For those who believe in the Flying Spaghetti Monster, Pirates are considered divine beings and the decrease in the number of pirates in the word (acording to followers of the FSM) id the true cause of global warming. Ergo, this can be seen as religious persecution!
This, of course, is a religious view which I will neither refute nor defend in this forum.
Actually, I believe that your statement "... not all Stradivarius violins have the sound..." may support the wood hypothesis, not refute it.
The ideal test (if possible) would be to obtain several Stradivarius violins, have them categorised by top-notch professionals as "have" or "not have" with regard to "the sound", and then compare them.
A reasonable (though maybe not accurate) "assumption" would be that the varnish is identical on all of the sample violins. That way, the only variable to be examined would be the structure of the wood. That would, in short order, either refute or support the "wood" hypothesis.
This move, IMHO, has at least three major drivers:
1. Continuous revenue stream (as noted before). They know that a certain percentage will stay with them no matter what, especially businesses. They'll most likely offer reduced-per-copy licenses for corporations to keep Office as the standard.
2. "Forced" upgrades. Remember, every person who is using an older version of Office is keeping an older file format alive. That older file format being out there gives Open Source applications more time to be compatible, thus deluting MS's hold on the "Office" market.
3. "Bragging rights" What? Yes. Just like Vista's supposed sales popularity (because MS forced OEMs to install only Vista after a certain date) has been used to tout Vista as being wildly successful (even though every person I know who has ever used Vista _hates_ it), I strongly suspect that this will also be used to brag about how the new version of "Office" is so "popular" and so much "better", in an attempt to FUD about Open Office and other free applications that can do the essentials.
Because so many companies are convinced that "Office" is the only way to go, I am afraid that this will work.
As a university professor, I've already started insisting that students not use Office 2007's docx format. It's easy enough for me, because I tell them if I can't read it, I can't grade it. Once newer versions of office can't produce backward-compatible formats, I'll insist on PDFs or other open formats. I'm only one professor, but I suspect that I will not be alone in this. Beside, our university actively encourages the use of Open Office. Once I find a version that actually works on OS X (instead of crashes all of the time) I'll encourage the use of Open Office with my students, too.
I don't know what happened to my first response, so I'm going to try again.
I suspect that our differences of opinion in this matter may be the result of our different environments, and also due to an error in my thinking.
First, the error in my thinking: I only teach graduate students. An Anonymous poster (below) correctly pointed out to me that many excellent texts have been written by authors with only a Master's degree. I gladly concede that point, admitting that my own somewhat myoptic view of the situation is due to the fact that I only teach graduate students.
And now, the differences in our environments: I suspect that Ireland has much greater acceptance of "self-learning" and and "alternate education" than the USA. I know that some British universities (and I know, Ireland is a separate nation, but there was a strong influence for quite some time so I suspect your university systems may be similar) will award a degree based solely on the submission of a thesis. Personally, I like that system if you can validate to a reasonable degree that the person submitting the thesis actually wrote the thesis.
However, the USA (where I live and work) is much more concerned with accreditation of universities and degrees. For all of its other faults, for example, Bob Jones University (no, I do NOT work there, nor have I even ever set foot on their campus) offers a very good education in many fields (their nursing program graduates are highly desired by local hospitals) but they are not accredited. That makes it difficult for BJU graduates to find jobs outside of the area of the university.
This is a real issue for most people seeking a university education in the USA. When that is combined with the myriad "diploma mills" that pollute the educational "waters" in the USA, we find ourselves in an enviroment that is hostile to the forward-thinking methods that you suggest.
I am going to send you an email message from my university account to discuss this project in greater detail. For those of you who have volunteered so far (one Chemistry Ph.D. student/candidate so far), or who wish to volunteer, I am sure you will be able to figure out my email address by clicking on my name and looking at my "url". Please contact me.
I am going to discuss this matter with the dean of my department. I don't think it will go very far, but I will try.
