Comment Oblig (Score 1) 968
The site is down so here's a cached version.
Who the hell wakes up in the morning, looks in the mirror, and says, "I'm going to be evil today"? Of course these hackers aren't as evil as Nobel Laureate Liu Xiaobo, but I just don't think I'd want to go on living if I ever found myself robbing ATM's or sending billions of spam emails.
Besides, too high a price is asked for harmony; it's beyond our means to pay so much to enter on it. And so I hasten to give back my entrance ticket, and if I am an honest man I am bound to give it back as soon as possible. And that I am doing. It's not God that I don't accept, Alyosha, only I most respectfully return him the ticket.
Ivan to Alyosha, in Brothers Karamazov by Dostoevsky. (Or, if that's too long, The Grand Inquisitor stands on its own as a masterpiece!)
And, just as a bonus parting thought because it's one of my favorite quotes and tenuously related, maybe we'd all be better off if we shared some of the 'coexistence of faith and unbelief' of Dostoevsky. It doesn't bother me if people turn to a God in search of answers, but when they're confident enough to build a theme park out of it, it makes me nauseous. To quote Dostoevsky once more in Notes from the Dead House,
Not because you are religious, but because I myself have experienced and felt it keenly, I will tell you that in such moments one thirsts like “parched grass” for faith and finds it precisely because truth shines in misfortune. I will tell you regarding myself that I am a child of the age, a child of nonbelief and doubt up till now and even (I know it) until my coffin closes. What terrible torments this thirst to believe has cost me and still costs me, becoming stronger in my soul, the more there is in me of contrary reasonings. And yet sometimes God sends me moments in which I am utterly at peace.
Actually, pedantic rhymes with words such as gigantic, semantic, and sycophantic, but does not in fact rhyme with facepalm. In order to rhyme, there must exist a correspondence of sound between the words or, more precisely, the latter syllables of—
Ahh, ha, hoo — I almost walked right into that one.
I'd guess they broke it for all Webkit browsers. Works fine on Firefox on Mac and IE on Windows.
Yeah, OS X 10.5.8, Safari 5.0.3. I just feared for my karma if I admitted that. They hunt fanboys like me around here. *ducks*
For those of who didn't RTFA, it looks like it tracks faces and adjusts the projected images accordingly. Let's hope Apple has a slightly better debut than HP's face-tracking software.
P.S. Come on,
I do know a lot of Republicans that can't stand Palin. But the majority isn't producing significantly better alternatives, so mostly they just keep quiet, and often they don't vote.
Actually, that's the most discouraging part. Approximately 310,827,618 Americans out there, and Palin is widely considered a legitimate political figurehead. (shuts eyes) There's no place like home... There's no place like home... There's no place like home...
Unfortunately, that demographic seems to be taking over this country.
I try to tell myself that there is actually a silent, sane majority out there that's actually helping the country move forward; that it only appears they're taking over since the internet gives half-wits a louder voice than ever before. I hope.
I agree. It seems to me that the only reason they released the documents is because they happened to possess them. I think WikiLeaks should focus on exposing wrongdoing. Period.
I see nothing honorable and nothing beneficial about making private correspondence public. I'm sure we'd all like for international affairs to be conducted in an open forum, ending each day as our leaders dance in a circle and sing Kumbaya—and this seems to be what WikiLeaks wants—but unless someone has solved the problem of world peace, it's not going to happen. And these documents are only going to result in increase tension and increase secrecy.
I don't agree with your conclusion.
I don't really agree with it either. Sorry if I struck a nerve or belittled anything. I think I put a strategically placed if in there for just that reason. I was just thinking about the idea that we can deny some harsh truths in life, and going strictly by the numbers, people who are able to do so might actually be a little happier. Of course they might just be saying they're happier. Apparently it's hard to conclusively tell the difference.
As far as religion goes, and as far as other meaning-of-life things go, I know that I have a really hard time lying to myself, if I can call it that. I don't mean to generalize by calling it a lie, but I've talked to some people who 'seem' pretty happy and content, and they basically admitted that they wholeheartedly believe certain religious views because they know how much better their lives are with it, which in turn convinces some people of their veracity. I can't do that.
Loved ones are a different story. You're obviously talking to someone who's never lost anyone, has no spouse, and no children. Sorry again if I offended you!
The substantial negative correlation found between self-deception and depression (Paulhus & Reid, 1991; Roth & Ingram, 1985; Sackeim & Gur, 1979) indicates that depressed subjects do not deny undesirable characteristics as much as do non-depressed subjects. This implies that self-deceivers may actively block depressive states.
In other words, people will disagree with you and tell you that love is unique and eternal. And if they're lying to themselves, they'll probably be happier for it. Sucks, doesn't it?
I'd have to guess you are in college.
Far worse: grad school. Fourth year, couple to go, can't stand the field, don't want a job doing it, don't care about the money.
I thought I could just get on my touring bike, and head out of town.
It's the possibility that torments you. If it were impossible, then it wouldn't be a problem. Thing is, I don't say much about it and I can't figure out what everyone else thinks. My best guess is that I look to everyone else the same as everyone else looks to me.
My idea of roughing it turning the air conditioner too low.
