Someone will set up a shop in their basement and start cranking out illegal guns at $1000 each for a massive profit.
How much does a basement shop cost to set up, and how much is the machinists time worth, and how long does it take to make an effective handgun, and how much would the cost of materials be?
Not trolling, as I'm all for back street manufacturing and it would be interesting to know.. one thing you didn't factor in is that your basement shop had better remain secret because as soon as the law comes knocking you lost everything.. so, probably its a team or "gang" making these guns and in the nature of things, the machinist is getting a *lot* less than a massive profit, he will be working for a wage and thats about it. No job security or health benefits.
Also, "Criminals want guns" sure, but many of them want a piece, man.. they want to appear tough, they want a "fucking Glock, yeah?" not some shitty unbadged thing from the back streets.. and one of the things about branding is that you are relying on the history of the brand to provide quality. Smith and Wesson (random arms manufacturer name, don't shoot me) have a history of producing quality firearms and their company database has a lot of information about what works and doesn't work and how fine the tolerances need to be. Your back street guy can probably make a gun, but it might not fire as nice as a modern corporate masterpiece.
As a (mostly ex-)skateboarder I feel compelled to point out that skateboards have four wheels, and this is a useless toy which would only have novelty appeal to somebody who never took the time to actually ride a board in the first place.
The appeal of skating is not about having the board be in control of your movement, and there is nothing safe about any of it. You will fall and you will hurt. Mastering that is what makes you enjoy yourself.
The important question would be to ask the autistic people is they like to stay autistic.
Except, depending on the severity of their autism (or 'difference to normal' if you like), they may not understand the question? Or they may understand the question but not what relevance it has to them? Or they might completely understand but not care enough to be cured?
I am pretty sure i would take the cure in the very same way i would be willing to swallow antidepressants, drugs against epilepsy or ADD or wear glasses.
I have known epileptics who don't like taking the drugs which are basically some kind of tranquilisers. They can feel the difference in their everyday life, it flattens their experiences. Similarly I've met depressives who just don't want anti-depressants because they are too far gone in their own misery. The ethical question is, at what stage do you decide that a person is not competent to make the decision?
Not true. Here in the UK, direct inducements for doctors are limited by law to £5 per doctor. I'm a doctor in the NHS myself.
Thats interesting, do companies try to get around that, legitimately or not? And, what kind of doctor are you? I was kind of thinking about GPs when I wrote the comment you replied to..
Does that change our prescribing practises? No...because we can only prescribe drugs approved by the hospital trust's drug panel, populated by expert pharmacists.
Hm, but if two drugs from different are available for the same complaint, could the fact that the rep from A was here last week (wether he bought you sandwiches or not) influence your prescribing practice? Thats the way that advertising normally works. The company spends masses of money to get the brand name into your head, so that when you see it you recognise it.. and when you recognise it, you are more likely to buy it than not. This works well on <made up number> percentage of the population which I can only surmise includes doctors who are human in other respects.
Wow, as an Australian, I find this pharma marketing so bizarre. Except for over-the-counter stuff like pain killers, there is no advertising of medical products in Australia (same for NZ, UK, probably most of the rest of the western world in fact).
There is, they just have to target the doctors directly (who don't have time, knowledge or inclination to investigate the claims directly, and are more likely to be swayed by the fancy literature and free lunch accompanying the salesperson)
How much influence do you think it would have had on him to know that another person in another state had gone to jail for leaving a loaded gun around and their child had killed themselves accidentally? How much extra influence than if they hadn't gone to jail but their child had killed themselves?
I put it to you that the major deterrent is the "child is dead", not the "going to jail" part. But, even accounting for that I doubt that lives will be saved - some people are careless about such things because they are careless about everything (as in: they do not care). Consequences are things that happen to other people.
PETA == "People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals"
Its not about hate, its about recognising that animals have feelings too. If you ever had a pet you would know this of course.. Also, I just saw this comment about copyright law and the UK Pirate Party which applies to PETA just as much. You can be sure that they won't get anywhere near what they are asking for but they know that and want you to consider that already you are sitting in an unethical position. They want to and need to rub your face in it because otherwise you just ignore what is going on in your name..
Your cell phone is more powerful than the biggest supercomputer that existed in 1970.
