There is a theory which states that if ever anyone discovers exactly what the Universe is for and why it is here, it will instantly disappear and be replaced by something more bizarrely inexplicable.
There is another theory which states that this has already happened.
The self-checkout lanes at my local grocer have a sensor system that basically demands staff intervention for every customer. If you don't place the item in just the right spot after scanning, the damned thing is automatically convinced that the user is trying to pull a fast one. The self checkout lanes stand empty most of the time because of it.
The laser lightning rod
and the laser stun gun
One can defend runways and power plants from the much more likely event of lightning strikes. The other can give police a non-lethal recourse when dealing with ongoing street crime.
A frickin' laser defense system to stop missiles?
For what this costs we could have better-trained eyes on the ground and a lot more of them. Terrorism is composed almost entirely of the human element, technology is merely a means to an end. We can keep building gadgets to stop their gadgets and never see an end to the arms race, or we can better prepare our specialists to deal with the human element directly.
This should be under politics, not whatever it is. I have the political category turned off specifically so I don't have to put up with the wanking sessions that ensue any time the US, its President or his actions are mentioned. The whole damn category is troll food, which is where this article belongs.
OK, how is this gonna break down?
10% posts about how we still have no cure for cancer, aids, etc.
50% posts about how barbaric the US is: only first-world nation with landmines, too powerful already, etc.
30% posts about the pointlessness of land mines and how this is a waste of resources
8% trolls: welcome our hopping landmine overlords, etc.
2% well-thought-out insightful comments suggestions and criticisms
I, for one, welcome your down modding; suppressing my post doesn't make me wrong any more than your whining about the US makes you right.
The universally good thing the GP referred to is the limiting of the federal government's ability to take private property away from its rightful owners. While eminent domain has been present throughout US history, Kelo sets an unprecedented standard of what is considered "public use" that left a bitter taste in the mouth of every citizen who is concerned about their property rights.
Since you seem to like Kelo I can only assume that you do not own any land. I do own land (a whopping 1/3 acre) and this judgement frankly scares the willies out of me. What will the government decide to take next?
If you do own land, consider this: A developer decides they want to build a mall where your neighborhood now stands. The developer, empowered by the Kelo judgement, convinces your city council that the land would bring in more property taxes as a mall. The council approves change and now it falls on the developer to purchase your land.
The developer gives you an offer of about 80% of what your land is worth. You naturally tell the developer to take a hike, as do most of your neighbors. The developer then sends you an offer of 85%. A few more of your neighbors sell out, but you stay. At this point, the developer is tired of playing games.
The developer goes to the city council again, this time with an appeal for some help in acquiring the land. City council responds by rezoning the neighborhood (commercial zone brings in more taxes, thanks Kelo!). This renders your property worthless. The developer now offers you 20% of the value of your(?!) land. You have no choice now but to take whatever they offer as your house is now no longer legally a residence.
After this has happened, you can take comfort in knowing that your land is now doing much more for the public good. I hope it keeps you warm.
This is not a scenario that I pulled out of the air to make a point. This happened in my home town. The city council now has a lot of new faces, but that doesn't give the displaced people much comfort.
Adulthood is...
Doing what you must do, before doing what you want to do.
Doing the right thing, especially when no one will ever know.
Knowing that your actions and words affect those near you.
Realizing that like it or not, every word and deed has a consequence; often unforseen.
Understanding implicitly that in spite of the previous two items, the world does not revolve around you.
I doubt the Ubuntu team will be capable of fixing your granny's exploded head.
<syntaxnazi>
Reminds me of the time I dropped my watch in the river and it stopped running.
</syntaxnazi>
</jerk>
Until I picked up a digital storage scope and a logic analyzer it could take me days to track down stuck inputs and other wierd things that TTL does when it dies. Since you're in college, you should have access to these things in your lab. If you haven't learned how to use them yet, take this opportunity to do so. As a bonus, you'll get a double education from the experience and brownie points with the prof.
My father was a relentlessly self-improving boulangerie owner from Belgium with low-grade narcolepsy and a penchant for buggery. My mother was a 15 year old French prostitute named Chloe with webbed feet. My father would womanize, he would drink, he would make outrageous claims, like he invented the question mark.
Sometimes, he would accuse chestnuts of being lazy -the sort of general malaise that only the genius possess and the insane lament. My childhood was typical: summers in Rangoon, luge lessons. In the spring, we'd make meat helmets. When I was insolent, I was placed in a burlap bag and beaten with reeds. Pretty standard, really.
At the age of 12, I received my first scribe. At the age of 14, a Zoroastrian named Wilma ritualistically shaved my testicles -- there really is nothing like a shorn scrotum -- it's quite breathtaking... I suggest you try it. At the age of 18, I went off to evil medical school. At the age of 25, I took up tap dancing. I wanted to be a quadruple threat -- an actor, dancer...
Interesting to place the words 'free' and 'financed by taxes' in the same sentence. The entity being taxed is a business. What do you think the companies do to pay the recycling tax? They recover it by raising their prices. Companies and corporations DO NOT PAY TAXES, their customers do. Your 'free' recycling was paid by you and every other customer in advance.
