And I guess legitimate drug retailers could make a taxable profit.
Not to mention that you wouldn't be send to jail, get a record, and/or lose your job over possession of user amounts.
People are always looking for The Explanation to various problems, troubles and ailments. So it is easy to blame vaccines for causing Autism; instead of accepting that it could perhaps be a multitude causes behind it.
For instance, as an example, no one fully understand the accumulated effects of all the pollution we pump into the air, the toxins we dump into the ocean, and rivers, and the additives and preservatives added to food and drinks. Various chemicals could by themselves be harmless, or even of benefit to society, but combine variations together in a person at random (especially children) and the effects are unknown. Perhaps it's not the cause of anything, perhaps it is; all I know is that very little substantial research is being done. And the sentiment presented by manufacturers and retailers seem to be; "If you don't die at once; it's not a poison. Besides you're all just a bunch of doom saying crybabies."
Personally I try never to form a convolution based upon a lack of evidence, however in these cases there seem to be almost fundamentalist zeal in ignoring or suppressing any research and trials to document fully the effects of Everything for an extensive amount of time (enough time to make a rational conclusion one way or the other).
..it is your responsibility as a parent to not go off half-cocked and to make extremely sure that you have all the facts before you make a decision regarding the welfare of your child.
Parents should not make decisions concerning their offspring. All children belongs to The Glorious Peoples Republic! Making decisions about your child is anti-social and a betrayal of The Party!
Instead what needs to happen is for all of the major countries of the world (including Russia and China) to start cooperating and prosecuting computer fraud where people misrepresent themselves to steal information and use it for personal gain.
Part of that particular problem is that some of those that misrepresent themselves to steal information works for various governments targeting other governments. So from side of the issue they might want to deal with the problem, but from another they want to use the situation to their advantage.
Why do people keep going on about the 'iTunes lock-in'?
I've had my iPod for about one and a half years now. Tried iTunes once (at the start) didn't like it much so I switched to Winamp; works like a charm. Though all my music is bought on CD and converted to mp3; this because I go into town and buy almost all of my music at a store. What can I say I like supporting local businesses.
Only problem I've had with my iPod is that apparently to listen to an audiobook through the built-in audiobook fuction (and not just as "normal" mp3 files) I have to purchase the book throgh iTunes; which sucks. Beyond that, no problem.
Competing for jobs is good. However when the number of people that need jobs far exceeds the number of jobs available you get an economic and social situation that is unbearable for many; especially when you got a family to provide for.
There are those that bitch and moan with little reason to, but there are also those that spend all day (and all night sometimes) looking for work with no success. And a large group of unemployed creates an environment of frustration and aggression that could lead honest people down a path of crime. Desperate times requires desperate measures; if the choice is between eating and not eating sooner or later you don't care what you have to do to get what you need to survive.
But none of them is a key member./quote Which makes it more understandable why they want to withdraw. All members are equal, but some members are more equal than others.
I really think the EU needs to change. They either need to go all the way, become a unified nation fully, or they need to scale back, and basically become a trading bloc. This "We're a European government but not really and you don't get to elect us," is just bad news IMO.
There is strong sentiment within several of the member states of the EU to withdraw from the organization. The European Parliament and Commission is seen, by many, as weak and/or corrupt (depending on who you ask); and the rest don't really know who they are or what they do.
The Governments of England, France and Germany do not wish to give away more of their own sovereignty or power, yet they wish to maintain or increase their influence upon the management and direction of the EU itself. At the same time as they want to remain as much a part from it as possible. If the EU were to become a proper union it would drastically reduce the power of some of the founding states, while increasing the influence of economically weaker nations (such as Poland).
Cultural, economical and political factors ensure that the EU as it stands today will never become a Union and if the governing body of the EU tried to do anything that seemed to pull towards such a scenario the Union would dissolve in a heart beat. It has no military power, and none of the member states wish to give their military, or security, forces over to EU control. Not to mention the fact that some member states are a member of NATO while others are not.
In practical terms as it today the EU drafts various trade laws that it tries to enforce upon weaker nations while the stronger nations decide if they want to implement, ignore, claim to lack the resources to implement, really lack the resources to implement or simply decide that it is not in their best interest to implement.
Then there is the EEA (European Economic Area) which binds the signing Nations to parts of the EU laws. EEA is the members of EU and Iceland, Lichtenstein and Norway. Oh and Switzerland isn't part of the EEA because they got a special deal with the EU (since their constitution requires them to vote upon ever part of the "Deal" offered by EU membership). These nations gets free trade within the EU (kinda, but not really); but they have to follow parts of EU law (those outside the EU gets no say or influence upon those laws).
