I think that it would also depend on a couple of other things. The reader OR listener's familiarity with the subject and how one intended to express it later in the same subject.
"I'm going to drive my uncle, 'Jack's," car to the coast for him this weekend. Would you like to ride down and meet him? He's my uncle and he's pretty cool. My uncle and I have spent a lot of time together, back before you and I met."
vs.
"Hey, I'm going to Uncle Jack's, it should be a good drive. Want to go see him?"
In the latter case, and this doesn't mean I'm correct, I'd capitalize the U in uncle. The first would be more spoken and, though awkward in text, I can't see anything in specific that I'd call wrong with the first example. Awkward? Yes. Wrong? I'm not so sure that it's wrong - technically.
However, it should be clear that I am not an expert. I do, on the other hand, make an effort to continually improve my writing - for a variety of reasons but mostly because I try to communicate as accurately and as completely as I am able to.
As an aside; That's why I write as many novellas as I do. I don't write novellas because I'm good. I write them because I'm inarticulate and thus I end up being verbose. My intent is not to write novellas but to accurately convey the ideas which I wish to communication - with as little room for misunderstanding (willful or not) as I have the capacity to achieve.
I've expressed this before. My verbosity is the exact opposite, in my opinion, of aptitude and capacity. Someone more adept than I could often say what I said in a more concise manner. Alas, I am not only not perfect but I have flaws that I recognize, work to fix, and for which I eagerly accept correction. I know, it's not cool to admit that around here but, don't tell anyone, it happens to be the reality. Meh, I'll still be striving to improve my writing up until I die. I'm comfortable with imperfections and learning new things. Sometimes, I'm even WRONG!
Seriously? Have you seen those folks pick fruits and veggies? Man, they're less lazy than almost every legal citizen I know that's more than second generation citizen. Those folks work hard.
They're criminals, but they're some damned hard working criminals - for shit wages too. If they were lazy, we'd get rid of them. Hell, even the legal migrants are damned hard workers. One of the hardest workers I had working for me was a second generation citizen with Pakistani heritage. (See what I did there - that's politically correct and not even offensively politically correct.) However, it went downhill from there. His kids were pretty lazy and getting pretty chunky by the time I sold. Him? He's in a total different department doing something or other managerial and working 60 hours a week while he pays for the fat and lazy fucks to go to a good school, a house that's huge, new cars, a vacation home, and things like that.
He's a hard working dude and has been since I met him - he was 23(?) when I met him, I think. That would have been 1998 or so. He's also socking away a whole lot of money AND still sending some to Pakistan (see, I did it again!) where he still has relatives. They're probably all able to go to school on what he sends back. His kids? Those fuckers aren't going to accomplish a damned thing. I have a distinct lack of faith.
Anyhow, the ones here illegally work even harder. I've stomped all across the southern part of the US. Both sides of it... I actually see a whole lot of people here illegally when I'm home in Maine. Seriously... We don't notice them, they never get busted, they don't (from my observations and extrapolations) even really count them accurately. I suspect it's because they're white and from Canada. They're all over the roads in pulp trucks, lumber trucks, and in the woods harvesting lumber. And I very much mean illegally - they're rather open about it, it's like an open secret. I've also seen it in Washington, Oregon, up in the Upper Peninsula, a bit in New York, Vermont, and a few in Massachusetts and New Hampshire but not as many there. I have seen 'em south of there too but there's a whole lot of 'em up that way.
Ah well... I don't actually mind too much but they really should be here legally and, probably, ought to go to the back of the line and start again. They've already demonstrated a propensity to break the law. They probably shouldn't be given extra benefits for breaking the law. Rewarding illegal behavior (note, I did not say criminal - PC again, bitches!) seems like it's generally a bad idea. On the other hand, the vast majority of them (from any country) are here because they're fucking broke and they're willing to work their asses off for dirt cheap. So, there are some realistic sides to letting them stay and granting them amnesty - aside from the emotional arguments of acclimation and ease of transition.
I dunno... I smoked some kind and I'm not even sure what the hell the subject is any more. But, I think the gist of it was that the Illegal Immigrants are anything but lazy. However, you could say I'm being racist by saying they're some hardworking people - but that kind of racism is encouraged, it's even (as near as I can tell) true.
It's okay - I could have sworn I was taught to capitalize them in school. However, they are not capitalized. I learned this from a Grammar Nazi. It turns out, they're correct.
