But seriously, it's about time people started doing things like this en masse. We waste a shitload of resources we could otherwise make use of on a daily basis (no pun intended). If this catches on and becomes more widespread across the dairy sections of the country, and perhaps the world, people will quickly start looking at how to use other resources to their advantage - how about the methane from other farm animals, or perhaps human waste passing through sewers? Admittedly most will seek profit from it, but it's really what's happening that counts, not why in this circumstance.
"[Assistant Attorney General Burton] Guidry added that the law is 'not going to curtail the free speech of anybody,' but then he used the old 'games are training kids to kill' argument. 'This is more than speech. This is truly training for violence," he said. 'You assume the character of a mass murderer. You go out and kill people as violently as you can because you score more points."
So it's not alright to play a virtual good/bad guy and kill people, but it IS alright to watch movies and TV shows that portray the same thing? Whether we're playing as a car thief murdering hookers (ah, the good times), or playing an actual portrayal of a World War 2 soldier killing Germans, it's still violent.
I, for one, grew up playing games like NARCs and Double Dragon, eventually GTA and Manhunt. The only thing that has trained me to kill is my volunteering for military service. Video games had no negative bearing on my development, in fact I'd say that letting out some aggression in a virtual manner benefitted me (and potentially others whom I may have lashed out against had I not diverted myself) in certain times of anger or depression.
Gaming is an outlet, a diversion. Some people write journals, some people drink, some people turn to other methods of distraction. Point being: everyone's got their vice. Young or old, male or female, we all need something to get away from the realities that we can't always handle head-on. Why should these politicians have a say in things that should be taken care of at the parental level? Teach kids the difference between fictional violence and real world right and wrong. Instill them with proper morals and ethics and they'll be much better off that if we just make some stupid laws prohibiting them from ever making their own decisions. Educate them. People need to stop pawning off their bad parenting to what is in video games and other media.
That raises my final question. Have any of these lawmakers actually played the games they so fervently stand against? They might actually enjoy it if they gave it a chance.
The trick is not correctly estimating yourself and your own driving prowess, but to not overestimate the people around you. Treat everyone else on the road like a complete idiot; as if they are going to make the stupidest move possible at all given times, and you will be fine.
I've driven in every situation from heavy snowfall with moderate traffic, that long boring strip between VA and PA on the interstate that hypnotizes you due to lack of changing scenery, jam-packed traffic hauling ass 15 mph over the speed limit, to pure gridlock NYC traffic.
I know what I'm capable of, and I am by no means a CART or NASCAR driver. I do realize that focusing my attention on a phone call DOES negatively affect my reactions in a given scenario. That's why if I need to make a phone call for whatever reason I keep it short, use a hands-free device - normally an earbud, I only give what bit of attention I can safely afford, and I create extra maneuvering space (cushion, as I like to call it) just in case something does happen and I need to react.
Worst case scenario: I pull off the road and finish my call before I start driving again. Accidents will happen, but if we're a little smarter about things we can minimize risk.
I must admit firstly, that I have paid a LOT of money over the last dozen-or-so years that I have been buying video games on my own. Just as far as PSOne and PS2 games combined, I have spent at least $2500 since '97...over time it really isn't that much, perhaps 1 new $50 every 2 months. That's just for PS series games though.
Factor in PC games, subscriptions for any MMOs I had played (I'm through paying per-month for the same cookie cutter crap that I can get for free or on a 1-time-buy), hardware to play said games, as well as any portables I own, and we're talking an equal or greater amount than my PlayStation collection. I was single, had disposable income (albeit not a lot in the earlier years) and got bored quickly with games.
The titles I have beaten and/or keep coming back to are, in my eyes, timeless. SoulBlade, FFTactics as well as a couple of other FF numbered series, Castlevania (particularly Simon's Quest and Symphony of the Night), Starcraft/Warcraft, Diablo 1 and 2, Day of Defeat, Medievia (a MUD http://www.medievia.com/, and more. Hell, I still own my original NES and Sega Genesis and still play some of those classics when I get the chance.
You will never see me replay crap titles like Dungeon Lords, Silent Storm, or so many of the other games that were rushed into production and put on the shelf with a fancy box only to contain a shallow and quite boring game that is far from "polished".
The point is, the games that held my attention for being high-quality with a good replayability factor are STILL holding my attention. How many newer games live up to the precedents that the old classics set so many years ago?