If you are confused by any of this, or don't get how this really is supposed to work in practice; then don't worry; most of us Europeans don't get it either. For the most part we refuse or neglect to do any sort of personal research on the subject; much rather we listen to our own national politicians who have a real self interest (as I mentioned earlier) in keeping what power they have within their own Nation.
I was going to buy GTA IV, but now I am not. Makes me sad, but SecruROM just keeps annoying me more and more; so now I have arrived at the point were I automatically boycott any game with that DRM system. No way am I going to risk damage to my system, or losing my projects (even though I have them backed up; losing what I have on the computer will still set me back at least a few days or more).
Up to this point I have purchased games, downloaded them from the internet, and then played the "pirated version" just so I could get around installing SecurROM on my computer. But I guess it is time to man up and just stop playing games with that system altogether. Also I am trying to inform my mates about these issues, though they are already pretty much on the same page as me. This system is draconian and pretty much customer hating. It is easier and far less risky (for your computer) to get a pirated version of games with SecurROM; which is just wrong for so many different reason.
Bottom line: SecurROM DOSNT FUCKING WORK! It does NOT make it impossible to pirate or to play pirated games. Therefore it does not fulfilled it's designed function. It does however make life miserable for people that have bought the game legally. Biggest rip-off scheme since Microsoft proposed Virtual Stamps for emails.
Except that aim doesn't do anything. It is completely based on stats.
That is in fact wrong. While stats greatly increases accuracy and damage I can still aim with my Cross-hair and hit my target (even with low skill). Not only that but if you unload a shotgun at close range into the head of a raider his/her head does come off.
And of course the fact that I am doing it proves that it can be done, claiming that aiming doesn't work is clearly wrong.
he only ones I can think of where you don't use VATS are
* very easy foes (radroaches after you reached a certain level, for example)
* whenever you don't have any action points left but don't want/can't wait. In that case, and here I might be mistaken, your luck (the game stat) plays a bigger role in whether you'll hit or not than during VATS events where your skills are more important.
Personally I play on hardest difficulty setting (on a computer) and I often don't use VAT. Of course I realize that using VAT gives me a huge advantage; but for the most part I don't really need it. I have plenty of ammo and after years of Doom, Quake, Quake II, Quake III, Team Fortress, Team Fortress 2, Counter Strike and etc I have learned to aim and shoot pretty quick. Of course I am a bit of a walking armoury, but for the most part I use Hunting Rifle (or later Lincoln Rife), Chinese Assault Rifle and Combat Shootgun. As I said aiming and killing mobs without VAT, even on hardest, isn't that hard; but it does provide a bit more of a challenge.
No to DLC. Since nearly all of it for Oblivion sucked horribly, I don't think anyone familiar with that game will be buying any for Fallout 3.
First of all; if you don't like the DLC then Do Not Buy It. If Bethesda want to release DLC perhaps it sucks, perhaps not, extremely hard to predict I would say. Personally I didn't like Oblivion at all, so based on that personal opinion I would perhaps be predisposed to not buying Fallout 3; however I did; and enjoying it immensely (even after playing through it once). I expect there will be some reviews of the DLC when it arrives so you can read up on it before deciding if you want it. Saying that since you didn't like some totally different stuff released for another game earlier than the stuff released for this game will be crap is pretty ignorant.
I for one welcome our sweetness based Overlords! Their Vanguard the "Hello Kitty" have already spread their tendrils throughout society and Earth is now ready for the the invasion!
Hail our new Sweetness in chief!
Re:Halfway through the book, and ...
on
Anathem
·
· Score: 4, Insightful
Forthed I guess.
Found Anathem to be one of his best and deepest books so far. While I thoroughly enjoy Snow Crash and Diamond Age; Anathem, and the Baroque Cycle, is simply another type of fiction entirely. More like the Baroque Cycle,a series of novels (in his own words), than his other works.
Where perhaps his earlier works where a bit more action oriented; Snow Crash being a good example of a story mainly oriented towards action. Interface and Diamond Age go slightly deeper, but in Cryptonomicon things changes dramatically. At that point the action begins to take a back seat to exploration of intellectual ideas and concepts (cryptography, computer science, astronomy, philosophy and others).
Anathem becomes, in parts, almost like a primer for contemplation of time and long term thinking; interwoven with a story that I personally found quite interesting and enjoyable. Neal Stephenson knows how to write well, explain things in an understandable fashion, and craft believable characters; even those in minor roles.
