I met my wife on the internet, but it was via ytalk on a vt100 terminal at uni in 94 and at the time she was only as far away as the other side of the campus (or possibly in the next room). We've nearly been together now for half the time i've been alive.
I'm separated, and I can't think of any good reasons to be in a relationship again.
This is the other part of the problem. Most people are absolute idiots when it comes to relationships and just fuck everything up. You may have your shit together but it doesn't help if the other party is the self centered spawn of satan.
It might help if "how to have a good relationship" classes were taught at school, or at least "how to tell if your girlfriend is the love child of Beelzebub and Cthulu"
Don't forget the "professional" Child Support moms. They seduce guys, get a baby, put in a token two years because they need Dad to cover the other half of the diaper stage, then divorce them and collect child support. Then they get new boyfriends for the cuddlin' and help under the table but get to collect the child support as free cash. Posting as AC because this comment will get pummeled in 12 minutes. But it's true.
Do you have any evidence that this problem actually exists?
It only has to happen once for the problem to "exist", but doesn't imply that it happens with any significant frequency. I happen to know someone who has 5 kids to 5 different guys and would be raking in the child support (different arrangement here in AU than in the US, but a similar net effect) if she hadn't picked 5 deadbeats to have kids with.
We got to 41 yesterday where I live. Only 37 today with even a tiny bit of rain but windy and there is smoke everywhere and the (really crap) android FireReady app is going off every few minutes.
You're doing much worse in NSW/ACT today than us in Victoria though. Hope it all passes without incident.
These drones must come with a heavy cost and consume even more energy. A bit counter-productive if it is true that pollution is really having an effect on the weather.
If they made them more like powered gliders they could stay up in the air for ages with very little fuel. You get quite incredible updrafts in bushfires!
Or even completely unpowered and tow a bunch of them up with a regular airplane when a fire starts.
This assumes that updrafts from fires are useful in that way and not something too turbulent that would tear a plane apart.
Back-burning is a fairly common way of reducing the bush-fire threat and is actually carried out in most Australian cities especially in the cooler months. The problem you have is that Australia is huge (a little smaller then the continental USA) with a population of approximately 22 million compared to the USA's 312 million. Normally when a bush fire starts and is in a remote place it can be very difficult get enough firefighters into the area. It is not feasible to back-burn bush-land unless you have a considerable amount of man-power and resources especially water which may be in short supply.
That, and "backburning fire out of control" is not an uncommon headline.
found it necessary to ask his math teacher for information on vectors
That obviously impressed me more than it did you. Instead of being like most 15yo's (me included) in maths classes muttering "year right... when are we ever going to use this stuff", this kids is thinking "hmmm... I don't know enough stuff to solve this problem yet".
I remember hooking up an old CRT to the wrong video card.. one with way too a high resolution for that screen..
A while later, hooked up to the correct video card, I noticed a bit of smoke coming out from where the dials were.. removed the case.. plugged it in again to see if it was OK.. it burst into 3 foot high flames.
thankfully a fire extinguisher was about 3 feet away... mom would have been awfully mad if i had burned down the house.... scared the bejeezes out of me... the burnt electrical smell was horrendous..
(bonus: it was a fancy no mess extinguisher)
lesson learned.
Bullshit...
Possibly, but not necessarily. Older hardware wasn't always manufactured to "must not burn" specifications, and scanning at too high resolution could definitely cause damage to the monitor (and there were warnings in the manuals to that effect). My guess would be that the damage would be through overheating so fire is definitely a possibility, especially if the thing is full of flammable crud (fluff, paper dust, etc). 3 foot high flames might be an exaggerated memory of a distant past but I'm willing to believe the essence of the story.
That is what I don't understand about drunk drivers, they can crash anywhere whether at a friend's house, a motel, in the car or even outside.
While it works in a lot of situations, the excuse "But your honor, it's not my fault, I was really really drunk!" doesn't improve the situation when you get caught.
Everything on Slashdot has something to do with Australia, now.
Of course it will. Australia is the centre of the universe. Even the name "Aatish Bhatia" is obviously Australian in origin, and Rutgers is a suburb of Sydney I think.
