I have no problem receiving these phone books and I also am not bothered by junk mail. I think of all the jobs that they generate, from data collectors to layout artists to printers to delivery people. Particularly with the trouble the USPO is in, the junk mail is helpful; the postage prepaid envelopes in credit card ads even serve the USPO better. I find no real strain in putting such items in the recycle bin thus supporting even more jobs.
It does no good whatsoever, but it is nice to see the very few brave people that stand up and say "no" to the TSA's searches and seizures. Rosa Parks would know just how these people feel.
Here in the USA we don't use the word "ethics" in any discussion about pharmaceutical companies, doctors, hospitals, or medicine in general unless it is coupled with the words "no" or "none whatsoever" or "give me all your money and then die."
You're right, they "can't use data collected this way against your policy," but they can and will use it against you when deciding whether or not to provide you with health insurance in the first place. Not everyone gets their health insurance through their employer; some of us have to purchase it on our own, and believe me, they use whatever they can against you.
Our enemy has become, not the Muslim fundamentalists, but the federal government of the United States. We are spending a lot of time and bandwidth talking about and complaining about their actions. There is kind of a resigned tone to many of the comments that I hear and read. The US government has become sort of not "of the people, by the people, and for the people," but more "against the people." The corruption in congress and the White House is not helping at all.
Those of you that comfortably have health insurance provided by your employer should be aware that the day comes later in your career when you might be forced to get your own health insurance through the "Single-Payer" system.
You would have to be stark-staring insane to put or allow ANY of your medical information on a system like this. The health insurance companies would love this, and would use it against you. In the Single Payer system, you are REQUIRED to give them access to EVERY bit of medical information that exists about you in order to even be considered for coverage.
You are MUCH better off to have changed doctors periodically, and have your medical information dispersed and much more difficult to find.
Never give doctors offices or pharmacies your correct Social Security Number either.
The health care system in the United States is a HUGE mess; they want your money, all of it, and if you don't have employer-provided health insurance or can't afford expensive medical care on your own, you just shouldn't get sick.
After the eight year disaster that we have just survived, I believe that we just cannot trust ANY Republican right now. Many of the candidates don't believe in evolution, they are nasty, vindictive messes. We need some time away from the hyper-religious far-right wing neo-con Republican nut-cases that have taken so much of our constitution away.
As much as Microsoft gives me rectal itch, a merger between Microsoft and Yahoo! would be terrific news for everyone. The services and products that Google is offering are amazing, and even Microsoft/Yahoo! have a few nice offerings. Can you imagine the products and services we will get if Google and Microhoo start a serious bloody competition with each other? I read the other day that Firefox has some 26 percent and growing of the European market, which is going to force Microsoft to offer products for browsers other than IE.
This capitalism thing could bring amazing stuff to us. (Have you used Google Earth lately?)
"Did you really think that we want those laws to be observed? We want them broken. You'd better get it straight that it's not a bunch of boy scouts you're up against . . . We're after power and we mean it. You fellows were pikers, but we know the real trick, and you'd better get wise to it. There's no way to rule innocent men. The only power any government has is the power to crack down on criminals. Well, when there aren't enough criminals, one makes them. One declares so many things to be a crime that it becomes impossible for men to live without breaking laws. Who wants a nation of law-abiding citizens? What's there in that for anyone? But just pass the kind of laws that can neither be observed nor enforced nor objectively interpreted and you create a nation of law-breakers - and then you cash in on guilt."
When we in Qwest's area call a telephone number that is busy, we don't get a busy signal, we get an advertisement for us to dial a code and the system will call us back when the other line is free. This complex and highly difficult process only costs 95 cents! I wonder when we will pick up the phone and hear a cheery voice selling something instead of a dial tone. Maybe each button on the phone could speak a product name rather than sound one of the tones: My number would be Pepsi Ford Ford - Prilosec Zantec Lunesta Zantec.
Think about it: New York, politics, Microsoft's money, the need for an objective decision. It is just so cute that everyone on Slashdot is discussing this seriously and talking about sending comments in; I wish I had a camera.
I was a child in the 1950's, and at that time we looked at the police as our friends; someone to go to if we had trouble, and they would actually help. We even sought them out and liked to joke and talk with them; they were not intimidating at all. Somewhere between then and now the situation has changed. I have lately heard parents telling their children to basically avoid police, and how they are to oh-so-carefully behave if they encounter one.
