> When I get a message with a moderate probability of being spam, my > spam blocker sends a message back requesting that the sender confirm the > message. Works great. Those few legitimate senders stuck on a > problematic server can still get their messages to me and so far no > spammer has attempted to bypass it.
Well thank you so much!
Since the lowlifes started forging "from" addresses using my domain, I am getting several such "confirmation" messages every day. And while my spam filter is doing its job pretty well, I have not found a way to filter out your smug verifications without getting rid of the legitimate ones.
So, thanks to people like you, I get 5 times more verification requests than actual spam.
You better hope that there is no higher power because if there is, and it decides to grant my wishes just when I get yet another verification, you'll have a bit of a problem removing that sequoia from your rear orifice.
It didn't have them at the beginning. The UFC had to institute weight classes, along with other restrictions, to be financially viable.
From wikipedia: The UFC became a hit on Pay-Per-View almost immediately due to its originality, realism and accompanying wide press coverage, although not all of it favorable. The brutal nature of the burgeoning sport quickly drew the attention of the authorities and UFC events were banned in a number of American states. After repeated criticism from Senator John McCain (R-AZ), the UFC was banned by the major cable Pay-Per-View distributor as well. To survive, the UFC redesigned its rules to remove the less palatable elements of fights, while still retaining the core elements of striking and grappling. Five minute rounds, Referee stoppages, weight classes and limitations on permissible striking areas gradually found the UFC being rebranded as a sport rather than a violent circus attraction.
> So go learn a style that's designed with that lack of formality and real-world > application in mind; Jeet Kune Do, Pentjak Silat, Escrima, Muay Thai, CQC, Krav Magev (think > I spelled that correctly) and so on.
It is spelled Krav Maga (Hebrew for "contact combat").
I really do not know what is the real world effectiveness of such systems. I think it mostly depends on your definition of "real world" situations. Krav maga, for example, was developed for the military and as such is geared towards making the student effective against semi-trained attackers in a short training time.
Now, in my opinion, it makes a lot of sense, as the chance of being jumped by a guy with 10 years of boxing experience plus a black belt in Jiu Jitsu is pretty small. On the other hand, the ability to effectively defend yourself against 3 knife-wielding thugs with some street brawling experience is pretty useful, especially if you acquire it after only three months of training.
However, TANSTAAFL. An incorrect technique or lack of fundamentals may still be pretty effective in a street brawl but will break down when attempted against a more skilled opponent. There are trade offs and one must be aware of them when choosing a style.
> I've heard the same stories told to me time and time again by various Bujinkan students. > Each time the embellishment gets more and more outrageous. What you never hear are CURRENT > stories about the fighting greatness of the Bujinkan leader and his senior students. When I > go into a grappling school, judo school or kickboxing school you know the instructor can > kick butt because he gets out there and, well, kicks butt.
When I chose a martial arts instructor, I couldn't care less how well he can "kick butt". I am more interested how well he could *teach* me to "kick butt".
The best practitioner is not necessarily the best teacher (and vice versa). A good teacher will adapt his teaching technique to maximally benefit the student and often what works for the student are quite different from what works (or worked) for the teacher.
> Also size and weight matter no matter what people tell you. If you are going up against > someone 100lbs heavier than you with an equivalent skill level you will probably lose. These > are just the facts. Anyone who does serious sparring against resisting opponents knows this.
All other things being equal, size and weight can be an advantage (if utilized correctly).
However, all other things are rarely equal. Recently, Spike TV showed several fights of Royce Gracie's fights at the UFC. At about 175 pounds he submitted fighters weighing 200 to 260 that who were hardly cooperative or untrained.
> Amazingly enough, the reason we have more rifles than handguns is simple: > handguns are pretty much useless against polar bears! > > Not a week goes by that I don't have to defend my igloo against a polar bear attack!
Incidentally, even rifles cannot provide a complete solution to the polar bear problem.
It has been proven that the most effective measure against a polar bear is a coordinate transform.
Unfortunately, I cannot cite the research at the moment, but it is a well documented fact that no attacks by cartesian bears have ever been reported.
> Since the audience already knows what will happen to the characters in > the future based on earlier movies, there is never that subconscious > element of surprise. For example, no matter how much the main characters are > in jeopardy, we know they will survive to justify their existence later in > history.
Could you please name a series that did away with a main character (preferably without Jumping the shark in the process)?
However, as most of my knowledge about mental disorders comes from non-authoritative sources there are things that I don't understand.
Modern medicine is still better at treating symptoms than root causes (I have enough honest MDs in my family to say that). So, if a person is feeling "down" a lot of the time and they suspect they have a problem, how would they know if the cause of the problem is chemical?
