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[2011-06-13 11:32:54] - I heard something like 16 staffers quit including his campain manager... ~gurkie
[2011-06-13 11:13:08] - mig: He hasn't dropped out, but apparently a bunch of his staffers quit recently. -Paul
[2011-06-13 10:59:03] - newt is in the debate? didn't he drop out already (or is about to, last I heard)? - mig
[2011-06-13 10:43:10] - mig: Johnson is still being excluded, yes. If I get back from TKD in time, I might have it on the TV tonight. Otherwise, I might watch it later (I'm DVRing it). -Paul
[2011-06-13 10:25:13] - paul: if you have it on the TV downstairs, I'll probably tune in. - mig
[2011-06-13 10:24:45] - paul: is johnson still out of it? - mig
[2011-06-13 09:24:23] - Anybody watching the CNN Republican Primary debate tonight? -Paul
[2011-06-12 00:36:13] - http://jesuslovesamericablog.com/
[2011-06-11 05:11:37] - my internet connection with my house is better in europe than it was in arlington. why does c4c1 have such horrible internets? ~a
[2011-06-10 14:30:23] - It's quiet in here. Too quiet. Someone been eaten by a grue?
[2011-06-10 10:56:34] - I think I'm ok with the transparency, I'm reserving the right to change my mind. We have a right to speech, but not necessarily to anonymous speech. Anonymous speech is very rarely protected. The journalism situation noted below is a rarity, but perhaps there's some way to differentiate between 'admission price' and 'donation'? I'm sure they'd break that, but-- Xpovos
[2011-06-10 09:37:11] - hmmm. i guess i'm conflicted. i general i like the idea of anonymous donations. but, when it comes to campaigning, i like the idea of transparency. ~a
[2011-06-10 09:33:53] - a: what about yourself? are you comfortable with your own political contributions (if you have any) being that transparent? - mig
[2011-06-10 08:43:09] - a: No, there are literally dozens of entities that exist specifically for that purpose. It's part of the reason why campaign finance laws are a joke. -- Xpovos
[2011-06-10 08:22:09] - "filter their money through a third party or something" haha, i thought of that. it might not be legal though, right?
~a[2011-06-10 08:21:27] - mig: i think i agree with this transparency. if this journalist feels she doesn't want it public that she has donated to this campaign, then so be it. she'll have to hope huntsman sets up a separate free event for journalists. otoh, it seems like she has few hangups with being known for her contributions. ~a
[2011-06-10 08:19:44] - although i don't know, maybe it's a lost cause. it seems like if anybody really wants to secretly give candidate X $100 without being identified, they could just filter their money through a third party or something. so maybe it's a lost cause and we should value personal privacy more, since that's the only one we can realistically achieve - aaron
[2011-06-10 08:17:06] - mig: wow, interesting. really blurring the line between government transparency and personal privacy. i'm not sure how i feel about that. although i think i value government transparency more than personal privacy in this case - aaron
[2011-06-09 21:30:05] - http://reason.com/blog/2011/06/08/sorry-jon-huntsman-you-dont-ge i'm curious how others feel about data-mining tools that can let others very easily know which politicians you give your money to. Does it make you less likely to contribute to them? - mig
[2011-06-09 10:48:04] - xpovos: A little. I think the 45 minute long conference call I ended up on was really what got me back on track, though. - Stephen
[2011-06-09 10:35:54] - Stephen: So, did it do some good? Were you able to be productive? My non-productive self needs to know! -- Xpovos
[2011-06-08 13:56:47] - aaron: I just went to the grocery store to get away from my desk. We'll see if it does some good. - Stephen
[2011-06-08 13:56:22] - a: Unfortunately I can't disconnect my internet and get my work done at the same time. Otherwise I think that would be a great idea! - Stephen
[2011-06-08 13:30:14] - stephen: also, energy drinks seem to keep me motivated although i'm pretty sure that's just placebo effect - aaron
[2011-06-08 13:28:29] - stephen: i'll take a 5-10 minute break, talk to some coworkers, walk out to my car, listen to some music, whatever it takes. just get away from the computer screen for a little bit - aaron
[2011-06-08 12:54:10] - stephen: i used to disconnect my internet cable. it can be harder (but usually possible) to do most work without the internet. ~a
[2011-06-08 12:19:40] - Xpovos: Encourages you to do actual work. I have several things to be working on right now and I am actively avoiding all of them. - Stephen
[2011-06-08 12:06:29] - Stephen: The internet. Mindless browsing and wikipedia knowledge vortexes. Or did you mean 'motivates' in the sense of 'encourages me to do actual work'? -- Xpovos
[2011-06-08 12:00:15] - What motivates you when you can't be bothered to get anything done at work? - Stephen
[2011-06-08 11:23:58] - i.e kind of like daniel described, a "bank robbery" versus a "saving someone's life bank robbery" kind of situation. it's hard for me to dream up a scenario where it's the case, but i've led a pretty sheltered life, and i'm sure they exist in places where things like food are scarce, or situations where death is the gentler of two terrible terrible options - aaron
[2011-06-08 11:21:50] - xpovos: speaking on behalf of the entire human population (cos i'm cool like that) i'd say that while nobody is OK with the extreme late-stage abortions (or infanticide) in a "normal scenario", some would consider it to be the less morally reprehensible of two extremely bad options in some cases - aaron
[2011-06-08 11:16:06] - aaron: Yay! We're on the same page. That's a fun and uncommon place for me. -- Xpovos
[2011-06-08 11:11:45] - aaron: I would consider a bank robbery that saved a mothers life to more moral than a regular bank robbery. I would be confused as to HOW the bank robbery saved the mothers life but assuming it was true then sure. -Daniel
