And fuck Forbes! I don't even click their links any more. It seems they dislike my use of an ad-blocker so they send me to a blank page where, I presume, they want to load stuff via various scripts. I could turn that off but I'd rather not. So, fuck 'em. Their property, their rules, and I don't visit.
Not that I was going to RTFA anyhow but, you know...
I just read the comments here and get the gist of it. It's probably more insightful than the article.
Yeah, I got extremely lucky and was able to retire at about the age of 50. It's almost as if, "Hey! I couldn't do this when I was a kid! I want this toy, I promise I'll use it!"
They say that when you have the time you don't have the money and when you have the money you don't have the time. Except, well, I have both the time and the money and there doesn't appear to be an adage for that. I'm not sure what happened - I went from being a "maker" (when such wasn't a thing and the resources were far more difficult to come by) to being a passive consumer.
I don't write much software any more. I barely put together my own computers. I haven't soldered anything in years. The only thing I do take the time to do is make stuff from wood and then I go on binges where I'll stop for a year and not even visit my shop. I'll buy stuff and it will stay in crates. I dunno... I've become a passive consumer in so many ways. I've accumulated a lot of tools, so there's that.
I'm slowly working my way back out of what seems to have been a funk. I'm not sure how it happened. I can, quite literally, buy anything I want (within reason - I guess) and so I do. I think that might be part of the problem - I can just buy anything I want. I've made some steps in the right direction, I guess. I've converted to using Linux exclusively (I used to be a Unix user) and I've invested in a girlfriend. Err... Invested... Yes, I've invested time, emotion, and even finances. It does sound cold to put it that way but it's slightly less so than saying 'acquired.'
So, I don't do resolutions but this coming year does look like it might be a bit different. I've got a few other things that will be keeping me occupied and, hopefully, that will be impetus to change and start doing things that I've been meaning to do.
Err... I've been a member of the Libertarian Party since the start of it and while you are certainly quite ignorant I'll give you just the very start of a clue - I won't even charge you money for it.
Nobody, under any circumstances, has the right to use religion as a means to take away the liberties of another. In fact, I can't think of any reasons where the taking away of liberty en mass is acceptable - even without religion as the motivator.
If you'd like to know more about what Libertarianism is, what we believe, and why we've reached the conclusions we have then I'll be happy enough to share that information with you but I strongly suspect that you're not actually interested in being less ignorant. I suspect you don't actually understand the "liberty" part of "Libertarian." To be fair, many self-described Libertarians don't seem to understand that concept either. However, it's rather essential to the core philosophy.
I am a listener to, fan of, and financial supporter of NPR. I consider it one of many news sources. NPR does, indeed, have a Left-leaning slant and I am aware of the bias and try to use multiple sources to get informed. A recent example was a piece about Trump. I am not a Trump supporter but I am a fan of honesty. I do not recall the exact quote but they were accusing Trump of wanting to do something about internet communications. I decided to go online and have a look. I found said quote and it was not only out of context, it was more quoting insinuations made by the interviewer than the interviewee. I've never heard a retraction.
I'm aware of the bias and I'm pretty sure that, even if just by omission, you will not find an unbiased news source. I don't think it's really possible to eradicate biases completely. Thus, I prefer to get news from multiple sources - including overseas media about current events in the US. Your statement about the NPR is, in my opinion, accurate and that's why people should try to use more than one news source. I've even listened to Fox (I don't watch much television, I haven't watched much for most of my life and almost none since the 1980s - I do like talk/news radio, however) and found nuggets of facts and objective reporting. Yet it's obvious that Fox is biased as well.
So, if nothing else, this is some attempt to be objective - NPR is biased. I'd say it's not heavily biased but I think evidence suggests that they're biased. It's not surprising or unusual. It's just what it is. If your goal is to have your opinion read back to you and supported then stick to the source that tells you what you want to hear. If you want to expand your views then listen to the sources that you believe to be biased in the opposite direction. If you're interested in making up your own mind and having as much information as possible then use multiple news sources and listen for the things that aren't said and pay attention to the way things are being said.
Err... That is all... What is it that you kids do? Something about dropping a mic? Err... Will it suffice if I just turn it off and place it back into the stand properly and gently? 'Cause, yeah, it's not really nice to go damaging other people's stuff and I imagine the noise will be unruly and the potential feedback could be annoying to some of the older members of the audience.
Hmm... Not sure if serious or if just not inclined to learn some history.
