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4076

Living Room / Re: Movies or films you've seen lately

« Last post by wraith808 on February 05, 2015, 09:00 PM »

I don't recall if there was much of that in Guardians of the Galaxy though.

-Renegade (February 05, 2015, 07:55 PM)

There wasn't any, to my recollection.  There was one time that Star Lord and Gamorra almost had a moment.  But ... almost.  And the girl he forgot.  But nothing else.

4077

Living Room / Re: Interesting "stuff"

« Last post by wraith808 on February 05, 2015, 08:56 PM »

-Saw 1/4 inch off the bottom of someone's cane every couple days or so.  <-- Yep, evil.

-Edvard (February 05, 2015, 08:41 PM)

That's "you're going to hell" evil! 

4078

Living Room / Re: What are the consequences of an FCC Internet "utility"?

« Last post by wraith808 on February 05, 2015, 06:06 PM »

More links that have some of the ramifications baked into the article.

http://variety.com/2...-utility-1201422752/
http://www.washingto...utrality-rules-ever/
http://venturebeat.c...ill-immediately-sue/

The issue is Net Neutrality, and how the ISPs regulate internet access more than any of the questions that you ask.  Reclassifying it as a Title II utility will give the Feds more power to regulate the access.  This has a couple of big ramifications that are different than the direction that you're looking at:

1. They could regulate how the major players limit access- and indeed remove all right for them to do so, and then enforce it.
2. Smaller providers that don't have access to what is really a government funded initiative will again have access, creating more competition.

Now, these two points do affect your basic questions.

1. The reasoning that they're using to classify the internet in the same way as gas and water is because in this age, the internet to a large extent has become a necessity for the common citizenry to function in society.  As far as the monopoly part, it's based on the fact that the infrastructure required to operate as a provider is prohibitive.
2 and 3. The implementation of the reclassification would allow more access so that Comcast/Xfinity/Whomever has a virtual monopoly in your area would have more competition, driving prices down and increasing competition over service quality.
4. The purpose of this is to create less restrictions.  In theory, the internet is unrestricted- but that is only as much as your provider makes it so.  If there was the ability to regulate and tell them that they can't restrict and enforce this, then you'd enjoy this as a matter of course, rather than at the whim of your provider.

4079

Living Room / Re: Silk Road Seized - Dread Pirate Roberts Arrested

« Last post by wraith808 on February 05, 2015, 05:51 PM »

So sez Ren! But in practice, it works pretty well most of the time. Possibly something you clearly can't allow yourself to acknowledge - or even see?

-40hz (February 05, 2015, 12:12 PM)

Actually, after many real world experiences in court, I'd more agree with Ren on this point.

-wraith808 (February 05, 2015, 12:40 PM)

Me too - And I've been fighting really hard to stay quiet and let the adults talk, but... Just because something has always been done that way doesn't mean it isn't stupid.

We -(The People)- need jury nullification to "down vote" idiotic laws.

-Stoic Joker (February 05, 2015, 05:10 PM)

I don't think it's necessarily the laws as much as it's the status quo.

Mini-rant

The largest problem that I've had in all of my court cases that went bad- and the one that went well- was the judge.  In the end, they can make any ruling and in their fiefdom, it's law.  The only check and balance on that is appeal.  And unless an appeal is based on precedent or some sort of out of the ordinary circumstance or provable misconduct, the appeals court is going with the judge, because of the tendency to not want to start down the road of eroding the power of the judiciary.

And it sucks.

4080

Living Room / Re: Interesting "stuff"

« Last post by wraith808 on February 05, 2015, 05:45 PM »

Have you ever pranked someone by turning their wireless mouse 180 degrees around.

-Arizona Hot (February 05, 2015, 02:58 PM)

No, but I have been known to flip the screen upside down on occasion.

-Stoic Joker (February 05, 2015, 05:12 PM)

I messed with someone's video driver at work so it reduced the viewport by 1 pixel every day.  Long term pranks are the best.

4081

Living Room / Re: Silk Road Seized - Dread Pirate Roberts Arrested

« Last post by wraith808 on February 05, 2015, 12:40 PM »

So sez Ren! But in practice, it works pretty well most of the time. Possibly something you clearly can't allow yourself to acknowledge - or even see?

