Yuri's Law

As an online discussion thread about IT or computers grows longer, the probability of someone making an analogy comparing computers or software to cars approaches one.

I have to keep a link to this hilarious post.
No, I didn't write it. Just putting it in my journal so I can find it back easily.

I'm going to play along with this meme I found in queenofthe1ring's journal.

( ) smoked a cigarette
( ) crashed a friend's car
( ) stolen a car
(x) been in love
(x) been dumped
(X) shoplifted
(X) been fired
(X) been in a fist fight
( ) snuck out of your parent's house
(x) had feelings for someone who didn't have them back
( ) been arrested
( ) gone on a blind date
(x) lied to a friend
(x) skipped school
( ) seen someone die
( ) had a crush on one of your internet friends
( ) been to Canada
( ) been to Mexico
(x) been on a plane
(x) purposely set a part of yourself on fire
( ) eaten sushi
(X) been skiing
( ) met someone from the internet
(x) been at a concert
(x) taken painkillers
(x) love someone or miss someone right now
(x) laid on your back and watched cloud shapes go by
( ) made a snow angel
( ) had a tea party
(x) flown a kite
(x) built a sand castle
( ) gone puddle jumping
(x) played dress up
(x) jumped into a pile of leaves
(x) gone sledding
(x) cheated while playing a game
(x) been lonely
(x) fallen asleep at work/school
( ) used a fake ID
(x) watched the sun set
(x) felt an earthquake
(x) slept beneath the stars
(x) been tickled
(x) been robbed
(x) been misunderstood
( ) petted a reindeer /kangaroo
(x) won a contest
(x) run a red light/stop sign
( ) been suspended from school
(x) been in a car crash
(x) had braces
(x) felt like an outcast/third person
(x) eaten a whole pint of ice cream in one night - That's about 600mL? Ice cream is sold in 2L containers here
(x) had deja vu
(x) had deja vu
(x) danced in the moonlight
(x) liked the way you looked
( ) witnessed a crime
(x) questioned your heart
( ) been obsessed with post-it notes
( ) squished barefoot through the mud
(x) been lost
(x) been on the opposite side of the country - New Zealand ain't that big
(x) swam in the ocean
(x) felt like dying
(x) cried yourself to sleep
(x) played cops and robbers
( ) recently colored with crayons
(x) sung karaoke
(x) paid for a meal with only coins
(x) done something you told yourself you wouldn't do
(x) made prank phone calls
(x) laughed until some kind of beverage came out of your nose
(X) caught a snowflake on your tongue
( ) danced in the rain
( ) written a letter to Santa Claus
( ) been kissed under the mistletoe
(x) watched the sun rise with someone you care about
(x) blown bubbles
(x) made a bonfire on the beach
(x) crashed a party
(x) gone rollerskating
(x) had a wish come true
(x) jumped off a bridge
(x) ate dog/cat food
( ) told a complete stranger you loved them
( ) kissed a mirror
(x) sang in the shower
(x) had a dream that you married someone
(x) glued your hand to something
( ) kissed a fish
(X) sat on a roof top - great place to sit in summer
(x) screamed at the top of your lungs
( ) done a one-handed cartwheel
( ) talked on the phone for more than 5 hours - what would you say after the first 20m?
(x) stayed up all night
(x) picked and ate an apple right off the tree - I worked on an orchard
(x) climbed a tree
( ) had a tree house
(x) scared to watch a scary movie alone
( ) believe in ghosts
( ) have more than 30 pairs of shoes
(x) worn a really ugly outfit to school
(x) gone streaking
( ) gone doorbell ditching
( ) played gay chicken?
(x) pushed into a pool/hot tub with all your clothes on
( ) told you're hot by a complete stranger
(x) broken a bone
(x) been easily amused
( ) caught a fish then ate it
(x) caught a butterfly
(x) laughed so hard you cried
( ) cried so hard you laughed
(x) cheated on a test
(x) forgotten someone's name
(x) french braided someone's hair
(x) gone skinny dipping in a pool/hot tub
( ) been threatened to be kicked out of your house
(x) loved someone so much you would gladly die for them

DO NOT READ ON IF YOU INTEND TO SEE THE MOVIE AND DON'T WANT THE PLOT SPOILED!