Are there tests that can differentiate between chemical "imbalances" and psychological causes ("unhappy childhood", etc.) or is it just the MD's inclination to prescribe drugs because they "tend to work"?
I tend to suspect the later, based on our experience with MDs that insisted on cortisones to treat eczema that we found out was caused by food sensitivities (and disappeared after a diet change).
npsimons wrote: > Computers are *not* single purpose devices; they are capable of doing many things, and > with that power they are also complicated and will not always "just work."
Several of my friends and family members use their computers to do all the things I outlined and more, without having what you would call "computer skills". Their computers "just work" most of time and when problems arise (once in a blue moon) they can ask for help and usually get it without accompanying attitude.
> If they can't be bothered to learn the skills to operate a computer, or pay someone to do > it for them, they shouldn't get a computer.
Good thing that they never asked for your advice, isn't it?
It's the attitude of people like yourself that was the reason for the original article and the reason for Linux's failure to threaten Windows on the desktop.
dbcad7 wrote: > Granted that you are right that most people just want things to "work out of the box" > However, there is a certain satisfaction in solving problems. Sometimes the longer it takes > the more intense your feeling of accomplishment. I have run into problems that took days to > solve in both Windows and Linux, and there is nothing like waking up the neighbors at 3 am > yelling "YES !" when it finaly works.
I agree with everything you said but that is not the point.
Some people get their feeling of accomplishment from solving a puzzle, others from finishing their basement, others from teaching their children how to read and yet others from running a 100m dash in under 10 seconds.
A computer is a tool. You may get a feeling of accomplishment from tinkering with it but it shoud not be a prerequisite to using it, just as fine-tuning the engine is not a prerequisite to owning a car.
Is there a solution that will enable me to encrypt data on a USB stick without having to install the app on any (Windows) machine I want to use the stick on?
lyapunov wrote: > Most people want everything handed to them, and if you do not have a self started attitude UNIX is fairly intimidating.
No, my friend. Most people want their computer to work, just like any other appliance.
Most people use cars to get them and their families from point A to point B. Those that supercharge their engines, lower the suspension, etc. are a tiny minority. Same goes for VCRs, dishwashers, telephones, etc. They are supposed to make our lives simpler by saving us time and allowing us to spend it on things we consider more important.
How is a computer different? People want to communicate, shop, pay bills and trade online, play games, read news, work, organize their photo albums, balance their budgets and many other things a computer is suitable for. They rarely want to spend huge significant time and effort just to be able to do that.
> I spent another 6 months getting my printer to work.
Your perseverance is commendable but are you sure that it was the best use of a 6 months time?
I have my calendar in Exchange/Outlook. We are heavy users of the "offline" part -- print the monthly view and stick it on the fridge for the computer-indifferent parts of the family.
One feature that I miss is the ability to have small icons that represent events instead of text. For example, marking recycling collection days, etc.
Is there an application that that supports this and can read Outlook calendars?
> The answer is one word - Tarkovski. It is the same as with the Strugacki brothers. > They have around 30 books better and better over the years and the only thing they > are know for in the West is one Chapter from "Picnic by the Road". The chapter which > was used as a storyline for Tarkovski's "Stalker".
With all due respect to Tarkovski, I have read most of the Strugatsky brother's novels and, in my humble opinion, "Roadside picnic" is one of their best (if not the best).
The English translation really does not make it justice but, if you're curious, you can read it here.
Arab Christian communities can be found in Egypt, Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, Jordan, Israel and other countries.
"Arab Jews" is not a widely used term but it refers to Jews living in Arab countries or those who immigrated from Arab countries and (sometimes) their descendants.
Can anyone post their recommendations for "benign" DVD players that: - Allow one to play DVDs from all regions, - Allow skipping offensive content (e.g., FBI warnings), - Allow bypassing Macrovision,
and, most importantly: - Bypass HDCP/HDMI DRM crap by allowing full resolution (or upconverted) HD video output over component.
Slashdot Mirror
> When I get a message with a moderate probability of being spam, my
> spam blocker sends a message back requesting that the sender confirm the
> message. Works great. Those few legitimate senders stuck on a
> problematic server can still get their messages to me and so far no
> spammer has attempted to bypass it.
Well thank you so much!
Since the lowlifes started forging "from" addresses using my domain, I am getting several such "confirmation" messages every day. And while my spam filter is doing its job pretty well, I have not found a way to filter out your smug verifications without getting rid of the legitimate ones.
So, thanks to people like you, I get 5 times more verification requests than actual spam.
You better hope that there is no higher power because if there is, and it decides to grant my wishes just when I get yet another verification, you'll have a bit of a problem removing that sequoia from your rear orifice.