In part this may come from a change in the attitude of the police from one of "serve and protect," to one of "control and contain" the population. Things like the Taser make it easier for them to keep away from any sort of "social" or intellectual contact with the people; they can just quickly end any sort of situation without thought - they just blindly use their "training" for each and every situation and thus maintain the us-vs-them attitude. Of course, maybe kids have changed, and perhaps Tasers and intimidation are the only way to deal with them these days. Whatever the reason, it seems like a not so good situation for our country to get itself into.
They are tasering 12yearolds. If a person cannot handle a pre-teen child's tantrum without a Taser, they should not be in the police force. While I'm at it, just why CAN'T SIX (count them, SIX) policemen handle a single "Don't tase me, bro." college student without a Taser or other tool beyond handcuffs?
But of course, this is neoAmerica, and torture of non-citizens has been approved at the highest levels of our government; it is only a short matter of time before torture is approved for citizens as well.
Microsoft is a marvelous competitor; they are focused and have a great business. It's actually kind of nice to see a United States company actually winning in these days of a declining neoAmerica. However, why do they have to pollute everything that they touch that is outside of their company? Their "embrace, extend, and extinguish" policies are so destructive. It would be nice if they would just stick to business and try to win on the quality of their products. Like Vista...Oh, never mind.
The whole digital TV, Blu-Ray, HD DVD, TiVO, and cable TV mess just makes me tired all over. I am watching less and less TV these days because the quality of programming just stinks. There is no cable news channel that isn't, as Scott Adams said in another context, "nuttier than squirrel poo" - they all cover the celebrities and the Nancy Grace outrage of the week type of junk; and the broadcast networks have totally been taken over by accountants with seemingly no artistic sense whatsoever.
Why all of these goofs want to make it MORE difficult to watch TV is beyond me. Dorothy Parker wrote a great poem called "Parable For A Certain Virgin" that really sums up my feelings about DRM and the MAFIAA nonsense very well.
Why are you assuming that this is an Ethernet network? As old as the equipment they are using is, it may be a Token Ring network - the symptoms that were described sound just like a "beaconing" token ring network.
I often wondered how managers and CEO's that don't even have a clue get given companies to control.
It's really pretty simple: Many companies are no longer run by the visionary people that started them, they are run by accountants and "risk managers."
When they say: "Theater managers cannot distinguish between good and bad stealing." They are obviously correct, I mean, they haven't been able to distinguish between good and bad movies for years.
Back in '39 when I was in the Marines, shop owners and schools and others had leeway and a little bit of good sense. If a kid swiped something in a store, the store owner could call the police, call the kid's parents, or give the kid a bit of a bad time to work off paying for the item or whatever seemed appropriate for the situation. Schools could show some good sense as well; but now-a-days, schools go stark staring berserk when a kid brings in a paring knife in to eat an orange, or the school cops use Tasers on 12-year olds having a tantrum.
The days of having a sense of proportion in the United States are over. "Zero tolerance" is a bad tool, and takes away any shred of individual judgment or good sense. It makes it easy to ruin someone or make them miserable with the excuse of "I was just following orders."
I stopped buying music because I dislike the policies and prices of members of the RIAA. I really don't like the movie theater experience any longer: Dirty theaters, insane prices for bad popcorn, and 22 minutes of commercials before the movie begins. My local library is a GREAT place to check out DVD movies and CD music.
If you do not like an entity's policies or prices, don't give them your money.
These guys are complaining to an agency of the United States government! Do they expect their complaint to receive any kind of responsible hearing? This is the United States, for heaven's sake, we don't have intelligent, fair representation any more; the NFL will just grease a palm here and there, and get whatever they want. Sheesh, why get all fussed and bothered?
Hmmmm - So when I use Microsoft software with their EULA that states quite clearly that they can changes the terms of the license at any time by simply posting the change on their web site, why can't others move their software from GPL2 to GPL3. When Microsoft can make changes to their license at any time, why can't others do the same?
"It doesn't matter what you have for sale - if somebody is giving it away for free and there are no consequences, you will lose."
Hmmmm....Someone should tell Microsoft to watch out for Linux. If you give customers what they want at a price that they find acceptable, they will buy it. I use Linux because I don't like Microsoft's policies and I don't like their prices.
I don't buy much music because so much of it is garbage, the price it too high, and I despise the RIAA's policies. The net effect is that I am just listening to less and less music these days - broadcast radio is just the same-ol' Clear Channel top 40's junk.