If anyone knows about setting up a Wiki and has the server hardware and bandwidth to spare, please, please contact me. Despite one naysayer, I think we have the potential amongst the good folks here on Slashdot to make a difference in ways beyond writing outstanding free software.
Thank you for giving me the benefit of the doubt, and I will concede the point since your argument is valid and well-made.
You are quite correct in that many excellent "University-grade" textbooks have been written by authors with only a master's degree. The unfortunate bias that I have shown in this regard most likely stems from the fact that I only teach graduate students, and that has skewed my view of the academic environment.
Yes, that is a valid point, and, in fact, since at least my primary desire in this effort would be to help a large number of students, I will gladly concede your point.
Again, I normally only teach graduate students, so I my view on these matters may be a bit skewed.
Also, this is _why_ I put this idea out to "the community". I know that my view may not be entirely accurate since I am only one person.
I will freely admit that I have never written a textbook.
However, many members of the Slashdot community have put in several collective years of effort required to produce many excellent software packages just for the love of the project or to meet a need. So, yes, they often do it for the "warm fuzzy feeling" it gives them.
So, I do not think this is entirely unrealistic.
You, of course, are free to participate or not to participate, at your option.
We know about the http://www.opentextbook.org/ initiative. I can't see anything on their site about how they validate the textbooks. It's easy enough with books that are published by existing publishers, but what if you want to write an open textbook?
One of the things that makes a textbook an acceptable reference in research is that it is peer-reviewed. That peer-review has the benefit of checking for errors as well as giving some assurance that the content is correct. I'd hate to buy a maths book that messed up how to do a derivative.
We need the peer-review if these books are ever going to be taken seriously. This is a not a radical idea. It is, in many ways, a return to the past when academic ideas where exchanged freely.
What I would suggest is that those of us with Ph.D.'s in our fields set up some sort of agreement to review each other's "open source" texts under a few conditions (negotiable, of course).
One of those should be that if I'm going to review the textbook for free that the textbook itself should be available in a usable form for free or nearly free Download the pdf for free or for some very small amount to help offset hosting costs. There is no reason an electronic copy of a textbook should cost $90.
A second condition, courtesy, would be to mention the reviewers.
A third would be to include some blurb in the text about the whole open textbook thing and why the textbook was published at so little cost, etc. In other words, spread the word.
Printing costs money, and that is understandable. Lulu, and other services, offer on-demand printing. The OWASP project offer their materials via Lulu at cost, and free for electronic download.
I know there are many Slashdot readers who have Ph.D.'s in their fields. I also know that there are many who will be offended by my mentioning the Ph.D. or other doctoral degree as a qualification, but if we want these texts to be taken seriously in universities, then they need to follow the criteria that universities use when assessing textbooks. Sorry. If it is going to be taken seriously, then at least the "lead" author needs to have the degree or be someone very, very famous in the field (such as Bruce Schneier).
I'm going to contact the Open Textbook people, but I'd like to see who here in the Slashdot community would be willing to put in some time to see something like this work. Here's a chance to fight back in a way that is legal, ethical, and just may work.
There are plenty of people on Slashdot who are more than adequately qualified to write university-grade textbooks on various subjects.
I'm sure some people are going to flame me for this. It was not my intent to offend anyone. I am an adjunct professor, so I am somewhat familiar with how textbooks are evaluated and selected.
I think we can make a difference here, just like the OSS community have made a difference in software.
I find it amusing that the CAPTCHA for this post is "computes".
Series 1 "Aliens in London" or "World War Three". I don't remember which - but it was the "alien" created by the Slitheen to pilot the ship into Big Ben. Not a hybrid, but more of an anthromorphosed pig.
Series 3 "Daleks in Manhattan" and "Evolution of the Daleks", the "Pig-slaves", which were genetically modified humans, altered by the Daleks (specifically the Cult of Skaro) for use in the their (failed) plan to take over the Earth.
