If you ever have a chance, read "The Hot House" by Richard Preston (?).
The short answer to your question is that a whole heck-of-a-lot of people who are in jail are there for drinking/drug-related offenses and various forms of robbery -- and a vast majority of them have wives/sons/daughters. Even the murderers have family. So, to them, if you're a child molester or (to a lesser extent) rapist, you're pretty much at the bottom of their food chain, since you could potentially be raping their wife/son/daughter.
And yet, I have a monitor sitting here next to me that states, very specifically in big swirling letters (ON THE FRONT!), that it is, in fact, the LOW RADIATION model.
Makes you wonder who bought the HIGH RADIATION model, and whether or not the company, Viewsonic, displayed that attribute so proudly on the front...
Aye, I agree with some of the things you and parent post say, but "you get what you pay for" is a double-edged sword. If you pay shit, you (oftentimes, but not always) get shit. If all you can afford is shit, well then, you got what you were looking for (and maybe something more).
Point is, yes, there are a great many folks out there looking to take advantage of college students -- not only financially, but because they don't have the "experience," the client typically ends up dictating what they want, not bothering to take into account even the (what they consider to be) meager advice of the person they hired.
Sub-point is, don't let yourself be taken advantage of. Go in looking like a pro, have a game-plan, and stick to it. "Yeah, I'll do it -- why don't we say, $200 and we'll go from there" will wind you (the artist) up shit-creek with neither paddle nor paper.
A great untapped resource: college students. If you know folks in college, or there is a local college with a decent art program, contact their career advisor (or anyone at the art school) and let them know that you've got work that needs to be done.
Generally, you'll find one or two students who have the budding (or more developed) skills and know-how, and who will be more than grateful for the opportunity to earn a little extra cash or, more importantly, who will work for free in exchange for being able to use a "real world" project or two in their portfolio.
Not only are you "giving back" to the community, but you get what you need for cheap/free.
Two words of caution though. First, don't be a condescending ass. A lot of non-artistic, business-types tend to think of art students as starving-scum-of-the-earth, and they end up coming across as assholes who don't get the best they could. Second, realize that college students aren't always 100% reliable (were you?), and budget for that time-wise).
Stop fucking posting this shit. It's the only way to get things done. How the fuck do you think you get several hundred very individual people to jump on board with your idea? You bribe them. Not always with money. Simple favors, like pushing their proposals forward by attaching them to yours, do nicely.
Remember, most of the people who represent us don't have the time to read every fucking piece of legislation that crosses their desk. These things are hundreds of pages long. They look to those whom they owe a favor, glance at the legislation, and if they don't morally oppose it, they sign it and consider it one favor less the have to dole out in the future.
And let's not even get into the increased amount of time/funding/etc. that would come with separating each bill down to its components...
"All those in favor of making the murder of men a crime..." "All those in favor of making the murder of women a crime..." "All those in favor of making the murder of children a crime..."
You let me run the... industry-standard word processing... software I need to use in my job, and you haven't crashed on me in months.... I know that there is... accountability in your design.
I'd say your reply is slightly uninformed. Casinos don't adjust the payoff of any given game. Rather, they play the odds.
Look at it this way -- on any given night, in any given casino, there might be one or two players who play extremely well, several more who are pretty good, and literally hundreds who play like crap. The casinos make most of their money on that last group, and dole out a relatively small sum (compared to what they're taking in) to the truely gifted players.
The fact of the matter is, the odds aren't in your (the proverbial your) favor. Odds are, you (proverbial) play like crap, or in a game where there is a human element (poker), the dealer plays better than you do. If you happen to get lucky, or happen to be good, well, there are a hundred other people who aren't, and who don't.
If you're using a Mac, I'd suggest doing the following:
Format your pen drive to MS-DOS
Create an encrypted, password protected disk image roughly the size of your pen drive (also in MS-DOS format)
Store the disk image on your pen drive
The reason I recommend using MS-DOS format for both the disk and disk image is two-fold. First off, you can use the extra space not taken up by the disk image to grab files from a PC (since both the Mac and PC can read the MS-DOS file system), and because if you use HFS+, the Mac will store all sorts of file extras on the disk, giving you much less usable space (same reason you can't get the full 654 or 700 MB when you burn an HFS+ CD).
I would also recommend storing a fake.Trash file on the disk -- that way, when you delete stuff, it dies immediately (after warning you), rather than going to the trash. Google for more info.
"It's not like we need a law for every goddamn possible situation."
