i want to point out that i used to be a christian (indoctrinated while growing up) and a richard dawkins debate on youtube got me interested enough to read one of his books. after that i was no longer a christian.
with something as unprovable as god, i think that few people are going to be outright convinced by a debate, but it may open some minds to new possibilities and questioning why they believe what they do, prompting them to research further and come to their own conclusion.
further, when one debator presents a wide range of facts and evidence based on centuries of study, revision, and growing understanding -and the other debator simply presents a two thousand year old book, rhetoric, and subjective personal "proof", im willing to bet more on-the-fencers would find the science guy's argument more compelling than the god guy's.
so, youre saying that games shouldnt evolve? i still love the 8/16bit stuff more than any other games, but thats not to say that new games do not have anything to offer. stuff like DDR wouldnt be as interesting on an NES (to the masses at least, i think it would be badass to play DDR w/chiptune). the Wii did a lot of unique things, 3d platformers offer a different experience than 2d platformers, games that rely on atmosphere are able to be more emersive due to more powerful hardware, etc...
and i think your argument is also out of place in this conversation, ubisoft is stating that they dont have enough power to improve the AI and that theyve throttled the graphics as a result. theyre trying to improve the underlying game, which would be odd for someone to complain about
i work for the military as a civilian in a IT-centric organization. for every 20 "IT Specialists" there is ONE that can do their job well and grow in it with proper nurture. the rest are monkeys that do not appear to have the capability to think critically and are in IT roles either because they wanted to be ("that looks cool" is sufficient) or scored highly on their ASVAB. they do the job they were trained to do and thats about it (even those SATCOM people).
consider that humanity doesnt know much about the workings of the universe. today's flying through space might be as silly a solution as in the 1600s traversing the atlantic submerged. there may very well be a "boat" solution to space that makes it far more hospitable to human travel. if humanity is around long enough, future generations may laugh at our primitive space escapades that somehow managed to miss the simple solution(s) for so long.
this is the second time apple has been involved in a celebrity sex photo/video leak.
in 2008 Edison Chen (popular Hong Kong actor/singer) took his idevice to an apple store for service, his dozens of videos and photos of sex with a dozen famous HK starlets were on the internet, slowly leaked like these appear to be.
there was huge backlash, he ended up "retiring" from acting, but has since returned.
thats the logical solution, but people tend to be illogical when it comes to things like religion and sports as someone above already remarked. at least i've only got the one monkey on my back
i stopped reading ESPN during off-seasons. the only thing they have to report is "XXXX was banned for X games for XXXX reason". the reason typically being DUI, drugs, shooting people, beating women -general dumbass illegal stuff. maybe the NFL should be year-round, practice and playing seems to be the only thing that keeps players busy enough to stay out of jail.
the business aspect makes sense, theyre obviously doing what brings in the most cash. no argument there. my point is that other US professional sports manage to treat their fans much better. probably because theyre afraid of actually losing fans (revenue) if they get too stupid. most companies have to balance their product, consumer happiness, and price. the NFL clearly understands that their fans are masochists who only care about the product and not the price or their own happiness. the NFL has none of the fear most regular businesses have (one of the benefits of having a monopoly -fortunately no one *needs* to see NFL games)
i consider it punishment as numerous very popular services they *could* provide dont exist: -a competitor to the ever-stale Madden games -streaming games online -a way to watch all games (not only the ones you happen to get on tv in your area) without needing a ~$200 satellite subscription
these give consumers more choice and flexibility and are things that fans *really want* and will be happy to pay for. maybe "punishment" is the wrong word, "abuse" or "mistreatment" may fit better
pro football is like smoking crack, only harder to kick.
the NFL hates its fans with a *passion*, as evident by their business practices, and they punish us every way they can find (new terrible red zone ads, EA madden exclusivity, directv/verizon exclusivity, ~$90 preseason game ticket prices, $200 streaming games only outside the USA [NHL is $50, MLB similar -both available in the USA], etc).
if anyone (myself included) *could* quit enjoying seeing their team play, we would have already, and the NFL knows. the NFL is a shit organization, but we the fans have made it clear that we will put up with whatever bullshit they throw at us.