> You wouldn't capitalize the "Interstate Highway System".
Yes I would. In fact, given the odds, I bet you can go through my posts and find them referred to as Interstate and National Highway System (of which the Interstate is a part).
They are proper titles.
I do say "Internet." However, I often call it the "'net." I also do not capitalize "web" as that's not the formal name. If I am calling it the World Wide Web then I'll capitalize it.
However, it should be noted that you've a Ph.D. in English Literature and not in English. I think that speaks for itself.;-)
This is the only correct thing you've said so far. You'll note, I've read your entire argument now. And, suffice to say, you're not even close to right.
Apple was not, for starters, served a warrant. They were given an order, done via the All Writs Act. The two are not even remotely the same but they each carry different emphasis on legal protections.
You're not just wrong, you don't understand the issue at hand and are basing your whole argument on this premise. Well, I guess you can move the goal posts if you want but that'd just be silly. You know I paid better attention than that.
Even if it *were* a warrant, the idea that a person can not be compelled to speak is a damned essential liberty. It's so important, we enumerated it as the 5th Amendment. And no, the number isn't an indicator of importance - they're all equally important.
Even barring that, making things the government can not access has been a long and healthy tradition and is a right for a reason. No, we can make unbreakable locks - the government is not all-powerful. And no, we do have a choice in the matter. In fact, we have a whole host of choice in the matter - up to, and including, violence.
The government should be scared of the people, not the other way around. Maybe now you'll understand but probably not. Ah well... You did your best.
Bullshit and you know it. Show me one time when the government has been unrestricted in its action and things have turned out well for the society or the government. If we can build a lock they can't get into then they can pound sand. That's what's great about liberty - you don't even have to personally use it in order to appreciate it. For example, my phone is not encrypted.
Or we can accept the loss and not set the precedent that the government always wins by use of force. Yes, sometimes it's essential that bad things happen to otherwise good people. In fact, the only way to prevent that from happening is to disallow all freedoms or, alternatively, disallow all humans.
I really tire of this trend toward cowardice and pipe dreams. You will not have a lawful society, ever. That doesn't mean don't outlaw anything. That means establish punishments and impose reasonable restrictions on the government - and on the people. If we can make a lock that the government can't get into, then fuck 'em. Yes, shit's gonna happen. Sorry but that's the price you pay to live in a free society.
By the way, this is the same reason it's true for firearms, driving, owning a sharp steak knife, being allowed to speak, being able to eat steak, go skydiving, swim, run, jump, skip rope, being allowed to worship, etc...
And some of those aren't even RIGHTS - they're privileges. Privacy, by means of the 4th *and* 5th is pretty much an important fucking concept. There's shit the government can not do. That MEANS bad shit is going to happen. Deal with it. Stop trying to take away my liberties because you're scared. Your fear is not a good reason to take away my liberties - even if I don't USE those liberties. I want them ALL. In fact, I want as many as I can get while still retaining a cohesive, tolerant, and functional society.
That means accepting that shit happens sometimes and doing what you can to clean up afterwards - as well as taking reasonable precautions. Giving the government carte blanc to open anything they damned well please, when they've already demonstrated they can't be trusted - especially with the fucking search warrants, is certainly not on the list of reasonable precautions. Hell no...
Why are you so eager to give up my liberties? They're YOUR liberties too, you know. They're not just mine. Hell, I'll be fine - thanks. I'm more worried about your liberties than you are. Sadly, that's not a joke. That's not funny at all. Me? I can get hell out of the country and be fine all over the globe if I absolutely had to. I have liquid assets stored in non-digital format as well as liquid assets in cash format - stored in a variety of places. Trust me, I'll be fine.
You, on the other hand, are stuck here. So aren't a whole lot of other people. They just might like to make use of some of those liberties you're happily giving away because you're a fucking coward.
Are you sure about that? My understanding is that they "go after" things in the order/way they're reported. I'd speculate that you're suffering from selection bias or confirmation bias. It'd be akin to me saying that they go after the documentary uploaders (they exist, they are my favorite people on the 'net) first. It's almost certainly not true that they go after them first - or with any greater zeal than any other subject.
I kind of doubt they go after gamers first. As an objective observer, game companies and their respective right's holders are generally aggressive pricks. That is on them, not on Google. I suspect they act pretty much the same on all complaints. I'm not sure why you'd think they'd prioritize or care more about one than the other, actually - except for selection or confirmation biases.