On the contrary. Until something is done to curb the rampant abuse of existing laws (and legal precedents) by the lawyers, this is exactly what we need, and will continue to need. Until we can somehow stop them from exploiting the smaller loopholes (which always exist), the solution to the problem cannot be leaving even larger ones.
That isn't to say that I disagree with what you believe in principal (or at least, what I think you believe) -- that the legal system, and the ideas our forefathers set forth in the form of checks and balances, has become so corrupted it is essentially worthless. To that, I agree.
"The problem is when there is no need for lawmakers, they invent that need themselves, simply because by making themselves useful they can get bribes from campaign contributors..."
This is like debating what came first -- the chicken, or the egg. Are the lawmakers creating laws in order to receive financial perks, or because they receive financial perks? The answer is that it doesn't really matter. Again, we have a situation that can't be dealt with by the current legal system. Those who pass the laws will never implement a law wherein they are no longer allowed to receive these perks (ie, get rid of lobbyists, who sadly, have just as much power as those belonging to the legal/political/insurance money-triangle/orgy).
We could go on and on, debating the good and the bad and recalling instances of abuse and corruption and problems. But we don't have to. We can agree that changes need to be made, and that they can't be made by the current system, which loves itself too much to destroy itself.
The answer might be that the entire system needs to be uprooted, and new seeds replanted by the governed. Not by those in power, or by those whom others say "let s/h/it make my decisions for me." Rather, by those who say "this is how my life would be if I were running things, and I'm speaking only for myself, and none other."
Unfortunately, the world is too well connected for this to happen. Were we, the people, to revolt, and destroy every shread of our current legal/governmental system, we would quickly find a host of other countries on our doorstep, eager to take us over and make us their own. And it would work. It would, no if's, and's, or but's. And then we would be right back at square one, or perhaps farther back, a Goliath sized (insert principality with some, but not all, rights here).
So what is the solution? Hell if I know... (rant cut short by lack of time:-)
Actually, I think this could be a neat way to get Real out of our lives, once and for all. Think about this -- if plenty of informed people bought songs from Real with the expectation that their breaking is a matter of when, not if, and raised a huge stink about it when it did happen (or better yet, got together some sort of class-action lawsuit), either demanding their money back or bad-mouthing Real incessantly to their friends, family, co-workers, etc., Real would either a) drown in legal bills b) drown in a flood of customers demanding their money back c) just give it up, fall back into obscurity and eventually just go the heck away.
I realize that morally, Real has no duty to refund your money when things they say will work, don't. They might not even legally (especially if they specify that the songs will only work on an iPod running such-and-such a firmware version -- if they didn't, then the end user would legally have a case, just as an end user of a telephone would have a case against the manufacturer if the phone only worked with SBC, but not AT&T, since it's the same phone, just different 'software,' and the phone doesn't specify what carrier it works with). But enough bad press, and they'll disappear.
First, the Federal Government isn't putting the industry out of business, because (in addition to other reasons stated in other posts) there are exceptions, i.e., groups and organizations who can still call you even though you're on the DNC list.
Second, when you ask a company to take your off of their list, they usually give you the 6-8 weeks bullshit. And yes, my friend, it is bullshit. Those 6-8 weeks give them time to sell the list to some other telemarketing company, with your name still on it, in addition to giving them time to harass you more. All of their lists are computerized. With a single click of a button, you could be removed from that list. And yet, it still takes them 6-8 weeks to click that button? Why? Because they're bending the law, getting around it.
Just like they'll continue to get around it. Note the exclusions to the DNC list - churches, airlines, etc., Craftly lawyers and businessmen (or should I just say assholes - these people are no better than the SPAM kings who sit at home, smug smiles on their faces, telling us 'it doesn't take very long to delete unwanted email, so just deal with it') will find a way around the law, and we'll end up getting nearly as many calls as we did before the DNC list ever existed.
Two words: I concur. The problem (as I've stated in other posts) isn't that we want to make a set amout per year - say $50,000. Rather, it's that the same companies who want to out-source our jobs and pay some over-seas worker $10,000 also see it fit to charge 5 times (for their product) here as compared to there.
The real question is, which came first, the chicken or the egg? Did rising cost of living increase pay, or did increasing pay raise the cost of living? Or is it all one big conspiracy among corporations to go on fucking us, year after year after year...?
"... or face the fact that you're living in a tremendous pay bubble, and it's not going to last."