Great hardware. I worked with those when I was in Korea. They're solid pieces of equipment, not likely to break, and they do their job very well.
We got the new stuff in later in the year, by Agilent Technologies. They push the 5Hz to 26.5GHz range, I believe, with comparable or better in other areas. I've still got an Agilent where I am now, it's just tuned to our specific band instead of having that ultra-wide range that I'm used to. No more listening to Radio or getting TV broadcasts:( I guess at upwards of $26000 US new, they wanted to cut down on the expenses a little bit. Can't say I blame them there!
http://www.agilent.com/
It's much easier to remember your thumb or forefinger than it is to remember a 16+ character alphanumeric/special characterpassword. The military makes us have that type of password also, it can't relate to anything in your name, profile, history, or anywhere else easily accessible.
Just get a simple fingerprint scanner, make have a primary and a backup print...just in case someone severs or severely damages a finger beyond the point of recognition. They're not overly expensive and they're much more difficult to get around without lopping off the user's finger.
They make USB, PCI, and other variants that are easy to come by and relatively cheap. Isn't this really the way to go, until retinal scanners become equally inexpensive?
UMD movies wouldn't be such a bad thing if they weren't so damned expensive!
Why in the world would I pay $25 for a movie that I can only watch by myself (or inconveniently with another person) when I can spend $12 or $15 and get the DVD version which I can watch on my computer or TV, by myself or with friends.
I like using my PSP to watch movies if I'm all alone, that's how I watched Saw. However, I borrowed that movie from someone and I wouldn't have bought it for a single watch...especially not for $25. I could've gotten a UMD copy of Advent Children, but once again the price and the versatility screwed Sony out of their money.
These legislators have no idea what video games are all about. Politicians are obviously not your "average joe" for the most part. They don't go home at night and hop on their PS2/Xbox/360 and play a few rounds of Burnout to trash their online buddies. They take no pleasure in the graceful stalking of a ninja in Tenchu, or the violent stealth kill which would decapitate/eviscerate the enemy.
While parents should have a say in what their children watch/play, it does not need to be a national issue discussed and dictated by idiots who know nothing of the subject.
They believe movie fans will prefer to pay a reasonable price for a legal downloaded movie rather than risk illegally swapping a computer file that could contain viruses or be a poor quality copy of a film.
It's great to learn what to do right in a given situation.
However, a more valuable lesson is often what not to do. I can remember most vividly the things I did wrong in life where I got a spanking or yelled at...I most likely did not do them again. The same goes for most children and grown-ups alike. That's why school is a great place, you get to meet and interact with new people all the time and learn how to deal with new things. A computer program that immerses someone in a semi-realistic fashion can be, potentially, equally good.
Mistakes are an excellent teacher. I plan on letting my kids make plenty of them and learn well. I just hope that I don't have any children I don't know about (mistakes...lol).
I don't believe they'll truly make a human-esque robot until they can make it understand pain.
Sometimes a child needs to have a hand across his/her hiney to teach him. What if the bot touches a hot stove and melts the crap out of its hand - without pain it would not know the difference.
Let a robot go through that, and then they might truly begin to learn like a human being.
Maasaki Hatsumi is the last grand master of Ninjitsu, but that is not to say he is the last Ninja. Steven K. Hayes was one of his students, the first westerner to receive formal Ninja training, well before the whole 1980's Ninja boom.
While there is heavy martial arts training involved, thereis an equal amount of spiritual and mental training as well. For example, Mr. White having to dodge his padded sword to attain his next rank is a test of his senses. The "attacker" focuses his intent to hit the student and the intent is what is sensed and timed to dodge the strike. If one makes no noise, then that is the only way to know without a visual sense.
If anyone is really interested in the ways of the Ninja, check out a series by Steven K Hayes aptly named "Ninja". It is in 5 parts and explains the fundamentals of Ninjitsu. A good read for anyone casually or seriously interested.
The US military has been doing this for years. It IDs us well, as we've got all sorts of scanners that can access the plethora of information on our cards. Eventually this is going to happen, so we may as well do it sooner in order to work out the bugs more quickly.
I work with TDMA and low to SHF+ bands of frequencies on a daily basis, with multiple media of communication. It never occurred to me when my cell phone buzzed the hell out of my subwoofer (it never bothered the satellite speakers) on my home PC that TDMA was the reason. I've always disliked the cheap-o method of Multiple Access, but now I really hate it!