Why would they spend extra to prioritize something as opposed to treating all things equal and just accepting that solitary expense as opposed to needing to filter complaints by type and then set someone to work on them more aggressively than other types. That makes no fiscal sense, not even a little bit. Sometimes I wonder if any of you folks have ever run/owned a business - even a lemonade stand. Unless there's a good reason, you don't do it. Note: Good does not always mean something you can write on the bottom line - such as goodwill.
Too funny. I concur. When I first opened the thread, I was going to comment how I was going to go download* some of this music to spite the artists.** Then, I looked more closely at who was involved and I decided to not bother opening a KAT tab.
* Amusingly so - I'm actually a fairly staunch supporter of copyright BUT not copyright as it exists currently. ** The term "artists" is being used loosely as it is, after all, a subjective thing. I'm quite positive that some people enjoy the fruits of their labor. I do not.
I agree with your sentiment but I have an extreme dislike for retroactive laws of *any* type as for the precedent they set in doing so. Yes, yes it really is a slippery slope - that's not always just a logical fallacy.
Sure, it's good this time - but what about when they make something illegal and that's retroactive?
So, shorten the damned things to 20 years and allow a single extension at a reasonable cost. I say 20 years but I'm not stuck on that number. I'm pretty much good with 15 to 25. The extension should be something close to half of the original duration.
I also kind of wish they'd stop defaulting to copyright. I kind of hate having to specify that it's granted to the public domain in stuff. If I give something away, it's without restrictions. After all, it was a gift - not a loan or a conditional use. So, I elect to specifically grant to the public domain - but don't insist others must do as I do.
Currently, probably just manpower. Some jurisdictions (assuming you speak of the US but I'm sure others are the same) have already enacted legislation prohibiting broad-scope recording by the police but many areas have not. If you're interested in supporting those who would support such legislation (laws preventing whole-scale capture of video without express purpose, limited duration, and a warrant) then support the ACLU, specifically your State chapter.
Maine's ACLU Chapter is surprisingly well-funded, comparatively speaking. They get a couple of anonymous donations, fairly sizable, every year. Perhaps there's something you can do to assist your State's chapter.
Not really, no. You're close but not quite there. You can get a felony and serve no time. The year and a day means they go to the big house (prison) and don't do their time in county. Except in some States - like California where you can do up to five years in the county system - post sentence.
The conviction is a felony or not - the added day doesn't magically change it into a a felony. It just changes where they do their time. Some States, it's up to a few different things. For example, Maine *can* send anyone with 9 months and a day to prison - instead of the county. At the same time, unless there are extenuating circumstances, anyone serving a sentence of 365 (not one year plus a day but one year) goes to one of the DOC facilities.
Hopefully that clears it up for you. The day just means where they're going to serve their time. The crime is either a felony or not, sentencing is at the discretion of the judge with some caveats. They do have a lot of leeway and can work in collusion with the State (the prosecutor) to decide what charges you'll be charged with.
How do I know? Well, it's a long story but the answer might not be what you're now guessing. I spend a lot of time in court. I go and observe the courts. It's my end of the social contract. If we are not observing the courts to observe that justice is being served then we're relying on others to observe for us - and they have failed us. The court system is the most easily approached branch of the government and meant to be only quasi-government in nature - a third branch, known as the judicial branch.
Also, depending on where you live, a felony conviction may not bar you from voting. It almost certainly should not bar you from voting in a federal election but my understanding is that some States prohibit that. I should like to see that taken to the SCOTUS at some point but, frankly, I don't have standing and I'm not about to move and commit a felony just to get that overturned/abolished.
To cite Maine, again, they actually encourage the incarcerated to vote and provide easy registration and absentee ballots to the inmates on request. They don't just do that for the larger elections but even for the smaller, yearly, elections. At one point in time, there was discussion of allowing campaigning in the prisons but they decided (I think) that the security risk was too large - which is kind of silly. Maine has a rather tame prison system. There are fewer inmates in the entire system than there are in some county jails.
If there were a way to prove it... I'd bet $50 that he's a pantie sniffer. That's pretty specific so I'd only bet $50 but, if we could prove it one way or the other, I'd bet on it beforehand. Hmm... Maybe we need some drones/hidden cameras and to leave some panties about for him to acquire.
If you're gonna sex a hooker, get a hotel room and close the curtains. At least do yourself a favor and get an escort instead. Those usually look a little better.
