...where agent Scully is giving Homer a polygraph test...
Of course, it's not just polygraph tests that give Homer trouble:
TEACHER: Okay, Homer, the test is 50 questions, true or false.
HOMER: True.
TEACHER: No, Homer, I was just describing the test.
HOMER: True.
TEACHER: Look, Homer, just take the test and you'll do fine.
HOMER: False.
...and what's with this.. they expect pc owners to accept the kind of draconian superuser control over their pcs which are specified in their AACS restrictions? Give me a break, it'll never happen.
* Starts a countdown waiting for the average sheep^H^H^H^user to let it happen... and I don't think I have to use all of my digits--or even all of my limbs--for this countdown.
Our people aren't sharing information or documenting their work properly, lets spend X to upgrade our computers...
Wow, I wish I worked for your company. With mine, it's more like: Our sales are down; let's eliminate our Marketing department to save costs. (Actually happened.) We're still not bringing in enough money (surprise); let's move half the downstairs people upstairs, and half the upstairs people downstairs so they can communicate better. (Happens twice a year.) Our computers aren't running fast enough; let's put some more software on them to speed them up... as long as you can find a magic freeware speeder-upper program that will make an eight-year-old Pentium 3 run AutoCAD 2006 effectively. (Shockingly little exaggeration.)
*sigh* Two more weeks of this place... then freedom!
Emperor Shaddam Gates IV admitted today that the high rock formations that ring the city of Arredmond might not be able to repel a full-on attack by the Frehax0rz and their giant worms. Story at 11.
There are many new space suit designs for Mars missions that would work just as well on the Moon.
Not quite. Mars has an atmosphere (albeit a thin one), so martian fines are not nearly as sharp as lunar fines. Martian suit designs certainly provide an avenue to develop lunar suits, but the dust hazards are different enough that a suit for Mars would be unsuitable for the moon.
The biggest difference: In the '60s, the political will that drove the Apollo program had nothing to do with science, and everything to do with beating the Russians. Today, that political will is not there--at least not in the US.
On the other hand, if someone managed to convince the US government that the JAXA project was funded by Osama bin Laden so he would have an unreachable terrorist base, NASA would have unlimited moon base funding tomorrow.
Fish are often found swimming in the sea. ...I can't imagine saying 'fish is often found...' - makes me sound like an east Londoner!
In the first case, 'fish' is actually a straight plural, not a collective noun. In the second case, it sounds like you're talking about fish as in food... which can be found in east London?
You Americans are hopeless sometimes;)
Especially when we're Canadian.:P So I do keep the extra 'u' in colour, but not the extra syllable in aluminum...ium. Umm... something like that.
In North America, a collective noun is treated as a singular noun. Apple is one company, therefore Apple is ending its court action.
In England, collective nouns* are treated as representing their plural contents. The company (singular) is made up of many people, therefore Apple are ending their court action.
The British version sounds wrong to me on pure logic (a noun is a noun, regardless of what it represents), but that's tradition, just like the extra 'u' in colour, honour, etc., and the whole extra syllable in 'aluminiumiumum'--actually, I think I may have too many 'ums' in there. I don't know what the formal rules say, but every well-educated Brit I've talked to has used the language in this way.
* Is this only the case when a collective noun represents a gourp of people, or do non-human collective nouns also behave this way?
Beer already contains a fear-inducing drug. It's called alcohol. A big, drunken crowd is an easy place to start a panic. Just imagine if someone were to hack into the system and send a "TIDAL WAVE!!" SMS during N'Awlins Mardi Gras.
The government could broadcast alerts or educational content (maybe some exercise shows?)...
That's all we need: "Come on! Work those buns! And a-one, and a-two, and a terror level orange! Six more... four more... okay everybody: duck and cover! And a-duck! And a-cover! And a..."
The terrorists' goal is to spread fear to help them get to their political goals. They are going to be very happy everytime this alert system is used...
There will be an attack immediately followed by news of Osama bin Laden's death.