> Thank goodness for Adobe Audition.
Why?
> Oh wait, even the UFC has weight classes.
It didn't have them at the beginning.
The UFC had to institute weight classes, along with other restrictions, to be financially viable.
From wikipedia:
The UFC became a hit on Pay-Per-View almost immediately due to its originality, realism and accompanying wide press coverage, although not all of it favorable. The brutal nature of the burgeoning sport quickly drew the attention of the authorities and UFC events were banned in a number of American states. After repeated criticism from Senator John McCain (R-AZ), the UFC was banned by the major cable Pay-Per-View distributor as well. To survive, the UFC redesigned its rules to remove the less palatable elements of fights, while still retaining the core elements of striking and grappling. Five minute rounds, Referee stoppages, weight classes and limitations on permissible striking areas gradually found the UFC being rebranded as a sport rather than a violent circus attraction.
> So go learn a style that's designed with that lack of formality and real-world
> application in mind; Jeet Kune Do, Pentjak Silat, Escrima, Muay Thai, CQC, Krav Magev (think
> I spelled that correctly) and so on.
It is spelled Krav Maga (Hebrew for "contact combat").
I really do not know what is the real world effectiveness of such systems. I think it mostly depends on your definition of "real world" situations.
Krav maga, for example, was developed for the military and as such is geared towards making the student effective against semi-trained attackers in a short training time.
Now, in my opinion, it makes a lot of sense, as the chance of being jumped by a guy with 10 years of boxing experience plus a black belt in Jiu Jitsu is pretty small. On the other hand, the ability to effectively defend yourself against 3 knife-wielding thugs with some street brawling experience is pretty useful, especially if you acquire it after only three months of training.
However, TANSTAAFL. An incorrect technique or lack of fundamentals may still be pretty effective in a street brawl but will break down when attempted against a more skilled opponent. There are trade offs and one must be aware of them when choosing a style.
> I've heard the same stories told to me time and time again by various Bujinkan students.
> Each time the embellishment gets more and more outrageous. What you never hear are CURRENT
> stories about the fighting greatness of the Bujinkan leader and his senior students. When I
> go into a grappling school, judo school or kickboxing school you know the instructor can
> kick butt because he gets out there and, well, kicks butt.
When I chose a martial arts instructor, I couldn't care less how well he can "kick butt".
I am more interested how well he could *teach* me to "kick butt".
The best practitioner is not necessarily the best teacher (and vice versa).
A good teacher will adapt his teaching technique to maximally benefit the student and often what works for the student are quite different from what works (or worked) for the teacher.
> Also size and weight matter no matter what people tell you. If you are going up against
> someone 100lbs heavier than you with an equivalent skill level you will probably lose. These
> are just the facts. Anyone who does serious sparring against resisting opponents knows this.
All other things being equal, size and weight can be an advantage (if utilized correctly).
However, all other things are rarely equal. Recently, Spike TV showed several fights of Royce Gracie's fights at the UFC. At about 175 pounds he submitted fighters weighing 200 to 260 that who were hardly cooperative or untrained.
> Amazingly enough, the reason we have more rifles than handguns is simple:
> handguns are pretty much useless against polar bears!
>
> Not a week goes by that I don't have to defend my igloo against a polar bear attack!
Incidentally, even rifles cannot provide a complete solution to the polar bear problem.
It has been proven that the most effective measure against a polar bear is a coordinate transform.
Unfortunately, I cannot cite the research at the moment, but it is a well documented fact that no attacks by cartesian bears have ever been reported.
> Since the audience already knows what will happen to the characters in
> the future based on earlier movies, there is never that subconscious
> element of surprise. For example, no matter how much the main characters are
> in jeopardy, we know they will survive to justify their existence later in
> history.
Could you please name a series that did away with a main character
(preferably without Jumping the shark in the process)?
This is very interesting.
However, as most of my knowledge about mental disorders comes from non-authoritative sources there are things that I don't understand.
Modern medicine is still better at treating symptoms than root causes (I have enough honest MDs in my family to say that).
So, if a person is feeling "down" a lot of the time and they suspect they have a problem, how would they know if the cause of the problem is chemical?
Are there tests that can differentiate between chemical "imbalances" and psychological causes ("unhappy childhood", etc.) or is it just the MD's inclination to prescribe drugs because they "tend to work"?
I tend to suspect the later, based on our experience with MDs that insisted on cortisones to treat eczema that we found out was caused by food sensitivities (and disappeared after a diet change).
> The claim of any "moral" rights is so assinine I almost don't know what to say about it.
> The law does not recognize "moral" rights.
Doesn't it?
npsimons wrote:
> Computers are *not* single purpose devices; they are capable of doing many things, and
> with that power they are also complicated and will not always "just work."