I've shared pics and stories and all that but there's still a few observations I've not yet shared. This one, this one might be important.
I've been from one side of the globe to the other, all around it even. I've been close to the top, close to the bottom, and pretty much all points in between. Without devolving into a novella, I've often not done so as a traditional tourist. So, I've seen the seedier sides of society - and had a hell of a good time.
America, and I mean that as a pair of continents, generally has the ugliest hookers.
(Go East for the cute hookers. Skip Thailand, unless you're into that.)
And no, no I've never directly paid for sex. I mean, not as a direct exchange. Sort of, close to, but not really have I paid for sex. But that'd be a novella and I don't like you enough to write you a novella right now. Don't take it personal, I don't like *anyone* that much at the moment.
At any rate, I'm not sure why but the average hooker - from Canada to Chile, is ugly. There are exceptions but we're talking about averages.
No, but it is legal in one county in Nevada. I know of no human sex trafficking going on in that county but that doesn't say much. I've got a place down in Henderson that sits mostly empty unless I go out and then commute into the table games or there's a private club not far from the house that I go to.
Err... Not for prostitution. No, I go there 'cause I like math and theatrics. When you're playing table games with more than a few grand on the table, that's really all it is reduced to. Hold 'em or Draw would be my preferences, if you're curious. I actually do quite well but that's because I don't go to Nevada to play against the house. Playing against the house is either a fool's errand or a quick way to get blacklisted. They do quite a bit of research when you step into town with a bundle as a stake. I'm not dumb enough to go count at the Blackjack tables.
So, I play the table games against people. It works out nicely.
Happy birthday! And I've been living like that since I retired 8 years ago. I've done all the fun things I wanted, etc... I've had fun. Someone else can take my space. Death doesn't scare me. I see it as respite, as peace, as tranquility and sleep. I'm content with life. I'm very happy with what I've accomplished. I've learned all that I wanted, read what I wanted, and even bedded enough women for several of us.;-)
Let someone else take over and let me finally get some solid rest. (I don't sleep well, long story. I'm a true insomniac and, to make it worse, I've got sleep apnea. The sleep I get is pretty low-quality and I don't do anything for it and I won't take sleeping medication.)
I just use a plain ol' encrypted compressed file - standard stuff. I add more to it.
I've got usernames, passwords, an index so they can find things. I've got statements, thoughts, opinions - not things I wasn't able to say while alive but things that aren't ready to be said yet. I've got a list of people to contact and how they should be contacted - in list of preference. I've got a messages to leave behind, many online as I've developed a lot of online relationships over the past 30 years. I've met many of those online people in real life - so they're invited to my festivities. I've left designated funds that are in their own accounts for various purposes - including said festivities, etc...
Things like that and I just use the bog standard password protection offerings that come with compression -.zip so that's 256 AES I believe.
See, I've already accomplished every goal I have. I really have to make meaningful things up to do or I get bored. I've learned enough about all the things I want to know - and enough about some of them to know I don't want to learn more. I've been everywhere I've wanted to go - except North Korea and I only want to go there because they tell me I can't. I own all the things I could ever really want to own - and then some.
I also don't fear death or anything. I kind of look forward to the respite from daily living. No, I'm not really depressed or anything - nor am I suicidal. I'm just content.
Dunno how much sense that makes to others but it makes sense to me.;-)
I even went out and shuffled a little bit on the dance floor earlier. Yay me... I'd say I'm gonna be sore tomorrow but probably no worse than normal. Life is good and the remainder of the place is now shuffled off to bed.
Heh... Does it mean anything if I first thought they were eyeballs?;-)
When computers can do that then I think our binary friend above will have a point. They can't do that yet. I'm not the least bit surprised that it was found by a human reading bits of paper and noticing an oddity. (Oddly, if you expand their comment, they went on to assert that I had no idea what I was talking about and that the problem wasn't pattern recognition.)
Slashdot Mirror
I think that it would also depend on a couple of other things. The reader OR listener's familiarity with the subject and how one intended to express it later in the same subject.
"I'm going to drive my uncle, 'Jack's," car to the coast for him this weekend. Would you like to ride down and meet him? He's my uncle and he's pretty cool. My uncle and I have spent a lot of time together, back before you and I met."
vs.
"Hey, I'm going to Uncle Jack's, it should be a good drive. Want to go see him?"
