What? No cr3d|b|Lity? H0w kin u say that? U cant be sayin that sum an0nym0us pers0n on teh intarweb isnt a real jurnalist. GTG, m0m sez my macncheez is re4dy.
Well, is it any surprise that the OP got modded "Insightful" on this forum?
Many geeks and nerds act in exactly the same way as the meathead jocks and social butterflies that they despise. We might think that it's ridiculous the way popular people place value on others in relation to their perceived popularity, or that the jock places value on others in relation to their perceived athletic ability, but we think it seemly to look down on people whom we perceive as not being as smart or technically savvy as ourselves.
In order to feel elite, people complete in the arena in which they feel that they are the most competent, and then they will elevate that arena as if it were of greater importance than others. Nerds are no different.
The piece covers many of the cooling technologies currently available, how their new corona discharge cooler works, and a short interview with several of the key team members.
I sure hope that they remember to remove the lime first.
I've been using Eraser for years. What more could you want? DOD & better wipe capability, secure move, right click context menu, erasing report and all for the low, low price of FREE!
FTA: Finally, he said, "No abuse should be taken lightly, especially in situations where it becomes a criminal act (for example, physical violence, harassment or discrimination). The employee needs to know where help can be found, whether it is internal (i.e., the company's grievance committee) or external (i.e., formal representation or emergency services)."
In most of the companies that I've worked for, the "grievance committee" is merely a shill for management interests.
I wonder if it will fit in my son's Ford F-250. Let's see, with a curb weight of 6,395 and horsepower of 108,920, that would be more than 17 horsepower per pound!
true (almost darwin) story...
on
Darwin Awards 2006
·
· Score: 5, Interesting
A friend of mine, who steadfastly refuses to read instructions, was assembling his new wet saw (used for cutting ceramic tile)), when I arrived at his house to help install the tile. A wet saw usually has a diamond coated blade similar to a circular saw (but without teeth), and a water reservoir and pump to cool the blade. The pump obviously has an electric cord, which is usually routed by or through the water reservoir.
Because he hadn't read the directions he had routed the pump's electric cord IN FRONT OF THE SAW BLADE, and it would have been cut in two and dropped into the water pan when he started up the saw. What's more, he had it plugged into a 30-amp circuit. Luckily for him, I saw how he had put the saw together before he fired it up.
The scary thing? He still won't read the instructions.
As a geek, I realize that many of us have stronger ethics than most others.
While your wording is careful and not technically untrue, don't you think that it's a rather smug-sounding assertion? Almost any large group can make some claim that a sizable number of its members are more _____fill-in-the-blank___ than most others. Try it out. As a left-handed person, I realize that many of us have longer shinbones than most others.
But, given the prepositional phrase that you began the sentence with, I wonder if you didn't mean to imply that geeks are generally more ethical than most other subgroups of the population. If so, what is the ethical mesuring stick? As far as I can tell, the prevailing ethical system here is a relativistic/existential one (meaning that a universal moral code is rejected in favor of a personal/subjective one). I'm not necessarily against that, but it does seem a little easier to be "moral" when one has the ability to decide for oneself what that means. At least in comparison to some externally imposed ethical system. In any event, you would be hard-pressed to find a whole lot of people who have an relativistic/existential ethical system who did not feel that they were quite moral or ethical.
It's interesting that no one has yet challenged your statement here on slashdot. If someone had posted an equally accurate statement, such as "as a [Religious Jew, Practicing Christian, Card-Carrying Republican, CEO of a major corporation, I realize that many of us have stronger ethics than most others," I wonder if they would have gotten a free pass.
It's actually differs very little from the ice cream wholesaler giving free gloves to the clerk that orders ice cream, which is a commonplace pratice in business. I will leave it to the individual to decide if it's immoral or not, but make no mistake, it is a blatant attempt to manipulate the outcome of the blogger's musings about MS and Vista through the use of the powerful social-psychological principle known as Reciprocity.
Maybe GWB and/or Bill Clinton are saints, sent from God himself; maybe they're full-on sociopaths. However, the most likely scenario is that they're the usual mixture of good and evil, altruism and selfishness, who through various turns-of-events became President despite their flaws.
Likewise, their policies could be completely evil or completely good, but more likely the result of mixed motives and the general imperfection of the human intellect and psychology.
Even with the considerable increase in car payment, the vehical is cheaper (and less fustrating) to drive with regular maintenance and lower insurance than trying to get a "deal" on something "cheap". Paying to get the "prime" life of the car is worth every penny. I won't be running out to buy a new one in 3 years, but this one's been a really good deal so far.