-40hz (February 05, 2015, 12:12 PM)

Actually, after many real world experiences in court, I'd more agree with Ren on this point.

4082

Living Room / Re: Silk Road Seized - Dread Pirate Roberts Arrested

« Last post by wraith808 on February 05, 2015, 10:27 AM »

https://www.popehat....ainst-ross-ulbricht/

4083

Living Room / Re: silly humor - post 'em here! [warning some NSFW and adult content]

« Last post by wraith808 on February 04, 2015, 01:49 PM »

^ Ok, now that's hilarious!  Reminds me of the newlywed show episode where they were asked "Where have you wanted to make whoopie that you've not had the chance."  Of course, the answer was supposed to be a place... but one of the wives said "In the butt".  Hilarity ensued.

4084

Living Room / Re: Recommend some music videos to me!

« Last post by wraith808 on February 04, 2015, 01:45 PM »

Apparently, opinions vary looking at their history...

https://en.wikipedia...wiki/Right_Said_Fred

-wraith808 (February 04, 2015, 11:15 AM)

From that, it looks like they're more a follow-the-market-trends-and-go-for-the-money sort of operation.

More power to them if so. That perhaps made them a successful stage act. But that doesn't make them what I'd consider to be a genuine band.

-40hz (February 04, 2015, 01:06 PM)

Isn't that what most dance music groups are, though? 

4085

Living Room / Re: Recommend some music videos to me!

« Last post by wraith808 on February 04, 2015, 11:15 AM »

Apparently, opinions vary looking at their history...

https://en.wikipedia...wiki/Right_Said_Fred

4086

Living Room / Re: Sad news for scifi booklovers. Borderlands Books of San Francisco is closing.

« Last post by wraith808 on February 03, 2015, 11:10 PM »

Which brings us back to small bookstores. It's hard to get crackerjack people in for what most can (in truth) afford to pay. You get the occasional "book freak" (I was once one) who is so happy to be working in a bookstore that they don't care how little they're being paid. Or at least not until they're facing eviction for non-payment of rent.

-40hz (February 03, 2015, 04:05 PM)

And that's what all three of us were.  At the time, I was in my early 30s, so old enough to be stable, and contracting, so I to a large extent was just there to get stuff done, and could work my schedule around what he needed, usually covering 3 shifts a week.  The others were older, and more stable, and between them covered 4-6 shifts.  But he really didn't seem to get how much of an advantage that gave him.  And when he started nickel-and-diming me on the credit, and actually trying to reduce the credit to product ratio... that's when I bailed.

But looking at it from his perspective, he was bleeding money and looking for ways to cut the bottom line.  That just wasn't it, IMO.  He also cut it in customer service... and that was another nail in the coffin.  It was very sad... he had 25+ years in good will from the community (and there is a real community when you're dealing with niche hobbies, and you have to play to them), and he pissed it away as he became less and less enamored and more and more cynical as time went on.

4087

Living Room / Re: Show us a picture of your.. CAR!!!

« Last post by wraith808 on February 03, 2015, 11:02 PM »

Thanks for that... I'm checking it out... but I think I'm all in.

-wraith808 (August 01, 2013, 08:46 PM)

  Oh yeah, I'm ALL IN with the non-refundable $1000.  Now for the hard part, waiting for it to come off the assembly-line.....   

-Tinman57 (August 02, 2013, 03:43 PM)

The only two things I still have to research are the maintenance/parts and acceleration.  If they're in high demand and your car needs a part... are you going to be able to get it?  Are there going to be mechanics certified to work on it, or how easy/hard is it to work on?  Especially with those exposed wheel mounts.  And they mention top speed... but not acceleration...

-wraith808 (August 02, 2013, 04:01 PM)

Anyone who paid/reserved for an Elio car... Have they given you any updates? 2014 came and went as AFAIK nobody has gotten an Elio 2014 model. Are they releasing this year for sure? Next year? Or is it vaporware?