anyway, i dont think its unreasonable to want to be able to watch a game on tv. watching at home and attending a game are entirely different things. no one says 'lets not go to the game, it's on tv". its very telling that the NFL needs a *law* to force people to go to games and pay their exhorbitant ticket costs.
military starved for funds? i work for the military and there is as much waste at the end of this fiscal year as there was for any other. if they dont waste it, they dont get as much to waste next year. the military "budget cuts" are bullshit, theyre still receiving far more than they know what to do with
and in many countries you do not need to remove your shoes. shit, sometimes when i fly in the US i dont have to remove my shoes, it always comes as a welcome surprise. wonder why planes arent falling out of the sky in areas without these restrictions...
yes, as so many of these batteries have been modified to be weapons with such disasterous effect on board planes, this is now a necessary measure.
furthermore: *enough training can endow passengers with martial arts skills that can be used to deadly effect, passengers must be tied down *laptops and other heavy objects can be used to bludgeon, no carry-ons allowed *the in-flight meal plastic eating utensils can be deadly when applied correctly, eat with your hands *a wild passenger could open the emergency door in-flight with disasterous effect, it should be locked *a blanket and bottle of water can be used to waterboard other passengers in the privy, no more toilets, beverages, or articles made of cloth *psychology may be applied to coerce a flight attendant into unknowingly aiding a terrorist plot, flight attendants must also hold a degree in psychology OR allow no one on board with an IQ over 50 OR gag all passengers
there are *so many* ways to fuck things up, the only way for TSA to secure flying is to expand the no-fly list to include absolutely everyone
working 40 is not the "bare minimum", it's what most people are hired for -usually in a contract. doing good work during business hours and sacrificing time from your real life have nothing to do with each other in most cases
if "redskins" is denied a trademark due to some people finding it offensive, how did N.W.A. (Niggaz Wit Attitudes) ever get a theirs? the N-word has always had negative connotations, no one can claim that it wasnt a hot-button word when N.W.A. was new. its sad that the govt is again passive-agressively strong-arming, i wonder if harry reid or other outspoken idiots were behind this.
i've never heard someone call a native american "redskin" before. it's always been in reference to the football team. i have however, heard the term "chief" used disparagingly. why are the kansas city chiefs not also on the hook? the overall question i have is, how can we more effectively sanitize the world to no longer offend anyone at all? handling these case-by-case is stupidly inefficient.
Citizen EcoDrive analogues are solar powered with a battery for backup. after a while without light (for instance, under your sleeve) the seconds hand movement stops until it sees light again and then quickly updates. in cases of very low battery, it will only move the minute hand every 2-5min or so. ive had my 8700 for about five years now. its a tank, was only $350 new (likely cheaper now), looks nice, and i've never had to care about swapping the battery. itll probably make it a few weeks after my death, at least.
three possibilities: 1. the BAE one costs more and we have cash to burn before the FY ends 2. the BAE one costs less and we didnt burn enough cash last FY 3. BAE has its hooks in the DoD (at least we know this one is true)
DoD public-facing server are supposed to be cordoned off, DMZ'd, hardened to the point where theyre nearly unusable, and not contain anything but data classified as PUBLIC (ie, lose the server and you lose nothing important). These are part of many DISA requirements that simply werent followed. These guys were lazy/bad/apathetic -they arent now (though still getting paid the same, so why should they care).
The "Bloodstream" is just some official talking out of his ass about something he doesnt understand, unless he is talking about the DISA network the navy rides (which could/correctly/ be analogized as the 'bloodstream' of the global navy network). But that would be actual serious shit, and a different story altogether. Or maybe its a regional/theatre ops center with connections to lots of enclaves. Who knows.
My guess is that the web admins had a lax PKI implementation and local admin accounts that shared username/password with other servers. This "bloodstream" thing makes no sense as there are supposed to be physical and logical boundaries between enclaves. how much access do you have to your ISP's equipment? DoD networks are supposed to be like that to compartmentalize things.