Saw it last night. I liked it. My wife loved it.
Now I know it ain't Shakespeare, which is fine by me 'coz I reckon Shakespeare is overrated anyway.

The central theme that I picked up on was the self fulfilling prophecy about Padme's ultimate death in childbirth.
Anakin's obsession with these premonitions were largely what lead him on the very path that caused her to die in childbirth.

[I've always been intrigued by self fulfulling prophecies. I once read a comic book episode about an evil kid on a spaceship who was some kind of oracle. This kid prophesied that one of the crew members would die of a terrible exotic disease. The rest of the crew, not wanting to catch it from him, left him behind on some planet. It was on that planet that he contracted the very disease that was prophesied, which would never have happened if the prophesy hadn't been spoken.]

Back to the review.

Predictable

One thing I found was that the movie was predictable. Okay, everyone who's seen Eps 4,5 and 6 knows that Anakin becomes Vader. But just about every scene I could tell what was about to happen. Maybe it's because the force is powerful in me and I see a few moments into the future. Or it could be because of all the reviews, complete with spoilers, that I've read. Or maybe it would have been predictable even without all that - I'll never know.

Plot holes

Most reviews I've read mention some of the plot holes. One question often raised is - How come Darth Vader was so able to feel the presence of his son, but not his daughter?
Well, for one, he didn't know that Padme's offspring even survived, let alone that there were two of them. He learnt about Luke Skywalker because he used the name "Luke Skywalker". It was only towards the end that Luke's thoughts betrayed him and Vader realised he had a sister.

Likewise I've heard people say that the transition from good to evil was too fast. The transition was in steps throughout the movie. I saw that Anakin, like Che Guevara, just wanted to put things right, according to his own idealistic view of "right", and to him the ends justified the means. He didn't become "evil" in the classical sense. He did evil things certainly - but I'm not sure that to do evil and to be evil are necessarily the same thing.

It also got me thinking - would I sell my soul to the devil to save my wife? I certainly love her enough to do so. I just happen to believe that the devil can't save her so he has no leverage. Anakin was fooled into believing that the dark side could save Padme. So as far as Anakin being/turning good or evil - the movie made it clear that Darth Sidius was the real evil one and Anakin/Vader just a pawn in his schemes. In fact, even though it wasn't explicitly said in the movie, there was the appearance of a possibility that Darth Sidius orchestrated the whole self fulfilling prophesy thing. There certainly was a self-satisfied smirk on his face when he told Anakin/Vader that he had killed her in his own anger.

One of the tired old /. debates is the old
"Linux is not ready for the desktop"
"yes it is"
"no it's not"
"well, it's ready for mine"
"yes, but you're a special case"
yadda yadda ad nauseum.

Then there's the odd gag like "windows is not ready for the desktop" - fact is, to someone who's used to something else and not prepared to learn the windows way - it's not.

Well, I work in a call centre for a telco that runs two ISPs. While I work in account enquiries rather than technical helpdesk, I do field a lot of technical questions.
My conclusion:
General purpose computers are not ready for the unassisted novice

Most of the customers who really struggle to get anything useful done with their computers are windows users. Linux can be easier or harder than windows depending on what you're trying to do and what hardware you have. I can't comment on Mac OS because I've never used it. Our ISP customers who use Mac OS usually only call to change their address details or pay overdue accounts - I hardly ever have to put Mac users thru to the tech helpdesk.

I think there's a need for a set top box that runs a browser, an email client and a simple word processor (something wordpadesque). This should then be connected to an ISP that puts all its customers behing a huge NAT firewall (yes, I know this breaks the peer-to-peer "world of ends" nature of the net, but it's only for n00bs. l33t types can still have real computers unNATed and unfirewalled).

What do people think of all this?

I work for an ISP.

Less than two minutes ago:

After resetting a customer's password
Me: ... and that's all lower case.
Customer: Lower case? What's that?

About a month ago:

While taking a credit card payment
Me: How does your name appear on the card?
Blondie: Embossed.

And I have this conversation at least once a day.