-Deozaan (February 03, 2015, 07:01 PM)

Yes, I reserved, and yes, it's still on.  Some of the development has taken longer- understandable as they're the first startup to make their own engine in 60 years.  But the date has been pushed back to early 2016.  And it's definitely not vaporware, as they're in testing and going to trade shows and such all the time with the cars.

http://www.eliomotors.com/blog/

4088

N.A.N.Y. 2015 / Re: NANY 2015 Release: WhenLast (Android app)

« Last post by wraith808 on February 03, 2015, 10:52 PM »

Arrgh, why can't I delete my own messages??  I obviously wanted to post only one message, the one right before this one.  I apparently hit some wrong button, and trying to deal with that only made it worse.   

-cyberdiva (February 01, 2015, 11:35 AM)

This ability was removed a few years ago when someone went on a binge deleting their messages to burn the earth when they left. 

-wraith808 (February 01, 2015, 12:37 PM)

Huh?
 (see attachment in previous post)

-Deozaan (February 03, 2015, 09:53 PM)

You have elevated rights...

4089

Living Room / Re: Recommend some music videos to me!

« Last post by wraith808 on February 03, 2015, 10:31 PM »

@SB - Agree 100% with you on your assessment of superstar lineups and the quality of this number being an exception to the normally disappointing results most of those get-togethers produce. I don't really think Prince took over the performance as the person quoted suggests. Prince was tapped for the "show solo" and did what is expected when that role is handed to you. No more. No less. I found his performance nicely played and respectful to both the song and the rest of the ensemble. I'm not much of a Prince fan...but credit where credit is due.

-40hz (February 03, 2015, 08:44 PM)

Exactly.  Harrison did ask for Prince.  And Prince asked him how he wanted him to play it.  And Dhani said the perfect tribute would be if you just do what you normally do- over the top and everything.  And he did.

Another interesting anecdote... he didn't practice the solo with the band.  He came in, they had a talk about it, and the length, and from there, they improvised it.

A lot of people don't realize what a talented musician Prince is in general, and on the guitar for this specific instance.  His ... uniqueness sometimes outshines his genius.  I think this showed a glimpse of that genius.

*Note: there is an unspoken but very real thing called "gig etiquette" that governs how (most) professionals conduct themselves when performing as a guest - or hosting non-band members - at performances such as these. The exact details vary by genre of music (i.e. blues, rock, jazz) and venue (i.e. stage vs studio). Suffice to say, Prince's performance and stage manner was in perfect keeping with rock etiquette. But being the perfectionist in all things Prince supposedly is, I'm hardly surprised.

-40hz (February 03, 2015, 08:44 PM)

This.  So much this.  He's such a perfectionist that he played nearly all the instruments on his first five recordings. (ref bio on Rolling Stone)

He might be strange and eccentric (and I definitely don't agree with his draconian attitude towards his music with fans)... but he's good enough to pull it off.

Also @40 I never caught until you were talking about etiquette he keeps looking over to Tom Petty who keeps telling him to go.

... and that fall off the stage!

4090

Living Room / Re: Sad news for scifi booklovers. Borderlands Books of San Francisco is closing.

« Last post by wraith808 on February 03, 2015, 02:25 PM »

I can see your point... I'm not sure as to how (or even if) he claimed anything on that.  Or was it just the amount of time "he as an owner worked."  But I did see that when he did have to clear payroll- the bottom line wasn't as flush as it was before.  And when one of the new "paid" help was caught stealing... the realities of dealing with people that he hadn't known for 15+ years became evident.

4091

Developer's Corner / Re: Raspberry Pi 2 out now; includes support for Windows 10

« Last post by wraith808 on February 03, 2015, 01:42 PM »

An e-mail I received... just posted for interest:

Hello,

We are super excited to announce a new addition to the IOT Developer Program – Raspberry Pi 2!

In partnership with the Raspberry Pi Foundation, we are going to make Windows 10 available for the Raspberry Pi 2. You’ll be among the first to know when we make Windows 10 available for the Raspberry Pi 2.

We will also continue to support the Intel Galileo through the program.

By being part of the Windows Developer Program for IoT you continue to be amongst the first to receive new information about the program, product announcements, beta program updates and launch specifics.

Thank you,
The Microsoft IoT Team

4092

Living Room / Re: Sad news for scifi booklovers. Borderlands Books of San Francisco is closing.