See the use of the BBC during WWII. They were used to spread both propaganda on their own channels but also set up channels just for the propagation of propaganda. Additionally, they were used to convey secret messages. One of the more interesting was a bit of poetry to signal the French Resistance folks to start preparing for the arrival of troops in Normandy - known as D-Day. They were also heavily censored during that time, an effort to control the population's thoughts and opinions could be called "brainwashing," no?
So, sure, the AC you're responding to is (quite probably) out to lunch - it's not really out of character for the BBC to be used for propaganda and an attempt to control a population. It's probably not at all what the AC was referencing but, well, there it is.
Sure, but that doesn't actually negate that there's some number, perhaps small (I've no data other than anecdotes), who do *not* believe such. Just one negates that statement as it is a rather generic blanket statement not entirely dissimilar to the examples about Jews, black people, or ACs. So long as you're not a pedophile, the statement that ACs are pedophiles is incorrect. That and I was mostly being nitpicky because that's what I do when I'm bored.;-)
Given the large number of people, while small - it's bound to be a number greater than zero. It's not impossible that it is zero but it is extremely unlikely.
Hrmf! It wasn't me, it was someone who hacked my account and said that stuff!
Actually, no - it's pretty damned secure by default. You can make it less secure if you want. I understand that OS X has "locked" you out of a few system folders now but I presume there's a way to access them, perhaps by rebooting and using some sort of hidden administrator account? I'd not be surprised if one could set those permissions to allow the user access/control but I'm not sure what the benefit would be except maybe saying something like, "I have control!" Which, while nice, probably *isn't* actually beneficial to the vast majority of end-users and, so long as they consent, that's fine by me.
I am a FOSS aficionado - not a zealot. Buggered if I care what you use or consent to. I am, however, a bit at a loss as to why the OP would have indicated that more repairs means an inherently less secure system. Proactive repairs are good and the greater the number the greater the attention. I dare say the numbers are off - at least from what I see? I use Linux, Lubuntu specifically, and I get security fixes pretty much every single day - sometimes quite a few of them. They've slowed down over the holiday season but I expect a whole host of 'em coming up in the next week or two.
Hmm... Apt tells me that I've only got an upgrade to qtox in the queue. Yeah, it's been a pretty slow past week and a half - I expect to see a bunch of 'em coming down the pipe next week. I should probably catch up on the mailing lists. I have been less than attentive.
As an aside; I had some (a total of three and two brought some family with them) Slashdotters over to help ring in the new year. We had to do it last night instead of on the correct night because of the rain. It was fantastic and I had a total of about 200 people here yesterday afternoon and most people meandered off home by about 1:00. I got four hours of sleep or so and am alive and alert again.
I've never set off that many things that go boom in one spell before. I'll send out some emails in a while and see who got what for pictures and video. I've got a hell of a mess to clean up - I may just call LaborReady and have them send a couple of people over. In fact, I think I will. I probably have some "party favors" kicking around to help get them motivated and make it turn into a job they'll appreciate going on.
You've probably never been to Florida. Florida is actually full of farms.:/ I know, it sounds odd but it is. I seem to recall a statistic that Florida has more cows than Texas and that that stat wasn't counting the northern ladies who come down to make use of the beaches.
Hmm... You quasi-bitch about racism (but indicate it's okay - you're tough) and then engage in racism about Cubans and indicated that they should be dead (that's the logical conclusion of them fighting Castro). I should add that many of my best friends are Hispanic, I spend a lot of time south of the border, and that Spanish is the only other language that I'm fluent in - albeit a little slow until I've been about a month immersed in the language. That's kind of funny!
Now, every single illegal immigrant is guilty of violating the law. Not just the letter but the spirit of the law. Every single one of them is, in some way, depriving someone else - albeit with collusion from those who employ them. This is unfortunate because, otherwise, they're generally hard-working, honest, good people.
My solution isn't well thought out necessarily but it should include reasonably easy to obtain visas with a very quick background check, allowing short (five day) stay visas with work privileges, and very harsh penalties for those who attempt to cross at areas other than official crossing points. Why the latter? That's insane. Don't do that. It's not only deadly but it's a security issue and we're probably going to end up using deadly force at the borders before long.
I also think those visas should go two ways. The penalties for illegal immigration into every single country (that I know of) south of the US border are worse than what the US has. The process to get a legal long-term or work visa is much more difficult and much slower! Of course, if you have the right "documentacion" you can get a visa pretty quickly and, presumably, enough "documentacion" will even net you citizenship. It's not as easy to buy the appropriate visas in the US and in the US you generally can't give out "documentacion" at check-points and get away with it. I'm quite familiar with the correct "documentacion" procedures and adhere to the local customs - I find it works out surprisingly well.