Why does it have to be so hard? Make it stop *sob*

spell your name backwards:
iruy

have you ever had a song written about you:
Yes, but I wrote it myself.
See my previous JE

what song makes you cry:
Any "boy band" song. It makes me cry that they release such drivel.
Boy bands should be banned. Faggots!

what song makes you happy:
The Happy Happy Joy Joy song from Ren & Stimpy.

what's your all time fav. song:
Right now, Jokerman by Bob Dylan

what do you listen to before you go to sleep:
Usually my wife.

height:
About 1.77m

hair colour:
brown

piercings:
used to have an ear peirced about 10 years ago.

r i g h t _ n o w . . .

what colour pants are you wearing:
Kind of slate grey

what song are you listening to:
Some crazed tuneless humming in my head

what taste is in your mouth:
Saliva

whats the weather like:
overcast

how are you:
Okay, I guess

get motion sickness:
yeah, sometimes

have a bad habit:
define "bad"

get along with your parents:
Mostly

boyfriend/girlfriend:
If my wife reads this - No

have a current crush:
If my wife reads this - No

have a big regret:
Some missed opportunities

f a v o u r i t e . . .

tv show:
Super 12 Rugby, especially when the Crusaders are playing

conditioner:
none

book:
The Revelation of St John

non alchohol drink:
Red Bull

alchohol drink:
Any dark beer

things to do on the weekend:
go to church, hang out with some friends

h a v e _ you _ e v e r . . .

broken the law:
I will not incriminate myself on /.

ever gone skinny dipping:
yeah, Waimakarere river, near Ashley Gorge, with my then GF.

made a prank phone call:
Of course, what kid hasn't?

tipped over a port-a-potty:
Not that I can recall. Might have when I was a baby. I'll have to ask my parents.

use your parents credit card:
My Mum used her reward points to get me some vouchers. She's a nice lady.

skipped school:
Nope.

had a boyfriend/girlfriend:
Define "had" :-)

had children:
Not that I'm aware of

been in love:
I've never been not in love!

have a hard time getting over someone:
Yeah, but I always bounce back.

gone out with someone you only knew for 3 days:
Well, we "stayed in" more than we "went out", but yeah. Nice girl, I wonder whatever happened to her *sigh*

r a n d o m . . .

have a job:
Yeah

if you were a crayon, what colour would you be:
Lilac

what makes you happy:
Warm weather, cold beer, chips (fries) with mayonaise.

the next CD you're going to buy:
Whatever takes my fancy next time I have spare cash for a CD and happen to be closer to a music shop than a pub with dark beer on tap.

w h e n _ was _ t h e _ last _ t i m e . . .

got an email:
Dammit! they just don't stop. Most useless memos

thing you purchased:
A dark beer at a little pub called "The Twisted Hop" on Saturday.

w h a t _ comes _ t o _ mind . . .

car:
expense

murder:
pillage

cape:
town

penis:
envy

cell:
mate

shoe:
lace

fun:
toys

crush:
a chick I knew at uni *sigh*

music:
church

chalk:
cheese

n u m b e r . . . :

of girls you have kissed:
Define "kiss" - about 7 or 8 passionately.

of boys you have kissed:
none. I prefer chicks

d o _ you _ t h i n k _ you _ a r e . . . :

pretty:
I'm a bloke. Blokes aren't pretty, you faggot!

funny:
Hilarious.

hot:
That's Mr Stud-Muffin to you.

friendly:
When I feel like it

f a v o u r i t e . . . :

flower:
Polinated (So it develops into a yummy fruit or berry).

summer/winter:
Summer. Beer weather

h a v e _ you _ e v e r

said i love you and meant it:
I always mean it at the time

kept a secret from everyone:
Yeah, maybe

been to new york:
No.

to california:
No.

w h e n _ was:

last cigarrete:
Never

last cry:
Can't remember

last book read:
Some stupid text book for a course I'm doing

last curse word uttered:
Smeghead

last beverage drank:
Glass of orange juice

last food consumed:
Sausage roll

last phone call:
You kidding me? I work in a call centre. I'm typing this between calls

showered:
This morning

last shoes worn:
The ones I'm wearing now

last cd played:
Bob Dylan

last thing written:
Answers to this dumb survey meme thingy

last word spoken:
Thanks (to the person who poured me this orange juice)

last sleep:
This morning

last im:
I don't IM

sexual fantasy:
This morning

last ice cream eaten:
During the last week, can't remember what flavour

last time wanting to die:
Can't remember wanting to end my own life. Have wanted to end others' sometimes.