Really, most of the explanation of what actually took place sounds like gibberish.
i used to hate it, probably because it was popular for people to hate it. "i have REAL friends, not VIRTUAL friends" and all that. i dont dislike it anymore though. turns out its very handy for stuff like: >organizing/joining events with friends >sharing/seeing pictures taken at parties >finding something to do ("i want to go drinking tonight, anyone else?" to 150 people at once is convenient) >nurturing relationships with women (a look at their FB will tell you a lot) >expanding your real social network (discovering and then meeting friends of friends)
if you fill your friends list with strangers that send you friend requests, then FB is a waste of time. fill it with people you know and it can enhance your meatspace social life
any culture other than their own is "junk culture" to many. the japanese govt has initiatives to repel things like hanryuu (korean wave) and make people more interested in japanese culture/content and thus creating a demand for more. hard to do when K-Pop groups are releasing albums in japanese (does that make it J-Pop?) and the fact that japanese tv sucks (not all, but most) to the point that no one overseas would want to watch it even if they could understand it. i know more than a few early-20s girls that are watching 'The Walking Dead' and are more interested in reruns of 'Dr House' than the new (second) season of 'Doctor X'
"economic stimulus", AKA "they want more of our money". regular sales tax will be raised from 5% to 8% in april too. vending machine product prices will change, ill be looking for a riot to join.
i dont agree that it is "totally painless", its a huge pain and inconvenience for no perceived benefit. i do however agree that there is a lunatic fringe that takes it too far. the entire "flying experience" is shit! uncomfortable flying, lugging baggage, immigration, waiting in an airport for hours, more-expensive food/beer... security checkpoints are just another shitty part. that one point out of many is a stupid to cancel a vacation to america or anywhere else someone want(ed) to go that has mildly-invasive security.
there were pictures of ten year old kids stitching air jordans, the "think of the children" was (rightfuly) strong. if foxconn has that sort of thing going on, its less-publicized. it matters less to most though. plenty of people are willing to switch from nike to adidas or the like. phone/pc/console choice seems to carry almost a religious dedication for a lot of people. theyre not willing to switch from their chosen brand, even if they think their brand does deplorable things.
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i want to point out that i used to be a christian (indoctrinated while growing up) and a richard dawkins debate on youtube got me interested enough to read one of his books. after that i was no longer a christian.
with something as unprovable as god, i think that few people are going to be outright convinced by a debate, but it may open some minds to new possibilities and questioning why they believe what they do, prompting them to research further and come to their own conclusion.
further, when one debator presents a wide range of facts and evidence based on centuries of study, revision, and growing understanding -and the other debator simply presents a two thousand year old book, rhetoric, and subjective personal "proof", im willing to bet more on-the-fencers would find the science guy's argument more compelling than the god guy's.
so, youre saying that games shouldnt evolve?
i still love the 8/16bit stuff more than any other games, but thats not to say that new games do not have anything to offer. stuff like DDR wouldnt be as interesting on an NES (to the masses at least, i think it would be badass to play DDR w/chiptune). the Wii did a lot of unique things, 3d platformers offer a different experience than 2d platformers, games that rely on atmosphere are able to be more emersive due to more powerful hardware, etc...
and i think your argument is also out of place in this conversation, ubisoft is stating that they dont have enough power to improve the AI and that theyve throttled the graphics as a result. theyre trying to improve the underlying game, which would be odd for someone to complain about
i work for the military as a civilian in a IT-centric organization. for every 20 "IT Specialists" there is ONE that can do their job well and grow in it with proper nurture. the rest are monkeys that do not appear to have the capability to think critically and are in IT roles either because they wanted to be ("that looks cool" is sufficient) or scored highly on their ASVAB. they do the job they were trained to do and thats about it (even those SATCOM people).
consider that humanity doesnt know much about the workings of the universe. today's flying through space might be as silly a solution as in the 1600s traversing the atlantic submerged. there may very well be a "boat" solution to space that makes it far more hospitable to human travel.
if humanity is around long enough, future generations may laugh at our primitive space escapades that somehow managed to miss the simple solution(s) for so long.
this is the second time apple has been involved in a celebrity sex photo/video leak.
in 2008 Edison Chen (popular Hong Kong actor/singer) took his idevice to an apple store for service, his dozens of videos and photos of sex with a dozen famous HK starlets were on the internet, slowly leaked like these appear to be.