Then there's one more niggling detail... Why should the Cubans have stayed their to fight Castro and the Hispanics from everywhere else not have stayed there and fought for their country, stayed to fix their economy, or stayed to fix their oppressive regimes? Methinks you might be a bigot. If you're like most bigots, you'll justify it to yourself and not even bother with introspection. It's not racism when you do it.
While that's technically, probably, true and all, I think we're broken. Well, not broken but different. I think you'll find the vast majority of Windows users don't normally care about upgrading their OS until they buy a new computer. Coupled with the fact that, for better or worse, we've been telling everyone who will listen to not go to Windows 10 and you'll probably see your prediction come to pass.
I have now seen Windows 10 and I've even spent a few minutes poking at it. It appears to be (on the outside) not too bad but I don't actually see me converting from Lubuntu to Windows in 2016. I don't know but it doesn't seem likely. I do have scores of MSDN keys and those don't really expire out of the system so I could, I guess, install a Windows desktop and then upgrade to Windows 10 but I just don't see that happening.
So, yes, I suspect you're right but I don't imagine that most people (the vast majority of Windows users) actually give two shits and will upgrade when they head down to their local box store and buy a new computer because their existing computer is so full of malware as to finally be unusable.
Nah, I'm the last person to think I'm better than someone for reasons such as those. I am, of course, better than some people but not because of reasons like those. I actually respect those people you call "finishers" more than most. However, I'm better than a mass murderer, a terrorist, and people like that. But no, I'm not better than the people whom I've helped, the people who have helped me, or the people who are just struggling to reach the end of the day. I dare say that I'm pretty well grounded. I've eaten Ramen noodles in my past. Those who can start and finish something? Those are pretty good people, probably. (They may turn out to be not good people if, you know, their goal was to start and complete a project of making a suit out of the skin of dead children, for example.)
I'm pretty down to Earth and don't really think I'm better than most anyone. I dare say that I worked hard but I mostly got lucky. I was mostly in the right place at the right time, had great people to help me, and was able to take risks. I'm not that smart, I'm not that special, and I'm just as prone to making errors as anyone else. If I have one redeeming quality, or one trait that has enabled me to be where I am, it is that I've learned to shut the hell up and listen to people, to acknowledge that I don't have the answer, and to be smart enough to seek out and listen to the people who do have the answers. That skill has helped me far more than any other.
At any rate, I'd type more but I'm kinda occupied at the moment. I'd like to hope I don't seem to be the type of person who is arrogant. I try to be a realist and appreciate the things I have and the people who helped me get here.
Use the IQ test, for example, or any metric you want but some number is going to be at *exactly* average. It could be as little as.001%. That.001% means that it is less than 50% that is below (or above) average. It's almost certainly a number greater than.001% because we have some 7.5 billion people on the planet. It's a near certainty, with those numbers, that multiple people will be exactly average, regardless of what measurement you use.
Well, with a bell curve... See, a certain number of people are going to be exactly average. For the sake of simplicity we'll say that's 4% of the people. 100 - 4 = 96. So, set those 4% aside. 96 / 2 = 48. So, 48% - below average, 4% average, and 48% above average. It's actually unlikely that half the people are below average when we take into account that some percentage, no matter how small, will be exactly average. That leaves less than half the people to make up those below average.
*nods*
That actually makes it marginally worse. Greater than 50% of the population is at or below average!!! (48% + 4% = 52%!)
The 4% figure it pulled out of my ass, by the way. I have no idea how many will fall at the *exact* average score on an intelligence test but it's bound to be a number that's greater than 0.
Thank you. Hmm... And for Flash? While it does appear to be on its way out (in favor of a developing standard) it was quite huge for a rather long time. Though, I guess, you could say that it did have its own standard - as one could, technically, make Flash files without using any Adobe products at all. Hmm, indeed. Yeah, kind of makes sense. Thanks.
Hmm... Would it store it as a 1 or 0 or would it store it as a 00001 or 00000? 'Cause the whole (the 1 or 0) might be represented in binary and thus take more than a single bit to represent the whole, no?
Indeed and, as a bonus, that was one of those epiphany moments (not a big one, however) were I realized why I sometimes saw that date in the past. I figured out why it's always that date for certain things (like when you install a forum and they have the initial welcoming post) and I hadn't known that before. I am also guessing that that's when the date officially began counting up because, as I understand it, it's just counting seconds since the official beginning date. That's a presumption on my part and immaterial but at least I know why certain scripts have that as a date for the first post. I think even WordPress has that with their welcoming post.