Put in another way, there's nothing un-ergonomic about tablets. They're no different than books, paper pads, or chalkboards: you can hold them up, lay them on a table, on an angled stand, any way you like, while sitting, standing, or lying down. And since you're not forced to use them in any particular place or position, there are absolutely no ergonomic issues with tablets.
There's even a term for it... have you heard of "ipad shoulder", or "ipad neck"? I'm guessing "ipad hunchback" will become common once the young kids of today start to get into their 30's too.
The problem is that you either hunch your neck forward to look at the ipad while it's in a position comfortable for your hands, or you raise your arms to use it when it's in the non-hunchback position. Either way you're straining your body. It's fine for using here and there but if you were using it more than a few hours a day (eg because it's your sole computing device) then ergonomics really does become an issue.
A separate keyboard and mouse solves pretty much all of that though, and is probably the best of both worlds - the convenience of a lightweight tablet while you're moving around, and the ergonomics of a desktop computer when you're sitting. Ideal if you move between workplaces too.
It does surprised me how much drunk driving is seen as "okay" in the US. Obviously it's not actually "okay" but people seem to be a lot more casual about it.
I guess it's still viewed as "okay" in Australia too in some circles, but the people i know who've been done for drink driving are very quiet about it.
Even if my friends kill someone, I'll still support them. That's what true friendship is about.
Being drunk behind the wheel of a car is a dangerous thing to be doing. If it was my friend i'd be dobbing them in too, for their safety and the safety of my other friends (and family, and strangers). I would be giving them the chance to turn themselves in first, but they'd need to be quick. That's the sort of support they need, even if it isn't what they want.
In any case, a true friend wouldn't put me in the position where I had to make such a choice.
The news is even inaccurate... Facebook didn't land him in jail, being a moron and driving drunk, then not stopping at the scene of an accident did.
Doing those things and then getting caught landed him in jail. Without blabbing on facebook he might not have been caught. As far as headlines go it's vaguely accurate.
... or at least the catch would be obvious here in the U.S.!
Mobile data costs so much more than phone minutes these days, people probably won't save anything.
In Australia we typically pay flagfall + cost per minute (or part thereof) for mobile calls. Sometimes it's per 30 seconds (or part thereof). Data charges are exactly what you use, so for short calls the data charges are probably cheaper. Is the US anything like that?
I for one would not be upset at all if/when Facebook fails. Another thing to consider: is your data plan advantageous? I tried VOIP on android over wifi once, it was terrible... almost unusable. With ideas like this, I am amazed FB is still in business.
I don't know that i've ever tried it over wifi, but i've used Skype over 3G to the UK (from Australia) and it was clearer than a regular mobile call.
Next thing you know it's a gunfight in the kindergarten class.
The only hint TFA gave about the content he wanted blocked was seeing T1000 stab someone in the face. It may be that he has a library of extreme fetish porn that would give me nightmares, but the chances are the nudity is all in your head.
From TFA I got the impression that the child probably isn't 2 yet. A 2 year old will _love_ doing things themselves - making a movie play by themselves without your help is almost as much fun as watching the movie (which is why you'll find them constantly flipping through movies). Sure you could helicopter over them and tell them no you can't watch that one, or that one, but you've instantly robbed the fun from the experience of learning independence.
Much better to construct a nice safe sandbox where (as far as they are concerned) their freedom has no limits. Of course that doesn't mean you can then just walk off and leave them to their own devices - you still need to be around but at least you won't be telling them 'no' constantly.
The stuff you are talking about is definitely appropriate for an older child, although the appropriateness varies wildly depending on the child - two of my kids would be likely to do as instructed by the time they were 4 or 5, the other two not so much at the same age - both because their insane curiosity of the world would overwhelm any sense of possible consequences.
Just show them Back Door Sluts 9, show them how it's done. Theyll see it eventually anyway so its better that they'd see it in a controlled environment. I saw the 'bad' stuff when i was just a wee boy as well, never did me any harm did it?