Intrigued, I checked wikipedia for supercomputers and found that in 1969 the CDC7600 was rated at 36 MFLOPS. Now, my phone is a couple of years old HTC Elf which I found a russian website claiming about 1 MFLOP for, but I found that an iPhone page claims 5-6 MFLOPS is normal, and a post at XDA developers forum claims 1-2 MFLOPS for Android G1 even with overclocking
So, come back in a couple of years because I don't think we are quite there yet..
Apple has a real and growing problem with people stealing the paid apps.
So wait. People jailbreak their phones because they want to do things that Apple doesn't encourage. But, they still want to buy stuff from Apple but Apple says "No, we don't want you guys buying stuff from us" and thus the only way they can get apps is to copy them illegally? That seems like a great way to create a massive illegal copying network..
Wanna bet? I'm paying registration and taxes on gas to pay for roads.
Can you get a statement from your government (who collect those registration fees and taxes) that those monies, all of those monies, and nothing but those monies is used for funding the road network in your country? While there, perhaps you can get some kind of assurance to the effect that those who contribute more have a higher entitlement?
So you have the plates and vehicle registration to operate on the road? Assuming you're in the US those people have paid to use their vehicle on the road. You haven't.
Actually, I'm in the UK but the same principle applies - yes I have all the required plates and vehicle registrations that I need to operate a bicycle on the road. That the government requires none is incidental. That some people have to pay more than others is incidental too. (In the UK at least, different classes of vehicles pay differing amounts of road tax). Wear and tear on the road from bicycles is minimal, shrug.
An object going significantly slower than traffic is every bit the danger as one going significantly faster.
I think you rather miss the point that the danger comes from the fast vehicle driven recklessly, not the slower vehicle which bears the brunt of the damage. (this applies to cyclists vs pedestrians on the pavement too)
The solution is simple: get off my damn roads. Even if this means we have to build bike paths.
Thats no solution as it is notyour road (ask representatives of your government if you don't believe me). I don't mind if you want to build bike paths but if they are not suitable for my use then I won't be using them. I will use our roads when I want to go someplace..
I'd rather have the fear of colliding with a cyclist while crossing a street than living with the guilt of accidentally paralyzing somebody who wobbled into my path.
Perhaps you should just slow down and leave more room when overtaking slower vehicles? That fear of living with guilt sounds like it ought to be addressed and "get them off my road" is not addressing it because it is not actually your road..
btw I am a cyclist and sometimes wobble intentionally when cars are approaching too fast from the rear. I want them to notice me. I also ride way out towards the centre of the lane if there is not enough room to pass safely. It doesn't last for long but sorry if that adds seconds to your journey time - you can always get me back when you reach the traffic lights. Just halt really close to the kerb so I can't get past..
No, I don't think you fully understand. In the days before reading and writing became prevalent, perfect recall was not unusual, it was necessary for society. Minstrels would wander the countryside with the news of the day and when they arrived in a village, they would sit down and tell it (in exchange for their dinner and a bed). Nearly everybody in the room would be able to go away and repeat word for word the entire speech to their family and co workers the next day.
We have lost this skill, because we don't need it any more. The written word is immutable and the printing press made it easy to reproduce.
If this launcher is anchored at the surface, how will they compensate for the motion of the waves at the surface? Does that eventually become a non-issue due to the weight of the launcher?
They don't need to worry about the wave motion because most of the structure is below the water. IIRC submarines on the surface don't really pitch and roll. The picture in TFA shows the structure rigidly connected to the control platform but probably that wouldn't be required.
How rigid would such a structure need to be, and are there currents in the ocean that would cause bending stress issues between surface and the deepest parts of the structure?
There are currents at different levels but I don't think it would be a great issue. The currents are not swirling around like in a river, in the open sea it would be fairly constant and could be accounted for by tensioning the structure
I don't know about catching the packages, but aiming the thing might be somewhat tricky. Perhaps they would need to be like ICBMS with a limited amount of steerage ability so that the orbit could be adjusted while it was still in the atmosphere.
You wasted your money. "It also may be a good idea to carry around a pair of welder's goggles, as lasers will likely be robot attackers' weapons of choice"
I'd love to hear him explain how you're supposed to SEE where you're going while having the shade down.
Have you not heard of Automatic Welding Helmets? I have had one for years, they don't have a fixed shade as you can see through the screen just fine before and after the arc starts.. (the helmet part itself is more for general splatter protection, molten metal in your hair is not as bad as molten metal down the side of your boots but still, not much fun..:)
I don't know if the darkening reaction would be quick or strong enough to protect you from a laser attack though..
In french, wi-fi is pronounced as a single word as english might pronounce "whiffy", and I as a native english speaker generally say it that way too so "whiddy" is fine for me.
