I was waiting for someone more informed to post. I'm one of those people who know little more about the subject than I learned in TFA, but in my defense this is my first post to this topic and I am neither spreading erroneous information nor claiming superior knowledge of the subject. Most of the posts so far have been knee-jerk Orwellian nightmares - I know I'll get grief for that sentence, but to be perfectly honest I am less concerned about the government watching me do things and more concerned about keeping them from limiting the things I can do. My votes and donations can only go so far.
However, I was disappointed by your post. You say that posters have it all wrong, but you don't supply a single detail about what they are getting wrong or what the truth of the matter is. Would you care to back up your claims and do so?
That is, of course, unless they are government secrets and if you told me you would have to kill me:-(
I got those figures from the Second Life website. Your post says that you have some deal by which you are not charged a monthly (or the one time) fee. If so, I would be interesting in finding out how that is possible. That page mentions a free basic account, but I had to ante up the $9.95 to make it last beyond the first week, so I assumed it was referring to the 7-day trial period. Either that or the Lindens need to put more work into their accounting system.
Or is your point that you have been able to make a profit in-game that more than covers your subscription fees?
Not sure where the $100 came from. Second Life's basic subscription plan is a $10 fee for lifetime (not annual, not monthly) access. $6 to $10 per month buys you additional abilities in-game. The software is a free download. Doesn't address whether or not you would like it, of course. Second Life's problems are not so much from their fee structure as they are because of the niche market they occupy - they aren't so much a game as they are an environment for socializing and creating.
From your post, you apparently think you have psychic abilities to know that I am some kind of puritan. On the contrary, I almost didn't post because of the hypocracy factor that I thought would accrue on my lifetime karma. But from decades of personal experience I know that I am not intellectually or motivationally at 100% on April 21st. To be perfectly honest, on that morning I am usually thinking "I should go home and smoke a bowl at lunch." Of course your mileage may vary, but I would ask that you consider my post to be an expression of an alternative viewpoint, rather than "ignorant bullshit."
Furthermore, I didn't say that if you smoke pot one night that you would universally and inevitably be a drooling idiot the next day. I just said that you should smoke pot the morning before an interview so that you potential employer could see you as you normally are. Implicit in that statement is the assumption that if, after such an evening, you presented yourself as a perfectly employable person, than your recreational proclivities would not be an impairmant to your suitablility as an employee.
Two points: A couple of posts mention that it doesn't matter what you do in your own time. True, but sometimes the effects of these substances linger; if you drink heavily one night, you'll be hung over the next morning. If you smoke a lot of pot, you may not be at 100% the next day. So, if you make a habit of these diversions, it is only fair that when you interview for the job, you should show up hung over, or you should get baked the night before, just so the employer can see the real you.
Second, it is possible that someone who uses legal or illegal drugs recreationally may increase their consumption of same to the point that it does begin to interfere with other facets of their lives. Before I get too many protests, I'll admit that the majority of people who smoke the occasional joint don't become disfunctional potheads and only a small percentage of people who have a glass of wine at dinner become alcoholics. And it is possible that someone who, at the time of being hired, had never tasted an adult beverage could be a falling-down drunk before the first year is up. But I can at least understand that all else being equal, an employer might select the candidate who has a slightly smaller chance of getting into this kind of trouble.
Picture this. One of these kids gets a job interview. During the interview they are asked to demonstrate basic proficiency in the office software that business is using. They sit down in front of a computer with Microsoft Word and after a few false starts and some time digging through various menus, are eventually come up with the desired document.
The interviewer thinks back to the earlier applicant who was obviously familiar with Word, didn't have to search for features, etc. All other things being equal, that earlier applicant will be the one reporting to work next Monday. Fair? Probably not. But likely.
Please excuse my lack of clever sarcasm, but I decided the original poster was seeking useful advice in pursuing an act of charity. Or maybe I just understood the point that sterno was trying to make.
They survived in the sense that they went dormant and when placed back into their normal environment they revived. They certainly weren't reproducing in space, and probably wouldn't until returned to someplace at least a little like home.
Don't forget that the microbes that live in extreme conditions got there by gradual adaptation. There were once a bunch of microorganisms that could survive in a zone 100 yards to 500 yards from a volcanic vent. Some of those were a little hardier, so they could survive 90 yards from the vent, and so on. But move some of those to a tidepool and they will almost certainly die. For Earth bacteria to live on Titan, they must have lived somewhere with conditions at least a little like Titan, close enough that at least one could survive the differences. And differences in environmental chemistry aside, a microbe from Antarctica (coldest temperature -89 degrees celsius, and that's a record, not an average) would have a hard time thriving on Titan at around 90 degrees colder. Not impossible, but I'd feel safe betting the family fortune against it.
the big bong theory, which postulates that the universe was created by a higher life form. I'm still trying to reconcile this theory with intelligent design, but I keep running into indications that intelligence is sharply reduced by a big bong.
