Vivtek

41 ms·

421.
by Vivtek 13y ago
I honestly find it dismaying that the Economist could publish a story specifically on the recent drop in crime and never have heard of this study.
422.
by Vivtek 13y ago
Mostly because Americans are terrified of foreigners and have absolutely no concept that the rest of the world isn't just a figment of Hollywood's imagination. I'm living in Budapest partly for low tuition - my wife is Hungar
423.
by Vivtek 13y ago
That's essentially what "third world" means. You think there are no billionaires in the third world?
424.
by Vivtek 13y ago
"Surface" as a transitional verb makes me break out in hives.
425.
by Vivtek 13y ago
I've often wondered why I keep bumping into Hugh Grant. (I keep the dumb phone for the low cost and, so help me, flip phones still make me feel like Captain Kirk asking to be beamed up.)
426.
by Vivtek 13y ago
Clearly they must.
427.
by Vivtek 13y ago
Bah. It was in Indianapolis for the reasons I mentioned in my post - pandering and terror. That you now cite it as a reason to worry about Indianapolis is rather circular. As to your citing science fiction, I'd like to remind you that
428.
by Vivtek 13y ago
I wish they'd been watching for fraud on the part of the biggest banks, which has done America a lot more damage than a smuggled bomb. Putting it in Indianapolis is rank pandering to the Tea Party, though. Back in 2003, my dad (also
429.
by Vivtek 13y ago
I thought we agreed we're at war until people stop using terrorism. That's what the President told me, anyway.
430.
by Vivtek 13y ago
Right, because nuclear terrorism is what the NSA is looking for. Nice rhetorical posturing there, big guy.
431.
by Vivtek 13y ago
Yeah, I see that. But have they really drawn public attention to it? No. They've gone with the flow because they somehow agree that if the American public knows the law that governs them, we will all be killed in our beds by terrorist
432.
by Vivtek 13y ago
Hey, that's great that you understand this to the extent of articulating why metadata gathering is a problem - but I assure you that the "metadata isn't data" rhetoric GP mentions is, in fact, the tactic I see most often
433.
by Vivtek 13y ago
daily stand-up meetings You just lost me.
434.
by Vivtek 13y ago
The electric swatters are the bee's knees! They work great. Popular in Puerto Rico.
435.
by Vivtek 13y ago
I think I'm safe in blaming both - to different extents in each location.
436.
by Vivtek 13y ago
This seems pretty alarmist to me. The code was peer-reviewed, and the NSA does actually have an interest in improving general security - and there are a lot of smart people there. I'd be a lot more concerned about the many instances of
437.
by Vivtek 13y ago
Instead of assuming ignorance, we should simply assume intent. But I think ignorance probably is sufficiently explanatory - access to snake oil sales pitches doesn't ensure informed decisions.
438.
by Vivtek 13y ago
Pfft. I do that with my kids. "I'll keel you! I'll keel you until you are dead !" They giggle and run away. This is how normal people talk to their kids.
439.
by Vivtek 13y ago
Well, but you make it sound as though the Government is some monolithic Man. It isn't. What's different now is that when the sheriff in some podunk town in Texas throws a mouthy kid into jail unjustly, the entire country hears ab
440.
by Vivtek 13y ago
No, not what it stood for. Look at the Declaration of Independence - it explicitly states that people have inherent rights (that kings don't grant the rights) and that those rights are inherent to everybody, not just those in a parti
441.
by Vivtek 13y ago
In reference to your edit - the phrase "activist judge" is a bit of a dogwhistle for conservatism; it's easy to click to downvote before really digesting what you said. That said, an independent judiciary is an important part
442.
by Vivtek 13y ago
Chuckle contentedly.
443.
by Vivtek 13y ago
Substantially getting closer to zero assets is not really what I call society valuing education - but that is not your point. My point, though, was this: it turns out it's possible to provide incentives to people without manipulating
444.
by Vivtek 13y ago
Over time it tends to even out - the early up/down voters tend to be superficial and react quickly, but over the next day or so the system seems to work pretty well. It's like early votes on IMDb - you shouldn't really pay m
445.
by Vivtek 13y ago
Go to work as an inner city teacher? Here's an extra 20% in your BI. So ... politicians would suddenly start to pay people to teach in the inner city? Those scoundrels! I can see why you're opposed to this concept.
446.
by Vivtek 13y ago
Sure. "Give me all your money or you die" is a guaranteed profit.
447.
by Vivtek 13y ago
I happen to be in the US this summer and nobody I talk to has ever heard of them. Unless they're Internet people.
448.
by Vivtek 13y ago
Yeah, when they don't use any of it against bankers or embezzlers - just against online poker players and marijuana buyers.
449.
by Vivtek 13y ago
Well, GP's talking about the UK, not the US - but I suspect that if America really notices something happening, those Free Speech Zones will be relegated to the dustbin of history where they belong.
450.
by Vivtek 13y ago
It looks like there are some syntactic extensions, particularly in iteration.

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