While it may be more convenient and "less frustrating" to own a new car, I doubt that it is cheaper. It has been amply demonstrated that buying a two- or three-year-old car is much less expensive per year and per mile--especially if one is planning to drive it until the wheels fall off.
Kelly Blue Book's site indicates that purchasers are paying an average of $24,431 for a 2007 Dodge Grand Caravan SE; a comparably-equipped 2005 with 28,000 miles (about one sixth of the life of the car) is $16,650 from a dealer, and $13,550 from a private seller.
5/6ths of $24,431 is $19,525, nearly $3000 more over the life of the car than if you bought the car from a dealer, and nearly $6000 more than if you bought it from a private seller.
In retrospect I probably should have said "many" instead of "most." In any event, I don't think badly of people who, as you so aptly put it, "put more value on a comfortable ride with all the bells and whistles." I hope that I didn't come off that way.
Seriously. But most people have a whole bunch of emotional/self-image stuff wrapped up in their choice of vehicle. Personally, I find it an extraordinary waste of money. I doubt most people even realize what they're paying per day or per mile to drive.
I get approximately 36.5mpg out of a '03 Pontiac Sunfire w/manual transmission. I bought it used early this summer with 70,000K for $4000. Between the fuel economy, initial investment, inexpensive tires and the lack of easily-broken or expensive-to-repair items like automatic transmission, power windows, power locks, power seats, etc., this should cost very little to operate. The misses drives a '00 Suzuki Grand Vitara 5-speed, slightly better equipped, but we bought it used for a pittance.
Many people will point to supposedly higher TCO imports like Honda and Toyota, but in our area, you'd never find a Corolla or Civic under market value no matter how they're equipped. But American cars and lower-demand imports like Suzuki with manual transmissions are usually *at least* $1000 below blue book, which actually brings the TCO into line with or improves on that of high-demand imports.
The only problem with these cars is that you have to drive them--most folks in our income range wouldn't be caught dead piloting such low-prestige cars.
I just know that when I see people complaining about "6500 ft^2 McMansions" (as if we all have a responsibility to live in 20 ft^2 environmentally-friendly cardboard boxes)
Look up these logical fallacies and see if they sound familiar:
False Dilemma and Straw Man.
I would ask why you feel the need to meddle in someone else's private financial or personal matters, or why you have to inherently try to belittle his choices by calling them a McMansion. I personally don't need a house 6500 ft^2, but I definitely want the ability to buy what I can afford to buy and am not going to mock someone just because they need or want more than me. That's the marvelous thing about freedom.
I do not think that word (inherently) means what you think it means.
But to answer your question, since the OP brought up the matter in a public forum, I don't see that it's private or personal. If he doesn't want people commenting about such things then I would suggest that he not make posts about them on slashdot.
As far as the McMansion thing, you might be right. It was probably uncalled for. However, it's still my opinion that a person who lives in a 6500 ft^2 house does not have the right to feel all environmentally righteous just because he springs for a little extra insulation to lower his energy bill.
I bet there's a *huge* difference between dropping the notebook flat and dropping it on a corner. It's still hard for me to believe that any notebook I've seen (including the Panasonic Toughbooks) could take repeated 30-inch drops on the corner of the case and still work properly. If anyone knows differently, I'd love to hear about it.
You make a lot of good points. I think that perhaps I might have been a little overzealous in my reply to the OP when I compared his dad to Al Gore, since I guess I don't really know if his dad is going around spouting off about the sacrifices that the rest of us need to make.
Geotherms are great (I just helped my neighbor finish one) and certainly building semi-underground definitely has its advantages. However, a 6500 ft^2 house will use a lot more lumber, insulation, etc. than a smaller one, all of which has to be shipped from one place or another by truck, barge or whatever. Not to mention the nasty byproducts from making some of these materials.
All in all, it can hardly be debated--all things being equal--that a smaller house is more environmentally friendly than a larger one.
In the end it comes down to a personal choice about a personal sacrifice and that depends upon what level of responsibility one feels one has to the the rest of the world's population. I don't feel comfortable in making that decision for others and I'm very uncomfortable with someone who's living Al Gore's lifestyle trying to make it for them.
Slashdot Mirror
Sorry, I still don't think that it will "kill the Web as we know it." That's sensationalist, fear-mongering BS.
What? No cr3d|b|Lity? H0w kin u say that? U cant be sayin that sum an0nym0us pers0n on teh intarweb isnt a real jurnalist. GTG, m0m sez my macncheez is re4dy.
Haven't RTFA yet, but I doubt it will live up to the hype.
Well, is it any surprise that the OP got modded "Insightful" on this forum?