[2011-06-08 11:10:12] - stephen: i mean probably just nitpicking semantics at this point (yay) so my bad, i think we're on the same page but i'm just trying to draw the distinction that there's a difference between thinking abortions are moral and thinking that abortions are clinically necessary in a narrow set of circumstances. i think andrew's looking for the former - aaron
[2011-06-08 11:08:50] - stephen: i understand your point, but the fact that abortion can save a mother's life doesn't make abortion more moral, any more than the fact that a bank robbery can save a mother's life makes bank robberies more moral - aaron
[2011-06-08 11:01:28] - Stephen: I'll agree that's a case where the situations are not morally analogous. But it's also a situation where the semantics of abortion don't enter the discussion quite as clearly because of things like double effect. -- Xpovos
[2011-06-08 10:48:20] - Xpovos: I can certainly think of cases where there would be a moral difference. I doubt it happens often, but an abortion at eight months could save a mother's life. Infanticide at zero years has no chance of doing that. - Stephen
[2011-06-08 10:03:17] - Stephen: No, the never-happened discussion, that we are getting closer to now, was about infanticide by drowning or exposure, essentially. Aaron's statement is that for most people there is little to no moral difference (despite the legal differences that may or may not exist) between an abortion at 8-months and infanticide at 0-years. -- Xpovos
[2011-06-08 09:56:18] - I am not morally OK with the former, just to make that clear. - Stephen
[2011-06-08 09:55:54] - xpovos: When you say baby, do you mean giving birth into a toilet, or aborting a fetus or an embryo into a toilet? The latter, while certainly far more gross, is no more morally reprehensible to me than having an abortion in clinic. - Stephen
[2011-06-08 09:36:40] - aaron: No, someone who is morally OK with "leaving a baby in a toilet". I imagine that's much harder. I'm pretty sure I can find some folks who are morally OK with abortions at 8-months. -- Xpovos
[2011-06-08 09:25:26] - xpovos: you mean, you want to talk to someone who is morally OK with an abortion at 8-months? that might be really hard to find - aaron
[2011-06-08 08:56:16] - Ultimately, though, the thread lead me to a post from aba that was quasi-directed at me and which I totally missed/totally ignored. So, a four-year+ overdue apology to aba. And the answer to the question: nothing about the movie obviously. I wish I had answered back then, I think it would've sparked an interesting discussion. -- Xpovos
[2011-06-08 08:54:50] - I was following up on the sub-post today, from Dave back in 2006. Seems like it was a very short and mostly uninteresting debate (sorry to those who participated, it just didn't cover any new ground). It did make me wish we had some more unapologetically pro-choice people who might be willing to take the positive of aaron's suggestion a few lines later. -- Xpovos
[2011-06-08 01:18:41] - and you didn't tell me your opinion on consumer reports. sigh. (kidding) ~a
[2011-06-07 17:39:22] - a: True. Honestly, in a lot of those cases, it's entirely possible it's a topic I haven't even made up my mind about. -Paul
[2011-06-07 17:18:47] - paul: nah, i've been surprised by peoples' opinions many many times. like, what does paul think about consumer reports? well he's for smaller government, and that tells me nothing. maybe it tells he thinks education should happen through private means, like a magazine/website. i'm guessing he likes it, but maybe there's something about it he doesn't like? ~a
[2011-06-07 14:28:09] - Paul: That has another drawback, though, in that our debates are unnecessarily drawn on when we generally know the positions we're taking before we have them. That's why I find new angles more interesting. It gets more nuance into the situation which allows for debate and compromise. -- Xpovos
[2011-06-07 14:23:57] - aaaron: I guess another part of it is that (at this point), I feel like everybody pretty much knows to at least 90% accuracy what my opinion on things are, so I don't feel like I am "trapping" anybody when I jump in with: "Surprise! I'm for smaller government! Sucker!". -Paul
[2011-06-07 13:49:16] - aaron: maybe you're right! i like to strike a balance, i guess. on occasion SOME PEOPLE sway too heavily to one side. like he (or she) will hide his opinions, and actively won't tell it to you if you're trying to cut to the chase. ~a
[2011-06-07 13:34:28] - a: ha ha really? ...i think some people like pierce and dave genuinely enjoy the art of you know, gradually working towards an opinion in the way paul described... i don't think everyone is as impatient as i am - aaron
[2011-06-07 13:32:11] - paul: oh i get it. so each state would have their own local government, and then the federal government (not a state) would place restrictions on state governments. yeah you're right, state governments have gotten a lot weaker, that model doesn't really make sense today which is sad - aaron
[2011-06-07 13:30:56] - "i think you've kind of traumatized me in a way, paul, to where i just want to hear people's opinions up front, even if it means being very very rude to them" aaron just summed up the message board.
~a[2011-06-07 12:41:47] - Aaron: In terms of popular election of Senators and whatnot. -Paul
[2011-06-07 12:41:09] - Aaron: Well, I think the origins are based in an earlier age where the federal government and state governments were more distinct (and equal). I think DC was formed as an area for the federal government to exist in, and it wasn't intended to have the same power as a state. Since then, state governments have gotten weaker and we've moved closer to democracy. -Paul
[2011-06-07 12:39:58] -
- aaron[2011-06-07 12:39:25] - paul: ha ha. i'll try to be less of a dick about calling you out on it, but... no promises on my end either - aaron
[2011-06-07 12:37:17] - Aaron: I guess I'll try to express my opinions along with playing 20 questions in the future. No promises, though.