You don't have a choice but to pay the fee. Doesn't sound very free to me.
As soon as government regulation becomes involved, you no longer have true capitalism. With the DMCA, rampant IP law, SLAPP suits, and nameless thousands of corporate handouts in play the system very quickly runs away from the small players and ultimately the consumers.
Yes, there will always be scumbags looking to exploit the system to tip the balance in their favor. It's when the scumbags in Washington help them that we take it in the shorts.
Yup, that's exactly where this will go. You thought the retarded screws that companies like Nintendo use are annoying, wait till you try to "tamper" with your brand new ultra hd-dvd:
Oh, you didn't use the right code to open the case? We're gonna brick it now.
This is the future, where you will need the manufacturer's permission to do anything to an item that you supposedly own.
The court ruled on abortion as a "right of privacy" issue.
If unenumerated rights are being pulled into play then why didn't they just rule on a "right to kill your baby"?
Seriously, why did they place this issue under the umbrella of privacy? Could it be that this was the only way that an activist court* could find a way to justify its agenda within the framework of the constitution and its precursors? Or was it just a convenient way to ram the issue down the throats of the American people?
*True and you know it
Alright slashbots, do your thing. Mod me down. Come on, 40% Flamebait, 40% Overrated, 20% Troll
Wells Gardner (a major player in the arcare monitor business) had to recall several thousand of their units for a similar problem. It turns out that the high-grade capacitors the engineer spec'd for were substituted for cheap parts by a contractor.
Result: 2-inch arcs from the flyback transformer to the capacitor. I have several of the carcasses under my bench, some have holes the size of golf balls burned through the boards.
I'll give you credit for being an optimist. If everyone in the market is vertically integrated then yes, it places everyone on equal economic footing and does lower prices in the short term. It also, unfortunately, makes the market more volatile.
I think of two sets of weights on a balanced arm. As vertical integration becomes more commonplace, the weights become larger and closer to the fulcrum. Balance is maintained at first, but the system becomes more and more unstable until finally one side has just enough mass and leverage to tip the scale.
Vertical de-integration (disintegration?) may provide more opportunities for markup, and therefore a slightly higher price to consumers, but it also provides long-term stability that no other system can even touch.
I would much rather know that I have a $50 bill coming every month than a $45 bill that could change to $70 at the drop of a hat.
Slashdot Mirror
There is a theory which states that if ever anyone discovers exactly what the Universe is for and why it is here, it will instantly disappear and be replaced by something more bizarrely inexplicable.
There is another theory which states that this has already happened.
-The Restaurant at the End of the Universe
I think both physicists owe DNA a high five.
The self-checkout lanes at my local grocer have a sensor system that basically demands staff intervention for every customer. If you don't place the item in just the right spot after scanning, the damned thing is automatically convinced that the user is trying to pull a fast one. The self checkout lanes stand empty most of the time because of it.
The laser lightning rod
and the laser stun gun
One can defend runways and power plants from the much more likely event of lightning strikes. The other can give police a non-lethal recourse when dealing with ongoing street crime.
A frickin' laser defense system to stop missiles?
For what this costs we could have better-trained eyes on the ground and a lot more of them. Terrorism is composed almost entirely of the human element, technology is merely a means to an end. We can keep building gadgets to stop their gadgets and never see an end to the arms race, or we can better prepare our specialists to deal with the human element directly.
Ah, that would explain it. That's one I hadn't encountered yet.
You seem to be producing what is known as Word Salad. This is possible symptom of schizophrenia.
I wish you well friend.
This should be under politics, not whatever it is. I have the political category turned off specifically so I don't have to put up with the wanking sessions that ensue any time the US, its President or his actions are mentioned. The whole damn category is troll food, which is where this article belongs.
So.. who gets the exclusive antivirus software contract?
OK, how is this gonna break down?
10% posts about how we still have no cure for cancer, aids, etc.
50% posts about how barbaric the US is: only first-world nation with landmines, too powerful already, etc.
30% posts about the pointlessness of land mines and how this is a waste of resources
8% trolls: welcome our hopping landmine overlords, etc.
2% well-thought-out insightful comments suggestions and criticisms
I, for one, welcome your down modding; suppressing my post doesn't make me wrong any more than your whining about the US makes you right.
*rolls eyes*
The universally good thing the GP referred to is the limiting of the federal government's ability to take private property away from its rightful owners. While eminent domain has been present throughout US history, Kelo sets an unprecedented standard of what is considered "public use" that left a bitter taste in the mouth of every citizen who is concerned about their property rights.
Since you seem to like Kelo I can only assume that you do not own any land. I do own land (a whopping 1/3 acre) and this judgement frankly scares the willies out of me. What will the government decide to take next?
If you do own land, consider this: A developer decides they want to build a mall where your neighborhood now stands. The developer, empowered by the Kelo judgement, convinces your city council that the land would bring in more property taxes as a mall. The council approves change and now it falls on the developer to purchase your land.
The developer gives you an offer of about 80% of what your land is worth. You naturally tell the developer to take a hike, as do most of your neighbors. The developer then sends you an offer of 85%. A few more of your neighbors sell out, but you stay. At this point, the developer is tired of playing games.
