Re:This will get you shot...
on
Tactical Camera
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· Score: 4, Insightful
Many dSLR photographers are already hassled enough just walking around cities with their lenses and multiple cameras and such, taking photos of buildings, bridges, and trains. Anybody caught with this thing is likely to have more problems than he bargained for,...
I'm certainly going against Slashdot groupthink here, so I'll undoubtedly be modded "-1 Troll", but Windows Vista is really not as bad as people think. The key thing to keep in mind is to make sure your system has enough resources to run it, because it is demanding. Don't try and put it on your P4 with only 512 MB RAM with integrated graphics. You'll regret it. I also wouldn't recommend upgrading to it from Windows XP -- it doesn't offer anything of significant value over XP that makes it worth rushing out to upgrade for. But if you're buying a new system, and it happens to have Vista AND at least 2 GB RAM with a decent graphics card, I wouldn't worry about it.
I think when the history books are finally written fifty to one-hundred years from now, that we'll see this is a modern revolution: the media revolution. These things happen every now and then throughout history. While they ultimately bring about major changes in how we do things, they certainly don't happen overnight. But this media revolution is changing the entire face of how we handle and use information, whether it be print, radio, television, internet, music, movies. We've already seen how the music industry, and to some extent, Hollywood, has reacted to this -- though that's only the tip of the iceberg. Mass media corporations and agencies that can adapt to the changes that we are and will be experiencing, will continue to be in business. Those that can't adapt, will fold. Charles Darwin came up with a few words for this: "Survival of the Fittest."
Well, that explains part of the reason why online videos are really only available legally (e.g. hulu, veoh, etc) in the U.S. But I still think that they could easily make money on advertising by offering the same videos that are in the U.S. to countries like Canada, the U.K., most of Europe, Japan, etc,...
In Obama's defense, he's got to compensate somewhat from the last guy who tried to win the game by world domination,... He seems to be doing quite well for a cultural victory, however, with the little Elvis guy in the White House telling him, "The people! They can't help falling in love with you!"
The problem with basic scientific research is that, more often than not, it will be worthless for decades. No one wants to fund a gamble that might, if we are lucky, pay off in 30-40 years. Thus, basic scientific research is a kind of externality, a public good, and the free market is incapable of allotting the optimal amount of funding for public goods such as transportation, public education, and public health. That is econ 101.
It's actually a bit of a catch-22. You see, when scientists publish this basic research and make it available, we often try and put it in context of where this might possibly lead in the future. But we have to be very careful not to be over-optimistic, because these projections are often mis-interpreted by mainstream media as definitive statements. For example, there's probably several hundred or more studies done in the past decade on the various cancer-fighting potential of countless compounds. Every so often, mass media picks up on one of these, and proclaims that somebody's found a cure for cancer or something. Conversely, basic science on other, more negative things can be picked up as well; such as all those studies about cell phones and brain cancer. There's still no conclusive evidence pointing to this yet, but mass media seems to think there is.
This isn't really that big of a deal. Wake me when there's a TV coming out that runs Linux! Even better if it were a Beowulf cluster of TVs! Imagine what that could do!!!! =)
You've got some good points, and I think what you've provided does illustrate that there's a racial component to the lack of acceptance in mass transit across the country today. While millions of people use mass transit daily to work, with no fear or any incidents occurring, there are some isolated incidents, as you have pointed out, that tend to scare people. And when stuff like that hits mass media, the "scare factor" takes off exponentially. Most informed people that keep up with the news see stuff like this, and seek alternative options for getting to work -- those that have no other option, of course, are stuck. But overall, the "atmosphere of fear where you take your life into your hands by simply getting on a bus" is mostly driven by mass media.
Along with being slow, people tend to get their asses kicked a lot for being the wrong color on Baltimore mass transit.
I think you've hit on another major factor in America's tendency to shun mass transit -- racism. I lived in Richmond, Virginia for 20 years (not there anymore). The city doesn't have a major subway system, and its only mass transit is buses. The general attitude towards the buses among most of the white people in the suburbs is that, "it's for the poor black people". I've even had friends try to walk a short distance of 5-6 blocks near the VCU campus in Richmond, and see other friends try to offer them a ride because, "OMG! They might get raped, mugged, or otherwise harmed by the !" The affluent white suburbanites usually also protest at their local city council meetings whenever there's a proposal to expand bus service out to some of the more popular malls in the suburbs -- you know, they gotta keep the "rif-raf" out.
