Alright, listen up you primitive screwheads. In any Slashdot article that concerns evolution or cosmology, in fact in any Slashdot article at all, if I read you endorsing or promoting creationist, young-earth and/or biblical literal arguments, I shall add you to my foes list. Should I be in the possession of mod points I shall rate you -1, cretin.
This is the message I got from the system the other day. Now, I had spend that last two days off, and really bored, so I guess I posted a lot of messages. My karma has long since capped off, so it doesn't make a difference in rating, and several are negative, but the sheer quantity of moderation just took me back, so I thought I would journal it. Keep in mind, this is a single days worth of moderation. I have no idea what the two 0's are. They are not from moderators who posted afterward, since those are shown lower.
Slashdot Message for Pharmboy
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sent by Slashdot Message System on Friday August 15, @08:05PM
Re:UPS advice ,
posted to Power Outages
Strike East Coast , has been moderated Funny (+1).
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Re:Trial by jury... *shudder* , posted to SCO Attorney Declares GPL Invalid , has been moderated Informative (+1).
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Re:Al Gore never claimed he invented the Internet. , posted to Los Alamos to Use AMD's Opteron in Linux Clusters , has been moderated Informative (+1).
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Re:Wow! , posted to Miniature 5600 and 7200 RPM HDDs Reviewed , has been moderated Insightful (+1).
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Re:Al Gore never claimed he invented the Internet. , posted to Los Alamos to Use AMD's Opteron in Linux Clusters , has been moderated Interesting (+1).
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Re:Wow! , posted to Miniature 5600 and 7200 RPM HDDs Reviewed , has been moderated Informative (+1).
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Re:What about hot bugs? , posted to Iron-eating Bug Found to Thrive in 121C Heat , has been moderated Insightful (+1).
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Re:Wow! , posted to Miniature 5600 and 7200 RPM HDDs Reviewed , has been moderated Overrated (-1).
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Re:Al Gore never claimed he invented the Internet. , posted to Los Alamos to Use AMD's Opteron in Linux Clusters , has been moderated Funny (+1).
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Re:How High? , posted to Iron-eating Bug Found to Thrive in 121C Heat , has been moderated Funny (+1).
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Re:Al Gore never claimed he invented the Internet. , posted to Los Alamos to Use AMD's Opteron in Linux Clusters , has been moderated Overrated (-1).
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Re:How High? , posted to Iron-eating Bug Found to Thrive in 121C Heat , has been moderated Funny (+1).
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Re:What about hot bugs? , posted to Iron-eating Bug Found to Thrive in 121C Heat , has been moderated Overrated (-1).
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Re:How High? , posted to Iron-eating Bug Found to Thrive in 121C Heat , has been moderated Overrated (-1).
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Re:This is not the first one. , posted to Iron-eating Bug Found to Thrive in 121C Heat , has been moderated Offtopic (-1).
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Re:How High? , posted to Iron-eating Bug Found to Thrive in 121C Heat , has been moderated Funny (+1).
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Re:How High? , posted to Iron-eating Bug Found to Thrive in 121C Heat , has been moderated Funny (+1).
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Re:The connoisseur's view , posted to Miniature 5400 and 7200 RPM HDDs Reviewed , has been moderated Funny (+1).
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Re:Welcome , posted to Iron-eating Bug Found to Thrive in 121C Heat , has been moderated Informative (+1).
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Re:Welcome , posted to Iron-eating Bug Found to Thrive in 121C Heat , has been moderated Funny (+1).
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Re:That's media reporting for ya , posted to LovSan Clone Let Loose , has been moderated Insightful (+1).
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Re:Wow! , posted to Miniature 5400 and 7200 RPM HDDs Reviewed , has been moderated Interesting (+1).
It is currently scored Interesting (3).
Re:Wow! , posted to Miniature 5400 and 7200 RPM HDDs Reviewed , has been moderated Informative (+1).
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Re:How High? , posted to Iron-eating Bug Found to Thrive in 121C Heat , has been moderated Overrated (-1).
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Re:Al Gore never claimed he invented the Internet. , posted to Los Alamos to Use AMD's Opteron in Linux Clusters , has been moderated Insightful (+1).
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Re:Very Nice , posted to Miniature 5400 and 7200 RPM HDDs Reviewed , has been moderated Insightful (+1).
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Re:Frivilous , posted to Apple to Accept Returns of Mac OS X on Some G3s , has been moderated Insightful (+1).
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Re:Frivilous , posted to Apple to Accept Returns of Mac OS X on Some G3s , has been moderated Insightful (+1).
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Re:Frivilous , posted to Apple to Accept Returns of Mac OS X on Some G3s , has been moderated Insightful (+1).
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Re:Wow! , posted to Miniature 5400 and 7200 RPM HDDs Reviewed , has been moderated Flamebait (-1).