-Paul[2011-06-07 12:27:20] - mig: yeah, that's what i was saying earlier, it makes some sense but it seems really complicated. why do we need a DC at all? what would be the downside if DC was just absorbed into maryland/VA, or if it were just an independent state? other than the upheaval costs, or other than "it would be different", i literally don't understand what the downsides are - aaron
[2011-06-07 12:25:38] - daniel: i'm trying to understand District of Columbia voting rights... is it a size thing? do people think the population of the city is too small to be included in the senate? or maybe historical reasons? what are the other "arguments against"? - aaron
[2011-06-07 12:24:59] - Honestly I think "DC" should be confined to the capitol hill and/or other relevant government buildings. Everything else should just be divided amongst MD and VA. No one will go for that, I know, but I think that's the most ideal way. - mig
[2011-06-07 12:22:45] - daniel: yeah you're probably right, 1k is too low, but i think it's probably close to 1-2%. i'm not sure whether i support or don't support the idea of a national capital separate from the rest of the states. i literally don't know what any of the benefits to a politically independent capital are. i'll try to read up on it a little. - aaron
[2011-06-07 12:18:03] - I'm not sure I would oppose shrinking DC somewhat but I'm not sure that MD wants them back so I'm not sure that works as a solution either. -Daniel
[2011-06-07 12:16:41] - aaron: I'm not sure either of us can cite a source but I would bet that more than 1k people are involved in the gov. I think 'deserve' is a loaded word because it implies they are worthy/unworthy some how. I think I support a national capital seperate from rest of the states and as that creates a weird voting situation for those that choose to live there. -Daniel
[2011-06-07 12:08:16] - http://i.imgur.com/1k8bm.png alright fine i guess i MIGHT buy a 3d tv some day - aaron
[2011-06-07 12:06:16] - daniel: do you think DC should be redistricted then, so that its population is more representative of a "national capital?" i feel like out of the 590,000 people living there, only maybe 1,000 are involved in government, it seems unfair to treat the other 580,000 people that they don't deserve representation because of geographic reasons - aaron
[2011-06-07 12:03:41] - when you could just outright say, "why do you think child labor is bad? i think it's unethical to disallow children access a proper education, but i think it's less ethical to allow governments to decide how parents can and can't raise their children", you know. it feels like more of a give and take rather than some sort of "five whys" exercise - aaron
[2011-06-07 12:01:58] - otherwise it just sounds like you're leading them into a trap. "why do you think child labor is bad?" "well why do you think it's unethical for children to work?" "well why do you think parents shouldn't be allowed to decide that?" "well why do you think you're more qualified to decide how someone else's child is raised? ha ha! i tricked you!" - aaron
[2011-06-07 12:00:27] - paul: smilies just make you seem even more coy! but yeah, using questions to find out what's "wrong" isn't necessarily bad? although i think it's more polite to use questions to find out what's different, and a part of that means telling people what you think, or how your opinion differs from theirs - aaron
[2011-06-07 11:56:48] - Aaron: I feel like starting off with a statement like: "We shouldn't give money to poor people" will get a lot of people to just ignore everything else I say, whereas if I ease into that stance (by pointing out that there are plenty of homeless shelters or the poor people just use money for drugs and alcohol), I might have a better shot at changing minds. -Paul
[2011-06-07 11:55:19] - Aaron: As for the style of being obtuse and then following up with an opinion... It's definitely not something I do to try to be difficult. I just think it's how I approach issues. Step 1, find out what is "wrong" with something. Step 2, address whether those things are really bad. Step 3, draw conclusion. -Paul
[2011-06-07 11:53:19] - Aaron: Heh, no problem (and my bad if I've traumatized you). I know I've been thrown off a few times in the past few months by statements you've made which sounded overly hostile to me but which I think was just a lack of ability to determine tone across the message board. It's why I over-use smilies to make it clear that I'm (almost always) not actually upset. -Paul
[2011-06-07 11:48:24] - aaron/paul: I didn't think either of you was rude to me. I knew I was being coy to try and get some more fleshed out arguments. So no worries from my end. -Daniel
[2011-06-07 11:47:03] - Xpovos: I would probably be ok with that too. You'd have to convince MD to take them back though. I think thats what I read when skimming through stuff. It also does seem to defeat the idea of having a seperate national capital but I'd want to look more into the pros/cons of that specific issue then I guess. -Daniel
[2011-06-07 11:45:01] - Aaron: Yeah, and that might be why some people get seem to get mad at me so often (and why I am taken by surprise by it). I feel like it's better to approach a controversial issue like that in steps (by addressing the arguments against it) rather than just to throw out my opinion at the beginning where it might get immediately dismissed. -Paul
[2011-06-07 11:36:46] - paul: in retrospect, i put it in a pretty hostile way, so that was my bad. i'm sorry. i think you've kind of traumatized me in a way, paul, to where i just want to hear people's opinions up front, even if it means being very very rude to them. ahhaha. - aaron
[2011-06-07 11:30:06] - paul: i was genuinely unsure of whether daniel hadn't heard of the DC voting rights debate, or if he just had some opinion on the matter that he wanted to deliver (e.g "we can achieve a close-enough approximation of democracy without true representative voting") - aaron
[2011-06-07 11:28:01] - paul: ha ha yeah, well i'm used to some kinds of people (hint hint) using incredibly roundabout/obvious questions, (e.g "what's wrong with child labor?") to spark some long pointless discussion so they can eventually deliver a simple point (e.g "the government shouldn't dictate who can/can't work") - aaron
[2011-06-07 11:27:14] - I've been a proponent of retrocession of Maryland's territory for a while, leaving just the "Mall" sliver, essentially. Solves most of the problems. Except that 23rd amendment bit. -- Xpovos
[2011-06-07 11:25:15] - mass effect 3 release date 03.06.12 - mig
[2011-06-07 11:00:05] - After reading through the wiki page for DC voting rights the solution I think I could support would be allowing DC residents to vote for MD reps / senators and be counted as MD peeps for purposes of determing number of reps and what not while DC still stays a federal district. -Daniel
[2011-06-07 10:40:15] - Paul: yeah no worries
-Daniel[2011-06-07 10:27:58] - Daniel: In case it was unclear, I was more mocking Aaron than you (I know sometimes my comments are not interpretted correctly). I often do the same thing to see exactly why people are against (or for) certain things. -Paul
[2011-06-07 10:16:58] - I'm being slightly obtuse to see what part of things people actually care about. People argue different things when it comes to DC voting rights. However I am on the side of not giving it Congress reps so is that idiot or asshole? Not sure. -Daniel
[2011-06-07 10:14:49] - Daniel: In other words, are you an idiot or an asshole?