The "Not for Individual Sale" has to do with FDA regulations. Packaged food products sold in the USA are required to have certain information on the label, including, but not limited to, nutritional information and information about how to request a refund.
Those individual Reese cups do not have the nutrition information on the packages, and thus are not to be sold individually in the USA.
There are certain other types of products (health and beauty aids as well as medications) that fall under this general rubric as well. There are certain requirements on the labels that are needed to permit the sale of an individual package.
I find it curious that some stores where I live will sell individual cigarettes at a cost that is clearly about twice what the proportionate price from the pack would be. I have often wondered if that was illegal due to the Surgeon General's Warning required to be on all tobacco product packages.
Senator Obama is starting to seem way too much like Harold Saxon.
Promising change. Was essentially "nobody" (come on - 1st term Senator?) prior to the current election cycle. Has a nearly irrational following, seeming to mesmerize the people.
If he makes any announcements about first contact with an alien species after he's elected, we know we're in deep trouble.
I believe that your conclusion is correct, but for entirely the wrong reason.
These "analysts" believe that they are smarter than the majority of the population, which is why their opinions (a.k.a. "analyses") are valuable and they are paid to provide them.
Since they are (supposedly) so smart, they should know what is best.
I strongly suspect, in contradiction to your implication, that they all use Sony Vaios. Since they're so smart, they obviously picked the best technology, and if they use Sony Vaios, then anyone else using a Sony Vaio is clearly using the "best technology available".
So, I suspect it would be clear to the Slashdot crowd that these "analysts" know very little about technology, but for the opposite reason that you have cited.
Mod parent up!
on
Terminal Chaos
·
· Score: 2, Informative
I have to agree.
I've flown in Europe and Asia as well as here in the USA, and I have to say that it's the worst in the USA.
US: Four hour flight - peanuts and a diet coke.
In the UK I had a flight delayed due to a medical emergency on the plane that was going to be the plane for my flight back to the USA. I don't know if it was the airline or the airport, but either way all of the passengers were given a good-sized voucher for a meal. I was stuffed and not at all thirsty and still had "money" left on the voucher, so it clearly covered that need nicely.
Japan: connecting flight was late. When you are landing from an international flight it doesn't matter if you're just leaving Japan again, you still need to go through security to board another plane. They set up two separate security queues for us to make sure we made our connecting flight to China.
China: Only ever had two delays, one was about 30 minutes with an reason and the other was a couple of hours - no reason needed - the storm was obvious. Two hour flight that happened to be over lunch time - full meal (and quite good, actually - China Southern Airlines). Four hour flight near dinner - full meal again. Both flights had two rounds of drinks and snacks.
The USA's airlines can learn a few things from other nations' airlines.
The problem with your ".isgay" TLD is that it can go both ways, just like Captain Jack. (Yes, pun intended - it was way too easy.)
Either way, there's profit...
To some, having a "myname".isgay would be horrible, and they would pay to have it removed or to take ownership from it and make it look like it isn't real.
To others (e.g. Captain Jack) it would be a badge of honour and thus subject to the same domain-squatting issues as other "desirable" domain names.
Two different media... and I would go one step past that and suggest two different types of media.
If it's that important, multiple backup copies stored in different places is a good idea.
Also, in my opinion, one of those types of media should be DVD, but not DVD for data, DVD for your DVD player. This is nearly a trivial exercise with OS X, and I'm sure there's software for Linux and Windows that can do it just as easily.
Here is my reasoning:
Can you still buy a cassette player and even recorder in a store? Sure. Can you buy a cassette data drive for a computer? No. (If you can, I'd be very surprised.)
The Video DVD is not going away any time soon. You can still buy VHS players (good thing for me, because I still have many VHS tapes). I doubt that the DVD will go away before you have plenty of time to convert to the new format, whatever that may be. If you keep with the "video" DVD format, you will have something that is more likely to be supported in the future (IMHO) because of the large install base of **AA media out there. Have you noticed that just because Blu-Ray is out there and sort of the "de facto" standard for the new high-def format that good-old-fashioned DVDs have not vanished? New movies are still coming out on DVD.