« Last post by wraith808 on February 03, 2015, 01:35 PM »

So no...I don't think the change in the average customer's expectation to pay lower prices than small bookstores can afford to offer is not oversimplifying things at all. It goes right to the root of the problem. And what is most directly shifting the sales of books away from the traditional local shop, and over to large discount booksellers.

-40hz (February 03, 2015, 12:45 PM)

I just don't think that's the only problem.  Many people in the store, I'd talk to and ask why we hadn't seen them in a while, just in conversation.  They'd point to the fact that since moving, we'd stopped having events and the store just wasn't as fun... and so given the opportunity to get things cheaper, they took it.  I think (and this is anecdotal, so take it with a grain of salt) that people are willing to pay the premium if you're give them a reason to come in and do so.  Are they going to pay it just to support your business and keep "local businesses local"?  That kind of platitude is only going to appeal to a select few.

Is it harder?  Yes.  Are distribution and prices big contributing factors?  Of course.  But is it the only, or even the main factor? Not in my opinion.

So what's left? Labor expense? Lay off non-family workers and work longer hours yourself? Ok. But for how long? And besides, even though you can elect not to pay yourself as the owner - everybody else (at least in my state) has to be paid minimum wage. To run a store responsibly takes at least two people. One to cover the front plus one to help out in front and cover everything else like shipping and receiving, paperwork, janitorial tasks, stocking shelves, doing the bank and PO box runs, etc. These two may swap roles back and forth. But you still need at least one person available to serve the customers and watch the store at all times. So small business labor savings are pretty much determined by how able the owner is to do without a paycheck. Not a very compelling proposition for most folks who don't have a trust fund to fall back on - as one of our town's former booksellers did. (interestingly, she was the first to close shop when things got really bad. ("Old money" doesn't tend to continue backing a losing proposition - even when they can afford to. A least not the "old money" crowd I've known.)

-40hz (February 03, 2015, 12:45 PM)

To speak directly to this, the game store that I worked in had one of the best advantages in retail... three out of four employees had worked there for years, and had worked through college.  All three of us were willing to work for credit.  So the only person on payroll he had was the manager.  It was always strange to me that the credit he gave was vs. retail instead of being vs the discounted price.  As you (rightly) note, payroll is a big part of the expenses, but there was no indication that he at a fundamental level didn't realize the advantage that we were conferring to him.  At least not until two of them quit.  That's when the downward spiral started as he began to have to pay more to actual employees, and the employees that he was able to get were not interested in the store as anything but a job.

4093

Living Room / Re: Sad news for scifi booklovers. Borderlands Books of San Francisco is closing.

« Last post by wraith808 on February 03, 2015, 10:59 AM »

It's a change in venue and a change in distribution.  Adapt or die.

-wraith808 (February 03, 2015, 09:30 AM)

It's actually more a change in expectations that's the tipping point AFAICT. As the owners of Borderlands Books said in their blog, the list price of books are set (and printed on the cover of books) by their publishers. And with the advent of Amazon, nobody expects to pay list for a book today. So the indie stores can't push the price up above list because that's simply "not done" (nor is it doable) when it comes to books that are in print.

"Adapt or die" is one way of looking at it. (I suspect Renegade would applaud that one.) But there are practical limits. What's happening to these small stores is the equivalent of sealing them in a glass jar and telling them: "You have a simple choice. Learn to live without oxygen - or perish."

-40hz (February 03, 2015, 09:44 AM)

I personally think that's simplifying a bit too much... and this is after working in the book business at a couple of small stores, and seeing the way that they went.

When in college (and after college for several years), I worked at a game shop.  One might wonder what that has to do with the subject at hand, but they were a role-playing game shop, and face the same sorts of challenges with their inventory and competition.  In business for 30 years and counting.  Then PDFs and the internet and distribution changes (they were unable to go direct even though they were a distributor because of volume) proceeded to kill the business.  The owner closed up shop because he said that they were bleeding year after year... and though he could keep it going for a while more... why throw good money after bad.