The truth is, that I've taken the buses in Richmond (and other Virginia towns) before. While service is a bit spotty because they constantly get their budgets cut, mostly in a white vs. black racially-motivated battle, I don't see a danger in simply taking mass transit there. Sure, as with any city in the world, there are parts of the town to be avoided, and I wouldn't take mass transit to those parts. But simply making a blanket statement that you'll "get your ass kicked if you're the wrong color" any any bus is just plain racist and wrong.
I think these issues more evident in southern cities (heck! they're practically still fighting the Civil War in Richmond today!) than northern cities. I wouldn't expect this in Baltimore, though I haven't been there for awhile. I currently live in Pittsburgh, and I don't see this issue at all -- the bus lines going through the Oakland neighborhood near Pitt/CMU are heavily used by just about anyone of all races, colors, creeds, and species.
You get on a train in the suburbs (I'm guessing your wife drops you off, or you drive to train depot and park. Once you get to the 'city', how do you get to/from your work site? I'm quite sure the train doesn't drop you off anywhere near the front door of your office for most people, so, how do you get to and from work? If you try to walk..what happens when weather is bad?
Most major downtown districts in the country have more than one subway stop. They're usually placed convenient enough that most people can walk between their place of work and the stop quite easily. If it's raining, they have this neat invention called an "umbrella". If it's snowing, there's something else you put on your feet called "boots", and most people wear another thing called a "winter coat".
While I'm still disappointed that NASA didn't go with the second most popular vote-getter, Serenity (which would've been huge for Firefly fans), I think naming a treadmill after Colbert gives him a lot of opportunity. Maybe he can leveredge this in some way to help combat America's obesity problem or something. I mean, how many COLBERT's are there in exercise facilities all across the country? This is HUGE! Maybe he can partner with the Biggest Loser now, or something?
Redundant?! Are you effing kidding me?! How is that redundant?! It was one of the first things posted! Maybe we should stop giving out mod points to Stevie Wonder?!
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Many dSLR photographers are already hassled enough just walking around cities with their lenses and multiple cameras and such, taking photos of buildings, bridges, and trains. Anybody caught with this thing is likely to have more problems than he bargained for,...
I'm certainly going against Slashdot groupthink here, so I'll undoubtedly be modded "-1 Troll", but Windows Vista is really not as bad as people think. The key thing to keep in mind is to make sure your system has enough resources to run it, because it is demanding. Don't try and put it on your P4 with only 512 MB RAM with integrated graphics. You'll regret it. I also wouldn't recommend upgrading to it from Windows XP -- it doesn't offer anything of significant value over XP that makes it worth rushing out to upgrade for. But if you're buying a new system, and it happens to have Vista AND at least 2 GB RAM with a decent graphics card, I wouldn't worry about it.
I think when the history books are finally written fifty to one-hundred years from now, that we'll see this is a modern revolution: the media revolution. These things happen every now and then throughout history. While they ultimately bring about major changes in how we do things, they certainly don't happen overnight. But this media revolution is changing the entire face of how we handle and use information, whether it be print, radio, television, internet, music, movies. We've already seen how the music industry, and to some extent, Hollywood, has reacted to this -- though that's only the tip of the iceberg. Mass media corporations and agencies that can adapt to the changes that we are and will be experiencing, will continue to be in business. Those that can't adapt, will fold. Charles Darwin came up with a few words for this: "Survival of the Fittest."
I didn't think so, either.
I thought it was polar bears that we had to worry about?
Here's a link to the screenshot of the new, super secure Windows XP. ;-)
As long as they don't replace the Klingons Gungans with Jamaican accents, we're cool! ;-)
When do we start bombing the country?
Y'all can have Lieberman!
Well, that explains part of the reason why online videos are really only available legally (e.g. hulu, veoh, etc) in the U.S. But I still think that they could easily make money on advertising by offering the same videos that are in the U.S. to countries like Canada, the U.K., most of Europe, Japan, etc,...
In Obama's defense, he's got to compensate somewhat from the last guy who tried to win the game by world domination,... He seems to be doing quite well for a cultural victory, however, with the little Elvis guy in the White House telling him, "The people! They can't help falling in love with you!"