They can't kill off Osama! He's the goose that lays the exploding eggs! After all, 'terror' is just an abstract concept. But when you have such a charismatic poster child, it becomes a war on "that guy with the turban".
And that creates even more terror, as the resulting xenophobia makes people see 'terrorists' around every corner. Your cab driver? He wears a turban just like Osama! He must be a terrorist! (Actually, the stereotypical Sikh cab driver's turban looks nothing like Osama's, but who pays attention when they're whipped into a xenophobic frenzy?) That engineer at X-TechCo looks kind of like Osama--he must be stealing technical secrets for terrorists! And that airline pilot doesn't look 'American'--ohnoes, we're all going to die!
Without Osama's pretty face in the news every day, the war on terror would fizzle into a war on apathy.
Can anyone give a reasonable clue why of all things a webbrowser...needs kernel level permissions?
So it can install all of those kewl, utilizable ActiveX controls without bothering the user, of course! After all, what desktop is complete without Comet Cursor, Bonzi Buddy, and a handy tool that downloads pr0n directly to your desktop?!
Apple on the other hand is so clearly old line. Make quality and useful products targeted to an audience willing to pay for the products. Charge enough for the product to create a good profit. Give good service before, during, and after the sale. Charge enough so that at the end one has enough to pay for fixed costs, manufactureing, service, overhead, and research and development. Do not be afraid to change the product to meet demands, and throw in a bit of flash. This probably had not changed since Ford innovated the car in on color Black, with evolved into the mustang of many colors.
Quoted for truth. You can have all of the latest flashy techno-gadgets, but when it comes to a successful business model, there's no school like the old school.
It is ludicrous to think that anything other than good products or services matter...
This point, however, should be related to the major thread above. Good products are created by skilled, passionate employees. Of course, employees will only stay passionate if the company treats them well. It doesn't matter how excited a product team is about their project. If the company rewards them with a 2% raise every year, with more work for fewer employees, no bonus, and shrinking benefits, that team's passion is going to disappear faster than a vodka martini at a James Bond convention.
After this discussion, the FBI will probably tag Slashdot as being an "extremist chatroom".
You want to create terror in New York? Get a half dozen minivans loaded with ANFO. Blow them up in a couple of major tunnels, and on a few major bridges, at rush hour.
You won't breach the tunnels or bring down the bridges, but you don't need to. You'll kill a bunch of people, shut down traffic into and out of Manhattan for a day or two, and create terror. That's the pupose of terrorism: to terrorize. And the person who seems to be the best at doing that these days has an egg-shaped office at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.
Hey, I think I just won the lottery! Someone wants to give me an all-expenses-paid trip to some resort in Cuba!
I've been to Minnesota. I didn't think the mosquitoes were all that bad. Of course, I grew up in northern Manitoba.
There are times, up there, when you just don't go outside because of the mosquitoes. Huge swarms of the things. Even Muskol doesn't do any good because there are so many of them, you walk through clouds of them, inhaling them with every breath. If you look across a field to the trees near the lake on a still evening, you can see a cloud of mosquitoes rising up to 50 feet above the treetops, a great gray smudge blocking out the setting sun.
The noise keeps you awake at night, the cumulative hum of a billion bugs. Despite their size, they will squeeze through the smallest flaw in your window screen and terrorize you all night. And if you slap one in the morning, be prepared to clean up a big spot of blood from their overnight suckage. And if you use enough Raid to kill them, you run the risk of poisoning any people who happen to be in the house. Mosquito fogging outside? Forget it; it's like using a cocktail umbrella in a hurricane.
Do they buy PCs because that is what they always have had, and it is what everyone they know has?
Social inertia, the biggest detriment to any kind of progress.
Or is it a certain love for applications that aren't on macs.
Gamers, and those who "need" MS Office (and don't realize it's available for Mac) probably cover 95% of this segment.
Is it the salesmen in the stores, pushing pcs?