Many geeks and nerds act in exactly the same way as the meathead jocks and social butterflies that they despise. We might think that it's ridiculous the way popular people place value on others in relation to their perceived popularity, or that the jock places value on others in relation to their perceived athletic ability, but we think it seemly to look down on people whom we perceive as not being as smart or technically savvy as ourselves.
In order to feel elite, people complete in the arena in which they feel that they are the most competent, and then they will elevate that arena as if it were of greater importance than others. Nerds are no different.
The piece covers many of the cooling technologies currently available, how their new corona discharge cooler works, and a short interview with several of the key team members.
I sure hope that they remember to remove the lime first.
I've been using Eraser for years. What more could you want? DOD & better wipe capability, secure move, right click context menu, erasing report and all for the low, low price of FREE!
FTA: Finally, he said, "No abuse should be taken lightly, especially in situations where it becomes a criminal act (for example, physical violence, harassment or discrimination). The employee needs to know where help can be found, whether it is internal (i.e., the company's grievance committee) or external (i.e., formal representation or emergency services)."
In most of the companies that I've worked for, the "grievance committee" is merely a shill for management interests.
Right...I wonder if I could be any stupider. Is "stupider" a word? Maybe I should have said "more stupid."
I wonder if it will fit in my son's Ford F-250. Let's see, with a curb weight of 6,395 and horsepower of 108,920, that would be more than 17 horsepower per pound!
A friend of mine, who steadfastly refuses to read instructions, was assembling his new wet saw (used for cutting ceramic tile)), when I arrived at his house to help install the tile. A wet saw usually has a diamond coated blade similar to a circular saw (but without teeth), and a water reservoir and pump to cool the blade. The pump obviously has an electric cord, which is usually routed by or through the water reservoir.
Because he hadn't read the directions he had routed the pump's electric cord IN FRONT OF THE SAW BLADE, and it would have been cut in two and dropped into the water pan when he started up the saw. What's more, he had it plugged into a 30-amp circuit. Luckily for him, I saw how he had put the saw together before he fired it up.
The scary thing? He still won't read the instructions.
A North Korean Blue Ribbon Commission says that Kim Jong Il isn't a dictator and is beloved by his people.
As a geek, I realize that many of us have stronger ethics than most others.
While your wording is careful and not technically untrue, don't you think that it's a rather smug-sounding assertion? Almost any large group can make some claim that a sizable number of its members are more _____fill-in-the-blank___ than most others. Try it out. As a left-handed person, I realize that many of us have longer shinbones than most others.
But, given the prepositional phrase that you began the sentence with, I wonder if you didn't mean to imply that geeks are generally more ethical than most other subgroups of the population. If so, what is the ethical mesuring stick? As far as I can tell, the prevailing ethical system here is a relativistic/existential one (meaning that a universal moral code is rejected in favor of a personal/subjective one). I'm not necessarily against that, but it does seem a little easier to be "moral" when one has the ability to decide for oneself what that means. At least in comparison to some externally imposed ethical system. In any event, you would be hard-pressed to find a whole lot of people who have an relativistic/existential ethical system who did not feel that they were quite moral or ethical.
It's interesting that no one has yet challenged your statement here on slashdot. If someone had posted an equally accurate statement, such as "as a [Religious Jew, Practicing Christian, Card-Carrying Republican, CEO of a major corporation, I realize that many of us have stronger ethics than most others," I wonder if they would have gotten a free pass.
I'm with you. Before I go and get all excited, I'm going to have to see something more than a cheesy GIF on a tech website that I've never heard of.
I also want my flying car that I was promised 35 years ago.
It's actually differs very little from the ice cream wholesaler giving free gloves to the clerk that orders ice cream, which is a commonplace pratice in business. I will leave it to the individual to decide if it's immoral or not, but make no mistake, it is a blatant attempt to manipulate the outcome of the blogger's musings about MS and Vista through the use of the powerful social-psychological principle known as Reciprocity.
But then again, why should the OP allow facts to get in the way of what he/she wishes to believe?
The logical fallacy of Blank and White Thinking, which is a hallmark of those with Borderline Personality Disorder, seems to affect most of us when dealing with political figures.
Maybe GWB and/or Bill Clinton are saints, sent from God himself; maybe they're full-on sociopaths. However, the most likely scenario is that they're the usual mixture of good and evil, altruism and selfishness, who through various turns-of-events became President despite their flaws.
Likewise, their policies could be completely evil or completely good, but more likely the result of mixed motives and the general imperfection of the human intellect and psychology.
Even with the considerable increase in car payment, the vehical is cheaper (and less fustrating) to drive with regular maintenance and lower insurance than trying to get a "deal" on something "cheap". Paying to get the "prime" life of the car is worth every penny. I won't be running out to buy a new one in 3 years, but this one's been a really good deal so far.