This nonsense of 'not showing the R-rated' stuff is mostly just to console the parents really. They knew they were wrong when they allowed a child to be born into this harsh and cruel world and would rather the child think that things are rosy for another couple of years until it is absolutely impossible to keep up the lie any longer.
Little kids have enough to learn about the world without worrying about the finer points of sex. They'll see it eventually, and eventually is when they should see it.
And if a movie called "Back Door Sluts 9" is your idea of "how it's done", then I'm guessing harm has been done and you're probably doing it wrong. Porn is done for the benefit of the audience, sex is done for the benefit of the participants. Kids shouldn't be learning about sex from porn, and should only be seeing porn once they are old enough to understand the difference between the two.
To illustrate the point to an older child, maybe sit them down in front of their favorite computer game (do people still play WoW?) and film them. Constantly tell them that they are in the way of the screen. Tell them to change their armor or other aspects of their character because it doesn't look right. Get them to fight battles that are visually pleasing, not necessarily fun.
They fell asleep and were groggy the next day from 1/4 of the milkshake. Suppose they'd drunk the whole thing.
I am not a doctor, but all medications come in varying dosages. We don't exactly know the whole story here, so stop making assumptions.
If I were the parents, I wouldn't have had my own children arrested, or put them in a position to be arrested. I would have handled the situation privately and discretely, disciplining as necessary. Even a misdemeanor fucks up your future these days, I had parents that understood this when I did dumb things growing up. You're a fool if you think even the juvenile system in this country is capable of any sort of rehabilitation, and certainly is capable of much less than that available from a couple of loving parents.
The parents were being vindictive, that's the only explanation. Or they're downright retarded and should be arrested for child endangerment.
My bet here is that something was seriously wrong in this household, and the teen was acting out in the only way she knew how.
If your child drugged you with a dose high enough to kill you (which may be the case here if they'd drunk the whole thing) then you have lost control of the situation, and should (as the parents in question have) be looking for external help. I suspect the kids won't be locked away (for all the reasons you point out) but hopefully will receive a defining lesson in right and wrong.
Exactly. And THAT should be the punishment. If someone can stay up until 5 AM playing WoW and still end up doing well in school, what's the problem? If they're tired in the morning and end up having a horrible day because of it, chances are they're going to go to bed earlier so they don't get tired.
Been watching 60's sitcoms where kids learn from their mistakes have you? "Awww geee... I'm really cranky today, Ma and Pa were right when they said that would happen. i'd better go to bed early tonight like the good little child I am."
Left to their own devices, teenagers will often only make decisions that are in their best interests in the very short term. "I was really cranky all today because I stayed up late last night and it's 10pm now so I should go to bed but i've just got my second wind and feel great now so I won't".
That's what parents are for. I've had a bunch of people tell me their fantastical ideas about parenting... not saying "no" to their child, letting them do whatever they want and learning from their mistakes, etc, but for the most part it seems to be an excuse to never actually do any real parenting.
I'd vote for this, if the direct tax on fuel was abolished and the new per-km tax rate was in direct proportion to the wear the vehicle caused to the road, which is in turn fairly easy to calculate based on the weight of the vehicle. Most hybrids and highly economical cars are lightweight so this would ultimately be a big win for anyone with a small car and you won't get any opposition from owners of hybrids. Big SUV owners will be up in arms though... but there aren't many voters who drive those are there?;)
The other advantage is that rail freight might become economical again (wear on roads caused by small vehicles is insignificant compared to large trucks, so a "fair" tax would increase haulage rates by road). And it would make the cost of moving stuff around more expensive, encouraging local industry.
OTOH if you simply levy an additional tax on the tiny little hybrid vehicles because "they're using the roads but not paying their fair share of taxes" then you're doing it completely wrong.
Slashdot Mirror
I met my wife on the internet, but it was via ytalk on a vt100 terminal at uni in 94 and at the time she was only as far away as the other side of the campus (or possibly in the next room). We've nearly been together now for half the time i've been alive.
Back in my day we didn't even need dating sites!
I'm separated, and I can't think of any good reasons to be in a relationship again.