Well, I'm due for a new phone in a few months anyway...I'll just have to do my homework beforehand. At worst I'll just build a simple shielding around my sub and get new speaker cables with a better di-electric.
There's really nothing like pen & paper RPGs (well, aside from those who go so far as to play Live Acting RPs). Some people still frown upon them, but playing D&D or whatever doesn't make you a geek.
Creating a character that mirrors my own strengths and weaknesses, morals, thoughts, etc. makes me feel like I'm not simply playing a game; it's as if I'm playing an alternate reality of myself. In the same way that Comic Book writers create their characters and write them as an extension of themselves, I act out the part of my hero/villain/whatever.
The best quests are not the ones you can repeat, but the ones that make you think how YOU would think and choose from innumerable courses of action.
Sorry to make the impression as if I had been in the military for that long. I've only been active since 2003 actually - I was in Basic when the first US servicemembers stepped foot in Iraq for OIF 1. I've just spoken with a lot of more experienced soldiers who were around in the last decade. They gave me my stated information about the M240/M249/M60 that I didn't already know myself.
Sadly, yes the M249 has been used as a crew served weapon out here. A lot of units (including my own) had nothing larger other than a Mark 19 - and that can cause some serious collateral damage when in a populated area. When my unit deployed this time, we took with us mostly M240s for crew-serveds and a few M60s to augment the rest of the gaps where the M249s had been. We've also brought in a LOT of M14s for a long-range spotter/sniper weapon, because the M16/M4 series just doesn't have the range and accuracy, nor the heavy punch of the 7.62mm round.
Slashdot Mirror
Eh, I've been deployed to the Middle East for the last 10 months. I could definitely power a small ciy by now.
This is really a mooving story.
But seriously, it's about time people started doing things like this en masse. We waste a shitload of resources we could otherwise make use of on a daily basis (no pun intended). If this catches on and becomes more widespread across the dairy sections of the country, and perhaps the world, people will quickly start looking at how to use other resources to their advantage - how about the methane from other farm animals, or perhaps human waste passing through sewers? Admittedly most will seek profit from it, but it's really what's happening that counts, not why in this circumstance.
So they're making better progress than 3D Realms is on Duke Nukem Forever?
"[Assistant Attorney General Burton] Guidry added that the law is 'not going to curtail the free speech of anybody,' but then he used the old 'games are training kids to kill' argument. 'This is more than speech. This is truly training for violence," he said. 'You assume the character of a mass murderer. You go out and kill people as violently as you can because you score more points."
So it's not alright to play a virtual good/bad guy and kill people, but it IS alright to watch movies and TV shows that portray the same thing? Whether we're playing as a car thief murdering hookers (ah, the good times), or playing an actual portrayal of a World War 2 soldier killing Germans, it's still violent.
I, for one, grew up playing games like NARCs and Double Dragon, eventually GTA and Manhunt. The only thing that has trained me to kill is my volunteering for military service. Video games had no negative bearing on my development, in fact I'd say that letting out some aggression in a virtual manner benefitted me (and potentially others whom I may have lashed out against had I not diverted myself) in certain times of anger or depression.
Gaming is an outlet, a diversion. Some people write journals, some people drink, some people turn to other methods of distraction. Point being: everyone's got their vice. Young or old, male or female, we all need something to get away from the realities that we can't always handle head-on. Why should these politicians have a say in things that should be taken care of at the parental level? Teach kids the difference between fictional violence and real world right and wrong. Instill them with proper morals and ethics and they'll be much better off that if we just make some stupid laws prohibiting them from ever making their own decisions. Educate them. People need to stop pawning off their bad parenting to what is in video games and other media.
That raises my final question. Have any of these lawmakers actually played the games they so fervently stand against? They might actually enjoy it if they gave it a chance.
The trick is not correctly estimating yourself and your own driving prowess, but to not overestimate the people around you. Treat everyone else on the road like a complete idiot; as if they are going to make the stupidest move possible at all given times, and you will be fine.
I've driven in every situation from heavy snowfall with moderate traffic, that long boring strip between VA and PA on the interstate that hypnotizes you due to lack of changing scenery, jam-packed traffic hauling ass 15 mph over the speed limit, to pure gridlock NYC traffic.