In the latter case, and this doesn't mean I'm correct, I'd capitalize the U in uncle. The first would be more spoken and, though awkward in text, I can't see anything in specific that I'd call wrong with the first example. Awkward? Yes. Wrong? I'm not so sure that it's wrong - technically.
However, it should be clear that I am not an expert. I do, on the other hand, make an effort to continually improve my writing - for a variety of reasons but mostly because I try to communicate as accurately and as completely as I am able to.
As an aside; That's why I write as many novellas as I do. I don't write novellas because I'm good. I write them because I'm inarticulate and thus I end up being verbose. My intent is not to write novellas but to accurately convey the ideas which I wish to communication - with as little room for misunderstanding (willful or not) as I have the capacity to achieve.
I've expressed this before. My verbosity is the exact opposite, in my opinion, of aptitude and capacity. Someone more adept than I could often say what I said in a more concise manner. Alas, I am not only not perfect but I have flaws that I recognize, work to fix, and for which I eagerly accept correction. I know, it's not cool to admit that around here but, don't tell anyone, it happens to be the reality. Meh, I'll still be striving to improve my writing up until I die. I'm comfortable with imperfections and learning new things. Sometimes, I'm even WRONG!
Lazy Illegal Immigrant?
Seriously? Have you seen those folks pick fruits and veggies? Man, they're less lazy than almost every legal citizen I know that's more than second generation citizen. Those folks work hard.
They're criminals, but they're some damned hard working criminals - for shit wages too. If they were lazy, we'd get rid of them. Hell, even the legal migrants are damned hard workers. One of the hardest workers I had working for me was a second generation citizen with Pakistani heritage. (See what I did there - that's politically correct and not even offensively politically correct.) However, it went downhill from there. His kids were pretty lazy and getting pretty chunky by the time I sold. Him? He's in a total different department doing something or other managerial and working 60 hours a week while he pays for the fat and lazy fucks to go to a good school, a house that's huge, new cars, a vacation home, and things like that.
He's a hard working dude and has been since I met him - he was 23(?) when I met him, I think. That would have been 1998 or so. He's also socking away a whole lot of money AND still sending some to Pakistan (see, I did it again!) where he still has relatives. They're probably all able to go to school on what he sends back. His kids? Those fuckers aren't going to accomplish a damned thing. I have a distinct lack of faith.
Anyhow, the ones here illegally work even harder. I've stomped all across the southern part of the US. Both sides of it... I actually see a whole lot of people here illegally when I'm home in Maine. Seriously... We don't notice them, they never get busted, they don't (from my observations and extrapolations) even really count them accurately. I suspect it's because they're white and from Canada. They're all over the roads in pulp trucks, lumber trucks, and in the woods harvesting lumber. And I very much mean illegally - they're rather open about it, it's like an open secret. I've also seen it in Washington, Oregon, up in the Upper Peninsula, a bit in New York, Vermont, and a few in Massachusetts and New Hampshire but not as many there. I have seen 'em south of there too but there's a whole lot of 'em up that way.
Ah well... I don't actually mind too much but they really should be here legally and, probably, ought to go to the back of the line and start again. They've already demonstrated a propensity to break the law. They probably shouldn't be given extra benefits for breaking the law. Rewarding illegal behavior (note, I did not say criminal - PC again, bitches!) seems like it's generally a bad idea. On the other hand, the vast majority of them (from any country) are here because they're fucking broke and they're willing to work their asses off for dirt cheap. So, there are some realistic sides to letting them stay and granting them amnesty - aside from the emotional arguments of acclimation and ease of transition.
I dunno... I smoked some kind and I'm not even sure what the hell the subject is any more. But, I think the gist of it was that the Illegal Immigrants are anything but lazy. However, you could say I'm being racist by saying they're some hardworking people - but that kind of racism is encouraged, it's even (as near as I can tell) true.
What, you're calling all the "Travelers" or Hispanic people "bank robbers" now? /s
(Sadly, I have to add the /s for sarcasm. There are people who would completely not understand.)
Winter is not correct. Not in their usage.
Citation: http://www.write.com/writing-g...
It's okay - I could have sworn I was taught to capitalize them in school. However, they are not capitalized. I learned this from a Grammar Nazi. It turns out, they're correct.
That wasn't the Internet. That was ARPAnet or DARPAnet, depending on when they research universities got on. Sheesh...
> You wouldn't capitalize the "Interstate Highway System".