Yes, video DVD is not as efficient as data DVD because you can't compress the data as much, but it will remain a viable format for a long time, and it has the benefit of being a format that a non-tech-saavy relative can use. I am not aware of too many people who can't manage to use a DVD player. I know plenty who can't manage even to play a video DVD on a computer.
You are quite correct. It's scary, but you're right. The thing that is frightening is not the fact that there are stupid criminals, like my favourite example of the night-time purse snatcher with the light-up trainers, but that these stupid criminals who are not bright enough to use encryption will be used as "proof" that this new invasive law "works".
I am quite confident that this _will_ be abused. There is an established history of laws like this being abused, such as that anti-terrorist law that was used against that family in the UK with regard to someone thinking they were registering their kid in the wrong school or some such non-terrorist activity. I'm saddened to see this happening to Sweden, or to any other country. I'm fairly confident it's already happening here in the USA to a much wider degree than most would suspect.
There is no "seamless" encryption method that will give you enough protection. Sorry.
However, there are plenty of options if you're willing to do just a little work.
Install GPG or PGP. I use GPG because I can give it away legally to my friends who are less technically saavy and it works on Linux, OS X, and Windows.
Enigmail will integrate nicely into Mozilla's emailer and automate nearly everything once you have the person's public key. It will even notice who your recipient is and automatically pick the correct key.
There is something similar for the OS X Mail application (and I have it installed) but I don't remember the name of the application. It's not as bright as Enigmail and won't figure out who the recepient is automatically and pick the correct key.
FireGPG is a plug-in for FireFox (and it works for "Mozilla" because the web browser _is_ FireFox) that will allow you to use GPG with GMail.
I have an email account in which _all_ of the traffic is encrypted because I use these tools. I never send anything unencrypted on that account.
It's not seamless, but it's not that hard and it is not very intrusive.
I do not know if I should pity you because of your government reading your emails or if I should at least feel happy for you that they are honest enough to admit it (supposedly) before starting. Either way, I doubt things are any better here in the USA.
I find it amusing that the CAPTCHA is "incided", as in this new law inciting a riot.
I must respectfully disagree with you to some degree on this point.
I keep my phone on vibrate, but when I use my headset while driving (wired - it's too easy to listen in on Bluetooth headsets), the ringtone plays in the headset. I have certain ringtones for certain people, so it gives me the hands-free eyes-on-the-road version of caller-ID.
I will agree with not wanting to be subjected to other people's taste in music.
I find it quite amusing, given what I just typed, that the CAPTCHA is "identify".
I am all for avoiding cliches, but the "wakes up with amnesia" or variants thereupon (for example, the original Myst where you start out finding a book and having no clue beyond that) are handy to avoid (1) needing a read a long introduction, (2) having a long video introduction, or (3) needing to be somewhat familiar with the game world before even playing the game.
That particular cliche gives the writer the ability to allow the player to have little understanding of what is going on and make it fit into the story. The player learns things as the character learns or remembers them in the game.
Like anything else, it can be over done and done poorly, but I still think that specific plot device can be used well.
And as far as "saviour of the realm/planet/universe", well... I'll go along with that but again, some games are clearly fantasy. Why not "dream big"? Why not let the player save the whole planet? It's only a game!
Slashdot Mirror
The parent post neglected to clarify the reference.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flying_Spaghetti_Monster#Pirates_and_global_warming
For those who believe in the Flying Spaghetti Monster, Pirates are considered divine beings and the decrease in the number of pirates in the word (acording to followers of the FSM) id the true cause of global warming. Ergo, this can be seen as religious persecution!
This, of course, is a religious view which I will neither refute nor defend in this forum.
Actually, I believe that your statement "... not all Stradivarius violins have the sound..." may support the wood hypothesis, not refute it.