there was huge backlash, he ended up "retiring" from acting, but has since returned.
thats the logical solution, but people tend to be illogical when it comes to things like religion and sports as someone above already remarked.
at least i've only got the one monkey on my back
i stopped reading ESPN during off-seasons. the only thing they have to report is "XXXX was banned for X games for XXXX reason". the reason typically being DUI, drugs, shooting people, beating women -general dumbass illegal stuff. maybe the NFL should be year-round, practice and playing seems to be the only thing that keeps players busy enough to stay out of jail.
the business aspect makes sense, theyre obviously doing what brings in the most cash. no argument there. my point is that other US professional sports manage to treat their fans much better. probably because theyre afraid of actually losing fans (revenue) if they get too stupid. most companies have to balance their product, consumer happiness, and price. the NFL clearly understands that their fans are masochists who only care about the product and not the price or their own happiness. the NFL has none of the fear most regular businesses have (one of the benefits of having a monopoly -fortunately no one *needs* to see NFL games)
i consider it punishment as numerous very popular services they *could* provide dont exist:
-a competitor to the ever-stale Madden games
-streaming games online
-a way to watch all games (not only the ones you happen to get on tv in your area) without needing a ~$200 satellite subscription
these give consumers more choice and flexibility and are things that fans *really want* and will be happy to pay for. maybe "punishment" is the wrong word, "abuse" or "mistreatment" may fit better
people watch streams? but thats impossible! according to the leagues, if the option to watch from home existed then the stadiums would be empty!
pro football is like smoking crack, only harder to kick.
the NFL hates its fans with a *passion*, as evident by their business practices, and they punish us every way they can find (new terrible red zone ads, EA madden exclusivity, directv/verizon exclusivity, ~$90 preseason game ticket prices, $200 streaming games only outside the USA [NHL is $50, MLB similar -both available in the USA], etc).
if anyone (myself included) *could* quit enjoying seeing their team play, we would have already, and the NFL knows. the NFL is a shit organization, but we the fans have made it clear that we will put up with whatever bullshit they throw at us.
anyway, i dont think its unreasonable to want to be able to watch a game on tv. watching at home and attending a game are entirely different things. no one says 'lets not go to the game, it's on tv".
its very telling that the NFL needs a *law* to force people to go to games and pay their exhorbitant ticket costs.
military starved for funds? i work for the military and there is as much waste at the end of this fiscal year as there was for any other. if they dont waste it, they dont get as much to waste next year. the military "budget cuts" are bullshit, theyre still receiving far more than they know what to do with
and in many countries you do not need to remove your shoes. shit, sometimes when i fly in the US i dont have to remove my shoes, it always comes as a welcome surprise. wonder why planes arent falling out of the sky in areas without these restrictions...
yes, as so many of these batteries have been modified to be weapons with such disasterous effect on board planes, this is now a necessary measure.
furthermore:
*enough training can endow passengers with martial arts skills that can be used to deadly effect, passengers must be tied down
*laptops and other heavy objects can be used to bludgeon, no carry-ons allowed
*the in-flight meal plastic eating utensils can be deadly when applied correctly, eat with your hands
*a wild passenger could open the emergency door in-flight with disasterous effect, it should be locked
*a blanket and bottle of water can be used to waterboard other passengers in the privy, no more toilets, beverages, or articles made of cloth
*psychology may be applied to coerce a flight attendant into unknowingly aiding a terrorist plot, flight attendants must also hold a degree in psychology OR allow no one on board with an IQ over 50 OR gag all passengers
there are *so many* ways to fuck things up, the only way for TSA to secure flying is to expand the no-fly list to include absolutely everyone
working 40 is not the "bare minimum", it's what most people are hired for -usually in a contract.
doing good work during business hours and sacrificing time from your real life have nothing to do with each other in most cases
if "redskins" is denied a trademark due to some people finding it offensive, how did N.W.A. (Niggaz Wit Attitudes) ever get a theirs? the N-word has always had negative connotations, no one can claim that it wasnt a hot-button word when N.W.A. was new. its sad that the govt is again passive-agressively strong-arming, i wonder if harry reid or other outspoken idiots were behind this.
i've never heard someone call a native american "redskin" before. it's always been in reference to the football team.
i have however, heard the term "chief" used disparagingly. why are the kansas city chiefs not also on the hook?
the overall question i have is, how can we more effectively sanitize the world to no longer offend anyone at all? handling these case-by-case is stupidly inefficient.