This is Microsoft's business model and they are one of the most successful companies on earth. They are not going to change anything until they have a business reason to change, and whining about this kind of nonsense in their license agreements won't help. Fortunately, there are real alternatives, and users have choices. Apple, Fedora Linux, Ubuntu Linux, and others are available on the market and they really work. Microsoft will change when the market forces them to change, and not before.
I have not booted a Windows machine since May of 2002. That was the month I said to hell with Microsoft and switched to Linux. I also decided that I would actively encourage others to make the switch. "Actively" means to me that not only do I install Linux for people, but I support it for them as well. The support has not been a burden. They don't get viruses, adware, or other junk, which is where most of my friends that use Windows need the most help. The Linux folk are just able to use their machines without fuss, which is all they want.
I would add that there should be a pox on Novell for their recent dancing with Microsoft. All it does is further Microsoft's cause and hasten the doom of Novell who is (or was) a real competitor to Microsoft in the business arena. Novell's GroupWise, eDirectory, print server, etc. are marvelous products that Microsoft does not come close to; Novell must be in very bad straits indeed to do what they are doing with Microsoft.
Slashdot Mirror
I have no problem receiving these phone books and I also am not bothered by junk mail. I think of all the jobs that they generate, from data collectors to layout artists to printers to delivery people. Particularly with the trouble the USPO is in, the junk mail is helpful; the postage prepaid envelopes in credit card ads even serve the USPO better. I find no real strain in putting such items in the recycle bin thus supporting even more jobs.
It does no good whatsoever, but it is nice to see the very few brave people that stand up and say "no" to the TSA's searches and seizures. Rosa Parks would know just how these people feel.
Is there anything going on in the U.S. today that is NOT a "national crisis"? We need a break.
Here in the USA we don't use the word "ethics" in any discussion about pharmaceutical companies, doctors, hospitals, or medicine in general unless it is coupled with the words "no" or "none whatsoever" or "give me all your money and then die."
You're right, they "can't use data collected this way against your policy," but they can and will use it against you when deciding whether or not to provide you with health insurance in the first place. Not everyone gets their health insurance through their employer; some of us have to purchase it on our own, and believe me, they use whatever they can against you.
Our enemy has become, not the Muslim fundamentalists, but the federal government of the United States. We are spending a lot of time and bandwidth talking about and complaining about their actions. There is kind of a resigned tone to many of the comments that I hear and read. The US government has become sort of not "of the people, by the people, and for the people," but more "against the people." The corruption in congress and the White House is not helping at all.
You would have to be stark-staring insane to put or allow ANY of your medical information on a system like this. The health insurance companies would love this, and would use it against you. In the Single Payer system, you are REQUIRED to give them access to EVERY bit of medical information that exists about you in order to even be considered for coverage.
You are MUCH better off to have changed doctors periodically, and have your medical information dispersed and much more difficult to find.
Never give doctors offices or pharmacies your correct Social Security Number either.
The health care system in the United States is a HUGE mess; they want your money, all of it, and if you don't have employer-provided health insurance or can't afford expensive medical care on your own, you just shouldn't get sick.
After the eight year disaster that we have just survived, I believe that we just cannot trust ANY Republican right now. Many of the candidates don't believe in evolution, they are nasty, vindictive messes. We need some time away from the hyper-religious far-right wing neo-con Republican nut-cases that have taken so much of our constitution away.
This capitalism thing could bring amazing stuff to us. (Have you used Google Earth lately?)
Ayn Rand, Atlas Shrugged
When we in Qwest's area call a telephone number that is busy, we don't get a busy signal, we get an advertisement for us to dial a code and the system will call us back when the other line is free. This complex and highly difficult process only costs 95 cents! I wonder when we will pick up the phone and hear a cheery voice selling something instead of a dial tone. Maybe each button on the phone could speak a product name rather than sound one of the tones: My number would be Pepsi Ford Ford - Prilosec Zantec Lunesta Zantec.
Think about it: New York, politics, Microsoft's money, the need for an objective decision. It is just so cute that everyone on Slashdot is discussing this seriously and talking about sending comments in; I wish I had a camera.