The ideal test (if possible) would be to obtain several Stradivarius violins, have them categorised by top-notch professionals as "have" or "not have" with regard to "the sound", and then compare them.
A reasonable (though maybe not accurate) "assumption" would be that the varnish is identical on all of the sample violins. That way, the only variable to be examined would be the structure of the wood. That would, in short order, either refute or support the "wood" hypothesis.
I think you're absolutely correct.
This move, IMHO, has at least three major drivers:
1. Continuous revenue stream (as noted before). They know that a certain percentage will stay with them no matter what, especially businesses. They'll most likely offer reduced-per-copy licenses for corporations to keep Office as the standard.
2. "Forced" upgrades. Remember, every person who is using an older version of Office is keeping an older file format alive. That older file format being out there gives Open Source applications more time to be compatible, thus deluting MS's hold on the "Office" market.
3. "Bragging rights" What? Yes. Just like Vista's supposed sales popularity (because MS forced OEMs to install only Vista after a certain date) has been used to tout Vista as being wildly successful (even though every person I know who has ever used Vista _hates_ it), I strongly suspect that this will also be used to brag about how the new version of "Office" is so "popular" and so much "better", in an attempt to FUD about Open Office and other free applications that can do the essentials.
Because so many companies are convinced that "Office" is the only way to go, I am afraid that this will work.
As a university professor, I've already started insisting that students not use Office 2007's docx format. It's easy enough for me, because I tell them if I can't read it, I can't grade it. Once newer versions of office can't produce backward-compatible formats, I'll insist on PDFs or other open formats. I'm only one professor, but I suspect that I will not be alone in this. Beside, our university actively encourages the use of Open Office. Once I find a version that actually works on OS X (instead of crashes all of the time) I'll encourage the use of Open Office with my students, too.
Dr. McHale,
I don't know what happened to my first response, so I'm going to try again.
I suspect that our differences of opinion in this matter may be the result of our different environments, and also due to an error in my thinking.
First, the error in my thinking: I only teach graduate students. An Anonymous poster (below) correctly pointed out to me that many excellent texts have been written by authors with only a Master's degree. I gladly concede that point, admitting that my own somewhat myoptic view of the situation is due to the fact that I only teach graduate students.
And now, the differences in our environments: I suspect that Ireland has much greater acceptance of "self-learning" and and "alternate education" than the USA. I know that some British universities (and I know, Ireland is a separate nation, but there was a strong influence for quite some time so I suspect your university systems may be similar) will award a degree based solely on the submission of a thesis. Personally, I like that system if you can validate to a reasonable degree that the person submitting the thesis actually wrote the thesis.
However, the USA (where I live and work) is much more concerned with accreditation of universities and degrees. For all of its other faults, for example, Bob Jones University (no, I do NOT work there, nor have I even ever set foot on their campus) offers a very good education in many fields (their nursing program graduates are highly desired by local hospitals) but they are not accredited. That makes it difficult for BJU graduates to find jobs outside of the area of the university.
This is a real issue for most people seeking a university education in the USA. When that is combined with the myriad "diploma mills" that pollute the educational "waters" in the USA, we find ourselves in an enviroment that is hostile to the forward-thinking methods that you suggest.
I am going to send you an email message from my university account to discuss this project in greater detail. For those of you who have volunteered so far (one Chemistry Ph.D. student/candidate so far), or who wish to volunteer, I am sure you will be able to figure out my email address by clicking on my name and looking at my "url". Please contact me.
I am going to discuss this matter with the dean of my department. I don't think it will go very far, but I will try.
If anyone knows about setting up a Wiki and has the server hardware and bandwidth to spare, please, please contact me. Despite one naysayer, I think we have the potential amongst the good folks here on Slashdot to make a difference in ways beyond writing outstanding free software.
Thank you for giving me the benefit of the doubt, and I will concede the point since your argument is valid and well-made.
