It's not needed. Nearly all estimates predict human population will peak at about 9 billion sometime this century, then start declining. This is entirely due to education and a higher standard of living. With those, people naturally have less children.
Lowering population by a couple of billion will not necessarily preserve species. If there were only one billion people who consumed the amount the average American does now, we'd be in a worse position than we are now with 6 billion.
So when the quality of science today is so low, how can we REALLY know that prayer doesn't work (btw, lots of studies show that prayer DO work in many cases, ie. as a placebo effect or something similar), or homeopathy?
We can't prove a negative. Lots of studies funded by religious groups show that prayer does work in many cases. Lots of independent studies show that prayer has no effect whatsoever. Homeopathy studies have almost always shown no effect... one years old did show an effect, but you're going to get some that show effects by random chance occasionally. The placebo effect does not affect someone's illness, it affects how they feel about their illness. There is a big difference.
My personal opinion is that whatever works the best for you, will work. Western medicine is mostly based on herbalism, and works for fixing immediate damages to the body. While, sports, yoga, meditation, prayer, healing, good friends, smiles, laughter, will do wonders to prevent later ailments and make life more enjoyable.
All of those may make life more enjoyable... they do nothing to the actual disease in most cases though. Much as medical professionals would love to claim that a positive outlook helps, it doesn't. It's a myth to help the doctors and nurses with their jobs.
The only thing that reliably results in weight loss is lower intake of calories. Low-carb diets do this because most of our intake of calories is via carbs. It's not rocket science, and it's not easy, a lot of the time. "Low carb" diets are actually just "eat less" diets....
FFXII is probably my favourite (been playing since VII). It starts constricted, but once you get gambits set up, it becomes great. Before you get far, though, check online for which chests not to open, so you can get the Zodiac Spear (in the history of SE stupid design decisions, this rates as no. 1 IMO). I _loved_ the story and characters, and _loved_ the fact it was so open (after a certain point). I also loved the battle system, your mileage obviously varies though. FFXIII was way too linear for my liking.
Interesting, advocating cuts to health... This is an area that's been receiving quite a few cuts in recent years (though they've quietly slipped in unanounced; they're called "efficiency savings", where a department automatically gains 3% less than in a previous year, as they're supposed to increase in efficiency year on year).
That is not cuts. That is a reduction of gains.... it's an entirely different thing. The NHS has been gaining money, in real terms (ie over inflation), for decades, consistently. There have not been any cuts to the NHS for generations.
The total money spent on the NHS is forecast to go up in real terms over the next few years. This is why I can't get my head about your arguments - we're spending more and more money on the NHS, and you seem to be claiming we're spending less. Basically, you're just wrong.
I'm sure that [...] many loyal British people would die for their monarch - whoever he or she is.
Hahaha... what, seriously? The royal family has _no_ real political power... most English people see it as an anachronistic diplomatic and tourist irrelevance. Most (including me) have affection (and amusement) for the royal family, but little more. The Scots have every reason to not love the monarch since the national anthem contains the lines:
May he sedition hush,
and like a torrent rush,
Rebellious Scots to crush,
God save the King/Queen.
Now the hardline monarchists will come out of the woodwork...
From the first line of the summary : "Toshiba is readying two 3D televisions that can produce images with the illusion of depth but don't require the user to wear glasses". This story has nothing to do with 3D that requires glasses... they've already priced these models, so it seems a little unlikely they're 5 years off. Seriously, I don't quite understand your point...
Saying that those who don't fall into that category and get infected don't deserve any service because they've fallen afoul of their TOS is pig ignorant.
Time for a car analogy... is that a bit like saying that those who don't know how to drive well and are a danger to others don't deserve a license is pig ignorant? The problem here is not what these computers are doing to themselves, it's what they are doing to innocent victims on the net who know how to run their computers. Besides, even if something is not someone's fault, does not mean that for the greater good they should not be isolated, ie. quarantine.
It's simple really - those who see western dominance as a shameful thing
I definately do not see Western dominance as a shameful thing. I'm proud of my country's (albeit recently eroded) stand on human rights, and on free speech. At the very worst, I know I have it a lot better than most.
will continue to oppose any and all use of force - whether it be political, economic, or physical - regardless of their actual effect.
