this first quarter german reads (if you can call it reading) something like this:
>>>>>>>>> say no to america!
racism is completely american, america kidnaps elian gonzalaz and doesn't return him. he and amadou are martyrs of america. a police officer kills an african american, amadou, when he's innocent, and then the americans kidnap gonzalaz from cuba, my country.
return elian to my land, you [the writer was nice enough to use the polite form of you] pigdogs.
communism is the good government, and cuba is better than america. you are intimidating by [from?] my german accent. now return gonyalaz or communist cuba and the fuhrer castro will nuke you!
fuhrer castro, the good socialist, will kill america!
fuck!
I am a cuban man, and I am angry about elian gonyaley and how many american states had stolen him. return elian gonzalez, or the US is **satan**! Americans are gay, i kick them in the balls. i had large balls. you did not have large and fast balls, americans!
slashdot is a fucking shit-site, and cmdrtaco is not good and homosexual, bomb slashdot, the evil fuck-site.
clinton is [can't translate "dumk off"] >>>>>>>>>
I was nice and fixed his grammer and guessed at some of the words which were either badly spelled or not german. Some were english, but spelled in a german manner.
The writer is obviously not german, and probably not cuban. My best guess is that it was probably written by a "r33l~l33t~fuk34".
your problem can be taken care of in 6 easy steps:
1. Go to best buy. 2. in the computer section, ask sales person for a new (insert number, >15 here) inch monitor. 3. give man at cash register credit card, sign on dotted line. 4. go home 5. unconnect old monitor, connect new monitor 6. change resolution setting in OS of choice to one that fits your new monitor, ie: 17": 1024x768, 19":1280x1024, etc.
The number one thing that I hate about companies that IPO is that they immediately become "corporate". Now, don't just go "duh" and ignore me... think about it. What's the difference between corporate management of a public company and Privately Held Company X? Honesty.
It's not that the managers are not honest people, I have no reason to believe they aren't, it's just that the stock market requires that they don't talk about certain things, skew other things in the company's favor or be intentionally vague. A perfect example is the AMD question. If VA were still private, there is no reason (ignoring intel, of course) that he couldn't have said, "Well, we're thinking about doing something with AMD..." However, now he's forced to be an asshole and ignore the question until a formal statement is made. Another example is all the marketing crap he put into his response. He can no longer talk about faults of the company which he is looking to fix, rather he must try and sell the company and pretend to ignore anything that's not as good as the competition.
I don't see why it has to be this way. If VA were really true to open source rather than the almighty dollar they wouldn't limit themselves they way being a public company does. There is no reason that a private company can't do the same thing that a public company does. (UPS) They just have to really kick ass is all. Is that so much to ask?
During a recent dig in the north of Egypt, archeologists discovered one more proof that the ancient Egyptian government was by far more advanced than any other at the time. The find: an ancient patent and copyright office, intact with records and samples. Scientists all over the world are flocking to the research station which has been set up in the area to review the findings, which according to lead researcher J'an Kueng is "very interesting". At the time of this printing very little has been translated, with exception to the remarkable find of a patent held by Pythagoras. From what has been gathered thus far, it seems that the late mathematical wizard holds a 5000 year old patent on the algorithm commonly used to determine the length of a right triangle's hypotenuse. The Pythagorean Theorem, as it has been known for the last several millennia, is actually called "A System for Finding Lengths of a Right Triangle" according to patent #109. Apparently Pythagoras developed the system and licensed it's use to the government of the time, who used it in surveying the land. The system was also used widely during development of the pyramids, along with other later developments. The Egyptian government has assumed ownership of these patents, saying "since we cannot trace Pythagoras' ancestry to any reasonable number of individuals, we believe that this patent will be best used as a method of repaying the Egyptian government the millions pounds of wheat which the former holder demanded from us several years ago." The government said that it believes it will push for strong regulation of the system's use, along with heavy fees for any commercial usage. Obviously this news has nearly everyone in the world quite upset, many have been quoted as saying "what the hell?!" while most lawyers have been reported "thanking God for His goodness."
well, right now they're making a hell of a lot of money because everyone and their brother thinks that it's such a great deal.
however they must continue adding new accounts for any revenue. that means in 2 years if no more people sign up they won't have more money. in 3 years they will have no more money and in 3.5 years they will go bankrupt. when they say for life, they mean for the life of the company.
-----
to quote George Carlin and
on
AOL Nation
·
· Score: 1
"...and a 500 pound fat fuck sitting right in front of me."