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Re:The connoisseur's view , posted to Miniature 5400 and 7200 RPM HDDs Reviewed , has been moderated Funny (+1).
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Re:Frivilous , posted to Apple to Accept Returns of Mac OS X on Some G3s , has been moderated Informative (+1).
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Re:Very Nice , posted to Miniature 5400 and 7200 RPM HDDs Reviewed , has been moderated Insightful (+1).
It is currently scored Insightful (4).
Re:How High? , posted to Iron-eating Bug Found to Thrive in 121C Heat , has been moderated Funny (+1).
It is currently scored Funny (5).
Re:Welcome , posted to Iron-eating Bug Found to Thrive in 121C Heat , has been moderated Overrated (-1).
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Re:Al Gore never claimed he invented the Internet. , posted to Los Alamos to Use AMD's Opteron in Linux Clusters , has been moderated Overrated (-1).
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Re:More info , posted to Experts Recommend Keeping Hubble Operational , has been moderated Insightful (+1).
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Re:More info , posted to Experts Recommend Keeping Hubble Operational , has been moderated Interesting (+1).
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Re:More info , posted to Experts Recommend Keeping Hubble Operational , has been moderated Interesting (+1).
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Re:I think the windows update botton on the taskba , posted to WindowsUpdate.com Secured, Permanently , has been moderated Insightful (+1).
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Re:More info , posted to Experts Recommend Keeping Hubble Operational , has been moderated Overrated (-1).
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Re:I think the windows update botton on the taskba , posted to WindowsUpdate.com Secured, Permanently , has been moderated Informative (+1).
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Re:I think the windows update botton on the taskba , posted to WindowsUpdate.com Secured, Permanently , has been moderated Insightful (+1).
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Re:More info , posted to Experts Recommend Keeping Hubble Operational , has been moderated Interesting (+1).
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Re:I think the windows update botton on the taskba , posted to WindowsUpdate.com Secured, Permanently , has been moderated Informative (+1).
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Re:What about hot bugs? , posted to Iron-eating Bug Found to Thrive in 121C Heat , has been moderated Funny (+1).
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Re:I think the windows update botton on the taskba , posted to WindowsUpdate.com Secured, Permanently , has been moderated Informative (+1).
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Re:I think the windows update botton on the taskba , posted to WindowsUpdate.com Secured, Permanently , has been moderated Interesting (+1).
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Re:I think the windows update botton on the taskba , posted to WindowsUpdate.com Secured, Permanently , has been moderated Interesting (+1).
It is currently scored Insightful (4).
Re:I think the windows update botton on the taskba , posted to WindowsUpdate.com Secured, Permanently , has been moderated Interesting (+1).
It is currently scored Interesting (3).
Re:I think the windows update botton on the taskba , posted to WindowsUpdate.com Secured, Permanently , has been moderated Interesting (+1).
It is currently scored Interesting (2).
Re:I think the windows update botton on the taskba , posted to WindowsUpdate.com Secured, Permanently , has been moderated Informative (+1).
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Re:I think the windows update botton on the taskba , posted to WindowsUpdate.com Secured, Permanently , has been moderated Overrated (-1).
It is currently scored Informative (4).
Re:I think the windows update botton on the taskba , posted to WindowsUpdate.com Secured, Permanently , has been moderated Informative (+1).
It is currently scored Informative (3).
A user had given a moderation of Overrated (-1) to your comment, Re:I think the windows update botton on the taskba , attached to WindowsUpdate.com Secured, Permanently . That moderation has now been undone, probably due to the user posting in the discussion after moderating in it. Your comment is currently scored Informative (5).
Re:I think the windows update botton on the taskba , posted to WindowsUpdate.com Secured, Permanently , has been moderated Insightful (+1).
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Re:I think the windows update botton on the taskba , posted to WindowsUpdate.com Secured, Permanently , has been moderated Informative (+1).
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Re:Frivilous , posted to Apple to Accept Returns of Mac OS X on Some G3s , has been moderated Overrated (-1).
It is currently scored Insightful (4).
Re:I think the windows update botton on the taskba , posted to WindowsUpdate.com Secured, Permanently , has been moderated Informative (+1).
It is currently scored Informative (5).
Re:I think the windows update botton on the taskba , posted to WindowsUpdate.com Secured, Permanently , has been moderated Overrated (-1).
It is currently scored Insightful (3).
Re:I think the windows update botton on the taskba , posted to WindowsUpdate.com Secured, Permanently , has been moderated Funny (+1).
It is currently scored Interesting (4).
Re:How High? , posted to Iron-eating Bug Found to Thrive in 121C Heat , has been moderated Overrated (-1).
It is currently scored Funny (4).