Several of my friends and family members use their computers to do all the things I outlined and more, without having what you would call "computer skills".
Their computers "just work" most of time and when problems arise (once in a blue moon) they can ask for help and usually get it without accompanying attitude.
> If they can't be bothered to learn the skills to operate a computer, or pay someone to do
> it for them, they shouldn't get a computer.
Good thing that they never asked for your advice, isn't it?
It's the attitude of people like yourself that was the reason for the original article and the reason for Linux's failure to threaten Windows on the desktop.
dbcad7 wrote:
> Granted that you are right that most people just want things to "work out of the box"
> However, there is a certain satisfaction in solving problems. Sometimes the longer it takes
> the more intense your feeling of accomplishment. I have run into problems that took days to
> solve in both Windows and Linux, and there is nothing like waking up the neighbors at 3 am
> yelling "YES !" when it finaly works.
I agree with everything you said but that is not the point.
Some people get their feeling of accomplishment from solving a puzzle, others from finishing their basement, others from teaching their children how to read and yet others from running a 100m dash in under 10 seconds.
A computer is a tool. You may get a feeling of accomplishment from tinkering with it but it shoud not be a prerequisite to using it, just as fine-tuning the engine is not a prerequisite to owning a car.
Speaking about encryption,
Is there a solution that will enable me to encrypt data on a USB stick without having to install the app on any (Windows) machine I want to use the stick on?
Somebody with mod points, please take a look at the parent article.
lyapunov wrote:
> Most people want everything handed to them, and if you do not have a self started attitude UNIX is fairly intimidating.
No, my friend. Most people want their computer to work, just like any other appliance.
Most people use cars to get them and their families from point A to point B. Those that supercharge their engines, lower the suspension, etc. are a tiny minority.
Same goes for VCRs, dishwashers, telephones, etc. They are supposed to make our lives simpler by saving us time and allowing us to spend it on things we consider more important.
How is a computer different?
People want to communicate, shop, pay bills and trade online, play games, read news, work, organize their photo albums, balance their budgets and many other things a computer is suitable for. They rarely want to spend huge significant time and effort just to be able to do that.
> I spent another 6 months getting my printer to work.
Your perseverance is commendable but are you sure that it was the best use of a 6 months time?
Not exactly about Google but near-topic.
I have my calendar in Exchange/Outlook.
We are heavy users of the "offline" part -- print the monthly view and stick it on the fridge for the computer-indifferent parts of the family.
One feature that I miss is the ability to have small icons that represent events instead of text. For example, marking recycling collection days, etc.
Is there an application that that supports this and can read Outlook calendars?
I wonder, is there a working Dreamcast emulator that will allow one to run (a significant number of) these games?
> For several months we had gotten some relief by recording a SIT on our
> answering machine so the dialer thinks the number is not in service
Can there be any negative consequences to that?
The Evolution of Eyes
B. Pascal wrote:
> I applied for funding and got rejected all the time.
Is that why you left math and physics for theology and philosophy, Blaise?
> the RIAA wields a side-effect of our justice system (cost) as a weapon
> against whoever they please.
Are you really sure that is just a side effect of your legal system
and not its main intent?
> I hate to use caps, but I must stress this:
> WITHOUT PATENTS, THERE IS LESS INVENTION THAN THERE SHOULD BE.
I hate to respond in kind, but I must stress this:
WITHOUT DEFINITE PROOF, YOUR ASSERTION IS JUST CAPITALIZED BULLSHIT.
> The answer is one word - Tarkovski. It is the same as with the Strugacki brothers.
> They have around 30 books better and better over the years and the only thing they
> are know for in the West is one Chapter from "Picnic by the Road". The chapter which
> was used as a storyline for Tarkovski's "Stalker".
With all due respect to Tarkovski, I have read most of the Strugatsky brother's novels and, in my humble opinion, "Roadside picnic" is one of their best (if not the best).
The English translation really does not make it justice but, if you're curious, you can read it here.
> Arab Christians and Arab Jews?! Where?!!?
Arab Christian communities can be found in Egypt, Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, Jordan, Israel and other countries.
"Arab Jews" is not a widely used term but it refers to Jews living in Arab countries or those who immigrated from Arab countries and (sometimes) their descendants.
Does it do HD over Component?
According to the specs, it does not.
There must be other players that allow that.
Can anyone post their recommendations for "benign" DVD players that:
- Allow one to play DVDs from all regions,
- Allow skipping offensive content (e.g., FBI warnings),
- Allow bypassing Macrovision,
and, most importantly:
- Bypass HDCP/HDMI DRM crap by allowing full resolution (or upconverted) HD video output over component.