In yon case, makin just as much sends as like fiddy, nuff respec, ma bro.
On the other hand, a robot that eats dead flesh will do its cleanup then stop when there is no more dead flesh to eat. A robot that eats live plants will continue eating until there are no more plants and we are truly screwed.
They took so long to enforce it as part of the agreement. If they don't enforce their trademarks, they lose them. Waiting to take it down was the best they could have done, honestly. Props for waiting.
No, it was not the best they could have done. That would have been saying "cool" and granting a free licence.
Slashdot Mirror
How much does a basement shop cost to set up, and how much is the machinists time worth, and how long does it take to make an effective handgun, and how much would the cost of materials be?
Not trolling, as I'm all for back street manufacturing and it would be interesting to know.. one thing you didn't factor in is that your basement shop had better remain secret because as soon as the law comes knocking you lost everything.. so, probably its a team or "gang" making these guns and in the nature of things, the machinist is getting a *lot* less than a massive profit, he will be working for a wage and thats about it. No job security or health benefits.
Also, "Criminals want guns" sure, but many of them want a piece, man.. they want to appear tough, they want a "fucking Glock, yeah?" not some shitty unbadged thing from the back streets.. and one of the things about branding is that you are relying on the history of the brand to provide quality. Smith and Wesson (random arms manufacturer name, don't shoot me) have a history of producing quality firearms and their company database has a lot of information about what works and doesn't work and how fine the tolerances need to be. Your back street guy can probably make a gun, but it might not fire as nice as a modern corporate masterpiece.
As a (mostly ex-)skateboarder I feel compelled to point out that skateboards have four wheels, and this is a useless toy which would only have novelty appeal to somebody who never took the time to actually ride a board in the first place.
The appeal of skating is not about having the board be in control of your movement, and there is nothing safe about any of it. You will fall and you will hurt. Mastering that is what makes you enjoy yourself.
Except, depending on the severity of their autism (or 'difference to normal' if you like), they may not understand the question? Or they may understand the question but not what relevance it has to them? Or they might completely understand but not care enough to be cured?
I have known epileptics who don't like taking the drugs which are basically some kind of tranquilisers. They can feel the difference in their everyday life, it flattens their experiences. Similarly I've met depressives who just don't want anti-depressants because they are too far gone in their own misery. The ethical question is, at what stage do you decide that a person is not competent to make the decision?
Thats interesting, do companies try to get around that, legitimately or not? And, what kind of doctor are you? I was kind of thinking about GPs when I wrote the comment you replied to..
Hm, but if two drugs from different are available for the same complaint, could the fact that the rep from A was here last week (wether he bought you sandwiches or not) influence your prescribing practice? Thats the way that advertising normally works. The company spends masses of money to get the brand name into your head, so that when you see it you recognise it.. and when you recognise it, you are more likely to buy it than not. This works well on <made up number> percentage of the population which I can only surmise includes doctors who are human in other respects.
Heh, flamebait it is not.. seems that some openbsd fanboy has modpoints today :)
There is, they just have to target the doctors directly (who don't have time, knowledge or inclination to investigate the claims directly, and are more likely to be swayed by the fancy literature and free lunch accompanying the salesperson)
By all accounts, this guy was a fuckwit.
How much influence do you think it would have had on him to know that another person in another state had gone to jail for leaving a loaded gun around and their child had killed themselves accidentally? How much extra influence than if they hadn't gone to jail but their child had killed themselves?
I put it to you that the major deterrent is the "child is dead", not the "going to jail" part. But, even accounting for that I doubt that lives will be saved - some people are careless about such things because they are careless about everything (as in: they do not care). Consequences are things that happen to other people.
PETA == "People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals"
Its not about hate, its about recognising that animals have feelings too. If you ever had a pet you would know this of course.. Also, I just saw this comment about copyright law and the UK Pirate Party which applies to PETA just as much. You can be sure that they won't get anywhere near what they are asking for but they know that and want you to consider that already you are sitting in an unethical position. They want to and need to rub your face in it because otherwise you just ignore what is going on in your name..
Intrigued, I checked wikipedia for supercomputers and found that in 1969 the CDC7600 was rated at 36 MFLOPS. Now, my phone is a couple of years old HTC Elf which I found a russian website claiming about 1 MFLOP for, but I found that an iPhone page claims 5-6 MFLOPS is normal, and a post at XDA developers forum claims 1-2 MFLOPS for Android G1 even with overclocking
So, come back in a couple of years because I don't think we are quite there yet..