Re:I think the windows update botton on the taskba , posted to WindowsUpdate.com Secured, Permanently , has been moderated Overrated (-1).
It is currently scored Informative (4).
Hey, I am moving! Yay! I realize nobody cares, but, well, it is exciting. Should be out of our old place by August 1st. The new place is way nicer and as such the rent is 3x higher, but oh well.
An idea popped into my head today, and I wanted to put it down somewhere before it got too heavy and fell out. It comes out of thinking, "What would it take to get someone to develop an OS version of GIS (Geographical Information Systems)?" Some may know, and others may not, that there's pretty much one company who makes GIS software (ESRI). It's hideously expensive, and not that great either. And while version 3.x is available for a variety of platforms (including Unix), the newest line, 8.x, is only available for Windows-NT based systems. (Apparently Microsoft threatened to create a competing product [which is MS-speak for steal their code] if they didn't introduce that limitation.)
So here's my thought: start up a non-profit company that is geared towards creating applications for government agencies (which tend to have the most specialized needs) and other large companies. The process goes like this:
It's crazy, but it just might work. Certainly it would be something of a safety net for governments that want to adopt a preferential policy towards Open Source. It's basically a high-risk low-yield investment, since there's no guarantee you'll get any of it back... but you might get it all back with interest. Now to write up a proposal, I guess
Crikey.
Finally I have a LUG at my university! It seems that there is growing grassroots support for Linux at the University where I study. I am a chemical engineer and everyone I know uses windows and Microsoft Office for just about everything. I have started a minor rebellion, but going is slow. Now there is a LUG, I hope that we can organize and try to get support for open formats in our class notes (not everyone can open Powerpoint presentations with imbedded Excel macros, etc).
Baby steps.
"The U.S. has an *enormous* installed base of poorly-designed neighborhoods."
-- CidHighwind
Oh yeah. Downloaded a brand spanking new (20030502) ISO of knoppix and started stunning my friends. I live in a commune, and I have successfully converted 4 out of 5 housemates to Linux. The 5th is one of those 'but my stuff works like it is now, and I can get (read pirate) all the stuff I need on Windows'. Half an hour of Knoppix, and he's hooked.
Also, I work at a University and have been fighting an uphill battle with our administration not to require documents done in Word (But it's the industry standard!). Now, I can show all these people first hand what a free OS looks like. And explain to them why it's not 'freeware'.
Must say -- liveCDs rock.
My introductory subscription ran out on the 3rd, and I got dinged for the next month's subscription fee. So, I go to cancel, the same way I signed up - on eagames.com. That's when I find out that you have to call them. Now, it is an 800 number, but that's like another 10 minutes or so, and you have to say why you are quitting. Bad move, EA. Now you've just made me cranky about your game.
...and into all the other industries. It's time to stop the segregation of technology as a separate department. As high-tech solutions become more and more essential to everyday business, there is a greater need for tech-savvy people in "ordinary" jobs.
I was thinking about this as I was chatting with my supervisor at LACMTA (Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority) today. I was relating to him the difficulties I had in completing a task because of outdated software and inadequate hardware. The Catch-22 is, if you don't have the people who know how to use the stuff, there's no point in buying advanced hardware or software... and if you don't have the advanced hardware or software, what's the point in hiring people to use it?
Now I'm an intern there, and I know how to use the stuff because in a former life I ran a Computer Services department or four at Kinko's. But in spite of the dot-com bust and the general job market issues, tech professionals don't seem to be flocking to more mundane office jobs.
Well, it's time they did. Next time you're laid off, just think... "What do I really want to do?" Then do it. Maybe, like me, you'll need to get another degree first or something (seems Transportation Planning isn't something people usually learn on the job), but it will be worth it... for you, and for your world. Yeah, the one you live in, that one. (No, not the one inside the little box. The one that delivers pizza when you can't tear yourself away from the box.)
So my three year old boy is HUGE into pipes and drains. We have a big storm drain outside our house that empties into the canyon next to the house, and it's been a dream of his to figure out where the pipe empties out. So one day we decided to scale the canyon. It was very steep, so I had to carry him while trying to hold my balance. We found the end of the pipe and had lots of fun exploring around.
Until a few days later.
Yup -- I started breaking out in a HUGE rash all over my body. All over my arms, all over my legs, around my waist, on my face and, er, my genitals. Big red blotches, weeping and oozing. And itching. Real, real bad.
Actually, I got really scared that it was something else. I have psoriasis on my hands. Anyone who has psoriasis can tell you how much it totally sucks. You can't cure it (it's genetic), you can only maintain it. It causes your skin to blister and scale, and you have to use heavy-duty creams to get rid of it. I was scared that maybe my psoriasis decided to go crazy all over my body! That would truly, truly suck.
