Posts based on the decay of Cs-137 (random)

[heather marie]

I know how that goes, Jim. I'm getting over some death flu/bronchitis/sinus headache/I don't even know what it is anymore thing myself. I'm sure I'll be heading down to Lincoln Square before I leave (Lucy has to take me to HarvestTime?) so we can go to Dominick's and play health inspector!

[FreddyKnuckles]

I wonder how many not-shitty laptops you could just buy for third world countries if you took all the research, development, and production money from that project.  Sorta like project RED, which spent almost twice as much money on advertising as it raised for AIDS.  Maybe instead of spending 120 MILLION DOLLARS to raise like 75, we should just donate 120!??

OLPC was done, largely, at MIT's Media Lab, by students.  So probably 0 laptops.  Also, how would you propose powering your laptops?  Also, how would they get internet signal?  Also, how would you propose teaching a child a more complex user interface? Also, how would you drive costs down under $200 per laptop?

How about spending 5 minutes educating yourself on something before immediately critiquing it?

Every sponsor company had a minimum donation of 2 million.  I just didn't want to look up how many sponsor companies there were.

So I looked and there were 11.  So 22 million was donated to olpc.  The majority of the computers that go to third world countries aren't 'donated' when US consumers buy them.  Most of the computers going to third world countries are bought and paid for by their governments.  It also only took some quick wiking to find other skeptics, who are concerned that governments' initial dollars would be better spent on drinking water, libraries, and schools.

[DCDave]

I wonder how many not-shitty laptops you could just buy for third world countries if you took all the research, development, and production money from that project.  Sorta like project RED, which spent almost twice as much money on advertising as it raised for AIDS.  Maybe instead of spending 120 MILLION DOLLARS to raise like 75, we should just donate 120!??

OLPC was done, largely, at MIT's Media Lab, by students.  So probably 0 laptops.  Also, how would you propose powering your laptops?  Also, how would they get internet signal?  Also, how would you propose teaching a child a more complex user interface? Also, how would you drive costs down under $200 per laptop?

How about spending 5 minutes educating yourself on something before immediately critiquing it?

Every sponsor company had a minimum donation of 2 million.  I just didn't want to look up how many sponsor companies there were.

And that money went to purchasing laptops more than to development costs. 

[FreddyKnuckles]

who do you think pays these 'people'
http://www.laptop.org/en/vision/people/index.shtml

[DCDave]

MIT pays the people who are still Media Lab employees.  The development costs largely weren't funded by donations, and the remaining employees of the organization can probably be funded through two or three of the sponsorships.  Regardless, if you just buy current laptops and hand them out to people in the developing world you're going to run into power and networking issues that OLPC laptops have found solutions around.  Seriously, Freddy, you don't know what you're talking about with this, you're changing your argument from"OMG, EXPENSIVE R&D PROJECT" to "OMG, THEY HAVE STAFF," and you're just off-base with your initial assumption that you could buy more "not-shitty" laptops for the third world if you took operating costs of the OLPC project and used them to directly purchase laptops. 

[Augo]

Anybody know how much they generally fine you if you don't register and pay taxes on your vehicle within one month of purchasing it?

[Andrew_TSKS]

that would vary by state, but my understanding is that it won't really affect you unless you get caught. a friend of mine lived in richmond for three years before getting the massachusetts plates off his car and registering it in-state. nothing at all happened to him.

[Augo]

well...re-registering is a different story...I just bought a van in December and I haven't registered it or payed taxes on it or had the title switched over and I believe they fine you if you don't do all that initial stuff within a month after the purchase... If it's five-10 bucks it's not a big deal...I just wanna know if I'm gonna get ass-raped when I go in there so I can be prepared for the certain level of anger and unhappiness that I will experience.

[Andrew_TSKS]

here in va, you have a year to do it, or the title reverts to the previous owner.

[elpollodiablo]

What the fuck is going on? This place is dead as fucking... DEAD tonight.

[alexandra]

SERIOUSLY.

And I might Have Magnetic Fields tix to give away

[elpollodiablo]

GIMMIE

[alexandra]

Well, it looks like they aren't free, they're the last pay reserves.

IF ANYONE IN THE CHICAGO AREA WANTS TO SEE THE MAGNETIC FIELDS FRIDAY AT 7PM OR SATURDAY AT 7PM LET ME KNOW ASAP.

$25 EACH.

PAY AT THE DOOR

[elpollodiablo]

That reminds me I need to order my Jens Lekman tickets for April 1!

[heather marie]

I already got Magnetic Fields tickets thanks to Lucy.

[alexandra]

word. okay

[heather marie]

Except now I feel feverish and nauseous and wtf I felt fine earlier. Dear body, please start being nice to me.

[diesel_powered]

Ha. I just decided I can't go to Chicago for spring break.

(For reasons other than the Magnetic Fields.)

[Andrew_TSKS]

ok, this is going around on myspace and i know some of you are as big or bigger monty python fans than i am, so i figured i'd repost it here for everyone to laugh at. or scroll past, if that's your wish--i'm putting it in quote tags so it's easily identifiable.