The developer goes to the city council again, this time with an appeal for some help in acquiring the land. City council responds by rezoning the neighborhood (commercial zone brings in more taxes, thanks Kelo!). This renders your property worthless. The developer now offers you 20% of the value of your(?!) land. You have no choice now but to take whatever they offer as your house is now no longer legally a residence.
After this has happened, you can take comfort in knowing that your land is now doing much more for the public good. I hope it keeps you warm.
This is not a scenario that I pulled out of the air to make a point. This happened in my home town. The city council now has a lot of new faces, but that doesn't give the displaced people much comfort.
The ACLU doesn't hate America, just Christians.
Adulthood is...
Doing what you must do, before doing what you want to do.
Doing the right thing, especially when no one will ever know.
Knowing that your actions and words affect those near you.
Realizing that like it or not, every word and deed has a consequence; often unforseen.
Understanding implicitly that in spite of the previous two items, the world does not revolve around you.
-1 Flamebate
I doubt the Ubuntu team will be capable of fixing your granny's exploded head.
<syntaxnazi>
Reminds me of the time I dropped my watch in the river and it stopped running.
</syntaxnazi>
</jerk>
NOT A TROLL! Mod parent up insightful.
Until I picked up a digital storage scope and a logic analyzer it could take me days to track down stuck inputs and other wierd things that TTL does when it dies. Since you're in college, you should have access to these things in your lab. If you haven't learned how to use them yet, take this opportunity to do so. As a bonus, you'll get a double education from the experience and brownie points with the prof.
Sometimes, he would accuse chestnuts of being lazy -the sort of general malaise that only the genius possess and the insane lament. My childhood was typical: summers in Rangoon, luge lessons. In the spring, we'd make meat helmets. When I was insolent, I was placed in a burlap bag and beaten with reeds. Pretty standard, really.
At the age of 12, I received my first scribe. At the age of 14, a Zoroastrian named Wilma ritualistically shaved my testicles -- there really is nothing like a shorn scrotum -- it's quite breathtaking... I suggest you try it. At the age of 18, I went off to evil medical school. At the age of 25, I took up tap dancing. I wanted to be a quadruple threat -- an actor, dancer...
Interesting to place the words 'free' and 'financed by taxes' in the same sentence. The entity being taxed is a business. What do you think the companies do to pay the recycling tax? They recover it by raising their prices. Companies and corporations DO NOT PAY TAXES, their customers do. Your 'free' recycling was paid by you and every other customer in advance. You don't have a choice but to pay the fee. Doesn't sound very free to me.
As soon as government regulation becomes involved, you no longer have true capitalism. With the DMCA, rampant IP law, SLAPP suits, and nameless thousands of corporate handouts in play the system very quickly runs away from the small players and ultimately the consumers.
Yes, there will always be scumbags looking to exploit the system to tip the balance in their favor. It's when the scumbags in Washington help them that we take it in the shorts.
Yup, that's exactly where this will go. You thought the retarded screws that companies like Nintendo use are annoying, wait till you try to "tamper" with your brand new ultra hd-dvd:
Oh, you didn't use the right code to open the case? We're gonna brick it now.
This is the future, where you will need the manufacturer's permission to do anything to an item that you supposedly own.
The court ruled on abortion as a "right of privacy" issue.
If unenumerated rights are being pulled into play then why didn't they just rule on a "right to kill your baby"?
Seriously, why did they place this issue under the umbrella of privacy? Could it be that this was the only way that an activist court* could find a way to justify its agenda within the framework of the constitution and its precursors? Or was it just a convenient way to ram the issue down the throats of the American people?
*True and you know it
Alright slashbots, do your thing. Mod me down. Come on, 40% Flamebait, 40% Overrated, 20% Troll
Wells Gardner (a major player in the arcare monitor business) had to recall several thousand of their units for a similar problem. It turns out that the high-grade capacitors the engineer spec'd for were substituted for cheap parts by a contractor.
Result: 2-inch arcs from the flyback transformer to the capacitor. I have several of the carcasses under my bench, some have holes the size of golf balls burned through the boards.
Looks a bit like a crescendo to me NYSE 1-year history.
Ya jackass.
Perhaps a Slashdot poll on the favorite show with a number for a name:
pi
se7en
thirteen
24
1984
Cowboyneal is the one
Perhaps you should consider not posting anonymously. You'd probably get modded insightful for your sarcasm.
I'll give you credit for being an optimist. If everyone in the market is vertically integrated then yes, it places everyone on equal economic footing and does lower prices in the short term. It also, unfortunately, makes the market more volatile.
;)
I think of two sets of weights on a balanced arm. As vertical integration becomes more commonplace, the weights become larger and closer to the fulcrum. Balance is maintained at first, but the system becomes more and more unstable until finally one side has just enough mass and leverage to tip the scale.
Vertical de-integration (disintegration?) may provide more opportunities for markup, and therefore a slightly higher price to consumers, but it also provides long-term stability that no other system can even touch.
I would much rather know that I have a $50 bill coming every month than a $45 bill that could change to $70 at the drop of a hat.
You're right economics is fun