This is the other part of the problem. Most people are absolute idiots when it comes to relationships and just fuck everything up. You may have your shit together but it doesn't help if the other party is the self centered spawn of satan.
It might help if "how to have a good relationship" classes were taught at school, or at least "how to tell if your girlfriend is the love child of Beelzebub and Cthulu"
Don't forget the "professional" Child Support moms.
They seduce guys, get a baby, put in a token two years because they need Dad to cover the other half of the diaper stage, then divorce them and collect child support. Then they get new boyfriends for the cuddlin' and help under the table but get to collect the child support as free cash.
Posting as AC because this comment will get pummeled in 12 minutes. But it's true.
Do you have any evidence that this problem actually exists?
It only has to happen once for the problem to "exist", but doesn't imply that it happens with any significant frequency. I happen to know someone who has 5 kids to 5 different guys and would be raking in the child support (different arrangement here in AU than in the US, but a similar net effect) if she hadn't picked 5 deadbeats to have kids with.
We got to 41 yesterday where I live. Only 37 today with even a tiny bit of rain but windy and there is smoke everywhere and the (really crap) android FireReady app is going off every few minutes.
You're doing much worse in NSW/ACT today than us in Victoria though. Hope it all passes without incident.
Also it's fucking hot out here. As in - my tyres got sticky in the car park hot out here.
Bah. Let me know when you park for 10 minutes and your car has sunk into the asphalt.
Or maybe it's so hot I just forgot where I parked...
haha, was just about to post the same thing...
These drones must come with a heavy cost and consume even more energy. A bit counter-productive if it is true that pollution is really having an effect on the weather.
If they made them more like powered gliders they could stay up in the air for ages with very little fuel. You get quite incredible updrafts in bushfires!
Or even completely unpowered and tow a bunch of them up with a regular airplane when a fire starts.
This assumes that updrafts from fires are useful in that way and not something too turbulent that would tear a plane apart.
Back-burning is a fairly common way of reducing the bush-fire threat and is actually carried out in most Australian cities especially in the cooler months. The problem you have is that Australia is huge (a little smaller then the continental USA) with a population of approximately 22 million compared to the USA's 312 million. Normally when a bush fire starts and is in a remote place it can be very difficult get enough firefighters into the area. It is not feasible to back-burn bush-land unless you have a considerable amount of man-power and resources especially water which may be in short supply.
That, and "backburning fire out of control" is not an uncommon headline.
found it necessary to ask his math teacher for information on vectors
That obviously impressed me more than it did you. Instead of being like most 15yo's (me included) in maths classes muttering "year right... when are we ever going to use this stuff", this kids is thinking "hmmm... I don't know enough stuff to solve this problem yet".
Not like a CRT catching fire...
I remember hooking up an old CRT to the wrong video card.. one with way too a high resolution for that screen..
A while later, hooked up to the correct video card, I noticed a bit of smoke coming out from where the dials were.. removed the case.. plugged it in again to see if it was OK .. it burst into 3 foot high flames.
thankfully a fire extinguisher was about 3 feet away... mom would have been awfully mad if i had burned down the house.... scared the bejeezes out of me ... the burnt electrical smell was horrendous..
(bonus: it was a fancy no mess extinguisher)
lesson learned.
Bullshit...
Possibly, but not necessarily. Older hardware wasn't always manufactured to "must not burn" specifications, and scanning at too high resolution could definitely cause damage to the monitor (and there were warnings in the manuals to that effect). My guess would be that the damage would be through overheating so fire is definitely a possibility, especially if the thing is full of flammable crud (fluff, paper dust, etc). 3 foot high flames might be an exaggerated memory of a distant past but I'm willing to believe the essence of the story.
That is what I don't understand about drunk drivers, they can crash anywhere whether at a friend's house, a motel, in the car or even outside.
While it works in a lot of situations, the excuse "But your honor, it's not my fault, I was really really drunk!" doesn't improve the situation when you get caught.
...It'll have something to do with Australia.
Everything on Slashdot has something to do with Australia, now.