Yes I would. In fact, given the odds, I bet you can go through my posts and find them referred to as Interstate and National Highway System (of which the Interstate is a part).
They are proper titles.
I do say "Internet." However, I often call it the "'net." I also do not capitalize "web" as that's not the formal name. If I am calling it the World Wide Web then I'll capitalize it.
However, it should be noted that you've a Ph.D. in English Literature and not in English. I think that speaks for itself. ;-)
> It's my thread, I'll shit on it if I like.
This is the only correct thing you've said so far. You'll note, I've read your entire argument now. And, suffice to say, you're not even close to right.
Apple was not, for starters, served a warrant. They were given an order, done via the All Writs Act. The two are not even remotely the same but they each carry different emphasis on legal protections.
You're not just wrong, you don't understand the issue at hand and are basing your whole argument on this premise. Well, I guess you can move the goal posts if you want but that'd just be silly. You know I paid better attention than that.
Even if it *were* a warrant, the idea that a person can not be compelled to speak is a damned essential liberty. It's so important, we enumerated it as the 5th Amendment. And no, the number isn't an indicator of importance - they're all equally important.
Even barring that, making things the government can not access has been a long and healthy tradition and is a right for a reason. No, we can make unbreakable locks - the government is not all-powerful. And no, we do have a choice in the matter. In fact, we have a whole host of choice in the matter - up to, and including, violence.
The government should be scared of the people, not the other way around. Maybe now you'll understand but probably not. Ah well... You did your best.
Are you high? Or did Slashdot do that strange thing, again, and eat your citation?
> Sorry, but your paranoia is unjustified.
Bullshit and you know it. Show me one time when the government has been unrestricted in its action and things have turned out well for the society or the government. If we can build a lock they can't get into then they can pound sand. That's what's great about liberty - you don't even have to personally use it in order to appreciate it. For example, my phone is not encrypted.
Or we can accept the loss and not set the precedent that the government always wins by use of force. Yes, sometimes it's essential that bad things happen to otherwise good people. In fact, the only way to prevent that from happening is to disallow all freedoms or, alternatively, disallow all humans.
I really tire of this trend toward cowardice and pipe dreams. You will not have a lawful society, ever. That doesn't mean don't outlaw anything. That means establish punishments and impose reasonable restrictions on the government - and on the people. If we can make a lock that the government can't get into, then fuck 'em. Yes, shit's gonna happen. Sorry but that's the price you pay to live in a free society.
By the way, this is the same reason it's true for firearms, driving, owning a sharp steak knife, being allowed to speak, being able to eat steak, go skydiving, swim, run, jump, skip rope, being allowed to worship, etc...
And some of those aren't even RIGHTS - they're privileges. Privacy, by means of the 4th *and* 5th is pretty much an important fucking concept. There's shit the government can not do. That MEANS bad shit is going to happen. Deal with it. Stop trying to take away my liberties because you're scared. Your fear is not a good reason to take away my liberties - even if I don't USE those liberties. I want them ALL. In fact, I want as many as I can get while still retaining a cohesive, tolerant, and functional society.
That means accepting that shit happens sometimes and doing what you can to clean up afterwards - as well as taking reasonable precautions. Giving the government carte blanc to open anything they damned well please, when they've already demonstrated they can't be trusted - especially with the fucking search warrants, is certainly not on the list of reasonable precautions. Hell no...
Why are you so eager to give up my liberties? They're YOUR liberties too, you know. They're not just mine. Hell, I'll be fine - thanks. I'm more worried about your liberties than you are. Sadly, that's not a joke. That's not funny at all. Me? I can get hell out of the country and be fine all over the globe if I absolutely had to. I have liquid assets stored in non-digital format as well as liquid assets in cash format - stored in a variety of places. Trust me, I'll be fine.
You, on the other hand, are stuck here. So aren't a whole lot of other people. They just might like to make use of some of those liberties you're happily giving away because you're a fucking coward.
> and usually goes after gamers first.
Are you sure about that? My understanding is that they "go after" things in the order/way they're reported. I'd speculate that you're suffering from selection bias or confirmation bias. It'd be akin to me saying that they go after the documentary uploaders (they exist, they are my favorite people on the 'net) first. It's almost certainly not true that they go after them first - or with any greater zeal than any other subject.