Yeah, it would have been so much better had someone there actually known the song and who sang it. It wasn't even planned, it wasn't set up, it just happened at the absolute peak time and the circumstances were as they were. One might even say that it was fate, nothing I could have done would have changed the events and I'd have been in that place, at that time, and said that. I didn't even really think about it when I said it.
I was damned proud of it, as soon as I said it, and not one person even noticed. It's like I'd painted a masterpiece, hung it on the wall in a gallery, and people came by and commented on the frame.
I did. I didn't figure I'd type it all out again and that the poster was unlikely to expand the thread, read it all again, and thus would be unaware of what's a rather important piece of information. I'm not sure why you'd ask if I quoted myself, I quite clearly say that I do. Well, it might not be clear to you but it's pretty clear to me. There was no effort to hide it - in fact, you'll see that I did so in a few other areas. Why? I feel it's important enough to risk "bad form" comments from those who are more concerned with style over substance.
Well, to be fair, Bruce has absolutely zero business speaking on behalf or about the Open Software community.
I'll tell you another secret then. Open Source was a mistake. I am not a Freetard any longer.
In case you think that I'm making this up, this is the relevant link. He has voluntarily excluded himself from the community though, hypocritically, he still wants his opinions to be recognized. It would appear, based on that conversation, that he's rather fond of hypocrisy, self-centered behaviors, deceit, and abusing others.
He used the community, got a little fame and a few dollars, and is now decrying that community and saying that he was mistaken before - which would appear to be something done to make himself fit into a different community. That community should be aware that he has a history of betraying those who help him and dishonesty. He also clearly indicates that he feels he is more important, and the things he wants are more important, than other people - up to and including their safety and their rights granted by the Constitution (US-centric only).
Basically, he's used these people to get money and some fame. Now that he has some, he realizes it's time to abandon them, deride them, use the ideal as a pejorative, and thinks he's still okay to continue helping to guide folks in that community. The link takes one to the thread which can be expanded, viewed, and interpreted. It's not like this stuff was made up. He also returns the next day to confirm that he did not mistype and that the sentiments expressed, beliefs held, are his and that he and his family are more important than you and yours.
Hmm... I think it's clear where I stand with allowing same sex marriages, I'm all for it - but I'd prefer that *nobody* got "married" and that everyone got a civil union. The phrase marriage is, for better or worse, muddied with religion so we should take it from the hands of the religious and simply allow civil unions. The crazy religious people can then do what they want and everyone gets the same benefits in the eye of the law. Anything taking place in a place of worship probably doesn't belong being sanctified by the State. (You probably could have guessed that such would be my thoughts but that's the short version - just in case.)
While I hold that Eich's position was likely deplorable (I don't know the actual thought process that he had) and I disagree with disallowing same-sex couples the same benefits other couples are eligable for, I do support his right to speak and donate and vote as he chooses. So, in my view, as long as his beliefs did not impact his work in any way, he should have been allowed to retain his position.
Interestingly enough, I mentioned back then (and I'll mention it again) that he may well have been able to win a wrongful termination suit if he'd been fired. He was, as I recall, asked to step down and he did so. His belief was religious in nature and religion is, in the US, a protected category - a protected class. You can not legally be fired for your religion. That he was asked to step down because of his political beliefs and/or religion is something that has never set right with me - even though I don't agree with his views. The very idea is disturbing...
Should a company be able to fire an employee for supporting same-sex unions? I'd submit that they shouldn't be allowed to do so. Thus, the opposite is also true. No matter how distasteful the act, those are what rights are for. Of course, the minute that those beliefs impacted the business, in any way, should be the time where the person is either asked to step down or is removed from their position by other means.
It may be of interest to you that Mr. Perens is only interested in himself - to the exclusion of your liberties, refers to the FOSS community as a pejorative, and now claims that open source is a mistake. Basically, he's chosen to betray everything he once stood for - and he's chosen to deride (and abuse) those people who enabled him to be something greater than a welfare recipient. If you want then you can expand the thread (I'll skip posting them again) and read the appropriate comments. Everything I've stated is true and I quote him directly as well as provide the links where people can actually read his original posts in which he expresses all of those things and even confirms that there is no misunderstanding.
He's basically betrayed the people who enabled him to have a voice at all. Yet, somehow, he thinks he's qualified to talk on the subject of morals, behavior, and abuse.
See email (and will send to others if requested, or similar email at least). I give both evidence, facts, and citations to demonstrate that Bruce is more interested in himself than anyone else and that he has both stated that open source is a mistake, derides the community, and then goes speak of those members of the community as a pejorative.