You are quite correct in that many excellent "University-grade" textbooks have been written by authors with only a master's degree. The unfortunate bias that I have shown in this regard most likely stems from the fact that I only teach graduate students, and that has skewed my view of the academic environment.
Yes, that is a valid point, and, in fact, since at least my primary desire in this effort would be to help a large number of students, I will gladly concede your point.
Again, I normally only teach graduate students, so I my view on these matters may be a bit skewed.
Also, this is _why_ I put this idea out to "the community". I know that my view may not be entirely accurate since I am only one person.
I will freely admit that I have never written a textbook.
However, many members of the Slashdot community have put in several collective years of effort required to produce many excellent software packages just for the love of the project or to meet a need. So, yes, they often do it for the "warm fuzzy feeling" it gives them.
So, I do not think this is entirely unrealistic.
You, of course, are free to participate or not to participate, at your option.
A valid point. Quality control is always an issue.
I am fortunate in that I have not had to deal with that as a professor. (I did have a calculus book way back when that had that problem.)
This is another area where peer-review helps.
I will freely admit my "bias" toward the academic side of things in this regard. I only teach graduate students.
We know about the http://www.opentextbook.org/ initiative. I can't see anything on their site about how they validate the textbooks. It's easy enough with books that are published by existing publishers, but what if you want to write an open textbook?
One of the things that makes a textbook an acceptable reference in research is that it is peer-reviewed. That peer-review has the benefit of checking for errors as well as giving some assurance that the content is correct. I'd hate to buy a maths book that messed up how to do a derivative.
We need the peer-review if these books are ever going to be taken seriously. This is a not a radical idea. It is, in many ways, a return to the past when academic ideas where exchanged freely.
What I would suggest is that those of us with Ph.D.'s in our fields set up some sort of agreement to review each other's "open source" texts under a few conditions (negotiable, of course).
One of those should be that if I'm going to review the textbook for free that the textbook itself should be available in a usable form for free or nearly free Download the pdf for free or for some very small amount to help offset hosting costs. There is no reason an electronic copy of a textbook should cost $90.
A second condition, courtesy, would be to mention the reviewers.
A third would be to include some blurb in the text about the whole open textbook thing and why the textbook was published at so little cost, etc. In other words, spread the word.
Printing costs money, and that is understandable. Lulu, and other services, offer on-demand printing. The OWASP project offer their materials via Lulu at cost, and free for electronic download.
I know there are many Slashdot readers who have Ph.D.'s in their fields. I also know that there are many who will be offended by my mentioning the Ph.D. or other doctoral degree as a qualification, but if we want these texts to be taken seriously in universities, then they need to follow the criteria that universities use when assessing textbooks. Sorry. If it is going to be taken seriously, then at least the "lead" author needs to have the degree or be someone very, very famous in the field (such as Bruce Schneier).
I'm going to contact the Open Textbook people, but I'd like to see who here in the Slashdot community would be willing to put in some time to see something like this work. Here's a chance to fight back in a way that is legal, ethical, and just may work.
There are plenty of people on Slashdot who are more than adequately qualified to write university-grade textbooks on various subjects.
I'm sure some people are going to flame me for this. It was not my intent to offend anyone. I am an adjunct professor, so I am somewhat familiar with how textbooks are evaluated and selected.
I think we can make a difference here, just like the OSS community have made a difference in software.
I find it amusing that the CAPTCHA for this post is "computes".
I can't cite any "Old" Dr. Who examples, but...
Series 1 "Aliens in London" or "World War Three". I don't remember which - but it was the "alien" created by the Slitheen to pilot the ship into Big Ben. Not a hybrid, but more of an anthromorphosed pig.
Series 3 "Daleks in Manhattan" and "Evolution of the Daleks", the "Pig-slaves", which were genetically modified humans, altered by the Daleks (specifically the Cult of Skaro) for use in the their (failed) plan to take over the Earth.