That's the thing though, isn't it. Sure, we're all just under-educated, over-paid Americans, right? But what about that oh-so-wonderful thing called cost of living? Another post stated that 1/10 the pay in someplace like India is more than adequate, simply because things cost 1/10th what they do here. While those numbers may or may not be exact, the truth still stands: Whether or not pay here is inflated, or pay there is deflated, the cost of living here and there is directly proportional to those pay rates. Try living here in America (especially if you're living where a job in this sort of industry exists, ie not rural areas) on the salaries they pay in India. Good luck getting by.
Eventually, some sort of laws will have to be created and instated, keeping companies from off-shoring all of their work.
On the flip side, maybe things will balance out, and the cry 'Buy American' will start to be heard (with regards to this, much as it was already heard and answered in the 80's with regards to autos), but I think that (bouncing all over the place here) there are simply too many people here in the US, and not enough jobs. If you eliminated all the tech jobs by putting them overseas, you're looking at a lot of out-of-work people, multi-talented or otherwise. If these people can't or won't buy your product, your business eventually starts to fail or at least stagnate.
Ah, but then your rich buddies running the government - the only people running the government, another problem all-together - will bail you out using tax-payers money, raise the taxes, and bamn, everything will be okay for the corporate big-wigs and their government buddies. Then what...?
I suppose I speak from a sort of unaffected spot though. My job is largely based on what skills I was born with, and not something just anyone can sit in a classroom, learn, and churn out for fifty cents an hour (And yes, I realize there are such things as gifted programmers, who see solutions none other would, and who have the same job situation as I, or other people in my field do, but these are the people who are mostly secure in their jobs... It's those who are just trying to make a living doing something they a) know and/or b) enjoy, but who aren't genius-callibre persons, that we're talking about here).
I guess what I'm trying to say here is that the economy here isn't in the greatest of shape, and businesses are trying to stay ahead of their game by cutting costs. In doing so, they're putting less money into the hands of the people who will spent it (ie., the masses) and therefore, less money back into their own pockets. Except, this doesn't really affect the non-masses - they're rich enough that an economic downturn means they'll fire a butler or sell one of their three New York City million-dollar apartments. But then Bush'll give them tax breaks, which they may or may not use on more luxuries, either way, it keeps the money that the tax-break intended to circulate back into the economy in their pockets or into the pockets of other rich people (those who produce and sell luxury items). But there's one thing that seems to be forgotten in all of this - there are more of us than there are of them, and mob-appeal is a powerful thing indeed.
To sum up my summary, outsourcing jobs looks good and works for companies, but doesn't help the common man, who simply gets pumped up the corn-hole again and again and again...
Too bad there aren't any large land-masses just waiting to be 'discovered' so we can start a new government there and live in relative bliss for another hundred years until greed takes its toll once more.
I honestly see this as a good thing. It's evolution. It's moving forward. And, ideally, it could benefit everyone involved. Down with the album (unless you're making a real album, and not a simple compilation of singles - read: most 'albums' released today).
Imagine this scenario. Instead of releasing a new 'album' every year, or every couple of years, or whatnot, artists would instead have the option of releasing each song as they record it. They would no longer be pressured to create filler for the album by the demands of the public - "I want a full CD worth of music, because that's what I paying for." - as well as the demands of the label - "We need to appease the public demand for a full album. Therefore, you will fill the album, crap or no crap, I don't care." Instead, they could take the time to craft real songs (I've giving artists benefit of the doubt here and assuming that they would actually like to create meaningful works of art).
Furthermore, if the artist has the one, all-encompassing goal of making money, this model would allow them to tailor each song to the buyers desires based upon the feedback from the previous release. The modern album is somewhat of a gamble in this sense simply because (ignoring test audiences) there is no real knowledge of what the public wants and expects from a particular artist (take Metallica's new album, which sounds *very* different from anything they've released previously, and which was a gamble to release simply because of this unknown reception).
To push the idea a few steps further, and incorporate the whole 'best of' method, the artist would then be able to take 15-18 of these singles that were released over a certain period of time, and release the album with all of those tracks on it. In other words, the public would be able to download lower-than-perfect copies of these singles for $1/ song, and then if they wanted a full quality 'album' (complication disc, really) they'd buy it when the artist released it.
Just an idea. Feel free to pick it apart (for instance, I'm not sure exactly how this is better or more financially sound than the current model - it's just a different way of doing things).
No matter what the case, it's a bad sign through and through, and here's why: computers have gotten as fast as they need to be for Joe User. Relation, you ask?
Think about it. We're reaching a point where the only reason a non-techie (or someone who absolutely needs to be on the cutting edge of computing horsepower, such a someone who works with a lot of video filters or 3D applications) has to upgrade is that something breaks. And if what they've got works, they're not going to buy a new operating system for it either. The same goes for large companies - after all, why buy new computers and license a new OS and pay the IT department to set them all up when the 2.8Ghz systems are more than adequate?