Fortunately, I figured out it was "only" poison oak. Better than psoriasis, but boy does it suck hard. You cannot believe how bad the itching is. The only thing that I can compare it to (and this is only vague memories) was chicken pox. I couldn't sleep at night. I had to constantly rub ice cubes on myself as a topical anesthetic. It was absolutely horrible.
Now, in doing some research, I thought that it pretty much vanishes in about a week, so I tried to tough it out. I asked my pharmacist father-in-law if there were any cures, and he said there was nothing non-prescription, so I just tried to tolerate it.
Finally, though, I couldn't take it anymore. The itching was driving me insane, so I did a web search for "poison oak cure". And this stuff popped up: Zanfel. It promised to "cure the itching in 30 seconds, and get rid of the poison oak in 24 hours". Whoa. This has to be a scam, but I'm freaking desperate. I look at the list of pharmacies, and found one near me. I buy the stuff... OUCH! $32 for a little 1oz tube. SCAM SCAM SCAM. Screw it
The stuff was freaking amazing. It literally blew away the itching in about 30 seconds. Supposedly it sucks out and neutralizes the poison.
Unfortunately, it didn't cure it in 24 hours, though. The pamplet says that if you have "systemic poison oak", then the poison is in your bloodstream and the only thing that will get rid of it quickly is heavy duty steroids from your doctor. So I went to the doctor yesterday and got the steroids.
The Zanfel works for about 4-8 hours, and then the Uruthiol poison (that's the bad stuff) works it way from deeper in your skin back to the surface. Then I have to apply the Zanfel again, and I get more relief.
Man, if you ever get Poison oak, poison ivy or poison sumac, YOU WANT THIS STUFF. It's worth every freaking penny.
And I'm now an expert on poison oak, and how to avoid it. What's funny is that I used to think it was kind of a joke ("Oh yeah, gotta avoid that poison oak!! har har"), but it's no joke. The itching is absolutely horrible when you get it bad like I did.
By the way, the rule of thumb is that "leaves of three, let it be", meaning that if the plant has groups of three leaves, then it might be poison ivy or poison oak. The rule of thumb works for the latter two, but apparently poison sumac can have a lot more leaves. Fortunately, poison sumac is not in my area (So Cal), so I'm safe. This is poison oak country.
-- Feb 6 update (next day) --
As long as I'm giving updates on my health, I broke my little toe last night running in to answer the damn phone. My foot hit the side of the doorway. Now I look like a leprosy victim with a big limp. I think I'm ready to star in the next "Night of the Living Dead" movie.
This week has really sucked health-wise.
I've long held the belief that if a few aliens do ever visit earth, they will be able to make good money as actors. I mean, the directors of Star trek et al would love to have few different body plans off which to hang their latex noses. As it is they employ dwarves and freakishly tall people.
However the aliens would no doubt be baffled and bemused by this. And no doubt a bit hammy too. Astronauts are not chosen for their ability to act.
It occurs to me that magic, by definition, doesn't exist. The definitions presented by the dictionary are distinctly unsatisfying; most refer to the occult or supernatural. But when it comes down to it, something is "magic" if it simply cannot be.
All kinds of things (for example, predicting the future, influencing the weather, or instantaneously appearing and disappearing) are dubbed magic. We name a thing magic if we cannot tell how it could possibly happen. Either we know it to be impossible on the face of it (levitation, invisibility, etc.) or we know that it can be done, but not without certain prerequisites that aren't currently present (moving from one location to another without travelling the space in between, for example).
It has been argued that we need magic. I won't disagree; one of my favorite quotes is "Logic gives man what he needs; magic gives him what he wants" (Tom Robbins in Another Roadside Attraction). But in terms of what stock we put in it, it's important to recognize just what we categorize as magic. It seems that, for all practical purposes, magic is the same as imagination. It just now occurred to me that they even seem to share a common root... I'll have to crack open the OED on that one sometime. We do, I think, need the ability to conceive of and comprehend the impossible; otherwise, new things never become possible. But knowing the difference between imagining a way to cure cancer with crystals and actually believing that you can do it, right now, can be a life and death matter.
There is still a lot in this world we don't understand. Most of it has to do with how we work; we're still quite foggy on just what makes us self-aware, intelligent, or even alive. We can say "this is alive" and "this is not alive," but we don't know how to go from one to the other (without using a currently living organism to process the non-living matter, anyway). But calling such a thing "magic" can be misleading. It implies, to many people, that it not only isn't possible for us to do now, but that it never can be understood; that its very nature is supernatural, which of course is a paradox.
Ok, done babbling, back to calculating mortgage payments for my math homework that was due last week... and I'll be dreaming of some magical way to have all my homework done while I read
"Free markets select for winning solutions." -- Eric S. Raymond