What's my point? Carlin is talking about the fastest way to get out of an airplane, but his plans would be spoiled because if there's a crash there ain't no way George is getting around that guy. George is, well... fucked.
My point? While the fat fuck may veridical, he's also _really_ wide... there ain't no way you're getting around him... provided there are not any other ways to go. Fortunately with the press (at least right now) there are. If you want to get something out on to the public, talk to your local newspaper (not owned by the fat fuck) and they'll put it on the wire service. (also not owned by the fat fuck) If it's worthy news, everyone else will pick up on it, (except the fat fuck, presumably) and therefore people will see it. People rarely get their news from only one company.
At least, that what it'll be like right after the merger. However, with all the fat fuck's ends, he won't stay content very long. Fat fuck will start gobbling up independent and small news agencies faster than my chemistry teacher does extra salted pretzels. When this starts happening the remaining size 7s will say in unison, "oh shit!" They will then immediately start cannibalising until there's only a few left. Bang, Ford GM and Chrysler. Ooops, I mean Time Warner, Viacom and Murdock.
In short: the sky is still well suspended above our heads, contrary to what Katz loves to proclaim every other week or so, this is just evolution and "modernizing", if you will, of the media sector.
I really don't know enough about what steps companies take to try and protect credit cards and other info (well, other than SSL) to post an intelligent commentary, therefore I will post a mini Ask Slashdot:
emmons asks: "A friend of mine is setting up an e-.com site and wants to know how he can make sure the customer's data is as safe as possible. He knows that SSL is a must, but what can he do server side to protect the data from crackers? What do other sites do (if anything), and if what they do is not enough, how can it be improved upon?"
i know what you mean... last spring I was working as a tech at best buy (I know, I know, give me a break, I'm still in high school and it's better than mc donalds) and had the worst time trying to explain that it's normally a bad thing when your video card has more memory than your motherboard to a customer. He wanted me to install a 16mb pci TNT into his 4mb packard bell. He just didn't get it....
Well, this is news for the entire world, and since nerds are part of that group, this is "news for nerds"... and geeks... and jocks... etc.
Is this "stuff that matters"? Well, since it is a major political change in a militarily strong nation which has nuclear capacity, I believe it matters to most of us types that care about forign affairs. I think most non-american slashdotters will agree.
We are not pirates, nor do we encourage the illegal duplication and/or distribution of copyrighted works. We are, however, citizens of a country based on the principles of personal freedom and trust of common man. We believe that it is morally and legally acceptable to have the right to manipulate digital media, media which we have bought and paid for, in the ways we see fit. We believe that it is within our rights, and is morally acceptable, to view and store this media in the ways we choose; be in on a DVD disk, our computer's hard drive or recorded to a VHS tape; from a hardware DVD player, the Windows operating system or the Linux operating system. These are the rights we are fighting for. We believe that the authoritarian acts of the RIAA and DVD CSS should not be stood for, they are immoral and unjust. We do not believe that anyone should be able to tell us that we can only view a movie from a computer which they have choosen, or save that movie only in the way they dictate. We also believe that if there is a tool which allows such freedoms, we should have a right to use it, to tell others about it and to distribute it. We do not believe that someone should be able to command that we cannot tell or distribute this tool simply because it is not within their corporate strategy.
Yeah, I recieved one of those lovely letters also... you can read it here. Contrary to what was written in the email, it's perfectly legal to distribute the notice.
I promptly called my lawyer (actually a close friend) after recieving the email and he said I have nothing to worry about. Firstly, such a notice must be mailed to me, not emailed. And even by post is not legally binding. Secondly, if they do get their little restraining order, it must be delivered to me in person... hehe, I'm in germany right now. Based on what I told him he said (gasp) that they're just trying scare tactics. I forwarded the email to him, he will review it and give me more advice tomorrow morning.
awww, come on... it's [censored]! It's a time for forgivness and love. I suppose even the flamers and Natelie Portman Boy should have a bit of [censored] cheer!
They can go to hell tomorrow, today is just too good a day!
Slashdot Mirror
this first quarter german reads (if you can call it reading) something like this:
>>>>>>>>>
say no to america!
racism is completely american, america kidnaps elian gonzalaz and doesn't return him. he and amadou are martyrs of america. a police officer kills an african american, amadou, when he's innocent, and then the americans kidnap gonzalaz from cuba, my country.
return elian to my land, you [the writer was nice enough to use the polite form of you] pigdogs.
communism is the good government, and cuba is better than america. you are intimidating by [from?] my german accent. now return gonyalaz or communist cuba and the fuhrer castro will nuke you!
fuhrer castro, the good socialist, will kill america!
fuck!