I do not oppose force, I oppose torture, I oppose wars not allowed by any international law, I oppose restrictions on free reporting, I oppose detention without cause, I oppose unnecessary deaths of innocent people, I oppose disregard of the Geneva convention. To me, I think a lot of that's what Western values are essentially about. If you're for any of those things, and you believe that that's what Western values are... well, I think you're one of the people destroying Western values.
My PC supports every major game that comes out, and I'm free to use my system however I wish.
No it doesn't. I love JRPGs (we all have our weaknesses), and basically none of them are crossed over onto the PC. Also... Gran Turismo? Many PC ports are bug-ridden junk too (GTA4, Saint's Row 2 for two well known examples).
2. You're making it sound way more complicated than it is, my friend, and I think you know it. The right Direct X version? Windows Update takes care of that. Was the last time you used Direct X in 1995 or something? The rest of the items you listed can be easily figured out by about 30 minutes of reading.
My Vista64 install borks every time I try to install a service pack. And I do mean borks... BSOD on install, then BSOD every reboot after that, including into safe mode. System restore usually works, unless the service pack install has got far enough along to replace system restore with the newer version, in which case it's reinstall time. I can't get access to directX 10 or 11 without service packs.
Vista64 did not even install on my system out of the box - there's a bug with over 2gb of RAM and an nVidia chipset motherboard - BSOD every install attempt. I had to remove one of my 2gb sticks, install, then I couldn't get online because Vista couldn't figure out my wireless card. So I boot into win2k to get online, and try to get the hotfix that fixes the 4gb issue... "sorry, you can't do that unless you're running Vista 64 activated". Then I search for hours and hours, trying all the suggested things to get wireless working, but nothing works. I eventually find a driver for a different wireless card that seems to do the trick. I get online, grab the hotfix, and finally have Vista installed.... until I press auto-update:P.
Basically the point I'm making is : Can you see why someone might want to buy a console rather than a PC to play games?
ps. I would probably give my console gaming up before my PC gaming... but it'd be close - Europa Universalis, Civilization V, TOME, Dwarven Fortress, Football Manager (way better on PC), Counterstrike Source, Dragon Age : Origins, are a few of the reasons at the moment.
I specifically gave up on PC gaming due to the graphics card. Every year you would have to shell out $200 to make the most of the latest First Person Shooter (FPS).
If you're happy with console equivalent graphics, you do not have to shell out $200 every year to keep your PC up to the same spec. I paid about £100 ($150 or so) for my 8800GT years ago. It runs games at better resolutions, effects, and FPS than any console now.
The best consoles generally achieve with games now is 1280*720 30fps, with poor or no AA & AF (I run my PC at 1920*1200, well over double the pixel count of 720p, with higher FPS and with AA/AF). There are very few games that surpass this, and most of the ones that do do so only in a very limited sense. If you're happy with that with a console, why aren't you happy with it on the PC?
Erm... what? You've just managed to misspell marvellous, despite the company being called Marvell... all you had to do was add "ous" to the end. Marvel is the root of marvellous.
If I'm missing something here... well, it won't be the first time.
This does happen... I knew someone who had a massive accident, and he survived purely because he wasn't wearing a seatbelt. His 3 passengers were, and didn't, respectively. However, overall, seatbelts do prevent injury.
Conveniently moving files between systems via the network opens up a myriad of other security problems. Conveniently moving files is a security risk, however you do it.
You joke, but I've been running my home desktop for years without firewall or antivirus. I've had exactly one malware problem I actually had to go out of my way to sort out, that was about 6 years ago, when I was running Win2k.
The myth about windows systems getting owned as soon as they connect to the internet just is not reality. 99% of the problem is behind the keyboard.
You cannot create a system in which an ignorant user with priveledges cannot create havoc.
Slashdot Mirror
It's not needed. Nearly all estimates predict human population will peak at about 9 billion sometime this century, then start declining. This is entirely due to education and a higher standard of living. With those, people naturally have less children.
Lowering population by a couple of billion will not necessarily preserve species. If there were only one billion people who consumed the amount the average American does now, we'd be in a worse position than we are now with 6 billion.
So when the quality of science today is so low, how can we REALLY know that prayer doesn't work (btw, lots of studies show that prayer DO work in many cases, ie. as a placebo effect or something similar), or homeopathy?
We can't prove a negative. Lots of studies funded by religious groups show that prayer does work in many cases. Lots of independent studies show that prayer has no effect whatsoever. Homeopathy studies have almost always shown no effect... one years old did show an effect, but you're going to get some that show effects by random chance occasionally. The placebo effect does not affect someone's illness, it affects how they feel about their illness. There is a big difference.