The "Not for Individual Sale" has to do with FDA regulations. Packaged food products sold in the USA are required to have certain information on the label, including, but not limited to, nutritional information and information about how to request a refund.
Those individual Reese cups do not have the nutrition information on the packages, and thus are not to be sold individually in the USA.
There are certain other types of products (health and beauty aids as well as medications) that fall under this general rubric as well. There are certain requirements on the labels that are needed to permit the sale of an individual package.
I find it curious that some stores where I live will sell individual cigarettes at a cost that is clearly about twice what the proportionate price from the pack would be. I have often wondered if that was illegal due to the Surgeon General's Warning required to be on all tobacco product packages.
Slightly different issue.
Senator Obama is starting to seem way too much like Harold Saxon.
Promising change.
Was essentially "nobody" (come on - 1st term Senator?) prior to the current election cycle.
Has a nearly irrational following, seeming to mesmerize the people.
If he makes any announcements about first contact with an alien species after he's elected, we know we're in deep trouble.
I believe that your conclusion is correct, but for entirely the wrong reason.
These "analysts" believe that they are smarter than the majority of the population, which is why their opinions (a.k.a. "analyses") are valuable and they are paid to provide them.
Since they are (supposedly) so smart, they should know what is best.
I strongly suspect, in contradiction to your implication, that they all use Sony Vaios. Since they're so smart, they obviously picked the best technology, and if they use Sony Vaios, then anyone else using a Sony Vaio is clearly using the "best technology available".
So, I suspect it would be clear to the Slashdot crowd that these "analysts" know very little about technology, but for the opposite reason that you have cited.
Vote Cthulu: why choose the lesser evil?
I have to agree.
I've flown in Europe and Asia as well as here in the USA, and I have to say that it's the worst in the USA.
US: Four hour flight - peanuts and a diet coke.
In the UK I had a flight delayed due to a medical emergency on the plane that was going to be the plane for my flight back to the USA. I don't know if it was the airline or the airport, but either way all of the passengers were given a good-sized voucher for a meal. I was stuffed and not at all thirsty and still had "money" left on the voucher, so it clearly covered that need nicely.
Japan: connecting flight was late. When you are landing from an international flight it doesn't matter if you're just leaving Japan again, you still need to go through security to board another plane. They set up two separate security queues for us to make sure we made our connecting flight to China.
China: Only ever had two delays, one was about 30 minutes with an reason and the other was a couple of hours - no reason needed - the storm was obvious. Two hour flight that happened to be over lunch time - full meal (and quite good, actually - China Southern Airlines). Four hour flight near dinner - full meal again. Both flights had two rounds of drinks and snacks.
The USA's airlines can learn a few things from other nations' airlines.
Good one!
Though I think we should let Dave Barry have that one.
The CAPTCHA for this post is "sensuous". I find that quite disturbing on many levels.
The problem with your ".isgay" TLD is that it can go both ways, just like Captain Jack. (Yes, pun intended - it was way too easy.)
Either way, there's profit...
To some, having a "myname".isgay would be horrible, and they would pay to have it removed or to take ownership from it and make it look like it isn't real.
To others (e.g. Captain Jack) it would be a badge of honour and thus subject to the same domain-squatting issues as other "desirable" domain names.
Either way, you'll be rich. Good luck!
Who watches the watchers?
And does anyone really trust the DOJ any more?
Two different media... and I would go one step past that and suggest two different types of media.
If it's that important, multiple backup copies stored in different places is a good idea.
Also, in my opinion, one of those types of media should be DVD, but not DVD for data, DVD for your DVD player. This is nearly a trivial exercise with OS X, and I'm sure there's software for Linux and Windows that can do it just as easily.
Here is my reasoning:
Can you still buy a cassette player and even recorder in a store? Sure. Can you buy a cassette data drive for a computer? No. (If you can, I'd be very surprised.)