I kind of doubt they go after gamers first. As an objective observer, game companies and their respective right's holders are generally aggressive pricks. That is on them, not on Google. I suspect they act pretty much the same on all complaints. I'm not sure why you'd think they'd prioritize or care more about one than the other, actually - except for selection or confirmation biases.
Why would they spend extra to prioritize something as opposed to treating all things equal and just accepting that solitary expense as opposed to needing to filter complaints by type and then set someone to work on them more aggressively than other types. That makes no fiscal sense, not even a little bit. Sometimes I wonder if any of you folks have ever run/owned a business - even a lemonade stand. Unless there's a good reason, you don't do it. Note: Good does not always mean something you can write on the bottom line - such as goodwill.
> (IMO, all listed in the story are pure crap)
Too funny. I concur. When I first opened the thread, I was going to comment how I was going to go download* some of this music to spite the artists.** Then, I looked more closely at who was involved and I decided to not bother opening a KAT tab.
* Amusingly so - I'm actually a fairly staunch supporter of copyright BUT not copyright as it exists currently.
** The term "artists" is being used loosely as it is, after all, a subjective thing. I'm quite positive that some people enjoy the fruits of their labor. I do not.
I agree with your sentiment but I have an extreme dislike for retroactive laws of *any* type as for the precedent they set in doing so. Yes, yes it really is a slippery slope - that's not always just a logical fallacy.
Sure, it's good this time - but what about when they make something illegal and that's retroactive?
So, shorten the damned things to 20 years and allow a single extension at a reasonable cost. I say 20 years but I'm not stuck on that number. I'm pretty much good with 15 to 25. The extension should be something close to half of the original duration.
I also kind of wish they'd stop defaulting to copyright. I kind of hate having to specify that it's granted to the public domain in stuff. If I give something away, it's without restrictions. After all, it was a gift - not a loan or a conditional use. So, I elect to specifically grant to the public domain - but don't insist others must do as I do.
Currently, probably just manpower. Some jurisdictions (assuming you speak of the US but I'm sure others are the same) have already enacted legislation prohibiting broad-scope recording by the police but many areas have not. If you're interested in supporting those who would support such legislation (laws preventing whole-scale capture of video without express purpose, limited duration, and a warrant) then support the ACLU, specifically your State chapter.
Maine's ACLU Chapter is surprisingly well-funded, comparatively speaking. They get a couple of anonymous donations, fairly sizable, every year. Perhaps there's something you can do to assist your State's chapter.
> Dollars to donuts, this lad is tabloid fodder.
Funny. Up above, I offered to bet anyone $50 that the dude's a pantie-sniffer but can't think of a way to prove or disprove it.
Not really, no. You're close but not quite there. You can get a felony and serve no time. The year and a day means they go to the big house (prison) and don't do their time in county. Except in some States - like California where you can do up to five years in the county system - post sentence.
The conviction is a felony or not - the added day doesn't magically change it into a a felony. It just changes where they do their time. Some States, it's up to a few different things. For example, Maine *can* send anyone with 9 months and a day to prison - instead of the county. At the same time, unless there are extenuating circumstances, anyone serving a sentence of 365 (not one year plus a day but one year) goes to one of the DOC facilities.
Hopefully that clears it up for you. The day just means where they're going to serve their time. The crime is either a felony or not, sentencing is at the discretion of the judge with some caveats. They do have a lot of leeway and can work in collusion with the State (the prosecutor) to decide what charges you'll be charged with.
How do I know? Well, it's a long story but the answer might not be what you're now guessing. I spend a lot of time in court. I go and observe the courts. It's my end of the social contract. If we are not observing the courts to observe that justice is being served then we're relying on others to observe for us - and they have failed us. The court system is the most easily approached branch of the government and meant to be only quasi-government in nature - a third branch, known as the judicial branch.
Also, depending on where you live, a felony conviction may not bar you from voting. It almost certainly should not bar you from voting in a federal election but my understanding is that some States prohibit that. I should like to see that taken to the SCOTUS at some point but, frankly, I don't have standing and I'm not about to move and commit a felony just to get that overturned/abolished.
To cite Maine, again, they actually encourage the incarcerated to vote and provide easy registration and absentee ballots to the inmates on request. They don't just do that for the larger elections but even for the smaller, yearly, elections. At one point in time, there was discussion of allowing campaigning in the prisons but they decided (I think) that the security risk was too large - which is kind of silly. Maine has a rather tame prison system. There are fewer inmates in the entire system than there are in some county jails.