I know what I'm capable of, and I am by no means a CART or NASCAR driver. I do realize that focusing my attention on a phone call DOES negatively affect my reactions in a given scenario. That's why if I need to make a phone call for whatever reason I keep it short, use a hands-free device - normally an earbud, I only give what bit of attention I can safely afford, and I create extra maneuvering space (cushion, as I like to call it) just in case something does happen and I need to react.
Worst case scenario: I pull off the road and finish my call before I start driving again. Accidents will happen, but if we're a little smarter about things we can minimize risk.
I must admit firstly, that I have paid a LOT of money over the last dozen-or-so years that I have been buying video games on my own. Just as far as PSOne and PS2 games combined, I have spent at least $2500 since '97...over time it really isn't that much, perhaps 1 new $50 every 2 months. That's just for PS series games though.
Factor in PC games, subscriptions for any MMOs I had played (I'm through paying per-month for the same cookie cutter crap that I can get for free or on a 1-time-buy), hardware to play said games, as well as any portables I own, and we're talking an equal or greater amount than my PlayStation collection. I was single, had disposable income (albeit not a lot in the earlier years) and got bored quickly with games.
The titles I have beaten and/or keep coming back to are, in my eyes, timeless. SoulBlade, FFTactics as well as a couple of other FF numbered series, Castlevania (particularly Simon's Quest and Symphony of the Night), Starcraft/Warcraft, Diablo 1 and 2, Day of Defeat, Medievia (a MUD http://www.medievia.com/, and more. Hell, I still own my original NES and Sega Genesis and still play some of those classics when I get the chance.
You will never see me replay crap titles like Dungeon Lords, Silent Storm, or so many of the other games that were rushed into production and put on the shelf with a fancy box only to contain a shallow and quite boring game that is far from "polished".
The point is, the games that held my attention for being high-quality with a good replayability factor are STILL holding my attention. How many newer games live up to the precedents that the old classics set so many years ago?
We like to call him "BOB" here in the desert. Short for the Bright Orange Ball.
Bob kills.
Great hardware. I worked with those when I was in Korea. They're solid pieces of equipment, not likely to break, and they do their job very well.
:( I guess at upwards of $26000 US new, they wanted to cut down on the expenses a little bit. Can't say I blame them there!
We got the new stuff in later in the year, by Agilent Technologies. They push the 5Hz to 26.5GHz range, I believe, with comparable or better in other areas. I've still got an Agilent where I am now, it's just tuned to our specific band instead of having that ultra-wide range that I'm used to. No more listening to Radio or getting TV broadcasts
http://www.agilent.com/
Wait wait...Sony intends to make more money through "E.D." ?
Sounds like Pfizer might get a run for their money.
It's much easier to remember your thumb or forefinger than it is to remember a 16+ character alphanumeric/special characterpassword. The military makes us have that type of password also, it can't relate to anything in your name, profile, history, or anywhere else easily accessible.
Just get a simple fingerprint scanner, make have a primary and a backup print...just in case someone severs or severely damages a finger beyond the point of recognition. They're not overly expensive and they're much more difficult to get around without lopping off the user's finger.
They make USB, PCI, and other variants that are easy to come by and relatively cheap. Isn't this really the way to go, until retinal scanners become equally inexpensive?
UMD movies wouldn't be such a bad thing if they weren't so damned expensive!
Why in the world would I pay $25 for a movie that I can only watch by myself (or inconveniently with another person) when I can spend $12 or $15 and get the DVD version which I can watch on my computer or TV, by myself or with friends.
I like using my PSP to watch movies if I'm all alone, that's how I watched Saw. However, I borrowed that movie from someone and I wouldn't have bought it for a single watch...especially not for $25. I could've gotten a UMD copy of Advent Children, but once again the price and the versatility screwed Sony out of their money.
These legislators have no idea what video games are all about. Politicians are obviously not your "average joe" for the most part. They don't go home at night and hop on their PS2/Xbox/360 and play a few rounds of Burnout to trash their online buddies. They take no pleasure in the graceful stalking of a ninja in Tenchu, or the violent stealth kill which would decapitate/eviscerate the enemy.
While parents should have a say in what their children watch/play, it does not need to be a national issue discussed and dictated by idiots who know nothing of the subject.
They believe movie fans will prefer to pay a reasonable price for a legal downloaded movie rather than risk illegally swapping a computer file that could contain viruses or be a poor quality copy of a film.