The Video DVD is not going away any time soon. You can still buy VHS players (good thing for me, because I still have many VHS tapes). I doubt that the DVD will go away before you have plenty of time to convert to the new format, whatever that may be. If you keep with the "video" DVD format, you will have something that is more likely to be supported in the future (IMHO) because of the large install base of **AA media out there. Have you noticed that just because Blu-Ray is out there and sort of the "de facto" standard for the new high-def format that good-old-fashioned DVDs have not vanished? New movies are still coming out on DVD.
Yes, video DVD is not as efficient as data DVD because you can't compress the data as much, but it will remain a viable format for a long time, and it has the benefit of being a format that a non-tech-saavy relative can use. I am not aware of too many people who can't manage to use a DVD player. I know plenty who can't manage even to play a video DVD on a computer.
You are quite correct. It's scary, but you're right. The thing that is frightening is not the fact that there are stupid criminals, like my favourite example of the night-time purse snatcher with the light-up trainers, but that these stupid criminals who are not bright enough to use encryption will be used as "proof" that this new invasive law "works".
I am quite confident that this _will_ be abused. There is an established history of laws like this being abused, such as that anti-terrorist law that was used against that family in the UK with regard to someone thinking they were registering their kid in the wrong school or some such non-terrorist activity. I'm saddened to see this happening to Sweden, or to any other country. I'm fairly confident it's already happening here in the USA to a much wider degree than most would suspect.
It is an unhappy prime.
There is no "seamless" encryption method that will give you enough protection. Sorry.
However, there are plenty of options if you're willing to do just a little work.
Install GPG or PGP. I use GPG because I can give it away legally to my friends who are less technically saavy and it works on Linux, OS X, and Windows.
Enigmail will integrate nicely into Mozilla's emailer and automate nearly everything once you have the person's public key. It will even notice who your recipient is and automatically pick the correct key.
There is something similar for the OS X Mail application (and I have it installed) but I don't remember the name of the application. It's not as bright as Enigmail and won't figure out who the recepient is automatically and pick the correct key.
FireGPG is a plug-in for FireFox (and it works for "Mozilla" because the web browser _is_ FireFox) that will allow you to use GPG with GMail.
I have an email account in which _all_ of the traffic is encrypted because I use these tools. I never send anything unencrypted on that account.
It's not seamless, but it's not that hard and it is not very intrusive.
I do not know if I should pity you because of your government reading your emails or if I should at least feel happy for you that they are honest enough to admit it (supposedly) before starting. Either way, I doubt things are any better here in the USA.
I find it amusing that the CAPTCHA is "incided", as in this new law inciting a riot.
I must respectfully disagree with you to some degree on this point.
I keep my phone on vibrate, but when I use my headset while driving (wired - it's too easy to listen in on Bluetooth headsets), the ringtone plays in the headset. I have certain ringtones for certain people, so it gives me the hands-free eyes-on-the-road version of caller-ID.
I will agree with not wanting to be subjected to other people's taste in music.
I find it quite amusing, given what I just typed, that the CAPTCHA is "identify".
I am all for avoiding cliches, but the "wakes up with amnesia" or variants thereupon (for example, the original Myst where you start out finding a book and having no clue beyond that) are handy to avoid (1) needing a read a long introduction, (2) having a long video introduction, or (3) needing to be somewhat familiar with the game world before even playing the game.
That particular cliche gives the writer the ability to allow the player to have little understanding of what is going on and make it fit into the story. The player learns things as the character learns or remembers them in the game.
Like anything else, it can be over done and done poorly, but I still think that specific plot device can be used well.
And as far as "saviour of the realm/planet/universe", well... I'll go along with that but again, some games are clearly fantasy. Why not "dream big"? Why not let the player save the whole planet? It's only a game!
I nearly choked when I read that. You're sick. Funny, but sick.
OK, it's a fridge, but this comic is safe for work and quite funny, and addresses this exact issue.
http://www.ibiblio.org/Dave/Dr-Fun/df200306/df20030604.jpg