-Paul[2011-06-07 10:10:04] - daniel: but i guess the gist is that DC doesn't have representation in congress, and that's bad, because there are people who live in D.C and it's seemingly arbitrary that they don't get a voice in congress but the rest of america does - aaron
[2011-06-07 10:03:30] - "Some reason" being the 23rd amendment, of course... -- Xpovos
[2011-06-07 10:00:47] - daniel: http://www.dcvote.org/about/index.cfm - aaron
[2011-06-07 09:59:11] - daniel: do you literally not understand the problem, or are you just being deliberately obtuse and argumentative? - aaron
[2011-06-07 09:57:24] - Daniel: It gets three electoral college votes for some reason. -- Xpovos
[2011-06-07 09:22:37] - a: right. so whats the problem? -Daniel
[2011-06-07 09:15:18] - dc is unrepresented in both houses. ~a
[2011-06-07 08:48:25] - -Daniel
[2011-06-07 08:48:20] - a: DC Problem?
[2011-06-07 00:49:01] - "The District of Columbia is preserved as it is." baha, i guess he didn't want to tackle two controversial problems at once, but it would be sad if we made such a ludicrously over-progressive change and didn't fix the dc problem. ~a
[2011-06-06 22:01:58] - aaron: I like our new state! In fact, I think most of these states make more sense than existing ones. I'm sure people in the big blocky states in the middle would be upset, though. - Stephen
[2011-06-06 20:10:25] - aaron: Cool graphic, but the idea they're trying to represent is terrible. I figure you knew I'd say that, but I had to say it anyway. Most interesting to me is that they left Missouri completely alone.
-- Xpovos[2011-06-06 16:11:13] - http://fakeisthenewreal.org/reform/ what america would look like if they re-districted the states to have equal populations. totally impractical but it's a cool graphic - aaron
[2011-06-06 14:39:05] - daniel: yes that's right, it was maru's third birthday last week so his owner made a compilation of a lot of cute maru accumulated over the previous year - aaron
[2011-06-06 13:26:58] - aaron: Without even clicking that link I'm pretty sure which video that is. The new maru one? It was pretty good. Cat videos are like the comfort food of the internet I think. -Daniel
[2011-06-06 12:25:17] - http://pc.ign.com/articles/117/1171307p1.html This might've been posted while I was gone, but more Heart of the Swarm info. -Paul
[2011-06-06 12:13:59] - xpovos: yay! there are a lot of other videos on youtube of the same cat. it's a very popular cat. amy and i watched a lot of him yesterday. - aaron
[2011-06-06 11:16:39] - aaron: I thought it was very cute. Theresa apparently thinks it's adorable. I e-mailed it to Katie last night and she watched it this morning with her... very popular. -- Xpovos
[2011-06-05 17:48:26] - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QZR_6K03gWk&feature=channel_video_title i thought i was above posting cat videos to the message board but apparently i am not - aaron
[2011-06-03 14:36:37] - a: oh okay, my bad - aaron
[2011-06-03 14:07:42] - aaron: no, you forgot about firefox 3.6. 3.6 was the main version for over a year. ~a
[2011-06-03 13:52:59] - well yeah it's not nearly as bad as mk can be, i grant that. - mig
[2011-06-03 13:51:36] - http://5z8.info/fakelogin_f9p5te_php-start_GPS_tracking-user whoa! google is dropping support for FireFox 3.5 on August 1? that seems pretty aggressive, the first non-preview version of FireFox 4 was only released what, 2-3 months ago? - aaron
[2011-06-03 13:48:47] - i'm trying to think. i think i can hit about 800K with sentinel if i burn two meters, which is 100% for some characters. but yeah, it seems pretty balanced next to street fighter imho. a fair comparison to mortal kombat would be, imho, if there was a way to use zero meter to kill one-and-a-half characters. but yeah, an apples-to-apples comparison is silly - aaron
[2011-06-03 13:46:31] - mig: yeah, but basically you're wasting 2 super meters (typically) and killing 1 out of 3 characters. an apples-to-apples comparison with a game like Street Fighter is tough, but it seems like it's roughly the equivalent of wasting 3 EX meters on a 33% combo or something. you're paying a significant cost to take out a big chunk of health - aaron
[2011-06-03 13:44:55] - mig: yeah, i suppose i forgot about a few. el fuerte technically has a 100% BnB but it's really really hard. akuma has something like a 60% combo if you're willing to burn some meter on some focus cancels but it's really really hard. but as far as combos i see in a real match, they top out about 20%-30%, which is where i think combos should be - aaron
[2011-06-03 13:41:54] - it's something that bothers me about marvel too, where someone get's a quick low damage poke that's hard to block and links that into a 100%-0% combo. - mig
[2011-06-03 13:38:11] - one I can think of is balrog doing his dash straight overhead into C. MP -> headbutt, which can get in that range, but it's not that easy to pull off. - mig
[2011-06-03 13:36:35] - Yeah I'm not a big fan of the combos either. The damage scaling in SF4 is pretty brutal, but there are some 200-300 damage combos (which work out to about 20-30% depending on the character), but they're not very easy to pull off. - mig
[2011-06-03 13:34:48] - aaron: yeah they made mk9 a little "deeper" but they've maintaned a lot of the cheesy aspects of it (spam sweeping). - mig
[2011-06-03 13:18:49] - i also feel like it's questionable for a 39% bread-and-butter combo to exist in a traditional fighting game, i don't think there were any comparable BnBs in street fighter IV but... maybe... characters like blanka and adon were lucky to even break 20% iirc - aaron
[2011-06-03 13:13:38] - mig: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=byYxEaXMHuM this is that MK9 shang tsung video i was telling you about. it kind of demonstrates all the things i think are silly about the game, at least at my current play level. i feel like i could spend time learning these 40-50% combos and then still get beat by someone spamming teleports/jump kicks - aaron
[2011-06-03 11:44:10] - Xpovos: That must be what the NPR reporter meant
- Stephen[2011-06-03 11:43:24] - Stephen: Portugal is the poorest country in the south and west of the Iberian peninsula. -- Xpovos
[2011-06-03 11:37:19] - Portugal is probably the poorest country in Western Europe, defined as the European countries with no history of communism. - Stephen
[2011-06-03 11:35:39] - Daniel: I think Miguel's right about that. In terms of GDP per capita, Romania and Bulgaria are clearly poorer, and that's if NPR meant the EU when they said Europe. If you include non-EU countries, you've got Belarus, Ukraine, Moldova, Macedonia, Serbia, etc. - Stephen