Citizen EcoDrive analogues are solar powered with a battery for backup. after a while without light (for instance, under your sleeve) the seconds hand movement stops until it sees light again and then quickly updates. in cases of very low battery, it will only move the minute hand every 2-5min or so. ive had my 8700 for about five years now. its a tank, was only $350 new (likely cheaper now), looks nice, and i've never had to care about swapping the battery. itll probably make it a few weeks after my death, at least.
three possibilities:
1. the BAE one costs more and we have cash to burn before the FY ends
2. the BAE one costs less and we didnt burn enough cash last FY
3. BAE has its hooks in the DoD (at least we know this one is true)
DoD public-facing server are supposed to be cordoned off, DMZ'd, hardened to the point where theyre nearly unusable, and not contain anything but data classified as PUBLIC (ie, lose the server and you lose nothing important). These are part of many DISA requirements that simply werent followed. These guys were lazy/bad/apathetic -they arent now (though still getting paid the same, so why should they care).
/correctly/ be analogized as the 'bloodstream' of the global navy network). But that would be actual serious shit, and a different story altogether. Or maybe its a regional/theatre ops center with connections to lots of enclaves. Who knows.
The "Bloodstream" is just some official talking out of his ass about something he doesnt understand, unless he is talking about the DISA network the navy rides (which could
My guess is that the web admins had a lax PKI implementation and local admin accounts that shared username/password with other servers. This "bloodstream" thing makes no sense as there are supposed to be physical and logical boundaries between enclaves. how much access do you have to your ISP's equipment? DoD networks are supposed to be like that to compartmentalize things.
Really, most of the explanation of what actually took place sounds like gibberish.
i used to hate it, probably because it was popular for people to hate it. "i have REAL friends, not VIRTUAL friends" and all that.
i dont dislike it anymore though. turns out its very handy for stuff like:
>organizing/joining events with friends
>sharing/seeing pictures taken at parties
>finding something to do ("i want to go drinking tonight, anyone else?" to 150 people at once is convenient)
>nurturing relationships with women (a look at their FB will tell you a lot)
>expanding your real social network (discovering and then meeting friends of friends)
if you fill your friends list with strangers that send you friend requests, then FB is a waste of time. fill it with people you know and it can enhance your meatspace social life
anyone who cared about the winamp name no longer does. recognition is not going to set them apart from all the other media players anymore.
any culture other than their own is "junk culture" to many. the japanese govt has initiatives to repel things like hanryuu (korean wave) and make people more interested in japanese culture/content and thus creating a demand for more. hard to do when K-Pop groups are releasing albums in japanese (does that make it J-Pop?) and the fact that japanese tv sucks (not all, but most) to the point that no one overseas would want to watch it even if they could understand it. i know more than a few early-20s girls that are watching 'The Walking Dead' and are more interested in reruns of 'Dr House' than the new (second) season of 'Doctor X'
"economic stimulus", AKA "they want more of our money". regular sales tax will be raised from 5% to 8% in april too.
vending machine product prices will change, ill be looking for a riot to join.
i dont agree that it is "totally painless", its a huge pain and inconvenience for no perceived benefit.
i do however agree that there is a lunatic fringe that takes it too far. the entire "flying experience" is shit! uncomfortable flying, lugging baggage, immigration, waiting in an airport for hours, more-expensive food/beer... security checkpoints are just another shitty part. that one point out of many is a stupid to cancel a vacation to america or anywhere else someone want(ed) to go that has mildly-invasive security.
there were pictures of ten year old kids stitching air jordans, the "think of the children" was (rightfuly) strong. if foxconn has that sort of thing going on, its less-publicized.
it matters less to most though. plenty of people are willing to switch from nike to adidas or the like. phone/pc/console choice seems to carry almost a religious dedication for a lot of people. theyre not willing to switch from their chosen brand, even if they think their brand does deplorable things.