While it may be more convenient and "less frustrating" to own a new car, I doubt that it is cheaper. It has been amply demonstrated that buying a two- or three-year-old car is much less expensive per year and per mile--especially if one is planning to drive it until the wheels fall off.
Kelly Blue Book's site indicates that purchasers are paying an average of $24,431 for a 2007 Dodge Grand Caravan SE; a comparably-equipped 2005 with 28,000 miles (about one sixth of the life of the car) is $16,650 from a dealer, and $13,550 from a private seller.
5/6ths of $24,431 is $19,525, nearly $3000 more over the life of the car than if you bought the car from a dealer, and nearly $6000 more than if you bought it from a private seller.
Why dual boot? It seems so inconvenient to me. Perhaps virtualization would be better?
In retrospect I probably should have said "many" instead of "most." In any event, I don't think badly of people who, as you so aptly put it, "put more value on a comfortable ride with all the bells and whistles." I hope that I didn't come off that way.
Seriously. But most people have a whole bunch of emotional/self-image stuff wrapped up in their choice of vehicle. Personally, I find it an extraordinary waste of money. I doubt most people even realize what they're paying per day or per mile to drive.
I get approximately 36.5mpg out of a '03 Pontiac Sunfire w/manual transmission. I bought it used early this summer with 70,000K for $4000. Between the fuel economy, initial investment, inexpensive tires and the lack of easily-broken or expensive-to-repair items like automatic transmission, power windows, power locks, power seats, etc., this should cost very little to operate. The misses drives a '00 Suzuki Grand Vitara 5-speed, slightly better equipped, but we bought it used for a pittance.
Many people will point to supposedly higher TCO imports like Honda and Toyota, but in our area, you'd never find a Corolla or Civic under market value no matter how they're equipped. But American cars and lower-demand imports like Suzuki with manual transmissions are usually *at least* $1000 below blue book, which actually brings the TCO into line with or improves on that of high-demand imports.
The only problem with these cars is that you have to drive them--most folks in our income range wouldn't be caught dead piloting such low-prestige cars.
I just know that when I see people complaining about "6500 ft^2 McMansions" (as if we all have a responsibility to live in 20 ft^2 environmentally-friendly cardboard boxes)
Look up these logical fallacies and see if they sound familiar:
False Dilemma and Straw Man.
I would ask why you feel the need to meddle in someone else's private financial or personal matters, or why you have to inherently try to belittle his choices by calling them a McMansion. I personally don't need a house 6500 ft^2, but I definitely want the ability to buy what I can afford to buy and am not going to mock someone just because they need or want more than me. That's the marvelous thing about freedom.
I do not think that word (inherently) means what you think it means.
But to answer your question, since the OP brought up the matter in a public forum, I don't see that it's private or personal. If he doesn't want people commenting about such things then I would suggest that he not make posts about them on slashdot.
As far as the McMansion thing, you might be right. It was probably uncalled for. However, it's still my opinion that a person who lives in a 6500 ft^2 house does not have the right to feel all environmentally righteous just because he springs for a little extra insulation to lower his energy bill.
Jethro Tull lyrics from that period.
I bet there's a *huge* difference between dropping the notebook flat and dropping it on a corner. It's still hard for me to believe that any notebook I've seen (including the Panasonic Toughbooks) could take repeated 30-inch drops on the corner of the case and still work properly. If anyone knows differently, I'd love to hear about it.
Twinhead originally claimed that their unit could survive 26 drops from 29 inches. A cracked LCD and busted hard drive later, they changed their tune.
Seriously, did anyone really think that *any* notebook could take that?
You make a lot of good points. I think that perhaps I might have been a little overzealous in my reply to the OP when I compared his dad to Al Gore, since I guess I don't really know if his dad is going around spouting off about the sacrifices that the rest of us need to make.
Geotherms are great (I just helped my neighbor finish one) and certainly building semi-underground definitely has its advantages. However, a 6500 ft^2 house will use a lot more lumber, insulation, etc. than a smaller one, all of which has to be shipped from one place or another by truck, barge or whatever. Not to mention the nasty byproducts from making some of these materials.
Also, insulation is certainly not the total answer since it has been shown that houses that are too well-insulated can be very unhealthy to live in.
All in all, it can hardly be debated--all things being equal--that a smaller house is more environmentally friendly than a larger one.
In the end it comes down to a personal choice about a personal sacrifice and that depends upon what level of responsibility one feels one has to the the rest of the world's population. I don't feel comfortable in making that decision for others and I'm very uncomfortable with someone who's living Al Gore's lifestyle trying to make it for them.