[2011-06-03 11:17:44] - Daniel: I was doing the same thing, straight GDP hits places like Monoco hard because they're tiny, even though their per capita is good. Per capita, according to Wikipedia, hit the U.K. worst, which I was amused by. Either way, it wasn't Portugal. I have no idea what measure they came up with that statement under, but it wasn't an obvious one. -- Xpovos
[2011-06-03 11:11:11] - daniel: in terms of debt, I think it's still greece, despite the bailouts. - mig
[2011-06-03 11:07:11] - Stephen: Is portugal the european country furthest in the hole maybe? -Daniel
[2011-06-03 11:06:12] - a: I think it depends on how you define it. A quick google search returned at least two different ways of measure, straight GDP and GDP per capita. So first we need to define our terms then we can answer. -Daniel
[2011-06-03 10:55:42] - so what is europe's poorest country? ~a
[2011-06-03 10:55:04] - anon: i'm guessing you're aaron. ~a
[2011-06-03 10:13:55] - xpovos: You are probably right. Maybe I was just jarred that I was able to spot an NPR mistake! - Stephen
[2011-06-03 09:43:01] - did you hear about the guy who cooled himself to absolute zero? he's 0K now
[2011-06-03 09:19:48] - Stephen: I'd wager NPR gets facts wrong less often than most other news sources; but they'll still make errors in fact. Probably at least once per show. It's just usually we're too ignorant ourselves to spot them. -- Xpovos
[2011-06-03 09:17:25] - Does NPR regularly get facts wrong? A reporter this morning said that Portugal is Europe's poorest country, which is patently false. I was hoping one of the other people on air would correct her, but nope. - Stephen
[2011-06-03 08:49:12] - Here's a FAQ T-Mobile put out. http://newsroom.t-mobile.com/articles/more-information-att-acquires-tmobile Reading between the lines it seems pretty bad for existing T-Mobile customers. -- Xpovos
[2011-06-03 08:48:32] - So, I'm a T-Mobile customer. And T-Mobile is in the process of being bought by AT&T, pending regulatory approval. If the regulatory approval doesn't come, we'd prefer to stay put. But we'd rather be Verizon (or Sprint) customers than AT&T customers. So... do we switch now since our 2-year contract is up, or renew and run the risk of the buy being approved? -- Xpovos
[2011-06-03 08:29:29] - I didn't catch all of it but they were talking about House resolutions dealing with Libya today on NPR. Apparently Kucinich introduced a HR to end US involvement there within 15 days. Boehner put his own HR in but I'm not sure what was different about it. -Daniel
[2011-06-02 16:32:54] - Xpovos: No, not at all. Just like there were a lot of laws 100 years ago motivated by anti-Catholic bias, most (all?) of which were eventually struck down, I think there will be laws motivated by a fear of Muslims over the next decade or two. - Stephen
[2011-06-02 16:31:46] - Stephen: Hmm... That probably would be overreaching. But it wouldn't be the first (or, I suspect last) time state courts overrode religious principles for some perceived good, even when it goes against the tenants of faith of those participating, and is contrary to the wishes of those involved. -- Xpovos
[2011-06-02 16:27:55] - Then it would be hilarious AND fascinating. That's the kind of thing countries might fight wars over. The concept of the Swiss Guard going against a field of Tommies.... ok, maybe I'm the only one who finds that amusing. -- Xpovos
[2011-06-02 16:25:41] - There are similar cases in Europe that are entertaining to watch as various municipalities throw lawsuits at the Pope or Vatican over the sex abuse scandals, and other issues. It must be for show because they can't actually believe it would work. Plus the 'plot' to arrest Benedict in the U.K. "for crimes against humanity"? Hilarious. Unless it happened. -- Xpovos
[2011-06-02 16:24:58] - xpovos: From what I can tell, lawmakers in states other than Tennessee have tried to ban the use of sharia law in child custody disputes and divorces. http://abcnews.go.com/US/shariah-tennessee-debates-ban-practice-islamic-holy-law/story?id=13041446 - Stephen
[2011-06-02 16:24:26] - Xpovos: It's definitely an odd situation. I'm sure it's not one the judges involved relish being in. - Stephen
[2011-06-02 16:22:54] - Stephen: On the other side, I do find a secular court attempting to try a case, criminal or civil, based in religious issues to be odd; hence one of my reasons for interest in the Episcopalian church case. That one ultimately is going to be decided based on who owns the property though, which is common law, so I think the courts have the decision right. For now. -- Xpovos
[2011-06-02 16:21:28] - xpovos: Yeah, I think you are correct about the civil vs. criminal distinction. - Stephen
[2011-06-02 16:20:25] - If the TN law makes civil contracts under sharia illegal, that's different from the understanding I had of the law. My understanding is that it stipulates sharia is not to be used as a basis for criminal law. -- Xpovos
[2011-06-02 16:20:06] - Or not...apparently the court in VA may have decided to scrap religious law in favor of common law. They weren't legally required to do so, however. - Stephen
[2011-06-02 16:19:39] - Stephen: That Episcopalian situation is particularly interesting to me. I'll be watching how it goes closely. The difference on the other issues appears to be civil vs. criminal. Two (or more) individuals can generally agree to any contract they want, arbitrated by whomever they want, providing it isn't criminal. -- Xpovos
[2011-06-02 16:16:44] - aaron: I recently re-read Little Fuzzy, fortunately in public domain now. This quote struck me, and I was reminded of it reflecting on the discussion below. "[Judge] Frederic Pendarvis’ religion is the law, and he is its priest. You never get anywhere by arguing religion with a priest." -- Xpovos
[2011-06-02 16:15:38] - For a more local example, courts in Virginia are currently applying Anglican/Episcopalian law to determine whether church property remains with the diocese (Episcopalian) or with the parish (parishes that left the Episcopalian church b/c of its stance on gays). - Stephen
[2011-06-02 16:12:04] - Xpovos: Catholics can enter into contracts (marriage) governed by canon law, and I've written an agreement with binding arbitration based on Christian principles. Under your argument, that has to be illegal as well. - STephen
