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Comment Re:Divert your course now! (Score 3, Informative) 236

I first encountered this joke around the mid 90's, and it was US/Canadian then. No recent ugly nationalism to blame here. It hasn't lost any humour value, so you can laugh if you want.

Snopes even have an entry about it, and they do go into the history of the joke, which is quite interesting.
http://www.snopes.com/military/lighthouse.asp

Comment Divert your course now! (Score 5, Funny) 236

The article reminds me of that old US/Canadian joke that circulates every so often ...

------------------
This is the transcript of an actual radio conversation between a US naval ship and Canadian authorities off the coast of Newfoundland in October 1995. The Radio conversation was released by the Chief of Naval Operations on Oct. 10, 1995.

US Ship: Please divert your course 0.5 degrees to the south to avoid a collision.

CND reply: Recommend you divert your course 15 degrees to the South to avoid a collision.

US Ship: This is the Captain of a US Navy Ship. I say again, divert your course.

CND reply: No. I say again, you divert YOUR course!

US Ship: THIS IS THE AIRCRAFT CARRIER USS CORAL SEA, WE ARE A LARGE WARSHIP OF THE US NAVY. DIVERT YOUR COURSE NOW!!

CND reply: This is a lighthouse. Your call.

Comment Re:sadly funny (Score 1) 326

A well written piece of sophism. It doesn't address the idea, though, of where there is no proof, there is belief. Belief in something that exists, or doesn't exist, is still a belief, and therefore can fit a definition of religion. If I get a bunch of people together, with the single belief that we are alone in the universe, that there is no life elsewhere except on this planet, I have established a religion.

Comment Re:sadly funny (Score 0) 326

Oh, but Atheism is a religion, for various different definitions of religion. Consider it an OR test, where it failed your chosen definition of religion, but there are still other definitions which it satisfies.

One definition of Religion is a set of beliefs followed by a number of people. In "believing" that there is no god, Atheism relegates itself to the category of Religion, by this definition. The parent poster is quite correct in this.

You proved that Atheism is a word for not having a deity. You didn't prove that Atheism is a word for not having a religion.

Comment Re:Remember that thread from the other day... (Score 1) 306

Good points, but on the whole, they're not especially bad issues. Except maybe for that testing dependency bug you mentioned. Apt-get will print a confirmation prompt before doing package removals, and a large package removal batch should stick out like a sore thumb. I suggest you give testing another try.

As far as the other issues, they aren't deal-breakers. In fact, for a newbie, they can be a good catalyst for learning more about how the system works. Little inconveniences can often lead to a great deal of learning.

Comment Re:Remember that thread from the other day... (Score 1) 306

I agree with you about your main point of Debian + chosen DE != Ubuntu, but I'm not so sure about some of the points you raised on Debian issues. I've dealt with dozens of different Debian installs, both server and desktop/workstation, and have not encountered some of the issues you list.

* Bootloader problems. I've never had bootloader problems with Debian. It's always just worked for me. It even auto-detects windows partitions and adds an entry into the grub menu for it.

* Network non-free components. Never had an issue with a wired interface. Wireless, though, may require some manual intervention to install the non-free firmware needed. So that part will make it harder for basic users.

* Graphics issues. Yep, needs some manual work if you want to run the latest Nvidia drivers. For heaven's sake, do NOT install the drivers using some script made by a random guy. Add the testing or unstable repositories to your apt-get config, and pin your system to the stable repository (or easier still, just install Debian testing). You can then install the latest and greatest Nvidia driver via official debian packages. I'm using the testing package myself, and it's perfectly fine. It's already been through unstable, so I'm assured that there aren't any "game-breaking" bugs in it. Debian testing is as stable as other distribution's full releases, except that Debian updates more often.

* Codec issues. Yep, not friendly to basic users. Can't be helped, though. Debian has always said that it is dedicated to completely free software. It was never going to include encumbered codecs in the main system. Not even in the non-free section. I dispute that the deb-multimedia repo is a "resort". It's an excellent source for these missing codecs

* Printer installation. Yep, good point. Ubuntu handles printer installations better. Actually, I just did a quick search, and there is a package that promises automatic printer installation for Debian. It's called system-config-printer-udev . I've never used it, so can't comment on how effective it is.

* Iceweasel. Actually, I really like this name, especially when you know the story behind it. Believe me, it's not done to confuse. There is a reason, and it is good.

  So anyway, we do agree that Debian is a power user, or enthusiast, OS. More so, it's an OS for people who believe in the free software philosophy. Some of the issues you mention are due to that philosophy. It's not a bad thing, really.

Comment Re:Critical Apps on Linux. (Score 1) 249

It's interesting that you use drivers as an example of how Windows is more unified than Linux. Linux drivers are, for the most part, supplied with the kernel, and are therefore highly unified with the system. Whereas with Windows, drivers are often the domain of the hardware manufacturer, and are therefore not as unified. In fact, it's quite often bugs in manufacturer drivers that necessitate driver updates in Windows. A problem that Linux does not have (barring Nvidia/ATI drivers).

Unification on the desktop, though, is probably what you're referring to. That is not a Linux problem per se. It's a Gnome problem, or KDE problem, or whatever other GUI system problem ... in which case it's the fault of whoever wrote or designed that system, not Linux.

Comment Re:Maple Syrup Strategic Reserve? (Score 1) 399

Cronulla is a beach suburb in the southern part of Sydney. Part of the Sutherland Shire. "The Shire", as it's commonly known, was known for its, ahem, insular ways and attitude. They were just not very exposed to different cultures.

Speaking as a not so young man of Middle Eastern appearance, I know that many young Middle Eastern men do act belligerent, rowdy, and aggressive. Friction between this type of group and young local residents was the catalyst for the riot, not any implicit association of terrorism. Both sides behaved very badly, and neither can truly be excused for their actions. The riot was a one-of-a-kind, and is definitely not considered typical behaviour for Australians.

These days, Cronulla is a little more open to different ethnic groups. Still not great, but much improved. I doubt that this type of riot would happen nowadays.

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