As a result, they'll still be using the older version of whatever browser was tied into the operating system. Patches may or may not be released to fix any bugs that might exist. But most importantly, new standards and new technologies will go unsupported - new technologies are far less likely to be the stuff patches are made of, instead with-held until the next OS version is released (think 'new features - buy now').
Now, what this really means is that the way sites look and function today - they're going to have to look and function the exact same way for the next several years. Whatever new standards (CSS3, etc.) come about can't really be taken advantage of when 85% of the people visiting the site are using a browser from the year 2000. And as a web developer, you can't force or even suggest that your visitor upgrade his or her browser if such an upgrade a) doesn't exist or b) requires he/she to go out and buy a new version of Windows (for those of you who don't know, Microsoft is also strongly considering tying IE into their own OS, and not releasing free upgrades for older versions of their OS).
Now, all of this ignores Mac users, but no matter how you slice the cheese, we're a very small (if somewhat vocal) part of the whole of computer users.
Not entirely on-topic, but when I learned to type, I used my left hand to hit the 'b' key. When I got my first Goldtouch keyboard, it took about a week to actually remember to use my right hand to hit the 'b' (as it's on the right side of the split).
It's nice to see Safetype actually making these boards.
When I was out and about searching for something beyond the flat-as-a-pancake keyboard, I'd originally seen this design all over the web, but only as the product of research at Cornell, with no actual plans to put it into production. Seems they've changed their position on that front, though.
Here is Cornell's white paper on the vertical keyboard and its effects on posture and the like.
I ended up with a Goldtouch, which I am very happy with not only because it relieved any problems I was having, but because their customer service is among the best I've ever dealth with, anywhere, for *any* product or service out there. Wonderful people. They really stand behind their product.
First of all, I must admit that the CGI does look a little on the phoney side. That being said...
The size of the Hulk doesn't really matter. Just like in the comic books, where the size of the character, the proportions of his muscles, the angluarity of his overall form varies from one artist/comic to the next. If the Hulk varies in size through-out the movie, good for him. If he seems a little large, well, deal with it. It's a movie based on a comic book - double-suspension of disbelief.
Second, what's with black in CGI never looking 'right?' At least, that's what my brain is telling me whenever I see CGi that looks like... well... CGI - ie that the black of shadows and whatnot doesn't seem as dark as it actually is in nature.
Third, I was liking everything about the trailer until I saw that hell-hound looking thing standing on the tree-branch, and then a few frames later, the Hulk swatting it into oblivion. Is that supposed to be a real dog? Or some sort of hell-spawn dog that's going to destroy everything about the movie?
Four, I have to agree about the speed of his movement. The Hulk relies on brute strength to get things done - not brains, and certainly not speed. The bits where he leaps from place to place - yes. The shot of him windmilling his legs like the Flash gone gamma - no. Sorry, but no. Wrong.
Uhm. That's actually about all. I wish someone would do a *good* movie about Deadpool - more trash-talking, wise-crakin' than the comic book (not the movie) Spiderman, without the reliance on a mutant spider to get things moving.
That gets me thinking - I remember reading about some sort of mouse-pad looking thing that was supposed to recharge all of your partable devices when you placed them on it, eliminating the need for all those different chargers.
Seems you could use the same theory, have the pad vibrate ever so slightly, and capture that energy (much in the way the kinetic wrist-watches mentioned elsewhere do) to charge the devices.
Then again, maybe it would just vibrate everything onto the floor.
Unless the phone happens to be one of those nifty wrist-based one, the answer is no, this won't work. The kinetic watches work on the theory that you a) swing your arms, however so slightly or greatly, when you walk b) you tend to walk around quite a bit (even if it's just going to the fridge to grab another barrel of soda) and c) even when you're not walking around, your arms are moving.
Contrast that with a cell phone, which is either a) attached to your hip or b) sitting on your desk. When you're walking around, you might be able to harness some energy, the amount of which would increase the farther down your leg you carried it, but when you're just sitting around, or when you're doing your filing, or whatever, you wouldn't be doing anything for the phone.
Furthermore, any gain would quickly be balanced out by the fact that, just like the watches, you would need an electric device that constantly moves the phone around when you're not going to be using it for a certain period of time (longer than overnight, I believe).
Slashdot Mirror
If you ever have a chance, read "The Hot House" by Richard Preston (?).