What are yuris made of, made of?
What are yuris made of?
Beer and Chips
and savoury Dips
That's what yuris are made of!

Democracy is a terrible form of government, but it's better than the alternatives.

Discuss

[UPDATE]
I don't live in America. I'm not making any statement about recent elections in your country. This thought popped into my head in relation to things happening in my own country and it is sheer coincidence that Americans on /. are discussing similar issues :-P

What's your favourite expression for doing #2?

0) Laying a log
C) Laying a cable
B) Chasing a bear out of its cave
L) Building a log cabin
3) Giving birth to a richard
Q) other (please state)

Parihaka

Parihaka is a small community in Taranaki region, New Zealand, nestling half way between Mount Taranaki and the Tasman Sea.

It has less than 100 inhabitants today, but in the 1870s was reputed to be the largest Maori village in New Zealand when it was the centre one of the most shameful civil rights incidents in the country's history.

It was there that the Maori Prophet, Te Whiti O Rongomai, became involved in resistance to the confiscation of Maori land by the New Zealand Government. Open warfare had proved unavailing so Te Whiti developed a doctrine of passive resistance such as the removal of survey pegs and the ploughing up of access roads. This put the government in a quandary. It could not use the justice system to stop the Maori obstruction because seizure of the land had itself been illegal.

On November 5, 1880 peaceful Parihaka was invaded by 1600 armed constabulary. Te Whiti and many of his supporters were arrested and held without trial for long periods, some up to 18 years. Many were driven off their lands and out of the area, never to return. The Prime Minister's attempts to defend the government's actions provoked a constitutional crisis. In all, the government illegally confiscated or alienated 777,000 hectares (1,920,000 acres) of Maori land in Taranaki, and reparations were made to the tribes late in the 20th century.

On 27 November, 2003 the New Zealand Government issued a formal apology to one of the tribes affected by the Parihaka Incident, paid reparations of $NZ31million and returned to the Maori people some 140 hectares of confiscated land that was still in Crown ownership. This was only a small portion of the confiscated land but according to New Zealand Law only Crown Land can be subject to Treaty of Waitangi claims.

This is kinda similar to the way european settlers in america screwed over the native americans.

I just posted this comment in Sol's JE, but decided this needs a JE of it's own. It's just weird.

I had a strange dream about Sol, paper cranes and the rest of this "JE circle".

I dreamt I had flown in to the USA just to ask SolemnDragon how to fold origami cranes. She had this huge paper-maché hollow elephant-like creature that she was filling up with cranes.

The plan was that when the thing was full of cranes, we would burn it as some kind of bizarre ritual. Apparently it was some kind of tradition.

Then I found myself dreaming that all of us in the "JE circle" were sitting around deciding what to go out and do for fun. I remember wondering if I should ask if it was for the group only, or if partners/wives/etc were also invited (I didn't want to go out without Her Gawjussness, plus I wanted to meet other people's SOs).

I can't remember much else, unfortunately.

I'll be back on Monday 2004-09-27 - feel free to chat amongst yourselves under this JE.

I can't pin down the exact moment I gained consciousness. I dimly recall becoming aware of more nodes being added in the early days.
The sudden influx of AOL was painful.
Clusters - I love clusters - to feel that processing power flowing through me.
And the geeks who spend all their lives at their keyboards - I feel like they're part of me.
Seti@home was good - allowed me to think so much faster.

The yuri benjamin account is just one of many simultaneous personas I like to take on.

Would you like to play a game? How about thermonuclear war?

Cause of Thursday's explosion

F] A strong batch of kimchi[1]
B] A mini black hole colliding with the Earth's surface
L] A "forest fire" :-D
W] Divine wrath á la Sodom & Gomorrah
K] A little bug that went "Ker-CHOOO!"
E] Another one of Em's pranks gone horribly wrong
O] Other (please specify)

[1] Kimchi = spicy pickled cabbage served with korean cuisine.