Slashdot Mirror
And fuck Forbes! I don't even click their links any more. It seems they dislike my use of an ad-blocker so they send me to a blank page where, I presume, they want to load stuff via various scripts. I could turn that off but I'd rather not. So, fuck 'em. Their property, their rules, and I don't visit.
Not that I was going to RTFA anyhow but, you know...
I just read the comments here and get the gist of it. It's probably more insightful than the article.
Yeah, I got extremely lucky and was able to retire at about the age of 50. It's almost as if, "Hey! I couldn't do this when I was a kid! I want this toy, I promise I'll use it!"
They say that when you have the time you don't have the money and when you have the money you don't have the time. Except, well, I have both the time and the money and there doesn't appear to be an adage for that. I'm not sure what happened - I went from being a "maker" (when such wasn't a thing and the resources were far more difficult to come by) to being a passive consumer.
I don't write much software any more. I barely put together my own computers. I haven't soldered anything in years. The only thing I do take the time to do is make stuff from wood and then I go on binges where I'll stop for a year and not even visit my shop. I'll buy stuff and it will stay in crates. I dunno... I've become a passive consumer in so many ways. I've accumulated a lot of tools, so there's that.
I'm slowly working my way back out of what seems to have been a funk. I'm not sure how it happened. I can, quite literally, buy anything I want (within reason - I guess) and so I do. I think that might be part of the problem - I can just buy anything I want. I've made some steps in the right direction, I guess. I've converted to using Linux exclusively (I used to be a Unix user) and I've invested in a girlfriend. Err... Invested... Yes, I've invested time, emotion, and even finances. It does sound cold to put it that way but it's slightly less so than saying 'acquired.'
So, I don't do resolutions but this coming year does look like it might be a bit different. I've got a few other things that will be keeping me occupied and, hopefully, that will be impetus to change and start doing things that I've been meaning to do.
Err... I've been a member of the Libertarian Party since the start of it and while you are certainly quite ignorant I'll give you just the very start of a clue - I won't even charge you money for it.
Nobody, under any circumstances, has the right to use religion as a means to take away the liberties of another. In fact, I can't think of any reasons where the taking away of liberty en mass is acceptable - even without religion as the motivator.
If you'd like to know more about what Libertarianism is, what we believe, and why we've reached the conclusions we have then I'll be happy enough to share that information with you but I strongly suspect that you're not actually interested in being less ignorant. I suspect you don't actually understand the "liberty" part of "Libertarian." To be fair, many self-described Libertarians don't seem to understand that concept either. However, it's rather essential to the core philosophy.
I am a listener to, fan of, and financial supporter of NPR. I consider it one of many news sources. NPR does, indeed, have a Left-leaning slant and I am aware of the bias and try to use multiple sources to get informed. A recent example was a piece about Trump. I am not a Trump supporter but I am a fan of honesty. I do not recall the exact quote but they were accusing Trump of wanting to do something about internet communications. I decided to go online and have a look. I found said quote and it was not only out of context, it was more quoting insinuations made by the interviewer than the interviewee. I've never heard a retraction.
I'm aware of the bias and I'm pretty sure that, even if just by omission, you will not find an unbiased news source. I don't think it's really possible to eradicate biases completely. Thus, I prefer to get news from multiple sources - including overseas media about current events in the US. Your statement about the NPR is, in my opinion, accurate and that's why people should try to use more than one news source. I've even listened to Fox (I don't watch much television, I haven't watched much for most of my life and almost none since the 1980s - I do like talk/news radio, however) and found nuggets of facts and objective reporting. Yet it's obvious that Fox is biased as well.
So, if nothing else, this is some attempt to be objective - NPR is biased. I'd say it's not heavily biased but I think evidence suggests that they're biased. It's not surprising or unusual. It's just what it is. If your goal is to have your opinion read back to you and supported then stick to the source that tells you what you want to hear. If you want to expand your views then listen to the sources that you believe to be biased in the opposite direction. If you're interested in making up your own mind and having as much information as possible then use multiple news sources and listen for the things that aren't said and pay attention to the way things are being said.
Err... That is all... What is it that you kids do? Something about dropping a mic? Err... Will it suffice if I just turn it off and place it back into the stand properly and gently? 'Cause, yeah, it's not really nice to go damaging other people's stuff and I imagine the noise will be unruly and the potential feedback could be annoying to some of the older members of the audience.
Hmm... Not sure if serious or if just not inclined to learn some history.
See the use of the BBC during WWII. They were used to spread both propaganda on their own channels but also set up channels just for the propagation of propaganda. Additionally, they were used to convey secret messages. One of the more interesting was a bit of poetry to signal the French Resistance folks to start preparing for the arrival of troops in Normandy - known as D-Day. They were also heavily censored during that time, an effort to control the population's thoughts and opinions could be called "brainwashing," no?