Having read Anathem once and looking back upon the story, and sometimes the way it was written, and keeping the ideas and concepts introduced in the book in mind; things become clearer that were perhaps a bit obfuscated before.
All in all a very good read, but perhaps not for everyone.
Well if this incarnation of the technology is actually of practical use I can not say. But if the concept can be modified, refined, and become more efficient I am sure the potential field of use is pretty huge.
Can a battery driven version be designed for use aboard life-rafts (as was suggested earlier)?
Can it replace dragging along quantities of water on hiking/climbing trips? Or have some similar practical application for the military?
I am sure I could discover a few more alternatives, and probably will a few minutes after submitting this post; but the point is that I think it early to criticize the technology based upon insufficient data of an early incarnation of the concept.
Well I am sure Microsoft is eager to try and milk the product a bit more, as I understand it Vista didn't sell nearly as well as they had hoped. If they could get about the same number of sales on a repacking of the product (sold at max price) they'll get a few more dollars in the bank before they cease producing Operating Systems.
Why a consumer would actually pay for it is another matter.
Try installing Vista or XP on a computer that is already running Ubuntu with DualBoot; then you get to see some real fireworks (or total lack thereof). Last time after trying that with XP I had to proper format my entire HD and start from scratch. Installing Ubuntu on a machine with XP; painless. Installing XP on a machine with Ubuntu; pain. My experience anyway.
To quote the pointy haired boss "Work smarter not harder".
Personally I'll stick with Homer Simpson's motto: "If something is hard to do, then it is not worth doing." Which is my rule regarding installing new Microsoft Operating Systems.
Just to throw out one more gem; "If it isn't broken it doesn't have enough features yet." Which seems to be Microsoft's golden rule.
What the telco really means is that it wants no competition.
Isn't the entire idea behind a free market to that there should be competition? And if a city/county want a service that isn't available then creating that service for themselves seems like a good idea. Personally I think this type of behaviour from a company, doing things that is definitely not in the interest of the customer and the citizens; should be penalized.
Slashdot Mirror
And I guess legitimate drug retailers could make a taxable profit. Not to mention that you wouldn't be send to jail, get a record, and/or lose your job over possession of user amounts.
People are always looking for The Explanation to various problems, troubles and ailments. So it is easy to blame vaccines for causing Autism; instead of accepting that it could perhaps be a multitude causes behind it.
For instance, as an example, no one fully understand the accumulated effects of all the pollution we pump into the air, the toxins we dump into the ocean, and rivers, and the additives and preservatives added to food and drinks. Various chemicals could by themselves be harmless, or even of benefit to society, but combine variations together in a person at random (especially children) and the effects are unknown. Perhaps it's not the cause of anything, perhaps it is; all I know is that very little substantial research is being done. And the sentiment presented by manufacturers and retailers seem to be; "If you don't die at once; it's not a poison. Besides you're all just a bunch of doom saying crybabies."
Personally I try never to form a convolution based upon a lack of evidence, however in these cases there seem to be almost fundamentalist zeal in ignoring or suppressing any research and trials to document fully the effects of Everything for an extensive amount of time (enough time to make a rational conclusion one way or the other).
Basic point is, question everything. As a specie we have a tendency to use, abuse, package and sell all kinds of stuff that we don't fully comprehend yet. Like radioactive toothpaste being marketed as extra healthy.
..it is your responsibility as a parent to not go off half-cocked and to make extremely sure that you have all the facts before you make a decision regarding the welfare of your child.
Parents should not make decisions concerning their offspring. All children belongs to The Glorious Peoples Republic! Making decisions about your child is anti-social and a betrayal of The Party!
Instead what needs to happen is for all of the major countries of the world (including Russia and China) to start cooperating and prosecuting computer fraud where people misrepresent themselves to steal information and use it for personal gain.
Part of that particular problem is that some of those that misrepresent themselves to steal information works for various governments targeting other governments. So from side of the issue they might want to deal with the problem, but from another they want to use the situation to their advantage.
I though that This Development essentially made this a none issue? Am I missing something?
There is still so much to learn about the universe.
Nuhu! That is blasphemy! All the answer are right there in the book! Smart Girl's Guide to Manners
Why do people keep going on about the 'iTunes lock-in'?
I've had my iPod for about one and a half years now. Tried iTunes once (at the start) didn't like it much so I switched to Winamp; works like a charm. Though all my music is bought on CD and converted to mp3; this because I go into town and buy almost all of my music at a store. What can I say I like supporting local businesses.