A Message from John Cleese

To: The citizens of the United States of America:


In light of your failure to nominate competent candidates for President of the USA and thus to govern yourselves, we hereby give notice of the revocation of your independence, effective immediately.

Her Sovereign Majesty Queen Elizabeth II will resume monarchical duties over all states, commonwealths, and territories (except Kansas, which she does not fancy).

Your new prime minister, Gordon Brown, will appoint a governor for America without the need for further elections.

Congress and the Senate will be disbanded.

A questionnaire may be circulated next year to determine whether any of you noticed.

To aid in the transition to a British Crown Dependency, the following Rules are introduced with immediate effect:

You should look up "revocation" in the Oxford English Dictionary.

1. Then look up aluminium, and check the pronunciation guide. You will be amazed at just how wrongly you have been pronouncing it.

2. The letter 'U' will be reinstated in words such as 'favour' and 'neighbour.' Likewise, you will learn to spell 'doughnut' without skipping half the letters, and the suffix -ize will be replaced by the suffix -ise.

Generally, you will be expected to raise your vocabulary to acceptable levels. (look up 'vocabulary').

3. Using the same twenty-seven words interspersed with filler noises such as "like" and "you know" is an unacceptable and inefficient form of communication.

There is no such thing as U.S. English. We will let Microsoft know on your behalf. The Microsoft spell-checker will be adjusted to take account of the reinstated letter 'u' and the elimination of -ize. You will relearn your original national anthem, God Save The Queen.

4. July 4th will no longer be celebrated as a holiday.

5. You will learn to resolve personal issues without using guns, lawyers, or therapists. The fact that you need so many lawyers and therapists shows that you're not adult enough to be independent.

Guns should only be handled by adults. If you're not adult enough to sort things out without suing someone or speaking to a therapist then you're not grown up enough to handle a gun.

6. Therefore, you will no longer be allowed to own or carry anything more dangerous than a vegetable peeler. A permit will be required if you wish to carry a vegetable peeler in public.

7. All American cars are hereby banned. They are crap and this is for your own good. When we show you German cars, you will understand what we mean.

8. All intersections will be replaced with roundabouts, and you will start driving on the left with immediate effect. At the same time, you will go metric with immediate effect and without the benefit of conversion tables.

Both roundabouts and metrication will help you understand the British sense of humour.

9. The Former USA will adopt UK prices on petrol (which you have been calling gasoline)-roughly $10/US gallon. Get used to it.

10. You will learn to make real chips. Those things you call French Fries are not real chips, and those things you insist on calling potato chips are properly called crisps. Real chips are thick cut, fried in animal fat, and dressed not with catsup but with vinegar.

11. The cold tasteless stuff you insist on calling beer is not actually beer at all. Henceforth, only proper British Bitter will be referred to as beer, and European brews of known and accepted provenance will be referred to as Lager.

South African beer is also acceptable as they are pound for pound the greatest sporting nation on earth and it can only be due to the beer. They are also part of British Commonwealth - see what it did for them.

American brands will be referred to as Near-Frozen Gnat's Urine, so that all can be sold without risk of further confusion.

12. Hollywood will be required occasionally to cast English actors as good guys. Hollywood will also be required to cast English actors to play English characters.

Watching Andie Macdowell attempt English dialogue in Four Weddings and a Funeral was an experience akin to having one's ears removed with a Cheese grater.

13. You will cease playing American football. There is only one kind of proper football; you call it soccer. Those of you brave enough will, in time, be allowed to play rugby (which has some similarities to American football, but does not involve stopping for a rest every twenty seconds or wearing full kevlar body armour like a bunch of nancies). Don't try Rugby - the South Africans and Kiwis will thrash you, like they regularly thrash us.

14. Further, you will stop playing baseball. It is not reasonable to host an event called the World Series for a game which is not played outside of America. Since only 2.1% of you are aware that there is a world beyond your borders, your error is understandable. You will learn cricket, and we will let you face the South Africans first to take the sting out of their deliveries.

15. You must tell us who killed JFK. It's been driving us mad.

16. An internal revenue agent (i.e. tax collector) from Her Majesty's Government will be with you shortly to ensure the acquisition of all Monies due (backdated to 1776).

17. Daily Tea Time begins promptly at 4pm with proper cups, never mugs, with high quality biscuits (cookies) and cakes; strawberries in season.

God save the Queen.


John Cleese

[diesel_powered]

 

As long as we don't have to behave like Canadians.

[coldforge]

Wasn't Cleese. You can tell, because it's not funny.

http://www.snopes.com/politics/satire/revocation.asp

[Chet]

i just got a flyer throught the mail for a kebab house called kebabies

i find this to be a little disconcerting.

[elpollodiablo]

Wasn't Cleese. You can tell, because it's not funny.

http://www.snopes.com/politics/satire/revocation.asp

I was thinking something along those lines

[diesel_powered]

i just got a flyer throught the mail for a kebab house called kebabies

i find this to be a little disconcerting.

What, no love for babies on spikes?

What about babies on racks?

[Chet]

i just got a flyer throught the mail for a kebab house called kebabies

i find this to be a little disconcerting.

What, no love for babies on spikes?

What about babies on racks?

There's only one way to have baby and that is wrapped in strips of bacon and roasted.