My personal opinion is that whatever works the best for you, will work. Western medicine is mostly based on herbalism, and works for fixing immediate damages to the body. While, sports, yoga, meditation, prayer, healing, good friends, smiles, laughter, will do wonders to prevent later ailments and make life more enjoyable.
All of those may make life more enjoyable... they do nothing to the actual disease in most cases though. Much as medical professionals would love to claim that a positive outlook helps, it doesn't. It's a myth to help the doctors and nurses with their jobs.
The only thing that reliably results in weight loss is lower intake of calories. Low-carb diets do this because most of our intake of calories is via carbs. It's not rocket science, and it's not easy, a lot of the time. "Low carb" diets are actually just "eat less" diets....
Are you one of those people who bought Super Mario Brothers, and not Super Mario Brothers 2?
[Dragon Age] was just too hard for me and I gave up. Lowering difficulty would probably just make it too easy.
What? You gave up because it was too hard, and did not try the easier difficulties because they'd _probably_ make it too easy? Seriously?
FFXII is probably my favourite (been playing since VII). It starts constricted, but once you get gambits set up, it becomes great. Before you get far, though, check online for which chests not to open, so you can get the Zodiac Spear (in the history of SE stupid design decisions, this rates as no. 1 IMO). I _loved_ the story and characters, and _loved_ the fact it was so open (after a certain point). I also loved the battle system, your mileage obviously varies though. FFXIII was way too linear for my liking.
Interesting, advocating cuts to health... This is an area that's been receiving quite a few cuts in recent years (though they've quietly slipped in unanounced; they're called "efficiency savings", where a department automatically gains 3% less than in a previous year, as they're supposed to increase in efficiency year on year).
That is not cuts. That is a reduction of gains.... it's an entirely different thing. The NHS has been gaining money, in real terms (ie over inflation), for decades, consistently. There have not been any cuts to the NHS for generations.
The total money spent on the NHS is forecast to go up in real terms over the next few years. This is why I can't get my head about your arguments - we're spending more and more money on the NHS, and you seem to be claiming we're spending less. Basically, you're just wrong.
They're metaphorically a pain in the ass.
Glad you clarified this, otherwise I'd be wondering whether they were literally a pain in the ass.
They are rock solid
Wait, now you've confused me...
I'm sure that [...] many loyal British people would die for their monarch - whoever he or she is.
Hahaha... what, seriously? The royal family has _no_ real political power... most English people see it as an anachronistic diplomatic and tourist irrelevance. Most (including me) have affection (and amusement) for the royal family, but little more. The Scots have every reason to not love the monarch since the national anthem contains the lines :
May he sedition hush,
and like a torrent rush,
Rebellious Scots to crush,
God save the King/Queen.
Now the hardline monarchists will come out of the woodwork...
Our job is to stop that fire and prevent loss of ANY LIFE.
In the words of someone with more wit than I ever could muster, BZZZT WRONG!
Where were you when I baked a couple of potatoes over a campfire last night?
Perhaps you were referring to animal life... but you didn't do such a good job stopping that moth self-immolating in my candle the night before.
Oh... did you mean cuddly animal life?
A line has to be drawn somewhere, right?
I heard they did encrypt it, with double rot13.
From the first line of the summary : "Toshiba is readying two 3D televisions that can produce images with the illusion of depth but don't require the user to wear glasses". This story has nothing to do with 3D that requires glasses... they've already priced these models, so it seems a little unlikely they're 5 years off. Seriously, I don't quite understand your point...
Saying that those who don't fall into that category and get infected don't deserve any service because they've fallen afoul of their TOS is pig ignorant.
Time for a car analogy... is that a bit like saying that those who don't know how to drive well and are a danger to others don't deserve a license is pig ignorant? The problem here is not what these computers are doing to themselves, it's what they are doing to innocent victims on the net who know how to run their computers. Besides, even if something is not someone's fault, does not mean that for the greater good they should not be isolated, ie. quarantine.
It's simple really - those who see western dominance as a shameful thing
I definately do not see Western dominance as a shameful thing. I'm proud of my country's (albeit recently eroded) stand on human rights, and on free speech. At the very worst, I know I have it a lot better than most.
will continue to oppose any and all use of force - whether it be political, economic, or physical - regardless of their actual effect.