The short answer to your question is that a whole heck-of-a-lot of people who are in jail are there for drinking/drug-related offenses and various forms of robbery -- and a vast majority of them have wives/sons/daughters. Even the murderers have family. So, to them, if you're a child molester or (to a lesser extent) rapist, you're pretty much at the bottom of their food chain, since you could potentially be raping their wife/son/daughter.
And yet, I have a monitor sitting here next to me that states, very specifically in big swirling letters (ON THE FRONT!), that it is, in fact, the LOW RADIATION model.
Makes you wonder who bought the HIGH RADIATION model, and whether or not the company, Viewsonic, displayed that attribute so proudly on the front...
Aye, I agree with some of the things you and parent post say, but "you get what you pay for" is a double-edged sword. If you pay shit, you (oftentimes, but not always) get shit. If all you can afford is shit, well then, you got what you were looking for (and maybe something more).
Point is, yes, there are a great many folks out there looking to take advantage of college students -- not only financially, but because they don't have the "experience," the client typically ends up dictating what they want, not bothering to take into account even the (what they consider to be) meager advice of the person they hired.
Sub-point is, don't let yourself be taken advantage of. Go in looking like a pro, have a game-plan, and stick to it. "Yeah, I'll do it -- why don't we say, $200 and we'll go from there" will wind you (the artist) up shit-creek with neither paddle nor paper.
A great untapped resource: college students. If you know folks in college, or there is a local college with a decent art program, contact their career advisor (or anyone at the art school) and let them know that you've got work that needs to be done.
Generally, you'll find one or two students who have the budding (or more developed) skills and know-how, and who will be more than grateful for the opportunity to earn a little extra cash or, more importantly, who will work for free in exchange for being able to use a "real world" project or two in their portfolio.
Not only are you "giving back" to the community, but you get what you need for cheap/free.
Two words of caution though. First, don't be a condescending ass. A lot of non-artistic, business-types tend to think of art students as starving-scum-of-the-earth, and they end up coming across as assholes who don't get the best they could. Second, realize that college students aren't always 100% reliable (were you?), and budget for that time-wise).
Nice.
Whilst no others actually got that you were being sarcastic and/or funny, I must admit a number of their replies were hilarious as well.
I'm not sure why, but I came quite close to spitting beer all over the screen when I read that. Kudos, and mod points if I had them (ever).
Stop fucking posting this shit. It's the only way to get things done. How the fuck do you think you get several hundred very individual people to jump on board with your idea? You bribe them. Not always with money. Simple favors, like pushing their proposals forward by attaching them to yours, do nicely.
Remember, most of the people who represent us don't have the time to read every fucking piece of legislation that crosses their desk. These things are hundreds of pages long. They look to those whom they owe a favor, glance at the legislation, and if they don't morally oppose it, they sign it and consider it one favor less the have to dole out in the future.
And let's not even get into the increased amount of time/funding/etc. that would come with separating each bill down to its components...
"All those in favor of making the murder of men a crime..."
"All those in favor of making the murder of women a crime..."
"All those in favor of making the murder of children a crime..."
And so on and so forth.
Dear OS X,
... industry-standard word processing ... software I need to use in my job, and you haven't crashed on me in months. ... I know that there is ... accountability in your design.
You let me run the games I want to play...
Ahem... Let's try that again...
Dear OS X,
You let me run the
I'd say your reply is slightly uninformed. Casinos don't adjust the payoff of any given game. Rather, they play the odds.
Look at it this way -- on any given night, in any given casino, there might be one or two players who play extremely well, several more who are pretty good, and literally hundreds who play like crap. The casinos make most of their money on that last group, and dole out a relatively small sum (compared to what they're taking in) to the truely gifted players.
The fact of the matter is, the odds aren't in your (the proverbial your) favor. Odds are, you (proverbial) play like crap, or in a game where there is a human element (poker), the dealer plays better than you do. If you happen to get lucky, or happen to be good, well, there are a hundred other people who aren't, and who don't.
- Format your pen drive to MS-DOS
- Create an encrypted, password protected disk image roughly the size of your pen drive (also in MS-DOS format)
- Store the disk image on your pen drive
The reason I recommend using MS-DOS format for both the disk and disk image is two-fold. First off, you can use the extra space not taken up by the disk image to grab files from a PC (since both the Mac and PC can read the MS-DOS file system), and because if you use HFS+, the Mac will store all sorts of file extras on the disk, giving you much less usable space (same reason you can't get the full 654 or 700 MB when you burn an HFS+ CD).I would also recommend storing a fake
On the contrary. Until something is done to curb the rampant abuse of existing laws (and legal precedents) by the lawyers, this is exactly what we need, and will continue to need. Until we can somehow stop them from exploiting the smaller loopholes (which always exist), the solution to the problem cannot be leaving even larger ones.