I am a cuban man, and I am angry about elian gonyaley and how many american states had stolen him. return elian gonzalez, or the US is **satan**! Americans are gay, i kick them in the balls. i had large balls. you did not have large and fast balls, americans!
slashdot is a fucking shit-site, and cmdrtaco is not good and homosexual, bomb slashdot, the evil fuck-site.
clinton is [can't translate "dumk off"]
>>>>>>>>>
I was nice and fixed his grammer and guessed at some of the words which were either badly spelled or not german. Some were english, but spelled in a german manner.
The writer is obviously not german, and probably not cuban. My best guess is that it was probably written by a "r33l~l33t~fuk34".
-----
when i searched for "cock monster" (don't ask why) at altavista, I got this banner which leads to this site.
I was looking for a cookie monster mis-spelling and got a gay pr0n ad from doubleclick. hmmmm.
oh, btw: I'm a minor, so can my parents' lawyers assure that I can afford Stanford and a whole lot more now because I was exposed to pr0n?
-----
your problem can be taken care of in 6 easy steps:
1. Go to best buy.
2. in the computer section, ask sales person for a new (insert number, >15 here) inch monitor.
3. give man at cash register credit card, sign on dotted line.
4. go home
5. unconnect old monitor, connect new monitor
6. change resolution setting in OS of choice to one that fits your new monitor, ie: 17": 1024x768, 19":1280x1024, etc.
-----
SELL OUT!
The number one thing that I hate about companies that IPO is that they immediately become "corporate". Now, don't just go "duh" and ignore me... think about it. What's the difference between corporate management of a public company and Privately Held Company X? Honesty.
It's not that the managers are not honest people, I have no reason to believe they aren't, it's just that the stock market requires that they don't talk about certain things, skew other things in the company's favor or be intentionally vague. A perfect example is the AMD question. If VA were still private, there is no reason (ignoring intel, of course) that he couldn't have said, "Well, we're thinking about doing something with AMD..." However, now he's forced to be an asshole and ignore the question until a formal statement is made. Another example is all the marketing crap he put into his response. He can no longer talk about faults of the company which he is looking to fix, rather he must try and sell the company and pretend to ignore anything that's not as good as the competition.
I don't see why it has to be this way. If VA were really true to open source rather than the almighty dollar they wouldn't limit themselves they way being a public company does. There is no reason that a private company can't do the same thing that a public company does. (UPS) They just have to really kick ass is all. Is that so much to ask?
-----
god, now I feel stupid.
-----
Cairo, Egypt (AP)
During a recent dig in the north of Egypt, archeologists discovered one more proof that the ancient Egyptian government was by far more advanced than any other at the time. The find: an ancient patent and copyright office, intact with records and samples. Scientists all over the world are flocking to the research station which has been set up in the area to review the findings, which according to lead researcher J'an Kueng is "very interesting". At the time of this printing very little has been translated, with exception to the remarkable find of a patent held by Pythagoras.
From what has been gathered thus far, it seems that the late mathematical wizard holds a 5000 year old patent on the algorithm commonly used to determine the length of a right triangle's hypotenuse. The Pythagorean Theorem, as it has been known for the last several millennia, is actually called "A System for Finding Lengths of a Right Triangle" according to patent #109. Apparently Pythagoras developed the system and licensed it's use to the government of the time, who used it in surveying the land. The system was also used widely during development of the pyramids, along with other later developments. The Egyptian government has assumed ownership of these patents, saying "since we cannot trace Pythagoras' ancestry to any reasonable number of individuals, we believe that this patent will be best used as a method of repaying the Egyptian government the millions pounds of wheat which the former holder demanded from us several years ago." The government said that it believes it will push for strong regulation of the system's use, along with heavy fees for any commercial usage.
Obviously this news has nearly everyone in the world quite upset, many have been quoted as saying "what the hell?!" while most lawyers have been reported "thanking God for His goodness."
-----
well, right now they're making a hell of a lot of money because everyone and their brother thinks that it's such a great deal.
however they must continue adding new accounts for any revenue. that means in 2 years if no more people sign up they won't have more money. in 3 years they will have no more money and in 3.5 years they will go bankrupt. when they say for life, they mean for the life of the company.
-----
...
that's what I wanted the subject to say. oops.
-----
and keep this post to the point:
"...and a 500 pound fat fuck sitting right in front of me."
What's my point? Carlin is talking about the fastest way to get out of an airplane, but his plans would be spoiled because if there's a crash there ain't no way George is getting around that guy. George is, well... fucked.
