I don't think "ooh, you can torture people with this" is a valid argument, or we'd be looking at wanting to ban rubber hoses also.
We don't ask for a ban on rubber hoses because there are useful things to be done with them. What use is a pain-inducing machine other than inducing pain?
To gadget-tastic for my tastes. I'll take the Dilbert House over this any day. (Assuming that I must live in suburbia. Anyone know of a DUH-like project for city dwellers)
This would better be represented as 'Unfamiliar is safe'. If people are in a new situation, they'll naturally be more cautious. Once everyone gets used to no roadsigns as the standard, things will be no safer than before.
Take out a major city, no radiation. Just the threat would be a useful tool of terror and control.
Who would spend billions of dollars to divert a rock in space (with all the uncertanty that goes with it) to attack a country when they could spend vastly less and do a better job with conventional weapons? I mean, besides the brain bugs? Want to know more?
I recently took a 10,000 mile road trip around the States (soon to be chronicled on my journal) and seriously considered doing this. I even set up a profile and started contacting people but, in the end, the safety concerns kept we away. Now I don't believe that the world is as scary as the media portrays it, and I'm sure I missed out on meeting some great people and learning more about the local areas (Not to mention saving £1,000) but in the end, I just couldn't feel secure knowing I was going to some random house at the end of the night.
I'm the guy who asked the 'if not America, then where' question a week or so ago on slashdot, so I thought I'd throw in my own example. The first half was luck of birth. When I was looking in to possibly living abroad, I discovered that I qualified for an Irish passport due to my ancestry. So if you want to work in another country, I'd check the citizenship laws and trawl through your family tree to see if you have any useful connections.
Secondly, I picked an occupation with a critical shortage: physics teachers. If you seriously want to live and work abroad anywhere in the world, I cannot recommend a better job. Every week I see loads of ads for science teachers to work abroad, and I've even received a few job offers from schools (in China for example) through my journal.
So check that family tree, pick a job with a shortage and get out into the world. It was the best decision I ever made.
I don't doubt that you could get an OK or even good script by committee, but I think to get a great movie, you need one mind unhindered by others. (But you also get A LOT more junk that way)
Slashdot Mirror
We don't ask for a ban on rubber hoses because there are useful things to be done with them. What use is a pain-inducing machine other than inducing pain?
-Grey
... in America.
-Grey
Once all the poor people have something it isn't a luxury anymore.
-Grey
To gadget-tastic for my tastes. I'll take the Dilbert House over this any day. (Assuming that I must live in suburbia. Anyone know of a DUH-like project for city dwellers)
-Grey
You should really check out English Syntax 2.0. I hear they've finally increased the Max_Sentences_Per_Paragraph limit from 2 to 256.
-Grey
The long now foundation had an excellent presentation by Clay Shirky on just this topic some time ago. Well worth watching.
-Grey
This would better be represented as 'Unfamiliar is safe'. If people are in a new situation, they'll naturally be more cautious. Once everyone gets used to no roadsigns as the standard, things will be no safer than before.
-Grey
Who would spend billions of dollars to divert a rock in space (with all the uncertanty that goes with it) to attack a country when they could spend vastly less and do a better job with conventional weapons? I mean, besides the brain bugs? Want to know more?
-Grey
My god, why?
-Grey
That's cutting it really close. Anyone know if that's usual for the production of an South Park Episode?
-Grey
You can just hang around outside all day... or you can sit at your computer and do something that matters.
-Grey
I've always assumed that virgin airlines would be the natural ones to take up that cause.
-Grey
I recently took a 10,000 mile road trip around the States (soon to be chronicled on my journal) and seriously considered doing this. I even set up a profile and started contacting people but, in the end, the safety concerns kept we away. Now I don't believe that the world is as scary as the media portrays it, and I'm sure I missed out on meeting some great people and learning more about the local areas (Not to mention saving £1,000) but in the end, I just couldn't feel secure knowing I was going to some random house at the end of the night.
-Grey.
Hey Anonymous Questioner,
I'm the guy who asked the 'if not America, then where' question a week or so ago on slashdot, so I thought I'd throw in my own example. The first half was luck of birth. When I was looking in to possibly living abroad, I discovered that I qualified for an Irish passport due to my ancestry. So if you want to work in another country, I'd check the citizenship laws and trawl through your family tree to see if you have any useful connections.
Secondly, I picked an occupation with a critical shortage: physics teachers. If you seriously want to live and work abroad anywhere in the world, I cannot recommend a better job. Every week I see loads of ads for science teachers to work abroad, and I've even received a few job offers from schools (in China for example) through my journal.
So check that family tree, pick a job with a shortage and get out into the world. It was the best decision I ever made.
-Grey
I think the word you are looking for is Congresschicks.
-Grey
It's interesting to see that each culture will independently discover the same form of bullshit.
-Grey
Oh
::looks sad::
::Removes 'wikipedia editor' from his CV::
-Grey
Oh yeah? Well, I'm calling for Congressman Markey's arrest. Who's with me?
-Grey
Yes safety first! I do so hate it when the office hydrangea goes on a rampage and kills the interns.
-Grey
But what if it's spending so much time on the internet that makes me depressed?
-Grey
Oh, OK! Like trinary then?
-Grey
from the a-new-home-for-the-free-and-brave dept.
Sounds like we should have a Free State Project on a national scale.
-Grey
Wiki-based script creation
I don't doubt that you could get an OK or even good script by committee, but I think to get a great movie, you need one mind unhindered by others. (But you also get A LOT more junk that way)
-Grey
Leaving is a form of voting with one's feet.
-Grey
P.S. You do realize that American can still vote overseas, don't you? We damn well better be able to, since we still have to pay U.S. taxes.
Whoops, I'm a moron. Didn't see the link because it wasn't in a second paragraph that I had. Apologies to our Editor Overlords.
-Grey