That isn't to say that I disagree with what you believe in principal (or at least, what I think you believe) -- that the legal system, and the ideas our forefathers set forth in the form of checks and balances, has become so corrupted it is essentially worthless. To that, I agree.
This is like debating what came first -- the chicken, or the egg. Are the lawmakers creating laws in order to receive financial perks, or because they receive financial perks? The answer is that it doesn't really matter. Again, we have a situation that can't be dealt with by the current legal system. Those who pass the laws will never implement a law wherein they are no longer allowed to receive these perks (ie, get rid of lobbyists, who sadly, have just as much power as those belonging to the legal/political/insurance money-triangle/orgy).
We could go on and on, debating the good and the bad and recalling instances of abuse and corruption and problems. But we don't have to. We can agree that changes need to be made, and that they can't be made by the current system, which loves itself too much to destroy itself.
The answer might be that the entire system needs to be uprooted, and new seeds replanted by the governed. Not by those in power, or by those whom others say "let s/h/it make my decisions for me." Rather, by those who say "this is how my life would be if I were running things, and I'm speaking only for myself, and none other."
Unfortunately, the world is too well connected for this to happen. Were we, the people, to revolt, and destroy every shread of our current legal/governmental system, we would quickly find a host of other countries on our doorstep, eager to take us over and make us their own. And it would work. It would, no if's, and's, or but's. And then we would be right back at square one, or perhaps farther back, a Goliath sized (insert principality with some, but not all, rights here).
So what is the solution? Hell if I know... (rant cut short by lack of time
Actually, I think this could be a neat way to get Real out of our lives, once and for all. Think about this -- if plenty of informed people bought songs from Real with the expectation that their breaking is a matter of when, not if, and raised a huge stink about it when it did happen (or better yet, got together some sort of class-action lawsuit), either demanding their money back or bad-mouthing Real incessantly to their friends, family, co-workers, etc., Real would either a) drown in legal bills b) drown in a flood of customers demanding their money back c) just give it up, fall back into obscurity and eventually just go the heck away.
I realize that morally, Real has no duty to refund your money when things they say will work, don't. They might not even legally (especially if they specify that the songs will only work on an iPod running such-and-such a firmware version -- if they didn't, then the end user would legally have a case, just as an end user of a telephone would have a case against the manufacturer if the phone only worked with SBC, but not AT&T, since it's the same phone, just different 'software,' and the phone doesn't specify what carrier it works with). But enough bad press, and they'll disappear.
You're wrong for two reasons.
First, the Federal Government isn't putting the industry out of business, because (in addition to other reasons stated in other posts) there are exceptions, i.e., groups and organizations who can still call you even though you're on the DNC list.
Second, when you ask a company to take your off of their list, they usually give you the 6-8 weeks bullshit. And yes, my friend, it is bullshit. Those 6-8 weeks give them time to sell the list to some other telemarketing company, with your name still on it, in addition to giving them time to harass you more. All of their lists are computerized. With a single click of a button, you could be removed from that list. And yet, it still takes them 6-8 weeks to click that button? Why? Because they're bending the law, getting around it.
Just like they'll continue to get around it. Note the exclusions to the DNC list - churches, airlines, etc., Craftly lawyers and businessmen (or should I just say assholes - these people are no better than the SPAM kings who sit at home, smug smiles on their faces, telling us 'it doesn't take very long to delete unwanted email, so just deal with it') will find a way around the law, and we'll end up getting nearly as many calls as we did before the DNC list ever existed.
Mark my words.
Two words: I concur. The problem (as I've stated in other posts) isn't that we want to make a set amout per year - say $50,000. Rather, it's that the same companies who want to out-source our jobs and pay some over-seas worker $10,000 also see it fit to charge 5 times (for their product) here as compared to there.
The real question is, which came first, the chicken or the egg? Did rising cost of living increase pay, or did increasing pay raise the cost of living? Or is it all one big conspiracy among corporations to go on fucking us, year after year after year...?
"... or face the fact that you're living in a tremendous pay bubble, and it's not going to last."
That's the thing though, isn't it. Sure, we're all just under-educated, over-paid Americans, right? But what about that oh-so-wonderful thing called cost of living? Another post stated that 1/10 the pay in someplace like India is more than adequate, simply because things cost 1/10th what they do here. While those numbers may or may not be exact, the truth still stands: Whether or not pay here is inflated, or pay there is deflated, the cost of living here and there is directly proportional to those pay rates. Try living here in America (especially if you're living where a job in this sort of industry exists, ie not rural areas) on the salaries they pay in India. Good luck getting by.