Go into your local big-box retailer and just try to find a Mac. If they have any, they hide them in the corner, while the PCs take center stage with flashy game demos running on them. The main exception to this rule around here (Vancouver, BC) is London Drugs, where Macs are given prime positioning.
I agree that the use of land mines is reprehensible, but I disagree with this statement. All technology, especially that with the potential to increase human suffering, should be out in the open, not hidden in a military lab. Not talking about this kind of technology will not prevent it from being developed.
Slashdot Mirror
Of course, it's not just polygraph tests that give Homer trouble:
TEACHER: Okay, Homer, the test is 50 questions, true or false.
HOMER: True.
TEACHER: No, Homer, I was just describing the test.
HOMER: True.
TEACHER: Look, Homer, just take the test and you'll do fine.
HOMER: False.
Hilarious. Only one thing missing: Sony Pictures Entertainment (America) saying "But if we don't have our DRM, the terrorists win!!"
* Starts a countdown waiting for the average sheep^H^H^H^user to let it happen... and I don't think I have to use all of my digits--or even all of my limbs--for this countdown.
Wow, I wish I worked for your company. With mine, it's more like: Our sales are down; let's eliminate our Marketing department to save costs. (Actually happened.) We're still not bringing in enough money (surprise); let's move half the downstairs people upstairs, and half the upstairs people downstairs so they can communicate better. (Happens twice a year.) Our computers aren't running fast enough; let's put some more software on them to speed them up... as long as you can find a magic freeware speeder-upper program that will make an eight-year-old Pentium 3 run AutoCAD 2006 effectively. (Shockingly little exaggeration.)
*sigh* Two more weeks of this place... then freedom!
Emperor Shaddam Gates IV admitted today that the high rock formations that ring the city of Arredmond might not be able to repel a full-on attack by the Frehax0rz and their giant worms. Story at 11.
Not quite. Mars has an atmosphere (albeit a thin one), so martian fines are not nearly as sharp as lunar fines. Martian suit designs certainly provide an avenue to develop lunar suits, but the dust hazards are different enough that a suit for Mars would be unsuitable for the moon.
The biggest difference: In the '60s, the political will that drove the Apollo program had nothing to do with science, and everything to do with beating the Russians. Today, that political will is not there--at least not in the US.
On the other hand, if someone managed to convince the US government that the JAXA project was funded by Osama bin Laden so he would have an unreachable terrorist base, NASA would have unlimited moon base funding tomorrow.
Where's the evil empire when you need it?
Use the Preview Button! Check those URLs!
:p
Argh! too confusing!
In the first case, 'fish' is actually a straight plural, not a collective noun. In the second case, it sounds like you're talking about fish as in food... which can be found in east London?
Especially when we're Canadian. :P So I do keep the extra 'u' in colour, but not the extra syllable in aluminum...ium. Umm... something like that.
This seems to be a transatlantic discrepancy.
In North America, a collective noun is treated as a singular noun. Apple is one company, therefore Apple is ending its court action.
In England, collective nouns* are treated as representing their plural contents. The company (singular) is made up of many people, therefore Apple are ending their court action.
The British version sounds wrong to me on pure logic (a noun is a noun, regardless of what it represents), but that's tradition, just like the extra 'u' in colour, honour, etc., and the whole extra syllable in 'aluminiumiumum'--actually, I think I may have too many 'ums' in there. I don't know what the formal rules say, but every well-educated Brit I've talked to has used the language in this way.
* Is this only the case when a collective noun represents a gourp of people, or do non-human collective nouns also behave this way?
KHAAANNN!!!
From: DHS
Subject: Nuclear missiles inbound
Tx body:
Oops, my bad
End Tx body
Beer already contains a fear-inducing drug. It's called alcohol. A big, drunken crowd is an easy place to start a panic. Just imagine if someone were to hack into the system and send a "TIDAL WAVE!!" SMS during N'Awlins Mardi Gras.
That's all we need: "Come on! Work those buns! And a-one, and a-two, and a terror level orange! Six more... four more... okay everybody: duck and cover! And a-duck! And a-cover! And a..."
