge being filed, kind of an advance warning not to destroy anything as we're coming for your records. That then makes it a crime even to destroy the records.
A Yugo was not a better car at a cheaper price, it was a poor quality vehicle at a cheaper price. "You get what you pay for" applied to the Yugo, but Kinect provides more accurate 3D sensors at a cheaper price. So the Yugo is not a very good comparison.
However, I do agree that to truly determine how "revolutionary" this will turn out is something that we won't know until a year or two from now.
No, you cannot let someone else use your CREDIT card to make a purchase in person. Every bankcard merchant agreement requires the merchant to verify that the person presenting the card is the person named on the card, and the merchant must verify the signature.
There are exceptions for some national chains and supermarkets where the bankcard companies negotiate a rate that accounts for potential losses and they allow the merchant to skip the signature check. That's why at CVS you can swipe your card for a purchase under $50 and never show the card to the cashier, or swipe a card at the gas pump for up to $75 worth of gas (that amount varies). You can also let someone use your card if it is also a debit card...they can enter your PIN to make the purchase. They cannot sign for the purchase since legally they are not authorized to sign for your card or your account. So mom can't let you take her card to the store to get stuff, and your boss can't send you to Home Depot to buy lumber with his card (unless it's a corporate card with no named individual on the card).
In practice many retailers don't care, I'm just pointing out that the merchant agreement prohibits you from using another persons credit card.
More and more businesses have digital video surveillance systems in place. They are installed to be used in cases of theft, robbery, assault, etc. and not to track the use of WiFi. However, if the police show up a few weeks later and subpoena the DVR they will have video of everyone in the coffee shop, library, etc. Look up on the ceiling next time you are in a hotel lobby, coffee shop, or university and see if there are camera domes.