Of course it will. Australia is the centre of the universe. Even the name "Aatish Bhatia" is obviously Australian in origin, and Rutgers is a suburb of Sydney I think.
Put in another way, there's nothing un-ergonomic about tablets. They're no different than books, paper pads, or chalkboards: you can hold them up, lay them on a table, on an angled stand, any way you like, while sitting, standing, or lying down. And since you're not forced to use them in any particular place or position, there are absolutely no ergonomic issues with tablets.
There's even a term for it... have you heard of "ipad shoulder", or "ipad neck"? I'm guessing "ipad hunchback" will become common once the young kids of today start to get into their 30's too.
The problem is that you either hunch your neck forward to look at the ipad while it's in a position comfortable for your hands, or you raise your arms to use it when it's in the non-hunchback position. Either way you're straining your body. It's fine for using here and there but if you were using it more than a few hours a day (eg because it's your sole computing device) then ergonomics really does become an issue.
A separate keyboard and mouse solves pretty much all of that though, and is probably the best of both worlds - the convenience of a lightweight tablet while you're moving around, and the ergonomics of a desktop computer when you're sitting. Ideal if you move between workplaces too.
It does surprised me how much drunk driving is seen as "okay" in the US. Obviously it's not actually "okay" but people seem to be a lot more casual about it.
I guess it's still viewed as "okay" in Australia too in some circles, but the people i know who've been done for drink driving are very quiet about it.
Even if my friends kill someone, I'll still support them.
That's what true friendship is about.
Being drunk behind the wheel of a car is a dangerous thing to be doing. If it was my friend i'd be dobbing them in too, for their safety and the safety of my other friends (and family, and strangers). I would be giving them the chance to turn themselves in first, but they'd need to be quick. That's the sort of support they need, even if it isn't what they want.
In any case, a true friend wouldn't put me in the position where I had to make such a choice.
The news is even inaccurate... Facebook didn't land him in jail, being a moron and driving drunk, then not stopping at the scene of an accident did.
Doing those things and then getting caught landed him in jail. Without blabbing on facebook he might not have been caught. As far as headlines go it's vaguely accurate.
... or at least the catch would be obvious here in the U.S.!
Mobile data costs so much more than phone minutes these days, people probably won't save anything.
In Australia we typically pay flagfall + cost per minute (or part thereof) for mobile calls. Sometimes it's per 30 seconds (or part thereof). Data charges are exactly what you use, so for short calls the data charges are probably cheaper. Is the US anything like that?
I for one would not be upset at all if/when Facebook fails. Another thing to consider: is your data plan advantageous? I tried VOIP on android over wifi once, it was terrible... almost unusable. With ideas like this, I am amazed FB is still in business.
I don't know that i've ever tried it over wifi, but i've used Skype over 3G to the UK (from Australia) and it was clearer than a regular mobile call.
Next thing you know it's a gunfight in the kindergarten class.
The only hint TFA gave about the content he wanted blocked was seeing T1000 stab someone in the face. It may be that he has a library of extreme fetish porn that would give me nightmares, but the chances are the nudity is all in your head.
From TFA I got the impression that the child probably isn't 2 yet. A 2 year old will _love_ doing things themselves - making a movie play by themselves without your help is almost as much fun as watching the movie (which is why you'll find them constantly flipping through movies). Sure you could helicopter over them and tell them no you can't watch that one, or that one, but you've instantly robbed the fun from the experience of learning independence.
Much better to construct a nice safe sandbox where (as far as they are concerned) their freedom has no limits. Of course that doesn't mean you can then just walk off and leave them to their own devices - you still need to be around but at least you won't be telling them 'no' constantly.
The stuff you are talking about is definitely appropriate for an older child, although the appropriateness varies wildly depending on the child - two of my kids would be likely to do as instructed by the time they were 4 or 5, the other two not so much at the same age - both because their insane curiosity of the world would overwhelm any sense of possible consequences.
Just show them Back Door Sluts 9, show them how it's done. Theyll see it eventually anyway so its better that they'd see it in a controlled environment. I saw the 'bad' stuff when i was just a wee boy as well, never did me any harm did it?