However, in my estimation, that's not what killed the store.  The owner didn't have the passion that you need to operate as not just a business, but a place to draw people in and get their support despite the advantages of purchasing elsewhere.  There are advantages to being a small store, you just have to leverage them.  When the owner re-did the store after having to move because of increased rent, the place was sterile.  There was nothing inviting about the store, and other than myself (who was working for credit instead of a check) and someone else in that same boat... there was a lack of engagement with the customers.  For gratis, I offered to make his internet presence more, and to help with that end... and his interest was minimal.

The other two shops that I worked with/frequented had similar stories.  They tried to compete as a business on the same level as the larger players, and they just can't do that.

I don't disagree with your assessment of the distribution and pricing difficulties- but those should force an adaptation.  And it's just not happening in many cases.

4094

Living Room / Re: silly humor - post 'em here! [warning some NSFW and adult content]

« Last post by wraith808 on February 03, 2015, 09:35 AM »

But downvoting just means off-topic... so I don't get it.  Other than people misusing the meaning of down voting.

4095

General Software Discussion / Re: I've not been happy with Macrium Reflect Free, and perhaps their paid versions..

« Last post by wraith808 on February 03, 2015, 09:34 AM »

If you haven't already, take a look on TheFreeCountry as there is a page full of free imaging and cloning tools for the PC.

-MilesAhead (February 03, 2015, 08:52 AM)

Thanks for that link!

4096

Living Room / Re: Sad news for scifi booklovers. Borderlands Books of San Francisco is closing.

« Last post by wraith808 on February 03, 2015, 09:30 AM »

^It's whole new world for word publishing. The landscape of which is looking pretty grim. I mean seriously...for a shop like Borderlands to be shutting down in a city like San Francisco???

Ten or so years ago, my town used to have three independent bookstores, two used book shops, and a Borders.

It now has no bookstores...unless you want to count the half-assed one our local college installed in the ruins of Borders old location. It's mostly school-branded stationary, campus swag and course texts, with a very small fiction/general book section plus a coffee shop. (This school has a lot of off-campus residents living in the immediate area.)

I'm not getting warm fuzzies.

-40hz (February 03, 2015, 09:08 AM)

It's a change in venue and a change in distribution.  Adapt or die.  The big chains are having problems with it... the smaller ones have been for a while.  It's not so much the authors getting hit these days though- it's the booksellers.  If you try to compete with the chains... it's a losing proposition.  But not competing is not an option anymore either in the age of kindles and nooks and other e-readers.

4097

Found Deals and Discounts / Go in Action on sale today 2015-02-02 only

« Last post by wraith808 on February 02, 2015, 02:48 PM »

Want to learn Go?  There's a special on Manning.com on Go in Action.  It's in early access, but I love Manning's early access program.

Get half off the MEAP eBook or MEAP pBook

Enter dotd020215 in the Promotional Code box when you check out.

I just mention it because mouser was talking about it (fairly) recently.

4098

Living Room / Re: Recommend some music videos to me!

« Last post by wraith808 on February 01, 2015, 10:33 PM »

America's Got Talent - Lilia Stepanova

-bit (February 01, 2015, 03:48 PM)

Quite impressive !  I am just wondering why she is not using real arrow tips ?

-MerleOne (February 01, 2015, 05:53 PM)

Because accidents can happen? I'm sure it was the show management that insisted.

-40hz (February 01, 2015, 10:11 PM)

That was my thought.  You can demonstrate skill while removing risk... and it doesn't reduce the amount of skill required.

4099

N.A.N.Y. 2015 / Re: NANY 2015 Release: WhenLast (Android app)

« Last post by wraith808 on February 01, 2015, 12:37 PM »

Arrgh, why can't I delete my own messages??  I obviously wanted to post only one message, the one right before this one.  I apparently hit some wrong button, and trying to deal with that only made it worse.   

-cyberdiva (February 01, 2015, 11:35 AM)

This ability was removed a few years ago when someone went on a binge deleting their messages to burn the earth when they left. 

4100

Living Room / AOL Shutting Down all of it's enthusiast blogs

« Last post by wraith808 on January 30, 2015, 07:03 PM »

I found out about it from the post on massively: http://massively.joy.../massively-that-was/

This sites shuttered include (not sure if/what the final tally is)

Massively
Joystiq (to be enfolded into engadget)
TUAW

Not sure if this is a move to paid content, or just a cost-saving measure.  But it does show the perils of becoming attached to free news services.