So, sure, the AC you're responding to is (quite probably) out to lunch - it's not really out of character for the BBC to be used for propaganda and an attempt to control a population. It's probably not at all what the AC was referencing but, well, there it is.
Here you go. This is a UID. I'll take those citations. Thanks.
Sure, but that doesn't actually negate that there's some number, perhaps small (I've no data other than anecdotes), who do *not* believe such. Just one negates that statement as it is a rather generic blanket statement not entirely dissimilar to the examples about Jews, black people, or ACs. So long as you're not a pedophile, the statement that ACs are pedophiles is incorrect. That and I was mostly being nitpicky because that's what I do when I'm bored. ;-)
Given the large number of people, while small - it's bound to be a number greater than zero. It's not impossible that it is zero but it is extremely unlikely.
Hrmf! It wasn't me, it was someone who hacked my account and said that stuff!
Actually, no - it's pretty damned secure by default. You can make it less secure if you want. I understand that OS X has "locked" you out of a few system folders now but I presume there's a way to access them, perhaps by rebooting and using some sort of hidden administrator account? I'd not be surprised if one could set those permissions to allow the user access/control but I'm not sure what the benefit would be except maybe saying something like, "I have control!" Which, while nice, probably *isn't* actually beneficial to the vast majority of end-users and, so long as they consent, that's fine by me.
I am a FOSS aficionado - not a zealot. Buggered if I care what you use or consent to. I am, however, a bit at a loss as to why the OP would have indicated that more repairs means an inherently less secure system. Proactive repairs are good and the greater the number the greater the attention. I dare say the numbers are off - at least from what I see? I use Linux, Lubuntu specifically, and I get security fixes pretty much every single day - sometimes quite a few of them. They've slowed down over the holiday season but I expect a whole host of 'em coming up in the next week or two.
Hmm... Apt tells me that I've only got an upgrade to qtox in the queue. Yeah, it's been a pretty slow past week and a half - I expect to see a bunch of 'em coming down the pipe next week. I should probably catch up on the mailing lists. I have been less than attentive.
As an aside; I had some (a total of three and two brought some family with them) Slashdotters over to help ring in the new year. We had to do it last night instead of on the correct night because of the rain. It was fantastic and I had a total of about 200 people here yesterday afternoon and most people meandered off home by about 1:00. I got four hours of sleep or so and am alive and alert again.
I've never set off that many things that go boom in one spell before. I'll send out some emails in a while and see who got what for pictures and video. I've got a hell of a mess to clean up - I may just call LaborReady and have them send a couple of people over. In fact, I think I will. I probably have some "party favors" kicking around to help get them motivated and make it turn into a job they'll appreciate going on.
You've probably never been to Florida. Florida is actually full of farms. :/ I know, it sounds odd but it is. I seem to recall a statistic that Florida has more cows than Texas and that that stat wasn't counting the northern ladies who come down to make use of the beaches.
Hmm... You quasi-bitch about racism (but indicate it's okay - you're tough) and then engage in racism about Cubans and indicated that they should be dead (that's the logical conclusion of them fighting Castro). I should add that many of my best friends are Hispanic, I spend a lot of time south of the border, and that Spanish is the only other language that I'm fluent in - albeit a little slow until I've been about a month immersed in the language. That's kind of funny!
Now, every single illegal immigrant is guilty of violating the law. Not just the letter but the spirit of the law. Every single one of them is, in some way, depriving someone else - albeit with collusion from those who employ them. This is unfortunate because, otherwise, they're generally hard-working, honest, good people.
My solution isn't well thought out necessarily but it should include reasonably easy to obtain visas with a very quick background check, allowing short (five day) stay visas with work privileges, and very harsh penalties for those who attempt to cross at areas other than official crossing points. Why the latter? That's insane. Don't do that. It's not only deadly but it's a security issue and we're probably going to end up using deadly force at the borders before long.
I also think those visas should go two ways. The penalties for illegal immigration into every single country (that I know of) south of the US border are worse than what the US has. The process to get a legal long-term or work visa is much more difficult and much slower! Of course, if you have the right "documentacion" you can get a visa pretty quickly and, presumably, enough "documentacion" will even net you citizenship. It's not as easy to buy the appropriate visas in the US and in the US you generally can't give out "documentacion" at check-points and get away with it. I'm quite familiar with the correct "documentacion" procedures and adhere to the local customs - I find it works out surprisingly well.
