Glad to read this, as it confirms many of my pet suspicions.
To take it a step further, I think this phenomena is most pronounced with mobile phones for two reasons:
1. You cannot see the person you're talking to, so your brain makes efforts to visualize them. This leads to ever greater distractions as our consciousness is less in the present and more with the person you're talking to,
combined with
2. The mobile nature of the mobile phone amplifies this effect over a regular phone. Regular phones tend to be in a relatively fixed location, most often one of some familiarity. This both grants more room for distraction, but also can ground the person to their physical location.
But on a mobile, especially while driving, there's little grounding, and so the level of distraction is far, far greater.
Just an idea. If anyone has any studies that indicate something along these lines, I've love to see them.
I did read the article, but did not see anything about identification.
Other than ensuring there is no spyware running on your machine, anyone have an idea how to detect this particular program?
At my previous job we worked very closely with a French company, and they set up a program to send one of their employees to work at our site in the USA. A young kid without much experience, everyone wondered why he was chosen.
He turned out to be a great guy and became friends with quite a few of us. One drunken evening he let slip that in fact, he was working at our company for the express purpose of reporting back to the French company, all supported by the French government -- he was performing his "national service" by engaging in industrial espionage (rather than, say, joining the army for a year).
I found it intriguing. And ultimately, pointless: he didn't learn much from us.
I, too, am a Maine expat, though I'm consigned to Massholeland, and have every intent to return to Maine the first chance I get. That said, I frequent Maine enough to have a good feel for what's going on in the state.
Maine seems unique in a type of conservative person who nonetheless would be labeled "Liberal" at the national level. I like to think of this as the "Maine Conservative", which, in fact, is closer to what I thought Conservatives were supposed to stand for, before Maine "Native" George W. came to Washington. To wit, an ethos of "Get out of my business" pervades all sides of the political debate, fused somehow with an active social support net and a contrarian nature I think fueled in part from Canada.
It's an odd political mix, and I can only relate it to the Montana/Dakota areas of the US, though there they have bought in heavily to the national conservative movement.
I agree. I just came back from Shenzhen and if that was Communism I saw, well, sign me up.
To get out of the heat I ducked into a new, 12 story mall. The nicest mall I've ever been to. Gucci? Check. Hugo Boss? Check. Every other high end fashion retailer? Check. It was over the top luxurious.
But, apparently, this is all a mask, for the property sharing RED COMMIE! who lurks beneath.
I got one of the first Atari systems in 1976 or so, but that was my Dad's doing, not mine.
However, my life was irrevocably changed the first time I played Asteroids. What a game! And to this day, it maintains a grace and clarity, and complex challenge, that I don't find with any other game. I keep PC versions of the game on every PC I work on. Great stress reliever. That said, I still haven't overcome my bias against The Triangles....
Temporarily exiled to Mass, but a Mainer through and through.
It seems like every other day I read a news story that makes me proud of the folks from Maine. One of the last bastions of common "American" sense left in the country, as scary as that is!
I'd like to throw a big shout out to the wise folks of Maine, who began this fight against the national ID, and now it seems to have spread to lots of other states.
"As Maine goes, so goes the Nation".
Ayuh!
Oh yes. The recurring gag of making fun of Viv "I have two arms" Savage is hilarious.
That has to be the one DVD commentary I can think of that actually fits thematically with the movie.
Brilliant!
I love Firefox, and I love my Mac.
Only real point of contention with Firefox on the Mac is the poor handling of bookmarks -- can't sort by right clicking, and Bookmarks Manager is clunky and non-intuitive.
A small price to pay though for ad/flash free surfing goodness.
One of the handful of books to change my life was "The Sirens of Titan". I distinctly remember the feeling of new worlds and viewpoints opening up before me as I finished. One of my favorite literary moments --a true "Holy Frak!" moment.
"Cat's Cradle" produced a similar, though more somber, feeling.
What great books by a great author and a great Citizen of Planet Earth. One of the defining role models in mine -- and many of my friends -- life.
RIP Mr. Vonnegut
I'm the first one to mention the Palpatine stamp? Dang!
I'll be using that stamp for my various angry letters to sundry Government officials.
"I will MAKE it legal..."
I'm glad to see all the love for The Silmarillion. The work just blows me away -- I've read it about 5 times now, nearly back to back to back (I like reading a few pages before bed).