[2011-06-02 15:53:26] - Stephen: The proponents of the law would consider it hilariously constitutional in line with the first amendment, and essentially unnecessary, save for paranoia; since the first amendment prohibits the establishment of any religion as the state religion, and the law was designed to prohibit the establishment or use of sharia law as state law, or judicial defense. -- Xpovos
[2011-06-02 15:50:27] - Fun game... I'm going to have to see if I can locate a cheap copy. -- Xpovos
[2011-06-02 15:50:00] - aaron: No, not oblivious. For some reason Christian conservatives have decided that Muslims want to introduce sharia law in the United States. Tennessee even passed a lot banning sharia law in the state, which is hilariously unconstitutional on First Amendment grounds. - Stephen
[2011-06-02 15:39:04] - http://i.imgur.com/I94hB.jpg ahha i haven't played alpha centauri in ages. this quote came up on reddit today - aaron
[2011-06-02 15:09:15] - xpovos: yeah i guess that's what i was trying to figure out, whether there was some "non-relativist" reason why he thought muslims would make bad judges. but yeah i guess he just likes his religion, and doesn't like other people's religions, and maybe that's all there is to it - aaron
[2011-06-02 15:00:38] - aaron: It comes down, ultimately, to a belief in or a defense of relativism. Cain appears to be non-relativist in this regard in that he holds a certain set of views as true and others not; but I could be mistaken. It could just be he views it as more true rather than absolutely true. Be it the Constitution or Christianity. -- Xpovos
[2011-06-02 14:59:39] - hmm rereading his quote, "there is this... attempt to gradually ease sharia law and the muslim faith into our government", wtf is he talking about? is he talking about the US government? have i been totally oblivious to this? - aaron
[2011-06-02 14:43:17] - where their religion is more closely tied to government than christianity is? again, i'm not defending cain's statements, i'm just saying that maybe they're not as inherently hypocritical/irrational/bigoted as the article implies - aaron
[2011-06-02 14:41:37] - xpovos: yeah, but i think there's a difference between basing a secular government in religious values, and a theocracy. i guess all i was getting at is, well maybe a muslim judge would arguably be less partial to secular law than a non-muslim judge just based on the prevalence of muslim theocracies. maybe there's something inherent to their religion/value system - aaron
[2011-06-02 14:32:11] - aaron: Not any more. I mean, maybe Vatican City... but even that's more of an abberation than an actual situation. But our current legal situation throughout most of the West is de facto steeped in a Christian background. -- Xpovos
[2011-06-02 14:17:36] - hmm glancing around the internet i can't find anything to back that up. well, i guess the point stands that there might be enough differences between the two religions and their cultures/laws that an apples-to-apples comparison isn't entirely fair. are there christian nations where like 95% of the population is christian, and law is based on biblical text? - aaron
[2011-06-02 14:10:02] - mostly playing devil's advocate here, i think he's somewhat of a hypocrite for not holding christians to the same standards as muslims. but i was under the impression that there was nothing non-christian about integrating with non-christian society; but that it was somehow non-muslim to integrate with non-muslim societies - aaron
[2011-06-02 14:08:21] - i think there was another distinction, although i might be mistaken; and i'm massively paraphrasing here. but thought that some sects of islam stated that it's a sin to live in a society that doesn't enforce sharia law, whereas i don't know of any sects of christianity which are that harsh not integrating into non-christian societies - aaron
[2011-06-02 13:32:30] - aaron: yeah daniel hit the nail on the head on what bothered me about Cain's statements. - mig
[2011-06-02 12:55:31] - aaron: I think its the implication that a Muslim can't set aside their religious beliefs because secretly they want to implement Sharia law but a person of another religion would be able to. -Daniel
[2011-06-02 12:31:52] - although that's assuming he doesn't hold the hypocritical belief that christian law, things like the 10 commandments are sacred and muslim laws are scary and wrong. that's probably giving him too much credit - aaron
[2011-06-02 12:31:11] - mig: i don't have anything wrong with his argument, federal judges should definitely hold U.S laws and the declaration of independence over religious laws such as sharia law. so i understand his hesitancy to appoint someone who adheres to their own set of laws; be it a muslim, christian, jew, or whatever. - aaron
[2011-06-02 12:10:38] - http://www.cato-at-liberty.org/herman-cain-and-individualism/ well any good feelings about herman cain just went right out the window. - mig
[2011-06-01 09:10:50] - a: yeah i used to use flashblock but it doesn't handle javascript - aaron
[2011-05-31 17:49:33] - I should probably finish beating SC2 on some difficulty level before reading all these HoS spoilers... -- Xpovos
[2011-05-31 17:48:37] - though i have to say i'm surprised that noscript won't let you override the "update" page. ~a
[2011-05-31 17:48:05] - aaron: i use flashblock to block flash. it also has a whitelist that'll let you whitelist pages where you use flash a lot. ~a
[2011-05-31 17:46:51] - http://www.teamliquid.net/forum/viewmessage.php?topic_id=228212 pretty good rundown of all the currently released information and the Q&A. - mig
[2011-05-31 16:12:46] - Daniel: Refested? -- Xpovos
[2011-05-31 15:16:15] - Paul: I be disappointed if they didn't say it. I expect the zerg to leave no hole fested?uninfested?sufested?exfested? Anyways the zerg should be very thorough. -Daniel
[2011-05-31 15:13:29] - a: did you ever find anything better than "noscript" for killing javascript/flash/etc in firefox? i like noscript but i don't like how the author puts out new releases every week just for the sake of driving people to his advertisement-laden download page - aaron
[2011-05-31 13:44:48] - mig: "every hole infested" I can't believe somebody said that. -Paul
[2011-05-31 12:51:13] - http://games.slashdot.org/story/11/05/31/1542205/emStarCraft-2-Heart-of-the-Swarmem-Details-Released details being released for heart of the swarm. - mig
[2011-05-29 01:55:57] - after reading this heading on slashdot "Cleaning Up Japan's Radioactive Mess With Blue Goo" i was sure someone would reference portal 2 in the comments. indeed it was part of the first response.