My point? While the fat fuck may veridical, he's also _really_ wide... there ain't no way you're getting around him... provided there are not any other ways to go. Fortunately with the press (at least right now) there are. If you want to get something out on to the public, talk to your local newspaper (not owned by the fat fuck) and they'll put it on the wire service. (also not owned by the fat fuck) If it's worthy news, everyone else will pick up on it, (except the fat fuck, presumably) and therefore people will see it. People rarely get their news from only one company.
At least, that what it'll be like right after the merger. However, with all the fat fuck's ends, he won't stay content very long. Fat fuck will start gobbling up independent and small news agencies faster than my chemistry teacher does extra salted pretzels. When this starts happening the remaining size 7s will say in unison, "oh shit!" They will then immediately start cannibalising until there's only a few left. Bang, Ford GM and Chrysler. Ooops, I mean Time Warner, Viacom and Murdock.
In short: the sky is still well suspended above our heads, contrary to what Katz loves to proclaim every other week or so, this is just evolution and "modernizing", if you will, of the media sector.
-----
oh, ok.
actually after thinking about it again I agree with you...
-----
I really don't know enough about what steps companies take to try and protect credit cards and other info (well, other than SSL) to post an intelligent commentary, therefore I will post a mini Ask Slashdot:
emmons asks: "A friend of mine is setting up an e-.com site and wants to know how he can make sure the customer's data is as safe as possible. He knows that SSL is a must, but what can he do server side to protect the data from crackers? What do other sites do (if anything), and if what they do is not enough, how can it be improved upon?"
-----
i know what you mean... last spring I was working as a tech at best buy (I know, I know, give me a break, I'm still in high school and it's better than mc donalds) and had the worst time trying to explain that it's normally a bad thing when your video card has more memory than your motherboard to a customer. He wanted me to install a 16mb pci TNT into his 4mb packard bell. He just didn't get it....
-----
Mr. Helmreich always said I have to be careful of doing that...
-----
well....
to be honist, I think this one should go the the EFF for their recent work defending the web aginst the DVD CCA.
-----
I'll second that.
-----
mod_perl.
'nuff said.
-----
but come on... WIN2K will save the day!!!!!
-----
Well, this is news for the entire world, and since nerds are part of that group, this is "news for nerds"... and geeks... and jocks... etc.
Is this "stuff that matters"? Well, since it is a major political change in a militarily strong nation which has nuclear capacity, I believe it matters to most of us types that care about forign affairs. I think most non-american slashdotters will agree.
-----
hey man, I got the beginning of your show via streamed mp3, thanks. i can't say I love your music selection though.
-----
yeah i know, I can't spell.
-----
We are not pirates, nor do we encourage the illegal duplication and/or distribution of copyrighted works. We are, however, citizens of a country based on the principles of personal freedom and trust of common man. We believe that it is morally and legally acceptable to have the right to manipulate digital media, media which we have bought and paid for, in the ways we see fit. We believe that it is within our rights, and is morally acceptable, to view and store this media in the ways we choose; be in on a DVD disk, our computer's hard drive or recorded to a VHS tape; from a hardware DVD player, the Windows operating system or the Linux operating system. These are the rights we are fighting for. We believe that the authoritarian acts of the RIAA and DVD CSS should not be stood for, they are immoral and unjust. We do not believe that anyone should be able to tell us that we can only view a movie from a computer which they have choosen, or save that movie only in the way they dictate. We also believe that if there is a tool which allows such freedoms, we should have a right to use it, to tell others about it and to distribute it. We do not believe that someone should be able to command that we cannot tell or distribute this tool simply because it is not within their corporate strategy.
-----
i changed the phone number so that people wouldn't be bothering them, telling them where I posted the letter, etc.
-----
I'd really like to see this as a poll...
please?
-----
Yeah, I recieved one of those lovely letters also... you can read it here. Contrary to what was written in the email, it's perfectly legal to distribute the notice.
I promptly called my lawyer (actually a close friend) after recieving the email and he said I have nothing to worry about. Firstly, such a notice must be mailed to me, not emailed. And even by post is not legally binding. Secondly, if they do get their little restraining order, it must be delivered to me in person... hehe, I'm in germany right now. Based on what I told him he said (gasp) that they're just trying scare tactics. I forwarded the email to him, he will review it and give me more advice tomorrow morning.
This sure is a fun, isn't it?
-----
awww, come on... it's [censored]! It's a time for forgivness and love. I suppose even the flamers and Natelie Portman Boy should have a bit of [censored] cheer!
They can go to hell tomorrow, today is just too good a day!
-----