This nonsense of 'not showing the R-rated' stuff is mostly just to console the parents really. They knew they were wrong when they allowed a child to be born into this harsh and cruel world and would rather the child think that things are rosy for another couple of years until it is absolutely impossible to keep up the lie any longer.
Little kids have enough to learn about the world without worrying about the finer points of sex. They'll see it eventually, and eventually is when they should see it.
And if a movie called "Back Door Sluts 9" is your idea of "how it's done", then I'm guessing harm has been done and you're probably doing it wrong. Porn is done for the benefit of the audience, sex is done for the benefit of the participants. Kids shouldn't be learning about sex from porn, and should only be seeing porn once they are old enough to understand the difference between the two.
To illustrate the point to an older child, maybe sit them down in front of their favorite computer game (do people still play WoW?) and film them. Constantly tell them that they are in the way of the screen. Tell them to change their armor or other aspects of their character because it doesn't look right. Get them to fight battles that are visually pleasing, not necessarily fun.
Just cut his internet access off after 10pm...oh wait, he might try to drug you so he can get his internet on.
Or hire an "in-real-life" assassin...
I find this refreshing. If only everyone would take the time to reevaluate their beliefs from time to time we might be so much better off.
It cuts both ways though. Ever met someone who has recently "found god"?
They fell asleep and were groggy the next day from 1/4 of the milkshake. Suppose they'd drunk the whole thing.
I am not a doctor, but all medications come in varying dosages. We don't exactly know the whole story here, so stop making assumptions.
If I were the parents, I wouldn't have had my own children arrested, or put them in a position to be arrested. I would have handled the situation privately and discretely, disciplining as necessary. Even a misdemeanor fucks up your future these days, I had parents that understood this when I did dumb things growing up. You're a fool if you think even the juvenile system in this country is capable of any sort of rehabilitation, and certainly is capable of much less than that available from a couple of loving parents.
The parents were being vindictive, that's the only explanation. Or they're downright retarded and should be arrested for child endangerment.
My bet here is that something was seriously wrong in this household, and the teen was acting out in the only way she knew how.
If your child drugged you with a dose high enough to kill you (which may be the case here if they'd drunk the whole thing) then you have lost control of the situation, and should (as the parents in question have) be looking for external help. I suspect the kids won't be locked away (for all the reasons you point out) but hopefully will receive a defining lesson in right and wrong.
Exactly. And THAT should be the punishment. If someone can stay up until 5 AM playing WoW and still end up doing well in school, what's the problem? If they're tired in the morning and end up having a horrible day because of it, chances are they're going to go to bed earlier so they don't get tired.
Been watching 60's sitcoms where kids learn from their mistakes have you? "Awww geee... I'm really cranky today, Ma and Pa were right when they said that would happen. i'd better go to bed early tonight like the good little child I am."
Left to their own devices, teenagers will often only make decisions that are in their best interests in the very short term. "I was really cranky all today because I stayed up late last night and it's 10pm now so I should go to bed but i've just got my second wind and feel great now so I won't".
That's what parents are for. I've had a bunch of people tell me their fantastical ideas about parenting... not saying "no" to their child, letting them do whatever they want and learning from their mistakes, etc, but for the most part it seems to be an excuse to never actually do any real parenting.
I'd vote for this, if the direct tax on fuel was abolished and the new per-km tax rate was in direct proportion to the wear the vehicle caused to the road, which is in turn fairly easy to calculate based on the weight of the vehicle. Most hybrids and highly economical cars are lightweight so this would ultimately be a big win for anyone with a small car and you won't get any opposition from owners of hybrids. Big SUV owners will be up in arms though... but there aren't many voters who drive those are there? ;)
The other advantage is that rail freight might become economical again (wear on roads caused by small vehicles is insignificant compared to large trucks, so a "fair" tax would increase haulage rates by road). And it would make the cost of moving stuff around more expensive, encouraging local industry.
OTOH if you simply levy an additional tax on the tiny little hybrid vehicles because "they're using the roads but not paying their fair share of taxes" then you're doing it completely wrong.