~a[2011-05-27 23:20:34] - aaron: Heh, sorry. I was trying to make a joke about how president autopen would govern. Looking back on my question, though, I can see how it totally didn't translate. -Paul
[2011-05-27 15:17:34] - paul: my understanding of autopen is confined to the context miguel provided earlier. it sounds like obama needed a way for to automatically sign the legislation if it passed congress, even if he was out of the country. honestly, in that case, it seemed reasonable; i just find the concept hilarious - aaron
[2011-05-27 15:07:21] - aaron: That's what a lot of people have said has impressed them about Cain: his plain and straightforward way of talking. I have a question, though, does autopen just sign any legislation brought to it? -Paul
[2011-05-27 15:00:45] - mig: Yeah, I'm hopeful he's not as clueless as he seems. Having said that, though, I would totally take "I can do that?" over "How can I figure out how to justify this?" any day. -Paul
[2011-05-27 14:53:45] - i'd much rather have a "human president" than a "perfect president". if i want a perfect president i'll just vote for autopen - aaron
[2011-05-27 14:53:24] - mig: ha ha! to be honest i found hermaine's naivette and casual demeanor kind of endearing honestly. it's one of the reasons i kind of got frustrated with people tearing into GWB over his shufflisms, or when people tear into political figures like mccain because they change their mind on the iraq war at some point between 2003 and 2011 - aaron
[2011-05-27 14:32:31] - paul: well there's that as a positive i guess. I'm just imagining some military general asking him, "Sir, shall we haul $PERSON away to a secret military prison", and he'll respond with, "Really? I can do that!?" and cringing a bit. - mig
[2011-05-27 14:21:20] - mig: Fair enough, but at least he seems to come to the right conclusion that presidents shouldn't be able to assassinate American citizens. -Paul
[2011-05-27 12:43:55] - and there are exchanges like this that just make me scratch my head. - mig
[2011-05-27 12:39:38] - Maybe that's less terrifying than a McCain or Santorum, but it's still terrifying. - mig
[2011-05-27 12:37:57] - paul: i know it does sound like a somewhat reasonable postion, but it also feels weaselly to me at the same time. Reading more and more about him he strikes me as someone who is just terribly uninformed about things he really shouldn't be uninformed about. - mig
[2011-05-27 12:04:31] - vinnie: The big thing I've heard is his stance on Afghanistan, which is basically: I don't know why we're there, so I'm not going to make any statements on it until I talk to the military leaders and see the classified information regarding the situation there. -Paul
[2011-05-27 11:46:29] - paul/mig: what are his stances on foreign policy? I google "herman cain foreign policy" and every link was about how he didn't know what the palestinian right of return was - vinnie
[2011-05-27 10:56:02] - mig: I respect his opinion on foreign policy, even though I think it's a mistake for helping him win an election. His stances on foreign policy don't terrify me nearly as much as some other candidates (McCain last election, for instance). -Paul
[2011-05-27 10:53:47] - mig: It's interesting that nobody knows how to handle him. By most accounts (winning straw polls, fund-raising, being in the top 3 in many opinion polls, doing the best heads-up vs Obama in a theoretical election, etc), he should be considered a front-runner, except that pretty much everybody agrees that he has so little chance despite all of that. -Paul
[2011-05-27 10:53:35] - aaron: That place looks good. Now I want to go! - Stephen
[2011-05-27 10:52:06] - I find Herman Cain to be somewhat interesting but ultimately I am unimpressed. Honestly the way he seems to imply he would approach foreign policy terrifies me. - mig
[2011-05-27 10:50:45] - Paul: My vote was mostly an act of protest against Virginia. Since Paul lost out on the primaries, I would normally have looked to an actual candidate rather than writing in, but he lost in (very, very small) part due to the fact that I was prohibited from voting in the VA primary due to the amazing weather that day. So I figured I owed him at least one vote. -- Xpovos
[2011-05-27 10:50:35] - paul: I do find it intriguing. If for nothing else that Ron is getting a little more respect this time around. - mig
[2011-05-27 10:39:04] - Anybody find any of the Republican presidential nominees intriguing so far? I'm obviously into Ron Paul and Gary Johnson, but Herman Cain also seems a bit interesting. I probably wouldn't vote for him, but I could see myself rooting for him over Obama if he got the nomination. -Paul
[2011-05-27 10:37:06] - Xpovos: No problem, I actually wish I had voted for Paul as well. I don't necessarily regret my vote for Barr, though. I just think I might have picked the lesser of two goods. -Paul
[2011-05-27 10:33:29] - mig: Don't blame me, I voted for Paul. Sorry, Paul. -- Xpovos
[2011-05-27 10:25:08] - aaron: amy and I go to the counter from time to time. I usually get something weird that is fun to eat but not quite as good as a regular RR burger. one time I got ingredients that I was sure would go together and it was excellent (but not as fun). I like the fries a lot there too - vinnie
[2011-05-27 10:21:46] - mig: don't blame me, i voted for autopen - aaron
[2011-05-27 10:19:55] - mig: Don't blame me, I voted for Barr. -Paul