I walk down to the break room and grab a bottle of water, wander over to visit the developers (I'm a writer), or walk around the outside of the building. This has helped immensely, and at this point the pain is pretty much completely gone.
Or at least it worked until the developers got fired for the unexplained sharp decline in their productivity.
Pissing people off isn't a crime, but your friend wasn't put in jail. Granted some people either have thin skins or what they consider offensive is strongly related to political correctness. Some people need to get a sense of humor. Second Life isn't life, it's an opt-in entertainment venue. But on the other hand: Say you're a member of a club, one that has a physical building (health club, Elks club, whatever). You can do and say a lot of things inside that building. But not very many such places would let you paint graffiti on the walls, even if they could clean it off easily. Second Life doesn't want graffiti on their walls. Also, Linden Labs is trying to make a profit. If you have a griefer (who pays one membership fee to be there) wandering around annoying people, and his/her actions cause two other people to quit or not buy in after a trial membership, Linden's net profits are reduced. Second Life isn't life, it's a business.
Bigger screen than a PDA, cheaper than a laptop, battery lasts "all day" (an admittedly imprecise figure). Another post mentioned that the touch screen may be more along the lines of a Wacom tablet. I imagine they are targeting people who want more functionality and easier ergonomics than a PDA, but don't need a full blown laptop and who are more willing to shell out around $500 for an Origami than $1500 for a ThinkPad.
Microsoft may be evil, but they didn't get rich by being stupid. If they think there is a market for such a device, I wouldn't bet that there isn't.
There are a lot of funny (not ha-ha funny) things about the article; did anyone notice that they said they decompiled the program, but what they showed that they got was the output from a packet sniffer? I wouldn't read too much into that image however, there was a disclaimer that it wasn't the actual data, just something they dummied up to look good in an article.
If they are putting this kind of information on a freely accessible web site, that is just plain sloppy. For the rest, I'm taking this with a grain of salt, but it does remind me of something I was told long ago: if you wouldn't want to see it printed on the front page of the newpaper, don't write it in an email. The same thing applies to any form you fill out (and note the several mentions above of "what did you think you were filling out a form for if you didn't think it wouldn't get sent somewhere").
If you don't want your opinions disseminated, keep them to yourself.
I think the point was that they didn't suspect they might have received such tissues until they read about this happening. Lot's of people would then call their doctor to find out if it happened to them even if there was no other reason to suspect that it did. And the cynic in me says that a lot of those people called a contingency fee lawyer before they called their doctor, but that's just me.
Slashdot Mirror
hmmmm, I'm still trying to decide whether those are supporting argument or counterarguments.
this sound like it is an excellent way to prepare yourself for a career in the real world.
I was waiting for someone more informed to post. I'm one of those people who know little more about the subject than I learned in TFA, but in my defense this is my first post to this topic and I am neither spreading erroneous information nor claiming superior knowledge of the subject. Most of the posts so far have been knee-jerk Orwellian nightmares - I know I'll get grief for that sentence, but to be perfectly honest I am less concerned about the government watching me do things and more concerned about keeping them from limiting the things I can do. My votes and donations can only go so far.
However, I was disappointed by your post. You say that posters have it all wrong, but you don't supply a single detail about what they are getting wrong or what the truth of the matter is. Would you care to back up your claims and do so?
That is, of course, unless they are government secrets and if you told me you would have to kill me :-(
Worst....analogy......ever...... :)
I got those figures from the Second Life website. Your post says that you have some deal by which you are not charged a monthly (or the one time) fee. If so, I would be interesting in finding out how that is possible. That page mentions a free basic account, but I had to ante up the $9.95 to make it last beyond the first week, so I assumed it was referring to the 7-day trial period. Either that or the Lindens need to put more work into their accounting system.
Or is your point that you have been able to make a profit in-game that more than covers your subscription fees?
Not sure where the $100 came from. Second Life's basic subscription plan is a $10 fee for lifetime (not annual, not monthly) access. $6 to $10 per month buys you additional abilities in-game. The software is a free download. Doesn't address whether or not you would like it, of course. Second Life's problems are not so much from their fee structure as they are because of the niche market they occupy - they aren't so much a game as they are an environment for socializing and creating.
What? I think crucification is a perfectly cromulent word.
You can only heat your house once, and it gets REALLY hot.
What do you mean? This might be the first thing you can get on a computer that really does increase package size.
Sorry, I'm usually better at resisting base humor.
Furthermore, I didn't say that if you smoke pot one night that you would universally and inevitably be a drooling idiot the next day. I just said that you should smoke pot the morning before an interview so that you potential employer could see you as you normally are. Implicit in that statement is the assumption that if, after such an evening, you presented yourself as a perfectly employable person, than your recreational proclivities would not be an impairmant to your suitablility as an employee.