I like to think of it as the Old Testament of the Tolkien mythos -- it tracks very closely, with the Creation story, an Exodus, several tales of begatting, stories of the lawgivers (kings), and underlying all is the vague promise of a future savior (which is not Frodo, at least, I don't think).
I think I love the Silmarillion most for it's fascinating take on Evil as necessity. Morgoth is a made creature simply fulfilling his part in Eru's plans. Sauron simply Morgoth's follower. Why they do what the do is complex, but it can be boiled down to: They're required to do it. Creation requires it.
It's a bit shocking in conception, and for me, actually does a great job in explaining Christian mythology (which Tolkien was no doubt working with/around).
Great points. And you made me remember that indeed, this is Hurin's story (as the book's title suggests), but with the focus on his son. But his son is a jerk, as his wife/mother. The poor daughter never had a chance.
Perhaps the wrong venue for this, but I've always wondered if Turin is gay, and hence the anger/confusion with him. He has a lovely elf-maiden throwing herself at him, and he spurns her. And he seems far more comfortable in the presence of his elf friend Beleg. Those two seemed to have "a thing".
I don't think the topic of homosexuality was a matter to be discussed in JRR's day, but I wonder...
Over the past three years I've really gotten into Tolkien's writing (The Silmarillion being my fave), but I've never been a big fan of Turin's story. It's certainly tragic, and nothing ends well, which normally I like. It's just that Turin is fairly unsympathetic. He's headstrong, foolish, and something of a prick. Hard to root for, despite his occasional heroic deeds.
Now Hurin -- I'd love to see more of Hurin. Anyone who can tell Morgoth off to his face is the very definition of tragically heroic.
I am not ashamed to admit that I love The Phantom Menace. It gets better every time I see it (which, lately -- thanks HBO! - is a lot). It's heads and shoulders above the other two prequels in my opinion.
I know there are other people out there that love it too. Be proud!
As for the Fan Movies, just submit the Colbert Green Screen challenge winner and be done.
Slashdot Mirror
You're wrong. Olaf the Troll was featured in a couple very funny episodes.
Glad to read this, as it confirms many of my pet suspicions. To take it a step further, I think this phenomena is most pronounced with mobile phones for two reasons: 1. You cannot see the person you're talking to, so your brain makes efforts to visualize them. This leads to ever greater distractions as our consciousness is less in the present and more with the person you're talking to, combined with 2. The mobile nature of the mobile phone amplifies this effect over a regular phone. Regular phones tend to be in a relatively fixed location, most often one of some familiarity. This both grants more room for distraction, but also can ground the person to their physical location. But on a mobile, especially while driving, there's little grounding, and so the level of distraction is far, far greater. Just an idea. If anyone has any studies that indicate something along these lines, I've love to see them.
I believe this is my cue: Beam me up! Hello? Anyone there? Don't leave me beh....URGKKK!
He told Clippy to, and I quote, "Get Bent".
I did read the article, but did not see anything about identification. Other than ensuring there is no spyware running on your machine, anyone have an idea how to detect this particular program?
I believe they throw them as the launching procedure, and then the unit flies off.
Without Fear, what will lead to Anger? Hate? S-S-Suffering????
At my previous job we worked very closely with a French company, and they set up a program to send one of their employees to work at our site in the USA. A young kid without much experience, everyone wondered why he was chosen. He turned out to be a great guy and became friends with quite a few of us. One drunken evening he let slip that in fact, he was working at our company for the express purpose of reporting back to the French company, all supported by the French government -- he was performing his "national service" by engaging in industrial espionage (rather than, say, joining the army for a year). I found it intriguing. And ultimately, pointless: he didn't learn much from us.
I, too, am a Maine expat, though I'm consigned to Massholeland, and have every intent to return to Maine the first chance I get. That said, I frequent Maine enough to have a good feel for what's going on in the state. Maine seems unique in a type of conservative person who nonetheless would be labeled "Liberal" at the national level. I like to think of this as the "Maine Conservative", which, in fact, is closer to what I thought Conservatives were supposed to stand for, before Maine "Native" George W. came to Washington. To wit, an ethos of "Get out of my business" pervades all sides of the political debate, fused somehow with an active social support net and a contrarian nature I think fueled in part from Canada. It's an odd political mix, and I can only relate it to the Montana/Dakota areas of the US, though there they have bought in heavily to the national conservative movement.
Oh, I know that. But these were actual stores, not "dude on street selling pocketbooks and watches". Unless they're counterfeiting stores too now....