[2011-05-27 10:19:08] - aaron: I've been to the one in Reston. It was ok. I definitely went with a rather boring sounding burger, though. -Paul
[2011-05-27 10:16:40] - http://www.thecounterburger.com/menu/ anybody ever been to the counter burger? they have one in reston. the first time i went to one in california, i definitely was misled into thinking that bean sprouts, hardboiled eggs, and peanut sauce would make a good burger - aaron
[2011-05-27 09:58:45] - http://dailycaller.com/2011/05/27/obamas-autopen-signs-patriot-act-extension-before-midnight-deadline/ aren't you guys glad you voted for change? - mig
[2011-05-27 09:56:43] - a: my favorite was the guy responding to "Obama Makes It Through Another Day Of Resisting Urge To Launch All U.S. Nuclear Weapons At Once"... what part of that sounded real! just saying it out loud cracks me up - aaron
[2011-05-27 09:05:13] - aaron: that website makes me sick. so incredibly sad. what has this country come to? i just don't get it. ~a
[2011-05-27 06:21:38] - aww shadyurl goofed. well the site is http://literallyunbelievable.tumblr.com/ - aaron
[2011-05-27 06:19:51] - http://5z8.info/INCREDIBLE-DEAL-CANT-MISS_y2m5gc_stoleniphones stories from the onion mistaken for real by facebook users - aaron
[2011-05-26 14:18:49] - Vinnie: You read that he read Ayn Rand. -- Xpovos
[2011-05-26 13:07:50] - a: well good for him that he read ayn rand, but what are we to read?? if only someone would tell me - vinnie
[2011-05-26 13:05:05] - aaron: you could fix that
~g[2011-05-26 09:57:27] - a: no it is not
- aaron[2011-05-25 20:37:48] - i was looking at some of my gps tracks earlier and i noticed i could probably spell something with my trips. that lead me to this: read ayn rand ~a
[2011-05-25 20:33:27] - http://5z8.info/click-on-this-and-youll-be-taken-to-page-that-will-create-pop-up-windows-until-your-browser-crashes_l3k6wo_worm
[2011-05-25 20:33:24] - is that your office? ~a
[2011-05-25 19:41:36] - http://i.imgur.com/VN8BM.jpg making the office urinal a cheerier place - aaron
[2011-05-25 17:04:22] - vinnie: lol, yeah. i love how it's shady in two totally unrelated directions too, simultaneously triggering both my scamming and pornography reflexes - aaron
[2011-05-25 16:41:13] - haha I felt weird even clicking on that the first time, wasn't sure whether to trust shadyurl! - vinnie
[2011-05-25 16:40:28] - aaron: I think you mean this site: http://5z8.info/titstitstitstits_f7q6eu_uniqueinvestmentopportunity - vinnie
[2011-05-25 16:16:37] - a: No thanks, playing ultimate when it is 90 degrees out is not my cup of tea. - Stephen
[2011-05-25 16:04:32] - http://www.shadyurl.com/ this is my new favorite url "shortening" service - aaron
[2011-05-25 15:50:32] - i think stephen wants you to invite him to whatever you're doing this weekend?
~a[2011-05-25 15:07:59] - Stephen: I'm probably not, unfortunately. This weekend is looking a little busy for me. Sorry. -Paul
[2011-05-25 14:30:39] - Paul: Your acronym soup. It amused me. -- Xpovos
[2011-05-25 12:50:06] - a: yeah I can do Monday. -Daniel
[2011-05-25 12:40:21] - a: Monday is the only day I could theoretically do frisbee, although I would still have to be a maybe for now I think (but could change to a yes later in the week). -Paul
[2011-05-25 12:34:05] - Aaron: Thanks. Doing the best I can. -Paul
[2011-05-25 12:33:20] - Xpovos: What post? -Paul
[2011-05-25 12:07:11] - vinnie:
- Stephen[2011-05-25 11:53:36] - a: oh i didn't even notice you saying "monday", i'm still good either way. - mig
[2011-05-25 11:35:55] - stephen: ultimate! - vinnie
[2011-05-25 11:31:09] - Board: Is anyone hosting something for Memorial Day? - Stephen
[2011-05-25 11:28:49] - oh wow i wasn't expecting that response. ~a
[2011-05-25 11:25:46] - a: yeah that should work - vinnie
[2011-05-25 11:11:37] - a: oh sure, that sounds good - aaron
[2011-05-25 11:09:48] - a: i think i'm good for it. - mig
[2011-05-25 11:08:48] - paul/aaron/mig/vinnie/daniel: ultimate on monday 1700? or no ultimate this weekend? ~a
[2011-05-25 11:02:41] - aaron: i think he chekced imdb for it, and it's very possible it may he may not have been credited there. - mig
[2011-05-25 10:44:50] - who said Greg Grunberg a.k.a matt parkman from heroes wasn't credited in l.a noire? was that you pierce? cause it's totally on his page and the l.a noire wikipedia page - aaron
[2011-05-25 10:20:24] - http://dailypaul.com/165765/for-the-past-seven-hours-senator-paul-has-been-holding-the-senate-floor thanks paul! - aaron
[2011-05-25 08:58:25] - Paul: I can't believe I missed that post yesterday. Stupid all-day meetings. -- Xpovos
[2011-05-24 18:48:08] - mig: I guess that is what I thought but I took it as now that the debate is over they will actually vote on the measure. Meaning that this is just who wants to stop talking about whether it should be extended. ~g
[2011-05-24 16:51:27] - aaaron: I'm flattered.
-Paul[2011-05-24 16:28:27] - a: thaaaaaaank you - aaron
[2011-05-24 16:24:23] - i think he was including you. paul, you look like ron paul. ~a
[2011-05-24 16:09:15] - Aaron: Well, they do look the same. -Paul
[2011-05-24 16:08:46] - http://www.cnn.com/2011/POLITICS/05/20/war.powers/index.html?hpt=Sbin "Still, in recent years, President Bush did seek and receive congressional authority for Afghanistan and Iraq prior to launching those missions." -Paul
[2011-05-24 15:15:34] - oh arite my bad. all you pauls kind of blend tgether sometimes no offense - aaron
[2011-05-24 15:10:21] - kentucky is rand. ~a
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