Second, it is possible that someone who uses legal or illegal drugs recreationally may increase their consumption of same to the point that it does begin to interfere with other facets of their lives. Before I get too many protests, I'll admit that the majority of people who smoke the occasional joint don't become disfunctional potheads and only a small percentage of people who have a glass of wine at dinner become alcoholics. And it is possible that someone who, at the time of being hired, had never tasted an adult beverage could be a falling-down drunk before the first year is up. But I can at least understand that all else being equal, an employer might select the candidate who has a slightly smaller chance of getting into this kind of trouble.
Didn't you intend to go on to state that you never do a bit more than the absolute minimum in any situation, and sign your real name to that post?
Picture this. One of these kids gets a job interview. During the interview they are asked to demonstrate basic proficiency in the office software that business is using. They sit down in front of a computer with Microsoft Word and after a few false starts and some time digging through various menus, are eventually come up with the desired document.
The interviewer thinks back to the earlier applicant who was obviously familiar with Word, didn't have to search for features, etc. All other things being equal, that earlier applicant will be the one reporting to work next Monday. Fair? Probably not. But likely.
Please excuse my lack of clever sarcasm, but I decided the original poster was seeking useful advice in pursuing an act of charity. Or maybe I just understood the point that sterno was trying to make.
They survived in the sense that they went dormant and when placed back into their normal environment they revived. They certainly weren't reproducing in space, and probably wouldn't until returned to someplace at least a little like home.
Don't forget that the microbes that live in extreme conditions got there by gradual adaptation. There were once a bunch of microorganisms that could survive in a zone 100 yards to 500 yards from a volcanic vent. Some of those were a little hardier, so they could survive 90 yards from the vent, and so on. But move some of those to a tidepool and they will almost certainly die. For Earth bacteria to live on Titan, they must have lived somewhere with conditions at least a little like Titan, close enough that at least one could survive the differences. And differences in environmental chemistry aside, a microbe from Antarctica (coldest temperature -89 degrees celsius, and that's a record, not an average) would have a hard time thriving on Titan at around 90 degrees colder. Not impossible, but I'd feel safe betting the family fortune against it.
the big bong theory, which postulates that the universe was created by a higher life form. I'm still trying to reconcile this theory with intelligent design, but I keep running into indications that intelligence is sharply reduced by a big bong.
I walk down to the break room and grab a bottle of water, wander over to visit the developers (I'm a writer), or walk around the outside of the building. This has helped immensely, and at this point the pain is pretty much completely gone.
Or at least it worked until the developers got fired for the unexplained sharp decline in their productivity.
Can ethanol burning robots be far behind?
Pissing people off isn't a crime, but your friend wasn't put in jail. Granted some people either have thin skins or what they consider offensive is strongly related to political correctness. Some people need to get a sense of humor. Second Life isn't life, it's an opt-in entertainment venue. But on the other hand:
Say you're a member of a club, one that has a physical building (health club, Elks club, whatever). You can do and say a lot of things inside that building. But not very many such places would let you paint graffiti on the walls, even if they could clean it off easily. Second Life doesn't want graffiti on their walls.
Also, Linden Labs is trying to make a profit. If you have a griefer (who pays one membership fee to be there) wandering around annoying people, and his/her actions cause two other people to quit or not buy in after a trial membership, Linden's net profits are reduced. Second Life isn't life, it's a business.
...or talked on cell phones, or used computers, or done things at night with electric lighting...
Yeah, but before long we'll have the entire cat genome figured out, problem solved...then we'll need to start working on the dog genome....
Bigger screen than a PDA, cheaper than a laptop, battery lasts "all day" (an admittedly imprecise figure). Another post mentioned that the touch screen may be more along the lines of a Wacom tablet. I imagine they are targeting people who want more functionality and easier ergonomics than a PDA, but don't need a full blown laptop and who are more willing to shell out around $500 for an Origami than $1500 for a ThinkPad.
Microsoft may be evil, but they didn't get rich by being stupid. If they think there is a market for such a device, I wouldn't bet that there isn't.
There are a lot of funny (not ha-ha funny) things about the article; did anyone notice that they said they decompiled the program, but what they showed that they got was the output from a packet sniffer? I wouldn't read too much into that image however, there was a disclaimer that it wasn't the actual data, just something they dummied up to look good in an article.
If they are putting this kind of information on a freely accessible web site, that is just plain sloppy. For the rest, I'm taking this with a grain of salt, but it does remind me of something I was told long ago: if you wouldn't want to see it printed on the front page of the newpaper, don't write it in an email. The same thing applies to any form you fill out (and note the several mentions above of "what did you think you were filling out a form for if you didn't think it wouldn't get sent somewhere").
If you don't want your opinions disseminated, keep them to yourself.
I think the point was that they didn't suspect they might have received such tissues until they read about this happening. Lot's of people would then call their doctor to find out if it happened to them even if there was no other reason to suspect that it did. And the cynic in me says that a lot of those people called a contingency fee lawyer before they called their doctor, but that's just me.
the John Varley first-of-trilogy. That has potential for some visual spectacle, as well as a few ideas not done to death in movies.