Then there's one more niggling detail... Why should the Cubans have stayed their to fight Castro and the Hispanics from everywhere else not have stayed there and fought for their country, stayed to fix their economy, or stayed to fix their oppressive regimes? Methinks you might be a bigot. If you're like most bigots, you'll justify it to yourself and not even bother with introspection. It's not racism when you do it.
While that's technically, probably, true and all, I think we're broken. Well, not broken but different. I think you'll find the vast majority of Windows users don't normally care about upgrading their OS until they buy a new computer. Coupled with the fact that, for better or worse, we've been telling everyone who will listen to not go to Windows 10 and you'll probably see your prediction come to pass.
I have now seen Windows 10 and I've even spent a few minutes poking at it. It appears to be (on the outside) not too bad but I don't actually see me converting from Lubuntu to Windows in 2016. I don't know but it doesn't seem likely. I do have scores of MSDN keys and those don't really expire out of the system so I could, I guess, install a Windows desktop and then upgrade to Windows 10 but I just don't see that happening.
So, yes, I suspect you're right but I don't imagine that most people (the vast majority of Windows users) actually give two shits and will upgrade when they head down to their local box store and buy a new computer because their existing computer is so full of malware as to finally be unusable.
Nah, I'm the last person to think I'm better than someone for reasons such as those. I am, of course, better than some people but not because of reasons like those. I actually respect those people you call "finishers" more than most. However, I'm better than a mass murderer, a terrorist, and people like that. But no, I'm not better than the people whom I've helped, the people who have helped me, or the people who are just struggling to reach the end of the day. I dare say that I'm pretty well grounded. I've eaten Ramen noodles in my past. Those who can start and finish something? Those are pretty good people, probably. (They may turn out to be not good people if, you know, their goal was to start and complete a project of making a suit out of the skin of dead children, for example.)
I'm pretty down to Earth and don't really think I'm better than most anyone. I dare say that I worked hard but I mostly got lucky. I was mostly in the right place at the right time, had great people to help me, and was able to take risks. I'm not that smart, I'm not that special, and I'm just as prone to making errors as anyone else. If I have one redeeming quality, or one trait that has enabled me to be where I am, it is that I've learned to shut the hell up and listen to people, to acknowledge that I don't have the answer, and to be smart enough to seek out and listen to the people who do have the answers. That skill has helped me far more than any other.
At any rate, I'd type more but I'm kinda occupied at the moment. I'd like to hope I don't seem to be the type of person who is arrogant. I try to be a realist and appreciate the things I have and the people who helped me get here.
Use the IQ test, for example, or any metric you want but some number is going to be at *exactly* average. It could be as little as .001%. That .001% means that it is less than 50% that is below (or above) average. It's almost certainly a number greater than .001% because we have some 7.5 billion people on the planet. It's a near certainty, with those numbers, that multiple people will be exactly average, regardless of what measurement you use.
Well, with a bell curve... See, a certain number of people are going to be exactly average. For the sake of simplicity we'll say that's 4% of the people. 100 - 4 = 96. So, set those 4% aside. 96 / 2 = 48. So, 48% - below average, 4% average, and 48% above average. It's actually unlikely that half the people are below average when we take into account that some percentage, no matter how small, will be exactly average. That leaves less than half the people to make up those below average.
*nods*
That actually makes it marginally worse. Greater than 50% of the population is at or below average!!! (48% + 4% = 52%!)
The 4% figure it pulled out of my ass, by the way. I have no idea how many will fall at the *exact* average score on an intelligence test but it's bound to be a number that's greater than 0.
Thank you. Hmm... And for Flash? While it does appear to be on its way out (in favor of a developing standard) it was quite huge for a rather long time. Though, I guess, you could say that it did have its own standard - as one could, technically, make Flash files without using any Adobe products at all. Hmm, indeed. Yeah, kind of makes sense. Thanks.
Hmm... Would it store it as a 1 or 0 or would it store it as a 00001 or 00000? 'Cause the whole (the 1 or 0) might be represented in binary and thus take more than a single bit to represent the whole, no?
Indeed and, as a bonus, that was one of those epiphany moments (not a big one, however) were I realized why I sometimes saw that date in the past. I figured out why it's always that date for certain things (like when you install a forum and they have the initial welcoming post) and I hadn't known that before. I am also guessing that that's when the date officially began counting up because, as I understand it, it's just counting seconds since the official beginning date. That's a presumption on my part and immaterial but at least I know why certain scripts have that as a date for the first post. I think even WordPress has that with their welcoming post.
