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Comment Re:Don't blow shit up - problem solved (Score 0, Flamebait) 409

I could have told you that on 9/12.
In fact I did tell people that, saying going to war is not the solution,
but at the time people were thinking like animals. All they could see was "red" and revenge.

How very astute of you.

I'm sorry to say, but it's not possible to prove something's validity through the failure of your opposition. Yes, it's a start, but as the history of rulers and political systems of the 20th century can attest, it's also a good way to bring a bitter end to things: Lenin, Stalin, Hitler, and many others said "their ways don't work, follow me" and there was even more suffering than under the previous rule.

The reality is that there are many other ways in which those wars could have been fought - indeed, there are many ways which many people wanted to see those wars fought which never occurred. The actual people who were "thinking like animals" wanted to carpet bomb their countries and utterly destroy them. Between them and your irrationally passive approach, we came up with what we got.

As for the 9/11 bombers, people seem to forget that it was diversity and open-minded political correctness which brought them here. We've known since the 1970s that their type (affluent Arabic Muslim men) are the stereotype for Islamic terrorism, yet we continued to let them in.

It's more complex than just "better locks"; significantly more so. I and most sane people would agree that is a necessary first step, but it's one step of many.

Proactively ruling out retributive attacks against enemies is just as, if not more, foolish than throwing an inappropriate level of force at a problem. But just because that level of force is ineffective does not mean that force was not the solution you were looking for.

Comment Re:Best prank ever (Score 1) 217

Here's the problem, though. The News media may be a trusted channel - but the very fact that civil authorities (first responders, military, etc) were not notifying the mayor of the situation should have immediately raised red flags everywhere. No notice from the police, for example, indicates that either a) the police have been wiped out, or b) there is nothing to report.

Comment Poor Dr. Okun... (Score 1) 464

It makes sense to revisit this story - surely every alien didn't die immediately, right? But the only story that makes sense would be some post-apocalyptic, mad-max nightmare scenario, with shades of District 9 and alien tech being used for shenanigans. Not sure what new material they'd be able to bring to the table - unless they do a prequel with the Roswell landing, which has its own challenges.

So, so easy to screw this one up.

Comment Re:Be warned, the community is noxious (Score 1) 118

It's a great game, and I've had fun with it since they posted the closed beta on Slashdot last year. I'm the sort of player who has the occasional really, really good game - and that makes the complete failures more tolerable. I agree, the community gets pretty worked up over the tiniest things - and may your chosen diety be with you if you have more deaths than kills. It speaks well to the game that the community is so passionate about it, but that may be a disadvantage to new players.

You might want to have a look at www.honcast.com, as well - they broadcast competitive matches between top teams.

Comment Look to the professionals (Score 1) 235

This'll sound stupid, but call your local municipal government. My city, for example, has a nice big scanner that works well for old and well-worn maps. They might even scan the maps for free, esp. if they can keep copies (if your maps include their jurisdiction). Your other option may be to contact a blue-print or architectural printer - even if they don't offer this sort of service, they may know someone in your area who can help.

Comment Oh Noes (Score 1) 553

So, Wii makes you swing the controller and get exercise or nags you to load up wii fit and exercise. Xbox (presumably) will now force you to exercise in order to play. Does this mean that the Playstation will become the system of the obese? I'll bet some marketing company is already working on the ads...

Comment Re:Send the kids home? (Score 1) 443

Most districts have to have so many full days of class per year, and schedule accordingly. Thus, the "snow days" you hear about every year - these are extra days built into the schedule, so that if school has to close for snow/heat/swine flu/etc., they can still have the minimum number of classes.

If they have more than those days off, then they have to add days to the end of the year, or lose in-service days, or hold class on Saturday. So sending the kids home while they fix the schedules isn't really an option - as little as they are accomplishing now, they count as full school days.

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