Eventually, some sort of laws will have to be created and instated, keeping companies from off-shoring all of their work.
On the flip side, maybe things will balance out, and the cry 'Buy American' will start to be heard (with regards to this, much as it was already heard and answered in the 80's with regards to autos), but I think that (bouncing all over the place here) there are simply too many people here in the US, and not enough jobs. If you eliminated all the tech jobs by putting them overseas, you're looking at a lot of out-of-work people, multi-talented or otherwise. If these people can't or won't buy your product, your business eventually starts to fail or at least stagnate.
Ah, but then your rich buddies running the government - the only people running the government, another problem all-together - will bail you out using tax-payers money, raise the taxes, and bamn, everything will be okay for the corporate big-wigs and their government buddies. Then what...?
I suppose I speak from a sort of unaffected spot though. My job is largely based on what skills I was born with, and not something just anyone can sit in a classroom, learn, and churn out for fifty cents an hour (And yes, I realize there are such things as gifted programmers, who see solutions none other would, and who have the same job situation as I, or other people in my field do, but these are the people who are mostly secure in their jobs... It's those who are just trying to make a living doing something they a) know and/or b) enjoy, but who aren't genius-callibre persons, that we're talking about here).
I guess what I'm trying to say here is that the economy here isn't in the greatest of shape, and businesses are trying to stay ahead of their game by cutting costs. In doing so, they're putting less money into the hands of the people who will spent it (ie., the masses) and therefore, less money back into their own pockets. Except, this doesn't really affect the non-masses - they're rich enough that an economic downturn means they'll fire a butler or sell one of their three New York City million-dollar apartments. But then Bush'll give them tax breaks, which they may or may not use on more luxuries, either way, it keeps the money that the tax-break intended to circulate back into the economy in their pockets or into the pockets of other rich people (those who produce and sell luxury items). But there's one thing that seems to be forgotten in all of this - there are more of us than there are of them, and mob-appeal is a powerful thing indeed.
To sum up my summary, outsourcing jobs looks good and works for companies, but doesn't help the common man, who simply gets pumped up the corn-hole again and again and again...
Too bad there aren't any large land-masses just waiting to be 'discovered' so we can start a new government there and live in relative bliss for another hundred years until greed takes its toll once more.
I honestly see this as a good thing. It's evolution. It's moving forward. And, ideally, it could benefit everyone involved. Down with the album (unless you're making a real album, and not a simple compilation of singles - read: most 'albums' released today).
Imagine this scenario. Instead of releasing a new 'album' every year, or every couple of years, or whatnot, artists would instead have the option of releasing each song as they record it. They would no longer be pressured to create filler for the album by the demands of the public - "I want a full CD worth of music, because that's what I paying for." - as well as the demands of the label - "We need to appease the public demand for a full album. Therefore, you will fill the album, crap or no crap, I don't care." Instead, they could take the time to craft real songs (I've giving artists benefit of the doubt here and assuming that they would actually like to create meaningful works of art).
Furthermore, if the artist has the one, all-encompassing goal of making money, this model would allow them to tailor each song to the buyers desires based upon the feedback from the previous release. The modern album is somewhat of a gamble in this sense simply because (ignoring test audiences) there is no real knowledge of what the public wants and expects from a particular artist (take Metallica's new album, which sounds *very* different from anything they've released previously, and which was a gamble to release simply because of this unknown reception).
To push the idea a few steps further, and incorporate the whole 'best of' method, the artist would then be able to take 15-18 of these singles that were released over a certain period of time, and release the album with all of those tracks on it. In other words, the public would be able to download lower-than-perfect copies of these singles for $1/ song, and then if they wanted a full quality 'album' (complication disc, really) they'd buy it when the artist released it.
Just an idea. Feel free to pick it apart (for instance, I'm not sure exactly how this is better or more financially sound than the current model - it's just a different way of doing things).
No matter what the case, it's a bad sign through and through, and here's why: computers have gotten as fast as they need to be for Joe User. Relation, you ask?
Think about it. We're reaching a point where the only reason a non-techie (or someone who absolutely needs to be on the cutting edge of computing horsepower, such a someone who works with a lot of video filters or 3D applications) has to upgrade is that something breaks. And if what they've got works, they're not going to buy a new operating system for it either. The same goes for large companies - after all, why buy new computers and license a new OS and pay the IT department to set them all up when the 2.8Ghz systems are more than adequate?