So wait. People jailbreak their phones because they want to do things that Apple doesn't encourage. But, they still want to buy stuff from Apple but Apple says "No, we don't want you guys buying stuff from us" and thus the only way they can get apps is to copy them illegally? That seems like a great way to create a massive illegal copying network..
perhaps the GP meant www.yzzerdd.com? (there is flash content there, don't know what else as I have noscript and no flash)
No, no.. we have used 50% of the capacity of the glass!
No, but I am not claiming that I am somehow entitled to use the roads but you are not.
Can you get a statement from your government (who collect those registration fees and taxes) that those monies, all of those monies, and nothing but those monies is used for funding the road network in your country? While there, perhaps you can get some kind of assurance to the effect that those who contribute more have a higher entitlement?
(Good luck, but I think you won't be able to)
Actually, I'm in the UK but the same principle applies - yes I have all the required plates and vehicle registrations that I need to operate a bicycle on the road. That the government requires none is incidental. That some people have to pay more than others is incidental too. (In the UK at least, different classes of vehicles pay differing amounts of road tax). Wear and tear on the road from bicycles is minimal, shrug.
I think you rather miss the point that the danger comes from the fast vehicle driven recklessly, not the slower vehicle which bears the brunt of the damage. (this applies to cyclists vs pedestrians on the pavement too)
Thats no solution as it is not your road (ask representatives of your government if you don't believe me). I don't mind if you want to build bike paths but if they are not suitable for my use then I won't be using them. I will use our roads when I want to go someplace..
Perhaps you should just slow down and leave more room when overtaking slower vehicles? That fear of living with guilt sounds like it ought to be addressed and "get them off my road" is not addressing it because it is not actually your road..
btw I am a cyclist and sometimes wobble intentionally when cars are approaching too fast from the rear. I want them to notice me. I also ride way out towards the centre of the lane if there is not enough room to pass safely. It doesn't last for long but sorry if that adds seconds to your journey time - you can always get me back when you reach the traffic lights. Just halt really close to the kerb so I can't get past..
No, I don't think you fully understand. In the days before reading and writing became prevalent, perfect recall was not unusual, it was necessary for society. Minstrels would wander the countryside with the news of the day and when they arrived in a village, they would sit down and tell it (in exchange for their dinner and a bed). Nearly everybody in the room would be able to go away and repeat word for word the entire speech to their family and co workers the next day.
We have lost this skill, because we don't need it any more. The written word is immutable and the printing press made it easy to reproduce.
They don't need to worry about the wave motion because most of the structure is below the water. IIRC submarines on the surface don't really pitch and roll. The picture in TFA shows the structure rigidly connected to the control platform but probably that wouldn't be required.
There are currents at different levels but I don't think it would be a great issue. The currents are not swirling around like in a river, in the open sea it would be fairly constant and could be accounted for by tensioning the structure
I don't know about catching the packages, but aiming the thing might be somewhat tricky. Perhaps they would need to be like ICBMS with a limited amount of steerage ability so that the orbit could be adjusted while it was still in the atmosphere.
Have you not heard of Automatic Welding Helmets? I have had one for years, they don't have a fixed shade as you can see through the screen just fine before and after the arc starts.. (the helmet part itself is more for general splatter protection, molten metal in your hair is not as bad as molten metal down the side of your boots but still, not much fun.. :)
I don't know if the darkening reaction would be quick or strong enough to protect you from a laser attack though..
It only does that when he tells lies...
In french, wi-fi is pronounced as a single word as english might pronounce "whiffy", and I as a native english speaker generally say it that way too so "whiddy" is fine for me.
In yon case, makin just as much sends as like fiddy, nuff respec, ma bro.
Hm, can you get an "Electric Sheep" screensaver for the android phone? I wonder how many PKD fans would buy one of those..
On the other hand, a robot that eats dead flesh will do its cleanup then stop when there is no more dead flesh to eat. A robot that eats live plants will continue eating until there are no more plants and we are truly screwed.
No, the owner of the copyright has the *exclusive* right to distribute, and the *exclusive* right to licence others to distribute.
The owner of the trademark has the *exclusive* right to make derivative works, and the *exclusive* right to licence other derivative works.
That they chose to deny approval to a derivative work is their choice even if it shows them up as asshats
No, it was not the best they could have done. That would have been saying "cool" and granting a free licence.