They are wrong.
It's great to learn what to do right in a given situation.
However, a more valuable lesson is often what not to do. I can remember most vividly the things I did wrong in life where I got a spanking or yelled at...I most likely did not do them again. The same goes for most children and grown-ups alike. That's why school is a great place, you get to meet and interact with new people all the time and learn how to deal with new things. A computer program that immerses someone in a semi-realistic fashion can be, potentially, equally good.
Mistakes are an excellent teacher. I plan on letting my kids make plenty of them and learn well. I just hope that I don't have any children I don't know about (mistakes...lol).
I don't believe they'll truly make a human-esque robot until they can make it understand pain.
Sometimes a child needs to have a hand across his/her hiney to teach him. What if the bot touches a hot stove and melts the crap out of its hand - without pain it would not know the difference.
Let a robot go through that, and then they might truly begin to learn like a human being.
Cat VI. Slashdot reader
Maasaki Hatsumi is the last grand master of Ninjitsu, but that is not to say he is the last Ninja. Steven K. Hayes was one of his students, the first westerner to receive formal Ninja training, well before the whole 1980's Ninja boom.
While there is heavy martial arts training involved, thereis an equal amount of spiritual and mental training as well. For example, Mr. White having to dodge his padded sword to attain his next rank is a test of his senses. The "attacker" focuses his intent to hit the student and the intent is what is sensed and timed to dodge the strike. If one makes no noise, then that is the only way to know without a visual sense.
If anyone is really interested in the ways of the Ninja, check out a series by Steven K Hayes aptly named "Ninja". It is in 5 parts and explains the fundamentals of Ninjitsu. A good read for anyone casually or seriously interested.
At least they didn't think of some stupid name like "Dolphin" ...
Oh wait, they already threw that one out the window.
The US military has been doing this for years. It IDs us well, as we've got all sorts of scanners that can access the plethora of information on our cards. Eventually this is going to happen, so we may as well do it sooner in order to work out the bugs more quickly.
I work with TDMA and low to SHF+ bands of frequencies on a daily basis, with multiple media of communication. It never occurred to me when my cell phone buzzed the hell out of my subwoofer (it never bothered the satellite speakers) on my home PC that TDMA was the reason. I've always disliked the cheap-o method of Multiple Access, but now I really hate it!
Well, I'm due for a new phone in a few months anyway...I'll just have to do my homework beforehand. At worst I'll just build a simple shielding around my sub and get new speaker cables with a better di-electric.
Man I feel dumb for not thinking of this earlier.
It's not unusual for people to want to pass of their responsibilities to others. Parents are no different.
:(
Just because someone has responsibilities, does not make them responsible in any fashion.
Sad but true
Normally I look for the ability to make my enemies into as many small, bloody chunks as possible.
Now what I specifically don't want to see is the word "Microsoft".
((Off Topic))
:)
It's Jim Beam, not Bean
I should know, I'm a drunk.
There's really nothing like pen & paper RPGs (well, aside from those who go so far as to play Live Acting RPs). Some people still frown upon them, but playing D&D or whatever doesn't make you a geek.
Creating a character that mirrors my own strengths and weaknesses, morals, thoughts, etc. makes me feel like I'm not simply playing a game; it's as if I'm playing an alternate reality of myself. In the same way that Comic Book writers create their characters and write them as an extension of themselves, I act out the part of my hero/villain/whatever.
The best quests are not the ones you can repeat, but the ones that make you think how YOU would think and choose from innumerable courses of action.
Sorry to make the impression as if I had been in the military for that long. I've only been active since 2003 actually - I was in Basic when the first US servicemembers stepped foot in Iraq for OIF 1. I've just spoken with a lot of more experienced soldiers who were around in the last decade. They gave me my stated information about the M240/M249/M60 that I didn't already know myself.
Sadly, yes the M249 has been used as a crew served weapon out here. A lot of units (including my own) had nothing larger other than a Mark 19 - and that can cause some serious collateral damage when in a populated area. When my unit deployed this time, we took with us mostly M240s for crew-serveds and a few M60s to augment the rest of the gaps where the M249s had been. We've also brought in a LOT of M14s for a long-range spotter/sniper weapon, because the M16/M4 series just doesn't have the range and accuracy, nor the heavy punch of the 7.62mm round.