And that's exactly why they are going to use it.
They can't kill off Osama! He's the goose that lays the exploding eggs! After all, 'terror' is just an abstract concept. But when you have such a charismatic poster child, it becomes a war on "that guy with the turban".
And that creates even more terror, as the resulting xenophobia makes people see 'terrorists' around every corner. Your cab driver? He wears a turban just like Osama! He must be a terrorist! (Actually, the stereotypical Sikh cab driver's turban looks nothing like Osama's, but who pays attention when they're whipped into a xenophobic frenzy?) That engineer at X-TechCo looks kind of like Osama--he must be stealing technical secrets for terrorists! And that airline pilot doesn't look 'American'--ohnoes, we're all going to die!
Without Osama's pretty face in the news every day, the war on terror would fizzle into a war on apathy.
Unlike the regular news media, which has never been used for propaganda purposes, of course.
In Windows, I believe the equivalent file is actually called "pwndjoon00b!.ini".
So it can install all of those kewl, utilizable ActiveX controls without bothering the user, of course! After all, what desktop is complete without Comet Cursor, Bonzi Buddy, and a handy tool that downloads pr0n directly to your desktop?!
Quoted for truth. You can have all of the latest flashy techno-gadgets, but when it comes to a successful business model, there's no school like the old school.
This point, however, should be related to the major thread above. Good products are created by skilled, passionate employees. Of course, employees will only stay passionate if the company treats them well. It doesn't matter how excited a product team is about their project. If the company rewards them with a 2% raise every year, with more work for fewer employees, no bonus, and shrinking benefits, that team's passion is going to disappear faster than a vodka martini at a James Bond convention.
After this discussion, the FBI will probably tag Slashdot as being an "extremist chatroom".
You want to create terror in New York? Get a half dozen minivans loaded with ANFO. Blow them up in a couple of major tunnels, and on a few major bridges, at rush hour.
You won't breach the tunnels or bring down the bridges, but you don't need to. You'll kill a bunch of people, shut down traffic into and out of Manhattan for a day or two, and create terror. That's the pupose of terrorism: to terrorize. And the person who seems to be the best at doing that these days has an egg-shaped office at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.
Hey, I think I just won the lottery! Someone wants to give me an all-expenses-paid trip to some resort in Cuba!
I should have specified, I meant home users. Business users, of course, are often locked into Windows by their software.
I've been to Minnesota. I didn't think the mosquitoes were all that bad. Of course, I grew up in northern Manitoba.
There are times, up there, when you just don't go outside because of the mosquitoes. Huge swarms of the things. Even Muskol doesn't do any good because there are so many of them, you walk through clouds of them, inhaling them with every breath. If you look across a field to the trees near the lake on a still evening, you can see a cloud of mosquitoes rising up to 50 feet above the treetops, a great gray smudge blocking out the setting sun.
The noise keeps you awake at night, the cumulative hum of a billion bugs. Despite their size, they will squeeze through the smallest flaw in your window screen and terrorize you all night. And if you slap one in the morning, be prepared to clean up a big spot of blood from their overnight suckage. And if you use enough Raid to kill them, you run the risk of poisoning any people who happen to be in the house. Mosquito fogging outside? Forget it; it's like using a cocktail umbrella in a hurricane.
I think you've nailed it, 1, 2, 3.
Social inertia, the biggest detriment to any kind of progress.
Gamers, and those who "need" MS Office (and don't realize it's available for Mac) probably cover 95% of this segment.
Go into your local big-box retailer and just try to find a Mac. If they have any, they hide them in the corner, while the PCs take center stage with flashy game demos running on them. The main exception to this rule around here (Vancouver, BC) is London Drugs, where Macs are given prime positioning.
I agree that the use of land mines is reprehensible, but I disagree with this statement. All technology, especially that with the potential to increase human suffering, should be out in the open, not hidden in a military lab. Not talking about this kind of technology will not prevent it from being developed.