Yeah, it would have been so much better had someone there actually known the song and who sang it. It wasn't even planned, it wasn't set up, it just happened at the absolute peak time and the circumstances were as they were. One might even say that it was fate, nothing I could have done would have changed the events and I'd have been in that place, at that time, and said that. I didn't even really think about it when I said it.
I was damned proud of it, as soon as I said it, and not one person even noticed. It's like I'd painted a masterpiece, hung it on the wall in a gallery, and people came by and commented on the frame.
Ah well... I'm glad someone appreciated it.
Nope.
I did. I didn't figure I'd type it all out again and that the poster was unlikely to expand the thread, read it all again, and thus would be unaware of what's a rather important piece of information. I'm not sure why you'd ask if I quoted myself, I quite clearly say that I do. Well, it might not be clear to you but it's pretty clear to me. There was no effort to hide it - in fact, you'll see that I did so in a few other areas. Why? I feel it's important enough to risk "bad form" comments from those who are more concerned with style over substance.
Well, to be fair, Bruce has absolutely zero business speaking on behalf or about the Open Software community.
I'll tell you another secret then. Open Source was a mistake. I am not a Freetard any longer.
In case you think that I'm making this up, this is the relevant link. He has voluntarily excluded himself from the community though, hypocritically, he still wants his opinions to be recognized. It would appear, based on that conversation, that he's rather fond of hypocrisy, self-centered behaviors, deceit, and abusing others.
He used the community, got a little fame and a few dollars, and is now decrying that community and saying that he was mistaken before - which would appear to be something done to make himself fit into a different community. That community should be aware that he has a history of betraying those who help him and dishonesty. He also clearly indicates that he feels he is more important, and the things he wants are more important, than other people - up to and including their safety and their rights granted by the Constitution (US-centric only).
Basically, he's used these people to get money and some fame. Now that he has some, he realizes it's time to abandon them, deride them, use the ideal as a pejorative, and thinks he's still okay to continue helping to guide folks in that community. The link takes one to the thread which can be expanded, viewed, and interpreted. It's not like this stuff was made up. He also returns the next day to confirm that he did not mistype and that the sentiments expressed, beliefs held, are his and that he and his family are more important than you and yours.
Hmm... I think it's clear where I stand with allowing same sex marriages, I'm all for it - but I'd prefer that *nobody* got "married" and that everyone got a civil union. The phrase marriage is, for better or worse, muddied with religion so we should take it from the hands of the religious and simply allow civil unions. The crazy religious people can then do what they want and everyone gets the same benefits in the eye of the law. Anything taking place in a place of worship probably doesn't belong being sanctified by the State. (You probably could have guessed that such would be my thoughts but that's the short version - just in case.)
While I hold that Eich's position was likely deplorable (I don't know the actual thought process that he had) and I disagree with disallowing same-sex couples the same benefits other couples are eligable for, I do support his right to speak and donate and vote as he chooses. So, in my view, as long as his beliefs did not impact his work in any way, he should have been allowed to retain his position.
Interestingly enough, I mentioned back then (and I'll mention it again) that he may well have been able to win a wrongful termination suit if he'd been fired. He was, as I recall, asked to step down and he did so. His belief was religious in nature and religion is, in the US, a protected category - a protected class. You can not legally be fired for your religion. That he was asked to step down because of his political beliefs and/or religion is something that has never set right with me - even though I don't agree with his views. The very idea is disturbing...
Should a company be able to fire an employee for supporting same-sex unions? I'd submit that they shouldn't be allowed to do so. Thus, the opposite is also true. No matter how distasteful the act, those are what rights are for. Of course, the minute that those beliefs impacted the business, in any way, should be the time where the person is either asked to step down or is removed from their position by other means.
It may be of interest to you that Mr. Perens is only interested in himself - to the exclusion of your liberties, refers to the FOSS community as a pejorative, and now claims that open source is a mistake. Basically, he's chosen to betray everything he once stood for - and he's chosen to deride (and abuse) those people who enabled him to be something greater than a welfare recipient. If you want then you can expand the thread (I'll skip posting them again) and read the appropriate comments. Everything I've stated is true and I quote him directly as well as provide the links where people can actually read his original posts in which he expresses all of those things and even confirms that there is no misunderstanding.
He's basically betrayed the people who enabled him to have a voice at all. Yet, somehow, he thinks he's qualified to talk on the subject of morals, behavior, and abuse.
See email (and will send to others if requested, or similar email at least). I give both evidence, facts, and citations to demonstrate that Bruce is more interested in himself than anyone else and that he has both stated that open source is a mistake, derides the community, and then goes speak of those members of the community as a pejorative.