In part this may come from a change in the attitude of the police from one of "serve and protect," to one of "control and contain" the population. Things like the Taser make it easier for them to keep away from any sort of "social" or intellectual contact with the people; they can just quickly end any sort of situation without thought - they just blindly use their "training" for each and every situation and thus maintain the us-vs-them attitude. Of course, maybe kids have changed, and perhaps Tasers and intimidation are the only way to deal with them these days. Whatever the reason, it seems like a not so good situation for our country to get itself into.
They are tasering 12 year olds. If a person cannot handle a pre-teen child's tantrum without a Taser, they should not be in the police force. While I'm at it, just why CAN'T SIX (count them, SIX) policemen handle a single "Don't tase me, bro." college student without a Taser or other tool beyond handcuffs?
But of course, this is neoAmerica, and torture of non-citizens has been approved at the highest levels of our government; it is only a short matter of time before torture is approved for citizens as well.
He must be guilty or he wouldn't be here.
Now we know who the real terrorists are. Welcome to neoAmerica.
Microsoft is a marvelous competitor; they are focused and have a great business. It's actually kind of nice to see a United States company actually winning in these days of a declining neoAmerica. However, why do they have to pollute everything that they touch that is outside of their company? Their "embrace, extend, and extinguish" policies are so destructive. It would be nice if they would just stick to business and try to win on the quality of their products. Like Vista...Oh, never mind.
Why all of these goofs want to make it MORE difficult to watch TV is beyond me. Dorothy Parker wrote a great poem called "Parable For A Certain Virgin" that really sums up my feelings about DRM and the MAFIAA nonsense very well.
Why are you assuming that this is an Ethernet network? As old as the equipment they are using is, it may be a Token Ring network - the symptoms that were described sound just like a "beaconing" token ring network.
It's really pretty simple: Many companies are no longer run by the visionary people that started them, they are run by accountants and "risk managers."
Back in '39 when I was in the Marines, shop owners and schools and others had leeway and a little bit of good sense. If a kid swiped something in a store, the store owner could call the police, call the kid's parents, or give the kid a bit of a bad time to work off paying for the item or whatever seemed appropriate for the situation. Schools could show some good sense as well; but now-a-days, schools go stark staring berserk when a kid brings in a paring knife in to eat an orange, or the school cops use Tasers on 12-year olds having a tantrum.
The days of having a sense of proportion in the United States are over. "Zero tolerance" is a bad tool, and takes away any shred of individual judgment or good sense. It makes it easy to ruin someone or make them miserable with the excuse of "I was just following orders."
I stopped buying music because I dislike the policies and prices of members of the RIAA. I really don't like the movie theater experience any longer: Dirty theaters, insane prices for bad popcorn, and 22 minutes of commercials before the movie begins. My local library is a GREAT place to check out DVD movies and CD music.
If you do not like an entity's policies or prices, don't give them your money.
These guys are complaining to an agency of the United States government! Do they expect their complaint to receive any kind of responsible hearing? This is the United States, for heaven's sake, we don't have intelligent, fair representation any more; the NFL will just grease a palm here and there, and get whatever they want. Sheesh, why get all fussed and bothered?
The United States Department of JUSTICE is getting into the act? That'll help things for sure!
Hmmmm - So when I use Microsoft software with their EULA that states quite clearly that they can changes the terms of the license at any time by simply posting the change on their web site, why can't others move their software from GPL2 to GPL3. When Microsoft can make changes to their license at any time, why can't others do the same?
Hmmmm....Someone should tell Microsoft to watch out for Linux. If you give customers what they want at a price that they find acceptable, they will buy it. I use Linux because I don't like Microsoft's policies and I don't like their prices.
I don't buy much music because so much of it is garbage, the price it too high, and I despise the RIAA's policies. The net effect is that I am just listening to less and less music these days - broadcast radio is just the same-ol' Clear Channel top 40's junk.
I have not booted a Windows machine since May of 2002. That was the month I said to hell with Microsoft and switched to Linux. I also decided that I would actively encourage others to make the switch. "Actively" means to me that not only do I install Linux for people, but I support it for them as well. The support has not been a burden. They don't get viruses, adware, or other junk, which is where most of my friends that use Windows need the most help. The Linux folk are just able to use their machines without fuss, which is all they want.
I would add that there should be a pox on Novell for their recent dancing with Microsoft. All it does is further Microsoft's cause and hasten the doom of Novell who is (or was) a real competitor to Microsoft in the business arena. Novell's GroupWise, eDirectory, print server, etc. are marvelous products that Microsoft does not come close to; Novell must be in very bad straits indeed to do what they are doing with Microsoft.