I do not oppose force, I oppose torture, I oppose wars not allowed by any international law, I oppose restrictions on free reporting, I oppose detention without cause, I oppose unnecessary deaths of innocent people, I oppose disregard of the Geneva convention. To me, I think a lot of that's what Western values are essentially about. If you're for any of those things, and you believe that that's what Western values are... well, I think you're one of the people destroying Western values.
My PC supports every major game that comes out, and I'm free to use my system however I wish.
No it doesn't. I love JRPGs (we all have our weaknesses), and basically none of them are crossed over onto the PC. Also... Gran Turismo? Many PC ports are bug-ridden junk too (GTA4, Saint's Row 2 for two well known examples).
2. You're making it sound way more complicated than it is, my friend, and I think you know it. The right Direct X version? Windows Update takes care of that. Was the last time you used Direct X in 1995 or something? The rest of the items you listed can be easily figured out by about 30 minutes of reading.
My Vista64 install borks every time I try to install a service pack. And I do mean borks... BSOD on install, then BSOD every reboot after that, including into safe mode. System restore usually works, unless the service pack install has got far enough along to replace system restore with the newer version, in which case it's reinstall time. I can't get access to directX 10 or 11 without service packs.
Vista64 did not even install on my system out of the box - there's a bug with over 2gb of RAM and an nVidia chipset motherboard - BSOD every install attempt. I had to remove one of my 2gb sticks, install, then I couldn't get online because Vista couldn't figure out my wireless card. So I boot into win2k to get online, and try to get the hotfix that fixes the 4gb issue... "sorry, you can't do that unless you're running Vista 64 activated". Then I search for hours and hours, trying all the suggested things to get wireless working, but nothing works. I eventually find a driver for a different wireless card that seems to do the trick. I get online, grab the hotfix, and finally have Vista installed.... until I press auto-update :P.
Basically the point I'm making is : Can you see why someone might want to buy a console rather than a PC to play games?
ps. I would probably give my console gaming up before my PC gaming... but it'd be close - Europa Universalis, Civilization V, TOME, Dwarven Fortress, Football Manager (way better on PC), Counterstrike Source, Dragon Age : Origins, are a few of the reasons at the moment.
I specifically gave up on PC gaming due to the graphics card. Every year you would have to shell out $200 to make the most of the latest First Person Shooter (FPS).
If you're happy with console equivalent graphics, you do not have to shell out $200 every year to keep your PC up to the same spec. I paid about £100 ($150 or so) for my 8800GT years ago. It runs games at better resolutions, effects, and FPS than any console now.
The best consoles generally achieve with games now is 1280*720 30fps, with poor or no AA & AF (I run my PC at 1920*1200, well over double the pixel count of 720p, with higher FPS and with AA/AF). There are very few games that surpass this, and most of the ones that do do so only in a very limited sense. If you're happy with that with a console, why aren't you happy with it on the PC?
Erm... what? You've just managed to misspell marvellous, despite the company being called Marvell... all you had to do was add "ous" to the end. Marvel is the root of marvellous.
If I'm missing something here... well, it won't be the first time.
This does happen... I knew someone who had a massive accident, and he survived purely because he wasn't wearing a seatbelt. His 3 passengers were, and didn't, respectively. However, overall, seatbelts do prevent injury.
Conveniently moving files between systems via the network opens up a myriad of other security problems. Conveniently moving files is a security risk, however you do it.
The keys and the door lock, while related to one another, actually perform two important and yet DIFFERENT tasks.
What task exactly does a door lock on a car fulfill then? Anyone can smash the window in and steal what they want without any key.
To be honest, I very often leave my car unlocked, because there's little of value in it, and anyone can get in it very easily anyway.
Do you live in a neighborhood where someone jiggles your front door handle every few seconds?
No, but I wish I did! My "front door handle" has gone without jiggling for a while...
Unloaded firearms are pretty much worthless.
you likely have no efficient means of protecting yourself, property and/or loved ones.
One of the _very_ best ways of protecting your loved ones is not having loaded guns easily available.
You joke, but I've been running my home desktop for years without firewall or antivirus. I've had exactly one malware problem I actually had to go out of my way to sort out, that was about 6 years ago, when I was running Win2k.
The myth about windows systems getting owned as soon as they connect to the internet just is not reality. 99% of the problem is behind the keyboard.
You cannot create a system in which an ignorant user with priveledges cannot create havoc.
So their other plans not called unlimited are limited time, are they?
It's _called_ Unlimited. Seriously...