I agree. I just came back from Shenzhen and if that was Communism I saw, well, sign me up. To get out of the heat I ducked into a new, 12 story mall. The nicest mall I've ever been to. Gucci? Check. Hugo Boss? Check. Every other high end fashion retailer? Check. It was over the top luxurious. But, apparently, this is all a mask, for the property sharing RED COMMIE! who lurks beneath.
Remember! Disparaging The Boot is a Bootable offense.
I got one of the first Atari systems in 1976 or so, but that was my Dad's doing, not mine. However, my life was irrevocably changed the first time I played Asteroids. What a game! And to this day, it maintains a grace and clarity, and complex challenge, that I don't find with any other game. I keep PC versions of the game on every PC I work on. Great stress reliever. That said, I still haven't overcome my bias against The Triangles....
Temporarily exiled to Mass, but a Mainer through and through. It seems like every other day I read a news story that makes me proud of the folks from Maine. One of the last bastions of common "American" sense left in the country, as scary as that is!
I'd like to throw a big shout out to the wise folks of Maine, who began this fight against the national ID, and now it seems to have spread to lots of other states. "As Maine goes, so goes the Nation". Ayuh!
Oh yes. The recurring gag of making fun of Viv "I have two arms" Savage is hilarious. That has to be the one DVD commentary I can think of that actually fits thematically with the movie. Brilliant!
I love Firefox, and I love my Mac. Only real point of contention with Firefox on the Mac is the poor handling of bookmarks -- can't sort by right clicking, and Bookmarks Manager is clunky and non-intuitive. A small price to pay though for ad/flash free surfing goodness.
One of the handful of books to change my life was "The Sirens of Titan". I distinctly remember the feeling of new worlds and viewpoints opening up before me as I finished. One of my favorite literary moments --a true "Holy Frak!" moment. "Cat's Cradle" produced a similar, though more somber, feeling. What great books by a great author and a great Citizen of Planet Earth. One of the defining role models in mine -- and many of my friends -- life. RIP Mr. Vonnegut
I'm the first one to mention the Palpatine stamp? Dang! I'll be using that stamp for my various angry letters to sundry Government officials. "I will MAKE it legal..."
I'm glad to see all the love for The Silmarillion. The work just blows me away -- I've read it about 5 times now, nearly back to back to back (I like reading a few pages before bed). I like to think of it as the Old Testament of the Tolkien mythos -- it tracks very closely, with the Creation story, an Exodus, several tales of begatting, stories of the lawgivers (kings), and underlying all is the vague promise of a future savior (which is not Frodo, at least, I don't think). I think I love the Silmarillion most for it's fascinating take on Evil as necessity. Morgoth is a made creature simply fulfilling his part in Eru's plans. Sauron simply Morgoth's follower. Why they do what the do is complex, but it can be boiled down to: They're required to do it. Creation requires it. It's a bit shocking in conception, and for me, actually does a great job in explaining Christian mythology (which Tolkien was no doubt working with/around).
Homosexuality was discussed in LOTR? I don't recall. There was plenty of Hobbitsexuality, but that's a bit different. Just a bit, mind you.
Great points. And you made me remember that indeed, this is Hurin's story (as the book's title suggests), but with the focus on his son. But his son is a jerk, as his wife/mother. The poor daughter never had a chance. Perhaps the wrong venue for this, but I've always wondered if Turin is gay, and hence the anger/confusion with him. He has a lovely elf-maiden throwing herself at him, and he spurns her. And he seems far more comfortable in the presence of his elf friend Beleg. Those two seemed to have "a thing". I don't think the topic of homosexuality was a matter to be discussed in JRR's day, but I wonder...
Over the past three years I've really gotten into Tolkien's writing (The Silmarillion being my fave), but I've never been a big fan of Turin's story. It's certainly tragic, and nothing ends well, which normally I like. It's just that Turin is fairly unsympathetic. He's headstrong, foolish, and something of a prick. Hard to root for, despite his occasional heroic deeds. Now Hurin -- I'd love to see more of Hurin. Anyone who can tell Morgoth off to his face is the very definition of tragically heroic.
I am not ashamed to admit that I love The Phantom Menace. It gets better every time I see it (which, lately -- thanks HBO! - is a lot). It's heads and shoulders above the other two prequels in my opinion. I know there are other people out there that love it too. Be proud! As for the Fan Movies, just submit the Colbert Green Screen challenge winner and be done.
Mmmmm.... humanity.....