If there were a way to prove it... I'd bet $50 that he's a pantie sniffer. That's pretty specific so I'd only bet $50 but, if we could prove it one way or the other, I'd bet on it beforehand. Hmm... Maybe we need some drones/hidden cameras and to leave some panties about for him to acquire.
If you're gonna sex a hooker, get a hotel room and close the curtains. At least do yourself a favor and get an escort instead. Those usually look a little better.
The thing is...
I've shared pics and stories and all that but there's still a few observations I've not yet shared. This one, this one might be important.
I've been from one side of the globe to the other, all around it even. I've been close to the top, close to the bottom, and pretty much all points in between. Without devolving into a novella, I've often not done so as a traditional tourist. So, I've seen the seedier sides of society - and had a hell of a good time.
America, and I mean that as a pair of continents, generally has the ugliest hookers.
(Go East for the cute hookers. Skip Thailand, unless you're into that.)
And no, no I've never directly paid for sex. I mean, not as a direct exchange. Sort of, close to, but not really have I paid for sex. But that'd be a novella and I don't like you enough to write you a novella right now. Don't take it personal, I don't like *anyone* that much at the moment.
At any rate, I'm not sure why but the average hooker - from Canada to Chile, is ugly. There are exceptions but we're talking about averages.
It's not punishment. She was paid, after all.
No, but it is legal in one county in Nevada. I know of no human sex trafficking going on in that county but that doesn't say much. I've got a place down in Henderson that sits mostly empty unless I go out and then commute into the table games or there's a private club not far from the house that I go to.
Err... Not for prostitution. No, I go there 'cause I like math and theatrics. When you're playing table games with more than a few grand on the table, that's really all it is reduced to. Hold 'em or Draw would be my preferences, if you're curious. I actually do quite well but that's because I don't go to Nevada to play against the house. Playing against the house is either a fool's errand or a quick way to get blacklisted. They do quite a bit of research when you step into town with a bundle as a stake. I'm not dumb enough to go count at the Blackjack tables.
So, I play the table games against people. It works out nicely.
Happy birthday! And I've been living like that since I retired 8 years ago. I've done all the fun things I wanted, etc... I've had fun. Someone else can take my space. Death doesn't scare me. I see it as respite, as peace, as tranquility and sleep. I'm content with life. I'm very happy with what I've accomplished. I've learned all that I wanted, read what I wanted, and even bedded enough women for several of us. ;-)
Let someone else take over and let me finally get some solid rest. (I don't sleep well, long story. I'm a true insomniac and, to make it worse, I've got sleep apnea. The sleep I get is pretty low-quality and I don't do anything for it and I won't take sleeping medication.)
I just use a plain ol' encrypted compressed file - standard stuff. I add more to it.
I've got usernames, passwords, an index so they can find things.
I've got statements, thoughts, opinions - not things I wasn't able to say while alive but things that aren't ready to be said yet.
I've got a list of people to contact and how they should be contacted - in list of preference.
I've got a messages to leave behind, many online as I've developed a lot of online relationships over the past 30 years.
I've met many of those online people in real life - so they're invited to my festivities.
I've left designated funds that are in their own accounts for various purposes - including said festivities, etc...
Things like that and I just use the bog standard password protection offerings that come with compression - .zip so that's 256 AES I believe.
See, I've already accomplished every goal I have. I really have to make meaningful things up to do or I get bored. I've learned enough about all the things I want to know - and enough about some of them to know I don't want to learn more. I've been everywhere I've wanted to go - except North Korea and I only want to go there because they tell me I can't. I own all the things I could ever really want to own - and then some.
I also don't fear death or anything. I kind of look forward to the respite from daily living. No, I'm not really depressed or anything - nor am I suicidal. I'm just content.
Dunno how much sense that makes to others but it makes sense to me. ;-)
I even went out and shuffled a little bit on the dance floor earlier. Yay me... I'd say I'm gonna be sore tomorrow but probably no worse than normal. Life is good and the remainder of the place is now shuffled off to bed.
Heh... Does it mean anything if I first thought they were eyeballs? ;-)
When computers can do that then I think our binary friend above will have a point. They can't do that yet. I'm not the least bit surprised that it was found by a human reading bits of paper and noticing an oddity. (Oddly, if you expand their comment, they went on to assert that I had no idea what I was talking about and that the problem wasn't pattern recognition.)