It's actually a bit of a catch-22. You see, when scientists publish this basic research and make it available, we often try and put it in context of where this might possibly lead in the future. But we have to be very careful not to be over-optimistic, because these projections are often mis-interpreted by mainstream media as definitive statements. For example, there's probably several hundred or more studies done in the past decade on the various cancer-fighting potential of countless compounds. Every so often, mass media picks up on one of these, and proclaims that somebody's found a cure for cancer or something. Conversely, basic science on other, more negative things can be picked up as well; such as all those studies about cell phones and brain cancer. There's still no conclusive evidence pointing to this yet, but mass media seems to think there is.
Can I also get my flying car, too, dammit?!?!
Forget that! Just let me know how many Libraries of Congress this is? [OBLIGATORY
Doesn't this kind of defeat the purpose of "upgrading"?
This isn't really that big of a deal. Wake me when there's a TV coming out that runs Linux! Even better if it were a Beowulf cluster of TVs! Imagine what that could do!!!! =)
You've got some good points, and I think what you've provided does illustrate that there's a racial component to the lack of acceptance in mass transit across the country today. While millions of people use mass transit daily to work, with no fear or any incidents occurring, there are some isolated incidents, as you have pointed out, that tend to scare people. And when stuff like that hits mass media, the "scare factor" takes off exponentially. Most informed people that keep up with the news see stuff like this, and seek alternative options for getting to work -- those that have no other option, of course, are stuck. But overall, the "atmosphere of fear where you take your life into your hands by simply getting on a bus" is mostly driven by mass media.
I think you've hit on another major factor in America's tendency to shun mass transit -- racism. I lived in Richmond, Virginia for 20 years (not there anymore). The city doesn't have a major subway system, and its only mass transit is buses. The general attitude towards the buses among most of the white people in the suburbs is that, "it's for the poor black people". I've even had friends try to walk a short distance of 5-6 blocks near the VCU campus in Richmond, and see other friends try to offer them a ride because, "OMG! They might get raped, mugged, or otherwise harmed by the !" The affluent white suburbanites usually also protest at their local city council meetings whenever there's a proposal to expand bus service out to some of the more popular malls in the suburbs -- you know, they gotta keep the "rif-raf" out.
The truth is, that I've taken the buses in Richmond (and other Virginia towns) before. While service is a bit spotty because they constantly get their budgets cut, mostly in a white vs. black racially-motivated battle, I don't see a danger in simply taking mass transit there. Sure, as with any city in the world, there are parts of the town to be avoided, and I wouldn't take mass transit to those parts. But simply making a blanket statement that you'll "get your ass kicked if you're the wrong color" any any bus is just plain racist and wrong.
I think these issues more evident in southern cities (heck! they're practically still fighting the Civil War in Richmond today!) than northern cities. I wouldn't expect this in Baltimore, though I haven't been there for awhile. I currently live in Pittsburgh, and I don't see this issue at all -- the bus lines going through the Oakland neighborhood near Pitt/CMU are heavily used by just about anyone of all races, colors, creeds, and species.
Most major downtown districts in the country have more than one subway stop. They're usually placed convenient enough that most people can walk between their place of work and the stop quite easily. If it's raining, they have this neat invention called an "umbrella". If it's snowing, there's something else you put on your feet called "boots", and most people wear another thing called a "winter coat".
While I'm still disappointed that NASA didn't go with the second most popular vote-getter, Serenity (which would've been huge for Firefly fans), I think naming a treadmill after Colbert gives him a lot of opportunity. Maybe he can leveredge this in some way to help combat America's obesity problem or something. I mean, how many COLBERT's are there in exercise facilities all across the country? This is HUGE! Maybe he can partner with the Biggest Loser now, or something?
That would be an insult to the legendary work of the late Thomas Crapper.
Sadly, the same people that complain about Octo-Mom's upcoming reality show are the same people that go to Youtube to watch stupid videos of teenagers doing stupid things,...
Is that a washing machine in your pants, or are you just happy to see me?
Redundant?! Are you effing kidding me?! How is that redundant?! It was one of the first things posted! Maybe we should stop giving out mod points to Stevie Wonder?!
Jupiter's Great Red Spot is shrinking, the number of sunspots on our sun is dwindling, and it's getting closer and closer to December 21, 2012. Anyway, it's been nice knowing you guys, but "So long, and thanks for all the fish"!