Only problem I've had with my iPod is that apparently to listen to an audiobook through the built-in audiobook fuction (and not just as "normal" mp3 files) I have to purchase the book throgh iTunes; which sucks. Beyond that, no problem.
All I am saying is that if this in anyway steals resources from my computer while I am playing computer games there will be hell to pay!
What do you mean we have to 'compete' for jobs ?
Competing for jobs is good. However when the number of people that need jobs far exceeds the number of jobs available you get an economic and social situation that is unbearable for many; especially when you got a family to provide for.
There are those that bitch and moan with little reason to, but there are also those that spend all day (and all night sometimes) looking for work with no success. And a large group of unemployed creates an environment of frustration and aggression that could lead honest people down a path of crime. Desperate times requires desperate measures; if the choice is between eating and not eating sooner or later you don't care what you have to do to get what you need to survive.
Greatly increased profit in the armaments industry though. So at least that is something.
But none of them is a key member./quote Which makes it more understandable why they want to withdraw. All members are equal, but some members are more equal than others.
I really think the EU needs to change. They either need to go all the way, become a unified nation fully, or they need to scale back, and basically become a trading bloc. This "We're a European government but not really and you don't get to elect us," is just bad news IMO.
There is strong sentiment within several of the member states of the EU to withdraw from the organization. The European Parliament and Commission is seen, by many, as weak and/or corrupt (depending on who you ask); and the rest don't really know who they are or what they do.
The Governments of England, France and Germany do not wish to give away more of their own sovereignty or power, yet they wish to maintain or increase their influence upon the management and direction of the EU itself. At the same time as they want to remain as much a part from it as possible. If the EU were to become a proper union it would drastically reduce the power of some of the founding states, while increasing the influence of economically weaker nations (such as Poland).
Cultural, economical and political factors ensure that the EU as it stands today will never become a Union and if the governing body of the EU tried to do anything that seemed to pull towards such a scenario the Union would dissolve in a heart beat. It has no military power, and none of the member states wish to give their military, or security, forces over to EU control. Not to mention the fact that some member states are a member of NATO while others are not.
In practical terms as it today the EU drafts various trade laws that it tries to enforce upon weaker nations while the stronger nations decide if they want to implement, ignore, claim to lack the resources to implement, really lack the resources to implement or simply decide that it is not in their best interest to implement.
Then there is the EEA (European Economic Area) which binds the signing Nations to parts of the EU laws. EEA is the members of EU and Iceland, Lichtenstein and Norway. Oh and Switzerland isn't part of the EEA because they got a special deal with the EU (since their constitution requires them to vote upon ever part of the "Deal" offered by EU membership). These nations gets free trade within the EU (kinda, but not really); but they have to follow parts of EU law (those outside the EU gets no say or influence upon those laws).
If you are confused by any of this, or don't get how this really is supposed to work in practice; then don't worry; most of us Europeans don't get it either. For the most part we refuse or neglect to do any sort of personal research on the subject; much rather we listen to our own national politicians who have a real self interest (as I mentioned earlier) in keeping what power they have within their own Nation.
I was going to buy GTA IV, but now I am not. Makes me sad, but SecruROM just keeps annoying me more and more; so now I have arrived at the point were I automatically boycott any game with that DRM system. No way am I going to risk damage to my system, or losing my projects (even though I have them backed up; losing what I have on the computer will still set me back at least a few days or more).
Up to this point I have purchased games, downloaded them from the internet, and then played the "pirated version" just so I could get around installing SecurROM on my computer. But I guess it is time to man up and just stop playing games with that system altogether. Also I am trying to inform my mates about these issues, though they are already pretty much on the same page as me. This system is draconian and pretty much customer hating. It is easier and far less risky (for your computer) to get a pirated version of games with SecurROM; which is just wrong for so many different reason.
Bottom line: SecurROM DOSNT FUCKING WORK! It does NOT make it impossible to pirate or to play pirated games. Therefore it does not fulfilled it's designed function. It does however make life miserable for people that have bought the game legally. Biggest rip-off scheme since Microsoft proposed Virtual Stamps for emails.
Except that aim doesn't do anything. It is completely based on stats.
That is in fact wrong. While stats greatly increases accuracy and damage I can still aim with my Cross-hair and hit my target (even with low skill). Not only that but if you unload a shotgun at close range into the head of a raider his/her head does come off.
And of course the fact that I am doing it proves that it can be done, claiming that aiming doesn't work is clearly wrong.
he only ones I can think of where you don't use VATS are
* very easy foes (radroaches after you reached a certain level, for example)
* whenever you don't have any action points left but don't want/can't wait. In that case, and here I might be mistaken, your luck (the game stat) plays a bigger role in whether you'll hit or not than during VATS events where your skills are more important.