As a result, they'll still be using the older version of whatever browser was tied into the operating system. Patches may or may not be released to fix any bugs that might exist. But most importantly, new standards and new technologies will go unsupported - new technologies are far less likely to be the stuff patches are made of, instead with-held until the next OS version is released (think 'new features - buy now').
Now, what this really means is that the way sites look and function today - they're going to have to look and function the exact same way for the next several years. Whatever new standards (CSS3, etc.) come about can't really be taken advantage of when 85% of the people visiting the site are using a browser from the year 2000. And as a web developer, you can't force or even suggest that your visitor upgrade his or her browser if such an upgrade a) doesn't exist or b) requires he/she to go out and buy a new version of Windows (for those of you who don't know, Microsoft is also strongly considering tying IE into their own OS, and not releasing free upgrades for older versions of their OS).
Now, all of this ignores Mac users, but no matter how you slice the cheese, we're a very small (if somewhat vocal) part of the whole of computer users.
Not entirely on-topic, but when I learned to type, I used my left hand to hit the 'b' key. When I got my first Goldtouch keyboard, it took about a week to actually remember to use my right hand to hit the 'b' (as it's on the right side of the split).
For some reason, the word 'Hulkiness' really grabs me. Just sounds like a ... good word. Eh, yes, I'm tired.
It's nice to see Safetype actually making these boards.
When I was out and about searching for something beyond the flat-as-a-pancake keyboard, I'd originally seen this design all over the web, but only as the product of research at Cornell, with no actual plans to put it into production. Seems they've changed their position on that front, though.
Here is Cornell's white paper on the vertical keyboard and its effects on posture and the like.
I ended up with a Goldtouch, which I am very happy with not only because it relieved any problems I was having, but because their customer service is among the best I've ever dealth with, anywhere, for *any* product or service out there. Wonderful people. They really stand behind their product.
First of all, I must admit that the CGI does look a little on the phoney side. That being said...
The size of the Hulk doesn't really matter. Just like in the comic books, where the size of the character, the proportions of his muscles, the angluarity of his overall form varies from one artist/comic to the next. If the Hulk varies in size through-out the movie, good for him. If he seems a little large, well, deal with it. It's a movie based on a comic book - double-suspension of disbelief.
Second, what's with black in CGI never looking 'right?' At least, that's what my brain is telling me whenever I see CGi that looks like... well... CGI - ie that the black of shadows and whatnot doesn't seem as dark as it actually is in nature.
Third, I was liking everything about the trailer until I saw that hell-hound looking thing standing on the tree-branch, and then a few frames later, the Hulk swatting it into oblivion. Is that supposed to be a real dog? Or some sort of hell-spawn dog that's going to destroy everything about the movie?
Four, I have to agree about the speed of his movement. The Hulk relies on brute strength to get things done - not brains, and certainly not speed. The bits where he leaps from place to place - yes. The shot of him windmilling his legs like the Flash gone gamma - no. Sorry, but no. Wrong.
Uhm. That's actually about all. I wish someone would do a *good* movie about Deadpool - more trash-talking, wise-crakin' than the comic book (not the movie) Spiderman, without the reliance on a mutant spider to get things moving.
OF wasn't bad - I beat it in a day though. Your mileage may vary, but remember it's an add-on, not a full blown new game.
That gets me thinking - I remember reading about some sort of mouse-pad looking thing that was supposed to recharge all of your partable devices when you placed them on it, eliminating the need for all those different chargers.
Seems you could use the same theory, have the pad vibrate ever so slightly, and capture that energy (much in the way the kinetic wrist-watches mentioned elsewhere do) to charge the devices.
Then again, maybe it would just vibrate everything onto the floor.
Unless the phone happens to be one of those nifty wrist-based one, the answer is no, this won't work. The kinetic watches work on the theory that you a) swing your arms, however so slightly or greatly, when you walk b) you tend to walk around quite a bit (even if it's just going to the fridge to grab another barrel of soda) and c) even when you're not walking around, your arms are moving.
Contrast that with a cell phone, which is either a) attached to your hip or b) sitting on your desk. When you're walking around, you might be able to harness some energy, the amount of which would increase the farther down your leg you carried it, but when you're just sitting around, or when you're doing your filing, or whatever, you wouldn't be doing anything for the phone.
Furthermore, any gain would quickly be balanced out by the fact that, just like the watches, you would need an electric device that constantly moves the phone around when you're not going to be using it for a certain period of time (longer than overnight, I believe).