Personally I play on hardest difficulty setting (on a computer) and I often don't use VAT. Of course I realize that using VAT gives me a huge advantage; but for the most part I don't really need it. I have plenty of ammo and after years of Doom, Quake, Quake II, Quake III, Team Fortress, Team Fortress 2, Counter Strike and etc I have learned to aim and shoot pretty quick. Of course I am a bit of a walking armoury, but for the most part I use Hunting Rifle (or later Lincoln Rife), Chinese Assault Rifle and Combat Shootgun. As I said aiming and killing mobs without VAT, even on hardest, isn't that hard; but it does provide a bit more of a challenge.
No to DLC. Since nearly all of it for Oblivion sucked horribly, I don't think anyone familiar with that game will be buying any for Fallout 3.
First of all; if you don't like the DLC then Do Not Buy It. If Bethesda want to release DLC perhaps it sucks, perhaps not, extremely hard to predict I would say. Personally I didn't like Oblivion at all, so based on that personal opinion I would perhaps be predisposed to not buying Fallout 3; however I did; and enjoying it immensely (even after playing through it once). I expect there will be some reviews of the DLC when it arrives so you can read up on it before deciding if you want it. Saying that since you didn't like some totally different stuff released for another game earlier than the stuff released for this game will be crap is pretty ignorant.
I for one welcome our sweetness based Overlords! Their Vanguard the "Hello Kitty" have already spread their tendrils throughout society and Earth is now ready for the the invasion!
Hail our new Sweetness in chief!
Forthed I guess.
Found Anathem to be one of his best and deepest books so far. While I thoroughly enjoy Snow Crash and Diamond Age; Anathem, and the Baroque Cycle, is simply another type of fiction entirely. More like the Baroque Cycle,a series of novels (in his own words), than his other works.
Where perhaps his earlier works where a bit more action oriented; Snow Crash being a good example of a story mainly oriented towards action. Interface and Diamond Age go slightly deeper, but in Cryptonomicon things changes dramatically. At that point the action begins to take a back seat to exploration of intellectual ideas and concepts (cryptography, computer science, astronomy, philosophy and others).
Anathem becomes, in parts, almost like a primer for contemplation of time and long term thinking; interwoven with a story that I personally found quite interesting and enjoyable. Neal Stephenson knows how to write well, explain things in an understandable fashion, and craft believable characters; even those in minor roles.
Having read Anathem once and looking back upon the story, and sometimes the way it was written, and keeping the ideas and concepts introduced in the book in mind; things become clearer that were perhaps a bit obfuscated before.
All in all a very good read, but perhaps not for everyone.
Well if this incarnation of the technology is actually of practical use I can not say. But if the concept can be modified, refined, and become more efficient I am sure the potential field of use is pretty huge.
Can a battery driven version be designed for use aboard life-rafts (as was suggested earlier)?
Can it replace dragging along quantities of water on hiking/climbing trips? Or have some similar practical application for the military?
I am sure I could discover a few more alternatives, and probably will a few minutes after submitting this post; but the point is that I think it early to criticize the technology based upon insufficient data of an early incarnation of the concept.
I for one welcome our new solar powered Overlords!
Well I am sure Microsoft is eager to try and milk the product a bit more, as I understand it Vista didn't sell nearly as well as they had hoped. If they could get about the same number of sales on a repacking of the product (sold at max price) they'll get a few more dollars in the bank before they cease producing Operating Systems.
Why a consumer would actually pay for it is another matter.
Try installing Vista or XP on a computer that is already running Ubuntu with DualBoot; then you get to see some real fireworks (or total lack thereof). Last time after trying that with XP I had to proper format my entire HD and start from scratch. Installing Ubuntu on a machine with XP; painless. Installing XP on a machine with Ubuntu; pain. My experience anyway.
To quote the pointy haired boss "Work smarter not harder".
Personally I'll stick with Homer Simpson's motto: "If something is hard to do, then it is not worth doing." Which is my rule regarding installing new Microsoft Operating Systems.
Just to throw out one more gem; "If it isn't broken it doesn't have enough features yet." Which seems to be Microsoft's golden rule.
What the telco really means is that it wants no competition.
Isn't the entire idea behind a free market to that there should be competition? And if a city/county want a service that isn't available then creating that service for themselves seems like a good idea. Personally I think this type of behaviour from a company, doing things that is definitely not in the interest of the customer and the citizens; should be penalized.
Well posting this on slashdot should ensure that their servers get a proper stress-test.